Level Up Love Life System

Chapter 2: The Ice Valkyrie and First Contact

Saddam felt the icy edge of the runic steel Eisbrecher pressing against his neck. Fresh blood trickled in a thin line, feeling hot against the freezing sensation of her blade. Saddam's heart raced wildly. He wasn't just afraid of being decapitated; he was also trying to process the rows of blue holographic text floating before his eyes.

[System: Synchronization 0.1 percent successful. Beginning processing of target's emotional data.]

[Passive Skill Unlocked: Tactical Empathy (Level 1). You can read the target's heartbeat and stress levels.]

Saddam stared into the woman's blue eyes. They were beautiful, sharp as crystal, yet filled with pure hatred. Saddam could hear the thumping of her heart through his mind. The rhythm was steady, but there were flickers of irregular beats indicating she was deeply psychologically disturbed.

"I... I just wanted to survive, Captain," Saddam answered hoarsely. He tried to keep his voice calm even though his body was shaking violently. "That monster... I had no other choice. It was instinct, just to keep breathing."

Felisa von Schwarzwald narrowed her eyes. She was the leader of the 4th Valkyrie Unit. Her entire life was dedicated to military discipline and purity. The touch of a stranger was something she loathed above all else, especially the touch of a pathetic-looking, sweat-drenched delivery man. She pressed her blade a little harder.

"Instinct? You call this indecent act instinct?" Felisa hissed. "You touched my skin without permission. You forcibly triggered the mana energy within me. Who are you, really? Are you a spy for the dark faction sent to corrupt my mana core?"

"A spy? Look at me, Captain!" Saddam laughed bitterly, though it only made him more short of breath. "I can't even afford to pay my electricity bill this month. I'm just a courier who got trapped in the middle of this Rift because of a damn package I had to deliver. I don't know anything about mana or your factions!"

Felisa did not break her sharp gaze. She could sense something strange. When the young man's fingers had touched her wrist earlier, it wasn't disgust she felt. There was a foreign, warm, and incredibly soothing surge of energy that suddenly seeped into her usually cold and stiff mana circulation. It was an extremely intimate feeling, far too intimate for a stranger. Felisa's face heated up, but she quickly brushed the feeling aside with anger.

"Don't lie. The energy that radiated from your body earlier was a high-level shield that can only be cast by a mid-tier mage," Felisa said coldly.

Suddenly, a blue panel reappeared in front of Saddam.

[Warning: Captain Felisa's heart rate is increasing drastically. Stress level: High. Suggest providing a plausible explanation or the relationship will end in instant execution.]

Saddam swallowed hard. He had to act fast. If he couldn't charm or convince this woman, his life would end in this filthy alley.

"I have sensory talents," Saddam blurted out, a lie born from pure panic. "It awakened because of the trauma of nearly dying. I... I can sense danger before the monsters attack. That's why I tried to find you. I have no ill intentions. I just want to survive."

Felisa fell silent. She scanned Saddam's body with a gaze that seemed to pierce his soul. The mana detector on her armor showed no traces of black magic or dark sorcery. This young man truly appeared to be an ordinary civilian in pathetic physical condition.

"Sensory?" Felisa lowered her sword slightly. "Then why touch me? Why not scream or give a signal?"

"My system... I mean, my instinct told me that I had to make physical contact with the strongest mana source for the shield to activate," Saddam answered, technically telling the truth.

Felisa was stunned. Her face turned bright red. "So you used me? You turned me into your human shield?"

"It sounds terrible when you put it like that, but yeah, pretty much," Saddam offered an awkward grin, a fatal mistake that made Felisa's eyes flash with threat again.

Before Felisa could issue a punishment or further questions, the ground beneath them shook. A roar split the sky of the Altstadt district. The emergency sirens of Munich wailed loudly, echoing between the old buildings, signaling a larger anomaly.

Saddam glanced at the sky, which was now turning a reddish hue. A secondary dimensional rift opened, larger and more stable than the previous one. This time, the air around them was no longer cold, but hot and smelling of sulfur.

"It's not over," Felisa whispered, her eyes shifting to the sky with a serious look. She momentarily forgot her threat to kill Saddam. "This is a mid-tier Rift. Dammit, the backup units won't arrive for another ten minutes."

Saddam could feel Felisa's deep fear through his Tactical Empathy skill. He also sensed that she wouldn't be able to hold off this second wave alone. If she died, Saddam would surely die too.

"Captain!" Saddam cried out, ignoring his own personal fear. "I can help. I can see the mana flow from that Rift! I can guide your attacks!"

Felisa turned, staring at Saddam with a combination of disbelief and desperation. She knew this was absurd, but she had no other choice. She raised her sword again, but this time not at Saddam's neck, but toward the newly opened dimensional crack.

"If you are lying and put me in danger, I'll be the one to take your head before that monster does," Felisa threatened.

Saddam felt a cold sweat soak his back. He had just signed the most dangerous employment contract in his life's history. At the same time, the city sirens continued to wail, and from behind the secondary dimensional rift, a giant shadow began to step out, crushing the cathedral's concrete with a single stomp.

Felisa positioned herself, her Eisbrecher sword glowing with a faint blue light. She was ready to fight, but she was no longer fighting alone. Saddam stood beside her, his hands still shaking violently and the System continuously triggering danger notifications before his eyes.

"What do you see?" Felisa asked, her voice now slightly softened but still authoritative.

Saddam squinted. In his vision, purple energy lines appeared on the body of the giant monster that had just emerged from the rift. The lines mapped out weak points that glowed a bright red.

"On its left shoulder," Saddam pointed with a trembling finger. "There's an unstable mana flow. If you can pierce it with one full strike, I'm sure it'll go down in seconds."

Felisa stared at the point Saddam indicated, then looked back at him with a searching gaze. She didn't know if Saddam truly had talent or was just lucky, but the atmosphere around them had now transformed into a true battlefield. The monster raised its massive arm, preparing to crush the entire shopping block in front of them. Felisa took a deep breath, preparing to dash forward.

"Stay behind me," she commanded curtly.

Saddam could only nod, praying silently that his romance System wouldn't ask him to do anything even more embarrassing in the middle of this life-or-death struggle.

The monster roared, and the ground of Munich seemed to scream as its massive claws slammed into the street, sending a shockwave that cracked the asphalt right beneath their feet.

The second round had only just begun, and this time, both of their lives were truly hanging by a thread.