Strongest Mage with the Lust system

Emily nodded before extending a hand out, causing Max to stare at her in confusion.

"Give me one of those ghost fruits you gave Anna and others. I also need to strengthen my core, it has weakened significantly." She said,

The spirit fruit's energy was only enough to push her cultivation to the peak of mid-stage and she had to push herself to the limits to breakthrough to the high-stage three-star. Unfortunately, this made her foundation very brittle.

Max's brows furrowed when he heard her, and it took him just a moment to realize this. 

"Why did you have to force yourself?" He sighed, walking over to her and pulling her into his embrace.

He knew if it wasn't for the fact that she was worried about not being able to help him just like before, she wouldn't have done it. While feeling angry about her deliberate act of injuring her foundation, he couldn't help but feel warm in his heart. 

Emily's eyes went wide in surprise. She hadn't expected him to suddenly hug her like this and was caught off guard. Her cold and indifferent exterior faltered, and a slight blush covered her cheeks for a brief moment before she regained her composure. 

Though she was feeling uncomfortable being hugged like this since she wasn't used to such things, she didn't push him away.

"Because I knew you could help repair my core without any problem." She answered, 

"Eh?" Max broke the hug and looked at her in surprise.

"Why are you so sure? What if I don't have anything that can help you? You should know things that can reinforce and make the core stronger are very rare, not to mention expensive. Especially things that can help three-star mages or stronger people." He asked.

"I don't know. I just have the feeling that you can do anything." She said, sounding indifferent before saying, "So, give it to me now."

"Well…" Max's expression turned awkward. He didn't have any ghost spirit fruit or anything that could help her. To make things worse, he didn't have enough Shop points to buy it from the system shop.

'System, what's the price of a grade 3 ghost spirit fruit?' He maternally asked. 

Since Grade 2 fruit could help two-star mages, grade 3 fruit should help a three-star mage. Of course, its price would be significantly higher than a Grade 2 spirit fruit.

[2000 Shop points.] The system answered.

'2000…' Max couldn't help but flinch upon hearing the price. 'It cost ten times what a grade 2 fruit cost.'

Noticing the change in his expression, which clearly wasn't because of her, Emily's brows shot up. 

"What is it?" She asked,

Her voice brought him to his senses. "Nothing." He said, "Let's go and kill some more demons. I'll give it to you after we finish dealing with them."

He knew she was intelligence enough to figure out something from his lousy excuse, but he had no choice but to say this. He couldn't tell her he didn't have it and then give her one later since she would definitely ask where he got that.

'It seems I need to tell her, Rima and others too, about the system to avoid making excuses or lying in the future.' He sighed in his heart. Even in his past life, he never liked to lie because it made him uncomfortable, especially if he lied to people close to him.

Emily gave him a look before nodding, "Alright. Let's go."

Rey also stood up, and glancing at Ellie and her mother, he asked, "What about them? We can't take them with us while we fight the demons, right?"

Ellie's and her mother's expressions stiffened. Ellie looked at Max with a pleading look in her eyes. She knew if she and her mother lost Max's group's protection, they would definitely die.

Max silently looked into her eyes, making Ellie nervous. Just as she was about to say something, he smiled at her, his smile warm enough to melt the ice of her worries.

He glanced at Rey and said, "You stay here with them and make sure they are safe."

Saying this, he glanced at Emily and rushed out of the stone house before running toward the town's center. Emily glanced at Ellie and her mother, a curious glint flashing in her. She then turned around and followed him.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

With that, the duo was gone, leaving Rey staring blankly at the place where they stood. A moment later, he glanced at Ellie and her mother and asked, "Are you related to him?"

Ellie's mother shook her head, "No. It's the first time we saw him. Why do you ask, sir?"

"Nothing. It's just that he seems to care about you lot quite a bit." He said, before muttering, "Maybe it's because they are human like him?"

Ellie's mother was also confused. If she didn't know how selfish people were, especially the strong ones, she would've thought he was a kind soul.

She glanced at her daughter. She had noticed the look he gave her just now and a while before on the battlefield. 'Is he… interested in Ellie?' She thought, suddenly feeling worried.

---

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As they searched around for the demons on their way to the town's center, Emily glanced at him and asked, "Do you know those two?"

"Yes." Max nodded, "Those two are mother and sister of someone I accidentally killed in the academy's entrance exam."

"I see." Emily nodded before going silent. 

Suddenly, they heard some faint cries in the distance. Exchanging glances, they rushed in the sound's direction, making sure not to make any sound so they are not noticed.

"AH! No! PLEASE D-DON'T DO IT… AHH!" 

As they grew nearer to the sound's origin, the cries, which evidently belonged to a woman, grew clearer.

In some distance, under a thatched hut, was a group of four naked demons, standing in a row. They each had a woman in front of them, facing forward while they slammed into them from behind, crazed smiles on their faces. As for the women, they were crying, despair clear in their eyes. 

Also, there were eight naked female corpses lying near them, blood covering their lower parts of bodies. The sight was appalling. 

Swoosh!

As soon as he saw this scene, Max covered Emily's eyes, "Don't look." 

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, and she had already seen everything, and her face turned dark in anger.