Chapter 858 Loosening Up! (1)
Eleven minutes later...
"I can't believe we're doing all that now. I thought it would be a bit too soon, but... you're the boss," Grim said with a shrug after Replicus' detailed explanation.
"Like I said, the tides are growing stronger and more resistant and the air is starting to grow turbulent, which means what the Emissary said about the way to Edagon is coming to pass. For now, we'll use the fast depleting calm while it lasts. I'm sure others will too," Replicus said.
"Won't we keep trailing behind the masked man at this rate, boss? If we start fighting amongst ourselves now, we'll never catch him," Allora said, visibly concerned. She had taken the tragedy that was likely to happen when the masked man reached Edagon, to heart, moreso than anyone else.
The Paladin Champion lying in bed in their midst would have shared the same sentiment, after all, he was evidence of the danger that the masked man posed.
Replicus looked at the man.
Oddly, his presence, which was supposed to be vast and mighty even his sleep, had become a mere fantasy after his bout with the masked man. Replicus didn't know which Stage he was in, or what class he had since he was outclassed by a severe gap, and thus couldn't tell with the guidance field. He imagined, however, that at full health, it would be difficult for him and his Unlimited to be casually talking while being so close to him.
The Penetrator then gave a response to Allora's fears.
"I said it before. You'll find that most of the Factions won't be joining in on this race. There's hierarchy among the Factions that most respect. For instance, if Eaniss is intent on catching the masked man first, few will oppose her. Of course, she probably can't handle him alone, which means that the lot of us will need to help, but she'll probably grab the prize in that case still," he said.
"What about us?" Allora asked. "Are we going to defer to only getting rid of our targets and earning their loot then?"
"Yes, but we are also going for the prize. Unlike the others, I see no point in wasting my time just to settle a few scores and earn some land and wealth. No. We're going to aim big. If we can't do that, then the whole purpose of gathering a strong force for my future goals is pointless."
There was a bit of silence.
Allora didn't ask further questions, but that was not to say she felt differently. Unlike Grim, Pherdanta and Kenno, she had just joined the Unlimited rank, and was experiencing one of its greatest perks for the first time – understanding the boss' true self.
"I wonder though, if we keep killing each other, how in the world will we beat the masked man. Is Eaniss monitoring the losses? Won't the Severed Union be crippled if we take each other out?" Grim said with his face making a series of expressions.
"You don't need to worry about that," Replicus said. "Besides Eaniss, there are several Factions that probably won't perish nomatter what. As long as they remain standing along with the Head Faction, the Severed Union will be fine. Like most of the other Factions, I'm hesitant to have at them. Unfortunately, there is one we are going to have to fight sooner or later."
Among the Factions regarded very highly and immensely feared, were the Mad Bishop's Faction, Round Arrow, Dryad of the Scarlet Desert and Four Meridian Hands, which belonged to the man who had worn the circular jewel around his neck – the Harmonic Ember taken from the Bryne Family.
Somewhere along the way, Replicus wanted to retrieve it. He owed the Bryne Family that much. He owed Stylla that much. Perhaps Skullius had already paid for her help, but Replicus felt he hadn't.
And if not for charity's sake, he wanted to at least use that jewel once.
Its abilities, as Kenno explained, were very, very interesting.
"I see," Grim said, evidently choosing to trust in Replicus' words.
The Penetrator turned back to Allora.
"I've been wandering. Your Hidden Class allows you to generate an infinite amount of mana from your core after fulfilling certain conditions. You said you can't share this mana with other living things, but what about objects?"
Allora wore a difficult expression on her face. She had indeed mentioned it when Replicus had been briefing them on the plan a few minutes ago, but she didn't think he would still be thinking up new possibilities for using her unique power.
Since it had only barely been a day after she got them, there was still a lot to figure out.
"I've tried it. It's possible, but the object I imbue the mana into has to be really strong. I can't properly manage the output of the mana yet, so even Legendary grade objects are likely to break," she replied.
Replicus' sockets flashed.
"I see... Not bad..." he said absentmindedly. " Alright, all of you go prepare. And Pherdanta, make sure to show Baddan how to properly drive the ship."
Pherdanta gave a verbal acknowledgement, which once again startled Grim and Allora.
The former however, was reminded of something important he had almost forgotten to do.
"That's right, Pherdanta," he said, using this chance to grab her arm so that she didn't slip from his view.
The swordswoman gave him a sharp gaze.
"What?"
Grim felt a chill down his spine and immediately handed to his fellow Unlimited what he intended.
He drew a white-bladed scimitar from his storage and gave it to Pherdanta whose eyes showed hints of surprise.
"It's Mythical," Grim said proudly, "The original user is dead... gone, so you should be able to bond with it. It's a pretty good sword."
Pherdanta seemed to get a better grasp of that idea with a mere look than Grim who had been cut by the scimitar.
She blinked several times before realising that she was getting a bit too engrossed in familiarising herself with each part of the weapon.
She coughed.
"Thank you very much," she said.
Grim grinned broadly.
"Aha! So you do have a soft side after all!" he said while pointing a finger at Pherdanta who quickly grew unamused.
Before he knew it, her presence and figure vanished from his sight.
With a shake of his head, Grim left the room along with Allora, leaving Replicus and the Paladin Champion alone.
...
The Penetrator took another look at the Paladin Champion.
He felt odd seeing another one of these blessed Knights.
The Purity was a shady organisation, but Replicus had always thought that there were a few models of righteousness among the Paladin Champions. This sentiment was heavily inspired by the first Paladin Champion he had ever met.
Elita.
She had turned out to be a good person, different from what he thought initially.
Even though he had met another Paladin Champion in the Isise, a very low ranked one, he hadn't felt the same about him.
Elita had just been different. Maybe she appealed to Replicus a lot because he had only met 'cruel' examples of humans before then in the Tremur.
Maybe...
Replicus often felt a little guilty for getting Elita killed through UNCoddled. Perhaps it wasn't his fault but, his feelings remained the same...
Hmm.
Emotions. Feelings.
He never thought they would continue to plague him at the heights of strength he had achieved now.
'Speaking of strength...' Replicus thought with a sigh.
His stats were displayed in front of him through the guidance field.
~~~
[<Stats>]
[ DUAL MANA-SOURCING FORCE (I) : 95,940 ]
[ ASTRAL BLIZZARD MOTION (I) : 78,000 ]
[ SUBJECTIVE PHANTOM INFERENCE (I) : 4 ]
[ TRIGGER DEVIANT BUILD (I): 7× ]
[ LUCK : Atrocious? ]
-------
[ PRIME PERPETUATION : 60,750/60,750 ]
------
[ MANA (I) : 351,670/351,670 (On Sage Strain + Sage Save) ]
------
[ Mana^ : 899,900/899,000 (On Sage Strain + Sage Save) ]
-------
[ Null Life Essence : 24,000/24,000 ]
~~~
In terms of physical properties alone, Replicus was already on a different level. Just like he had done to achieve his second mana core – using [Unbound] on his mana stat – he had done the same with his other stats, except luck.
The result was that his stats changed completely, no longer being defined by simple notions like; inflated numerical value equal stronger physical attribute.
Now, his stats adopted properties akin to pseudo racial qualities or skills, the only difference being that they didn't require any fuel to power them, like mana.
For instance, what was supposed to be his Endurance, had been replaced with the Trigger Deviant Build.
Replicus' Endurance had been infinite before, but it had more appealed to his ability to endure strenuous activity than his ability to take damage. In any case, it hadn't been much of a boon.
Now, though, his Trigger Deviant Build allowed him to return any damage he took to whoever dealt it, and with several degrees more potency!
This added potency – speed, strength, efficiency – had an upper limit of 7 times currently, but it also depended on the gap in strength between Replicus and the opponent.
This is what had happened to the old undead Incandescent Stager when his strike hit Skullius. It had returned to him four times as strong, causing his heart to get crushed.
Unfortunately for Replicus, if the enemy was stronger than him and couldn't invoke the full might of the 7 times rebound, he would still take damage, though it was lessened according to how much of a multiplier was sent back to the enemy.
"Alright. I've had this on for a while now. I think it's time to loosen up," Replicus said while looking at the tags attached to both his values of mana – [Sage Strain] and [Sage Save].
Since he was about to fight some troublesome opponents, there was no longer a need to reserve his strength.
The moment he commanded the two tags – limiters really – to be removed from his mana...
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