Chapter 498: We’ve Got Company [Monthly Bonus 1]
"Bootleg?"
"Yeah. That ’Essence’ is pretty much an imitation of the Law of Destruction’s power created with Magic and a minute portion of the real Law’s power.
If it isn’t a bootleg version then I don’t know what is."
When Arthur put it like that, Evan had to admit that the power he had was indeed a bootleg version.
Just as Arthur put on a new bait and cast his rod to find some more poisonous fish, he sensed something and spoke.
"Oh, we have company."
"Yep, I sense 20."
Evan replied and glanced towards the two girls in the distance. Beatrix was running away from Artemisia who was chasing her with a trunk-sized stick and the sight made him chuckle as he spoke.
"They don’t look like they’ve noticed."
However, Arthur quickly refuted his statement.
"They have."
"Huh? Are you sure? They don’t look like it. Especially Beatrix."
"Of course, they don’t.
You should know Beatrix is actually quite sharp despite her...usual behaviour."
Arthur remembered when he first encountered Beatrix and Artemisia in Tolgue sometime last year, and how the girl had instantly noticed his real strength—while Artemisia didn’t find anything off with him.
"Artemisia has noticed our company but she’s acting like she hasn’t.
The moment they came into range, I noticed two things.
First, Artemisia’s dormant energy suddenly became active.
Secondly, Beatrix flinched for a split second—which allowed Artemisia to catch up to her and whack her with that stick.
If there’s one thing that Beatrix fails in, it’s concealing her reactions. You wouldn’t find anything wrong at first glance, but someone with a precise spatial perception like mine would notice these little changes."
Now that Arthur said this, Evan focused on the two girls and noticed that despite messing with Artemisia, Beatrix’s eyes occasionally darted in the direction of the forest behind them.
"I see...
You’ve got a pretty good read on Beatrix."
When Evan said this, Arthur just shrugged as if it wasn’t anything phenomenal.
"We spent a week trapped in a Dungeon once. Though I am personally more interested in Artemisia, it was kinda hard not to notice things about Beatrix during that time."
From the onset, Arthur had not hidden his interest in Artemisia and her powers of Evolution—right from the moment he saw her use them to resist the effect of his Progenitor Realm Suppression, despite the strength gap between them.
Arthur glanced in Artemisia’s direction, before making a request to Evan.
"You have a FULL Appraisal skill, right? Mind showing me what Artemisia’s status looks like to you?"
He was curious to see if Evan’s skill would reveal to him, certain things about Artemisia that the goddess was keeping hidden. Things, he doubted even Beatrix knew.
"Okay."
Evan obliged, and in a second, a diaphanous board containing Artemisia’s organized Existential Records manifested in front of the two boys.
|Name-Artemisia Delgasso
Race- High-goddess
Gender- Female
Age- 17
Level- 647
Existence Level- Epic (Superior)
Titles: Valmone’s Favourite, Queen of Evolution, Heir of House Delgasso, Daughter of the Benevolent god King, Loved by Mana, Loved by the Universe, Queen’s Blood [...]
Class-Arcane Evolver
Health–SSS+
Energy-SSS+
Strength–SSS
Agility–SSS+
Durability–SSS
Intelligence-SSS+
Condition- Lightly Annoyed.
Magic Tiers-Water Tier 4, Earth Tier 4, Fire Tier 4, Wind Tier 4, Lightning Tier 5, Light Tier 3, Darkness Tier 2, Space Tier 2;
Skills-Evolution Control, Energy Drain, Limit Break, Elemental Mastery, Lightning Strike, Thunderstorm Fury, Inferno Blast, Tidal Surge, Earthen Quake, Aero Slash;
Unique Skills-Queen of Evolution, Benevolent Lightning, Tempest Avatar. |
"Arcane Evolver...suits her considering her Elemental Mastery."
Evan commented on Artemisia’s Combat Class, something she achieved after using her Evolution Powers to evolve her affinity for the Four Basic Elements to the highest possible limits she could reach.
Because of this, she was capable of using Tier 4 magic of these elements with ease. It also caused her to gain four skills of the respective elements too.
Her Lightning was her main elemental affinity, and that was even higher than the others. She could use spells that only Legendries would normally have a hard time casting due to it.
As for her Evolution powers, it wasn’t hard to guess where they came from.
The ’Queen of Evolution’ skill sitting in the Unique Skill tab. Arthur noticed that this skill was just like his Gravitemporal Harmony.
| Queen of Evolution;
Type: Personal Unique Skill
This skill cannot be lost or taken away.
This skill can only be used by the existence with the name: ’Artemisia M. Delgasso’.
As the "Queen of Evolution," Artemisia wields unparalleled mastery over the forces of evolution, enabling her to manipulate the very essence of living beings and elements. This skill allows her to evolve allies and devolve enemies, making her a formidable force in any battle.
Abilities:
Evolve Ally:
- Temporarily enhances an ally’s Existence Realms, increasing their physical and magical abilities, as well as overall power in battle. Grants boosted stats and additional elemental affinity for a set duration.
Devolve Opponent:
- Reverses the evolution of an enemy to Reduce their Existence Realm, weakening their abilities and reducing their combat effectiveness. Lowers the target’s stats and strips away advanced skills, making them vulnerable.
Elemental Transmutation:
- Transforms basic elemental attacks and defences into their evolved forms, increasing their potency and adding unique effects.
Adaptive Regeneration:
- Grants allies enhanced healing abilities, allowing them to recover from injuries rapidly. Also provides temporary immunity to certain status effects and enhances natural resistance to various elemental attacks.
Evolutionary Shield:
- Creates a protective barrier around allies that evolves to counter incoming attacks. The shield adapts to the type of damage received, becoming stronger and more resilient with each hit, while also reflecting a portion of the damage back at the attacker. |
Arthur wasn’t bothered about her Skill’s abilities, as his focus lay in the first four lines of the Description.
Without shifting his gaze, he asked Evan.
"You can’t use your Mystic Eyes on this, can you?"
"..."
Evan was momentarily silent, but he eventually just sighed and muttered under his breath.
"Not like it matters anyway, Artemisia’s not dumb and she can clearly read the inscription in my eyes..."
He then nodded in affirmation to Arthur’s question, confirming that his ’Mystic Eyes of Mimicry’ which allowed him to ’Mimic’ a target’s skills after certain conditions had been met, could NOT do the same to Artemisia’s very powerful Unique Skill.
After all, it could only be used by Artemisia alone.
"Maybe that’s a boon of being ’Loved by the Universe’ itself..."
Evan made this remark while looking at Artemisia’s list of titles, two of which gave Arthur an idea of the reason why the goddess hid her real race breed.
With Evan’s FULL Appraisal, Artemisia appeared to be a ’High-goddess’, but Arthur’s Progenitor senses told him she was an ’Ancient Breed goddess’.
Her existence was already one that many Race Kings in the Valmone Universe paid attention to since she bore the title of the ’Universe’s Favourite’, so if it got out that she was an Ancient Breed on top of that, the girl’s life would be in jeopardy.
That was basically confirmation that she was going to rise above her generation and become one of this Universe’s strongest beings, something many people in power wouldn’t want—especially those who were at odds with her father.
And as a person from the future, Evan knew exactly what position Artemisia would hold in this Universe 10,000 years later.
’Maybe I’d come back to check on her and Beatrix later on. When I come back from ’Draco-Sirus’, maybe?’
Just as Arthur was thinking of revisiting the Valmone Universe when he became a deity, Evan posed a question related to their current situation.
"So, how close do you intend to let them get?"
"A few more metres, why?"
Evan twisted his lips under his mask, checking the level of warning his danger sense was giving him as he replied.
"I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like they’re aiming something at us.
Maybe arrows? Might be guns."
"Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a gun since I came to this Planet..."
Arthur came to a realization completely unrelated to the current predicament, and Evan who was ever curious about other Universes asked.
"You have guns back home?"
"Of course, we do. They’re not mainstream though, since a lot of Devildom nobles feel they’re not well suited to magic combat.
I do have a friend who’s a gunslinger and she’s on a whole ’nother level with them."
Arthur fished out his phone and powered it on, showing Evan some videos of training sessions between him and Layla that he had recorded.
Evan leaned in to watch the videos, marvelling at the girl’s skilful handling of the weapons, only for his expression to turn to shock when he saw Arthur start cutting her bullets in two with his sword.
Very quickly, their training session, evolved into a full-blown fight and before Evan even knew what was happening, they had blown apart an entire training hall in the academy.
Just when Evan thought they were going to blow up a couple more, he witnessed the sight of one person reining in the two teenagers and preventing them from going on a Destruction spree.
’There’s someone who can make this guy settle down?!’
"Who’s the other girl?"
Evan’s curiosity was piqued, and Arthur answered his query with a small smile.
"Nicole. Layla’s—the gunslinger girl’s—best friend. She’s undisputedly the best water manipulator you’d ever meet.
Her Innate Ability allows her to manipulate all forms of water. I’m anticipating how much stronger it’d become when she becomes a deity."
The Rogue Hero was initially focused on Nicole’s relation to Layla when Arthur’s second statement resounded in his head.
’All forms of water...!?’
Immediately, a memory of a conversation he had with someone in the future replayed in his head, a conversation in which that person mentioned an ability that was exactly what Arthur had just described.
He looked at Arthur’s face and noticed that besides the look of nostalgia he had, there was nothing hinting towards what he knew from his memories.
’Maybe it happens later on...’
Suddenly, Arthur got to his feet and reeled in his catch, before tossing it into the bucket beside him and saying.
"I think it’s high time we killed them."
"You think?"
