The Exalted-statue died in a simple explosion as strong as Rank 5 Transcendent or possibly. This meant the bullet I had Irja use was somewhat a waste.
Well, not really a waste. It would be hard for Monady to get close to it if not for it being frozen by the ice-blue rifle.
After that initial shock at the metal cube's strength, Monady regained her wits when one of the stones hit her in the head. It didn't hurt, of course, but it was enough for her to wake up from her trance.
She then fumblingly told us to pick up the stones for a tally before moving towards the meeting point where we were supposed to prepare for the final assault.
At this point, it's not about killing the last 12 Gigant World Transcendents anymore. It will be about destroying the Red Core before anything unexpected happened that would doom us all.
Because of that, aside from the three, including the previously injured scout, who were left to stand guard at the Blue Core led by Grenol, Rodney was waiting to join us there.
To make sure that it would be a success, we added him for another combat force that could go toe to toe with the stronger lots of the enemies.
Furthermore, to have a more overwhelming force, I used up the last 50% of the cumulative amount for my Allies by adding Yatapa.
Although I'm still wary of him because of how hard it is to start a conversation with him, in this space he's the strongest among us and his life is also tied with us. With my added buff, he will be like Larnel and the other higher world denizens to the enemies.
If we add the five scouts that are watching the remaining reds, there will be 14 of us who will launch the final assault.
Even if we're at an advantage, it will be stupid to leave our Core unguarded so… we have to make do with this.
With Rodney conceding the commander role to Monady, she started going over the strategy that we will use.
"Listen. Within the vicinity of their Core, they are also enhanced by 10% of their total stats. And like us, they have laid out defensive mechanisms that will ease up in repelling us."
"They're not idiots. They know we will launch this assault and are waiting for us. Rodney, you take one group to engage them on the eastern side. You don't need to kill them but make sure you can pull more than your numbers."
She then pointed to one of the freed Transcendents who came with Yatapa and the other Dafirae Transcendent as reinforcement for us.
She had him join Rodney and the other two scouts that were positioned at that side.
"Pulling, huh? Alright. If it's just that we can do it neatly."
"Remember, they will not move out of the range of their core's enhancement. Ember will go with you before your assault to increase your prowess for a few minutes."
She then looked at me which I returned a nod. Although I can be a fighter as well, I'm more useful at being a Support. A Mobile Buff Station whose role is to move around different battlefields to replenish their buff duration. It will be me burning my energy at a rate that could leave someone else with lower Energy Control strained to the point of being immobile.
Well, I'm not against it. I'm still leaning on being at the back supporting them. Me being at the forefront were all unavoidable or something I chose to do because of the circumstances
"I've just heard of it but it appears that I will now be experiencing the infamous Enhancement Skill. I look forward to it." Rodney drew near me and shook my hand.
This guy… He's the friendly type, huh? But his type is the one who's the fakest and can betray anyone for benefits unless he's a genuine idiot who will befriend anyone regardless of benefits.
I acted the same and shook his hands enthusiastically.
After that, Monady continued elaborating our strategy.
Once Rodney pulls some and occupies their attention, it will just be a normal pincer attack.
Another group led by her will pull away the same or more than their numbers.
And that will lead to the remaining reds that will be left guarding the core to the minimum.
At that point, Irja, Udann, Axter and one of the scouts positioned in the middle will make a way for Yatapa to go straight at the Red Core to destroy it.
"… Can I die if I destroy their Core?" Yatapa muttered lazily.
And being someone who endured 20 years with him in that Irreverent Dungeon and was already used by his monologues, Irja responded to him, "You can. We will throw you at the forefront once we're out of this space."
Upon hearing that, his eyes that were always gloomy shined for a bit before it instantly restored to it.
His excitement was always short-lived but that one was enough for him to do what Monady asked.
Once we finalized the specifics of the strategy, Monady gave us another hour to prepare and restore our condition to its peak.
"Where are you going?"
I thought of going somewhere quiet to check on my Companions and tell them my progress but Irja called out from behind me.
"There, at the back. I have something to do, you see."
"Can't you do it here?"
"If I tell you it concerns my secret, will that be enough reason?"
"Go on then. I won't pry on that."
"Alright. You should also prepare. Is your wound still hurting?"
"… It's closed. It will heal soon."
"Hmm. Then use this." I pulled out the bottle of pills again and threw one at her.
When Irja caught it, she stared hard at the pill before glaring at me as she scowled at me.
"… Idiot. Don't remind me of that!"
"You're the one thinking of that. I'm just looking out for you."
"You say that but you keep on getting close to me."
"Well, it can't be helped."
"Hmph."
This… A tsundere got caught in my net, huh? The way she's acting now fits that but… there's no reason for her curiosity to change into liking me, right?
Ah well, it's still too early to assume that.
Either way, I really don't have any malicious intent by giving her that pill. Irja wielding the Totem can be more destructive than Yatapa. And among everyone here, only to her am I comfortable on leaving that precious equipment.
After that, she left and sulked at some corner while I continued finding an obscure place to replenish my energy and started contacting them one by one starting by syncing my vision with my Avatar to calling each of them.
Although I'm missing everyone, my mind was leaning on seeing Yuko. With her restored memory, I feel like she's holding something back that she wanted to say to me personally rather than through the calls or my Incarnation.
Whatever that is, it probably concerned our relationship which spanned from our previous life up to this present.
Since I'm progressing faster here, everyone connected to me through my System was also experiencing rapid growth alongside me. It was because of every added stat from the Support Bonus, most importantly, the increased Intelligence stat.
At the moment, there are now a few slots that I need to fill up once I'm back on Earth. Each one that will be added will provide more benefits for me. It will not be an exaggeration that my UPL will be higher than my Companions when that happens.
However, before all that, some things will definitely change once I'm back on Earth.
For a start, the mystery of my identity will be cleared up and hopefully, all of my memories that were ripped out will be restored. Whatever revelation that will give me, I will make sure to keep this current mindset. My Companions first before anything else.
Haa… It's been an unbelievable few months for me and I'm already guessing that this will not end with just resolving the issue in the Dark World.
Well, there's no use overthinking about that.
Let's breakthrough for an increased assurance for now.
Due to the limited time, I only used 10 minutes for each world to check on my Companions and tell them my current status.
The remaining 30 minutes… It was all used to push myself to breakthrough before the start of this 'final assault'.
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[Advanced to Noble Spirit]
[Current Connection: 4 Seas]
[Advanced to 4th Stage King Realm]
[A Pillar has been successfully created]
[Advanced to Diamond Rank Tier-2]
[Energy Manipulation has been enhanced]
[Advanced to 4th Stage Elemental Forming Realm]
[Aether/Void Secondary Core has successfully formed]
[Support Hero System has leveled up to 4]
[Support Bonus has been enhanced]
[Level 4 Psyche Boost: 5.3 Int > 5.7 Int]
[Level 4 Physical Boost: 32.8 Str > 35.2 Str]
[Level 4 Health Boost: 32.8 End > 35.2 End]
[Level 4 Energy Amplifier: 22% > 23% Amplification Bonus]
[Supplementary Skill has been created]
[Support Hero's Weaken: Weaken recognized enemies caught within your eyesight up to 20% of their overall stats. The duration of the skill depends on the difference in Intelligence stat between you and the affected enemy. The total percentage depends on the difference in overall stats between you and the affected enemy]
[Duration: 1 minute (Minimum), 5 minutes (Maximum). The higher the number of affected enemies, the shorter the duration despite the difference in Intelligence stat]
[Activation Cost: 2000 units of Level 1 Flux Energy or 1000 units of Level 2 Flux Energy]
[This Supplementary Skill will also instantly activate on every created clone upon using the Support Hero's Awakening]
[Received 16 Strength, 16 Endurance, 0.5 Intelligence]
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[Level 4 Support Hero System (0%)
Strength: 179.8 (275.5)
Endurance: 189.7 (284.3)
Intelligence: 16.5 (22.3)
UPL: 277.44]
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