Chapter 307: Doomsday Clock
What is that stench? Arthur asked as he walked alongside Isaac across campus.
Weed, Isaac said.
I <em>know</em> its weed, why does your campus stink like it? Arthur raised an eyebrow.
Our mages are off in Grafenwhr, learning to blow stuff up, and no one is left with an air-purifying spell, Isaac shrugged.
Are you messing with me?Arthur raised an eyebrow, This cant be normal, right?
Were doing a study right now, about if those [Bartender] [Skills] that let people with a high Fortitude get drunk also work with other legal intoxicants, and if there are any differences with how they interact, and so on, Isaac exined.
Sounds like thatd be a pain to get started, Arthur observed, only for Isaac to shake his head.
Amy grabbed a megaphone, walked outside, and yelled: who wants to get high for science. He exined
Are you are you high right now? Arthur frowned.
Little bit, Isaac shrugged, I wont be when we arrive.
He really was barely affected, only enough to slightly feel it but not be negatively affected in a fight, and to a degree he could erase in a matter of milliseconds. But it was fun to be able to cut loose to even such a small degree, since he so rarely did. Hed let absolutely nothing affect him, never gone under the effect of any [Skill] that allowed him to get intoxicated, never ever touching anything. Normally, things were just too risky.
That being said, even with Amy and Patrick away, campus wasrgely safe, and until Arthur had arrived, hed been sitting in his office.
Could someone get to him regardless? Yes, obviously.
But the chance of someone getting to him before he could sober up was negligible to the point of being practically nonexistent.
So, I was wondering, is the devils lettuce a way for an elf to be a high elf? Arthur asked, dramatically rubbing his chin.
Isaac sniggered, then transitioned into full-blownughter once he realized that devils lettuce was another word for marijuana, albeit one hed never heard before. And it had just been so incredibly funny though that was probably just the weed talking.
As they approached Stagmers workshop, Isaac sobered up in an instant, having passed beyond the range of the drunkenness [Skill].
Theres no such thing as elves, Isaac pointed out, Not really. Alfar are basically elves, but they dont have a distinction of one of them being high.
What about high humans?
Isaac just hung his head. Yeah, that wasnt funny anymore.
A bell tinkled as the door to the workshop opened, managing to alert Stagmer despite the sound-suppressing field around the workshop.
He came out while still brushing molten droplets of metal off his hands, which rapidly solidified when they hit the ground and cleaned themselves up on their own, rapidly skittering towards a barrelbeled for smelting.
Well, if it isnt my favorite customer, he grinned as he saw Isaac, Your old suit was pretty much perfect as is, Id need Tier 10 [Raid Boss] parts to make any significant improvements, but its still quite a bit tougher than before.
As the cksmith spoke, a new armor stand appeared next to him, wearing the new set.
It was a lot like the old one but with Void Dragon scale highlights. They were the darkest parts, the ones that practically looked ck, giving it an interesting pattern.
However, the description and stats had barely changed, the Stat boost had increased by two percentage points, and the new material being mentioned. A worthy upgrade, but one that might not necessarily make that much of a difference.
He grabbed the armor, thanked Stagmer, handed over some interesting materials, and put it back in its rightful slot in [Fully Geared], filling the final slot. There were six sets in there in total, containing his main armor, his backup, his backpack which was absolutely covered in pockets and pouches containing emergency materials, and the Space Elemental core he needed to ess his regr inventory.
There was also a spare set of formal clothing so he did not end up in the Bundestag in jeans and a T-shirt again, <em>der Mittelfinger</em>, the magical explosive vest that could obliterate everything around him, and a newly made Juggernaut suit to use in conjunction with Arthurs armor [Skill] the next time he borrowed it.
And its very nice to meet you in person, Mr. Wells, Stagmer addressed Arthur, I was wondering, what on Earth did you fight to do that to yourst set?
Gravity-based pugilist, Arthur said, Absorbed a few tons of dirt to increase his mass and used me as his punching bag.
Oof, Stagmer winced, Do you want me to take your new set back and upgrade it to give it some more padding?
Arthur shook his head, Hes dead now, unless you can do the upgrade without affecting other stats, itll be fine.
In that case, Ill leave it as is, Stagmer nodded and manifested a second armor stand.
Heavy te armor made from Sagittarius Steel, which was an alloy withrgely simr mechanical properties to the other metals that reced steel in high-Level constructions, but was far heavier.
Backing it was mithril chainmail, especially in the joints and other vulnerable spots.
Mithril was another alloy, specifically thetest in a long series that had been given the name, in fact, it was the first one that had kept the title for more than a few weeks. People had been iming to have found/invented the stuff since a week after initialization, only for a superior material to be found in short order. Well, either that or the material had spectacrly failed to live up to the hype. That had happened a few times as well.
A closed visor that was almost impossible to see or stab through would protect the wearers face while allowing them to see out perfectly, a long helmet plume of a Stormravens ck feathers trailing down to the neck.
This isrgely a traditional medieval armor, with the design having been slightly improved in ces, though I decided to leave out the huge crotch bulge, Stagmer exined, prompting a mixture of confusion and disgust to cover Arthurs face.
Back then, a whole lot of knights had syphilis and needed the space to keep their junk as painless as possible, Stagmer immediately exined, But it would be too easy to target, obscene, andrgely pointless. I hope that wont be a problem.
Isaac sniggered. Hed known about that, but despite not being high anymore, having itid out like that was funny.
What are the inneryers made out of? Arthur asked and Stagmer began to exin, but Isaac didnt pay attention after that. He couldnt, something entirely more pressing hade up.
[Book with Seven Seals] had asked before recing the view of his surroundings with a vision without warning, but a potential apocalypse imminent warning could hardly be ignored.
Interestingly, he could still keep an eye on his surroundings with his [Aura] even as a map shed in his eyes, showing the various inds north of Australia without focussing on any one in particr, a sandy beach, a jungle, a sh of several concrete chambers, summoning circles, a calendar with the date May 2nd, 2032 circled, and a face that graced most countries most wanted lists.
ording to its descriptions, the [Skill] only ever provided concrete, confirmed, information, which meant that if it talked about a facet of the world, then that facet was already locked in and real, and would not chain if the subject ever reached the point of apocalypse.
So while the [Skill] hadnt given him a proper set of data needed to immediately find the cult, if they ever found the cult, it would be somewhere in Oceania.
Unfortunately, itd never hand out aplete dossier until the end of days was absolutely imminent, but it would progressively hand out more and more hints.
Maybe, just maybe, the information about the enemy base, namely that it was somewhere in Oceania, on an ind with a jungle on it, underground, and someone would summon something.
Using [Wisdom of the Simurgh] didnt help much, just forest and beach without any noticeable background features was just way too bloody generic.
Of course, with just two of seven seals informing him about the truth of the matter, he knew he had plenty of time to investigate.
Isaac left Arthur to look his armor over again, before thanking Stagmer again and dragging his friend out of the door.
I just got another piece of information from my apocalypse predicting [Skill], the cult is nning to summon something on the [Systems] tenth anniversary, but we might be able to catch them ahead of time, he said after putting up a privacy [Skill], Can you see what you can do about getting some military support for a potential raid on your end, once we have a target?
Sure, Arthur said, Anything else? And what are you going to do?
Just prepare, maybe see if you can get some extra training on storming a fortified position, Isaac told him, Ill keep looking for a target, and talk to my contacts.
Storming a fortified bunker on foreign soil was highly unlikely to be easy, quiet, or free of negative consequences on the diplomatic front. Not to mention that they needed to avoid having the preparations leak. It would be a fine line to walk, theyd mostly be limited to having their contacts talk and make preparations in case we <em>ever</em> get a target, but they did need to prepare.
Getting diplomatic permission to act on foreign soil might actually be very easy, even with regard to avoiding giving a warning. All that was needed was an ambassador from a suitably influential nation, potentially even multiple nations, browbeating whichever state the cult had shacked up in.
It was far from his favorite way of conducting diplomacy, but the brute-force approach could be very quick.
Another thing theyd likely need was military support for locking down the surrounding area and preventing runners.
The Round Table had power in spades, even if one only counted those whose connection to Isaac and Arthur was known.
What they didnt have were the raw numbers necessary for an operation like this.
Just the German military would also be far from sufficient. The Bundeswehr was built for home defense, with a tiny navy that patrolled the North Sea, and that was the long and short of it.
Arthurs rtionship with the British government was a little odd at times, with them being somewhat wary of him due to his status as the confirmed heir to the historical forefather of the nation, but it was good overall. Cutting loose a carrier group to support the operation might not be entirely in the cards, though.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The biggest navy in the world was the US, and Isaac had an overall decent rtionship with the Americans, decent was a far cry from hey, can I borrow a carrier or two being met with anything other than shockedughter.
Still, having a location for the worlds greatest danger that could actually be subdued by physical force was one hell of a bargaining chip.
Theyd have to see what the future brought.
***
More forest, a brief picture of a vige, and more besides, shing in his inner eye.
Isaac blinked several times as his normal surroundings came back into view. A few street and restaurant signs that gave him information on the localnguage, some more flora samples that narrowed down matters, more info to throw to Zambon, whod been exploring Oceania for a damn long time.
He checked the info tab of [Book with Seven Seals] once again.
Prophecy 1: Selfishness of the Pessimists
Seal 1:
Already given up,
A promised salvation dark,
Pact of destruction
Seal 2:
Vision (click to rewatch)
Seal 3:
Defense Information
Seal 4:
Vision 2 (click to rewatch)
Seal 5:
<em>unknown</em>
Thistest piece of information had the halfway point to the end of the bloody world.
Hed also gotten an exact number for his foes from the third Seal, aka five individuals who were true believers, and a mercenarypany that Arthur would trash the instant the fight started.
[Royal Action] had a sub-[Skill] that would inform everyw enforcement agency on the about who those people were working for, freezing their ounts, putting them on every list in existence, and so on, while also informing the victims of what hed done.
Not to mention that unless he undid the [Skill], theyd be automatically trackable by anyone with aw enforcement [ss], leaving them to either run or be royally fucked.
***
Another week after that, Zambon rang up Isaac, Isaac rang up Arthur, and Arthur rang up British Navalmand.
They had a target. They had allies. And all it had cost was a little time, political capital, and sharing the fact that Isaac had a prophecy [Skill]. They didnt share the specifics, though, just the fact that he had one, and quite frankly, keeping that secret while trying to cash in on the information it provided would have been tough anyway.
The list of stuff to do was now very short. Wipe out the remains of the cult, hit Level 200, convince various nations to try and adjust to the [System] rather than clinging to old social structures until they broke catastrophically, and then, once the world was safe, take a <em>long </em>nap.
But before he charged headlong into battle, he checked his status sheet one final time.
Name: Isaac Thoma
ss: Challenger of the Apocalypse
Species: Einherjar
Level: 187
XP: 70,719/3,760,000
Health Status: Healthy
Mana: 4,150/4,150
Stats
Fortitude
350 (+20)
Perception
1,000Strength
450 (+15)
Agility
1,000Magic Power
405 (+10)
Magic Regeneration
1,000Free Points: 0 Stat, 3 Skill
Aura
Aura of the Crimson Dawn (short range,bat, blood, regeneration)
Aura of the Desperate Seeker (long range, sensory, mental, projection)
Aura of the Eternal Warrior (mid-range,bat/mental/sensory, armament)
Central Skills
Form of Horror XXX
The Chosen Weapon XXX
I Am The Sword XXV
Grave of Swords XXX
Armory of Ancient Times XXVII
Legacy of a True Warrior XXX
Divine Fire XVI
Champion of Mankind XV
Final Defiance I
Aspects of the End (Speed of Hati, Power of the Behemoth, Wisdom of the Simurgh) X
Skills
Hundred Faces XXVIII
Stealth XXIX
Power Strike XXX
Piercing Strike XXX
Sundering Strike XXX
des XXX
Sneak XXX
Sweeping Strike XVIII
Far Strike XXX
Manifold Strike XXX
Hunters Gaze XXX
Phantom Step XXIV
Unknown Fear XXX
Bestial Regeneration XXX
Undying Focus XXX
Tools of Terror XXI
Fleeting Presence XVIII
Crippling Blow XVIII
Absolute de Mastery XXV
Compounded Impact XVIII
True Cut XVII
Legendary Blow XXV
Fully Geared XXVI
Knightly Leader XXX
Analyze Person XVIII
Continent Strider XXI
Burden of Power VIII
Experts Insight XII
Blessing of Innovation XXVI
Lessons of History XVI
The Meaning of the Name XVIII
Titanic Presence IX
Fire Soul VII
Book With Seven Seals I
Call of the Gjarhorn I
General Skills
Gralloch XVIII
Alchemy XVI
Deaths Embrace VIII
Bloodline of the Hellborne Survivor (Empower Rtives)
Advanced Bureaucracy VIII
Police Procedure VIII
Healing VII
Quest Giver III
Omniglot (5.998nguages known)
Member of the Round Table (Shade: Seon Yoo-jin)
umtion of Knowledge (unranked)
Well of Wisdoms Blessing (unranked)
Enhanced Dragon-Scale Web (unranked)
Crimson Runic Script VIII
Unrestricted Speech VI
Biomantic Alteration (unranked)
Aspects
Aspect Skills
Archspecter (full stack)
Ephemeral Phase
Ghostly Freedom
Endless Hunting
Spectral Touch
Lernean Hydra (full stack)
Hydras Restoration
Adaptive Regeneration
Disposable Organs
Dismiss Injuries
Megalodon (2 stack)
Sharks Body
Wave Charge
Reality Filter (full stack)
Reality Shift
Perception End
Set Illusions
Free Illusions
Living Sword (full stack)
All de Style
Invble des
Annihting Trails
Unhindered dework
Void Dragon (4 stack)
Stars Heart
Infinite Mind
Scales of the Void
Wings of the Void
Demon Lord (3 stack)
Moment of Immortality
Supreme Hellme
Hell-Bone Armor
Space Elemental (2 stack)
Fixed Point
Space Affinity
Ankou (full stack)
Freedom from Mortal Limits
Eternal Restoration
Implements of True Death
Reapers Cloak
Royal Draugr (full stack)
Endurance of the Eternal Warrior
Always Armored
Spectral te
Loyalty Past Death
[Empty Slot]