《Domain》 Volume 1 berserk start Chapter 1 – the black Domain Volume 1 berserk start Chapter 1 ¨C the black Red, crimson red. that was the only thing on my mind when looking at my blood-soaked body. As I lay on the cold cement, the last of my strength leaving me, I had my life flash before my eyes. I had lived a normal life up until now. A playful childhood, then a few years of college. All ending like this. Deep within me a seething hatred for this unfairness was born. Though I knew it was too late now I still kindled this feeling. As it grew ever bigger I felt my end nearing. In one last defiance I screamed out my rage. Me: AAAAAARRRRGGGHH before being enveloped into the profound darkness of death. As I floated through the darkness I began to lose my sense of self. One month, one year, one century. It had been so long that I had lost count. After drifting for so long in this darkness I was puzzled when a light invaded my endless darkness. As it approached I could see inside that light was a translucent white hand. My instincts, if I even still had them, were screaming that this hand was dangerous. As it reached out and grabbed me I blacked out. Waking once again into the land of the living I was disturbed. My very being felt foreign to me after so long. The sudden attainment of senses left me awestruck. Laying still I took in all these familiar and yet new feelings. The immaculate white ceiling above me, the dead silence accompanied by my light breathing as well as the hard feeling of stone from the floor I was laying on. Even the subtle taste of spit and the smell of air didn''t escape my notice. Having re familiarized myself with my body I sat up. I was in a bedroom sized room devoid of anything other than myself. The walls were plain white, if there was no gravity one would be puzzled as to which way up was. As I was contemplating what to do a change occurred. In the centre of the room a small light flickered into existence. This light had a similar feeling to the hand but on a much smaller scale. As I approached to inspect it a angelic voice rang out in my brain. Ourous: welcome human I am Ourous, I will be your guide for this test. Me: where am I? Wait, why can''t I remember anything? Ourous: do not be alarmed you, will have had certain memory''s removed before arriving here, as is standard procedure. This is a world of opportunity, a place where you can become strong. Slightly calming down I questioned the light. Me: why did you remove my memories? Ourous: being that you were dead we had to create a new body for you, that new body places some restrictions on your memory. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.Me: why would you do that? By this point I confused as to why this was necessary. Ourous: these restrictions are in place for the duration of the trial. In your case it is to remove some of the burden of bonding with a new body. Having understood why I was temporarily made into an amnesiac my mind began to formulate many questions. As if having predicted my thoughts Ourous continued. Ourous: any other questions will be answered after the test, for now I will explain the test. You will be placed into the world of berserk, a semi popular manga and anime. Me: wait so this test will be based on the world of anime and manga? Ourous: yes though its not just this any literature could be used. Me: AWESOOOME! Having heard this I was amazed. The few hobbies in my life were anime and manga. I also had a above average knowledge of films, web and light novels. This felt like a great stroke of luck. Ourous: anyway to continue you will be given a mission upon entry. Upon completion of the mission you will be teleported back here. Any injuries sustained during the test will be healed upon return. Upon death or failure of the test you will be erased. As Ourous finished her explanation I felt a twang of fear in my heart. Thinking of returning to the black caused me to slightly panic. steeling myself to complete this mission I looked towards Ourous. Me: I''m ready then. After saying this I once again blacked out. As I once again woke from induced sleep I found myself in a carriage. Sitting in the left row closest to the open back, I began to take in my surroundings. Five other were in the caravan with me. They were also recovering from their own induced sleep. Looking down I saw that I was clothed in a set of leather Armor with a sheathed broadsword resting on my knees. Looking around I saw that each of us had a similar set of equipment. As I analysed the others in the carriage I was mostly disappointed. Other than the one person opposite me the others were in various states of disarray. As everyone was awake the angelic voice of Ourous told us our mission Ourous: greetings contestants I will now explain the details of your mission. Your objective is to aid the main characters (Guts) in his fight against Bazuso. Being as this is your test the rewards are significantly raised. for completing the mission you''ll receive 200 points and a G rank token. Though you don¡¯t understand the significance of these rewards let me tell you this mission is very lucrative. Alongside this already amazing reward is the chance to gain even more rewards. For every soldier you kill you earn 5 point for every captain 20 for every commander 50 and for killing Bazuso you will earn 100 points and another G rank token. Have fun and stay alive my dear contestants. After her long tirade she disappeared from our minds. At this point a man in chainmail Armor approached our carriage. Captain: alright runts were starting our charge, keep your heads down and try not to die. After delivering his "inspiring" speech he left to notify other carriages. As all of us contestants left the carrier to face the battlefield we were all astonished by the sight before us. Just a quick couple details. I¡¯ll be uploading a minimum of 1 chapter per week. Though in all likelihood it¡¯ll be closer to 3. I hope you enjoy my work and I welcome any criticism(constructive or not). Volume 1 berserk chapter 2 – the first kill Domain Volume 1 berserk chapter 2 ¨C the first kill A brief synopsis of berserk. Credit to "my anime list" for the synopsis. Born from the corpse of his mother, a young mercenary known only as Guts, embraces the battlefield as his only means of survival. Day in and day out, putting his life on the line just to make enough to get by, he moves from one bloodshed to the next. After a run-in with the Band of the Hawk, a formidable troop of mercenaries, Guts is recruited by their charismatic leader Griffith, nicknamed the "White Hawk." As he quickly climbed the ranks in order to become the head of the offensive faction, Guts proves to be a mighty addition to Griffith''s force, taking Midland by storm. However, while the band''s quest for recognition continues, Guts slowly realizes that the world is not as black-and-white as he once assumed. Set in the medieval era, Berserk is a dark, gritty tale that follows one man''s struggle to find his own path, while supporting another''s lust for power, and the unimaginable tragedy that begins to turn the wheels of fate. My own explanation of this scene. This mission is based on the crucial battle between guts and bazuso. This spurs Griffiths interest in guts. I have increased the difficulty manyfold. This makes the contestants have to partake in the battle or face deletion. Anyway that¡¯s enough exposition. Enjoy the first of many missions to come. ****************************************************************** Hundreds of soldier charging side by side towards a small castle. A dozen mounted catapults firing arrows the size of grown men into the army. Captains mounted on horses leading the charge from the back. As the arrows assaulted the small army of men a group of soldier hoisting a log on their shoulders approached the gate. This was the sight seen by us six contestants. Recovering from my amazement I turned to the one semi calm contestant alongside me. A 16-18 year old girl. She had emerald eyes and peach blond hair styled in a bob cut. Standing at around 5 foot 10 with a slender and curvaceous body. her skin was a lightly tanned brown mixing well with her rosy cheeks. Looking at her physique she seemed to be fairly muscular, maybe at the level of a amateur sportsman. The best comparison would be to say she was like a sportswoman turned model. Considering she was the only other contestant not currently quaking in fear I approached her. As I did she looked at me quizzically. Me: you want to team up? Being as I was about to have several fights to the death I wasn¡¯t in the chatty mood. Girl: why should I trust you? As she asked this her hand lowered to the hilt of her sword.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Me: good luck surviving on your own then. As I said this I turned towards the battle field and began to walk away. Girl: wait! Please don¡¯t leave me. Saying this she rushed up and grabbed my arm. From that one action I could tell she was afraid. Despite the masquerade she seemed to otherwise be a normal girl. Me: lets go then. I scanned the battlefield with my eyes. Currently the battering ram was about 15 meters from the gate. If we ran their we could make it to the gate just as the battering ram did. Deciding this was the best coarse of action I attached my broadswords sheath to my belt. The girl having recovered from her earlier outburst came to my side. Girl: what''s the plan ? Me: for now we run towards the gate. Once we get there it should be easy enough to locate Guts and Bazuso. Girl: who''s Guts? She tilted her head to the side as she asked this making her look rather cute. Slightly embarrassed by my thoughts I turned my head away. Me: the main character. Being as I''ve seen this anime and read its manga I''m familiar with its characters. Hearing this she looked surprised. Girl: I didn''t peg you as the otaku type. I knew what she meant. Standing at 6 ft. 4 with short black hair and a fairly muscular body, I had often been mistaken for a popular guy. The truth was before my death I was an introverted otaku. I had gone to college merely to find a way to fund my otaku desires. Eventually by the time I had a job I realised I had no friends nor a girlfriend to speak of. Dying at the age of 19, my worst regret was not making any real connections. Girl: though I suppose I should be thankfull. If you didn¡¯t have this knowledge who knows how difficult the mission would be. After running for 5 minutes we made it to the gate. By this point the door was broken through. Flooding out from the hole in the gate were dozens of soldiers as well as 4 captains.They formed a dome like defence around the breach in the gate. It was obvious from their movements they were far superior in skill to the army swarming them. Though we would eventually break through at this rate half our forces would be gone by then. Me: wait here then catch up to me once we brake through. Having delivered my instructions I rushed forward. Knowing that my skill would be far inferior to these soldier I used the advantage of being in a crowd. I snuck to the edge of the formation alongside the castle wall. As I stood behind the mercenary in front of me, I waited for him to die. After a short bout with the soldier the mercenary had a hole in his head. lunging forward I used his body as a shield to hide my advance. As I pounced out of the sea of mercenaries I brought my sword above my head and then downwards. The soldier despite his skills was left with no time to react as my broadsword cleaved his head in two. As his brain matter and blood splashed onto my face I felt two new sensations. The first was a deep regret. I felt horrible for extinguishing the life before me. The other was a fire in my gut. I recognized this as the same hatred I felt when I died. This fire fed on my regret and fuelled me forward. Determined not to let this opportunity go I rushed into the soldier formation. Turning to the two soldier next in the formation. I lifted my sword above my head and once again brought it down. This time at a diagonal angle. My sword cut deep into the back of the first soldier, forcing him forward into the mercenaries. Following through it also severed the leg of the next soldier in line, bringing him to his knees. Now having a three man gap in the formation the mercenaries swarmed in. As the flood of men surrounded the soldier they all tried to run. Now having accomplished my goal I let the mercenaries take over. After a short while all the soldiers were either killed or forced back through the gate. Now having a clear entrance the mercenaries swarmed in. As I joined the sea of mercenaries I found my way to my teammate once again. Seeing the blood on me her eyes lit up with concern. Though this was probably in self interest I still felt touched. Girl: what happened, are you okay? As she said this she came close to me and inspected me. From this close I could smell her pleasant aroma. As I tried to control my thoughts, and failed, a problem occurred to me. Me: I''m fine, anyway we have an issue. Looking ahead we were in a strait street. Half way down the street stood the enemy. 50ish soldier 10 captains 2 large commanders and Bazuso. thinking fast I formulated a plan. Though dangerous if we pulled it off we would have a good chance at survival. After explaining to my teammate we both set off to put my suicidal plan to action. Volume 1 berserk chapter 3 – plan in action Domain Volume 1 berserk chapter 3 ¨C plan in action As I approached the stairs to the rampart a soldier blocked my way. This time unlike before I had no advantage. I lost in both strength and skill. Knowing this I used the one thing I had to my advantage. I charged strait at the soldier. Seeing my charge he snickered and raised his sword to stab me through. picking up on this I pushed my body to its limits. when his sword was thrust at my chest I raised my free hand. Pushing my hand forward his sword cut strait through my palm. Seizing my chance I wretched my impaled hand to the side. Gritting through the pain I lifted my sword and once again brought it down onto the enemy''s head. Leaving behind the dead body I scaled the stairs. As I stood on the rampart I scanned through the crowd of mercenaries. Finding my target I was once again astonished. At the forefront of the army fighting 3 captains singlehandedly was Guts. Seeing that the mercenaries around him were being pushed back It was obvious that very soon he would be surrounded. If that happened I was sure I would be erased by Ourous. Thinking quickly I ran through my options. I knew I couldn¡¯t reach him in time, counting that out a ranged attack was my only option. Looking for a ranged weapon I saw my salvation. The crossbows on the rampart were still here. Running over to one I tried to quickly figure out its controls. Realising I didn¡¯t have the time I grabbed the neck of the crossbow and pushed. After manoeuvring it into position I cut the rope holding the arrow in position. The arrow soared across the battlefield and through several of the soldier plus one of the captains surrounding Guts. Seeing this the mercenaries were once again emboldened. Coining on several of the backmost mercenaries came to man the crossbows. Leaving this to the more capable mercenaries, I descended from the rampart towards the frontlines. As I ran to assist Guts several large explosions caught my attention. It seems like the plan was moving along nicely. The plan was very simple. First I was to locate Guts, then I was to ensure he survived. While I was doing this my teammate would go around the enemy and place explosives in the building either side of them. These were both risky as it was possible that either I couldn¡¯t protect Guts or that my teammate couldn¡¯t sneak into the buildings. But in the end these 2 gambits paid off. Now the plan was in its final stage. I was to fight Bazuso alongside Guts.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. when I reached the frontline I saw the mass of carnage caused by the explosions. Of the 60ish people originally here only 7 remained. 4 captains 2 commanders and Bazuso. Currently Guts was fighting the 4 captains while the mercenaries tried to fight the commanders. It was obvious that no matter how many attacked they couldn¡¯t get past the commanders. Sadly the allure of Bazuso''s bounty was too great. Moving forward I once again used stealth to fight. Using Guts attacks to draw the captains attention I snuck around them. As the fight began to favour the captains I made my move. Drawing close behind a captain I slid my sword into the back of his head. Before he hit the ground I pounced onto another captain. This one was more prepared and lifted his sword to meet my downward strike. The full weight of my blow pushed him back a few steps. Me: ill take this one, you deal with those 2. Having said this to Guts I once again began to attack my enemy. As we exchanged blow after blow my lack of skill became increasingly apparent. Before I lost the initiative I began to rain a flurry of blows down, each stronger than the last. seeing my opponent set in to a rhythm waiting for me to tire I changed my style. Raising my leg I kicked him full on in the gut. when he keeled over I once again brought my sword down, ending his life. Turning to aid Guts I found he was waiting for me. Two mangled corpses that used to be captains were laying at his feet. Me: haaaa, pretty impressive. I''m surprised you could kill those two before I killed him. Guts: weak. Me: hahahahahahaha! Its not that there weak but that you''re too strong. Anyway I have a proposal. Help me fight Bazuso. I have no interest in the bounty, I just need to be the one to kill him. Flashing me a grin, Guts appeared demonic. Guts: (nods) Moving forward we faced the commanders. Me: ooooh, one for me and one for you Becoming serious, I charged at my opponent. shortly after I rose my sword my opponent shifted forward, winding me with an elbow strike. When i stumbled back the commanders sword swung for my throat. Without enough time to dodge the blow I lowered my head. As the commanders sword slashed across my forehead I grit my teeth against the pain.the commander meeting more resistance than he was expecting he stumbled forwards. Taking this opportunity I brought my sword in a upward slash. With quick reactions the commander blocked my blow with his arm. Sacrificing his arm for his life. When he backed away to regain his footing, I renewed my attack. Bringing my sword down I could see his arm waver. With every attack his arm sunk lower. Noticing this IAdopted a two handed grip. My own blade once again came down, from the force his own sword was pushed back into his head. He fell with his own sword lodged along his eyes I looked over towards Guts. He was once again waiting with his enemy laying bisected behind him. Steeling myself for the final battle I moved forward. Volume 1 berserk end chapter 4 - Solomon Domain Volume 1 berserk end chapter 4 - Solomon As I wasbeginning my fight with the final boss my comrade had her own troubles. Girl: you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. Having climbed the rampart she had full view of the disaster approaching. An army of men, ten thousand at the least. Looking back she could see her teammate fighting the boss. Thinking quickly she devised a plan to stall the soldiers. steeling herself she turned to a mercenary captain. Girl: you, go take some men to the storehouse. Bring back as much gunpowder as you can carry. Captain: huh, who are you to order us little girl. Having prepared for this reaction she enacted the first step in her plan. She rushed forward unsheathing her rapier. The captain caught unprepared had the edge of the rapier held against his neck. Girl: there is no time for this, either you listen to me or I find someone else. When she finished speaking she lightly nicked his neck with her blade, further pressing her point. Captain: ye..YES MA''AM! Finished with the captain she left him to his task. having moved to the centremost section of the rampart. She had one of the nearby mercenaries blow a war horn. Having caught the demoralised army''s attention she enacted the second part of her plan. Girl: men of the battlefield, I have a plan to escape this catastrophe. With my plan there''s no guarantees. I cant promise your survival or success. What I can do is offer you hope. If we can hold this gate for 20 minutes we can survive. If this gate falls we all perish. Now for this great battle, will you be slaughtered like lamb or fight like wolves. Finishing her speech she raised her rapier in the air. After a momentary silencethe mercenaries followed suit. Army: AAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH. Having done all she could shecast one last worrisome gaze towardsher teammate before leaving the ramparts to join the army. **********************************************************************************in the future these will signify a change in pov. ********************************************************************************** Charging forward I brought my sword downwardin a diagonal slash. Matching my pace Guts did the same. Against our attacks Bazusoswiped sideways withhis axe. As my sword was hit by his axe the blade was cut in two. Continuing with his momentum he slammed his axe into Guts''s sword, cutting half way through. Having both been forced back by his raw power westumbled back. Continuing forward Bazuso swung his axe towards me with a downward slash. Knowing I had no chance to dodge I adopted an old enemy''s method. While raisingmy armI jumped backwards. Before I could escape his reach Bazuso''s axe cut through my arm. Thankfully the added momentum from his blowsaved me from further harm. Falling backwards I let out a pain fuelled scream. Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH! Guts having long recovered from the first attack snuck up on Bazuso. Taking this opportunity he slashed at the backs of this thighs. Having his hamstrings severed forced Bazuso to kneel. Spinning around Bazuso struck Guts. As a mark of his strength Guts chest plate was caved inwards.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Having been heavily injured Guts was now out of the fight. Seeing him cough up blood before passing out I was placed on a timer. Fighting against the pain I stood on my feet. Picking up the remains of my sword I prepared one final attack. Bazuso seeing my actions lifted his axe. Placing all my hopes on my newly shortened sword, I charged forward. I Lifted my sword up in preparation for a downward slash. Bazuso held his axe horizontally to guard against me. As our weapons were about to meet a giant explosion rocked the earth beneath us. Bazuso being unbalanced by the shaking began falling forward. I also lost my footing falling into my strike. As he was falling Bazuso lowered his axe. Seeing my chance I thrust my sword forward with all my weight behind it. As my sword approached his face the fear in his eyes grew, eventually turning to terror as my sword cut through his eye socket into his brain. As the last glimmer of life drained from his eyes the world turned white. In this whiteness my body floated aimlessly. Looking down I saw my severed arm floating before me. As I watched it floated to my arm and began to re-attach. I could see as the veins, tendons and bones were reconnected. This whole place brought a sense of calm, contrary to its gruesome purpose. Following my arms re-attachment the other minor injuries on my body closed themselves. Every time a wound healed I could feel a flowing energy enter my body. It was this energy healing all my injuries and calming my mind. Relaxing I decided to enjoy this new sensation. After floating around in this whiteness for around 20 minutes it disappeared, instantly replaced with the same small room I was in before the test. Ourous: congratulations on completing the test. From here I¡¯ll explain what comes next. Floating in the centre of the room was the glowing ball of light known as Ourous. Ourous: this place is your origin plane. This is where you will appear after completing a mission. This is your one safe space. In here you have completed control. Learning I could control this place gave me several ideas.Looking around I tried to manipulate this space. Starting simple I tried to imagine a bed appearing in the corner of the room. As the image solidified in my mind a bed appeared in the corner. Ourous: you catch on quick. Continuing on I created several prices of furniture. After decking out my room with a desk, computer, bookcase and several other standarditems I turned back to Ourous Ourous: seeing as you¡¯re done I¡¯ll continue. In your origin plane you have the ability to exchange your points and tokens. With them you can buy ability¡¯s skills or any number of useful things. Me: how do I exchange for things? WhenI asked this a panel hovered down from Ourous. On the panel were several tabs. As I read over them Ourous explained them. The first was genetic variations. Ourous: genetic variation are the exchanges that change a person¡¯s race/species. Then there was energy enhancements. Ourous: energy enhancements give you access to mystical energy¡¯s. The most widespread examples beingKi andmana. Followed by equipment. Ourous: equipment are items you can use during missions. as well as skills. Ourous: skills are, well skills. Most require you to have certain types of enhancements. Second to last being my status page Ourous: this tab shows your points, tokens, enhancements and stats. As she finished explaining the tab opened up along with brief descriptions of the stats. Points/tokens 505points 2 g rank token stats Strength 123 The measure of one''s physical strength. Does not account for energy''s. Agility 104 The measure of one''s speed dexterity and reaction speed. Does not account for energy Endurance 118 Th measure of one''s stamina, regenerative abilities and physical defence. Does not account for energy Longevity The lifespan of the contestant . One point equals one year. Does account for energy. 100 Mental processes The intelligence and other mental factors of a contestant. Does not account for energy. 106 Intuition The supernatural ability to perceive the future. This is an inborn trait not changeable through any exchanges. 0 Enhancements Skill/ability''s Finishing with the recreation category. Ourous: recreation allows you to exchange for items to be taken outside the origin plane. This allows you to take any desired items into the outside world. Me: outside world? Ourous: yes, other than your origin plane there are two other planes. The neutral plane and domain. The neutral plane being the world you died, domain is... well let me just show you Once again the blank white walls of my plane disappeared. Appearing in a open meadow I saw Ourous was still floating nearby. Ourous: this is the domain. In here contestants are free to interact with one another. As I listened to this the ground shifted below my feet placing me in a city. Ourous: aiming to survive the missions, contestants banded together forming guilds. Now far into the future domain is fully of city¡¯s and guilds, each vying for power and the Having finished with her explanation Ourous brought me back to my origin plane. Ourous: that is the basics you¡¯ll pick up the rest as you go. Anyway as you¡¯ve completed the tutorial here¡¯s the reward. At that moment a huge mass of information appeared in my brain. Overwhelmed I stumbled back, falling onto my bed. My previously blocked memories were returned to me. Filtering through the information, I found the one thing I truly missed. Me: I am Solomon. Volume 1 berserk upgrade chapter 5 - getting an upgrade Domain Volume 1 berserk upgrade chapter 5 - getting an upgrade Having finished the test and recovered my memories I began considering my future. After my outburst Ourous had continued to explain the rules. Every week I had to complete at least one mission. This mission had to be at the level of my top exchange. After asking what she meant by levels she explained. The exchanges were separated into levels. These levels were divided by the tokens needed to exchange for them. Starting at G to A then S, SS, SSS and Z, ZZ and finishing at ZZZ. If you failed to complete one weakly mission you would be erased. having understood I started perusing the exchanges. The popup ¡°173015491739 results¡± appeared when I opened genetic variations Solomon: hey Ourous, is there a way to shor, thank you As I was asking my question a popup filter appeared on the panel. Sitting down at my desk I started delving into the amazing world of exchanges. 15 hours and five cans of red bull later I had picked through several tens of thousands of exchanges. At first I removed exchanges above G rank, then I set it to only show exchanges that had a growth potential to ZZZ. After a conversation with Ourous I had learnt that every exchange had a different potential. Those that grew the most levels had the best potential but we¡¯re weaker at first than their lower potential counterparts. Even after this I still was left with several hundred thousand results. And after a day of searching I still had barely scratched the surface. Having looked through so many, I had found several that interested me. Energy enhancements Low rank level up system G rank energy enhancement 175 point cost Unlock level system up to level 10 as well as class and skill system. Unlocks mana core. Being based on several different works of fiction it incorporates a huge system of skills. This allows a person to be as specialised as they would like to be. Most users of the system fail without a team. Useful for developing specialists. Basic level up system Layman¡¯s prana G rank energy enhancement 150 point cost The energy present in monks. Most monks spend years of meditation to acquire a amount equal to this. As you have not done this you will find the energy difficult to control. Unlike most energy''s training wont increase you energy. Instead your control and efficiency in its use will increase. Can physically strengthen the body and has a calming effect on the mind. If consumed can vastly increase mental proccesses.Useful for missions requiring the use of a high level intelligence. Rookie rank Ki G rank enhancements 210 point cost Commonly used in martial arts based fiction. It can significantly improve strength and regenerative ability. At this rank Ki is insufficient for emission. Until next rank is acquired skills requiring Ki are unusable. Suitable for combat based mission. Heavily increases individual survivability. 1st stage qi cultivation G rank energy enhancement 240 point cost The energy commonly used by cultivators in wuxia/xianxia fictions. equal to a 1st stage qi cultivatorfrom issth(I shall seal the heavens). As energy level increases so does the effectiveness of skills. Due to the inability to use qi without skills one G rank skill book will be provided alongside this enhancement. Specialised in skills/techniques. Basic Reiryoku G rank energy enhancement 230 point cost The energy used in the bleach universe. Due to insufficient energy the usual zanpakuto is replaced with an asauchi. An asauchi is a weaker version of the zanpakuto. It has no link to the wielders soul and because of this no shikai or bankai. Reiryoku can be used to strengthen the body as well as perform spiritual attacks. The need for a substitute Shinigami badge has been voided. A contestant can now freely enter and exit their soul form. If the soul form is damaged the contestant will be forced into there body. from there the soul form will be unusable while it repairs. Suitable for missions requiring the extermination of spirits. Trainee furyoku G rank energy enhancement 270 point cost The energy present in the shaman king universe. Only useable through contracted spirits. Special exceptions for certain skills. Due to being unusable without a skill one g rank skill provided alongside the enhancement. Alternatively one g rank spirit can be acquired. In the case no skill to use the spirit is available the spirit will be useless. Useful for missions requiring use or perceptions of spiritual beings. fledglings power level G rank energy enhancement 150 point cost The Chi energy found in the dragon ball universe. This enhancement is equal to a power level of twenty. Chi vastly increases physical strength alongside being highly compatible with emission based skills.along with the depletion of ci ones power level will decrease. If fully depleted power level will become one till chi regenerates. specialised in fast paced 1v1 fights. Basic Magicka G rank energy enhancement 140 point cost The energy found within the elder scrolls universe. Very versatile in its use ranging from complex spells/rituals to simple manipulation. It also has an astounding regeneration rate of 1/s. Provides a magicka pool equal to 100. Suitable to missions requiring the extensive use of multiple forms of magic. Genetic variations 1/32 yoma inheritance. G rank genetic variation 120 point cost The yoma race within the claymore universe. Will make the contestant 1/32 yoma. Due to insufficient yoma DNA awakening is impossible. Only 5 percent of yoma DNA can be harnessed. Yoki energy is included in this enhancement. Due to low amount of yoki, skills involving energy are unusable. Yoki can greatly enhance the ability to use the yoma bloodline. Suitable for missions requiring the mass slaughter of weaker fighters.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. 1/64 Saiyan inheritance G rank genetic variation 210 point cost Due to insufficient DNA super saiyan Is unusable. This enhancement will improve the control of chi and provide a natural boost to any chi related enhancements. The enhancement will also provide a boost in physical strength, endurance and agility as commonly seen in Saiyans. Suitable to missions requiring high physical abilities. basic high elf inheritance G rank genetic variation 170 point cost Based on the many variations of elves in fiction. Provides a small increase in strength and agility as well as a huge increase in longevity. Adds affinity for most forms of magic. Adds a bonus of plus 33% magicka regen and 50% max magicka. Due to increased affinity the cost of magic skills is reduced by 10%. Specialised In the varied use of multiple forms of magic. Weak genetic augmentation G rank genetic variation 230 point cost Based on the Dues Ex series of fiction. Similar to Adam Jensen''s altered DNA you have a resistance to the negative effects of augmentations. Allows for one nanotechnological augmentation, one Physiopharmaceutical augmentation and one mechanical augmentation. Suitable for missions requiring frequent interfacing with technology. Lesser Draugr inheritance G rank genetic variation 160 point cost Becoming undead the contestant will became able to perceive spirits around them. They will be more accepted by spirits allowing them to form bonds easily. They gain a bonus in strength, agility and longevity at the cost of endurance . Because they become undead the contestant will take on the appearance of a zombie as well as carrying the stench of death. Suitable for mission requiring contact with the dead/spirits. Low grade chimera inheritance G rank genetic variation 140 point cost Allows the user to gain the stats and enhancements of enemies they consume. The enemies must be eaten within five minutes of death. if more of the enemy is ingested in this timeframe better stats and enhancements can be gained. no stat increases come with this enhancements. At this levelthere is a 10% likelihood that stats will increase after consumptions and a 0.1% chance to gain a enhancement. Each time this occurs physical appearance will change.Suitable for improving individual survivability. Basic Omnimatrix implantation G rank genetic variation 230 point cost Based of the device from the ben 10 universe. Allows user to transform into each scanned lifeform for 10 minutes per day. Contestant may choose between having Grey Matter(ben 10), dire wolf (dragons dogma) or fanged panda (tales of demons and gods) DNA pre-scanned. To acquire new forms the contestant can scan any new species. The stronger the species the longer the scan time. Useful for developing a wide range of skills and forms. Initial Minor god inheritance G rank genetic variation 200 point cost Power gained through the approval of a god. May choose to gain Asopus''s(the river god), Makhai''s(god of manslaughter) or Androktasiai''s(god of battle spirit) blessingwith enhancement. Upon gaining the approval of a god a blessing shall be bestowed upon the contestant. These blessing vary depending on the god. Alongsidethe blessing the contestant will receive an increase in divine energy and stats. Suitable for missions requiring the use of divine powers. G rank Raceless inheritance G rank genetic variation Point cost 180 Randomly assigns a G rank creature as your race. Stat gains and abilities will be gained from the creature. As part of the process aspects of the creatures body will be incorporated into your own. For example if your race was rattlesnake you may develop fangs for the use of venom. for the cost of 100 points the contestant can discard their current race and be assigned a new one. For the cost of 200 points and a G rank reward another race can be added in addition to the original. Specialised in the cultivation of skills. Having whittled down the original ten thousand I was left with these options. As I was currently facing the missions solo I wanted enhancements that would increase my individual strength. Taking a support role without a team would be suicide. That ruled out several choices. That left me with the Low rank level up system, Rookie rank Ki, 1st stage qi cultivation and fledglings power level enhancements for energy and the 1/32 yoma inheritance, 1/64 Saiyan inheritance, Low grade chimera inheritance, Basic Omnimatrix implantation, Initial Minor god inheritance and G rank Raceless inheritance. I ruled out the Omnimatrix for its low activation time and the chimera inheritance as it provided no instant power up. I then ruled out Ki for its inability to use skills and the level up system for its complexity. Now left with 1st stage qi cultivation and fledglings power level for energy and 1/32 your inheritance, 1/64 Saiyan inheritance, Initial Minor god inheritance and G rank Raceless inheritance for genetics. I removed yoma inheritance and minor god inheritance for there incapability with the remaining energy enhancements. Initially I was going to choose the saiyan and power level enhancements, then a thought occurred to me. If the raceless inheritance could make me any race then could it effect my talent with energy''s. Following this idea I began to consider if I could practise special techniques due to my changed race. If this was true then when I had multiple races in the future I could practise techniques outside the usual ability of humans. It was this line of thinking that lead me to finally choosing 1st stage qi and raceless inheritance. I chose qi as it was the most likely to have multiple techniques with varying restrictions. Ourous: interesting choice As Ourous''s finished speaking the world around me instantly shifted to black. At first I feared I was back inside the black. This was dispelled when the familiar yet more mechanical voice of Ourous spoke to me. Ourous: enhancements 1st stage qi cultivation and G rank Raceless inheritance selected. Costs a total of 420 points and 2 g rank tokens. Compatibility 98.73%, success 1.02%, death 0.25%, failure. As these are your first enhancements merger and consumption unavailable. Do you wish to proceed? Slightly creeped out by the lack of emotion in Ourous''s voice, I confirmed. Solomon: yes. After my confirmation, two lights appeared in the darkness. One glowing a bright white and the other being mostly translucent. As the lights approached I could see them in more detail. The white light was constantly swirling clockwise, if you looked close enough you could see images appearing within the light. The other light lacked any detail. It looked more like slime than light. In the centre of the light was a book with "bestiary of eternity" inscribed on its cover. I could tell the white light represented qi and the translucent light represented racelessness. As the energy''s reached me the qi passed through my gut settling in my Dantian. The translucent orb encompassed my whole body before sinking into my skin. As they entered two new sensations entered my body. From my navel a great wave of energy expanded into my body. From my skin a strange tingling pushed into my body. The tingling spread like roots within my body. As the new sensations spread throughout my body I marvelled at the power entering my body. As both energy''s spread to fill my whole body they began to mix together. The two energy''s formed a milky white veil that filled me with a third new sensation. Like a tree taking root energy seeped into every inch of my body, flowing like water yet growing inward like a plant. After the energy took root it split back into its parts. The qi returned to my Dantian and the translucent energy spread throughout the root-like network in my body. Having gained my enhancements Ourous''s mechanical voice once again echoed in my head. Ourous: implantation of enhancements complete. Due to the nature of your enhancements I will now bestow one skill book and randomly select a race. You have the choice between three skills Flame serpent art G rank skill 180 point cost The common art first learnt by disciples of the reliance sect. Once learnt by a disciple who would go on to be the strongest cultivator. He perfected this art bringing it to new levels. This skill summons a serpent made of flame to attack enemies. If one reaches a high enough level then this technique could rival A rank skills. Costs voided. Solitary rapid fist G rank skill 150 point cost A fist technique best accompanying the ancient strengthening technique. As the user becomes more proficient the strength of the technique shall grow. With each increase in power the strength of the technique will double. This technique could eventually rival A rank techniques. Costs voided Dragon subduing fist G rank skill 240 point cost A skill containing both physical attacks and qi techniques. This skill is said to contain the dominating pressure of dragons. If brought to perfection each attack and technique can reach C rank. If blended together the techniques could rival A rank skills. After deliberation I decided on the flame servant art. Mainly because the others were physically based. I didn¡¯t have the ability to make proper use of the skills in combat. Considering this I chose the one skill specialised in range. Solomon: I¡¯ll take the flame serpent art. Upon making my choice another light appeared. Though many times smaller than the previous lights, it shone a brighter resplendent red. As it approached I could make out a scroll hovering in its centre. As it reached me the red energy around the scroll morphed into the shape of a snake. From there it grew through several forms into the shape of a dragon. Having reached this stage the scroll opened and the red energy passed through the scroll into my head. As the energy filled my mind the details to use the skill was imprinted into my brain. Having finished absorbing the scroll Ourous moved onto my race. Ourous: skill implanting completed, randomly generating race. Selection complete, lesser salamander generated. Commencing implantation. One final light appeared. The light was rosy pink. Inside the light was a small translucent lizard. The Lizard smashed into shards that spread into the light. The light then entered Into my chest. As the light disappeared a red tattoo spread outward from my chest. After spreading to every part of my body the tattoo lost its colour, blending with my skin. Finishing my transformation my ears grew slightly pointed and my teeth sharpened. Finished with enhancements I was once again in my origin plane. Done with my first task I moved onto the second. Solomon: Ourous, send me to domain Volume 1 berserk interval chapter 6 - dragons flame guild Domain Volume 1 berserk interval chapter 6 - dragon''s flame guild Appearing in a forest clearing, the fresh smell of life filled my nose. Looking around I could see several birds and squirrels. As I was taking in my surroundings Ourous explained the rules in domain. Ourous: here in domain there is a penalty of one thousand points for killing a contestant. This penalty is voided in cases of self defence. Here in domain there are guilds, areas owned by these guilds can have additional rules but cannot remove this rule. While in domain you can return to your origin plane at any time. Simply ask me and ill bring you back. Each time you enter domain you''ll appear where you left. You''ll have to pick up the rest as you go. Finished with her explanation Ourous went quiet. Grumbling at my placement in the middle of nowhere I began to test my powers. Feeling the well of energy in my stomach, I tried to pull a quarter of it out. This proved to be exceedingly difficult as every time I willed it to move it resisted my control. After several minutes of trial and error I had grasped the basics. The energy only moved in a set direction. though I could control where it would flow the route to get there would stay the same. The main canal for power flowed in a oval around my torso, starting at the front of my pelvis rising up to the top of my head and then flowing down my back. Spindling of from this where 4 main channels through my limbs, as well as one for my head. Other than these main channels there were countless smaller channels. Having figured this out I once again brought out ? of my qi. flowing it up my torso then down my right arm, as it approached my fingers I followed the instructions to use the flame serpent art. As the energy exited my body an inch long flame grew on my finger. This energy morphed into the shape of a snake before shooting out from my finger. As the flame serpent slammed into a tree the small bundle of flames burst outwards. After shielding my eyes from the brightness I looked back at the tree. A circle shaped crater was left in the tree, along with some flames from the mini inferno. The crater was roughly a meter across and a foot deep. Laughing madly Solomon considered using this attack on an enemy. Solomon: if I used this on a person I''d split them in half, this is amazing! Even though it takes a quarter of my energy It gives me a trump card. Moving on I explored the ability''s of my other enhancement. Instinctively I could feel what my markings were for. Taking another quarter of my energy I ran it through my marking. As the energy passed through the markings they lit up red and radiated slight heat.Afterthe energy took on my races ability it became harder to control, unlike the calm wave of energy it was before it now resembled a raging inferno. Focusing on moving this energy I broke out into a sweat. the energy reached my hand and condensed on my finger. This time it was considerable longer reaching 5 inches. This meant it covered my entire finger. As the energy began to condense into a serpent it fluctuated.I watched it changed forms froma serpent to a small salamander. After half a second it had condensed and was soaring towards a tree. This time I couldn¡¯t even see it move. Before I knew it the small lizard had hit a tree. As the energy combusted a small inferno exploded outwards. Standing 20 feet away I could feel the heat emanate from the fire. After once again shielding my eyes from the flash, I looked to see the destruction I had caused. The tree had more than half of its 4 meter thick trunk incinerated. Seeing the mass destruction I was once again filled with glee. Solomon: HAHAHA! And I thought the normal attack was my trump card, even against a enhanced G rank tank I could OBLITERATE them!. My gambit¡¯s paid off, with this power I should have nothing to fear in a G rank mission, well as long as I¡¯m careful. Having finished testing my energy I moved on to testing my body. considering my new stats I should be quite a bit stronger.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Strength 154 Agility 160 Endurance 146 Longevity 125 Mental processes 158 Intuition 0 To start off I tested my speed. After clearing a hundred meters in 11 seconds I had grasped my agility. I was around the speed of an amateur sprinter. Moving on I began to test my strength. Standing in front of a tree I threw a punch at its centre. As my fist hit the tree I instantly regretted my decision. Though my strength was not small it was not in the realms of super humans. After recovering from my stupid decision I tried a more suitable test. Picking up a arm sized branch I tried to snap it. As the branch snapped In half I was applying about 75% of my strength. From this I judged my strength to equal an amateur bodybuilder. Satisfied with my body¡¯s ability¡¯s (considering my enhancements were ranged based) I moved onto my mind. After running through the seven times tables backwards from 700 flawlessly I was pleasantly surprised. Though it didn¡¯t affect my ability to think up ideas I could calculate a lot faster. Having tested my new limits I moved onto finding others. I knew from Ourous''s ¡°tour¡± that there were cities in domain. I was just clueless as to how I could find them. Deciding to just go with the wind, I picked a direction and began walking. After entering the cover of the forest I saw a trial leading forward. After a slight moment of hesitation I began to follow the trail. After walking for 15 minutes I reached the end of the trail. Ending at the edge of the forest the trail gave way to open plains. Looking out I could see the grass stretching for miles. In the centre of this plain was a small bundle of houses numbering less then 30. Though I could tell even from this distance it was swarming with people. Easily over a hundred figures stood in the village centre. Breaking out into a jog I moved towards the village. After ten minutes I had reached the village. Crowding around a wooden stage in the village was over a hundred people dressed in modern clothes. Deciding to blend in I entered the crowd. On the stage was a group of 10. Six people in leather armour holding spears. I presumed they were guards. My instincts told me these men were in no way weaker than the commanders from my test. In the centre of the guards were a group of four. Three of them wore chainmail armour and wielded unique weapons. Each of these felt as dangerous as bazuso. Sitting on a elegant chair elevated above the others was a man in a plain red robe. My instincts told me this man was way beyond any of the enemies I had fought so far. Standing from his chair the man in the robe spoke, his dominating voice instantly drowning out the crowd. Red robed man: hello and welcome newbies of domain, I am Ignis. I am here to explain the basics of domain to you. In domain there are guilds composed of contestants. These guilds all have varying ideals but in the end share a common goal. To survive. Having seen the horrors of domain I''m sure you can understand the importance of support. I''m a representative of the dragon''s flame guild sent here to clearly explain this to you. It is best for you to find a guild that suits you. Having explained he paused as various murmurs spread throughout the crowd. After a few seconds he continued. Ignis: being as this village is our territory we stationed here to recruit newbies. The ideal of our guild is to become the strongest in domain. In pursuit of this all of our members posses fire based ability''s. After saying this he looked towards one of the chain mailed soldiers. The soldier lifted his hand as flames erupted from his skin. Once the flames covered his entire hand they shot forward into the air. As the flames reached 20 meters into the sky he clenched his hand. The flames contracted into a tiny ball of flame before exploding outwards. The explosion reached outwards for five meters before dissipating. Compared to my basic flame serpent art they were about equal, however unlike my skill that focused its power this attack was aiming for an area of affect. Seeing this display of power the group of newbies were amazed. Breaking the silence Ignis began to explain further. Ignis: this is the power those of the dragon''s flame guild wield, any who wish to join us step forward. Having heard his words and seen their power almost all of the newbies stepped forward. Left standing behind them were two others including myself. The first being a short man in his early thirties sporting a tank top and shorts, Along with buzzcut black hair. His whole appearance screamed military. The second as I was pleasantly surprised by was the girl I had teamed with during my test. As she saw me her eyes lit up. Walking over I saw she was once again putting up a cold mask. Though from the light in her eyes I could tell she was happy to see me. Solomon: its good to see you''re still alive, after that mission I was worried you had been killed. Girl: I would have been if it wasn¡¯t for you, thank you ¡­ Solomon: agh I''m Solomon. Alice: thank you Solomon, I''m Alice. Ignis: you three, are you sure you don¡¯t wish to join us? Looking towards the stage we could see Ignis looking towards us. All of the other newbies were looking at us like we were idiots. Alice being slightly unnerved took a step closer to me. Locking eyes with Ignis I made my intentions clear. Solomon: we have no interest in joining your guild. Army man: I also have no interest. Looking to my other side I saw that the other newbie had made his way towards us and was now standing beside us. The next words from Ignis were said with blatant scorn. Ignis: I''m sorry to hear that. Ill send you to a neutral city. I''m sure you''ll find a guild there. Having said this he raised his hand. Floating towards us was a scroll. Grabbing the scroll out of the air I opened it. As soon as the scroll unfolded a blinding light covered us. volume 1 berserk interval chapter 7 - moving forward Domain volume 1 berserk interval chapter 7 - moving forward As the light from the scroll faded we appeared in an open square. Surrounding the square were several multi-storey building. Swaths of people crowded the square. My instincts told me most of these people were stronger than me. Turning to the others I saw they were both scared stiff by these people. I decided now was not the time to stall. Solomon: now''s not the time to freeze, follow me. Turning away I scanned the edge of the square. One of the buildings had a sign marked hotel above its door. As I approached the building the sliding doors opened to reveal the front lobby. Having ornate pillars and paintings hung on the walls gave the impression of a five star hotel. Walking to the front desk we were greeted by a young woman in a black business dress. Young woman: hello and welcome to the gold guilds Thervil city hotel, how may I help you today. Solomon: how much for three rooms. Young woman: one room costs one point for 5 days. That would total 3 points for five days each. Solomon: I''ll take it. Ourous: 3 points deducted for hotel room. Hearing the voice in my head momentarily startled me. The woman turned around grabbing 3 keys and handing them to me. Young woman: these are the keys for room G107 8 and 9, enjoy your stay. After saying this the woman stepped backwards and disappeared. In her place appeared a small blue orb. Solomon: well that¡¯s kind of cool, anyway lets go. Turning to the hallway marked G1-10 I made my way to our rooms. Entering the middle room we marvelled at the room. A large room with several sofas around a tv. A kitchen stocked with food and any cooking equipment you could think of. A bedroom with a king sized bed made of plush duck feathers and a bathroom with a corner bath and standalone shower. All of these rooms were immaculate without a single speck of dust. Sitting on the couches we began discussing our situation Solomon: I''m Solomon and this is Alice, what''s your name army man. Gareth: I''m Gareth, I''m grateful but why did you help me. Solomon: were all new here so we could use all the help we can get. Would you be interested in teaming up for now. Having said this I held out my hand. Gareth: i''ll team up with you but if we get caught in some shit I''m not gonna risk my life for you. Making his terms clear he shook my hand. Solomon: I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way. With that out the way we need to make a plan. First of all we need to learn all we can about domain. Most importantly any information on guilds. Gareth: I could go to around to a couple bars, see what info pops up. Solomon: hmm, ok while you do that Alice and I will go to the shops in the area. Hopefully the offer of points will loosen a few lips. Alice: why don¡¯t I go search for info elsewhere while you do that, wouldn¡¯t that be faster. Solomon: it would be, however unlike Gareth and I you''re not able to defend yourself. Alice: huh, I''ve been through the same amount of missions as you two, how am I any different. Standing up I reached my arm towards Alice. As she looked at me puzzled a small snake of flame appeared on my hand. Gareth beside her sprung to his feet sensing the danger. This snake constructed of all my qi was the size of my hand. Alice looked at me frozen with fear. As I retracted my qi I felt I had made my point Solomon: that''s why. Alice: ¡­. okay. Accepting her weakness Alice lowered her head. I could see that she was clenching her hands tightly. Solomon: don¡¯t worry, you''ll become stronger as we go. It takes a long time to get used to these environments, for a normal girl your doing well. Trying to raise her spirits I patted her head while complementing her. From the side I could see Gareth staring at me astounded. Gareth: how are you so strong? Are you even a newbie?Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Solomon: what do you mean? Didn¡¯t you get a G rank token from your test. Gareth: G rank token? I barely got 130 points. Learning this I remembered the words of Ourous before my test. Ourous: Though you don¡¯t understand the significance of these rewards let me tell you this mission is very lucrative. Solomon: hahaha! I remember Ourous saying about this. I guess our test was a lot more rewarding than most, right Alice. Alice: yeah, we were lucky I guess. Who''s Ourous though? Solomon: huh, its the floating orb of light in your origin plane. At this point Ourous''s angelic voice once again appeared in my head. Ourous: I forgot to mention I only appear to you, for them there orb''s have no names. For them the orbs work more like a computer. Understanding this I explained further. Solomon: I named the orb in my plane Ourous to make it simpler. I didn¡¯t think it would be smart to reveal such a delicate piece of info Alice: oh okay, that¡¯s a little weird. Though I guess that suits you. Reeling from the backhanded comment I turned to Gareth Solomon: if we take it that your around average for the rewards form the test we probably rival a veteran of 3 or 4 missions. Considering I got 505 points and two G rank rewards that puts us in an advantageous situation. Gareth: what did you get with the tokens? After a short moment of consideration I decided to trust Gareth. After explaining my exchanges I turned towards Alice. Solomon: Alice what did you buy with your token. Alice: oh, I got this. Reaching into her pocket she retrieved a small card, holding it before me I was confused. Solomon: isn''t this just a normal yu-gi-oh card ? Alice: I brought an energy exchange called card master, here I wrote down its details. Saying this she handed me a piece of paper. G rank card master G rank energy enhancement 240 point cost An ability based around the numerous card games in fiction. Gives the contestant the ability to summon creatures through their cards. Unlocks rift energy. Unlike most energies it has no effect upon the user. It allows them to bring out the creatures in cards. While in use a creature will produce a constant drain on its master, during fights this drain will increase. Due to being unusable without cards one G rank card will be supplied with enhancement. May acquire another G rank card for 300 points. Any card not purchased through system will require double the energy to use. Specialized in the creation of subordinates. Having read the details I had a few questions. Solomon: this was a good choice for you, how''s the energy cost. Alice: to summon a card costs a tenth of my energy. The energy drain while out of battle roughly halves my regeneration, this means it will take 12 hours to fully restore my energy from empty. If I''m fighting I lose a tenth of my energy every 5 minutes. this means I can last a maximum of 50 minutes. Solomon: okay summon your card, its best to be fully charged if we have to fight rather than losing a tenth of your energy strait out the gate. Following my instructions she grabbed the card and held it in front of her. Dark green tendrils of energy emerged from her eyes as they began to emit an emerald light. As the energy reached the card and fused with it she crushed it. Alice: come forth, chaos necromancer. The light from the card congealed before her into a tall and skinny man. He had red skin along with pointed teeth and ears. Combining with his colourful tartan clothes, blue shoulder plates and tattered cape he fit the ideal description of vampire. Kneeling before Alice he spoke Necro: greetings master, how may necro be of service. He spoke with a slight Transylvanian accent, completing his image Alice: for know ill be keeping you out in case your needed. these are my teammates, treat there word as my own. In front of her subject Alice held the air of a leader. Her words were law to the vampire before her. Looking towards Gareth and I necro bowed Necro: greetings masters teammates. Solomon: nice to meet you, I''m Solomon and he''s Gareth. So, what can you do? After a nod from Alice necro held out his hand. Ten dark violet portals appeared around him, spiralling in circles. When necro lowered his hand the portals smashed into pieces before reforming into small goblin like creatures. Each creature stood at around four foot. They wore mangled leather armour over rotted flesh. Some even had entirely fleshless limbs. In their hands each creature held a spear made of bone. Necro: these are my goblies. They have a combat power equal to an average man but their speed is greater. After explaining so he had one of the goblies display its strength. As he said it was about average compared to a human. Moving on it displayed its speed. Zipping around the room it bounced off of walls propelling itself to new speeds. When it had reached its limit I could only make out its blur. I''m sure for my teammates they couldn¡¯t even slightly keep up. Having displayed its abilities the goblie returned to its brethren Solomon: wow... I feel defeated. Even with two enhancements I can barely keep up. So necro, what are the limitations. Necro: I can only summon ten a day and they are solely dependent on me. If I fall so do they. It is also important to note that in open areas they can''t reach such great speeds Gareth: what kind of bullshit is that, if I had these in my test I could have easily made 1000 points! Solomon: I know what you mean. I thought my enhancements were top class but compared to this... I''m nothing but a circus act. As both Gareth and I began to curse our misfortune Alice sat down ignoring us. A short while (and a lot of complaining) later we went to our separate rooms. Deciding to meet up in the front lobby in half an hour we separated. Alice took the central room while Gareth and I were relegated to the side rooms. Taking this opportunity I took a quick shower before getting myself some food. Along with my race change had come a new diet. Being as I was now a carnivore I couldn¡¯t eat anything other than meat. Looking in the fridge I found a plate with several raw steaks on it. As I walked to the cooker a thought occurred to me. I didn¡¯t have to cook food anymore, well salamanders didn¡¯t at least. Picking up a raw steak I held it before my face. It smelt ¡­ good, surprisingly so. Having lost most of my hesitation I bit into the raw meat. The juicy deliciousness of dead cow filled my mouth. I had no idea anything could taste so good. In a fevered rush I devoured the entire plate of steaks. Having taken care of my needs I got dressed with some clothes I had found in the bedroom. Donning a simple t-shirt and jeans I checked myself out in the mirror. After getting my enhancements I had grown. My feature were sharper and my skin was darker making me look handsome, mixed with my new height of 6,5 I could be best described as tall, dark and handsome. Finished inspecting myself I made my way to the lobby. As I walked the many new experiences of this world swarmed my mind. After thinking everything through I did the one thing I could, moved forward. Volume 1 berserk interval chapter 8 - bargains Domain Volume 1 berserk interval chapter 8 - bargains Having met in the front lobby Alice and I made our way towards the shopping district, while Gareth went to the pleasure district. We had found a map of thervil in the lobby. The city was divided into 5 districts, each at least the size of a large town. The central hotel district, where all manner of temporary housing could be found. The eastern shopping district full of all manner of shops, ranging from weapons and armour to pets and slaves. The northern guild district, having both guilds housing and a communal area for guilds to make deals. The southern pleasure district, any form of pleasure imaginable is sought here. Then finally the western teleportation district, houses large arrays used to teleport people between the neutral city''s. Having received a basic map Alice and I made our way toward the eastern district. From the centre square where we were there were four strait roads stretching to the other districts. As these were the main routes through the city they were full of people. Finding the eastern road Alice and I walked side by side down it, Necro and his goblies tailing behind us. Every now an then a guy with list in his eyes would approach Alice. Unfortunately for them the mixture of her cold attitude and Necro and my glares forced them away. Though she was not extremely beautiful, compared to what most of the guys here could find she was top class. After overhearing a conversation I had learnt that most of the attractive females were either monopolized by clans or abducted by slavers. Hearing this put me on guard. Considering that the goblies were only drones it would take Necro a few seconds to respond to an attack, in that time Alice could be abducted. Considering this meant I would have to respond immediately to any attack. Having walked for around 50 minutes we had reached the eastern district. Standing in front of several gates we learnt that the district was separated into quarters. The first gate marked weapons as well as the second marked armour were self explanatory. The third marked consumable was rather vague but not completely confusing. The forth gate however was marked techniques. I doubted they could sell skills like the exchange system, that meant that they would sell physical descriptions of techniques. As my thoughts reached here it opened a new group of questions. Could I learn skills outside of the system. It was within reason but why would the system sell skills if you could acquire them elsewhere. Feeling that I could think about this for hours, I made a mental note then moved on. With the sun sat directly overhead we made our first port of call. Walking through the first gate we were greeted by an open market. A huge square filled with stalls, most of which selling odd items. Around the edge of the square were specialised shops, some for sci fi weapons, some for energy using weapons and others that I had never heard of. Moving into the square with a combined budget of 292 points we looked at the prices on display. weak weapons like handguns and swords ranged from 5 to 10 points, higher grade versions like assault rifles and lightly enchanted swords ranged from 10 to 20 points. The highest grade weapons in the square like rocket launchers and stat boosting weapons ranged from 20 to 40 points. Having wandered around the market for half an hour we found a interesting stall. An old man in tattered robes sat with 3 items on a rug. One was a small translucent orb, another was a handgun with a long barrel and the last was a short sword with a blue grip and golden cross-guard. Having recognized these items I instantly thought they would be outside our price range. The first was from hardcore opness, a web novel. The second was from hellsing, a manga turned anime. The last was from the gamer, a manhua. Each of these weapons were top class and could easily sell for 60 points. Knowing this I was surprised by the signs in front marked 5 points each. Solomon: old man, are you really selling these for five points each. The old man nodded. Solomon: you do know each of these is worth at least 60 points. Looking up the old man smiled, bunching up the mass of wrinkles on his face. Old man: your to good for this place kid. if you see some idiot underselling you should just scam them. Solomon: maybe I should, but I''m not going to. I cant pay what these are worth, but would you sell them for 30 a piece. Old man: hahaha, most people after pointing out these items worth don¡¯t try to still have me undersell them. Solomon: I''m not most people, do we have a deal? Saying this I reached my hand out. Old man: hahahaha you interest me kid, deal. As he shaked my hand the cold voice of Ourous told me that all my points and 8 of Alice''s were spent. Old man: well I''m done here, have fun with your new toys kid. Finished here the old man disappeared into the crowd. Alice: are you sure these were worth 30 points, they just look like ordinary weapons. Solomon: you have a lot to learn. I know there worth much more than they look because I recognize them. I was modest when I said they were worth 60 points, you could probably get 100 points for them.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Alice: huh, then why would he sell them for so little. Solomon: I don¡¯t know, if I had to guess I''d say to him there''s little difference between 30 and 100 points to him. Alice: wouldn¡¯t that make him really strong? Solomon: well, there''s no point worrying about it now. Lets go. Finished getting weapons we moved onto armour. The setup was the same with a market surrounded by shops. After 20 minutes we had found someone selling high grade body armour for 40 a piece. These armours could hold up against any attacks weaker than an anti tank rifle. Though they couldn¡¯t protect against energy''s. Moving on we went to the consumables area. There were several different types of consumable. Ranging from weapons like grenades to MRA''s and lots of other types. After buying 9 normal grenade''s, 3 thermite grenade''s, ammo for the cassull, several food canisters and several med packs we had spent 30 points. Having got all that we came for we decided to look in the last gate, techniques. Entering we were greeted with the market and shop layout. Walking into the market we got an idea of what was sold here. Looking around books were everywhere. Most having flashy title''s like nine heavenly thunder Manual or ancient strengthening technique. Most of these techniques cost at least 100 points. With our remaining budget of 52 we couldn¡¯t afford them. After wandering for 10 minutes I had lost hope of finding anything. As we were making our way out I felt a slight tingle in my hand. Looking down I saw a bucket full of tattered books. Picking up the bucket I felt the tingling increase. After fishing through a few books I had found what was giving me this feeling. A book covered in red scales. As I picked it up the scales vibrated increasing the tingling to greater heights. Looking at the man selling the book I asked the price, fully expecting it to be sky high. Man: for that crap, 10 points. Hearing this I was confused did he not understand the value of this book, or was this really the strength of a "crap" technique. Solomon: I''ll take it. After getting my technique we looked for one for rift energy. The few we found cost several hundred points alongside tokens. Seeing this Alice became disheartened. Solomon: don¡¯t worry, this just means you picked a strong enhancement, if the weakest techniques cost so much imagine how strong they are. Alice: that¡¯s true, thank you Solomon. As she thanked me she smiled while tilting her head. She looked incredibly cute when she smiled. Embarrassed by my thoughts I turned away blushing. Solomon: that¡¯s okay, don¡¯t mention it. Anyway its time to go back, Gareth should be finishing his job around now. Having spent the afternoon shopping the time had flown, now it was approaching evening. Walking back through the streets there was a lot less people. As we were nearing the our hotel everyone had disappeared from the streets. Feeling an ominous chill in the air I went on high alert. I had Necro make the goblies circle us. Around 5 minutes from the hotel the eerie silence was broken. Robed man: HALT! Standing in the centre of the street was a robed man, to either side of him stood 4 burly men. Solomon: we don¡¯t want any trouble, let us past and we can all forget about this. Ignoring me the man continued. Robed man: hand over all you equipment and that pretty woman, then we''ll let you pass. Burly man 1: I get first go at her. Burly man 2: huh, no way you got first dibs last time. Burly man 1: are you gonna stop me? The first man glared at the second causing him the scowl and step back. Hearing this Alice took a step closer to me and pressed against my side. I could feel that she was shaking. Angered beyond belief I lifted my hand towards the first burly man. Ourous: hostile intent detected, killing these contestants no longer costs points. Pulling an eight of my qi through my tattoo''s my body began to light up. Even through my clothing you could see the ominous red. When the energy reached my hand I performed the flame serpent art. Solomon: Fuck you! The little lizard flew at the man before he could react. Hitting him square in the face, the small lizard exploded. When the flames cleared his body lay on the floor, the front half of his head had melted off. Though he wasn''t dead he needed medical attention. Solomon: leave, before I kill you. Hearing me the robed man snapped out of his confusion. Robed man: men, regroup. Attack formation B. Hearing this the other men followed the order. They ran towards us pulling out small black knives. From this I could tell that they were enhanced, though they didn¡¯t have g rank strength they could still rival pro athletes. Pulling another eighth of my energy out I fired at another man. This time I made a hole in the mans heart. By this point the men were too close. I wouldn¡¯t have time to make another shot. Solomon: Necro! Understanding my meaning Necro sent 3 goblies to cut of each man. Solomon: can you take them? Necro: I can handle them but if the robed guy gets involved I won''t be able to hold them off. Solomon: Alice, stay with Necro. Necro, finish of those scum. Having finished giving my orders I ran between the burly men. I stopped 10 meters from the robed man. Robed man: hahaha, your quite strong I''ll give you that. So are you ready to die? Solomon: die? Did you not pay attention, I fried your friends like they were flies what can you do? Robed man: friends? They are merely pawns, their a dime a dozen. How can you compare me to that trash? Solomon: if your so sure of yourself, let me see your strength. Saying so I lifted my hand, this time using a quarter of my energy. As the larger lizard shot towards the robed man he raised his hand. Appearing in front of him was a wall of water. As the energy''s collided a huge plume of steam spread out. Taking this opportunity I ran towards him. As the mist cleared I was a meter from him leaping forward. With another wave of his hand a pillar of water shot forward. I crossed my arms to take the impact. As the pillar hit me I was pushed back a few meters. Realizing this wasn''t going to work, I changed my strategy. Robed man: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! How can anyone with enhancements be this weak. Come on, at least put up a decent fight. Reaching into my pocket I brought out the weapon I had purchased earlier, the arcane orb. This orb was able to inflict damage through energy. Knowing this I pumped the rest of my energy through my tattoo''s into the orb. As my energy filled the orb a connection was created. Ourous: weapon boosts in effect. Adds 20 stat points to mental processes. Attacks using orb amplify attack by 4 times Through this I could control the orb. Causing the orb to levitate I sent it flying towards the robed man. Due to the orb the attack was amplified above what I could normally do. As the orb flew at the man the stored energy burst forth, shaping into a lizards head. Sensing danger the robed man raised both hands. A huge spout of water sprung from his hand. As it flowed out it condensed together, forming a spear. After forming the spear sped forwards, its speed and strength rivalling my attack. As the two attacks collided a huge wind spread outwards. After a moment of struggle both attacks cancelled each other out, causing a huge gale to spread. Robed man: HAHAHA, I HAVE WO.. BLUUGH Half way through his tirade he was cut off. During the time he spent watching our attacks I had snuck behind him. After grabbing a knife from his dead "ally" I embedded it into the back of his head. Looking back towards my allies I saw that they were just finishing off the last man. Feeling it was not best to idle around I quickly searched the bodies before returning to Alice. Having finished fighting she had lost 2 goblies to the men. Solomon: we should leave quickly, before more of them turn up. Having grabbed anything worthwhile we rushed back to the hotel. As we reached the lobby Gareth was waiting there. Seeing our rush he tried to ask what happened but not wanting to stick around we rushed back to our rooms. We all entered Alice''s room gasping for breath. Gareth: what happened? Suggestions This is for the purpose of suggesting ideas for the series. Please put them in the comments. This could be anything from a new character to enhancements. Please include any relative info. Like point cost of enhancements. Though I will pre warn that I may alter such details. Thank you and have funLove this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Volume 1 berserk interval chapter 9 – plans Domain Volume 1 berserk interval chapter 9 ¨C plans Having explained everything to Gareth he sat back, an anxious look on his face. Gareth: I thought something like this might happen. Let me explain what I''ve learnt. Firstly he told us about the city we were in. Thervil is one of the hundreds of small neutral cities. These neutral cities are ruled over by the three strongest guilds. The Ragnarok, tranquillitas animi and fate''s flow guilds. Each of these guilds having tens of Z rank and hundreds of S rank members. Other than the small there are large and great neutral cities. however, Each of these cities has a standard of strength for entry. Moving on from that he explained the guilds. They are separated into ranks from ZZZ to G depending on their founders strength. Each rank increasing the bonuses given to the guild. The only ZZZ rank guilds being the previously mentioned strongest. There are 10 ZZ rank guilds, around 100 Z ranks and thousands in the S-SSS ranks. To create a guild has 3 requirements. The first is 3 or more founding members, the second Is a chosen leader and the last is a cost of 300 points. If you have these you can make a guild through the system. Being in a guild has many benefits. For G rank guilds there are 4 main benefits. The ability to attempt missions in a team without disadvantages, the use of the guild shop and storage and the ability to buy exchanges for another guild member. He then went on to the less pleasant news. The people we were attacked by were most likely hunters. This was the name given to those who attacked other people and sometimes killed others in order to steal. In thervil, there was only one hunter guild. The E rank capitalist mages guild. They work as a business guild during the day, but at night they send members out to steal from those they sold to in the day. They also have a reputation for holding grudges. Solomon: we didn¡¯t leave any witness''s so they probably don¡¯t know who we are. If we lay low for a while we should get away with it. That also means we can''t sell these. Reaching into my bag I pulled out the loot from our attackers. The 4 knives from the burly men. I could tell from before that each of these knives was worth around 30 points. The only problem was if someone recognised them we''d be chased down and killed. Gareth: what should we do from here then? Both Gareth and allice were looking towards me. Sitting there I could feel the weight of their lives. Solomon: for now our objective is the same, find out anything we can about Domain. The more we know the better. During the day we will search around town and when we return we will exchange info and train. 3 days from now we will attempt a G rank mission. Gareth, being as your not G rank you can skip the mission and we will come with you to an unranked mission. Gareth: no, I''ll come with you guys. I already owe you a lot so the quicker I get stronger the better. Solomon: okay then, thank you Gareth. That¡¯s all for now. It''s late today let''s turn in for the night. After saying goodnight Gareth left. Being alone with Alice I became a lot less tense. Solomon:(relieved sigh) Alice: what''s up? Solomon: it''s nothing I just didn¡¯t think being the leader was so stressful, and if you add in all the crazy stuff from today. Its been a very long day. Well anyway, I should be going, I''ll see you tomorrow. Standing up I began walking to the door. I stopped as I felt a light tug on my arm. Looking back Alice was behind me holding onto my arm. Alice: is.. Is it okay... If.. if you stay here.. Tonight. As she spoke her voice got quieter and quieter. Alice: it''s just.. Earlier... when those guys...I was so scared. At this point I could feel her start shaking. Solomon: don¡¯t worry, as long as I''m here no one''s going to touch you. Turning around I stepped forward bringing her into my embrace. Alice: thank you. Saying so she fell asleep. Picking her up I walked her into the bedroom. Laying her onto the bed I was about to leave. Once again she had grabbed my arm, even in her sleep she held tightly onto me. Not wanting to disturb her sleep I laid down next to her. Within a few seconds my fatigue caught up to me, and I fell asleep.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Awaking from sleep I noticed a pleasant smell invading the room. The smell of bacon. Rising from the bed I walked out the room into the kitchen. Standing in front of the cooker frying bacon and egg''s was Alice. Standing there with the faint illumination of the morning sun, she looked beautiful. As she had not seen me yet I stood still for a few seconds, admiring her. Solomon: morning Alice. With a start, Alice turned to face me, her face beet red. Alice: agh morning Solomon, I.. I don''t remember much.. about last night.. So I''m sorry if I did... something. As she went on her face became more and more red until she turned back to face the cooker. Moving into the room I sat at the table. Solomon: don¡¯t worry, after you fell asleep I put you into your bed. In your sleep, you refused to let go of my arm. Not wanting to disturb you I slept next to you, I''m sorry if I''ve upset you. Alice: NO! It''s okay, I don¡¯t.. Mind.. That much... anyway I made some breakfast, here you go. Blushing even more than before she handed me a plate. Solomon: thanks for the meal. Alice: it¡¯s the least I could do, you have saved my life twice now. Saying so she grabbed her plate and sat next to me. Picking up a piece of bacon I took a bite. an explosion of flavour appeared in my mouth. Even for me, a fairly skilled cook, this was the best bacon I''ve ever had. Alice: is it good? With her slightly tilted head, she looked extremely cute. With the way my thoughtswere going I began to blush. Solomon: this is AMAZING! Where did you learn to cook this well? Reaching down I grabbed another piece. Alice: I''m glad you like it. I used to cook for my siblings every day, so I''m used to cooking. We continued to small talk as we finished breakfast. Just as we finished a knock came through the door. Walking over I opened the door to Gareth. Gareth: agh, morning leader. I didn¡¯t think you would beat me here. Solomon: Oh, actually I stay. Alice: HE ONLY JUST GOT HERE! Anyway there''s a plate of breakfast for you in the kitchen Before I could finish Alice shouted over me. Gareth: oh, thanks Alice Alice: it''s no problem, while you''re eating I''m going to borrow our stupid leader here. Alice then dragged me into the living room. Alice: why were you going to tell Gareth you stayed here. He could easily misunderstand. It''s not like were.. Dating or anything. Turning away the familiar shade of red crept onto her face. I had a feeling I would be seeing this cute side of her a lot. Solomon: I don¡¯t think Gareth would think that if we explained, but if you don¡¯t want to I won''t tell him. Alice: thanks Solomon. Having finished with our conversation we both went back to the kitchen. Gareth had finished with his food and was sat at the table. Gareth: so, what''s the plan leader. Sitting down I began to consider our options. Solomon: Gareth, how safe is it for you to gather info at the moment. Gareth: for me it''s relatively high, being that I''m so weak none of the enhanced are interested in me. The only problem comes from the unranked. It''s not uncommon for the unranked to steal, they group up and mug solo unranked contestants. When I was out yesterday I had to lose several such groups. Considering this I knew what Gareth would be doing, looking towards Alice I wasn¡¯t so sure. Solomon: Alice, how many goblies do you have left? Alice: from yesterday there are 8, plus the ten necro can summon today would make 18. Solomon: okay, for now I''ve got a rough plan. Alice, as we''ve seen you attract a lot of attention. It seems that pretty girls are highly sought after here. Being as we have caught the eye of an e rank guild you shall stay here and train. Alice: wait, what? Why keep me here. I may not be the best but I am a G rank contestant. Gareth: I agree with leader, although that may be true what would happen if you met an F rank. In this place, even E ranks aren''t uncommon. Alice: but surely there is something I can do. Solomon: for now the best thing to do is to increase your strength. It will take a while before I can match an ordinary G rank, so until then you are our strongest teammate. Sitting back Alice accepted her part of the plan. Solomon: as for me I too will stay and train, it would be dangerous to leave. I''m not entirely sure, but I believe the capitalist mages guild has a method to identify us. Is anyone in disagreement. Alice+Gareth: no. Solomon: okay. Gareth, your part is the most dangerous. As this is the case I''m not ordering you to do this, feel free to refuse. I would like you to continue to gather information, most importantly things about guilds and also missions. Gareth: I will accept. Though you make it sound so dangerous, most of the danger can be avoided by being careful. Solomon: okay, thank you Gareth. I have this to help you protect yourself, though until you get enhancements you can''t bring out its power. Pulling out the Hellsing casull and its ammo I handed it to Gareth. After looking it over surprise filled Gareth''s face. Gareth: this gun, surely it''s worth a lot of points. Why would you entrust such a valuable thing to me? Solomon: it is worth around 100 points, something only G ranks should possess. With this you can protect yourself. It also doesn¡¯t hold any energy. This means those stronger than you can''t detect it. It¡¯s the perfect weapon for you currently. Consider this an investment. Your part of my team, how could I allow you to go around unable to defend yourself. Tough I should warn you that gun is not easy to use. Gareth: I can tell, if I hadn''t used my points on stats it would be impossible. Thanks Solomon, I will be sure to repay you in the future. Having been given his orders Gareth left. Moving back into the living room Alice and I began training. As Alice doesn¡¯t have a training method she had to improvise. She was repeatedly summoning and Re-summoning necro. Leaving her to do her training I sat on the nearby sofa. Pulling out the scaled book I began inspecting it. The scales formed a perfect layer over the book. As I passed my hand over the scales they reached outwards towards it. As I placed my hands on the cover the scaled rushed outwards, enveloping my hand. From inside this scaled cocoon I could feel energy. As my own energy approached this new energy fought against it. Confused as to what to do I started to thinks through what I knew. This book had reacted to me for a reason, following this I summarised it must be my enhancements. As I''m sure other qi users had seen this book it had to be my racial skill. Considering the book was made with scales it matched my salamander race. Now knowing why it reacted I thought about what to do. Thinking about it reached I soon reached a conclusion. Having realised what to do I Pulled an 8th of my energy out. I began pushed it through my tattoos into the book. After consuming about half my energy the scales loosened. Feeling this I fed it another quarter of my energy. Having been fed enough the scales receded and the book opened, Spewing forth a fiery red light. volume 1 berserk interval chapter 10 - dragons fire Domain Volume 1 berserk interval chapter 10 - dragons fire As the light cleared away I looked down at the book in my hands. The outer scales had disappeared, revealing a red coloured book with intricate patterns. On closer inspection, the patterns were remarkably similar to my tattoos. Opening the book I inspected the first page. There were no words, only intricate patterns. Each page holding a unique blend of crimson lines. As I brought my hand to the page the lines lit up. Placing my hand on the page fiery energy suddenly spread into me, forcing its way up my arm. With only a quarter of my qi left I was defenceless. As my pitiful defence was torn down the energy overwhelmed me. Forcing its way up into my brain. Pain, indescribable pain. It was like a thousand ants made of fire crawling into my brain, slowly burning away my consciousness. As the last of my consciousness was escaping me the pain was suddenly lifted. Rising from the floor I saw I was no longer in the hotel room. The area around me had turned into a magma ridden cave. Standing on a flat rock platform all around me was a lake of lava. With the illuminating light from the magma, I could see the rocks walls and ceiling. From this I could see I was in a huge cavern, at least 50 by 50 meters. As the extreme heat and assaulted me I tried to look for an exit. Suddenly the floor began to violently tremble. As I turned around in panic I saw the magma lake was bubbling. As every second past, the trembling increased. After a minute the entire cavern echoed violently, even the air was quacking. At this, I was beginning to lose hope. As I was awaiting the inevitable suddenly it stopped. One second, two, three. Suddenly the magma before me began to spew forth. As I watched the lave began to rise up. As it was only in part of the cavern I figured it was something below the lake, though from this I felt even greater fear. If it could move about in a sea of lava what could I do to it. As the lava rose out of the lake it began to gather in the air above. At first it formed into a ball of magma, before shaping outwards. Four legs ending in claws, two wings with spikes along the spine, a long tail covered with ragged bumps, a long neck with overlapping scales and a majestic head with deep eyes, sharp features and pointed teeth. This was a dragon. When the body had formed the magma hardened into rock, which then turned into shiny golden scales. As the last of its body transformed a bright light flashed across its eyes. With this it began to move, at first gently, then more violently. It looked like it was testing its bodies limits. After leaving several deep grooves in the cave walls it looked towards me. All of my instincts screamed for me to run, but the domineering pressure of its gaze held me still. It flew over to me landing on the platform in front of me. Being this close I could feel the power emanating from its body. It was hundreds of times stronger than anything I''d seen so far. Dragon: ARE YOU THE ONE WHO AWAKENED ME? Its voice was deep and raspy, while also holding authority and power. In the face of its pressure, I was unable to answer. I stood there terrified, staring at the ultimate being before me. Dragon: OH I NEED TO SUPPRESS MY POWER, NOW LITTLE LIZARD, DID YOU AWAKEN ME? Half way through the strength and pressure holding me down disappeared, though I could still feel the immense power emanating from it. Solomon: this little one is unsure if it was him, I do not now how I got here, nor where this is. Being as I was only a bug to this dragon I was careful with my words. Dragon: IS THAT SO, NOW THAT I LOOK AT YOU YOU LOOK MORE HUMAN THAN LIZARD. DID YOU FIND A RED SCALED BOOK? Solomon: yes, I found such a book. After giving it energy it opened up. later on, When I touched a page of the book it attacked me, sending energy through my body to destroy my mind. after recovering from that I found myself here. Dragon: HAHA, YOUNGLING THE BOOK DID NOT ATTACK YOU, IT TESTED YOU. THIS MEANS YOU WERE WORTHY TO AWAKEN ME. BUT IT IS ODD TO ME THAT A HUMAN COULD OPEN THE BOOK. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO ONLY ALLOW THOSE OF LIZARD BLOOD ACCESS. Solomon: actually,great one, I am a salamander. Due to a certain ability of mine, I am no longer human and have become a salamander. Dragon: THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU SMELL LIKE A LIZARD, BUT LITTLE ONE THERE IS NO NEED TO CALL ME GREAT ONE. I AM UNABLE TO HURT YOU IN HERE, SO DON''T BOTHER FLATTERING ME. AS THE ONE WHO HAS AWOKEN ME I AM TO EXPLAIN THINGS TO YOU.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Solomon: okay then, may I ask what your name is? Pluvia: I AM PLUVIA, ONE OF THE FLYING RAIN DRAGONS. Solomon: FLYING RAIN DRAGONS? The dragons from I shall seal the heavens? Pluvia: YOU ARE WELL INFORMED LITTLE ONE, INDEED THAT IS WHERE I ORIGINATE. NOW, I SHALL EXPLAIN WHAT HAS HAPPENED. YOU ARE CURRENTLY INSIDE THE BOOK, DRAGONS FIRE. WHEN YOU SUCCESSFULLY SUPPLIED IT WITH ENERGY AND PAST ITS TEST YOU WERE BROUGHT HERE. THIS IS THE BOOKS TRAINING SPACE, THE FIRES SANCTUM. HAVING BEEN DEEMED WORTH YOU ARE ABLE TO USE THIS EVERYTHING RECORDED IN DRAGONS FIRE, IN ORDER TO HELP YOU WITH THIS I AM HERE TO INSTRUCT YOU. FIRST I WILL SUPPLY YOU WITH THIS. Pluvia raised a claw towards me. From the tip a small white ball of energy formed, then shot towards me. Feeling no danger from it I let it hit me. As the ball hit my forehead it sunk into my head filling my brain. Suddenly new information overwhelmed me. Two new chunks of information formed, within me. The first was a language. The words looked like the patterns I had seen in the book. From this I recognised the pattern I touched, it meant test. The other information was a technique, the yang absorbing scripture . It allowed me to absorb heat based energy from environments, turning it into qi. With enough skill I could suck all the power out of a volcano. Pluvia: THE FIRST THING I HAVE GIVEN YOU IS THE SCRIPTURAL LANGUAGE, THIS IS THE COMMON LANGUAGE USED BY CULTIVATORS. THE OTHER IS THE MOST BASIC TECHNIQUE IN HERE. THOUGH YOU CAN USE ANY SKILL IN DRAGONS FIRE, I WOULD RECOMMEND STARTING WITH THIS. Solomon: thank you for this, but, why would you do this for me? Pluvia: I HAVE ONE REASON TO HELP YOU, IF YOU TRAIN WITH THIS BOOK EVENTUALLY YOU CAN LET ME ESCAPE FROM HERE. Solomon: how come your in stuck in here anyway, if you''re this strong why don''t you just break out? Pluvia: THE ONE WHO TRAPPED ME IN HERE WOULDN''T LET THAT HAPPEN. ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE PERFECTED THESE TECHNIQUES WILL I BE FREE. Solomon: i''ll do my best then, teacher. Pluvia: VERY GOOD LITTLE ONE, IN ORDER TO TRAIN YOU ONCE A DAY YOU CAN ENTER THIS SPACE. WHILE IN HERE TIME WILL NOT PASS OUTSIDE. WE''VE ALREADY WASTED 15 MINUTES SO SHALL WE START TRAINING. THIS ROOM IS PERFECT TO ABSORB HEAT. Solomon: yes teacher, please instruct me. Pluvia first had me sit with crossed legs, then raise my hands away from me. I then had to raise my hands so my palms faced away from me. From this position I performed the yang absorbing scripture. As soon as I did a wave of energy flowed into my body, entering from my hands and then traveling up my arms. From there it flowed down, gathering by my navel in my dantian After a few minutes of this a force equal to a 16th of my current energy had gathered in my dantian. Pluvia: STOP. FROM HERE ANYMORE QI WOULD BE HARD TO ABSORB. TO ABSORB THE QI YOU MUST DOMINATE IT. TRY TO ENCOMPASS IT WITH YOUR QI EVEN THOUGH YOU ONLY HAVE A LITTLE OVER A QUARTER OF YOUR MAX IT SHOULD WORK. Following teachers instructions, I stopped gathering qi and began absorbing it. As I tried to cover the qi it reacted, banding together and breaking free. Even as I put the entire of my remaining qi into it there was no success. Pluvia: IF YOU WANT TO ABSORB IT YOU NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE, DON¡¯T TRY TO COVER IT, CRUSH IT WITH YOUR POWER. Following these instructions I smashed my qi into the gathered qi. As the gathered qi was smashed apart it began to be absorbed. By the time I had finished the whole process ten minutes had passed. Taking a deep breath I restarted the process. After another three my qi had increased to 125% of what it was. Pluvia: IM AFRAID WE HAVE RUN OUT OF TIME LITTLE ONE, I WILL SEE YOU TOMMOROW. Before I could say goodbye I was back in the hotel. Solomon: (sigh) The tension fled from my body. though teacher said I was not in danger the pressure of teachers presence was overwhelming. Looking at the clock the time was still the same. Settling down I restarted the yang absorbing scripture. However, because of the lack of heat, the speed was severely reduced. Even after a whole day of this training I only gathered another 16th. Adding all of it together I had added a little over a quarter to my qi. Standing up I walked over to Alice Solomon: how did the training go? Alice: quite well, I''ve added about 5% to my original. What about you? Solomon: I''ve added a little over a quarter to the original. it feels like I''m going a little slow though so the speed will increase the speed in the future Alice: a..a quarter, and I thought I was good, how stupid. As she spoke her shoulders drooped and she looked down. Trying to encourage her I patted her head. Solomon: don¡¯t worry about it, I got a cheat equipment yesterday. I then went on to tell her about how the book we had bought was some sort of race-sensitive manual. After telling her about Teacher she regained her usual attitude. Solomon: (grumble) As we had been training all day I had worked up quite an appetite. Alice: (short giggle) come on, I''ll make some dinner. Solomon: haha, thanks, I don¡¯t know what id do without you. Alice then starting to blush rushed into the kitchen. Solomon: she really is cute when she''s embarrassed. A short while later I was eating Alice''s heavenly cooking once again. Shortly after finishing the best pasta I''d ever had Gareth had returned. After eating he told us what he''d learnt today. Gareth: compared to before I can''t find much new information, I did get lucky and hear some things about missions. The first is that to enter as a group we have to go to a teleportation portal. If we do a group mission without being in a guild were penalized. We lose 10% of our rewards and also we will have a few no-guild contestants in the mission with us. As well as this I heard that we also will be targeted after the mission. When we finish the mission we will appear in a marked teleportation portal. People watch over those portals and steal the items and points of those who come out. Solomon: so we don¡¯t only have to worry about the mission, but also other contestants. And then even after we finish the mission we could be attacked by hunters. I suppose the safest thing would be to instantly return to our origin planes. Sitting there I had the beginnings of a sinister plan forming in my mind, but for now, it was only a seedling. Solomon: good work today Gareth, Alice as well. For now ill consider this new info and come up with some countermeasures. Anyway for now we should head back to our rooms for the night. Gareth: alright leader, I''ll excuse myself then. night Alice. Alice: night. Saying so he left for his own room. Turning to my left I threw Alice an inquisitive look. Solomon: are you going to be alright on your own. Alice: yes, ill be alright. It was just a mixture of stress and fear that caused last night. Solomon: alright then night. Saying so I left, walking next-door into my own room. Though this was my room I had rarely been in here. Though with the sudden waves of fatigue I only just made it to bed before succumbing to sleep. volume 1 berserk final chapter 11 – FIGHT! Domain volume 1 berserk final interval chapter 11 ¨C FIGHT! As I drifted through these dreams was reliving my life. From the childhood mischief, to the hellish studying of school, finishing at my death. As I once again faced the scene of my death a deep hatred, that I had long forgotten burst out. The endless rage building up within me, I faced the cause of my death. Arthur: hello dear brother, its been so long. I have a small favour to ask, please die. And for a second time I was attacked. So fast that I couldn''t tell how. Laying on the cold pavement I felt the familiar hatred grow. From the first time I saw it as a tiny flame, to what it now was, a massive inferno. Once again I screamed out my injustice to the heavens. Solomon: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGHHHHH! Sitting up on my bed I gasped for air, sweat covering me. Realising it was just a dream I calmed down. Getting up I went to the bathroom. Staring at myself in the mirror the fear of death was still in my eyes. After having a shower and getting dressed I had recovered. Walking outside I stood in front of Alice''s door. Taking a deep breath I knocked on the door. Opening it was Alice wearing a white blouse and black skirt. Alice: morning. Solomon: morning, is Gareth here yet? Alice: he came by earlier, letting me know that he was heading out. Solomon: okay, shall we do some training then. Coming in we settled down to do training. After doing my hour with Pluvia I continued with normal training. Then when Gareth returned he told us what he had learnt. Like this 2 more days passed. Over the days my training had been fruitful, currently my qi had doubled from its original. According to pluvia in order to increase it more I had to have a breakthrough. I knew that the next enhancement for my qi was 4th stage cultivator. It also said I had to be 3rd stage qi cultivator to purchase. So I already knew I had to breakthrough twice, just not how to. Pluvia said that without a pill to help me it would take about a week. Other than my progress Alice had also improved. Her rift power now had another 15% added to the original. Though she felt rather inferior compared to me, she was still making good progress. Especially when she doesn¡¯t have a training method. Other than this nothing important had happened this past 2 days. Despite his effort, Gareth had not learned anything new. Now on the evening before we attempted our mission I explained the plans. Sitting around the coffee table in the living room I explained my plan. Solomon: okay so I have a plan for the mission, first to deal with the others in the mission. Most of them should be unranked. Because of this they hold no great danger to us. For them we will let them go, as long as they don¡¯t interfere with us. The real problems will come from ranked contestants. If they are G rank we should establish a truce. Gareth: and if they are not willing? Solomon: then we kill them. Alice: KILL THEM? Why? If its only one G rank then won''t they avoid us. Though were not great fighters, there are two of us. Solomon: the problems not with an outright attack. What would happen if we were fighting against enemy''s and they backstabbed us? Gareth: I agree with leader. They are too much of a risk. Alice: cant we just capture them, why do we have to kill them> Solomon: we don¡¯t have the power to do that, even with the two of us its too risky. Showing mercy to a G rank is like turning your back to a wolf.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Alice:¡­ fine, but I don¡¯t think I have the ability to kill someone. Solomon: don¡¯t worry, necro can do it for you, this is worst case anyway. On the same note if we encounter an f rank, we run.any danger in the mission An f rank should be able to solo the mission, so as long as they let us go we could avoid any danger in the mission. Any diagreements? Gareth: I agree with this plan, I''m in leader. Alice: though I don¡¯t like it, it is the safest way. I''m also in. Solomon: all right that¡¯s one problem solved, for the other I also have a solution. When we exit the mission we will instantly return to our origin plane. From there we will purchase enhancements, 2 hours after going to our origin plane we will return to domain. Hopefully our new enhancements can protect us from the hunter. Are you two all right with this. Alice+Gareth: yes. Solomon: I also have another idea, being not having a guild is dangerous why don¡¯t we make one, if we each save a hundred points we could create a guild. I know this is dangerous, especialy if we only get a little over a hundred points in the mission. But I thinks this will be the safest way in the long run. Alice: I don¡¯t mind the idea but couldn¡¯t we do it after a few missions? Gareth: I don¡¯t think so, if we don¡¯t make a guild were in danger every mission. If your in a guild then the mission only has you in it, if we keep having Randoms in the mission it presents a huge risk. If one of those Randoms is from capitalist mages guild, we could face an army after finishing the mission. Alice: well if you two are for it ill do it, I just thought that for you Gareth won''t it be dangerous. Me and Solomonare both G rank, if you don¡¯t save your points you can''t become G rank. Gareth: I''m willing to give up some points for the safety of a guild. Solomon: no Alice is right, I will give 150 points and you''ll give 50. Alice: no, that¡¯s not a fair split, why don¡¯t we both give 125 points? Solomon: no, I already have two G rank rewards you need the points. Anyway, I''m probably going to be the leader, so I should at least do this much. Alice: okay, for this mission. In the future we have to find a better way to do this though. Solomon: agreed. Well, that¡¯s the plan sorted. For now, let''s take stock of all we have. Ill start with my own equipment, I have my weapon, the arcane orb. Let me show you guys how it works. Lifting my hand up, orb in hand, I channelled a quarter of my qi into it. Due to the increase in my qi this attack is equal to the one I used against the water mage. As the ball glowed red with the my lizard enhanced qi, I performed the flame serpent art. As the ball was encompassed by the qi made lizards head it flew forward. Just before it hit the wall I dispelled the qi. Without any qi the orb fell to the ground. Gareth: wow, looks like were not going to be lacking firepower. How many time can you do that? Solomon: 4 times, or I can do one twice as strong two times. It¡¯s a shame I can''t control one using my full power. Gareth, you''d be too strong if you could do that, even F ranks would be careful around you. Solomon: haha, maybe I could reach that point after training more. But I don¡¯t think I''d ever hold up to a f rank. Well, at least not until I reach F rank. Anyway that¡¯s my only weapon. I also have one of the body armours and a third of the consumables. Why don¡¯t you go next Alice? Alice: okay, other than the third of the usual stuff, I''ve got this sword as my weapon. If I channel rift energy into it the edge gets sharper. Ill show you. Standing up she walked over to a coffee table. Lifting the sword up then bringing it down. As the blade made contact it sunk into the table, reaching about halfway through it. Pulling it out she did the same on and undamaged part. As the blade fell a green mist covered the edge. On contact with the table the sword showed no signs of slowing, Cutting through the table without showing any resistance. Alice: that¡¯s the difference if I use energy. Though to keep it that strong costs 10% of my energy an hour. Other than this I have necro and his goblies. By tomorrow he should have 48 of them. Solomon: that¡¯s good, you have the sword to defend yourself and goblies to attack. Your probably going to make the most points this mission. Then last is you Gareth Gareth: okay my weapon is this, the hellsing cassull. It¡¯s a modified colt specialized in power. Even with the reduced power it still rivals a sniper. Though the accuracy and recoil are much worse. With my strength I can only fire if I''m stood still, and even then only slowly. Ill show you. Standing up Gareth walked to a clear space in the room. Holding up the cassul with both hands he pointed it at the wall. when he shot the gun a huge spray of dust erupted from the wall followed by another and another, As he shot twice more. He could only shoot once every 2 seconds due to the recoil. After the dust cleared 3 watermelon sized holes were left in the wall. Solomon: wow, and you said I have firepower. You could fire that hundreds of times more than I could use my attacks. We''ll be relying on you a lot. Gareth: don¡¯t worry, I won''t let you down leader. Solomon: all right then, we all understand each other''s abilities. Let''s all do our best to earn a lot this mission. Standing up I held my hand forward. Alice: I''m with you. Gareth: let''s do it. In agreement, they put their hands on top of mine. Solomon: FIGHT! Gareth+Alice: FIGHT! Having given my speech I bid goodnight, before heading back to my room. After eating and having a shower I settled in my room. Laying on the bed I ran through all that had happened in my mind. Starting with the ludicrous circumstance of my death, then the time I spent in the black. Followed by the test, then finishing with my time with Gareth and Alice. Seeing how far I had come, as well as what I had done, a new feeling was born in my gut. A feeling that I had to protect what I had gained. It may have been because I never had such relations with people before, but I wanted to protect my new friends. From this want the feeling grew stronger. As it grew it mixed with the already existing hatred. When it eventually reached its peak a new emotion was born. An insatiable lust for power. As I fostered this new part of me, the slow dark of sleep overcame me. Falling once again into the realm of dreams, I allowed this emotion of mine to grow ever bigger. Volume 2 upgrade specialist start chapter 12 – blackwood stronghold Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist start chapter 12 ¨C blackwood stronghold Synopsis of upgrade specialist courtesy of wuxia world Just as a gamer found an overpowered skill book called ¡®Item Upgrade¡¯ in the hottest virtual reality role-playing game on Earth, something happened to the game¡¯s system, causing his soul to leave his body and go to another dimension. Common sense dictates that he would be born anew then become the greatest overlord of this world by making use of his advanced knowledge. Not in this case! He was already dead. Only some fragments of his soul and that skill book managed to get into that dimension and merge with an ordinary common youngster called Bai Yunfei. This was the enormous Tianhun continent, where humans could be said to have no limits. There was a group of humans here who could cultivate the power of their own souls then control their bodies, the natural elements and even other people¡¯s souls with that power! These special beings were called ¡ª soul cultivators. Come witness how the several fragments of the dead inter-dimensional traveller''s soul and that skill book, which was not governed by the laws of this plane, were going to help Bai Yunfei become a legendary soul cultivator and craftsman! my synopsis of the mission situation. upon starting his journey bai Yunfei runs into a group of bandits, lead by several soul cultivators. along with his new friend, li chengfeng the recently awakened soul cultivator, he vows to destroy the bandits. with this goal, he attacks their home, the blackwood stronghold. ********************************************************************************************************************************************** Having woken from my slumber I prepared for the mission. Wearing loose fitting clothes and carrying a backpack I went next door. Already waiting for me were Gareth and Alice, carrying their own equipment. Solomon: let''s go then. Walking out of the hotel we made our way west, to the teleportation district. As we walked we saw many people heading the same direction. Most of them hauling equipment. As we made it to the district a large gate stood before us. After walking through the gate 4 lines stood before us, each with a sigh marking them. The first saying unranked, then G-F rank then D-A rank finishing at S+ Each line was shorter than the last. With about 300 people before us it would take around an hour to reach the front. As we were queuing a group of 5 approached us. Ignis: hey, you¡¯re the newbies from before aren''t you. I''m surprised you survived this long. Recognizing the arrogant voice I knew this was the dragon''s flame guild members. The same ones I met when I entered domain. Standing with his followers he cast an imposing figure. Solomon: we are. It''s been a while Ignis, what do you want? I could tell that this G rank group led by and F rank would have no good reason to approach us. Ignis: what''s with the cold attitude, we only thought you should be gracious and let us take your spot in line. Having my suspicions confirmed I refused him. Solomon: if you want to enter a mission you should go to the back of the line. When I said this one of the bodyguards butted in. I recognised him as the one from who displayed his powers to the newbies. Bodyguard; huh, who do you think you are, us dragon''s flame members were gracious enough to take your place. Who are you to refuse us? Standing forward a swirl of flame coalesced around his body. As my comrades prepared to fight I stopped them with a raised hand. Solomon: ill handle it Ourous: hostile intent detected, killing these contestants no longer costs points. With the support of Ourous I faced off against the bodyguard. I would make it clear we weren''t weak. Solomon: who am I to refuse you, you fail to see your own mistakes. Let me teach you. Reaching out I held my arcane orb in my hand. As I charged it with half of my qi the lizards head formed again. Facing off against my attack the man panicked, frantically trying to summon his flames to protect him. As the full strength of my skill filled the ball he froze knowing he was about to die.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Old man: WHO DARE CAUSE TROUBLE HERE? As a voice like thunder echoed through the air a huge pressure was placed onto us. I could barely breath under such power. Floating between our groups appeared an old man. Wearing an robe covered in runes along with his long silver hair he screamed power. As this man landed on the ground the pressure lessened, though it still weighed on me I could at least move. Bodyguard: guardian Diogenes, these rabid dogs attacked us. They tried to ki bleurgh Before he could finish speaking a torrent of wind hit him, sending him sprawling. Diogenes: YOU DARE LIE TO ME BOY. I SAW YOU THREATEN THEM. Ignis, you and your followers are banned from here for a day. LEAVE. Ignis: thank you for your leniency, guardian. Bowing to the Oldman, Ignis then quickly ran for the exit. Followers in tow. Turning to me the old man lessened the pressure further. Diogenes: you are quite bold, young one. To attack a member of the dragon''s flame you''re either brave or stupid, why did you use such a strong skill on the group''s weakest? Solomon: thank you for the help guardian. I attacked like so to prove my strength. If they see me eliminate one of them in one move they would escape. If it¡¯s the weakest the backlash from their guild would be considerable weaker. Anyway, I will be sure to repay you. Diogenes: HAHA, a G rank will repay me. Anyway, you''re very cunning, but I think you underestimate the dragon''s flame guild. If they can do anything its hold grudges. But seeing as you have the arcane orb as your weapon your backing probably isn''t weak. In the future I would watch out for dragon''s flame if I were you. Having finished here he disappeared into the sky, taking the pressure with him. Having recovered from the event we continued to wait in line. From the changed atmosphere I could tell the people around us were afraid of us. After seeing us stand up to an A rank guild (as we had learnt since arriving to domain) they were wary of us. After waiting for 10 more minutes we reached the front of the line. Standing before us was a small wooden door and a man in a finely made suit. Marvin: hello, I am Marvin. One of the workers assigned to missions. How can I help you today? His voice was monotone and there was no focus in his eyes. Solomon: we would like to a team mission. Turning his head Marvin looked at Gareth. Marvin: you are not G rank, do you still wish to participate. Gareth: yeah. Marvin: please proceed through the door and stand in the array. As he said so the door behind him disappeared, revealing narrow hallway. After walking down the hallway it opened into a small hall. With plain coble walls and no furniture it looked rather bland. When we had walked into the room the voice of Ourous reached us. Ourous: Mission, blackwood stronghold, commencing. World, Upgrade Specialist in Another World, commence. In an instant we were teleported to the mission. Standing near a waterfall, we appeared. The dense trees around us giving a feeling of uncertainty. Looking around us I could see several people, around a dozen after counting. Most on their own, however a group of 4 stood out. 3 men wearing heavy armour following a woman. The woman was wearing a plain blue robe and holding a ornate staff. under her hood I could see she had deep blue eyes mixed with a young face. Overall she was quite attractive. The men upon seeing me staring unsheathed their swords. From the air around them I knew they weren''t G rank so I wasn¡¯t too concerned. Solomon: I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you. Holding up the arcane orb I made it levitate in my hand. Clearly displaying my G rank power. Seeing this they held back their hostility. Ourous: mission title, destroy blackwood stronghold. Objective 1, kill chieftain han xiao. Objective 2 kill vice chieftain yang tian. If either objective fails mission is failed. Time limit 15 days. Mission rewards. Completing mission, 200 points. Killing 1 bandit, 2 points killing hall master xiao chen, 50 points. Killing vice chieftain yang tian, 100 points. killing chieftain han xiao, 200 points. All rewards will be reduced by ten percent. Mission commence. Turning towards the people here I proposed an offer. Solomon: hello fellow contestants, I am Solomon. I would like to propose an offer to you. As you can see us three are in a team. As the strongest group we would like for you to cooperate with us. Leaving a few seconds gap I continued my offer. Solomon: During this mission I would like for you to follow our instructions. If you do I can guarantee that our chances to complete the mission will be high. Contestant: why should we follow you? Nodding my head to Gareth he took out his cassul, aiming it at a nearby boulder. After a few shots the distinct holes in the boulder proved our point. Seeing this the unranked people all agreed to follow us, leaving only the group from before. Solomon: what about you? Staff woman: we are willing to work with you, but not follow you. Solomon: I can work with that, however, if we face a strong enemy you have to fight with us. Standing forward she raised her hand. Solomon: deal Standing forward I shook her hand. Now addressing everyone I gave out orders. Solomon: okay, we are going to look for wait here for the main characters to return. this should be their base so when they return I will talk to them. If we can get their support the mission will be a lot easier. All of you unranked, set up your shelter. If you don¡¯t have any on you make one. Alice, summon necro and have the goblies scout around the area. Gareth, supervise the unranked. I then turned towards the robed woman''s group. Solomon: follow me. Walking to the forest I lead them away from the others. Solomon: so what''re your names. The three armoured men looked nervous, but the woman spoke up. Aries: I am Aries, these three are bodyguard I hired for this mission. They tell me to call them bob 1, 2 and 3. Saying so she pointed out each bob. Solomon: okay, you''re going to keep an eye on the unranked. Long as we don¡¯t get backstabbed this mission well complete it. Aries: we can do it, but why would you ask us? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to ask your teammates? Solomon: we need to focus on fighting, as the strongest, we have to beat the enemy. Having given everyone their orders I returned to the waterfall. By this point all of the unranked had set up their tents. Alice was with necro looking out into the woods. Her 48 goblies spread around the tree line. Alice: Solomon, I''ve found some people fighting in the woods. A group of twelve against two young men. Solomon: that¡¯s probably them. Alright, Gareth and I will go take a look. Can you have a goblie lead us? Alice: yeah, but they are about ten minutes away. After nodding to Alice I Turned around I addressing everyone Solomon: everyone, we have found people in the forest, Gareth and I will go to find them. Hopefully they can give us info. While we are gone Alice is in charge, also Aries is the second in command. Saying so I pointed out Alice and Aries, before over to Gareth. Solomon: ready to go? Gareth: yeah, let''s go leader. Turning around we saw a small goblie kneeling to us. Solomon: lead us. Then following the small creature we sped off into the woods. volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 13 - scouting Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 13 - scouting As Gareth and I sped through the trees the sounds of battle drew closer. After 5 minutes we broke through into a clearing. standing in the middle of several corpses were two young men. One lanky with pointed features and the other of average Hight with short cut hair. Instantly I recognised them, the tall one was li chenfeng, a supporting character. The other was the main character, bai yunfei, the main character. Other than their appearance my instincts picked up on their power, Yunfei was G rank and chenfeng was on the cusp of it. Upon Seeing us they held up their weapons, thinking we were more bandits. Solomon: please calm down, young warriors. I am Solomon, the leader of the anti-bandit task force. They calmed down slightly but still held their vigilance. Yunfei: what is it you want? As you can tell we are already dealing with the bandits. Solomon: I think we have a common interest. We are hunting the bandits in blackwood stronghold. I was hoping you would be interested in a temporary truce. I''m sure you know there is a late soul personage and middle soul warrior in the stronghold. Even with your skills, you can not win. Turning back chenfeng whispered something to yunfei. Yunfei: we know we can''t currently beat the cultivators there, but how can we trust you? Solomon: I am a friend of your fate school benefactor. Upon saying this his caution was reduced, but I could still feel he was being careful. Seeing this I put the final nail in the coffin. Solomon: I also know of your upgrading ability, as I gained something similar. Upon hearing this he knew we were at least trustworthy. Yunfei: okay we will cooperate for now. I am bai yunfei, and this is li chenfeng. Glad to have succeeded in gaining their support I introduced us. Solomon: I am Solomon and this is Gareth. Other than us there are 13 others nearby. We will show you the way to our base. Then with the two characters following we made our way back to the case. When we arrived Alice came over to greet us. Alice: welcome back Solomon, did it go well? Solomon: it did, we''ve managed to gain the help of these two. Turning to face the new additions Alice introduced herself. Unlike me, none of my teammates knew the story of this world. Alice: I am Alice, it is nice to meet you. Yunfei: likewise, I am bai yunfei. Chenfeng: it is also a pleasure I am li chenfeng. From their I called everyone over. Solomon: everyone, as we will be working together I would like everyone to introduce themselves, along with any skills they have. So I shall start. I am Solomon. I have only one skill, it is called the flame serpent art. Pointing at the waterfall I released the art using an 18th of my qi. As the small lizard of qi smashed into the water a plume of mist sprayed forth. Solomon: I also have this weapon Saying so I held up the arcane orb. Solomon: it allows me to amplify my attacks by 4 times. Yunfei: with strength like that you could rival any soul personage, even a soul warrior couldn¡¯t be careless. Solomon: thanks for the praise. After me, Alice and Gareth went next. Following them was chenfeng. Chengfeng: hello, I am li chenfeng. I am a late apprentice stage soul cultivator. Though I don¡¯t have any skills quite good with a sword.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Standing before a boulder he released a few slashes. Each attack leaving several inch deep gashes in the boulder. Then following that yunfei displayed himself. Yunfei: I am bai yunfei, an early soul personage. I have one skill, the overlapping waves art. Saying so he stood before the boulder from before. Reaching back he stepped forward punching the boulder. As his fist collided several cracks appeared on the boulder before it fell onto its side. Yunfei: I also have a two weapons, this glacial picker. Holding forward a light blue Chinese sword he thrust it into the boulder. After sinking in about halfway the momentum stopped. Yunfei: and this spear. Having removed the glacial picker he held an almost three-meter long crimson spear. With three round jewels embedded where the blade and handle joined. Jabbing forward with it the blade sunk into the boulder. As the spear stopped moving an explosion came from the end, destroying a large part of the boulder. Yunfei: it also has a chance to explode like that. After Yunfei all of the unranked introduced themselves. Though they were all better than the average fighter they were nothing special. The three bobs stood forward together. Bob1: I am bob 1, and this is bob 2 and 3. we all have the same abilities so I shall explain. We each wear a full set of black iron armour. It is capable of resisting most physical attacks, but not energy. We all also carry a copy of the sword, washing pole. It is relatively strong and focuses on its long reach. Saying so he took the sword of his back.holding it before him you could see it was a little shorter than 2 meters long. Seeing this reminded me of the amazing swordsman guts from my test mission. Having finished they stepped down leaving the last person, Aries. Aries: I am Aries. I am a beginner class water mage. I have 2 skills. The first called water orb. Pointing her staff toward the waterfall a head sized orb of water flew to float before her. she then sent it flying into a nearby tree. After hitting it left a small dent in the wood. Aries: the other is called waters surge. Holding up the staff again a line of water three meters wide and two tall stood before her. She then sent it forward at the same tree. As it hit the tree it swayed back. After the attack had dissipated half of the tree had been smashed by the water, leaving a 3-foot dent in the tree. Having grasped everyone''s power I had confidence we could complete the mission. Moving on from this I gave out several orders. Solomon: okay so now we know each other let me tell you what to do. All of you unranked, set up some basic defences. Alice, you will oversee this and organise them to have two guards on watch at all times. Gareth you will stay and assist Alice. Nodding they left to begin the work. Solomon: the rest of us will scout out the stronghold. Yunfei, do you know how to get there? Yunfei: I don¡¯t but Chenfeng does. Hearing this I turned towards Chenfeng. Solomon: can you lead us? Chenfeng: I can, but it''s dangerous. They have a huge army up there. Solomon: how many? Chenfeng: at least 5 thousand. Solomon: that¡¯s a lot more than I hoped. Anyway, let''s go take a look. With Chenfeng in the lead, our group of 7 ran out into the forest. After 30 minutes we had reached the stronghold. Standing at the top of the hill it was surrounded by a 30-meter clearing. A 6-meter tall wall with periodic gates surrounded the entire compound. From our position in the trees beyond the clearing, we could see several bandits on the wall. Solomon: alright, bob 1, I want you to stay here on the southern side. Keep an eye on the stronghold and try to see what you can about their defences. Bobs 2 and 3, I want you two to do the same on the east side. Yunfei and Chenfeng, the west side. Aries, you and me will go to the northern side. After 4 hours we will regroup her before heading back to base. We should then arrive back at nightfall. As I gave everyone their orders they nodded, accepting the orders. Solomon: also if you are seen try to escape into the wood, if you can escape,go back to scouting out the base. If you can''t, lead them into the woods before disposing of them. If you get outnumbered lead them towards one of the other groups. In the worst case, we can escape together. As long as the chieftain doesn¡¯t show up we can get away. All right, move out. Saying so Aries, Yunfei, Chenfeng and I ran to the west, following the treeline. After running for a while Yunfei matched my pace, bringing us out of the others earshot. Yunfei: so, how do you know about my upgrade power? I understand the fate school, but not that. Thinking for a second I came up with a plausible lie. Solomon: I am the same as you. I gained a power all of a sudden one day. When I gained the power I saw visions of you, that¡¯s how I know about you. Don¡¯t worry though, I won''t tell anyone. Though I do have a request. Yunfei: what is it? Solomon: could you upgrade the equipment of some of the people in my group? Yunfei: I can, but I can''t say it will work. I can only do so to a certain point without the risk of destroying it. Solomon: that¡¯s fine, though I will probably take that risk with my own equipment. Anyway, this should be your stop. I''ll discuss in more detail later. At this point Yunfei and Chenfeng stopped, while Aries and I carried on forwards. Alittle while later we had reached the north side. After settling down we began to spy on the guards. From where we were we could see around 10 guards. Each with about 20 meters between them. Aries: that guy their looks different. Following her finger I saw a heavily armoured guard. He also had a blue sashacross his armour. Solomon: probably a captain. As I made a guess at his job he walked off of the wall to be replaced by a normal guard. Solomon: looks like were in for a long wait. Other than the small nugget of info we had just gleaned there was nothing else to see. Aries: looks like it. So, why did you pick me to come with you? Looking towards her I saw she was scanning me with her deep blue eyes. Solomon: out of everyone they''re you¡¯re the most trustworthy. The bobs are in it for the pay from you. If it benefits them they would kill me. As for the other two, I know Yunfei''s secret. Though it can let me manipulate him if I''m not careful he''ll betray us. As for you, we have a deal. As long as we benefit each other why would you betray me? Having divulged quite a bit of delicate information I watched for her reaction. Aries: you''re quite the calculating bastard, aren''t you. Saying this a sly smile crept up her face. Aries: but then again, I don¡¯t particularly mind that. Having come to an understanding I settled down against a tree. Looking back towards the stronghold. Solomon: well then, let see what we can learn today. During the next 3 and a half hours we kept an eye on the stronghold. Other than the initial info we had learnt nothing else. Then just as we were getting up ready to leave, one of the gates opened. volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 14 - vice chieftain Yang Tian Domain volume 2upgrade specialist chapter 14 -vice chieftainYang Tian 10 men, fully equipped with metal armour and swords left the stronghold''s gate. After leaving they broke into a sprint, and they were heading right for us. Solomon: shit, we''ve been found. Run back towards Yunfei. I''ll catch up after dealing with these guys. Aries: wait, shouldn¡¯t we deal with them together? From the speed their moving they''re all soul cultivators. Though it was good she was worried about me now as not the time to dawdle. Solomon: GO NOW! There isn''t much time I''ll explain later. For a second Aries stood still, stunned by my sudden outburst. Aries: you better have a good explanation, or I''ll break your legs. Leaving behind her threat she disappeared into the forest. Solomon: that gets rid of one problem, now for the other. Turning back to the approaching bandits I saw they were half way to me. Knowing we had been exposed I walked out of the forest. As I left the cover of the forest the bandits became more cautious. As I scanned the group I could guess as to their levels. One man in the front had roughly the same strength as Chenfeng making him a late soul apprentice. As for the others 2 were moderately strong but the rest were only equal to a goblie in combat power. From this I could say that two of them were middle apprentices and the rest were early. Late apprentice: so you show yourself. But it matters not, we would have dragged you out of the forest anyway. Wearing shiny armour and speaking like so he came of as a pompous man. Solomon: oh, you think people of your level have the strength to force me. Saying this I tried to provoke him. Late apprentice: haha, don¡¯t worry about that, I assure you we are more than enough. And once were done with you we will have some "fun" with that friend of yours. Hearing this man threaten to rape my companion made my blood boil. The scene a few days prior, when Alice was threatened, had left me with a deep hate for men like this. Solomon: che, let''s see if you can still have "fun" after I''m done with you. Though I wanted to gain more info from the man my anger overtook me. Raising the arcane orb I fuelled it with a little qi. Shooting out it hit the head of one of the weakest men. Though the stronger fighter could have stopped the attack they let it hit. Either they didn¡¯t think it was strong enough to hurt the man, or they didn''t care about their comrade. Man: AAAAAAGGGHHHH. Falling to his knees the man screamed. From the clutching at his chest I could tell my attack was successful. Though it hadn''t killed him, he couldn¡¯t fight anymore. This was the effect of the mutated arcane orb. Originally it would suck the life force out of those it hit. But with the addition of my fire based qi it had changed. Along with stealing their life force it would cause them severe pain. This was probably by injecting some qi into the person. In truth I had no idea how well the orb would work against someone with energy. Though I knew it would one hit normal people I had no chance to test this effect on energy users. Feeling satisfied with the result I brought the orb back to me. Solomon: still think you can handle me? Dumfounded, the bandits lost most of their morale. Making it worse was that this was a casual attack. To be able to bring a cultivator, no matter the level, down so easily made it look like I was extremely strong. In truth though it was due to my equipment. In the future I had to be sure to thank the old man who sold it to me. Late apprentice: don¡¯t waver, he may be strong but he can''t beat all of us. RUSH HIM! After rallying his men they all charged forward. Being only 10 meters away I they would reach me before I killed them. Knowing so I gathered a 8th of my qi into the orb. Having followed the flame serpent art a melon sized lizards head covered the orb. As the head finished forming it was sent at the late apprentice. By killing the leader I hopped the other bandits would retreat. Even if they didn''t I thought it would at least cause them to hesitate. Watching the flame head shoot forward towards the man I began walking backwards. If I reached the forest then there number would mean nothing. As the man saw it coming despair filled his eyes. In a last ditch effort he held up his energy infused arms. As I watched the flames tore through his arms, before scorching his face. Though he was still alive he had lost both his eyes, and his arms. making him useless.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Seeing their leader writhing the bandits froze. Trying to regain control of the men one of the 2 middle apprentices spoke. Middle apprentice: QUICKLY, RETREAT! Bring the hall master to safety. We will hold off the intruder. The two middle apprentices then stood forward. Unfortunately for them, I had now learnt that this was the hall master, Xiao Chen, that we had to kill. Though that wasn¡¯t his only use. Dashing forward I held the arcane orb in one hand. Pulling a quarter of my qi I split it into 2 halves. My training had done more than just increase my qi. It had also gave me more control over it. With this new control I moved each of the halves into a different arm, before sending two lizard heads at the middle apprentices. Having not anticipated my serious attack they were hit before they knew what happened. As the two charred husks fell to the ground I heard Ourous''s angelic voice. Ourous: two bandits killed, 4 points earned. Seeing their last hope crumble the remaining bandits tried to run away. Within a few seconds I had hit each of them with the arcane orb, leaving them collapsed on the ground. Just as I finished a loud shout came from the fortress. Now pouring out of the gates was a huge group of bandits. Even though they were not cultivators I could not face this many men. Especially when considering my enhancement was not good at fighting many enemies. Moving fast I silenced all of the bandits except for Xiao Chen. Ourous: 7 bandits killed, 14 points earned. Having finished here I grabbed the hall master. Solomon: okay then, let''s go on our way. Speeding of Into the forest I could hear the distant cries of the bandits. But ignoring them I ran at full speed towards Yunfei''s location. Though I hoped I was wrong, there was only one way to be sure. ********************************************************************************************************************************************** After being shouted at by Solomon, Aries ran towards Yunfei''s location. Aries: that asshole, ordering me around. I should cut off his legs, no, I''ll boil him alive, or maybe I''ll beat him to death... haah, what''s made him that worried. Ever since I met him he''s been cold and calculating. Aaargh whatever, ill find out when I get there anyway. After finishing her monolog, an odd habit she displayed when alone, Aries sped towards her target. Like most G ranks she had upgraded her body, making her faster, but being a back line fighter she had only done so slightly. Because of this it took her 15 minutes to reach Yunfei and Chenfeng. As she was approaching she could hear the sounds of battle. Having been through several missions she was accustomed to the noise''s and recognized them immediately. When she reached the battle she was confused by what she saw. Yunfei and Chenfeng were fighting against a group of 30 bandits. Yunfei was fighting a single man while Chenfeng was fighting the rest of the group. She could tell that the man fighting Yunfei was stronger than him, it was only his equipment that let him fight this man equally. From what she''d heard from Solomon she thought this man was a late personage. On the other Chenfeng was fighting the remaining 29 bandits. She could tell that among them were 4 middle apprentices and 10 early apprentices Unlike Yunfei who was holding his own Chenfeng was constantly pushed back. It was only a matter of time before Chenfeng died and Yunfei was swarmed. Rushing forward Aries hit two of the middle apprentices with a water surge. With the element of surprise she hit them before they even saw the attack. As she was conjuring water, rather than using a nearby water source, the spell was significantly weakened. Even so the two men had several broken bones, making them unable to fight. Chenfeng: Aries, why are you here? Turning to see Aries, Chenfeng was confused. Chenfeng: aren''t you supposed to be with Solomon. Seeing as they were in such a situation she knew why Solomon had sent her here, what she wanted to know was why. She thought it would be impossible to know that they were bieng attacked yet it was the only thing that made sense. She would be sure to question him thoroughly later. Aries: he sent me to help you, anyway now''s not the time. I,ll support you from the back. Nodding Chenfeng went back to attacking, and with the assistance of Aries, he quickly finished off all the bandits. Just as the last man fell a large explosion caught their attention. Looking towards Yunfei they saw him collapsed on the floor, beaten and bloody. Standing opposite him was the late soul personage man. Yang Tian: you did well to last this long against me, but as the vice chieftain I must put an end to you. Standing above Yunfei the man, Yang tian, prepared to behead him. Running forward Chenfeng attacked the man. Chenfeng: STOP YOU BASTARD! The vice chieftain swung his sword at Chenfeng, leaving a large gash across his torso. Taking this chance Aries shot a water surge at him. However he broke it apart with a slash from his sword. Yang Tian: annoying bugs. Dashing forward he stood before Aries. Before she could react he lifted his sword, preparing to bisect her. Then just as he was about to strike a fireball smashed into his side, pushing him a few meters from her. Looking for the origin of the fireball she saw her saviour. Solomon: did you miss me? ********************************************************************************************************************************************** Having escaped from the bandits Solomon was making his way towards Yunfei''s location. As he neared it he began to hear battle sounds. As he we about 15 seconds away he heard a large explosion. Then a few seconds later he heard Chenfeng. Chenfeng: STOP YOU BASTARD! Then as he broke through to where they were he saw them. Yunfei and Chenfeng both collapsed, and Aries inches away from death. Reacting fast he pushed the last half of his qi into the arcane orb. Then charged with the last of his power it smashed into the side of the attacking man. Having been saved from death Aries looked at her saviour, tears in her eyes. Solomon: did you miss me? Hearing my words she collapsed. Walking over I gave her some order. Solomon: listen Aries, I need you to take these 3 and escape back to base. No matter what don¡¯t let them die, alright? Saying so I put the hall master next down. Aries: but, what will you do? I should stay and help you fight. Solomon: NO! GO NOW. By now the man had stood back up and was glaring at me. Suppressing tears Aries dragged the three injured men away. Though she would struggle she should be to get to bob 1 from here. Facing the man I asked him some questions. Solomon: who are you? And how do you want to die? Man: HAHAHA, trying to bluff, I can see you used all your energy in that attack. Though I should complement you for being able to injure me. He then turned, showing me his side. A large portion of his skin was blackened. Yang Tian: I''m Yang Tian, now tell me your name before I kill you. Recognising him as the vice chieftain explained his strength. He was at the upper limit of G rank, most likely being unable to breakthrough he perfected the power he has. Solomon: I am Solomon, and I must also complement you. You are forcing me to use my trump card. Reaching behind my back I pulled out my trump card. volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 15 - breakthrough Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 15 - breakthrough The trump card I pulled out was dragons fire. Yang Tian: what''s a book goi before he could finish I was in the training space with Pluvia. Solomon: I have to breakthrough now Pluvia Lifting her head she sighed. Pluvia: haaah, why did you have to rush it, it would only take a couple days to break through. Solomon: it''s too late now, have you got something that''ll help me? Standing up, she flew out into the magma around the island. A few seconds later she emerged carrying a melon sized red stone. Pluvia: this is my demonic core, if you use this you can breakthrough. Solomon: but won''t that affect you? Pluvia: it will, but I''ll recover. If you die now how long do I have to wait to recover? Recognizing the name I knew this was very important to Pluvia. Demonic cores were balls of qi that condensed in demonic beasts. It carried their qi like a dantian in a human. If they lost their core it would cripple their cultivation. Knowing this I hesitated on using it. Solomon: is there no other way? Pluvia: there is, but it''s not likely to succeed. This way is safer. Hearing there was an alternative warmed my heart. Knowing that she was willing to give up her core rather than have me risk myself made my impression of her skyrocket. I vowed to myself that one day, I would release her from her prison. Solomon: I''ll use the other way. Even if it''s risky for me it shouldn''t affect you. Even if I die you will be passed on with the book, at least until it finds a new user As I spoke the expression in Pluvia''s eyes softened. Pluvia: alright, I won''t force you. I have 1 dry spirit pill, these help cultivators under the fifth level breakthrough. As there is only one you will have to breakthrough after using it. Saying so she flicked it towards me. Grabbing it I felt a huge weight drop on my shoulders. If I failed I would die. Sitting down I swallowed the pill. As soon as it touched my tongue it dissolved, flowing down my throat. By the time it reached my stomach it had turned into qi. As I felt the qi it lowered from my stomach to settle in my dantian. Though I could not control it I knew that it would assist me. Without wasting time I lifted up my arms, initiating the yang absorbing technique. As the energy flooded into me it was filtered through the pills qi, becoming my own. Knowing this was crucial time I pushed my technique to it''s limits. Absorbing as much qi as I could. After a few minutes of this my qi was back to full. At this point I could feel I only had a minute of the pills effects left. Pushing all my qi into my arms I forced the technique even further, as the huge amount of qi was forcing its way through my arm the muscles on my arm began to tear. I could feel the qi tearing up my passageways as it past. If I didn¡¯t breakthrough now I would be crippled. Taking my qi I pushed all the foreign qi into my dantian. As it was pushed into the pills qi it resisted my control. As it thrashed around in my gut it hit several organs, causing me to spit blood. Feeling that the time was right I pushed all of my qi into the foreign qi at once, forcing it into the pills qi. As this qi melded into the pills it began to become mine. At first only a little was taken, then some more, after 3 seconds half of it was under my control. With this new qi inside my dantian was full. Using the final half as a catalyst I forced all of my qi, as well as the newly gained foreign qi, into my dantian. Under the strain my dantians wall began to erode away. Every time it was damaged I would use a little qi to heal it. This process of fixing and breaking down was extremely painful. It felt like a bowling all was being smashed into my organs over and over.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. After a few minutes of this pain I was beginning to lose myself. The cycle breaking down my body was also breaking my will. Just a I was about to succumb a crack formed in my dantian. Unlike the previous ones this one was not damage to it, but a sign of breaking through. Using the crack I forced all of my qi into it. The longer I pressured it the larger the crack grew. When the crack spread all around my dantian I gave one final push. With this the wall fell. Like a breath of fresh air the size of my dantian doubled, becoming large enough to accommodate my increase in qi. Collapsing on the floor I lay still, letting the refreshing feeling of a breakthrough encompass me. Pluvia: well done little one, with this you¡¯ve broken through to the second stage of qi condensation. Feeling the qi in my Dantian I could tell it had doubled. Compared to when I started there was 4 times as much. Also after the breakthrough, my control over it had improved greatly. Solomon: haaaah, I hope every breakthrough isn''t like that. Pluvia: don¡¯t worry, from what I could tell that breakthrough was as strong as the breakthrough to foundation establishment. Sitting up I looked at my body. Covering my skin was a layer of black soot. Solomon: huh, is this impurity cleansing? Pluvia: once again I''m impressed with your knowledge little one, this black soot is the impurities that have been removed from you body. Though it looks a lot more that it should be. Lowering her head Pluvia sniffed me. Solomon: is it bad? Did I push myself too far? Pluvia: from what I can tell little one, this is a stroke of luck. It looks like to compensate for your early breakthrough your body used its impurity''s. This should make your future breakthrough easier, as well as increasing your training speed. Solomon: hahaha, it seems my efforts have paid off. I''d say this was worth the pain. Such a bonus was extremely useful. Not only for now, but far into the future, it will make training faster. Pluvia: it''s lucky that you got this for your efforts, but you shouldn''t make a habit of these breakthroughs. Solomon: don¡¯t worry Pluvia, I definitely don¡¯t want to feel pain like that again. Anyway, it looks like my time is up, I''ll see you tomorrow. Bidding my farewell I left the training room, appearing back in front of Yang Tian Yang Tian: ng, huh how did you do that? For him I had suddenly gained a huge amount of power, confusing him greatly. Solomon: well then let''s finish this. Holding my hand up I used a 16th of my qi to activate the flame serpent art. With my current abilities I could use 5 different levels of power. one 32nd 16th 8th 4th and a half of my qi. As this attack formed a lizard the size of my finger. As the attack sped towards him Yang Tian he jumped to the side to avoid it. Taking this opportunity I grabbed the arcane orb, pumping a 4th of my qi into it. As he landed I sent the attack flying at him. With the speed of the attack he had no time to dodge it. As it hit he lifted up his sword, hoping to absorb most of the damage with it. When the orb hit the sword it let out an explosive flame, spreading out to cover his body, before flying back to me. With my new level of control I had created a new type of attack. Changing the way the qi exploded forth I made it explode out to cover a 10 meter area. With this I had 2 ways to use my flame serpent art, either to focus on a single spot or to attack an area. As the fire cleared I could see Yang tian. His skin was severely burnt and the sword he held was broken in two. Standing up he threw away the broken sword. Yang Tian: to have pushed me this far, you''re very strong. Now I''ll fight you with my full power. At this point he pulled out a curved yellow sword, similar to a scimitar. As he held the blade it began to emit a dull yellow light. Sword in hand he charged towards me. The difference in speed compared to before was like heaven and earth. Even with the 30 meter space between us he would reach me in 2 seconds. Holding up the arcane orb I pumped half of my qi into it, ready to activate the attack. When Yang Tian reached me he prepared to run me through. Even with my enhanced senses I could only barely follow his movement. As the sword was thrust towards my chest I shifted to the right, causing it to stab through my shoulder. Through the sword a heavy energy entered my body. To ward it off I sent the remaining quarter of my qi to block it. As the energies thought I grabbed the hilt of the sword, stopping Yang Tian from removing it. Solomon: game over Reaching forward with my other hand I smashed the arcane orb into him, activating the flame serpent art. As the focused explosion hit him he shifted his body away, releasing the sword. With the shockwave from the attack I was blown back, landing 2 meters away. I sat up to see the damage I had done. Laying on the floor 5 or so meters away was Yang Tian. On the left side of his body, he was missing his arm, as well as having injuries all the way up his torso. Seeing him incapacitated I looked at my own injury. Still planted in my left shoulder was the yellow scimitar. It had lost Its lustre when Yang Tian stopped supplying it energy. First I destroyed the energy that had entered my body. Without anyone controlling it, it was easy to remove. Then I removed the sword. As it came out huge spurts of blood shot from my shoulder. Solomon: ah shit, I really need to upgrade my body more. After treating the wound and wrapping it with a bandage, the only pain left was a slight throbbing. Standing up I grabbed the yellow scimitar. Walking over to Yang Tian I prepared to kill him. About half way to Yang Tian a huge mass of men spiltou of the forest towards me. Men: SAVE THE VICE CHIEFTAIN, KILL THE INTRUDER. The thousands of men who had come out of the stronghold had made their way here. Even with the increased power, I couldn''t face off against them. Solomon: I''ll kill you another time. Turning around I ran towards the southern side of the stronghold. With my speed I had outrun them, but if I dawdled they would catch up. As I ran I kept an eye out for Aries. Though I had held off Yang Tian for a decent amount of time she was carrying three people. About half way there I caught sight of her. She was struggling to carry the three men behind her. Running over I shouted towards her. Solomon: ARIES, RUN Startled by my sudden appearance she dropped the three men. Aries: Solomon, what happened? Solomon: There''s no time, I''ll carry these two, carry Yunfei and run. After Picking up Xiao Chen and Chenfeng I kept running, Aries in tow. volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 16 – making an offer Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 16 ¨C making an offer After running for 10 minutes we made it to the southern edge, meeting up with the three bobs. They were fighting against a group of 2 middle apprentices and 8 early apprentices. Within a minute I had disposed of them. Ourous: 10 bandits killed, 20 points earned Now moving back the bobs told me what had happened to them. At the same time, we had been attacked several bandits were sent out to where they were. Knowing they couldn¡¯t fight on their own they gathered back at the Southside, hoping to hold them off till we returned. This had confirmed my earlier suspicions, they knew we were watching them. After hearing their explanation we had made it back to base. As neared we could see the wooden wall built around the base, with several people posted on it. After finding the gate Alice came running out. Alice: Solomon, what happened? Solomon: I''ll explain later, for now, they need immediate attention. Also, tie up that one Saying so I pointed out Xiao Chen, Chenfeng and Yunfei. Alice had some of the unranked take them away for treatment. After that she had some more of them take of everyone else for attention. She then led me to our team''s tent. Alice: argh, how could you get this injured, I shouldn¡¯t have let you go on your own. She had me take my top off so she could examine my injuries. Other that the large wound on my shoulder I had slight burn and a few cuts. Solomon: don¡¯t worry too much, with my salamander race''s abilities I''ll heal quite fast. Alice that¡¯s not the point, what am I going to do if you die. Realising what she said her cheeks turned bright red, before looking away. Once again I got to see her cute side. Reaching out I petted the top of her head. Solomon: don¡¯t worry Alice, I''m not going anywhere. She then continued to tend to my wounds. Ten minutes later having finished assisting me Alice went off to check on the other. Alice: okay, stay here and rest for now. When those 3 wake up I''ll come get you. Settling down on the bed I started cultivating to regain my qi. As I went through the usual process to activate the yang absorbing technique I was surprised. The intake of qi was several times faster than before. At the rate it was flowing I would replace the lost 3 quarters in 20 minutes. From what I could feel the passageways in my arms were several times the size of the rest of my body. Along with the bonus from the impurity cleansing, my training speed had increased by at least 5 times. At I guess I would say when I forced the passageways in my arms to the breaking point it had expanded them. To add to that my cultivation technique focused on my arms. Having finished assessing my new training speed I settled into my cultivation. Twenty minutes later having regained my qi I left the tent. My hunger from the long day was huge, causing me to seek out food. Walking over to the gate I told the unranked there I was leaving before running into the forest. 5 minutes later I had picked up on the trail of a deer. With the instincts of my salamander race, it was a lot easier. Another 5 minutes later I had tracked it down. Stalking along I held the scimitar I had previously stolen. With the addition of my race charged fire qi, it glowed a slight red. The trail had opened up into a small clearing. The deer was stood in the middle of it, grazing. Stalking low, I made my way forward. Using the trees I hid in their shadows. When I reached the edge of the clearing I was 5 meters from the deer. Not wanting to charmy food I refused to use the flame serpent art. Waiting for my opportunity I stayed in the shadows. A few minutes later as the winds picked up a stirring came from across the clearing. Emerging from the forest at the opposite side were 3 wolves, dashing at the deer. Reacting fast it turned away from them to sprint away, straight towards me. Pouncing forward I cleaved the sword down into the back of its neck, sending its head flying into the air. The wolves seeing their prey taken from them began to circle me. As I stood there, smelling the fresh blood tainting the air, the wolves growled.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Wolves: grrrrrr, grrrr, grrrrr Lowering my body I pushed the limits of my senses, watching their every movement. After 20 or so seconds the first wolf pounced. Having seen it tense I was prepared for its attack. I swiftly sidestepped lifting up the scimitar. As the wolf arrived in front of me I swung down, cutting off the front half of its head. From behind me, the other two wolves attacked. Having noted their positions from before I dropped down to the ground. Having pounced at me before they could not help but fly over where I lay, hitting each other in the air. As they stood up from the floor I jumped to my feet, sprinting at the closest wolf. As it turned to face me I swung my scimitar in a downward slash. Having misjudged the distance the sword embedded itself into its back. Though it was dead I could not retrieve the scimitar before the last wolf reached me. I turned to face the final wolf. It pounced at me From only two meters away, giving me no time to dodge. Reaching back I grabbed the arcane orb. As the wolf was about to bite my throat I smashed the orb into the side of its head. By the time it had hit the ground it was already dead. As silence filled the clearing I looked at the rewards of my hunt, 3 wolves and a deer. After reclaiming my scimitar I dragged all the bodies together. Taking out a piece of rope I tied the legs of the bodies together, giving myself a handle to carry them with. Having gained what I came for I hoisted the bodies behind my body. Leaving quickly I hoped to avoid attracting nearby predators. 15 minutes later I had made it back to the gate. Standing in front of the gate was Alice. Solomon: hey Alice, I got some food we can cook for dinner. Sighing, she had some of the unranked take the bodies from me. Alice: what am I going to do with you, I told you to stay in the tent. Solomon: sorry, I got hungry so I went to find some food. Seeing the innocence in my expression she let it go. Alice: alright, just be more careful in the future. The guy you brought back as well as Yunfei and Chenfeng have woken up. Everyone is waiting for you. As we walked to where everyone was gathered I overheard a couple unranked. Unranked 1: wow, I can''t believe lady boss let that guy off. Unranked 2: I know right, if we did that she would be beating the shit out of us right now. It seemed like she had been rather strict with the unranked, I thought I should talk to her about that later. If the unranked had enough and revolted we''d be in trouble. Having reached the centre of the base everyone important was waiting around the tied up Xiao Chen. Standing to one side were the 3 bobs, on the other side was Yunfei and Chenfeng. Waiting together were Gareth and Aries. Solomon: hello everyone, seems like I have some things to explain. At first, I explained to Alice and Gareth what had happened while we were scouting. Solomon: on that note did anyone learn anything? Bob1: I saw something interesting, just before we were attacked there was smoke coming out of the stronghold. Though I can''t be sure I think they communicated through smoke signals. Solomon: that would explain how they attacked in unison. Anyone else? After confirming that no one else learnt anything I moved on. I explained who this guy squirming in front of us was. When the contestant heard who he was their eyes were filled with greed. On the other hand, Chenfeng and Yunfei''s eyes filled with hatred. Solomon: Now now everyone, calm down. We''re going to use this guy to learn about the enemy. As a hall master, he should have quite a bit of information. To get this information I''m going to torture this guy. Does anyone have a problem with this? When I looked at each person they lowered their head. Though they didn¡¯t like this there was no alternative. Gareth: boss, I have experience with torture. Why don¡¯t I torture him instead? Gareth spoke up, and from his eyes I could tell that he wouldn''t let me refuse. Solomon: no, I''m going to do it. you can help if you want, but I need to be the one to kill him. Slightly downtrodden Gareth accepted this outcome. Gareth: okay, I can accept that. Solomon: okay, that¡¯s settled. Other than this there''s not anything to talk about. Has anyone got something to bring up? After a brief silence, I continued. Solomon: okay then, Gareth go and prepare this guy for torture. There should be a cave behind the waterfall, take him there. Nodding Gareth took the hall master and left. Solomon: for the rest of today everyone can take a rest. I''ll give everyone new order tomorrow. Alice, see if you can find someone to skin the animals I caught. When it''s done cook it and serve everyone an equal share. Aries, come with me. As everyone dispersed I walked towards my team''s tent with Aries. Aries: so what is it you want? Solomon: I told you before I would explain how I knew about the attacks earlier. I''m going to explain it to you. After reaching the tent I invited her in. Sitting down inside I began to explain. Solomon: so to start with I told you to go towards Yunfei and Chenfeng. This was because I suspected they were being attacked. That whole time we watched over their stronghold I made sure we didn¡¯t expose ourselves. Being as we were attacked I was sure it was with another way they found us. If they had found us they were sure to have found the others as well. Aries: I had figured you knew they were attacking all of us, but why did you send me away? Did you know that they were being attacked by more men? Solomon: Yunfei and Chenfeng have already killed several hall masters. This made them a threat. If they identified them they would send more men to eliminate them. But it was only a fifty-fifty chance, I didn¡¯t know for sure. What I do know is that without them completing this mission will become much harder. Aries: why Would it become harder? Even though they are relatively strong there replaceable. Solomon: Yunfei has an ability that allows him to upgrade equipment. With it, he can turn an ordinary brick into a deadly weapon. With weapons like ours imagine what he could do. Aries: is it really worth risking your life for? Asking this she stared me in the eyes. Solomon: it is. We can''t finish the mission without him. Looking straight back I answered Aries: okay then, that answers all of my questions. Being as she had nothing else to say it became kind of awkward. Having considered the idea for a long time I asked her. Solomon: Aries, would you consider joining my team? Aries: huh? volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 17 - torture Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 17 - torture Having heard my offer Aries looked dumbfounded. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I cleared my throat. Snapping out of her stupor she answered me. Aries: I can''t accept your offer yet. Though we have a deal I don¡¯t trust you that much yet. Saying so she revealed her feelings. Solomon: that''s okay, if you feel like you want to join in the future, let me know. Nodding her head Aries said. Aries: I''ll keep that in mind, if there''s nothing else I''ll be going now. Having dealt with Aries I left for the waterfall. Standing by the waterfall cave''s entrance was Gareth. Walking up I greeted him. Solomon: hey Gareth, you ready to do this? Gareth: are you? Solomon: I am, I''ve already killed many people. Torturing one won''t change much. On the other hand, you have yet to kill anyone here, are you going to be able to do this? Walking into the cave, we continued to talk. Gareth: before I came to Domain I was part of an army. I have experience in both killing and torture. Someone of this level won''t be difficult to break. Walking into the cave the light began to fade away. Deeper into the cave I could see a faint red light. After delving deeper in, the light was revealed to be a torch, hanging from the cave wall. Having not thought to bring a light to the mission, Gareth made a torch to illuminate the cave. Bound to a wooden log in the centre of the cave was the recently captured hall master. Having been previously bound he was unable to speak. Though it would normally be hard to restrain a soul cultivator, Yunfei had ensured that he could not use his soul power. I could see that he had several light wounds, probably dealt by my allies earlier. Walking into the light we let Xiao Chen see us. Recognising his captor his eyes filled with hatred. As someone who had never been treated so poorly before he was enraged. Solomon: we meet again, hall master. Though I''m sure you''re not happy to see me. I''m going to give you a choice now, it would be in your best interest to choose the right one. Turning my head to Gareth I told him. Solomon: unbind his mouth. Walking over Gareth took the piece of cloth out of his mouth. As soon as the cloth left his mouth he began hollering. Xiao Chen: YOU MOTHER FUCKER, YOU DARE KIDNAP ME. WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I''LL PERSONALLY CUT YOU TO FUCKING PIECES. Before he could continue I had stepped forward smashing my fist into his face. As the blood began to flow out of his nose he started screeching again. Xiao Chen: YOU COCKSUCKER, IM GONNA GET YOU BACK FOR THIS. I''M GOING TO TAKE THAT PRETTY FRIEND OF YOURS AND FUCK HER IN FRONT OF YOU. Stepping onto a landmine, Xiao Chen threatened Aries. Grabbing him by his head I smashed my forehead into his face, causing him to cry out in pain. Xiao Chen: AAAAARGH Solomon: watch your words, or I might kill you now. Hearing my cold voice Xiao Chen quieted down. Though he may have been arrogant, he wasn''t suicidal. Solomon: alright, here are your choices. Either you tell me all the details about your Bandit friends, then I kill you quickly. Or you refuse to tell me, and then I torture you to get what I want, then I kill you. Registering my words, his face filled with dread. Xiao Chen: W, what kind of shit is that, either way I die. Solomon: but one way is quick, whereas the other is long and painful. So, which do you pick, hall master Chen?Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Xiao Chen: hey you can''t do this to me, if you do the chieftain won''t let you off. You may be strong, but, do you really think you can beat him? HAHAHA YOUR NOT EVEN A BUG BEFORE HIM. Knowing his death was coming, he tried to use the threat of his leader. Having to kill him to complete the mission, his threats held no meaning. Seeing as he wasn''t in a co-operative mood, I started the torture. start of graphic content Solomon: Bind his mouth. Then have some fun with him. Hearing my orders, Gareth rebound his mouth. Standing in front of him Gareth spoke. Gareth: if you feel like talking, start nodding your head. From behind his back he pulled out one of the knives we had gotten before. As the blade was fairly strong it would have no problem cutting through the hall masters tough body. With the heated glare of the hall master on him, Gareth took the knife to the side of his head. As the blade pressed behind his ear Xiao Chen''s face paled. Swiftly pulling the blade back Gareth sent his ear lobe flying away from his head. With the muffled scream from his bound mouth, blood spurt out of his ear. Moving to the other side Gareth did the same to his other ear. As he spasmed against the pain Gareth applied blood clotting spray to his ear. Now with the blood flow stopped he moved on to other areas. Starting by removing his nails, then cutting off all his finger, finishing by cutting out his eyes. Now blind and in horrid pain, he had long since stopped struggling. By the end of it, I was close to throwing up. Seeing the brutal precision Gareth used when torturing made me unnerved. To have carried out the torture without any reaction displayed his abilities as a torturer. seeing his skill I doubted that he was an average soldier, though I wasn''t going to force him to tell me. Having finished all he could do he walked out of the cave. Gareth: I''ve done all I can, ill leave the rest to you. His voice had lost most of its emotion. Though I was worried about his mental state, I would have to talk to him later. Turning to face the deformed body of Xiao Chen, I walked over to him. Taking off his gag I felt a twang of pity for him. This once virile and arrogant man reduced to an empty husk. Solomon: I''m sure you know your life''s over by now. Answer my question and I''ll put you out of your misery. Xiao: I''ll tell you, haah, haah. Just kill me. After questioning him for fifteen minutes I''d gotten all I needed. Solomon: have fun in hell. Placing my hand on his head I pumped a tenth of my qi into his brain, incinerating it. Ourous: hall master Xiao Chen killed, 50 points earned. To dispose of the body I used the flame serpent art. As I walked out of the cave the smell of charred human filled my nose. Standing outside the cave was Gareth, staring out at the sunset. the orange glow of the sun disappearing over the horizon. end of graphic content Solomon: I''m not going to ask where you learnt all that, but in the future, you''re not going to do anything like this. Looking at me I could see the emotion had returned to Gareth''s eyes. Gareth: thank you Solomon. I had hoped when I left the army I would leave this sort of thing behind me. Now here I am, back in the battlefield. The more I try to fight the more I can''t find a reason to. Placing my hand on his shoulder I said. Solomon: we''re not on earth anymore. To survive here we have to do things we don''t like. If you need a reason to fight I''ll give you one. From now on would you fight for me, will you be are my right-hand man? I wanted him to be my right, following all of my commands. After working together for almost a week I had seen through most of his character. Though he obviously had some issues he showed that he was loyal, and was willing to do things against his interests for the team. As one of the first people I had built a real connection with, I hoped that he would not reject. Gareth: I will, from now on I''ll follow your every order. Kneeling on one knee he pulled out a knife. Gareth: I pledge myself to you. Drawing the blade across his palm, he let the blood flow onto the knife''s blade. Holding it toward me he said. Gareth: please accept me. with this blade as my witness, if I ever betray you with this blade you will reap my life. Holding forward the blade he lowered his head. Taking the blade from in my hand I answered him. Solomon: I accept you, from today onwards you are my arms. Standing up he handed me the sheath for the knife. Gareth: please keep the knife with you, it represents my pledge. Placing the knife into the sheath, then hanging it from my waist, I asked him. Solomon: how come you did all that, did you think it up just now? Gareth: it was something I learned when in the army. I only ever did it once before, but that was in the past. I have to think of what to do now. Anyway Is there anything you want me to do? If not I''ll go help Alice run the base. Solomon: I don¡¯t need you for anything, just so you know I offered Aries a place on our team. From what I''ve seen so far she has a trustworthy character. I''d hope you could get along with her. Gareth: even if I didn''t get along with her, I would follow your judgment. I''ll keep it in mind. Solomon: alright then, since you''re going to Alice could you let her know as well. Hearing my request he paled. Gareth: you want me to tell her? She won''t like it though. Solomon: huh, why not? Turning around Gareth began to walk off. Gareth: for how great you are you can be really dense sometimes. Confused by his meaning I put it out of my mind. I''d come back to it in the future. Going back to our team''s tent I settled down in my room. The tent had 3 separating partitions, for each of our rooms, as well as another room. Taking out a cheap blade I tried to infuse my qi into it. Based on what I knew about qi, there were several ways to create enchantments with it. With the new control of my qi, I tried my hand at it. Though I knew I wouldn''t get far without a technique, I hoped to be able to add some of my qi''s properties to weapons. With this small combat knife in hand, I took a tenth of my qi and tried to force it in. As the qi began to filter into the knife the blade turned red. When half of the qi made it into the blade it began to fluctuate, turning molten and falling apart. Slightly disappointed I took out another knife. As we were unsure if the unranked would be armed we brought enough to arm them. Without any purpose now I began using them to train. Every time the weapon fell apart the qi inside it was lost. Because of this, I had to stop every couple of attempts to recover my qi. Settling down I got into a rhythm of training, losing myself in concentration. Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 18 – harsh words Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 18 ¨C harsh words 2 hours (and 15 broken knives) later I was disturbed from my training. Alice: hey Solomon, I''ve got some food here for you. From outside of my compartment, I heard Alice calling to me. Her voice didn''t sound oddly less cheerful than usual. Unsure if I misheard, I decided I was overthinking it. With the loss of my intense concentration, my bodies hunger caught up with me, causing my stomach to rumble. Solomon: GRRR Collecting all of the molten scraps I began to leave the room, towards the tents common area. As I opened the flap to exit my room the rich smell of cooked meat filled my nostrils. Sitting on a chair in the centre of the room Alice had placed two bowls on the table. Placing the scraps down in the corner I made my way over to the table, sitting down across from Alice. Only now did I notice that she had a scowl on her face. Solomon: uh, did I do something wrong? If it¡¯s the knives I''ll pay you back for them. After hearing what I said she deepened her scowl. Alice: why didn''t you ask me before inviting Aries to the team? Now understanding why she was angry I answered her. Solomon: after going through this part of the mission today, I''ve realised a crucial problem we have. We lack members. A guild should have a considerable amount of members, without allies we will be pressed to complete mission every week. After spending the day with her my assessment of her is rather good, being in a tight spot I''d rather take the risk she betrays us than fail the mission. Hearing my reasoning she seemed to become even more agitated. Alice: you should have consulted both me and Gareth before making this decision. You might be the leader but we are a team, decisions should be made together. Arguing against my actions Alice explained her views. Solomon: we don¡¯t have the luxury of democracy in this world, here the strong rule. As the strongest fighter, I am the leader. If you want to be part of the team you have to follow my instructions. If you''re not prepared to do that you should leave the team. Though I didn''t intend to be so harsh the words flew out from my mouth before my brain could catch up. Surprised by my own words I instantly regretted what I had said. standing up she glared at me, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Alice: maybe I just will. Delivering those final ice cold words she ran out of the tent, tears flowing from her eyes. I watched as one of the closest people break down because of my actions. The anger that had been sitting in my gut was turned upon myself. Bolting to my feet, I chased after her. As I exited the tent I couldn''t see her. Our tent was in the middle of several other tents, blocking my sight. From the direction of the base''s gate, I heard several shouts. Random shout 1: LADY BOSS, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? Random shout 2: BOSS, WAIT IT''S DANGEROUS TO LEAVE AT NIGHT! It was past sunset at this point. Other than the light emitted by the campfires in the base, there was no light to be seen. Looking out into the pitch black of the forest I felt my heart tighten. Dashing towards the gate I caught site of several unranked panicking. Solomon: what''s happened? Unranked: SIR, LADY BOSS HAS RUN OUT INTO THE FOREST. WHAT SHOULD WE DO? Looking at the genuine concern on the faces of these unranked, it seemed that Alice had made these men accept her. Solomon: calm down, I''ll go out and get her. Go find Gareth and explain what''s happened. He''s in charge for now. Unranked: YES SIR! Turning to face the forest I utilized the enhanced eyesight of my race. In the ground a few feet away were distinct footprints, leading off into the darkness. Speeding off into the darkness I followed the trail. A horrid sense of foreboding seeping into my bones. ********************************************************************************************************************************************** having been upset by Solomon''s words Alice had ran off into the forest. At this moment she just wanted to be alone.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Since having been brought into this world she only had Solomon supporting her. Though she also got along with Gareth he had no special attachment to her. Having just had her pillar of support threaten to abandon her had thrown her into despair. over the last week or so she had developed quite the attachment to Solomon. Several times when she was in danger he had saved her, if it wasn''t for him she wouldn''t have even survived the test mission. Even though she was only a weak girl who burdened him, he had always looked out for her. On several occasions even risking his life for her. As her feelings mixed together into a pool of confusion she sped up, eventually running too fast for her feet to follow. As she fell to the ground the welled up emotions in her bared down on her. Collapsed on the floor in a little clearing she curled up into a ball. Laying on the floor all of the experiences she''s had the last week ran through her mind. All of the trauma making her fearful, as well as all of the fun making her happy. Disturbing her from her recollection a deep, low pitched growl echoed throughout the clearing. Growl: GRRRRRRRRRR. Alice: huh. Standing up all of the hairs on her body stood on end. She could feel an intense stare on her back. Turning around she saw a pair of pearlescent yellow eyes gleaming out from the forest. As she met the eyes with her own her body was held in place. As she stared in horror the eyes slowly walked out into the clearing, revealing the creature. With a 3 meter tall body of a chicken, as well as scaled skin and piercing eyes this creature met the perfect match of a cockatrice. She watched as it skulked towards her never losing eye contact. Standing before her it lifted up one of its claws, preparing to split her down the middle. As the claw began descending time seemed to slow for her. Watching the slow movements coming to reap her life she felt deep regret. If she knew death would come so soon she would have confessed her feeling to Solomon. Only in her last moments did she realise how she truly felt. Suddenly she was being pushed from her side, moved away for the attack. Now having broken eye contact she was no longer held by the beasts gaze. Looking back to where she once stood, the body of Necro stood in her place. Cut in half at the waist he had given his life to save her. The front half of his body lay at her feet. With his last ounce of energy necro said. Necro: run, mistress. When his last breath left his body his body he turned back into a card, falling to the ground. Seeing her subordinate die before her made her fill with fear. As she stood back to her feet the beast turned towards her, smashing its head into her. Falling to the ground winded, the front of her t-shirt had been caught in the monster''s beak. Now laying on the ground injured and exposed she lost all hope. As the beast prepared to finally finish her of another roar emitted from the forest. Roar: GRAAAAAAAGH! ********************************************************************************************************************************************** having followed the trail for 10 minutes I hoped I would soon find Alice. In this darkness even with my enhanced senses making out the trail, causing me to lose the trail several times. The trail eventually straightened into a line allowing me to sprint forward. As I broke through a hedge I found Alice. She was in a clearing being attacked by a chicken creature. Seeing her laid on the floor, the front of her chest having been exposed. Seeing this infuriated me. Before the beast could attack her I planned to incinerate it. But before I could act a roar shook the air. Roar: GRAAAAAAAGH! A few seconds later a claw descended into the clearing, slightly smaller than the beast, smashing it into the ground. As I looked up I saw the new creatures whole body. Several stories tall, with red scales and 4 long limbs. It fit the traditional image of a European dragon. Landing in the clearing it leered down at the chicken creature. Under this new creature''s gaze, it shrivelled with fear. Looking away from the chicken the dragon looked towards Alice. Fearing that it was going to attack her I sped out to stand in front of her. Dragon: what are you doing? little lizard, why do you protect a human. The dragon spoke in a deep voice similar to humans, surprising both me and Alice. Solomon: I apologise, great dragon, but could you let her go? The dragon tilted its head to the side. Dragon: does little one wish to take my prey, you should not try to take from me, I''m not very forgiving. Seeing the conversation going downhill I made a gambit. I began speaking in dragon-tongue, hoping to convince him. Solomon(in dragon-tongue): great dragon, a fellow dragon has told me to look after this human, I would hope you could respect your fellow dragons wishes. As soon as I began speaking in dragon-tongue the dragon''s eyes filled with surprise. When I had finished the dragon spoke back to me, also in dragon-tongue. Dragon(in dragon-tongue): you speak dragon, small one. The dragon seemed to struggle speaking the language as if it had not got a complete understanding of the language. Solomon(in dragon-tongue): I do, a fellow dragon of yours bestowed the language to me, searing it into my mind. Hearing my explanation the dragon immediately knelt down. Speaking again it conversed in English. Carbones: I am carbones, little one I''m surprised you know a greater dragon. Confused about what a great dragon was I asked. Solomon: I am Solomon, I''m afraid I don''t know what a greater dragon is great carbones. Looking at me like I was an idiot Carbones explained. Carbones: a greater dragon is a dragon capable of transmitting into others mind. They are always supremely powerful beings. I guessed that this was most likely a standard to judge dragons in this fiction. From what I could tell this dragon revered the title greater dragon. Using this to my advantage. Solomon: great Carbones, we have been tasked by the greater dragon to deal with some bandits in the area, if you helped us I''m sure they could repay you. Carbones thought for a few seconds before replying. Carbones: I would like too little one, but if this is your task the greater dragon wouldn''t want me to complete it for you. Though I have a counter offer. I''ll ensure your safety and help you train, this should be enough to gain benefits for us both. After weighing the risks I decided it was worth it. Solomon: I''m good with this deal, let''s do it. Ourous: secret missing objective completed, gain Carbones support. Invalidates secret mission, kill Carbones. rewardsfor completing the secret mission, gain Carbones support, are as follows. contestant responsible rewarded 400 points and 2 G rank tokens, all other G rank contestants rewarded 1 G rank token and 200 points, unranked contestants rewarded 100 points. Surprised by the sudden voice of Ourous, a smile crept onto my face. Solomon: great carbones, we have ally''s nearby would you follow us back there. Nodding his head he replied Carbones: I will do so. Turning back around I spoke to Alice. Solomon: I''m sorry for what I said Alice, please come back with me to the base. Being brought back from her fear she suddenly jumped up hugging me. Through her touch, I could feel that she was shaking. To calm her down I placed my arms around her. Solomon: don¡¯t worry, it''s all okay now. volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 19 - Gareths reminiscence Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 19 - Gareth''s reminiscence Having finished helping cook dinner, Gareth decided to wander around the base. He was looking for any problems with the wall created by the unranked. Even though he had personally supervised them it didn''t hurt to be careful. He knew that Alice had gone with dinner to see Solomon. He didn''t want to disturb their fun. Though she had tried to hide it he knew the both of them had something between them. As Solomon''s subordinate, he was happy knowing Solomon had someone he was in love with. As his thoughts turn towards love he became melancholic. Gareth: I wonder how she''s doing. His thought were on the wife he had left in the neutral plane. Before coming here he had lived a long life. Starting with a childhood of poverty he had turned to crime, building a criminal empire. At the age of 19 he was caught for all the illegal acts he had performed and was sentenced to life in prison. At this point he was approached by the army. They said they could remove his sentence if he joined them. Seeing no other alternative he accepted. Then spending the next three years in training he was moulded into peak condition. Possessing the needed skills he was sent into the field, spending the next 5 years serving the army. Until he met her. Having been sent to destabilize a small countries government his mission was to kill the king of this country and his sole air. After slaughtering his way to the king all of his teammates had been killed. The team he had been with for eight years had died before his eyes. By then he had realized this was a suicide mission. The country that sent him only wanted to get rid of older soldier who were more likely to defect. Filled with regret and hate he went forward determined to die a soldier''s death. Entering the throne room the king sat on the throne, a young girl on a lavish chair next to the king. He had been waiting for me. He knew after killing the rest of my team he had no men left to kill me. Realizing this he waited. King: dear assassin I would like to propose a deal. This daughter of mine has no thoughts of the throne. Can you spare her after killing me. Hearing her father words the princess showed great sadness. Seeing this he had no desire to kill the king. Though he had been sent here with that mission the country he came from were more or less abandoning me. Gareth: i have no want to kill you. I''m sure you figured out I''m a disposable pawn by now. I merely want to die a soldier death, like my comrades. Do you have no men who can face me? Gareth had already summarised this was the case but he still asked. King: you have already killed them all. Alas it is the fate of this foolish king to bring doom on his people. Assassin I have an offer. If you are looking for a soldier death I can give you a chance at one. Swear fealty to me and I will give you the chance. Hearing this offer he felt an exit had opened up before him. Though this man would only manipulate him, he didn''t mind. As long as he could die fighting he cared nothing for what cause he fought. Walking in front of the king he knelt down pulling a knife from his belt. Slitting open his palm he drenched the blade in blood. Presenting it to the man he recited words taught to him by the special forces. This was a ritual they had you learn, letting you pledge yourself to your superior. Though he had never done it he was versed in the details. Taking the knife the king accepted Gareth''s pledge. From here Gareth was sent off to a battlefield. Though he fought against greater amounts of men, his instincts from years of experience did not allow him to purposefully throw his life away. Every time he would fail to die on the battlefield he would return to the kings castle. Most of the people there, having seen his previous actions, detested him. All but one, princess Katrina. To her he was the man that spared her father''s life, and joined his side. Even after her father ordered the deaths of his comrades. Every time he left for battle she would feel a sense of loss and worry, growing greater with every battle. Seeing his daughter become more and more attached, the king had a dilemma. Gareth was the greatest asset of the country, saving it from destruction several times. For the people he would have to keep risking Gareth''s life. But for his daughter he wanted to keep him here. He spent many night deliberating for an answer. Many months later after a particularly bad battle Gareth returned injured. Seeing the several horrid injuries on Gareth, Katrina immediately ran to him, embracing him. As he tried to sooth her he was surprised when she kissed him. Seeing this clear display of affection the king had his answer. Later that night he called Gareth to his office. King: Gareth I''m afraid I have to break our promise, I can not allow you to die a soldier''s death. For my daughter you must live on. For many years I have struggled to keep this little country afloat. Now, it is time for it to sink.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Gareth had conflicted emotions, he still felt the want for an honourable death. But the love he felt for Katrina held fought against that desire. King: I''m going to submit the country one of the local superpowers. This way the people can live peacefully as well as my daughter. But these country''s will not simply leave me be, assassins will be sent for me and Katrina. I want you to run away with her. This is my last request. Looking into the eyes of the man he had followed for over 4 years he knew this decision would not change. Gareth: I will do as you ask. As long as I live your daughter will be safe. Accepting the kings resolution Gareth went to Katrina. After hearing what her father planned she tried to argue many times. But in the end she could only accept it. The night before the king planned to give up the country the both of them left. Having planned this for a while the plan was to be in another country by the time the king announced anything. Reaching a train station we planned to take a train out of the country. Just as we got on the platform two men in black clothing attacked us. Though he was surprised by their appearance he was not unprepared. Pulling out a combat knife and handgun he forced them back. Katrina being in a combat situation for the first time froze. The train we were going to get on was just about to leave the platform. Ensuring her safety he pushed her onto the train. Gareth: go to the place we organized before. I''ll catch up when I''ve dealt with these guys. Before she could protest the doors had closed and the train had departed. Turning he faced the assailants Attacker 1: sending her away won''t do any good. Once we''ve killed you we''ll go have some fun with her. Hearing a threat directed at his lover Gareth was filled with hatred. Lunging forward he attacked the men. After a short confrontation it was obvious he could not take the both of them. Though they were weaker than him their teamwork was seamless. Affirming his intentions he decided he absolutely could not let them live. Attacking once again he let both of them stab him with their weapons. Surprised by their attacks succeeding they both were caught of guard when Gareth stabbed one in the heart and shot the other through his skull. Having dealt with the threat relief flooded his body. Collapsing to the ground he looked at his body. Several small wounds from the fight as well as two knives in the gut. He knew he would not survive this time. Gareth: sorry Katrina, it looks like I won''t be catching up. Just as he was about to sink into death the world around him turned white. Confused he looked around him. A small white orb of light was floating in the centre of the white world. As he stared at this world a mechanical voice echoed within his brain. Automaton 127: contestant number 135497671463, you have been selected as a contestant of Domain. I, Automaton number 127, have been assigned as your system exchanger manager. I will now commence the test. Suddenly a shot of light emitted by the orb hit him, healing his body and removing his memories. Gareth: huh, who am I? Remembering the story of his life a deep sadness pervaded his heart. Thoughts like would he see her again and would she recognize me? Ran through his mind. Calming his thought he accepted that the only way to gain answers was to get stronger. Having been stood still reminiscing quite a bit of time had past. As he was about to walk back to the tent he heard distant shouting. Worried they had been discovered he bolted over. Upon reaching the gate he saw two unranked looking around sporadically. After approaching and questioning them he had been told Gareth''s orders. Though he was worried he would follow his orders. He told the two men to keep all they had seen to themselves and act like usual. Rushing off, he went to Aries tent. Gareth: Aries, are you in there? A few seconds later Aries emerged from the tent. Aries: I''m here, is there something you want? Gareth: I have something to tell you, but, we should go somewhere more private. Following me we went to a secluded section of the base. After explaining to her what happened she proposed we just keep it quite. After all the odds of them returning quickly was very high. Gareth: let''s do that. Anyway I have something else to discuss. I know Solomon invited you to the team, but unlike him you haven''t earned my or Alice''s trust yet. If Solomon trust you will accept you. But let me warn you. If you betray us I won''t let you live. Aries looked at me square in the eyes, assessing me. After hearing me out she spoke. Aries: I haven''t even decided to join yet, but don''t worry. I owe Solomon. I have no intention of betraying his trust. It''s pretty odd though, you don''t find many teams that have such levels of trust between members. Most people see guilds as ways to advance their power by using others. The amount of guilds built on trust is exceptionally low. Though I suppose this is what you''d expect from a G rank guild. Anyway that''s everything right. I''m going to go back to bed. Let me know if something comes up. Watching her closely I used my military experience to check if she was lying. I didn''t find anything which likely means she was telling the truth. It was unlikely she could lie to me. Gareth: okay then, I will. As we were about to go our separate ways a the surrounding suddenly darkened. Confused by the spectacle I looked up. Above me flying through the air was a several stories tall mass of red scales. As I stared in shock at what I presumed was a dragon an earth shattering raw bellowed from the creature. Dragon: RAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHH Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 20 - a sudden proposal Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 20 - a sudden proposal After giving Alice my coat to cover herself and checking her for injuries we began walking. After a few minutes of trudging in the direction of the base carbones grew impatient. Carbones: climb onto my foot, little one. I will fly us there. Saying so he offered his foot forward. With his colossal size he could fit both me and Alice onto his foot. Solomon: thank you, Carbones. Earlier on he had told me to refer to him as such. He dislike being titled as great. Stepping forward Alice and I stood on his foot, holding onto the base of his leg. Carbones: hold on tight little one. Giving his warning he spread out his wings. Within seconds of taking off he was already soaring over the tree''s. Having been scared by the sudden speed Alice grabbed onto me. Wrapping one arm around her I pulled her into my chest. Solomon: don''t worry, I''ve got you. Look at the view. With reddening cheeks Alice looked out at the sea of tree''s. Occasional lights would flare up in the forest making it look like a starry sky. Looking down as we passed one of these light I caught a glimpse of two creatures fighting. The lights emitted were the results of these battles. Carbones: is this the base? Looking ahead I saw the waterfall that marked our base. Solomon: It is. could I possibly ask a favour. Carbones: what is it, little one? Solomon: could you remove some of these dangerous creatures from the area. Though they pose no threat to me, they are fatal threats for my allies. Carbones: I can do that, brace you ears little one. Slightly expecting it I covered my own ears, as well as the ones of the distracted Alice. Carbones: RAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHH After a sharp intake of air Carbones let out a soul shaking roar. The sheer power of it caused the waterfall to momentarily fluctuate. At this point we were practically floating over the base. Looking down I could see the mass panick caused by his appearance. Solomon: thank you. Flying into the waterfall he let out a molten stream of fire. As the two forces collided together steam sprayed forth. Having broken through the waterfall the molten flames sprayed forth into the cave behind it. After a few seconds the fire had greatly increased the size of the cave, as well as its temperature. Flying in Carbones landed in the centre of his newly made cavern. Getting off of his leg I began to guide Alice out of the cave. The appearance of a dragon as well as the sudden flight had left her drained. Solomon: I will be back to see you tomorrow morning, thank you for agreeing to help me Carbones. Carbones: think nothing of it little one, we both benefit from this. You have no reason to take my help so seriously. Though he said so, I could tell that he was happy I had taken his help as a personal favour. Walking out of the cave I was greeted by Gareth and Aries charging towards me. Gareth: LEADER? Aries: SOLOMON? Seeing me they became dumbfounded. Solomon: hey, I suppose I have a lot to explain. But first, let us get some fresh clothes. At this point they both paid attention to the state of my and Alice''s clothes. Aries cheeks reddened as she looked away, whereas Gareth simply lowered his head. Gareth: sorry, leader. We will go calm down everyone else. Taking Aries with him they left to inform everyone that they weren''t in danger. Alice having mostly recovered came with me to get changed. Arriving at our tent we entered our separate rooms to get changed. After changing I sat in the common room of the tent waiting for Alice. She came out wearing fresh clothes, carrying the coat I gave her in hand.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Solomon: have you calmed down now? Alice: I have. Breathing out a sigh I continued. Solomon: I''m sorry Alice, I said I''d protect you. But now I''m upsetting you, and even putting you in danger. I''ve failed you. Clenching my fists the dark emotions within me began to swirl. focusing themselves on my hatred for myself. Before I knew it Alice had dropped my coat and flung herself at me. Wrapping her arms around me, she pulled me into a tight embrace. Solomon: huh? Alice: you haven''t failed. I''m safe now. You protected me. If you didn''t chase after me I wouldn''t be alive. You can''t be perfect all the time, but as long as you always try your best to protect me you''ll never have failed. With these heartfelt words from her the mental anguish of failure had disappeared like wisps of smoke. Solomon: thank you Alice. Alice: it''s okay. I have to something to say. When I was almost killed all of my regrets came to the forefront of my mind. All of the opportunities I had missed. Among them there was one that stood out. Pulling herself slightly away from me she looked me in the eyes. With her deep emerald eyes pulling me in she spoke. Alice: I love you, please go out with me? Her sentence was like a key, opening a door in my heart. A flood of emotions welled up within me. All of the feeling I had suppressed to be a "good" leader were released. Among them the strongest was the affection I held for Alice. At first it was a small nugget, but having been fostered by the time we spent together, it had grown into a boulder. Solomon: I, I will. Before I could react she pressed her lips against mine, bringing us into a deep kiss. With our bodies pressed together I could feel her heartbeat. Badum badum badum. It was a fast, rhythmic thumping. After a few seconds she pulled away from me, leaving me shocked. Alice: that was my first kiss. Bringing her hand up to her lips she looked extremely cute. Solomon: mine too, you''ll have to take responsibility for that. Hearing what I said she blushed. Alice: really, but aren''t you a couple of years older than me. I thought you would be experienced in this and even,, other things. When she finished speaking her cheeks reddened even further. I thought she looked extremely cute like this. Solomon: haha, I told you before didn''t I? I was a neet before coming here. I''ve never had a girlfriend let alone had sex. When I said sex Alice looked away, embarrassed. Solomon: as much as I like this situation I have to go talk to everyone outside. Looking down Alice took note of the position we were in. She had her body pushed against me, and one of my legs between her thighs. Embarrassed she quickly stood up. Alice: alright then, let''s go talk to everyone. Even though she was bright red she tried to change the subject. Solomon: are you sure you want to go? You were almost killed not too long ago. Alice: what kind of woman would I be if I couldn''t accompany my man. Shortly after saying so she reddened even further, looking like a tomato. Despite this, the look in her eyes was resolute. Solomon: all right then, lets go. Standing up we both left the tent. Gareth had gathered everyone at the base of the waterfall. Though they were gathered everyone was nervous. Though they had been told it was safe, an existence that could squish them like bugs was not far away. As we approached, Gareth and Aries came over to greet us. Seeing Aries, Alice''s eyes spat venom. She came closer to my side. Grabbing a hold of my arm and holding it to her chest. Though she did not have a huge chest to a virgin like me it was extremely effective. Gareth: hello leader. Aries: h, hi Solomon, care to explain what that thing was. Solomon: I will, let me explain to everyone. Walking in front of everyone I began to explain the situation. Using the clamour about Carbones, I avoided having to explain about the reason we were out there in the first place. Having received the message about there gained points all of the people readily accepted the news. Now knowing the details the fear they felt towards Carbones was transformed into reverence. With such a strong creature protecting them they felt that even if the mission couldn''t be completed a great amount of points would be awarded to them. Though having this complacent attitude was bad there was little I could do to change it. Having explained everything Alice Gareth and I made our way back to our tent. On the way back Gareth asked us Gareth: if you guys want to have some fun I can stay in another tent. With both of our faces reddening we denied we would do anything like that. After reaching the tent we went into our separate rooms. with the long event of the day having sapped my energy I fell asleep within moments. drifting once again in dreamland, long forgotten memories began to arise. I had a brother a year younger than me. he had always been the prodigal son. compared to me the neet black sheep of the family. despite this he revered me. always believing I was better than him. I had one memory that always repeated itself. when I was 17 I had gone out to a party with my younger brother. though I was a neet he always encouraged me to come with him to parties. At this party, we had both drunk a decent amount of alcohol. On the way back we had gotten into an argument. He was saying that I was better than him yet I said that he was better. As we walked down the road arguing he said one thing that I hated. Younger brother: but you''re my older brother. You have to be better than me. This always made me feel like shit. Having someone who was so much better than me at everything tell me that I supposedly was better. It was a horrid feeling. Under the fog of alcohol I became angry. lashing out by punching him. As he was caught off guard I hit him full force making him fall, straight into the road. At this point a car was passing on the street. Realizing all to late I watched as my brother fell before the car. It was like time had slowed. I saw every detail of the emotion in his eyes. At first surprise, then fear, then hatred. The most pure hatred I have ever seen. As he was an inch away from death he spoke one last word. Younger brother: why? That memory was forever stuck in my dreams. It was like I was reliving the moment over and over again. after an untold amount of replays something in my memories changed. After being hit by the car his body wasn''t broken or battered. He was fine. Finally breaking the cycle I felt relieved, until my brother approached me. Even though he was wearing ebony black armour I could still tell it was him. This was the armour he was wearing when he killed me. I was frozen in place as he pierced my heart with a flaming grey sword. Staring at the hatred in his eyes untold fear overwhelmed me. My very soul felt like it was under the attack of a god. My very being was at the mercy of the pure hatred within my younger brother. Terrified I screamed out my fear. Solomon: AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 21 - training regiment Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 21 - training regiment Solomon: AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH Awaking from my dream I let out a horrid scream. Almost instantly after I had done so both Alice and Gareth rushed into my room. Alice: Solomon, what happened? Gareth: leader, are you okay? Having rushed into my room they both saw me sat bolt upright in my bed, covered in sweat with absolute fear in my eyes. Realising I was back in reality I regained control of myself. Solomon: it''s, it''s nothing. Don''t worry about it. Though I trusted both of them with my life I didn''t want to tell them about it. Especially the fact that I had killed my own brother. It was the only thing I would refuse to tell them about. Seeing that I wasn''t going to tell them anything they both dropped the subject. Solomon: anyway, it''s the morning now. Gareth, please gather everyone. I''m going to explain what I learnt from the hall master. With his orders, Gareth left the tent. Gareth: yes leader. Alice then came and sat next to me, leaning against me. Alice: I know you don''t want to tell me about it, but I''m always here if you need someone to talk to. Such heartfelt words calmed my panicked heart. Solomon: thank you, I''ll tell you someday. Lowering my head I stole a quick kiss. Though she blushed she didn''t move away or act embarrassed. It was only just sinking in that I had got myself a girlfriend.i thought in my mind that I had to protect her at all costs. After a minute or so we both got up and left our tent. Gareth had gathered everyone in front of the waterfall. Standing in front of everyone I began to explain what I had learnt. Solomon: hello everyone, I have some information to explain to you. As you know I captured the hall master. From him I have learnt some valuable information. Firstly the size of the enemy. To his knowledge there are 10,000 standard bandits, though they are strong for men they can easily be dealt with if they are separated into smaller groups. Hearing that our group of seventeen had to deal with so many men turned the mood sour. Solomon: other than them there are 100 early soul apprentices, 40 middle soul apprentices and 10 late soul apprentices. These men are at least equal to an unranked in power, the late apprentices are somewhere between G rank and unranked. The already downtrodden atmosphere was made even worse with this devastating news. Solomon: then there are the real problems. The vice chieftain and chieftain. The vice chieftain is a late soul personage, about equal to a strong G rank in power. The chieftain is a middle soul warrior, about equal to an F rank. And then with this last piece of information, everyone was practically beaten already. Solomon: I also gained some other info. They have an inscription built around their base, alerting them when anyone nears. This was how they detected us when we were scouting. Like the final brick in the wall, this had destroyed any confidence that existed. Solomon: because this is the case we can''t attack them at the moment. We will spend the next 11 days training. After that I will be able to brake the inscription. We will then spend the next 2 days fighting them with gorilla tactics. Hit and run basically. On the final day we will launch an all out attack. The unranked will fight against the soul apprentices while the G ranks will fight against the chieftain and vice chieftain. Hearing my plan though most didn¡¯t like it, they all still agreed to it. Even if we could not complete the mission, it allowed everyone to make points by killing bandits. This was enough to convince everyone. Solomon: okay then other than that I will now give everyone their jobs for the next 11 days. All of the unranked will build up the base, while also performing guard duty. This will allow you to temper your bodies for a while, as well as create a better living environment for yourselves.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The unranked seemed pleased with this order. They probably thought it was better than 11 days of harsh training. Solomon: bobs, you will oversee them. Giving them instructions. The bobs nodded, accepting their orders. Solomon: as for the rest of us we will all train for the most part of the day. Then at night we will convene in order to spar with each other. This will let us both improve our strength and better understand each others abilities. The remaining people(Alice Gareth Aries Chenfeng and Yunfei)were all happy with this. Solomon: alright then, get to work everyone. Turning around I walked up to the waterfall cave. After entering Carbones was laying down waiting for me. Even laying he was huge compared to me. Carbones: hello little one. Solomon: hello Carbones. I have a couple of favours to ask. Looking around I could see how he had changed the atmosphere in the cave. The red tinted wall emitted heat at all times. I could feel there was an abundance of energy in the air. Solomon: is it okay if you let me train in here? Hearing my request he seemed interested. Carbones: why would you want to train here, little one? Solomon: I can feel that there is a lot of energy in the air, I think it would assist me in my training. Carbones briefly showed a surprised expression before speaking. Carbones: I''m surprised you can feel the energy, normally only dragons can tell, I don''t mind you training here. I guessed that through the mixing of my salamander race and qi my sensitivity to energy had increased. Solomon: thank you for the praise, the other request was if you could possibly help me temper my body. Carbones was even more surprised at hearing this. Carbones: how could I do that little one. Solomon: I was hoping you could breath fire on me as well as hitting me with your claws. By receiving such attacks I thought it could help me build a resistance to them. After a few seconds o contemplation Carbones answered. Carbones: I can, but it would be risky for you. My strength, even at its weakest is not something some at your level can normally handle. Though the warning was warranted I had little choice. If I wanted to beat an F rank in 2 weeks I had to risk it. If I did not make ample points this mission I would be at risk when I left. I could not let that happen. Solomon: I will take the risk. Carbones: then feel free, little one. I then explained my training method to him. I would at first have him cover me in fire. Using my qi I would hold out for as long as possible. when my qi ran out he would stop. Then I would absorb the surrounding energy to replenish my qi. Then he would attack me with his claws. I would alternate between him attacking me and absorbing qi. Carbones: I will start then, prepare yourself little one. Sitting cross legged I brought forth my qi. Spreading it evenly around my body. At this point Carbones let a small jet of flame seep out of his mouth, directing it at me. When it collided with my qi it began to burn it away. For every second that past a tenth of my qi was eroded away. I could feel that it was less to do with the quantity of my qi but more so my control over it. I felt that if I had better control I could hold out for much longer. After my qi ran out I began using the yang absorbing technique. With the special properties of the area it let me absorb much faster. Within 20 minutes I had recovered completely. Moving on Carbones began attacking me with his claw. I stood still ready to receive his attack. As his claw neared me I reached out with my hands, hunching my back. As my hands made contact the strength of the attack was felt throughout my body. As I tried to hold out against it I fuelled all of my qi to my legs and arms. After 4 seconds I had exhausted myself. No longer able to hold it back I took the attack full force. It sent me flying 15 meters away. Though it had not done any serious damage I felt the stain of my bones as they held out against the attack.Once again sitting down I began to recover my qi. In this cycle I spent most of the day, only stopping when sunset was arriving. Biding farewell to Carbones I left. Heading towards the sparing area. In the centre of the base the unranked had built a arena of sorts. Inside stood everyone else, waiting for me. Solomon: looks like were all here. So shall we begin? After everyone confirmed I continued Solomon: okay then everyone will fight everyone else once. So lets do it like this. I am 1 Alice is 2 Gareth 3 Chengfeng 4 Yunfei 5 and Aries 6. we will start with 1v2 3v4 and 5v6. Make sure you don¡¯t injure your opponent, also in the case of Alice don''t brake any of her minions. Having sorted out the first fights Alice and I walked into one of the marked areas. Solomon: are you ready, I''m not gonna go easy on you. Alice: neither am I. you better be prepared. Pulling out her card, she summoned necro. Appearing in front of he was surrounded by ten goblies. Because he had been destroyed before, all of his summons had disappeared. Now she would have to build up again. Though with 14 days before we went full out she would have built up an army of 140 goblies by then. Taking the initiative I grabbed my arcane orb, pumping it up with a tenth of my qi. With the new level of control I had I could now divide and use my qi by any amount equal to or less than half. Sending it to the ground before her and her minions I sent a spray of dirt in their direction. using this makeshift smokescreen I circled around reaching Alice''s back. Placing my knife in front of her neck I had won the duel. From this it was obvious that Alice had both very little experience and control over her minions. Alice: argh, it''s unfair when I fight against you. You''re so much stronger than me. Solomon: I''m not stronger than you, I''m just a better fighter. Don¡¯t worry about it though. That¡¯s what this sparring is for, To let everyone improve. After an uneventful fight with Alice I had two similarly short spars against Gareth and Aries. I could tell they were both more experienced fighters, and that if we were of equal power I would lose. However the aggressive style of my attacks was too overwhelming for them. After that I fought Against Chenfeng. From what I could tell he had broken through to early soul personage. But even so it was still rather easy to beat him. Though we were both new to life and death battles he was accustomed to fighting equal or weaker opponents. On the other hand I was used to fighting those stronger than me. This advantage allowed me to have the upper hand. Finally I fought against Yunfei. He had beaten everyone else like me. When we began sparing we started off on even grounds. I could tell that he had broken through to middle soul personage. However as the battle dragged on my greater stamina as well as the unorthodox nature of my attacks won over him. Overall this had been a productive session for me. I had been able to both see what I lacked, as well as what I could do with my current ability. As we left the sparring arena I felt confident that with 11 days to train we could defeat the chieftain. Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 22 - training cheats Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 22 - training cheats Having finished sparring we all left to get dinner. In the centre of camp, two unranked were roasting a few deer''s over a bonfire. After a long day of training, the food made all of our mouths water. While eating our food we all sat and chatted with each other. Though it was not about anything important there was a nice atmosphere to it. After eating Alice, Gareth and I made our way back to our tent. After bidding each other goodnight we went into our separate rooms. Sat on the bed I finally had the chance to use dragons fire. As usual, Pluvia was waiting for me. Pluvia: welcome back. Solomon: yeah, sorry it took so long. I had a lot to do. Pluvia: don''t worry about it, I have some good news for you. I didn''t get the chance to tell you but because you have reached the 2nd stage of qi cultivation you have unlocked more features with dragons fire. Hearing I had gotten even more bonuses with the book I was ecstatic. The book as it was had already let me cheat death. Solomon: this sounds good, what have I unlocked? Pluvia lowered her head close to my body. Speaking as quietly as she could. I had asked her to do this as her loud voice was beginning to give me headaches. Pluvia: you have lots of benefits, for someone at your level this book has hundreds of things. however, I will just explain the key points. You can explore the rest yourself. The most noticeable change will be the time you can spend in here. You can now spend two hours here twice a day, Or four hours once For a second I stared at Pluvia, astonished. This meant that I had effectively quadrupled the amount of time I could stay in this qi beneficial environment. Though Pluvia explained it was less beneficial later on the addition of 4 hours to a day was very beneficial. It meant that over these 13 days I would have another 2 and a bit days of training. Considering being in this environment made training here ten times faster than training on the outside. If I took that into account I had the added the equivalent of 20 days of normal training. This was a huge windfall for me. Having already been told this I had completely forgotten that there were more benefits. Pluvia: the two other key points are the unlocking of the subspace and this enchantment technique. Placing her snout on top of my head she passed over the technique. It was only a simple technique titled fire bequeathing enchantment, however, it was just what I needed. This would give me an excuse to take people''s equipment. Then I could add my enchantment as well as Yunfei''s upgrade. Pluvia: though it¡¯s a low-level technique it is a good way to start enchanting. As it does not use ay material and it is overly complicated it will allow you to practise your enchanting easily. The subspace is an interspatial room within the dragon''s fire. Though it is over 15 miles cubed in size, you can only access 5 meters of it at the moment. This sorted out the majority of the problems faced when entering a mission. I could carry anything needed within it rather than lugging around backpacks. Pluvia: to access it you just have to will it. Wanting to test it out I tried to will it. Picking up on my intent I was instantly transported into the space. However unlike I had thought before, it was not empty. There were three piles of small red cores as well as one armour rack and two weapons racks. The racks all had what looked like expensive items on them. Not wanting to mess with anything before talking to Pluvia I looked around me. The 5 meter cubed space was surrounded by an opaque barrier. Though I could make out rough shapes through it I could not tell what the shapes were.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Willing once again I appeared back in the training room. Solomon: Is all that stuff in there mine? Seeing me look like a child in a sweet shop she let out a small giggle, sounding surprisingly human. Pluvia: hihihi, it''s all yours. If you want to take something out just will it. It saves you entering the room every time. Trying it out I pulled out one of the small red orbs I had seen. Holding it up I asked Pluvia. Solomon: what is this? After eying it for a second she replied. Pluvia: it''s the demonic core of a fanged panda. Looking at it I inspected it in detail. It was a baseball sized pearlescent red orb that let out a slight gleam of light. It had no scratches or marks on it, making it look untouched. I knew that I could use it to cultivate, just not how. Solomon: so I can use this to cultivate, right? Pluvia: you can, it should be very useful to you. It can increase your cultivation speed by two times. From what she said It looked like I had fallen into a goldmine. If I could double my cultivation speed from what it was I would be able to train the equivalent of 40 days worth before facing the chieftain. With this amount of time, I might even be able to breakthrough to 3rd stage of qi cultivation before facing him. If I did that I was sure I could defeat him. Solomon: so how do I use it? Wanting to not waste any more time I questioned Pluvia. Seeing me change from playful to serious she did the same. Pluvia: I haven''t explained everything yet. There are limits to it. You can only use it while in here. Without me to regulate them for you, you''ll die. Though this wasn''t the best news it wasn¡¯t unexpected. To use such a god like item would of course have restrictions. Solomon: alright then. That¡¯s not too bad. Pluvia: also one of them will only last an hour. Hearing this put a wrench in my plans. Based on the size of the two piles there was around 100 of them. Over 13 days I would use 4 a day. That was 52 cores. Though I had easily got enough for the mission I only had a limited supply. If that was so would it be better to save it till I was at a higher level. After some consideration it though it would be better to save them. Solomon: I think I''ll save them for now. I''ll use them when my training speed slowed down. hearing my conclusion, Pluvia had a small smile on her face. Pluvia: that would be a good decision if it wasn''t for the fact they''ll be useless later on. Solomon: what do you mean? It seemed she was happy that I took the more responsible decision but knew that it wouldn¡¯t work. Pluvia: the higher your level the worse the effect is. By the time you reach the 4th stage of qi cultivation it will be more or less useless. It seemed I could only use them now as they would be useless later. Solomon: alright then, let''s get started. How do I use it. Sitting down I held out the small ball to Pluvia. Pluvia: you eat it. When it turns into qi in your body I will subdue it. Then you will have an hour to absorb qi through it. Explaining it she came and sat down in front of me. Resting her head on top of mine. Pluvia: I''m ready when you are. Lifting up the ball I swallowed it. Like the pill from before it turned into qi as It went down. When it had reached my Dantian it began to spasm. All of a sudden the seemingly small and calm ball of qi exploded inwards. Aiming to invade my Dantian. From instinct, I could tell I had no chance. If Pluvia didn''t help me I would die within seconds. As the first wave hit me a wave of qi passed through my head into my body. It was unlike any energy I had felt before. Everything before, no matter how strong lacked volume. This new energy however, was both highly more concentrated and more abundant. It kept seeping into me until it filled my entire body. Being surrounded the core became complacent. From nearby my ear I could hear Pluvia. Pluvia: what you just felt was the monster cores will. Every monster core will carry the will of its user. When trying to absorb them you need to subdue the will first. If you don''t the will can overcome you, taking control of your body. Having experienced the will in these monster cores I took this warning to heart. Pluvia: now, start training. When you bring your qi into your Dantian pass it through the monster core. Following her instructions, I began absorbing the qi in the air. After gathering a decent amount I brought it to the monster core. As it passed through it grew stronger. Though the amount remained the same the quality improved a lot. Seeing this I came up with an idea. Solomon: hey Pluvia, could I pass the qi I already have through the core? Pluvia: you can, but it won''t allow you to breakthrough. As I''m sure you can tell it makes the quality better. If you don''t add new qi in you won''t progress towards the 3rd level of qi cultivation. Hearing this I thought I would try something. I absorbed a small amount of qi. Then I took some qi out of my Dantian. Using my upgraded level of control I surrounded the new qi with the old. Though it resisted at first I could just about handle it at this level. I could tell that if I didn''t have the bonuses from both my race and my lucky breakthrough this would be impossible. I tried to push the bundle of qi through the core. Though it took longer than before it qi and adding to it. Pluvia: wow, it seems I''ve underestimated you. If you can keep that up your training will speed up by 4 times rather than two. It seems the risks I had taken before were paying off. If my training was four times what it was before, I was confident in at least getting close to a breakthrough before I fought the chieftain. Hopefully, that along with the upgraded and enhanced equipment would tip the scales. Other than these advantages I had one trump card on my enemy. I knew I would be healed when I finished the mission. That meant that if it was necessary I could let myself be fatally injured during the fight if it meant killing him first. Concentrating now I continued to train. After the effect wore out I took count of my qi. I had transformed about a 40th of it and added 1% to the original. Though I would only have an added 52% on the original I would have would have transformed all my qi by then. Judging by the quality the new qi was 1.5x the strength of the old qi. This meant that it would be equivalent to 228% of what I had now. That was not including the increased speed that my qi would increase at when I had transformed all the old qi. Taking that into account it could even reach 2.5x what it was now. With this thought in mind, I concentrated on training. Focusing completely. Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 23 - preparations complete Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 23 - preparations complete Having spent four hours training, I bid my farewell to Pluvia. Appearing back into my tent room the fatigue hit me. Having spent a whole day training, then sparring and finally being surprised with the fortunate situation of my training. Falling down into the bed I was about to fall asleep when a quiet voice came through the door. Alice: Solomon, are you awake? Sitting up I replied, quiet as I could as to not wake up Gareth. Solomon: I am. Unzipping the door she stepped in. She was wearing plain pyjamas that mixed well with her peach blonde hair. With her slightly dishevelled hair I thought she looked really cute. Alice: hey, I was wondering, um. Her face was bright red as she spoke. Alice: can I sleep with you? I was stunned. For this usually nervous girl to be so outgoing. After a brief pause I answered. Solomon: I don''t think we should yet. Also we would wake up Gareth. As soon as I finished speaking she went even redder, looking like a tomato. Alice: I didn''t mean like that. I thought you might feel better if we slept in the same room. You know, in case you have a nightmare. Hearing this I realised I had misunderstood her. Now understanding I was thankful that she was worried. Solomon: sure. Moving over In my bed I made space next to me. Walking forward Alice lifted up the covers, getting into the bed. When she was under the covers she laid at an angle, resting herself on my chest. Alice: night, Solomon. Solomon: night. Having settled down the fatigue pulled me into sleep. That night I didn''t have any dreams. Since then we trained for the set ten days. Everyone had made progress during that time. I had just finished changing all of my old qi. Along with the increase in qi my training with Carbones had great results. My control over my qi had improved by at least 3x what it was. Yunfei and Chenfeng had both broken through again, making them higher and middle soul personage respectively. They had also both trained their techniques, making them much more dangerous. Alice with her unorthodox training had made only a small increase to her rift energy. It was now equal to 140% of what it was at the start. But the sparring we had done daily had a tremendous effect on her combat prowess. Now she no longer panicked in battle. She took notice of what was happening and ordered her minions efficiently. Because of this her value had increased many times over. Gareth had been training his accuracy and recoil control. Now he could fire 2 shots a second. He could hit a can from 30 meters away. With this new level of expertise he came second only to me in terms of firepower. Aries had focused on improving her control over her spells. Compared to the beginning she could now alter the direction of her spells once they were used. Other than that the quantity of her spells increased by about 1.5x what they used to be. I guessed she had increased the energy she used. On the second day of training I had approached Yunfei about upgrading the equipment. After some discussion he agreed to it. Then I went to everyone else, telling them I would upgrade their equipment with my enchantment. After several days of experimentation I had found out a lot about my enchantment. It had different properties based on what it was on. For armours it would shroud the person in a thin veil of energy when they were attacked. This shield could hold up to the power of a early soul apprentice. Needless to say against ordinary bandits they were impenetrable. If it was applied to melee weapons it would sharpen the edge as well as the strength of the material. After some testing it about doubled the both of these properties. When applied to guns it had a very simple effect. The weapons would now set people on fire. Though it was only ordinary fire it would be fatal to those weaker than G rank.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Other than this I had found that the better the equipment was the better the enhancement. When applied it to my orb, it had an interesting effect. Any qi I placed into it whether or not I paced it through my tattoos would take on fire like properties. this meant when I used the orb with the flame serpent art I could skip out part of the process. This meant I could us it once every 2 seconds. For Alice''s sword the enchantment added a new attack. If she slashed the air a flame slash would emit from the sword. Though it would only reach 3 meters away it was a great skill. The power of the flames was on par with my racially upgraded qi. Against anyone below G rank it would decimate them. Even G ranks had to be careful around it. With Gareth''s gun it done the same as with the other ranged weapons. However the size and strength of the flame were triple the ordinary amount. Becoming about equal to Alice''s flame slash. For everyone else it was the standard type of upgrade. The better the equipment the stronger the upgrade. Then on top of my already good enchantment Yunfei added his upgrades. In order to not risk breaking the equipment he kept the upgrade level low. Even so the effect was great. The strength of all the unranked''s equipment was doubled. For myself the orbs amplification became 6x compared to the previous 4x. For Alice her sword became 3x as sharp and for Gareth the strength of each shot was 2x what it was. With this new arsenal I was less worried about fighting the chieftain. Though he may be F rank we were stronger than most G ranks. Placing us somewhere between G and F. Having waited long enough the time had come for the first day of gorilla warfare. Everyone was following me through the jungle toward the blackwood stronghold. The plan was for me to break the inscription around the base, while everyone else went into attack. There would be four groups attacking from different directions. Each led by at least one G rank. Alice and Aries in one group, Gareth and Yunfei in another. Chenfeng and the bobs in the another group and me in the final one. After disrupting the inscription it would take them days to fix it. That meant after I broke it we wouldn''t have to worry about it again. The 9 unranked were shared between three groups. The bobs took their place in Chengfeng''s group. Having planned it out thoroughly we all made our way toward the stronghold. From our bases direction we would reach the southern side. When we came close I held my hand out before me as I walked, pushing a spike of qi out from my hand. Though I didn''t have the control to make it a physical object it would alert me to the presence of energies. After a few minutes of walking the spike found the barrier. Solomon: stop. The barrier is here. Turning I faced everyone behind me. As the leader I felt I had to say something before sending everyone out to battle. Solomon: everyone, I would like to say a few things before we begin. Everyone here may have been brought together through random chance, but after spending these days together I consider you all as trustworthy allies. As I spoke I looked around, meeting eyes with everyone to show that I was sincere. Solomon: today is the first test of our strength. Though we all have planned it out we can''t plan everything. The important thing is that you survive. Your life is worth more than any points you could acquire. On my orders no one will die today, UNDERSTOOD! Finishing my little speech I rallied a war cry. Everyone: UNDERSTOOD! Having raised everyone''s morale as much as I could I turned to the barrier. From what I could feel an E rank had made the inscription for the Barrier. But it was obvious they put no attention into it. There were several flaws in the flow of the energy. This barrier seemed weaker than an F rank Barrier should be. But on further thought it made sense. This was only a little bandit group. Though they may be overlords in the surrounding area they were still extremely weak. Because of this who would think anyone Above G rank would attack them. Sitting before the barrier I placed my hand and inch away from it. Now knowing it was there made it much easier to feel. Though without the increase in my abilities I would never have been able to detect it when I first came here. After studying it for a few minutes I had a rough ideas of how it worked. There were 8 points around the barrier that contained energy. These points supplied it with power. Then there was a cobweb of passageways that flowed throughout the whole barrier, creating a network to pass energy through. Having understood it''s principle I began to work at breaking it down. Making darts of qi, I slammed them against the barrier. Every time I would observe how the energy reacted to it. After some testing I made a discovery. It was separated into small boxes. Each box could only black one attack at a time. This meant if I hit one box with several attacks it would break.it was a huge surprise that such a barrier was so weak. Solomon: everyone, I can now break the barrier. All of you will move to your designated start point. We had previously discussed who would go where, now with their orders they began to move out. Solomon: I will break it in half an hour. This gave then ample time to reach their side, but didn¡¯t leave time for us to be found out. I was unsure if the barrier would react to being tampered with. If it alerted the bandits it would create a major problem. Hoping against this I went to the three unranked who were on my team. Solomon: hey guys, since we''re going to fight together we should discuss some strategies. Your John, Edward and Erik, right? Having spent several days together I thought I knew their names, however I had been training almost all the time every day. It would be better to just check now. One of the men answered for all of them. It seemed they were a pretty close-knit group. Erik: that''s right, I''m surprised you remember, we''ve only spoken to each other twice. Glad I had correctly remembered, I explained the reason. Solomon: I try to remember everyone''s name, that way if anyone dies I''ll remember them. That way I can try to compensate their comrades when they die. Erik: your odd for a contestant of domain. Most usually forsake everyone else when they end up here. Even those who keep their morals would lose them by G rank. Seeing the conversation was about to become gloomy, I tried to steer it away. Solomon: I guess I weird then, anyway I have a strategy for us working together. Erik: what is it? Solomon: you will be the melee attackers. Anyone ate early soul apprentice and below will be dealt with by you. I will both assist you and deal with anyone stronger than that. After discussing it together they made a discussion. Erik: it''s fine with us. After that we just sat chatting till the 30 minutes was up. Standing before the barrier I prepared several qi darts. Though they were useless for battle they would prove useful here. Solomon: once it''s down we will charge in. Remember the plan, and most of all, don''t die. Grateful for my new control I attacked the barrier with the dart. Not half a second later the barrier smashed into pieces. Barrier: TIIIIISH! Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 24 - hit and run Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 24 - hit and run When the barrier broke a white light emitted from it. The energy had become unstable and was thrashing about. After a second it smashed into pieces. Little snowflake-like particles of energy floated down. Though it was a pretty sight it created an issue. Judging from the unranked''s reaction, they could see it too. This meant that every one of the bandits was now aware the barrier had broken. Though it was bad, it wasn''t outside my expectations. Even if they knew the barrier broke they wouldn''t be able to tell where we were. So even if they prepared they could do nothing. Having a G rank in every group meant one thing. As long as they didn''t encounter the chieftain, vice-chieftain or a group of soul personage they would be able to inflict serious damage. Though I still suspected the vice chieftain was recovering from his battle with me. Solomon: let''s not dawdle, move out. Speaking to the unranked, I then began jogging in the strongholds direction. Soon after they were following behind me. As the barrier stretched into the forest it would take us a few minutes to make it to the stronghold''s clearing. As I ran I was running through several scenarios in my head, trying to make plans. However, there were too many uncertainties. The best I could doo was to cause a large amount of destruction from my side. If I did the most damage hopefully I would draw most of the attention. For this purpose, I had not used the dragon''s fire today. It took a quarter of my qi to break the barrier so I had 3 quarters to draw attention. Having run for a few minutes we made it to the clearing. As we looked out at the stronghold we could see signs of the enemies panic. Solomon: it loos like they don''t now what happened. This is good for us. Turning I told the unranked my plan. Solomon: I''m going to send a strong attack at the strongholds wall. It should be enough to brake through the wall. After that one of two things will happen. Either a strong enemy will come out to deal with me, or a sea of bandits will spill out. It depends on who is at that point in the wall. Be ready for either. Having given my instructions and warnings we ran forward. As soon as we were out in the open the bandits had seen us. With my enhanced vision, I could see they were preparing arrows to fire at us. Based on the size of the bows they could shoot at most half way across the clearing. though that was just a guess. Solomon: stop here. Coming to a stop I prepared my attack. I would use half of my qi along with the orb and the flame serpent art. As the energy pooled into the orb it was powered up. Unlike before it felt even stronger. With the buff from Yunfei, it was making my attacks 6x stronger. Adding on that I had double my qi from the last time I had used it this attack would be 3x stronger than the strongest attack I had used so far. With such a mass of power, the energy became extremely hard to control. Even with my higher level of control, it was taking my all to pull it off. After ten seconds I had performed the Flame serpent art. The qi burst out of the orb slowly forming into the lizards head. After forming the head, which was already 3 meters wide, it kept going. Forming the shoulders and front legs of the lizard. At that point, it shot off. Moving at a speed faster than I could track it hit the wall within 3 seconds. As it hit, the two arms made of qi lashed out, hitting the wall. As they made contact with the wall they exploded. All of the qi that had been stored exploded out. After the smoke cleared a 15-meter section of the wall had been reduced to ash. This level of power was far beyond my expectations. I was sure I could smash a hole in the wall, but to destroy a large section of it was unexpected. Ourous: 26 bandits killed, 52 points rewarded. Then again if I took all the factor into account it made some sense. The mixture of my upgraded qi, the orbs 6x bonus and the fire nature of my qi it made sense that it would destroy something wooden easily.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Even so, this was not an attack a G rank could usually make. It was comparable to the average attack of an F rank unfortunately whereas they could use this sort of attack many times I could only use it twice. Breaking out of my surprise I issued the unranked orders. Solomon: move forward, attack them. We have 20 minutes so make as many points as you can. Brought back from the surprise of my power they charged forward. Seeing my strength the bandits faltered. Though they knew they could kill me with numbers it would cost them a lot. After a minute we had reached the hole in the wall. Standing to greet us was a group of ten men. Behind them were around 200 ordinary bandits. Among these men 1 was a middle soul personage, 3 were early soul personage and the rest were late soul apprentice. Solomon: I will take these guys, you deal with the bandits behind them. Slightly lowering my voice I said to them. Solomon: don''t worry about winning, you just have to hold out till I kill these guys. Even with the upgrades on their equipment, it would be hard to kill so many. Having been given a realistic goal they ran around the soul cultivators, eager to earn some points. At this point, the strongest of the cultivators spoke. Middle soul personage: I''m sure you know we have no chance at killing you, however, if we can hold you here till the chieftain arrives he will kill you. We can let you leave if you run now. Though he tried to remain calm it was obvious they had no confidence in holding me here that long, they were just trying to trick me into leaving. Solomon: I''m afraid today is not your day, you will all die here. But don''t worry, I will be sure to cremate your bodies. Taking the initiative I took 5% of my qi into each hand, sending 2 small lizard heads at them. One on the left and one on the right. Reacting instinctually they both moved to dodge the attacks, bunching together between the two attacks. Now taking the orb into my hand, I put the remaining 15% of my qi into the orb. As it went flying at them panic flared in their eyes. Though it was much weaker than my previous attack it was not something any of them could handle. As it reached them it hit the man at the front, the middle soul personage. It drilled a hole through his torso before continuing into the rest of the group, eventually exploding in-between them. Ourous: 6 bandits killed, 12 points rewarded. Of the surviving 4 bandits, 2 had lost a limb and 1 had a huge chunk of his torso missing. The only person able to still fight was a late soul apprentice. Recovering from the attack and realising he was the only uninjured person he was terrified. Throwing himself to the floor he begged for his life. Soul apprentice: p, PLEASE, SPARE ME. I DIDN''T MEAN TO OFFEND YOU. I BEG OF YOU FORGIVE ME. If he looked at me right now he would be able to tell that I had used all of my power. unluckily for him, he was too terrified to think strait right now. Walking forward I pulled out the scimitar I had stolen from the vice chieftain. Standing before him I said. Solomon: it''s too late to beg now. Then I swiftly lifted up and brought down the scimitar, beheading him. Not wanting to waste time I did the same to the injured bandits. Ourous: 4 bandits killed, 8 points rewarded. Having dealt with the only real threat I looked over at the unranked. Right now they were back to back in the middle of the bandits. From the amount of dead bodies on the floor, it looked like they had killed around 50 of the bandits by now. At this pointthough, they were beginning to lose momentum. The combination of small wounds and non-stop fighting had sapped them. Not wanting to risk them getting injured I sped at the bandits. Reaching the first man I relieved him of his head before moving on to the next man. Like this, I began to slaughter them. Even without qi, the strength of my body and equipment was vastly superior to them. Every time I swung my sword one of them died. As I kept killing the voice of Ourous would periodically tell me how many I had killed. Ourous: 7 bandits killed, 14 points awarded. Ourous: 5 bandits killed, 10 points awarded. Ourous: 8 bandits killed, 16 points awarded. After 5 minutes we had finished killing all of the bandits. At this point, we heard a war cry in the distance. Looking into the base we say an army of several thousand approaching us. Deciding we had dealt enough damage I gave the order to withdraw. Solomon: it''s time to leave, let''s go. Running out through the massive gap in the wall we began running back to the regroup point. After 10 minutes we had made it there. As no one else was here we were probably the first to arrive. 5 minutes later Aries,Alice and the unranked with them returned though they all looked tired they were uninjured. Solomon: how did it go for you guys. Alice: it went quite well. After braking through the wall we were greeted by a group of 500 bandits, luckily there were no soul cultivators there. Solomon: sounds like you got lucky, I had to fight against a group of ten soul cultivators. Aries: sounds rough, you probably didn''t make many points then. Solomon: no, I killed around 150 bandits. Hearing my response they were amazed. Alice: haha, I suppose I should expect this from you, but I''m still surprised every time. Aries: how did you kill so many? Especially after dealing with soul cultivators. At this point, one of the unranked who came with me chimed in. John: you should have seen it. He blew up a whole section of the wall. Aries: huh. Solomon: don''t worry about it, I got just got lucky. At this point, Gareth and yunfei made it back. After a short conversation, it seemed they had been lucky as well. They had been greeted by 17 soul apprentices and 300 men. Shortly after, the last group arrived they also had only faced weak opponents. At this point, we moved on to the next part of our plan. We would stay here for an hour to recover then we would attack again. Like this, we spent the rest of the day before returning to base. By the end of the day, we had attacked the enemies 4 times, ending up killing around 3,000 of them. Luckily it seemed like the stronger enemies were not getting involved. Though I wondered why it was good for us either way. Having finished attacking for the day we headed back to base. After arriving we had a short diner before heading to bed. like this, we kept attacking the stronghold day after day, until the day of the final attack. volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 25 - the final battle begins Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 25 - the final battle begins Having spent the last few days attacking, the number of bandits had been reduced greatly. of the 10,000 normal bandits around 5000 remained. Though it was more than I hoped it wasn''t going to ruin the plan. On the other hand the soul cultivators had been decimated. Of the original 100 only 15 remained. Even then only two of them were soul personage. Overall we had been hugely successful over the last few days. Each day I would take a different G rank with me. Mainly to prove my power. As everyone had been training hard I didn''t want anyone to get any ideas about betraying me. Now on the final day of the mission we planned to have a final assault against the bandits. So far we had yet to see the chieftain or vice chieftain. Today would be the day we killed them. Though most of the unranked were unconcerned with completing the mission it was another thing for the G ranks. Having talked it over we came up with a battle plan. The unranked as well as Alice, Aries and Gareth would deal with the 4000 bandits. As they were specialised in group combat they would struggle in a fight against one opponent. The bob''s as well as Chenfeng would deal with the vice chieftain. Though I wouldn''t normaly place the bob''s against such an opponent with the injurie he had received from me he had probably lost over half of his combat potential. That left me and Yunfei against the chieftain. Though I had confidence against him it was still uncertain. I had not met him yet so I couldn''t judge his power. Hopefully the strength of me and Yunfei, who had recently broken through to late soul personage, could stand up to him. Having set up the plan I had everyone pack up anything they had here. While people were packing I made one final visit to carbones. Though we had a business relationship after training with him for so long we had built up a friendship. Solomon: it seems we have run out of time. Carbones: so it does, I must say, it has been fun. Looking at his gigantic frame the fire in his eyes seemed to be more dim than usual. Solomon: if I had the choice I would stay here to train with you, unfortunately I can''t. However you have helped me greatly since I have been here. If I can I will repay you in the future. I took this promise to heart. Though it had been short I had built a real friendship with him, if I could I would help him. Carbones: hahaha, I''m sure you will, little one. Have fun with those bandits. He then got up and began to walk to the cave''s exit. Carbones: I hope we meet in the future. Good luck. Having said his goodbyes he took off into the skies. As flew out he let out a tremendous roar, before disappearing into the horizon Carbones: RAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH As I watched one of my few friends disappear a sadness appeared in my heart. However I had to steady my heart. Soon I would fight to the death. Now as not the time for this. After walking down from the cave I was greeted by everyone stood waiting. Looking at the people who had worked under me during this mission I felt rather nostalgic. Though they weren''t all people I would consider friends they were not strangers either. With whirling emotions, I came to a decision I had been brooding on. Solomon: well everyone, it is the final day. It seems our time together is drawing to an end. As I''m sure you all know I plan to create a guild when I leave this mission. Though Chengfeng and Yunfei were there, I''m sure they would just interpret my words within the confines of this world. Solomon: as the to be leader of this guild I would like to formally invite you all to my guild. Though we have only been together a small amount of time I trust you all. If you ever wish you can have a place in my guild. Though these unranked were here as they had already refused a guilds invitation this was different for them. Unlike before when they were being asked by a underling to become slave to a guild this time it was a guild masters invitation. Having spent time with me they all had a rough understanding of my character. However more than this they had personally experienced my leadership. They knew I would not lead them to slaughter like they were sheep.Stolen novel; please report. After letting my offer sink in I continued on. Solomon: as you''ve been invited to my guild I refuse to accept any of you dying here. Understood? Everyone: UNDERSTOOD! Having delivered a small pre-battle speech I led everyone to the bandit''s stronghold. After 10 minutes of walking we made it to the stronghold. Telling everyone to take a rest I let everyone restore themselves to peak condition. I didn''t want anyone entering this battle weakened. Another 10 minutes later I gave the order to attack. Solomon: GROUP A, MOVE OUT. Group a referring to the mainly unranked team. In accordance to the plan they ran out toward the stronghold. Having stayed on this side every time we attacked I had reeked havoc on the southern wall. Under the constant barrage of my attack it had been eroded away, leaving a 50 meter gap. The plan was for them to charge at the gap, attacking the bandits inside. Once they had gathered a group of bandits they would attack them while constantly retreating, bringing the bandits outside of the stronghold into the surrounding clearing, While they did this the rest of us would loop around to the eastern side, infiltrating the stronghold sneakily. With the distraction of the first group we hoped to avoid detection. If we were detected we would wipe them out before they could alert others. Worst case and we were exposed we would just have to fight our way through. As a group made of mostly G ranks none of the bandits except for the chieftain and vice chieftain could stop us. Following the plan we looped around towards the eastern side. Avoiding detection we made it there after a few minutes. Looking at the wall we could see that most of the men had left. On the section of the wall before us only 6 men stood guard. I imagined that as the size of the other group was many times larger than previous groups, they were panicking. Solomon: it looks good for us. Yunfei can you run up to the wall fast and dispose of those bandits, If we take too long getting their some of them could escape. Being that we were moving as a group we moved at the slowest members speed. The 3 bob''s in their full armour were considerably slower than Yunfei. Especially with his physically strengthening energy. Yunfei: okay. Speeding off Yunfei sprinted at the wall, the rest of the group following slowly behind. As the bandits caught sight of us they began to panic, it was clear that most of them had gone to the southern side. The bandits here probably thought that they had no chance of stopping us. Realising this the smarter bandits tried to run away. Unfortunately for them they would not get the chance. Yunfei seeing them running sped up. Reaching a speed of at least 40 miles per hour. When he reached the wall he jumped towards it, angling his momentum upwards. Like a deft monkey he ran up the wall, eventually reaching the top and continuing a few meters into the air. When he fell back down he landed atop one of the bandits, crushing him. Using a mixture of extreme speed and practised technique he slaughtered all of the bandits on the wall. Then continuing onto the ones on the other side. After reaching the gate we entered to see the leftover carnage. Looking at the surrounding around 50 bandits lay dead on the ground. Seeing this surprising display of strength I wondered if my previous display was enough. If he had this level of power to kill so many bandits in under a minute my attack may not intimidate him. However it was too late to worry about that. We were at the final fight. There was no choice but to press through. If he betrayed us I would have to deal with it at the time. Solomon: impressive, anyway let''s get moving. Hearing my comment everyone else looked at me, then nodded. We moved on from the wall, moving inwards. As I had learned from the long dead hall master, the chieftain and vice chieftain lived in the centre of the stronghold. As we ran we noticed the lack of bandits. Though we hadn''t expected many, having both killed over half of them and created a distraction, it was still odd. After 20 minutes of travel we had made our way to the centre of the stronghold. As we approached we could see the chieftains residence. A 3 stories mansion stretching out over a hundred meter, it must have contained over 30 rooms. Compared to the many small houses present in the stronghold it stuck out like a sore thumb. It had plain white walls with roman style pillars placed periodically around the building. Along with a red tile roof and huge wooden double doors it fit with the style of roman architecture. As we approached we clearly knew our target. As we came within 30 meters of the mansion we were attacked. Three arrows came flying at us from the roof of the mansion. As I had kept my vigilance I reacted quickly, rolling forward. As I stood u I saw that the arrows were all aimed at where I was. I imagined they saw me as the largest threat and as such wanted to kill me quickly. However I was not so easy to kill. Looking up I saw who had attacked me. Stood at the centre of the building were four figures. Three of which I did not recognize but the last I definitely knew. With one missing arm and several deep scares the vice chieftain Yang Tian. Solomon: IT HAS BEEN A WHILE, YANG TIAN. HOW COULD YOU GRETT AN OLD FRIEND LIKE THIS? There was a clear sarcasm and disdain in my voice as I insulted the vice chieftain. Yang tian: YOU MAY LAUGH NOW, BUT WE WILL SEE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY WHEN I AM SKINNING YOU ALIVE! speaking through clenched teeth, you could tell he was furious. Taking the initiative the four of them attacked us. Surprisingly, the three unknown bandits displayed strength equal to the vice chieftain. It appeared they had kept these fighter secret to use as a trump card. Even after all my planning I had not anticipated this. To have so many strong fighters that had been hidden was truly unpredicted. Reacting quickly I issued several orders. Solomon: YUNFEI TAKE ONE OF THEM, THE REST OF YOU TAKE CARE OFF THE VICE CHIEFTAIN! Having given all the needed instructions I charged at two of the bandits. I had given Yunfei and equal opponent in order to have him finish his fight quickly. With his enhancements it would not take long. As for Chenfeng and the bob''s I hoped they could take on the vice chieftain. After his fight with me he had lost a huge amount of his combat potential. Even if they couldn''t win they should hold out until either Yunfei or i could assist them. Stopping in front of two of the bandits, I squared off with them. Solomon: let''s have some fun, shall we. Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 26 - fighting a demon Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 26 - fighting a demon Pulling out the arcane orb I pumped a 40th of my qi into it. At current this was the smallest amount of qi I could use with the flame serpent art. Aiming the orb I sent it flying at one of the bandits. Though it was only a small amount of qi it still made a powerful attack. The 6x effect of the orb was an invaluable asset. As the lizards head flew at the bandit he dropped the bow in his hands, pulling out a longsword. Like the scimitar the vice chieftain had before I stole it, this longsword was enchanted. However, it didn''t look like it was at the scimitars level. Taking a stance he jabbed forward with the longsword. As the orb made contact with the sword all of the qi from the attack was pushed forward, putting a strain on the sword. Under this strainit bent slightly, however, before it could break the qi had been used up. Having been repelled the orb flew back to me. The second bandit who had not been attacked pulled out another enchanted longsword. Looking at them you could tell this was a mass produced weapon. Sword in hand he began to charge at me. With his level of power he would reach me within 5 seconds. Following behind him after recovering from the attack was the first bandit. I drew the scimitar from my belt, charging towards the bandits. From the attack before I could tell that I would not be able to hurt them with the orb. In order to break the sword I would have to use a tenth of my qi. But it was impossible to prepare an attack of that level quickly. This only left me with the option to face them in melee combat. Though my strength was inferior to them, the mixture of my races physical abilities and the physical training I had done with Carbones, I could at least hold them at bay. Within 2 seconds I was face to face with the second bandit. Taking a stance the bandit slashed forward diagonally. I could tell by the smoothness of his movements that this was a practised technique. Though this put me at a disadvantage it was not like I had no practise myself. Having sparred everyday I had built up a unique method of close quarter combat. Though not enough to be called a technique it was certainly a start. As the slash came towards me I struck at the longsword with my scimitar. Though I was physically stronger the difference in equipment allowed me to hold my ground. In the brief pause when our blades pressed against each other, I shifted my torso around, taking a step forward. In time with this, I brought the orb forward with my other hand. Not expecting the attack the second bandit could only bring up his arm in defence. To his surprise when the orb hit his arm he didn''t feel any pain. The strength I had was insufficient to deal any physical damage like this, especially when holding the orb in hand. However what he didn''t know is that when the orb hit him it destroyed a portion of his longevity. Surprisingly that longevity was then supplied to me, replacing the qi I had lost. from what i could tell this was an unexpected effect of my enchantment. Normally the longevity would just be destroyed, however now it was stolen and supplied to me as qi. Having been slightly distracted by this discoveries I was caught off guard. The first bandit had circled to my left side and now aimed to stab me in the heart. With little time to react, I only managed to lean back as the attack arrived. The longsword dragged itself across the front of my chest. As it cut me a searing pain spread into me. It seemed the longsword had and effect of burning people. However after training with Carbones the heat from this blade was only able to sing me. It seemed the training I had done with Carbones had now saved me several times, making me feel very thankfull I had befriended him. Being too close for comfort with the bandits it jumped back. They, however, were not going to let me recover. Jumping towards me they both slashed at me. With a sword attacking from both sides I had little room to maneuverer. Kicking off against the ground I propelled myself upwards, barely missing the attacks. Now with both of the bandits below me I fuelled a 40th of my qi into the orb, sending it spiralling at them. Because I was so close they had no time to react. The first bandit was hit in the shoulder by the orb. When the qi exploded forth he was consumed in flames.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Not having the time to see the effect of my attack I spiralled through the air, landing a few meters away. Looking at the bandits I could see that the first bandit had horrid burns down the right side of his body. His left arm and eye didn''t look like he could use then anymore. Though he had these grievous wounds he still stood, injured, but able to fight. Luckily the attack had paid for itself when it hit him. That meant if I kept attacking like this then after killing them I would have lost none of my qi. Speeding forward the bandits kept attacking me, however after a few rounds of attacks I had once again managed to attack, hitting the second bandit in the torso. Now that they were both heavily injured they had no hope of winning. It was obvious I would win. Shooting each other a quick look they both nodded. This put me on edge. When they looked back at me both of them carried death in their eyes. The kind of look that says they would give up their lives to kill you. Facing them seriously I prepared for whatever they would do. The first bandit took the sword off of the second one. Then with both swords, he impaled the second bandit. Taken completely by surprise, I watched as the two swords began to glow with a faint red light. As the light kept growing brighter the corpse of the dead bandit began to wither, eventually turning to dust. Then with the two swords covered in a veil of red energy, he stabbed himself in the shoulders with them. The energy transferred into his body at this point. As it worked its way through him his eyes turned blood red. When all of the energy had seeped into him, he underwent a complete change. Red flames erupted from his body, consuming his flesh. The exposed muscle of his body bulged out looking like wriggling tentacles. From his head, two horns made of deep scarlet flames appeared. Clasping his grotesque hands together, the red flames on his body coalesced around them. The mass of flames then formed into a large claymore. Now with a grotesque body and a flame made sword and horns he looked demonic. As I stared down my enemy I felt dread. The power he was emitting was several times stronger than before. Taking the initiative the demonic bandit pounced towards me. As he did the ground he stood on was crushed. The speed he reached was faster than I could register. Before I knew it he was before me, punching towardsme. As his malformed fist hit me I felt like I''d been hit by a bus. With blood spewing from my mouth I went flying. Stopping when I smashed into a nearby house. Getting up from the rubble I could feel that I had broken a few ribs. Just as I finished recovering the demonic bandit had once again reached me, this time slashing with his sword. Falling to one knee I narrowly avoided the attack. Then trying to force him away I fuelled a tenth of my qi into the orb, smashing the lizards head into his stomach. As the attack hit him he was pushed back several meters. When the flames had cleared though there was no damage on him. After checking himself the demonic bandit gave me an evil grin. The malice in his face sending a chill down his spine. Not having the choice anymore I went straight to my last resort. Grabbing the orb I pumped it full with half of my qi. seeing me at my end the demonic bandit let me get of the attack. It probably wanted to crush any hope I had before killing me. As the lizard head and arms appeared the demonic bandit prepared to take the attack. Though he was confident in receiving it, it was not something he could casually block. As the attack came speeding at him he lifted his sword up vertically. When it was right before him he brought the sword down. As the power of the flame lizard and sword fought several shockwaves spread out. While he was distracted with the attack I took my scimitar and charged. Being sure to keep myself behind my attack so he could not see me. As the attack were both so strong the struggle lasted for around ten seconds. When the final bit of qi was exhausted, and the attack disappeared I struck. Jumping up I appeared right in front of the bandit. Then with the satisfied grin on his face I slashed at him with my scimitar. As it embedded itself into his neck the grin was wiped from his face. When the sword had cut through his neck, decapitating him, only fear was on his face. Ourous: secret mission objective completed, kill demonic tribe defector. Rewarded G rank token and 200 points. It was a fitting prize. Based on this I could guess that the chieftain would be on the same level. Though it was a huge worry if we all worked together I''m certain we could win. Having finished off my target I looked over at my allies. The other bandit had been killed, leaving only the vice chieftain. The chieftain knelt as Yunfei was about to kill him. Solomon: STOP! Looking over everyone had a questioning look on their face. Walking over I explained why I had stopped them. Solomon: he can tell us where the chieftain is, can''t you? Looking at the beaten vice chieftain I questioned him. Though he looked reticent he spoke. Yang tian: HAHAHAHA, I guess it won''t matter now anyway. He''s in the lobby of the mansion. But you guys must be deluded if you think you can beat him. HE''S GOING TO KILL YOU ALL HAHAHAHA! Not wanting to listen to a broken man''s ramblings, I knocked him out with a swift punch to the chin. Solomon: annoying bastard. Okay, let''s take a break here, try to recover as much as you can. Also, does anyone mind If I use this guy to regain my energy? Tired of fighting everyone nodded. Taking out my orb I tapped him with it till he died. I managed to refill my qi up to 100% before he died. Hopefully, that along with the recharge from dragons fire would be enough. Sitting down we began to discuss strategy. Looking around the area we made several plans. Firstly we would enter the lobby. We would begin fighting the chieftain there, gauging his power. If we could beat him there we would keep fighting there. If we couldn''t we would draw him outside. With the open space, we might be able to fight better. In the worst case scenario that he far overpowered us we would each run in different directions. Hopefully like this most of us would survive. Though I didn¡¯t like this sort of plan it was the best we had. As the leader I had to accept that. Standing up we walked over to the mansion. Placing my hand on the front door I made one last vow to myself. We will win. Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 27 - limit break Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist chapter 27 - limit break Opening the door we all entered the lobby. With large windows and several pillars around the edge of the room, it felt very spacious. The room was empty except for one coffee table and chair. In the centre. Sat on the chair was a burly man, built like a bear. Holding a small cup of tea he seemed extremely out of place. Chieftain: I''ve been waiting for you. You must be the people who have been attacking my stronghold. Entering slightly into the room I answered him. Solomon: we are, I''m sure you know why we have come. Setting his tea down his demeanour instantly shifted. Compared to the calm appearance before he instantly turned into a monster. He started letting out an insane amount of bloodlust. Under this pressure, it felt like I was stood before a king. However, compared to several of the people I had met before, it was extremely weak. Pushing back against it I released my own bloodlust. Though I had not got a huge amount of strength it allowed me to move unhindered. Like me the rest of the people with me did the same, freeing themselves from the pressure. Chieftain: HAHAHA, quite impressive. I have a proposal for you all. Join me. Completely surprised by his offer I was unsure of how to reply. Solomon: why would we ever join you? We came here to destroy you. After finishing my sentence the chieftain disappeared. At the same time, I heard popping sound behind me. Turning to look I saw that he had appeared behind me. With a swipe of his hand, he had crushed the head of one of the bobs. Seeing this everyone jumped back. Chieftain: you can keep your lives. At this point, cold sweat drenched down my back. He swept his gaze around at us. When his eyes landed on me I felt like a lamb before a wolf. At this point I the gravity of my actions landed on me. The words I had spoken had cost the life of one of my comrades. At this point, we all realised we had no chance at winning, but more than that we couldn''t even run away. With his strength, he would hunt us all down. With no options left I made a decision. Solomon: EVERYONE, RUN! I''LL HOLD HIM HERE AS LONG AS I CAN, SO ESCAPE! Though it sounded like a clich¨¦ line it was not something I wanted to say. I knew I could not hold him for long so I made a plan. Hearing my words everyone said their thanks before running away. Chieftain: I can let them go for now, it''s you that interests me the most. Do you truly believe you can keep me here till they escape? Or is this your last ditch effort as their leader. The longer he spoke the more evil his voice sounded. It was probably just an effect of the situation, but to me right now he sounded like Satan. Solomon: I plan to do more than just keep you here, I''m going to kill you. Hearing my words he broke out into laughter. Chieftain: HAHAHAHAHAHHA. Your quite funny, but don¡¯t think your jokes can save you. Taking the arcane orb I took a huge risk. Holding it towards the chieftain I pumped it with half of my qi. At this point, it began to grow unstable. From their I kept forcing more qi in. In front of me, the chieftain watched with an amused grin. Unlike the demon before he didn''t even seem concerned about this calibre of attack. Continuing on I managed to force 75% of my qi into the orb before I reached my limit. Having hit it I did something extremely dangerous. I pushed beyond my limit. As the qi kept flowing in my body began to struggle. At 80% I spat blood. At 90% blood poured out of my nose. At 95% blood began to leak from all of my facial orifices.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. As the chieftain observed this his face became more and more serious. When I had reached 95% he took a stance, Preparing to receive the attack. Now at 95%, I could feel that my mind was on the brink. If I kept pushing I only had a 10, no 5% chance to pull it off. At this point, I couldn''t falter. I pushed on. 96% I coughed up a lot of blood. 97% a blood vessel blew in my right eye, temporarily blinding it. 98% I fell to one knee. Pain wracking my mind. 99% a limit in my mind breaks. Pain assaults me. Pain I had never even approached before. Pain that reached deep into my soul, trying to destroy my existence. As I knelt there, on the cusp of 100% I began losing to the pain. Just as I was about to succumb the emotions in my gut stirred. Working their way around my body. I once again felt the unfairness of death. As this emotion spread around my body it began to fight back against the pain. After a few seconds, it had more a less removed the pain. With the pain gone I could make that final push. At this point, the chieftain looked genuinely concerned. then again, I could understand why. I had pushed beyond my limit. If I failed I would implode. At my strength, the implosion would be enough to injure him. However, the thing he was most concerned with was me actually succeeding. As I took that final step the last bit of qi was forced into the orb. With so much power in it, it began to glow a bright red. With the full power attack, I performed the flame serpent art. The qi broke forth from the orb, creating the usual lizard head and shoulders. After creating them the qi took a change. The usual red tinted qi began to fluctuate. It slowly turned from a solid layer of energy into a fluttering fire like shape. In this new form, a sudden insight-filled my brain. This form of qi was the true potential hidden within my salamander race. I could feel instinctually that this was the case. Ourous: limit break detected. Congratulations. Reward for a limit break. Racial abilities evolution. Skill Salamanders flame magnification upgraded into salamander flame essence conversion. The words of Ourous confirmed it. I watched as the new flame like qi formed. Beyond the shoulder the qi formed the torso, carrying on to the back legs. Stopping at the tail it had created a tailless lizard. The power that dwelled within this lizard was huge. Having finally formed it shot off. Similarly to the chieftain it disappeared and reappeared. As it made contact with the chieftain the full force of the attack exploded forth. A huge mass of qi pushing against the chieftain. To deal with the attack he released some sort of energy from his body. This new blue tinted energy wound its way around his body, forming into the shape of a bear. With this energy surrounding him he smashed against the qi. Like a tug of war, the two energies fought against each other. Eventually, though the chieftain couldn''t hold up against it. With nothing to oppose it the qi exploded outwards. As it continued to expand it eventually filled most of the lobby. Then like a balloon it popped. The shockwave spread first. As it hit me I was carried out of the doors by it, landing 10 meters away. As I looked at the mansion a huge flash of light blinded me. Accompanied by a thundering sound so loud it made my ears bleed. When the light had cleared a scene of devastation was left before me. The front half of the mansion had completely disappeared. In its place was a crater. With this level of destruction, I was surprised I had not heard Ourous. Though he was alive I doubted the chieftain was in good shape. If he was I would surely die. Standing unsteadily to my feet I walked to the edge of the crater. As I reached it and look down in I saw the chieftain. Kneeling in the centre of the crater he was gravely injured. Both of his arms were missing as well as having huge gashes all over his body. Looking up his face conveyed his feeling. Absolute rage consumed him. Standing up he seemed to ignore all of his injuries. Even being this weakened he was equal to the demonic bandit before. Knowing I stood no chance now I jumped into dragons fire. As I appeared in the timeless training room I collapsed. Seeing me like this Pluvia was instantly concerned. Pluvia: SOLOMON! She quickly placed her head onto my body, filling me with a pleasant feeling. As I watched my wounds stopped bleeding. Though they didn''t close up. Pluvia: how could you let this happen to yourself. You should have just run. From her voice I could tell she was upset, however, I had no choice. Solomon: I am the leader, I can''t abandon my teammates. I already failed one of them, I''m not going to let the rest die. Hearing this Pluvia sighed. Pluvia: haaaah, that kindness of yours will kill you someday. Solomon: haha, maybe it will. But it''s who I am. Nothing I can do about it now. Though she didn''t like it she knew she couldn''t change me. Solomon: but I''m not out of the fire yet. He''s still way stronger than me. Do you have a way for me to quickly increase my strength? After a few seconds of though it seemed she had thought of something, however, she was reluctant to say it. Pluvia: uh, well. I do have a way but it''s dangerous. You could push yourself to the limit of qi cultivation stage 2, however, if you fail you will be weakened for several days. If you can it''s safer to fight him after recovering here. After thinking it through this wasn''t an option. Though I had beaten the demonic bandit before I had tricked him. The bandit underestimated me and so lost. But on the other hand, the chieftain won''t. Solomon: I can''t risk it, what''s the method? Though she was upset I had chosen this method she didn''t refuse. Most likely because it was not as dangerous as the breakthrough I forced before. Pluvia: it''s a technique for absorbing monster cores. You swallow multiple cores and then train with them. The problem is if you can''t handle absorbing that much qi at once it will backfire. Sitting down I prepared myself mentally. Solomon: all right, let''s get started. Pulling out 5 monster cores I swallowed them. Pluvia: NOOO! YOU IDIOT!. Moving quickly she pushed her energy into me, suppressing the monster cores will. Pluvia: you''re only meant to use two or three. From her voice, it was evident I had made a huge mistake. At the moment I didn''t feel anything though. Pluvia: it''s too late now so you''ll have to go for it. But be prepared. Taking her warning I started the yang absorbing technique. As I did a huge pouring of energy came through my arms. I could tell what she meant. The speed at which I absorbed qi was now 5x what it was. If I compared it to before it was like a stream and a river. After gathering enough qi I tried to stop absorbing, however I couldn''t, it just keep pouring in. It seemed this was the issue. The qi would pour in and if you couldn''t absorb fast enough you died. Realising this I frantically tried to absorb the qi. Once again to my surprise, I found I was absorbing 4x faster than before. The best guess I had was my racial abilities evolution. Unfortunately, it still required concentration to absorb at a fast speed. fortunately, it was no longer dangerous. Settling down, I numbed my mind to deal with the incoming four hours off concentration. volume 2 upgrade specialist end chapter 28 – end of a Chieftain Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist end chapter 28 ¨C end of a Chieftain Having spent the last four hours training with the monster cores I had reached the limit of the 2nd stage of qi condensation. Before I had doubled around a quarter of my qi, meaning that now I had doubled the remaining 75%. Now that I had an upgraded racial skill the cost to use it had accordingly gone up. With my current qi, I could use the flame serpent art at the weakest with a 40th of my qi. At the strongest, I could still use all of it, however after learning from this battle, that was not a good idea. Having seen the Chieftain survive the attack I realised if I didn''t have the dragon''s fire I would be dead. In the future, I should refrain from using such a move. However, it did give me a trump card. If I ever faced an unbeatable opponent I could use it to give my teammates time to escape. Having assessed my qi I decided that it was time to go back. My time in the book was almost up. Solomon: thanks for the help Pluvia. Pluvia: don¡¯t worry about it, though I hope you break through to the 3rd stage soon. There seemed to be some hope hidden in her voice. Solomon: how come, what happens when I break through? Pluvia: you''ll get a good skill. I''m not going to spoil it. Anyway, it seems like your times up. As she finished speaking I was instantly back outside the book. It seemed the time had run out. Looking down into the crater the Chieftain was still charging at me. Though he was still as strong as before, to me now, he felt a little weak. Compared to me he was about equal. That meant that I was now at the level of that demonic bandit. I imagined it was because of the upgraded racial skill but I would say I was at the top of G rank now. With the Chieftain as my test subject, I began testing my new power. Tom start off I used the weakest attack with my flame serpent art and arcane orb. As the qi ran through the tattoos I noticed that they had changed. Compared to before they now hovered slightly above my skin with qi in them. Now instead of disappearing under the skin when not being used they stayed on my skin. Looking at them I felt they held a profound secret. Unfortunately now was not the time to think about it. Pushing a 40th of my qi into the orb I sent it flying. As the qi burst out of the orb it still had the characteristics of fire from before. Being this close I could feel the immense heat emitting from the attack. As it shot off I tried to judge its power. Compared to before my racial skill upgrade it was about 4x stronger. That was to say if I used an attack now it would be 4x stronger than before. I shuddered as I thought of an attack at full power with this strength. Though the attack before had the properties of the fire qi it didn''t have all the effects. Compared to the full power I used on the Chieftain it was only about half as strong as it should be. Probably because I had changed the qi after the attack was formed. On the same vein, the attack before was a concentrated attack. If I used the area of effect attack I had developed with full power the size of the attack would be colossal. Having calculated in my head I waited for the Chieftains reaction to my attack. When the head was about to hit him he jumped up, smashing down on it with his foot. After a moment the attack lost its power, however, it had burnt his foot quite badly. Feeling the pain from his foot the Chieftain realised he couldn''t contend with my attacks head on. Wanting to reach me before I could attack again he doubled his speed. Within 2 seconds he would be on me. Not really having a choice I pulled out the scimitar. As he reached me I fed some of my fire qi into the sword. Reacting to the new qi it burst out in flames. It seemed that the new qi had given the sword a new ability. The flames then concentrated down on the sword, only reaching out an inch. Receiving the Chieftains assault I slashed horizontally with the sword. Unlike before he knew not to receive my flames. Jumping up he dodged the attack. With fast movements he did a flip, bringing his foot down on my shoulder. As the foot connected the momentum and strength of the attack pressed down on me. Under such pressure I couldn''t hold up. Falling to one knee he landed in front of me. Looking at me with hate filled eyes. Realising it would be bad to fight him in close quarters I made an attempt to push him back. Holding my orb behind me I began to fill it with a 10th of my qi. As it would take a few seconds I tried to distract him with attacks. Standing up I stabbed forwards with my sword. However, against a physically enhanced fighter, I couldn''t hold up. After a few roughshod attacks, Ihad bought enough time. On purpose I made a stupid attack, overextending my arm and leaving my side exposed. Luckily he went for it. As he closed in trying to barge into my side I brought my other hand forward. Seeing my movement the Chieftain realised he had been had, however, he was already too far into the attack. He could only watch as a lizard''s head and shoulder formed. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. As soon as it was complete it fired at him, hitting him in his exposed chest. As the attack dug into him the colour drained from his eyes. Collapsing to the floor he now had a fist sized hole in the centre of his chest. Looking at the once domineering Chieftain lying crippled on the ground I felt pity. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable I hovered my sword over his neck. Solomon: I must thank you. if you didn''t push me so far I wouldn''t have gained such a powerup. It was a good fight, Chieftain. Having said all I needed, I brought down the sword. Like that the world turned white. Once again I was in the healing light. Like in my test all of my injuries were healed. Though Pluvia had stopped the bleeding I still had several deep gashes in my flesh. After a few minute of exposure to the healing energy, all of my wounds were healed. From broken bones to deep cuts it was like they never happened. Now finished with healing I was moved to another room. Unlike my test, I didn''t go straight to my origin plane. Instead, I was in a pure black room. Hovering before me was a whiteboard with words scrolling on it. Ourous: congratulations on completing your mission. The following is an account of your earned rewards. The words Ourous was speaking were what was scrolling on the board. Ourous: mission rewards. Mission completion 200 points, killing hall master Xiao chen 50 points. Killing Vice chieftain yang tian 100 points, killing Chieftain han xiao 200 points. Hearing this I felt kind of guilty. I had monopolised all of the points this mission. As I had so much I would convince my teammates to let me pay for the guild. Ourous: secret mission rewards, secret mission gain Carbone''s support, 400 points and 2 G rank tokens. Secret mission kill demonic tribe defector. Rewarded G rank token and 200 points. This was the real windfall of my mission. 2 G rank tokens were extremely hard to get. From what Gareth had heard it was uncommon to get a single one in 5 missions yet I made 2 in one. But that wasn''t the best thing, all the G rank contestants had earned a G rank token from this. That meant a huge amount to our team''s overall strength. If I gave a token to Gareth we would all be G ranks. Killing rewards, 438 bandits killed, 876 points rewarded. This was expected, but nonetheless, it was surprising. Having spent several days fighting it made sense I had killed a lot of bandits. But 876 was a huge amount of points. With this, I could buy the best armour and weapons under G rank for everyone. Total rewards, 3 G rank tokens and 2026 points. Looking at my total made me feel giddy. To think I would be so fortunate. Even after giving away a token and buying the guild I would have 2 G rank tokens and 1726 points. At this point I disappeared once again, appearing back in the teleportation area. All of the people I had done the mission with were here. By the smiles spread on their faces I could guess they were all happy with their rewards. Having finished the mission we were all free to go our own way. However before people left I felt I should reiterate my offer. Solomon: well-done everyone, by your faces I guess you''re happy with your rewards. Being that we''ve finished the mission we can go our own ways now, but I want to remind everyone. The doors to my guild will always be open to you. If you ever wish to join, or if you need help you only need ask. Having been reminded about my offer everyone thanked me before leaving. The last person to approach me was Aries. Solomon: so, have you considered my offer. Her face looked conflicted as she answered. Aries: I would like too, but I can''t I''ve already been claimed by another guild. Having heard from Gareth I knew what the term claimed meant. Attractive girls who guilds took interest in were forced to join. From their they were abused. Hearing she was claimed made me extremely angry. Aries: don''t worry though. I''m not abused. Luckily I have some talent so I was allowed to go on missions. Thank you for the offer, but I''ll have to refuse. Though disappointed I didn''t give up on her. Thinking I could negotiate with the guild for her release I asked who claimed her. Solomon: which guild claimed you? Aries: the capitalist mages. Hearing this a bitter feeling made its way into my gut. If that was the case we would have no chance at negotiating for her. I still wanted to help her but with my current strength it was impossible. Solomon: agh, then there''s nothing we can do. I''m afraid we don''t have the strength to negotiate with such a guild. Though I will promise you this. If I become strong enough, I will save you from them. I truly meant what I said. Even if I was stronger she would still be worth fighting for. Having one more trustworthy comrade was better than having ten untrustworthy ones. Hopefully, I could free her in the future. Aries: ah, t, thank you, Solomon. Hearing my words Aries blushed. Seeing this new reaction from the usually cold woman I was slightly surprised. Aries: um, I''ve got to go now, bye. With a red hue creeping up her cheeks she bid us goodbye before quickly leaving. Turning back to my comrades I asked them. Solomon: It seems we''ve hit a jackpot this time. first things first though. Let''s make a guild. Volume 2 upgrade specialist upgrade chapter 29 - making a guild Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist upgrade chapter 29 - making a guild Having told Gareth and Alice to go to their origin plane I returned to my own. Ourous: welcome back. What can I do for you? Like usual my origin plane had my thing in it however the wall had expanded out. Compared to the room before, I now had about triple the space. Looking around I was confused about what happened. Solomon: how come the room is bigger? Ourous: I told you before, didn''t I? The stronger you are the bigger your origin plane. I remembered her saying this before, but I assumed she meant when I went up a rank. Either way it was good. Moving on I asked her about creating a guild. Solomon: anyway, I''d like to make a guild. Ourous: okay, who will be its founders? Solomon: Gareth and Alice. Having heard from Gareth, I knew the procedure to create a guild. Ourous: they have both accepted your proposal. Please decide on the point split. Solomon: I will pay all of it. Though I didn''t ask the other two I''m sure they won''t mind too much. Ourous: 300 points deducted, please specify the name of your guild. Having spent a long time on it I had come up with a suitable name. I wanted it to encapsulate what the guild stood for. It wasn''t to be strong. Nor was it to make money. There was one main reason. In order to free ourselves from the dangers of this world. We wanted to be free. To escape. Our guild name was, Wings of freedom. That was the name I came up with after a while. After confirming with Alice and Gareth it was decided. Solomon: Wings of freedom Ourous: the guild Wings of Freedom has been created. Transferring founders to guild''s plane now. Once again I was instantly teleported to another room. Alice and Gareth also appeared in the room with me. Solomon: looks like it worked. Alice: looks so, but how come none of my points were deducted? Scratching my cheek I answered her question. Solomon: well you see I kind of, paid it all myself. Both Alice and Gareth were upset when they learned I had not charged them. Gareth: why would you do that? Weren¡¯t we going to split the cost? It seemed like I had upset Gareth more than I thought I would. I started explaining myself, trying to fix the situation. Solomon: well, I got a little over 2000 points this mission. I thought being as I had so much I could cover it. Hearing me say I had so many points both of my teammate''s mouth dropped. Alice: I didn''t really think about it, but you made a lot this mission. You did complete a secret mission. Solomon: how much did you guys make then. I hadn''t expected it to be much compared to me. Alice:1102 Gareth:986 It was what I''d expect just for the mission they would make a lot. If you added on the bandits it made sense. Solomon: overall we''ve done great this mission. After upgrading we should be safe to complete most G rank missions. Looking around the room we saw a light in the centre of the room. Guild bot 156: hell contestants, I am guild bot 156. Please allow me to explain how guilds work to you. As we had heard before the guild had a light robot to help us. Guild bot 156: firstly we are in the Guild plane. This is a shared space that all guild members can access on demand. It works like a communal origin plane. This place has many benefits to offer.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Firstly is guild missions. Once a week a guild can attempt one mission for its level. So you can attempt 1 G rank mission. This mission will not have any other contestants, so you will be able to complete the mission without worry. This was the main reason we had made a guild. For the safety it added to missions. Guild bot 156: a guild may also do progressively double the amount of missions on lower ranks. So an s rank guild a can do 2 a 4 b 8 c and so on missions. As you are G rank you can only do 20 unranked missions. Though this was unexpected it was very helpful. If we had more members in the future it would be better to have them do missions of their level. Guild bot 156: moving on I will explain the other benefits that come with a guild. Firstly you can buy enhancements here. You can also gift each other points and token, though this is rarely used nowadays. This would let me give Gareth a G rank token. Guild bot 156: it also lets members see each others stats, if both people agree. There are other benefits, but at your level this is all you have access to. Having explained what was needed the bot fell silent. Solomon: it seems the difference between being in a guild and not is like heaven and earth. Anyway, I have something for you. Turning I looked at Gareth. Gareth: you have something for me? He seemed completely clueless as to what I wanted to give him. Solomon: gift Gareth one G rank token. Guild bot 156: 1 G rank token exchanged. Having been given something so valuable Gareth instantly tried to refuse it. Gareth: leader, I can''t accept this. You risked your life to get these tokens. I''m happy with the number of points I''ve got. Solomon: keep it, I already had 2. the difference between 2 or 3 tokens from a mission isn''t much. Besides. Your part of my guild, how can I let you stay weak. Understanding I hadn''t made the decision without thought, he accepted the token. Gareth; thank you, leader. I''m forever in your debt. Kneeling down Gareth thanked me. I didn''t feel this was how I wanted my comrade to thank me. Grabbing his shoulder I made him stand. Solomon: you shouldn''t thank me like that. We''re comrades alright, you''re my friend. Though he was a little reticent he accepted my words. Gareth: thank you, leader. Solomon: you don''t have to call me leader, call me Solomon. Gareth: yes le, Solomon. Satisfied he had understood I moved onto other things. Solomon: all right, we should upgrade. Looks like it''s time to research. Guild bot, can we edit this place like our origin realm. Guild bot 156: the guild leader may do so. Solomon: okay then, let''s add some furniture. Looking around I judged the room to be the size of a small hall. It was easily enough to make what we needed. At first, I added several desks with computers. I also added a sofa, TV and other recreational goods. Lastly, I made a kitchen filled with the best quality goods. Alice: shall I make us some food? Seeing all of the fancy equipment her eyes lit up like fireworks. Solomon: I guess we can spare some time. While your cooking Gareth and I will lookup enhancements. Going over to the computers I explained to Gareth what to look for. Solomon: when you look for an enhancement you can set a filter for your results. As I explained I showed him on my computer. Solomon: other than what you want, make sure it has a ZZZ rank growth rate. Gareth: growth rate? Being he was unranked it wasn''t surprising he didn''t know about it. Solomon: the growth rate is how high of a rank you can upgrade an enhancement. So if your growth rate is ZZZ you can upgrade it to ZZZ rank. The higher the growth rate the weaker the enhancement is early on. When you get to higher levels though the strength will be greater than enhancements with weaker growth rates. It seemed he understood now. Gareth: if that''s the case should I get enhancement with a weaker growth rate. If I''m stronger early it will be easier for you to reach the higher levels. Solomon: no, unfortunately, it wouldn''t work. At one point I did consider this myself. Gareth: why not? Solomon: there will always be those ranked higher than you. If you don''t reach the pinnacle you will always be beneath others. What good is being strong early on, when later those stronger than you cantread on you. Accepting what I said Gareth sat down to look at enhancements. Now I contemplated what to spend my tokens on. At first, I was going to buy two skills, but then I remembered. I could get another race with my enhancement. This would both increase my stats and give me a racial skill. From there I thought that 2 new races would be best, however, there was an issue. What if both of the races and their skills were crap. I had got lucky with the salamander race. Though the race was decent it was dragons fire that truly made the difference. If that was the case maybe it wasn''t a good idea. Then maybe skill would be better. After a few minutes of thought, I didn''t have enough info to pick one over the other. The best solution was to get one of each. Having decided that brought up another question. What skill should I get? Though the race was random I could control what skill I got. At first, I thought another attack skill would be good. However, I already had a good one. If you counted the wide area version I had 2. thinking back to my fight with the Chieftain there was one main thing I lacked. A defence. If I had a defensive skill then the fight would have gone a lot smoother. Especially the last part where he kicked at me. A decent skill would let me resist against that sort of attack. Having narrowed it down I input the filters. There were 8634 results. If I judged based on before this would take me 15 hours. However as I began reading I realised I was progressing much faster. Around 3 times faster than before. Thinking about it this was probably down to my stat increase. With this increase in speed, I could sift through all the results in 5 hours. After 40 or so minutes Alice called us over to eat. She had prepared a Sunday roast for us. Though I couldn''t eat the veg, the meat was amazing. With just the right tenderness it melted in your mouth. With such a delicious meal before us, Gareth and I stuffed ourselves full. Having satisfied ourselves we went back to enhancements. Before I started again I briefly gave Alice some advice. Solomon: Alice, don''t look for the strongest enhancement. Look for the one that would complement your old card master enhancement the most. My enhancements on their own are not the strongest, but together they combine to increase my power greatly. Having said all I needed I went back to my own enhancements. After 2 hours the Alice and Gareth were tired. They took a break while messing with some of the things I put in the room. Though they said I should take a break I was too engrossed in enhancements. Unlike before these skills were much more interesting. Seeing skills from series I had seen was awesome. Thinking of how I could buy them in the future made my blood boil. However, that was too much to think about now. Focusing on the skill before me I looked through them. After another 3 hours, I had finished all the skills. Likewise, Gareth and Alice had picked out enhancements for themselves. Unlike my system of gradually working through the benefits of skill, they both saw what they wanted and chose it. Though I couldn''t say I liked it I had to accept they weren¡¯t like me. My otaku lifestyle allowed me to spend days on a computer. Having decided we all came to sit on the sofa. Before we made the purchases we would all confirm with each other what we got. Volume 2 upgrade specialist upgrade chapter 30 - choosing enhancements (part 1) Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist upgrade chapter 30 - choosing enhancements (part 1) Alice: I found 3 enhancements that fit me. The first is the initiates vampire bloodline. Saying so she showed us the description of it. Initiates vampire inheritance G rank genetic variation 230 point cost Based on the Hellsing universe. Gives an increase in physical stats, especially endurance. Allows the user to regenerate faster through the consumption of blood. Does not allow the user to absorb people by drinking all of their blood. This bloodline allows access to blood essence. Any skills related to vampires or blood may be purchased to use with this enhancement. Suitable for the huge improvement of individual survivability. Alice: I thought as it said it doesn¡¯t let you absorb others it may do so in the future. I think it would blend well with my fighting style as well. Being as my troops staying alive relies on me being alive, improving my regeneration was a good idea. I agreed so far, but it didn''t seem like she was too enthusiastic about this enhancement. Alice: secondly I found these. They can be purchased in any order to make a complete set. Basic fire spirit bloodline G rank genetic variation 250 point cost Based on the spirits in Kaze no stigma. Become able to control fire spirits in the air to perform spells. The spirits may also be absorbed into your body to increase a trait. This enhancement increases stats moderately. At this level, you can only control a few of the weakest spirits. Applies to all spirits. Suitable for the control of spirits. Part of a set of 4 for each element. Basic earth spirit bloodline G rank genetic variation 250 point cost Based on the spirits in Kaze no stigma. Become able to control fire spirits in the air to perform spells. The spirits may also be absorbed into your body to increase a trait. This enhancement increases stats moderately. At this level, you can only control a few of the weakest spirits. Applies to all spirits. Suitable for the control of spirits. Part of a set of 4 for each element. Basic air spirit bloodline G rank genetic variation 250 point cost Based on the spirits in Kaze no stigma. Become able to control air spirits in the air to perform spells. The spirits may also be absorbed into your body to increase a trait. This enhancement increases stats moderately. At this level, you can only control a few of the weakest spirits. Applies to all spirits. Suitable for the control of spirits. Part of a set of 4 for each element. Basic water spirit bloodline G rank genetic variation 250 point cost Based on the spirits in Kaze no stigma. Become able to control water spirits in the air to perform spells. The spirits may also be absorbed into your body to a trait. This enhancement increases stats moderately. At this level, you can only control a few of the weakest spirits. Applies to all spirits. Suitable for the control of spirits. Part of a set of 4 for each element. I had found sets before, but none of them that would suit me. The increase in stats along with the ability to control spirits fit her. She had shown that she had a talent for leading people. Alice: lastly I found this enhancement. 1/16 Daimou bloodline. G rank genetic variation 300 point cost. Based ondemon king Diamou. The user gains access to mana. The control of this magical power is very lacking. The size of the mama is only changeable through enhancements. The control over the mana will be initially horrible. This can cause sudden explosions if the mana is not controlled properly. At the cost of rapid consumption of mana the user can awaken their bloodline, making their eyes shine red. In this state control of mana is greatly enhanced. Provided moderate stat increase. Suitable for 1 on 1 mid range combat.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Solomon: all three seem to suit you. It depends on what type of fighter you want to be will affect your decision. Looking at it, the three enhancements would lead to different fighting styles. The first Hellsing enhancement would lead to a close combat tank style. The second spirit enhancement would lead to a mid- long range backline fighting style. Lastly, the Daimou enhancement would lead to a mid to short range fighter. Alice: I thought so too. At first, I ruled out the Hellsing enhancement as it is basically a stat increase at this level. Though it let me drink blood to regenerate, that was the only thing I would get other than stats. It was a logical point. Though it may blend in the future at current there was no way to be sure. Gareth: that makes sense. There''s no pint for it to work in the future if you can''t survive with it now. Alice: right, so that left me with these two. After some though I summarised the benefits of both. The Diamou enhancement would allow me to attack from range. As well as to fight in close combat. For the spirit bloodline, there was less combat potential. Though both had mid range and close combat abilities the spirit bloodline could not be awakened. On the flip side, they came as a set of 4. the likelihood is if I had several of them they would be superior to the Diamou enhancement. I agreed with all she had said. Solomon: that¡¯s the choice then. A better upgrade now or later. Alice: yes, because there was no way to know I just chose my personal preference. I will take the basic earth spirit bloodline. Overall it was hard to tell which would be better. Personally, I would have gone with the Diamou. Solomon: alright then. That''s settled what about you Gareth? As I asked him he appeared a little nervous. Gareth: well I found 4 that interested me. Though I''ve picked one I''d be open to changing my choice. It was obvious he was nervous about his choice. Solomon: if it''s what you''ve decided on then you should stick to it. It''s your life on the line so how you spend your points I up to you. He was less anxious as he continued. Gareth: one of the enhancements is this. Like Alice, he showed us the description. Low-level flash speed G rank genetic enhancement 270 point cost. Based on the flash. The user''s agility, reactions and regeneration are greatly enhanced. This allows them to run at extreme speed. Through the use of momentum, several unique skills can be used. Allows for the use of energy to temporarily increase movement speed greatly. Specialised in extreme speed. Gareth: I thought the speed would help with scouting. At the moment I am essentially a scout for the team. This enhancement would make me better at it. It was true he had adopted the position of a scout. With any battle, gaining prior information was crucial. To this end, he scouted for us. Solomon: that is true, but if it isn''t what you want to do you don¡¯t have to. Gareth: it isn''t a matter of want, I am good at it. That is enough reason to progress as a scout. Though I agreed it made sense I didn''t want him to feel forced into it. Gareth: the next enhancement I like for its versatility. Once again he showed the description. Entry level demonic shade bloodline G rank genetic variation 240 point cost The bloodline of a demon. It allows the user to blend into shadows. A weak amount of demonic energy is given with this enhancement. This energy is specialised in the use of demonic magics and skills. The user can turn into a demonic form that will make them stronger at the cost of demonic energy. Includes a moderate stat increase. Specialised in the use of stealth magic and skills. Suitable for sneaking around and assassinating targets. Gareth: it allows me to both fight and carry out scouting. It''s an overall increase. Solomon: it''s quite good, it seems similar to the Diamou enhancement from before. Gareth: it''s quite similar, however, it seems to trade of power for the extra abilities. Anyway, another enhancement is this. Limited Jabberwock implant. G rank genetic variation 310 point cost Based on Project ARMS. The user has nanomachines of the Jabberwock implanted into their body, primarily the right arm. All of the abilities except anti ARMS Nano virus are removed. The arms can transform to cover the arms. The Nano virus will prevent the healing of wounds caused by this weapon. This is however only effective to those without energy. Those with energy can repel the virus. As the strength of Jabberwock is low it can not transform the user. Greatly enhances physical abilities. The strength of the user increases with their hate. Suitable for physical combatants. Gareth: this was the most combat orientated enhancement I found. If I were to get this it would ensure our safety. Though I thought it would improve our safety I did not think it would be ensured. Solomon: that''s not so. If you were to go up against a fighter with EMP like abilities they could easily defeat you. From his expression, it was clear he had not thought of this. Alice: though if that happened you could take care of them. Even with this enhancement, I don''t think Gareth could stand up to you. Though this was true at first if he got a decent item like my arcane orb he would surpass me easily. Solomon: that may be true at first, but as our enhancement progress his power would exceed mine. Alice: true. Gareth: the last enhancement is this. Tiny portion ofBahamut''s legacy. G rank genetic variation 340 point cost. Based on shingeki no Bahamut. The user receives a small amount of Bahamut''s power into themselves. This power increases their stats tremendously. The user can exhibit limited dragonic abilities. In exchange for the temporary loss of their power (3 days)the user can transform into a berserker state for an hour. In this state , their strength will be amplified by ten times. The backlash following this will incapacitate the user for a day. They will not recover fully for 3 days. The users of this enhancement tend to fail without a team. Suitable for a extremely strong fighter. This enhancement looked even more op than the last one. Having seen the anime I had a understanding of bahamuts power. Even a tiny portion would be huge. Solomon: if I''d have seen these when I was choosing my enhancements I probably would have chose them. The power of this enhancement must be colossal. It costs 100 points more than usual, it must be strong. Gareth: I thought so too, however I ruled it out. Both Alice and I were confused as to why. Alice: how come, isn''t it stronger than all the other ones. Gareth: it is, however that isn''t enough to survive here. As we''ve seen in missions, it requires several skills to complete them safely. If we didn''t have Solomon''s fire based attacks how could we brake through the walls so easily? If we didn''t have you goblies how could we hold out against such a huge army? It requires more than brute strength to win here. What he said was right, however, the enticement of such a strong enhancement was not easily forgotten. I committed it to memory so we could get a teammate to purchase it in the future. volume 2 upgrade specialist upgrade chapter 31 - choosing an enhancement (part 2) Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist upgrade chapter 31 - choosing an enhancement (part 2) Gareth: for the same reason I got rid of the ARMS enhancement. That left me with the flash and shade enhancements. Looking at them from a scouting perspective they would affect my work in different ways. If I got the flash one I could quickly scout however the chance of being seen was higher. Solomon: but couldn''t you just run away. It seemed plausible as long as none of the enemies were speed based. Gareth: that may be so but then we are exposed. It means we can''t surprise attack the enemy. The shade enhancement would allow me to hide more effectively, but the speed would decrease. It would also mean if I was found my chances at escape are less. Thinking about it the shade enhancement would be more beneficial to the team, whereas the flash one would be beneficial to Gareth. Gareth: after thinking about it I decided on the Shade enhancement. Solomon: are you sure, it will be much more dangerous? Though I asked I didn''t think he''d change his mind. He was smart enough to know he was choosing the team over himself. Gareth: I''m sure. Not only is this better for now, in the future the magic I could do will be better than an increase in speed. After all, I prefer to fight than run away. Solomon: all right then, that just leaves me. As you know I have both a genetic variation and energy enhancement already. So that only left skill to buy. As you know I can spend a G rank token to get a new race with my raceless enhancement. I had previously explained to them about my enhancements. As a team, I felt they should know the details of my enhancements. The only thing I had not told them about was the dragon''s fire. Though I wished to, Pluvia said not to say anything till I was stronger. Solomon: this left me with a choice, do I get skills or races. After thinking for a while I decided I''d get one of each. Having decided I would get 1 skill I thought about what type I needed. Thinking back to the last mission there was one thing I was missing that would help. A defence. Alice: are you sure that''s best. You''re supposed to be a mid-range fighter anyway. So shouldn''t you try to upgrade your ranged abilities? Though I was supposed to be mid-ranged we didn''t currently have a close range combatant. That meant I had to pick up the role. Solomon: as we don''t have a close range fighter I have to fill that role. Though she didn''t like it, she could only accept my words. Solomon: after looking through the skills I found 3 that fit me. Not wanting to spend much longer on explaining, I showed them the 3 skills together. Lesser curse reflection G rank skill Point cost 120 This skill allows the user to negate certain skills. These skills have to fit two criteria. First, the skill must not be a direct attack. Secondly, they must cause some sort of decrease in abilities to the attacked. Any skill of G rank or less that fall into this category can be negated with this skill. Useful for the prevention of weakening attacks. Holy light mantle G rank skill 160 point cost Based on shen yin wang zuo. The user creates a protective shield of energy. The size and shape of this shield can be changed completely. The larger the shield the weaker the overall strength. Unless broken it can last as long as energy is supplied. Useful for the versatile defence in several aspects. Heavenly flow G rank skill 190 point cost Based on dimensional sovereign. The user can disrupt the flow of energy attacks, destroying them. The skill is best used with a sword but can be used with the hand. By analysing the flow of an attack the user can find flaws in the flow. By exploiting these flaws the user can use their own energy to break the flow. Suitable for the defence against energy based attacks.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Alice: they all seem really different, Solomon: they are. The heavenly flow blocks energy attacks, the holy light mantle blocks a mix of physical and energy and curse reflection blocks debuffs. Gareth: so which type are you going to pick. I was conflicted on this for a while. In order to decide I first removed the least useful. Looking at it objectively the curse reflection would not help me in close combat. Though it would leave us at risk of debuffs I had to risk it. So I ruled it out. Left with the other two skills I measured their use. I would mostly be fighting against G ranks so it might be better to have an anti-energy attack. Unluckily not all G ranks had energy based enhancements. Like the flash enhancement. Looking at the heavenly flow, as much as I liked it, it was not the best choice. This left me with the holy light mantle. It was the most versatile of the skills, so it would allow me to prepare for different situations. Solomon: I''ve picked the holy light mantle. Out of the skills, it is the only one that has several different uses. Though we''ll be at risk of debuffs and strong energy attacks it is the best overall defence. No one disagreed with my assessment. Having all decided we requested our enhancements. Alice: I would like to purchase the basic earth spirit bloodline. Gareth: I''ll buy the Entry level demonic shade bloodline Solomon: one new race and the holy light mantle skill. Guild bot 156: enhancements payment accepted. You will now receive the enhancements. Once again I appeared in the black upgrade space. From the look of it, my teammates had been sent to their own upgrade spaces. Guild bot 156: skill, holy light mantle selected and New race via raceless enhancement selected. Total cost, 360 points and 2 G rank tokens. Compatibility. 100%, success 0%, death 0%, failure. No new enhancements selected, merger and consumption unavailable. Please confirm selection. Solomon: I accept. Like before a light appeared in the darkness. It was a bright, golden tinted light. As it approached its splendour increased. Eventually looking like a sun in this darkness. In the centre of this light was a golden shield. Though the shield''s design was simple, it gave off a profound air. Like with my other skill the light entered into my head. Bracing for the pain I was surprised when the information smoothly entered my brain. Though it gave me a slight headache it was nothing compared to the first time. Thinking about it maybe my enhancements helped me process the information. The increase in mental processes probably had an effect as well. Happy that it had proceeded smoothly I heard the voice of guild bot. Guild bot 156: random race being generated. Silver wolf generated, would you like to reroll for 100 points. In front of me appeared a silver light. A wolf was probably a good race. I was unsure, though. I accepted it, however, I would change it later if it was useless. Solomon: no, I''ll keep this race Guild bot 156: implanting race. The light began to approach me. As it got closer the silver light became clearer. It looked like flowing moonlight, whirling in an odd dance. As the energy came close I could see a figure within it. Laying down inside the light was a wolf. With silver fur and clear blue eyes, the figure seemed much more powerful than my previously gained race. The silver light stopped before me, beginning to flow into my body. Through the tree-like network of my qi enhancement, the energy entered me. As it did my body began to change. My muscles grew, gaining a more toned appearance. As the energy began to flow faster my body started to grow taller. After a quarter of the energy had entered my body I stopped growing. My body had gained double the muscle mass and grew 5 inches taller, making me 6ft 9in. At this point, the wolf in the light stirred. Standing up it looked me in the eyes. There seemed to be some sort of intelligence to those eyes. The silver energy coalesced around the wolf making it appear 1.5x its size. Charging forward the wolf slammed into my chest entering my body. This energy worked its way around my body forcing open my qi network. Though it should have been painful, the energy healed the network before the nerves could pick up on it. After a full circuit of my body, the size of my meridians had almost doubled. Having made this change the energy had lost half of its power. The last part of the energy made its way to my head. Entering my brain. With the energy, a new racial skill was implanted in my brain. Having completed all of my upgrades I appeared back in the guild plane. Looking around neither Alice nor Gareth was done yet. Looking at the space it seemed to have grown by about another 10%. Solomon: guild bot, how come the room got bigger. Guild: with the increase in members strength the guild plane will grow, your new strength caused this growth. Looking around other than the furniture I had placed, taking up a 5th of the space, the rest of the room was devoid of anything. moulding the space, I made the already created furniture into a room. I then made a door in the wall leading to the rest of the space. Walking through the door I surveyed the room. It was a cubic room around 70 meters squared. I decided I would change this into a training room. At first, I made a strength testing area, containing several of the latest machines. Then I made a small combat course. Containing a wall to climb, nets to crawl under, gaps to jump and several other things. Moving on I made a shooting range. Lastly, I made a sparring arena. With all of these things made I lowered the roof to the needed height over each area. This left me with a space of 10 cubic meters. I used the space to create a small room. I made the walls soundproof and added a lock to the door. I made this room into a meditation space. I imagined some enhancements in the future may need this sort of space to train. As I walked back Into the original room Gareth: appeared back into the room. His body had shrunk slightly, as well as having a black mist hovering over his skin. Solomon: welcome back. Gareth: agh, hi Solomon. Turning he faced me. By his face, it seemed he was amazed with his enhancement. Seeing me his expression was full of surprise. Gareth: what happened to you? My new appearance surprised him Solomon: I got a good race this time, it''s called silver wolf. Wanting to get a good look at myself I created a large mirror mounted on the wall. Looking at myself I noticed several changes to my body. My hair had grown longer reaching a little below shoulder length, it had also turned silver. To complement my hair my eyes had also adopted a silver colour. My height had grown as well as my muscles. Though I was much stronger the added height evened out the muscles. Because of this, it didn¡¯t look like I gained anything other than defined muscles. Other than that my body hair had grown significantly, partially covering my tattoos Looking at this spectacle I could only say one thing. Solomon: wow. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 32 - a few tests Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 32 - a few tests Having just finished assessing my body in the mirror I looked towards Gareth. With his new enhancement, he had changed considerable. Being as he got his racial enhancement it changed his appearance greatly. Most noticeable was the black mist covering his body. If he was in a dark area then even with my enhanced senses I would struggle to see him. Other than the mist, his body had shrunk considerably. That wasn''t to say he looked weaker. If anything his muscles looked like they contained great power. Unlike me who had gained my strength through enhancements, Gareth already had a soldiers body. That meant with the increase in his stats his body had broken through the limits of humans. His short buzz cut brown hair had grown longer. Much more than mine it now reached his lower back. The colour had turned jet black, further hiding his presence. Lastly, his eyes had turned crimson red. He did truly look like a shadow demon. Solomon: looks like it''s not only me that has changed. Walking in front of the mirror Gareth looked at himself. Seeing his new appearance he was amazed. Gareth: whoa, I really do look like a demon. At this point, Alice appeared. She like the both of us had changed considerably. Her body was slightly glowing, making her look ethereal. She had grown a couple of inches, making her around 6 foot tall. Her hair had turned from peach blonde to vibrant green. It had also grown to her shoulders. Her eyes had also turned bright green, shining with a mysterious energy. Solomon: wow. Seeing me staring at her she started to blush. Alice: what is it? Gareth: you should look at yourself in the mirror. Only just noticing Gareth she was surprised. Alice: agh, Gareth, you¡¯re here. You look so different. Walking in front of the mirror Alice looked at herself. Alice: oh, well that''s new. Now understanding my reaction Alice looked at me. Alice: do you like my new look? She walked to stand in front of me, looking upwards. With her new appearance, she was both incredibly cute and sexy. Solomon: you''re very cute. Saying so I pulled her into me, embracing her. I heard her speak into my chest, almost inaudibly. Alice: thank you. After a few second she pulled away from my embrace, the usual rose tint in her cheeks. Solomon: I''ve changed the guild plane a bit. Let me show you around. With the addition of Alice and Gareth, the space had grown another 10 percent, making the walls slightly wider. Leading Alice and Gareth through into the other rooms I explained what they were. Gareth: while we''re here should we test out our new abilities. He looked at me for confirmation. Alice: I''d be up for it. Alice confirmed her agreement, also looking to me for confirmation. Solomon: let''s go for it. Walking over to the arena we began to test our powers. Gareth: I''ll start. I''ve got a decent upgrade in my physical strength. Saying so he drew a sword. Solomon: I''ll be your opponent. Test you new strength against me. That way I can also see my increase in strength. Though I hadn''t checked my stats I was sure my strength had increased considerably. Pulling out my scimitar I squared off against Gareth. After circling for a few second Gareth dashed at me. Hefting his sword overhead he brought it in a downward slash. Putting my weight on my back leg I held up my sword to block the attack.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. As the swords clashed the full strength of his attack pushed down on me. Feeling the strength it was around equal to a mid soul personage. Judging in terms of ranks he was around middle G rank. However, my strength was greater. Pushing back I offset his balance, moving in slashed at his exposed chest. Reacting quickly he blocked the attack with the pommel of his sword. Like this, we exchanged attacks back and forth. Judging his strength to be mid G rank made my strength around Late G rank. I was definitely not anywhere near F rank, but against G ranks I could hold my own. After a few minutes, I decided to end it. I went in for a horizontal slash, placing all of my strength into it. Though Gareth managed to block it, he couldn''t deal with the extra strength behind the attack. Falling to the floor his sword was sent flying away. Gareth: looks like I''ve lost, good match. Solomon: likewise. Is there anything else you want to test? Gareth: there is one more thing if your willing to spar again. I was hoping he''d be up for another spar. I still had my new racial skill to test. Solomon: sure, I''ll warn you though, I''m going to test my new racial skill. Taking positions again we got ready to spar. Once again holding his sword Gareth activated his bloodline. Like it said in the enhancement he could turn into a demonic for, increasing his strength. As he activated his abilities, the black mist that cloaked his body began to writhe. As I watched the mist increased in size and thickness, enveloping him. After 20 seconds the mist completely shrouded his body. Gareth: AAAAAAARGGGHHH. From inside the mist, he let forth out a bellow. with the shoutthe mist dissipated from his body, revealing his new form. His hair was floating near his head, having grown extremely long. From his head grew two lightning bolt shaped black horns. Other than this his whole body had grown larger, making him almost as tall as me. The strength he exuded now was incomparable to before. His strength had at least tripled. Holding his sword up Gareth took the initiative. Charging forward he slashed at me diagonally. He moved at a speed I couldn''t even see. When I reacted he was already slashing at me. Bringing my sword down I barely blocked the attack. Against his strength, however, I couldn''t hold up. Taking several steps back I focused my senses on him. With the addition of wolves senses to my lizards, I had a very acute sense of smell and hearing. As came at me again I pushed myself to black him, like this I held out for several minutes. Gareth: I can only hold up for 5 more minutes, I''m going to use all my strength now. His voice was much deeper than usual carrying with it an eerie tone. He then sped up his assault considerably. Like this, I was no longer able to take his attacks. After being forced back in an exchange I used my new racial skill. Solomon: FUR OF THE ETERNAL MOONLIGHT! As my instincts told me I shouted out the skills name. As it was activated half of my qi was used up. Spreading around my body it forced its way out of my meridians. Feeling this I understood why the energy had widened them before. As the energy forced its way out it surrounded my body, empowering it. As I grew stronger my body grew larger. My body structure also changed as well. My face grew out forming a snout, my legs snapped to be shaped like a wolf legs and claws formed on my hands and feet. As well as that silver hair grew out of my body. When it had finished I was 1.5x larger than before. I also had a thick layer of silver hair covering my body. I looked like a werewolf. My instincts told me my body would remain like this for an hour. I also felt that while I was in this state all of my stats had been doubled. With my new body, I didn''t need my sword anymore. The silver fur on my body was as strong as iron and my claws were as sharp as any sword. Dashing forwards I slashed at Gareth. Receiving it he blocked with his sword. Then while he was holding back one hand with his sword I punched him with the other. With no other choice, he retreated. Like this, I pushed him back for the next five minutes. Unlike him, limited to attacking with only his sword, I could use any of my 4 claws. With such a huge advantage I suppressed him until his demonic form disappeared. When it did the previous mist that shrouded him was gone. I imagined the mist was caused by his energy. Kneeling to the floor he accepted his defeat. Gareth: I haah, I lose, haaah. You''re too strong for me. Speaking I realised my voice was distorted. It was throaty and guttural, conveying a beastly nature. Solomon: don''t be too worried about it. With your strength, you can easily hold your own against most G ranks. You were just unlucky that my powerup lasts longer than yours. I meant what I said, though I was stronger he was still well above the average G rank. However, I was at the top of G rank. I doubted there were many G ranks who could face me head on. Also considering I could remain in this form for an hour it was really op. Gareth: how long can you stay like this. I imagined he was expecting something like 10 minutes. Solomon: for half of my energy I can stay like this for 1 hour, so if I don¡¯t use skills 2 hours In terms of strength, Gareth was equal to the demonic bandit I met before whereas I was somewhere between the bandit and the chieftain. I thought If I had this strength in the last mission maybe I could have saved bob. It was pointless to think about now though. All I could do was not let it happen in the future. Solomon: anyway, I still have to try my other skill. If I am in this form the power should be doubled. Can you shoot against the skill when I use it? Gareth: sure. He took out his gun while I performed the skill. Like my new racial skill, it required a vocal cue. Solomon: holy light mantle. It required ascalable amount of qi to appear. From there, it cost more to sustain it. From my qi pool, the standard amount was 5% to create it then a further 1% per 5 seconds to keep it up. Of course, if it broke this no longer applied. As it appeared before me I formed it into an ovular panel in front of me. Having been formed the shape couldn''t change, however, it did follow me as I turned. This meant if I formed it at the start of a battle I wouldn''t have to reform it unless it broke. Solomon: test it. Hearing my affirmation, Gareth shot one bullet at the yellowish barrier. As the bullet hit, the barrier bent slightly before returning to its shape. Gareth; that was without energy, I could eek out a shot with energy if you want. Solomon: if you can that would be good. That was the most important test. There were many things I could do to block physical attacks, however energy attacks were much more dangerous. With strain on his face, Gareth filled the required energy into the gun. I imagined he also wanted to test the cost and strength of his equipment. A small wisp of black mist floated down his arm into the barrel of the gun. The inscriptions on the gun lit up as a round was fired. The bullet moved 3x faster than usual, leaving a black trail. As it made contact with the shield the difference was obvious. It pushed the barrier to the breaking point, just as the last bit of power left the bullet the barrier smashed. Solomon: that¡¯s quite a difference, how''s the cost. Ultimately the cost would determine the usage of the weapon. Gareth: it''s half a percent per bullet. Solomon: quite good then. If I faced 200 of them I wouldn''t be able to hold out. Even with my wolf forms defence, I wouldn''t survive. Solomon: shall we move on. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 33 - Alices new cards Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 33 -Alice''s new cards Having tested my new skill I had a rough assessment of its strength. A meter cubed of it is roughly equal to a G rank attack. Though I could obviously make it smaller and stronger. When I was in wolf form this defence doubled. Overall it was a good skill. Against many enemies, I could make a dome shaped shield. then against G ranks, I could make two-metersized shields. I also had some ideas about other ways to use it, but that was to be left for later. Solomon: Alice you''ve got the last enhancement to test. How do you want to test it? After a few seconds of thought, she answered honestly. Alice: I don''t really know. I don''t need to spar to test my new physical stats. I''ll figure that out though training. As for my enhancement, it can''t do much without skills. I can enhance a trait but I''m not sure what that means. I guess her skills didn''t come instinctually like mine did. Solomon: give it a go enhancing a trait, we can test to see what happens. Nodding she closed her eyes to concentrate. Within seconds the green light she emitted grew larger and brighter. After 3 seconds her body undertook a change. Small rock began to grow from her body, within ten seconds most of her body was covered in rocks. Solomon: well that''s, odd. Gareth: yep, I guess this explains the trait thing though. Based on the appearance it was most likely an increase in defence. Having completed her transformation she opened her eyes. They, along with her mouth and nose, were the only uncovered parts of her. Each of these holes in the armour emitted a bright green light, making her look like a golem. Alice: huh why do I feel heavy. Looking down she saw the state of her body. Alice: w, WHAT HAPPENED!? She was clearly surprised by her new form. Walking over I tried to calm her. Solomon: calm down Alice, it''s just your skill. Hearing so she seemed to stop panicking, though she still wasn''t enjoying this new power. Solomon: it seems your enhancement lets you increase your defence. This is good for you, it matches you well. Alice: THIS MATCHES ME WELL, I LOOK HIDEOUS! She was evidently upset about the physical change. Lowering my head to her ear I tried to get rid of her worries. Solomon: I think you still look just as cute. She lowered her head hearing this. I imagined if I could see her cheeks she would be blushing. Solomon: shall we test it then. Standing up I offered Alice my hand. Alice: sure. Grabbing my hand she stood up. Walking a couple meters away I turned to face her. Solomon: I''ll try my weakest attack on you, okay? Nodding her head I held up my hand. Without using my tattoos or weapon, I sent an inch long flame serpent at her. She held up her arms to block the attack. As it collided the flames exploded out like usual. Though it was my weakest attack because my qi had almost quadrupled in quality it was easily enough to roast an average man. Yet as I watched the flames expand and disappear, she still remained stood there, perfectly unharmed. Lowering her arms she looked puzzled. Alice: huh, was that it? Gareth: I guess your defence is stronger than we thought. I''d guess judging by how she didn''t even feel it, it was at least equal to a G rank magical armour. Solomon: should I step it up to the next level? Alice: if it''s not too much trouble. Once again she held up her arms, ready to receive the attack. This time though I used the same amount of qi I used the arcane orb and my tattoos. With the transformation of the tattoos the quality had doubled. From their the 6x buff of the orb, having still got the upgrade from Yunfei, made the attack 12 times stronger than the last one.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Solomon: be careful with this one, if you feel the armour breaking be sure to jump away. Having given her a warning, I proceeded with the attack. This time the head of a lizard as long as my arm was formed, before shooting off at her. I was fully expecting the armour to break against this attack, or at least be heavily damaged. As I watched the attack collide Alice was pushed back a few meters before the attack lost its momentum. Then exploding the fire spread out over a radius of 2 meters, completely engulfing Alice in fire. Seeing this I was a little worried. Though I had tried to hold back, my power was greater than I thought it would be. Unexpectedly though, when the fire cleared Alice stood there completely fine. Solomon: how is it so strong, even my holy light mantle would buckle under an attack like that. Gareth nodded in agreement. Gareth: it''s certainly very impressive, even against an average G rank fighter she should have no trouble. Alice: wow, this ability''s awesome. It seems she doesn''t mind the appearance so much now that it''s really strong. Solomon: what''s the cost to make that armour. Surely it would be fairly high. Alice: there isn''t one. I knew I had jinxed it. To have such op armour was crazy, but to have it at no cost was a game breaker. Alice: I guess technically if I didn''t have as many spirits nearby it would be harder. Thinking about it like that then maybe it wasn''t so bad. If we went to a world where we fought in the sea it would be useless. Then again, what were the odds of that? Most missions would have land in some form. Solomon: we''ll just have to see in the future. Anyway let''s not test the strength further, I don''t want to hurt you. Nodding Alice agreed. As much as she had faith in her armour she knew I could probably break it. Knowing it would take my all to break her defence would allow me to focus on attacking in fights. If we fought someone who could easily break the armour then I wouldn''t last a second against them. Solomon: is there anything else? Alice: there is one thing, it''s not an enhancement through. Nodding, I asked her to continue. Solomon: go ahead. Alice: well I was looking at cards for my enhancement. As you know they double in cost if I buy them outside the system. So I thought I would buy a couple. The thing is they''re expensive. Walking back into the other room, Alice showed us the descriptions. Alice: they come in packs. You can buy specific cards but the costs to do that are tripled. G rank effect card pack G rank equipment 400 point cost. Contains 3 random effect cards for use with the card master enhancement. Using the effect cards causes phenomenon based on their description. Each card has both a cool down time and limitations. G rank creature card pack G rank equipment 400 point cost Contains 1 random creature card to be used with the card master enhancement. Using this card will summon a creature in exchange for at a constant drain on the user. Each card has its own skills. Alice: I thought it was a little expensive, but we don''t have an alternative. I agreed with her, when we went to the market before, there was not a single card for sale. Rather than risk it with the market, it would be better to buy them. This wasn''t all bad though. This way the cost for the cards would not be doubled. Solomon: I agree, so what are you going to buy. Alice: well I have 894 points, so I was going to get one of each. Thinking about it, we could do with another summoned creature. As good as necro was, she needed a card that was able to fight one on one. Also at her level, she could handle 2 cards at most. Her energy would start to run out if she used more. At this level, though she couldn''t recover energy she also didn¡¯t lose any. Hopefully, she could keep the creatures out and use the effect cards as well. Solomon: that seems like the best option, go ahead and get them. Then we can test them. Standing up Alice requested the items from guild bot. Alice: guild bot, I''d Like to buy one of each of these. Saying so she pointed out the packs. Guild bot 156: payment accepted, 800 points spent. With a flash of light two plastic packs appeared before Alice, hovering in the air. Grabbing them Alice showed us what they looked like. They were both palm-sized rectangular packs made of a shiny silver film. One of the packs being considerably thicker than the other. Solomon: shall we open them then. Nodding Alice took the thicker pack and split its end open. Disappointing all our expectations, there was no flashy display. Slightly downtrodden, Alice took the cards out of the foil. Like necro''s card, they were exactly the same as normal trading cards. Gareth: what did you get then? Gareth''s question brought me back from my thoughts. Looking at the cards in Alice''s hand I placed what they were. The first was a card titled accelerate. Judging by the card I recognised it from magic the gathering. After that was a Pokemon card. A potion. Lastly was Meteor of Destruction, a yu-gi-oh card. Alice: I''m not too sure. Solomon, do you have an idea? Looking at the cards I theorised a couple of ideas, however, it wasn''t really something I knew about. Solomon: I have a general idea, but it''s not really my area. The meteor is probably a direct attack. I''d guess it lets you shoot out a meteor or summon one from the sky. For the acceleratecard, it''s probably a speed buff. As for the potion, maybe some kind of healing effect. I laid out my best guess, but I was by no means sure. Alice: I guess I''ll just have to try and find out. Walking into the training room Alice tried out the first card. Alice: METEOR OF DESTRUCTION! Shouting out its name she held the card forward. As it was activated a green light began emitting from the card. After a second, the light condensed down into a ball. it started forming a 5x5 meter sphere. As I watched it the light turned to a red colour. At the end of its transformation, it looked like the meteor from the card. Now having fully formed, the meteor sped forward. Colliding with a target in the shooting range. The dummy made of rock was instantly smashed under the meteor. After smashing through the dummy and into the wall behind it, the meteor turned back into a card. Catching the card as it flew to her, Alice was impressed. Alice: wow, looks like I''ve got my first attack. Gareth: looks like it, what''s the cost? Being asked this Alice''s mood dampened. Alice: not good, it takes ten percent of my energy. Though it was a strong attack capable of seriously injuring most G ranks Alice was disappointed. Though she didn''t say it I imagined she was comparing it to my attacks. In all honesty, without my orb it would take half of my energy to make an equal attack. Solomon: that''s not too bad. When I first got my flame serpent art it cost a quarter of my energy to pull off an attack. saying so I tried to cheer her up. Compared to my strength upon receiving enhancements she was much stronger. It seemed that my enhancement grew greatly within the rank, whereas Alice''s was stronger at first but didn¡¯t grow as much. Solomon: anyway, shall we test the rest. Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 34 - limits of the cards Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 34 - limits of the cards Moving on Alice held up the accelerate card. Alice: ACCELERATE! Holding the card towards me she activated it. Like the meteor card it glowed with a green light. Then the light coalesced around me, filling my body with a feeling of lightness. After it had finished the light disappeared completely, leaving me feeling weightless. Alice: did it work? Though I thought it was weird she couldn''t tell, I answered her. Solomon: it did, I feel much lighter. Jumping lightly on my feet I tried to feel its effects. Solomon: I''m going to try it out. Running towards the far end of the training room I instantly felt the effects. After making it to the other end I doubled back. At a guess I felt around 15% faster. Then again this was just movement speed. Arriving back to the end of the room, I kept running at the wall. A few meters before meeting it I jumped upwards. Most of the forward momentum was transferred upwards, propelling me. Like this my normal jump height was doubled. Being as I was already in my wolf form the height I could jump was great. Reaching the apex of my jump, I clawed into the wall with my claws. Looking down from where I was hanging I was at least 6 meters into the air. Looking at this it seemed it wasn''t just the speed in a straight line that was increased. Dropping to the floor I tested the last factor, attack speed. Smashing my fist into the wall several times I could feel that even this was increased. Solomon: seems quite good. Turning around I walked over to Alice. No longer having a need for it I returned to my human form. As I shrunk down a wave of vertigo hit me. Seeing me stumbling slightly forward, Alice stood towards me. Moving under my arm she supported me. Alice: are you okay Solomon? Looking up at me concern was clear in her eyes. Seeing such an innocent act I was caught in the moment. Leaning forward I brought her into a passionate kiss. After a moment she pushed back against me, kissing me back. After a few seconds, we broke away from the kiss. Alice: what was that for? With slightly reddened cheeks, she looked very adorable. Solomon: nothing, I''m just thankful your with me. Gareth: kukruum Clearing his throat, Gareth reminded us of where we were. Solomon: sorry about that, anyway I''ve got a rough idea of the cards use. Taking a half step away from Alice, I continued talking about the card. Solomon: the card increases the speed at which your body moves. This goes beyond just movement speed. Anything you do will be sped up. Both your attacks and your movement through the air. Based on what I felt the increase is at least 15%. Gareth: that¡¯s gonna be a lot of help then. Especially for me and you. It can increase my scouting speed, as well as your wolf forms strength. Solomon: the only thing that could limit it is how long it lasts. Hearing this Gareth became slightly downtrodden. Gareth: I didn''t think about that. Guess it''s too good to be true, huh? From the sudden change in attitude I imagined he was chastising himself. In a world where one mistake cost your life this was a huge mistake. Trying to cheer him up I pointed a couple of things out. Solomon: maybe not. We don''t know how long it will last, so when it runs out we can check how long it lasted. Anyway don¡¯t worry about it too much. Were a team for this reason. We cover each other''s weaknesses. That''s the point right? Gareth went back to normal after hearing this. Gareth: yeah, that''s right. Thanks Solomon. Solomon: no problem, anyway that only leaves the potion to test right? Nodding Alice held up the card. Alice: that''s right, the thing is I have no clue what It does. Though it would obviously heal somehow. The strength of the healing and its requirements were a mystery.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Solomon: guess there''s only one way to find out. Pulling out my scimitar I drew it down my arm, drawing a cut from my shoulder to my wrist. Seeing me do so both Alice and Gareth pounced towards me, wanting to stop me. However, they were to slow. Alice: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? Gareth: DON''T DO IT! Reaching me Alice wrenched the sword from my hands. At this time she seemed to have a supernatural amount of strength. To my surprise she easily took it from my hand. Gareth reaching my side grabbed a hold of my arm, holding it upwards. Solomon: calm down, we need some way to test it. Won''t this do? Both Alice and Gareth looked at me like I was an idiot. Actually after thinking about it, wasn''t it weird. Most normal people couldn''t just cut themselves up. It seems I had changed a lot more than I thought. However, now was not the time to think about this. Alice: POTION! Not wanting to let the wound get worse, Alice activated the card. Like before green light spew forth from the card. Once it had reached its brightest the light began to condense. Unlike I expected, it didn''t flow into my wounds. The light dimmed down, eventually revealing a small battle. Grabbing a hold of the bottle, Alice sprayed it onto my arm. As the liquid flew into my body the wounds began to visible heal. As she continued to spray it down my arm, the wounds continued to close. Though the bleeding stopped, there was still a large scab down my hand. After spraying my arm 20 times the bottle shone brightly, returning to it''s card form. Solomon: wow, I can''t even feel the pain anymore. As I watched my arm the mystical effect of the potion continued to work. Looking at the scab change color, I imagined the wound would disappear in under 10 minutes. Alice: why did you do that? Now having healed me Alice glared at me. By the tone of her voice and her facial expression, She was extremely angry. Solomon: sorry, I didn''t think about it. In all honesty, I didn''t. It was like I just thought we needed a way to test it. So I made a way. It seemed my thought process had become a lot more cold since coming here. It was probably made worse by the enhancements to my body. Having become "not human" made me more detached than before. Making a mental note to think before I act, I tried to gloss over the situation. Alice: what were you thinking, don¡¯t ever do that again. Solomon: I promise I won''t. I guess I''ve changed more than I thought, huh. Seeing that I was genuine, Gareth tried to help calm Alice down. Gareth: Alice, he''s not lying to you. We''ve all been under a lot of stress, can''t you cut him some slack. Though she was still upset she put it aside for now. Alice: all right then, let''s keep testing then. Solomon: so what''s the cost? Alice: quite good, it''s one percent. Anyway, I''ve still got one last card to test. Grabbing a hold of the unopened pack, she reminded us that she still had one card left to test. Gareth: let''s take a look then, shall we. Ripping of the film she revealed the card. Once again I recognizing it. It was a Digimon card, hackmon. Alice: do you recognise it. Solomon: I do. It''s from Digimon. From what I remember it''s quite strong as well. Alice: all right then, let''s test it. Holding forth the card she summoned Hackmon. Unlike the last time I saw her summon a creature, she no longer had to say anything. This was probably because she had greater control of her energy now. With a bright flash of the light the card disappeared. Standing before Alice was hackmon. Coming up to her waist it was around the size of a dog. It had white metal covering its body, with a red Cape from its neck to its tail. On its head there was two triangular ears made of a darker metal. Sprouting from its snout, the tip of its tail and paws were long claws. Overall it looked like a small robotic wingless dragon. Hackmon: Hackmon greets master. At the same time, it bowed its head towards Alice. Alice: it''s nice to meet you too. So, what can you do? Like usual Alice showed her cold side when talking to subordinates. In front of her soldiers, she tried to act like the perfect leader. As the leader of the group I understood her wanting to do this was not a healthy way to lead. Eventually when she can''t hold up that fa?ade anymore, her men will lose all their moral. I had learnt this lesson myself. Once again I made a mental note to warn her about that. Hackmon: I have three skills, as well as my usual bodies strength. Solomon: show me your strength then. Let''s spar. Not knowing my relation to his master, hackmon looked towards Alice. Alice: this is Solomon, he is my guild leader. Also that there is Gareth, he is a founder of the guild, like me. Lastly this is necro, he is also one of my summons. Saying so she pointed us out before summoning necro. Necro: I look forward to working with you. Hackmon: likewise. Solomon: so, you up for a fight? Having some knowledge about hackmon I thought he would be very strong. Within the digimon universe he could hold his own against digimon one evolution higher than him. This was like skipping a rank in domain. With such a reputation I was very interested in how strong he was. Hackmon: I''m willing to fight. But, I don¡¯t want to injure you. Are you sure you are strong enough. Looking at my appearance he was probably incredulous. Though I would look intimidating to humans, he had probably fought digimon several times my size. Solomon: don''t worry about that. Just make sure you don¡¯t hold back. Taking back my scimitar from Alice, I settled into a stance. After gaining the new strength of my silver wolf race, I felt extremely confident in my physical abilities. Seeing my seriousness hackmon matched it. Taking the initiative he lunged forward, leaving deep grooves in the floor. The speed at which he flew through the air was comparable to the demonic bandit I had fought before. However, I was much stronger now than I was back then. Taking a step forwards I jabbed forwards with my scimitar. As Hackmon was in the air, he couldn''t avoid the attack. Bringing his head down, he met the sword with the sharp horn on his snout. As the momentum behind his attack transferred into me I was pushed back half a meter. Using this opportunity he pressed off from the sword, landing on the ground. Then he opened his mouth. Hackmon: baby flame A fireball 1 meter wide spewed out of his mouth, speeding towards me. As I was still recovering from the first attack I had no time to avoid. Solomon: holy light mantle Summoning forth a meter wide panel of light I blocked the attack. After a moment of struggle, both the fireball and my barrier ran out of energy. Seeing me use such a move hackmons attitude changed. Seeing me block such a move so easily he no longer felt I couldn''t match him. Hackmon: I must apologize, up until now I doubted your strength. From now on I will fight seriously. Once again taking the initiative he jumped several meters into the air. Then pointing his tail towards me he activated another skill. Hackmon: teen ram All of a sudden his tail started rotating. With this new movement his descent from the air would end with him impaling me. It seemed he was using his trump card. Not wanting to be shown up I also used a strong attack. By now I had a rough assessment of his strength. Grabbing my arcane orb, I channeled half of my remaining qi into it. Just before his tail reached me I released the flame serpent art. As the lizards arms punched at him, Hackman was pushed away. Just as the qi was about to explode, I dissipated the attack. There was no need to kill him, Especially since it cost Alice energy to summon him. Landing back on his feet hackmon thanked me. Hackmon: thank you for your mercy. Solomon: don''t worry about it. It was an enjoyable fight Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 35 - the benefits of the guild system Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 35 - the benefits of the guild system Solomon: so what''s your last skill. After my fight with Hackmon, I still had not seen his third skill. Hackmon: fif slash In answer to my question, he used his last skill. Slashing with one of his paws he left a deep gouge in the flaw. Solomon: oh, I see why you didn''t use it then. Though it was a good skill, against my sword it would not be able to break it. So I could just block him. Solomon: I''ve judged your strength. At my best estimate your as strong as a mid-level G rank Hearing this Alice was extremely happy. Alice: that''s great. I''ve now got both a strong one on one fighter as well as an army for weaklings. It was true that Hackmon levelled out her team well. She now had the potential to deal with many situations. Like this, I felt confident leaving my team to fend for themselves during missions. This way, I could deal with the strongest enemy while they held off the rest. In a good mood, we all went back to the first room. Solomon: that leaves one thing to check. Gareth: huh, what''s that? Both Alice and Gareth seemed to have forgotten about it. Solomon: we can check each other''s stats. And if my suspicion is right it''s not just that. Alice: oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. Then again it won''t do much, will it? The feeling in my gut told me it was more than it seemed. Solomon: I wouldn''t be so sure about that. Anyway, let''s check. Standing before guild bot I asked to see them. Solomon: guild bot, can you show us our stats. Without replying a panel appeared before me. On it was all of our stats. However, that wasn''t all. There was also a description of our skills and equipment. Like I had guessed, this was another benefit of the guild system. Like this, we could accurately understand the limits of our skills and equipment. Solomon Points/tokens 1666 points 0 G Stats Current race/s Lesser Salamander Silver wolf Strength 295 Agility 320 (384) Endurance 292 Longevity 195 Mental processes 231(256) Intuition 0 Enhancements G rank Raceless inheritance 1st stage qi cultivation Skill''s/ability''s Flame serpent art G rank skill 180 point cost The common art first learnt by disciples of the reliance sect. Once learnt by a disciple who would go on to be the strongest cultivator. He perfected this art bringing it to new levels. This skill summons a serpent made of flame to attack enemies. If one reaches a high enough level then this technique could rival A rank skills. Salamanders flame magnification. Has evolved into Salamanders flame essence conversion G rank racial ability Allows the user to convert internal energies. They can take on attributes of fire and if used on high levels of energy can shroud the user''s body in protective flame. Being a racially inherited ability it is untested with certain energies. Some energies may alter the usual ability or become simply unusable. As it is an evolved skill the user may trigger the unique evolutionary suicide skill. This skill will temporarily upgrade the rank of all the user''s enhancements by one. In exchange for this, the skill will be devolved to its original form. Fur of the eternal moonlight. G rank racial ability Allow the user to adopt several of the silver wolves features. Changes in the limbs structure to improve movement speed. The growth of a natural silver fur armour. Grow claws equal to a G rank weapon. While in this form the user''s strength is increased byThe author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Basic enchanting technique Allow the user to add fire qi properties to equipment. Yang absorbing technique Allows user to absorb heat and turn it into qi part of the dragon''s flame book Equipment Purple dawn scimitar A low-end G rank weapon. Has the ability to hold energy, enhancing its strength and sharpness. Arcane orb Adds 25 stat points to mental processes. Attacks using orb amplify attack by 6 times Body armor Alice Points/tokens 94 points 0 g stats Strength 253 Agility 197 Endurance 270 Longevity 230 Mental processes 112 Intuition 0 Enhancements G rank card master Basic earth spirit bloodline Skill/ability''s Card summon Ability to summon creatures from cards. For each creature summoned 1/10 of rift energy power is consumed. The cost to sustain one G rank card is ? of the current regenerative rate of rift energy. All costs doubled for cards acquired outside system Current cards Effect cards Meteor of destruction Summons a meteor that is propelled at the opponent. After it stops moving it will revert back to a card, floating back to the user. Current cost is 1/10th of full energy. Accelerate Increases the speed of a person at a standard cost of energy. This drain is equivalent to summoning a G rank creature. This increases the speed of the target by 20% for an hour. Potion Heals all minor wounds of a single target. Slightly heals major wounds. Has no effect on mortal wounds. Creature cards Hackmon A small robotic wingless dragon. Capable of performing 3 skills. Fif slash, a strong slash with its claws. Teen ram, rotates its tail drill and attacks enemies. Baby flame, spews fire from its mouth. Chaos necromancer ¨C necro A vampire with demonic features. Capable of summoning 10 Goblies per day. These will remain until this card is destroyed. Goblies are Small creatures resembling zombified goblins. They have the Strength of an average man with speed far above normal humans. Equipment Chunbu sword from the gamer, can be enhanced at a cost of 5% rift energy an hour. Can unleash a slash of fire. Body armor Gareth Points/tokens 746 points stats Strength 243 Agility 256 Endurance 205 Longevity 310 Mental processes 268 Intuition 0 Enhancements Entry level demonic shade bloodline equipment Hellsing ARMS .454 Casull Auto Uses energy to fire, can also use standard .454 ammo at cost to power. Each shot causes a small explosion of fire. Body armor Skill/ability''s Demonic convergence In exchange for the consumption of demonic energy, the user empowers themselvesfor a limited time. The user strength is 3x stronger in this form. Any skills used in this form are also 3x stronger. Looking at this list there were several things explained. Now we knew about the limits of Alice''s skills. Seeing that accelerate lasted an hour it would be extremely useful. Other than that we could see the upgrades to our equipment. Other than the 6x increase, the number of stat points it gave me also increased. Solomon: it seems my suspicion was right. Alice: wow, I never really thought about it. But, were really lucky, aren''t we? Gareth: looks like it. To make it from unranked to G rank in two missions is a great accomplishment. At this point, we had finished everything we needed to do in the guild plane. Solomon: all right, we''ve finished all we need to do here. Let''s take an hours break before going back to domain. Though we could stay here until the next mission didn''t think that was a good idea. As a guild, there were now many things we could do. First of all, I would check about buying a guild space. Gareth: all right then. All that testing has made me work up an appetite. I''m gonna make myself some food. Saying so Gareth walked off to the kitchen. Solomon: I''ve used up a decent amount of my qi, so I''m going to recover it. I''ll be in the meditation room if you need me. After the spars with Gareth and Hackmon, as well as using my wolf form, I had only a quarter of my qi left Alice: alright, see you later. After entering the room I sat down cross-legged in the centre. Holding up both my arms I began absorbing qi. Surprisingly the Qi in the air was abundant here. If I was to compare it was half as strong as the dragons fire training space. Surprisingly this was another benefit of the guild system. Emptying these thoughts out of my head I continued to absorb the qi. After half an hour I had filled up my qi. To my surprise, I felt a rumbling in my dantian. My qi began trying to expand outwards. It seemed I was breaking through. Realising this I began to control the qi, slowly expanding the space in my dantian. Unlike my previous breakthrough, the pain was many times smaller. It was like holding a candle to the sun. Controlling my energy I spent a long time in the room, breaking through to the third realm of qi. Though it wasn''t easy, compared to other things I''ve done it was a walk in the park. Just as I finished breaking through, and my qi had settled down, I felt for changes in my qi pool. The size had doubled once again, allowing me to use the flame serpent art almost 70 times. Along with the increase in volume also came an increase in control. Holding up my hand I took a small part of my qi. Moving it through the meridians, I channelled it into the muscles of my hand. Then using my power as guild master I created a ball of steel in my hand. With the qi powered hand, I tried to crush the ball. Under the pressure it began to distort, leaving a clear handprint in the ball. Making the ball disappear, I felt happy with this new ability. Though it wasn''t a skill I could increase my physical ability by 1.5x the original. As I was admiring the new use of qi a voice echoed in my head. Pluvia: Solomon, come to the training space. I was completely taken by surprise as I heard Pluvia''s voice. Though it wasn''t louder than a whisper, in this silent room it was easy to hear. Being as this was the first time I had heard her voice in real life, It must be something important. Taking out dragon''s fire I entered the training room. As I appeared I was greeted by pluvia. Pluvia: I see you''ve broken through. Why didn¡¯t you come here? Though it wasn¡¯t obvious on the face of a dragon, she seemed to be pouting now. Solomon: haha, sorry about that. It wasn''t a difficult breakthrough so I didn''t want to burden you. Being as this breakthrough was the first natural one it was much easier. In all honesty, I didn''t need Pluvia''s help with it. Pluvia: well, it''s too late now. In the future, though it''s best to come here. The qi rich environment will help make the breakthrough faster. Solomon: I''ll do so. So how come you can talk to me in real life now. I thought it was a sign of something urgent, but based on her attitude it didn''t seem so. Pluvia: there are two reasons. First is to explain the upgrades to dragon''s fire. Second is to give you a new skill. At the mention of a new skill, I was ecstatic. Every skill I had got from dragon''s fire so far had been extremely strong. Pluvia: so first you have got an increase in training time. Now you can enter for 8 hours and four times. The same as before you can use it all in one go or split it into several slots. Solomon: wow, I thought it would go up to 6 hours and 3 times. Does that mean it will double every time? If so that would be good. However, it presented a problem. Pluvia: yes, it will. Solomon: though that''s good won''t that make me age faster. If so I''ll have to only use it sparingly. Pluvia: hahaha, once again you surprise me little one. You have great foresight. This is not an issue. Any time you spend here is only in spirit. As time is frozen outside, your physical body is not affected by your time here. Though I will warn you, if you stay here too long your mind may be affected. Though it was good I didn''t age, I was unsure what she meant by my mind being affected. Solomon: what do you mean about my mind. Pluvia: in the future when you can stay here for years at a time you may forget about things happening outside, becoming detached. Solomon: oh, okay. I''ll keep that in mind. Anyway, what about the skill? Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 36 - a new skill Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 36 - a new skill Pluvia: hahahaha, that''s the best thing. Here, let me give it to you. Lowering her head, she placed the tip of her snout on my forehead. Like usual the information streamed into my head. With the increase in my mental processes, the information was sorted quickly and painlessly. The skill was called draconic spirit summoning. It allowed me to use the spirits of dragons to summon them. According to the skill, the summoned dragon will be as strong as I am up until it reaches it''s original strength. This was the reason Pluvia was so happy. With this I could summon her into the real world. Solomon: oh, so this is why you are so happy. I can summon you with it. Pluvia: that''s right, and the skill uses a one-time cost. So long as I don''t die I will remain in the real world. From the enthusiasm in her voice, she was very happy to escape dragon''s fire. Then again if I had been locked in a book for ages, I would probably be the same. Solomon: all right then. I''ll try it out now. Having done all I needed in dragon''s fire I left. Standing up in the meditation room, I held out my hand. Solomon: draconic spirit summoning As I used the skill, all of the qi I had just recovered disappeared. With a huge flash of light Pluvia appeared before me, Though her appearance was very different. Standing at 5 and a half meters tall and 10 meters long she was the size of a horse. Her usually resplendent white scales no longer shone with strength. They now were a dull white, though that''s not to say they were weak. She also had long wings spreading out from her front shoulders. Her eyes however, were still the same bright blue, conveying an air of wisdom. Solomon: wow, you''re really here. Pluvia: aaagh, it feels good to be free. Spreading out her wings, she stretched outwards. Solomon: aargh. Kneeling I felt the effects of my loss of qi. Losing all of it at once had a great effect on me. Pluvia: oh, sorry. I forgot to mention it takes all of your qi. Solomon: I, it''s all right. Just, give me a moment. Walking over to me, Pluvia placed her head onto mine. With the contact a flood of qi entered my body. Once it had stopped, half of my qi had returned. Pluvia: there you go. Stepping back, Pluvia''s strength seemed to have weakened. Solomon: won''t this effect you. You should keep it. Having given her all of my qi, I worried not having it all would permanently weaken her. Pluvia: don''t worry about it. As long as I don''t die I can recover it. Solomon: huh, you can cultivate. Hearing this I was very surprised. If that was the case, with her knowledge, she could easily surpass me. Then I would have a strong ally to help me. Pluvia: I can, however, my strength cannot surpass yours. Though this wasn''t the best. It was still a great skill. This meant I now had another ally that was equal to my strength. If you counted her experience she was definitely stronger than me. Solomon: that''s great. Well, let me introduce you to the team. Walking out of the meditation room followed by Pluvia, I planned on explaining dragon''s fire to the team. Though I had planned on telling them before, I had never got around to it. Telling Pluvia to wait in the large hall, I entered the resting room. Alice: ah, you''re done? Solomon: I am, how long was I in there.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. As I hadn''t added a clock to any of the other rooms, I was unsure how long my breakthrough took. Alice: it''s been five hours. I was about to go check on you. Solomon: argh, sorry about that. Actually, something happened. I''ve got some things to explain. Calling over Gareth I began to explain the dragon''s fire to them. Solomon: so to start, when we first went to the market I bought a book. Though the guy sold it for cheap, it seemed to be extremely rare. After coming back I opened it. When I did I was transported to another place. Gareth: another place? In a fast way I tried to explain the training room. I didn''t want to leave Pluvia stood in the next room for long. Solomon: a big cave with a lava pool everywhere except for a small island. Once I got there I was confused as to what happened. After a few minutes the lava began to bubble. From the lava a dragon came out. I left a little pause to see how the most surprising part would sink in. Alice: a dragon, like carbones. From the expressions of the both of them, they didn''t seem to question me. Seeing them both believe this made me happy I had such a trustworthy team. Solomon: that''s right, but this dragon was much stronger. At first I was afraid I would die, but then the dragon spoke. It said I had become the master of the book. It told me the book was called dragon''s fire and that it was left for a person to inherit. Thinking back I remembered that the book had been left by someone. Once again I was curious as to who could trap someone like Pluvia, But that was a thought for another time. Solomon: after that she explained that she was a guide left by the maker of the book. After that she explained it had benefits to it. I can go in the book and cultivate, letting me grow stronger very quickly. It also gives me technique and skills. Gareth: skills? Like from the exchange system. Solomon: yeah, it''s how I got my enchanting skill. Gareth: damn, you''re too lucky. Even compared to the team I was considerably more lucky. In a team of monsters who got stronger faster than almost all other. I was too op. As someone who had been in domain a little over 2 weeks, I was already at the top of G rank. If the momentum continued I would become extremely strong very soon. Solomon: haha, I guess I am. Anyway, this brings me to the main point. Just now in the meditation room, I broke through into the 3rd realm of qi cultivation. Alice: oh, so that''s why you feel so much stronger. Congrats. Solomon: thanks. like usual, I got a skill for breaking through. It''s called, draconic spirit summoning. Turning around I opened the door to the hall room. Solomon: Pluvia, come in. Giving her the go ahead she walked into the room. Seeing her both Gareth and Alice were shocked. Pluvia: I am Pluvia, Solomons guide and teacher. Gareth: it''s an honour, I am Gareth. Recovering first Gareth greeted Pluvia. His attitude had become extremely polite. Catching on Alice also greeted her. Alice: I''m Alice, it''s nice to meet you. From the sudden change in attitude, it seemed both of them were nervous in front of Pluvia. Then again she was a unknown person as strong as me. Thinking that way it was understandable. Wanting to calm their nerves I spoke up. Solomon: Pluvia, is there a way you can change how you look? By talking to her normally, I hoped they would see she was friendly. Pluvia: there is, but why do I need to look different? Asking so she looked at me, tilting her head cutely. Solomon: well, when we leave here it will be dangerous if you look like a dragon. If someone strong takes interest in you it could cause us trouble. If she was seen as a pet, stronger guilds may try to steal her from us. So I thought it would be better for her to hide her true form. Pluvia: okay, but if we need to fight, I will change back to my real form. Agreeing to it, she started to activate a skill. As she did a white sheen of light erupted from her body. As the light grew in brightness I was forced to look away. A few seconds later, when the light had disappeared, I looked back at her. Standing before me was a completely naked woman. With waist length pure white hair obscuring her body and bright blue eyes she looked like a fairy. Completely caught in the moment I continued to gawk at her, examining every aspect of her body. Silky skin without blemishes. Ample breasts, causing a visible bump in the layers of hair. Long legs completely exposed. After a few moment of gawking, I recovered myself. Moving quickly I took offmy jacket, placing it around her. Being as I was so tall and she was quite short, the jacket covered her down to the knees. Solomon: if you were going to become naked you should have warned us. Even if my mindset had become numb to violence, the female body still had a great effect on me. After all, I was still a virgin. Pluvia: but, I was naked before, I only changed my form. In a technical sense that was true. However, in her dragon form, she wouldn''t cause issues being naked. Solomon: that''s different. if you look like a human you should think of how others see you. Alice: come with me, I''ll give you some clothes to change into. Grabbing ahold of her hand, Alice led Pluvia into the other room. As she left she shot me a glare. Apparently, she had seen me gawking. Gareth: damn, I thought you had done well with just Alice and Aries. Now I find out you were hiding a girl like that. Solomon: what are you saying, it''s not like that. I''ve never seen her like that before. Once again Gareth thought I was purposely causing these situations. Gareth: haha, alright alright. Anyway, it seems like your gonna have problems later though. Based on Alice''s glare earlier she was upset with me. Solomon: haaah, well it''s about time we leave. At least I can put it off for later. Once they''re back we''ll be leaving for the hotel. A few minutes later both girls came back into the room. Pluvia was now wearing some of Alice''s clothes. Because she was much smaller they didn¡¯t fit properly, hanging loose. In the future we would need to get her some clothes, but it would do for now. Solomon: okay, it''s time we leave. We need to get back to the hotel so we can sleep. After finishing the mission other than a few brakes we had not rested. Still glaring at me I could tell Alice was upset, but she left it for now. Happy having avoided that bullet I talked to guild bot. Solomon: send us back to domain. Once again the instant teleportation put us back in domain. Looking around we were back in front of the teleportation circle''s. Solomon: all right, let''s get going. Starting our walk we headed towards thervil''s center. Having spent most of the first day back in the guild plane, it was the evening of the first day back. After walking for 10 minutes a gang appeared before us. A group of 20 men holding weapons. At the front of them, a man in bland black robes stood forward. Robed man: so you¡¯re the guys who killed our men, we''ve been looking for you. Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 37 - hope Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 37 - hope Looking at the men before us it was obvious we had been singled out. These weren¡¯t ordinary thugs who came to steal from us. They were way to organised. Solomon: looking for us, who are you? Stepping slightly forward I focused all my senses on the people before us. The feeling I got from the men wasn''t too dangerous, but they weren¡¯t weak either. Robed man: hahaha, you don''t recognise us? we''re from the capitalist mages guild. Hearing so I instantly became more vigilant. After a week I had hoped we had gotten away with it. It seems they knew how to hold a grudge. Solomon: oh, so that''s who you are. So, how did you know it was us? After going into hiding for a while I wondered how they knew what we looked like. Robed man: well, you''re going to die anyway, so I don¡¯t mind showing you. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small pocket watch. Robed man: this is called a death tome watch. It can be linked to a person, then when they die it will point towards the killer. Seeing this my long forgotten fear was confirmed. I had thought at the time such a guild may have a method to track us. At this point, I tried to reconcile with them. As much as I disliked them, at my level I could not really risk angering an E rank. Solomon: that''s quite a nifty item. I guess you came here to get revenge, right? Robed man: you could say that. Solomon: isn''t that a little petty. Losing one G rank won''t effect an E rank guild too much. Is there no way we can forget about it? Though I acted politely, on the inside I was seething. Having to act like this in front of this trash was infuriating. Robed man: hahahahaha, first you attack us, now you want to make up with us? I''ll tell you what, give us an hour with them pretty friends of yours and I will consider it. As he eyed Alice and Pluvia, he licked his lips. Pluvia: HUH, JUST TRY IT, MOTHERFUCKER. Exploding with anger Pluvia was on the verge of attacking them. Being as she was originally many times stronger than these guys, she still had not grasped the situation. Holding my arm out I indicated for her to calm down. Solomon: I''m trying to be reasonable here, can''t we resolve this issue. Seeming to have reached the end of his patience the man spoke once again. Robed man: no we can''t. Now, if you submit to us and become part of our guild, we will spare you. Seeing the man be so unreasonable, I no longer tried to make peace. If we were going to fight anyway, I was going to crush them. Turning to my teammates I issued a few orders, making sure the robed man could not hear. Solomon: Alice and Pluvia, stay behind Gareth. Gareth, protect them with your life. Turning back to face the men I assessed their strength. The strongest was the man I spoke to. From what I could feel he was a high-level G rank. Behind him stood three similarly robed men. They gave of the strength of a mid-level G rank. As for the rest of the men, they were unranked. Though they held strong weapons, they were no threat to me. Solomon: it seems there is no way for us to end this peacefully. So, do me a favour and die. Ourous: hostile intent detected, killing these contestants will no longer cause a penalty. Holding up the arcane orb I put a quarter of my energy into it. As the lizard head and shoulders quickly formed the expressions of the robed man and his men darkened. Having been in Domain for long enough they could tell the strength of my attack. Robed man: EVERYONE!, FORM A PROTECTION CIRCLE, NOW!Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The men reacted quickly after the orders from their leader. Standing behind the three mid G ranks the unranked began chanting. Though they did not have any enhancements they all had cultivated a small amount of energy outside the system. Though I knew this was possible it was not usually worth doing. Mostly because even a hundred unranked cultivated energy couldn''t even match 1 G ranks. Joining in with the chant the mid-level G ranks each pulled out staffs, pointing them at the high-level G ranks back. A second later as my lizard had just finished forming, the robed man held up his staff. It was dark green with a fist sized piece of crystal in the end. As the crystal lit up, an intricate magic circle formed in front of him, at least 10 meters wide. as the lizard flew at them the magic circle gleamed with light. On contact, the lizard was held back by the magic circle. Though it was a strong attack, the combined defence of 4 G ranks was too much to break. Now having blocked the attack all of them looked relieved. Taking advantage of the opening I drew my sword, charging at them. I was already half way to them by the time they reacted. Robed man: UNRANKED, HOLD HIM OFF. WE WILL PROVIDE RANGED SUPPORT. Using the unranked as disposable pawns he backed away. It seemed like these G ranks had no close combat ability. After seeing me used such an attack, they probably thought I was the same. Unluckily for them, I wasn''t. Though the G ranks hesitated slightly, they still charged at me. As I met the first man''s charge I nimbly dodged his downward slash. Then before he could react I sliced across in a horizontal slash, cutting off his head. Seeing one of them be killed so easily, the unranked wavered. At this point, the robed man spoke out. Robed MAN: WHAT ARE YOU DOING, ATTACK HIM! ANYONE THAT CAN INJURE HIM WILL BE GIVEN A G RANK REWARD! Having such a reward on the line the unranked were instantly invigorated. Once again they charged at me. In the same way as before, I quickly dispatched three of them. Even seeing this, they still charged at me. A G rank reward to these unranked was like an oasis in the desert. After dispatching two more men my instincts told me I was in danger. Looking at the G ranks they had started a joint attack. Based on the feeling I got it would be an extremely strong attack. Not having much of a choice I activated wolf form. since I had broken through it only took a quarter of my qi now. As my body distorted into the fur covered werewolf-like form, the unranked became panicked. Though I was strong in my human form, they still had a chance at injuring me, however, now they stood no chance. Looking over at the G ranks I gave them an evil grin. Solomon: you should have thought more carefully before attacking me. Hearing my beastly voice they all turned sheet white. Even the normally composed leader had lost his confidence. Holding up my hand I pumped the final half of my qi into the arcane orb. As I was transformed all of my skills would be two times stronger. This meant that this attack would be two times stronger than the one I used on the chieftain. As the qi formed into a lizard it once again continued past the shoulders. Creating the torso, and then the back legs. Continuing on it created half of the tail before finally stopping. The G ranks, feeling the oppressive waves of energy from my attack, became terrified. Losing all hope of escape they stared at me as if I was the devil. Sending the attack at the G ranks I watched as it effortlessly tore through the unranked. In a last ditch effort, the G ranks placed all of their energy into a defensive magic circle. Compared to before this circle was only a decent bit stronger. It seemed they used a lot of their energy to block my initial attack. Reaching the magic circle my attack tore through it like paper. As the attack collided with its target the stored energy exploded outwards, engulfing the street in a sea of fire. The attack was even stronger than I thought, sending flames barreling in every direction. Moving quickly I jumped in front of my teammates. Using my large frame to protect them from the flames. Though my attack was strong, both my natural protections against fire and my training with Carbones allowed me to avoid injury. Solomon: are you guys all right? Looking down I examined my teammates. Though I had blacked most of the attack. I was only using my body. Pluvia: were fine, anyway, we should move quickly. We''ve attracted too much attention. Looking at them, only Pluvia was unsurprised with my attack. Both Alice and Gareth stared dumbfounded. Turning around I saw the reason. Half of the 30 meter wide Main Street had a massive crater in it. Reaching at least 5 meters into the ground. Even the ground and building around the crater were badly scorched. Solomon: wow, I really should have held back a bit. well, it''s too late now. we''ve got to quickly leave. Follow me. Picking up Alice who was quite a bit slower than the rest of us I began running down the street. A few minutes of running later and we had arrived at the hotel. Entering the lobby we stopped to catch our breath. Gareth:haaagh, it, seems. Haah, we weren¡¯t followed. Solomon: hopefully, haaaah. Either way, haaah. They wouldn''t, haaah. Attack us here. Pluvia: you should think before you act. If we weren¡¯t lucky you could have attracted serious attention. Surprisingly unlike us, Pluvia wasn''t out of breath. As a dragon, her stats were probably much higher than ours. Solomon: serious attention? We were already attacking an E rank guild. What''s worse than that. Pluvia: this is a city owned by the three great guilds. If you cause too much of a ruckus here they will dispose of you. Even at my strongest, the three great guilds are a terrifying existence. For the first time, I saw concern and fear in Pluvia''s eyes. Solomon: well it''s too late now. We''ll deal with that if it comes to it. Pluvia: I don''t know if it''s a good thing or not that you''re so unworried. If you anger the great guilds then no one can save you. Solomon: I know I know. Anyway, it''s been a long day let''s go rest. Walking back to our rooms we were all tired from remaining awake for 28 or so hours. Gareth: well, I''m dead on my feet. I''ll see you guys tomorrow. Walking into his room Gareth bid us goodnight. Solomon: damn, I''m not too hot myself. Alice, are you okay letting Pluvia sleep with you. Alice: yeah, I''ve got some things to talk to you about. So I''ll come to your room tomorrow morning. Night. Solomon: night. Walking into my room I made my way to my bed. Falling into the sheets my fatigue caught up to me. As I began to drift to sleep the worries of the future surfaced in my mind. The missions, the capitalist mages guild, The three great guilds. All of them caused me to worry. Just as the last sliver of consciousness left me a new emotion was born in my heart. A warm feeling that it would all work out somehow. That no matter who I faced, if my team was with me, I would beat them all. I called this new emotion, hope. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 38 – first official guild meeting Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 38 ¨C first official guild meeting Waking from my slumber I sat up in my bed. Looking over at my bedside clock I saw that it was 8 am. Slinking out of bed I made my way to the kitchen, aiming to make myself breakfast. As I left my bedroom, entering the joined kitchen and living room, I was met with a surprise. Sat on one of the sofa''s was Alice. Alice: morning. Solomon: morning. Alice: I have some things to speak with you about. Seeing her serious face I walked to the sofa, sitting next to her. Solomon: what is it? To have come over so early in the morning I was worried it was serious. Alice: well, it''s about, us. Solomon: us? Hearing this I was both relieved and simultaneously more worried. Alice: well, we''ve been a couple for a while now, but every time I try to be more intimate with you, you back away. Seeing her sullen face, I felt my heart tighten. Solomon: yeah, I have been avoiding it. I''m sorry, I didn''t think about how you felt. Surprising me, Alice jumped up from her seat. Standing in front of me she had tears in her eyes. Alice: why do you keep avoiding my advances. Am I not good enough for you? Do you like other girls more? Seeing the girl I loved was hurt by my actions again, I felt terrible. Solomon: no, that''s not true. You¡¯re my girlfriend, not them. Alice: don''t lie to me. I saw how you looked at Pluvia yesterday. I''ve been around you enough to tell. You looked at her in the same way you look at me. Thinking back when I saw Pluvia I was stunned. Her beauty was beyond anyone I had ever seen. Mixing in the thankful emotions I held for her I could see how Alice was confused. Solomon: that was an accident, I didn''t know she would look like that. Alice: then what about Aries, you have feelings for her as well, don¡¯t you? Though I couldn''t deny I had taken a liking to her it wasn''t on the level I thought about Alice. Realising my arguments were getting me nowhere, I tried a different approach. Standing up myself I brought Alice into my chest. Solomon: I can''t say I don''t feel thing towards other girls. But nothing will change how much I love you right now. Speaking from my heart I tried to convey my emotions. Hearing me tell her I loved her for the first, Alice was stunned. Alice: do you really love me? As she asked I could feel her body tremble. Solomon: I do, I love you Alice. Jumping up Alice brought her arms around my shoulders, kissing me passionately. Reaching my hands around her waist I kissed her back. For the first time, we French kissed. As our tongues intertwined I felt relieved. My feelings had been conveyed to her. After a while, we pulled away from the kiss. Her face was now reddening, as well as having a lewd expression. Alice: I love you too. Once again we started to French kiss. Feeling the change in the atmosphere I started to walk to the bedroom, still holding Alice. Entering the room Alice broke off the kiss. Looking deep into each other''s eyes, I could see her desire laid bare. Alice: are you ready now? After rejecting her advance several times she probably didn''t want our first time to be forced.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Gently laying her down on the bed I answered. Solomon: I am. Three hours later we emerged from the bedroom. Naked, sweaty and extremely happy. Alice: I''m gonna go take a shower. Solomon: alright, I''ll clean up after us, then join you. Standing on tiptoes Alice gave me a quick kiss, before walking off down the hallway. After taking a few moments to admire here figure, I walked back into the bedroom. Moving quickly I took anything that was dirty, bundling it together. Normally I''d leave this job to the hotel cleaners, but I felt awkward leaving behind remains of our "activities" for them to clean. After quickly dumping it into the washing machine I made my way to the bathroom, making sure to bring a change of clothes along. Walking in I could see Alice''s outline through the misty glass. Alice: did you finish cleaning up? Solomon: I did. Opening the door to the shower, I joined Alice. Alice: oh, you want to have some fun in here. Speaking with a sultry voice Alice came close to my body, Pressing herself against me. Just as I was about to react a voice echoed through the door. Gareth: HELLOOOOO! ANYONE HOME!? Hearing Gareth the both of use were instantly embarrassed. Quickly getting out of the shower, I shouted through the bathroom door. Solomon: IM IN HERE! HOLD ON FOR A MINUTE! Rushing about the both of us were dry and dressed in under a minute. Solomon: I''ll go out first. after a minute come out and act like you came out of another room. Not wanting to be embarrassed we planned on acting like nothing happened. Walking out to the living room I greeted Gareth. Solomon: morning Gareth. Gareth: mornin, I think we need to have a guild meeting. Solomon: guild meeting? Gareth: yeah, to discuss plans. Thinking about it, we were technically a guild now. It would make sense to have a system set up for the guild. Solomon: sounds like a good idea. Alright then, I''ll go get Pluvia. Alice is already here, she should be out in a minute. Walking next door I quickly grabbed Pluvia. Having everyone sit in the sofa''s we began the meeting. Solomon: so everyone, based on Gareth''s idea I have come up with a system for meetings. As it was only a small system it didn''t take me long to think up a viable system. Solomon: we will hold a weekly meeting after every mission to discuss. This meeting will be the first one of those. Other than that, any of us here can call an emergency meeting if an issue comes up. After waiting for any disagreements I continued on. In the future only those each of us here agree to, are allowed to join in on the guild meeting. Those agreed people will also be allowed to call emergency meetings. That''s it. Of course, we''ll add to it in future. Is everyone okay with that framework? Looking around everyone agreed. Gareth: I''m fine with it. Pluvia: I am as well. Alice: same. Having gained everyone''s agreement, I moved on. Solomon: all right, then let''s commence the first weekly guild meeting. The first thing to discuss is the communist mages guild. At the mention of our enemy everyone''s face showed disgust. Solomon: we have already made enemies with them, at this point there is no going back. Does anyone have any plans on how to deal with them? Pluvia: I have one. Solomon: go ahead. Pluvia: why don''t we destroy them. The rest of us all looked at her like she was an idiot. Solomon: how would we do that, their leader is an E rank. Even If we had the strength to deal with that. How would we handle the backlash from the great guilds? They wouldn''t stay out of it if we destroyed a guild in their city. After all the three great guilds prided themselves on creating the only safe cities in domain. How could they ignore it if we made a big commotion in one of their cities? Pluvia: though im severely weakened, I could still take on an E rank. If I gave up this body I could at least severely injure him. Once again I was reminded the little girl sat before me, was actually an elder dragon. Solomon: that still doesn''t protect us from the great guilds. As you said before they aren''t something we can fight. Pluvia: that''s true. Gareth: I have a proposal. Solomon: let''s hear it. Being as it was Gareth I was expecting at least a half decent plan. Gareth: well, you probably won''t like it. Why don''t we run away? Alice: run away? Gareth: yeah. If we go to the teleportation arrays we could go to another city for 500 points a piece. Though it would clear us out of points, we would be out of danger. Thinking about it, it wasn''t a half bad plan. However, it had a major flaw. Solomon: that''s not necessarily true. At this point, we have killed 5 G ranks from their guild. The amount of points those fighters could have earned may be enough reason for them to follow us. And the other thing is the danger we pose. Only an idiot would let us get stronger. After all, when we surpass them we would be able to pressure them out of existence. Gareth: that''s true, but I still think it''s an option. If we manage to get away without them realising they couldn''t follow us. Solomon: I agree it''s an option, but I don''t think we have much chance of getting away unnoticed. For now, I don¡¯t think it''s an option. Especially since we will lose almost all of our points. For all we know, other cities could be ten times rougher than this one. Having only been in this city, we had no idea what the rest of Domain was like. Gareth: alright then, what should we do? Solomon: for now, nothing. Hearing this everyone was confused. Alice: nothing? What do you mean? Solomon: let me explain. At this point we have one advantage over them, we are in a neutral city. No matter how strong they are, Like us, they can only accept the laws of the three great guilds. So as long as we stay inside at night and don''t go into secluded areas we should be safe. No matter how much we infuriate them they wouldn''t dare to act against the great guilds. Hearing my reasoning everyone understood my logic. Gareth: but what about in the future. We can''t always hide like rats. Solomon: I agree. There is only one way I see us being able to survive. We have to get stronger. I believe once we all reach F rank, we will have enough leverage to dissuade them from attacking us. At that point, only their leader will be able to hurt us. Using that leverage I plan to negotiate a truce. At least until we can crush them. Seeing my logic everyone agreed with the plan. Gareth: I can see the logic, for now, it is the best option. Alice: I''m fine with this plan. Pluvia: I see no issue with it. Happy everyone had agreed I moved onto the smaller things. Solomon: okay then, the last thing we need to discuss is what each of us will do now. If you''re all fine with it I would like to organise what people do. Is everyone okay with that? Looking at everyone, in turn, they didn''t have a problem with that. Alice: I don''t mind. Gareth: no problem. Pluvia: it''s fine with me. Solomon: alright then. I''ll come talk to you all individually tomorrow morning. For today take a rest day. Stay in the hotel and recuperate. With this, the first official guild meeting is over. Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 39 - moving independently Domain Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 39 - moving independently After everyone had left the room I sat down in the living room. Quickly going to my origin plane I bought a piece of paper and a pen. Arriving back at the hotel, I started writing on the paper. I was leaving a note for my team. After contemplating it, the risks of having angered an E rank guild were too high. Even though our plan was fine, there were too many unknowns. An E rank guild would know much more about domain, so they may know another way to attack us we''re not aware of. As the person who had first antagonised them, it was my responsibility. The rest of the guild other than Alice was dragged in by me. I wrote what I was going to do on the paper, so if it didn''t work they would know what happened, as well as what to do next. Finishing the note I lay it on the table, walking out of the room. Making my way to the front desk I spoke to the robot there. Solomon: your part of the three great guilds. Right? Robot: that''s correct sir. Solomon: I have some business with Diogenes, where can I find him? Hearing the name the robot was surprised. Robot: if you wish to speak with him, you may go to the command centre of the city. If you exit this building it is on the opposite side of the city centre. you can not see him without a premade appointment. having got what I needed, I walked out the building. Making my way across the city centre I eyed out the building. Stretching out into the sky, the building was reminiscent of an office building. Above the entrance was a sign reading, command centre. Walking in I was instantly stopped by two large men in full armour. Armoured man: what business do you have here? Based on the impressive atmosphere coming from them they were at least F rank. Seeing F ranks used as doormen really put my strength into perspective. Solomon: I''ve come to seek an audience with Diogenes. Is there a problem. As a Guild leader, I made sure to speak with authority, while still being respectful. After all, what good would angering the strongest guild in existence do? Armoured man: who are you to seek out Diogenes, if he requests to see you come back. After hearing from the robot before, I had expected this resistance. I did, however, hope that it wouldn''t be by anyone stronger than G rank. The fact that F ranks were doormen had slightly dimmed my hope. Solomon: I''m afraid that''s not an option. I''m sure he will like what I have to say. With a huff, the frontmost armoured man tried to "persuade" me to leave. Armoured man: nothing you can offer to Diogenes will be worth even a second of his time. It''s best if you leave now. Having reached a roadblock in my plan I tried to think of some way to convince them. Finely dressed man: WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? Before I could think something up, another man approached us. Wearing what looked like the finest blends, he walked towards us. Finely dressed man: are you guys harassing visitors again, I''ve told you before to cut that out. As the man approached, his presence took my full attention. My instincts told me that this man was deadly. Armoured man: my apologies manager, we were merely following drakes orders. Manager: it was already decided that this behaviour is unacceptable. You would do well to remember that Drake isn''t the only guardian of this city. Receiving the scorn of this man the guards were instantly full of apologies. Armoured man: I''m extremely sorry manager, from now on we will remember your orders. Saying so both of the men slithered away. By the looks of it hoping to avoid this man''s judgment.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Turning to me, the manager addressed me directly. Siegfried: I must apologise for the horrid actions of the guards. Allow me to personally help you today. I am Siegfried, the manager of Being spoken to so politely by such a strong person made me unnerved. Solomon: there is no need to be so polite. I am already intruding on you. If you can assist me, I would greatly appreciate your help. Though I was unnerved by his actions, I would not pass up the opportunity to accomplish my goal. Siegfried: I will do my best to help you today, what is it you want to do? Solomon: I''m looking to speak with Diogenes. Hearing the name, much like the guards, Siegfried seemed surprised. Siegfried: Diogenes? You have a relation to him? Thinking that I may have a relationship with Diogenes, he seemed slightly more cautious with his words. Solomon: not really, he helped me out in the past. I''m here to pay him back, I also hope to propose a deal to him. Hearing my reasons for being here,Siegfried broke out into laughter. Siegfried: HAHAHAHAHA! HA, HA. I''m sorry, I shouldn''t laugh. It''s just, this is the first time I''ve heard a G rank say he could pay back an A rank. I understood how ludicrous it sounded, however, I wasn''t just planning on trying to pay him back. Solomon: it''s fine. This isn''t the first time I''ve seen that reaction. Siegfried: none the less, I should be more professional. I can take you to see him, however, now he is in a meeting. If you don''t mind waiting a while then you can meet with him. Solomon: if it''s not too much to ask, I would appreciate it. Siegfried: follow me then. Turning away from me Siegfried walked away. Quickly following after I was happy I got the manager to assist me. Having a manager from the three guilds escort me personally was a great honour. After entering a door in behind the counter we appeared in a new space. Seeing my confusion Siegfried explained it to me. Siegfried: for convenience, we installed teleporters between floor. Based on your authority you can teleport around the building. The power of the greatest guilds was once again displayed to me. What the majority of guilds used as a life-saving exit, was a convenient transport system for them. Solomon: I''ll have to invest in a similar system myself in the future. As I was going to become extremely strong, it was only a matter of time before I had such a system myself. Siegfried: hahaha, you sure have some grand ambitions, don¡¯t you? Only Z rank guild can have such luxuries. Solomon: then it is only a matter of time. Unfortunately, by the time I''m that strong the appeal of such a system will be lost. If I had Z rank strength then I would have long surpassed the speed of such a system. I would only require teleportation to travel great distances. Siegfried: oh, so you''re a guild leader? From the fact I said I could only use a system like this when I was stronger had exposed I wouldn''t join other guilds. From this, he guessed that I was already in a guild. Then by the fact I was stopped at the door, he could tell I was not in a strong guild. The fact he could figure this out after a few sentences showed his mental ability. The fact that he was a manager in a place like this was not surprising. Solomon: I am, though It was only recently that I created a guild. Someone at your level would take no interest in such a guild. Siegfried: actually, it is quite the opposite. There are always new people entering domain. Among those the ones that can create a guild are few and far between. That''s why guilds tend to have many members. After all, It is much easier to become part of an already established guild, than to create one. Though what he said was true, there were an untold amount of weak guilds. I didn''t think that I was anything special. Solomon: true as that may be, I do not think I am special enough to receive your praise. Siegfried: either way, I still hold an interest. Would you mind telling me the name of your guild? Solomon: it''s the wings of freedom. Hearing the name, Siegfried became quiet. After a while of silence, he spoke up. Siegfried: it is a good name, it seems to hold a lot of symbolism. Anyway, shall we get going? Turning around, he began to walk off. Not wanting to be left behind I quickly followed. From the odd silence after hearing the guild name, I was worried I had upset him. Being as he had dropped it, I decided to let sleeping dogs lie. After a minute of walking, we stopped outside of a set of double doors. Entering the doors, we appeared inside a lobby. Other than a row of chairs there was little else. Other than the entrance we came, in there was only a set of huge doors. Looking along the rows of Chairs, there were 2 other people waiting. Rude man: so you¡¯ve finally turned up, took you long enough. One of them was a man dressed in loose fitting shorts and a tank top. The other was a girl wearing a plain white dress. From the feeling they gave me, they were both equal in strength to Siegfried. The girl noticing Siegfried merely nodded her head. Siegfried: I wouldn''t be late if I didn''t have to constantly clean up after idiots. There was clear disdain in his voice as he addressed the robed man. There was obvious animosity between them. Rude man: huh, you dare slate my great Ragnarok guild? Siegfried: who said I was slating your guild, I merely said idiots. Does that mean you consider those in your guild idiots? It was made evident that Siegfried was a more elegant speaker than the rude man. Rude man: ARRGGGH YOU AND YOU WORD GAMES, I''D LIKE TO SEE YOU TALK LIKE THAT WITH MY FOOT DOWN YOUR THROAT! Saying so the man took a stance. The already rippling muscle''s on his body began to bulge out, expanding quickly. After a minute he had grown several times his size. Based on the oppressive atmosphere he gave off, he was moments away from attacking. However, before he could react the woman had appeared between him and us. Woman: you two are not permitted to fight. since the last time you destroyed part of the city, it was banned. If you try to fight here I have no problems referring the both of you to the slaughterer. With a mentionof this slaughterer, the rude man was instantly less aggressive. Reigning in his power he returned to his human size. Rude man: count your lucky stars, the next time I get the chance your head is mine.# At this point the man''s eyes looked away from Siegfried, focusing on me. Rude man: who is this kid? With his eyes locked on me, I could barely move a muscle, the strength emanating from the man had locked me in place. Waving a hand towards me, Siegfried removed the pressure. Solomon: he has business with Diogenes. If you have an issue take it up with him. At the mention of Diogenes the rude man huffed. Rude man: whatever, just make sure he stays out of our way. Turning to me Siegfried had an apologetic look. Siegfried: sorry about that, there''s still about an hour to go. Shall we sit and wait? Solomon: y, yes. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 40 - surprising the guardians Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 40 - surprising the guardians after an awkward hour of sitting in silence, the large set of doors in the room opened. As they did, a feeling of dread entered my heart. Emerging from the room first was an exceedingly tall man. Even compared to me, he was a few feet taller. Wearing simple brown shorts the rest of his body was left bare. Having light brown skin with rippling muscle''s, his body screamed vitality. Sparsely dotted around his body were small patches of scarlet scales. To finalise his look he had a large pair of horns on his head. Almost 3 feet long and pointing behind him, the horns looked very impressive. A few steps behind him was a woman. Wearing an intricate and rose tinted dress, she looked heavenly. Much like Alice, her body had a translucent quality to it. Adding to her looks both her face and figure were exquisite, like finely crafted jade. Adding the final touch to her ethereal form was the golden halo above her head. Finally in the last place was Diogenes. Still wearing his rune inscribed cloak, his long silver hair draped over his shoulders. Out of the three of them, his ordinary humanoid form was the plainest. These 3 were the guardians of the city. As Gareth had explained before, each neutral city had a representative of the three main guilds. These representatives would collectively govern the city. Entering the room each of them walked towards one of the people outside. The scaled man to the rude man, the beautiful woman to the other woman and lastly Diogenes to me and Siegfried. Seeing me with Siegfried, Diogenesface displayed surprise. Diogenes: what a surprise, it is the little youngling I saved before. I imagine it was you who brought him? He looked at Siegfried when he asked the question. Siegfried: that is correct, I hope it is not an issue. Based on the atmosphere of the conversation these two were close comrades. Diogenes: there is no problem, after all, we just finished the monthly report. What better time than now is there for people to meet with me. Turning to face the other two who left the room, Diogenes said his goodbye''s. Diogenes: fellow guardians, I will take my leave now. Turning to walk out the room we were stopped. Scaly man: hold on. I smell something odd. Stopping us the man walked over. Seeing me he sent a questioning look towards Diogenes. Diogenes: this is a friend of mine, is there an issue? Ignoring Diogenes the man walked to stand before me. Being so close I got a real feel for his size. He was at least 2 foot taller than me, 5 if you counted the horns. Even though he was ignored Diogenes did not make an issue out of it. Based on this the man was at least as strong as Diogenes. Turning back to the rude man from before he spoke in dragon. Scaly man: do you not smell the dragon on this one. Rude man: I did, but I thought it was just his enhancement. Is there a problem? Even while the two men were having a conversation in dragontongue, the rest of the people stood there and waited. Scaly man: the smell is not from the boy. His smell is the lizard and wolf one. The one on him is that of an elder dragon. Being told it was from an Elder dragon, the rude man was instantly surprised. Rude man: ELDER DRAGON!? THE DRAGONS THAT HAVE REACHED S RANK STRENGTH. Having waited a while I spoke up, replying in dragon I hoped to clear up his confusion. Solomon: I''m sorry to interrupt, but I can explain the smell. Being able to recognise the scent of an elder dragon meant this man was extremely knowledgeable. Scaly man: you speak dragon? How can a weakling like you speak the language? Learning that I could speak the language the scaly man became slightly irritated. Contrary to his reaction, the rest of the people there were astonished. I never realised how rare it was to speak dragon. Thinking back I remember Carbones speaking in broken dragon. At the time I never thought much of it, but now it seemed like understanding dragon tongue was rare.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Solomon: I was taught by an elder dragon, the same one you smell on me. From the expression on his face, what I said was ludicrous. Scaly man: DON¡¯T LIE TO ME BOY, EVEN I COULD NOT LEARN FROM AN ELDER DRAGON. YOU BETTER TELL ME THE REAL REASON NOW! Based on the raised voice he believed I lied to him. Solomon: I''m sorry you think I''m lying. if you would allow me to explain, I could convince you? scaly man: you better have a good explanation, or I''ll cut your head off. from there I made up a story about meeting Pluvia in my last mission. As I had managed to complete a hidden objective, I had been blessed with a reward, the dragon language. By mixing in elements of truth I managed to create a flawless story. Scaly man: you''re one lucky bastard. To get such a great reward. Though I still have doubts, that is enough to explain it. For now at least. Talking in English again, the scaly man responded to Diogenes. Scaly man: I smelt the scent of an elder dragon on him, as such I was curious. I''ll take my leave now. Jumping in the conversation, the ethereal woman spoke Ethereal woman: I will also be on my way, best of luck Diogenes. With a short sentence and small nod the woman also left. Diogenes: so you speak dragon, huh? And by the sound of it better than Drake. How did you learn to speak it? Placing the face with the name, I was sure to remember this Drake. In the future, he would be a person of interest. Like before, I explained the fake story to them. Like Drake, as doubtful as they were, they accepted the story. Diogenes: your very fortunate, anyway. Let''s go to my office. We can get comfortable and talk in private There. I''m sure you didn''t come just to say hi. Solomon: I didn''t, thank you for the opportunity. To spend time talking to me, I''m already very thankful to you. As a key figure in the city, taking time out for me was a huge favour. Even if he took a liking to me. After a short walk, we had made it to his office. A simple desk and computer, as well as lots of standard office equipment. In front of the desk were two chairs. Diogenes: take a seat. Settling into the left chair, I waited for Siegfried and Diogenes to be seated. When they had settled down I started speaking. Solomon: I should introduce myself. Though we''ve met before I''ve never told you my name. I am Solomon. I''ve come today for two reasons, the first is to pay you back for your help. Diogenes: HAHAHAHAHA, HA, HA, HAHAHA. So, sorry. I didn''t mean to laugh. Please continue. Like Siegfried, Diogenes had the same type of reaction. Was I really that comical? Solomon: it''s not a problem, anyway I recently came upon a few weapons, maybe you''d like them. With the advance of my qi, my storage space in dragon''s fire had grown, almost 10 times the size. With it came several sets of weapon rack. The weapons, though not G rank, were not far from it. Out of the 200 weapons, I had 150 were at this level. Other than that there were 40 at the lowest level of G rank. 8 of the remaining weapons were at the mid level of G rank. Being only slightly weaker than my own weapons. Lastly, the final two weapons were high G rank, equal to my own weapon. Out of them all, I was willing to give all of the weakest weapons, as well as half of the rest. Pulling out one of the weakest swords, I held it to Diogenes. Seeing me make the sword appear Diogenes was surprised. Diogenes: you already have an interspatial item. You really are full of surprises. Solomon: interspatial item? Though I knew he meant the space in dragons fire, I didn''t think it was that special. Diogenes: that''s what we call, items that can store your equipment in another space. Usually, only F ranks have those sort of items. And even then it rarely exceeds 5 meters squared. Hearing this I now understood a little more of dragon''s fire''s opness. At current the space in it was around 50 meters squared. Ten times the average F ranks. And according to Pluvia, it would only grow with my strength. Solomon: oh, thank you for the explanation. Getting back to the topic I have lots of these. Returning his attention to the weapon, Diogenes took it into his hands. After a few seconds, he shook his head. Diogenes: I cannot accept this. With your strength even getting 1 weapon of this level is troublesome. I can''t accept it. Solomon: don''t worry about this weak weapon. I have over a hundred of them. Diogenes: ONE HUNDRED!? Hearing that I had so many, he seemed astonished. Diogenes: how did you get so many? Solomon: I''m afraid I can''t tell you. but you can rest assured they are not stolen. Though I had confidence in my lie from before, I did not want to deceive if I didn''t have to. Solomon: either way I can give you 75 weapons like that. I also have 20 like this. Once again taking out a weapon, I handed it to him. Holding the new one he was even more surprised. Diogenes: this, this is a G rank weapon. Don''t tell me you have stronger weapons than this? Solomon: I do, I have 4 of this level that I''m willing to part with. Once again I pulled out the next level up. Though I didn''t understand their shock, it was good for me. Showing that I had things to benefit them would help with the second reason I was here. Not to mention having an A rank ally would be extremely beneficial. Diogenes: su, su, surely this is the best you have. R, right? Solomon: well, I don¡¯t really want to part with it, but the strongest weapon I can part with is this. To put the final nail in the coffin I took out the weaker high G rank weapon. Though I could bare losing one. It would be better if it was the weaker one. Holding the weapon in his hand, Diogenes began to tremble. Diogenes: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, MY INTUITION WAS RIGHT. SIEGFRIED, WE''VE FOUND A GREAT TALENT. Joining in, Siegfried was also ecstatic. Siegfried: HAHAHAHAHA, YES WE HAVE. IT ONLY TOOK THE BETTER PART OF 50 YEARS. After a few seconds of their borderline mad outburst, they settled back down. They still had yet to lose their excitement though. Diogenes: sorry about that. Anyway, we have a proposal for you. Solomon: a proposal? Even though I came here to make an offer to him, he was offering to me. Diogenes: join our guild. Solomon: huh. WAIT, WHAT!? This was totally unexpected for me. Having caught me off guard my reaction was instinctual. Diogenes: that''s right. If you become part of our guild I have no doubt you can reach S rank, maybe even higher. Though his offer was enticing, and it would solve my current problems, I had to refuse. Solomon: I''m sorry. I cannot join your guild. Diogenes: I thought so. It''s a shame. Though I would like to personally nurture someone like you, your choice is your own. It seemed like he had already anticipated my answer. Having talked to me for a while he probably assessed my personality. Though it would fix a lot of my problems it would mean two things. On was that I would be under the authority of another. I could not bring myself to follow another person when I already have my own goals. Most importantly, though, I would have to give up my guild. Though it was only recently created, I had made a home there. My teammates were like family to me. I could never forgive myself if I abandoned them. Solomon: thank you for your understanding. So. I''ll give you these weapons and I''ll consider my debt to you paid. Diogenes: this is more than enough for the help I gave you. But if you insist, I''ll accept them. After transferring over the items we continued our conversation. Solomon: so, the second reason I came here. Let''s make a bet. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 41 - a bet Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 41 - a bet Diogenes: a bet, what kind of bet? Solomon: I''m going to tell you some things that I hope can stay between. Though what I was planning was risky, I didn''t have much choice. Diogenes: I swear as a guardian of the city I will keep this between us. Siegfried: I swear as manager of the command centre to keep this confidential. Solomon: I have only been through two missions. Siegfried and Diogenes: WHAAAAAAAT? Diogenes: you''re joking right? Solomon: I''m not, I''ve been through my test mission as well as one other. Siegfried: you made it above G rank in only two missions. What kind of demon are you? Solomon: actually I made it to G rank after my test. At the moment I''ve made it to the limit of G rank. Falling face first onto the table, Diogenes complained about the unfairness. Diogenes BANG, what a joke. It took me 7 missions to make it to G rank. Even then I was considered a genius. Even the fastest I''ve ever heard of was 5 missions. Apparently, I was extremely lucky to get to G rank in my first mission. Though I was not sure what the average even was, so I didn''t think much of it. Solomon: is it impressive that I got to G rank so fast. I''m rather uneducated on this subject. Siegfried: if you''ve only been here for a week, it''s understandable you don''t know. Most people who come to Domain don''t become G rank for at least 30 missions. This is because most unranked do missions in groups. As such the points they make tends to be split. Even those rare occurrences that make it to G rank fast take at least 3 mission, not including the test. It seems I was well ahead of the average. Even the most talented were a few steps behind me. Solomon: what''s the average to make it from G to F rank. Diogenes: it''s 10 missions. The talented can usually make it after 5. The best I''ve heard of is 3. why? Solomon: I bet you I''ll make it in 1 mission. Though he should be shocked, at this point he was ready for anything. Diogenes: so that''s the bet. What are the stakes? Solomon: if you win I''ll do whatever you want me to. If I win, you have to do me one favour. Diogenes: a favour? This was the moment of truth. If he refused I would be in a difficult situation Solomon: I want you to help me destroy the capitalist mages guild. Picking up on my serious tone, Diogenes also became serious. Diogenes: I would like to, however, it''s not possible. Without evidence, I can''t take action. Solomon: what evidence do you need. Diogenes: anything less than a written or verbal admission by the guild leader is not enough. After a few moments of contemplation, I continued. Solomon: I can get you that. However, I need you to promise me that when I do you react quickly. If you take too long they will go to extreme lengths to destroy that evidence. Even if I''m F rank I can''t hold off a whole guild. Diogenes: then it''s agreed, I''ll take you up on that bet. Reaching his hand out he waited for me to shake it.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Solomon: then it''s agreed. Reaching out I shook his hand. Solomon: now that that''s sorted, I have other things to do. I''ll leave now. Thank you very much for your time. Diogenes: don''t worry about it, Siegfried, see him out. Standing up Siegfried beckoned me to follow him. Siegfried: follow me, I''ll show you out. Leaving Diogenes office we began walking down the corridor. From what I remember the door at the end led back to the lobby. Siegfried: you are a very interesting person, so let me give you a piece of advice. Keep both your accomplishments and your equipment hidden. There are many people in this world who would have no issue with killing you over such things. Solomon: thank you for your advice, I''ll take it to heart. I had learnt firsthand what happens when you buy even half decent equipment. It was originally that which brought the capitalist mages attention onto me. If the power of dragon''s fire was exposed, it wouldn''t be long before everyone under the moon was after me. After walking through a door we appeared back in the front lobby. Turning to Siegfried I said my goodbyes. Solomon: I''ll be leaving then, thank you for all the help today. Siegfried: it''s fine, think of this as me investing in a talented newbie. Bye now. Returning to his work, Siegfried re-entered the door. Solomon: investing in a newbie huh. Having been able to strike a deal with Diogenes, I no longer had to take extreme measures. Now I just had to hide for a week, then I could do a mission, reach F rank and have Diogenes destroy the capitalist mages. If he had rejected my deal I would have been forced to confront the guild. My teammates and I could not hide for ages until we reached F rank. Though I was confident in reaching F rank myself, the others had only just made it to this level. In exchange for the weapons I had, I hoped they would forget this incident. Though in all likelihood they would just try to kill me and take it. In a last ditch effort, I would use all of my qi to destroy a huge part of their base. I hoped with this damage, my teammates could escape, even if it meant my death. However, it didn''t come to that. Walking back across the city centre I made it back to the hotel lobby. Just as I entered, I saw the frantic frames of three people rushed out of the hallway. These people were my teammates. Upon seeing me they each had different reactions. Gareth''s was understanding whereas pluvia''s was relieved. As for Alice. Alice: COME HERE, IDIOT! Dashing over, she had grabbed me by my collar before I could react. With supernatural strength, she dragged me out of the lobby, towards our rooms. Forcing me to sit in a chair once we were back in the room, she glared intensely at me. Alice: WHAT DID YOU DO? Knowing I had kicked a hornet''s nest, I chose my words carefully. Solomon: uh, well. You see I kind of acted on my own. Alice: why didn''t you include us? We already discussed this before. We do things as a team, not by ourselves. At this point Gareth spoke up, trying to calm Alice down. Gareth: Alice, he did what he did for the guild, can''t you cut him some slack. As soon as he''d said it the death glare from Alice was directed at him. Gareth: uh, actually nevermind. You right, he''s stupid. Instantly regretting his words, Gareth backtracked as fast as he could. Looking back at me, Alice continued speaking. Alice: so, what do you have to say for yourself? Solomon: I don''t have a choice, there isn''t any point in all of us risking our lives. You must have read the letter, right? We needed to take action, this was the best way. Realising I couldn''t apologise my way out of the situation, I tried to convince her with logic. Alice: it doesn''t matter if us being there is pointless. We''re comrades, we live and die together. From behind Alice both Pluvia and Gareth nodded, agreeing with her point. Solomon: alright, I should have included you, but I won''t let you risk yourselves unnecessarily. As the guild leader, I am responsible for each of you. I couldn''t live with it if my actions caused you harm. Gareth: I can accept that. Pluvia: me too. Alice: Fine, but I still don''t like it. With everyone''s agreement, we moved on. Gareth: so what did you learn? I went on to explain what I had learnt, as well as the deal I had made. Alice: it seems like we got lucky. But are you sure you can make F rank in one mission? He said the best he''d ever heard off was three missions. Solomon: I don''t have a choice. The longer we leave the capitalist mages the more time they have to deal with us. If I had said two or three missions that would be two or three weeks. I can''t be sure that they couldn''t find a way to deal with us in that time. I doubt no matter how resourceful they are, that they can get us in 7 days. Gareth: it''s a fair point. But doesn''t this mean you''ll have to complete a hidden objective next mission? A hard one too. Harder than befriending Carbones. With the hidden objective last mission, overall we got 4 G rank rewards between us. This meant that you either have to complete a harder objective or find one where only you receive the reward. Solomon: yeah, but we''ll deal with that when we come to it. For now, we have a lot of things to do. Pluvia: stuff to do? What stuff? As we were now a guild there were several new actions open to us. Solomon: now that we''re officially a guild, there are things we need to do. For today don''t worry about it, we''ll start working tomorrow. Gareth: if that¡¯s everything we need to talk about, I''ll be off. Having finished with everything urgent, Gareth left. Alice: I''m going to stay here with you Solomon, I''ll be keeping an eye on you. From her tone, I knew I had absolutely no chance at dissuading her. Begrudgingly I consented. Solomon: all right then, what are you going to do then? I directed my question at Pluvia. Pluvia: I''m going to train. Saying so, she went back to Alice''s room. Leaving only the two of us. Turning to Alice I told her what I was planning on doing. Solomon: there are some things I want to test. I''ll be in the bedroom. Even after all that had happened, it was only 11. There was still a lot of time left in the day. Settling down cross-legged on my bed, I contemplated the best way to test my ideas. There were two things I wanted to check. The first was if it was possible to obtain enhancements without using the system. Though I had seen that unranked could cultivate energy, they never even approached G rank. Though they could reach that level without the system, it would take years to even reach G rank. Solomon: hmm On another note, I wondered if traditionally passed on races like vampire and werewolf worked. Like if my first F rank race was a vampire, could I make people into G or even F rank vampires. Being as I could not test this now, I put it aside. The other thing I thought about was if skills could be learnt without the system. I knew skill books were sold in the market. By destroying the book you could learn its contents. However, I wondered if you could learn a skill through practice. For the purpose of testing this, I had a plan. Solomon: how are you Ourous. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 42 - overwhelming talent Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 42 - overwhelming talent Teleporting to my origin plane, I greeted Ourous. Ourous: UUUUUU, why do you not visit often. It''s boring just sitting here. Solomon: you can watch what I''m doing though can''t you. As far as I knew, she could observe all of my actions. Ourous: I can, but when you''re not in a mission you only do boring stuff. Acting like a small child, Ourous complained about boredom. Solomon: all right, all right. I''ll visit more often, now can you tell me something? Ourous: it''s a promise then, what do you want to know? Solomon: can I learn skills without the system? Hearing such a basic question, Ourous sounded confused. Ourous: of course you can, you already saw skill books, right? Solomon: no, I mean without any outside influence, just by practising. I explained what I meant in more detail. Ourous: oh, you mean like that. You can, but most people don¡¯t bother. The speed at which you can learn skills depends on your talent. If it was a matter of talent I could see why most didn¡¯t bother. The majority of people couldn''t train an F rank skill in under half a year. Even talented people would struggle to learn D rank skills in the same amount of time. What was the point of wasting time learning a skill if you could buy it instantly? Solomon: is there a way to test your talent? Ourous: there is, I can do it for free. This was great news, being able to see if I had enough talent to learn skills fast meant I could see if it was worth doing. Though after her saying that the talent of most people was terrible I didn''t hold much hope. Solomon: so how do it? Ourous: I can scan you and get a reading of your talent. Solomon: what type of reading? I was hoping it would be something easy to understand. Ourous: simple one number. The average is one. For most talented people it''s between 5 and 10. Above 15 it would be considered a genius. For normal people, it requires several months to learn a G rank. For the talented, it would be a month. As for geniuses, it depends on how high your talent. The highest I''ve seen is 47. That person could learn a G rank skill every 5 days. Solomon: alright then, go for it. Test my talent. At my request, a ray of red light emitted from Ourous. Starting at my feet it moved up my body, eventually settling on my head. Ourous: all right, the scan''s complete. In a second your results will be displayed. After a few seconds, the red light formed into numbers before my head. Ourous: and your result is, 100! Looking at the shining numbers, I was astonished. Solomon:1,100, are you serious!? Ourous: it seems like your very talented. Congratulations. My result was over double what Ourous said the best Genius had. Solomon: damn, I''m one lucky bastard. From when I arrived at domain till now, my luck had been astonishingly high. Ourous: it seems you''ve broken the record, and by over double no less. With a talent this high you could learn G rank skills every 2 and a half days. With such a high speed I could learn two skills, maybe even three, by the next mission. But this was just G rank skills. As useful as they were, after reaching F rank they would not be able to stand up. Solomon: how long would it take to learn an F rank skill? Ourous: it would take twice the time. It''s the same for each rank, the time needed will double.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. This was once again surprising. Being able to learn F rank skills in 5 days. If you included the bonuses I got from my dragons fire, I could learn them much faster. Solomon: this is too op, with my talent I could Learn an F rank skill by the time of the next mission. Ourous: actually, you can''t. Only skills of your rank or below can be learned. Pouring rain on my parade, Ourous chimed in. Even though it reduced my options, it was still an extremely overpowered talent. Solomon: oh, that''s a shame. Even so, it''s still a godly level of luck. So, how do I actually learn the practice for skills? Ourous: you can buy them from the system. Look. With a flash, the familiar panel of information appeared before me. Under the recreation tab was the filter "training manuals". Solomon: why''s it under recreation? Ourous: because it has no practical use. though you can learn the skill from it, it won''t help you straight away. Thinking about it this way, it made some sense. Solomon: all right then, let''s have a look at these. Unlike with actual skill they didn''t cost any tokens. Only at S rank did it start to cost tokens. Even then it was only a G rank token. Looking at the ludicrously low price of skills, I felt a pain in my heart. Solomon: aaargh, damn. Why did I waste a G rank token on a skill? I could have got another race with that. If I had known about this before, I would never have brought a skill. Getting a new race was far superior to anyone skill. With a race, I got a new skill and stat increases. The only problem before was that I couldn''t tell what skill it would be. Ourous: it''s not a waste. Though you can learn skills in only a few days, it will take a week or so to perfect them. Just because you can use a skill does not mean it''s perfect. With skills you buy, they are already at the epitome of perfection. Learning this made me feel slightly better, though I still was unhappy with the waste. Solomon: I guess that''s true. Well, I''m gonna browse for a bit. Tell me when an hour has gone by. After a while of scanning through the enhancements, I had picked out 4 of them. Though there were hundreds that I thought would be useful, I restrained myself. Assessing my current fighting style, I decided what I was missing. The first, most important things was a movement technique. After several fights, I had learnt that it was very hard to dodge attacks without one. As such, I was forced to block more attacks. To solve this I found an interesting skill. Afterimage technique 25 point cost A book detailing the zanzoken technique in Dragonball. This technique allows the user to quickly move to another location, leaving an afterimage. Minimum requirement of 200 strength. Unlike other skills, the descriptions were very short. I guessed this was because I had to learn the details myself. It was very useful that it stated the requirements. otherwise, I may have got an unusable skill. From what I knew about the technique It was exactly what I needed. In the anime, the person could move behind the opponent before the afterimage disappeared giving the user a chance to attack them. Though I doubted I could still do that to G rank enemies, it would still let me dodge them. The next thing I needed was a close combat attack. Though I had my racial skill, the cost was way too severe. I needed to be able to attack at close range while still in my human form. The skill I found most suitable was this. Raging sword skill 30 point cost A book detailing the skill raging sword skill from the legendary moonlight sculptor. When used the energy of the user cloaks their sword, increasing its strength and sharpness. The increase in strength and sharpness is determined by the user''s rage. The angrier they become, the stronger the skill. If they reach a strong enough rage they can emit slashes of energy from their sword. Energy required. Though it was an unconventional skill, it fit my needs. The increase in my weapons strength was very enticing. Especially if I added my enchantment on it. Though I should have done so last mission, I hadn''t. I thought as I would be fighting at range, it would be enough as it was. The other part of the skill that interested me was the effect of rage on it. Though I was not one to become enraged, there were several things that could make me so easily. Like when I thought of the capitalist mages, I felt deep hatred in my gut. I hoped this would be enough to perform the slashes of energy. The second to last thing that would benefit me was a buff, both for me and my allies. Basic strengthening 25 point cost A magic book detailing a nondescript strengthening spell. The spell allows the user to buff the strength of a selected target, the amount is based on the energy used. lasts 24 hours Suitable for the long time empowerment of physical strength. As we had no one to do this permanently, I temporarily filled the role. The same as I had with enchanting. Though I had a skill for it, it was not my specialisation. Lastly, I wanted another ranged skill, preferably not an elemental one. The reason was simple. Though my flame serpent art was overwhelming, it had a major weakness. Water. The attack was fire based, so if I faced an equal attack made of water, I would lose sorely. This was why I wanted a new skill. After a little looking, I had found it. Wind release: verdant mountain gale 20 point cost A book detailing the Wind release: verdant mountain gale skill from naruto. The user infuses their energy into a weapon, allowing them to make it float freely. The distance reachable depends on the amount of energy used. Suitable for the control of weapons at a distance. Though it was not anywhere near as destructive as my flame serpent art, it was much more precise. I wouldn''t have to worry about nearby allies as there would be no explosion or fire. Overall it was trading power for accuracy. I also hoped it was much cheaper to use, but that had yet to be tested. With these skills, I would remove most of the weaknesses I currently had. Though I would still have some, it would not be anywhere near as bad. The skills raging sword and mountain gale would provide an increase in my attack versatility, no longer limiting myself to fire and explosions. The afterimage technique would provide a way for me to move quickly, as well as to dodge attacks. And lastly, the strengthening skill would allow me to increase mine and my allies physical power. Overall these skills would greatly increase my abilities. Solomon: Ourous, I''ll take these books. Showing her the screen, I pointed out the books. Ourous: okey doki, that''s a total of 100 points. You now have 1566 points remaining. With a blinding flash of light, four books appeared in the air. Grabbing them, I examined each one. The first I grabbed had a green cover. On the centre of the cover was a spiralling circle with a triangle attached to its bottom left side. I recognised this as the symbol for the village hidden in the leaves. Because of the symbol, I knew this book would be the mountain gale skill. Moving on I grabbed the next book, based on its plain brown colour it would be the strengthening skill. The next book I grabbed had a crimson coloured cover. Embossed in the centre of the cover was a silver sword. To add the finishing touches, deep red tendrils surrounded the sword. I''d guess this was the raging sword skill. The last book I grabbed had a blue cover. There were three overlapping images of a person on it. This would, of course, be the afterimage technique. Solomon: alright, that''s all I need for now. See you later Ourous. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 43 - unbelievable progress Domain volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 43 - unbelievable progress Having done all I needed in my origin plane, I returned to Domain. Upon appearing back in my room I started to inspect the training manuals. First of I opened the verdant mountain gale. On the first page was a brief description of the skill. Turning over there was a diagram on the page, pointing out meridians. Underneath that was a description of how the energy should flow to those meridians. Flipping through the book, I found that every page except for the first was like that. The diagrams each covered a single action my qi had to take. Leaving the daunting list of 100 pages, I moved onto the next book. Opening the afterimage technique, I was surprised to find it was the same. A description and diagrams. Looking in the other books they were all like this, Each having around a hundred diagrams. Solomon: damn, how am I supposed to learn this in three days. From the looks of it, even reading and understanding a book would take two weeks. Then again, if Ourous said it, it was most likely the truth. Moving on I chose which three I would focus on. As I would go on another mission in a week, I could only learn three skills in that time. Even with the extra 8 hours a day, it would still take 2 and a quarter days to learn a skill. As such I decided I would equally split my time between 3 skills. After consideration, the one I left out was basic strengthening. Though it would be useful for the team, Alice already had a similar skill. On the other hand, I could greatly increase my strength with the other skills. So, in the end, the strengthening skill had to wait. Sitting down on the bed, I took the mountain gale book. Looking at the first diagram, I tried to mimic it. Funnelling some qi into my shoulder, I searched for the Meridian. Surprising even myself, I found it within 5 minutes. As my qi reached the Meridian I tried to push it out. Like it said in the manual, I had to control the qi outside of my body. To my disappointment, I couldn''t control it. Still, it had only cost an insignificant bit of qi. Numbing my mind, I tried it again. Focusing completely on my qi, I pushed it out the Meridian. Unlike last time it did not instantly dissipate. For almost half a second it was under control. Feeling the instantaneous improvement I was pleased. I knew if another person knew of this, they would turn green with envy. Checking my clock I saw I had a few hours till lunch. Settling into a rhythm, I kept practising. In a few hours, a knock came on my door. Alice: it''s lunch Solomon, are you coming out to eat? Finishing one last attempt, I replied. Solomon: yep, I''ll be out there in a minute. Setting the book aside, I left the bedroom. Solomon: hmm, what''s this I smell? The refreshing fragrance of meat hung in the air. Alice: I''m doing a fry up, it''ll be done in a minute. Sitting on the sofa I waited for Alice to finish cooking. In the meantime I tested something. Pulling some qi out of my fingertip, I wrapped it around some paper on the coffee table. At this point, I had acquired some ability to control qi outside my body. Though it would only last for 15 seconds before withering away. With a though I lifted the qi upward. As I thought, the paper had come up with it. It seemed when the qi was outside of my body, it had a physical form. Because of this, I could use it to physically move objects. Though I had grasped that this was the essence of the skill, I had not grasped it fully yet. The best I could do at current was lift up some paper. However, I knew in the future that getting my qi to do this would be easy. The only issue was that no matter how controlled I was, there was always a huge deterioration in the qi over time. I would guess the mountain gale skill would reduce this. Though it was slightly disappointing, when I had more qi I hoped I could use it freely. Alice: it''s done, here you go.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Bring me out of my thought, Alice brought in two plates of food. Knowing I couldn''t eat fruit or veg, she had only cooked what I could eat. On my plate, there were huge helpings of Bacon, eggs and sausages. Sitting down next to me, she handed me my plate. Solomon: thanks, Alice. Leaning over I stole a quick kiss. Slightly blushing, she told me not to worry about it. Alice: it''s no problem, so how''s the training going. Seeing an opportunity for mischief, I decided to have some fun. Solomon: quite well, I''ll show you. Waiting for me to get up, she showed a confused expression when I kept eating. Taking a little qi out of my dantian, I pulled it out of a Meridian on my arm. With the tendril of qi, I grabbed hold of the hem of her dress. Pulling back the qi I got a clear view of her white panties. Feeling the movement she looked down at her dress. Seeing the translucent tentacle, as well as her exposed panties, she quickly pulled her dress back down. Under the pressure, the qi tentacle dissipated. Alice: kyaa, what are you doing? Becoming embarrassed, her cheeks turned red. Solomon: haha, sorry. I couldn''t pass up such a golden opportunity. Though she was embarrassed, she wasn''t really upset. After all, what was a little panty shot. Alice: so how did you do that? What was the see through thing? Solomon: I''ve found out a way to control my qi outside my body. I decided not to tell her about training manuals. If I did I''m sure she''d want to test her talent and buy one. For today I wanted everyone to relax. Though I didn''t have that luxury, I doubted my teammates had the talent to learn skills in a week. So either way, there was no difference. Tomorrow though I would have them all tested, even with horrible talent, they should still train to learn skills. As I had proven with my new way to use qi, just the training can help you learn new things about your powers. Alice: wow, so how useful is it? Solomon: at the moment not very. Just you pulling your dress down broke it. I''m hoping that if I train enough I could eventually use it for combat. Though this was one aim, I wouldn''t use it offensively until I was at E rank. The cost would be too high otherwise. Then again, I could see myself using it for other things before then. Like if I was falling from high up, I could use it to grab onto a ledge. there could be many supportive ways to use it. As I thought about what I could eventually do, a distant memory resurfaced in my mind. A memory of naruto. The way in which he uses his chakra to create arms. However, I doubted I could do anything even close to that before D rank. Alice: that would be crazy, wouldn''t you be able to grab hold of a car and throw it at someone. Solomon: eventually yes, however, even with all of my qi now I would struggle to lift a person. Alice: that''s a shame, I guess it''s a goal for the future then. As we continued to eat lunch, we talked about random things. Though there was nothing important said, the atmosphere was pleasant. Solomon: thanks for the food, I''m going to get back to training. Alice: okay, see you later. Entering back into the bedroom, I picked the book back up. Once again I continued training. Like so another 3 hours past. In that time I had considerably improved my control. Now I could keep the qi together for 45 seconds. I could also now carry something as heavy as a jacket. Unfortunately, I still had found no way to reduce the cost. It seemed that once the qi was outside the body, there was no way to re-absorb it. Still, I was happy with my progress, moving on I grabbed the raging sword training manual. Looking at the first picture I found the first action surprising. I was supposed to move the qi up into my brain. The reason for my surprise was something I had learned from Pluvia. According to her putting qi in the brain was dangerous. If I tried to do anything there my qi could damage my brain. Still, I moved my qi into my brain. Though I trusted Pluvia, I highly doubted a skill in the system would cause brain damage. Looking at the picture, it told me to have my qi permeate throughout my brain. After a few seconds, I had done it. Then the next instruction was to think of the thing I hated the most. Though it was a bizarre instruction, I followed it. Thinking about the capitalist mages guild, a familiar hatred seethed forth. I hated them for so many reasons. The way they robbed people, the way they treated Aries, the way they treated people as pawns. But worst of all, I hated them for putting my teammates in danger. Ass the flames of hatred filled me, a weird reaction occurred in my brain. The qi there began to swirl. The more my hatred grew the faster it went. It was like it was reacting to my emotions, feeding off of them. Looking back at the paper, I read the next instructions. "At this point, you should feel your qi twitching, as you continue to train, this twitching should turn into swirling. At its final level, the qi will come together, creating a ball. Repeat this step until you have a ball." According to the instructions, I had missed out a step, advancing to the middle on my first try. As the qi kept picking up speed it began to dissipate. Eventually, it had all disappeared. Moving back to the first step, I repeated the process. Like this, I spent the next 3 hours bathing in my anger. By the end, the original swirling had turned into a torrent. From my estimates, I was close to making it into a ball. As I was about to restart the cycle, a knock came through the door. Alice: Solomon, dinners done. Solomon: coming. Setting the book down my body instantly caught up with me. Solomon: GRRRRRRR! From my stomach, a deep grumbling exploded forth. After the hours of training, I had worked up quite an appetite. Walking out of the room I saw Alice sat on the sofa. Sitting down next to Alice I looked at my food. It was steak with a side of chicken breast. Digging in we began chatting again. Alice: so, how''s the training come along? Pushing some qi out of my hand, I lifted up my plate. Solomon: faster than I thought, it''s surprisingly easy to improve. If I''d said that to an untalented person, they would beat me to death. I had done in a few hours, what most needed weeks for. my talent was a truly terrifying thing. Alice: wow, soon you''ll be doing everything like that. Solomon: hahaha, I don''t think I''m that lazy. As we ate our food, We enjoyed each others company. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 44 - similarly surprising talent Having finished dinner, I went back to training. Continuing with the raging sword training, I sank into my hatred. As I had noticed before, the more rage I felt, the faster the swirling. However, it wasn''t as simple as "get angry". If I gave in to the anger, letting it control my actions, I the qi would dissipate. So in a sense, it was a gradual process of reigning in my anger. After a further two hours of training, I had got the swirling to the level of a hurricane. In all honesty, I was surprised it had not become an orb already. Just a little while before I planned on moving one, Alice once again knocked on the door. Alice: can I come in. Solomon: sure, what''s up? As she walked in, Alice was fidgeting. Alice: um, if it''s alright with you, can I sleep here tonight? Having no problem with it, I said I didn''t mind. Solomon: sure. Alice: thanks. Looking at the time, it was coming up 11 at night. Solomon: it''s gotten pretty late, let''s go to sleep now, we''ve got a lot to do tomorrow. Alice: alright. At this point, I pulled out dragons fire. Solomon: I''m just going to use my training time, it should be instant for you. Jumping into dragons fire, I continued my training. Once I left I could go straight to sleep. Pulling out the afterimage technique, I read the first instructions. Unlike the last two skills, I had to move when performing this one. To start with it told me to fill my hand with qi. Then I had to push the qi out, covering my hand in it. lastly, I had to move my hand quickly away. I was supposed to keep the qi still, though. Following the steps, I got the final part. As I swiftly moved my hand away, the qi around it shattered. As soon as I tried to move my hand, the friction with the qi caused it to break. Trying again, I put my effort into reducing the friction. Though I didn''t know how, so I just made guesses. Like so I kept repeating the stages. Each time trying to reduce the friction between my hand and the qi. After 2 hours I found a how to do it. By coating my hand in two layers of qi, I could use one to reduce friction on the other. The issue was whenever I moved, keeping the two layers absolutely still was impossible. As my control was not good enough, the layers would wobble, hittinginto each other. The only way I could think to improve was to practice. So for another 3 hours, I continued to practice. By the end, I could get my hand a quarter of the way out before it broke. Stopping the practice I used the last 3 hours in dragon''s fire to cultivate. Though my qi still improved while practising, It was not even a tenth of the amount from when I cultivated. As I had just broken through to the 3 stage of qi cultivation, I could cultivate further. I hoped to have double my qi again by the time I made F rank. Then I could instantly breakthrough to the 4 stage. After 3 hours I left the space. Overall I had increased my qi by 5%. at this rate, I would be halfway to the 4 stage by the time I started the next mission. Hopefully, I would be able to get the other half while in the mission. Returning to the room Alice was still in the same place. Solomon: done, let go to sleep then. Alice: huh, it''s that fast. How long was it for you? Solomon: it''s been 8 hours, why? She was amazed when I told her 8 hours had passed. Alice: just like that, 8 hours. You''re really something special. Solomon: haha, to me, you''re the one that''s special. Her gaze softened hearing my words. Standing up I began to undress. After taking off my top I noticed Alice was just watching me. Solomon: what''s up? Instantly her face lit up red. Alice: are, are we going to sleep naked? Solomon: hahahaha.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Walking over to her, I leant down, whispering in her ear. Solomon: we can if you want to. Being put into this situation, she began to fidget. Alice: I, I don¡¯t mind. In a quick motion, I grabbed her around the waist. Hoisting her up, I laid her on the bed. Alice: oooh. surprised by the sudden movement, she let out a cute squeak. Solomon: if we''re going naked, I''m gonna have fun undressing you. Alice: ah, I can. Before she could finish, I moved in for the kiss. Drawing her In, we delved into a passionate kiss. Reaching up with my hand, I began undoing her buttons. Feeling my hands work their way down her body, she reached her arms around me. Breaking away from the kiss, she was breathing heavily. Alice: haah, haah. Solomon: you seem to be enjoying yourself. my words brought back her attention. Alice: agh, I''m being selfish, aren''t I? Moving around, she laid me on my back before mounting me. Alice: this time, I''ll set the pace. for the next hour, we indulged in our desires. Afterwards, Having satisfied ourselves, we went to sleep. the next morning, we were woken with a surprise. Pluvia: well you two had fun, didn''t you. standing at the end of our bed was Pluvia. Reacting quickly, Alice covered our bodies with the covers Pluvia: don''t worry, it''s not anything I haven''t seen before. Anyway, you''re lucky it was me who walked in. Solomon: uh, if there''s nothing important, can you wait till we''re dressed. Realising the awkward atmosphere, Pluvia left the room. Pluvia: Gareth and I will wait in the living room. Slinking back down, I let out a sigh of relief. Solomon: haaah. Alice: well, that was awkward. Solomon: so it was. Anyway, let''s get dressed. We''ve got lots to do. Getting out of bed, we both quickly got dressed. Walking out of the bedroom, we entered the living room. Sat on the sofa waiting were Pluvia and Gareth. Solomon: sorry for the wait. Gareth: it''s fine, originally I wanted to wait for you to wake up. But Pluvia insisted we woke you up. He had an apologetic look on his face. He probably understood what had happened. Solomon: well, what''s done is done. Anyway, I said I would give everyone their orders. Sitting down on the sofa, I began to explain everyone''s jobs. Solomon: first, I''ll explain what we''re doing today. Let me know if you disagree with anything. After receiving a nod from everyone I continued Solomon: today the first thing we''ll do is test your talent. Pluvia: so you''ve learnt about talent. Solomon: much more than that, I''ve tested my own. Not understanding what talent was, Gareth spoke up. Gareth: what''s talent? Solomon: let me explain a few things first. I have found a way to learn skills without the system. Alice: WHAT! How is that possible? I already knew this news would come as quite a shock. If I had known before I would not have wasted a token. Solomon: in the recreation tab of the exchanges is a filter called training manuals. These manuals describe the methods to train and learn new skills. With a flick of my hand, I brought the verdant mountain gale book into my hand. Solomon: there like this. Handing over the book, Alice and Gareth inspected it. As I guessed, Pluvia already knew about them. Alice: so all you have to do is follow these instructions, is it really that simple. Pluvia: HAHAHAHA, simple? It would take most people three months to learn that skill. Even then they would not be able to use it to its full potential. Bursting out into laughter, Pluvia was amused by their naivety. Gareth: thr, three months, why would it take so long? Solomon: it''s nowhere near as easy as it looks. Chiming in, Alice asked me about my new trick. Alice: is this how you learnt to do that tentacle thingy? Before I could respond, Pluvia jumped in. Pluvia: YOU GAINED INSPIRATION ALREADY? Unsure about the meaning of the term, I explained my new ability to her. Solomon: I don''t know what inspiration is, but what happened was after training in this skill I could apply my energy differently. Holding out my hand to her, I made a qi tentacle. Then to display its use, I picked up a nearby cup. Pluvia: that''s, that''s too crazy. How high is your talent? Solomon: it''s 100 To my surprise, Pluvia fell back into her chair. Pluvai: ha,haha,hahahaha,HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Suddenly she began laughing like a madman. After recovering herself, she sat back up. Pluvia: you know, I keep thinking you''re out of surprises. But then something like this happens. Both Alice and Gareth were completely clueless about her reaction. Alice: why''s she so surprised with your talent? Solomon: well, the average talent is 5 to 10, even the talented have over 15. As far as I''ve heard, the most talented person below me had 47 talent. Though they didn''t understand completely, they had grasped that my talent was colossal. Gareth: wow, congratulations. So, how do we test talent? Solomon: we''ll use guild bot. He can test you. Alice: alright, let''s go then. With a thought, the four of us were in the guild plane. Solomon: guild bot, test Alice and Gareth''s talent. As Pluvia knew about it, I imagined her talent was already tested. Guild bot: testing, testing. Results, Gareth 23. Alice, 29. Surprisingly, both of their talents were well above average. Solomon: wow, you both have good talents. Congrats. Alice: haha, it''s still nothing compared to yours. It seemed that my ludicrous result had taken away from their results. Solomon: don''t say that. with your talents, you won''t have trouble learning skills. It should take 12 days to learn a G rank skill. Hearing so, both of them were astonished. Gareth: tw, twelve days. Is that it, really? Solomon: haha, that''s right. Now that you''ve got your result, I would recommend buying a training manual. Alice: but it''s got to cost a lot, being that it gives you a skill and all. Though it was a logical assumption, it was not so. Solomon: nope, they''re very cheap. The most expensive I''ve seen cost 50 points. Gareth: only 50 points. For a G rank skill. Then the skills in the system are ripoffs, right? Like before, they were following the same train of thought as me. So I explained to them the benefits of the system. Solomon: not completely, the skills in the shop are instantly learned to perfection. That means as soon as you get them you can use them to their fullest. With these manuals, even if you can use it after 12 days, it will take longer to perfect them. Gareth: so it''s a difference between instant improvement and gradual improvement? Solomon: more or less. But for now, don''t think too deeply on it. Just find yourselves a manual. Following my instructions, they went off to the computers. Taking the opportunity I went over to Pluvia. Solomon: if you don''t mind, could you tell me all you know about talent and training manuals? Volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 45 - first break in a while After 15 minutes of explanation, I had learnt a lot from Pluvia. The first thing she explained was what talent effected. According to her it affects the learning speed of skill, as well as the cultivation of energy. According to her energies that grew within their rank like my qi are the only ones affected. Something like a one time enhancement that didn''t grow in the level would not be affected. hat sjfha ajfhasjfsa The second thing she told me was that your talent was changeable. Some rare items could improve it. Though it was not usually more than an increase of 1 or 2. she also said some enhancement allowed you to steal talent, as well as pass that talent on. When I worried my talent would be stolen, she explained further. The limits to those enhancements were very severe, So it was unlikely they could steal my talent. Other than this she knew nothing else about talent. Moving on, she explained training manuals Other than what I had learnt myself , she only knew that there were stages to learning. The first is called establishment. This is when you understand the basics of the skill. Like how I understood that hate was the basics of the raging sword skill. The next stage was inspiration. This was when you learned a new way to use energy through the skill. When I asked what happened when skills of the same type, like two skills to use energy externally, are learnt. she told me As each skill is individual they would always have a different method to attain their result. She said that even if two skills let you harden your skin, one might use the energy to overpower the cells, whereas the other might pull thing in the air to surround the skin. Having been sat nearby both Alice and Gareth had understood what was said. Solomon: all right, I''ve got it. Thinking about it, maybe I should get a talent stealing enhancement. If my already crazy talent improves further, I could learn hundreds of skills. Pluvia: I wouldn''t recommend it. Usually, the limits to those enhancements is extremely severe. Even if your talent was ten times what it was, the limits on your power would weaken you too much. From the serious expression on her face, the limits must''ve been severe. Though I had given up on getting it myself, having a teammate with such an enhancement would be useful. Solomon: okay, I''ll put it out of my mind. Anyway, we''ve got some free time till they pick a skill. I''m going to chill out then. Leaving them to find a suitable skill, I went and sat in front of the TV. Since the last mission I had all my time either training or making plans for the team. Turning it on I was surprised with the layout. Unlike normal TV''s, there was no channels. A list of recommended videos, as well as a search box were there instead. Unsurprisingly, most of the recommended videos were anime. laying back into the sofa I turned on one of my all time favourite anime, death note. Walking over to join me, Pluvia sat next to me. As I kept watching a new sense of realism was added. It was almost certain that someone out there had the death note. The thought that they could kill me instantly made me nervous. But in the end I couldn''t worry about every possibility. There were too many different powers to plan for them all, so I would deal with them as they came. while I was lost in my thoughts Pluvia had shuffled towards me, leaning against my shoulder. Pluvia: it''s been so long since I could relax freely like this, thank you Solomon. Surprised by the change in attitude, I replied to her. Solomon: don''t worry about it, if anything I should thank you. I would be long dead without your help. Pluvia: that''s not true. I''ve met many people in my life, but your special. You have something no one else does. Solomon: what''s that? Turning my head to look at her, I was entranced by her bright blue eyes. Pluvia: I''m not sure. She replied while looking up at me. feeling the atmosphere becoming a little too comfortable, I quickly rose to my feet. Solomon: whatever it is, lets forget about it for now. Alice and Gareth have probably chosen by now, lets go check. Walking to the door, Pluvia followed behind me. As I walked out into the main room, a bright light flashed before me. Recognizing it as the light that appeared when you brought something, it seemed they had already brought the skills.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Seeing me come out, Alice beckoned us over. Alice: Solomon, come look. We''ve chosen our skills. After walking over Alice held a book up to me. On the cover was a weird shape. Like a triangle with the top cut of. Inside of this triangle was a spiral and 6 lines, 3 on each side. Scouring my memories I placed this simple as the earth bending symbol from avatar. Solomon: this is from avatar, right? Alice: yep, look. Pointing to the computer, she had left the description up. Earth and stone levitation 25 point cost A book detailing the earth and stone levitation technique in avatar. The user can cause a stone to hover up, then send it flying with kicking or punching motions. The size of the stone lifted depends on the energy used. Solomon: quite an interesting skill, but, why choose this? Don¡¯t you already have meteor to do the same thing? Though it was a good skill, it wasn''t much different from meteor. Alice: it does the same thing, however one thing appealed to me. It lets you levitate rocks. I''m hoping to learn how it does so. If I can maybe I can do the same thing with fire water and air when I get the enhancements. It wasn''t a bad idea, if it worked she would be able to control all four elements. That would add a huge amount of versatility and usefulness to her power. Solomon: that would be very useful, it''s not a bad idea. Moving on I asked what Gareth had got. Solomon: so what did you choose Gareth? Like Alice, Gareth also showed me his book and the description. The cover of the book had two feline eyes. Looking at the description, I understood why Night vision 20 point cost A book detailing the night vision skill from sword art online. The user can enhance their eyes to see in the dark, the improvement in vision is proportional to the energy used. It was a spell from the anime and LN SAO. Though it was a simple skill, I could see his reasoning. Solomon: interesting choice, so you got this to help with scouting, right? Gareth: yeah, I thought with this skill I would be able to scout at night. Also as a demonic shade, it would help me when I fight. There''s no point making the area dark if it affect me as much as the enemy. It was a fair point, although he hadn''t got a skill like that yet, it would be one of the ones he got in the future. So getting this night vision skill was a good idea. Solomon: true, so that''s skills sorted for now. Let''s head back. Within an instant we appeared back in my hotel room. Alice: so, what are we going to do now? Having spent only a while in the guild plane, it was still early morning. Solomon: we''ve got three things to do. The first is to buy new consumables. Though were not in need of new weapons, things like food and water need to be bought. Having spent 15 days in the last mission, we had used up most of our food and water. Being that I now had a interspatial item, we didn''t have to worry about carrying it. Gareth: I can go buy what we need. Thinking about it, he was the best option. Alice and Pluvia''s appearance would draw too much attention, so that left the two of us. As I would be needed for the other things, this was the best outcome. Solomon: that would be best. Moving on the second thing is buying a guild space. from Gareth''s scouting we had learnt about Guild space''s. Most guilds would buy a space in Domain, if they did this space became theirs. In the space the guild could set any rule they wanted as long as it didn''t break the already existing laws of domain. Like how the three great guilds made rules in the neutral cities. Solomon: for this the three of us will go together. I directed my words at Pluvia and Alice. Alice: okay, sounds good to me. Pluvia: sure. Solomon: once we''ve brought the space I''ll leave you two to organize it. Moving on, I explained the last thing that needed to be done. Solomon: lastly, I''ll recruit guild members at the enlistment center. This was the most important thing. And it would also be the most difficult. Both to do and to convince my teammates off. The enlistment center was a building in the center of town. Guildless people would go there in order to find guilds to join. There were however two problems, the first being my teammates distrust of other. Though I understood their feelings, especially after the problems we''ve had with the people in domain, we had to recruit members. 4 people, no matter how strong, were not a guild. The second problem was finding people to recruit. As we had heard from Gareth people would rarely join G rank guilds. The reason for joining a guild was safety. If the strongest person in the guild was only G rank, the feeling of safety was more or less nonexistent. Alice: WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY!? Gareth: THAT''S WAY TOO RISKY! Contrary to Alice and Gareth''s reaction, Pluvia agreed. Pluvia: I agree. The looks on Alice and Gareth''s face hearing Pluvia turned ugly. If both Pluvia and I agreed, as the two strongest guild members, we could overrule them. Solomon: we have to accept others into the guild. Alice: but what if they betray us? Though I was of the opinion new members were needed, it didn''t mean I would just wantonly add anyone. Solomon: just because I say we need new member, doesn¡¯t mean anyone can join. Like you, I''ve seen the way people act in domain. Gareth: then how will you choose who can join. Solomon: well as you know we''re not likely to get many people to choose from, but I''ll have two conditions. The first is that they are not stronger than us. As much as having another couple G ranks could help, in the long run it''s risky. After all, why would they accept being led by someone no stronger than them. Alice: that''s sensible, but it''s still not enough. Though they both looked like they were starting to accept it, they still didn''t consider this enough. Solomon: the other criteria is that they have to pass my test. Gareth: your test? Solomon: for one mission they will join us. During that mission we will observe how they act and their personality. Afterwards we will have a vote to keep them in the guild. Though it did not remove the risk straight away, the concept of a test mission wasn''t bad. Especially when you consider the applicant would probably be unranked. Alice: I can accept this. Gareth: me too. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 46 – buying a guild space Having finished in the guild plane, we returned to the hotel. Solomon: all right everyone, let''s get moving. Not wanting to waste time, we left to do our jobs. As we had decided, Gareth went to buy supplies for our next mission. As for the rest of us, we went to buy a guild space. Going across the centre plaza, we saw our destination. A three story nondescript office building. In large gold letters the words "real estate agents" hung above the entrance. Solomon: it''s a little less flashy than I''d expected. From what we knew this was the only estate agent in the city, as such I thought they would be rather grand. Alice: maybe we''ve been tricked. Though it was possible, I doubted it. All of the information Gareth had delivered to us was accurate so far. Pluvia: we''ll just have to go and see. Bored of waiting, Pluvia started to walk towards the building. Shrugging my shoulders to Alice, we followed after her. Upon entering the building we were surprised to find it was similar to a standard, office. There was a few rows of chairs for people to wait in, as well as a front desk. In front of the two people manning the desk were short lines of people. Walking forward to line up, I felt an odd sense of unease. Following my instincts, I looked up. Following my actions, my guildmates did the same. To our surprise, hovering in the centre of the lobby was a giant floating eye. In response to our gazes, it looked straight at us. Under the gaze of this mysterious eye, I felt as if our deepest secrets would be revealed. Wanting to avoid that feeling, we all ripped our gazes away. Solomon: what is that thing? Alice: what was that feeling? It was like it could see right through me. Pluvia: calm down, it''s a sensory eye. Though Pluvia told us to calm down, she was not completely calm herself. Solomon: you know what that thing is? Pluvia: yeah, it¡¯s an android that some guilds use. From what I know it can discern the strength of people up to Z rank. For the estate agents to have such an item proved their strength to us. However, it also put us on edge. If they had such a powerful android in their front lobby, what would they have elsewhere? Solomon: can it tell what you are? If it could tell the true origin of Pluvia it would cause us massive problems. Pluvia: fortunately not, though it can tell I''m a dragon, it can''t determine the origins of my soul. Though this could cause some minor issues, in the worst case scenario, pluvia could dissipate her body and hide in dragons fire. Solomon: okay, if things go badly, return and hide in dragons fire. Then I''ll summon you back later. Having spent a lot of time talking, we had reached the front of the line. Receptionist: hello, how can I help you today. Like in the hotel, the receptionist was a robot. Solomon: we''d like to purchase a guild space. Getting straight to the point, I hoped to finish up here as fast as possible. Receptionist, yes sir, could you fill this out, please. Reaching under the desk, she pulled out some type of form. Looking it over it was surprisingly simple. It asked for some simple information like the guild and guild leaders name, as well as the budget. After a minute or so I had filled out the form. Receptionist, thank you, sir, please take a set. We''ll have on of our workers with you in a minute. Walking over to the seating area, we sat in a few open seats. Alice: is it me, or was that too, normal. Solomon: I get what you mean, it''s like buying a house back on earth. Except for the weird floating eye and odd appearance of the customers, the whole place felt like an estate agent from earth. Pluvia: it''s built like that for the comfort of the customers. I''m sure you''d prefer this than some sort of barbaric auction system.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Thinking about it, this was much better than it could be. Solomon: If you put it like that, then it does make sense. After 5 minutes or so a person walked over to us. He was a tall man wearing a white suit. White suit: excuse me, are you, Solomon? Though he asked the question, it was obviously just a formality. Solomon: that''s me. Fredrick: I am Fredrick, one of the employees here. Shall we go to discuss your request? He chose his words carefully as he spoke. He was probably very experienced in dealing with customers. Though he was very polite, my instincts told me this man was far stronger than me. Solomon: sure, you don''t mind if my guildmates join us, do you? Fredrick: that''s no problem at all. Though he was outwardly calm, he was momentarily surprised by my words. Fredrick: please, follow me. Walking off, we followed Fredrick. Taking us to one of the doors by the front desk, we entered a room. Inside was a simple desk with chairs, oddly it was the perfect amount for all of us. Fredrick: this is a consultation room. In here nothing from the outside world can hear us. As is customary, we like to keep our client''s details confidential. Solomon: that''s a good policy, so shall we get down to business. Being as we could not be out at night, I wanted to get this done quickly. That way I could complete all of the necessary jobs today. Fredrick: certainly, let me just check your details. With a flash of light, the form we had filled in appeared in his hand. Fredrick: so your budget is, 900 points. After giving Gareth points for supplies, I had 1600 leftover, as I would need tokens to buy anything worthwhile, I decided to spend most of my points like this. I would use the rest to exchange for things through the system. Solomon: that''s right, though to be honest, we''re not sure what we can get for that amount. Fredrick: with your strength, it must have taken you a long time to collect so many points. I would advise you to keep these for more important things. Though he was a businessman, it appeared Fredrick still had a conscience. Unlike most people who would seek the most amount of points, he advised us otherwise. Solomon: thank you for your warning, however, this is a decision we''ve already made. Every time I''d say we''ve, he seemed a little surprised. Though I was unsure why. Fredrick: if that''s the case, I won''t press further. What are you looking for? In all honesty, I had no idea how much guild spaces cost. It would be good if we could get a 4 bedroom apartment. Solomon: like I said, I''m not aware of the price of guild spaces. With that in mind, I would like at least a 4 bedroom apartment. Hearing my minimum request, Fredrick lost his usually calm demeanour. Fredrick: HAHAHAHAHAHA, AH, I''m sorry, I lost myself there. Having been subjected to the same reactions before, I was used to it by now. Solomon: it''s fine, but what''s so funny? Fredrick: something like a 4 bedroom apartment would cost 150-200 points, I''m just surprised that you think so little of points that you earned through life and death struggles. Realistically speaking, most people would struggle to make this many points on a mission. The fact that we had made over 4 thousand together was miraculous. Solomon: oh, then what could we get for 900 points? If 200 got you a large apartment, 900 must get you something like a large house. Fredrick: a 10 bedroom mansion with an ample garden. Or if you''d prefer a 15 bedroom mansion without a garden. Solomon: A 10 BEDROOM MANSION!? It was much more than I hoped to get. Fredrick: that''s right. Solomon: please show us the ones available. Being able to get such a luxurious guild space was like a dream. Fredrick: okay, so we currently have 5 available. Here you go. With another flash of light, 5 pieces of paper appeared on the desk. Each containing photos, a floor plan and a description. All of us began to look these over intently. The first was a 9 bedroom mansion with a large garden. It had on suits for each bedroom, as well as several living rooms, two kitchens and a large basement. However, better than all these features was the magical arrays all over the mansion. Every room had self-cleaning arrays, as well as self-repair arrays. Other than that each kitchen had 2 androids that would cook for us. The best array, though, was one that spanned the whole property, the self-defence array. According to the description, it could hold up to the attack from anyone below Drank. This would be a great insurance in the current dispute with the capitalist mages. After looking through them 4 of them were like the first with differences in room and garden size and amount. Alice: is it just me, or is this one out of place? The last one was different to the others. According to the description, it was a 8 bedroom one barracks mansion. It was much smaller than the others with only one living room and kitchen. The garden was also much smaller. According to the description, the basement was a barracks that could contain 20 people. It also had no androids. But there was one feature that stuck out, the arrays. It had the usual repair and cleaning arrays as well as an upgraded defence array. Anything below B rank could not enter. However, it had 2 new arrays. One called the time density array. According to the description, time in the array flowed 2 times slower. The other array was called the spatial compression array. This array worked like dragons fire, allowing the storage of a huge amount of items. Solomon: it''s the arrays, they seem special. Jumping in, Fredrick explained. Fredrick: normally these arrays would appear in mansions costing at least 1800 points, however, due to the tiny size of the mansion the price is low. Pluvia: we should get this mansion. The time density array will be extremely useful for us. With two times the amount of time, we could greatly increase our strength before next mission. Fredrick: I''m afraid it''s not as useful as it seems, it can only operate for 8 hours a day. Solomon: hmm, I think we should get this one. Talking to my guildmates I chose my preference, the time density mansion. Pluvia: I agree. Alice: for now it is the best choice, let''s go for it. Seeing the exchange between us, Fredrick was perplexed. Seeing his expression I asked what was wrong. Solomon: is there an issue? Fredrick: no, it''s just rare to see a guild leader like you. Solomon: like me? Though I had good talent and incredible luck, he didn''t know about that. So I wondered what he meant. Fredrick: a leader who treats his guildmates like allies, not like dispensable pawns. Anyway, let me formalise the deal. From what he said, guild leaders who were manipulative were far more common. It did make sense, after all, it''s easier to control people than it is to win their trust. Fredrick: do you, agree to purchase this mansion for the price of 900 points. Solomon: I agree. Ourous: 900 points deducted, mansion. clearwater, purchased. With Ourous''s confirmation, we had brought our guild space. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 47 -recruiting Having purchased the space we bid farewell to Fredrick. Being located in the guild district, we went to see our new base. Arriving at the front gate Alice and I marvelled at the size of it. Solomon: it''s huge. To think this was the smallest mansion. Despite being called the smallest, it was still colossal. Compared to the chieftain''s mansion from last mission, It was no smaller. Around the whole mansion was an 8-foot tall brick wall. The entrance to the mansion was a 12-foot tall golden gate. Written on the gate was the name clearwater. Alice: it''s a huge improvement from that hotel room. Solomon: no kidding. The mansion was at least three houses wide and 4 houses long. Solomon: let''s take a look. During this whole time, Pluvia seemed unimpressed. As a formerly S rank Dragon, she had probably stayed in opulent places. To her, this little mansion was nothing special. Walking in we were greeted with a grand lobby. In front of us was a set of double doors, to the right and left of it were staircases. To the right side and left side of the wall were more doors. Alice: wow, it''s beautiful. Looking aroundat the wall, they were decorated with several ornate patterns and paintings. From the floor plan, the room to our sides should be the kitchen and living room. Solomon: I''m going to have a look around. Walking over to the left door, I entered the living room. It was no less flashy than the lobby. There was a huge TV on the wall, as well as a sofa parallel to it. There was also a circular coffee table surrounded by 5 reclining chairs. Sitting in one of the chairs I felt like I was sitting on a cloud. The difference between this chair and the ones in the hotel was like heaven and earth. not wanting to loose myself in the comfort, I forced myself to get up. Another set of doors were joined onto the living room. To the right, if you walked through the lobby doors. Walking through them, I entered the dining room. It was a huge room spanning the rest of this side of the mansion. As there were supposed to be many people living here the dining room was more of a banquet hall. From where I was at one end to the other end was an extremely long table. Periodically above the table was spectacular chandeliers. Other than the table and chairs the walls were decorated with the finest decorations. Solomon: wow. Having looked on this side of the building I went back to the lobby, Alice and Pluvia had gone through the middle doors. Looking through them it was the entrance to a hallway. The hallway ran from the front lobby to the garden in the back. Walking back I entered the kitchen door. The kitchen was huge, with several of the best equipment you could find. It was obviously built so that many people could work simultaneously. At the other end of the kitchen was a door that opened out into the hallway. It was there so food could be brought through to the dining room quickly. Other than that there was a stairway leading downward, to the basement. Solomon: hmm, I wonder what the barracks looks like. Though it was shown on the floor plan, there was no picture of it. Walking downwards I entered the barracks. it spanned the whole area under the mansion. As I walked in I noticed I was in a long hallway, it was probably directly under the ground floor hallway. Walking down I saw that there was a door on the sides of the hallway, every ten-ish meters. Opening one of the doors I saw that it was a plain room. With a chair desk, wardrobe and bed. It was a room for one. Having explored the basement I went back up to the kitchen, entering the hallway from there. As I did Alice and Pluvia walked out of the next room along. Alice: Solomon, come check this out. Solomon: what is it? Walking over I entered the room. It was one of the bedrooms. It was furnished with huge amounts of furniture. It had bookcases, a huge desk, a massive king sized bed, a Chester drawers, a wardrobe and a 7-foot mirror. Solomon: it''s quite luxurious, it seems like were moving up in the world. Alice: yeah, soon we''ll be living in a place. Pluvia: hahaha, don''t get ahead of yourself, let''s finish looking around first. Leaving the bedroom, we went down the hallway to the garden. Other than the bedroom we looked at the only other rooms were a bathroom and bedroom.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Already knowing the first floor was just bedrooms and on suites, we didn''t bother checking on them. As we reached the end of the hallway, there were French doors entering the garden. Walking through the door we looked at the garden. It had a pond in the centre with living fish as well as benches around it. At the far end of the garden was a pagoda tent. Solomon: it''s got a nice atmosphere here. And we don''t even have to tend to it. The garden, like the rest of the house, had an array to keep it at its best. Solomon: all right then, I''ve looked around enough. I''m going to do the last job. As we had previously discussed, Alice and Pluvia would sort out the house while I recruited new members. Solomon: here Pluvia, use dragons fire to transport our items. As we would have to move our things from the hotel, it would be one trip with dragons fire. Pluvia: I can''t take it, you¡¯re the owner. Not wanting to waste time arguing I forced it into her hands. Solomon: it''s as safe with you as it is with me. Keep it safe till I come back. Looking at the book, Pluvia responded. Pluvia: I will keep it safe until your return Feeling the change in atmosphere, I made myself scarce. I did not want to create an awkward situation between Alice, Pluvia and me. Maybe it was just my imagination, but Pluvia seemed to be acting differently around me lately. Leaving those thoughts for later, I headed went to recruit new members. Arriving at the building I entered. Like all the other buildings it was run by robots. However, right now it was packed. Looking at the signs I made my way to one of the many receptionists. Receptionist: what can I help you with sir. Solomon: I would like to recruit some people. Like before I had to fill out a document of basic information. Receptionist: thank you, sir, the room marked with G has what you''re looking for. Anyone in there has decided to join a G rank guild. Looking over I saw the room she meant. It was next to several doors with letters. I guessed each door was for guilds of that level. Walking into that room I attracted the attention of the people inside. There were only 25 or so people inside. Seeing me they looked disappointed. Looking at them I realised a few people were out of place. unlike me who had come alone, another G rank guild had come as a group. They would approach people arrogantly, acting like they were gods. Like joining them was a miracle for these people. With these tactics, they were forcing people to join them. Of the people here they had already "convinced" 5 of them. Walking to a corner of the room. I spoke to the people inside. Solomon: G RANK GUILD! LOOKING FOR RECRUITS, GOOD PERSONALITY PREFERRED OVER STRENGTH! Having made my intentions clear, I lay back against the wall. If any of the people here wanted to join, I would let them join our test mission. It made no difference to me if 1 or 100 joined. After all, I could fail them in the test mission. Unfortunately, I did not get the response I hoped. The guild that was already here walked over. The arrogant guild leader spoke to me. Guild leader: HEY, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? DO YOU NOT RECOGNIZE ME! Glancing at him, I made a passing remark. Solomon: a pompous asshole. Hearing my quick and clean insult, the man''s face filled with anger. Guild leader: WHO ARE YOU TO CALL ME AND ASSHOLE. I''LL HAVE YOUR HEAD. Ourous: hostile intent detected, penalty removed. Hearing the words of Ourous, I was surprised. To think that someone so stupid was still alive, let alone a guild leader. The man drew a sword, charging at me. Taking him seriously, I assessed his strength. He looked like a normal human, so he probably only had an energy enhancement. The weapon he held was a standard sword you could buy for 40 points. Along with two-bit armour, he was truly pitiful. Not wanting to create a commotion, I drew my sword. Dashing forward my speed was easily twice that of his. Reaching him in the blink of an eye, I stabbed my hand through his sword''s crossguard, pulling it away from him. Then just as fast I brought my hand down, cutting off that same hand. Guild leader: AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH Along with the echoing scream of the guild leader, his follower''s expressions paled. Solomon: leave now, before I change my mind. Once again not understanding his situation, the guild leader spoke. Guild leader: FUCK YOU, I''LL RIP YOUR FUCKS, AAAAAARRRRRGGGHH Before he could finish speaking, I cut off his other hand. Solomon: the next time it''s your head, fuck off. Bored with the idiot''s actions, I gave him one last chance. Realising I was not kidding the man left with haste, followers in tow. Having seen me act so mercilessly the rest of the people there didn''t dare approach me. They probably thought I was an evil person. Then again maybe I was. I had just cut off a man''s hands. Just as I was about to leave, two people approached me. A young man and a little girl. Young man: we''d like to apply. Solomon: that''s fine, but first you must answer my questions. I had come up with a few basic questions to get rid of the obviously un-trustable people quickly, however, the more crafty ones would be weeded out later. Young man: okay, but first I have to explain our circumstances. Before I could question them, he wanted to tell me about his situation. Solomon: is it so important? Young girl: mister, it''s my problem. My brother just won''t leave me alone. You see, an old man from a guild said he liked me. He wanted me to become his pet. Speaking up, the girl explained their issue. Looking at her she was probably only around ten, yet from her eyes, I could tell that she understood the old man''s words. This was probably the effect of living in domain. Solomon: okay, I understand. what guild is it? And how strong is the old man? Though I could probably protect them from most guilds, the level of the old man would depend on how much the guild would help him. Young girl: it''s the capitalist mages guild, the old man is one of the four F ranks. Solomon: HAHAHAHAHA. Seeing me burst into laughter, they both looked at me oddly. It must have been fate that we, who both hate the capitalist mages guild. had met. Solomon: it seems our meeting is fortunate, I also have issues with the capitalist mages guild. Continuing on, I questioned them. Obviously they both past. The just as we were about to leave, a man entered through the door. Standing at almost 7 foot, he even dwarfed me. Huge man: I''m looking for a guild. Seeing as he had only just arrived, I thought maybe I could recruit him as well. Solomon: I''m recruiting, but that doesn''t mean you can join. You must pass my test first. Facing me, the man gave me a grin. Huge man: a test? I''m sure I can pass any test with these muscles. It seemed the man had mistaken my meaning. Solomon: you misunderstand, I mean a few question, nothing like a physical test. The man seemed disappointed by my words, but nonetheless, he passed the test. So with the new recruits in tow, I made my way back to the mansion. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 48 - learning about the new recruits On the way back to the mansion, I had learnt some details about the recruits. The young man was called Nicholas. He was an 18-year-old who had recently entered domain. He had currently participated in 2 missions. His strength was at the level of an average unranked. Having spent points on his stats, his body was at the same level as my body when first entering domain. He stood at around 6 ft, with tanned skin and short black hair. Looking at him you could see the strength of his body from his muscles. Unlike the way enhancements improved your strength to supernatural levels, stats just added to your natural ability. so though his body was several times more muscular than mine, he was actually much weaker. Though that was not to say he was anywhere near as strong, after all, I had G rank enhancements at that time. The younger sister of Nicholas was called Sasha. She was a 12-year-old girl who entered domain at the same time as Nicholas. Obviously, she had completed two missions with her brother. Her physique had been strengthened with points, making her almost as strong as Nicholas. She was very short, only around 4 ft 10, with shoulder length black hair. Looking at her pearlescent blue eyes, they seemed to hold more maturity than most adults. The hulking man, larger than even myself, was called tony. He was a veteran of domain who had been on 9 missions. After the long time enhancement of his stats, he was extremely strong. His stats averaged at 200. He had the physical strength equal to some of the weaker G ranks. According to him he could have long ago joined a guild and with their support made it to G rank. The reason he didn''t was because it would restrict his freedom. So the abundance of his points wereall placed into stats. He stood at 7 ft tall, with broad shoulders and rippling muscles. He was a hulk of a man. After learning this much about the recruits, we had made it back to the mansion. Looking at the huge building, the recruits were shocked. Tony: ain''t this the type a building F rank guild have. How the hell did you afford this place? Solomon: luck. Saying so I walked through the gate towards the front door. Though it was true luck had played a part, It wasn''t the only factor. I was still cautious of these recruits. Better safe than sorry. After a mission together, I would know whether I could entrust them with the sensitive information of our missions. If news of our capabilities spread, people with bad intentions would undoubtedly pop-up. So to avoid that I would be careful not to share certain information. Opening the front door, I was greeted by an empty lobby. Leading the recruits through the building, we entered the dining hall. As I expected, my guildmates were waiting for us there. Seeing me enter with several other people, they understood who these guys were. Solomon: these are my guildmates. One by one, I introduced everyone. This is Sasha Nicholas and tony. That''s Gareth, Alice and Pluvia. Standing up, Alice spoke to the recruits Alice: nice to meet you, I hope we can get along. Nicholas: nice to meet you too, thank you for this opportunity. Nicholas bowed his head while thanking us. Gareth: there''s no need to thank us. If you pass our test we''ll be the ones to gain. Having explained it to them on the way here, they knew about the test mission. If they passed the test then we would gain another reliable comrade. This was better for us than it was for them. After all, we had angered the capitalist mages guild. Solomon: so, did you guys sort out everything? Alice: Pluvia and I moved everything in. Gareth: I''ve got all the supplies, I also bought some basic equipment for the recruits. As everything had been sorted, I decided to settle the recruits in first. Solomon: you guys, follow me. With the recruits in tow, I walked to the barracks. As they were recruits, I thought it best to keep them here. Even if there were free rooms, those would be reserved for people who passed the test. Solomon: this is the barracks for recruits, each of you can pick any room you like. Arriving at the underground barracks, I pointed out the rooms. Looking inside, they were surprised by the size of the rooms. Tony: well this is odd, from what I heard, unranked are usually given broom closets to sleep in. Solomon; I don¡¯t know what other guild do, but as long as your trustworthy, your welcome in my guild. Having been in Domain for a while I had gotten an understanding of the current system. The strong eat the weak. However, that was not how I was going to run my guild. Idiotic or not, I would hold to my principles. If you were willing to be our comrade, no matter how weak you were, you were welcome.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Tony: that''s not a very good policy for domain. Solomon: good policy or not, it''s what we decided. Anyway, you can chill here for an hour while I sort some things out. Afterwards, one of us will come to get you. Walking back up the stair, I left the recruits to their own devices. Returning to the dining room, my guildmates were still there. Solomon: so, what do you guys think? Alice: they seem nice enough, though tony seems a bit rude. Speaking up, Alice gave her honest opinion. Pluvia: one''s as good as the next. Pluvia didn''t care about these sort of matters. Gareth: Sasha and Nicholas seem okay. But that tony guy has something evil in his eyes. Solomon: evil in his eyes? Though I could understand that he might not like tony, I didn''t understand the meaning of evil in the eyes. Gareth: It''s like a deep bloodlust. Though he didn''t show any hostility to us, I would say he''s no stranger to murder. Solomon: oh, that''s all? I already knew about that. I had long since felt the repressed bloodlust leaking from tony. My acute senses made it plain to see. Gareth: that¡¯s all? If you felt it why did you bring him here? Solomon: I don''t care whether he has lust for battle. So long as he is willing to be a comrade, I''ll give him the chance. I didn''t care whether he had a dark or evil side to him, I myself was no saint. The only thing I asked for was his loyalty, beyond that I didn''t care. Gareth: fine, we''ll see his actions in the test mission. But, if he so much as seems like he''ll betray us, I''ll cut his head off. Solomon: I''d expect no less. If he betrayed us I would do a lot more than just cut his head off. However, I didn''t think he would. My instincts told me he was a man I could take at his word. Solomon: moving on then, let''s discuss the agenda for the next few days. Between now and the next mission we had 3 and a half days. During that time, we had to be careful not to expose ourselves to the capitalist mages guild. As long as we stayed in at night and stayed in main areas during the day, we should be fine. Gareth: I have an idea. Nodding to him, I indicated for Gareth to continue. Gareth: I think as we only have to wait till the next mission, we should stay in the hotel until then. It''s not like we have anything to do outside. Though there were things we could do, there was nothing that was important or needed. Solomon: that''s true, I had been thinking the same thing. Gareth: so I thought that during the day you three should train. During that time I can give the recruits some basic training, as well as familiarise myself with them. Though it was a good idea, It was detrimental to Gareth. He would not be able to train during the next few days in this case. Solomon: it''s an idea, but are you okay with it? You''ll be losing out on a lot of training time otherwise. Gareth: I''ve thought about it. with my talent, I wouldn''t make any significant progress anyway. It''s better that the recruits we take into the mission have some form of official combat training. Though these were people who had survived in Domain, it was unlikely they had any professional combat experience. Solomon: if your fine with the disadvantage, then we''ll go with it. Gareth: okay, then the last thing was that from the afternoon until night, we would use the time array. From what we saw before, the array could operate 8 hours a day. So if we all entered it at 4, we would all be out at midnight. Solomon: that sounds like a plan, are you two okay with that. I directed my gaze at Alice and Pluvia. Alice: sure. Pluvia: I''m fine with it. Having agreed on the idea, we went off to do our parts. Alice and I went towards our bedroom. When moving she had explained to Gareth and Pluvia that we would be staying in the same room. Alice: for my training, I just summon and unsummon necro and Hackman. I''ll also be training that new skill, so I''ll just sit here. Being as it would cost at least 4 thousand points to buy herself a training method, Alice was still using this basic method. Even so, she now had 165% compared to what she started with. Solomon: all right, I''m training 4 different skills, so I will be swapping around what I''m doing. Settling onto the bed. I started my skill training with mountain gale. Following the instructions from before, I began my training. Through the repeated practise, I was quickly improving my understanding of these skills. Lost in my training, the time past unbeknownst to me. I only stopped when Alice disturbed me. Alice: Solomon, dinner''s ready! Solomon: coming! Though it had slightly registered that Alice had left the room earlier, I only fully realised it now. Getting up, I made my way downstairs. Entering the dining room, everyone was already sat at the table. As there was only a few of us, everyone had sat at the end of the table. They had left the seat at the head of the table open for me. Sitting immediately next to me were Alice and Pluvia. Then further down was Gareth and tony. Followed lastly by Nicholas and Sasha. Sitting down I addressed everyone. Solomon: sorry for the wait everyone, let''s dig in, shall we. Looking at the food on the table I saw that there were two distinctly different servings. It was at this point that I noticed the heated gaze of Alice on me. Alice: why don''t you give them a taste. Under this pressure, I felt like I was in a minefield. Picking up one of the two different stake''s I tasted it. As the juicy meats taste filled my mouth I was filled with a blissful feeling. But trying to act neutral, I picked up the other piece. Biting into the other peace my mouth was once again filled with heaven. This piece was more succulent than the other, but it was not as good in the seasoning and sauce. Alice: so, which do you think is better? Not wanting to give the wrong answer, I gave a roundabout opinion. Solomon: this one is more succulent, however, this one has a nicer sauce and seasoning. Overall I would give both a 9/10. Alice: damn Nicholas: and I thought I had it. Hearing Nicholas speak, I realised he was also waiting for my answer. Completely clueless, I looked at Gareth for help. Gareth: they both said that they would be the best cook. Eventually, it turned into a competition to see who was best. to keep it fair you were made into the adjudicator. Solomon: ah, I understand. Well. Both of you are great cooks. if you both keep competing I don''t mind judging. trying to be subtle. I offered up a solution. though my real reason was that this way we could get twice the food. Alice: sure Nicholas: I''ll go for it. Solomon: it''s settled then, let''s feast. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 49 - a friendly spar Having finished our meal, we went back to our rooms. Arriving back at Alice and my room, I pulled out dragon''s fire. Arriving in the familiar training space, I went about my usual training. 8 hours later as my time ran out, I left the training space. The progress that I made even in the short time was amazing. I had already got the basic principles of the skills down. I was at the inspiration stage now. Putting all of the usual thoughts out of my mind, I walked over to Alice. Surprising her, I pulled her into a deep kiss. Needless to say, we had lots of "fun" after that. Waking up the following morning, I sat up in the bed. Looking around the leftovers of our fun were nowhere to be seen. The sheets were pristine, as if we hadn''t just slept in them. The clothes that were spread around the room, were now in two neat piles. Getting up from bed, I dressed myself. With a final glance at Alice''s sleeping figure, I left the room. Walking down to the kitchen, I made myself a coffee. Though it didn''t effect me as much as it was when I was human, I still drank it out of routine. Walking into the living room, I was surprised to find Gareth there. As a side effect to my enhancements, I only needed 6 hours of sleep. This meant it was only 6 in the morning. I thought I would be the only one up. Solomon: oh, morning. Walking over I sat by Gareth on one of the comfy chairs. Gareth: ah, morning Solomon. I''m surprised you''re up so early. Solomon: my enhancements make me sleep less, so I''m up early. What about you? Though he also had enhancements, I thought he would not be too affected by it. Especially considering I he only recently became G rank. Gareth: it''s the same for me, I only have to sleep for 4 hours now. Solomon: WHAT? Though I thought it might slightly reduce his needed sleep, I didn''t expect it to have such a huge impact. Then again, his enhancement was that of a demon that lived in the shadows. It wasn''t surprising he slept less. Gareth: it''s not too bad, this way I can become stronger faster. Though that was true, it would be bad if he stopped sleeping in the future. The mental strain that would come from remaining conscious for ages would be bad for him. But by that point, he would probably be way beyond the scope of normal humans. Putting that aside, for now, I moved onto other things. Solomon: since we''re both up, what would you say to some sparring. Not being able to test my strength after improving it, I was enthusiastic to test myself. Gareth: haha, let''s go for it. Judging by the smile on Gareth''s face, he also felt the same way. Walking out to the garden. We found a little sparring area. As it was shown on the floor plan, there was a medium sized sparring ground running alongside the house. Taking positions opposite each other, we prepared to battle. Solomon: are you ready? I''m not going to hold back. Gareth: I should be warning you, let''s fight. Taking the initiative, Gareth pulled out his gun. Aiming it at my head, he pulled the trigger. Pulling out my sword, I blocked the shot with a holy light mantle. As the shield broke I threw my body weight forwards. As my body leant forward I put a small amount of my qi into my left leg. Just as I was about to face plant the ground, I sprung forward. Solomon: be careful. Giving a warning to Gareth, I arrived only five or so meters from him. The momentum from my qi fuelled leg allowed me to quickly approach. As I prepared to do the same with my other leg, Gareth shot at me again. Unlike the last time, he had used a decent amount of power in his shot. It seemed from the last fight, he had learnt that he couldn''t match me in close combat. So he decided to rely more on his ranged abilities. As the shot reached me, I placed a holy light mantle before it. To my surprise, the mantle broke without giving any resistance. Continuing on, the shot hit me in the leg.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Despite the strong resistance of my body, the bullet could still cut through my leg like a knife through butter. Solomon: ARGH! Stifling a scream, the pain caused my instincts to focus. Now having a small hole in my leg I could not use it to lunge forward. However, my momentum was still carrying me forward. if I continued forward I would fall on my face. Under this stress, a crazy idea surfaced in my mind. I bent forwards, accelerating the fall of my body. Just before I hit the ground, I stretched my hand forward. Coming out from my hand was a large, opaque tentacle. This tentacle planted itself on the ground, stopping my fall. The momentum from the fall continued on, lifting my legs up behind me, pulling them over my body. Just as I was about to completely roll my body, the tentacle extended out. Though it was destroyed under the stress, it still managed to propel me upwards. Now flying through the air, I was on a crash course for Gareth. Seeing my approaching body, he tried to move aside. However, before he could, I sent two small flame serpents to either side of him. As I was in the air I did not have the time to use the arcane orb. Now pinned in place, he prepared to block my incoming body. Within a quick mist of black fog, Gareth had turned into his demon form. Changing from his gun to a sword, he slightly bent his knees. Taking this stance he prepared for my falling form. Seeing this, I was glad my plan had worked. Having left him with little room, I forced him to transform. Grabbing a hold of my sword, I hoisted it above my head. As I reached striking distance I swung downwards. To block this attack, Gareth held his sword horizontally in front of him. As the blades met, the full momentum behind my body transferred through the swords into his arms. Though he buckled slightly against the pressure, he still blocked the attack. Moving fast, I tried the next part of my plan. Though it was very risky. With a thought, I coated my blade in qi. Then moving it backwards, I tried to have the qi remain in place. This was a small application of the afterimage technique I was learning. Though it could not be considered a skill, It was enough to be a self-made technique. Luckily, it worked. Without Gareth''s notice, my blade''s course was changed. Using this opening I swiped my blade at his side. Still trying to block the afterimage, I easily hit him with the real attack. However, it did not do much damage, only leaving a deep gash in his arm. Gareth: shit, you''ve already learnt another skill. Solomon: not yet, I''ve just used a new trick. By this point, the damage I had done was already gone. It seems his transformation also increased his regeneration. Gareth: don''t think you''re the only one to have a few new tricks. Pointing at me with his sword, the dark mist around his body surrounded his sword. With this new mist upgraded sword, he charged at me. Not willing to let him take the initiative again, I also charged forwards. When our swords met, the power of his blows were almost twice as strong. It seemed like he was forcing his sword forwards with his mist, increasing its speed. Solomon: that''s a neat new trick, but you know you can''t win with it. Though his blows were much stronger, and he could continuously push me back, he had no way to finish me off. If it stayed like this then he would run out of energy. Gareth: of course, prepare yourself. Holding his sword with both hands, the energy around him surged into the blade. This was the simple strengthening that any energy could be used for. However, he was pumping all of his remaining energy into this attack. The destructive power was huge. Solomon: hahahaha, don''t disappoint me. Sheathing my sword and drawing my orb, I prepared my own attack. Pumping a twentieth of my qi in, I judged my attack to be about equal to his. Using this amount, I planned to cancel out the attack. Gareth: HAAAAAAAAAAAGH With a roar, Gareth lifted his sword up. Then with a sharp slash, all of the gathered energy was sent shooting forth. However, unlike my expectations, it was not a sword wave. The mist had shot forth in a spiral, ending with a sharp point. Looking at this attack, I knew that it was stronger than I had thought. As I had assumed it was a slash, the power would be spread out. But when it was condensed like this, it doubled in strength. Realising my attack was not enough, I tried to think of a quick solution. But in the split second before it hit my attack, I tried to think of good alternatives. When nothing came to mind, I decided that I would use brute force. speaking its name, I used my new racial skill. Solomon: fur of the eternal moonlight. Just as the silver fur had grown out completely, the mist hit me. The momentum behind it forced me backwards. As I tried to use my claws to grab the mist, I was gradually being pushed backwards. Luckily thanks to the amazing defence of my fur, I had avoided a lot of damage. However, I was still in trouble. If I didn''t find a method to remove the attack soon, even the furs excellent defence couldn''t hold up. Using the best method I could think of, I pooled a fifth of my qi into my gut. Then using this energy I improved the defence of my fur. Though it was not a clever solution, it was the only one I could think of. Sometimes the clear but costly action was the best to take. After the power behind the mist disappeared, it went up in wisps. Breathing out a long sigh, I was happy to have ended that crisis. Solomon: haaaaagggh, to think you would try and pull something like, oh. Halfway through talking, I realised Gareth was passed out on the floor. Having reverted from his demonic form, he probably didn''t even see the destruction his attack had wrought. Walking over to him I picked him up. Hoisting him over my shoulder, I checked the time. It had just turned 6:30. It was likely that everyone else would sleep for a while yet. Making my way to the mansion''s living room, I laid Gareth on the couch. After exhausting his energy, It would probably take him a while to wake up. Especially considering he had used his transformation. Like with mine, I figured that it would have an effect on the body. Whenever I transformed back, my bones felt sore. So while I waited, I thought about the spar we just had. Though I had won, there were several major mistakes I had made. I could tell if Gareth and my strength was equal, I would not last a minute against him. While ruminating on the fight, I settled down into a comfy chair. Completely losing my sense of time, I dedicated myself to my thoughts. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 50 - verdant mountain gale Having remained in thought for a few hours, Gareth had time to recover consciousness. Gareth: so, how did it end? As I had suspected, he had passed out before the conclusion. Solomon: your last attack forced me to transform into my wolf form. Even then, I was forced to use a load of my energy to stop it injuring me. Hearing this, a broad smile appeared on his face. Slightly sour, I made sure he didn''t grow too confident. Solomon: it''s not like it was anywhere close to me, don''t get too cocky. Picking up on my bitterness, Gareth kept up his shit eating grin. Gareth: I won''t. So how long was I passed out? Solomon: it''s been three and a half hours. I imagined most of the others would awake soon. Gareth: well, we''ve only got a few days left before the mission. Hopefully, I can get those recruits up to scratch. Still, with a grin on his face, he appeared confident in his methods. I would imagine his training would be hell for these unranked recruits. Solomon: haha, I''m sure you can. Don''t go too hard on them though. I''d rather that they aren''t dead on their feet when we start the next mission. Gareth: it''ll be fine. Seeing the attitude of Gareth, I had no worries about his methods. He was more than proficient enough to train others. Solomon: well, I''m going to go do some training. If you need me, I will be in the garden. Having thought extensively about my fighting style, there were several improvements I wanted to make. However, I couldn''t make those changes in the time before the next mission. So I affirmed myself to improve my strength as fast as possible. The best method for this was to learn skills. So I planned to wholeheartedly devote myself to training them. Gareth: all right, I''ll let everyone know when they''re up. Leaving Gareth in the living room, walked out into the garden. Looking over at the sparring area from before I marvelled at it. The damage from before was almost completely gone. You would hardly believe it if you didn''t see it yourself. Solomon: damn, that''s convenient. If we had caused that destruction elsewhere, the time and cost to repair it would have been a hundred fold. Knowing what Gareth and I were like, we would easily get our monies worth out of these repairing magic arrays. Walking to the far end of the spacious garden, I left the rest of the room for everyone else. Though I wasn''t sure how pluvia trained, the training of Gareth and the unranked would most likely be done here. Solomon: so, what should I start with. Looking at the four different books, I wasn''t sure which to practise first. Since reaching inspiration, I felt like I had hit a roadblock in all of them. Though I was still improving at an insane rate, It felt painfully slow. Then again, compared to a person with average talent, I was really asking for too much. Solomon: let''s go with this. Picking up the verdant mountain gale, I decided to practise it first. Out of all of the things I had gained from learning these skills so far, this was the most useful. It had allowed me to understand the way to control qi outside of my body. Such a valuable ability was worth a huge amount to me. Though I didn''t know why I had the feeling that projecting qi outside my body was not something usually done at my level. Compared to that the others skills of which I had only used the inspirations of one of them in combat. It wasn''t that they were bad skills. The problem was that they were not suitable for my energy. As different energies have different properties, the skills can sometimes be limited by the users type of energy. For example, the afterimage technique is based on the chi in the dragon ball universe. That chi was very similar to my own qi, though not exactly the same. this meant the usual application of the skill is made when using it. However, if I had a vastly different type of energy, like spiritual; energy, it would not be anywhere near as easy.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. This was why I was struggling with the raging sword and buff techniques. Though they were not unusable with my energy, I would only be able to use the skill when I had practised enough. they were not similar enough in original energies to be adapted into new applications of my qi. If I had known this before, I would have chosen different skills. However, It was too late to complain now. Solomon: alright, let''s give this a go. Having reached a decent understanding in verdant mountain gale, it said something very peculiar. "you have learnt all you need to use this skill. Now you must put the pieces together yourself." It was a very cryptic message. And worse than that, it gave me nothing to go off of. Not really knowing what to do, I spilt the work into pieces. The first part was to understand what all of the different things I had learnt in the skill were, then I had to find out how they fit each other. Solomon: hmmmm After thinking for a while, I struggled to come up with all the things I had learnt. Because it was laid out in so many steps, it was hard to tell where on part ended and another began. Trying to decipher this, I settled onto a bench up against the gardens outer walls. As I went over every step in my head, I began to understand how several of the steps would create a piece of the skill. After this 20 minute or so delve into my mind, I had categorised the skill into 7 parts. Movement, control, fluidity, resistance, retention, divergence and independence. I had learnt them in that order. Movement referred to how I pushed my qi out of my meridians. I had to be careful not to exceed the output, damaging them. Then control was forming the qi outside of my body into a controlled shape. At first, it was only an inch long, worm-like tentacle. Then I learnt fluidity. When controlling the qi, you had to let the movement flow. If you were too robotic with the movement, both the cost and effectiveness were drastically reduced. Then there was resistance. At first, you would try to stop the loss of qi over time. However, this was impossible. Once you accepted that and stopped resisting, the power overall was improved. Fifthly was retention. Having accepted that qi would flow out, you figured out the best way to slow down this process. Second to last you would learn about divergence. Now having the best tentacle that you could, you would push the limits of what you could do with it. In this case, you would split it into several components. Several tentacles would be made to appear from the original. This was an extremely difficult part, as it required the user to split their attention between multiple different objects. If you lost focus on one then all of them would brake apart. Lastly, you would master independence. This was summoning a tentacle with an explicit purpose. If you did this then the cost would be hugely reduced. However, the limits would mean that the tentacle could only perform the job it was created for. It was an exchange of versatility for energycost. These were all of the pieces that made up the verdant mountain gale skill. Solomon: oh, so that''s how it is. After a few moment, I had realised the answer was right before my eyes. The way they went together was already done. In essence, the skill was already created. There was one thing missing. Solomon: so it''s the hand seals. Being a skill from the Naruto universe, it naturally came with accompanying hand seals. As I had been engrossed in the mechanics of the skill, I had yet to practise them. Turning back to the pages in the book, I clumsily followed the seals. After 15 seconds, I had formed the five seals. Solomon: wind release: verdant mountain gale. With a whirl, one twentieth of my qi moved down my hands. Then the qi burst forth from my palms meridians. Condensing in front of me, the qi made a tentacle with a human shaped hand on the end. With a thought, the hand drew my sword and held it out before me. Reaching out as far as it could, the tentacle stretched 15 meters away from me. It was a vastly further distance than I thought it would. Getting over, my amazement, I decided to assess the skill properly. The first thing I noticed was the energy consumption. after being created, the usual steady tide of disappearing qi was gone. In its place was a small dripping. The consumption between the skill and the inspiration were like heaven and earth. At the current rate, it would take an hour for the qi to lose half of its amount. As long as it was not reduced by other energy attacks, I could use this skill to massacre endless amounts of people without energy. Solomon: so this is the trade-off, huh. separating my hands, I released the final hand seal. when I did, the skill disappeared, along with the qi used in it. It seems that the limits were as grand as the strengths. Assessing it overall, It would be a great crowd control skill. But I would not use it in one on one fights. But then again, I had yet to perfect the skill. Though I could use it, I had only reached the lower limit. I was still unable to bring out anything near its full strength. When I could, maybe the hand seal limit would be removed. But, until then it would be a crowd control skill. Continuing like this, I moved onto the other skills. Like I suspected, I could also use the weakest versions of them. For the raging sword skill, I could project out a wave of anger fuelled qi. The result was a 4-meter wide slash that projected out for tenish meters. Surprisingly, the cost was amazingly low. Using an equivalent amount of qi with the flame serpent art, the damage would only be half as much. It seemed that the addition of rage had improved the energies quality. Unfortunately, it lacked the destructive power and range of the flame serpent art. The basic strengthening skill allowed me to improve my strength stat by ten percent, as well as other by five percent. The cost for either was a 40 of my qi and it lasted for 3 hours. Overall, it would probably prove to be the most useful of my current skills. Especially when I made it to higher ranks. Until we got a specialist in buffs, this skill would be very useful. The final afterimage technique was just what it said on the tin. I could now leave an afterimage in my place, appearing behind a designated target. Interestingly that target did not have to be human, and the range was quite far. So if I wanted to quickly move between places, or hide, I could just teleport up to a nearby rooftop. As the afterimage only lasts, 2 seconds, I would not have to worry about that. Unfortunately, this application would be lost when the time it remained increased. Having gone through all of my newly acquired skills, I felt a sense of empowerment. Walking over to the back door of the mansion, I had a spring in my step. ?????:AAAAAGGGHHH! volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 51 - analysing our improvements Hearing a scream, I ran through the door. Looking in front of me, there was Sasha fallen in the hallway. On her back was a huge backpack. Gareth: COME ON, YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT! Coming out of the dining room into the hallway, was Gareth. Following behind him were Nicholas and tony, each carrying equally massive backpacks. Solomon: argh, you worried me there. Walking over, I helped Sasha to her feet. Misunderstanding my words she lowered her head. Sasha: I''m sorry for the trouble. Solomon: its okay, I''m not upset. It just worried me. Petting her head, I tried to calm her nerves. Not being overly familiar with us, she was probably constantly uncomfortable around us. Solomon: Here, keep this a secret from Gareth. Kneeling down, I whispered to Sasha. At the same time, I subtly cast my buff on her. Feeling the weight on her shoulders reduce, she looked confused. Solomon: take care you don''t overwork them. Gareth: I won''t Walking past Tony and Nicholas, I subtly cast my buff on them as well. Feeling the same thing as Sasha, they looked at me amazed. Placing my finger before my lips, they understood my intention. Walking off, I checked up on Alice, as well as Pluvia. Both of them were engrossed in training. As I was fast increasing my qi, Pluvia was always able to train as well. Moving on I continued training. Before I knew it, it was time for us to use the time-slowing array. From the floor plan, we knew that the array was the backmost room upstairs. Walking into the room with the array. We were surprised to find it was empty. Gareth: isn''t it supposed to be here? Confused Gareth entered the room. As his foot touched the floor inside, the room lit up. On the floor was a magical formation made of purple light. In the centre of which there was a button. Solomon: seems like we have to be inside for it to work. Walking in I stood beside the button. Solomon: Is everyone ready? Gareth: were good to go. Gareth spoke for both himself and the newbies Alice: I''m ready. Pluvia simply nodded. With everyone''s agreement, I started up the array. to our surprise, a shockwave spread out from the array. As we already knew, it was supposed to encompass the whole mansion and garden. Nicholas: did it work? Looking around the room, nothing seemed different. Solomon: I guess so, let''s go have a look. Leaving the room, we walked to the nearest window. Tony: whoa, that''s some freaky shit. Looking outside, we saw that we were isolated from the outside world. A bubble around the mansion kept us inside. Looking at the bubble, it sent eerie chills up your spine. It was made into a mosaic pattern. If you looked at the distorted blocks, you could see the outside world. Though we didn''t understand the reason, looking at this bubble made us feel out of place. Like changing the passing of time had angered some ultimate being. Solomon: all right everyone, it''s worked. For the next 16 hours make the most of this time. Walking away to Alice and I''s bedroom, I left everyone to their own devices. I had an idea when I heard about the array that I wanted to test. Sitting on my bed I pulled out dragon''s fire. Being that dragon''s fire affected time itself, I wondered if being in an array that slowed time to half the usual would effect it. Teleporting into the training room, everything seemed the same. Well, the absence of Pluvia since I summoned her is weird. But I was used to it by now. Slightly disappointed, I got on with my usual training. To my surprise though. When the 8 hours were up I wasn''t ejected out. The time just kept ticking on. Not willing to let this bonus go, I kept training. It was a full four hours later that I was ejected out. Arriving back in my body, I was certain this was the effect of the array. It had amplified my time by 1.5X the usual. It was a colossal improvement. Solomon: maybe I can just make it. For a while now I had wanted to dedicate some time to reaching the limit of my qi. According to Pluvia, the strongest I could become with my G rank enhancement was the limit of 3 stage qi cultivation. Since breaking through to 3 stage, I had made it halfway to the limit. I was at 150% of the stage with 200% as the limit.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The training for the skills, while still somewhat useful, was a lot slower when it came to improving my qi. So I had been improving very slowly. However, now that I had these surplus four hours. I could dedicate them to improving my qi. At that rate, I would make it to 175% by the start of the next mission. With that level of qi and my arsenal of skills, I was confident in getting an F rank token. And so, in the same fashion, the last few days before the mission flew by. On the night of the 6 day, I gathered everyone in the garden to test each other''s abilities. Solomon: so everyone, I''d like for all of us to familiarise ourselves with our strengths. I thought it would be best for the newbies so that they understood our strengths and specialities. Though, we would obviously keep risky and personal information private. Solomon: so to start, I''ll demonstrate my abilities. having spent the last few days training rigorously, both my overall strength, and the strength of my skills had improved. Solomon: I have two enhancements, qi energy and raceless genetics. Nicholas: qi like in the novels? It seemed like he had already heard of it. Solomon: yeah, mine''s specifically from I shall seal the heavens. As he learned that my enhancement was from Issth, his face filled with awe. Solomon: so you''ve heard of it? Nicholas: heard of it, I used to read it religiously. Compared to my level of knowledge, Nicholas seemed to have read a great deal more than me. Solomon: so then you should know about it already. I''m at the 3 level of qi condensation. Nicholas: huh, is that it? But from what I''ve seen, your much stronger than that. At this point, tony jumped in. Tony: it''s great that you know about his enhancement, but I''m still clueless. Can you explain what it is? Nicholas: ah, sorry. I got carried away. Looking back at the other two newbies, Nicholas apologised while rubbing the back of his head. Solomon: I''ll explain then. Qi is a natural energy that exists everywhere. By absorbing it I can bring it under my control. Then I can use it for lots of things. Though it is specialised in ranged combat, that''s not all it can do. Giving them a brief explanation, I moved onto a demonstration. Solomon: for example, if I do this I can create a tentacle of qi outside my body. Directing some qi into my feet, I made two tentacle platforms underneath me. Standing a meter from the floor, I clearly demonstrated one application of qi. Tony: is that not a skill? Seeing me do something so complex, he probably was confused about how I did it. Solomon: no, it''s not a skill. While I was learning a skill, the practice for it involved creating these tentacles. That training taught me how to use my qi in this way. Nicholas: so it''s like how people can enhance their physical strength with their energy, just on a more complex scale. Solomon: exactly. It seemed that I had explained enough for them to understand. Solomon: anyway, let''s move on. Forming hand seals, I used a skill. Solomon: wind release: verdant mountain gale Having trained over the week, I could now perform the skill in 8 seconds. Using the newly created hand I drew out my sword. Using the air as my target, I deftly fitted the sword at an imaginary target, showing the skills prowess. At the moment I could extend the range out to 20 meters, while also increasing the size of the hand. Tony: so this is the skill that you were on about before? Solomon: that''s right. Other than this you already know about my buff. Gareth: huh, SO IT WAS YOU! Realising they already knew, he pieced to gather the rest. He had no doubt noted that they would occasionally grow stronger. Solomon: haha, it was only a joke. I was a little worried you were overworking them. Gareth: aarrgh, do you know how difficult it was to find the perfect weight for their training. Then having to change it back and forth because of that stupid buff. It seems my prank had an annoying effect on Gareth''s training. Solomon: sorry about that. Trying to avoid Gareth''s anger, I moved on. Solomon: the buff improves your strength by 15 % and lasts for 5 hours. It was a considerable improvement since then. Solomon: other than those I have five remaining skills. Tony: five! how have you learnt so many. Most people at G rank can only get one. Solomon: I''ve just gotten very lucky. Of course, I didn''t mention that it only took two missions to get these seven skills. Solomon: anyway, I have this afterimage technique. It lets me teleport anywhere within 10 meters, leaving behind an afterimage. To demonstrate, I flickered from where I stood to behind them. Turning around, I saw the surprise on their face''s. However, it wasn''t as good as it seemed. The cost per teleport was a 15 of my qi. Nicholas: isn''t that really op, you could kill anyone easily with that. Solomon: hahahaha, you''ve never fought against targets in missions, have you? Any G rank would understand the mistake in his words. Though it was true I could teleport behind other, it was not an instant kill. For example, if I used this skill on the chieftain from last mission, then his defences would have easily held against my attacks. As had been seen, it took a long time for me to gather enough qi to even injure him. This was the major flaw with that skill. Solomon: you''ll learn as you go. So, I also have this defensive skill. Holding out my hand, I summoned a holy light mantle on the back of my hand. As I had not tried to improve it, the cost remained the same. But with the increase in my qi, the relative cost was less. Tony: isn''t this holy energy? How can you use it? Looking at the golden sheen on the panel, it was obvious how it could be confused with holy energy. Solomon: it''s not holy energy. As the skill originally had holy like properties, that carries over when I use it. As with any skill, it still followed most of its original properties. Solomon: moving on, I have this transformation skill from one of my race''s. Fur of the eternal moonlight. As the usual growth of my body happened, the newbies looked on in awe. Tony: so, this is, one of your races. Solomon: sort of. It''s a skill I got from one of my races. Hearing the demonic and warped tone of my voice, the newbies were uncomfortable. Solomon: I''m still the same as always. There''s no need to worry. Seeing their unease with my form, I hoped they would get used to it over time. Solomon: anyways, I also have this sword skill. Drawing my sword. I sent a sword slash at a nearby tree, bisecting it. Nicholas: wow, it''s got some kick, huh. Compared to the original, this attack now was 7 meters long and could reach up to 25 meters away. And the cost was still minute. Solomon: yeah, it does. It''s a good skill if I need some quick power. As it only required a slash, it was very easy to use quickly. Solomon: lastly I have the flame serpent art. Nicholas: whoa, you mean THAT flame serpent art? As a reader of Issth, he obviously knew what skill I was referring to. Solomon: that''s right. Holding up my hand, I pumped a fifth of my qi into the arcane orb. With the qi inside, it continued on to form a lizard''s head, shoulder and body. stopping just short of the rear legs. Then using the barrier around the mansion as a target, I launched the lizard up. As it zoomed away and hit the barrier, a rumbling echoed through the floor. Other than that, the flames exploded outwards, covering a 25-meter area in the sky. Being up in the sky, it looked like a bizarre red firework. Looking at the dazed faces of the newbies I asked them a question. Solomon: how''s that? volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 52 - a team evaluation. Having shown my current abilities and strength to everyone, we moved onto Gareth. Gareth: so, I''ve got one enhancement. A demonic shade bloodline. Holding out his hand, the black mist around Gareth''s body condensed on his arm. Gareth: it lets me use this demonic energy. With this, I can do two things. The first is strengthening my body. He then turned to a solid wooden training dummy nearby. With a single punch, he tore a hole in the centre of it. With the momentum, it was sent flying almost 10 meters away. Tony: isn''t this a bit lacklustre. With a grin, Gareth continued explaining. Gareth: and the other thing is this. Closing his eyes, Gareth''s body was covered by the mist. After 3 or so seconds, he emerged from the cocoon. He had turned into his demonic form, growing greatly as well as shrouding himself in mist. Nicholas: wow, that''s terrifying. Tony: you don''t say. Compared to Solomon''s wolf form, this is ten times creepier. Looking at Gareth''s appearance compared to mine, he was indeed much scarier. Gareth: I''m not that scary. It''s only a little dark. Looking at himself Gareth complained that he wasn''t that bad. Solomon: It is, but that''s a good thing. Looking at us you appear more dangerous than I do. Of course, If any normal person saw either of us, they would completely freeze with fear. But in Domain, this sort of appearance was not unusual. If you were to ask the average contestant in Domain, then between us Gareth was much more striking. Gareth: argh whatever. In this form, my strength is more than doubled. However, I can only remain like this for 14 minutes. From when he first received his enhancement, his strength had almost reached 1.5x what it was. It was a notable improvement, allowing his strength in this form, as well as it''s duration to increase significantly. Gareth: other than that, I have this gun. Pulling out his gun, Gareth aimed it at another nearby target dummy. With a shot, the bullet had ripped the target in half. Nicholas: wow, that''s got to cost a lot to use, right? Gareth: at this level, I just have to use normal bullets. But if I want the shot to be stronger, I can add energy to it. Once again aiming at another dummy, he used energy to fire this time. The bullet seemed to instantly hit the nearby target. With the extra strength, the target was instantly obliterated. After the mist-like energy had gone, only the stand of the target remained. Tony: that weapon seems very strong. Is it a G rank weapon. Gareth: it is, a higher end one too. Placing the gun back in its holster, Gareth answered Tony''s question. I had already told him it was fine to give out this information. Though it was odd for new G rank guilds to have G rank weapons, it wasn''t unbelievable. Gareth: that''s me done then. Looking over at Alice and Pluvia we waited for one of them to volunteer. Pluvia: I''ll go next. Standing up, Pluvia spoke. Pluvia: I have only one enhancement, a weak dragon bloodline. I had previously given Pluvia details on what to say. Pluvia: this enhancement gives me a strong body, as well as one skill. To demonstrate her bodies strength, she hit a dummy. Under the stress of a person with at least 300 strength, the weak dummy broke apart. Falling into a few splintered pieces. Nicholas: so it''s a strength based enhancement? Pluvia: mostly. Other than my body, I have this skill. Saying a name I made up, Pluvia reverted into her dragon form. Pluvia: Dragonification. With a flash of light, Pluvia appeared as a dragon. Since the last time I saw this form, it had grown a lot. The original size of a horse was now 1 and a half time larger. The murky brown scales now held tints of whiteness, and the deep blue eyes now exuded a powerful energy. Alice: wow, you¡¯ve gotten a lot stronger since I last saw you like this. As I had been improving, so had Pluvia. And though her energy could not surpass mine, I''m sure she had ways to improve her strength differently. Pluvia: since the last time, my overall strength has grown to about double. It was astonishing that in the time it took me to improve my strength by 1.75x she had doubled hers. Especially when she could not use any of the benefits of dragon''s fire.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Solomon: wow, if I don''t put a lot ofeffort in, you''ll leave me way behind. Pluvia: haha, I doubt that. Anyway, in this form, I am many times physically stronger. But even better than that, I can do this. Turning to the nearby dummy''s, Pluvia opened her mouth. As I watched her, the scales on her neck began to light up. it started at the base and worked it''s way to the head. When the scales on her chin lit up, a red light emitted from her mouth. Then, with a sudden speed, a torrent of flame spewed out of her mouth, covering a cone-shaped area of 20 or so meters. When the flames had cleared, all of the dummy in the area were burnt to cinders. Solomon: wow, that''s awesome. Without much thought, I gave my honest opinion. Gareth: you can say that again. So, how much can you do that? Pluvia: well, as it''s part of my inborn nature it doesn''t cost anything. It does, however, have a cooldown of a minute or so. Just when I was beginning to think that my methods were op, Pluvia showed me how wrong I was. Solomon: it seems like we''ll be relying on you a lot. Pluvia: don''t worry about it. With a flash of light, Pluvia returned to her human form. Solomon: all right then, that just leaves you, Alice. Standing up, Alice walked a few meters from us. Alice: okay, so I have two enhancements. The first is called card master. With a flick of her hand, one of her cards slipped out of her sleeve. She had been training to store her cards up her sleeves. that way, she could quickly use them. Alice: it allows me to bring out effects from cards. Nicholas: effects? Holding out the card in her hand, she continued to explain. Alice: yeah, there''s two different types. The first is creature cards. With a flash of green light, the card in her hand broke into pieces. As the broken pieces turned into a green energy, a vague shape appeared within the energy. When the process had finished after 5 seconds, the figure had coalesced from the energy. Taking the form of a tall sickly man dressed in armour and a cape, it was naturally necro. Necro: necro greets master. Tony: oh, so you¡¯re a summoner? Alice: not completely. This is only half of what the cards do. Holding up her other hand, she held another card in her grasp. It broke into parts, becoming green energy just like before. This time though, it formed the shape of a large boulder. When it had finished forming, the rock was sent hurling at a nearby couple of dummies. When it collided, needless to say, the wooden people were crushed. Then, as the rock lost most of its momentum, it exploded into pieces. Sending shrapnel outwards. This shrapnel tore holes in almost 50 of the nearby dummies. Nicholas: Jesus, that''s even more deadly than the flame serpent art. It was very true that my own attack could not be compared to this. Though I could create something as strong, the effect of sending shrapnel everywhere was unique to Alice. Alice: I''m not so sure about that. Anyway, this is the other type, effect cards. Tony: it''s a very diverse enhancement. Indeed it was, even more so than mine. If you were to ask who had the most expansive enhancement in our guild, it would go to Alice. The abilities to bring out the effect of any card allowed her to use an almost infinite amount of abilities. Even just the cards she had now were extremely unique. Alice: it is. So let me show you all my cards. holding out her right arm, she summoned Hackmon out. It appeared that she stored the creature cards in her right arm and the effect cards in her left. Hackmon: Hackmon greets master. Alice: so this is Necro and Hackmon. They''re the only creature card I currently have. Introducing her summons, both of then took a bow. Hackmon: greetings. Necro: it''s a pleasure. Sasha: wow. Walking over to Hackmon, Sasha reached out to pet him. However, she stopped when she realised she was the centre of attention. Solomon: you can pet him, he won''t bite. Walking over to her, I patted him on the head. Then following my actions, Sasha also petted him. Alice: they each have their own abilities. Necro can summon creatures. Giving him a nod, Alice indicated for Necro to demonstrate. With a raised hand, ten small magical circles appeared on the floor. Out of these holes came goblies. Since the first time I saw him summoning, Necro had improved. Now it took only 3 or so seconds to summon. Alice: these are goblies. They have the strength of an average man as well as extraordinary speed. With an order, the goblies attacked a nearby dummy. Within 5 seconds the wooden person was turned into firewood. Since last time I saw them, they also seemed to have improved. Though it wasn''t very noticeable, there was a 5 percent increase in their abilities. Even with my powerful instincts, it was hard to notice. Solomon: seems like they got a little stronger. Alice: I think they did, though not by much. I''m not sure why though. When I thought about the possibilities, I could only see two explanations. Solomon: maybe it''s because you got your second enhancement. Or maybe it''s just because you increased your energy. Both were credible ideas. Alice: yeah, it''s probably one of them. But, I have no way to find out. I''m sure we would find out in the future. Alice: so, as good as these look, there are limits. To summon both of these means that I can''t recover energy. So I have to limit using other cards if I summon both of them. Though that''s not to say I''m severely limited. I can still use the meteor card ten times. Nicholas: so, it just means you can''t recover energy, but there is no loss of energy over time. Alice: yeah. Nicholas: that''s quite surprising. From what I heard most summoners tend to lose energy when using summons. Then again you''re not technically a summoner. It was probably the unorthodox nature of how Alice summons that reduced the cost for summoning. But there would probably be pros and cons to it. Alice: anyway, other than the meteor card I have two others. This one increases a persons agility. Holding up her hand, Alice used Accelerate. When it hit Nicholas, his face filled with awe. Nicholas: this is even better than Solomon''s buff. Doing a few punches, Nicholas tested how much his agility had increased. Alice: and lastly I have this. Using the last card she summoned the potion. catching it in her hand, she gave me a quick stare. Alice: don''t even think about it. she said so referring to the time I cut my arm. Alice: this lets me heal people. Though it''s not the best, it can heal moderate wounds. Though don''t expect it to save you from a knife in the heart. With a final flash, she made the potion disappear. Gareth: has the effect cards improved like you creature one''s? Alice: yeah, but like the creature cards, it''s only a little. Even though it was only a little, the increase would still be noticeable. Any increase in our strength would be helpful at the moment. Alice: other than that, I have my other enhancement. Nicholas: oh yeah, I forgot about that. The shock of how impressive the cards were had overshadowed her other enhancement. Alice: it''s an earth spirit enhancement. At the moment I can only use it to create this armour. Holding out her hand, rock began to materialise on it. After a 15 seconds, her whole body was covered in it. Like I had guessed, It was weaker here than it had been In the guild plane. But, it still seemed very strong. It would probably take a fifth of my qi to break it. Solomon: so, that''s everything then. We are all acquainted with each other''s abilities. We should all be prepared for tomorrow''s mission. Till then you can do what you want. As I wanted us at our best for the mission, I gave everyone a rest day. Walking off to Alice and my bedroom, one thought kept repeating in my head. "is it enough?" volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 53 - a surprising payday Having finished with everything we needed to, everyone was taking a rest day before the mission. While this was happening, there were a few things I had to sort out. Letting Gareth know I was leaving, I asked him to keep it quite from Alice. I didn''t want her to come looking for me when I was out. And so, I made my way from our mansion in the guild district, to the centre of the city. Once there I continued onwards to the opposite side of the city. The market. After buying the mansion, as well as my enhancements and other things, I had a little under 800 points left. Wanting to increase my chances at getting an F rank token to the highest it could be, I intended to spend all of these points. Arriving at the big gates dividing the different markets, I first chose to enter the weapons gate. The reason being to pawn off some of the leftover weapons I had. Though I would keep some of the weapons, the leftovers would be sold. Deciding to sell first, I made my way to a desk by the entrance. As the market was run by the three great guilds, there were procedures in place to sell items. Receptionist: hello sir, how may I help you today? Unlike the usual android receptionists, this one was actually a human. Solomon: hi, I''ve got some weapons I would like to sell. Receptionist: okay sir, have you sold anything before. Solomon: no, I haven''t. Receptionist: okay sir, there is two ways in which you can sell your equipment. The first is to set up a stall, then sell them individually. This, of course, comes with a 10% tax from us. On the other hand, you can directly sell you items to us. In that case, though the price may be lower, the overall profit without the tax may be higher. It is also much faster that way. After thinking it through, I didn''t have the time to sit here and pawn off my goods. Though the profit may be higher, I just simply didn''t have the time. Solomon: I''ll just sell it directly to you then. Receptionist: okay sir. May I ask what quantity and quality of items your selling. Solomon: uh, I''m not too sure to what standard you judge the quality by. I''ve just got 20 of this quality and 3 of this quality. Saying so I held out two weapons to the woman. Making sure to pretend that I was taking them out of my pockets. Receptionist: ah, Forgive me, sir. I''ll have a verifier take you to a back room. Looking at the weapons, she instantly apologised. It appears the level of my items were beyond what would normally be sold over the counter. After disappearing from the window for 20 seconds or so, she returned. at the same time, a man walked out from a nearby door in the same building. This man was wearing a grey business suit and holding a briefcase, giving off the feeling of an experienced salesman. Receptionist: if you could follow that man over there sir, he will sort the items for you. walking over to the man, I was surprised when he introduced himself with an almost 90-degree bow. Phelix: my apologies sir, on behalf of the market administrator. I, Phelix offer you my apologies. I was unsure why the man was so apologetic Solomon: it''s okay. If I''m honest, I don''t quite understand why you are apologising. Phelix: usually when people with items of this quality sell to us, we have verifiers like myself personally appraise the items. It seemed that the level of my equipment was higher than I had first thought. To me, what was useless leftovers, is high-quality items worth individual inspection to others. Solomon: oh, I''m unversed in selling to the great guilds. If that''s how it is then it''s fine. There''s no need to keep apologising. Though the man was fawning over me, constantly apologising, I would prefer if he just quickly bought the items from me. Phelix: thank you for your forgiveness, please follow me. Walking back in the door we had come through, Phelix led me down a hallway, into a private room. Inside the room was a plain wooden desk along with two comfy armchairs. On the desk was a few items I guessed were used for inspection. Things like magnifying glasses and some weird crystals in different colours.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Phelix: please, take a seat. Sitting down, I was surprised by the quality of the armchairs. It was like sitting in a cloud. Phelix: this is one of our inspection rooms. In here there are formations to isolate this space from the outside world. Anything said here will remain confidential. It was like a low rent version of Diogenes office. Solomon: okay, I assume that means you will also keep everything in confidence. Phelix: that''s correct. Nodding his head, I was assured that it was safe to use my interspatial item here. Solomon: I have all of these to sell. With a wave of my arm, all of the weapons appeared on a pile next to me. Phelix: ah, you have an interspatial item. Solomon: I do, I assume that''s not an issue. I thought I may have been too hasty with revealing one of my biggest secrets. My preconception of the great guilds, from what I had seen, may not be what it appears. Perhaps I had assumed they were more just than it appears. Phelix: no, it''s just that I''m surprised. It''s rare that people who have interspatial items sell to us. It seems that I was overreacting. I imagined once you reached a decent level of strength, the number of points earned here were not worth it anymore. Solomon: okay, so how much can I get for these. Even though I could learn a lot from this guy, I was on a timescale. So I tried to move the topic along. Phelix: we usually test these items before giving an exact figure on the price. It will take around 2 hours with this many. Solomon: I''m afraid I don''t have that much time. Is there a way you could buy them from me right now, even at a reduced price. Needless to say, two hours was far too long. I hoped he would accept my offer and buy them straight away. Phelix: I can do that, but the price would be set after a quick inspection by me. The price will most likely be lower. Solomon: that''s fine. I just wanted to get them sold quickly then go buying things. I didn''t expect to get much from them anyway. Phelix: I''ll start with this one then. Taking an axe of off the top of the pile, he turned it over in his hand. Every time he made an assessment he would voice it out. Phelix: it''s a mid class G rank weapon. It seems to have some sort of fire-based enchantment, as well as another enchantment. I was surprised by how fast he could decipher the weapon. Then again, it should be no surprise when you consider he''s part of the three great guilds. Solomon: that''s all correct, so how much can I get for it? I wasn''t hoping for too much, maybe 50 or so points would be nice. Phelix: all things considered, around 250 points. Solomon: 2, 250 POINTS! Hearing that the price was five times my estimate, I was dumbfounded. For something that was not even worth me using to be worth so much was crazy. Phelix: that''s my estimate, though if it was tested it would probably be more. Understanding the value of these weapons, I had a realisation. When I gave all of those weapons to Diogenes, I was basically handing over thousands of points. It was no wonder he was so surprised. If I had known, I would definitely have not given him all of those. Feeling slightly bitter, I asked him about the few higher quality weapons. Solomon: what about the other ones? Phelix: those will be 400 a piece. Though I was happy the price was high, I felt bitter that I had given away an even better weapon for free. Solomon; I''ll take it. Phelix: okay then, guild bot, transfer the funds. Ourous: 6200 points received With the confirmation from Ourous, the deal was done. Solomon: I''ll take my leave now. Having finished everything, I wanted to get back to my business. Even though I had received this huge inflow of points, it was useless without tokens. After all, tokens are worth much more than coins. So for now, I would buy what I felt was useful, and save the rest. Phelix: thank you for the business. if you ever want to sell to us in the future, please feel free. Seeing me out of the building, Phelix sent me off before returning inside. Walking out into the weapon market, I decided to browse. The main things I was looking for were consumable''s. We already had weapons to use, so these would be the best items to invest in. After walking around for a little while many things had caught my eye. there were grenade items like M9 HE-DP as well as magic items, like the teleportation scroll from overlord. All of these items were useful, unfortunately, though, I wasn''t going to buy them. Though they were all great items. The quantity was too low. Most of the time there was only one. If I brought 50 different types of life-saving it, I would not be able to quickly implement them in a fight. It was unfortunate, but I was going to give up on them for now. Just as I was about to head for the gate though, I saw something familiar. The old man from before who had sold weapons to me and Alice was here. Like before he was in a dejected edge of the market by himself. With a cloth laid before him, laying on it were a few items. Walking over, I greeted the old man. Solomon: hi, I''m not sure if you remember me, you sold this weapon to me. Know knowing the actual price of this weapon, I was even more curious about this man. Though it was slightly risky, I doubted the man had bad intentions. After all, who sells an expensive item for less than a third of its price. Old man: hmmmmm. oh, I remember you. You came with that girl before. After a few seconds, It seemed he had placed me. Solomon: that''s right. Old man: where is the girl then, she''s not dead is she? Asking so, he was very blunt. If she really had died, it would be inconsiderate to ask like that. But then again, that was judging by normal standards. When you live in Domain, those sort of things end up fading. Solomon: no, she''s just attending to some other things. I was reluctant to mention too much. As he had met us before, he could see how much we''ve improved in so little time. It was uncertain what he would do with that information, so I hoped to avoid giving anything away. Old man: is that so. Anyway, you gonna buy anything today? volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 54 – buying some items Looking over the old man''s items, I was once again surprised. Though there were some I failed to recognise, the ones I did were all of abrilliant quality. Oddly enough, lots of the items were consumables. Though it was suspicious and I wondered if he knew I would want stuff like this. If he did then it was far beyond me to stop him. Someone that could have such detailed insight was not someone I could antagonise. In the end, I decided to leave it aside for now. Solomon: you''ve outdone yourself this time old man. Even compared to last time this is amazing. Old man: hoho, it''s not that much. Really, these are some of the worst weapons that exist in Domain. Though what he said was true, especially when you considered that these were the lowest ranked weapons available. But to me right now, each and every one of these tools could be a lifesaver. For example, he had a bundle of stim packs from the fallout universe. These could heal extreme injuries, even to the extent of repairing broken bones. He also had a poison bag from Danmachi. reading the description it seemed very powerful, any enemy under F rank would be killed within seconds after being poisoned. EvenF ranks would die within an hour or so if they remained untreated. Even then, the treatment would require a costly antidote or the personal attention of an F rank healer. Other than them there were many other items, each extremely useful in their own way. After perusing for a while, I decided upon 2 items. Mainly because I was saving the majority of my points for elsewhere. The first item was a set of BIMS explosives from Btoom. It was a container holding an assortment of different BIMS, each with unique effects. The other item was a controller from Gantz. It had the basic function of showing allies and enemies on a map. Though it did have a separate function that lets the user become invisible for a small time. Solomon: how much for these two? Pointing them out, I asked the old man. Old man: they''re both 400 each. For items of such high quality, he was still selling them for a fraction of the price. Solomon: I''ll take them. Ourous: 400 points deducted. Picking up the items, I said my farewell to the old man. Solomon: I''m on a tight timescale at the moment, so I''ll take my leave. Old man: okay, it''s always good doing business. If you''re lucky we might do business again. Leaving the old man, I made my way out of the weapon market. the reason I had left quickly was because of the risk the old man had. Something about him felt off. When we conversed it was like he could see straight through me. I felt it would be best to leave before he learnt something that I needed to keep quiet. Having finished in the weapon district, I moved on to my only other port of call. The skill book district. I had undoubtedly found a great fortune here before. So now I hoped to find something else. Though I wasn''t betting on finding something like dragons fire again, it would be nice to buy some skills. It''s never a bad idea to have more skills. Walking through the entrance gate, I was greeted with the bustling market. Rows of stalls, all vying for the attention of passing customers. Just like inside all of the other districts, there was a pleasant atmosphere in the air. Walking among the stall, I looked for anything that could be useful to me. As I had learnt, the skills here are all items from missions. If the reward can''t be used by the person who earned it, usually they would sell it here. It was quite an interesting area. Looking at all of the different types of skills opened my mind to the truly massive variety that existed. From skills for one specific enhancement to any of hundreds of thousands, they all existed here. Though I''m sure that what I''m seeing are only the dregs found in one of the weakest neutral cities, it was still an eye-opening collection. After an hour or so of wandering, I had seen only two skills that interested me. Though there were thousands of skills here, only a fraction of them could be learned by me. And even then, only these two would actually fit well with my fighting style and enhancements. The first skill was called Chunbu outer Ki technique. It was a skill that used energy to enhance the body, improving all stats except insight and longevity by 10%. It also had an effect on the recovery of stamina.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The other skill was called move objects. Like with my verdant mountain gale, it let me move objects without touching them. However, unlike my other skill, there was no limit to what could be moved. As well as this it was listed as a nature spell. After hearing from Pluvial that all skills are unique, I figured the method of movement was different for this skill. Knowing this, I wondered if I could combine them when I had enough proficiency in both. Seeing this as I possibility, I brought it. After buying these skills I was left with 4 and a half thousand points. Looking at the sky I saw that time had moved on. If I didn''t leave soon I would be out after dark. Though I wished to stay and look for more skills, the time had constrained my options. Turning to leave, I noticed the same pet skill shop from before. Being as it was near the exit, I decided to have a quick look before leaving. Ruffling through the skills, I noticed a few that were interesting. Being as I had recently got my silver wolf race, skills that were meant for canines could be learnt by me. Looking through I found one skill that stood out. It was only a generic skill called dash of the silver wolf. But the fact that it specifically mentioned my race piqued my curiosity. Though I had no clue, I thought that maybe the skill being specific to my race would give me some type of bonus. Though it was only speculation, for the abnormally low price associated with pet skills, It was definitely worth trying. After finding this skill, and paying the tiny cost I left the market with a bunch of new goodies. As well as the astonishingly huge 4,378 points. As I made my way through Thervil, the sun gradually started slipping downward. When I reached the city centre it was just disappearing below the horizon. Not wanting to risk being out at night, I sped up my pace, jogging towards the mansion. As it was only on the edge of the guild district it would only take me ten minutes to get there. But even so, I spent the whole time vigilant to the possibility of an attack. Luckily though, I made it to the mansion without incident. Walking into the double doors, I was surprised by the eerie silence in the mansion. Solomon: HELLOOOOO!? The only reply to my voice was the distant echoing it made down the hallway. Feeling that something was deeply wrong, I began to walk forwards. Entering the living room, I saw that everything was as it had been. Moving onto the dining room, I was surprised to find it was also completely unchanged. If something had happened then it would be odd for the mansion to be fine. Though I had only been in a few rooms, so I was unsure about the state of the rest of the place. Walking into the hallway, I checked in the bedrooms on the ground floor. like everywhere else, they were the same. Walking back into the hallway, I looked towards the back garden. Though the glass doors were covered with a blind, there was an ominous red light flickering around the edges. Cautiously walking down the hall, I stood before the door. Using my enhanced hearing, I tried to listen outfor anything. Obviously suspicious that something had gone wrong, I wouldn''t just walk straight into a trap. Though it was muffled, I could hear the sound of a crackling fire. Other than that I would occasionally hear the sound of light breathing. Unsure as to whether it was enemies or allies, I neglected the idea of coming out guns blazing. Walking up to the blind, I pulled a tiny sliver to the side, peeking through the revealed opening. From what I could see, there was a fire burning just outside of the door. Though it was partially obscuring my vision, my enhanced Eyesite allowed me to see past it. Hiding behind a tree a few meters from the door, was a dark figure. Though I couldn''t see others, I was fairly certain they were there. Not seeing much of an option, I walked out through the door. Though I could attempt to go around to another exit, it would put me at a disadvantage. Whereas I knew what was behind me here, I would be blind by entering from another direction. Opening the door and stepping outside, I stood directly before the fire. At this point, I was surprised that the person behind the tree had not attacked me. Though I heard his breathing elevate when I exited, he had not made a move. With a quick movement, I raised my hand, shooting a small flame lizards head at the nearby man. Reacting quickly, the man jumped up into a tree. At this point, two other leapt at me from the behind other trees. They were both dressed in full body dark clothing, stopping me from seeing any detail about them Though I didn''t know where they were, I had already planned for this. drawing my sword, I dashed towards these two. From the speed at which they approached, I doubted they were even G ranks. With a lunge, I stabbed towards the larger of the two. Though at this point I was holding most of my power back. I wanted to keep these two alive for questioning later. Using a sword of his own, the man diverted my sword to his side. Then with practised movements, he shifted his shoulder towards me. having the whole power of his weight and momentum pushed onto me, I was forced back. From this it was clear that these were not common fighters, at the least, they had a moderate level of skill. Taking a step back, I became more serious. As I had been occupied with this one, the other man had looped around to behind me. Seeing me back up he tried to stab me in the back. But when the blade reached me, he felt no resistance. Because of this, he fell forward a few steps. Then from behind him the back of my blade came down, knocking him out. When he had come up behind me, I used the afterimage technique to appear behind him. Slightly deterred, the other man hesitated. Using his brief indecision, I attacked. With a slash to his side, I forced him to block my blow. Then when the blade met, I used a tendril of qi to reach behind his head, hitting him. Like the other man, he slumped to the floor. Just as I returned my focus to the surroundings, I noticed a faint swish of wind behind me. Trusting my instincts, I threw myself forwards. Doing a roll, I turned to look behind me. As I did the first thing I saw was a huge flaming boulder flying towards me. with no time to dodge. I use another of my skills. lifting my sword up, it becomes cloaked in a red light. Then bringing it downwards, the light flashed out, splitting the rock in half. Looking towards my attackers, I was dumbfounded. Solomon: Gareth? volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 55 - the battle in the garden having turned around, I was faced with a surprise. Standing across from me was Gareth, weapon in hand. Though I didn''t see her, I knew that the big boulder from before was caused by Alice. Solomon: WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING? STOP THIS NOW! Ignoring me, Gareth charged. Drawing his sword, he tried to run me through with it. Not wanting to fight him, I grabbed ahold of the end of his sword. Coating my hand in a layer of qi, I could safely hold onto the blade. Then using my other hand, also strengthened with qi, I punched the middle of the sword. With a crunch, the blade shattered, sending several small pieces of metal spiralling in every direction. Seeing this, I was surprised by my own strength. I had only meant to break the sword into two pieces, not shatter it. It seemed that the strength of my qi was higher than I thought. While I was marvelling at the strength of my qi, Gareth had jumped backwards. He obviously knew that I was physically superior to him, but I doubted he thought it was to this extent. Taking out his gun, Gareth aimed at me. Gareth: you better take this seriously, otherwise you''ll die. There was a bright light of determination in his eyes. The same look he had when sparring, only even more intense. From this alone, I could tell he was not betraying me. But I still didn''t understand why he was attacking me. Solomon: haaaagh, you had me worried for a second there. I thought you were turning against me. Alright, I''ll take this seriously. Though I was unsure of the reason, Gareth, and everyone else would not push me into a corner like this without good reason. Standing straight, I sheathed my sword. Seeing this action, Gareth already knew what I was going to do. In an effort to stop me, he began madly shooting at me. Holding up my hand, I used my defensive skill. Solomon: holy light mantle. With a flash of light, two panels of golden qi appeared before me. Being only a meter or so in size, they would hold up for only a few seconds. However, that was all I needed. Solomon: FUR OF THE ETERNAL MOONLIGHT! Calling out the name, I activated the skill. With the disappearance of a 6th of my qi, my body began to morph. Starting with the growing of fur, then the reforming of my legs, and ending with the hardening of my teeth and nails. I had once again changed into the appearance of a werewolf. Not wasting any time, I dashed towards Gareth. Though he had just managed to break through the holy light mantle, The protective power of my silver fur was enough to briefly protect against his shots. Unless he expended a lot of his energy he couldn''t quickly hurt me. Throwing away the broken sword, Gareth drew another sword from his waist. Unlike the last one, this was good quality. It was the weapon I had given him before, in terms of strength it was only slightly worse than Alice''s chunbu sword. Compared to my claws though, it was about equal. Just as I was about to reach him, the mist around his body surrounded him. The hand that I planned to strike him with was quickly taken back. As I had touched the mist, a searing pain spread into my hand. It seemed that when his energy was concentrated during his transformation, it took on a corrosive property. Standing a few meters back, while waiting for him to finish transforming, I used my senses to find the others. Luckily having just transformed, my senses were greatly strengthened. From a nearby tree branch, I could hear distinct creaking. using the noise to mark someone''s location, I kept searching. from behind another tree a few more meters away, I could smell Alice''s perfume. having located some of the others, I directed my attention back towards Gareth. He was just emerging from his mist cocoon. Once again, I saw this new form of his. Long black hair, deep crimson eyes, rippling muscles. All of it added up to make the image of a demon. Gareth: HAAAAARRRGGHH With a war cry, Gareth charged at me. Surprised, it took me an extra second to react. Lunging forwards, the distance between us was almost instantly closed. Holding up his sword, Gareth tried to impale me with it. Just as the sword had reached me, my body dissipated into smoke. To Alice''s surprise, I had appeared behind her. Having already located her, I decided to deal with her first. Out of everyone, she was the most dangerous. Though normally it would be Pluvia, she was limited when in the view of the newbies. With quick movements, I used the back of my hand to hit Alice''s neck, knocking her out. As I turned to deal with Gareth again, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left side. Looking down, I saw that a small dagger was sticking out of my gut.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Holding onto that dagger was Sasha. Though I knew she was here, I had subconsciously ignored her. Mainly because I though she couldn''t hurt me in this form. Surprisingly, she had stabbed between two of my ribs. Unfortunately for her, the dagger was too short to do any real damage. Seeing me turn towards her, Sasha instantly went pale. Just as I was about to reach down and knock her out, an intense heat spread over my back. Though it was slightly painful, it wasn''t enough to do any damage. Due to fear, she fainted, collapsing to the floor. Turning to deal with the two final fighters, I saw that both of them had grouped up. As I tried to charge at them, a ball of ice appeared above pluvia, before being hurled at me. As all of the unranked were now unconscious, she was free to use all her power. Looking at their formation, With Gareth in front to fight physically and Pluvia behind to provide ranged support, I was impressed by their organisation. Surprisingly though, pluvia still had yet to transform. Though it was reassuring in a sense, it meant that she was still holding back. Not giving me time to think, Gareth attacked With a downwards slash. When I used my claws to grab his blade, a fireball smashed into my side, forcing me back several meters. The fireball, though strong, could not break through my silver fur. So, even though I was constantly being constantly pushed back, I was not being hurt. If it continued like this, Gareth and pluvia would exhaust themselves long before me. Realising this, Pluvia stepped up her game. With a flash of light, she reverted to her dragon form. Looking at her huge form, I felt a pang of fear in my heart. With a rugged intake of air, an ominous red moved up Pluvia''s throat. Seeing the danger, I tried to retreat. Unluckily for me, Gareth was waiting for my move. With quick movements, he assaulted me with several sword slashes. having to take a moment to deal with Gareth, gave Pluvia enough time to get her attack out. Emerging from her mouth, a torrent of flames erupted forth. Seeing the increased size, this attack was at least 5 times stronger than the attacks before. If I was hit by this I knew that I would be injured badly. With little choice left, I prepared to block the attack. Solomon: holy light mantle With a flash, 3 panels of golden light appeared before the flame pillar. Luckily, the pillar was quite narrow, letting me block it all with relatively small panels. As the fire hit the first panel, there was a moment of pause before it shattered. Then as it hit the second panel, it took almost 3 seconds to break through. When I finally reached the last panel it took almost half of its remaining power to break through. This last remaining piece of flame was even weaker than the previous fireballs. Having successfully blocked it, I planned to move before they could act again. However, to my horror, Pluvia was already starting to attack again. By the look of it, Gareth was also ready to block my movement. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, I chose the only option left to me. Attack. Dashing forwards, I aimed for Gareth. Though Pluvia was more dangerous, Gareth was the final nail in my coffin. When I thought it through, I wasn''t confident in beating Pluvia one v one either way. At the very least I could take down Gareth. With a slash of my claw, he was forced to defend with his sword. Then with the same claw, I grabbed hold of his sword, pulling it towards me. As he took a step forwards to steady himself, I lifted up one of my legs, sending a kick into his gut. With the sudden force, he was sent flying a few meters away, spewing blood from his mouth as he collapsed on the ground. Though he was still conscious, he would not be able to fight me anymore. Turning my attention to Pluvia, I found that she was just completing her attack, sending another pillar of flame at me. Using the previous method, I once again halted her attack. Now fighting one on one, she no longer had the time to use that attack again. Though I didn''t know if it cost her a lot to use, I could only block 4 more of those flame pillars. Pluvia: this should be interesting. Let me give you some incentive. If you can beat me know I''ll give you another cool technique. Though I was curious as to what technique I could gain, I was not foolish enough to think I could beat her. Running through several scenarios in my head, I could find no way to win. Taking the initiative, Pluvia attacked. Starting off, she sent a small fireball at me. After I slashed the ball apart I found pluvia behind it. She had chased after the ball, using it as a distraction to approach me. Now using that brief opening, her tail whipped forwards, aiming for my gut. Being unable to block with my sword, I was forced to use my defensive skill. Solomon: holy light panel. When her tail was halted, she tried to attack with a claw. Luckily I had recovered by then. As her claw collided with mine, I used the force from it to back away. After this short exchange, I knew I couldn''t win against her physically. Holding up my hand, I had the arcane orb appear. Seeing the weapon, she knew what I planned to do. Lifting her head, the same ominous red appeared at the base of her throat. From the colour, I could tell she was not holding anything back. Reacting in kind, I pumped all of my remaining qi into my orb. Having a little over a half left, this attack would be very strong. Being as there were allies nearby, I did consider holding back. But, because I was fighting pluvia, it would be suicide to hold back. After ten seconds I had my attack prepared, looking at Pluvia, she too seemed to be ready. With a flash, fire erupted forth from the orb. congealing together, it formed into a lizard. Like normal, it made the head, then the arms, then the rest of the body. It continued on all the way to the end of the tail. When the whole lizard had formed, the attack was complete. Surprisingly, when the full lizard formed, the whole attack seemed to double in power. Now complete, the lizard sped off. With the crisp sound of a thunderclap, it flew off towards Pluvia. St this speed I couldn''t even slightly see the attack. However, this didn''t seem to be the case for Pluvia. Just before the lizard was going to hit her, the red glow hovering in her throat came up to her mouth. Unlike most of her previous attacks, this attack was not made of fire. Out from her mouth came a bright red beam of light. When that light collided with the lizard, a torrent of wind was spread out. With the two attacks as the centre, a mini tornado was forming from the constant struggle of these two oppressive forces. After a few seconds, the intense struggle was reaching its climax. At this point, the lizard of fire let out one last push, before breaking apart. As it collapsed, the fire was sent exploding outwards, this last spurt was enough to destroy the other attack. As the rain of fire spread out over the garden, it reverted back into red wisps of qi, raining down harmlessly. As I felt the fatigue catch up to me, my consciousness faded. As I collapsed to the ground, the battle in the garden ended. volume 2 upgrade specialist interval chapter 56 - an ominous meeting Waking up, the feeling of my body returned to me. Opening my eyes, I saw that I was back in my room. Through the few cracks in the curtains, streams of light seeped into the room. It seemed that I had been asleep for a whole night. Sitting up in bed, I noticed that laying beside me was Alice. Looking at the peaceful expression on her face, I took a while to enjoy the moment. After a few seconds, she began to stir. Opening her eyes, she propped herself up on her elbows. Alice: Morning. leaning over to her, I Drew her into a passionate kiss. When we separated, her cheeks were dyed a rosy tint. Alice: what was that for? Solomon: nothing, I''m just glad I''m here with you. After being attacked by my teammates yesterday, I had been really nervous. Though I had realised during the fight that they weren¡¯t betraying me, I still had a nugget of doubt in my heart. But after looking at the innocent face of Alice, all of my doubt became dust in the wind. Door: knock knock The sudden noise brought us out of the romantic moment. Solomon: WHO IS IT? Gareth: IT''S ME! Getting up from our bed, I walked over to the door. Solomon: what''s up? Opening the door, I left the room. Gareth: first, I''ve got to apologise. It was my idea to attack you yesterday. Kneeling down, he lowered his head, apologising profusely. Solomon: it''s fine. Though I don''t understand why, I know you had a reason. Please, explain to me why? Grabbing him by the shoulders, I lifted him to his feet. Gareth: thank you, really. Solomon: we''re teammates, right? I trust you. Gareth: that''s right. Okay, so the reason I planned this. Being that in this next mission we have to put ourselves in a lot of risks, I wanted to test our strength. The best way to do that was to have the weaker members attack the stronger ones. It did make sense, but I didn''t understand why he couldn''t ask me. Solomon: but, why did you not just ask me? Gareth: if we fought like that can you honestly say you wouldn''t hold back? It seemed that Gareth had thought deeply about this. In reality, I would hold back when fighting my allies. But, if I didn''t know why they attacked me, then I would have to fight properly against their full strength attack. After all, I was still only a little stronger than them. If they coordinated better I would be hard pressed to beat them. Solomon: I get that, but why did you include Pluvia then? Needless to say, she was stronger than me. Even in the end, I could only force a draw with brute force. Gareth: as the newbies were here, I thought she would hold back most of her strength. I didn''t account for the newbies being knocked out. It''s my mistake. Solomon: well, it''s too late to complain now. How is everyone? After an intense battle the night before, I was worried that the team would be tired. Gareth: full of energy. After recovering from the yesterday, there ready to go. It seems the fight got everyone''s blood boiling. Solomon: that''s good, have everyone gather in the dining hall. I want to say some things before we start the mission. ****************************************************************************************************** In a grand mansion in another part of the guild district, a meeting was currently being held. A group of 5 men sat around a table in a dark hall, with only the dim light of candles lighting the room. Burly man: DAMN, HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? Standing up abruptly, one of the men slammed down on the table with his fist. Under the strain of his fist, the marble table began to crack. Skinny man: sit down Gaston, there''s no point getting angry.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. From the opposite side of the table a tall, gangly man spoke up. Gaston: SHUT YOUR MOUTH, THIS IS YOUR FAULT ANYWAY. WHAT ABOUT YOU TWO? YOU AGREE, RIGHT? Turning to two of the other people on the table, he addressed them. Old man: I don''t care for your blame games. I think that Slade''s not in the wrong, just that he got unlucky. GASTON: GAAGGHH, WHY CANT YOU JUST ADMIT IT BILL. AND WHAT ABOUT YOU SAM, YOU CAN''T EVEN BE BOTHERED ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT THIS? Clearly angry with the other people''s reactions, the Gaston called out another of the men. The man called Sam looked completely ordinary, being quite short with no defining features. The one thing that ruined that image was the young girl sat on his lap. He had one hand on her back, and the other around her shoulder, keeping her still. But the weirdest thing was how he had bitten into the girl''s neck. Taking a moment to separate from the girl, the ordinary looking man spoke up. Sam: why are you so angry Gaston? it''s only a couple dead G ranks, nothing we can''t replace. Gaston: THAT''S NOT THE POINT, WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST GUILD IN THIS CITY. HOW CAN WE ALLOW A G RANK GUILD TO PUSH US AROUND? Clearly still enraged, Gaston continued to holler loudly. Until the final man on the table spoke up. Last man: be quiet. Though he only spoke softly, Gaston instantly shut up. Gaston: sorry boss. Sitting down in his chair, Gaston waited for the man to speak. The boss was a stereotypical businessman. Wearing a neat suit, with a plain tie, his whole appearance screamed professional. But contrary to his dress, his hawk-like eyes betrayed his true nature. Cold, cruel and calculating. Boss: I don''t care for your anger, this is the time to plan, not argue. leave your personal feeling outside. Gaston: yes boss. Lowering his head, he looked like a child who had been lectured by his parent. Boss: as you all know, recently this wings of freedom guild has had confrontations with us. Due to this, our face has been dragged through the mud. For being able to do this to us, I give them credit. But, now we will crush this thorn in our side. Slade: how do you plan on doing that. As they''re being watched by the Tranquilatis animi guild, even with Ragnarok''s backing we wouldn''t get away with attacking them directly. Boss: that''s true, but there is one method we can use that even they can''t see. Slade: hmm, what method? Bill: guild war. Gaston: what, you can''t be serious? But what about the cost. Is this G rank guild really worth that much? Other than the boss, they were all concerned with this method. Boss: come forwards. Turning behind him, the boss called out to a dark corner of the room. Curious as to who it was, everyone looked over. A young girl with deep, ocean blue hair and eyes walked forwards. Wearing a plain blue robe, and holding a wooden staff with a blue orb on its head. This was, of course, Aries. Boss: this girl has met with the wings of freedom guild. Tell them. Aries: in my last mission, I was with some of the members of this guild. Slade: okay, so what''s the point? Boss: tell them. Aries: that mission was their second mission. Gaston: WHAT!? ****************************************************************************************************** Back in clearwater mansion, everyone had gathered in the dining hall. ****************************************************************************************************** Solomon: so, now that everyone''s here, I have a couple things to say. Sitting at the top of the table, I looked at my teammates sat on either side of me. Solomon: first, I understand about yesterday. I''m not upset or anything. I could tell from the looks on the newbies faces that they were slightly scared of my reaction. But after hearing me, they noticeably calmed down. Solomon: secondly, we''ll be going on our mission today. As you newbies know, this will be a major test for you. If you pass, you will become an official member of our guild. I will pre-warn you, during this mission I will be taking major risks. Though I won''t ask you to take them with me, as a result the mission could become harder. After the week I had spent with these newbies, I felt that they were trustable people. Being that they were only one mission away from being our teammates, I wanted to be more open with them. Solomon: if you don''t want to be part of this, I recommend you leave now. Looking at each of them in turn, I observed their reactions. Nicholas: we''ll follow you. Standing up, Nicholas declared this to me. Looking at his intense expression, I saw a burning fire in his eyes. Tony: normally I would avoid situations that put me in more danger than needed. But there''s something about you that interests me. I''ll take the risk, for now at least. Looking at tony, though his reaction was different, he still chose to put himself at risk. In his eyes, there was a deep sense of intrigue. Solomon: good, then let me get to the final reason I called you here. This mission I''m planning to separate from the rest of you. Gareth: WHAT!? Alice: ARRRGGGHHH, NOT THIS AGAIN! I thought we already agreed about this. Solomon: no, I don''t mean like before. This time I won''t be working on my own. Speaking up, I explained myself. Solomon: to get the rewards I need this mission I''m going to have to do something dangerous. If I do something dangerous with everyone helping me, then the reward will be spread between all of us. To get what I need we''ll have to put ourselves in huge danger. But if we split up the danger we have to face for the reward will be much lower. Pluvia: I agree, it''s the safest method. So, how do you plan on splitting up? Speaking up, Pluvia vouched for me. Though after my explanation, no one was too opposed to the idea. Solomon: being as I''m not confident in taking on everything myself, I want Gareth to go with me. Gareth: huh, me? Wouldn''t it make more sense for you and Pluvia to go? I''m not really strong enough to help you. Speaking honestly, Gareth didn''t think he was able to assist me. Solomon: if she was to come with me all the rewards would go to her. I only need a little help. With my strength now, the worst situation would be being surrounded by weak enemies. With your powers and equipment, you can fight for longer than me. From our conversations before, he had told me that he could fire his gun for hours before having to recharge if he used ammo. Alice: if Gareth''s not up for it, why don''t I go with you? Solomon: your powers aren''t really suitable to work with mine. And I also need you to complete the main mission for me. Even if I get a great reward, without the main mission being completed it''s worthless. Gareth: fine, I''ll do it. Having sorted out everything, we were ready to start our mission. Solomon: all right then, everything''s ready. So everyone, are we ready? Standing up, I held my hand out. Everyone: YES! Following me, everyone placed their hands over mine Solomon: FIGHT! Everyone: FIGHT! Volume 3 Cloverfield start chapter 57 - preparations Volume 3 Cloverfield start chapter 57 - preparations Standing in the guild plane, I looked at all of my gathered comrades. Solomon: so, are we ready? After receiving a nod from everyone, I turned towards the guild bot Solomon: start the mission. Guild bot: guild mission, commencing. Mission world, Cloverfield. With a flash of light, a panel appeared before us. Mission: Escort Jason Hawkins, Rob Hawkins, Hudson Platt, Lily Ford and Marlena Diamond out of Manhattan. Rewards: 500 points per surviving character. 5 points for every parasite killed. Preparation time: 1 hour Looking at the words before us, we were surprised. Alice: huh, preparation time? Tony: you didn''t know? Seeing his unmoved expression, it seemed like he was already aware of this. Solomon; you knew this would happen? Tony: yeah, I''m surprised you didn''t? Having a person with experience in Domain was very helpful at times like these. Solomon: well, this is our first guild mission. Anyway, can you explain to us? Tony: sure. Sitting down on a chair, tony began to tell us what he knew. Tony: Basically, this is one of the perks of guild missions. Depending on the rank of the guild, you can receive information about the mission, as well as time to prepare for it. I''ve heard that for C rank guild they can prepare for a whole day, though I don''t know how true that is. Thinking over what Tony said, the importance of guilds were once again raised in my mind. The prospect of preparing for a mission and then being able to tailor your equipment to it is very op. Solomon: okay, then this is good for us. Let''s not waste the time we have. Has anyone seen Cloverfield? Looking around, it seemed that nobody had. Solomon: damn, alright then. Guess we''ll have to watch it. Gareth, go online and find a synopsis of the film. Use whatever info you can to prepare for the mission. As for everyone else, I want you to do nothing. The intense expressions of my teammates went dumb after hearing my order. Nicholas: huh, nothing? We can''t just squander the time we''ve been given. Surely you can give us something to do? Solomon: at the moment the best thing you can do is prepare yourself. Though I''ve not seen this film, I''ve heard of it. The main premise is that a giant monster is attacking new York. The likelihood of any of us surviving an attack by that monster is tiny at best. Being told so bluntly to prepare for death left Nicholas dumbstruck. Nicholas: su, surely you can do something to it? I mean, you''re so strong. how could you ever be put in such a situation? Solomon: I''ll say this now. if that monster attacks us, Then it''ll take my all to hold it off for a minute. Having seen the adverts for the film in the past, I knew that the creature was a skyscraper tall giant with several arms. Trying to face off against it would be suicide. Sasha: we understand. if it comes to that we''ll fend for ourselves. Grabbing her brother by the hand, Sasha spoke up. Surprisingly this young girl had an extremely mature mind. If I had the chance, I wanted to nurture her. Solomon: thank you. Alright then, let''s get this done. Sitting down on the sofa, I pulled up the film. As it was an hour and a half long, I would have to watch it in two times speed. Luckily my enhanced reactions and thought process allowed me to still understand it. But even so, I would have to concentrate to pick up all the details. Honing my senses to a fine edge, I turned the movie on. ****************************************************************************************************** On another side of the room Gareth was fastidiously researching the film. Pluvia: so, what have you found about this monster?The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Walking over to him, Pluvia wanted to hear what he knew. Having heard the gist of it in Solomon''s words, she wanted to see the enemy. Being an S rank fighter, she could accurately place the level of most opponents she faced. Gareth: well, there''s not a great deal in the film to go off. After looking if only found a handful of videos of it. But I did learn something worrying. Skilfully switching between different tabs, he showed several images and short videos of these creatures. They were small, dog-sized, beige coloured insects. With sharp teeth and several pincer-like legs, they screamed danger. However, the small size and lack of range led to them being Fairly weak compared to humans. To the extent that one charactertook on and killed one easily in a one vs one fight. Gareth: these are the parasites. After seeing it as a reward, I checked what they were. Pluvia: what''s the point, these are just weak bugs. Even an unranked could take on several of these. Gareth, that''s true, but this is the issue. Switching to another video, he showed me a longer clip. It started with a group of the characters inside a tunnel. After hearing weird noises, they are attacked by these parasites. In the process of escaping, one of them is bitten by the small insects. Pluvia: ho, they can move in the dark. This would be problematic if we didn''t prepare for it. But it only takes some lights to solve this issue. Gareth: just wait. Turning back to the video Gareth sped it up. Eventually coming to a stop in some sort of military tent. At one point, the character that was bitten started to bleed from their eyes. After being collared by the medics, they were taken behind a screen. Using the light in the background, you could clearly see that the characters head explode. Pluvia: oh, poison. Gareth: that''s right, this is the worst weapon of these creatures. I''m guessing that if enough gets into us, even us enhanced could die. Adding in the element of poison to these little creatures, made them many times more dangerous. It''s like the difference between a house spider and a black widow. Pluvia: that''s true, especially if the system ups the power of these bugs. Gareth: ups the power? Gareth had yet to experience the upgrade in power that agents of the system received. Having spent all of his missions in unfamiliar series, he didn''t know that some of the characters were stronger than their real life counterparts. Pluvia: yeah, sometimes to even out the missions and make them challenging, the enemies will be strengthened to some degree. Of course, the opposite may be true for stronger enemies. We may go into this mission and find the creature to be several time weaker than it should be. Hearing that possibility, the thought in Gareth''s head expanded. With the new info, he could think of several more possibilities to account for. Gareth: shit, what a double-edged sword. Pluvia: yep, so, how are we dealing with this poison. With a swish of Gareth''s hand, a panel appeared before the two of them. Gareth: after looking in the system, I found this. Antidote Unranked equipment 50 From the resident evil series, a cure-all for poisons. Able to fight of all non-energy based poisons. Has a minor effect on weak energy poisons. Pluvia: hmm, these seem like a safe bet. I don''t realty see the parasites developing energy poison. Gareth: yeah, but if we take into the consideration the costs, we have an issue. Even with the combined money of everyone, there was only a little over 900. To get an antidote for everyone would cost 350 points. And even then there only one-time use. If you get bit a second time, you''re dead. Pluvia: I don''t need one. Even if I die I''ll only go back to Solomon. Then he can summon me again. Gareth: okay, so that''s one more for the rest of us, but it''s still not enough. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Gareth was unsure of how to spend the money. Pluvia: I don''t think it''s that hard of a decision. what else are we going to buy? Gareth; huh. Well, not much. Other than a light in case we go underground, then nothing. Thinking it over, there was nothing else that was worth buying. Though they could get lots of consumables, it would do nothing against the gigantic creature. And when it came to the parasites, even if they''re strengthened they won''t be a threat to the G ranks. Gareth; thank you Pluvia. Pluvia: don''t worry about it. Uh, I''ve got a favour to ask? Seeing the slight awkwardness in Pluvia expression and words, Gareth was amazed. Since meeting her this was the first time he had seen her express emotion. Though it was only a little, he felt a deepening in his companionship with her. Gareth: haha, what is it? If I can help I''ll try my best. Pluvia: in this mission, I want you to look out for Solomon. Gareth: huh, you think I''m not going to? Shaking her head, Pluvia showed that he had misunderstood. Pluvia: I''m going to give you something that will make you stronger. With this power I want you to keep him safe. Hearing that she was going to give him something. He was ecstatic. He knew how much she had helped Solomon advance. he wanted her to do the same for him. Gareth: I won''t turn down your offer, anything that can help me survive can''t be bad. But I''ve got to ask, why? From his perspective, he thought that Pluvia saw them as disposable pawns. Though she was part of the team, she was never really friendly with anyone. But from her perspective, she didn''t feel the same. Being both from a different race, and having adapted to the world of Domain for years, her emotional side had been severely dulled. But even so, she thought of these people as her friends. Pluvia: whether or not I show it, I care for my friends. Though were not used to each other yet, I would be affected by your death. Though she wasn''t the most eloquent with her words, her meaning was conveyed. Gareth: thank you, it''s nice to have comrades again. For a moment, Gareth felt the same warmth from Pluvia as he did from his team in the past. With the idea of chasing this feeling in his head, he swore to himself that everyone would make it through this mission. Pluvia: it is. Anyway, here''s the item. Holding up her hand, a small black marble appeared in her hand. Picking it up, Gareth inspected it. It was a pearl sized black orb. Looking deep into it, he could see the figure of a man on a throne. Suddenly the figure turned to face him, screaming in horror. Startled, Gareth took a step back. Gareth: damn, what is that? Pluvia: it''s a mana orb from a shade of Mordor. There creatures from the lord of the rings. Being close to your enhancement, you should be able to absorb the orb for an instant powerup. Gareth: instant? Didn''t Solomon have to use these continuously to get stronger. Having spoken with Solomon, he knew of his use of these orbs. Pluvia: that''s right, but his enhancement is different to yours. You can only absorb these orbs once every few weeks. Then depending on the quality, you''ll get a power-up. Gareth: oh okay, I''m going to save it for now then. Pluvia: huh, why? Having considered it, he would use this orb to its full potential. Gareth: if I take this when I''m low on energy, it should fill me back up right? Pluvia; ah, that''s quite a clever idea. I''m surprised I never thought of it before. ****************************************************************************************************** As Gareth and Pluvia kept discussing, Solomon was getting close to the end of the film. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 58 – the start of a difficult night Solomon: argh, I''m done. Standing up, I stretched my arms above my head. Sitting and concentrating intently for 45 minutes had made my brain ache. walking over to Gareth, I wanted to explain some ideas I had to him. Solomon: hey Gareth, I''ve finished the film. Turning around from the computer, Gareth had adull expression on his face. having been researching like me for some time, he seemed to be similarly drained. but taking everything into account, He seemed surprisingly calm. Gareth: ah, that''s good. did you find out anything? Solomon: probably not much more than you have, but I do have some ideas we could try. anyway, tell me what you''ve found? though I had personally examined the whole film, Gareth had the benefit of thousands of perspectives. when it came to speculating possibilities, I was far inferior to the internet Gareth: okay, this is everything. Showing me several different web pages, he explained all that he''d found. first was the parasites. Gareth: I thought that these would be the most dangerous thing in this mission. Solomon: I agree with you there. that poison is a real risk, even to us. having seen it in the film, I knew about the poison of the parasites. though I had some ideas to deal with them myself, I couldn''t think of a blanket way to stop them from being dangerous to us. having thought about it, Gareth proposed to buy several antidotes. as the poison was an unknown risk to us, I decided to follow his proposal. Gareth: other than that, I thought we should buy some good flashlights. Solomon: flashlights? being as we were enhanced, there were several ways for us to create light. I was confused as to why he wanted to buy items that were useless to us. Gareth: yeah, as we''re going to have several weaker people wi9th us I thought it might be a good idea. having it click in my head, I realised his reasoning. speaking honestly, it was worth it to have in that case. I had to be careful that the newbies, as well as the characters we would be protecting, had at least some ability on their own. as we would be in darkness for a decent amount of time, this investment was definitely worth it. Solomon: oh yeah, that make sense. moving on, i explained an idea i had Solomon: alright, going back to my original thought. I think it may be a good idea to buy some sort of helicopter. After having seen the film, there was one point that stood out as a huge problem. The only way to escape manhattan was via a military helicopter. If we had a helicopter, or some similar type of transport, we could escape from danger straight away. Gareth: it''s not a bad idea, but I already considered it. turns out the cheapest helicopter that would fit all of us costs 5000 points. explaining the issue, Gareth''s face was bitter. the fact that the solution was so simple, yet that it couldn''t be used was infuriating. having looked into the system, he told me that there was only a limited number of vehicles we could buy with our budget. Having decided beforehand, we would only spend 900 points on items, this helicopter was way beyond our price range. though we could dip into our saved up money and pay 4,200 points on avehicle, it wouldn''t be able to carry us all. plus we would be paying more points than the mission gives us in return. Solomon: hmm, that''s a shame. But it''s not a complete loss. Being as we''re going to have to split up anyway it wasn''t completely practical in the first place. Gareth: yeah, so did you think of anything else? having my best thought shot down so quickly, I was slightly bitter. thinking over the other plans in my head, I realised all of them required the mission to be exactly the same as the movie. But with even just our presence there, it was unlikely that this would be the case. so, in the end, I gave up on my other ideas Solomon: nope. so were just going to buy antidotes? Gareth: yeah, after buying some lights there''s almost 850 points left, so that''s 17 antidotes. Solomon: good then, we''ll divide those between us. on a different note, I noticed something while watching the film. With a curious expression, Gareth asked what. Gareth: oh yeah, what is it? Solomon: a hidden mission. Gareth: a hidden mission?! Surely it''s not so easy to find! Though I said I knew, in truth, it was only an educated guess. Solomon: okay, maybe it''s not 100% but I''m fairly sure. During one part of the film, the characters are looking for another character who''s stuck in the city. Using the computer, I brought up a clip. seeing it, Gareth instantly recognised it. It was a scene of 3 people scaling a half collapsed skyscraper. one of the buildings had collapsed and was precariously balanced against a neighbouring skyscraper. After climbing into the window, they found their friend stuck onto the building by a metal rod. Solomon: this is Elizabeth McIntyre, she''s one of the characters in the story. Being pinned in her apartment, she''s stuck in the middle of Manhattan. during most of the film, the characters are trying to save her. Gareth: okay, so you think if we save her we''ll get a hidden mission. That was the general gist of it. Solomon: yeah, in the mission it only say''s that we have to escort the characters out. That makes me think that following the plot this way would result in a hidden mission. Gareth: it''s plausible. So is this what were going to do then? Having thought it over, this was the most likely hidden mission. failing that, we would have to try and find something else.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Solomon; yeah. other than this, I can''t really think of another mission. Gareth: I guess it''s decided then. If you want, I can explain the plan to everyone. Having spent the last 3 quarters of an hour in intense concentration, I was mentally fatigued. so hoping to wind down a little before we started, I let Gareth take over. Solomon: if you don''t mind, I''d appreciate it. Sitting down on the sofa again, I toom the ten or so minutes left to recover. As I lay enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, a sudden beep stirred me from my daze. Guild bot: beep. Mission commencing, 1 minute. Sitting up, I walked over to everyone. They were currently sat around a table, discussing the details of the plan. Solomon: well, seems like our leisure time has run out. Is everyone ready? Alice: yep! Gareth: I''m ready! Tony: uhum! Pluvia: yes! Nicholas: yeah! Sasha: sure! Looking at all of my teammates, I was determined for all of us to come back safely. This time we would be in more danger than any of our previous missions. Solomon: all right, let''s make this our best mission yet! Guild bot: preparation time elapsed, mission commencing. With a flash of light, we were all teleported into the mission. appearing in a loud room, I recognised this as the party at the beginning of the film. Solomon: is everyone ready? Looking at my nearby comrades, I received a nod from each of them. Far distance: URUUH As an echoing roar of the creature spread through the city, the floor shook slightly and the lights went dead. Amidst the mumblings of the people, we began to move. With Gareth and I heading towards the exit. The rest of the team looked for their targets. Each of them was tasked with finding a character from the film. Then through convincing them, or if that failed through force, they were to bring them to the roof. With quick movements, Gareth and I made it onto the roof. Only being a few floors above us, we made it to the show early. Looking upwards, we admired the evening sky. Very soon, it would be ruined. Solomon: shall I take this? Gareth: I''ve got it. From behind us at the entrance of the roof, swaths of people poured out. As talks of terrorist attacks and the like spread among the people, a sudden explosion drew everyone''s attention. Looking to a set of skyscrapers in the distance, you could see a massive explosion. In the dimly lit sky, dozens of fireballs were streaking outwards from the skyscrapers. Looking at one, in particular, that was heading towards us, the crowd of people panicked. As everyone scrambled to get away, Gareth slowly drew out his gun. Taking aim at the flaming scrap hurdling towards us, the mist on his hand was absorbed into his gun. Then with a clear, crisp bang, a jet black bullet flew towards the fireball. Being only ten meters away at this point, the fireball cast quite an intimidating figure. But as the bullet hit it a small explosion spread outwards, enveloping the scrap. This explosion halted the fireball in midair. Without momentum, it fell short of the building onto the busy street below. Turning around, the part of the crowd still on the roof stared in amazement. standing amidst these people were our teammates, as well as the characters with them. Solomon: you managed to find them. in truth, I had no doubt that they would find the characters. it was impossible for normal humans to evade enhanced people like us. Alice: it was easy, so what now? Solomon: we continue with the plan. At this point, we had planned to go down into the subway. though there were still escapes available, like the bridge, I still had to complete the hidden mission. even more than that, we weren''t confident that we could beat the creature to the bridge. Knowing all of this, we decided to find our way to the military camp in the film. At that point we would split up. Gareth, the character rob and I were going after Elizabeth. as for the rest of the team, they would leave with the military. Jason: hey, wait, who are you guys? Why do we have to follow you? One of the characters started to speak up. Gareth: all you need to know for now is that we''re here to help. Rob: huh? What do you mean? We''ve already avoided the danger. Hearing the na?ve words of this character, tony burst into laughter. Tony: hahahaha, you have no idea! Do we really have to treat these guys nicely Solomon. Wouldn''t it be easier to knock them out and carry them with us? Hearing his words, all of the characters became nervous. they looked towards me with pleading eyes, hoping I would save them from tony. Altogether, it was actually quite funny. Solomon: we can''t, we need them to guide us. having discussed it before, we had decided to us the characters as guides. living in this city, they would surely know shortcuts and directions better than any of us. Rob: so we have to follow you for now? Solomon: that''s right. Though they were afraid, they could tell we didn''t plan to hurt them. The mild threat from Tony luckily had made them see me as a good person. though that good feeling of this wouldn''t last long. Gareth: I think we should get a move on. Looking over the edge, Gareth could see the hordes of people fleeing. having spent quite some time talking, we were increasing the risk of anything happening. Solomon: you''re right. We''re still not sure if the system has changed the film. Alice, be ready to summon necro. If we get assaulted by parasites, we''ll use the goblies to hold them off. At the very least they can buy us some time. since it had been a week since the last mission, Alice had 70 of her little minions ready to go. Alice: okay. Solomon; all right, let''s move. Running down the stairs, we made our way out onto the streets. Solomon: create a ring around the characters. Using our bodies as a wall, we stopped each other from getting swept up in the tide of people. We could also react quickly if one of the characters made a run for it. though I seriously doubted that would happen. Moving as a group, we started to make our way down the street. Eventually, we reached an impasse. The road forked three ways. Nicholas: so what now? Almost as if on cue from behind us, a gigantic hunk of metal came flying towards us. Hitting a building on the way, several shards of rock were sent flying onto the people below. Luckily, we were further down the street. However, Looking at the boulder-sized metal ball, it was on a crash course for where we were standing. Solomon: MOVE! Grabbing two of the characters, I used the Afterimage technique to jump out of the way. Following my actions, everyone jumped out of the street. As we watched on, that huge piece of metal bounced down the street a couple of times before settling just in front of us. Looking at the piece of metal, recognition shined through everyone''s eyes. Hud: isn''t that? Nicholas: the statue of liberty''s head. Seeing this, everyone other than Gareth and I were surprised. This wasn''t a major part of the plot so it wasn''t mentioned when we prepared. But both Gareth and I had seen it before. Following on from this, I remembered what was going to happen next. Solomon: everyone, quickly get inside! Running to a nearby convenience store, I called out for everyone to follow me. From my memory, the next part of the film was the collapse of a nearby building. knowing that it caused by the monster, I was slightly worried that the story would change. in the worst case, the creature could end up heading towards us. Nearby: EEEEERRRRGGGHH, FFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT! From down the street, I saw a quick glimpse of the creature. Though most people wouldn''t be able to see through the darkness, my enhanced vision lets me get a quick look. As it passed by a gap between two buildings, I marvelled at it. Standing at least 10 stories tall while hunched over, it was colossal. Though I could only see part of the creature, it was truly horrifying. The thought of facing off against such a creature was laughable to the current me. Luckily for us, the creature did;t come towards us. Going out of my view, the tension in my heart drained. As the building it hit crumbled, a plume of dust began to rush through the street. Though it wouldn''t physically hurt us, it could cause complications with our breathing. In disasters like these, the first cause of death wasn''t physical injuries, but gases and dusts. Solomon: Shit! Quickly! still standing in a nearby building''s doorway, I called out to everyone. waking up from their shock, they all made a mad dash towards me. Just as the last of us dived into the building, and I slammed the doors shut, the street outside was filled with a sandy film of dust. You couldn''t even see a foot outside of the windows Gareth: damn, that was a close call. Tony: guess this really is a convenient store now. hearing the bad joke from tony, the tension in the room lessened. Collapsing to the floor, everyone took the time to catch their breath. Though the team wasn''t all that tired, the characters only being human were more heavily affected. the mental shock of being close to death was wearing on them. Rob: hey, what do you guys plan to do? surprisingly, this character had recovered quickly from his shock. it seemed his ability to adapt was very good. Walking over to me, he picked me out as the leader. Though it wasn''t exactly hard to tell. Solomon: right now, were going to introduce ourselves. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 59 - the first encounter being forced to wait inside the building decided not to waste the time. being unfamiliar with each other, Itold everyone to introduced themselves. After our team''s introductions, each of the characters followed the same. Rob: uh, well. I''m Rob. Before us all was a slim man with short, neatly kept brown hair. Standing at a little under 6 ft, he looked like an ordinary man. as I already knew, he was a businessman. so in all respects, he was quite normal. But when his love was in danger, he becameextremely brave. rushing straight into almost certain death for her. Overall, I had a good impression of him. Jason: hiya. I''m Jason, his brother. walking beside Rob, Jason also introduced himself. looking at the two side by side, you could see the similarity. the main difference was the scraggly hair of jasons. In the film, he only appeared for a brief while. being the first main character to die to the creature, there wasn''t much time to explore his character. From the little I had seen, he seemed extremely laid back and unconcerned. even during the panic, he kept a relatively level head. not knowing much about his character, I would make sure to keep an eye on him. Marlena: uh, I''m Marlena. with shoulder length, wavy brown hair, she was quite cute. even after her makeup had been ruined by sweat, she was still quite pretty. During the film, she had shown herself to have a courageous side. when they were attacked by the parasites, she took the initiative to attack them. and in the process, saving another main character. though it eventually leads to her death. in the end. it showed her sincere character. other than Rob, she was the second most trustworthy character. Hud: well this is awkward. it''s kind of like the first day of unive. Rob: focus Hud Hud: agh, sorry, I''m hud. placing his hand behind his head, Hud lived up to his character. throughout the film, he''s known for making numerous unrelated and inappropriate remarks. he''s the best friend of Rob having known him for years. other than his relation to Rob, he''s also known to have a crush on Marlena. as for my trust in him, it wasn''t very high. during the film, he only ever ran away. the only reason he was a main character was his connection to Rob. outside of that, he was a nobody. Lily: it''s nice to meet you, I''m lily. Lastly was Lily. with cream brown skin and long black hair, she was in no way inferior to Marlena. though that wasn''t to say either of them could compare to Alice. the difference was like heaven and earth. She was the girlfriend of Jason, as well as the only surviving character in the film. during the film, she often supported the characters emotionally. even after losing her boyfriend early on she still remained clearheaded. accompanying Rob most of the way through the film. though she had some bravery in her, most the time she was using the pretence of helping Rob to hold off her grief. in a way, she was a ticking bomb. as the emotional pillar of the group, she played a vital role. so I would be sure to keep her out of harm''s way. Now seeing them in real life, they didn''t seem the same as the film. though i suspected our presence was the reason for that. without experiencing the same hardship and panic as the original film, they would not mature as much. so it was unlikely for to be able to use the film''s story as guidance. It was unfortunate, but not overly devastating. we were still one step ahead after all. Solomon: all right then, now that we''ve introduced ourselves, it''s about time to head out. Looking out through the window, you could see that most of the dust outside had cleared up. Rob: right now? where are we going? Surprisingly, Rob took the initiative to talk. so soon after joining us, I didn''t expect any of them to be comfortable with us. having forced their cooperation, we weren''t in the best situation to make friends. Comparing them with the other characters from our past missions, they were just normal people. time would be needed for them to adapt. even then they would not be much help to us, just less of a burden. Solomon: well, first of all, we need to get into the subway. Jason: the subway? if we''re going to escape, then Manhattan bridge is our best bet. Naturally, the characters would follow the same line of thought as in the film. seeing the bridge as their escape from this nightmare, they would want to go there. But if they tried to cross this bridge, they would likely die. when crossing it in the film, the creature appeared. Within a short time, it had smashed it apart. This was the cause of the first death in the film, Jason''s death. Gareth: that''s not a good idea. Having researched online, Gareth was also privy to what happened at the bridge. Jason: what, why? Understandably, Jason was sceptical. the premise of escape still in his mind. Solomon: soon, that bridge is going to collapse. It''s best if we escape underground. Keeping the reason vague, I told them half of the truth. Though I could try to explain the creature to them, it would be better for them to see it themselves. otherwise, they definitely wouldn''t believe it. Marlena: wait. so is this is like, some sort of terrorist attack? Solomon: something like that. So can you lead us to the nearest subway entrance. Redirecting the flow of the conversation, I wanted to leave here as quickly as possible. the whole time we were above ground, we were at mercy of the creature. Lily: I know how to get there. I can lead the way. Luckily, Lily showed us the way. guiding us across the street, we all followed her directions. As everyone entered the alley, I sped up to scout ahead. matching my slightly accelerated speed, tony caught up to run beside me. Talking quietly, he made sure the characters couldn''t hear us.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Tony: something seems wrong, I''ve got a bad feeling about this. Solomon: about what? Currently I didn''t sense any danger nearby, even with my heightened instincts. Tony: that girl seemed way to eager to guide us... I don''t know, maybe it''s just me. Slowing down, tony fell back into pace with the others. considering his words, it was odd for her to be completely fine with going away from the bridge. to her, it would seem like she was running into a wolves den. eventually arriving at the street, I could see people as far as the eye could see. Several thousand people were migrating through this main road. Gareth: what''s this? arriving behind me, the rest of the group also saw the horde of people. Lily: this is the main road that goes towards Manhattan bridge. All of these people are heading there to escape. If there really is explosive on the bridge, we need to warn them. staring up at me with honest eyes, Lily seemed to have purposely led us here. though she seemed to believe us, she still chose to go towards the bridge. in this situation, I was happy to let them see the destruction for themselves. the sooner they saw the monster the better. that way we could talk honestly with them. Looking down the street, I could see the bridge. Though it was easily a kilometre away, my enhanced eyes could still see the many people on the bridge. As I watched on there was a slight tremble in the ground below my feet. feeling it, everyone on the road paused momentarily. suddenly I sensed danger from the bridge''s direction. stronger than I had ever felt before, my entire body screamed for me to run. luckily the people around me couldn''t sense it, or else they might have a breakdown on the spot. Even facing off against last missions chieftain the pressure was many times weaker. Solomon: it''s too late. Interrupting lily and Gareth''s argument, I drew their attention to the bridge. At first, you could see a little swaying, but all of a sudden a gigantic black limb stretched up from the water. with ridge-like bumps all the way along it, you could see the appendage waver in the air. tapering off into a point, this was obviously the creature''s tail. As we watched on, the tail lifted up into the air, only to fall back down onto the bridge. seeing this, the entire street had developed an eery silence. Lily: AAAGGGHH! Breaking the dead silence before the impact, Lily''s scream echoed down the street. Bridge: RRRRRUUUUNNNNGGGHHH, KACHUN TSSHHHH!!! With a sickening screeching, the metal pillars bent under the stress, eventually snapping and falling into the turbulent water below. anything falling in would inevitably be crushed. For another half second, the street fell into dead silence. Then, almost in unison, panic erupted. Crowd: AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!! darting in all directions, the mass of people began to spread out. looking oddly like cockroaches running for cover. Hud: wha, what was that thing?! Jason: h, how is this happening? Being so close to the creature, I felt extremely nervous. Seeing the characters start to break down, I decided it was time to go. Quickly turning to Lily, I grabbed her by the shoulders. Solomon: Take us to the subway, NOW! Recovering from her shock, she quickly nodded her head led us down the street. Lily: follow me, It''s only a couple street''s down from here! Though we weren¡¯t being directly followed by the creature, I still felt a deep sense of crisis. A moment ago when the bridge collapsed, we were easily within the creature''s range. Yet it hadn''t come after us. It seemed like it hadn''t changed much from the original in the film, even following the same actions. at this point, it was still ignorant to the tiny humans running around. but when the military arrived, it would start to notice our presence. Tony: I see it! Having run several streets away from the bridge, we were constantly looking down the side roads. nervous to be off the streets, our hearts were incessantly pounding in our chests. Tony, being the tallest of us, used his superior height to look over the heads of the crowds. Using the same method as him, I caught a glimpse of the entrance. Just as we were all about to head towards it, there was a crashing sound in front of us. Sound: CRRRRRRRRK, CCCCHHHHHHKKK TTFFFFFFFFFFTTTTT!!! At the next intersection, only 300 meters away, one of the building had collapsed. from behind it, a jet black arm came crashing down onto the street. Leaning its head over the other buildings, a creature stared down the street at us. When it''s gaze landed on me, I felt like my soul was being ripped out of my body. Solomon: fuck! Quickly, RUN! Grabbing Rob and Jason, then hoisting the onto my shoulders, I sprinted towards the entrance. Following my example, everyone else ran behind me. With the distance to the entrance being only 30 meters from us, we could easily make it there before the creature. looking up into its eyes, I noticed it was still looking at us. unlike the last creature, this one seemed to have noticed us. Gareth: SHIT, it''s coming towards us! from down the street, I saw that the creature was heading in our direction. Luckily it was still 20 buildings down from us. We should have been able to easily make it. Sasha: AAAGGGHH Hearing a scream from behind me, I turned to see Sasha pinned to the ground. A nearby wall had fallen on top of her lower body, holding her legs underneath it. Nicholas crouched was next to her, trying to lift it, but in the end, he wasn''t strong enough. Solomon: Tony, CATCH! Getting his attention, I handed Rob and Jason to him. seeing me stop, concern covered Alice''s face. Alice: what are you doing?! Solomon: there''s no time, JUST GO!!! Seeing Alice turn around and continue running, I was relieved she didn''t argue. wasting no time, I ran towards Sasha and Nicholas. Solomon: QUICK, help me lift this! Calling out to Nicholas, I placed my hands under the collapsed wall. having seen me run over, Nicholas responded quickly. Nicholas: right! Grabbing the wall with me, we both lifted. With our combined strength we managed to quickly lift the wall. Looking over Sasha, I saw that her ankle was bent at an unnatural angle. Looking at her pained expression, she was obviously in no condition to run. Solomon: I''ll carry her, So let''s GO!!! lifting Sasha up into a princess carry, we again made a sprint for the entrance. Looking at the creature, it was now only 3 building from the subway entrance. observing its body, there were little black balls falling from it. Solomon: shit! Having seen them before, I recognised these little black balls as parasites. Looking at the hundreds of them falling off the creature, a sinking feeling settled in my gut. seeing the quickly approaching creature, I knew we weren¡¯t going to make it. Looking at the parasites scurrying towards us, an image of them swarming us appeared in my mind. Though I wasn''t afraid of them individually, with the huge number of them, as well as the risk of their poison, I became nervous. Solomon: hold onto me! Grabbing onto Nicholas''s collar, I used the afterimage technique to jump forwards. skipping over 20 meters instantly, I arrived at the entrance. Appearing at the top of a set of stairs, I stared down towards my salvation. at the bottom of this 30-meter long hole was the rest of my team. Putting Nicholas down, I stole a quick glance at the creature. at this point, its head had just reached us. Hovering above us, it''s two beady eyes stared down at us. As if it was inspecting a couple of interesting insects, its eyes didn''t hold a shred of emotion. The pressure of its gaze momentarily held my body in place, terrifying me. all the confidence I held in my current strength disappeared. In horror, I watched as one of the creatures smaller hands reached for me. Though it seemed slow, the colossal size of the creature deceptively hid its speed. Solomon: fuck me. Waking myself from my fear, I moved quickly to avoid the creature. Seeing that beside me Nicholas was petrified, I grabbed a hold of him. without much thought, I instinctively dived back first down the stairs. As I fell through the air I brought both of my teammates into my chest. A fall of this height was very likely to hurt them. using my superior stats, I could take most of the damage for them. As I continued through the air, time seemed to slow. Watching the movements of the colossal creature, I saw it''s hand continue towards the entrance. Looking at us with its soulless eyes, the grotesque black hand collided with the concrete entrance. Under the creature''s power, the entrance quickly. Entrance: BOOOOM, CRRRRRSSSHHHHH!!! Alice: SOLOMON! feeling my back hit the hard concrete, the surroundings went dark. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 60 - parasites Alice:Solomon! Laying on the cold ground, I heard Alice calling to me. having been plunged into darkness when the subway entrance collapsed, she couldn''t see me. Having flown down the stairs, all while shielding my teammates, she was worried. luckily, I was fine. the combination of my beefed up stats and body armour let me get away with only light bruising. Solomon: I''malright. Holding up my hand, I willed a little of my qi into my fingertip. pouring out to surround my finger, the qi turned into a small orange flame. because of the powerful power in my qi, this little flame was enough to light up the entire area. Gareth: well damn, that was close. Solomon: haha, I think that might be an understatement. Still holding Sasha in my arms, I slightly panicked. her body was completely limp in my grasp. holding my hand to her mouth, I luckily felt a warm puff of air leave her lips. It seemed she had only passed out from the shock. glad that she was still with us, I let out a sigh of relief. Getting up from the floor beside me, Nicholas''s face was coloured with concern. his usually lighthearted atmosphere was gone, leaving only a fearful expression on his face. Nicholas: is she alright?! rushing over, he saw the current appearance of his sister. with her left foot bent completely around adding to her already pitiful look, he feared the worst. Solomon: she''s fine. Luckily for her, I took the brunt of the fall. or else she wouldn''t be in such good shape. If she had received the stress of a several story drop, her already injured body would get much worse. in the best case she would be paralysed, in the worst case, she would be dead. but it hadn''t come to that. she was very fortunate that she was with us. most other guilds would have abandoned her. now looking at her leg, she would obviously become a burden. Even with Alice''s potion, she wouldn''t recover quickly. for the next few hours at least, she would cause us issues. even so, it wasn''t worth abandoning her over. now that we were in the tunnels we were out of the greatest danger. so letting her nurse her wounds was easily done. Alice: here, let me take her for a second. before I could react, Alice had Taken Sasha from my grasp. laying her across her lap, she Reached into her sleeve. taking out one of her cards, she held it out before her. Alice: Potion! Turning into a flash of green light, the card transformed into a small bottle. grasping it in her hand, Alice uncapped the stopper. Without hesitation, she poured the contents down Sasha''s throat. seeing her use one of her precious moves for his sister, Nicholas looked very thankful. Nicholas: ah, to use such a thing on us. thank you. we owe you big time. Alice: It''s fine, what''s a little help between allies. hopefully, with my potion, she can recover quickly. Standing up, she handed Sasha over to her brother. Alice: for now take care of her. Until she wakes up, your responsible for her. Nicholas: don''t worry, I''ll definitely protect her. with a resolute fire burning in his eyes, Nicholas turned to me. though I was a little uncomfortable being looked at with so much emotion, I bared with it. completely taking me off guard, Nicholas bowed his head. Nicholas: thank you, Solomon. If it wasn''t for you, we''d both be dead by now. I will definitely pay you back for this. from the combination of his voice and the burning will in his eyes, I could feel his gratefulness. I had no doubt that he truly wanted to repay me. though it was easily understandable. truth be told, when he saw the wall collapsed, he had already resolved himself for death. Having experienced the brutal nature of Missions in Domain, he knew that the strong rarely protected the week. Even more so, that they didn''t risk their lives for them. being saved by one of the few who would risk their life for the weak, he was unbelievably lucky. in a very real sense, he had won the lottery. Solomon: okay, pay me back like this. stay loyal to this team for your whole life. Smiling, I spoke back to Nicholas. though he was still officially a newbie, I had already accepted him and his sister as teammates. The test mission was only a formality at this point. Nicholas: I promise, I will. Gareth: got it! suddenly a bright light shone over the room, blinding us. Gareth: ah, sorry everyone. rubbing the back of his head, Gareth awkwardly apologised. in his hand, one of the flashlight we had brought was shining light over the whole room. No longer needing it, I dispelled the flame on my finger. The lights we had bought before the mission were military grade. Having been purposefully built, they were unbelievably bright. To the point that the one light in Gareth''s hand lit the entire room we were in. Solomon: Gareth, hand one of them out to everyone. Gareth: on it. now being able to clearly see my surroundings, I looked around. standing in an open space of a dozen meters, it was eerily cavernous. to the wall on our left were several glass windows, obviously for people to buy tickets. then on the other side were several sets of benches. looking at the horde of junk on them, they were probably used by homeless people in the past. looking in front of me, there was a row of ticket machines blocking off a long hallway. with the appearance of the creatures, these usually bustling areas were now completely empty. Gareth: here. prodding me out of my thoughts, Gareth held out a flashlight to me. looking at everyone else, they all had one already. Hud: agh, what the hell was that thing? Standing a few meters from us, Hud was looking up the collapsed stairway. seeming to be in a daze he stared blankly forwards. then suddenly, as if getting some inspiration he looked down at his camcorder. pressing some of the buttons, he fiddled with the little device. Solomon: what are you trying to do? Walking over to him, we all peeked over his shoulders. On the small screen in his hand, he had a still image of the creature. Though its details were mostly hidden in darkness, the shape and size were clearly visible. Rob: what is that thing? being that they now had seen the monster, I wanted to explain some things to them. while I did so, I would have the rest of the team carry out some jobs. that way as soon as I had finished my explanations, we could get going. Solomon: Alice, take Nicholas and Sasha to the subway platform. See if you can find a map there. Nodding, Alice left with the siblings in tow.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Solomon: Gareth and Pluvia take tony and scout out the tunnels If you find any parasite''s, kill them. At the moment, we were in unknown territory. having them remove any threats quickly was for the best. even if it meant having most of our strength away from the characters, it was worth it. Gareth: got it, let''s go. Turning around, they all dashed away. jumping the ticket barriers, they disappeared down the long hallway. Seeing most of our group run off, the characters became a little anxious. They knew that without us to protect them they would very likely die. Solomon: now that we''ve got a little time, I''ll explain some things to you. Keeping in mind the time, I gave them a concise explanation of the creature. Though I couldn''t tell them about the mission, our origin, or anything like that, I could explain the creature. Solomon: that thing you saw, we call them creatures. Though we only expected to find one. Having encountered the one in the water, then on the street, it was a safe bet to assume at least two existed. Though we couldn''t verify it, for now, assuming so was the best option. Jason: okay, so this creature. what exactly is it? Solomon: honestly, I''m not too sure. Though it''s said to be a deep sea creature that came onto land, I can''t really verify much about it. though that''s what''s generally accepted, there are other explanations. Marlena: great, so it''s a mysterious giant that''s rampaging through Manhattan! Speaking ironically, Marlena seemed quite uneasy. Having now seen the creature in person, it had shaken her. though it was a natural reaction, her use of sarcasm was probably her own coping mechanism. Forgiving her outburst, I continued to explain. Solomon: it''s not completely unknown. I know a few things about it. Most importantly that it''s not alone. Lily: yeah, we saw that there was two of them. Misunderstanding me, Lily spoke up. Solomon: no, not that. There are other monsters to worry about. I''m sure you''ll meet them soon, so I''ll only warn you quickly. Feeling that we had spent too much time talking, I drew the conversation to a close. Solomon: they''re little bugs called parasites. They stick to the creature''s bodies. Basically, there''s one thing you need to know about them. Rob; what''s that? Smiling eerily, I used this one sentence to drive caution into their hearts. it was better for them to fear these creatures. unlike in the film, they wouldn''t have to fight them here. so them being afraid wouldn''t cause any issues. Solomon: one little bite, and you''re dead. turning around, I heard faint footsteps.focusing my attention down the hallway, I prepared to fight. seeing me change, as well as having just heard about these parasites, the characters were instantly filled with fear. Luckily, what we saw next calmed them down. From down the hall, tony came running towards us. Tony: it''s just me. so, we''ve scouted the area, and luckily there are no parasites. now everyone''s waiting at the platform for us. Solomon: okay, we''ve spent enough time here. Let''s get moving. Following tony, we made our way down the hallway to the train platform. Having to slow down for the characters, our speed was extremely slow. nevertheless, after a couple minutes, we had made it there. Solomon: hey guys. Arriving at the open platform, I saw Alice, Gareth, and the siblings waiting for us. Alice: you''re finally here, what took so long? Solomon: we had to wait up for these guys. gesturing behind me, Alice only just took notice of the characters. looking at them panting roughly, she understood our lateness. Alice: oh, I forgot about that. seems like we''ll have to let them set the pace for now. Though it was regrettable, we had no other choice. forcing them to speed up would only exhaust them. Gareth: huh, what''s this? turning away from us, Gareth looked at one of the tunnels. looking around the room, I took in the environment. standing on a several meter wide walkways, the tracks were directly in front of us. other than the hallway we entered from, there were no other exits. it seemed that this was one of the lesser-used stops. looking at the tunnels to the left and right end of the platform, we didn''t have much choice for direction. following Gareth''s gaze, I looked at the left tunnel. after focussing my senses on it, I noticed a quite scuttling sound. as I continued to listen the noise grew louder. this sound was, of course, the parasites. by the sound of it, there were more than a few of them. Though it was still quite far away now, It would only take 30 seconds for them to reach us. Seeing Gareth, and then myself, focus intently on the tunnel, everyone felt a cold sweat down there back. Tony: what is it? Breaking the uncomfortable silence, tony spoke. though he seemed slightly uneasy, there was a clear lust for battle reflected in his eyes. Solomon: there''s a group of parasite approaching from that tunnel. and not a small number either. hearing the bad news, both the newbies and the characters went pale. Seeing that, I tried to calm them down. Solomon: what are you so scared for? how bad can a few bugs be? With my reassuring words, their expressions brightened a little. though they were still very disturbed. after all, this was the first time facing these parasites. even with my formidable power, I had to be wary of their poison. Gareth: Solomon, what are we going to do? Being able to hear the same noise, Gareth understood the gravity of the situation. we could both hear the parasites approaching were huge in number. The only reason we could hear them from so far away was because of the sheer quantity of them. If I had to guess, I would say that over 1000 parasites were approaching. even I sweated a little at the idea of facing them all. Solomon: don''t you remember, we prepared specifically for this. Holding up my hand, a small black cube appeared in my hand. looking at it, recognition flashed through Gareth''s eyes. This was one of the bombs I had brought from the old man, a timer Bim. Having brought them from the old man in the market, we had several of theses bombs from Btoom. Solomon: you know what to do. throwing one of the timer Bims to Gareth I ran to the tunnel entrance. wasting no time, I started the timer. placing it on the right-hand side of the tunnel. matching me, Gareth did the same on the right. Gareth: everyone, get back. We''re going to blow up the tunnel. Calling out to everyone, Gareth guided them into the other tunnel. Alice: wait, we need to go that way! Solomon: it''s too late now. we''ll have to go the other way. Not even needing a second to think about it, I knew we would have to go another way. Even if it took longer, we had to avoid these creatures at all cost. In the first place, If the mission had created a duplicate of the giant creature, I was worried that the parasites had also changed. Facing off against 1000 monsters of unknown strength, I didn''t feel confident in keeping everyone alive. even keeping my own life could prove troublesome. Alice: argh, fine! Placing a timer Bim on each side of the tunnel, I activated them. With ten seconds left till they explode, I ran over to everyone else. Standing in the other tunnel, we were easily over 20 meters away. as the timers counted down, echoing beeps sounded through the tunnel. listening to the skittering, I realised it was becoming much louder. they had somehow sped up their speed. at this rate, they would reach us before the timers reached 0. as they came into view, the timer had only reached 4. Sprinting towards us, they looked exactly the same as in the film. Even though that didn''t necessarily mean that they were the same, it did make me less worried. At 3 second they were within a dozen meters of the Bims. looking at the unending mass of black wiggling towards us, fear sunk into our hearts. though these bugs were very weak individually, together they formed into a neverending abyss. looking at them for long enough would reduce the strongest of men into a whimpering baby. Tony: shit, they''re going to get past it! Judging by their current speed, they would reach the bims in a second or so. but, I had no intention of letting them get anywhere near us. though they may physically be the same, the same couldn''t be said for their abilities. Solomon: Gareth, help me slow them down. Holding up my hand, the arcane orb appeared in my grasp. wasting no time, I fueled it with a 20th of my qi. Once the meter long half lizard had formed, I sent it flying into the midst of these bugs. being made of fire, the lizard momentarily lit up the tunnel. clinging to every surface available, these bugs were madly running towards us. like a pack of starved hounds, they had no consideration for anything else.when the flame neared them, the horde momentarily paused. the bugs shrieked madly, scrambling to get away from the fire. it was almost as if even being near it caused them pain. as they briefly paused, a bang echoed through the tunnel. one of the frontmost bugs had turned instantly turned into meat paste. Gareth: got ya! Pulling out his gun, Gareth took the opportunity to fire at the bugs. Under the threat of Gareth''s attack, the disorganised bugs started to charge again. Unluckily for them, my flame lizard had just reached the end of its course. Exploding outwards, the surroundings were bathed in flames. latching onto the nearby bugs. almost 50 of them burned to death in one go. As the bugs behind them began to charge over their comrade''s charred corpses, the Bims finally exploded. Bims: BOOOOOOOOM! The violent explosion caused the whole tunnel to buckle, eventually collapsing onto the approaching bugs. Tunnel: CRRRRRRK, TFFFFFFTFTFTF! watching the greatest threat to us disappear under a mountain of rubble, relief flashed over us. Alice: haaaagh, we''ve made it. feeling the tension drain from themselves, The characters behind us suddenly collapsing to the floor. No longer being under the pressure of approaching death, they needed a moment to collect themselves. Solomon: all right everyone, you''ve got a minute to collect yourselves. After that were going tohave to get moving. taking a seat on one of the platforms benches, I looked over everyone here. Smiling to myself, I was confident that we would all survive this mission. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 61 - traveling the tunnels Solomon: all right everyone, it''s time to move out! Standing up from the ground, I called out to the others. Though I had said I''d give us a minute to recover, I had allowed everyone 10 minutes. Seeing the sorry states of the characters, I felt it was necessary. Being our guides, we needed them in their best shape. it wouldn''t do to have them collapse on us, Rob: so what now? Since they started following us, we still hadn''t explained our plan. Mainly because even in this situation they would find our wealth of knowledge suspicious. It was best to keep them in the dark and covertly direct them. phone: ring, ring, rin almost as if on cue, the sound of ringing made us jump slightly. reaching into his pocket, Rob pulled out his phone. reading the screen, his face flashed with worry. Rob: hello, beth? following the story line, Rob was receiving his call from beth. if everything was the same as the film, she would be trapped in her apartment. Rob: hold on, calm down. where are you? though I couldn''t hear her words, the conversation was similar to the one in the film. Rob: don''t panic, I''ll come get you. just wait for me. Beth? BETH? looking at his phone screen, Rob realised he''d run out of battery. Jason: what happened, where''s Beth? walking up to his brother, Jason began asking questions. Rob: shit, she''s in her apartment. Lily: what, up there?! Rob: yeah, her apartment building was smashed into by the creatures. when it started to collapse, she thinks it hit another building and stopped. At the moment, it''s leaning at an angle. Hud: why doesn''t she climb down then. isn''t she on the 30th floor or something? tightening his grip on his phone, Rob''s knuckles turned white. Rob: FUCK! throwing his phone on the ground, the glass screen shattered into pieces. Rob: something fell on top of her when the building fell, she''s pinned to the floor. Staring down at the ground, Rob had a strained expression on his face. Lily: what are we gonna do? we can''t just leave her. Hud: what do you mean, those creatures are up there. even if we manage to get to her building, what can we do if the creatures come for us?! Jason: but is there really nothing we can do? Rob: enough! looking up at his friend''s bickering, his face revealed an annoyed expression. it seemed that their fruitless arguments were irritating him. though his outburst was unlike him, it was understandable in the situation. Rob: Solomon, I can''t go with you all the way. I''ve got to save her. looking at the resolute fire in his eyes, my respect for him instantly increased. being willing to risk his life for his loved ones showed his loyalty. Jason: Bro, it''s too dangerous. why don''t you let the military handle it? I''m sure they''re already above us right now. still locking eyes with me, Rob waited for my answer. he knew without my consent he couldn''t leave us. after all, he was only a human among superhumans. as the leader, he knew my response was crucial. Solomon: Beth McIntyre. she''s also a name on our list. other than you guys, Gareth and I had already planned on going to get her. I didn''t expect you''d find her location for us. since you know where she is you can come along to find her later. mixing truth with lie, I gave Rob my confirmation. Jason: if that''s the case, I''ll go too. I can''t just let me brother rush off into danger like that. Solomon: no, you''ll stay with everyone else. protecting one of you above ground will be a big enough problem, let alone two of you. shooting down Jason, I refused to take him. not only would his presence add another weakling to protect, it was completely unnecessary. there was no logical reason to take him. Jason: but Rob: he''s right, it''s already extremely dangerous. there''s no reason to put more of us in that situation. cutting off his brother, Rob also tried to convince him. Jason: argh, fine then. but you have to make it back, I won''t accept anything else! Rob: I wasn''t planning on it happening any other way. Pluvia: now that you''re all finished arguing, can we go? jumping into the conversation, Pluvia seemed to have reached the end of her patience. looking at the rest of the team, they were also getting a little fidgety. Solomon: sorry about that everyone, we''ll get moving now. Having inspected the subways map, I saw that there was a fairly short detour we could take. After collapsing the northern tunnel, we had no choice but to go south. After walking for a small while southwards, we should reach a cross section. Turning left, we would head east. following that track, we could enter a mainline of the subway. this line ran the whole way up through the centre of the city. Following that line to the north, we should be able to find a military camp along the way. like us, the military would move underground. being the only safe place in the city, it was a natural outcome. Gareth: it''s settled then, let''s go. Taking the lead, Gareth ventured into the narrow tunnel. Walking in behind him, a sense of claustrophobia overwhelmed me. The unpleasant change from a wide open area to a small tunnel was uncomfortable. but bearing with it, I continued onwards. once we reached the first cross section, hopefully, the tunnel would widen. As we made our way down the tunnel, we grouped up into pairs. forming into a line, we walked side by side in these pairs. With Gareth and tony in the lead, I followed directly behind them. catching up to me, Rob walked beside me Rob: Solomon, thank you for letting me join you. Referring to the previous conversation, Rob thanked me. Solomon: it''s fine, having you tag along won''t make that much of a difference. trying to keep his confidence high, I didn''t make much of a deal about it. though he would be a huge burden to us, it was worth the cost to have a trustworthy guide. Rob: so, where do you guys come from?Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. continuing on, he started asking questions. Having already thought it through, I natural strung together a web of lies. Solomon: we work out of a base near here, though I can''t tell you exactly where. Rob: I guessed that would be that case. Then, how come you guys are helping us? as far as I know, none of us has any connections to you. Tilting his head to the side, he started scouring his memories. Though naturally, there was no way any of them could have met us before. Solomon: that, is also secret. As far as we''re concerned, your fates and ours are tied together. we live and die together. though it wasn''t exactly true, we would try our best to keep them all alive. being able to make so many points from each of them was more than enough reason to protect them. the reward was always proportional to the danger. for saving them all, we''d get 2500 points each. comparing it to the last mission, it was a huge increase. but it was dependant on how many were able to escape. having to avoid those creatures was the reason for the huge rewards. the mission world was made so that some could escape easily and some couldn''t. it was up to us to figure out the best way to save them. Rob: hmm, is that so? Well, it''s too late to complain now. I''ll just make the best of it. if you can help me save Beth, I don''t care who you are. Quieting down for a minute, he seemed to be thinking about Beth. in the past they were lovers, but currently, they had split up. when she had come to his party earlier, he had been extremely unkind to her. thinking back on it now, he was regretting his actions. Happy to remain in silence, I started thinking up some plans in my head. I was trying to thinking up ways to deal with the two creatures. later when we were getting Beth we would be within the creatures reach. if worst came to worst, I wanted to be prepared to face them. The first thing to come to mind was pitting the two of them against each other. but in the end, I gave up on it. Going beyond the sheer difficulty of trying to draw these two beasts together, there were other issues. If we did manage to make them fight, then the destruction caused by that fight would undoubtedly affect us. the battle between those two goliath sized monsters could easily destroy manhattan. That was assuming they were only the same as in the film. if they had receive buffs from the system, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say they could destroy new york. If that wasn''t enough on its own, the system may have already set up a precaution towards this. In the worst case, we would be put under the combined attack of two behemoths. At that point, our death would be all but assured. Hud: oh, that was fast. hearing hud speak from behind me, I refocused on my surroundings. standing in a dome-shaped part of the tunnel, and seeing two sets of tracks on the ground, I knew that we had arrived at the cross-section. Heading east from here would lead us straight to the main line. Gareth: Solomon, come over here for a moment. Calling out to me, Gareth waved me over. Solomon: what is it? Gareth: you hear that? turning to face the eastern tunnel, he had a disturbed look on his face. Honing my senses to listen, I realised why. The slightly familiar noise of scuttling was coming from that tunnel. Though it wasn''t quite as loud as the previous noise, it was still audible from quite a distance away. At a guess, it was a group of around 50 insects. Though it was much less than the 1000from before, it still a lot. Solomon: damn, this throws a wrench in our plans. Our hope to avoid these parasites at all cost wasn''t going well at the moment. Even though we knew that we could kill them easily, they were still poisonous. Not knowing howdangerous that poison was, no one wanted to test it. Alice: what''s up? Why have we stopped? Walking over to us, Alice was clearly curious about the holdup. Gareth: down the eastern tunnel is a group of parasites. Hearing the simple explanation, Alice''s face turned ugly. Alice: so what now, we take another detour? Solomon: no, we''ve already added a lot of time to our journey. If we add even more we''ll only be exhausting ourselves before facing any real danger. What was the point of avoiding danger now, only to be tired when facing greater danger later on? If we could get used to fighting these bugs now, then we would be at an advantage later on. Gareth: so we''re going to squash these bugs? Solomon: that''s right. Walking back over to everyone else, Alice explained the situation to them. While she was doing that Gareth and I planned for the fight ahead. Solomon: I''m sure you''ve already sensed it, but something''s off about these enemies. Since the battle with them earlier, there was a niggling thought in the back of my head. Why were these insects so weak. It was common knowledge that in missions, the system would mould the enemies strength based on the participant''s power. Even if we had a few newbies with us, the balance was way off. Gareth: yeah, this is way too easy. Solomon: well, let''s leave it aside for now. There''s no use in speculating. we''ll just have to deal with the problems as they arise. For now, let''s prepare to fight these parasites. No matter how much we thought about it, we wouldn''t be able to make any progress. In the end, we just had to remain cautious. Gareth: alright then, I''ve come up with a couple ideas. Solomon: shoot. Gareth: since we''re still unclear about these monsters, we should remain very cautious. I think the best approach would be to pick them off from a distance. Agreeing with him so far, I kept on listening. Gareth: though I don''t think this would be best for us overall. Other than the obvious fact that we''d be the only ones fighting, we would be no more knowledgeable about the enemy. Solomon: true, but what other alternatives do we have? Seeing the point in Gareth''s words, I could understand his disappointment. But what could we do otherwise? To fight them straight on would be suicide for the weaker members of our team. once they were swarmed by the bugs, they would have no way to resist. Gareth: well, I don''t have a perfect solution. The best I can think of is to kill off most of them at range and experiment with a few leftovers. Raising his shoulders, Gareth was lost at finding a better alternative. Even after thinking it over myself, there really was no easy alternative. Solomon: I guess we''ll just have to make the most out of a bad situation. For now, we''ll follow your plan. being as there''s only 50 of them, we can easily keep them at bay. if we face a larger group, then all of us G ranks will charge them. That way, the characters and newbies won''t be at risk. with the combined power of 4 G ranks, no amount of these bugs could overpower us. Gareth: okay, it''s sorted then. Solomon: right. Turning back to the group, I explained our next move. Solomon: everyone, for now, we''re going to head east. staring blankly at me, everyone''s face''s fell. Lily: you can''t be serious? Those disgusting bugs are down there right? Solomon: that''s right, but we can''t afford to take another detour. so we''re going to head east and wipe them out. Even after seeing our mystical powers, the characters were reluctant to travel headfirst into danger. The thought of being mauled to death by bugs was playing over in their heads. thinking about that possibility, they became even more adamant about avoiding this outcome surprisingly, it was one of their own who convinced them to trust us. Rob: guys, I think we should listen to them. From amidst the group of characters, Rob had spoken up. Contrary to his friends, he wanted to follow our plan. Hud: what, are you crazy man!? Do you want to get ripped to shreds by those weird ass bugs!? Watching as they slowly rip out your intestines and eat them in front of you! Arguing back against Rob, Hud''s knack for saying inappropriate things kicked in. Looking at his own best friend, Rob felt deeply ashamed for him. Rob: dude, too far. Anyway, do you really think these guys have a Deathwish? You saw what they did back there. They slaughtered a hundred of those bugs like they were nothing. If you ask me, it''s the bugs that should be afraid. Secretly throwing me a sidelong grin, Rob continued to emphasise our strength. Though he had exaggerated quite a bit, his friends seemed to be buying it. Jason: yeah, that''s right! As long as we have them on our side these bugs are nothing but jokes! Seeing the instant skyrocket of morale, I was impressed with Rob''s methods. He was surprisingly good at manipulating people. Solomon; okay guys, this is how it''s gonna go. Gareth, Alice, Pluvia and I are going to wipe out most of the bugs, then the rest of you will get the chance to fight the few leftovers. Don''t worry though, we won''t force you to fight, it''s completely voluntary. Being careful not to lower the recently gained morale, I explained the rest of the plan. Gareth: alright then, let''s head out! Taking the lead once again, Gareth made his way into the eastern tunnel. Following behind him, I brushed past Rob. Solomon: thanks for the help, I''ll be sure to remember it. Making sure my words were only audible to him, I conveyed my thanks. If he hadn''t convinced his friends, then we would have had an issue. With no other choice, we''d have to force them. Not only would this cause the characters to once again be wary around us, but they may even use a future battle as a chance to escape. In the end, his assistance allowed us to keep the current team work together. even working as well as to improve the trust in us by the characters. Gareth: what''s this? Having walked down the tunnel for a few dozen meters, Gareth and myself in the lead stopped abruptly. Looking at the floor and wall in front of us, we could see there was some sort of goo plastering them. Watching the undulating pink syrup, you could clearly see it oozing down the walls of the tunnel. Solomon: this isn''t good. Don''t tell me this is what I think it is. Looking at the disgusting appearance before me, my mind was screaming a single word. Pluvia: nest. Nonchalantly walking forwards, Pluvia stopped at the edge of the goo. taking out a combat knife from her belt, she dipped it into the pink sludge. Tony: what are you doing? Walking forwards, Tony, like the rest of us, was confused about Pluvia''s actions. Pluvia: testing to see if it''s dangerous. if this stuff was acidic then we''d have to go around. But lucky for us, it''s harmless. As Pluvia finished her explanation, a wet tapping noise filled the tunnel. But unlike the last time, all of us could hear it. Solomon: SHIT, there close! Get back here you two! Shouting at Tony and pluvia, I realised something was wrong. Gareth: we''ve been had. figuring out the same thing I had, Gareth looked towards me. using the goo in front of us to dampen their noise, the parasites had hidden themselves. pointing all of our lights at the tunnel, we illuminated the dark abyss before us. looking at the mass of writhing bodies approaching us, we knew we''d found the parasites. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 62 - first fight of the night Solomon: CHARGE! Staring down the encroaching insects, I knew there was no time to hesitate. having approached quietly, they managed to get extremely close to us. At the moment they were only 15 meters from us. Taking the lead, I dashed forwards. stepping onto the disgusting, goo covered floor, my footsteps created a wet sloshing sound. Having been caught off-guard, we couldn''t follow our previous plan. being as they were so close, any of our attacks to push them back would be too close. so with no other choice, we had to fight them head on. though the newbies and characters would obviously hold back. Gareth: newbies, protect the characters! AAAARRRGHH! Hastily giving the newbies some orders, Gareth Joined my charge. with Alice and Pluvia following just behind him. On a normal day, the sight of us sprinting forwards would terrify our enemies. No need to talk about the demonic appearance of Gareth, even just looking at someone of my height coming for you would be scary. Unfortunately, these bugs wouldn''t react like that. Being creatures that Purely relied on their instincts, the only thing they could think to do was fight. Solomon: aargh! Arriving at the front of these bugs, I stared down the pitch black husk of one of these parasites. As they were only a group of 100, the parasites didn''t bunch together. so I had ample time to test this bug''s strength before being surrounded. still, more of them were creeping out of the darkness. It would be best to kill them as fast as possible for now. facing this front most bug, I started off easy. Using the momentum from my dash, I threw a punch at the bugs malformed face. Though these creatures were known for their speed, before my upgraded agility stat they were like snails. Bug: CRIEEEEE! With a sickening crunch, the smooth carapace was smashed inwards. emitting a horrid screech, the bug fell limply to the floor. The strength of their armour was surprisingly weak. My single punch was enough to leave a huge dent in its skull, crushing its brain inside of its head. astonished by how ludicrously weak they were, I was momentarily stunned. they were so weak that even a normal human would be able to kill them. looking at my fist, the knot of caution in my heart unravelled. Since arriving in this world, every fight had been a tough one. always facing those not only more experienced than me, but also those much stronger. it was already a miracle that I''d survived so far. now being faced with these absolute jokes as opponents, I couldn''t help but laugh. Solomon: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA what a joke! Running forwards a few meters, I attacked the closest bug to me. With my increased stats, the distance was covered in less than half a second. wanting to conserve energy, I used the same tactic again. reaching back, I sent my fist flying at the parasite. Parasite: SCREEEE! Stopping in place, the disgusting creature let out a mournful cry. but in the end, it could still only fall pray to me. hearing the high pitched screech, all of the bugs focused their attention on me. watching me kill their comrade in a single hit, the bugs became surprisingly vigilant. displaying intelligence far beyond a normal insect, they began to group up. No longer charging wildly, they began working together. circling around us, they seemed to acknowledge us as strong opponents. marvelling at the all too human-like actions of these bugs, my blood began to boil. for the first time, I looked forwards to a fight. knowing that these creatures had the potential to kill me, but not the power to, I felt proud. for the first time, I was in the position of the strong. it felt like I had finally stepped onto the road to power. even with such a euphoric feeling, I didn''t lose my vigilance. refocusing on the parasites, I thought about this change in behaviour. As they relied on quantity over quality, I could see how they knew to use teamwork. but looking at the almost perfect synchrony of these groups, it seemed more complicated than that. Unfortunately, in the film, there was no one strong enough to cause this sort of reaction. In the end, they never had a reason to display these sorts of strategies. Solomon:be careful, there moving in groups! Calling out to my teammates, I saw that they were only now reaching me. having employed the full power of my 300+ agility, they had no way to keep up with me. Seeing the eagerness to fight in their eyes, I warned them of the danger. though it was unlikely, I still worried that they might underestimate these bugs too much. As they say, even mice can bring down elephants. Just we were about to attack, I realised something. Solomon: hold on! calling out, I made everyone stop in their tracks. Standing still, we didn''t dare look away from the parasites. having run part of the way forward, we were only a few meters from the frontmost parasites. preparing to ward off the assault of the parasites my fellow G ranks tensed up. but unexpectedly, the bugs only approached menacingly. though they hissed violently at us, they didn''t make any actual attacks. Gareth: why aren''t they attacking? Before I had the chance to speak, Gareth voiced my thoughts for me. The bugs before us, though coming closer and backing away, didn''t seem to actually want to fight. Pluvia: what should we do? looking towards me, Pluvia was hesitant. From her expression, she obviously wanted to fight, but the thought of slaughtering weaklings who wouldn''t even resist was boring to her. Alice: ah, look over there! Before I could answer Pluvia, Alice drew all of our attention. Pointing at the wall a few meters away from us, she had noticed a bulbous sack hanging from the goo. Looking closely at the tunnel walls, I realised we were surrounded by these little orbs. looking very similar to the goo itself, these sacks were the same mucus pink colour. Easily blending in, you would be hard pressed to see these orbs if you didn''t know they were there. even with our enhanced senses, we had only just noticed them. Looking at the densely packed goo sacks, you could easily guess what they were. Pluvia: eggs! knowing that we had spotted their eggs, the parasites let out a discontent screech. Parasites: GREEEEEEEEEEE! The protective nature of these bugs was easily understandable. They knew that fighting us here would put the eggs in harm''s way. like most insects, they had an ingrained nature to protect their offspring. in this situation, their instincts told them not to attack. if they did, they wouldn''t be able to kill us before we damaged the eggs. they weren''t even sure that they could kill us in the first place, let alone with a handicap, so how could there be a way to fight and protect the egg sacks? using their surprisingly high intelligence, they hope to make us retreat. Then they could fight us without any restrictions. But having seen through their ruse, we wouldn''t give them what they wanted. happy that I had figured them out, I let a foreboding smile creep onto my face. Solomon: so they''re protecting their eggs huh? it seems like this is our lucky break. Tony: hahaha, it seems so. From behind me, Tony was approaching us. following behind him was Nicholas, frantically trying to convince him to go back to the characters. looking at the characters, I could see Lily was holding onto Sasha. though Sasha was still knocked out, her condition had improved a lot since a while ago. her originally pale face had colour returning to it. Even her broken angle had now returned to its natural shape. it wouldn''t be long before she woke up. Nicholas: what if another group of parasites appears in the tunnel from behind us. the characters wouldn''t last a second. we''ve got to stay back and protect them. Directly ignoring Nicholas, Tony kept walking towards us. Gareth: what are you doing? Go and protect the characters! Seeing that tony was ignoring his orders, Gareth was extremely mad. over the last week, he had put these newbies through very harsh training. part of that was to make sure they would follow his orders. But now, seeing Tony defying him, he was filled with rage. Tony: what''s the point, none of these bastards can get past you anyway. what''s the harm in me earning a few points? though that was the reason he gave, the oozing bloodlust seeping out from him revealed his true reason. Solomon: it''s fine, you can fight. you as well Nicholas. before Gareth could get into an argument with Tony, I allowed the two newbies to fight. having tested these bugs already, I obviously knew how weak they were. It was to the point that a single parasite couldn''t even stand up to a normal person. turning towards me, Gareth glared at me. he was very clearly upset that I had overruled him. giving a quick excuse, I turned away. right now wasn''t the time to argue. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Solomon: they''re both going to need points to upgrade after the mission anyway right? what''s the harm in letting them earn some now? looking at Tony and Nicholas, I made sure they understood the danger. Solomon: you guys need to be careful, okay? Even if they Don''t look like it, these aren''t just simple bugs. don''t become arrogant and get yourself killed. nodding his head vigorously, Nicholas took my words to heart. Nicholas: right, I''ll definitely be careful. even against rabbits, lions should use their full strength, right? on the other hand, Tony was already distracted by thoughts about fighting. tony: hmmn. staring at the nearby parasites, his attention was solely focused on them. as he became more and more motivated to fight, he began trembling with excitement. Solomon: Alright everyone, I''ll get their attention. once they attack me, you can hit them from the sides. using myself as bait, I would draw all of the parasites attention. then while they were focused on me, everyone else could pick them off. It was unlikely for anyone to get in danger this way. after receiving everyone''s affirmation, I looked back towards the characters. still standing 20 meters behind us, they were easily within earshot. Solomon: Rob! Catch. pulling out an assault rifle from my storage space, I threw it over to Rob. Rob: what''s this for? Solomon: just in case anything happens. you''re in charge of them for now. out of all the people left, he was easily the most competent. though I would have liked to arm everyone, that was more likely to cause issues than help. being normal people they would have no idea how to use guns. it wasn''t unlikely that they''d panic and shoot randomly than protect themselves. by leaving Rob in charge, and leaving him with a weapon, then he could protect them in an emergency. even if it was only for a second, it would be enough. Solomon: Alright guys, let''s have some fun then. Walking over to the right-hand wall, I stood by one of the many egg sacks. Holding my hand up to it, I moved a little of my qi into my palms. flashing with bright orange light, a flame made of qi erupted out of my hand. The sudden flash drew the attention of all the parasites. staring at me, they became frantic. Screeching incessantly, they had clearly anticipated my next actions. unfortunately for them, there was nothing they could do. Placing my hand down gently onto the squidgy sack, it went up in flames. under the assault of my qi''s fire, the egg sack was reduced to ash in less than a second. no longer able to bluff us, the parasites rushed towards me. As if oblivious to anything else, they lost all traces of their previous intelligence. seeing the previously organised groups devolve into a rushing horde of insects, my lips spread into a wild grin. The ploy to attract the parasites had worked almost too well. Solomon: haha, Come on then! Not willing to let myself be outdone, I sprinted towards the mass of parasites. Wrapping my hands in qi, I made makeshift gloves. When the first bug entered into range, my fist flicked through the air. Having been enhanced by energy, my fist was easily twice as powerful as before. Hitting the cool shell of the bug had a completely different effect to my earlier attacks. the qi around my lower arm completely incinerated the weak chitin armour. Not having any energy themselves, these parasites were very vulnerable to my qi. to the point that this basic technique was enough to reduce them to cinders. leaving behind the two halves of the parasite, I moved on. Having advanced to the third level of qi, I had more than enough energy to keep this up for hours. technically, if I could find enough of them, I could make thousands of points from these parasites. it was like killing leprechauns who dropped pots of gold. Letting my body run on autopilot, I observed the rest of my team. Having already drawn most of the parasites to myself, everyone else was only facing a few parasites at a time. Gareth: Tu! Standing on a freshly bisected corpse, Gareth spat down onto it. A disappointed look was plastered on his face. Gareth: way too easy. like myself, Gareth found these creatures to be extremely lacking. no longer motivated by the fight, Gareth focused on making as many points as possible. like myself, he definitely wouldn''t let such a golden opportunity as this go. putting away his sword, he pulled out his gun. aiming at the closest targets, he used his G rank Cassul gun to quickly deal with them. looking at the speed with which he disposed of them, I was impressed. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say he could take on thousands of theses parasites. maybe even more if he was given the time. With the firing rate of his gun, as well as his enhanced Agility, he was killing 3 bugs every second. Looking at the fist sized holes left in every corpse, the firepower of his gun was obviously higher than the parasites pitiful defence. though normal guns would need a few seconds to kill a parasite, his G rank gun was many times stronger than them. surprisingly, he wasn''t using his demonic energy. watching the bland bullets hitting the bugs, I didn''t see any trace of black mist. If he did use his energy, then the little bodies of these parasites would be little more than paper to him. moving on from Gareth, I looked over at Alice. She was also fighting a small group of bugs. Unlike Gareth and I who had superior stats, Alice''s enhancements were energy based. Initially, I was worried she would struggle to fight physically. But smashing my expectations, she was actually doing better than either Gareth or myself. Alice: ugh, so squishy. Standing in-between 3 dead parasites, she was looking down at her blood soaked fists. Using the unique trait of her earth spirit bloodline, she had created an armour of rock around her body. The same way as back in the guild plane. Though it was much weaker than the one in our guild plane, it still almost doubled her power. So even though her stats were quite low, after being doubled they became even stronger than my own. Looking at the corpses beside her, they were reduced to lumps of mushy flesh under her fists. As more bugs approached her, she would spring towards them. despite being covered in rocks, her speed was greater than the parasites. Smashing her rock covered fist into their heads, she would grind them into the ground. repeating the same action over and over, she kept up a steady pace. After a short while, all of the bugs around her were reduced to meat paste. Confident that Alice was more than holding her own, I looked at Nicholas and Tony. Being even weaker than Alice, I was worried that they would get swarmed. Unlike her, they didn''t have any life-saving moves. But once again, I found my worries to be unfounded. Running into a group of 5 parasites, Tony had taken the lead with his overwhelmingly huge sword. Swinging out horizontally, he cut all of the bug''s legs out from under them. The first two that were hit fell limply to the floor, killed by the sheer force behind the swing. The third and fourth bugs narrowly avoided death. but even so, they were crippled and no longer a threat. Then the final bug that was hit by the sword managed to jump away. losing only 3 of its 8 legs but before it could rejoice, Nicholas had appeared beside it. using his new pair of daggers, he stabbed the parasite in both of its eyes. managing to reach its brain, the dagger had killed it instantly. From the combined attacks of Tony and Nicholas, a fountain of fresh green blood was sent flying everywhere. Being sprayed by this blood, both of them looked like madmen turned green. Turning to face my direction, Tony had an evil grin plastered across his face. leaving Nicholas behind, he began Charging towards me. Aiming for the group of bugs in front of me. though they had been reduced by more than half, almost 20 bugs were still alive. he planned to take them all on by himself. Pointing his bloodstained sword at the mass of bugs, his appearance could only be described as savage. Tony: Eat shit you little fuckers! holding his sword out before himself, he stampeded into the bugs. Like a makeshift spear, his sword pierced through several of the insect''s soft bodies, leaving them skewered. The more bugs he killed, the more blood spilt onto his body. Like a wild berserker, his bloodlust grew the longer he fought for. Before I could react, he had killed half of the bugs in his charge. With the sudden appearance of a madman in their midst, the remaining bugs turned to face him. being completely surrounded by the parasites, as well as having his sword weighed down by corpses, he was thrown into a deadly situation. the bugs coordinated to form a circle around him, pouncing at him from every direction. Seeing the bugs lunging at him, I panicked. We still had yet to test these parasites poison. and even if it wasn''t very strong, the combined poison of these several parasites would still become fatal to him. Solomon: Quickly Dodge! Calling out to tony, I pushed my speed to the limit. With my high agility stat, I managed to kill off two of the bugs before they sprung away. But even so, 8 of them still managed to jump towards him. Seeing the approaching parasites, Tony did nothing more than smile. with great effort, he hoisted his sword above his head. using the added weight from the corpses, he stabbed it directly into the ground. Then with a jump, he landed on the hilt of his sword. looking down, he watched as the parasites smashed into his huge sword. Though the collisions made the sword wobble slightly, the combination of his weight and the corpses was enough to hold it in place. Colliding with the hard metal they fell to the floor, momentarily dazed. Jumping off of the handle, Tony grabbed a hold of his sword. As he landed on the floor, the momentum from his fall was transferred into lifting the sword out of the ground. As it rose up, the impaled corpses fell off the sword. Not wasting a single second, he crouched slightly. Holding out the sword directly in front of himself, he leant to the side. Using his body as the centre, he spun the sword in a circle. like before, all of the parasites were reduced to minced meat by this attack. Gasping for air, tony kneeled down. Looking at his figure, completely covered in blood, I was surprised to still see a bright smile on his face. Walking over to him, I said a few words. Solomon: It seems like you have more skill than I gave you credit for. take a rest for now. we''ll handle the rest of them. Giving me a thumbs up, tony collapsed down onto the floor. Even with his heavily increased stats, lugging around that huge sword drained his stamina quickly. Turning, I looked over at my last teammate. Unsurprisingly, all of her enemies were already dealt with. Pluvia: well, that was easy. In her dragon form, Pluvia was standing over a lot of the parasites corpses. The already black carapace of these bugs had turned crisp from her flame breath. Having been limited to only using her body and flame breath, she didn''t spare any time dealing with the bugs. She had killed at least 40 of them in total. When I thought that all of those points would go straight to me, I felt kind of guilty. With one last look around, I confirmed that all of the parasites had died. Looking at the 100 or so corpses in various t states after death, I felt proud ofmy team. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 63 - Tonys secret Having cleared out the wave of parasites, everyone took a few minutes to collect themselves. Pluvia, having turned into her human form again, was sat against the wall of the tunnel. having walked slightly outside of the nest, they weren''t surrounded by the disgusting goo and egg sacks anymore. but if they looked down the tunnel they could still see the start of the nest. the leftover corpses and damaged area showed how they had been fighting there only a few minutes ago. sat next to pluvia was Alice, with Sasha on her lap. she was talking to Nicholas about Sasha''s condition. even though Alice was only as qualified as Nicholas to assess Sasha, he still sought out her opinion. being the only person with a healing skill, she had become the medic of the team.on the other side of the tunnel, Solomon was sat beside the characters. talking with them, he was learning anything useful from them. lastly, Tony was sat in the middle of the tunnel. standing in front of him, Gareth was shouting at him. Gareth: what did I teach you before?! Don''t you remember?! My orders are absolute! I thought I''d done enough to drill this into your thick skull, but apparently not! Gareth was angry with Tony for ignoring his orders. Having spent a huge amount of time training him, he was angry seeing one of his most important rules disregarded. As a soldier, he valued people who would follow orders. When Tony ignored his orders, it felt like a personal attack to him. even more than that, Tony''s actions were dangerous for the whole team. If they encountered an actually dangerous situation and he did the same thing, he wouldn''t just be putting himself at risk.After nearly a minute of uninterrupted speaking, Gareth was running out of breath. Gareth: why aren''t you speaking, haah, got nothing to say for yourself?! Looking up at Gareth, tony had a tired look on his face. He didn''t understand why Gareth was so upset. After assessing the situation, it wouldn''t cause any issues for him to join the fight. If anything, it would speed up the fight. Tony: are you done yet? As the words left his mouth, Tony instantly regretted them. Hearing Tony, Gareth eyes flooded with rage. as he ground his teeth together, The mist-like energy around his body started writhing wildly. watching the display of Gareth''s power, Tony was reminded of his position. Only being a newbie in this guild, he definitely didn''t have the right to argue with one of its core members. Having been part of the guild for a short while, his actions had become more natural. So when he was annoyed with Gareth, he spoke his true thoughts. The usual atmosphere of oppression that appears in guilds didn''t exist in the wings of freedom. So the uncomfortable feeling that would remind him to be polite was gone. In other words, he had let his guard down. Now feeling the ripples of power coming out from Gareth''s body, he was reminded of his weakness. Solomon: calm down. As if teleporting, Solomon suddenly appeared beside Gareth. Placing his hand down on Gareth''s shoulder, he tried to calm him down. with the appearance of Solomon, The oppressive power coming from Gareth''s body had disappeared. Gareth: sorry, I forgot myself there. Looking at Solomon, he apologised. His terrifying visage had instantly disappeared, changing into his usual, calm appearance Solomon: it''s alright, go take a breather. Nodding, Gareth gave Tony a quick glance before walking away. Solomon: come with me. Talking to Tony, Solomon walked towards the dimly lit tunnel leading away from the nest. Unable to refuse, Tony followed silently behind him. Alice: hold on, where are you going? Standing in front of Solomon, Alice blocked his path. Having seen what just happened, she was worried about his actions. Watching him leading Tony away, she thought about his overreactions in the past, as well as his tendency to take drastic measures. Though she knew he wasn''t a bad person, she also knew he would become extremely protective when it came to his teammates. Solomon: not now Alice, wait here with everyone else. Brushing of Alice completely, Solomon continued walking past her. Being ignored so easily, Alice was stunned. But recovering herself quickly, Alice turned to block him again. Just as Alice was about to step in front of him again, Pluvia blocked her way. Pluvia: stop Alice, let them go. initially, Alice planned on arguing with Pluvia. but after seeing her resolute expression, Alice knew it would be pointless. Pluvia was stubborn at the best of times, looking at her now, there was no way she would reconsider. Looking over Pluvia''s head at the now disappearing backs of Tony and Solomon, she prayed that nothing bad would happen. Walking silently behind Solomon, Tony had a sinking feeling in his gut. As if the world around him was going to collapse in on itself. Walking back down the tunnel, they had made their way out of the others earshot. As they continued in silence, Tony became more and more nervous. As the possibilities ran through his head, one particular worry stood out more than the others. Having heard about the practice of before, he speculated that Solomon was taking him away from the others in order to kill him. it wasn''t unusual for people to go"mysteriously" missing if they caused problems, especially if those people were unranked. When Solomon suddenly stopped in front of him, the already afraid Tony panicked. without thinking he grabbed for his sword, he was completely terrified of Solomon at this point. Solomon: calm down, I didn''t bring you here to kill you. Still facing away from Tony, he spoke. naturally, Solomon understood the worries of Tony. but he had no way to convince Tony of that. so, for now, he decided to just continue speaking. looking at his exposed back, Tony considering charging Solomon. But in the end, he gave up on it. Having seen the powers that Solomon had, Tony knew he had no chance against him. His life was truly in Solomon''s hands right now. Tony: why did you bring me out here if not to kill me? Letting his arms fall limply at his side, tony gave up any thought of resisting. if Solomon had turned around now he would have been faced with Tony''s despairing face. he was convinced he would die here. Solomon: I want you to explain to me, where does your insane bloodlust come from? Turning to face him, Solomon expression was one of complete seriousness. Tony: I, I don''t know what you mean. Faced with this question, Tony was shocked. stammering out an answer, he tried to think of how Solomon had figured it out. up until now he had hidden a secret about himself. one that was heavily tied in with his overly vicious bloodlust. It was quite usual for people to have bloodlust in Domain, so normally it was overlooked when he went berserk. having not been immediately questioned after that last battle, he thought it was overlooked like usual. But unexpectedly, Solomon had seen picked up on it. Nevertheless, he didn''t intend to give away his greatest secret. Solomon: so you''re not going to tell me? Tony: I don''t know what you want me to tell you. Playing the fool, Tony hoped he would drop the subject. Solomon: then I''m afraid we''ll have to part ways here. If you can''t tell me why your bloodlust is unnaturally huge, then I can''t risk having you on the team. From Solomon''s point of view, he didn''t know why Tony would suddenly be overcome by bloodlust. though he had tried to hide it, In that last battle, he was uncontrollably shaking because of it. whatever was causing him to overflow with that could be extremely dangerous if it was turned towards the rest of the team. Solomon just couldn''t afford to have such a risk on his team. Tony: wait, if you leave me here alone I''ll die. Looking at the disappointed expression on Solomon''s face, Tony was both happy and afraid. Though he was happy he''d not been taken here to be killed, he feared being left behind. If he was abandoned by the team, he had no confidence in surviving on his own. when his bloodlust flared up, he wouldn''t be able to control his urge to fight. In that state, if he rushed into a group of 100 parasites like before, he''d be signing his own death certificate. Even a group half of that size could kill him easily. In this scenario, being left behind was the same as being killed. Solomon: it''s unfortunate, but I can''t risk the lives of everyone else to look out for you. Good luck. With an apathetic look on his face, Solomon walked straight past Tony. With every step he took, a dull echo would sound out. as Tony listened to these dull thuds, it was like a hammer was striking his heart. The sound echoed throughout his body like bell tolls foretelling his death. Tony: WAIT! I''ll tell you! When Solomon was about to disappear into the tunnel, Tony gave in. The incessant pounding of his heart was too much for him to bear. With no other choice, he gave up on hiding his secret. Solomon: haaaah, finally! I thought you weren''t gonna give in for a second there. Turning around, Solomon had a broad smile on his face. the previously serious and apathetic expressions on his face were nowhere to be seen. As if they had only been dust in the wind. In his head, he was happy that his plan had worked. When he was walking here, he was running through several scenarios in his head. But no matter what he thought of, he couldn''t think of a way to ensure Tony''s cooperation. he didn''t have enough information to make a surefire plan. so in the end, he settled for this his current method. The only thing that made his idea uncertain was not knowing how precious this secret was to Tony. If it was worth more than his life, then the current tactic wouldn''t have worked. In that case, he really would have left Tony behind. Tony; huh? You knew I''d give in? Seeing the immediate change of Solomon''s face, Tony was amazed. One second ago he was acting completely serious, and now he smiling dumbly at him. Solomon: I didn''t know for sure that you would, but I had my suspicions. Anyway, this has made me really curious. What kind of secret is so important that you''d be willing to go so far to keep it?This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. To Solomon, even his own secrets weren¡¯t worth this much to keep hidden. So what could be so important that Tony was only willing to tell him after being pushed this far? Tony: the reason I have this bloodlust, is because. I''m a gene cheater. Speaking with a huge amount of seriousness, Tony revealed his secret. The weight in his voice clearly showed the importance of this secret to him. Unfortunately, Solomon''s reaction wasn''t what he''d expected. Solomon: A Gene cheater!!! What''s that? As if an anvil had landed on his head, Tony fell face firstinto the floor. Once again, Solomon was showing his inexperience. If Tony had said this to someoneback in Domain, they''d act as if he''d just slapped their mother. Tony: HAHAHAHA, how ironic is this?! You make so much of an issue out of this, and then when I finally tell you, you don''t even understand! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! As insanelaughter echoed throughout the tunnel, the built up tensionin Tony''sbody escaped him. Having only just been in a high-stress fight, followed by a pressuring situation like this straight afterwards, Tony was feeling a lot of tension. Having let it build up, he was ready to burst. Solomon: you''re done now? Looking at the collapsed body of Tony on the floor, Solomon had an exasperated look on his face. Only after a good minute of solid laughter had Tony finally calmed down. Tony: sorry, haah, I''m done. Getting back to his feet, Tony was more a lot relaxed now. Even comparing to his state before the mission, he seemed to be a lot less tense. Solomon: so, what''s this gene cheater thing? Tony: well, it''s not an easy thing to sum up in a few words. To put it simply, I''m the child of a participant from Domain. Nodding his head, Solomon was following along. Solomon: the child? Tony: yeah, but not of anyone special. My father was only a weak G ranker. anyway, that''s what makes someone a gene cheater. Solomon: okay, so I get that''s what makes someone a gene cheater. but what does that actually do? Though Solomon had already guessed, he wanted Tony''s confirmation. Tony: this is going to take a while to explain, but let''s start with the basics. taking a few steps back, Tony reached the wall. sitting down against it, he prepared to explain everything he knew to Solomon. Having already decided to give p his secret, he had no reason to hide any of the small details. Solomon: try to make it as short as you can. it''s best that we don''t stay here too long. looking back down the tunnel from where they came, Solomon thought about how risky it was to have everyone gathered near the bugs nest. Tony: I''ll do my best. so, there is one main thing that sets gene cheaters apart from most participants in Domain. We all have an inheritance from our parents. Solomon: inheritance? so you get their abilities? having his earlier speculation confirmed, Solomon''s thought about the possibilities of these Gene cheaters Tony: it''s not as simple as that. though some children may get the same enhancement as their parent, most don''t. it''s far more usual to get a degraded version of it. for example, if your dad was an F rank vampire you would probably be born as a G rank vampire. Solomon: so you normally get a lower ranked version? but what if both of your parents have enhancements? thinking about it, Solomon had found an issue. if you had two equally ranked parents, whose enhancement would you inherit? Tony: like I said, it''s complicated. for gene cheaters, there are two main types. pure bloods and half bloods. pure bloods are people who have two enhanced parents. they usually inherit one enhancement from one parent, and another from the other. as for half bloods, they only have one parent who was enhanced. like for me, my mother was only an unranked. as he spoke about his own parents, Tony''s voice was detached. as if his parents were strangers to him. though Solomon heard this, he decided to ignore it for now. Solomon: okay, so what enhancements do half bloods get? spurred on by curiosity, Solomon asked about these half bloods. Tony: usually it''s a weaker version of their parent''s powers. but there isn''t a rule to it. for some people, they might not inherit anything, but others might get the same enhancements as their parents. knowing there was variety between the circumstances of gene cheaters, Solomon made a mental note to not judge them by that title. Solomon: so what about you? do you already have powers? hearing so much about these gene cheaters inheritance, Solomon was curious as to what powers Tony had. Tony: unluckily I don''t have any. as my father only had one G rank enhancement, it was already unlikely that I''d inherit it. for me, I inherited something else. Solomon: something else? having been drawn into the conversation, Solomon was very interested in Tony''s inheritance. Tony: that''s right. I myself have received two benefits from the system itself. the first was a reduction in an enhancements cost. As my father had the chimaera enhancement, I can buy the same G rank enhancement without paying points. and for every rank after that, I only need to pay half the price. Solomon: A reduction! isn''t that too op!? Just for the average G rank enhancement, the cost is around 200 points. you could increase your stats by 200 with that. thinking about the benefits later on when saving thousands on the cost of enhancements, Solomon felt extremely bitter. Tony: it''s not as amazing as it sounds. like I said, I''m only a weak G ranks half blood child. the benefits for those with higher ranked parents would undoubtedly be better. being praised by Solomon, Tony spoke with a self-deprecating tone. though he knew that he was better of than most, he was still a small ant in the whole scheme of things. Solomon: don''t be so negative, compared to me, you''re way better off, right? Pointing to himself, Solomon smiled brightly at Tony. in his mind Tony truly was a special existence. having only been born as a normal human, he was impressed by Tony''s tiny inheritance. Tony: I guess that''s so. but I just can''t help but compare myself to others. anyway, that isn''t the only benefit I have. Solomon right, you still haven''t explained your overwhelming bloodlust. Being the reason they were having this conversation in the first place, Solomon was still waiting to hear about it from Tony. but only now at the end of his explanation was he getting to it Tony: that''s right. as I already told you, my father was a chimaera. because of that, I inherited a trait of the chimaera bloodline. their unsatiable bloodlust. as he explained his circumstances, Tony''s expression grew darker and darker. to him, this inheritance was more like a curse. Tony: As full chimaeras consume strong enemies to grow, they have a natural instinct to fight. Having taken on this part of them, I also have this instinct. Because of that, the closer I come to an enemy, the greater my bloodlust grows.by the time I''m within a meter of them, the urge to attack is unstoppable. but it''s not all bad. As part of the instinct to fight, I have a natural talent for combat. if I didn''t have this inheritance, I wouldn''t be half as strong as I am now. Solomon: so it''s a double-edged sword. while it may force you into dangerous situations, it makes you stronger overall. Summing it up, Though he may be safer overall, he would always be walking the line between life and death. After hearing all of this, Solomon was still confused about one thing. Solomon: I get that it''s a huge bonus to be a gene cheater, but why were you so reluctant to tell us? hearing the all too innocent question of Solomon, Tony was reminded of how ignorant Solomon was. Tony: you''re still too na?ve. Think about how most people would react if they heard that someone got the same results as them with only half the effort. Nodding, Solomon saw the logic behind his actions. For most people in Domain, who fought tooth and nail to just survive, seeing someone flourish without much effort would be infuriating. thinking about this, Solomon chuckled to himself. he found it funny that even in Domain, the land of opportunity, people were still unequal. Tony: even as bad as that is, it''s the not the only issue we face. guilds will often force gene cheaters to join them. As they can just give them a few Tokens and instantly have another strong member. as he spoke about the ways in which gene cheaters were exploited, Tony showed a pained expression. Solomon: okay, I understand why you didn''t tell us the truth. I would do the same in your situation. but in the end, I don''t care if you''re a gene cheater. As I''ve said before, my only concern is my team. As long as you give your loyalty to the team, then we won''t have any problems. you could be a 3 eyed ostrich and I still wouldn''t care. anyway, it''s we''ve been away for a long time now. we should head back soon. Looking back down the tunnel, Solomon''s eyes were a little uneasy. separating from everyone for so long made him a little uncomfortable. Tony: well, I''ve told you most of what I know. let''s head back then. agreeing with Solomon, Tony rose to his feet. as an experienced fighter, he also felt off leaving everyone outside the parasites base. back down the dingy tunnel, the rest of the team were waiting at the edge of the bugs nest. Having been waiting for so long, everyone had grown impatient. Gareth was pacing back and forth in the middle of the tunnel. looking at the downturned expression on his face, you could see that he wasn''t happy staying by the nest. Sitting at the side of the tunnel, Alice was chatting with Nicholas. laying Sasha on her lap, she was gently stroking her hair. looking at the peaceful expression on Sasha''s face right then, Nicholas felt relaxed. compared to her deathly pale and sickly look from earlier, she was now shining with a healthy light. the awkwardly twisted ankle from before had already set back into place. It wouldn''t be long before she woke back up. at the opposite side of the tunnel, the characters had gathered. Rob was currently trying his best to keep them calm. ever since Solomon had left, they had been uneasy. as Solomon was the leader of the group, he had become a pillar of support for them. now lacking that pillar, they became afraid. but before they freaked out completely, Rob had taken up Solomons role. Still holding onto the rifle from before, he used his convincing words to become their unofficial leader. As for pluvia, she was sat a dozen meters away from everyone else. being in between them and the way Solomon had gone, she was preventing them from following him. though they had tried to convince her several times, it was like talking to a brick wall. looking out into the murky tunnel, Pluvia had been staring at the darkness since Solomon left. for some reason, she had complete confidence in him right now. the few times Gareth or Alice had wanted to go look for Solomon, she''s didn''t hesitate to stop them. she was truly living up to her title of stubbornness. twitching her ears, she suddenly perked up. Looking out into the pitch black abyss of the tunnel, she called out to everyone behind her. Pluvia: they''re back! Hearing her, they all looked over at the darkness. under the illumination of their lights, two distinct figures appeared. On any normal day, the appearance of these two-meter tall giants would have been odd. but right now, it was what they had all been waiting for. Seeing that Tony was with Solomon, Alice let out a relieved sigh. ever since they left, she had worried that Solomon would take drastic measures. But looking at the friendly expression on them both, she was convinced otherwise.like wisps of smoke, her concerns disappeared. Solomon: sorry we took so long, it''s completely my fault. having arrived back to the scene of everyone waiting impatiently, Solomon was happy in his heart. he was slightly worried something would go wrong while he was gone. but luckily, nothing had happened. Nicholas: so have you two sorted everything out? Holding onto his sister, Nicholas hoped that they wouldn''t need to do this again. While they were gone, the whole team was at risk. If something unexpected happened, he didn''t think they''d survive it without Solomon. so to him, Solomon was his saviour. having already shown that he''d put himself at risk for him and his sister, Nicholas felt uneasy without Solomon being around. Solomon: yeah, we''ve sorted everything. but before we get going, Tony has some things to explain to you all. having already discussed it with Solomon, Tony agreed to share his secret with the whole team. after telling Solomon, he didn''t have much to lose by telling the others. so quickly telling them a condensed version of what he told Solomon, his secret was completely revealed. having the secret of Tony explained to them, everyone was musing over this new information. Unsurprisingly, Nicholas and pluvia had heard of gene cheater before. even then, they''d not known many of the details. Gareth: so that''s why you acted strangely before. I''ve got to apologise. I blamed you for ignoring me when you couldn''t help it. Please forgive me. Now understanding the previous actions of Tony, Gareth felt very guilty. Having taken it as a personal insult before, he''d been very rude to Tony. Now understanding the reasons behind his actions, Gareth regretted his cruel words. bowing his head to Tony, he apologised profusely. Tony: it''s fine, I didn''t take it personally. I''m also sorry for not explaining this before.it''s really my fault in the first place. accepting Gareth''s sincere apology, Tony also felt a little guilty. if he had explained this sooner, the earlier situation could have been avoided. Solomon: all right then, that''s that issue cleared up. now that everyone''s had a good rest, shall we take a deeper look at this nest? Looking down the disgusting, goo filled tunnel, Solomon felt a shiver travel down his spine. the walls and floor being covered in egg sacks gave the dead silent, cave-like tunnel, a heavy atmosphere. But the longer they stared at these disgusting sights, the more they seemed like rivers of silver and pots of Gold. knowing that the creatures who created this grotesque scene were worth so many points, while still being extremely weak, they longed to hunt them down. turning back to look at everyone, they all nodded. a resolute desire to earn points burning in their eyes. Solomon: into the nest we go then. trudging into the gunk filled tunnel, Solomon led everyone forward into the nest. Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 64 - the queen Having made their way into the goo filled tunnel, the team was faced with a mesmerising scene. Nicholas: wha, what is this? Stretching out before them was a huge, seemingly endless cavern. Illuminated by a beam of light shining down from above, the massive expanse was clear to see. If one were to estimate, it would have to be at least 5 kilometres wide and just as tall. The walls sloped down to reach the centre of the chamber, making it a semi-spherical shape. standing at the connection between the tunnel and the cave, they were at the top of sloped walls. Rob: is that? Tony: outside? looking up at the lights origin, they could see a hole in the roof of the cave. though it was only a couple dozen meters wide, the streams of moonlight into the dark cavern were as bright as sunlight to the people inside. looking at the open space before them, everyone was unsettled by what they saw. Covering every available surface was a thick layer of green goo, giving the room a grotesque atmosphere. Oval egg sacks the size of footballs were dotted around, like dots of pink in a sea of green. the occasional twitching of the eggs made it seem like the room itself was alive. But even this disturbing scene wasn''t the centre of their attention. In the centre of this landscape, a colossal creature was wandering around. focusing on it, Gareth used his enhanced eyesight to examine the monster. Gareth: what the hell is that thing? Even from the distance of several thousand meters, Gareth could see the creature as clear as day. Standing at 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide, it was the size of a house. looking almost identical to the parasites, it was scuttling around on 8 pointed legs. The only thing that set it apart from a normal parasite, other than its size, was the large sack protruding from it''s lower body. bending its knees, the huge parasite lowered it''s huge sack to the ground. As Gareth watched, the bag like appendage began pulsating. A bulge at the top of the monsters sack started wiggling it''s way to the tip, almost like it was trying to escape. Eventually reaching the end of the wriggling sack, it forced its way out of a small hole in its tip. leaking out of that hole, a pink goo interspersed with eggs fell onto the floor. Quickly hardening, the goo formed into another egg sack. Completely shocked, Gareth turned towards Solomon. Seeing the unsettled look on his face, he knew Solomon had also seen the previous scene. to the side of Solomon, Pluvia and Alice were also looking out at the creature Gareth: is that, the? Pluvia: yeah, it''s the queen. Before Gareth could finish asking his question, Pluvia had answered it for him. receiving nods from Alice and Solomon, they were all in agreement. though it wasn''t an odd assumption to call this creature the queen, there had been no evidence for one existing in the film. Staring intently at it, Pluvia''s keen intuition was telling her that it was very strong. Solomon: there''s no need to panic, it hasn''t seen us yet. even if it did it''s too far away to do anything. Seeing the newbies and characters behind him becoming nervous, Solomon explained the situation to them. Being unable to see as clearly as himself, they could only make out the queens outline. even though this situation was uncomfortable for the newbies, they bared with it. But the characters being normal people didn''t have the mental fortitude to shrug off their fear. With each passing second, they were becoming increasingly afraid. Rob: calm down everyone, it''s only a bigger bug. it''ll only end up squashed like the last ones. Recovering quickly, Rob tried to calm his friends down. he was surprisingly adaptable, becoming accustomed to his fear in an extremely short time Jason: it can''t be that simple. I mean, it''s the queen right? surely it''s special right? Hud: Right! won''t it have a royal guard or something? I mean, what if there like the bugs from starship troopers. Then won''t they make a hole in our heads and eat our brains! despite Rob''s attempt, his friends were still panicking. spurred on by Huds vividly detailed rambling, they were about to lose themselves completely to fear. Solomon: Silence! now''s not the time for this. it''s just a bigger version of the parasites. even if it does have special powers, what can it do to the four of us? pointing at himself and the other G ranks, he appeared completely confident. Nicholas: Are you sure? maybe it''s hiding its power. Jumping into the conversation, Nicholas was also sceptical. Solomon: So what if it is. even if it''s twice as strong as it seems, we can still kill it together. looking at the distant figure of the Queen, Solomon had a confident grin on his face. Even faced with this house sized enemy, he seemed unfazed. seeing the complete confidence of Solomon, the characters calmed down slightly. though still on edge, they weren''t going to run away screaming anytime soon. interjecting in Solomons conversation, Tony had a concerned look on his face. Tony: Solomon, are you sure it''s as weak as you said? Solomon: As far as I can tell, why? Tony: my senses are going crazy. That queen over there is insanely strong. Looking at the reddening of Tony''s face, it was clear that he was struggling to hold it together. His sensitive senses were telling him that the queen wasn''t an enemy they should fight. Taking his warning very seriously, Solomon looked back over at the queen.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Solomon: we''ve got no other choice. there''s not enough time to go around. even if we could, isn''t this the perfect time to kill it. right now it''s on its own. if we don''t take this chance now it could bite us in the ass later. As Solomon looked over at it, the queen suddenly stopped in place. Twitching slightly, it started acting differently. Confused by this change in behaviour, Solomon focused his attention back onto the queen. just as confused, Pluvia, Alice and Gareth were also observing the queens movements. Alice: What''s it doing? Under everyone''s gazes, the queen continued to twitch. Quickly becoming more violent, the queen seemed to be working up to something. Stamping on the ground with its pointed feet, the queen was leaving head sized potholes in the floor. Gareth: this doesn''t seem good. what should we do? getting a foreboding feeling, Gareth felt a shiver run up his spine. Solomon: I don''t know. for now, we''ll have to wait and see what it does. everyone be alert, I don''t want it catching us off guard. though it wasn''t looking towards them, Solomons intuition told him they''d been discovered. as everyone watched on silently, the fear of the unknown was gnawing away at them. Jason: fuckin do something already! losing out to the pressure, Jason swore at the Queen. fortunately, it was too far away to hear us. hearing his words to echo away to nothingness, everyone''s already anxious thoughts reached a climax. Just as the rest of the characters were about to lose it, the queen froze. no longer randomly stomping around, it was standing perfectly still. to everyone''s horror, it was facing towards them. Though they couldn''t make out the creature''s eyes from this distance, they were sure that it was staring straight at them. Gareth: shit! it''s seen us! Taking a startled step back, Gareth''s mind briefly went blank. Though the distance between himself and the queen was huge, the terrifying power of its gaze caught him off guard. Looking at Alice beside him, he noticed that she was also startled. But looking at the unmoved Solomon and Pluvia, he felt a little embarrassed. Even feeling the oppressive power coming from the queen, both of them were still standing tall. Seeing the distance between them and him displayed so obviously, a fire was lit in his heart. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be on equal footing with them. Pluvia: this isn''t good. Solomon, take everyone and run. Looking at the far off form of the queen, Pluvia''s expression turned solemn. Her usually calm expression had disappeared completely, leaving behind a cold and calculating face. Solomon: no, we can''t run. Turning back to Solomon, Pluvia planned on forcing him to leave. But seeing the toothy grin on his face, she was taken aback. the confident expression on his face made her question his sanity. When the pressure from the queen had swept over Solomon, he was surprised by its strength. Though he already acknowledged the queen''s strength, he had only expected it to be equal to himself. Unexpectedly, it was almost twice as strong. This unassuming queen seemed to be a lot more powerful than they first thought. Staring down this deadly opponent, Solomon''s blood began to boil. Having been unable to go all out in a fight since his last upgrade, Solomon was anxious to test his new powers. Just as Pluvia recovered herself and was about to force Solomon away, the queen acted. Queen: GREEEEEEEEEE!!! Taking a deep breath, it let out a deafening screech. easily surpassing the sound of a jet engine, the screech instantly reached the ears of everyone. Hitting their unprepared ears, unspeakable pain forced its way into their heads. Nicholas: AAARGGGHH! Tony: UUUNNGGHH! The newbies screamed with pain, falling to their knees. Staying crouched down, they tried to resist the urge to vomit. the violent ringing in their ears was like hammers, hitting them over and over. beside them, the characters had directly fainted. even the unusually resistant Rob was passed out on the floor. Resisting the earsplitting pain, Nicholas got to his feet. Still carrying the unconscious Sasha on his back, he couldn''t afford to collapse. Standing unsteadily, Nicholas felt a hand grab his shoulder. He looked up to see the concerned face of Alice before him. Though he could see her lips moving, he couldn''t hear her over the ringing in his ears. Alice: Hey, are you all right!? Looking at the pained expression on Nicholas'' face, Alice was worried. Even to her, the queen''s scream had dealt considerable damage. if it had hurt her, then the characters and newbies would undoubtedly be injured by it. Looking at the confused expression on his face, she thought the noise had scrambled his brains. Gareth: he can''t hear you, the noise will have left him deaf! Coming up to Alice, Gareth explained Nicholas''s condition. Gareth: he''ll be fine for now, help me check on them! Pointing over at the collapsed bodies of the characters, Gareth''s face was ugly. Being tasked with their protection, he felt very guilty seeing them injured. Then looking at the stumbling frames of Nicholas and Tony, he regretted the decision to go this way. at this moment, he wanted to help the newbies, but the characters would be far worse off than them. So with the characters as their priority, Gareth and Alice ran over to them. Still facing the queen, Solomon and Pluvia were keeping an eye on it. having reacted extremely quickly, they coated their ears with their qi to protect themselves. luckily, the queen''s attack wasn''t energy based. otherwise, everyone would be a lot worse off now. Solomon: how are they? turning around, Solomon noticed the characters collapsed on the floor. standing beside them, Alice and Gareth were checking on them. With concern flashing on his face, Solomon was worried the worst had happened. Alice: they''re fine, just knocked out. Solomon: haah, that''s good. breathing a sigh of relief, Solomon looked back towards the queen. as he did, a new noise entered his ears. Echo: araarAAARAAAAARAAAAAAAAAA! This new noise seemed to be approaching them from far away, growing louder as it got closer. Listening to this approaching noise, Solomon was curious as to its origin. Listening out for the source of this noise, Solomon realised that it was coming from the tunnels around the cave. with the cave''s location being an intersection of two subway lines, there was a tunnel on each side of the cavern. the noise seemed to be coming from them. luckily, whatever it was wasn''t coming from the tunnel behind him. As he continued observing, Solomon saw a horde of parasites erupt out of the other tunnels. Forming into a sea of dark black, the parasites Gathered around their queen. surprisingly, there was another type of parasite among them. Standing at 6 feet tall, they were unique compared to the other parasites. instead of the usual front legs, they had two scythe-like arms, As well as a sharp, tail like limb attached to their lower back. Even though these special parasites numbered less than twenty, each one was several times stronger than an ordinary parasite. moving with the group, these new parasites also gathered around the queen. when the tide of insects had finished pouring out of the tunnels, nearly half of the open space was filled with the parasites. Solomon estimated nearly 5000 parasites had appeared from the tunnels. when this huge group had stabilised themselves, they all looked up at him. the weight on Solomons'' shoulders suddenly tripled compared to before, making him sweat. The previously raging fire in his heart had dampened, becoming more like a candle than a bonfire. From the centre of the huge cavern, the queen stared up at Solomon. Almost like it was smirking at him. Seeing this, Solomon complexion turned unsightly. Solomon: fuck me. Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 65 – the start of an intense battle Queen RAAAAAAAA!!! From the centre of the enormous cave, the queen let out a deafening roar. signalling for her minions to charge, the queen followed behind her army of minions. Looking at the several thousand squirming bodies approaching him, a chill shot up Solomon''s spine. Glancing behind himself at the collapsed characters and injured newbies, he realised they''d been forced into a corner. Solomon: Alice, Gareth, Take everyone back into the tunnel. Do it quickly! Still staring down the approaching horde, Solomon gave out an order. In his head, Solomon was already trying to think of a way out of this situation. luckily, even with their superior speed, it would take a few minutes for the insects to reach them. While Solomon was strategizing, Alice and Gareth were following his command. Very rapidly, the unconscious bodies of the characters were moved into the tunnel. Pluvia: what''s the plan? Walking over to Solomon''s side, Pluvia also stared out at the approaching enemies. Particularly, her eyes were focused on the queen in their centre. Even Pluvia''s normally indifferent face had disappeared, turning into a concerned expression. measuring the power of these bugs, she had a rough understanding of the danger they posed. having long since known the normal parasites were weaker than a normal human, she wasn''t too concerned about them. though they were huge in number, the overwhelming difference in power wouldn''t change no matter how many there were. looking at the larger parasites, totalling 30, she was slightly concerned. each of them had the strength of a weak G rank. individually they wouldn''t be an issue, but if they coordinated, even she would struggle against them. but even those, were not her main fear. It was the queen in their midst that was making her nervous. the power it gave off was somewhere between G and F rank. Easily double her own strength. looking at Solomon, she hoped he could come up with a tactic to deal with these difficult enemies. Solomon: honestly, there isn''t one. no matter how clever we try to be, the normal parasites will just group up and ruin our plans. hearing the exasperation in Solomon''s voice, a sense of panic was beginning to creep into Pluvias heart. though she personally wasn''t afraid of fighting these bugs, the risk of her teammates dying was quite high. In the case that she was killed, she would just return to dragons fire. But for everyone else, that would be the end. just thinking about that possibility, Pluvia found herself feeling uneasy. Realising she had developed this sense of comradery with everyone, she was surprised. feeling her welled up emotion, she knew she''d become attached to the team. Pluvia: what are going to do then? run away? Looking out at the approaching parasite army, she knew they couldn''t kill them all. even with their considerable strength, the combination of their overwhelming numbers and their queen''s strength was too much for them to handle. Solomon: no, we''ve already detoured too much. if we waste even more time, I''m not sure we can escape before the bombs drop. As was shown in the movie, the whole of Manhattan would be reduced to rubble at 6:42 in the morning. though they luckily had entered the world at 8:00 it was already 10:30. Pluvia: what do we do then? Just hold up in the tunnel and hope we can survive? Considering that option, Solomon shook his head. Solomon: we can''t do that. if the queen charges in, it''ll massacre us. confused by Solomon''s conclusion, Pluvia questioned him. Pluvia: how do you figure that? though it''s stronger than us, it''s not that much stronger. Solomon: I agree with you, But in the tunnel we can''t use our strongest moves. if we did the tunnel would collapse on us. but the queen being a physical fighter could still go all out. Nodding her head, Pluvia understood Solomon''s reasoning. Solomon: That queens the biggest problem for us... wait, that''s it! it''s the queen! trying to think of a method to deal with the queen, Solomon happened upon a eureka moment. Out of all these enemies, the only real danger came from the queen. if she didn''t exist they could easily hold up in the tunnel and kill the weaker parasites over a longer time. Pluvia: what is it? did you figure something out? Happy that Solomon had come up with something, Pluvia was anxious to know what it was. Solomon: I''ve got a plan! Turning towards Pluvia, Solomon grabbed a hold of her shoulder. Looking into her eyes, his expression was intense. being caught off guard, Pluvia was unsure how to react to the sudden closeness. Catching onto her awkwardness, Solomon let go of Pluvia. Solomon: sorry, I wasn''t thinking. apologising, Solomon quickly moved on to explaining his plan. Solomon: anyway, here''s my plan. Alice and Gareth will stay in the tunnel protecting everyone. while they do that, you and I will charge for the queen. condensing his plan as much as possible, Solomon explained it to her. But Pluvia was very confused after hearing it. pluvia: so the plans to just charge at the queen? Solomon: that''s a simple way of putting it, but yes. Nodding, Solomon confirmed Pluvia''s question. pluvia: then what was that a minute ago about. you looked like you had a really important discovery. Not wanting to use up too much of their already limited time, Solomon explained his reasoning. Solomon: id did think of something. out of all of these enemies, who''s the only one who poses a risk to us? Pluvia: the queen obviously. following along, Pluvia answered his question. Solomon: exactly, so one we''ve got rid of it, what can the rest of the bugs do to us? Pluvia: ah, that''s it! like Solomon, Pluvia also had a eureka moment.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Solomon: so that''s the plan. we take out the queen, then we retreat back to the tunnel. from there we can easily kill the rest of them. now understanding my plan, Pluvia was happy to go along with it. Pluvia: alright, we''ll go with that then, But I have one condition. happy that the plan had been decided upon, Solomon, was curious as to what Pluvia''s condition was. Solomon: what is it? Pluvia: you''ve got to let me take the lead. As you know, even if I die I''ll just return to Dragons fire. So it''s best if I draw its attention and face it physically. Looking over at Solomon, Pluvia expected he would argue with her. she knew that he disliked hiding behind his allies. so she was ready to convince him to follow her condition. Solomon: alright. But contrary to her expectation, he didn''t say anything against it. slightly stunned, Pluvia stared dumbly at him for a second. looking at her face, Solomon felt a little guilty. He didn''t like letting Pluvia take the most dangerous position, But it was unavoidable. The queen being like the parasites would probably rely on its insane speed to fight. As that was the case, they needed the frontline fighter to be able to match her physically. So even though Solomon did have considerable physical strength, Facing the queen head-on would be suicide for him. Pluvia, on the other hand, was a full-blooded dragon. Because of that, her defence and attack would be insanely high. Even her speed was higher than the average G rank. Soit wasn''t as much of a choice as it seemed. They wouldn''t have a chance to survive otherwise. Gareth: Solomon! we''ve moved everyone! From behind them, Gareth called out to Solomon and Pluvia. Turning towards him, they saw that everyone had been moved into the cave. though all of the characters were unconscious, Tony and Gareth were just about recovering. leaving them in the tunnel entrance, Alice and Gareth had walked over to us. Solomon: good, then let me explain my plan. Looking at the front most parasites, there was only 2 minutes left to prepare. using the few remaining minutes, Solomon explained the plan to them. Solomon: Okay, so you''re going to hold up in the tunnel when the parasites get here. With Alice''s summons, these parasites shouldn''t be an issue for you. Alice: wait, what do you mean "You''re"? Aren''t you staying with us? Picking up on the meaning in Solomon''s words, Alice felt an uncomfortable foreboding. Looking into Solomon''s serious eyes, the feeling only intensified. Solomon: that''s right, you and Gareth are going to stay in the tunnel. As for Pluvia and I, we''ll be going after the queen. Having her worries confirmed, Alice''s face filled with dread. Though she knew Solomon was very strong, she didn''t think he was even half as powerful as the queen. from her perspective, the oppressive feeling coming from the queen was many times stronger than the feeling coming from Solomon. What she didn''t realise is that she had never been on the receiving side of Solomon''s full out assault. So she didn''t know that Solomon''s power was actually equal to half of the queens. Not to mention that with Pluvia''s assistance, their combined power was no less than the queens. after all, even if the queen was between G and F rank, they were both peak G rank fighters. even weak Franks would struggle against the two of them. Closing the gap further, they knew that the queen''s intellect would be lower than theirs. Even if it had ten times the intelligence of a normal parasite, it would only be as smart as a young child. So if they used their wit, outsmarting the queen would be a piece of cake. In the end, the queen strength wasn''t as overwhelmingly as it seemed. but even if that was the reality, Alice didn''t have that understanding. Alice: YOU CAN''T!!! It''s too dangerous! Unable to contain herself, Alice pleaded with Solomon. feeling the pain in her heart, she let her emotions get the best of her. Solomon: there''s no other choice. someone has to kill the queen. if not us then who can? by asking Alice this question, he''d backed her into a corner. out of everyone there, who had better qualifications to fight the queen than Pluvia and himself. unable to argue back, Alice''s face reddened further. Trying her best to find an excuse, Alice ran through dozens of possibilities in her head. But no matter what crazy ideas she came up with, they wouldn''t persuade Solomon to give up his plan. Eventually accepting it, her eyes became detached. Seeing this change in expression, Solomon felt a grating pain in his chest. Having promised that he''d protect her, he felt hurt seeing her like this. Solomon: it''s okay, I''m not going to leave you. taking a step forwards, Solomon reached out to Alice. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he brought her into his embrace. Alice: eh. Surprised by his sudden action, Alice let out a squeak. Finding herself in such a situation while death was looming over everyone, Alice wasn''t sure how to react. Giving into the warm feeling coming through Solomon''s body, she leant into his chest. Alice: I know. Accepting Solomon''s plan in her heart, Alice pushed Solomon away. Gareth: Ahum! Clearing his throat, Gareth reminded the two lovebirds of where they were. Quickly distancing herself from Solomon, Alice''s face had turned bright red. Solomon: uh, anyway. Now that the plans been sorted, let''s move out! Looking over at the Parasite army, Solomon saw they were only 20 seconds away. Everyone: Right! Knowing their roles, Everyone got into position. Moving back to the narrow tunnel entrance, Gareth crouched down. Pulling out his Gun, he prepared himself for the slaughter to come. In this situation, Solomon regretted Gareth''s choice in guns. If he had a G rank machine gun, then his fighting ability against these parasites would be insane. he might even be able to hold off the tunnel on his own. Unfortunately, it was too late now. Standing a couple meter in front of Gareth, Alice had slipped two cards out of her sleeve. Alice: Come forth, Hackmon, necro. With an abbreviated chant, the two cards turned into wisps of green energy. Forming into two formations on the ground, her summons rose out of them. On one side, the cloak wearing necromancer, Necro! And on the other side, the small metallic Dragon, Hackmon! since training before, Alice had significantly improved her energy store. though it still regenerated at the same rate, her rift energy had almost doubled in size. even continuously using her effect cards, she would still be able to fight for an hour. Necro and Hackmon: greetings master. Bowing their heads, Alice''s summons greeted her. But before she could reply to them, they both felt the overwhelming presence in the room. looking around, they caught sight of the approaching army of dog sized insects. Seeing the surprised look on her summons faces, Alice quickly explained the situation to them. Pluvia: are you ready for this? Standing a dozen meters in front of Alice, Pluvia and Gareth were looking down at the Parasites. Because of the semi-circular shape of the cave, they had the high ground advantage. but even so, the horde of black bodies was very intimidating. Solomon: yeah, I''m ready. Seeing the approaching enemies, the fire in Solomon''s heart had relit itself. No matter how he tried to supress it, the thirst for battle would continue to grow stronger. the instincts from his raceless enhancement were beginning to affect his mentality. because he now had several races, theirinstinctswere stackingon top of each other. Because of that,the effects were amplifying each other. On one side this let him havebetter fighting instincts, but on the flipside, he would struggle to suppress hisdesire to kill. Feeling the increasingly powerful waves of anticipation and fear, Solomon was anxious to begin his slaughter. Pluvia: haha, you seem really fired up. Well I can''t just let myself be outdone now, can I? Seeing the ferocious expression on Solomon''s face, Pluvia let a grin sneak up to her lips. Facing the horde, she only had a few seconds before entered her range. Much like Solomon, her instincts were flaring up. Being in a difficult situation after so long had gotten her blood boiling. letting her instincts take over, she had a thought occur to her. Pluvia: hey Solomon, how about a friendly competition? Leaning forward, Pluvia''s body began changing into a dragon. Solomon: what competition? Like Pluvia, Solomon was beginning to exhibit signs of changing. Though he wouldn''t fully transform until he activated his fur of the eternal moonlight skill, his hair and nails were starting to grow longer. Pluvia: who can kill the most parasites. Solomon: You''re on! Having talked through the last few second of preparation, the closest Parasite was now within their range. Taking the initiative, Pluvia Transformed into her dragon form. Becoming an 8-foot tall dragon, she dashed forwards. Covering the 30-foot distance to the parasites in an instant. Solomon: Fur of the eternal moonlight! Activating his racial skill, Solomon, like Pluvia, changed forms. Growing a few feet taller, long silver hair sprouted out of every part of his body. along with the elongated mouth and claws like nails, he looked like a werewolf. leaning forwards, Solomon felt a 7th of his qi disappear. but even so, he didn''t feel any weaker. instead, he felt many times stronger. Driving his elongated legs into the ground, Solomon shot forth. like an arrow released from a bow, he flew a dozen meters in seconds. Bellowing a war cry, he smashed into the endless sea of insects. Solomon: AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH!!! volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 66 - a friendly competition Parasite: SCREEEEEEEE! Screeching at the nearby figure of a wolfman, one of the many parasites prepared itself to fight. Having watched the humanoid creature effortlessly dispatch of several of its brethren, the little parasite was very cautious. watching the wolfman dart between several of its allies, it witnessed them being killed in single blows. hiding behind its brothers, the little bug bided its time. keeping an eye on the wolfman, it was waiting for an opportunity. knowing it couldn''t do anything but die in a 1v1 fight, it hoped to use its superior speed to launch a sneak attack. in the end, it didn''t have to wait very long. Briefly exposing its back to the hidden parasite, the wolf man was dealing with one of its brethren. another of the more intelligent parasites had tried to perform a sneak attack as well, but the wolfman was too attentive. As soon as he saw it coming, the man''s fury claws had weaved their way into the pouncing parasites eyes. using its eye sockets as makeshift handles, he ripped the little insect in two. using the moment of pause its dead brother had given it, the hidden parasite attacked. springing out from the safety of the horde, the little parasites teeth were ready to sink into the wolfman''s exposed back. But to its surprise, just as its pearly black teeth were about to clamp down on the wolfman soft flesh, its target disappeared. Before it could react to the mysterious disappearance, a claw had appeared above its head. Striking down into the parasites head, the furry hand''s pointed nails stabbed through the shiny black shell. Having its brain mashed up within its own skull, the little parasite died instantly. Moving onto the next parasite, the wolfman continued to slaughter the unrelenting army of parasites. That figure was, of course, Solomon. Having jumped head first into the several thousand strong army, both himself and Pluvia were now facing the first wave of enemies. still being relatively far from the main chunk of the parasites, they were only facing a dozen parasites at a time. though that sounds like a lot, if they were to stand in the armies centre, they''d be fighting 100 parasites at a time. because they were still only facing the outermost parasites, they alone were holding off the oncoming horde of bugs. Standing 30 meters behind them, Alice and Gareth were watching the massacre occurring before them. the amazed looks on their faces were more than enough to show their surprise. Alice: since when did these two get so strong? Gareth: I know, it''s crazy! a little while ago Solomon wasn''t much stronger than me, but looking at him now were in entirely different leagues. marvelling at the power being displayed, Alice and Gareth both had the same thought in their head. "I want to be that strong". spectating this battle, all they wanted was to be fighting alongside their comrades. but with their current strength, it wasn''t possible. affirming it in their hearts, they both pledged to become as strong as Solomon, no matter how long it took them. Pluvia: what''s your score!? shouting over the screeching of the dying insects, Pluvia was keeping track on their competition. having now been fighting for a few minutes, Pluvia wanted to compare scores. Solomon: 36! Pluvia: 45! guess I''m just better at this, huh. With a broad grin appearing on her face, Pluvia went back to her killing spree. Using her claws to split apart the enemies in front of her, pluvia made short work of the little parasites. Solomon: damn, I''m falling behind. Not wanting to let the gap widen further, Solomon went back to his own killing. but unluckily for him, the creatures were now grouping up. realising their individual efforts were only ending in death, they started to coordinate with each other. but to Solomon and Pluvia, these tactics only helped to speed up their killing. being so much stronger than the little parasites, they held an absolute advantage over them. because of that, it didn''t matter if they were facing 1 or ten parasites, the outcome would remain the same. Using his incredible leg strength, Solomon jumped towards the three parasites. Moving too fast for the parasites to process, he landed in between their triangular formation. Reaching out to his sides, Solomon grabbed two of their heads. Then quickly pulling his arms towards his front, the two helpless bugs smashed into their teammate. As their weak bodies slammed into each other, a sickening crunching sound rung in the nearby parasites ears. Parasites: CRRRRRRCK! The power in Solomon''s arms smashed open the bug''s weak carapace, killing all of them instantly. Where they had been forced together their bodies combined together, forming into a weird statue. looking over the grotesque morph of dead insect bodies, Solomon had a proud smile on his lips. Solomon: humph, how''s that? Looking at the three malformed corpses, he was impressed by his own strength. Looking for the nearby Pluvia, Solomon hoped to brag. But when he caught sight of her, his mouth was left hanging open. having been circled by a few groups of parasites, Pluvia was looking around at her surrounding foes. Her 8-foot tall bull-like frame was easy to spot above the crowd of dog-sized parasites. the scene reminded him of a group of bulldogs surrounding a bull. taking the initiative, Pluvia charged forwards. Reaching a two of the parasites in a split of a second, Pluvia swiped for them with one of her claws. Her casual swing turned the two little insects directly into pulp. She moved so fast that even the speedy parasites had no way to react to her. The difference in their abilities was clearly displayed by this one attack. It showed the parasites that they had no power to resist us. that they were weaklings who we could kill at our whims. though this sort of display would be enough to drive fear into the strongest of men, the parasites had no reaction at all. Running on instinct, the parasites had no fear. even if they were facing a dragon, they would be steadfast. this trait was one of the reasons that the parasites were so dangerous in the film. when fighting the army, they would die in droves, but their fearless charge into almost certain death dealt a heavy psychological blow to the army. Using that to their advantage, the parasites could easily deal with the army. that one advantage allowed them to walk all over the modern day military as if they were little toddlers. putting those thoughts out of his head, Solomon continued to watch Pluvia. Moving onto another of the nearby parasites, she flicked her tail towards it. leaving a fist sized hole in the parasites chest, she quickly moved on. Leaving it lying on the floor, she knew the injured parasite would soon die of blood loss. After all, how long could it survive with a huge hole in its chest? Pausing briefly, Pluvia scanned the nearby parasites. feeling the threatening pressure coming from Pluvia, the two groups merged into one. Seeing this, Pluvia let a wide grin slip onto her face. Taking a deep breath, the scales on her neck began to glow an ominous red. Pluvia: HAAAAAAAA!! Sharply huffing out all the air in her lungs, Pluvia sent a spout of flame flying out of her mouth. Enveloping the group of parasites in front of her, the flames reduced them to ashes. Standing up on her hind legs, Pluvia looked around for Solomon. Catching sight of his flabbergasted face, she let out a little chuckle. Pluvia: hehe, that''s 54 now! Clearly taunting Solomon, Pluvia shouted over to him. But before he could respond to her, she had dashed off again. Solomon: fine, if that''s how it''s gonna be I''m not holding back anymore.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Watching the gap between Pluvia and himself widen so quickly, he decided it was time to get serious. He already knew that physically, his power was nothing compared to Pluvia''s. But when it came to ranged attacks, he was confident in his abilities. Solomon: Wind release: Verdant mountain gale! Quickly forming several hand signs, Solomon activated one of his new skills. Unseen by everyone but him, 5 tendrils of qi appeared before him. Attached to his clasped together hands, they waved around idly. Solomon: haha, let''s see how well these work then! Charging forwards, ran towards a nearby group of parasites. Seeing him charge at them with his hands held together, they thought he had gone mad. Not willing to let this opportunity pass, the little insects charged at him. Not seeing the tendril coming out of his hands, they were ignorant of the danger they were approaching. But this the exact reaction Solomon was hoping for. keeping his eyes on their distance from him, Solomon waited till they had all entered his range. When they did, a bright flash of light suddenly blinded them. but unfortunately for them, that blinding light would be the last thing they saw. before they could recover, Solomon had already dealt with them. the 3 dead bodies before him were perfectly split in half. the cuts were made with so much precision that the internal organs had yet to spill out from the lifeless corpses. sitting still on the floor, the corpses looked more like anatomical models than bodies. Solomon: wow, it''s even stronger than I thought. Hovering in front of Solomon, 5 large swords were waving back and forth. The tendrils of qi firmly grasping onto their handles. When the parasites come into his range a second ago, Solomon had pulled the swords out of his dimensional storage.when he did it produced a mild flash of light. but to the Parasites, this flash of light was brighter than the sun. Having sensitive eyes, they were vulnerable to bright lights. even thought the light from the dimensional storage wasn''t huge, in this moonlit room, it was like the turning on a light bulb. Using the moment of pause that the light had given him, Solomon had his tentacles grab the swords. then using extremely quick movements, the swords cut the stunned parasites cleanly in half. because these swords were all high-quality weapons, they sliced through the parasites like a knife through butter. Normally a G rank could only afford one weapon as strong as these swords, yet Solomon was using 5 of them as secondary weapons. Luckily after stealing these weapons from the previous mission, he didn''t sell them to the market. if he had, then this sort of fighting style would have been impossible. Seeing the devastating power the combination of his skill and the strong weapons created, Solomon was very pleased with his decision. Pluvia: wow, seems like I can''t let my guard down. Taking a glance at Solomon, Pluvia saw him easily dispatch of a group of parasites. Running up to them with his swords floating behind him, he goaded them into attacking him. When they did he would lash out, slicing them into pieces. seeing his killing speed almost triple, Pluvia reminded herself that underestimating Solomon was a bad idea. Pluvia: it seems like our effect is starting to fade though. having fought their way through the outer layer of parasites, Pluvia and Solomon were now completely surrounded by the small creatures. At this point, the difference in levels was understood by every parasite. Leaving the two strongest enemies to the queen and the enlarged parasites, they set their sites on Alice and Gareth. Hoping that they weren''t as strong as the two demons before them, the majority of the parasites were circling around Pluvia and Solomon. unfortunately for them, Gareth''s hail of bullets stopped them from reaching himself or Alice. at the moment, Gareth was relying on the support of Solomon and Pluvia to draw away a large portion of the parasites. But when they started their battle with the queen, it would be like the floodgates had opened. the number of parasites approaching him would grow 10x larger. in such a situation, he wouldn''t be able to cope with their overwhelming numbers. luckily for him, he wasn''t alone. With Alice fighting beside him, they would be able to resist the surging numbers of parasites. Using necro''s powers to summon a small army of Goblies, they would use them to take the main brunt of the parasites charge. Though the small creatures weren''t particularly strong, they had one absolute advantage against the parasites. Poison immunity. As they were just the reanimated corpses of Goblins, they didn''t have any weakness to poisons. so fighting against the highly poisonous parasites, they could more than hold their own. So with the support of those creatures, there was no doubt that Gareth and Alice could defend the tunnel. Even if they were forced to face a dozen of the larger parasites, their combined power would be able to ward them off. the only real danger to them was the queen. So as long as Solomon and Pluvia could deal with it, handling the rest of the parasites wouldn''t be an issue for them. Confident in her assessment of her teammate''s strengths, Pluvia looked towards the centre of the parasites. Still standing tall, like a beacon in a storm, the queen towered above the parasites. being as tall as a building, she wasn''t difficult to spot over the dog sized insects. slowly walking forwards with the parasites, the queen appeared to be assessing the situation. unlike the instinct driven Parasites, the queen had a decent amount of intelligence. when faced with enemies, it wouldn''t dash at them with its teeth bared, but instead, would use its minions to test the enemies power. But whatever the reason was for its actions, Pluvia was just happy that it was staying a large distance away. looking away from the enormous figure of the queen, Pluvia looked for the other threat in the crowd of parasites. Pluvia: so that''s where they are. Currently trampling their smaller counterparts underfoot, the 30 oversized parasites were charging towards Pluvia and Solomon. Having faithfully stayed by their queen''s side until now, Pluvia was surprised to see the horse sized insects sprinting towards her. Even more surprising was their speed. kicking up huge plumes of dust, they easily reached 45 MPH. At such a speed it wouldn''t take them long to reach her. Seeing this development, Pluvia had one of her worries disappear. when she saw the large parasites staying near their queen, she was worried that they''d have to fight them and the queen at the same time. even just fighting the queen Pluvia felt uncertain, but adding in the enlarged parasites, her confidence fell to rock bottom. now being able to fight them separately, she was eager to wipe them out. Pluvia: you''ve just made your first mistake. unfortunately, you won''t have a chance to make a second one. Settling into a crouch, Pluvia prepared began preparing to use her skill. Lowering her head, a blinding light appeared above Pluvia. being several times brighter than the light from Solomon earlier, it drew the attention of the whole parasite army. Starting off as a small yellow light bulb, the light quickly grew several times larger and brighter. Eventually becoming a small sun in the moonlit room. The ball of light then began thinning out. splitting into several pieces, the light formed a magic formation. being covered in intricate character and shining a royal golden colour, one could easily see the power contained in the formation. thrumming every few seconds, the formation filled the cavern with a silent pressure. as if everything before it wasn''t fit to be in its presence. After forming completely, the formation seemed to be waiting for a command Pluvia: Golden scale formation! Shouting out in dragon tongue, Pluvia activated the formation. Shining with a blinding flash of light, the formation fell down onto Pluvia''s body. As it fell over her, Pluvia''s previously dim brown scales completely transformed. Becoming a shining golden colour, her appearance instantly changed. As well as the change in colour, her body was now surrounded by a paper thin layer of golden energy. Though that energy looked extremely weak, it was stronger than a steel pillar. Getting up from her crouching position, Pluvia''s height had grown as well. Now standing at 10 feet tall, the atmosphere coming from her body had taken a transformation. Instead of a vicious and unforgiving feeling, she held a feeling of superiority. Along with the change in atmosphere, her strength had doubled. Sweeping the nearby parasites with her gaze, they trembled slightly. even though they couldn''t feel fear, the inferiority they felt compared to the majestic Pluvia left them ashamed. Letting out a deafening roar, Pluvia''s made the cave tremble beneath her feet. Pluvia: RRROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!!! infusing qi into her voice, Pluvia made the air near her visibly vibrate. that one action was a clear display of her power. even the queen''s screech from earlier had not reached this level of power. under the assault of this roar, the parasites became stunned. wobbling unsteadily, it looked like it would take a while for them to recover. Even the queen several hundred meters away was shaking its head from side to side. Watching this spectacle from the sidelines, everyone was in awe of Pluvia. Her display reminded them that, though she didn''t show it, Pluvia was an S-ranked elder dragon. Seeing the petrified parasites, Solomon wasn''t willing to let the opportunity go to waste. Charging at a nearby parasite, he once again kicked off the slaughter. Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 67 - whole teams level up Alice: Meteor of destruction! activating one of her skills, the card held in Alice''s hand morphed into a green coloured energy. Spiralling out of her hand, the Green energy began taking the shape of a ball. By the time it had finally stopped growing, the shining ball of energy was over 5 meters wide. Stabilising into an almost perfectly circular ball, it looked very intimidating. Once again changing forms, the energy ball became a rocky material. Transforming completely, the energy ball was quickly replaced by a rocky boulder. Looking out at the overflowing mass of insects attacking her Goblies, a grin flashed across her face. Having already been given orders earlier, the Goblies were encircling the tunnel entrance. As they were a sizable group of 70, they were able to create a safe space of 15 meters for Alice and Gareth. But even if they could briefly hold off the Parasites, without assistance they would eventually fall to the unending horde of insects. Alice: Go! Sending her massive boulder shooting forwards, Alice aimed it towards the centre of the insect''s army. Narrowly missing the Goblies head, the gigantic boulder smashed into the ranks of knee high parasites. Rolling forwards, the boulder crushed dozens of the parasites. Being on a downwards slope, the boulder only continued to gain speed. Seeing the approaching boulder, the parasites desperately scampered to get away. But the tightly packed insects didn''t have the time to escape the fast approaching boulder. When the boulder had reached a hundred meters into the parasite horde, a grin crept its way onto Alice''s face. Alice: Break! Holding out her hand, Alice activated the second phase of her attack. Glowing ominously, the previously plain boulder began to turn red. Splitting all over, cracks began forming on the boulder. Emerging out of those cracks, red hot magma oozed out to cover the boulder''s surface. Looking at the tightly held together ball of lava, Alice''s brain was slightly confused. Having the idea that liquids flow outwards ingrained in her mind, she was perplexed by the sight of this lava ball. Though she knew it was her power holding it together, it still looked wrong to her. Moving onto the final Phase of her attack, Alice shouted out her command. Alice: BURST!!! Shrinking to the size of a football, the lava boulder abruptly stopped rolling forwards. Then sending out a visible shockwave, it exploded outwards. Boulder: BOOOOOOMMM!!! As the smell of burnt flesh spread through the air, Alice marvelled at the power of her attack. When the lava was sent flying out, the nearby parasites were instantly vaporised. Leaving behind small piles of ash, an area of 10 meters was instantly cleaned out. As for the more distant, they were hailed with a rain of hot magma. Leaving many of them with Fist-sized holes in their bodies, the explosion of magma had easily covered an area of 100 meters. even the surviving insects had several injuries on their bodies. Looking at the unbelievable destruction she had caused, Alice was amazed. Though she already knew that her attack was very strong, she hadn''t tested it in actual combat yet. Now Seeing the devastating effect it had, she wasn''t sure how to react. counting up the points she had earned, she realised that one move had killed over 150 insects. As amazing as that was, there was something else that amazed her more. the cost of this insanely damaging move was only 1/10th of her energy. that meant that she could just use this move over and over to kill 1500 of the parasites. Calculating the points she could earn, she realised it was an astonishing 7500 points. Even if she had to wait for the one-minute cooldown between each of the attacks, it was still ludicrously powerful. Gareth: wow! Standing beside Alice, Gareth had obviously seen the full extent of her attack. Much like her, he was surprised by the how effective the meteorite was. Comparing his ability to hers, Gareth knew that he couldn''t kill nearly as many parasites as her. Though he didn''t feel too upset about it. Not to mention that she Had one more G rank enhancement than him, but both of her enhancements were focused on fighting many enemies at once. So in the end, he understood their difference in roles was the reason for her being more capable of dealing with the parasite army. Gareth: it''s crazy, isn''t it? a little while ago we would have been running in fear of this many enemies. But now they''re not even able to challenge us. Thinking back to their strength in the last mission, Gareth almost couldn''t believe their growth. Alice: yeah, It was only a week ago that we would struggle to fight an average Unranked. Now we wouldn''t even struggle against the average G rank. If one was to look at their progress, they''d be extremely surprised. For the average person, it would take them at least 10 missions to reach G rank. But for them, it only took 1. Even more surprising was that they didn''t just step into G rank, they were some of the stronger G ranks. Considering that they still had several G rank enhancements to buy, they both Knew their power had a lot of room to grow. Not just G rank, even S and Z rank didn''t feel out of reach for them. But even though they were amazed at their progress, they still felt like they were growing too slowly. Comparing themselves to Solomon''s god-like level of improvement, they felt a little lacklustre.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Gareth: well, I''m not gonna let this trend end now. Walking forwards, Gareth drew his sword out of its sheath. Being only slightly weaker than Solomon''s Purple dawn, it wasn''t a weapon to take lightly. Shining with an ominous glint, the blade let out a deadly aura. Like a beast thirsting for blood, it''s sharp edge vibrated with anticipation. Alice: hold on, you can''t go all out yet. we need to be ready in case something happens to Solomon. We have to be ready to save him! Seeing the bloodthirsty glow in Gareth''s eyes, Alice panicked slightly. Being slightly worried that something would happen to Solomon, Alice was conserving her energy. Other than the testing her last move, she didn''t plan to use too many attacks. That way if Solomon got into trouble, she would be able to go and help him. But without Gareth''s assistance, she doubted she could do much by herself. Gareth: hahahaha! Laughing abruptly, Gareth surprised Alice. The idea of them saving Solomon was hilarious to him. Understanding the gap between Solomon and them, he knew that if he couldn''t deal with it, they couldn''t either. Seeing the flaring anger in her eyes, he quickly apologised to her. Alice: what''s so funny!? Gareth: ah sorry, you caught me off guard. But tell me this. If Solomon is can''t do something, what makes you think we have a chance in hell of doing it ourselves? Though Gareth understood Alice''s concern, he didn''t agree with her. No matter how much they wanted to help, if they didn''t have the power to do so then it was pointless trying. She knew that just as well as him, But her emotions wouldn''t let her accept it. Alice: arrrgh! Then what am I supposed to do!? Angered by her own inability, Alice looked pleadingly at Gareth. Watching those that she cared for fighting for their life, but not being able to help them infuriated her. Not just Solomon, but Pluvia, Gareth and everyone else too. Since she had arrived in Domain, this feeling had been constantly eating away at her heart. Gareth: I''m sorry, but I don''t have a perfect solution. All I know is this. We need to get stronger. For the sake of our team, for the sake of our friends and for the sake of ourselves. That''s why, from now on, I''ll push myself to the edge. In order to grow stronger, I''ll constantly put my life on the line. Only when I can stand on equal ground with him, will I be satisfied. Looking over at the distant figure of Solomon, Gareth explained his reasoning to Alice. From the strong emotion in his voice, Alice could feel his strong sincere desire. etching his words in her heart, Alice made a promise to herself. No matter what it took, she would become stronger. Stronger than Solomon, stronger than everyone else. Then it would be her turn to protect everyone else. Alice: You''re right. It''s time to stop holding back. From now on, I won''t let anything stop me from getting the power I need. Accepting Gareth''s reason, Alice walked forwards to stand beside him. Gareth: I''m glad you''ve found a reason to fight. Now, are you ready to get this party going? Looking over to her, Gareth was happy to see his explanation was enough. In his own heart, Gareth wasn''t sure that his reasoning was great. But nonetheless, it was the only way he could bring himself to press on in this harsh world. It was the only goal that he could give him the motivation to fight. Alice: yeah, these disgusting bugs won''t know what hit them. Walking side by side, Gareth and Alice approached the horde of Parasites. The oppressive aura they gave off terrified all of the nearby parasites. Even the goblies under Alice''s command were unnerved by the sudden change in atmosphere. Alice: Fight! Reaching out her hand to Gareth, Alice waited for his response. Placing his hand on top of hers, Gareth''s voice echoed Alice''s. Fight!!! Standing a couple feet apart, they both activated their transformation skills. From the ground around Alice, large chunks of rock flew into the air. Attaching themselves to her body, they formed a layer of armour around her body. only leaving a slit for her eyes and mouth, Alice''s armour made her look more like a golem than a human. As for Gareth, he had the mist-like energy covering his body thicken into a fog. surrounding his body, the black mist hid his appearance from sight. emerging from the mist a few seconds later, he looked completely different. standing several feet taller, his previously short stature had disappeared. On top of his head, a pair of demonic horns had sprouted out. Looking out into the crowd of small insects, Gareth''s eyes shone an evil red colour. Overall his appearance had become that of a demon. Alice: Necro, don''t let any of these parasites get near the tunnel. As for you Hackmon, stay here and help Necro. Turning around, Alice gave her minions their orders. Pointing to the newbies and characters in the tunnel, Alice made sure that Necro would look after them. Necro and Hackmon: Yes Master! Nodding their heads, they acknowledged Alice''s orders. Gareth: you ready for this? Looking at Alice, Gareth was slightly worried about her. Though she was motivated to fight, she didn''t have natural instincts or years of training to help her like himself and Solomon. So even if he was happy that she would fight, he wasn''t confident in her actual ability. Alice: yeah, it''s time to earn some points. Gareth: alright, let''s go. Turning to look at the line of Goblies a few meters away from them, Gareth charged towards them. Matching his movements, Alice followed alongside him. Just as they reached the Goblies backs, they jumped over their heads. Having their already strong bodies enhanced further by their skills, both of them easily jumped several meters high. landing down onto the awaiting heads of the parasites, they let out a deafening war cry. Alice and Gareth: AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 68 - wiping out some bugs Solomon: AAAAARRRRGGGGH!!! Lunging towards one of the approaching bull-sized insects, Solomon smashed his qi reinforced fist into its head. With the force of a car crash, Solomon''s fist transferred all of its power into the enlarged parasites skull. But even with the huge power contained in Solomons fist being forced down onto its head, the parasite was only left with a few cracks in its armour like body. Parasite: GRAAAAA!!! Letting out a grating howl, the enlarged parasite slashed at Solomon with one of its sickle-like claws. Unable to contend with the parasites extreme speed, Solomon could only hold up his arms to protect himself. Smashing into him, the parasites claws were surprisingly powerful. Even though they were only the width of a small pipe, the power contained within them was massive. As the serrated edges slices against Solomon''s arms, he winced in pain. Sending Solomon flying, the Parasite watched him spin through the air. using one of the floating swords at his side as a stepping stone, Solomon cancelled out the momentum of the parasites attack. With a controlled flip, he landed steadily on the ground. Solomon: argh. Feeling a stinging pain shoot down his arms, Solomon looked at the two deep cuts left on the backs of his forearms. Even with the tough defence of his silver fur, Solomon couldn''t resist the attack of the large parasite. In a contest of physical strength, Solomon was several levels weaker than the parasite. Solomon: it looks like I''ve underestimated you a bit. Looking back up at the motionless parasite, Solomon was surprised to see it staring back at him. In its surprisingly intelligent eyes, there was a mocking glint. Stunned by the oddly human display, Solomon stared dumbfoundedly at the creature. While he was eyeing down the parasite, it''s companions caught up with it. Having left it''s other brood mates behind, this one sped up to face Solomon. Now having had an exchange of strength, the parasite felt like it was extremely lucky. Having seen the way that Pluvia was dispatching of the small parasites, it didn''t want to be on the receiving end of her claws. but as for Solomon, it was surprised by how weak he was. Looking back at the 14 other parasites that had accompanied it, the parasite thought it would have been better to send them towards Pluvia. Before facing off against Solomon, it had though that he would be as strong as Pluvia. After all, the rate at which they killed the weaker parasites was about the same. But now it doubted that initial assessment. So the way that the 30 enlarged parasites had split in half to deal with them felt wasteful to the enlarged parasite. Seeing the already injured Solomon, the new group of parasites seemed disappointed. Once again showing traces of intelligence, they shook their triangular heads. Solomon: haha, looks like they''re also underestimating me. Letting a wide grin appear on his face, Solomon quickly came up with a plan. Sprinting at the group of parasites, Solomon was swiftly followed by his floating swords. covering the distance to the parasites in an instant, he abruptly held his hands together. Seeing him act so strangely, the parasites though he had lost his mind. Parasites: KIKIKI! With a snickering laugh, the frontmost parasites reached out to Solomon with their claws. Expecting his body to be ripped to shreds, they had let most of their guard down. But just as their claws were about to meet his skin, the floating swords behind his body flew out. Connecting with the parasites claws, the 5 swords sliced through them. Like a hot knife through butter, the swords continued forwards to separate the parasites heads from their bodies. Swords: KUCHUK! Parasites: GREEEEE!!! Enraged by the sudden death of their comrades, the ten remaining parasites screeched at Solomon. Wanting to maul Solomon, they charged towards him. Grinning at their reaction, Solomon held out his hand. Solomon: let me show you, the difference between you and I! Sending a 16th of his fiery qi into his hand, Solomon activated the flame serpent art. Wrapping around his hands, the fiery qi condensed into a small lizards head. Shooting off his hand, the small bundle of qi flew towards the approaching parasites. e Solomon wasn''t using the arcane Though this attack wasn''t especially powerful, to the energyless parasites, it was deadly. Scared of the little fire lizard, the parasites all swiftly jumped out of its path. Swords: SWOOOSH! Taking advantage of the Parasites momentary fear, Solomon attacked. Hoping that their attention would remain on the lizard, Solomon sent the flying swords whirling towards the parasites. However, it wouldn''t be that easy. Now understanding Solomons strength, they were sure to be on guard. Feeling a change in the atmosphere, the parasites quickly spotted the flying swords. knowing how sharp those swords were, the parasites once again dodged away from them. Having a moment to calm down, the parasites began to work together. Forming a circle around Solomon, they would occasionally lunge towards him. But to their dismay, his flying swords would always move out to block them. Like this, the battle continued on. With no side gaining an advantage over the other, the battle had turned into a waiting game. Whoever lost their patience first would die.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Pluvia: FWAAAAAAAAHHH!!! While this was happening, Pluvia was the facing the other group of enlarged parasites. Unlike Solomon, Pluvia didn''t test out their strength. All she was interested in was quickly wiping them out. Every minute that she spent fighting them was another minute for the queen to attack her. She already knew she''d struggle to fight the queen. But adding in the enlarged parasites, she wouldn''t even have a chance to escape. When the first parasites came into her range, she faced towards them. opening her mouth, the scales on her neck lit up an ominous red colour. Seeing this, the parasites began to approach more cautiously. a few seconds later, a scarlet flame appeared in Pluvia''s mouth. Spiralling forwards, the scarlet flames formed into a pillar. Shooting off towards the Parasites, the pillar continued to grow in size. Seeing the approaching danger, the insects desperately scrambled to get away. But despite their attempts, they had already come too close to Pluvia. Covering the small distance to the parasites, the pillar smashed into their bodies. Under the intense heat of the scarlet flames, their hardened shells were reduced to ash. when it had run out of power, the spiral had killed off two of the parasites, as well as injuring a few more. Realising the danger that Pluvia posed, the parasites took up a different tactic. Running loops around her, they didn''t give her the opportunity to use her fire breath. Having her only skill blocked, Pluvia was left with one option, to fight them in close combat. So when the first Parasite slashed at her with its claw, she slashed back with her own. When the two opposing forces met, Pluvia''s superior strength crushed the parasites attack. Splitting the parasites claw in half, Pluvia aimed her attack for the parasites head. But before her attack made contact, the parasite had run away. With its superior speed, there was no way for Pluvia to pursue it. Waiting for the next one to attack, she once again attacked it. But like before, it had run away before she could hit it. As the minutes continued to pass in this cycle, Pluvia became increasingly frustrated. Like with Solomon, the parasites would circle around her. Occasionally jumping forwards, they would slice at her with one of their claws. But in the end, it was a futile effort. How could their weak attacks break through the golden energy barrier around Pluvia''s body? Even if she hadn''t used her golden scale formation, it would still be impossible for these parasites to injure her. The difference between their attack and her defence was simply too big. Pluvia: ARGH! Fuck this! Losing her patience, Pluvia charged at one of the Parasites. Using a huge amount of qi, she drastically increased her speed. Almost matching the speed of the parasites, she dashed towards her target. Witnessing the sudden change in her speed, the parasite panicked. Using all the power its spindly legs could muster, it jumped several dozen meters away. But to its surprise, Pluvia pursue it. Instead, she ran out of the parasites encirclement. Thinking that she was fleeing, the insects hastened to chase after her. But once again surprising them, Pluvia turned back to face them. Pluvia: hahaha, I''ve got you now! With a mad smile on her face, Pluvia faced the 13 remaining parasites. Opening her mouth, the familiar red light lit up the scales on her neck. Recognising Pluvia''s actions, the parasites started to flee. But, unfortunately for them, this wasn''t an ordinary fire breath. Just as the first wisps of flame started appearing at the back of her throat, Pluvia closed her mouth. Pursing her lips, Pluvia parted her lips slightly. When she did, the flames in her mouth shot out of the hole like bullets. Because the flames were escaping out of a small hole, the pressure that pushed them out had increased several times over. The previously slow pillar of flame that would have been created was nowhere to be seen. in its place, there were small, needle-like, bullets of flame. Closing her mouth, Pluvia looked over at one of the parasites. Having seen just watched Pluvia, it knew exactly what she was planning. terrified of her new attack, the parasite made a mad dash to flee. But how could it''s speed compare to that of a bullet. Looking at the escaping parasite, Pluvia let out one of the needle-like bullets of fire. Before it could even react, the needle had hit it square between the eyes. Burrowing through its hard shell, the needle bullet reached the parasites brain. In an instant, the parasites brain had been reduced to ashes. Slumping to the floor, the parasite was very clearly dead. Using the same method, Pluvia quickly slaughtered the rest of the parasites. When she had finally finished, the corpses of 13 large parasites laid limply around her. looking at their outer appearance, you wouldn''t think there was anything wrong with them. but every single on of them had either their organs or brain destroyed by the flames. Looking at the collapsed corpses of the parasites, Pluvia felt relieved. Back when she was surrounded by them, she was trying to figure out a way to speed up her attack. Using her wealth of knowledge, she knew there wasn''t a way to speed up her body that she could use. So moving on, she tried to think of a way to speed up her other method of attack. her skills. As fire breath was the only offensive skill she had, she had to find a way to speed it up. after deliberating it for a while, she remembered a distant memory of hers. The legend of a dragon who could kill others with a single whistle. From what she remembered, that dragon specialised in using pressure to increase his attacks speed and power. Going from there, she had devised this improvement to her flame breath. But even with its terrifying level of power, this attack didn''t come close to that legendary dragons. Now having dealt with her portion of parasites, Pluvia looked over at Solomon. She was surprised to find him looking back at her. Looking beside him, she saw the remains of his portion of parasites. They had all been dissected, leaving behind several grim puddles of blood and body parts. It seemed like in this fight, Solomon had dealt with the parasites better than Pluvia. Thinking about it, Pluvia put it down to his skills. In this situation, it just so happened that his skill was perfectly suited to dealing with the enemies. Without the verdant mountain gale, Solomon wouldn''t have been able to deal with the parasites even half as easily. But with it, they were little more than tofu under his blades. Nodding to each other, they both looked towards the queen. Standing a hundred meters away, she was silently observing them. Walking towards each other, they knew that the real fight was beginning now. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 69 - the Queen Thump, Thump, Thump. Waking up, Sasha was greeted by the violent vibrations that were reverberating throughout her body. when she tried to get up, she realised that she couldn''t move at all. Even more than that, she couldn''t hear or see anything either. The only thing that she could feel at that moment was the rhythmic thumping. It was like all her other senses had shut themselves off, leaving her both blind and deaf. Panicking, Sasha tried to figure out what was wrong with her body. But even after struggling against the restricting feeling surrounding her, she didn''t make any progress. Calming herself down, she realised that the thumping wasn''t causing her any harm. At some point, She even began to find the vibrations oddly calming. As the time passed, Sasha gradually regained control over her senses. At first, it was her sense of touch. The cold feeling of the concrete beneath her let her know that she was laying on the ground. Then it was her hearing. At first, all she could hear was a faint squeaking sound. But as time passed, the sound grew louder. When she could finally understand what it was, fear tightly gripped Sasha''s, heart. Sound: GREEEEEEEEE!!!!! It was the grating screech of some sort of insect. The high pitched and extremely loud noise made her ears ring, but her paralysed body wouldn''t listen to her commands to cover her ears. As she continued listening to the horrid sound, she noticed that the timing of the screeching was matching up to the thumping. Placing the pieces of her scattered memory back together, she tried to figure out her current situation. the last thing she remembered falling down into the subway system before blacking out. Knowing that the noise wasn''t coming from the giant creatures above ground, she was sure that it had to be the parasites. But the volume of the screech was way too strong for it to be coming from an average parasite. Knowing that, Sasha felt the already intense fear in her heart grow several times stronger. But even in this situation, she still had some hope. Not being in immediate danger, she could guess that the parasite was being fought off. But even then, she didn''t know how well everyone else was faring against it. The constant uncertainty led her anxiety to grow stronger and stronger, like a bubble trying to pop itself. Laying there listening, Sasha felt a trickling of strength return to her body. Using the newly gained strength, she pried her heavy eyelids open. As the dim light filtered into her irises, her eyes took a second to grow accustomed to the lack of light. Looking straight up at the slightly curved ceiling, Sasha knew that she had made it to the subway. Though that fact brought a little relief to her heart, it was overshadowed by the harsh screeching of the parasite. Tilting her head to the side, she looked in the direction of the noise. Staring wide-eyed at the sight before her eyes, Sasha was astonished by the scene before her. ***************************************************************************************************************************************************** 5 minutes ago ***************************************************************************************************************************************************** In the centre of the writhing mass of knee high parasites, 3 distinct figures could be seen facing each other. One of them, a several meter tall dragon surrounded by a thin layer of golden light. The next was a silver werewolf with wisps of flame circling around its body. And the last, a gigantic insect with a pitch black shell. Using the several pairs of spindle-like legs under its heavy body, it stood perfectly still. The two sickle-shaped claws hovering in front of its body waved gently back and forth. Looking at its body, it was hard to make out the details through its black colour. But one thing was certain, it was very strong. Further proving this point was the figures lack of a mystical energy. It was like it was saying it didn''t need it to deal with the two enemies before it. The combination of all of those factors made it even more intimidating than the other figures combined. Solomon: follow the plan, you fight it up close and I''ll support you with ranged attacks. These three figures were, of course, Solomon, Pluvia and the parasite Queen. Having just finished killing off the enlarged parasites, Solomon and Pluvia were left facing their Queen. Pluvia: all right. But if I die, you''ve got to run straight away. Setting down her own requirement, Pluvia walked over to Solomon''s side. Staring down the Queen, Pluvia made sure that none of its movements escaped her sight. Though she appeared outwardly calm, Pluvia was extremely anxious. Her instincts were screaming that there was something special about the Queen. Not just it''s increased size and strength, But something else that was still hidden. But to Pluvia''s disappointment, she couldn''t quite put her finger on it yet. Queen: CRUUUUUUU!!!! Screeching suddenly, the Queen started Solomon and Pluvia. Stressing their senses to the limit, they both stared at the Queen. Expecting her to attack, they both prepared to face her head on. But going against their expectation, the Queen didn''t move from her spot. Looking closely, it even looked like she had a smile on her face. But that might have just been the darkness messing with their perception. as they were staring puzzledly at the Queen, a strange scene began to occur around them. The nearby parasites had begun running away. Watching the horde of black insects distance themselves, Solomon and Pluvia now understood the Queen''s screech. She was telling them to stay away. She probably realised that they''d only get in the way if they stayed nearby and ordered them to give her some space. This forethought on the Queens part was quite amazing to Solomon and Pluvia. They knew that this wasn''t the sort of intelligence an ordinary insect should have. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Solomon: Be carefully Pluvia, there''s something off about her. Voicing his concerns to Pluvia, Solomon began backing away. Now that the scene had been set, it wouldn''t be long before the fight began. Pluvia: I know. keeping her reply short, Pluvia took the initiative to attack. Not holding back, she used Qi to strengthen her legs. lunging forwards, her golden body flew towards the Queen. Reaching forwards with her claws, Pluvia aimed for the Queen''s exposed front legs. If she could take those out, the Queen could only writhe on the floor as they killed her from a distance. Just as Pluvia was about to reach the Queen a message from the system distracted her. Guild bot: Encountered hidden mission, kill the parasite Queen. Requirements. The user must kill the parasite Queen themselves. Any outside assistance will invalidate the mission. Reward. 1500 points and 2 G rank rewards for each participating team member and 500 points and 1 G rank reward for each non-participating team member. Unlike the usual messages from the system, this one was a little bit different. Instead of having the voice transmitted into their brains, the information was instantly transplanted in. This way, the whole transmission could be transferred to Pluvia and Solomon before their fight with the Queen had really begun. But this sudden appearance of new information in Pluvia''s brain had momentarily distracted her. Briefly letting the Queen''s figure escape her attention, Pluvia sorted out the new bundle of information in her head. This one mistake of hers allowed the Queen to act. Before the eyes of Pluvia, the massive figure of the jet black Queen disappeared. As if she had instantly teleported away, leaving no traces of her even being there. Confused by the sudden development, Pluvia stopped her charge. Standing in Place, Pluvia pushed her sense to the limit looking for the Queen. But even then she couldn''t find the Queen. Just as she was about to ask Solomon if he knew where the Queen was, his shouting voice called out to her. Solomon: ABOVE YOU!!! Not even taking the time to properly process Solomon''s words, Pluvia flung herself to the side. As she did, one of the Queen''s razor sharp claws whizzed by her head, rubbing against her golden energy shield. But to Pluvia''s surprise, the Queens claw easily sliced through the protective layer. Not even slightly slowed, the Queen''s curved claw continued towards Pluvia''s scales. As the attack made contact, shock once again plastered Pluvia''s face. Under the pressure of the Queens claw, her iron defence quickly began to crack. Fortunately, because it was only a glancing blow, the main brunt of the attack had missed her. So even though the scales had cracked, they''d manage to stop the attack from hurting her. Thinking about the overwhelming power in the Queens attack, Pluvia shivered. She knew that if she hadn''t reacted to Solomon''s warning instantly, that claw would have cut her head off. Wanting to escape the Queens reach, Pluvia jumped back towards Solomon. But how could her speed even begin to compare to the Queens? Once again disappearing from Pluvia''s vision, the Queen almost instantly reappeared at her side. Seeing this, Pluvia could roughly guess what was happening. The Queen was moving at such a fast speed that her eyes couldn''t keep up. So whenever the Queen moved she would lose sight of her. Using that insane speed to appear at Pluvia''s side, the Queen lashed out at her. Seeing the scythe-like claw approaching her, Pluvia felt deep regret. She thought the choice to fight this Queen was extremely foolish. She wished that she''d trusted her sense before and convinced everyone to take a long way around. She knew that if she died now, it wouldn''t be long until Solomon, and everyone else, died as well. Just as she was about to give up, the Commanding voice of Solomon found it''s way to her ears. Solomon: Come Here!!! Almost in the same instant that Solomon had spoken, A Huge Bundle of Flames shot over Pluvia''s head. Looking closely, Pluvia realised what the flames were. Taking the form of a tailless 5-meter long lizard, was Solomon''s flame serpent art. Having been filled with a full half of Solomon''s energy, as well as having the arcane orbs amplifying effect, The flaming lizard sped through the air towards the Queen. Moving even faster than a bullet, this attack didn''t give the Queen any chance to evade. Queen: SCREEEE!!!!! Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the Queen didn''t have any choice but to face it head on. Diverting the claw it had aimed at Pluvia, the Queen''s deadly blade met Solomon''s flame lizard. As the two opposing forces fought each other, it quickly became obvious that the Queen''s attack was much weaker. After a brief pause, the flaming lizard smashed the Queen''s arm into pieces. Realising how powerful Solomon''s attack was, The Queen reacted Quickly. The moment that her claw had met the flames, she knew that she couldn''t beat the attack. Sacrificing her arm to buy some time, the Queen shifted her body to the side. Then She watched as the attack sailed past her. Flying forwards for several hundred meters, the attack finally landed in the distant mass of parasites. Forming into a small mushroom cloud, the Flames Burst outwards. Covering an area of a hundred meters, The flames incinerated all of the Parasites in their range. When they finally dissipated, All that was left behind were small piles of dust. Seeing the insane power that was hidden in the unassuming little lizard, the Queen shivered slightly. Solomon: Are you all right? Having dashed back to Solomon''s side, Pluvia was currently kneeling down beside him. The pressure placed upon her had made her breathless. Gasping for air, She tried to quickly recover as much strength as possible. Seeing Pluvia''s condition, and then looking at the cracked scales on her face, Solomon became worried. Though he''d thought she''d gotten away with a few light injuries, he was now questioning his own judgement. Pluvia: Haaaah. Yeah, I''m fine Looking at the Queen, a chill ran down Pluvia''s spine. Though she already knew that this would be a difficult fight, she didn''t think the Queen would be so overwhelmingly strong. Solomon: Pluvia, you can''t hold back now. even if you have to use up all off your energy, don''t hesitate to do so. Pluvia: you''re right, there''s no way we can conserve energy in this situation. Standing back up, Pluvia had a small grin appear on her face. Pluvia: it''s been a while since I''ve been pushed this far. Catching the orb that had only now returned to his hand, Solomon also found an eerie grin creeping onto his face. Solomon: let''s not waste this opportunity then, we''ve got to make this a memorable fight. As the Dragon and Werewolf attacked the insect once again, their epic battle began for the second time. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 70 - a mushroom cloud Gareth: WATCH OUT!!! Grabbing Alice by the shoulder, Gareth roughly pulled her towards him. As she did several pairs of parasite claws slashed through the space behind her. Looking back at them, Alice realised that they''d snuck up behind her. Before she could say anything to him, Gareth had dragged her back to the row of Goblies. Looking at her minions, Alice felt a little anxious. Since the beginning of their fight a little while ago, 40 of her 70 subordinates had died. looking a the measly group of 30 thirty remaining, Alice felt the anxiousness in her heart grow stronger. As the number of Goblies was steadily being reduced, the defensive line had to fallback in order to fill in the gaps. At this point, the Goblies were only a few meters away from the tunnel they were protecting. Looking at her vulnerable teammates, Alice felt pressured to protect them. Alice: Thanks Gareth. I owe you one. Looking Down at her body, Alice once again inspected the thin layer of rock surrounding her body. Having been used for a long time, the armour had grown several times weaker. As she relied on the spirits in the air to form the armour, she couldn''t do anything but curse to herself when that supply of spirits ran out. Making her situation even worse, Alice had a blistering headache. The mental strain placed on her from Summoning Hackmon and Necro combined with the intense concentration needed to form the earth armour had left her mind drained. Taking all of these factors into account, she knew that the last attack of the parasites would have easily been enough to injure her. if she was unlucky she might have even lost her life. Gareth: Don''t sweat it, but this fights starting to turn against us. If Solomon and Pluvia can''t pull something out of the bag soon, were gonna be in real trouble. Looking at the severely damaged troop of Goblies, then the unending waves of Parasites, Gareth knew that they wouldn''t be able to hold out for much longer. Tightly gripping a black orb in his pocket, Gareth had a dilemma. The black orb he was holding was the monster core that Pluvia had given him before the mission. According to her, it would replenish his energy and give him a huge boost in strength. Knowing this, he was considering using it to help them deal with the current situation. Because he was had been forced into a corner, the temptation to use it had become huge. But keeping a clear head, he calmly considered his options. On one hand, he didn''t want to waste the precious item. Considering the many dangers present in this mission, he didn''t want to be left without an emergency item that could save his life. Remembering the towering figure of the creatures above ground, he felt a chill shoot up his spine. If he had to escape from them later on, he''d definitely regret using the core now. After carefully some careful consideration, Gareth decided to hold off on using the orb. he''d keep fighting until he''d been pushed to his limits. Only then would he use it. Alice: all we can do now is wait and hope. when Solomon and Pluvia return it''ll be a piece of cake to deal with these guys. But it''s up to us to survive until then. Having his thoughts disrupted by Alice, Gareth looked over at her. Seeing that her eyes were looking far away, he traced her gaze. Unsurprisingly, she was looking at the distant Figures of Solomon and Pluvia. Gareth: You''re right. Responding absentmindedly, Gareth began observing Solomon and Pluvia aswell. Though their fight had yet to start, the tension between them and the Queen was felt even by Alice and Gareth. Watching them stand silently for several seconds, Alice and Gareth were confused. But seeing the outline of Pluvia suddenly Dash forwards, they knew that the fight had begun. Moving at a speed that was difficult for them to keep up with, Pluvia''s blurry figure approached the Queen. Just as Pluvia''s sharp claws were going to reach the Queen''s head, her huge black body disappeared. Guild bot: Encountered hidden mission, kill the parasite Queen. Requirements. The user must kill the parasite Queen themselves. Any outside assistance will invalidate the mission. Reward. 1500 points and 2 G rank rewards for each participating team member and 500 points and 1 G rank reward for each non-participating team member. At the same time as the Queen''s disappearance, a message from the system rung in Alice and Gareth''s ears. Unlike the usual cold voice, it was just an instant flow of information. When they''d sorted out the contents of the message, Surprise flashed across their faces. Gareth: this, this is!? Looking at the astonished face of Gareth, Alice was sure that he''d also received the message. Alice: you got it too? Gareth: Yeah, but isn''t this a little too much. Thinking about the huge rewards this hidden mission was giving, Alice panicked slightly. She knew just as well as anyone how difficult the hidden missions were normally, let alone one''s with huge rewards like this up for grabs. Refocusing on the distant fight against the Queen, Alice found that her worries weren''t unfounded. The massive figure of the queen was hovering several meters above Pluvia. falling towards her. As soon as she entered the Queens range, Alice had not doubt that Pluvia would be dead. Alice: WATCH OUT!!! Though she knew her voice wouldn''t reach pluvia from this distance, Alice couldn''t help but shout towards her. Watching on in horror, Alice could only spectate from afar. When the Queen''s range finally reached Pluvia, Alice saw a blur shoot out from its claw. Looking at the insane speed of this attack, Alice though she was about to witness the death of her friend. As the pain in her chest became almost unbearable, Alice was surprised to see the situation take another turn. A few meters behind Pluvia, where Solomon was standing, a torrent of flames came into being. Quickly forming into the shape of a lizard, the flames were shot towards the Queen. Having appeared so suddenly, the Flames took her completely off guard. But with her insane speed, she managed to quickly react to the flaming lizard. Shifting her claw away from Pluvias back, the Queen planned to slice the flames in half. As Alice watched this scene, should could only make it out as blurs of movement. But even so, she had got the general gist of the situation. Briefly catching the enthralled face of Gareth at her side, she knew that he was watching the nerve-wracking battle as well. Taking her attention back to the fight, Alice saw the Queens blade-like claw meet with the flaming lizard''s snout. Surprising both herself and the Queen, the little lizard almost instantly shattered the deadly claw into pieces. Continuing towards the Queens huge body, Alice thought it was going to claim her life. But before it could, the massive insect hastily shifted its heavy body to the side. Missing the Queen''s body by a hair''s breadth, the lizard flew past her. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Alice: SHIT, it''s coming towards us. Having missed its target, the lizard was heading in Alice and Gareth''s direction. Panicking, Alice wanted to quickly retreat into the tunnel. Turning around, she was about to dash into the tunnel. But before she could, Gareth stopped her. Holding down her shoulder, he stared at the lizard''s body. Gareth: calm down, it''s not going to reach us. Analysing the lizard''s trajectory, Gareth calculated that it would land a couple hundred meters away from them. Calming down the panicking Alice, he watched the flaming lizards sail through the air. Having witnessed several of these attacks before, and having been on the receiving end of a couple, he was waiting to see what kind of damage it would do. As it would land in the parasites attacking himself and Alice, he was hoping that it could clear some of them out for him. If he was lucky and it could kill 50 or so of them, he might even be able to rearrange the Goblies formation. So as he awaited the lizard''s explosion, his eyes scanned the parasite''s formation. As they didn''t have any sort of sophisticated leadership, their formation was more like a single block than any strategic positioning. But even just observing that block, Gareth could see a few patterns that the parasites were following. Using those patterns, he was beginning to form a plan in his mind. Taking stock of his own energy, h realised that he there was a little over half left. Having used his gun almost constantly, the burden on Gareth was almost nothing. Even after wiping out over 200 parasites, he still had a huge amount of power left. But looking at the trembling body of Alice, he knew that she wasn''t in the same state. Though he''d only seen her use her card energy once, the continued use of her bloodline had put a huge dent into her fighting ability. Even though she probably had a lot of her card energy left, her mental strain would limit a few big moves before she burned out. On top of his worries about Pluvias condition, Gareth had to consider his own. though he hadn''t used much energy, his transformation was putting a constant burden on his body. Having activated it almost ten minutes ago, he only had five minutes or so before it would run out. At that time he would revert to his human form and become extremely weak. if they hadn''t resolved the situation by then, he''d be left completely defenceless. Without his support in holding off the parasites, the remaining Goblies and the weakened Alice would quickly be swept over by the horde. Though Hackmon might be able to buy them some time, he couldn''t replace Gareth. At best he could give them a minutes grace. Facing down the possibility of them being overrun, Gareth''s brain went into overdrive. The partially formed plan in his brain quickly consolidated into a solid idea. though it wasn''t certain that this plan would work, it was the best option he could think off at the moment. But the whole plan hinged on one uncertain factor, the flaming lizard. The amount of time it could give them to prepare would heavily affect how likely the plan was to succeed. Placing all of his hopes onto the lizard, Gareth watched it finish its course through the sky. When the lizard hit the ground, a cheek splitting smile appeared on Gareth''s face. When it first hit the ground, the lizard''s form broke into several pieces. Then condensing together, the pieces formed into a tiny ball. Only being the size of a baseball, the condensed flames suddenly became very hot. But before that heat had time to spread, there was another development. The ball exploded outwards, sending huge plumes of fire out in every direction. As the flames continued to grow in size, they eventually formed a mushroom cloud. It was like someone had set off a small nuke inside of the massive cavern. Explosion: BOOOOOOM!!!!! Shaking the whole cave, a Sonic boom emerged from the centre of the explosion. The ripples from that boom pushed against the nearby flames, spreading them outwards. When the momentum was finally lost, the Flames had managed to cover an area of 100 meters. Everything in that area was instantly reduced to ashes. But that wasn''t the end of it. Just as the mushroom cloud was about to disperse, a sudden burst of power come from within it. Explosion: Boom! letting out a much smaller explosion than earlier, the mushroom cloud explode. All of the flames contained within it were sent flying up into the air. Flying out in every direction, the flames spread out to cover a huge portion of the cave. Looking up at the sky, Gareth noticed a moment of silence fill the cave. Hovering in the air for a brief second, the flames loomed over the parasite horde. Then like the flames of Olympus, they came crashing down. The whole cave became as bright as day as the fire fell onto the parasites heads. Landing onto the bodies of the parasites, the patches of fire would spread over them. But before long, the fire would consume the weak parasites and disappear. As the last piece of flame finished burning a parasite to death, the cave once again became covered in darkness. Now that the fire had finally disappeared, Gareth looked at the devastation it had caused. Counting up the rough number of parasites that had gone missing, he concluded that over 500 parasites were killed in that single attack. that was over 20% of the entire horde gone in an instant. Looking to his side, Gareth saw Alice''s amazed face. Staring out towards Solomon, her mouth was drooping open. Gareth: Alice, listen to me! Using the time that Solomon had bought them, Gareth Explained his plan to Alice. Alice: Are you sure it''ll work? What if they don''t take the bait? Gareth: I''m about 80% certain. Even if they don''t buy it I''ve got an emergency plan. Fiddling with the monster core in his pocket, Gareth didn''t elaborate on what his emergency plan was. Alice: Alright then, I''ll trust you. Smiling at Gareth, Alice agreed to his plan. Though she didn''t have the same confidence in it that Gareth had, she believed in his judgement. Having decided on the plan, they began setting it up. By the time the parasites had recovered and went on the offensive, They were ready for them. Kneeling down in front of a triangular formation of Goblies, Gareth gathered all off his remaining energy into his gun. Aiming it down the middle of the Parasite horde, Gareth let an evil grin settle on his face. Gareth: EAT THIS!!! volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 71 - a big risk For those who don''t remember, this is continuing straight on from the last chapter. BasicallyGareth and Alice had come up with a plan to deal with the parasites. This is continuing on from the last line of that chapter. ********************************************************************************************************************************************** Gareth: EAT THIS!!! Pointing his gun at the horde of parasites standing before him, Gareth felt extremely nervous. Thinking about his plan, Gareth''s mind whirled through all the different possibilities. Though there was a high likelihood that it would succeed, there was always the chance it would fail. Deciding that it was too late to regret his decision now, Gareth steadied his nerves. Committing himself to his plan, Gareth Pulled the trigger of his gun. A jet black stream of mist suddenly erupted out of the gun''s barrel. Taking shape in front of Gareth, the mist morphed into a small ball. As more and more mist kept pouring into the ball from the gun, it kept growing in size. When the energy in the gun had finally run out, the ball was several meters wide. Its surface was like a void, sucking in all the light around it. Having finished forming, the ball shot forwards. Turning into a blur, the ball disappeared from the Parasites sight. The speed with which it moved Suprised both Gareth and the Parasites. Even more terrifying was that it was still speeding up. By the time it had crossed the distance to the closest parasite, it had already broken the sound barrier. Sending out a visible shockwave, the ball let out a sonic boom. Sonic Boom: FWUTUUUUUUM!!! Hurtling forwards into the enemy horde, the ball smashed into the frontmost parasite. The dark mist reached out from the ball, engulfing the creatures small body almost instantly. Watching intently, Gareth noticed the ball grow visibly after it had "eaten" the parasite. Moving onto the next parasites in line, the ball quickly grew in size. Before long the small ball of mist had transformed into a gigantic boulder. But by this point, the parasites were beginning to dodge out of the balls way. Seeing the dark outline of the mist approaching them, the Parasites desperately scrambled out of its path. By the time the ball had made it a quarter of the way through the parasite horde, they had already evacuated the ball''s path. But looking at the huge size of the boulder, Gareth wasn''t the least bit disappointed. When he''d created the ball, it had cost him all of his remaining energy. In exchange for the huge cost, Gareth had managed to draw out a special trait of his demonic energy. The ability to absorb the enemies power and add it his own. So though the ball had originally only been as powerful half of his energy it was now several dozen times stronger than that. Gareth: Now Alice! Alice: Got it, Charge now!!! Nodding to Gareth, Alice moved onto the next phase of their plan. Looking at the 30 remaining Goblies, she gave them her orders. Hearing her words, they reacted quickly. Without any hesitation, they all began sprinting forwards. Passing by Gareth almost instantly, the little minions pushed their high-speed capabilities to the limits. Quickly reaching 30-mph, the Goblies made their way to the parasites. Rushing into the gap left by Gareth''s attack, they sped into the heart of the parasites army. Though the parasites tried to prevent them from going any further forwards, they were too busy recovering from the mist ball. They could only watch helplessly as the Goblies sank further into their midst. As the parasites watched the little men, they felt bitter about their inability to stop them. But the Goblies next actions thoroughly astonished them. Every 100 meters, two of the Goblies would randomly dive into the parasite horde. Before long, all 30 of them had bundled headfirst into their enemies midst. Though their actions momentarily stunned the parasites, it didn''t take long for them to recover. Pouncing onto the isolated Goblies, the parasites began ripping them apart. Trying their best to fend off the unending waves of insects, the Goblies did all they could to prolong their survival. Some of them who had lost several limbs were resorting to biting their opponents. Others who were lucky enough to still have intact limbs were madly swinging them at the parasites. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they fought, the outcome would still be the same. Facing the unending horde would eventually lead to their death. Gareth: come on. keeping a close eye on the Goblies, Gareth felt uneasy. The next part of his plan needed the Goblies to be alive. But he also needed his mist ball to reach a certain location in the parasite horde. Nervously darting his eyes back and forth between the Goblies and the ball, he felt a cold sweat break out on his back. Luckily for him, the Goblies were extremely tenacious. Even when facing the parasites, they used all of their power to delay their deaths. Thanks to their effort, Gareth had more than enough time to get the mist ball into position. When it had reached 3 quarters of the way through the parasite horde, he called out to Alice. Gareth: DO IT NOW!!! Alice: Necro!!! Necro: Got it! Holding his hand out towards the Goblies, Necro activated his last resort. Having heard about it from Alice, Gareth knew that the Goblies had a self-destruction function built into them. Using the energy that went into creating them as well as Alice''s own they could make themselves explode. According to Necro, the combined detonation of all 30 of them would be enough to wipe out half off the parasite horde. the only issue was getting them into position. But with Gareth''s help, they had managed to pull it off. The 30 Goblies were interspersed between one-half of the parasite horde. As for the other half, it was up to Gareth''s mist ball to deal with. But Gareth wasn''t completely confident in being able to cause that much damage. Though he wasn''t much weaker than Alice in terms of power, he wasn''t anywhere near as good at wiping out lots of enemies. His speciality was for 1v1 fights, not army battles. Even so, he was sure the if he could kill two-thirds of the parasites then they could handle the rest. If he''s lucky then the remaining parasites would retreat. If he wasn''t then he still had the monster core in his pocket. Though he was really reluctant to use it, he wouldn''t hesitate to if it could save his life.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Gareth; SPLIT!!! Following after Necro, Gareth also activated his last resort attack. On one end of the battlefield, Gareth''s mist ball suddenly Stopped flying forwards. Hovering in mid-air, the ball''s shape began to change. The originally smooth ball began to ripple violently. After a few seconds, the mist had completely lost its shape. The mist floating around then began to reform into another shape. But unlike before, it wasn''t forming into a single object. Splitting apart, the mist formed into several thousand singular strands. These little strands all began to smooth themselves out, forming into tiny spikes. looking at the floating spikes, all of the nearby parasites began to panic. Their natural instincts were screaming for them to run away, but it was too late now. Even if they tried to, they wouldn''t be able to escape the spikes range. Giving up on their lives, the parasites stared helplessly at the massive bundle of spikes. Spectating that development from a huge distance away, Gareth was extremely surprised. Though he knew that his attack was by no means weak, he didn''t expect it to have such a devastating effect on the parasites. As he continued to stare at the spikes, he noticed them begin to move. Swirling around in a huge circle, all of the spikes lined themselves up to face the parasites. Creating a doughnut shape, they remained perfectly still. At this point, it would only take one word for Gareth to send the deadly spikes flying towards the parasites. At the other end of the horde. There was another crisis facing the parasites. All of the Goblies that were previously being ripped apart had started glowing a bright green colour. All of the nearby parasites that were caught in that light were instantly smashed into the ground. It was as if the light couldn''t tolerate the very existence of those disgusting creatures and was quickly eradicating them. As the parasites desperately scrambled to get away from the Goblies, the intense light continued to grow brighter. After a few seconds, a good portion of the parasites had been covered by the green light. Luckily for them, the further they got from the Goblies, the weaker the light''s effect would be. So although they felt the pressure weighing down on them, they weren''t in immediate danger. When the light coming from the Goblies finally stabilised, a whole half of the parasite army was covered in the light. But other than the couple dozen parasites who were extremely close to the Goblies, none of the others had died. Gareth: Hey Alice, you ready to do this? Looking at the bright green light that was illuminating one-half of the parasite horde, then the bundle of darkness looming over the other half, Gareth felt a sudden wave of anxiety. He knew that these two attacks would decide their fate. Though everything had gone according to plan, he still wasn''t certain that they would achieve their goal. Alice: As much as I''ll ever be, let''s do it. Looking at Gareth''s expression, Alice could clearly see his concern. She herself was also feeling the same anxiety in her heart. As she also didn''t know about the monster core that Gareth had, she truly thought that the next few seconds would decide their life and death. Nodding to Necro, Alice gave him the go ahead. Gareth: haha, let''s end this. Letting out a nervous laugh, Gareth refocused his attention on his attack. With his eyes narrowing into slits, Gareth felt the thin connection of energy tying him to the floating spikes. Using the last sliver of power contained in his body, Gareth activated the attack. Gareth: ERUPT!!! To his side, Necro followed his lead and also activated his attack. Necro: SELF DETONATION!!! Responding to Gareth''s will, The ring of black spikes all shot outwards. Travelling at an insane speed, they spread outwards to hit the nearby parasites. Within an instant, the little dagger sized darts had flown out to cover an entire half of the parasite horde. In terms of speed, they were easily 10x faster than their previous ball form. When the spikes sunk into the body of a parasite, they would begin to consume them. As the parasites had no energy to defend themselves, they would quickly be transformed. then when their bodies couldn''t contain that energy, they would violently explode. As Gareth watched on in amazement, he saw the 1''500 parasites on his side quickly meet their end. Whether it was being absorbed by the spikes, or by being caught in the following explosions, all of them had died a horrid death. On the other side of the horde, the parasites were meeting an even crueller end. When the command came from necro, all of the Goblies had transformed completely into large waves of bright green energy. Those waves quickly spread out to cover the nearby parasites. The energy violently smashed the weak parasites bodies in pulp as it passed over them. Continuing to spread, the 30 waves of green energy each spread out to take over an area of 100 meters each. All of the parasites in that range had died before they could so much as move. Like that the 2000 remaining parasites were mostly wiped out. Of the few that were still alive, none were in any shape to fight. Looking out at the mass of dead and disfigured corpses, Alice and Gareth were both amazed. Breathing heavily, Alice fell down onto her knees. At her side, Necro was passed out on the ground. Having both used up their energy, they were feeling the after effects. As Necro was a being made up entirely of energy, he couldn''t survive without it. Having used up almost all of his power to help Alice carry out the attack, he was now left with only a tiny bit of energy. it wouldn''t be long before he reverted back into a card. As for Alice, though she was tired, her actual body was unharmed. So before long, she would recover. Looking at the outcome of their plan, Alice felt a mad sense of joy rush into her body. Though it had cost her almost all of her and Gareth''s remaining energy, it was worth it to wipe out their enemy. Not only had they removed the huge danger that the parasites posed, They''d also earned a huge amount of points doing so. Looking to her side, Alice wanted to share her joy with her partner. Gareth: haaaah. Looks like we did it, haah. sorry but, hah. I''ll have to leave the rest to you. Taking in huge gulps of air, Gareth was wavering back and forth unsteadily. When he''d finished his sentence, he slumped down onto the ground. Alice: GARETH!!! Worried by Gareth''s sudden collapse, Alice rushed over to his side. Though it took all of her willpower to stop herself from falling over, she managed to make it to his side. Kneeling down, she quickly turned him over. Looking at his face, she was stunned. Even after all that had happened, he still had a huge grin plastered across his face. Just to confirm that he was okay, Alice placed her hand over his mouth. Feeling the warm stream of air coming out of his mouth, she felt relieved. Alice: take a good rest, you''ve earned it. Placing Gareth gently onto the ground, Alice looked towards the distant figures of Solomon, Pluvia and the Queen. Alice: We''ve done our part, the rest is up to you now. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 72 – The BOSS Fight (part 1) A few minutes before Gareth and Alice''s annihilation of the parasite horde. ************************************************************************************************* Solomon: Are you alright Pluvia? Pluvia: yeah, I''m okay. Standing beside her kneeling figure, Solomon Scanned Pluvia''s large body. From watching her first bout with the Queen, Solomon clearly knew she was weaker. Not only was the Queen''s trademark speed much faster than Pluvia''s, but even in terms of strength and defence, Pluvia couldn''t match up. In almost every aspect, Pluvia was weaker than the Queen. The only thing that was letting her barely face up to the Queen was her I wealth of experience. But Analysing the Queens attack from a moment ago, one could see that Pluvia was only alive because of Solomon. And even then it was only by using up a huge amount of Qi that Solomon had prevented Pluvia''s death. So overall, the cost on their side was huge. But all they could manage was destroying one of the Queen''s arms. It was a true demonstration of the gap in strength between the two sides. Considering that huge divide, Solomon desperately tried to devise a plan. But the more he thought about their situation, the more he realised how much trouble they were in. The thing they needed to do the most was slow the Queen down. They already knew that Solomon''s attacks could hurt her. So the best plan would be to have Pluvia hold her down while Solomon attacks. But looking at how one-sidedly the last fight was, Solomon didn''t think that sort of development was very likely. Especially now that the Queen was aware of how dangerous his attack was. Even if Pluvia had a method to pin the Queen down, she would probably catch onto our plan. Knowing that she can''t take on Solomon''s attack, she''d force her way out of whatever trap pluvia had put her in. At this point, Solomon regretted not organising a plan earlier. If Pluvia could have pinned her down before she knew about his attacks, then when he attacked her she would probably underestimate him. If they were unlucky, she''d escape with a serious injury. But if they were lucky, she''d die outright. Taking this mistake to heart, Solomon would be sure to not repeat it in the future. Pluvia: Oh, she''s feeling it now. Speaking to herself, Pluvia was focusing in on the Queen. Standing a couple dozen meters away, The Queen''s colossal body was swaying gently back and forth. As she continued observing the Queen, trying to find any weaknesses in her cold exterior, Pluvia noticed the Queen''s body twitch. As she continued to watch, the twitching became more and more obvious. Though the Queen had tried to repress the twitching, the Queen couldn''t hide it from Pluvia''s keen senses. It seemed like the pain from losing her limb was beginning to kick in. Because it had happened so quickly, she hadn''t had the time to feel the pain. But now that she''d taken a moment to process the signals in her body, she could feel the throbbing waves of discomfort emanating from her stump. luckily for her, the adrenaline flooding her body took away most of the pain. But even so, it wasn''t something she could ignore. Pluvia: So, what''s the plan? Keeping her eyes trained on the Queen, Pluvia questioned Solomon. Having taken a moment to recover, Pluvia was eager to get back into the fighting. The thirst for battle in her heart hadn''t been dampened by her close brush with death. Solomon: Honestly, I haven''t got one. The only sure-fire way to kill her is to hit her with one of my flame serpent arts. But now that she''s seen it once, she''s not going to let it hit her again. Agreeing with Solomon''s words, Pluvia nodded her head. Having seen the devastating effect of Solomon''s flame serpent art, she knew that a direct hit would kill the Queen instantly. The only issue was getting his attack to actually hit. Even when the Queen was grossly underestimating him, she managed to get away with only suffering a minor injury. But now She wouldn''t dare to take on Solomon''s attacks. Thinking it over, Pluvia knew the only way that they could ensure a direct hit would be to pin the Queen down. Pluvia: I''m the issue, aren''t I? if I could hold the Queen down for a few seconds, you could easily kill her. Hearing Pluvia''s words, Solomon didn''t know how to reply. After a few seconds of silence, an awkward atmosphere developed. Though he knew what she''d said was partially true, he didn''t want to make her feel like a burden. Solomon: It''s not that you''re an issue. Without you, I wouldn''t have even stood a chance against the Queen. The real problem is her insane speed. If we can''t pin her down, Then my attacks won''t hit. If we just had a way stop her, even if only for a second, I''m sure I could kill her. Breaking the awkward silence that had developed, Solomon carefully chose his words. Diverting the problem away from Pluvia, he placed all of the issues onto the Queen. In this extremely delicate battle, he didn''t want Pluvia to lose her morale. Pluvia: You only need a second? Solomon: That''s right, I can just about get my attack out in a second. Looking at Pluvia, Solomon was curious about her questioning. Though he suspected she''d come up with something, he didn''t want to jump to conclusions. looking anxiously over at her, Solomon waited for her response. But even after 15 seconds of silence, she didn''t look like she intended to speak. Thinking he''d misjudged her question, he was going to move onto another topic. But before he could, Pluvia suddenly turned towards him. Pluvia: I''ll get you that second. Just make sure that when I do, you don''t waste it. Without waiting for Solomon''s reply, Pluvia turned back around to face the Queen. In the few minutes that Solomon and Pluvia were discussing their plan, she''d managed to deal with her wound. Looking at the grotesques stump, Pluvia was surprised to see a huge improvement. Instead of a bumpy knob of flash that leaked green puss, Pluvia was faced with a smooth red stump. A thin red scab had formed over the wound, stopping the bleeding. The fact that in a few minutes, the Queen could recover from such an injury showed how potent her healing factor is. Given enough time, it wouldn''t be a surprise to see the Queen regrow her lost limb. Taking in the appearance of her Enemy, Pluvia Prepared herself. The idea that she had was only on the spur of the moment, But she was confident in it. But what here was that, even if the plan was executed perfectly, there was no guarantee that the Queen paralysed long enough for Solomon to attack.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Pluvia: AAARRRGHH!!! Deciding to put her worries aside, Pluvia bellowed at the Queen. Charging straight towards the Queen, Pluvia didn''t have a single glint of fear in her eyes. Covering the short distance between herself and the Queen, Pluvia leapt up towards the Queen''s face. Extending out her pearly white claws, Pluvia slashed towards the Queen''s beady eyes. But just as her claws was about to gouge out the circular orbs, The Queen''s massive body disappeared from sight. Unlike the last time though, Pluvia had been prepared for it. Just as the Queen''s figure had started to blur, she had pushed her senses to the limit. Using both her amazing hearing and sense of smell, she quickly locked onto the Queen''s presence. Even when the Queen moved at such a tremendous speed, Pluvia''s senses were able to quickly find their target. Honing in on the Queen''s hoarse breathing and putrid stench, Pluvia tracked her movements. Coming to a stop after a few seconds, the Queen was hovering a few meters above Pluvia''s body. Relying on gravity to pull her down, the Queen slowly fell towards Pluvia. From her actions, it was easy to see that the Queen was using the same strategy as before. Pluvia: Not this time bitch! Already knowing the Queens tactics, Pluvia wasn''t just going to obediently wait to die. Shifting her centre of gravity, she used the momentum from her charge to jump forwards. Extending out her wings, she swiftly Glided 25 meters away. Covering the distance in less than a second, she gently landed back onto the ground. looking up at the Queen''s airborne figure, a grin snuck onto her face. In the brief moment that the Queen was suspended in the air, she could carry out her plan. Swallowing a lungful of air, Pluvia activated her fire breath. As the flames travelled up her throat, the golden scales on Pluvia''s neck began to shine bright red. By the time the flames had entered her mouth, The scales covering her whole neck were shining brightly. Seeing Pluvia''s Actions, the Queen became anxious. She was wondering whether she had underestimated this opponent of hers as well. Back when the Queen had used this strategy for the first time, Pluvia hadn''t even been able to figure out where she was. But this time around, she had not only escaped the Queen''s attack but was also counterattacking. Confronted by this huge difference in reactions, the Queen didn''t have any choice but to admit she''d underestimated her opponent. Having trodden all over Pluvia a few minutes ago, the Queen had become careless. In the end, that carelessness had backfired on her. Looking at the fiery pattern on Pluvia''s neck, the Queen felt a bad sense of foreboding creep into her mind. Her instincts were telling her that whatever Pluvia was doing was definitely not good for her. But as she was still falling through the air, the Queen wouldn''t be able to dodge whatever was coming. Pluvia: FWAAAAAA!!! Having finished preparing her attack, Pluvia spewed out all of the flames that she''d gathered in her throat. Erupting out of her mouth, the torrent of flames quickly spiralled towards the suspended body of the Queen. Queen; SCREEEEE!!! Feeling the scorching heat coming from the approaching flames, the Queen screeched in panic. Not having any other way to defend herself she Slashed out her last remaining claw. When the hot flames collided with the deadly claw, They quickly engulfed it. Unlike Solomon''s flame serpent art, Pluvia''s flame breath didn''t take a form. So when the Queen''s arm collided with it, the formless flames attached themselves to the outstretched appendage. Queen; ACREEE!!! Screaming out in pain, the Queen flailed around violently. Under the attack of Pluvia''s flames, the Queen had no way to protect herself. Being partially formed with Qi, the flames easily ate away at the Queen''s hard shell. When the raging flames had finally died down, the Queen''s heavily charred arm came back into sight. Almost all of the pitch black protective shell had been stripped from her arm, revealing the bare muscles underneath. At the claws tip, where the fire hit it first, even the Queen''s muscles had burnt through to reveal bone. looking at the horrible state of the Queen''s arm, even Pluvia felt a little sympathy. Queen: AGREEEEEEE!!!!!!! Collapsing to the ground, the Queen let out the most pitiful screech Pluvia had ever heard. Feeling the intense searing pain coming from her arm, the Queen couldn''t help but scream out. Comparing this pain to what she had felt at losing her other arm, The Queen knew that there wasn''t even a contest. Unlike the last time when she''d instantly lost her arm, this time she had to sit there and feel it melting away. As the first layer of hard shell disappeared, the Queen''s sensitive nerves had became exposed to the fire. As the flames ate away at her nerves, she felt the most soul shattering pain of her entire life. Buckling under that pain, she collapsed to the floor. Rolling around, she screeched like a dying pig. But no matter how much she screamed, it wouldn''t help her deal with the pain. Seeing the Queen''s reaction to Pluvia''s attack, Solomon was about to attack her. But before he could, Pluvia''s voice called out to him. Pluvia: Don''t!!! Confused, Solomon quickly over at Pluvia. Glancing back towards the Queen''s writhing figure, he didn''t want to let the opportunity pass. Solomon: Why?!!! Looking over at Solomon, Pluvia quickly Explained herself to him. Seeing his restless face, she knew that if she remained silent he''d attack. Pluvia: She''s tricking you. Explaining herself in those three simple words, Pluvia looked back over at the Queen. Copying her, Solomon also looking back over at her. The previously writhing body of the Queen was now perfectly still. Slowly getting back to her feet, the Queen stared at Pluvia with hate filled eyes. Seeing such intense hatred appear in the Queen''s eyes, Solomon was once again amazed. Emotions like hatred were normally far beyond the level of insects. Being able to display such emotions showed how special, and dangerous, the Queen was. Having realised that Pluvia was onto her, the Queen didn''t bother putting up the act anymore. Standing back up, The Queen stared straight at Pluvia. A moment ago when she''d collapsed on the floor, her sorrowful screech was completely authentic. The sudden pain she''d felt was really enough to break her. But after a few moments of soul wrenching pain, her arm had gone dead. Looking at her own arm, the Queen was confused. But using her intelligence, she''d quickly realised what was happening. The fire that was covering her arm had Completely incinerated the nerves in her arm. Looking at her flame covered arm, The Queen was happy to have lost all of the feelings in it. Just as she was about to get up and charge at Pluvia for doing this to her, an idea surfaced in the Queens mind. She knew, just as well as her enemies, that this attack wasn''t enough to kill her. So she could tell that there was another reason for using it. Remembering the incredibly destructive power of Solomon''s attack, the Queen Rapidly figured out their next step. It would definitely be to attack. Though she was temporarily paralysed by the Flames, they would know she wasn''t even close to death. So it would only make sense to use this moment to kill her. Realising that, the Queen continued to roll around on the floor. Being sure to keep an eye on the hairy man, she prepared herself to swiftly dodge his incoming attack. Seeing him lift his hands towards her, she felt ecstatic. But just as he was about to attack her, Pluvia called out to him. As he lowered his arms back down, the Queen knew her scheme had failed. Not wasting any more time, she got back up to her feet. Feeling a deep rage bubbling inside of herself, she glared at Pluvia. Thinking about how she''d just been put through so much pain, as well as having her trick ruined, by Pluvia, The Queen could barely contain her rage. Pluvia: Solomon, be ready to attack on my signal. looking at the Queen''s expression, Pluvia knew that she''d infuriated her. Smiling slightly, Pluvia noticed the Queen''s rage take another step up. Watching the white froth seep out of the corners of the Queen''s mouth, Pluvia knew that it wouldn''t be long before she lost her patience and attacked. Determined to not let the Queen take the initiative, Pluvia knelt slightly. then using her Qi reinforced legs to spring forward her body shot towards the Queen like an arrow. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 73 – The BOSS Fight (part 2) Pluvia: AAARRRGH!!! Charging Towards the Queen, Pluvia let loose a mighty war cry. Quickly crossing the distance to the Queen, Pluvia pounced. Slashing out with her claws, she aimed for the Queen''s beady eyes. As she was expecting the Queen to once again dodge her attacks, Pluvia let her guard down. But To her surprise, the Queen stood her ground. Taking a threatening step forwards, she screeched at Pluvia Queen: GREEEEEE!!! Using her disfigured claw, she slashed at Pluvia. As the half destroyed arm shakily sliced through the air, a torrent of anger surfaced in the Queen''s heart. Having been reduced to such a state by her enemies made her feel absolutely humiliated. Unfortunately, as it was her only way to fight, she just had to bear with it. But even in such a state, her attack was by no means weak. No matter how damaged her claw had become, it was still an extremely deadly weapon. So when Pluvia saw the razor sharp edge approaching her, she didn''t underestimate it. Reinforcing her own claws with Qi, Pluvia took the Queen''s attack head on. Claws: BOOOOM! As their deadly claws met, a booming sound filled the air. As their powers clashed, trying to destroy each other, the air began to quiver. Claws: SHRRRKKKKK!! As their attacks began to weaken, the two claws started scraping against each other. Letting an ear-piercing scrapping sound, each of the claws tried to cut into the other one. But as time went on, it became increasingly obvious that both sides were evenly matched. Pluvia: Agh! Looking up at the Queen, Pluvia was surprised to see her remaining completely still. Even when contending against Pluvia''s considerable strength, she didn''t seem affected. But that wasn''t the most worrying part. A moment ago when their claws first met, the Queen had been standing perfectly. But Pluvia was charging at almost 40 MPH, So she had expected the Queen to at least take a few steps back. As she was still thinking about that, the Queen had begun to move. Drawing her claw away from Pluvia''s, she turned slightly to the side. Then slamming her shoulder into Pluvia, she used her whole weight to push forwards. Caught by surprise, Pluvia was pushed back several dozen meters. But quickly recovering, she dug her Claws into the floor beneath her. Leaving deep grooves on the cave floor, she soon brought the Queen''s mad charge to a halt. taking advantage of the Queen''s surprise, Pluvia pushed back towards her. Using all of her strength, she forced the Queen to take a step back. But because the Queen was still pressing forwards with all of her weight, Pluvia couldn''t push her any further. Staying in place, the two of them pressed their whole body weight into each other. As they did, long spider web like cracks started developing on the floor below them. Looking at such a scene, it seemed like they were evenly matched. But as time went on, it became clear that wasn''t the case. Pluvia had begun shaking underneath the Queen''s pressure. After a few seconds, she could feel herself losing grip on the ground. Realising that she wouldn''t be able to win in this contest of strength, Pluvia chose to back away. Using the current situation to her advantage, Pluvia stopped resisting the Queen''s push. When she did, all of the built up tension in their bodies was transferred to her. Jumping a few inches off of the ground, she let that built up momentum fling her several dozen meters away. Spiralling through the air, Pluvia quickly put a large distance between herself and the Queen. Spreading out her wings, Pluvia steadied her body. Then gently gliding back down to the ground, she landed on her feet. Solomon: Are you alright? From behind herself, Pluvia heard the concerned voice of Solomon. Having seen Pluvia get flung away by the Queen, he was worried that she''d been injured. From his perspective, it was impossible to tell that she''d purposely let herself be thrown. To him, it looked like she had tried to directly confront the Queen directly and had lost badly. Pluvia: Yeah, I''m fine. But we''ve got an issue. Glancing over at Solomon, she sent him a comforting smile. Seeing the heartfelt concern plastered all over his face, she could tell that he was Genuinely worried about her. Solomon: What is it? Hearing Pluvia, Solomon started panicking. Though she''d said she was fine, her actions weren''t matching up with her words. If she really wasn''t injured, why would they have a problem? Having spectated up until now, Solomon knew that she was barely able to hold up against the Queen. Even with her insane level of strength, she was barely able to protect her own life. So if Solomon had to take on the Queen by himself, he''d die in a few minutes. Thinking about that possibility, Solomon felt a sliver of fear grow inside his heart. looking over at Pluvia, he anxiously awaited her answer to his Question. Pluvia: I''m running out of Qi. Hearing Pluvia''s explanation, Solomon felt the fear in his heart disappear. But not long after, another fear took its place. If she ran out of Qi, Pluvia would completely lose her ability to fight. Without her Qi to improve her strength, Pluvia''s power would easily be cut in half. With such a decrease in her strength, Pluvia wouldn''t be able to take on the Queen anymore.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Solomon: Should I give you some of mine? Considering Solomon''s offer, Pluvia took stock of her energy pool. She had around a third of her total Qi left. But with the way she was fighting, That third wouldn''t go very far. Pluvia: No, it wouldn''t be worth it. Even if it was, do you think the Queen would just sit there and let it happen? Having thought about Solomon''s offer, Pluvia decided to reject him. Putting aside how difficult it would be for them to exchange Qi While the Queen was looming over. It wouldn''t be able to change their current situation. All it would do is allow Pluvia to delay the Queen''s victory for a little while longer. Though they could try to use Solomon''s Qi to outlast the Queen, it would cost a huge amount of energy and time. So afterwards, they would not only have to face all of their enemies with a limited amount of Qi, but they''d also have to rush to escape the city. In the end, it wouldn''t be worth it. Solomon: what are we gonna do then? If you run out of Qi then we''ll both be at the Queen''s mercy anyway. Isn''t it worth it to take the risk? Looking over at the Queen, Solomon saw her beady eyes darting back and forth between the two of them. Her whole body was tensed up, ready to react at any second. Starring at the two of them, she seemed like an agent of death. Seeing her demonic figure, Solomon knew that she wouldn''t let them share their energy. But if they didn''t do so, then Pluvia''s reserves would soon run dry. Thinking about their situation, Solomon knew they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Looking back over at Pluvia, he waited for her response. But after a few seconds of silence, his nerves got the better of him. Solomon: Pluvia?! Running through their options in her head, Pluvia couldn''t come up with anything. Having already revealed all of their trump cards, they didn''t have anything they could use against the Queen. Both Pluvia''s flame breath and Solomon''s flame serpent art had been revealed, So it would be impossible to easily hit the Queen with them. After hesitating for a few moments, Pluvia decided to take drastic measures. Pluvia: I didn''t want to do this, but I guess there''s no choice at this point. Solomon, I''ll get you the opening you need to kill her. When I do, take this bitch out! Hearing Pluvia''s words, Solomon felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew that whatever she planned to do wouldn''t be good for herself. But just as he was about to voice his disagreement, he caught sight of her face. With a deep fire burning in her eyes, Pluvia looked over at the Queen. Her hardened expression didn''t carry an ounce of fear in it as she stared down her enemy. Clearly seeing her determination, Solomon swallowed his words. In the face of such a strong determination, he couldn''t do anything but nod his head in agreement. Solomon: Okay, let''s do it. Looking into the Queen''s soulless eyes, Pluvia confirmed the decision in her heart. Starting off at a slow pace, she began approaching the Queen. Seeing the sudden change in behaviour, the Queen became cautious. Having been tricked several times already, she was determined not to let it happen again. Focusing intently on Pluvia, she waited patiently for her to take action. But as she continued to observe, Pluvia''s actions didn''t change. She just kept on walking towards her at the same unsettlingly slow pace. As if she didn''t have a single worry in the whole world. Watching the distance to between herself and Pluvia Quickly Shorten, the Queen began to lose her cool. Eventually, when she couldn''t take it anymore, The Queen pounced. Once again relying on her astonishing speed, the Queen dashed towards Pluvia. Arriving at Pluvia''s side in a fraction of a second, she lashed out with her deformed claw. As she watched the deadly blade approach Pluvia''s neck, the Queen felt the anxiousness in her heart grow even worse. For some reason, she couldn''t shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Pluvia: RAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Just as the Queen''s blade was about to cut into her exposed neck, Pluvia let out an ear-splitting roar. Stimulating the monster''s core within her body, Pluvia emptied her all of her remaining Qi into her muscles. Reacting to the sudden rush of energy, her muscles began to visibly swell. Growing to almost 1.5x their normal size, they made Pluvia''s already sizable form instantly take a step up. Growing from the size of a large horse to a small truck, Pluvia now truly looked like a dragon. Spinning around to face the Queen, Pluvia''s felt the surging power in her body. Feeling the changes, she could tell that her power had at least tripled. Feeling confident in herself, Pluvia looked at the approaching claw with disdain. Pluvia: HUMPH!!! Reaching out with her pearly white claws, Pluvia slashed down at the Queen''s elbow. Having been caught completely off-guard by Pluvia''s sudden transformation, the Queen didn''t even make an attempt to protect herself. Queen: SCREEEEE!!! As Pluvia''s claws dug into her arm, the Queen let out a sorrowful screech. As she pushed down with her claws, they gouged deep into the Queen''s spindly arm. But even under the huge empowerment of Qi, she couldn''t cut the Queen''s arm completely off. Feeling the heart-wrenching Pain coming from her impaled arm, the Queen desperately tried to pull it away. However, Pluvia was one step ahead of her. Before she had a chance to reclaim her arm, Pluvia roughly pulled her forwards. Using her grip on the Queen''s arm, Pluvia easily dragged her lumbering body a few meters forwards. Then with a slash of her other claw, Pluvia cut into the Queen''s legs. With a sickening crunch, she cut off 3 of the Queen''s 8 legs. Unlike her claws that were heavily armoured, the legs were extremely thin. As they focused on speed, they couldn''t be weighed down by a lot of armour. So under the assault of Pluvia''s empowered claw, they snapped like twigs. Losing almost half of her support, the Queen collapsed to the floor. Feeling the pain coming from her severed limbs, she squealed like a dying pig. Even the highly tolerant Queen couldn''t ignore the loss of several limbs. Pluvia: NOW!!!!! Using the Queen''s capsized body as a springboard, Pluvia catapulted herself towards Solomon. Signalling for him to attack, she used her wings fly away from the Queen''s squirming body. She knew that even with her enhanced body, she wouldn''t survive a close call with Solomon''s high powered attacks. Hearing Pluvia, Solomon quickly reacted. Having been prepared the whole time, it didn''t take him long to perform the flame serpent art. Holding the arcane orb in his hand, Solomon pooled the remaining half of his Qi into it. Holding his arms towards the Queen''s struggling figure, he let the flaming lizard for around his arms. Looking at his target, Solomon felt his blood boiling. Just as the lizard had fully formed, Solomon sent it flying. Solomon: FLAME SERPENT ARTTTT!!! volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 74 – the end of a long battle Solomon: FIRE SERPENT ART!!! Holding his hands out in front of himself, Solomon watched a torrent of flames erupt from his hands. Using the arcane orb in his grasp as a centre, the flames condensed into the form of a lizard. Letting go of the orb, he sent the several meter long flaming lizards shooting forwards. Flying off at the speed of a rocket, it started shining brightly. Casting a red light over its surroundings, it drew a straight arc through the air. After a few seconds, the supersonic lizard had almost reached its target. A building sized insect with a jet black shell. Missing 3 of its legs and one of its arms made the deadly creature look extremely pitiful. This creature was, naturally, the Queen. Seeing the flaming lizard approaching herself, she tried desperately to move out of its way. But with the support of her missing legs, she could only flail around helplessly. Casting her gaze at the brightly shining star, she knew her end was coming. Closing her eyes, she awaited her inevitable death. Flaming lizard: RAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!! Letting out a deafening roar, the lizard smashed into the Queen. Using all of it''s built up momentum, it Carried her colossal body into the air. Offloading all of its momentum onto the Queen allowed the lizard to throw her several dozen meters away. So after Spiralling through the air for a few seconds, she violently smashed back down into the ground. Queen: GREEEEE!!! Unable to bear the pain, she screeched out in agony. But before she had any time to recover, the lizard was back upon her. Once again smashing into her body, it pushed her huge figure even further forwards. Without any energy to resist, the Queen could only let herself roll forwards with the lizards pushing. leaving a deep groove in the ground, both herself and the lizard continued moving forwards. Watching the Queen grow further away from himself and Pluvia, Solomon decided it was time to end it. Holding out his open palm, he activated his final attack. Solomon: BREAK!!! Clenching his open hand into a fist, Solomon watched his flaming lizard transform. Losing its shape, the fire broke apart. Then grouping back together, it formed into a small red ball. Looking at its surface, the fire seemed to have created a perfect sphere. Lacking the usual waviness of fire made it look more like a calm lake than that a raging inferno. But not long after the perfectly round ball appeared, it started shining with a blinding brightness. Shrinking to a tenth of its original size, the ball suddenly became unstable. Rippling waves appeared on its previously smooth surface, making it look like it could explode at any second. Less than a second later, that was exactly what happened. The then tiny ball exploded outwards. Using all of the energy it contained, it bathed its surroundings in red hot flames. An area of 100 meters suddenly became a burning wasteland. Even the 100 meters surrounding that weren''t left unaffected. At the centre of that brightly shining wonderland, a faint white light could be seen. Though it was only in a small area. If one focused, they could find the origin of that bright white light. in the few meters around the arcane orb, where the fire was burning at its hottest, the flames had taken on an entirely different colour. The usually bright red flames had transformed into a milky white colour. Looking at them for too long would leave you feeling tired. As if the flames were reaching across the distance and burning your very soul. Feeling that, Solomon knew that those weren''t ordinary flames. Under the assault of those flames, the Queen''s body couldn''t even slightly hold up. Her jet black shell had instantly begun melting off of her body, revealing the tender muscles underneath. As the shell turned into a goopy liquid, a pool of black goo gathered underneath the Queen''s body. Continuing on, the flames began burning the blood-red muscles. Almost immediately evaporating, the muscles Quickly disappeared. The Queen''s whole body almost completely disappeared in the span of a few seconds. Seeing such a devastating effect, both Solomon and Pluvia felt a chill run up their spine. Pluvia: what the?! how much Qi did you have left? Marvelling at the devastating effect Solomon''s attack had, Pluvia was bewildered. Comparing this to his other flame serpent art, she could see a massive difference. If she judged their powers, then this one would be almost twice as strong as the last. Solomon: uh, a little over half.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Looking at the absolute destruction before him, Solomon was amazed. Compared to his earlier attack this was on a whole other level. Even with his untrained eye, it was easy to see the difference. Pluvia: WHAT!? Then why is it so strong? Hearing Solomon, Pluvia was both extremely confused and impressed. Even with her huge wealth of experience, she didn''t know of a way to so easily double the power of such an attack. Looking at Solomon eagerly, she waited for his answer. Solomon: well, I thought I''d test something out. Ever since I learnt my raging sword skill, I''ve had this odd feeling. Whenever I attack, my instincts tell me to use my anger to empower my attacks. Up until now though, I had resisted trying it. But when I attacked this time, my hatred for the Queen overtook me. Unable to control myself, I Used all of my built up anger to strengthen my attack. But even then, I can''t believe it had such an effect. Staring wide-eyed at the field of flames stretching out before him, even Solomon couldn''t believe his own explanation. The thought that his anger had caused this was crazy even to him, let alone Pluvia. But the proof was right before him. How could he argue with the facts? Pluvia: Is that really it? haah, We don''t have the time to discuss this now, so I''ll just have to accept your explanation for the time being. But we''ll definitely look into this in the future. It''s been long enough, Let''s go claim our reward. Deciding to postpone her suspicions for the moment, Pluvia walked towards the Queen''s "corpse". Nodding his head, Solomon followed after her. Having been a little while since they first appeared, the flames were beginning to die down. Even the mysterious white flames were quickly burning themselves out. Approaching the Queen, both Solomon and Pluvia were still very cautious. Though they could see that she was reduced to a morbid puddle by this point, they still hadn''t received the notification from the system. So as they drew closer to her body, they were both very wary. After being caught up in the white flames, her body had almost completely vaporised. Other than a dark black puddle that used to be her shell, all that remained of her was a smallish hunk of meat. But upon closer inspection, that chunk of meat turned out to be the Queen''s head. Surprisingly, it had retained most of its features. Other than a little bit of burnt skin, it was in good condition. But without her body and the organs inside it, the Queen''s head wouldn''t last for very long. As they waited for the system to confirm her death, the Queen''s head began to twitch. Opening her eyes, the Queen looked up at them with her beady eyes. Seeing the looming figures of Solomon and Pluvia, she was surprisingly calm. No hatred or anger showed on her disembodied face. The only emotion she had the energy left to convey, was fear. But it wasn''t a fear of them. It was a more primal type of fear. A fear that showed itself in all living things. The fear of death. It seemed that even the emotionally cold Queen couldn''t shake the primal fear of death. But no matter how much she feared it, death still came for her. guild bot: beep, hidden mission, kill the parasite Queen, has been accomplished. 1500 points and two G rank tokens awarded to awarded to Solomon and Pluvia. 500 points and a single G rank rewards awarded to Gareth, Alice, Nicholas, Tony and Sasha. Hearing the voice of the system in their minds, Solomon and Pluvia knew that the Queen had finally died. Looking into her unfocused eyes, they could no longer see any signs of life. Solomon; haaah, it''s finally over. Having the Queen''s death officially confirmed, Solomon felt his tense nerves settle down. Not having the system''s notification immediately after his attack made him think that it had failed. If that was the case, then the fight would have been over for them. though he could have used dragon''s fire and fought on, Pluvia would have been out of commission. So he would be left to fight the Queen by himself. Facing that possibility, the tension in his body had skyrocketed. But now that it was over, he could let all of that tension go. Collapsing to the floor, he let the waves of fatigue overwhelm him. Having completely exhausted his Qi, as well as maintained his transformation for a long time, he felt exhausted. He knew it wouldn''t be long before the last wisps of Qi left his body, forcing him to return to his human form. Pluvia; hah. Hearing Pluvia let out a relieved sigh, Solomon looked over at her. Her body was shaking slightly, as well as teetering back and forth unsteadily. It seemed like she was as exhausted as him. But just to be on the safe side and check she was ok, he called out to her. Solomon: Pluvia? She didn''t react to his words, only continuing to wobble unsteadily. Just as he was about to call out again, he saw her body start shrinking back down to its usual size. At first, he thought she was just distracted by her transformation. Staying Quite, Solomon let her focus. But as he kept watching her, he realised that her shaking was getting worse. Realising that she wasn''t just concentrating, Solomon became worried. But before he had the time to go over to her, her body had gone back to its human form. As her figure solidified, she finally lost her balance. With her eyes rolling back into her head, she fell face first onto the cave floor. Completely terrified by her sudden collapse, Solomon couldn''t help but to scream out to her. Solomon: PLUVIA!!!!! Volume 3 Cloverifeld chapter 75 - A Sudden Temptation Pluvia: haah. Hearing system''s confirmation, Pluvia knew that the Queen had died. Feeling the pressure on her body disappear, she knew that it finally over. But before she could revel in her victory, fatigue flooded her body. She suddenly felt as if she was standing in the middle of the ocean, resisting the waves with her body alone. This was the price for overusing her Qi. Forcing her already stressed body to increase in strength so quickly had completely burnt her out. As the dizzying waves assaulted her mind and body, she noticed the Qi in her muscles slowly leaking out. As that power kept leaving her body, she felt incredibly sick. As the only source of her energy at that point, the Qi was crucial to her. Without it, she''d barely be able to move, let alone fight. But no matter how she tried to prevent it, the used up Qi was naturally leaving her body. After a few seconds, she had already lost a tenth of it. At this rate, it wouldn''t be long before it all vanished. Focusing her complete attention on holding in the dissipating energy, she closed her eyes. As the furrow on her brow grew deeper, she tried everything she could to hold in the Qi. As the pressure on her mind began affecting her body, Pluvia began swaying gently back and forth. Using her massive store of information, she tried dozens of methods. But even with all of her knowledge, she couldn''t stop the natural flow of the energy. At some point, she became vaguely aware of someone calling out to her. But being so deeply focused, she couldn''t take the time to answer that voice. So placing that noise out of her mind, she focused on her quickly escaping Qi. Knowing that she couldn''t keep the energy in her body, she changed her method. wanting to retain as much power as she could, Pluvia went about absorbing back the Qi into her monster core. As it had come out of her core not too long ago, it wasn''t difficult for her to pull it back inside. But as both her body and mind were exhausted, she couldn''t efficiently recall the Qi. Though at fist she was absorbing back as much Qi as was lost, that didn''t last long. As time went by, her condition only got worse. After a minute of struggling, she couldn''t hold up anymore. Unable to fight the tide within her body, she watched helplessly as her power escaped. To make things even worse, her body was starting to revert back to its human form. Having run out the Qi sustaining her transformation, it was only natural for Pluvia to revert to her weakest form. Adding that pressure onto her already burdened mind had broken her resistance. Looking at the pitiful portion of Qi in her monster core, Pluvia couldn''t help but smile derisively at herself. opening her eyes, Pluvia took a quick glance at Solomon. Seeing his worried expression and moving lips, she felt really guilty. Unable to hold her mind together any longer, Pluvia lost herself to the endless tide of fatigue. As she collapsed to the floor, the last sight she saw was Solomon''s wide-eyed face. Solomon: PLUVIA!!!!! Seeing her suddenly collapse, Solomon panicked. Having already known that she''d overtaxed herself, Solomon planned on giving her time to recuperate. After all, it was because of him that she was forced to such a condition in the first place. But watching her sudden collapse, he realised that she was even more exhausted than he at first thought. Knowing that his actions had caused this, Solomon felt a deep pain in his heart. In part, he blamed himself for being too weak to protect her. Worried that she was more than just exhausted, he planned on running over to check on her her. But before he could, a heavy wave of fatigue hit his body. Focusing on his body, Solomon realised that his werewolf transformation was coming to an end. Solomon: Shit! Not now! Falling to one knee, Solomon tried desperately to delay his regression. But as the painful waves of fatigue battered against his brain, Solomon could barely hold himself together. After forcing himself to take a few unsteady steps, he finally gave in. Falling face first onto the hard cave floor, he lay completely still. Gazing at the still body of Pluvia laying a few metres away, he could barely contain his worry. But he knew if he forced himself to move now, he''d only end up in the same state as her. So after swallowing his bitter feelings, Solomon waited for his body to once again become human. Almost instantly, his body began shrinking. At first, his elongated, wolf-like legs reformed to their usual shape. Then his sharp teeth shrunk back down to their original length. Finally, his coating of silver hair shed off of his body. As the layer of fur fell to the floor a pile of needle-thin hairs stick into the floor. Even after leaving his body the fur retained it''s sharpness, easily sinking several inches into the cave''s rocky floor. While this Whole process was taking place, Solomon was desperately resisting his urge to rush over to Pluvia. Though he wanted to rush to her side and check on her right then, he knew that his changing body wouldn''t allow it. Without any alternatives, he could only wait out his changing body. Clenching his jaw tightly, Solomon counted the seconds until his transformation ended. One minute and thirty-seven seconds later, it was finally over. Feeling as if he''d waited an eternity, Solomon quickly got back to his feet. But as he took his first step forwards, Solomon almost fell flat on his face. Having gone back to his human form, Solomon was very weakened. For the next few minute''s he''d struggle to even walk. But unwilling to delay any longer, he forged onwards. Stumbling over to Pluvia, he almost tripped several times. But recovering quickly, he soon reached her side. Looking down at her limp body, he had a sudden surprise. She was completely naked, without a single piece of cloth on her body. Having passed out as soon as she reverted back to her human form, Pluvia naturally didn''t have the time to get dressed. Looking down at her completely exposed body, Solomon had several impure thoughts. But after quickly forcing those out of his mind, he went about checking her condition.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Pluvia: huuuh, huuuh, huuuh. Placing his head next to hers, Solomon was relieved to hear her soft breathing. Lifting up her soft body, Solomon checked her for any obvious injuries. Though he wasn''t a doctor, he''d easily be able to see any cuts or bruises. But even after checking her most intimate areas, Solomon surprisingly found nothing. She didn''t even have a little bruise, let alone a grievous injury like he''d expected. It seemed that all of her injuries had remained on her dragon form and that only her fatigue seemed to have remained behind. At a guess, he imagined she was just overwhelmed by her fatigue and had passed out. If that was the case, she should recover in a relatively short amount of time. But just in case, Solomon would have Alice feed her a potion. Solomon; haagh. Don''t worry me like that. Searching through dragon''s fire, Solomon quickly found several sets of female clothes. Having used the space to carry all their supplies, Solomon had several sets of clothing for everyone. Taking Pluvia''s clothes out, he began dressing her in them. But as he kept moving her around to put the clothes on, he was getting a good feel of her delicate body. Not to mention a full view of her exposed body. Looking at her fair skin and bare "assets" he struggled to keep his hands to himself. Luckily, after a few minutes, he''d gotten her dressed without losing himself to temptation. Lying her down on a bedding of rolled up clothes, he embarrassingly turned away from her. The guilty feeling in his heart couldn''t help but make him avert his gaze from her. Though she was now wearing clothes, he had already seen the full extent her body had to offer. The thin layers of fabric covering her did little to prevent his mind from running wild. Hoping to alleviate his dirty thoughts, Solomon looked over towards Alice and Gareth. Having been preoccupied with Pluvia''s sudden collapse, he hadn''t had the time to think about them. But now remembering the massive horde of enemies they were facing, he couldn''t help but worry. Though he had killed the Queen, he wasn''t sure if it had any effect on the parasite''s horde. So quickly staring towards them, he desperately hoped they were okay. But seeing the sight before his eyes, he could only stare wide-eyed. The Whole landscape in front of him was littered with parasite corpses. Not only were the parasites dead, but looking at their brutalised corpse it was plain to see that they had been decimated. Looking at the various different states of the bodies, Solomon couldn''t help but feel amazed. Even after scanning the whole battlefield, he couldn''t find a single living parasite. Gawking at the scene before him, Solomon failed to notice the figure slowly approaching him. From amidst the mountain of corpses, a short man wearing a green camouflaged shirt and shorts slowly walked towards him. Seeing the bewildered look on Solomon''s face, and the unconscious Pluvia, that man spoke to him. Gareth: Hey, you alright?! Hearing a voice, Solomon snapped out of his amazement. Looking over at Gareth, he noticed him staring at Pluvia. Even through his haggard expression, Solomon could clearly see the panic in his eyes. Looking at her limp body, he was worried that the worst had happened. Solomon: she''s okay, She just passed. Knowing her she''ll be back on her feet in no time. Waving his hand dismissively, Solomon explained Pluvia''s current condition. Though he did exaggerate her recovery time to soothe Gareth''s nerves. In all likelihood, she would be knocked out for the rest of the mission. Even if she did wake up, what could she do with her injured body? Solomon: Besides, how the hell did you do this? Looking out at the sea of insect corpses, Solomon was eager to know how they''d died. Knowing that even he would struggle against this many enemies made him extremely curious as to their methods. For Alice and Gareth who were much weaker than himself to pull off such a mass execution meant that their plan had to be special. Otherwise, how would they have so easily wiped out several thousand parasites? looking over at Gareth, Solomon waited for his explanation. Seeing how impressed he was, Gareth couldn''t help but let a cheeky smirk sneak onto his face. Knowing that his actions had even surprised Solomon left him feeling extremely prideful. It wasn''t every day that one of his actions could leave Solomon in awe. Gareth: It''s quite impressive, ain''t it? Well, I''ll explain as we walk. Crouching down, Gareth took a hold of Pluvia''s unconscious body. After hefting her over his shoulder, he started walking away from Solomon. Still being in a fighting set of mind, Solomon was confused as to where he was going. looking blankly at Gareth, he asked him what he was doing. Solomon: walk? Gareth: Yeah, Alice and everyone else is still waiting for us. Nodding his head towards the distant tunnel where they were, Gareth explained to Solomon. Though he was a little confused that Solomon had asked him such a simple Question, he soon decided to forget about it. Having been in a high-stress situation himself, Gareth understood his slow uptake. Solomon: Oh yeah, let''s get going then. Listening to Gareth, Solomon felt like an idiot. In an effort to hide his embarrassment, he started marching off towards their awaiting allies. luckily, Gareth didn''t pursue his stupidity. Having made such a huge blunder, Solomon began to question his own condition. Up until then, he hadn''t realised how mentally worn out he was. During his intense battle with the Queen, he hadn''t had the luxury to relax. Forcing himself to focus, he didn''t let any of the Queens actions pass him by. Though it put a huge strain on him, he was constantly analysing her every little behaviour. Having kept his mind in that constant state of tension for so long had undoubtedly affected him. Otherwise, how would the intelligent Solomon ever forget something so simple? Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 76 – Exchanging Stories Solomon: Ah, so that how you did it? Walking alongside Gareth, Solomon was listening intently to his animated explanation. Since they had started their trek back, he''d asked Gareth to tell him what happened. So while walking alongside him, Gareth had told him all of the details. Starting off with how they had been struggling to hold back the parasites. Saying that although they weren''t having issues with them individually, their sheer numbers were too much. Realising they were slowly getting pushed into a corner, Gareth said he''d come up with a plan. Going on, he told Solomon how his plan had gone off perfectly. Still holding onto his pride for achieving such a feat, Gareth made sure to embellish certain aspects of the story. From his heroic leadership to his deadly attacks, he was sure to exaggerate them all. As he lost himself in his own words, Gareth went on and on about the nerve-wracking scene. Telling and retelling with so ever greater detail each time. From his words, Solomon easily painted a vivid picture of the scene in his mind. Listening to this glamorised tale, Solomon could roughly tell what was real and what wasn''t. But even when he could so easily tell apart the fact from the fiction, he didn''t call Gareth out on it. Hearing the usually quiet ex-soldier talking to such lengths, he worried that it would disrupt his flow. After all, this was one of the rare times the man would speak so much. How could Solomon bear to interrupt such a rare occurrence? Merely listening quietly, he let the older man talk to his heart''s content. As the picture in his mind grew clearer and clearer, he couldn''t help but become even more amazed. Just knowing that Gareth and Alice had killed this massive horde had shocked him. But now learning how they''d done it, he was even more impressed. Thinking about Gareth''s plan, he developed an even deeper appreciation for him. Not only as a fighter, but also as a leader and strategist. Without Gareth''s intervention, Solomon doubted Alice could have pulled off this type of tactic. She just wasn''t the sort to fight in such a way. In a sense, the outcome of their battle was in a large part due to Gareth. As his thoughts went in that direction, Solomon felt a bitter feeling in his heart. Hearing about Gareth''s display of both leadership and planning, he felt guilty for not achieving the same himself. If he had, then the strain both on himself and Pluvia wouldn''t have been half as much. If he was on the same level, Pluvia wouldn''t have needed to put herself at risk. As his mind kept reminding him of his own failure, the bitter feeling in his heart grew larger. However, he didn''t let that feeling envelop him. Instead, he used it as motivation to improve. Knowing that there was no way to change the past, he promised himself he''d change the future. Settling his emotions, Solomon refocused on Gareth''s over the top storytelling. Though he was bored of it at this point, he didn''t stop Gareth''s steady stream of words. Still appreciating the rare talkativeness of Gareth, he refused to ruin it. Especially when considering how impressive the story he was telling was. For actually pulling it off he had more than earned the right to brag about it. Gareth: It was really nerve-wracking. As soon as I had attacked, it felt like my heart would explode! Finishing his story for the 5th time, Gareth suddenly stopped talking. Realising how much he''d been speaking made him feel a little awkward. For the last ten minutes other than the occasional words from Solomon, his voice had been the only sound in the entire cavern. Without realising it, he''d monopolised the entire conversation. Because of the comfortable atmosphere, he''d lost himself for a while. The words just seemed to naturally flow out of his mouth. For him, who had spent most of his life in some form of military group, that was extremely weird. In the past, he had been a man of few words. Being raised in a brutal environment had quickly turned his heart cold. So from a young age, the number of words he spoke was extremely few. Eventually, he gave up on talking about unnecessary things altogether. He gave most people a distant impression like he was purposefully avoiding them. But since he''d arrived in Domain, that attitude had slowly begun to change. Walking the line between life and death at all times had made him reconsider his personality. When he could die at any moment, his desires had taken a huge change. Wanting to survive, along with his allies, he''d gradually opened up. A huge part of that change was Solomon. His constant friendly attitude and his treatment of his comrades had worn down Gareth''s cold exterior. In the past, only two people could bring him out of his shell like that. One being his wife, and the other being her father. Remembering the old King, Gareth couldn''t help but become sombre. Glancing at Solomon, he was reminded of the striking resemblance between the two. Though they were two people from vastly different backgrounds, they both had something special about them. An intangible feeling that compelled those around them to follow them. In the king''s case, it was a natural talent that he''d built up with experience. In his role as king, he''d had to develop the skill to move his people''s hearts. But in Solomon''s case, it was different. For him, it was something more primal. It was like he had the instincts of a leader. Though Solomon hadn''t noticed this himself yet, it was glaringly obvious to those that followed him. At times when they were in need, Solomon would always be there to support them. Even in the short time, he''d been following the man, Gareth had seen him display that talent over and over.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Gareth: I won''t let it happen a second time. Feeling fortunate to have found such a great person for the second time in his life, or technically the first time in his second life, Gareth became determined to protect him. Solomon: what was that? Hearing Gareth mumble something, Solomon looked over at him. Realising that it had become Quite, he became a little worriedly. Looking at the half troubled and half determined face of Gareth, he was concerned as to what caused the sudden change. Seeing his heartfelt expression, Gareth felt his determination grow much stronger. Gareth: It''s nothing. Anyway, you still haven''t explained how you brought down the Queen. Slightly embarrassed by his own thought, Gareth didn''t want to tell Solomon about them. Diverting the conversation to the Queen, he hoped Solomon would soon forget about it. Solomon: honestly, it''s not too exciting. At first, we didn''t have a solid plan. So we just went in and tested out her power. But even after the first clash, we knew that she far outclassed us. If it wasn''t for Pluvia''s experience and my skills, we wouldn''t have lasted a minute. Looking up at the dark cave ceiling, Solomon''s eyes became unfocused. Deciding to drop the previous topic, he went on to talk about the fight. Unlike Gareth, he didn''t draw out his explanation. After all, it was a fairly simple battle. Compared to Gareth''s master plan, his fight with the Queen was an embarrassment. Not only had he failed to even make a plan, But he had also forced Pluvia to endanger herself. As the leader, he was responsible for everyone on the team. Putting her in that situation was an absolute disgrace. So wanting to quickly get away from the topic, he glossed over the battle. But even though he was just recapping the main points, Gareth listened to his words seriously. Gareth: Wow, so she was even stronger than we thought! Even though I only watched from a distance, I could still feel the huge pressure. Being so close, I can''t even begin to imagine what it was like. Remembering the waves of fear he felt just spectating from afar, Gareth had a chill run down his spine. If it felt like that for him, how did it feel for them? Solomon: Yeah, even now it''s hard to believe we actually killed her. Looking at Pluvia laying in Gareth''s arms, Solomon considered themselves to be extremely lucky. With how overpowered the Queen was, it wouldn''t be surprising for one of them to have died. Even a good outcome would have resulted in them being seriously injured. So them both getting away with such light injuries was a miracle. Solomon: Anyway, we were basically pushed back at every turn. Though we got a couple surprise attacks in, we could only manage to slightly injure her. More than anything that just angered her. In the end, it was Pluvia that won it for us. Even then it was only by using up all of her power. That desperate last move was fortunately enough to turn the tables. Looking back at the Queen''s corpse, or rather her puddle at this point, Gareth doubted their last move was as desperate as he said. But nodding along, he listened to Solomon''s summarised story. Though it lacked any of the embellishment that his own had, Solomon''s battle didn''t sound any less intense. Gareth: Seems like you had it rough, But you managed to pull it off. Just thinking about all that points we''ve earned here''s making my blood boil. Roughly calculating it, Gareth had made a little other 9,000 points. Including the G rank reward that Solomon had won for him, he would easily be able to double his current power. If that was what he''d already had, how many points would he earn by the end of the mission? Solomon: Don''t get cocky. This is still only the start. We have a long way to go till we finish this mission. Worried that Gareth would grow arrogant, Solomon quickly gave him some words of advice. Though he was also happy to have earned so much, he was still contemplating how the rest of the mission would go. After all, he still needed to earn an F rank reward. Thinking about how difficult it was to get the G rank reward, he knew the getting the F rank would be several times harder. Thinking about the challenges that lay ahead of himself, Solomon couldn''t help but feel downtrodden. They had spent so much energy here and yet it didn''t contribute to their original mission at all. If anything it delayed them for quite a while. Though they were rewarded for it, they now had to face the rest of the mission in their weakened state. But worse that that, Solomon still had a very bad feeling. When he first noticed that feeling, he thought it was just his nerves. But as time went on and his mind calmed itself down, the feeling hadn''t disappeared. In fact, it had gotten worse. Gareth: Don''t worry, I won''t. I''m just a little excited, that''s all. Bringing himself back to reality, Gareth answered Solomon seriously. Though he was overjoyed with his rewards, he didn''t want Solomon to think he was being careless. Alice: SOLOMON!!! Hearing Alice''s voice, Gareth was briefly stunned. He thought he was hallucinating for a moment before he looked up to see the young girl running in his direction. Looking around, he realised they''d made it back to the tunnel entrance. Looking back at Alice, he wondered how she''d react to Pluvia and Solomon''s state. Gently sighing, he prepared himself for what was to come. Gareth: Haaah, one struggle ends and another begins. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 77 – an embarrassed summoner Alice: SOLOMON! Having waited a long while for Solomon''s return, Alice had become anxious. Though she''d tried to distract herself by helping her injured teammates, her heart couldn''t ignore the pain it felt. Though she knew he''d won, she was worried about what he''d done to get that victory. Knowing what Solomon was like, she couldn''t shake the idea of him doing something stupid and getting hurt. So when Solomon finally made it back to her, looking perfectly fine no less, she couldn''t stop herself from screaming out his name. Sprinting forwards, she pounced onto him. Before he even had the chance to realise what had happened, she had settled herself into his arms. Tightly gripping onto him, she finally felt her heart calming down. Feeling his arms wrap around her gave her an even deeper sense of comfort. Sinking into that feeling, she felt the worries in her mind and the tension in her body drift away. Solomon: Alice? Are you alright? Having recovered from his initial surprise, Solomon looked down at Alice. Seeing her head buried in his chest and Feeling the slight trembling of her body, he felt a wave of guilt hit him. Having spent long enough with her, he knew how concerned she''d be for him. Yet when it came down to it, he''d still left her behind. Though he was sure it was the best way to protect her, he couldn''t shake his guilty conscience. Especially after seeing her like this. Alice: Hmm, I''m fine. Nodding her head gently, Alice looked up at Solomon. Though she tried to suppress it, the tears in her eyes started flowing freely down her face. Knowing that he was safe had brought all of the complex emotions in her heart out. Looking up into his clear brown eyes, she let all of her pent up emotions out. Solomon: Agh, It''s okay, I''m here now. I won''t leave you. Seeing her pained face, Solomon''s heart cracked. Though he knew he''d made the right decision, seeing her like this made him question himself. If this was the result of his actions, was it truly worth it? Was it worth hurting her heart over and over to protect her life? Or was it better to protect her heart and put her life at risk? At first, Solomon thought he knew the answer to that question. Her life was the most important. Her heart could be healed, But her life could never be recovered once it was lost. But as his own emotions affected his judgment, Solomon questioned himself. But before he had the time to think about it further, Alice''s voice drew him out of his own mind. Alice: I, I''m okay. I''m not upset. It''s just, I''m just really happy that you''re okay. Seeing Solomon''s panicked expression, Alice chuckled to herself. Knowing that he was so worried about her, she felt touched. She tried to tell Solomon that she was alright, but her roiling emotions prevented her. After stuttering her way through a couple of sentences, she gave up on words entirely. Smiling widely, she hoped her actions could convey more than her words. But before she could appreciate the heartfelt scene for much longer, a hoarse cough brought her back to the present. Gareth: Kahum. Remembering where they were, both Solomon and Alice quickly jumped away from each other. Seeing a thin film of scarlet red creep onto their faces, Gareth couldn''t help but chuckle. Gareth: hehehe, you two grown awfully close, haven''t ya? It Shouldn''t be long now before I can expect a nephew then? Taking advantage of their embarrassment, Gareth teased them. Alice: Agh! Tha, tha, that''s! Caught completely off guard, Alice stuttered over her words. Though she tried desperately to stay calm, the sudden thought of children in her mind was causing her to panic. As they were in Domain, the topic of children had never come up between them. It wasn''t that they were ignoring it, just that they had other priorities on their mind. So now having it suddenly brought to her attention, Alice was stunned. On the other hand, Solomon wasn''t reacting nearly as much. Though the touch of red on his face had grown a few shades lighter, his overall composure was the same. Looking at both of their reactions, Gareth felt a grin spread across his face. Seeing the usually collected couple become so embarrassed he couldn''t help himself. Alice: you, you see! It''s, it''s! AAAGGH! Letting out an exasperated sigh, Alice looked pleadingly over at the silent Solomon. Since she''d started fumbling over her words he''d remained unusually quiet. Seeing him react like that, she felt a little awkward. After all, she was making such a big thing out of it. Worst of all, she didn''t feel too opposed the idea. Though she definitely wouldn''t tell him that. Solomon: I think you might be getting a little ahead of yourself there. We''re still far too young for things like that. Those things should be left for the future. Under Alice''s gaze, Solomon quickly spoke up for her. Having enough experience with her, he knew that it''d be a death sentence to ignore Alice. Though he''d hoped to stay out of this conversation, she''d ended up dragging him into it. It wasn''t that he was against having children, just that he''d not really though about it. Being under an almost constant fear of death had left him with little time to think about unimportant things like this. Choosing his words carefully, Solomon came up with a diplomatic response. As Alice was listening to what he''d say, he didn''t want to come off in a bad way. So he made sure not to commit himself to anything. Though he''d not said he was interested in children, he''d left it open to the future. He hoped that Alice would be content with such an answer for now. After all, they had plenty of time to carefully consider it. Especially now that he''d learnt what happens to children in Domain from Tony.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Alice: that''s right! Thankful that Solomon had bailed her out of embarrassing herself even more, Alice hastily agreed with him. Gareth: haha, I guess so. Looking at Gareth''s evil grin, Alice had a sudden urge to hit him. But looking at the limp body that lay in his arms, she refrained herself. Alice: Ah! Having reminded herself of the situation, Alice rushed over to check on Pluvia. Having completely neglected her and though almost exclusively about Solomon, she felt quite guilty now. Looking over her body, Alice couldn''t find any obvious injuries. But seeing her limp figure and pale face, she started to fear the worst. Looking over at Solomon, her words came out after a slight hesitation. Alice: She... what happened to her? Looking at Alice''s panicked eyes, Solomon quickly explained Pluvia''s state to her. Solomon: |It''s alright, she''s only knocked out. As far as I could tell, she''s not injured anywhere. So I think she''s just exhausted. Just like with Gareth, Solomon made sure to leave out the extent of Pluvia''s injuries before she changed back into her human form. Remembering the cuts and shattered scales all over her dragon body, he suspected there was a lot more to her unconscious state than it seemed. But knowing that they didn''t have any ways to help her, he refrained from telling them about it. After all, It would only distract them from the mission. Alice: As for as you could tell? Well, at least she''s okay. Seeing her like this, I thought she''d be far worse off. Picking up on the implications of "as far as I could tell" Alice wanted to immediately question Solomon. With her keen intuition, she could understand the meaning of his words. And looking at the shoddy appearance of Pluvia''s clothes, she could easily deduce that he''d clothed her. But knowing that it wasn''t the time or place for her to pursue such thoughts, she held back. Though now that she''d figured out as much, she committed it to memory. As soon as she had the chance, she would undoubtedly chase him up on it. Knowing that there was no way to escape from Alice''s eventual interrogation, Solomon felt his mood dampen. Solomon: Yeah, it''s crazy that we got away with just that... if you don''t mind, could you give her one of your potions? Though I''m not sure if it''ll have any effect, I''d rather be safe than sorry. Setting aside his sour mood, Solomon spoke to Alice. Having already decided that it was worth using up Some of Alice''s energy for this, he asked her to use a potion. Hearing him, Alice hesitated briefly. She was worried about spending her already sparse energy in such a way when they didn''t know what dangers they still had to face. But after taking stock of her rift energy, and realising that a quarter of it had already recuperated, she agreeing. Though she was reluctant to use up her precious energy, especially at such an important time, she didn''t place it on the same level as helping her allies. If it had a chance to help Pluvia, even if only slightly, she''d give to her. Thinking about it logically, she felt it was a good decision as well. As Pluvia was their strongest fighter, it would be best for her to recover quickly. Alice: Yeah, I''ll do it. I''d feel better if I knew she''d taken a potion. Reaching into her sleeve, Alice took out one of the familiar cards that resided there. Holding it out in front of herself, she activated it. Alice: Potion! Watching the card smash into pieces, then form into a torrent of green energy Solomon was once again amazed. Even though he''d been a resident of this crazy world for a little while now, he still hadn''t gotten over how nonchalantly everyone used their powers. It was like they were extensions of their body that had always been there, even though they were very new. Even he himself had been doing it. Looking back at how he handled his powers in the fight with the Queen, he almost couldn''t believe it. If someone had told him he''d fight against a 12 ft tall insect and win before he came to Domain, he''d call them mad. Yet here he was. Alice: Tilt her head back for me. Hearing Alice''s instructions, Solomon''s moment of realisation was shattered. Bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, he did as she asked. Holding the purple bottle firmly in her hand, Alice uncapped the lid. Then holding it up to Pluvia''s lips, she gently poured all of the contents down her throat. Though she had to take it slowly, stopping several times to let the liquid flow down, she had quickly emptied the whole bottle. She then watched as it shattered into pieces. Those tiny pieces soon turned back into a bright green energy, forming into a small card. Quickly grabbing a hold of it, she shoved the card back up into her sleeve. Alice: it''s done. Looking down at Pluvia''s body, Alice felt a little less guilty. She still felt bad for ignoring her who was much worse off and going straight to Solomon. But at least now she''d done all she could for Pluvia. Solomon: good, all we can do now is wait then. Happy that everything they could do for Pluvia had been done, Solomon felt his concern for her lesson. Though he still felt responsible and guilty, he could now get on with his other responsibilities without being distracted. Thinking about his other allies who were still injured, he looked towards the cave where they all were. Though it was partly obscured by darkness, his superior vision could still pick out a few people in the darkness. Though he couldn''t tell how they were, he at least knew they were back on their feet. Solomon: Alright, let''s go back to the other then. Glancing back over to Alice and Gareth, he noticed that they were still looking at Pluvia. Speaking up, he drew their attention. Then without waiting any longer, he walked forwards volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 78 – let me repay you! Sasha: "Thank you for saving me. Please, let me repay you!?" Arriving back at the tunnel where everyone was waiting, Solomon was met with an unexpected scene. At almost the same moment as he was spotted, Sasha had come stumbling towards him. Suddenly kneeling down in front of him, she had asked to repay him. Seeing the little girl act in such a way, Solomon was stunned. Solomon: "Uhm, could you guys go and help the others?" looking at the collapsed figures of the characters, as well as the unstably wobbling Nicholas and Tony, Solomon asked Alice and Gareth to go and check on them. after glancing at the prostrating figure of Sasha, they both nodded in agreement. Alice: "Alright, but don''t take too long." After sending them off, Solomon looked back at Sasha. Feeling the fatigue settling into his bones, Solomon wondered why all the girls in his life were so hard to deal with. First was Pluvia with her dangerous methods, then Alice with her emotional collapse. Now he had this to deal with. Letting out a small sigh, he tried to pass off her offer Solomon: "It''s okay, you don''t need to repay me." Waving his hand at her, Solomon refused the offer. He didn''t save her to get a favour from her, so it made would make him feel awkward accepting her request. In reality, he hadn''t saved here for any real reason. In the moment, he''d considered her as one of his teammates. So without much thought, he''d instinctively helped her. He just saw that she was in trouble and acted. It was more of a natural response than a choice on his part. Now facing her offer, he couldn''t shake the thought that if he accepted it''d come off badly. For the sake of their future relationship, he hoped she''d just let him drop the matter. After all, it wasn''t like she could really repay him in any meaningful way anyway. Sasha: "huh, But you saved my life. Is my life not even worth repaying in your eyes." Misunderstanding his meaning, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. To her, his dismissive attitude was like him saying she wasn''t even worthy of repaying him. So to Sasha, who saw Solomon as her saviour, this was a heavy emotional blow. Having spent a considerable time in Domain, she understood how a situation like her''s would normally have gone. iF she was with any other guild and got injured to such an extent, they would have undoubtedly left her behind. That would have especially been the case if they''d been running away from an extremely deadly enemy. It was the common rule in Domain the strong prey on the weak. If you didn''t have the strength to support yourself, no one else would step out to help you. So for Solomon to have taken such a huge risk to help her was mindblowing. If she''d been with almost anyone else, she believed she would''ve been long dead by this point. Knowing her brother, he also would have stayed behind with her. In a roundabout sense, that meant that head also saved her Nicholas as well. Thinking about that, Sasha was determined to repay him. But hearing him reject her felt like a hammer smashing down on her heart. Solomon: "haah, is there no way I can convince you to just thank me and leave it at that?" Seeing Sasha become so emotional, Solomon realised he''d stepped on a landmine. It seemed that he had underestimated her determination to pay him back. Letting out an exacerbated sigh, Solomon made a last ditch effort to have her give up on the topic. Addressing her directly, he asked if she would drop the topic. But without so much as a seconds hesitation, she firmly shook her head. Sasha: "No, you saved my life and I have to pay you back for that." Looking at the little girl''s ardent expression and brightly shining eyes, Solomon felt his headache start growing worse. In the end, he decided to just give the girl what she wanted. From her reaction, he knew that there was no way she''d change her mind. Looking at her already tempered will, Solomon felt like he''d found Alice number 2. Just like her, Sasha wouldn''t give up on her decision once she''d made it. Though he like that quality in her, it wasn''t exactly easy to deal with. So now looking at Sasha displaying the same level of stubbornness, he couldn''t help but fear for his future. Solomon: "haaaah, fine. If you''re not going to give it up, I''ll just have to let you repay me." Sighing deeply, Solomon gave the deceptively cute little girl standing before him. Kneeling down, he gently wiped the tear stains off her face. Thinking deeply, Solomon tried to come up with a way for her to help him. After a few seconds, he''d already come up with the perfect repayment. Lifting her up from the floor, he looked her in the eyes.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Solomon: "All right, here''s what I want you to do." Perking up, Sasha intently focused on what Solomon was about to say. Having already affirmed her decision to repay him, she prepared to etch his next words into her heart. Until she''d completed that task, she''d consider herself in his debt. Solomon: "when we split up later on, I want you to look after Alice for me. Without me there, I need someone looking out for her." Hearing his request, Sasha''s heart shrank. Being given such an important task, she began doubting herself. It was no secret that out of everyone on the team she was the weakest. So why had he asked her out of everyone to look after Alice? It was more likely that the opposite would be the case. Sasha: "I''d like to say I will, But I''m not strong enough to make that promise." looking down slightly, she told Solomon her honest thoughts. Though she really wanted to accept his request and promise him that''d she''d protect Alice, she didn''t have the confidence to do so. Solomon: "hahaha, I think you''ve misunderstood." Seeing Sasha admit her weakness so openly, Solomon''s impression of her grew greatly. Most adults wouldn''t have the maturity to admit that, let alone a little girl like her. It really showed how mature she was. Thinking about the troubles she must have faced as a contestant in Domain to gain that maturity made Solomon feel sorry for her. Solomon: "I don''t want you to protect her, I want you to help her emotionally." Knowing that she was only an unranked he, of course, wouldn''t ask her to protect Alice. What he wanted, was for Sasha to be Alice''s crutch. Seeing how uneasy she became after him leaving her for a little while, he couldn''t imagine how distressed she''d feel leaving him for several hours. He hoped that at that time Sasha could be there for Alice, helping her to stay focused. Letting his words sink in, Solomon waited for Sasha to think about his words. Sasha: "Emotionally? How can I help her emotionally?" Thinking over what he''d said, Sasha tried to decipher the meaning in his words. But even with her mature attitude, she was still only a little girl. Understanding matters of the heart were still way beyond her. Looking up at Solomon feeling a little embarrassed, she had asked him what he meant. Solomon: "when I go off with Gareth, I know Alice isn''t going to take it very well. She''ll end up still constantly worrying about me. If she''s in that state of mind, she won''t be able to fight with her all. In that case, it''ll be a big risk for everyone on your side. So what I want is for you to do everything you can to keep her focused. Can you do that for me?" Realising that even though Sasha was mature for her age, she was still a child, Solomon explained his meaning to her. After just witnessing how distressed Alice was from a few minutes of separation, he dreaded to think what would become of her after several hours. By having Sasha stay by her side, he hoped that she could ease her heart. After all, Alice wasn''t the sort of person to put an 11-year-old girl in danger. So if it came down to it, he was sure that Alice would step up to the situation. So by keeping Sasha at her side, he hoped that it would encourage her to give it her all. Even if she was emotionally troubled, he hoped that motivation would be enough. Sasha: "I, I think I can do that." After a moment of hesitation, Sasha agreed to his request. Though she wasn''t entirely confident in herself, she didn''t want to refuse Solomon''s request. After listening to him, she was still a little confused as to how she could prevent Alice from becoming distracted. But after thinking it through, she realised how important of a role it was. If Solomon was asking her to do it, he had to believe she had the potential. If not, why would he ask her in the first place? She just didn''t think she''d figured out the method quite yet. In the worst case, it wouldn''t make a difference if she accepted or not. If Alice really did become distracted and ended up being defeated, then there was no chance for her to survive. So it was also in her best interest to help keep Alice in a good state of mind. Alice: "Hey! Are you two done yet!?" Hearing Alice''s voice, Sasha was jolted out of her thoughts. Looking towards the voice''s origin, she saw Alice standing a little ways away waving at them. Looking over at her, she realised that everyone had gathered beside her. Though the characters were still unconscious, Tony and Nicholas were both up and back on their feet. Solomon: "looks like everyone''s ready to go. Well, I''ll leave Alice to you then." Looking over at the figure of Alice waving at them, Solomon said his last bit. Getting to his feet, he also helped Sasha to hers. Without wasting any time, Solomon started walking back towards everyone. Following behind him, Sasha looked worriedly towards the figure of her brother. When she had woken up a little while ago, she''d found him passed out on the floor beside her. According to Alice, it was because he''d been hurt by a long-range attack of the Queen''s. Hearing that, she became concerned. But now seeing that he had woken up, her worry disappeared. Eager to get back and see how he was, she followed closely behind Solomon. Solomon: "so, what¡¯s the situation?" Arriving at Alice''s side, Solomon asked her for an update. Looking at how her face became distressed at his question, he prepared himself for the bad news. Glancing back at the cave for a second, Alice''s face grew even more ugly. Sighing slightly, she spoke. Alice: "haah. well, it''s not very good." volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 79 – GOOOOONNNNGGG Gareth: "Damn, how are we supposed to deal with this?" Looking at the unconscious bodies of the characters, Gareth felt a sinking feeling settle in his gut. After checking over them with Alice, he''d fully understood how bad of a state they were in. Though they didn''t have any obvious physical injuries, their breathing was shallow and they had a high fever. If they left them in that state without treatment, they wouldn''t survive for very long. let alone getting them out of the city, even getting them out of the underground would be impossible. Not to mention he still needed Robert to guide himself and Solomon later on. Facing down the horrible situation, Gareth couldn''t help but let his mood sink. Solomon: "It''s too late to regret now. We''ll just have to improvise." Standing beside Gareth, Solomon was also looking at the characters. After hearing about their condition from Alice, his own optimism for the mission had shrunk quite a bit. Much Like Gareth, he realised how much the difficulty of the mission would rise if the characters were like this. Looking around at everyone, Solomon saw his teammate''s expressions grow more and more troubled as they came to the same conclusions as him. Though he wanted to comfort them, he didn''t have the heart to do so. It was already a struggle to ensure everyone''s survival before, let alone now. Deciding to deal with the most pressing issue first, Solomon turned to Alice. Solomon: "Alice, Can you use your potion again?" The issue at hand was stabilising the character''s condition. Though it was already bad that they were unconscious, it would turn much worse if they started dying. So to prevent that from happening, Solomon went to the only teammate of his that has a healing skill. Alice: "Not right now, It''s still on cooldown. I should be able to use it again in a minute or so." Feeling weighed down by the current situation and Solomon''s serious tone, Alice quickly answered Solomon''s question. Solomon: "Okay, once it comes off of cooldown I want you to share the Potion between them. Though it probably won''t heal them, hopefully it''ll keep them alive." Without any alternatives, Solomon just had to hope that Alice''s Potion would be enough to stabilise them. Right now this was the best, and only, way to keep the charactersalive. Withthe pandemonium going on above ground, there was no way they could get to a hospital. Even if they did, it wasn''t anyone would still be there to help the characters. By this point, most of the people above ground would have either escaped, joined up with the military or died to the creatures. Alice: "I''m not sure if it''ll be enough to save them, but I''ll give it a go." Glancing over the 5 people laid out before her, Alice doubted her ability to heal them. Though she knew one of her potions could easily heal one of them, she didn''t know how strong the effect would be when spreading it out between 5 people. But based on her gut instinct, the outlook wasn''t very promising. Solomon: "We''ll just have to hope." Responding to Alice, Solomon also didn''t feel very confident. But it wasn''t like they had a choice. Deciding that it was best to not agonise over things he couldn''t change, Solomon moved on to the other issues they were soon going to face. Glancing at his watch, Solomon saw that it was almost midnight. Since their arrival in the mission, several hours had passed. according to his memory, the bombs would drop at 6:42 am. So they had a little under 7 hours left to escape. Looking at the current situation, he didn''t feel that escaping in that timeframe would be a likely outcome. With the characters in such a fragile state, their movement speed would be heavily reduced. So if they followed their original plan and kept on moving through the tunnels, completing this mission would become a pipe dream. But if they changed their plan, it would become a lot more dangerous for everyone. Thinking about that predicament, Solomon couldn''t come up with a good solution. Tony: "Solomon, I have an idea." Hearing Tony suddenly speak up, Solomon hastily turned to face him. Having considered so many different possibilities in his mind, Solomon was beginning to go crazy. no matter what ideas he had, they would always end up with too many uncertainties. In one scenario they could go perfectly and in another, they could lead to everyone''s death. Once again being reminded of the responsibility that came with his position, Solomon couldn''t help but feel pressured. Hearing Tony offer up a possible solution to him made him hopeful.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Solomon: "What is it?" Grabbing him by the shoulders, Solomon questioned him. Being suddenly placed under Solomon''s intense gaze, he was a little startled. But being a hardened veteran of Domain, he quickly recovered. Tony: "well, you probably won''t like it, But I can''t really see us surviving any other way." knowing that everyone wouldn''t like his idea, Tony became a little hesitant. Seeing that, Solomon was about to encourage him. But before he had the chance, Nicholas cut in. Nicholas: "Arghh, Tony if you''ve got a fucking idea just tell us what it is already!" Having stated been silent up until then, Nicholas''s sudden outburst surprised Tony. In this stressful situation, he was beginning to lose his cool. Still being a relatively new person in Domain, he hadn''t learned how to control his emotions in situations like these. So when he''d heard Tony propose a solution but hesitate on saying what it actually was, he lost control for a second. But even after hearing Nicholas, Tony still looked over at Solomon. Realising that Tony was waiting for him to speak, Solomon went ahead and asked him to explain his plan. Solomon: "Goahead, At this point there''s not really anything to lose." Though Solomon was hopeful for whatever Tony had come up with, he wasn''t betting on it too much. After all, it wasn''t likely that Tony had come up with something brilliant in such a short time. He just hoped that even if it wasn''t practical it''d at least be a start. Tony: "Okay. So, What if we were to abandon some of the characters." Hearing his suggestion, everyone was shocked. For him to suggest leaving behind the people that they were supposed to protect was insane. Not to mention no-one felt comfortable with leaving behind the people who had trusted in them. So hearing Tony suggest such an action was like he was just trying to sabotage them. Alice: "How can we do that!? It''s our mission to help them escape, so why would we abandon them!? Do you want us to just fail the mission!?" angered by Tony''s suggestion, Alice started yelling at him. Being under the same stress as everyone else, she was worried about how they would finish the mission. So when she heard Tony say he''d figured out a method to solve their problems, she''d let a seed of hope grow in her heart. But now that she''d been presented with such a seemingly crazy idea, she felt that hope turn into anger. She felt stupid for believing in him for even a moment. Just as she was about to go on and berate Tony some more, Gareth stopped her. Gareth: "Calm down Alice, he''s not suggesting that we give up on the mission." Hearing what Gareth said, Alice was confused. If they left the characters, wouldn''t they also be giving up the mission? Gareth: "You understand as well, right Solomon?" Seeing Alice''s confused face, Gareth looked over at Solomon. If he''d understood the meaning in Tony''s words, Solomon had undoubtedly done the same. Solomon: "Uhum, I get it too. Basically, he wants us to leave most of them here and focus on helping one or two of them escape." Nodding his head, Solomon summarised Tony''s idea. But even after hearing that, Alice was still confused. Looking at Nicholas and Sasha''s similarly confused faces, Alice was glad she wasn''t the only one who didn''t understand. Nicholas: "But wouldn''t the system still consider that as us failing. The mission was to escort them all, right?" Speaking up again, Nicholas was just as confused as Alice. Solomon: "I''ll put it like this. Our mission is to escort these guys out of the city, but what''s our reward for that." Looking at Nicholas, Solomon saw that he was confusedly scratching his head. Unlike Tony who had many missions under his belt, Nicholas was still a newbie. So, it wasn''t surprising that Both himself and his sister was confused about Tony''s meaning. Just the fact that he''d managed to regain control over his emotions after losing control earlier was impressive. It really went to show how Domain changes people. If a young 17-year-old like Nicholas could turn into a semi-hardened fighter after 5 missions, what would the veterans of hundreds of missions be like? Even more that that, what about people who''d been through thousands of missions. But to everyone one on the team the thought of surviving 20 missions seemed insanely far away, let alonethousands. ToSolomon, that number was miles away. Nicholas: "the reward?" Thinking about what Solomon had said, Nicholas dived into his memories. Recalling the time when they''d received their mission, he remembered the rewards being 500 points for every surviving member of the characters. As he thought over that piece of information, the gear in his head started turning. After a few seconds, he''d figured it out. If the rewards were paid for every surviving member, then they weren''t required to save all of them. The mission wasn''t to have them all escape, it was to get as many of them out as possible. Thinking about that, Nicholas had his sudden moment of realisation. Looking at Sasha and Alice, he saw that they too were piecing it together. Though it was taking them a little longer than him, they too would soon realise Tony''s reasoning. Nicholas: "I get it now." looking back over at Solomon, he expressed his understanding. Before he had the chance to rejoice his new understanding, the brutal nature of Tony''s idea hit him. If they were to go with this sort of Plan, it would mean leaving several of the people who believed in them to die. Thinking about that gave Nicholas a bad taste in his mouth. But before he could bring up his objection with this idea, An ear-piercing gong ran through his mind. Guild bot: "GOOOOONNNNGGG, system alert. Guild war initiated." volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 80 – Pluvia Guildbot: "GOOOOONNNNGGG, system alert. Guild war initiated." Hearing the alert suddenly sound off in his head, Solomon became tense. Though he hadn''t heard of guild wars before, he could easily guess what they were. Guild bot: "The guild, capitalist mages, has declared war on you. At 1 Am they will appear in the mission world. Due to the significant difference in strength between them and you, several benefits will be supplied to you." Finished conveying its message, Guild bot stopped talking. But even the few things it had said were enough to worry everyone. But before anyone even had the chance to talk, bright pillars of white light suddenly shone down onto everyone. Pulling them up into the air, the light pillars suspended everyone in the air. looking around, Solomon saw that everyone was isolated in their own personal pillar. Surprised by the sudden movement and bright light, they were panicking. Looking around at the light by himself, Solomon also started to worry. He could feel it trying to force its way into his body. Though he tried to resist at first, his drained QI pool wasn''t nearly enough to stop the tide of light. Feeling it enter his pores, he worriedly observed it. As the energy swirled around his internal organs, he felt extremely vulnerable. At this point, it wouldn''t take much for the light to constrict around his organs and kill him. But contrary to that, the light didn''t start attacking him. Instead, it slowly spread around his body. Seeping into his muscles, it revitalised his tired and damaged body. Feeling the odd warmth of it, he couldn''t help but be surprised. Solomon: "Agh, this must be one of the benefits." Regaining his composure, Solomon started thinking about what this mystical energy could be. That''s when he connected this with the benefits Guild bot had mentioned before. It wasn''t surprising that the system would heal them. Especially when they were soon going to be facing up against an E rank guild. Solomon: "Calm down!" looking over at his teammates, Solomon noticed that they were all still struggling against the energy. Trying to gain their attention, he called out to them. But when he did, he was surprised to realise that his voice didn''t reach them. Hearing the echo of his shout bounce around in his ears, he realised that was the only noise he could hear. Though he didn''t notice it earlier, the only sounds he could hear were the ones he was making. Guild bot: "This is the first of your rewards. You will now be fully restored to your best condition." Voicing out inside of Solomon''s brain for a second time, Guild bot confirmed his earlier conclusions. Understanding the situation, Solomon let his guard down. Even if he wanted to resist the light energy pouring into his body, he didn''t have the power to do so. As his resistance disappeared, the energy started cascading into his body. As if the floodgates had been opened, the torrent of energy flowed into all of his pores. Due to the increased intake, his body began healing at a faster rate. Within a few moments, he could feel his muscles fill with a sense of power. Then as the energy penetrated through his muscles, deep into his bones, his fatiguecompletelydisappeared. Like wisps of smoke before a strong breeze, all of the problems in his body drifted away. Finally, the light seeped into his almost emptyDantianand his brain. With that, his mental exhaustion and Qi were fully recovered. Solomon: "Ahh." Feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulder, Solomon let out a sigh. Only now that his mind had regained its clarity did he realise how stressed he''d actually been. Solomon: "Wow, it really works well." Marvelling at his refreshed body and mind, Solomon almost couldn''t believe how effective the systems healing was. In the course of a minute, everything wrong with him had been completely fixed. Now as the light around him faded away and he was freed from its grasp, he landed back down onto the ground. Though Solomon had never doubted the power of the system, he had thought that it would take more than a minute to bring him back to his best. Even in the ends of missions when the system would completely heal him, it would take a decent bit of time. But then again thinking back on those times, Solomon realised he''d been severely injured for each of them. Considering that he could see why his impression of the systems healing was a lot weaker than what others probably was. Solomon: "Can you hear me now!?" Bringing his attention back to everyone else, Solomon noticed that they were still struggling against the light. Curious as to if his voice could reach them now, he called out to them. Knowing that their resistance would prolong the time it took to heal, Solomon sat down on the ground. looking at his watch, Solomon realised it had stopped moving. Solomon: "You''ve got to be kidding me." Thinking his investment of 5 points had gone down the drain, Solomon bitterly pulled his phone out of one of his combat armours pouches. But looking at the screen, he had a surprise. Just like his watch, his phone also had the exact same time on it. The funny thing was,bothof them were stopped exactly on midnight. Solomon: "It can''t be." Looking at the two devices, a crazy idea formed in Solomon''s mind. though he had no way to test or prove it, he suspected it wasn''t his devices that were malfunctioning, but in fact, that time itself had currently stopped. Dazzled by possibility, he stared blankly at the items in his hands. But before he had any more time to dwell on it, a sudden noise to his side drew his attention away. Alice: "Ah!" Hearing a cute high-pitchedsqueak, Solomon looked up to see Alice standing on the groundin frontof him. The light around her body had disappeared by this point, revealing a fully refreshed Alice. Solomon: "You''ve finished." Hearing Solomon''s voice, Alice looked over at him. She was too busy wondering at the new state of her body to even notice that Solomon was there. It was only after he spoke that she noticed him sitting a few meters from her.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Alice: "Ah, I did. I''m surprised to see you finished before me. weren''t you more injured than me? Looking Solomon over, Alice was puzzled as to how he''d finished healing before her. Solomon: "I didn''t resist the light, so it healed me a lot faster. Anyway, it looks like those two are about to finish too." Answering Alice''s question, Solomon noticed that Sasha and Nicholas were also about to finish healing. Looking over at his 3 remaining teammates, he could tell they wouldn''t be finished healing anytime soon. Going by the struggling expressions of Gareth and Tony''s faces, he could tell they were still resisting. Knowing how much that reduced the effect of the healing, he could tell that they had a long time to go yet. As forPluvia, she was still unconscious. Floating in her own pillar, she was absorbing in tonnes of the light. Knowing how effective the light was on unresisting people, Solomon grew worried. If even the godlike healing of the light was taking this long how bad werePluvia''sinjuries. Feeling responsible for her current state, Solomon couldn''t help but show concern. Alice: "Are you worried? Seeing Solomon stare atPluviawith a worried expression, Alice could easily read his thoughts. In truth, she was also worried aboutPluvia. As another person who''d experienced the lights magical properties, she also knew what it meant forPluvia''shealing to take so long. Solomon: "Hmm, I am" Glancing over at Alice, Solomon honestly answered her. After his response, a silence settled over them. Both looking up at the suspended figure of their comrade, a mix of emotions raged in their hearts. for Solomon, it was a mix of guilt at having caused her condition and hatred for his own weakness. For Alice, it was frustration at not being able to heal her and worry that one of her few friends in this world was seemingly on the edge of life and death. Alice: "It''s okay, she''ll definitely wake up soon." Coming over to Solomon''s side, Alice offered some consoling words. As much as she was hurt, she knew that Solomon would be much worse. As the one who was there whenPluviawas injured it was natural that he''d be the most affected. Hoping that it would help him, even if only a little, she tried to comfort him. In her heart, she also felt a sense of guilt. as the only person on the team with any type of healing skill, she felt like everyone''s healing was her responsibility. After givingPluviaher potion, she could tell that her injuries were worse than what Solomon had said. Call it her intuition, but she knew there was more to it. Because Solomon didn''t want to dive into it, she didn''t press him on it. Never the less, she knew. Now seeingPluviafloating in the pillar of light, she realised how injuredPluviaactually was. Solomon: "I know she will" Grinding his teeth, Solomon focused intently on her floating figure. But even after almost half a minute, she hadn''t recovered. At that time Nicholas and Sasha had both finished their healing. Seeing Solomon''s mood, they were confused. But after Alice''s explanation, they understood the situation. Sitting quietly nearby, they didn''t disturb him. Then as time went on and he kept watchingPluviahovering in the sky, Gareth and Tony emerged from their lights. Even with their resistant attitude, the light had finished healing them beforePluvia. Gareth: "Hmm, maybe she''s not able to recover without being awake." Coming over and spectatingPluvia''scondition, Gareth offered his own thoughts. Though what he''d said was possible, was it likely that the systems healing would have such a huge flaw? Solomon: "Maybe that''s it,Butwhat do we do if it is? We can''t force her to wake up and we can''t move her either." Spitting out bitter words, Solomon clenched his teeth together. If that truly was the case, he didn''t know what they could do. But before he could dwell on that thought any longer, the scene before him took a drastic change. Guild bot: "Due to excess damage in one participant, the healing power will be amplified." Immediately after Guild bot had spoken, the pillar of light aroundPluviasuddenly trembled violently. Shaking roughly, the light started to grow brighter. After a few moments, the previously see-through pillar had become a bright beacon of light. Like a mini sun in the large cavern, the light just kept on growing brighter and brighter. Feeling the light burning into their retinas, everyone was forced to turn away. Gareth: What''s happening?! Shocked by the sudden change, Gareth blurted out the first thought that came to his head. Solomon: "You guy''s stay here, I''ll check it out." Worried by the lights development, Solomon dashed off towards the light. Before anyone could try to stophimhe was already half way there. Holding his hand over his eyes he tried to block out the light. But as he grew closer even the protection of his hand couldn''t stop the rays from shining through. But at this point, Solomon didn''t even notice that. All that was occupying his mind was a single thought. "Is she okay". Solomon: "Argh" In his mad dash forwards, Solomon had run straight into the light. When he did the powerful energy forced him back, putting him on his ass. Standing back up, he tried forwards one step at a time. Holding his arm out in front of him, he felt for the barrier made by the light. After a few steps, he found it. Placing his hand on top of it, he felt a repulsive pressure pushing back against him. The more he pressed on it the more it would push back at him. Solomon: "Pluvia, can you hear me!" Calling out to her, Solomon waited a few seconds. But after getting no reply he knew she was still unconscious. Unable to bare the nervousness in his chest, he tried to force his way into the light. After pushing against the wall, he didn''t feel it budging an inch. Even when he used all of his considerable strength to push against it, the result was a total failure. Realising he needed to change his tactics, he started punching the barrier. Though he knew his strength was far from enough, he couldn''t just sit there and do nothing. Feeling the guilt on his shoulders grow stronger, he started losing his mind. Though he knew logically he couldn''t do anything, that wouldn''t change the way he felt. Screaming out in anger, he punched the wall with all he had. But no matter how much he hit it, the wall remained unmoving. Solomon: "AAAARRRGGGHH!!!" Unable to accept his own weakness, Solomon pushed his arms to the limit. But even then, the wall didn''t budge an inch. As he surpassed his own limits, his fists landed heavily against the barrier with a force many times stronger than his usual punches. Obviously, this didn''t come without a cost. His hands were being reduced to tatters by the force. Broken fingers and dislocated wrists sent unbearable pain shooting up his arms. But even with such a heavy level of damage, Solomon still put his all into his fists. The main reason he could even bare to do so was the barriers properties. Every time his arms hit the barrier, a little of the light energy there would sink into his hands. Surprisingly that tiny smidge of the energy was enough to completely fix his hands between every single one of his punches. Such an amazing healing ability really showed how condensed the light was. Yet even under such a strong healing rayPluviahadn''t yet healed. Coming to that conclusionSolomonsalready unstable emotions went insane. Continuing on, Solomon''s punches grew stronger and more damaging to himself. In the endless cycle of pain and repair, it was like his mental limiter was gone. With no regard for his own health, he put his all into his strikes. But Before he fell deeply into that dreadful cycle, a sudden tightness wrapped around his body. Feeling that odd sensation, he forced himself to open his eyes. Looking at the person embracing him, he could only spit out one word. Solomon: "Pluvia" volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 81 – Sudden feelings of the heart Pluvia:"Huh, where am I?" Waking from her coma-like state,Pluviadrearily opened her eyes. Feeling her eyes burn as an intense white light pervades her eyes sockets, she quickly slammedhereyes shut. Jolted awake by the stinging pain, she quickly lost her drowsiness from waking up. Slowly peeking her eyes open, she let them grow accustomed to the bright white light. With her level of power, it didn''t take long for them to adjust. Regaining her most important sense, she looked around at her surroundings. Seeing a wall of white in every direction, she became nervous. Pluvia:"Is anyone there? Solomon, are you there?!" Acting on her instinctual impulse,Pluviacalled out for help. Though she at first didn''t specify anyone, when no one replied she called out for Solomon. But when her own voices echo was the only thing that came back to her,Pluviafell silent. Taking a moment to calm her heart, she soon grew embarrassed. Without even thinking about it, she''d called out for Solomon. In her momentof panic, the first person she''d thought of was him. Pluvia:"Agh, whatever." Shaking her head from side to side,Pluviatried to erase the embarrassment from her mind. Taking a more serious attitude, she started investigating her current situation. The first thing she noticed was the energy spread throughout her body. Startled, she was about to try and force it out. But she hesitated. If the energy had been in her body while she was asleep, it could have easily killed her at any time.So,why hadn''t it? Pluvia:"Oh, this is!" Investigate the mysterious energy more,Pluviasoon discovered more details about it. Looking at the energies properties, and what it was currently doing, she easily recognised it. Watching it sink into her muscles and bones, as well as revitalise her Qi pool, she quickly placed the energy in her mind. This energy, was the systems healing energy. Guild bot:"A guild war has been initiated. Due to the difference in guild ranks your whole teamhas been healed to their state at the beginning of the mission." Hearing the Guild bot''s soulless voice in her mind,Pluviaknew her thoughts were correct. With the new information she''d just gotten, she started to put the pieces together. In order to confirm it,shesent a tendril of Qi into her eyes. Using her Qi empowered vision, she managed to see through the wall of light. Though it was still a little blurry she could now look around at her surroundings. What she saw was the slightly familiar cavern where she''d fought the Queen. Seeing the littered corpses and deep scorch mark, she was certain it was the same place. Pluvia:"It, it really is." Mumbling out some words,Pluviafelt a warm tear streak down her face. In her heart, a deep worry that had nestled there vanished. By this point, she''d mostly figured out the situation. When she''d fought the Queen,Pluviahad drawn out the power of her true self. in exchange for that burst of power, there was a very severe consequence. As the power was taken from her soul, the cost to use it was to damage her own soul. Luckily,she hadn''t needed to burden her soul for long, so the damage was quite light. But even so, it was a very deep wound. It was because of that wound that she was stuck in a coma-like state. The worst part was that state would persist until her soul had fully healed. For that to happen naturally would take several years. But that wasn''t to say she was stuck in a coma for that long no matter what. In reality, it was a very simple matter for the system to heal her souls. As shown by her awakening now. Yet if Solomon had tried to do this after the mission by paying the system, he''d have found that it would cost over 100,000 points. It just went to show how precious and important a person''s soul was, especially the soul of an S rank elder dragon. But even when she knew what it would do to her, she didn''t hesitate. If it was her from years ago, before she was locked in Dragonsfire, then she wouldn''t have even considered doing such a thing. if her enemies from that time heard about this, their draws would drop out of their mouths. Pluvia:"I''ve really gone soft huh?" Thinking back to her past self,Pluviacouldn''t believe how much she''d change. As she wondered about how she''d become so different, a certain person popped up in her mind. Pluvia:"Argh, forget about him." Embarrassing herself again,Pluviaput all her thought about that person into the back of her mind. Refocusing on the present,Pluviafelt thankful felt extremely lucky. If it wasn''t for the guild war that had been declared on them, she didn''t know how long she would have been unconscious for. But even if that was lucky for her, it was only a silver lining for her teammates. The fact that she was healed showed that whatever guild was attacking them was a lot stronger than they were. Knowing that a whole team heal meant the other guild was at least a rank stronger than them, she worried about who was attacking them. Though she suspected the capitalistmages, she didn''t want to jump to conclusions. either way, it was too late to do anything about it now. she decided to just be happy that she was healed. Pluvia:"Hah, this is really too lucky." Basking in the knowledge that she''d avoided a disaster,PluviaRejoiced. To think that she''d had the good fortune to heal completely even after pulling off such a risky move gave her shivers. But before she could enjoy the feeling for very long, her joy was cut short. Solomon:"Aaaarrrrggghhh." Hearing a distant agonised cry,Pluviaalmost wanted to bash her head against a wall.Recognising the voice, she thought she''d started hallucinating.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Pluvia:"Don''t tell me I''m hearing him in my head now." Knowing that she shouldn''t be able to hear anything in the light,Pluviawas convinced she was hearing things. But when she looked towards the source of the cry, she couldn''t believe her eyes. Standing only a few meters away from her, outside the confines of the light pillar, was Solomon. With half glazed eyes, he was repeatedly throwing punches at the barrier between himself and her. But how could he have the strength to break through it. Even With her vast experience,Pluviahad never heard of anyone breaking part of the system. Even the fabled ZZZ ranks who''d spent aeons in Domain didn''t purport to have accomplished such a feat. The light, no matter how feeble looking, was a genuine part of the system. If even ZZZ ranks couldn''t destroy, how would a lonesome G rank have any hope? Pluvia:"Agh, what an idiot." Knowing that her words wouldn''t reach him,Pluviadidn''t even try. Watching on silently, she witnessed him relentlessly attacking the barrier of light. Looking at the splatter of blood that would shoot out every time he hit it,Pluvia''sheartfelt tight in her chest. Luckily because of the healing properties of the wall, all the damage he was doing to himself was instantly healed. Looking at his repetitive actions,Pluviacould almost feel the iron like will emanating from his body. To be able to damage himself so much more than showed how determined he was. Pluvia:"He really is an idiot." Feeling the Salty water streak down her cheeks again,Pluviastopped trying to suppress her emotions. Looking at Solomon going so far for her had touched her heart. Even in her long life, there had been exceptionally few people who would go this far for her. She could count the amount on two fingers. Solomon:"Argh!" Hearing Solomon''s voice again,Pluviabecame surprised. As far as she''d known, no-one had ever been able to project noise in and out of the healing light. Even telepathy and similar powers wouldn''t be able to break through it. Yet Solomon had somehow done it. Though she suspected it had something to do with their connectiontoDragons fire, it was still an unbelievable impressive feat. Though it was only minor, it was a violation of the Systems laws. ToPluviawho''d always worked within the system, it was an amazing achievement. Pluvia:"To think I''d be bound to such a talented person." Looking at the man standing only a few meters from her,Pluviastarted to truly see how special he was. Though she''d seen his feats before, she''d never thought he''d grow beyond her. she''d considered him her equal in terms of talent but had always thought his attitude to things would hold him back. But thinking about that now, she started doubting herself. Solomon:"Argh." Hearing Solomon grunt,Pluviabrought her attention out of her own head. Looking at him, she made a worrying discovery. His punches were getting even stronger. At first, his punches were ripping the skin off of his fists. But now they were dislocating his wrists and breaking his fingers. Luckily the healing of the light could still keep up with him at the moment. but looking at how his strikes were still getting stronger and more damaging, she doubted that would stay the case for very long. It seemed like his frustration at not being able to help her was spurring him on to push himself even further. ThoughPluviawould normally be happy that he was pushing himself, this was too much even for her. Looking at him trying so desperately to reach her,Pluviafelt the warmth in her heart grow stronger. As that feeling grew, the already complex mix of emotions inPluvia''sheart became even more jumbled. It had been a very, very long time since anyone had gone so far for her. Pluvia:"It can''t be." Feeling her heart flutter,Pluviasurprised herself. Denying the thought that came into her head,Pluviatried her best to ignore it. But how could someone as experienced as her so easily disregard such an obvious sign? Was she really developing feelings for him? Thinking about her own feeling,Pluviaonly grew more confused. Deciding to put it aside for now, she brought her attention back to the present. Looking down at Solomon, she realised he was beginning to take his self-damaging attacks to the next level. Not only was he breaking his hands against the light, but he was also now breaking his arms. Unlike his wrists that would heal instantly, it was taking a few seconds longer for the arms to heal. During that time Solomon would have definitely felt the excruciating pain coming from his arms. Yet he still threw his fists forwards unceasingly. Like a mad man, he was gradually destroying his own body. Seeing that,Pluvia''sheart feltpained. Wanting to stop him from hurting himself, she unconsciously stretched her hand out towards him.Luckily just as she did, her healing came to an end. As the last wisp of energy sunk into her body,Pluviagently landed in front of Solomon. Expecting him to calm down, she went to walk towards him. But instead of stopping, he punched out again. Though it didn''t come anywhere near her,Pluviawas still surprised by it. Watching his forehead crinkle, she knew he was confused by the missing resistance. He would have undoubtedly noticed the barrier was gone by now. Yet he continued punching the empty space over and over again. looking at his glazed over eyes, she realised he was stuck in a trance. It wasn''t surprising he''d become like this. The soul-shattering pain he must have felt probably made him like this. In order to cope with it, he''d shut off a lot of his bodies normal functions. Feeling the pain in her chest grow stronger,Pluviadidn''t know what to do. Even with her knowledge, she didn''t have a huge understanding of people''s minds and bodies. Seeing him like this she didn''t have a clue how to help him. Unable tobearthe sight, she acted. Before her brain could process her actions, she had jumped towards him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she used her strength to hold him still. Surprisingly, he didn''t resist her at all. He didn''t try to push her off or punch out again. He just stopped moving completely. Bringing him into her embrace,Pluviafelt the worry in her heart settle a little. Solomon:"Pluvia." Hearing Solomoncallher name, a shock ran upPluvia''sspine. looking down she saw that his previously glazed over eyes were now completely clear. Looking up at her, his face clearly showed his complex mix of emotions. Having fallen out of his trance, he regained control of himself. Feeling Something holding onto him, he was confused. But his eyes had been burned by the searing light. Even with them being completely open, he couldn''t see a thing. Luckily the remaining healing light in his body easily fixed that. As his vision returned to him in less than a second, the face that was only a couple of inches away from his own became clear. Looking atPluvia''ssparkling white eyes, he could only mutter out a single word. Pluvia:"Uhn, it''s me." looking at Solomon''s bright red pair of eyes, all of the confusing emotionsPluviahad disappeared. Like smoke in the wind, they drifted away. All that was left behind was one extremely clear feeling. Though she didn''t want to acknowledge it, she was falling for him. An elder dragon who''d seen the limits of S rank was falling for a G rank newbie who couldn''t stop trying to help everyone. Laughing to herself,Pluviamuttered a sentence under her breath. Pluvia:"Hahaha, I guess Alice''sgonnahave to share." Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 82 - SURVIVE!!!!! Gareth: "How did it end up like this?" Standing a couple meters away from his most trusted comrade, Gareth Was utterly bewildered. Looking at the spectacle occurring before his eyes, even the veteran soldier was astounded. Alice: "Why are you clinging to him like that?!" Pluvia: "I can cling to him however I like!" Standing on either side of the Solomon, Alice and Pluvia had grabbed a hold of each of his arms. Pressing their bodies into him seductively, they glared at each other. Acting like a pair of children fighting over a toy, the two of them quarrelled back and forth. Alice: "Humph, who said you can?" Pluvia: "Well you like it, right?" Looking up at Solomon, Pluvia drew him into their argument. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head with his hand. Solomon: "Uh, I don¡¯t think this is the time for this." Unwilling to tread into such dangerous waters, Solomon tried to redirect their attention. Even the inexperienced Solomon knew not to pick sides in times such as these. Nicholas: "Oh please, don''t mind us." With a heavily sarcastic tone, Nicholas waved his hand at the trio. Yet the two girls were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn''t pick up on his blatant sarcasm. Alice: "It''s alright, we don''t mind you. " Pluvia: "Right, don''t worry about it." Waving off Nicholas''s comment, they both went back to their arguing. Alice: "See, he doesn''t want you." Pluvia: "He never said that. how do you know it''s not you who he doesn''t want?" Angry that his comment had gone over their heads, Nicholas let his emotions get the better of him. Like a blind rabbit, he carelessly walked into the lion''s den. Nicholas: "I wasn''t being serious, can''t this wait till later!" As soon as he''d finished his words, instant regret washed over Nicholas. His body tensed up and buckets of sweat started leaking from his body as the malicious glares of the two "lionesses" focused on him. Like a deer in front of headlights, he''d completely frozen up. The pressure from their gazes alone completely petrified him. Nicholas: "Agh! M, my bad. P,p, please forget what I said." Speaking through chattering teeth, Nicholas desperately apologised to the two women. Understanding the huge landmine he''d stepped on, Nicholas wished he could reverse time. But unfortunately for him, he didn''t have such a convenient power. Alice: "What are you interrupting us for, huh!?" Pluvia: "Right, who are you to speak to us like that!?" Facing down the two deadly vixens, the normally outspoken Nicholas turned into the quietest mouse like person in existence. Feeling fear and regret overwhelm him, he quietly made a promise to himself. "when I get back to Domain, I''m getting myself a time machine". Watching the comical scene from the side-lines, Gareth thought back to how this situation had developed. A few minutes ago, when Pluvia''s healing had just finished, everyone had come rushing towards her and Solomon. Little did they know they''d find the two entangled in a deep embrace. Seeing such a scene, Alice instantly separated them. Giving Pluvia a deadly glare, she started chastising her. But to everyone''s surprise, Pluvia didn''t flinch at her words. Before anyone could even react, she''d jumped back onto Solomon. Pressing herself against him, she said something about claiming him for her own. Quickly recovering from her shock, Alice grabbed a hold of Solomon as well. Alice didn''t hesitate to deny Pluvia''s words and claim Solomon for herself. Though for the shy Alice, she did so with a beet red face. From there it had devolved into what was happening now. Being so suddenly faced with such a situation, no-one else knew what to do. So they just watched on helplessly as the two women fought over Solomon. Gareth: "Argh, how did it turn into this?" Rubbing his temples, Gareth didn''t know how to think about the current predicament. Thinking about the two parties involved, he began weighing one against the other. Though on one side he supported Alice as his close ally and friend, he also saw the appeal of the angelic Pluvia. Realising that he was seriously considering such an unimportant topic, he burst out into laughter. For the previously militaristic man to consider such a simple thing as this with so much importance was hilarious to him. If his wife or stepfather saw him now, they''d barely believe he was the same person. Gareth: "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Pluvia: "Hey, what are you laughing about!?" Alice: "Yeah, what''s so funny!?" Realising he''d made a fatal mistake, Gareth''s innards turned green. He''d sabotaged himself and brought the deadly mistresses attention onto himself. But unlike the inexperienced Nicholas, he knew how to deal with such a turn of events. After all, he''d poked quite a few bears in his time. Or women in this case. Gareth: "Uh, no. It just so happened that Tony told me a hilarious joke about the two of you." Pluvia: "Ohh, is that so?!" Alice: "Then I''m sure he wouldn''t mind telling it to us!" Using Tony as his scapegoat, Gareth didn''t hesitate to throw him under the bus. Slowly backing away from the man in Question, he expertly diverted the attention away from himself. Tony: "Huh, me?" Being brought into the situation so suddenly, Tony couldn''t process what had happened. Looking at the ally and instructor who''d abandoned him so ruthlessly, Tony could only mutter out a few words. Tony: "Ah, you see the thing is." Looking at the two approaching ladies, Tony took a shaky step back. Having now fully understood Gareth''s betrayal, he could only watch as the two vixens approached him. Trying desperately to think of a way out, he looked pleadingly towards his nearby teammates. But as his eyes crossed with theirs, they all Guiltily looked away from him. Even the normally dominant Solomon acted like a meek sheep. Alice: "So, what''s this joke then?!" Pluvia: "It''s got to be good to have gotten Gareth, right?" Watching as his demise approached, Tony''s face turned gaunt. He suddenly looked like he''d aged decades in mere seconds. Luckily for him, the system soon came to his rescue. Guild Bot: "Your first benefit had been bestowed. Now your second will be awarded. " Voicing out in everyone''s mind, Guild bot''s expressionless voice drew everyone''s attention. Glad that he was no longer the centre of attention, Tony praised the system as his saviour. To contestant, the words of the system were like gods laws. So whenever the system spoke to them, everyone undoubtedly focused their whole attention on its words. Guild Bot: "In the interest of balancing the power dynamic between your guild and the capitalist mages this mission''s characters with powers." Cutting straight to the heart of it, Guild Bot told them what their second benefit was. Hearing the news, everyone was surprised. But as Guild Bot wasn''t finished speaking, everyone remained silent. After all, it would be tragic if they missed an important part of the message because they talked over it. Guild Bot: "The characters will be randomly assigned enhancements based on their compatibility with the systems enhancements. They will all receive two skills and a single energy or genetic enhancement with the exception of Rob. due to his high level of compatibility and abnormally strong will, he will receive 4 skills and both an energy and genetic variation." Finished conveying its message, Guild Bot went silent. At the same time as it did, 5 new pillars appeared in the Cavern. But unlike the last blindingly bright pillars of light, these new ones were pitch black pillars of darkness. As if they were made of the abyss itself, these pillars of darkness absorbed light instead of producing it. Just looking at it would make you feel like it was drawing you in. Centring around the unconscious characters, they pulled them up into the air. As they were drawn into their own dark cocoons, the characters disappeared completely from view. Tony: "well, that''s really fuckin creepy." Breaking the silence left by Guild Bot, Tony commented on the pillars of darkness. Looking at the dark spires stretching up to the caverns ceiling, he felt shivers run up his spine. Nicholas: "I wouldn''t recommend running into that one." Glancing over at Solomon, Nicholas cracked a shitty joke. Solomon: "Haha, I don''t think I will." Letting out a dry laugh, Solomon focused in on the Jet-black pillars. Using Qi to strengthen his already impressive eyesight, Solomon tried to see into the pillars. But even then, it was like looking into and endless pit. The more he focused and tried to see through the darkness, the less he actually saw. Realising that these weren''t the sort of pillars you could see through, he gave up on even trying. Looking over at his comrades, he noticed they were still admiring the eerie spectacle. Watching them, a couple of thoughts surface in his mind. First was that they still had an extremely tough mission ahead of them. The second was how he still had to complete a hidden mission, even with the threat of another guild looming over them. But for the moment, he let everyone stare at the amazing, albeit disturbing, pillars of darkness.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Solomon: "Fwuuuuu, haaaaaaaaa." Taking a deep breath, Solomon readied himself for the challenges ahead. Solomon: "All right everyone, let''s not waste the little time we have. We should come up with a plan while we still have the opportunity." Drawing everyone''s attention away from the pillars, Solomon Reminded everyone of the situation they were in. As amazing and bizarre as the pillars were, they were still a herald of the dark times to come. They were a signal of the harsh struggle everyone was soon going to face. Gareth: "Yeah, it''s probably best that we plan now. It''s not like we''re doing anything important anyways." Bringing his attention away from the pillars, Gareth agreed with Solomon. Pluvia: "So, where do we start?" Unsure of what they needed to consider first, Pluvia asked Solomon. Solomon: "Hmmm, well first would be whether we change our initial plan or not." Thinking about their current predicament, Solomon knew what would be the most contested point. Having made a deal before the mission, he had to earn an F rank token this mission. Otherwise, he''d have to abandon everyone and join the three great guilds. Forced into a corner by that deal, Solomon had to complete a difficult hidden mission and reach F rank. As dangerous as that was before, he now had to do the hidden mission while also looking out for the Capitalist mages. Tony: "What do you mean, of course we can''t stick to our original plan." Nicholas: "Right, it''s way too dangerous for us to split up in this situation." Hearing Solomon''s seemingly insane words, Tony and Nicholas naturally expressed their opinion. As they Kept in the dark before the mission, they didn''t know about Solomon''s deal with Diogenes. So naturally, when weighing up the variables, they easily sided with sticking together. knowing that he couldn''t convince them otherwise, Solomon decided to tell them about the deal. Though it would mean admitting he''d lied to them, and put them in danger because of that lie, he still went ahead with it. Clenching has jaw, Solomon went ahead and explained everything to them. Expecting them to be upset, and with due reason, Solomon prepared for their anger. But as he finished his explanation, the situation didn''t develop in the way he''d expected. Tony: "Oh, so that''s why you were so adamant about completing a hidden mission." Nodding his head vigorously, Tony seemed to be putting the pieces together in his head. Having heard it all from Solomon, Tony now knew why Solomon had acted weirdly about the mission at times. Nicholas: "Yeah, I did think it was weird how determined you were to complete one. But now I understand." Standing beside Tony, Nicholas was also echoing his sentiments. Like the older man, he was also putting it together. Solomon: "It was completely my decision and I''m totally responsible for it. Any anger you have should be directed towards me. So, if there''s anything you want to say, please go ahead." Even after seeing the pairs calm reaction, Solomon still felt extremely guilty. Solomon couldn''t bear thinking that they might be keeping quiet about their complaints because of his position. Bowing his head down, he tried to get them to honestly voice their anger. Nicholas: "Ah, please don''t bow to us like that. We''re not upset or angry." Surprised by Solomon''s sudden bow, Nicholas took a second to react. stepping forwards, he grabbed Solomon by the shoulder. Telling him it was fine, he tried to get Solomon to stand straight. As Both the Guild leader and a person Nicholas personally looked up to, he felt that it wasn''t right for Solomon to act that way. Solomon: "Really?" Being forced to stand properly by Nicholas, Solomon asked the silent Tony if he felt the same. Tony: "I don''t mind. If I was in the same position as you, I would act the same way." Agreeing with Nicholas, Tony also wasn''t angry with Solomon. Though he was surprised that neither of them took it badly, Solomon left the matter at that. Though he still felt guilty for what he''d done, now wasn''t the time to go on and on about it. Their time was limited and spending it on issues like this wasn''t something they had the leisure to do. Solomon: WSo, is everyone okay with us sticking to the original plan?W Looking around at everyone individually, Solomon hoped no-one would disagree. Though everyone knew the reason for Sticking with the current plan, no-one had any delusions about it being the easier option. For Solomon, Rob and Gareth to leave in a separate group would significantly weaken the main group. though they would be bolstered by the empowered characters, it would still be a big hit to the group''s strength. That means if they faced an extremely dangerous situation, like facing the capitalist mages or the creatures above ground, they''d have to deal with it themselves. The incentive to keep everyone together was very high in such a situation. Alice: "It''s fine with me" Pluvia: "I feel the same" Having already expected the girl''s agreement, Solomon wasn''t very surprised. Gareth: "I''m still fine with it." Then when Gareth also agreed, Solomon was similarly unsurprised. though he''d thought Gareth might want to stay with the main group for both his and everyone else''s safety, he never even considered him straight out disagreeing. Nicholas: "My sister and I are fine with it." Speaking on behalf of his sister as well as himself, Nicholas also agreed. Hearing his affirmation, half of the worry in Solomon''s heart disappeared. Now looking over at Tony, Solomon''s anxiously awaited his answer. Tony: "I don''t think the idea of us splitting up at such a dangerous time is very clever, But I''ve never been very smart anyways. Let''s go for it." At first, Solomon thought Tony was going to disagree. But as a broad smile spread across his face, Solomon knew that wasn''t the case. Solomon: "Now that that''s settled, we need to think about how we''re gonna deal with the capitalist mages. Anyone have any ideas?" Now that they''d established their plan going forward, they could discuss the dangers that their enemy posed in more detail. But as Solomon looked around expecting someone to speak up, no one did. Solomon: "No one?" As an awkward silence settled over everyone, the previously nice atmosphere was shattered. Facing down a daunting enemy two ranks stronger than themselves, even the usually vocal Pluvia remained silent. Feeling dejected that everyone was so quick to give up, a seed of frustration grew in Solomon''s heart. Gareth: "Is there really anything we can do against them?" Breaking the silence, Gareth bluntly voiced what was on everyone''s mind. Feeling the seed in his heart grow larger, Solomon tried to argue against Gareth''s words. Solomon: "Maybe not, but that doesn''t stop us from trying." Though Solomon tried to raise everyone''s morale, it didn''t have much effect. Compared to the fear that an E rank guild evoked, his words didn''t hold much weight. Knowing his teammates were more affected by the notion of some guild they hadn''t even seen yet than his own words, Solomon''s frustration reached its climax. Unable to contain himself, Solomon let it all out. Solomon: "Argh, I can''t accept this! I can''t accept all of you just giving up so easily! I didn''t make it this far and survive through so much just to roll over and die for some pieces of shit! I didn''t put my heart and souls into this guild just to watch it crumble before the weight of a little challenge! It doesn''t make a difference if we''re facing another guild, or a deadly monster, or even a fuckin god! I''m not going to let my guild give up so Easily!!!" Surprised by Solomon''s sudden outburst, everyone stared at him wide eyed. Seeing his unwavering will even in the face of such huge danger gave everyone a little bit of courage. Gareth: "Ah, sorry Solomon. you''re right." Alice: "Yeah, we were too quick to give up." pluvia: "Right, we''re in the wrong." One by one, everyone apologised to Solomon. Nicholas: "Our bad." Tony: "Sorry man." Sasha: "I''m sorry as well." Embarrassed by everyone''s sincere apologies, Solomon looked away from them. He didn''t think his outburst would have such a profound effect, changing everyone''s attitude. Determined not to waste their newfound morale, Solomon went about redirecting their thoughts. Solomon: "It''s alright everyone, I shouldn''t have lost myself back there. Let''s get to making some plans." With their new positive attitudes, it didn''t take long for someone to have an idea. Gareth: "I''ve got a suggestion." Solomon: "Go ahead." At this point, Solomon was glad they were having the discussion. Having learnt from his fight with the Queen, he knew exactly how dangerous it was to not plan things. Gareth: "Well, as we already know we can''t fight them ourselves, why don''t we use this world to our advantage." Hearing Gareth''s words, Solomon instantly understood his meaning. Solomon: "You mean pitting them against the creatures above ground." Putting it into simpler words, Solomon made sure that everyone understood Gareth''s idea. Gareth: "That is one possibility, but the creatures aren''t the only dangers in this world. Why don''t we try and use the military?" Alice: "The military?" Thinking about how powerful the capitalist mages would be, Alice couldn''t see how the military could help. They only had guns and bombs which probably wouldn''t have much of an affect. Gareth: "Yeah, I know that the ground troops can''t really help us, other than maybe delaying them. But if we can convince them to help us, couldn''t they send tanks or even jets." Explaining in more Detail, Gareth pointed out the military''s ability. even if they are only ordinary humans, the technology and weapons they have could still be very damaging. Though the tanks might not pose a huge threat as you can rush them, there''s no way they could rush a jet travelling at Mach-speed. Solomon: "It''s a good idea, but I don''t think it will work for us." Though Solomon liked the idea, he found too many issues with it after calculating in his head. Solomon: "First there''s the issue of getting the military''s support in the first place. They would probably have their hands full containing those two creatures. So it''s unlikely. But even in the case they do agree, they certainly won''t do it for free. They''ll likely make a deal with us." Thinking it over in his own head, Gareth saw the logic in Solomon''s words. Knowing how the military worked, having been a soldier for a very long time, Gareth could guess the type of deal they''d want. in exchange for their help, they''d want the teams help in dealing with the creatures. Gareth: "I see, I guess we can''t use this sort of plan." Feeling slightly dejected, Gareth gave up on his idea. Seeing his drop-in attitude, Solomon quickly tried to cheer him up. Solomon: "It''s not a bad plan, and if we get put in a corner it may be a risk we have to take, but it''s just not something we should use as out first option." Gareth: Right!" Seeing Solomon trying to keep his mood up, Gareth gave him a reassuring smile. Solomon: "So, does anyone else have an idea?" looking around, Solomon saw everyone shake their heads. it seemed that even with their high morale, it didn''t change their lack of a plan. Realising that no one would be able to come up with a perfect solution in such a short time, Solomon made a decision. Solomon: "Since none of us can think of anything good for now, I''ll just set a couple rules for if we encounter the capitalist mages. Other than that, we''ll have to plan for the challenges as they come. Is everyone all right with that?" Though Solomon hated not having a well thought out plan, especially now that he knew how important it was, he didn''t have any choice. no one was going to come up with anything, so it would be a waste of brain power to dwell on the topic. Alice: "We''re fine with it." Speaking on behalf of everyone, Alice answered Solomon. Solomon: "Okay, so rule number one. if you run into them, you run. No trying to fight back, or trying to outsmart and trick them. The minute you get a whiff of them you start running." Wanting to drill this first rule into their heads, Solomon made sure to emphasise on it. knowing how powerful they were, he didn''t want anyone having the delusion that they could face up to them. Tony: "We will. it''s not like any of us have a Deathwish." Solomon: good, then here''s the second rule. if you end up being cornered by them with no way to escape, you don''t panic. No matter what, you can''t panic. As soon as you do you''ve lost. But if you''ve still got a clear mind, I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way out. Pluvia: "Right, we won''t give in easily." Giving Solomon a smile, Pluvia spoke up for everyone. Solomon: "Good, then that''s it. Other than that, you''ll have to improvise." Feeling like his rules were a little lacking, Solomon ended the discussion. Solomon: "Hands in everyone." Glancing over at the characters Solomon noticed their transformation beginning to end. Holding out his hand palm side down, he told everyone to do the same. Stepping forwards, they did so one after another. When everyone''s hands were on top of his, Solomon looked around at each of his teammates. Solomon: "We''ve had a rough start, but we pulled through. Now we''ve got an even bigger hurdle before us, so what are we gonna do?!" Following the lead of the older members, everyone joined in. Everyone: "Survive!" Solomon: "what was that!?" Everyone: "Survive!!!" Solomon: "I still can''t hear you, what are we gonna do?!!!" Everyone: "SURVIVE!!!!!" Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 83 - A curious transformation Gareth: "looks like they''re about to finish." Watching the nearby Pillars ofdarknessa couple of meters away, Gareth noticed them beginning to change. Seeing the previously abyss black colour dim to a light brown, he knew the pillars would soon disappear. Focusing in on the Darkness, he picked up on outlines of the characters hovering within. Seeing them twitch and struggle, he could tell they''d already woken up. Tony: "Good, we should be able to get a move on soon then." Looking over at Tony, Gareth saw him impatiently tapping his foot against the ground. Since finishing their group war cry, he''d been impatiently pacing back and forth. It wasn''t only him, everyone was impatient to some degree. After building up their morale and getting their blood boiling, it was insanely annoying to have to wait around.Luckily,they hadn''t had to wait more than a few minutes. Solomon: "hopefully, it depends on how well they take the changes to their body." Getting up from the ground, Solomon spoke up with his opinion. Knowing that the characters were only normal people, he had already considered how they might react. Having been a normal person himself who suddenly gained mystical powers, he could understand their feelings. Unlike most people, Solomon gained his first enhancements before even setting foot in Domain.Soin a sense, he could empathise with the characters who suddenly were put in a dangerous situation and given powers. Nicholas: "You think they''regonnafreak out?" Curious as to Solomon''s thoughts, Nicholas asked him a question. Solomon: "It''s not just that. After this powerup, I''m worried they''ll get full of themselves. If they try and use their newfound power to order us around, it''ll become a problem." Though Solomon did consider them freaking out, he wasn''t worried about that outcome. In that situation, it would only take a little coaxing to calm them down. Even if that failed it was unlikely they''d become delirious. So even if they weren''t stable enough to fight, they should be able to follow behind everyone else. The main issue was with them becoming arrogant. After their power up, they would have a considerable amount of power. Though they would take a while to grow accustomed to their powers, even in the beginning they''d be stronger than the newbies. Though Solomon didn''t think they''d be a huge threat, he still worried that they''d try to resist his directions. If they ignored his orders in a crucial moment, then their second benefit would become a handicap instead. But it was all dependant on the characters themselves. It was pointless to speculate about it. Before they emerged from the pillars, it would be impossible to anticipate their reaction. Pluvia: "We''ll just have to take it as it comes at this point." Alice: "Yeah, I''m sure it will work out." Standing up from the ground beside Solomon, Alice andPluviajumped into the conversation. Nodding his head, Solomon agreed with their words. They had long passed the point of no return,Sonow any problems that came up would have to be solved on the fly. Everyone understood that at this point. Solomon: "Well, since they''re starting to thaw out why don''t we go have a look?" Curious as to how the characters had changed, Solomon walked towards the closest pillar. Having been unsettled by them earlier on, everyone had decided to sit a good distance away from them. But now that they were starting to show obvious signs of disappearing, no one had any issues with walking right up to them. Copying Solomon,everyoneapproached the pillar closest to them. Solomon: "Ah, that''s a little depressing." Arriving before one of the pillars, Solomon peered inside of it. Even without the help of Qi, he could easily see the person floating inside. But as his gaze scanned over the insideparty''sbody, he was disappointed to find it exactly the same as before. Nicholas: "That''s Marlena, right?" Coming up to Solomon''s side, Nicholas also peered into the dark pillar. Though he didn''t have enhanced eyesight like Solomon, he could still identify the person right before his eyes. Solomon: "Yeah, and by the looks of it, she''s got an energy enhancement." Nodding to Nicholas''s question, Solomon added his own conclusions. Looking at how Marlena''s physical form hadn''t changed even slightly, he deduced she''d been given an energy enhancement. Because of that, he''d have to wait for her to escape from the pillar if he wanted to know what her power was.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Tony: "Woah!" Hearing Tony''s exclamation to his side, Solomon looked over to see him staring wide-eyed into another of the pillars. Wondering what had caused such a reaction, Solomon walked over. Looking into that same pillar, he understood Tony''s surprise. Solomon: "Damn." Nicholas: "What is that?" Following behind Solomon, Nicholas also saw the bewildering sight. Floating in the quickly disappearing black pillar was a vaguely humanoid figure. Standing at almost 9-feet-tall, with a lush coat of brown hair, was a bear. At least that''s what Solomon thought at first. But as he looked over the gigantic creature a few times, struggling to make out its features in the dark pillar, he realised that wasn''t completely accurate. Unlike a normal bear, this creature walked on two legs. It had facial features resembling a hairy human. Even more telling was the lack of abearstrademark snout. Taking everything into consideration, it would be more accurate to call this thing a bear man. Solomon: "I''d say some sort of were-bear." Answering Nicholas''s earlier question, Solomon looked towards his two nearby teammates. Seeing them still staring dumbfoundedly into the pillar, he realised his words had gone over their heads. Tony: "Wh, who is that?" Recovering from his surprise, Tony looked over to see Solomon staring at him. Seeing him, Tony asked the first thing that came to his mind. Solomon: "I''m not sure. If we check out the others we should be able to figure it out." Walking towards the next pillar, Solomon was quickly followed by Tony. But the oblivious Nicholas remained behind, staring wide-eyed at the werebear. Approaching the next pillar in line, they both saw Sasha staring into it. Judging by her expression, it wasn''t an ordinary person residing inside. Tony: "Thi, this is even weirder than the last one." Looking into this pillar, Tony completely forgot his curiosity towards the bear. Solomon: "Well, this is unexpected." Looking at the figure floating in this pillar, Solomon surprisingly recognised them. Sasha: "You know what this is?" Coming over to him, the little girl curiously looked up at Solomon. Solomon: "hmm, I do. This is anAjin." Looking into the Brown pillar, Solomon could see a dark black human figure. Focusing in on it, he noticed that the figure was surprisingly not made out of flesh and bone. Instead, it looked like it was made of wisps of smoke. Subconsciously comparing it to Gareth''s smoke, Solomon noticed some differences. First was the form of the smoke. Though Gareth''s was like a flowing river that would surround his body, this smoke was completely stationary. The second difference he noticed was the gaps. If you looked closely at the figure, you''d see there were distinct gaps between pieces of it. Making it look like a mosaic artwork. But upon noticing those gaps, Solomon made a discovery. Inside of the figure was a person. As if transposed over that person,Thefigure''s limbs matched up with the person perfectly. If that wasn''t enough for Solomon to identify the figure, then the grotesquely misshapen head would have given him another clue. Taking the shape of a long spiral, the head was several times longer than a normal person, albeit less wide as well. Tony: "What is that?" Unfamiliar with the term Solomon had used, Tony asked him about it. Solomon: "It''s hard to explain. You see Lily inside it right? That''s because this is herAjin. As it''s part of her race she can summon out this black ghost thing." Pressing his memories for the details about theAjin, Solomon gave them the best description he could. Though he didn''t remember much about it, having read the manga a really long time ago. Sasha: "Is that it? She won''t be very useful if all she can do is make this ghost thing." Understanding Sasha''s incredulity, Solomon quickly answered her. Solomon: "From what I remember, anAjinis completely immortal. No matter how they die, they''ll always come back to life instantly. Though I doubt the system would give her such a power, it''s the main trait of being anAjin." Tony: "Even if she doesn''t have that ability, just this thing alone would be plenty of help." With Tony''s intuition, he easily felt how dangerous the seemingly defenceless ghost was. Having tempered his ability to judge enemies over several battles, Tony knew how deadly this "ghost thing" was. Put up against it himself, he doubted he''d last a minute. Solomon: "Yeah, it''ll definitely be useful. Anyway,let''scheck out the last two of them." Walking over to another of the pillars, Solomon was once again followed by Tony. Sasha went off to retrieve her brother who was still staring at the bear man in bewilderment. Looking into the fourth pillar, Solomon saw the struggling body of Jason inside. Giving him a good once over, he was disappointed to find no changes on Jason''s body. Based on that, it was likely that he''d received an energy enhancement.So,for the moment, Solomon couldn''t determine what, or how useful Jason''s power would be. Solomon: "Looks like another energy enhancements huh? That only leaves one the big one." Tony: "Yeah." Looking over at the last pillar, both Solomon and Tony knew they''d see something interesting. Unlike the others, this pillar was quite a bit larger. Compared to the dim brown colour of the other pillars, this one still retained most of its blackness. Never the less, it had shrunk quite a lot from its original size. Luckily it had gone mostly transparent as well, so even Tony could see through it. Looking at this unique pillar,Itwas obvious who would reside in it. As the only character receiving 2 enhancements, as well as four skills on top of that, Rob would naturally be the person inside. Solomon: "Well, we''re not going to learn anything standing here." Realising Tony and himself had been standing in place spectating the pillar, Solomon took the initiative to walk forwards. Curious as to what the characters "leader" would receive from the system, Solomon boldly approached the last intimidating pillar. Following closely on his pigtails, Tony also approached. Solomon: "let''s see what surprise you have in store for us." volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 84 - A naked mans happiness Gareth:"Woah." Looking up at the largest dark pillar, Gareth was amazed. Compared to the others, which were quickly disappearing, this last pillar was still going strong. Though it had definitely shrunk since its first appearance, the trademark jet black colour and intimidating aura were still there. Even now it gave him the chills. Especially after getting within a couple meters of it. Nicholas:"Yeah." Standing to Gareth''s side, Nicholas also marvelled at the dozen meter wide pillar of darkness. Even though he was more experienced with Domain than Gareth, being a veteran of 5 missions, the current situation was way beyond his knowledge. Though that wasn''t surprising with his position as an unranked. Standing to his side was Sasha. Like usual the little girl remained silent. Though looking at her face, you could see she wasn''t unaffected by the spectacular scene. Nicholas:"This has got to be Rob, right?" Having gone around all of the other pillars and seen the people that were inside them, Nicholas had come to this conclusion. Being that Rob was getting the biggest power up, it also followed that he''d have the biggest pillar. Gareth:"I''d guess so, shall we go and take a look?" Gesturing to another side of the pillar, Gareth pointed that everyone else had gathered there. Only the three of them were away from the rest of the group. Noticing that was the case, Nicholas nodded towards Gareth. Nicholas:"Sure." Walking over together, the three of them joined up with everyone. Nicholas:"Hey guys." Calling out to them, Nicholas was surprised by their lack of response. It wasn''t that he was being ignored, but that they were too busy staring wide-eyed at the pillar to even notice him. Confused by their actions, Nicholas followed their line of sight. As soon as his eyes caught what they were looking at, he understood their reactions. Gareth:"W, what is that?" To Nicholas''s side, Gareth also looked into the dark pillar. Seeing the clearly visible creature floating there, Gareth muttered out a few words. Floating a few inches from the pillar''s edge was a massive pale figure. Standing over 3 meters tall, with long monstrously thick limbs. Though it still had a generally humanoid shape, two sets of arms stretched out from either side of its body. Its legs were as thick as tree stumps and its torso was easily three times the size of even Tony''s. Onit''sback spread out a pair of leathery wings. As well as its physical deformities, the creature had several other unique traits. Pale grey skin and dark sunken yellow eyes gave it a terrifying atmosphere. Just looking at the devilish thing for a few seconds would be enough to drive the average man insane. At current, the creature seemed to be asleep. But as everyone watched on, it began to stir. At first, it jittered slightly. But as time went on and its movements became more and more violent. It seemed to be regaining its lucidity as the grogginess of its sleep faded away. Watching the terrifying thing struggle back and forth left everyone speechless. Pluvia:"Is that, Rob?" Slightly perturbed,Pluvialooked over at everyone else. Solomon:"It has to be, but what happened to him?" Having already been convinced this was Rob, Solomon began calculating several possibilities in his head. Though at first, he tried to figure out what race Rob had received, he didn''t have a clue. With a little hesitance, he resigned that question to the back of his mind. Considering how Rob would react to his sudden transformation became Solomon''s next priority. If Rob''s race had messed with his mind, it was possible that All that would be left is a mindless monster. But even if that wasn''t the case, and he''d retained his sanity, how would hereactto this transformation. Though he was more mentally tough than the average person, Solomon doubted he''d be unaffected by such a change. Before Solomon could dive into his speculations further, Alice''s words brought him back to the present. Alice:"I don''t know, but whatever it is can''t be good." Glancing back towards the grotesque creature, Alice felt a chill run down her spine. Just looking at the horrid thing made her want to run away screaming. Tony:"Looks like our time''s running out." Confused by Tony''s words, everyone looked towards him. Noticing himself become theCente, Tony pointed towards the other pillars. looking over, everyone understood his earlier words. Nicholas:"They''ve finished already?" Without realising it, everyone had spent a long time marvelling at Rob. During that time, the other characters had completed their transformations. As the last wisps of darkness sunk into their bodies, the dark pillars disappeared. Gently stepping onto the ground, the characters were freed.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Marlena:"Agh, I''m free!" Realising that, Marlena threw her hands up in the air. Having been suspended in the air for so long, she thought she''d never escape. Lily:"Jason? Is that you?" Emerging from her own pillar, Lily called out for her boyfriend. Around her body, the dark black ghost was still coating her. Because of that, her vision was hindered. She''d only realised she''d escaped the pillar after hearing Marlena''s scream. After rejoicing in her freedom, the first person she thought of was her lover. Jason:"Ah, I''m here!" Seeing his girlfriend encased in a weird black shell, Jason became worried. Running towards her, he was extremely worried. But as he got within 10 feet of his girlfriend, the situation took a sudden turn. The Black Ghost that was surrounding her reacted to Jason. Seeing him as a threat, it pounced towards him. Working on instinct, it went for his throat with its sharp claws. Realising a tragedy was about to occur, Solomon tried to sprint forwards. But the distance was too far. He Wouldn''t reach Jason in time to save him. With a speed beyond any human, the black ghost Arrived in front of Jason. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, it lashed out. As it''s sharp fingertips grew ever closer to ending his life, Jason could only watch on helplessly. Resigning himself to death, he closed his eyes. Lily:"NOOOOO!!!" Seeing what was about to happen, Lily let out an ear-splitting scream. Jason:"Huh." After a few seconds, Jason was surprised to not feel any pain. Thinking it might be the adrenaline suppressing it, he forced his tightly closed eyes open. But what he saw wasn''t the view from his head spiralling through the air. Instead, he was greeted by the black ghosts Spiral shaped head. Looking down, he saw the ghost''s hand hovering Next to his neck. The deadly figures pitch black claws were less than a millimetre from his neck, yet they hadn''t reaped his life. Ghost:"Guuurrr." Looking back at lily, the spiral headed figure let out a low growl. Then almost instantly afterwards, it fell apart. The black mist that made up its body crumbled into dust. Then as if guided by a sudden gust of wind, that dust flowed back towards Lily. Sinking into her body, it quickly disappeared from sight. Jason:"Haah!" Feeling like he''d survived a catastrophe, Jason collapsed to the floor. Feeling the cold sweat running down his back, Jason had a rush of catharsis. As the whole ordeal settled into his body, a wave of fatigue hit Jason. Unable to support his own body, he collapsed to the floor. Jason:"I''m Alive!" After screaming out those simple words, he laid down on the rocky cave floor. Running over to him, Tears streaked down Lily''s face. Being careful not to injure him she jumped into his bosom. Lily:"I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry." Repeating herself over and over again, Lily apologised to Jason. Confused as to why she was apologising, he wanted to tell her it was alright. But after his close shave with death, he didn''t even have the energy to say a single word. Laying placidly on the floor, Jason watched the light skinned girl cry into his chest. Alice:"Haah, looks like we just avoided a disaster." looking at the two of them laid out on the floor, Alice let out a relieved sigh. Having tried to rush forwards a minute ago, she realised much like Solomon that there wasn''t enough time. Even if she was twice as fast, the ghost was already extremely close to Jason. It was ludicrous for her who didn''t specialise in speed, to even try and make it in time. Yet she couldn''t just sit still and do nothing. But luckily the situation had taken a turn for the better and resolved itself before something unthinkable happened. Solomon:"Yeah, that was too close." Bear man:"AAAAARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!" Before he could revel in the newfound peace, Solomon heard an ear-shattering roar. On instinct, he turned to face the noise. Worried that something dangerous was happening again, he readied himself for any possibility. But When he saw what was happening, his momentary panic disappeared. A few meters away from himself, the bear man was freaking out. Holding its front paws out, the bear man''s expression spoke for itself. It kept looking at its own fur covered body as if questioning its own existence. After a few second, it almost completely lost it. Spotting Solomon and everyone else standing close by, the bear man tried to walk towards them. As if resisting its true nature, it tried to walk on its back legs. But after taking a few unsteady steps, it was obviously struggling. nevertheless, the bear man pressed on. Just as it was about to reach everyone,itsuddenly lost its footing. In a rather dramatical fashion, the bear man tripped over its own feet and fell flat on its face. As if losing its will to fight what it had become, the bear man just lay limply on the ground. it was at this point that it''s for took a sudden change. Bear man:"Arrgh. What, I, ishapp, happening?" All of asudden,the bear man''s body began shrinking. Within seconds it''s thick coat of luscious brown fur had receded into its skin. Then it''s human features started to grow more prominent. As this process went on, everyone stood around marvelling.Suprisedby the sudden change, they were all speechless. But even more surprisingly, the bear man had started speaking. Though the voice was still extremely rough, and at times unrecognisable, it had regained a lot of its human qualities. Bear man:"My, my body." After ten seconds or so the bear man''s change was complete. The Thick coat of fur had been completely disappeared, revealing the skin underneath. The bone structure had also returned to that ofa normal humans, leaving, for all intents and purposes, a normal person laying on the ground. Realising he''d become human once again, the bear man didn''t hesitate to spring to his feet. Jumping up and down on the spot he was almost bursting with joy at his return to human-hood. Bear man:"I''m Human! I''m normal again! I''m ME!!!" Looking at the man bouncing around with no regards for his surroundings made everyone''s cheeks go red. Unnoticed by the man in question was the distinct lack of clothes. it seemed that when he''d transformed into a bear initially, all of his clothes had been ripped off of his body. But in his elation, he hadn''t noticed his lacking attire.Soin his jumping around, he''d exposed almost every part of his body to those gathered nearby. Solomon:"Ugh, Hud. Hey, Hud! You''re not wearing any clothes. Having recognised this man a while ago, Solomon took it upon himself to enlighten the man about his current situation. Calling out to get his attention, Solomon used one sentence to explain everything to him. Looking down at his exposed body, Hud started to shake. Slowly lifting his head up to look at the people around him, the mature man turned into asmallchild. Hud:"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!!!!!" Bad news Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 85 ¨C Rob''semergence Hud: "Uh, sorry about that everyone." Sitting down on the ground in his newly acquired clothing, Hud apologised to the group gathered around him. Looking up at both his friends, as well as Solomon''s group, he wanted to die in embarrassment. Having just danced around in his birthday suit before everyone, he felt very awkward. Unsure of what to say, he just apologised for his "display". Solomon: "It''s alright, I can understand your reaction. It''s not every day you get turned into a bear and back again." Speaking on behalf of everyone, Solomon accepted Hud''s apology. Though some of the females gathered around still wanted to give him a verbal, and quite possibly literal, lashing, they held back. Even if they personally held it against him, they understood his situation enough to drop the matter for now. Gareth: "So, do you guys understand what''s happened to you" Bringing Everyone''s mind back to the most pressing topic, Gareth questioned the characters. Hearing his question, it didn''t take them very long to respond. Lily: "Yeah, vaguely." Jason: "I remember a voice spoke to us and told us what powers it was giving us." Thinking back to their time in the dark pillars, each of the characters pieced together the information they''d been given. Confirming it with each other, they seemed to have been given a basic explanation of the current situation. Marlena: "I remember that too. That voice also said something about us being involved in a guild war and that we were supposed to help you guys." Realising that guild bot''s explanation hadn''t been the best, Solomon went ahead and explained the situation in more detail to them. Now that they had received powers from the system, it would be much easier to convince them about Domain. Though it would still be hard for them to accept their position as characters with a predetermined fate. Hud: "So, we''re really just NPC''s in this world. We don''t actually have free will or anything. That fucking sucks." Luckily the characters believed Solomon''s words. They all revealed distressed expressions, clearly showing there feeling about this sudden revelation. But it was only natural for them to react that way. After being told that you''re a pawn in some cosmological game, how else would you react? Solomon: "It does, but Right now I don''t think you should dwell on it too much. We''re still in a very dangerous situation, so we should focus on surviving. Even if you''re only pawns in some game, you still have a will to live, right?" Concerned that the characters may lose their will to fight, Solomon tried his best to rally their spirits. Though it wasn''t like anything he could say would have much affected at this point. After a moment of contemplation, they all nodded their heads to Solomon. Putting the thoughts of their own existence into the back of their minds, they decided to focus on their survival. If they wanted to make it through the challenges they were soon going to face, they would have to leave such stuff for the future. Jason: "You''re right. Even if we are just drones, I still don''t want to die." Marlena: "I agree, I''m not giving up on my life over something like this." Happy that the Characters hadn''t lost themselves in an existential crisis, Solomon gave them a bright smile. Solomon: "Good then, because we''ve still got a long way ahead of us. Anyway, it looks like Rob''s just about finished now." At the mention of their last remaining friend, the characters instinctively looked towards the grotesque pale creature floating a dozen meters from them. Though they''d long since speculated that the horrid thing was Rob, it was only after Solomon''s confirmation that they''d really taken it to heart. Thinking that their friend and makeshift leader had become a monster quickly made them feel dispirited. Hud: "So it really is him." Looking at the malformed figure of his best friend, Hud welled up with several complex emotions. Having spent years with the man in question, Hud was extremely hurt by his change. Out of everyone there, no-one understood the horror of turning into something "inhuman" more than himself.Sohe completely empathised with his Rob. Jason: "What has he turned into?" Taking a few uneasy steps towards the pillar, Jason tried to make out what his brother had become. But even after several long seconds of consideration, a monster was the only thought that popped up in his head. He truly couldn''t find a more apt word with which he could describe Rob''s current appearance. Solomon: "There''s only one way to find out." Taking a few bold steps forwards, Solomon approached Rob. Looking at the quickly disappearing dark pillar, he estimated Rob would be free within 30 seconds or so. Still considering Rob''s mental state, he decided it would be best to face the man head on. In the case that Rob''s race had fried his brain, turning him into a mindless beast, Solomon would quickly deal with him. But he hoped the cunning man would be stable enough to help them with the mission. Not only because of the relationship he''d built with him, but also for his combat potential. The power of a G rank with two enhancements and six skills wasn''t something that Solomon could just pass up. Even in the case that one of his enhancements was like Solomon''s Qi and needed nurturing to grow, Rob''s power would easily be above that of Alice and Gareth''s. Just looking at his behemoth of a body could tell you that. Alice: "What are we going to do if he''s gone crazy?" Walking over beside Solomon, Alice decided to voice out her fears. Looking at the pale, monstrous figure of Rob, she worried that he''d lost his mind. If that was the case she wasn''t sure how they''d deal with him. It wasn''t as easy as kill him and off we go. Putting aside the actual difficulty of killing him, the characters would most definitely not sit by theside-linesand watch him die. Jason: "Huh, that can''t be the case. Caught off guard by Alice''s words, Jason didn''t know what to say. He hadn''t even considered that possibility up to this point. But now looking at his brother''s horrid body through the darkness, he couldn''t help but fear that was the case. The more he considered Rob''s possible insanity, the more plausible it sounded to him. Gareth: "Hey, let''s not jump to conclusions. First let''s wait to see how he reacts." Seeing that people were already assuming the worst before anything was certain, Gareth spoke out. After reminding everyone to withhold their judgement, he looked up at Rob. In his heart, something told Gareth that the man hadn''t lost his mind. The intelligence in his gem like yellow eyes was enough to convince Gareth of that. But it wasn''t so easy for other people to feel the same as him. Tony: "Right, we don''t know how he is yet. let''s not make assumptions without evidence." Nicholas: "Exactly, it''s completely possible that he just looks creepy and is perfectly fine. We don''t know at this point." Knowing how seemingly insane some of the people in Domain were, both Nicholas and Tony agreed with Gareth. In their time, the both of them had met several people who looked absolutely demonic but were kind people. In their opinion, it was really too much to judge someone by their appearance in a place like Domain. They didn''t think the Enhancements that people choose, or in this case were given, was the best way to judge their sanity. Pluvia: "Well, it looks like now is the moment of truth. Watching as Rob''s figure escaped from the darkness,Pluviatensed up. After bringing everyone''s attention back to him, she prepared for whatever situation might follow. Turning to face the newly emerged Rob,everyonewas extremely nervous. A nerve-wracking silence settled over everyone as he looked around confusedly. Rob: "Hah,haaah. AAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!" But that silence didn''t last for long. Hearing Rob''s desolate cry,everyone''sheart filled with fear. Settling quickly into a battle stance, both Solomon andPluviaprepared for what would follow. Rob: "WHYYYYYYYYY?!!!!!" But going against their expectations, the monster of a man didn''t move to attack them. Instead, he fell down onto his knees. Realising a mournful cry as he looked up at the cave roof. Solomon: "Rob, are you?" Surprisedby the sudden turn of events, Solomon didn''t know what to make of it. Though he could tell that Rob had retained some of his humanity through his speech, he still worried how Rob''s mind and personality may have changed. Rob: "Haah." Looking down from the sky, Rob''s eyes met with Solomon''s. Looking into those yellow slits, Solomon saw the swath of emotions whirling around inside of Rob''s heart. In the single moment that they stared at each other, a thousand words had been spoken between them. Then without any warning, Rob fell face first into the floor. Solomon: "Ah." Surprisedby Rob''s sudden collapse, Solomon rushed over to him. Pluvia: "Solomon, Wait!" Worried that Rob was faking it,Pluviatriedto stop Solomon''s approach. But Having already understood Rob''s emotions through his eyes, Solomon didn''t have any worries about being tricked. In their moment of clarity, Solomon had seen into his mind. What he saw wasn''t the conniving trickery of a backstabber. Instead, it was the fear and panic of a man turned monster. For Solomon, that was enough proof to lower his guard. Solomon: "Hmm." Reaching Rob, Solomon turned him over onto his back. Placing his finger on the man''s wrist, he felt for a heartbeat. Luckily after half a second, he felt it. Happy that Rob''s life wasn''t in danger, he left him laid on the ground. Though he wasn''t sure, Solomon speculated that the shock of his transformation had burnt out Rob''s mind, leading to his mental breakdown. Jason: "Is, is he alright?" looking away from Rob, Solomon noticed that everyone had made their way over. At the forefront was Jason, looking concernedly at his brother. But even he was still keeping a moderate distance from themonsterfiedman. Solomon: "He''s just passed out." Hearing the prognosis, Jason was both relieved and worried. Though he was happy that his brother was alive, he worried about what he''d become. Having just been scared shitless by that very same brother, his feelings were starting to lean more in the fearful direction. Sasha: I don''t think it''ll take him long to wake up. Emerging from the group of people standing a few meters from Solomon and Rob, Sasha walked over to them. Looking down at thepassed-outman''s figure, she threw in her opinion. For some reason when he heard those words, Solomon felt that they were very believable. Solomon: "Hopefully that''s the case. We need him if we''re going to pass this mission successfully." Surprisedthat the little girl wasn''t afraid of Rob, Solomon looked over at her disbelievingly. But before he could ponder her lack of fear any longer, his attention was stolen by more pressing matters. Guild bot: "At current, all benefits have been bestowed. Time will now continue to flow. In exactly one hour at 1 AM, the attacking guild will arrive. Good luck surviving" Volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 86 -Setting off again Solomon: "Ah, so I was right." AfterhearingGuild bot''s message, Solomon confirmed a suspicion he had. Looking down at his wrist, he saw that his watch was now ticking normally again. Compared to earlier when it was stuck on midnight, now it was working normally again. Checking the same thing on his phone confirmed it. Time had previously been stopped. Gareth: "About what?" Hearing Solomon''s out of the blue sentence, Gareth was confused. Having kept his earlier thoughts to himself, Solomon didn''t tell his teammates about them. Solomon: "It''s nothing, right now we''ve got to move quickly" Not wanting to waste their already precious time on such a trivial thing, Solomon decided not to tell Gareth about it. Right now, they only had one hour until their enemies appeared before them. In that time, Solomon hoped they could make some decent progress with the mission.Soevery single second was important. If it wasn''t something that absolutely needed to be said, Solomon wouldn''t say it. Sasha: "Oh, he''s up already" Hearing Sasha''s words, Solomon looked over at her. Seeing that she was staring behind him, he turned around. Alice: "Watch out!" Reacting slowly, Alice called out to him. A few seconds ago, Rob had regained consciousness. Bouncing up to his feet, thefour-armedgiant stood over Solomon. Surprised by how quickly he''d recovered, it took her a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. With less than a foot between them, Rob''s hulking body loomed over the oblivious Solomon. Having risen to his feet in an instant, he caught even the experiencedPluviaout. Watching his Demonic yellow eyes stare holes in the back of Solomon''s head gave Everyone a foreboding feeling. Solomon: "Wow, that was quick" Turning to see the Deformed man''s face only a small distance from his own, Solomon didn''t panic. Instead, he gave him a friendly smile. Seeing that everyone standing nearby was completely gobsmacked. How could he react like that when faced with Rob''s demonicfigure?Thinking that he''d gone crazy, Alice andPluviawanted to run towards him. But before they could, Rob reached with his gigantic hands towards Solomon. In a flash, they had settled on his shoulders. Under the grip of four trunk sized arms, even Solomon looked like a midget. Seeing this turn of events, everyone thought a gruesome scene was about to occur. Seeing the grip Rob had taken, they expected him to rip their leader clean in half. But fate didn''t always go the way people expected. Rob: "Thank you." Starring the relatively little man before him in the eyes, Rob thanked him. His actions hadn''t been those of hostility, but of thankfulness. He was thankful that Solomon wasn''t making his horrific transformation into a huge issue and instead had tried to completely ignore it. In his currently unstable frame of mind, Rob took Solomon''s actions to heart more than he normally would. Alice: "HUUH?!" Bewildered by this outcome, Alice didn''t know how to react. Pluvia: "Wait, so you''re not crazy?!" Alsohaving been caught out by Rob''s actions,Pluviablurted out an insanely blunt question. Hearing it addressed in such an inconsiderate way, everyone visibly winced. Even the usually uncaringPluviapicked up on the harshness in her question. Rob: "Uh, yeah, I''m not crazy. I just freaked out a little bit earlier.Haha, sorry about that" Though Rob disliked the wayPluviahad put her question, he didn''t react angrily. Even now after changing so drastically, he hadn''t lost his intelligent mind. He knew if he reacted badly toPluvia''squestioning, it would unsettle everyone.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Hud: "Ah, so you''re still normal. That''s good, but what happened to you?" Obviously referring to Rob''s new form, Hud followed up onPluvia''squestion. Though without the unnecessary bluntness. Curious as to the answer, everyone eagerly listened in on Rob''s explanation. Rob: "Well, it''s hard to explain. When I was in the pillar, I heard a voice explain that it was giving me powers. Though I fell unconscious not long after that. Sounds pretty crazy huh?" Rob, having no idea that every one of his fellow characters had experienced the same thing,thoughthis words would sound crazy. It surprised everyone that he hadn''t realised he wasn''t the only one affected.But when considering his mentalstate,it wasn''t all that surprising. He was probably too busy freaking out about his changed body to even give anything else a thought. Realising that, his friends went ahead and explained the situation to him. Adding in all the details that Solomon had given them earlier. Though it probably wasn''t the best time to explain such heavy stuff, especially when considering Rob''s unstable mental state, Solomon felt it was necessary.Soas they brought Rob up to speed, he silently watched on from the side. Rob: "I see, so basically I''ve been given these powers in order to help you guys." Surprisingly, Rob didn''t even mention his role as an NPC character. Instead, he skipped straight over that and spoke about our current situation. Though knowing his thinking, he probably considered their immediate survival to be far more important than anything else. Rob: "I can''t say I''m not surprised, but I guess I should really thank you." Hearing him say so, Gareth didn''t understand his meaning. Gareth: "Thank us?" Nodding his head, Rob explained himself. Rob: "Yeah, you see. With this power I''ve been given, I can go and save Beth." Hearing this, everyone was shocked. Even when he''d been turned into a grotesque monster with a horribly malformed body, his first thoughts weren¡¯t about himself. Just that alone elevated everyone''s opinion of him a great deal. Solomon: "Well at current, our plan is still the same as earlier. We''ll head through the tunnels until we find the army. Then you, me and Gareth will go off in search of Beth." To make sure that Rob didn''t get ahead of himself, Solomon reminded him of their earlier agreed upon plan. But hearing Solomon bring that up made Rob surprised. Rob: "Wait, why are you guy''s even going after Beth. Isn''t your mission to escort us out of here.?" After thinking through Solomon''s motives,takinginto account the new clarity he had of their situation, Rob couldn''t see any reason for him to want to rescue Beth. Lily: "That''s right. I didn''t really think about unit till now,butwhat is your reason for helping Beth?" Having their thoughts prompted by Rob''s questioning, each of the characters started thinking about it themselves. For us who were already facing an extremely tough situation, wasn''t it ludicrous to want to go after Beth? Realising that they wouldn''t accept a short answer, Solomon and everyone explained their circumstances a little more. Though they still tried to keep things concise as to not waste any of their precious time. Marlena: "I see, so you guys need to do this hidden mission thing because of a deal you made. Then if you succeed you''ll be able to get those Capitalist mages wiped out." Everyone''s explanation was very quickly accepted by the characters. At this point, having already accepted everything else, why would they get caught up on something small like this. Rob: "It makes no difference to me. So long as you can help me save Beth, I''ll be eternally grateful to you." Rob didn''t care about their reasons. What mattered to him is that they were willing to help.Originally,he''d worried that because of their mission they''d try and stop him from going after Beth. But now that they were still offering him help, Rob was overjoyed. The aid of someone like Solomon, who he considered to be both exceptionally strong and intelligent, was something that would make a huge difference.Sohe was naturally very thankful. Pluvia: "It''s good that we''ve got all this worked out, but we''re burning time here. We''re already on a tight schedule so I think we should get moving soon." Deciding that they''d spent enough time here,Pluviaprompted everyone. Thinking about their limited time, she wanted to get moving.After all, they could still talk while travelling. There was no reason why they had to stay here to discuss things. Looking at how about ten minutes had already passed, so one 6th of the time till their enemy''s arrival had elapsed. If they didn''t make use of their grace period now, wouldn''t they just be slapping themselves in the face? Solomon: "Shit, you''re right. Has anyone got anything else pressing to say? Ifnot,we''ll get on our way." After a brief moment of silence from his own teammates, Solomon looked over towards the characters. Rob: "We''re ready whenever you are." Speaking on behalf of his group, Rob confirmed that they were ready. It seemed that everyone''s fear of him from earlier had faded at this point.Sowithout much difficulty, he''d slipped back into the leadership position among his friends. Considering how he was now the most powerful among them, it did make sense for him to fill such a role. It also didn''t hurt that he was intelligent and charismatic, even if he looked like he did. Solomon: "Alright then,let''sgo!" Taking the lead, Solomon ran towards one of the distant tunnel entrances. As had already been decided earlier, everyone would follow the eastern tunnel until they reached the subways main line. Then they would follow it north until they found the Military. Setting out at the front, Solomon started the long trek across the cavern. As the gigantic cave was several kilometres long, it would take a little while to even reach the tunnel they were after. Solomon: "Everyone, do your best to keep up." Looking at the Characters trailing behind everyone else, Solomon felt a little dejected. Even though they''d received powers, most of them were still very physically weak. Looking at them pant like wet dog''s after only a few minutes of running, Solomon knew they couldn''t keep up with this speed for much longer. But they didn''t have much of a choice. They didn''t have the luxury to waste time anymore. Gareth: "I have an idea regarding this." Speaking up, Gareth seemed to have come up with something. Desperate to fix their current predicament, Solomon let him explain his plan. Solomon: "Go ahead." Nodding, Gareth went about laying out his thought. Gareth: "Got it. As we already know, you guys are still only as strong as a normal human." looking back, Gareth addressed the people trailing in the back.Specifically,Marlena, Jason and Lily. Hud had luckily received a big boost in strength from his bloodline,Sohe wasn''t slowing them down. In fact, he was quite surprisingly almost on par with Gareth at this point. Needless to say, Rob wasn''t having issues either. He was actually a little stronger thanPluvia. Though that was only when she wasn''t using any special techniques of course. So, in essence, it was only three of the characters slowing everyone down. Even the little girl Sasha had put enough points into her body to outpace them several times over. Gareth: "So why don''t we have the stronger people carry them?" Finishing proposing his idea, Gareth looked over at Solomon for confirmation. Solomon: "That''s a good idea. We''ll do that for now." Seeing no issues with such a solution, Solomon went ahead and had the characters get onto peoples back. Jason and Lily onto Rob''s and Marlena onto Hud''s. Though Solomon andPluviaoffered to help carry people, the character''s refused. They kept insisting that because we were protecting them, they shouldn''t be burdening us with such things.Sowith all the issuesresolved, Everyone Sprinted off again. volume 3 Cloverfield chapter 87 ¨C Learning about powers (part 1) Parasite: GREEEEE! CRSSSHHK! Lifting his sword out of the Bloody husk of a dead parasite, Tony glanced behind himself. Seeing several flickering lights in the distance, he knew that the others were approaching. As had been decided earlier, Tony would Scout ahead of the maingroup. Ifhe came across any Parasites, he would deal with them. In essence, he was Bothpatrollingthe tunnel ahead of everyone as well as being an early warning system. In the case he encountered too many enemies or something he couldn''t defeat, he would only need to wait for everyone to catch up and give him support.So,with that in mind, Tony had rushed headfirst into the dangerous unknown. Tony: "Damn this is boring!" But despite his expectations, he hadn''t come across even the slightest bit of difficulty. The first Parasite he found panicked upon seeing him, turning and trying to run away. In such a scenario, it didn''t take him long to dispose of it. Even when he''d come across a group of 5 Parasites, they also ran away without the slightest hint of hesitation. Compared to their previous cold and calculating actions that would leave one feeling stressed, this was the exact opposite.Soas he travelled through the several meter wide tunnel, he easily eradicated the Parasites he came across. Though Tony wasn''t entirely sure, he guessed their change in attitude was due to their Queen being killed. Tony: "Ah." While Tony was Lost in his own thoughts, he had unknowinglycometo an impasse in the tunnel. Looking around, he realised that the claustrophobic walls opened up into an open area. Walking out into that area, he carefully studied the surroundings. Thinking that he might have come across another massive cavern, he carefully crept forwards. But as he got a better picture of the area, he knew that wasn''t the case. To his front, only a couple dozen meters from himself, was another tunnel. Looking at the tracks on the floor, he saw that they lead from the tunnel he''d come out of across, the open space, to the other tunnel. Spaced periodically between the two tunnels were several thick concrete pillars. As an idea of where he was popped into his head, Tony looked to the sides. On both his left and right side, he could see the pillars extending out into the open area. But due to the lack of lighting, he couldn''t see all the way into that space. Even his Powerful flashlight couldn''t push back the void-like darkness. Nevertheless, he''d seen enough to realise where he was. Lily: "Oh, it''s the main line!" Hearing a voice behind himself, Tony spun around to see everyone else emerging from the tunnel. Gareth: "Is everything alright?" Noticing That Tony was stood a couple meters in front of everyone, Gareth Became vigilant. Thinking that something had happened, the hardened soldier scanned his surroundings. But even with his affinity for the darkness, he couldn''t pick up on anything. Tony: "Yeah, it''s fine. I just got a little distracted. Anyway, where do we go now?" After Answering Gareth, Tony looked over at Solomon. As he wasn''t familiar with the tunnel system, he needed Solomon''s guidance. Solomon: "Hmm, well we''re going to follow this line north.Soall we''ve got to do is head that way." Looking to his left, Solomon pointed towards the north. According to his memory, this tunnel was a straight shot all the way through Manhattan.So,if they followed it, they were bound to run into the military at some point. Tony: "Alright, I''ll head back out then." Preparing to get back to scouting, Tony started off down the tunnel. But before he could dash out of sight, Solomon stopped him. Solomon: "Wait! You don''t need to scout ahead anymore." Tony: "Huh, why not?" Having already scouted ahead for quite a while, Tony was rather used to it. But even more than that, he was easily earning points doing so. Hearing Solomon say it wasn''t needed anymore Dampened his mood a little. Seeing that, Solomon explained his reasoning to Tony. Though he tried to keep it as brief as possible. Having glanced at his watch a few seconds ago, he saw there were only 20 minutes left before the Capitalist mages arrived. Solomon: "There''s a few reasons, but to put it simply. I''m worried there might be larger groups of Parasites in this tunnel. If you were to run into something you can''t handle, it would cause problems. Other than that, I don''t think the military would react well to a giant man with a sword rushing them from the darkness. Tony: "Ah, you''re right." Picturing himself getting gunned down after running into a military patrol, or worse ripped apart by a horde of parasites, Tony quickly agreed with Solomon''s thinking. Solomon: "Let''s not waste any more time then." Feeling the pressure of their fast approaching deadline, Solomon took the lead. Following closely behind, everyone fell into silence. Pluvia: "So back to what we were talking about before, what did you guys get from the system?" Seeing the silent atmosphere descend over everyone,Pluviadecided to give them a topic of discussion. After thinking for a moment, she reminded everyone of the conversation they were having a few minutes prior. In thetimethey''d spent traveling, they''d mainly discussed strategies for dealing with the Capitalist mages. It was just as they were about to go on and talk about the characters powers that they''d come across the main line. Rob: "Oh yeah, I''ll continue then" Picking up from where he left off earlier, Rob dived straight back into the conversation. Rob: "The race Igot''scalled 47th rank awakened being. I don''t remember the whole description, but it was something along the lines of this." Taking a short moment to scour his memories, Rob then gave a concise description of his race. Rob: "I become a malformed monster, as well as gain a big boost to my strength. But because of this race''s violent nature, A limit has been placed on my mind to keep me sane. As well as keeping me sane, that limit weakens my powers a lot. However, I can remove that restriction if I take the time and learn to control my emotions. Then I''ll grow stronger." Telling everyone what he remembered, Rob anxiously awaited their reaction. He was worried that they''d take the part about his violent nature badly. But to his surprise, No one even brought it up. Nicholas: "That''s good. Even if you''re limited now, you can still grow stronger." Hearing that Rob could still grow much stronger, Nicholas Felt a little overwhelmed. Looking at his already bulky form and bulging muscles, he couldn''t imagine what he''d become after getting even stronger. Lily: "To think that this isn''t even your strongest form." From atop one of Rob''s shoulders, Lily poked his arm. Feeling the rock-hard muscles, she almost couldn''t believe that this was his weakest form. Jason: "Congrats bro, looks like you got a strong power." Seeing the supportive and amazed reactions of his comrades, the anxiety in Rob''s heart vanished. A giant smile grew across the behemoth''s face as he realised that his concerns were misplaced. Gareth: "So, what was your other enhancement then?" Knowing that Rob had received another power, Gareth became curious. Though he knew more about the details of Rob''s race now, he was still clueless about his other power.Afterall, he could already see the effects of Rob''s race from looking at his body. But he had no way of Knowing what the energy enhancement Rob had been given was. Rob: "Ah, that." As a slight reddish hue grew on Rob''s deathly pale face, the gigantic man seemed to become a little embarrassed. Rob: "I kind of forgot about that." Awkwardly scratching the back of his head with one of his hands, Rob told Gareth the truth. As his mind had been too preoccupied with his physical transformation, Rob had completely forgotten about his other power. Thinking back to his time in the dark pillar, he recalled what the other power he''d received was. Rob: "From what itremember, it was called the level up system." Nicholas: "Level up system!" Shouting out in astonishment, Nicholas seemed to have recognised the enhancement. Rob: "You''ve heard of it?" Surprisedby Nicholas''s reaction, Rob started to question him. Nicholas: "Yeah, it''s one of the most popular enhancements you can get." Listening on from theside-lines, Solomon had a confused expression. Once again showing his inexperience, Solomon spoke out. Solomon: "So can someone explain what this enhancement is to me?" Hearing Solomon''s question, Nicholas nearly died from shock. Nicholas: "You''ve never heard of it?!" Even though Nicholas knew that Solomon was ignorant of a lot of things, he never thought it was to this level. Since his very first day in Domain, Nicholas had heard of this enhancement. It was a very common topic among unranked who hadn''t got an enhancement yet. Solomon: "Uh, no. Should I have?" Feeling that Nicholas''s reaction was a little extreme, Solomon became confused. Was it really that weird for him to not know about this? Nicholas: "Definitely! It''s the number one enhancement in Domain! You can find people with it in almost every single guild that exists!" Though Nicholas exaggerated a tiny bit, he wasn''t wrong. In a poll conducted by the three great guilds, it was found that a shocking 5% of Domain had chosen this single enhancement! Though that doesn''t sound like much, it was an astounding figure. Of the several tens of trillions of people in Domain, 1.75 trillion had this power. Alice: "That''s great and all, but what actually is it?" Jumping into the conversation, Alice cut Nicholas''s diatribe short. Alongside Solomon, Alice Gareth and the characters also didn''t know what this power was. Nicholas: "Oh, yeah. It''s hard to explain in a short amount of time, But I''ll do my best." Flashing everyone a bright smile, Nicholas went about explaining the enhancement to everyone. Even Rob who had the enhancement listened intently to Nicholas. Probably because, even though he had the enhancement, Nicholas had a better grasp of it. Nicholas: "And so, that''s it." After nearly ten minutes of ceaseless talking, Nicholas was done. As everyone took a few seconds to let it all sink in, the sheer magnitude of this level up system shocked them. Initially, Nicholas had explained the basic principle of the enhancement to them.Soat first, it allowed you access to the class, level up, inventory, and skill systems. The class system let you pick a class every time you levelled up. That class would start at level zero and would level as you used it more. You could also choose to evolve a class instead of getting a new one but you''d have to fit the criteria to have the class evolve. Then there was the level up system. It allowed you to assign stat points you gained through levelling to improve your strength. Every level would give you 10 of these points to be assigned however you like. But the thing was, it wasn''t limited to Domain''s stats. you could upgrade any stat from any fiction. From generic stuff like charisma or strength to extremely specialised stats like plant magic resistance or left foot''s agility. The Inventory system was what it said on the tin,itallowed the user to store a certain number of items in a pocket dimension. At first, it was a tiny space of 1 CM squared. But for every level up, that space would double. Lastly was the skill system. Of all the systems, it was by far the most complex. Containing every single skill in existence, it allowed the user to learn any skill provided that they fit the requirement. That wasn''t to say that it gave out skills for free though. It worked on a "you perform the skill, you learn it" system.Soif you were to throw a rock, you would get several skills like "throwing skill" "rock throwing skill" "small item throwing skill". Each of those skills would start off at skill level one. As they were used more the level would rise. Accordingly, the ability of the person with that skill would also increase with the skill level. That was the true beauty and power of this system. If you were to focus on throwing knives, all the skill to do with that would rise. Because of all those skills stacking with each other, you would get a massive boost to that action.Sowhen you applied that sort of bonus to something like a Kamehameha, you would get an insane result. But even with all of these amazing abilities, it wasn''t like this system was the best enhancement you could get. It had several flaws to it. The most obvious being that people could very easily get caught up in their hundreds of skills and become inundated. But beyond that, there was one major risk to this system. Time. Unlike most other energy enhancements, this system didn''t provide any boost to the longevity of the person using it.Soif the user also didn''t get an increase in longevity from their race, they would only be able to live for 80 years or so. What good was it being able to level up if you couldn''t even get enough EXP to level up once in a lifetime? When you reached higher levels, and the EXP per level cost was insane, how could you have enough time to grind out EXP. After explaining all of that, Nicholas went on to explain more of the specific details about the enhancement. Like what stats were supposedly good, or what skills were best to work on. But by the time he''d moved onto that everyone was already letting the sheer amazingness of the enhancements sink in. Realising that his words weren''t sinking in, Nicholas quieted down. Nicholas: "Hello, can''t you hear me?" After his earlier question went by unanswered, Nicholas had left it a few seconds. Then calling out again, he drew in everyone''s attention. Solomon: "Ah, sorry about that Nicholas." Realising that everyone had been ignoring Nicholas, Solomon apologised to him. Following after him, several others did the same. Alice: "Sorry." Rob: "My bad." Content with their apologies, Nicholas told them not to worry about it. Nicholas: "It''s alright." Wrenching his mind away from the level up system, Solomon realised they hadn''t even mentioned any of the other characters powers yet. After glancing at his watch and realising only ten minutes were left, he decided to move everyone''s focus on. He was determined to get through everyone''s before they arrived. That way they would be able to work with each other more easily. Solomon: "Well, I think we all understand what Rob''s powers are now. But what about you guys? What powers do you have?"