Erik emerged from the depths of a dense jungle. The journey back to Frant was smooth as a significant portion of the road in Etrium was traversed by air.
Accompanied by his remaining clones, he had no difficulty in fighting the Thaids that were flying in the vicinity.
However, everything changed when he reached the Eldraith mountain range. That was the wyverns' territory.
Since Erik wanted to fight them, sooner or later, he decided to try during his travel back. Of course, that had been a terrible idea.
As he and the clones were going to attack one, Erik analyzed the creature. He didn't know if that was true for all Wyverns, but was shocked by what he saw.
The beast had attributes over the 300. Its mana easily surpassing the 1800. Wyverns were X ranked Thaids. It was the first the saw something like that.
The last tErik had the unfortunate experience of encountering one of those creatures in proximity, he was so terrified that he was scared out of his wits, and his sole instinct was to flee as quickly as possible. He didn't even consider the possibility of analyzing the monster.
However, now, because of his pride, not only him, but even his clones, creally close to dying.
<Let's get the hell out of here! > He said to the clones as they fled, overwhelmed by the monstrous stats. The wyvern luckily noticed nothing.
For that reason, scared of having to fight one of such colossus in the air, he and the clones agreed the best thing they could do was go back to Frant on foot, and that, of course, slowed them down considerably.It took Erik more than 20 days to make it to the country. It goes without saying that he had increased his pace from the last the traversed those forests.
In the meantime, he didn't stay idle, as he made 6 more neural links.
<Status. >
The system showed him his progresses. (A.N: Bottom of the page).
"Not bad." Erik almost reached 250 points in strength and was around 200 for dexterity, while his intelligence had surpassed that. However, his energy was still at the pitifully meagre amount of 597.
<Those with a C or D brain crystal are going to curse at me. > It was weird to think this amount was low, especially considering how much mana he had not even a year before.
That was not low by any means, but it was still nothing compared to power houses like the Blackguards or Becker, who he knew he was going to meet again soon.
Erik didn't forget how, despite having much more strength, speed, and intelligence than the Blackguards, they almost killed him.
If it wasn't for his instability power, and the aid he got from Hais's brain crystal power and the Xeridon Anteris', he would have been dead by now.
<Luckily I cout of that nasty situation. > Yes, but he still shuddered at the thought.
Erik had spent a significant amount of twalking before reaching his destination, which turned out to be an enormous door.
He knew the door well. In the past, he had lived here and assisted the local community in establishing their lives in this area. That was Liberty Watch's entrance.
Placed to be concealed, the door remained as impressive as he recalled, hidden among rocks and overgrown with dense vegetation.
Though, the meeting with the weird monstrosity living within the cave-city still made him shudder.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"So, this is the place," June said.
"Indeed. I have many friends here."
"I know… but, umm… master. Have you thought about what to say to them?" June was talking about Amber and Mira.
Erik and the clones have been discussing the two individuals, and the clones have been pressuring Erik to decide about whom he should be with.
While sof them supported Mira and argued that she did not deserve such treatment, others took Amber's side and presented the sargument.
Erik was left feeling confused by all of that, as he didn't really know what actions to take. Despite the doubts, he held onto one certainty.
The clone informed Erik he told both of them about everything, and they discussed it later.
In addition, Noah mentioned that there had been certain developments, as conveyed by the clone, yet Noah declined to provide further details. The situation was rather odd.
Erik acknowledged the extent of his wrongdoings with Amber, and he believed it was necessary to apologize to both her and Mira, regardless of what he did.
"No," Erik said. "I have no clue what to say, who to pick, or how to make things right with them."
"Well, that's not good. They're not gonna like it."
"I know. But what else can I do?"
June hesitated, an idea sprouting in his mind. Based on the clone's expression, Erik assumed it was a good one.
"You could toss a coin!"
Erik almost facepalmed. He already imagined himself saying he chose one of them by tossing a coin to Mira and Amber.
"Yeah, sorry X, I tossed the coin, and you were the unlucky one. See ya!"
Then a disappointed, almost comical, look appeared on his face. He brought his hands to his hips and looked at June with an incredulous look.
"Weren't you supposed to be smart?" Erik was having doubt, at this point, that June was sane.
"Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I can't be joking sometimes," June said.
His expression was a mix of seriousness and a light-hearted mischief. Then the clone went behind Erik, massaged his shoulders for a second, more for kinship than due to their relationship as master and follower, and then went to the door.
June grabbed the handle and started twisting it to open the door. No longer was the creaking sound of rusted metal disturbing the silence of the forest.
Once the handle had fully turned, June pulled the door towards himself and opened it.
With each tug on the door by June, a steady pull brought forth a soft, creeping light that danced with the shadows inside, lifting the veil of darkness.
As the light flowed down the cavernous corridor, its rays stretched and bent around every contour, uncovering the passageway ahead and its hidden depths.
It was then that Erik found himself with sspears aimed at his throat. Only this time, they were made of Aclaitrium.
SYSTEM INTERFACE:
[Host Information]
NAME: Erik Romano
AGE: 18
POWER LEVEL: 683
SYSTEM LEVEL: 131
EXPERIENCE: 144893/670531.6
DNA POINTS: 2850
HEALTH: 11840/11840
MANA: 11770/11770
{Attributes}
STRENGTH: 223
INTELLIGENCE: 265
DEXTERITY: 203
ENERGY: 592
Available Attributes points: 0
{Powers}
[Biological Super Computer Powers]
-Brain Crystal Manipulation
Brain Crystal Power Extraction (Allows the absorption of the brain crystal, making the host able to gain the power contained within. Notice: the DNA must be changed in order to allow the body to use the power. See DNA extraction.)
Brain Crystal Power Merging (Allows to merge two powers birthing a new one. It requires the merging of the DNA to work.)
Brain Crystal Power Analysis (Allows to analyze the target brain crystal without the need to know the creature.)
- (LOCKED)
- Brain Crystal Power Strengthening (Allows the gaining of the energy attribute points)
- (LOCKED)
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm-DNA Manipulation
DNA Extraction (Allows the absorption of foreign DNA, making the host able to replicate it inside his own body. Notice: Changing the DNA is a slow process, and it is required to use new brain crystal powers.)
DNA Merging (Allows to merge two DNAs, birthing a new one. Required to accommodate merged powers.)
DNA Analysis (Allows to analyze the enemy DNA from the distance for a better understanding of the target's stats.)
- (LOCKED)
DNA Strengthening (Allows the gaining of the Strength, Intelligence, and Dexterity attribute points)
- (LOCKED)
- Analysis (Gives the host information about his surroundings, plants, creatures, and ores.)
-Brain Information Injector (It allows the injection of information directly to the brain. Based on touch)
-Device Manipulation (Allows the Host to manipulate electrical and mana-driven devices. Based on touch)
[Host's Powers]
FORCE MANIPULATION: Bν1B-RANKED (Manipulate a mana-driven force to produce powerful shockwaves that can change in intensity, radius, speed, and power. It is also possible to use the power differently as to generate force shields.)
PARALLEL WILLS: Bν1C-RANKED (Allows the user to passively increase intelligence based on the number of neural links. It also allows the construction of a mana brain that allows independent thoughts and can be used for multiple purposes.)
STRENGTH ENHANCER: Bπ2D-RANKED (Depending on the amount of mana used, the amount of strength increases)
PLANT MASTER: Bν1B-RANKED (Allows to grow and control plant based organism. The usage depends on the plant and the user's will.)
CHAMELEON VEIL: Bπ2C-RANKED (Allows to turn totally transparent and to project what is behind you, making it almost impossible to be seen. The user can move while using this Brain Crystal power. However, notice that the ripples in light the power creates while moving decrease the power's hiding abilities, increasing the chance of being seen.)
CHIMERIC BIOMETAL SOLDIER: Bο2A-RANKED (This power allows the user to create a human-worms hybrid with 50% of the user's physical stats. The clones are permanent, but to make them, a lot of mana is necessary; they can't use brain crystal powers. The clone is born from an egg, and it takes a month for them to reach maturity after having hatched two weeks after the eggs were made. Before that, their physical stats are lower than 50% of the original's body. The clones are half as intelligent as the main body, but know everything the main body knows when he created them. They also have several biological abilities.)
EXOSHIELD: Bσ1C-RANKED (Allow creating a mana exoskeleton.)
SOLID FROSTWIND: Bρ2A-RANKED (Allow to imbue an item with wind and frost elements. The Wind element is stronger than the frost one and allows control over the element itself. The power allows to create solidified slweapons.)
INSTABILITY: Bρ3A-RANKED (Allows to perceive, understand and mess with the emotions of the surrounding targets and to read their minds.)
ASTRAL WOLF: Bπ1B-RANKED (Create A full-bodied mana wolf with venomous fangs [the venom has various effects.])
BEAST SHAPESHIFTING: Bσ3C-RANKED (Allows to partially or totally shapeshift into an animal and humanized versions.)
HUMAN SHAPESHIFTING: Bσ3C-RANKED (Allows to shapeshift into a person. Based on sight.)
VIBRATION BURST: Bσ3A-RANKED (Create vibrations capable of killing.)
{Skills}
Kyokar hand-to-hand style (MASTER) (A military fighting style developed in Frant)
Crypt of the Desert Style (ADVANCED) (Flyssa fighting style developed by Master Nieminen)
Etrium's sword style (ADVANCED) (Basic Sword Style developed in Etrium.)