Versatile: Alternate World

Chapter 976 Love Stacks And Another Visit to Another Dimension

So this so-called "Love Stack" is the thing that the skill [The Pain of Love] gives which would be working side by side with the other skill [Love is a Beautiful Pain] that will generate effects as the "Love Stack" accumulates to an enemy. Seeing that I still needed to click on the skill to see it, I opened it up and another window appeared containing all of the effects each stack has on the enemy reading its effects, it seems it is more focused on inflicting debilitating effects to the enemy like debuffs and DOT effects in one attack. This is a bit overpowered and this would be totally game-breaking if this is still in a game since it bypasses Debuff Immunity.

I started checking each effect and can see why it would be troublesome now if this was still a game.

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[Love Is a Beautiful Pain]

List of Effects:

1 Stack: Inflicts Defense Down that can be stacked with another Defense Down debuff. Inflict 1% of increased damage every minute. Can be cleared with debuff cleansing spells and potions.

2 Stack: Inflicts Attack Down that can be stacked with another Attack Down debuff. Has a chance to inflict stun. The effect can still be cleared with cleansing spells and potions.

3 stack: Debuffs cannot be cleansed anymore and damage from any DOT effects is increased by double.

4 stack: Stuns are now inflicted at regular intervals. As long as the stack is at 4, the stun will continue to be inflicted every 5 seconds.

5 stack: Light poison debuff will be inflicted. The effect will be clearable with cleansing spells and potions but will continue to persist as long as the stack remains.

6 Stack: Stun and Poison will be working together, forcing the one inflicted by it to suffer crippling pain that will stop them from moving and receiving 2000 damage every time they try to move.

7 stack- 13 stack: Poison's effect will be increased significantly the more stack is accumulated. With the 6th stack effect, every movement will have the damage multiplied by 2.

14 stack: Burn is now being added to the effects. Effects cannot be cleansed and cannot be removed by any means unless the stack is reduced.

15 stacks: Corrosion will be inflicted and defense will corrode. Defense can be reduced to zero at this point.

16 stacks: Confusion will be inflicted. They will now target other allies and they cannot be snapped out by it anymore. They will remain stationary if there are no allies.

17 stacks: Their attack power increases but their health will continue to decrease. They will proceed to attack allies with increased damage but if they are alone, they will instead proceed to do self-harm and increased attack will be applied to their self-harm.

18 stacks-20 stacks: All effects from previous stacks will be combined into one debuff that cannot be removed in any form while the stacks will be reset to zero. Another stack will inflict another set of debuff once more and the cycle continues.

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I wasn't prepared when I read the final stacks. Seeing how all effects from previous stacks are combined into one and then proceed to make it unremovable is very troublesome. And the fact that once another stack is added, the cycle continues again. It's a perpetual cycle of suffering.

Thankfully, this can be turned off and on at will, which is a good thing since I can't afford to use this on enemies, I don't want to kill. Seeing how it cannot be removed, this is a very debilitating effect that will persist until the very end.

"This is too strong..." I mumbled to myself.

I decided to turn off its effects for now. This is too much.

I stood up and looked out the window. The blizzard is getting stronger and the effects of Queen Tanya's spell are barely doing it's work. Opening the heater and operating it, the room starts to get warmer.

Although the effect is cruel, I will use it on all enemies who deserve to die. But I wonder, does this include the deities as well?

Putting the Versatile Weapon to the side, I lay down on the bed and decided to sleep. I might need to calm down for a bit. If the Versatile Weapon devours the Weapon of Wrath, will it have more effects that will be more dangerous than this? I don't know. I guess a good night's sleep will help.

...

...

...

All of a sudden, I opened my eyes... I know I just literally closed my eyes and yet, I was not in my room anymore. I was transported to another place. A place I am more familiar with than I should have.

"I am back here again?"

The place I was in was the place where the Goddess of Death was present and the place I kept on visiting in my dreams.

"I am sure that this place is the same as the one I dreamed of before, but..."

TANG!

"There is something new here. The smell of metal..."

TANG!

"...And the sound of metal being hammered."

TANG TANG TANG

The sound gets louder as I slowly walk toward where the sound is coming from.

As I slowly reached the area, I saw the large tree, and the Goddess of Death was still on the tree's trunk. But this time, something is new.

A man is currently hammering on an anvil, creating something. As I got closer, I soon realized who this guy was. I know him as I have seen him many times before. Not my personal experience but when the memories of the Shadow Dragon synchronized with me.

The blacksmith that is always with the Goddess of Death, and the one who forged the Versatile Weapon and the Seven Deadly Sins weapon series. The man who wears the black hoodie. The one where his face is hidden. The one who sacrificed his life.

I didn't expect to see him again but this time, with my own eyes.

"Hey there, young man. It is nice to see you personally now."

"You know me?"

"Of course, you are "Death's Favorite" and I know that first hand."

"But we just met..."

"Indeed young man, we just met, but I have already met you before, just not yet personally. And I follow your achievements and things that you have done in the Alternate World while still using the body of the avatar you named "Bladeheart."

"Wait...you also know that?" I frowned.

"Oh, yes I do, young man. More than you could think of."

TANG TANG TANG

He resumed hammering the metal ingot and slowly tried to form it. Once the ingot had cooled down, he put it back into the flames and increased the intensity of the flames inside the forge.

"But why are you still alive? Shouldn't you be dead right now?"

"Indeed. The question does linger in my mind sometimes. Why am I still alive? That fact is something that I can't answer and even if I wanted answers for it, I can't get anything that would give a satisfying answer."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know. Maybe it was God's will? Who knows? Maybe I have an unfinished purpose left to be done? Perhaps. The possibilities are endless young man and even I don't know which are the right parts."

He continues to hammer down the metal once he removes it from the forge. Compared to Almira's way of hitting the metal, this guy has a more refined way of doing it. He is precise and he is skillfully doing it. He is already surpassing what Almira is capable of doing. The ember of every strike on his hammer is giving off the same heat that the forge is giving to melt the fire. It is literally forged in fire.

"Why are you just standing there, young man? If you want to observe, have a seat."

SNAP.

A chair appeared out of nowhere and the hooded guy offered it to me.

"Just standing there and waiting spoils the mood yeah? Have a good seat. We can continue talking in the meantime. You have a longer time here compared to before in your previous visits."

I decided to sit down. Since I am not going to be able to leave here until my time here is up, I decided to comply and observe his methods.

"You still doing your blacksmithing?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Good. That will aid you in the future. Don't neglect it and continue to hone your skills. It won't be long before you will need the mastery of blacksmithing to forge your path forward."

"Is it vital to be me who should be in here?" I asked.

"Whether you like it or not, it is your destiny. The moment you decided to return back in time, you decided to hold onto that destiny. There is no saving you for it."

I was stunned and turned to look at him. "How did you know that I returned?"

He smiled. "No comment."