LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 20: Nothing is Impossible!
There were at least 400 Contestants attending the Night of Truce, belonging to both Chaos and Order.
Of the 400, 6 were of the 8th floor, excluding Tina, and 23 were of the 7th floor, the rest were, of course, bugs.
The moment the Lesser Bounded Field sprung up, cutting the happenings atop the mountain from the Timeline's gaze, and anything that could remotely spy on the place ignoring the Mirror Dimension, the 29 higher floor Contestants' hearts thumped simultaneously.
At this stage, even if the Perception was just at the 1st Threshold, the combined effect of the Stats, along with the experiences, was enough to pick up on the subtle signs of mortal dangers.
Within the dome-like Mirror Dimension, tables of food, alcohol, and fruits were lined up on opposite sides. In the middle, there were rows of chairs matching the Contestants' numbers, evenly divided by the path leading to the Supreme Protector in the middle.
Kai ignored the 29 Contestants, as they shared glances among each other, and beckoned Sigel.
The blue-haired and blue-eyed girl approached Kai as if willingly walking toward Death itself. Brokenly, and probably with an empty mind, the Lead Protector took her seat, her forward. Even if she wanted to, she dared not look to her left lest she found the Supreme Protector looking back at her.
"Did you recognize it?" Kai asked, not unkindly. She was but a child compared to the 1300-year-old Demon.
Tina's throat went dry.
"Ma'am." The black-haired butler appeared to Tina's left like a phantom. "You forgot your drink."
"Oh! Haha!" Tina laughed ruefully, taking a glass of wine. "Thank you, uh…"
"Black."
"Ah!" Tina blushed seeing Black's smile. "Thank you, Mr. Black." She hurriedly wetted her throat, not knowing if the cause behind the dryness was the monster to her left or the angel to her right.
"So?" Kai asked once Black left, making sure every Contestant got bugged by the Ad Infinitum before the final event. They didn't want a Contestant with Blessing to bring unnecessary variations.
"Boun… Bounded Field…" Tina stuttered out, a drop of wine spilling off her red lips.
Kai didn't correct her. For her to recognize the Bounded Field, just based on runes, was already a magnificent feat.
"Your Mind Structure is one of the best I have seen among all the Contestants I have met so far," Kai praised. "It's been so long, but there's still a part of it which I haven't decoded."
Tina would never know for a long time how vast a matter it was for her to be praised by Kai.
The entire Night of Truce stopped to exist in her thoughts. The food, tables, people, and the very earth and the false sky vanished from her vision.
Tina, for the first time, looked to her left like a mechanical doll. "My lord…"
Kai's smile shone like the vilest thing from under the hood.
This was what he truly admired about the girl. Sigel was a loner, just like him. Till now, only those who had Blessings, or those who were backed up by the Temples, had survived the full onslaught of Ad Infinitum.
For Sigel to have a part of her mind still defending against the AI's subtle attacks, she truly deserved to be the next Top-Class 9th floor Contestant, Kai believed.
Tina took a deep breath, her survival instincts kicking in like never before. Even during the Tournament of Worth, she hadn't felt so helpless and on the verge of losing her existence.
"It's a Magical Crest, my lord," Sigel explained, bowing her head.
Kai's eyes narrowed. "From… Fate?"
Sigel nodded.
"… Magical Crests… Magical Circuits… Hmm…" Kai brooded, remembering the details he had learned from Item-M. But even the fallen 13th-floor Contestant didn't know much about it.
Among all the Random Worlds, the Fate Timelines remained one of the most deadliest Random World for the Contestants, having a collective Main Mission passing percentage for all Contestants less than 1%.
It was not only because of the Timeline's inherent relation to the Mana, but also because there were in-world Characters in the Fate Random Worlds, who knew Contestants' existences and… experimented on them.
That's why, for the Contestants of the 1st to 3rd Set to get a Main Mission in the Fate Timelines was nothing short of a death warrant.
That's also why Kai hadn't jumped to any Fate-based Random World as his greatest trump card, Limitless Blood Firmament, was a Reality Marble; a concept known, used, and decoded widely by many in-world Characters there.
Kai looked at the Compass before looking Sigel, the Ad Infinitum coming up with hundreds of theories. "Your Initiation Mission was in a Fate Timeline?" he asked.
"...… Yes, my lord."
"You have a Multiverse Id?"
"… Yes, my lord."
"Do you want to live?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Alright."
As Tina's heart became the size of pea under the pressure of Kai's questions, the Contestants had all taken their seats, as requested by the butler, Mr. Black.
The Supreme Protector straightened his back, planting his demonic gaze on all of them. He could see the thoughts of the 29 upper floor Contestants clearly. Their all plans lay buck naked in front of him.
The outside world had yet to know the real terror of Ad Infinitum.
But… Kai couldn't kill them. Not by himself. By becoming the Supreme Protector, he couldn't interfere with other Contestants' missions anymore. If he killed them, then that would be considered the biggest interference.
Black couldn't do this as well, as he shared the same Source as Kai's.
Kai hadn't included Item-M, Red Sun, and Item-S here, too.
At the end of the day, despite becoming so old and so incomprehensibly powerful in his class, Kai Stormborn was still as selfish and as greedy as his 16-years-old young self.
He wanted the Titles, the Loot, and… then there was something else.
There was one being whose kills also got counted as Kai's kills, despite Kai not lifting a single finger or giving a single order.
For long now, this being had been in hibernation, refusing to leave its shell.
And as the birth of this being could very well attract the gazes of the Old Ones and Deep Ones, Kai had to put a Lesser Boundary Field over the Mirror Dimension.
"Everyone…" The Supreme Protector said, his voice reaching all ears. "… I have something to show you."
The Contestants of 7th and 8th floor were about to burst out with their strongest attacks, when Kai's words rooted them to their seats. Their emotions flared. Their thoughts churned. Their plans scattered.
For a moment, two yellow crystals bobbed up and down in their eyes, snatching their capabilities to think rationally.
Kai smiled.
Shhhhhhhhhhhh!!
Slowly, with a hushing noise, an enormous egg appeared in the air between Kai and the Contestants.
It was at least 20 ft tall and 10 ft wide. It shell was white, but there were patches of yellow and black, giving it a hideous, evil charm.
Thump!
A loud heartbeat echoed out of the egg, paling all faces. Yet, the Contestants were so mesmerized by its appearance that they couldn't take their eyes off it.
Thump!!
"Selene…" Kai called out under his breath.
The Ghost Basilisk had been missing action ever since she had devoured the over 1000-years-old Runespoor egg.
At first, Kai had thought she was taking time because of the egg's age.
But when she didn't evolve even after years, Kai had finally asked Chaos using 1 million Mission Credits. To wake her up, this price was nothing.
The answer Kai had gotten would have been the darkest time of his life… if it wasn't for a Skill he had obtained.
"Look at it," Kai asked, his voice enchanting all. "What do you think? Can a D- Magical Beast evolve directly to B- grade?"
This was the reason Chaos had given Kai. With Hastur's and Blood Devour's elements involved in Selene's genes, the System had concluded it one word.
"… Impossible, my lord," Tina said, shaking her head.
The Ad Infinitum loosened its hold on the 29 Contestants, making them simultaneously say, "… Impossible."
The rest of the hundreds of the Contestants, unknown the consequences of their words, answered with utmost respect. "Impossible."
Kai breathed the word in his lungs like a drowning man breathing air.
"And I say…" The Supreme Protector said, activating his most broken Skill, "Nothing is Impossible."
…
[
Skill: Nothing is Impossible
Grade: B
Specification: Manipulate the Probabilities of the Impossible Improbabilities
Requirement:
1. An Impossible Event
2. An Improbable Event
3. Mass Acknowledgment of Impossible Event
4. Mass Acknowledgement of Improbable Event
5. Luck > 50
Attributes: Contestant's desire must be against the Impossible Improbability
Effect:
1. Consume the Mass Acknowledgment of an Impossible Improbably phenomenon
2. Raise the Probability of an Impossible Improbable event
3. The vaster the number of the Mass Acknowledgments, the higher the rise
4. Maximum Rise: 100%
WARNING: The use of Skill can stretch the boundaries of reality and logic to the breaking point
]
…
There were no distortions. No signs. No changes in Mana and Spirituality. Only a truly lucky being could feel the subtle shift in the reality.
Kai felt a heat within him, vast, inexplicable happiness surging inside his heart.
Crack!
After years of silence… an Impossibility was about to appear, brining death, destruction, madness, and doom.
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