LIGHTNOVELONLINE 66 – Settlement: Psychic World
In a matter of days, Genji obtained his last progression card. It wasn't difficult now that he knew there were other ways to obtain them. He only had to get 37 of them, which wasn't hard considering all the possible routes.
(You have obtained the last progression card. Please go to World's Edge to fight the final boss.)
"World's Edge? Not the Uncharted Lands?"
When he saw the zone, Genji knew the final boss was going to be easier than he expected. He was confident he could have killed any boss in that zone when he was level 50. If only there wasn't a rule that he needed all the progression cards to challenge this boss.
When he arrived at the area, an arrow appeared in his view and guided him to a stone altar with numerous card slots. One hundred to be exact, one for each progression card. Genji summoned his tome and flipped to the page containing his collection. A burst of light came from these cards before they peeled off the pages and shot into the crevices of the altar.
With every card, the altar got brighter. Soon, all the cards were inserted into the slots and a beam of light fell from the sky. A ripple spread out from the altar and vibrated the cells in Genji's body. The ground started shaking. Trees started falling over. All the monsters in the area fled. Something was coming and Genji was excited about it.
It was finally time to finish this world. Yet as he was celebrating, something unexpected happened. Not from inside the game, but from outside. Out of nowhere, a crack in space formed on the other side of the altar, an equal distance from it as Genji. A hand reached out from it and grabbed the edges of the crack.
Then Genji heard a sharp ripping sound as the fabric of reality in this place was forcibly destroyed. Genji was taken aback by this event. Ripping space? How strong does one need to be to do that?
It was a shocking sight for anyone, but Genji wasn't intimidated. This was the game world. In here, he was invincible. As long as he worked hard enough he would reach that level one day. Genji looked forward to that day.
As the crack in space widened, he was able to see a city on the other side. Genji knew this city. It was the city he started the world in. A second hand reached out and grabbed the other side of the crack. Then the veins on the arm bulged as the hands exerted a large amount of force to widen the passage. Soon the crack was big enough that a person could fit through.
Big enough for the owners of those arms to forcibly enter the game. By this time, the commotion from the altar was also calming down. The top of the altar started dissipating as Genji sensed a presence underneath it.
"The final boss was sealed by the altar?"
But Genji didn't have time to pay attention to the unsealing process. The person that ripped the space crack had appeared across from him. Covered in a black hood, the mysterious man gave off a sinister feeling. He looked around before setting his gaze on the dissipating altar and Genji.
"It seems like I made it in time. It's surprising anyone could have made so much progress in such a short time."
The man spoke as if he knew the details of the game. No, he spoke as if he knew everything about this world - the background, the progression, and the Pristine Gem that was hidden inside the boss's body.
Out of habit, Genji used insight on this figure. He might be so strong that Genji wouldn't see his entire stat page, but he wanted to know how strong one needed to be to achieve the feat before him.
[Member of Luminal Realm. Insight cannot be used on members of the realms.]
Yet the response he received was surprising. Luminal Realm? So there were other realms he didn't know of. But what was someone like that doing here? Isn't this a world limited to EverRealm and EonRealm? Something wasn't adding up, but Genji was too inexperienced in the matters of the realms to understand it.
"No matter. Let's see what a scarlet card dropped by such a person will give me."
Genji clicked on his card and summoned a hail of daggers. Then he waved his hand and prepared to drown the invader. Yet before the storm could reach him, the hooded figure snapped his fingers and caused his skill to dissipate. Genji's pupils dilated at this sight. Understanding the danger he was in, he hurried to turn around and run. As for the final boss, that was the last thing on his mind right now.
But before he could get out of the area, the man closed his hands together in front of his chest, enveloping the area with a barrier. Genji slammed against this barrier and was knocked back.
"Shit! Who is this guy?!"
"Time to end this," the hooded figure said as a glowing sword appeared in his hands.
As Genji was about to make a desperate last stand, he realized the figure wasn't running at him. Instead, he was charging at the recently unshackled Boss.
*Gaaarrrrr*
The creature screeched as he ran at it. The boss raised its arms and swung down with its claw. Mid-swing, the claws started glowing light blue as a skill was used to enhance the attack. As the attack came down at the figure, Genji realized the person had no intention of dodging.
"Is he so confident in his strength that he would dare fight such a creature with his real stats?"
One has to understand, the bosses in the game have much higher stats than reality. If Genji's real stats were transferred into the game, he would have died multiple times before he completed his second class advancement. That was how crazy the scaling was in the game.
Yet Genji was proven wrong. Before the attack could land on the figure, a green wave shot out from his body. When this wave touched the boss, multiple strings of 1's and 0's appeared. With this change, the claw attack phased through the body of the figure.
Digital Zone Unleashed
The green wave expanded and soon merged with the barrier surrounding the area. More strings of numbers came into view as the boss started to lose its appearance and was replaced with binary.
*Gaaarrr-*
The boss tried to let out another screech but was cut off before it could finish. The boss can no longer produce any sound as more parts of the boss were stripped. The hooded figure jumped up and delivered a slash to the boss's head and removed a large chunk of its health. Then the health bar disappeared as well.
Everything about the creature was turning into numbers as time passed. This digitalization continued to spread as the hooded figure slashed at the boss. Soon, even the environment in the barrier was affected and started being converted. At this moment, Genji could no longer see the fight or the area outside the barrier. Everything had been cut off. Now, only columns of 0's and 1's remained in his view.
Not even the sound was transferred. The zone had become silent, devoid of life. Not even his heartbeat could be heard. Genji would have mistaken this for the void if he didn't notice movement in the distance. A shuffling of figures distorted the numbers as a large silhouette composed of numbers rushed at the barrier.
Chasing behind this silhouette was the hooded figure. He closed in on the running mess of textures and kicked it. Receiving the attack, the silhouette crashed into the ground, sliding for a few meters before coming to a stop. The mistextured boss tried to get up but it was too weak from the fight.
Yet this did not stop it as it tried to pull itself forward. It turned its head and doubled its attempts when it saw the hooded figure approaching. It looked like it was trying to escape something terrifying, but was failing. The boss's fear could be felt despite it having lost its looks. It clenched the numbers in front of it and desperately tried to open the narrowing distance.
It reached its other claw out to Genji as if begging him for help, but its pleas were left unanswered. Before Genji could make a decision, the figure stabbed his sword into the creature's body, causing it to stiffen.
"Know your place."
The figure plunged his hand into the creature and felt around for a few seconds. When he found what he was looking for, he pulled his hand out. Clasped between his fingers and his palm was a shiny green octangular gem. With the emergence of this gem, the numbers in the area started disappearing. It was like the power source behind the code had been removed.
"Now it's your turn," the person turned to Genji.
Genji would be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated. This person had fought off the boss easily, yet this did not mean Genji was going to give up. Curse Bearer manifested in his hand as he unleashed Big Bullet at him.
Sensing the attack, the figure brought his sword up to slash through the projectile. When the ball of curses was sliced, it exploded and covered him.
*Cough cough*
Goblets of blood fell onto the ground as the smoke faded. Pieces of fabric fell to the ground as the hood covering the figure's face was destroyed. A deep crimson hair flowed down the man's neck as he came into view.
"He's weaker than expected?"
Genji noticed the bleeding wound on the man's face as the last of the numbers faded away. When this happened, Genji found himself in his real equipment again. His tome of cards had also faded away, confirming his suspicions. The restriction in the game had been lifted.
"Let's see how strong you are."
Genji drew his saber and disappeared from his position.
*Clang*
The red-haired man felt a strong force on his sword as the momentum of the attack pushed him back. Capitalizing on this opportunity, Genji drew a dagger and ignited a strong shadow flame. When the figure tried to block the attack, he found his sword had gotten lighter. The area that he had tried to parry with had been sliced off. If there was light, the figure would have been able to see his own reflection in the cut.
Swift Movement, Light Weight, Wolf Step
The figure tried to retreat, but Genji increased his speed and appeared beside him. The figure hurried to attack him, but the broken sword posed no threat to Genji. Genji weaved around the attack and brought down [Jaguar] onto his shoulder. Sensing the danger, the man pulled out a metal ball and crushed it.
Blood splattered, but Genji was not happy with the result. Genji frowned as he looked at the figure that appeared 15 meters away. A large cut was coming down his shoulder, threatening to sever his arm, but the wound was not lethal.
"Teleportation Skill? No, that was a life-saving item," Genji quickly determined the cause and bolted toward him again.
"That saved your life, but I refuse to believe you have another one."
As his saber came down on him, the figure quickly pulled out another item. Genji didn't get a chance to see what it was before the person crushed it. As soon as that happened, his saber collided with a barrier. Another consumable was used. Genji ignited his dagger again to cleave through the protection, but his attack was futile. Not even a crack.
"Give up. That item has priority in defense."
Having finally gotten a chance to breathe, the figure relaxed and explained. It appears that he's confident in the item's effect. Genji tried again, but only proved his words.
The figure watched Genji struggle and pulled out another item. Seeing this, Genji used Flashstep to pull open the distance. After witnessing the potent effects of the prior consumables, he doesn't want to risk it. Not when the person's protected behind a sturdy defense, ready to unleash hell onto him.
Yet the dangerous attack did not arrive. No, it can't. Genji might not know this, but the barrier makes it so that no attacks can pass through it. The item only protects the user's life, not allowing them to counterattack.
[You have been affected by Name Revelation. The usernames of all members in the area will be revealed.]
Realizing the effect is not harmful, he came to a stop and turned around to look at the figure. Above his head, a name revealed itself: Sinclair.
"Enigma is it? You might have won the battle, but I won the war."
As he finished his words, a spatial crack appeared behind him. He turned around and ripped open the crack, before leaving his last words.
"I will see you on the Spatial Battlefield. Remember. My name is Sinclair and I am the one that bested you."
Sinclair shot Genji one last glance before he stepped through the portal.
'What the hell is he talking about? I kicked his ass so how did he win? Unless it's getting destroyed. In that case, you can have that title.'
But Genji's questions are answered when the spatial crack closed.
[The Pristine Gem has been obtained. Since you have fulfilled your mission requirement, you have obtained your return qualification and will return in 5 minutes. ]
'Shit, that was the Pristine Gem? I've been played!'
Genji was not upset at the mistake. It might be a shame to lose out on the rewards, but there was not much he could have done given his circumstances. The only ominous fact was that the prompt mentioned a return qualification as if implying not everyone will return to their original worlds.
That being said, Genji is not one to let things go.
"You want to meet me on the battlefield? Survive my poison first."
Since Genji was using his original equipment, it meant [Jagaur] had poisoned Sinclair. As for how much poison was condensed into the blade, even Genji doesn't know. The only drawback is that they are on the weaker side for people of this level, but Sinclair did allow the poisons to circulate for some time. If he doesn't notice soon, then he will have hell to pay.
Settlement: Psychic World
Achievements:
- Got away in the beginning
- Attended the Museum exhibit
- Killed Swordsman and Berserker
- Tracked down The Guild
- Joined The Guild
- Entered Etheria Offline
- Obtained a second cartridge
- Finished impossible difficulty advancement trial x3 (each completion is worth 3 achievements)
- Killed EonRealm members (this is worth 5 achievements)
- Fought off the Psychic Association
- Achieved star level in Etheria Offine (This is worth 10 achievements)
Total achievements: 32
Total time spent: 23 days
Rating: Champion
Note: Your achievements are praiseworthy but nothing compared to your prior ones.
Stat points: 18
Ever coins: 320,000
Other rewards are being calculated...
Unlike his previous world settlements, Genji didn't do anything spectacular in this world. Because of this, he wasn't rewarded with any new equipment. Honestly, this was a normal occurrence for people. Not everyone can be like Genji, killing all adversaries because things spiraled out of control.
If we're comparing his income to other people's, Genji's income is on the higher side. It is a champion rating, the former highest level. It's just compared to what he's used to, this was meager. This goes to show the ridiculous lengths Genji went to in his previous worlds.
[Please select a direction of growth for Lethal Opportunity]
"Sharpness and durability"
[Lethal Opportunity]
Rating: Legendary
Damage: 30 (up 2)
Durability: 270/270 (up 20)
Effects:
- Growth (passive): After every world, this set will grow with you
- Through Steel Like Air (passive): +24 sharpness (up 4)
- Durable: +100 durability (up 20)
Description: A pair of twin daggers that have discarded all other abilities in favor of sharpness and durability. Few can match them in these areas.
[Please select a direction of growth for Shroud of Terror]
Before giving his answer, Genji took out Mordred's champion card. He selected the fourth option and allowed the card to be teleported away.
4. Turn this card over to EverRealm to strengthen your legacy equipment
"Focus everything into Essence of Terror. Don't bother about the other stats."
Genji decided to improve this one skill that he had neglected. When he had a lower intelligence, one world process is enough to fill his energy stat to his bearing capacity. Yet this soon changed when he reached the benchmark for intelligence. Now he has twice as much energy to fill and it's not viable anymore.
And this is just the second step. Imagine how hard it will be to increase this stat in the later steps. If each step also brings such a big increase in bearing capacity, then he will need to kill countless bosses to maximize the potential of this skill.
Genji would rather not do that. One boss is hard enough to kill, let alone multiple. So he is hoping for an increase in the upgrade ceiling of each rank. Instead of getting only 50 points from killing mini-bosses and lower, he wants that number to be higher. Let me go over how the energy increase formula works.
For those of the common level, Genji can only obtain 10 points per world before the cloak no longer increases his pool; for elites, it goes up to 30; for mini-bosses, 50. After that, he needs to kill bosses to further increase it. As of this moment, Genji has not found a limit for the amount bosses can provide.
Since Genji didn't kill a single boss in this world's progress, his energy has only increased by 50 points. By following the current pattern of his bearing capacity being twice his natural pool provided by intelligence, he can hold a total of 800 points of energy.
As of now, his energy is at 580, which is a long way from his maximum. If he continues at this rate, his advantage will dwindle until its negligible. To prevent that, Genji wants to upgrade this skill in hopes that his energy gain can be sped up.
[Shroud of Terror]
Rating: Legendary
Defense: 33
Durability: 180/180
Effects:
- Growth (passive): After every world, this equipment will grow with you
- Hidden (passive): Increase stealth by 200%
- Swift Movement (active): Double movement speed for 10 seconds. This effect has low priority. 20-second cooldown. When canceling this, any ever extra second will reduce the cooldown by 2 seconds.
- Lightweight (active): Reduce the effects of gravity by 65% for 60 seconds. 20 minutes cooldown.
- Essence of terror (passive): The more you kill, the stronger you get. All creatures at Elite level and higher will now provide you with energy, but you receive a decreased amount compared to before. There is no limit for each level, but after a certain point, you will receive diminishing returns.
Description: A cloak customized to allow the user to unleash the most terror on his foes.
This was a welcomed change since Genji was never reliant on killing common mobs for his stats. As for the decreased amount, Genji's not worried about it. Isn't it simply asking him to kill more?
Since there's no limit to kills for each level, he can stack this until he reaches his bearing capacity. This change made it so that instead of hunting for quality, Genji could make up for it with quantity. What's not to like about the change?