Chapter 57 - Improvised Decision, A Manifestation Attempt

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Although Lucian appeared to be brimming with strength, the effects of his Shattered Limits wasn't as simple as they seemed. What was depicted on the surface didn't necessarily match the state of Lucian's internals.

Many of his muscle fibers were on the brink of tearing from the rampant influx of overly volatile Mana. Yet, despite his overwhelming pain, Lucian focused only on the boss before him, as he understood the weight of what he needed to accomplish.

'Bear with me for a little while longer,' Lucian thought to himself before fortifying his body with the Amplification ability. However, to Lucian's surprise, the effect wasn't quite as he expected.

None of the pain was handled, nor did his body feel any stronger. According to the current state of his body, entering this threshold rendered his abilities mostly ineffective. Although the ranking of abilities didn't automatically determine how effective they would be on an enemy, it did give an understanding as to how powerful they could become.

Therefore, Lucian's D+ Rank Amplification was incapable of augmenting his body any further. Part of this was also due to the usage of the Limit Release ability itself. While it elevated his attributes to new heights, it was also far too early for him to reap the true benefits of this state.

'Am I so far beyond my threshold? Then, could augmentation skills, attack skills, and even healing abilities all have different principles behind them?' Lucian wondered. Suddenly, he dodged to the side, avoiding a lightning-quick bite from the Infernal Dire Wolf.

Immediately after, Lucian's eyes narrowed as he darted towards the boss. The remaining three seconds of his time seemed to elapse at a snail's pace as the speed he moved around with caused him to complete many actions in a negligible amount of time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A string of terrifying strikes caused some ghastly exploding to echo against the hollow cave wall. Following that, a catastrophic rumble was heard as the Infernal Dire Wolf's colossal body slammed against the wall.

Lucian landed after the strike, but a faint woozy feeling overcame him. It wasn't overwhelming, but the feeling wasn't exactly comforting. Furthermore, droplets of blood appeared on his finger as he touched his nose.

It seems his limits weren't the only thing being shattered. Without delay, Lucian slapped his hand coated in a milky white aura against his chest. However, despite his actions, his symptoms only continued to worsen.

While the aura was healing him, it was incomparable to the rate at which his body was being damaged. Finally, Lucian was forced to make a choice. Would he sacrifice it all right now to end it? Or, would he first succumb to the pain?

Obviously, the latter was never an option. Therefore, he took a look at his first ability unlocked by absorbing the Limitless Stone. The ability of Manifestation, or simply put, the creation skill attached to it.

Although it was a matter completely unfamiliar to Lucian, the description was straightforward. It was an ability that was only as strong as his own imagination. But, in his current predicament, it was quite difficult to discern the most effective route for him.

What was the pragmatic choice? Did he need a weapon? A skill to deliver untold levels of damage? Something strong enough to alter to layout this place and make it beneficial for not just him, but his team as well?

There were simply too many choices and each one of them gave some benefit that would help him end this situation quickly. However, outside of the side choice, each of the other options left the remainder of the task up to his teammates.

Despite having made ample progress, Lucian truly wasn't sure if they were up to the task of dealing with this opponent. Even though most of its offensive abilities were compromised due to Lucian's actions, its defenses were still horrifying!

Not to mention that Lucian was only able to overpower it after temporarily becoming on par with a B Rank Guardian, whereas his teammates were barely C Rank Guardians as of right now.

Hence, Lucian exhaled and glanced at the remaining two seconds. 'Will it be enough to fabricate something? It must be…'

Meanwhile, Ahri narrowed her eyes while looking at the faint inaction between Lucian and the boss. 'Something's wrong… up until now, Lucian's been on the constant move, delivering a flurry of strikes to the boss.'

The sudden yet hard to perceive change didn't escape Ahri's observation. She felt something was wrong as soon as Lucian took this break. But, then her eyes widened as she witnessed a familiar shadow seeping from an unknown fracture in space.

At a glance, it seemed similar to Desmond's ability of Shadow Manipulation, but upon closer inspection, the feeling was quite right. At most, Desmond's ability was useful for creating an obstructive haze, but the shadows in Lucian's hands seemed to be for another purpose.

All of a sudden, all of the shadowy embers that seeped from the rift flowed between Lucian's palms as he lifted his arms while spreading them apart. Although it was crude at the best, the shadows coalesced into something resembling a spear, but a miniature form of it.

However, Lucian also understood that 2 seconds was far from enough to win the battle. That was, if this matter was done by himself. "Aeran! I need you to unleash your strongest set of vibrations right now!" Lucian roared as the spear continued to grow.

"R-right now? But it'll damage everyone else as well," Aeran yelled back.

However, this was a risk Lucian was willing to take. "DO IT!"

"Right," Aeran nodded. In the next instant, his entire body trembled as the rocks beneath his feet were pulverized, turning to grainy bits as a result of the supersonic vibrations being emitted from his body.

There was only one shot, but if Lucian had some assistance, then he was more than confident. Even if Aeran's aim was shoddy, the current instability of his ability increased the range of its effects.

On the other hand, the Infernal Dire Wolf climbed from within the wall. Although it sought to retaliate, it was difficult for it to act due to the placement of Lucian's strike. Each one of them either landed on the wolf's hind legs or its torso.

Just the fact that it was standing was shocking.

Still, just because it could barely move didn't mean that all of its fight was gone from its body. It opened its large maw, moving an astonishing amount of Mana. It didn't take more than half a second for its mouth to be filled to the brim with tyrannical flames.

Meanwhile, Lucian's eyes narrowed while the spear made of shadowy embers spun around and sharpened over and over.

'No matter what you do, we will clear this floor today and we will claim that reward,' Lucian thought to himself. But, before his actions were complete, the wolf released its already prepared flames.

Although he wanted to dodge, Lucian couldn't. As this was an ability he had no experience with, the slightest lapse in focus would cause him to lose all of the progress made.

Thus, Lucian could only tank the attack and hope it was within the threshold of his defenses. If not, then this battle would change from one of confidence to one where his victory relied upon his dangerous behavior.

But, just before the powerful surge of flames greeted his body, the shadow of a robust figure appeared before Lucian with a large tower shield. "Don't cha worry your sweet tooshie. I got ya boss!"

Olov braced himself after arriving in the right spot with an apt usage of his Instantaneous ability. Still, the power behind the strike of this boss was not to be taken lightly. Although it was a mere flame attack, Olov's eyes widened in shock when he felt the impact of the strike.

Nearly fainting, he could only think in horror, 'This is the amount of force he was required to withstand?! How… was this floor clearable? The demand is too great!'

Despite his thoughts, Olov remained in place, bearing the full brunt of the flames while Lucian looked at him with a subtle change in expression.

By no means was this a move the other team would have made. Without a doubt, he would've been sacrificed.

Just then, Lucian's eyes narrowed because it was time. His time had all but run out, but the attack was ready.

"Aeran, release it now!"