Chapter 58 - Managing The Improbable

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After hearing Lucian's command, Aeran didn't waste any time in releasing his ability to its fullest capacity. As a result, Ahri and the others were forced to cover their ears in pain while the remaining wolves were all temporarily disabled by the vibrations.

If not for this effect, then the rest of the team would have been sitting ducks. Thankfully, with the help of Lucian's earlier decisions, the three strongest wolves were the first to be killed.

Because, according to Aeran's estimations, those three would still be able to move under the effects of his ability. Just slowing them down wasn't enough if the others were all out of commission.

Nevertheless, since it wasn't a worry, Aeran didn't dwell on this matter for much longer before narrowing his eyes. A frightening vein wriggled on his temple as he strained himself to condense the unstable range as much as possible.

It was a painful attempt, but it was crucial he did so. 

Just then, an audible cracking sound was heard as the spear launched towards the boss displayed signs of shattering! However, Lucian's expression didn't change because whether it shattered or not was inconsequential at this point.

What mattered was the introduction of Aeran's ability.

So, while watching the scene unfold, Lucian fell to one knee as his countenance paled. Less than a second later, his color became deathly. 

Still, he raised his hand towards the spear while slowly clenching it into a fist to keep the spear together until it reached its target. By the time he did so, the shocking vibrations came in contact with his spear, and right then, an astonishing sight took place.

Akin to glass, the shadow spear shattered, but the place it shattered couldn't be more horrifying for the boss. Instinctively, the wolf had howled upon sensing danger. Regrettably, it was the most foolish mistake it could've made because it gave direct access to its insides.

And, since this shadow spear was manifested with every last bit of Mana remaining in Lucian's body, it was quite strong. So strong that the resulting exploding caused the wolf's body to bloat.

"Get down!" Ahri screamed with widened eyes when she noticed its body inflating without end. 

Everyone took cover except for two people―Olov and Lucian―who were located not even 10 meters away from the wolf's body. However, Lucian wasn't in the state to move because there was less than a tenth of a second remaining on the duration of his Shattered Limits.

Meanwhile, Olov's body felt like lead after bearing the brunt of the boss' desperate attack. Therefore, these two were akin to sitting ducks. That was, until Lucian picked up Olov's shield with that last morsel of strength coursing through his body.

Bang!

Lucian slammed the shield into the ground, embedding a quarter of it into the floor while leaning over Olov's body, "Don't cha worry~ I got ya this time," Lucian remarked, even copying Olov's tone with a wink.

All Olov could do was widen his eyes before entering a world of disoriented silence.

BOOM!

A horrendous explosion took place scattering mutilated chunks of organs, flesh, and even bones everywhere! In fact, as Olov's eyes turned to the side, they widened in horror. 

A fractured bone punctured right through the shield. Fortunately, it was located in a spot situated right between him and Lucian. After seeing no signs of blood, Olov released a relieved sigh.

"Don't you scare me like that, boy! You have big cajones but… boy? Boy?!" Olov panicked, looking at Lucian's deathly pale face. Even his eyes were unfocused as he continued leaning over Olov.

A notification appeared before his blurry vision.

〈The state of «Shattered Limits» has elapsed. A period of extreme weakness will follow this.〉

〈There is an option to reduce the period of weakness. Do you wish to do so? [Y/N]?〉

Instead of giving an answer to the stone, Lucian barely held it together. A mind-splitting headache assaulted him, which made it feel like his head was being bashed into a cement wall endlessly.

Finally, Lucian managed to read another message underneath.

〈The resource that will be used to reduce the duration will be your Accumulated Destinies.〉

'My Accumulated Destinies? Aren't those too precious to squander? That's how I get stronger,' Lucian thought while eventually leaning against the shield. However, Olov soon caught his back before it collided with the protruding bone. 

"Jeez kid, are you just trying to hurt yourself?! But, don't worry. I'm here for ya!" Olov exclaimed, to which Lucian gave the faintest nod.

Meanwhile, although Lucian thought sacrificing his Accumulated Destinies would be a bad move, reading through the exchange value as well as the original weakened period made Lucian wonder if he was hallucinating from the amplified fatigue.

〈Every 1 Accumulated Destiny sacrificed reduces the weakened period by 5%. [Original Weakened Period: 30 days.]〉

The first thing Lucian wanted to do was give this stone a stern talking to and understand just why the weakened period was so lengthy. An entire month?! 

Additionally, the weakened state was pretty terrifying in his eyes. 

...

Name: Lucian Salvatore

Title: N/A

Archetype: Variant (Hybrid/Evolver)

Fractal Rating: D+ (C+)

Authority: Delta

Health: 100%

MQ: 175/225 (3.75 MQ per min) [113]

[«Attributes»]-

»Strength: D+ [E-]

»Agility: D+ [E-]

»Endurance:D+ [E-]

»Dexterity: D+ [E-]

»Vitality: D+ [E-]

»Perception: D+ [E-]

»Spirit: D+ [E-]

»Wisdom: D+ [E-]

…

Initially, Lucian didn't understand how much the weakened state reduced his stats, but after looking at his status screen, it appeared that it reduced his stats to half, which was surprising.

'So a D+ Rank Guardian is approximately twice as strong as an E Rank? That's… good to know, but just how large is the difference for the higher ones?' Lucian thought to himself before casually swiping his hand. 

'I'll think about this matter after learning of the rewards for accomplishing the task,' Lucian thought to himself.

The menu disappeared while Lucian turned towards Olov, "You guys… need to finish off the remaining minions."

Generally, defeating the boss would clear the entire floor, however, that wasn't the case for this particular floor because of two reasons. One, it was a timed floor, so most rush tactics were disabled. However, the reason behind them being disabled tied in with the second reason the minions were still alive.

The objective tasked them will eradicating all enemies. In other words, it required them to physically complete the task, rather than the monolith judging it as a completed run after the boss was killed. 

"Right," Olov agreed before turning to others behind. Instead of relaying the instructions, Olov merely gave them a blank expression.

"Yeah, that might be hard to do," Olov murmured. Aside from him and Aeran, the rest were unconscious from the brutal vibrations! However, the remaining wolves didn't number more than 10.

And, there were a few minutes remaining on the timer. 

Besides the issue of the unconscious teammates, the wolves were inching closer to their downed bodies. Gradually, the situation was starting to look bleak. Such a good run was experiencing a shocking end.

"I'll do it!" Olov snarled while stumbling to his feet. He didn't even think to pick up his shield because the strength Lucian used to impale it in the ground was beyond him. It would simply waste precious time.

Hence, he only grabbed his sword and rushed towards the wolves closing in on Aeran's position. Though he wasn't down like the others, he was in a daze after exhausting every drop of Mana he possessed.

Whoosh!

Olov grabbed Aeran's collar and tossed him aside before the wolves could pounce. On the other hand, he sacrificed a great amount of points to increase his strength to the maximum―D+.

Bang!

A downward slash of his sword cleaved a nearby wolf in two, earning him some precious enhancement points. The next wolf was dealt with using a simple horizontal slash after redirecting the force of his initial strike.

Never once did he stop moving as he used the knowledge in his mind to transfer the remaining force of his strike into another attack. Simply put, Olov performed a seamless link of chained attacks. 

By the time the last wolf fell, there were only 15 seconds left on the timer. It was truly too close for comfort! But they managed it. This makeshift team managed to accomplish the impossible and clear the second floor within 30 minutes.

Finally, Olov was able to fall to his butt after experiencing an absurd amount of pain.

"It all hurts!" Olov groaned.