275. Infinity of Stone

“…I don’t like it,” Kara said with her mouth set in a straight line whilst staring at a sample of cardiac scavenging pills and the prima shard. She crossed her arms with a pout. “These things will make you a tycoon in no time. You won’t need our help anymore.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Rakna deadpanned.

“No! Because then you won’t come to me for help and I’ll be sad!” 

“…” Rakna blankly looked at her and glanced at Kaelith who was covering the side of her face with an embarrassed and exasperated expression. “Right… I wouldn’t have done that either way.”

“What?! Why?!” The older vixen was shocked.

“Who would go asking for help from someone as unreliable-looking as you?” The therian replied with unbeatable logic as he retrieved his items.

“…my perfect lovey-dovey plan…” She ultimately wept with her hands on her face and Kaelith was put through further embarrassment, trying to pretend, even to herself, that she wasn’t related to this woman.

Meanwhile, Higure was having a blast. “Devourer, I love these two. They suit you so well,” she said with a grin and Rakna casually knocked on her head, making her yelp.

“Though, between you two, Kara, is the less busy one, right?” He asked and the two vixens looked at him inquiringly. “The reason I want to share this business plan with you is that your clan is sure to build it far better than me; logistically wise. Having Harvest being established in Old Eden would be far more lucrative for me. This is why… I’d like to ask one of you to join my company and be at the reins. I could make you Co-Founder or Vice CEO.”

Kaelith’s eyes widened a bit. “You’re willing to let us have this much power over this? I honestly am getting used to your shenanigans, which is why I didn’t fuss over it, but what you’ve just shown us has the potential to tilt the economic balance of the System. Heck, I would bet that if it ever got out of it, the entire universe would lose their minds over this. And you’re seriously saying that you will give us free rein?”

“Well, I’m not really an entrepreneur,” Rakna shrugged. “And the reason I’m telling this to you two is that I trust you. The rest of your clan notwithstanding, or that council of yours, I’m sure you can do a much better job than me. Even if you scam me and take 90% of the returns, I would not mind it that much considering the scale it will probably operate on.”

“I… you…” Kaelith struggled to respond for a moment. She sighed and rubbed her temples. “It’s not like I would ever swindle you or anything but… you’re just too carefree.”

“Hm, so…” Kara then raised her voice. “You mentioned I was the freest. Are you saying that you’re willing to give the position to me?” She asked in a rather critical tone.

“Yes,” Rakna nodded.

The vixen instantly flipped expressions and smirked. “No problem! I’ll have to wake up a few hours early from now on, but I can do that for you.”

“Are you happy now? You got a new ‘lovey-dovey plan’,” Kaelith said sarcastically and her mother laughed wholeheartedly, completely ignoring the passive-aggressive satire of her daughter.

“You can come to discuss the details in my territory later on,” Rakna followed up. “I’ll send you the location by message. Normally, my clone should have already retrieved a Pavilion to set up there and by the rules, if I give you authorization, you can use the Pavilion’s dimensional tunnels to visit my territory directly.”

“Oh? You established a territory already?” Kara tilted her head.

“Yes, I already built a house there as well. It’s in the 5th Plateau.”

“The swamps?” Kaelith blinked in surprise. “Isn’t that a bit too… dreary? I can’t see myself residing there out of all places. Not to mention what happened to you over there…”

Rakna smiled. “Don’t worry. And you would be surprised; I quite like how it turned out. You’ll see once you’re there.”

“If you say so... Also, was there something else you wanted from the shop?”

“Now that you mention it,” Rakna mused. “Are there still Stone Eye Skill Cards available?”

“Let me see,” Kaelith opened her system and checked the stock. “There’s only two left… they also went up in price a bit after people noticed that one of the only two places in the System that drop them has been destroyed by a certain someone,” she added with an accusatory look.

“Wow, that someone must be really strong,” Rakna retorted jokingly. “How much do they cost?”

“Each is worth 2.4 million at the moment.”

“All right. It’s not too much, I’ll buy both of them. It’s only 1.44 million in total after all,” he casually said after subtracting his discount and Kaelith screeched to a halt.

“Oh my, you hit a sore spot,” Kara giggled whilst covering her mouth. “70%, is it? Impressive.”

“Thank you,” Rakna replied.

“Ugh, one day… I swear…” Kaelith grumbled and went through the procedures to get the skill cards in question out of the Pavilion’s backroom, which were then brought to her by Sylvie, as always. She grumpily unlocked the sealed boxes and tossed them to Rakna.

The therian let out a chuckle and checked the cards before handing them to Pronos who was still perched on his head. “Hey, little guy, can you learn this?” 

The Hydra grabbed the cards by biting them and then used two additional heads to read the chant that was written behind. A sort of articulated hiss came out of his mouth and soon enough, the cards merged into his body.

After a few seconds, the light faded away entirely but Pronos stayed still, his eyes closed as if he was in deep focus.

“Hm? Did something go wrong?” Kara inquired and as soon the words left her mouth, a shudder coursed through her body and, before she knew, the little Hydra had already opened his eyes. The nine pairs were glowing silver and green, a symbol of infinity etched on them.

Rakna and Kaelith also reacted similarly. The former even activated Crystal Sight on instinct as if to fight against something. The truth was, for a second, he had felt bound to his seat; it was like he had been pulled into an illusion where he truly had turned into a statue.

The two vixens in the room were vastly stronger and higher-leveled than him, but despite having resisted it, even they felt like their body had gotten heavier. The one that was worst off however was Higure who actually saw her paw start petrifying, forcing her to release her aura to fight it.

Pronos seemed to be in a daze and it was only when he blinked and the infinity symbols left his pupils that everyone could feel their minds relaxing.

“That’s… definitely not Stone Eye,” Kaelith finally commented.

“No shit,” the lioness added whilst flexing her paw and claws. She then glowered at the little Hydra who seemed to be acting sheepish. “But whatever that thing was, you better learn how to control it properly,” she said with a frown and Pronos rubbed one of his heads with his tail.

Meanwhile, Rakna was practically stunned, the golden crosses of his skill still glowing fiercely as he observed the status of his pet.

“Wolfy, while I would love to also ask about those eyes of yours, can you tell us what your pet just did?” Kaelith scowled at the therian and he broke out of his stupor before clearing his throat.

The golden crosses of Crystal Sight receded and he made a wry expression. “Well, what can I say, I make a good role model,” he jested and shared the system window he was looking at.

❮ ◈ ❯

Designation: Nirvana Skill/Spontaneous Skill

Name: Infinity of Stone

Description:

This is a Nirvana Skill exclusive to the Nine-Headed Eion Hydra, evolved and mutated from the skill Stone Eye. It is branded by the power of Ouroboros, conferring Infinity in its name.

Effects:

When the user looks at an enemy, their resistance and agility will be reduced by as far as 50% depending on the difference in levels, specific traits, or special skills. In the instance that the agility debuff reaches its cap, the victim will start to turn into stone at a varying rate and in a random pattern. Once petrified, they will either die or remain as a statue forever, unless the user releases them.

These effects are further amplified up to a factor of 10 if the victim looks into the user’s eyes directly. Finally, due to the user’s unique physiology of polycephaly, the level difference between the user and a much stronger target can be forcefully abstracted according to how many heads are looking at them at the same time.

Current Estimation: Targets that are as much as 50 levels ahead of the user can be subjected to the full effect of this skill as long as the nine heads are focused.

Note: This skill does not require cost as it is powered by Infinity itself. If conditions are satisfied, it may also be possible to synergize with Infinity Magic and play part in spell creation.

❮ ◈ ❯

“Hahaha!” Higure burst out laughing before she even finished reading. “Oh my god, I can’t… this is way too good,” she wheezed in between breaths.

Kaelith rubbed her face whilst burying herself in her seat. “Why is it so easy for you all… why did it never do that when I learned my skills…? This is so unfair…”

Kara looked at the contrast between the lioness’ laughs and her daughter’s depression and could not help but smile. “Ah, I understand now. So, this is how you drove my little Kae crazy,” she said merrily. “Admittedly, even I would lose touch with reality if this was a regular occurrence.”

Rakna snorted and patted Pronos. “How is it, little guy? Do you like your third Nirvana Skill? You got them quite fast, you didn’t even have one a few days ago.” His words immediately made Kaelith groan louder while the Hydra hissed happily in return.

“Look at him, shamelessly imitating you,” Higure snorted and then realized something. “Wait… if I’m not remembering wrong… that means only Marie, Allan, and I don’t have Nirvana Skills among our group.”

“Hm?” The therian mused and tilted his head. “That’s true… I forget about the fact that Evelyn also has one; just that it’s still Unawakened,” he muttered, and now even Kara was about to freak out.

Her smile twitched a few times. ‘Three Nirvana Skills in a few days? Your whole group? What about the one in ten thousand probabilities to have only one? What about the one in a million chance to have two?’ Even as experienced as she was, the matriarch had to admit it was bewildering.

Kaelith sighed and her fox ears dropped a bit as if she was tired. “Ah, I’m drained. That’s it. I have reached my maximum quota of energy I can waste on you for today.”

“What a weird measure to have…” Rakna deadpanned.

“Shut up, it’s your fault. And since we’re on the topic, Evelyn is that Phantom, right? From what I saw when I met her, it seems her dormant Nirvana Skill is quite… unruly. I’m sure you’ve seen it a few times already; that dark energy she releases when upset?”

Rakna nodded slowly. “Yeah…”

The vixen shrugged. “Well, I’m sure you can handle it. More importantly, I did some research about her family’s demise, as I promised. The culprit mentioned by Wisdom of Ariv was found; he’s still alive and currently at the head of the Jill. Sadly, I can’t do much more without the direct testimony of Wis. I can try and investigate them… but they are quite an influential family of alchemists. I don’t want to aggravate any affiliated Guilds or Clans. Not to mention even our Nine-Tailed Clan has some dealings with them.”

“I see…” Rakna said. “That’s going to be harder than I initially thought. That shitty hat won’t wake up for a while as well since we made him answer more than he should have last time.”

“Mhm,” Kaelith nodded. “What I recommend is that when you reach the 100th Plateau, raise this issue during the Myth Council meeting. If it’s there, your words can’t be ignored since you would literally be speaking from the highest possible social standing in the System. Then it would be easy for you to punish the Jill family as long as you can provide clear evidence.”

The therian pondered over the idea and it truly seemed to be the most effective method. Frankly, he could even raise the issue immediately under his own name or as ‘Obsidian’ but considering his limited influence over other Plateaus, it wouldn’t amount to much. So, indeed, his best bet was either with the Myth Council’s backing or Harvest; when the company grows powerful enough.

‘Or if it comes to it…’ Rakna squinted his eyes. ‘Assassination is a possibility in due time...’

“Ugh, I’m here to relax, not talk politics,” Kara grumbled from the side. “I’m sick of those.”

“And there she goes again,” Kaelith groaned.

Rakna snorted. “That’s my cue then. It’s about time I go. I have a few things to do today and after that’s done, I’ll probably start helping everyone reach level 100 and grow their attributes before rushing to the 100th Plateau,” he said and stood up, prompting Pronos to curl up inside his scarf.

“Sure, you do that. I’ll visit your territory once in a while.”

“Ah, me too, me too!” Kara clamored with a grin. “I’ll come by tonight for more details about that company of yours. Also, we can have a chat about that if you want.”

“‘That’?” Kaelith frowned and her mother chuckled.

“It’s a secret, sweety.”

The younger vixen clicked her tongue and redirected her glare to Rakna who was already running away. “You better tell me what that chat is about at some point!” She shouted right before he was out of the shop and he let out a chuckle before waving them goodbye, leaving with Higure.

She sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today and flatly glanced at Kara who was pouring herself another cup of wine. It was at that moment she reacted to something, “Wait… did he say ‘help everyone grow their attributes’?” She mumbled owlishly.

AhraManyu

Polycephaly means having several heads. Didn’t know that; neat word.