[Congratulations! Rising Emperor's Domain Milestone Reached!]
[50,260,997/50,000,000 Links of Loyalty Created]
[New Perk Unlocked: Rising Emperor's Imperial Reach]
Info:
All Commanders can appoint 10 Knights and share 50% of their total borrowed stats. Each Knight may take up to 5% max of the Commanders' borrowed power.
All Generals, Commanders, and Knights can now borrow up to 2 Skills simultaneously from the Rising Emperor.
The generals may now borrow an additional 5% of all Base Stat Points and Mana Control efficiency from all subordinates under the allegiance of the Rising Emperor. In addition, 5% of the generals' Base Stat Points and Mana Control may be temporarily distributed to any subordinate under the allegiance of the Rising Emperor.
The maximum amount borrowed or shared per general is now 2%. All generals acting together may control 10%.
When not in use, the Rising Emperor may use all 10% of this untapped power. The Rising Emperor has total authority and can override the generals' power sharing even if they are activated.
The caster may only borrow or share exclusively; both actions cannot be performed simultaneously.
Members affected by this perk are not required to be within range of the Rising Emperor's Domain.
This buff stacks with the [Expansion] perk, [Dominance] perk, [Authority] perk, [Power Holder] perk, and [Ruler's Gaze] perk if used simultaneously.
—
As I'm about to reply to the demon's words, new status screens in my Rising Emperor's domain pop up, and I do a quick mental math of what this new power grants me.
This brings the total stats now available to me up to 40%.
With this new General-to-Commander-to-Knight hierarchy in place, each general can now use up to 2% of stats, Commanders can be appointed and have access to 0.5% each, and Knights can use up to 0.025%.
While it doesn't seem like much on the surface, even a knight at such a low percentage can still borrow upward of 1.25 million stat points per category.
At 0.5%, the commanders can each borrow roughly 25 million at full capacity, and the generals using their full 2% borrowed power can now take just over 100 million each.
These numbers for my subordinates are approaching the 500 million stats I borrowed during my battle with Redgrave.
In addition to this rise in stats, two skills can now be shared at once with my Inner Circle.
The scene before my eyes outside the tower takes a drastic turn, and tens of millions of sighs of relief are had in unison, looking through our eyes.
–
My immediate attention shifts back to the situation in front of me, as I grip my blade tight while it digests the remaining Divine Energy within the Soul Weapons it devoured moments ago.
I take a deep breath and lift my blade as it shimmers red and yellow, then reply.
"I think my decision is obvious. I will fight for this world. Maybe I should be the one giving you the option to back out now. Head on back to the Demonic Realm, and we can forget this ever happened; what do you say?"
The Arch Demon in dense black armor grins, but still stands unmoving with a straight back, staring at me with unworried eyes.
Its purple and black dragon yawns, stretching its wings, still staring up at the silver pillar, not even seeing the human before it as a threat.
I can't help but look at the demon's shimmering blood-red horns, each the size of my entire Soul Sword, as it responds.
"The Vermillion Family has invested too much time and resources into this newly connected world. I'm afraid I cannot take your offer seriously."
Its eyes pierce into mine, and I reply.
"What about the generals that follow you? You're not concerned that if I leave this tower, I could take them out?"
"That would not be a problem. The one who claims the throne will have complete control of this world. As a noble bloodline, the warriors created from a 3rd Class Mana World like this will not be a problem. The man you just killed was right. Taking out this world's top warriors that have been looking after it for centuries will be the beginning of your downfall..."
All of the demon's images take different paths, and the exact strength and power necessary to block, dodge, or run away becomes clear in my mind.
It's distracting and mind-bending at first, but as the milliseconds pass and the demon's massive sword swings down toward my Soul Sword, swinging upward to block, fewer and fewer demons appear in my mind's eye.
It's as though all possible futures are compressing, and the best options for me are becoming crystal clear while worse options fade.
I'm able to see which movements I need to make to get a desired outcome within the next few milliseconds.
Trying to think further into the future spawns hundreds of thousands, then even millions of demons in my mind, as there are too many possible outcomes and variables the further I look.
It distracts me from the task at hand, even bringing on a faint headache. So, I focus on one crystal-clear option that leads to a desirable outcome.
I smirk, twisting my body and changing the direction of my sword to follow the exact holographic foresight images in my mind.
My blade scrapes against the demon's black sword, only adding to my momentum to the side while I airstep aside and spin to gain enough torque to swing my blade again at the demon as it follows through with its strike.
My second swing is directed at the demon's neck, but not to kill.
Too many future variants show going in for the kill ending in the demon's counterattack being too fast and powerful to block. Even activating my hexagonal defensive barrier right now would be too advanced, putting the demon on the full offensive before I can even prepare with my Astral Form.
The only option I have that gives me something to work with is grazing its flesh and tanking the counter hit while focusing 100% of my greater form's power into defense on a single point.
It happens just as I see it in my mind's eye, channeling all of my perception and attack into my blade with swordsmanship, and all of my defense into the demon's second sword swing as it pivots its body and even head toward me.
Its eyes lock with mine as I make a tiny scratch on its skin and receive a monstrous blow to the chest from its blade.
The impact force alone makes every bone in my body rattle, tearing through my full greater form, blood-bonded armor, and coming within millimeters of my divine core.
Stats rush through my mind as I break through its energy barrier just slightly, drawing its blood and finally seeing the true extent of this demon's abilities.
As I cough up blood and am sent flying back to the curved back wall of the room, I laugh out loud at the [Lv. 39,805] in bright purple text burning into my mind.
It even has three skills: [Body Double][Divine Grade], [Shadow Step][Divine Grade], and [Demonic Energy Manipulation][Supreme Grade].
The single ranked-up buff [Noble Bloodline Transformation] is the last status information I see before its wounds are healed and its protective barrier repaired. At the same time, I slam into the back wall with overwhelming force, reminding me of the bone-breaking battle I fought with Redgrave at the bottom of this tower.
My Self-Regeneration skill begins to heal the Demonic Energy wound and the hole in my armor, but before I can even pry myself off the wall, the demon disappears and reappears right in front of me, swinging its blade aiming to kill again.
-
On the other side of the room, the exchange between Ember and the purple and black dragon proceeds much slower.
The demonic beast looks down from the stairs, and back to Ember.
"Shall we fight? My master will kill your human in a matter of seconds. That Soul Bond of yours will kill you anyway. I might as well not waste the energy."
Ember grins and begins taking steps closer to the dragon, shifting his form to Hybrid, then into his full Dragon Form.
The crimson underbelly scales momentarily glimmer with a faint golden glow.
He speaks up while flapping his wings and flying into the air.
"Oh, come on, you're not even the slightest bit curious why a dragon bonded with a human? You've hit enough level thresholds to know this is not only theoretically possible but has happened before in the past. Your claim that I am stunting my potential is contradictory. I would say that bonding with a Demon limits your growth if you're truly aiming for the top."
The black and purple dragon's eyes widen, and its attention is actually captured for the first time at this remark, flapping its wings to lift off into the air and reply.
"A 3rd Class World knowing of this history? You must have read some false ancient text."
Ember's front claws become covered in a dense layer of silver threads.
"Oh, I assure you, these are real memories, not ancient texts."