Book 2: Chapter 97: Arrival at Krieg Stunfurn and Planning

Book 2: Chapter 97: Arrival at Krieg Stunfurn and Planning

Lone laid his left palm out flat and then placed his right index and middle fingers atop it like legs. "This is me."

He then controlled his Blood Clone and positioned it about a metre away from his hands. "That is you. When it moves, it'll be your barrier."

Soph nodded in uncertainty. She was following along but she clearly didn't get why Lone was doing this instead of just telling her what it was she had done, exactly.

Lone grinned. He used Bone Armour but only on the two fingers that were representing him. He even made a little shield for his armoured digits.

Next, he controlled his Blood Clone to start spinning as fast as it could. Lone then mentally ordered the crimson-red blob to smash against his fingers.

As soon as they made contact, he moved his fingers in a way to show that he got sent flying. He then made his fingers go limp on the floor before dismissing the Bone Armour.

"So, basically, you entered skill enlightenment - I'm very jealous, by the way - and you then proceeded to hit me with a barrier attack that had all of your MP dumped into it," Lone summarised his little play.

He saw Soph about to open her mouth but he quickly pressed his finger to her lips. "One sec, I'm not done."

He summoned a blank sheet of paper and a quill. Within a few minutes, he had drawn a simple sketch that he thought showed his state as little more than a head a half a torso quite well.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Drawing Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8.

Lone smiled as he showed the drawing to Soph. "This was me after your attack flung me down the road and knocked me out for a second or two."

Soph gasped as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hey, no need to be sad," Lone said. "I earned a new skill, Bone Armour went up to master rank, and I got dozens upon dozens of levels spread out across several new skills. But yeah, I get a free pass the next time I accidentally almost kill myself, 'kay?"

"... It wasn't worth it," Soph said as she curled up into herself and hugged her knees. "I'm always going on about your safety, but for me to almost kill you... No skill is worth that."

"Hey!" Lone exclaimed. "I think I'll be the judge of that. Describe the skill to me?"

Soph nodded weakly. "Barrier Maelstrom. It costs 300,000 MP per metre in width it has. It's..."

Lone closed his eyes and visualised the skill in the same way the system would have displayed it while Soph went on with her description.

Unique Subskill: Barrier Maelstrom

A subskill unique to the host Sophie Vladimirovich.

Allows the host to use the Unique skill [Unique Magic: Barrier Magic] to create a collection of barriers that spin in unison in a perfectly circular motion.

The maelstrom can easily cut all Epic-quality items or S-ranked beings.

The maelstrom is unblockable.

Its base width is 1-metre and its base speed is 20-metres per second.

Cost:500,000 MP to invoke and then an additional 300,000 MP per metre of the maelstrom's width. Mastery:Beginner Level 1

Lone slowly peeled his eyes open. "This is a skill that literally only you could use. It's so fuckin' powerful too... 20-metres per second? That's, like, 40 miles per hour or something. That's insane. And the strength? It's equal to what my Tail Spear could do at advanced rank! Equal! While only being at beginner rank! It ain't a unique subskill for no reason..."

He glanced at Soph only to find her staring at him both curiously and with a massive amount of regret.

"I mean, this right here? This is an army destroyer. This very well may be the strongest skill we have between the two of us. At least for massive fights. It's unblockable but I bet it's easy to dodge at the higher ranks. However, it has no cap on width from the looks of things. With enough MP - and knowing you, as we level you'll get tens of millions - you'd be able to make this thing as wide as a town. Good fuckin' luck dodging then when I bet its speed will only get crazier and crazier as you rank it up," Lone continued.

Soph raised her head over her knees and whispered, "Y-You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?" Lone asked, cocking his head slightly. "What would have pissed me off is if you had killed me. Can you imagine how irate I'd be upon learning you reversed time because you killed me when I could have gotten so many defensive level-ups like I did end up earning? Fuck, just thinking about it is getting me angry. Ah, you also using Minor Time Control to save me from yourself and not, y'know, assassins or the blood mage we're off to hunt would have sucked ass. Sure, we have four months to kill that asshole, but I don't exactly want to spend half of that time waiting for you to be able to use magic again."

Lone tapped his chin thoughtfully. "There are issues with both plans. The mage first is risky because what if they have a really high resistance to magic damage? That'll make them resistant to Mental Destruction. If they are also able to, I dunno, turn their body into blood or something, I doubt I can kill them with Tail Spear easily."

"Ah ken feck all aboot magic," Hamish admitted. "Is 'at possible? Turnin' yer 'ole body intae blood?"

Lone shook his head. "I don't know. I wish I did, but assuming it's possible is wiser than assuming otherwise."

"Aye, aye, yer nae wrong..." Hamish pursed his lips in thought. "An' if ya start killin' the minions first, ye risk alertin' the mage an' makin' them more prepared fae ye, even if ye yerself are getting mere prepared anaw."

Lone nodded. "Exactly. Now, with Soph's new skill... The scripture's binding me didn't forbid me from destroying the krieg entirely in my pursuit of the blood mage's life."

Breena trembled a bit. "Y-You want her t-to attack the city itself?"

"You both saw what Soph's Barrier Maelstrom did to me and the road we tested it in. Who knows what kind of traps the krieg is littered with? I know too little about magic in general, let alone blood magic specifically. It's best to assume anything you think is possible, is, indeed, possible," Lone replied. "The downside is that she'll likely destroy the heirlooms we're tasked with retrieving for the guild, maybe the guild building whose enchantments we need to check up on too, but she could likely wipe out the mage's entire army in one blow and maybe even the mage themselves."

Soph shook her head. "I refuse."

"Why?" Lone asked.

"We'd miss out on so many levels if I got the kills, and you'll have a fit if you don't get a slew of blood magic skills for this mage before killing them," Soph said with a pout.

"I'd much rather we all come out of this alive and intact, but yes, I would also much rather fight the mage, steal all of their skills, then laugh in their face as I snap their neck or something cool like that," Lone admitted.

Soph nodded. "Me and Sophie will only enact Operation Jade Storm of Absolute Destruction if it looks like you're losing. We'll teleport you out, and then bam! Massive maelstrom of doom."

"I fuckin' love you," Lone laughed to which Soph blushed.

"Why..." Hamish stroked his beard contemplatively as he ignored Lone and Soph's antics. "... Why dinnae ye test 'ow capable the mage really is? Safely, ah mean."

"How so?" Lone asked.

"Yer Blood Clone. It can become an actual clone ah ye, aye? Wae the right additional effect?" Hamish asked.

Lone shook his head. "Sadly not. If I recall correctly, it was the fifth known earnable effect of the skill. I can't get it. Do you remember what it needs in order to be earned?"

Dancing around the subject was bothersome, but until he earned the effect himself, he wasn't allowed to talk about it openly with any adventurer not at or above silver plate.

Hamish looked confused before sighing. "Ah, feck... Aha! Ye've unlocked yer racial skill, aye, Breena?" the dwarf asked of the Crimson Foxkin.

Breena nodded her head with worry, as if afraid to disappoint the two men. "Uh, y-yes... W-Why?"

"It's fine, Hamish is being daft. Your racial skill can't affect external objects anyway. Not without some sort of earned new effect at least. That would take years, maybe decades. Not very practical," Lone explained.

"Ah'm just tryna think ah ways tae make this hit operation mere successful," Hamish defended himself.

Lone's thoughts had been brought to his Blood Clone and there they stayed until something clicked. "That could be useful..."

"What could?" Soph said.

"The first earnable effect the guild is aware of for blood Clone," Lone explained as best as he could without triggering the contract magic that bound him to secrecy regarding the credit slate.

It was a bother that Soph and Breena weren't silver plates yet.

Hamish closed his eyes as if to recall what Lone was referencing before he opened them and grinned. "Aye, wae ah couple ah months tae prepare 'at effect, this'll be the easiest time in history ah C-ranker 'as 'ad tae murder ah triple-S-ranker."

The dwarf then grabbed one of his daggers and cut the tip of his finger open. "Go on then, fox. Try an' control ma blood."