Chapter 406: Unique

Chapter 406: Unique

I appear on the 6th floor with my arms still missing and a few other unhealed wounds. Though they’re slowly being taken care of with the help of my passive.

I find myself in the exact place I left from, leaving me separated from the other members of group 4 including our silly healer. It will probably take a few days to get back to them.

Too tired to deal with anything at the moment, I send my domain as deep under the surface as possible, and find the hidey hole we made for our items. Inside is some arcane alloy, assorted materials, a few interesting mana stones, water, clothes, food, and more. Mostly my things, as the rest of the group took theirs.

I place an anchor and teleport there and light my way with a single orb, which I make to last for a day or two.

Before going to sleep, I check my stats for the first time in a long while. And they are beautiful.

Name:Nathaniel Gwyn

Title: Champion Candidate

Difficulty:Hell

Floor: 6 - Astral Prison

Time left until forced return: 3y 343d 23h 06m 11s

Traits (2/3): Mana Circuit 2/3, Mana Wavelength Iris 0/3

Lvl 250

Strength: 121

Dexterity: 115

Constitution: 272

Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1054 + 1054



Primary Class: Focused Channeler (Epic)

Sub-class: [Adept of Pride]

Active skills:

Focus - Lvl 50

Perception - Lvl 50

Redistribution - Lvl 50

Resonance - Lvl 50

Mana Domain (Pride) - Lvl 43

Tether - Lvl 37

Infusion - Lvl 33

Mana Crown - Lvl 31

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 51

Constructs:

Reinforcement (Construct)

Thermokinetic Mana Heart (Construct)

Mana Regulator (Construct)

Mana Sovereignty Mantle (Construct)

Vortex Core (Construct)

Passive skills:

Mana Reservoir (upper epic)

Arcane Resilience (mid epic)

Phoenix Embrace (mid epic)

Mana Overload Absorption (low epic)

Cognitive Fortress (mid epic)

Tokens:

Beyond difficulty entrance token

Passive skill combination token (upper epic)

Trait strengthening token (2nd stage)

I mean, the heck? Should I have that? Isn't it illegal? Isn't it too good?

Of course, I need to get hit for the passive to activate, and the efficiency might be poor. I could find myself wasting a lot of mana to turn kinetic energy into mana to the point where it may not be worth it.

I still wouldn't care though.

For the first time, I’ve found a way to turn one of my primordial energies into mana.

So far, I’ve only been able to take my own mana, run it through my Thermokinetic Mana Heart, and convert it into one of my primordial energies with a little help from [Redistribution].

This is huge. I mean, really, really huge. Wasn't Laten the Champion supposed to have been so strong because he could convert thermal energy into the mana they used to run the ignition station?

Of course, I have no expectation that my thing is anywhere near as good, but I know for sure that if I’m getting it now, there is a huge chance that it’s going to influence my future class options, traits, and passives. I may even get something better In the future. I'm only level 250 anyway, so it's obvious it wouldn't be Champion-level.

But I also have to wonder if attaining the title of Champion candidate really helps all that much? Did having 5 skills at level 50 allow the system to improve what I got? Maybe my subclass affected it. Maybe the cockroach knew that and... well, whatever. Good stuff.

If the efficiency is any good I can probably overload my heart a bit, in much the same fashion that almost killed me on the third floor. That way maybe I could force my passive to work constantly and gain another source of mana.

Wouldn't that be perfect? There would be no damage, I could go more wild with that construct and would still get the bonus.

For that, I will need to do some testing with efficiency. But first, I check the rest of the notifications from my declaration of Championship.

Congratulations, you have been declared Champion candidate by a person judged by the system to be capable of such a declaration!

You may now challenge beings with a similar rank to yours, beings such as Candidates, Disciples, Vessels, and more.

The both sides can set wagers.

The terms of any challenge shall be agreed upon by both parties, and there will be heavy penalties for breaking them.

All wagers shall be overseen by the system itself.

So I can engage in duels with other Candidates?

I wonder if I can bet my stats and passives? It’s an interesting thought in any case.

But I can also see it being abused. Let's say some dying Champion wants to pass on some skill or other to a son or daughter who was a Candidate. Would, in such a case, the Champion be able to throw a challenge after wagering his status to pass it along?

It's a very interesting thought and something I should consider more.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - I’m back on the sixth floor.

Knight (Hell, group 4) -wow, so you didn't die in the end.

Noname (Hell, group 4) -weren’t you trying to become my minion? Be nicer.

Knight (Hell, group 4) -I gave up.

FoodFood (Hell, group 4) -food!

Noname (Hell, group 4) -hello bud! I hope you’re eating well.

FoodFood (Hell, group 4) -food! Food!

Noname (Hell, group 4) -I’ll speak with them when we regroup.

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) -Hey! I bet you need healing.

I check my partially missing hands and some of the slower healing wounds. It doesn’t seem all that bad, my passive is helping a lot now that it’s actually working. Though I still remember Lissandra stabbing me with that dagger made of Saint's arm and the champion’s eye.

Being the cockroach that she is, she didn't heal me much, though she said it saved my life, something I strongly disagree with. Such wounds are barely worth mentioning.

Noname (Hell, group 4) -no healing needed. Sset, are you here?

Sset (Hell, group 4) -yes. Are you at the spot we were when you left?

Noname (Hell, group 4) -yes, exact same spot.

Sset (Hell, group 4) -that's perfect. Can you destroy a small fort for me? The highest level there should be close to 300.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Tell me where to go.

After finishing my conversation with Tess and others, I check the timer. I have two days to reach the place.

The plan is simple. Tess and the others will attack the Black Tower where Dennis and Aaron are still being held. They will deal with the leader there. A combination of Tess, Lily, and Sophie should be able to do so quite easily. Their next step will be to deal with everyone else trying to get in their way.

I know it's not that simple, and Tess, Maya, and Sophie probably prepared some cool, complicated plan to pull it off.

Meanwhile, my job will be to take out a place called the Bone Fortress. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a fortress built around the rib cage of some giant, long-dead monster.

The Bone Fortress and Black Tower tend to cooperate a lot, so Tess is worried they might send help through a portal or something. That's where I come in, to mess these guys up before they do.

I will fly there as it's in the opposite direction of the Black Tower. While flying, I will practice a bit and get used to some of my new skills. And I will open up some of the “gifts” Lissandra gave me. Then, when I reach it, I will attack when Tess gives the signal. During my attack, I will test the new passive, the difference in handling my mana, and how much I’ve grown. I certainly hope they have a strong guy or two.

When it's all done and the twins are free and group 4 is safe, I will go and do Beyond's 3rd trial. I can sacrifice a day or two before going. That should also be enough time for my body to finish healing.

My crown is already active and being filled with mana. It should be able to collect a decent amount before I reach the Bone Fortress.