Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse c1-705
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These two powerful hunters would continue growing their strength here and prepare for any descents that occur in the future. Their power, as well as many of the veteran hunters all over the world, would surely rise to rank S in the months to come and give them the ability to withstand many of the things coming
They would be leading reformations for both powers to make sure lives are not needlessly lost if anything like the mass dungeon descents occur again in the future.
As for the white haired figure on the remaining room, the System mentioned that I would meet her soon enough.
I flew through the skies using [Flight] and observed the many dots of people congregating in the countries I passed. None of them had any idea of the larger forces in play, or where they would be a few months from now
They all felt the momentary peace and calmness that was settling right now while mourning for the many that lost their lives.
After I passed a few countries and continued my reflections, I casted [Summon Virulent Abomination] and got on top of the terrifying beast that was much faster than me. A green streak passed across the the clear skies, crossing the border between the two nations
Chapter 67 - Maybes
I made it back to the Empire after another six hours of flying at high speeds atop the Virulent Abomination.
On the way here, I had learned the 5 rank A skill books I gained from [Babadook's Layer]. The five of them were [Earth Armor], [Recorder], [Permafrost], [Combusting Spears], and [Language Comprehension].
Out of all of these, the one I found most interesting was [Recorder], which allowed me to replay anything I saw with my eyes while activated. I could of course keep it active at all times, which meant I could rewatch everything like a film if I chose to do so. I was still finding ways that I could use this skill effectively
I also combined more skills that had high compatability, putting togather the rank B skills [Cold Fire] and [Greater Cold Penetration] to bring out [B+ Boreal Penetration]. The fire element rank B skills [Greater Flame Penetration] and [Burning Soul] also combined to bring out [B+ Blazing Penetration].
A few of my rank A skills were nearing 100 proficiency, so I couldn't try fusing any of them yet. I already had a few ideas in mind for when they met the requirements.
My thoughts came to a stop as I flew towards Star City's military sector, where I was met with rows of soldiers and hunters giving me praise. Communications had long since spread from the United Federation, with the allied countries there praising the Empire for the aid and sending forth their top hunter to help
Relations between the two forces were turning for the better after they realized just how deadly their common enemy can be, as well as the strength I showed. There would be more cooperation between the two nations moving forward, and less of the political attacks and spread of propaganda that many of us had been accustomed to
Peace in the world was in no way achieved, but steps were being taken to try and build it. Humans always found new ways to be selfish and stupid, so who knows where we'll be a few months from now
I tried to disburse the regiment of hunters who definitely had better things to be doing as I was led into an old office that gave me nostalgia. It wasn't the rugged man with an impassive expression in it, but a woman with a military uniform going through stacks of papers
The person in front of me was naturally Elizabeth, who was trying to honor the memory of her friend and manage the logistics of Star City while still acting as an active hunter. Much of her time was now stretched between office work and dungeon diving, giving no time for anything else
She wore large round glasses that she pushed up when I walked in and a huge smile bloomed from her face.
The next few minutes were spent talking about the events in the United Federation and all intricacies that went with it. She also let me know how my presence was requested at the Empire's capital so that I could be properly rewarded
When we got to this point, I thought about the stage I currently stood at and realized there wasn't really anything that I wanted or needed that the hunters here could provide. My only goal currently was to let them know that I would be disappearing, with only a few selected higher ups knowing that I was heading into the enemy's den
I had already told this to Kazuhiko before leaving, and I left the decision of who he would tell in the United Federation in his hands. My secrets were too grand to share with everyone else, so I used the same excuse I told Kazuhiko to Elizabeth- I had found a way to use the [Plane Crystal] that comes out from destroyed dungeons to go where they came from
That I had grown powerful enough to try and disrupt the enemy's plans on their own turf. When I first told Kazuhiko this, he had stared at me silently for more than five minutes before he nodded with an unreadable expression
The hunters of this world were no doubt about to become explosively more powerful, but they weren't at the level of withstanding the enemies I would be facing. The System wanted to conduct a covert take over, where I would rise to power in that world as a native, and not as an invader
A similar difficult to read expression appeared on Elizabeth's face after I finished talking, and she looked at me hesitantly, as if she wanted to bring herself to say something but couldn't
I looked at this woman that I hadn't spent too much time with to really get to know her and thought about things that could have been if events were playing out differently. Maybe there was a possibility of something to grow and be nurtured under different circ.u.mstances...but not now
I quickly changed the subject before that hesitation of hers turned into something else, and we wistfully moved on to other matters
Over the next few days, many things occurred as I travelled around the Empire and lent a hand where it was needed. If dungeons needed to be destroyed, I would be there to do it much quicker than the groups of hunters that were required to do it.
Something of interest to note was me finally getting a rank A skill that was a bit stronger in its usefulness when compared to [Dark Assassin]. It was a rank A skill called [Obscure] that covered my body with a dark smoke which quickly turned me transparent.
I actively looked for more covert skills of rank A and even B so that I would be able to produce compatible skills to quickly bring out a powerful rank S hiding skill.
When the time was ripe, I visited the capital of the Empire where I was received by a hunter that I had only seen on TV a couple of times. Steel Mikhail was standing like a sharp spear in the large hall I was brought into
"You are really going to jump into the enemy's den?"
These were the first words I heard from the man that seemed to give off a strong sense of strength and righteousness.
He was among the few higher ups that would know that I would be disappearing soon. He was one of the defenders of the world that the System chose. With his vast amount of time active as a rank A hunter, I wouldn't be surprised if he already held multiple rank A skills that had reached 100 proficiency and had high compatibility that were already fused, boosting his power by a large amount
When I nodded to his question, he spent a few seconds looking at me before he spoke again.
"We will be placing our hopes on you for the future then. I want to thank you in advance."
The future, huh. I thought about the things to come as I spent some time talking with Mikhail. The guy was very straightforward, asking me what information I had on the enemies we were facing.The extent of my strength was known, with my power supressing beasts that hunters at this stage had trouble dealing with, so he didn't question my confidence when I discussed my goal of disrupting the enemy's power in the world they were in
I gave out the basic information without delving too deep to even get near my secrets, spending a significant time talking to him before he was content. I didn't want to frolic around with too many people in the Empire as there were much bigger things I had to think about, so I disregarded most of the other requests of officials who wanted to meet m
e and prepared to move out to the location specified by the System. The time was quickly approaching.
Chapter 68 - Entrance
In that serene village of less than a hundred people, the white haired girl with glistening blue eyes was doing her daily routine. Currently, she was combining a white flour mix and milk in preparation of a cake for one the kids' birthdays
She was humming a tune as she moved back and forth, her hair sparkling in the bright sunlight that passed through the windows. She was absorbed in her work as she abruptly looked up and felt something, standing up and cleaning herself up before she moved out of the small house
She smiled at the kids that were already running about early in the morning and the old ladies that were rocking on their chairs. She made her way from the collection of houses in the small village and neared the blue transparent barrier that was surrounding it
With a movement of her hand, the blue barrier opened up a wide area, and a dark haired man with a calm expression could be seen standing outside.
---
I finished all my preparations and goodbyes in the Empire, and I soon arrived at the specified coordinates given by the System. It wasn't like I was leaving this place forever, so I didn't feel a huge sense of loss as I knew I would be coming back
As for why I came to this specific location, it was because this was one of the most important places on this planet with a congregation of essence where a transfer to another world could be done most efficiently
I twirled the [Plane Crystal]s I had in hand as I flew down towards an empty clearing that only seemed to hold trees. There was a specific way these crystals could be used, so no matter how hunters played around with them, they wouldn't find any results
From the words of the System, specific regulation of essence was required to send anything across worlds, and the people on this planet were nowhere close to having that level of control to allow them to do this without the help of something else
Beings that were born in larger worlds that had more experience with mana had much better ways to utilize it, with them requiring only a large amount of essence to be expanded before they sent down hundreds of thousands of beasts across worlds
I reached the ground of the forest clearing and waited a few seconds before a wondrous sight opened itself in front of me. A few feet away, I saw the appearance and dissolution of a transparent dome as a small pathway opened up, showing the figure of one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen
Glowing white hair and striking blue eyes, the figure sweetly smiled at me and said
"Come in!"
I shook myself and walked through the pathways as the dome began to close, following behind the figure that was skipping towards the center of what seemed like a village. Small houses that you would see in olden times were widespread, with plots of land growing a multitude of crops and a few barns present here and there
My entrance was garnering attention from the people in this village, but the moment they saw the girl walking with me, their apprehensions seemed to have faded and they went back to their work
I followed the figure of the girl while looking curiously around this new place that seemed like a mini paradise that would forever remain untainted. We arrived at a small house that we went into, and passed the simple rooms while heading out to a small courtyard behind the house
The place seemed to emanate peace as the girl sat herself down on the green grass in the courtyard and looked towards me.
"Big brother, do you have everything prepared?"
I nodded at this girl as I thought about all the foods and essentials I had packed into my rings after I reduced the number of skill books in it. I had learned so many skills that my panel was a pain to look at. I only chose to learn lower ranking skills that I could keep active at all times to build up the proficiency, as too much time would have to be put in to bring them up
The goal was to combine these many lower ranking skills and slowly advance them to higher grades until I had many high ranking skills that were compatible to work with. A few of my rank A skills were only a few points from reaching 100 as it took a longer period of time for higher ranking skills to rise in proficiency. I was excited to combine some of them when the time came
I pulled out one of the [Plane Crystal]s I held and transferred it to the girl while asking
"Who are you?"
She smiled sweetly as she twirled with the crystal in her hands and replied
"You can call me Sophia. I am...a sort of a Guide I guess?"
Laughter came out of her fair lips as she hesitatingly said this. She was one of the figures I saw in the attached rooms that were present when I talked to the planetary core. She had her own part to play in this, the same as Mikhail and Kazuhiko. I had my own, much important part that would start right now.
I nodded to the girl as the crystal in her hands shone a blinding blue light. I couldn't activate it no matter how much I tried before, but a simple touch from her had done something to it.
"Big brother, are you ready?"
I rose up while looking at the surroundings of the courtyard and the blue skies all around us. I enjoyed the surroundings around me as I could feel my heartbeat increasing as the time neared. I nodded at the girl whose body began shining blue just like the crystal in her hands
The blue light expanded and became a square box as it covered the area I was standing on and became brighter. I could feel transparent lines of energy wrapping around me as the light became more and more condensed.
After it wrapped all around me, a blue beam that seemed to reach the ends of the sky shot out, and I...disappeared.
---
The white haired girl watched the energy settling down as a wide sqaure crystal materialized near her at a high speed. She grabbed the crystal the moment it finished forming and took it with her into the small house
She placed it on top of the table as she looked at the complex lines of data that began showing. Her crystal blue eyes changed to become blank for a few seconds as a blank voice escaped her lips
[Just like they brought the apocalypse to us, rain down decimation and destruction upon them.]
There was no one to reply or hear this voice, and the girl's eyes quickly changed to become clear blue again. She kept her attention on the square crystal as she washed her hands and continued to mix the milk into the floury mix, a sweet smile settling back on her face as she hummed back and forth
Chapter 69 - A dungeon appears on a snowy field
I couldn't really describe the weird feeling I was currently experiencing as I travelled with dense blue energy all around me. My vision was fully obscured as this process continued
I didn't know how much time had passed before I felt a change, and then an impact occurred.
BOOM!
It felt as if I had made a landing as my vision cleared and I found myself on a grassy clearing with walls all around me. Information came into my head as an image built itself in my mind and I realized where I was
I was on the only floor of a rank S dungeon that had appeared on a snowy plain. My eye sight stretched out as I saw the hazy appearance of a dungeon monolith that was shining a bright red, showing an imminent dungeon break would be occurring at any moment
A significant amount of energy was used for my descent that would allow for me to break out of the dungeon with the quickest time possible without allowing any possible intrusions from others
In the dungeon floor, It felt like I was looking down at the figure that seemed to be my body, but at the same time it wasn't. This was my origin, and if people actually neared and entered the dungeon, it would be what they fought against.
If my origin lost, a significant amount of essence would be lost with it and energy would be used to reconstruct it. If it faced destruction multiple times in short time span, the in flow of energy would not be able to keep up and my origin would face complete destruction, along with me
None of that would be happening thoug
h, as the blinking red light of the monolith intensified, and a dungeon break occurred. I had finally arrived in the Beast World.
BOOM!
The dungeon break caused an entirely new feeling to appear as I felt my vision returning to normal and I began to feel the slight cold winds around me.
I opened my eyes to a vast plain of white snow, with very few vegetation around me. Only large white trees could be seen around me as I felt the air of this world for the first time
The first noticeable change that I noticed was the abundance of essence that could be felt in the air. The energy seemed palpable as I stretched my hands out and felt everything around me
The air on this cold and windy night felt like the most refreshing breeze I had ever had the chance of taking in, making me enjoy the feeling for a few seconds. I reveled in this feeling as I casted [Flight] and rose into the air
The winds became more furious the higher I went as I began to observe the fantastical sight around me.
In the skies not too far away, something I never thought I would be seeing in my lifetime could be seen. A huge landmass was somehow floating in the sky, the size of it no less than the cities I had become used to seeing while flying over the skies of the Blessed Empire. I didn't know how the landmass remained so securely in the skies as it towered above the ground magnificently.
I activated all of my stealth skills and used [Eagle Eyes] to further check these unbelievable sights I was seeing. Flying closer and closer to the landmass, I had to come to a stop far from it as the close the I neared, I began to feel dangerous auras on the landmass that were in no way less powerful than the strongest beings I had faced so far
Staying more than a mile away and using [Eagle Eyes], I was able to see the outline of the huge landmass that took my breath away. I could only see a tiny bit of the land, which held white trees larger than me by more than ten times, and droves of white furred beasts running around without any reservations