by L. M. Kerr
A few seconds passed.
"Grrrr…" He growled out quietly as a feeling of nausea swept through him. The chemical process of making the Dragon Building Liquid was rather imprecise. Micheal wasn't an expert when it came to chemistry, after all, and certainly didn't have the knowledge on how to operate all the tools he would need to.
As a result, while he had indeed created the Dragon Building Liquid, it contained certain impurities.
These impurities were currently spreading throughout his body, like an actual poison. If he did nothing to stop them, the backlash he suffered would be far more severe.
This was one of the risks he knew he took when trying to use man-made drugs to speed up his progress.
'Focus.' Slowly, while keeping his calm, he began to focus on the fluctuating Ki in his body. His many years as an expert, with the practice and skill he had gained over time, had given him a very delicate sense of control when it came to his cultivation.
Even now, as a Mortal Tier Ki Cultivator, Micheal was able to finely sense and control the energy within his bloodstream.
As he seized control of that power, he began to direct it. Any spot he felt even a hint of nausea or sickness, he directly had his Ki annihilate and purify. Such a method was crude and destroyed blood cells that weren't corrupted, but it was the most efficient method Micheal was capable of.
Without being a genius surgeon experienced in bloodwork, he needed to depend on his own expertise to move forward.
Bit by bit, Micheal cleansed his entire body. From his toes to his head, his chest to his legs, he scanned every single part of the body for impurities from the Dragon Building Liquid. The process was painstaking and agonizingly boring, despite only taking around 30 seconds. It required his full mental focus, drawing upon his mind fully.
Eventually, he managed to clear everything out. The feeling of nausea faded away as if it had never been, the medicine now working as normal.
'I am at peace…I am calm…' The burning sensation was much easier to handle than the nausea.
Gradually, the burning pain began to subside as well. Soon, a much more relaxing feeling of warmth began to replace it.
This warmth, combined with the absence of the agonizing pain and nausea, filled Micheal with a sense of bliss. His entire body began to feel incredibly comfortable, as if he was about to melt into the floor he was sitting on.
"Ahhh…" He grunted quietly, his eyes opening as he exhaled, coughing up foul tasting air,
"Status."
— - Status — -
Name: Micheal Care
Points: 16
Race: Human
Age: 18
- Stats -
Strength - 23 -> 28
Endurance - 17 -> 22
Recovery - 13 -> 20
Soul - 10
- Abilities - (3/7)
Life Orb Master
Ki Cultivator (Mortal Tier)
Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)
.
He smiled.
"Nailed it."
.
Chapter 26: Necrozark
The foul air he had coughed up was the remnants of the impurities in both his body and the medicine he had taken, expelled from him thanks to the magical power of the Ki flowing in his veins. The filthy remnants dissipated in the air, vanishing as if they had never existed.
"On the Status Screen, my Strength went from 23 to 28, a substantial increase. I'm almost as strong as 3 normal humans now." Micheal reached out with his right hand, flexing it slightly. He could feel a magical change had swept through his body, physically making him stronger. It was a more than 20% increase in his strength, a huge jump for something that only took a few minutes.
While the Status Screen might seem almost robotic or game-like, its report on how strong he was was never wrong. It simply was a part of reality now, no matter how unbelievable it appeared.
"My Endurance jumped from 17 to 22 and my Recovery shot all the way up to 20 from 13." He also noted, smiling.
"With my Endurance at 22, I should at least have a bit of an easier time taking hits from the Morenkai. The Recovery boost to 20… probably won't have too major an effect." He spoke aloud, nodding.
A base Recovery stat of 10 meant one would heal from injuries at the same rate as a normal human. A Recovery stat of 20 was twice that… but humans still had rather normal healing capabilities. Even multiplying it by 2 still wouldn't do too much.
As for Endurance, it simply referred to his stamina and physical defense. He nodded as he thought about the increase. Even if it was just a minor one, it would still help out.
"Well, Recovery does help boost my stamina a bit too, the increase isn't entirely useless." He grumbled quietly to himself.
For people that couldn't heal their injuries with a snap of their finger, it was one of the most important stats to increase.
Micheal, with his Life Orbs, was a bit of an exception to that.
"Hahaha!" He laughed out loud as he stood up, flexing his body. He could feel the powerful changes keenly, aware of even the most minor difference. He also felt a little woozy, from the collateral damage of wiping out the impurities. Thankfully, it didn't seem like it left any lasting change or messed up the effects of the Dragon Building Liquid.
WHOOSH
He pulled out his Steelborn sword from its sheath, moving it around. He swung it to the left and right, nodding as he experimented with his freshly enhanced body.
"The stronger I get, the more I will be able to keep up with those stronger than me. I've finally stepped above the limits of regular humans from Earth, becoming superhuman." While he might be behind, the farther he got away from being a regular human, the less the gap would matter.
Even if he was only two thirds as strong and fast as someone else, here on the First Layer, Micheal was confident he could hold his own. With his considerable experience and Grandmaster Sword Mastery, there was almost no one at his own level that would stand a chance.
"A single dose of Dragon Building Liquid essentially just speeds up your progress in cultivating one's Ki Cultivator Ability. The boost it provides is permanent, but it melds with one's Ki. Only the first dose will be this effective." He continued to speak out loud, thinking,
"If I take the maximum 4 doses, however, it should provide an edge that boosts my base physique itself, and not just my Ki Cultivation." His eyes flashed as he considered this. He began to pick up everything he had used, storing it in his Low-Tier Spatial Ring.
"I'll need to keep hunting if I want to get that."
Micheal left the room he'd set up in after securing the various tools he'd purchased and his sword. He also put on a new set of clothes that he purchased from the Shop, a plain, normal set of grey pants and white shirt. He'd bought them together in a set from the Miscellaneous Earth Objects section for 10 Points before he started making the Dragon Building Liquid.
He then made his way through the hallway to the stairwell. After checking that no one was there, he began to walk up it.
"Most B Rankers will have achieved the Earth Tier in Ki Cultivation. The Mortal Tier that I am at strengthens one's physique to roughly 4 times that of a regular human at the highest point. I'm almost at the Middle Stage of that, nearing 3 times a regular human's strength." He crossed up several floors, not seeing or hearing anyone.
"The Earth Tier, on the other hand, boosts it to a maximum of 8 times, and that isn't even considering what other Abilities or Artifacts people might have." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I'll still need to be a bit careful." He wasn't invincible yet.
He finished his thoughts as he made it to the rooftop, where the door was still left wide open. His eyes narrowed as he came into view of the rooftop, where the dozens of Morenkai corpses could be found littering it.
'Hmm?' For, the rooftop wasn't as abandoned as it had been when he went downstairs.
He could see two humans standing in the middle of the dead Morenkai, poking and pulling at a
few of the corpses.
One was a man, dressed in a long, purple robe covered with yellow silk lines, while the other was a girl, wearing a long purple dress. Both had tanned skin and green eyes. The man had a middle-aged face with a small greying beard and a short head of black hair, while the woman was younger, with long bright blonde hair and a small nose.
What caught Micheal's eye more than that, however, was the three figures standing patiently next to the two humans.
Three, shambling Morenkai stood at attention, as if obeying the commands of the humans. Two of these Morenkai were regular black ones, while the third had a grey tone of skin. An Abnormal.
Instead of ferociously trying to attack the two humans, they waited patiently, doing nothing.
'Ah.' Micheal recognized what he was seeing, coughing slightly as he stepped forward, announcing his presence.
Immediately, the three Morenkai turned to face Micheal, crouching down slightly as if preparing to charge. The two humans also turned, the man's movements jagged as he scanned Micheal, alert.
They were Necrozarks.
One of the more well-known Ability users in the First Layer. The Necrozark Type Ability, at a cost of 74,000 Points in the Shop, enhanced one's Soul and Endurance stats and gave them a special power...
The power to control dead bodies, creating golems that would follow their commands. These two had probably heard from others that there was a treasure trove of fresh corpses here just lying around. After all, the hubbub Micheal had caused was bound to draw a ton of attention, this wasn't exactly unexpected, especially when he left them unattended.
Morenkai corpses would dissipate into dust after some amount of time if left out in the wild. Corpses that were controlled by Necrozarks, on the other hand, would only fall apart when they were virtually destroyed and unable to move.
In a world where you had to kill Morenkai to survive, where the bodies of Morenkai were extremely strong… such an Ability was extremely powerful.
But… more importantly to Micheal…
Necrozarks were usually loaded.
"Excuse me, friends." Micheal's voice boomed as he sauntered forward, confidence rolling off of him.
"I believe you are looking at my corpses, no?"
.
Chapter 27: Fired
"I believe you are looking at my corpses, no?"
Micheal's words echoed in the air as he stared at the two Necrozarks, sauntering forward. At least, he assumed they were both Necrozarks. It was possible just one of them was.
Despite his rather cavalier attitude, his eyes were full of steel as he crossed gazes with them, his voice fearless.
Around him, the mid-morning light gleamed brightly. Micheal didn't feel anyone watching, though that didn't mean much given all the freakish Abilities and Artifacts that existed.
"Ah, yes. My name is Gobel, a Necrozark user, and this is my lovely wife, Hannah." The middle-aged man, Gobel, responded, giving Micheal a smile that didn't touch his eyes. As the man spoke, the three Morenkai that were crouched moved back to looming behind him, their freakish faces traced on Micheal. The woman remained silent, looking on passively.
"These are your corpses? We found them unattended, which would imply they weren't wanted at all." Gobel continued, motioning at them. The air around the man was intense as he stared at Micheal, the tension palpable.
'Ah. Gobel, the Necrozark. I recognize you now.' Micheal's eyes twitched as old memories resurfaced.
He had heard of this Necrozark user before. Gobel was a well known 2nd Wave Ability user that didn't join any individual group, instead choosing to live on his own with his wife, a regular girl he met in the 2nd Wave. He was considered a bit of a lone ranger, with few allies.
'He's strong enough to survive on his own, mostly because of the undead Morenkai he's controlling. With them at his back, he's at least B Rank. I don't recall ever hearing that he was physically powerful, merely that his servants were all unnaturally strong.' Necrozarks, beyond just controlling dead bodies, were able to temporarily boost the physical capabilities of any of the undead they controlled. They could even tap into the Abilities or powers an undead had, using that to their advantage.
Doing so would badly damage the body of the undead, meaning a replacement would need to be found soon after. This damage could be mitigated by a powerful Soul stat, to some degree, but could not be avoided entirely.
Still, finding more Morenkai was never a problem.
'He's here for the Abnormals.' Micheal instantly realized, smiling internally.
The damage he did to the three Abnormal Morenkai that showed up was pretty severe, but in the eyes of a Necrozark, insignificant. He had made large, clean cuts that could be easily restored in the ritual a Necrozark would perform to bring the dead Morenkai into a state of undeath.
"So, if you are abandoning them, then surely you won't mind if I borrow a few, no?" Gobel interrupted Micheal's reminiscence as he continued, his voice cool.
"Actually, I was planning on using them. I do mind." Micheal cut in, smiling brightly.
"I received an offer from a man known as Tonto to purchase any Abnormal Morenkai I secured. The three I have here are all ones he would be quite pleased to buy."
He blatantly and shamelessly lied.
"What?!" Gobel's calm demeanor shattered as his face grew flush. His wife looked up at him with concern, but still remaining silent.
"Tonto? What is that bastard doing here, encroaching on my gains!" Gobel gnashed his teeth, frustration pouring from his voice.
In the Stardust Cluster, there were only a few Necrozarks. After all, the Ability was rather expensive for this Layer, and few people could manage to reach that large a sum of Points.
None of the Necrozarks got along. All of them coveted the corpses of powerful Abnormal Morenkai. Because of how quickly Morenkai corpses disappeared, Micheal hadn't considered saving any of his previous kills to sell to them.
But, now that one of his Cluster's Necrozarks had delivered himself to him… well… he wouldn't turn the opportunity down.
Thus, he named the only other Necrozark he could remember, a particularly cruel man that lived near the central area and was allied with the Black Flag Pirates.
"What did he offer you? I'll pay well more than he will!" At the mention of one of his rivals, Gobel's mindset shifted slightly. He no longer seemed to see Micheal as predominantly prey, but instead as a way to put one over his fellow Necrozark.
"I'm looking for explosives from the Shop." Micheal's eyes flashed as he heard Gobel's response, instantly going over what he desired and what he figured the Necrozark might have. The most likely answer was either ranged weaponry or explosives.
One of the most effective strategies for a Necrozark was to send in one of their Morenkai with a bomb strapped to their chest. It was a gruesome, but undeniably effective, suicide tactic that was very hard to defend against.
"Considering the value of these three Abnormal Anomalies, Tonto's agreement would cover a payment of 3 Repulsor Grenades and 2 Close Impact Bombs." Micheal's voice echoed softly as he named his price, crossing his arms. At the same time, he laid his hand on his Low-Tier Spatial Ring, preparing himself to withdraw his Steelborn Sword in a split second.
Gobel froze as he heard Micheal's reply, his eyes widening with incredulity.
"3 Repulsor Grenades, I could see as a fair price. But 2 Close Impact Bombs as well!?" Gobel's voice was cutting as he shook his head. His eyes seemed to shift slightly, glancing back at his Morenkai servants behind him and then at the dead corpses all around him. He seemed to make a decision.
"I will give you 3 Repulser Grenades. That is a very fair price, more than Tonto would be willing to pay." As Gobel finished, he snapped one of his fingers.
thud
thud
thud
The three Morenkai all moved forward as one, standing a bit off to the side and in front of the Necrozark. Their huge, hulking frames were intimidating, especially the way
they creepily faced Micheal, their bodies frozen.
It likely would've seriously intimidated someone that wasn't Micheal.
"I'm sure you'll accept, yes? You know who I am." Gobel seemed to take it for granted that Micheal would say yes. After all, no matter how powerful a melee fighter was, when facing a Necrozark like him, they would be hard countered. His minions, plus the ability to send them on a suicide attack, put him in a very advantageous spot.
His mindset of Micheal apparently hadn't shifted enough. In the end, an unknown warrior like Micheal would never be able to match up to him, even if Micheal could take out dozens of Morenkai. And, indeed, going by the normal logic of the First Layer, this was true. Micheal's existence was a rather unfair abnormality.
"I refuse." Micheal took several steps forward, his voice calm and steady as he looked Gobel dead in the eye, ignoring the Morenkai. The way Micheal carried himself, the tone of his voice, everything gave off an image of absolute and complete confidence.
Gobel froze, his face twisting. He blinked as he looked at Micheal, his entire body tensing up. His silent wife by his side donned a look of worry on her face, glancing at Micheal.
CHCHKK
In just a split second, a heavy duty IMI Desert Eagle handgun appeared in Gobel's hands, pointed directly at Micheal's head. Micheal didn't flinch as he saw this, continuing to look him in the eye.
"Do you think I can't deal with you just because you killed a few dozen Morenkai and a couple of Abnormals? Do you think that gives you free sway here in the central area?" The middle-aged man's voice was cold as he spoke, his eyes boring into Micheal.
"I don't even need my servants to kill you. If I wanted, I could blow your brains out, here and now." The man's voice was rough as he finished, as if daring Micheal to do something.
Necrozarks typically weren't very strong physically, but the great equalizer from Earth, a gun, could resolve a lot of those issues, at least here on the First Layer where even the strongest superhumans weren't too absurdly powerful.