Chapter 1281: Gearing Up (2)
Chapter 1281: Gearing Up (2)
The Immobility Pin's prowess was impressive.
Skullius could only grin at its effects. Its size was insignificant when compared to the
towering mass of the great armour. But rather than just the size difference, the wide disparity in the ranks of both of these treasures - the khopesh and the nigh indescribable armour - also fascinated him.
The khopesh was a World rank item, and the armour was a Void rank item.
But be that as it may, this wide disparity was cancelled out by one factor.
The World rank khopesh was a Prime treasure, and the Void rank armour was a Wicked treasure.
Apparently, when it came to the Common Reality Leagues, this distinction was extremely important and could decide a battle even more than the ranks themselves.
"JAN`IND! JAN`IND!" the great armour called, but because of the effects of the Immobility Pin, even the sound of its voice was restricted to a very small area around it. Because this area was extremely miniscule, even though the armour was moving, it appeared to be extremely still, and even though its voice travelled, the distance it crossed was so insignificant that it couldn't be heard at all.
"There's no shortage of weird weapons in here, is there?" Elita said, her eyes staring at the khopesh and the armour.
"I'm afraid not," Skullius said.
"Aren't you going to pick that armour? That's a Void rank treasure, a step away from the Reality rank. As abrasive as it seems, it's extremely powerful. It might just be the strongest treasure I've ever seen," Elita said.
Skullius nodded.
"It really is impressive, I agree. However, while I can't exactly judge the significance of the gap in power between a World rank item and a Void rank one like you, I'm rather accomplished in the field of wills," Skullius said sombrely. "That thing's will is extremely powerful. The WILLS of Fulgardt pale in comparison. If I were to choose and don it right now, I wouldn't be able to control it."
A look of understanding appeared on Elita's face.
She herself understood that the wills of treasures could be dangerous, but she had imagined that Skullius' true power could handle it. She found out now that she had likely underestimated the power of the armour... or perhaps overestimated Skullius' strength.
It was easy to get lost in the wonders of what Skullius had been doing for the past hour or so.
"Anyway, I've bought us a little time without any disturbances from that thing. Pick whatever you want. The Transcendent grade treasures are in the bottom rows. I think you should be able to handle those, right?"
Elita chuckled.
Skullius was puzzled.
"What?"
"I'm sure you mean well, but just because I haven't reached Divinity yet doesn't mean I can't handle treasures ranked in the Common Reality Leagues," she said with a smile and flicked Broodweiler, her pink and gold sword.
Voided Deathforms, upon fully realising their powers, were granted gifts from Void herself, according to Aurolio.
He had claimed that this was how he had gotten the page holding the soul of the Corrupted Deity Nunax which he had given to Skullius in Genhuis City back then.
Similarly, Elita had been granted gifts by Void for her journey and so far, she had only shown this sword.
"Broodweiler is a Realm rank Prime sword," she said. "Though it only submitted to me easily because Void subdued it for me, I am able to use it to subdue other weaker treasures in turn." "Oh."
Skullius was surprised.
So that's how it was.
"So, you can use any World rank item?" he asked.
Elita shook her head.
"Only World rank Prime treasures. Prime treasures can only subdue Wicked treasures with their Absolute Properties. In this case, I'm using the stronger will of Broodweiler to supress that of weaker treasures, not its Absolute Property," she explained.
There was a balance when it came to Wicked and Prime treasures.
They all had basic properties, but they also possessed Absolute Wicked and Prime Properties. Wicked treasures could best higher-ranked Prime treasures with their Absolute Wicked Properties and the opposite was true. Thus, what mattered when obtaining a treasure wasn't always its rank, but its Absolute Property.
Of course, the rank was important when dealing with treasures of the same designation - Prime to Prime, or Wicked to Wicked. In that case, what determined which was more powerful, wasn't the Absolute Property, but the rank.
This was why the World rank Prime khopesh, Immobility pin was able to overwhelm the Void rank Wicked great armour at the end of the hall, if only temporarily.
Skullius nodded at Elita.
"Alright. Then pick what you want," he said and he walked over to the right side of the hall and began perusing the items there. They all still called to him, desperate to be picked.
He skimmed over the ones below the World rank.
There were roughly five hundred World rank items in the hall, then about sixty Realm rank treasures and a measly ten Void rank treasures, excluding the great armour.
'I probably shouldn't get too greedy and pick off the Void rank treasures just yet. At the very least, I'd need my War Body to subdue them. For now...' he thought as he extended his hand towards a folded scroll on the wall.
It rushed to him at once, and he appraised it. A great laugh burst out of his mouth almost immediately.
[Charged Mantle: Dance of the Thousand Levin-Born]
+Realm (Prime)+
A scroll containing Runes that when released will unseal an army of enslaved, fearless, and
mad Penetrators that will raze the user's enemies to the ground.
-
-Basic Properties-
+Sealed Entities - 1,000/1,000
A scroll hiding an army of Penetrators...
Skullius would have never thought he would be holding such a thing in his life - an army of a thousand that would have qualified to be his close kin if he had remained as the Penetrator.
He laughed hysterically, garnering a curious look from Elita.
He then drew another scroll from the wall. It, like this previous one was called a Charged Mantle. It was essentially a pre-activated technique sealed in a scroll. Back in his days as a mercenary, Skullius had seen scrolls like these. They were prepared by the Mages and sold to the Guilds Association. Prompt Spells, he remembered them being called.
He hid the scrolls in the [Entropy's Harmonising Nimbus] and moved on to other meaningful
weapons.
He drew an odd little dagger towards him. It was double-bladed, but the blades were thin, small and straight, and they spotted dark, obsidian swells along their lengths towards their edges. It was a strange weapon indeed, but the power of the dagger couldn't be denied.
[Tainted Lycan's Siphoning Claw]
+Realm (Wicked)+
A Wicked treasure with an insidious desire to openly inflict agonising death to all that would
stand against its user.
-
-Basic Properties-
+Will mark all of its targets with a blue hue that all, including the target, can see; all marked
targets will be rendered completely vulnerable to the user's attacks for one microsecond upon
initial marking
+Can mark and attack an unlimited number of targets
+Inflicts dread within weaker targets upon completing the marking
-
+Absolute Wicked Property+
All marked targets, living and non-living will be ripped from the inside by unending sets of sharp, infected dark claws until they die
Skullius wouldn't call himself a sadist, but he didn't think he'd mind testing this out on the
abundant numbers of the Cavern.
He wondered how infected the claws that were supposed to come out of the targets were. That should be interesting to see, he imagined.
He then picked an impressive looking spear of the Realm rank, a golden helmet with an opening at its back, an evil-looking bracer, and several other treasures, and slotted them into
the nimbus as well. They fit quite well within it.
He turned to check on Elita's haul.
She had already donned a domineering silver and black scale armour that made her look
bigger than she was. Then again, she had gained a bit of muscle since the last time Skullius
saw her so maybe it was perfect. What looked like a bold floral design traced along its waist in
a luminous silvery, sparkling hue.
Elita had also picked up a large bow that seemed to be made of some kind maroon bone and
two more swords that she had hung behind her back.
When she noticed his gaze, Elita smiled sheepishly.
"I didn't take too much, did I?" she asked.
"Not at all," Skullius said with a laugh.
Elita beamed.
"Then if you don't mind, could I also have that?" she said, and pointed at the Immobility Pin
keeping the great armour set at the end of the hall in check.
Skullius smiled.
"Of course," he said. "Though we are probably going to have to make a run for it after I
retrieve it."
Elita gave him a grin and a nod.
As Skullius was done picking what he wanted, and Elita seemed to be done too, he stretched
his hand towards the khopesh, and with a quiver, it stormed towards him and into his hand.
"JAN`IND!!!!"
The booming voice of the great armour exploded out at once, as did the Amras that frothed
from it.
"Let's go!" Skullius said as he tossed the Immobility Pin to Elita and created a gateway to Aigas at the same time.
Ju`wtte sprang forth before him, pushing away the stern, stalwart space of the Warmoth's
Treasury and making way for Aigas.
"After you," Skullius said to Elita.
She gave a sniffly laugh and dived through the gateway without hesitation.
Skullius took one last look at the great armour roaring for him, chuckled and then followed
after his companion.
The challenging mission to rescue Aigas had finally begun.
[Author's Note]
Well, that concludes the first arc of the fifth volume. It might have seemed information heavy
and saggy at times, but I assure you, that was on purpose. Quite like the last volume, this one
is going to be full of battles and I wanted to get some of the heavy stuff out of the way. I will be emphasising things I'm sure are easy to forget though, for your convenience. In any case, do tell me what you thought about the arc, and just so you know, the EXTRA
CHAPTER PROMOTION is still on for this month. You can check the specifics in the announcement, and if you wish to participate, you can hit me up! Thanks ya'll!