ALL NOVEL Chapter 962
<962 - Slave Hunt (9)>
Alexo and Tasha hugged each other tightly, using all their strength to extend the barrier.
– “Come to me…”
– “Answer my call…”
– “Your master is here…”
They had anticipated Professor Buzhaar’s call. Thanks to Oknodie’s cheerful spoiler about the secret of the Monster Cells, they knew that Buzhaar was the master of all cells.
If the monster core could devour monsters, there was no reason Professor Buzhaar couldn’t do the same.
However, they hadn’t expected the call to echo back repeatedly.
Having only prepared to defend against a single call, the two found their mental barrier dangerously wavering at the relentless summons from Buzhaar.
“Please stop…”
“Let us go! It’s enough that you’ve used us, but trying to summon our souls for destruction is too much!!”
The place currently hiding the two was the Homunculus Living Quarters.
Formally assigned to Alice, registered as a homunculus at school, it was a private room where Oknodie’s Goo Mandragora was raised, though the resident perceived it as being trapped.
“Goo?”
The Goo felt sympathy for the two’s desperate situation.
A life caught by an evil master. An overwhelming hierarchy. An inescapable master’s call. A daily life trembling with fear. Yet, a will to struggle to live on.
The Goo thought their current situation was just like its own. So, it gathered its strength.
“Goo!”
The Goo had encountered several giant plants renowned across the world.
The World Tree.
The Corrupted World Tree.
The Cursed Tree Poppy.
All acquired by Oknodie through various means for the Goo’s gifted education.
And all these giant plants shared a common trait.
Combination and interference abilities.
The World Tree basically stretches its roots into various dimensions, receiving elemental damage and producing elixirs for healing by combining the effects from each dimension.
The Corrupted World Tree focuses more on unleashing powerful attacks through the authority of protection provided by the World Tree, while the Cursed Tree Poppy absorbs and releases curses.
Protection, attack, curse.
Even though their main fields differ, none can match their perfection as a ‘textbook’ and ‘mentor’ in terms of combination and interference.
“Goo!”
The Goo saw the aims and ultimates of each build.
And after sufficient contemplation, it could make a judgment.
How to unleash a similar interference ability and not be harvested by Oknodie while being marked as a “growth-type.”
A so-called survival-oriented stealth build!
The Goo absorbed the dimensional energy of the World Tree, stealthily gathering the energy it sprinkled, and used that power to protect Alexo and Tasha as their mental barrier was about to break.
“This is World Tree protection?!”
“How could a mere Mandragora, which even professors struggle to wield, do this?!”
Even the strongest entity in a research dimension and the assistant overseeing multiple research dimensions were astonished.
Handling dimensional power is typically the domain of Fourth Years, and it usually involves opening and closing dimensional gates or memorizing safe dimensional coordinates, taking a considerable amount of time.
Or it revolves around studies related to safely returning from dangerous dimensions and knowledge of the hazards in each dimension.
Protection techniques that traverse dimensions?
No way.
Even among graduates, only the elite could dare to pursue such things without being in the upper class.
“How could a mere infant Goo plant surpass me?!”
Alexo felt disheartened despite receiving protection.
And it made sense; he had spent only a few years in the research dimension after graduating.
“Not just protection. Didn’t you notice? The evil calling from Professor Buzhaar that was tormenting us is no longer heard!”
Tasha took a step further.
She realized that what the Goo did wasn’t mere protection.
It interfered with the evil attack that was breaking their minds, bouncing the attack back at them.
And not just simply returning it either.
Seeing Oknodie, who had an incredibly high curse resistance, the Goo splattered a carefully collected curse essence, well aware that a half-hearted curse wouldn’t work.
“So what kind of predicament is Professor Buzhaar facing?”
“The monster cells will be buckling under the call. Dozens or even hundreds of times.”
“Oooh!”
“Plus, curses will be added to that.”
“Would curses even be effective against someone of his level?”
“It probably wouldn’t be a normal curse. It’s based on levels, but you heard here, right? Oknodie has absurdly high curse resistance.”
If the Goo Mandragora of Oknodie used curses, it would surely wield tremendous effects.
Tasha’s prediction proved spot on.
*
Buzhaar’s dimensional clones, when they ignited their will to become individual subjects instead of mere resources, prioritized [Power Augmentation].
To gain an advantage, they needed to call forth as many monsters as possible.
[Monster Gathering]
[Monster Gathering]
[Monster Gathering]
The clones, reaching the same conclusion, sent out gathering signals to the same monsters.
The confused monsters, overwhelmed by overlapping signals, didn’t know what to do, but some clever clones expertly pulled sneaky tricks.
“If we can’t take them all, we need to focus our efforts.”
They directed specific gathering signals to few special monsters, honing in on certain research facilities or dimensions.
The amplified signal pressed down the other signals, exerting clear pressure, causing the bewildered monsters to respond only to the summons of specific clones.
And as soon as they were summoned, they were reduced to energy sources for the clones, perishing upon arrival.
“Hmph. With this, the balance of power has been shattered. Victory in the clone war is mine.”
“Splitting up? The slim muscular nice dandy type of me losing to my cute tiny vampire concept self… no way…”
As the dynamics of power shifted with competing control, the balance suddenly tipped as one aggressive clone emerged, prompting surrounding clones to mount a concentrated offensive.
“Stop him. If he gets any stronger, he will truly become the real Buzhaar.”
“As the stockings-type whip-wielding policewoman in my form, would you lend a hand?”
“No thanks. I’d rather side with the cute tiny vampire than shake hands with a grumpy old man type sporting a dirty mustache.”
Some clones formed alliances based on conveniences, while others chose their favored clones to be the ultimate victor regardless of benefits.
The emergence of independent tastes and values belonging to their physical forms reflected the results of such alliances.
As the clones conspired, Buzhaar’s spawn quickly entered a three-way power structure.
The cute tiny vampire Buzhaar.
The tall booby-eyed pirate Buzhaar.
The tentacle monster type dark giant monster Buzhaar.
Among the three, the dark giant monster Buzhaar held the greatest advantage.
With his existence exposed, he held no need for the facade of a human form, focusing solely on pure strength and decisive resolve, allowing him to devour the most monsters.
The cute tiny vampire Buzhaar, with elements of woman, child, and elderly strength, and the greedy pirate spirit of the tall booby-eyed Buzhaar attempted to join forces too late, but their alliance lacked full trust.
One could easily betray the other, making it possible to seize the power of the other and consume the dark giant monster Buzhaar as well.
No one was willing to concede; the alliance founded on betrayal was shaky, and the dominance of the giant monster persisted.
“Foolish ones. While you hesitate, I will summon more monsters with my regained strength. I shall grow stronger and become the greatest clone, overwhelming even the main body and devouring it!”
Dark Giant Buzhaar completed his life plan towards victory.
Unaware it might be a critical mistake.
[Monster Gathering]
[Monster Gathering]
[Monster Gathering]
“?!”
The power to disrupt existence by forcibly activating the control spells implanted in the monsters.
The force of monster gathering unexpectedly struck the very entities involved.
This was something that shouldn’t have happened.
The reason other clones had never previously succumbed to the power of monster gathering was due to the robustness of their control.
Everyone knew which ‘spell’ was the key to freeing the monster cells from control.
Thus, they set up basic security spells to ensure the key couldn’t fit, maintaining this in their own way to disregard the influence of monster gathering.
However, the Goo Mandragora, the spell’s originator, had witnessed Oknodie’s ability to change even the genetic values daily in the privacy of its room.
The Goo solved the riddle with a new combination that had never existed before, repeatedly inserting curses dozens of times per second.
While they could resist single curses, due to the high resistance, a stacking curse whose power gradually increased over time could not be ignored.
Each answer stacked upon answered, as if returning to its home, injecting curses sequentially, and even the dark giant Buzhaar’s sturdy curse resistance finally reached its limit.
The technique, born from the practical genius education of a Veteran Player, turned Buzhaar’s thousand-year legacy into a primitive giant monster with the curse of intellect obliteration.