Second Playthrough (2)
Second Playthrough (2)
This is a technique I'm seeing for the first time. And there's nothing I can't imitate.
My unique ability falls under the technique category: All-Rounder.
Its expansion ability specializes in imitation: Myriad Transformations.
Those alone make imitation possible, but what gives them wings is the Observation Authority.
The instant I faced the 2nd Iteration, I haven't stopped gathering information on him for a single moment.
The shift of his pupils. The pivot of his ankles. The displacement of his center of weight against the ground. The motion of his shoulders. The rotation of his wrists. The twitch of his fingers.
Every scrap of data—the interpretation of muscle fiber bundles inside his body, the torsion of his skeleton—I pull it all in to predict his next movement and counter it.
And despite all that, it's ridiculous that I'm being completely overwhelmed, but...
In short, I've absorbed more than enough information to construct the expansion ability.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations — Snake Tail Over the Sharp Wall
The spear blade traced a bizarre arc. The thrust, which had been moving in a straight line, now rippled through the air like a snake slithering across the ground.
A movement that openly defied the laws of physics.
Just before the spear tip could pierce the nape of the 2nd Iteration's neck, his hand caught the blade effortlessly. I guess I still couldn't match the original.
— Kagagagak!
Auras of white and crimson scraped viciously against one another.
The aftermath flayed the surface of the earth and sliced through the empty air.
Keudeuk! The balance of aura collapsed. The 2nd Iteration's hand was torn open. The white aura shoved the crimson aura aside.
'My aura's power is superior.'
The 2nd Iteration wasn't a high-spec iteration. Even with the Blessing of Growth, he couldn't compare to an iteration that had boosted its specs by mobilizing every trick and hidden method.
Meaning his physical ability was weaker, and the quantity and quality of his mana reserves were inferior.
Especially compared to the me of now, whose spec growth had been smooth.
Above all, the 2nd Iteration's specs were strange. Even though he'd lost, the 2nd Iteration who could go toe-to-toe with a 2nd-Rank was still managing to put up a fight against me.
The 2nd Iteration twisted his wrist to deflect my attack. As I closed in, both his hands moved like lightning, drawing afterimages.
— Kwak!
Exhibiting uncanny handwork, the 2nd Iteration's hand slipped through my guard without effort and seized my left wrist.
He wrenched the captured arm. A force from an unknown source lifted my body into the air.
The 2nd Iteration instantly extended his opposite hand while twisting his body.
Myriad Combat Arts Expansion Ability
Raging Current Sinew Bone Extraction
— Ttudeudeudeuk!
My body twisted, pivoting on the trapped left arm. At this rate, my whole body would be twisted like a pretzel and my bones ripped out.
Kwak! The 2nd Iteration's hand suddenly clutched at empty air. The Proof of Protection he'd been holding disassembled. Its pure white body dissolved into a cluster of light, and the golden circuits it left in the air retracted back into my shoulder as if regeneration were reversing itself.
I targeted the momentary gap in his disrupted movement.
Riding the rotation forced on my body, I swung the spear I still gripped with a whoosh.
The 2nd Iteration pulled his body away without hesitation. Of course he'd dodge it; he had no reason to take the hit.
'Authority manifestation, Space.'
Wooong! The 2nd Iteration's movement came to a clattering halt. Then, as though opposite magnetic poles were drawing each other in, he was yanked toward me.
Pushing aside the air with brutal force, the spear shaft surged forward and slammed across the 2nd Iteration's forearm.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations — Resonance Strike
Kwang! A massive vibration erupted. I gathered all of that vibration and crammed it inside the 2nd Iteration's body. His arm bulged and distorted.
Even then, without so much as a flinch, the 2nd Iteration's body gave a faint shudder.
Right before the resonance explosion, the 2nd Iteration stomped his leg into the ground.
Kwadeudeuk! The crushed earth collapsed. His leg flashed as it channeled the impact into the ground that was scoured away into dust.
— Kwang!
'That son of a...'
My head spun instantly. His foot, having smashed the spear to splinters on its way through, slammed into my chin and kicked it cleanly upward.
'Crazy bastard, even that was an expansion ability...'
I clung to my fading consciousness. Righting my body as it flew backward, I redeployed the stored Proof of Protection and twisted midair.
'Mid-tier Magic, Wind Shear.'
A spell manifested behind me. It gathered the surrounding winds and launched countless razor-sharp slashes honed to a keen edge.
The spirit that was on standby responded to the slashes.
The Wind Spirit boosted the power of the wind slashes and guided them toward their target.
'Mana Strike.'
Parallel incantation.
Based on the observed data, I precisely wove slashes forged purely of mana between the gaps of the wind slashes and sent them flying.
The 2nd Iteration, who had been chasing me down, reacted to the two types of slashes.
He dodged most of the mana strikes, which were difficult to steer after being fired, without taking them head-on.
For the wind slashes, which had tracking functionality in exchange for relatively lower power, he wrapped both hands in aura and deflected them.
With fluid gestures, the aura rippled like waves. The slashes caught in the waves twisted grotesquely and collided among themselves.
No damage.
Instead, I was making him expend one breath.
I observed the 2nd Iteration as he closed the distance while dealing with the countless slashes and the interference from the earth, then brought my hands together. Dense mana poured out and was strung between my palms.
'Homogenization, Calamity Flame.'
— Hwarureureuk!
Calamity Flame manifested in a simplified form blazed to life in my hand.
My emotions surged. Anxiety and suspicion poured out. I controlled them carefully and used them as kindling for the Calamity Flame.
I shaped it roughly into the form of a spear and seized it.
The Fire Spirit slammed its body into the spear. The flames surged fiercely upward.
Ordinarily, even a spirit would have taken damage and been reverse-summoned, but I used precision control to make it recognize allies.
I twisted my body in the empty air. Treading on the void instead of the ground, I contracted, rotated my whole spread-out body, and whipped out the hand gripping the spear.
A textbook javelin throw.
Furious flames crossed the void. As if a meteor were falling, the ground was painted red.
At the same time, I moved the Lightning Spirit and Earth Spirit.
Kwareureung! A thunderclap resounded from the dry sky. The Lightning Spirit, which had absorbed mana beforehand and ascended to the heavens, unleashed a cascade of dozens of lightning bolts.
The Earth Spirit that had been permeating the ground stirred.
The surface of the earth seethed and buckled, ruining balance, and sharp stalagmites thrust upward from below.
The incoming Calamity Flame. The erupting earth and the descending lightning.
Not even the 2nd Iteration could ignore this, it seemed, because he halted. Even as the ground heaved like a mad thing and spikes shot upward, the 2nd Iteration kept his composure and sprang into the air from his spot.
Then he spread one hand wide, and aura coalesced in his hand, compacting into a long shape.
He gripped the sword of aura he had shaped and slashed it every which way with mad abandon.
Myriad Combat Arts Expansion Ability
Three Talents Heavenly Sword
Aerial Chaotic Thrust
Every time the sword carved through the empty air, its trace was engraved. As if blood were pouring from wounds, vivid crimson scars were left behind in every direction—up, down, left, right, without exception.
The aura sword, swung at fearsome speed, filled the area around the 2nd Iteration with a dense net of slashes.
The spear of Calamity Flame, the bundle of lightning, and the countless stalagmites slammed into the sword screen.
— Kwaaaaang!
Thunder rolled across the earth. The Calamity Flame, expanding with a powerful explosion, devoured the sword screen and the surrounding area.
The temperature in the vicinity shot up precipitously.
The densely erupted earth melted away limply, and my clothing, already heavily tattered, flapped wildly in the gusts that raged as the flames sucked in the wind.
Soon the Calamity Flame subsided.
Amidst the embers that still clung to the ground and blazed, the 2nd Iteration landed, unscathed.
"......"
"......"
A brief silence settled.
While only the sound of the Calamity Flame's embers crackling away could be heard, the 2nd Iteration stared at me.
Pupils that were dark and murky, like those of a dead fish.
Unpleasant eyes that I disliked just as much as my own.
The 2nd Iteration. Unmistakably a game character I'd created by configuring its settings and playing the game.
But for some reason, this mysterious entity now stood before me, brandishing a weapon.
He was right before my eyes. The instant I faced him directly, one hypothesis was inescapable.
The 2nd Iteration exists.
If so, there might be other iterations as well. The 1st Iteration, 3rd Iteration, 4th Iteration, 5th Iteration...
The 9th Iteration who had roamed about slaughtering and devouring people.
The 10th Iteration who had thought nothing of committing mass murder and went around charging up on blood.
The 11th Iteration who had treated human lives as trivial and ransacked all manner of powers and institutions for the sake of growth.
The 12th Iteration who had outright established a colony to supply sacrifices...
'...This line of thought can wait.'
It was a pointless thought.
At the very least, it wasn't an issue to worry about right now.
I buried the stray thoughts and scrutinized the battle as I narrowed my brow.
The offense and defense we'd exchanged in that short time were dense—extremely dense—but the actual time that had passed was brief.
To state the result, I got my ass handed to me.
My side had accumulated heavy damage, whereas the other side had taken no particularly meaningful damage.
Had I just been pointlessly showing off with a technique I'd only just imitated? I got pummeled by the counterattack and gained nothing from it.
Even if I factored in that I hadn't properly deployed Homogenization yet, I'd still sustain heavy cumulative damage in the process of breaching the 2nd Iteration's defense.
The gulf in skill was overwhelming. At best, I was barely clinging to life.
In a short battle, I was at an extreme disadvantage.
According to the original work's data, the 2nd Iteration was even more of a glass cannon than I was.
If I could just land the Calamity Flame properly once, I'd win.
In fact, the 2nd Iteration had just deliberately invested extra reserves to counter the Calamity Flame.
But the 2nd Iteration was also a glass cannon.
His expansion abilities were specialized for lethality... if I took a hit from one like the first attack he'd unleashed and my body was severed, I'd die just the same.
Breaking through that multitude of expansion abilities, piercing the 2nd Iteration's skill, and landing a clean direct hit was a daunting task.
'Would a drawn-out battle favor me?'
But if it became a drawn-out battle, my odds would increase.
According to the original work's data and the results of observation, the 2nd Iteration's stamina and mana were both weak.
His physical condition was extremely poor compared to his skill, and his mana was the same.
That much was clear: his aura, which was supposed to be at a completed-spec level, was already being pushed back by mine, and I'm still a Siyoram first-year.
Our physical abilities were also roughly similar. The wounds I'd deliberately sealed off were gradually tearing open, but I could regenerate.
If I brought out Calamity Flame, Taesan, or even just a single physical amplification ability, I could surpass his physical level.
The 2nd Iteration had been refraining from mana use.
He deliberately didn't cloak his whole body in aura. He conserved mana by repeatedly manifesting it on his limbs only at necessary moments and extinguishing it.
'The 2nd Iteration doesn't have the reserves to drag this into a long fight.'
That was true in the original work too. The 2nd Iteration's low specs demanded meticulous control.
Wasn't the 2nd Iteration's end exactly that—being ganged up on, worn down in a relay battle, expending his strength until he died?
In contrast, I was capable of a drawn-out battle.
My mana capacity was massive. My mana reserves were ample. I could also supplement them freely by drawing in the mana of the area.
I could even combine spirit manifestation to rain down indiscriminate bombardments from the sky.
My stamina was abundant too. If it came down to it, I could just run Homogenization—Taesan and Azure Sea simultaneously—and that would be that.
Above all, I had the Observation Authority, All-Rounder, and Mana Affinity.
As time passed, my side could gather information on the 2nd Iteration and grow rapidly.
A drawn-out battle favored me.
"......"
Had the 2nd Iteration realized that too? He made his move.
The 2nd Iteration's heart pulsed violently. Kwoong! The vibration was transmitted even to this spot, a slight distance away.
The interval between pulses narrowed. His heart beat madly, forcibly activating his body.
Ggeugeugeuk... The muscles inside his body expanded. From his tightly clenched fist, a chilling tearing sound could be heard.
The 2nd Iteration's already muscular frame swelled up greatly.
Myriad Combat Arts Expansion Ability
Asura Path
A self-buff type expansion ability. Its effect: physical ability amplification.
Immediately afterward, he spread both arms wide to the left and right.
A posture that oddly resembled someone attaining nirvana and surrendering... or giving up.
But I absolutely could not see it that way.
— Gugugung...
An intangible force rose from the 2nd Iteration. His innate talent expanded at a rapid pace. It surged without any sign of stopping.
And finally, the intangible force took on shape and color.
Aura blazed up in both hands and was forged into armaments.
One hand held a sword and the opposite hand held a longsword.
And then.
A pair of arms that appeared from his shoulders like a mirage each grasped a long-handled axe and a hammer.
A pair of arms that sprouted from his waist seized a spear and a great scythe.
Myriad Combat Arts Expansion Ability
One Face Six Arms
One face.
Six arms.
As if he were the legendary Asura himself, three pairs of arms manifested.
Even now, the 2nd Iteration was staring this way, scattering abyss-like murky gleams from his eyes and gripping weapons forged from aura.
At that sight, my lips flapped like a goldfish's for a moment, and then I unfolded the Authorities of Space and Protection and crumpled my face into a grimace.
[You're at least a thirty-year-old bastard picking on a student?]
Right after that.
Myriad Combat Arts Expansion Ability
Midsummer Seasonal Boundary — Setting Sun Blue Axe Severance
Low-Heaven Blade — Rising Dragon Claw Shatter
Overlord Strike — Skull Splitting
Resonance Strike
Snake Tail Over the Sharp Wall
Encircling Path — Cervical Harvest
Six expansion abilities cascaded out in a single burst.
.
.
.
Fuck, that hurts.
How many times did I die?
* * *
[｢Blessing of Growth｣ is assisting your growth]
[｢Blessing of Growth (Special Admission)｣ is assisting your growth]
[｢Blessing of Growth (Tower Entry)｣ is assisting your growth]
...
[｢Curse of Beauty's Misfortune｣ is assisting your growth]
[｢Curse of Solitude｣ is assisting your growth]
[｢Curse of Silence｣ is assisting your growth]
...
[Unique Ability ｢All-Rounder｣ is growing rapidly]
[Unique Ability ｢Mana Affinity｣ is growing]
...
[The Tower Master of Harmonization expresses suspicion, asking if this is really how it's supposed to be]
[The Tower Master of Knowledge averts his eyes]
[The Tower Master of Growth nods his head despondently]