Kaede sat upon the Heaven's Throne, her gaze fixed on the lifeless body of the former leader of the Voltoids.
Apparently, when Hydra Eater and Gamma Water had fused into the mythic skill Event Horizon Hydra, her aura had developed a radiation-based poisoning effect.
Becquerel had been within range of that aura when Bug Urn Curse activated, his death had been instant.
Kaede let out a soft sigh. "I don't know if I should eat this. I might end up with deformities from all that radiation," she muttered. (Unbeknownst to her, she wouldn't, but she had no way of knowing that.)
She stood, and the throne dissolved into nothing.
—
You have leveled up ×12
You have retrieved a shard of Chaos. (Merge with two more to form chaos key and enter the Job trial tower)
Rewards:
Due to radiation causing certain mutation in host's body, all stats increase by 5 instead of 1 upon leveling up. (HP increase by 5000, instead of 1000, and mp increase by 50 instead of 10.)
Radiant Clawblade
Type: Sword
Attack: 450
Speed: +30%
Special Ability: Magic Siphon
Absorbs 10% of the enemy's magical energy with each strike, replenishing the user's mana or stamina based on the type of attack.
Effect: Deals an additional 25% magic damage against magical beings or creatures, and can dispel buffs on hit.
Radiant Energy Gun
Type: Firearm (Energy Weapon)
Attack: 500
Reload Speed: +30%
Special Ability: Radiant Overload
Fires a powerful energy beam that deals 200% damage, but the weapon becomes unstable, causing 5% recoil damage to the user with every shot.
Effect: Pierces through all armor, with a high chance to stun enemies for 3 seconds. Unstable energy causes occasional surges of damage but makes the gun harder to control.
Radiant Ring
Type: Ring
Effect: Provides resistance to decay and time-based effects.
Increases the wearer's resistance to status effects like slow, freeze, and decay by 40%.
Special Ability: Temporal Shift
Grants the wearer the ability to briefly speed up time, allowing them to dodge attacks with 100% evasion for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour.
Skill: Authority of Reduction Acquired
Type: Authority Series
Grade: Mythic
Description:
Grants the user dominion over the concept of reduction, allowing them to forcibly diminish any target's properties. This includes, but is not limited to, size, speed, strength, durability, energy output, magical potency, presence, sound, and even abstract concepts like luck or influence.
Effects:
Conceptual Shrinkage: Can target a concept and forcibly reduce it to a lower state (e.g., "reduce aggression," "reduce heat," "reduce enemy resistance").
Mass Minimization: Instantly shrink or compress physical matter or energy into smaller, harmless forms.
Skill Dampening: Reduces the level, output, or effectiveness of enemy skills or spells within range.
Zone of Silence: May cast a field where all forms of force, noise, or movement are automatically reduced to zero.
Limitations:
Cannot erase, only reduce. (Something must exist to be diminished.)
Reduction effects require line of sight or direct targeting unless cast through a medium (like her Chaos Rune).
Cannot reduce host's own powers.
Visual Cue: When activated, a fractal sigil shaped like an inverted spiral appears behind you.
Rune: Prime Rune of Reversal (Æther-Class) Acquired.
Effect: When invoked, reverses a selected law of nature, magic, or causality within a localized area for a short period. Examples:
Gravity pulls up instead of down.
Time flows backward briefly.
Magic costs restore energy instead of consuming it.
Injuries heal instead of being dealt.
Limitations: Can only reverse one law at a time, and has a cooldown based on the scale of the reversal.
—
Kaede blinked, hard, as the hollow mountain crumbled all around her. "I need to lie down." She choked on her words as she reread the system messages.
"This can't be normal." She blurted out. "Right? Maple can't be that broken, can she?"
—
System Notification:
[Becquerel] is eligible for Pandemonium Conversion.
Would you like to initiate the transformation?
|| Yes || No ||
—
"Whatever. Yes. I don't care at this point," Kaede sighed, watching Becquerel's transformation unfold.
Red lightning surged from his body in violent waves, gradually shifting to a pale pink hue as his warped form began to mend itself. The ground beneath him seemed to cave in, the earth sinking further with each spasm that wracked his body. A crater widened with every jerk.
Then, stillness.
A massive gust of wind swept across the desert, whipping through Kaede's hair. She remained still, visibly unimpressed.
"Why the fucking theatrics? Can't the bastard tell I'm already exasperated?" she muttered irritably.
Narrowing her eyes, she scowled at the spectacle. "Hurry up, or I'm canceling the damn transformation and feeding your body to Cinnamon."
As if on cue, the wind died down, and a figure emerged, kneeling before her.
Even on one knee, the transformed being towered over Kaede. It was Becquerel, or what he had become. His long white hair now flowed down to his waist, and twin pink orbs glowed within his eyes. His skin had taken on a sleek, muted black tone, ethereal white mist rolling off him like dry ice.
"Took you long enough," Kaede muttered with another sigh.
---
Grant your demon a name.
---
Kaede looked down at the former ruler of the Voltoids and shook her head. "You might be the most annoying monster I've ever met, and that's saying something."
The figure remained silent, unmoving.
"I'm not really in a naming mood right now," she grumbled, folding her arms. "So you'll have to make do with… uh… Hosha. Take it or leave it."
—
Name: Hosha
Race: Demonic Beast – Voltoid
Type: Tamed Monster
Owner: Kaede
Danger Rank: Elite Knight-Class
---
Base Stats:
HP: 125,000
MP: 18,400
Strength: 370
Defense: 410
Agility: 1280
Intelligence: 900
Willpower: 500
---
"And add Hosha to knight." Kaede ended.
—
CLAN
Standard Soldier: 0/45 (Increase strength by 30%)
Elite Soldier: 0/15 (Increase strength by 50%)
Knight: 2/9 (Increase strength by 100%)
•Cinnamon
•Hosha
Elite Knight: 0/1 (Increase strength by 250%)
—
"Finally done," Kaede sighed, her gaze drifting to the horizon where a red streak cut through the sky, rapidly closing the distance.
A moment later, Nila appeared beside her in a blur of motion. "I saw the mountain crumble… and I felt my Becquerel's mana vanish." Her eyes shifted to the kneeling demon Voltoid, but she gave no reaction to his transformation. "I take it you were victorious, then."
Kaede gave a silent nod.
Without hesitation, Nila dropped to one knee. "Then, as the highest authority of the Voltoids, please accept our surrender. From this day on, the Voltoids will serve under your banner."
Kaede stretched her arms with a sigh of relief. "Sure. Glad that's over." Her eyes flicked toward Hosha. He met her gaze and gave a small nod before dissolving into a pink trail that slipped into her shadow.
"Goodbye, brother," Nila whispered. Kaede heard it, even if it wasn't meant for her.
'Seriously? That annoying guy was her brother? Now I feel bad.'
She turned to Nila. "I guess… I should apologize for all the destruction I caused your people."
But Nila shook her head. "There is no need. We attacked you without provocation. You only came for the shard."
"Still…" Kaede paused as a faint glow shimmered over her body. "I'm… being pulled." She looked down at her hands. "Now that the boss is defeated, I guess the gate is closing."
Nila nodded in understanding. "You're returning home?"
"Yeah." Kaede nodded.
"Will you ever return? And… what about the demons you summoned at the mountain?"
Kaede's eyes widened. "Oh crap! I almost forgot about them. Okay, I've already closed the portal, so no new ones should get through. The ones that already crossed over should still be there, though." She grimaced. 'They'll vanish in about six hours… but even that's a long time for a bunch of apex predators.'
"Looks like I won't be able to recall them in time." Her aura began to swirl like water as she condensed it into a glowing orb in her palm. She stepped toward Nila, who instinctively straightened. "For the duration of their stay, I'm leaving them in your care. As long as you bear my mark, they'll follow you… probably."
She cupped Nila's cheek with her glowing hand. Smoke hissed from the contact, but Nila didn't flinch.
When Kaede pulled away, a rose-shaped sigil remained, etched into Nila's left cheek, Kaede's mark.
"I am unworthy," Nila said quietly, bowing low.
Kaede smiled faintly. 'This feels like a scam… They'll be gone in six hours. Might as well give her something else too.'
A light-blue fur robe shimmered into existence in her hands. "This is the LionHeart Mantle, made from the fur of the Colossus. Wear it with pride." ( Reward from chapter 14)
Nila accepted the gift and draped the mantle over her shoulders.
The effect was immediate. The tall, lean Voltoid, already imposing at over nine feet, now radiated raw power. With the lion's skull perched on one shoulder and the cloak flowing behind her, her presence was undeniable.
Kaede's form began to fade. "Bye then, Nila. Take care of Chaos World while I'm gone, okay?"
Nila remained kneeling even after Kaede vanished completely.
"Take care of Chaos World?" she whispered. "That's… a very tall order. But… I will, Master."
—
In the years to come, Chaos World would remember the rise of the Voltoids, a race of mountain elves adapted to a lightning-charged environment.
They would launch a series of unrelenting campaigns, bringing kingdoms and creatures alike under the rule of their distant master.
At their head marched a towering figure clad in a lion's cloak, the Monarch of Lightning.
___________________
NAME: Maple | Lv: 69
HP: 102,700/102,700. MP: 7,340/7,340.
STATUS
STR: 481
VIT: 41,587
AGI: 473
DEX: 289
INT: 491
PER: 271
SP: 202
Physical Damage Resistance: 3400%