178 A Steady March (1/2)
I raised my eyebrows, ”Uh, yeah, I've fought against a so-called god before. He bled, just like anyone...I will admit though, his blood glowed, so you got me there.”
Tohtella frowned, ”This is serious. Lehesion's legends are told orally across generations of gialgathens. My research indicates he's a level 15,000+ being, someone comparable to Yawm.”
I shrugged, ”Killed him. I'll kill this thing too.”
Tohtella sighed, ”If you believe so, then I'll take your word for it. Despite your confidence, I must inform the public.”
I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, ”Hmmm, you sure about that?”
She leaned back, ”Of course.”
”The thing is, I don't know if that's a good idea. The tension between espens and gialgathens is already high. If you throw something like this out, then it will catch fire. Fire meaning civil war, mass genocide, or something else equally terrible.”
She frowned, ”You are correct, but if no one knows about this, then no one will prepare. The proper funding won't be provided for enhanced defenses.”
I shrugged, ”I mean, we can tell them something's up. It's just not a good idea to tell the masses exactly what that something is. Is there some way you could...I don't know, lie?”
Tohtella rolled her eyes, ”I've spent all my life practicing to tell the truth.”
I raised an eyebrow, ”Then why not just tell some of the truth?”
Tohtella looked down, deep in thought. She sighed, ”I will...I will do my best.” She looked back up at me, ”Are you ready to leave? We've done what we set out to do here.”
I shook my head, ”I'm going to look for some answers. From what I've heard, Lehesion was the good guy during the gialgathen civil war. Him being the cause of all this seems suspicious to say the least.”
She frowned, ”I can send my team to handle the investigations. When we figure out anything, we'll inform you and your team.”
I walked up to the armor of Draygalga, ”Even then, I'll do my own inspection.”
Tohtella walked up, ”That isn't necessary.”
I turned my head, peering at her with my body facing the hollowed armor,
”You sound like you don't want me snooping around.”
Tohtella's brow creased.
”You have footage already. I want you to use your talents wisely and efficiently. My specialty is intelligence and subterfuge. I can handle this investigation effectively, but I cannot fight Skyburners. You can. I'm of the opinion that you should focus on what you're already good at.”
I pursed my lips, ”Hmmm...Maybe.”
Tohtella pinched the bridge of her nose, ”Specialization improves productivity, especially in team environments. If we can synergize our specializations, this is even truer. Allow me to delegate duties and organize this. Please.”
I honed in, reading her response. Her palms were sweaty, and her heart beat faster than average in her chest. That could be from the fight earlier though. She met my eye, and her pupils dilated. She didn't seem like she was lying, so I gave her a slow nod,
”Alright...fine.”
She jotted a note onto her clipboard, ”Good. Thank you. Now, Are you willing to leave now?”
I sighed, ”I suppose so.”
I lifted us up with a gravity well. By concentrating Event Horizon around us, I scared off most of the silvers. With our safe travel assured, I opened my status. I gained almost 1,000 levels. It was my biggest boost since facing Yawm. I put all the points into endurance as usual. As I selected finalize, I shifted.
My armor cracked, the splits filling in from my regeneration. One of the fractures cleaved one of the cipher marks on my forearm in two. My blood thickened becoming denser than mercury. The fibers and sinews weaving my flesh compressed.
Extra fail safes weaved into my organs. One heart or three, I couldn't tell anymore. The tendons and ligaments lining my bones turned hard as diamond yet flexible as rubber. My own survivability defied my comprehension.
My mana poured within the fortress that was my body. It permeated every pore and cell. The saturation extended until I radiated energy. In seconds, I pulled the energy in, adjusting to it. I squirmed as limitless vitality flushed through my system at every moment.
I felt like a nuclear reactor.
As I writhed, Tohtellashouted from behind a mana barrier,
”Are you ok? If the silvers infested you, we have removal procedures at my workplace.”
I growled, ”No...I'm fine.”
My voice was deeper than usual, strained during the alterations. I shook off the growing pains, returning to normal. I glanced back at Tohtella, who floated while standing stiff as a board. I laughed, ”Are you alright?”
She blinked, ”Ahem, of course I am. Your voice...it unnerved me is all.”
I rolled my eyes, ”It's part of gaining many levels. It should already be normal again.”
She looked up, checking out my level. She frowned, ”I...I can't quite believe it really. You've gained over a 1,000 levels in less than a week. It's unprecedented.”
I shrugged, ”There are some real monsters out there. I'm sure plenty outpace me.”
Tohtella shook her head, ”There are few, if any.”
I swatted a giant, metallic dragonfly. The blood and mush splatted outwards and away from my antigravity field that covered us,
”I know one. Althea. She gained 1,400 in one fight. Besides, no one that's gaining levels like this has time to brag about it. That's why you haven't heard about them.”
I narrowed my eyes, ”They're out there though. I feel it.”
Tohtella rolled her eyes as we shot across the metallic wasteland. As we did, I opened my character sheet to check the statistical difference.
Dimension-C138(Lvl 7,467)
Strength – 7,596 | Constitution – 13,107 | Endurance – 55,360
Dexterity – 3,246 | Willpower – 30,099 | Intelligence – 11,133
Charisma – 1,850 | Luck – 3,754 | Perception – 4,070
Health: 11.70 Million/11.70 Million | Health Regen: 34.21 Million/min or 570,160/sec
Stamina: 7.54 Million/ 7.54 Million | Stamina Regen: 108,952/sec
Living Dimension: 1.45 Trillion/4.30 Trillion
Mass: 741,910 pounds(336,524 kilos~)
Height: Actual -13(3.96 meters) | Current - 13
Damage Res - 98.5% | Dimensional Res - 49.25%
Phys Dam Bonus – 884,301% | Damage Bonus – 40%
Event Horizon – 20,000 + (100% of your total health)/min
I passed a few landmarks. My endurance exceeded fifty thousand now, and my health passed ten million. My Living Dimension meter increased by a noticeable amount for once too. Gialgathens must have provided a solid boost since mana saturated them.
All my attributes marched forward as well. Even my lowest straggler stat, charisma, was well over 1,000 now. I lacked many weak points in my build now, though I could always improve. The next goal would be augmenting my crafting since I just obtained Star Forger.
With that in mind, I pulled out a chunk of orichalcum from my dimensional storage. As we floated over the scenery, Tohtella whispered, ”It's beautiful.”
I nodded, ”It is.”
She raised her hands, ”Your method of travel...It feels so strange.”
I raised an eyebrow, ”How?”
She pushed up her glasses, ”We're flying, yet there is no wind.”
I pointed forward, ”I'm using two gravity wells to pull us forward. One pulls us forward, the other pulls us upwards. The wells pull the wind along with us, meaning the wind doesn't blast us all the time.”
”It's very pleasant compared with most flights I've been on.”
”I do it this way out of practicality. That's it...Oh yeah, sorry for being so skeptical earlier.”
Tohtella raised a hand, ”It's nothing. You should be skeptical of me, of everyone.”
I sighed, ”It's just how it is. It's like everyone is trying to use me all the time now, like that Thisbey fuck.”
She pursed her lips, ”Ah, he's an unpleasant fellow. I do despise dealings with him, but he is everywhere on Giess commercially. It's difficult to avoid him altogether.”
I turned to Tohtella, ”Let me know if he wears his classic leather jacket, alright?”
Tohtella frowned, ”Why?”
I grinned, ”Eh, you'll see why in the news if he decides to wear it.”
***************************************************
We got back to the hotel in a few minutes. I put my gray armor on before we landed, keeping my identity under wraps. By the time I got back, everyone almost finished packing up. As Tohtella and I walked in, Kessiah sat down on a couch, watching tv.
Tohtella glared at Kessiah. The Speaker's disdain oozed as she lifted her nose into the air at the sight of Kessiah. Kessiah turned to her and raised a hand,
”Yo Daniel. You guys made it I see.”
I nodded. Kessiah pointed at Tohtella, ”What's her problem.”
Tohtella uttered, ”I see you're allocating your time wisely yet again.”
Kessiah pointed to me, ”Yup. Hey, you might want to see this tough guy.”
I walked up, looking at the shifting holographic projection. A newscaster sat beside a scientist, both of them espens.
The scientist raised a hand, ”It's incredible, but another unknown seismic event occurred, this time past the silver's border.”
The newscaster frowned, ”What does that mean for the people of Yildraza?”
”Well, it could mean nothing. I for one believe some ancient creature is creating seismic events.”
The camera panned out, and good old sleezebag mc'fuckface popped up. At least Thisbey wasn't wearing the gialgathen skin anymore.
”Why, if I might be so brash as to offer my own opinion, I believe it was a gialgathen.”
The scientist raised his hand to Thisbey, ”Of course you would believe that. You're openly racist against them.”
Thisbey spread out his arms, ”Such harsh words coming from a man who's suggest'in the same thing. You did say it was a creature, correct?”
”Well, yes-”
Thisbey grabbed the collar of his shirt, ”Well what other creature could wreck this kind of devastation besides a gialgathen? They're the apex predators of our planet. If a beast is causing this, then it means an old and powerful gialgathen is the cause.”
The camera panned in on Thisbey, highlighting him. He turned to the camera, addressing the audience,