R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 72 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 72

(Let me know if I forgot/missed anything for the various Status screens shared!)

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— — - Titles System: Trait Selection - — —

You have selected the following Trait:

Glass Cannon

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As Micheal selected the Trait, information about the Trait appeared on a floating, blue screen in front of him.

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— — - Trait: Glass Cannon - — —

• Greatly Enhances Strength
• Increased Susceptibility to Damage

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In the same moment that Micheal pulled up information about the Trait, he felt a strange current run through him. A wave of warm energy washed through his body, infusing every single part of him with its power.

“Huh.” Micheal let out a breath as his face flushed, turning red.

After a split second, that rush of power died down and he felt himself return to normal.

‘No, not quite normal.’ Micheal realized.

In his arms and legs, Micheal felt a certain level of explosive strength that had not been there before.

‘Power.’ His eyes shined.

The ‘Glass Cannon’ Trait was a powerful Trait that had several renowned users among the Deities. Or, at least, that was what Micheal had read. He had only ever faced two Deities with that Trait, at least that he knew of.

General Kelleth, of the Morians.

The strongest non-Titled Deity.

And...

Navir.

A Titled Deity, the Master of Nirvana.

For all its great benefits, however, there also came its downside.

“Increased Susceptibility to Damage.”

What was ‘Damage?’ And what exactly did ‘Increased Susceptibility’ refer to?

It was a question that was swiftly answered as Micheal felt at his skin.

‘My skin is… softer?’ It was the first observation Micheal made.

As Micheal poked and prodded, he felt that his body had become more sensitive. The ‘Increased Susceptibility’ downside appeared to have the unintended consequence of enhancing his physical senses.

‘I’ll take more seriously to injures.’ Micheal nodded.

That only mattered if he let himself get hit.

‘And even then…’ A small, blue orb floated in front of him.

He always had his Life Orbs as backup.

“Status!” Micheal said aloud.

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— - Status — -

Name: Micheal Care

Points: 383,089

Race: Human

Age: 18

Physique: Heartflame Physique - 3 Star

Soul Quality: 3 Star

Strength - 402 -> #2%!

Endurance - 261 -> &*9@

Recovery - 136

Soul - 61 -> 63

Abilities - (7/7)

Life Orb Master

Ki Cultivator (Sky Tier - Early)

Eternal Mana Circle (2nd Circle)

Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)

Impact Release

Eyes of the Deep

Temporal Bubble

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What he saw made him freeze.

‘Only my Soul and Recovery Stats are visible in my Status.’ Micheal realized.

His Strength and Endurance Stats had been replaced by large, glitchy error symbols.

And it was here that Micheal realized a rather stunning fact.

‘Humanity’s Status screen can’t track the changes made by the Titles System’s Traits.’

The two sources appeared to be incompatiable with each other.

The effects of the Trait merged perfectly with Micheal, without any errors. Only, his Status wasn’t able to clearly scan himself anymore.

‘My Soul Stat went up.’ He noted with a sharp nod.

It was only natural, after all. He had formed his 2nd Mana Circle within his Soul. While the quality of energy at that stage was still rather low, it was enough to boost his Soul stat by 2 points, a relatively significant amount.

‘Also, I’m maxed out on Ability Slots.’ He would have to remove the Impact Release Ability soon. It was one of a very few Abilities that was rather easy to remove.

“If my Status screen isn’t working, how about…” He muttered, trailing off before quietly whispering,

“Divine Scan.”

Micheal activated his Eyes of the Deep Ability.

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— - Divine Scan— -

Race: Heartflame Human

Title: -

Traits: Glass Cannon

STR:   C+  -->  B-   (Growth Rate: Uncommon or higher -> Rare or lower)

END:   D+  -->  D  (Growth Rate: Uncommon or lower)

REG:    F     (Growth Rate: Rare or lower)

SOUL:   B     (Growth Rate: Rare or higher)

MANA:  C-  (Growth Rate: Rare or lower)

Path Notes: A human that walks a cluttered Path. Traces of the Path of the Sword, the Path of Time, the Path of Rebirth, the Path of the Infinite, the Path of the Eternal, and the Path of Space are present.

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As soon as he saw the results, he couldn’t help a brief smile of relief.

‘The increase in my Soul wasn’t enough to bump me up a grade, however…’ His grin widened,

‘My Strength is now rated B-, though my Endurance has dropped to a flat D.’

It was the expected result.

The Glass Cannon Trait was a Trait that not only greatly boosted the raw power of his body, but was also one of very few Traits that enhanced one's Growth Rate. Specifically, one's STR Growth Rate.

‘The difference between an Uncommon Growth Rate and a Rare Growth Rate will save me countless months of effort.’ It was an excellent result.

The drop in Endurance wasn’t ideal, but he could work around that.

As Micheal finished parsing his Divine Scan screen, noting the changes to his Paths due to his Mana Breathing Method and Kyrui's Inheritance, a loud shout interrupted his thoughts.

“Micheal, what’s going on?!” Sophia was the first to emerge from the Third Gate, blades in hand as she jumped down from the dais and ran over to Micheal.

“Sophia, it’s an attack. Be on guard from the Fifth Gate!” Micheal yelled.

Sophia spun around, her swords held at the ready as she stared at the rubble blocking the Fifth Gate.

Before Sophia could get another word in, Micheal rapidly began to explain what had taken place.

Midway through his rapid-fire explanation, a rather confused looking Shin popped up.

“Dude, it’s like a movie from the 1920s, but with a side of depression.”

Micheal gave the same explanation, letting them know that Serena was undergoing Enlightenment and explaining that there was a Titled Deity on the other side of that portal.

The duo were caught off-guard, to say the least.

“A Titled Deity?! Didn’t you say that was bad news? Like, bad bad news!” Shin asked.

Micheal nodded, his face somber.

“It’s the worst.” He hid nothing with his closest friends.

“I wanted us to have more time before we had to face something like this… but…” Micheal turned to glance at Serena, housed in the shed behind him.

“We don’t have a choice.” Micheal said grimly.

Sophia nodded silently at Micheal’s words, a faint breeze starting to stir around her. Shin glanced curiously at the Crown of the Angel King resting atop Micheal's head, but didn't interrupt, waiting for Micheal to finish.

“That monster, Orion, is already one of the deadliest beings on the planet. If we leave him alone, and give him enough time to master his new Title…” Micheal left the rest unsaid as Sophia and Shin nodded back.

“Well then. Just like old times, or…?” Shin queried.

“No, we can’t wing it. Not this time. Come here, quick.” Micheal motioned,

“I have a plan.”

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Baron Fortuna’s lungs wheezed as he shuddered, his eyes growing blurry as he dropped down on one knee.

“Gods be Damned.” The leader of the Human Alliance, and the last Baron left on the Second Layer, cursed as his sword fell free fom his grasp, clattering to the ground.

The powerful human warrior grunted as he tried to stand and failed, staring down at his body in shock.

All along his right arm, right leg, and torso lay a dense network of dark gray cracks, a patchwork collection that crisscrossed across the right side of his body.

His left leg twitched, going in and out of being invisible, the special Artifact ‘Myrion’s Cloak’ he used failing as his Ki stores grew dry.

“Is this it for me..?” Fortuna muttered as he tried to grasp at the Spatial Ring on his right hand, before realizing it was covered in gray cracks, turning to ash as soon as he touched it.

Fortuna struggled for a few more seconds, unable to accept this.

He was infuriated.

Fortuna was one of the strongest humans on the planet. He had trained his body, his mind, and his Soul for years, mastering his Abilities, his Sword Mastery, and his Artifacts to the best his ability.

If he fell from a direct blow, in the midst of battle with Orion, perhaps he could have accepted it.

But here…

He was crippled from an attack that hadn’t even been aimed at him.

Fortuna growled, trying to deny the reality of the situation to no avail.

Gradually, his struggles lessened and his eyes began to grow dull as he started to lose consciousness.

“Fortuna. Fortuna!”

The Nirvana Saint’s voice echoed as he appeared next to Fortuna in a flash of yellow light.

“Damn it, man! Stay awake!” The Saint growled, reaching down and grasping Fortuna’s head.

Warm yellow light, light that swiftly turned gray, washed over Fortuna in a wave, healing energy flooding the Baron’s body.

“Are you there?” The Leader of the Purgatory Church muttered as he stared at the man, ignoring the sweat that poured down the Saint’s own forehead.

Alas, his question went unanswered.

“Damn.” The Nirvana Saint cursed in a decidedly-un-Saint-like fashion as he dropped his hand, the warm light fading away.

Fortuna’s eyes remained dull, and his body still.

The Leader of the Human Alliance, Baron Fortuna, was dead.

“I was too slow.” The Nirvana Saint clenched his fists, briefly staring at the book he held before looking away.

All around him lay a scene of horror.

A dull, gray world full of cracks and ash.

The ruins of the Sanctum lay all around the Nirvana Saint, blocking his view of Orion. In the background, several loud explosions shook the air as Orion engaged with an enormous Skeletal Dragon that had appeared out of nowhere.

“Where the hell did he get this kind of power?” The Nirvana Saint muttered as he gathered himself, his eyes glowing with light.

A few short seconds later and, after navigating up several chunks of crushed stone and rock, the Nirvana Saint sent out a large Judgement Ray, snarling as he watched the First Lord dodge the sneak attack with an almost casual level of grace.

The Nirvana Saint stumbled backwards not a moment later as an enormous, skeletal tail slammed down on the ground between him and the First Lord, kicking up an enormous wave of rock, dust, and stone shrapnel.

‘Emblazoned Light Shield!’ A small, originally yellow Artifact shattered as the Nirvana Saint activated it, forming a large, 5 meters wide shield that floated in the air in front of him. The brunt of the Skeletal Dragon’s attack, the part that had flown his way anyway, bounced off that shield, but not before he took a rough tumble down the rocky incline he had climbed.

As soon as he came to a halt, the Nirvana Saint scrambled back to his feet, lines of blood dripping down his forehead from a few fresh cuts.

“Think.” The man muttered as he rubbed his aching head.

The Leader of the Purgatory Church had called off his Knight Commanders, using his Solomon’s Book Ability to store them in a temporary Stasis Field inside the book. The trio had suffered from crippling injuries when they came into contact with the gray fog Orion controlled.

He had managed to save their lives, but at the cost of removing them from the fight completely.

“It’s not enough.”

Even as he hid in the ruins of the Sanctum, catching his breath, he still saw the writing on the wall.

“Gregor isn’t going to last.”

The Lord Justiciar had managed to dodge Orion’s deadly Fog of Ruin, but was covered in small injuries, bruised and beaten from the intense battle between the two Master warriors.

Orion was a monster, far more than the Nirvana Saint had expected. In terms of skill, in terms of confidence, in terms of endurance, and in terms of raw power.

“Argh. Get the hell out of my head!” The Nirvana Saint spat, a blast of light shocking the air around him as he stood tall.

The broiling emotions inside him calmed as he forced off the influence of Orion’s Title, relying on his extreme self-control to contain his emotions.

‘It’s dangerous to remain inside this hellish gray world.’ He recognized. A lesser man would have fallen to despair here, the unholy influence of Orion’s Title crushing one’s courage, one’s sanity, and everything in between.

Now that he knew to fight against it, he could hold his own fairly well.

When the world first turned gray, however, he had been caught off guard, and that distraction had cost him dearly, slowing him down enough to let Fortuna die.

“What can we do? Think, man, think.” The Nirvana Saint talked to himself, his mind racing.

‘That’s not it- not enough- no, that won’t work-’ Idea after idea presented itself to him and was promptly discarded.

“This…” He muttered, wiped away a line of blood that had dripped into his left eye.

“This is… less than ideal.”

Right now…

Their situation was terrible, and he couldn’t find a solution.

Frankly, he pondered, what he really needed here was a miracle.

And… just as he had that thought…

The ground grumbled beneath the Nirvana Saint’s feet.

Startled, the he leapt backwards, his eyes boring into the shifting stones in front of him.

Not a moment later, a muffled explosion rang out, and a wave of energy shot free from the ground.

And then… emerging from that wreckage of stone and rock…

The Leader of the Purgatory Church was met with a rather unexpected, but decidedly familiar, face.

“What in the…” The Nirvana Saint stuttered, coming to a complete halt.

“Ho there, holy man.” Micheal coughed as he waved off a layer of stone dust, giving the Nirvana Saint a grim nod.

“Well met.”

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