After reporting to the in-charge of the outpost, we were allowed to utilize the warp gate. Before going through it, he left a message for all of us who came back:
"Welcome back, soldiers."
I felt dizzy, a sign of another space jump, but this time it is a space jump within the same dimension.
I saw a giant ring with a huge white light behind us as it shut down. That should be the other end of the outpost, the "Portal".
As we are near the headquarters, Captain immediately got connected to the other side, which must be the Nebular Commander, Lucia.
A familiar face popped up in the ship's intercomms.
"Commander."
"Vera. Did you..?"
"Yes. We got the objective."
"The casualties?"
"Moderate."
Commander Lucia sighed upon hearing that. As a higher-up in the military, one of the things that she hates the most is this, I think.
I mean, everyone will be happier without many casualties.
That Life Assimilator is the one to blame. Everything is going well until it hindered us from leaving that apocalyptic plane. More than half of the Deity group got killed off.
I should be thankful that we Demigods are in the back when this happened.
"Let's talk about it later when you arrive."
"Understood."
*****
Vera stood on the main dock as she waited for the interstellar ship to arrive. Along with her are the high-ranking officials that are present right now in the headquarters.
After all, this mission is a very important one. With the slate, they could constantly produce more Advanced God-Ranked weapons.
They didn't have to wait for long as a huge silver ship docked. The maintenance personnel moved as Vera and others left one by one.
They wordlessly lined up in front of the said officials, with Vera standing up front.
The team saluted, which is then followed by the receiving officials who also saluted them. Once it was done, Vera started speaking.
"The mission is a success, Commander." She said as she stepped out and passed on her spacial ring to Lucia.
"What about the casualties?"
"Twelve died. 3 vice-captains and 9 brigadier generals."
"...They fought valiantly. I'll oversee their funeral myself."
It didn't take long before they got dismissed. As they left the dock, each official has a dignified face. They knew that it wasn't their battlefield, yet they still felt bad over the deaths of each soldiers.
"To the briefing room. We'll discuss what we'll do to the slate."
""Understood!""
*****
Arriving at my own lodging, I immediately laid down on my bed and heaved a deep sigh.
"An expedition, that's how it is..."
The tension that I felt is incomparable to my prior fights before. Even the incident from that brain zerg before nor my escape with Aria couldn't match it.
Even when I tried relaxing, the vigilance is still there.
"I still have to get used to it, huh."
However, it is also on such a battlefield did I gain such strength in a short amount of time.
"Panel."
[Lugh Austere Bayer]
Rank: EX+
Latent Potential: C-
EXP: 1,196,000,000,000
Strength: EX+
Agility: EX+
Stamina: EX+
Vessel: EX+
Wisdom: EX+
Traits:
[Dagger Mastery (LVMAX)]
[Dexterous Hands (LVMAX)]
[Sword Mastery (LVMAX)]
[Decisiveness (LVMAX)]
[Sixth Sense (LVMAX)]
[Poison Body (LVMAX)]
[Damage Offset (LVMAX)]
[Stone Skin (LVMAX)]
[Resilience (LVMAX)]
[Spear Mastery (LVMAX)]
[Truth-Piercing Eyes (LVMAX)]
[Darkness Control (LVMAX)]
[Corruption Resistance (LVMAX)]
[Armament Connection (LVMAX)]
[Light Control (LVMAX)]
[Parallel Minds (LVMAX)]
[Life Marker (LVMAX)]
[A Reader's Perspective (LVMAX)]
[Stylishness (LVMAX)]
[Mechanical Affinity (LVMAX)]
[Mechanical Sense (LVMAX)]
[Smooth Skin (LVMAX)]
[Energy Recycle (LVMAX)]
[Beautiful Voice (LVMAX)]
[Amiable Guy (LVMAX)]
[Space Swap (LVMAX)]
[Unbreakable Bones (LVMAX)]
[Perfect Physique (LVMAX)]
[Space Authority (LVMAX)]
[Earth Authority (LVMAX)]
[Life Control (LVMAX)]
[Frost Control (LVMAX)]
[Moon Blessing (LVMAX)]
[Everlasting Light God-King Body - Sealed (LVMAX)]
[Boundless Life God-King Body - Sealed (LVMAX)]
[Primordial Yin God-King Body - Sealed (LVMAX)]
[Existence Decoy - Sealed (LVMAX)]
Looking at it, the lengthy panel proved just how much I grew compared to me of the beginning. This was the result of being held back by my Master's 50-year training.
Well, if not for that training, I would've made more mistakes during high-pressure scenarios. That's why I am thankful that I didn't rush to add EXP to my panel.
As for Vaune, he has a higher tolerance rate as his dimension is still hidden right now. He could make more mistakes than I.
"Something doesn't feel right."
Ah, that's it. Undoing the disguise that I wore throughout the trip back, my hands became milky white. Upon releasing it, I felt my mind relax even more.
"This really weighed down on me..."
Even when I saw that some Deities realize that I'm still in my disguised form, they couldn't see through me thanks to the artifact that Master gave me.
They know that something wrong, but they couldn't use their Divine Senses on my body.
Though, it's not like I'll show it off to the public. It's just too uncomfortable when others mistake me as a girl. Until I solve this problem, I have no chance but to continuously use a disguise.
Thankfully, these God-King Bodies had not only improved my body, but also my vessels. Right now, what they can carry is something that far surpasses a normal Demigod.
This is also the reason why I can unleash a stronger blow using <
Maybe, just maybe, it could further fuse into one God-King Body after I officially step into the ranks of deities.
Using [Frost Control], I condensed an ice mirror that could reflect my appearance.
"Woah."
Seeing it this way felt a difference to me. Yes, I scanned myself with my mental power, but seeing my new appearance physically still brought me quite the shock.
This appearance is already beautiful as it is, but the [Perfect Body] made it even more devastating.
I can't complain to that trait though. Not only did it make my recovery faster, it also made my physical body the perfect match to my mind and soul.
This is the other secret of mine that enabled me to catch up to Deities even though I'm not one.
I already fulfilled the prerequisite of the fusion of those three after all.
"Time to go home. I miss Aria..."
I got enveloped with white light before my consciousness went blank for a moment.