A man stood still in the assembly hall exactly fifteen feet from the platform, Its towering walls are constructed from cold, gray stone, adorned with symbols and engravings that hint at a long-forgotten Old world history. Power orbs charged with an electric energy that seems to permeate every inch of the arena.
At the center of the arena lies a circular platform, elevated slightly above the ground. The platform is made of polished obsidian, reflecting the dim light and creating an eerie glow. Surrounding the platform are rows of empty seats.
Jack had remained standing even after all the masters has left, his eyes were close and he was able to feel Celine some distance away due to the Soul bond but it required immense concentration. His opened his eyes. " looks like they finally stopped."
Jack left the hall and Carefully navigated through the academy, following the feeling of Celine, he was playing a game of hot and cold, the stronger the feeling meant he was heading to the right direction.
After a few hours Jack was standing outside of the Masters Academy Laboratory, As he entered the building, he found himself in a spacious lobby with marble floors and high ceilings. The feeling was faint but distinct, leading him towards a corridor on the right side of the lobby.
John proceeded down the corridor, passing by several closed doors. The feeling grew stronger, guiding him towards a staircase at the end of the corridor. He ascended the stairs, taking each step with caution to avoid making any noise that could alert anyone to his presence.
Reaching the second floor, Jack found himself in a maze of interconnected hallways. The feeling led him through a series of twists and turns, occasionally passing by open cubicles which were strangely devoid of Science Professors.
As he continued following the feeling, Jack noticed the feeling was leading him to a wall, He knew he had to find an alternative route.
John retraced his steps slightly and found an unmarked door tucked away in a corner, it nothing like a door without the feeling he was tracking he would have not been able to find it . He cautiously opened it and slipped into a dimly lit maintenance corridor. The feeling was now strong, guiding him further into the depths of the building.
Navigating through this hidden passage, John encountered various obstacles such as broken pillars and maintenance equipment blocking his path, After navigating through the labyrinthine corridors of the building, John finally arrived at an opening in the side of a wall, he slipped out and stared about twenty three feets ahead.
The feeling led him to a set of double doors made of reinforced High grade Nth metal. Nth metal is the strongest metal in the world and also the rarest. Although not as strong as Zastathium from the Null_realm, High grade Nth metal would be able to hold a master at the fifth level. These doors were the only doors made with Nth metal.
The doors were equipped with a state-of-the-art security system, including a retina scanner, fingerprint reader, and a numeric keypad. Jack knew that gaining access to this restricted room would require more than just his strength. He needed to find a way to bypass the security measures.
Observing the guard stationed outside the room, Jack noticed her vigilant demeanor. She was well-trained, constantly scanning her surroundings for any signs of intrusion. He knew that a direct confrontation would be inevitable and may likely result in failure but he was willing to fight anyway."Maybe I will figure out how to open the doors after but now it's time to test out Celine's gift." Jack thought.
[ Mask Equipped: Herald of dread ]
[ Armour Equipped: Herald of dread ]
[ Weapon Equipped: Shackles of Eleanor ]
[ Mask: Herald of dread ]
[ Tier: King-tier ]
[Active Skill ]
[ Embodiments of fear: Allows the user to show no signs of pain, the mask strikes fear directly into the mind of the opposition,The expelled fear increases user stamina. ]
[ Passive skill ]
[ Devil's touch: Paralyzes opposition and drain essence. Absorbed essence can cause diverse changes to the User. Requirements —0/10,000 essence ]
[ Armour: Herald of dread ]
[ Tier: King-tier ]
[ Skills ]
[ Warlock: Embraces translucence and allows the User to phase through attacks and obstacles ]
[ Aggravate: Deactivates all opposition skills. requirements User must be of the same rank with Opposition ]
[ Coward's Victoria: Allows the User instant teleportation to a random position ]
‡ Strength. 19
‡ Stamina. 14
‡ Agility. 15
‡ Resilience. 35
[ Body Constitution C_level is compatible with armor ]
[ Armour enhancement ]
‡ Strength. 38
‡ Stamina. 28
‡ Agility. 30
‡ Resilience. 70
Jack felt the rush of energy in his vein. "Maybe my strength should now be comparable with a level 2." Jack thought.
Jack's Strength without the Armour was comparable to that of a level 2 at the limit. This was because he used endless extraction on Jonathan and the King Draken but with the additional stats of the Armour it was comparable to a level 4 master but Jack was not aware.
[ Armor has detected a Soul bond, do you want to create additional skill ]
[ Additional Skill created : Soul bond marker ]
[ Soul bond marker: Allows the user to mark and travel to the bonded soul ]
Jack had a smile on his face when he saw the additional skill. "looks like I don't have to worry about using the doors, I can just travel to Celine's location." Jack said.
[ Skill: warlock activated ]
[ Skill: Soul bond marker activated ]
The Armour turned translucent and the scene slowly disintegrated rifting slightly until it completely changed. He was now in a strange lab, interior design of the lab is sleek and modern, featuring a combination of enhanced glass, High grade Nth metal, and advanced composite materials. The digital walls stands tall and imposing, with a minimalist aesthetic that exudes an air of sophistication and secrecy.There was a spacious atrium that serves as the central hub connecting various research wings and tubes to departments. The atrium features high ceilings adorned with energy lighting fixtures that emit a soft glow. The walls are decorated with large digital screens displaying data and scientific visuals, in front of him were two women and at the side were twelve seats and twelve masters sprawled on the cold floor.
The guard in front was strong but he was stronger than her due to the armour buff and her armour was also King-tier, but Mazuki was just as strong as him even with the buff and she wore no Armour. " That means I will have to take them one at a time." Jack thought.
"Who are you, you should know who we are, what are you trying to achieve with this stunt" The guard on green Armour said.
Jack was certain he was invisible. "They can see me?." Jack thought.
[ Skill: Warlock deactivated ]
A veil slowly feel off revealing a being clad in a dark obsidian skin tight Armour and a dark mask. The armor is adorned with aligned scales, resembling the hide of a fearsome creature. The scales are meticulously crafted from a lightweight yet incredibly strong composite material, allowing for ease of movement without compromising protection. Each scale is individually attached to the underlying armor, providing flexibility and ensuring that the wearer can move freely in combat situations.
The dark coloration of the armor and the thirty three abnormally long stacked vertebrae protruding out of its back adds to its ominous appearance, instilling a sense of dread in those who lay eyes upon it.
The mask is designed to resemble the face of a Creature from the depths of hell, complete with long protruding horns and fangs. It is crafted from a combination of lightweight yet durable materials similar to those used in the construction of the armor itself.
These twin horns extend outward from the sides of the mask, curving slightly upward to create an imposing silhouette. The horns are intricately detailed, featuring engraved patterns that mimic the texture of demonic horns.
The mask's fangs are crafted from sharp obsidian, giving them a menacing appearance. These fangs are designed to be retractable, allowing the wearer to extend or retract them at will.
The mask also incorporates glowing red eyes. These eyes emit a faint light, further enhancing the demonic aura of the armor. The eyes can be adjusted to different levels of brightness and colours or even pulsate in sync with the wearer's heartbeat, adding an extra layer of visual impact. The mask is designed to be easily detachable, allowing the wearer to remove it when necessary.
And covering his wrist to elbows was a pair of twisted shackles made from a strange steel pulsating a red glow which complements it's glowing red eyes.
The green Armour guard flinched. "Who are you, you should know who we are, why are you even pulling such stunt?" The guard said.
[ Fear points gained 5/100 ]
" So this is how the Embodiment of fear skill works." Jack thought.
The guard green Armour glowed blue, she dug her hands into her back and pulled out her spine, it coil and retracted forming a whip before glowing a deep blue. She sent the whip towards Jack, it moved with such Inhuman speed stretching and increasing with time, by the time it got to Jack's face it was as big as a giant hand. Jack tilted his head and avoided The blow, it kept on surging forward until it slammed into the Nth metal doors.
Bang!!
There was a slight dent on the Nth metal doors. She twisted the whip going for a downward swipe, there was no way for Jack to dodge the whip.
[ Skill: Aggravate activated ]
Ping!
The guard paused and her eyes widened like saucers due to the notification from her system.
[ You have been affected by Skill: Aggravate ]
[ All Skills has been Deactivated ]
The whip retracted back to it's normal size and the glow slowly fades out, She stepped back trying to create enough distance away from Jack.
[ Fear points gained 15/100 ]
Jack closed the distance between them in a single sweep and brought his legs down performing an axe kick, when his leg was an inch close to making contact with her neck, her armour glowed blue and when Jack legs connected it created a small shock wave and her legs buckled as the ground cracks due to the impact, Jack twisted his legs and brought down his heel with more strength, when it connected it slammed her face first into the ground creating an even bigger shock wave and crater.
He raised his head and stared at Mazuki, he was expecting a reaction but her face remains expressionless and she wasn't afraid, he could tell cause he got no fear points, series of notifications assaulted his vision.
Ping!
[ Skill: Embodiment of fear failed ]
[ Skill: Aggravate failed ]
" How can these skills fail." Jack thought.
[ You talent level has been affected by Skill: ??????????]
[ You talent level is higher than Opposition]
[ Do you want to reject forced changes ]
[ Yes ]. [ No ].
[ Forced Changes rejected ]
Jack smiled due to the effect of the mask, a fang protruded out of his mouth and retracted. He stared at Mazuki even though her skill failed she still had no reaction.
Jack's ears picked up the tapping on the digital numeric keypad. " looks like I've alerted the other guard, I can't take them both at the same time."
Imagine is the first skill he received, he had been testing it since and only recently he found out how to use the skill. Just like the name it allows Jack to bring imagination to life as long as it's not to complex, the higher the complexity the higher the essence and the lower the time frame.
[ Skill: Imagine activated ]
[ Mirror Chamber Activated_ Run time 30 sec ]
Mirror Chamber is a skill a villain used to imprison the hero in one of his childhood favourite movie.
Mazuki saw the being in front of her distort and turned into a thousand clones_ not clones, it was like a thousand mirrors was reflecting the same image.
Jack stared at her face but still there was no reaction, she just stood there like she wasn't impressed, her nonchalant attitude was slowly provoking him. " There must be a reason while she's so confident."
Ping!
[ Your Opposition grows Stronger ]
Jack didn't need the system to inform him, she was already at the limit of the Fifth level, he could tell cause she was releasing the same aura as General Del.
Jack had to do something and fast, he thought her growth will stop but it didn't at this rate sooner or later she would have a breakthrough and he will have to fight a Saint.
He raised his both hands and all the Countless reflection reflected this action and started encasing them with red lightning, he was redirecting most of his essence cause he will need more than that to hurt her.
Ping!
[ You have gained Skill: Death bolt ]
[ Skill: Death bolt activated ]
[ Death bolt has consumed 70% of essence ]
A huge bolt of lightning left Jack's hands and headed straight towards Mazuki, due to the thousand reflection of the same action it was impossible for her to tell the Original, a red bolt the size of a city train struck her from the back enveloping her in a blinding radiance even Jack had to close his eyes, the impact caused the mirror Chamber to shake and numerous cracks to appear on the thousand mirrors.
When the light fade out, Mazuki remained standing she didn't even move an inch and there was no sign of burn on her body even her clothes were unscratched.
Jack felt a shiver down his spine, but he knew he would have to suffer an even worse fate cause she was just hair's breadth close to the Saint rank.
Mazuki's eyebrows twitched. There were at least a thousand clones of Jack just an inch from touching. " How did he get close to me?. This place is like a void it empowers him. Mazuki thought.
She saw a slight change in movement from one of the clones approaching from behind, she was certain that was the original but the next moment she felt a sharp grab from the front.
Huh!
[ Skill: Devil's touch activated ]
Jack grabbed her head and held it in place, he felt a surge of essence assualt his body threatening to fry his mind but he held on.
" This skill is just like the skill of my pendant but it's only Mid grade while mine is Imperial grade, but why can't I move does the skill have a paralysing effect.
Ping!
[ Opposition has deactivated essence ]
How is this possible? How can one deactivate essence? She survived the death bolt unscratched now this... is she even human?. Jack thought.
[ Mirror Chamber deactivating..... ]
The notification from the system was enough reason for Jack to create a safe distance between him and Mazuki and try to stall until the mirror Chamber deactivates.
[ Skill: Warlock activated ]
Jack activated the warlock skill not to be invisible since it didn't work the last time but he activated it so he could phase through her attack.
Jack saw Mazuki's hand shift slightly and he suddenly felt a huge impact on his chest, he didn't even see her move though he was translucent he still felt immense pain and all his insides in his chest region turned into paste.
Jack Threw a punch of his own, he was just acting on impulse, Mazuki was able to withstand his death bolt, so a punch wasn't the right approach.
Mazuki's face showed her disapproval as Jack's hand went for her chest when his hand was an inch close it suddenly changed direction and went for her lower jaw.
When Jack punch landed he expected his hand to shatter but instead he was able to knock her off her feet and the impact sent her hurling backwards.
Deactivating one's essence was like partially deactivating the system since it functions with essence, so Jack's was able to hurt her for the first time.
[ Mirror Chamber deactivated ].
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