Chapter 422 Preparing For The First Regional (1)
-Reward 3: You have gained 100 Grace.-
-Reward 4: You have gained 45 points in your Will Power Stat.-
-By absorbing the Divinity Fragment housing the Spirit of Uriel Demiurgos, The Seraphim and Former Second General of the God Of Light's Army, you have repaired all damage to your SOC and Soul.-
Unable to control his breathing and slumped forward while using his Greatsword to stay standing, Brance read through his turning point quest rewards.
"Damn, huff, these rewards, huff, are neither too good nor too bad." The new title and upgrade to his [Nephilim Mode] were nice and all, but considering he could only keep the Mode active for a maximum of 25 minutes upon reaching 25% in his Bloodline, the utility behind using the four-wing activation didn't warrant constant use.
Mind you, it could fill in the slot as a trump card, one that would allow him to explode forth with a massive amount of power during a game-changing moment in a fight. Still, until Brance could sustain his Mode for a significant amount of time, he didn't see himself abusing the four-wing activation.
Ignoring his aching body, Brance brought his wings up and, with a few flaps, appeared out of the deep hole in the ground and back on the surface of the mountain range.
Then, upon realizing that he only had around 30 seconds left in his transformation, Brance swiftly made his way back to the ground, deactivated [Nephilim Mode], and collapsed onto his but in a puff of dust.
"Well, that didn't go terribly, amirite?" Turning his head and seeing Tobs walk out of a blue portal wearing a smile, Brance chuckled.
"Nope, I'd say not even your brother could have won that fight so cleanly. Honestly, he probably would have come up with some overly convoluted plan, which would fail in the end, forcing him to recklessly rush in and get the shit kicked out of his body." Shrugging her shoulders, Tobs waved her hand a few times to fix all the damage from the fight.
"What can I say? Even the Second General is susceptible to constant bombardment from artillery; I was merely returning the favor he gave by peppering me with never-ending arrows." As he spoke, Brance gripped the handle of his CS-Tear Greatsword and disengaged the transformation, splitting the sword back into its original two shields.
Crossing his legs, Brance followed up by placing one shield beside him and the other in his lap for inspection. After a couple of minutes, Brance sighed heavily, drawing Tobs attention away from the downed [Radient Tower].
"What's wrong now?" Waving her hand and guiding the tower back into its original position, Tobs tilted her head and read Brance's thoughts before frowning.
"SERIOUSLY, BRANCIE! How the hell can you be worried about your shields? So what if they only have 12% and 14% durability? They are only replications created for use in your SOC, not the ACTUAL thing." Walking over and giving Brance a solid smack upside the back of his head, Tobs started ranting at him, much like Cinyah does with Cynrik.
However, mid-way through her scolding, Tobs stopped and placed her left hand on her temple, confusing Brance.
"What? Is everything ok?" He asked while storing his armor and shields in their slots within his inventory.
"Hm? Yeah, no biggie; it looks like both Cynrik and Selene have finished their Evolutions."
"Oh? How did Cyn's Turning Point Quest Go? Did he face any cool legendary Vikings this time? Or was it another Mythical Beast like Jörmungandr?" Brance asked while standing up and switching out of his training clothes and back into his uniform.
"Nah, nothing like that. Cynrik was in a similar situation to you, where one of his Turning Points was merged with the Passing Down Quest. Instead of being thrown into the next one, he got a free pass."
"HUH?" Dropping his mouth open, Brance stared at Tobs questioningly.
"Don't 'Huh' me, and close your mouth; bugs will fly in. If you hadn't prolonged your first quest as long as you did, you would have ended up in the same situation. However, the third was turned active because you had only completed your first Turning Point, and the second was merged with your Passing Down." Rolling her eyes and reaching over to close Brance's mouth for him since he ignored her advice, Tobs explained further.
"From the information I have gathered, you can think of it like this. Since you and Cynrik were born, all your Turning Point Quests have been dormant, requiring a certain level of Essence to trigger."
"The trigger seems to occur when your body is experiencing the purge brought about by your Evolutions. Thus, the following Divinity Fragment, which houses your Turning Point Quest, gets activated each time you Evo."
Finishing her statement, Tobs began tapping away on her Clipboard, and with a swipe of her hand, a holographic display of Brance's body, similar to the one he saw when she explained Mana Veins and Circuits manifested in front of them.
In contrast to the previous model, the greyscale body showed nine diamonds this time—one on his head, each shoulder, arm, and leg. The last two diamonds were over his heart and belly button.
Of the nine diamonds, three, the one on his head, heart, and belly button, was glowing white, leaving the other six greyed out.
"Each diamond represents one of the divinity fragments placed in your soul by the God of Light, and as I am sure you can guess, the three glowing ones are the fragments you have assimilated after clearing a Turning Point Quest."
"Some of the fragments are stronger than others and, as a result, will have a more profound effect on you in one way or another. For example, the glowing diamond on your head was the first quest and the source of all the hallucinations you experienced. The second shining diamond on your Codex was the one you earned by sharing Michael's final moments; I don't need to explain the final one."
"I see…" Brance murmured as he looked from Tobs' Clipboard to the anatomic model of his body and back to the Clipboard.
"Brancie, pay attention." Snapping her fingers to draw Brance's attention, Tobs tried to get him back on track but knew his mind was only focused on one thing, which was apparent by the stream of thoughts she was observing in his head.
"UGH! IT'S JUST A FUCKING CLIPBOARD! YES, I COULD HAVE CHOSEN A TABLET; YES, IT WORKS LIKE A PROJECTOR; NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE; NO, IT CAN'T TURN INTO A ROBOT! THAT'S IT, SHOO, GO BACK TO YOUR BODY AND GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Rapidly answering every question in Brance's mind, Tobs stepped forward and bonked his head with the Clipboard in question, instantly sending him out of his SOC.
With Brance gone, Tobs huffed angrily before vanishing and making the rounds to Cynrik and Selene, kicking them out of their SOC too. Moving around, she continuously complained about how she was turning into an over-glorified Babysitter instead of an all-mighty AI.
---
Opening his eyes and sitting up, Cynrik rubbed the top of his head, where Tobs had just smacked him.
'The fuck is her problem, all I did was ask about Brancie's Turning Point, and she hit me.' Cynrik thought as he sat up and peeked at the two sleeping ravens on either side of his body in the Aether Capsule.
Understanding that it would take some time for them to wake up, he picked Sie up, placed her against his chest, and channeled some Mana into his [Mark of the Tamer], causing the sleeping Raven to vanish.
Next, he replicated the process with Vii and massaged his stiff neck.
'OI, Grumpy-pants AI, how much time has passed since I laid down in the Aether Capsule.' Cynrik asked as he activated [Mana Sight] to search for the release mechanism that would pop the capsule's lid, allowing him to get out.
-Fuck you! Who's grumpy? Not me! You're Grumpy.-
An angry and clearly grumpy Tobs responded, making Cynrik stifle laughter since she had proven his point.
'Yes, yes, I know, you aren't grumpy, you are my cutie patootie Tobsie who just got a body; now can you please tell me how long I have been in this mechanical-stone deathtrap, oh and give me everyone elses completion times too?"
-CYNRIK AYKE JETLENSR, I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT.-
'Oof, I just got full-named by my AI,' Cynrik thought with a shudder as he sucked in his bottom lip and stared blankly at the release hatch on the right side of the capsule.
Shaking his head to clear the innate PTSD he had thanks to how fierce Cinyah was, Cynrik ignored the thought that Tobs was starting to take after his mother and pulled the two-hand length lever.
TSSSSSSSSS CRRRRREEEEEEK!
As he did so, all the excess Mana trapped in the air-tight capsule escaped as steam, and the Aether Capsule's lid swung open like a DeLorean door. *Back to the future Car, GIF in Discord REF Channel*
'Tobs, I need those stats, please.' Smirking and throwing both legs outside of the capsule, Cynrik stretched his body while taking a good look at his legs, which appeared to have grown slightly longer.
-Yeah, I heard you the first time, jerk, already on it; give me a second.-
-Tier-3 Evolution Completion Time-
-Cynrik: 5 hours 23 minutes.-
-Brance: 6 hours 18 minutes.-
-Selene: 7 hours 44 minutes.-
-Gabby: 8 hours 6 minutes.-
-Benny: 8 hours 12 minutes.-
-Melody: 8 hours 59 minutes.-
'And STILLLLLL, the UNDISPUTED, EVOLUTION CHAMPION!!!! CYNRIK JETLENSRRRR, haaaa haaa, and the crowd goes nuts. Tobs play some hype sports clapping and cheering for me.-
-Now playing 'Awkward Cricket Sound Effect.-
'Oh Fuck off,' cursing unhappily, Cynrik leaned forward and got out of the Aether Capsule before slowly closing the lid and looking around the room.
Noticing nothing of note had changed and glancing over the chest-high Capsule, Cynrik spotted a pale-faced Professor Morningdale opening and closing her mouth like a fish as panic and confusion spread across her face.
"Hm? Is there something on my face Professor?" Reaching up and pulling on his cheeks, Cynrik wondered if his Evolution somehow made him uglier.
"You, you, you, did you fail? You weren't even in the Aether Capsule for a full six hours. Are you ok? Did you experience a Mana Deviation?" Jumping to her feet and rushing over, Professor Morningdale took out a small device that looked like a cross between a flashlight and a cell phone and used it to scan Cynrik's body.
Chuckling at her antics, Cynrik allowed the plump woman to do as she pleased, and when she was finished with her scans, he smiled politely at the Professor.
"I passed the Turning Point Quest and succeeded in my Evolution Professor; there is no need to worry."
-This series is exclusively published on WebNovel if you are reading it anywhere else...You Wrong, Fam. PS Check out the Discord, https://discord.gg/dcxKNJEMwg-