"Fascinating," Elio murmured, his eyes reflecting a scientific interest and revulsion.
The scene was grotesque, but every detail provided valuable information about their enemies.
The spider-torso launched forward in another desperate attack attempt. Its movents were erratic but surprisingly coordinated for sothing that had lost most of its body.
The way it used its arms as legs displayed an unsettling adaptability that spoke volus about these creatures' resilience.
'One more cut,' Elio decided, his fingers moving with surgical precision while directing the blade. This ti, he traced a perfect vertical line, the tal responding to his will with an elegance that belied its lethal purpose.
Elio Mana: 85
The tal cleaved through air and flesh alike, dividing the torso into two symtrical halves.
This ti, there was no opportunity to observe which part would survive. The entire Locus body fragnted in an explosion of light, disintegrating completely.
The silence that followed was absolute.
"Is that all?" Brok was the first to break the silence, his voice mixing disbelief and sothing akin to respect. "He didn't even let it use frenzy?"
"Not a single jump," added i, her analytical mind already processing the implications. "That was..."
"Magnificent," Lila completed. "His way of moving, of anticipating... it's as if he could see everything before it happened."
Kriz, recovering so of his usual humor, let out a nervous laugh. "Does anyone else feel like we just witnessed a particularly disturbing anatomy class?"
But Elio barely registered the comnts. His mind was busy analyzing every detail of the combat: the damage points, the monster's reactions, the efficiency of his new capabilities.
Each mont of the battle provided crucial data about both his enemies and his own evolving powers.
'Three cuts,' he calculated ntally. '360 points each. But more importantly...' His eyes narrowed, rembering that mont of absolute clarity when the red glow had appeared. 'This new perception... it's more than what it seems.'
The level 10 Locus, which days ago would have represented a significant challenge even for a coordinated group, had fallen without being able to deploy its true potential.
It was a decisive victory, yes, but Elio couldn't help thinking about the Artromus.
This had been a test, an experint to understand his new capabilities. But the real battle, the true challenge, waited outside, watching from the heights with its eyes black as bottomless wells.
'Still not enough,' he thought as the Locus's core began to materialize. 'I need to understand more, beco stronger...'
His eyes settled on his book, where that mysterious "A" seed to mock him with its secrets still to be discovered.
The core fell with a tallic tinkle on the chamber floor. Elio picked it up, feeling the familiar flow of energy as he absorbed it... with this he had almost 4 billion points.
The ninth summon was getting closer.
He turned to rejoin his companions, but sothing in their expressions stopped him.
Lila stepped forward quickly, her face showing a concern that puzzled him.
"Your eyes..." she murmured, moving closer. "Do they hurt?"
Elio blinked, confused. He felt no pain, no discomfort.
Lila's proximity took him by surprise; for a mont, her gestures seed almost... intimate.
Discover hidden content at m,v l'e-
She raised her hands, touching his cheeks softly with a gentleness that made him hold his breath.
But when she withdrew her fingers, they were stained with red.
"Blood?" Kriz approached, his usual joviality replaced by genuine concern.
"It looks like you've been crying blood," observed i, her analytical mind already working on possible explanations.
Elio touched his face, surprised. He hadn't felt anything, neither pain nor discomfort.
Had so fragnt cut him? It couldn't be...
He checked his book and realized he was missing almost a full point of resistance.
But it would be impossible to know how now, as he couldn't find a wound.
His armor, with its 1000 resistance points, would have already healed it, and with a regeneration of 0.7 per minute, that missing point was minor damage and would be recovered almost instantly.
'The perception,' he reflected, rembering that mont of absolute clarity when his eyes had glowed. Had his resistance dropped almost a point during that instant of maximum concentration?
"Maybe it was the effort when you launched yourself so fast," suggested Brok, but he sounded unconvinced. "You know, with that 'A' thing you ntioned and all that..."
But Elio knew that any internal muscle damage would have been insignificant compared to his 1100 total resistance points.
Besides, his armor's base regeneration again made that trivial...
Right?
"I'm fine," he assured, noticing that the small blood stains were already drying on his face. "Probably just the effort of using perception at maximum."
Lila didn't seem convinced. Her eyes studied his face intensely, as if looking for signs of hidden damage.
"We should inform everyone about this," suggested i. "Any side effects of level 10 could be important."
"Tomorrow," Elio responded, his mind already anticipating the next encounter. "I'll face the Locus again and pay more attention to the effects."
The others exchanged worried looks, but they knew that determination in his voice. There was no way to dissuade him.
"At least let one of us observe you more closely next ti," Lila requested, her hand unconsciously brushing his arm.
Elio nodded, though his mind was already elsewhere. Level 10's power was more complex than he had imagined, and each new piece of information could be crucial in his inevitable encounter with the Artromus.
'Tomorrow,' he thought as the group prepared to leave. 'Tomorrow I'll understand these limits better.'
♢♢♢♢
The next six days established an almost thodical rhythm.
While the builders expanded the tunnel another ten kiloters toward the deposit, Elio continued his experints with the level 10 Locus.
Days 1-6 of Level 10 Locus Experintation Log
Primary Observer:
Elio Von Elian
Secondary Observers:
Kriz, Brok, i, Lila
Location:
Daily Challenge Chamber
Experints and Results:
Initial Abdominal Cut Critical Damage:
360 points
Post-damage Behavior:
Maintains reduced functionality
Frenzy Activation:
~20% remaining life
Frenzy Speed:
~15 points (using 4 arms)
Note:
Never perford jumps
Vertical Torso Cut Critical Damage:
360 points
Survival until decapitation
Death at approximately 720 points
Hypothesis:
Vital organs concentrated in torso and abdon
Horizontal Torso Bisection Critical Damage:
360 points
Post-cut Behavior:
Both halves maintained activity
Damage needed for elimination:
320 points per section
Observation:
Bipedal movent capacity in each half
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