Using so of the enormous mana pool Dionz had provided, Elio purchased a high-grade potion and a replacent sword from the statue. It wasn't his personal weapon, but it would serve its purpose.
"64,000 monsters shouldn't be too bad now," he mused, checking his equipnt. Emberg and Poison Stinger nodded in agreent, their forms stronger thanks to the enhanced magical damage.
He had several spheres in his book, just in case he needed to unlock new invocations to boost his magical power, though he suspected it wouldn't be necessary. This ti he had sothing more valuable than raw power: information.
"The next elent is scandium," Dionz explained, creating a holographic model of the elent's structure. "Represented by the platypus, which is fitting given scandium's unique properties."
"How so?" Elio asked, studying the model.
"Scandium is a transition tal that becos stronger when combined with other elents, much like how the platypus seems to combine features from different animals. In magical terms, it has so fascinating properties."
The god expanded the hologram, showing energy patterns. "When properly utilized, it can increase resistance for aluminum for example."
"However," he continued, "it's unstable if not properly controlled. The amplification can quickly be negative, turning your own buff into a debuff. The key is using small amounts."
"How will the monsters likely use these properties?" Elio asked, already formulating strategies.
"They'll attempt to create strong barriers to trap you like others have done. But," Dionz smiled, "as I told you, you can redirect their own power back at them, debuff their barriers."
Elio nodded, checking his equipnt one final ti.
Even if this challenge threw 64,000 monsters at him, he was better prepared than ever before.
"Rember," Dionz added as Elio prepared to enter the challenge, "scandium becos exponentially more powerful when properly combined. Your magical attacks might trigger unexpected reactions. Be careful not to let the cascade effects grow beyond your control."
With a final nod, Elio opened the book to the scandium challenge.
This ti, he wasn't going in blind. With his enhanced capabilities, strategic understanding, and the knowledge of how to exploit the elent's properties, he was ready to face whatever awaited him.
Do you wish to challenge the 21st trial?
The familiar pull of the book's magic enveloped them, drawing them into the challenge.
♢♢♢♢
The first run had been nothing like she rembered.
Nothing at all. In her mories, or what she had thought were her mories, she had appeared directly in the chamber, ready to begin the trials. But this... this showed sothing completely different.
She was supposed to stay for a hundred years? Live among them?
The concept felt alien yet sohow familiar, like a dream half-rembered upon waking. The implications spun through her mind in dizzying patterns:
If she had lived among humans, why didn't she rember it? The wait would be much more interesting then…
If this was her first run, why did she have such different mories of it? And most disturbing of all, why was she already in Zara's form even then?
Theories and possibilities cascaded through her thoughts. Perhaps these mories were false, planted to confuse her.
But why?
And by whom? Dionz wasn't capable of creating mories this detailed, this internally consistent.
Could they be fragnts of a different ga? But no, the architecture of the city was clearly the sa as always.
This was undeniably the beginning.
Her mind raced faster, examining and re-examining each detail, each inconsistency. If she had truly lived among humans for a hundred years in her first run, how had that experience affected her?
Had it influenced her view of humanity like Dionz wanted?
And if so, why remove those mories?
The questions multiplied exponentially until her thoughts beca a chaotic storm of speculation and doubt. That's when Zara's consciousness, apparently tired of the ntal noise, decided to speak up...
"Could you possibly think a little quieter?" Zara's consciousness prodded irritably. "So of us are trying to rest between body-theft sessions."
Nala's thoughts had been racing through their shared mind, examining and re-examining the mories of her first run.
Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire
"I don't recall asking for your comntary," Nala replied, though there was less bite in her tone than usual.
"Well, I don't recall inviting you into my body, yet here we are."
The mory continued to unfold before them, showing Nala living in isolation in a small house while the human population grew around her.
"Wait," Zara's interest overca her hostility montarily. "If you were supposed to live among humans for a hundred years, why are you hiding away like so hermit?"
"I'm not hiding," mory-Nala snapped at Dionz, who was making one of his frequent visits. "I'm observing."
"From behind closed doors and shuttered windows?" Present-Zara comnted dryly. "Stellar observation technique."
"You're surprisingly talkative for a hostage consciousness," Nala muttered.
"And you're surprisingly antisocial for soone who's supposed to be 'experiencing human life'," Zara countered. "At least show if you married into my family line or sothing. That would explain why your consciousness fits so well in my body..."
♢♢♢♢
They watched as ti passed in the mory, but Nala remained isolated. Only Dionz's visits broke the monotony.
"You're going to be bored out of your mind if you stay like this," mory-Dionz warned.
"I'm already bored out of my mind," mory-Nala replied.
"Wow," Present-Zara comnted. "You really were bad at this 'being human' thing from the start, huh?"
"I don't see how my social preferences are any of your business."
"They beca my business when you STOLE MY BODY."
The mory shifted to show Dionz trying to convince Nala to interact more with the community. "Just try talking to people? Maybe find a hobby? Make a family?"
"Did... did your father just suggest you make a family?" Zara couldn't contain her amusent. "Like you were so awkward teenager?"
"He was… that's not…" Nala fumbled, then caught herself. "Focus on your own family history."
"I'm trying to see sothing interesting, but SOONE spent their entire human experience cosplaying as a basent dweller."
They watched as mory-Nala ignored more of Dionz's increasingly exasperated attempts to get her to socialize.
"You know," Zara mused, "for soone who hates humans so much, you sure put a lot of effort into avoiding actually getting to know any of them."
"I knew enough," Nala insisted, but sothing in her tone suggested uncertainty.
Reviews
All reviews (0)