Chapter 296: War Preparations (3) |
The unique skill 「Avatar」.
The supernatural ability to create and control copies of oneself.
It was the beginning and the end of Han Seong-hyeon, the foundation of his current power.
‘If my unique skill had been something else… Just thinking about it makes me shudder.’
He wouldn't have been able to acquire such a massive amount of Karma points in the early stages, and he would have been thrown into another world defenseless, his mind still reeling from the trauma.
He probably wouldn’t have even made it out of the forest, let alone reached the village where he encountered the black mages. He would have just died alone and scared.
‘To think I would end up like this.’
He chuckled softly, a sense of disbelief washing over him.
The coward who had been so afraid of the outside world could now freely travel between dimensions and had even become a globally recognized figure, a harbinger of chaos and change.
In another dimension, Auterica, he had become a powerful figure, capable of manipulating the world to his will.
‘And I’m doing it all from the safety of my own home.’
I took a sip of a cold drink I had just taken from the refrigerator and shrugged.
That was the most important aspect.
No matter what he did, no matter what kind of trouble his avatars caused, Han Seong-hyeon, the main body, would always be safe.
That was the source of his confidence, unwavering since the beginning.
‘It also helped me make rational decisions in difficult situations.’
Thanks to that safety net, he had been able to overcome countless obstacles and achieve his goals, never hesitating to take risks.
He didn't have to fear anything, knowing he always had a last resort.
“Huu, I’m getting sentimental.”
And now, that skill was about to evolve again.
It had been locked for a while due to his rapid growth, but Heinz the Second’s recent breakthrough seemed to have triggered something.
It was a timely power-up, with a major battle looming on the horizon.
“Let’s see…”
I sat down on the massage chair, my body relaxing as I opened the system window.
The familiar menus appeared before me.
『Karma Shop Ver.2』
『Unique Skill Enhancement (1,500,000)』
『Other Skill Enhancement – View Details』
『Status Enhancement – View Details』
『Item Purchase – View Details』
『VIP Market – View Details』
『Dimensional Barrier Weakening (6,000,000)』
『Karma Owned - 4,691,326』
The first thing I checked was my Karma balance.
Over 4.6 million points, almost 5 million.
The substantial amount filled me with a sense of satisfaction.
‘It’s already this much, even with the constant expenses.’
Ever since confirming the effectiveness of the 『Growth Elixir (7 days) (200,000)』 from the VIP Market, it had become a regular expense.
And now, not just the late bloomers like Hesperon, Howard, and Horus, but even the established powerhouses like Heinz and Heinrich were using it regularly.
‘And acquiring rare materials also contributes to the expenses.’
But thanks to the Karma pipelines he had established throughout Auterica, his balance continued to increase steadily.
He had gained almost 2 million points after eliminating the Revolutionary giant in Tarak.
It was a veritable gold mine.
‘…I can’t let that Heaven’s Turn Society bastard ruin this.’
His resolve hardened.
Even if he mobilized all his forces in Auterica, he would eventually have to face the Master himself. Karma points, which could strengthen him, were his most valuable asset.
‘No time to hesitate. First, the long-awaited Unique Skill Enhancement.’
It cost 1.5 million points.
A trivial amount for him now.
Zing—
He selected the option without hesitation. A familiar headache, and then his senses sharpened, his awareness expanding.
“Hmm.”
The pain, too intense even for 「Mind Hub」 to filter, subsided.
He took a deep breath, calming his heightened senses, and checked the system message.
《The effects of the unique skill’s derivative abilities have increased, and the range for avatar summoning has expanded.》
《The unique skill has grown and unlocked its potential. You have acquired the special skill “Avatar Assembly”.》
The first was an enhancement of his existing abilities.
From 「Mind Hub」 to 「Soul Firewall」, all the sub-skills he had acquired through enhancing his unique skill had been improved.
And the range of his remote summoning ability had doubled, from 30 kilometers to 60.
‘…Not bad. I can now summon my avatars from Incheon Airport to most of Gyeonggi Province, even from the outskirts of Seoul.’
But that was just the beginning.
The real prize was 「Avatar Assembly」, the new skill he had acquired.
It was exactly what he had been hoping for.
‘I can’t believe it’s actually called ‘Assembly’!’
The ability to gather his avatars at a specific location.
It was a simple, yet incredibly effective ability.
He no longer had to waste time and effort transporting his avatars.
He could instantly turn a one-on-one situation into a one-on-many!
‘…This is exactly what I need right now. I can now use my avatars much more freely. It has a cooldown, but…’
That could be resolved by increasing his proficiency.
And he had other options for saving time.
His gaze shifted to 『Other Skill Enhancement』.
‘I can also enhance my other skills.’
He could enhance not just the avatar-related skills like 「Mind Hub」 and the newly acquired 「Avatar Assembly」, but also his other skills like 「Super Recovery」 and 「Xenoglossy」.
‘It doesn’t work on the avatars’ individual skills, so I’ve only been using it sparingly…’
But now wasn’t the time to conserve Karma.
He had to use everything at his disposal to increase his chances of victory.
He still had 3.2 million points left, so he could afford to invest heavily.
‘I could also enhance my stats… Hmm?’
As he was browsing the system window,
He noticed a sudden and unexpected change.
『Unique Skill Enhancement (2,000,000)』
The price, which had been steadily increasing in increments of 100,000, had suddenly jumped by 500,000.
From 1.5 million to 2 million?
‘Are they trying to rip me off?’
What kind of inflation was this?!
He couldn’t use it right now anyway because of the enhancement limit, but it was still frustrating.
‘…Tsk, it can’t be helped. There’s nothing I can do about it.’
He shook his head, forcing himself to look away.
He still had other options.
Status enhancement, other skill enhancement, purchasing expensive items, or…
『Random Other Skill Acquisition (500,000)』
…testing his luck.
“…Should I try it again?”
He had regretted acquiring 「Xenoglossy」 at first, but it had turned out to be surprisingly useful.
He would have faced numerous limitations without it.
It had been a wise decision.
‘One more time!’
He selected the option without hesitation, trusting in his luck—.
《Activating random potential. You have acquired the skill “Sturdiness”.》
…And then closed his eyes, a wave of disappointment washing over him as he saw the message.
‘Come to think of it…’
Before using the random gacha for the first time after the Karma Shop’s upgrade,
He had said that the actual cost was less than 50,000 per skill, since it was shared among all his avatars, and even a skill like “Sturdiness” would be useful.
And then he had acquired 「Xenoglossy」 and vowed to never gamble again.
‘…Was that foreshadowing?’
He opened his eyes, feeling the skill being shared among his avatars.
It was absorbed by those who already had superior abilities, strengthening their durability, so it wasn't a complete waste…
‘…But it still feels… underwhelming.’
He had 2.7 million points left.
He should probably invest in stats and other skill enhancements.
‘Today’s not my lucky day. I’ll try again later. Later…’
He couldn’t bring himself to say he wouldn’t gamble again.
He had to recoup his losses.
______________________
Bucharest, Romania.
A private room in a luxurious mansion, now a cluttered mess after just a few days.
“Hmm, hmm~ He subdued Gomorrah without killing their leader, just like with the Tyrant. This is very interesting!”
Doctor, having just finished reading the report, stroked his messy beard thoughtfully.
The Duke had dismissed it as a trivial matter, but Doctor, sensitive to even the smallest variables, had been meticulously analyzing Phantom’s actions in Europe.
Nothing had gone according to plan, so he couldn’t afford to be careless.
“This is beyond unexpected… He came all the way to Europe, and now he’s just playing around with his new toys? And what are those two thinking, following him?”
Phantom should have been enjoying his spoils of war, making his way to Romania…
Doctor suddenly stopped muttering and burst into laughter, slapping his forehead.
“Ah! That’s right! I chose him because he was special! It wouldn’t be a worthwhile experiment if he just acted predictably! Uhyaha—!”
As he said, this operation had been planned after learning about Heinz, the vampire who could devour his own kind without going mad.
They had even gone through the trouble of luring him to Europe, away from Hahoe Mask’s influence.
“If only the Duke had given me more blood, I could have made it more… foolproof. Stingy bastard.”
His laughter abruptly stopped, and he pouted, a look of dissatisfaction on his face.
The Duke, a vampire whose power was derived from blood, had made a significant sacrifice… but Doctor, a selfish and greedy madman, didn’t care.
“Ah~ I can’t wait! I’ve prepared so many surprises! When will he arrive~? Come quickly~!”
He whined like a child.
This messy and seemingly insane man was one of the highest-ranking members of Heaven’s Turn Society, Earth’s largest secret organization.
And as if the heavens had answered his plea,
Inside a plane that had just entered Romanian airspace,
A stowaway, unnoticed by anyone, was patiently waiting.
The day after subduing Gomorrah, the Italian vampire clan,
Heinz the Second—Phantom, arrived in Romania.