NOVEL WEB Chapter 1074: The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 1074: The Calm Before the Storm
Three months passed quickly. They were spent preparing for the upcoming attack on Maynard Island, the following invasion of the Mur continent, and training. Erik and the others trained hard. They pushed themselves to their limits every day, and it wasn't simple since they had to make neural links.
Erik didn't even hunt, nor asked the Chimaeric Demons to do it for him and to collect brain crystals. At that point, he had no time to waste on new powers. What he asked them was simply to prepare for the attack and to train.
Mira, Amber, and Emily made amazing progress. With Erik's help, they learned his new technique, which allowed them to get neural links at an unprecedented rate. Not only was it fast in general, but it was fast for powers with many neural links. All of this made them much more powerful.
By the end of the three months, the three women had each reached 54 neural links. This was a tremendous achievement, not only at a personal level but at a global one.
Just three years ago, the words of three people reaching the 54 neural links mark would have made everyone consider them the strongest people in the world.
However, the advancements in technology and Doran's research changed things. What should have been once seen as an incredible feat was not as impressive anymore. The world of power and abilities has changed a lot in a short time.
Even so, Erik and his friends knew they had grown stronger, and while their achievement might not be as impressive to others, it was still a big deal for them.
The group saw this as just the start. They had built a sturdy base and were ready to become even more powerful.
Even with all the new technology leveling the field for their enemies, Erik and his friends still had an enormous advantage.
They could use Erik's new neural link training technique, which was still incomparably faster than the other techniques.
Given enough time, the group and the Chimaeric Demons would become unstoppable. The only problem was that they didn't have time.
Erik was amazed at how quickly Mira, Amber, and Emily were improving. He watched them grow stronger every day. Erik felt relieved knowing his lovers were safer from dangers. They were getting harder and harder to be killed.
It was just a matter of time before they went beyond the 54 neural link mark and reached new heights that, this time, no one got to, at least based on what they knew.
Erik also made great progress himself. He diligently made new neural links. The one he focused on was, of course, his Chimaeric Demons brain crystal power. After lots of training, he reached 54 neural links for it, but when he got to that point, he decided to focus on his other powers.
In fact, he got 20 neural links for the Phantom Veil, 10 for the Frostwind fire tempest, 10 for the Lightning Lord, and 20 neural links for the Beast Walker brain crystal powers.
The reason was simple. He needed to get stronger and faster at that, so the best thing would be to increase his overall physical strength and speed by using the neural links to increase his stats.
The only thing Erik didn't improve in was his amount of energy, which he still believed was going to be insufficient on the Mur continent.
<To hunt, I will need to use the Chimaeric Demons...>
Erik needed to kill on the Mur continent and push his energy to higher levels. However, hunting thaids on Mur would not be something he could do alone, and he already saw many Chimaeric Demons dying. If he wanted to find the blackguards and brave the dangers that the damned continent threw at him, he needed to have an army, and that was the main thing on which he was focusing on.
<Dad said the blackguards are surviving there by flooding thaids with numbers. If it works for them, then it should work even better for me.>
Erik thought about his upcoming trip to Mur, feeling worried. The continent was very dangerous, even for the blackguards.
He pictured walking through thick forests where every plant might try to eat him. He imagined vast, empty lands full of poisonous gases and dangerous creatures inhabiting lakes and water puddles.
<System, show me the status.>
[Host Information]
NAME: Erik Romano
AGE: 18
POWER LEVEL: 1346
SYSTEM LEVEL: 238
EXPERIENCE: 1,411,610 / 1,413,769
DNA POINTS: 18,342
HEALTH: 22,640/22,640
MANA: 22,570 / 22,570
{Attributes}
STRENGTH: 543
INTELLIGENCE: 475
DEXTERITY: 523
ENERGY: 1127
Available Attribute Points: 0
{Powers}
[Biological Super Computer Powers]
Brain Crystal Manipulation
Brain Crystal Power Extraction
Brain Crystal Power Merging
Brain Crystal Power Analysis
Brain Crystal Power Editing
Brain Crystal Power Strengthening
(LOCKED)
DNA Manipulation
DNA Extraction
DNA Merging
DNA Analysis
DNA Editing
DNA Strengthening
(LOCKED)
Analysis
Brain Information Injector
Device Manipulation
[Host's Powers]
PLANT MASTER: A13B-RANKED
CHIMAERIC DEMON: Aα3X-RANKED
SELF HEALING: A12A-RANKED
INSTABILITY: Aλ2B-RANKED
Phantom Veil: A02A-RANKED
Frostwind Fire Tempest: AП3A-RANKED
Force Bastion: Av1B-RANKED
Lightning Lord: An3A-RANKED
Beastwalker: A01B-RANKED
{Skills}
Kyokar Hand-to-Hand Style (MASTER)
Etrium's Sword Style (ADVANCED)
Crypt of the Desert Style (MASTER)
Alchemy (Intermediate)
Architecture (Beginner)
Thaid Expertise Proficiency (Advanced)
Flora Expertise (Master)
Tactical Expertise (Advanced) Management Proficiency (Intermediate)
Stealth Proficiency (Intermediate)
<It's not enough...>
Erik knew the strength he possessed wasn't enough. He knew his mana wasn't enough, yet
progress demanded time.
Despite this, he improved, and even if he hadn't tested it yet, the new neural links were going
to have a big impact on his overall prowess.
<Almost 600 strength points, but...> Energy was still at the same levels as the previous
months.
Though Erik looked at the rank of his Chimaeric Demons' brain crystal power. <Aa3X, uh? It's
almost a dream...>
He paused.
<This is going to make things easier...>
By getting these many neural links, the speed at which the clones hatched and matured
decreased.
Hatching speed now decreased to two weeks and just a month and a half to mature. This was a
huge step forward and opened up many new possibilities for their plans because Erik could
get more clones in a much shorter time frame.
Erik took advantage of this by making more eggs, with a focus that bordered on obsession. Over the course of the three months, he made around 45,000 eggs.
However, not everything went as it should have been because the brain crystal power didn't make creating eggs cheaper in terms of mana.
Before, he could make around 500 eggs a day, with a mana cost of 45 each. That remained the
same. The only difference was that they were combat-ready in a much shorter amount of
time.
As time passed, many Chimaeric Demons matured, and as he anticipated, he sent them out to accomplish his goal: to take control of foreign governments, which they achieved, at least
partially.
Some of them already got to important positions, and many stole key positions by impersonating other people. It was terrifying if one thought about it, because a loved one could truly be someone else. But Erik had no other way to stop this war and to eradicate the
blackguards.
<If this won't be enough to cut their support, nothing will be aside from eradication. Well...
It's not that I don't plan on eradicating them. It's just that a thorough cleansing will require much more time.>
However, a lot of Chimaeric Demons, more precisely the 20,000 Erik made when he reached
Hin's shores, remained on the island. As per Erik's order, they took control of different outposts and cities across the country.
The Chimaeric Demons didn't circle Sleb Harbour completely yet or cut off Maynard Island
from Hin, but they were slowly going there.
<Only a few places remain. The four fortresses in the north-east and two cities in the far
east.>
Even though Erik and his team had been successful in these missions, they knew their biggest challenge was still to come.
They had to fight the blackguards on Maynard Island, where their enemies were strongest and
had the most defenses.
Erik thought about how well-protected the island might be after all this time.
<Since they know we are here, I bet they locked down. That would explain the increased
security at each airport around Hin.>
In fact, as the Chimaeric Demons said months ago, security increased to absurd levels. Veritas
Lenses spread, and even the lowest-tiered guards were much stronger than usual. Most of them had two brain crystal powers, and based on how strong they got, making more neural links made their bodies stronger.
There was a problem, though. The speed at which they gained stats was higher than Erik.
<This is the only limitation the system posed.>
The biological supercomputer explained to Erik that too many changes to the DNA in a short amount of time could lead him to mutate uncontrollably and become a monster. For this reason, since Erik was bound to get a ton of powers, and from it, many neural links, it limited
the energy that Erik could invest in his stats.
However, these people didn't have the biological supercomputer; there was no one ensuring
they didn't end up brainless beasts, and all the energy from the neural link-making procedure ended up being used to power up their stats.
Erik got around 1 point for each stat, for a total of three, while those who had more than one
brain crystal power without the system got 3 for each stat. It was three times faster than Erik. However, despite this massive problem, winning the actual fight wasn't his main worry. Erik and his Chimaeric Demons were strong enough to beat the island's defenses. The real problem was figuring out how to get to the island in the first place. The dangerous
waters around Maynard Island made this a tough task that needed careful planning, and despite a lot of time having passed since Erik reached Sleb Harbour, they still hadn't found a solution to the predicament.