"Are you mad?" Nyx shot him a firm look. "We don't have time for that. We're here for the core. Or did you already forget that?"
"I didn't," Leo growled. "But can't you see it? This is our chance to even the odds. This layer might be easy to pass, but what about the second or the third one? What if Nightmares there are so powerful that we won't be able to even scratch them? We need this, Nyx. We're both already so much stronger than we were not even an hour ago."
The feline held his gaze for a bit longer before turning away with a huff. "Fine, but we need to be fast. You said it yourself, this layer is simple, but the next one might take us hours for all we know."
He nodded. "I'm well aware of that. Take ten more minutes to recover, and let's move out. I have an idea."
"Now you have me worried…"
----------------------------------------
"I'm going in. Let me know when you're ready," Nyx said as she detached herself from his body.
"Go on," Leo answered. "I need another minute or two at worst."
The feline nodded and sprinted away, leaving him alone in the long tunnel—well, almost alone. On each side, he was surrounded by dozens of shadow minions, all of them taking shapes similar to a Crawler. He and Nyx had spent the last ten minutes crafting them with their combined power.
Should be more than enough for the next chamber. He mused, silently ordering all of his creations to take positions on the tunnel walls. With that done, he focused on the next stage of his plan.
A small piece of his soul surged into his body with naught but a weak tug. Shadow Essence followed right after, slowly covering his form in thick armor and activating the vital part of the Manifestation technique.
All right, and now the final step. Crouching down, Leo closed his eyes and stabbed his claws into the ground beneath him. More of his Essence spilled out, connecting to every shadow inside the tunnel. He left no surface untouched, taking it all under his control.
However, he wasn't done yet—far from it.
With Resonance established and Manifestation active, the control and power of his affinity skyrocketed. He flooded the tunnel's walls with shadows, pushing over half of his reserves into this move.
Once this Essence settled, he carefully shaped it into Eruptions, one after another. His bloodlust even helped in the process, providing its hate and hunger for those techniques to make them even stronger. Their newfound partnership was really paying dividends.
And… done. Leo opened his eyes and stood up.
Aside from the addition of shadow Crawlers spread along the walls, the tunnel didn't look all that different. Yet, if one were to squint hard enough, they would have noticed the masses of shadows lying in wait, ready to kill anything that came close.
Nyx, everything's ready on my side. He called through the link. You can proceed.
'Understood. Be there in a few. You will hear us. Don't miss the timing.'
Never. Leo vowed and grabbed the mental leash of his techniques and shadow minions. A few seconds later, muffled wails reached his ears. There we go.
In her smoke form, Nyx appeared at the end of the tunnel with six Bladeforms hot on her tail. Thanks to her recent ascension, she was creating more and more distance between her pursuers, which was just what they needed.
Three. Two. One. Now!
At once, Leo released the hold on his techniques and minions. Spikes, tendrils, and even makeshift limbs erupted all over the tunnel. The shadow Crawlers also pounced, going straight for the Nightmares that flew by them.
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It was chaos, pure chaos. The spinning Bladeforms tried to cut through everything in their way, hoping to reach Nyx, but they just couldn't go on forever. Even Nightmares had limits, and the constant assault from each side was putting them to the test.
Halfway on their way to Leo, their forward momentum died, stopping their deadly spin. He pushed more Essence into his techniques and watched as another wave of Eruptions assaulted the group. The Nightmares still defended, flexing their bodies in ways he couldn't even imagine.
Yet, in the long run, it didn't matter. Bit by bit, his shadows ripped the Bladeforms apart. Leo didn't even have to join in. He simply orchestrated his creations from afar. At the same time, he fueled more and more Essence into the shadow wall behind the battlefield, just near the end of the tunnel.
After all, he couldn't allow any water to come here and bail out his prey. Though going by the almost unnoticeable pressure on the wall, this group of Nightmares didn't bring too much elemental support with them.
A mistake on their part.
All of that, however, didn't stop Nyx from jumping into the fray. She sliced and diced with her claws and tail, weaving through the battlefield like a dancer. Sometimes, she took control of his shadows to support her, and he allowed it. After her role in the last battle, she deserved a little fun.
And so, one by one, the Trench Bladeforms fell. Once only three remained, Leo ordered the feline to back off and took command over all the shadows in the room.
In a single move, he created two massive waves that crashed into the Nightmares from opposite sides, burying them alive. He could feel their struggle, how they tried to cut their way out, but it was all for naught. With one more push, his affinity thickened and crushed them into broken pieces.
"And done…" he muttered, releasing the hold on his skills.
The shadows faded all around, revealing the Nightmares' bloodied and broken corpses. The moment his gaze fell on them, Leo realized that he might have underestimated the effects of his Soul ascension. Beforehand, his affinity had nowhere near enough strength to crush his enemies like that—at least not ones who had a higher level than him.
His shadows were a wonderful tool for creation and setting up traps, but they always lacked power and durability. Now, it seemed, that had changed too, thanks to the ascension.
Though, I still had to sacrifice a lot of Essence to do all of this. I really need to work on advancing my shadow affinity once I get back. I've been delaying it for too long.
Leo sighed and dismissed those ideas for the time being. He had much better stuff to take care of now.
How much did we get this time?
Multiple enemies slain | Experience awarded | 2573 Ether gained
Congratulations! You have reached level 60. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed.
Three levels from six Nightmares. He hummed. It's obviously slowing down… Still, more than worth it anyway. Took us only about twenty minutes to prepare and finish the job. Pretty good if I say so…
He glanced at Nyx and quickly checked her level. Similar, she also received quite the boost, only in her case, she jumped right to level fifty-eight. This was probably the smallest gap between them since they met.
This Void Rift really is a blessing in disguise. Well… at least for now. Leo corrected himself. It was best not to jinx it after so much success in a row. Not that he expected his good fortune to continue for too long. He knew better than that.
He shook his head and was about to speak, but before a single word could leave his mouth, another System notification arrived.
Congratulations! Your Might has ascended past the Supernatural Tier (500). Third Transcended Tier obtained. Healing factor enhanced. Natural durability and vitality enhanced.
To be honest, Leo had forgotten that his Might's ascension was this close. With so much progress in less than an hour, keeping track of everything became a bit hard. He didn't remember a time he gained so many levels in this short amount of time.
And then there is also this, he thought, glancing at the unexpected addition to the ascension announcement.
Leo Hale, I intercepted one of your automated notifications. My message to you is simple. Thanks to your last two ascensions, you should be able to handle a bit more Ruination if necessary. Your lifeforce is still quite weak due to past overuse, but it is much better than before. Right now, you have two, maybe three, full-powered Obliterate techniques in you.
With that, the message ended, pulling his thoughts to an almost complete stop. He didn't expect to hear from the System until he found another link to the Main core. Obviously, the entity found another way around its restriction.
For a good reason, too.
During their last meeting, he was strictly ordered against using his most powerful technique. According to the System, it would have crippled or maybe even killed him. So, to hear he could use it again was a relief.
The ace up his sleeve was back.