Chapter 40 - Greatest Technician
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Contribution Ranking
* Chloe Helens (51.3%)
* Lucas Kun (48.7%)
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You have received:
* Randomized Uncommon Skill of the Overseer Karlson x1
Note: This reward is only available to the first group to defeat the Hidden Boss.
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“Nice!” Chloe pumped her fists in the air, grinning. “For once, I’m in first place!”
Shaking his head, Lucas chuckled. “Well, I’m happy for you.”
He walked over to a nearby workbench and carefully picked up several vials of liquid. Holding one up to the light, he gave it a gentle shake. “This must be the cure.”
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Experimental Cure
Rank: Unknown
A prototype cure created by Overseer Karlson to combat the Mophalite corruption.
Special Note(s): Testing incomplete. Consume at your own risk.
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“Now we just need to release this into the reactor, and we’re done, right?” Chloe asked eagerly.
Lucas carefully placed the vials in his pouch and nodded at Chloe. “That’s the plan. Let’s go.”
As they approached the elevator, he reminded her, “Be sure to pick your skill. Every bit’s going to be useful for our next fight.”
Suddenly, a notification window appeared before Lucas.
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Contribution Ranking
* Samantha Moon (47.8%)
* Lucas Kun (32.4%)
* Flynn Albane (7.2%)
* Bryson Torento (5.6%)
* Dominic Max (3.4%)
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You have received:
* Ring of Conjuring (Uncommon)
* Randomized Uncommon Class-Exclusive Skill x1
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“Huh?” He stared blankly at the window.
Seeing Lucas stop out of the blue, Chloe turned to him. “Hey, are you okay? Did you forget something?”
“Ermm… Are you not seeing this?” Lucas pointed at the blue screen.
Puzzled by his reaction, Chloe frowned. “What are you on about?”
“No?” Lucas scratched his head and shared his window with Chloe. “Apparently, I’ve cleared a quest called Monster Invasion III. I’m even in second place. And Samantha’s first.”
Staring at Lucas’s shared window, Chloe’s mouth dropped open. “What in tarnation…? How?! And Samantha got the first place? Is this a bug?”
“I doubt it,” Lucas rubbed his chin and accepted the rewards.
A plain ring and a ticket appeared in his hands.
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Ring of Conjuring
Rank: Uncommon
A simple silver ring crafted by an unnamed mage, designed to enhance the wearer’s ability to summon and control magical entities.
Special Effect(s):
Summoning Boost - Extends the duration of summoned creatures.
Resilient Constructs - Increases the health of summoned creatures.
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Randomized Uncommon Class-exclusive Skill
Rank: Uncommon
Tear the ticket to generate a random Uncommon Skill related to your Class.
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Chloe leaned in to take a closer look at the ring and said, “Looks like a pure silver ring.”
“Do you want it? I’ll even help you put it on,” Lucas asked, holding out the ring.
“No, it’s useless to me,” Chloe shook her head. “You can use it on Jager and Manuel, right?”
“Ouch, I was talking about the other thing,” Lucas sighed out loud.
Stomping her foot, Chloe harrumphed, “Be serious, or I’ll punch you!” But a faint blush colored her cheeks.
Laughing at Chloe, Lucas examined the
“Maybe?” Chloe took the ring and fiddled with it before returning it back.
He shrugged and put on the ring. Waving at Chloe, he said, “Come on, let’s go.”
At the moment, they were on the sixth level, the Biotechnology Department, where experiments on Mophalite fusing with organic matter were conducted. It was also where Lucas had found numerous documents related to the mutated monsters they had encountered so far.
The experiments involved injecting specimens with an experimental serum designed to enhance their physicality, serums similar to the one Lucas and Chloe had discovered in the Virology Lab, but infused with Mophalite.
It was also where they found the
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The fifth level had been dedicated to Weapon Development, focusing on experiments to engineer weapons using Mophalite. However, the entire department had been reduced to rubble, with no salvageable materials left, likely destroyed by the monsters.
Finally, the last level was supposed to be a Mophalite mine. However, according to some classified documents the spiders had scavenged for him, the mine had already been completely excavated and sealed off, with no possible way of entry.
As the elevator began ascending, Lucas tore the ticket in his hands.
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Deep Hacking
Rank: Class-exclusive
Active
Grants the ability to infiltrate and breach enemy systems. Channeling additional energy will speed up the hacking process.
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Arching a brow at the Skill’s description, Lucas thought, ‘What am I even going to hack in a world of soon-to-be fantasy?’ Shrugging off the thought, he brought up the next reward.
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Please Select one of the below Skills.
* Crystalline Skin
* Shard Blast
* Fractured Spikes
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Crystalline Skin
Rank: Uncommon
Passive
Fortifies the outer layer of the body into a crystal-like structure, reducing all incoming energy-based damage.
Shard Blast
Rank: Uncommon
Active/Spell
Fires a volley of sharp crystal fragments at enemies, with a small chance to inflict the 'Slow'.
Fractured Spikes
Rank: Uncommon
Active/Spell
Conjures jagged crystal spikes from the ground in a straight line, piercing and pushing back enemies in its path.
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'Just three, huh? Must be because I'm second place.’ Lucas mused as he read each description.
‘This is a no-brainer. I’m not a Mage,’ Lucas thought as he immediately selected
The moment he confirmed his choice, the system window dissolved and he felt something crawling beneath his skin, a faint itch prickling across every inch of it.
A few moments later, the discomfort faded. Examining his hands and arms, Lucas noticed his skin looked noticeably smoother, free of tiny blemishes or moles. He let out a chuckle, “Who would’ve thought my skin would actually improve?”
‘Time for the final upgrade.’
Summoning his status window, he poured all his available Free Points into INT without hesitation.
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Lucas Kun
Level 45
Class: Mechanic
Title: Forerunner, Talented Crafter, Seeker
VIT - 53
POW - 8
AGI - 14
INT - 145
WIL - 45
Free Points: 0
Talent: Avid Reader.
Class-Exclusive Skill:
Oversurge Protocol - Lv 2
Magnetic Vision - Lv 1
Energy Strike - Lv 2
Deep Hacking - Lv 1
Machinery Affinity II - Lv MAX
Circuit Expansion - Lv MAX
Skill:
Knowledge - Lv 16
Combat Fundamentals - Lv 6
Matrix Simulation - Lv 11
Analysis - Lv 10
Eternal Suffering - Lv MAX
Steel Flesh - Lv MAX
Artisan Touch - Lv MAX
Gearmaster - Lv MAX
Metalmorphosis - Lv MAX
Perfect Psionical Sense - Lv MAX
Crystalline Skin - Lv MAX
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As soon as Lucas completed his upgrades, the elevator doors slid open.
The moment they did, several Fleshhounds lurking in the crystal-filled central chamber whipped their heads toward Lucas and Chloe. Their eyes gleamed with malice, and they snarled, baring their jagged fangs.
“Didn’t we clear this room already?” Chloe grumbled, raising her
“Looks like they respawned,” Lucas said with a shrug, a smirk tugging at his lips. Without wasting time, he commanded the spiders in the area to attack the Fleshhounds.
Lasers streaked across the room, striking the Fleshhounds in blinding flashes of light while Chloe dashed forward, slamming her weapon into the nearest Fleshhound. In moments, the room was cleared once again.
“Easy, come on,” Chloe muttered, gesturing at Lucas.
As they approached the sealed doors, Chloe turned to Lucas. “You’ve got a plan, right?”
Lucas smirked, “Nope. We wing it and improvise.”
The moment they stepped into the room, the monstrous gorilla-like chimera loomed at the center. Around it, a pack of mutated beasts turned their attention toward the intruders.
A cacophony of animalistic growls and snarls filled the room as the mutated beasts began closing in. The gorilla chimera slammed its massive fists into the ground, sending tremors through the floor, before unleashing a deafening roar.
“Geez, that’s going to shatter my eardrums,” Chloe complained, clutching her ears as the roar reverberated through the room.
Lucas winced at the sound, feeling the sheer force of it battering against his body as he raised his arm to shield his face.
At the gorilla chimera’s roar, the mutated beasts surged forward like a snarling, howling tsunami.
“Here they come!” Chloe shouted, unsheathing her sword and charging at the nearest Fleshhound. Her blade sliced diagonally across its torso, but to her surprise, the deep wound closed almost instantly, the flesh knitting itself together as if untouched.
Seeing this, she growled “This is annoying!” while her sword flickered several times, slashing numerous times at the beast. Still, the Fleshhound’s wounds healed as quickly as they appeared.
Suddenly, a Lurker landed next to her, its spiked tail whipping toward her like a battering ram. Chloe twisted her body mid-air, leaping over the attack.
As she landed, her fist shot forward, and the
Meanwhile, the gorilla chimera, towering above the chaos, reached down and grabbed a massive chunk of crystal-encrusted debris. Grunting out loud, it hurled the boulder toward them with terrifying force.
“Look out!” Chloe warned. But before the boulder could reach them, a web of metallic wire ensnarled the debris mid-flight. The rock hung suspended before falling harmlessly to the ground with a thud.
Above, numerous spider bots clung to the jagged, crystal-laden walls, their mechanical limbs anchored firmly. The turrets mounted on their backs glowed faintly before unleashing a barrage of lasers.
The shrieks and wails of dying monsters filled the air as the spiders continued firing.
Lucas scanned the battlefield, activating his
His mind raced as he pieced together a plan. “Chloe!” he called, firing his pistol at a beast lunging toward him. “Focus on distracting the big guy! Keep it busy and away from the spiders. They’ll handle the mobs!”
Chloe nodded and swiftly dashed through the wave of monsters. Purple and bluish energy concentrated on
The tip of the sword tore through the gorilla’s abdomen. Dark fluid oozed from the wound. It convulsed as the sword was twisting in its body. However, it let out a furious snort and brought its massive fist down toward Chloe.
Pivoting on her heel, she yanked the sword free and rolled to the side, evading the powerful slam.
Simultaneously, Lucas sprinted toward the massive door leading to the Mophalite reactor. As he approached, his eyes landed on the biometric scanner mounted beside it. Without hesitation, he placed his hand against the scanner and channeled his Psionical Force into the device.
“Access denied.”
“Huh?” Surprised by his trick not working, Lucas squinted. “Looks like the King of the Eurobeat isn’t good enough for this one.”
Instead of growing frustrated, a smirk curled on his lips. “Well, who’d have thought I’d get to use this Skill so soon?”
“Deep Hacking.”
Immediately, his vision was flooded with streams of glowing zeros and ones, cascading like a digital waterfall. Strings of data unraveled before him, forming a labyrinth of firewalls and encrypted barriers. The world around him faded, replaced by a vast digital maze.
His Psionical Force flowed like tendrils of light, probing the barriers for weaknesses. Each firewall flared to life, throwing up all kinds of defensive measures, spikes of counter-code, looping traps, and misleading pathways.
Experiencing the code in this form of ‘wizardry,’ rather than just a few lines, Lucas blurted out, “So programmers are wizards!”
“If my programming class had been this interesting and magical, I would be the greatest technician that's ever lived,” he sighed, channeling more of his Psionical Force to speed up the process.
Finally, his Psionical Force pierced the last barrier, shattering the system’s defenses like a cracked shell.
“Access granted.”
“Welcome, King of the Eurobeats.”