CHAPTER 282

BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

Reading over the stats, Lino felt tears gush out of his eyes due to joy; it was everything he wanted, and perhaps even slightly more. He wished a brutal be-all do-all weapon specialized in absolute carnage and onslaught, and that was exactly what he got. Additional special effects -- especially when it came to perception of spacetime -- were a neat bonus, and due to his abilities he knew he’d be able to easily abuse it, but the straightforward destruction a single punch will be bound to carry was the joyride of it all.

He picked it up and held it tightly to his chest, rocking it slightly as though it was a babe, mumbling a lullaby. Sena and Chwek, who were yet to pass out, looked at the man they wished to worship from the depths of their hearts and wondered just how far gone in the head he was.

Lino, however, didn’t noticed their gazes; he was far too enveloped in imagining the scenarios within which he’ll be able to use it, then imagining the scenarios where he pairs it up with another weapon, or perhaps with the shield... though, he groaned inwardly, the sheer weight would probably literally glue him to the earth, so his prime objective shifted onto increasing his overall Strength however he could.

Putting away the gauntlet into the void world, he turned to the second item -- another sword. As he already had an absolutely destructive sword in his pocket, he went for a specialized variation in the shape of a rapier. Though he had no experience in fighting with it, he figured he’d pick it up easily after a few rounds of failing to utilize it properly.

Similarly to the gauntlet, he had a very specific idea in mind when he was crafting it -- every array, every material, every bond was put in place specifically to facilitate his desired outcome as much as possible. He felt his heartbeat quickening, palms sweating, as his anxiety struck at him, fearful he may have failed. Taking a deep breath, he went over the stats.

[The Untamed -- Unique]

Level: 750(+Growth)

Requirements: Chaos Qi / Law of Time

Damage: N/A

+1000% to Piercing Speed

+2000% to Piercing Damage

+1000% to Piercing Penetration

+500% to Strike Acceleration

-- Cannot deal damage any other way --

Special Effect [Skewer] -- possessing no innate damage property, the effectiveness is derived from the pierced part, momentum, and depth; damage is then calculated as though done on a mortal

Special Effect [Untamed] -- prevents regeneration on the pierced body parts for the following 60 seconds from all sources

Special Effect [Executioner] -- strikes at Vital Points are lethal to anyone 100 Levels lower than the wielder

Special Effect [Timebender] -- each strike past the certain Attack Speed value will distort real-time -- not just perceptions; repeatedly bending time within a single point will result in a massive explosion of matter

Note: A weapon of pure destruction, the rapier is designed with a sole purpose in mind: to kill and to destroy.

Lino stood frozen in place due to shock for a long while, his hands shaking, lips twitching, unable to hold back the massive grin. He never dreamed of making it a weapon, yet he was beyond joyful that it was, as it was the sort that would most-likely follow him till the end of his journey. If the gauntlet was all about the wanton destruction and carnage of everything, then the rapier was about a single point of failure -- identifying the opponent’s greatest weakness within a single point... and just striking it, time and again.

The rapier’s strikes would be practically impossible to defend against unless whoever Lino fought could at least almost match his own offensive stats. Speed, acceleration, force, penetration... coupled with the fact that he wasn’t limited in how many attacks he could execute within a sport span of time made the weapon practically unstoppable. The only barrier was his ability to close in and engage in melee against his opponents, something he was yet to figure out completely, but was confident in nonetheless.

It took him quite a few minutes to recover from the shock, breathing in deeply to recover wholly. Even so his arms still shook, the thin, needle-like cyan blade vibrating and buzzing. The guard beneath the blade was silver, dome-like, with a beautifully carved out pattern running in a loop. Handle felt like a perfect fit to his hand, as though it always belonged there and nowhere else.

Putting the rapier away, he mused inwardly that his gains had already toppled his expectations, yet that hardly meant he wasn’t even more fired up over finding out how the rest of the items turned out -- especially the small cube sitting in the corner that he left for the last.

Next up, he reached for the two chakrams and picked them up. Unlike the regular ones, these scythe-like creations felt slightly heavier and more cumbersome to wield, yet that hardly impeded him. The handle was curved, leather-bound, blending directly into the wide but thin blade drawn out into a crescent shape, the entire weapon oozing a strange, twilight sheen.

Unlike with the gauntlet and the rapier, he didn’t have a singular purpose in mind for the chakrams; while it is true that he wished to compensate for his lack of long-range attacks, he’d also hoped they could serve multiple purposes, both as offensive as well as utility tools. Without the same anxiety from before, he checked them out.

[Reaping Scythers (2) -- Unique Epic]

Level: 800

Requirements: Law of Death, Chaos Qi, Strength 60,000

Damage: 80* Strength + Element*

Range: 20km-60km (further distance lowers the control)

*Only deals Elemental Damage

+400% to Elemental Damage

+20% chance to unleash a random Elemental Attack (of same Element)

+8% chance to spawn an which reduces everyone’s (wielder included) Elemental Resistances by 50%

+600% to Effectiveness of every option if Element of Death is used and additional 200% if Law of Death is incorporated

Special Effect [Soul Reaper] -- every direct strike has a chance to inflict Soul Affliction, cutting away at the very least 4 Realms of improvements from the opponent’s Soul (up to 7)

Special Effect [Mind-over-Matter] -- both chakrams can be controlled exclusively through Will; depending on Will’s strength, Range, Damage and Effects are improved

Special Effect [Burden of Death - Law of Death] -- utilizing Law of Death through Will transforms the chakrams into their Avatar Form; Avatar Form does not posses corporeal form, and each strike bypasses all Defenses, striking directly at the opponent’s Soul; the size, damage and effectiveness of the Avatar Form depend on the Will and mastery of the Law of Death

Note: A Creation like no other world over, the pair of chakrams are deeply affiliated with the entire concept of Death; the closer one beholds it, the greater chances of the weapons’ ultimate evolution.

By now, even if Lino was very shock-absorbent, he was still unable to entirely process it all within a short span of time; for the first time in his crafting career, the end-product differed greatly from his vision, as though the weapon itself designed itself as such against his wishes. He hardly had a problem with it, though, as the finished product far outstripped his desires and plans.

It was also a very unique product, even by his standards, simply due to the way it was intended to be used. It was also the first one of his creations that possessed Avatar Form -- something he didn’t even know was possible for the items. He couldn’t help but once again fall into the dreamland, playing out his potential future battles. For the first time, he more than looked forward to the next battle -- not because he wanted to show off his strength... but because he wanted to show off his coolness.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine the expressions of his opponents as he activates the chakrams’ Avatar Form and they grow into massive mirages cutting away at their Souls freely, without any obstruction. Unable to hold it back, his laughter turned maniacal, waking up Chwek and Sena who had passed out. They looked at him with terrified gazes as he heaved his head well back and bent his body, roaring out like a madman. The two huddled together into each other’s arms, shaking slightly, afraid that their leader had finally gone insane -- or, well, uncontrollably insane.

Lino, however, didn’t pay attention to them; he was too focused on the gleeful joy each one of his weapons brought him, as every single one of them passed his expectations well over. He never felt more prepared or powerful in his life, as he genuinely felt he could take on the whole world alone -- well, at least for a moment, before his sanity temporarily returned.

Putting away the chakrams, he focused on the last two items, the ones he put the most time and thought into. One was a simple-looking, silver-cast cube the size of a hand’s palm, shimmering slightly, while the other was a even simpler-looking disk with a hole at the center where a flicker of light constantly shone, rotating unto itself. He’d long since decided to leave the cube for the last, so he picked up the disk; it was slightly wider than the cube, thin as a sheet of paper, and had a metallic texture underneath his touch.

His eyes glistened for a moment before turning serious; taking a deep breath, already content yet also slightly expectant, he checked out the stats.

[Touch of Madness -- Unique]

Level: N/A

Damage: N/A

Durability: Indestructible

Requirement: Chaos Qi

Special Effect [Touch of Madness] -- injecting unfiltered, pure Chaos Qi into the disk’s center summons a 60kmx60km ; everyone within, including the wielder, is forced into the state of perpetual madness. Outside the wielder, everyone gets sustained debuff to ALL Base Stats; Domain renders ALL Talismans unusable, lowers ALL Damage bar physical by 80%, and renders Soul-defensive items obsolete

Note: Creation of madness, most would agree it had no practical purpose, and was mostly a decoration; yet, those who touch and command the madness will find themselves immortal within its Domain.

Lino smiled faintly, his eyes shining in pure, innocent light. It was an experimental item, similar to the Totem he crafted a long time ago for Ava’s auction. He’d mostly strayed into the realm of weaponry and armory since then, but he’d hardly forgotten the potential that the auxiliary items carried if crafted properly. [Touch of Madness], he mused, was a testament to that; while others may look down on the item’s effects as nothing short of comical, to him it was a perfect supportive tool. Putting it away, he at last looked toward the cube -- perhaps the single most important creation of the entire session.

While the weapons, as well as the disk, were extremely useful, they were hardly world-changing; even if perfect replicas of them don’t exist, there certainly should be items with similar effects somewhere in the world. However, when it came to the cube, if his idea was realized, he was more than absolutely certain the item would be the first of its kind. With hope and desire sparking his heart, he looked at the stats.

[Primordial Cube -- Continental Unique]

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