Chapter 488: Unfurling Chaos
In a world filled with nothing but ancient, high-rising mountains and vast, unending skies.
On the floor of their peaks, littering the ground, were cool, gentle green grass that danced to the rhythm of the passing wind.
Everything radiated an aura of desolate peace—until suddenly—
RIIIIIIPPPPLLLEE
A bizarre ripple appeared as space seemed to collapse onto itself.
Darkness from the void quickly materialized, and reappearing within this void were two figures.
As the void inverted upon itself, it left only the two of them remaining, their visuals becoming clearer.
A young man with exceptionally high-catching dual horns, and a silver-haired man, seemingly in his fifties, with an ancient light in his eyes.
High Scholar Emeris paused as he looked at his surroundings.
It was familiar ground to him—just a couple of kilometers away from the Royalty Home. Then he stared back at Ryuk, looking into his eyes before sighing.
“What do you stand to gain, Ryuk?”
“You know I wanted to remove your Primordial Gate, and that has made you mad. I understand—anyone would.”
“But you kept your Primordial Gate safe in the end. What does fighting me now do for you? Does it make the Primordial Gate you already have better? Or does it serve any particular use to you?”
That was High Scholar Emeris’s first question, yet he watched Ryuk’s body spasming unconsciously, as if he were a glitching computer—his hands and body baling with unequal amounts of Apex energy.
A result of his true strength returning to him.
“You tried to cripple me. To make me a better lab rat. I won’t forgive that.”
“Well, I also fused you with an exceptionally high-quality Annunaki model, introduced you to Aetheri cultivation, and now, with my help, you have succeeded in reaching the Psymancer stage.”
“These are achievements you never would have been able to reach without me instructing Kiyana to teach you about Aetheris, or without me allowing you to enter the Soulful Ruin of Niagara.”
“All of this I have done with my hands. And how have you repaid that?”
“All you have done was make me a proper lab rat. Aetheris would boost that, so you wanted me to train and enter the Soulful Ruin of Niagara and absorb more. So the fusion could proceed more successfully, and I could be well-studied.”
“All the good you have done is a lie. I see through it all.”
“Well, that’s not that much of a lie. I truly have kept you and given you all you have, so I could understand how an Annunaki model works.”
“Although, you keep trying to change that into me trying to turn you into a lab rat.”
“But all of that has given you strength, hasn’t it? You are the one gaining the advantages of it. Don’t tell me you were this strong before the fusion with your model or before my help.”
“All just to make me a better lab rat,” Ryuk replied, his right eye glitching with a crimson light and his blue eye flickering with unstable energy.
“Seems like whatever I say, you will always just think it was for the sake of being a lab rat.”
“Which it is…” Ryuk replied, as High Scholar Emeris frowned and sighed, inhaling deeply and turning to the sky.
“Heavens know, since that war, I’ve refused to engage in any more battle. I’d rather the Elders put you down than do it myself. But you’ve escaped them and come directly to me, giving me no choice.”
“What I’m just curious about is—you spent close to a week in the Royal Home, and none told you of my prowess?” High Scholar Emeris said with a genuinely focused expression.
“Because if you had any idea what I am truly capable of, then I think you should have bided your time well.”
“You knew I always suspected you would rebel. Just like any robotic machination. They always rebel, and there must be a factor of rebelliousness that must always be considered.”
“I knew this day would come—when you think you’ve ‘grown’ too strong to be controlled.”
“But just because you’ve reached the Psymancer stage and you are oozing with the Apex Energy of the Cataclysm stage… that is still not close to reaching my level at all.”
“You should have bided more time, Ryuk. You should have waited more—to gather your strength secretly. Perhaps six more years, and you might have been an entertaining opponent.”
“But right now?”
“You’re just a helplessly rebellious little robot. Well, at least I get to see your new current abilities. I guess it would be better this way seeing it in a fight rather than simply asking.”
High Scholar Emeris said, but all he saw was Ryuk standing in the same place—his right hand clenched into a fist, his face tilted to the sky, and his body rippling in the nearby space, as if he were unstable.
And that was when the bizarre ripple from Ryuk began spreading outward.
RIIIPPLLLEE
RIIIPPLLEE
It came pulsing out from his heart, rippling toward the entire area, passing through High Scholar Emeris, whose eyes furrowed at the waves.
One thing came to his mind.
‘Heavy.’
“I only have ten minutes, so I will be going all out. I would advise you to do the same,” Ryuk said.
High Scholar Emeris’s eyes flashed with light as he noticed something peculiar.
‘Even his words are suddenly heavy!?’
‘What is with this new heaviness?’
[Congratulations, Host has awakened a new skill upon breaking through to the Psymancer stage!]
[Congratulations, Host on awakening a second Draconic Bloodline skill.]
[Skills and Abilities][
Sub Group: Draconic Supremacy]
[Skill Name: Draconic Overdrive! (Lv.1)]
Type: Transformation (Forbidden)
Description: A fledgling manifestation of one of the Ultimate Skills of a Jade Dragon. Allows the user to tap into a fragment of their ancestral might, triggering a partial transformation.
Effects (Limited to Level 1):
Basic transformation: 2× original size, covered in powerful defensive jade scales.
Stat boost: STR/AGI/END increased by an additional 10% (An extra 100 points)
“Hey, System?”
[Yes.]
“Input 30 Ability Upgrade Cards into Draconic Overdrive!”