There were two things Ryuk could improve on to significantly increase his strength, and they were things he had put off for some time now, simply because he never had the time or space to focus on them.
The first?
"Hey, System?"
[Yes.]
"Activate Skills and Abilities Tabs."
He gave the order, and the panel quickly materialized.
Ryuk navigated down to what he wanted, one of the main reasons he needed a bunker in the first place.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ [ SKILLS AND ABILITIES] ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
║Sub-Group: Techno Forge Authority║
║Sub-Group: Techno Sovereignty║
║Skill: Sovereign of the Techno Forge (Lv. 2)║
║Type: Active/Passive║
║Description: A unique skill bestowed upon the accomplished Trial Taker of one of the pieces of the ancient Techno Forge Ruin. Grants control over forge-based creations, blueprint manipulation, and legacy artifact reconstruction.║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
His Techno Forge Ruin.
It was one of the most powerful tools he had in his arsenal. A skill that had managed to remain even after he had rid himself of his two original bloodlines.
The last time it had truly proven its worth was during the Knull War back on Endearth.
His constructs had stood against Zar’kul’s army, allowing him the focus he needed to fight Morne and Zar’kul without being bothered by the countless Knulls.
The skill was formidable, but unfortunately, ever since, he had neither the time nor the space to upgrade it.
He had relied on it to save his life from Owen’s grasp, but it had become nearly obsolete during his fight with Odette.
The Nihil woman had been able to sever all of his creations without effort. But to Ryuk, that didn’t mean the skill was useless — only ignored.
With the MAD Ascension Protocol, he had pushed it to Level 2, unlocking new effects of the Techno Forge Ruin, things like the Basic Blueprint Archives, advanced cost-efficient designs, and an AI link that had previously been dormant.
These new effects allowed him to design Nano-Warriors with personalized features, forge more Technoguards, and expand his army’s capabilities.
But when had he ever had the time to sit down and design anything?
His constant battles and having to move from one body to another, with things to be done in both bodies, had indirectly lowered the skill’s effectiveness.
Now, with three months of relative freedom, unbothered by the outside world, one of his top priorities was to explore every function of the Techno Forge Ruin.
That meant designing new constructs, the best his imagination could muster, and also leveling the skill up once more.
The last time he had leveled it up, the results had been remarkable: All 200 units ascended one class tier upwards, and he had gained an additional 10 Eternity-Level Experts, 30 Cataclysm Experts, and 70 Dominion Experts.
If he could push it further, then even against an enemy as monstrous as Odette, his Technoforge warriors wouldn’t be completely helpless.
The room around him was not much different from a science lab.
A desk. A chair. Beeping holographs. Construction tech that could bring any design to life.
He didn’t need test tubes or archaic tools to forge his warriors — these were more than enough.
But before starting, there was one more matter to resolve.
A moment later, Ryuk summoned items from his shop.
Large triangular prisms covered in bizarre, arcane runes hit the ground with a heavy thud, about fifteen in total.
Then he settled into the revolving chair, activating new holographs before pausing, his hand reaching to the side.
"Activate Void Rift," he commanded.
A vortex swirled open from the empty void. It rotated slowly, but quickened as something began to emerge.
THUUUUUUDDD
Something slammed onto the ground, the entire lab shuddering as though struck by an earthquake.
An enormous claw, covered in icy-white scales.
A foggy white mist seeped out of the vortex, a mist so cold it could freeze an Eternity-State Expert to death.
In seconds, the lab became a frozen cavern of breathless chill.
Ryuk didn’t even turn his head. He stayed focused on configuring his systems, fingers flying across the panels.
But soon enough, a massive shadow fell over him. He felt the presence loom behind his breath, a weight pressing on the back of his neck.
"I think you’ve had enough tantrums already, haven’t you... Isha?" Ryuk asked calmly, raising his gaze upward.
Eight cold, frosty eyes glared back down at him.
They were blank of emotion, though Ryuk could still see intelligence flickering faintly within their farthest depth.
The figure was none other than Isha.
Her four heads unfurled, surrounding Ryuk in a deadly enclosure.
Slowly, her maws opened, each one gathering a pillar of intense frost, power swelling with the intent to obliterate him utterly.
"If you do that, Isha, I swear to the devil, there’ll be nothing you regret more in your life than what happens next," Ryuk voiced out calmly, yet amidst speech, his shimmering purple eyes shifted, deepening into an oceanic blue.
The sight made Isha freeze, the balls halting in their creation within her maws.
Those eyes of his.
For the first time, she felt something bizarre.
A sensation she could not explain, one that startled her enough to jerk all three heads back and take three unconscious steps away from Ryuk.
She seemed to realize her own unconscious decisions, her surprise changing into irritation and then fiery anger.
Her claws rose menacingly, slamming into the ground beside Ryuk.
BAAAAAANNNGG
The floor ruptured, water surging up before being frozen solid in an instant.
"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO LIED!" Her four maws roared as one, shaking the chamber with their fury.
She glared down at Ryuk, who slowly rose from his seat, his gaze unwavering as he looked straight into her eyes.
His next words shook her to the very depths of her soul.
"Isha,"
He said,
"Lies or Truth, Is your belief in me so little that you think, if I tell you something, and act differently than what I informed you about, my Aim must have been to cause you harm, which hence should be returned with you trying to end or gravely injure me?"