Nick just became even more intelligent.
That was it.
It was as simple as that.
But it was just as effective as it was simple.
The Manipulation Lines of Nick's abilities no longer looked as complex to him as in the past.
This meant his ability to create his own abilities also shot through the roof.
Nick only needed a couple of minutes to improve his mind-reading ability even more, and together with his improved intelligence, its base effectiveness also increased.
'I can read the minds of Early Protectors with this,' he thought.
In essence, Nick now had two mind-reading abilities.
The first one could be used on Early Protectors and weaker without warning them.
The second one could be used on basically anyone, but the target needed to be surrounded by darkness and to be affected by the Nightmare.
Sadly, this meant that it didn't work on Specters.
Nick had improved a lot in all aspects, but there were still three abilities left that had also improved.
The first one was his ability to create portals.
As a Fallen, Nick had been able to create portals in the air.
If he made both portals on a solid surface, it only cost 10% of his Zephyx.
If he made one on something solid and one in the air, it cost 30%.
If both were in the air, it would be 50%.
This ratio had not changed.
But there was one thing that had changed.
He didn't need his primary ability to be active anymore to use the portals.
Now, he could just use them whenever.
This also meant that the portals wouldn't suddenly close if someone saw him before he went through it.
As long as Nick could sense the exit point, he could create a portal.
This was already amazing for running away, but it got even better.
After all, the Maw gave Nick two abilities, not just one.
The other one was about Nick's perception, and this one also improved.
Death could sense everything in a radius of about 3,000 kilometers.
As a Fallen, Nick had been able to sense everything in a radius of about 500 kilometers.
Now, Nick had become an Adversary, and his ability had increased on top of that.
How much could Nick sense?
10,000 kilometers.
Not a diameter of 10,000 kilometers but a radius of 10,000 kilometers.
The Earth had a circumference of about 40,000 kilometers.
Nick could sense 20,000 kilometers of that.
This meant that, at any given moment, Nick could see half the planet.
He could appear on top of Aegis' headquarters and be in Europe within the same second, thanks to his great perception and portal ability.
This combination officially made Nick unassailable by Aegis.
Before the Champion reached Nick's new location, his Zephyx would have already refilled, and he would teleport away again.
'At least, for now,' Nick thought. 'Prime Drones can hinder perception. If Aegis got access to something like that, it would still be difficult to escape.'
'Luckily, that technology is quite advanced, and I doubt that they will create anything as effective as this within the current era.'
'There might also be some abilities that can mess with perception. After all, I can do the same thing with my zone of darkness.'
'It's still a bit dangerous, but as long as I don't get caught, it shouldn't be an issue.'
'Also, my increased perception also works in tandem with my increased intelligence.'
Nick closed his eyes.
There were hundreds of cities in his perception.
Nick listened to thousands of conversations at the same time.
His incredibly fast mind filtered the important information out.
Within just a couple of minutes, Nick had a full picture of the geopolitical situation.
'And yet, there are still beings who can sense more.'
The Eternal Hunger and the False Hope could create their minions anywhere in the world.
This meant that they could sense not just half of Earth but all of it.
And they were still just Adversaries.
'They must have taken an increase in perception at least three times during their advancement.'
'However, they are not very intelligent, and they can probably only listen to five conversations at most, and that's if they are actually intelligent enough to understand conversations to begin with.'
Almost all of the Adversaries had a global presence.
The Salt Trident had stretched across the oceans of the planet.
The Shark Mother had its children everywhere.
The Eternal Hunger and False Hope had their minions everywhere.
And now, Nick joined them.
He had also become a global presence.
This was why Adversaries were so powerful and why they were so difficult to catch.
Nick had grown so much with just a single advancement.
None of the Adversaries were a threat anymore.
Aegis was not a threat anymore.
And yet…
He still wasn't powerful enough to even safely talk to Nurse Alice.
Nurse Alice could sense the entire planet, and she was impossibly fast.
If Nick managed to teleport 10,000 kilometers away, Nurse Alice would still be able to launch several of her countless abilities while rapidly flying to his new location.
Nick could not sense anything that Nurse Alice couldn't also sense.
Because of that, he wouldn't be able to leave her perception.
After all, she was faster than him as well.
'I have such powerful abilities, but it's still not enough.'
Finally, Nick looked at his last ability.
Disguise.
'Just as expected,' Nick thought.
Nick could now make use of Pure Energy and Star Energy.
He knew how to make a body that worked with that, and he could use these energies to grow.
Sadly, the fundamentals of physics were unchangeable, and Nick was confronted with reality.
'I can create a body like that, but where do I take the Pure Energy and Star Energy from?'
'I have generators that allow me to generate all of that, but that's the thing.'
'I need to feed the body with Pure Energy to make it more powerful.'
'I can't create a body that has already absorbed Pure Energy.'
'I can isolate my Specter Core and create a body like that, but then, I will be as powerful as a Newbie.'
'I can still use some of my Specter abilities since my Zephyx would still be there, but any slight impact would blow my weak body apart.'
'Then, I would need to regrow it and feed it Pure Energy again.'
'Lastly…'
Nick looked at the ground.
'As soon as I become intangible or turn into mist, that body will be done for.'
'It can't transform into Zephyx.'
'I would need to restart from the beginning, and I would lose access to the majority of my Specter powers.'
'That's not something I can do.'
'The abilities I have are the only thing that makes fighting the aliens even possible.'
'How can I invade the Prephyx generators without becoming intangible or turning into mist?'
'How can I fight their warriors without a severalfold increase in power?'
Nick took a deep breath.
'On the positive side, I can survive without issues in space now, and if humanity manages to free itself, I can become a true human again.'
'But, for now, I can't do that.'
'I need my abilities.'
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