Episode 113 Party Disbandment (2)
Harley dashed through the forest at high speed.
Unlike when he came, there wasn't a single monster attacking him, making it an incredibly pleasant hike…
He had already hunted the monsters in the vicinity, and above all, the overwhelming madness emanating from his body instilled a sense of familiarity in them.
"Hmm! I like this!"
Munch, munch—
Harley diligently chewed even while running.
His storage capacity had increased significantly after becoming a Dragonborn, so he was eating the meat to fill up his energy reserves.
One peculiar thing was that he wasn't using both hands right now.
"We're almost there. Then should I eat one more?"
Harley, who had finished all the meat floating in front of his mouth, licked his lips and took out another piece from the subspace magic tool.
Immediately after, a green flash flickered in his left eye.
The large piece of meat left his hand and was fixed in midair.
It was no different from before, but this ability didn't end there.
Sizzle—
The temperature of the dragon meat rose rapidly, and it soon started to brown, emitting a delicious aroma.
The evolved "Gem Eye: Coercion" wasn't just simple telekinesis, but a power that forcibly manipulated phenomena by resonating with the "Mad Dragon's Heart", which synchronized with the surrounding mana.
"Ahahat—! A civilized person should eat cooked meat! It's delicious!"
Harley, the barbarian warrior, laughed with satisfaction and devoured the meat fixed in front of his mouth.
'It's really convenient.'
An ability he could activate with just his will and whose output he could freely adjust.
But of course, it also had its drawbacks.
It wasn't as sophisticated as magic, so the phenomena he could manifest were limited, and above all, the energy efficiency wasn't that good.
In other words, Harley was currently using energy to cook meat to replenish his energy.
'…But I have to use it often to get used to it. The efficiency will improve as I improve it.'
And his current energy supply situation wasn't that bad.
After all, dragon meat was full of life force, so it contained abundant energy.
Not long after he finished the newly taken out meat,
Harley, whose equipment was tattered from the battle with the dragon, finally reunited with his companions.
_______________________
A three-story house standing in the middle of a spacious garden surrounded by a high wall.
This place, located in the suburbs of Seoul, was my new home.
The space was large, and there were many rooms, so I filled each room with various necessary equipment.
Exercise equipment, entertainment facilities, etc., so that I could enjoy a fulfilling leisure life without going outside.
'I can go outside freely now, but I've gotten used to this, so I'm more comfortable here.'
Was it the influence of being cooped up at home for so long?
I decorated the house like I was building a hideout, filling it with my fantasies.
'If I use "Individual Projection" once a week as Harris and use natural energy, managing the garden shouldn't be a problem.'
Handling this much nature was nothing to Harris, an Elf, so it didn't matter how large the garden was.
The air in the suburbs wasn't as bad as in the city, so he could endure it to some extent.
'Just in case, I should install a lot of security devices. I'll install everything I can.'
Of course, that included not only electronic devices but also magical barriers.
I could borrow the power of various ability users like Hans, Heinz the Second, and Heinrich, so there was no reason not to use it.
I could just choose and use what I needed.
"Oof."
I stretched my back, having finished organizing the luggage I brought from the basement storage room, and looked to one side.
Actually, the preparation period had been long because I was busy setting up the facilities, so it hadn't been long since I moved in…
But I had something to do for a moment.
Swoosh—
At that moment, a figure quietly appeared before me, who was alone in the silence.
A handsome young man with a cold impression, red eyes, pale skin, and a black tailcoat.
It was Heinz the Second, the vampire who had just returned from another world.
"…"
Heinz took out Dwarf Zaonic's beloved pickaxe, 'Elinne', from his subspace bracelet and handed it to me.
I naturally accepted it without a word and slowly examined it.
It was covered in countless small scratches, showing signs of long use, but it didn't feel old, perhaps because it had been well maintained.
Like a well-preserved antique.
'I feel sorry for Zaonic. But well, think of it as the price for your life.'
It was currently the time when Harley was reuniting with his companions in Auterica.
Seeing Zaonic desperately searching for the pickaxe after seeing Harley's tattered appearance and eventually collapsing, I felt a pang of guilt…
But they were able to return safely thanks to Harley!
And from what I heard, he wasn't as attached to it as the equipment in his workshop, so this was a win-win situation, as they wouldn't have been able to see those again if it hadn't been for me.
"Ahem…"
I deliberately ignored the situation over there, having convinced myself, and lightly cleared my throat.
'Let's see, I'll have Heinz help me with this, and then send him to Heterosis.'
Heinz had already quietly gone outside and was setting up a barrier around the garden using "Blood Mystery" and "Concealment".
He had thoroughly strengthened security, emphasizing stealth to prevent unnecessary energy leakage that might attract attention.
'Hans's Bone Dragon is also fine.'
He had been a bit worried because a Bone Dragon needed a Dragon Heart to be its core, but as expected, there was nothing impossible for Hans.
"Immortal Heart", "Wicked Wisdom", "Forbidden Knowledge", "Path of Magic", "Abyssal Eye", "Magic Domination"…
Since all his skills were directly or indirectly related to dark magic, it was easy for him to tweak necromancy if he was serious.
He got the idea from the Lich's method of remotely transmitting dark magic power from the extracted essence and directly connected himself to the Bone Dragon Heratos.
So that he could supply the necessary energy instead of the Dragon Heart.
Simply put, Hans himself had become Heratos's essence.
'But they can't be separated now, so it's difficult for him to move alone, but I can just send other guys if that happens.'
He could just use Heratos as Hans's personal vehicle instead of Entracio.
"Then, let's start the settlement!"
To create a new avatar, he had to enhance his unique skill and increase the number of avatars he could possess.
And for that, he needed a massive amount of Karma, but he wasn't worried about that.
There had been quite a few major incidents lately.
'It hasn't even been a week in Earth time since I got "Individual Projection"…'
First of all, Harris was able to successfully plant the seeds of change in the Elven Kingdom.
The new music and instrument he introduced at the festival gave great inspiration to the Elves, who had been subtly stuck in a rut, and allowed them to try new things.
Like a single stone dropped in a calm lake creating ripples, its influence gradually grew and affected their entire culture.
And that returned to him as Karma.
'It's still a small amount, but it's encouraging that it'll continue to increase.'
And Heinrich became the owner of the holy sword through the trial, received a Grand Blessing, and was recognized as a Saint.
Being a Saint of the Main God Church, one of the largest forces on the continent, was a major event that would be recorded in history books, so it was more than enough to be considered a great achievement.
'And Hans clashed with the Main God Church after the abyss opened and imprinted his name again… and then collected the Immortal King's Legacy that started to appear on the continent.'
And since the chaos caused by it was also attributed to Hans, his influence was undeniable.
The most recent incident was Harley's expedition to the north and the hunting of the dragon Heratos.
Naturally, hunting a being like a Mad Dragon was also a considerable achievement.
'So, the Karma accumulated so far is…!'
『Karma Shop』
『Unique Skill Enhancement (1,000,000)』
『Status Enhancement – View Details』
『Karma Owned - 1,608,961』
"Oh!"
Over a million Karma had accumulated in less than a week in Earth time since he obtained "Individual Projection".
'As expected, there's strength in numbers.'
With several of them causing major incidents in various places, he was easily sweeping up Karma, which was said to be difficult to accumulate.
'Sigh, how can I survive this harsh world with just one body? There's a reason why they say even ten bodies aren't enough.'
In that sense, even I, with seven bodies, was still lacking, so he needed to quickly increase the number to ten.
More would be better.
And this was the key to his eighth body.
I held the pickaxe, Elinne, and stared at it.
He could feel "Customization" reacting strongly, saying he could create a new avatar using this item.
"I hope 'avatar count increase' doesn't disappear again this time."
Of course, "Individual Projection", which he obtained last time, was also a good ability, but he would be very disappointed if the avatar count didn't increase this time.
There would be no way to express it to anyone, though.
"Then… enhance."
And so, the 1 million Karma enhancement began.
The result.
《The avatar's potential increases. The individual's learning ability is further enhanced.》
《The unique skill grows and unlocks its potential. You have acquired the special skill "Avatar Cloud".》
He felt something opening up in his head along with a headache.
And the increase in the number of avatars he had been longing for…
"Done!"
That information was proudly displayed in a corner of his mind.
That he could now create a new clone whenever he wanted.
Along with that, his mental strength and thinking ability increased dramatically.
Even considering that one more avatar would be added, it seemed like the amount of mental power allocated to each individual would increase.
'Well, this is good. Then the additional things I gained are…'
Now that he had achieved the desired result, his interest shifted to the content of the system message.
The increase in the avatars' potential was already beyond the point of complaining.
'If I fought my clone, I would lose a hundred out of a hundred times.'
It was the same even compared to Hubert, who didn't have any combat power.
Of course, it was right to prioritize the avatar's growth over the original body's enhancement since he had "Individual Projection"…
'Ah, whatever. How many times have I been stronger than my avatars?'
Perhaps only in the early stages of entering another world, right after creating an avatar.
Now that his children were all striving for the top in their respective positions, he couldn't even compare himself to them.
'Anyway, let's check the newly acquired skill. "Avatar Cloud".'
Cloud referred to a database that could be accessed from anywhere through the internet.
And "Avatar Cloud", which seemed to be named after that…
Was an ability that allowed avatars to share necessary items with each other without distance restrictions through a small shared subspace.
'Oh! I was hoping for something like this. The enhancement effect is amazing.'
With this ability, he didn't have to have the avatars meet in person to exchange items like before.
'Now I can finally give Hans the essence of Arch-Lich Dwell that Heinrich has.'
He had prepared a gift, but they couldn't easily meet because of their different positions.
And it was awkward to use other avatars as errand boys because of the transfer formation's cooldown.
'The perfect ability appeared at the right time.'
And he could now supply Hubert with items from Earth through Heinz, so he felt reassured even if he was dropped in some remote wilderness!
'I should also experiment with how much I can send to Hubert through Heinz. There will be a limit to the amount I can transfer.'
It was a very satisfying enhancement in many ways.
Of course, there was still one main event left.
I immediately picked up the pickaxe and used "Customization".
It was time to create a real Dwarf.