Zarek felt as though something had been forcefully opened in his mind. The blood moon's effects seeped into the room, and all at once, he activated [Godsfall Eclipse Resonance] and [Limit Break] at the same time.
Then, pulling on his C Class Scouting Skill, he went all out.
All of a sudden, the connection that had been established between Old Grizz and the Matrices became his own. His senses were amplified to an extreme, and his thoughts accelerated.
What made Zarek scary wasn't his intelligence. There was a reason he never called himself particularly book smart even though others might disagree. Regardless of what they thought, the only reason he was number one in his class in this life was because he had been through high school four times already. He had better be number one at that point, or he might as well jump off the nearest building.
No. What Zarek valued the most was his unpredictability, the flexibility of his mind, the risks he was willing to take that others might rather die than replicate.
Right now, stepping into a Matrix that wasn't designed for him, and created by the hands of an enemy that had always been better than he was in this regard, was nothing short of suicide.
But so was stepping into a building he knew was filled with dozens of armed enemies.
And so was not moving at all when a gun was trained right at the center of his forehead.
However, that was who he was. That was what made him a nightmare to his enemies, and a stain on their hearts.
And right this moment, that would bear real fruit.
Old Grizz's Talent was on a completely different level from Zarek's Scouting Skill. If the man's Talent was translated into a Scouting Skill, it would be off the charts. Even an S Class Scouting Skill wouldn't be able to compare.
And yet, Suki had managed to amplify it.
On the one hand, this was bad news for Zarek. It meant that Suki's Skill, even with limited Godsfall, resources, and hands-on experience, was already at this point. Just relying on memories alone had allowed him to do this already.
But on the other hand… it was the greatest of news possible.
That was because if it could do such a thing for a Talent on that level, then what could it do for a far inferior Scouting Skill?
—
[Skill {C Class Scouting} has shown great progress]
-
>[C Class Scouting: E+]
-
>[C Class Scouting: D-]
-
>[C Class Scouting: D]
-
>[C Class Scouting: D+]
-
>[C Class Scouting: C-]
—
Zarek roared, feeling like his mind was being split apart. He didn't seem to care who heard him, his entire mind focused on the task at hand.
The mind of an F Elite wasn't supposed to be able to withstand a Skill at this level. Just the mere fact that Zarek had it at E+ Mastery earlier was ridiculous, and only allowable due to his previous life experience and because the gap between the F and E Grades was relatively more manageable than higher Grades.
Most of the decent Talent on Earth should already be approaching, if not already being firmly within the E tier by now. However, the path from E to D would be a much steeper mountain to climb. The first few of those might not appear for several months, and some might never reach D Warrior no matter how hard they tried due to limited talent.
And yet, Zarek had just pushed a Skill to C- Mastery.
This didn't seem like it should affect anything, but the problem was that all Skills required Godsfall to activate. Having it at a higher Mastery usually meant that the Godsfall requirement was lower, but it also meant that the Godsfall Pathways, Runes, and Patterns used would be far more complex.
The reason the system registered and tallied Skills was because each one caused changes to the body. While these changes wouldn't be as deep or elaborate as it would be if it were a Talent, and certainly not if it were a Role, these changes would occur nonetheless.
And they could very well kill Zarek.
Right now, though…
That was exactly what Zarek was banking on.
Blood began to run down Zarek's orifices, flares of crimson elevating from his body as he became covered in a heated sweat that flaked off into steamy tendrils of misty white.
—
[Skill {C Class Scouting} has shown great progress]
-
>[C Class Scouting: C]
-
>[C Class Scouting: C+]
—
BOOM!
Zarek felt as though a hammer had slammed into the center of his forehead. The world swam, almost turning black around him, but he held on, his heart rolling in waves as his blood almost seemed to want to reverse its flow.
His thoughts became skewed, his focus becoming foggy.
'Not now. No… not ever.'
Zarek bit his tongue so hard he would have ripped it clean off if not for his FF-tier Endurance.
He dug deep, circulating [Godsfall Eclipse Resonance] even harder.
More and more pools of Godsfall came forward.
There was a reason Zarek didn't need Godsfall Droplets or Crystals right now. The Matrix he stood within was pooling it all together for him in a concentrated, controlled stream.
This was all he needed. It was all he ever needed.
BOOM!
Zarek collapsed to the ground, the formation shattering to pieces. Like a chain reaction of bombs, the formations around the skyscraper shattered one by one, ripping themselves to shreds.
Every ounce of Zarek's body ached, but his mind was in the most splitting pain. Even now, it felt like something was taking a set of pliers to the folds of his brain and ripping them apart piece by piece, step by step.
But…
He knew he had succeeded.
—
Name: [Zarek Ashford]
Role: [N/A]
Core Stats:
>[Strength: FFF] <A>
>[Dexterity: F+] <B>
>[Intelligence: FF] <C->
>[Endurance: FF] <B+>
>[Charisma: FFF] <C>
Talents:
>[Temp Duplicate: F-] <B->
[Abilities: Mirror]
[The world's matter can be mirrored by you, but you are not a God. Their connections are lacking and their structures are weak. Replicating weight and size is very much possible, but if you think this will be enough to match durability, you will be sorely mistaken]
>[Empty]
>[Empty]
Skills:
>[C Class Scouting: C+] <C+>
Notes:
[Using charity from an enemy to make yourself look a little better. I can't decide if I'm impressed by your gall or your shamelessness more]