Monarch of Profound Toxin

Andihar and Gul came along for the third expedition as well. Both were eager to grow more experienced in the use of their new abilities and, no matter how one looked at it, they really were the perfect duo for combat.

Plate of the Toxic Colossus offered not only armor that was magnitudes more durable than what that old, golden rust bucket he had called an artifact could provide, but the quasi-intelligent, reactive crystalline formations that reinforced impact points basically granted him extra lives. Especially ambushes and other attacks of opportunity, which he would normally not have been able to respond to before it was too late, would automatically be blocked or deflected.

And along with Azure Aegis, which could expand the protective area of his already massive shield, he could keep safe his allies with an efficiency that was on par with a barrier specialist.

But unlike the barrier specialists, who were frequently priority targets for early elimination in combat, he could now outlast any S-ranker who might come after him.

He was a walking fortress.

Gul's frighteningly persistent offense complemented that survivability perfectly. Safe under Andihar's impenetrable defense, his rotting darkness could seek out victims with eerie precision and at great distances.

While not particularly quick in the context of S-rank abilities, it was difficult to see coming and would only grow more difficult to handle the longer he had to build up his combat power. Along with the summons whose ranks were bolstered by every death dealt, whether by Gul himself or someone else, it made him a near unstoppable, undying killing force under the elven shield.

However, even taking all of that into consideration, that deadly duo was still dependent on the protection of the Supreme Divinity of Toxin during their visits to the worlds infested by the filthy miasma of the Lord of the Moon.

He let them farm skill levels and practice their newly acquired skills granted by their relationship to him as Royal Guards of the Supreme Divinity of Toxin for a few hours. A few tens of thousand of Eik's Living Manifestations crawled around out there, in the thick darkness, snatching up all but the tiny number of spawn let through to try their luck against Andihar and Gul instead.

Andihar saw a significant increase in levels, with Azure Aegis' in particular having seen a lot of use in their fights. But Plate of the Toxic Colossus didn't do too badly either.

[Acquired Plate of the Toxic Colossus — Lv. 31]

[Acquired Plate of the Toxic Colossus — Lv. 32]

[Acquired Plate of the Toxic Colossus — Lv. 3…]

[Acquired Plate of the Toxic Colossus — Lv. 78]

[Acquired Plate of the Toxic Colossus — Lv. 79]

[Skill evolution available. Skill available for evolution: Plate of the Toxic Colossus]

[Choose one]

[Plate of the Toxic Colossus — Panacean Infusion]

[Plate of the Toxic Colossus — Reactive Liquefication]

Given his primary role as the defender of their two-man killing team, he eventually selected Panacean Infusion—the skill that seemed most likely to be of a defensive nature—although it took a fair bit of convincing to convince the excited elf to turn down the more interesting sounding trait.

Panacean Infusion turned out to be pretty much what it had seemed like it would be. At will, Andihar was able to release the same green Panacean Quintessence that Eik could use throughout the inside of the protective toxic plate overlay to target any injuries he may have incurred.

This was yet another ability that increased his already unbelievable potent defensive capability.

And then there was Azure Aegis.

[Acquired Azure Aegis — Lv. 80]

[Acquired Azure Aegis — Lv. 81]

[Acquired Azure Aegis — Lv. 8…]

[Acquired Azure Aegis — Lv. 134]

[Acquired Azure Aegis — Lv. 135]

Reaching Level 100 offered a trait evolution for Azure Aegis as well.

[Skill evolution available. Skill available for evolution: Azure Aegis]

[Choose one]

[Azure Aegis — Barrier Transmission]

[Azure Aegis — Retaliation Manifest]

Again, the first choice called Barrier Transmission seemed to be more or less clear in what could be expected from its effect, while Retaliation Manifest wasn't nearly as much so. According to the same logic that they had decided on Panacean Infusion for the evolution for Plate of the Toxic Colossus, Gul pushed for Barrier Transmission.

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It sounded like the one with the most solid and unambiguous defensive potential.

Andihar wasn't of the same opinion. No matter how they looked at it, something had awoken in the beefy elf when the skill levels had begun to tick in and the glittering lure of progress had shown itself again after many years of relative standstill.

Andihar's hunger for power had only just been reignited. And he wasn't about to give in to Gul's pressure a second time.

He picked Retaliation Manifest and it turned out to be an offensive trait with a certain defensive utility.

Anytime his Azure Aegis was struck by a hostile attack, be it a weapon or fist in close combat or a ranged projectile like an arrow or magical bolt, it would cause a Living Manifestation under Andihar's command to emerge from the surface of the shield.

It would immediately face roll whatever had dealt the damage and function as a distraction for however long it was able to stay alive and give Andihar himself one less enemy to worry about. The summon wasn't nearly at the level that Eik's own were, of course, but it was nonetheless a formidable addition to any battle, if for no other reason that to create another individual for an opponent to have to worry about.

Clan Leader Gul's Toxic Taint skill saw stunning growth, rocketing skyward on account of having started at Level 1. His grumpy demeanor hid it better, but it was easy to see that he was just as excited about leveling up as Andihar was.

[Acquired Toxic Taint — Lv. 2]

[Acquired Toxic Taint — Lv. 3]

[Acquired Toxic Taint — Lv. 4…]

[Acquired Toxic Taint — Lv. 75]

[Acquired Toxic Taint — Lv. 76]

[Skill evolution available. Skill available for evolution: Toxic Taint]

[Choose one]

[Toxic Taint — Enhanced Toxicity]

[Toxic Taint — Proliferate in Summons]

Both effects seemed pretty obvious by the naming alone and both seemed very useful. In the end he chose Proliferate to Summons for the utility of it.

As expected, it allowed him to infuse the Profound Toxic essence of Toxic Taint into his summons as well, so they could also spread it to the enemies they fought independently.

Unfortunately, Eik's own progress was not quite as impressive as his two S-ranked minio— ahem, Royal Guards of the Supreme Divinity of Toxin. Particularly the first tour of utter annihilation through one of the worlds infected by the foul miasma had netted him a good bunch of Levels in skills, but even on the second time around it had been a little less.

[Acquired Living Manifestation — Lv. 258]

[Acquired Living Manifestation — Lv. 259]

[Acquired Living Manifestation — Lv. 26…]

[Acquired Living Manifestation — Lv. 262]

[Acquired Living Manifestation — Lv. 263]

[Acquired Monarch's Will — Lv. 376]

[Acquired Monarch's Will — Lv. 377]

[Acquired Monarch's Will — Lv. 378]

[Acquired Monarch's Will — Lv. 379]

[Acquired Monarch's Will — Lv. 380]

[Acquired Profound Toxin — Lv. 484]

[Acquired Profound Toxin — Lv. 485]

[Acquired Profound Toxin — Lv. 486]

[Acquired Profound Toxin — Lv. 487]

Level 500 of the Profound Toxin skill was drawing nearer and nearer, but if these kinds of diminishing returns continued to worsen, it would require exponentially more kills and destruction to actually reach that level.

He had simply become so powerful that even to just earn a handful of Levels in his primary skill required the literal extermination of an entire world of lower ranked creatures. For the first time since their meeting, he understood Chop's thirst for power—for the grade seven Legendary Mystery Medicine which would have an effect on X-rankers.

He even kind of understood the old man when he refused to participate in the fights against anything other than the Lord of the Moon. Well, not really, but he understood how utterly fruitless it must feel to try, year after year after year, to grow stronger. How infuriating and frustrating it must be to have lived a life in pursuit of power only to stare stagnation in the face every day.

As far as Eik's own pursuit of power was concerned, while wielding superhuman strength was exhilarating—an emotion only enhanced further by his intimate relationship with Profound Toxin—the reason he had been working so tirelessly and taken so many risks had always been to keep safe those he loved and cared about.

Finding a way to save his sister Olivia from a helpless, comatose death. That had been the original source of his courage. The reason why he had thrown himself into depths of despair and climbed peaks of pain.

His friends, his family, humanity. Those had been an extension of that drive to save. Back then, it had seemed a ridiculous notion to struggle so terribly to achieve something so utterly impossible. How would a single man, from a fresh world, with no practical power to speak of ever be able to make a difference?

It had been foolish. Plainly and simply.

And then he had become more and more integrated in the Nidafjeld Alliance. Or rather, he had met people whom had become important to him. Whom had become friends and whom had become family.

That had only strengthened his urge to protect. The thought of their suffering was too much to bear. And so the struggle had continued—foolishly but stubbornly.

So he understood Chop's thirst for power but once this disaster they were facing was over and dealt with, would Eik truly have anything left to fight for?

As an X-ranker, and a Worldbreaker to boot, what could anyone but the Lord of the Moon really do to threaten his safety or the safety of anybody under his protection?

Glimpses of a different life—a more peaceful life—were beginning to show themselves on the horizon, and Eik would be lying if he claimed not to look forward to it.

***

"And you have detected no new occurrences of a complete contamination of miasma on any new worlds?" Eik asked.

The entire analytics team had returned to their desks and stations. Back to regular operations, huh?

"Correct," the lead analyst said. "As far as we have been able to tell, that third occurrence was the last. At least for now. I apologize for our disagreement when we first met and thank you for resolving this issue for us. You were completely correct in your assessment of the situation and your push for hasty intervention," the man acknowledged with a small nod of his head. "We will contact you if and when we discover another one."

"Your arguments were as valid as mine. I only happened to be correct. You could just as well have been right."

The lead analyst cracked a smile at that.

"Anyway," Eik said. "I'm going home."

***

Eik stomped his boots on the mat outside and pushed open the front door, stepping into his kitchen.

"Daddy's ho… me…" he trailed off as, through the door to the living room, he saw Philip Junior sitting in the couch next to his daughter Bin. His bristles raised in agitation.

"You!" Ihasu called before he could get a word out, peeking into the kitchen. "You don't say anything! You also have a guest."

With a frown he kicked off his boots and went into the living room. His son was drawing at the low tea table while Ihasu had been speaking with the guest at the dinner table. The woman looked vaguely familiar.

Eik ran his fingers through his daughters hair in greeting before pulling Goo into his arms. "Yes?"

Suddenly flustered, the woman scrambled to her feet and bowed deeply to him. This happened on occasion when people met him. He wished they would stop.

"M-Mr. Magnasen, sir. I have been sent by the, uuh…" she drawled as she seemed to forget why she had even come. "The Alchemist Guild! That's right, I have been sent by the Alchemist Guild of Gimleh! They request your presence at the main offices."

His eyes narrowed as the prospect of relaxation dwindled. "… Why?"

She maintained the deep bow when she answered. "They would like to discuss your nomination for Elixir King."