Chapter 79: Extracting the A-Rank Talent Frost Monarch! The Chairman’s Evaluation Falls Apart
Both Sylvia and Caelus exchanged bewildered glances.
To think their secrets were out.
"So the Aura Manifestation gave it away." Caelus let out a soft chuckle.
"Pretty much," Chairman Welt said with a small smile. "And I do believe that the reason you are so much stronger than your peers is due to the MODs."
Chairman Welt thought that it was a pity. First, he had praised him for being a talent, but after confirming their track records and putting the clues together, it was clear that they both had a MOD. Especially Caelus.
"But wait. How did you guys enter the Middle Expanse? Did the Origin Domain allow you to go to the other side?"
Caelus frowned.
The last time he tried to jump into the middle domain, he was almost teleported back to the Lower Expanse. How were they completely fine?
"Getting kicked out?" Welt and Rachel frowned.
"No, the spatial fissure actually led to a small game. For me, it was a last-one-standing battle royale. I was participating with other beings that looked human, but there were also goblins, orcs, and other races we find in the dungeons there."
"The last one standing had the opportunity to receive a MOD."
"It was the same for me. But my game mode was tower defense. Protecting the tower from hordes of beasts, and the one with the most HP left won."
"I even got an Arcana Scroll from there. It has to be mentioned, Arcana Scrolls by themselves are from the Middle Expanse. But unlike MODs, there are other spatial fissure games that give out Arcana Scrolls as rewards. Hence, more and more players began to get them, and they became common knowledge."
"These spatial fissures. Do you know who is creating them?" Caelus felt that it was strange.
Strange mini-games in the Middle Expanse.
Wasn’t it completely strange? At least, he felt that it was very strange.
It reminded him of a part of the Azure Origin Planet’s history, when one man descended onto a group of tribal humans and made them do all sorts of things like play mini-games for technology and food.
Maybe it was something like a quest given by the Origin Domain to the people of the Middle Expanse for reward purposes?
"So that means more than a hundred people know about the Middle Expanse, huh?" Caelus chuckled. And here he thought he was special.
Sylvia thought the same. But she didn’t mind all this. She just stood there with the same plain smile, as if this knowledge was worth nothing to her.
"That means both of you have an Arcana and also a MOD, I’m assuming," Caelus asked with a sigh.
"We do." Welt and Rachel nodded.
"So do many others across the Azure Origin Planet. You aren’t necessarily special." Chairman Welt’s voice was harsh and cold. But this was reality.
The world was vast, and there would always be bigger fish in the sea. The domain was fair, and opportunities like this wouldn’t just come to Caelus, but to others as well.
"Well, for now, both of you need to be prepared. The Space League... we expected something like this to come sooner rather than later. We don’t know what exactly these clans could be, but they will definitely not be something ordinary."
"For now, let’s get you both ready for the league. I’ve already toggled access to the dungeon zone for you both, but before that, let’s issue your and Sylvia’s certifications. A player license is usually required to enter the dungeon. The last time was an exception since the dungeons you both raided were Guild property."
"Alright." Caelus nodded.
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Player Test Assessment Room.
"Alright, we will test your combat score using my daughter," Chairman Welt let out an enthusiastic laugh.
"This zone has a special rune equipped. It allows the opposing party to adjust to the weaker opponent’s power automatically. Hence, the more power you exhibit, the stronger opponent’s combat score adjusts accordingly. Additionally, it is a localized digital domain zone with domain rules. Hence, it follows the rules of the arena mode; you won’t die for real if you die in here. Isn’t that great? Now you both can have a spar."
"..." Caelus’s expression darkened. Fuck, why was this old man so dead set on seeing him get beat up?
Sylvia on the side gave him a thumbs-up with a small giggle.
Sighing, he entered the localized reality with the Frost Queen.
"But wait. Should I use my full power?" Caelus frowned.
Even with the MOD, it couldn’t account for his current combat score. Because the MOD was restricted to the Iron I tier, only its unique special effect remained useful to him; the raw combat score it provided was practically obsolete.
The same applied to his defenses. The gap in base HP and MP between Iron I and Iron II was astronomical because reaching Iron II required completing the ascension quest. The game enforced a strict tier-suppression mechanic: by law of the system, an Iron I attack could never pierce an Iron II player’s defenses without reaching an Iron II combat score threshold. Without it, lower-tier attacks dealt exactly 0 damage.
Following that exact same logic, his Iron I shield was practically paper. A single, basic strike from an Iron II player would instantly shatter it, simply because an Iron I defense could not withstand the absolute power gap of a higher tier.
But Caelus, in the end, decided not to hide his powers. It was useless anyway. Since they were so extensively knowledgeable about MODs and the Middle Expanse, they must’ve seen geniuses with his combat score, if not more.
Before he started, he turned to old man Welt. "Is there any way to increase the rank of the MODs? Let’s say I suddenly ascend to Iron II and I have to recalibrate it. What would I have to do?"
"Simple, you need a MOD Calibrator Scroll for that," Chairman Welt chuckled. "If you manage to land at least two hits on my daughter, I will give you four for free. I got plenty from the time I partook in all those spatial fissure mini-games in the domain."
"Oh." Caelus nodded.
Landing two hits in exchange for a power-up of 40 combat score? He would take it!
Soon, a notification rang out in the player assessment area.
Mr. Brown, Welt, and Sylvia stood by the side, observing Rachel and Caelus.
[Ding!]
[Power detected.]
[Rank: Iron II]
[Level: 3]
[Combat Score: 23.32]
[Adjusting the stronger opponent’s power to a similar configuration.]
"Huh?!" The instant that notification rang out, everyone’s expression collectively changed.
Chairman Welt, on the other hand, wore a stunned face that visibly began to twist into excitement.
"Iron II? Iron II in 12 days of the domain opening, and that too with a combat score of 23?" He eyed Caelus like he was eyeing a monster.
His previous evaluation was wrong!!
From what Caelus had said, his MOD was still at Iron I, meaning the combat score being displayed was not from the MOD, but from his own powers!
This kid... he had a combat score of 23 (Iron II) while being level 3!!!
This level of power. He had never seen it before.
"A combat score of 23." Rachel was amused. "Let’s see what you got."
As soon as she spoke, a timer rang.
[3...]
[2...]
[1...]
Boom!
The language of the domain manifested, and the Frost Monarch’s Awakening was deployed. An armor and a hammer formed on Rachel’s body and hands respectively as she charged forward.
Ice power erupted from her as she shot towards Caelus.
Caelus, however, stood perfectly still in his place.
The following moment, his eyes flashed red. Rachel stopped dead in her tracks as she was virtually stunned by his chaos perception eyes.
Wrhm! Whrmm! Wrhmmm!
[-15 CA]
[Skill Activated: Plasma Nuke]
[-15 CA]
[Skill Activated: Plasma Nuke]
[-15 CA]
[Skill Activated: Plasma Nuke]
Plasma power circled around Caelus’s hands as he rapidly charged it up three times.
Boom!
Boundless plasma energy violently erupted from Caelus the next moment as he shot a concentrated beam directly at Rachel.
Boom!
[Critical Hit!]
[-250 HP]
[Opponent Rachel has died.]
[The Winner is Caelus.]
Seeing this, Caelus’s eyes flashed as he activated Harvest along with his extraction ability.
Since they were in a virtual world, she was considered dead by the system, meaning he could use his extraction!
Soon, a notification appeared in his vision that made him overjoyed.
[Extraction Successful...]
[You’ve obtained the talent: Frost Monarch (Lower A-Rank)]
[You’ve obtained the skills: Glacial Prison (Epic, 1-star), Icicle Spear Impalement (Epic, 1-star)]
[Frost Monarch (Lower A-Rank): All ice-based magic costs 40% less mana and cannot be melted by normal fire. Applies the effects of Ice to the body. Each movement of yours carries the intent of ice.]
[You can now generate frost with no mana cost. The frost produced with no mana hits at 10% of your combat score.]
[Combat Score: 23.32 -> 26.35]
[Glacial Prison (Epic, 1-star): Transform the moisture in the air into unbreakable ice.]
[Cost: 6 CA]
[Cooldown: 5 minutes.]
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A/N: If you are enjoying the book so far, support it with a power stone or two. Thank you.