Chapter 69: Lord of Illusions
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The principle behind Hamon from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was utilizing a specialized breathing method to generate ripples of energy from within the physical body.
Simply put, Hamon was essentially analogous to water ripples found in nature; it was an application of human bio-wave energy.
The main drawback of Hamon was that it lacked raw destructive power. However, its primary advantage was that as long as the user could maintain a continuous breathing rhythm, their energy supply would be virtually endless. It wouldn't easily consume the user's lifespan, making it a highly specialized technique for sustained endurance.
Armament Haki from One Piece allowed the user to convert their life energy into an invisible suit of armor, drastically increasing their defensive capabilities. It was a highly specialized technique for pure defense.
Senjutsu from High School DxD was a martial art that manipulated the flow of life energy. Its primary function was to completely disrupt and block the opponent's Ki, causing direct internal damage to biological organisms. It was a highly specialized technique for practical combat application.
On another note, because the Senjutsu system possessed a remarkably high upper limit, it also featured the ability to 'absorb Ki directly from nature'.
However, absorbing natural energy meant the user would also indiscriminately absorb the miasma, malice, and evil Ki permeating the world. They had to filter it incredibly carefully.
If I use Hamon as my passive baseline energy, reinforce my physical body with Haki, and use Senjutsu to completely disrupt the opponent's biological life flow the moment I get close...
I'd directly cripple your internal bodily functions.
If I desperately need to go all out, I can temporarily burn my lifespan for an explosive power boost. Then, once the battle is over, I can just absorb natural Ki and cast healing-type Senjutsu to fully restore my lost life force—
Faced with that, how would you intend to counter it?
However, absorbing natural Ki required a meticulous conversion and filtering process. It could only serve as a supplementary measure.
Of course, if he eventually developed a technique that allowed him to forcefully inhale massive amounts of Ki, rapidly convert it into pure power, and instantly enter an explosive combat state, that would be fantastic too.
"Let's just call it Life Sage Art," Lucian thought to himself, completely finalizing his new combat system in mere moments.
By manipulating his life energy in combat, his base physical strength could now effortlessly match a Level 4 adventurer.
His defense would break the rules and reach the level of a Level 5, and his offensive methods had become incredibly lethal.
Even the slightest physical touch could instantly cause his opponent's blood to flow backward, rupturing their blood vessels.
If they took a solid hit... unless they possessed the exact same Senjutsu to forcefully smooth out their disrupted life flow, they were basically guaranteed to die.
Even if Ottar from sixteen years in the future were standing right here, he would have no choice but to dodge this attack. Otherwise, he'd end up exactly like Zald.
The only difference was that Zald suffered from lethal poison. In contrast, Lucian's attack would cause total biological dysregulation. If the opponent couldn't realign their life flow, they would be struck with a semi-permanent, terminal biological collapse.
Although it wasn't as visually spectacular or colorful as magic, the horrifying effects Life Sage Art had on the human body were absolutely terrifying.
It did have one glaring weakness, however: its effectiveness was extremely limited against excessively massive biological creatures.
No matter how chaotic their internal life flow became, their sheer, overwhelming mass made them vastly sturdier and more resilient than a normal-sized human.
After mulling it over, Lucian quickly locked onto Alfia's location using his Game Board interface.
Currently, she was resting at the Hera Familia's headquarters, enjoying a girls' tea party with Hera, Meteria, and the others.
They were sitting in a scenic pavilion, admiring the view, drinking tea, eating pastries, and chatting... It looked incredibly peaceful.
Is it convenient for me to teleport over there right now? Lucian asked through their Party Function voice chat.
Hold on a moment, Alfia replied, before looking over at Hera. "Lucian wants to come over. Is that alright?"
"That brat..." Hera muttered under her breath. "He's really treating our Familia like it's his own house, isn't he...? Whatever. Since I owe him a massive favor, I'll let it slide."
If it had been literally anyone else—including members of the Zeus Familia—she would have chased them out instantly.
From that perspective, Lucian was the very first man allowed to casually wander into the Hera Familia's territory.
"Lucian is coming?!" The Empress perked up immediately, her excitement palpable.
"Teleport."
A flash of light accompanied Lucian's arrival at the pavilion.
"Mr. Lucian," Meteria greeted him with a bright, welcoming smile.
"Good morning, Meteria," Lucian replied warmly.
"Speaking of which, you're already a Level 2 now. Have you thought of a title for yourself yet, kid?" Hera felt a bit awkward, but still took the initiative to ask.
"A title?" Lucian paused.
Now that she mentioned it, the notoriously bored Gods frequently held a Denatus.
While the "Denatus" sounded incredibly grand, dignified, and awe-inspiring, it was actually just a bunch of drama-loving deities gathering together to assign ridiculous nicknames to upper-tier adventurers.
If a Familia was weak and couldn't protest, their adventurers would often be stuck with incredibly bizarre, humiliating aliases.
For example: 'Iron-Headed Brat,' 'Steel Body Glass Heart,' or 'Pockmarked Mage.' Even the better ones were aggressively chuunibyou, like 'Steel MetalGreymon,' 'Dark Flame Master,' or 'Fatal Shadow.'
However, Lucian had the absolute backing of both Zeus and Hera. Not to mention, if they actually managed to piss him off, he was fully capable of walking up to their front doors and blocking them in. Because of this, the drama-loving Gods probably wouldn't dare go too far.
And now that Hera was asking him personally, it was a clear sign she was softly yielding, actively trying to smooth over their previously strained relationship.
"I haven't really thought about it... I can't think of a fitting one right off the top of my head," Lucian admitted, suffering from a severe case of naming paralysis.
"How about 'Child of Miracle'?" Seeing Lucian accept her goodwill, Hera brightened up considerably and offered a suggestion.
"A little too childish," Lucian replied. "If possible, I'd like something with a grander presence."
"You possess a Spirit Armament. At Level 1, you can output power equivalent to an upper-tier Level 7. Why not just go with 'Hero'?" the Empress suggested. "It just so happens that this era currently lacks a 'Hero.' We're missing a leading figure."
The Empress was highly self-aware in this regard. She knew she wasn't suited for the role; despite having a high level, she lacked the rule-breaking magic and skills necessary to lead the charge against the Three Great Quests.
"Too flashy. I prefer to keep a low profile," Lucian immediately shot the idea down.
If he actually accepted a title like that, he would be forced to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities that came with it.
There were certain things Lucian was willing to do, but he absolutely refused to proactively take on that kind of massive burden.
For example, regarding 'saving the world'—he was willing to help cure Alfia, and he was even willing to join the expedition to subjugate the Leviathan. But he absolutely refused to be the one actively carrying the banner of a savior.
"Wise Man?" Alfia suggested, resting her chin on her hand.
"I haven't done anything remotely worthy of earning a title like that," Lucian denied again.
"Perseus." Remembering Lucian's myriad of support abilities, someone immediately threw out the suggestion.
"I'm not stealing someone else's title."
In the future, that alias would belong to Asfi Al Andromeda of the Hermes Familia.
They debated for a long time, but ultimately couldn't agree on a title that sounded interesting enough.
"Lord of Illusions."
Meteria's soft suggestion immediately caught Lucian's attention.
Illusions... Come to think of it, didn't his mental world perfectly align with that concept?
Although the others didn't know the exact source of Meteria's inspiration, seeing Lucian's interest piqued, they quickly began analyzing the thematic elements of the name.
"Illusions" referred to dreams and mirages, often used metaphorically to describe the fleeting nature of human life.
It had been less than a month since Lucian first appeared in their lives, yet the sisters' destinies had undergone a massive, miraculous transformation, revealing a bright, shining hope.
Like a beautiful, impossible illusion, he had brought the sisters a wonderful dream.
And the reason he was the 'Lord of Illusions' was precisely because everything was guided and controlled by Lucian.
Even if an illusion was inherently fragile and easily shattered, as long as one became its absolute master, they could solidify it into permanent reality.
More importantly, only a title like 'Lord of Illusions' could accurately encapsulate the profound nature of the world Lucian had created.
A separate dimension carved into his own mental landscape, governed by rules and laws completely alien to the real world—wasn't that exactly what an illusion was?
The only difference was that this illusion wouldn't shatter easily; he had forcibly dragged a dream into reality.
He wasn't an ephemeral phantom; he was the Master of Illusions.
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