Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 130: Twins
[Your aether pool stands equivalent to that of ten energy specialist S-Rankers, both in terms of quantity and quality.]
"S-Rankers?" he asked. "Why not the Ex-Rank directly?"
[The qualitative and quantitative gap from the S-Rank to the Ex-Rank is bigger than all other ranks combined.]
[A G-Ranker is closer to an S-Ranker than an S-Ranker is to an Ex-Ranker.]
"Woah."
He fell quiet.
’Hm. With this much I think I should be able to defend myself unless we end up only encountering high rank beasts with high limiters.’
He grimaced. ’Hopefully this isn’t jinxing it.’
He refocused on his tool. "That’s good. What are the strengths I have according to the data?"
[According to the compiled data, you have unmatched arcane and martial talent, with high potential to become a perfect hybrid type of ascendant, leaning more towards the arcane yet relatively balanced nonetheless.]
[Your massive aether pool, too, is an upside. Not only because of its sheer quantity, but also quality. All your natal aether stands at the Jade Grade, a truly unseen standard.]
Uriel’s smile, which had only been widening, suddenly froze as the silence lingered for much too long.
His eyes widened. "That’s it?!"
[Regarding your weaknesses, it seems you have—]
"Wait! I didn’t ask—!"
[—quite a few of them.]
[The first and most glaring weakness is rooted in the fact that you are, for lack of a better term, a glass cannon. This seems counterintuitive considering your defensive prowess is the most robust of your strengths.]
[But it is not.]
[Your defense is worthless for the simple fact that, as we both know, in the heat of battle, you cannot get injured, let alone hit, under any circumstances.]
[If you do, the battle stops becoming an endeavour rooted in victory and instead becomes all about survival and escape.]
Uriel’s expression eased and he imperceptibly nodded.
It was part of the reason he didn’t really care about his offensive or defensive prowess, and was still somewhat doubtful that he’d be able to fully protect himself.
[It is recommended you begin to remedy this by focusing on the micro of all things, always prioritizing mastery and comprehension rather than raw power.]
[Finesse will always be the most optimal path, especially for you, who has such a short margin of error, so short it might as well be nonexistent.]
[A single cut is all that is needed to defeat you.]
[Mid and long distance are the best ways to remedy this, by focusing on weapons ruling these distances and by having a large repertoire of armours and artefact sets.]
[To you, these will maybe be even more important than cultivation itself.]
While it sounded like Uriel was defenceless, it wasn’t all so bad.
A single cut was all that was needed to defeat him, but his body was so robust with his shells that even reaching that cut in the first place would be an entire journey.
Still, he preferred to be pessimistic about it; it allowed him to see things for what they were.
[The second flaw is your terrible aether management skills despite your incredibly deep aether pool.]
[The third flaw is your lack of control over your natal aether and thus your elements. Without basic control over your natal aether, you are unable to truly use any of your abilities.]
[Atmospheric aether will only be useful for so long.]
[The fourth flaw is your lack of fundamentals in the martial and arcane arts.]
[The fifth flaw is your lack of understanding of your class and frames.]
[The sixth flaw is your lack of understanding of your pioneer path.]
[The seventh flaw is your extreme mental instability.]
[The eighth...]
...
He fell asleep.
After his tool, who definitely wasn’t a certain lady of fire in hiding, had told him all he needed to know, he let himself rest.
In the cave, there was no day or night, and since he’d awoken from his gruesome sequence of evolution, he hadn’t rested.
He spent a couple days working on his tool, another few sparring the mannequins, all the while having his mind endlessly fight against him.
It was the longest and most tiring day he’d ever had the misfortune of living, and though he’d promised himself to stop being as lazy as he’d once been, this time he simply couldn’t help himself.
Even his fear of the nightmares he’d have wasn’t enough to stop him from dozing off.
He fell asleep, his snores echoing across the cave and the warm waters still bubbling, massaging his body and siphoning all the fatigue out of him.
"..."
...
[Elsewhere—?]
The room was empty.
The floors were old and dusty wood, and the walls cement, painted white, which had turned to a yellowish grey after years of neglect and moisture.
A wide window was embedded into one of the walls, giving view to a shore that connected to a sprawling ocean of dark blue waters.
The world beyond had a grey sky, the winds harsh and strong, the rain constant and bleak.
Near a rocky part of the shore, a lighthouse stood, entirely black and piercing into the clouds above, looming and old.
The room was silent, the occasional sound of rain pelting across the windows echoing from the walls.
It was quiet and calm, though.
"ARIEL! DON’T RUN!"
BANG!
The room shook as its one door opened then slammed shut, clicks echoing as it was locked.
Two boys entered the room, terrified, their breaths laboured and bodies covered in sweat and blood.
One had hair as dark as night and eyes of deep amethyst, with faint rings of dark gold in their depths. The boy was rather tall and despite his malnourished frame, he seemed strong.
His eyes burned with unbreakable resolve and in hand he held a bloodied knife which he tightly clutched. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
The second boy stood behind him, terrified and nearly passed out.
His hair was white as snow, as was his skin, his eyes a deep shade of gold, innocent and trembling, tears welling up alongside snot as he heaved.
He was thin, extremely so, and covered in bruises and cuts, his bones and organs visible. It was a shock the boy was still alive.
"URIEL! ARIEL!"
The two boys were twins.
