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Chapter 50: New Town
🕑 Added 2024-07-12 21:59:24 +0000 UTC[Defeated: Trolleater level 45]
[Reward: 190 Points]
[You have defeated a horde of Anathema! This is the summary of points received. Consult Familiars for more info]
[Reward: 350 Points]
[Destroyed: Curse seed]
[Reward: 150 Points]
[You have leveled up to level 26]
[Remaining Points: 7990 (7300+350+190+150)]
"Even though the curse seed was much darker, it only gave fifty more points?" I muttered after reading the notification. The curse seed that spawned the Trolleater was spewing black smog. It was located inside a cave, deep enough for me to stay the night but with a clear view of the stars. The thought of staying the night crossed my mind. However, the puddle of black ichor from the curse seed made me nauseous. I quickly abandoned the thought.
"If we restore access to Eden, we should get a quest to clear out the surrounding land from Anathema. Do you want to break radio silent protocol?" Felicia began, but I interrupted her.
"Nevermind. Let's sleep. Should we rest inside the jeep, or should we buy a house?" Her advice was sound, and it lifted my spirits to know that at least the Zenith hadn't abandoned me. However, I am not ready to return yet. I don't want to return yet. I want to taste this freedom just a bit longer.
If you plan to buy a house, I recommend upgrading your dimensional storage. Unless you plan to abandon the house."
"I see. But it was so close to the next tier, right?"
"Yes. If you have ten thousand points, you could upgrade your weapon to masterworks."
"What does the Masterwork vault for guns and glaives have?"
"I would recommend the Warscythe hook blade. It is a scythe, but the hook can fly and return to the pole on its own. However, since you have a harpoon gun, we could further modify the scythe to have a wire attached to the base. This will complement your fighting style the best. Moreover, it has stronger power than previous scythes. It can be enchanted with fire or ice, just like your Icerail Naginata and Flamethrower Warscythe."
"Wow, that sounds incredibly strong. Any other recommendations?"
"Naginata that can turn into a sniper rifle. This would make your battle style more versatile as you could switch from close range to long range instantly. Or, if you want pure power, try the Fire Lord Naginata. It has the strongest fire enchantment."
"I see."
"If you open the Masterwork gun vault, you will have access to cannons, railguns, plasma guns, and enchanted bullets."
"What is an enchanted bullet?"
"A bullet that can mimic magic, even if used by normal people. For example, a fire bullet would have the same power as a fireball in addition to the penetrating power of the silverbane bullet."
"I don't think I will need that."
"You won't need it now since your weapons already have some elemental damage. But that is what's inside the vault. There are also other elemental damages you don't have access to yet, such as corrosion, light, and electricity. Various Anathema have different weaknesses. The troll could have been downed more easily if you had corrosive bullets and shot into its mouth."
"I see."
"However, no need to be afraid. It is recommended to stick to one style. Issen, for example, only needs a blade and focuses on cutting power, but Pink Heart would analyze its foe and choose the proper gadget. Everyone's playstyle is different. Now, which one would you like to buy? A house or a car?"
"House!"
"Car!" My clones were debating on what I should buy.
"I think I will buy the house and dimensional storage. It's useless if I force myself to open the masterwork vault. After opening the vault, I will still need to buy the weapons. It will cost a fortune."
"Yes. A weapon from the Masterwork vault could cost up to 1000 points. It would be wise to invest in the present, such as buying a house and vehicle. Sleeping in a car would do worse for your mental health."
[Purchased: Boxable house, design 145J + Air purifier]
[-350 Points]
[Purchased: Dimensional storage lvl 2]
[-3000 Points]
[Remaining Points: 4640 (7990-3350)]
A thought then flashed by me. "Felicia, how does Pink Heart manage to fly?"
"Hm? She uses several techniques for flying. She has flying shoes from the Masterwork Vault Garments. For long-range travel, she uses an Arcane vault in Vehicle and a rare Drone vault, which becomes an Autonomous Drone Fighter. I think she also has detachable wings from the Masterwork Garments Vault, but she didn't use them during the fight. Her staff from the Legendary vault also empowers her flight."
"I see."
"Pink Magical Girls earn the most points of all magical girls. I would not suggest copying her battle style."
As we made small talk, a black box appeared before me. I opened the steel door and found a simple room consisting of a white airbed, a set of tables and chairs, three hanging lamps, and another door leading to a bathroom and toilet beside a sink and another table.
"No window…."
"I opted for that to reduce the weight and improve structural integrity. You could always renovate the house. Besides, you could use your magic eyes instead."
"Yeah, but a room without windows…."
"Don't worry. I also bought an air purifier for 50 points. Could you pick up that tube and insert it into the indentation above?"
"Okay." I picked up the white tube and inserted it beside the yellow and blue tubes on the wall.
"The yellow one is for electricity; it can hold up to 100 kWh of electricity by inserting 100 mana into it. The blue one is for water; it can hold up to 500 liters of water by inserting 500 mana into it. The air purifier, which you just inserted, can run continuously for two days if you insert 100 mana into it. It can regulate the air and temperature inside the room."
"A simple fan would do…"
"Well, I apologize. But I remember you have an AC in your room. The black non-reflective camouflage paint could get hot if the sun shines directly on it."
"Ah, this one could also act as an AC? Sorry. It's fine. This is for my safety and comfort, right? You always know what I like, don't you?" I smiled at her. As she said, I didn't forget to install my mana eyes at the doorframe of my house.
"Hmm… Should I take a bath or sleep first?" Even though I had a very tiresome day, I didn't feel sweaty at all. When I undid my transformation, the exhilarating feelings were gone and my body felt weak. But I still forced myself into the bath.
"Just a shower will do," I muttered. There was a bathtub, along with toilets and a shower.
"Felicia…"
"Ah, my apologies. Towel, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, and hairdryer all cost 10 points."
"Okay."
[Purchased: Toiletries set]
[-10 Points]
[Remaining Points: 4630 (4640-10)]
I then slept while wearing my kimono bathrobe. My used clothes were left piling on the chair. The clothes didn't even smell. Apparently, the clothes were stored in dimensional storage when I astral shifted. I took a quick bath due to my fatigue. My vision was hazy, and it seemed like I would collapse in the bath. I even had to order my clone to dry my hair for me.
"Goodnight. I will keep watch using your mana eyes," Felicia said. Then, she clicked the light switch, turning my vision dark.
"Goodnight. Thank you, Felicia. Can I hug you?"
"Sure."
It was probably a bad habit to sleep with your cats. You might accidentally crush or hit it during your sleep, but Felicia is not a normal cat. She is a zenith cat, and unlike other pets, she didn't hate me. It took no time at all for me to fall unconscious. When I woke up, Felicia informed me it was 9 AM. My heartbeat surged all at once when I heard I overslept, but it receded when I remembered that I was in the darklands, in the middle of nowhere. There is no one here to scold me for whatever I do.
"So, where to?" I asked Felicia while putting my house into the storage and taking out my car. I yawned as I looked over the empty field.
"Dunno," Felicia replied shortly.
"Oh. Sorry." I forgot that this whole fiasco of not returning was my fault. I am sure she would suggest that I call for Eden and return, but because I forbade her to say so, she was at a loss for the next course of action. "How about searching for curse seeds within the area? How far can this plane go?"
"Roger. This plane will be good for another 30 km radius. Let's turn it on," Felicia said. As the drone flew away, I climbed into my jeep. I summoned two of my clones again as lookouts. With weapons in hand, we drove into the wasteland.
"Look! A town!" I exclaimed after spotting a town in the middle of nowhere.
"Hm… I'm not sure about the name, but that town must be one of the remnants from before the Anathema attacks."
"I see. It still looks new," I muttered. I knew for a fact that many buildings from before the Anathema attacks were still here, untouched. In fact, many of the new reconquer projects repurposed the remnants of these buildings.
"Warning. Multiple Anathema detected inside the town. Proceed with caution. There is a nest there."
"Let's clean up this place!" one of my clones raised her hands, pumping herself up.
"Hm? Shadows?" The sniper clone looked through her rifle's scope and found a shadow there. We all shared our visions, so I knew what they looked like.
"That one is a phantasmic ghoul."
"They look like ghosts," I muttered.
"Seems like this area hosts ethereal monsters. They have blurry physical entities similar to ghosts. Physical attacks are still okay for the low-level ones, but the higher ones need magical attacks."
"Does that mean trouble?"
"Not for Darkeater, Icerail, and flamethrower weapons you have. But for other weapons such as your gun, javelin, and harpoon, yes."
"I see." That means half of our arsenal is gone. As our car entered the asphalt road, a loud bump was heard, and our car flipped over.
"Something hit us!" one of my clones panicked.
"Yuri! What did you hit?" my clones blamed me. They thought I hit a curb or something.
"No, it was from the side. On the right."
"Let's get out. To the left."
We opened the door and exited from the left side. I summoned my Icerail at once while my clones aimed their guns through the window. The sniper clone shot first. The bullet flew, breaking the window and passing right through a shadowy head. The shadow dispersed for a moment before reforming back into its shadow form.
"Huh?"
"That's the trait of an ethereal enemy. It still does some form of damage but lets the bullet pass through," Felicia explained. I had no time to admire or study the phenomenon as countless shadows dropped from buildings all around. Their target: me.
"Clones! Arise!" I formed six more clones, making a total of eight. "Form a perimeter. We shall take shelter in that building!"
I pointed at a wide, two-story building. This kind of ridiculous design was unthinkable in sanctuary cities. The building had some kind of planks with logos, written in strange symbols. Either Arabic or Vietnamese. When everyone migrated to sanctuary cities, languages were forced to be compatible with each other. So, in the end, Latin characters became dominant. Even my name was no longer written in kanji or hiragana.
"Hah!" I cut apart one phantasmic ghoul and ran for the building, ordering one of my clones to put my jeep into my storage. I didn't feel any resistance with my naginata when I cut them. However, even without its head, it scratched me with its sharp cloud-like claws. A flash of purple light showed that my shield aura had been damaged. A shotgun shot soon dispersed the rest of its body.
"I need more shotgun bullets later. The buckshot type seems more useful here." The clone shot one phantasmic ghoul after another. She then ran behind me as she reloaded her gun.
"Okay. Felicia, a hundred buckshot bullets for her, please."
"Roger."
[Purchased: buckshot bullet x100!]
[-90 Points]
[Remaining Points: 4540 (4630-90)]
"Enchant your blade," Felicia exclaimed. I did so, and my naginata glowed blue. Then, we renewed our assault.
"Our harpoons are not effective."
"They just slide through."
"Um… clones with harpoons should be on standby. Let the flamethrower war scythe deal the damage," said the clone with the sniper. I summoned eight clones in total. Following Felicia's advice, my clones used both war scythes, darkeater naginata, both guns, both harpoon guns, and one dark naginata. However, the enemy resisted physical attacks, so my clones with harpoons and naginata were in a pinch.
"Let's retreat. We are losing this war of attrition," the sniper clone said.
"She is right. Using enchantments eats up your remaining mana. You barely have 50 left."
"Should I put more points into Spirit?"
"That is merely a stopgap measure. We need to scout this area first. We don't even know how high the usurpation level is. These phantasmic ghouls are low level, but they are a bad match for your equipment."
"Can we even retreat? We should push on. The scanner plane measured the miasma around here to be medium, right?"
"The decision is up to you."
"Alright. Put ten points into Spirit and ten points into Willpower. Then push through. If we are still lacking, we will have to buy more shotguns or explosive bullets for the snipers."
"Roger, buying explosive bullets for snipers."
[Purchased: explosive bullet x100!]
[-90 Points]
[Remaining Points: 4450 (4540-90)]
The sniper clone quickly adjusted her bullets, and as she shot at the black ghost's feet, the bullet exploded, erasing its leg. The buckshot seemed to be more effective, but that bullet was for shotguns; my sniper rifle couldn't fire it. Then, a huge crab appeared. It still had the same ghostly appearance as the others. When a sniper shot at its torso, the bullet exploded in its body, killing it instantly.
"An explosive bullet seems effective against larger enemies. Good," Felicia nodded. That means buckshot for shotguns and explosives for snipers.
"Watch out!" I quickly dodged to my right as my clones warned me. Through our thought transmission, she saw an enemy appear from the floor behind me. She suggested how I should dodge the attack. The new augments were more useful than I imagined. My clones seemed to have thoughts of their own now, unlike their robotic behavior, unless I directly controlled them like before.
[Defeated: Phantasmic Ghoul lvl 9 x40]
[Reward: 600 Points]
[Defeated: Phantasmic Crustaceans Level 22 x2]
[Reward: 40 Points]
[Defeated: Phantasmic Spitter Level 25]
[Reward: 20 Points]
[Remaining Points: 5200 (4540+660)]
[You have leveled up to level 27]
"We won!" my clone with the flame scythe jumped together with the dark scythe and dark naginata. The harpoon team and black naginata looked at them warmly.
"Let's have a break for 30 minutes and then assault the headquarters," I suggested. No one complained.
"Ugh… the jeep is dented. That spitter's ranged attack was dangerous," the shotgun clone said, summoning my jeep inside the building. The dirty tires meeting the tiled floor triggered my PTSD, but I ignored it.
"Really? Is it more dangerous than the scorpions?" the sniper clone asked.
"No. It is much lower. The Scorpion Hellspawn would decimate the door or render the jeep inoperable if it hit the engine. That phantasmic spitter only dented the door. It will do minimal damage even if it hits Black Lily's clone. Their vitality will save them; it will only bruise them at most."
"Ahh. Right. We don't have a shield aura except when Yuri uses her signature," one of the clones nodded. They still have stats, but they have no shield aura. Their magic also depletes my mana. However, during the signature, each of them has their own mana and shield aura.
"The attack has stopped. What now?"
"Either attack or retreat. Fight or flight. What do you choose, Black Lily?" Felicia asked.
"Let's attack!"
