CH 48: Nephalems in Action

Natasha :"Whenever someone's about to sneeze, I make sure to say "bless you" right before they sneeze."

Alistair :"(Your spot in hell is guaranteed, you know that?)"

--------------------------

[Enhanced Ape Physiology x3 (E: Stone Ape)]

"(Alright, boys, you ready?)" Standing atop of a tall tree as a black Stone Ape, eyeing a lone patrolling Orc, Alistair glanced at the Nephalems who were hiding with him. Not able to speak, Seph nodded seriously.

"(Good, then show me what you've got. I know this sounds pointless with the difference between Levels and Stats, but I just want to see you in action.)"

Seph nodded again, before he took the lead and jumped off. His wings spreading as he descended sharply, with the other Nephalems following him closely.

Alistair's eyes widened :'Wait... there's no sound! The flapping of their wings doesn't make a sound?! Oh shit, these guy's wings are like owl wings! Damn, that's really useful for ambushing.'

Their wings showed their usefulness immediately, because the Orc didn't notice anything until Seph slashed with both of his swords.

"Bugi?!!?" It squealed in shock as the blades slashed at his throat, intending to decapitate it. But unfortunately, the difference in Stats played its role.

[Seph: F-Class Nephalem/ Lv 1/ 6 Stats/ 0 Sacred Rings]

[Nephalem Soldiers: G-Class Nephalems/ Lv 1/ 3 Stats/ 0 Sacred Rings]

VS

[Orc: D-Class Orc/ Lv 41/ 1,230 Stats/ 3 Sacred Rings]

The fight was pretty much decided. With such a vast difference in Stats, even getting that hit in was lucky. Because with the difference in Speed Stats, even with flight, Seph wouldn't be able to scratch the Orc at all.

Instinctually sensing the difference in power, the Orc glared at Seph :"Bugi! Bugi!!!" But as he raised his axe, the other 9 Nephalems slashed at him as well, causing him to squeal in anger :"Bugi!!!"

Swinging his axe, the Nephalems weren't able to respond in time. With the Orc's Speed Stats, it easily cut through them one by one. However, just Stats didn't decide the fight.

So what if the Orc was hundreds of times stronger than them? They were immortal. The Orc's eyes widened as the areas that the axe passed through simply appeared like water mixing with each other.

The Nephalems onslaught began. They grouped up against the Orc, slashing from all sides, not bothered at all by getting split in half or torn apart.

Alistair's eyes moved to his Status Screen :'So that's how it is. Instead of a fixed amount of Mana to have them regenerate, I lose Mana according to their initial Stats. 3 for G-Class Nephalems who were about to die, and 6 for the F-Class Seph.'

But looking down, he frowned :'As I thought, they're currently too weak. Even if it's 10 against 1, thanks to that Orc's Defense Stats, they can't do any damage at all.

Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day. I'll slowly cultivate them into invincible soldiers! Now, let's get to the real reason why I sent them.'

Smirking, his eyes began to glow :'Now, it's about time I revealed the true worth of my Abyss Incarnate Sacred Skills.'

[Abyss Incarnate's Irritation (F): AOE-type Skill where the Stats and Skills of all allies/enemies in a 1km radius is increased/decreased by 50%/10%.

Abyss Incarnate's Irritation (F): 50% x 106 (5,300% = x54) [AOE: Nephalems]

Seph: 6 -> 324

Nephalem Soldiers: 3 -> 162]

The change appeared instantly. The speed of their attacks and the strength behind each slash skyrocketed, especially Seph's, startling the Orc that actually began taking damage.

"BUGI!!!" It squealed as Seph's blade pierced its stomach, but not deep enough to cause any real damage. Fuming with anger, the Orc swung his axe madly.

But with his newfound speed, Seph managed to at least not get wounded critically. Although he regenerated, Alistair noticed his Mana didn't decrease by 6 :'Hmm, so reviving him and regenerating him takes different amounts of Mana.'

The Nephalems' conditions, although a lot better than before, were still bad. They were still a lot weaker than the Orc, but since its focus was on Seph, the greatest threat, they could do some damage.

Looking at Seph's movement of dodging and attacking at just the right moments, Alistair scratched his chin thoughtfully with his treasured fingers :'I guess there's a reason he was chosen as my general.

Just look at his way of fighting. The difference between the power of a Lv 1 and 2 F-Class and G-Class isn't much, that's all his own talent. Damn, he reminds me of Igris! Aaah, he was always my favorite shadow! Hehehehe, guess Seph's my own Igris then!'

Dodging the Orc's attack gracefully, Seph's blade moved like lightning. Slashing at the Orc's eyes and blinding one of them.

"BUGI!!!!!" The Orc roared in pain, slashing madly as Seph dodged and stepped back with the other Nephalems, giving the Orc a moment to pant and glare, holding his ruined eye.

'Alright, I've seen enough.' Alistair smirked :'And I'm oh so satisfied! Now, how about I let my men show off too?' As a wisp of dark purple energy flowed from his pupils, the Nephalems' empowerment grew stronger. Too strong, in fact. The mf went super Saiyans.

[Abyss Incarnate's Displeasure (E): AOE-type Skill where the Stats and Skills of all allies/enemies in a 10km radius is increased/decreased by 100%/15%.

Abyss Incarnate's Displeasure (E): 366 x 100% (36,600% = x367) [AOE: Nephalems]

Seph: 324 (x367) -> 118,908

Nephalem Soldiers: 162 (x367) -> 59,454

The power that radiated off of them nearly blew away Alistair. He quickly grabbed onto the tree, startled out of his mind :'Shit, did I just multiply their already multiplied Stats instead of stacking the empowerment?!'

As the Orc stood frozen in fear, like a mouth surrounded by tigers, the Nephalems stared at him wickedly. As if looking for payback.

The Orc, who had been arrogantly overpowering them, squealed in surprise as Seph stabbed one sword into the ground and grabbed the Orc by the flesh of his chest to pull him closer, glaring with his glowing energy eyes.

[Seph: 118,908 Stats]

[Nephalem Soldiers: 59,454]

VS

[Orc: 1,230]

-

Alistair found out something about his precious soldiers. They held grudges. The poor Orc was mutilated because it pissed them off. Even Alistair had a hard time looking at the corpse of the poor thing :'Damn, someone censor that shit...'

Now back in his dragon form, he hummed thoughtfully after taking away the enhancements of the Nephalems :'Alright, let's do a retake of what I've learned.

1) Abyss Incarnate Sacred Skills can enhance each other. That's what happened just now. That's incredibly amazing!

2) Just like Nat had said, I get both exp and Lunacy Stats when the Nephalems kill. Since the Orc was D-Class, I got 10 Lunacy Stats.

3) The best thing that I learned is that my normal Devouring Skills also work when the Nephalems kill! And not just two of them that are activated when killing, but all 4 of them.

The condition is that they must destroy the Mana Core and either the heart or the brain, which is treated as me eating a being! Hahahaha, this rocks! I felt so sad since I thought that I had to give up two methods of Devouring, but I'm so relieved now.'

His relieved sigh was replaced with a tired one :'But that power up was too much just now. No doubt the aura these guys let out scared away every monster here. Hmm... but maybe that's a good thing?'

Lost in thoughts for a moment, he noticed Seph looking somewhere. When he looked, he saw Natasha and Serenity rushing towards him hurriedly.

"Alistair! What happened?!" Natasha looked around, before quickly checking his condition when she didn't see anything :"What was that energy I felt?! Are you alright?!"

"(Nat.)" She ignored him, opting to check his body :"(Nat! Calm down!)" Alistair grabbed her hand, causing the worried Natasha to look at him :"(I'm alright, calm down.)"

Seeing his calm appeared, Natasha took a deep breath :"I see." And patted his head :"I'm glad to see that. I thought something happened after feeling that energy surge from where you went."

Alistair chuckled softly :"(Geez, you're such a worrywart. I'm a dragon, remember? Although a weakened one, I'm still no slouch myself.)"

She smiled, chuckling with him :"Guess you're right. Sorry for overreacting." But Alistair shook his head :"(Don't say that, I'm happy that you care for me. It's just that you shouldn't panic like you did just now.)"

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully :"I didn't panic, I just got worried."

Alistair scoffed :"(Sure, sure. Whatever you say.)"

"Guys, sorry to ruin the mood, but," Serenity got their attention as she pointed at Seph, the only remaining Nephalem with the others back in the Seal :"Are we just going to ignore the elephant in the room?! Or in the forest, I guess- anyway! Who's this guy?!"

Alistair and Natasha looked at each other, before he let out his fire :"[It's one of my Skills. I can summon soldiers like him to fight for me.]"

Serenity had a look of realization as she looked at Seph :"Ooh, a summoning Skill! So that's why he's not hostile. Was that power surge from him? No, that doesn't seem right. I can't feel that kind of power from him."

Natasha hummed :"Yeah, I don't either. That power I sensed definitely belonged to someone with over 100k Stats." Before looking at Alistair. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't seem to be urging him to explain.

It was as if she was asking if he wanted to explain. Although Serenity acted carefreely, she was smart. She added quickly :"Oh, if it's some kind of an important secret, you don't need to explain.

As long as it doesn't endanger us, I'm okay with you not explaining. Everybody has secrets, including me. I'm not going to force them out of you."

Contemplating with a hum, he finally sighed :"[Like you said, it's a secret. But I'll at least tell you that I can also give massive boosts in strength. What you felt before was when I empowered him and my other summons. His name's Seph, by the way.]"

Serenity nodded at Seph :"Oh, nice to meet you." Who nodded back before asking curiously :"How massive are we talking about?"

Alistair :"[Enough to send Seph's Stats from 6 all the way to nearly 120k.]"

Natasha and Serenity's eyes widened :"Holy shit..." Before Serenity smirked, raising an eyebrow :"Any chance I can get that boost too?"

Alistair smirked :"[Sorry, we're not close enough for that yet.]"

Serenity :"Hahahaha I guess I should work hard on being a good friend then! Man, forming this party is sounding more and more fun! Can't wait to actually make it happen."

Natasha seemed to have questions to ask, but stopped and smiled :"That depends on if you can pull your own weight. No matter how much Alistair can empower, we're not babysitters, are we now?"

Serenity smiled :"Don't worry, I'm not one to disappoint when it comes to strength."

Natasha :"Glad to hear that."

Alistair frowned playfully :"[Glad you came to an understanding, but what do you mean, Nat? How is this party not a babysitting one? You're literally babysitting me, who's not even a week old.]"

Serenity :"Wait, no, no, he's got a point."

Natasha rolled her eyes :"Anyway! What now? Because of what you did, every monster went into hiding."

Alistair :"[Actually, I think that's probably a good thing.]"

Serenity :"It is?"

Alistair :"[Think about it. The monsters must've gone back to their nests, right? Then that means the Orcs should have gone back to where they're staying too. If we can find them now, we won't need to worry about any of them escaping.]"

Serenity :"Hmm, you've got a point. And since they escaped hurriedly, they must have left back a lot of traces. Now if we just find one."

Natasha smirked :"Leave that to the master huntress."

=============

[Stats]

D-Class Lv: 192 -> 356 {+164}

Stats: 5,760 -> 10,680 {+4,920}

D: Abyss Incarnate's Hatred x12 -> x24 {+12}