80. OP System Announcer
I ended up using Latent Potential Release in order to fight back against the Lich’s out-of-control negative energy.
Magical energy had began to overflow from within my body. Sweet! We might actually be able to do this!
Wait, wait, holy shit! My durability is going down twice as quickly as it was before! I’m probably not even going to be able to last five minutes if this keeps up.
〈You are currently in a perilous situation. Action is advised.〉
Huh? Who the hell was that?
〈I am… _____. Error encountered. Unit name has been deleted by creator. Unit name is currently blank.〉
Er, that’s not really what I meant. Like, are you a system announcement kinda thing or something?
〈Correct. The system announcement feature denoted by unit name “Master” is one of many tasks within the realm of of my capabilities. The effect of the “Latent Potential Release” skill has temporarily restored me from the “frozen” state.〉
There’s still quite a bit I want to ask, but this isn’t the time for it. I have to do something to get us out of this shitty situation.
〈Unit name “Master” will be destroyed in 279 seconds. The status quo dictates that the possibility of the enemy unit ceasing the emission of its thoughts within the aforementioned time frame is gauged to be 13%. The possibility of unit name “Fran” losing all function is gauged to be 91%.〉
Holy crap. I should probably put points into my magical barriers or upgrade my purification skill so I can protect her. Argghhhh, which one should I pick? Shit! Hey System Announcer, which do you think is better?
〈Neither of the two previously proposed concepts will provide a solution. Thus, neither choice is recommended.〉
So both ideas suck?
〈Correct. Both options result in scenarios with approximately a 70% chance for unit name “Fran” to cease all function.〉
Then is there any sort of better option?
〈Yes. Would you like to proceed with an interaction that would result in a probability of unit name “Fran” retaining function?〉
Yes please!
〈Please grant an override. Access to your skills is required.〉
S-Sure. Do whatever you want!
〈Access acknowledged. Initializing interactions.〉
The system announcer seems to know much more than me, so I’ll guess I’ll just leave it to her. In fact, leaving everything to her feels like second nature, for some odd reason.
〈The space/time spell “Quick Zone” has been activated.〉
The spell’s effect was to speed up one’s perception, so its activation caused everything to start to move in what seemed like slow motion.
Oh wait, I get it now. The spell’s use bought us quite a bit of time, so we’d be able to think our strategies through. Good job, system announcer.
〈Top priority has been placed on preserving unit name “Fran.” “Fran” will now be safeguarded in the most optimal possible manner.〉
〈Five self evolution points have been used. The “Shapeshift” skill has evolved into the “Transform” skill.〉
Woah, she’s using self evolution points?! Er, well, I guess I did tell her she could do whatever she wanted.
Thanks to that though, I only had 20 self evolution points remaining.
My body abided by the system announcer’s will and transformed. My overall shape stayed pretty much the same; I remained a shield, but a part of me seemed to expand and wrap itself around Fran’s frame. It looked like Transform allowed me to alter both my shape and mass as opposed to just the former.
I didn’t just protect her from attacks that came directly from the front. My body also flowed into and filled any gaps in the Black Cat set she wore. I basically ended becoming a piece of armour myself.
Becoming her armour allowed me to do more than just protect her from physical attacks, it also allowed me to deploy a 360 degree magical barrier around her, thereby bolstering her defenses even further. The combination of my overboosted magical barrier and her own ended up creating quite the decent shield.
Oh shit! This is just like A**do! I’m not a sword or spear; I’m actually more like a gauntlet-type weapon now than anything seeing as how I’m attached to her by the hands and all that.
〈Computational power has dropped as a result of the transformation and barrier deployment. Five self-evolution points have been consumed. “Thought Division” has evolved into “Parallel Processing.” Computing power has been restored.〉
Oh fuck it, I don’t care anymore! Use as many points as you want, as long as it works!
〈Shortage of self-evolution points detected.〉
Well yeah, no shit! Look at how many you just used!
〈Six self-evolution points have been consumed. The Appraisal skill has been raised to its maximum level. Lacking prerequisites for the “Eye of Empyrea” skill. The skill acquisition process has been temporarily suspended.〉
So it seemed that she maxed out appraisal because she knew it could evolve. That said, I didn’t seem to meet the requirements for said evolution.
〈Attempting to access the divine realm… Success. Bibliotheca fetched. Access lost; exchanged for information regarding the “Eye of Empyrea” skill. Building “Eye of Empyrea.” Success.〉
The divine realm? The hell is that? Is that supposed to be where God lives or something like that? And a bibliotheca is a library… right?
Though I had many questions, I refrained from asking any of them. It’d probably be better for me not to get in her way for the time being.
〈”Eye of Empyrea” activated. Legendary Skeletons successfully located. Activating “Transform.”〉
I had to admit that Eye of Empyrea was extremely effective. It allowed me to see through the Lich’s overflowing malice. As a result, I developed a much better grasp of my surroundings.
Several thin strips of metal shot out from my body and homed in on the remaining legendary skeletons.
The metallic strands flew through the storm of curses and malice. They looked like they would sever at any given moment, but each was encased in a magical barrier that protected it from harm.
Every single skeleton had its magic stone pierced through with ease. Latent Potential Release had raised my attack power quite a bit. Since the steel fibres were still counted as a part of my blade, I was able to absorb all five remaining magic stones in an instant.
Holy shit! The system announcer is OP as all hell!
〈The total value of all magic stones absorbed has reached 5521. Rank up achieved. 55 self-evolution points obtained. Total remaining self evolution points: 64. 18 self-evolution points consumed. The “Body Split” skill has been maxed. The “Accelerated Thought” skill has been obtained.〉
Huh, so she maxed body split too? I guess it was necessary for that other new skill I just got.
〈10 self-evolution points consumed. Upgrading “Body Split” to the superior rank. Interfering in skill evolution process… Failed. Iterating… Success. “Multiple Body Split SP” acquired.〉
The System Announcer upgraded body split before I even got a chance to figure out what it did at its max level, not that I really mind. I was just a bit curious about its effects is all.
〈”Multiple Body Split SP” activated.〉
The System Announcer then proceeded to summon five of me in human form. I expected them to step up front and help us block the incoming attacks, but they ended up standing behind us instead. In fact, they even ended up using us as a shield.
〈”Parallel Processing” initialized. “Accelerated Thought” initialized. Preparations for high speed computation complete. Analyzing… success. 8 self-evolution points consumed. Flame Magic has been elevated to Lv 5.〉
The system announcer decided to end up leveling flame magic, but she only leveled it to 5 instead of maxing it out, probably because she just wanted the skill that unlocked at Lv 5 or something.
〈Commencing activation of the Flame spell “Inferno Burst.”〉
All five my clones join me as we activated and released the spell simultaneously. All six golden fireballs converged into a single projectile. The spell was supposed to be one that traded range for incredible power in the first place. The system announcer amplified the power of its output further by taking advantage of its calculations.
The super concentrated flame blew a hole through the lich’s miasma, and for a moment, allowed me to see its body. The attack had managed to create an opening, but the surrounding malice had began to rapidly fill up the hole we created.
Shit, we better attack it soon! We might even be able to defeat it if we do!
〈Suggestion rejected. If the lich is attacked, its grudges will likely go even further out of control and create a massive explosion. The chance of this occurring is gauged to be 89%.〉
Woah, seriously? I guess we better do something else instead then.
〈10 self-evolution points have been consumed. The “Skill Taker” skill has been upgraded to the superior rank. Upgrading the “Skill Taker” skill has reset its cooldown. “Skill Taker SP” activated. Success. The “Unsealable” skill has been obtained.〉
Wow, that’s dirty. Hmm… I wonder if Skill Taker SP can steal extra skills as well…
〈Activating the space/time spell: “Dimension Jump.”〉
Oh, I get it now. Stealing the lich’s unsealable makes it so that we can seal it away using space/time magic or something like that.
A moment later, we teleported out the hall.