Sequence adventurers roaming between two worlds

Chapter 79 It seems my "mechanism" still prevails (4k words)

Inside the office.

Lucas stared at Leo, his expression extremely serious: "Kid, are you sure you're not joking at a time like this?"

"The beast tide is approaching. Within half an hour, all adventurers in the town must enter a state of war: either defend White River Town or set off to support Oak Village or Windmill Village."

"Do you know what it means for you to challenge the [Darkness] clone at this moment?"

"This means that I, the guild master, must preside over the alchemy array for you at this critical moment. Putting aside the time and energy I expend, for you alone, if you fail the challenge and fall into weakness, how will you cope with the upcoming beast tide?"

Leo smiled and said, "President, instead of talking about that, why don't you start the challenge for me now?"

Sensing the intense confidence in Leo's words, Lucas gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not going to believe you! Let's do it!"

"Follow me!"

"If you keep joking around at a time like this, don't blame me for turning on you later!"

Seeing that Chairman Lucas actually got up and was preparing to activate the alchemy array for Leo, Andre and Rachel were truly shocked.

How could the branch leader of Baihe Town trust this adventurer named Leo so much?

Neither of them believed that Lucas, who was qualified to serve as the branch president, would act on emotion.

His decision meant that he genuinely believed Leo could defeat the Dark Avatar.

Even if the possibility is not high.

Or perhaps, this Chairman Lucas simply couldn't bear to see a village ravaged by a beast tide, so he resorted to desperate measures?

Andrei and Rachel exchanged a glance and followed Lucas and Leo ahead.

Both of them had challenged the [Dark] clone before and knew the process very well; it wouldn't take much time.

Even with the approaching beast tide, there is still enough time.

With them there, they could lend a hand should anything happen to Leo during the challenge.

soon.

The group then arrived at Sylvia's lounge.

This is Leo's first time here.

Last time, he simply took the injured Azure Silver Sword Maiden to the guild leader's office.

Looking at the intricate and magnificent alchemical array patterns on the ground, Leo took a deep breath and stepped into the array.

"Leo".

Lucas's voice came from behind: "Wait, I will activate the alchemy array to send your consciousness into the consciousness space of the Dark Devourer."

"Do not resist."

"If things go wrong, evacuate immediately, and I will activate the ritual array to pull you back."

Don't force yourself.

Andrei, standing to the side, also spoke solemnly: "Facing the [Darkness] clone, failure is not shameful. On the contrary, forcing yourself to endure it for the sake of saving face, thereby damaging your own consciousness and falling into a weakened state, is what is truly shameful."

"I also tried to create the [Darkness] clone, but I failed."

"The strength of the Dark Clone will vary depending on the challenger's strength. If you are at the Iron level, the Dark Clone will definitely possess a weakened version of the Aether elemental power, so be careful."

95

To prevent Leo from putting on a brave face, the Lakers Knight even went so far as to recount his past failures.

"I understand." Leo could sense their goodwill, but there were many things he couldn't explain to them, so he could only nod in response.

Furthermore, the Lake Knight's suggestion surprised him somewhat.

No wonder no one has ever successfully challenged the [Darkness] clone.

It turns out that, like him, they are all quirky mechanics, capable of "fighting across borders".

But what you possess is only a weakened version of the power of the aetheric element, while I—

"Let's begin, President, I'm ready."

"Good!" Lucas shouted, and immediately, the alchemical array on the ground emitted a strong light.

At the same time, Leo felt his vision suddenly go black and his body suddenly float upwards, similar to the journey to the Ether Realm he had previously undertaken for his profession, but with subtle differences.

Before he could fully process what was happening, his floating feet touched the ground, and his blurry vision was cleared up.

Leo looked up.

The first thing that catches the eye is a seemingly endless gray-black wilderness, with bare ground and only jagged rocks, without a trace of vegetation.

Then came the billowing black mist in the air, which seemed like a living, sticky substance, leaving faint black marks on the stones as it passed by.

Finally, Leo's gaze settled on a figure about thirty meters away directly in front of him.

It was a grotesque, humanoid figure.

In terms of its overall appearance, it is more like the "demon" in people's minds, with a pair of folded and tattered bat wings behind it, and long and slender limbs.

Despite its seemingly emaciated body, it actually exudes a cold, hard metallic texture.

The only difference between it and a demon is its face.

It was a smooth face without any features, except for a few vertical, twisted lines in the center, like closed eyeballs.

"Is this the [Darkness] clone?"

Under Leo's gaze, the shadowy clone slowly stood up.

When it was curled up, it was less than a meter tall, but now that it has fully stretched out, it is surprisingly taller than two meters.

Leo bowed his head more than once in front of it.

Without a word or any form of communication, the dark clone vanished the moment it fully extended its body, reappearing behind Leo.

Those open, sharp-clawed fingers ruthlessly stabbed towards his back, near his heart.

Only then did a sharp, piercing sound reach Leo's ears.

The crisis struck, but Leo's eyes remained calm.

The moment the shadowy clone's claws touched his back, his body vanished without a trace.

It's an illusion!

Leo's true form had already appeared three meters away.

The shadowy clone, still holding its claws in a forward thrusting motion, displayed a visible expression of astonishment on its faceless form.

The vertical lines that closed in the center of its face suddenly opened, revealing its dark eyes, which were even deeper than the night.

At the same time, Leo was also sizing up the "monster" in front of him, and couldn't help but marvel.

"The attribute limit of the Black Iron Body is 20 points in all five dimensions."

"But the Dark Clone clearly hasn't reached that limit; its attributes seem similar to mine."

"Is it based on some kind of rule restriction?"

"However, despite having the same attributes, this guy clearly possesses a variety of powerful skills, such as—"

Leo looked at the skill he had just "stolen".

【Shadow Claw Iv.1】: The Shadow Clone controls the power of ethereal shadows, condensing it into a claw shape on its hand, which inflicts strong shadow erosion damage and additional sharpness.

Skill Effect 1: Strength bonus +0.5, Agility bonus +0.5

Skill Effect 2: Claw Sharpness +1 (based on the [Hand of Thieves] level, only 50% + 20% (Miracle Bonus) can be achieved, for a total of 70% effect, the same below), with an additional 10% Shadow Erosion damage.

Bronze-tier skill!

Only Bronze-tier skills involve elemental power!

Just as the Knight of the Lake, Andrei, had said, this Dark Avatar is a creature that uses its mechanics to disgust people.

How could an ordinary Iron-level professional possibly be a match for a Dark Clone that possesses multiple elemental skills?

What? You're saying I also have elemental skills?

That's fine.

Leo looked at the three skills that [Hand of Thieves] had stolen, lying quietly in his skill bar.

In addition, there's [Low-Level Shadow Mastery] and [Blind Spot].

With six elemental skills at his disposal, isn't he also a mechanic-obsessed monster?

"Let's have a competition to see whose system is more overpowered!"

Leo smiled, and in the blink of an eye, he activated the Wolf Hunting Breathing Technique. Then, he raised his hand and made a grasping motion toward the dark clone not far away.

The next moment, the shadow beneath the dark clone's feet condensed inward, transforming into a shadow hand the size of a human, attempting to grasp the dark clone in its palm.

The strength of [Low-Level Shadow Control] depends on three factors.

First, there's skill level. In this respect, Leo has only just stepped into the Shadow Sequence, at the most basic Iv.1.

Secondly, there's compatibility. Thanks to the miraculous quality of the Thief's Potion, he gained an extra 60% compatibility. Combined with his White People bloodline, which naturally grants him 100% compatibility, the total is a terrifying 160% compatibility.

In other words, with the same amount of shadow power, the intensity he used was 1.6 times that of others.

Even for those "thieves" whose compatibility is less than 100%, the difference is more than 1.6 times.

Thirdly, the basic attributes include "Agility" and "Perception".

Before starting the challenge, Leo was unsure whether to use the Dark Clone's attributes to reach the limits of the Iron Body or to match his own. Therefore, he activated the Iron Body to maximize his base attributes.

力量14、体质14、敏捷15、精神14、感知14

Thanks to this, after activating the Wolf Hunting Breathing Technique, his base attributes reached a terrifying level:

力量16、体质16、敏捷17、精神16、感知16

"Agility" is Leo's highest base attribute, and "Perception" is also strong, with 16 points.

Thanks to his compatibility and basic attributes, the power of shadow he "commands" is far stronger than that of others of the same level.

Unlike the ethereal elemental power in the professional system, which has targeted enhancements like [Lightless Steps] and [Shadow Claws], the potion sequence system only provides the basic ability to manipulate shadow power. How it manifests in combat depends entirely on the user.

Theoretically speaking, if one has a deep enough understanding of shadows, Leo could directly replicate the skills of these two shadow powers.

From this perspective, the various elemental skills in the professional system can serve as a great reference for his manipulation of shadow power.

A series of thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant.

Inside the Dark Devouring Space.

A shadowy hand, grasping from the ground, immobilized the dark clone in place.

It tried to struggle, using many elemental skills, including [Dark Claw], but to little avail.

Its basic attributes are similar to Leo's; therefore, the ethereal shadow power it uses is weaker than the shadow power "commanded" by Leo.

For a moment, the shadow clone could only struggle desperately, but could not break free from the shadow's grasp.

Moreover, as it struggled, a sizzling sound, as if it were being corroded by concentrated sulfuric acid, constantly emanated from its body.

That was the dissolving property of Leo's shadow power, the "dissolving" process of the dark clone's body.

Clearly, the Dark Clone's physical strength far surpasses that of the Black Rock Armor. Even with the "Dissolve" property, it cannot be dissolved instantly; it can only be slowly digested.

The unprecedented sensation caused deep veins to spread across the dark eye on the shadowy clone's face, like bloodshot eyes filled with anger.

Are you angry?

With a smile on his face, Leo walked step by step to the bound Dark Clone. He raised his right hand, and the power of shadow wrapped around it, condensing into a shadow sword, which he then thrust fiercely at the single eye on the Dark Clone's face.

Leo wasn't sure if this thing had vital organs like a heart in the human sense, but that didn't matter; he could try it one place at a time.

As the crisis loomed, the dark clone ceased its struggle, and its body began to evolve into something illusory.

This is the [Shadow Step] it used at the very beginning of the battle. Its effect is similar to [Lightless Steps], both of which use the power of shadows to achieve a short-range "teleport".

Previously trapped by the Hand of Shadows and unable to use [Shadow Step], it's clear that this skill also has the limitation of being difficult to use multiple times in a short period of time.

However, before it could complete its "flash," its body suddenly stiffened, and its single eye trembled violently.

The [Shadow Step] skill failed to be used.

Or rather, it "forgot" this skill.

During that brief moment, Leo used [Hand of Thieves] on the Dark Clone multiple times until he stole [Shadow Step].

The skill stolen by [Hand of Thieves] can be made to forget the skill for a period of time, depending on Leo's will.

Of course, it's not useful against friendly forces.

But against enemies, it's a god-tier skill that combines "silence and skill banning"!

"Trying to run away?"

Leo's eyes flashed, and the Shadow Sword in his hand pierced directly through the single eye on the face of the Dark Clone.

"Pfft!"

The dark clone seemed to have been attacked in its weakest spot, its whole body trembling violently before turning into a pile of ashes and dissipating.

But it didn't die. Instead, it solidified and took shape a dozen meters away, only its body was a few sizes smaller than before.

"There's a resurrection mechanism?"

"What a dung monster."

Leo shook his head helplessly and pressed forward again.

The ability to revive is a despair-inducing mechanic when facing an evenly matched opponent.

But facing an existence far stronger than oneself, it's merely a matter of prolonging the time until death.

A dozen seconds later, the Dark Clone was pierced through its single eye by Leo once again.

When it was resurrected, it was smaller and weaker.

Leo strikes again.

Death, resurrection, death, resurrection —

When Leo pierced his single eye for the ninth time, this time, the Dark Clone did not revive.

Despite having no mouth, it let out a mournful howl filled with resentment and anger from within its body, and then its entire body began to disintegrate little by little, starting from its feet.

Along with it, this strange space also collapsed.

"Did we win?!"

Feeling the "pulling sensation" emanating from his body, Leo knew that it was Chairman Lucas from the outside world drawing his consciousness back to the present world.

Leo smiled slightly as he gazed at the disintegrated, shadowy clone that was reduced to a mangled head.

"It seems my 'mechanism' still has the upper hand."

"You're right, aren't you, [Darkness]?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the dark clone completely disintegrated, and then a pure and clear crystalline black dot quietly floated at the spot where it had collapsed.

Seeing that he was about to be pulled away, Leo quickly grabbed the object and held it in his hand.

Leo was stunned for a moment upon touching him.

The Primordial Mirror actually provided specific information about this thing.