Chapter 2408 Number <TOC> Chapter 2410 Fire Scale Familiar
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel had already learned through Reynolds that Number “x” indicates the original status as an experimental subject.
What Angel hadn’t expected was that beyond Reynolds’s identification as x1, there existed an even more preliminary figure, Number x0? Reynolds had not mentioned this, likely indicating even he was unaware of this entity’s existence.
Observing the vivid red “0,” it was an unspoken rule in the laboratory that the lower the number, the stronger the power. Thus, Angel surmised that the power of this individual marked as zero should not be underestimated.
As he pondered this, the glass cabin at the center opened. The cold liquid within it flowed out in torrents, filling the area with intense cold. The frost that had dissipated with the opening of the main door once again began to coalesce.
Within the thickening Frost Mist, a silhouette slowly approached Angel, each step resonating with formidable might.
When this might culminated, it transformed into a formidable pressure.
From the moment this pressure emerged, Angel recognized the level of strength it represented, definitely that of a formal wizard! Only a formal wizard could wield such daunting pressure.
It seemed they had underestimated the wizard-level combat capabilities of the laboratory. Officially, they recognized three wizard-level powers, but it appeared there were at least six hidden within their ranks.
“Shall we talk, Number 0?” Angel’s voice echoed in the silent space.
Shortly after he spoke, a voice tinged with a mechanical texture emanated from Number 0, stating, “Identification confirmed, authority below 99, no soul imprint, target categorized as intruder, threat level temporarily set at level 3, action to be taken: elimination.”
Hearing the other’s voice and seeing those sinister eyes devoid of any emotional fluctuation, Angel realized that any attempt at communication would be futile.
Though Number x0 was an experimental subject, it was apparent that its emotional module had been stripped away. Perhaps, it had been transformed into a semi-mechanical being.
Its existence, Angel concluded, was likely merely that of a guardian here.
As Angel’s thoughts wandered, a flash of white light suddenly streaked towards his neck.
Angel hastily retreated, but as he moved, a chill emanated from behind him. Unbeknownst to him, an ice wall had formed at his back.
Phantasmal limbs burst forth from his back, shattering the ice wall, and Angel leapt back repeatedly, distancing himself by several meters.
Once he had steadied himself, Angel noticed that the previous flash of white light originated from a pure white dagger that had suddenly appeared in Number x0’s hand.
This dagger, emanating an intense coldness and completely translucent as if made from unmeltable ice, caught Angel’s attention.
However, as an authority in alchemy, Angel immediately recognized that the dagger was not made of ice. As for its true material, Angel could not determine at the moment, but what he could ascertain was that it felt eerily familiar to him.
It felt somewhat reminiscent of the chain Nausica had released back on Ghost Dock Island.
This was… Soul Armor.
Upon seeing his initial assault dodged by Angel, Number x0 did not show any signs of impatience. Instead, he transformed into a blur, charging forward to continue his attack on Angel with a short dagger.
With each swing of Number x0’s dagger, a chill was brought forth, causing the frost mist in the room not only to refrain from dissipating but to become even denser.
However, no matter how swift Number x0’s movements were, they could never outpace Angel. Every swing of the dagger was effortlessly dodged by Angel.
In the midst of dodging, Angel also countered with his Phantasmal Limb, whose reach and speed far exceeded Number x0’s, interrupting Number x0’s movements every time and even sending him flying.
Yet, being sent flying had no effect on Number x0. He created several ice shards in mid-air, stepped on them without losing any speed, but still could not find any advantage over Angel, who was faster.
Number x0 seemed to realize this and after a series of exchanges, he suddenly leaped up and kicked violently towards Angel’s chest. His intention wasn’t to hit Angel but to create a series of spike-like ice pillars, transforming into countless ice spikes thrusting towards Angel.
Number x0 himself took a step back, landing several meters away.
“Target speed untraceable, threat level escalated to level 2.”
As he spoke, Number x0’s pale skin began to redden, and a ‘gurgling’ sound similar to boiling water emerged in the air.
As Number x0’s skin turned redder, steam started to rise from his body.
When Number x0 attacked again, Angel could clearly feel that Number x0’s speed had increased, almost turning him into an afterimage.
However, to Number x0’s surprise, Angel had also increased his speed, not falling behind in the slightest.
If there were observers present, all they would see would be the constantly swirling frost mist and hear the crackling sounds of battle in the air. As for the combatants’ figures… unless their eyes were augmented, they were impossible to track.
Phantasmal Limbs flew, and ice blades clashed.
Shattered ice fell like snow in the air.
“Judging target’s threat level has significantly increased, about to escalate to level 1.” Amidst the battle, Number x0’s voice echoed again.
As he finished speaking, Angel could clearly see an additional pure white dagger in Number x0’s left hand.
“Level 2 threat means increased speed, level 1 threat means an extra dagger?” Angel pondered internally, “So, the addition of a dagger means increased attack power?”
Soon, Angel witnessed the effect of the additional dagger in combat.
Number x0’s attack power indeed increased, but not as much as one might expect. The addition of two daggers enhanced another ability——the frost mist.
Every time Number x0 wielded his twin daggers, he could trace a swath of white frost mist through the air.
This white frost mist was very special, distinctly different from the frost mist that had previously filled the air. It carried a strange energy capable of… freezing souls.
Indeed, Angel, after assessment, could confirm that the frost mist could directly affect the soul.
As Number x0 swung his daggers faster and faster, the soul-freezing frost mist gradually replaced the simple frost mist, spreading throughout the cramped room.
The spread of the frost mist also compressed Angel’s combat space.
Even though Angel kept dodging, in the pursuit of Number x0 and under such area-wide attack, he was forced to encounter the frost mist.
However, the frost mist had no **effect on Angel.
Even though Number x0 had already lost his emotional module, he was momentarily stunned by the scene before him.
…
At that moment, Angel, who was studying at the main control node, looked up: “It seems, we’re about to be discovered…”
Toby chirped softly towards the distant spreading frost mist, seemingly saying: “Idiot.”
Although Dangros did not understand what Toby was saying, he still chimed in: “Lord Toby is right!”
Angel paid no mind to the mysterious dialogue between the two little ones but instead turned to look towards the distant frost mist. In his view, he could clearly see two figures within the frost mist.
One was Number x0, and the other… was Angel himself.
Or rather, it was an illusion left by Angel.
Before Number x0 emerged from the glass cabin, Angel had already released a large number of illusion nodes in the surroundings. The spread of the cold liquid, leading to the birth of frost mist, provided an even more concealed place for the illusion nodes.
As soon as Number x0 came out, Angel had already constructed an illusion and arrived near the main control node.
The one fighting Number x0 afterwards was completely an illusion.
“This Number x0 talks about quantifying threat levels, but his judgment is simply too poor. Didn’t he think that with his speed, the fact that he didn’t land a single hit means there must be a trick?” Dangros tsk-tsked.
After finishing his words, Dangros felt a chill beside him. Turning his head, he saw Angel raising an eyebrow at him.
Dangros paused before regaining his composure and coughed twice, saying, “I wasn’t saying Mr. Pat’s speed isn’t fast, it’s just, it’s just…”
Although Dangros stumbled, what he said actually made sense. Judging from the combat method, attack strength, and other details, Number x0 was clearly a bloodline wizard enhanced for speed. Before activating the gravity lines, Angel’s speed definitely couldn’t surpass Number x0.
If it were a normal bloodline wizard, they would probably start suspecting after a while: the enemy is so fast yet doesn’t use the advantage of speed to counterattack, instead, controls a phantom limb to fight. This is obviously not right.
Number x0 is no ordinary wizard; he has lost his emotional module, and from the current situation, it seems he has also lost his normal logic. His actions and judgment are based on rigid quantification. This might make him calmer and easier to control, but against a wizard like Angel who specializes in illusion magic, he is utterly outmatched.
If space were not a constraint, even if Number x0 possessed a soul-freezing frost mist that could spread, Angel could easily lead him astray with illusions.
Regrettably, “if”.
One good thing about Number x0, after eliminating emotional interference, is that although his judgment has deteriorated, he has become more decisive.
“The ice blade’s unlocking failed, detecting the intruder’s soul, beginning combat review, and conducting energy differentiation.”
“The differentiation has yielded results, with a more than 60% probability of being influenced by illusion.”
“The intruder’s threat level is fluctuating, currently elevated to level 0.”
As he finishes speaking, Number x0 no longer attacks but stands still, takes out a dagger, and slashes his throat, blood spraying out.
A large amount of blood falls to the ground.
The blood droplets seem to be drawn in, slowly seeping into the ground. Then, a burst of red light starts to flicker from the ground.
Within the red light, the lines of runes can be clearly seen.
The red light keeps flickering… flickering and flickering again.
But in the end, there is no change.
Number x0 stands there dumbfounded for a while, not understanding what happened, why he had activated the runes with his blood, but another guardian did not appear?
Yes, there is another guardian here.
Number x0 is the overt guardian, while the other guardian is a hidden force. When Number x0 cannot resist the intruder, and the threat level reaches 0, the blood-activated ground runes would summon the hidden guardian.
But now, Number x0 is confused.
The runes seem activated, the red light has flickered, and his blood has flowed, but why hasn’t the guardian appeared?
As a semi-mechanical being with a fixed way of thinking, Number x0 might not doubt himself, but he is definitely experiencing a “crash”.
He just stands there in the frost mist, unsure of what to do next.
Should he continue to advance and fight? He cannot win.
Or should he wait for the other guardian to appear? But with the red light, the light just flickers, and no one comes.
After a while, Number x0 says somewhat dazedly, “There is a malfunction in the program, unable to activate level 0 threat. The intruder’s threat level is reclassified to level 1.”
With that, Number x0 continues to chase and attack the illusions… he actually wants to attack Angel’s real body, but he can’t find it, so he can only attack the illusions.
“Is this the legendary self-deception?” Dangros commented as he observed the illusion unfold before him.
After watching for a while, Dangros lost interest and turned to Angel, “What was that red light just now? What was he trying to activate?”
Angel shrugged, “I don’t know.”
Dangros gave him a disbelieving look, but Angel wasn’t lying; he genuinely didn’t know what Number x0 was trying to activate.
Initially, Angel didn’t notice the runes hidden beneath the floor, as the material of the floor was designed to silently shield the senses.
However, as a master of enchantment, Angel was very familiar with runes. Moreover, he was in battle with Number x0, creating illusions to toy with Number x0, which gave Number x0 the opportunity to activate the magic formation on the floor, thus giving Angel time to study the control node.
Upon examining the control node, Angel quickly noticed an unusual rune conduit.
This rune conduit seemed to appear out of nowhere, unconnected to anything prior, yet directly linked to the magic formation.
It was like a red dot on a blank piece of paper, which caught Angel’s attention immediately due to its anomaly.
After some research, Angel discovered that this rune was connected to the floor. It appeared “out of nowhere” because the floor’s material shielded the rune conduit.
After further study, Angel understood the mechanism of the rune, which required a specific type of blood to activate.
Upon seeing the activation requirement, it was clear it was no trivial matter.
Although the exact effect of the rune was unknown, based on a crisis assessment, Angel used an external stone slab to temporarily suppress the rune.
This led to the situation where Number x0 was unable to activate the magic formation.
It could be considered a coincidence. If Angel wasn’t familiar with runes, if he hadn’t studied the control node first, it’s likely this would have remained undiscovered.
But there are no “ifs” in the world.
Various coincidences led to the current inevitability.
Angel then turned his attention back to the two figures fighting within the frost mist, rubbing his temples which were sore from studying the magic formation. He gently tapped the ground with his knuckles.
A skull emerged from his shadow.
“Eremy, go and take control of Number x0.”
If it weren’t for the soul-freezing frost mist, Angel wouldn’t mind continuing to toy with Number x0. But now, with the frost mist appearing and the limited space of the control node, it would be problematic if it drifted over.
Thus, it was better to take control of him.