Chapter 281 : EX Tier

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“Savage.” Sora commented as he watched Gilgamesh’s brutality and efficiency.

Seeing equally grave and important scenes play out on other screens, he increased the amount of energy allocated to [Virtual World] to speed up the analysis of the many feeds before him.

After a few moments, he returned to reality and said, “Of the five faction leaders who struck humanity during the update, only Norj has left his territory to invade ours.”

Seeing the perplexed looks on his two companions’ faces, he added, “Our kingdom was invaded by an alliance of five races, and they took advantage of it to enslave my people. I intend to make them pay. Especially Norj and Abbott, the leaders of the dark elves and the demons.”

Tian Long’s face lit up. “Oh? So this is a vendetta? That’s why you’re showing us this dark elf?”

Sora hesitated before admitting, “You could say that. They went after members of my family.” Not wanting to say more, he changed the subject. “According to Shade, Abbott disappeared a while ago. So I’d be surprised to see him in our territory today.”

Tian Long asked him another question. “What do you plan to do? I know some of your alter egos are interfering with the invaders, and others are attacking the kingdoms whose leaders are against us, but you haven’t told us what you personally intend to do.”

“I have a meeting with someone… And since it’s not time yet, I wanted to stay available to help Sig and the others.”

Seeing Sora unwilling to say more, Tian Long didn’t press and went back to watching the raid unfold.

When the dark elves that Gilgamesh had eliminated reappeared outside the kings’ territory, they stayed at the outskirts, on guard. Indeed, while players could not die permanently during a raid, they were forbidden from returning to the battlefield for a certain amount of time.

They quickly set up their own barriers and did their best to disappear from the radars.

However, all their tricks and skills were useless, because Sora could still see them. He immediately shared their positions and formation with Sig, leaving him free to act as he wished.

Sig didn’t rush to take down the isolated elves. Instead, he patiently waited for the right opportunity.

And what he and Katarina were waiting for finally happened: at the start of phase three, as Enkidu began a “transformation,” a shadow appeared behind Simone and severely injured her.

The shadow turned out to be a small four-legged beast with sharp claws, on which Sora could read [PROTECTOR OF URUK] [ENKIDU – Level 280].

As he tried to understand what was happening, he saw other events unfold in quick succession. Katarina struck like lightning at the group of players outside of the Bosses territory, swiftly eliminating two of them before vanishing.

As she disappeared, the group received a huge blow from Sig, who attacked from the opposite side and managed to finish off the remaining players.

The scene seemed to catch Norj’s attention as he tried to help Simone who was injured. He froze for a brief moment, glanced in the direction of his allies, then resumed his dash toward Simone. The distraction was brief, almost imperceptible to spectators.

But for someone of his level, that level of distraction was fatal.

Gilgamesh didn’t miss the opportunity and landed a devastating punch on the elf leader.

Simone managed to distance herself from her attacker, Enkidu, summoned several wind shields and succeeded in blocking his assaults. Enkidu, now in his new beastly form, decided to halt his offensive.

He pulled back and went to support Gilgamesh, who was struggling to maintain his advantage against Norj. Simone waved her fan and tried to come to the aid of her ally, who was being bombarded by the two Mythic Bosses.

The gusts of wind she sent toward them were flawless, forcing Gilgamesh and Enkidu to back off. When she saw Norj’s state—his arm missing, his leg crushed, his eye bleeding— she shook her head.

Norj shook his head in response, and together they left the territory of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Sora watched in silence, a smile on his lips, as the elves retreated toward their kingdom after spending a few minutes searching for Sig.

“Another group retreating after a failed raid. That makes seven already! Well done, Team Sig! Even if Kata and he didn’t contribute much…” Minny commented, seeming more amused than usual.

Tian Long shook his head. “Those two had their chances… But their allies weren’t experienced enough. The distraction Kata and Sig created was essential. Without it, they could have easily reached phase 4.”

Minny added his own analysis. “And that transformation of the hairy giant! Nicely done! He faked a transformation to trick the pointy ears, shrank his body, and struck the wind woman while she thought the transformation was still ongoing. Not bad at all!”

Sora ignored the two 'analysts' and focused on the messages piling up.

[Nate: Oy oy.]
[Nate: You’re late!]
[Nate: Stop ignoring me…]

Sora finally replied.

[Sora Hashino: On my way…]

He looked left and right, saw Tian Long and Minny still discussing battles all over the kingdom, and thought, 'Should I take these guys with me?'

He thought back to his conversation with Newtons, to his struggle to open up and trust anyone since Kara’s death.

'Maybe I can bring Tian Long with me… It’s not like I’m going to spill my whole life story in front of her.'

However, after a few seconds, he shook his head, 'If something goes wrong, I'm not certain I'll be able to protect her.'

'I'll bring her next time.'

Still doubting Nate’s true identity, he took extra precautions. He sent a message to one of his Alter Egos: “Join me. I need you.”

Before his Alter Ego could arrive, he focused and "revived" another one.

Arriving just in time to see Newtons reappear before Sora, Harun—formerly nicknamed Triple Seven—immediately complained, “Oh, the shitty trap!! How did I fall for this?! Are you going to possess me?! Why not keep Newtons’ powers, or take someone else’s instead?!”

Sora and Newtons smiled simultaneously at Harun’s exaggerated reaction, and the former replied, “You’re the only one available, and your power is more impactful for combat than Newtons’. It won’t be for long though, don’t worry.”

“How long?” Harun asked suspiciously.

“Ten minutes? Twenty? An hour at most? I don’t know exactly… Depends on whether there’s fighting or not…”

Harun seemed thoughtful, but when he saw Sora transfer one hundred million [Soul Pearls] to Newtons, he quickly gave in. “Fine… One hour! That’s all I’m giving you before you give me back my freedom! I’ve got a ton of things to do, and I’m more useful out there than all those other clowns.”

Newtons frowned and shot back, “Get absorbed already and stop whining, will you?”

As Harun approached Sora, Newtons slipped in, “Good boy!” before disappearing.

Furious, Harun was about to chase after him when Sora grabbed his shoulder. “We don’t have time for your nonsense. Settle this later.”

Harun sighed and nodded.

In the following seconds, Sora absorbed Harun and handed over his role as battle coordinator to Newtons who had returned.

[Your Human Bloodline quality has increased from SSS Tier to EX.]
[You have acquired the Goblin Bloodline.]
[Your Goblin Bloodline quality has increased from F Tier to EX.]

Sora felt his body heat up as he absorbed his Alter Ego’s gains—his skills and bloodlines. His blood began to boil, and his bones to tremble, bringing a pain he hadn’t felt since his first rounds of body forging.

Sensing the reaction of his supreme skill, [Eternal Body Craft], he was caught off guard. 'Progress had been so slow lately that I almost stopped training this skill actively… Is this a clue for future progression?'

Sora felt his body pumping a monstrous amount of energy to recover, heal, and rebuild itself.

His body was transforming from the inside out. His skin turned green within seconds, and he even felt the emergence of new muscles and bones. As some of the new bones crushed others to make space, his skin tore apart and his blood poured profusely.

He had to activate his mental abilities to better endure the pain.

That brief respite allowed him to make contact with Harun. 'You didn’t tell me it was this hard to acquire a new bloodline…'

Harun laughed. 'That’s what you get for merging before my techniques were fully refined… I was still working on a less painful method to transfer the lineage. The fact that you’re still alive is a miracle. No one’s ever jumped from F to EX in one go before you… Well… with the kind of body and near-unlimited energy you’ve got, it makes sense.'

With the physical transformation complete, Sora materialized a mirror and was surprised at his appearance.

Barely one meter sixty tall, he had gotten smaller. His hair had turned white, losing its fineness, becoming greasy and thick. A white goatee had sprouted on his chin, giving him a strange look.

His body was even releasing an aura he hadn’t noticed because of the pain. The aura was colored, resembling a toxic cloud, contaminating the entire area around him. Everything that came into contact with it changed color and turned to gold.

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Author's note in the next chapter