The Final Desperation

When Genji returned to his room, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. Now that he was finally in a safe environment, all the stress and tension from being killed at the slightest mistake had faded. Only pure exhaustion and drowsiness remained, sending him into a deep slumber.

Once he woke up, Genji found a place to display the [Void Egg] and forgot about it. It wasn't going to do anything for some time, so there was no point in keeping it around him. Plus, it still couldn't enter his storage for some reason despite being outside the battlefield.

Genji stretched and walked downstairs to find Cake doing her own thing.

"You're back," she greeted him with newfound confidence and an upbeat gleam in her eye.

"Seems like your world progress went well."

"Thanks to a certain person's sponsorship."

Now that the threat of death had been relieved, Cake's previous worries had faded, replaced by a carefree mentality and the confidence to confront any missions EverRealm might throw at her. Ahhhh, It felt good to be alive.

"That's good. I'll still be relying on your help later."

"Of course. Train away. I'll make sure your body recovers nicely." Cake flashed a bright smile and continued enjoying her meal.

With that, Genji walked out to the strengthening hall, feeling carefree.

 

[Enigma]

Health: 3,120/3,120 (Con x 120, increase of 1,020)

Energy: 980/980 (Int x 20 + 460 from cloak, increase of 340 since last settlement)

Con: 21 -> 24 + 2 from equipment = 26

Str: 21 -> 24 + 2 from equipment = 26

Dex: 22 -> 25 + 2 from equipment = 27

Int: 23 -> 26

Spc: 24 -> 32 + 1 from equipment = 33

 

With this, Genji could now equip the [Tyrant Shoulder Guard] and [Quantum Pulse Pendant] that he had received as rewards. As for why he had pumped up his special stat so much, it was to make use of [Celestial Core] and boost his energy abilities to newfound heights. Genji was fully investing in this route instead of dexterity because of the changes in his cloak.

Because he could multiply his speed by up to three times, he felt less pressure to increase his dexterity at this moment. On the topic of [Celestial Core], Genji decided to use it immediately. Minutes passed before information about the ability popped into his head.

Genji followed the instructions to circulate his energy along a specific path, starting and ending with his heart. This time, the energy remained inside its chambers instead of scattering as usual. As more energy circulated and accumulated, a black sphere of gas formed.

Genji took a deep breath and prepared for the next step. Once he steadied his mind, immense pressure acted on his heart, causing it to jump in pain. His breathing became ragged as the loud thumping echoed in his ears. It was very uncomfortable, but Genji persisted with the pressure.

Little by little, the sphere of gas condensed inward, changing into mist, then fog, before transforming into a black liquid with a water-like consistency. It took on a property akin to congealed blood before finally turning into a thick syrup. The fluid swished around less and less until it stopped moving entirely, leaving behind a coal-like rock.

But as the pressure continued, the uneven edges started smoothing out and gaining a slight glint. This process continued until only a crystallized sphere the size of a peanut remained.

[You have condensed a Shadow Core]

[You have lost 460 maximum energy]

[Shadow Core]

Effect: Increases the effectiveness of your energy by 50%. You can continue to strengthen this by feeding it with more maximum energy.

 

After this process, all the energy Genji had gained from his cloak vanished, leaving him bare. At first glance, this exchange didn't seem worth it. To lose half of his energy for a 50% increase meant that he could only utilize 75% of his original powers. Yet this couldn't be more wrong. With this increase in effectiveness, it meant that Genji could do so much more with less energy.

This was an all-around increase that Genji would gladly accept any day. The reason was simple. His cloak could increase this stat as long as it was under his bearing capacity, which was 2x his energy from stats.

That meant this weakened state was only temporary. As long as he killed enough, he could earn those stats back and continue to feed this core, further boosting his powers.

As for the cloak devouring energy to grow, Genji didn't pay much attention to it. After feeding it for multiple worlds, he noticed the increase was negligible compared to the upgrades EverRealm provided for his insane achievements.

In this way, he got to make the most use of Essence of Terror, fully demonstrating how EverRealm customized this skill for him. It was a perfect fit given his conditions.

"This is probably stronger than the original Celestial Core. After all, the higher the price, the stronger the power."

Genji then pulled out [Dance of Death] and used the skill. Another flood of information hit him as Genji felt his body mold itself to learn this mystical skill. It was painful, but Genji carefully observed the changes in his body.

To accommodate this property, his body also needed to change so it wouldn't break when he used the skill. It was an interesting feature to consider, but that means there are some skills he can't learn. If the properties of the skills conflict with his original energy, then trying to force it might mean his energy abilities get ruined.

"How intriguing. Do all skills do that, or is it unique to this skill? Maybe only high-ranked ones?"

Genji put aside these thoughts and went to the training area to get used to his new body. Although the increase in physical stats was small, the actual upgrade was the opposite.

Once stats reach 20 points, each increment provides a more significant boost. That's why the creatures in the Spatial Battlefield are so deadly despite having only twice Genji's stats.

At the 40+ mark, a single point can mean a 50% difference or even greater! And this difference only increases as the numbers get bigger.

After adjusting to his new body, Genji started testing the changes in his energy. Each of his energy techniques felt effortless as immense power radiated from them. Even Flashstep obtained an upgrade despite making no changes.

[Flashstep]

Effect: Moves in one direction at 800% of your maximum speed.

Note 1: This is the highest multiplier your body can comfortably handle. You can push the speed further if you want, but you'll incur recoil damage.

Note 2: Be careful not to kill yourself with this.

 

"Very funny, EverRealm, but I'd rather be injured than dead."

Then Genji summoned an orb of energy to try crystallizing again. The orb changed from a dog to a dragon, then to a tiger, a whale, and finally a spider, all in vivid detail.

If Genji weren't the one making these changes, he might have mistaken them for exquisitely carved trinkets made from black jade. It was a huge improvement compared to before, giving him the confidence to utilize this in combat.

"It's a shame I don't have much energy, or I could have conjured some deadly things."

That entire display consumed half of his energy, making the technique among the higher costs, on par with his shadow flames. If he wanted to use it normally, he would have had to further increase his stats. With that experimentation done, Genji transitioned to improving his other energy techniques.

After finishing that session, Genji dropped his equipment off at Markus's place for repair and went back to his room. While he got his massage, he used [Prosarmozo's Mutation], allowing his brain to be crammed with more information.

Then he started the derivation process with all his knowledge books, preparing to incorporate this new knowledge into his potions. Time passed, and he soon assimilated all the new knowledge between training sessions.

Genji then pulled out a pile of scarlet cards. Choosing to draw an item from them, Genji soon filled the room with items ranging from common to epic-ranked items. Next, he converted the enforcer-level cards into privilege tokens, giving him a total of 56.

He got no champion-level cards, which didn't surprise him. As people got stronger, their life-preserving abilities got stronger, making them that much harder to kill.

Genji opened the recently upgraded privilege shop and scrolled down to one option he desperately needed right then: storage space expansion. There was a common saying among second-step members that one didn't become a fully-fledged second step until they experienced the Spatial Battlefield.

Putting aside the pride factor, the main reason was that all the features only got unlocked when someone passed the Spatial Battlefield. There were some quality-of-life changes, but the main thing was the shop upgrades.

People could now buy active skills to increase their combat powers. Of course, these skills were common to uncommon levels and cost a large sum, making them unworthy unless it was a last resort. But the main point was that the lower limit for 2nd step members had been supplemented.

[Spend 5 tokens to increase storage space by 3 cubic meters?]

Genji bought it 10 times, pushing his storage space to 40 cubic meters, quadrupling in size. Now he wouldn't have to worry about storage space for a decent while.

Genji filled his storage with items and went to have a clearance sale to raise funds for his potions. After a few hours, everything was sold, and he returned to his room, preparing to convert everything.

Another week passed like this until an acquaintance knocked on his door.

[Celine and Raven requested to enter your room.]

"Allow."

With that statement, two women walked into his makeshift potion shop. Genji had changed the entrance location to this smaller room for people with temporary permission. It didn't make sense to show off his giant mansion to strangers or to make his guests walk so far to reach this room when all of them visited him for potions.

When I say all of them, I mean it. So far, the only people who visited him were Cake, 7156, River Stream, and the recent Celine. Cake now lived here so she didn't count. As for the others, all of them had purchased his consumables.

"Celine, is this really the person who sold you those potions?" Raven asked her friend.

"Yes. You know I wouldn't lie to you."

"I know, but this place looks kind of bland and unattended to. Shouldn't reliable people have well-designed rooms? This place doesn't even seem livable."

Celine became speechless at her friend's comments. How was she supposed to respond to that? Say this room was well-designed and they were in a storage room? Would Raven even believe her? Who even had such a big storage room?

"You shouldn't judge everything by its looks," Genji said, coming out of his lab.

In his sight, Celine was in her usual gray robes while the newcomer was in light, leather armor. By her side, two swords rested, jostling with each movement.

"Yeah yeah. How come you don't have the stuff on display?" Celine asked, ignoring his comment.

"I wasn't expecting visitors," Genji replied, leading them into his lab.

"No? How many customers do you get?"

"My main client is 7156. Other than him, there's no one else."

"No way, right? Those items are pretty useful yet you're telling me no one has bought them?" Raven asked in disbelief.

"I'm new to this business so it's normal no one knows about me. In fact, the only reason 7156 knows is because we went through two world progresses together."

"Well, I suspect that's going to change soon,"

Raven said.

"Oh? Why would you say that?"

"Because Miss Prophet over there shared them with a bunch of people and now they're in high demand."

Raven was talking about the world they had just returned from. At the time, they were in a war against a native faction so they decided to pool their consumables together to maximize their chances. Everything was normal until Celine pulled out her supply, causing all the close combatants' eyes to light up.

Just one glance and they instantly understood the value of such a design. Then it became a problem of no supply and high demand, where every melee fighter wanted one. Raven was one of these fighters who could only watch in envy as her fellow fighters healed up mid-battle, which was why she bothered Celine about it right after returning.

"Should I thank you for the advertising then?"

"If you want to thank me, how about you give me a discount?" Celine asked, half-jokingly.

"How about I put some of my personal stock up for purchase?" Genji asked, pulling out two potions from his storage space.

"How is that a thank you? If you didn't want to, you could have-" But her words died in her throat as she saw the stats of the items in his hand.

 

[Adapting Healing Potion]

Rating: Epic

Effect 1: Every time you consume this, your resistance to it lowers

Effect 2: Heal 200 health/per minute for 10 minutes

Note: An absurd creation that combines concepts of poisoning and healing. Is this still a healing potion?

 

[Healing Mutation Gel Bomb] 

Rating: Epic

Effect 1: Upon use, your flesh mutates, causing them to stitch up any wounds

Effect 2: Instantly heal 500 hp and 100 hp/per sec for 2 minutes.

Note 1: An unholy combination that can preserve your life but will feel weird.

Note 2: Although this is labeled as a healing item, it actually has a stimulating effect to cover the pain of everything

 

Genji created these two items using the knowledge of Mutation he gained from [Prosarmozo's Mutation]. The main attraction of the first consumable is that it lowers resistance when used. As people drink more and more potions, their bodies start to build a resistance against potions with similar effects.

To combat this, they could either use a stronger product or consume more of them. Both options were very expensive, so something that lowers resistance will save them a lot of money. Of course, the best part about [Adapting Healing Potion] wasn't that, but what happens when one uses this repeatedly.

With each use, the resistance drops more and more as the effects compound with each subsequent use, strengthening the effects. That means that 200 health/minute is only the starting point for this potion, becoming more potent with each use.

Of course, this healing rate is a slow one, but this potion isn't intended for mid-combat. Instead, it's used to recover after a battle, which is why it's in a bottle.

Then there's [Healing Mutation Gel Bomb], an item intended for combat. When this item is used, the body undergoes a change that is akin to hyper-regeneration. It's going to drain a lot of energy, but for 2 minutes, you'll become a berserker who can disregard damage, provided your opponent can't instantly kill you.

As for how this is possible, that has to do with the contents of the potions. As long as you can get past the fact that you're drinking microscopic critters, you'll be fine. Of course, Genji wasn't going to tell these two ladies that...

"How much?" Celine asked with red eyes, determined to obtain these, even if she had to sell herself.

"800,000 for both," Genji replied with a smile that wasn't a smile.

"I'll take them!" Celine gritted her teeth, knowing full well she was being overcharged. Who asked Genji to have such unique items?

"What about me? Can you sell me some?" Raven asked with an equally desirous look.

"Sorry, but I have a limited stock," Genji rejected. While he can make a profit selling them, he knows scarcity is the best advertisement. Once word spreads, he can auction them for higher profits.

"Oh. I'll just take a bunch of the other ones then," Raven said, shooting jealous glances at Celine's hands. Seeing this look, Celine quickly stored the potions before her friend bothers her about it.

"Happy business," Genji said, handing them the consumables.

Once they left, Genji found Cake to discuss a certain idea he just received.

"You want me to help manage your room while you're gone?" She asked after hearing his request.

"Yes. To be specific, I'm looking for someone to look after my potion storage while I'm in a world. I don't know how often I can return, so it would help me greatly if I have someone sell my items while I'm gone."

"Why not? It's not like I have anything else I can do in between."

"Thank you. Here's the contract."

Genji handed over the contract once he finished drafting it.

"You really don't need to do this," Cake said after reading it. "I don't need payment after everything you've done for me."

"Don't worry about it. I've said it before, you're worth it."

"But still, isn't the payment a little too high for what I'm doing?" Cake asked, pointing to a certain condition in the middle of the contract.

Condition #10: The employee can take 2 rare potions per week as payment.

"You need to get consumables from somewhere, so I might as well. Plus, if what I suspect is true, you will be doing a lot of work. By the end of everything, you might be glad about the payment."

"Whatever you say," she replied, signing the contract.

"Now for your first task. Hand this box to 7156 when he returns. With how our world times match up, I will miss him." Genji said, putting the box on the side of the lab.

[Champion Consumable Set]

Description: A set of consumables created by Enigma to sustain a champion's constant battles.

Price: 1,680,000 coins

 

"Holy!" Cake exclaimed when she saw the price. "Why is it so expensive?"

"A bunch of my best stuff. Don't worry too much about it. Just collect 800,000 to 1,000,000 from 7156, depending on how much he can pay. As for the rest, collect it from him later in case my next world lasts too long."

"Ok?"

"Thank you."

Genji then left a message for 7156 before setting the storage room as public access, allowing everyone to enter without his permission. Then he went to make a bunch of potions for his upcoming customers.

 

---

 

*Ding dong dong ding*

The familiar school bell signaled the end of the day for Alysha, who became jubilant about getting to continue her wood carving journey. Walking out the door, she gave the same energetic shout to Kosa while waving her hand wildly.

"Alright, I saw you. No need to gesture so much," Kosa replied with a gentle smile.

"But I couldn't wait to continue," Alysha replied, skipping over with jolly steps.

"I really didn't understand how you could do that every day without getting tired of it."

"It's because I was improving. The thrill of getting better each day always amazed me."

"Is that so? You really were like him," Kosa said, remembering how Genji always smiled when he trained. When she asked him about it, he would always give the same answer.

"Who?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm just thinking about the past."

They continued to walk home, but Kosa soon noticed they were being followed. Pretending to check her makeup, she looked through the reflections in her pocket mirror. Yet what she saw caused her to pause slightly, but she quickly resumed her gait to avoid suspicions.

'How did they find me? I could have sworn I left no evidence when I faked my death.'

Kosa's reaction was justified by one thing: two black dragon badges in the corner of her mirror.

'Keep calm, Kosa. They could just be passing by.'

Sweat seeped out of the pores on her back, but she kept a stoic expression, trying to act natural.

"Kosa, you're spacing out again."

But Alysha's next words caused her facade to crumble.

"Hey, let's head home. I know how much you want to start." Kosa grabbed Alysha's hand and started speed walking, praying the two behind her didn't hear that.

"What's wrong, Kosa? You seemed afraid," Alysha asked, further sinking the nervousness inside her.

"Ha ha. It must be your imagination. Plus, you know my name isn't Kosa."

Kosa's response sounded off to Alysha, but she chose not to ask any further. She could tell Kosa was nervous for some reason, so the perceptive child chose not to make it worse. Turning back, she saw a well-toned man next to a woman with a lithe figure. 

'Are they the reason for Kosa's anxiety? If so, who are they?'

"Kosa? You are Kosa, right?" The woman asked loudly.

But Kosa's suspicious actions only drew the attention of these two figures. Their words caused Kosa's face to distort, and her body to shake. Kosa quickly bent down to scoop up Alysha and started running. Alysha could feel how sweaty Kosa was as she cradled her in her arms.

"Kosa? Who's that? You must have the wrong person," Kosa shouted back, which only raised their suspicions further.

Imagine a woman running with a child after they asked a simple question. It would take a miracle for them not to distinguish the lie. The two people exchanged a nod before the man beelined toward Kosa.

''No no no. What do they want? I turned over a new leaf, and now I just want to live a peaceful life.'

"Go away. You got the wrong person," she cried out, but that only made the man faster.

'Nooooooooooo. I don't want to go back. You can't make me.'

Kosa tried to go faster, but her footwear did little to help that desire. Moments later, she sensed the man closing in on her, causing her to grow desperate. 

'Fine. It's better that only I get dragged into this.' Kosa made up her mind and turned to Alysha.

"Alysha. I'll put you down in a second. When I do, run as fast as you can. Ok?"

"What-"

But before Kosa could follow through with her action, she was stopped by someone with a wagon filled with wood.

"Hocket, Selene? It's good to see you again."