Chapter 1105: The Sacred Keys
Chapter 1105: The Sacred Keys
Replicus had felt the appearance of the keys right when the Spine had appeared, but his attention had been stolen by the insanity the Pseudo-Transcendent artefact represented.
The subtle mystery behind the ivory, green and gold keys hanging on his pants couldn't have compared, but now, it was their turn to spill their secrets to the Warmoth's only successor.
Replicus took them by the ring that kept them together, and as he did, the guidance field hurried to announce more goods news!
[You have received the Warmoth's Legacy!]
[Compiling skill set...]
[...]
[You have gained 'Unrelenting Ju`wtte Chain']
[You have gained 'Warmoth's Empyrean Ambience']
[You have gained 'Warmoth's Fortitude']
[You have gained 'Ju'wtta Resounding Restoration']
[You have gained 'Bloodline Awakening: Warmoth's Return']
[You have gained 'Rune of the FIRST']
[You have gained 'Rune of the Immolation']
[You have retained 'Fulgurous Virulence' from the Penetrator series]
[You have retained 'Veneration art, Violent Bond' from the Penetrator series]
At once, Replicus felt new skills being branded into his body one by one, some of them Super and some of them Supreme!
His ebony body showed glimpses of these powers getting engrained within him and at the same time, different from how it happened before, the information concerning all these skills flowed into the Warmoth's Progeny's head like a flood; all about their purpose, the full extent of their usages and their properties!
Replicus' yellow eyes shone vibrantly, his four hands balled into fists. Soon, he let go and took another breath, his humanoid torso expanding as he did and contracting when he let out all the air.
"Warmoth... just what in the world were you trying to do with all this power?" Replicus said with a flabbergobgastersmacked frown.
He was genuinely surprised.
In all honestly, the powers of the Spine had almost made him forget that he had yet to receive his Warmoth's skills yet. Now that he had them, he couldn't believe just what they did.
[Warmoth's Fortitude] was a Super skill that passively granted the Progeny a 300% boost to his Ju`wtte's efficiency and power. It also strengthened the durability of the Ju`wtta, which were the brass bracers around two of his arms - the source of his Ju`wtte.
On top of this, it directed his Ju`wtte to his counter incoming attacks automatically, and if Replicus was using any other artefact, it would passively be empowered by 250% at once and then receive a permanent boost of 10% per day!
This was insane!
More shocking than this was [Unrelenting Ju`wtte Chain], another Super skill.
Replicus could designate up to 10,000 enemies at once and have his Ju`wtte create a chain that linked them all together and bombarded them with its flashes of condensed Ju`wtte. Apparently, if the enemy resisted the attack, the 'voltage' of [Unrelenting Ju`wtte Chain] would continue to increase after every hit and wouldn't stop until all the enemies were turned to crispy dust!
Even if Replicus ran out of energy to supply the skill, it would look for its own channels to continue building up a charge until the enemy was eradicated!
How intolerant to failure!
It was through this skill that Replicus discovered the meaning of Crush and Shock damage referenced from the Warmoth's Spine before.
Apparently, every time Replicus attacked a target in whatever fashion, Ju`wtte would automatically release miniature explosions that went off around and within the target in a trillionth of a second. These explosions, while small, applied damage that had its own different flavour - Crush damage - and their shockwaves were also rather vicious, designated as the Shock.
Another ridiculous skill was [Ju`wtta Resounding Restoration]. By knocking the bracers around his arms - Ju`wtta - together, Replicus could restore his body from any amount of damage done to him while also dealing a considerable degree of damage to enemies in a ten- meter radius!
While it cost an astronomical amount of mana, this skill was way too good. There was no cooldown or duration for using it. As long as he had mana, he wouldn't have to fear anything!
"I'd say I chose the best option out of all of them there. Some of those options might have been more powerful, but this... this is the one for me," Replicus said with a grin.
Serenity was happy that he was satisfied.
Letting her champion choose his own powers ended up being the best choice after all.
As odd as it was, it wasn't Serenity who decided the evolutionary options that Replicus was provided with every time he achieved the requirements for an evolution. Most of the time, especially before now, when she wasn't able to communicate to Replicus, it had been frightening.
To be honest, this whole ordeal was frightening for her.
This was her first time choosing a bearer of Null Life Essence after all, and unlike the others, she wasn't used to trusting someone with her powers outside the Null Verse. Well, in fact, she hadn't even been the one to give Replicus these powers. It was VOW. While she could have taken them away back then, she let Replicus keep them, keen on seeing how this odd fellow
would do.
This was certainly better than watching Somanda, who had intercepted them, tinker with them endlessly, trying to find their secrets.
Replicus raised the three keys - the Sacred Keys.
The guidance field gave him brief descriptions of each.
[The Empyrean Bosom Key (Ivory)]
-???-
A key to unlock the Warmoth's isolated home.
[The Pestilent Vault Key (Green)]
-???-
A key to unlock the vile concoction the Warmoth's designed for his enemies.
[The Treasury Key (Gold)]
-???-
A key to unlock the Warmoth's Treasury.
Replicus' eyes narrowed.
So simple yet so efficient.
It seemed what the previous description of the Warmoth among the evolutionary options was right. There was indeed a plague, a vault with something the Warmoth considered precious and a simple home - as simple as simple could get where the Warmoth was concerned at
least.
"I wonder what other treasures this guy had. The guidance field said it was some sort of armour that even the Four Authorities of the Null Verse desired. I wonder, will I be able to get
it?"
Now that he thought about it, the Warmoth's Spine had things he could use yet - the Full
Release.
What were the chances that anything in the so-called treasury were things he could utilise at
all?
As Replicus pondered sombrely, the world suddenly shook, and parts of it started to sink inward as though being slurped by some hungry abomination below.
"It's time to leave, Skullius," Serenity said as she used her finger to pull the casing trapping Actuass' soul. "Let's finish everything else in one of the Warmoth's dens. Whichever."
Replicus nodded.
The Outworld attic wasn't going to last even a minute longer at this rate.
With a little confusion and hesitation, he held out one of the keys, grasping its end with all of
his fingers.
'How does this work?' he asked himself as he jabbed at the air with the ivory key.
At once, Ju`wtte sprang out from the open space before the key in outrageous branches that spread outwards, frying the air and burning the ground!
Then, as though a veil had been stripped from the fabric of space, a truly colossal set of arched double doors appeared before the Warmoth's Progeny, a vicious gust of wind announcing the
intricate might held within them!
...!!!
Replicus was so stunned that he took a few steps back.
His eyes opened wide.
"How..." he began before shutting up.
This was inconceivable!
He couldn't see where the doors ended on either side or above!
They were... vast!
The Outward Attic seemed to crumble all the more. Its vast space couldn't contain the size of
these doors!
An abstract design was branded onto them, too convoluted for any normal, sane individual to
understand. All Replicus managed to define, were two large eyes depicted by thousands of packed, golden scribbles and of course, the humongous tusks protruding from each of the two
doors!
GRRRRRRRRM!
In the next moment, the doors began to open, allowing a soothing, white light to wash over
Replicus, Red Rage, Araeyn and Serenity.
"I...I guess that's our cue," Replicus said shakily, before taking the first step into the
Empyrean Bosom.