I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 188: What Lies Beyond

Whirr…

At the instant Herellia was finished saying these words, a loud rumble resounded throughout the area where the alliance base of the newly named ‘Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance’ lied. Although Horell, Aurus, and the other sticks and saplings that came with Harriott and Cermalia were dumbfounded at what was happening, the leaders of the three former alliances looked at this phenomenon and radiated auras of happiness and excitement.

Amidst the rumbling, Harriott focused his vision towards Herellia and asked with slight curiosity, “Herellia, did you always have this idea in mind?”

“Well, I did plan on strengthening my alliance to a higher level, but never did I expect that you two were still alive,” Herellia let out a light chuckle as she responded. She then added, “With you two here, the process of strengthening the alliance was brought forward by quite a lot of time.”

“It’ll take a while for us to get back to our previous level of strength, but we’ll make sure that the Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance shall flourish under our leadership,” Cermalia said after listening to Herellia’s reply. 

Herellia pondered over something for a bit while the ground continued to rumble, taking a few seconds to recall something she had done while officiating the new alliance. After recalling it, she gathered the attention of both Harriott and Cermalia, saying, “Ah, now I remember what I did. I said that the alliance shall be under the leadership of us three, right?”

“Yeah?” Harriott and Cermalia responded in an instant to her question, slightly nervous at what she was going to say next. Both of them had a bad feeling about what she was going to say, and it seemed that that was going to happen.

Letting out a playful chuckle, Herellia soon uttered, “Well…you’ll see it once the rumbling finishes.”

Coincidentally, at the exact moment Herellia was finished saying that, the rumbling had abruptly stopped, being replaced with a wave of energy that seemed to radiate a feeling that it was invincible. This wave of energy soon enveloped Herellia, Harriott, and Cermalia. Not long after, this wave also enveloped Aurus and Horell, as well as the other sticks and saplings that came with Harriott and Cermalia.

Ding!

A few seconds later, this wave of energy seeped in through their bodies, gradually fusing with the cells that made up their bodies as their auras had intensified by quite a few notches. Although Harriott and Cermalia were shocked at how their auras were already at the level of an S-grade Inanimate even though they were far weaker than that, the most shocked out of the beings that were gathered far away from the alliance base was…Aurus.

“Eh?” Hearing a notification sound resound throughout his mind just as the wave of energy was finished fusing with the Anima and Flux making up his body, he commanded the system to open up a notification screen in front of his field of vision, letting out a soft sound of confusion…only to be soon replaced with a loud shout of surprise, which attracted the attention of everyone in the surroundings.

‘The alliance the user is affiliated with, the Tempest Branch Alliance, has changed its name to the Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance.’

‘The Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance has been upgraded to Level 6.’

‘Due to the increase in the alliance’s level, [Power of the Alliance (Vice Leader Variant)] has been upgraded to [Unified Power of the Alliance (Vice Leader Variant)].’

‘Due to the decisions made by the leader of the alliance, the skill [Unified Power of the Alliance (War Commander Variant)] has been given to the user.’

‘The Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance has been accepted by the heavens as the sole ruling alliance of the Tempest Cliff. All of those that are affiliated with the alliance have been given the skill [Guardian of the Tempest Cliff] by the heavens.’

‘The efficacy of [Alliance Call] and [Judgement] have been increased.’

“What’s wrong?” Herellia asked as she heard Aurus’s scream of surprise, to which Aurus hastily answered after reading through the notifications, “Herellia, I don’t deserve that much. I’m already fine with being the Vice Leader of the alliance.”

“What do you mean?” Herellia radiated an aura of slight elation as she responded. “You’ve contributed the most out of all of the members in the alliance in the war against Chonk. Not to mention, you’re the only one in the alliance that could fight toe-to-toe against someone two existence levels higher.”

“So don’t go and say that you don’t deserve the position of War Commander,” Herellia added before looking at Harriott and Cermalia. She then said to them, “And that’s how it is. Aurus is still the Vice Leader of the alliance while being its War Commander as well. I presume you two don’t have any complaints about that?”

“From what you’re saying, Aurus truly deserves that position,” Harriott replied as he let out a sigh. He then looked at Cermalia, to which Cermalia continued where Harriott left off, saying, “Compared to him, we’re nothing but specks of sand. We were the leaders of our respective alliances, but we were the first ones to escape using this skill. We did not think about most of the members of our alliance. Don’t you think it’s cowardly for us to do so?”

“Well, you did what you could,” Herellia responded to Cermalia’s words after pondering over it for a few seconds. She then added, “Anyways, moving on from that, I’ve appointed the two of you as Elders of the alliance. Do you have any problems with that position?”

“Why would we?” Cermalia was the one who responded to Herellia’s question this time. She then added, “To take us as the Elders of the alliance even though we’re at a level of strength far lower than the normal members of the alliance, we are quite ashamed. Nonetheless, we shall strive to reach our previous level of strength as soon as possible.”

After hearing their response, Herellia then focused her sense of vision towards Horell, who was still floating in midair and said, “Horell, since you’re at the existence level of a Pseudo-Animate, are you fine with being the Supreme Guardian of the alliance?”

Hearing this, Horell felt warm inside as he soon responded, “I have no qualms with that, Alliance Leader. I’d be glad to take up the position.”

And just like that, the high positions of the new alliance were settled. As for the sticks and saplings that came with Harriott and Cermalia, they were given the position of being the leaders of the new divisions under Harriott and Cermalia, to which they gladly accepted without hesitation.

“With that settled, it’s time to celebrate our victory, don’t you think?” Herellia said after appointing the sticks and saplings, looking at Aurus and the others with an aura of excitement. Without hesitation, Horell and the others happily agreed to Herellia’s suggestion. The only exception to that was Aurus, who said to Herellia through a strand of energy, “I’ll go and join you guys later. I still have to do something.”

“Eh?” Herellia was slightly shocked to get this response from Aurus, who from her perspective seemed to always be the first one to agree with what she wanted to do. She pondered over Aurus’s answer for a bit, sending a strand of energy back to him in response with the message, “Does this something have to do with the Animate that helped you out just before Chonk died?”

“Pretty much,” Aurus sent a strand of energy back at her, replying without hesitation. He then sent a strand of energy not long after that, saying, “I have to settle some things with the Animate. The being’s work isn’t really for free.”

“I see,” Herellia responded to his words not long after with a strand of energy. She then said to him without utilizing a strand of energy, “Come back as soon as possible, okay? You might miss out on a ton of stuff.”

“I will,” Aurus hastily responded to her words as he radiated an aura of gratitude before disappearing from the vision of everyone in the surroundings in an instant.

…

Whoosh!

It did not take long for Aurus to teleport back to where Bell was. This time though, he teleported a decent distance away from him as he wanted to check on the skills he had received from the alliance upgrade while slowly flying to where Bell was.

“Let’s see the effects of the skills I’ve gotten. From the names of the skills, they’re all passive skills,” Aurus muttered as he brought up the notification screen one more time, looking at the first three skills he had received from the alliance upgrade.

“System, identify the two [Unified Power of the Alliance] skills I’ve gotten,” he soon said in a soft voice as he continued to make his way to the back of the alliance, the notification screen in front of his field of vision soon replaced with two decently sized holographic screens. After taking a glance through the descriptions of the two skills, Aurus could not help but take in a deep breath of air through his body as he muttered, “You’re kidding, right?”

Ding! Ding!

________

[Unified Power of the Alliance (Vice Leader Variant)] (Level 6)

The will of every member in the alliance has united as one, bringing forth astonishing power that would make those that are not affiliated with any alliance cower in fear. Being the vice leader of the alliance, that astonishing power is bolstered further, even making those from weaker alliances worship your power.

> All stats +400%

(Note: The stat boost can grow further depending on your species grade and level of authority within the alliance.)

________

________

[Unified Power of the Alliance (War Commander Variant)] (Level 6)

The will of every member in the alliance has united as one, bringing forth astonishing power that would make those that are not affiliated with any alliance cower in fear. The war commander of an alliance holds a special position in the alliance, well known for its prowess in fighting against multiple enemies at once. The power of the alliance propels this prowess to unimaginable heights. 

> Health +150%

> Defense +150%

> Attack +250%

(Note: Only one being in the alliance can hold this position at any given time.)

________

“After I’m done with everything, I’m seriously going to go and evolve,” Aurus muttered to himself as he closed the two screens in disbelief, commanding the system to open up the description for the other skill he had obtained.

As a holographic screen replaced the two holographic screens that were in front of his field of vision a while ago, Aurus went ahead and took a glance at the effects of the skill. After reading through it, he muttered, “Although its effects are less than what the [Unified Power of the Alliance] can bring, considering the number of passive skills I have that boost my stats…can I still be considered an S-grade Inanimate?

Ding!

________

[Guardian of the Tempest Cliff] (Level MAX)

Bestowed by the heavens to those that have protected and will protect the Tempest Cliff to the bitter end, this skill increases the stats of the user by quite a considerable degree. Not only that, but those that have this skill shall also be considered invincible in the area of Tempest Cliff.

> All stats +50%

> HP and FP regeneration rate is increased by 200% when inside the Tempest Cliff

________

“Ah, I’m finally here,” Aurus said as he closed the last holographic screen, sending a message to Bell after making sure that he was truly at the back of the alliance base by utilizing the system. A few seconds later, Aurus could hear some faint buzzing that gradually grew louder, with a mosquito appearing in front of his field of vision a while later.

“You’re finally here,” Bell was the first one to initiate the conversation, speaking through his proboscis. “How did it go?”

“Alright, I guess?” Aurus did not know how to respond to such a question. He then added, “The alliance I’m in has just strengthened further, with my positions becoming more solidified as well.”

Aurus soon radiated the full extent of his aura, to which Bell sucked in a cold breath of air in response. Soon, Bell said, “Your strength…it has increased by quite a lot.”

“Anyways, that’s not what we’re going to talk about,” Bell added not long after, remembering what he had to talk about with him. In response, Aurus asked him, “What are we going to talk about?”

“First off, what world is this?” Bell asked Aurus, to which Aurus promptly responded, “The world of Erudinia. Why?”

“As expected.” Hearing Aurus’s response, Bell let out a sigh of relief. “From the aura I was sensing while in this world, it didn’t seem like the place for the inheritance of a cultivator to be in.”

“Cultivator?” Aurus could not help but mutter as a memory in his mind had surfaced. While Aurus was recalling this memory, Bell continued to talk, saying, “I’m not from this world. I’m from another world called Changliang.”

Fortunately, it did not take long for Aurus to go through the surfaced memory, responding to Bell’s statement with, “I kind of expected you to be from another world, seeing as you came to this place through a rift. It was either you came from a faraway place in this world, or you came from another world as a whole.”

“Anyways, you mentioned the word ‘cultivator’ right?” Aurus soon asked Bell before adding, “The ones that grow stronger by cultivating qi and stuff, right?”

Bell could not help but be dumbfounded after listening to Aurus’s query, muttering, “How…”

At that moment, something clicked in Bell’s mind. His eyes focused on Aurus, while Aurus focused on Bell. Although there was pure silence between them, the two had undergone a mutual understanding.

“System?” Breaking the silence, Aurus asked Bell.

“Mhm,” Bell responded without hesitation. Soon after, he asked Aurus, “Past life?”

“Human on Earth,” Aurus replied to his query, with Bell saying not long after, “Same.”

After a few more seconds of silence after that, the two of them started to lightly chuckle, which then turned into raucous laughter. Fortunately, they were at the back of the alliance base, plus they were in an area where Animates were rarely seen so they continued to raucously laugh without a care in the world.

Eventually, they stopped laughing, with Bell saying, “To think that I’d meet a fellow reincarnator in another world. Have you seen any other beings like us in this world?”

“Unfortunately, not yet,” Aurus replied before adding, “You’re the first one I’ve met that’s a reincarnator. Anyways, have you ever wondered why you were brought to this place?”

“To be honest, I sincerely have no idea why I was brought here,” Bell responded to Aurus’s question. He soon added, “I guess the heavens wanted me to be here and help you?”

“The heavens, huh,” Aurus focused on these two words, recalling how a goddess had given her a second chance in life, letting him live a life that was akin to the game he had played in his past life. While recalling this, he could not help but inwardly think, ‘Kurohana, did you have something to do with this encounter?’

After that, the two of them continued to banter about some mundane things in their past lives, like how the two of them liked to read web novels in the past, glad that they were living a life that was like in the web novels they’ve read, although with a bit more difficulty. Eventually, Bell went ahead and said, “I guess our meeting ends here…”

“For now, that is.”

“Yeah, I’ll find a way to head to your world once I get stronger,” Aurus said in response to Bell’s words.

“Of course, I’ll do the same as well,” Bell responded to Aurus’s words not long after.

“I kind of wished that there was a way for us to talk to each other even though we’re in different worlds though,” Aurus said as he let out a sigh.

“Indeed. It would allow all of us reincarnators to band together,” Bell said, voicing out his opinion in the matter.

Ding! Ding!

Just as the two of them were finished saying those words, a notification sound resounded from their minds, hastily prompting them to open up their notification screen. After reading through their notifications, the two of them looked at each other and muttered, “Did our systems have a feature like this in the first place?”

‘A resonance between systems has been formed, enabling the Friend List feature in advance.’

‘Would you like to add the system holder in front of you as a friend?’