Kei used the power of the Labyrinthian Circuit to simulate the usage of the concept of decay in his mind for a while. Then, he looked back at the system interface. Among the traits he had activated, only two remained: [Divine Entertainment Competition], [The Strong Don't Die by the Knife].
He had two opportunities to upgrade traits, so naturally, he used them on these two.
[Divine Entertainment Competition (Red) into Arena of the Gods (Gold)]
[The Strong Don't Die to Hatchets (Purple) into Humanoid Excavator (Red)]
[Arena of the Gods (Gold):
Select or randomly draw up to 10,000 people from the current star system, with power levels no more than ten times that of the trait owner. All selected individuals will be sent into a designated arena for combat. The owner can adjust the participants' strength up or down by up to 50%. The owner can freely set the arena mode and rules. Trials can be done in replica or real mode, in real mode, death is permanent.]
[Humanoid Excavator (Red):
As long as the "excavator" is turned on, there's no corner that can't be dug. Massively increases charisma, beauty, speech skills, affinity, and attractiveness to the opposite sex. The stronger the user, the lower the chance of getting "axed." Greatly increases success rate in stealing partners and attraction rate among mature individuals.] Get full chapters from NoveI(F)ire.net
Are they telling me to go steal people's partners?
His expression became strange.
The upgrade from [Divine Entertainment Competition] to [Arena of the Gods] was a major improvement. Originally it only covered a single planet. Now it spanned the entire star system.
From a hundred-person brawl to a 10,000-person war, and strength adjustment increased to a whopping 50%.
Even the strongest villains would cry in regret if thrown into the arena under a 50% nerf. Most importantly, he could freely set the battle mode and rules.
He could even stipulate that arena fights must use magic, firearms, or barehanded combat. And it wasn't just limited to combat anymore.
If he wanted to get cheeky about it, he could turn the 10,000-person war into:
tailoring competition,
The only downside? This trait didn't come with a direct annihilation ability. If it did, this would straight-up be a cheat code in an infinite multiverse survival novel.
As for [Humanoid Excavator], aside from being a more powerful version of [The Strong Don't Die to Hatchets], the added effects focused on: a higher success rate in stealing partners, and greatly increased attractiveness to mature individuals.
Does this mean that from now on, the number of mature women around me will skyrocket?
What do you take me for?!
Do they really think I'm like those male protagonists in trashy manga, who only go after mature women?
Sure, his standards were high, but he appreciated all kinds of types, okay?!
[Compatibility detected:
- Humanoid Excavator (Red)
- Primordial Realm Lord (Rainbow)]
Hewas startled when the system's prompt came again, then chose to merge.
A conceptual force slightly weaker than the previous Decay's Sigh, along with a weaker special effect force, flowed into the Primordial Realm.
Soon after, two stars, one big and one small, appeared again in his dimensional world. The bigger one represented the 'Charm' concept. The smaller one, not even a tenth the size of the former, was 'Mature Woman Special Attack'.
This... It got stronger, and controllable?!
As he felt the overwhelming conceptual force that could seduce hearts and draw blind obedience, he instinctively thought of Xia He from the Outcast world. Although conceptual power was far superior to something like charisma-based influence, the effect wasn't that different.
Total succubus energy.
And that Charm concept was way too seductive.
Unlike the previous Decay concept, which felt somewhat incompatible or even repulsive, this one blended in perfectly.
The concept star of 'Charm' was like a sea king who shared love equally with all. The moment it appeared, it circled around other concepts like time, space, replication, decay, beheading, strong fertility, love, and conflict, clingy with this one, snuggly with that one.
This meant that it was nearly compatible with all of his current powers. And what's more, its passive emission was completely formless and undetectable, no one would even realize it was affecting them.
The power of the Charm concept was beyond simply being "strong."
If he activated it fully on its own, anyone with even slightly weak willpower would fall immediately. But when overlaid with other concepts, it could effectively interfere with an enemy's perception and judgment.
For instance, when combined with the Decay domain, the resulting effect would make enemies feel like they wanted to embrace decay, to sink into it willingly.
As for the passive emission of the Charm concept, even the strongest-willed individuals, under its long-trait, subtle influence, would gradually undergo shifts in their thinking.
Controllable, yet still has a passive effect.
Yvraine, who had been sitting at the side of the table, returned from her thoughts and looked toward Kei, who was also lost in contemplation. She blinked for a moment, and in her ancient eyes flashed a strange expression.
Then she lightly sniffed the air a few times, and her expression turned slightly puzzled.
"Hm? What is it?" Kei looked up, confused.
"Is your essence composed of warp energy, or is it made of real flesh and cellular tissue?"
"Uh... wanna pinch it and see?"
Kei's cheek twitched. He immediately realized why she was acting this way.
Was this ancient Eldar thinking he was deliberately seducing her?
With a thought, he quickly used the power of the Labyrinthian Circuit to withdraw the passive emissions of the Charm concept and the Mature Woman Special Attack.
"Normal flesh tissue, same appearance, same psychic emissions, same pheromones…"
Yvraine stood up and walked in front of Kei. She hesitated slightly, then raised her right hand. Seeing he didn't resist, she leaned down and gently pinched his cheek. Feeling the soft skin and real muscle tissue beneath her fingers, she inhaled delicately through her nose.
She could now confirm: This wasn't some kind of psychic trick, like releasing targeted warp energy or seductive pheromones based on specific genetics.
Even after scanning and analyzing with the Black Library databank, she still couldn't identify where the changes in him were coming from.
But with her naked eyes…
She saw Kei return to his original appearance, no longer having that overwhelming, heart-pounding allure. In fact, he now looked… rather ordinary.
She immediately understood.
This must be some kind of dimensional concept beyond her ability to analyze or comprehend.
A faint smile curved her lips.
Leaning on his armrest, she spoke with a trace of elegant teasing, "You made an error."
"Alright, alright. I was just experimenting with conceptual power. It was the 'Love' concept. I… may have leaked a bit." Kei sighed and quickly switched Charm to Love in the system.
Inwardly, he grumbled about how dumb he'd been, he'd overdone the adjustment!
The psychic barrier around the room disappeared. The door slowly opened.
"The leaders of the Hrud and Kroot…"
Taldeer looked at Yvraine, who had hurriedly gotten up from "beside" Kei.
Her elegant features slowly showed surprise.
Did she… arrive at an inopportune moment?!