Professor Broussard pulled at his side, unearthing a thin rapier that reflected beneath the crystalline lights of the shining gems in the surroundings.
The shaking in the ground was growing more and more feverish.
Sylas had long since figured out just what the "XXX" mark meant. It didn't just mean that he couldn't observe it—those cases came with question marks. Instead… it meant that his current version of the system was unable to translate it properly.
It meant that Professor Broussard's stats had already been shifted to a state beyond the Summoning—a state where Earth had already succeeded and their system adjusted to fuse with that of the world around them.
Sylas had never known whether this would make a tangible difference or not. All he knew for sure was that right now, their stats were scaled on a logarithmic graph where each point was reflective of percentiles rather than linear growth.
Once things adjusted, it would mean that they would be placed on a new logarithmic graph, one where their stats would be adjusted in comparison to the percentiles of the wider universe.
Or maybe it would just be this Galaxy, or even this District alone.
Sylas wasn't sure yet. He hadn't had the bandwidth to pay attention to such minor details that seemed set for a far-off future.
What he didn't expect was to run into such a thing now.
But he understood almost immediately why that was, and why Professor Broussard still dared to continue standing in front of him.
The armor—the flowery, almost designer construct. It wasn't a Legendary Path Treasure of Earth. It was from another world. And it was the reason Elen's stats were being adjusted in this shocking way.
Professor Broussard settled into a stance, a light smile still playing across his handsome features, the slick gel in his hair keeping it firm and in place.
An illusory crown appeared above the man's head, and he was suddenly in front of Sylas, shifting through the air as though the ground had warped beneath him.
Sylas caught the blade out of the air.
The thin rapier trembled wildly, bowing and bending beneath the solid hold of both their grips.
Sylas looked down at the blade while Professor Broussard's pupils constricted into pinholes.
The man didn't even have the right to react.
A fist drove into Elen's liver. A strong ripple came from the golden armor, causing Sylas to frown, but that didn't stop the Professor from shooting out like an iron ball from a cannon.
Elen scraped along the ground, tossing and turning, spinning head over heels before he finally flipped to his feet, grinding against the tough ground to come to a stop.
Sylas looked down at his fist, watching the cracks in his Scorpion Warlord Armor quickly heal.
Indeed, not being able to use external Treasures was quite the hassle.
Right now, his base Constitution was 2,399. It was 5,399 with the boost from his Scorpion Warlord Armor, and thanks to the Scorned Wraps, you could double that again for his current Constitution.
None of this even mentioned the Defense he gained from his new and improved Aether alone. Though Glassvolt was worse at Defense than Glass Aether had been by itself, he could easily adjust it to use Glass Aether alone.
The fact that his armor cracked at all right now, albeit just the slightest bit, was asinine.
It was clear that this was not only an exceptionally powerful Gold Grade Treasure, but it had been leveled substantially as well…
If an ant like Professor Broussard was able to use it to survive a blow from him.
But what was more surprising than even that was the fact that Elen had been able to hold onto his weapon. Taking a glance, though, Sylas quickly figured out why.
The rapier's flowery handle of twisting silvery vines had basically wrapped around Elen's hand and wrist, infusing itself into the armor.
Professor Broussard stood to his feet slowly, hacking out a mouthful of blood. The shock in his eyes this time was too difficult to hide.
He knew there would be a gap.
He didn't expect it to be so large.
"Ha…" There was a spike of rage in the Professor's eyes for a moment before he slowly shook his head. The darkness in his gaze faded, replaced by a calm, steady bearing.
He was truly a man who shifted his thoughts with the tides.
Without much hesitation, he sheathed his rapier and looked off into the distance.
"I guess I really can't. That's fine. There'll be others to deal with you. I'm just the brains, after all."
Then the earth finally gave way, shattering beneath Sylas' feet. But the man in question didn't so much as move. He hovered there in the air, sending a glance back toward the people of Casstle Main who had long since retreated. It seemed that Olivia, Morgan, and the others were smart enough to get the hint.
A roar echoed from down below, and a pair of furious red irises were the first thing anyone saw.
It shook from the very depths of the earth—a powerhouse of a creature with a head the size of a small hill and a body well-proportioned to that size.
[Arcane Madness (Silver)]
>[Constitution: 9999]
>[Intelligence: 9999]
The creature raised its head out of the ground, a menacing might rippling out in all directions.
Sylas felt his Will wholly suppressed and crushed. It was like he didn't even have the right to say he had a Will at all before this creature.
And then it was upon him, its enormous snout staring right into the depths of his soul and shredding it apart.