Luke returned to the underground facility he had built on a distant island and took off his mask.
Iwao and Kazuho, after becoming Beyonders, were investigating everything related to the disappeared Hero Killer: Stain.
It was only a few days ago that they learned of something crucial.
Hero Killer Stain was gathering many Villains under him who shared his ideologies.
It was yet to be found out where Stain was meeting these Villains, and how he was even contacting them.
So, Knuckleduster and Pop*Step began hunting a few potential Villains, hoping to solve this mystery.
The Volcano Thieves were a part of Iwao's investigation.
Half an hour ago, Luke had received Knuckleduster's message.
To make sure that everything went smoothly, and Iwao got some alone time with the three Villains before the Heroes arrived, he had decided to head over there himself, helping the two out.
After becoming a Magician, Luke hadn't had many chances to test out his newly found powers, either.
[
You are tuning well with the Magician's abilities.
You were right about the Potion's Digestion being influenced by Trickmaster.
]
It wasn't by much, but he had digested over a fourth of the Magician Potion within these few weeks already.
Luke nodded at Miss Justice's remarks and entered the deepest lab within the facility.
As the door slid open, the bloody scenery inside the lab entered his vision.
On two massive tables, the bodies of two dead Nomus lay open with dozens of cuts.
Naked wires were running through their flesh as well, jolting their bodies with high voltage now and then.
Luke approached the High-Tier Nomu and activated his Spirit Vision.
Normally, a dead body shouldn't have any Spirit Particles. However, as he looked at the Nomu, he could still see that the Spirit Particles corresponding to the Quirks given to it by Dr. Kyudai.
Luke held his chin as he contemplated the idea of considering a lifeform, having a Quirk bestowed upon it using Bioalchemy, as a dead Nomu as well.
Could he extract those Quirk Factors before they vanished?
Could he keep those Quirk Factors alive without a host?
"But that would mean I will have to let go of my Spirit Particles permanently… Hmm…" Luke rubbed his chin, tapping the Nomu's arm.
When Luke gave a Quirk to a lifeform using Bioalchemy, he implanted his Spirit Particles into it. Quirk Factors were nothing but a manifestation of those Spirit Particles.
Upon canceling a bestowed Quirk, or after the time ran out, or after the lifeform's death, those Spirit Particles naturally returned to Luke.
Miss Justice had termed it a core principle behind Spirit Threads.
If Luke wanted a lifeform to hold onto the bestowed Quirk, then he would need to find a way to completely cut off those Spirit Particles. Then, he would also need to stabilize the lifeform, making sure it didn't mutate.
That was the biggest and the most dangerous hurdle lying in front of Luke now, obstructing his research.
For now, the only way to make a bestowed Quirk permanent was to repeatedly bestow it upon a lifeform for years. In this way, he could deceive his body into thinking that it didn't possess those Spirit Particles because of their constant interaction with the foreign lifeform's Spirit Particles.
That's how Nyx had gained a permanent Intelligence Quirk.
Or, so Luke had theorized it.
[
If you are really planning on going with the former method, then you will be able to afford it, Luke.
See for yourself…
…
Blessed Stats:
Quirk — Bioalchemy
Sequence:
— Seer, Clown, Magician
— Apprentice, Trickmaster
— Marauder, Swindler
Stats:
— Spirit: 425
— Stamina: 190
]
Luke again confirmed that the Magician Potion had given him quite a high boost in Spirituality.
Not only that, but it also came with several useful abilities, especially oriented toward confrontations.
First, all Seer and Clown's abilities were strengthened.
Divination gave better results. His Danger Intuition felt like it was on steroids. His body was more agile. More importantly, Spirit Vision had become clearer as well.
Then there were the Magician's core abilities.
Damage Transfer would let him transfer any wound from one part of his body to another. He could even transfer the wounds of others.
Flaming Jump, and by far Luke's favorite, would let him teleport through fire within 35 meters. Also, during Flaming Jump, he will become immune to ordinary flames.
Just by snapping his fingers or mimicking the sound of a gun, he could fire an Air Bullet.
To block fatal blows and other strange attacks, he could transform a Paper Figurine into himself and swap places with it. This could also be used as crude body doubles to fool others.
As if these weren't enough, a Magician also had many odd, but practical abilities like — Flame Controlling, Underwater Breathing, Bone Softening, Drawing Paper as Weapons, and Illusion Creation.
Using the last one, Luke had deceived Volcano into believing that Knuckleduster had been coming at him from the front.
Everything was to Luke's liking… it was just…
[
Yes.
The Cooldown has increased from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
For the entire Sequence 7, it will remain so, even if you are switching between Magician and the two other Pathways, which are still at Sequence 8.
]
Luke nodded.
If just by following the Cooldown he could prevent himself from mutating into a monster, then it was hardly something he could complain about.
[
Luke!
I am getting Mr. Fool's revelation!
Oh… It's the Tarot Club's Members' requests.
]
Luke's eyes widened.
Finally. It was here. After sending the doll to Mr. Moon, he had been waiting to pay back the others as well.
Show me, Luke said, sitting on a chair, oddly feeling excited. I hope there's not something that I can't create…
For a moment, the System didn't even reply.
Luke had a feeling that Miss Justice didn't even want to show their requests at all.
[
Ahem… Cough! OK. I am… listing them out.
…
— Mr. Hanged Man — Torpedoes
— Ms. Justice — 1 Carton of the best Ice Cream
— Mr. Sun — A Cookbook
— Mr. Star — iPod with Earphones
— Ms. Hermit — Books on Botany
— Ms. Magician — 50000 Cash
— Ms. Judgment — 50000 Cash
]
Luke stared at the list and scratched his head in confusion.
******************
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