Chapter 129: Attribute Limit Break
[Karma Reincarnator EX051 (Talent Activated)]
[Codename: Mercenary Tao]
[Lineage: Human (Mythical, Myriad) - Body of Ten Thousand Spirits from the Underworld (Refined x1, Enlightened x1)]
[Equipped Milestone: Genocider]
[Foundational Attributes] Strength: 20+ (In special state, limit break not yet achieved, no limit break trait gained)] Agility: 20+ (In special state, limit break not yet achieved, no limit break trait gained)] Constitution: 20+ (In special state, limit break not yet achieved, no limit break trait gained)] Spirit: 16 (Spirit Curse Status) Energy: ? (Special constitution, cannot be anchored)
Kaito looked at his current stats on the panel, then clenched his fists. So even this much power is only judged by the Nexus as "20+"?
He could feel that his current strength was more than double his normal state. In the real world, he had tested his base strength and could lift a one-ton car without much effort; his theoretical maximum was likely close to two tons. But just now, he had casually thrown a taxi a dozen meters. His output had to be far more than two tons, likely closer to four or five.
This meant his original theory about the strength limit break was wrong.
He had originally guessed, based on his own progression, that each point of Strength was equivalent to about 100 kilograms of pure muscle force. But now he realized two things.
First was the existence of the [Limit Break] system itself. It seemed that 20 points was a special threshold for the physical body. You had to meet a special condition to cross it. Otherwise, no matter how much stronger you became, your stat would just read "20+." But once you did break the limit, the efficiency of each attribute point would increase dramatically. This would explain how the werewolf, with his >20 Strength, had been able to completely overpower him.
Second was his own special talent, which had an effect similar to the [Gene Lock], allowing him to greatly increase his body's output efficiency by lowering his brain's natural inhibitors.
On the other side of the battlefield, the slaughter between Stormfront and Black Noir had reached its most brutal stage. She roared as she broke the samurai sword that had pierced her chest, then pulled the blade fragment from her own body and plunged it into Black Noir's neck.
"Ghhk…" A gurgling sound came from within Noir's mask as blood began to pour out.
Stormfront, now also heavily wounded and seeing red, was about to twist the blade when…
BOOM!
The sound of shattering air. Her heart seized. She looked over and saw a tall figure standing before her, an index finger pointed at her forehead. A searing pain erupted from that point and instantly spread through her entire nervous system. It was the primal, burning pain of a living creature's cells screaming a warning of their imminent death.
VMMMM!
A sonic boom tore through the sky. The strongest Supe in the world had finally, belatedly, arrived.
Homelander looked at the heavily wounded Black Noir and Stormfront. He was surprised by the woman's strength. But he was even more surprised by this "Mercenary Tao" who had been giving him such good advice.
"Ooh, Mr. Tao. I didn't expect you to be... quite so excellent."
Stormfront, seeing Homelander from the corner of her eye, felt a surge of joy, as if her savior had arrived. "Homelander! I am your supporter! I'm willing to support…"
FZZT!
A golden beam of ki instantly burned through her skull, boring a clean hole through her head and into the concrete behind her, which exploded.
Stormfront's words were cut off. Kaito turned as her body collapsed to the ground. "Heh. Homelander doesn't need supporters."
Homelander was not the least bit bothered that this old Nazi hag, with whom he would have had a brief affair in another timeline, had just been killed. At this point, he didn't even know who she was. He just saw that his loyal collaborator had won, and he began to applaud playfully.
"As expected of an excellent warrior, second only to me. Mr. Tao, I'm finding we have more and more in common."
[Your actions have earned the praise of Homelander. Your reputation with Homelander has increased. Current: Respected (15/100)]
As always, Kaito continued to earn the admiration of villains.
His body slowly began to shrink. This time, the agonizing pain in his abdomen was much milder. This also fit the description from the old infinite novels: with each activation of the Gene Lock, the side effects would lessen. He was becoming more and more convinced his talent was a Gene-Lock-type ability.
He casually wiped the blood from his body and then picked up the drop card that Homelander couldn't see.
[You have obtained a Drop Card (Blue).]
Stormfront was much stronger than The Deep, but her drop card quality was no better.
[Heartless] now limped out from a nearby shop. He looked at Kaito and Homelander standing together. He had to admit, if they weren't both such evil, twisted bastards, they would have been a very reassuring pair.
Homelander ignored the weakling, [Heartless]. He walked over to Black Noir, yanked the sword fragment from his neck, and clapped him on the shoulder, which was his way of showing praise.
"I've already gotten a massive amount of support online," Homelander said, his eyes on Kaito. "When can we begin the next step?" He hadn't come here because he'd heard the fighting. He had come because he was impatient to begin his sole reign as the world's only hero. He had come to find his "strategist." He couldn't care less about anyone else's life. He didn't even glance at the ordinary people who were still groaning in the ruined shops.
Kaito, seeing Homelander's impatience, smiled. A Reincarnator couldn't stay in a world for too long. His haste was perfect.
"We can begin the next step immediately. First, I need you to capture someone."
"Who?"
"The congresswoman, Neuman."
Kaito said the name. Homelander knew of her. She was a rising star in politics, beautiful and capable, with a lot of public support. Her main platform was limiting the rights of Supes and superheroes, which had made her very popular with normal people.
"Capture her to hurt her supporters?" Homelander's political thinking was very simple.
Kaito shook his head. "No, no. Neuman is a Supe herself. And she's the daughter of the man who really runs Vought... Stan Edgar."
Homelander's eyebrows shot up. Then he broke into a "sunny" smile. "That's great. That's really, really great."
He bent his knees, crouched in a comical pose, and then pushed off the ground.
BOOM!
He tore through the air and vanished into the sky.
A moment later, a horde of reporters arrived on the scene and began broadcasting the story of how "Homelander had quelled the chaos, killing three powerful super-villains."
[Heartless] and Black Noir returned to Vought Tower with Kaito.
Today, he had successfully baited and killed [Bad Kid]. The progress was good. The remaining target, [Kalpa], would be much more difficult. Kaito was still thinking.
[Heartless], seeing the quiet atmosphere in the car, suddenly spoke up. "A-Train… was probably taken away by Queen Maeve…" He vaguely understood the beast's plan. He was going to harvest all the members of The Seven... maybe even Homelander. After everything that had happened, [Heartless] no longer believed for a second that this man was actually trying to help Homelander. The grand vision he had painted was a story he was very familiar with—it was Superman's story, from the DC universe.
But Superman was Superman because of his character, and his power was on a level Homelander couldn't even dream of. So, the plan was a lie from the start. This man was just fooling Homelander, using him to eliminate everyone else. Just like with The Deep. Homelander hadn't just allowed it; he had actively withdrawn all of The Deep's intel support, leaving him to be hunted alone.
But Queen Maeve, who was much sharper, must have sensed this. The fact that she had appeared in the medical wing and had moved A-Train meant she had robbed Kaito of the chance to kill a helpless opponent.
Kaito turned his head and looked at [Heartless], smiling. "Hoh? Are you the type of Reincarnator who feels a sense of gratitude just because I saved you?"
He was intrigued. He had previously been contemptuous of this kind of "irrational" Reincarnator, but now he was curious. He knew the truly powerful Reincarnators at the top of the Nexus, the ones who had broken past the "limit," possessed a power he couldn't yet imagine. In other words, a faction like [Azure Sky], whose fame was known throughout the entire Nexus, must have leaders with far greater insight than him. And if they had chosen a "naive" person like the Professor to be a [Cardholder], it meant they believed that this "naivete" held a special kind of potential.
There had to be some kind of "metaphysical" power at work.
[Heartless] looked away. It was true. When he had been on the verge of death and had seen Kaito appear and crush Bad Kid, he had felt an undeniable sense of joy. But he didn't think his feelings were abnormal. He was just a normal person. He didn't have [Providence]'s genius for scheming, nor [Flawless]'s ruthlessness. A normal person feels despair when they are about to die, and they feel joy when they are saved. This was a normal person's resolve.
"I am grateful to you," he said. "But this information isn't payment. I just… want this to be over. I want to go home…" He held his broken hand and looked out the window. He was tired of living with monsters. He just wanted to go back to his suburban house and live a few peaceful days.
Kaito clicked his tongue. He still couldn't understand this mentality. But he felt, strangely, that this weak, ordinary Reincarnator possessed a different kind of resilience. Perhaps, to maintain the mindset of an ordinary person in a place as cruel as the Nexus... was, in itself, an incredibly difficult thing to do?
Kaito felt he had grasped a piece of something, but before he could explore it, the thought was gone.
A crimson light appeared in his hand, and he crushed the two Crimson Drop Cards.
[You have opened a Crimson Drop Card.]
[Opening Drop…]
[Calculating target's Slaughter Points. Target's Slaughter Points: 9. Reward tier increased.]
[Calculating your Karma Points…]
[Karma Points detected... You will receive 1 additional reward choice...]
[Calculation complete. You may select 2 of the following reward categories.]
...
The trench-coat-wearing Reincarnator's (Choi Soo's) Slaughter Points were far lower than Kaito had expected. For someone who ran with a guy like Bad Kid, he had only killed 9 other Reincarnators.
"Tsk. How useless," Kaito muttered, echoing Bad Kid's own sentiments.
"I choose B and C."
For a Reincarnator who hadn't displayed any special abilities, Kaito would always choose items and attributes. After mastering the Dodon Ray, he had completely abandoned the idea of learning a marksmanship proficiency. He had also given up on finding that golden Gatling gun; his [Death-Taint] was linked to the Underworld power in his bloodline and couldn't be triggered by a firearm.
[You have selected B. Extracting…]
[You have obtained Item: A Stack of Special Documents (White)]
[You have obtained Item: A Large Bundle of Currency (White)]
[You have obtained Item: High-Explosive Grenade x3]
[You have selected C. Extracting…]
[Your Spirit attribute +1. Current: 17]
As Kaito looked at the items, he casually tossed the bundle of Korean won onto the car seat. It was worthless to him. [Heartless] looked away. So this is the end for a Reincarnator, he thought. To become a card...
[You have opened a Crimson Drop Card.]
[Opening Drop…]
[Calculating target's Slaughter Points. Target's Slaughter Points: 37. Reward tier increased.]
…
[You may select 2 of the following reward categories.]
[A: 65% of Dimensional Points]
[B: 4 items from inventory]
[C: Gain 10% of main attribute]
[D: Draw 1 proficiency (capped at Lv7)]
[E: Gain 1 ability (capped at Lv4)]
[F: 5% chance to extract a Lineage item]
Kaito thought for a moment, then made his choice.
"I choose C and E."
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Guys We cross the 1700 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 1800 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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