Utopian System

When Diana reached the parapet, the system armor had already regenerated most of the received damage.

The system armor had done remarkable work; although the ghost of pain persisted, at least she could move freely now.

The mission had been a success; the core had reached the city.

Her companions' sacrifices hadn't been in vain. The weight of their loss pressed against her chest, but there was pride too, pride in what they had accomplished together.

She saw the central building and decided to go now.

She needed to see what would happen with the core for which so many had died today. The desire to witness the fruits of their sacrifice burned within her.

Besides...

The proximity to death had awakened in her an almost desperate desire to see her mother.

'It's been so long since I visited her,' she thought while quickening her pace.

It wasn't that she visited her mother scarcely, on the contrary, she did so regularly. But lately, she has been busy...

Though she would never admit it, her mother's constant criticisms and reproaches had become a sort of comfort. A reminder that, despite everything, she still had family.

Lucien had already finished by the time Diana reached the central building's entrance.

Before she could reach him, she saw him shoot out of the building, his form altered in a way she could barely process. The transformation was so complete, so alien, that for a moment she didn't recognize him at all.

The tremors began almost immediately after. The ground vibrated beneath her feet, and the buildings' walls began pulsing with blue lines. Diana stopped, evaluating whether she should continue or seek the source of this new threat.

She decided to see her mother first...

Diana traversed the central building's hallways with firm steps.

Her mother's painful words now seemed a small price to confirm she was alive, that they both were alive. The perspective of death had a way of reshaping priorities, of making clear what truly mattered.

Diana continued her way toward her mother's room, but upon passing by the hallway that led to the central park, a divine voice resonated in her mind.

Curiosity made her stop and cautiously peek her head around the corner.

There was God, his disheveled figure contrasting absurdly with his statue's majesty.

He seemed... bored?

He was sitting in the air, his unkempt beard moving while he muttered to himself, like a child left alone too long with his thoughts.

When he noticed her peeking head, his tired eyes lit up like a child in a candy store.

"OH! OH! Someone who can listen to me!" He straightened in the air, waving his arms with enthusiasm. "Please, don't go! I have so much to explain and nobody pays attention to me!"

Diana couldn't help a small smile at the image of an all-powerful deity practically begging for company.

"It's just..." Diana looked toward the hallway leading to her mother's room.

"Please!" God joined his hands in supplication. "I promise it will be useful! There's so much about the city, and the barriers, and the Artromus! And nobody lets me finish explaining! That Lucien boy didn't even let me tell him about all the potion's effects!"

The mention of useful information for the city caught Diana's attention. After all they had sacrificed today, any advantage they could obtain would be invaluable.

Diana considered her options. Her mother could wait a few more minutes, and if there was something useful she could learn about the current situation...

"Alright," Diana yielded, fully entering the park. "Is there something we should know about what's happening?"

"YES!" God's exclamation of joy made the trees' leaves vibrate.

Then, apparently conscious of his lack of divine dignity, he cleared his throat and adopted a more serious pose that only made him look more comical. "I mean... excellent decision, little mortal."

Diana had to contain a laugh.

God's smile widened. "Oh, there's SO MUCH to tell! Where do I start? Should I tell you about the barriers? Or maybe about the potion's side effects that Lucien didn't let me mention?"

♢♢♢♢

The transformation had given Lucien a clear advantage over the artromus, but it still wasn't enough.

Lucien Lythorien's Monster Statistics (4:27 min)

Skills:

{5 Basic ones}

{5 Heaven's ones}

Familiars:

Fire Salamander

Water Frog (Merged - 1)

Corrosive Glaucus (Merged - 1)

1st Fusion (+100)

Emblems:

Wind, Fire, Water and Earth

Level 10

Mana: 467/500

Resistance: 2195/2200

Stamina: 48/50

Attack: 20 (70)

Magic Damage: 240 AA

Strength: 20 AA

Defense: 20 (40)

Magic Defense: 25 (50)

Speed: 20

Perception / Agility: 4 AA

Superior Elemental Sword / Attack 50 (220/240)

System's Morphed Armor 10 (20) / ((Defense 20) (Magic Defense 20) (Magic Damage 20) (Resistance(1995/2000))

Balance:

715,157 mana points

15,564,843,218 cores

His attacks, though precise, only inflicted forty points of damage. Each strike landed with perfect form, but against the monster's transformed defenses, they weren't enough.

He needed to find a way to achieve critical hits reaching 280 points of damage over the defense if he wanted a real chance at victory. The mathematics of combat were unforgiving in their simplicity.

'If they can increase their resistance tenfold like the elementals,' he calculated while dodging another attack, 'I'll need more than 2000 hits at this rate.'

The artromus had stopped using mana for some reason, which allowed Lucien to dominate the combat with pure technique. His new sword easily found joints and soft points in the monster's transformed armor, and his enhanced reflexes allowed him to redirect any counterattack.

Additionally, it saved Lucien considerable mana as the corrosive coating on the sword lasted up to 24 hits for a single point.

While knocking down the artromus for the umpteenth time, Lucien noticed that Selene had recovered considerably.

The system armor had done its job, healing the worst of her injuries though the missing arm would take longer to regenerate.

Taking advantage of a moment's respite, he threw her two potions.

"Find someone to take them to Elio's group!" he shouted while blocking another attack. "They're going to need help!"

But Selene had other plans. "I'll go myself."

"Your resistance is too low!" Lucien tried to reason with her while keeping the artromus at bay. "It's too risky!"

"I'm the fastest," Selene responded, preparing to depart. "If the kids are in danger, they need these potions as soon as possible. I've barely spent any mana in the battle... You can tell me what's happening with the city wall later."

Lucien wanted to stop her, but a particularly vicious attack from the artromus demanded all his attention. He could only watch from the corner of his eye as Selene launched herself toward the deposit, several of her loyal soldiers barely keeping up with her.

'At least she won't be able to use too many impulses during the journey,' he thought while seeking new weak points in the monster's anatomy. 'She'll need to conserve mana for when she arrives. And her soldiers should be able to catch up with her on the way.'

The Artromus roared, claiming his complete attention.

Lucien focused again on the combat, his mind working to find that perfect combination of angle and force that would allow him to overcome his enemy's defenses.