Chapter 180: The System’s Tease
The name was merely symbolic. Its true power had nothing to do with darkness cast by light.
Luke’s smile widened slightly.
"Excellent."
"That removes one of this ability’s greatest weaknesses."
Previously an intelligent opponent might have tried to eliminate every surrounding shadow.
If that had been the true condition for activating the skill.
The ability could have become nearly useless.
But now that concern completely disappeared.
Whether beneath the blazing sun. Above the endless clouds.
Or within a realm of pure light.
The Shadow of Nyx could still be summoned.
Then Luke slowly raised one armored hand.
"Go."
The very next moment. Their helmets materialized over their faces.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Ten identical visors snapped shut almost in unison.
Then—
Blink.
One disappeared.
Then another.
Then all ten vanished simultaneously.
WHOOSH!
Only tiny ripples in space remained where they had stood.
Each dopplegänger instantly teleported 1km away, while maintaining a perfect distance balance to each other.
Watching them leave. Luke silently nodded.
Upon reaching the Bronze Knight Realm. The skill had evolved once again.
He could now maintain ten dopplegängers simultaneously.
And unlike before each one could remain active for nearly one full hour.
Of course that was only if Luke summoned all ten dopplegängers simultaneously.
The greater the number. The greater the strain on his stamina.
Once those were exhausted. Both the clones and his transformation would naturally be forced to end.
However if he maintained only one dopplegänger. The burden became dramatically lighter.
In that state he could remain transformed for a much longer period.
Luke silently calculated the difference.
Then he recalled another important point.
With his current 100% attribute amplification—
A complete one-times increase—
His Void Titan form already possessed the physical strength of a peak Bronze Knight genius.
Not just any Peak Bronze Knight. But a truly talented one.
After all knights weren’t all equal.
Across the continent. There were ordinary knights. Average knights. Talented knights.
And monsters who stood at the very peak of their generation.
Luke believed his current strength belonged to the third category.
A warrior who possessed an A-Rank Origin Skill. And had already reached Peak Bronze Knight.
Although he wasn’t completely certain yet.
"It’s only a rough estimate."
"I’ll have to verify it in an actual battle."
Still.
His confidence never wavered.
Even if an A-Rank genius truly stood before him.
Luke was certain of one thing.
He would win. And he would win quickly.
Not merely because of his raw strength.
But because his abilities were simply broken.
His gaze shifted toward the black-blue armor covering his body.
Valzareth.
As long as he possessed enough Aether. He could freely teleport up to one kilometer away.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Luke narrowed his glowing galactic eyes thoughtfully.
"Perhaps."
"That’s the reason it didn’t gain a new ability after crossing realm, like my titan form gave."
After all.
An armor capable of limitless teleportation with almost negligible Aether consumption was already powerful enough.
"Or." Luke rubbed his chin thoughtfully while continuing to freefall through the sky.
"Maybe there’s another hidden condition?"
"Like the Arcane Sky Tower."
"Perhaps Valzareth also has an evolution requirement that hasn’t been fulfilled yet."
The thought lingered in his mind.
Just then—
[Kekeke. (¬‿¬)]
The System’s mischievous laughter suddenly echoed inside his head.
Luke’s eyebrow twitched.
"..."
He slowly looked at the floating screen.
"You know something, don’t you?"
A brief silence followed.
Then another window quietly popped up.
[┐(￣ヘ￣)┌]
Luke stared at the shrugging emoji for several seconds.
"..."
"..."
His mouth twitched violently.
"Someone..."
"Please uninstall this emoji pack from my System."
He cursed inwardly.
The System, however didn’t respond.
It merely kept displaying the shrugging emoji as if proudly declaring—
"Figure it out yourself."
Luke couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
"One day."
"I’m seriously going to beat this System."
Far away the System silently snickered.
[(￣▽￣)]
Meanwhile.
The ten dopplegängers acted simultaneously.
Almost as though they shared a single consciousness.
"Null Veil of Nyx."
Ten calm voices echoed across different corners of the sky.
Whoom.
Pitch-black Void energy instantly flowed around every clone. Dark mist coiled around their armored bodies.
Their presence rapidly faded. Sound disappeared. Aura vanished.
Even their existence seemed to blur.
Within moments the ten Void Titans became nearly impossible to detect.
The next instant—
"Void Step."
Blink!
One clone disappeared.
Blink!
A second vanished.
Then a third.
A fourth.
Until all ten silently teleported toward their assigned construction sites.
Across the eastern trade route. Dark ripples appeared one after another.
Each clone emerged atop cliffs. Beside forests. Near mountain passes. Or overlooking narrow sections of the road.
Without wasting a second. Every dopplegänger began scouting its surroundings.
Their glowing dark-blue eyes calmly swept across the landscape.
Soon the first clone stopped.
Several hundred meters away a group of nearly thirty bandits lounged around a crude campsite.
Some sharpened rusty swords. Others counted stolen coins.
One even laughed while drinking cheap ale.
The clone silently watched from atop a rocky cliff.
His emotionless gaze locked onto every single target.
Elsewhere...
The second clone also found something.
Hidden among the trees. Roughly fifty bandits had gathered around a campfire.
"Pass me the meat."
"Hahaha! After this we’ll rob another caravan!"
"Boss said tomorrow’s shipment will be huge!"
The smell of roasted meat drifted through the air.
Several bandits sat cross-legged, happily eating their lunch.
Completely unaware. That death had already arrived.
High above them...
The Void Titan stood silently beneath the cover of Null Veil of Nyx.
While the third dopplenger found two bandits, who were banging each--- forgot about this part.
So every other dopplegänger also completed its reconnaissance.
Within only a few minutes. Every clone had reported the same result.
Bandits.
Bandits everywhere.
Luke’s expression gradually darkened.
"So many."
Even after his earlier campaign a shocking number of bandit groups still remained within the forests surrounding Blackstone.
His original plan had been simple.
Build the watchtowers and while traveling between locations. Completely eliminate every remaining bandit nest along the trade route.
One task.
Two objectives.
Maximum efficiency.
Yet...
Even he hadn’t expected to find this many.
Luke narrowed his glowing eyes. "Why haven’t they fled?"