novelraw Chapter 134: Thalos’s Power
Chapter 134: Thalos’s Power
Thalos wasn’t perfect when it came to sowing chaos among a large horde of monsters, but it was the best I had.
I quickly cast Illusion Magic alongside Grand Mirage, blanketing the entire camp in a sprawling illusion. Within seconds, the monsters’ senses began to warp—their eyes widened as phantom shapes emerged from the haze.
Dozens of silhouettes appeared in the distance—phantom soldiers, spectral beasts, and towering figures wreathed in fire. Their roars thundered through the night, shaking tents and echoing between the hills. To the monsters, it looked as though a nightmarish army had suddenly descended upon them.
“Enemies! They’re everywhere!” a gnoll screamed, swinging wildly at a phantom shadow.
“Fall back! Protect the supplies!” another bellowed—only for a harpy to dive at it, mistaking it for prey.
Illusions collided with reality, and the chaos exploded. Goblins turned on gnolls, ogres smashed through tents in their frenzy to crush what wasn’t there, and harpies screamed above as they clawed at both friend and foe. Smoke and fire mingled with the stench of blood, filling the night with confusion, terror, and the shrieks of the dying.
Not staying still, I switched to my sword and used the possession’s heightened stats to swiftly cut down any stragglers or wounded monsters I could find, targeting their shamans first.
You have hunted [Gnoll Raider Lv.82].
You have gained 1,420 EXP.
You have hunted [Goblin High Shaman Lv.88].
You have gained 1,480 EXP.
You have leveled up.
You have hunted [Goblin Shaman Lv.55].
You have gained 650 EXP.
You have hunted [Gnoll Warrior Lv.67].
You have gained 1,270 EXP.
Your Stamina has increased by 1.
…
The flames from earlier now consumed the broken tents and corpses, turning the center of the camp into a roaring inferno. Before long, the entire camp had devolved into a storm of confusion and blood. I leapt onto a fallen beam and shouted in the chief’s stolen voice, amplifying it with mana.
“Don’t let them escape! The intruders are retreating west toward the other camps!”
In their drunken, terrified state, the monsters obeyed without hesitation. Packs of gnolls, goblins, and ogres surged into the dark wasteland, weapons raised, howling for blood. Now that one camp lay in ruins, the others would soon follow, and the monsters would soon tear into each other like rabid beasts. Amid the chaos, I could use the confusion to finish the scenario and complete all the extra conditions since I’d leveled up enough.
When the monsters reached the other two camps, the chaos spread like wildfire. The sentries, seeing the oncoming horde of gnolls, goblins, and ogres charging through the darkness, immediately sounded their horns. Torches flared to life, and panic erupted.
“What are they doing here?!” a harpy screeched from above, flapping its wings frantically.
“They’re attacking us!” a goblin shouted, loosing an arrow that struck one of the charging gnolls clean through the throat.
That single mistake sealed everything.
The charging monsters roared in retaliation, mistaking the defensive strike for aggression. Within moments, the wasteland erupted into another wave of violence. The second and third camps turned on each other in blind fury—ogres smashed through barricades, harpies dove at anything that moved, and goblins fired blindly into the dark, unsure of their targets.
From afar, I watched as the illusion-fueled chaos I’d planted fully took root, spreading like a plague until it consumed everything. At that point, there was nothing left to salvage. The two camps had merged into one battlefield of madness, a storm of blood and fire that would burn itself out long before dawn.
“Cancel possession,” I muttered, seeing no reason to maintain Thalos’s power any longer.
The possession has ended.
Your power has returned to normal.
You have acquired a skill: [Reflection Counter Lv.1].
Your Mind has increased by 2.
Your Magic Power has increased by 2.
You have used up 214 Plausibility for the possession.
The power of Thalos faded from my body like fading smoke, leaving only a lingering trace of his power in the form of a skill called Reflection Counter.
[Reflection Counter Lv.1]
Rank: Unique
Type: Active
When activated, it redirects 30% of incoming physical or magical attacks back to the attacker through spatial distortion. Timing and precision increase reflection efficiency.
“This skill isn’t too shabby,” I mused, a grin tugging at my lips. It just so happened that I’d been lacking a proper counter-defensive skill like this. Although it could only reflect a portion, it still had remarkable potential. If I used it through a clone created by Echo Construct, the counter would rebound directly at the enemy—without me taking any damage at all.
If that wasn’t a genius combination of skills, then I didn’t know what could be considered one.
As I was thinking about that, however, a sudden pressure blanketed the entire wasteland. The illusions I’d cast began to collapse. One by one, the phantom soldiers, spectral beasts, and false fires distorted, then shattered like glass. A crushing wave of magic swept across the battlefield, stripping away every trace of Thalos’s power as if it had never existed.
All around me, the monsters froze mid-strike as they began regaining awareness. Confusion clouded their faces; they looked as though they had just awakened from a collective nightmare.
To be able to erase Thalos’s remaining power… Is it a He-rank being?
Then I felt a sharp, invasive pressure against my mind. My hunch was telling me that the red-robed figure from the main camp—the so-called Prophet—had noticed me. His presence pierced through the distance, cutting across the wasteland as though no barrier existed between us. Oh, shit. My identity’s been compromised!
Thankfully, I was close enough to the last camp to fulfill the main objective. With that, the scenario concluded before any real danger could reach me.
You have fulfilled the main quota of identifying monster settlements or camps.
Congratulations.
You have cleared Scenario #9 [Shadows Over the Frontier].
You have fulfilled the first extra condition of the scenario — Identify the chain of command among the monsters. (1/1)
You have fulfilled the second extra condition of the scenario — Obtain intelligence on the origin of the coordinating entity. (1/1)
You have fulfilled the third extra condition of the scenario — Cause chaos among the monsters’ chain of command. (1/1)
Basic Rewards: 6,000 Soul Coins
Additional Rewards: A Random Rare-Grade Skill, Daleth-Tier General Lootbox, & Epic-Grade Crafting Material Lootbox.
You have acquired the Flaming Fist Skill Book.
Your Strength has increased by 1.
Your Dexterity has increased by 1.
Your Stamina has increased by 2.
Stealth Movements has leveled up.
A blinding light soon enveloped me, and in the next instant, I found myself standing once again before the Rift of Scenario. Seeing the familiar place before my eyes, I exhaled deeply in relief. “That was too close…”
Even so, I couldn’t help but worry over the tenth scenario. If such a being were to appear there, the tenth scenario would be far beyond anything I’d faced so far. Clearing it might not even be possible without heavy preparation.
“Congratulations on clearing the ninth scenario, divine warrior,” Elysia greeted me in her calm, melodic tone, maintaining her never-changing smile.
“Thanks.” I nodded, then asked, “Are my friends back yet?”
She shook her head gently. “I’m afraid they are still inside the scenario. Each of them will return once their objective is completed.”
That’s surprising… I thought I would be the last to come out… Before I could respond, a voice rose from behind me.
“Hey, bud, if you’re done, mind stepping aside? The weekly deadline’s almost up.”
I glanced back and saw a group of five impatient divine warriors waiting their turn, weapons in hand and tension on their faces.
“Mhm.” I stepped away without a protest, moving toward the side of the square.
“I wonder what's holding the others back in the scenario… It can’t be that they face that monster, right?” I muttered to myself.
Shaking my head, I opened my status screen to check on my progress so far.
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 54/60 (EXP 2,856/4,560)
HP: 100%
MP: 876/876
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: One Who Conquered the Impossible (6)
Status: Normal
Strength: 388 + 47 + 39 | Dexterity: 403 + 24 + 40 | Stamina: 332 + 35 + 33
Mind: 283 + 5 + 28 | Magic Power: 334 + 20 + 33 | Luck: 380 + 38
Plausibility: 37
Free Attributes: 308
Signature Skill(s): [Absorb Plausibility], [Fabled Vessel], [God!$# Creation], [Grant Plausibility], [Gravity Magic Lv.4], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Assassination Arts Lv.3], [Basic Alchemy Lv.7], [Basic Cryo Magic Lv.7], [Basic Dagger/Knife Mastery Lv.4], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.7], [Basic Neutral Magic Lv.10], [Basic Shield Mastery Lv.9], [Back Stab Lv.4], [Berserk Lv.3], [Calm Mind], [Chantless Casting Lv.3], [Desperate Willpower Lv.8], [Divine Sermon Lv.1], [Echo Construct Lv.2], [Extraordinary Fortune], [Extraordinary Harmonized Constitution], [Fast Equip], [Fast Reading Lv.5], [Heavy Stab Lv.7], [Inspect Eye Lv.4], [Intermediate Spearmanship Lv.3], [Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.5], [Inventory], [Mana Manipulation Lv.8], [Mana Sense Lv.8], [Mental Tolerance Lv.5], [Negotiation Lv.7], [Night Vision], [Pain Tolerance Lv.6], [Phantom Blade Lv.4], [Phantom Slash Lv.6], [Poison-Paralysis Resistance Lv.4], [Projectile Defense Lv.3], [Predator’s Step Lv.5], [Reflection Counter Lv.1], [Shield Bash Lv.1], [Stealth Movements Lv.6], [Weapon Manifestation Lv.4], [Wind Rush Lv.6]
Spell(s): {Frozen Icicle}, {Graviton Pull}, {Gravity Field}, {Gravity Launch}, {Mana Arrow}, {Mana Bullet}, {Mass Alteration}, {Spinning Mana Arrow}
Not too shabby, I thought. Six more levels until I reached the Gimmel-tier cap. I should probably spend those unused attribute points soon to push my stats even higher. Aside from that, my plausibility was running low, so the next couple of days would have to focus on replenishing that, too.
As for my total soul coins…
Soul Coins: 12,535
Although it hadn’t climbed back to the amount I had before purchasing the Echo Construct skill book, it had still grown to a significant sum. The loot I’d sold from the eighth scenario alone was worth several thousand soul coins, after all.
While I was still planning my next steps, a burst of light appeared before the Rift of Scenario, and both Boris and Michelle appeared. I waved them over, and they quickly spotted me and walked in my direction.
“Ha! That one was fun!” Boris stretched his arms with a satisfied grin. “Reminded me of the old days sneaking around enemy camps.”
“I see… Mind telling me about your experience in the ninth scenario?” I inquired.
“We located the monster settlements without much issue,” Michelle replied. “But there were so many of them that we had to move slowly and carefully. Still, nothing out of the ordinary.”
Before I could ask about specifics, another pillar of light appeared. This time, Lucian appeared first, brushing dust off his robe, followed immediately by Tuilë, who hopped into view with an energetic bounce.
“Ooh, Maxxy and the others!” Tuilë rushed toward us, practically skipping. “We’re done! Piece of cake.”
“Mm.” Lucian gave a small nod. “Our reconnaissance was efficient. If not for the harpies interfering, we would have concluded even sooner.”
“Good,” I said. “Did any of you see their great leader? Maybe a masked monster in a crimson robe?”
All four of them exchanged blank looks.
“A masked what?” Boris raised a brow.
Michelle shook her head. “We only saw normal monsters… Well, there was a gnoll commander overseeing the main camp, but nothing else of note.”
“Same for us,” Tuilë added. “Lots of camps, lots of bone piles—nothing wearing fancy crimson clothes.”
Lucian folded his arms. “If such a monster existed, it did not appear in our scenario.”
Huh, that’s strange… Something doesn’t seem right here. I frowned.
If the gnolls in my scenario spoke so casually about that monster called the Prophet or the One-Eyed One, which I’d seen myself… Why didn’t the others encounter anything similar? Since we were doing the last few scenarios together, it couldn’t have been that different this time around. And a being like that wouldn’t simply be absent without reason.
Unless…
It was a scenario anomaly.