#113
Party Dissolution (2)
_Harley_ dashed through the forest at a rapid pace.
Unlike his arrival, this hike was absolutely pleasant, with no monsters charging at him…
He had just hunted nearby monsters, and more than anything, the overwhelming madness radiating from his body instilled a sense of familiarity in them.
“Mmm! I really like this!”
_Slurpy slurp!_
While running, _Harley_ eagerly munched away.
Now that he had become a capable being, his storage capacity had greatly increased, so he thought to fill up on energy by devouring meat.
One peculiar thing was that he wasn’t using his hands.
“Almost there. Should I eat one more?”
After finishing off all the meat that had been floating before his mouth, _Harley_ licked his lips and pulled another piece of meat from his spatial dimension magical equipment.
Just then, a green flash brushed his left eye.
The large chunk of meat slipped from his hand, suspended in mid-air.
Up to this point, it was no different from before, but this ability didn’t end here.
_Ssssssss—_
The temperature of the dragon meat shot up rapidly, soon roasting to a golden-brown, emitting a mouth-watering aroma.
This newly evolved Gem Eye: Suppression was not just simple telekinesis but a force that coerced phenomena in conjunction with the Heart of the Bone Dragon, harmonizing with the surrounding mana.
“_Hahaha—! Of course, a civilized person should eat cooked meat! It’s delicious!_”
The barbarian warrior _Harley_ grinned contently, devouring the meat that was once again fixed in front of him.
‘This is really convenient in many ways.’
An ability that could be triggered by mere will and whose output could be freely adjusted.
However, of course, it had its drawbacks.
It wasn’t a polished method like magic, and the phenomena it could produce were quite monotonous, not to mention that energy efficiency wasn’t great.
In other words, _Harley_ was using energy to cook the meat to replenish energy.
‘…But I have no choice but to use it frequently to get accustomed. If I improve efficiency in the future, it should get better.’
For now, his energy supply situation wasn’t too bad.
After all, the dragon meat was filled with vitality and contained plenty of energy.
Not long after he finished off the newly retrieved meat…
_Harley_, battered from his fight with the dragon, finally reunited with his companions.
*
A wide garden surrounded by tall walls, with a three-story house standing right in the middle.
This place, located in the suburbs of _Seoul_, was my new home.
With ample space and many rooms, I filled each room with various necessary facilities.
From workout equipment to entertainment facilities, I could enjoy enough leisure time without going outside.
‘Now I can go outside as I please, but maybe it’s because I’ve gotten used to it, this place feels more comfortable.’
Perhaps out of the influence of being cooped up at home for so long.
I decorated the house like setting up a secret base, fulfilling my romantic notions I had only thought about.
‘If I use _Harris_ once a week with Entity Projection, managing the garden should be no problem.’
Handling this level of nature was nothing for _Harris_, being an elf, so even if the garden was large, it wouldn’t be an issue.
Since it was in the countryside, the air wasn’t as bad as in the city, allowing for some endurance as well.
‘Just to be safe, I should install plenty of security devices. I need to set up everything I can.’
Certainly, this included not just electronic devices but also magical barriers.
I had access to the powers of various ability users like _Hans_, _Heinz II_, and _Heinrich_, so there was no reason not to use them.
I could pick and use only what was necessary from among them.
“_Ugh._”
While organizing the items I brought from the basement storage room, I straightened my back and glanced to one side.
To be honest, I was quite busy since I had prepared for the long setup period, not long after moving in…
Now, a task presented itself.
_Swhish—_
At that moment, a figure quietly emerged before me from the silence.
A handsome man with a cold demeanor, dressed in a black tailcoat, with red eyes and pale skin.
It was _Heinz II_, the vampire who had just returned from another world.
“…”
_Heinz_ took out the Dwarf Jawnick’s beloved pickaxe, Ellin, from his spatial dimension bracelet and handed it over to me.
I accepted it naturally without any words and examined it slowly.
The metal gleamed blue, with countless tiny scratches, which spoke of long years of use, but it didn’t feel worn out thanks to its excellent maintenance.
It resembled a well-kept antique.
‘Sorry, _Jawnick_. But still, I should think of it as the price of my life.’
At that moment, in _Auterica_, _Harley_ was just reuniting with his party.
Seeing him return in tatters, _Jawnick_ anxiously searched for his pickaxe and then, plonked down helplessly.
I felt a pang of guilt, but…
Thanks to _Harley_, they were able to return safely!
From what I heard, it seemed he was a bit less attached to it than the weapons in the forge, but if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have seen them again, so it felt like a win-win.
“_Ahem._”
After completing my self-rationalization, I subtly averted my gaze from that situation and cleared my throat lightly.
‘Let’s see, I can have _Heinz_ help out with this and then send him to the Heterosis.’
_Heinz_ was already quietly outside, setting up a barrier using Blood Mystery and Concealment around the garden.
It was crucial to stress discretion and strengthen security, as any lingering energy could attract unnecessary attention.
‘_Hans’ Bone Dragon_ shouldn’t be an issue either.’
Originally, the Heart of the Dragon was necessary to serve as the core for the _Bone Dragon_, so I had some concerns, but indeed, our _Hans_ had no limits.
Heart of the Undying, Evil Wisdom, Forbidden Knowledge, Path of Magic, Eye of the Abyss, Domination of Magic…
With every skill he possessed directly or indirectly related to black magic, when he got serious, even bending necromancy wouldn’t be difficult.
He remotely transmitted black mana from the extracted source, connecting himself more closely with the _Bone Dragon _Heratos_.
So he could supply whatever energy he needed instead of using the Dragon Heart.
In simpler terms, _Hans_ had become virtually the source of Heratos.
‘Of course, they couldn’t be too far apart, so moving independently became tough, but that’s no problem if I send the others instead.’
Instead of using Entrasio, he could use Heratos as his private vehicle.
“Well then, let’s start the settlement!”
To create a new avatar, I needed to enhance my unique skills to increase the number of avatars I possessed.
For that, a considerable amount of karma was required, but I had no worries about that.
Many significant events had occurred over time.
‘It hasn’t even been long since I obtained Entity Projection…’
First off, _Harris_ successfully sowed the seeds of change in the Elven Kingdom.
The new music and instruments he showcased at the festival inspired elves who had been complacent over time, enabling them to explore new endeavors.
Like a stone dropped into a calm lake creating ripples, the influence gradually enlarged, affecting their culture as a whole.
This became the karma that returned to him.
‘It’s still at a minor level, but it’s encouraging that it will steadily increase going forward.’
And _Heinrich_ became the owner of the Holy Sword through trials and was recognized as a saint after receiving a Great Blessing.
Being acknowledged as a saint by the Holy Church Order, one of the continent’s largest factions, was a historic event, thus a considerable achievement.
‘Furthermore, _Hans_ also reestablished his name after the opening of the Abyss clashed with the Holy Church Order… and soon began recovering the legacy of the Undead King that appeared on the continent.’
Not to mention, it was likely that the chaos resulting from this was attributed to _Hans_, so his influence couldn’t be overstated.
Most recently, there was _Harley_’s northern expedition and the hunt for dragon Heratos.
Naturally, hunting such a being as a Bone Dragon would also be a significant achievement.
‘So, how much karma has been amassed during this time…!’
『Karma Shop』
『Unique Skill Enhancement (1,000,000)』
『Status Enhancement – Detailed View』
『Current Karma – 1,608,961』
“Oh!”
It hadn’t been even a week since I obtained Entity Projection, yet my karma had increased by over a million.
‘Sure enough, the numbers are impressive.’
With many people causing big events all over the place, it was no wonder that such rare karma piled up so easily.
‘Geez, how could I navigate this perilous world by myself? There’s a saying that having ten bodies isn’t enough.’
In that sense, even as someone with seven bodies, I still felt woefully inadequate, so it was urgent to create ten bodies.
The more, the better.
And this was the key to becoming my eighth body.
I held the pickaxe, Ellin, and stared at it quietly.
Using this item, I could create a new avatar, and I felt the Customization resonate vigorously.
“Let’s hope I don’t end up with ‘Increase Avatar Count’ not showing up again.”
Of course, the Entity Projection obtained last time was a decent ability, but I would be quite disappointed if the avatar didn’t increase this time.
There was no way to express that to anyone, though.
“Well then… Enhance.”
Thus, the grand enhancement of one million points commenced.
As a result.
《The potential of the avatar rises. The learning abilities of the entity further improve.》
《The unique skill grows, unlocking its possibilities. You obtain the special skill Avatar Cloud.》
With a headache, I felt something snap inside my head.
And the long-awaited increase of avatar count…
“_Yes!_”
That information firmly settled in a corner of my mind.
I could create a new clone to use whenever I desired.
Alongside that, my mental power and reasoning capability had increased exponentially.
Considering that I had one more avatar now, it seemed that the amount of mental power allotted to each entity would be greater than before.
‘Hmm, this is fine. Now, what about the additional benefits…?’
Having obtained the desired result, my focus shifted to the content mentioned in the system message.
The increase in the potential of the avatar was well beyond anything I could question now.
‘If I fought against my clones, I’d surely lose without a doubt.’
I’d lose even compared to the non-combatant _Hubert_.
Of course, with Entity Projection available, prioritizing the enhancement of the avatar over my main body was certainly fitting…
‘Ugh, what am I talking about now? How many times have I been stronger than my avatars.’
Perhaps only during the early days of my entry into this world right after I created an avatar.
Now, those kids were each heading toward their peak, meaning they couldn’t even remotely be compared.
‘But let’s check the new skill, Avatar Cloud!’
Cloud refers to a data storage accessible from anywhere via the internet.
And it seemed Avatar Cloud drew its name from that…
A capability allowing avatars to share necessary items with each other without distance limitations through a small shared spatial dimension.
‘Oh! This is exactly what I wished for. Honestly, the enhancement effects are always on point.’
With this ability, I wouldn’t need to face my avatars one by one to exchange items.
‘Finally, I can give _Hans_ the source of the Archlich Dwell that _Heinrich_ had!’
I had prepared a gift, and with the differences in their circumstances, they wouldn’t easily be able to meet.
Since the transmission machine had a cooldown, I couldn’t freely use it, making it awkward to have another avatar run errands.
‘This ability came at just the right time.’
Moreover, for most items, I could directly supply them through the merchant _Hubert_, ensuring security no matter where I ended up!
‘I should also experiment through _Heinz_ on how many Earth items can be sent to _Hubert_. There’s bound to be a limit on the amount transfered too.’
This was undoubtedly a satisfying enhancement.
Although, there was still one main event left.
I immediately grabbed the pickaxe and used Customization.
Now it was time to create a real dwarf.
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