Chương 116: Shambles

Razor's guess was correct. No matter how perfect an ability appeared, it had conditions and restrictions. ROOM: Shambles also had limits. In the original concept, a target with sufficiently powerful defensive energy could resist being moved. Aren's ROOM combined with the Flying Thunder God Technique worked similarly. Inside Aren's ROOM, if a target's body was wrapped in enough aura, Aren could not freely transfer it from a distance.

Unless, of course, he personally marked that target with the Flying Thunder God mark. ROOM was essentially a range amplifier. For example, the dimensional slash created by releasing The Hand through ROOM stretched the ability's effect from the size of Aren's palm to the edge of the ROOM. The problem was that, while ROOM amplified range, abilities released away from Aren's body weakened to a certain extent. It was like slashing someone directly with a blade versus cutting them with sword energy.

The two could not have the same power. An amplifier was not a true all-purpose modifier. Vows and restrictions had limits. Because an ability released at range started from a weaker base, no amount of amplification could perfectly match the original. Compared with the Flying Thunder God Technique itself, which could move a marked opponent directly, a mark applied remotely through ROOM was weaker. If the opponent did not resist, it worked.

If they erupted enough aura around their body, Aren could not freely move them. But that restriction did not apply to Aren himself. Within the full range of ROOM, he could teleport freely without any Flying Thunder God mark. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ROOM: Shambles. In an instant, Aren appeared beside Razor. His leg snapped toward Razor's midsection. The aura in that kick was around one hundred thousand units.

That was roughly twice Razor's entire reserve. Razor had kept Ken active the whole time. Even so, that casual kick broke through his defense. Clang. The instant they made contact, Razor's Ken and Aren's aura produced a metallic sound. The next second, Razor's Ken cracked open. Aren's kick smashed into Razor's midsection. Razor flew backward like a human cannonball and crashed into the forest.

He broke several trees before the impact slowed him down, then tumbled across the ground for dozens of meters before finally slamming into a tree trunk. Only then did his body stop. A mouthful of blood burst from his lips. Five ribs broken. One pierced into the lung. Razor instantly judged his own condition. Aren's kick had looked casual, but the force inside it was almost comparable to Biscuit's charged Ko. Even though Razor had defended as well as he could, one kick had left him seriously injured.

'This monster... he may be stronger than Ging.' Lying on the ground, Razor knew he could no longer fight. Even before considering Aren's ability, that single kick had made the gap between them clear. Razor was not Aren's opponent. Enduring the stabbing pain in his chest, Razor took out a card labeled Communication. The only person who might stop Aren now was Ging Freecss. All Razor could do was report the situation as quickly as possible. But he seemed to have forgotten one thing. He was still inside Aren's ROOM.

Aren appeared in front of Razor the instant he was about to use the card and took it from his hand.

"Not yet. I can't let you call him over right now." This was not the time to meet Ging Freecss. If Ging really came, he and Aren might end up in a full-scale conflict. Aren had not smuggled himself into Greed Island to wreck the place. He had come illegally only because Neon could not enter through the normal method, and because Greed Island still had more than two months before its official release. He simply did not want to wait.

His real goals were to find a suitable training ground for Machi and collect Greed Island's strange items. To achieve those goals, he could not afford to turn Ging and the others into enemies. If they really fought, Aren would be cautious of Ging's unknown ability, but fear was another matter. He was not afraid. He would gain nothing. After taking Razor's Communication card, Aren did not continue attacking. Instead, he sat down beside Razor.

Seeing Razor's expression, which looked as if he would rather die than yield, Aren joked,"Hey, hey. No need to make that face. Relax. We did not come to invade your territory. As you saw, we brought a child with us. She has not opened her aura nodes yet, so she cannot enter through the proper route. We had no choice but to use this method." Razor saw that Aren no longer showed hostility and remained silent for a moment.

"So you mean you came here only to play the game?" Aren flicked the Communication card back to Razor. Strictly speaking, Aren had entered someone else's territory without permission and beaten the owner of the place badly. But he truly had no malice toward them.

"Exactly. We came to play the game." Aren smiled sincerely at Razor.