Chương 227: Chapter 224 - The Clone Plot

Earth… When Ryan appeared, Milock and Barry were already there and awake in the middle of the night. They knew something, they just didn't want to throw it on him the moment he'd woken up. Milock tried to keep it light at first.

"Ryan! How did it go, did you finish the Trial?" Ryan shook his head.

"Someone was there to stop me, what's going on guys?" Both Barry and Milock looked at each other, then brought the laptop over to show Ryan. Milo started swiping through pictures.

"This is what's being spread around in the private channels of the realmnet. How did you know something's wrong?"

"Gamielle, she tried to fight her mother for control over her Legend. It didn't work. Shit that's the tree." Even as a distorted image, the Legend burned in his mind. Ryan blinked it away, having seen it for the second time. Some of the clearer images had thousands of dots flying around the enormous golden tree. Ryan's eyes went wide.

"Is that…?"

"Thousands of adventurers." It was one thing to hear about the fact that the Witch Tyrant could resurrect the dead endlessly. It was another to actually visualize what that meant. Would [Unrelenting Aura of Intimidation] even work on an immortal army? Ryan shook his head at the idea. Even if he could make some of them afraid, the Witch Tyrant could only bring out the fearless ones or find countermeasures herself… he would need more than just one simple layer to overcome her numbers. It didn't end there.

"Uh also this." The image flicked over to a video recording of the Witch Tyrant on the ground as the Passive Tyrant held her by the robes, ready to kill her. The Chieftain Tyrant holding the woman back. Ryan's heart skipped multiple beats there. The idea of the two Tyrants coming to blows hadn't come to mind. Barry had always insisted that the Tyrants were all friends and Ryan had believed that.

"Guessing she didn't kill her?"

"No." Why was she letting the videos circulate? Unless she doesn't care about Earth anymore. Or maybe Pinkie is part of the plan?

"Ryan talk to us."

"First of all, you both need to get the hell out of San Kingsgrove." Ryan put up his hand before Milock could interrupt.

"No negotiations on this one, Gamielle told me the Witch Tyrant used her Legend in a way she'd never seen before. She dumped her memories onto Pinkie. That's probably why the Passive Tyrant got so angry." Milock blinked.

"What?"" Listen to me, Pinkie definitely used the portal in San Kingsgrove to go back to The Realm. I'm pretty sure she's a Destined but that just means she could appear back on Earth at any time. Shapeshifted completely as the Witch Tyrant." Barry finally decided to interject into the conversation.

"Slow down. Explain everything." So Ryan did. Gamielle had admitted to seeing what her mother had used her Legend to do. Ryan also knew something horrifying had to have happened. The rest Ryan extrapolated from there. While Pinkie was in the transformation stage of the Passive Tyrant, the Witch swept in and shoved her being into the [Shapeshifter]. It was clear from the private channels and the images that she had succeeded and royally pissed off the Passive Tyrant until they came to Sector ending blows.

The Passive Tyrant had chased her all the way to Vitalia in Sector Eight but the Witch Tyrant had an escape plan ready. Ryan was thinking further ahead now. What would you do with a cloned version of yourself? The Realm might as well have been completely under her control… no you didn't stay in The Realm. The cloned Witch Tyrant might be coming to Earth. Barry started to understand why he was being so firm with them." Fuck."

The one reprieve they had was that the Witch Tyrant didn't leave The Realm because her Legends were still being supported by the Trial System. At least, that was how Gamielle put it. If she left The Realm, she'd lose access to her Legends and… not be able to see her daughter's face again. They were about to lose that one singular advantage. Milock pointed out the obvious.

"But then it doesn't matter where we hide, right? We might as well be here."

"Maybe, but if I do end up in a confrontation, then you two are not going to be here. I'm putting my foot down now." Milo looked to Barry. Ryan's friend had long since picked up that they were as much a support group as friends. Remembering Ryan's track record he was a little hesitant.

"Isn't this the opposite of what we should be doing?" The orc was just staring into Ryan's eyes, as if he could peer into his soul. Ryan stared right back.

"Trust me on this Barry. I'll do the right thing." The veteran orc simply nodded, then put his hand on Milo's shoulder.

"He hasn't been a rookie in a long time. Let's go Milo." And the orc started gently pushing Milo towards the door.

"Wait, just like that? What happened to ride or die, this is dragonsh—" Ryan was already standing on the balcony of the presidential suite. He stared out at the colorful lights of San Kingsgrove, its active nightlife and bustling magical decor melded with sleek modern architecture. Ryan took a deep breath—and jumped. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience." Show off!" The wind blew his hair back, rushing through as he reached terminal velocity.

He spun in midair and—lightly stepped on the edge of another balcony and leapt off, keeping his speed in perfect control all the while he jumped. You could sense it all if you focused. The voices, the cars, the lights, even the hum of mana. A fifth realm, evolved adventurer. Step. Jump. Such happy healthy people. Living in blissful ignorance of what might come. He jumped between the platforms well under the speed of sound. Ryan sorely wished for a skill that would let him go faster without causing a disturbance.

He focused inwards, still keeping awareness of his surroundings but trying to tap into that little— The Assassin moves in quiet steps. It didn't work like he wanted. His movements did change though. What he thought was efficient movement became refined to focus on using his joints to optimize the landing, the jump was the same way. Quieter jumps over speed. Hidden from notice, keeping the blissful peace undisturbed. All the way back to Grettfield's place.

The gothic architecture of her shop-home stood out even more in the night. Some of the rounded edges melted into the night, leaving more of the sharp pointed sections standing out against the darkness. A very cool effect—if you wanted tourists standing outside your home and taking pictures. Ryan landed at the entrance, startling the couple taking pictures. He ignored them and knocked, ignoring the sign that said:'Closed, knock at your own peril.' Knock. Knock.

Knockknocknkocknock The door opened as flashes from the cameras lit up. Ryan blinked, Witch Grettfield actually looked like she had been sleeping, her eyes slightly lidded with… a pyjama witch's hat? Ryan had no other words for it. It was a wide brim like a witch's but the top part was drooping down with a little fluffy pom-pom at the edge. The idea of such an impractical pyjama hat stunned him for a second. Grettfield meanwhile glared at the bright lights on the cameras and broke them all." Better."

Then she stared down at him.

"What is it?"

"Do you sleep?" The door slammed in his face.

"Wait, it's a—" The door opened again, revealing a shadowy endless hallway with [Witch] Grettfield nowhere to be seen. The hallway immediately blew up his [Dangersense] and sent a creeping chill down his spine. The tourists all must have felt it too because they also started to flee. Ryan took a step forth into the dark hallway. The thick shadows dampened his senses, making him feel like a mortal again. It was startling how much he relied on his advanced senses to keep him alert and alive.

Despite being half blind, deaf and his [Dangersense] blowing up, Ryan marched through. The door slammed behind him making it even darker and — the hallway turned into a cozy living room. Grettfield was sitting on a cozy recliner with a book and wine. Chester was sleeping, its pages ruffling in what Ryan only assumed was a rhythmic snore. Apparently books could sleep too. Grettfield closed her book in annoyance and looked up.

"Are you used to ignoring your [Dangersense]?"

"Yeah? If you were going to kill me you could just do so."

"There are well over a hundred things in that hallway that might not cause death but would make you wish for it."

"It's kind of an emergency, Grettfield." [Witch] Grettfield rolled her eyes.

"I assume this has something to do with the images circulating around the realmnet? Tell me, do you know if Pinkie is alive? I always did like her." Grettfield didn't know how bad it was and was treating it like a standard plot.

"Gamielle thinks the Witch Tyrant used her Legend to make Pinkie into a clone of herself. That's why the —" Ryan didn't even get to finish the sentence, Grettfield understood the dire nature immediately and interrupted him.

"Ah, one moment." A surge of mana washed over him and spread to all corners of the room and went beyond. It woke Chester in a screech of alarm. The book flew up and looked ready to flap at its master when Grettfield shoved her hand into Chester's pages and pulled out a long scroll and— Ink flooded the room, spreading out in a great mass and swallowed Ryan whole. —— Outside the building… the entirety of its unnatural decor flickered—and disappeared in ink. Every single part of the building was pitch black.

Tourists appeared blissfully unaware once more, thinking it was just another example of Grettfield's interesting house. —— Meanwhile, Ryan was stuck in hundreds of black binding ink. Grettfield was floating while holding her book in hand, her eyes were darting around the entire room, occasionally splashing a tidal wave of ink at an empty space. She turned to him for a second.

"Tell me, what was the first thing I told you when you entered my store?" Ryan's mind rushed back to his first encounter. Needless to say his [Dangersense] was screaming now.

"You told us not to use the mana in your home to develop our own cores." The inky bindings washed away from his body, back to a liquid that didn't seem to stain his skin or anything at all. Ryan rubbed at his neck.

"I thought she doesn't have access to her Legends on Earth."

"A Legend can provide innumerable amounts of Epic precursors that would no doubt dwarf the number of my own learned Epics. While this is my domain, even I cannot guarantee that a perfect clone of the Witch Tyrant hasn't invaded my home."

"Fair enough. Do you have any idea what she might do next?"

"Not enough to make a guaranteed guess. If she no longer cares about the other Tyrants' approval? She may simply let the clone sweep up Earth." Ryan thought about it a second.

"No, that would reduce conflict in the long run… wait, unless she purposefully drags it out." Grettfield nodded her head.

"Especially if she believes she only needs to target a single, outstanding adventurer." Grettfield stared at him. Ryan's blood went cold.

"You think she might be sending a clone to Earth so that she might harass and level me up? That's—" Ryan didn't say it was crazy because he realized just how possible it was. Grettfield pointedly stared at his left arm, a class designed with magical plots in mind.

"What better way to raise an adventurer that far outstrips the others than herself? Succeed and you will have all the achievements you want, fail and you will still gain more real experience with your classes."

"How would she even give me a reasonably fair challenge? Can she summon Fallen without her Legend?"

"Shades. I believe some of her Legendary precursors allow her to summon echoes with some level of skill. None at dragonslayer level but more than enough to give evolved adventurers difficulty." Ryan shook his head.

"That's crazy, even if it was just Pinkie, I don't have a way to handle her. The Witch Tyrant…" Might actually be easier than an amorphous regenerating [Shapeshifter]. Especially if the Witch Tyrant limited herself and only played strategist. Ryan started to see the greater picture. She's targeting my [Veilpiercer Assassin] and [Arcane Saboteur] classes. He would have to learn to plot at the Witch Tyrant's level, if he could defeat her, great. If he couldn't, then Earth burned.

If they thought of it, then there was no way that she hadn't already thought of it either. The worst part was that they might have the pieces already. Grettfield was one, Seffara was another. [Witch] Grettfield chuckled hollowly.

"That is of course, the worst case scenario. You will note that she is not here, and Earth is not quite on fire." Ryan took in a breath.

"What other scenarios are there?"

"Even with the Trial System, Legends take some time to stabilize. It could be that even a shapeshifting Legend cannot keep her the same person on Earth and she's changed her plans. It could even be that she is waiting for you to get stronger before plunging Earth into chaos." And the Witch Tyrant would do it too. If she was willing to throw The Realm into fire then Earth simply made sense as well. She could even do it while keeping their agreement intact.

The [Witch's Bargain] he made with her only included his friends and family. Nobody else. He finally understood that this was what the Manager had meant.

'You are, of course, free to wait on Earth and see just how far the Witch is willing to go to bring her daughter back from the dead.' The Manager knew, it knew that sooner or later, Earth was going to get swallowed up as well. Ryan closed his eyes and tried to figure out the next step. Simplify, what's the most impactful thing I can do right now? Rush the Trial System? No, that would destroy my long term potential. What else can I do to get ready for it all?

Both Grettfield and Seffara are both way stronger than I am. They're not the only adventurers though. Ryan had figured out his first step.

"She's not going to launch an assault anytime soon. Hurting my potential is the opposite of what she wants. But also, it's not like I'm the only adventurer around that will step up. I have to believe that." Grettfield watched in fascination as he started going for the door. She called out to him.

"If you are going, take this." She threw two pieces of—black sleeved gloves at him. Ryan caught it and stared at the seamless gloves.

"Silkweave sleeve gauntlets. For your volatile mana. I don't believe you understand just how recognizable your antimagic mana signature is. Remember to wring them out weekly over the mana crystals as promised." Ryan put them on, they were thick, black, and stretched all the way into his shoulder where his mana core was. It snugly fit in and a line of silk connected the two sleeved gauntlets together through his front and back.

"Thanks [Witch] Grettfield." Ryan headed straight for Raidco's Mastery. Whether Grevich was ready or not, he was going to launch every single one of his hypotheses on classes, resonance and skills to the public.