Chapter 35: True Power

"..." Nio looks at the trail of destruction, still so hot it glows in a reddish-yellow hue where everything has melted. But amidst all this devastation, Typhon is nearly unscathed, even though she was, in fact, wounded.

’Barrier... and a powerful one at that... what class was that...’ Nio bites her lips at the difference between the damage she expected and what actually happened.

"Nice attack. The force was excellent, and it was lethal. I see you’re not really going to hold back to keep me from dying," Typhon says excitedly to Nio as her clothes slowly regenerate, still far too hot.

"Tsk." Nio clicks her tongue. It was obvious it wouldn’t be so easy to finish off a monster like Typhon.

"That staff of yours is very good. Even though its power is only amplification, it just shows that your magic has always been absurdly strong. A weak person using that staff would never reach the same potential as you wielding it." She praises Nio like a "husband" complimenting a "wife," which earns Typhon a look of disgust from Nio.

"You don’t want to talk. I understand. Now that you’re going to take this seriously, I think I should take it seriously too. But we have limited time."

"Nio, I’ll give you a gift. I think it’s unfair that you don’t know my status while I know yours completely. So, I’ll reveal mine to you." Typhon cheerfully sends her Status to Nio, who stares at it in shock.

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Name = Typhon Apsu Jörmungandr Ouroboros

Race = Titan Serpent (Secret)

Level = Level 100 Maximized

Title = ???

Special Class = World-Devouring Beast

Main Class = Abyssal Arcanist (Level 100)

Class (1) = Corrupted Saint (Level 100)

Class (2) = Pursuer (Level 100)

Class (3) = Spy (Level 100)

Class (4) = Deviant (Level 100)

Class (5) = Strategist (Level 100)

Subclass (1) = Zoologist (Level 90)

Subclass (2) = Biomancer (Level 90)

Subclass (3) = Runic Druid (Level 90)

Subclass (4) = Naturalist (Level 90)

Subclass (5) = Botanist (Level 90)

Total Stats (Level 500)

Strength = Level 100

Speed = Level 100

Endurance = Level 100

Special Endurance = Level 100

Base Mana = Level 100

Racial Skill = Level 100

Special Skill = Level 100

Magical Release = Level 100

Magical Containment = Level 100

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Resistances

Nature

Time

Darkness

Space

Energy

Instant Death

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’What the hell!! She has completely contradictory classes!! She broke the game’s rules... Corrupted Saint... so that’s why she has such bizarre regeneration...’ Nio knows all the classes, but a few specific ones catch her attention.

Abyssal Arcanist = A perfect blend of Magical and Physical Combat, being a powerful magic user but with immense physical capabilities.

Corrupted Saint = Can only use healing powers on herself, has high regeneration, and the power to curse others.

World-Devouring Beast = Grants the ability to devour anything, causing permanent damage and temporarily nullifying regeneration through bites.

Deviant = A class focused on evasion, granting access to various different evasion skills.

Zoologist = Specialist in creatures.

Naturalist = Studies all of nature.

Botanist = Specialist in plants.

Biomancer = Manipulates living organisms.

’This Status... damn... she’s stronger than I expected... but my status is much more optimized. Hers is an unpredictable mess — strong but imprecise...’ Nio takes a deep breath. Even though Typhon’s Status is stronger than Nio had in mind, she now knows, for the most part, Typhon’s capabilities, and they really are "evenly matched" in several aspects.

’Everything in my status revolves around a mage who eliminates her own weaknesses... Elder Mage Main Class for absurd magic, Madness Dragon Special Class to boost raw power.’

’Then I took classes to cover gaps. Huntress → tracking. Archer → long-range combat. Fencer → close quarters. Paladin → endurance. Saint → buffs and support. Heavy Warrior → not dying when someone gets close. Thief → mobility. Strategist → intelligence. It’s a character built with efficiency in mind... very different from Typhon...’

’She looks like a character who took several different paths.’ Nio feels more confident, because her class build was made thinking of maximum efficiency, apart, of course, from the fishing class, which was for Gap Moe.

"Underestimating me? You think I need that to end your life?" During those few extra seconds, Nio had been secretly casting a silent spell — enchantments that don’t need to be spoken thanks to the staff, but which are being charged.

And despite her tone, Nio loved receiving Typhon’s status. It’s important information, and it gives her room for better strategy and positioning.

"Underestimating? No. I’m just leveling the playing field a little, like a good wife should for her beloved. You can’t beat me, Nio." Before Nio can complete her spell, Typhon has already noticed it and lunges at Nio in an absurd charge.

Typhon’s fists gain a black glow, and when Nio tries to dodge, Typhon’s punch hits her face. An extreme explosion is concentrated solely on the impact area, bursting against Nio’s face and hurling her hundreds of meters against the ground as the wind around them distorts in a sonic boom.

Before she can get up, Typhon is already above her. The dark energy in her hands gathers into a sphere that Typhon imbues into her feet. She drops from above like a purple fireball, hitting Nio and driving her into the ground. The two sink through caverns until they fall into a water table, where all the water simply evaporates in an instant.

Nio suffers deep burns but manages to fire a blue beam, completely blowing up Typhon’s head. She spreads her wings and pushes Typhon off her, tasting something sweet in her mouth.

’Black poison magic... a variant from the Naturalist class with Botanist toxins. And if she’s really a Corrupted Saint, then just blowing up her head isn’t enough to kill her... but her defense is crap, because she doesn’t have defense classes, unlike me.’ Nio had really wanted the Corrupted Saint class in the past, but the game didn’t allow having the Saint and Corrupted Saint classes together.

Which was a disadvantage, and Nio needed the Saint buffs, so she gave up. But the Corrupted Saint is good precisely because it’s the best self-regeneration class in the game.

"[Eradication of All Life Forms]"

[Eradication of All Life Forms]: An instant-death spell that kills any being 20 levels below the user.

Nio uses an instant-death spell even though she saw Typhon’s resistance status. She does it to render the Biomancer class useless. Nio’s spell is so strong that literally every living thing in the area dies, regardless of its level or whether it even has a defined level, because nothing in the area is above level 80.

The plants, the soil, even the bacteria in the environment — it turns the soil into a kind of gray, granular sand crumbling over both of them. Nio, with her powerful wings, flies through the sand, rising to the surface, seeing that her spell has transformed the entire place into a gray desert with vapor rising from the sand.

"Nio, this is good, don’t you think?" Typhon says as she emerges from the sand with her head completely regenerated, looking at Nio as the timer runs down.

’HP doesn’t exist in a specified form, but I think if Typhon takes damage nonstop, she would stop regenerating... besides, to regenerate, the Corrupted Saint class consumes a lot of MP, and she, as a mix of mage and melee fighter, depends on MP too.’ Nio spins the staff in her hands, pointing it at Typhon.

"If you’re so confident in your victory, why don’t you let me charge an attack spell and try to return it?! You caught me at a bad time. I don’t have extra equipment or items equipped, I’m without armor or magic accessories, and I haven’t even drunk any potions so far."

"While you... you seem to be properly equipped, considering your clothes are still on your body." Nio tries to buy time, because she only has a little while left before she leaves this place, and she knows she won’t be able to avenge her destroyed weapon right now.

"...Buying time, huh... fine. I see I won’t have time to discipline you properly either. I’m sorry about that — it was my mistake. I didn’t expect a fight."

"I was... immature about the matter. Alright, let’s go for one last attack. Hit me with everything you’ve got." Below Typhon, an immense dark-green magic circle appears. Nio sees this as a good opportunity.

’An attack that could cause problems even for her...’ Nio points the staff at her, gathering 30% of her magic into it. A gamble and a test — because, unlike the game, she no longer has a limit on how much "MP" she can put into an attack.

Normally, such a thing would be insane, but in this situation, if it at least incapacitates Typhon, Nio would already be satisfied. Obviously, Typhon notices the abnormal concentration of magic and increases her own attack spell.

"May the strongest Witch win, Nio." Nio doesn’t return Typhon’s enthusiasm as she prepares for the strongest attack she can use at this moment and in the little time that remains.