"I received an important trait as one of my rewards for this level."
Otto looked at the kids solemnly and chose to reveal all the details of his trait [Split Symbiosis].
[Split Symbiosis]
Allows trait owner to split off up to five portions of your soul and implant them into other challengers.
….
As they slowly read through it, especially the details, their expressions revealed different emotions.
Elliott read through it a few times before a slight smile crossed his face.
Only, it wasn't one of joy.
He inexplicably felt a little sad.
Elliott knew he hadn't really known Otto for very long, but it couldn't be helped that he wanted to be trusted without using this as what felt like to him, an insurance method.
Julia also gazed at Otto seriously. Her expression spoke of resignation.
Perhaps she had known this day would come eventually.
Otto looked at both of them and didn't speak.
Whatever emotions they were feeling right now were understandable, and also their prerogative.
Even if it wasn't a great feeling.
He waited for Jeremy to finish reading.
Unexpectedly, Jeremy looked a bit…excited about it?
Jeremy tried to compose himself according to the serious atmosphere.
Nevertheless, his voice was still a little too loud.
"Does this mean that we can be as strong as you on the floors, too?"
Even Otto felt a little taken aback, and he gazed quizzically at Jeremy before shaking his head helplessly.
Then, he proclaimed to all three of them,
"I know this may have blindsided you."
Silence met his declaration, and Otto took a deep breath.
Surprisingly, he was finding these words rather tough to say.
He sighed inwardly.
He'd rather face another hundred thousand Throskarts than have this conversation…
"Err, I … have already come to ...care... about the three of you."
"However, I haven't known any of you for long enough to fully trust you."
Otto's voice gained confidence as he continued to speak.
"Things will start moving quickly after this, and I need you to be strong enough to face what comes."
"And I'd also like to fully trust my future team members."
"So I will give all three of you the option. I would like to use this trait on the three of you."
"I have a basic understanding of how this trait works. Just to clarify- Julia, Elliott, there is no mind control involved."
"The reason it is impossible to betray me after receiving a split portion of my soul is because it essentially connects our souls together."
"In other words, it's not that you will be forced to never betray me. It's that it will be impossible for you to want to."
Otto scratched his nose awkwardly as he looked at the kids listening carefully to his words.
An emotion he rarely felt, embarrassment, crept up on him.
He was great at scheming and analyzing possibilities and coming up with battle plans and fighting.
He wasn't great at conversations like this; he wasn't even sure he was properly getting his point across.
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"It would also allow me to help you in times of need, giving you a second emergency plan to fall back on should you need it."
"But, I will give you a choice."
"If you don't wish to receive the split portion of the soul, I can promise I won't hold it against you, and we can continue the path we are currently on."
Otto let his hands down.
To be honest, his original idea was to expose the existence of the evolution bead.
Then, he would give them the choice between receiving his split soul and being able to use the evolution bead or not taking either.
But when it came down to it, it was a fact that even though Otto didn't fully trust them with his mind, he had probably already accepted them as pseudo-family in his heart.
And family was…awkward for him.
In short, Otto didn't really want to threaten them like that.
"So, I suppose it's up to you."
Fortunately, his expression didn't change at all, so he didn't think the kids were able to sense his embarrassment.
Otto inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
...Until that delusion was immediately shattered.
Tactlessly.
By who else?
"Aww, you don't have to be embarrassed, old man."
Jeremy patted his shoulder and said with deep 'wisdom.'
"I'll take the soul, I don't really mind. I wasn't planning on doing anything bad to ya anyway, hehe."
Otto looked at the other two, only to find both of them smiling brightly at him.
He idly wondered how they were able to change their emotions so quickly...
Julia ran over and gave him a hug with a tearful expression.
"You practically saved my life, Otto."
Elliott also piled on behind her, though Otto wasn't sure if he was trying to hug him, or Julia…
"You've helped me a lot, too, you know."
There was silence in the room for a second.
But it wasn't uncomfortable.
Otto would never admit he felt a little warmth from their reaction.
He regained his composure first as his negative feelings were swept away.
He inwardly scolded himself,
'How old are you to get carried away so easily?'
Otto blamed it on his teenage hormones.
"Okay, next, for serious matters."
All three sat up and paid attention again.
"Tell me about the first floor, and your gains from the first floor."
Otto knew a couple things about their experiences.
They should have each gained 20 AP from clearing the [Extreme] difficulty alone.
Moreover, he wouldn't be surprised if they had also gained a few achievements along the way.
He took a second to analyze them, starting with Elliott.
[Elliott Lastermann]
Floor Cleared: 1st Floor
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Class: Mage of the Storm
Profession 1: None
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Profession 2: None
Profession 3: None
Health: 195/195 (0.14/minute)
Stamina: 185/185 (1.3/minute)
Mana: 160 —] 600/600 (0.1 —] 4.0/minute)
[Attributes]
Strength 11
Speed 18
Stamina 13
Sturdiness 14
Mana Pool 8 —] 30
Intuition 11 —] 32
Magic Power 6 —] 12
Regeneration 5 —] 20
AP: 0
~~NEW~~
[Class Trait]
[Regenerator Bunny]
Mana Regeneration Rate +900%
His status had seen quite a few changes. Most significantly, he had gained 20 AP from clearing the [Extreme] difficulty, and another 25 AP from another reward.
This was not including the rewards from his class, which added +10 AP to one attribute, +5 AP to the second, and then +2 AP to three additional attributes of his choosing.
Elliott had even gained a new class trait which multiplied his mana regeneration by 10!
It was a large change, allowing Elliott to last longer in fights in the future, and not be out for the count after he ran out of mana.
Thankfully, his physical attributes had been raised painstakingly during his training over that one month (over a year and a half under time dilation).
Else, he may not have survived the [Extreme] difficulty.
Elliott waxed eloquent about his experiences on the [First Floor], and Otto listened carefully, interjecting now and then to clarify or give comments.
His biggest problem had been when he could no longer use his trait [Survivor's Intuition].
Elliott had on multiple occasions almost died after it was suddenly no longer usable.
Thankfully, it had pointed Elliott in the right direction initially after he got caught in the poison, so he ran directly to a no-poison zone upon escaping.
At that point, he already had enough points to pass the initial selection.
In fact, he even received a mission achievement because he went above and beyond by killing Throskarts whenever he saw them.
Thus, he had gathered quite a few points beyond the initial 100,000 point coin his trait had directed him to.
Otto found it surprising that Elliott mostly fought as a warrior rather than a mage throughout this floor, sparing his magic as his physical attributes were so far ahead thanks to the points enhancing his body.
However, he was also slightly proud of how far Elliott had come, from being the weak, cowardly mage who could only run away and hide in the [Tutorial] to a powerful albeit lucky hybrid mage that also knew how to fight on his own.
Next was Julia.
He checked her status.
[Julia Nilsen]
Floor Cleared: 1st Floor
Class: Killer Vanguard
Profession 1: None
Profession 2: None
Profession 3: None
Health: 300 —] 375/375 (0.2 —] 1.25/minute)
Stamina 260 —] 375/375 (1.6 —] 5.0/minute)
Energy: 20 —] 100/100 (0.05 —] 0.25/minute)
[Attributes]
Strength 20 --] 25
Speed 16 —] 30
Stamina 16 —] 25
Sturdiness 20 —] 25
Energy Pool 1 —] 5
Comprehension 1 —] 5
Energy Compression 1 —] 5
Regeneration 1 —] 5
AP: 0
~~NEW~~
[Personal Trait]
[Berserker]
Evolving Trait | White
Passive
+400% Health Regeneration
+100% Stamina Regeneration
Active
+400% Health Regeneration if Health is below 25%
+100% Strength if Health is below 25%
-50% Defense if Health is below 25%
Julia's story was a little different than Elliott's.
She had no luck to speak of, even in the initial stages, and had to fight, fight, and fight some more.
In the process, her combat techniques had become even more polished, and she grew stronger and stronger thanks to killing other Throskarts.
But unlike Elliott, she was not growing stronger too much faster than other Throskarts were, so her fights were significantly tougher in comparison.
Moreover, there were a few times she was forced to hide and run away from the Throskarts, because there were many who were quite a bit stronger than she was.
However, all her fighting and killing netted her a reward in the end, as well.
She obtained an achievement calling her an 'undying warrior,' for fighting straight back to back battles over a long period of time, which provided an additional 15 AP and a new personal trait.
In the end, her gains were also quite large, and she grew significantly stronger in every single aspect, including in her use of energy.
Should she go through the same floor again, it would likely be significantly easier thanks to her [Berserker] trait alone.
Otto looked approvingly on at her changes.
He could tell by the power of her trait just how hard she must have fought in this floor.
The difficulty increase was really no joke.
Even with the personal tutelage from Ramesthes, Otto could admit that he was only 80% confident that each of the kids could pass the level…
Finally, it was Jeremy's turn.
It was evident that Jeremy had experienced the biggest changes of all three of them…