100\% Drop Rate: My Special Ability is Perfect Replication

The alien’s strength aside, Faust was thinking of how strong that Negan’s abilities would be if he combined it with Fix’s Distance-Damage Amplification. He could make an attack travel for kilometers before he released it.

[You have defeated Fix the Worldbreaker. Do you wish to permanently replicate his Schema?]

He had let this hang for a while because he was unsure. If he copied both Fix’s and Negan’s Schema, he would only have two free slots left for temporary Replications. One of which he was saving for Jason’s Schema.

But the two Patrons had such compatible Schemas...

"Fuck it," he muttered to himself. Nirvana glanced at him but said nothing.

Yes.

[Congratulations! You have permanently gained the Worldbreaker Schema!]

He would get more free slots as he progressed in levels. These guys were strong, refined fighters that he might not meet again till far later in the Origin Trials. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

After just a minute of watching, Faust felt ready to face Negan.

"Let’s take him," Faust said to Nirvana.

Negan was attacking Gamebreaker’s shield with a bored cadence.

He batted the smaller human left and right with flashy jabs. Gamebreaker twisted and deflected the strikes when he could, but Negan was more skilled than him.

"Now!" Jaso shouted. He had been luring Negan in.

Two players appeared from thin air, slashing at the man spider. Negan hopped casually, and struck mid air without even looking down.

BANG! BANG!

The metal plated spider arms crushed the two player, while Negan’s dragon flail slammed down on Gamebreaker’s shield.

The ground cracked under Jason’s feet. A groan of exertion burst from his mouth. His eyes hazed up.

Negan disappeared briefly and reappeared behind him.

Two spatial bubbles formed around Jason. His eyes widened as he realised what was happening.

Negan glared down at the human. "Pest. I think I’ve left you alive for long enough."

Before Negan could pop the bubbles and rip Jason apart, something extremely fast slammed into him.

The Arachne Pathfinder bounced off the stone street like a pebble skipped over a lake and slammed through a house.

Jason quickly stepped out from between the bubbles before checking his saviour. His eyes narrowed in anger.

Faust spared him a brief glance and a smile before returning his gaze to Negan. "The Fourth wave monsters are at our gates. You can go help with them. I’ll deal with the tourist."

"Can you stop pretending to be better than all of us," William called out from the crowd of people. He shuffled forward. One of his arms was broken and he was covered in dust and dirt. His golden hair was matted with blood.

Faust pretended to be aghast, hand over his mouth. "Oh my. Little Willy, who did this to you? Don’t worry, I’ll beat up that bully."

William’s glare was sharp enough to cut stone. He would have charged Faust if he wasn’t so badly injured.

"You can’t handle that guy alone," William said. "Besides, we want whatever reward we’ll get for defeating him."

One of the players nodded. "Aren’t you tired of monopolising everything good?"

"Oh fuck off," Nirvana cut in. She was hugging her friend, but left to march to the front of the gathered fighters. "Half of you cowards said he was crazy for going into the gate. Now all the sudden you’re watching his every move to check for scraps."

Jason bristled. "Shut your damn mouth. You aren’t tricking us."

Faust wanted to make fun of them right now, but that wouldn’t get them to leave. They would only get in his way.

Before he could say another word, Negan shot forward.

The Pathfinder was fast. Most of his points must have been invested in Agility and Spirit.

His figure flickered across space, disappearing from reality for a brief moment as he stepped into a higher dimension.

Faust moved unpredictably from instinct. The first strike shot past his head, missing completely. The smell of sterilized steel tickled Faust’s nose. Negan’s spider feet flashed forward like dark spears.

Bolster!

He raised an arm and blocked the strike meant for his head just barely. His feet dug into the stone as he slid back.

He swung his axe for a counter attack without even thinking. He didn’t even apply the Annihilation effect to the attack.

The blow caught Negan mid-attack, but he still flashed backward; dragged like he was a puppet, dodging the slash.

What type of skill is that?

Negan slid around him in a circle with a surprised look. Short sidesteps. His body was always angled for an attack. Faust mirrored his movements without thinking.

"Good instincts," Negan commented. "You’re the first person I’ve seen counterattack in this dumpster. The rest of these fools swing their weapons around like sticks."

"Nice to meet ya. I’m—"

"Sorry, but I’m not interested in a monkey’s name," Negan said, waving him off. He turned to the rest of the Players, who watched with shocked trepidation. "You should let him fight alone. I’ll destroy him, but it’ll be more fun than me running circles around you clowns."

"I said it from the beginning that I’m only interested in fighting the strongest of you." He turned to Jason. "Not that I’m impressed. I didn’t expect much from humans, but this is disgraceful. My followers are bored."

"Why is everyone so racist today," Faust suddenly said. "First that Fix guy, now you. It makes it all the better when I kick you down though."

"Fix?" Negan frowned and turned back, searching the city. The eyes on his black robotic helmet glowed with a blue light. "Oh. How interesting. I was sure no one would be able to even scratch Fix. As singleminded as his selection of skills was, they should have been enough to deal with any human."

His leg shifted forward as he moved. Faust flinched, raising his axe higher.

"Calm down," Negan mocked. His voice carried a smile as he spoke. Negan turned from Fix’s last position to where Kye floated lazily in the air.

"You had help? Lunny corpos. I hate how this beautiful stage has been turned into an unskippable ad. But I must say you are impressive for a human. How did you deal with Annihilation? Or the wind tunnel trap thing he does."

Faust raised an eyebrow. "You know a lot about him."

"Everyone knows a little about Worldbreakers. I also looked him up on HoloFlix when I heard he was coming in here with me. In case he wanted to dance."

Faust wagged his fingers at Negan. "Ohh, I like that. We are similar there. I think I’ll like you. If you stop all the racist nonsence."

"I haven’t said anything wrong," Negan insisted. "You are a Bronze rank species. Kalans are Platinum-ranked. Humans are naturally weaker, less-focused and emotional than higher-ranked species. Why is it strange I assume you can’t defeat him?"

"What rank is your species?" Faust asked carefully. He was still circling Negan, axe held in front of him to receive an attack.

To be frank the wait for this fight to start was nerve-racking.

Negan’s back straightened as he spoke. His voice was filled with pride. "We Steelspinners are a Legendary-grade species. One of the few to earn our place among the Sponsors of the Origin Trials."

Faust titled his head. "Isn’t the Aural Council a human species? Or at least they originated from one. I heard they seeded earth millions of years ago. Does that mean they were Sponsors before your precious species?"

Negan grew silent. He stopped moving. Faust kept moving sideways. The hairs on his neck stood like the warning before a lightning strike.

"Insolent, hairless monkey," Negan muttered. "Die."

Then he disappeared. The next thing Faust heard was the sound of space bending.

***

A/N: Hey, hope you’re still enjoying the story. The Beast Tide Event arc ends soon. I have a lot planned for the next arc, but what would you like to see more of so I can plant a few scenes here and there?

A. More Romance development

B. More grinding and new skills

C. Something about Earth, I have some things planned ;)

D. Something you haven’t see yet