Second Genesis

Grey exhaled a breath and looked at his Stamina. He hadn’t even used a third of it. It seemed that comprehending Skills to a deeper level and making them more powerful didn’t necessarily mean he would need more energy to use them either.

In fact, it meant quite the opposite.

Despite his Abilities being at a far higher Level now, he felt like he was using far less energy. Part of that was certainly the fang Spirit taking on a lot of the burden for him, finally showing him what the true strength of a Legendary item set was. But another part that was just as important was that every single one of them had reached Core Sync now.

Well, all of them but Iron Veil.

But even it had reached Active Link, and the power difference was unfathomable.

Grey turned to the Bishop who was still chanting. But by this point, Blood had risen off the ground, his body floating in empty space.

BOOM.

A pillar of golden light descended from above and Grey’s pupils constricted as he watched tattoos of beautiful gleaming white etch themselves across the surface of Blood’s body.

’Fuck me.’

Grey might have been furious right now, but his head was still on straight. If those white tattoos could make a weak pig like Joaquin so powerful, what the hell would it do to a powerhouse like Blood?

Blood had only lost to him so easily because he was a bit stupid. But Grey had a feeling that if the Priest was doing this, it wasn’t because he was about to let a monster on the loose. It was because the Priest already knew exactly how he would go about bringing this monster beneath his thumb.

A Blood that was intelligent would have already been far more powerful than Sir Pebble despite the fact Grey was still certain the man was in the Proving Class.

A Blood that was amped up by whatever the hell those tattoos were...

Grey was already thinking about reaching for the helm. But instead, he shot like a bolt of black toward the Bishop. If he could just kill the Bishop first, even if Blood was a lot stronger, the slow-witted giant could eventually be cut down by him.

If the Bishop was still alive...

BOOM.

Grey slashed down toward the Bishop’s back only to be sent flying. He felt the winds pinning his ears toward the wrong direction, his Skrill Mask nearly flying off his face by the strength with which the air pulled on its worm-like tendrils.

Grey coughed up a mouthful of blood as he crashed into a wall, his body feeling like it was being ripped to pieces.

’Fuck me.’

It was the right choice at the time, but half of him really wished he had killed Blood back then. Unfortunately, if he had done that, it would have required exposing his fang daggers, and if he did that, setting aside how King Cami might have reacted, the Holy Knights that appeared afterward might have gotten wind of it.

At that point, there was no way Grey would be able to sneak into this place. He would have probably been forced to fight at least one army all on his own, maybe even two.

Restraint wasn’t his strong point, but he was at least somewhat proud of that.

What he wasn’t as proud about was the current situation.

He groaned, sliding down to the ground and exhaling a breath.

He didn’t move. There was no point. That power wasn’t the Bishop’s own. Instead, it was a byproduct of whatever power he was communing with.

That wasn’t something Grey could break, not right now.

"Sometimes I wish I drank." Grey groaned.

Hemorrhagic Regeneration and Solar Regeneration were working well to heal up his broken ribs. The light coming from the Bishop was especially helpful to the latter.

He might as well just sit here and lament his life choices.

Grey pulled out a crack pipe, stuffed it with some grass, and let it light itself.

He took a puff, clearing the entire bowl out in one go.

He sighed with satisfaction.

This Cyber Herb he used this time was actually one that he had used to comprehend his Helion Frame so quickly. It was called Ray of Shine.

A stupid name, but he was even more stupid. He had been in a rush back then so when he saw the name he piled it in with all the other solar herbs, thinking it would help him lock in.

In reality, Ray of Shine was actually a mind illuminating herb, one that helped dispel status effects and focus.

’Adderall. You’re Adderall.’

The drug of choice for ADHD heads like himself. Oh, and college students who had spent the entire semester doing nothing and now had an exam worth 70% of their grade hanging over their head.

Grey had never liked how Adderall made him feel. It made him too calm. It was like it completely changed the type of person he was.

But Ray of Shine was different. It had the same focusing effects, but it came with a slight high attached to the end of it.

It was great for relaxing. Almost like weed but without the languid effects.

"A happy little mistake." Grey groaned out with a puff of smoke.

BOOM.

Grey watched as Blood fell from the air in a superhero pose.

"Lame."

He took another puff as Blood kneeled before the Bishop, showing clear and undying subservience.

"Your first command to make him put on some damn clothes. I can’t fight a man with his dick swinging around." Grey said, taking another puff. "Ah, fuck."

Grey ran out of Ray of Shine. He pulled out some more and stuffed the barrel of the crack pipe again, taking another long drag as he pushed himself up from the ground.

He stretched, feeling that his ribs were good to go. Bending down into a squat and then popping back up, he stretched his neck into a cascade of cracks.

Grey took one final puff and then the crack pipe vanished as the Bishop turned toward him. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Grey froze. ’Bishop Calixan? That’s impossible.’