Chapter 173

  Single Severance (I)

  Rather than spending the night restlessly wrecking my mind with potential solutions to our little 'is-it-a-vampire-problem', I chose to fiddle with the system a bit and create Xi Zhao's unique little art.

  Ever since his breaking through as well as seeing him utilize Art of Surviving, I had a few fancy ideas on how to truly make him into a one-shot monster. Isn't that the point, anyway? The faster you win, the fewer the chances of you losing.

  This will make him a bit weaker in your everyday competitions, though, as he'll be sharpened to kill rather than fight, but eh--competitions are secondary, and survival is first. That's my philosophy anyway. Since when? Since I came to this damned place.

  So, I've been thinking for a while now about how to best utilize this glass-cannon, one-shot build that he's got going on, and, honestly, I figured it was best to just lean further into his 'Draw Master' trait. Absolutely, fully, and thoroughly deck it out until his first attack is enough to literally split a mountain.

  ... not yet, but eventually.

  Weapon Art decked the base 15 points, and I spent an extra 10 to make it an exclusively sword-based one, as, at the base, it would be useable by any 'bladed' weapon, essentially.

  For the forms, I actually did something I never did before--forced it to be just one. I'd learned about this seemingly useless little feature months ago, and I put it in the back of my head as I didn't think I'd ever use it. But, well, there's a reason it's there, I suppose, and the system does know the best... probably...

  Because of that, it didn't actually cost any extra points.

  For internal logic, I elected to go for Profound, namely because I couldn't have people figuring it out quickly. If Xi Zhao is to become a one-shot monster, but that's entirely wiped clean by someone figuring out the art... well, he'd then become one-shot.

  There's a better joke there, but my brain, apparently, is not in its 'funny mode' anymore. Haah.

  85 points spent, 665 to go. Sheesh.

  For energy type, I obviously opted into Sword Qi, adding another 20 points. Right after, I spent 120 points on adding a moderate conceptual infusion of Illusion, a minor infusion of Sound, and a moderate infusion of Wind.

  No, wait--that's pointless, isn't it? Xi Zhao already knows how to cloak and isolate the sound, and he already has innate temporal aspects that are even better than Illusion.

  Okay, scratch that.

  I elected to keep the wind but instead also added a very small, trace infusion of 'Destruction Concept'. That alone added another 150 points, so with the wind and the original 85, I was now at 260.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  490 to go.

  I knew that I'd spend most of the points here, in the specific effects, which is why I kind of went light on infusions.

  For damage type, I added piercing, sundering, and medium-range projection, which cost 20, 40, and 40 points--in that order.

  I then spent another 100 points adding 'Acceleration', which made the speed of execution... well, too fast for me, that's for sure.

  Still 290 left, and I already knew where they'd go as far as modifiers and unique properties went: Law Fragment Integration.

  It's a rather special part of the creation system that I never dabbled with before since even the cheapest one was 200 points, but now that I had 290 leftover... hey, why not, right?

  I added something called 'Fading Trace of Law of Annihilation' for exactly 290 points, strangely enough. There was a higher variant that removed the 'fading' portion, but it also removed my ability to add it since it cost freakin' 10,000 points.

  The description, though, is kind of... vague. No, literally, it's just one sentence:

  The art becomes imbued with annihilation; all things must end.

  Okay, sure, Mr. Philosopher--but what does it do? I guess I'll find out.

  Well, that was it. 750 points down the drain just like that.

  [CURRENT CREATION POINTS: 750/100 (Reward applied, ALLOWED)]

  [NAME: (Please name the art; otherwise, the system will auto-generate a name upon Art Creation)]

  [Description: a deliberately simple and profoundly specialized art useful only for those who seek one of the most cruel and difficult paths of the sword. It consumes most of the cultivator's Qi in the process, making it an art that naturally evolves with its user to utilize the wielder's explicit desire for one thing: the Dao of Singular Annihilation. They will either kill their foe in one attack, or they themselves will be killed after it. Consistently defeating and killing enemies emboldens the art, increasing its invisible capabilities with each defeat. Losing, on the other hand, may yet render it entirely useless....]

  [TYPE: Sword Art (+15 + 10 = 25CP)]

  [NUMBER OF FORMS: 1]

  [LOGIC: Profound (+60CP)]

  [ENERGY: Sword Qi]

  [Moderate Infusion of Wind (+25CP), Concept of Destruction (+150CP)]

  [CHARACTERISTICS: Major Piercing (+20 CP), Major Sundering (+40CP), Medium Ranged Projection (+40CP), Acceleration (+100CP)]

  [UNIQUE PROPERTIES: Fading Trace of Law of Annihilation (+290CP)]

  [CUSTOM RESTRICTIONS APPLIED: Temporal Sword (Epic) Trait, Temporal Edge (Jade) Physique]

  [---]

  [TOTAL COST: 750CP]

  [PROJECTED RANK: mid-Jade tier]

  [PROJECTED DIFFICULTY: Intermediate]

  [CONFIRM CREATION: 750CP (0CP)]

  [CANCEL]

  Okay, the description is a bit... worrying.

  Though I do want Xi Zhao to be a one-shot monster, I don't want him to be like a certain 'mage' that would go comatose after one spell. And from the sounds of it, that's... kind of what this would do?

  Plus, there's also the question of what constitutes a loss. Would his sparring against Dai Xiu or Long Tao be considered a loss? In which case, I may as well burn this damn thing and just make him a movement art or something.

  But it's too tempting. Honestly.

  I never even considered 'specializations' before him--which is stupid on my part, yes, but that's just par for the course. I don't know; I've just been under the assumption that cultivators are generalists, for some reason. Not generalists, but more that their specialization 'stopped' at the main choice of a weapon or element. Somehow (because I'm a bit of a dummy), I didn't think two seconds past that to recognize that specialization can have its own, too.

  And it also seems like Xi Zhao himself is pursuing this path--it wasn't the system that gave him the trait, but it was likely a manifestation of his own will and desires. So, if I can help usher him further down that path, why shouldn't I?

  ... so, yeah, my rationalization is perfect, and I'm sticking to it quite stubbornly. Come what may, I'll make that little guy into a terrifying nuke.

  Just as I clicked the 'CREATE' button, I paused and cringed.

  I'd done it again.

  Oh my God, I'd done it again.

  ... I forgot to name the damn thing.