Primordial Lust System,Chapter 89: Aegis of illusion [II],lord_chaos

Chapter 89: Aegis of illusion [II]

"Now this is a whole lot different," Aurelian muttered, his eyes scanning the surroundings as soon as he flickered into the dungeon. And it was big. Hell, a lot bigger than he’d expected.

Stretching to the far horizons, a battered wasteland came into view, nothing but rocks lining the ground as far as his sight reached.

"It’s like a world of its own," he murmured under his breath, marveling at the dungeon’s structure before snapping back to focus, a grin stretching across his lips.

With the flat terrain, he could easily spot a group of wild boars far up ahead.

Their frames towered over two meters, crimson fur stretched across their bodies, making them easy to spot. Their massive tusks glowed with an iron-like brilliance under the glint of the sun-mimic hanging in the sky, spilling diluted gold.

Their levels ranged from 26 to 31, numbering around twenty or so.

"Bingo." Aurelian smirked, finishing his appraisal before a dark smile tugged at his lips. "Activate SS-rank talent: Aegis of Illusion."

The words had barely slipped past his lips when a rippling boom erupted from his body, drawing the boars’ attention. They charged with guttural growls rumbling from their maws.

"Huh?" Aurelian muttered as an eternal black light engulfed him, a resplendent darkness warping the air as if welcoming a being from another dimension.

"I don’t remember this much flair when Amber activated her talent," he mused softly. The black light condensed, molding into an intrinsic armor that clung to him, encapsulating his entire frame.

"What the fuck!?" Aurelian breathed, an excited growl escaping his lips as his defenses shot up to terrifying levels. Black energy seeped deeper, pouring into his flesh and boosting his physical strength.

Then the real changes began. His figure flickered several times, ethereal light bursting from the darkness as if he stood between reality and illusion. Multiple copies unfurled from him, their movements perfectly mirroring his own.

The boars paused mid-charge, stunned as their foe suddenly split into a hundred. They didn’t have time to process it before a sharp pain tore through Aurelian’s head. He had reached his limit, for now.

Without hesitation, his gaze hardened on the boars, a dark smile stretching as he issued a mental command. Attack!

Like extensions of his will, the mirages blurred forward. His true self remained behind, itching to test something else.

When one mirage closed within ten meters of a boar, he whispered, "Switch." The talent’s description echoed at the back of his mind:

***

[Aegis of Illusion]

(With a thought, summon a thousand mirages indistinguishable from the host to confuse enemies. Switch positions with any mirage during combat, making you elusive and hard to kill. Wield the power to shift reality into illusion and illusion into reality.)

***

True to its description, his form blurred from existence, trading places with the mirage. A copy stood where he’d been, while he now faced a charging boar head-on.

"Amazing," he breathed, but the thrill soured when he felt nearly a quarter of his endurance vanish in an instant.

No time to dwell on that, he drove his fist into the boar’s skull, shattering it clean. The beast collapsed into a headless corpse.

"Well, damn." Aurelian sighed, before smirking. How about something else?

His figure flickered again, appearing before another boar. Fear radiated from its trembling form, but he didn’t let it process.

"Forget that I am here," he murmured, pushing the thought directly into its mind. He blinked in surprise as its tension melted, a blank look overtaking it.

"It worked," he breathed. He turned to the rest, experimenting with different commands until the full scope of his ability unfolded.

A single glance was enough to plant illusions into a beast’s mind—forcing them to see, believe, and obey whatever he willed.

Complex commands failed spectacularly, which he chalked up to their low intelligence. But it worked well enough, his control over them lasted for an hour before resetting.

The weaker the beast, the smoother the results. "Great," Aurelian sighed, summing it all up. Then he blurred forward, crushing their skulls one by one. Terrifyingly, they stood still, ensnared in the illusions, even as he slaughtered them.

He would have loved to command them to kill themselves, or each other, but they glitched on the complexity. Too much for their brains.

The ability seemed far more suited to sentient beings. Willpower, he realized, was the deciding factor. Those with greater will than him were practically immune, while equals could break out with effort.

"Well, it’s as good as it gets," Aurelian muttered, staring at the headless corpses just as they began dissipating into wisps of energy. With a snap of his fingers, two massive spectral blades materialized, one black, one white.

Their surfaces shimmered in stark contrast, purity and corruption intertwining.

Without a word, they burst into wisps, splitting further. From the black blade, more black. From the white blade, more white.

Soon, fifteen of each hovered before him, swirling together into a glimmering black hole. It sucked in every corpse, converting them into raw energy.

Aurelian pressed deeper into the dungeon, his charge relentless. Illusions planted in beasts’ minds before he reaped their lives.

His body was untouchable, the black armor warding off all attacks. His position impossible to pin down, at least ten mirages flickering around him at all times. Illusions bent the battlefield to his will. And with each use, his mastery sharpened.

All the while, his swirling blades devoured every slain beast, leaving nothing behind. Overkill, perhaps, but effective.

Bathed in blood, fear, and a flood of notifications, Aurelian felt only one thing affirmed.

The battlefield was his haven.

***

"Stay!" Aurelian whispered, his hands clasped behind his back as his eyes lit with a dark hue, spreading to another wave of charging boars. He watched them mystically halt in motion, their frames freezing, blank stares hovering in their eyes.

Blades streaked forward, reaping their lives, absorbing their souls, and fully devouring them.

He stared at the notifications piling up before him.

[Ding! The host has slain a Level 31 Common Wild Raging Boar! 11,000 dungeon points awarded!]

[Ding! The host has slain a Level 37 Uncommon Wild Raging Boar! 37,000 dungeon points awarded!]

[Ding! The host has slain a Level 39 Uncommon Wild Raging Boar! 39,000 dungeon points awarded!]

[Ding! The host has slain a Level 40 Uncommon Wild Raging Boar! 40,000 dungeon points awarded!]