Damon's Ascension-Chapter 130: The Vanguard Team - End

"Yeah, yeah, don’t tear me up. I went up 20 levels too, from 6 to 26 and I actually spread out my points like a sane human being." Henry said with his nose slightly raised in disdain.

[Name: Henry Jasek || Race: Homo Sapien (Pure) || Faction: None]

[POW: 6 || MOB: 6 || FOR: 6 || MEN: 6 || PRO: 7]

[Abilities: Ability Replication (SSS).]

[Ability Replication - Ability Manipulation Type]

[Rank: SSS || Stage: D]

[Effect: The owner of this ability has the power to adopt the same ability as anyone within his eyesight or sensory range. The strength of the ability is based on the current stage of the owner, and reflects the full power of the copied ability. At D rank, the owner can only maintain a copied ability for 1 week.]

There was a moment of silence.

Then Xela raised a trembling hand like she was in school. "Um... so you can... copy any of our powers?"

Henry slowly turned to her, a wicked glint in his eyes. "Mostly correct. As I explained back then, I can only copy SSS and below abilities, hehe."

Kyle leaned back with a groan. "Great. We’ve just created a chaos gremlin with everyone’s cheat codes."

Felicia looked at his stat spread, unimpressed. "Six across the board... except Providence. Why boost that?"

Henry sniffed dramatically, arms folded. "Because divine luck suits me. I am the people’s champion, after all."

"More like the people’s walking lawsuit," Nicholas muttered.

Bane grunted. "So... if I’m understanding this right, you can copy anyone here below EX?"

Henry’s face turned deadly serious in the most unserious way possible. He stood up slowly, one hand raised as if about to deliver a villain monologue.

"All of you—SSS and below—should consider repenting right now. Beg for mercy while your dignity is still intact. Because when I steal your abilities..."

He paused dramatically and pointed across the room.

"...I will do it better, flashier and louder! Then, I will spread it on the galactic net with your name attached."

Connor blinked. "You... want to go viral?"

"Oh, I will. When I show the world ’Liquid Style: Sadistic Thane Combo’ with better hair and smoother execution, Levi will cry." Henry said, a glint of theatrical menace in his eye.

Kyle clapped once, nonplussed. "I hate how real that sounds."

"You wouldn’t dare," Marshal said, narrowing his eyes.

"I would," Henry threatened instantly.

Protizen raised a hand slowly. "So if you copy me... would you also... wear magical girl armor?"

Henry looked at him, dead serious. "Only on Wednesdays."

That got a full burst of laughter from the group and even Bane showed a smile.

"This fellow here, don’t you dare laugh because you’re on the list too. I’ll show everyone what an ’Apex Shifter’ looks like when it’s done with flair. None of that stoic silent transformation. I’m talking energy beams, thunder, color grading and shouting ’Henshin’!" Henry pointed at him.

Xela was clutching her sides now. "Not the color grading!"

Felicia leaned her cheek against her hand, smiling. "You know what? Let him. The PR value alone might be worth it."

Damon shook his head with amusement. "This was a mistake."

"No, this was entertainment." Felicia said with a chuckle.

"Alright, now all that’s left is myself. I assume that you are all curious, so let me satiate your desire to know." Damon prompted.

[Name: Damon Arnan || Race: Homo Sapien (Pure) || Faction: None]

[POW: 8 || MOB: 8 || FOR: 7 || MEN: 7 || PRO: 1]

[Abilities: Probability Manipulation (EX), Avatar (EX), Devour (EX).]

[Probability Manipulation - Reality Warp Type]

[Grade: EX || Stage: D]

[Effect: The owner of this Ability has the power to influence the flow of reality itself by increasing or decreasing the objective probability for any action, but not for inactions. Currently, the rate of increment/decrement is limited to 10 --> 15% per action.]

[Avatar - Body Manipulation Type]

[Grade: EX || Stage: D]

[Effect: The owner of this Ability has the power to split themselves into a perfect copy which is fully connected to the main body, acting like an extension. All Avatars are in perfect sync and can display 100% of the main body’s power and Abilities at all times.

At the D-Stage, only 2 --> 3 Avatars can be sustained at any one time.]

[Devour - Energy Manipulation Type]

[Grade: EX || Stage: D]

[Effect: The owner of this Ability has the power to drain the energy of any living or non-living thing through direct touch. The devoured energy requires time to ’digest’ and be converted into a usable form, which is Worldly Essence. The speed of conversion is dependent of the units of energy absorbed.]

Damon went up only 8 levels to level 17 from level 19, gaining 8 stat points. This was already exemplary, as his next upgrade cost far too much to be even considered.

The room went still as Damon’s stat panel hovered into view, the sleek white-blue interface casting reflections over the war table.

The three EX-ranked abilities were like a titan looming over the wall, suppressing the people here until they could barely breathe.

Even Henry, mid-brag, went quiet and squinted at the display. "...Wait. All three are really EX?"

"Was that not obvious?" Damon replied mildly.

"No! No, it was not obvious, you reality-twisting demon! That’s... statistically improper!" Henry gestured wildly.

Damon gave a faint shrug. "Technically, I always had them. I just didn’t share their details back then."

Nicholas adjusted his sleeves, analyzing quietly. "That explains... a lot, actually."

Marshal frowned slightly. "Even among top-level ability awakeners, triple EXs are basically legends."

Kyle muttered, "And here I thought I was broken..."

"Still are," Connor deadpanned.

Felicia nodded at Damon, eyes cool and curious. "Alright then, please explain them if you can Damon. At least the basics."

Damon gave a slight nod, lifting a hand as he gestured toward the hovering display.

"Probability Manipulation lets me influence the chance of any action’s outcome. Currently, I can shift reality by ±15% per action. So if someone is about to land a guaranteed hit... I can make it a 15% chance they suddenly fail. Or vice versa." Damon stated casually.

"Fifteen percent sounds low," Xela said, squinting.

"Try missing fifteen percent of your heartbeat, see how long you stay alive." Kyle muttered as he folded his arms.

Bane grunted. "Or imagine failing fifteen percent of your defenses in a battle."

Damon gave a slight smile. "It’s not about really about raw power, but more about timing. Even a 1% shift in anything can bypass a sure canonical event... if you apply it at the right second."

Marshal leaned forward slightly. "And... the range?"

Damon looked at him calmly. "Undefined, but higher range increases the cost. A lot."

Felicia tapped her fingers thoughtfully. "What does it cost you to bend probability?"

"The same as everyone else, physical energy first. If I overuse it, it begins draining my mental energy, vitality, or life force. That’s why I don’t usually go wild with it." Damon explained with a smile.

Nicholas nodded, clearly understanding the caution. "It’s not a conventional superpower, but more like a game of Russian Roulette. The day you make the wrong manipulation shift, you will be gone in an instant."

Damon sighed. "Exactly."

"And Avatar?" Connor asked.

Damon answered without hesitation. "Lets me maintain up to three perfectly synced versions of myself with my full power and full access to everything."

Henry blinked. "So there could be four of you total?"

Damon smiled. "Four operational at once, yes. The original plus three Avatars now."

"I hate it! One of you is already exhausting!" Henry folded his arms.

Kyle rubbed his face. "Imagine coordinating team formations with four Damon’s barking orders..."

"Or worse, imagine three of them mocking Henry simultaneously." Protizen muttered.

"Don’t give him ideas." Felicia said, glaring at Damon who raised his hands up in surrender with a soft smile.

Xela clapped once. "Okay, okay, and what about Devour? Sounds scary."

Damon shifted tone slightly, being less reserved and a bit more open as he did not mind sharing the full details of Devour.

"Devour’s simpler. I drain energy through touch - be it from living beings, objects, even ambient sources - and convert it to Worldly Essence. I can’t quantify raw energy, but it’s stored and digested through what I call three internal ’stomachs.’"

Xela tilted her head. "Stomachs?"

Damon nodded. "The first absorbs. That capacity has now doubled again, meaning I can drain twice the energy in a single instance compared to the E rank and four times compared to the F rank."

"The second handles digestion which used to convert 100 units at a time at the F rank and 1000 units at the E rank. Now it handles 10,000 units per cycle." He continued with a satisfied smile.

"Ten times more?" Nicholas asked, surprised.

Damon nodded. "Yes. The third stores the processed Worldly Essence which I can output. That too increased tenfold, from 10,000 units to 100,000."

Felicia’s eyes sharpened. "So you can generate 100,000 units of Worldly Essence every..."

"...sixteen hours roughly, same as you. And yes, I intend to distribute most of it, not keep it for myself." Damon said glancing at her in the eye.

Henry blinked. "Wait. That’s... free Worldly Essence?"

"No such thing as free, but yes. It doesn’t cost me physical energy to make Worldly Essence, it just costs raw energy. Any form of external energy." Damon replied calmly.

Marshal looked mildly impressed. "With this, you could fund an army’s worth of upgrades."

"Or finance an expedition into the Chaos Realm," Felicia added quietly.

Damon gave her a knowing look. "Exactly."

There was a pause.

Then Henry coughed dramatically. "Okay, new plan. We protect Damon at all costs. Wrap him in bubble wrap and keep him alive. Agreed?"

"You’re not wrong," Bane muttered.

Kyle pointed at Damon, serious for once. "You are officially not allowed to die."

Xela gave him a thumbs-up. "We’ll treat you like a national treasure!"

"Just don’t expect me to carry your bags," Connor added.

Damon, amused but composed, looked around the room.

"Well, I guess I should say thanks then."

His tone was dry, but the faint smile that was at his lips was somewhat genuine.