Multiversal Livestreaming System : I Can Copy My Viewers Skills

As Celestia's figure vanished into the distance, swallowed by the curve of the corridor, Adam remained still, brows furrowed in thought.

'I should've asked why she's blocking the Tenth Floor...'

The question flickered in his mind....

But he already knew the answer.

He didn't need her to say it out loud.

Celestia was afraid.

Not fear of challengers, not fear of Stream Hunters breaking through.

No—

It was fear of time of what would happen after.

Because once the Tenth Floor was cleared, the Tower of Yxthar would begin its merge with the other towers scattered across countless universes.

And when that happened, their current Tower which was still isolated by itself would no longer be alone.

It would connect to its greater self.

An ancient, complete existence.

One that might notice what she was doing.

Hence Celestia was stalling desperately...

'She's buying time. The longer she delays the merge, the longer she can work on her plan without having too much consequences put on her.'

Adam's jaw tightened.

'If she really did achieve her goal in my last life... then maybe... maybe she wasn't the cause of the Tower's retaliation after all.'

It was a dangerous hope.

If Celestia found the hidden floor and awakened something deeper without incident, then perhaps the retaliation came from someone else...

From something worse...

And that also meant his investigation had gotten nowhere.

He exhaled sharply through his nose, running a hand through his hair.

'In the end... I really do have to get more involved. No more watching from the sidelines.'

...

The air sizzled with heat and poison.

A massive, venomous drake lunged from the festering swamp, its scaled body streaking through the fog as it opened its jaws wide toward Kristoff.

Boom—

Kristoff met it head-on with a snarl, shield braced as he rammed forward.

The impact cracked the ground beneath them, sending up a cloud of mud and steam.

The force of his counterattack staggered the beast.

"Fuck..."

Kristoff growled, driving his boot into the creature's chest.

Behind him, Leila raised her staff, mana surging to her fingertips in a bright pulse of cerulean light.

"Back up now!"

Kristoff ducked just in time as a searing mana blast erupted from her staff, slamming into the drake's side with a deafening boom.

Chunks of scale were torn away, revealing bloodied muscle beneath.

The drake shrieked in fury, thrashing as it released a wave of green toxic mist from its vents...

Sickly clouds of corrosive gas pouring out from between its scales.

Kristoff's eyes widened as the poison began to hiss audibly against his armor.

"Tch—!"

He leapt back just before the fumes scorched the space he'd been standing in, grass wilting in seconds.

"It's spitting poison again!"

He barked.

Xel'Shaar raised one arm calmly.

Shadows curled around his fingers like ribbons.

[Authority of the Prisoner].

Invisible chains slowly appeared through the air...

Tightening around the drake's limbs, neck, and wings.

It thrashed harder, panicked now, but the chains held firm.

From above, fire bloomed in the sky.

A streak of flame descended...

Cael, sword in hand, his body cloaked in heat.

He roared as he brought the blade down, cleaving directly through the drake's skull.

Shhlck—!

The creature's head slammed into the mud with a sickening crack, pierced clean through by the longsword.

Its body twitched, convulsed, then finally collapsed in a heap of steaming, twitching flesh.

"Phew..."

Kristoff exhaled, pulling off his helmet to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Why the hell are these things so damn tough…"

He muttered.

"I'd rather fight an army of undead than one more of these overgrown lizards."

Without waiting for a reply, he knelt by the drake's corpse, drew a hunting knife, and began cutting open its stomach with practiced precision.

Thick green bile oozed out, along with a grotesque internal mess.

But buried within it.... gleaming faintly in the viscera was a thin, murky green crystal, about the size of a finger.

Kristoff grunted and pulled it free, wiping it off using the edge of his cloak and then a patch of nearby grass.

"Still don't get why Adam wants these..."

He said, holding the crystal up to the faint light.

"They're poisonous, aren't they?"

Leila stood nearby, a cloth over her mouth and nose.

Her expression twisted in disgust at the stench.

"N-no idea..."

She said.

"He just said it's important to gather as many as possible..."

Kristoff scoffed.

"Right. And next he'll tell me they're for seasoning soup."

He tossed the cleaned crystal to Cael, who caught it and casually slipped it into the leather pouch tied to his belt.

"How many does that make now?"

Kristoff asked.

Leila tapped her staff lightly, thinking.

"Seven... or maybe eight?"

Cael grinned, tightening the pouch.

"Hm. Perhaps these things can secretly increase our strength or magic output if we eat them?"

Kristoff raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you're that curious then go ahead and eat one. Hopefully, it's potent enough to kill you instantly."

He said dryly.

Cael laughed, unfazed.

"I'd rather not die before I find out what it does."

Just then—

BOOM.

A heavy tremor rippled through the ground.

The trees behind them rustled as if something large had landed.

The group instantly flinched, spinning around with weapons half-raised.

From behind mist and moss-covered trunks, a lone figure emerged.

Adam stepped through the trees without a word, boots silent against the muck.

The remnants of charred vines clung to his boots as if something had tried and failed to hold him back.

His expression was cold.

That familiar, unreadable mask that not even combat seemed to shake.

Kristoff lowered his shield slowly.

"You trying to give us a heart attack or something?"

Adam said nothing.

Instead, he reached into the large black satchel strapped to his back, and without ceremony, tossed a smaller cloth bag toward Cael.

Cael instinctively caught it with both hands, stumbling a bit under its unexpected weight.

He blinked.

Then slowly, cautiously, he opened the flap.

Inside—

Over a hundred green, murky crystals, each glimmering faintly despite the lack of direct light.

Some were sharp, some smooth and almost translucent.

But all of them radiated the same faintly toxic energy.

Cael stared for a moment.

Then stared some more.

His lips twitched.

'I should really get on this guy's good side...'