Chapter 390 Completing the Domination Expansion, Return to Headquarters
"First of all, how did he even get out of the-" Oliver mumbled, but his voice was cut off once he looked up, just to see Stark staring down at him from above.
Stark\'s figure was shrouded by an imposing crimson aura, taking over his body.
"..." Stark didn\'t say anything, instead he just looked at the old man from above.
"Kid," Oliver started, sweating a little, "That was... surprising."
"Was it?"
[Oliver HP: 1/1,500,000]
"I mean... you forced yourself out of the domination cuffs, and managed to kill Clever again, not anybody could do that."
"..."
Crack! Crack!
Cracks began to appear all over the arena.
One of the rules of this [Arena Showdown] Domination Expansion had been met: for someone to die, meaning that it was soon going to break.
"Oliver, do you think you can beat me in your state?" Stark smiled.
"..." and at those words, Oliver\'s expression darkened, "Yes, I would still kick your ass if I was blinded with my two legs amputated."
The determination in his gaze was unwavering.
[Hm...] the Classes Figure appeared beside Stark, analyzing Oliver, [I don\'t know, I\'ll give it a 50/50, maybe you shouldn\'t try.]
If even the classes didn\'t approve of that, then it meant he truly should watch out.
"Alright," Stark nodded, letting go of the intimidating aura around his body, "How did you survive."
"Talent, what else."
"Oh."
Stark believed that he was the only one that had gotten a talent, but it seems like though they were extremely rare, some other individuals did too.
"The talent\'s name is [Sturdy Body]."
[Description: If on the verge of dying and you get hit by a powerful attack, your sturdy body will use its aura to block up to three attacks, dropping your health to one hp instead of dying.]
"Oh."
That was pretty much a triple revive, if you could consider it that.
"Don\'t get it twisted," Oliver sighed, getting up, "There are a lot of rules for this talent, so it\'s not like I can abuse it."
"Alright," Stark mumbled, looking around at the arena, which was breaking apart, "You\'ll tell me more, I hope."
"No problem," Oliver though he was back up, knew he couldn\'t afford to let his guard down.
He felt that Stark was extremely unstable, able to do anything if it meant getting more levels and grow stronger.
But maybe... they could use that...
The Domination Association had several missions that were incomplete as nobody, even the commanders, wanted to deal with them.
And also because getting to them or completing them in the first place is too difficult.
"Don\'t run, kid, we won\'t handcuff you anymore," Oliver marched forward, looking around, "Well, not like you won\'t just break them apart anyway."
"..."
Stark wanted to check his panels now, but he needed to wait for the domain to break, and for him to go somewhere safe.
After some time, there was an ominous sound in the arena, and a panel appeared in front of the two.Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn
[Domination Expansion: Arena Showdown.]
[Status: Completed]
[Reward: None, since didn\'t do anything.]
"Oh."
"You get rewards based on the rules of your domination expansion, and if you make it too overpowered, you may even receive permanent debuffs," Oliver grinned, "As mine is simply a way to lock down an opponent and fight fairly in a 1v1, then it greatly helps."
It explained why Oliver\'s strength was at 99,999+ now: every time he fought an opponent at equal level or just slightly lower.
"Don\'t get twisted, the reward is based on the level of the opponent I fight, and as you see, I get nothing this time since you did the work," Oliver sighed, "Too bad, these rewards are always useful."
The arena groaned, the cracks widening with each passing second as the energy sustaining the Domination Expansion began to unravel.
Stark and Oliver both stood still, their gazes fixed on the crumbling surroundings.
Then a sharp, ominous snap echoed through the air.
The ground beneath them shimmered, the once-solid battlefield fracturing into countless shards of light.
The dome that had encased the area started to dissolve, its edges fading into nothingness.
With one final, deafening crack, the domain collapsed entirely.
Stark and Oliver found themselves back in the capital of Veldoria.
The air was thick with the stench of ash and scorched stone.
The once-bustling streets were unrecognizable, reduced to a smoldering wasteland by the battles Clever had with the other classifiers.
"Back to reality," Oliver muttered, adjusting his stance, "I just need to get healed now, and we\'re done."
"..." Stark didn\'t say anything.
He had survived an entire death-level domination trial, killed an apostle, fought a godless demon transformed human and now used another skill to kill another transformed human.
With all of that in quick succession, anyone would be exhausted.
It was already a miracle he wasn\'t dead, but what can Stark say, it was just his destiny as the Chosen One.
"Kid," Oliver said, breaking the silence, "we need to move."
Stark glanced at him, his expression unreadable. "How?"
Oliver sighed, leaning heavily on his uninjured leg. "Grab my shoulder and endure. It might feel... odd the first time you travel with a Multi-Task Watch."
Without waiting for a response, Oliver tapped the sleek device strapped to his wrist.
It shimmered faintly, the embedded runes lighting up in sequence as he adjusted its settings.
Stark hesitated for a moment, then placed a hand on Oliver\'s shoulder.
"Brace yourself," Oliver warned, the faintest grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "This isn\'t like your typical teleportation spell."
With a final tap, the Spatial Watch activated.
The world around them blurred and twisted, as though the very fabric of reality had been yanked sideways.
Stark felt his stomach lurch, the sensation unlike anything he had ever experienced.
It was as if his body was being compressed into a singular point before being stretched across an infinite void.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the sensation ended.
They reappeared in the Teleportation Room of the Domination Association\'s headquarters.
A faint hum of energy filled the space, emanating from the teleportation platforms scattered throughout.
Oliver staggered slightly but caught himself, grimacing as he straightened. "Told you it\'d be weird."
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Stark blinked, his senses slowly readjusting.
"Invented by yours truly," Ed appeared behind them, putting his hands around both Oliver\'s and Stark\'s shoulders, "There\'s not a single one of my inventions that doesn\'t work!"
"Oh yeah, concerning that, your domination handcuffs broke," Oliver groaned before walking away, "I\'m taking a break after that, call the medics please."
His body was still aching even though he acted tough.
"W-What do you mean, the handcuffs broke?!" Ed panicked: this would be the first time one of his inventions failed.
That guy managed to invent a watch and machines that could teleport people, handcuffs that restrained power shouldn\'t be difficult to create, at least for him!
"Just look at the boy, I wasn\'t the one that let him go by the way, I\'m out," and with that, Oliver left, the sliding door automatically closing behind him.
Ed looked at Stark, he thought that Oliver had trusted the boy enough to liberate him, but he had just confirmed this wasn\'t the case.
Which meant...
"I broke them, my bad," Stark shrugged, "You got anywhere where I can take a break?"
"..." Ed couldn\'t hide his shock, his eyes widening, "This is... damn..."
He wanted to ask how he did that, but... Ed felt like that it was just that Stark was special.
His instincts had almost never deceived him, and this time they screamed that Stark wasn\'t normal.
"Here, take this," Ed took one of the watches Oliver was wearing from his backpack and handed it to Stark, "These watches are so rare and exclusive that only the commanders usually get them."
Stark wanted to refuse while saying that he wasn\'t going to be part of their little group, but to be honest, after seeing what this watch can do, he wasn\'t about to refuse.
[Multi-Task Watch (Artifact Item)]
[Description: Created by the genius "Domi-Mechanician" Ed, able to do many things at once, but you should test it out for yourself.]
He took it in hand, thanking Ed, then placed it inside of his [Spatial Inventory].
"Wow! What kind of technology is that?!"
"A skill."
"Damn," Ed sighed, "Well, let me guide you to one of our luxurious rooms, where you\'ll be able to rest as much as needed."
"Where are the others?"
"Still doing their own missions, I guess, since they had more participants to find and kill."
Both Ed and Oliver only had one transformed participant inside their respective countries, so it was obvious they would complete it faster.
Knowing he couldn\'t do anything more, Stark simply followed the commander, hoping to get a good night of sleep after all this time.
\'I\'ll check those panels in due time,\' he thought.