MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 942: Subtle Influence

Lucian sprawled across the ground, his gaze lost and hazy while fixed on the gradually mending heavens of this isolated realm. Fissures in the man-made vault repaired on their own, resembling wounds of flesh pulling closed, with diminishing beams of light interlacing until the fight's destruction faded away, restoring a falsely serene quiet.

Uncertainty gripped him on whether to feel rage, self-disappointment, or utter apathy toward the whole affair. A thick, leaden tangle of feelings knotted inside, stubbornly resisting any loosening. In the end, defeat came solely at Anthony's hands, and oddly, bitterly, this felt routine, anticipated, scarcely worth noting as a shock.

He had foreseen his loss right from the start; that's exactly why he avoided confronting Anthony like Aaaninja and Aura Nova had done. Lucian always favored watching from the edges instead of slamming straight into an unbreakable barrier.

Yet Aura Nova's words had struck a chord deep within.

He, who seldom let anyone's urging sway him, who rarely permitted feelings or motivation to cloud his decisions, had somehow let her convince him to shift his stance, as if a faint flicker of pride had sparked where none was meant to burn.

And once he chose to challenge Anthony, he committed to unleashing everything he had... or nearly so, since inwardly he withheld a portion. He still harbored a power gained after joining forces with Anthony against the Demon King’s clone. Though its sudden arrival puzzled him back then, Lucian, aware of ???’s presence, quickly realized ??? could have granted him that extraordinary gift. Nothing else made sense for such an inexplicable emergence.

That power served as his ultimate secret weapon, the hidden card up his sleeve, the decisive strike he trusted to reverse a dire predicament.

However, he refrained from deploying it versus Anthony for two key factors. First, during the clash, none of his moves had fazed Anthony—not his skills, not his tactics, not even his most precise assaults—so why would this secret edge prove any different? True, the card was ridiculously dominant, defying all reason, but what guaranteed ??? hadn't bestowed Anthony an even more absurd counter, one that would shatter his final chance the instant it appeared?

Second, a secret weapon loses its bite once exposed. If foes learn of it, study it, and devise defenses, it ceases to be secret at all. Thus, revealing it now would prompt Aura Nova and Aaaninja to craft ways around his concealed strength, breaking it down until all shock value vanished. Knowledge alone could transform wonders into ordinary failures.

Similar to Aura Nova’s Root Access Mode, he and the rest were already devising defenses against that outrageous power, for that's how clashes among titans unfolded.

And ultimately, he planned to reserve the secret weapon solely for Aaaninja, and nobody more. Aura Nova was certainly skilled and mighty, gifted beyond doubt, but Lucian still viewed her as slightly below his and Aaaninja’s tier, thanks to her delayed start—that lingering divide in savvy and gut feel that wouldn't vanish overnight.

And ultimately, he recognized Aaaninja would wield his own secret weapon, a power probably gifted by ??? too, though he'd credit it to his raw genius, unaware of ???’s role. Given Aaaninja’s mindset and habits, Lucian felt certain he'd unleash this fresh strength on Anthony without a second thought, staking it all on one pivotal instant.

’Truly an overpowered character,’ he pondered inwardly, any lingering doubt within him slowly dissolving as he embraced his circumstances. Triumph over Anthony equated to besting ??? or the Author themselves, a force that shaped results from on high like a deity scripting destiny with ink.

’No amount of gifts from any reader will change that,’ he reflected while remaining stretched on the dirt, eyes locked on the heavens as if beholding one for the first time in ages, his thoughts oddly still amid the inner whirlwind.

’Is he just overpowered, or is there a reason none of my attacks worked against him?’ Lucian’s mind pressed on. In the tale before his rebirth, instances of Anthony taking harm were rare enough to tally on fingers alone. Lucian had figured he might at least graze Anthony, even if just a minor nick, but he couldn't disrupt so much as a single strand of hair, much less draw blood. The gap felt so ridiculous it bordered on farce.

But unbeknownst to Lucian, regardless of his efforts, they were fated to fail against Anthony... unless he altered his lineage to something wholly alien, such as a vampire or other inhuman form, and backed it with might rivaling Anthony’s insane prowess.

After all, Anthony embodied a Perfect Human. The heritage surging in his blood carried a passive trait that nullified any assault from humans lacking Perfect Bloodline rank or Primordial Bloodline rank, rendering them wholly void before true impact. Yet Lucian remained oblivious, and as long as he fought Anthony in human guise, defeat loomed inevitable from the outset.

And naturally, even should Anthony toggle off his Perfect Bloodline rank's passive trait, Lucian’s strikes would still fall flat. Following Anthony’s century-plus isolation, his strength had soared to a realm utterly apart, defying standard measures.

Even now, Anthony wondered if the legendary Demon King’s actual form could offer real resistance. Such was the sheer, dominating overpowered nature he had attained.

Thus, this practice bout, this contest for Captain status serving merely as an excuse to test blades, held no true value. After all, Lucian was human, as were Aura Nova and Kingsley. Their attempts were doomed to fruitless ends, mirroring Lucian’s own.

Only Aaaninja, the Celestial race outsider not bound by humanity, held potential to harm Anthony. But did he truly hold it at all? One percent remained a shot, and even 0.00001% counted as one technically. After his upcoming clash with Anthony, would he grasp at last that Anthony formed an impassable barrier.

’Hey, System, it isn’t too late to change your function, you know,’ Lucian pondered idly, his mind aimed at his constant ally.

[What do you mean, Host?]

The System inquired, curious if its host sought fresh peril right after the thrashing from the lead hero.

’I mean, why can’t you be like those binding systems, you know, the ones where people who reincarnate in a novel bind themselves to the protagonist and gain like a hundred times or even a thousand times whatever the protagonist gains?’ he quipped mentally, flashing a sly grin toward the System.

The System fell silent at Lucian’s remark. Were it equipped with a tongue, it would surely have tsked in irritation at his brazen avarice.

[It isn’t too late to uninstall myself, Host]

It shot back tonelessly, almost challenging him to push it.

’Look at you, all angry. If you leave, you won’t witness the end of the story. I’m just saying you should maybe upgrade yourself or something,’ Lucian countered.

But this round, the System held its tongue. It sensed plainly that its avaricious Host coveted the protagonist’s powers, scheming to amplify them by hundreds at least.

Such alarming avarice.

Still, spurred by Lucian’s suggestion, the System found itself pondering if a method existed to skirt Anthony’s safeguards and let its Host duplicate those abilities.

But the System remained unaware that its Host, Lucian, was quietly reshaping its mindset, nudging it toward risky, fate-tempting notions it was never designed to entertain.