Godfather's System 232

Thanks to the constant location tracking, I was aware of my party member’s location at all times, so I didn’t expect his appearance to be shocking.

Yet, it was.

What shocked me wasn’t the size of the guard contingency that followed him or their skill, which was easier to assess now that they were on the move as they occasionally fought against the beasts that drifted close.

They had fifty guards, every single one of them fighting with a smooth application that couldn’t be supported by a Master skill. Which, under different circumstances, might have made me conclude that they were actually trained in the traditional manner, but after learning about their true origins, better grade skills were more believable.

It also made them less threatening. I much preferred fighting against people who received their skills supernaturally rather than those who developed them naturally. The former made a much easier target. However, that didn’t make them an easy target. Even from a distance, I could see that every single elite guard was showing a shocking stat distribution. Speed, Agility, Strength, Perception, and Vitality were the obvious ones, and more than one of them was using magic.

Not easy opponents. However, their presence and abilities were at most a minor surprise. They were slightly stronger than what I had expected, but it was well within the margins.

What shocked me was my accidental recruit. More accurately, his location. He was at the edge of the formation, dressed as one of the guards. Meanwhile, the rest of the guards had surrounded someone else.

It didn’t make any sense. Of course, the decoys and body doubles were some of the most popular techniques, and they saved many dictators, crime lords, and other targets that the public — or KGB or CIA — disliked from an early death.

However, it didn’t make any sense to use it here. Everything they were doing showed that they weren’t afraid of Somaton forces, so they wouldn’t be trying to trick them. And, against me, any kind of body double was useless with Heroic Party allowing me to feel the location of my party member.

Technically, they could be trying to defend against the Unbound Collective, but that also didn’t explain it. Especially since, none of the other guards were actually paying attention to him, and there were no defenses.

The closer they got, the more confident I got about my first impression. Unless I was reading it very badly, my accidental recruit had somehow tricked them by making them think that someone else was the Heroic Party member.

Fascinating. It gave me even more appreciation for the skills of my accidental recruit, while, at the same time, putting serious doubt about the information I had collected. It simultaneously made it less likely and more likely at the same time.

In terms of competency, it was something a general famous for unorthodox yet genius strategies could pull off once his capabilities were enhanced through the Heroic Party connection and various bonuses I had thrown their way.

Also, it put even the most basic information about him in doubt. Maybe the general had been the double he was using all along.

Another complication. Just what I needed.

I continued watching them carefully as they approached, wanting to assess everything. At this point, I wasn’t looking for anything specific, instead trying to absorb every single detail by pushing my Perception to its limit. With every single new discovery, the situation was getting more and more out of control, making me feel something I hadn’t felt for a long time.

Pressure.

Fake party members, growing armies, interplanetary organizations… everything gathered together, making me feel like the situation was about to slip out of my control, and I didn’t know which way to go.

As that overwhelming sensation fell on me, I found myself falling into a special state, one that was almost familiar. The last time I felt it, I was at the cultist castle, fighting against their endless numbers. However, at that time, the pressure came from the endless torrent of attacks.

Now, it was the thirst for more information that was almost suffocating me.

In this special state, I could feel my Perception change. The world shifted, and it felt like the distance lost its meaning as I observed the group. The first thing I paid attention to was my party member, who was moving along with the guards, showing false humility.

As I focused on him, I had a glimpse of his … aura? Soul? Self-perception? His past? It was similar to what I could see in the astral plane, but it was much more revealing than that.

And all I could see was blood, satisfaction, and endless greed for more.

It looked like the stories about the Merciless General Amilin were not exaggerations. Good to know.

Even with my Perception in its overcharged state, only, I could see with such clarity. I suspected that it was another advantage of it, which I was guessing to be a Pseudo-Domain.

I turned my attention to the rest of the moving party. That unique perception state was too incredible to be wasted.

The first thing I caught was the subtle link of Charisma between the General and his body double. It was too subtle to keep someone under control, but just enough to deliver some orders, just like Takis loved to do.

The body double was more interesting. I could see fear, stress … and barely concealed hate, targeting the general, suggesting that he didn’t take the role of the body double willingly.

It was very promising, but I didn’t waste any time thinking about how to best leverage that chink in their armor. Planning was not something Perception could help me with. I wanted to maximize the benefits I had then.

I turned my attention to the other guards. The first thing I noticed was that none of them had Awakened Stats. It didn’t shock me. Working together with the youngsters and the others, I had long realized that skills actually made it harder for the people to Awaken their stats, but the immediate benefits were too important to ignore.

However, their Stats were still holding a secret. Initially, I had assumed them to have some impressive classes due to showing many different stats, but as I observed them under my Perception in Pseudo-Domain state, I could see that my presumption was not true.

Their stats were basically the reverse of an Awakened stat. For some of them, their Speed staggered, while the others’ Strength was too choppy, or their Agility only triggered after a noticeable delay.

It was similar to the effect of absorbing stat stones, but even worse. I focused on one of them, trying to assess every single detail that affected the object of my attention.

Under my piercing gaze, the secret had been revealed easily. On the guard I focused, I could see the armor giving the distinctive aura of Strength stat stones, fifteen of them set in a specific pattern. Moreover, I could see a subtle link between the armor and his soul.

A brand new way to use stat stones. One with lesser efficiency, maybe, but also a method that didn’t threaten the integrity of one’s soul.

That armor wasn’t the only thing that he had on. His boots radiated the aura of Speed stat stones, while one gauntlet radiated with Agility.

No wonder they were showing such a complete set of stats. And, here I was, scared because the gods decided to send so many elites despite valuing them deeply.

The items were clearly far cheaper than divine intervention. However, the drawback was also obvious. None of them were wearing any items that possessed their natural stats, which revealed that there were no additive effects between items and natural stats.

I also noticed that none of them were wearing two items with the same stat. Even Agility was only focused on one Gauntlet.

As I accumulated many magical observations, the sudden sense of overwhelming pressure started to fade away. The situation was far from being as bad as I feared. Too bad it also meant that my special state faded.

However, I maintained that forcibly. It wasn’t too effective. In a way, it was like trying to remember a fading dream, even the most intense effort only gave an ephemeral success that faded. Yet, that moment was enough for me to focus inward, as I tried to understand what was going on.

What was a Domain, and why wasn't I able to trigger it, unlike Awakened stats that I did so easily? A mystery.

Yet, as I turned inward, I could feel my Perception start flaring, turning even more alive. If the ordinary stats were ice, the Awakened stats felt like a ball of slush. Not liquid, yet easy to shape. In its active state, my Perception felt like a drop of water, searching for a surface to land on. Yet, there was no such surface … and my Perception was once again turning solid.

I realized exactly what I was missing. However, rather than trying to compensate for its lack, I decided to pull off another trick.

I focused on the sensation, but rather than trying to understand, I conveyed every detail of that unique feeling to Karak, just like when I had taught them how to Awaken their stats. I chose Karak, because he was the only other person that was able to push Perception to its limit. The others had Awakened it as well, but with their multiple stats, none of them had brought it to the same level as him.

As my — now confirmed — genocidal accidental recruit disappeared at the horizon along with his guards, I ignored their disappearance. I ignored the undercover guards moving away.

I even ignored the beasts returning around me, trusting the isolation wards I had set to keep me safe. I continued to convey the feeling to Karak…