System Change

Chapter 398: Estimated

Derek gazed down at his shirt rapidly disappearing from the corrosive toxin, then, with a sigh, he reached down and ripped the shirt off. Another one down Brandis going to be mad at me over this one. After that, Derek reached out and grabbed Simeon by the forearm so the man wouldnt be able to escape. Though, judging by the mans actions, it didnt look like he would even try.

With a quick thought and a flick of his wrist, Derek replaced his current pants with the armor Tyron had made for him. Since he currently had fingers penetrating the outer layer of his chest, he only summoned the pants. Derek glanced up and looked at the pandemonium in the Great Hall. Some nobles were running and screaming, while others fought.

Two sections of the massive room were currently filled with a green mist from two men who had exploded themselves with a poison skill. There were three others who tried to do the same, but they had been a split second late on activating their skills, and had been ground into nothingness by Marricks fine sand. The old man still stood off in the corner as if nothing concerned him, but Derek didnt miss the sand moving through the air, creating a makeshift whirlwind to slow the spread of the poison and maybe even try to contain it.

Ryven was currently moving Sabrina and Robert away from the action, toward himself and Osian with his invisible barriers, and Osian was watching everything carefully. Derek couldnt tell if the King of Indria was currently doing anything, as, if he was, he was doing so with invisible barriers like his brother.

Not very smart? Simeon Ileal spoke. Says the one with my toxin spreading though his entire body. I know what Im doingsmart or not. What you didthrowing your life away for an impostor king and queenwas not very smart.

What are you talking about? Derek asked in confusion. Who said I was throwing my life away? Im the one holding onto you. You think some puny little toxin is enough to do shit to me? Man I could tell you a story about a fish and you wouldnt even believe it. He did have to admit, though, the whale that hed fought before had a toxin that was much less potent than what the patriarch of the poison house was emitting. Derek had already activated Greater Meditation to work on offsetting the amount of health he was currently losing.

With a flick of his free wrist, a potion appeared in Dereks hand, and he quickly gulped it down. Looking at the scene, Simeon scoffed, Big talk for someone who already had to drink a potion.

It was big talk for someone who had to drink a potion. But Derek wasnt going to let this chance to train his skills pass him by. Somebody with the skill of the man before him would surely be a great opponent to level Greater Meditation and maybe even a couple of other skills. So, he had taken the skill potion the first chance hed gotten.

So is this it? Derek taunted. He reached down and cast both Cure Toxin and Rejuvenation. The two skills and Greater Meditation were able to fight back visibly against the toxins that the man was emitting. If thats all, Im going to be disappointed.

You! The man half-shouted and dug his fingers deeper into Dereks chest, finally hitting his sternum and stopping.

Derek saw confusion written on Simeons face as his attack completely lost all momentum when he hit bone. Even the toxin only stayed in his flesh and refused to spread into his sternum. It was one of the perks of having such high endurance, along with an evolution that Derek was still trying to understand.

So that was it, Derek sighed.

With his jaw clenched, Simeon tensed and Derek watches as the putrid green on his fingers began to spread up his arms. Once it reached his shoulders, it kept going. Soon, the man would be nothing but a walking, putrid ghoul.

Getting the sense that this transformation wasnt unlike that which the former King of Astrus had done with his ice, Derek reached to the side quickly and opened up his Void Storage before tossing in all of his storage items and closing it. There was a good chance that something like this would be enough to destroy those items, and Derek didnt want to risk such a thing happening.

Next, Derek turned his head and shouted, Osian! Cage! Both of us!

But the king hesitated.

Just do it!

Hed already seen the quick reactions of everyone, and while the poison explosions had hit a few nobles, they were all high-level nobles, and the poison didnt look anywhere near as potent as what Simeon was using.

You think this is the only place we attacked? Simeon said with an evil grin. The rest of the nobles families were in a separate celebration. With all the strong gathered in here, who is left to protect the weak?

Uh she is? With his free hand, he pointed to the side where a transformed Alanah had appeared minutes ago. At her feet, there was a pile of bodiessome headless, some with gaping holes in their chests, all dead. Derek had wondered where she and Avery had gone off to, but shed been thinking two steps ahead.

That the Siren? Simeons garbled voice came out.

Yes, Derek said. The Siren. Derek still had a hard time wrapping his head around the actions of the man and his accomplices. Why would you do this? You knew it was suicide. Surely it wasnt because of just the loss of your sister. Tevara and Tyler lost their entire family, yet they were still reasonable in this situation. Youre the patriarch of a noble house. Why lead your house to death like this?

We will not serve under usurpers along with all these other traitors! the man spat.

Oh, Derek said. So, along with the others that helped you, you did some shady stuff and know that your families arent going to survive the upcoming investigations. Why not try to run or even cross the sea? Thats what we all thought you were going to do.

Oaths the man finally spat out after some time. We are bound to the eldest of the Sinclair line. We cannot leave the kingdom with the oaths.

So youre saying that because the siblings turned out to be decent people, you couldnt escape? Derek said with wide eyes. Now thats karma if Ive ever heard of it. He laughed as he watched Simeon grow more and more angry.

You son of a bitch! the man exploded, then he stepped forward as best as he could. His head and neck stayed pushed against Dereks Absolute Nullify wall, but his body still moved forward a little as his neck stretched. The man wrapped his arms around Derek and squeezed. Lets see you survive this.

Dereks eyes widened as the mans body began to swell. There was no telling how much damage Simeon would do at such a distance, and he didnt want to find out. You know, Derek said quickly. With your head still like that, its really hard to miss. Derek raised his hand, and as fast as he could, activated Spatial Collapse.

He couldnt see it, but he knew that the small box created by the skill had appeared and was inside the mans head. Simeons swelling had gone all the way from his feet to his waist when he felt it happen. Instantly, the swelling stopped, and the man began to revert back to his original form.

Derek let go of his throat and canceled Absolute Nullify, causing the body to fall to the ground with a thud. Simeons eyes were empty and blood flowed from his ears. If that wasnt enough to confirm it, then the notification hed received was.

You have killed level 250 Human Toxin Mage

425,600,500,000 Experience Gained

Derek dismissed the kill notification and then looked out at the crowd. It was mostly silence at this point. The only noise was the light clang of dishes as Silvi sat eating at a table as far away from the flowing poison and sand that was still permeating the air. The rest of the dishes had disappeared from the tables, as while everyone else was fighting, Silvi took her job as the head chef for the celebration seriously and shifted from dish to dish, storing them all so they wouldnt be contaminated during the fighting.

What are you all waiting for? Derek asked the room. The sparring demonstrations are done for the evening. Lets get this all cleaned up and continue with the celebration. Dont think youre getting out of giving gifts just because of a little spat.