Utopian System

The world stretched beneath them like a living map, every detail sharp and clear in the harsh morning light.

From his position, several hundred meters above the second wall's parapet, Elio could see the complete distribution of forces spread out before him like pieces on a vast game board.

The soldiers rushed to organize themselves into their formations of ten, combining into units of one hundred. At the front, Lucien stood tall, facing Zahyla and her army of artromus with unwavering determination.

The elite squad maintained their position within the first ring, also suspended in the air at Elio's height thanks to Taron's transformed state. With the metamorphosis potion augmenting his already considerable level 19 strength, maintaining his 8 other level 19 companions aloft barely required any effort from him.

This way, they wouldn't waste their mana on impulses until absolutely necessary.

Elio had insisted that Taron be the one to use the penultimate available potion, a decision that still weighed heavily on his conscience.

'I'm sorry, Zara,' he thought, watching her among the suspended group. The decision not to give her the last potion had been difficult but necessary. He knew her too well; at the first sign of danger, she would throw herself into battle regardless of the plan.

The last extra potion they had obtained the previous day felt heavy in his pocket.

The citizens had contributed their last available mana points to complete the amount needed to acquire it, another testament to how the entire city had united against the threat. It was their safety net in case the current transformation didn't last long enough.

One minute passed. Then another.

Zahyla continued her discussion with Lucien, her mostly human form somehow more disturbing than the complete transformations of her followers. The hundred artromus maintained perfect formation behind her, their transformed bodies gleaming under the daylight like polished weapons.

'What are they waiting for?' Elio narrowed his eyes, trying to distinguish Zahyla's statistics in her floating book. The distance was too great; the numbers blurred into indistinguishable smudges.

The wait was suffocating. Each passing second was one less of transformation, one less to execute the plan. But if Zahyla spotted him before he could strike…

♢♢♢♢

The wind whistled around him, the only sound at this height. Below, the army maintained the facade.

The deception had to be perfect.

One mistake, a single glance in the wrong direction, and he would have to face all the artromus to eliminate the important one.

Another problem was his uncertainty about their leader's true power.

The hit-and-run tactics would have to work first.

Later, they would have time to analyze how many high-level warriors would be sufficient for victory. They could gather resources for years while maintaining the barrier and slowly approaching two million inhabitants.

If he eliminated the informant (Zalvek), they would have a lot of time, but...

Only one minute of transformation remained.

Elio mentally reviewed the plan one more time.

He needed to identify the artromus with the right to enter and eliminate them before they could transfer that right to others by capturing guard soldiers.

Letting them live any longer would end with the city facing not one, but several invaders with access to the first ring.

Kidnapping soldiers with the same hit-and-run tactic that Elio was trying to make work...

The flash came as suddenly as expected, Lucien's signal blazing like a beacon on the battlefield.

Elio didn't hesitate.

His transformed wings folded against his body as he dove, the power of his impulses turning his descent into a living projectile. Gravity and his own strength combined accelerated him toward his target.

Everything came down to this moment.

The city's future, the lives of its inhabitants, the sacrifices they had made to reach this point, everything depended on his attack's success.

The wind roared in his ears as he fell, his transformed form cutting through the air like an arrow.

Your next read is at empire

There was no margin for error.

No second chance.

It was all or nothing.

Elio Von Elian's Monster Statistics lvl 20 (0:50 min)

Mana: 988/1000

Resistance: 4400

Stamina: 98/100

Attack: 40 (840)

Magic Damage: 40 (+40)(+240)(+240)(+800)sword buff x2 / (1360) AA

Strength: 40 AA

Defense: 80

Magic Defense: 120

Speed: 40 (+20)speed buff

Perception / Agility: 6 AA

♢♢♢♢

Moments ago...

From his elevated position, Elio had identified Zalvek returning along the flank, tracing a wide curve that kept him out of the main view. Two hostages 'accompanied' him, soldiers who had sworn to protect the city, now pawns in this deadly game.

Bile rose in his throat as he waited for the signal.

One of the artromus already had their mouth stained with blood, the countdown had begun. Each second of waiting could cost another life, but attacking before Lucien's flash meant losing the surprise advantage.

The brutal mathematics of war: sacrifice one to save thousands.

'I'm not like Fathoran,' he reminded himself while awaiting the moment, fighting back the acid taste of guilt. 'This isn't a sacrifice for power. It's necessity. The soldiers knew the risk.' The words rang hollow even in his mind, but the alternative was worse.

Much worse.

When the flash finally came, Elio transformed into pure death.

The first cut cleaved through Zalvek before he could register the danger.

The world slowing around him thanks to his enhanced perception allowed Elio to slice him into two perfect halves and pierce his three cores in a single strike. The blade emerged from the other side before the first drop of blood could fall.

Zalvek's 400,000 resistance points and defense of 400 weren't enough to prevent Elio's magical power at its maximum expression from surpassing the 5% threshold...

Which was 20,400 points of damage.

Elio's Magic Damage: (1360) AA x AA+(2x) x S(2x) x SS(2x) x SSS(2x) = (21760) SSS

This consumed Elio's mana 16 times faster with each attack, but since he intended to escape soon, it was perfect for the occasion.

Without pausing, Elio pivoted on his axis, his wings adjusting his trajectory with millimetric precision.

The second artromus, its jaws still stained with its victim's blood, had barely begun to look up when Elio's sword found its skull, its eyes still showing confusion as its two halves began their descent.

Elio wasted no time observing his 2 first victims; he was already moving toward his next targets.

Three more artromus fell, their expressions of surprise frozen in the accelerated time of battle. The hostages, freed from their captors, began their slow fall toward the ground.

But the element of surprise had been exhausted.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Everything had happened in less than a second.

Elio used the last precious moments of confusion. With precise movements, he positioned his floating book at the exact angle he would need while constructing iron spheres around the hostages.

The remaining artromus were already converging on his position, their transformed bodies moving with lethal grace even in the slowed perception of time. They formed an ever-tightening circle, their claws and jaws promising death from all directions.

But Elio wasn't watching those slow, clumsy threats. His eyes were fixed on her, on the figure beginning to turn with a fluidity that seemed to defy even his enhanced perception.

Zahyla's blue hair waved as if suspended in water, each strand moving with supernatural grace. Her form, much more human than artromus, made her stand out among the transformed creatures surrounding her.

The book, perfectly positioned, finally revealed the statistics Elio so desperately needed to see. The numbers began to materialize as Zahyla's eyes met his, and time seemed to stop completely.

Zahyla Guthrand (Divine Metamorphosis)

Level 100 (20)

Skills:

Divine Cursed Soul (???)

Divine Elemental Magic (Wind, Fire, Water and Ground)

Mana: 1972/2000

Resistance: 2,000,000/2,000,000

Stamina: 1998/2000

Attack: 2000

Magic Damage: 2000

Strength: 400

Defense: 2000

Magic Defense: 2000

Speed: 400

Perception / Agility: 4 (A)