Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain-Chapter 55: EF. Upgrade

After Maximilian finished his talk with Ricardo’s group, he deactivated the Temporal Overlay system and let them out of his house.

Even though he didn’t particularly like having a bunch of rowdy guys staying in his home, his feelings toward Ricardo’s group had softened considerably after spending two years eating and living together.

He wasn’t sure since he was the only child in the family, but maybe... this was what it felt like to have a bunch of idiot brothers?

Maximilian shrugged the thought off and turned to head back into his house. But then he suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing as he glanced toward the building diagonally to his left. He had the distinct sensation that someone was watching him. However, the moment he turned to look, that burning gaze vanished.

Is someone keeping an eye on me? Maximilian wondered.

Since he had just exited a house under time condensation, he hadn’t checked the GPS system yet because when he did, there hadn’t been anything showing on the System GPS function while he was still inside. Curious, he pulled it up now.

What he saw made his brow furrow.

There were more than ten people in the building diagonally to his left. The system identified them as green... but with a hint of yellow.

In the system’s classification:

Green = Harmless

Yellow = Harmless unless provoked

Red = Hostile

So that meant... they were harmless, as long as he didn’t go out of his way to attack them first. They’d stay where they were.

Should he check them out? he considered. But ultimately, he didn’t feel like bothering. So... as long as they kept their distance and didn’t interfere with his life, he had no reason to act.

Just as he was about to turn away, a sudden alert from the system snapped him out of his thoughts.

[Ding! Congratulations! You’ve fully completed: Shadow Thief’s Last Wish]

Atherna’s voice rang clearly inside Maximilian’s head.

Maximilian was stunned. He had just given the data from Luther’s personal tablet to Strauss a few days ago. Had this guy already arrested Luther? No, Luther shouldn’t be arrested yet, otherwise the news would be all over the place. Most likely, whatever Strauss did had already ruined Luther’s plans.

But no matter. Since the upgrade was ready, there was nothing to complain about.

— Shadow Thief’s Last Wish —

Description:

Shadow Thief holds an irreconcilable grudge against Luther Rook, but he doesn’t expect you to kill him, It’s too dangerous. Instead, he only wishes for you to ruin Rook’s plans.

Time Limit: None

Primary Objective: Steal the data from Luther Rook’s personal computer.

Bonus Objective: Ensure Luther Rook’s career is ruined, or that he stays dead.

Reward: Shadow Thief’s EF Potential Upgrade [Completed]

Bonus Reward: Shadow Thief’s EF Potential Maximization [Completed]

—

[Max, I suggest you lock down your house and lie down on your bed. Upgrading the Evolution Factor might cause you to feel nausea or even pain, depend on the Evolution Factor tah going to be upgrade.] Atherna suggest worriedly.

"Got it, I’ll hit the bed after I’ve set up some security measure, hold on the upgrade for now."

Maximilian said then begin to set up the security system, such as turret in the basement that he had disabled and check the door and all teh entrance and set up some trap in the house just in case.

After everything is done he go to his room and lying down on teh bed.

"I’m ready, let’s begin."

[Okay! ╰(°▽°)╯ ]

Maximilian view shift into the same white space where he had a talk with both Blood mongoose and Shadow Thief.

Now, Shadow thief is standing infront of him with a smile. He walked toward Maximilian and shake hand with him.

"Thank you, Mr. Graham... Thank you for fulfilling my last wish." Sean Brown, or Shadow Thief said to Maximilian with gratitude.

Shadow thief body quickly dematerialize and vanish into motes of light before disappear completely.

The view shift into the real world, Maximilian clearly felt like something inside his body change, dark aura emanated out of Maximilian bodt then expand, dyeing Maximilian bedroom dark. This is the ability of Shadow Sphere.

Upgrade in progress EF: ’Shadow Sphere’ >> ’Shadow Domain’

- Shadow Domain: This ability has two functions:

- Darkness Domain: Emits darkness in a spherical radius of up to 500 meters.

- Dark Aegis: Emits darkness in a spherical radius of up to 50 meters, which reduces incoming kinetic force by 50%.

The upgrade paused briefly before the evolution resumed. This time, Maximilian felt a wave of nausea and dizziness as the Evolution Factor inside his body began to evolve at a rapid pace.

EF Potential Maximization: ’Umbra Sovereign’

- Umbra Sovereign: This ability has two functions:

- Umbra Sculptor: Can emits darkness in a spherical radius of up to 50 meters. And can also shape into any shape or form )Blade, Spear, torn Wolf, Humanoid, but more complex the shape, the more energy will be use.

- Void Mantle: A cloak of dark matter that nullifies incoming energy by converting it into harmless neutrinos.

Absorbs: Kinetic, thermal, and radiation energy (up to 25 kilotons of equilivant force or energy).

"[Upgrade completed! \(^o^)/ ]" Aetherna said excitedly.

Maximilian didn’t get up from his bed. He continued lying there as he opened the system UI to check the details of the upgrade.

—

Abilities

Evolution Factor:

- A&*#@-Error__???

- Frenzy Trance: When injured, the body initiates enhanced regeneration to heal the injury. During this effect, the host experiences intense rage, which increases corresponding to the severity of the injury. While in a rage state, all physical capabilities—such as strength and reflexes—increase to three times their normal levels.

- Umbra Sovereign: This ability has two functions:

- Umbra Sculptor: Can emit darkness in a spherical radius of up to 50 meters. And can also shape into any shape or form (Blade, Spear, torn Wolf, Humanoid) and can be use to attack or effect physical object, but the more complex the shape, the more energy will be used.

- Void Mantle: A cloak of dark matter that nullifies incoming energy by converting it into harmless neutrinos. Absorbs: Kinetic, thermal, and radiation energy (up to 25 kilotons of equivalent force or energy).

Body/Physique

- Peak Human Physique

—

Maximilian looked at the UI and saw that the second EF he could use had changed. The radius of the darkness emission was greatly reduced from the previous version, but the increased control was a nice bonus to have when facing stronger opponents.

However... looking at his Body/Physique status, it was still at peak human level. That meant a well-placed shot could still kill him if he let his guard down.

After absorbing the upgrade, Maximilian slowly got up from his bed and began testing the ability. First, he used Umbra Sculptor to shape the emitted darkness into a blade. He swung it, and the sound of the blade cutting through the air indicated it had become a physical object.

Next, he emitted darkness and shaped it into a spear, controlling it to strike in the direction he wanted. The spear quickly emerged from the darkness on the ground and pierced the air exactly where Maximilian had aimed.

The time it took to form the spear and launch the strike was less than a second, but Maximilian still found it too slow. He remembered that the data from the IHB data center mentioned speedster-type heroes. And with this level of speed, he wouldn’t be able to counter them effectively.

"[Max, I nearly forgot,]" Aetherna suddenly spoke up.

"Huh?"

[All of your EF abilities can be trained. EF is like a muscle, you need to train it. With training, it will become stronger and faster. Especially for EF that has evolved to its limit, due to its advancement, it becomes harder to control, so consistent practice is required,] said Aetherna.

"Is that so? Thank you for telling me this," Maximilian nodded.

He then began shaping the darkness into various forms, jar, vase, spear, sword, wolf, bird, and tiger. He noticed he could form a wide range of objects and creatures, but he clearly felt the drain on his body. By the end of his training, it felt like he had just finished a long jog.

He also discovered that when he shaped the darkness into weapons, simpler forms, like cold weapons such as swords and spears. These things were easier to maintain. They used less stamina and could hold their form for about 10 minutes. He also realized that the size of the weapon affected both stamina consumption and the duration of the object’s existence.

For example, a normal-sized sword could last about 10 minutes, while a much larger one might only remain for 1 minute. This was yet another limitation Maximilian discovered through his practice.

After an hour, Maximilian decided to stop. He felt exhausted and really wanted to sleep. Initially, he had planned to go to the Fringe to find someone to hire as a guide into the Wildland, to the area where the secret lab housing Rebecca Lane was located.

However, Maximilian decided to rest first. He would head to the Fringe later that night, by then, the area should be more lively and filled with mercenaries available for hire.