"If it were anyone else saying such things, no matter how much I admired them, I would have shut them up.
But in your case, I have to admit, you are the most unique existence I've encountered in over two hundred lifetimes."
"With my dragon secrets, I can easily see through a person's origins. Yet, strangely, what I see in you is the body and soul of a fourteen-year-old boy.
But that in itself is quite bizarre. In other lifetimes, the absence of you and Rudeus is one thing.
After all, even in parallel worlds, there are individual differences and variations across lifetimes.
But even with such differences, a fourteen-year-old human boy possessing such immense power is inherently unnatural and defies common sense."
"From what has happened so far, it's clear that you have no connection to the Human God. In fact, he sees you as an obstacle and a thorn in his side, even going so far as to use me to eliminate you.
So, who exactly are you? A reincarnation or fragment of Laplace, or something else entirely?"
Orsted trusted his dragon secrets, but Wood's existence was too unconventional. The only possibility Orsted could think of was that Wood was somehow connected to Laplace.
In this world, there were only so many beings with both the means and the strength to achieve such feats. Since Wood had no connection to the Human God, the only other possibility Orsted could think of was Laplace.
"Demon Dragon King" Laplace, a hybrid of dragon and demon, whose soul and memories split into the first-ranked Technique God and the fourth-ranked Demon God—a true powerhouse.
Strictly speaking, Laplace and Orsted shared some history and connection.
Laplace was originally an orphan, more beast than human, without even the ability to speak. He was eventually adopted by the First Dragon God, becoming his foster son and eventually one of the Five Dragon Generals.
Later, the First Dragon God's wife, Lunaeria, who was also the daughter of the first Human God and Laplace's beloved foster mother, was brutally murdered by the "Human God." Laplace and the Holy Dragon Emperor, Gerard, were misled by the "Human God" and passed on false information to the First Dragon God.
Enraged, the First Dragon God, deceived by the Human God's schemes, vented his fury by destroying the Beast World, Sea World, Sky World, and Demon World.
When the Dragon World was finally destroyed, Laplace, as the only surviving member of the Five Dragon Generals, was entrusted with a great mission.
Knowing the full truth, the First Dragon God hoped that Laplace would pass on this knowledge to his children, Perugius and Orsted, who had been reincarnated into the future using his secret techniques.
He also tasked Laplace with finding the Human God's true form, uncovering his weaknesses, and discovering a way to defeat him, then passing this information on to Orsted and the others.
Faithfully following the First Dragon God's final command, Laplace worked tirelessly, undertaking various tasks to achieve this goal.
He taught the rapidly developing human race the techniques and magic of the dragons, using this opportunity to research the secret techniques used by the Five Dragon Generals and the Dragon God. He then reclaimed the improved techniques and magic from the humans, refined them further, and passed them back to the humans.
He deduced the negative effects of the magic array cast on Orsted after seeing it only once and prepared countermeasures to neutralize them.
Not only that, Laplace even anticipated the possibility of being killed by the "Human God" through some means and set up multiple safeguards.
He gave the descendants of the other Five Dragon Generals, whom he had found across the world, secret treasures made from fragments of the deceased Dragon God's divine jade. He also built ruins around the world to record his research findings.
Laplace worked with 100% effort to gather all possible information about the Human God, hoping to repay the kindness of his foster father and mother.
In fact, the so-called "Seven Great Powers" were originally established by him to select talents capable of defeating the "Human God."
Yet, despite all his preparations, Laplace was still hindered and ultimately perished alongside the Human God's apostle, the War God, during the Second Human-Demon War. His soul and memories split into the first-ranked Technique God and the fourth-ranked Demon God.
In summary, Laplace was on Orsted's side, and the fact that his soul and memories could split into the "Technique God" and "Demon God" after death didn't rule out the possibility of other fragments existing.
In fact, while Orsted's speculation wasn't entirely accurate, it wasn't completely wrong either. Wood and Rudeus weren't reincarnations of the "Demon Dragon King" Laplace, but they did share a certain connection with him.
After Laplace's death, the Laplace Factor he left behind accidentally entered Zenith's womb, leading to Wood and Rudeus being born as bearers of the Laplace Factor. This was why they were born with such absurdly vast amounts of mana.
It was also because of the Laplace Factor that Rudeus, who should have died in the womb, was able to survive due to the reincarnation of an otherworldly soul.
As bearers of the Laplace Factor, both Rudeus and Wood were born with immense innate mana, but like Laplace, they couldn't use battle aura to enhance their bodies, limiting their potential as swordsmen.
This was why Rudeus eventually abandoned his half-baked swordsmanship and fully embraced the path of a pure mage.
Wood, on the other hand, thanks to the unique swordsmanship from another world, was able to balance his magical and swordsmanship abilities, becoming one of the rare few in the world to master both. By the age of fifteen, he had already reached an absurd level of proficiency in both.
"Laplace? I don't know who that is, but if you're comparing him to the 'Human God,' he must be quite a figure in your eyes, Dragon God.
Unfortunately, I don't know this Laplace you speak of, nor am I his reincarnation or anything like that.
Dragon God, this world is vast. What seems impossible to you might not be so for certain beings.
The essence of life is constant transcendence. Racial limitations are just words. With enough strength, even a so-called god can be slain!
I am me, Wood Greyrat, not a substitute for anyone else. And I will soon prove to you that I am stronger than the Laplace you know.
Dragon God, the sky is darkening. It's about to become my stage again."
As Wood spoke, he glanced at the setting sun, saying something that left Orsted puzzled.
At first, Orsted thought Wood was just bluffing, but he soon noticed that as night fell and the moon rose, Wood's mana inexplicably surged!
And Orsted could clearly see that this sudden increase in mana had nothing to do with any action Wood took. The power boost was completely spontaneous.
Wood did nothing, yet as night fell, his aura and mana naturally and dramatically increased!
"Surprised? I told you, when night falls, this place becomes my domain again.
Dragon God, you might not know this, but this power is called a 'Blessing,' and I possess three such Blessings.
The one I'm using now is called the 'Blessing of the Full Moon.' It enhances all my attributes under the moonlight.
Since this enhancement is percentage-based, you should understand what that means, right?"
The power Wood was using came from the "Blessings" of the "Re:Zero" world, and he wasn't lying. He indeed possessed two other, even stronger Blessings.
The 'Blessing of the Sword Saint' enhanced Wood's swordsmanship and slashing power, allowing him to maximize the potential of his weapons.
Previously, Wood had only been using the inherent power of his Imperial Arm, Frost Knight, without activating this Blessing.
As Wood's strongest Blessing, he had no intention of using it until Orsted revealed his true strength and trump cards.
The final Blessing, 'Knight's Honor,' significantly boosted Wood's power when protecting those he cherished.
This enhancement was far more substantial than the 'Blessing of the Full Moon.'
However, unlike the 'Blessing of the Full Moon,' which was effective at night, 'Knight's Honor' had limitations.
For example, in his current battle with Orsted, since Wood wasn't fighting to protect anyone, this Blessing wouldn't activate.
"'Blessing'? I've never heard of such a power. I don't know if what you're saying is true, but I can clearly feel that your aura and mana have significantly increased compared to before."
Having lived through over two hundred lifetimes and countless years, Orsted was far from omniscient, but he was certainly well-informed.
He had heard of "blessings," but a power called a "Blessing" was entirely new to him.
Of course, Orsted didn't think Wood had any reason to lie, as Wood's aura and power had indeed surged dramatically as night fell.
Moreover, the magnitude of this power boost far surpassed that of ordinary "blessings."
This wasn't surprising. While "blessings" and "Blessings" were similar, they were fundamentally different.
"Blessings" were typically powers granted by a higher being to a lower one. Even Orsted himself could bestow such blessings.
But "Blessings" were entirely different. These powers were gifts or favors from the world itself, some even touching upon the laws of the universe.
How could a power granted by an individual compare to one bestowed by the entire world?
"That's why I said this world is vast. Dragon God, are you ready? With two Blessings active, my strength is no longer on the same level as before.
If you only show the same strength as before in the second half, you might end up becoming my subordinate."
Orsted could feel that Wood's aura and strength had indeed increased significantly due to the so-called "Blessings." Yet, hearing Wood's bold declaration, he remained skeptical.
While the "Blessings" seemed to have boosted Wood's mana and aura considerably, Orsted didn't believe it was enough to defeat him.
As night fell and the moonlight bathed the land, the second half of the battle between Wood and Orsted began.
After partially "dragonizing," Orsted's power had already surpassed Wood's, even with the secret techniques of Frost Knight.
The earlier tidal slash that had injured Orsted was largely due to a sneak attack and Orsted's own carelessness.
With the 'Blessing of the Full Moon,' Wood's power had increased, but the gap between them hadn't been fully closed. Orsted believed that even without revealing more of his strength, his current state was enough to suppress and defeat Wood.
However, Orsted's confidence was soon shaken by Wood's next move.
"Hyakki Goken-ryū: Single Sword Style Secret Technique—Yuki-Onna!"
Orsted had experienced Wood's swordsmanship multiple times. Compared to two years ago, Wood's skills had become more refined and sharper, but his overall level should still be between "Sword Emperor" and "Sword God."
Two years ago, Wood had used a life-draining secret technique to explosively increase his power, bringing his swordsmanship close to the "Sword God" level.
During their earlier battle, Orsted had also witnessed Wood's unique magic-infused sword techniques. But this time, Wood's strike gave Orsted a completely different feeling.
Orsted could tell that Wood's swordsmanship hadn't reached the "God" level, yet the power and intensity of this slash made even him, the Dragon God, feel threatened!
Simply put, the current Wood reminded Orsted of the desperate, all-out Wood he had faced two years ago at the Jaw of the Red Dragon!
________
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to 100+ chapters for $5 and receive daily updates at [email protected]/Betek (@->a).