CHAPTER 40: THE ASTRAL INTERVENTION
Kelvin sat at the edge of the glowing circle that marked the gate to Level 30.He had completed level 26 to 29 special dungeon.
He looked down at his hands, flexing them slowly.
"Levels twenty-one through twenty-nine," he muttered to himself. "Each one tougher than the last… but all cleared."
The faint light from his status window reflected in his eyes. He could still feel the residual pressure of the last boss from Level 29, that crimson gladiator who had forced him to move faster and think sharper than ever.
He exhaled, steady and calm.
Now, it was time for Level 30....the breakthrough floor.
But just as he was about to step forward, his entire window flickered.
A faint ping echoed, followed by a glowing message line.
[Incoming Call –>Astral Transmission Request: George.]
Kelvin frowned. "George? What's that fool doing calling me now?"
He hesitated for a moment. Normally, once a ranker breaks through to higher dungeons, they can't go back to assist those below. The dungeon system isolates tiers, preventing interference. But Kelvin wasn't bound by normal rules anymore, not since he bought the Astral Link ability.
With it, he could send his spiritual form into any dungeon where his linked allies existed. However, the more powerful the linked person's astral compatibility, the stronger the connection and the more energy Kelvin could send through.
He sighed and leaned back against a cracked stone pillar.
"Fine. Let's see what kind of trouble those two idiots got themselves into this time."
He pressed his finger against the window.
[Astral Link activated:Connection ]
[Target –>Lee (S-rank compatibility).]
Kelvin explained to himself as his body began to glow faintly.
"You can't normally enter a lower dungeon once you've surpassed it...But with Astral Link, I can project my spiritual form downward through another's soul connection."
" The strength of that link depends on the linked person's compatibility. George only has an A-rank link… too weak for what I might need. But Lee…" he smirked faintly,
"Lee's has an S-rank link. His spiritual channel is wider, meaning I can push through more of my power."
He took a deep breath, sitting cross-legged in a secured corner of the dungeon chamber.
"Let's see what those men have gotten them selves imto."
The air rippled around him.
Light particles lifted off his body as his consciousness split. A glowing version of himself,....his Astral Form ..... rose from his sitting body and drifted upward, then folded into itself and vanished.
Moments later, he emerged in a swirling portal of blue mist, inside Level 18 Dungeon, through the soul link of Lee.
When Kelvin opened his eyes, he was standing inside chaos.
The sky was red, filled with poisonous fog. The stench of acid and blood burned his throat. He was surrounded by half-conscious rankers. George's small team. Many were coughing, their armor melting slightly from the fumes.
George was shouting, electricity crackling around his hands as he tried to keep the fog from closing in.
"Keep moving, ehm! Don't just stand there gasping!" he barked, lightning crackling from his fingertips into the ground, trying to force the beast back.
Lee stood a few meters behind, his hands glowing with faint red energy, shooting narrow laser beams from his palms toward the creature in the distance.
A monstrous, scorpion-like beast with green flames burning from its shell.
The monster roared. Its tail lashed across the field, releasing another burst of poisonous mist. Half the team coughed blood and fell.
Kelvin looked around through his astral eyes, scanning the situation.
"Poison fog. Regeneration. Multi-layered shell. Not bad," he said under his breath.
He could feel the strain. His astral form was real enough to observe and speak, but his attacks wouldn't carry full force here, too much energy loss between realms.
Kelvin raised a hand, attempting a simple Mind Action-based strike, but his fist phased through the monster's back with only a spark of damage.
"Tch. As I thought. My spiritual density's too low. I can't physically fight."
He looked over at George and Lee. "You two can hear me?"
Lee's eyes widened. "Mr Hood? You're here?"
George turned, his voice harsh but mixed with relief. "What the hell, ehm? You projecting again?"
"Yeah," Kelvin replied calmly. "You're making too much noise, George."
"Shut up, ehm! This thing won't die!" George growled, sparks jumping from his shoulders. "I've fried it four times already!"
Kelvin observed the monster's body carefully. His astral sight could see through its surface. Its regeneration core pulsed in its chest, glowing deep green.
"There it is," he said softly. "Its life core keeps reconstructing tissue faster than you can destroy it. You won't win by raw damage."
Lee gritted his teeth. "Then what do we do? My lasers can't even pierce the shell anymore."
Kelvin thought for a moment, his eyes glowing faintly.
There was one solution, but it required control beyond normal teamwork.
He opened his status window and scrolled through his list of available diamonds.
"I guess it's time for something new."
He tapped the purchase tab.
[Purchase Confirmed: Proxy Window (SS rank.]
[Description: Allows user to access and modify the stats of any ally or teammates .]
Kelvin grinned faintly. "Perfect."
Immediately, dozens of new windows opened in front of him, the status screens of every team member, including George and Lee. He could see everything: their attributes, conditions, active skills, and weaknesses.
"Alright," Kelvin said, cracking his spiritual knuckles. "Time for a little team adjustment."
[Proxy Window — Active.]
He looked at Lee's stats first.
High Intelligence. Low Strength. High Focus. Low Agility.
Kelvin smirked. "No wonder you can't effectively attack , Lee. You're a laser isn't sharp enough."
He snapped his fingers.
Stat Swap (via Proxy Window): Intelligence –> Agility.
Lee blinked. His body suddenly felt lighter. His lasers became faster, thinner, sharper.
"Whoa… my aim— it's so fast now!"
"Good," Kelvin said. "Don't stop shooting. Aim for its leg joints."
Then he switched to George.
George :- Strength moderate, Intelligence high, Control high.
Kelvin tilted his head. "Electro-telekinesis, huh? Fine. Let's make that charge mean something."
He swapped 50% of all George's stats with Strength and vitality, boosting his raw destructive power.
Lightning burst from George's body like a storm.
"Wh..what the... I feel like my veins are burning!"
"Then use it," Kelvin said simply.
George clenched his fists and slammed both hands toward the monster. Bolts of lightning the size of tree trunks ripped through the dungeon, striking the beast's tail and shattering its carapace.
The monster screamed, the regeneration trying to restart. Kelvin immediately switched to another team member, a healer with low mana but high vitality.
Stat Swap: Vitality –> Mana.
The healer gasped as her energy flared. She raised both hands, shouting, "Healing Burst!"
Light washed over the team, pushing the poison back temporarily.
Kelvin moved from one ally to another, optimizing every setup mid-battle, boosting speed, swapping attack for endurance, lowering unnecessary traits. It was a blur of glowing symbols and shifting numbers.
From afar, it looked like he was orchestrating a living symphony of power.
"Now, Lee!" Kelvin commanded. "Focus your lasers on the cracks George made!"
Lee dashed forward, moving faster than he'd ever moved before, his lasers forming a concentrated beam that cut straight through the monster's chest.
The creature roared again, regenerating madly... but Kelvin wasn't done.
He glanced at its core. "The regeneration speed matches its vitality stat. Fine."
[Player Has Activated:- Scales of the weak]
[Player's Enemy power = Player' Ally]
The monster froze, confused as its own stats began to work against it. Its regeneration slowed down, it's Poison looked like a joke.
George grinned savagely. "Ohhh yeah, now it's bleeding!"
Kelvin smiled faintly. "Finish it."
George slammed his hands together, lightning surging into the open wound. Lee followed, pouring a condensed beam straight through the core while others attacked the beast from every angle. The monster convulsed violently, then exploded into a shower of dark fog.
The poisonous mist began to fade slowly, replaced by the warm golden light that signaled victory.
George fell to one knee, panting. "Ehhh… I hate to admit it, but that was crazy."
Lee wiped his forehead. "You really are something, Mr Hood. You controlled all our stats like we were your puppets."
Kelvin chuckled softly. "Not puppets. Just extensions of my will."
He looked around at the recovering group. The dungeon was stabilizing, the poison vanishing, and the crystals in the ceiling dimmed to their resting glow.
"That reminds me, what of kaito?" Kelvin asked. "Well....he said he wanted to prove himself to you and decided to walk his own part."
" That explains why this team were losing badly, I thought If I left kaito with this team they will be able to progress smoothly.....but it is what it is." Kelvin thought in his mind.
"You all did good," he said quietly. "But next time, try not to pick a fight with something above your level."
George snorted. "You think we wanted that thing, ehm? It crawled out the ground like it owned the place."
Kelvin's astral form began to flicker. The connection to Lee's spirit was fading.
"Time's almost up," he muttered. "I've used too much spiritual bandwidth."
Lee nodded. "You're leaving?"
"Yeah," Kelvin said. "But now you both owe me."
George smirked. "We already owed you twice, ehm. Guess this makes it three."
Kelvin smiled faintly before vanishing in a ripple of blue light.
Moments later, his physical body opened its eyes in Level 30's chamber. The air was still, the circle glowing beneath him. He stood up slowly, his muscles crackling faintly with residual astral energy.
"That worked better than I expected," he said to himself. "Astral Link, Proxy Window, Stat Swap.... a deadly trio."
He stretched his arms, glancing toward the massive gate ahead.
"Alright. George and Lee are safe. Time to stop babysitting."
The gate to Level 30 rumbled open, a wave of heat and pressure washing over him.
Kelvin smiled.
And with that, he walked through... calm, ready, and completely unstoppable.