Just how many Rykers did I need to kill? I’d call this tedious if it wasn’t for just how determined to murder me Ryker was. The ceaseless wrath emanating from all of them as they continuously attacked me was beginning to weigh me down. My would have run out multiple times over from the sheer number of times I had activated my ; the plaza ground was coated in a thin river of at this point as the inky smell was all I could register. So many corpses of were all over the ground, but more just kept coming to attack as Ryker kept adapting his strategy. He was sprinkling in melee, ranged weapons, , and to bombard Krahinn and me so there was no time for us to recover. Wave after wave, copy after copy, and attack after attack just wouldn’t stop coming. Was this seriously how many times I failed? Krahinn’s words also kept echoing in the back of my mind, just adding to the mental strain of it all. What would Ryker do once he realized this was unwinnable? What Nyx had in as a surprise or final punchline was weighing down on my mind as well. Thirty-two minutes and twenty-one seconds of this quagmire passed so far.

  I asked Krahinn as there were seemingly endless still to go.

  Krahinn answered. That was such a depressing figure: a quarter of a million failures.

  I grumbled while trying to keep smiling.

  Krahinn pointed out with no hesitation.

  I snapped at him. The visual representation and monotony of having to go through so many .

  Krahinn lectured while he used some to shred the next batch of Rykers.

  I requested as Krahinn didn’t seem bothered by the angry Rykers trying to kill me. How could he so calmly talk and use so much at the same time?

  Krahinn chuckled, his laughter projecting effortlessly in the plaza.

  I spat at him. How was he so calm about this?

  Krahinn assured me as he used my sword to skewer several Rykers at once.

  Ryker obviously did not care that Krahinn and I were having a small side conversation as the army still had plenty more to throw themselves at us. This was starting to feel exhausting as I stared at the next group of Rykers. Seeing through the eyes of Krahinn was mentally taxing as seeing from the varying perspectives I did not sufficiently practice. There were several things I needed to practice and work on once I somehow recovered from all of this; Nyx’s attack was a bucket of cold water to the face on how far I still had to go. I wondered how other sections of this conflict were going. Conflict? That was a bit disingenuous, this was more of a battle at minimum. Was I really debating semantics right now with myself? Just nonstop activations of my to unleash events at the copies of Ryker to butcher through them. This was so tedious, so mind-numbingly monotonous.

  What was the other term again? That fancy Latin word for this? I couldn’t remember it. My brain felt like it was full of fog as this dragged out. It was a loop of seeing as many Rykers as I could lock onto, envision an event, and make it reality, over and over again. Could I shortcut this somehow? Automate the process? Like could be automated. Wait. Wait. It be automated to an extent as I remembered my . I kept using my as I debated how many steps were actually needed to make this work. Target, event, and manifest? Would it be faster than the batch method? Something in my mind kind of clicked as I mulled over the onslaught.

  I inquired as we kept repelling the Rykers.

  Krahinn checked as he formed a dome of to protect me from the newest blast.

  I clarified for him. Krahinn mulled it over as the dome unfolded into blades, eviscerating the nearby Rykers.

  Krahinn probed as we cleared the plaza for a blissful half second of living copies.

  I explained to Krahinn. It might work on reducing how much I was spamming my .

  Krahinn told me as we prepared for the next set of Rykers.

  We kept slaughtering Rykers as we each thought of our pieces. If I just made an event in an area, that would simplify the process to event and manifest, but the main trade off would be there would be more splash damage. There were no civilians nearby that I could tell, so that might not be a major issue if the buildings were not obliterated by it; I mean they were already on fire. Event in the area I could see and manifest it? That would reduce the strain on the as well because I wouldn’t need to use it to make all of them real at once, just more of a blanket. Honestly, this idea should’ve been thought of sooner, but I think we were being cautious of how much collateral damage we would inflict; Ryker willing to burn buildings to obscure my vision made the concern about damaging Umbra less relevant. The downsides were definitely mitigated thanks to the actions Ryker already took. Part of me was curious just how hot it currently was in the plaza with the raging fires. Most of the buildings were stone and glass at least on the exterior, so the flames growing like they were was a bit odd. Was it odd? Ryker was using a lot of and which would continually fuel the inferno.

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  Krahinn informed me after two minutes seventeen seconds.

  I replied as focused in a bit.

  I envisioned the area and just manifesting the event with mixed results. Well, it was a good thing the buildings were already on fire as the idea was vastly more destructive than the more pinpointed variant, causing massive cracks across the bricks and stone as it shattered all the windows in an instant. It created some sort of vacuum in the area accompanied with some percussive wave that shook the area. Even the stone walkway caved in and crumpled from my manifesting an area variant of the ability. On the bright side, it disintegrated and removed the fact a massive clump of ever existed. I realized the was relatively unaffected by the which was unpleasant.

  I quipped as I saw the hole it created.

  Krahinn chimed as he projected his amused laughter.

  I checked as the Rykers looked cautiously at the destruction that caused.

  Krahinn answered. That was good news, as I was going to use that a few more times because of the small break it created.

  With a small burst of renewed vigor, I activated my destructively inside the plaza. It created some much needed breathing room as now that it was deleting larger zones the Rykers realized I had adjusted my strategy on dealing with them. Krahinn unleashed a few more tactical to hit the few Rykers that poked their heads out as they paused the relentless assault. I took a massive breath of relief as for the first time in thirty-six minutes and thirty-three seconds of endless attacks I had the tiniest reprieve. The plaza took noticeable damage from the attacks, as all the buildings were now missing glass and had massive cracks spidering across their exterior walls. Several shallow craters were all around the plaza, but the ground at least was no longer littered with the bodies of Ryker. splashed everywhere from the voids I created which made the stench of it more pungent.

  I cheered because I knew Ryker was going to resume his assault in mere moments.

  Krahinn pointed out as he kept his defensive and offensive around me.

  I retorted. Krahinn really took the joy out things.

  Krahinn told me pointedly.

  I sighed as I surveyed the carnage around me.

  Krahinn stated in an off tone.

  I pressed not getting his point.

  Krahinn explained with an irritated tone.

  I probed, but I could feel Krahinn’s dread. What could he possibly dread?

  Krahinn clarified. Krahinn had an unfortunate point.

  I pointed out, trying to minimize the awful sensation boiling up.

  Krahinn theorized to me as the Rykers began using long range attacks to stop me from resting.

  I challenged him.

  Krahinn lectured me.

  I shot back as I switched to a long range approach which was definitely killing the Rykers at a slower rate.

  Krahinn stated while blocking some missile for me.

  I admitted as I kept picking off a handful of Rykers as I could see them. The more area of effect was nice while it lasted because I was likely going to be targeting them precisely until the end.

  Krahinn taunted as the battle continued.