"...Level 6?" Varian muttered a few times to confirm he heard it wrong.
"Hm. Only Level 6. Don't hold back. Just swat them to death." The ghost waved its hand and 'winked' at him.
The world went dark and Varian felt a chill down his spine.
'Level 6…'
His throat felt dry, and he forcibly swallowed.
'No. Something… something.' He shook his head and his eyes snapped open.
The ghost AI was tilting its neck as it gazed at him. Its black eyes on its white body widened, and it seemed to wonder what the heck was going on with him.
Before slamming it and smashing it to pieces, Varian stopped himself.
His shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. "I'm not doing this."
"What?!" the ghost yelled.
"Level 6… no matter how I look at it, it's seeking death. Even if it's a clone as you say, I don't want to risk. There is a better chance of survival if I hide somewhere. Possibly in Inner or Outer Zone."
Varian maintained a defensive posture and slowly backed off.
If this ghost was really a spaceship's AI, then its IQ and EQ modules were damaged badly.
IQ: How did it judge Varian could win against a level 6?
EQ: Why reveal the truth when it could lie and get him to fight? It could buy some time to escape with his fight.
Varian didn't dare to show his back to it and walked backwards.
The ghost finally realized what was going on and yelled.
"Hey! Hey! I forgot something really important. My simulation module crashed, okay?" It pleaded.
Varian paused and looked at with suspicion. A frown was etched on his face, saying "It better be something trustworthy."
"I have something that I thought was not important. But you see, it can back you up in the battle." The ghost patted its chest and assured.
Varian's frown deepened.
"Come on! Don't frown so much." The ghost tried to play cute.
All it got was an eye roll.
"Curtail Formation and Undead Formation. I have two of them. Though they aren't in best shape, they should suffice." Its cute voice was filled with confidence.
Varian hoped its effects were true. If he possible, he really did not want to have to escape. That meant giving up on his only chance of returning.
So,
"I hope you're right on this. What are the effects?" His voice was low, but it was laced with anticipation.
"Hehe." The ghost snickered and waved its hand.
Two holograms appeared in the air.
{Curtail Formation:
It can restrict the powers of an enemy and decrease their realm. Only works for mortal grade.}
Varian read the description and raised an eyebrow.
"Realm? Mortal grade? What are these?"
Are they just levels? But 'mortal' was a term they would never use.
"Well, for now, consider levels as realms. Mortal grade consists of the nine levels." It explained, but didn't delve deeper.
Varian wasn't interested in knowing more now, so he instead asked, "How much reduction in levels are we talking about here?"
If the curtail formation could suppress a Level 6 to Level 3, then it was indeed a cake walk.
"Hm, it depends on the base power itself. You see, this formation… is quite old. In olden eyes, it could suppress a Level 9 to Level 7. But now, there's now way it could bring down a peak Level 9 to even low Level 9."
Varian rubbed his temple and groaned, "Level 6. How much?"
"Level 4 or Level 3…? These are only mid levels, so don't worry."
Phew!
Varian breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like a large burden on his chest was lifted off.
However, inwardly, he was still cautious.
"Level 4… I can't handle peak Level 4 if they're not lightning, can I?"
Then he glanced at the info of other formation.
{Undead formation:
Boosted by the presence of a plant with strong vitality, your vitality would skyrocket for a short time.
If you haven't been killed in one shot, you would be able to heal in an instant.}
"...What?" Varian rubbed his eyes and wanted to wake up.
But it wasn't a dream.
"With this, I can even beat a peak Level 4, perhaps even a Low Level 5." Varian's breath was rugged.
"Alright. Let's do it." He pumped his fist and said without changing his expression. "I want to check the effects of the formations and adjust. Use them on me."
He thought 'If your formations are fake, then I'm running.'
The next moment, two lights, a bright green and a bloody red descended on him.
"Haa!" Varian opened his mouth and immediately tumbled down to the ground.
As he laid on the grass, the first thing he felt was suppression. Weakness.
He tried to use his Level 4 Body power, but as he stood up, he realized his body felt much heavier.
It was as if weights were added everywhere. He touched his arms, legs and checked.
There were no weights.
Then…
'This is how my body felt at Level 1.' He sucked in a cold breath.
He drew his fist and punched into the air, only to find the wind just humming quietly.
The power in the punch wasn't even enough to blow a rock.
Varian jumped out and looked at the spaceship.
He couldn't make out the fine details like before. He only saw a little better than a normal human.
The vision changed from high quality to low quality, and Varian hated it.
He ran to the spaceship.
But with each step he took, he realized the spaceship was still far away. Almost too far away.
'I'm just too slow.' He concluded bitterly.
"You are now barely Level 1." The ghost giggled.
'Well, it is working properly.' He shrugged and took out a sword.
He felt the green light bathing his body and plunged it into his chest.
Pssh.
It cut in smoothly.
His Level 4 Body would have blocked off a good portion of damage. But a Level 1…
Varian pulled out his sword and watched as the blood was about to gush out his abdomen.
The next moment, a green light shined on his body and the wound was closed in the blink of an eye.
"Hm?!" He touched the spot and found no traces.
If it weren't for the torn shirt, he would think he was never injured to begin with.
