Reborn as an Extra Chapter 585: It’s my ’Path’! Rio Vs Raika. Part-1.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
Creating projections is typically an uncommon feat, reserved for just a handful of exceptional individuals who possess the talent to craft lifelike illusions of people with such vivid detail.
Rio eventually pieced together that Raika was probably an illusion formed by another person, designed purely to reach out to Rio, navigate the spirit realm, and toy with him along the way.
Yet Rio remained puzzled about why anyone would expend such vast amounts of their own power just to harass him without any clear motive.
Raika appeared so lifelike that Rio failed to realize he wasn't a genuine being until after performing numerous tests, experiments, and even striking him several times.
’When I slashed him... I didn’t feel the sensation of cutting anything at all; it was like I was slashing in empty air...’
Soul-based strikes, flames, lightning blasts, and more—Rio attempted it all, but almost every method proved ineffective against Raika, since he was merely an illusion from another.
He wasn't truly alive!
’The one behind this lifelike illusion must have known intricate details about me... and they anticipated my entry into the spirit realm in advance...’
Venturing through the spirit realm carries immense risks; demons themselves avoid lingering here and refuse to establish homes within it, thanks to the overwhelming presence of the Sea of Miasma.
No demon wants to end up as a thoughtless slave to the sea of miasma, much less any other creature.
Therefore, Raika's creator selected him for this task, aware that personal entry into the spirit realm posed grave threats to themselves, though dispatching an illusion was entirely feasible.
An illusion remains safe from corruption's grasp.
Provided the link is severed promptly, neither corruption nor miasma-induced harm will transfer back from the illusion to its originator.
The most effective means to eliminate an illusion lies in severing the psychic bond linking it to its controller.
However, executing that approach proves exceedingly challenging.
Those gifted with powers to disrupt psychic links or perform mental disruptions are scarce to begin with, and against an illusion from a formidable entity, it's virtually impossible to overcome.
Should you succeed in breaking the link somehow, the creator can simply generate a fresh illusion instantly without warning!
’But I don’t recall any mighty figure in the original story possessing this sort of ability...’
Typically, only a limited circle of mighty entities can produce illusions of such potency, and for one to engage the world as authentically as Raika does, it demands an intricate array of advanced techniques.
Rio himself, despite mastering every element, lacks the capability to form a lifelike illusion of his own.
The furthest he can go is generating a holographic image through light elementals combined with sword intent.
He simply can't achieve the same level of realism that Raika displays!
’I suppose that's why experts warn against judging an SS-ranker's power based solely on brute force...’
’Countless among them wield strange world authorities enabling all sorts of unconventional feats...’
Rio felt certain the Raika's maker was at minimum a top-tier SS-ranker; anything less couldn't produce an illusion wielding strength akin to a top S-ranker.
Raika's strength surpasses that of typical top S-rankers by a wide margin, and he somehow pierces Rio's protections with ease.
’No... he’s employing a form of ’world authority’ to slip past my defenses...’
Rio’s shadow robe has evolved into a legendary artifact; bypassing its safeguards shouldn't be straightforward without legendary techniques honed to at least 90% mastery.
’Even lower-tier world authorities wouldn't suffice... this points to a bearer of advanced world authority...’
World Authorities advancing to Level 5 or higher gain the power to nullify or override the properties of legendary-grade artifacts.
’Fortunately, my shadow robe received an upgrade, or I might have suffered greater injury from that earlier straight hit...’
’I must evade direct impacts, or else... defeat awaits me this time...’
Rio had never clashed with another’s illusion prior to this, and Raika stood designed precisely to neutralize Rio's every move.
As Rio spent mere milliseconds pondering these matters internally, Raika pressed forward with his subsequent assault, showing no pause whatsoever!
He lifted the hovering Lyre encircling him upward and unleashed a devastating Gravitational Pulse strike upon Rio!
The spirit realm's space-time structure was inherently delicate, and with this brutal distortion and warping, enormous rifts tore through the surroundings, obliterating all contents within to utter void.
A tremendous gravitational surge pounded Rio down to the surface, leaving him no chance to evade, since it propagated swifter than light itself via the space-time medium!
Rio possessed a technique called ’Spatial Suture’ to seal rifts and halt space-time breakdown, though it targeted individuals or confined zones primarily.
Faced with the immense scope of Raika’s colossal spatial onslaught, Rio resorted to forging an enhanced version on the spot, expanding his spatial suture's coverage to shield himself from the encroaching spatial erasure!
Rio channeled enormous reserves of his mana alongside full-force sword intent, then directed space-time elementals to mend and seal the widespread rifts encircling him.
’Phew~ In the instant that followed, Rio rocketed toward Raika with blistering velocity.
Gripping his sword tightly in one hand, Rio retrieved a spatial anchor in the other, infused it with his miasma to activate, and set it orbiting him via telekinesis.
Spatial anchors serve as tools supreme for reinforcing space-time stability and curbing abilities tied to space-time manipulation.
Normally, Rio finds no use for such a device, as his sword intent and additional powers suffice against any ambient space-time disturbances, yet circumstances today demanded otherwise.
Raika proved erratic with a staggering repertoire of techniques; furthermore, Rio's mana reserves were finite, and deploying miasma risked forfeiting the hard-won intuition he'd just reclaimed.
Such a forfeiture would benefit Raika greatly, allowing his strikes to connect with Rio far more readily.
’Luckily, I always pack a range of gear for any contingency...’
Rio embodies the essence of constant overpreparation in all endeavors.
Whether on a leisure trip or not, Rio ensures his full kit of tools and essentials sits organized within his space ring.
Beyond mere apparel and survival provisions, his space ring holds diverse potions and artifacts amassed or purchased throughout his criminal hunting days.
Through pursuits of outlaws across the land, Rio came to appreciate the value of readiness for any scenario imaginable.
Consequently, Rio naturally carried an extra spatial anchor, purchased following his recognition of its utility during the joint raid with Raji on the covert smuggling ring by the orc nation's frontiers.
Though the orbiting spatial anchor offered no offensive aid and even impeded Rio's own space-based techniques, he recognized its priority in limiting Raika's skill deployment right now.
With fewer skill varieties at Raika's disposal, anticipating and evading his forthcoming moves becomes far simpler.
’Now I somewhat grasp the frustration others experience battling against me...’
In the same vein as Raika's deployment of odd techniques, Rio had employed similar tactics for years on end.
Link, Liam, Lia, and fellow combatants against him all understood Rio's erratic and unforeseeable nature all too well.
His skill collection seemed boundless, and upon witnessing an opponent's technique, he could swiftly replicate and integrate it, as though ridiculing their dedication and practice.
’My prior encounter with a foe wielding diverse techniques occurred during the beta ascension spire in dragon valley...’
’Yet there, I merely contended with an inferior duplicate of myself, straightforward to anticipate since it mirrored my own patterns... but this opponent stands apart...’
’He’s serving me a dose of my own tactics... ugh...’
As Rio let out an inward sigh, Raika hurled countless lightning bolts his way, only for Rio to conjure metal poles that diverted the barrage and hurled it straight back at Raika.
Raika vanished entirely to evade the redirected lightning and materialized next to Rio for a direct confrontation.
Within mere milliseconds, Rio and Raika traded over a hundred thousand strikes, ravaging the whole miasma-shrouded terrain!
Nearby beasts suffered annihilation, either shredded to fragments or wiped from being by the explosive clashes of Rio and Raika's assaults, which unleashed shockwaves radiating outward.
Rio detected formidable beasts drawn by the uproar and charging toward the fray, yet Raika displayed utter indifference.
He seized a colossal twisted serpent by the tail, attempting to wield it as a lash against Rio, but it exploded from within due to Rio's counterstrikes!