Utopian System

The scene shifted to show Elio's father telling another embarrassing story about his son, making Memory-Nala laugh while Elio turned red.

Seeing Elio's father, so alive and cheerful, sent a wave of sadness through Zara's consciousness.

"Stop that," Nala complained. "Your emotional spillover is distracting."

"Oh, I'm sorry my feelings make YOUR body-snatching inconvenient for you."

"It might have been my body first," Nala shot back.

"Excuse me? This is definitely MY body. I have the birthright to prove it!"

"And I apparently have memories of using it before you were born, so..."

"That's not how bodies work! You can't just call dibs on someone's future body!"

Their argument was interrupted by the memory shifting to a private moment between young Elio and Memory-Nala. They were alone, and Elio seemed nervous, like he had something important to say.

"Oh no," both consciousnesses said simultaneously.

"This better not be what I think it is," Zara warned.

"How would I know? These memories are as new to me as they are to you."

"Well, your past self seems pretty invested in my future boyfriend."

"He's not your boyfriend right now…"

"Only because YOU took over my body!"

They fell silent as young Elio gathered his courage to speak, both consciousnesses equally anxious about what they were about to witness.

♢♢♢♢

Walking back from the level 20 challenge, Lila's mind raced with possibilities about Elio's situation. The mana increases couldn't be coincidence, three times now, each providing exactly 100 points. It had to be systematic, intentional.

"He must have access to something," she muttered to herself. "Some kind of system or control point..."

Lucien had given her one Artromus core and enough cores to unlock the 11th summon suggesting she get her second invocation combination.

They had accumulated quite a bit of them in the daily challenges but Elio had not used them since Zahyla was not able to enter, Diana's betrayal really had hit him unprepared.

Her steps slowed as she approached the central garden statue where she would soon make her invocation choice.

She now had access and started scrolling the UI, but then saw something that triggered a memory she'd been trying to suppress.

That day with Emberg.

Her cheeks flushed at the recollection. The salamander, in control of Elio's body, had been so... thorough in its examination of her body. Every touch, every awkward poke and prod as it tried to understand human anatomy.

She'd been mortified, especially since it was technically Elio's hands, even if he wasn't in control.

She stopped entirely, the memory suddenly clicking with something else.

"The body..." she whispered. "Emberg was in Elio's body, controlling it completely while Elio's consciousness was..."

Her eyes widened.

"Oh my god," she turned on her heel, abandoning her path to the statue. "Oh my GOD!"

She saved the core instead and started running back toward Lucien's location. If she was right, if what happened with Emberg that day was possible for her too…

Her face was still red from remembering Emberg's "examination," but now there was hope mixed with the embarrassment. She had to tell Lucien her theory. Because if she was right...

"That's how I'll do it," she said between breaths as she ran.

♢♢♢♢

Attempt after attempt, Elio and Poison Stinger refined their strategy against the kobolds.

Each failure taught them something new about coordinated combat against multiple powerful opponents. The breakthrough came when they finally managed to isolate and eliminate the kobold on the right.

With one enemy down, the dynamic shifted dramatically. No more perfectly timed rescues, no more coordinated pincer attacks. A single opponent, no matter how skilled, couldn't maintain the same pressure as a synchronized pair.

The victory, when it came, felt earned. Not through overwhelming power, but through persistence and adaptation. As the rewards materialized, Elio noticed something different, among them was a new combination potion and a summoning core.

The sight triggered a memory. The god's earlier message about combinations every ten levels... If level 20 had provided one opportunity for combination, could level 30 offer another helper to them?

Looking at the new core, possibilities began to form in his mind. His current invocations were powerful, but the ability to combine more in new ways... The tactical advantages would be significant, especially against the increasing numbers they'd face.

The question was: what kind of combination would best serve them when the enemies numbered in the millions?

♢♢♢♢

"So the extra combinations we get every ten levels..." Elio started, looking at Dionz for confirmation.

"Right!" The god brightened. "By level 100, you could have ten invocations out simultaneously. Quite the force when you think about it." His enthusiasm dimmed slightly. "Of course, that's assuming you figure out how to handle a trillion enemies first..."

Elio did some quick mental calculations. Level 30 would mean facing 32 million monsters. With his current power level and the time it took to eliminate each one... it was theoretically possible, but the time investment would be big.

"It could work," he mused aloud, "but it would take time just for that one level. And that's assuming I can maintain constant attacks without rest."

He glanced at the portal where four new monsters awaited. Time was a factor they couldn't ignore. While gaining more invocation combinations would be invaluable, the immediate challenge had to take priority.

"The book challenges will have to wait," he decided. "We need to focus on what's faster first."

Poison Stinger clicked its pincers in agreement while Emberg's flames flickered with renewed determination. Four opponents would be twice as challenging as two, but they'd learned valuable lessons from the kobolds.

"Though," Elio added, already thinking ahead, "once we figure out how to handle four coordinated enemies, maybe that strategy could help with the monster hordes..."

"Always planning ahead," Dionz noted with approval. "But yes, perhaps mastering these challenges will give you insights for the bigger ones. Ready to try the next level?"

Elio nodded, already preparing to merge with Emberg's form. They had a long way to go before facing those millions of enemies, but each victory brought new understanding, new possibilities. For now, four opponents would be challenge enough.