"What?!"
The group was momentarily stunned before promptly putting it to the test.
Fourth Brother was the most excited, immediately unleashing a skill: "[Extraplanar Vortex]."
A crimson black hole appeared and remained for several minutes.
"Holy crap! It really doesn't disappear!"
Fourth Brother was ecstatic. With a thought, the crimson flying swords he had summoned earlier didn't vanish; instead, they circled around him like loyal servants.
He tried controlling them to lift himself up. After some unsteady wobbling, they actually hoisted him off the ground, floating in the air.
"Hahaha! I can fly!"
Third Brother was lost in thought, muttering softly:
"Does that mean I can summon continuously?"
He tried using his second skill again. As energy surged, another cluster of giant vines began to gather around him.
"No... although it's faint, I can feel my stamina draining," Second Brother calmed down, carefully assessing his condition.
"It seems our skills have become inherent talents of our bodies, so there's no rigid cooldown like in the game."
"But using them will likely consume our internal energy or stamina."
He pointed at Fourth Brother floating in the air: "Like Fourth Brother here—maintaining those bats... uh, flying swords—must be continuously consuming something."
"That's still amazing!" Fourth Brother slowly landed, still excited.
"If we had enough mana potions... or if stamina could keep up, wouldn't that mean Third Brother alone could raise an army?"
"Theoretically, yes..." Second Brother looked at Third Brother and pressed further:
"Third Brother, can your summons stack? Can you summon the same type of summon multiple times?"
Third Brother concentrated for a moment, then shook his enormous deer head:
"It seems like the first and third skills can only have one summon active at a time. But the second skill's vines... there seems to be no limit as long as my stamina holds out."
"I remember your vines can also fire energy waves for ranged attacks, right?" Second Brother confirmed.
After receiving Third Brother's nod, Second Brother's expression relaxed completely, tinged with awe.
Crossing his arms, he marveled at the forest of vines that nearly filled the hall:
"Massive size, theoretically infinite numbers, equipped with ranged energy attacks, and leaving a toxic field upon death... plus the comprehensive enhancement and elemental infusion of your first skill..."
He summarized with a mix of teasing and genuine admiration:
"Tsk... so after all this, Third Brother has turned out to be the strongest fighter?"
"M-Me?"
Third Brother, whose claws were pointing at himself, shyly rubbed his enormous antlers, his voice still soft:
"But I don't want to fight..."
First Brother shook his head: "No need to fight ourselves. Besides, it's not wise for Third Brother to expose that kind of ability at this stage."
"But this way, we can face this world with more confidence."
First Brother looked at his brothers: himself, capable of transforming into a Balrog; the enigmatic necromancer; the versatile vampire; and the Druid with terrifying potential.
The power contained within this team far exceeded his initial expectations.
As his brothers continued testing their skills, First Brother began to ponder.
Skill combinations... what can my skills do?
First Brother stiffened slightly, the lava on his face wrinkling.
Fourth Brother noticed the abnormality. The lava forming his face was practically scrunched into a ball.
"First Brother?" Fourth Brother gently poked him with the handle of his scythe.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you jealous of us?"
First Brother snapped out of it, raising his head with an excited tone:
"I was thinking... since our skills no longer have cooldowns... can I... exploit a bug?"
"Bug?!" As soon as he heard the word, Fourth Brother's eyes lit up. He slid over to First Brother, striking an exaggerated salesman pose.
"Bug! That's the holy relic that keeps Cool House running! Esteemed Balrog, sir, you must share your idea!"
First Brother ignored Fourth Brother's usual antics and turned to the still-confused Third Brother, speaking in a firm tone:
"Third Brother, attack me with your summons!"
"???"
Third Brother was filled with question marks, his eyes full of confusion and panic.
"Huh? Attack you? No, no!"
Fourth Brother rubbed his arms and moved away from First Brother, disgusted:
"I misjudged you, First Brother! I never thought you were that kind of person. No matter how desperate you are, you can't lay a hand on your brothers!"
Second Brother, who had been silent, suddenly froze, then his eyes lit up with realization. He grasped First Brother's intention and exclaimed excitedly:
"You're trying to...?!"
"Exactly!" First Brother confirmed, a smirk curling at the corner of his lava-formed mouth.
Fourth Brother, watching the cryptic exchange between the two, pointed at Third Brother and complained loudly:
"Hey! What's with the coded talk? Can you be considerate of teammates whose IQ occasionally takes a vacation?"
Third Brother: "?"
Second Brother, suppressing his excitement, fired back with a quick question: "What's the effect of First Brother's first skill, [Energy Shield]?"
Fourth Brother answered instinctively: "Activates a shield, absorbs all damage, and converts the absorbed damage into ener..."
His voice cut off abruptly, his eyes widening in realization.
"In other words..." First Brother picked up where he left off, his tone confident.
"As long as I keep my energy shield active and continuously take damage, theoretically, I won't just avoid losing energy—I'll constantly convert the damage into stored energy!"
He paused, looking at his stunned brothers, then continued:
"And since there's no cooldown... as long as the attacks keep coming, my energy shield can stay active indefinitely, and my energy will keep growing!"
"This energy can be used to unleash other skills, or... simply keep me in a state of infinite energy at my peak!"
"I... holy crap!" Fourth Brother's jaw dropped.
"Oh! First Brother, you're a genius! This kind of bug is practically cheating!"
Second Brother also nodded vigorously: "If this works, First Brother will become invincible. Barring divine intervention, he could practically walk all over the place."
Fourth Brother: "Kidding aside, First Brother could walk all over the place even without this skill—after all, he has no legs."
Third Brother finally caught on. He looked at his ferocious summons, then at First Brother.
"So you're saying if I attack you, you won't get hurt?"
First Brother turned his gaze back to Third Brother, encouraging and expectant:
"That's right! Third Brother, don't hold back—attack me with everything you've got!"
This time, Third Brother didn't hesitate. He manipulated his enhanced fleshy vines to strike First Brother.
"Thwack!"
Under the stunned gazes of the group, First Brother went flying backward.
Fourth Brother: "Holy crap! First Brother hasn't activated his skill yet! What are you doing, Third Brother?!"
Third Brother: "I don't know what happened!"
"Cough! I'm fine..." A lava domain expanded, and First Brother hurried back, his injuries rapidly healing.
"Once I activate my skill, I'll be fine. Let's try again!"
"O-Okay."
Third Brother tentatively struck again, and First Brother immediately felt energy surging into his body.
"It works!" First Brother roared, his voice brimming with joy.
"Harder!"
Encouraged, Third Brother increased the force, and more vines joined in, lashing at First Brother.
Nearby, Fourth Brother watched the bizarre scene unfold, hesitating to speak.
A Wendigo whipping a Balrog... what kind of dream am I having?
Meanwhile, First Brother could feel energy pouring in even faster.
He maintained his domain, sensing the gradually filling power, and tried channeling some of it into the lava giant arm on his back. The flames on the arm instantly burned brighter.
"It works! It really does!" Second Brother excitedly recorded the results.
Fourth Brother was already dancing around in excitement: "Hahaha! Invincible! An energy perpetual motion machine combined with invincibility... damn it! I should've played a Paladin too."
As Third Brother manipulated more enhanced vines to join the "charging" process, Fourth Brother enthusiastically started attacking with his crimson daggers.
The energy converging on First Brother grew increasingly astonishing. Flames shot from the crevices of his lava body, making him resemble a walking miniature sun.
"Holy crap! First Brother, you've become a flashbang! I'm going blind!"
Fourth Brother covered his eyes with his cloak, even though this vampire probably wasn't bothered by bright light.
Second Brother ignored Fourth Brother's antics, his tone tinged with concern:
"First Brother, the energy is converging too fast! Can your body handle it? Do you feel like you're reaching your limit?"
First Brother fell silent for a moment, carefully assessing his condition, then spoke in an even stranger tone:
"I think... I've found another bug."
"?" x3
Fourth Brother exclaimed in horror: "Another one?! First Brother, were you possessed by the Bug God today?!"
"Yeah," First Brother's voice carried an air of disbelief.
"My skill converts damage taken into energy. Now, there's so much energy that my body is about to burst... but this state seems to be counted as damage too..."
He paused before delivering the conclusion that left everyone speechless:
"So, energy bursting me → counts as damage → damage is converted → generates more energy → continues to burst... It seems... to form a cycle."
Fourth Brother's jaw dropped as he muttered: "Dang... so the law of conservation of energy is just toilet paper to you? What kind of 'step on your own foot to ascend' perpetual motion machine is this..."
Even the usually calm Second Brother's eyes flickered with astonishment. But Third Brother raised a question:
"But First Brother, if all this energy just piles up inside you and can't be used effectively, it seems... kind of useless, right? And dangerous."
"No..."
Second Brother immediately denied, his voice trembling slightly with excitement as he turned sharply to First Brother:
"You can use that, right, First Brother!"
First Brother looked back with blazing eyes, as if volcanoes were erupting in his lava-like pupils:
"You mean... that?!"
"Exactly!" Second Brother nodded firmly, his tone decisive. "That!"
Fourth Brother, watching the two slip back into coded talk, waved his scythe in protest:
"Hey! Even by Terra's standards, I'm a Bloodfiend! I'm not a Liberi—stop speaking in riddles to me!"
First Brother turned to Fourth Brother and gave a thumbs-up.
"Then watch closely! My transformation!"
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