Chapter 697: Fifth Order [1]
Ding—!
It was the familiar sound of the notification.
After which, a window appeared before my very eyes. My heart sank at the sight of the window.
’What now?’
Nothing ever good happened from these notifications.
[Main Quest Activated]
Difficulty: N/A
Reward: 1,000,000 SP
Objective: Develop your first gate!
Location: N/A
Description: You’ve finally met the requirements to create your own Gate. With the experience you’ve gained, you are now capable of completing one on your own! Use everything you have learned to create a Gate. The minimum acceptable result is a 3-star grade. Anything below that will not be accepted.
Time Limit: 1 month!
"Eh...?"
But surprisingly, it was a quest that I had already received before.
"Wait, why is it showing me this again?"
I was well aware of this quest. It was something I’d been slowly working on, with several ideas already having come to mind. I’d even attempted it once before, only for Cedrick’s interference to bring everything to a halt halfway through.
’I remember that I was given partial rewards for the Gate Anchoring quest, with the time being extended. It seems like the ’system’ is in a hurry for me to develop this gate.’
Now...
This was an interesting piece of information.
Why was the system in such a hurry to get me to develop a gate?
There was still about a month until the deadline of the quest. Did something change?
’Is it because I’ve interacted with the other ’users’? Is that the way it is?’
I sat down in my chair, resting my chin in my hand as I mulled over the situation. The more I thought about it, the more I felt as though I was on the verge of grasping something. It felt as though the answer was right at the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn’t quite put it into words.
"Ugh."
But regardless of how hard I tried to think, I couldn’t quite get the answer out. There were several hypotheses in my mind, but none of them really made sense when I thought through them deeply.
’More information.’
I needed more information.
Thinking thus far, I shifted my attention back towards the item that rested on my desk.
It was an item that I was quite familiar with.
One... that I thought I wouldn’t see again.
"Should I feel thankful?"
I fiddled with the blank mask before my eyes. Feeling the mask’s cool, polished surface beneath my fingers, I turned it over and stared at the spot where my face would fit.
It felt a little different from the previous mask that I had.
I couldn’t quite tell what the difference was, but I wasn’t too bothered by it. I could just test it and find out.
I was about to do exactly that when my phone suddenly vibrated.
Trrr—
The moment I checked my phone, all thoughts about trying the mask stopped as I pursed my lips together.
"...It looks like he’s given me another chance."
The Guild Master that was.
The message was clear and simple: ’What do you need?’
There wasn’t much that was said, but those four simple words told me enough. The Guild Master was very likely going to resolve the situation surrounding me while, at the same time, providing me with the necessary items I’d need to reach the Fifth Order.
This was one of my greatest priorities, and even though I was apprehensive about owing the Guild Master too much, I was at a point where I felt that I had no choice but to take on such debt.
Thankfully, this wasn’t going to be a big debt.
"I already have all the necessary essence."
I’d gotten them from the Mist Quest a while back. I could even choose the attribute of the essence I wanted. I hadn’t chosen one yet, since I wasn’t sure whether I could remove the attribute afterward, or, if I could, which anomaly I should use it on.
"Right, which one should I go with?"
I looked ahead of me.
As if sensing what I was about to do, Mirelle’s head popped out of the painting. The cloth covering the mirror fluttered, while the TV screen in front of me flickered and the shadow beneath my feet began to wiggle.
"Alright, relax."
I pressed my hand down whilst thinking about the situation deeply.
The Conductor was out of the question. The requirements to upgrade it were enormous, and I simply couldn’t afford them in my current state. Not only that, but I had a feeling that upgrading it would make the Conductor even harder for me to control.
The Conductor was the only easy choice, though.
I had trouble choosing between the other four. Each of their skills was incredibly useful, and if I upgraded them with [Trait Transfer], I could gain their new skill as well.
"Ah, this is difficult."
I rubbed the back of my head. All of them were incredibly useful in their own way.
Mirelle with her warding skill, Mr. Jingles with its brainwashing skill, the mirror with its illusion skills, and the Realmwalker with its meat—ehm, its physical skills.
The back of my head was tingling for some reason.
"No, wait."
I suddenly recalled something.
"Right..."
I looked down to see the shadow wiggling beneath me.
"You’re not quite at the stage where you need essence."
The Realmwalker was still a -class anomaly. For an anomaly to require essence, it needed to be at -class. In that regard, I didn’t need to wait. I could upgrade the Realmwalker immediately.
"Okay, let’s start with you then."
I didn’t waste a single second.
Taking out all the shards I had with me, I gathered the [Conceptualization] shards together and removed their attributes.
Each time I removed an attribute, a cloud of mist would float out from the shard, which the Realmwalker would promptly absorb under the envious gazes of all the other anomalies present.
Every now and then, Mirelle’s voice would reach me.
"Right, I should’ve known. He really hates me. Why? I was so good..."
Conceptualization: 10/40.
"I must be the problem."
Conceptualization: 20/40.
"Just kill me."
Conceptualization: 30/40.
"I might be dead, but I feel dead inside."
With the last fragment in my hand, I paused.
The Realmwalker looked slightly different from before. Its presence felt noticeably stronger, and I could practically sense it squirming with energy.
This was a sight that I hadn’t seen in a while, and holding onto the final fragment, I took a breath before pressing [Yes].
Conceptualization: 40/40.
"...?!"
The change came quickly.
The shadow beneath me wiggled as the Realmwalker emerged from it, a dark fog slowly spilling from its body and covering the entire room.
Its body visibly thickened as the lights above flickered.
Flick! Flick!
Its long arms contracted slightly, gaining a greater bulk, while its legs stretched further and its back arched into a subtle, menacing hunch.
The dark veil that covered its body began to thicken, with its presence flickering in and out of my vision.
What sort of...
But that wasn’t the most noticeable change.
Instead, it was the change in the Realmwalker’s color that drew my attention. Its body deepened into a black so intense that it seemed to draw all the light from the room, swallowing everything around it in shadow. In an instant, all light seemed to vanish from my vision, leaving me engulfed in complete darkness.
I was blind.
Completely blind.
Thankfully, the transformation didn’t last long.
It took several minutes, and during those moments, the light gradually returned to my very eyes as the Realmwalker stood before me.
And then—
"....."
Silence.
The changes finally came to a stop, the Realmwalker flickering in and out of existence just before my very eyes, leaving me at a complete loss.
Curious, I checked its profile.
My breath paused the moment I did.
─────
Ranked Anomalous Entity - Voidwalker
[Description]
Once a Realmwalker, the Voidwalker had evolved through the assimilation of Conceptualization fragments. Its shadowy form had grown stronger and more resilient, now capable of completely absorbing light into its body. Beyond mere survival, the Voidwalker had gained the extraordinary ability to ignore the physical world.
Loyalty : 41--> 64 [+23] (....)
Skills :
[Body Morphosis]
: Skill enables the Voidwalker to alter its body in any way possible.
[Shadow Walking]
: Skill enables the Voidwalker to walk in the shadows and the other realm unobstructed.
[Conceptual Evasion]
: The Voidwalker can temporarily detach itself from physical reality, allowing attacks, barriers, and environmental effects to pass through its body.
Conceptualization: 0/80.
Essence [Conceptualization]: 0/10
─────
Oh...