《Mythos Of Narcissus: Reborn As An NPC In A Horror VRMMO》 Chapter 1: Erect The Knife Human beings were truly terrifying. "Hmmph! Mhpph!!!" They were always wearing masks, not faces¡ªhiding their true selves behind insincere expressions. "It''s that time of the month¡­ Ah, the gag is getting loose. Well, you can freely speak if you want to." Each smile and frown was a calcted lie, a shield against the world. "Phwah¡­! Please! Spare me! I''ve done nothing wrong!" Their minds harbor thoughts too dark to reveal, as they navigate social niceties with false words, building trust on a shaky ground. "You forgot that you stepped on my new shoes, then walked away without apologizing." I sighed, exasperated to give the minimal amount of reason for why I chose this man as mytest victim. "You''re very selfish and uncaring back then. But! I''m a kind person, so it hurts me to do this to you." This discrepancy between the expression and the mind, together with the unsymmetrical imperfection that appears on their faces¡­ Itpulsively urges me to strip it apart. "What kind of world where kidnapping is attributed to kindness!?" "Nuances exist, you know? Everything isn''t ck and white." "I-I don''t even know you! I don''t know jack shit about you!!" "Huh, are you saying that my existence is too insignificant for you to care about? Like an ant that deserves to be trampled on until their entrail drenched the concrete on the sidewalk?" "Hiikh!! I don''t mean it that way!" Well, not like it mattered on whether he remembered me or not. None of his actions really mattered. In the end, this man was just unlucky. "Yeah, right. Anyst words before I go full-on jigsaw on you though?" "Forgive me! Please!" This man in front of me tried his best to shake himself from the chair that was bound to him. "I will do everything that you told me! You want money!? My wife!? You can have it! P-please, just don''t kill me and I''m ready to abide by everything youmand! A-Atleast put that knife away!" "Womp womp." "AAAAARGH!!" Uncaring of the human''s noise, my hand weaved the instrument, delicately rowing the handle of the de as I attuned to the visceral scene. Ripple was the excess liquid as they leaked evermore. Like a painter who got reversed in time, my knife took away the blessing of our creator. "Aaaaaaaa-" The ''mask'' was extracted. After that, it was time to remove the scream. "... Not so loud anymore, aren''t you? When I was done, gushes of relief surged every inch of my body like a wave of calming symphony. The itch for sacrifice in my body subsided It had been sedated peacefully. "Man, I''m horrified that I already got used to this¡­" I had been afflicted with this weirdly extremepulsive behavior of wanting to strip the face of someone since the age of ten. Everytime I look at someone''s face, the urge grows stronger. And when it grew too much, my body started to severely break down. "... I need to burn his fingers and chop him to pieces." Back then, my body was satisfied by just striping the face of a doll, reapplying it, and then stripping it again. I even yed those obscure and horrifying mobile games that involve skinning or removing the face of the character. Nowadays, a fake one wouldn''t do. It needed to be the actual face of a living and breathing person. "A call?" My phone was ringing loudly as I drew it from my pocket. I hung the call and redirected the conversation to a third-party messaging app. There, I texted a simple "What''s up?" before I got dragged again into the same call. This time, it was through the messaging app. "Something''s up, big sis?" I started the conversation as casually as I could. "Are you okay, Lothair?" she asked. A worrisome tone could be heard from her. "Ah, I''m fine, something worrying you?" "You know, I noticed that you have been looking very sicktely¡­ and thest time we met, your hands were trembling¡­ So I just want to check up on you to make sure that you''re doing fine." Ah, right, my condition is getting worse as time passes by, and I have been trying my best to limit it to one person a month. Despite my obsession, I''m not enjoying this whole ''killing'' thing at all. "Yeah, I wasn''t feeling that well back then, but I''m fine now!" I said with a jolly sound ringing in the phone''s ear. "Just got my medication yesterday after counseling with a doctor. It shouldn''t be a problem anymore the moment I get back." "Thank goodness¡­ Just don''t be afraid to tell your big sis everything if you have anyplications, ''kay? You might be a fine graduate tackling an actual job in a society faraway from home, but this doesn''t mean you should bottle up your stress in a jar." "As if you can put your stress in a jar." "It''s a metaphor!" "Ahaha, thank you for checking up on me then. I really appreciate it." My older sister was a good person. "Mmm~! Don''t forget to bring a girlfriend or two when you get back here from working on your current project, alright?" "You''re saying as if you can get those things from a grocery store." "Come on~ be confident! You''re handsome enough to reel in some chicks by just whistling at them!" "What are we? Ten? That''s not how rtionships work." It was quite a long call, yet relieving. And the longer it was, the more assured my sister would be, which was a good thing. After a couple of yful banter back and forth, the call ended in a harmonious term. "Well, what I''m doing right now is definitely not how rtionships work." The less my family knows about what I''m doing behind their back, the better it would be for all of us. I still remembered the fear and disgust back then, when I was found out satiating mypulsive urge with the dolls that I bought with my own spare money. My family, they were too innocent. I didn''t want to sully them with the realization. Because I had fallen to the deepest trench, lower than the lows of society. "And that''s why I hid the truth from them for years, you hear me? Ah, right, you''re no longer able to speak, let alone live." Regardless of how many times I unmask people, I always wondered if there was something beyond the faces of the people that I interacted with. "Everyone is only a sack of flesh, in the end." After I wrapped everything about the preparation for the removal of my victim, I took a moment of rity as I inspected the room of the abandoned house that I''m currently in. There is one bedroom and a crib with many weathered children''s toys clumped at the edge. A family resided in this ce once. Whether they were happy or not, they marked their existence enough for a total stranger like me finding out about them in this world. "My hands are still red." Leaving my knife beside the bodysack, I went to the bathroom holding the cleaver that was covered with the same bloody hue. The scene was still a little bit messy, but it won''t be for long. I got all the chemicals and tools to make this abandoned ce squeaky clean. Not a single trail would be noticeable after I''m done. "I need to do this every month now¡­" Cleaning my hands on the wash basin, I stumbled upon the reflection of myself as I gazed at the vanity mirror. "This man." 198 centimeters in height, with a fit body and a facialplex that many deem to be very attractive in modern standard. An enviable person, they say. If only they knew what was beyond those skin. "And this face¡­" Whenever I gazed at a person, with no exception, I see it¡ªthe subtle, unnerving asymmetry in every human face. Eyes that should be mirrors of each other are misaligned, one sitting just a millimeter higher than the other. The slight droop of an eyelid, perhaps by two millimeters, and the uneven curve of a brow, each hair seemingly out of ce. Noses lean ever so slightly to one side, deviating by a mere degree or two, with nostrils that aren''t quite twins but distant cousins, differing in width by a fraction. Cheeks don''t match, one fuller, one more prominent¡ªone cheekbone jutting out a few millimeters more than the other. The jawline too, is often uneven, with one side more defined, perhaps half a centimeter longer. The chin never perfectly centered, often off by just a few millimeters. Ears don''t sit evenly; one is higher by a few millimeters, or slightlyrger in dimension. Even skin texture varies, with blemishes and scars adding to the disarray, each imperfection measured in millimeters but still impacting the overall symmetry. I found these kinds of imperfection on every face I found, no matter how beautiful they were. Including this face of mine, the one that many praised to be blessed by luck and gics. This urge of mine, made me want to rip it all apart. "Yet, I can''t stop buttch my eyes at those imperfections¡­" Because of this, living itself was a curse to me. However, the concept of suicide felt cheap and cowardice, and to a great extent, horrifying. ''I don''t want to die, but I''m afraid to live another day,'' a quote that kept on repeating inside my head. "What the-" And just as I thought that the view couldn''t be any worse, I saw a face other than mine faintly peeking inside the corner of the vanity mirror. An eerie face with jotting eyes and wide, distorted, empty smile. In a blink of an eye, that face covered the entirety of the mirror. The rash texture of this creature''s face, the uncanny anatomy of its false emotion, all of them were disyed clearly to me. And the situation just got worse as it tried to speak. "Give your weiner to me, handsome." Chapter 2: The Birth Of Daffodil Without realizing it, something wet and cold had already grabbed my left forearm, wrapping it in dark matter of foul ichor. I felt like it had already embedded itself deep beyond the skin, to the muscle tissue and the bone of my arm¡ªcorrupting it, stealing it from my very own vessel. It was extremely malicious and foreboding in just that one second, enabling my instinct to make my body act as fast as humanly possible¡ªmy right hand immediately on the cleaver, mming down the sharp edge at my own limb with disgusted gusto. That act fully separated that horror''s influence alongside half of my arm from my body. The ceramic basin exploded thanks to that aftermath of an impact, scattering about sharp pieces within this haunted bathroom. As I tried to make sense of what was going on, my detached left hand was already smothered by numerous dark tendrils that spawned from the ck-pitch mirror in front of me. "What the hell!??" Panicked, I scurried away from this part of the abandoned house as I sensed something crawling out from the very vanity mirror I gazed at. Still tightlyholding the cleaver in my right hand, I went back to the room where I left the bodysack and all of my stuff, only to encounter a horrifying entity right beside it. "Why are you running away, handsome?" An eldritch man-like entity, yfully caressing the heavy bodysack that I left there. And then that thing somehow stood up straight like a bipedal individual¡ªa spindly figure of desated skin stretched over an impossibly tall humanoid frame with its rib-cage visible, hitting the ceiling while maintaining a straight gaze at me. I remained frozen, analyzing the current phenomenon. Despite its horrifying appearance, its existence was strangely biological. A cold rhythm of breathing was rowed back and forth. Muscles attaching all sorts of eldritch organs into itself. To top it all, a horrifying face that possessed the same asymmetrical imperfection like any human would. A hopeful conclusion appeared at the back of my head. This being might be entirely supernatural, but it was currently inhabiting a physical vessel so that it could interact with this world. Knowing this, I dashed forward without any hesitation. Tendrils sprawled about as it tried to get hands on me, I shed them apart with my cleaver. Desperate and confused hands of that spindly body reaching out to me, I maintain a haste and steady footwork to kite it, before managing tond a disastrous strike with the blunt back of my cleaver, somehow breaking the bone of this abnormal creature of horror. And while it was staggered, I procured my knife and sprayer for my cleaning chemical. I only had one functional arm left, so changing between my options for weapons was much harder than usual. In this case, I used my teeth and armpits to cover myck of gripping body parts. "Be purified! Dumbass!" I instinctively shouted with teeth still clenching my knife, as I unleashed a dangerous liquid like an endangered skunk. "Gyah! How could you do this to me! You''re ruining my pretty face!!" I could still feel that this entity still had a focus on my whole action and position despite its staggered stance. With this in mind, I cautiously threaded forward posthaste. With my eyes on that imperfect face¡ª I used both of my knife and cleaver to mutte the ''mask'' from its truthful vessel, before dealing a repeated piercing aggression on every visible organ that it possessed. Again, and again. Until it awakens nevermore. "Hah¡­ hahahah¡­" What in the actual god-forsaken world did I just stumbled into?? "The fact that it can be killed¡­ baffled me¡­ Shouldn''t supernatural things like this be unkible or some sort?" Its entire existence exude immacte fear and unjustified sentiency, something that should only exist in folklore and fictional media. "... Now I got two times the mess, and I just wasted a huge chunk of my chemicals to down this thing." Adrenaline might have just given me tunnel vision back then, but the moment I realized that I might have gotten molested by this terrifying being if I failed to suppress or get away from it, sent an extreme chill down my spine. "Urgh, imagining it makes me want to puke." However, to conclude that this monster was utterly defeated would be blissful thinking. This thing appeared out of nowhere, probably teleported, and also out of the mirror! That wasn''t normal, and applying human''smon sense shouldn''t be the end-all be-all. The thing I killed might not be its real body, with the real one still inside the bathroom, or it could be hiding somewhere outside of this physical ne, observing, analyzing, and strategizing on how to take me down. "Should I be paranoid in this situation? I think I should be¡­" "Not once, hadve a human survived a fathometry from ????." "Yeah, probably, since I doubt that ???? can even be killed that easily. Wait, what-" A cmitous yet familiar voice invaded the seams of my mind, a whole different entity than the one I faced in this room. It started to disassemble my consciousness, inhabiting it, and filling it with something pure yet blemished within the confine of causality. "You chronologged your own kind too cherisffectionate this time around, ?????. You''re too close to unveil the enigmystery." "Who the hell is ??????? What is it supposed to have to do with me!??" My senses were scrambled, and I could notice a tinge of my existence slowly scraped away. "You might have forgotten about me, ?????. But I know every clockanisms about you." My bone marrow tried to dig their way out of my tissues, as my spine tried to break out from its fleshy cocoon. "You might feel an enhidden amount of puzzry on why you receive an apocaclysm¡ªyou might have wondered why you are cursed with such a cacophocordant~!" Enlightenment started to conceal my wail and inabilities. It seeped deep. It seeped forcefully. "As such, allow me to enlighten you with doration~" We live on a cid ind of ignorance in the midst of ck seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but today the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad or¡ª To hell with this bullshittery! "What!?" I refused anyone or anything to invade my mind and soul! My life is mine alone! I gave not a single permission to you, and thus I wouldn''t sumb! "... What in the Elderspell-" I gave zero shit about unfathomable knowledge and wisdom, all I wanted in life was to purge these eyes of mine so that I could see any imperfection no more! Even if I was too afraid of doing it, afraid of the darkness that might enrapture me for the rest of my life¡­ I should be the one who enact upon it, not anyone else. "To hell with you, ?????!" For some reason, I felt like I had just given a giant middle finger to someone with a name that I couldn''t even process in my mind. It might be more on the ''feeling'' than a factual, undeniable real thing, but the fervent emotion and hatred was greatly rooted deep as I feel infinitely into the chasm of darkness. Actually, that middle finger wasn''t even pointed to that eldritch voice that was trying to corrupt my mind. Something important appeared to be exiting the circumference of my consciousness, and I failed to notice what it was¡­ Everything was fleeting away. Like bits of crashing airne that was scrapped by the sky. Falling down, and down, and down¡ª "Blurhp!?" No! I''m bloody drowning! "Gaah!!" I pulled out my face from the shallow body of water that was cascading my breath with liquid. Even with my eyes closed, I could notice the numerous strange and foreign sensation riddling my surroundings, including my very own body. I coughed terribly like someone with influenza, trying to clear the pathway between my lungs and respiratory. Bright shines tried to seep through the tissues of my closed eyelids, barging like an annoying salesman in order for me to open the door. And thus slowly, I opened the door of my eyes. "... Where???" A morning-glory-shaped sky eluded above, with its centerid a pitch-ck sun surrounded by radiant rings that luminesce the sky. This ck-sun firmly stood at the highest angle above as if the time had only chirped at 12 o''clock, yet the hue of the sky came out more yellowish and jaded, as if an apocalypse had passed by. I looked around the lush yet foreign green trees in my surroundings, gaping the outside of the water path that I currently sat in. "Did I just get thrown into this shallow river? And a whole different world as an extension? Wait, something is wrong with my voice¡­" The pitch was higher, a bit too feminine yet mature, like the voice of raspy adult women who smoked a little bit too much. My head also felt a little bit heavier. "This is not my hair¡­ mine wasn''t long and sparkly golden¡­" I was covered in some sort white clothing, and there seemed to be a rather visible bump on my chest that wasn''t supposed to be there¡­ And then I looked at the shallow running water beneath. It was but a faint reflection, yet clear enough to take a good look at my own facialplexion. "Who??" It was the face of a troubled yet adorable youth. The coloration of the lips, the thick golden eyshes and the sharp ruby-like gaze piercing back through the wuthering reflection of the river¡ªI could only say the word ''cute'' as my first impression, since I don''t really get what makes someone''s face charming or beautiful in modern standard. However, there was something I noticed when I looked closer. "This face¡­" My heartrate rose faster than the munching speed of a starving squirrel. I couldn''t let go of my gaze, as I was deeply entranced by every face that was showcased by the running river. "... I think I have fallen in love." There wasn''t a single imperfection found upon this face, not even a faint smear of impurity and ''ugliness'' that I always found in a lot of people. Even those so-called people or images with facial symmetry perfection always had some sort of impurity that gave an eerie, uncanny feeling to them, resulting in the same urges of mypulsive behavior to rise. But this face possessed none of those! It was without imperfection while also giving zero uncanniness, something that shouldn''t be able to exist! "Urgh¡­" A great amount of forced information rushed into my mind like an unskippable info-dump. The more information unzipped, the more confusion grasping into my throat. Everything in this flow of knowledge, all of them were trying to break my perception and reality. After a whole solid minute, I was born anew, alongside the caravan of wisdom that camped at the stop of my cranium. "Detail screen?" And just as I tried to put my knowledge into action, a set of floating holographic screens emerged in front of my eyes. ¡ª [Narcissus] [Unknown, Female, Age 20(???), Unaffiliated] ¡ªAbilities¡ª [???? ?????????: ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????????? ??? ????????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?????, ???????? ? ??? ???? ??????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????????? ????????] ¡ªHighlighted Traits¡ª [Psychopath: This individual exhibits a profoundck of empathy and remorse, coupled with an innate ability to manipte and deceive others. Their calcted and ruthless behavior allows them to achieve their goals without regard for the well-being of others] [Impossibly Dexterous Fingers: This individual possesses an extraordinary level of skill and precision in using their fingers and hands, enabling them to perform delicate and intricate tasks with unparalleled proficiency] [Mysterious Past: This individual has a history shrouded in secrecy and enigma, with unknown origins and untold experiences that often intrigue and unsettle those around them. Their past may hold hidden skills, powerful connections, or dark secrets that influence their present actions and decisions] [Angelic Charisma: This individual possesses an ethereal and captivating appearance that exudes a sense of purity and grace, often inspiring awe and admiration in those who behold them. Their otherworldly charm and radiance can influence others, making them seem almost divine or celestial] ¡ª [<{Biography}> {Inventory} {Health} {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª Everything felt so sudden, so overwhelming. Because if every information that was bestowed to me happened to be true, then I had somehow be one of these so-called Non-yable Characters in a massive digital world of a Virtual Reality Massive Multiyer Game. "What in the god-forsaken tarnation¡­" However, aside from all of these mind-bending realization, there was one thing that severely bothered me. This Biography section of the screen in front of me¡­ There''s so many things about it that felt very insulting to me. "Isn''t Narcissus that dude in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection¡­?" Not only did it insinuate that I''m narcissistic, it also tantly deem me as a psychopath in one of my highlighted traits! Though, if I ran down the chronicle of what just happened, I did, to a great extent, fell in love with my own reflection¡­ "I guess the only real allegation is whether or not I''m a psychopath¡­" I, for one, believed that other than my issue with wanting to strip people''s faces, I''m a fairly normal human being inside. Of course, one couldn''t fully judge themselves, since the brain would most-often-than-not attempts to skew-in a positive self-perception toward a much more selfish note depending the person''s own belief. "Regardless, I shouldn''t be sitting in this river like a crazy homeless person any longer." There was so much information that just got irresponsibly dumped into my head like a toxic wastepack, it would take a good while to analyze and cover them all. Firstly, I need to confirm this ce, and secure myself a foothold to survive a day in this world. "Because the ''night'' might be the actual end of me." [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 12 hours_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] "... What?" Chapter 3: Woozy Numbers And Percentages [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 11 hours_] "This thing has been ringing in my head nonstop for the past hour¡­" [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] "For goodness sake, shut up!!" [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] "AAAAAA-" Well, it didn''t take more than another hour for me to subconsciously remove the notifications'' existence from my mind. It still existed, but I deluded myself to make it not exist. Just before this, I possessed a lot of undeniable questions of worries that were haunting me like a mad gue. Why did I get here? Why am I Narcissus? Why did all of these things even happen to me? How many times had passed in the actual world? Is this whole deal a dream and I''m somehowatosed as a convicted murderer? How are my family doing, my job, my projects¡­ And all of these worries dwindled thanks to the constant annoyance from the notification that popped up every ten seconds. "I think I have already secured my foothold in this area." My breath was exhaled in relief as I wiped the dirt away from my hands. "This body is seriously something else." [Impossibly Dexterous Fingers: This individual possesses an extraordinary level of skill and precision in using their fingers and hands, enabling them to perform delicate and intricate tasks with unparalleled proficiency] This highlighted trait in the biography section of my detail screen wasn''t sugar coated at all. It was actually unparalleled in terms of efficiency, everything that I imagined of me doing something with these hands was perfectly enacted without a single mistake. There was also little to no limitation of what these hands could do in terms of speed and precision, to the point that I was convinced that it might not be impossible for me to just catch a flying bullet midair. "Just with these hands alone, I managed to build a wooden cabin in less than an hour, heh." My whole section of limbs and torso might be crazy sore and stiff right now, with my palms battered beyond red and bruised because it was very weak despite the godly dexterity¡ªbut I managed to prove that these hands were indeed inhumane. From carving, crafting tools, and all sorts of utilities needed to perform the construction of the cabin, with its furniture, and stiff wooden bed that imitate an actualfort that I had before this whole shenanigans¡ª These hands were absurd. "The day is still far from reaching the night too. Well, thanks to the built-in clock that was persistent in my head." I could give a small tour to the wooden cabin I made, but I don''t think it was something that was as important. So without further ado¡­ [<{Biography}> {Inventory} {Health} {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] When opening my detail screen, there were another six tabs of categories alongside it. "Can I touch it like an interactive UI? Or do I just need to think of switching the section of the detail screen just like how I opened the detail screen in the first ce?" Nevermind, thetter worked. ¡ª [Inventory] [Mass carried: 0.8 kg, Overall armor: 14%] ¡ªEquipment¡ª [Wooden Stick (poor 90%) - 0.1 kg] ¡ªApparel¡ª [White Chiton (normal 79%) - 0.7 kg] ¡ªItems¡ª [None] ¡ª [{Biography} <{Inventory}> {Health} {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª Huh, the stick I''m holding got included? If I dropped it, would it also be removed from the equipment? ¡ªEquipment¡ª [None] "I guess that is a little bit too obvious, huh." I could also ess the information about the things within the inventory. Detailed information such as the mass, durability, deterioration rate, beauty, mmability, range, potential damage, type of damage, and possibly ten more lines of numbers showcased the moment I prompted to look into the detail of the weapon. "... That''s a lot of numbers and percentages. Like, a lot." At the least, the description for the item was shorter than I expected. [Wooden Stick (poor 90%) - 0.1 kg: The Wooden Stick is a rudimentary item that can be used as a basic melee weapon or a tool for simple tasks] It might be a little bit simplified, though. "The next is¡­ the Health tab?" ¡ª [Health Status] [Overall Health: 80%, Pain: 55%] ¡ªVitals¡ª [Consciousness: 85%] [Movement: 90%] [Maniption: 980%] [Hearing: 200%] [Sight: 90%] [Breathing: 95%] [Blood Filtration: 100%] [Blood Pumping: 120%] [Metabolism: 90%] [Lifeline: 100%] [Sanity: 100%] ¡ªInjuries¡ª [Left Hands: Bruised (minor - 10% pain)] [Right Hands: Bruised (minor - 10% pain)] [Left Arm: Fractured (minor - 20% pain, -20% maniption)] [Right Leg: Sprained (minor - 15% pain, -20% movement)] ¡ªConditions¡ª [Mild Infection: Left Hand (Suppressed by immunity - 5% overall health decline per hour for 3 hours)] ¡ªEnhancements¡ª [None] ¡ª [{Biography} {Inventory} <{Health}> {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª The infodump that I got in the beginning didn''t really tell me the values within my own detail screen, but it certainly did give me some hints about how the percentage works. 100% for the Overall Health would be the peak value, while a body that possessed zero wounds orplications would possess 0% value in Pain. For the Vitals, the value of 100% indicated the average of what I presumed the capability of your ordinary Joe in the real world. So in my case, 980% in Maniptions just meant that my hand or limbs maniption were just 9.8 times better than your average human¡ªand also probably the equivalent of having 20-ish hands on your body. "So my true value should be 1000% for Maniption, huh. I suppose that is the effect of the Impossible Dexterous Finger trait." I grinned with unfounded pride and curiosity. And as for the 200% in Hearing, it was probably because of the weird elven-like ears that I got. I didn''t notice the shape of these ears until like¡ª30 minutes after I found myself in this world. Definitely not because I''m too fixated with the perfection of my face, definitely not. "I should also start crafting some sort of a mirror~" There were actually a lot more nuances in this tab, but it would take forever if I dabbled more. So I just decided to continue appraising the rest of the content. "As for the rest of the tabs¡­" They were a nuke of an informational fest. Like straight up, numbers and data everywhere. The Needs tab was as implied by the title, it gave me the information of my overall mood, need forfood, beauty, rest,fort, social, recreation, hygiene, temperature, etc. To summarize the current state of my Needs: I had 80% of Overall Mood, which was boosted a lot by the fact that I''m a Psychopath in my Highlighted Traits. "Moving on." The Social tab showcased my opinion in terms of rtionship with other people in this world and what kind of opinion I had for them. The value of 0 indicates full neutrality, while minus value means that my opinion of them is negative, and anything below -50 means that I just straight up detest them, while anything beyond -100 is full hostility. However, because I possessed zero rtionship, they weren''t shown in this tab. "So I''m not even transmigrated into another person''s body, I just straight up got thrown into this world in my current state and form¡­ Either that, or the owner of this body is a full-time hermit with zero interaction with anything that moved." The Log tab explicitly showed a tidbit of summary of everything that I did with the frequency of one report per hour. This was a little bit terrifying. The fact that one could just open the detail screen of someone and get hold of their whole activity without needing to pay for a private investigator¡­ "Wait, if this is a game world, then won''t things like opening a detail screen should be something that only an actual yer can perform?" Because I''m sure that I''m an NPC. The infodumps told me so, and the fact that I couldn''t perform a lot of the functions and features that the forced information told me about what the yer could do¡ªI already cemented myself as one. Could this be rted to the reason of why I was haunted by ''that'' notification? Hmm, Icked a concrete set of evidence toe up with any sort of usible conclusion. "With that, there is a single tab left." Yeah, no. I''m not information savvy enough to read all of the things inside the Info tab. From my proficiency in things like shootings, construction, crafting, mining, nting, to the IQ of my intelligence¡ªfrom the mass amount of flesh that I possessed, to the minimum and maximum walking speed and negotiation proficiency¡­ And that''s not even scratching the surface. "It took me five seconds to scroll all the way down at the highest velocity¡­" The only thing I noticed that wasn''t told outright was my birthce and birthday, which reminded me of that one trinket of detail in my biography section. [Unknown, Female, Age 20(???), Unaffiliated] The ''Age 20'' part was meant to represent the biological age of the vessel, while the brackets showcased the actual age of the soul or mind. "I guess that will be a mystery for another day." I sighed as I leaned back, swaying back and forth on my rocking wooden chair. All these intricacies in this so-called VRMMO, something that I couldn''t imagine to actually exist in my era. Even the year before I got transferred into this world as an NPC, the concept of Virtual Reality in the gaming world only amounted to a screen that was turned into a pair of handheld controllers and a heavy giant headset. Assuming that the yers in this world could experience the same thing as I do, then it might be some kind of sci-fi level technology that only exists in those popr deep-dive VRMMO fictions where the digital world and reality couldn''t be discernable. Then again, they might be experiencing this world through the same kind of wacky headgear that I saw in OurTube video once. Regardless, my curiosity for this ''game'' as a whole had reached an all time peak. "Idling here for a while should increase the value of my overall mood a little bit." The infodump did tell me the name of the game itself, but it didn''t tell me anything beyond that. "Mmm~ if only I could just open the inte and search it~" Just as I thought about that, a screen with familiaryouts suddenly appeared right in front of me. "... Holy shit." Chapter 4: Fallen Carcosa Online In an unknown non-advanced technological world where any sense of modern semnce was a bliss, being stripped from a proper sophisticated human within a society full of cool gadgets and unlimited ess to any avable knowledge¡ªwas usually the highlighted struggle of being transported to another world. However, in my case, for some reason¡ª I had ess to the whole freakin'' inte. "I don''t think that a mere NPC in a video game should have this kind of ess at all¡­" Now with the obviousness that something was wrong with my existence in this seemingly digital world, could this power be rted to the redacted ability that I possessed in my biography tab? ¡ªAbilities¡ª [???? ?????????: ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? ????????? ??? ????????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ?????, ???????? ? ??? ???? ??????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ????????? ????????] "The notifications are also still spamming in the background¡­" Well, back to the inte. Albeitcking any kind of real identity, and an actual email, I was able to fully navigate the sea of information through the very same search engine that I was familiar with before I got murdered by an unknown entity and transported here. From the grand library of videos to the degenerate and toxic-spawn of social media, my hands weaved the floating holographic keyboards that registered the input from the touch of my fingers. And with the literal inte connected to the back of my brain, I was also able to ess the real timeline of events. Today was the 15th of October, 2030. The day I decided to grab a victim for unmasking, and the day of my possible disappearance from the real world, was 12th of October, 2025. Five years had actually passed in the real world. "... I can''t find it." I searched my name and there was no news about it anywhere on the inte. There was no news about the finding of a serial killer who rips the face of innocent people every month, nor was there any news about the dead body of a terrifying paranormal creature riddled with stabbing wounds. "My name wasn''t even on any watchlist or list of deceased¡­" I tried making any kind of email, but I failed to do so because the registration process now required an intensive submission of phone numbers and proof of identification documents. "Why so much requirement?? Isn''t making an email supposed to be as easy as typing your first andst name before??" Without any method of making an ount on a social tform, I couldn''t connect back to my acquaintances. Not to mention, my family and siblings, especially my oldest sister, was very keen on not meddling with any sort of social media. The only concrete clue about them were thephone numbers that I couldn''t interact with unless I also had one. And there was also a chance that they already got a new one, making my only clue about contacting them back to obsolete. "It felt as if I had just been erased from that world¡­" The depressing realization aside, I also managed to progress in filling the shitty holes that were left by the inconsistent info dumps that I received. I was able to enterthe official website of the VRMMO that I''m currently in, alongside what kind of game that I''m currently in. ¡ª Fallen Carcosa Online ¨C A Horror Survival Colony-Management VRMMO. Step into the chilling world of Carcosa, where thend is shrouded in perpetual anomaly and unspeakable horrors lurk at every turn. You y as the Storyteller, a fragile yet attentive messiah that was blessed with psionic powers to lead and create a safe haven for the inhabitants of Carcosa. Guide and bless the survivors of this nightmarish world using the powerful resonance boons known as Fairytales, by using your experience and imagination to put enhanced words into a book-like medium, and then make your chosen Troupe''s member resonate with it to give them unique and powerful influence to the world. In Fallen Carcosa Online, you will immerse yourself in an ever-evolving, self-driven storytelling experience filled with endless possibilities. Forge alliances, recruit new members to your colony-like bastion, develop groundbreaking technologies unrestricted by conventional tech trees, and harness the sheer willpower of humanity to fend off the nightmarish threats that gue thend. Will you uncover the dark secrets hidden within Carcosa and break its cycle of despair? Your journey will test your resolve as you confront the horrors that threaten to consume everything you''ve built. Warning: This game features explicit and disturbing scenarios that may be unsettling for sensitive yers. To ensure a safe and healthy experience, all yers are required to pass a Major Mental State Examination. Sessful candidates will receive free mental healthcare and monthly check-ups to support their mental wellbeing in supported countries. ¡ª Within the official website, there was a link that directed me to make an appointment to attend this Major Mental State Examination. "Has the gaming regtion changed this drastically over the past years?" Despite not being an avid gamer myself, I still updated myself about things that were happening in the game industry andmunity. Still, I''m more leaning to the normie side of the spectrum, so my opinion probably doesn''t count. "... I see." ¡ª Fallen Carcosa Online will be released globally on the 20th of December, 2030. ¡ª The game wasn''t even out, there were zero yers referred as the Storyteller in this world as of now. Well, now the constant nagging that I''m currently experiencing made sense somehow. [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 10 hours_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] "Despite being the middle of the daylight, it takes quite a while to reach the dusk, huh." It might be quite confusingto someone who read the timer as ''10 hours left until dusk'' while it was still in the brightest broad daylight of the moment, which passed far from morning. Well, that was because the cycle of a day was 48 hours instead of the usual 24 hours. The length of the daytime and nighttime respectively was 24 hours, meaning that the people of this world slept two deep-sleeps a day to maintain a healthy body. "If there is no time fluctuation between this world and the real world, then it would be safe to say that this world is designed so that the yer can cycle through the daytime and nighttime experience one day each." With the night time being predominantly filled with something called Random Events and Cmity Objects, it seemed that the developer wanted their yers to have one whole day to prepare and one whole day to go through the adversity. "A Horror Survival Colony-Management VRMMO¡­" I guess the reason why there is a lot of information for a single NPC like me was to allow the yer to judge on whether I''m suitable enough to join this so-called ''Troupe''. "So I''m basically a recruitable colonist, huh." Just as I wanted to wrap up this whole inte surfing and decided to give myself a moment to process this whole information, I sensed an individual trying to sneak into the vicinity of my wooden cabin. I peeked through the peephole that I grafted to the wall beside the door. It was a woman with long orange hair and a pair of beastly wolf-like ears on top of her head. She hadn''t seen me yet. I wonder if I could open her detail screen just like how I could do it with mine. "..." It looked like I could. ¡ª [Lupina] [Wolf Beastman, Female, Age 22 (28), Unaffiliated] ¡ªAbilities¡ª [Feral Rage: In the heat of battle, this individual can enter a berserk state, drastically increasing her strength, speed, and pain tolerance. In this state, she bes a relentless force of nature, capable of tearing through enemies with raw power. Her senses sharpen, allowing her to anticipate and react to attacks with animalistic reflexes] ¡ªHighlighted Traits¡ª [Predatory Instincts: This individual has heightened senses and an innate understanding of hunting and tracking. Her keen sense of smell and sharp eyesight allow her to detect even the faintest trails, making her a formidable pursuer] [Unquenchable Hunger: This individual possesses an insatiable appetite for both physical and emotional pleasures. Her constant yearning drives her to seek out new experiences, often leading her into dangerous situations and risky encounters] [Beastly Resilience: This individual''s body is incredibly durable, able to withstand extreme physical punishment. Her rapid healing factor ensures that injuries mend quickly, though scars may remain as trophies of past battles] ¡ª [<{Biography}> {Inventory} {Health} {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª [Inventory] [Mass carried: 4.9 kg, Overall armor: 35%] ¡ªEquipment¡ª [Steel Broadsword (good 90%) - 1.2 kg] ¡ªApparel¡ª [Reinforced Leather Vest (good 75%) - 1.0 kg] [Padded Leather Tunic (good 80%) - 0.9 kg] [Quilted Undergarment (good 85%) - 0.5 kg] [Waist Pouch (normal 90%) - 0.4 kg] [Leather Boots(normal 90%) - 0.7 kg] ¡ªItems¡ª [Small Herb Pouch (good 100%) - 0.2 kg] [Potion of Healing (strong 100%) - 0.2 kg] [Dried Meat Rations (normal 90%) - 0.5 kg] ¡ª [{Biography} <{Inventory}> {Health} {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª [Health Status] [Overall Health: 95%, Pain: 15%] ¡ªVitals¡ª [Consciousness: 95%] [Movement: 100%] [Maniption: 90%] [Hearing: 150%] [Sight: 110%] [Breathing: 100%] [Blood Filtration: 110%] [Blood Pumping: 110%] [Metabolism: 105%] [Lifeline: 100%] [Sanity: 80%] ¡ªInjuries¡ª [Right Shoulder: Bruised (minor - 10% pain)] [Left Leg: Scratched (minor - 5% pain)] ¡ªConditions¡ª [Heightened Libido: This individual experiences a constant state of arousal, which can distract her from focusing fully on tasks (10 days)] ¡ªEnhancements¡ª [Rapid Regeneration: Minor wounds heal in half the usual time] ¡ª [{Biography} {Inventory} <{Health}> {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª Chapter 5: Wolf-ish Surprise Checking on the Log tab of this Lupina person, she seemed to be with someone else called Verina before both of them were exhausted from running away from a certain beast. This happened around forty minutes ago. It was unknown whether the other person was, and how this Lupina chick appeared to be sneaking and rather wary of its surroundings, as if she was trying to raid the witch''s house, or finding an illegal shelter to avoid something. And for some reason, she was sweating like crazy, and had an Overall Mood of 40% with the tag ''Desperation -20'' being the highest modifier in the Needs section. But all of the stats aside, I couldn''t feel a single ounce of hostility from her. It would be better if this encounter ended without any conflict, so I decided to just normally open my door and asked this curious visitor what it was about. If she happened to be hostileter, my Maniption should be strong enough to do something in close range to pin her down, without giving her a chance to react and activate her ability. "You look rather pale, traveler, is there anything that I can help you with?" I acted my part as someone who might happen to live around this ce and greeted the orange-haired wolf woman first. At first she was rather startled by my presence,bined with the face of disappointment, but then her face reddened for some reason, and she became much more flustered as her twitchy lips failed to create a coherent sentence. "I-I''am¡­" "If you happen to be free of ill intent, I suppose you can try to cleanse your fatigue in my humble abode," I said with a collective smile. "And then I can hear your inquiry afterward." How was that? Natural as ever, right? I was once a part of a Theater Club back in my highschool days. ying a mask while acting as someone should always be second nature to me. This pattern of speech should fit a wise hermit, a non-threatening interaction to lower her guard down while also prodding her to be more open for a friendly interrogation session. I wanted to know what happened to her acquaintance with the name Verina. Something must''ve happened that led to their separation must''ve happened somewhere near this area, and I need that information to increase my chance of survival. "Is it fine for me to trouble you, miss fairy?" she asked as if she was trying to hold in something. Fairy, huh, so that''s what I''m supposed to look like in this world. In Carcosa, there was a major race of humanoid people referred to as fairies. They ranged from tiny people with wings to a human-size elven-like individual with sharp ears, unfathomable youth, and lifespan. So, it wasn''t like this Lupina person wasplimenting my look, it was just that I probably looked like the representation of a fairy in this world. "Come on in, then~" Just as I invited her with my hand, she suddenly lunged at me and pinned both of my arms to the ground. It happened faster than I expected, especially afterparing our numbers and percentages. "I''m sorry! I''m so sorry!" she screamed as she intensely looked into my eyes. "That beautiful face, that soft illustrious skin, it doesn''t help my rut in the slightest!" "You''re a female Wolf Beastman, how did you even get into a rut?" I asked with the confusion of a mammalian biology as a reference. "I expected that you would hold some lust with you, but not this intense¡­" The developer of this game seriously put this kind of mechanism into the world¡­ "A-At first I was able to hold it in," she gulped, albeit still drooling profusely. Her eyes were shaking like an addict that was on the verge of breaking down. "But you look more attractive the closer I get, and I can''t help it!" True! This face was probably the most attractive one I''ve ever seen in my life. Then again, I''m incredibly biased since it ticked all of my boxes. "So what is your n then?" I asked casually, raising one of my eyebrows as I struck azy gaze. "Even with your current carnal thirst, our bodies aren''tpatible. You won''t get the release that you''re searching for." "Hahaha, that doesn''t matter!" Finding little to no resistance from me, shefortably ced one of her hands on my white chiton. "We won''t know until we try." Wait, I just realized. This was technically an unconsented assault, wasn''t it? Then again, an assault was already unconsented to begin with. This was my first time being pinned by a woman, so it came out like a brand new experience that I was trying to process. Regardless, I''m not quite fond of this. Just as when Lupina tried to loosen my clothing, I quickly grabbed her arm and twisted my body to pin her body to counter the weight. Without any hesitation, I neutralized her left arm by fracturing the bones by colluding it with the ground and a powerful haymaker. "AAARGH-" She possessed a Rapid Regeneration enhancement, so this wound won''t be that permanent for her. Quickly after, I pulled her right arm and put a great pressure on her wrist, enough to cause great pain and difort, but not enough to break it. At the same time, my legs snaked and proceeded to choke her neck, preventing an ease of breathing while keeping the pressure. "As much as I appreciate the gentle offer, I''m not in the mood to explore that kind of experience yet." "Urgh¡­ y-your thi¡­" I loosened the strangle on her neck, curious about what she was about to say. "Come again?" "Your thighs are so thick and soft, I don''t mind being choked to death by these beautiful things." "... I couldn''t rte to your feeling, but I appreciate thepliment." "You''re also the most beautiful person I''ve ever met." "I know." "Can I propose to you to be my wifey?" "I don''t think marriage works that way." "Well, at least I tried." "Have youe to your senses now? Want me to release you from this chokehold?" "No, keep it this way. I might try to assault you again the moment I see an opportunity." "... You enjoy being strangled by my thighs." "I got caught." While interrogating her, I casually opened her detail screen to find out more about her physicality. Amidst this, she appeared to be incapable of seeing the holographic screen. Let alone knowing that it was possible in the first ce that you could just open a detail screen of someone to know an excessive information about them. "I have the feeling that you''re not alone," I said. "Any opinion regarding that matter?" "W-what are you saying?" she asked as her eyes scrambled everywhere. Her heartbeats certainly rose drastically, a great sign of distress and panic attack. I wondered if it had something to do with this invisible person within our vicinity. "Well, there''s no reason for you to stay hidden," I stated while staring at my opened door. "I managed to move faster than the wolf, if you happen to attack me, I might reflexively decapitate her as a reaction." Just as I said that, a person uncloaked themselves from invisibility, revealing herself aiming a musket-like firearm at my head. Her neck-length green hair fluttered after uncloaking. She possessed a pair of exotic exhaust pipes on both sides of her head, looking as if she had a pair of horns. Despite the awkward situation we were in, her violet eyes remained calm and steady. ¡ª [Verina] [Kilnn, Female, Age 24 (50), Unaffiliated] ¡ªAbilities¡ª [Lifeburn: This individual can channel her physical energy instead of a lifeline to cast powerful spells, but doing soes at a cost. The intense energy flow heats up her body, necessitating the use of her exhaust pipes to release the excess heat. This ability also allows her to cast multiple spells in quick session thanks to the resources distribution, but prolonged use can lead to a much more severe physical and mental exhaustion] ¡ªHighlighted Traits¡ª [High Consciousness: This individual''s brain operates at an extraordinarily high level, granting her increased cognitive abilities and enhanced situational awareness. This heightened state of consciousness allows her to process information rapidly and react toplex situations with precision.] [Heat Resilience: Due to the constant expulsion of heat from her exhaust pipes, This individual''s physical body has developed a resistance to high temperatures. She can withstand extreme heat that would incapacitate others, making her less vulnerable to heat-based threat] [Ohrtender''s Expertise: This individual has honed her skills as an Ohrtender, mastering the art of using Lifeline as a magical resource. Her deep understanding of this arcane energy allows her to manipte it with finesse, casting spells that other sorcerers could only dream of] [Dead-Calm Face: This individual appeared to be devoid of emotion with her eternal poker face, but that iron-willed facial expression is only a facade. She possesss the same capacity of empathy and emotion like an average person, just not as obvious] ¡ª [<{Biography}> {Inventory} {Health} {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª [Inventory] [Mass carried: 7.5 kg, Overall armor: 38%] ¡ªEquipment¡ª [Lifeline Infused Musket (fine 85%) - 2.5 kg] ¡ªApparel¡ª [Reinforced Ohrtender Robe (good 80%) - 1.2 kg] [Chainmail Undergarment (good 75%) - 2.0 kg] [Lifeline Conduit Bracers (fine 90%) - 0.6 kg] [Reinforcement Harness (normal 75%) - 0.4 kg] [Leather Boots(normal 90%) - 0.7 kg] ¡ªItems¡ª [Potion of Lifeline Restoration (strong 100%) - 0.2 kg] [Herbal Remedy Pouch (good 100%) - 0.2 kg] [Crystal of Focus (fine 95%) - 0.4 kg] ¡ª [{Biography} <{Inventory}> {Health} {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª She might have just arrived here, trying to find Lupina''s formerly unknown whereaboust. Otherwise, Lupina wouldn''t be as panicked when I asked that question. Chapter 6: Verina, The Ohrtender Also, I''m lucky that this Verina person didn''t just blow my head into smithereen with that musket. I definitely need to be more wary around any kind of invisible entity. I sometimes forgot that they had the upper hand and could just end my life in a jiffy. "You know that I could just shoot your head and be done with it, right?" Verina said with her perfect poker-face. "I know, I already had an introspective enlightenment about it before you said that," I replied in a casual tone, with a very courageous smile on my face. "You still didn''t end up pulling the trigger, however." "I doubt that I gain anything from killing you." Her voice and expression was so monotonous, that it made her rather expressive with how she enunciated her words. "Because killing this pup over here exists as an option." Verina shifted her musket from aiming my head to Lupina''s forehead. She even stepped forward and pressed the cold barrel of the musket onto Lupina''s skin. "Hiikh!" "This wolf got me scammed of all my bloodies." Verina''s voice was filled with anger, yet still monotonous. "She even mistook an aphrodisiac mushroom with the beef mushroom, like a blind jackass who will proudly lunge into danger amidst the time of crisis." "I''m so sorry!" Lupina cried. "I won''t do it again!" "You were suddenly gone like a loose convict the moment an opportunity existed." "Hiikh! That''s because it doesn''t allow me to relieve myself!" Lupina pleaded, by making an excuse. "I already suggested you use the handle of your broadsword." Verina answered by pushing the barrel of her musket further forward. "Such a method should suffice a dumb and beastly dopamine-seeking brain of yours." "Hiiiiikh!!!" The exhaust pipes on Verina''s head began to exhale hot fumes into the air. The infodumps that I got certainly educated me of this behavior beforehand, but seeing it right in front of me was still a surreal feeling. Verina was a Kilnn, a race consisting of ancient humans with far-more advanced brains than normal humans. Although regarded as an entirely different race, it was mostly a mutation that happened because of their ancestor''s greed to amodate sorcery into their life, by utilizing their own ''lifeline'' as the resources. This process needed a greaterputation for the brain and the spine, which resulted in their current biological state where they can do some psionic and magical stuff in the exchange of heating their own organs. Those exhaust pipes were meant to filter out the heat from their body, ensuring that they won''t go into an overlock and fry themselves. "Looks like everything is fine and dandy," I casuallymented. After confirming that a conflict was unnecessary, I began to properly wee these guests with hospitality. By giving them a wooden table and a pair of wooden chair that I constructed on the spot because I hadn''t prepared one in advance. "This is the first time I''ve seen a fairy dared to use the nature around them as building blocks," Verinamented, still with the same monotone face and voice. "I hope that I don''t sound too judgemental, since I do believe that stereotype doesn''t apply to every fairies in Carcosa." Well, I doubt that I''m a fairy to begin with, so her concern was justifiable. "I apologize for the harm I caused," I said while putting a wood-woven basket full of fruits and berries that I foraged with the help of having an innate inte. "If there are any lingering difort, feel free to protest." "Well, as a beast person, I''m much more resilient than a normal human," Lupina said with a rather concerning smirk on her face. "Besides, I experienced what heaven felt like, so I should be the one who is thankful." She seemed to be using her broken hand normally. Thest time I checked, her Maniption was still 75%, so her pain threshold must be really high. "I can help you bind this muddy dog in case that she does anything funny to you, miss fairy," Verina followed as she threatened her traveling partner with her emotionless staring. "With all that said, allow me to introduce myself." "No need for any courtesy,dy Verina," I said while giving each of them a wooden mug filled with the freshly heated and traditionally filtered water from the nearby river. "What Lupina experienced shouldn''t be downyed, considering that it might take days for her libido to calm down." "H-have we met before?" Lupina asked with a startled expression. "Is there a reason why we shouldn''t have met before?" I winked to further feed the confusion. "Why didn''t I remember any of it??" "Lupina, you''re being gaslighted like an actual toddler, go grow some wisdom, respectfully," Verina said without any remorse. "Why are all of you bullying me!" "No need to stress so much. The wind had already told me a fun bit of information about you two." Technically, I didn''t lie, the detail screen exists amongst the windy breeze., the wind talked to me. "The less you question it, the better it bes. "As for my name, please refer me as Narcissus," "I''m still confused, but nice to feel your thighs, Narcissus!" Lupina uttered with excitement, one hand in the air, and face still blushing and sweating from trying hard to control her libido. "The wind is cruel, they didn''t tell me about your name beforehand," Verina said as she curiously gazed deep into my soul with her emotionless stare. "Likewise, it''s a pleasure knowing you." Right at this instance, I could easily determine my interactions on whether it was effective enough by tracking their Social information in real time Lupina''s current opinion of mefily sat at the value of 65. Meanwhile, Verina''s opinion of me was still hanging on the lower side, at 26 still rising as I entertained her with something that she could spin into a subtle joke. Yes, this poker-faced kilnn prefer some find and ssy humor to mix into the conversation. "I assume that the two of you have a n before dusk?" I asked. "It might take a while to reach the nearest citadel, and I don''t see that any of you are in the possession of staying outside when the ''ordeal'' arrives." "As much as I wanted to have a n in hand, all of them were chased away by Lupina into the wild, lost, and never found again," she chuckled, monotonous like a robot trying to imitate a human. "I''m sorry, alright!" "We also don''t have a single coin of bloodie," Verina sighed. "Creating a barrier powerful enough to survive through the night is impossible without at least 10 C-tier coins of those." Bloodies, the universal currency used by the inhabitants of Carcosa. Just like its name, bloodie was simply just the blood of living beings that was preserved and minted into coin-shaped form. Depending on the quality tier, ranked from F for the lowest and A for the highest, a single bloodie could be used as a resource and a catalyst for an ohrtender like Verina to perform some psionic spells, or magic. At this point, one might ask, ''What is an Ohrtender?'' They are what this world calls sorcerer, magic user, psionic master, spellcaster, whatever the word used to refer a person doing some thing-a-magicks like it was their second nature. The requirement for someone to be a stable ohrtender was to possess at least 200% value on Consciousness. Forparison, my Consciousness was 85%. Lupina''s was 95%. As for Verina''s¡ª The value of her Consciousness was 350%. "Why don''t the two of you help me to fortify this area?" I asked, hoping that they would ept it in their current situation. Afterall, I also wanted to survive my first night in this world. "Hmm, having a strong, reliable fairy in a group will greatly increase the chance of surviving the Ordeal of the Dusk." Verina said as she was munching on the fruits I offered. "However, a fairy never offers something without wanting sacrifice in return." "Mmm~ you''re quite perceptive." This lore of the fairies suited me quite nicely. I could easily tell people that I wanted something whenever I offered them any kind of help. "Can I sacrifice Lupina as an option?" "W-why me!?" "Just felt like it." "Don''t worry, my demand doesn''t include human sacrifice," I yfully gestured with my hand. "It''s been a while since I encountered an ohrtender in my journey. Because of that, I want you to share with me your wisdom of ohrtending, in return for my assistance to secure our survival through the Ordeal of the Dusk." "I see." Verina put in a deep thought. Not because of the severity of this offer, since sharing the knowledge on how-to ohrtending should be harmless to both parties, but because of why I, a supposed fairy, was even interested in ohrtending in the first ce. "It felt a little bit unbnced," Verina continued. "I assume that you have more than one demand, miss Narcissus." It seemed like she didn''t believe how good-to-be-true this deal was. "At the current moment, I don''t feel any necessity to demand anything more than a simple knowledge from others. However, if I happen to have one, I''ll be sure to have you notified." "It''s a deal then." After we shook our hands to seal the deal, the three of us proceeded to work our guts to the bones to fortify this perimeters as much as we could before the time of the sunset. Chapter 7: Base Building Food and water were mostly secured. With the help of having my head attached directly to the inte, I managed to discern some edible species of wild potatoes and mushrooms. Wild animals also exist in this world just like how they were in the real world. They act the same. They eat, sleep, breed, and survive. The animals here were also somewhat simr to what might exist in the real world, surprisingly. I expected something more fantasy-like. We left the hunting job to Lupina, since her beastly instinct works much greater in this scenario than the other two of us. Besides, I need to stay within our so-called perimeter of defense. "Having the ability to ohrtend is really nifty, huh." "Yup, it is as nifty as having a second chance in life if you messed up so badly, you wanted to die." I watched as Verina casually frosted and defrosted a chunk of boar''s meat in less than a minute. Why was the meat defrosted immediately after frosting, one may ask? "Next time, ask first whether I want the meat I''m grilling to be frosted when I asked if you are able to preserve the meat by frosting it." "I thought it would be funny." At first, I thought Lupina would be the troublemaker of the two. I didn''t expect Verina to be the actual menace all along. "Your eternal poker-face makes it harder to see whether you''re being serious or not." "I take that as a greatpliment from you, miss fairy." At least she could start the fire again as easily as she was breathing. "Can you create molecr matter with your ohrtending?" I asked Verina while my hands were prepping our meal for the day at ten times the speed. "Something like conjuring dirt out of nothing, summoning water from thin air." "As much as I want to create dirt and water directly on someone''s nostril, no I can''t." Her hand reached out for the te that was meant for Lupina, pulling a rather small bit of the grilled meat, before eating it like a snack. "It will take a long time for me to learn another specialization, unless I got dosed in some kind of super drugs or affected by a spell=learning grimoire." Apparently, it was normal in this world to consume performance-enhancing drugs to attain a great level of consciousness to perform an ohrtending, or even heightening the speed of learning one. The first suggestion that Verina gave to me when I askedwhat to do if a normal person wanted to be an ohrtender was to get them high from any drugs or elixir that enhance their consciousness. What surprised me when she said that, was the fact that Verina wasn''t in any kind of influence after checking her Health detail. "Miss fairy, in terms of your understanding for this whole psionic spellcasting stuff, how far are you in?" "Surface level at best." "How surface is this surface level we''re talking about." "I don''t know if you have a specialization when ites to ohrtending." "So you barely even peek inside the rabbit hole, huh." The info dumps that I received only covered the summarized things of many aspects in this world. So it would be more beneficial for me to say that I''m a total beginner than acting like I know stuff that I don''t. "Then how about the whole wind shenanigans, the way you knew some bits of us right from the get go?" Verina asked. Her bodily gesture suggested an innate curiosity, despite her ever-monotonous face. "Was that not an ohrtending, or did you just do it out of instinct, miss fairy?" "Are you sure you want to know?" "Is it dangerous?" "It somewhat breaks your perception of reality, and you will probably suffer a severe existential crisis after I tell you how I managed to do it." "I shall retract my question for that then," Verina shifted her gaze to the tes of food on the table. "I''ve read enough rumors to not challenge a fairy when ites to forbidden information. You sharp-eared folks are so scary to me, that I''m not going to joke about it." I guess a great survival instinct came from having a higher level of consciousness than normal people. I was about to reveal to her how we were living inside a video game if she kept pressing further, and how there was this hyper civilization that simted our entire meaning and existence as part of their entertainment. "I''m done hunting for today!" Lupina shouted as she barged through the gate of the perimeter wall that I constructed. She was dragged by five boars that were strapped by vines. "Hmm~! I''m smelling something nice!" "You have gone for a whole week, where the hell have you been?" Verina shouted without any intonation in her voice. "W-What? A whole week?? But I''ve felt like only two hours have passed!??" "Nah, I''m just ying with you." "Verinaaa!!" Yup, Verina was the menace out of the two. While the duo travelers were having a meal, I proceeded to continue my progress in deforestation. It was crazy how easily I was able to cut through the thick body of the tree with a mere makeshift stone saw. "Crafting anything is possible with these impossibly dexterous hands." Combined with the power of a literal inte, I could just search the most optimal design and reference of materials. This made me wonder how far humanity had progressed in terms of knowledge and technology, to have the Library of Babel within the reach of a hand-press. "Should I add anotheryer of fortified perimeters outside the first walls?" I probably should. There might be a chance that both Verina and Lupina stayed here for a while before they departed to the nearby civilization with proper defenses against the Ordeal of the Dusk. If the map that was imprinted inside my head was right, it would take at least ten days in this world to reach there. That would be twenty-days worth of time in real life. "It''s amazing how they managed to get this far." The Log tab in the detail screen was only able to record the reports within 1 day before the current time. They seemed to be utilizing some kind of barrier that would repel all sorts of danger throughout the entire 24-hours night of this world. It cost a great amount of bloodie coins, however, and it would also render the caster incapacitated afterward, since they would need to stay awake throughout the whole night to keep the barrier up. Atleast that was what happened to both Verina and Lupina when I checked their Logs respectively. Though, thanks to Verina''s high consciousness level, she didn''t need much time to remove the fatigue in her sleep. "And then some shenanigans happened." They met a traveling merchant with a thief partner that snatched their whole savings of bloodies. Now both of them were effectively coinless. "What are you making right now, miss fairy?" Verina said after appearing out of nowhere. "You can''t tell from what it looks like?" "Your hands moved faster than what I can see." "Before I tell you what I''m doing, how''s the meal?" "Scrumptious." Verina gave me a thumbs up. "As expected of a fairy, I just hope that the food I ate wasn''tced with curses because of how good it was." The power of herb-foraging and online wilderness cooking guides. "Happy to hear that then. How is Lupina?" "The moment her stomach was full, she immediately slept on the floor like a felled tree." "Well, I guess that will give her more time to stay awake at night." A long one at that. "So, uhm, can I start teaching you about the basics of ohrtending?" Verina said. Her face was as normal as ever, but her fingers touched each other like a shy and fidgety person. "Sure." I cast my warmest smile, knowing full well how this face of mine would look in front of her. "Is there anything to prepare before you start your lesson?" Her eyes might be dull, but there was a sparkling twilight somewhere in her words. "We have everything in possession to make this crash course a sess." All we needed to do was to take a seat on the ground. For the material to showcase the essence of ohrtender already exists on the ground and inside ourselves. "Ohrtending consists of the words ''ohr'' and ''tending''." Verina''s eyes stared directly into my soul as we sat in front of each other. "With ''ohr'' means ''light'' and ''divine influence'', ohrtending is an act of skewing the improbable into a miracle, something that was unattainable from us humans as a whole. "However, before even thinking of performing an ohrtending, one must learn the four basic building blocks of the universe." Just as Verina was about to reveal the secret behind the creation of the world, my brain formed a tunnel vision with only this crash course on the other side of the elongated corridor. Chapter 8: Ohrtending 101 "Pay attention to my hand, miss fairy." Verina proceeded to churn the engine of consciousness within her brain,puting the essence of reality and creating what should be referred as a miracle in the exchange of her ''lifeline''. There, numerous tiny chunks of dirt began to rise and swirl before converging into a singr lump of bigger dirt. The ball of dirt was carelessly floating above Verina''s palm. "This is dirt." "I know." "It has presence and weight. It is rotund, with no features, and no orientation." Verina''s emotionless eyes pierced deep into my soul. "It is mass." "Ah yes, the floor is made out of floor." "Almost everything that exists in this ne of reality is mass. Mass is boring, but a necessity." The first building block. "The mass then can be shaped into a form," I said while I stared back dead-straight into her eyes. "We then can apply angles, features, and intent." Verina nodded, then proceeded to shape the ball of dirt into a cup. "To apply meaning, fashion, and creation," Verina closed her eyes as she nodded, as if she was affirming herself. "This is design." The second building block "The third one, should be ''lifeline'', right?" I asked. As the cup of dirt floated in the air, Verina used her own psionic power to cut a small wound on the tip of her finger. Through the same ohrtending capability, she poured down enough blood to fill half of the dirt cup. "Without blood, the vessel''s organs couldn''t get the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive." As if holding a cup of wine, Verina lightly stirred the red liquid as it interacted with the impurity of the shaped-soil. "We couldn''t keep warm or cool off, fight infections, or get rid of our own waste products. Without enough blood, we''d weaken and die." As such, the blood is referred to as''lifeline'', because it is literally our lifeline. Especially since there were a lot of people in this world that possessed a much longer lifespan than your average human. At least, that was what implied by the info dumps that I got. "Don''t tell me that you''re going to drink that." "You''re quite the chatty student, miss fairy." "I thought that it would be hrious." "You''re not wrong... Ehem," Verina cleared her throat before we continued. "Vtile, and sharp, yet miraculously radiant. Blood is the epitome of heat, the rage of war¡ªthe presence itself is enough to evoke a strong emotion, because it is already in its purest form." She was basically implying that it was different than mass and design, since blood doesn''t just appear in nature like a morning dew. "Of course, there are more than one type of blood out there." Verina nodded with eyes-closed once again. "nts don''t bleed, and neither was rock¡ª "However, both of them do indeed possess their own form of blood." "Sounds like fiction." I snickered in disbelief. "You''re a fairy, miss Narcissus. You''re supposed to know stuffs like this." "I''m the same fairy who remorselessly deforested an entire perimeter to build my ownfy cabin." "I guess that makes sense." nts might not possess the same kind of blood as humans do, but it possessed something called ''tree sap'', which is like blood, that transports nutrients around the nt. While those that have resin, are more like the telets in the blood. It is the solid or solidifiable part of the sap, that can plug up leaks, wounds, and also can fight off invaders by clogging and miring them with goo. It is basically their own version of human blood, in a sense. As for rocks¡ª What was even the equivalent of blood for rocks?? "Anyway, those three building blocks pale inparison to the fourth concept in terms of the value and crucialness in the making of this world and ohrtending itself." Verina then proceeded to burn the lifeline inside the dirt cup, turning them into fuel to create psionic resonance. I was caught in that resonance, which spiritually opened my own perception, And to an extent, increased my Consciousness to 120% temporarily. It was rather faint. But when I looked at Verina in her entirety, I was able to perceive thebyrinthineworks of golden anchors that sprouted from a single point of space. "Do you see it? Look closely here, on the center of my chest. " Verina pointed to the sprouting point with her index finger. "I don''t know the extent of a fairy''s consciousness, but if you were able to see pass through the sprouting point, you''ll see an invisible thin fment that spiral into all sorts of patterns." I was in fact not able to see the invisible thin fment that spiral into all sorts of patterns "It is the source of consciousness itself, isn''t it?" Verina nodded to my question. The fourth building block. Otherwise referred as ''soul''. "Many thought that it was our brain that performed the entirety of human consciousness. It wasn''t until the breakthrough of the first generation of ohrtending, we managed to find out the source of our emotions, train of thoughts, and memories. "The brain acts as the physical conduit of the soul, transferring and connecting consciousness throughout the entire body. This is where ohrtending was born." And it was none other than the Kilnns who achieved such feat. What was the chance of me encountering the part of humanity in Carcosa that founded the very foundation of ohrtending on the first day? Verina continued, "If our soul is capable of piloting the entire body via the brain and other organs, what if we pilot the other building blocks of the universe using it? "Of course, that concept was too absurd in practice, but what if we only tamper a small chunk of the reality? Using our lifeline as the source of power and catalyst, we start to meddle with the innate mass and design of the world." As I tried my best to decrypt this message, my mind suddenly went to a dark ce that was far away from light and hope. Shattering and crumbling wall of knowledge, imitating the creation of heretics that were decapitated for their insolent sins. Thousands of concepts cradled into nonsense, while the very fabric of reality started to tear itself apart from amodating my thoughts to uncover the spiritual method to skew the improbable into a miracle. I couldn''t hear what Verina was saying anymore. I checked my own Health detail, and realized that my Sanity went from 100% to 70% in such a short timespan. It was then I realized that I was not ready for this. So, I just nope-ed out of the way and grounded my own thoughts into reality. "Looks like you almost lost your way, miss fairy." "How can you tell?" "You suddenlymit to create some sort of pottery using the nearby dirt, out of nowhere, with hands moving faster than the wind while your eyes are gazing on the sky above." "It looks like Ick the required level of consciousness to rationalize the method of ohrtending." "Hmm, we''ll start building your foundation when you regain your sanity then." Verina said as she ced down the stained cup of dirt to the ground. "This whole learning session reminded me of when I started as an apprentice." "I appreciate that you''re willing to waste your lifeline for this." A nervous grin started to take shape on my face. "Don''t stress it too much, ohrtending isn''t something that everyone can do from the get go anyway." Verina stood up and began stretching her hands. "It''s quite the discovery for me, however, to confirm that there is a fairy out there whopletely breaks the stereotype that big civilization portrays them." I doubt that I''m a legitimate fairy though. After the unique crash course, Verina told me a bit more about ohrtending specialty. Otherwise referred rightfully as Tending Hands. To put it inyman terms, Tending Hands was akin to a pathway that an ohrtender took. One pathway usually focuses on one aspect of spellcasting and conjugation, such as how Verina had great control at manipting temperature and conceptual barrier, with a little sprinkle of telekic power. "This Tending Hands of mine is called Weather Guardian." Despite still being emotionless as ever, she looked rather proud announcing it with a puffed chest. "With enough proficiency, I might be able to affect the weather, or even the concept itself. I will take quite a while, though." "Why refer to the Tending Hands as a specialty then?" I raised my eyebrow. "That sounds more like a ss or a category, or even an ohrtending career." "Don''t ask me, everyone has been referring to the Tending Hands as the equivalent of specialty." Verine shrugged. "I thought it was weird too, but I got used to it." The person who wrote the lore in this game might have missed this one detail then. I also asked Verina what kind of prowess that she was able to achieve with her Tending Hands. Yes, I refused to refer to the Tending Hands as ''specialty''. It sounded so wrong. With how our lives would be relying on each other after the Ordeal of the Dusk started, Verina didn''t really have the obligation to hide the extent of her skills. She somewhat knew that despite being a tourist to the world of ohrtending, I was capable enough to create a proper and rational judgment depending on the situation. And with her opinion on me valued at 59 after the crash course, I was also able to convince her that I barely mean any ill towards the two of them. After all, my goal for today was to survive. Chapter 9: Flesh Should Not Lie Flat As the day was reaching toward sunset, I let my ears immersed with the nature that prayed to the ck star to im them in my stead. Because I might have caused more deforestation than one cerealpany with the amount of woods I''m piling on our base. "Are you sure that you''re a fairy, miss Narcissus?" Verinamented with sweats running from her forehead. "Aren''t fairies supposed to be nature-loving? Why are you mind-breaking me like this?" I snickered, "I have a premonition that tonight won''t be as kind as usual." "Does the wind tell you that?" "No, just my gut feeling." "Your gut feeling might be the wind too, you know?" "Are you trying to trick me? " "I thought it would be funny," "That is such a horrible attempt. I''m not Lupina." Woods and leaves weren''t the only thing I''m harvesting from this damn forest. Remember the clump of boars strapped by vines that Lupina dragged to this ce? The vines turned out to be really resilient and stretchy, simr to a rope-sized rubber band although not as tough as a rope-sized rubber band. However, it was still durable and strong for a natural rope. "Is that what I think that is¡­?" Verina attentively watched me building a defensive prototype that we could utilize to protect this base. "What do you think this is?" "A bloody ballista." "The fun kind, too." I pulled the lever, unleashing the wooden bolt to travel at a devastating speed, before it immediately cycled to retract the rope, and chambering the next ammunition from the giant magazine. "It can hold twenty bolts before needing to be reloaded." I took the reference from the schematic of a polybolos, otherwise known as ''multi-thrower'', an ancient Greek catapult with torsion mechanism mimicking a repeating ballista. I also used the modern automatic crossbow made by modern craftsman hobbyists for a greater reference. This prototype could be automatic if only I got my hands on more types of material to work on. "Are you going to ce this ballista on every chokehold of the fortress, miss fairy?" Verina asked. "I''m surprised that you''re still referring to me as a fairy after witnessing all of that." "A fairy wasn''t only known for their love of nature, but also for their beauty, you know?" My face unconditionally forced me to make a smug grin. "Hmm, how beautiful I am inparison to your average person then?" "Beautiful enough for Citadel''s nobles of both men and women alike to immediately court you on the spot, or force you to be their property if you happen to refuse their proposal." Hmm, this face might be much more troublesome than I expected. "Can I trust this information?" "Well, for the record, Lupina might be adventurous, but she was barely interested in any kind close-skin rtionship." Again, with her disinterested gaze, she delivered her words, "Her mental fortitude should be strong enough to prevent herself from assaulting anyone, regardless of how bad she wants to achieve her relief." "I see." "Yet she was so bent on wanting to mate with you despite being in the same gender category," Verina said casually, "I''d say that there was more than your appearance that created this sense of universal attractiveness, something psionic in nature." "Psionic in nature, huh. That is interesting, I wonder if I can have you help me examine my body as part of the ''offer''." It would be great to know more of this mysterious force that make up the Angelic Charisma trait in my Biography detail screen. "... Is miss fairy trying to flirt with me?" Did I sounded like I was flirting? "You''re a hard-boiled seasoned ohrtender, no? This whole ''psionic'' attractiveness could be easily solved with one helping around." "Ah, I see. That''s disappointing." "... What with the disappointment?" "I thought that I had the chance to court you." "Not you too¡­" "Just a jest~" she said with her usual poke-face. "I possess enough mental fortitude to somewhat negate that ''psionic'' charm that you''re having." I exhaled a breath of ease. "That''s relieving to hear." As much as I want to have people praising this face of mine, having everyone suddenly courting me left and right wasn''t the most ideal of an image that I had in mind after reading that Highlighted Trait. "I will still court you though," Verina said as she gestured a ''heart'' with both of her middle and index fingers. "Please stay pure and innocent until I have enough treasures and vanities to ensure that we shall wed in the biggest ballroom on the most renown citadel." "You crafted a beautiful image, only to destroy it in a shockingly swift turn of events." Speaking of the future, there was still the fact that this world, Fallen Carcosa Online, was still yet to be published. With how vivid and real this world appears, it might be myst chance to truly ever live as myself. I hope that I can survive long enough to find myself happy in this world, no matter how many horrors they throw my way. Several hourster, the base had evolved into a rather fortified colony of three. With multipleyers of wooden walls, trenches, and torches soaked in animal''s fat to keep the darkness at bay, this ce was also riddled with numerous ballistas positioned at many strategic angles, with even some of them existing at the inneryers in case the outeryer faltered. It was unknown how harsh the Ordeal of the Dusk would be, but the info-dumps did give me a rather vivid description of what it was potentially to be. ''Sins and flesh that shouldn''t lie t, a step that covered seven steps. From the howling of the dusk and the entrance of the spiraling, maddening moon, Carcosa shall be covered in the stillness of hope. Entities of iprehensible origins will hunt, while the devil in human skin will try to usurp society. All gates must be fortified, for it shall break once and evermore until there wasn''t a single lifeline lingering on thisnd. The sins and flesh must not lie t.'' Still, if Lupina and Verina managed to survive through the nights of Carcosa until today, then it shouldn''t be much of an issue with the three of us, no? The fear of dying had greatly epassed my own very windpipes, trying to choke down any semnce of easiness for the brighter future. With so many questions stilltching within my head, I refused to be filtered on the first day of my awakening. I wouldn''t even hesitate to sacrifice these two if I was given the chance to survive. ''Remember, Lothair, humans are fragile, yet precious beings.'' Right¡­ [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 30 minutes_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] The imminent was approaching. Verina had already taken enough rest for her to push through the entire night, while Lupina had already cleansed her fatigue after a good sleep and proper meals after days of foraging and eating vorless roasted meat. Though Lupina was still in heat, which might severely reduce her effectiveness inbat... I suggested that we should do something about it, especially before the 24 hours marathon of survival where we might not have a single moment of rest. "This is too embarrassing!" Lupina screamed. "I can''t do this! I''m too pure to do this!" Verina could be seen dragging Lupina who was trying her best to run away from me. "Purity doesn''t worth jack shit when the Ordeal of the Dusk started, you dirty mutt." "You''re too cruel!" After we binded Lupina to a chair, Verina left the room after signaling a big thumbs up. "This won''t take a while, Lupina." I said with the straightest face I could ever convey. "It will be pleasurable enough for you to stop thinking about mating for the next 24 hours." "Nooooo!" It didn''t take a while for this process to finish. After the procedure, Lupina walked out of the room looking both relieved and defeated at the same time. "Uuuuu¡­" "You look like a mutt that went back from a vet." Verinamented. I didn''t really like doing this to someone, but it should be necessary since it was our lives that were at stakes. Not like I had any experience myself. I just did what the guide on the inte told me while I let my dexterous hands to do the work. "... I don''t know how that aphrodisiac mushroom looks like." I needed to ask Lupina about its appearance so that I know what to avoid when foraging in this area. "I thought you would be the least excited when doing it," Verinamented. "I just don''t like anything sexual, that''s all." Our morale started high, and I hoped that it would maintain for a long time. [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 5 minutes_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Darker was the sky, but not thend that I inhabited. As I sat atop the outeryer of the fortified wooden walls, I set my gaze onto the surrounding perimeters that were illuminated by numerous checkpoint of torches. So far, there wasn''t anything anomalous happening in sight. It wasn''t until the countdown of the notification in my head reached zero, that terrifying scream ambushed my consciousness. [P¨¥d¨©c¨¡b¨­ ego v¨­s et irrum¨¡b¨­!!@&%] Along with it, was an echoing faraway shriek, a foreboding sign that something wasing in this direction. Chapter 10: The Beginning Of The Ordeal A gargantuan cosmic tendril began to crept into the darkening sky, holding the same luminescence as what a moon was to Earth. In fact, this one was much brighter than the moon on a clear night sky. "And that''s supposed to be the moon of Carcosa, huh." Spinning, and spiraling with madness, was a starfish-shaped white that nearly covered half of the sky as it tried to position itself into the newly-wed cosmos. If one focused on the detail of its tendrils, it could be seen that those arms weren''t connected to the base of the moon at all. Rather, the tendril itself wasposed of millions if not billions of tiny moons of its own. For the entire night, this eldritch moon should be the witness for our attempt at survival. [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 12 hours_] "I hope that I overdid the defenses, instead of doing the barebone." I had already prepared numerous traps of all kinds in every direction of this walled wooden fortress except for the west, the direction where I''m currently gazing at. Verina and Lupina had some experiences in dealing with the Ordeals of the Dusk, albeit they were doing it together in arge group. Still, it should be enough for them to increase our chance of survivability. "This sense of paranoia¡­" It reminded me of my first time killing a person over my severe obsession with faces. The fear and difort that I had to ensure that my breath won''t be in a rancid smoke. All of it was starting to resurface in front of me, right after my consciousness crashnded on thend of Carcosa. [A special typeCmity Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] Right, seeing how I possessed the ess to the detail screen of individuals, I also got this feature that was supposed to be only avable to the Storyteller, a.k.a the yer Character. If only that, this game made me a pseudo Storyteller with all power and features that a normal yer Character have, instead of a half-assed NPC with a broken notification system. ¡ª [The Hollow Star] [Description: A cold, lifeless star hovers just above the bastion''s horizon, casting no light but drawing the gaze of those who look upon it. Its presence fills individuals with a deep, inexplicable dread, as if it is watching and waiting for something to happen. At night, the star seems to pulse with a faint, malevolent energy, and whispers of forgotten constetions echo in the minds of those who stare too long] [Hint: The Hollow Star''s pull is irresistible, but it drains the life force of those who study it, leaving them as hollow as the star itself] ¡ª "It''s been a while since the Hollow Star appeared," Verinamented, suddenly appearing out of nowhere after uncloaking her invisibility spell. "Just to be safe, don''t look up for too long, in case you don''t know about it, miss fairy." "Are you sure that you want to use that invisibility willy-nilly? Don''t your Tending Hands isn''t specialized in it?" "Refracting the light around me isn''t the most brain-consuming spell, so it doesn''t matter whether my Tending Hands amodate it or not." "Hmm, I guess my perception of the power to turn yourself invisible made me think that it''s a hard thing to do." "What is your perception of it, miss fairy?" "I see it as an effective spell that allows me to escape a lot of problematic situations." Especially when ites to kidnapping and leaving no evidence after I stripped the ''mask'' of someone when I''m still living on Earth. "Verina! Miss Narcissus!" Lupina shouted on the north side of the outer wall. "Something was caught in the log trap!" The two of us scurried over to see what was up. Well, it looked like one could say that a certain Cmity Object got itself trapped in a woody situation. "Bloody hell!" The moment Verina saw a nce of the victim of my log trap, she didn''t waste a single moment to aim her musket and shot at the head of the supposed Cmity Object. The projectile was imbued tobust a high amount of temperature when it hit its target, effectively crippling the Cmity Object. However, Verina unhesitantly pulled the trigger once again after reloading the chamber with a fresh spell made from her lifeline, disintegrating the Cmity Object almostpletely. Before itpletely disintegrated into dust, I attempted to open its equivalent of a detail screen, hoping to find a hint of what was going on. ¡ª [The Fractured] [Description: A shattered figure made of broken, mirror-like shards that floats just above the ground. The Fractured emits a high-pitched, keening wail that causes intense pain to those nearby. Its body constantly shifts and reforms, each shard reflecting a different version of the individuals from the targeted bastion¡ªsome hopeful, others twisted and ruined. The reflections seem to speak, pleading for help or warning of impending doom] [Hint: The Fractured reflects alternate timelines, and its wail can split the bastion into different realities, each one more dangerous than thest] ¡ª "That thing must be killed on-sight, no hesitation, no question asked," Verina said as she performed a check-up on her magic musket. "I was once in the same group who didn''t finish that wretched hollow fast enough, and it started to scream that it can affect the entirety of thendscape and your perception of reality." "Damn¡­" Lupina felt a hint of regret for not dealing with it sooner instead of shouting to call us here. "That''s a lesson learned for me. I feel bad for not swinging my sword first and foremost." "Well, the walls are five meters tall, it''s easier to shoot it than to fight it with a sword," Verina replied. "Besides, that thing will be greatly alerted when a shadow of a humanoid person is reflected on it." "In the end, calling us right away turns out to be the best course of action, is that what you''re trying to say?" I snickered. Verina nodded. Then, I pointed my finger toward the ready-to-use ballista that was sitting right beside them. "I put them there for a reason, you know?" Chapter 11: Calamities In Display "You foolish mutt, why didn''t you use the ballista beside you to deal with that thing immediately!" Verina did aplete 180 degree change, as if she also didn''t realize the giant artillery that was avable in front of her. "Hiikh! Why did I get unmed and then med all of a sudden!" Well, regardless of the banters, a crisis had just been averted. If I were alone in this scenario, I would be very paranoid on whether I should pull the ballista lever or not, since the info screen of the Cmity Object wasn''t as detailed as the detail screen that a recruitable NPC had. What if I got sucked into these alternate realities? What if it could react instantly and apply the pain the moment it was attacked? What if it was immortal? Wait, how does alternate timelines work from a gamey perspective? Could this world simte an entire alternate timeline just for this Cmity Object to function? While keeping up our guards, we scoured every detail of the periphery. Numerous anomalies were sighted. Some were harmless unless provoked, and some were immediately hostile the moment it was found. However, the frequency of the Cmity Objects weren''t as overwhelming as I thought "Urgh, I don''t like dealing with Cmity Objects." Lupina heaved a weighty sigh. "Sometimes, they don''t even smell or trigger my instinct, as if they exist in apletely different reality, or just straight-up non-existent in this reality. Ow!" Verina lightly smacked Lupina''s head with her musket. "Cmity Objects aren''t supposed to be this vtile in the beginning of the Ordeal of the Dusk." Verina fired the spell chambered into her musket, killing a Cmity Object faraway while using Lupina''s head as a crutch. "The Hollow Star must be affecting the type of Cmity Objects to an extent." "True." Lupina frowned as she rubbed her head from the pain. "Most of the Cmity Objects I fought before this were mostly beast-like, unlike the nightmare fuels that we''re facing right now." Two hours had passed, and we started to see patterns. The Cmity Objects never spawned or appeared on the angle or location outside of our vision. They always appeared inside someone''s vision, whether it was me, Lupina, or Verina. Even when the Fractured was found, Lupina said that she already found it before it stumbled into the log trap. Because of this, we purposely didn''t give a single attention to the east side of our walled fortress. "Have you experienced this kind of Ordeal before, Verina?" I asked the sole veteran in ourfy bastion. "Not as obvious as this." Her eyes kept a great level of awareness of the surroundings as she caressed her own chin. "If somehow none of the traps on the east side of our fortress got activated, then I might need to perform a consciousness check on each of us." "Why not do it now? "Because it would take a huge chunk of my lifeline since it''s not part of my specialty," Verina answered with the monotone voice. "If we happen to be lucky until now and that our hypothesis is disproven, then I would prefer to have some sack of my blood ready." "If the situationes for the worst, we can use my blood." "... Are you saying that¡ªyou''re offering your body to me, miss fairy?" "It''s amazing that you''re still cracking a joke in this situation." "A cold crack of humor is better than a cold lifeless body." "Thatparison doesn''t make any sense." Aside from the monster-like Cmity Object, we also encountered an environment-type of Cmity Object in the faraway distance, glimmering in celestial radiance, and waiting to be discovered by one of us. Like this one, for example. ¡ª [The Mirrorwood] [Description: A forest of tall, silvery trees that appear overnight, each one with bark as smooth and reflective as a mirror. The trees bend and sway without any wind, and their reflections show not the present, but possible futures. Some futures are bright, filled with prosperity, while others are dark, showing the individuals from the bastion in ruins. The reflections are hypnotic, drawing individuals closer with promises of revealing their fate] [Hint: The Mirrorwood shows possible futures, but those who seek too deeply into its reflections risk bing trapped in a future where they no longer exist] ¡ª As of now, seeing how all of the information on every Cmity Object has a ''hint'' section on what they do or how to deal with them, it seemed like having a Storyteller would be very beneficial for the inhabitants of this world. I guess that was what the game''s description meant about ''guiding'' as some sort of ''messiah-like'' figure. [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 7 hours_] With almost five hours into the night, all of us decided to check the eastside of the perimeters together in a group. "Welp, this doesn''t show us anything to prove either of our hypotheses." ¡ª [The Bleeding Tree] [Description: A massive tree with bark that resembles flesh, oozing dark, red sap that smells faintly of iron. The ground around the tree is soaked with blood, and the roots twist and curl as if searching for something. The tree''s branches sway gently, even in still air, and a quiet, rhythmic beating can be heard if one listens closely. The tree seems to pulse with a life of its own, and its sap is both a blessing and a curse] [Hint: The Bleeding Tree''s sap can heal or harm, depending on how it is harvested. But the tree demands a blood price for its gifts, and it will take what it is owed] ¡ª "Ever encountered this kind of Cmity Object before, Verina?" "I have encountered a tree-like Cmity Object, but not this one. I don''t recall this one in terms of appearance and its psionic signature." Despite the potential for healing one of our future wounds, we already got a single Potion of Healing that Lupina carried when ites to emergencies. Not to mention, it would still be too risky to interact with it, just like every Cmity Object that we encountered so far. "Well, now there is a chance that not a single Cmity Object appearing from the east side is due to this thing sprouting out of nowhere." Chapter 12: Relentless Night For now, we ignored the Bleeding Tree. After some time, that thing really did prevent all sorts of Cmity Objects from spawning on the east side of the fortress. I didn''t know the exact logic to this, especially with the predetermined knowledge that we live inside some sort of a simtion, a game world where something called ''coding'' might be the reason why something might happen. For instance, each Cmity Object might possess an area of influence. And the coding for this whole Ordeal of the Dusk mechanic might prevent a Cmity Object from ovepping its spawning location on top of one another, in an attempt to deter an error or a bug from happening. The Bleeding Tree''s area of influence might berger than it seemed to be thanks to its roots. Who knows, I might be wrong, and I might be right in this. "I find it perturbing that you prepared a very heartwarming and tasty meal for us, and proceeded to feed yourself these vorless meatballs¡­" Verinamented, holding the aforementioned vorless meatball with a body gesture of disgust. "I''ll make a delicious meal for myself when everything is over as a reward." I chucked another of the vorless meatballs into my mouth after swallowing one. "I find this stick-and-carrot approach to make me more productive when needed." "Ah yes, torturing yourself is productive. That reminded me of the concept called ''very''." "Uuuh! What is that? Can I try it?" Lupina said as she sprinted toward us, right after she brutally murdered an iing Cmity Object with one of my ballista. "I find it cruel that you guys started snacking without me." Verina handed over the meatball that she was holding. "Here, have this." With an innocent face of excitement, Lupina devoured the meatball in one go without a second thought. Her face immediately shifted to that of confusion and disappointment. "Immediately wash it down with a fresh cold water," I offered a wooden canteen after I cleansed my throat with its contents. "I''ll make a better thing to eat after we survive all of this." "Yay!" Lupina eximed with both hands in the air like an excited toddler. Despite the non-overwhelming frequency of the Cmity Objects, they still force us to stay wary and restless without a prolonged moment of rest between the downtime. As the night went on, I decided to make use of excess woods and materials that I scavenged during the day. One such material was obsidian. Obsidian is a naturally urring volcanic ss formed whenva extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. "This igneous rock is hard, brittle, and amorphous; it therefore fractures with sharp edges." In the past, it was used to manufacture cutting and piercing tools, and it has been used experimentally as surgical scalpel des thanks to its sharpness. I found this rock near the river where I woke up in this world. I didn''t find much of it, however, so none of my tools were made of one. "Mmm, this will do." In the end, I carved my sole piece of obsidian rock into a makeshift dagger. I chiseled the de to be sharp enough to cut a human flesh without anyplication. [Obsidian Makeshift Dagger (Masterpiece 99%) - 0.2 kg] It was, however, still very brittle. If I were to misalign the angle of the cut by a little bit, its durability will deteriorate faster than a constipated officer searching for a public toilet. Every strike must be perfect. Something that these hands were very good at. I also crafted a 5 meter wooden pike in case that I need to strike at something from mid-range. But for most of the excess time I got, which was not much¡ªI just worked to makemore bolts for the ballista to use, and then replenished the near-empty giant magazines. "This ballista is surprisingly powerful," Verinamented. "You might want to submit your blueprint to any citadel''s military for a good sum of bloodies, miss fairy." Since midnight had yet to arrive, she had been very conservative of her lifeline usage, which led her to utilize more of the defenses around the fortress. "I''ll make sure to do that, then." [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 3 hours_] The closer and closer we were to midnight, the amount of Cmity Objects that spawn greatly increased. From dealing with a single Cmity Object at a time to immediately finding a whole pack of them proved to be such a massive difference. "More Bloodhounds on the north! Five of them!" ¡ª [Bloodhound] [Description: A pack of feral, wolf-like creatures with glowing red eyes and a thirst for blood. Bloodhounds hunt in groups, coordinating their attacks to bring down their prey quickly. Their howls can disorient colonists, making them easier targets] [Hint: Bloodhounds are dangerous in numbers, overwhelming bastioneer with rapid, coordinated strikes. They are weaker individually, so focusing on thinning their numbers quickly is essential] ¡ª Some of them could easily leap the tall walls that I erected for this fortress, and their confrontation was rather dangerous since we were forced to stay within the perimeters of the walls to prevent an unwanted ambush from a different instance of Cmity Object. My obsidian dagger was swung and swung again, slicing and dicing at the vicious Bloodhounds. However, sometimes it was needed for us to fight outside of the gate to prevent the destruction of the wall. "One of the fleshy big boys ising from the distance!" Since the Cmity Object that spawned at this time could be powerful enough to strike down the wall with ease, and they might be resilient enough that it would need several ballista bolts and a direct confrontation by Lupina and me to be taken down. ¡ª [The Crawling Husk] [Description: A grotesque amalgamation of decaying limbs and twisted flesh, the Crawling Husk drags itself across the ground with unnerving persistence. Its body is a mass of writhing, exposed muscle and bone, constantly shifting and reforming as it moves. The Husk''s head is a featureless, fleshy mass, save for a single, gaping wound where its mouth should be. It emits a low, gurgling moan as it crawls, leaving a trail of dark, viscous fluid in its wake] [Hint: The Crawling Husk exudes an aura of decay, causing nts to wither and food to spoil in its presence. Any Individual who encounter it feel an overwhelming sense of revulsion and dread, and the Husk''s touch can cause rapid onset of necrosis in living tissue] ¡ª As the Crawling Husk winded its arm for a strike, I thrusted my pike directly at its ugly face. Followed by a quick sidestep, I twisted my whole pike and dragged its head down to the ground to offset its attack. all while minding of every liquid that was spilled from its horrid vessel. Verina then finished the turn with a powerful heat-spell projectile to cripple this horrifying fleshy husk into ashes. "Back to the wall!" It was a relentless pursuit of survival, where a single mistake would cost us everything. And with my ess to the information screen of the Cmity Objects, I would always try to ensure that both Verina and Lupina were informed at all times. "Everyone, duck!" "Gyaaah!" Lupina screamed in panic as she lunged her body to the surface of the tform of the wall. "A Cmity Object that is capable of ranged attack, huh. What does that one do, miss fairy?" Verina asked, maintaining a prone position. ¡ª [Shardfiend] [Description: A crystalline entity that moves with terrifying speed, its body made of sharp, glittering shards. The Shardfiend attacks byunching these shards at high velocity, piercing through armor and flesh alike. It can regenerate its shards over time, making it a persistent threat] [Hint: Shardfiends excel at ranged attacks, dealing heavy damage from a distance. Individuals need to close the gap quickly or use cover to avoid its shard volleys] ¡ª "It is a Shardfiend, a crystalline entity that moves crazy fast. We need one person outside of the wall to take aggro, while the other attempts to snipe it with the ballista." "I''ll be the one-!" I cut-off Lupina''s speech before she could finish it. "No, you aren''t fast enough to avoid. I''ll be the one who engages it at close range." I immediately jumped down from the tform of the wall and headed to the gate with my pike in hand. While this body might not be the most athletic, my reflex and instinct was much more reliable than Lupina''s. Not to mention, Lupina was not informed of the different Cmity Object that she would need to face when she exited the tform of the wall. ¡ª [Sandstalker] [Description: Arge, burrowing creature that moves swiftly beneath the sand. The Sandstalker emerges suddenly to attack with razor-sharp ws, before quickly retreating underground. It uses hit-and-run tactics to wear down its prey, striking when least expected] [Hint: Sandstalkers are difficult to hit due to their ability to burrow and reposition rapidly. Individuals need to be vignt and use area attacks to force them out of hiding, or expect them to ambush at any moment of notice] ¡ª It would be very detrimental to me if any of those two were to be taken down before midnight started. "This is why the phrase ''do it yourself'''' is my favorite." I grinned with desperate endeavor to the horrifying battlefield. Chapter 13: Nihilophobia The ballistas might be strong, but it would be hard to aim it against an extremely fast moving target, even with my modification. Verina would attempt to use her spell-musket, and Lupina wouldn''t take the chance unless she was 100% sure of her shot. However, both of them would definitely change their focus when the Sandstalker revealed itself. "How can a Cmity Object be named Sandstalker but can also burrow under normal ground¡­" There weren''t any Cmity Objects in the vicinity outside of the Shardfiend and the Sandstalker, so I should wrap this up before the next wave of ordeal arrived. Both the spiraling moon and Hollow Star were definitely enjoying this performance. "Right there!" Tightening the body of the pike in my armpit, I charged forward with every thrust of fervor that could be generated by my greedy vessel. I set my sight on the trajectory of the appearing afterimages of the Shardfiend, lining up my direction of attack. A glimmering light sparkled for less than a half second, and then a noticeable blur of an iing shard was aimed toward me. "Darn it." The shard projectile grazed my upper arm, but it wasn''t enough to prevent my relentless assault. Right before I reached the ten meter distance between the two of us, I flicked the body of my 5 meters wooden pike and repositioned my hand to an overhand grip. Breath crimson steady, and eyes filled with fine bloodlusttching onto my enemy. With my whole inertia traveling forward to the ground, I thundered these blessed muscles and dexterity that I was granted with, and began to dastardly hurl my weapon of war. The throw broke the sound barrier, delivering the equivalent of eight-times the speed of an average baseball pitch with the equivalent mass of a five kilograms dumbbell. As such, when my attack hit, it would hit hard. And in this case, it hit. The 5-meter-long pike, propelled at the speed of sound, mmed itself into the Shardfiend with a deafening crack, greatly staggering the monster into a weakened halt. A huge chunk of its crystalline head shattered under the tremendous impact, sending fragments flying in every direction like a violent explosion of ss. The pike broke upon impact, with the front end splintering and the rest of the pike either snapping or bending due to the extreme forces involved. Afterall, the Shardfiend''s crystalline structure, while brittle and prone to shattering, would still be hard enough to cause substantial damage to the wooden pike. As I was still relentlessly moving forward, I grabbed what was left of the scattering, shattering pike, and hurled a devastating swing toward the center inertia of the Shardfiend. Again. And again. Into an insurmountable amount of pieces. Until the very formation of its soul''s anchors holding its entire existence broke apart. "If the damage done to the physical vessel is overwhelming enough, the soul will just detach its anchor, huh." And when the soul was no more, its regeneration stopped working. I still had the Consciousness buff that Verina applied to me in our ohrtending crash course, so I could see the connection of the body and the soul of an existence whenever I wanted to. Albeit, it wasn''t as effective as before. "Now, where are you¡­" If these Cmity Objects acted as an actual entity with a goal to aplish, they should possess some sort of instinct for self-preservation. Just like how the Shardfiend ran around from ce to ce so that its survivability increased instead of staying in one spot like a mindless zombie, they should possess a logical train of thought for what was safer, and what was not. And for the Sandstalker, the least thing they could do was to attack me who was positioned far away from my cover and allies, instead of the two people atop of a fortified four-meter-wide wooden wall made from the deforested half of an entire biome. "It''s here!" As my feet caught the increasing tremor below me, I began to run around while minding the entities'' potentially dangerous remains. I nced back at the direction of my lovely fortress, and I saw that both Lupina and Verina were preparing their aims respectively. They knew what was about to transpire. And then the event struck, two Sandstalkers emerged from the surface in a violent ssh of debris. Their hulking mass and size alone would erupt the ground by just moving their limbs upward from beneath the ground. It smelled like an earthy red iron. Not all of them had emerged from the ground. The trembling of the dirt amongst the chaotic smoke of debris imnted a cautious reminder in me, that I need to keep moving lest I want to be mangled dead and sacrificed for the amusement of the moon and ck star. I moved my whole body. I saw one of the Sandstalker was struck by a devastating ballista''s bolt, and I saw one of them was hit by a ring projectile ofbustible inferno. I saw the tracing imagery of the monster beyond the surface, I heard my heartbeat prancing to the aortic rhythm on my veins. The fatigue from dealing with all of these Cmity Objects started to weigh on me. It was only when I tasted my own salty sweat that I realized how soaked and cold my body was from all of these fighting. ¡ªInjuries¡ª [Left Hand: Torn ligaments (moderate - 25% pain, -30% maniption)] [Right Hand: Blistered (minor - 10% pain, -10% maniption)] [Left Arm: Muscle strain (moderate - 20% pain, -15% maniption)] [Right Arm: Deepceration (moderate - 35% pain, -40% maniption)] [Chest: Bruised ribs (moderate - 20% pain, -20% breathing)] [Back: Muscle spasms (moderate - 25% pain, -15% maniption, -15% movement, -15% breathing)] [Left Leg: Cramped (minor - 15% pain, -20% movement)] [Right Leg: Pulled hamstring (moderate - 25% pain, -25% movement)] [Feet: Blistered and sore (moderate - 20% pain, -10% movement)] [Overall: Exhaustion (severe - 40% pain, -30% blood pumping, -30% consciousness)] This body wasn''t meant for war. "Everything is darkening¡­" My Pain had reached a 235% threshold. A single loss of focus would result in me falling down andying helplessly like a dehydrated fish. Verina and Lupina were probably in a simr state. Though I did ensure that they wouldn''t be taking as much of the wounds and fatigue as I am, since their knowledge and experience were much more crucial for me to survive the Ordeal of the Midnight. Chapter 14: One Step Can Cover Seven Steps Before I knew it, another pair of Sandstalkers emerged in my close proximity. My obsidian dagger would shatter if I used it against their armor, and I had no other means of fighting other than relying on the artillery and ohrtender support from the backline. While the battlefield was busy, I tore some part of my white chiton and dressed theceration on my right arm. It wasn''t enough topletely stop the bleeding, but it was enough to prevent the worst. It took quite a while of running around and hoping that Verina and Lupina killed the Sandstalkers quickly enough before the next wave of the ordeal. And so far, it wasn''t far off from my expectation, as all of the Sandstalkers were immobilized in under five minutes. Those two were probably panicking after they saw giant creatures of horror emerging from the ground without any warning. "Huwaaaa! Miss fairrryyyy!!!!" Yup, it was mostly true for Lupina. "Thank you for the good support." I let out a small chuckle as I caressed the orange hair of the wolf that was clinging on me with tears in her eyes. "If you didn''t hit thest one on the head, I would have probably been dismembered and eaten alive." "Huweeee!!" Donning my usual smile, I shifted my gaze to Verina. "Can you cauterize my wound, Verina?" "We still have a potion of healing, it can greatly treat moderate exhaustion too," Verina answered calmly. "Use it when one of us receives a much more severe wound." "The quality of the potion is normal, it won''t heal a severe wound." "But it will increase the survivability despite having one." A breath of relief escaped my lungs. "I know that you''re worried, but survival is our priority." "You look paler than a porcin, miss fairy, you should be the one who uses the potion, and by that I mean now." "About that, I''m thinking of utilizing the strange-looking tree on the east side of our bastion." I snickered. "Can the two of you hold the line for five minutes until I return?" "Lupina should go with you." "Yeah, I should go with you!" "Can you even hold the line alone, Verina?" "I can," Verina firmly replied. I doubted. "Regardless, what I''m doing with the tree won''t work if I''m not alone," I lied. "Just think of it as me taking a refreshing walk, okay?" Lupina and Verina looked at each other before casting their worried gaze at me. "If you don''t return in ten minutes, the two of us will abandon the outer wall and reach for you." "Alright." I extended my hand. "Cauterize my wound first." "... At this point, I''m more scared of you than the Cmity Objects, miss fairy." After I got mycerated arm ''tended'', I went to a west section of the middle wall and grabbed the leftover of the resilient and stretchy vines that we harvested from the relevant trees in this biome. In the middle of the ordeal, around two or three hours ago, I crafted a wooden cage in the hope of capturing a fine specimen to experiment with on the downtime of the chaos¡ªwhich didn''t happen since there was no significant amount of resting time that allowed me to conduct a proper research. However, the cage did find its use. "Ah, it''s nice to see you again. It gets a little bit lonely here~" ¡ª [Skinwalker] [Description: A grotesque entity that mimics the appearance of another individual, but with subtle, horrifying differences¡ªskin too tight, eyes toorge, and a smile that never fades. The Skinwalker''s flesh seems to ripple and shift, as if barely holding its form together. It moves with jerky, unnatural motions, as if puppeteered by an unseen force. When it speaks, its voice is a distorted, eerie echo of the colonist it imitates] [Hint: The Skinwalker''s uncanny imitation of an individual deeply unsettles others, causing paranoia and fear. Its very presence erodes trust within the colony, but it doesn''t possess the same strength and skill as the person it imitated] ¡ª We managed to capture a Skinwalker that faked itself to be Lupina. Back then, there was an attack from three different sides of the walls which resulted in the three of us splitting up to deal with the threat individually. With me waiting the other two on the west side of our fortress, I told Verina and Lupina beforehand to send some sort of signal tomunicate on whether you''re in need of help or finished with eradicating the avable threat, either by shouting, or re a spell-projectile in the air. Verina dealt with her share of the deal and reached me, Lupina arrived a couple of secondster. At first, the Skinwalker acted as if it was Lupina, using the same mannerism and nearly identical appearance. But that was the thing, its appearance was nearly identical, not the exact same. It was also downright eerie, it was obvious. We fight off the Skinwalker, anticipating that it might be a great threat to our lives. Only to find out that it happened to be a pushover. "I''m surprised that you''re still in that form, like the skinsuit that much?" And now, that Skinwalker was imitating me. "You adore this face. In fact, you''re in love with it! Why wouldn''t I change my appearance to yours? It''s going to be hard dealing with me now, isn''t it?" I weaved my trembling, fatigued hands to remove the bar that locked the gate of the cage. Eyes locked, I stepped inside the cage. "See? Your hands are trembling-" And proceeded to punch the living hell out of this imposter. "Your attempt at imitation disgusted me." I could feel the impact of the flesh with every punch. And each of them urged me to make my next strike even harder. "It''s not symmetrical, the size of the nose is wrong, the cheekbones are off, the number of eyshes are lesser, the arc of the eyebrows missed by two degree, the lips color are too red, your fangs are too sharp¡ª" The beating went for a whole minute, until I saw that there was no semnce of sapiency on that face that was rted to mine. Chapter 15: Blood Is Fuel "C-Curse you!! Urgh-" "I will stop punching you if you decide to stop speaking like a gross imitation of sentience." I ced my obsidian dagger right below its jaw, with the sharp edge pressing up the wet red skin. "Unless you adapted an immunity to my punching, in which I will turn your flesh into tasty striped flesh for my wolf pet to snack on." "S-She is your pet!? AAAAAARGH-" A thinyer of this monster''s flesh was disced, crumbling pitifully to the ground like a sheet of corroded paper. "My words are not a threat. They are a promise, and I''m a person who always tries my best to fulfill my promise." With the Skinwalker barely having energy to resist, I tied up this creature of deception and dragged them toward the location of the Bleeding Tree on the east. The shimmering crimson hue of the fleshy bark and its impish sap alone was enough to drain the sanity of those who nced at it for far too long. For me however, such pungent color was already something that I''m too used to. "The Bleeding Tree¡­ What a dull name." It said that the tree''s sap could heal or harm depending on how it was harvested. However, the information screen also said that the tree demands a blood price for its gift, and will take what it was owed. Was it implied that the sap itself was priced regardless of how it was harvested? If what I gathered was true, the tree itself should be conscious enough to process the concept of two parties'' exchange. "And the right thing for us to do was to buy the sap directly with the equivalent amount of ''lifeline'' for the traded sap." I simply threw the Skinwalker to the ground where the tree''s roots were lingering about. "Heal our wounds and fatigue." The fleshy bark of the tree began to form a grinning face before spiraling out of control. In less than a second, an extraterrestrial mouth formed on the ground where the Skinwalker currently was. Exasperated, the tree brandished its serrated teeth and proceeded to consume the offering until nothing remained. "That got excessively brutal." A radiant crimson was brightly emitted from every part of the red-binding tree, as it shed countless of sentient particles into the air. Some of those particles entered my eyes, lungs, and ears. And many of them were still scattering away. My feeling was telling me that they were going toward the direction where Lupina and Verina were. "I''m lucky that the Skinwalker got blood inside of them." I felt my body deliberately repaired by the particles that the tree sent. From the heavy knot that was tightening my chest and esophagus, to the stinging pain on my blistered skin andcerated flesh. After the process was done, which didn''t even take a minute to finish, I checked my Health tab in my detail screen. ¡ª [Health Status] [Overall Health: 100%, Pain: 0%] ¡ªVitals¡ª [Consciousness: 125%] [Movement: 110%] [Maniption: 1000%] [Hearing: 200%] [Sight: 100%] [Breathing: 100%] [Blood Filtration: 100%] [Blood Pumping: 120%] [Metabolism: 100%] [Lifeline: 100%] [Sanity: 60%] ¡ªInjuries¡ª [None] ¡ªConditions¡ª [Heightened Consciousness: This individual take reduced influence from all sort of negative modifier to the mind (moderate - 25% consciousness for the next 16 hours)] ¡ªEnhancements¡ª [None] ¡ª [{Biography} {Inventory} <{Health}> {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª "This is refreshing." It seemed like not all Cmity Objects were purely malevolent in nature. Otherwise, the tree would follow with a curse that either forced us to make more sacrifice lest we go insane, or the particles that seeped into our body would make our organs explode in the next four hours. d that it wasn''t the case. Though, I could see that a reckless person, or in my specific case, a potential yer, would be ordering their Trope''s members to harvest the tree''s sap, only to have the equivalent amount of blood sucked from the person who harvested the sap as their price. "Those two might either be screaming with joy and praying to a random nonexistential god, or they might be screaming in fear and confusion." After the exchange, the Bleeding Tree remained firm and foreboding on the east side of our fortress. I wasn''t sure if we would be able to send another offering in exchange for healing all of our wounds, since the information screen of a Cmity Object was proven not to be the end-all-be-all. Regardless, it might be logical of me to prepare more than one prison in case that we stumble upon a Cmity Object that we could sacrifice to the Bleeding Tree. The night was still far from ending, after all. "... I need something stronger." Stronger than the ballista, easy to carry and move, while also possible to craft under the scarce resource type. If only it weren''t for this dull biome with little to nothing but fungus and tall trees, I would probably have something more advanced than things and shapes made out of wood. Then an idea struck the fireside corner of my mind. "... I''ll just add more ropes andpound bows on a single giant arbalest." I might be extremely fatigued at that time, but I started to recall that there was a glistening spark when the Sandstalker''s w was struck by the ballista''s bolt. It was as if the bolt peeled away tiny pieces of heated ''steel'' from the Sandstalker''s ws. "No way." In that moment of enlightenment, I immediately carved my design onto a nk canvas of a wooden wall using a sharpened rock. Without wasting a single second, I immediately scurried away to where we fought the Sandstalker. I needed to prove my hypothesis first and foremost. "Miss fairy! Something suddenly heals us out of our wounds and fatigue! M-Miss fairy? Why are you running like something dreadful is chasing you!?" I''m sorry, Lupina. But this time, I wasn''t chased by anything evil or dreadful. Ignoring thepletely-shut gate, I walked to the tform of the wall and jumped off to the outside of our defensive perimeters. Chapter 16: When The Blacksmith Cast Her Magic Sprinting across the deforested scalp of nature, I reminded myself of the ces where the Crawling Husk were fought, since a tiny bit of their bodily liquid might inflict necrosis in just a moment of touch. Didn''t help that I''m running semi-barefoot all this time. I noticed that there were a couple of new Cmity Objects, but they weren''t much of a threat inparison to the Shardfiend and the Sandstalker, so I just ignored them. And just as expected, both Verina and Lupina covered for me from afar with long-range support and artillery, probably out of sheer worry and confusion. Because blood is money, time is blood. When I reached the remains of the Sandstalkers, I brandished my makeshift tools and began carving out the necessary parts of the Sandstalkers. After I hurriedly yoinked the items I needed, I ran aze to the fortress again. "I have so many questions, but please refrain from scurrying away to the non-bastion zone," Verina scolded, albeit severelycking in the anger department. It might be obvious at this point, but a lot of the aggressive Cmity Object wasn''t capable of spawning or manifesting directly within the ''bastion'' area. To make this clear and fast, bastion area refers to the ce that was filled with great activity and footprints of non-Cmity Objects. If one were to simply run around back and forth in a single line for an entire day, that very line would be a bastion area. The act of existing shed an essence, marking the history where a soul once frolicked. It was as if human activity itself deterred a Cmity Object from existing. There were many nuances to this concept, but it is much simpler to just deem ''bastion'' as the ce where humans hold the line against the Ordeals. Which I found uniting, that despite the huge list of humanoid races in Carcosa, they were all regarded as part of humanity in this world All because the Cmity Objects gave them the reason to unite for the sake of survival. "So, is there a reason for heating the Sandstalker''s metal to a high temperature right below the melting point, then cooling it?" Verina asked as she performed what I was bidding. "After cooling, the molded metal is very hard butcks ductility. We can improve the characteristics of the metal by tempering it, which is what we''re doing, lessening brittleness and reducing internal stresses." Courtesy of the sage known as the Inte. "You''re lucky that the Cmity Objects chose to rest at this timing, miss fairy, otherwise I wouldn''t be able to focus on doing this." After setting a poor-man smithy within the inner walls, I ordered Lupina to scout around the bastion in case that the Cmity Object felt a little bit yful again. Although, regardless of the amount of break we got here, it was still crucial for me toplete this sudden project before the Ordeal of the Midnight arrived. As such, with Verina as my portable furnace, I began my smithing career with a high-quality metal delivered by the kind w-like remains of the Sandstalker''s themselves. To ensure that Verina didn''t overheat by using her innate power as a kilnn, I sacrificed a portion of my blood so that she wouldn''t be hesitant to follow every instruction that I spouted the moment it was dered. "I also still found it creative that you used the ground itself to mold the molten ws into metallic bars." "It''s less creative, and more of a low budget turnaround." Combined with these impossibly dexterous hands of mine, craftingplexponents and mechanical parts needed was easier done than said! "You know, miss fairy, Lupina and I have been really quiet about it." "Go on. While you''re at it, please heat this section. I''m going to permanently connect these two parts to the wood." Verina did exactly what I told her to, all while continuing her rambling, "Your existence feels very ethereal, miss fairy." "I thought so too." "You can cook, you build and craft things ten times faster than the average person, and now you be a professional cksmith out of nowhere." "I doubt that I''m qualified to be a cksmith." "I just want to say, it''s rather hard to believe that we somehow stumble into you out of all ces." "True, I find it hard for people to stumble into me." The forced info-dump that I got early into this world gave me the mental imagery of the map andndscape, and a couple ofndmarks that were rted to the overview of this world''s lore. If I recall, the ce where I''m currently at was extremely secluded and far from civilization. It wasn''t even within the intersection of two civilizations. Normal people wouldn''t go here unless that ce was their destination. Which gave me a rather weird conclusion. How did Lupina and Verina even manage to stumble in the first ce? Verina looked rather taken aback after hearing thatment. "... I assume that you already know the big picture." Nope, not a single piece of it. It would take them days to arrive here from a ce of civilization, so their Logs didn''t tell much outside of the fact that they got robbed in the daylight. But then again, why are only two of them traveling here? Where the hell did that robbere from?? Nobody would just rob people in a ce far away and secluded. At least not this far and secluded. Everything smelled fishy, and I didn''t even grill one because I couldn''t find any on the river. "We''ll talk about this topic after the ck sun arrives," I casually spoke out, not even a single groan or a sign of difort escaped. "... You''re an interesting individual, miss Narcissus." "Just call me Narcissus, don''t be so formal with me now." Despite the implication, I started to don''t mind having it as my name. "Okay, Narc," Verina nonchntly replied, not a single remorse in her eyes. "... That sounded worse than I thought." I didn''t want to get my head filled with these riddles. My current goal is to survive, and trying to solve the discrepancy between Verina and Lupina''s reasons and past whereabouts won''t help me survive the Ordeal of the Midnight. "It fits you, though, because you''re a ''narcotic'' for our eyes," Verina said with the most in voice and face, while gesturing a ''heart'' symbol with her fingers. "I regret giving you the friend pass." "I want our rtionship to be more than a friend." "Have a stable life and generational wealth first, then I''ll reconsider." Chapter 17: Unleash, The Fortcracker! We got a sudden attack from the Cmity Objects from time to time, but none of their attempts were prolonged into multiple waves of dangerous threats. After a great effort on speedrunning the weapon that I envisioned, while also maintaining the defensive perimeters in check¡ªwe finally finished the project atst. "Huwaaa¡­! So this is what you guys are making within the inneryer of the walls." "I can''t believe that I greatly took part in this exotic craftsmanship, genuinely, respectful, and indubitably." "That''s a lot of adverbs you used there¡­" It only took my impossibly dexterous arm and Verina''s uber-thermostat power half an hour to finish our project. The fact that we could directly skip the smelting process was already a godsend, since the ws were already a metal and ready to be reforged. Nheless, my attempt and method was still inexperienced and forced. If an actual cksmith supervised what we were doing with these precious metals, we would get whacked on the head with a broom. As I ced my finger on the surface of my rather hastily-made creation, a sense of pride and parenthood suddenly dawned on me. "I''ll name this, the Fortcracker." The beast of war stood tall against the horizon, a menacing silhouette that struck fear into the hearts of all who beheld it. A frame of construction, stretching nearly two meters from end to end, with four durable legs and a pair of anchors. The wood was reinforced with Sandstalker''s steel bands that glinted in the luminescence, each one hammered into ce with painstaking precision. Despite its size, the machine was ingeniously portable, with its four menacing legs capable of folding-in simultaneously and its frame breaking down into manageable sections, allowing a dedicated strong-man or a wagon to transport it from one position to the other. However, it was the six throwing arms that truly defined this weapon of destruction. Arrayed in pairs along the central stock, each arm was a behemoth. Carved through intricate contraption andpoundyering, these arms were slightly curved, tapering to vicious points that would grip the projectiles with deadly intent, as each one of them connected to their respective torsion bundles of unprecedented drawing-weight. "And that''s why it''s stronger than the ballista that we have lying around inside the fortress." ""Ooooooh"" Though, we only got ammunition of giant wood poles to amodate its function, so the Fortcracker, albeit much more powerful than the earlier ballista, won''t be cracking any kind of fortified castle anytime soon. [Fortcracker (Masterpiece 100%) - 175.1kg: The Fortcracker is an extraordinary siege weapon designed to be a strategic pulverizer. With apact yet powerful frame reinforced by iron bands and six torsion-powered throwing arms, this wrathful ballista canunch any type of bolts with devastating force, capable of shattering stone walls and obliterating organic armor. Portable yet powerful, it requires a crew or a skilled individual to operate, making it a feared instrument of siege and bastion''s first heart of defense] I couldn''t believe that this thing was part of my equipment, as if it was something that I just put in my pocket. Heh, it was somewhat amusing to see the game''s perspective of the Fortcracker. Though, I also didn''t expect that the game system would just conveniently integrate any kind of creation as part of the world''s objects. This game really had an advanced AI or LMM, if that was the case. Then again, if one would think about it, my existence and consciousness should be part of the server database or whatever the hell was processed by the game engine. Quite hard believing all of this stuff with how vivid my experience was as the NPC of the game. After we put the Fortcracker on a wagon, our Moods got a raw +15 increase. "Everyone, to WAAGH!" ""To WAAAGH!!"" With the addition of the Fortcracker, our fighting strategy shifted massively when we were against a tough Cmity Object. Instead of fighting defensively atop of the fortified walls, or kiting them with one vanguard outside of the wall, we opted to gather around the gate area and escort the Fortcracker like our iron cavalry. "Unleash, the Fortcracker! Muahahah!" Lupina screamed, as sheughed maniacally like a goddamn viin. In the state of battle where a new wave of Cmity Objects were suddenly attacking from a different side of the bastion, both Verina and I rushed to the battlefield early as we waited for Lupina who would be wagoning the Fortcracker back and forth. Without knowing it, we had already reached the 11 hour milestone. [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 1 hours_] "This is genuinely the first time where I broke the 11 hours threshold in a bastion with less than 10 ten people, let alone three," Verinamented, right before her face was caught by the whish of the wind current that was created by the shockwave of the Fortcracker''s firing. I chuckled. "Well, it is indeed a miracle that this bastion stood the test of durability with only three people defending it." "Then again, you''re counted as ten people, Narcissus." "I doubted that." "Fellows, I got inspiration!" Lupina howled. "Speak up, Lupina of the Fort." "What if we make more of the Fortcracker!" Lupina submitted her ideas like it was something revolutionary. "However, instead of making it with the exact same size and ratio, we make a smaller version of them, give it a handle, and then name it Little Fortcracker!" "That''s just a glorified arbalest," Verina pointed out. "Less size means less destructive power, and there are only three of us, and possibly ten of the Cmity Objects that are three-times the size of us, and have metallic armor or some kind." "Better have a single giant artillery that can shoot as fast and kill a single one of them with a single bolt," Verina followed. "Besides, we have my musket." "Urgh, only you can be the one to use that musket, Verina." "And I take pride in it." Although, the idea of having a distributed long-range weapon that can be used at any situation sounds very enticing. Not to mention, after utilizing the metallic ws of the Sandstalkers, I realized that the lingering dead Cmity Object could be used and repurposed into something beneficial. Then again, most of the manifesting Cmity Objects, especially the phenomenon and environmental one would often disappear when the dawn of day arrived. Only the entity-type could be scavenged for their materials. Chapter 18: There Is An Imposter Among Us "The Cmity Objects appeared to be attacking from three different directions!" Lupina eximed. I didn''t have much expectations for Lupina at first, but her beastly instinct happened to be a great boon for our little bastion. Not only that her meleebat was much more reliable than I thought, but she was able to fully utilize her ability, Feral Rage, that put her in a state of berserk, while also not sumbing to the instinct. She was able to turn on and off her Feral Rage consistently and anytime she wanted. However, she could be clumsy from time to times after using most of her brain cells to keep up with the pace. She needed to be supervised to ensure her survivability, and also my survivability in return. "The threat on the west has been dealt with, yet I can''t fathom how Lupina always misses the first shot when she uses a ballista, despite aiming for such a long time," Verina said after single-handedly defeating the enemies beyond the west wall from the south wall. It might be a little bit hyperbolic, but Verina was probably the greatest addition to this wood-made bastion. Her skill and experience was actually akin to a hard-boiled veteran with how she reacted to any of the threats and anomalies, and it was always reassuring when you''re with someone who was an expert on that said department. She was also the oldest in the group if wepare the age of our soul or mental. I wonder if her young biological age was due to her proficiency at ohrtender? Regardless of the individual, I held some older people in high regard, especially if they came from a ce or profession where the people quit or die young. She could be rather chatty and flirtatious at times, much more than Lupina, surprisingly¡ªbir it was easier to stomach it since she contributed a lot to our survivability. "Way to go, Verina!" Tahlia cheered. "Man, this makes me want to be an ohrtender like you. Do you think I got the chance?" As for Tahlia, I didn''t really have anything going on with him. This feminine cat-boy had been dilly-dallying the moment he begged to stay in our bastion for safety, right before dusk arrived. He wasn''t the most helpful, but he wasn''t the most riddance either. In fact, he managed to hold his own tail for the whole ordeal. Regardless, having an extra man-power had always been helpful in a small bastion like this. He was also another male in this bastion, despite not looking like one¡ªso I expected him to have some ountability to perform better in front of the female of the group. Unless his psychology was different than the average male, somehow not possessing any instinct to impress their female fellows. Wait, I forgot that I''m no longer a man in this world, which means that this puts Tahlia as the sole male-figure in this bastion. "There''s no sign of any advancing Cmity Objects," I announced. "We might get arge downtime until the Ordeal of the Midnight." "If I count it right, we have twenty more minutes until we struck midnight," Verina said before she chugged a quarter of the remaining portion of her Potion of Lifeline. "Depending on the kind of major threat we''re facing, our strategy will shift drastically." "I wonder if we can do it, just with the four of us," Lupina questioned. There wasn''t a single hint of difort in her voice however. In fact, she appeared to be excited. "Huehuehue, I can imagine the tale that I can share at the tavern, and maybe some citadel will recruit me for their military with this achievement in mind!" "Won''t most citadel just ept whoever into their military as long as you have functioning limbs attached to your torso?" Tahlia said as he shrugged. "Don''t think that being slightly luckier will make them treat you as their VIP." "Don''t worry about that, Lupina is just that dumb," Verina followed up. Lupina grinned, trying her best to hold her annoyance. "I know that my intellect is lower than average, but that doesn''t make me incapable to discern mockery," "Won''t that make her fit better in the military?" I jested. Verina looked baffled, despite her eternal poker face. "That''s a good point you put there, Narc." "Ahahaha! Even Narc acknowledges it!" Tahlia pointed as heughed excessively. "Why does everyone start to call me Narc¡­" "Wee to the bullied club, miss fairy." Lupina extended her hand with a sympathetic smile. "I''m not as victimized as you, though." It had always been conforming to having these kinds of talks whenever the ordeal was in its downtime. It was akin to how drafted soldiers with theirrade-in-arm, reassuring each other with not-so-serious banters to raise morale despite the imminent chance of dying on the battlefield. I was also helped from the fact that I stopped stressing with my cursed obsession of facial imperfection. Just the thought or recollection of how my face looked was enough to put me at great ease. I really needed to start working on some sort of mirror to appreciate this blessing even further. I didn''t even care if I turned into a woman or a monster as long as I could see this face at all times. Speaking of self-reflection, I somewhat realized that I had never checked Tahlia''s detail screen. What was my past self thinking?? No wonder that I didn''t really have much of an opinion of him¡­ As such, I decided to peek into this cat-boy''s information and possible deep secret. I wonder what kind of information that I could find, fufufu. The moment I opened Tahlia''s detail screen, I was struck by an eerie realization. ¡ª [Wandering Imposter] [Description: The Wandering Imposter is an entity that seamlessly integrates itself into the bastion''s hierarchy as a familiar persona. They imnt a fake memory and history to every individual within the bastion, making them believe that this entity is part of them from the start. Unlike others, this entity can remain in overworld outside of the Ordeals] [Hint: Depending on the persona and form that the Wandering Imposter take, they will either be beneficial or detrimental to have around] ¡ª Chapter 19: Confronting The Faker My memory of him was so vivid, and I couldn''t even discern what was real or fake. It was truly hard to digest that Tahlia was a Cmity Object all along. Although, it wasn''t as hard to maintainposure and expression to act as if nothing happened. "Mmmm~!" Tahlia stretched his flexible and petite body. His short and wavy gray hair was caressed by the wind. "Still, I think that the reason we can reach this far is because of Narcissus." His aquamarine gazetched onto me as if we were arade that covered each other in the time of hardship. However, after finding out his true nature, I couldn''t see him the same anymore. "Do we have enough ammunition to fuel our ballista and Fortcracker?" Lupina shared her concern. "I feel like we have been using these bolts a lot, that I''m afraid that we''re starting to run out of them." "You probably feel that way because you miss most of your first shot every time you manned the ballista," Verina casually retorted. "We also need to start replenishing the torches and bonfire to keep our line of sight crystal clear," I told them. "Both Tahlia and I will be checking the torches within and outside the fortified perimeter. "We might as well be heading out to procure more woods and craft more ammunition in case that we will have an endurance battle somewhere within the Ordeal of the Midnight." I needed to iste Tahlia first from the two of them, since I''m unsure on whether he was a silly goober or a ticking bomb. "Verina and I will be guarding and patrolling inside the bastion then!" Lupina eximed. Verina''s eyes sharplytched onto me. "We only have around 15 minutes left before the Midnight of the Ordeal starts, can you make it?" "Mmm~ you''re too much of a worrywart, miss ohrtender," Tahlia said before puffing his chest with pride. "Both Narcissus and I are the fastest person with the most reliable instinct out of the four of us. We will finish our task quickly, while also ensuring our own safety like a master~!" "Make sure that nothing happens to Narc," Verina said while she was refueling the spell ammunition for her musket. "Or else, a certain cat will be riddled in holes and hanged alongside the Bleeding Tree." "What happens if I''m the one that got murked¡­?" Tahlia sheepishly asked. Verina casually answered, "Then we will simply bury you alongside the remains of the hazardous remains of the Cmity Object." "Nya! Such a strong bias!" Ensuring that Tahlia and I finished the task, the two of us performed our dutiful responsibility with fervent haste and utmost wariness. So far, there weren''t any Cmity Objects in sight. It might be possible that this downtime stayed until the Ordeal of the Midnight. After we ensured that the bastion was fully lit, we brought our trusty wagon andmenced the wood gathering, straying far away from the defensive perimeters. "Hah¡­ hahaha¡­ I knew that time is the essence, but this ridiculously hastened pace is a little bit overkill." Tahlia wryly chuckled, trying his best to repair the rhythm of his exhausted breathing. "You''re a man, right? You should be more resilient than this." "Funny how you say that, when the male within cat folks usually work as a seamstress, maids, and househusband," Tahlia bittersweetly smiled, still huffing and puffing. "None of them do adventuring, or even do any job with rough physical activity. "Barely any of us even be an adventurer or bastioneer." He smirked. "I''m the exception, because I genuinely wanted to see the world outside myfort zone." "How did you manage to get here and stumble upon us then?" As my hands weaved to harvest the avable wood with my makeshift saw, I looked at Tahlia straight in the eyes. "This region is isted from any civilization, with no interlocking trade route and bustling caravan." "You might not believe me, but I''m actually not supposed to be in this part of Carcosa," Tahlia said with a rather hrious face. "I was actually part of a bastioneer group that aimed to im and on the faraway east from the Kurth Citadel. "One day, I was struck by a Cmity Object that manifested within the Ordeal of the Midnight, trapping me into some sort of dark, abyssal containment. "Without even knowing it, I got stranded in a ce outside of my map, and luckily stumbled upon you folks just before dusk arrived!" Recollecting the info dumps, Kurth Citadel was indeed an actual ce that existed in Carcosa. However, the mental geography that I received puts that ce in an entirely different continent than the one I''m currently in. So if I remove the fact that he was a Wandering Imposter first and foremost, his fabricated backstory actually held some factual possibility. Actually, I was conflicted on whether this was even fabricated or not. I wasn''t even sure if he was even a Cmity Object at this point¡ªthe memory that I got of him was a little bit too real. It didn''t change the fact that this world deemed him as a Cmity Object. And in terms of trust, I ced a greater bet on the world system than my own memory. With how absurd and reality-bending some of the Cmity Objects were, it shouldn''t be as surprising the Tahlia as a persona was this convincing. "Say, Tahlia." What mattered right now, was what kind of alignment of Wandering Imposter he meant to be. "What do you think of Lupina and Verina?" "Eh?" Tahlua was brought to a surprise. "What do I think of them? Mmm, they reminded me of my siblings a lot. "They might be a little bit chaotic and like to take jabs at one another, but in the end, they truly care for each other''s wellbeing and safety." If what the information screen refers to as persona could be taken literally, then Tahlia was merely wearing a mask, hiding his true nature from being seen. "What would you do if I decided to kill both of them in front of you?" Chapter 20: Persona, The Greatest Mask To Deceive And Survive This concept of persona isn''t something one acquires out of the blue. "Eh?" There are four conditions that must be met. "There is an incident where a Cmity Object can manifest as another person with no way of knowing that it is them." First is individuality. The awareness of who you are. That is, recognizing that you''re a different existence to others. Also the capacity to self-reflect when you make a mistake, being critical of yourself. "What are you implying by that¡­?" Second is ownership. The first thing our persona takes control of is our body. Humans are not controlled by our bodies, but instead, our bodies are controlled by our persona. After all, the im ''only humanmit suicide'' derives from the idea that psychological pain is worse than physical pain. "Let''s say that, if such a thing happens to be an ongoing urrence in our group, do you think that anyone would notice?" "Of course, they will! A random person might be appearing out of nowhere, but all of us exist before the Ordeal of the Dusk started, and no Cmity Object can manifest outside of the ordeal!" Third is uniformity, also known as consistency. When our words or behaviorck coherence, we are not recognized as possessing a persona. If a persona has multiple ''personas'' yet they are all inconsistent, it is open to debate whether they are really personas. "What if they didn''t exist yet, and all of you are just imagining it? Thest one is responsibility. A persona is something possessed by the responsible. Those whock responsibility are not recognized as having a persona. "... Ahahah, Narcissus, what are you talking about? Only when those four conditions are met, a persona or a ''mask'' can exist. "I''m saying that, what if the Cmity Object imnted a fake memory into all of you, just so that it can naturally mingle with everyone as if it was their friend from the beginning of the day, or even beyond that." Right now, I''m wearing the mask of Narcissus. My awareness reminded myself of my true nature. That was my individuality. My mind was in the possession of this body and not the other way around. That was my ownership. My act stayed true and doesn''t meaninglessly ovep with my other masks. That was my uniformity. And to y the role given to me as Narcissus and put an effort to it. That was my responsibility. As such, at this very moment, I''m trying to bait the Wandering Imposter into shedding its mask if it has one. "Don''t tell me that you are¡­" And even if it didn''t have one, I wanted to ensure that it would be on our side until the very end. "Yes." I widened my smirk into an eerie grimace in front of the Wandering Imposter. "And there are certain conditions that will lead me to brutally murder you, Verina, and Lupina without any remorse." "Aha¡­ ahahah¡­" Tahlia''s eyes were wide and unblinking, pupils dted as if trying to absorb every detail of the surrounding threat. His breath became shallow and rapid, almost a series of gasps, with the chest heaving in rhythm to the panicked heartbeat thudding like a drum. The hands trembled uncontrobly, fingers clenching and unclenching as if seeking something to hold onto. The skin became beads of cold sweat forming on the forehead and temples. The entire body seemed coiled, muscles tense and ready to either flee or freeze, betraying the primal instinct to survive at all costs. The voice, if it emerges, was shaky, cracking under the weight of terror, often reduced to a whisper or a stuttered plea. That was not the sign of an ownership, a proof that betrayed the second condition to possess a persona¡ªthe total control of the action of the physicality. His reaction took control of itself. His body was confirming to the threat as a direct input to his nature, removing the possibility of an aware and uniformed mind controlling his vessel like a doll. The Wandering Imposter''s persona was none other than itself. What the information screen referred to as ''persona'' turned out to be the identity and nature of the manifested fake person. "I know that you''re afraid of me." I took a long step forward, widening my smile. "After all, you have seen my capability. My speed. My calctive demeanor. My creativity. All of them infused into a single magnificent guardian and murderer. "You''re wondering that, I would have killed all of you if I could. But just like the majority of Cmity Objects, I might be bound to my gimmick, and you''re assuming that you might have started the first phase of the gimmick right now." [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 5 minutes_] Oh right, I didn''t have much time left. "Well, you can be at ease for now." I chuckled, all while moving my body to harvest the fallen tree and haul them to the wagon. "The condition for me to end this bastion is met when you, Tahlia, my chosen gimmick subject, happen to devastatingly harm either me, Verina, or Lupina. "But seeing you in person, I doubt that you will do that~" I gave Tahlia a gentle and reassuring smile, removing him from the state of stagger and distress. I tapped Tahlia''s shoulder just to ensure that he was broken out of his trance. "Come on, we don''t want to make those two wait, can we?" "R-Right¡­ Ahahah¡­" Unless that there was any kind of shitty gimmick where the Wandering Imposter suddenly acts out of its predetermined character, Tahlia should be an amazing pawn to increase our survivability for the Ordeal of the Midnight. Of course, if Tahlia was smart enough, he should be able to realize that there was no way for him, Verina, and Lupina to make the fortress, ballistas, and the Fortcracker by themselves. Chapter 21: Lost Carcosa "You look rather off, Tahlia, what''s up?" Lupina asked. "If I tell you, we all die," Tahlia said with a wry smile and a side-eyetched onto me. "Hence why I won''t tell." "Alrighty then, keep up the work!" Lupina cheered. Just like the Ordeal of the Dusk, the info-dumps also gave me another eerie description of what Ordeal of the Midnight could potentially be. ''The sky will fall and swallow light. A warning to be harkened. A soul to be darkened. From the sea to the sons, all must hail the King, Then pray to gods and lords, pray to sins and orders, pray to siblings and flesh, pray to the devil and the hordes. O song of the soul, his voice is dead; Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed. Shall dry and die in¡ª Lost Carcosa.'' With everyone preparing their willpower, we earnestly waited for our doomsday to descend and kill us all. Though, seeing how we were doing with the Ordeal of the Dusk, we might have ended up victorious. Who knows~ The Bleeding Tree still persisted on the east side of our bastion, preventing almost all of the Cmity Objects from attacking through that direction. It surprisingly became a great boon for us. We had also captured a couple of the reurring Bloodhounds to be sacrificed, increasing our survivability even further. Our souls clenched tight in anxiety and anticipation, but hope also persisted amidst this harrowing time. "Something feels off," Verina uttered suddenly. She was then reminded of something as she looked up to the sky for a quick second, before grounding her gaze. I immediately caught on to what was going on. "The Hollow Star, what is it!?" "I knew it, the appearance rate of the Cmity Object is higher than normal for some reason." It was the first time I saw Verina greatly lose her cool like this. "I removed that thing''s existence from my consciousness so that I won''t get affected by it, but it also led me to forget its threat entirely." Lupina was caught by the dreadful atmosphere. "Uhm, are you referring to the dangerous thing on the sky, Verina? The one where you told us to not look and delve further, as much as possible?" It was quite the hassle to let yourself unswayed by the Hollow Star''s existence the moment you look deep into its form. However, I also remembered that the Hollow Star''s information screen didn''t mention anything regarding the increasing appearance rate of the Cmity Object. Unsure of what Verina meant, I rechecked the information of the Hollow Star. ¡ª [The Hollow Star] [Description: A cold, lifeless star hovers just above the bastion''s horizon, casting no light but drawing the gaze of those who look upon it. Its presence fills individuals with a deep, inexplicable dread, as if it is watching and waiting for something to happen. At night, the star seems to pulse with a faint, malevolent energy, and whispers of forgotten constetions echo in the minds of those who stare too long] [Hint: The Hollow Star''s pull is irresistible, but it drains the life force of those who study it, leaving them as hollow as the star itself] ¡ª It didn''t mention anything about affecting the Cmity Objects. Should I doubt Verina''s experience and expertise in this crucial moment? "Tell us what you know, Verina." I ced my hand on her shoulder. "Quickly, we don''t have a lot of time left." [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 1 minute_] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Her eyes remained gazing to the ground. "Thest time I encountered that maddening god, I remembered how our bastion was suddenly overwhelmed by the Cmity Objects throughout the night. "The appearance of a rare Cmity Object rises through the sky, alongside the level of danger of the Ordeal of the Midnight. Everything is aiming to kill us." I shifted my gaze to the wolf beastman. "Lupina, you didn''t realize the difference in the numbers?" "I-I''m too focused on fighting and didn''tpare the amount of Cmity Objects at all!" "W-what do we do then!?" Tahlia whimpered. It was informed to me through the info-dumps that the intensity of the Cmity Objects corrtes with the essence of chaos itself. To put it simply, it should be impossible to predict the danger and lethality of every ordeal. However, at this very moment. My instincts didn''t doubt Verina''s statement about the Hollow Star at the slightest. [Qu¨© m¨¥ ex v!ersicu!l¨©s me¨©s put?¨¡stis, quod!? su?nt mollicul¨©, par!?um pud¨©c?um!!] Time seemed to stop for a moment, as if something was grasping my soul with curious intention. [Multiple Qliphoth Objects have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] Then suddenly, I felt the temperature of the air drop drastically. And at the same, a drastic influence of dreading nightmare from the opposing direction ¡ª [The Wild Hunt] [Description: A terrifying spectral army led by a fearsome, horned rider on a skeletal horse. The Wild Hunt isposed of ghostly figures d in armor, their eyes glowing with cold fire. The ground shakes as they ride, and the sky darkens as they approach. The Hunt moves with relentless speed, pursuing its prey without mercy, their haunting war cries echoing through the air] [Mythos Reference: Manifested by folklore of the Wild Hunt from various European mythologies, a spectral procession of huntsmen often associated with death and disaster] [Hint: The Wild Hunt chases down every living being with terrifying speed, overwhelming them with sheer numbers and strength. Those who hear the Hunt''s war cries are filled with paralyzing fear, immensely reducing their sanity, making ultimate escape nearly impossible] ¡ª [The Headless Horseman] [Description: A ghostly rider with a ming god-shaped void for a head, the Headless Horseman is d in tattered, bloodstained armor. He rides a spectral, jet-ck horse that leaves a trail of fire in its wake. The Horseman wields a massive, cursed de that glows with an eerie light, and his presence is heralded by the sound of galloping hooves and a chilling, otherworldlyugh] [Mythos Reference: Manifested by the legend of the Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, a ghostly rider searching for his lost head] [Hint: The Headless Horseman hunts every living being with relentless determination, his de capable of cleaving through armor and bone. His head must not be perceived by any sane mind as trying toprehend the shape alone is enough to drive an unprepared individual into madness] I immediately grabbed everyone to jump out of the wall''s tform. Chapter 22: Qliphoth Object "What." "Gyaah!" "Nyaaa!!" A moment after, a disastrous sea of light began to sweep away the majority of the structures within this bastion. That ray of apocalypse appeared to being from the east, right where our Bleeding Tree resided. Just after the majority of usnded face-first into the ground, I looked to the east and found that the upper half of the giant tree was already beheaded, falling to the ground. Then the loud grizzly thud from the said tree. Our backup-healing was no more. "Wake up, wake up! To the west, posthaste!" Since most of the upper walls were nibbled into non-existent by the sudden wave of light, we cautiously sneaked to the west gate. Slightly opening the gap, we peeked through, only to be greeted by the sight of terror. Hundreds if not thousands of armored eldritch cavalries began to pour into thend from the darkest horizon. Coming right above them were the rippling reverse-sea, darkening the ever-night sky with its abyssal depth and pitch-ck darkness. Their gaze of fire scooped deep into our soul, as they marched radically like a wave of doomsday. Lupina shuddered like a wet canine. "W-We should escape to the eastern wall!" Just as she tried to rmend that, the sound of coteral destruction was orchestrated from the east side of the bastion. It kept getting louder and louder. And most definitely, closer. "We should leave this bastion and run away!" Tahlia suggested. "Then those damned cavalries will catch up to us in no time." Verina appeared to be frustrated just by the sound of her tone. Her face, however, remained calm as ever. "Narcissus, can you discern our current threat?" "... They are Qliphoth Objects." Qliphoth Object originated from an entirely different source than Cmity Object. Instead of existing as an aspect of cmity with its own unique interpretation, Qliphoth Objects were nothing but an aspect of elerated entropy. They didn''t have a dedicated gimmick, nor could they even be reasoned with. They didn''t have any beneficial side nor secret to unfurl. They were a true existence of evil that sow nihility to everynd they invaded. If a Cmity Object could be said as an enigmatic beast with an instinct to kill and survive, then the Qliphoth Object would be a ck hole that suddenly formed out of nowhere without any intent nor reason. "I apologize for beingte into the realization, Narcissus," Verina said with a tone of guilt. "It''s also my fault for not being curious enough, so don''t need to me yourself." "... That''s not how it works," Verina scolded, clearly annoyed by how I tried to trivialize her mistake. Well, it wasn''t much of a mistake and more of a human nature. Besides, I prefer the Verina that emotionlessly enact her schemes with cautious and precision, not guilt. Lupina looked at me confused. "W-What are you doing, miss Narcissus?" "Making a shovel." My hands weaved itself into production as I utilized the leftover debris and material surrounding me. "Massive change of strategy, I will inform you of all I know about the two major threats that we are facing as I dig." Tahlia finally stopped shaking like a turned-on blender. "We''re burrowing??" The information that I got about Qliphoth Objects was severely limited, but it did mention that their appearance was extremely rare. The fact that there were two of them manifesting at the same was a clear sign that the Hollow Star might have had something to do about this! As I carved a tunnel deep into the core of Carcosa, Lupina and Tahlia hurriedly scoured to utilize anything that they could get their hands on to close the entrance from the inside? "You two aren''t supposed to be blocking the entrance yet." Verina hissed with annoyance as she gave them the extra shovels I crafted. "Help Narcissus by delivering the dirt outside. When we digdeep enough, we shall close the entrance like a lid." "I-I see!" "That should''ve been obvious~" Yet the two of you did it anyway. With two sources of impending doom racing one another to bring judgment day into our front door, our collective digging speed was powered by dread and horror. "Close it!" "Hiyah!" "Don''tpletely seal it!" Tahlia cried. "We will run out of oxygen!" "No! Close it, Lupina!" I assured my order. "There might be a slight chance that they notice our breathing, never take a chance against Qliphoth Objects!" As the entrance waspletely shut, we sprinted downward the sloped tunnel. "This ce is merely a temporary shelter. As for our enemies, I''ll make it quick." I bitterly chuckled out of distress. "We''re fighting twopletely different sources of entropy: The Wild Hunt, and the Headless Horseman. "The Wild Hunt are those creepy armies that are advancing from the edge of the dark horizon. They are quick, with no known weaknesses. If possible, close your ears or trick your brain to deaf when it starts to cry. Those will corrode tour sanity. "The Headless Horseman is the entity that destroyed half of the structures of our bastion, and the very reason for the destruction wave of light that we evaded. For this one, avoid looking at what is supposed to be its head. In fact, avoid this whole entity altogether! "Before continuing, if any of you doesn''t know what a Qliphoth Object is, raise your hand." Both Lupina and Tahlia raised their hands. "As expected." "What do you mean by ''as expected''!?" Lupinained. "We already expected that you''re dumb enough to not know of it," Verina casually uttered. "But I''m surprised that Tahlia doesn''t know about it either." "Ahaha¡­" "To put it simply, the Qliphoth Object is a no-go, no-interact, no-fight, no-reasoning type of threat." I dumbed it down to be as digestible as possible. "We shouldn''t fight with it if we can. We shouldn''t even see or even hear its existing physicality. It''s the worst kind of cmity to ever exist." "Then what should we do!?" Verina scratched her hair in confusion. Chapter 23: Diggy Diggy Hole The key to our survival lies in the hints given by the system of this world. [Hint: The Wild Hunt chases down every living being with terrifying speed, overwhelming them with sheer numbers and strength. Those who hear the Hunt''s war cries are filled with paralyzing fear, immensely reducing their sanity, making ultimate escape nearly impossible] [Hint: The Headless Horseman hunts every living being with relentless determination, his de capable of cleaving through armor and bone. His head must not be perceived by any sane mind as trying toprehend the shape alone is enough to drive an unprepared individual into madness] Unlike the hints or description of the Cmity Object, they refer to their target as ''every living being'' and not ''individual'' or ''bastioneer''. When taking into consideration that these information screens were meant to be read by a Storyteller, or a yer¡ªit was probably the intended design to have the NPCs or people within the Storyteller''s recruited group be referred to as ''individual'' and ''bastioneer''. For one, the Cmity Object didn''t seem to be targeting or affecting the wildlives unless it was gimmicked to be¡ªproving the legibility of the usage of ''individual'' in its description. Because in the game''s perspective, it should be the design of the Cmity Object to bring challenge and hurdle to the yers and the people of Carcosa. But in the case of these two Qliphoth Objects, they didn''t use that. The fact that it must be stated that way and even worded differently, the Qliphoth Object should be attacking anything that moves other than ''individuals''. For example; Animals, Cmity Objects, and even another Qliphoth Object. After all, an existence that could actively alter the mass and design of anything should possess a consciousness. And a thing with consciousness proves that it possesses a soul. It was also consistent with the forced knowledge that I have about the Qliphoth Object. They were elerated entropy made manifest. Like a sudden ck hole that appeared without reason, they could only consume and destroy everything in their wake. "For now, we stay outside of their sight." I ced a thin sheet of wood on the ground for everyone to see. On it, the rough map of the bastion and its surrounding countries could be seen. "I estimated the speed and location of the Headless Horseman from the loud destruction it is making. I also did the same with the Wild Hunt, albeit differently. "If we apply the logic that the Headless Horseman will target any nearest living being¡ªthen it should start targeting the Wild Hunt horde at this point of time." Just as I said that, the thundering chaos and destruction from above could be felt through the vibrating wall and ceiling of thisfy cave of ours. "Are you saying that we dug deep enough for the Headless Horseman to ignore us and went to those hellish cavalries instead," Verina said with her iconic poker-face. I couldn''t even deduce whether she was stating a fact or questioning me. "Then we should stay in this hole indefinitely!" Lupina proudly suggested. "We''re safe here! This is ournd! This is our kingdom!" "That sounded too good to be true¡­" Tahliamented "As Tahlia eluded, it should be impossible for us to stay in this hole for longer than an hour." If they were attentive enough, they should have noticed that I had been controlling my breathing since we sealed the entrance. "First and foremost, we need air." "R-Right." "Secondly," I raised my index finger rather ominously. "This hole is not part of our bastion." "Wait, then does that mean¡­" "Yes," Verina followed. "Soon enough, a Cmity Object might start to manifest inside this hole. And depending on what kind of Cmity Objects it will be, we all might instantly die." Just because there were two Qliphoth Objects above us, doesn''t mean that there was no Cmity Object spawning while those two horrors fought each other to the death. That was, if they could even be killed. "Uhm, as in like that?" Tahlia anxiously pointed. The rest of us simultaneously nced at the direction that Tahlia was pointing. "Yup, that is a Cmity Object, alright." ¡ª [The Abyssal Rift of Possibility] [Description: A dark, bottomless chasm that suddenly appears in a cave, exuding a strange, maic pull. The Abyssal Rift is filled with swirling shadows and faint whispers, as if the void itself were calling out. Objects thrown into the rift disappear without a sound, and the surrounding rock shows signs of warping and distortion] [Hint: The Abyssal Rift asionally spits out rare and valuable minerals, but spending too much time near it can lead to hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, or even being pulled into the chasm. It may also release otherworldly entities from time to time, posing a significant threat to the bastion. On the other hand, it can also work as a trash disposal] ¡ª Yep, just as we thought that we could stay in this cave for at least an hour, this thing arrived with the possibility of bringing in dangerous stuff from time to time. Not to mention, staying near it could also ultimately lead to the end of us. "Is this thing a feasible Cmity Object or a no-no Cmity Object?" Verina asked. "This is the no-no one." "Our soul be damned." Cautiously, we dug the surrounding area and began trapping the Abyssal Rift of Possibility inside an enclosed wall of dirt. It may backfire us in one way or another, but our first objective is to stay the hell away from it. "Haah¡­" If only the Qliphoth Object didn''t arrive, I could farm this Cmity Object for the rare materials it may spit out. After establishing a new round table for us to mingle and brainstorm our mind, we began devising a n that revolved around what kind of Cmity Object that would spawn in this shit hole. Regardless, I was also proposing to Verina about a new type of spell that could fix our ck of oxygen'' problem that had been harrowing us since we sealed the entrance. "I don''t think that it is possible for me to create air, let alone oxygen," Verina clueless stated. "That is not within my realm of understanding, nor was my intended specialty. "Tending Hands," I corrected. "Please don''t refer to it as a specialty in front of me." Still, that was surprising. For an ohrtender with the Tending Hands that was called Weather Guardian, I was baffled that she could heat a metal in a close proximity to a melt, but not produce oxygen. "An ohrtender needs to know the true nature and traits of the aspect that they are about to alter and turn into a miracle," Verina tilted her head, slightly leaning toward me. "I know nothing of theposition that creates air nor water. All I know is the method of instion, the absence and presence of energetic activity inside a mass, and how things can move if something moves them." Right, so that was how an ohrtender got their abilities. Though, thest example was something that shouldn''t have given her the ability to perform a telekinesis. "I will make you understand them, then." So, to lead Verina into making a spell that could create oxygen into existence, I invited Sage Inte into the discussion and introduced Verina to the concept of periodic table and chemistry. Chapter 24: Underground Shenanigans "This isplicated," Verina said with a nk gaze. "You''re telling me to perform what a nt can do but without the sunlight and water? This is taking a toll on my head." "You literally bend reality to perform miracles using blood as the catalyst, Verina." "I think I can learn a little bit faster if you give me a kiss on the cheek." "And what do I get in return?" "A wagon load of oxygen." "That doesn''t sound worth it." "Narcissus, you relieved Lupina of her rut. She didn''t give you anything in return." "Are you telling me that you want me to do the same to you?" "Hypothetically, will you?" "If it''s necessary for our survival." "Yet giving me a kiss on the cheek is off limits." "These lips are worth more than these hands." "Then, how about this? Instead of you giving me a kiss on the cheek, I''ll be the one who gives you a kiss on the cheek." "These cheeks are off limits either." "What if it''s lips to lips?" "Your method of bargaining baffles me." "Hmm, how about a hug?" "If you learned how to cast oxygen, I will reconsider." "I''ll learn this in no time." "You can easily learn this. You just want to use this as a chance to get something from me." "I got caught." While I was giving a harsh private lesson to Verina about the thing she could do to ''cast'' oxygen, my knife-eared hearing managed to pick up the conversation between Tahlia and Lupina in the background. "So, you once got captured by a ver, and then you staged a prison break with the rest of the ves?" Tahlia re-summarized the tale that he heard. "It''s hectic, I tell ya!" Lupina pointed with her index. "There is this one sick inmate that almost got ignored to death by the warden, so we all decided to revolt just so that we could bring this onessie to the healer to get patched up!" "Despite your brain performance, I didn''t expect you to carry so much adventure and stories behind your back." "Hehehe." "You said that you were together with Verina before you stumbled upon an off putting cabin that housed Narcissus, right?" Was my wooden cabin design that off-putting?? "Yeah, what of it?" Lupina tilted her head, donning a carefree smile. "How did both you and Verina meet?" Tahlia conveyed his curiosity. "The two of you sound like a pair that doesn''t get paired unless something special happens." "Gyaha! You hit the mark in the center! It is a long story though. Like, a very long, long nuanced story that is better to be told in the daylight, where no threat is looming in in sight." "Alright, I''ll take your word for it then~ You owe me a fine and interesting story with this one!" It looked like the two of them got along well. "So, anything you want to know before a Cmity Object suddenly spawn out of nowhere?" Lupina asked. "In case we manage to survive this ordeal, what is the thing you''re currently striving for?" "Uhm, this might sound obvious, but please don''t tell anyone." With a shylet demeanor, Lupina leaned forward and whispered, "I''m thinking of trying to go after Narcissus." "Are you sure?" Tahlia whispered back. "Narcissus¡­ She is¡­ Uhm, I don''t know how to say this, but why do you want to go after her?" "She can cook." "And?" "She is so beautiful, I don''t think I can fall in love with a man anymore." "And??" "If we keep going, there won''t be an end to this, to be honest." "Mmm, do you know that Verina might also have the same goal as you?" Tahlia suggested. "I caught her flirting a lot of the time. Won''t this sh of goals damage your friendship in any way?" "I''m thinking of ''sharing''." I heard you. Verina also probably heard you. "You''re truly adventurous," Tahliamented, unsure if this felt right or wrong. Even with the glooming dread and ticking time bomb, it was surely a rather stress-removing downtime for all of us. And talking with one another enhanced that effectiveness. Ten minutester, Verina announced that she had already crafted her first prototype spell. "Is it safe to point your first prototype spell against a real living target?" I said as I got the tip of the cold barrel of a musket directed at my face. "If this spell fails, you can retract the hugging reward," Verina said with no hint of remorse in her eyes. Without giving me time to prepare myself, Verina pulled the trigger. Sweeping forward from it, was a cool, crisp mist that immediately enveloping my face, carrying a subtle hint of eucalyptus. Almost immediately, I felt my lungs filled with the purest air I''d ever breathed, as if I were standing on a mountaintop sloped by rich nature and greeneries. "Is it working!?" Lupina shouted. Feeling nothing wrong, I gave them my thumbs up to signal that the spell was working as intended. "Alright, you two, lineup so that I can shoot each of you in the head with this spell." "That doesn''t soundforting at all," Tahlia wryly said. Before long, the two of them were shot in the head with Verina''s new spell, and they began to exude the same kind of satisfied expression like the one that I had. Lupina''s eyes were wide and awake. "Is this what heaven smells like?" The same goes for Tahlia. "Mmm~ this brings back memories of my former citadel." After shooting both Lupina and Tahlia on the head with that refreshing spell, Verina nced at me with anticipation. "Alright, alright." I opened my arms, weing the hardworking kilnn to my embrace. "Don''t waste this moment now." Without a word, Verina lunged at me, embracing her promised reward with utter bliss. Albeit with ack of facial expression, like the usual. Chapter 25: Heard Of Theotech? "Your sweat smells more fresh than the spell I crafted for you." "Right." As I answered Verina''s tight affection by hugging her back, I noticed that her body got warmer and warmer. "Your temperature is rising dramatically, is this normal?" "Yep, it''s normal," Verina said as her exhaust pipes started unleashing hot fumes into the air. "I''m using this opportunity to stimte my mind, and then imbue it with a lifeline to empower my consciousness." As she said that, I checked her Health section of detail screen and found out that her Consciousness skyrocketed to 500%. There weren''t any moderate wounds nor demerit conditions, so I felt surprisingly safer with this youthful veteran bing more capable than ever. Verina then mockingly nced at Lupina. "You want this?" Lupina desperately nodded. "Go on," Verina gestured with her eyes. Hearing that word, Lupina''s was invaded by happiness. Without a second thought, sheunched at us with arms open. "GYAAAH!?" Lupina immediately took a backstep, shaking her hand up and down to dissipate the heat. "Your temperature is scalding!" It seemed like Verina had cast a spell on me beforehand to be able to withstand her overclocking temperature. While Lupina was crying in jealousy, Verina suddenly had this smug aura emanating from her, even though her facial expression was the same as ever. Tahlia had noment for this situation. "Narcissus, can I grope your thick ass?" "No." "How about your thighs?" "No negotiation." At this point, it was clear. I genuinely didn''t expect Verina to be this gradually perverted. Before we do anything outside of staying alive in this hole, I urged both Lupina and Tahlia to donate their blood to fill up what was left of Verina''s Potion of Lifeline. I also did the same. Albeit not as much, since I had already sacrificed most of them when making the Fortcracker. I missed the Fortcracker¡­ Regardless, the chances of being injured are increased drastically at this moment, and it would be better for their blood to spill on the potion''s container instead of being absorbed by the soil. "Can my blood even be used though?" Lupina asked. "You know, I went through this ''enhancement'' procedure that added some sort of helpful tiny tools into my bloodstream that allowed me to heal faster than normal. "My blood might still be infested by it, so I never thought of donating my blood for Verina to use as a lifeline." Right, she did have that as an enhancement. ¡ª ¡ªEnhancements¡ª [Rapid Regeneration: Minor wounds heal in half the usual time] ¡ª I couldn''t interact with it like how I could open the detail screen of an equipment however. Not to mention, the description didn''t do the enhancement justice. I fractured Lupina''s arm when I first met her, and the fractured status on her arm went from ''moderate'' to ''minor'' in less than 5 hours, and would probably heal in less than a day if not for the blessing of the Bleeding Tree. A normal fractured arm would heal in six weeks on average¡­ That was, until I checked the absolute no nightmare that was the Info section of Lupina''s detail screen. Turns out, Lupina''s beastly lineage also came with a greater innate regeneration than the average human. "Can you use Lupina''s blood as a lifeline?x I asked Verina. "I can use it fine, I think." Verina then shrank her gaze. "In the first ce, using a lifeline like this is rather vulgar, so I didn''t even think about bleeding someone and putting it into a container like this." Vulgarity shouldn''t be a factor to be considered when ites to survival. At least ording to my mindset. As much as I tried my best to put myself in others'' shoes, I tend to forget that I''m not normal. Maybe it was true that I''m a psychopath, just like what the system implied¡­ "Now that you mentioned it, how is this ''enhancement'' procedure of yours work?" I asked Lupina. "True, I haven''t really heard much of this procedure of yours," Verina added. "Well, it did happen before I met you, after all, ahaha." Lupina then proceeded to exin how she found a ruin filled with Theotechs when she was still with her old adventuring group. What is Theotech? Just like how a Cmity Object used to refer to the entities that manifest under the ordeal, Theotech is a term to refer to a mysterious item or existence of the past that are capable of unfathomable physical and psychic feats. The mysterious surrounding Theotech was enormous, to the point that the info dump I got for it was only about how hard it was to procure and how powerful they are, not where they came from, who made them, and what their purpose in this world. "We struck ourselves a treasure trove filled with all sorts of Theotech goodies!" Lupina narrated rapidly, waving her arms as her ear twitched in excitement. "But before I was able to choose one, everybody had already nabbed their portion, and it left me with a single otherworldly advanced metal canister. "When we arrived at civilization, I took the Theotech I got to an expert and had it appraised. As we open that bad boy, we are only greeted with a small grain of extremely soft silver sand! "Of course, we believed that this sand must be something powerful or special! It''s a Theotech after all! "After further investigation with a different kind of expert, it''s concluded that the soft sand are actually inactive tiny stuff that will reactively repair any kind of damage to its familiar vessel of environment." "And so you proposed to have these nanites injected into your bloodstream," I chuckled. "Yep! Wait, what is ne-night?" Huh, despite the people of this world having an extensive vocabry for modernnguage, it seemed like not all of them were known here. Just like how Verina was uninformed nearly all of the chemistry buzz words. "Say, if you inject those Theotech sands into your blood, won''t you lose them the more you lose your blood?" Tahlia asked. "Well, after the enhancement procedure, I was told toe back to them after half a year for observation, and they found out that the Theotech thingies are replicating themselves when they deteriorate, using the fats and nutrients in my body as resources!" To rify further on how time and calendar works in this world: A year in this world is 182 and a half days, with the months of the real world being conjoined together in a weird naming sense. As such, there were only 6 months in this world: Januafeb, Marchapril, Mayune, Jugust, Septober, Nocember. Each month only had 2 weeks and a half worth of day on average, inparison to the real world''s 5 weeks average. This makes the year in Carcosa to match the real world in a sense. "That is amazing!" Tahlia eximed. "Can you share these repairing Theotech sands to others, since it can just replicate." "Apparently, the Theotech sands have already biocoded itself to my body," Lupina wryly smirked. "We already tested it. It didn''t work." Chapter 26: Underground Survival The more we stayed within this makeshift cave, the longer we realized how possibly brutal the war that happened above us. The tremor and outright explosion sound simr to sci-fiser weapons could be asionally heard in this insted hole. Though, considering that the lid for this sloping tunnel was still intact, it seemed the battlefield between the Wild Hunt and the Headless Horseman happened somewhere far to the west outside of the damaged outer wall of our bastion. And the fact that it was still ongoing for an hour after the start of the Ordeal of the Midnight, shows how dangerous and resilient the Qliphoth Object was. "It should be the right timing where a Cmity Object might spawn inside here, so make sure to exercise caution." The Abyssal Rift of Possibility was already neutralized by building a negative sloping and gapless insted mudwall that we kept adding whenever we expanded another space further below. And since the rift was facing up, everything that spawned from it would eventually fall down to where it belonged. However, they wouldn''t be able to get back here. The rift appeared to be some sort of chaotic interdimensional passage, a randomized mystery door where two objects could lead to two different destinations when thrown at a different time. At first, I was afraid of its warping and distorting effect. Since there was no sign of such syndrome on the surrounding wall, I could safely assume that the effect was euclidean and it would just stay within the isted space. "Huwaa! The ground is shaking! Sensing the severity of the earthquake, I immediately told everyone to not be idle. "Everyone, move to the other side!" Just a secondter, the location that we formerly stood upon was immediately engulfed by a giant body of a long, armored, and enormous entity. ¡ª [The Burrowing Terror] [Description: A massive, worm-like creature with armored segments and a maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The Burrowing Terror moves swiftly through the earth, sensing vibrations on the surface and erupting from below to devour anything in its path. Its body secretes a corrosive slime that dissolves rock and metal, making it difficult to defend against] [Hint: The Burrowing Terror creates tunnels as it moves, causing cave-ins and structural copses. Its sudden attacks can catch individuals off guard, making it a persistent underground threat] ¡ª But just after it was traveling upward like an elongated train for a while, it immediately stopped dead in its tracks. "I don''t sense any soul left from that Cmity Object," Verina observed. "Looks like it dies immediately the moment it exits to the surface," I wryly snickered. "I guess ourfy little cavern is still shut in a way." This reminded me of the possibility of Sandstalker. I remembered that they were quite the hassle to deal with, even with ballistas and Verina''s offensive spells. But fighting them in a narrowed man-made tunnel like this? We didn''t find much hardship after we managed to build the Fortcracker back then. But now, we didn''t even have anything that possessed the same level of destructive power that we could reliably use. As such we attempted to redesign the structure of this cave, building a looped tunnel for kiting and ambush, connected to a single wide open space, and all sorts of defensive measures that could be put in practice with the tool avable at hands. "This thing is really convenient." To make the excavation much easier, we utilized the corrosive slime that continuously oozed from the dead body of the Burrowing Terror. Strangely speaking, the slime didn''t really affect any object made from wood and organic fabric, so we used our avable containers and Tahlia''s leather boots. Tahlia surprisingly foundfort with it. "It''s been a while since I dastardly touched the soil with my bare feet like this." "Is this a cat folk''s thing?" I asked. "To an extent. We just feel that it''s natural to wear nothing and let our body feel the breeze and the ground. Although we were criticized for it, we chose to be properly civilized and all." It was basically akin to forcing human clothing to an actual cat or dog in a sense. Then again, the effect shouldn''t be as severe. The beastmen of Carcosa still had a lot of their human''s traits to them, so it shouldn''t be as medically unhealthy and disorienting. In the middle of our establishment for our underground bastion, we encountered another Cmity Object, 30 minutes after the Burrowing Terror. ¡ª [The Crawler Nest] [Description: A hidden nest of blind, insect-like creatures that thrive in darkness. The Crawlers have hardened shells and sharp pincers, allowing them to move swiftly through the narrowest of tunnels. Theymunicate with each other using clicking sounds that echo through the caverns] [Hint: The Crawlers hunt in packs, overwhelming their prey with sheer numbers. They are drawn to light and noise, making it difficult for bastioneers to move through their territory unnoticed. Clearing out the nest is essential to ensure the safety of the underground] ¡ª This time, it was a whole new exotic cave connected to our tunnel that brought some unfriendly friends that were aiming for our throat. A single Crawler wasn''t as threatening as a single Bloodhound, so it was rtively easy to fight against them since we found their nest so fast, they didn''t really have time to multiply. And thankfully enough, they were dumb enough to be rounded inside their own special cave, while Verina shot out a mmable heavypound of air into the sloping nest of the Crawlers, in which they set off on fire. While Lupina and Verina were fending off the Crawlers that were being scorched and cooked alive, I transferred the excess soil, underground rocks, and materials that we had to build a wall that instes the heat inside the Crawler''s cave. We waited for a while before storming inside using Verina''s heat-tolerate spell and obliterated the nests for good. "Looks like my chemistry lesson is used in good hands," I said, taking all of the Sage Inte''s merits. "I will make a better spell if you give me something better than a hug." "Make a spell that can make me reconsider first." "C-Can I have a hug too if I did something impressive to you?" Lupina asked with a blushing face. "I relieved you with my own hand back then. Pay that debt first, then you can negotiate." "At this point, the whole bastion is supportedby their need to get a reward from Narcissus," Tahliamented with a not-so pleasant expression. Verina attempted a chuckle with her poker-expression. "Took you long enough to notice." At this point, I''m more surprised that my Angelic Charisma didn''t have any effect on him. Was it because he was a Cmity Object that was trying to simte the inhabitant of Carcosa? It would be great to have another Wandering Imposter that possessed a non-demerit persona like Tahlia. The fact that my charm didn''t affect them alone was enough to showcase their potential of utility. Though as of now, Tahlia didn''t really contribute much to the bastion. "Tahlia, can you be more useful than you''re now? "Ehhh??" "Nevermind that, I''m a little bit insane currently." "That doesn''t make it any less sinister!" My Sanity had been holding on at 60% for a while now, and I also noticed that it affected my mental faculty and action to a certain extent. Thankfully, I had slightly adapted to it, but I''m afraid that it wasn''t the case for the rest. But I''m happy that I didn''t need to deal with that kind of problem at the current moment. Verina''s Sanity was at 80%, fortunately. Her high level of Consciousness might have affected that. Lupina''s Sanity was still at the staggering 90% threshold. I had no idea what was going on with her head, but I assumed that it had something to do with the Theotech nanites that were living in her bloodstream. As for Tahlia. I still couldn''t see his detail screen since he was a Cmity Object. Then again, seeing his current state, he seemed fine enough. Maybe a Wandering Imposter didn''t really need to deal with all of those mental influences, just like how my Angelic Charm didn''t affect him. Then again, Tahlia was terrified of me more than he saw me in an attractive light, thanks to our private talk before the Ordeal of the Midnight started. Another half hourter, we stumbled upon another Cmity Object that manifested right in front of us. ¡ª [The Forgotten Shrine] [Description: A small, ancient altar carved into the wall of a cave, the Forgotten Shrine radiates a faint, warm glow. Offerings of food, water, or valuable items made at the shrine are often met with boons such as temporary protection, increased luck, or sudden insights] [Hint: The Forgotten Shrine provides random benefits to the bastion when offerings are made. However, neglecting to maintain the shrine''s upkeep at the slightest can lead to a withdrawal of its blessings or even a curse of deadly misfortune on the whole inhabitants. It will stay bound to the individuals of the bastion outside of the ordeal. If it wasn''t interacted however, it would disappear the moment the dawn arrived] ¡ª That was quite the long ''hint'', much longer than the Cmity Object''s description in fact. Chapter 27: Hard To Melt "So, are you saying that if we offer something to this Forgotten Shrine, we will get random benefits and even protection," Tahlia recapped my exnation for the newest addition of Cmity Object to this cave system. "But if we offer it once, we must keep it going and never stop, as the Cmity Object won''t disappear after the ordeal." "And we will be cursed with deadly misfortune if we stop doing the offerings," Verina continued. "Sounds like your typical Cmity Object." Lupina chuckled with an unsure gaze. "Uhm, now that we are in a rather precarious situation with two Coffepots Objects above-" "Qliphoth Objects," Verina corrected. "Qliphoth Objects," Lupina cleaned her throat. "It might be bad long term, but won''t be good for the short term?" With everyone lost in what was the true course of action to choice, I stepped in. "In the slight chance that we were forced to resurface. Sure, the Forgotten Shrine might have be our greatest boon. "But notice the ''might''. With a chance to receive the needed blessings to survive this hellhole, there is also a chance that we might receive a subpar trinket that we can''t even use in time of need." "That makes sense¡­" Lupina''s wolf ears curled forward as she twirled her fingers. Now that we collectively decided to just ignore the Forgotten Shrine, the underground project continued. The Burrowing Terror still oozed the helpful slime even after an hour of its arrival and death. Using the rather charred remains of the Crawlers that were spawned by the Crawler Nest, I did a testing on some application of the mineral-melting slime. The Crawler''s back carapace possessed a rather simr intrinsic look and trait simr to the Sandstalker''s ws. They were metallic. And so, I did what needed to be done to satisfy this curiosity. "... The carapace dissipated." It might be quite a stretch, but it seemed like this slime might be useful against the Qliphoth Objects above, since the two of them were donned in some kind of metallic armor. Using this, we might increase our possibility of killing one if we were forced to fight with it. "Verina, stop what you''re currently doing and help me with something," I shouted. Verina immediately scurried over to my side. "Is this a date?" "No." "Can we make it a date?" "No dating within the ordeal. I''ll reconsider it only if we survive." As such, we used the leathery material of the Crawler Nest and the rest of the Crawler''s organs to craft a contraption that could safely store the Burrowing Terror''s slime and then unleash it when we needed it. With slime having the perfect viscosity to be forced into a small gap and sted like water from a hose. What was better than to make a liquid-ster to utilize it? The kind that kids and adults bought in toy stores for the sake of humid fun. "Huwaa, they are forging something again," Lupina watched while intimidated, as both me and Verina were performing our job with inhumane speed. Unlike our Fortcracker Project, this one required an utmost focus and dexterity since most of theponents were smaller than a thumb. Like usual, I called Sage Inte to help me with the design and schematic, before I decided on a high-pressure liquid gun with a separated pressure chamber and an extra air canister that Verina could easily fill for more thrusting power. "So this is simr to my musket," Verina said, ogling at the schematic I drew on the wall with confusion. "How does it even work?" While our hands were moving, I guided Verina to understand the basic principle of this thing. "When this trigger is pushed, the downward motion of the pistons draws the water through a suction valve and into the cylindrical piston chamber. When the piston moves up again, it pushes the water out of the piston chamber and through a pressure valve towards the small muzzle." "Ah," Verina nodded. "I don''t understand." "Let me guess, you want something from me so that you can finally understand it?" "I didn''t know that you could read my mind, Narcissus." "If that''s the case, then feel free to not understand a single thing." Ten minutester, we were done with the first prototype. "Woaah! It squirts out the slime like a ray!" Lupina could be seen wiggling her tail as her eyes sparkled when she pressed the trigger. "Looks like the works as intended," Verinamented. "However, the pressure is less than what I imagined, especially with a pressurized air canister the size of a palm..." Unsatisfied with the result, I tinkered with the slime-ster for a few minutes. After the whole thing was reassembled and ready to be used again, we tasked Lupina to test this new shiny thing. I did this because she got an increase in Mood when she interact with things that she hadn''t seen before. "T-The ray bes stronger!" Lupina shouted. Panicked out of the sudden increase in pressure strength but still excited like a little toddler. "As expected of you, Narcissus," Tahlia sheepishlymented, still not forgetting that one event before the Ordeal of the Midnight. "You''re almost inhumane when ites to crafting. If only we got our hands on better tools and material¡­" To be honest, I didn''t know what I''m doing. Or to be precise, I knew that there was something wrong with the pressure chamber, and tinkered it in the hope of improvement. But now that it has improved, I had no idea what made it improve. Not wanting to waste more time on pondering the slime ster, Verina and I proceeded to craft more of it so that each of us could have one. And for the sake of simplicity, we decided to name this slime-gun ''Hardmelter''. [Hardmelter (Masterpiece 100%) - 3.0 kg: The Hardmelter is a high-pressure liquid ster assembled from the hardened carapace and fibrous organs of Crawlers, blind insect-like creatures that navigate the underground tunnels. Reinforced with Crawler limbs for added durability and shock absorption, the weapon incorporates a modified organic pump system for pressurization andpact canister of pressurized air, enhancing the thrusting power of each shot by providing a steady, powerful force to propel the corrosive slime. The ammunition, a potent slime harvested from the Burrowing Terror, a massive worm-like Cmity Object¡ªit can dissolve rock and metal upon contact, slightly effective to corrode soil, but ineffective against organic matter and tissues] I''m always amazed by how the world''s system interpret my creation like they were here right beside us, watching and hearing our action and conversation. Chapter 28: Time To Melt! "I must say, your naming sense is quite unique, Narcissus," Verina pointed out. "Fortcracker, Hardmelter¡ªI can''t wait for the next work that you will name!" Lupina chuckled, still finding entertainment from a short musket-like weapon that shoots out pressurized corrosive slime. As for Tahlia, he was rather terrified of the Hardmelter. Seeing a fast jet stream of water from a portable device like that gave him an instinctive fear of being caught in the wetness, even though it won''t hurt us as much as it corrodes metal and stone. "It will take time to get used to this, ahaha." The n using the Hardmelter against armored enemies aside, we can also use it to efficiently expand this underground base faster than a mole. With the Hardmelter to remove any kind of metallic armor that a resilient Cmity Object usually possessed, our morale increased as we stayedfy beneath the surface. Then again, my ability to open the info screen of any Cmity Objects somewhat trivialized a lot of the dangerous encounters. I was also afraid that Verina and Lupina might develop a dependency to my assessment and orders, dulling their instinct and train of thoughts in the process. After all, I''m a firm believer that a strong collectivity stemmed from strong individuals who possessed the same goal, not mere individuals who only followed order. It was only that I realized that not a single day had passed, and it should be impossible for the two of them to develop a bad habit in such a short period of time. The night felt like an eternity, and my mind started to be restless. This was certainly a different kind of stress than the one I had back on Earth. I didn''t even notice that I hadn''t blinked for a while. "Say, the Ordeal of the Midnight tends to be much more dense in terms of enemy waves and threats than the Ordeal of the Dusk." Lupina scratched her head. "Not to mention, with the Hollow Star that was stationed in the sky. So howe we didn''t encounter many of them?" "Firstly, our bastion is supposed to be up there," Verina casually pointed up with her index finger. "What is the easiest starting ce to reach there? Definitely not here. As such, most of the Cmity Objects that spawned were mostly on the surface, and not here." "And they probably die immediately when facing the two Qliphoth Objects," Tahlia snickered. "In many ways, choosing to go underground at that time is such a great decision." This time, hours had passed without a single Cmity Object spawning inside the cavern. Outside of the roots and some of the meatballs that I carried in my belt pouches, we also attempted to process the edible part of the Crawlers and the Burrowing Terror. Thankfully, Lupina existed, so I could always use her to test the food I cooked, since she would have a greater chance to survive after being inflicted by all sorts of poisons or food poisoning, thanks to the enhancement procedure that she got. "Mmm!! This is good!!" "I have never thought of using Lupina as a food tester," Verinamented. "Thank you for the idea, Narcy." "My name went from Narcissus to Narc and to Narcy.." "So, when can we finally eat?" Tahlia drooled. In conclusion to our meals, the Crawlers tasted like shrimps, while some parts of the Burrowing Terror were straight hazardous to consume. "Bluergh!!" Lupina puked intensely with an expression of pain. "They taste good, but they are awful. I''m dying, uerghh-" Seeing her Health section of detail screen, she won''t be dying anytime soon. I was surprised that most of my ns post-midnight went well. Too well in fact. Though, I could still feel the looming dread that was the tempest happening above the ground. The Wild Hunt and the Headless Horsemen were still fighting, and I possessed not the slightest curiosity to witness their chaos made manifest. "This feels weird." I just noticed that the constant notification about the countdown to the ordeal had stopped for a while. It felt strange not having that annoying, buzzing, and mind-rending pops-up every minute. Though I did remember that we had already survived at least 6 hours through the Ordeal of the Midnight. It felt harrowing at first, but hope was right there on the horizon! We only needed to survive another 6 hours and we should be greeted by the morning sky! Just need to survive a little bit longer. "... This presence." Verina caught something within her vicinity. It might be her heightened Consciousnessing into y. "The Sandstalkers, they are here again." "Urgh, right when we lost ess to our Fortcracker," Lupina frowned. "But this time, we have the Hardmelter!" Tahlia reminded everyone of our newest invention. "Let''s lure all of them to the designated area," I issued. The open wide space had already been dug into fruition. As we stationed there, we all waited with caution, trying to sense from which direction the pack of the Sandstalker wereing from. At this stage of the ordeal, there should be more Sandstalkers than the time we encountered on the surface, especially with their tendency to stick together like a pack, ambushing a lone and most vulnerable target to increase their chance of survival. As such, like the original n, I positioned myself far away from the rest, hoping that many if not all of the Sandstalkers were aggroed to me instead of the rest three of my fellow bastioneers. Lupina''s ears twitched, as her eyes red with beastly instinct "Here theye!" Three Sandstalkers emerged at the same time right below me. Despite myck of Sanity, I still had enough reflex to timely dodged the cowardly assault of these giant armored monsters. "Fire your load." "Attack!!" The susceptible Sandstalkers were immediately overwhelmed by a flurry of spell-made projectile and jet stream of corrosive slime. Verina''s usual prowess of firepower aside, the corrosive slime worked better than I thought. The Sandstalkers'' ws immediately melted and corroded into useless gunk while its hard armored body was sted open due to the added power of the Hardmelter''s pressured thrust. However, those corrosive slimes weren''t enough to immediately kill them. The slimes could only stagger and inflict an unimaginable amount of pain to them, exposing them into vulnerabilities. A further offensive action to finish their threatening existence was needed. Chapter 29: Red Hour With vigor and thunderous intent on my arm, I brandished my obsidian dagger and dealt the killing blow to the vulnerable Sandstalkers. I tried my best to avoid thetching corrosive slime on the Sandstalker''s bodies when aiming my strike. After all, my obsidian knife was also impervious to the effect of the corrosive slime. "More Sandstalkers iing!" I shouted as I could feel them traveling in a circle beneath me before lurching out like a hungry shark. Both Tahlia and Lupina shaked their Hardmelter to gauge the content of the slime canister. Each of them had five extra canisters at a time, and each of it could also be replenished. Of course, those two also need to stick together to Verina in case that their pressured gas was empty. Though Verina was also in the possession of a Hardmelter of her own, she preferred to use her lifeline-infused musket and perform her usual spells. "One of them is straying, move!" The battle against the Sandstalkers went for about 20 minutes, with 5 minutes of downtime after the first 10 minutes. In total, we had already killed 28 Sandstalkers within this underground base. "Too bad that we sorta melted all of the Sandstalkers'' precious metals," Lupina snickered. "I guess having an easy way to deal with themes with its own demerit as well." "We won''t be crafting any more things from now on." My eyes were on the nasty pile of Sandstalker corpses. "Any forging and cksmithing beyond this will only needlessly deplete Verina of her lifeline." We couldn''t endlessly donate our blood to be used as a lifeline, it would be better to go full conservative starting from now. I had some feeling of impending doom crawling viciously up to my spine for a while. And it wouldn''t go no matter what I did. Because of it, my restlessness ascended into the astral ne, and my paranoia started to push me patrolling the vicinity of the underground tunnels to check for any hidden Cmity Object. Something felt wrong. I''m sure of it. I made sure to open up the info screen if it was possible every five seconds. "Are you okay, Narcy?" Verina worried. "... Narcy as a name doesn''t sound as bad, now that I think about it." Lupina tilted her head. "You don''t like your original name?" "I don''t like it. I don''t hate it either." I smirked, finding myself stumbling into an ease of mind now that I was brought back to cold-harsh reality by these goofy people. "How about you three? What do you all think about the name you''re holding?" "I like it," Verina bluntly replied. "It has a nice chime to it." "I don''t even know what my name means, but it sure is one of the names of all time!" Lupina shrugged with a smile. "My name isn''t the best, but I''m sure that my parents have no ill will in giving me this name." Tahlia nodded with a close-eyed smug. "I''m nning to carry it for the rest of my life, so might as well maintain it like my shrine." Narcissus, aside from being a straight reference to that one character within the Greek mythology, it was also the source of a term that I didn''t really resonate with, especially before I came to this world. Though it did remind me that I had always been very strict to myself. Maybe I needed to rx a little, and have some self-love for myself now that it was somewhat possible with this face that I got. Our little introspective banter aside, I felt that it was about time we got another wave of Cmity Objects within this ce. Without our fate sold to the lottery of the damned, I scurried my eyes left and right to make sure that I didn''t miss the spawning Cmity Object. And then there it was. ¡ª [The Flesh Mauler] [Description: A towering, humanoid creature made of stitched-together flesh and bone, the Flesh Mauler moves with a twisted grace through the darkness. It has multiple arms, each ending in sharp, jagged ws, and a face that is a patchwork of different human and animal features. The Flesh Mauler hunts by sound and smell, relentlessly pursuing its prey once it catches their scent] [Hint: The Flesh Mauler is incredibly strong and agile, capable of tearing through metal and rock. Its howls cause intense fear and disorientation, making it difficult to fight or flee. Defeating it requires precision strikes to its many sewn-together joints, but getting close enough to do so is a challenge in itself] ¡ª Without any hesitation, Verina sted the Flesh Mauler with her trusty heat-imploding projectile spell. But just before the projectile hit its mangled head, the Flesh Mauler grabbed the speeding spell mid-air and proceeded to m it to the wall beside it, causing a catastrophic tremor to the whole tunnel system. "Make distance!" With a mind-numbing howl, the Flesh Mauler lunged forward with its limbs brandished and ready to hurt. Lupina stepped forward and parried two of the limbs. At the same time, I dashed forward and decapitated the staggered arms. Verina then followed by a high-speed concentrated heat application spell, hitting the Flesh Mauler on the chest. The heat concentrated and spreaded in a controlled manner, unsewing all of the stitches that were keeping the flesh and bones together. Despite the sessful encounter, our bnce and mind were a little bit thrown off by the howl that the Flesh Mauler created. Just a single one of them was enough to cause this disorientation. I didn''t really want to fight multiple of them at once, especially after seeing it capturing Verina''s spell midair. It was also probably more dangerous than ten Crawler Nestsbined, since Verina needed to cast a lifeline-intensive spell to finally finish it off. Not to mention, the Hardmelter was useless against those things since they were primarily made out of organic matter. "... Let''s retreat to the surface," I whispered. From one of the hallways our tactical cave system, was a whole horde of Flesh Mauler standing still and creepily gazing at us with a ravenous killing intent. They were there, trying to imprint our smells and noises into their list of prey. At least 15 of them were discernible in my eyes. If we didn''t take the first action, they would eventually sprint and lunge at us like an unfed piranhas. Slowly, I pointed my index finger to the ceiling in front of them. "... Copse it." Hearing themand, Verina immediately pressed the trigger of her musket andunched abusting spell to seal off this section of the hallway. At the same time, the horde of Flesh Maulers lurched toward us like a pack of gigantic cockroaches. Chapter 30: Along The Shore, The Cloud Waves Break Concentrated shockwaves were released like a dusty gust of wind. The roof of the hallway copsed on some of them, preventing them from unleashing those hellish howls in this echoing cave. giving us a chance to deal a killing blow to some of them. Albeit some of them managed to unleash their abyssal howl. "My head¡­" "Gyaaah! The noises!" "My body felt heavy, urgh." "Everyone, run to the original entrance of the cave!" That Flesh Mauler''s info screen notified me that those monstrous entities were able to tear through stone and metal with ease. It wouldn''t take a long time for them to dig through the rubbles. "Everyone!" Tahlia pointed our attention to the sealing debris as we sprinted to the exit. "Something slipped from the small gaps of the rubbles!" ¡ª [The Sinew Shifter] [Description: A shapeless mass of muscle and sinew that can stretch and contort its body to fit through the smallest cracks and crevices. The Sinew Shifter moves with unnatural speed, using its flexible form to ambush prey from above or below. Its body constantly shifts and reforms, making it difficult to target or predict] [Hint: The Sinew Shifter can take on the appearance of its victims or even a fellow Cmity Object, using their voices and appearances to lure others into a false sense of familiarity. It can regenerate rapidly, making conventional weapons ineffective. Only fire or intense cold can slow its relentless pursuit] ¡ª At the moment where the Sinew Shifter twisted into the air with its fleshy form, I immediately issued an order where Verina had already anticipated mymand since Tahlia notified us. "It is weak to extreme temperatures!" Realizing the implication, Verina brushed the side of her musket''s buddy with both of her index and middle finger. In that stroke, a lifeline was swirled and applied to the chamber, reloading the empty apparatus of war. Then the hammer was struck, casting the chambered spell with vigor and intent to pursue forward. The cries of the Sinew Shifter echoed as it was confused by what struck its adjusting flesh. Then suddenly, the heart of winter was imbued to its soul. "Stay away!" Whilst the Sinew Shifter was devastated by the cold, I weaved my obsidian dagger like an instrument, hacking and shing the vessel of deceiver with extreme precision on the alignment of my brittle yet catastrophically sharp de. "Now move!" And yet, we didn''t falter our speed as we rushed toward thend of living. Thundered our feet with might and hope, we sprinted to the original entrance of the cave to prevent the devastating effect of numerous Flesh Maulers echoing their howl at the same time. "Destroy the seal!" "Hiyaaah!!" With a powerful sh, Lupina opened the temporary lid of this massive underground casket we dug, opening us back to thend where the sky shall swallow light. "N-Now what should we do!?" Lupina heaved her breath, ferociously looking to the surroundings with her Feral Rage active, trying to glimpse any hint of imagery within the darkened bastion where our torches were dimmed, and the upside-down sea prevented a shed of moonlight to enter. "To the east, fast and steady!" It might be my best luck as of yet, but my ears and sense of dread greatly leaned to the far west where the two Qliphoth Objects were faring war. Thunders and mind-shattering war cries, the kind that would immediately paralyze us if were ten meters closers and didn''t steeled our resolves They were viciously fighting there, with no souls tied to the book of life and death, only destruction and instinct to push everything into entropy. This meant that the east was a safe ce. Verina also glimpsed the scale of the fight that was happening on the west side of her bastion as we made our exit. "Their shes are more intense than anything that I''ve ever experienced." Even though I was informed of the physical vessel that they took form, it was still impossible for me to fullyprehend how to beat one of the Qliphoth Objects. We were definitely not ready to fight a Qliphoth Object this early. There were still a lot of things that we could and needed to do to establish the foundation of a proper bastion and its bastioneers, for even the slightest chance of subduing one of those entropy made manifest. "The fleshy entities from before, they exited the cave!" Tahlia cautioned. "Keep moving east. Lupina, be the front vanguard." On our way, I picked one of the wooden debris and speed-crafted it into a feasible sharpened spear of wood. " I''ll take the rear." "I''ll make sure to clear the way!" Lupina growled. She was still in her state of Feral Rage. Maintaining it with a clear conscience must take a great strain on her body and mind. Yet she still went through and beyond the pain to ensure that she would be able to react to any kind of threat in this crucial phase of the ordeal. "There are two types of Cmity Objects within that horde. The first fleshy one we encountered early, the Flesh Mauler. The second that can twist and fake its appearance, the Sinew Shifter. "The Fleshy Mauler can be neutralized by undoing the stitches. Verina, your priority will be the Sinew Shifter since it possesses a great regenerating power unless weakened by both spectrum of extreme temperature." "Understood." Verina chambered a lifeline-efficient spell to prepare for the Sinew Shifter. We couldn''t afford to kindle a light amidst the situation where the unknown threat veils itself under the dark. It would just bring much more attention to us like the sole bonfire in the jungle. This party of four was filled with individuals who could rely on more than one sense to probe the surroundings. Verina with her high Consciousness, Lupina with her beastly sense and Feral Rage, me with keen hearing and weaponized paranoia, and then Tahlia with his somewhat enigmatic capability to scout far and wide. We were the light of our own souls. "Tahlia, give me a prioritized call when you notice a foreign type of Cmity Object, especially on the front side of our advance." "Leave it to me!" Like a band of peddler that sought to leave the ursed kingdom, we marched with dream and posthaste. "A fleshy gleam." One of the Flesh Maulers was lurching in the dark. Or was it a Sinew Shifter? Their sounds and volume should be the same, but I doubted that the Sinew Shifter could administer the same effect of the mind-bending howl that the Flesh Mauler had. And when one of them lunged forward and howled, I immediately knew that it was the real deal. Because I let the mind-bending howl engulf me fully, for a mere trick to my psyche were simply a childish attempt to break a man''s soul Though it was extremely reduced in effectiveness thanks to it no longer echoing inside the goddamn cave. The others should realize now if they haven''t, that resurfacing made fighting the Flesh Mauler more tolerable. "Hurp!" Timing our dance, I effectively lunged faster than what the Flesh Mauler could hurl with their sharp ws. Within the breath-lenght vicinity of this hideous monster, I utilized my impossible dexterity to unbind all of the necessary stitches that kept this Cmity Object intact. I also noticed that Lupina was dealing a Cmity Object on the front, supported by Verina, since our kilnn knew that I could deal with most of the threat myself when given the will. And when I noticed that one of the Flesh Mauler''s howls didn''t give the same effect as the real one, I ordered Verina to render it vulnerable with extreme temperature. Before I dealt with it¡ªwooden spear and obsidian dagger in hands. "Keep moving! We''re almost far enough from the influence of the Qliphoth Objects!" Not staying inside the bastion was not much of aplication, having the chance of directly encountering the Qliphoth Object was. We maintained our rhythm beyond our fatigue, pursuing the promised safer space than those eldritch army and horseman. Through luck and endeavor, we had already advanced to the east for more than half an hour. The sky was no longer hindered by the cmitous sea hiding the moonlight. This alone was proof that we were far away from the Wild Hunt''s influence. "We should be far enough from the Qliphoth Objects, right!?" Lupina could barely maintain her breathing. The bacsh of maintaining the Feral Rage for that long must be really severe. "Far enough." I awkwardly chuckled, not really weighted in the same pressure as before. "I noticed that we didn''t exactly fight the exact number of Flesh Mauler and Sinew Shifter. They might have been aggroed by the Qliphoth Object''s relentless shing." "Their souls be damned," Verina quipped. If she could be smiling right now, I felt like she should be grinning with that intonation of hers. "... This doesn''t feel right." Tahlia diligently observed the surroundings. "Something heavy is lurking, somewhere, not too close, not too far. Yet... eerily there..." Reminded by the possibilities, I started scouring the darkened environment. I was too satisfied too fast. Too early to celebrate. "Above..." It was faint, and almost undiscoverable. Too ethereal, slipping away from reality. "Don''t move¡­" My heart immediately sank the moment I noticed a faint spectral ripple that was mirroring the calmke right above us. And then there was, as our eyestched to the faint shadowy outline of a man riding its maddening steed behind the eerie thick fog of the Carcosa''s night. Chapter 31: The Lone Rider Of The Wild Hunt Deep. Deeper. Yet deeper. Within my lifetime, both in the real world and Carcosa. I always found bigger fish. Appropriately, a bigger, and crueler ce for it to inhabit. The only way to find such ces is to go deeper. Deeper, into curiosity. Deeper, into hubris. Deeper, into the state of creation. And what I often found were the ones who were able to thrive in the depths. Those facies of power and administration. Those who lurk in the calm, dark abyss at the bottom of everything. I was about to directly confront one of such fish. And I doubted that I ever left the sunny clear surface. "Odin, Herne, Hernnunos¡ªTwisting and contorting? Forever scalded in hunger." The lone man-like horseman emerged from the foreboding fog, like a lost ind that resurfaced to greet the promised apocalypse. Armored by steel of darkness mending, it was carefree of anything threatening. Its right hand split into two limbs, with one of them holding on the reign of the hellish steed¡ªwhile the other held a red spiked cudgel, resting on its back shoulder. As for its human-like left hand, the palm was pressing on the metal pummel of its sheathed sword,fortably strapped to the waist. And then there was its steed¡ªdevoid of anything alight, the fleshy skeletonized mare of lost soul was ready to abide by everything that its mastermanded. The Lone Rider of the Wild Hunt set its purple blighted gaze on us. Its distorted voice attempted to enter our terrified minds. "Unmistaken, ??T?EMPT?IN?G and mending." The haunting steed stopped its frightful gait. "Is this ??FEA?R??" Lupina was the first one to move by instinct. At first, I was baffled by her action, until I saw the shing spark of her steel broadsword by something that was almost indecipherable. And then I realized it, the Lone Rider''s right hand that was holding a cudgel had changed its position. "Urgh, it is hostile!" Seeing that the sign of war had been raised, Verina immediately aimed her musket and pulled the trigger. The shot of a lifeline-infused propulsion was echoed throughout the fogged forest. However, whatever was chambered within her musket had missed. The Lone Rider''s steed back-stepped so fast and so long of a distance, it returned back to the eerie fog where they originally emerged. That was not something that a normal horse could do. "Be cautious of the surroundings!" Just as I warned everyone, a pair of floating fiery purple orbs moved so fast behind the fog, it created a wavy trail as it headed toward us. It was faint but not fully concealed, I noticed the faint glimmer of moonlight reflection from a long moving surface was traveling straight to Verina. "Guh!" Just a centimeter away from being decapitated, I managed to pull the fabric of Verina''s robe from behind, all while avoiding the on-rush myself. Tahlia then retaliated by unleashing a jet stream of corrosive smiles from her Hardmelter. But just like before, the horse was fast enough to react and guide its master to escape the close proximity without any injury. "So close." Verina immediately regained her foundation, brushing off the near-death experience. She chambered another spell into her musket. "So dangerous." "A-Are you okay, Verina!?" But just before Lupina could check on her friend, Tahlia had already issued another warning, "Another attack!" It was from above, the Lone Rider leaped forward and onto us. Everyone jumped away to avoid the attack. But I nned to end this reckless encounter. As such, I thundered my muscles and threw my wooden spear onto the night-striding mare. Unable to change its trajectory, it eats my spear straight on its skull. It wasn''t enough to kill it, so I hurriedly ducked forward, lunging right below where the rider and its steed was about to make itsnding. At the same time, I swung my obsidian dagger as I spun my body in the air, crippling the equine entity by removing three of its hoofs from its legs. What happened after was the horse failed to stabilize itsnding and fell, rolling disastrously to the floor. Using my momentum, Verina fired another spell onto the Lone Rider. But the Lone Rider repelled it with a mere swing of its cudgel. "Tch." The fiery orbs on its eyes glowed with wrath. Without a moment of hesitation, the Lone Rider unsheathed its sword and stabbed its own befallen horse right on the heart. Sensing something imminent, I immediately voiced my realization. "Verina, move!" Before I could do anything, the Lone Rider then swung the sword at Verina''s direction, throwing the blood that its sword soaked as a long-range wave of projectile. That iprehensible projectile hit Verina on her lower part of the legs, severing both of the feet from the shin. Without any foundation to maintain her stature, she fell without any sense of bnce. Angered while still in her Feral Rage, Lupina growled as she rushed toward the Lone Rider. But before Lupina could connect her strike, the Lone Rider strikes her with a deafening, mind-bending shockwave created by the shout of its warcry. That warcry affected every single one of us, worsening our sense of self and reality. With the wolf staggered, the Lone Rider used this chance to dash forward with its cudgel ready to be hurled. "Move!" Just right before the Lone Rider''s strike hit Lupina, Tahlia mmed his body toward the Wild Hunt''s horseless cavalry with all his might, that it was enough to shift the trajectory of the cudgel to hit the ground. But immediately after, the Lone Rider grabbed the cat by his neck with one out of its right hands. If we follow the brute instinct and prowess of the Lone Rider, it would definitely harden its grip and crush Tahlia''s neck under immense physical pressure. Before that could happen, I was already there beside the cat, swinging my obsidian dagger from below and onto the crevice gap of the Lone Rider''s intersection between the dark-steel gauntlet and the elbow protection. At that same time, Lupina was already on her way to jam her steel broadsword right into the Lone Rider''s heart. Whileying on the ground, Verina also had pulled the trigger that propelled a spell projectile directly onto the Lone Rider''s head. Three different strikes, performed at the exact same time to put this Wild Hunt''s follower down. Chapter 32: The Hunter And The Preys The trail of my obsidian dagger was a tline, severing the hand that was intended to choke Tahlia''s throat into mush. Simultaneously, a spell projectile hit the helmet of the Lone Rider andbust into an immense explosion of heat, wrapping into the dark-steel of the entity and digging inside the hidden skin and skull. Thenstly, Lupina''s sword thrust jammed into the armored chest of the Wild Hunt''s stray. However, the power and sharpness was not enough to pierce the protection. But it was enough to push the Lone Rider back, staggering it into a state of wary and confusion before escaping back into the fog with a blink of an eye. "Verina!" Panicked, Lupina immediately rushed toward Verina to check up on her. Lupina didn''t even see the Lone Rider until thest second it emerged back with the fog. Her fully-awake eyes and jagged breathing was a sign that her mind wasn''t the most stable at the moment. However, my eyes weretched at that member of the Wild Hunt until thest second. Despite their attempts, it appeared like neither the spell projectile nor Verina''s raged thrust ever damaged both the helmet and the armor. "Just how hard that is!?" I held a tight grip on the severed hand and threw it down, freeing Tahlia from a chokehold. In curiosity, I aimed my Hardmelter and sted a single canister worth of loose-gap pouring into the gauntlet. "... Is this even metal? The gauntlet was still there, with the residue of the corrosive slime barely chipping on the exterior of the cold dark-steel that the piece of armor was made from. "Narcissus, should we run??" Lupina said with rugged breath. Verina was hanging on Lupina''s back with her hand still holding tight on her musket, still looking emotionless despite her wound. Though, I didn''t notice any dripping of blood. Lupina must have given her Potion of Healing for Verina to sip, since I still saw the item within her Inventory section of her detail screen staying at 40% durability, or in this case, the amount of content. "... That ''thing'' is still in this vicinity." Just by looking at Tahlia and Lupina''s own expression alone, they should still sense the piece of Qliphoth Object nearby. Not to mention, the faint rippling wave above was still there. "Can you still move, Lupina?" "I-I can," Lupina anxiously chuckled. "Or else, we will die here, am I right?" "Verina, can you still aim your musket?" "I can just use more lifelines to make my spell projectile seeking the target I appointed." Whilst both arms over Lupina''s neck and shoulder, Verina chambered another spell into her musket. "This relentless mutt will act as my legs. I can still fight." Lupina smirked. "I take that as apliment, ahaha." "Should I still attempt to use my Hardmelter?" Tahlia asked. "Yes." "Also, thank you for saving my life¡­" "There''s no reason for gratitude." Every person in the team would be as important as their own queen within a chess game. Lost a single one of them, the whole faction would get significantly weaker. Even though Tahliabarely posed any threat to the Lone Rider, his existence as a variable was worthy enough to break through all sorts of situations, just like how he lunged and mmed his body at the Qliphoth Object to save Lupina. "The Lone Rider is still in this proximity, but why didn''t I sense any active malice?" Lupina checked the surroundings. Despite her heightened senses and instinctual prowess, she didn''t seem to be able to pinpoint the position of the Lone Rider. "Just like how we didn''t actively pursue it, the Qliphoth Object seemed to be doing the same." I tried to make sense of what was happening, and how this piece of Wild Hunt was even here in the first ce. "There must be something wrong with this one, it didn''t act like what I assumed a Qliphoth Object should be." Was it an error in the coding of the game? An anomaly of this world? The Qliphoth Object should relentlessly attack anything on their own. It shouldn''t be hiding like this unless the information screen outright states it, or hints at it. Then again, the information screen wasn''t the end-all be-all of the Cmity Object, so it might be the same case with the Qliphoth Object. Unless¡­ [Mythos Reference: Manifested by folklore of the Wild Hunt from various European mythologies, a spectral procession of huntsmen often associated with death and disaster] They were huntsmen! It might not be stated outright, but ording to the information on the inte regarding the Wild Hunt, there were more than one version depending on the region and cultures. The legend typically involves a ghostly or supernatural group of hunters passing through the sky or across thendscape, often apanied by hounds and horses. This spectral hunting party is led by a mysterious and powerful figure, such as Odin in Norse mythology, King Arthur in British folklore, or a variety of other mythical or legendary leaders depending on the region. But at their core, they were huntsmen! I didn''t know the objective truth about the Wild Hunt in this world, but this Lone Rider might be more of a hunter than an actual relentless cavalry that leaves imminent destruction in their wake. Then again, they might also possess a different gimmick and behavior the moment they were not riding their steed. So many possibilities, so little path to the actual truth. "Running will only fatigue us even further," I calmly informed them. "It might follow us regardless. Other than that, have you all noticed something important?" "Something important¡­?" Tahlia questioned. "There isn''t any Cmity Object approaching us." I checked my surroundings and spammed my intent to open their information screen in case that it was picked up by the system, ensuring the reliability of my statement. "We already had 20 minutes of downtime before we encountered the Wild Hunt''s stray rider, and I doubted that this single piece of Wild Hunt spawned outside of the influence of their original pack, since that was not what a Wild Hunt meant to be. "And we''re in the Ordeal of the Midnight. The amount of downtime that we have should be far lower." I dug through the ancient, repressed flesh hanging inside the Lone Rider''s gauntlet, scooping it out with a makeshift stone knife. "The presence of that hunter might have prevented the Cmity Object from manifesting near us. "Or maybe, it was actively killing them all to ensure that our eventual sh is unbothered." Chapter 33: Qliphoth Equipment At this point of the timeline, we might as well be the assigned prey of the Lone Rider. Our effort of resistance might also increase our worth as an important target. We weren''t facing a mindless, decipherable enemy. We currently were against the very concept of ''hunting'' with the four of us being the ultimate ''preys''. After I scraped out all of the attached tidbits of the dark tissue and flesh inside the gauntlet, I inserted my right hand into it, wearing it as part of my equipment. "Kuh¡­!" The gauntlet started to embrace me as its new owner, warping into the very skin of my hand with a painful twisting, thrusting its living metal into my bones and veins. [Wraithgrip (Qliphoth 95%) - 2.5 kg: The Wraithgrip is a gauntlet forged from an evil Theotech-influenced metal, seemingly harvested from the very essence of the abyss. Its surface shimmers with an unnatural gleam, reflecting no light but instead casting a shadow that dances like smoke. Crafted by the smiths of the underworld and blessed by the Lord of the Hunt, this gauntlet is impervious to all elements and corrosive substances, resisting fire, frost, acid, and lightning with equal disdain. Physical attacks slide off its surface, unable to prate or even scratch its dark, polished exterior. The interior is lined with a material that seems to shift and pulse as if alive, conforming perfectly to the wearer''s hand while whispering in forgotten tongues¡ªa symphony of lost souls woven into the fabric. When worn, the Wraithgrip grants the bearer an otherworldly strength, amplifying their grip to the extent that bones and steel alike can be crushed with ease. Upon contact with flesh, the gauntlet emits a chilling sensation, leeching warmth and vitality from its victims, as if drawing from an endless well of cold malice. Additionally, if worn with the whole armor set, the wearer will bears the mark of the Wild Hunt, a sigil that burns with a cold, white fire when blood is spilled, acting as a beacon to those who ride under the same cursed banner] [Warning: This piece of equipment can''t be removed by normal means] "Are you okay!?" Lupina shouted with a weary worry all over her face, right after she was stunned and speechless when she saw me trying to wear this seemingly cursed piece onto my body. "Ahaha, I''m alright." I couldn''t help but grin and raise my eyebrows, since my first instinct when reading the detail screen of the equipment was to wear it. "In fact, this gauntlet seems to be liking me more than I expected." "You''re one scary woman," Verina said with her usual poker face. "That''s why I like you." ¡ª [Health Status] [Overall Health: 70%, Pain: 135%] ¡ªVitals¡ª [Consciousness: 75%] [Movement: 70%] [Maniption: 895%] [Hearing: 150%] [Sight: 75%] [Breathing: 85%] [Blood Filtration: 85%] [Blood Pumping: 140%] [Metabolism: 60%] [Lifeline: 70%] [Sanity: 30%] ¡ªInjuries¡ª [Left Hand: Sprained (moderate - 20% pain, -30% maniption)] [Right Hand: Bruised (moderate - 15% pain, -20% maniption)] [Left Arm: Fractured (moderate - 30% pain, -40% maniption)] [Right Leg: Strained Muscle (moderate - 25% pain, -30% movement)] [Ribs: Bruised (moderate - 25% pain, -15% movement, -10% breathing)] [Head: Minor Concussion (moderate - 20% pain, -10% consciousness)] ¡ªConditions¡ª [Heightened Consciousness: This individual take reduced influence from all sort of negative modifier to the mind (moderate - 25% consciousness for the next 5 hours)] [Exhaustion: Severe (reduces consciousness, movement, and maniption by an additional 15%)] [Adrenal Overload: (Increases blood pumping but lowers metabolism and lifeline sustainability)] ¡ªEnhancements¡ª [Wraithgrip: The ancient will of the Theotech God bestows the resilient with limitless ambition and potential] ¡ª [{Biography} {Inventory} <{Health}> {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª It seemed like the whole gauntlet was also counted as an enhancement in its own way. The enhancement didn''t seem to reflect on my Maniption, but it definitely increased my overall stats and strength within the Info section of my detail screen, that one menu that bombarded you with endless paragraphs of numbers and details. Those three seemed to be intimidated and worried by the fact that I was able to safely equip this without any prior proper appraisal, which was thanks to my ability to open the detail screen of equipment. Though, Tahlia seemed to be less surprised than the other two. Probably because of our interaction before the Ordeal of the Midnight. "... The hunter ising again," Tahlia notified us. With one of its hands severed, the Lone Rider appeared to be much more wary than usual. "Lupina, give me your broadsword." I extended my right hand whilst maintaining my gaze toward our sole nemesis. "Focus on bing Verina''s legs. Maintain distance, avoid attack, and keep both of you safe." "... I trust you." I equipped the steel broadsword on my right hand, while the obsidian dagger on my left. With this, the Lone Rider should treat me as a much more dangerous prey than the other. "Heh, this should do it." Walking steadily within the fog of Carcosa''s night, its pair of fiery orbs were aimed directly at our souls. Before we knew it, the armored hunter was already dashing forward with predatory gait. It hurled its spiked cudgel and its sword at the same time. However, the moment Verina pulled her trigger, the Lone Hunter immediately changed its direction of velocity and sidestepped with inhumane agility. But that was what Verina wanted, as the spell that she chambered inside her musket was merely a dud of spark that didn''t do anything. "Now!" Already positioning myselffortably, Iunched my steel broadsword at the armor gap below its two-sprouting right arms. Spark of shing steel was showered onto the sideway. My attack was immediately parried by its cudgel, and it immediately swung its sword as a nasty follow up. But just before it could connect, a powerfulbustion of heat had already smashed itself onto its head, disorienting its movement and allowed me to safely avoid the attack. "Huff!" My left hand flicked the obsidian dagger forward, inflicting aceration on the armor gap at its upper neck, right below the chin. The dark-forsaken blood was sprayed all over the ce. But I doubted that it was enough to take it down. Chapter 34: Restless The fight against the Lone Hunter of the Wild Hunt went back and forth in a peculiar yet apparent rhythm. We attempted to hold our ground while finding a way to counter attack, and the Lone Hunter would sometimes perform an unexpected action or attack. But thanks to its rather grounded nature, we would often foresaw and devise a makeshift n toward it, unfurling its attempt that would either end in us making progress on defeating it, or back to square one with no damage dealt to both parties. This cycle however, was not to our benefit. No matter how much blood that the Lone Hunter spilled, it didn''t affect its fighting ability or prowess in the slightest. Meanwhile, all four of us were getting worn down with every sh and mind-storming the Lone Hunter''s next attack. Lupina was on the brink of breaking down since she kept on pushing her Feral Rage state to ensure the party''s safety. Verina was running out of lifeline. Tahlia himself was getting so stressed, that it would only be a matter of time until he or one of us made a mistake that would cost us our whole lives. As for me. I was getting dragged to the low shore of irritation the more dysphoria I gained from giving 200% effort without any rest. Not to mention, while the Wraithgrip did strengthen this body''s overall physical prowess, it actually drained my energy viscerally the more I relied on the strength it gave. "It''s going back to the mist! Hold your ground!" On the other hand, one of my hypotheses was proven to be true to a certain extent. While we were exchanging our aggression, a Cmity Object joined the chaotic fray. Just before we could do anything about it, the Lone Hunter changed its prioritization and devastated that Cmity Object in front of us. We took that chance tond an attack on it, but it bested us in speed and awareness. Especially after it had be the victim of our trickery for numerous times. "It''s here!" This piece of the Wild Hunt possessed the ability to learn and adapt. And it was probably the first time I had this cold-biting shiver running up on my spine for such a long duration of time. "Tch!" Just as when I used the obsidian dagger on my left hand as a feint, this armored hunter saw through my intention and took a rash step forward, swinging both of its weapons. I managed to parry the sword using my own broadsword but my obsidian dagger was crushed into tiny pieces as the hunter''s cudgel chased it around. In fact, this bastard put all of its strength on destroying the already brittle obsidian dagger! The protruding spikes also damaged my forearm into a bleeding mess, something that definitely needs to be tended soon. "Now!" Mymand was given loud and simple, hinting at our kilnn to timely pull her trigger. And trigger was what she pulled as her aim was rightful and steady, shooting out the spell chambered inside her musket as the exhaust horns on her head fumed a hot mist Verina scored another hit on its neck, embedding an extremely low temperature that spread around the surface of the hunter''s body in order to hold it down. Because even if its skin was transformed into ice, this undying powerhouse would still be able to move and stomp forward. But while it was more vulnerable, I put both grips on the handle of the broadsword and proceeded to swing this piece of metal onto the frozen part of the Lone Hunter''s arm, the obvious intersection of armor between the joint guard and the gauntlet. The second right arm that was ever gripping the spiked cudgel was finally severed. It attempted to retaliate with its sword. "No you won''t!" The Lone Hunter was still partially in a frozen state. Even though there was no sign of freezing nor restrain upon its armor, the skin and flesh behind it should be greatly affected. Or that was¡­ what I thought. The knight of the hunt moved its whole body forward as the frozen pieces of skin and flesh were shedded from its body. Pitch-ck bodily liquid trailed from every crevice of its armor, alongside every part of its body that was influenced by the freezing spell. With its fiery purple gaze fumed into its sides, a great arc of sweeping de was unleashed to its whole surrounding. "Kuh!" Even with the help of the Wraithgrip''s strengthening effect, I was pushed three meters away from where I formerly stood as I blocked the attack using the broadsword pressed to my cursed gauntlet. I knew not of the Lone Hunter''s n to execute such a bold move all of a sudden. But anxiety started to crept behind me, as I watched the menacing entity in front of me hurriedly ced the sword back to its sheath. "Don''t attack!" Was it trying to reason with us peacefully? However, that would oppose the nature of a Qliphoth Object. [Sanity: 15%] Was attempting to bait us into close range? It was suddenly able to execute such a deadly move out of nowhere, and Verina''s spell didn''t seem to be holding it back anymore. [Sanity: 12%] Questions upon questions were surfing through my cmitous adrenaline. A single wrong more would cost my own life, and a single beat of hesitation would also cost my own life. Before I knew it, the Lone Hunter casually picked up one of its severed right hand, still gripping at the spiked cudgel tenaciously. Would it attempt to try it at us as a distraction, then perform a decisive attack!? Would it attempt to switch the weapons it had!? Despite my anticipation for a lot of things, I forgot the one thing that made me afraid of the Ordeals as a whole. "What the hell¡­" The fact that anything could happen, regardless of the improbability. Chapter 35: Overwhelmed This man-like beast of the depth just shoved its severed hand back to where it belonged. Not a secondter, it started to move the formerly severed-hand''s fingers as if nothing had happened, before tightening its grip on the cudgel. At that very moment, I realized that I forgot something important while trying to rationalize my actions on a very logical level throughout the whole fight. I was too tired¡ªI was too tunnel-visioned on the shown patterns and applied it into my train of logic instead of looking at the bigger picture. "Hahaha, shit." As if the ''thing'' before me had stopped ying around and holding itself back, the lengthening shadows of abyssal tendrils started to sprout from its back like the blooming moment of a rafflesia. [Sanity: 10%] I wasn''t not fighting a ''Lone Rider'', nor was the ''Lone Hunter'' who red its weapons with a burning purple gaze directed toward us. I was forcing myself to move against the current of a tempestuous tidal wave. And I feared that it was inevitable for me to be swept by the water and drowned. [Sanity: 8%] To make the matter even more frightening, this monster I was supposed to fight didn''t even try to rationally fight like an actual hunter. It started to point the sharp edge of its sword towards its own throat, the same ce where I formerly flicked my obsidian dagger to cause a hugeceration on its flowing veins. And just about as I took my breath, that monster thrusted the entire body of the de onto its own throat, impaling its own supposed-vital organ as the excess steel protruded menacingly on its back, coated in its own pitch-ck bodily liquid. Then, the sword was withdrawn, and that monster just stood there as if nothing had happened. Seeing the movement of its hand, I mustered every bit of my consciousness and sanity to voice out mymand. "Everyone, take cover!" Yes, it was the rational thing to do. But where should they even take their cover? My eyes were troubled to keep track of my own allies and what the monster in front of me was doing. Not even a second after, the monster had already brandished its blood-coated sword to the spiraling moonlight, zed by the rays orchestra created by the thin reverse-sea above. And in an instant. The sword was swung horizontally toward us,unching its own blood as a deadly sweeping projectile that could hit everything in front of it. I sensed a sting dread that was osciting painfully on the surface of my precious face, allowing me to instinctively use both the broadsword and my gauntlet to precisely shield me from the attack. Despite amounting a couple droplets of blood, there was a great pushing force behind the sweeping projectile. I even noticed the loss of some strains of hair that weren''t able to be protected by the block. However, it was still less destructive than the one monster unleashed to cut Verina''s legs after it drew the blood from its very own steed. Maybe the amount affected the power of the attack The terror aside, I had sessfully saved myself from the attack. But what about the other? My eyes were afraid from leaving the monster, but it was worried and curious of how everyone managed that attack. So instead of looking back, I used their detail screen to check up on them. I couldn''t really open up Tahlia''s detail screen since he was originally a Cmity Object, but I could still hear his panicked rustling and breathing, instead of a painful scream of terror. As for Verina, she seemed to be fine. There weren''t any new fatal nor moderate wounds, and her Consciousness seemed to be still soaring at 500%. Lupina, who carried her, must have managed to avoid the attack entirely. Then again, the sweeping projectile shouldn''t be powerful enough to pierce through a person like thest time. I hoped that she avoided it. However, the Health section of her detail screen showed a greatceration on her hands and shoulders, and also a major bleeding status that might havepromised her chance of survival. She also still had her Potion of Healing. Not to mention, "I''ll survive!!" Lupina immediately shouted. "Don''t worry about me, and keep giving us orders as you observe every inch of that Qliphoth Object!" [Sanity: 5%] I never realized it until now. "We trust you to make the best judgment, Narcissus!!" I always view them as my own pawns, but my obsession for a perfect and rightful execution still gave me the same amount of self-responsibility and anxiety. All of the orders I gave were out of my own conscience to ensure that I was a great person who could sessfully do a task with the best possible oue. I wasn''t really a good person and perfect, but I was also trying my best to prevent myself from bing a bad and imperfect person. [Sanity: 4%] I pushed myself beyond my limit because I thought that it was a must to ensure the best possible oue. Yet at the same time, I didn''t even see these people as anyone important to me, thus giving an unnecessary stress and anxiety for myself. [Sanity: 3%] All of those actions, all of those considerations. All of them were so wed, it disgusted me. "Ahaha¡­" Just like the face I saw back then in that mirror. [Sanity: 2%] An ugly, disorienting imperfection, so disgusting it made me want to puke over all of my insides. [Sanity: 1%] If only, if only¡­ If only I could tear it all apart, turning it all to dust, and the dust to dust¡ªa cycle of destruction that I''ve wanted to perform as all these difort began to spill over from this small yet resilient cup. [Sanity: 0%] In that moment of dread and loss, I heard an eerie sound of a trumpet echoing throughout the whole sky. My body was frozen. It wasn''t only me. Everyone appeared to be in the same state, frozen either by terror, or a strange cosmic influence that prevented our organs from uttering a single thought or action. Chapter 36: A Moment, Whole In this frozen stat, I felt so empty, like a fragile vessel that could create a horrible melody when struck with an instrument. Emotionless, might the apt word. Before I knew it, I was already in a different ce. A white yet serene ce, with a pair of humans, a man and a woman. For some reason, I couldn''t fullyprehend their facial features and physicality. All I could onlyprehend was the color of gold and ck that each of them represent. And the emotion and gesture that they were expressing. "I can''t believe that I''m going to have a daughter¡­" the teary man said, representing the color of ck in this empty white world. "Out of all the things we went through, this is the thing you can''t believe in?" the smug woman chuckled, representing the color of gold. "I think we should name her now." "And, do you have any idea yet?" "You''re underestimating me, Elisi." The man awkwardly yet pridefully puffed his chest. "I got to my current position not because I''m dumb, remember?" "Uuh, wow. Yes, my husband is so smart~" "Now you''re just capitalizing it." "Yaria, my dear, out of all the things that make you sulk, are they not the sphemy and hurtful words that they said to you, but mine?" "You''re the only thing that I care about in this world, Elisi." "Aww, Yaria~" Lovey-dovey much¡­? I really had noment about this pair of lovebirds, since I didn''t really find the concept of rtionship outside of familial bond that much important. The man''s name appeared to be Yaria, while the woman seemed to be Elisi. I tried to make a heavy connection between their names, and maybe they were someone that I met in the past? This whole vision must have a meaning¡­ Then again, for some reason, watching these two bickering yfully like that with one another, somewhat gave me a reassurance for my own progress in life. If I was still alive at this point, of course. "If we''re about to assume that our daughter will have the same gold-colored hair like me, then it might be fitting to name it after our favorite flower that blooms in spring, no?" Elisi suggested with a warm confidence. "Are you sure that it won''t just get the color of my hair instead?" Yaria replied with a snickering sigh. "Nah, it''s going to be the color of my hair. Only then, she will be the most beautiful of them all, outside of her mother." "Ahaha, that''s true." Yaria started to get closer. "Regardless of her soul and appearance, naming her after our favorite flower will show the proof of her significance to us." "It is decided then!" Elisi started to happily rub her belly. "Your name from now on will be Daffodil, little one. The proof of our new beginnings, hope, and beautiful joy." Daffodil. Also known by their botanical name ''narcissus''. The flowers of this kind are easy and reliable spring-flowering bulbs. They multiply quickly and return to bloom again each spring, year after year. They are not fussy about soil, will grow in sun or part shade and are not bothered by deer, rabbits and other pesky critters. A strong yet calming flower that stood on its ground. "I hope you be strong and beautiful for us, Daffodil." A heartwarming vision about two soon-to-be parents and their child. There were rather some interesting coincidences with the current name that I have. Then again, it was most likely to be a mere coincidence, since the name ''Narcissus'' that I bore possessed a different meaning than that of ''Narcissus''. Not to mention, it wasn''t actually ''Narcissus'' but ''Daffodil''. If the name of the body that I inhabited was actually ''Daffodil'', then the detail screen would show it as such. After a much more heartwarming back-and-forth between Yaria and Elisi about their child, the vision seemed to throw its curtain. Everything started to dim into ck, signifying the ending session of this peculiar vision. Or that was what I thought. What I thought to be the end was only the start of another vision. And it seemed like it was still about those two. However, the background and setting were much clearer? This time, the vision gave me a story about Elisi and Yaria while they were sitting next to each other inside a moving caravan. They were discussing their n to settle in a ce and create a family, so this should be the timeline before the vision that I saw before? Though for some reason, their way of speaking and mannerism greatly differ from thest, almost as if they were an entirely different pair of people. Yaria was much more calm andposed, much like a seasoned fighter. And Elisi looked like a kind and soft-spokendy from a great family. I wouldn''t immediately notice that it was them if it weren''t for the strong color they represent. Especially since the other people in this story gave the same iprehensible silhouette to me. After this vision ended, it started with another one. And another. And another. All of those visions were about Yaria and Elisi, but as if they were in different worlds and timeline, and different backgrounds and stories. Chapter 37: Entrust Aside from the nuances of these sequences of stories, I found that inside each of these visions, it always portrays both of them either joyous or excited as they n about their future. I didn''t really catch the meaning of these visions, but it was still an endearing thing to watch since my past was really devoid of them. Yeah, I barely remember having that kind of joy and genuine expectation. Sure, I had some excitement there and there, but most of the time, they were followed with a void about how uneasy my future would be. My life was quite suck, huh. But right after thest vision, it didn''t shift into the next sequence of story like before. Maybe I would genuinely die now, or return back to where I was once before, fighting against that monster under an immense amount of stress. Or so I thought. There weren''t many things that were disyed, but I could hear a rumble of lighting and tidal waves crashing against one another. No¡­ It wasn''t quite like it. It was more akin to a visceral manifestation of something conceptual. It was as if a raw emotion was made into sound. "This is your fault for leaving me, Elisi!" A wrathful sorrow started to flow uncaringly, wreaking havoc upon anything in its path. "Your hatred for me runs deeper than any mire, yet you peacefully cut yourself away from me. This is not what we both wanted, and I''ve suffered because of you! You wretched traitor!" It was a ''ck'' voice, an anguished voice of color that had been applied a new color again, and again, until nothing but darkness was shown in his guttural dismay. And then, a new set of emotions crashed into me. It was simr in nature yet somewhat different than what Yaria showed in his voice. It was Elisi, with her ''gold'' ear-deafening screech of despair and anguish. "Yarrriaaaa!! Not only have you stolen my heart away, you have broken it into pieces until nothing can ever be returned...! By dying alone, you have taken away my will to live inside your decrepit grave! How can you be this cruel to me!? What have I done for you to choose this path!? Answer me, my beloved, answer me!!" It was heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and emotionally stinging. They didn''t seem to be in the same ce or in the same world this time, yet their emotion seemed to be having a conversation with one another. And they were enveloping every part of me, like pouring their respective color into my fragile yet empty cup. "Elisi... Elisi... Elisi!! I rejected this end! I won''t let your rotten body sleep in peace! O Elisi! I want you to haunt me! And follow me to the lowest of the abyss, as I cast this sorrow to destroy every memory hanging on my shoulder because of you!" Shuddering all over, their regret and sorrow started to torment every part of my existence. "I curse your existence for the heartache you caused to me, Yaria! I deny it! I deny this conclusion...! I will find my way back, and undo every mistake that causes our rtionship to end in thisnguishing hellfire¡­ "Yes... I will fix this broken patchwork, and I''ll ensure to stitch every piece of our torn-apart hearts." It was suffocating. "If my interpretation of happiness... turns out to be one of those fingers that strangles you until you can''t breathe..." It was excruciating. "Then I''ll be happy to sever the idea of joy from myself, in the hope that you could be in a happier world without my presence." Immediately after, I was brought back to the real world¡ªnot greeted with the same scenery that I ended with, but with a heavy, surprisingly powerful tug that was pulling back my cloth and body. "Wha-" Before I knew it, I was thrown back several meters away as I rolled on the ground. Even when I was rolling, I noticed that the baggage in my head and soul was purified in one way or another. I was no longer anxious, nor was I overwhelmed by the current situation, as if I had just returned from an amazing therapy session. I felt much more confident, so empowered in fact, I might be able to put 300% the effort to ensure the survival of everyone! ''I think I can make it'' was the sentence that appeared in my head like an eventful dawn. But just as my energized self hurriedly stood up to see the appraise the current moment, I was weed back by the sound of Tahlia lying helplessly on the ground with a massive wound on his back. That tug back then was from him all along, pulling me desperately into safety as he was unable to avoid the attack. A faint voice was trying its best to escape from his dying throat. "Even if you''re not a real person¡­ my memories of you are true and real¡­ that alone is enough¡­" But why save me instead of saving yourself? You could had just leave me to die, since in your point of view, I''m the one who established myself as a faker, a Cmity Object in disguise- "Say¡­ am I useful now¡­?" He said it with a cheeky smile¡ªbefore the monster behind him disastrously stomped on his head, all while sheathing its sword as a sign of mockery. Blood, bits of skulls, and organic matter were scattered to the ground, as if I had just seen the death of an actual person. "Narcissus!" I heard Lupina''s shouting. She and Verina should be still alive then. They were still alive. Not a long time had passed in this world then. "Ahahah..." I didn''t know how long I had remained dazed by that vision, but I knew that I returned back to the normal state muchter than everyone else. "Dammit!!" So many questions arrived, yet little to no conclusion. But all I knew in this very moment, was that I failed to ensure the safety of a single person who somehow believed that I mattered more than him,inparison to how I judge his worth of existence. It was such an easy and simple task, with apetent subject to boot. Yet somehow, I managed to screw it up. "Damn you!" This frustrating and embarrassing feeling, I curled it into a fist, as I thundered my unforgiving muscles once more to punch that bastard in the face. The resilient dark-steel of the monster''s helmet and that of my gauntlet shed, as the owner of the helmet was thrashed to the ground from that devastating brunt. Chapter 38: Pursuance Just as I was giving my all to suppress this unkible monster, it immediately tried to recover and hurled its spiked cudgel. Alongside it, was the numerous tendrils following up with the attack. But unlike before, my mind was faster in its refreshed state, allowing me to utilize the impossibly reactive speed of these hands. Seeing how it always reacted with its cudgel first and foremost, I blitzed my hands and unsheathe the sword from its possession. And create a cheeky distance between the two of us. The cudgel was the easiest to dodge at my current state, especially with how limited of movement that the monster was able to do. Using the stolen sword, I shed away the iing tendrils with ease, ensuring my survival. To make the matter better, Verina scored another headshot of freezing spell projectile against that bastard of a Wild Hunt. It didn''t do much as the monster immediately shed the frozenyer of flesh and skin into a surrounding burst of unknown matter. But it did stop its aggressive advance, as it took another defensive stance to n its next step. "Narcissus! Verina is running out of lifeline!" Lupina shouted. Verina must have been extremely fatigued for quite a while that I checked her Health tab. Despite her high percentage of Consciousness, the rest of her vitals were lower than average. "Protect her, and don''t die!" "She used most of her lifeline to stop that piece of Wild Hunt from attacking you when you''re in a daze!" Lupina desperately informed, speaking as fast as she could to deliver this crucial detail, "You were almost lifeless and unmoving for an entire 29 seconds back then, in case you''re not conscious of it!" 29 secondster than everyone, that was much worse than I thought! To have that utter moment of invulnerability in such a crucial event¡­ I didn''t notice it as much back then, but it seemed like my Sanity deteriorated rapidly after that monster started to rejoin its right hand. If it kept going down, then my Sanity must have reached zero at some point. Could that be the trigger to that harrowing trumpet?? Regardless, it was proven now that I need to maintain my sanity at all costs from now on. Who knows what might happen next. It could be worse than being frozen stiff and then given an unknown vision. Right now, my Sanity wasfortably sitting at 95%. It was reseted after I came back to my consciousness. "... Such a big blunder." I checked the condition status on my detail screen and it showed that time had passed for more than hours, just byparing the leftover duration of the Heightened Consciousness from back then and in this current moment. So it might be a big stretch that everyone froze in ce for hours after the event of the trumpet. Not to mention, I felt much more tired now that I realized my Wraithgrip was sucking a good chunk of my energy. Though, as much as I felt the burdening fatigue, a human body had always exerted less than a half of their maximum strength without any neurological training, because the brain was always limiting the power usage to prevent exertion. I''m used to breaking this pain of limitation, exerting more than what an average human could even if we were to possess the same body type and energy. If it wasn''t obvious enough, I always exerted myself regardless of the situation. "It''s feasible¡­" We might only need to survive for less than an hour until the end of the Ordeal of the Midnight, now that it was somewhat confirmed that a good amount of time had passed when we were frozen. Yes, it should be possible now. I might have failed to prevent Tahlia''s death, but surviving the Ordeal of the Midnight with the three of us still breathing would be the best scenario moving forward! We originally started with three people, and we should finish the race with three people! Now, all that was needed to do was to keep this monster busy. Though, I no longer saw this ''monster'' as that much of a ''monster'' anymore, now that I got my head cleared of weight and doubt. Actually, I might as well attempt to kill this unkible bastard. "Heh." The Wild Brute, that should be your current denomination! With that unbreakable armor and unyielding willpower to dash forward and wreak havoc, it was more fitting to refer to that thing as a ''Brute'' instead of a cunning and opportunistic ''Hunter''. And just like that, amidst my high-speed self-rambling, theWild Brute found itself ufortable with not having a weapon in its other hand. It then proceeded to pick up the broadsword that I probably dropped when I was still in a daze. Still, that broadsword won''t be able to fully beat this sword that I just acquired. [Bloodthirst Sword (Qliphoth 100%) - 4.5 kg: Bloodthirst Sword is a cursed sword forged from the dark iron of the underworld, its de pulsating with an unholy hunger for the essence of life. When swung, it draws in any blood-like substance from its surface, condensing it along the edge of the de before unleashing it in a deadly sword-wave projectile. Depending on the amount of blood it drank, the wave will slice through air and armor alike, as it is propelled by the dark energy coursing through the weapon. Its handle is wrapped in tattered, ancient leather that seems to pulse with each heartbeat, feeding on the wielder''s strength and spirit, ensuring that every strike bes more powerful and more dangerous the longer it is wielded] As such, I started to smear the sword with the blood that was umting on my left hand thanks to the wound that was caused by the Wild Brute''s cudgel. The blood startedtching on the surface of the Bloodthirst Sword, as if they were made to be there, like a cohesive pollen that should be collected and stored there. And then I swung the sword, like a flick of a switch made into a corporeal trail of lengthening arc¡ªthe blood detached from the surface of the de andunched itself forward like a sharp wave. Obviously, the blood-wave projectile won''t be that much effective against a foe that was draped in an armor so strong, not even an acid that was meant to consume metal and mineral even work on it. But that wasn''t what I needed. "Move, you bastard!" Chapter 39: The End Of The Hunt As expected, the Wild Brute reacted to the attack as if it was its first time being the receiving end of it. Instead of brute-forcing forward like it often does, this piece of the Wild Hunt tends to react cautiously against something new that was introduced to it. Especially after we had inflicted numerous amounts of damage to it despite its invulnerable armor. Was it an instinctual act of self-preservation, or a mere mindless marite taking on a role? Nobody certainly knows the objective truth. Regardless, it tried to avoid it by side-stepping a great distance, using its tendrils to drag its body fast and far. And then after it, it should be attempting to perform a desperate counter attack. As I hurled the Bloodthirst Sword forward, the Wild Brute hastily swung both of its weapons in a cross-section pattern. There was no further n beyond it, it didn''t even use its tendrils since it expected that I would be dodging its initial attack to give it more time toprehend the situation. So I ducked as low as I could while maintaining my momentum, turning my former attack into a feint. Right after I closed the distance, I umted every bit of my muscle memory and cognitive pattern that I knew about this monster into this very moment. Utilizing the extended strength of the Wraithgrip and my beloved hands, I danced my arm and started a chain ofceration on every possible gap of armor that was reachable by my sword. The first one was the one between the gauntlet and the elbow protector, and then the neck, then the other hand, and so on¡ªcycling it again from the start with maximum speed. With every sh and cycle, the Bloodthirst Sword umted enough blood tounch its blood-wave projectile on the next attack, empowering itself with every cycle that I performed on this Wild Brute''s body. In less than a second, I had already cycled the pattern of my attack for an exact amount of 7 times, before finishing it with bold thrust from the neck to the skull, ripping the helmet away from its skin and flesh as it was pushed away by a concentrated st of the blood-wave projectile. As the pitch-ck fountain bloomed in the air, the loss of the helmet revealed a heavily damaged and deformed face of a former human-like entity. The pungent smell of the rotten yet desated flesh, as the abyssal tendrils cried and iled around like an uncontrolled beast. Not wanting to make the same mistake, I decided to push my body further and recover the momentum of the sword. I ced the weapon on reverse grip. And proceeded to jam it through the deformed head and into this bastard''s torso. I jammed it so hard that my hand would be severed from the edge of the neck guard if not for the Wraithgrip being there. With every inch of my being that wanted to stay alive and retaliate, I twisted the de inside the debilitated torso. And with it, I performed a final motion of thrust to activate the blood-projectile attack. This time, using all of the blood within the Wild Brute''s torso as the catalyst. "Take it-" Shredding the hunter behind the armor, inflicting the greatest amount of pain and destruction that I could possibly give to this monster. Even in this situation, not a single emotion tried to overwhelm me. It made me recall that time when I was still inside the vision of Yaria and Elisi. Their emotions hurted me, but I no longer felt like an empty ss. This might also be rted to my Sanity as well, since it was one of the thing that didn''t thoroughly exined by the info dumping session I got. "Please, rest and die." Before anything funny happened, I immediately extracted the sword and took a great distance away from what was left of the Wild Brute. It was still moving, but it was dying. The Wild Brute might actually be dying for real this time. And then all we needed to do was to preserve a little while longer until dawn arrived, and everyone would be safe. With this, I could pride myself for managing to survive the whole Ordeal. I could also try scavenging back to the bastion and retrieve some remains of Cmity Objects from there, utilizing them and turning them into something useful. I needed to be more powerful, more resilient, and more capable to survive in this world. And maybe, finally, with this face that soothes my obsession for facial perfection, I could finally live a better life full of emotion and expectation. Just like the first vision I saw about Yaria and Elisi, the timeline where they managed to conceive a child and prepare for their future. "... Something is wrong." No, the shadow within it was moving radically, as if it was about to unleash something¡ªas if it was about to erupt¡­ There was still that translucent sheet of sea-surface on the sky. This whole thing wasn''t over yet. "Narcissus!" Lupina shouted. This time, there was a hint of celebration and excitement in her voice. "You did it, you absolute powerhouse, you did it!" Wait, was she approaching us?? Didn''t she see sense that this whole thing wasn''t over yet?? It could be¡­ Maybe she had deactivated her Feral Rage after keeping it for such a long time, that her mind was put in a shallow and passive state. Just like an overworked office man that had just finished their work after 8 hours overtime¡­ To put it simply, she was beyond tired! That was why she couldn''t sense it! Was she carrying Verina with her as she approached? I couldn''t attempt to look back, as my eyes were forced to be glued to the remains of the dying Wild Brute, anticipating any kind of event that could happen at any millisecond. I couldn''t afford to let another incident ur. "Lupina, don''te here!" "What, why?" "Stay there! And slowly move back while keeping an eye on the surroundings!" "S-Something wrong?" "Are you holding Verina on your back right now??" "Y-Yes! She is extremely exhausted right now, and she could barely muster to talk. Even her temperature is lowering, at the same time as the temperature-tolerant spell that she cast on me." "Are you saying all of that while moving backward?" "Y-Yes?" "Be careful of your surroundings, there might be a stray Cmity Object." "A-Alright, I''ll try!" "Don''t try, give your best!" "Yes! I will!" Chapter 40: We Survived Our First Night Commanding Lupina in that state was really nerve wrecking. I could somewhat pinpoint her location as we talk thanks to my sensitive ears, but sometimes there was a Cmity Object that barely made any sound before introducing themselves. Hopefully, we won''t be dealing with that right now. "A minute has passed, yet the shadow is still stirring." Maybe it won''t do anything much. Now that I think about it? My eyes were too adjusted to the darkness at this point, but my anxiety still prevented me from blinking a single time. "... This thing is finished, let''s go, Lupina-" Before I knew, my eyes shifted from the swirling shadow inside the near-death carcass of the Wild Brute to the sharp abyssal tentacle that impaled Lupina''s body from below, sprouting into numerous branches on her chest as it wrecked her insides like there was no tomorrow. Verina''s body wasid on the ground, untouched. Seeing her still-living Health section, Verina was possibly thrown by Lupina the moment she sensed an attack approaching her. But my eyes went back to Lupina, who I believed was already beyond saving unless a miracle did happen. "Ahaha¡­ sorry, Narcissus¡­" The tendril snaked in a reversed manner,pletely detaching itself from Lupina''s messed body. At the same time it exited this ne of existence, the swirling shadow on the Wild Brute''s carcass died, alongside the movement of the Wild Hunt''s stray. Unsurprisingly, the remains of that Wild Hunt''s stray dispersed into dust that was carried to the farawaynd. Sadly, it was the same case with its armor, cudgel, and the Bloodthirst Sword I hold. My Wraithgrip was still intact however, so I guess that was my reward. And then there was Lupina, coughing blood, limping, barely gasping for air as her lung and heart was no longer perfectly intact. Yet her life was still extended, possibly by her enhancement and the effect of the Potion of Healing from before. After all, the percentage of that item in her equipment had already reached zero. "... Verina, are you still conscious?" Verina nodded. She couldn''t move nor muster a voice. "Verina, do you remember about that chemistry lesson we had back then?" There was a slight gesture on her jaw. As calm as I could, I approached Verina and picked her upper body to stay upright. "I also talked about flesh, bodily cells, and even the degradation of the brain as an extra." I guided Verina to hold her musket and aimed it toward Lupina''s head. I stered the excess blood that was bleeding from my left hand to Verina''s hand for her to ess as a lifeline. Then, I picked up the broadsword that was left by the Wild Hunt''s stray. Well, that broadsword was ours to begin with, so I was only just taking it back. "I want you to craft a freeze-preservation spell, as polished and as fast as you could. When you''re ready, you''re going to time your activation right after I beheaded her." Mustering every inch of energy, Verina nodded and shifted her poker-face gaze toward her own dying friend. She had enough Consciousness to craft that spell. And ultimately, finish the task I gave here perfectly. As for Lupina, she was still struggling. All those wounds and blood loss only gave her insurmountable pain, while still preserving her own Consciousness. That pain won''t be there any longer. "Give me a cue when you''re ready, Verina." After decapitation, a human mind is believed to remain conscious for only a few seconds, generally around 3 to 10 seconds. During this brief period, there may be some residual brain activity, but it was highly unlikely that the individual was fully conscious or aware. This estimate was based on historical anecdotes, observations of animal experiments, and limited scientific understanding of how the brain functions after a sudden and traumatic injury like decapitation. The brain can still have some electrical activity for a short period, but due to the rapid loss of blood pressure and oxygen, any semnce of consciousness fades quickly. The exact experience would vary depending on numerous factors, but consciousness beyond a few seconds is highly unlikely. But in Lupina''s case, there was still a few droplet of Theotech blood lingering on her brain, possibly acting like an emergency patch to prevent degradation and loss of function to whatever organ it was attached. After a short while, Verina gave her cue, as she lightly pressed her trigger to prepare for the right timing. "One, two, three." Lupina''s head was decapitated. And it was immediately preserved in a special matter of ice that Verina had already concocted based on the information I gave her back then. "... Looks like it is a sess." [Health Status] [Overall Health: 10%, Pain: 0%] ¡ªVitals¡ª [Consciousness: 0%] [Movement: 0%] [Maniption: 0%] [Hearing: 0%] [Sight: 0%] [Breathing: 0%] [Blood Filtration: 0%] [Blood Pumping: 0%] [Metabolism: 0%] [Lifeline: 0%] [Sanity: 0%] ¡ªInjuries¡ª [Neck: Severed plete decapitation - 100% disruption)] ¡ªConditions¡ª [Cryopreserved State: This individual''s brain has been vitrified to prevent cellr damage and potential future revival, halting all biological functions] ¡ªEnhancements¡ª [Rapid Regeneration (halted): Minor wounds heal in half the usual time] ¡ª [{Biography} {Inventory} <{Health}> {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª Freezing and thawing a human brain without causing tissue degradation was an extremelyplex process that required highly specialized techniques. The primary challenge was to avoid ice crystal formation, which can cause mechanical damage to the delicate structures of the brain, leading to tissue degradation. As such, vitrification was the preferred method for cryopreserving brain tissue. This process involves cooling the brain to a ss-like state without forming ice crystals. For bits of knowledge, this is how it works. Firstly, the brain must first be perfused with a cryoprotectant solution. Cryoprotectants, such as dimethyl sulfoxide and ethylene glycol, rece water in the cells to prevent ice formation. However, with ohrtending, Verina could just imitate the effect without preparing the catalyst for the cause. After all, ohrtending in itself was bringing miracles into this world. Secondly, the brain is then slowly cooled to a very low temperature, usually below -130¡ãC or -202¡ãF, the point at which the solution vitrifies. This requires a controlled cooling rate to avoid ice formation. Again, something that could be trivialized with ohrtending. Once vitrified, the brain needed to be stored in a container filled with liquid nitrogen, which keeps it at temperatures below -196¡ãC or -320.8¡ãF. But Verina''s spellbined this effect with the vitrification. All we needed to do after this was to find a good wooden box to carry Lupina''s head like a backpack, and we were good to go. Not to mention, cryoprotectants themselves can be toxic to cells at high concentrations, so their introduction and removal must be carefully controlled to minimize damage. Thankfully, we didn''t need to deal with this because of the nature of ohrtending. "You did a good job, Verina." I exhaled with a smile. "This way, we can revive her somewhere in the future, with either a Theotech, or whatever the hell that exists in this maddening world." Just as I was about to retrieve Verina into my back, the sign of dawn began to pour its color from the other side of the horizon. The night of madness was over. The harrowing and suffering was over. "Today''s Ordeal is over." For now. Chapter 41: The Second Day Also, the annoying notification came back to haunt me once again. [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 24 hours_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] After that, I picked the cryopreserved head of Lupina. With this, the three of us technically passed this harrowing ordeal, the one where it should be almost impossible to survive. Yet somehow, we managed to survive. And that was the only thing that mattered for today. "I''m sorry¡­" Verina managed to muster. "If only I managed to remain firm¡­" "You protected me for half a minute while I was dazed." I lightly chuckled, trying to improve the mood. "Because of that, we managed to survive this." "... For someone I met for a day, you never let me take the me." "For someone I met only for a day, you did more flirting than your friend who was in a rut." "You''re not the first one I flirted with, though. I''m quite the flirt when I meet someone I''m highly interested in." "But I''m the cutest and most beautiful one you''ve ever met, right?" "Heh¡­ I can''t refute that." "Makes you d that you don''t stay with those you flirted with, no?" "... Now you''re just being cheeky. This is not the Narcy I know. I''m actually, genuinely scared right now." "Ahaha." That gave me quite the chuckle. "Well, I kinda realized that I need to soften a little bit." "I see¡­" "Hmm? You see what?" "I see that I can get my rightful kisses now." "That is still non-negotiable." Before we proceeded to return back to our bastion, Verina wanted Tahlia to be returned to thend. So I used the broadsword to dig a grave for him, as I threw the messed pieces of his dead body for Carcosa to im, before finally burying the cat person in peace. The info dump that I got doesn''t really mention any gods or pantheon aside from the existence of Cmity Object, Qliphoth Object, Theothech, and several other things that I haven''t stumbled upon. But still, I gave my respect and prayer. After all, humanity managed to persist through the test of time because we hope upon the invisible and the improbable. Without believing in the impossible, how else could it be? "I can''t believe that you need to repurpose the clothing of the dead to make a harness to carry me on your back," Verina said, as I used the avable material to strap her onto my back like an oversized toddler. The same went for Lupina''s head that was wrapped with whatever was avable at the moment. I used ''whatever avable'' because I literally used whatever avable at the moment to ease up my hands from holding both of them. That same concept was also used to treat our wounds. Though, I mostly relied on Verina''s spell to disinfect and cauterize some big wounds that I got. "Recycling is good for nature," I yfully retorted. "Right¡­ I forgot that you''re a fairy." "You don''t need to be a fairy to realize the efficiency of recycling, you know?" Our journey back to our former bastion was quiteckadaisical, with Verina eventually falling asleep on my back while tightly hugging her musket like a pillow. I wonder what kind of expression that she was having right now in her sleep. After all, both of us were barely able to rest soundly before and after the start of the whole Ordeal. "Hmm." It was very uncharacteristic of me to finally ept an imperfect face this non-hostile. Then again, I could just reimagine the face that I was having right now, and I was immediately rejuvenated off my obsession, as I stopped to think about the facial horror that I faced in my former daily life. Though, that was not really the reason why I acted like this. "That vision I got back then left a lingering impression on me, huh." For some reason, I felt like I wanted to enjoy every bit of my life before I sumb to my death in this world. It might have been a mood swing for all I care, especially since I had just aplished something far more consequential than the project I did in myst life as Lothair. With that, I decided to do a little bit of foraging along the way. Within this journey, I also stumbled upon a small natural pond that was reflecting the light of the young dawn. There, I could see the reflection of this ethereal and ideal face. "As beautiful and cute as always." For some reason, I started to ept these two factors that my face possessed after I painstakingly went through that harrowing night of darkness. All of those disgusting and hair-shuddering sceneries made me grateful that this face was the utter contrast of it. Speaking of beauty and adorableness, it reminded me of Verina''s words about how dangerous my face was in terms of inviting unweed and restless people. "I might need to make a mask." I said, while pulling the side of my mouth to peek at my oral inside. I also just noticed that I possessed quite the sharp fangs. "Then again, my charm was said to be psionic in nature, so there might be some kind of passive influence that my body produced" At this point, I don''t even mind staying as a woman as long as my face is this perfect. "... I shouldn''t be gazing at my own face for too long." I had been maintaining my record of not being in any unnecessary rtionships. I don''t want my record to be broken by falling in love with my own reflection. Thest time a person with the name of Narcissus decided to do a pool gazing at his own reflection that he fell in love with, he has no concern about anything around him nor does he eat or sleep, leading to the end of his life. I had no intention of following that footstep. Nah ah, no thank you. Chapter 42: Back To The Ruined Bastion After we reached our ruined bastion, we began to establish a quick outpost camp there in the middle of the wreckedndscape. "I still can''t believe we survived through a night with a Hollow Star with just the three of us," Verina voiced her disbelief,fortably slouching back on the wheelchair I crafted for her. "It might be one of the most stressful Ordeal I have ever faced in my entire life. Especially without your help, Narcy." Although her legs were only 60% of what it originally was, her hands could still function as intended as she could eat the roasted meat I cooked for her. It would be a little bit inefficient if I needed to feed her everytime we had a meal. "It is quite the close call, I dare say." I snickered. "If that tendril was to burst a branch higher, then we might have lost Lupina''s head for good." As of now, Lupina''s head was already secured in a wooden container I crafted haphazardly. This meant less mouths to feed, but it would definitely imply that I had be the sole vanguard of the group now that there was nobody except me who could deal with a Cmity Object at close range. The efficiency talk aside, it felt a little bit less crowded now that we were essentially reduced to two individuals in just a single night. I somewhat enjoyed the quips and shenanigans that Verina and Lupina did back then, now that I thought about it. "I started to miss her a little bit, now that I had no one to dominantly tease with," Verinamented. Her face might be as emotionless as ever, but there was a grunt of uneasiness on her breathing. "Right, you''re that kind of person." They were close friends with one another before they met me, after all. "With how fast you''re eating your food, there will be a time where you choke on it with nobody being near there for you, you know?" Verina scolded. "I''ll be going around back and forth for a good amount of time," I said as I started preparing my makeshift tools. "Just shout or use a spell or two to reach me if you need anything." "I feel like a wife that is waiting for her husband to finish their work." "I feel like having a senile grandparent that I might need to take care of daily." I definitely needed to store more food next time, since the Wraithgrip also acts as an extra addition of metabolism with how much energy it drains when I utilize its strength. Not to mention, both Verina and I werecking in blood. With me having most of my blood bleed by the enemy and drained to be used as Verina''s lifeline, and Verina by just simply performing her ohrtending spell. Though, Verina seemed to be recovering her anemia faster than me thanks to her race as a kilnn. A mutation that was formed from their tendency to waste their blood because of having ohrtending as their race''s specialty. If I were to need her to perform her ohrtendingter, I might try to scout far and hunt an animal as a substitute. Though, their blood weren''t as effective to be used as a lifeline for ohrtending than that of a human. "And now, to the surroundings." As if thend had gone through a war and a tempest, thendscape was almost indiscernible from thest time I saw it. It was definitely not beyond anything that I could imagine, considering the intensity of the fight between the two Qliphoth Objects back then. "... At least the air is still breathable." Distraught and dismayed this ce might be, there was actually an abundance of things to loot for. From dead body of the Burrowing Terror and its useful slimy substances, to the material and hides ofmon Cmity Objects such as the Bloodhounds and the probably 10 more new things that were in amidst the sh between the Wild Hunt and the Headless Horseman. Sadly, it seemed like there wasn''t much to loot from the Qliphoth Objects themselves, since the pieces of the Wild Hunt would disintegrate the moment they were defeated, and the Headless Horseman might still be alive before the end of the Ordeal. "It will be a long day for me." Together with the knowledge and experience that I gained from my first ever Ordeal, I would use all of these resources to make myself stronger and prepared for the uing inevitable. Then again, there was a Hollow Starst night. If Verina''s information was something that I could trust with, tonight''s ordeal might not be as aggressive and dangerous as thest. Then again, there might be more than one variation of what the Ordeal might bring. So cautiousness and proactiveness were still my keys to survive this chaotic wondend. "... The Fortcracker is still here." To my surprise, one of my most prideful creations in this world still had 70% of its body intact. I had been thinking about our encounter with the Wild Brute a lot as I journeyed back to the bastion. So many instances of time within that encounter, I had always wished that I had a strong weapon that could just deliver enough force to crush and disoriented the organ and flesh beyond that invulnerable armor. Something that we could use at mid-range to long-range. Something like a Fortcracker that was much more portable but still having the same output of destruction that it could bring. "... Huh." Just as I was trying to recover the Fortcracker from its nketing debris, I noticed how light it was nowpared to thest time I manned it. "It is still 70% of what it originally was¡­ should be still around 100 kilograms worth ofponents." Yet somehow, I could easily pick it up to my side like it was a sack of grains. "Oh¡­ Oh!" With this interaction, an enlightenment started to flow into my mind. Something so simple, yet unfounded in my mind. "... I''m going to turn the Fortcracker into my main weapon." Chapter 43: Scavenging Hunt Instead of using the Fortcracker as a portable artillery, I brainstormed all sorts of modifications that should turn it into an arm that could be utilized in everyday fights by my side. Just like how Verina''s main weapon was a musket that she used as a catalyst for spellcasting. I shall definitely transform this glorified six-throwing-armed ballista into a hand weapon. "But this is not my priority as of the current." Before I dealt with my excitement for converting the Fortcracker into a proper functioning weapon, I preferred to use this duration of peace to scavenge and loot all of the avable materials within the perimeters of the bastion. So I merely extracted it back to our current camp and had it stored until I got back to it. "Ah, the Fortcracker." Verina nodded with eyes closed. "That was a good time." "A good time indeed." And then off I go again to continue my scavenging hunt. ¡ª [The Sorrow Weaver] [Description: A spider-like creature that weaves webs of pure emotion, the Sorrow Weaver preys on the individual''s grief and despair. Its web glows with a sickly blue light, trapping its targets in their darkest memories] [Hint: The Weaver drains the will to live from its victims, leaving them in a catatonic state. Destroying the web is the only way to free those ensnared, but the Weaver fiercely defends itsir] ¡ª "Lair, huh. I didn''t see one. Perhaps their spawned outside and got caught in the sh?" Most body parts of the Sorrow Weaver''s were missing, so I couldn''t even imagine what the original entity looked like. Since this corpse over here could barely be deemed as a spider-like creature. It looked more like a horse with an eight legs scorpion tail. "At least this thing is dead, since it didn''t leave this realm where the Ordeal ended." However, I found an abundant amount of the aforementioned webs that glowed with sickly blue light. In fact, it was one of the reasons why it was the first thing I stumbled on my scavenger hunt. Out of curiosity, I used my hand with the Wraithgrip to touch the webs to see if there were any lingering anomaly effects upon those who touched it after the Cmity Object was dead. "And now with my left hand¡­" Fortunately, nothing happened. More surprisingly, the webs were surprisingly thicker than your usual silk and were really durable. It took me an actual attempt with my enhanced strength and impossibly dexterous precision to cut it with my makeshift stone knife. "Huh, isn''t this really good?" The web was still coated with a form of protein that makes them sticky, something that was actually within the trait of an actual spider. I could remove those stickiness by either soaking it in waterbined with some sort of solvents, or even do the traditional rinse and repeat. There were also multiple methods to make the silk even more stronger if used as textile material. One of them was to stretch the silk webs while they dry to align the fibers and improve their tensile strength. Stretching helps the protein chains in the silk align more uniformly, which enhances its durability and flexibility. There was also a method to abuse the ohrtending capability that Verina possessed to tinker with the textile itself. "So many possibilities¡­" Before lingering any further, I proceeded to harvest all of them and retrieve them back to the camp. "That is some rather interesting material you have there," Verinamented. "I''m going to process it into something usefulter. Primarily, protective clothing." "Indeed. You really need one right now, especially with how ragged the clothes you''re wearing." "It''s the only thing I have, after all." "I didn''tment much because you didn''t seem to mind it." "... You didn''tment much because you enjoyed seeing me in this." "It is a feast for my eyes, especially with how close you''re to naked." "I''m surprised at how perverted you can be." I didn''t find much difort from it. Beside. My past self without the Wraithgrip would benefit from theck of weight added to my skin. It also made me more alert in the moment of danger. But now, I would definitely prefer to get someyers of protection. "We still have an abundant amount of wood, huh. I might as well craft another wagon." "Well, you almost deforested the entire biome." Without muchplication, I decided to just craft an entire carriage for my logistic purposes. The design was anything but modern, but it was sufficient to say that I won''t be using this as a mainstream method of transportation. Because I designed this carriage to be towed by me instead of a machine or horses. "And off I go again to the ruination~" I did a couple back and forth for some of the scavengable materials from a familiar remains, only to properly stop by an unknown one as I opened their information screen and self-dabbled on their characteristic and usage. Like this one. ¡ª [The Lantern Keeper] [Description: A mysterious figure cloaked in shadow, carrying an ever-glowingntern that emits a soft, warm light. The Lantern Keeper appears when the bastion is on the brink of despair, offering guidance through the darkest of times] [Hint: The Keeper leads individuals to hidden resources or safe havens during crises, and its light wards off nightmarish creatures. However, the Keeper''s helpes at a price¡ªyou must offer something dear to them in exchange for its aid] ¡ª "Now you''re just a dead entity with a very enticing fabric cloak on you." It must have been manifested on the surface when we were still underground, and then got caught in the cmitous conflict between the Wild Hunt and the Headless Horseman. The fact that it still remained here as a lifeless remains must imply that it had already died. "Thentern however, is still in a rather good condition." Just like the description of the Cmity Object, thentern appeared to be ever-glowing with a warm yet gentle light, encased in an artistically sculpted ancient metal and thick protective ss. It was definitely something that one would expect from the word ''fantasy''. Chapter 44: The Gloamkeepers Beacon "Hmm, my makeshift knife barely scratched it." The fact that it was still majorly intact amidst all of those turbulence should show the resiliency of thisntern. "I wonder if this world counts it as an equipment¡­" To see the description of the item, I decided to let my finger touch its exquisite surface of thisntern. [Gloamkeeper''s Beacon (Cmity 87%) - 1.8 kg: The Gloamkeeper''s Beacon is a relic from an era long lost to time, as its construction blending the tangible with the ethereal. Thentern is fashioned from an arcane metal that seems to drink in the surrounding darkness, with an intricately carved framework of unknown symbols that pulse faintly with a serene, golden hue. Enclosed within the beacon is a steady, unwavering me that burns without flickering, casting a soft,forting light that soothes the mind and spirit. Holding the beacon feels like grasping a piece of a forgotten dream; it is light as air, yet the handle is warm, as if drawing warmth from the bearer''s soul. The light emitted creates a sacred barrier, warding off malevolent forces and illuminating hidden paths in the deepest shadows. Under its glow, rity and purpose are bestowed upon those within its radius, revealing hidden resources and safe passages that would otherwise remain unseen. However, this boon is not without its price¡ªthe beacon demands a personal sacrifice from its bearer. To channel its full protective power, one must offer up a piece of their own vitality, binding themselves to thentern. Over time, the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon instills its bearer with an unyielding determination, granting them the fortitude to withstand even the bleakest of times. Yet, this newfound resolvees with a heavy cost, as thentern feeds on the bearer''s emotional depth, slightly numbing them to joy and sorrow alike. If abandoned or left unused for a long time, the beacon''s light will dim, lying dormant until another willing soul dares to pay its price and rekindle its mysterious me] "I see." In exchange for a clearer light in my path, I must sacrifice bits of my vitality like what the Wraithgrip does. To me who barely got affected by physical fatigue, it just means that I should eat more. It also numbs me to emotion, to put it simply. "Would it work on me, though?" Unless the numbing effect was multiplicative, it probably wouldn''t affect me as much, since subjects like emotions barely linger in my head for more than an hour, unless I start a chain of it. A person I cherished might die in front of me, and I would barely shed a proper tear for them. Even if I did, the sadness wouldn''tst long and my emotion would reset back to zero a few hourster. I didn''t even feel much grief for Tahlia after the first few hours of duration I failed to keep him alive. Not to mention, what I felt wasn''t grief, but more of anger and annoyance¡­ Hmm, I might be an actual psychopath, like what was indicated by my Highlighted Traits. "Yup, this is a perfect thing for me to equip." As I gripped the handle with the intent to bind my own soul to it, the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon responded kindly as it created a new line of anchor from its me to the source of my consciousness. To put it, it was as if thentern had be part of my body, just like how my soul cast its anchor to every inch of my flesh and skin. "Huh, the effect kicks much faster than I expected." I tried to move it around. "It also became weightless the moment I bonded with it. I wonder if it''s the same for anyone outside of me." Just by holding it with my hand, my vision and hearing started to guide me to things of worth. It was as if I had a built-in mental navigator that highlighted certain things and ces that would lead me to an unseen discovery. Even right now, I found some lootables that I somewhat missed when looking around the area. "I might need to experiment with its function, especially for the part of ''revealing hidden resources and safe passages that would otherwise remain unseen''. Heh." For now, I attached this sizable mystiquentern on the holster of my tool belt as I continued scavenging this area. "... The dead body of the Lantern Keeper is also a loot in itself." So I took off what was left of the fabric that was formerly meant to be its cloak as another loot, hoping that I could somewhat use it together with the Sorrow Weaver''s silks to make something of use. The creepy naked humanoid remains of the Lantern Keeper was left peacefully with nothing but its own skin. Welp, back to scavenging hunt! ¡ª [Cinderw] [Description: Arge, crab-like creature with glowing, molten ws. The Cinderw''s pincers can slice through metal, and it leaves a trail of burning embers wherever it walks. Its thick carapace makes it resistant to most forms of damage, particrly fire] [Hint: Cinderws are tanky, with high health and fire resistance. Bastioneers should focus on using armor-piercing weapons and avoid engaging it near mmable structures] ¡ª I found the remains of thisrge creature buried by debris of soil and structures thanks to the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon. "This thing was almost asrge as the Sandstalker in terms of size." I didn''t really have a proper equipment to disassemble its ws and carapace yet, so I just decided to drag this thing alongside the carriage with this biome''s trusty and resilient vines as the chosen tool. Chapter 45: Preparing The Facilities "Crabs huh, reminds me of the seafood cuisine I eat back on Valovo Citadel," Verinamented. "Also, nicentern you got there." "It is my favoritentern now." "I''m assuming that you''re relying on me to suppress the smell for the giant crabs because you aren''t nning to work on it as of now." "Yup." The scavenging hunt went on for 5 hours before I settled on the extracted materials to work on something. Of course, before actually working on the material itself, I also needed to establish some important facilities for the materials to be even workable. Verina''s ohrtending ability was definitely the saving grace to trivialize most of the annoying stuff when ites to establishing these facilities. "That gauntlet you got from the Wild Hunt''s stray gives you so much strength, it seems," Verinamented as she helped me with the building. "It might actually be on par with a high-quality Theotech, at this point." The strength from the Wraithgrip really does change everything, huh. "It can''t be removed unless I sever my right hand, however. It also saps my vitality everytime I draw strength from it. So it definitely has its price." "Looks like you''re not surprised by that cost." "Well, not like it immediately kills me or anything. I just need to eat well and live well in my avable lifespan." The ''Info'' section of my detail screen did have information for the estimation of my entire lifespan if I were to live without consequently dying to any unnatural causes. If only that the numbers weren''t a bunch of question marks. "This makes me want to have Qliphoth prosthetic legs." "I doubt that we will stumble into that kind of Qliphoth Object." From aplete workshop with a forge where I could finally process everything that I brought back to my storage, to a man-made loom where I could weave the essence produced by the death Sorrow Weaver¡ªI also ttened the uneven ground in our proximity for ease of traveling with Verina, since she was in a wheelchair. I also found out that the Burrowing Terror''s corrosive slime could be used as some sort of solvent to clean the Sorrow Weaver''s webs of their stickiness, so I just dumped all of our remaining slime canister into a big tub made out of the monster''s innards. And then clean all of the silk by just dumping it on the pool of slime. The silk was strong enough to not get damaged by the metal-eating substance. "Phew." After working for 8 hours non stop since the Ordeal of the Midnight, I decided to rest on my polished wooden bed, inside the very same design of wooden cabin that I built on the first day. It might not be the best tform to rest in this world, but any kind of surface feltfortable after moving around for hours. And for some reason, Verina was there lying next to me. "These cauterized wounds¡­ does it hurt you?" "Well, like all wounds do." "If I touch it like this, will you feel anything?" "Theck of reaction of my face doesn''t mean that the pain doesn''t exist, Verina." "I thought that you would be much more expressive." "Said the person with an eternal poker-face." Sometimes, I forget to give an empathetic impression within my actions and calction. Like right now, I didn''t really think much about how devastating it must have felt to lose both of your legs while you''re still alive and kicking. Without anyone to support you, you won''t be able to do many things. Even someone taking care of you, it would definitely still be demoralizing to realize that you were severely limited on what you''re capable of doing as a living being. Not to mention, her friend came back from the Ordeal as a cryopreserved head. I didn''t take into ount the emotion factor, for someone to shoot a preserving spell on their own friend right after a one-day stranger beheaded them. Then again, I had already established myself as a consistent leader figure for them. It still didn''t make Verina''s burden any less significant, however. "You can just continue your sleep, if this situationforts you, you know?" I said while I started to close my eyes. "I thought that you would be more defensive around me." I wanted to say ''why would I be defensive around someone who can''t even escape?'' as a joke but I assume that would be too heartless. "How about you reveal your reason foring to this destend without any civilization around, if you want me to have an ease of mind in my sleep?" I might as well probe her into answering this curiosity of mine. "Huh, is the wind telling you something again?" "Who knows~" Verinay her body t as she gazed at the ceiling. "It is true that there is an ultimate reason why Lupina and I wasted a lot of bloodies to survive the Ordeals in our journey, just so that we can avoid needing a bigger party of bastioneers." "I assume so." I chuckled. "Is meeting me one of those reasons?" "At first we were not sure, but at this point, it might be." She thenid on her side as she stared at me again. "Want me to tell you the proper version or the quick version." "Tell me the proper one. We have a lot of time in the world, after all." I felt like if Verina had the capability to change her expression, she would be snickering right now. "It started with an informative encounter with a group of drunkards in a tavern inside Torie Citadel." Chapter 46: Mysterious Divinator "In a normal and civilized fashion, Lupina and I splurged some of our bloodies for food and alcohol, 6 hours before the dusk arrived," Verina started her tale. "I see, so it is a drunkard-to-drunkardmunication." "Despite our physical constitution, we can drink barrels of ales and mead without passing out." "I don''t see that as useful information." "In our casual two-person party, we overheard a spicy discussion about a certain, surprisingly unknown to us but famous to others¡ª''Divinator'' that arrived into the citadel a few hours ago. "It is said that by paying a mere 5 C-tier bloodies to that Divinator, we can get our fate checked and guided to a very auspicious encounter." Interesting. The infodump didn''t tell me anything about the existence of Divinator, so I didn''t really know much nuance outside what the upation name implies. Regardless, it was easy to read how all of this goes. "Is a Divinator that rare?" "Very rare." "Are what they are doing counted as the extension of ohrtending?" "Who knows. Some Theotech can let you see the future, and all of that crazy divination stuff, so it''s not always because of an ohrtending." Looked like I should put ''Theotech Hunt'' on my to-do list. "Continuing the story¡ªso the two of you decided to see what this rumor was all about." "Obviously, we were quite well-off in terms of coins back then, so wasting a couple of C-tier bloodies won''t hurt." Her eyes sparkled when she said that, as if she was proud of the fact that they weren''t this poor and homeless before the robbery incident. "So while in a drunken state, we scoured the citadel in search of this special Divinator." "I assume that you met this Divinator." "Yep, but a couple of Ordealster." Looked like manhunting while in a drunken state didn''t help them that much. Verina then continued, "Just as the rumor said, the Divinator appeared to be capable of all that amazing stuff. We didn''t believe her at first, but after somehow magically reading our background and personality like a professional stalker without the creepiness, we deemed that this rumor is legitimate." "... That sounds familiar." "True," Verina was put in a deep thought. "Now that I remembered it, it feels simr to how you somehow got our name on the first try, while also acting like you have seen a good chunk of our life beforehand, Narcy." Could this Divinator and Narcissus be somewhat rted? There were so many questions right off the bat, but I wanted to see how this yed out for now. "So, how does this divination session go?" "I forgot theplex rambling that the Divinator spouted back then, but she basically told the two of us to head southwest from Torie Citadel." Despite not being able to convey any kind of facial expression there were a lot of emotions that were brewing in her voice. "That Divinator promised us a future of pearly luck and equal challenge, while also promising a destined encounter with an existence of gold and primordial rebirth. "Seeing how we didn''t have any task or mission ahead of us, we took this divination seriously and prepared a duo adventure to look for this fate. "We don''t know the exact location of this so-called encounter, so we just traveled for days as we stumbled upon caravans and bastions until no major civilizations were found. "And then we got robbed in broad daylight. Lupina ate something that she carelessly foraged, and then we met you." At this point, if what Verina said about this whole divination was true, the precision of the divination was a little bit scary. "So, you believe that I''m the aforementioned destined encounter she talked about?" "What else?" Verina tilted her head. "Your appearance of gold matches the description. You''re an entric fairy with a mysterious past and ability to somewhat foresee things and move her hands at the speed of sound. "Not only that you probably foresaw our arrival, you even went to the extent of trying to build a proper bastion with all sorts of defensive measures. At that moment, I kinda knew that the two of us were a deadweight to you, since you could just survive all of those Ordeals alone in a humble wooden cabin. "And after going through an Ordeal with you, I''m fully convinced that you''re stressed as you took care of us under your wings and chain ofmand." Well¡­ more like it was my first time preparing for an Ordeal as a whole. Not to mention, I would most definitely be sure that I would die alone and pitiful if neither of you stumbled upon me to give me certain insight about how to deal with the Ordeal. I won''t tell her that, however, since it would break the illusion that I was an ancient and mysterious fairy that was promised in her divination encounter. "So, what is your opinion of me now?" I asked. "I want to bear your child," Verina said with her usual poker-face. "Lupina would probably think the same." "I don''t even have the right instrument to fulfill that." "We will think of it somehow. Carcosa is filled with everything that is beyond your imagination, after all." The first thing I wanted to do was definitely to fix those legs of yours. Now that I think about it, I was quite lucky that both Verina and Lupina were female. Tahlia was an anomaly, as he appeared to be unaffected by my psionic charisma¡ªbut if somehow the people that the Divinator sent to me were two dudes in their thirties, it might be very ufortable with two thirsty men wanting me to bear their child. Even though I''m strong enough to prevent an assault attempt, dealing with them might be rather traumatizing since I was formerly a man before I was forced into this body and face. Speaking of the Divinator¡­ "Say, do you happen to catch the name of this Divinator that sent both of you to me?" Verina nodded. "She told us on our first meeting. Do you wanna know her name?" "... Don''t tell me that you want me to do something before giving me the name." "You looked very interested, and it looks like a great opportunity that I can capitalize." I raised my torso, gazing at this kilnn with half-lidded eyes. "I can just threaten you to give me the answer, you know?" "I doubt that," Verina said with a smug intonation in her voice. "You''re too kind to actually threaten me." Well, more like your value was too high for me to actually do anything harmful. I could just put her on a wheelchair and throw her off a cliff, but that would be too extreme since there was a great chance that should double-down and actually wait until something was done to her. Actually, she might even be willing to be put into harm if I asked her directly. Now that I thought about. I might as well capitalize on that. "... Say, Verina, how about I set an agreement beyond a mere exchange of the Divinator''s name and your perversion." "Oho, how spicy are we talking about?" she said as she pushed her body to sit on the bed. With eyebrows raised, I put on a promiscuous smug as I slowly traced my own curve with my fingers. "You''re about to find out~" Not even a second after, Verina started to have a nosebleed as her exhaust horn expelled hot fumes into the air. "I''m not used to this assertive side of you, Narcissus." I put on a confident smile below my shrinked gaze, before cing my fingers on her high-temperature body. "This is what you wanted, no~?" "..." Verina passed out. "... I guess this is too raunchy for her." Now that I was too curious about the Divinator''s name, I no longer felt the urge to sleep. However, I still want to have some form of rxation. "I need to take a bath." It was probably the same thing for Verina, since she produced more sweat the higher her body temperature rose. This location used to possess an ease of ess to free flowing water not far on the ease, but the water path had been desated as the aftermath of the vicious sh between the two Qliphoth Objects within the Ordeal of the Midnight. Because of that, we needed to take a 10 minute walk to reach the streaming current. "Might as well clean this kilnn while I''m on it." This bastion''s location was so far from any viable civilization, it made me believe that there was nothing but animals and nature even if I were to travel for days. Then again, Lupina and Verina got robbed before meeting me, so there might be some people with adventurous intenting here from time to time. "She is still unconscious, huh." After I reached the untouched part of the river with Verina on my piggyback, I began my cleaning session. The water might not be as clean as modern tap water, but it was so clear of impurity that it might as well be a cebo effect of why I''m having so muchfort cleaning off the bits of dirt and debris from my body. I didn''t really care about cleaning this ragged white chiton, since I was about to craft a new set of clothingter. At the same time, I''m also taking care of Verina''s sweaty body, cleaning the severed wounds on her legs and her body as a whole. "Huah!" Verina suddenly awoke in the middle of the bathing session. "I dreamed of being smothered by a slutty version of Narcy, and it is one of the best dreams that I have in my life." She then started to notice what was happening. "Feel a bit better?" She passed out again. Her temperature was enough to make the surrounding water warm, and her exhaust horns had been producing hot fumes nonstop. "... She will get dehydrated at this point." So pped her again and again until she was awake. "Huah!" Her eyes were wide open as she appeared to be gasping for air. "I dreamed of being bathed by a motherly version of Narcy, and it is one of the best dreams that I have in my life." She then started to judge her surroundings once again. "If you pass out again, I will leave your unconscious body on the river for wild animals to nibble at." "Sorry, ma''am." "What with the honorifics." "Sorry, mommy." "That is worse than the honorific." It didn''t take long until she got used to the stimtion. After I felt that my body was shiny and refreshed, I prepared our departure to go back to our bastion. Verina was speechless as I helped her wear her robe and everything. After that, it was back to walking and piggybacking this kilnn back to our humble abode. "Thank you for taking care of me," Verina uttered sheepishly. "I''ll think of a way to mitigate myck of mobility." "I''m sure you will." "As for the name of the Divinator¡­" "Oh, I don''t need to do anything for that?" "You already did more things than I asked for." "Huh." I guess taking care of her hygiene while she was unconscious was also counted to her time-to-time debauched shenanigan. "I won''t repeat the name of this Divinator after I say it once." "Sure, st it off." "The Divinator''s name is Loki." Chapter 47: Fusing Calamity Traits Loki, the duality of chaos made manifest¡ªunpredictable and disruptive, yet also a catalyst for change. He is aplex figure in Norse mythology, known as a trickster god associated with mischief, deception, and chaos. Though not one of the Aesir by birth, he bes Odin''s blood-brother and often interacts with the gods, sometimes helping them but more often causing trouble. This mythological figure is highly intelligent, cunning, and shape-shifts frequently, taking on forms like a woman, a salmon, and even a mare. And apparently, Loki was a woman when they met Verina and Lupina. Though, there was also a chance that there was no direct corrtion between Carcosa''s Loki and Norse Myth''s Loki. "Is there a discernible trait of her character?" There should be a noticeable characteristic that I can use as a hint. "She is tall and has endowed stature," Verina replied. "Her body was draped in a domineering coat with ckened feathers as her azure blue eyes struck upon us like a hammer of judgment." "Now you''re just thirsting over her." "Why would I thirst over her when I have you?" As a game, Fallen Carcosa Online seemed to have a tendency to use mythos as part of their world. Even the Qliphoth Object had a direct section of what mythology it was referencing from. Not to mention, Narcissus was a character from Greek Mythology. Even my starting point in this world was a direct reference to the whole character''s identity now that I thought about it. Though I still didn''t understand why Narcissus in this game was a female. After we went back to our camp, I rested my consciousness for a solid 1 hour before continuing my pending activities. From processing the materials from the Cmity Objects until they were in a usable state, to hustle and bustling my way to expand the necessary parameters, in case that the Hollow Star decided toe back for a second round in this lonely bastion of ours. I made sure that there was a lot of breakthrough progress achieved in this two-person bastion. "Looks like the Fortcracker is back in business," Verina yfully announced. [Fortcracker Mk II (Masterpiece 100%) - 72.0 kg: The Fortcracker Mk II is an advanced modification of the original Fortcracker weapon, transformed into a carriable ballista to be equipped by a single powerful user. By integrating lightweight yet durable organic alloys made from numerous Cmity Objects and recing the iron bands with the aforementioned monster material¡ªthe weapon''s weight has been drastically reduced without sacrificing its strength. The six torsion-powered throwing arms have been redesigned with new advanced materials such as the processed Sorrow Weaver''s webs, adding extra tension for enhanced projectile speed. Further modifications include a copsible frame, making it easier to carry, and a specialized gear system allowing a single person to manually draw and reload the throwing arms with reduced effort. The Fortcracker Mk II retains its ability tounch a variety of projectiles, including siege bolts and explosive payloads, still capable of shattering stone walls and piercing through organic armor, now wielded with the might of an individual instead of a crew] "Let''s see its current output," I loaded a normal wooden bolt onto the weapon before aiming this gargantuan arbalest onto the dummy target. Just as I pulled the side-lever that unlocked thetch, the bolt was released with a destructive momentum. It could be said that the dummy target was devastated into several flying pieces that were separated meters away from each other. "Imbuing the Sorrow Weaver''s silks on the ropes did wonders on the firepower," Verinamented. "How''s the recoil though?" "Still not something that a normal person could handle." "dly, you''re not a normal person." There were a lot of things that were done to this magnificent weapon, but detail would be too exhausting to tell or read if I were to exin it in person. But to put it simply, I found that the metallic matter, bones, organic skin and hides of a Cmity Object had a special property to fuse their characteristic when mixed deliberately depending on the original property of the material. I stumbled upon this interaction after I held my Gloamkeeper''s Beacon over the molten metal of a Sandstalker''s ws, which prompted a guided highlight on other nearby materials. We then began to mix and match several things in our storage while also experimenting with other methods of fusing such as boiling, stitching, and even grafting. Some of the methods may work and not depending on the material. For example, the carapace of the Cinderw needed to be crushed into powdered bits before beingbined with whatever metal alloy we have to imbue or enhance its property. Its molten w, for example, could be infused this way into a knife made from a Sandstalker''s metallic w to give it the semi-molten property that the Cmity Object has. [Emberfang (Masterpiece 100%) - 0.8 kg: The Emberfang is a finely crafted knife, forged from the molten ws of the Cinderw and the razor-sharp talons of the Sandstalker. The de itself is constructed from Cinderw Moltensteel, a material that retains heat, allowing the edge to remain hot enough to sear through metal and flesh with ease. The de glows faintly with embers along its surface, radiating heat yet never losing its integrity under high temperatures. It needed a durable sheath that could withstood the heat] We couldn''t really make a sword-version of this since it began needing an extreme amount of temperature to even turn it molten again. And more temperature means more lifelines. Even though we had built a specialized furnace to increase the effectiveness of Verina''s ohrtending, it would still need an absurd amount of lifelinepared to what we currently have to reach that ideal temperature. At least we now had ess to easy carving and improved overall utilities. I could even use it to give my steak a fine crust. or cauterize my own wound. Like, there was a lot of conceptual functionality for a knife that was hot without needing to be re-heated or plugged to an electric socket. Overall, this breakthrough of ours was nothing but a great aplishment. Chapter 48: Skin-Grafted Wraithgrip "Lupina will be jumping in excitement if she sees this," Lupina put on a bittersweet sigh. "It''s not a daily urrence to see equipment and tools crafted this way." "Lupina isn''t dead yet." "She is still a head out of ten of what she originally was." "Is that a serious remark or a sarcasm?" "Both." This method of fusing traits and properties of Cmity Objects weren''t something new in this world. Verina told me that there were some citadels who were specialized at using Cmity Object''s material to produce an item that was equal if not better than a Theotech. It wasn''t confirmed whether this rumor was true or not however, since Theotech was another can of worms in itself. But it still suggests that we were not the first duo to find out that you couldbine traits of Cmity Object A with Cmity Object B if you did a specific process to them. After hours of tinkering with the cmity materials and whacky monster alloys in the workshop, we finally started to create a proper defensive apparel to survive the next night. However, something happened amidst the creation of the apparel design. "Kuh¡­" "Your gauntlet¡­ it''s sinking in." Mending of flesh and bones invaded my pain receptor as my Wraithgrip suddenly sank itself into my flesh. I checked my Health section of the detail screen but I didn''t see anything life-threatening, nor was there any sign of Condition that could bring potential harm to myself. All I could do was wait, enduring this excruciating torment until there was a sign of ease, Another hourter, the pain was finally done. "It meld itself and transforms into your whole hand," Verinamented. "Ahaha¡­" I looked at my new right hand where the Wraithgrip was formerly seen. "Looks like the gauntlet decided to permanently be part of my body, even though it already is." [Skin-Grafted Wraithgrip (Qliphoth 100%) - 2.5 kg: The Wraithgrip is a gauntlet of sinister origin, wrought from the darkest realms of the abyss. Initially, it is an eldritch artifact of inhuman design, its surface an ever-shifting dark mirage that absorbs all light, casting an unsettling shadow that seems to writhe with an unseen force. Crafted by the damned smiths of the underworld and imbued with the malevolent essence of the Wild Hunt, the gauntlet defies all elemental forces¡ªfire, frost, acid, and lightning¡ªrepelling them with an unyielding darkness. Its polished exterior is impervious to physical harm, reflecting attacks as if they were mere whispers of wind. As the gauntlet fully merges with its new wearer, it begins to integrate with their flesh, recing the arm with an inky ckness veined with a pulsing, geometrical pattern of eerie purple light. This transformation is not only skin-deep but infuses the arm with otherworldly power. The material appears to pulse and writhe as though it is a living entity, seamlessly melding with the wearer''s own flesh and bone. It grants immense strength, making the wearer capable of crushing bone and steel with ease. The chilling touch of the gauntlet leeches warmth and vitality from those it touches, spreading a cold, malignant influence. When worn with the full set of armor, the wearer bears the mark of the Wild Hunt, a sigil that ignites with a cold, spectral fire upon the spilling of blood, signaling the presence of one sworn to the cursed hunt] I had no idea what triggered this transformation, but this new form of the Wraithgrip seemed to be much more flexible than its original. For one, there was no extrayer of thick metal gauntlet covering my hand anymore. Unlike its gauntlet form, this ckened arcane hand acted like a normal hand. I could feel the surface of things, and I no longer had a weird gap of metal to mind about when I was crafting and looming the Sorrow Silk. Yes, that was apparently the actual denomination for the silk that was produced by the Sorrow Weaver. "Do you feel any changes in strength?" Verina asked. "It''s the same as before, I think. The only thing that changes is that I no longer have a gauntlet, as the gauntlet became a hand." "The gauntlet became a hand, huh." "The gauntlet became a hand." All of the craftings aside, I found it strangely unnerving to not have random threats appearing every ten minutes. Maybe this body of mine was still in abat state. Though, it didn''t really affect my mental state all that much. The only thing that was affecting my mental health was my Sanity status. [Sanity: 80%] It was originally 100%. I didn''t know why, but it started to drop little by little for no reason, even though I was not in any exposure or contact with anything that could sap my sanity. Unless that the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon and the Skin-Grafted Wraithgrip count. Regardless, if this thing happens to drop into zero again, it might not only be weird visions of Elisi and Yaria that I will get this time around. Maybe I need to rx a little bit. Even with my newfound mindset, I still put on 200% the effort to get things done. If that was the cause of my Sanity decrease, then I really should get this bastion holding, or recruit more than one person to operate the defenses in the time of Ordeals. Or I could just depart to the east for multiple days of journey to Torie Citadel, the citadel that Verina and Lupina visited before meeting Loki and went to the southwest to find me. "Do you want me to craft another set for you, Verina?" I asked while both of us were coborating within the workshop. "My robe is made to enhance the effect of my ohrtending, so I don''t really need a new set of clothing." "Are you sure? I think we have more than enough material to create two sets of this design. It is a garb made from Cmity Object, which must be really expensive if you want it anywhere other than a specialist." "... I will order one then." "You''re literally crafting it together with me." Chapter 49: Like An Aegis Verina''s improved ohrtending capability was really useful to speed up the process of crafting our new apparel set. Ever since thest chemistry lesson that I gave her, she seemed to be much more curious about how certain things work on an atomic level. Science wasn''t really my department, but the addition of Sage Inte really helped me dumbing thoseplex information into something digestible¡ªsince I could just search all of my problem away- Now that I think about it, the name Sage Inte didn''t really have a good ring to it. Hmm¡­ Let''s just call it Sir Aethe. ''As Sir Aethe decreed, this piece of tomato is actually ssified as a fruit!'' Yep, that sounds better in the ear. A valiant and wise knight in shining armor, made from grafted social media posts and unlimited knowledge about cat pictures. I really need to utilize Sir Aethe more. Not in utility, but for the fact that I could just burst my old NewTube''s ylist into my brain directly without needing to hold or touch anything. Not to mention,I had just found out that I could use Gloogel Lens'' image recognition function using my own sight as the medium of photo capturing. I could even y a web-game with the help of Sir Aethe, which was something that I didn''t really focus on back then, when I was only thinking of a way to survive. "You know," Verina said as she was doing her job maintaining the temperature of the forge. "I always find it so hot that you often sweat but make no effort to wipe it away from your face. Sometimes, it makes me want to lick it." "Verina, do you want to know a fun fact?" "... A ''fun fact''? What is that?" Verina slightly tilted her head. "It is a tidbit of interesting or entertaining trivia." "Alright, give me some of this fun fact then." "I actually have a ghostly partner with me, all this time." I lied. "... borate." "He is of a wise sage of noble lineage. He is Sir Aethe. He helped me by sharing his wisdom. Do you think that I could juste up with an borate knowledge or design on the spot?" "This means¡­ all of those invention of yours-" "Yup, it was his doing." "Woah." "Amazing, right?" "Can I talk to Aethe?" "Sir Aethe." "Can I talk to Sir Aethe?" "Unfortunately, not." "That is saddening." "Regardless, I''m just messing with you." "... So you are just straight up lying to me when you said that you have a ghostpanion around you all the time." "Yep." "Sir Aethe is not real, then." "Nope, Sir Aethe is real." "What?" "Fun fact, our skeleton is always wet." "... I don''t know what to do with this information." "Also, you can smell your own lungs. Your brain just filters out the smell." "..." Ever since then, Verina stopped teasing me in the fear of acquiring forbidden information as a counter attack. After several hours of intricately crafting each piece of the protective set, we finally finished a piece that was meant to be mine. Though, it would be a massive understatement to call it anything but otherworldly. And its item''s description was also as long as it wasplex in its creation process. [Soulthread Aegis (Cmity 100%) - 4.3 kg: The Soulthread Aegis is a protective garb set forged from the intertwined remains of fearsome eldritch entities, woven together by the forces of despair, me, and arcane ss. This living armor pulses with an eerie, sentient energy, adapting and evolving with psionic prowess of its user. Its exterior is a deep, iridescent ck with streaks of glowing blue, radiating a subtle, shifting aura that flickers like dying embers and splintering mirrors. The core of the Aegis isposed of Sorrow Silk, a material that absorbs and converts the wearer''s mental state into a proactive psionic energy. This darkly woven silk shimmers with a sickly light, growing denser and more protective as it feeds off from the intense activity of emotion. The precise amalgamation of Cmity Alloys forms the outer shell of the armored parts like the torso, boots, wrist, and the skirt¡ªfeaturing molten, magma-like cracks that radiate warmth, yet the wearer feels nothing butfort within. This elemental part deflects not only fire but even searing sma or acid, as its natural resistance absorbs and dissipates the foreign change in temperature. The inner workings of the Aegis are flexible, allowing the armor to shift and move fluidly with the wearer, providing great flexibility] Thanks to the highlighted indicator of the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon, we were able to mix and fuse the right material to replicate some of the power that the Cmity Object possessed when they were still alive. The most mind-breaking breakthrough was with the Sorrow Silk. Apparently, its property to interact with emotion was triggered with exposure to motion. This was why the webs said to drain the victim''s will to live, because one needed to be alive inside it for the web''s property to take effect. So, using Verina''s knowledge in psionic activity and formation, we attempted to regte the amount of emotion and ''livingness'' to a non-harmful amount, and then start connecting this piece of trait into other material to create a synergy. Not to mention, we also got our hands on the material from the Flesh Maulers and Sinew Shifter, turning their semi-living flesh to act as some sort of motherboard for the Sorrow Silk to function. "How do I look?" "Like a legendary warrior who has fought the abyss of darkness mending." Verina gave a thumbs up. "Or a rich person whomissioned a renowned cmity specialist craftsman. I want to say ''cooler'' and ''hotter'', but I''m afraid that you''re going to retaliate with a ''fun-fact''." "... Praises are fine, especially if it''s rted to my face." "Noted." I cleared my throat, maintaining myposure. "Speaking of a cmity specialist, I want to test things before finishing your Soulthread Aegis." "Carry on." "You need to be there with me." I found out when we were trying to find what proper material to act as a catalyst for the Sorrow Silk''s psionic power, she said that each material had different sensitivity to psionic influence, and to an extent, ohrtending. Verina possessed a moderate amount of telekic capability with her ohrtending, and I want to see if there was any material that would react the most to her psionic influence. If things went right, I might be able to fix Verina''sck of mobility that was caused by the aftermath of fighting the Wild Hunt''s stray. Chapter 50: Aetherstride As the light of the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon emanated, the content of the woodshed storage was illuminated. The air was thick with the smell of timber mingling with an acrid stench of decay and foulness from the materials harvested from the remains of dead Cmity Objects. Shadows dance erratically as thentern''s beams of light move forward, casting distorted silhouettes of grotesque items stored in haphazard piles. Pieces of hardened, scaled hides from monstrous creatures hang from the rafters, their textures alien and unsettling to the touch. Strange bones, twisted and malformed, litter the floor, some still humming with faint traces of unnatural energy, making the entire space feel alive with a malign presence. Even the walls seemed to groan under the weight of the dark things stored within, some pulsating faintly, emitting low, almost inaudible whispers that prick at the back of the mind. The oppressive atmosphere weighs heavily, as though the very space itself harbored a malevolent intent, watching, waiting, eager to consume those who linger too long in its haunted, ustrophobic depths. "Looks like you need to try casting your telekic spell on every piece in this storage." I snickered. "Before that, allow me to cast some neutralizing agent." Despite her undaunted poker-face, I could tell that she was really annoyed by the stench. "Foul it might be, it beckons me that a mere couple air-purifying spell was not enough to destroy the smell." "You talk as if we are about to enter an undeadir." "It is an undeadir, without the ''un''." For a couple of times, we went back and forth picking some of the unique materials inside our storage for psionic sensitivity testing. Metallic, hardened chitin, and even the foul intestine of the bloodhounds¡ªwe experimented on them all. Not to mention, in order to acquire the necessary data to gauge the psionic sensitivity of the material, Verina needed more than a simple nudge on her telekic power. It cost quite the lifeline since Verina wasn''t really the most studious spirit to master her telekic prowess. This appraisal session alone probably increased her proficiency on her telekinesis spell more than what she was doing in thest couple of weeks¡ªbecause I saw a noticeable increase of efficiency as we went through the checking one by one. "This bone feels very receptive to my telekinesis," Verina informed. "Let''s separate that one before continuing then." "We couldn''t just use this material for our needs?" "There are ten more things to go before deciding on the golden goose." After a couple of materials left, we finally finished the appraisal process for their psionis sensitivity. Throughout all of the stuff that was looted from the wreckedndscape, we decided to use one specific material. It was the skeletal remains of a 4 meters tall dead remains of a unique Cmity Object that we haven''t encountered before. Not even Verina herself, who had survived more than 50 years in Carcosa, was familiar with the name or even appearance of this Cmity Object. Thankfully, this entity died amidst the conflict between the Wild Hunt and the Headless Horseman. ¡ª [The Veilworn Prophet] [Description: An eerie blind seer draped inyers of tattered, ancient cloth. The Veilworn Prophet speaks in riddles and whispers, revealing hidden truths about the bastion''s future. Wherever it walks, flowers wilt, but knowledge blooms. The Prophet''s eyes are sealed with wax, giving it sight beyond sight] [Hint: The Prophet provides cryptic warnings and predictions of future events, both good and bad. However, the bastioneers must interpret these riddles correctly¡ªmisreading the signs can lead to disaster. The more the bastion interacts with the Prophet, the more blurred the line between fate and free will bes] ¡ª I didn''t even notice the corpse of this entity if not for the highlighted guidance of the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon. This proved once again that binding myself with the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon was the right choice. "These bones are quite malleable. Should we fuse it with another material before we use it for whatever in the world you''re nning?" Verina gave me a hard-firm stare. "Obviously." I grinned. "We will be using these to make your prosthetic legs, after all." "What." For most of the time, Verina used her telekic spell to drive her own wheelchair as we roamed around the bastion. I wanted to apply the same concept but with a proper, flexible, and applicable concept that should ease her way of movement instead of giving her a pair of legs that she controls with telekinesis. Yes, to put it simply, I wanted to give her legs a pair of wheels. "... You''re nning to attach these pairs of wheels as my legs. Wheels that I can control using my telekinesis." I simply gave Verina a thumbs up. After we finished making the perfect monster alloy for the wheels, I began drawing my design to a wooden board. Not before long, we finished crafting the prosthetic for Verina, alongside her own specialized Soulthread Aegis garb that wasbined with her Reinforced Ohrtender Robe. I won''t be putting the description of the specialized Soulthread Aegis since it was pretty much the same with mine, except the fact that it further facilitates as a catalyst for ohrtending. "So, how is it?" I asked with curiosity, after putting on the prosthetic to its rightful user. [Aetherstride (Cmity 100%) - 4.0 kg: The Aetherstride is a pair of prosthetic legs crafted from the remains of an eldritch monstrosities, utilizing a fusion of dark materials and telekic-sensitiveponents. Forged by a genius cksmith with unmatched skill, these prosthetics featurepact needle-sharp legs,posed of a durable and flexible material that resonates with psionic energy. Each leg tapers to a slightly-curved fine point, allowing for swift, agile movements. Attached to the heels of the prosthetics are ck Wheels¡ªfloating discs that hover and rotate with the user''s telekic control. These wheels are imbued with remnants of eldritch material, enhancing their psionic sensitivity to the user''s telekic abilities, allowing them to move at incredible speeds as if skating effortlessly over any surface. The wheels can be attached or detached from the legs at will, enabling versatilebat and traversal options¡ªranging from lightning-fast gliding to nimble footwork. The eldritch influence within the wheels also generates a faint aura of ck me, giving the user a ghostly, ethereal presence as she moves] "Oh, oh!!" Chapter 51: Thinking About Stuff Despite foreign in concept, Verina easily grasped the intended mechanism of the Aetherstride. Instead of having the ck Wheels physically connected to the prosthetic connected to her legs, they should be telekically anchored to the heel-area of the prosthetic, and then manipted by the user''s will. As she stood up in excitement, despite having zero emotion on her face per her Highlighted Traits suggested¡ªshe was immediately zooming around the workshop with cheetah''s speed- Before she inevitably crashed into a wall, because she forgot to get ustomed to the sensitivity of the wheel first and foremost. "So, how''s the prosthetic?" I asked after a good chuckle. Still on the floor, Verina replied with a solid pair of thumbs ups as she looked at my general direction. "I like it. This is something new." The reason why I gave the name Aetherstride was because of Sir Aethe''s solid contribution to the design and inspiration. Heh. Joke aside, I gave the name Aether because in Greek mythology, Aether was the personification of the bright upper sky. Just like how I named Sir Aethe since the inte was also something that was rted to function and arrived from the sky. As for the inspiration part, I was simply browsing the mythology section of the inte until I was reminded of a certain Chinese mythological figure known as Nezha. Nezha is a well-known deity and hero in Chinese mythology, particrly from the ssic Chinese novel "Investiture of the Gods" and "Journey to the West". His Wind Fire Wheels are powerful magical artifacts that he uses for transportation andbat, and he was quite famous for that. My design for the ck Wheels was definitely far less superior than the almighty prowess of the legendary Wind Fire Wheels, but that artifact was definitely something that was used as the base for the entirety of Aetherstride''s identity. Right now, Verina needed to hone her telekinesis more if she wanted to effortlessly utilize her own ''legs'', allowing for a much more efficient lifeline consumption. "... You look like melted ice." " I found that skating around with telekinesis is still a lot of effort, despite its inherent usefulness," Verina nonchntly said as she was lying on the floor. "Things like bncing my body, eleration, deceleration, momentum, inertia¡ªthere are a lot of factors that need to be taken into ount." "Well, this is your first day. Just think of it as if you''re relearning how to walk from the start. Baby steps, they say." "If we ought to use that metaphor, then I''m quite the genius baby to be able to roam around on the first day, wasn''t I?" Her face might have said otherwise, but her bodynguage and voice was really smug and haughty as of now. "Right, you''re one big genius baby." "I''m one big genius baby." Before we knew it, we were already 4 hours away from the next Ordeal of the Dusk. "The pesky notification has been blocked by the mental faculty, huh." Through my own suggestion, Verina went to the cabin and rested her sore body and lifeline away, for as long as she wasfortable with. Deep, non-REM sleep lowers your pulse and blood pressure, which gives your heart and blood vessels a chance to rest and recover. I assume that this might be different for a kilnn since her lifeline was recovering fast while she was not asleep, but there was still nothing that was as easily-feasible and efficient as a good rest. As for me, I decided to craft some things to n for the long term future. "This might not be as easy without Verina''s ohrtending around, but if humanity in the past were able to do it, then so am I." Verina''s furnace job was reced with bellows, a device constructed to furnish a strong st of air. Using leather and organs of Cmity Object, Verina and I had already made the bellows beforehand. It was flexible bagprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtight cavity which can be expanded and contracted by operating the handles, and fitted with a valve allowing air to fill the cavity when expanded, and with a tube through which the air is forced out in a stream when the cavity ispressed. To put it simply, it was that one thing a cksmith used to heat up their furnace by blowing air inside. "Thankfully, the furnace is quite big." This bastion was only a temporary ce for us to station and craft things, as we prepared for a long-term journey to Torie Citadel, and whatever findings we stumbled upon our future path. So before then, I want to prepare a suitable set of tools and apparatus that would allow me to easily craft and tinkerplex things in our journey. Small things like pliers, wire cutters, needles, thread, an awl, a small mallet, foldable rulers, calipers, protractors, chisel, etc- A set of small hammers with interchangeable heads for different crafting needs, portable grinding stone or a set of precision files for sharpening tools, smoothing edges, and refining details- Apact, portable anvil that can be folded or disassembled for easy transport- And even a copsible or portable forge, such as a small, foldable furnace with apact bellows, for metalworking on the go¡ªall these things were necessary. I also needed to design and craft a solid carrying medium to amodate all of those tools. Maybe a big backpack to stuff all of those in, or even a carriage with an artificial horsepower, bringing the wonder of automotive into this world of eldritch nightly influence. Thomas Neen''s atmospheric engine became the firstmercially sessful engine using the principle of the piston and cylinder, which was the fundamental type of steam engine used until the early 20th century. With how weird and absurd Cmity Objects'' materials are, I might be able to replicate it. Or should we follow the path of Wright Brothers and craft a functionable aircraft powered with nothing but Verina''s ohrtending? Focusing on exploration and bing fully nomadic with a 4 days cycle of settling a bastion and rest before continuing the next arduous flight? "... My Sanity is worsening again." Chapter 52: Nezha Depicted Thest time I checked it, my Sanity was 80%. Now it has already dropped to 76%. Verina''s Sanity was barely fluctuating throughout the whole day, so what am I doing wrong? "Did I push myself too much¡­?" But if I didn''t put in this much effort, nobody will. I''m not the smartest nor the most creative person among my peers, so I worked harder than all of them to maintain a status quo that won''t be belittled by anyone. I''m not an extroverted person, but I forced myself to be in a theater club and all sorts ofmunity organizations, bing their representatives. I chewed ss of things I don''t findfort in order to gain proper skills and experience, ensuring the betterment of my life as a whole. Or so I believe. I could barely breathefortably when I was still haunted by my weird obsession with people''s facial imperfection. Life has been rough. "Do I want this life to be like that¡­?" I might actually be lucky that my encounter with that eldritch horror sent me into this world, since I was given a body that nullified my cruel and unneeded obsession, the source of my pain and silent suffering. Should I waste this chance and live the same, forced, life full of hardship, like my first life? "... What an idiotic thinking." That was a foolish train of thought. The reason why I was doing all of this hard work was the same as back then. To earn a satisfying and happy life. And if I wanted to safely dilly-dallying my ass like that, I must firstly pave a path across a mountain with these hands of mine. "Sometimes, I''ve always been thinking of silly things." With effort and mindfulness, a stable andfortable ce can be visited at the end of the arduous path. No matter how pessimistic the situation might be. "Though, there is also the great factor of luck." I''m neither an individualist nor a collectivist when ites to nning for the future. I''m just a lost fish in the ocean of uncertainty, trying my best to swim toward the light. "Mmm~" Stretching my arms, I felt the mental fatigue sapping out of my brain as I streamed an online music ylist directly into my consciousness. "I think I know why people want to live inside a simtion now." Obviously, not inside Fallen Carcosa Online, a game that hadn''t gone online in public yet, but somehow the server was already running with my current synchronized ess as the proof. Wait, would the world suffer a rollback to its initial state when the game was released to the public? If that was the case, then I might need to start all over again from that shallow river, meeting Lupina and Verina, and then going through that Ordeal with Hollow Star- "Well, that won''t be much of a problem, now that I experienced it. Will be better if the timeline continues as the yers are surging in, though." So technically, the world is currently being privatized. "... I like this music." Before I knew it, three hours had already passed, and I took an extra half hour rest before waking up to Verina''s skating around the bastion at break-neck speed. Apparently, she found out that not only could she anchor the center position of the ck Wheels rtive to the position of the heels of the Aetherstride, she could also use it against the ground. By concocting a reusable prompt ofmand in her mind, just like how she brewed most of her spells on the go¡ªshe was able to set the surface of the wheels to repel itself for a certain length whenever it was facing downright, while also creating a telekic friction without having the wheel touching the ground directly. This, together with the first telekinesis spell where the ck Wheels were anchored rtive to the position of the heels, she was able to practically hover the surface of anything while also moving around as if she was skating on the ground. "I didn''t expect that the Aetherstride could be used like this¡­" The ck Wheels created a visible electrical current with the ground whenever it received as high eleration, as if electromaic force was involved. After noticing my arrival, she sharply drifted in the air and hurriedly approached me before decelerating and descending into the ground, standing with both of her new feet. "Verina, if you want some kind of reward from me, feel free to voice it out." "... Who are you?" Using her newfound hovering ability, she immediately created a distance from me. "Narcy never asked me to ask for a reward from her¡­ Is the Ordeal starting already??" "If you don''t want it, then so be it." "Wait, I want it." It wasn''t really apparent on her face, but she moved her gaze and hands like she was really nervous. "Can I postpone it? My mind is too focused on honing my telekinesis, that I don''t know what I really wanted from you as of now." "Sure, keep up the good work~" It was important to reward hard work and the urge to be better, creating a good feedback loop that incentivizes improvement. [Ohrtender''s Expertise: This individual has honed her skills as an Ohrtender, mastering the art of using Lifeline as a magical resource. Her deep understanding of this arcane energy allows her to manipte it with finesse, casting spells that other sorcerers could only dream of] Heh, it looked like her Highlighted Trait wasn''t wrong in the slightest. Also, I just realized. If Verina were to set the ck Wheels ame, she would be the very depicted illustration of Nezha. "Verina, can you set the Aetherstride''s wheels ame?" "Won''t the heat damage it?" "Can you make the me harmless then?" "What is the purpose, however?" "It will give you an otherworldly intimidating presence." I said without a single attempt to hide my smug face. "The more you used to cast this me on the wheels whenever you''re using it, the more you will be proficient with its efficiency. "Just imagine for a second, a lone figure that floats above a pair of hellish-colored spinning wheels approaching you at break-neck speed, won''t that be terrifying to any future human encounter?" "So a cosmetic that its sole purpose is to make myself menacing and cooler." She immediately set her ck Wheels coated with red-blueish pyre me. "I like that idea." Regardless of my priority for efficiency, I was still an avid follower for the rule of cool. In fact, that was the driving motivation for the design that I think of for the Soulthread Aegis. I didn''t only want to feel protected, I also wanted to look cool if it didn''t greatly affect the efficiency. Chapter 53: The Second Days Ordeal "It won''t work for Cmity Object, but it''s certainly a feasible addition for your genius self." "... What with the barrage of praises and positivity." "You want me to barrage you with insults and derogatory words?" Verina stopped talking. She seemed to be imagining it¡ªshe seemed to be indulging in that idea. "I''m happy, either way." "I thought that Lupina was the perverted one this whole time." "I''m not a total pervert to anybody, just so you know." "Hmm, I wonder what Lupina will says about this if we''re able to revive her." "I will brag the hell out of this to her." "That sentence basically implies that both of you are equally perverted." As the ck sun on the sky started to give its reign to the spiraling moonlight, we prepared ourselves for my inevitable second Ordeal of the Dusk. [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 5 minutes_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] I wondered if I would encounter an Arbiter somewhere in the future. My existence was definitely an example of an anomaly in this world, despite the amount of anomalies that exist. "Despite me seeing myself hovering over a pair of ming wheels, I still see that you''re the most menacing one out of the two," Verinamented. "Heh, I still think that a flying woman with a musket is still scarier." Standing without much difort, I was carrying a 72 kilogram worth of copsed Fortcracker Mk II on my back like a backpack, while carrying a sizable quiver made of cmity-leather that was holding 20 ballista bolts at a time. Each bolt was severely reduced in length and diameter due to the decrease of size that the Fortcracker Mk II went through in its modification. However, this portable ballista didn''t lose a single bit of its firepower. In fact, its power was increased thanks to the new materials. "It is starting." [P¨¥d¨©c¨¡b¨­ ego v¨­s et irrum¨¡b¨­!!@&%] A rippling wave was seen on the far horizon of the dimming sky, together with an eerie chime that could be heard on the back of the ears, whispering, and manipting those of weak-willed hearts to consume itself from the inside. [A special type Cmity Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] Ah, this notification again. It was the same kind of opening prompt when the Hollow Star appeared. "You look rather perplexed, Narcy." "I was... Though now, I don''t think that I''m as perplexed." ¡ª [The Withering Sentinel] [Description: A colossal stone guardian of unknown dimension and origin, the Withering Sentinel stands watch over a forgotten, forbidden ne with its judging presence. It does not move unless provoked, it does not move unless asked for help¡ªbut once awakened, it will rip logic and concept away into cascading chaos. A protector that mustn''t be deified, a god that must wither away] [Hint: The greatest act of precaution is to let it wither away] ¡ª A Cmity Object with vague information screen and hint section, definitely something that wasn''t asmon as the one we encountered on thest ordeal. And thank whatever god that exist in this world, even if they didn''t exist¡ªHollow Star was noting for the second round. Still though, the the description mentioned a colossal stone guardian, but I didn''t see anything that resemble- "Ah¡­" "Are you seeing what I''m seeing?" Verina uttered. "Definitely, it is as clear as a maddening, spiraling moon with its mere size alone." The Withering Sentinel towered over the horizon, a monstrous shadow frozen against the dying light, as if reality itself recoiled from its presence. Its form was jagged and alien, too vast toprehend fully. The air around it warped and wavered, not with heat, but as though the fabric of the world was struggling to hold together in its proximity. "Have you encountered this Cmity Object before, Verina?" "Nope. It''s my first time seeing it. I assume that it''s the same with you too." "Indeed," I said, knowing the full fact that I barely knew any Cmity Object before yesterday. "I know how to deal with it, however." "As expected of Narcy-" "We don''t deal with it." It did not move, yet something about it suggested a presence beyond the physical¡ªan awareness that prated the mind without words, a gaze that bore into the soul from across thend. Where its face should have been, there was nothing but a hollow void, yawning and endless, pulling at the edges of consciousness like a whisper from a ce that should not exist. In the gathering gloom ofthe sky, the Sentinel''s stillness felt less like dormancy and more like a restrained chaos, barely contained. It was a thing out of time and reason, bound to this ne by forces that defied understanding. To approach even knowing of its existence, it was as if you''re feeling your mind unravel, logic slipping away in fragments, reced by an overwhelming sense of insignificance. The Sentinel did not watch with eyes, yet it watched¡ªan endless, indifferent observation, as though it was waiting for the moment to tear reality apart. And nothing happened for an hour afterward. "Looks the ordeal is being dormant, huh," Verina attempted a chuckle, which was the most in and cardboard chuckle that I ever seen and heard. "Very different from yesterday." Where were all of the Cmity Objects!? Amidst the absence of threat in this Carcosa''s night, I ended up crafting a chess set that both Verina and I indulged after I taught her the rules and concept of the game. "This is fun." "I''m surprised that you learned the game this quickly," I wryly chuckled, trying to mask the fact that I blundered a move and Verina had the option to checkmate me if she knew what she was doing. "Checkmate." She knew what she was doing. And just like the hint section of the Withering Sentinel said, we let the looming chaos of destruction wither by just simply ignoring it. Chapter 54: Calming Night "Looks like the Ordeal decided to no longer stay dormant," Verina began chambering spells into her musket. "I can finally see the Fortcracker Mk II being used in an actual battle situation." Carried on her beck was a sturdy backpack made by the same material that was used to create the Soulthread Aegis. Inside, was the cryopreserved head of Lupina. We couldn''t really leave Lupina''s head lingering on the storage in case that there might be a Cmity Object that was much more destructive than warranted. Carrying it around the battlefield might also prove dangerous, but the one carrying it was a woman who floated above a pair of flying wheels. ¡ª [The Screaming Widow] [Description: This spindly, multi-limbed creature is covered in sharp, bone-like spines. The Screaming Widow moves with unnerving grace, letting out an ear-piercing shriek that paralyzes its prey. Its attackse in the form of rapid strikes from its jagged limbs, and its screams can cause vertigo and hallucinations, leaving its victims disoriented] [Hint: The Widow''s scream warps perception, creating illusory doubles of itself that attack from all angles. Bastioneers must figure out which "Widow" is real, as attacking the illusions will lead to exhaustion and confusion. Its weakness lies in its reliance on sound, so countering with sound-canceling devices or overwhelming noise can disrupt its ability to scream] ¡ª It was the first Cmity Object that decided to invade this bastion. "That thing looks unnerving. Should I shoot it?" Verina suggested. "Your lifeline is more precious than my ballista bolt." "I take that as a no." Despite the name, the Screaming Widow was in a state of eerie silence. Its description didn''t do justice to what we were seeing in our direction, creepily moving forward at a chaotic pace. This whole entity''s gimmick looked like pain in the ass if dealt at close range, especially since aggroing the Widow at the slightest might cause it to scream. Fortunately, we had a method of disposing a moderately-moving Cmity Object from afar without a prolonged time of engagement. In less than three seconds, I had already deployed my Fortcracker Mk II with its bolt loaded and ready. All I needed was to aim to pull the lever andunch this bulk of pain onto those that were unfortunate enough to be its target. "Hmmph!" The air around the ballista was crackled, the torsion arms pulled taut like a coiled storm had its fury unleashed. The massive bolt tore through the air with a deafening whistle, cutting a path through the translucent mist the Widow had woven around itself. Imminent, the sharpened piece of wood that gleamed with a deadly edge of air friction, struck true¡ªpiercing through the Widow''s spindly limbs and embedding its bone-like carapace to a far ground several meters away. The creature let out a final, distorted wail¡ªits many limbs iling as it crumpled under the force of the impact. I shoot out another bolt as an attempt of precaution, ensuring that there would be no more scream expelled from that sickening corpse. After all, it wouldn''t be a stretch that the dead can still cream in the middle of the Ordeal. And I doubted that a single hit was enough when ites to anything that the Ordeal threw at us. "There are multiple of them now, manifesting from thin air," Verina reported. "It''s not actively trying to engage forward." "Leave them be, they are the illusion created by thatst dying scream." I began packing back my trusty Fortcracker Mk II into its copsed form, holstering them to my back. "Better to save our breath. The night is still young." Just as expected, the illusion slowly died out as it mindlessly linger on the faraway perimeter without any purpose. That Cmity Object was definitely a dangerous one if interacted without any kind of wisdom or precaution. Because of that, I deem this ability of mine to look through their information screen to be staggeringly powerful. "Remember, while my knowledge of any Cmity Objects we face sound irrefutably dependable, I''m incapable of digesting every aspect of them as they are not easily handed to me." I said before chomping on the mystery meatballs that I prepared as ration for the whole night. "Always make sure to expect me to not know one or two aspects of any Cmity Object we face." "And I''ll make sure to voice out my own knowledge in case that we encounter anything that is familiar to me." Verina was also snacking on the meatball, but there was a visible revolting reaction to her bodily gesture. Despite that, she was the one who ate it the most. "That way, we can make our understanding of our enemies much more solid." "Don''t eat too many meatballs in one go, you''ll get meat-sweats and get sleepy." "What in the world is meat-sweats?" Verina asked, before taking out her Potion of Lifeline that had been repurposed to Potion of Thirst-quenching. "When you eat a lot of meat or rich-protein food, your body works extra harder to digest all that food. Your metabolism speeds up, which produces more heat. You''ll then get hotter and then sweaty. "Excessive sweating can make you extremely tired and sleepy," I said as I snatched the meatball from her hand. "Your kind is already heating and sweating a lot, and doing it when the Ordeal is around is not a good idea." "Huh¡­ that makes a lot of sense. I didn''t really think about it." "Also, I intentionally make these meatballs taste mediocre, why are you inhaling it like it''s nothing¡­" "Your mediocre food is still top notch food for me," Verina said before snatching the meatball back from my hand. "Though, you''re wrong on one thing. We kilnn aren''t normal humans." "Mmm, I guess that is not exactly unwarranted for a half-human half-heater." "Said the half-fairy half-deforester." Another 30 minutes of downtime dawned upon us, until it was the time to encounter the next wave of Cmity Object. ¡ª [The Vitruvian Drone] [Description: A grotesque, spider-like creature whose body follows an unnatural, almost mechanical symmetry. Every movement is calcted, every strike precise, as if following a blueprint of perfect violence. Its many eyes focus on ws in its prey, seeking out imperfections to exploit with deadly efficiency] [Hint: The creature''s attacks are nearly impossible to avoid unless its patterns are disrupted, forcing it into a state of imbnce where it bes vulnerable to chaotic, unpredictable strikes] ¡ª This time, it was a horde of Vitruvian Drones, consisting of 25 of them marching from the faraway in. It was quite the jump, from fighting a single widow, to 25 killer spider robots¡ªa grotesque one at that. Chapter 55: The Faceless Gaze "This is getting a little bit apparent," Verinamented. "Yep." Our footprint size from thest version of the bastion still lingered in thisnd. So even though we had already downsized the scale of our current defensive perimeters, the Cmity Objects couldn''t spawn or manifest anywhere near thend where it was formerly inhabited by walls, traps, and trenches. This made all of the active-threat Cmity Objects we encountered today to spawn so far away from our current version of the bastion. "Verina, prepare to engage," I ordered as I deployed my Fortcracker Mk II. Just like when we were fighting the Bloodhound, this type of Cmity Object most often came in the form of hordes of the same type of entities. Most often than not, this kind of ''horde-type'' Cmity Object didn''t possess any kind of crucial orplicated gimmick other than fighting them normally as if they were a normal angered beast in this world. The Vitruvian Drones were one such example. They moved with an eerie gait as they stride into the night, but they didn''t serve as a fatal threat to the bastion unless we failed to prevent their advancement. "They started to form a formation." Verina cycled another spell into the chamber of her musket. "Will there be any pattern that I need to know of?" "No need. Disrupt their movement and they will go into a chaotic berserk state, that is all that I know of them." "Then I''ll dly assume that they have something in their sleeves when they manage to get close." Verina hit the ground in the middle of the Vitruvian Drones'' formation. Immediately after, a vacuum of air started to form before a catastrophic explosion of hot mist was dispersed into the surrounding area. "In the middle of that explosion, there is a patch of ground that has been converted into what is essentially, a reactive bomb." "The mist you created there isbustible, isn''t it?" I loaded another bolt into my portable ballista. Verina gave me a firm thumbs up. "Alright~" Locked and affirmative, that patch of reactive ground had be the next destination of my furious ballista projectile. What happened afterward was a spiraling column of shredding pyres and heat trying to reach the sky, unleashing hell to those within its vicinity. "Looks like the chemistry lesson paid more than it was given," I said with a gleeful smile, observing the beautiful explosive art in the distance. "I can create an even bigger chain reaction if you want." "Preserve your lifeline." Verina paused for a moment, "I almost misheard that as ''preserve your bloodline'', thinking that you''re trying to court me or something." "... Fun fact, there are mites crawling on your eyshes right now, and there''s nothing you can physically do about it-" "AAAA- I didn''t hear anything! Not a single thinging out of your mouth!" Without muchplication, we seeded at fending off the horde of Vitruvian Drones from our turf. However, unlike thest time, the Ordeal didn''t give us much of a downtime to rest andze around. ¡ª [The Faceless Gaze] [Description: A shadowy, humanoid figure with no face but an overwhelming, oppressive presence. It follows individuals, always standing at the edge of their vision, yet no matter how quickly they turn to look, it''s never there. The Faceless Gaze feeds on paranoia, subtly warping reality so that the colonists question who is watching them¡ªand why] [Hint: The longer the Gaze is allowed to linger, the more extreme its effects. Bastioneers begin to turn on each other, suspecting betrayal or covert surveince, and may sabotage the bastion out of fear] ¡ª "I stumbled upon this Cmity Object before," Verina outright imed. "Though, in case you don''t know the context, are you aware of the Cmity Object that is haunting us right now?" "Indeed," I chuckled. "That thing is appearing in the corner of my sight,fortably admiring my face with such passion." "Same, that entity has a good taste." "So, since you''re experienced with this Cmity Object, any input? "I don''t know any method on how to deal with it, since it''s never lingering in the same spot for more than a second after it is perceived by those that were haunted by it." Verina''s eyes could be seen jumping back and forth, confirming her uncertainty. "Seeing that you also saw the entity, then it''s usible that there are two of them, with each of them haunting one of us." For the next hour, the Ordeal appeared to be gentle with us since it didn''t send any kind of Cmity Object since the Faceless Gazes started to appear in our peripheral vision. "This is annoying¡­" "I''m already used to this, don''t know about you, Narcy." This might be my worst Cmity Object I had ever faced yet. Because since the appearance of the Faceless Gaze, my Sanity has been rapidly decreasing ever since. And now it had already went down to 60% despite my best effort to keep it high above 75% The description of Cmity Object stated that the effect would get worse overtime. This meant that my Sanity had a great chance to lower itself to zero at the most crucial moment of the Ordeal, especially for the Ordeal of the Midnight. Not to mention, the probability of it staying after whatever event that urred when my Sanity reached zero. If my Sanity was replenished right after, it might immediately sky-dive down back to zero. On the other hand, Verina''s Sanity didn''t suffer any major decrease from the haunting of the Faceless Gaze. It might be due to the fact that she was a kilnn ohrtender. Their mental faculty was beyond human, allowing them to persevere through any kind of negative influence. "I tried to quickly snipe it with my Fortcracker to no avail," I slouched down the table, ying around with the chess piece that was in front of me. "The entity might not affect you as much, Verina, but it''s greatly distressing me as of now." "We did try to snipe the location of the Faceless Gaze rtive to where it positions itself on each other''s line of sight, but they are too fast." Verina leaned her chin on her bridge of palms, pondering. "I have always tried to shoot at them without aiming with my eyes, but it never hits its target for some reason, even if Iced my spell projectile with a seeking spell." "What is the story behind your first encounter with this Cmity Object?" I asked. "It happened while we''re seeking refuge in a rather strong bastion, around 7 months ago," Verina showcased seven of her fingers as she said that. "I got haunted by one, but nobody believed me outside of an exceptional few. Some, however, ridiculed me for stating my experience." "You''re still with Lupina at this time, right?" "Yup, she is one of the individuals who ridiculed me for believing myself to be haunted by a fictional Cmity Object." "Looks like a fun time." "A fun time, indeed." Verina nodded. "She only believed me after I punched her noggin." Of course, suffering through the influence of the Faceless Gaze for the whole night was not the only option I have. Chapter 56: Clay For The Clay Pot The Withering Sentinel''s description suggested that I could ask for its help or protection in some enigmatic way, but doing so would definitely activate the towering menace from its withering slumber. "I only realized this as ofte, Narcy," Verina started. "Hmm? What''s up?" "You''re scared of ghosts, are you?" "How preposterous of you to assume so." "You looked more terrified of the Faceless Gaze than I expected, out of all the Cmity Objects we faced." "That is a fair assessment. Not a correct one, however." "I find the concept funny, considering that a fairy is somewhat of a nature spirit. In a way, you''re a physical manifestation of a ghost, who is afraid of ghosts." "That is, an interesting train of thought¡­" I snickered. "Even though it ispletely wrong." The next hour was also filled with peace from the Ordeal''s side. The Faceless Gazes, however, still linger, and my sanity was still decreasing because of them. Now that I think about it, my sanity was so much easier to influence than the rest. I started reading through the massive pile of stats within my Info section of my detail screen, and I happened to find one stats that might be corrted to my current problem. [Psychic Sensitivity: 1290%] For reference, Verina''s Psychic Sensitivity was 200%. That was like, six times higher than the person who cast psionic reality-bending miracles through her musket! [Psychic Sensitivity: More sensitive people suffer more from negative psychic effects, and benefit more from positive ones. Higher psychic sensitivity also increases their neural heat for ohrtending and psionic activity] That was the description that popped up when I interacted with the status. "I need to do something about this¡­" Just before I decided to take an action, the Ordeal gifted us with a presence of a rather entric Cmity Object. ¡ª [The Whispering y] [Description: The Whispering y is an amorphous, living substance that can be molded into any shape or structure, but it never fully solidifies. It seems to whisper faintly, as if it holds the secrets of its creations just out of reach. The y can form a temporary tools, bridges, or walls, offering versatile and correct solutions to any immediate needs, but it eventually crumbles to dust] [Hint: The Whispering y''s creations are invaluable in a pinch, allowing the bastion to solve problems quickly. However, the more the bastion relies on the Whispering y, the more fragile and unreliable it bes. Tools made from it degrade rapidly, and structures built with it mysteriously vanish at critical moments, leaving the colony vulnerable] ¡ª "That is a living, sentient y," Verina pointed out. "Yup, that is definitely a living, sentient y." It spawned inside the perimeter of the bastion, meaning that this Cmity Object was the ''interactable'' kind that would either screw you up in the long run, screw you up immediately, or offer immense assistance and benefits if one knew how to properly interact with it. "There something lies behind the face of the Yellow King. A hole that begets secrets. A hole that is protected by the Crawling One." The y whispered to me, it was saying some nonsense that was slowly bing a catalyst for enlightenment, an enlightenment that might consume me as a whole. So I tried to not think much about it. I already had the Faceless Gaze sapping my Sanity, I didn''t want a sentient eldritch y to spout horror at my ear. Wait, if I got whispered by the y, then Verina should also be the same. "Does it say anything mind-breaking to you, Verina?" Verina''s hand trembled as she tried to construct her sentence. "The y¡­ it is telling me¡­" "What does it tell you?" "It tells me a recipe for the concoction of a debauched potion¡­" Despite her shivering body, she looked me in the eyes with her eternal poker face. "The Potion of Grow Rod." "..." "... I''m not kidding, that thing embedded every piece of the recipe to my head, to the point that I can recite the ingredients and methods alongside its alternative to grow ''that'' rod on your crotch." Such an absurd and bizarre statement removed me from my state of confusion, allowing me to think clearly again. "And so, why does the y decide that it is best to tell you such knowledge outside of the many enlightenments that can be found?" "Probably because you teased me too much back on the river." Her poker-faced gaze tried to escape me. "And that event has been living in my mind ever since." "I''m cleansing your body and maintaining your hygiene, there are no lustful notes in any of my actions¡­" "Your soft, pale, pretty, and nimble hands are all over me, Narcissus. Not a single person in this world can stay calm when you do that to someone!" "That just entuates your perversion." Well, at least it wasn''t dangerous knowledge that would incapacitate her. I probably need to keep an eye on things that she is picking and taking interest in, however. The stupid revtion aside. This y might be the key to my sanity salvation. "I know that my image in your eyes is not the best right now," Verina said as she embarrassingly scratched her cheek with her index finger. "My image of you doesn''t change just because you''re a pervert, so don''t worry." My image of her actually worsened after this incident. I thought that it could never get any lower, but she always proved me wrong every single time. Once again, Verina''s perverted demeanor aside, I found the key to fix the problem that I was currently having right now. Standing in front of the Whispering y, I leaned in and whispered back my wishes for the solution of the Faceless Gaze problem. "Save us from the Faceless Gaze," I said. "Transform into something that is capable of erasing them from existence." And before long, the y whispered back. "Your whisper is my promise to fulfill." The Whispering y began to transform into the correct tool for the correct solution to deal with the haunting of the Faceless Gaze. And in this case, the tool that the y turned into was not something that was safe to be perceived by any human mind. Crawling, spiraling¡ªa god-shaped reliquary that was praying to thend beyond the living, it began to perform gentle cleansing to eradicate a specific entity from thisnd. Itsst whisper was a prayer. Before we knew it, reality went back to normal, and we were no longer haunted by the Faceless Gaze anymore. However, the image of the ''tool'' that it was taken from in order to solve our problem would never ever go away from our mind. Albeit still living, we felt as if something was broken ever since that encounter with the Whispering y. "I''m traumatized by anything y-rted, now¡­" "Me too, Verina, me too¡­" "I''m still thankful for the recipe, however." "... Thank you for always bringing me back to reality with your bizarre statement." While we might have felt that something precious was taken away from us, our ambition to fulfill our goal and aspiration was unchanged. So, we decided to live on, taking this ursed, non-removable memory in our heart. We also took a good hit on our Sanity. As of now, my Sanity was 40%, and Verina''s Sanity was 60%. Because of that, since the Ordeal haven''t decided to throw any threat into our bastion, we decided to make a new board game to entertain ourselves, and distract us from the horror that was inhabiting thisnd. Chapter 57: Dungeon & Dumbass "You notice the in drape over the lord''s shoulder wasn''t even a cape at all, but a grafted sheet of undead skin. You have an inkling that his idiotic servant mustn''t have the slightest clue of the faker pretending to be his lord." "I cast a fireball at the servant," Verina said, preparing her dice. "And what is your reasoning behind that action?" "The servant does not err when he speaks and can still properly function as a servant, and thus, he is not really idiotic." Verina dramatically pointed her index finger forward. "He is an underling who works under the same banner of that faker." "The servant immediately revealed himself to be a shapeshifting devil as he disrupted your casting concentration. Following him, the fake lord transformed into a brute giant of hulking muscle. Turns out, the servant has been the mastermind all along. Heughs at how foolish you are to hastily confront him alone and secluded from everyone else in the town." "Huh, now I regret not saving the knight that ising with me." "You killed that knight by intentionally casting fireballs at him for absolutely no reason." "I should have picked necromancer as a ss when making my character board¡­" After themotion with the Faceless Gaze and the Traumatizing y, I introduced Verina to Dungeon and Devil. We had been in a single yer campaign for thest half hour with me acting as the dungeon master, and it had been enjoyable so far. "I think we have regained enoughposure to maintain our consciousness throughout the Ordeal," I said as I packed the dice and models away from the board. "Cmity Object is starting to appear once again." "Tch, we''re getting to the good part," Verina voiced her discontent, albeit still fairly poker-faced. ¡ª [The Silent Bell] [Description: The Silent Bell is an enormous apparition suspended in the air by unseen forces, swaying gently, though it never makes a sound. Despite its size, the Bell is impossible to ring. However, once in an ordeal, it emits a deep, bone-shaking vibration that disrupts all noise for miles around, plunging thend into total silence] [Hint: While under the influence of the Silent Bell''s vibration,munication is impossible. However, during these periods of silence, creatures that hunt by sound are rendered harmless, and stealth bes much easier. If destroyed, the Bell leaves behind Silent Fragments, it that can be used to craft weapons or tools that generate no noise, perfect for stealth operations] ¡ª Huh, I didn''t expect for the hint section of the information screen to just outright tell me that I could utilize parts of the Cmity Object if I were to destroy it. It was either a rare thing or my luck with the Cmity Object encounter yesterday was not the best at the time. "Ah, I remember this one," Verina proudly puffed her chest as she rested her hands on her hips. "This thing rang at the most crucial moment where the bastion is fending up an enormous snake that throws thunder at us nonstop, plunging the whole world into disrupted silence for two hours, and we can''tmunicate with each other through voices anymore." "Should we destroy it then?" "Can we even destroy it?" "So you''re saying that your former bastion basically ignored this Cmity Object until dawn arrived?" "In our defense, we are afraid that the bell will ring once again after it disorients the whole bastion, so we just leave it be. It disappeared the moment we reached the horizon of dawn." As such, we decided to gun it down with Fortcracker Mk II. The bell cracked and began to deconstruct itself slowly into numerous pieces. We acquired a good chunk of Silent Fragments because of that. "I can''t believe this," Verina said with baffled hand motion. "What, what?" "In this case, we can preemptively destroy it before it can do anything." I chuckled. "Just don''t expect that the rest of our Cmity Object interaction can end this smoothly." "Knowledge is power, indeed¡­" After dealing with the bell, we were hit with another Cmity Object manifestation not longer after. Thankfully, it wasn''t anything with the severity and difficulty as the Faceless Gaze. ¡ª [The Coalborn] [Description: A horde of sentient embers swirls into the shape of a humanoid figure, formed from the ash and soot of countless extinguished fires. The Coalborn roam thend afterrge forest fires or any kind of fiery incident, feeding on the remains of burnt wood and cinders, sparking new zes wherever they go] [Hint: The Coalborn can be lured away from the colony by offering freshly cut wood or controlled burns. Upon dispersing them, they leave behind Charstone, a strange, ckened relic that can keep fires burning endlessly, but burns uncontrobly if not carefully managed, risking a ze toorge to contain] ¡ª The hint had already given us a suggested method to deal with them, but their threat could easily be dispersed by Verina''s spells attached to the ammunition of my Fortcracker Mk II. After bombarding them with me-retardant spells, their existence was no more, and there wasn''t even arge fire that was left in their wake because I had already deforested enough for none of them to catch on fire. "The Ordeal is drastically different with and without the Hollow Star, huh," I expressed as I stretched my muscles. "However, I wonder if the Withering Sentinel also affects the spawn of the Cmity Objects in some way." "It is possible," Verina opened her Potion of Thirst-quenching, which was used to contain a refreshing sanitized water. "Though, I''m an Ohrtender, and not really a Librarian to know everything about the event of the Ordeal." "Despite living for so long?" "Hey, I''m only 50 years old." Which was older than me, even if I brought my ages from my past life as Lothair. "Is all kilnn this young-looking and attractive?" I asked out of curiosity. "Whoa, I''m not used to this ego-stroking, but yes, we aged slower than the average human." "What is the number for the oldest kilnn ever to live?" "Around 200 years or so." "I see." "How about you, Narcissus?" Verina asked. "You asked my age, and so I shall ask yours." "Around twenty-ish," I said, technically not a lie. "Or maybe two thousands, who knows~" "Well, I expected that kind of answer." Verina snapped her finger, turning it into a gun-gesture. "Regardless, I doubt that someone with that motherly-hips of yours is any innocent, if you know what I mean." ''"Fun fact-" "I''m sorry! I identally slipped!" It seemed like fun facts were not enough to fully deter this pervert from ying with fire. Chapter 58: The Veil Of Night Before we knew it, we already reached the Ordeal of the Midnight. [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 1 minute_] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Both Verina and I immediately positioned ourselves within the 2 meters deep trenches, taking precautions to any sudden attack that would immediately be sent into our bastion the moment the clock hit midnight. [Qu¨© m¨¥ ex v!ersicu!l¨©s me¨©s put?¨¡stis, quod!? su?nt mollicul¨©, par!?um pud¨©c?um!!] And yup, that eerie message appeared once again like thest time, signaling the time of midnight. [A special type Cmity Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] Ah, it looked like it won''t be spawning any Qliphoth Object for today''s Ordeal of the Midnight. ¡ª [The Veil of Night] [Description: A dense, unnatural fog that rolls in without warning, nketing the bastion in a thick, imprable darkness. Within the Veil of Night, time and space seem to distort, and strange, shadowy figures can be seen moving just out of sight. The air grows cold and damp, and all light sources are dimmed, barely able to prate the gloom] [Hint: The Veil of Night offers an opportunity to harvest rare, ethereal materials that only appear within the fog. However, venturing into the Veil is perilous, as the shadowy figures within are hostile and nearly invisible. The fog also warps reality, causing individuals to be disoriented and lost, potentially forever] ¡ª Nevermind, this Cmity Object sounded equal if not worse than a Qliphoth Object. Unless it does what I think it will. "Ah, this veil again¡­" Verina muttered. Just as the Midnight arrives, the Veil of Night descends like a living entity, unfurling across the wholend and sky outside of the bastion''s perimeters with an eerie silence. The once-familiar moonlightedndscape was swallowed by an imprable, unnatural fog that rolled in with a malevolent ease. Those darkness writhed and stretched as if animated by some unseen force, their forms flickering just beyond the edge of perception. The air thickened with dampness, and any attempt to light a torch orntern only reveals faint, waning glows that barely cut through the oppressive gloom. "What is your experience with this Cmity Object, Verina?" "Not so fun," Verina replied with a bitter voice. "I''ve lost a couplerades to this wretched fog. However, the two of us will be safe as long as we stay inside our bastion, and never y around the skirt where the curtain of darkness awaits." "And yourrades didn''t know this information when you encountered it for the first time." "None of us knew¡­And thus, we paid the price for our recklessness and obliviousness." Time seemed to fragment within the Veil, the usual flow of moments bending and twisting as reality itself warps and wavers. The very essence of the fog definitely distorts space as the information screen suggested, making familiar paths andndmarks vanish into an abyss of obscurity. That must be why Verina lost herrades. Not because they couldn''t fight the entities within it. "On the good side, I remembered that no other Cmity Object ever manifested itself when this phenomenon urred." Verina scooted around beforending herselffortably resting on the wooden chair in front of the table where we did our Dungeon and Devil session. "Of course, outside of the non-hostile one, since they could still manifest inside the territory of our bastion." "Welp, this will be quite the long night then," I said as I reached out the Dungeon and Devil set that I deliberately craft, hoping to soothe the mood now that we had free 12 hours of unnatural darkness outside. "Want to continue the session." "... Very dly." We dove back into our game with a sense of both relief and anticipation. However, Verina requested to just start with a new session and story. The session started with Verina''s new character, a necromancer who decided to step outside itsir because she was bored. Like always, I relied on Sir Aethe to fill me in with unique encounters and overarching events that were happening within the session. At one point, Verina overthrew an underworld''s mafia organization and became their new leader, before deciding to pick a stray barbarian to be in charge as she continued treading toward a newnd. ''Managing an organization sounds like a pain in the ass'' were the very words that Verina uttered after she made that decision. As we proceeded, we delved into a subplot where Verina''s character discovered an ancient artifact with ties to forgotten deities, setting the stage for a deeper narrative involving celestial conflicts and forbidden magic. Her character ended up bing a part of the eldritch mind-hive that exists beyond human''s perceived reality, which ended the campaign, and prompted a new one. The hours stretched on, the sessions blending into a series of gripping adventures and dark mysteries, providing a wee distraction from the unnerving darkness outside. Each roll of the dice and every stupid, outright moronish, strategic decision helped to momentarily push away the shadows of reality, binding us together in a sense of weird camaraderie. At one point, Verina wanted to try bing a Dungeon Master. It was a mess, the story was outright incoherent, albeit somewhat fun. "The dawn is here," Verina said as theforting orange dye began painting the clearing sky, banishing the Veil of Night away into the faraway darkness where nothing ever reached. "That was a fun one." In the end, we absolutely forgot that the Withering Sentinel existed. Regardless, my second night in this world was an utter sess. Not only that we were lucky to have such ax Ordeal, but I also found a new yer to y Dungeon and Devil with. I used to be a Dungeon Master a lot when I was still in my college''s theater club, and my session with Verina reminded me a lot of that time. "Mmm¡­" Maybe my time back on Earth wasn''t all that bad. Chapter 59: Third Day Living In Carcosa As fate cued the curtain call of the Ordeal, we were exposed to the sunlight of Carcosa once again. Although I doubted that we could call it sunlight, since the luminescence mostly derived from the shining rings around what I perceive to be a literal ck hole. Should it be more proper to call it ck light then? "Never would have thought that I would be scavenging the remains of Cmity Objects, after diligently avoiding them in fear of any kind of anomalies," Verina said as she helped me carve what was left of the charred Vitruvian Drones. "What do people do to the remains of the Cmity Object then?" I asked. "We either cremate them, or bring them to the people who need them for a good chunk of bloodie coins." "Burning them sounds like a lot of waste." "Hmmhmm, considering the amount of incidents rted to interacting with the dead remains of Cmity Objects, most adventurer and bastioneer alike prefer to stay clear from these remains." "Theck of knowledge on which one to take and to not take, I assume. How about the people who need them?" "Librarians who want to record them, specialists who dealt with Cmity Object to uncover their secret, which is surprisingly a much more dangerous job than a bastioneers, apparently." Verina watched closely as I delicately weaved my Emberfang knight to separate the parts highlighted by my Gloamkeeper''s Beacon. "And also the Anthropriest." Anthropriest¡­ They were one of the major existence within the info dumps I received, and I couldn''t wait to encounter them in the future. "Say, what are we nning with the Silent Fragments from the bells and that Charstone we retrieved earlier?" Verina asked with enthusiasm. The Silent Bell left behind Silent Fragments when we destroyed it. ording to the information screen, this material can be used to craft weapons or tools that generate no noise. As for the Charstone, it was a ckened relic that can keep fires burning endlessly if lit with one. Though, it would eventually be bigger and uncontroble if not properly managed. "Our Soulthread Aegis garbs don''t really need much improvement, since attaching any new material would demand a full reconstruction¡­ But I can see that we can create a close range weapon with it. It is not final yet. "As for the Charstone, I''m nning to see if we can use it as some sort of infinite source of fuel for something like a transportation vessel." I smirked. "We can''t stay here if we want to hunt for Theotechs and bring Lupina back to her two feets." "Lupina can wait," said the person who was carrying the cryopreserved head on her backpack. "My preservation spell is perfect. She can probablyst a decade without fatal degeneration on her tissue." "As expected of a kilnn." "Not all kilnn is as wondrous as me, though." As we transported the materials back to our bastion''s storage with a logistic carriage, Verina was struck with an enlightenment mid journey. "What about using the Silent Fragment for the Fortcracker?" Verina spouted out of nowhere. "That thing makes a lot of noise when you deploy it from its copsed form." "... I''ll take that idea." And then a chain reaction of enlightenment began to spread to the nerves of thoughts. "We can also make a special reusable bolt ammunition." "So, when do we start?" "After both of us are fully rested, obviously." I found out that both Verina and my Sanities returned greatly after we went through that 12 hours campaign session. If my hypothesis wasn''t wrong, then exercising what I deem enjoyable and time-worth was able to replenish my Sanity back after it was affected by the nightmarish horrors of the Ordeal. And it should apply to everyone too. Thus, resting and recreation time might be a much more valuable thing to have in Carcosa as its inhabitants. My Sanity was currently at 78% right now, and I hoped that I could regte it back to 100% before the Ordeal of the Dusk arrived. "So, what are you waiting for?" Verina emotionless cooed as she opened her arms on the bed, as if waiting for me to jump onto her. "Let''s continue our yesterday''s bonding." "... I''ll make another bed." "Wait-!" Verina''s grabbed my hand, holding me from exiting the bedroom. "At least talk with me a little bit." "What are you? A desperate concubine?" "I see that you''re starting to see me as one¡­ Wait, you already have someone in your heart?" Not necessarily. I didn''t have anyone as my love interest, even back then on Earth. I remembered being swarmed by my female peers who wanted to take advantage of my look for their own benefit, so I often steered clear of any bait for intersex rtionship bonding. Then again, I''m not exactly a man in this world, but the way Verina deem me as one reminded me of that time I had in college. "If I were to have one, I would have already imed them for myself, don''t you think so?" "Hmm, that''s a good reason." We ended up lying side to side on the bed for no reason. This might be how females bond with one another in this world''s setting, so I didn''t really have any reason to refuse since it didn''t demerit me in any way. Not to mention, Verina has been my greatest asset since I arrived in this world. Putting our rtionship into anything awkward would only sour our chances to survive. "I realized that I never asked you this before, since I thought that Lupina had already done the deed first," Verina went silent for a moment. "What is a fairy''s view about things like love and rtionships?" "I think you''re asking the wrong fairy." "Then what is your view about it?" "Depending on the individuals, I see it as a factor that needs to be maintained and cared for if you want to have an enjoyable environment." "What is your opinion of me?" Chapter 60: Path Of Love And Relationships "As of now?" I tried to reconfirm. "Yeah, as of now," Verina confirmed. "You''re a valuable kilnn with great potential, a dependable ohrtender, a creative Dungeon and Devil yer, and a surprisingly nice friend to have." "That is¡­ a little bit too positive, especiallying out from you." "I deliberately removed all of my negative impressions of you." I snickered. "Want to hear it?" "No thanks." "As I thought." I also didn''t mention that having someone to be here and preventing me from fighting the nightmare alone was already a great positive in my eyes. But I don''t want to admit to that. "It''s my time to ask you a question," I said. "What is your opinion of Lupina?" "You don''t want to hear my opinion of you?" "Your opinion of me is already clear as the river''s reflection goes." "Lupina, huh." She sighed to rx her mind. "She is a great friend, and probably one of the closest one I had since my time being a wayward ohrtender in this world. I like her attentiveness when things get awry, and she can be a little bit protective when I can rely on her." "Sounds a little bit too positive." "I deliberately removed all of my negative impressions of her." Verina shrinked her gaze, which was her own way to show her gremlin side "Want to hear it?" "No thanks, save that for the actual person when we revive her." "Pfft." In time of rest, we remove half of our Soulthread Aegis since it could get pretty hot in the middle of day. At this moment, it dawned on me that despite having a woman''s body, I''m currently in the close proximity of another half naked woman that had been lusting from the first day of our meeting¡ªwho was also in the possession of a cryopreserved head of someone who had been lusting me ever since we met. "Say, Narcy, have you met anyone other than us before we arrive?" Verina asked. Eyes pointed above to the ceiling. "I''m not an anti-social hermit, so of course I have." Not exactly a lie. "What is your type in men then?" "I have no interest in men, if that''s the answer you''re seeking." "So, do you swing ''that'' way then?" Considering my situation and who I am before I got into Carcosa, I''m proud to say that having a female body didn''t really change much of my opinionated sexuality, especially since the whole body-change didn''t really affect my mental all that much. It was as if this body was perfectly calibrated to be piloted by me, even the absurd dexterity of my fingers and hands were just a steroid version of my actual handicraft ability. "Hypothetically, if I were to choose to be forced to be in a marriage and make a family, I would probably choose to marry another woman. Possibly adopting a child if I can''t use magic and weird supernatural things to have an heir." "That is strangely a fairly normal way of thinking for a fairy." "Are you implying that most fairy is a cuckoo?" "The rumor assumes so." She stopped for a second. "Does this mean that both Lupina and I have a chance with you?" "This makes me want to ask now. Do you swing ''that'' way?" "Not always, you''re an exception in my book." "d that I''m perfect enough for you to do so." "Heh, I like this haughty side of you." "I can be anything you like, if you say the word." "I want a motherly and obedient Narcissus," she immediately answered, not even blinking an eye. "Who won''t hurl cursed knowledge at me, while also pampering me with a lot of love and attention." "I can be anything except the things you like." This moment of interacting with Verina reminded me of thest interaction that I had with a member of my original family. ''Mmm~! Don''t forget to bring a girlfriend or two when you get back here from working on your current project, alright?'' was thest thing that my big sister asked of me, now that I thought of it. Should I fulfill this request as my way of honoring her, now that my life is looking to be much more stable without the presence of that ursed facial obsession? I still held a belief that a family must be formed toy the foundation of love and longing between two sides of an individual. But a girlfriend or two? Was my sister insane? Could a family made with such a foundation could even survive for long? Then again, as of now, the way of thinking that the inhabitants of Carcosa possessed must be different albeit simr to real life. I possessed zero tolerance for adultery, even if it was only for benefits. I want my important one to put me on a pedestal as I put them equally on my end. As such, I abhor the concept of polygamy, since it implies that both my beloved and I could have a second or third person in our lives. In this scenario, I would prefer to take the stance of building a ''harem'' if I did end up possessing more than one partner. While a ''harem'' refers to a sacred invible ce; female members of the family with one man as the leader, it could still work for me since I''m technically a man in the soul and mind. And so far, none of the hormone and brain chemicals in this body made me repulsive of that idea. Many might view this as selfish, to have more than one partner while those partners couldn''t have a second person in their life, but I won''t force this concept on them if it was somewhat uneptable to my future partner. "You seem to be drowning in deep thought," Verina said. I didn''t realize that her face was already closer to my breath than she was a few seconds ago. "Care to share what you''re thinking about?" "I''m thinking about building a harem of skillful and capable women." Yes, I want my harem to be made out of meritocracy. "... Never expect this to directlye out from your mouth." It didn''t really matter to me back then since I had only cared about the facial perfection of a person when judging through the worth of their look, but now, I could freely appraise other''s looks without taking my obsessive bias into ount. "Hmm? Something you want from me?" Verina, this deadpan snarker, her face was actually much more beautiful and cuter than the average woman I met in real life. Her thick green eyshes that surrounded herx purple eyes matched the tone of her tomboyish neck-length turquoise hair. She was approximately around 176 cm in height, which was a little bit taller than my current body by one or two centimeters. Looking at her body proportion, she was somewhat petite with an ample bosom to prove her maturity, while also having quite the greatly-developed assets on her body below her thin waist. If I were to say what parts I like the most about her appearance, it would be her surprisingly torpedo-thighs and eyes. Yes, I tried measuring her thighs when I was bathing her on that river out of curiosity. The volume was quite massive. Aside from her perversion, she should have caught an interested gaze from others just by her physicality alone. Though, I doubted that the beauty standard in this world was the same, especially since the developer could have just got their hands on the culture and way of thinking that the inhabitants of Carcosa possessed. Chapter 61: I Shall Rest, My Faulty Mind "You have been eyeing my thighs for quite a while." Verina then started to reveal more of her thighs with her hands, up to her lower undergarment. "Feel free to look as long as you like, even though your hips are broader than mine." "I''m not a pervert like you." Now that I try to look for appearance, even Lupina herself was quite attractive in her own right. Her taller stature and developed muscles was quite an interesting sight to behold when she was her usual, still-breathing self. Why out of the two first people that I met in this world, were they one of the better looking individuals than those I met in real life? "Verina, I have a question for you, and I want you to answer this truthfully?" "Uhm, yes?" "Have you been in a deep rtionship with someone before?" This question was only driven by curiosity since I want to piece something together. "Unfortunately, no," Verina said outright without any hesitation. "I was too much of a weirdo for the average person to the point that my old crush wanted to avoid me the moment I appeared in his sight." "Ouch. So you have been single for your whole life?" "And, what''s the problem?" "For your age?" "Is your end goal to make me feel embarrassed?" "Have you ever done ''that'' with someone?" I said while gesturing my index finger going back and forth a circle I made with my other hand. "You know, the act of procreation, the kind where one person longed for each other very much, they want to insert their sword deep into the other to share their love." "Are you developing a sadistic humiliation fetish??" Verina seemed to be very taken aback by my sudden advancement. She tried to maintain herposure by clearing her throat. "Unfortunately, no. Just as you know, kilnn in average have a low sexdrive, so we don''t think much of that impure stuff, even at old age." "Heh." "This is my first time being annoyed seeing your mocking face." "How about Lupina?" "As far as I knew, it was also the same for her." Verina appeared to be much more restless now that I began sprouting all of these curious questions. "She didn''t care much about being in a rtionship until her meeting with you." Taking into ount that what Verina said happened to be true, then I had been given two very attractive and pure individuals right to my door the moment I arrived in this world. That Loki bastard, was this the future that she envisioned as a Dviniator? Not that I was dissatisfied, but I felt like this Loki individual was sending these two people as some sort of an offering for no reason at all. "Still, what with you suddenly asking this kind of question all of a sudden?" Verina seemed to be pouting, even though there was nothing that could be seen on her deadpan. "Didn''t expect for Mrs. Perverted to be this ufortable when faced against her own spell." "None of my teasing asked you to reveal your personal life," she answered, all while poking her index finger against my cheek. "Then feel free to ask me these personal questions instead of sulking about it!" "Alright then. Have you done it or not!?" "Done what? Eating? Cooking? You need to be specific in your question." "Relieving of sexdrive of others, the act of lust." "Do you think that I haven''t done it after giving Lupina the best relief in her entire life?" I said with a smug face, even though the words that came out of my mouth were a big fat lie. "I had experienced the mostscivious of pleasure town~" "Damn you." Verina proceeded to pinch my cheek to satiate her anger. "Oy, not my beautifully perfect face!" "I hate this beautiful face of yours, because I can''t do anything but to feel enthralled the longer I gaze at it!" "Hueh? I thought you said that my charm is psionic?" "Shut it, don''t make me force a smooch on you." "Heh, as if a virgin even dare." "Hnnggg!" "Wait, wait, stop! You''re too close to my perfect face!" "I''m going to prove to you that I can do it!" "I get it! Stop shoving your face into mine!" After a long-fought battle to protect my purity and dignity, Verina retreated her advance. "Sorry, Verina," I chuckled out of pure amusement. "But the price for an intimate kissing session is not affordable for you yet." "Kuh. Just you wait until I finish the ultimate recipe¡­ then I''ll show you how capable I am¡­" Verina angrily whispered to herself. "I heard that." "You heard nothing." I might be uncertain of what love truly is, and how important it will be for my happiness in this world. But I will try my best to understand it, analyze it, and use it to the best of its existence. Big sis, I''ll try my best to get a girlfriend or two for you. And maybe, by the chance that we connect once again in the future, I will tell all the tales that I have gone through in this world. After that, I will confess my sins. The sins that I hid from all of you. "Stupid Narcy¡­" I heard Verina muttering something in her sleep. If only her face was more expressive than her usual deadpan, I might be able to read what kind of dream she got. "I need to rest as well." And so did I, slumbering my consciousness away into the nevermore. A sleep, as you will. This reminded me, I usually had a good amount of influence to control what I was dreaming about. Though,tely, I slept too fast without having much chance to reach the state of dreaming. Because of this, sleeping had been a preferable choice offort when I was still a man with the name of Lothair. Despite that, I''m not really a big fan of the concept of sleeping itself. Too much of a rest would wear my mind and body down, preventing me from doing my daily day efficiently. Nothing was produced from excess sleeping, and a person with insufficient sleep might suffer a body and energy deterioration that will build up until they are older. So, if possible. I want a body that won''t need any sleep or rest in the future. And to aplish it, simply finding the right Theotech or Cmity object was enough¡ªa game of luck that I needed to keep in track, so I didn''t miss the chance to achieve it. Chapter 62: A Foxy Entrance What was happening¡­? "Is this¡­ blood¡­?" Sharp stinging was crawling all over my muscles. My head felt heavy, dragging down my eyesight with its weight, preventing me from seeing things with rity. But I noticed that the environment was different. Wind brushed my upper body without my Soulthread Aegis garb, and the texture of soil clinging to my bare feet. I was no longer on a bed beside Verina, and I was sitting on top of a foreign body in a foreign apparel. "What the hell¡­" Blood was scattered all over like a sick work of a beast. And then there was the body that I sat atop, a body of a faceless woman with long red hair and a pair of foxy ears. She was wearing a ck gothic lolita dress, the kind of dress with intricatece and ribbonworks, and it wasn''t the kind of cheap dress as well, as I started to see a lot of symbols and mystic texture etched to the fabric. This person must be some sort of a noble or rich individual, the kind of someone that would have a private mansion and guards to protect her. And yet here she was, with her whole face ripped off,ying below me. "Who the hell are you¡­?" I tried to open her detail screen but it didn''t work. Either that I was hallucinating and this body that I sat on was an illusion, or this person was already dead, especially with the amount of blood that was scattered all over the ce. "... I think I need to get out of here." Ignoring this weird incident, I decided to just skedaddle away from this location and try to seek a way back to my bastion. I didn''t know what was happening, but ording to the time indicated by the constant notification for the Ordeal of the Dusk. I could gauge that only two hours had passed after my sleep. Did I sleepwalk? Don''t tell me that this body was actually a somnambulist¡­ But first off, I was worried that this might be rted to my facial obsession. The body had her whole face ripped off in gore. Seeing how many bloods that were on my hands, I might be the sole cause of that. I hope that Verina was fine. "Thankfully, I''m not that far away from my bastion, ahaha." This was quite rming. To exit my own safespace without any kind of weapon and protection, and out of consciousness atop of that¡ªmany things could have gone a lot worse. Then again, I ended up killing a potentially innocent person there. Not to mention, a potentially influential person who would be avenged when the news of her death was found. "This is not a good start to the day." As I reached the outskirts of my bastion, my eyes immediatelytched onto a person who was hovering above the ground using her ming wheels. "Narcy, where have you been?" Verina studied me with her eyes, a gesture of surprise could be seen on how she moved her hands. "You''re half naked, and covered in blood." "Heh, I wish I knew what was happening." "Well, if that is your fetish, you look hot in that get-up. So I don''t mind." I told everything that I experienced so far, and so she informed me of her own point of view when this whole event unfurled. "I was awoken when I could no longer feel your gentle warmth lying beside me, so I immediately got up and tried to search for you inside the bastion" Verina was undoing the spell that she had already chambered into her musket back into a usable lifeline. "After not finding a single clue of your existence, I waited for quite some time, since you rarely exit the bastion for a prolonged amount of time." "There wasn''t anything to do outside the bastion, after all." We already had enough materials and supplies to build a new facility, and we also had a good preserve of water and meat to go along for the entire day. "So¡­ this dead body with an entric outfit, should we check it out?" Verina seemed to be curious about it. "Let me get my garb first." "Alright-" Immediately, Verina was greatly rmed by something. As if forewarned by an impending doom, she immediately chambered a spell into her musket and shot it out to the direction behind me. There, I saw her spell spiraled into prismatic arcane residues, an enigmatic dust-like purple matter of raw presence. As the residues cleared, it revealed the top of aluxurious, ornate ck umbre. Then suddenly, a voice cut through the tension, dripping with icy disdain as the prismatic dust settled around. That person stepped forward, her fancy ck umbre tilted upward, shielding her eyes from even the suggestion of light. There was something eerie about her existence, something akin to an unnatural patch of darkness over coverless ground¡ªan anomaly that was sticking out like a sore thumb. "How rude," she said calmly, as if being attacked was an inconvenience. Below the shade of red eyshes¡ªher red gaze, sharp as her fox-like ears, fixed on Verina with a hint of mocking curiosity. "Is this how you greet your betters? Or should I take it as ttery, that your first instinct was fear?" With this encounter, I reiterated the whole thing I currently saw. This foreigner, her presencemanded the air with an aura of refined arrogance. She stands tall at 170 cm, her figure wrapped in an borate Gothic Lolita fashion with a frilly ck gown and jacket, red ribbon bow tie, a red cross from the front to the back on her dress, and another red X-shaped motif on her ck shawl and skirt. Per aforementioned, a pair of sharp fox ears flicker atop her head, rising above the cascade of long, straight red hair that falls effortlessly to her skirt. Her crimson color contrasts vividly with her ck dress and paleplexion, untouched by sunlight that seems powerless against her. This was the same individual as that dead body that I was awoken to. "Tch." Aggroed, Verina immediately chambered another spell into her musket. "Dare you take another step, I will riddle with holes your rotten flesh!" My mind immediately followed up by opening the detail screen of this person. ¡ª [Kuzunoha] [Animaphage, Unknown, Age 25 (???), Unknown] ¡ªAbilities¡ª [Arcane Maniption: This individual can shape and control raw arcane energy of the universe to cast various spells, a method vastly different from ohrtending. This ability is activated by channeling arcane energy through gestures and incantations, allowing for the creation of magical effects such as elemental sts or protective wards] [Mystic Sight: This individual can perceive magical auras and hidden enchantments that are normally invisible. Activation requires focusing the mind and activating a special rune, revealing magical influences and hidden traps] [Elemental Conjuring: This individual can summon elemental entities such as fire, water, air, or earth and many other to assist inbat or perform tasks. The ability is activated by invoking the elemental''s name and performing a ritualistic gesture, with the strength and duration depending on individual''s concentration and skill] ¡ªHighlighted Traits¡ª [Lovehexer: This individual has a special neural organ that makes them able to psychically enthrall someone for life. The enthralled person will be unable to resist or act against them. However, it is not as effective against someone with strong mental psionic prowess, warping the feeling of enthrallment into anger and disgust instead] [Master of the Arcane: This individual has an in-depth understanding of magical theory and practice beyond mere ohrtending, allowing them to castplex spells and perform advanced miracles without the usage of a lifeline] [Schr of Forbidden Lore: This individual possesses extensive knowledge of ancient and forbidden magical texts, granting them insights into lost spells and arcane secrets that are notmonly known] [Lifeline Dependency: This individual must regrly consume unprocessed lifeline derived from human blood. If this needs is not satiated, they will turn into the state of painful withdrawal and madness] ¡ª [<{Biography}> {Inventory} <{Health}> {Needs} {Social} {Log} {Info}] ¡ª Chapter 63: Kuzunoha, The Animaphage No indicator for gender and true age. And instead of the Biography saying Unaffiliated, it was Unknown. Not to mention, there was not a single mention of Animaphage within the info dump session that I got when waking up to this world. Something felt really amiss here. "Oh, darling. There''s no need to be so¡­ dramatic. If you''re that eager to waste your precious little spells, by all means, try. I could use some entertainment." She takes a step forward deliberately, her mocking gaze sharp and unwavering. "Or, perhaps you''d rather not embarrass yourself in front of me? It wouldn''t be the first time." "Don''t shoot, Verina." However, despite the eerie and enigmatic aura, I doubted that this person would perpetuate the first blood spill. "This is the second time I see you brimming with emotion, but I want that attitude to cease before the wrath takes over you." The first time was when I met her for the first time, being angry at Lupina for messing up everything. "Do you have an inkling of what that creature truly is?" Verina was still brimming with disgust and anger, but she stopped pointing her musket toward the fox-eareddy as a sign of non-aggression. At the mean time, while we were having this moment, that gothic fashioneddy was earnestly waiting for the conclusion of our interaction with a condescending smile. "Treat me like I knew not a single thing about it." "That is an Animaphage. To summarize it, they are closer to what a Cmity Object is than to Humanity." Despite her emotionless stare, I could see a shadow of hatred glooming over her eyes. "I met at least two of them in my whole life, and none of those encounters ended up failing to show me their rotten core and debauched mind." "Two, you say? How quaint. And from that grand sample size, you''ve decided to judge an entirety of us? How very human of you." Kuzunoha tilted her head slightly, the light catching her eyes as they glinted with amusement. "You speak of rotten cores and debauched minds, yet all I hear is fear dressed up as righteousness. It''s not my fault that some simply can''t handle our presence without projecting their own ugliness onto us." With a dismissive flick of her wrist, she added, "But don''t worry. I won''t hold your ignorance against you. After all, it''s quitemon for lesser beings to misunderstand what they can''tprehend¡­ "Which makes it more ironic, since your ancestors are the one who created us." I just noticed one thing. She sure talked a lot. Actually, I noticed two things. Despite having a pair of fox-like ears, she didn''t have any fox-like tail. "Your very nature is a mistake¡­ a reminder of our kin''s darkest failure. You were never meant to be!" Verina growled, exploding in temperature after those taunting that was done to her. "Funny, that''s what I say about half the people I meet." Kuzunoha incessantly chuckled. "But you don''t see me holding grudges about it. Really, you should learn to let go¡ªit''s been, what, centuries? Time to move on, don''t you think?" "Verina, she indulge in irritating you, don''t take those words at face value," I casually warned. "... Right." Verina cooled down her temperature after hearing my word of assurance. "This is also the first time out of the three that I met an animaphage that didn''t immediately resort to violence¡ªthough she talked quite a lot more than I expected, which to be honest, caught me quite off guard¡­ "It might be too far of me to deem that all animaphages were the same, so that is a great mistake on my part." "Thank you, finally¡ªyou stopped being an utter idiot," Kuzunoha mockingly praised. "You''re actually wasting my precious time, but at least it''s mildly entertaining." "Nevermind, I want to shoot that bitch off Carcosa''s ne of existence." And now they reverted back to having a standoff with one another. "Hate me all you want. I promise, it won''t make me vanish into thin air. I''ll still be here¡ªbetter get used to it." "My hate won''t make you vanish, but I promise you¡ªthat my flurry of spells will." "Stop that." I intervened before things could get awry, shoving Verina''s musket away from being aimed toward this haughty foxdy. "You don''t seem to be intruding our bastion with a shred of malice, otherwise you would have attacked us much earlier. Pray tell your reason, foreign one." The fake-foxdy stepped forward with an air of regal grace, her ck skirt swaying elegantly with each movement. Holding her ornate ck umbre with a delicate grip, she gave a slight but deliberate curtsy, her crimson eyes locking onto her audience with an amused gleam. The long strands of her scarlet hair cascaded over her shoulders as she bowed her head just enough to acknowledge, yet not submit. "I am Kuzunoha," she purred, her voice as smooth as silk, "The one whose presence demands reverence, and whose time, I assure you, is far more valuable than any yours." She straightened, her fox-like ears twitching as she surveyed the room, her lips curving into a soft, knowing smile. "I simply exist here because I want to, darling, and I can bring about your doom as easily as well~" That didn''t say anything about why you were here. "The name''s Narcissus," I replied, holding off the annoyed veins that were forcing my face to hint at anger. "And this Kilnn over here is Verina. She won''t most definitely tell her name, so I might as well give you the call for reference." "Hmm, am I supposed to know either of your names by now?" She said with genuine confusion and mockery. "By all means, keep trying. You''ll get there eventually. Maybe." "This crude abomination-!" One thing I would say about her characteristic, I agreed with Verina so far. I want to punch that arrogant face so badly. "But to ease myself, I might as well announce the reason why I''m here." Kuzunoha pointed a finger at me. "Ie here to study you, and hopefully make you mine~" "No thanks." I turned around and urged a gesture for Verina to do the same. "I feel a little bit hungry, want me to cook lunch earlier than usual?" "By all means, I''m wanting to cleanse down my pte after that disgusting talk," Verina answered, ignoring the existence of that sole animaphage that was waiting to wee her. "I''m thinking of doing some skewers, how about you?" "A skewer party sounds nice." We just went back to our bastion and kept on doing what we wanted to do. Chapter 64: A Scrumptious Lunch "This is not the most pleasant meal I have ever partaken in, but it is definitely an intriguing one," Kuzunoha said after licking her lips, sitting at the bench in front of a firece that was full of seasoned skewed meats. "... Who invited her?" Verina pointed her thumbs at the animaphage. "No one invited her." "How rude," Kuzunoha picked her handkerchief to clean her mouth. "I might not be the most likable person, but I''m certainly the most well-sought one by the intelligent masses." Well, considering the content of her Biography, she was definitely an important asset in many departments of civilization¡ªif she fixed her arrogance. And even though we tried our best to ignore her, Kuzunoha always proceeded to barge in and just insert herself into this bastion. Not to mention, Verina had already unleashed a couple of spells at her¡ªall of them were rendered for naught. "Say, what exactly is an Animaphage? Now that I''m quite curious," I asked Verina. "Remember how Kilnns are the founder of Ohrtending?" Verina reminded. "With the possibility of powers,es the curiosity to improve and explore upon it. "Many of such practitioners began to perform hundreds if not thousands of experiments. Some might be even deemed to be too inhumane in current standards. One such experiment is the creation of a weaponized form of an Artificial Cmity Object." "And looking at your interaction with Kuzunoha, that experiment sounds like a failure." "The word failure undervalues it, the experiment is too much of a sess that ends up being a failure within its implementation." Verina looked so stressed when she was exining it. "They are a relentless monster, and our kin bear the great sin of dragging their concept into existence." "Oh, please," Kuzunoha yfully interjected. "If your people didn''t want us to exist, maybe they shouldn''t have yed god in the first ce. That''s like setting a forest on fire andining about the smoke." "Your existence is the fire to our forest, abomination." "I prefer ''evolutionary masterpiece'', but I suppose that''s a matter of perspective. Yours just happens to be tragically narrow~" "Trust me, I don''t want a single thing rted to your kin, if not for the fact that you''re relentlessly following Narcissus like a creep." "And yet, here we are, having this lovely conversation. Isn''t it strange how things work out? I thrive, you seethe. Bnce in all things, I suppose." The more I let them converse with one another, the closer I felt to the feeling of impending doom. "Kuzunoha, your sole goal in this bastion is to study me, correct?" "Right on the mark! That is 10 points for you, my darling~" Kuzunoha immediately backing off from annoying Verina even further, "I happen to enjoy my calming journey back to a certain somewhere, until I glimpsed a smear of your existence in this deste ce. "Truthful as I can be, I want to immediately snatch you away from here, but something prevented me from purposelyying my hands on you." Was she talking about how I woke up outside of the bastion with her dead body on the floor? There are so many things that I want to ask forwardly, but I''m afraid that I must tread this cautiously lest I want to have a problem outside of the next Ordeal. "So you choose to stick to me like a glue in order to appease this studious nature of yours." "Another 10 points for you~" "In that case, do you have the humility to listen to the words I say?" "I''m currently doing that, am I not?" "More than a mere conversation, if you will." Kuzunoha''s smile widened, her crimson eyes gleaming with mischief as she twirled her umbre, the motion was slow and deliberate. "Oh, my darling, humility is such a¡ªquaint word, isn''t it? But let''s not pretend that we''re here to y the game ofmon courtesies." She giggled, her tone dipping into a soft, velvety purr. "Sure, I suppose. Listening to your words won''t be detrimental to my state of being. I''m willing to listen to you. That is, if you''re willing to entertain me while you''re at it." Right now, I''m protected by my Soulthread Aegis. I was ready to retaliate in case that this animaphage resorted to violence. I had my Emberfang knife ready, and I also had my Fortcracker deployed beside me. If this fox happens to think of doing something funny, Verina and I won''t hesitate to suppress her into submission with all cost. "With that pride of yours, lowering yourself to have the same height as me must be really hard to do." "It is not much of a hassle, as long as I find it worth and entertaining." "I will try my best to make you indulge me then. But remember, I''m the one who is adhering to allow you within my presence, not the other way around." These words won''t affect her that much, but at least Kuzunoha needed to know that I possessed a hint of disdain for her whole operation, and possibly prevented her from reaching her goal at all cost. There was still a lot of thing that she deliberately hid in front of us, and she used Verina''s hatred and disgust toward her kin to ensure that we avoid borating it This kind of individual would never stop at anything to obtain what she wanted. However just as I thought that I made myself shallowly conspicuous in front of her, Kuzunoha rolled her eyes as she smiled, as if my words bear the minimum worth to change her mind. She then snapped her fingers, summoning a cloud of arcane dust out of thin air. It soon converged into a singleprehensive piece of paper,plete with the content of words that she wanted to propose. "It seems like you''re still underestimating me, but I find it thrilling that you''re still babbling to show your disapproving stance, instead of saying it to me directly." She lightly grinned with sinister vice as she waited for the paper to reach my hands. "So, why not just adhere to a contract? "By signing it, I will stoop myself to your level and will even hear all of your suggestions to heart. I will assist you in whatever your endeavor are, and you can borrow my power to the best of you judgment-making ability~ "In exchange, I can be here as long as I please." She paused for effect, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "If there is any conflict of interest brewing in the future, we can rework our vows and promises to better suit our penance for each other." "Huh." My eyes scanned over the contract on my hand. Thenguage used to write these letters might be foreign to me, but there was a certain psychic influence that allowed me to decipher all of the content. "Seems like you''re really keen on getting your hands on me. Why is that?" Kuzunoha looked surprised after hearing that. Though, it won''t take a second for her former smile to reappear. "You, my darling, are not like the others¡ªoh no, far from it. That unique soul of yours, that body defying thews of nature itself¡­ a beautiful contradiction." She tilted her head, a yful lilt entering her voice. "How could I resist the allure of unraveling such a delicious mystery?" Chapter 65: Theotech Vessel Search? Up On The List "So, what am I supposed to do with this magically preserved head of a beastman?" Kuzunoha asked with genuine curiosity. After signing off the contract, Kuzunoha ended up being bound to me, just like how my Gloamkeeper''s Beacon was to my soul. However, unlike a one-way connection like thentern, Kuzunoha also acquired some extent of ess that she could use to ''study'' me. I also did my obligatory spook of citing some information that I got from her detail screen to raise the power of my leash. To my surprise, Kuzunoha didn''t mind all that much. In fact, she was rather overjoyed that I called her out, especially when ites to the three of her abilities: Arcane Maniption, Mystic Sight, and Elemental Conjuring. Yes, the reason why I did this was to inform Verina probing Kuzunoha out of herfort zone, now that we had already been bound by a contract¡ªsomething that didn''t have much effect on her. But most importantly, I unmasked her for being a Lovehexer. Kuzunoha herself might not mind all this much, but it should be an important context for Verina to factor into. The method on how the Lovehexing work was still a mystery to us, but it was exined as ineffective against an individual with great psionic prowess. This should mean Verina. As such, she won''t be a target for this power. At first, I hypothesized that Kuzunoha might have done that hex to me, which caused me to wake up with her bloodied face in the first ce, but I digress after seeing her reaction. Her Highlighted Traits implies that she was a person of centuries wisdom and ages. She should have more than one aces to her sleeves, hidden for the sake of thrill and enjoyment. She might haven''t used this love-hex yet, and was trying to find a vulnerable gap in me. "She is a valuable individual, and I want your wisdom on the method to fully revive her back to her spirited self," I said to the ancient fox, trying to gauge how willing she was to heed both the contract and my words. "The rest of her body is long-gone unretrievable, I assume." Her eyeszed to the intricate preservation spell that was cast on Lupina''s head. "That Kilnn did this spell, supposedly. Hmm~ not bad for a young house heater. I guess there is a little bit of hope for the descendants of my so-called creators." Verina snorted. "It''s funny how you say that, despite being a blood-sucking imitation of human and Cmity Object." I didn''t mention the Lifeline Dependency part of Kuzunoha in front of Verina. It must bemon knowledge that an animaphage survives by drinking blood. The more I looked into it, the more convinced I was that the animaphages were just vampires. "Yes, I need a lifeline to survive. You need air. We all have our little dependencies. Mine just happens to be more interesting," Kuzunoha rolled her eyes, possibly toward both of us. "As for this frozen pet''s head of yours, it is not advisable to fully regenerate her whole vessel. Body recement, however, is always possible." "As expected, we need an entirely new body to amodate her head." "How about hunting for a Theotech Vessel?" Kuzunoha suggested with a smile. Theotech Vessel? That was a new term. "There are only two instances of Theotech Vessel found in the uncovered history of Carcosa," Verina interjected. "Even if we found it, it is nearly impossible for us to attune it without reaching for an Anthropriest or the nearly extinct Theotech Specialist. "And even if we did make a hard-fought deal with the Anthropriest and Theotech Specialist to let us keep the owner of a Theotech Vessel with us, the problem of finding one is still a massive hurdle to ovee." I want to ask what a Theotech Vessel was, since it wasn''t mentioned in the info dumps, but I don''t want to destroy the illusion of a fairy with a long history of knowledge and wisdom, especially now that we have Kuzunoha in our cause. Though, I felt bad for not telling Verina of one thing that shows up on Kuzunoha''s Highlighted Traits. [Schr of Forbidden Lore: This individual possesses extensive knowledge of ancient and forbidden magical texts, granting them insights into lost spells and arcane secrets that are notmonly known] "There is a sure-fire way to find and enter a Theotech Chamber with a Theotech Vessel inside it." Kuzunoha put on a smug face. "This elder has dabbled with my Theotech-rted discovery in the past. So don''t fret, and remember bits of information well, little fumes-exhaler." "Huh, should we give this elder a cane to help her sniff for the Theotech Chamber from the ground?" Verina riled. "Still going to be more useful than an brain-cells exhauster who have no knowledge to dispense for this asion~" Looks like I have another destination to add on my list outside of going to Torie Citadel. Like, bringing back Lupina with a new normal human body might sound more feasible, but giving her a whole Theotech Vessel sounds more enticing. Wait, was that the reason why Kuzunoha mentioned that instead of just suggesting we kidnap an individual with matching blood type and simr gics? Because kidnapping someone was the first thing that came to my list, so that answer was already a boring one. "So, is there an alternative to the hunt for a Theotech Vessel?" I asked, since I doubt that Kuzunoha only had a single idea on this issue. "Ohoho~ of course there is, my darling." She then twirled her right gloved hand as arcane dust manifested into existence, converging and forming into an alien gold injector-like object. "This Theotech here is known as a Xenogene Injector. If used, it will inject a swarm of theonites into your body and modify the very structure of your physicality. In this case, adding a new trait and power beyond a mere humanprehension. "This Xenogene Injector in my hand is holding the alien gene of an old and extinct Theotech Race, hypothesized to be capable of healing other races and species through their bodily liquid. "I have already tinkered this Theotech to safely culture under anyone''s flesh and blood without turning their entirety to that of the old race, giving the benefits of imbuing their bodily liquid into that of an all-healing panacea~!" "Does this panacea include restoring an entire body from a beheaded person?" Verina intruded. "That, my dear, is precisely why I proposed this method in the first ce." Kuzunoha gave a small, mocking smile, her tone dripping with condescension. "But thank you ever so much for stating the obvious~" Chapter 66: Revising The Contract Instead of using her so-called arcane spell or giving us Theotech that could revive Lupina directly, Kuzunoha pushed a roundabout method. The fact that the Potion of Healing exists¡ªin a world where ohrtending exists, means that any method of fast-healing outside of interacting with Cmity Objects was outright scarce. For someone as self-centered as Kuzunoha to offer an indirect Xenogene Injector method, it held many meanings. One, she also had no reliable method for healing, and now offered this Xenogene Injector to a sacrificialmb that would be the target of many future factions in Carcosa to fight over. Then again, it could be just me being hyperbolic. Second, she suggested this as the result of her underlying curiosity and goal for entertainment. Those two reasons alone were enough justification to deem that there could be something shady with that Xenogene Injector. "You said ''culture'', meaning that the gic modification will take a gradual turn instead of instantaneous, am I wrong?" "Nothing in this world is ever truly instantaneous. Everything has a reason to exist. Every reason has endings to fulfill." Gracefully walking forward, Kuzunoha handed over the Xenogene Injector to my hand. "Will you bear the honor to be the first one to enjoy this privilege?" "... You need a lifeline to survive, am I right?" I asked with an unimpressed face. "Yes. Why the question?" "How do you consume the lifeline?" "By savoring them through an exquisite wine ss~" "... You just want to see how someone with a bodily liquid akin to a panacea will taste like when you drink their blood, am I wrong?" Kuzunoha immediately made a face that screamed ''I got caught!'' for a split second before returning back to her usualposed self. "I need this to study you, per the agreement of the contract~!" The whole time, Verina was holding back an amusedughter behind her disgusted stare after realizing what was up. "I see, is this Xenogene Injector also going to add an unsaid modification to my body? Like, say, a gic trait that forces me to obey your everymand?" For a split second, Kuzunoha''s expression faltered once again, only to be quickly reced with her signature amused smirk. "Oh, my dear, are you truly suggesting that I, of all people, would be so crass as to deceive you? Even with the contract binding us?" Kuzunoha tilted her head, her voice dripping with mock offense as her lips curled into a teasing smile. "How deliciously insulting~" "The contract doesn''t exempt you from attempting to perform an ill-conceived experiment on my body." I pushed my face forward with a kind, gentle smile. "I''ve read it thoroughly, including the parts you thought were hidden, my darling." "That is¡­ quite unexpected," Kuzunoha responded, her smile faltering ever so slightly. It wasn''t the confident one she usually wore, and that, in itself, was telling. After this, I immediately ushered our first modification to the contract that we once agreed, instead of the first modification on my body. Standing on the opposite side of each other within the dinner table inside the living room of my wooden cabin, Kuzunoha did her arcane tinkering. "Is there a reason why you didn''t call out the contract when you first read it?" Kuzunoha asked with a wry smile as she was tinkering with the content of the contract under my supervision. "I just want to see how much trust I can put on you." I smirked. "I hope you do your best to regain all of those trusts back after this cheeky stunt of yours." "And what makes you think that I want to do that?" "Of course you want to do that. Otherwise, there is no reason to bind yourself into a contract to convince me, if you can just make me your lifelong underling, am I wrong?" For someone in the possession of possibly multiple Theotech to go far in order to have me in her acquisition, it must mean that there must be something that she must grasp no matter what, right? I won''t belittle or even mention much of that fact. She already knew it. I''m letting that fact process in her mind, swirling and swirling without a proper conclusion. It was important to manipte those who think that they have the upper hand to believe that they have a lower hand. While I were handling my matter with this tailless foxdy, I sent Verina to go somewhere to either continue her rest or train her ohrtending in the context of preparing a contingency against Kuzunoha''s next misfit. I also already assured her that I was more than capable to fight the battle of tongues with this animaphage. "I see." Kuzunoha lightly giggled. "It seems that in a way, you''re still half-sidedly unaware of the amount of threat that lies within you." "And I''m more than wee to allow you to conduct research on it." I rested my cheek on my fist, yfully twirling my Emberfang knife around. "Instead of needlessly trying to find a way to make me your thrall, you can safely experiment with me under my consent." "Which means abolishing the lies between both of us." Kuzunoha snickered. "Well. I suppose that is hardly an issue for me. After all, having a test subject that doubles as a partner makes an intriguing journey to pave forward~" Looks like she started to think better of me. "So tell me, what did you do to my body back then?" I immediately pressed the important questions, now that she was willing to be a little bit more honest. "How are you able to survive? Andstly, how did you manage to find me?" "I nned to tap into your soul directly and spirit your unconscious body away to myir." Kuzunoha twirled the arcane needle between her fingers, her eyeszily watching the prismatic light flicker off the contract. As she continued, her voice held its typical unhurried elegance. "Yet, something within your soul resisted¡ªquite violently, I might add." "I take it you''re as clueless as I am about what that is?" I chuckled, catching the brief flicker of irritation in her fox-like eyes. "There''s no enigma too tangled for me to unwind," she replied smoothly. "We''ll get to the bottom of it, eventually." "I have no doubt we will. Especially with you working alongside me." Her lips curled in amusement. "Ah, you''re far too generous with your praise, darling~" For someone of her caliber to not know what she was actually encountering, it must be something rted to one of my Highlighted Traits. [Mysterious Past: This individual has a history shrouded in secrecy and enigma, with unknown origins and untold experiences that often intrigue and unsettle those around them. Their past may hold hidden skills, powerful connections, or dark secrets that influence their present actions and decisions] It might also be the reason for those visions I got when my Sanity reached zero. Chapter 67: Animaphage Partner Acquired! Kuzunoha smirked and tilted her head, the fox ears atop her head twitching ever so slightly as if emphasizing her next point. "As for surviving, well¡ªlet''s just say my methods are far beyond what someone who can''t even perform an ohrtending could fathom~ Arcane anomalies aside, the lifeline I require sustains me more than sufficiently." It seemed like she knew of my inability to perform an ohrtending, heh. "And now you''recking a lifeline, unless you have a lot of reserve ready to be savored?" "Ah, worry not, my dear." Kuzunoha waved her hand dismissively, her tone dripping with casual amusement. "As you rightly assumed, I have quite the reserve prepared, ready for whenever I feel the urge to indulge my¡­ beastly tendencies~" "Sounds like quite the event." A sly smile crept onto her lips. "If you''re curious, darling, I''d be more than happy to let you savor that experience firsthand." "No thanks." "Feel free to talk to me if you change your mind~" Depending on what she meant by that wording, I might be the thing she savored in this context. "As for finding you. Hm, that''s a bit of my own ir." Kuzunoha finished modifying the contract and now she was letting the paper gracefully fall to my arm as she continued her speech. "You do have a distinct presence, after all. One doesn''t simply ignore a walking miracle¡ªno matter how deep you bury yourself in this forsaken ce." "Looks like we will always eventually stumble upon each other then, regardless of time and ce." "Truly, a wonderful fate~" With the new version of our contract in my hand, I scanned every detail that I could muster, ensuring that no more trickery could slip by. While reading, I noticed that Kuzunoha was smiling anticipatingly. "I''m expecting that this partnership will be the foundation to our ever-churning coboration." Satisfied of the terms and agreement, I signed the contract with the floating magical pen that was included beside the paper. "d to have you at my side, Kuzunoha." Despite my satisfaction, I still saw one ring problem with the contract, something that Kuzunoha could abuse. But I decided to give her the leeway and some confidence to not nullify our whole interaction. A carrot and stick approach, I suppose. In this case, the carrot is a ticking bomb. "Likewise, it is my distinct pleasure to im your body for my own purposes~" Kuzunoha purred, a sinister glint shing in her eyes as she rested her chin elegantly on her folded hands. Her voice dipped into a velvety tone. "Narcissus, darling~" It might sound a hassle to put a Kilnn and an Animaphage under one bastion, but I believe that having Kuzunoha under my reach would benefit me more than just letting her loose to the wind and let her find a new thing to obsess with. Not to mention, it also increases my chance of survival by a lot. I also made a deal with Kuzunoha, separate from the content of the contract that we established. From now on, she shall inform me of every finding that she uncovered rted to my soul and body. From the littlest history of the flesh, to the detail of the bones. I want information on everything. "Quite the domineering one, aren''t you?" Kuzunoha giggled. "Or maybe ''greedy'' is the right term?" "I prefer the word ''cautious''." "You''re cautious of your own soul and physical vessel? A logical thing to do, I say, considering that your control for ohrtending is basically non-existence." Another thing I requested from Kuzunoha was my genuine interest in the Xenogene Injector that she had already modified. If I were to remove the sabotaging factor that Kuzunoha could do with it, which was something that she could no longer be able to do because of the contract¡ªI found a great utility for it. Outside of my fear of being the target of many future factions in Carcosa, the ability to heal your ally with your own bodily liquid might serve me more than it demerits me. Not only that my existence would rise as some sort of an important figure in this world, something that I probably want to achieve when the yers started to sweep into the game, I will also have a full control of my bastion''s member survivability. It might sound logical to stay low if you want to have a peaceful and fun life in another world, but I live in a world of Carcosa, where there is always a chance for someone to die within a single night than any years living in the real world. Because of that, presence in this world is actually much more beneficial. This world is in a state where the Humanity is mostly united to fight and survive against the relentless horror of Carcosa, aside from the potential notable factions that I haven''t mentioned¡ªmeaning that being one of the most influential people in this world would also mean getting a better treatment. As such, I proposed the idea of letting the theonites swarm to culture inside my body as long as she removed all of the shady modification that she added previously. I also promised Kuzunoha to be allowed to harvest some of my blood for both experimentation and recreation purposes. "Are we sure that she can be trusted now?" Verina asked. She just arrived after a good round of telekinesis training. "What if she still lies and you somehow be her thrall for life?" Kuzunoha, ever soposed, simply chuckled at Verina''s remark. "My dear, do you honestly believe I would still be standing here had I such dull ambitions? There''s far more to be gained from our partnership, I assure you~" "Just know that I''m open-minded enough to trust you, an animaphage who''s known to rampage and descate the bastion of humanity like a sunlight-immuned Cmity Object," Verina coldly scoffed. Kuzunoha tried to hide her huge grin with her gloved hand. "Is this the part where I''m supposed to pretend I care?" "... You won''t even need to pretend after I put a hole in that skull of yours." Before I even knew it, the two of them had already flinging spells at one another. "Impressive. You managed to butcher a spell that a toddler could''ve cast in their sleep. Are you trying to be this bad, or is it natural?" An echo of Kuzunoha''s haughtyughter could be heard from afar. "This bitch-!" And also retaliating gun fires of spells at the opposing animaphage. Chapter 68: Valtherions Blood One would think that Kuzunoha would just crush Verina in an instant if she wasn''t ying around. In actuality, she actually couldn''t. Because despite Kuzunoha''s superior spellcasting mastery, she appeared to be adhering to one of the uses of the contract without telling anyone. ''The contract maker, Kuzunoha, is strictly prohibited from engaging in any direct or indirect actions that result in the death or significant harm of any individual who possesses a defined connection or rtionship to Narcissus, the contract signer. These connections and rtionships include but are not limited to family members, friends, close allies, and any individual with an established emotional or strategic bond to Narcissus. Such actions may only be taken with explicit, prior consent from Narcissus.'' Because of that, I had no trouble letting Kuzunoha and Verina go on a sh from now on. In fact, it served as a training session for Verina, and also a bundle of motivation for her to one-up her arch-nemesis in spellcasting battle. Of course, I didn''t tell Verina to create such an illusion. "Now while they are in such festivity¡­" I began examining the Xenogene Injector that was already given to me through the Inventory section of the detail screen. [Xenogene Injector -Valtherion- (Theotech 100%) - 0.3 kg]: The Xenogene Injector is an ancient relic of Theotech design, a delicate yet otherworldly device forged from otherworldly gold alloys. Its sleek, syringe-like form hums faintly with arcane energy, a testament to the technology lost with the absence of its creators. The device holds a small, swirling core of theonites¡ªmicroscopic entities capable of rewriting the very fabric of organic matter. Once injected, these theonites spread through the bloodstream, meticulously altering the user''s gic structure to incorporate traits and abilities beyond humanprehension. The specific injector in hand carries the dormant gic material of an extinct Theotech race, revered for their near-miraculous healing capabilities. This ancient species could turn their bodily fluids into a universal panacea, capable of mending any wound, curing any illness, and even regenerating limbs. This Xenogene Injector has been expertly modified to ensure that the gene cultures safely within any host''s body, imbuing them with the ability to produce a potent healing liquid through their own biology, without transforming them into a replica of the long-lost species] I assumed that Valtherion was the name of the ancient race of where this gene came from. If the world didn''t info dump me about the animaphage, I now expect that there were more things that weren''t enveloped in this head of mine. "It seemed like there weren''t any ill-conceived modifications inside." Without any hesitation, I injected the content of the Xenogene Injector into the veins in my left hand. "Urgh¡­" A cold, alien sensation surged through my body, as if every nerve were awakened to something foreign. Microscopic, sentient fragments of an extinct race¡ªbegan to spread, seeping through veins like liquid fire and ice all at once. A deep, pulsating hum resonated in my chest, sending shivers down the marrows. Every cell trembled with an almost unbearable pressure, as though my body was on the verge of unraveling, yet holding itself together through sheer will. Muscles twitch involuntarily, and for a moment, the senses blurred¡ªtime stretched, space warped, and the heartbeat became a distant echo. Then came the flood of energy, an unfamiliar vitality gradually coursing through the bloodstream, expanding outward, reknitting torn tissue, mending unseen cracks in bones, and refreshing my mind with an eerie rity¡ªbut also tearing and destroying everything that it deem unnecessary. A sensation of bing hollowed, as though something ancient and powerful now resides within me, fundamentally altering the body, but leaving the consciousness intact. The world around feels sharper, more vibrant, yet also distant, and heavy¡ªan unsettling reminder that the self has just brushed against something abnormal. And it kept ongoing, never stopping until the ''culturalization'' finished. ¡ª ¡ªEnhancements¡ª [Skin-Grafted Wraithgrip: The ancient will of the Theotech God bestows the resilient with limitless ambition and potential¡ªthe connecting deeper into the abyss] [Valtherion''s Blood (Unstable): The dormant gene of the Valtherion race fuses with the host, granting them the ability to produce an all-healing liquid through their bodily liquid. This substance can heal any wound, cure illness, and even regenerate lost limbs, making the host a living source of miraculous recovery. The gic enhancement also fortifies the host''s vitality, making them resistant to physical and psionic corruption (10 days until stabilized. Until then, the effect of the Valtherion''s Blood will be at its minimum)] ¡ª "... It looks like I will experience this overwhelming sensation for a whole 10 days, ahaha." That should be the equivalent of 20 days in real time. "My consciousness is fading¡­" It seemed like both Kuzunoha and Verina noticed me slumping down and sping my hands on my head. Too bad that I won''t know what would happen afterward, since my consciousness went nk, as if the ''culturalization'' process forced me in the state of sleep to efficiently do their job. It seemed like I was too excited to try out the new things that caught my attention. Next time, I will be much more prepared and cautious. Before I knew it, I woke up to gaze at the ceiling of my own bedroom. But instead of being greeted by Verina as usual, I shifted my gaze to see Kuzunoha sitting on the side of the bed. And for some reason, I was no longer wearing my Soulthread Aegis garb anymore. "How is your rest~?" Kuzunoha cooed. Ignoring the question, I estimated how much time had passed through the annoying notification. "Two hours had passed. Where is Verina?" Kuzunoha curled up a smirk. "She reacted very badly after seeing you fall, so I put that kilnn to sleep." "I see-" Suddenly, I felt a great tug from both of my hands, pushing me back to stayid on the bed. My head still felt dizzy from the ongoing process of the gene culturalization that was happening, and I couldn''t react or think fast enough to process what was happening. I felt Kuzunoha''s weight on top of me as she straddled my hips, her crimson eyes gleaming with mischief. "My, my... it seems our little experiment has left you quite vulnerable," she purred, running a gloved finger along my jawline. A shiver ran through me at her touch. "Now, to our next experiment~" She leaned in close, her breath hot against my ear. "Let''s see how well you resist my charms now, darling," she whispered. Suddenly, I felt a wave of psychic energy wash over me. A daunting, dangerous wave that might enthrall me as a whole. This was her Lovehexing power! How dare she use it now of all time?? But I already ensured that she won''t be able to control me per the intention of the love-hex. The contract stated that only a part of temporal lengthened experiment could be done to my body, and anything that is permanently altering must be done through my consent. Unless she received my consent without me knowing, she shouldn''t be able to make this lovehexing permanent. Then this whole thing should be an experiment, just as she stated. "Kuh¡­!" But instead of falling under her charm spell, rage surged through my veins like wildfire. My vision turned red as fury consumed me. Filled with haunting anger, I grabbed Kuzunoha''s wrists and flipped our positions, pinning her beneath me. "You dare try to manipte me?" I unconsciously growled, my voice low and dangerous. My suddenly body trembled with barely contained heat. "I will kill you if you n to break the contract, and make this a permanent state of me!" Anger was clouding my mind, but I also realized that this emotion shouldn''t be the sessful result of the lovehexing. Kuzunoha let out a panicked, breathlessugh. "Oh my, such fire! I didn''t expect the gene to give you enough psionic prowess to resist my lovehex!" "Shut up, and remove this whole thing from me immediately!" Even without my consent, my enraged body tightened the grip that was clutching Kuzunoha''s wrists. "Or I will kill you, again and again, until there is nothing but bones and flesh of an animaphage in this room." "Ahaha! Why don''t we put that anger to better use?" Kuzunoha nervously replied. She snapped her fingers, and suddenly I felt a strange sensation between my legs. I gasped as I felt something grow, my body transforming. "There. A little gift to help you... express yourself." I looked down in shock to see I now had a fully formed rod, hard and throbbing with need. Discover endless adventures on m-vl-em,py-r That one organ that was formerly absent when I woke up in this world as Narcissus, was now reced with something that I was familiar about back then when I was a man called Lothair. "... Is this the only thing you can think about?" I asked with a face filled with wrath and disappointment. "Ahahah¡­" With a nervous, wry smile, Kuzunoha tried her best to avoid meeting her gaze with mine. Even the perpetrator was unsure about this! Chapter 69: A Rod To Punish An Unruly Fox [R18] The rage in my system mixed with a sudden, overwhelming arousal. Kuzunoha bit her lip, her eyes dancing with both fear and excitement as she began to remove her gothic lolita dress with just a snap of her finger, magically dissipating her apparel into arcane dust, leaving only her ck gloves and sexy thigh-high stockings intact. "Come now, darling. Show me just how angry you are," she unsurely teased. I couldn''t help but stare as she bared her pale skin, a stark contrast to her long vibrant red hair. My eyes widened as I took in her lush curves¡ªenormous J-cup breasts topped with rosy nipples, something that I had been ignoring a lot because of how annoyingly protruding they were, and then I set a gaze on her tiny waist ring out to wide hips, and thick beautiful thighs. If I were a perverted man who wanted an outrageously fine-looking woman to have around, Kuzunoha would fill all of the criteria and beyond. "Well?" she taunted, afraid that her n to convert my hatred into lust failed. "Are you going to use that new toy or just stare?" A fresh wave of anger crashed over me, and before I knew what I was doing, I gripped her hips roughly. With a growl, I thrust forward, burying myself to the hilt in her wet heat. Kuzunoha cried out, back arching off the bed. "Fuck!" she gasped. "You don''t waste time, do you??" I gripped Kuzunoha''s hips tighter, my newfound appendage throbbing with a mix of rage and desire. Without warning, I mmed into her again, relishing her gasp of surprise. Her velvety walls clenched around me, but I paid it no mind. This wasn''t about pleasure¡ªit was about punishment and removing this ursed state from my body. "Is this what you wanted, you whore?" I snarled, setting a punishing pace. "To be fucked by another woman? I thought that you''re smart and wise. All of those ages of experience, and you can''t think of anything but giving me a dick!?" Kuzunoha''s breasts bounced with each savage thrust, her crimson eyes zed but still defiant. "Oh please," she panted, "You think¡ªthat I wanted this!? This is merely an experiment, and you''re but a test subject that shall y the part you''re given." "What kind of experiment is this!? What are you even trying to prove here!?" Iined as I moved my hip back and forth. "Hahaha¡­ hahah!" She managed tough despite trying her best to gasp for air. "I just want to test you¡­ Yes, that is! As my long-term partner, you need to have strong enough mental faculty tost long enough in this bewildering state. Yes, that is the experiment I want to perform! "Can you even do it!? I''m starting to doubt your manhood here, Narcissus. Is this all you''ve got!?" What this bitch was talking about?? Not only did she give me a fully functional rod, she started to doubt my manhood out of all subjects?? Her taunts only fueled my anger. I grabbed a fistful of her fiery hair, yanking her head back. "We''ll see about that." I flipped her onto her hands and knees, admiring the curve of her ass for a moment before plunging back in. The new angle let me drive even deeper, and I felt the head of my cock kiss her cervix with each thrust. "Fuck!" Kuzunoha cried out, her bravado cracking. "You''re... bigger than I expected." You''re the one who gave me this rod, what do you mean ''bigger than I expected''?? "Shut the fuck up," I growled, bringing my hand down hard on her ass, a sinful bakery that needed to be punished alongside its owner. The smack echoed through the room, followed by Kuzunoha''s startled yelp. I kept up the relentless pace, feeling my first orgasm building. But instead of slowing down, I increased my speed, pounding into Kuzunoha with reckless abandon. "Wait," she gasped, "I''m not ready-" I ignored her, gripping her hips hard enough to bruise as I emptied myself inside her. It was a strangely foreign experience to the lifestyle I had here and before I got transported to this god-forsaken ce, a pleasure that was elevated by the fact that I was charmed by this bitch. Semen started pouring in, as though I felt like my mind was a hose that was erged by the volume of cum that was seeping in. But even as I came, I didn''t stop moving. I continued thrusting through my orgasm, feeling my seed ssh back against my thighs with each movement¡ªpushing it deeper and deeper to ensure that it won''t escape this slut hole. I pushed her to ground, letting her enormous bosoms squished and spilling all over, before ramming my dick deep once again, continuing the cycle once again whilst I''m still in my mind-numbing release. Kuzunoha shuddered beneath me, gargling with moans and words that I couldn''t make out as her own climax washed over her. I pulled out abruptly, flipping Kuzunoha onto her back. Her chest heaved, face flushed with exertion. "Had enough?" she taunted, but I could hear the tremor in her voice. Without warning, I grabbed her hair again, forcing her face towards my still-hard cock. "Clean it," Imanded. Kuzunoha''s eyes widened, a flicker of genuine fear crossing her face. But she quickly masked it with a smirk. "Make me." I didn''t hesitate to punish this lowly subus for that. I thrust forward, forcing my length past her lips and down her throat. Kuzunoha gagged, tears springing to her eyes, but I held her in ce. "This is what happens when you try to mess with me," I hissed, fucking her face with the same ferocity I''d shown her pussy. Kuzunoha''s throat convulsed around me, her handsing up to push against my thighs. But I was relentless, driven by a cocktail of rage and lust that seemed bottomless. Combined with the strength given by my Wraithgrip, not even her arcane power could overpower my wrath. When I finally came again, I held her head in ce, forcing her to swallow every drop, every taste of seed, and every lust-filled motion of thrust that I smacked her face with. A satisfying realization erupted as her throat moved and vacuumed everything that was given to her. Only then did I release her, watching with a wide grin as she gasped for air. "You... bastard," she wheezed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Have your empathy lowered down alongside your intelligence!?" Iughed like a maniac as I lifted one of her legs up. The arousing rage was still intoxicating me deeper than I imagined. "We''re just getting started!!" Feeling challenged, Kuzunoha''s sinister gaze reappeared as she widened her eerie smile. "That is really cute of you, darling, if you think that moving your hip back and forth is enough of an effort to satisfy a woman." She raised her chin all confident and feisty. "I didn''t even experience a single orgasm with that crude technique of yours! To think that a mindless beast is trying to think that she is all crude and mighty, heh." Kuzunoha said that, but I felt that there were a lot of instances where her inside tightened and grind against me all on her own, climaxing again and again. "Let''s see you talk shit while I fuck you senseless," I growled, plunging back into her sopping pussy. Kuzunoha''s back arched off the bed, a strangled moan escaping her lips. "Oh please, as if you could¡ªngh¡ªfuck me senseless!" I hooked one of her legs over my shoulder, driving in deeper. The new angle had Kuzunoha''s eyes rolling back, her words dissolving into incoherent moans. "What was that?" I taunted, maintaining my relentless pace. "I can''t quite hear you over the sound of your pussy squelching around my cock." Kuzunoha''s hands fisted in the sheets, her massive breasts heaving with each thrust. "F-fuck you," she managed to gasp out. "Heh, that is what you''re doing!" I leaned down, pushing her leg toward her torso, and capturing one of her nipples in my mouth. I sucked hard, grazing my teeth against the sensitive bud. Kuzunoha keened, her walls clenching even harder around me as a reaction. "That''s it," I growled against her breast. "Cum for me, you arrogant bitch." As if onmand, Kuzunoha''s body tensed, her back arching off the bed as she came with a scream. Her pussy mped down on me like a vice, milking my cock. But like the first time, I wasn''t done. I continued thrusting through her orgasm, prolonging her pleasure until it bordered on pain. Kuzunoha thrashed beneath me, overwhelmed by the sensations. "T-too much," she gasped, her usual bravado cracking. "I can''t¡­ ahn! I can''t take it!" Kuzunoha''s eyes were ssy, her mouth hanging open as a constant stream of moans poured out. Her body shuddered as another orgasm crashed over her, and another, and another. I felt my own climax building again, my pair of new balls tightening. With a roar, I buried myself to the hilt, flooding Kuzunoha''s womb with another load of hot cum. The more I thought about her, the more I felt angered. I didn''t stop moving as I ground my hips against hers, making sure every drop of my seed was deposited deep inside her. Kuzunohay beneath me, panting and trembling. Her usual smirk was nowhere to be seen, reced by a dazed expression. I hauled her to her feet, ignoring her wobbly legs, and dragged her out of the bedroom. Kuzunoha''s eyes widened as she realized where we were headed. "Wait," she protested as she fully recovered her consciousness, "You can''t be serious-" But I was. I threw open the front doors of the bastion, exposing us to the bright afternoon sunlight. Without ceremony, I bent Kuzunoha over the railing of the balcony, her naked body on disy for anything or anyone who might happen to be nearby. "Now everyone can see what a slut you are," Iughed, lining myself up with her entrance once more. "There''s no one here but us!" Kuzunoha shot back, but I could hear the nervousness in her voice. "There is no point in this!" I leaned in close, my breath hot against her ear. "Then I guess we''ll just have to be extra loud." I mmed into her again, the sound of skin pping against skin echoing across the empty section of the bastion. Kuzunoha bit her lip, trying to stifle her moans, but I was having none of it. I reached around, roughly kneading her breasts, pinching and twisting her nipples until she cried out. "Hiikh!" "That''s it," I encouraged mockingly. "Let everyone hear how much you love being fucked like amon whore!" "Fuck you," Kuzunoha spat, but her body betrayed her. Her pussy clenched around me, desperate for more. "To use this wise sage as nothing but a toy for pleasure, how shameful of you "No, fuck you." I groaned as I thrusted even deeper than I ever was, pushing her whole torso beyond the railing. "You''re the one who gave me the tool, and I''m the one who should be ashamed for that!?" I increased my pace, feeling another orgasm approaching. But this time, I pulled out at thest moment, painting Kuzunoha''s back with my seed. I was never much of a modern painter, but I could see that there was a joy somewhere in creating random art for no reason. Kuzunoha shuddered, copsing against the railing. "Is that... all?" she panted, trying to maintain her bravado. "Is this¡­ finally it?" I grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back. "Not even close." For hours, I took Kuzunoha in every position imaginable. I bent her over every surface in the bastion, fucked her against walls, made her ride me on chairs and tables. Each time I came, I found myself hard again within minutes, driven by an insatiable need to dominate and punish this animalistic slut. Kuzunoha tried to maintain her facade of control all the time, but I could see it crumbling. Her taunts became weaker, her resistance more half-hearted. By the time I almost half-awake from my brutal rage, she was a quivering mess, her body covered in sweat and cum. Her womb was filled to the brim. Her waist and torso was probably beyond sore, if we assume that she didn''t have anything to restore her vitality. "Please," she whispered as I entered her for what felt like the hundredth time. "I can''t... I can''t take it anymore." But I was beyond reason. I pounded into her mercilessly, my hand around her throat. "You wanted this," I snarled. "You made me like this. Now deal with the consequences." Kuzunoha''s eyes rolled back as another orgasm wracked her body. She had long since lost count of how many times she''d cum, each climax blending into the next in an endless wave of pleasure and pain. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 70: The Aftermath Of An Awkward Complication "Narcissus, are you okay!?" Verina barged into the cabin with a musket and flying wheels a-zing. "That bitch tied me to a faraway tree with some arcane bullshit and it took me an hour to dispel-" Verina stopped talking as she saw me sitting on a chair with an unkind face, while Kuzunoha was sitting on her knees on the floor with a nervous smile of contemtion. She noticed that there was quite the amount ofprehensible strange liquid all around the cabin, with the majority of them could still be traced from Kuzunoha''s body behind her gothic apparel. She also noticed that one entric body part in my body that shouldn''t exist there in the first ce. Her mind sumbed to a deep thought that she mustered her best to process. After a solid 20 seconds of silence, she finally came to a conclusion. "She hexes you when I''m still unconscious," Verina voiced with her usual deadpan. "You''re right on the mark." "And I assume that somehow the hex failed." And she was right on the mark, again. "To ensure that I won''t rip her face for the second time, she thought that it would be best to convert all of that relentless rage and hatred into an applicable lust that can be physically sated." I sighed. My mind was still clouded with hatred but not to a certain extent where it could affect my logical judgment. "So she thinks that losing her virginity while acting tough would fare her better than to suffer a direct physical abuse." "Wait, you''re a virgin?" Kuzunoha widened her eyes as she maintained herposure. It seemed like she felt very insulted to be associated with that idea. "You think that I would be barbaric enough to think of indulging in such a carnal act!? "As expected of a subhuman race consisted of a room heater to possess a room temperature intellectual quotient. Such shallow thinking. Deplorable, even!" Kuzunoha felt so insulted that her speech pattern became worse than before. "And why did you give Narcissus a sword if you stray so much from that idea?" Verina sighed, feeling more confused than annoyed from the cheap insult that Kuzunoha threw around from time to time. "Heh, you have no idea what kind of danger that I saw back then that forces me to choose this option." Kuzunoha put on a prideful smug, as if she held a superiority for holding this one information from one kilnn. "Uhuh, right, I totally believe you." Verina mockingly nodded. Her opinion of the animaphage seemed to change drastically after this incident. Still, I would find it hard to believe that Kuzunoha''sst bastion of option was to do ''that''. Was it because of the restriction of the contract? I remembered that there were a lot of uses that prevented her from doing whatever she wanted. For one, she was not allowed to escape the responsibility of any action that she did to me. Combined with the fact that she couldn''t unreasonably harm me without my permission, she might be in a rather tight situation where she had no choice but to do this kind of stunt. Also, I didn''t realize it when I took her virginity because I barely cared about herfort back then¡ªsomething that Kuzunoha confirmed after things started to settle down between us. Firstly, I was amazed by the fact that she was still a virgin after living for god-knows-how-much. I was even amazed at knowing that the concept of virginity exists for an animaphage. Secondly, I was also amazed by the fact that Verina easily scoffed this incident to a mere ''an animaphage''s understandable shenanigan''. I expected a much more betrayed and outrageous reaction instead of a calmlyposed one. Then again, Verina also didn''t react much when I was using my hands to relieve Lupina''s libido so that she could fight properly in the night. Because of this, I learned greatly that Verina cared more about our interactions with one another than that of someone else''s deed with me. Maybe it was their unique way of biological thinking, and conclusion making. It could also be the fact that Verina possessed zero emergency reaction to jealousy. Regardless of the reason, my opinion of Verina increased greatly because of this. "Now that ites to this, I''m curious about something." Loosening my cold expression to the fist that was pressing my cheek, leaned to the table¡ªI darted an unkind gaze to the animaphage. "How couldn''t you incapable of restoring the body of a decapitated head, but you can give me a penis for some forsaken sake." "There is a clear difference in terms of subject and the amount of possible alteration and influence." Kuzunoha''s gaze at me was still nervous as ever, probably reminiscing the traumatizing time that she had with me a couple of moments ago. "For one, it is a person with a strong enough psionic influence that can severely backfire my hex. A catalytic vessel of limitless possibility. Aplete set of entities, ready to be molded by my arcane prowess. "On the other hand, we have a magically preserved head who has zero psionic influence and sensitivity. A conscious one at that. "I think it is enough of a difference between the two separate individuals in terms of how much I could use my physicality altering power." That was a reasonable exnation. Not to mention, my Psychic Sensitivity, ording to my Info section of detail screen, was beyond 1000%. It might also be the reason why Valtherion''s Blood had such a significant effect on increasing my psionic prowess despite barely knowing how to use and control it. "Can you use your arcane power to heal?" I curiously asked. "The energy used to perform my spell lies within what already existed in this world." Kuzunoha curled her lips into an unsure smirk. "It is different from the lifeline used for ohrtending. As such, it has its own set ofws. Different from your current understanding. "To summarize the rtedws used in the creation of your new ''toy''¡ªmy extension of spells can only grant what you potentially can be, not something that is lost and altered outside of my intervention. "Of course, this also depends on the subject. For one, I can''t just remove the hatred you have for me after that failed ''experiment''." True, she wouldn''t resort to such a debauched tactic otherwise. Chapter 71: Dimensional Organ Kuzunoha looked around the room for a while and started to get a little bit self-conscious. "I''m afraid that exining the arcanew further beyond this will only waste us time. So if you still have a lingering question, feel free to disy it to me." To put it simply, she could just tell me directly if things are possible or not. Afterall, I barely understand how ohrtending really works, let alone an arcane version of it. Kuzunoha would also probably want to limit as much of information regarding her arcane spellcasting away from Verina, since she wants to hold her sense of superiority over her. As of now, Verina was on the opposite edge of the dinner table, eating an apple-like fruit we foraged in the morning. She appeared to be disinterested, and was currently waiting for this session to finish. This strikes Kuzunoha''s ego when ites to superiority, so I assume that she wanted to be freed from this position as soon as possible. But I''m not feeling kind yet. I still had a lot of things I wanted to confirm before letting her free from her position. "Can you change it back?" I asked. I was d that I was reunited with my ''little brother'' from my past life, but there was a new kind of problem that was brought here. The ''rod'' that Kuzunoha gave me was too big, too gritty than the average one in real life¡ªto the point that it might burden me when I wanted to maneuver myself around the bastion. Not to mention, it was disorganized at first when I woke up in this body, but I realized that not having something in my crotch really eased me in terms of mobility and flexibility. It was sad to lose my ''johnny'' once more but I prefer the practicality of not having one, especially an excessively meatier kind. "I see. As expected of a figure who reeks motherly presence and maturity." Kuzunoha nodded, but I doubted that she even came to the right conclusion. "Though, it might be a little difficult for me." "What do you mean?" "This is the first time I did such a spell," Kuzunoha said with little to no guilt in her words. "Imnting it is one thing, reversing it is another matter altogether. Why do you want to remove it anyway? I thought that a calctive person such as you would enjoy the practical ess to it." "The one you gave me is a little bit excessive." I sighed out of annoyance. "The fact that you gave me a barrel of such caliber for your first time is beyond me, and you''re saying that you can''t undone it? This is a breach of contract." Kuzunoha was still nervous as ever, but her confidence started to shoot through the roof. "It would be a breach of contract, if you didn''t consent to it!" "You mean?" "There is some subconscious part of you desiring it unconditionally, like a forbidden curiosity that is hidden in the fireside corner of your heart." Kuzunoha gestured with her gloved hand. "Otherwise, the contract would have prevented me from giving you one in the first ce, taking into ount the effect of the spell that I cast. "However, if the problem is simply the inconvenience of having it, instead of the idea of having it. Then I''m the sole entity that can bring a solution~!" Kuzunoha weaved her hands against an arcane tapestry that emerged into reality by a mere whim of his bidding. As if ying an instrument, her fingers moved with visible pace and rhythm. After a sequence of it, she dragged her finger to the side. At the same time, I felt something was sent to me through the soul link that connected both Kuzunoha and I on a spiritual level. Arcane information was surging into my mind. They were iprehensible when taken at face value, but they granted me aprehensive instinct that connected myck of understanding for miracles to the context of the spell. With just a whim of my own, I enacted the privilege that was granted to me. The organ that I had ''down'' there immediately changed, as if it shifted between one of the two sets of ovepping reality. On a technical level, I possessed both the reproductive organs of a man and a woman, but I also could freely apply which one to be shown and applied into my physical vessel, rendering the other non-existence as if they were stored away in a different dimension. Yes, it wasn''t outright informed, but I really felt like Kuzunoha just added a private dimension that exists rtive to where my reproductive organ was. I could even add both of them at the same time, and even remove both of them, making it smooth andnon-existence down there. Though, I''m wondering what would happen if I want to go for a call of nature when none of it exists in my body. Would the excess impurity just disappear into the hidden dimension? "What do you think? This is a better conclusion to ourplication, no?" Kuzunoha said with her usual pride. "... You still didn''t answer me why you gave me this big of a rod considering that was your first time." "I can''t change the size. It is not my decision. Stop asking!" Kuzunoha tried her best to hide her flustered face, looking in a different direction than my face. "If I knew that yours was this big, I wouldn''t even risk destroying my inside with it!" At least this proves that she wasn''t just being a masochist. However, that still didn''t change the fact that my question was left unanswered. "The spell that she cast on you might be something along the lines of ''what if Narcissus was born a man from the beginning'' but only apply it to your crotch and ovep the current physicality instead of recing it" Verina barged in, offering me a tter of fruit to snack while we''re in the discussion. "It''s something unheard of in normal ohrtending, but she used arcane power instead of lifeline, so a spell ofplicated nature is not an improbability." So, Verina was basically saying that Narcissus'' size would be bigger than the majority of Americans if she were born a male in this life. That was quite ironic, since arge penis was considered lustful, unrestrained, and unintelligent by the Ancient Greek, and Narcissus'' whole mythological stick was about seeing his reflection, became entranced by it, and killed himself because he could not have his object of desire. And I doubted that he would like his object of desire to be portrayed as lustful, barbaric, and unintelligent, especially with a giant rod protruding from his apparel, snaking like a dangerous weapon of mass destruction. Regardless, I''m thankful that this whole problem was dealt with before we hit the start of the next Ordeal. Believe it or not, we were only one hour left until the beginning of the Ordeal of the Dusk. I didn''t even have the proper time to upgrade my fortcracker and create an engine that would utilize the Charstone''s unlimited fire. By the least, our bastion benefited from the addition of an ancient sage of arcane mastery, ignoring the amount of time wasted thanks to her shenanigans. Also, one extra manpower has always been appreciated, especially from those who can cast spells for a living. Chapter 72: Verinas Viewpoint: A Divine Goddess Descended From Heaven My name is Verina, and I''m a full-time Wayward Ohrtender. "Verina, can you help me melt this part of the Silent Fragment? Just this intersection." "Why not ask this great Arcane Master for help. Instead of that mediocre Ohrtender?" "I don''t want to deal with the absurdws of arcane magic." Narcissus, she was the golden fate of my life given to me and Lupina after we painstakingly chased after that one shady Divinator a couple of months ago. And I love her, so, so, so, so much that I''m willing to conquer the whole concept of miracles and even the whole world just tond a meaningful rtionship with her. She was a vision of ethereal beauty, her presencemanding attention like a mythical goddess descended from the heavens. Her golden tresses always cascaded down her back in silken waves, catching the light and shimmering like spun gold. Her eyes, twin pools of mesmerizing crimson, were framed by perfectly thick, golden eyshes that seemed to glow with an otherworldly light. Her gaze was always piercing and intense, regardless of her expression and emotion, as if she could peer into the very souls of those who dared meet it. Her skin was a wless expanse of pale ivory, soft and smooth to the touch, with a subtle luminescence that made her appear to glow from within. Every movement she made was imbued with a regal grace, her godly noble bearing evident in the tilt of her chin and the set of her shoulders that she unconsciously performed. I doubted that she even knew that her aura exuded an air of divine authority, as if she were a celestial being deigning to walk among mortals, yet she didn''t act like one. Even while she was clothed, I couldn''t forget that Narcissus'' figure was an exemry study in contrasts¡ªher hips were generously curved, lending her a matronly, nurturing aspect that belied her otherwise youthful appearance. Her waist tapered elegantly, entuating the swell of her hips. Her breasts, while not overlyrge, were perfectly proportioned to her frame, their modest size only serving to enhance her overall ethereal beauty rather than detract from it. Every aspect of Narcissus''s appearance seemed designed to inspire pure reverence, from the regal arch of her eyebrows to the sensual color of her lips. She was a beauty incarnate, a living work of art that left all who beheld her breathless with wonder and desire. And I had the chance to live my whole life dedicated to her. Well, Lupina too, but it would be quite a long time until we could talk and bicker together like we used to. "You seemed to be gazing at me a little bit too muchtely. Is there something in your mind?" Narcissus said with a gentle curious curve on her lips. Her low and mature voice contrasted the beauty of her existence. "I sensed that there is a brittle part in the current conjoined section of the steel." "Huh, you''re right. This part indeed looks a little bit brittle. Wait, how could youe to that conclusion by just watching me?" Narcissus let out a warm chuckle. One time, she taught me a lot about chemistry. In the development of creating a spell to conjure a refreshing breathable air, I also learned a lot about odorant molecules that create scent. Everytime we took a bath or a hygiene-care session, she requested me to cast such a spell to maintainfort. Right now, she was bathing in the scent that I created, especially after those barbaric sessions with that animaphage. Does that mean that she was enveloped in my scent? Her hair smelled so good because of it, but it was still essentially mine. Hehehe, the mere thought of me wrapping her body with my scent was enough to improve my temperature, enhancing my focus and consciousness All that aside, I need toe up with an answer, otherwise she would start to get suspicious of me.. "I''m thinking of crafting a new kind of spell, so I''m using your bodily movement as reference." I think that was good enough of an excuse to admire her indefinitely. She rarely caught my intention as long as I didn''t show it in my demeanor. "Alright, I''ll be waiting to see what kind of spell you''re brewing then." She finished with a smile before she continued to focus on her craftsmanship. If only I learned the spell that allowed me to record sounds inside my mind, I would record every word that she uttered and enshrine them in my heart. Also, Narcissus might not realize it, but sometimes, I saw a faint divine halo above her head. Sometimes, I saw numerous golden eyes in the air looking in the same direction as her gaze does. There was also an instance where there were numerous golden rings with those eyes surrounding her. Sometimes, her face was reced with a singr giant eye. Lupina didn''t perceive it back then, so I assumed that it only appeared to those who possess a great level of consciousness. I wonder if that wretched animaphage saw something beyond what I saw, since she was at a higher level of spellcasting than I was. "It never dawned on me before." The animaphage uttered her words as she shoved her disgusting face at me. "But have you always been this emotionless,ssie? "I showed a lot of emotion in front of Narcissus, you''re just toockluster to notice it." "Oh, my apologies, I didn''t realize your subtle disy of emotion was meant to be appreciated," she quipped, her toneced with yful condescension like usual. "Forgive me for failing to recognize the masterpiece of feelings hidden under that... riveting performance of a in drape over what you call a human-like face." I chambered a concentratedbustion projectile spell into my musket, my jaw tightening. "I can show you what a riveting performance looks like, with your disgusting face as the stage." The animaphage chuckled, unfazed, as she opened her parasol with a soft click, twirling itzily. "Oh, darling, ywrights at least know when to stay on script. Shouldn''t you be working on that smelting job instead of trying to make a spectacle out of... well, nothing?" She shed a mocking smile. "Priorities, my dear. Do your job first~" "The same can be said to you, Kuzunoha," Narcissus followed up with a protruding vein on her beautiful face. "Focus on the job I gave you. Also, don''t y around with your umbre inside the workshop, that is a safety hazard." "I''m thankful for the reminder, darling~" It seemed like Narcissus was still influenced by the negative oue of the love hex, her hatred of the animaphage still looked unnatural. As much as I enjoy seeing Narcissus berate that wretched abomination with hatred, I didn''t like the fact that my beloved Narcissus was influenced in her choice and action. It was as if I saw my reliquary was tarnished in front of me without my consent. For the animaphage''sment about my eternal deadpan. Well, it wasn''t like it was my choice or will to have this kind of trait. And I wasn''t always like this either. Chapter 73: Verinas Viewpoint: A Tale Behind The Emotionless A long time ago, when I was still a little kilnn with uncontrobly steaming exhaust horns on the side of my head. The kids of the Citadel and I stumbled upon a Cmity Revenant in the dead-end of an alleyway while we were ying. To put it simply, they were Cmity Objects that persist after the duration of the Ordeal. It was a very rare phenomenon, much rarer than the appearance of Qliphoth Object, in fact. And thankfully, the kind of Cmity Revenant that we stumbled upon was that of a passive one. We were only informed of the existence of Cmity Object back then, but not Cmity Revenant, so we were curious and interacted with it. The Cmity Revenant''s form was a bucket with a boiling water inside, one that couldn''t be picked up, while the content of the boiling water seemed endless. I was gifted to possess a strong mental fortitude as a kilnn, but my kids weren''t. They were enraptured by the Cmity Revenant''s presence and started picking me as the target. And began to chuck my face into the scalding bucket of water. A kilnn''s body was meant to take extremely high temperatures because of our nature, but a young kilnn could only take up twice the heat of a normal child. My exhaust horns prevented me from having my whole head inserted into the bucket as the influenced kids kept on pushing me into the boiling water. And surprisingly enough, my exhaust horns also double as a breathing apparatus if forced, so I was still conscious and alive as the waterboarding went on. And it kept on for 7 hours until one of the adults stumbled upon us and started calling the military and experts on how to deal with the Cmity Revenant without harming the kids influenced by it. After that incident, my face was a mess. Not only that, I lost my vision, hearing, and the ability to taste. My world became a total darkness. I think I was around 8 years old when that incident happened, so that was certainly something. My family was not the most noble, wealthy, nor healthy. After all, I was an adopted child, so both my parents were not even of kilnn descendant. But they were kind and consoled me enough to keep my will to survive burning brightly. And it was enough for me to keep on moving forward. With a mask of my own creation, I began using my powerful lineage to perform all sorts of jobs and gain many connections at such a young age. Unlike those who studied ohrtending under a master or a sect, I was autodidactic. I learned how to use my talent for ohrtending to rece my damaged senses, and it got better with time to the point that I didn''t even need my senses back. I also barely cared much about my face at that point, since I knew that my true worth was in my ohrtending capability. I would feel content to live the rest of my life like this, back then. But I noticed that having such an ugly and disgusting wound on my face made my social interaction harder than it was supposed to be. An important skill needed to thrive in society. I even failed to get my old crush because of this. So I started to willingly find a way to restore my face. Throughout the years, I eventually umted enough fortune to have my own medication and physical therapy with a proper healing expert. It wasn''t the best kind of expert, since I''m not the moneymaker that I thought I was, but it was enough to help me in this endeavor. I''m not interested in those trendy procedures that would beautify or apply ayer of fake skin onto my damaged face, I just want to im back my natural and original face. And after 25 years of medication and therapy, my face was restored to how it was supposed to be when I was still 18 years old, thanks to the slow aging trait of a kilnn and sessful healing progress. I was actually surprised at how cute and beautiful I was when I was told that this was how my face should look if I didn''t get into that incident. Narcissus was a hundred times more beautiful and cuter than me, though. The procedure also healed my blindness and numbness in my tongue and ears. I could even felt a proper pain when I pinch the skin of my face. As such, I started to lessen the sensory spells that I had activated nonstop when I was barely sensing anything above my neck. But of course, after more than 40 years of barely being able to move the muscle of my face, I lost the capability to entuate my emotion through facial expression. Do I want my capability to express emotion back? Not really. I''m fine with breathing without anyplications. Not to mention, I just got these pair of badass prosthetic legs that would put a Theotech Prosthetic to shame! I also went through a lot of breakthroughs for my ohrtending capability, thanks to Narcissus'' wisdom and knowledge about the true nature of the world. Which was weird, since she barely knew how to perform an ohrtending. Anyway, I feel very optimistic about my current situation. Even though I am still grieving from losing Lupina, I believe that we can resurrect her somewhere in the future. "Alright, we finally crafted it before the Ordeal!" Narcissus happily announced. "I shall name this one, Stormhook." Forged from the organic alloys of various Cmity Objects, this halberd-like ''billhook'' had its core infused with Silent Fragments, remnants of the enigmatic Silent Bell. These fragments lend the Stormhook a unique, soundless lethality. When in use, whether cutting through enemies or beingunched from a ballista, the weapon generates no noise¡ªits every strike and impact eerily devoid of sound. Yes, Narcissus designed this weapon for close-quarterbat and a reusable ammunition for her Fortcracked Mk II at the same time. I was still marveled by Narcissus'' invention and creation even after all of that, no matter how small or big it was. Then again, I was a little bit biased toward her since she was technically the first love target that I wanted to take seriously. ... Maybe more than biased, if I were to be honest with myself. Narcissus mentioned something about making a harem full of skillful and capable women. Despite her wit and unnatural intelligence, I was still worried that she would be the wrong kind of individual to be taken under her embrace. "Alright, it seems like the Ordeal is starting," my beloved Narcissus grinned. I want to be the most useful and trustworthy partner to her, to ensure that I possess the right to reject any unsuitable individual from blemishing her holy garden. At the same time, I also want to rightfully proim her for myself, but that would be impossible for me if I was only improving at this rate. After all, it would be sinful for a mortal to keep such a divine flower for themselves, preventing them from blessing those people who had the proper right to touch and admire her. But that won''t be a problem if it they were those of godhood that decided to keep this divine flower for themselves. As such, I desired to attain unrivaled power, in order to im Narcissus for myself. And purge those that tries to get close to her. Chapter 74: The Third Days Ordeal To anyone who sees this narration. [A special type Cmity Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] I hope you all have a good day. [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] This is Narcissus. And I''m proceeding with the third Ordeal that I shall engulf this part of Carcosa for 24 hours. With the copsed Fortcracker Mk II on my back, the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon strapped to my hip belt, and a single Stormhook on my hand. ¡ª [The Eternal Refrain] [Description: The Eternal Refrain is a time anomaly where reality enters a loop. At random, everything within a specific radius resets to a moment five minutes before the event begins. It is nearly imperceptible to those caught inside, but each loop subtly erases a fragment of memory, leaving only a lingering sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu] [Hint: There is nothing more reassuring than the gentle whisk of time, drawing a child near to their doom] ¡ª It seemed like today''s ordeal will be something different than usual. Even though I forced myself to finish at least one craft made from the precious Silent Fragments that was acquired from the Silent Bell in just one hour, it seemed like the grand appetizer of the night wouldn''t be anything that can be dealt with physically. Then again, thest two days barely gave us any kind of special Cmity Object that could be dealt with brute force. [Stormhook (Masterpiece 100%) - 6.5 kg]: The Stormhook is a masterwork billhook crafted not only for deadly close-quartersbat but also engineered to serve as a reusable bolt for the Fortcracker Mk II. The weapon is forged from the organic alloys of various Cmity Objects, with its core infused with Silent Fragments, remnants of the enigmatic Silent Bell. These fragments lend the Stormhook a unique, soundless lethality. When in use, whether cutting through enemies or beingunched from a ballista, the weapon generates no noise¡ªits every strike and impact eerily devoid of sound. The hook''s crescent de is sharpened to perfection through arcane means, capable of cleaving through armor and flesh with ease, while the polearm''s shaft is reinforced to handle immense force withoutpromising its integrity. Designed with a specialized aerodynamic structure, the Stormhook can fly true whenunched, piercing walls or heavily armored targets with silent precision] It was inspired by the design of a Billhook, which was originally an agricultural tool. The English billhook or bill for short, was used as a melee weapon for English soldiers during thete medieval period. The weapon has a traditional head with a de that curves outward, a vertical spike on top and a shorter horizontal spike on the back of the de. It was simr to halberd, but instead of a spear point and an axe de on one side, a billhook typically has a curved, hook-like de on one side, designed for cutting and pulling. The de often has a sharp edge on the inside of the curve and may feature additional spikes or cutting edges. As for my design, there were four eight spikes in total, adorning the spear point and the sickle-like de. At times like this, I wonder why I was named Narcissus and not Hephaestus instead. These dexterous hands were fitted to perform delicate andplex craftsmanship without anyplication, and they were destroying all hurdles so far. Though this makes me wonder, if Carcosa has its version of Hephaestus that I could meet somewhere in the future. If that was the case, I wonder if Hephaestus and I could be good friends in cksmithing. "You should have rested between thatst one hour instead of squeezing yourself to bother us, animaphage," Verina quipped to Kuzunoha. "Did you forget that Narcissus also gave me some tasks within that timeline? Then again, I supposed I should be amazed that you can even remember anything in the slightest with that hot brain of yours." Kuzunoha yfully smirked. Verina indifferently scoffed, "You''re barely upied by your task for more than ten minutes, though." Ever since the hexing incident, Kuzunoha had been walking very funnily. She would often try her best to hide that fact, but it seemed like even Verina noticed it. It didn''t change the fact that it was her consequence for being greedy. This reminded me that Kuzunoha was also technically the first person that Narcissus'' gave her innocence to. I also got a lot of scratching wounds on my back, which prompted quite the aggressive reaction from Verina back then. Other than that, I tested to see if either Kuzunoha and Verina noticed what kind of special type of Cmity Object that we would be facing today throughout the entire night, before giving them the actual answer. "There is a great unease within the passing of time," Kuzunoha answered with her usual confidence. "I can see that there will be some section of reality that will have its time distorted from time to time. Don''t worry about me, darling, I had already experienced something worse~" "What is your worst experience so far" "Being defiled by you~" Kuzunoha said with a cheeky grin. "You''re just ying around." It might be best to not focus much on Kuzunoha''s wellbeing, considering that she might be older than thend itself, despite being a dumbass sometimes. It reminded me a lot of those ancient figure tropes when ites to fantasy stories, of an entric human-like figure that oozed knowledge but still acting childish despite their insurmountable age and experience. Then again, most of the old people I met back in the real world can act like an irresponsible child time to time. "There is a great psionic distress in the air, but I can''t really grasp what might be happening," Verina answered my question regarding her understanding of today''s special type Cmity Object. "I''m somewhat familiar with this kind of phenomenon, so I could somewhat avoid the time and ce where the unruly event happened." "Hmm, not bad." I couldn''t help but smile when I knew that both of my precious allies in this bastion were capable enough to know what was up without my interference. "Throughout the night, there will be a time-rted anomaly that will be imperceptible to those who are caught in it. Always be on your guard." "I think I know the reason why you asked us separately about this." Verina removed more distance between us. "Hmm? And that is?" Chapter 75: Asset Of Knowledge Verina stopped until she stood in front of me. So close, in fact, that I could feel the natural heat emanating from her, alongside her calm and collected breath in front of my gaze. With her gaze still locked onto mine, Verina''s delicate fingers reached out, gentlybing through my golden locks. The sensation sent a strange sensation down my spine as her fingertips held those hair like they were something holy and not taken to be granted. "You know that you don''t have the reliable instinct and premonition to keep yourself away from these phenomena, that''s why you want to rely on us to guide your step for you¡ªhence the test for our knowledge.." She remainedposed as she rose in height with her floating ck Wheels. "But don''t worry, we will protect you." "It seems like you''re changing your tactic to flirt with me." I reacted with an amused smirk. "Shifting from a perverted old man to a perverted knight." "And it''s working, no?" Well, it did give me some sense of flutter, something akin to watching a pair of kos hugging one another while yawning adorably. After ensuring that the important information was sessfully distributed to everyone, we braced ourselves for the first normal Cmity Object we shall face tonight ¡ª [The Velvet Abomination] [Description: An amorphous creature covered in flowing, velvet-like skin that shifts colors with every movement, the Velvet Abomination lures in victims with its hypnotic appearance. Its body constantly molds itself into beautiful, alluring forms¡ªsilken dresses, glittering jewels, or otherworldly masks¡ªbut each touch causes skin to be like fabric, brittle and hollow] [Hint: The Velvet Abomination feeds on admiration, growing stronger as it draws the attention of others. The only way to defeat it is to reject its beauty, forcing it to reveal its true, grotesque form] ¡ª It was a single Cmity Object. But usually, a single Cmity Object was often found to be more threatening than a horde of it. Kuzunoha''s eyes narrowed as the Velvet Abomination loomed before us, its ever-shifting form weaving intricate patterns of silken allure. Glittering jewels cascaded down its body, shimmering in the low light, and hauntingly beautiful masks flickered across its face, each more mesmerizing than thest. A lesser mind would falter, but Kuzunoha merely clicked her tongue, unfurling her parasol with a sharp snap. "Cheap theatrics," she muttered, disdaincing her words as she strode forward without a hint of hesitation, weaving her ornate umbre like a baton to conduct an orchestra. Ribbons of raw arcane energyshed out like serpents, coiling around the Velvet Abomination''s twisting form. The creature shrieked as the magic took hold, unraveling its cursed velvet skin, tearing it apart strand by strand. It attempted to do something but Kuzunoha acted as if her job was done. It seemed like she didn''t want to go beyond being merely helpful when we were only facing a simple threat in the early of dusk. Filling her absence of action, Verina shoots out a spell projectile through the gaps of numerous arcane ribbons that the animaphage unleashed. When it hit its target, it immediately enveloped the entirety of the Cmity Object and began to iste its form within ayer of preservation, acting like a prison while there was Verina''s iconic heat-applying spell that turned the physical body of the entity into living hell. I kept my eyes on Verina''s Lifeline percentage while that was happening, and it seemed like it was a meticulously crafted spell with an efficient energy conversion¡ªbarely making a huge dent on her lifeline reservoir. But even after all of those restraints, the Cmity Object disappeared from our sight almost instantly, alongside the arcane ribbon and the prison-like spell. "My spell is stilltching into it, the Cmity Object is still somewhere around here." "Possibly in another dimension~" Using Kuzunoha and Verina bodily gestures as guidance, I determined the location where the Cmity Object would reappear. And before both of the spellcasters could react, I used my Stormhook to slice and dice the ever living hell out of the Cmity Object. "It is not dead yet!" Surprisingly, it took us somewhere around 10 minutes to fully suppress the Velvet Abomination. Of course, it could have gotten faster if Kuzunoha were to lend more of her power, but I did prefer it this way since it also gave Verina and I a lot of opportunity to gain more experience inbat. Especially Verina in terms of her spell-crafting. Not to mention, Kuzunoha also acts as reserve contingency when stuff goes beyond haywire. After all, there was no way of knowing how severe the influence that a Cmity Object could bring. "Hmm, it seems like my way of thinking has be a little bit too lenient." Instead of focusing on how to survive like my first time experiencing the Ordeal, I started to focus on improving the cards that I could deal with, while preparing for the worst possible scenario¡ªa luxury for someone who had already ensured that they were more than qualified to survive the bare minimum. Before I knew it, 6 hours had passed in this world. "You seem to be a little bit more rxed this time," Verinamented. "Of course, Narcissus is more rxed," Kuzunoha chimed in with her usual lilt of arrogance, her red hair swaying slightly as she tilted her head with a smile. "It''s only natural when you''re in the presence of someone who''s ensured that even a Cmity Object is reduced to nothing more than a fleeting nuisance." She let out a soft chuckle, one that dripped with condescension, yet held an underlying truth. In this world, knowledge of the Cmity Object serves as the ultimate weapon to fight against the horror of Carcosa. And so far into the night, Kuzunoha appeared to be knowledgeable about all of the Cmity Objects'' gimmick that we faced so far. We hadn''t really passed the night, but I already knew that Kuzunoha was one of the best assets that this bastion had so far since its first creation. Which was two days ago, heh. Chapter 76: Girls Of Night "That could''ve been finished ten minutes earlier if you hadn''t wasted time with the orbs surrounding the Object Cmity," Kuzunoha remarked with biting sarcasm, pointing her umbre at the decimated field. "As expected of a kilnn, they are so great at fighting fire with fire instead of using water to quell the forest fire." Verina red back, wiping the sweat and ash from her brow. "Wasted time? I bought us time, you unruly fox. If we had just followed your brilliant lead and subdue it when it''s at its utmost stable, this entire area would be a crater by now." Kuzunoha clicked her tongue, her tone dripping with condescension. "Time? What you bought us was unnecessary risk. Dousing the anchored body parts with a flurry of spells was needlessly primitive. You think like a brute, kilnn¡ªforceful, messy. My method would''ve refined the fight, made it quicker, cleaner. You just don''t understand subtlety." "Subtlety?" Verina''s voice rose in anger. It was quite adorable by the fact that her face stayed with the same deadpan. "Your ''subtle'' n would''ve elerated that thing''s growth! It was consuming every bit of me we threw at it." Of course, this was the result of putting two mismatched spellcasters into a single bastion. But so far, the two of them managed to do their utmost best while bickering nonstop with one another. "Narcy, do you think that what I did was wrong!?" Verina urged her voice to me, "Don''t mind her, darling. She is just a little bit heated, that''s all~" Kuzunoha let out a haughtyugh. At this point, it was more akin to being a guardian with two children who couldn''t get along no matter what. Verina reminded me of that one child who always came up to their mom whenever they got picked on. And Kuzunoha was that one mischievous older kid who do the picking, These interactions thankfully didn''t affect much of their fighting capability other than adding miniscule negative percentage on their Mood. Speaking of Mood, I''m not in the best of mood as of now. 8 hours into the Ordeal, we barely encounter any Cmity Object whose remains could be useful as materials. Even the Velvet Abomination that we fought before was practically non-intractable because of how cognitive hazard they were. Verina burned the remains of that Cmity Object into crisp afterwards. Not to mention, the Cmity Objects that spawned this night were mostly destructive in a wide area and were harder to subdue than the usual one we encountered before. "Well, at least I''ll be at ease a little bit." I thought that Verina was akin to a savior with how useful and reliable she was, but Kuzunoha was on another level. She was akin to having a max-leveled character in her ss when I was just beginning the game. In fact, she might actually be well-sought after the game was open for publication. As of now, because of the contract, she practically exists in this world as my servant in exchange for learning more stuff about me, and some minor details about blood and experiment. Speaking about blood. "Seeing you casually drawing your blood from your veins will never sit well with me, Narcissus," Verina voiced her difort. The culturalization of the Valtherion''s Blood was being checked directly by Kuzunoha as she stirred the stem of her translucent goblet. "The self-reproducing theonites have already begun settling in your bodily system and imprinting your vessel as their workce. If someone were ever to take a sample of your blood, hoping that they can gain the same healing ability. They won''t be able to." "I would have been more d hearing that while not seeing you drooling over my blood, Kuzunoha," I wryly chuckled Kuzunoha sighed before she wiped her drool. "It is a little bit disappointing that the culturalization of the gene is still in its utmost early stage. I don''t want to ruin the first-time experience with such ackluster sounding taste." "Now I feel a bit insulted." Kuzunoha manifested a vial with her arcane dust, storing the blood sample for further research. For one''s information, Kuzunoha possessed not the power to create with her arcane spell when she suddenly manifested something or made something vanish out of nowhere. Those objects were stored inside her arcane influence. The arcane dust was basically akin to a building block, and what she did was stripping an object into their basic form.. She then saved the information regarding such object''s configuration inside her mind, so that she could just draw back the deconstructed building blocks and rebuild it into its original form. Because of that, I also dered Kuzunoha to be my personal baggage carrier in the future, especially when we began nning to be a little bit nomadic with our bastion cement. ¡ª [Tenebrae Lilium] [Description: Tenebrae Lilium is a girl dressed in a gown of wilted ck flowers, her hair crowned with thorns. She stands motionless in gardens or fields, surrounded by withered nts and twisted roots. Her touch causes life to decay and wither in an instant, and the closer one approaches, the more their energy drains away. The air around her is filled with the scent of dying flowers, and she silently watches as life fades around her, feeding on the energy of the dying] [Hint: Tenebrae Lilium saps the life force from everything around her, causing rapid decay in nts, animals, and humans alike. She is vulnerable to fire and sunlight, but approaching her directly requires immense strength, as her draining aura can incapacitate even the strongest attackers] ¡ª It was the first encounter where I met an extremely human-like Cmity Object despite its danger. At some point, it made me hesitate on whether I was fighting an actual Cmity Object and not another human being. Fortunately, both Kuzunoha and Verina held zero guilt and hesitation. They hurled all sorts of destructive spells onto the poor child and disintegrated her from existence. It was quite the brutal sight. After that, I scolded them for overdoing it. Because if they just annihte every atom from the Cmity Object. I couldn''t carve a single part into any usable material. "Narcissus, I never thought that you can be so cruel to carve a child-looking Cmity Object," Verina said with a worried look. "We went to a great extent with our spells because we don''t want to prolong its suffering, you know." "Sometimes, darling, a passion needs a gate to prevent them from flooding the entire civilization." Kuzunoha shook her head left and right. "... Why am I the cruel person now!?" I would never have thought that they possessed such a reserved morality despite living in this world for so long. Especially Kuzunoha, since she genuinely thought that I was an uncouth individual who would carve a dead child''s body. Well, I did want to carve a dead child''s body in this case, technically. ¡ª [Umbra Pue] [Description: Umbra Pue appears as a tiny, faceless silhouette of a girl standing perfectly still in the shadows. She blends into the dark, bing indistinguishable from it, but when light shines on her, she does not disappear¡ªinstead, her shadow stretches impossibly long, twisting into shapes that seem to whisper forgotten secrets. Her presence turns all light cold and distant, making even the brightest mes flicker weakly] [Hint: Her shadow maniptes light itself, distorting the environment and disorienting anyone nearby. She doesn''t engage directly, but her shadow''s touch leaves individuals lost and confused, unable to trust their own senses] ¡ª "... What with the sudden emergence of child-shaped Cmity Objects." Not to mention, it was one of the creepiest Cmity Object I''ve ever faced. "No, we can''t carve that one either, Narcy," Verina immediately warned me as if I was about to lunge at it for its material. "Touching it can be dangerous. I hope that you can maintain distance with it, darling." Why did these two suddenly focus on me whenever a child-shaped Cmity Object appeared!? The appearance of Cmity Object tonight was rather more active than yesterday. We couldn''t really have much of a rest inbetween encounters because of that. Although, the spawning rate wasn''t as aggressive as the night where the Hollow Star appeared. That one was on a whole other level. ¡ª [Aetherica Candida] [Description: A small girl dressed in flowing white, Aetherica Candida glows faintly, as if made of moonlight. She appears at the edge of dark forests or misty valleys, beckoning wanderers with a soft, ethereal glow. Those who follow her are led deeper into an endlessbyrinth of fog and light, losing track of time, space, and memory. She never speaks or stops moving, always remaining just out of reach, her nk, featureless face haunting those trapped in her domain] [Hint: Aetherica Candida draws victims into a maze of illusions where thews of time and space do not apply. Those who chase her endlessly be trapped in an eternal cycle, disoriented and unable to return] ¡ª "I know that you''re really worked up right now, but please maintain yourposure, Narcy," Verina casually uttered while facing me. "Do you want me to shapeshift into my petite form? I can sate your urge before you go berserk, you know~" Kuzunoha haughtilyughed. "I haven''t even said anything yet! Stop ndering me immediately!" Chapter 77: The Third Ordeal Of The Midnight The fight against the Ordeal of the Dusk went smoother than I could have ever expected. From Kuzunoha''s attentiveness and proactiveness in ensuring the utmost survival for both me and Verina, to Verina''s major development in her ohrtending prowess as a whole. If not for the threat of the Eternal Refrain phenomenon where time would often loop at any given time and any given ce, I would had probably be enjoying my first time ever in this world being protected by these two wonderful allies of mine. It was to the point where I began thinking of the long term. In my best possible interest, I want to ensure that both of them would still be at my side after we manage to reach Torie Citadel. I also began thinking about how to bind Kuzunoha even more, since there was a chance that she would lose interest in me after she uncovered the secret of my soul and vessel. There was a reason why I showed my interest to be her test subject for the Xenogene Injector and gain this Valtherion''s Blood As for Verina. She seemed to be infatuated with me since the first day, and we also have the deal of reviving Lupina. Our rtionship won''t end anytime soon. As I mulled over the future, time passed quite diligently. The Ordeal of the Midnight had arrived. [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 1 second_] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Sometimes, I miss the time of harrowing midnight in a horrifying world. Because it was the only instance of an event where this annoying notification didn''t appear inside my mind. [Qu¨© m¨¥ ex v!ersicu!l¨©s me¨©s put?¨¡stis, quod!? su?nt mollicul¨©, par!?um pud¨©c?um!!] Though, I also hoped that this midnight won''t give us anything troublesome like the first day. After all, the Veil of Night that appeared on yesterday''s Ordeal of the Midnight was nothing but a blessing since we didn''t have any intention to leave the proximity of the bastion. It would be nice if we get another one of that kind of special type Cmity Object. [A Qliphoth Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] Nevermind, I said things too soon. "A Qliphoth Object will be manifested," I warned Kuzunoha and Verina. "The moment I get my sight on it, I will utter my judgment on what we must do." I said that because with Kuzunoha around, we might have the chance to suppress the Qliphoth Object instead of running away from it. Kuzunoha understood the implication behind my words as she smirked. Of course, this all depends on the kind of Qliphoth Object that we will be facing. In case that the result of our luck with the Qliphoth Object manifestation came for the worst, I already ordered Kuzunoha to store all of our resources and food in with her arcane deconstruction power. She had also stored the entirety of the workshop per mymand. Kuzunohained at first because it was a great hassle to deconstruct and reconstruct such aplex and massive object, so I promised her one chance to freely do anything with me after this night. I also mentioned that even though I allow her to do anything to me, it doesn''t mean that I would stand still if she decided to abuse this chance. Kuzunoha grinned sinisterly after that, which made me a little bit ufortable on what kind of shenanigans that she would get me into. Though, I had already prepared for the worst case scenario, and maintaining her overall engagement with me should always be positive regardless of the intent. Verina red at me intensely after that, so I suppose that I could also expect Verina to step in if I were in trouble. Because of this, we could leave this bastion at any time we want. "The Qliphoth Object has arrived¡­" On the east, a towering figure loomed just beyond the bastion''s perimeter, its form an unsettling silhouette against the twilight sky of spiraling moonlight. It seemed to emerge from the earth itself. Its body was dark and shifting, like sludge mixed with rotting vegetation. Thorns spiraled into what could only be a crown, embedded deep into its mass, though no face could be discerned beneath. I feel dread all over my existence. ¡ª [The Molded King] [Description: A towering figure of regality, its body crafted entirely from sludge, moss, and rot. Its face is an indistinct mass, a crown of thorny vines embedded deep into its "flesh." Wherever it steps, vegetation rots instantly, flowers wilt, and the ground cracks with disease. The King carries a scepter, from which spores and fungus bloom, releasing toxic clouds of decay that spread faster than wildfire. He never speaks, only pointing with his scepter, and wherever he gestures, thend itself decays as though cursed by some ancient gue. The Molded King does not pursue; hemands nature itself to deteriorate, copsing civilizations without lifting a finger] [Mythos Reference: Manifested by vic forest spirit myths such as Leshy and the elements of the biblical gues of Egypt, reimagined as a lord of rot and corruption] [Hint: The Molded King can rot anything organic within seconds, and his presence spreads a blight across thend. The only way to oppose him is by cleansing the cursed soil he walks upon with something untouched by the world¡ªvirgin soil from a forgotten era or ces where death has never urred. But such objects are nearly impossible to find in the decaying world he leaves behind] ¡ª "... We shall leave this bastion." "Agree," Verina nodded. Kuzunoha shook her head as she shrugged. "Your words are my promise, darling~" Even if Kuzunoha were able to somehow find a way to survive and defeat the Molded King once and for all, there was too much risk for little to no return. The thought of something akin to the Molded King arriving on the front door of a generic city in the real world gave me a slight sliver of contemtion. Chapter 78: A Thought To Live For Another Day We immediatelymenced our departure to the northwest. With Verina as the agile vanguard and scout, we hastily make our way through the stray Cmity Objects wandering beyond our sight, and avoid the cmitous event altogether. One time, I looked back to see the very Qliphoth Object that was sent to our door. Wherever the Molded King moved, the ground seemed to crack and cken, as if drained of life, copsing into ash. The air grew thick with a suffocating heaviness, a strange, acrid scent filling the lungs as it appeared. In one hand, it carried a staff that, when raised, released a cloud of something foul, spreading out slowly over thend like a creeping shadow. It did not chase after us. It only stood still, surveying thendscape, an unsettling stillness in its silence. Yet, despite itsck of motion, thend seemed to shrivel beneath its gaze. We tried our best to escape the corruptednd, and we managed to stay unscathed as we witnessed the overwhelming power that a single Qliphoth Object could bring. It was the same with the first two Qliphoth Objects we faced back then. A single stray of the Wild Hunt took us our utmost effort and hours of risky sh in order to gain advantage over it. An endless wave of them could easily bury an entire civilization in just a matter of hours. As we continued our cautious retreat, the oppressive atmosphere of the Molded King''s presence still weighed heavily on us, even though we had sessfully distanced ourselves from him. Thankfully, we didn''t meet a lot of stray Cmity Objects in our run. The silence of sheer focus and mind-churning between us was palpable, broken only by the quiet rustle of Verina''s ming ck Wheels as she led us through the safest paths. It was Kuzunoha who eventually broke the quiet. Her voice, as usual, carried a sharp edge of sarcasm, but beneath ity an intellectual curiosity that seemed almost indifferent to the danger we had just evaded. "A Qliphoth Object as a king of rot." She tilted her head, her crimson gaze still half-lidded with disinterest, though I knew better. "A royal embodiment of decay that doesn''t even need to lift a finger to ruin everything in its path. I''d say we''re lucky that it didn''t find us interesting enough to give chase." Verina nced back from her position in the front, her eyes narrowing slightly as she caught the tone of Kuzunoha''s words. "You speak as if you wanted to engage it. We are fortunate we avoided direct confrontation." Her voice was calm but firm, with a hint of reproach. Kuzunoha shrugged, her umbre twirling in her fingers. "Not particrly. It''s just fascinating, the way these Qliphoth Objects manifest. Each one with its own set of rules, its own twisted logic. The Molded King¡­ reminds me of how decay overtakes everything in the end, no matter how strong or beautiful." I never mentioned that it was named the Molded King. As expected, Kuzunoha''s knowledge of the unknown could be intimidating. I could always sense the thinly veiled implication behind Kuzunoha''s words. Her interest in these entities was far more than casual observation. She was always thinking, always analyzing¡ªand perhaps, scheming against something beyond her own realm of influence. "I take it you''re wondering if there''s a way to turn such an abomination for your own advantage," I remarked, keeping my tone light. It wasn''t hard to guess what was running through her mind. "You want to acquire them, because their intrinsic traits are different from Cmity Objects." Kuzunoha smirked, her eyes glinting with that familiar predatory amusement. "Oh, of course. A mind like mine can''t help but wonder. Imagine the potential if someone could harness that level of entropy. A walking gue that rots everything it touches¡­ it could be quite useful, no?" Verina''s expression darkened. "That is a dangerous thought. These Qliphoth Objects exist outside our understanding for a reason, even beyond the realm of Cmity Objects. Trying to use them would be no different than inviting your own destruction." Kuzunoha''s smile widened, though it didn''t reach her eyes. "Perhaps. But isn''t that what makes it fun? Pushing the boundaries, seeing how far one can go before the abyss stares back?" Yeah right. Thest time you did that, you were being lovingly embraced by me for hours, Kuzunoha. "The Qliphoth Objects are far more dangerous than Cmity Objects, yes." I smirked, intrigued by the topic at hand regardless of the intention. "But they''re also supposed to be unpredictable and unreasonable, no? "Even if we managed to find a way to manipte their power, the cost could be far greater than we''re willing to pay." Kuzunoha didn''t argue, but I could tell she was still considering it, turning the possibilities over in her mind like a puzzle she couldn''t wait to solve. Verina, on the other hand, seemed far less inclined to entertain the notion. "These creatures are a blight on existence itself¡­ they aren''t things to be toyed with." "True," Kuzunoha conceded, though her tone suggested otherwise. "But sometimes, Verina, the most dangerous toys are the ones worth ying with." Verina red at Kuzunoha, and for a moment, I wondered if the tension between them would escte like usual. But then Kuzunoha shrugged again, as if the topic no longer interested her. "Regardless," she continued, her voice softer but still tinged with amusement, "I do wonder how these objectse to be. What kind of cosmic horror could birth something like the Molded King? A being that embodies the inevitability of death and decay¡­ makes you think~" Verina remained silent, but I could see the unease in her expression. She wasn''t the type to ponder such dark, abstract questions, preferring instead to focus on the immediate, tangible threats¡ªor the betterment of herself. Even though both of them lived in this world for years longer than me, I felt like they were still far from evenprehending the existences of these horrifying entities. It made me wonder. A world that always threatens to end your existence everyday, is that world worth living in? Then again, I always felt the same way with the real world outside of Carcosa. Which makes me question myself on whether I was weak, or just gued by overthinking. An hour of journey toward the northwest, we re-established our temporary bastion and performed our usual deed of preserving our own lives. After another 12 hours of facing the Ordeal of the Midnight, the dawn arose and I was weed by the fourth day of my life in Carcosa''s morning. Chapter 79: My Fourth Day In Carcosa Now that we were no longer preupied with dealing with the Cmity Objects, I could finally start re-establishing our facility offort such as the wooden cabin that we abandoned when the Molded King manifested. "I got all of my tools secured thanks to Kuzunoha~" The workshop had also been deployed for my ease of ess. Not to mention, this relocation also allowed me Gloamkeeper''s Beacon to shine. Literally, as we traversed to a ce beyond our normal perimeters. Though, I don''t know if the things that were highlighted by it were truly of significant value. [Crumbling Graven Idol (Ancient Relic 18%) - 0.3 kg: This small idol, carved from a now-brittle stone, is adorned with archaic runes that have been eroded by time. The figure it represents is unrecognizable, with most of its features lost to the ages. But the idol''s runes briefly glow, and the surface reforms slightly, showing an iplete, flickering image of a supposed ancient deity] [Ashen Coin of the Lost Empire (Runic Currency 24%) - 0.02 kg: A tarnished silver coin ckened by time, its surface covered with faint runes that are almost invisible in normal light. The coin bes warm in the presence of a noble blood] [Hollowed Rune Stone (Unknown Origin 33%) - 0.5 kg: A roughly hewn stone marked with hollowed-out runes that are barely visible without the light. The stone hums softly when held near an object of long history, resonating with an unknown power. The purpose of the runes is unclear, but they form an intricate pattern that seems iplete or dormant] The Gloamkeeper''s Beacon would often lead me to these findings. But when I showed them to either Verina and Kuzunoha, they concurred that these items were nothing but trinkets, battered ones at that. Even if there were some kind of secret and history behind them, it wasn''t much of a value unless I sold them to adamant collectors in a Citadel. "Sometimes, I''m wondering why you''re leading me to these kinds of junks, Gloamy." Yes, I named myntern Gloamy for absolutely no reason. "Hah~" I sighed." If only I can use you inbat. Then again, I''m satisfied enough that you''re willing to guide me to things." I can''t wait until my Gloamkeeper''s Beacon leads me to anything Theotech-rted. As the dim light of Carcosa''s dawn barely pierced through the veil of natural mist, I found myself catching the glimpse of the mes of the ck Wheels flickering eerily in the distance. Kuzunoha was seated on a rock, twirling her umbre absentmindedly, while Verina paced back and forth nearby. Verina was probably testing the right telekic calibration for her ck Wheels. I noticed that she would sometimes pace her eleration and deceleration wrong, leading to a rather hrious event where Kuzunoha wouldugh to her heart''s content. "Verina is starting to be less hostile to Kuzunoha," I said to myself with a face offort. "That''s good." While my hands were working on deforesting the nearby towers of nature, my knife-eared hearing managed to catch on to the conversation between my two lovely servants¡ªI mean,panions, in the woods. Well, not only my ears. My eyes were alsotching to them. After all, how could I narrate them without knowing what they were doing? "Alright," Kuzunoha said, her voice cutting through the silence, "Enoughzing about. Verina, I have a brilliant idea to teach you how to ohrthend using arcane influence!" Verina stopped mid-step and red at Kuzunoha, her posture tensing. "I already know how to spellcast," she muttered. "I don''t need your so-called ''advanced'' lessons." Kuzunoha scoffed, giving her a side nce. "You think throwing fireballs and storms of explosives qualifies as proper ohrtending? Please. That''s child''s y. What I''m talking about is art¡ªarcane art!" Verina crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, please enlighten me, Animaphage, on how toplicate the simplest of acts. Next you''ll tell me I''ve been breathing wrong." Kuzunoha grinned, standing up with a casual elegance. "Well, considering your generalck of finesse, I wouldn''t be surprised if you were." That jab earned a sharper look from Verina. Kuzunoha was already in her element, her crimson eyes gleaming with mischievous intent. "Listen, ohrtending isn''t just about slinging spells left and right," Kuzunoha began, pacing slowly as if addressing a ssroom. "It''s about bringing miracles into existence¡ªconjuring reality out of the threads of the arcane. And if you''re not precise, the miracle copses into something much less... miraculous." Verina raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with annoyance. "Yeah? That''s the basics? Every ohrtender knows that, even the non-ohrtender. Otherwise, how could I keep all of us alive while you''re doing the bare minimum?" "Barely keeping us alive," Kuzunoha corrected, her tone smug. "And yes, you''ve been doing it wrong. You rely on brute force, on instinct. Efficient, yes. But! Not reliable. That''s why your casting is so sloppy. "Almost as if, your ohrtending''s foundation is learned without a single soul of guidance." Kuzunoha put on a smug grin. "You need to learn control on the deeper concept. You need elegance~" Verina snorted, shaking her head. "Sure, my foundation might be cruder than the sewer. Doesn''t change the fact that I can cast spells." She sighed with annoyance. "And how do you expect me to achieve this so-called ''elegance''? By waving an umbre and making sarcasticments?" Kuzunoha didn''t miss a beat. "If it helps you focus, sure. But I''d rmend a betterapproach." She snapped her fingers, and a small sphere of arcane pale-blue light flickered into existence above her hand. The air around it warped slightly, shimmering as if reality itself was bending to amodate the spell. The way it manifested was simr to the ohrtending spell that Verina usually cast, but there was a difference. Something that I wouldn''t be able to understand unless I dabble deeper into ohrtending. "This," Kuzunoha continued, "Is what I mean by arcane influence. You don''t just throw your lifeline into the world and hope the miracle sticks. You influence the very fabric of reality, you persuade it to bend to your will using its own very nature." I see! Unlike normal ohrtending, Kuzunoha''s spell looked as if there was something guiding and refining the spell beyond normal mean. Verina stepped closer, her eyes narrowing as she examined the sphere. "That''s¡­ different. The modtion is contained by something stable." "Exactly," Kuzunoha said, clearly pleased with Verina''s begrudging interest. "Ohrtending in general is forcing your will into a manifestation. You''re fighting against the world itself while you''re performing that miracle. "With arcane influence, you''re coborating with the world, asking it to guide your creation. And the difference in efficiency is staggering, don''t you think~?" Verina crossed her arms again, though her expression was less hostile. "Alright, fine. Show me how it''s done." Kuzunoha''s grin widened. "dly. First, let''s talk about your connection to the arcane leyline." I settled back on my work, carefully watching as they prepared to dive into what I could only describe as an impromptu magical lesson. Kuzunoha''s method of teaching was¡ªunconventional, to say the least, but she had a way of getting results, even if her condescending tone could grate on the nerves. As Kuzunoha started exining the intricacies of leylines and arcane influence, Verina asionally interrupted with sarcasticments or pointed questions, which Kuzunoha always deflected with equal parts wit and biting sarcasm. "You see, Verina," Kuzunoha said, her voice dripping with mock patience, "The reason your spells fit better to concepts such as explosive and temperature is because you''re pulling too much power." With an obvious grin of mockery, Kuzunoha pointed with her index finger. "You''re like a child trying to drink from a fire hose." Verina scowled. "I respect you for sharing all of this knowledge, but I''m afraid that you have some kind of eye problem." "No, I''m referring to you when ites to casting," Kuzunoha shot back, twirling her umbre again. "Now, try channeling less. Gently." Verina grumbled but did as Kuzunoha instructed. She held out her hand, focusing her energy, and a small me flickered to life above her palm¡ªmuch smaller and more controlled than her usual offensive spells. Then again, I rarely saw her casting anything other than her lifeline-infused musket. If I''m not wrong, the way that the lifeline-infused musket works was simr to how I bonded with my Gloamkeeper''s Beacon and how Kuzunoha had direct ess to my vessel and soul. The musket was a mere medium that acted as a goblet where Verina could concoct her spell. Coincidentally, it also acts like a slingshot that turns the concocted spell into a flying projectile. "There, see?" Kuzunoha said with a satisfied smirk. "Much better. Now, you''re coborating with the world instead of opposing it. It might not be on the same level as my arcane spellcasting, but it is quite suffice for a talent such as yours~" Verina rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "Yeah, yeah. Don''t let it go to your head." "Toote," Kuzunoha grinned with her usual smug, leaning back against a tree and watching with amusement as Verina practiced. "It''s already inted." Despite their constant bickering, I could see that Kuzunoha''s lessons were having an effect. Verina''s spellcasting became more refined, more controlled, and efficient¡ªthanks to the arcane influence. And while she would never admit it, I could tell that she was starting to respect Kuzunoha''s methods¡ªeven if she still found her insufferable. I also took the impromptu lesson to heart. After all, there might be a day where I would be able to perform an ohrtending like they do. Though, I doubted I could ess it anywhere soon. I even asked Kuzunoha if there was any arcane method that allows me to cast spells like she does, considering that the Valtherion''s Blood in my veins had enhanced my psionic influence significantly. However, she scoffed at me with a grin. In the end, the only thing that was enhanced by Valtherion''s Blood was my so-called psionic charm that Verina pointed out back then. It didn''t bother the two of them, but it might greatly enhance the effect when ites to normal people. As the wooden cabin was done, I began working on the stuff that I had been nning on making when I had the time. Chapter 80: Kuzunohas Viewpoint: A Guest Of Honor I''ve always found the silence of the voidforting. It''s as if the world itself holds its breath, waiting for the inevitable twist in the cosmic reign. And yet here I am, an uninvited guest to an entric couple that originated from a farawaynd. Possibly, not even inside this reality. "Curious what I''m making, Kuzunoha?" "I doubted that. She probably wants to find fault in my ohrtending." "Isn''t it a good thing then? It means that she cares for you, Verina." "Not all types of caring are good, Narcy." Kuzunoha. That''s my name, not that it matters to most. But it''s a wonderful name, and I nned to cherish it for as long as I live, fufufu. Fortunately, I happen to possess an indefinite lifespan. So that will be a lot of ''cherishing'' for a person like me. But that might change since the moment I bound my soul with a certain golden figure through a mutual contract. "Uhm, is there something on my face?" said that certain golden figure with a genuine look of concern and confusion. "Back then, it was Verina. Now, it is you¡­ "Look, I know that I''m probably the most beautiful person you''ve ever met in your life, but it doesn''t mean that you can silently admire my face without giving a couple of praises to pay the toll, you know?" And she was insufferably narcissistic. Which was hrious, considering that her name was Narcissus, as if she was following the destiny that was already chosen for her path. "So, you''re saying that I''m exempted from the toll?" Verina quipped with her ever durd of a cute face. Narcissus yfully pointed with a grin. "No, you actually have a lot of debt in that department." Verina possessed the bloodline of a kilnn, the very same race that came up with the creation of my kin, and somehow failed at utilizing us to our fullest, which resulted in the animosity between these two races of Carcosa. Though I cared nary of those conflicts and the implication of my whole existence in their eyes, I enjoyed teasing and riling this young kilnn. Albeit she started to be immune to my words thanks to Narcissus'' guidance, which was quite annoying of her. I rolled my eyes, answering the question that was given to me. "Narcissus, dear, if I were silently admiring anything, it would be the perplexing phenomenon of how you manage to bnce that inted ego on such a slender neck. Truly, it''s a marvel of cosmic architecture~" Verina showed no reaction whatsoever. Narcissus, however, simply blinked, her lips curling into a slow, smug smile. "Oh, Kuzunoha, you tter me too much. I didn''t realize my mere existence could stir such fascination in your cold, calcting heart." "Fascination isn''t the word I''d use," I muttered, tapping my fingers against my umbre. "Mild academic curiosity, perhaps. Like studying a particrly vain species of gold-colored beetle." "I must be a one-of-a-kind beetle then, if we consider all of the things you went through to get ahold of me." "It is within my jurisdiction, darling~" Narcissus pouted dramatically. "You''re just too proud to admit you''re charmed." "Proud? No," I smirked. "In need of amusement amidst my hollow hour? Yes." Verina, ever the peacekeeper between us, sighed deeply. "If you two are done flirting, please spare me the excess energy." Verina appeared to beckluster in terms of energy. She was probably pushing herself to stay awake to help Narcissus with her current project. If only she wasn''t as stubborn as she was childish. "Flirting?" I amusedly chuckled. "Please, Veri dear, I don''t waste my intellect on such trivial pursuits." "Since when you''re close enough to me to give me a nickname¡­" "Of course we''re not flirting," Narcissus chimed in sweetly. "After all, you''re far too busy plotting world domination, one sarcastic remark at a time." "Someone has to keep the universe in check," I yfully retorted. "It might as well be me." Despite our miniscule amount of time with one another, my opinion of Narcissus had already cemented itself into a total fascination. Who would have thought that by just following that ''ravendy'', I managed to stumble into something that was out of this world. No, it wasn''t ''simply'' only out of this world, but she was also adorned by the very leylines of the arcane will itself. Oxymoronically, she was also barred by arcane will from ever touching the essence of ''ohrmancy'' itself, something that would only happen to a person if they managed tomit a cosmic crime that angered the very bringer of this world itself. What''s more interesting, was the fact that she was unaware of it all! My encounter with her was definitely something beyond a jackpot in this lottery of fate! "Woah woah woah! That one is too hot, Verina. You''re melting the whole thing." "Ah, it seems like I put too much on the lifeline." Verina''s ohrtending as of now was a drastic improvement than the one she performed yesterday. Even without the arcane influence, her foundation was too shoddy and crude, it baffled me on how she could even allocate the right amount of lifeline. Then again, I was also once stuck in that learning phase because I have no one to reference to. "Alright, we can do it this time." Narcissus hunched over the husk of a vessel module¡ªno, not just any vessel. A scientific device that merges the raw essence of a Coalborn''s eternal me with his bizarre understanding of technology. There was little to no interference from any type of ohrtending from the two of them, yet I could deduce that something could happen systematically inside it, like a prison that abuses heat to create mechanical energy, which is then converted into electricity or stored energy. And the source of all of this energy shall be brought by that relic over there, known as Charstone that was extracted from the remains of a horde of Coalborn. My memory of it wasn''t the most vivid, however. The irony isn''t lost on me. An attempt to tame the wild, uncontroble fire of Charstone for something as mundane as energy output. Cute. I continued to watch as the three of us bantered our minds away, deeping our friendship through yful quip and harmless sarcasm. And after 3 hours of observing, I was rewarded with the view of the vessel module''s final form. "Huehue, let''s see this boy roar and hum, shall we~?" Like a proud mother, Narcissus ordered her kilnn follower to act out thest deed. "Insert the kindled Charstone!" It was a rather gargantuan engine, built from twisted scraps of Cmity Alloy and cobbled-togetherponents. It hummed softly, though its vibrations were nearly drowned out by the crackling heat emanating from the Charstone within. The eternal me pulsed, flickering angrily against the metal walls that dare to cage it. The Charstone, of course, was a gift¡ªor a curse¡ªfrom the Coalborn. Creatures born from ash, fueled by the destruction they leave behind, leaving behind only relics that promise the same. Ah, the Coalborn, I fully remembered now. Sentient embers in a humanoid shell, roaming like scavengers after a fire, sparking new zes in their wake. They always amused me, their mindless hunger for destruction, and the aftermath they so casually leave in their wake. A fitting metaphor for most things in life, if you ask me. Watching Narcissus work is its own kind of entertainment. Her fingers work impossibly cunning, but her face¡ªoh, her biblical face¡ªwas locked in that ridiculous look of pride,pletely unaware of my scrutiny. My attention for her lingered on like the me, flickering within its prison of fate, just like the Charstone that was given its purpose in life. "I''ll name this engine, the Ifrit Roar!" Narcissus excitedly eximed. Why, because of its guttural sound? Then again, it would be fitting for a mother to name their object of creation. Yes, Narcissus appeared like a mother of creation in my eyes. Her mind possessed a vast array of imagination, and her divine hands had no qualms about turning those imagination into life. "So, what are we going to do with this ''engine''?" Verina asked. "Why do you think that I''m using nearly all of the resources to make this bad boy as big as a house?" Narcissus slyly grinned. "I''m going to make a ndship''!" Ah yes, andship. A behemoth of iron and arcane engineering, lumbering across thendscape like a misced relic from a forgotten age, it embodies human arrogance in its most tangible form. They think they can tame thend, impose order upon the chaos, by chaining themselves to these massive constructs. A ship onnd, fufufu¡ªhow delightfully absurd. It''s a crude attempt at defying the natural order, a desperate grasp for control in a world that thrives on entropy. I can''t help but admire the ambition, even as I recognize its inevitable futility. After all, no matter how grand the ship, the sea of decay will always swallow it whole~ It was a novelty concept, something that only a few civilizations in Carcosa were capable of achieving. After all, something moving and bigger than a mountain should be a mere dream of an engineer. Then again, this is Narcissus that I''m talking about. Considering the size of the engine, thendship shouldn''t be anything bigger than four carriages, which was definitely usible but far from what I would call a properndship that has been created by the hands of mankind. I''m fine with a miniaturendship. Actually, the idea of a small, privatendship never beckoned itself upon me until now. Though, it seems like thendship will be a project for another, considering that we start tock the resources to produce ten ingots of Cmity Alloys, let alone the crude one. After the creation of the Ifrit Roar, Narcissus imposed three hours of rest to the three of us. In this time of rest, I decided to indulge myself by continuing my observation into Narcissus'' soul structure. She wanted me to record every piece of my findings and understanding into a report the moment a single session was done. Thankfully, I could just indefinitely extend my experimenting session. After all, I could just use the soul link that we created through a contract to start digging anywhere and everywhere I want without being a nuisance to her. I also informed Narcissus first and foremost whenever I started my experiment into her soul. I would be disobeying the very contract that I made, otherwise. "This shall be the most exquisite of discovery~" With a ss of blood in hand, I weaved my arcane threads to venture further into Narcissus'' realm of soul. And my finding happened to be the most horrifying one that I could ever encounter. Chapter 81: Kuzunohas Viewpoint: Secret Within The Gold As soon as I touched something elusive inside Narcissus'' soul, my whole consciousness was transported into somewhere else. As if I had just triggered a trap. Or perhaps, a doorbell that made the owner of the soul aware of my existence. It was a room of mathematics, a room filled with theorems¡ªan impossible realm that defied all logic, a ce where the boundaries of reality had warped beyond recognition. Concepts¡ªabstract thoughts and ideas¡ªhad taken on impossible forms, shapes that stretched and folded into dimensions the mind could not grasp. Time flowed like liquid, seeping through cracks in space, while gravity bent in directions that should not have existed. Colors had bled into sounds, and emotions manifested as living, writhing entities that coiled and twisted in the air, their forms flickering between visibility and the void. In this realm, the very idea of shape had coalesced into tangible things¡ªanxiety had be a towering, spiraling monolith of shifting ss, reflecting nightmares within its fractured surfaces; ambition had taken the form of an endlessly climbing staircase, each steprger and more unreachable than thest. Evennguage had taken shape, words floating as shimmering, iprehensible symbols that twisted and fractured with every fleeting nce. Everything was far and close at the same time. Something that might be positioned hundreds of meters away might be standing firm right in front of my face the moment I was aware of it. It was filled with pure dread and flooding anxiety, at the level that I couldn''t evenprehend. Understanding had not only been elusive but dangerous. To attempt toprehend these coalesced shapes had been to invite madness, for the very act of perceiving them threatened to unravel the mind, stretching thoughts to the breaking point. It had been a ce where thought itself became unstable, where the edges of reality frayed, and where the familiar dissolved into the vast, unknowable depths of an existence beyond all reason. Yet, despite all of that madness, I feel as though I was sitting on a chair in front of an office desk with a certain humanoid entity behind it. Yes, there was an entity whose existence was stable enough to be easilyprehended by me, unlike those shape-shifting nightmares that were lingering all over the ce. She appeared human in form, her silhouette unmistakable despite the chaos of the realm. Her body, delicate and poised, rested behind the desk as if this ce¡ªthis maddening, coalescing dimension¡ªwas a mere office to her. Funnily enough, she was wearing something I perceive as formal, albeit foreign to Carcosa, an entric suit and a tie¡ªmight be designed to make someone look sharp and serious, often worn by people in important roles, like leaders or people who make decisions. But it was her face¡ªor rather, the void where her face should have been¡ªthat caught my attention. An abyss in ce of features, a smooth emptiness where eyes, nose, and mouth should have been, yet despite that, I felt her gaze, piercing and intense. On another perspective, it was as if I was forced to gaze a head-shaped face that was crowned with neck-length ck hair and overgrown bangs, The absence of a face was unsettling, yet there was an undeniable sensation that she was smiling at me¡ªwatching me closely, as if amused by my bewilderment, perhaps even entertained by my intrusion. Her chin rested lightly on the bridge of her hands, her fingers interlocked in a gesture so casual, so deceptively human, that it sent a shiver down my spine. She radiated a presence that I couldn''t name, a calm that was somehow more terrifying than the ever-shifting madness around us. Even though her face was a void, there was an intimacy to her attention, as if I had been summoned here, as if I had triggered something deep within this soul¡ªan invitation I had unwittingly epted. Her stillness contrasted the swirling chaos that filled the space around us, and though she said nothing, I felt her waiting. For what? I didn''t know. But I could feel the weight of her expectation pressing down on me, a silent pressure that made the air thick and my thoughts heavy. I wanted to speak, to ask who¡ªwhat¡ªshe was, but the words died in my throat, trapped beneath the weight of that faceless, watching void. And then her words beckoned upon me, slicing through the swirling dread like a scalpel. "I thought I had already ripped the smug off that face of yours." Her words were ovepped with an echo of numerous voices, as if she was not a single entity. But this statement. Don''t tell me¡ªthat she was the one who took over Narcissus back then? I possessed no knowledge or understanding of this entity, a simple err in my choice of words might result in a danger to both me and Narcissus. However, I also must know for a fact that this was no ce for arrogant or haughty quips. I had touched something deep within Narcissus, something I didn''t understand, and now I was before the very thing that held dominion over it. She had control here¡ªutter andplete¡ªand I knew better than to test the boundaries of this unknown power with my usual defiance. I straightened myself, folding my hands neatly in front of me as I met the faceless void where her gaze should have been. My voice, usually dripping with sarcasm and superiority, was carefully measured, restrained in a way that even I found unfamiliar. "Forgive my intrusion," I began, my tone formal, respectful. "I did not intend to step into your domain so recklessly. I merely followed a thread within Narcissus'' soul, unaware it would lead me here... to you." There was no response, no movement from the entity behind the desk, yet I could feel her gaze pressing harder against me, as if weighing the sincerity of my words, testing my resolve. The silence was suffocating, but I maintained myposure. "I recognize your presence from before," I continued, my mind working swiftly to piece together the fragments of what little I knew. "You took control of Narcissus... perhaps when she was at her weakest." I chose my words carefully, not out of fear, but out of necessity. Her faceless void seemed to tilt ever so slightly, as though considering my statement, yet the oppressive silence lingered. "I ask only for understanding," I said, lowering my head ever so slightly, not quite a bow but a gesture of deference. "For what transpired, and for what you want with Narcissus. I seek knowledge, not conflict." She then leaned back to her chair with a hint of confidence, as if she was scoffing. "Good." She leaned back in her chair, resting her elbow on the armrest, her hand poised where her cheek should have been. "You know your ce, and you have the humility to step aside when needed. Is that why you''ve managed to survive for so long?" "Thank you for your kind words." Now that our emotions were sorted out, I could calmly gaze back into the abyss. "I have simply learned to recognize my limitations and act ordingly. Survival often requires understanding when to step forward and when to yield." "Are you suggesting that one misstep here could lead to your downfall?" "Anything is possible when faced with uncertainty. I''m simply acting out of caution." After all, venturing into a dark tunnel without amp or a clear map in mind was far from a wise decision. "We can remove the formality then." Her bodily gesture began tox even more, as if she had nothing to worry about. "I possess no name, but feel free to refer to me as Narcissus. The same one you met on the outside¡­ "And no, I already know you, Kuzunoha." This Narcissus tilted her neck as if she was feeling sore. "So you don''t need to introduce yourself. After all, I can feel everything that the outside Narcissus sees and experiences. But, not the other way around~ "So, if I''m being honest, seeing you bing this formal out of nowhere really creeps me out, particrly." She waved her hand up and down. "Just act like you usually do." Chapter 82: Kuzunohas Viewpoint: Daffodil Of The Black "Ah, I see." Now that I glimpse the connection between the two Narcissus, I cast off my mask and act as I usually do. "Then I assume that you have noplication with my presence, now that we have assured one another" Unlike the golden figure that Narcissus currently was outside of this realm, who was sly, charismatic, domineering, and conclusive¡ªthis Narcissus felt different. "Hmm, I still have grudges," she said while pondering. "So don''t do anything that arouses my anger and difort. I don''t want a useful pawn of mine to have her soul die out and leave an empty husk because of carelessness." She saw me as a pawn!? How revolting! "Referring each of you as a single entity feels wrong to me. Clearly, you possess your own train of thoughts and personality than the Narcissus outside. Care to hear a single suggestion of mine?" "Go on." "How about I refer to you as Daffodil instead?" I politely suggested. "It is another name for narcissus flower, and I think it can clear the confusion in referral, while also showing that the two of you are just two sides of the same coin." The entity before me caressed the chin part of her void-shaped face before excitedly pointing at me. "I like it! That is so clever!" "I''m d that you''re liking the suggestion, darling," I bowed slightly. "So tell me, what do you want to know?" Daffodil extended her hand, still sluggishly leaning to her own chair. "You must be itching for knowledge, Kuzunoha. After all, I can feel that curiosity is oozing from your skull like there is no tomorrow~!" She seemed to be an easy entity to please. At the same time, she also seemed like an easy entity to anger. And the most important of them all, was the fact that she appeared to be holding more knowledge than any beings I met in the past. "I want to savor our interaction, so I''ll take my time and start with simple questions that gradually lead to moreplex ones," I said, shing a friendly smile. I wanted her to see that I was genuinely interested in forging a connection for future encounters. "With that in mind, I hope to cultivate a good rtionship with both Narcissus and yourself as time unfolds." "That''s a solid approach," Daffodil replied nonchntly. "I, too, n to leverage our rtionship to my advantage, so be prepared to indulge my whims when I''m not in the mood to cooperate." "I''ll do my utmost to oblige, then~" I giggled, finding amusement in our shared understanding. "Should I draft a separate contract to formalize our arrangement?" "No need for that. I doubt your arcane contract would hold sway over a being like me," Daffodil said casually, as if she possessed a deeper understanding of the arcane than Narcissus. "Now, go ahead¡ªask your first question of the day. I''m willing to answer anything, as long as it aligns with my interests." "What kind of food do you like?" I asked, starting with something simple per my statement. "Oh my, you weren''t kidding when you said you''d start with an easy question." "You mentioned that you see and feel everything Narcissus experiences. Maybe I can satisfy your curiosity by having Narcissus try different kinds of food." She let out a soft, amused chuckle. "You make it sound as if Narcissus and I arepletely separate entities. But trust me, we''re much more in sync than that. Pleasing Narcissus is essentially the same as pleasing me." Her bodily gesture softened as she continued. "Honestly, I''m not too particr about what Narcissus eats. But if I had my way, I''d prefer fine dining¡ªsomething with an elegant atmosphere, like a meal in a high-end restaurant. There''s something about the ambiance that makes the experience... exquisite~" "Dear me, I didn''t expect that Narcissus would have such a refined pte." "Narcissus is actually quite stubborn at feeding herself with crap when things aren''t as rxed." Daffodil appeared to be sighing. "It''s like we prefer it, but it''s hard to consume good consumables when you are burdened with a lot of things." "I will try my best to ensure that Narcissus isfortable enough before treating her with an exquisite dining experience," I promised wholeheartedly. "I can''t wait for that time toe then~" I continued asking her mundane questions, hoping to get a clearer sense of her personality¡ªand, by extension, Narcissus'' as well. We talked about her favorite time of day, the kinds of people she enjoyed interacting with, and other seemingly trivial topics. Before I realized it, three hours had passed in the real world. "I think it''s time for me to take my leave," I said, my voice soft but firm, preparing for the severance between my consciousness and this realm. "As much as I''ve enjoyed our conversation, I must return to the outside world. Narcissus will likely need me soon." Daffodil leaned forward slightly, her faceless void tilting again, as if pondering my words. Her presence, once so overwhelming, now felt more subdued, more familiar. "Leaving so soon? I was just starting to enjoy our little banter." Her tone was teasing, but there was a hint of genuine disappointment there, a subtle shift in the way her posture rxed. "Then again, you did promise Narcissus to report everything you find in this little experiment of yours. I guess I can amuse myself through your recapter." I smiled, bowing my head slightly. "You know we''ll meet again, Daffodil. This won''t be thest time I enter this ce. Besides, I suspect you''ll be seeing much more of me, whether you''re ready or not~" Daffodil chuckled, herughter a strange, musical sound that reverberated through the warped space around us. "Oh, I certainly hope so. Our conversations are... refreshing, in a way. You''re not like the others who have wandered into this realm¡ªso full of pride or fear. You''re different. I look forward to your next visit, Kuzunoha." Was she implying that I''m not the first one to meet her here? I guess that should be the theme of my questions for the next time. "Likewise." I stood, brushing off my robes as the weight of the real world began to settle back into my bones. The colors and shapes around me began to blur, the abstract concepts shifting out of focus as reality asserted itself. "Until next time, Daffodil." "Don''t keep me waiting for too long, now," she said yfully, folding her hands once more beneath her featureless face. "I''ll be impatient for our next... session." With a final nod, I allowed myself to be pulled back, the soul realm slipping away like a fading dream. The chaotic madness, the impossible shapes and sounds, all dissolved into a distant memory as I felt my consciousness re-anchor itself in the real world. I opened my eyes, and the familiar sights and sounds of the real world washed over me once again. The air was dense butforting. I was back. Back in the world of the living¡ªof the tangible, theprehensible. The soul realm felt like a distant echo, but Daffodil''s presence lingered in my mind, a reminder of the strange entity I had just conversed with. "Hmm, the blood on my ss has tasted bad." I sighed from the loss of my precious delicacy. "Oh well. It is a small price to pay for drinking while working." I stood up from my seat inside the dining room of the wooden cabin. Neither Narcissus and Verina were here. They were probably in the workshop by now, continuing whatever creation that Narcissus came up with her creativity. "Urgh, my rear is still sore as ever." I almost cursed as my lower half felt like hell since that one incident. "Actually, my whole body is sore all over. Narcissus, that brute. Who would have thought that the effect of the failed hex wouldst for hours for her case?" There was so much more to uncover¡ªabout Narcissus, about Daffodil, about the strange connection between them. And I had a feeling that this was only the beginning. For now, though, I would savor the moment. The real world had its own challenges, and I needed to be ready for whatever came next. But soon enough, I would return to the soul realm. And when I did, Daffodil would be waiting. And so would I. "Wait, if Daffodil experienced everything, then doesn''t that mean she also experienced the time when I failed my hex?" It was an interesting question to ponder. Regardless, I can''t wait to interact with both of them more. Chapter 83: Insider Informant Hello, everyone. This is Narcissus. And I happen to stumble upon the fact that I was housing a rather peculiar entity within my very own soul. "And instead of delving into her origin, you''re asking her preferences of mundane things in order to set a healthy foundation, huh." "I learned a lot about you thanks to Daffodil," Kuzunoha slyly curved her lips, as if she had just uncovered a crucial weakness of mine. "It shed a brand new light to my eyes." Not to mention, Kuzuonoha proposed to name this entity ''Daffodil'' out of every name after she introduced herself as Narcissus. Huh, should I even care that a daffodil flower exists in this world? Also, how did Kuzunoha know that daffodil is another name for a narcissus flower? Was she knowledgeable of the Greek myth itself? Regardless, finding out that I have a so-called unknown persona that was experiencing everything that was experiencing¡ªwas quite a shocker. Verina, who was trustworthy enough to be in this conversation, decided to raise her hand. "You said that this Daffodil possesses a synchronized preference and train of thought with Narcy. If so, then what is Narcy''s food preference?" Kuzunoha''s grin twisted into something wicked, her finger yfully tracing the air. "Narcissus is fine with everything. However, she will enjoy a much more refined atmosphere and dining experience rather than the taste of the food itself." And she was right! I do love dining in those ridiculously overpriced restaurants where the real allure isn''t the food, but the experience. I only went through 3 instances of those experiences back when I was still Lothair, and I honestly want to enjoy more of them, no matter how expensive they were. In front of Verina and Kuzunoha, my face was quite flustered right now. The realization hit me hard¡ªone of my own aides now had ess to an insider who seemed to know every intimate detail about me. It made me uneasy, wondering what this might mean for our rtionship moving forward. And n6w look at that conniving fox, Kuzunoha! She was enjoying this reaction of mine. No, she was downright savoring it, with far more enthusiasm than usual! Sensing this was her chance to dig deeper,, Verina removed the break of her tongue before stomping on the gas. "What is Narcy''s favorite color?" "It used to be green, but now she leans a bit more toward gold." "Does she have any embarrassing secrets?" "Oh, her ears are extremely sensitive." "What''s Narcy''s type when ites to a partner?" "Useful, considerate, attentive, and proactive." "In terms of appearance?" "She''s quite flexible¡ªshe''s attracted to both ends of a few spectrums. Narcy likes both very tall and very short women. The same goes for body types¡ªshe''s drawn to extremes, whether it''s a full figure or a petite frame. Thick thighs with a small waist, though? That''s a particr favorite. And of course, the ssic hourss figure never goes unappreciated." "Hmm, what about facial features?" Kuzunoha chuckled mischievously. "Oh, Narcissus? She doesn''t care much about faces. After all, she considers herself the most beautiful in all of Carcosa. But not being ugly by typical standards? That''s definitely a plus." "What kind of questions were you asking her?!" I burst out, unable to restrain myself. Hearing these two uncovering all my mundane secrets made me feel more vulnerable than an ant under a magnifying ss. "At least have the decency to talk about this somewhere else! Not in front of me!" "But, Narcissus." Verina''s eyes flicked toward me with a yful glint, as if stating the obvious. "How could we admire your reactions if we weren''t discussing it with you right here?" "I agree with the kilnn, darling~" Kuzunoha yfully giggled. "What makes this conversation feel sweet and exquisite is because we''re able to watch and admire your flustered face." "AAA-! I don''t want to hear it anymore!" But regardless of my plea, they continued with their yful harassment. If they weren''t much useful nor trustworthy to me by any means, I won''t tolerate the slightest of such behavior. Because as much as I want them to just stop, this unveiling event was greatly increasing their moods and opinion of one another. Although, most of them were greatly targeted towards me. Right now, Verina has 223 points of favorability in her rtionship with me, and 10 points to Kuzunoha. As for Kuzunoha, her favorability with me is 167 which skyrocketed from 30 when the first contract was established. Her opinion of Verina was actually 25 which was surprising. I don''t meet many people in this world yet, so I don''t have any reference to gauge how meaningful these numbers were. Regardless, I would very much prefer to keep these numbers high. And right now, adhering to their tant attempt of teasing and flirting was the right choice for that kind of direction. Not to mention, they seem to adore getting all sorts of genuine reactions from me, which should serve for a healthy foundation for our rtionships. Not to mention, there was also still that n of making a harem if I happen to be fated with more than one beloved partner. "This day shall be marked as the day where the wall of Narcissus has fallen," Verina said with such a smug aura. "I don''t know if we will ever maintain this kind of development, but I''m d that it even happened in the first ce." Kuzunoha, ever the fox, grinned wider, her lips curling into that sly, knowing smirk she always wore. "Indeed. It''s not every day we get to see the serious, fake-smiling, stern Narcissus herself so... vulnerable." She lingered on the word, her voice dripping with amusement. Vulnerable? Me? The idea wasughable at first, but here I was, feeling very much like a cornered animal. The worst part was that they were both right. Whether it was the sudden revtion of Daffodil or simply the fact that they were discussing things I kept from everyone right in front of me. I wonder if this was the oue that Daffodil wanted. After all, she should be experiencing my thoughts and emotions at this very moment. A ck-haired facelessdy in a suit¡ªit was definitely not the kind of person I would imagine to have as an alter ego for someone like Narcissus. Then again, I felt like Daffodil being faceless had something to do with this suppressed obsession of mine. If only I could meet her directly and talk to her face to face. I suggested this to Kuzunoha before the conversation became a full-blown teasing fest. But apparently, it would be quiteplicated for my consciousness to be in the same realm as Daffodil, especially in that world where Kuzunoha described it as impossible to exist. Chapter 84 : Sandwiched By Two Flowers "Hnng¡­ I think I want to rest for a while." After I finished constructing the Ifrit Roar and two more sets of Stormhook, there was no longer any material in our storage that could be used for anyplex crafting. My Sanity has been fluctuating between 70% and 80% for the past hours, so I want to stabilize it to somewhere above 90% before the Ordeal starts if possible. I already fully built the wooden cabin too,plete with two extra bedrooms for Kuzunoha and Verina respectively. At this point, I don''t think that I have anything important left to do. The day was far from meeting with the dusk, so I felt a little bit at ease at the moment. "You two can keep admiring me while I''m gone~" I said with a rather wry smile on my face as I left for my own bedroom "Just wake me up if there is anything important~" Though, I feel like my sensitive hearing wouldn''t really allow me to stop listening to the conversation beyond my private haven. The door to my room clicked softly shut behind me. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to breathe deeply, letting the half-muted silence of my private space wash over me. The air was calm here¡ªstill, almost sacred. It was a stark contrast to the chaos I had left behind in the main hall. I nced around the room, the soft light of thete afternoon filtering in through the ssless window, casting gentle shadows across the wooden walls. The bed¡ªmy bed¡ªlooked especially inviting after the long day of crafting, managing resources, and fending off the verbal jabs of mypanions. The plush sheets, the fluffy pillows... They were the escape I needed right now. I crafted and sewn them all together after carving materials from some fabric-rted Cmity Object yesterday¡ªoutside of the Velvet Abomination, of course. There were also a lot of humanoid-looking entities who came in packages with their own civilized clothing, something that I can turn into bedding objects. "If we can gather enough cmity material tonight, we might be able to finish the Landship tomorrow and go straight to Torie Citadel~" I uttered to myself, donning a happy smile. "The future''s looking bright~" Without wasting any more time, I detached my Gloamkeeper''s Beacon from my hip and slipped out of my garb, letting the fabric pool at my feet as I exchanged it for something lighter, morefortable. A simple shirt I crafted, loose and cool against my skin, was all I needed. With a satisfied sigh, I padded over to the bed and threw myself onto it with all the grace of an afternoon star. The improvised mattress cushioned me perfectly, molding to my body like it had been waiting for this moment as much as I had. I buried my face in the pillow, letting out a long, muffled groan. Finally, peace. Iy there for a few minutes, simply enjoying the sensation of being still, away from the demands of leadership, the teasing of mypanions, and the ever-present weight of responsibility. My mind began to drift, thoughts swirlingzily like leaves caught in a gentle breeze. For the first time in what felt like hours, I could think clearly¡ªor rather, not think at all. But, of course, I wasn''tpletely alone. Because for some reason, the two rascals that were formerly outside managed to slip themselves into my bed. And both of them were wearing nothing but their underwear. "... What are you two doing?" "Kuzunoha hatched a wicked n to develop some skinship with you, and I''m trying my best to thwart her n." Verina said with no emotion whatsoever, while also tightly clinging to my right arm as if I was her bolster. I even felt the coldness of her leg prosthetic. "Daffodil mentioned that she likes a proactive partner, isn''t she?" Kuzunoha smirked as she whispered, clinging to my left arm as she wasying on the opposite side from Verina. "I just happen to be that kind of woman, and I want to prove it to her while the opportunity is given to me, darling~" I stared at the ceiling, trying to process the absurdity of my current situation. Two of my closest aides were now nestled beside me, each with their own twisted logic for why this was happening. It was a bizarre scene¡ªone that I hadn''t exactly predicted when I excused myself for a moment of peace. Yet, here we were. "Kuzunoha," I sighed, already knowing that questioning her reasoning was an exercise in futility, "Since when did ''proactive'' mean sneaking into my bed while I''m trying to sleep?" She chuckled softly, her fingers lightly tracing idle patterns on my arm. "Oh, darling, you misunderstand. I''m simply fulfilling the expectations of Daffodil. And, of course, I can''t resist when you look so vulnerable. You know how much I love a good opportunity." Verina, ever the deadpan, tightened her grip on my other arm, as if this was some kind of bizarre contest. "I''m only here to stop her. Someone has to keep her in check." "Right. So clinging to me like a second skin is your idea of damage control?" I shot her a sidelong nce. She blinked, the faintest hint of a smirk tugging at her lips, though her face remained emotionless. "If it prevents Kuzunoha from doing anything outrageous, then yes. Consider it¡­ containment." Kuzunoha''s voice was velvet and honey, dripping with amusement. "I suppose this is quite the pleasant little predicament, isn''t it? The strong and prepared Narcissus, flustered and pinned between two women. I must say, I like this development." My heart pounded in my chest, not because I was nervous¡ªwell, maybe a little¡ªbut mostly out of sheer exasperation. The teasing, the yful banter, the constant testing of my boundaries¡ªit was as if they''d made it their personal mission to turn every moment of my life into some sort of theatricaledy. And yet, beneath the jest, there was an unmistakable intimacy brewing... Also, since when did their words and actions manage to affect me this badly?? Thankfully, Lupina was still in the state where she couldn''t join their shenanigans. After all, I don''t want to be smothered by three of them at the same time without any kind of experience at all. Of course, I didn''t mean that she should stay as a cyropreserved head. I nced between them, the coolness of Verina''s prosthetic leg contrasting with Kuzunoha''s warm, deliberate touch. "You two are incorrigible," I muttered. "You''re lucky I need both of you." "Oh, I''m sure it''s more than just ''need''," Kuzunoha cooed, leaning a little closer, further pressing her squishy ample bosoms onto my side. "Daffodil has told me quite a lot about what you really want." "I¡ª" I spluttered. "Don''t even start." I thought she was only asking about mundane things to Daffodil, since when did she know this much information!? Unless she was lying and only wanting to see my reaction¡­ Verina''s voice broke through the tension, calm but sharp. "If I have to listen to any more of this, I will drag you out when you''re asleep, Kuzunoha." "Both of you can sleepwalk right out," I grumbled, although my voicecked conviction. The truth was, despite the ridiculousness of it all, I didn''t entirely mind their presence. It wasfortable, in a strange, chaotic way. "Well, good rest then, Narcissus," Verina said dryly, settling into her side of the bed, clearly intent on staying put. "And sweet dreams, darling," Kuzunoha whispered, her grin audible even in the shallow light as she nestled closer. I groaned internally, epting my fate for the day. One way or another, peace was never going to be an option with these two. Chapter 85 : Swirling Memories Have I fallen into my slumber? It seemed like this was the first time where I managed to rest this deeply. Deeply into crack. Deeper, yet deeper Deepening into the abyss. "Huh, everything feels so vivid for a dream." Right, it had been a while since I ever experienced what it felt like to be roaming in a dream. "And in this case, this dream must be the recollection of my psyche when I''m still a man with the name of Lothair." No, perhaps, when I was still a boy. "If I''m not wrong, I''m still seven years old when this scene happens." The sky hung low and heavy over the field, its somber hue of deep gray casting a muted pall across thend. A soft breeze stirred the tall, untamed grasses, their silken heads bending in unison as if weighed down by the atmosphere itself. The field, expansive and meticulously bordered by a finely crafted stone wall, bore the subtle elegance of wealth¡ªa private estate where nature was allowed to breathe, yet never stray too far from refinement. In the distance, the towering silhouette of the city loomed faintly, its spires barely visible through the thick clouds, while the manor stood quietly behind, nestled amidst the manicured gardens. The air was cool, the kind that tasted of rain yet to fall, and the world seemed to pause under the mncholy of the sky, as if waiting for something that never came. I''m currently somewhere near my grandparent''s ce. "It seems like my greatest fear hase to haunt me once more." A voice so silky, one would wonder if it was cast by a human. There, a tall figure approached my shrunken self. It was my grandmother. She was old, but he looked as youthful as the newlywed neighbor. Her obsidian hair reminded me of the pale night sky, and her lifeless eyes reminded me of myself. Despite her worried tone, her face was cold and solemn as a tombstone. Herplexion always appears strong yet so fragile, as if she could just die at any moment if she had just decided to stop her breath. "Grandmother." Ah right, it was at that time of the day where I stumbled upon a curious bird and grabbed it. At that time, I was curious if this bird could still move if I were to detach its head from its body. In the end, I tore off the bird''s head for such a meaningless reason. Right now, my grandmother was currently watching her emotionless grandkid taking the life of a single wildlife without any remorse. My grandmother sighed, "I was afraid that one of my lineage would inherit my curse. Out of everyone, it befell upon my lovely Lothair." I was still young back then. I was still naive. "What can I do to remove this curse, then?" I voiced so nonchntly back then. "The curse can''t be removed. However, we can still live with it." She squatted down with her apparel that looked like a mourning dress. "Do you want to know more?" "Tell me more." My grandmother caressed my face as if she was taking pity at me. "Unlike many, you and I are structured differently than a normal person." "Is it simr to how birds are different from frogs?" "It is more simr to an inherently dumb bird and an inherently cautious bird," she answered. "Both are birds all the same, but there is a difference within something that processes their mind." "Is this about why I''m able to nonchntly kill this bird?" "You''re smart, Lothair." "Lothar isn''t smart, though. He can''t get a perfect score on an exam." "It just means that you are not smart in that field. This doesn''t change that you''re smarter than the average child." "Is this because of the curse?" "Yes." My grandmother then proceeded to hug me. "That is why, you need to know your limit and the extent of your capability. What can you do, what you want to do, and what needs to be kept in mind when enacting all of your action." "What I need to keep in mind?" "That we''re still human, all the same." Her voice was soft and calm, as if she tried to assure me, "Despite the differences we have in our way of thinking with others, we''re still a living, breathing, human being. "And as a human being, we need to try our best to keep our humanity close to our heart." However, her voice started to be stern and weak, as if she was heartbroken. "One day, you will start to question whether you''re a human, or if there is a meaning behind your thoughts and action. "One day, you will start to crumble, wondering if you''re a monster with human skin. One day, you will start to realize that you have nobody but yourself to rely on. "And one day, you will reach out your hand to others, only to destroy their lives without a single remorse." She retracted herself from her hug, revealing a face full of concern and sadness, unlike the cold and calcted one that she wore before. "Remember, Lothair, humans are fragile, yet precious beings." Thosest words always echoed itself inside my mind as if it never left the very corner of my conscience. Just what did my grandmother imply when she said that? Before I could relinquish this dream with proper thought and ending, a vibrant wave of gold usurped my dream realm that transformed everything into a foreign view. ''What is this? Where am I?'' It was so sudden that I couldn''t even keep up with what was happening. Before I knew it, I was inside the body of someone else, a noble young girl with vibrant golden hair so long, I could brush my hands with it without lifting my finger. And then before me was a corrupted face of a man and a voice that I couldn''t even discern. "How many times have I told you to not call me father in front of someone else?" A violent p was unleashed upon my cheek. The strength was remorseless, as this horribly weak body was sent across the floor and to the office wall. Yes, it appeared that I was in an office or some sort, while the angry man in front of me was wearing an apparel of nobility. Now that I look at it, I was also wearing some sort of dress, one that a rich historical noble daughter would wear. If only that the pretty dress wasn''t stained with my blood. "Dare you not reflect on your mistake today, Daffodil¡ªthen I won''t hesitate to put you in solitary confinement." It was more likely that Daffodil would die of blood loss first before being sent to solitary confinement... Wait. Daffodil? Thisss'' name was Daffodil!? "I-I''m sorry, your grace. The word slipped from my mouth. I promise you, I won''t make the same mistake again¡­" The words were forced toe out of my mouth. Am I currently relieving Daffodil''s past? But which Daffodil? Was it Narcissus, the body that I''m currently inhabiting right now? Was it the Daffodil that I saw in my vision, the soon-to-be daughter of Yaria and Elisi? Or was it the Daffodil that exists inside the realm of my soul? Then again, that name was suggested by Kuzunoha, and the void-faced entity did introduce herself as Narcissus at first. "Don''t ever show your false and imperfect face to me ever again." But for some reason, thatst statement left a great scar on my heart. And then I woke up. "Haah¡­!" I jolted awake, heart pounding in my chest like a drumbeat out of control, my body drenched in cold sweat. For a moment, I couldn''t tell if I had truly escaped the nightmare or if I was still caught in its clutches¡ªthe room around me felt unreal, the shadows sharper, the air heavier. My breath came in ragged gasps, each one shallow as though I had just run miles, yet my muscles ached with exhaustion, as if I had fought a battle. The anxiety lingered, clinging to my skin like an invisible weight, my mind still reying fragments of the foreign memory I had just witnessed. "This isn''t like me¡­" The palpitations wouldn''t stop, thudding painfully against my ribs, reminding me of the terror that had felt so real. Even though I was awake, I felt trapped, unable to shake. It was suffocating, the kind of dread that made sleep feel like a distant, impossible relief. Chapter 86: An Ambush? "Hahaah... this is strangely overwhelming." The storm of emotion swirling inside me should be an impossible thing to happen, but it did. My instinct led me to my fractured trustyntern, still gleaming its sacred light but less of its blessing and protection. [Broken Gloamkeeper''s Beacon (Cmity 60%) - 1.8 kg: Once a relic of immense power from an era long forgotten, the Gloamkeeper''s Beacon now stands fractured, its brilliance reduced to a pale reflection of its former self. The arcane metal still drinks in surrounding darkness, and the delicate symbols etched into its framework continue to pulse with faint, golden light. However, the steady, unwavering me that once radiated serenefort now flickers erratically, casting a light that is softer, dimmer, and unreliable. The sacred barrier it creates, once imprable to malevolent forces, is now thin and fleeting. While it still wards off danger and faintly illuminates hidden paths, the threshold of emotional suppression it once imposed has been irreversibly shattered. Holding the beacon still brings with it a fleeting warmth, a reminder of its old power, but the connection between bearer and relic feels strained. The personal sacrifice it demands remains, but it now extracts more vitality for less in return. Over time, the beacon continues to dull the bearer''s emotional depth¡ªthough only partially now¡ªleaving a lingering numbness, making the highs of joy and lows of sorrow faint echoes of what they once were] The name of the item and the overall description changed. "Is this because of that dream¡­?" Not that I mentioned it, where were Kuzunoha and Verina? "... What are those noises?" A faintmotion reached my ears, distant but unmistakable.. The banter of unfamiliar voices, ovepping with sharper tones I recognized all too well¡ªKuzunoha''smanding voice,ced with its usual acidic precision, and Verina''s calm but deadly undertone. Something was happening outside. I couldn''t ignore it. Despite my body still feeling the lingering aches, I prepared myself and put on my Soulthread Aegis garb, while my fingers tightening around the broken Gloamkeeper''s Beacon, attaching it to the strap on my hip. Its fractured light barely illuminated my way as I moved towards the source of the noise. I didn''t need the beacon''s fading glow to guide me, though¡ªmy heightened senses did that job perfectly. I just felt like it was proper for me to bring it alone. Through the thin wooden walls of the cabin, the conversation became clearer. They were already clear since the start, but the weight I''m feeling right now would be more grateful to just directly hear it closer. There was a distinct sound of shuffling, hushed whispers mixed with strained breaths¡ªsomething tense, something wrong. I approached the doorway, quietly pushing it open just a crack to peer outside. The sight that greeted me plunged me into further confusion, but strangely believable. Verina and Kuzunoha stood at the center of a clearing, surrounded by a band of ragged men and women¡ª28 of them, by the looks of it. They appeared to be bandits, something that I knew existed in this nearly apocalyptd where humanity was supposed to band together and endeavor. Their disheveled appearances and hastily armed states marked them as a group not expecting a solid confrontation. Fashion wise, they appear simr to that of Verina and Lupina when we first met¡ªadventurous and dull-looking leathery. Some had already fallen to the ground, lifeless, their blood staining the dirt, while others were kneeling, hands bound or raised in a gesture of surrender. Some were bound and gagged by arcane tapestry. Kuzunoha''s oriental umbre was hooked on her arm, her long red hair swayingzily in the breeze as if untouched by the violence surrounding her. Her crimson eyes gleamed with an almost detached amusement, as though the scene before her was nothing more than an afternoon stroll. Verina, floating to her side, looked moreposed, though her grip on her musket was calm and rxed. Both of them probably had realized that I was already awake, but they seemed to be in a deep thought amidst their expression of duty. One of the bandits, a grizzled man with a scar running down his cheek, spat on the ground, ring up at Kuzunoha with defiance. "We were just passing through! Didn''t think we''d run into a couple of witches in the middle of nowhere." Kuzunoha smiled, a sharp, cruel thing. "Passing through, were you? With your weapons drawn, and your eyes on this humble bastion like you nned to take it?" Hahaha, I doubted that this wall-less housings could be even considered as a bastion. The bandit growled but said nothing, his eyes flicking toward the bodies of hisrades lying lifeless in the dirt. "Seems like we interrupted your little ns," Kuzunoha continued, her voice was silken as usual. "You should consider yourselves lucky that I want to showcase all of you as trinkets~ I could have killed all of you. We''re feeling merciful." The man''s face paled at that, but he forced himself to remain defiant. "Merciful? You killed half my men!" "And yet, you''re still here, breathing." Kuzunoha''s smile widened as she tapped the ground lightly with her closed umbre. "Isn''t that fortunate?" I stepped into the clearing, letting my presence be known. The moment those foreign gazestched on me, they were suddenly overwhelmed by something beyond fear and dread. My voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "What''s going on here?" Kuzunoha''s head tilted slightly toward me, her gaze shifting to meet mine. "Ah, you''re awake, darling. I was just handling a little¡­ disturbance. Nothing to worry about. Nothing too important that warrant your attention in your precious sleep~" Verina turned as well, giving me a small nod of acknowledgment, but her eyes stayed sharp, focused on the bandits. I looked over the group again, all while diligently appraising their detail screen one by one. "You two captured all of them?" "Twenty-eight," Verina confirmed, her voice steady. "A few tried to resist. They''re the ones on the ground." I approached the nearest bandit, a younger man whose hands were trembling as he kept them raised. His eyes darted between me and Kuzunoha, filled with a mix of fear and confusion. I could sense his desperation¡ªthese weren''t seasoned soldiers, but desperate people, driven to banditry by whatever circumstances led them here. And yet, they had crossed paths with the wrong people. Though, I''m more surprised that both Verina and Kuzunoha alone managed to apprehend them. After all, I found some of them to be quite strong and capable, ording to the detail screen I saw¡ª And dangerous. "You could have killed them all. Why bother tidying them?" I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. After all, the fact that I didn''t even wake up while something crucial like this happened meant that I had let my guard down too much since I started keeping track of my sanity. Kuzunoha shrugged lightly, as if the lives of these people meant nothing. "I considered it. But Verina seemed to think we should show some restraint." Verina gave a quiet nod. "Killing them all would have been unnecessary. It''s quite inhumane, in my opinion." I nced at the fallen bodies again, I barely care about their wellbeing. "Any suggestion before I take the reign?" Kuzunoha''s giggled. "That depends, doesn''t it? What do you want to do with them, darling?" The weight of the decision settled on me as her question hung in the air. The bandits knelt before us, eyes wide with overwhelming dread, knowing their fate hung by a thread. And I wasn''t sure if I still had enough humanity left to save them. Chapter 87: Verinas Viewpoint: Sleeping Beauty Before our encounter with that group of suspiciously hostile vagabonds, I was admiring theforting face of sleeping Narcissus on the VIP seat¡ªbeside her on the bed, tugging her arm. Of course, I was not the only audience to this divine scenery. "Despite being steadfast at staying awake in our arms, she fell asleep in less than ten minutes," Kuzunoha said as she trailed her finger on Narcissus'' exposed neckline. "She pouted for so long while pretending to be unconscious, curiously watching us if we were truly asleep. Fufufu~" I was quite disturbed by her clinginess and brazen way of showing affection, but I started to get used to it as my hate for her started to dwindle. After all, her presence brought us more benefits than harm. Though, the only reason why she was this touchy now was because of the circumstances and how she got the upper hand after finding out that there is an entity she named Daffodil inside Narcissus'' soul. Of course, I shouldn''t be the one who was supposed to say this, considering how touchy Narcissus could be when both of us were alone back then. "Stubborn, isn''t she?" I slowly exhaled with bliss in my breath, my eyes fixated on the gentle rise and fall of Narcissus'' chest. Her breath, steady and quiet, seemed to harmonize with the stillness of the room. "Always trying to prove she''s invincible, even to us." Kuzunoha smirked. "It''s moments like this that remind me she''s still human. Vulnerable, despite the walls she builds." Heh, she built a lot of walls, alright. Though, I couldn''t help but agree. Narcissus, with her domineeringposure and unyielding strength, rarely let her guard down¡ªeven when she was yfully interacting with us. But here, in the safety of the cabin, surrounded by us, she looked rather peaceful. It was strange to see her resting this deeply¡ªface softened, not tense, lips slightly parted, with a stray lock of her golden hair draped over her cheek. A slumbering queen who, even in her most exposed state, carried an air of regality that drew us in. And yet, there was something undeniably adorable about her, like a child lost in dreams. "Look at her," Kuzunoha murmured, her tone unusually gentle, almost reverent. "All that power, all that control, and yet, she sleeps like she doesn''t have a care in the world." "I wonder what she dreams about." My voice was wistful, my mind wandering to the mysteries locked inside Narcissus'' head, her history. Despite all our time together, she remained an unreachable enigma¡ªa puzzle that I couldn''t possibly solve. It was also why I''m not as hateful to let Kuzunoha close to her. After all, she might have achieved something when she was doing her shoddy experiment. Kuzunoha''s gaze lingered on Narcissus for a moment longer before shifting toward me. "You''ve always been curious, haven''t you, Verina? About what goes on in that pretty little head of hers?" A soft smile tugged at my lips, that was, if I could express it physically. "How could I not be? She fascinates me. Her divinity, her strength, her intelligence, the way she navigates through everything with such precision¡­ and yet, it''s when she''s like this, so defenseless, that I can''t help but feel¡­" I paused, searching for the right word, trying to ensure that I didn''t show much of my obsession. "Protective." "Protective, mmm~?" Kuzunoha''s voice took on a teasing edge. "Is that what you call it?" I shot her a nce, catching the glint of amusement in her eyes. "And what would you call it?" Her lips curved into a sly smile. "Obsession." The word hung in the air between us, heavy with truth. We both knew it. Our feelings for Narcissus went beyond simple affection or admiration. There was something deeper, and gripping¡ªa need, a craving to be close to her, to possess her in ways neither of us could fully exin. Narcissus, with all herplexities, had a way of drawing us in, of binding us to her in ways that felt both intoxicating and inescapable. And yet, neither of us minded. "No matter how considerate and kind she wants herself in our eyes, she''s always kept us at a distance," Kuzunoha mused, her gaze returning to Narcissus'' sleeping form. "But in moments like these¡­ it feels like she rightfully belongs to us." I couldn''t deny the truth in her words. Though, I don''t agree with her implication. "Narcissus is not an object, stop treating her as one." "But she did treat us as one, to a small extent." Kuzunoha grinned, not by the argument, but by the urge to toy with me. "It is only proper to recuperate that kind of sentiment back, no?" "I think you need to talk more to people, and not hunting for Theotechs for who knows how long." "I''m wounded by your words~ Is this what I deserved after I passionately taught you the way of the arcane~?" "I doubt that you can get hurt emotionally." "Dehumanizing your own teacher is inhumane, you know?" "I don''t even know if I can deem you as part of humanity yet." "So, what do I resemble more then?" "A cunning fox." "Well~ I''m technically one, if you take a look at my adorable ears." She pointed at the pair of pointy, foxy ears atop her head, waving them up and down alternatively. "And I''m quite proud of that~" "Hmm, do you have human ears on the side of your head then?" She raised a curtain of her long crimson hair beside her cheek, revealing a cursed view that I regretted for the rest of my life. "... Have Narcissus seen that yet?" "She asked the same question yesterday~" She softly giggled. "Her reaction was adorable~" Dammit, I missed that moment! For a brief moment, there was nothing but the soft sound of Narcissus'' breathing, lingering among the quiet intimacy of shared understanding. In this small, stolen moment, she was ours. Not the powerful figurehead or the enigmatic leader¡ªbut simply Narcissus, lying before us, fragile and perfect. Chapter 88: Verinas Viewpoint: Vulnerable Angel Oh, how I want to be as strong and as divine to quickly procure Narcissus for myself~! It might also be the same case for Kuzunoha, with how lovingly she gazed at Narcissus despite having a semi-permanent sore on her body after that incident. I also caught her drooling with a rather perverted smile on her face. I ignored it, since I don''t want my memory to be muddled by her annoying presence instead of Narcissus'' holy presence. Before I knew it, I was also drooling. Yeah, Narcissus'' sleeping state was a little bit too hazardous for our fragile mind to resist. If she were to rest like this in the vicinity of an average human with average mental fortitude, I could imagine the depth of depravity of degeneracy that might be inflicted on her. Then, as if sensing our degenerate thoughts, Narcissus stirred. Her brows furrowed, and a shadow of difort crossed her face¡ªa sharp contrast to the serenity she''d worn just moments before. Her breathing quickened, and her lips parted as though she were murmuring something in her sleep, though the words were too faint to hear. Kuzunoha''s hand froze in midair. "Is she¡­?" I nodded, trying my best to make a frown. "A nightmare." It was rare¡ªtoo rare¡ªfor Narcissus to show any sign of genuine distress without her resolute willpower and defiance, even while sleeping. She was always soposed, so in control. To see her like this, struggling against some unseen terror, was unsettling. "What could be tormenting her?" Kuzunoha''s voice was quiet, her usual sarcasm reced with a rare note of concern. I shook my head, my hand instinctively moving to brush that stray lock of hair from Narcissus'' forehead. "Neither have I." "I might need to have this as a topic the discussion with Daffodil on my next visit." "You can''t do it now?" "The contract states that I must report and seek her consent whenever I wish to conduct an experiment on her," Kuzunoha murmured, her fingers tracing Narcissus'' pained features with a tenderness that made my own hand twitch with envy, instinctively reaching out to mirror the gesture. "Don''t you have that one opportunity to do anything to her body?" I asked, reminded of the deal that had been struck¡ªthe one that convinced Kuzunoha to store the entire workshop within her arcane vault. Kuzunoha''s lips curled into a yful sneer. "As tempting as it is, I wouldn''t squander such a rare chance on something so trivial, even if I am concerned for her." "Tsk." I clicked my tongue, annoyed by my failed attempt to waste that chance of hers. We watched in silence as her face twisted with whatever horror haunted her dreams. Her hand clenched around the sheets, knuckles white, as though she were grappling with something¡ªsomething that we couldn''t see, couldn''t touch, but that was clearly tormenting her. As much as I want to wake her physically from this nightmare, dragging someone out of their dream realm while they were facing something disturbing would only worsen their state of psyche. After all, the essence of a nightmare might linger beyond the dream realm¡ªsomething that the creatures of the Ordeal would abuse to y with the heart. Seeing how Kuzunoha did nothing, it means that our interference might cause harm. Not to mention, I didn''t glimpse any kind of malice and sadism in her face yet. It was strange, this feeling of helplessness. We, who had stood by her side, who had fought and genuinely acted for her¡ªyet at this moment, there was nothing we could do but watch. Just as I was about to speak again, a sudden noise broke the stillness of the room. The distant presence of the sapient group, a great size of them, low and unfamiliar, reached our senses. Kuzunoha''s head snapped toward the window, her sharp instincts immediately on alert. "Do you sense that?" I listened closely as I used ohrtending to sharpen my senses. The voices grew louder, more distinct, and it became clear¡ªthey weren''t friendly. "Uninvited guests." Kuzunoha''s lips curled into a dangerous smirk, her previous concern for Narcissus now reced with a predatory gleam as she manifested her own clothing. "Looks like someone''s about to have a very bad day~" I stood, my hand instinctively reaching for my musket alongside the garb that was made especially for me. "We should handle this quietly. Narcissus doesn''t need to be disturbed." Kuzunoha grinned, her usual cold confidence slipping back into ce. "Agreed. Let''s make this quick and messy~" "I disagree with the ''messy'' part." With onest nce at the sleeping beauty¡ªstill trapped in her nightmare, still unknowingly at the center of our world¡ªwe slipped out of the cabin, ready to greet the unwee intruders with the kind of hospitality they deserved. Those hooligans weren''t that close yet to our bastion, but they definitely acted like they knew the location of our bastion as they prepared their equipment and weaponry. As if they were starting a siege. But as much of an annoyance their arrival was, we dealt with them without much problem in our hands. And that is how we get here. "Lay bare your intentions and guilt, lest you want your mind to be probed in a less gentle way." Narcissus viciouslymanded the rounded-up survivor of the assaulter, outside of the wooden cabin. Herplexion was different than usual. As she sat and crossed her leg on her wooden seat in front of the defeated vagabonds, her posture was more poised than ever. Her gaze was dangerous and domineering, like a divine entity that looked down on mortals with barely any empathy in her voice. There was that same perturbed shadow on her eyes. However, that shadow might be interpreted rather differently to others outside me and Kuzunoha. But despite her dangerous words, none of the bandits let out a word. Actually, it was not that they dared to keep the information. It was the opposite to be precise. They were incredibly terrified to the point of not being able to speak. "Answer." Narcissus'' voice was a smooth de, cutting through the silence with a calm yet terrifying precision. She detached her crossed-legs slowly, leaning forward from her chair as she rested her chin on her palm, looking like an impatient queen who held court over a kingdom of filth. "Before I lose what little patience I have left for your kind." The man, beaten and trembling, avoided her gaze, but it was clear he could feel the weight of it¡ªlike iron pressing against his chest. His lips quivered, but still, no words came. "Do you think silence will save you?" Narcissus purred, her lips curling into a small, dangerous frown. "I''ve found that silence is merely another form of confession. And what you''re confessing to me now, dear bandits, is stupidity. Is that what you want me to remember you by?" Chapter 89: Fate For The Farce Top of the afternoon, everyone. This is Narcissus. Right now, all of the bandits in my sight were currently flinching at the venom in my voice. One of them had his hands twisting in the binds that held him, not out of defiance, but out of overwhelming dread. He stammered, desperate to form a coherent response, something seemed to be choking him. And I don''t know why. I''m sure that at most, my face, demeanor, and stern voice would only be enough to make someone nervous and threatened, but not outright terrified to the point of being consumed by the world as if the apocalypse wasing. Not to mention, my Highlighted Traits didn''t mention anything about me being able to subdue a whole group of bandits like this. Kuzunoha shouldn''t be the cause of this either, since those bandits were brave enough to spat right in front of her despite the obvious upper hand. Though, I won''t lie that I''m not in the best mood to entertain them as much as I nned when I met more people in Carcosa. That one dream I got when I slept had a great effect on my psyche to the point of damaging my Gloamkeeper''s Beacon and also lowering my Sanity by 40%. It was a massive loss, right after my effort to keep it high since yesterday, especially since I barely had more than 5 hours before the start of the next Ordeal. All of that, because of a single dream. Like, when did I be this soft? Never in my past life had I''ve been affected to this extent by something that I haven''t even experienced in real life. Yeah, that was what annoys me the most. It was also probably the source of why all of these bandits were so terrified right now. "Kuzunoha," I called, my voice still carrying the same menacing weight as before. "Paper and pen." "As you wish, darling~" My gothic-fashioned assistant snapped her gloved fingers and manifested her arcane writing set into existence. Never in my office life had I been so grateful to have a mobile stationary in the form of a cute and sassy contractor. With the 28 bandits still praying for their fate, I wrote down each of their names. I marked some of them that caught my eyes before I nced at Verina, prompting her approach closer. I also put them all in three categories: Interrogatable, Recruitable, Disposable. The interrogatable bandits were chosen because of their intriguing Log in their detail section, gullible personality and circumstances in their Highlighted Traits, alongside their overall attitude that was disyed in this rounding session. The recruitable bandits were straightforward. Their overall biography and stats intrigue me, and some of them had something that their peers didn''t possess. They also had some body modification and even hints of Theotechs in their Health tab. I also nned to form a hierarchy within this nomadic bastion of mine. If possible, I want at least 5 capable manpowers to start creating a foundation for the group''s autonomy. As for the disposable bandits, only three fates await them. Forced eternal servitude, basically they were recruited but with a slight ufortable term. Their second fate was death. I didn''t need more useless mouths to feed, especially if I couldn''t even use them in many scenarios. Afterall, it was too early for me to maintain arge size nomadic bastion when the amount of variables within the time of Ordeal were limitless. "Confirm all of their names, then feel free to use your own judgment. Don''t ask where I got them." I gave the paper to Verina. "Kuzunoha, aid Verina to the best of your own capability¡­ "If there are any unruly mutts trying to w their way back from the pit where they belong. Feel free to turn them into a living couch." Their third fate was Bloodiefication. Your journey continues at m v|l-e-NovelBin Almost every economy of every society in Carcosa was run by two forms of trading: Barter, and Bloodies. The action or system of exchanging goods or services without using money or currency was very prevalent almost everywhere, even within the civilization that was rich in bloodies. This was possible because there were a lot of lost antiques and mysterious relics of great value dispersed around the world, especially in the form of Theotechs. It was the reason why Bastioneers were a thing. They travel far from citadels not only to imnds and resources, but also to hunt all sorts of loot that were still scattered in nature''s in sight. Then there was Bloodiefication. To refresh everything about the current of this world: Bloodies, or bloodie coins, was the universal currency most people used for the world''s economy. Depending on the quality tier, ranked from F for the lowest and A for the highest, a single bloodie could be used as a resource and a catalyst for an ohrtender like Verina to perform some psionic spells, or magic. To put it simply, they were the blood of living beings that was preserved and minted into coin-shaped form. And the act of making one was known as Bloodiefication¡ªcourtesy of Kuzunoha who enlightened me with this information. However, to perform Bloodefication, the presence of Sanguine Saint was needed. Without prolonging this bit of information, the Sanguine Saints were pacifist entities that made a deal with the early group of Ohrtenders that had ever roamed this world. I nned to keep some of the disposable bandits to convert them into bloodies, but I don''t know when we would even encounter a Sanguine Saint in the future. After all, not even Torie Citadel housed a single Sanguine Saint in their backyard. As for the reason why I even consider this, it was due to one reason. We were utterly broke in terms of bloodies. Verina didn''t have a single bloodie in her pocket since she was scammed, and Kuzunoha didn''t even consider keeping one because her arcane vault was already full of all sorts of relics and Theotech-rted items. She was also unwilling to barter her possession in the first ce, so we basically started our journey with zero money. Chapter 90: Recruiting Process Regardless of the situation, having a couple of bloodies might help to ease any kind of future diplomacy on the road toward Torie Citadel. Also, bloodie coin could also be used as a lifeline and all sort of ohrtending or psionic catalyst¡ªsomething that was crucial to craft all sorts of magical items, especially when using materials from Cmity Objects. Preparing our mary before we step into a proper civilization could also help us a lot in many way. "I suppose the wind is helping you again." Verina took the paper with a nod, her sharp eyes scanning the contents before folding it with methodical precision. She didn''t say much after that¡ªdidn''t need to. I could already tell she understood every word, every fate I hadid out for these bandits. Kuzunoha, of course, was less reserved as she peeked into the content of the paper. "Ah, I see," she mused, folding her arms across her chest, her crimson gaze flittingzily between the trembling bandits. "You''ve categorized them quite meticulously, darling. How thoughtful." Her voice wasced with sarcasm, but I didn''t indulge on it this time. I didn''t need her approval. Before I knew it, all of the bandits'' names were already confirmed and they were separated into their respective groups that were ten meters away from one another. There weren''t many restraints that prevented the bandits from revolving, but my consistent presence appeared to be enough to keep them docile, especially since they know that both Verina and Kuzunoha alone could easily kick all of their asses. With me being the silent arbiter, I observed as Verina approached the first group and isted them one by one¡ªthe interrogatables. There were ten of them, all sitting at attention, or at least trying to. Their fate wasn''t sealed yet, but they weren''t out of danger either. They were the ones who still had something to offer. Information, perhaps. Leverage. I already had the big picture of the existence of their group by just picking their Log tabs, but I would also prefer if they gave me anything beyond those dull chatty logs. "You''re next," Verina said to a scrawny man at the front, her tone impassive. "Talk, or don''t. We''ll get what we need either way." I didn''t need to see what would happen next. Verina''s methods were thorough and, to put it bluntly, terrifying in their own right. I trusted her to handle the interrogations with her usual cold efficiency. Kuzunoha on the other ce, meanwhile, circled the five recruitable bandits like a predator assessing prey. There was something unsettling about the way her crimson eyes gleamed as she watched them, as if she was sizing them up for something more than simple recruitment. One of the bandits, a heavily scarred man with Theotech imnts visible under his skin, caught her eye. My ears were sensitive enough to catch their conversation. "This one''s interesting," she said, a sly smile ying on her lips. "What''s your name?" The man hesitated, ncing at hisrades, before answering. "Kestrel." "Kestrel, huh? Tell me, Kestrel," Kuzunoha purred, leaning closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "In the scenario where your heart is being prepared to be thrown at a grinding machine¡­ how far would you go to survive?" He flinched, unsure of how to respond, but it didn''t matter. Kuzunoha already knew the answer. She always did. That''s the thing about her¡ªshe never asks a question she doesn''t already know the answer to. As for the rest of the recruitables, they stood in tense silence, waiting for their turn. Two had resisted outright. Those two¡­ well, I didn''t see themsting much longer. Kuzunoha would deal with them in her own way. The fate of the rest¡ªthe disposable bandits¡ªwas still pending. Some of them might be turned into eternal servants, bound to us by contracts they couldn''t escape from through arcane shenanigans. Others might simply be executed, their lives deemed worthless in the grand scheme of things¡ªor the Bloodifciation. I hadn''t fully exined it to these useless piles of sack of flesh¡ªhadn''t needed to¡ªbut I could tell they sensed something was off. The way their gazes kept darting toward me, then to Verina, then back again, like they were trying to figure out their ce in this new, horrifying equation. Though, for the most part, I left both Verina and Kuzunoha to do their thing. As for me, I''m currently preparing their next meal, and possibly the meal for the future bastioneer of this group. I didn''t want Verina and Kuzunoha to finish this whole process in a hurry, so they were quite meticulous in their job. At one point, I was approached by Kuzunoha while I was preparing for the meat stew. "Manpower is one thing," Kuzunoha said with a smile. "But why? Why recruit at all when you could simply dispose of them and save yourself the hassle? I doubt that the three of us are greatly troubled by anything." Enjoy more content from m-v l''e-NovelBin She asked it with genuine curiosity, her crimson gaze boring into mine, though I could sense an undertone of challenge in her question. "I prefer to have more people under my wings who can share the burden of survival," I replied evenly. "It''s not just about manpower. It''s aboutying the groundwork for something bigger, something sustainable. Even in Carcosa, there''s strength in numbers, don''t you think so?" Kuzunoha''s gaze flickered with something akin to surprise. Then, strangely, she nodded in agreement. "Survival is best shared," she murmured, almost to herself. "Perhaps you''re more pragmatic than I gave you credit for." I shrugged. "Maybe." Most of the bandits were already dealt with ording to the orders on the list. Verina and Kuzunoha worked efficiently, methodically. There was no room for mercy in Carcosa. Not unless it served a greater purpose. The recruitables were separated and gathered somewhere on the skirt of the bastion, for now. They have no reason to escape, since they already settled on a deal with one of us amidst the recruiting process. They''d need to prove themselves useful before earning any semnce of trust too. As for the interrogatables, their fate left in Verina''s capable hands. Some of them however, were also part of the recruitable list, so my lovely and hard-working kilnn was working overtime there. As for the disposables¡­ well, their fate was still up in the air. Right now, they were shackled by some arcane contraption that would damage their organ if they were to resist. Kuzunoha was quite more sadistic than I thought. We also confiscated their weapons and fabric. Not to mention, a couple of bloodies in our pocket. The amount wasn''t much, but they were better than nothing. Which surprised me, since they were a sizable group for a bandit. Thankfully, Verina extracted a couple of crucial information outside of their Logs to piece up what was actually going on. Though, it wasn''t anything groundbreaking or interesting, so I''ll mention it again when the topic was brought up. As the afternoon ck-sun began to seek for the horizon, casting long shadows over the encampment, I couldn''t shake the feeling that this whole event might be the start of something big. So, right before the whole process was done, I asked Kuzunoha if she was able to perform one thing that could put my mind temporarily at ease. "Can you turn the male recruits into females?" Chapter 91: Converting Process? "Hmm~ I haven''t tried using my arcane magic to convert the gender of the entire physicality before," Kuzunoha yfully smirked. "Do you happen to have a certain preference for aesthetics? I thought that you would want me to castrate the males before your charm got the best of them." That would certainly be my first option. But ever since that one dream, I felt an underlying urge of anger and hatred whenever I associate anything simr to that one faceless man whomitted physical abuse on ''Daffodil''. Not that I started to be a misandrist. It was just¡ªI realized that there was a strong reaction for no concrete reason before I came to this conclusion. Though, my most certain reason was the preservation of my own Sanity. I learned that surviving the Ordeal was still a fickle thing, and I prefer to discard every source of mental difort before I would be dealing with Cmity Objects for 24 hours anyway. "I will reward both you and Verina if you canplete this request of mine." "I would have done it without the reward, anyway~" Kuzunoha closely leaned toward my face. "I shall see it as you giving me a batch of fresh test subjects. However, loyal asI might be. Why reward Verina too when I''m the one who performed the deed?" "Because you would tease her nonstop about it." "The apple must be given to the winner of the race." "This is not a race." "It is, but I''m the only one who participated in it~" "Then why would I bother to give the apple at all?" "Because you greatly value me~" Kuzunoha promiscuously whispered near my ear. "Just like how I greatly obsess over you~" "... I don''t think that is a healthy way of living." "Is the healthy way of living always the happy way for every person?" "Makes sense." Sometimes, I wonder why I even try to one-up this devil''s clientele. Oh wait, because I would be dead if I didn''t. I believe that my rtionship with Kuzunoha was more simr to that of a toddler and an intrigued rich grandma. The whole reason that she got shackled by my groundwork was because of her initial interest, after all. I really need to one-up this gothic fox if I want to make her stay after my Valtherion''s Blood finished their culturalization. While Kuzunoha forcefully performed her strangely potent magic on the male recruits, I used this time to deforest a couple patches ofnd and build a proper barrack to amodate the recruits. It wasn''t anything grandiose orplex. It was just one big room with many fabric-less wooden beds and a couple of essential furniture on the side. I also nned to interview each one of them after they fully process their new allegiance. Oh right, I also need to build a roof for our temporary prisoners. Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin I didn''t really want to, since I barely care about what will happen to them from this point and onward. But I believe that this action was needed to maintain Verina''s favorability to me, since she was the one who convinced Kuzunoha to not kill all of them, something that I was grateful for. Imagine putting an effort to change the mind of your murderous and sadistic friend only to have your own loveable boss treat the survivor less than dirt or even kill them on the spot. Yes, I still want to maintain my kind and reliable imagery despite not being the kindest fake fae in Carcosa. I believe that if I heighten my favorability with her, it will be to a point where she would agree to any decision I made in the future. "So, do you want the makeover to just change the appearance or also the thing below their torso?" Kuzunoha jested. "The main reason why I suggested this is to prevent a single one of them from pouncing on me with carnal desire." "I doubted that they would even be sessful at pouncing on you, considering the feisty beast you''re!" Kuzunoha giggled. "In fact, it is more believable that you will be the first one to pounce them first." "Now you''re just basing that incident as a reference for my overall behavior." "Poor recruits~ I can''t imagine their fate after realizing how naughty their leader will be~" "Don''t make me recreate that incident again." "I would like to see you try~" Kuzunoha gleefully smiled, not a single hint of dissatisfaction appeared on her face. "..." In that instance, I felt an instant repulsion akin to a gag-reflex after finding out that I was swallowing a horrible consumable. "I''ll talk to youter, now go do your task." "Aww~ you''re so adorable when you''re flustered~" "I''m flustered by the fact that now I have two predators preying on me when I sleep." "Took you long enough to realize~" I''m already fending off a deadpan-snarker spellcaster who was twice my age. I don''t want another even-more powerful spellcaster to eventually transform into a molester¡­ The awkward discussion aside, let''s go back to the state of the former bandit group. ording to Verina and their detailed logs, their so-called Rough Mist group traveled far away to the southwest after their temporary bastion suffered from a bad instance of Ordeal and nearby neutral bastion. They ran so far away to the point that they would dly take over any sign of civilization, no matter how small it is, and they were malicious in their intent to do so. One of them was an ohrtender capable of ''farsight'', a spell in which one was able to scout a great distance ofnd. It was definitely useful to us, but that person was not in my recruitable list. For one, it approximately took 6 hours of undyed casting on average to cast the spell. Second, the person was not the most amiable nor gullible kind. It would be a waste of time and intention trying to convert him. His spellcasting capability was also below average. While I was trying to finish everything, I told Verina and Kuzunoha to eat their meals together with the new recruit to familiarize themselves with the two of them. Chapter 92: First-Half Of Interviewing The Recruits So far, we already interrogated everyone necessary in this bandit group. We also managed to recruit a grand total of 8 new members to my nomadic bastion¡ªindividuals with their own separate deal and promise that we were enabled so that they gave me their loyalty without a treacherous heart. They were also the most detachable people from their former group, bearing no sense of loyalty and true camaraderie whatsoever to their old leader. After all, I beheaded their unruly leader in front of all of them after the interrogating and recruiting process was finished, severing their ties to their former collective goal and master, while also showing the cruel reality that this beautiful golden figure was not a pushover in any means. Unfortunately, we couldn''t ''properly'' recruit some of the individuals with Theotechs in them. So in this case, I just let Kuzunoha extract the Theotechs and have her be in the possession of those imnts and enhancement as a gift for converting the male recruits into female. Her Moods increased greatly, alongside her own favorability of me. Well, I didn''t really care much about gearing my people with Theotechs yet, since Kuzunoha alone was actually enough to fill all of our bastion-rted shoring. "I should prepare the ce for the interview." There were only a couple of hours before the dusk arrived, so I built my own office and started the interviewing process to know them better beyond a mere observation on logs and numerical stats. Well, I''m by no means a master psychologist who could read their mind without saying not a single word, and a formal interaction with their new leader should be sufficient enough to generate an image. I sat at my makeshift desk, the walls of my hastily built office still smelling of freshly chopped wood, and awaited the first recruit. The door creaked open, and Verina escorted her in before leaving us alone. A tall woman with sandy blonde hair stepped inside. Her long limbs and lean frame gave her the appearance of someone built for running, though her features were slightly softened by the remnants of her former life. She had a paleplexion and green eyes that flickered with nervous energy, but there was a spark of intelligence in them. "Yora," she introduced herself, her voice level but hesitant, "Age... 26." She stood with her hands sped behind her back, posture rigid as if expecting a reprimand. From what I had gathered, Yora had been a scout for the Rough Mist, and her skillset reflected that. Ohrtending was far from her specialty, but she had an uncanny sense of direction, and her quick reflexes had saved her more than once. She seemed like someone who had learned to survive by avoiding conflict, rather than confronting it head-on. I noted the tension in her shoulders as I asked a few routine questions. She answered concisely, without much boration. Practical. If I wanted someone to slip through the shadows unnoticed or run a message across dangerous terrain, she''d be reliable. Though not someone who''d volunteer for more personal assignments. "Feel free to pry about it if you still have any questions," I smiled. "That shall be all," Yora said while being nerve-wracked and blushing. It seemed like my charm started to take effect. Not to mention, she was also one of the former male recruits. Once I finished, I dismissed her, and Verina sent in the next. A stocky woman with short-cropped ck hair and olive skin entered next. Her eyes were dark, and there was a cold sharpness to her gaze, the kind that spoke of hardened experience. She couldn''t have been older than 30, though her demeanor added years to her presence. "Kara. Age... 29." Her words were clipped and efficient, much like her entire manner. Kara had been a brawler within the bandit group, one who relied on brute force rather than strategy. Despite this, there was no denying her strength. Her arms were corded with muscle, and her hands, scarred and calloused, spoke of years of physicalbor andbat. What intrigued me most about her was her apparentck of remorse for her past life. Unlike the others, Kara seemed to care little for what had been or what would be. She had epted her new reality with a kind of brutal pragmatism. A useful trait, but one that I would need to keep an eye on. I could sense she was the type to follow power rather than ideology. Not only that, she also possessed a Theotech imnt that allowed her to enhance her muscles for small duration amount of time every hour. "To be honest, ma''am, I would like to ask if I can mate with you if I still have my sword down here." And she was also really blunt. "If I hear that one more time, I will ensure that you will be the first person in this bastion without a lower half." "Yes, ma''am." Next came a petite, almost fragile-looking girl with reddish-brown hair that framed her pale face in soft waves. Her eyes, a watery blue, darted nervously around the room as she stood before me, clutching the hem of her tunic like a lifeline. She couldn''t have been more than 20. She was also a Deowl, a human with owl characteristic. For one, she could see clearly in the dark, and she had durable talons as ws. She could also rotate her neck for more than 180 degree. "Erika... I''m 19." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and there was a tremor in her hands that betrayed her anxiety. Unlike Kara, Erika hadn''t been a fighter. She had been a doctor of sorts, patching up the injuries of the Rough Mist when necessary. Her talent wasn''t immense, but it was enough to keep people alive after a skirmish. From the looks of her, I imagined she had joined the bandits out of desperation rather than choice. I spent a little more time questioning Erika, prodding gently to see if there was any hidden steel beneath her fragile exterior. There was none¡ªat least, not yet. But people could change under pressure, and she had potential to be molded into something more resilient, if given the right guidance. "T-Thank you for recruiting me instead of putting me in the same ce as those bastards, ma''am! I really hate their guts andck of empathy for their one and only specialist!" She was also rather blunt with her feelings. "I see." Actually I didn''t see this at all, since none of her Logs and Highlighted Traits indicated this part of her personality. "What is your impression of your two new superiors then?" "They are professional and capable, ma''am!" She replied without any hesitation. "They are not the best at being superior but they are supportive and critical, which is important for someone who I''m willing to work my butt-off!" Maybe she was too blunt. Chapter 93: Second-Half Of Interviewing The Recruits The fourth woman strode in with an air of calm confidence. She had dark brown hair tied back into a sleek ponytail, and her bronzed skin glowed as if kissed by constant exposure to the sun. Her eyes, a piercing hazel, sized me up with curiosity rather than fear. She was also half Darrack, a race of demi-human with armored scales on some part of their body, but in her case, I could barely see it on her exposed skin. They were also strong against intense temperature. But the most unique trait of them all was the fact that their body was craving soap. They eat soap. "Callista, formerly Callisto, 24," she said as she took the seat in front of me without waiting for permission. Her boldness was expected, and I raised an eyebrow at her audacity. She grinned back at me, clearly unbothered. Callisto, or in this case, Callista, as she self-proimed, had been a thief within the group, but unlike most bandits, she had a strange code of ethics. She didn''t steal for the thrill or the profit but saw it as a game¡ªa way to test her skills. She spoke with an ease and confidence that made me think she''d been in simr situations before. I could tell Callista was sharp, probably sharper than most of the other recruits. She had the kind of clever mind that could be dangerous if left unchecked, but if I could keep her ambitions aligned with mine, she could prove to be a valuable asset in gathering intelligence or slipping into ces others couldn''t. Or just overall, someone whose opinion was worth to ask for. "It is a great pleasure of mine to serve such a beautiful figure in all of Carcosa." "ttery has its ce." I smirked. "As long as you prove your worth, I won''t hesitate to craft you some of these equipment made from Cmity Objects." "Hahah, you really know what people want the most! Is this because you''re a fae?" "Even if I''m not, you need to make sure that you keep your tongue intact." I yfully chuckled. "Have you ever heard of the saying, ''Never probe a secret from a fae?''" "Heh, you really are a fairy, alright." After Callista left, the door opened again, and this time a young woman stepped in with her eyes cast down, her shoulders hunched as if trying to make herself smaller. Her hair was a tangled mess of auburn curls, and her skin was dotted with freckles. There was something almost childlike about her demeanor, though I knew better than to be deceived by appearances. "Sera," she murmured, barely loud enough to be heard, "Age... 22." Her voice wavered slightly, and she fidgeted with the sleeves of her tunic. Sera had been a forager, someone used to finding food and supplies in the wilderness. Though timid, she had an impressive knowledge of herbs and nts, something that could be useful in ensuring the survival of my growing bastion, especially outside of my ability to open detail screens. However, her skittish nature made me wonder how she would fare in more dangerous situations. "I will try my best to be helpful under your care, madam Narcissus!" Sera said in a spirited manner after our motivating talk. "Likewise, I will ensure the best guidance if you maintain your loyalty to me." Overall, she was quite the sweetheart. Makes me wonder why she even joined that brute group to begin with. The sixth recruit strode in with an air of authority that surprised me. Her short aqua-colored hair framed a strong, angr face, and her blue eyes met mine with unwavering confidence. She moved with a soldier''s precision, her posture rigid and controlled. "Amelia. I''m 31." There was no hint of hesitation in her voice, and I could tell immediately that she was someone who had been used to giving orders. Amelia had been a mercenary before joining the bandits, though it seemed her time with them had been brief. From what I could gather, she had been in it for the money, nothing more. She decided to join after Verina listed all of the benefits that I could bestow, which far exceed a simple payment in bloodies form. Her military background would be useful, and unlike some of the others, I sensed no immediate threat of rebellion from her. She understood discipline, and I suspected she would follow whoever could provide her with the stability and structure she craved. "I shall be in your utmost care from now on, ma''am," her eyes glinted with excitement despite her stone-cold expression. The next woman who entered was tall, with exotic chocte skin and silverish hair l that fell to her shoulders. Her deep yellow eyes were striking, filled with a mixture of defiance and wariness. She looked older than her 27 years, the wear of a hard life etched into her features. "My name''s Naosi," she said curtly, her voice low and gravelly. Naosi had been a weaponsmith for the bandits, though her true talentsy in crafting traps and fortifications. From what I had read in the logs, her work had saved their camp on more than one asion from being overrun by Ordeal-driven beasts. Naosi was a pragmatist through and through, but I could sense a deeply buried bitterness in her. She wasn''t here because she believed in me, but because it was the best option avable. I''d need to watch her closely, as she could prove to be a destabilizing force if her resentment festered. Not to mention, the only reason why I need her in the first ce was that I''m the only builder in this bastion. I need another one who could give me input and suggestions, also maintaining what I left behind. "Leader, do you perhaps need a good partner in bed in this bastion of yours?" Naosi said as she gave me a thumbs up. "I might not have my mighty rod anymore, but I''m good at giving pleasure if you happen to be stressed with your job." "Feel free to try, but I will dismember that arm if such a thing happens." "Don''t worry," she gave me another thumbs up. "I still have my slippery tongue." "That would be two body parts that I need to dismember then." I couldn''t imagine if I recruited them while keeping their rod attached. The final recruit walked in with an almost regal bearing, her posture perfect and her chin held high. Her long, straight ck hair shimmered in the dim light of the office, and her olive skin gave her an air of elegance. She looked to be around 25, but her sharp gray eyes carried the weight of someone who had seen much more. "Lydia," she said simply, taking the seat opposite me with grace. There was something cold and calcting about her demeanor, and I could already tell she was someone who weighed every word and action with precision. Lydia had been the main strategist for the bandits, advising them on their raids and defenses against the Ordeal. Unlike most of the others, she seemed to have a genuine intellect behind her decisions. I questioned her for longer than the others, sensing a potential ally or a future rival depending on how I yed my cards. She was ambitious, that much was clear, and while she wouldn''t openly challenge me, I suspected she was already plotting her path forward. "If you''re still suspicious of me, be mindful that I only care about plotting to steal your heart~" "... I shall see if you''re able to aplish that, then." Nevermind, almost all of them were hornier than rabbits. As I finished interviewing thest of the recruits, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. Each one of them had their own quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. None were immediately loyal, but I could work with that. For now, they were my recruits¡ªwhether they ept it or not. Chapter 94: The King In Yellows Scripts With the interviews finished and each of the recruits sorted in my mental hierarchy, I leaned back in my chair, letting out a small sigh of satisfaction. I now had a diverse individual under my guidance and chain ofmands¡ªeach with their own potential uses. Their integration into the bastion would take time, but the foundation wasid. Just as I started thinking about the next steps, a yful voice drifted through the door. "Need something, darling?" Right, I told Kuzunoha to face me in the office after the interviewing session was finished. I didn''t even have to look to know she had slipped into my office with her usual ir, as her crimson gaze locked onto me with a mischievous glint. "I need paper, Kuzunoha," I said, not missing a beat. "An abundance of it." Kuzunoha raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into an amused smile. "Paper? Really? Of all the things I could withdraw from my arcane storage, out of all the Theotechs and record-breaking discovery of an object, and you want something as mundane as paper?" At first I thought that paper was a luxurymodity in this world, since its inhabitants were still running around and fighting horror with sword and musket, albeit a magical one. As such, I thought that Kuzunoha would have a sizable number of them since she was attracted to exotic things like it was in her survival instinct. I didn''t expect that she would think so little about the amazing utility of a paper. "Yes, paper," I repeated, though I couldn''t help but let a small smile tug at my lips. "I need to write guides, assign tasks, and... bind the new recruits to their duties." Kuzunoha stepped forward, her ck gothic lolita dress swirling around her ankles as she reached into the air. With a flick of her wrist, a stack of pristine white paper appeared on the desk before me. "As you wish, oh great leader," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Anything else? A magical pen? Some enchanted ink? Perhaps a binding spell for those lovely books you n to write? "I could even try to imbue the thing you write with arcane influence, making its reader to bepelled to adhere themand written by the author~" I met her gaze, my smile turning sharper. "Actually, yes. I want to write a special chant. One that serves as a psychological binding." Kuzunoha''s eyes gleamed with interest. "Oh, darling, you do know how to keep things interesting. Psychological binding, you say? How delightfully sinister." She let out a low chuckle, clearly pleased. "I''ll make sure the chant is appropriatelypelling." "No need, I will be the one who writes them. You just need to craft the enhancement." As she worked on the enchantment, I busied myself with writing the first few guides. It was crucial that these recruits knew their roles, understood our goals, and saw what they could achieve in the future under my leadership. I detailed the responsibilities each of them would take on, the expectations I had, and the rewards that woulde with loyalty. It was really convenient that Carcosa was also using the alphabet system. And also that everyone I recruited were literate. As much as I want to personally indoctrinate and guide each of them at this stage, I want to give myself as much free time as possible. At this point of time, the mind of Narcissus appeared to be a little bit unstable, and that instability might lead to the end of everyone under my reign. Work smarter, not harder! It didn''t take long to write eight personalized bibles for all of the new recruits. While I was revising the work and seeing if there was any potential for improvement, Kuzunoha suggested an arcane spell that allowed me to bind my soul to these books of guidance. When binded, I could change content as much as I pleased. Keeping the connection would slowly weigh the mind, but I found the offer of the long-range mental-projection editing to be too good to not be taken. That arcane spell was also in the same category as the spell she used to instantly write the contract that she was about to hand out. "I''m sad that you didn''t mention this spell far earlier." "I love watching your lightning-speed handwriting~" By the time I finished, Kuzunoha hadpleted her part, leaving the papers subtly imbued with the chant''s essence and all sort of arcane influence. She also helped me make the books much more pleasing to look at. [The King In Yellow''s Script (Arcane 100%) - 1.5 kg: A personalized bible of an extraordinary artifact that merges mundane scripture with subtle, yet powerful, arcane influence. Bound in rich, ck leather that seems to absorb ambient light, the book emanates a faint aura, its pages slightly glowing under certain conditions. Each volume is meticulously tailored to its recipient, embedding unique instructions and insights aimed at fostering unwavering loyalty. As such, the content may vary between its owners. Crafted with an almost divine attention to detail, the paper inside is weightless and smooth, while the ink never fades, despite the passage of time. However, the true power lies in the arcane enhancements woven into the very fabric of the book. Each page contains a silent, ever-present chant, crafted by the author, which instills a psychological bond between the reader and the words within. The deeper one reads, the stronger the connection bes, subtly influencing the mind to align with the author''smands and ideals] Huh?? Why does the world''s system name it as script?? Not to mention, wasn''t the King In Yellow happen to be that one culturally referenced book of short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers? Or so, what the inte said. "You look bewildered," Kuzunohamented. "... Did you happen to put in an extra arcane enhancement without me knowing?" Kuzunoha tilted her head slightly, a glimmer of amusement flickering in the void where her face should have been. "Oh, darling, I don''t need to meddle with arcane enhancements to keep you on your toes," she replied, her voice a smooth blend of mockery and confidence. "Your confusion is purely a product of my superior presence in this disarray of a realm~" Right, a sarcastic Kuzunoha is an honest Kuzunoha. Chapter 95: Picking Up My Dog, Verina "Still, I won''t be adding or doing anything that would break the contract we have," Kuzunoha continued, her tone now more serious, yet with an underlying edge of sassiness. "You know me; I prefer to keep my promises, even if they tend toe with a touch of chaos." "Right, because chaos is your specialty," I muttered, trying to mask the uncertainty in my voice with sarcasm. "Indeed," she replied, leaning forward slightly, her posture embodying an eerie grace that contrasted sharply with the madness around me."But chaos and order are merely two sides of the same coin. I can dance along that edge without ever losing sight of the ground beneath my feet." "Just remember that ground you''re dancing on isn''t just yours," I reminded her, feeling a hint of defiance spark within me. "You may enjoy the chaos, but some of us prefer a bit of stability, thank you very much." A chuckle echoed from her¡ªsoft, unsettling, andced with an authority that sent chills down my spine. "Ah, my little stability seeker, it''s cute that you think you can control what exists in the depths of madness." Her tone shifted, taking on a teasing quality. "But it seems the more you cling to that illusion, the more you be tangled in the very web of chaos you wish to avoid~ "Still," she continued, "I will always respect our agreement. I''m not here to shatter your delicate little world; I merely want to explore the boundaries of this reality. Your suspicion of me can be a little bit disheartening at times~" Kuzunoha yfully sighed. This means that something above the two of us interfered with the action that was at y. For now, I will adhere to this mysterious will as I continue to y the role I decided to take. These former books of guidance, now called as the Scripts, shall be handed out to the recruits. "Keep an eye on the recruits, always," I told Kuzunoha. "They won''t even realize they''re chanting it," Kuzunoha mused. tapping the edge of one of the Script with her slender gloved finger She seemed to mistook my word of intention.. "Ingenious, really. You''re quite the maniptor, Narcissus. Remind me to never get on your bad side." I nced at her, amused. "Said the maniptor." "How preposterous of you~ My heart is pure and devoid of trickery, you know?" "I doubt that you even have a heart to begin with." I also told Kuzunoha to give all of the Scriptster, an hour before the Ordeal. So as of now, she would be in charge of storing it. With that taken care of, I turned my attention to another pressing matter¡ªarming the recruits. We needed to outfit them with durable weapons. Wood and metal from below would suffice for temporary pikes, though they were far from ideal. After all, I couldn''t bear seeing them using their former equipment. Not only that they were low quality, they were ragged and almost beyond repair. The fact that they were still alive with weapons of that quality amazed me. "Verina," I said as soon as I entered the hallway of the barrack, ncing at Verina who was socializing with the new recruits, probably praising me behind my back. "We''re going mining." Her violet eyes lit up with a mix of anticipation and curiosity. Though, she just seemed to be happy to have a private time with me. "I take it we''re not just digging for treasures today?" "No," I said, guiding her outside of the barrack. I continued after we were far enough from the bonding recruits. "We need to gather materials for weapon crafting. Pikes and crossbows, specifically. Our new recruits need something to fight with, and a defensive spear unit is the best temporary solution." Verina nodded. "Should I show the new spell I crafted for this fortunate asion?" "Huh, I don''t see why not." I grinned. Using the Broken Gloamkeeper''s Beacon, I went to the designated site in search of ore veins or deposits. The power of the highlighting might have been weakened, but it was still useful nheless. Verina''s violet eyes gleamed with excitement as she stood firmly. "I''ve been refining this spell for some time. Thanks to Kuzunoha''s lesson of the arcane, I went through a drastic enlightenment," Verina began, her tone casual but carrying an undercurrent of pride. "It''s abination of precise thermal maniption and controlled kic force. Perfect for efficient mineral extraction without damaging the surrounding environment. I call it Thermobaric Fracture." Seeing her already naming the spell, it seemed that the spell was already finished. Also, I didn''t expect her to refer to Kuzunoha with her own name. I guess that was an improvement in their rtionship? I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Sounds impressive. How does it work?" She seemed to hellbend on sharing her creation, so it would be better of me to listen to her discovery. After all, I was the one who taught her modern physics and chemistry. Her view of me should be high enough to be regarded. Verina chuckled softly, clearly enjoying my curiosity. "Well, the principle is pretty straightforward¡ªat least to someone like me. First, I''ll use a controlled burst of heat to weaken the molecr bonds within the inanimate target. This lowers the structural integrity, making it more malleable. "Then, I''ll apply a focused pulse of kic energy to fracture it cleanly, directing the force through the will of the arcane, sharing my thought to ride the wave of the kic energy like a captain of a ship." She paused for a moment, a slightly mischievous grin tugging at her lips. "Think of it as precision mining, hehehe. Isn''t that something that we really needed for today?" I grinned, amused by the whole idea. "No need for picks or shovels when you can make the rock practically fall apart onmand, huh." After the nerdy talk, we began enacting our mining operation With a fluid motion, Verina raised her hand, and I watched as the air around her shimmered with a sudden, intense heat. Her eyes gleamed with concentration as she enacted the form under her breath, her fingers tracing intricate patterns in the air and her very own musket. The atmosphere around us shifted dramatically¡ªfirst rising, then dropping in rapid session. The ground beneath us seemed to hum in response, the vibrations subtle but unmistakable. Soon after the, thend in front of us began to glow faintly, the heat seeping into its very core. "Now, watch closely," Verina said, her voice low and focused. "This is where the fun begins." Chapter 96: Arming The Recruits With a sharp flick of her wrist, she sent a pulse of energy into the glowing soil. The effect was instantaneous. A deep, resonant crack echoed through the air as thend fractured along the natural fault lines Verina had targeted. Large chunks of soil and stone werepeeled away effortlessly. The entire process took mere seconds. Verina stepped back, her eyes shining triumphantly. "Efficient, isn''t it? No wasted effort, no unnecessary damage." I couldn''t help but be impressed. The precision and power of the spell were undeniable. With this kind of magic, we could dig and destroy obstacles far faster than with traditional methods¡ªand without the backbreakingbor. I also checked the amount of Lifeline used in her Health tab. It barely trickled beyond 4% in term usage. I nodded, my grin widening. "Impressive, Verina. More than impressive, actually. This''ll save us a lot of time and energy." At this stage, Verina was already topping off the entire construction team of mega-structure with her current destructive prowess¡ªoutside of the construction itself. Verina''s eyes sparkled, a mixture of pride and excitement. "I thought you''d appreciate it. Though, this spell was crafted with soulless inanimate objects in mind. If I want to use it against Cmity Objects and people, I need to learn more arcane leylines." "I can''t wait until you grow to be that powerful then." "Fufufu, indeed." At one moment, I managed to glimpse Verina smiling. It was a rather bone-chilling and horrifying sight. Regardless, her whole existence was adorable to me, so I don''t mind her sinister new expression. "Now, shall we gather what we need before the people in the bastion start wondering?" Verina asked. "We can take our sweet time~" As we descended into the manmade caverns below the camp, the air turned cooler, and the faint sounds of dripping water echoed off the stone walls. "Can you use that same spell to delicately extract the ore?" I asked. "Hmm, I can try. It will take a few tries, if you want to bare with me." "You can take as many tries as you want." With a little bit more digging and exploration, we stumbled upon many wonders of buried nature. From a rich skarn deposit that was brimming with chemicalponents, covering transcendental rare gems, to a new type of fantasy ore that didn''t exist in real life. [Vorrathite Ore (Elemental 100%) - ??? kg: Vorrathite Ore is a rare and coveted mineral found deep within the molten veins of volcanic mountains, shrouded in the fumes of sulfur and the whispers of ancient elemental spirits. Its dark, iridescent surface gleams with hues of deep crimson and violet, hinting at the immense power locked within. The ore is warm to the touch, an ever-present reminder of the raw elemental forces it embodies. When properly refined, Vorrathite produces a metal stronger and lighter than iron, with an inherent resistance to both extreme heat and psionic forces. It is said that the metal resonates with the primal power of the earth, making it nearly unbreakable by mundane means. Weapons crafted from Vorrathite can cleave through stone and steel with ease, while armor forged from it grants unparalleled protection, capable of absorbing and dispersing both physical and arcane impacts] Yup, we somehow hit a jackpot. Though, seeing that this ore was supposed to be found within the molten veins of volcanic mountain, doesn''t that mean this whole ce was formerly one? "I think I knew this one," Verina nodded to herself. "This is vorrathite, one of the well-sought types of iron by many metallurgists." "Vorrathite is supposed to be found deep within molten veins of volcanic mountain," I added to draw a piece of knowledge from her opinion. "Why do you think that we stumbled upon it here?" "Hmm, true. I didn''t sense any formation ofva, nor volcanic activity." Verina held her own chin as she wandered deep into theories. "I''m not an expert at this, but there might be a grand-scale event that terraformed the wholend, whether it is natural or cmity-object rted." "I see." Regardless, I went back to the bastion to call out Kuzunoha, my private storage holder. "To think that I have been regressed into a mere item carrier¡­" Kuzunoha seemed to be having a temporary existential crisis. Verina and I worked in tandem, extracting chunks of vorrathite and all sorts of goodies from the giant skarn deposit from the subterranean depths. It was quiet, almost peaceful¡ªan odd contrast to the chaos we had juste from. Once we had gathered enough materials, we returned to the surface, where Verina and I began our usual cksmithing, assembling the pikes while the recruits speechlessly oversaw the process. [Vorrathite Pike (Masterpiece 100%) - 3.5 kg: The Vorrathite Pike is a mastercrafted polearm of ancient design, hewn from the rarest Vorrathite Ore, and forged in the heart of arcane elemental forges. The haft of the pike is a seamless blend of Vorrathite steel and ash wood, its surface rippling with faint traces of crimson and violet, a reflection of the elemental power imbued deep within the weapon. Standing over two meters in length, its form is deceptively light, yet it carries the weight of authority and devastation. The de of the pike is a menacing, elongated spearhead, tapering to a razor-sharp point that shimmers with an almost liquid sheen. Expertly forged to withstand both physical and psionic forces, this pike is capable of piercing the toughest armor and magical barriers alike] Alongside it, we also speedrunned an appropriate protective gear to strengthen the recruits'' survivability. [Vorrathite Ward (Masterpiece 100%) - 8.7 kg: The Vorrathite Ward is a protective garb. This ancient armor is crafted from refined Vorrathite, seamlessly integrated into a flexible, scale-likettice that covers the wearer from neck to toe. The outer surface of the armor glistens with a deep, obsidian hue, streaked with faint veins of crimson and violet that shift and pulse with the natural rhythm of the elements contained within. Despite its formidable appearance, the Vorrathite Ward is remarkably lightweight and allows for fluid movement. The armor''s scales are not merely a defense against physical attacks; they are living extensions of the Vorrathite''s elemental core, capable of reacting and adapting to any iing threat. When struck, the armor absorbs and disperses kic energy, significantly reducing the force of any blow. Against psionic attacks, the Ward''s elemental nature provides a natural resistance, redirecting harmful energy away from the wearer] Chapter 97: Training The Recruits Oh right, we also ended up making crossbows with the excess material. It didn''t matter whether it was powerful or destructive enough, but I really just wanted to see my people decked out with things from head to toe. After all, aesthetic was one of the reason why I put more effort on designing the stuff that I''m creating. [Vorrathite Compact Crossbow (Masterpiece 100%) - 2.1 kg: The Vorrathite Compact Crossbow is a finely crafted weapon that merges wooden material with Vorrathite, creating a lightweight yet immensely powerful tool of precision. Designed for flexiblebat, this crossbow is small and portable, folding neatly when not in use. Its Vorrathite limbs provide exceptional draw strength, allowing bolts to be fired with remarkable speed and uracy. The crossbow''s mechanism enables rapid firing and minimal effort to cock, while each shot carries a faint elemental charge, enhancing its pration against both physical and psionic defenses] It''s just that, maybe we went a little bit overboard with the quality. At this point, our craftsmanship began to intimidate the recruits more than impress them, it was as if they saw something that shouldn''t exist and was impossible toprehend. Still, we tested the crossbow with a normal wooden bolt before attaching it with some vorrathite-tipped bolt. The firepower might be better than what a crossbow usually exerted, but it was still far behind whenpared to the Fortcracker Mk II or even a single sh of Stormhook from my Wraithgrip-enhanced hand. The Vorrathite Ward protective prowess was also far below that of Soulthread Aegis, probably since they were mostlyposed of normal material where inparison, the armor that Verina and I used were crafted much more meticulously with a lot of quality of life attached. Regardless, we immediately distributed the armor after we were finished with the whole production line. "I shall take this piece of divine art and enshrine it," Yora answered after she was bestowed with the garb. "No, use it," I immediately corrected. "Huh, this is surprisinglyfortable," Karamented after she immediately wore the garb the moment she got her hands on it. "T-thank you for giving me the opportunity to adorn myself with this piece of magnanimous protective gear, ma''am!" Erika sang out. The rest appeared to have a simr reaction. All of them saw how the gear was produced, and the amount of skill and effort put into them in real time. It was like watching the chef at a Michelin-approved restaurant cooking your food with love and professionalism after gaining an ess to visit their kitchen, it would have a richer feeling of excitement and longsting impression. After all of them were in their new protective gear, we then distributed the pikes and began a small training exercise to familiarize them with the new weapons. Unlike many close-ranged generalist weapons, the strength of the pike lies in their number more than in their power and reach. In a war, pikes are useless if you don''t have at least several hundred, preferably a few thousand men in formation. They were generally vulnerable to being charged in the nks/rear, or if the formation is disrupted by crossing difficult terrain, enemy harassment, or whatever. Big battalions make maneuvering hard. The fact that they were cumbersome to wield and move around with was also a factor in theirck of likeability. For one, none of the bandits wielded a spear, especially a spear that was too long to be one-handed. "This¡­ this is quite the heavy weapon to wield, if I must say," Sera, our soon-to-be main forager said as she was heaving her breath from the fatigue. "For a weaker-body like you, Miss Sera, I rmend raising both of your grips closer to the middle and more spreaded out," Amelia said, the one with the biggest military background than the rest of the recruits. "You can also pivot it to the ground, and not try to keep it from touching the ground at all times. You can also drag them instead of carrying them when moving." "But, won''t it damage the pike?" "A weapon can always be repaired or reced. Yourself, however, are not." As expected of Amelia, she seemed to easily grasp the strength and weakness of the weapon, even to the point of helping her own brethren amidst the exercise. There were several reasons why I chose the pike as their main weapon, despite its apparent drawbacks. First, its simplicity. The pike requires less refined skill to wieldpared to swords or axes, making it an ideal starting point for recruits with little formalbat training orbat-oriented former roles. Second, it forces teamwork¡ªno single individual can unleash the full potential of a pike alone, but in a formation, it bes a devastating force. This would naturally encourage unity and coordination among the new recruits, forging a sense of dependence on each other. Third, which was the most obvious, was its reach. Even the weakest among them could hold their own against more seasoned, closebat enemies, as a long pike would allow them to strike from a safer distance. This also makes them better equipped to handle beasts or threats that rely on speed or brute force, something close-ranged weapons struggle with. In a base-defensive scenario, it was also easier to work-around a structural strategy to fit more of this long-ranged meleebat than something like a sword. And if they stumble upon something that won''te close, that would be where the crossbow came into y. Finally, the psychological impact. Seeing a line of soldiers armed with imposing, no matter how little the number was, sharp-edged pikes sends a clear message to enemies, humans and some of the Cmity Objects alike¡ªit''s harder to rush or charge such a formation, buying us precious time in defensive situations, helping them holding their ground much better than other weaponry. The pike may not be morous, but it was a weapon that could build both tactical awareness and discipline, crucial for the survival of this group. It could also develop their core strength with how heavy it could be at times, so I nned to pump their diet with protein so they could bulk up to the point of holding the pike like it was a mere knife. I couldn''t wait to see them brimming with muscles. To ensure the recruits grasped the use of the pike, I led a series of formation drills. Each line stood shoulder to shoulder, pikes raised at different angles depending on their position. With themand, they advanced in unison, stepping carefully to keep their spears aligned and their formation tight. I also ensured that they would understand the strength of each formation and enact it upon any opportune moment instead of waiting for amand to steer them. Though, I did give more hints for Amelia to utilize inmanding them, since she should be assertive enough to do so without me assigning her as the leader. After the first hour, I could see fatigue settling in. Sweat dripped down the recruits'' faces, but they kept moving, slowly adapting to the rhythm. "Alright, now let''s add the crossbows to the mix," I announced, signaling the next phase of training. We switched from pike drills to teaching them how to use the Vorrathite Compact Crossbows. The crossbows''pact design made it easier for the recruits to handle, but bncing the use of both a pike and a crossbow required finesse. They practiced switching between stances¡ªlowering the pike to fire the crossbow, then quickly resuming formation to hold off an imaginary charge. I also train them for one-on-one situations, all of the different ways to utilize the crossbow and the pike when there was nobody close to help. As the training progressed, I could hear the inevitable bickering between Verina and Kuzunoha echo from behind me. They always had something to say¡ªwhether it was about strategy, philosophy, or even the minutiae of crafting weapons and armor. Their disagreements had be a constant background noise that, strangely enough, I had grown ustomed to. "I''ll admit," Verina started, arms crossed, her sharp eyes scanning the recruits as they awkwardly handled their pikes. "For now, giving them the pike and crossbow is a smart move. It''s basic, sure, but effective. They''re enough to keep them alive until we develop something more advanced." Kuzunoha, with her ever-presence ornamental umbre, scoffed. "Basic, yes. Necessary? No. These bumbling recruits barely know how to hold a long stick, let alone form a proper defense. You''re expecting too much from a bunch of amateurs. Why even bother?" Verina tried her best to arch an eyebrow, turning her head slightly to Kuzunoha. "Because survival takes more than just brute force. They need to work together, rely on each other. That''s how we keep them alive. That''s how a bastioneer keep themselves alive, and those close to them." "Heh." Kuzunoha''s tone dripped with sarcasm. "I doubted that teamwork mattered the most when a single Cmity Object with a weird gimmick came into fray whilst we were indulgent on three other different ones. You and I both know that when the real threatse, you, Narcissus, and I are the only ones capable of dealing with them." Verina rolled her eyes, unfazed. "This isn''t about them taking down Cmities. This is about ensuring they aren''tpletely useless. If they can hold a line or buy us time, they''re valuable. Besides, this is how you build cohesion. Everyone has a role, and these recruits need to know what theirs is." Kuzunoha annoyingly chuckled. "You''re ignoring the obvious truth¡ªknowledge and strength is what matters. Sheer, overwhelming knowledge and strength. These people don''t have it, and they never will. Why waste our time?" Verina''s posture stiffened, and she turned fully toward Kuzunoha now. "They matter, yes, but so does unity. We are not talking about fighting as individuals, but surviving as bastion. There will be jobs that doesn''t rely on violence, but those who take those jobs need to know one or two on how to fight at night. "We can''t just rely on the three of us to fight every battle. We eventually need more people to support us. This will matter more if we have more people in the future. To hold the line, to provide cover fire, and expand into more different roles in the future. They have to learn." Kuzunoha gave azy, dismissive wave. "Sure~ sure~ I''ll see if they worth the investment with given enough proof~" Chapter 98: Handing Out The Eldritch Scriptures After the grueling first exercise, I finally started handing out the Script to the respective recruits. And as they were given their rightful tome of guidance, I stood poised in front with my heart on a speech. "Each of you might wonder that you''re merely handing out your own leash to a different owner, migrating to a firmer nest on a taller tree, or feeling like your future has been robbed by the hands of an enigmatic fairy in an unknownnd. "But none of these matter if your cold hand reaches the knob of your death door first." My voice echoed throughout the bastion with an unprecedented urge tomand, lead, and tell the forbidden fruit, something that would never happen if this Bastion only consisted of me, Verina, and Kuzunoha. "Unlike many in this world, my existence will be the catalyst of everything that your life is going to offer. "Even if one of you somehow escaped from my ordination, you will still be binded to me the moment you lurched a single nce into the content of the book I gave all of you." Back then, I pondered if I should introduce these books as a mere book of guidance or with the name that was already designated by Carcosa itself, but now, I was sure of my own answer. "The books in your hands are sacred, and they are not a mere vessel for knowledge," I continued with a smile after I saw my bumbling recruits were listening to this sermon-like speech with attentious expression. "Those are the King In Yellow''s Scripts, scriptures of souls, allowing you to glimpse into your future-self, if you consume and follow its words with devoted hearts. "Their contents are tailored to every individual in front of me, so it is imperative to know that each individual is different from one another. And so is the fertility of their potential and method of self-cultivation. "From now on, those Scripts are yours to own. Meaning, you must take care of the Scripts, maintain them, protect them, and cherish them yourself. "I will care nary of the thing that happened to the Scripts from this moment and onward, since now it already found itself in the possession of others. I won''t give any of you a recement for the Script either, so think carefully about how you want to approachyour own path. "Now, I will dismiss everyone into break, and I want everyone to gather here again in 40 minutes." I finished it off with a gentle closed-eyes smile, sealing this deal with a proof of trust none of them would shoot their crossbow at me when my sight was null. "Have a safe and amicable time." As the recruits slowly dispersed, clutching their newly bestowed Scripts, I took azy deep breath, fixing my ''mask'' as they retreated. The silence that followed my speech lingered in the air, thick with the tension of uncertainty and the faint crackle of arcane energy hovering around the Scripts. As I turned back towards my cabin, I caught a glimpse of Verina leaning casually against the wooden post by the entrance, arms folded, her violet eyes watching me with an amused glint. Kuzunoha stood beside her, one hand resting on the hilt of her parasol, her expression was something akin to an owner of a casino that knows she will win regardless of the things unfolding. "They''re taking it well," Verinamented, pushing herself off the post as I approached. "Though I do wonder how long before they start to question the true nature of those Scripts." "Let them question," I replied, waving a hand dismissively. "It''s part of the process. Doubt, curiosity, belief¡ªit all feeds into what I''m building." Kuzunoha gave a soft chuckle, twirling her parasolzily. "Oh, darling, you''ve outdone yourself this time. The King In Yellow''s Scripts." She let out an exaggerated sigh. "How very dramatic. I could almost see the recruits'' souls trembling as you spoke." Verina nced at her, trying to arc a brow. "I think they were more confused than trembling. But they''ll figure it out eventually." "Confusion is the first step towards enlightenment," I said, amused by the fact that my two friends were more skeptical of the Script than those I gave it to. "They''lle to understand their roles in due time. Kuzunoha leaned in slightly, her closed parasol tapping the ground softly. "And you, Verina? You never told me if you wanted a Script of your own." Her tone was yful, but I could hear the underlying challenge in it. Verina''s expression was indifferent, deadpan as usual, though I could tell she was mildly intrigued. "I don''t need a Script. I already know my purpose." "And yet," Kuzunoha continued, her voice dripping with amusement, "you''re still curious. I can see it in your eyes." Verina rolled those very eyes, but there was a flicker of curiosity in her gaze. She turned to me, one finger raised. "You''re really going to let me read one of those King In Yellow''s Scripts, aren''t you?" I smiled, reaching into my waist pouch and pulling out a single, untouched volume. It was a copy of one that was meant for Amelia. "This one''s for you to take a look at. But firstly, let''s go inside." Verina''s eyes narrowed slightly, but she reached out and took the Script, her fingers brushing the embossed cover. We entered my cabin and continued our small meeting inside the dining hall, in which Verina started to appraise the content within the Script that I produced. She flipped it open to the first page, scanning the text quickly. As her eyes moved over the words, her expression shifted¡ªsubtly at first, then more pronounced. She also seemed to notice the arcane influence that was concocted by Kuzunoha, giving her the big picture of what the Script was meant to be. "This¡­" she murmured, her voice trailing off as she flipped through more of the pages. "The writing is clear, yet hinting at many different things¡­ Theyers of deception in this¡­ it''s incredible." She nced up at me, her expression unreadable. "Even without the arcane influence, this is masterful writing!" I smirked. "d you appreciate it. It''s designed to guide, subtly persuade, and bind the reader to the ideals within. The arcane enhancements just amplify what''s already there." Kuzunoha stepped closer, peering over Verina''s shoulder at the Script. It seemed that she hadn''t checked much of the Script that was written for Amelia. "Oh, darling, you''ve really outdone yourself. I can feel the pull just standing near it." She paused, her tone turning sarcastic. "Remind me to never let you write my fake biography. I might start believing it." Verina snapped the book shut, her expression became more thoughtful. "It''s dangerous," she said quietly. "In the hands of someone more susceptible, this could twist their very perception of reality. "Even then, I can see that it''s paced out to be read like a snack between activities. You write it as if you''re telling a story of each of the recruits. "Even without the arcane influence, this alone should be enough to shake the foundation of what this book can truly mean to them." "That''s the point," I replied with a grin. I couldn''t help but feel proud to see that my adorable Verina understood everything that I want to achieve with the Script. "They need to believe. Not just in me, but in the world I''m building for them. The Scripts are a tool to ensure that belief stays strong." Kuzunoha let out a softugh, her parasol spinningzily in her hand. We were inside, why does she always have the urge to y with her umbre? "How very benevolent of you. Binding your followers'' minds to your will with such¡­ grace." I shot her a nce, half-amused. "It''s not about control, Kuzunoha. It''s about guidance. They need something strong and important to them to follow, and I''m giving them the direction they''vecked." Verina, still holding the Script, nced between us. "And here I thought Kuzunoha was the maniptive one." "Oh, I am," Kuzunoha said with a teasing grin. "But our darling here is ying on a whole different level!" I chuckled, leaning back against my seat. "I''m just doing what needs to be done." The atmosphere around the table was light, despite the weighty conversation. It was always like this with the three of us¡ªsharp words, yful jabs, but an unspoken understanding that we were all ironically working towards the same goal. Despite the sarcasm and sass, there was trust here, surprisingly¡ªan odd camaraderie forged through mutual respect for each other''s abilities, and my existence as the anchor for their interest to stay beside me, heh. It was amazing how being utterly awe-striking and adorable managed me to ensnare two of the most potential-filled individuals I''ve met in this world. I remember that I was quite the handsome individual back then when I was still a man with the name of Lothair, but my charm had nevernded me something that was close to this opportune development with Verina and Kuzunoha. And in the future, Lupina, since we nned to hunt for a Theotech Vessel for her, and also chain her to us in the process of procuring yet another powerful individual to our bastion. Hmm, I feel a little bad for Lupina, since she missed some of the interesting things that happen without her conscious presence here. Verina finally set the Script down on the table, her violet eyes meeting mine. "I''ll admit, I''m impressed. You went far and beyond to ensure that those new guys will be chained to us. "Though, if I were in your shoes, I would prefer more¡­ direct approach." Kuzunoha chuckled, her closed parasol now resting against her shoulder. "Of course you do. You always were a bit of a blunt instrument." Verina shot her a re, though there was a hint of amusement in her eyes, not the same kind of animosity that she emitted on their first meeting. "And you''re a walking contradiction." "Oh, dearie, we''ve established that already," Kuzunoha said with a wave of her hand. "But sarcasm aside, this little project of Narcissus'' is fascinating. I''m almost tempted to take one of these Scripts myself and put hours upon hours of analysts on how her fascinating consciousness work~" I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were more into chaos than structure." Kuzunoha gave me a coy smile. "Oh, I am. But sometimes, watching the strings being pulled is just as entertaining as cutting them~" Verina chuckled. "I suppose we''ll see how well the new folkshandle their newfound responsibilities. Or if they even realize the depths of the maniption at y." "They won''t," I said, my tone matter-of-fact. "Not yet, at least. But they''ll follow. And that''s all that matters." Kuzunoha gave a mock sigh of admiration. "Such a benevolent dictator you are, Narcissus~ Truly, the one and only woman who had already n the career and achievement of someone 50 years ahead~" I yfully sneered. "I prefer the term ''visionary''." Verina shook her head, chuckling softly. "Call it whatever you like. Just don''t forget that sometimes, even the most carefullyid ns can unravel." "That''s half the fun, isn''t it?" Kuzunoha dismissed Verina''s point with a wave of a hand. There was also another reason why I meticulously prepared these Scripts for these recruits. My pride couldn''t handle me losing anyone who fought under my order. Chapter 99: The Fourth Day Of The Ordeal Today was my fourth day in Carcosa, and it shall also be my fourth time dealing with the Ordeal. Thinking it numerically, only a few days had passed since my arrival to this world, but that didn''t ount for the fact that a single day in Carcosa was essentially two-days equivalent in the real world. This meant that I had one week less before Fallen Carcosa Online was published into the public server. Just thinking about it made me wonder about the demographic of the people that would be interested in roaming in this crude and dangerous world. [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 5 minutes_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Now that it hase to my mind, what does Random Event entail? The info dumping session told me what a Cmity Object was, intensively¡ªbut it barely gave me any hint about what Random Event was. Regardless, it was unnecessary of me to be concerned about it this early. As of right now, I''m much more worried about my new flock of sheep. The recruits, regardless of their ages, experience, and background, were nothing but a bunch of nervous sheep in my eyes. This train of thoughtspelled me to look after them, like a new-time shepherd with two vicious yet mature shepherd dogs, looking after the sheep we personally picked after they were messing with our garden for absolutely no reason¡ªoh, silly sheeps. I noticed that the more I indulge in these kinds of silly feelings, the faster my Sanity recovers inparison when I suppress these thoughts. So, just like how I was able to just mentally erase the annoying notification from my mind, I also had enough mental strength to utilize this opportunity to its fullest. "I hope that tonight will also be a carefree night like two days ago," Verina uttered right in front of everyone, including in front of the steeled and prepared recruits. She was definitely referring to the fact that we yed Dungeon and Devil for more than 12 hours straight. "You can always make your everyday life a carefree time, you know?" I sneered out of amusement. "Just be like Kuzunoha." "Should I take that as aplement or an insult, my darling~?" I patted Kuzunoha''s shoulder with a wide smile on my face. "Feel free to make your own judgment on that." The recruits in front of us looked nervous as ever. I noticed that some of them had already dabbled on their Scripts, while some had not. Those Scripts weren''t a mere guide that told them a thing or two about their current role and potential career, they were also filled with otherworldly knowledge of the so-called modern-world fueled by the embrace of my one and only reliable friend, Sir Aethe. I put medical knowledge for Erika''s Script, since her former job was some sort of a doctor. I put war knowledge and battlefield tactics on Amelia''s Script, since she was the only one with a military background¡ªand so on. Not only that, I also made sure to put some topics that might interest them, prompting them to branch out their field into a much wider arsenal. If they ever glean a sign of interest, I''ll rewrite their script through the arcane enhancement, and push that topic further without ignoring the one they have right now. Of course, I only put things that would only benefit me. Unlike Verina and Kuzunoha, these former bandits work for me instead of with me. To put it in the game''s term, my favorability of them was still in its bare minimum, and I held no other intention than utilizing their manpower and talents for my survival. [P¨¥d¨©c¨¡b¨­ ego v¨­s et irrum¨¡b¨­!!@&%] And thus it started, my fourth ordeal in this world. [A special type Cmity Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] Ah right, there was always this kind of special Cmity Object that manifested at the start of the Ordeal. The air grew heavy, like the world itself was holding its breath. I stared up into the sky, watching the few remaining stars flicker in the twilight The recruits, standing in a tight cluster a few meters away, were visibly shaken even before the event began. Their gazes darted between the darkening horizon and my calm demeanor, likely trying to gauge how serious the situation was. I could feel the tension radiating off them¡ªeach one gripping something. Were they willingly bing a bastioneer to face this kind of fear everyday? Then again, the Ordeal in concept was terrifying, since it was basically a russian roulette on whether you would die today or on the next day. And then it started. The sky shifted. What had been a soft canvas of dusky stars and twilight suddenly felt wrong. I could see it¡ªno, I could feel it. A presence, distant but approaching. The air grew colder, and the stars above us began to flicker intensively, as if something was reaching out to snuff them out one by one. From the deepening gloom of the gxy emerged a figure¡ªgctical, skeletal, its fur rippling like an oil slick reflecting distant gxies. Antlers, shimmering with fractured starlight, crowned its head, casting eerie, shifting shadows on the continent. ¡ª [The Star-Eater Stag] [Description: A towering, skeletal deer with antlers that shimmer like fractured starlight. Its eyes are hollow voids, and its fur ripples like an oil spill, reflecting distant gxies. The Star-Eater Stag roams silently, devouring stars from the sky with each breath. When it consumes a star, the night temporarily darkens unnaturally, plunging areas into total ckness, where sound distorts and distances twist. Anyone who is unprepared to witness the Stag are paralyzed by a profound existential dread, feeling their own sense of time, space, and importance unravel as if they were the next to be swallowed. Despite its celestial form, the Stag leaves behind the faint smell of rotting wood] [Hint: The Stag fears fire, not because it can harm it, but because it reminds the Stag of the primordial fire that once scorched the sky, something it cannot devour. When the concept of light is temporarily devoured, rece it with something that works simrly to weave the path] ¡ª Yeah, this world never fails to make me surprised on how ridiculous some of the Cmity Objects could be. Even as of now, both Verina and Kuzunoha were stricken with awe. And hopefully, not existential dread. A cold chill washed over the bastion as the Stag inhaled. A star blinked out¡ªswallowed by the creature''s breath¡ªand the world plunged into total darkness. The bastion was enveloped in an oppressive ckness. It wasn''t just the absence of light; it was the absence of everything. Sound warped, and the distance between objects seemed to stretch and twist unnaturally. For a moment, there was nothing. As soon as the world was repaired, there was a scream. Erika was the first. Her pike was on the ground, t. And she let out a terrified sob, her talons scraping the ground as she copsed to her knees, her entire body trembling uncontrobly. Yora, despite her experience as a scout, froze entirely¡ªher eyes wide with terror as the darkness swallowed her senses. Experience tales at m v|l e''-NovelBin Even Kara, who had faced countless battles, cursed under her breath as she gripped her weapon tighter, her bravado cracking under the sheer weight of the Stag''s presence. "I told you~" Kuzunoha smirked to Verina. "They are nothing but a liability~ lest you want to throw them into a time chamber that allows them to meditate indefinitely before joining our ranks." Verina sighed as she hurriedly helped the rest of the recruits to stabilize themselves. But before lunging forward, she firstly whispered to her foxy friend, "As much as I agree, I''m burdened by something called ''sympathy''." "Pfft~" Kuzunoha darted her mischievous eyes to me. "You''re not worried in the slightest, does this mean that you''re also devoid of this thing called ''sympathy''?" "I still have my sympathy, though, not to a great extent." I chuckled to myself. "I will only interfere if their lives are in great danger or risk of getting incapacitated. Otherwise, I would leave this problem for their own to solve and persevere. "Verina understood this and helped them in my stead. This is why I found her adorable~" Verina heard those words and waspletely staggered for a whole solid five seconds. She immediately continued helping the recruits in distraught as if nothing ever happened. It was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience seeing groups of people trying to disperse a panic that involved existential dread out of multiple of their own people. It was rming at first, and could be dangerous if left ignored, but their condition managed to stabilize in less than ten minutes as expected. I could see their Sanity took a great hit, but they were nowhere near incapacitated. "Good job, Verina," I said as I caressed my lovely ohrtender on the head. The idea of Verina being this one lovely puppy had be instilled into my conscience for a while. It was definitely thanks to that one mental gymnastics, the one that made me ept any kind of positive train of thoughts instead of suppressing it for the sake of my Sanity. "This is not fair¡­" Verina would have pouted in this moment if she was able to. However, instead of letting herself teased amicably, she retaliated by grabbing my hand and cing it on her cheek, pushing her soft skin to it and kissing my fingers with a rather adorable disy of affection. Her yearning eyes never stoppedtching onto mine, not even a moment. "Don''t me me for doing this." A part of me wanted to resist this like the usual, but a big part of me just want to ept it. After all, I doubted that staying in the same level of flirting would be healthy for her. I could see Kuzunoha''s amused smirk on the background, alongside the 8 recruits that were wondering what kind of rtionship that I have with their kind and deadpan-faced superior. "I know that I sound like I''m being intoxicated right now, but bare with me until I''m satisfied acting like one, okay?" "I always know," Verina leaned even closer to my face as she whispered. "That''s why I''m taking advantage of it." My shenanigans with Verina aside. Just by looking at the start of the Ordeal alone, I could see that defending the bastion will be much more challenging than usual for the first few couples of days. Chapter 100: Seras Viewpoint: Sneaky Little Actor "Sera! Are you alright?" Erika shouted as she approached me with a hriously worried face. "You dummy! Why didn''t you call any of us when finding a new stray Cmity Object creeping up from the west!?" She rotated her neck beyond 180 degrees as she pointed at where the group of other recruits were located. "As sweet as you''re, please do not dilute your unreasonable sweetness into yourmon sense!" Right, my name is Sera, a supposed-to-be timid and careful forager of the Rough Mist, and probably also one of the reasons why I got recruited again by this unnamed bastion with an extremely entric leader. That aside, I wondered why Erika was this mad when I strayed from the formation to scout alone. She wasn''t this overactive to me when we were still in the Rough Mist. Maybe because she tried to move on? Since many of those she knew were either dead or locked up in that shabby warehouse with no care from the bastion itself. Still, it was hrious that she exuded so much eeriness to me. Considering that I killed all of the stray Cmity Objects before this. "Ahahah¡­ thank you for worrying about me¡­" Yeah, right, thanks to you, I have a face that I could recall for a quickugh somewhere down in the memoryne. "You''re probably the weakest out of us all, so please stick to arge group, unless you want the Glimmermoth to suck your eyeball out!" "I-I will!" This was the demerit of establishing yourself as a harmless flower in a bastion. Though, considering that I''m inside a new bastion, I should start to make a new image of myself, no? But somehow, the Script that was given to me by that woman named Narcissus kept suggesting that I maintain this imagery. Yes, not only that my whole nature was uncovered in this Script, I was also urged to maintain my discretion. When did she know that my whole kindness and demeanor were an act? I believe that she still believes that I was this harmless forager from the interview. Or did she want me to believe that she hadn''t prodded out my true identity?? This is scary, that Narcissus person is scary. "You took down five Glimmermoth with a pike without anyone else witnessing." "Gyaah!!" Just as I thought that I had already followed Erika to where everyone was, a certain golden figure appeared out of nowhere behind me. Wait, we''re now far away from the supposed location where everyone was converging. Did I get teleported, somehow? Or was there a Cmity Object that couldinfluence thendscape and the mind?? "Rx~ neither of those scenarios you''re thinking about is the truth to what''s currently happening," This Narcissus woman leaned her head forward with such a creepy smile, it was hard to know what she was thinking at all. "Still, though, I have a good faith in you." She patted me on the shoulder before walking past me. She seemed to be nning on going somewhere isted from everyone. Regardless, I don''t want to delve too much into her actions or reason. In Carcosa, there was this one rule that a bastioneer should abide by. ''Do not uncover every secret.'' Still anxious, I withdrew a ration that was distributed by the leader of this bastion before the start of the ordeal. It was some sort of stew but with thick and syrupy consistency, something that I had never tried before. The box was alsoplete with cutlery and a couple of optional seasonings. I remembered all of the herbs used for the seasonings. I just didn''t expect that some of them could be used for this kind of purpose. Well, regardless, I was d that this bastion was unique in the slightest. Surviving an Ordeal was never much of an issue for my strength and instinct. "Mmm¡­ this is good." Right, I should continue eating thister. I probably need to regroup and lessen the wailing that Erika will make, and also the nagging that Amelia will throw at me. After I joined the group, I began once again melting myself with the background and task at hand. Waves after waves of Cmity Objects, I used the most minimal effort and pretended that I still had a problem maneuvering this pike into the enemy''s weakness. All of those aside, I was amazed that Narcissus and the ck-dressed woman called Kuzunoha knew so much about the Cmity Object. Like, to an absurd degree. Most of the time, a Librarian or a C.O Specialist would be able to discern the level of danger and possible gimmick that an unfamiliar Cmity Object might exude through certain means and experience. After all, in a world where there could possibly be an infinite amount of Cmity Objects, a pattern should at least be recognizable between some of them. But when ites to these two, theyid out everything about the Cmity Object itself. They knew the name of every Cmity Object, their gimmick, a sure-fire method to deal with them¡ªand they even knew which one was safe to be carved and extracted into resources. Yes, they extract materials from the Cmity Object right after we vanquished them, something that was unheard of in many bastions and citadels. Then again, this was also the first time I saw a person using a ballista as her way-to-go weapon, while triple-wielding spears with strange des that made no sounds when swung. Those two aside, my other superior was also not a normal person either. Verina was supposedly the manager of the us newbies in here, but her sole role in this bastion was nothing less than an absolute powerhouse that beseech destruction for our enemies at the meremand of our leader. It was the first time I saw an ohrtender of that caliber. Not to mention, the ridiculous casting speed for something soplex and efficiency. I remembered in my interview session with Narcissus, I was told that the Rough Mist was supposed to bepletely annihted if not because of Verina. At first, I thought that maybe she didn''t want to waste much of her lifeline for such an inconsequential fight, just like many ohrtender I met before. Afterall, bloodies were precious for us mere low-ss bastioneers, and Potion of Lifeline was hard to procure in many ces. Experience more content on m v|l e''-NovelBin But nope, it just turned out to be that, Madam Verina was feeling kind today. Because it had been 9 hours, and she had been casting ridiculous spells nonstop since the start of the dusk! Chapter 101: The Pale Feast Top of the noon, everyone. This is your friendly Narcissus. ¡ª [The Pale Feast] [Description: A banquet table set in the middle of nowhere, adorned with rotting food and dposed flowers, yet still strangely enticing. The chairs are always upied by ghostly, translucent figures that appear to be enjoying the feast, but the moment someone attempts to sit, they are pulled into the macabre ritual. The food on the table warps into writhing, living things¡ªtwitching eyeballs, hands that grasp at your throat, and still-beating hearts. As the new guest partakes, their body slowly turns translucent, bing one of the ghastly diners. The more you eat, the quicker you fade from existence] [Hint: The key to escaping the feast is to never partake, but breaking away requires someone else willingly sitting in your ce¡ªa cruel cycle of sacrifice] ¡ª And I''m currently dealing with a Cmity Object that couldn''t be solved with overwhelming firepower. Right now, Kuzunoha has suppressed all of our recruits with her arcane ribbons ever since Amelia, out of all people, is trying to sneak past beyond my sight and tries to get the feast on that ursed table. And after checking the Moods and Sanity of everyone, it seemed like Amelia was not the only one who was affected by this Cmity Object. "You''re not feeling hungry, Verina?" I jested. "... Don''t make me ask Kuzunoha to bind you too." "Since when the two of you are in cahoots- Nevermind, you just want to see me being binded by those ribbons." "We got caught," Kuzunoha said with such a guilt-free smile. Kuzunoha had acted quickly, her arcane ribbons coiling around each recruit like serpents, binding their movements and preventing them from making any reckless decisions. The ribbons shimmered with a faint, ethereal light, contrasting starkly with the dark and rottenndscape around us. Amelia, who had been the first to make a move towards the table, strained against the ribbons with a frustrated growl, her military discipline cracking under the influence of the Cmity, something that I didn''t expect at all. "I wasn''t going to eat anything¡ªI just wanted a closer look." "Not with a drool on your face." Kuzunoha''s voice was calm but firm, her parasol resting lightly on her shoulder as she kept the ribbons in ce with a mere flick of her wrist. "Dearie, the moment you even think about sitting down, you''re already halfway to bing one of those lovely diners." Amelia gritted her teeth, her blue eyes zing with defiance, but she didn''t argue further. The tension in the ribbons around her slowly eased as she stopped struggling, though her gaze remained fixed on the table, as if part of her still longed to break free and join the feast. It was quite horrifying to see someone susceptible to Cmity Object to change their personality and demeanor right in front of me. The others weren''t faring much better. Yora, the scout, was breathing heavily, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and fascination as she stared at the ghastly figures. "It''s¡­ it''s like they''re enjoying it," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I can hear themughing. How can theyugh?" "They''re notughing," Kara snapped, her tone sharp and irritated. The brawler had her arms crossed over her chest, her muscles bulging slightly against the magical restraints. "It''s all in your head. This is just another one of those Cmity tricks." "I don''t know¡­" Erika mumbled from behind her, her osciting owl-like eyes darting nervously between the feast and the recruits. "I can hear them too. It''s like¡­ whispers, telling me to sit down. They''re saying it won''t hurt. They are asking me if I want to have a taste at those scrumptious and lovely meatballs. I''m not lying!" Kara shot her a look, her dark eyes narrowing. "You''re not seriously thinking of listening to them, are you?" "I... I don''t know," Erika admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "It just¡­ sounds so convincing. Sounds so¡­ delicious¡­" Drool started to form on the edge of her mouth. The food probably looked different in their eyes. Because in my eyes, they were disgusting. "Don''t be stupid," Naosi called out, her voice carrying a more pragmatic tone. The weaponsmith was sitting cross-legged on the ground, clearly trying to ignore the pull of the feast. "This is ssic bait. You sit down, and you''re done for. No one''sughing, and no one''s whispering except the damn Cmity itself." Sera, the mysterious forager, whimpered softly as she tugged at the ribbons around her wrists. "It''s not just whispers¡­ I can see them looking at me. They''re waiting for me to sit down. They know I''m going to. I¡­ I can''t stop thinking about it." Yeah, that was a goddamn lie, her Moods and Sanity were barely affected. This little missy was really trying her best to maintain her timid persona. I apud that. But sometimes, it irked me, since it reminded me of myself Callista, ever the one to break tension with humor, let out a low chuckle. "Honestly, it''s kind of poetic, isn''t it? A feast that devours you while you think you''re devouring it. I can''t decide if it''s genius or just in cruel." Lydia, the supposed strategist of the Rough Mist, remained eerily silent, her sharp gray eyes observing the table with cold calction. I could practically see the gears turning in her mind as she analyzed the situation, though she hadn''t voiced any of her thoughts yet. Kuzunoha, standing with her usual air of casual elegance, let out a soft sigh. "It''s both, darling. Genius and cruel. The Pale Feast is one of the more interesting Cmities I''ve encountered. It doesn''t use brute force to break you down. No, it''s far more patient than that~ It ys on your hunger, your curiosity, your desire for something more. And once you give in... well, you be part of the feast~" "Right, thank you for stating the obvious," Verina yfully retorted. "Not everyone can understand the obvious, I''m just helping those with such a disability~" Amelia, who had been ring at the table this whole time, finally spoke up again. "So, what''s the n, then? We can''t just sit here tied up and be a burden when the next wave of Cmity Object arrives." Well, you''re still a burden regardless of the scenario. I smirked. "What, you don''t trust in Kuzunoha''s lovely ribbons?" Amelia shot me a look, half annoyed, half amused. "They''re doing a fine job of keeping me from making a mistake, but they''re not exactly a solution." Your next read awaits at m v|l-e''-NovelBin Kuzunoha chuckled softly. "Ah, but they are keeping you alive, dear. And that''s more than enough for now." I guess Amelia was trying her best to reim her own pride. I''m her new employer, and she probably didn''t expect that we would be encountering this kind of Cmity Object on the first day. After all, her performance had been spectacr before the Pale Feast arrived. Chapter 102: Cracking The Code Of Death Feast "All right, per usual, all of you can turn yourself into a ball and close your eyes~" Kuzunoha warned as she slightly loosened the arcane fabric, enough for everyone to shift their posture. The Star Eater Stag ate another of its victims in the gctical sea, resulting in the disruption of space and time in this ne of existence before everything goes back to normal. Now that the recruits have experienced it many times, they somewhat built a tolerance for the phenomenon. Someone like Erika was still affected by it, but it was no longer to a manic extent where she would scream and be uncontroble for five minutes straight. The phenomenon of the Star-Eater Stag was quite peculiar in that it acted more like a mass delusion instead of something physically happening in the real world. With that hint, I ordered Verina to ry my solution to everyone in the fifth urance of the star-eating session by the Stag around 3 hours ago, in which we all need to rece the concept of light mentally in our head with something of simr wavelength but not exactly the same. Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin By that, I mean I told her to tell everyone to imagine that my golden figure is dispelling the evil and darkness that wrapped thend, acting like a guiding light amidst the chaos and confusion. Which was surprisingly, was something that Verina and Kuzunoha did immediately after the first introduction of the Cmity Object. Hence why they weren''t that much affected by it. As of now, almost everyone should have my glowing figure to maintain their Sanity when the unnatural darkness arrives again. Combined with their tolerance, their Sanity shouldn''t be depleted fast enough to reach zero. And then we just ignored the fact that the ''star'' was eaten, since we were currently in a much more eating-rted crisis at hand. "I hate to admit it," Naosi muttered, "But she''s right. Without those ribbons, half of us would probably already be sitting at that cursed table." Many of them nodded in agreement. My mind is racing through potential solutions. The Pale Feast was, by nature, a trap of temptation. The answer wasn''t brute force, but something that was hinted by its nature, "None of you are sitting at that table, alright," I repeated, standing and pacing slightly, my eyes scanning the feast for any potential clues. It was also a good time to give the bastion''s newbies some brain exercise. "We need to break the cycle without falling into its trap. "If you have an idea on how to remove the Pale Feast from our bastion, you will be rewarded scrumptiously~" I eyed Verina and Kuzunoha, giving my signal to not say anything. Firstly, an attempt to destroy the banquet physically was rendered null. I already tried that. Otherwise, why would I want to keep this cognito-hazard of a phenomenon to stay in my bastion? Secondly, arcane trickery was also ineffective against it. Kuzunoha said that she barely dealt with this kind of Cmity Object since her mental fortitude was already inhumane, and she was mostly wandering from ce to ce, even at night. Of course, I could just use 200% of my brain like usual, but I want to see if there is anyone in this group who possesses enough critical thinking to rece me from time to time. Yora raised a trembling hand. "But¡­ how? You said that we need someone else to sit in our ce. That''s how we break away." "And we''re not doing that," I shouted, a little more harshly than I intended. "That''s the point¡ªit wants us to sacrifice each other. We don''t y by its rules." "Then what do we do!?" Erika asked, her voice tinged with desperation. Lydia finally spoke, her voice cool and calcted. "The key is in the ritual itself. We don''t partake, but we also don''t leave empty-handed. There''s always some kind of loophole with these Cmities. It''s just a matter of finding it." Callista grinned, her hazel eyes gleaming with mischief. "So, what, we steal from the table? Take a little souvenir and walk away?" "Not exactly," Lydia corrected, her gaze sharpening. "We need to disrupt the feast without bing part of it. We can''t sit down, we can''t destroy it, but we might be able to take something¡ªshift the bnce of the ritual." "You mean like¡­ sabotage it?" Kara asked, her arms still tense against the arcane fabric. "Precisely," Lydia replied. "But it has to be with the right thing. If we choose wrong, it might retaliate. It''s like finding the right key, the important piece of the puzzle that needs to be taken off more than the rest." Kuzunoha, still twirling her parasol, smiled approvingly. "Now we''re getting somewhere." I nced at the table, noting how the ghostly figures seemed to ignore us entirely, their focus solely on the rotting food in front of them. A wide smile arrived on my face. I turned to the group again, letting a slight smirk curl my lips. "I''m sure one of you has the answer already. You''re all bright enough to figure this out, after all." Yora shifted nervously, her hand twitching toward her weapon, as if she might stillsh out at the table in frustration. "But what part of it do we take? Everything''s rotting. It all looks like it''s been here for centuries." She stared at the pale, bloated heart in front of one of the ghostly figures. "Wouldn''t it just¡­ curse us or something?" Kuzunoha gave a soft chuckle, but I raised a hand to silence any furthermentary. This was Lydia''s moment to shine¡ªor fall short. Lydia''s brow furrowed, her fingers tapping her chin as she stared at the table. I could practically see the puzzle pieces forming in her mind. "It''s a bnce," she murmured. "A ritual like this¡­ there''s always something that anchors it. Something small, but essential. A keystone." I kept my eyes on her, waiting for that moment of rity. Lydia was, after all, one of the more promising recruits¡ªher mind honed for strategy and critical thinking. She just needed a little push. Chapter 103: Picking The Forbidden Fruit "Look closely, Lydia," I prodded softly. "Which piece doesn''t fit? What here is different from everything else?" Her gaze swept over the table again¡ªover the rotting meats, the moldy bread, the sour wine, and the basket of decayed fruits. Her eyes lingered on the translucent diners, their ghostly hands lifting decayed, pulsating organs to their mouths in a grotesque mockery of life. And then, her eyes fell on it. A single, grape-like fruit nestled among the decay. Unlike the rest of the banquet, it was untouched by rot, glistening with an unnatural sheen. It was small, almost easy to overlook amidst the horror of the feast, but it was whole. Where everything else had sumbed to the passage of time and the corruption of the Pale Feast, this fruit remained pristine, out of ce yet undeniably integral to the ritual''s structure. Lydia''s eyes widened slightly, the realization dawning. "The fruit," she whispered. "That''s it. It''s not decayed like the rest. It''s the only thing here that''s still intact." "Go on," I said, my voice soft but encouraging. "The feast is a trap," Lydia continued, her voice gaining strength as her thoughts crystallized. "But that fruit¡­ it doesn''t belong in that environment. It''s the core that manifests the phenomenon. If we take it, we disrupt the ritual without sitting at the table. It''s the one piece that holds everything together." "And what happens when you take the key from the lock?" I asked, already knowing the answer but wanting her to say it aloud. Lydia''s eyes met mine, a spark of understanding in them. "It all falls apart." I grinned. "Exactly." "Well done, darling." Kuzunoha smiled approvingly, twirling her parasol again. "Looks like some of the investment is worth it, after all." Seeing that one of the recruits was capable of such critical thinking, Kuzunoha seemed to lower her animosity towards them. At the same time, Verina was holding this expressionless but smug pride that Kuzunoha was the first one to yield her original mindset. "Alright," I said, my voice taking on a moremanding tone. "Here''s the n. No one moves except me. I''ll take the fruit. The rest of you stay back, and for the love of all things, don''t touch anything else." The recruits nodded, still bound by Kuzunoha''s arcane ribbons but now noticeably more rxed. The realization that there was a way out, a solution just within reach, had soothed the palpable tension in the air. I stepped forward with confidence, deliberately. The ghostly figures at the table continued their silent feast, oblivious to my presence, as if nothing outside their eternal banquet mattered. My eyes focused on that pristine grape-like fruit, its surface shimmering faintly in the dim light. It was small, almost insignificant in appearance, but I knew better. It was the core of the entire ritual¡ªthe one piece that held the Pale Feast in ce. Out of all the options, fruit carries the least overt connotations of surrender or overindulgence. It is associated with temptation, yes, but also with knowledge and control. While wine, meat, honey, and cheese all carry connotations of overindulgence or corruption in their spoiled forms, fruit¡ªespecially when taken rather than eaten¡ªsuggests restraint and control. There was a reason why it was called the Pale Feast. I was a little bit off from the center, but this feast stupidly references the fourth horseman of the apocalypse¡ªthe one riding a pale horse, has been personified as Death, and symbolizes gue and pestilence. The food looked diseased, and the attendance of the feast was none other than dead people. There was also numerous symbolism with the food used on the banquet and how they were arranged, but that would be too long of a monologue, heh. As I reached out, the air around me seemed to thicken, the oppressive weight of the Cmity bearing down on me. The ghostly diners didn''t react, but I could feel the ritual''s attention shifting toward me. It was like a predator watching, waiting, hoping I''d misstep. But I wasn''t about to give it the satisfaction. My fingers closed around the fruit. For a moment, nothing happened. The world seemed to hold its breath. Then, with a soft pop, the fruit came loose from the table. Its cool weight rested in my palm, and as soon as I had it, the atmosphere around us began to change. The oppressive energy that had filled the air began to dissipate, unraveling like a frayed thread. The ghostly figures flickered, their forms bing less distinct, less real. The decayed food on the table seemed to wither further, copsing into dust and ash. Within seconds, the entire banquet began to dissolve, the Pale Feast crumbling away like a sandcastle caught in the tide. The ghostly diners vanished one by one, their translucent forms fading into the ether. The rotting food, the foul stench, the oppressive atmosphere¡ªall of it disappeared, leaving only an empty, barren space where the feast had been moments before. I held up the fruit, which was now dull. The unnatural sheen was gone. It was just a piece of shriveled, dried fruit now¡ªharmless. The power it once held was broken. "Well," I said, turning back to the group with a satisfied grin. "That wasn''t so bad, was it?" The recruits stared, some in awe, others in relief. Lydia, though, just nodded, her expression still thoughtful as she processed what had just happened. "It was the only thing that didn''t belong," she murmured, half to herself. "The only thing still alive in the middle of all that decay." "And now," I said, tossing the dried fruit aside, "it''s as dead as everything else." Kuzunoha gave a softugh, her parasol twirlingzily, prompting the arcane ribbon to be removed from everyone it once grasped. "I must say, you do have a ir for thetheatrical, darling." "Naturally," I replied, flicking a hand through my hair. "Now then, I believe I promised a reward for the right answer?" Lydia nced up, blinking as if pulled from her thoughts. "I¡­ didn''t do it for the reward." "That''s why you''ll get it," I said with a wink. "Besides, it''s important to keep you all motivated. Can''t have you gettingzy on me~" "Can the reward be anything then?" Lydia smirked. "It can be anything~" A secondter, her face turned into a hot blushing mess. And here I remembered that she said something about plotting to steal my heart. Well, I doubted that she could aplish it anytime soon if she couldn''t maintain her ground. Though, I must admit, she was still not the brightest tool in the shed. Or in this case, the most trustworthy tool in the shed. Otherwise, how could she let her former leader to raid an unassuming, defenseless bastion with less than five people without thinking that maybe some of those people were strong enough to go through the night by their own. Then again, I remembered in her Logs tab that she argued a lot with the leader of the Rough Mist. Maybe letting a significant members of the Rough Mist to their death was part of her n from the beginning? Not to mention, she was a little bit too smart to be in a rag tag group of bandit. Chapter 104: First-Half Of The Calamity Object Galore Before reaching the 8 hours mark into the Ordeal of the Dusk, we were met withharsh waves of consistent Cmity Objects galore, They keep oning anding without giving us a chance to rest, reminiscent of the time where we fought under the presence of the Hollow Star on my first day. ¡ª [The Twisting Mariner] [Description: A figure dressed in an old, tattered sailor''s uniform, their skin gray and slick like that of a deep-sea creature. Their body is constantly shifting, contorting into shapes resembling underwater predators¡ªarms elongating into tentacles, spine curving into fins¡ªyet they remain humanoid enough to disturb the sense of familiarity. The Mariner walks as though underwater, leaving puddles of saltwater that distort reflections. When they appear, the air grows thick and heavy, as though submerged, and those nearby feel a pull toward the ocean, no matter how far they are from it. As they approach the Mariner, they begin to suffocate as though drowning in open air] [Hint: The Mariner can be warded off by burning wood from a shipwreck, as the mes disrupt the unnatural tide that follows in its wake] ¡ª Kuzunoha, ever unbothered, spun her parasol, her voiceced with amusement. "If I had a coin for every time a Cmity tried to drown me without water, I''d simply buy the ocean and be done with it." Verina shot her a look. "You and your impossible solutions. But, if you''re offering to buy the ocean, you''ll have to deal with these slimy things yourself." "Oh, I wouldn''t dream of taking all the fun away from you." Kuzunoha winked. The Twisting Mariner weren''t much of a panic-inducing crisis, but man do they arrive inrge numbers. The fact that each of them contributed to the suffocating feeling of drowning under the sea regardless of whether we touched them or not, sucks bad. Thankfully, I equipped the recruits with pikes. The Twisting Mariner came with all sorts of weapons, from a blunderbuss, to one of them single-handedly lifting a whole anchor before transforming into a half-sea half-man thing. We suffered minor casualties in the form of brushes and open wounds from that encounter. Thankfully, Erika still got some of her medical items to help up with the healing. We weren''t given much time before we were introduced with the next wave of Cmity Objects, however. ¡ª [The Skybound Marrow] [Description: A massive, floating mass of bone and sinew, pulsating in the sky like a grotesque, organic ind. Its surface is riddled with jagged spikes and ancient carvings, and it drips ckened blood that poisons the ground beneath it. Birds, drawn to the Marrow''s presence, circle it endlessly, their feathers gradually falling off until they are skeletal remnants that fly as if bound by unseen threads. When the Marrow passes overhead, it emits a low, thrumming hum that causes the bones of anyone nearby to resonate painfully, weakening them and causing fractures. Over time, these people feel their bones being pulled upward, toward the sky] [Hint: The Marrow''s attracting force can be repelled by grounding oneself with something heavy like chains of iron, as the metal disrupts its pull, but carrying the weight is its own burden] ¡ª Kuzunoha, ever unfazed by the surreal horrors, looked up at the Marrow with a sigh. "I hate it when they make me feel weightless. It''s so tacky." Verina grimaced, her voice tight as she felt the pull in her own bones. "For once, I agree. I''d rather not have my skeleton ripped out of my body, thank you very much." Explore more at m,v l''e-NovelBin Every second felt like an eternity, but slowly, agonizingly, the Marrow drifted away, its pull weakening as it passed overhead. The recruits were battered and exhausted, but we had survived another Cmity Object. However, afraid that a group of them wille back to this bastion on the next wave, I immediately created a hunting squad consisting of Verina, Kuzunoha, and Kara, since she was the strongest when ites to using her pike. The hunting squad were sessful, and they arrived at the bastion with bones! A lot of it! I love bones, they can be turned into anything. ¡ª [The Emberhand Coven] [Description: A trio of scorched, soot-covered figures that move in unison, their faces obscured by the ash clinging to them. Their hands are eternally ame, but the fire does not burn; instead, it steals warmth from everything it touches, turning forests to frost and deserts to tundra. When the Coven arrives, the temperature plummets, and theirughter¡ªdry and crackling like burning wood¡ªechoes in the distance. The Emberhand Coven is always hunting for warmth, feeding on the heat of living creatures. They are often seen dancing around a smoldering, frozen fire, the mes twisting and flickering unnaturally] [Hint: The Coven''s mes can be doused only by lighting a fire in an ancient kiln that has been cold for centuries, a task requiring deep knowledge of lost rituals] ¡ª "So, we''ve been through drowning, suffocating, and now freezing. What''s next? Boiling alive?" Verina chuckled as she rolled her eyes, tugging her garb tighter around her shoulders as her breath turned to mist. "I might need to use a lot of lifeline to return the temperature that was lost." Kuzunoha, still twirling her parasol with practiced grace, smiled faintly. "Oh, my friend, if we''re lucky, maybe we''ll just be turned to stone next time. At least then, we''d be statuesque!" "Well, I''d rather not end up as an ice sculpture this time," I chimed in. Kuzunoha''s eyes sparkled with amusement, her lips curling into a smirk. "Oh, sweet Narcissus, you''d make a lovely centerpiece. One that I would bring anywhere just to brag in front of random people on the streets." "That sounds like a bad idea," Verina yfully scoffed. "That will result in the mass brainwashing of people, turning them into an art-collecting zombie that will seek anything with Narcissus-rted things in it." "Now you two are going off the rails with the hyperbole." "The idea alone makes me want to have a collection of them," Kuzunoha yfully grinned. "I don''t hate that idea. Why not try making a set? Verina added. "We''re currently in the middle of encountering a new Cmity Object," I dejected. "Have some worldly restraint." Chapter 105: Second-Half Of The Calamity Object Galore The Emberhand Coven was a particrly draining encounter, both literally and figuratively. The cold had sapped not only our strength but our morale. We also didn''t have anything to substitute the aforementioned ancient kiln that was covered in cold for centuries, so our only option was to brute force it with our bastion''s firepower. It ended up to be quite a long fight thatsted 15 minutes. I forced the recruits to y defensively, and Verina had been burning her lifeline away to keep the bastion warm enough that it was habitable. Kuzunoha did the bare minimum per our contract agreement. Though, she saved a lot of the recruits from imminent death from time to time. This whole encounter was akin to a fight against nature itself. The Emberhand Coven weren''t the most resilient, but their environment-changing power was fatal and consistent. We ended up winning the encounter with no longsting wounds except bits of frostbite and hypothermia. Verina''s presence alone counteracts these effects. "Alright, time to pay up." I also ended up making everyone shed a couple droplets of their blood for Verina to use from this moment and onward, since the overall fight against the Emberhand Coven drained a lot of our ohrtender''s lifeline. ¡ª [The Candle Knight] [Description: A knightly figure whose armor is made of ckened wax, with candles growing from every part of his body¡ªon his shoulders, his helm, and even from the cracks in his chestte. Each candle burns with an eerie, green me, casting long shadows that seem to writhe and twist on their own. The Candle Knight moves slowly, his armor melting slightly with each step, yet never losing its shape] [Hint: The Candle Knight can only be stopped by extinguishing the mes on his body] ¡ª There were a sizable number of them¡ªaround 18 of them entering the outskirts of the bastion with gleeful mes. "More of them areing after this." "How do you know?" Verina asked. "I heard more than five groups of simr footsteps faraway, heh." As much as I worried for my recruits to fight a knightly figure doused in mes, the Candle Knights were a pushover. They were Bloodhounds'' level of pushover, even the Sandstalkers were much harder to fend off than theserge and well-lit targets that screamed ''hit me!'' the moment they arrived in our peripheral vision. Continue reading at m|v-l''e -NovelBin Though easy they may be, they were quite durable and resilient, which was good for training the newbies in formation and timing of their thrust. ¡ª [The Fallow Man] [Description: A towering figure draped in ancient, patchwork robes of dead crops¡ªstalks of wheat, withered vines, and dry corn husks. His face is a nk mask of cracked y, and wherever he steps, the ground ckens, killing everything beneath him. The Fallow Man is drawn to ces of fertility, gardens, fields, or forests, where he stands silently for hours. Slowly, the area around him begins to rot and decay, as if the verynd is surrendering its life force to his presence. Those whoe too close feel an oppressive hunger and thirst, their bodies weakening as if starved, no matter how much they eat or drink] [Hint: The Fallow Man can be deterred by nting seeds in salted earth¡ªan act of defiance against his curse, though the seeds will never grow] ¡ª This Cmity Object appeared as a third wheel when my bastion was dealing with the near-endless swarm of Candle Knight, giving us a rather annoying state of hunger. Five of them were scattered around the ce outside of the bastion alongside a couple of annoying Cmities we knew of such as the Shardfiends and our old-friend Sandstalkers. This time, I let Verina and Kuzunoha leave the bastion and hunt all of the Fallow Mans on their own. Verina alone might not suffice, but her chemistry with Kuzunoha was impable despite their innate hate for one another. Thanks to that, I could focus on rampaging on the frontline against the army of Candle Knights with my Stormhooks and asional Fortcracker''s shots. Not to mention, we also need to deal withthe asional phenomenon of unnatural darkness that was caused by the Star-Eater Stag in the background. At this point, the state of Moods and Sanity amongst the bastioneers were not in their best. I won''t be surprised if one of them loses it when we reach the Ordeal of the Midnight. On a good note, this means more loot for me~! We managed to finish the entire wave of Cmity Objects in less than 30 minutes. It was one of the most annoying waves so far. ¡ª [The y Emperor] [Description: A gargantuan statue of a forgotten ruler, its body crafted from dried and cracked y, with a crown embedded deep into its crumbling head. The Emperor is immobile at first, but once its domain is threatened, it begins to move with an earthen creaking sound, each step shaking the ground. Wherever it passes, the soil turns hard and infertile, as if all life is drained from thend. The Emperor''s hollow eyes glow faintly, and those who look into them are filled with a burning ambition, a desperate hunger for power that eventually turns them into brittle, y husks themselves.] [Hint: The Emperor can only be stopped by returning its crown to a hidden tomb far beneath the earth, but to find the tomb requires oveing the temptation of the ambition it spreads] ¡ª It was one of the Cmity Objects that Verina and Kuzunoha encountered far outside of the bastion, something that drawed a dreadful reaction from Verina. And also myself. Since ''that'' incident, I''m just simply terrified of anything y-rted. Thankfully, Verina and Kuzunoha encountered this Cmity Object in its inactive state, so we also didn''t need to enact that annoying puzzle of finding the hidden tomb that spawn alongside the emperor. "Oh, don''t tell me you two are afraid of a little dirt and pottery?" Kuzunoha quipped with a genuine curious intentced in her words. "I don''t want to talk about it," Verina lightly chuckled. "I also don''t want to talk about it," I wryly chuckled, conjoining my nervousness with the awkward atmosphere. "Though, you can certainly ask Daffodil about it tomorrow." "I can''t wait to uncover it then~" After that, the appearance of the Cmity Object slowed down drastically, allowing me to stabilize the Moods and Sanity of the bastioneers. I introduced this bastion to a variety of board games, keeping the mind of the restless preupied. Some of the recruits, however, preferred to have their alone time amidst this resting time. Regardless, I would prefer to have most of my bastioneers to be on the better shape before we unravel the kind of crazy that we will encounter tonight. After all, it was only a matter of minutes before we reached the Ordeal of the Midnight. Chapter 106: Gore In Sight "We have ten minutes left before the Ordeal of the Midnight falls upon us," I reminded everyone that they need to prepare their mental strength to face what wille next. "Verina, Kara, go check on the prisoner and finish all of their needs under the limited amount of time if possible." "Can we give them a good-tasting ration to maintain their sanity? In case there is some mental warfare happening here?" Verina said with her deadpan voice. "You''re free to give them your own bed, if you want." "I''m a person with sympathy, but giving others what was given to me by my lovely Narcy is a different case," she said with a pouty tone. If her face wasn''t as dead as they seemed, she would probably be frowning and pursing her lips with annoyance. I smiled with genuine satisfaction. "Ahaha, this makes me want to give you more stuff, knowing that you will rightfully cherish them." The two of them immediately depart to what we refer to as the prison. It wasn''t really a prison, seeing how the whole concept was carried by Kuzunoha''s deadly contraption of subservience. I could just have them roam around the bastion and make them do useful stuff, but I prefer quality over quantity. Ten seconds after I sent those two, I noticed that Kuzunoha was startled by something. Her confidence and smugplexion shifted into that of bitterness and confusion. "What''s wrong?" "The contraptions are activated¡­" "Everyone, follow me to the prison!" Without further ado, I rallied the whole bastioneers with me as we chased after Verina and Kara on the way. "What happened-" Verina saw us catching up to her, prompting her to realize what might be going on. She brandished her musket and braced herself for the worse. "This is not good." The moment Kuzunoha announced that the contraptions had been activated, a knot of dread began tightening in my stomach. I could care less about the state they were in, but the prison was deep within the perimeters of the bastion. If there was a Cmity Object creeping up from the opposite direction where we hold our ground, then Kuzunoha and I should have been alerted. Even if it was a passive Cmity Object that was able to spawn inside the bastion, Kuzunoha should be able to detect it ording to her expertise that I deduced after spectating her performance yesterday. As soon as we entered the chamber, the stench hit us. It wasn''t the usual smell of sweat and dampness that lingered in the prison; this was something far worse, something that crawled into your lungs and wouldn''t let go. It smelled of rot, of decay, of something that had gone horribly wrong. "This ce is too quiet!" I opened the door to the building where I kept them in. "... Right." I froze in my tracks. The sight before me was grotesque in a way that words could never fully capture. My breath caught in my throat, and for a moment, I felt the bile rise, threatening to spill over. The prisoners¡ªthose unfortunate souls¡ªhad been brutally murdered, their bodies twisted and contorted in ways that defiedprehension. It was as though their very essence had been distorted, reshaped by some unseen, malevolent force. One prisoner had been ripped apart, their limbs torn from their sockets, but in a precise, almost deliberate way, as if someone had taken their time. The flesh around the joints was shredded, and the exposed bones were stained a sickening yellow-brown, as if they had been left to rot for days¡ªexcept this had happened only minutes ago. Anothery sprawled against the far wall, their chest cavity forced open, ribs syed outward like grotesque wings. Their organs had been pulled out and arranged in a mockery of order¡ªtheir heart ced in their open palm, their intestines coiled neatly beside them like a macabre disy of doom. The blood pooling beneath them was still warm, steam rising in the cold air of the prison. Even to a former serial killer like me, this sight was too overwhelming. I looked over to see how everyone was doing at this moment. They weren''t looking good. "Verina, focus on preparing everyone for the Ordeal of the Midnight." I could hear some of them hurling their insides in dismay. "... Yes." And looking at Kuzunoha''s expression, I doubted that her contraption was the only cause to this scene of madness. She wasn''t the kind who would turn a person into a pudding of mess, after all. Her methods were much more efficient and refined than that. In order to understand what was happening, I needed to analyze the scene further. One of the prisoners had been impaled, but not by an external weapon. Their own spine had been ripped out, twisted around their neck like some horrific noose, leaving their head dangling at an unnatural angle. Their face was frozen in an expression of sheer terror, eyes wide and mouth agape, as if they had seen something so horrifying that their body had simply given up. The walls were painted with blood, slick and shiny under the dim light, and there were deep gouges, as if something¡ªor someone¡ªhad scratched at it in a frenzy. The air was thick with the metallic scent of iron, and beneath that, there was something else, something darker. A smell that reminded me of burned flesh and charred earth. Something, someone, or somehow, the space inside the building was isted and ced somewhere else. There was a time dtion in some part of the space, resulting in a different speed of progression for the bodies in disy. "What do you think, Kuzunoha?" "Hmm, I''m afraid that we''re dealing with something beyond my expertise," Kuzunoha sighed as she shook her head, wearing a dejected smile. "I will try my best to keep everyone alive, but don''t expect 100% safety from this moment and onward." "Do you have a hunch of what it may be?" Kuzunoha was put into a deep thinking state. It was the first time I saw her make that expression, as if she had everything at stake. "There is chaos in space and time, and it bypasses the jurisdiction of the Rule of Humanity Bastion. "I think we should discuss this at ater time," Kuzunoha calmly suggested. "We are only 2 minutes left before the Ordeal of the Midnight." "I see." The feeling of disgust lingered, but it was overshadowed by my fear of the unknown, as if something was carefully and intriguingly watching every move that I make. "You might need to help Verina and ease those newbies. I want to stay here for another minute." As if I was being tailed, like they were reading the stanza of my edda. "As you wish, darling~" With my gothic-fashioned secretary exited my perimeters to perform the duty that was given to her, I scoured my eyes It was at that moment, where I stumbled upon a strange crest resembling a snake that coiled to eat its own tail. It was so unfamiliar, so foreign to anything that was rted to my life. Stay tuned to m-v l|e''-NovelBin At the same time, it was calling me. A whole world apart, but aiming for my heart. I picked up the crest and interacted with its detail screen. [I FOU!@ND YOU~!! (THE RE#!AL YOU 100%) - ??? kg: HAHAHAHAHAHA I FINALLY FOUND YOU! IN THE END YOU''RE FATED TO BE FALLING INTO MY GRASP! NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU STRUGGLE THE FUTURE CAN''T BE CHANGED! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I WILL SEE YOU SOON! I WILL MAKE SURE TO TORMENT YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR ALL YOUR SIN! NOT A SINGLE SOUL WILL KNOW YOUR EXISTENCE BY THE TIME I END YOU! I WILL BRING YOU HELL] "What is this¡­?" I fell down to my knees, touching the sttered blood of the prisoners that I once ignored. "Hahaha¡­" The crest dissipated into nothing, leaving not a single clue behind about the event that had just transpired in front of me. "This is definitely some kind of a prank¡­" I needed to breathe, but something was clogging my throat. "Could the game dev happen to be behind this¡­?" I needed to make a sound excuse, a reasonable conclusion to why this is happening. "Hahaha, this is definitely the game dev, or one of those so-called Arbiters¡­!" I worked really hard to survive my first life, and I and I want to survive in this one too. "What a shitty way to mess with their own NPC¡­" I failed to achieve happiness as Lothair, so I want my life as Narcissus to be different. "I need to calm down¡­" I thought that I only needed to survive the unreasonable horror of the Ordeal. "Breath in¡­" But now that I found out that someone, or something beyond my grasp, is malicious targeting me like this¡­ "Breath out¡­" The ''me'' who thought that this life would be different. Is starting to crumble apart. "... I carried too much sin to deduce who the hell was behind this stupid prank." [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 1 second_] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Right, I need to focus on dealing with the Ordeal first. [Qu¨© m¨¥ ex v!ersicu!l¨©s me¨©s put?¨¡stis, quod!? su?nt mollicul¨©, par!?um pud¨©c?um!!] Couldn''t let my Sanity be reduced by a stupid crest. [A Qliphoth Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] Heh, the timing couldn''t be worse. I probably need to get back to everyone first. But this time¡­ ¡ª [The Drowned Revenant] [Description: d in corroded armor coated with barnacles and seaweed, the Drowned Revenant drips with brackish water as he trudges forward. His sword is a massive, jagged harpoon, stained with salt and rust. The air around him is thick with the stench of rotting fish, and he brings with him a creeping tide of seawater that slowly floods the ground, making movement sluggish and difficult. As he fights, water constantly seeps from his armor, drowning the battlefield in his wake. His presence causes a deep pressure to settle in the lungs of those nearby, as if they''re slowly sinking into the abyss] [Mythos Reference: Manifested by seafaring myths of drowned sailors and the legendary cursed ships, such as the Flying Dutchman] [Hint: The Drowned Revenant and its designated opponent cannot die no matter what. Being forced to fight the natural cmity of rising tide is a fate worse than death itself] ¡ª I refuse to run away. If I can''t face a single Qliphoth Object, how could I face that bastard who sent a deration of war to my face? Chapter 107: The Fourth Ordeal Of The Midnight I only had 20% of my Sanity left. That stupid prank dealt a massive amount of damage to my mind, it was insane. I almost lost myself to the theories and implications of what that message means going onward from now on. However, that should be my task for another day. Right now, the current objective was to reduce the amount of casualties as much as possible. And subdue the Drowned Revenant. Not oust, avoid, or escape. But subdue. As such, I need to maintain this horrible threshold of Sanity that I had left. This includes relying on self-suggestion,municating with others as much as possible, and focusing on one task at hand without overwhelming myself. It should be hard and even impossible, but that doesn''t mean I can try. "Climb the cabin!" I shouted as my people were rallied ording to my will. Humans had always turned the impossible into something possible through dedication and sheer will. I want to apply that here, and give myself a good share of that hope and faith. "I knew it, trying to survive the ordeal with a bastion less than twenty people is insane!" Erika bluntly cried. "Looks like you still have a lot of energy left, birdie," Callista stressedly grinned. "Naosi, catch!" Kara threw her pike before using her strengthening Theotech imnt to jump to the top of the cabin. "Gyah!" "All of the looted resources, preserved foods, and the workshop itself are safely secured~" Kuzunoha signaled as she gracefully floated her way to the high ground, mirroring Verina who had no problem flying around thanks to her prosthetic. " "You sure are calm amidst all of this," Verina quipped. "Calmness is a virtuous aspect to have as a person, Verina." Kuzunoha answered with a smirk. Sometimes, I forget that they live in this world longer than me. A deep, unnatural chill gripped the air as the entity approached the bastion. The once-firm earth beneath began to darken and soften, saturated with a sluggish, creeping tide that seemed to rise from nowhere. It was as if the Twisted Mariners reappeared but worse. The whispering wind carried with it the thick, pungent scent of decay¡ªsalt, rot, and the suffocating stench of something long dead and forgotten beneath the waves. The distant sound of dripping water echoed in the stillness, each drop amplifying the oppressive weight that pressed down upon the atmosphere, making it feel as though the very air had thickened into something wet and heavy. The ground around the bastion quivered and slowly flooded, an unnatural tide creeping forward with each silent, deliberate step of the unseen force. The world itself seemed to hold its breath, the quiet tension pulling taut as the cold, encroaching presence continued forward¡ªrelentless, inevitable, drowning the hope of those within the perimeter in an abyssal weight that promised no escape. Thankfully, that Qliphoth Object is really taking its sweet time. "Kuzunoha," I signaled. She snapped her gloved fingers, prompting an arcane spell that only allowed our voice to be shared amongst me, Verina, and herself. "Do the two of you have some idea of what we''re about to face?" "... It''s a Qliphoth Object, isn''t it?" Verina answered with a sunken tone. My gaze shifted to Kuzunoha. "Seeing your usual demeanor, I assume that you possess the knowledge of the Drowned Revenant." Kuzunoha''s crimson eyes gleamed with a sharp, predatory interest as she watched the creeping flood swallow the earth beneath the bastion. Her lips curled into a small, almost imperceptible smile, and for a moment, the tension in the air seemed to amuse her. She twirled a lock of her long red hair between her gloved fingers before responding, her voice a mix of cold indifference and genuine intrigue. Though, I still have the feeling that her mind was loaded with the incident with the prisoner. A drop of fear and hurted pride. However, she knew that our current objective was much more important. "The Drowned Revenant¡­" she echoed, her tone dripping with intellectual curiosity, as if the dangerous entity approaching was little more than a fascinating specimen. "A relic of sailors'' nightmares... manifested by myths, yet far more real than any children''s ghost story." She paused, her gaze shifting briefly to the darkening tide creeping toward them, as though contemting how the entity fit into the broader web of horrors she had encountered. Her voice, now tinged with a hint of excitement, continued. "It''s no ordinary Qliphoth Object¡ªthis one is a walking cmity, destined to drag its victim into a slow, agonizing fate. It doesn''t kill you outright; no, that would be merciful. Instead, it makes the very air you breathe heavy, each moment a struggle, drowning you while you''re still on drynd. "Those trapped in its wake will feel their lungs tighten, as though they''re sinking deeper into the abyss with every breath. A fate worse than death, really~" Kuzunoha''s smile widened slightly, the gleam in her eyes betraying the depths of her morbid fascination. "This Revenant isn''t about to let us simply fight. "It''s bound to its curse. The designated opponent and the creature itself¡ªneither can die, not by any conventional means. No, it''s a trial of endurance, a twisted dance with the inevitability of drowning." She tilted her head, looking directly at my eyes, her voice softer but no less cutting. "It''s not about winning. It''s about ousting. How long can we hold our breath, I wonder?" "So it''s still something that we can''t defeat then. And seeing that you didn''t order us to move out." Verina held her chin, adorably pushing her thumb to her own cheek. "The most efficient option is for me to take reign and protect the recruits while the two of you focus on dealing with the Qliphoth Object." "Seems like you already know what I was about to say," I amusedly smirked. "Of course, our bond might be young, but it is stronger than a Vorrathite," Verina immediately nced at Kuzunoha, as if she wanted to boast about it. "As such, I shall start briefing the recruits and manage them." Verina skated the air away from us and to the recruit, which cued her voice to be disconnected from the two of us. Her deadpan expression was facing Kuzunoha the entire time. Kuzunoha rightfully ignored it. "So, what''s the n?" "Kuzunoha, remember when you say that you want to utilize the Qliphoth Object for your own amusement and benefit." With a tired half-lidded gaze, I mustered the most viinous smile I had ever used. "Do you want to do it?" Chapter 108: The Calm Before The Storm Kuzunoha''s eyes lit up with a dangerous glimmer at my words, a spark of delight dancing behind her crimson gaze. Her lips parted into a slow, wicked smile, the kind that sent a shiver through even the most hardened of souls. She straightened herself as she sped her hands behind her back. "Ah, finally¡­ you ask the right questions," she purred, her voiceced with dark amusement. "You know, I was beginning to wonder if you''d forgotten just how many times I mentioned how potentially useful these abominations can be~" She took a small step forward, her eyes narrowing as they fixed on the faraway distant, lumbering form of the Drowned Revenant. "The Revenant is bound to its curse¡ªendurance and inevitability are its onlyws. Butws, even the ones tied to a Qliphoth Object, can be twisted, bent to suit a more¡­ creative mind." Kuzunoha flicked a gloved hand in the air, and arcane fog briefly shimmered around her fingers before fading. "If we''re to subdue it, you need to distract it for a very long time. This means that you will be its undying victim, dancing alongside death until the end of the Ordeal." Just as the arcane dust settled, I felt an itchy throbbing sensation from every inch of veins. "This is??" "I elerated the culturalization process of your Valtherion''s Blood. It will be very painful and diforting, but it is a necessary step in order to withstand the endless onught from the Revenant. Approximately, you can be regarded as a Valtherion in around an hour~" "Heh¡­ I see what''s going on¡­" I stroked the hair on my forehead back, embracing the necessary yet painful change that was suggested by my reliable secretary. "By being the target of the Revenant, I will only be immortal, but not a single part of my wounds will heal as part of the immortality¡­ "I''ll assume that you''re nning to make my own blood be foreign to my body, allowing it to heal its own host." "Oh my~ I guess I''m starting to have a kink for smart partner~" Turning my own blood to be foreign to its own body will lead to a lot ofplications. From the drastic immune response to how my nerves and brain react to the changes¡ªI guess that Kuzunoha had her own arcane way to bullshit the system and make it work sometimes. Yeah, so far, the arcane magic could be exined as ''absurd stuff that works''. The Drowned Revenant started to be visible, slowly approaching our bastion as her presence called upon the tide of the unnatural sea. It hadn''t been aggroed. And again, it was really taking its sweet time. My eyes were on Kuzunoha once again. "So, what is your method to capture a Qliphoth Object? Seeing that you don''t have one for a pet, I can safely assume that you haven''t been very sessful in the past." "That''s because I was pretty much alone back then," she nonchntly grinned. "Now, I have someone who will take the role of the meat shield while I masterfully concoct a tether to bind the Qliphoth Object to our will." "Still, why is your interest only ced on the Qliphoth Object? I never saw you do the same thing with Cmity Object," I curiously asked. "Cmity Objects¡­ Those are far too unpredictable for my taste," she began, her voice dripping with disdain, as though the very thought of them bored her. "They''re blunt instruments¡ªforces of inconvenience, chaos incarnate, yes¡ªbut ultimately basic. "There''s no groundbreaking story behind them. They have no artistry~ No nuance, no opportunity for control or maniption. They''re like swinging a wrecking ball at a ss house¡ªrandomly, and utterlycking in finesse." She waved her hand dismissively, her crimson gaze shifting back to the Drowned Revenant in the distance. "A Cmity Object is a force you survive, not something you utilize. It''s too much raw, uncontroble power, and frankly, I find that kind of chaos to be unrefined?" Her voice lowered, the sinister edge returning as she spoke with a renewed fervor. "But a Qliphoth Object? Ah, now that is something far more interesting. They are inconsble, but they possess a unique existence of intelligence, a twisted design behind them. "They want something to be nothing. They''re bound by their curses, their desires to see this world be nothingness! And if you understand those desires, you can bend them, exploit them~ "The Revenant, for example¡ªit''s cursed to drown its victim in despair, but that curse can be repurposed. Harnessed. With the right maniption, I can theoretically turn its need to do something far more controble and beneficial~!" "Right," I said as I started to get tired of Kuzunoha''s nerdy talk. "Can I also assume that it has something to do with arcane magic?" Kuzunoha gasped. "How do you know that!?" "Just a hunch." Sometimes, Kuzunoha was more talkative than a chatterbox. Not that I dislike it, but I hope that she would only rallied on the necessary information in such a crisis like this. Then again, with her background, I doubted that she saw this encounter as nothing but a mundane urrence. With the Drowned Revenant starting to get close, I began preparing myself. For one, I handed over my Fortcracker to Kuzunoha to be stored, since I will be fighting a close-rangebat with the Qliphoth Object. "How long is the subduing process?" I asked, my eyes already met the unruly gaze of the iing revenant. Read new adventures at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin "Depends on how fast I can crack the existence of the Drowned Revenant," Kuzunoha said as she cheekily smiled. "The moment you be the sole opponent of the Revenant, I will start the deconstruction process of its soul-map. "Because there will be a lot of different variablesing into y, the amount of time that I need to fully bring it down will greatly depend on luck~!" "So we just need to be lucky, huh. What''s the estimation?" "Five hours." "Alright." A yful sneer appeared on my face. "Will you be doing any kind of support while I''m going to be tormented to hell and back?" "Obviously~" She said a wide smug. "I will be giving my utmost best to support my loveable darling~!" Chapter 109: Into The Storm And The Dark As I stood at the edge of the roof, Kuzunoha imbued the soles of my boots with one of her elusive arcane sorcery. I felt a noticeable buoyancy as if I''m walking thinly above something on the current surface where I was standing. "Looks like I won''t be drawing tonight," I jested. "You can still drown if you get smashed by that ridiculously oversized anchor that the Revenant is carrying," Kuzunoha yfully added. "Can''t have your entire body to be above the water no matter what, since that will lead to numerousplications." "I trust your words," I brandished two of my Stormhooks on both hands, as my muscles rxed to prepare for what I''m about to do. "Otherwise, you won''t be able to enjoy my delicious blood once the xenogene takes over." Kuzunoha sighed with mixed emotions. "We have only known each other for less than a week, yet you already know me better than most people I know." "I don''t want to let you go out of my grasp, after all~" I didn''t see what kind of expression Kuzunoha made after I said that. But I knew well that her silence speaks volume, more than anyone in this bastion. Heh. Are you seeing this? You bastard. Not only did you brutally murdered what was mine, but you spooked me beyond anything that I''ve ever perceived in this world as Narcissus. Not even the ''y'' incident scared the shit out of me like you do, you know!? I don''t know if you''re omniscient or a bored trickster, but the fact that you still haven''t unleashed that aforementioned ''hell'' was enough of an indication that you can''t jack shit right now! And if there is the slightest chance that you''re observing this, I want you to know the kind of person you''re dealing with. From the high vantage point, the Drowned Revenant was still less a figure and more a creeping force of nature. A slow-moving blot of despair, its presence warped thendscape as it trudged forward. The tide beneath it followed like a curse, a rolling wave of brackish water spreading outward, swallowing everything in its path. No birds flew overhead, no sound saved the distant drip of water, growing louder with every inch it advanced. Approximately, it reached around 20 meters in height as a small part of its body was swallowed by its own rotten seawater. There should be no sane mortal that would see that and think ''I can fight it!'', but my mind was already resolute. Casting the strength of my wraithgripped-hand, my eyes drilled into the unrelenting entity of horror that was 40 meters away from me. Teeth gritted, and lips curved, I dastardly threw one of my Stormhook like I wanted to rip my hand out of my shoulder. As one of my three Stormhooks was barbarically deployed, I continued the initiative and sprinted forward above the shallow brackish sea to make my invitation of war clearer. ''I''m your target, set your eyes on me!'' I hurtled forward, my heart hammering in my chest as the Stormhook cut through the air, a wicked arc of metal aimed at the Drowned Revenant''s towering form. The air around me was thick with the stench of salt and decay the farther I approached the revenant. My boots, imbued with Kuzunoha''s arcane sorcery, kept me bnced just above the rising tide, but I could still feel the cold, brackish water sloshing at my feet, its oily texture clinging to my sole. Then it happened¡ªthe Stormhook slowed mid-flight, its trajectory warping as though space itself twisted around the Revenant. The weapon, once a deadly missile, now hung suspended, then spiraled off course, crashing harmlessly into the distant water with a muted ssh. I guess they won''t be in the Qliphoth Object category if they didn''t have some kind of bullshit abilities, heh. A sudden shift in the air sent every instinct into overdrive. "Hmm??" The water beneath me swirled violently, and from the depths, ckened tendrils shot upward, writhing masses of aquatic horror, twisting toward me with grotesque hunger. Each tendril moved with unnatural speed, the water itself bending to their will as they surged forward, seeking to ensnare me. "Heh, right. I''m technically in his domain." I dodged the first with a sharp leap, twisting mid-air to avoid its slimy grasp. The second tendril whipped around with terrifying uracy, forcing me to roll sideways, narrowly avoiding its coil. My breath hitched as anothershed out from the side, and I barely managed to block it with one of my Stormhooks, using the weapon''s curved edge to grasp and deflect the blow. The force of it sent a shudder through my arm, and I felt the weight of the Revenant''s otherworldly presence bearing down on me. I expected this reality of the situation¡ªthis wasn''t a battle of strength alone. The Revenant was something more, something that yed with the boundaries of space and time like a child pulling at the threads of a spider''s web. My movements felt slower, heavier, as if the air around me had thickened into a suffocating fog, while I was dancing my life away above the sea of death. But neither the Revenant''s target locking and my Valtherion''s Blood finished their preparation. Getting wounded now would be too severe. I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, weaving between the tendrils as best I could. Each step felt like a gamble¡ªtoo slow, and the tendrils would wrap around me, dragging me into the depths of whatever abyss the Revenant called home. Too fast, then I will lose my bnce as I notice that the entity could perceive my movement, no matter how fast I maneuvered. Suddenly, the air shifted again, a low, guttural sound reverberating through the waterlogged battlefield. The Drowned Revenant was moving. Slow, deliberate steps, each one sending ripples through the water and shaking the ground beneath my feet. It wasing for me, drawn by my defiance. Something foreign bound itself to me, like an uninvited curse that forces itself to lodge into the hinges of my soul. This was definitely the sign that I became its victim, and cursed with immortality! "You finally acknowledged me, you bastard!" Chapter 110: Heave, Ho! Here Comes The Flying Dutchman! I nced at the tall octopus tendrils rising, then at the Revenant''s towering form. This thing could probably warp reality, and it was targeting me specifically. I needed to think fast¡ªkeep it distracted, keep moving. The tendrils weren''t just weapons; they were extensions of the Revenant itself, an extension of its reach into this twisted duel he dered. But then, just as I dodged another tendril, something strange happened¡ªthe space between me and the Revenant stretched, distorting impossibly as if the distance between us was increasing with each step I took. The more I advanced, the further away it seemed to get, as if the battlefield itself was betraying me. I couldn''t help butugh bitterly. "You''re a real piece of work, aren''t you?" I muttered under my breath, catching the sight of those cursed tendrils snaking through the brackish water, still hot on my trail. "For a menacing guy, you''re a shitty coward." Instinctively, I threw myself into a reckless dive, narrowly avoiding the tendrils as they snapped together where I had been moments before. My mind still raced, searching for any weakness, any crack in the Revenant''s maniption of space, or at least information that could ensure my safety. But I knew that in this moment, I had no choice but to keep moving, to keep pressing forward. "Darling, can you hear me?" Kuzunoha''s voice was transferred into my mind. "Can you even hear my voice back?" "I can, but won''t be any longer," Kuzunoha''s tone was lower than usual. "I have started the soul-mapping process of the Revenant. Looking at how it''s acting defensively, I guess it is starting to be wary since I hid my presence well enough for it to notice the source of difort." "Can a Qliphoth Object feel difort?" I chuckled, while I was leaping back and forth while swashbuckling the increasingly aggressive tendrilsing on my way. "It can, severely!" I heard a quick giggle from the other side. "While I''m at it, I will also be casting some extra spells that will further disconvenient the Revenant while you fight it. "One thing I noticed for sure. It seems that the Revenant is trying to make you retreat to the opposite direction. If it''s something that the Revenant wanted to happen, make sure to not make it happen at all cost." "With that, I pray that you can handle a high level of torture when the Revenant start to be serious." "Heh, I can''t wait." A tsunami of tendrils swarmed down on me like a tidal wave, only to be harvested by my silent Stormhooks as I wreak havoc with a grin on my face. "I appreciate the information." "Verina worries you to death, by the way." There was a smug tone in her voice. "But she is doing a good job fending off some stray Cmity Objects that spawned amidst all of this." "Hehehe, convey my appreciation to that adorable cutiepie of mine." "Will try~" Themunication ended, and I went back focusing on the horror at hand. The Revenant loomed ahead, its presence warping the world like a sickness. And as the distance stretched and twisted before me, the world turned bright with the color of sickness and gue. Then, without warning, the world flipped. It wasn''t just the air or the horizon bending; it felt like reality itself was upended, the very fabric of time and space spinning wildly around me. My vision blurred, the scene folding and warping as though someone had pressed fast-forward on existence. Everything around me elerated¡ªwater churned, waves crashed, the sky itself whirled into a chaotic swirl of muted colors. Time had no meaning here; seconds were hours, and yet they passed in a blink. I staggered, struggling to keep my bnce as my boots lost their arcane grip. I wasn''t sure if I was falling, flying, or just being yanked through some iprehensible void. My surroundings shifted with every heartbeat until, in the blink of an eye, I was elsewhere. I found myself standing on a deck. Not just any deck¡ªa ship, ancient, massive, and rotting, with the unmistakable stench of salt and death. The sea stretched around me in every direction, but this was no ordinary ocean. The water, thick and ck like oil, churned violently beneath the ship, as though the entire world was at war beneath the waves. The ship creaked and groaned as though alive, and the air was thick with an eerie stillness. But I wasn''t alone. Shadows moved in the corners of my vision, and from below, I heard the rhythmic stomping of heavy boots. A cold gust of wind swept past me, and with it came a voice¡ªa hollow, raspy whisper that sent shivers crawling up my spine. "Om¡­ mani¡­ padme¡­ hum" I turned slowly, and my stimted Valtherion''s Blood was churning in pain even further. Figures began to rise, one after another, from the deck of the ship¡ªghastly, ghostly crewmen, their skin pale and mottled like rotting fish, their eyes hollow and gleaming with an unnatural light. Some were skeletal, their flesh barely clinging to their bones, while others seemed to have drowned not long ago, their skin bloated and sickly blue. They moved with the slow, deliberate steps of the dead, but their eyes were filled with the fury of those long denied peace. The closest one lurched toward me, dragging an ancient cuss behind him, its rusted de scraping against the deck with a screech. His voice was barely a whisper, but his words were clear. "Gate gate¡­ p¨¡ragate¡­ p¨¡rasamgate¡­ bodhi sv¨¡h¨¡¡­" Before I could react, he lunged at me with surprising speed. I parried his attack with one of my Stormhooks, the sound of silent metal shing against metal one-sidedly echoing across the deck. But more of them wereing¡ªdozens of them, each one more wretched and desperate than thest. The ghostly crew swarmed me, their weapons dull and chipped but driven by an unholy strength. Each time I struck one down, they seemed to rise again, as if bound by some cursed oath that kept them from ever truly dying. One of the sailors, his face twisted in eternal agony, mumbled through gritted teeth as he swung a rusty ax at me. "Namu¡­ amida butsu..." I dodged, barely avoiding the blow, and countered with a sh of my own, cutting him down. But it didn''t matter. Another sailor reced him, this one with a harpoon lodged deep into his chest, as though he had been speared in life and dragged to this ship to serve in death. "Namo tassa¡­ bhagavato arahato¡­ samma sambuddhassa¡­" Chapter 111: Davy Jones "Didn''t expect that there would be a time where Viking sailors became buddhists." A sneer was stered on my face. "Thankfully, I still have ess to the inte, and there isn''t much time dtion with the outside. "This is an isted realm made specially for the victim of the Drowned Revenant." Their words sent a chill deep into my bones, not because of their malice, but because of the despair that clung to every syble. These weren''t warriors; they were prisoners, trapped in an endless cycle of torment, bound to this ship for eternity. And now, they sought to drag me into their cursed existence. As if they want me to suffer the same fate. The air grew thick with their stench, and their crazy murmurs filled my ears. I swung my Stormhooks in wide arcs, trying to keep them at bay, but there were too many. Their pale, lifeless hands grasped at me, pulling me closer, desperate to make me one of them. I could feel my energy waning, my body slowing. The relentless onught was much more devilish than I expected. I slowly saw my Sanity dwindling, but thanks to myst experience, I could calm down my mind and not overexert myself. My mind specialized in controlled tunnel vision. Instead of epting the existence of their dreadful chants and appearance, I filled most of my mind with the escting pain that was resulting from the eleration of my Valtherion''s Blood adaptation. The pain was a blessing in disguise. Then again, I started to get a little bit horrified that pain was not one of the things that could decrease my Sanity. "Hahaha¡­ I can do this all day¡­" And then, the deck beneath me shook. From the shadows of the ship''s bow emerged a figure unlike the others. His presence was suffocating, his auramanding attention. He wore a long, weathered coat that fluttered in the unnatural wind, adorned with barnacles and seaweed. His face, however, was anything but human¡ªnumerous spirals of voids that were crowned by tentacles writhed where hisplexion should be, and his multiple red-void eyes gleamed with a malice that burned colder than any abyss. His gaze locked onto me with an intensity that made the shambling crew seem like mere distractions. "All paths lead here, to my ship, to my wrath. Every breath you take is a debt owed to me," His voice was a guttural snarl, deep andden with fury. "Every soul has its price, but yours... yours will be kept in the deepest vault, where no light dares to wander." His tentacles twitched as he stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of a sword that glowed with an otherworldly light. His voids, cold and calcting, flicked over me, sizing me up with stares, but there was something else¡ªa hunger, an obsession that made my skin crawl. "You''re mine now," he rasped, "Just a pitiful barnacle for me to harvest" With a flick of his wrist, the ship itself seemed toe alive, groaning and creaking as if it, too, was under his control. The crew halted for a moment, eyes flicking to their captain before returning to me, their assault renewing with even more ferocity. I gritted my teeth, readying myself for whatever hell awaited me next. "Kalpante kalpan¨¡mayah..." One of the many rusted axes swung toward me in a much more desperate arc than the other, its edge glinting with the moonlight filtered through a sickly haze. I twisted my body just enough to feel the wind from the de as it passed an inch from my neck, and then retaliated with a swift strike. My Stormhook severed the sailor''s arm with a wet snap. The limb fell, and with it, the ax ttered to the rotting deck. Yet, the sailor didn''t even flinch. He continued to advance, his hollow eyes glowing with an insatiable hunger for violence, muttering in an ancient, forgotten tongue¡ªeach word like a jagged shard in my mind. I felt the familiar rush of fury igniting within me. They might be undead, bound to some eternal curse, but I was no stranger to endurance. This... this was a battlefield I knew all too well. Enduring curses for years, feeling terribly isted just because you were born different inside. And having a devilish urge that needed to be sated in order to be alive¡­ Right, I was cursed once for many years and suffered something that no one would be able to rte to. I was cursed to be anxious, conflicted, depressed, and forced to do something that I find heinous. "But this time is different¡­" That curse was finally dispelled! One wouldn''t be able to fathom the amount of hope and light that I grasped because of that one aspect befallen to me. And I''m not nning to waste this blessing this early. With each step, the deck beneath me groaned as if it were alive, a ghostly echo of its own past. I could feel the weight of their deaths pressing down on me¡ªtheir agony, their rage¡ªall swirling together in this moment of ceaseless horror. But I advanced with firm determination, thundering my hands and utilizing my senses to orchestrate this body of mine, turning it into a war machine. A hopeful and unyielding war machine, one that wouldn''t falter in the storm, no matter how thick the hail that came with it. "Hahaha¡­ HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" My movements became faster, more precise, as I sliced through the spectral crew with calcted strikes. Still, more rose to take their ce. "Persistent bastards!" I yfully spat through my clenched teeth, my muscles tensing as I spun around, and around, and around, sending numerous sailors crashing to the floor in a heap of bones and flesh. The cursed ship seemed to breathe with them, as though the souls of the damned were tethered to every nk, every nail. The whole structure groaned under the weight of centuries of despair. But I wasn''t going to stop. I wouldn''t stop. Their despair was not mine to begin with. They could eat shit! Each time one of the undead surged at me, I met them with an equally unyielding force. Tendrils started to spawn, and swirling portals that shoot out deadly torrents started to riddle the ship without damaging the deck¡ªall by themand of the captain of the ship, who felt nothing but anger and desperate hatred. But I danced¡ªI listened to their tunes, and adapted to their instruments. A manic, uncaring expression possessed my face, and I couldn''t help butugh at how easy it was to endure the madness of this world. All I needed was to clear my head of all the horror at bay. Because I have found the solution to my struggle to maintain my Sanity. Chapter 112 : Painful Ectasy "Ah~ just a little cut won''t hurt~" I incessantly moaned as I tore the skin of my wrist, letting the gold-ish blood wreak an even more pain onto my body. "Ahahaha~!! I need to share this delight with Kuzunohater¡ªmaybe she knows the reason behind this phenomena, hehehe~" It was working, my Sanity didn''t diminish even further, while I was utilizing most of my brain and physical prowess to endure this hell~! And all I needed was to trick myself to enjoy the pain. Because the pain was much more kind than the horrifying reality of this world. The water beneath the ship churned violently¡ªsomething writhing in the distance, lurking beneath the waves. It was as if the sea itself had turned against me¡ªno longer just water, but an entity bent on swallowing me whole. But I focused too much on my painful ecstasy while trying to bring genocide to these relentless ghouls, so I didn''t realize much on what was actually happening outside of this titanic deck. An hour passed, though they felt like minutes, and I was still as relentless as a zombie could be¡ªironic, since I was currently fighting a horde of them. My arms moved as if possessed, cutting down enemy after enemy, never allowing a moment of rest. My cruel blood pounded in my ears, a constant reminder of my will to survive. Even as exhaustion wed at me, my heart hammered louder by the pain. It was at that moment, I realized that some of my wounds started to heal themselves. [Valtherion''s Blood (Forced Foreignization): The dormant gene of the Valtherion race fuses with the host, granting them the ability to produce an all-healing substance through their bodily liquid. This substance can heal any wound, cure illness, and even regenerate lost limbs, making the host a living source of miraculous recovery. The gic enhancement also fortifies the host''s vitality, making them resistant to physical and psionic corruption] The Valtherion''s Blood had finally embedded itself into my DNA, as they were naturally produced from my very own bone marrow. At the same time, Kuzunoha had probably timed a spell to make it foreign to my own body. After all, the blood couldn''t heal its own host, as they serve as a miraculous panacea for others only. "Aaaa¡­ Aahn~!!" I gasped, horribly. Every inch of my blood vessels were fighting the cells on my body, before healing, and damaging it, again, and again¡ªin an endless cycle of torment. Yes, this is definitely something that I needed to stay sane in this fight. I didn''t know if Kuzunoha nned all of this, or if this was a stupid coincidence¡ªI shall ensure that my cunning secretary will be heavily rewarded after all of this is over. But despite my worry for my Sanity gone like the wind, I started to notice that my Consciousness started to dwindle. Well, I will be fine! The fight continued. But this time, I possessed little to no conscience for my own safety. For one, I was technically cursed with immortality. For two, I was imbued with a miraculous self-healing capability. I had no reason to not take that ax to the skull before plunging my silent Stormhook into that sailor''s whole vertical anatomy. The Soulthread Aegis might be really damaged because of this careless fighting style, but I could just make better equipmentter. I''m also fortunate that I decided to not bring my Broken Gloamkeeper''s Beacon, storing it inside Kuzunoha''s arcane vault. Despite its halved efficiency, it was still a very useful tool that I don''t want to lose. In my current state, I dealt more damage and destruction to the unrelenting horde like there was no tomorrow. My efficiency skyrocketed. If my hand was dismembered, I could just grab it mid air and reattach it, while my vicious blood was doing all the work¡ªhealing it as if nothing had happened. Sometimes, I would just chuck my own exposed wrist bone at their faces, as their roots and gue barely affect me. And every time I severely wounded myself, I was rewarded with a cathartic view of my shining golden blood making a beautiful arc in my respite. What even better than all of that, was the fact that my all-healing blood acted like a deadly poison to them when in contact. Maybe because they were already dead and cursed? Or maybe there was another rule to the healing capability of the Valtherion''s Blood. Regardless, I ended up coating every inch of my Stormhooks with these beautiful and glistening golden hues. Sometimes, I cut my artery and sprayed those undead sailors with my blood like some sort of pest. "Is this torment~!? Or is this heaven disguised as hell~!??" Okay, that was a little dramatic of me. I didn''t have much fairest of mind when I was rampaging in this moment of time. I was still able to think clearly and efficiently, however. For one, I remembered that I had already killed the captain of the ship more than 27 times. He was one tough bastard, but I needed him to die from time to time to reduce the intensity of the abnormal phenomenon that he cast down to overwhelm me. Just as when I finally gotfortable with the current development, the master of this realm decided that something needed to be changed. I caught a glimpse of movement¡ªsomething different amidst the grotesque crowd. The fog thickened around the center of the deck, swirling and pulsing like a living thing, and from it emerged something more than the sailors. The air stilled. A figure broke through the fog, his hulking form towering above the other cursed sailors. Waterlogged flesh clung to his bloated frame, veins pulsing with the sickly green light of corruption. Barnacles and seaweed clung to his body like armor, his eyes glowing a sickly yellow beneath a captain''s hat encrusted with salt and decay. "Hahaha¡­ HAHAHAHAHA~!!!" Emotions swirled inside me as if I was a mere vessel for them to destroy me and torn me asunder. "Haaa¡­ I don''t know if I''m happy or wary of you now. Thankfully, I still have my sanity, so maybe a little mix of both." The Drowned Revenant had arrived. He loomed above me, his presence twisting the very fabric of reality around him. Waves of dread poured off him, heavier than the sins that I possessed. The tendrils that had been harrying me retreated as if in reverence to their master. His bloated fingers gripped an impossiblyrge anchor, rusted and dripping with viscous seawater that sttered onto the deck like droplets of poison. The Revenant''s hollow eyes fixed on me, filled with a hatred that had festered for centuries beneath the waves. "Om... mani... padme... hum..." His voice reverberated through the ship like a deep, echoing moan of despair. Every syble rippled through the air, chilling me to the bone. "I am time, the great destroyer of the world, and I havee here to engage all people. With the exception of you, all the soldiers here on both sides will be in." I tightened my grip on my Stormhooks, bracing myself for the inevitable sh. But as the Revenant raised his anchor high above his head, casting an enormous shadow over me, I felt a sickening twist in the pit of my stomach, even amidst the chaotic cycle of pain and healing from my glimmering gold blood. This... this was different. The weight of his presence wasn''t just physical; it bent the very world around me, pulling me into his twisted domain. I couldn''t even make myself avoid it, or even think of avoiding it¡ªas if I was being forced to embrace it. And for the first time in hours, I felt a flicker of something dangerously close to fear. But I shoved it down, my lips curling into a manic grin. "Come on, then," I muttered, raising my des in defiance. "Let''s see if your curse can handle a storm~!!" The Revenant''s anchor descended with a bone-crushing force, the air around it howling as it came crashing down. And in that moment, the world seemed to shatter. Chapter 113 : The Drowned Revenant I had no time to react. The anchor collided with my head, and the world turned into a blur of destruction. My bones crunched, my organs twisted, and my skin exploded into shards of pain¡ªliquid of gold was sprayed in every direction. The deck beneath us splintered, as if the very ship had been cleaved in two by the sheer weight of the malevolent destruction. I felt myself flying, smashing through debris, the wood of the cursed vessel erupting like brittle bones. "Aaaa¡­" The force hurled me into the lower levels of the ship, where the remnants of undead sailors and tendrils were scattered like ragdolls, blown away by the shockwave. Darkness started to swallow me as the world trembled under the Revenant''s wrath. My body screamed in protest, my Valtherion''s Blood working frantically to repair the rupture from the blow. But before I could fully recover, the Revenant was there again, as if he teleported, unrelenting. His anchor came crashing down toward me once again, a world-ending weight that threatened to bury me beneath the depths. I barely managed to roll to the side, but the impact sent ripples of destruction through the ship, and the surrounding air seemed to crack like brittle ss. "Argh¡­!!" The Revenant swung again, not giving me a moment to breathe, and the ground beneath me buckled. Every time I tried to stand, the anchor woulde down, and I had no choice but to dodge, to move, to survive. But just like before, there was this mental barrier that prevented me from fullymitting to escape his attack, as if the immortality curse that was attached to me also act as a catalyst for this suicidal tendency. Each strike was like aet crashing to earth, the sheer force tearing the world apart around me, both physically, and mentally. It was endless. The Drowned Revenant was truly a force of nature¡ªno, something beyond nature, something that had transcended thews of reality. His very existence twisted the world around him, bending the air, the water, and time itself to his will. Finally, by some miracle of my blood, I slipped out of his assault. "Looks like I''m no longer affected by your mind tricks!" My regeneration spiked at just the right moment, and I sprang to my feet, summoning all the strength I had left. My Stormhooks, damaged from the relentless onught, glowed faintly with the arcane remnants still clinging to their edges. Wait, arcane remnants? Was this Kuzunoha doing? She must be worried that I would be weaponless, if the thing that she strengthened was my weapon and not myself. Now that I think about it, that cheeky secretary of mine really insisted on me getting pounded to the ground. "Kuzunoha, that rascal." Regardless, that didn''t matter much now. My Sanity didn''t worsen, but my Consciousness did. As of now, it was sitting at a scary 65%, and it kinda affected my brain-processing capability. I''m still in the state of painful euphoria, and I''m trying my best to not moan incessantly in front of the Drowned Revenant, with all of the pain that he inflicted to my body in just a single sequence of action. "That thing stopped being aggressive all of a sudden¡­" I scouted the current level of the ship that I''m in, roaming around with blitz speed as I keep an eye on the Revenant. "This might be my chance." It was possible to just tank all of the Drowned Revenant''s attack since I was nothing less than an immortal with miraculous healing ability, but seeing how my Consciousness stats have a hard time recovering, I''m afraid that being submissive would cause me to receive some permanent damage, even after Kuzunoha was done subduing it. "Hehehehe, looks like I''m done acting like a beast, for now~" The attack from the Drowned Revenant felt different. Instead of receiving physical damage, I''m afraid that I would get something like spiritual damage or some sort. But was it wise to to start going full defensive when that bastard was barely keeping attention from me like a toddler? No. I want to see the extent of its defensive capability. Everything within this ship can spawn and revive. But none of them can regenerate. "Let''s took my spear for a test drive~" Ished out, driving the hook toward the Revenant''s torso. It scraped against his barnacle-encrusted armor, sparks flying, but he barely flinched. I followed up with another strike on the neck, arm, and multiple different areas that were much weaker than his armor¡ªmy blood roaring in my ears as I aimed for a gap in his defenses. For a few seconds, she was tanking all of it like a sitting duck, probably due something that Kuzunua performed when she was performing her existence cracking, or whatever the hell she was doing¡ªbut at one moment, her head and gaze started totch on me again like an automatic receptive drone. The bastard didn''t immediately attack, however. He moved with eerie grace for something sorge, sidestepping my attack with a flicker of unnatural speed. Then, his arm whipped out, catching me across the chest with a backhanded strike that sent me careening through what remained of the ship''s hull. The impact knocked the wind from my lungs, and before I could react, the Revenant was upon me once more. His next strike sent me sailing into the cursed sea itself. And if my vision didn''t betray me at that moment, I glimpsed that the entire ship was split in half from that one devastating attack. "Gurhah!!" The water was colder than death, thick and oily, clinging to my skin like a secondyer of suffocation. The spell of buoyancy on my feet flickered and waned, the arcane energies weakening under the strain of the battle. I fought to keep my head above the surface as the Revenant waded into the water, his massive form parting the sea like a god of old. His anchor hung menacingly at his side, dripping with seawater and the void itself. Chapter 114: The Defying Swimming in here took ten times the effort¡ªthere was no way that a sea should be this suffocating and dense for something living to see as home. Some of that nasty water caught my lungs, but thankfully my all-healing blood ended up removing them after a solid five seconds after deeming them too harmful for my body. "Pwuah!" My head was above the raging sea, and it was as hard as it sounded to maintain my nose above the surface. Though, after I got a single calm tide, I could just pull myself up from the depth like I was in a pool. "This is the worst day ever since yesterday." Explore stories at m,v l''e-NovelBin The fight was no longer confined to the ship. We were in the unnatural depths now, fighting amidst the cursed waves that seemed eager to swallow me whole. I gasped for breath, but I refused to let the despair seep in. I still have my killing-pain as my pain-killer, afterall. Sure, it was an oxymoron, but it works. And I started to be able to read that bastard''s nearly unavoidable attack. I charged at him, water sloshing around me as I swung my Stormhooks in wide arcs, aiming for his head, his chest¡ªanywhere that I couldnd a blow. But he was faster than I anticipated. His anchor moved like a battering ram, smashing through the water with devastating force. Each blow sent shockwaves through the cursed sea, and I was forced to dive, twist, and lunge in desperate attempts to avoid the world-ending strikes. I managed tond a ncing blow, my hook slicing through the Revenant''s arm. ck ichor seeped from the wound, sizzling as it hit the water, but the Revenant barely noticed. His void-filled eyes gleamed with cold fury, and he swung his anchor once more, aiming to crush me beneath its weight. I parried the strike with both of my hooks, but the force of the blow sent me careening through the water. "Guh!!" The spell of buoyancy finally gave out after twenty meters, and I began to sink, the cursed sea dragging me deeper into its oily depths. I worked twice as hard to recover myself to the turmoiling surface. And there, the Drowned Revenant towered over me, his grotesque form seething with an unnatural, overwhelming aura. His otherwordly face seemed to warp with each step, barnacles shifting and seaweed constricting like living chains around his bloated flesh. His voice echoed across the deck, a guttural, wet hiss that seemed to crawl under my skin. "You persist, even in the face of oblivion," he rasped, his tone dripping with amusement. "But you will learn, as they all have, that the sea takes everything in time." He raised one decayed arm, and the very sea seemed to respond to hismand. Massive octopus-like tendrils erupted from the oily waters, writhing and thrashing as they crashed onto the deck, each impact shaking the cursed ship like it was made of brittle bones. And then I saw it, an unholy army of sailors catching up to me from every direction of the sea. The crew¡ªundead, soulless wretches¡ªnow moved with renewed purpose, as if the Drowned Revenant''s presence fueled them. Their eyes gleamed with a savage hunger, limbs moving with unnatural speed as they surged toward me once again, this time apanied by the writhing, undting mass of tendrils and the ship itself bending to his will. I leapt forward, my Stormhooks slicing through the air, but it didn''t matter. No matter how many times I cut them down, no matter how many wounds I inflicted, the Revenant''s forces rose again, endless and unyielding. And yet, I smiled. It was a cold, manic grin that spread across my face despite the mounting chaos around me. My attacks didn''t matter, my strikes didn''tnd the way I wanted them to¡ªbut I didn''t care. Not anymore. The pain coursing through my body was enough to keep me grounded, to keep me sane. Each new wound was a reminder that I was still here, still alive, and still capable of defiance. My golden blood continued to flow like a river of torment, but it was a torment I embraced. It was a hell that I chose to face because I want to show that bastard what I was made of, after all. The Drowned Revenant''s tendrilsshed out, striking with terrifying precision. One wrapped around my waist, pulling me off from my turmoiling foothold and hoisting me into the air. My bones creaked under the pressure, and the sailor''s chants grew louder in my ears, a cacophony of madness that threatened to drown me. But even as I felt the crushing force of the tendril tightening around me, Iughed. "Hahahaha¡­ Come on! Is this all you''ve got!?" With a sharp twist of my wrist, I mmed one of my Stormhooks into the fleshy tendril, golden blood sttering across its surface. The reaction was immediate¡ªthe tendril recoiled as if burned, releasing me from its grasp. I fell back onto the deck with a satisfying thud, barely sparing a moment before I was on my feet again, charging forward. The Revenant''s gaze followed my every move, his monstrous form shifting with the sea itself. His many void-like eyes gleamed as he spoke, his voice nowced with something more than amusement¡ªrage. "You dare defy the will of the sea? You think you can stand against me, mortal?" I grinned, wiping the blood from my face, my mind buzzing with the euphoria ofbat. "I don''t just defy you," I snarled, "I''m going to enjoy breaking you." The Revenant howled, his form growing more monstrous by the second. More tendrils, more undead, more madness. The sea around us churned violently, dark and bottomless. It was as if the entire realm was copsing, spiraling into oblivion with the Drowned Revenant as its center. But I wasn''t afraid. The world could burn around me, and I would stillugh. I charged again, my Stormhooks gleaming with the golden blood that now coated them, anointing them with the essence of unrelenting life to the undead. Each swing was wild, brutal, and unrelenting. Every impact sent ripples through the mass of tendrils and undead, each cutced with the divine, venomous liquid that kept me sane in this hellish fight. I care nary of the wound inflicted to my by the worthless minions, so I only focused on that big ugly bastard''s attack. This saved me a lot of brain power with how little Consciousness that I currently possessed. And all the while, the Revenant''s twistedughter echoed through the storm. "All paths lead to death," he hissed, his army of tentaclesshing out again. "Just like all road to hell was paved with good intention." I threw myself headlong into the fray,ughing maniacally through the blood and the chaos. Chapter 115: The Tale Of N Once upon a time, in a world not so far from dreams, there was a young heroine named N. She was clever, brave, and had a heart full of light, even though thend she found herself in was draped in shadows¡­ The sky above was always cloudy, the waters dark and deep, and whispers of forgotten creatures lingered in the air. Enjoy new stories from m-v l''e|-NovelBin One day, while journeying through the endless mists, N found herself near a great, sunken shipwreck. The sea nearby was eerily still, and the wind carried with it the faint sound of a lonely, echoing melody. It was then that she met a creature known as the Drowned Revenant. It was a towering, fearsome thing¡ªan old sailor cursed to wander forever, lost to time. Its eyes glowed with sadness, but its hands were heavy with anger. But N wasn''t afraid. She stood tall, with her head high, and spoke softly to the Revenant. "Oh, lost one," she said, "Why do you seek to harm others? Do you not long for peace, for rest?" But the Revenant, who had forgotten the sound of kind words, only roared in sorrow. The ground trembled, and the seas swelled around them. N knew there would be no simple answer today. So, with a gentle sigh, she took up her sword¡ªnot of steel, but of light, forged from her courage and resolve. The battle began with a crash like thunder. The Revenantshed out with waves of water and wind, trying to pull N down into the dark depths where it lived. But N was quick. She danced like the wind, leaping over the crashing waves, dodging the sweeping strikes of the Revenant''s ghostly hands. Her sword of light glimmered like the first star of night, always just out of the creature''s reach. However, the Revenant was strong, and it was sadder than anyone could know. It began to wrap the world in a heavy mist, where even N''s bright sword struggled to shine. The creature''s voice echoed like the cry of a thousand lost souls, and it called out to N, trying to make her lose her way. For a moment, N felt the weight of the mist press down on her heart. The sadness of the Revenant seemed so great, it nearly pulled her down. But then, she remembered something important: there was always light, even in the darkest ces. She closed her eyes, and in that quiet moment, she found a spark within her¡ªa tiny me of hope. And that was enough. With renewed strength, N spoke once more, not with her sword, but with her heart. "I know you are hurting, but you do not have to face this darkness alone." Her words, though soft, echoed through the mist, reaching the Revenant''s forgotten heart. The creature paused, its form wavering like a reflection in troubled water. N''s light began to grow again, brighter and brighter, until it filled the whole space. The mist cleared, and for the first time, the Drowned Revenant''s sorrow lifted, if only for a moment. N did not need to defeat the Revenant with strength or power. Instead, she offered it something far greater: understanding. With that, the Revenant began to fade, not in pain, but in peace. It drifted back to the deep waters from which it came, no longer a creature of wrath, but a soul finally finding rest. And so, N stood alone by the shore, the waters calm and quiet once more. She smiled, knowing that she had not just won a battle, but had helped heal a heart. And from that day forward, whenever N would pass by the great shipwreck, she would hear the soft hum of the sea, not in sadness, but in peace, as if the Revenant''s spirit had found its ce among the stars. And they all lived as happily as one could in the world of shadows. The end¡ª "Aaaaaa¡­. aaaa¡­." ¡ªfor one of the millions of ''Simted Worlds'' that was created by the real Drowned Revenant, where he cursed Narcissus to experience all of the different scenarios and background for their sh and encounter. And for every time N died in one of those simtions, the real Narcissus would receive all of the pain and stimtion that the failed Ns suffered before their horrifying death. And Narcissus, being I, had no idea when this phenomenon started and what was the cause." "Ahahah¡­ Isn''t this Qliphoth Object a little bit too overpowered¡­?" I said while trying my best, despite all that happened, swinging my Stormhook to any foe that was approaching me. This whole thing just happened amidst my manic stupor of pain-filled ecstasy and undead murdering. Seeing that physical pain won''t be able to drag me into despair, the Revenant decided to attack my spirit and psyche directly. I even lost one of my Stormhooks when the fake memories and pain of one of the dead Ns in multiple fake worlds managed to stagger me because of its sheer absurdity. Right now, the Revenant stood idly around the gale-full sea of ck oil like he had no business being here. I probably need to interrupt him to stop all of these madness-inducing barrages of dead Ns'' results, which was much more annoying than the constant notification I got during the day. "Tch¡­ I just¡­ can''t¡­ get¡­ close!" The hordes of sailors, undting sea waves, tentacles, and some funky unknown phenomenon were really trying their utmost best to keep me in distance from their master. The arcane spell that Kuzunoha cast on my feet wasn''t really in the best state as of now, so I was really having a hard time keeping my waist above the surface. Maneuvering anywhere in this state was ten times more effort-inducing than swimming in a river of mud. "Shit, my Sanity is getting drained¡­!" The phenomenon of me being synchronized to millions of possible dead Ns was enough to reduce my Sanity like crazy, and now it was currently sitting at 12%. All of that while I was performing some extreme level of mental gymnastics, and applying pain-worshiping¡ªtrying my best from ever going on a meltdown in my current situation. Chapter 116: The Reinforcement Is Here! Thankfully, after my mind was overwhelmed by many things in this maddening realm, my ess to Sir Aethe had always remained firm and true the whole time. So amidst me trying to fight against the sea itself, I had some epic metal music in the background as a self-buff for my Sanity and overall health. "Through the night and the rain~!!" I sang as I my flesh as rend asunder by countless swimming ghouls with pikesced with rots and gues. "For the fire and the fame~!!" More than 5 hours had passed since the start of the Ordeal of the Midnight. And there was no sign of improvement from Kuzunoha''s side. The spell of buoyancy on my feet had be thinner, to the point of me making aically wide raft made out of the corpse of the sailors and reaped tentacles. No matter how high the tide and intimidating sound of the crashing waves were, my trusty raft always ended uping to the surface, and I was very proud of it. The curse that bound me to millions of simted worlds where N was dead¡ªin the end, was still active. After all, I haven''t managed to touch the smug Drowned Revenant ever since, so I started to familiarize myself with the whole sudden influx of pain and tormenting experience from the hypothetical me who failed their excursion with a seaman. Coming to terms with it wasn''t the hardest thing in the world either. Now that I look at it, it was simr to having a subscription to some kind of shady voodoo or horoscope website but with real pain and consequences. As such, everytime an N came with the news of her death, my mentally-constructed butler weed them and immediately gave them the needed room and hospitality for them to convey their experience. It was simr to having a mental hotel to an afterlife, but for an insurmountable amount of different versions of myself. "Hehehe, this should do~" Now that one of my Stormhook was lost to the sea, and the remaining one was hanging to its dear life from shattering apart, I began collecting the weapons of the sailors and crafted something on the spot with it. [Blightpiercer Harpoon (Qliphoth 90%) - 52.5 kg]: The Blightpiercer Harpoon is a grim weapon crafted from rot-infested metal pulled from the sunken depths and tainted with the gue that clings to the forsaken remains of undead sailors. This terrifyingly long harpoon, favored by revenant mariners, is over 4 meters in length, its shaft made fromyers of corroded iron twisted together with sinewy strands of cursed tendrils. The entire structure emanates a faint, sickly glow, as if the rot itself pulsates within. At the tip of the harpoon lies a massive, star-shaped head, its five jagged points razor-sharp and coated in gueced ichor. The head itself is forged from a mysterious, ckened metal that seems to writhe and shift in the light, a material not found in any knownnds. Each strike from the Blightpiercer causes not only deep physical wounds but also spreads an insidious rot through the victim''s body, gradually eating away at both flesh and spirit. Further adding to its lethality, the weapon has been designed with barbed grooves running along the shaft, making it nearly impossible to dislodge once embedded without a gory scene] This oversized amalgamation was my greatest masterpiece yet! Not only did that mold the metal through brute strength and willpower, but it was also the most menacing thing to be witnessed in a battlefield. If one were to be found carrying this around before two fully prepared armies collided, it would definitely cause a massive loss in morale because of how maddening it was. The only demerit of it, the Blightpiercer Harpoon, was the fact that it wasced in nasty gue. If one was touched or got a whiff of it without any kind of immunity or miraculous healing ability, they would definitely die. This includes the owner of the weapon itself. "Muahaha~! Die! Die!!" It was also a fun weapon to use because of how powerful it was thanks to its sheer size and weight alone. But just as I thought that I would be here fighting aimlessly for another couple of hours, a familiar voice seeped into my ear. "How are you faring over there, darling?" The buoyancy spell was restored to its former glory, alongside the enhancement spell that was cast into my Stormhook. Though, it didn''t restore the cracked bits. Enjoy more content from m-v l''e|-NovelBin "Huehehehe~ It is fun here~" For one, my sanity was extremely low and so was my Consciousness. I couldn''t help but talk like a creepy pervert who found out that she could abuse masochism to keep herself sane. "Looks like you went cuckoo already," Kuzunoha chuckled. "I see that there is some sort of forced connection made into your soul, and it seems to be delivering a foreign essence to you nonstop. "I should''ve noticed it whenever your soul was the target of something, but it seemed like the Qliphoth Object was two steps ahead of me in terms of spellcasting." I could hear an annoyance in her tone. "I apologize that I didn''t immediately deal with it." "Eh~ it''s fine. You''re probably busy with your soul-mapping, anyway~" I said while spinning around with my Blightpiercer Harpoon to tramp off anyone who dared to climb to my raft, donning a blissful smile on my face. "So how is it?" "I can finally start the subduing process. In this state, my hands are free to support you. Though, do know that I''m only capable of casting my spells on you, the person connected to me directly, and the Drowned Revenant. "I won''t be able to help you with any kind of environmental hazard or third party threat. On top of that, we won''t always get a chance tomunicate like this." "Okey dokey~" In just an instance, my connection to the million simted deaths was severed. The Drowned Revenant should be moving like usual now that it didn''t need to maintain that curse. In fact, it was already within my sight right now, lunging forward onto my direction with its anchor hurled already. Likewise, I had already positioned my beautifully crafted harpoon to intercept that gargantuan target mid-air. "Alright, I wish you the best of lucks, darling~" Chapter 117: The Storm Have Shifted, Once Again With the rage of living returned to both of us once again, it was only fair for the two very angry and battle-able individuals to duke it out in the middle of the spiraling sea. At the same time, I could finally feel and see Kuzunoha''s active presence throughout mybat with the Drowned Revenant. From disabling many of his trickeries, to outright disarming one of his limbs temporarily for an entire minute¡ªthere were many things that could easily be discernible as the feat of that of an arcane spellcaster. Though, she was still sometimes disced to give her enhancement to the Stormhooks that I barely use in favor of the Blightpiercer Harpoon. "Hueheuhe~ something so big need to be ripped open eventually~" And I was still not in the best sound of mind. I didn''t know if the sheer presence of the Drowned Revenant himself gave me the heebie-jeebies despite my newfound method of ignoring the horror, but wouldn''t still be amazing of me to not sumb under so much influence and pressure? I mightugh maniacally from time to time and moan with a perverted smile on my face when I was struck by a great wound, but I was still sound enough to make judgment and took pride in myself. "You''re fast and powerful, but too dumb and use the same move over and over again!" The harpoon shed with the Revenant''s massive anchor mid-air, sending an explosive shockwave across the sickening, ckened sea. The eerie chime of cursed metal against rotting iron echoed, but neither weapon broke. The force sent me sliding back on my raft of dead sailors and severed tentacles, but I held firm, grinning like a madwoman as my Blightpiercer Harpoon pushed through. I was fortunate that I had the sanity and time to make thisicallyrge raft out of nowhere. Though, it had been greatly chipped and damaged now that the Revenant knew that itforted me¡ªand I didn''t want to rely on Kuzunoha''s spellsting efficiency so I''ve been protecting the raft for a while. Despite the damage, the raft was stillically big, which was very funny in my mind for some reason. "Looks like the big guy is angry at finally losing a sh with me~" Discover exclusive tales on m,v l''e-NovelBin The Revenant roared, its guttural cry reverberating through the diseased air. With unnatural grace, itnded atop a crumbling wave, the sea warping beneath its form. The Drowned Revenant slowly morphed into an even more grotesque abomination¡ªflesh melding into rusted chains and barnacle-encrusted armor, its once-human eyes now hollow voids. "Oh, I think I will be liking the dance~" I muttered under my breath, my body still high on adrenaline and the unhinged glee of the battlefield. As I spun the Blightpiercer, I could feel its weight pulling at me, its cursed essence gnawing at my skin like acid. But I was beyond caring, as my Valtherion''s Blood would cleanse it off my palm like nothing ever happened. The Revenant lunged again, swinging the anchor down with enough force to split the entire sea in two. I leapt, barely dodging the crushing blow as I said my goodbye to my finely crafted raft. ck ichor sshed everywhere as the remains of my raft exploded under the weight of the impact, following after it was the insurmountable force of the master of this realm as the ck ursed sea was forcefully parted as I predicted. But despite that, I couldn''t really see the bottom of the sea so I won''t be giving this guy the title of ''Moses'' yet. "Hahaha, what a mad world I live in." The sea writhed like it was alive, pulling me under with every chance it got. The more I shed with the Drowned Revenant, the more I realized that I had no time to think, only react. All the time, I was trying to rationalize the action of the Qliphoth Object. But obviously, that was the wrong move. There was no grandiose reason behind the move and action behind a Qliphoth Object. They moved with their cunningness and their intelligence with the same level of whim as an active and immediate instinctive response. As such, it would be fair if I utilize more of my instinct than my brain when ites to fighting in the same ne with that reality-bending monster. "Now!" My arms moved on instinct, guiding the harpoon into a deadly arc as I hurled it towards the Revenant''s chest. It struck true, embedding deep into its decaying torso. The star-shaped head tore through its gue-ridden flesh, releasing a torrent of ck, diseased blood into the air. But even as the harpoon pierced its chest, the Drowned Revenant barely flinched. It simply growled, pulling the harpoon deeper into its body with a grotesque grin, as if inviting me toe closer, daring me to face it up close. And then, everything shifted. The sea beneath us began to churn, violently bubbling as though the very world was about to implode. The sky above spun faster, dark clouds swirling into a vortex of despair. The winds howled, carrying the stench of death, and the ck waves began to rise higher and higher, forming towering walls of water that stretched towards the heavens. It was as if the very fabric of reality itself was being torn apart, the same time a great damage was inflicted upon its master. My vision blurred, and the taste of rot filled my mouth as I struggled to stay afloat in the roiling sea. The Drowned Revenant stood still, its presence unchanged despite the chaos. Then, it happened. I was probably once again being transported to a whole other different realm. Either that, or the current realm I was inhibiting had gone through a critical changes, a gradual one at that. The sea beneath me shifted from turbulent to eerily calm, as though some unseen force hadmanded it to still. The waves ttened, leaving behind an unnatural ck surface that shimmered like liquid obsidian. The sky above lost all motion, freezing into a vast, inky canvas where no stars shone. The world twisted further, the horizon folding in on itself. The dark clouds split apart, revealing a pale, white night sky that glowed with an unnatural light, casting everything in a ghostly glow. The air itself felt thinner, as if I were in some forgotten corner of the universe. Beneath me, the ck sea became shallow, stretching endlessly as if there was no bottom. I could see faint glimmers of light from below, dancing like distant stars deep within the liquid darkness. I tried to steady myself, my mind reeling from the sudden transition. One moment, I was fighting for my life in a storm-ravaged hellscape, and the next, I found myself in this eerily serene realm. There was no sound, no wind, no waves¡ªjust the stillness of the sea and the white night above. For a brief moment, I thought perhaps I had won. Perhaps this was the Revenant''s final attempt to flee or some trick meant to confuse me. But then, I saw it¡ªmoving silently through the ck sea. The Drowned Revenant emerged once more, rising from the shallow waters like a ghost. Its massive form seemed almost peaceful now, as if this calm world was its true home. The gue and rot that had once dripped from its body seemed to dissipate, leaving only a faint aura of death lingering around it. "Wee to my world," its voice rasped, echoing through the silence. I saw no undead sailors in sight, nor were there any deadly tendrils and voids that summon deadly torrent of water that could tear my flesh asunder. Maybe, this was a great chance to stall further for time, and maybe get some few meaningful and informative words out of that cosmic-like being. "Are you intending not to fight anymore? "We will soon resume our shes. After all, your suffering is needed to pay for the debt of your sin." "What is your course of action, now that I''ve still barely felt any kind of fear and massive difort~?" "The n is still the same." "Attacking my spirit?" "Your soul and mind is still the weakest factor of your existence." "But you saw that it was useless to cast any kind of long-term curses on me." I sighed. After all, Kuzunoha would just dispel and sever any kind of suspicious activity within my soul. There was a reason why I was referring to her as my secretary even in this kind of situation, after all. "You''re still vulnerable in one thing." As the Revenant reached out its hand, I noticed a forceful tug that epassed every inch of my being. This was different from a mere curse or parasite-like spell¡ªinstead, it felt more as if the Drowned Revenant had me trapped in his grasp. He then started to shift his hand to point down. At that moment, I realized. My Sanity was rapidly decreasing every second, as if the Revenant was directly absorbing it from the cornerstone of my mind. I was anxious and livid, and before I knew it, the very thing that I feared to happen once again had undoubtedly happened, once again. [Sanity; 0%] Chapter 118: The Second Trumpet It happened suddenly, like a switch flipped in the fabric of the universe. One moment, I was standing on the eerily still surface of that calm, shallow sea, the Drowned Revenant looming before me in its deathly serenity. Next, the world convulsed. A violent pulse rippled through the air, distorting everything around me. The horizon bent, folding over itself as if space and time were caught in an unseen hand''s cruel grip. My head pounded, and my vision blurred, doubling and tripling the world around me. The sky above flickered, osciting between the ckness of void and shes of blinding, impossible light. The clouds spun like gears in some infernal machine, jerking and twisting in awkward, stato rhythms. Every sense I had was being pulled apart. Then the sound hit. A deep, echoing st like an imaginary trumpet, loud enough to shake the reality. It resonated from nowhere and everywhere all at once, vibrating through the air, the sea, my skull. My ears rang with its sound, and I staggered, clutching my head. Each re sent waves of nausea through me, as though my entire being was being rewired by the noise. The Drowned Revenant, however, was frozen, inanimate.This time however, I could somewhat still move my body and experience all of the grueling process vividly. Maybe because we were in a different realm with a differentw of physics, but things went much more violent than before. The sea beneath me maddeningly rose, undting like liquid ss, forming jagged, unnatural shapes that jutted toward the sky. The surface reflected a thousand impossible images¡ªswirling fractals, endless spirals, faces of forgotten gods¡ªall colliding into each other in chaotic disarray. The horizon twisted into a knot, stretching like stic before snapping back in sudden bursts of motion. The sky, once a serene white night, cracked open. Jagged seams of reality tore through the air, splitting it like ss shattering in slow motion. Through the rifts, I saw glimpses of other ces, other worlds¡ªa kaleidoscope of shifting, iprehensiblendscapes. Fields of stars twisted into knots, oceans spiraled upward, mountains inverted themselves, crumbling into skies filled with falling stones. Everything spun violently, like a whirlpool of stars, gxies, and something darker. Colors I couldn''t name bled into each other, swirling in mesmerizing chaos. My bnce faltered as up became down and down became nowhere. My senses betrayed me; I could no longer tell where the sea ended and the sky began. Shapes formed in the distance¡ªgreat, eldritch forms writhing beneath the surface of reality, teasing the edges of my perception. Then, the world blinked. The horizon twisted like a wrung-out rag, and the sky tore open with a thunderous crack. For one unbearable moment, everything was frozen¡ªthe sea, the sky, the very air itself¡ªlocked in a distorted, grotesque tableau of shifting shapes and colors. And then I was kidnapped away from this world with a mere presence of a soft voice. "Is it a little bit toote to be a good girl?" I''ve been turned into some sort of spirit, a spectator that was forced to be brought into this world to see a foreign yet rted vision in some way. Although the only thing I experienced right now was exhaustion, I was conscious enough of a mind toprehend the new space around me. It was a room that exuded opulence and refined elegance at first nce, a space clearly designed for someone of noble lineage. High, vaulted ceilings adorned with intricate frescoes and a gleaming crystal chandelier set the tone for a chamber steeped in luxury. The walls were covered in rich blush-pink damask silk, trimmed with gold filigree, while dark walnut paneling and embroidered tapestries of hunting scenes hinted at the family''s wealth. Every corner of the space reflected careful curation, from the antique cherry wood vanity covered in silver brushes to the tall wardrobe housing a visible array of exquisite gowns. The oriental rugs looked very fancy, and grand windows bathed the room in soft light, overlooking the vast estate. Despite the extravagance, personal touches like an open book, ace shawl casually draped over a chair, and a harp by the firece hinted at the young woman''s personality, making the room feel like both a regal disy and a private retreat. There was a grand four-poster bed, draped in ivory gossamer and piled high with velvet cushions, while the ornate firece, marble-carved and framed by plush armchairs, added warmth and grandeur to the room. And on thatfy and regal bed, there happened to be a girl who seemed to be the focus on my current vision. "It has been 6 months¡­" she mumbled with a dejected look as her scarlet eyeszed to the ceiling,ying rest on her body that was draped in a soft pink andfy-looking pajama. Her glistening golden locks were sandwiched by her own urge to stay on her. And for one, her hair was long enough to reach her shin, which was surprising for a small and adorable figure that looked like a 7 years old child. What''s more surprising enough, I could clearly perceive the entirety of this golden youngster, or kid. And if I want to be blunt, I had an idea or two of who this child might be. Regardless of age, I could recognize that perfect face anywhere I go. Momentster, the door creaked open, and a maid entered silently, moving with practiced precision. There was something wrong with the servant. Unlike the youngdy here, the maid was pretty much devoid of life. The clink of a silver tray was the first sound of the morning as it was set upon a nearby table, the scent of warm milk and pastries following. The servant crossed the room and gently pulled back the curtains, allowing the full light of morning to pour in, casting the room in a golden hue. The young nobledy blinked, adjusting to the brightness before slipping out of bed with a quiet, dignified air. She allowed the servant to assist her into a dressing gown, the cool fabric sliding over her skin. Her steps were measured and calm as she crossed to the vanity, where her morning routine was attended to with delicate care. The servant brushed her long hair, tying it neatly with a silk ribbon, while the girl sat still, staring at her reflection with an unreadable expression. If I were to be given this vision-session without any further knowledgeing from thest vision and that one weird dream I got, I would think that this girl was none other than someone kingdom''s princess. Though, despite thevish treatment, one important aspect was omitted until now. There wasn''t a single conversation ormunication attempt from them either, and I could see that the youngdy was used to this in an indifferent manner. Chapter 119: Everyday Life In A Faraway Fairytale Once dressed in a pale-blue gown, the youngdy began her day''s activities. She wandered through the grand halls of the mansion, her soft footsteps muffled by the luxurious rugs as she traveled from ce to ce of a quite massive noble mansion. In the library, she browsed through the shelves, selecting a book to upy her morning hours. One time, it was her breakfast in the dining room. Sitting on the edge of a long table with many empty seats, she was fed with the fanciest and priciest full course delicacy by her mute servants. "At least the food here still tastes as exquisite as ever," she uttered, enjoying the meal wholeheartedly with the most perfect table manners I ever saw in my life¡ªprobably because I was in a different era. Most of the time, the youngdy donned a dejected and indifferent look on her face. This was the first time I saw her smiling and enjoying something. After a quiet breakfast, she sat in the music room, idly strumming the harp, though her fingers moved more out of habit than joy. The rest of the day passed in a simr quiet, solitary rhythm. The young nobledy walked through the gardens, her small hands sped behind her back as the servant followed a few paces behind. The weather was pleasant, but her attention remained elsewhere, her gaze distant as she moved among the flowers and perfectly manicured hedges. I saw some guards with their swords and armor, but they appeared to be exhibiting the same behavior as all of the servants in the estate. Something creepy was underlying this ce, and I couldn''t really grasp it yet. "Still silent as ever." It seemed like the youngdy showcased a sentiment that I expected. Lunch was served in the sunlit dining room, a different one than the one where she ate her breakfast. She ate in silence, her eyes drifting to the grand windows that framed the estate. But still, grateful for the tter. The afternoon brought her back to the drawing room, where she sat by the fire with her embroidery, her needle moving methodically through the delicate cloth. As the day waned, the servant led her back to her chambers to prepare for the evening. She undressed, slipped into her nightgown, and finally settled back into her grand bed, the servant quietly pulling the curtains closed as the house grew dim once again. Something felt wrong. It had been a whole day, but the vision hadn''t stopped. Was there something that I needed to do to exit from this ce? I couldn''t ess Sir Aethe, just like before. Urgh, why was it that humans only felt true worth in something when they lost them? Regardless, it seemed like this young copy of Narcissus looked as if she was the most lonely person in the world, despite having all of the prestige and riches to ensure her easy way of life. But, if I were to connect all of the dots given to me. This kid should be Daffodil, the one that should spawn between Elisi and Yaria. Speaking of those two, where are they? I was expecting to see their vague and color-coded existence again, but it seemed like I was shoved into the daily life of their offspring instead. I was also expecting a jump into numerous different versions of this girl with different backgrounds and scenarios. It seemed like that was no longer the case. "Mama¡­" the girl sniffled in her sleep. Welp, this was somewhat distressing. Your journey continues at m v|l-e''-NovelBin My instinct was telling me tofort her, but there was not a single way for me to even interact with her. I was a total observer in this world, and I started to notice that maybe not being able to do anything, kinda sucks. Yeah, right, what a genius~ Before I knew it, I tried my best to apany the young girl throughout the entire night, knowing well that she probably won''t even notice my existence. And just like that, I was greeted with another set of days in this world. It felt weird not having 24 hours of daytime and nighttime respectively. The new day started and progressed almost the same for the youngdy. So this time, I dedicated my time to focus on observing the weird servants of the mansion. Their lifelessplexion and robot-like demeanor creeped me out a little bit, and I had no way of confirming what kind of thing that the youngdy was dealing with when it came to her own servants and vassals. All that aside, I found their unity and lifeless efficiency to be entertaining to watch when I was in their kitchen. The scent of fresh bread, herbs, and roasted meat mingled in the air, heavy and inviting¡ªsomething that I found torturing since I could barely interact with any kind of object, including food. For a mansion filled with voiceless servants, the kitchen was alive with activity as the cooks and servants moved with swift, practiced performance. A cook stood over the stove, stirring a pot of thick porridge while keeping an eye on the sizzling pans of eggs and bacon. Nearby, a young maid kneaded dough for pastries, her hands moving rhythmically as flour dusted the surface around her. Another servant sliced fruits with precise motions, arranging them neatly on silver tters. Bowls of berries, cream, and jams sat ready, waiting to apany the warm croissants rising in the oven. The ttering of dishes, the steady chop of knives, and the low murmur of instructions filled the room, each worker absorbed in their task yet maintaining a careful order to their movements. Everything was prepared with meticulous care, ensuring the meal would arrive upstairs as a perfect reflection of the mansion''s grandeur. Yeah, I regretteding here. On the other note, I learned a thing or two about cooking. The breakfast proceeded like yesterday, but it seemed like the youngdy was much more satisfied with the current meal than yesterday. Well, I would be satisfied too to have an army of professional servants cookingvish and grandiose stuff for me while I''m not moving a single finger. "You failed to enact my order." Jealousy aside, I found that today was a little bit more intriguing than yesterday, by the least. Chapter 120: Failure Of Perfection The youngdy stood in the garden, her expression vacant as she observed her knights assembled before her. Dressed in their gleaming armor, they stood inplete silence, motionless like statues. Not a twitch, not a breath. It was then that she spoke, her voice soft yetmanding, a whisper that carried the weight of unshakable authority. "Fly," she ordered one of the knights. The word hung in the air, absurd and impossible. If there was any sane servant in this mansion, their immediate reaction should be confusion. A human knight, flying? Even these bizarre, soulless beings had their limits¡ªor so I thought. One of the knights, faceless behind his helmet, stepped forward without hesitation. He moved to the center of attention, standing tall as if preparing for something monumental. But he didn''t speak, didn''t react. He simply stood there, frozen as the seconds ticked by, the weight of the impossiblemand settling on him like a shroud. Minutes passed, the stillness unbearable. Then, with a single slow nod, the knight lowered his head. Failure. "You failed to enact my order." The youngdy''s eyes, dull and detached, showed no surprise. It was as if she had anticipated this, expected him to fail. And now, having confirmed that even her perfect servant was fallible, she moved without hesitation. "Execution," she dered with chilling finality. The words were hollow, delivered with the same tone one might use toment on the weather. There was no emotion, no anger, no satisfaction. Just a cold, indifferent acknowledgment of the knight''s failure. The condemned knight knelt before her, his movements eerily smooth, as if this was simply another duty to perform. He didn''t plead, didn''t resist. He simply obeyed, sinking to the floor with practiced grace. The youngdy approached him, her steps light and effortless. She reached out, taking the sword from the knight standing next to the condemned one, her small hands gripping the hilt with surprising ease¡ªI noticed a great share of dexterity in her movement and how she weaved her sword in the air. With a swift, fluid motion, she raised the de high above her head. The silver glinted in the sunlight, catching for a moment before it came down in a clean arc. The sound was soft¡ªa whisper of steel through flesh. The knight''s head fell with a quiet thud onto the grass, rolling a few inches before settling. Blood pooled slowly, creeping across the surface like a stain on the perfection of the noble garden. And then, silence. The youngdy wiped the sword on the fallen knight''s tunic, her face expressionless. There was no triumph, no remorse¡ªjust a cold, detached efficiency as if this was nothing more than routine. She returned the de to the remaining knight, who took it without a word or gesture of acknowledgment. The body remained where it fell, lifeless and crumpled, but she paid it no mind. It was just another disposable part of the estate. Following it, was a party of maids and footmen, performing their cleaning service. With that, she turned and walked away, leaving the garden as pristine and perfect as it had been moments before. There was really no reason to kill that knight. Did she kill him because she was bored? From the look of it, this wasn''t her first time. At one point, I was slightly hoping that the reason why she killed that knight was fueled with self-preservation, and not a spilling ennui. Somewhere inside my heart, there was a selfish wish to connect with her in some way. And what better reason than the two of us having the same kind of psychotic obsession that was forced onto us, something horrendous that we mustmit once in a while to keep ourselves sane and functioning? Of course, that was only wishful thinking. Aside from that, I found another detail about the servant of this estate. It was faint and hard to notice, to the point that I needed to review and inspect the ce of the crime to realize what was going on. There was a hint of arcane dust strewn around when the knight was beheaded. I knew these dust well, thanks to my constant VIP seats to many of my secretary spellcasting shenanigans. And now there was no mistaking it. The gears of this estate were spun by arcane magic, casted by someone or something simr to Kuzunoha in nature. And just as I thought that it couldn''t get anymore coincidental, the mansion was met with an entric visit. Afternoon emerged over the horizon, but the skies over the mansion darkened in a strange, sudden shift¡ªan unnatural twilight that swallowed the sun without warning. A chill crept through the air, and the estate, always unnervingly still, seemed to sink into an even deeper silence. I sensed the change immediately, though the youngdy did not react. She sat at her desk, embroidering something intricate with mechanical precision, her face expressionless as always. The first sign of the visitor was the faintest tremor in the walls. The heavy oak door to the drawing room creaked slowly open, as if moved by some unseen force, though no one yet appeared. A gust of cold wind followed, swirling the delicatece curtains beside the window. Find your next adventure on m_v l|e-NovelBin Then, without ceremony, the visitor entered. An old woman though not withered by age in the way mortals wither. No, this was something different, something timeless. Her face was lined and severe, yet her eyes glimmered with a sharp, almost unsettling brightness. Her hair, long and silver, fell in thick, wild strands around her shoulders, and the rest of her figure was wrapped in an earth-colored robe that seemed woven from moss and shadows. Her nails were long and yellowed, and as she stepped forward, the faint clinking of small charms¡ªdried bones, twisted bits of iron¡ªechoed in the quiet room. There was no mistaking it, as cliche as it sounded: this woman was a witch. The youngdy didn''t even flinch at her arrival. Instead, she slowly set down her embroidery hoop, folding her hands neatly in herp as she looked up at the witch with a serene, almost expectant smile. Chapter 121: Daffodil And The Witch "I''ve been waiting for you," the youngdy said softly, her voice carrying a quiet anticipation. "Thest 6 months since yourst arrival was torturous. I hope that you possess enough conscience to not keep me in boredom after I agreed to all of this." The witch''s lips curled into a crooked smile, one that didn''t reach her eyes. "Have you now, Daffodil?" The name hit like a spark in my chest. So, it was true. The youngdy was Daffodil. I had suspected as much, but this was the first time it had been confirmed, spoken aloud. Daffodil''s smile widened, her eyes alight with excitement. "What news do you bring from the outside? Has anything changed?" The witch moved closer, her steps slow and deliberate, her gaze never leaving Daffodil''s face. "Many things have changed. The world beyond this estate is in constant motion. Wars are being fought. Kings rise and fall. The people¡ª" She paused, her thin lips twitching as if amused by some private joke. "People are always busy with their little lives. But none of that concerns you." Daffodil leaned forward slightly, her enthusiasm undiminished. "And my family? My mother, my father¡ªare they well?" The witch''s gaze flickered, but her expression remained unreadable. She did not answer immediately. Instead, she raised a long, bony hand and gestured for Daffodil to stand. "Come here, child." Daffodilplied without hesitation, rising gracefully from her chair and moving toward the witch. As she approached, the witch produced a small, intricately carved container from the folds of her robe. It was a dark thing, made of ck wood and etched with strange runes that seemed to pulse faintly with their own light. And now that I realized of the arcane trace from the knight, I also noticed some of that arcane dust from the magic that the witch performed. "Give me your hand," the witchmanded, her voice low and firm. Daffodil, her eyes bright with curiosity, extended her small, delicate hand without question. The witch grasped it tightly, her long fingers curling around Daffodil''s wrist with surprising strength. She positioned Daffodil''s palm above the container, hovering it just inches above the opening. Then, with a swift, practiced motion, she produced a thin, silver knife from her belt and plunged it into Daffodil''s palm. The de sank in deep, but Daffodil didn''t cry out. She didn''t flinch. In fact, she barely seemed to notice the pain at all. Her expression remained calm, almost serene, as the blood began to flow¡ªthick and dark, far more than should have been possible from such a small wound. It poured from her palm in a seemingly endless stream. At the same time, there was no sign that the container was ever filled despite the absurd amount of blood pouring in. Yet, despite the volume, Daffodil showed no signs of weakening. The witch watched the blood with a cold, clinical detachment, her eyes narrowing slightly as the container filled. "You''re still quite the specimen, aren''t you?" she muttered under her breath. "Those blokes of the magic tower are too sophisticated to experiment a little bit on human blood. This is why magical technology barely evolved from the past years." The witch pulled out her silver knife before thrusting it again at Daffodil''s hand on a different spot. Daffodil, oblivious to thement, was still smiling, her eyes wide and hopeful. "This is for my mother, isn''t it?" she asked eagerly. "You''ll use it to help her, right? That''s why you need so much." The witch paused, the knife still gripped in her hand. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the steady drip of blood into the container. Then she looked up, meeting Daffodil''s gaze with an expression that was both tired and annoyed. "Your mother," she began slowly, "Is dead. So is your father." Daffodil froze. The words seemed to hit her like a physical blow, wiping the smile from her face in an instant. Her eyes, wide with shock, filled with confusion, and for a moment, she seemed unable to process what she had just heard. The witch removed the knife, then attaching it again to create a new hole. "No," Daffodil whispered, her voice trembling. "That''s not¡­ that can''t be¡­ You didn''tmit to your part of the bargain¡­" The witch''s face remained impassive. "It''s true. They''ve been dead for some time now. The blood I take from you is not for them. It''s for the royal family." The silence that followed was suffocating. Daffodil''s hand, still held by the witch, shook slightly, her knuckles white as she struggled to keep herselfposed. "But¡­ but you said¡­" she stammered, her voice breaking. "You said it would help them. You promised¡ª" The witch sighed, a sound full of boredom and impatience. "Our deal didn''t includepromising your parent''s safety, child. Your mother is already on the brink of death, but why waste all of these precious materials to keep that corpse alive? "Your father ended up killing himself when he thought that he could take on an entire nation. If not for my involvement with you, you would have already been branded as a traitor of the Emperor." The witch created another wound. "But I thought that I''m a precious source of material for you¡­" "Your blood is valuable, yes. But not for the reasons you thought. It''s needed to sustain the royals. Not your pitiful little ducal." Daffodil''s entire body seemed to wilt at the words. The light in her eyes dimmed, reced by a hollow, aching grief that I could almost feel radiating from her. She stared at the witch, her lips trembling, as if trying to form words but finding none. The witch, however, was done. She pulled the knife from Daffodil''s palm with a sharp tug, letting thest few drops of blood drip into the container. Then, without another nce at the broken girl before her, she turned and swept from the room, the heavy door closing behind her with a loud, final thud. Daffodil remained standing, frozen in ce. The once-endless stream of energy and curiosity drained from her face, reced by a hollow, nk stare. Her hand, still heavily bleeding, hung limp at her side, but she didn''t seem to notice. For the first time, I saw her break. She stood there for what felt like hours, unmoving, her face began to mask a carousel of despair. Eventually, her legs gave way, and she sank to the floor, curling in on herself, her small frame trembling as silent tears began to fall. I watched, powerless, as the girl who had once been so full of hope, even in this strange, eerie ce, crumbled before me. The witch had taken more than her blood. She had essentially killed her will to live. Chapter 122: Sweet Clock And Orange Plum The next morning, the change in Daffodil was palpable. Discover more stories at mvl Gone was the girl who had faced the horrors of her life with quiet dignity and small sparks of hope. In her ce was a hollow shell, moving through the motions of her day like an automaton, her face drained of any emotion. The day began as it always did, with a spread of decadent breakfast treats¡ªdelicate pastries, fruit arranged in intricate patterns, and a pitcher of cream resting on the table. Her soulless, mute servants ced each dish with care, but Daffodil hardly acknowledged their presence. She stared nkly at the disy, her eyes empty, as if the vibrant colors of the food were dull and meaningless in her current state. She picked up a fork, hovering it over a particrly ornate pastry, but it never touched her lips. Her hand trembled slightly before she set the fork down, uninterested. Her scarlet eyes, once hinted of life even in the most muted moments, were dull. Even the effort to feign normalcy had abandoned her. As the minutes dragged on, she pushed the food around her te, not eating a single bite. Her servants, following their daily routine, cleared the dishes with silent efficiency, but even their lifeless movements seemed to overshadow the growing void inside Daffodil. Her breathing had changed too, bing shallow, almost imperceptible. It was as if she were conserving energy, as if each breath were aborious task. From my ce as an observer, I noticed this disturbing detail¡ªDaffodil, she seemed to be slowly suffocating under the weight of her despair. She no longer walked with purpose but shuffled through the mansion, her steps slow and dragging. At midday, the library¡ªher usual refuge¡ªoffered no sce. The grand shelves filled with knowledge and history went untouched. She sat by the window, staring out into the garden with unfocused eyes, her fingers absently tracing the wooden armrest of her chair. The sunlight streamed in, casting a warm glow on the floor, but she remained in shadow, her small figure swallowed by the emptiness of the room. Her servants brought lunch, another extravagant affair that would have been fit for royalty. Yet, Daffodil barely touched it. Her body was there, seated at the table, but her mind seemed miles away, trapped in a spiral of loss and confusion. asionally, her hand would lift a spoon or cup, but like breakfast, the food remained uneaten. It wasn''t just hunger that seemed to elude her. It was life itself. Her very essence seemed to drain from her with each passing hour, and I could sense it¡ªshe was withering, dying, even if not physically. It was the slow death of the spirit, a suffocation of the soul. Night fell, and the mansion''s eerie quiet returned. As Daffodil was tucked into her bed by the same mute maid, a distant memory surfaced, triggered by the sight of the plush covers and soft pillows. Without warning, I was pulled into the past¡ªa memory that did not belong to me. For one, I thought that I would start another session of observing a brand new world or scenario of visions. Instead, it felt more like I was being brought back to a time that was relevant to the current event I''m witnessing. The room was bathed in soft candlelight, the same grand chamber that now felt so cold and lifeless. But in this memory, it was warm, filled with the presence of something¡ªsomeone¡ªvaguely golden. I couldn''t focus on her, as though my mind refused toprehend her form, but I knew who she was. Daffodil''s mother. Elisi. Of course, I couldn''t really confirm it yet since her name wasn''t mentioned, so I would like to y it safe that this familiar golden figure might be someone else. This gold figurey in the grand bed, her silhouette blurred and glowing, her movements slow, as if weakened by illness. Beside her, little Daffodil sat on the edge of the bed, her golden hair cascading down her back, her scarlet eyes shining with innocent joy. "Look, Mama!" Daffodil''s young voice was bright, filled with the joy of a child showing her mother something special. In her hands, she held a small paper flower¡ªa crude but heartfelt creation she had made herself. Her mother''s figure shifted slightly, her voice a soft, loving hum that filled the space between them. "A paper flower, my dear¡­ How lovely. You''ve always been so clever and dexterous." "Of course, I''m your daughter, after all! All of these attributes can be sourced back to you!" Daffodil beamed, her happiness overflowing as she held out the flower for her mother to inspect. The mother''s vague hand reached out, taking the paper bloom gently. "I think," the mother continued, her voice growing wistful, "That I prefer paper flowers to the real ones." "Hmm? Why so?" Little Daffodil innocently tilted her head. "I hope that you''re not saying this because of the spontaneous creation of this paper flower, mama. "If I may say so, the flowers in the garden are much more beautiful!" The golden figure giggled. "The flowers in the garden are beautiful, yes, but they wilt so quickly¡­ Theye and go, no matter how lovely they are. But this¡ª" she held up the paper flower. "This willst forever, if you take care of it." Daffodil''s eyes sparkled, and she giggled at the thought. "You''re right, Mama! If you want it, I''ll make you lots of paper flowers, so you can have a garden that never wilts!" Her mother''s figure seemed to smile, though her face remained unclear. "A garden of paper flowers¡­ That would be wonderful." Her tone shifted, bing more reflective. "And the color of the paper garden will be yellow, your favorite color!" Right, I remembered in my first vision, that Elisi had a thing for the color of yellow. Either that, or I mistook her interest for her favorite flower that was attributed to the name of her beloved daughter. "Hmm, I''ve been thinking, Daffodil." The mother seemed to ce her finger onto her own cheek. Her tone remained yful and gentle as ever in front of her daughter. "I''ve always loved the yellow of your namesake flower, but now¡­ I think I like red more. The color of your eyes¡ªit''s beautiful, don''t you think?" "Is that why you have been staring into my eyes more than usual?" "That''s right~" Daffodil tilted her head, puzzled but smiling. "But red flowers are so rare!" Her mother''s voice grew soft, almost dreamlike. "Maybe we''ll have a garden full of red paper flowers someday. A billion of them." Daffodil''s eyes widened in awe. "A billion?" "A billion~" "I''ll do it, Mama! I''ll make them all for you!" Her motherughed, a quiet, affectionate sound. "You''re such a sweet girl. I know you will." At that moment, I had a feeling. That Daffodil would take her mother''s yful words in a much more literal way. Chapter 123: If The Future, Needs A Billion Paper Flowers The forced shback of a memory faded as quickly as it hade, leaving me back in the cold, dim reality of the mansion. But something had shifted in Daffodil. Shey in her bed, staring at the ceiling, but her eyes were no longer vacant. They were filled with a flicker of something¡ªsomething desperate, something hopeful in a twisted way. She sat up suddenly, her movements sharp, almost frantic. Without a word, she sprang from her bed and rushed to the corner of the room, where her desk was littered with paper. She grabbed at the sheets, her fingers moving quickly, folding them into the familiar shape of a flower. Her breaths were shallow, her movements urgent, but there was a strange energy in her now, as if she had found a purpose. "This is it¡­" Her voice was heavy with pain, yet the forced smile on her face told me that there was more than a simple coping mechanism behind her way of thinking. "It is not toote to be a good girl¡­" Throughout the night, Daffodil worked. She folded paper flowers with an intensity that bordered on madness, her hands moving faster and faster as each one took shape. When she ran out of the paper at her desk, she moved to the bookshelves, tearing pages from volumes and tomes without hesitation. Nothing was sacred¡ªnot scriptures, not important historical texts. All of it fell victim to her obsessive task. At some point, she even began asking the lifeless servants for help, handing them sheets of paper to fold alongside her. They obeyed without question, their stiff fingers working to mimic her frantic pace. The mansion, once filled with silence, was now alive with the rustling of paper and the whispered movements of servants working under Daffodil''s strangemand. Flower after flower filled the room, covering every surface until the space was overflowing with them. She moved through the halls, collecting more materials, never stopping, never resting. Days passed like this. Weeks, even. Daffodil''s joy returned, though it was a joy tainted by her delusion. Sheughed as she folded more and more flowers, chattering to herself and her silent helpers about the garden she was creating for her mother. She had be consumed by her task, her grief and pain buried beneath this new, obsessive drive. And as the days stretched into months, the mansion became a graveyard of books and scrolls, their pages sacrificed to Daffodil''s fantasy. But the flowers bloomed, paper flowers in shades of crimson, covering every inch of the estate. Experience new tales on mvl The mansion felt isted, yet there was no sign of stopping the influx of items and resources from the outside world. But at the same time, Daffodil held zero urge to go outside. She only wanted to finish her paper garden and nothing more. I watched as she worked, and I couldn''t predict what would happen once she had finally created her billion flowers. But one thing was certain¡ªwhatever came next, it wouldn''t be anything good. Before I knew it. The day of salvation had arrived. Daffodil stood at the center of the grand hall, surrounded by the fruits of herbor¡ªbillions of paper flowers, each one meticulously folded, every edge sharp, every fold perfect. The mansion was overflowing with them, from the smallest room to the vast halls and garden. The once pristine estate had been swallowed by the sea of crimson paper blooms, their dull red hues nketing every surface. The child who had once sat by her mother''s bedside, full of innocent joy, was no more. Time had passed, though I couldn''t tell how much. Daffodil had grown, her hair had reached the floor and was essentially dragged around, now that she had bluntly refused the servant help for her hair today. Her face, once cherubic, had been sculpted into a much more mature frame. Yet her eyes still gleamed with the faint spark of a child''s dream¡ªone that had never died, only twisted and mutated into something bigger. I couldn''tprehend how many years had slipped by. Time seemed to move differently in the current vision¡ªone day blurring into the next, as though it held no real meaning. For me, the observer, time had probably lost its weight entirely, and I found myself unsure of whether it had been mere months or many decades since I had first entered this vision. Daffodil, now a woman, gazed out over her kingdom of paper flowers. Her hands trembled slightly as she touched the delicate petals. Her voice, though strained, still carried the soft lilt of that young girl I had first witnessed, the one who had sat by her mother''s bed, so full of life. "I''ve done it, mother¡­" she whispered to herself, her voice filled with a bittersweet ache. "I''ve made them all¡­ a billion paper flowers, just like I promised. They''ll never wilt, just like you said." She closed her eyes, and for a moment, I could see her retreat into the past, to a time when she had once believed in happy endings, when her world had been filled with the warmth of family and the joy of simple things. "I remember those days¡­ when we were together. It was perfect, wasn''t it?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "I thought we''d always be like that¡­ the amount of things that I still want us to do, even in your sickly state under the roof of that mansion¡­ "I thought ''she'' would keep her promise." Her expression darkened, a shadow crossing her face as her memories turned bitter. "But she lied, didn''t she? She never cared. She hasn''te back since that day. She abandoned me here, like I''m nothing. Just like the rest of them¡­ just like father." The regret was thick in her voice, a regret that had clearly eaten away at her for years. "I was so foolish¡­ so childish. I thought¡­ I thought that everything would go back to what it once was. "But now I know better. I should have been stronger, should have grown up¡­ but I didn''t. And now¡­ now it''s toote, isn''t it?" She lifted one of the paper flowers, cradling it in her hands as if it were a fragile thing. Her lips quivered, and a tear slipped down her cheek, though her expression remained calm, almost resigned. "Maybe this wasn''t the worst fate, though," she said, her voice distant. "I had my flowers. I had my memories. I still have my mother, in a way¡­ in these." But the smile that touched her lips was broken, full of sorrow. She let the flower fall from her hands. With slow, deliberate movements, Daffodil turned to one of the mute knights who stood motionless. She extended her hand towards him, her voice firm, yet calm. "Give me your sword." The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 124: We Paint The World A Bit Redder The knight, as always, obeyed without hesitation. He unsheathed the de and ced it into her outstretched hands. Daffodil''s fingers curled around the hilt, her grip tight and steady. For a moment, she stared at the weapon, her eyes tracing its edge, her expression unreadable. Then, with a small nod to herself, she turned and began to walk toward the garden. She moved slowly, deliberately, each step measured as if this walk held great significance. The knights and servants followed her at a distance, their soulless eyes watching her without emotion. I trailed behind, helpless to stop her, though I already knew what she intended. In the center of the garden, beneath the grand marble fountain that had long since been overgrown by the paper flowers, Daffodil stopped. She stood amidst the endless sea of canvas. And now, her face felt serene, her eyes bright with purpose. "This is for you, Mama," Daffodil whispered, her voice soft but filled with a strange, almost joyous conviction. With a trembling smile, she raised the knight''s sword to her neck. The de, still cold and glinting in the light of the sun, seemed to shudder as if resisting what it was about to do. But Daffodil''s grip was firm, her resolve unshaken. In one swift motion, she drew the de across her skin, cutting deep into her artery. A spurt of blood followed¡ªa dark, vivid red that arced through the air like a painter''s brush stroke. The droplets sttered across the paper flowers, staining their pale crimson surfaces. The color, once dull and lifeless, now seemed to pulse with a new vibrancy as Daffodil''s blood soaked into the fragile paper petals. The flowers seemed to bloom in her sacrifice, as though her blood had brought them to life. The very same red began to stain her golden locks as the blood trickled down her neck, turning the strands into streaks of deep scarlet. "This is... not a bad feeling~!" Daffodilughed, her voice suddenly bright and full of energy, as though the act of giving her life away had lifted some great burden from her soul. She spun around, watching the crimson sshes rain down across the garden and mansion floor, her face lit with a wild, childlike glee that hadn''t been there for so long. She started to run, lifting the edges of her gown as she twirled and danced. Herughter echoed through the empty halls of the mansion, her blood spraying from the wound with each movement, painting everything in her path. The paper flowers bent beneath the weight of her blood, but they didn''t crumple. Instead, they seemed to absorb the life she was giving them, bing rich and full, like real flowers made of flesh and petals. "Red!" she giggled, spinning in circles, her arms stretched wide. "Red is Mama''s favorite color now! Isn''t it beautiful? So much more beautiful than yellow!" She reached down, running her bloodied fingers through the mass of paper flowers, trailing them across the stone walls and tapestries as she went. She pressed her hands into the delicate patterns embroidered into the tapestries, smearing red handprints like child''s y. Her steps grew wilder, more frantic as she moved, her blood staining the statues of the knights who stood motionless, their nk eyes following her with eerie detachment. "Red," she whispered again, her voice soft now, almost reverent, as though she were praying. "This is the most beautiful color¡­ the color of life¡­ the color of Mama''s love..." Her breathing quickened as she rushed back toward the entrance of the estate, passing by a mute maid standing in one of the halls. For a moment, Daffodil paused. Her wide, scarlet eyes focused on the maid''s expressionless face. A sudden burst of energy gripped her. She seized the maid''s hand, pulling her into the center of the hall. The maid didn''t resist, her lifeless limbs moving in response to Daffodil''s franticmands. Daffodil twirled the maid around as if in a ballroom dance,ughing as she did so. Blood sttered the maid''s uniform, but the servant didn''t flinch or react¡ªjust moved as Daffodil guided her. "Come, dance with me!" Daffodil cried out, pulling the maid closer. "It''s a celebration! I''m painting everything red for Mama! Aren''t you happy too?" The maid remained silent, her eyes ssy and unseeing, but Daffodil didn''t care. She spun the maid again and again, their dance bing more erratic, the trail of blood growing longer and messier with each step. It was as if Daffodil was trying to force life into this silent, soulless figure through the sheer force of her own madness. Eventually, she released the maid, letting her stumble back into the shadows as Daffodil continued her rampage of color through the halls. She tore through room after room, shing at her wrists as she went, deep cuts spilling even more blood. She pressed her forearms to the walls, dragging her limbs through the mansion, marking the estate with the dark crimson paint of her life. The ornate furniture, the grand staircase, the delicate chandeliers overhead¡ªeverything was soon drenched in her blood, the vibrant red staining every inch of the grand home. The mansion, once pristine and elegant, had been transformed into a macabre masterpiece of chaos. It was no longer a ce of nobility or order, but a shrine to Daffodil''s madness, a temple of her twisted devotion to the mother she longed to bring back. At one point, she reached the chapel-like ce of her estate, as its high ceilings and beautiful stained ss windows cast colored light across the room. She had actually visited and painted this ce a couple of times in her wake. She copsed to her knees in the center of the room, her breathing in shallow gasps. Her once-white gown was soaked through, dripping with blood. Her hands, slick and trembling, reached out to touch the nearest paper flowers. They were all red now, every single one. Her blood had painted them perfectly. "Red..." she whispered again, her voice cracking. "Mama... look at what I''ve done¡­ I''ve made them all red¡­ just like you wanted." Her vision blurred, but she didn''t stop. She picked up the blood-soaked flowers, cradling them in her arms like a child. "I''ve been a good girl, haven''t I?" she asked, though there was no one to answer. She rocked back and forth, clutching the paper flowers tightly. "I''ve been such a good girl, Mama. I made everything just the way you wanted¡­" She closed her eyes, and maybe, for a moment, she was a child again, sitting at her mother''s bedside, watching as she was praised for her little paper creations. But as reality came crashing back, Daffodil''s expression shifted. The weight of everything¡ªof years lost, of the hollow promises, of the world that had abandoned her¡ªbore down on her in that final moment. She struggled to stand, her legs shaking beneath her. She reached for the sword again, her hands still slick with blood. Her body swayed as she made her way back into the grand hall, where the sun continued to cast crimson shadows through the bloodstained windows. With a final, determined breath, Daffodil raised the sword and plunged it into her chest. The de sank deep, but her eyes remained wide open, filled with the same desperate hope she had clung to for so long. As her body crumpled to the ground, surrounded by the billion paper flowers she had created, Daffodil let out onest breath, a question whispered into the silence of the hall. "Have I been¡­ a good girl?" And then, with her final exhale, the mansion fell silent once more. The flowers¡ªnow red, vibrant, and soaked in the blood of their creatory scattered around her lifeless form. A billion fragile symbols of a love that had been twisted into madness. Outside, the sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the blood-soaked estate. A breeze swept through the open windows, rustling the paper flowers as if they, too, mourned the tragic end of the girl who had spent her life chasing an impossible dream. Chapter 125: A Footprint From Another Narcissus I wondered if there was any grand meaning behind all of this. On one hand, it appeared that I would start to know more about the story behind the things that were rted to this new pretty-faced body of mine, no matter how badly strewn and connected they were. On the other hand, it needed me to be in my most vulnerable state, where my consciousness wasid bare for all influence to seep and destroy. Sometimes, the implication of the requirement to achieve it alone should be enough to warrant me to be cautious behind the design. What did it want to tell me? What was the symbolism behind it? Should I even try to forcefully reduce my own Sanity in a much less dangerous scenario if I wanted to know more about that wicked tale? Regardless, it seemed like this vision was nearing its end phase. As of now, I was transported back to an empty space where no light and sky were abundant. It was somewhat simr to the ending of the first vision where my soul would get bombarded with the torrenting and conflicting emotion of Elisi and Yaria longing for one another. Should I expect that it would be the same this time around? Or would there be any differences to keep it unforeseeable? "Ah, I have reimed my voice back." This meant that I also acquired some sort of physical vessel in thest phase of the vision. Maybe to make my mind easier to ept something that would be introducedter. "Huh¡­" I felt it before I saw it¡ªa faint pulse of something behind me. In this world of endless darkness, where no light had touched my eyes for what felt like an eternity¡­ I turned slowly. And there it was,ying on the t dark surface, just behind me¡ªa small rectangle of light in the ck void. A phone. A modern phone, glowing eerily, its screen casting an unnatural, sickly light that cut through the oppressive darkness. The phone was the only thing visible in this forsaken ce, its edges sharp and slick, impossibly clean in a world that felt rotten and decayed.For some reason, it felt familiar, but I couldn''t really confirm my memory if this was something that I have before I became Narcissus. The screen, however, told a different story. Smudged across the glowing surface were dark, almost dried streaks of something¡­ thick and crimson. It was blood. It smeared across the ss in jagged patterns, as though someone with trembling hands had frantically tried to wipe it away, only to leave it streaked and messy. The light from the screen flickered, illuminating the gore, making it shimmer like fresh wounds under a harsh light. The device hummed quietly, as if alive, as if waiting for something. The blood-stained screen red back at me, mocking the silence. "This is¡­" My eyestched on the literature content that was disyed on the screen. ¡ª ''This should mark the second day I exist in this god-forsaken world, ording to how their time works. Otherwise, this should be my third or fourth day if we use in-real-life time as reference. At first, I was encouraged to try my best living here despite the absurd information pump that was thrashed into my mind the moment I got into this world, but that confidence started to wane a little bit. Sure, I got that perfect face that would satiate my stupidplication before I started spasming and cutting people''s faces, but being forced to go through that horrible first ordeal was probably the most unpleasant experience that I had ever experienced in my whole life. At some point, I started thinking if it would be a little bit different if I started somewhere where civilization exists, instead of being thrown directly in the middle of nowhere. What was the purpose of telling me how good the food was in many citadels despite how apocalyptic the setting was if there weren''t any citadel within the proximity of 100 kilometers from here?? It also gave me a wishful thinking of having apanion. After all, regardless of our rtionship, it would be nice to have someone to either order around or just stay together to fight against the maddening ordeal of the midnight. Maybe someone to share some knowledge and wisdom around, someone that I could rely to guard my back, and all of that jazz. Not to mention, it was really stressful beyond belief to be in the state of no Sanity for more than ten hours straight. At that point, I started to see things that didn''t exist, which threw me off in many vital moments of my survival. For one, I lost an arm because of that, and my godly dexterous hands were nerfed to the ground now. I just hope that the next night won''t end with me scarring my perfect and beautiful face. Otherwise, I might lose all of my reason to even live here in the first ce. Because at that point, suicide sounds more enticing than whatever kind of hell that I was currently experiencing.'' 17th of October, 2030. ¡ª "What is this¡­" It was simr to that of a diary¡ªfrom someone that sounded to be in the same predicament as me, and having the memory and background simr to that of me. However, if the statement within this diary-like log was anything, this Narcissus appeared to be facing the first Ordeal alone inparison to me who had Lupina and Verina by my side. Either that¡­ Or those two just never really came to Narcissus'' location by the guidance of that mysterious Divinator in the first ce. Before I knew it, I appeared to have returned back to the cruel reality where I was fighting the Drowned Revenant for his end of submission. "Huh, it seems like my body did more thing before simply giving in to the wave this time..." It appeared that while I was unconscious, my instinct took reign and began piloting my body to just advance and swung my crumbled Stormhook and Blightpiercer Harpoon without any care for self-preservation. Thankfully, the Valtherion''s Blood was still in the state of Forced Foreignization, meaning that it would still regard my own body as a foreign vessel, and thus heal it of any ailment that befell. And looking at the amount of pain I experienced, and the amount of golden liquid that was drenching my body and soiling the oily ckwater sea, it seemed like I was more than careless when I was in my after-vision dazed state. "Regardless." I confidently brandished my weapons, alongside a fair share of shit-eating grin that asionally appeared on my face. "I''m back to the ying field now~" Although, I was practically naked at the moment, now that my Soulthread Aegis garb was damaged beyond repair¡ªas in the form of crumbs of fabric that barely cover my skin. Chapter 126: Everchanging In the current state of the battle, it seemed like my connection with Kuzunoha had weakened once again. There was also a small amount of interference from her arcane bullshitery. Either that she was currently focusing on subduing this unrelenting Qliphoth Object, or she was actually being challenged by the Drowned Revenant himself, like some sort of being embroidered in a two ways hacking-war. "Gah~!" A rather disturbing moan slipped my tongue after my body got healed after being split into two. "Heh, at least I''m both immortal and still regenerating." Either way, it had been 6 hours since I was fighting the Drowned Revenant directly under his domain¡ªin real time, of course. If I was talking about the amount of hours I personally felt and spent, it had probably reached more than two digits¡ªthanks to the weird time dtion and corruption that exist in this ne of existence. And three digits if we include the amount of painful experience that was incorporated into my mind for every dead end that an ''N'' faced in her simted journey. "Ahaha~ shit~" It seemed like it wasn''t an illusion that the attack of the Drowned Revenant became much more devastating and aggressive as the fight went on. It was to the point that it evolved beyond my adapting capability, In this phase of the battle, I began fighting in a much more aggressive manner as well, uncaring of the stacking curses and consequences that might be weighing me down every time I was demolished with one of his attacks. And I found it eerie that I haven''t heard any words from the Revenant ever since he did that one trick to deplete my Sanity like it was nothing. Now my Sanity was restored to almost 100%, and the Revenant seemed to be reluctant to use that one trick again. Either that, he wasn''t able to do it again, or was scared since I came back more determined than ever. I was also d that there wasn''t much environmental hazard this time around. There was only the angry Revenant, the calm dark sea, and the serene white sky. I also didn''t see the Revenant summoning any of his undead army here. Maybe this ce was much more sacred than I thought. "Where the hell is Kuzunoha~" I murmured as I suffered four devastating strikes in a row before evennding a single hit on the berserk Revenant. "Ah~ I want to reprimand her when I''m back~ This is no way of treating her partner who possess the most miraculous blood for her to snack in the future~" At this point, I might as well start bargaining to limit the amount of blood that she would be able to consume. This slightly reminded me of Daffodil and the witch. Should Kuzunoha be the witch in this scenario? "Oh shiteee~" I was struck by one of those world-splitting strikes straight to the head from above,unching me deep into the dense oily sea of the calm breeze. There, drowned and disoriented, I started to notice numerous barbed objects that were piercing my body from every direction. They spun and danced, grinding the flesh and gold hue that were maintaining the shape of my heart after it was torn asunder numerous times. The disgusting water mixed with my fleshy residue, while my pain-riddled ecstasy began to feel a little bit numb, which reduced the effect of my self-suggesting masochism that I had been weaponizing to keep myself sane in this cruel world. ''This isn''t fair'' was probably the words that I would be uttering right now if I could ever let them escape from my throat. Now that I thought about it, I barely had any time contemting about the vision that I received about Daffodil. Heh, maybe I should be making some paper flowers when I get back, just to mess with Kuzunoha since she would definitely be asking about it to the Daffodil that resided inside my soul. Confusing, wasn''t it? There was Daffodil, who was allegedly the same person as Narcissus before I took the seat, and then there was Daffodil, who stayed inside my soul for some unknown reason, named coincidentally because my curious secretary wired the connection between Narcissus and the flower Narcissus, which was widely known as daffodil. Well, speaking of this, I should start moving and get out of these hellish torture before my whole body rightfully turned into an iprehensible mush. Yes, I should start moving. But move where? The barbed objects were in every direction. Maybe I should just move forward. But where was ''forward''? Should I just trust my instinct and just move without care and logic? Then again, this is somewhat logical. Regardless, I began to move. Forward, backward, sidewards, I wanted to move regardless of the destination. Seeing that vision about Daffodil reminded me of how stuck-up both of us were when it came to choosing our own environment. Daffodil didn''t even bother exiting that eerie mansion. And I also didn''t bother to take an extreme measure to shake my status quo when I was still a man named Lothair. We probably thought that tunnel-visioning one method of survival was the best and most efficient thing to do, without caring much about the actual achievements and real breathing world that was waiting to be explored. Yes, I should move somewhere, somewhere that wasn''t here. Before I knew it, I walked up and reached for the surface of the calm sea as my body was intensely torn and shredded to pieces. My hand was the first thing that escaped the suffocating water of this sacred sea. And following it, was the rest of myself¡ªforged and reborn as I emerged from a vast huge of gold that tainted the sea. "Ah, I didn''t have my spear and harpoon anymore." Greeting my conservative self, was a violent strike of an anchor to my cranium. To my surprise, I managed to only stagger a little bit before maintaining my foot above the soiled sea¡ªinstead of beingunched kilometers away from my current location like usual. "Ah...??" Chapter 127: A Sign Of Evolution, Reconstruction? Slightly annoyed by the attack attempt, I moved my hand to grab the anchor. To add to my already confused surprise, my hands moved with much higher speed and higher strength. Unlike back then, my nails were digging the surface of the gue-steel anchor like they were malleable stic. The Drowned Revenant appeared to be holding the amount of shock as I was. For an immediate reaction, the Revenant let go of its anchor sword as it created enough distance between us. Immediately after, his hand weaved the air and summoned a brandishing new weapon. An amalgamation of a giant sword and a harpoon. If I wasn''t wrong, the description of the Qliphoth Object mentioned that its rightful weapon was a harpoon sword all along, and not an anchor sword. [Description: d in corroded armor coated with barnacles and seaweed, the Drowned Revenant drips with brackish water as he trudges forward. His sword is a massive, jagged harpoon, stained with salt and rust. The air around him is thick with the stench of rotting fish, and he brings with him a creeping tide of seawater that slowly floods the ground, making movement sluggish and difficult. As he fights, water constantly seeps from his armor, drowning the battlefield in his wake. His presence causes a deep pressure to settle in the lungs of those nearby, as if they''re slowly sinking into the abyss] Yup, it was supposed to be a harpoon sword. Stay updated through mvl "Well, it doesn''t look like I have any use of this deformed ugly anchor." Not really feeling the intensity of this fight, I just tossed the anchor sword deep into the ocean right where it belonged. The Drowned Revenant appeared to be more ready than ever, but I couldn''t help but feel dejected and lonely. Now that I thought about it, I felt that there was a substantial change to my body aside from new resiliency and immense strength that I gained. For one, I became bigger and taller. Like, substantially taller. I didn''t know the right numbers, but just basing my own height with the size of the Drowned Revenant as the constant, I should be around somewhere beyond 210 centimeters, which was even taller than when I was still a dude called Lothair. I also noticed that I could no longer look down and expect to see my feet and anything more since my sight had been massively blocked. Thankfully, I didn''t feel any kind of strain on my shoulder, or yet, especially with how bodaciously massive these ''obstacles'' were. There was also a shift of color on my precious, formerly golden locks. I couldn''t really determine the hue with the weird lighting of this world. My hair had also absurdly grown to a very crazy length to the point where a huge chunk of it was on the surface of that disgusting water. "Ah." The Revenant unleashed a new kind of devastating attack at me, but I couldn''t care much about it beyond merely avoiding it, something that was sessful on my part, thanks to the newly acquired immense power that I got. "I''m not ready yet, wait for a little bit." There were a lot of questions and actions that I wanted to perform right now, but my muddied mind had no motivation whatsoever unless I was forced to do it in any case scenario. Did being tortured made me significantlyzy? I doubt so. [Consciousness: 25%] "Oh, this was definitely the cause." I also noticed that my voice became much more mature than what I already was, still with the same raspiness of a chain-smoker. "Hmm, what was I trying to do again?" I wanted to scour more information on my detail screen to look for clues on the changes on my body, but even trying to think about doing it felt annoyingly unnecessary. But to summarize, many aspects of my body changed, and my current behavior was the side effect of being struck or damaged by the Drowned Revenant directly. It should be temporary at best, right? Kuzunoha should have a way to cure it. I didn''t want to think much about it. Or, to be exact, I couldn''t think much about it, as if my brain processing power was limited by a certain threshold. "Noe waey~" But truth to behold, I still had the mental capacity to notice that Kuzunoha''s influence began to strengthen. Wait, in what method did I measure that? My buoyancy spell remained the same. There wasn''t a great number or sign of interference, and I definitely didn''t see her randomly buffing my Stormhook again for absolutely no reason. Regardless, the Drowned Revenant was still as angry and dangerous to me right now. Like, he was currently in the sky, hurling his scary harpoon sword that was coated in some sort of spiraling dark energy. Huwaa~ I didn''t have any motivation to dodge nor move from my position. At this point, there was only one thing that I could do. Throwing a punch directly at the spiral of doom. "Hiyah!" The power and momentum behind the dark-drilling harpoon was so immense, that a huge area of the formerly calm sea was greatly stirred and sinking into the depth, like the surface of a watery dough when the cook began using the electric mixer to stir the content. And to no longer of my surprise, my basic direct punch was able to sh toe-to-toe with that ridiculous disy of power. "Uhm, maybe I should do something beyond extending my hand like this." So I sidestepped out of the mortal-harm way. In that moment of zero-self preservation, I saw the world move ten times slower than I used to experience. The Drowned Revenant looked much more vulnerable because of it. Without giving it much thought, I jumped from the surface of the water and just threw another basic direct punch at the Revenant''s face. The fearsome and loathsome Drowned Revenant got greatly staggered before he stabilized himself, and created a great distance away from me once again. "Darling, can you hear me?" The voice that I wanted to hear for the past few moments began ensnaring itself into my ears once again. "The Drowned Revenant disyed a great resistance all of a sudden, so I apologize for seemingly abandoning my support just now~" Yay, Kuzunoha is back~! I missed her so much~!! Chapter 128: Strong Body, Idiot Mind "The Revenant might be disying a suddenck of urge tomunicate at the current moment, but don''t worry about that." A yful chuckle could be heard from the other side of the two-waysmunication channel. "He is actually being very talkative right now, but only on my side." "So, it''s more of a two versus one scenario for the Drowned Revenant then," I said while doing my best to entertain the Revenant that was vehemently trying to murder me, "But does the immortality curse on me still remain or is it left untouched? My head is a having ack of brain cell at the moment." "Ah, the immortality curse remains. You''re still the main target and victim of the Revenant. In fact, my interference mattered not in that regard, since there isn''t supposed to be anything that can interfere with the whole dueling process that you''re participating in." "So, you''re saying that you''re not even supposed to be able to help me? Hence, the Revenant could barely do anything about it?" "Correct, darling~" The sounds of multiple spells winding up were seeping into my ears from Kuzunoha''s side. "Looks like you''re still in the correct path of mind for someonecking the appropriate brain cells to do so~" "Is my current idiotic state of mind curable?" I said while running backward with my eyestched on the Drowned Revenant trying to umte all sorts of destructive energy into his harpoon sword. "I''m worried that I can''t lead my bastion anymore. Thinking about it makes me sad¡­" "Hmm¡­ Don''t worry, it''s only temporary. Though, I can''t help you much as of now since the damage happens to be bound to both the mind and the physical vessel, something that can only be interacted with when we''re in the same ne of existence." "So it''s not permanent, yay~!" "... I like this version of you better. Can we make it permanent?" After umting enough destructive energy, the Revenant concentrated all of those vile cmities onto the tip of his spiraling harpoon sword before ascending to the clear white sky like a deity bringing doom to the world. "Well, I won''t be nice to Kuzunoha anymore then. Hmph!" "Aww, you''re so adorable when you''re dumb~" Her mocking tone of voice finally dissipated into something more serious. "I''m finishing up the final preparation. I will be back in a few minutes~!" "Okay~!" I guess it was warranted that Kuzunoha couldn''t do anything to my brain damage, since she didn''t mention anything about the physical change that was happening to me. This made me wonder about how my face looked, since the shape felt different when I tried to get a feel of it with my hands. In this realm., there were barely any reflective surfaces. The sea below sucked any reflection like a wall of moving cement, and there wasn''t a single part of the Revenant''s armor that wasn''t tainted by all sorts of seafaring-rted problems. AAAA- I wanted to see what my face looked like! This is excruciating, torturing, mind-breaking! Speaking of mind-breaking, it seemed like there would be more things that break if that descending Revenant hit me with his current menacing attack. After all, not only that the sea was spiraling again, but the sky also got affected and began to convulse and spin alongside the destructive energy radiated by the Revenant''s harpoon sword. Hmm, I don''t think that I would be able to avoid it. Should I block it with my hand that was infused with the Wraithgrip? But punching the attack again seemed redundant. All of the wound that was inflicted to me would be healed, and I got the immortality curse that prevented me from directly croaking. Stay connected with mvl And any further brain damage I got would be healedter after Kuzunoha was done with her part. Wait, speaking about healing, why didn''t I feel the same kind of painful and rejecting sensation with my Valtherion''s Blood? Did it get deactivated? Hmm, regardless, I felt zero motivation to retaliate right now. The Revenant seemed to be aiming directly at my head¡ªif only I could grow a pair of horns simr to Verina, so that I could just sway my neck to parry attack. And just as I imagined that ridiculous scenario, I felt an itching sensation on both sides of my head. Immediately after, my mind began to get swarmed by all sorts of bodily notifications, informing me of the change that was about to happen. Because all of a sudden, a pair of horns made from the same constitution with my bone began to grow. They rose upward but began to curve inward toward the center of my head, before jutting down a single barb and another pointy spike skyward like the tip of a hook before the two of them collided. Of all things that my own body visualized directly into my mind, it was the growth of my new horns and not the shape of my current face. "This is a really weird sequence of events." Seemingly fueled with rage, the Revenant spun his harpoon, churning the spiraling energy into an even erratic tidal wave, all before mming the edge of his anger onto the top of my head. Which coincidentally, was caught with a pair of my new jutting horns. "Ah." An epic sh of power ensued between the almighty power of the Revenant''s entric weapon and the tip of my newly-grown horns. As the Mr. Revenant himself pushed his weapon down with all his might, I just stood there while slowly being submerged into the turmoiling sea, letting the raw strength and integrity of my horn to deal with the chaotic power of the master of this world. "Waah, I''m drowning." I could feel my own skull being pressed down into my neck, but I found it entertaining to maintain my pose like a powerhouse who adapted to the strength of her enemy in the game of tug of war. Though, it didn''t change the fact that I began to get forced back into the depth of the sea. "Can''t I just¡­ not drown?" Chapter 129: Abusing The Brawn So, to my nonchnt rebellion, I pushed back the opposing force by rotationally lunging up and headbutting the almighty terrifying Qliphoth Entity with the edge of my pointy horns. There was a great hint of confusion and bewilderment on the Revenant''s face as my deadpan face stared into his eyes, all while puncturing a pair of holes and numerous cracks on the surface of his tainted armor. "Sup." The shing force of two powerful entities created enough shockwaves to turn the chaotic state of this sacred realm back into their calm and serene state. As for the Revenant, he immediately created a distance once again. But this time, I won''t let him. To make it clear that I won''t be ying around anymore, I put my face directly in front of his face as I drilled a hole in him with my gaze. "Let''s change the genre of the story for a while, shall we?" The Revenant immediately jumped away like a cat that was suddenly introduced to a cucumber. I found that quite adorable, and it made me want to have a pet in my bastion. Now that I think about it, I already have Verina. Yeah, a pet might be a little bit unnecessary. "Distasteful!" The Drowned Revenant leaped and then hovered in the sky, his massive harpoon sword swirling with dark energy, preparing to unleash another cataclysmic strike. I, on the other hand, stood there watching, stillzily. His attacks, despite their world-splitting power, barely phased me now. In fact, most of my brain wasn''t even paying attention to the fact that we were fighting¡ªone half was focused on the weird things happening to my body, while the other half¡­ Well, I''m not sure what it was doing. Yeah, I somewhat lied when I said that I won''t be ying around anymore. I just want to rile up Mr. Seafarer to do something more exciting, since I began to fear that I might die out of boredom at this rate. "Oh, I''m drowning," I noted absentmindedly as the sea rose up to my knees, even with my buoyancy spell still attached, as if the sea wasmanded to bind me. But I didn''t care. I didn''t feel the urge to move much at all, except when necessary. I tilted my head back and sighed, staring up at the Revenant in the sky. He looked so determined up there, charging all of that ominous, spiraling energy into his harpoon. His focus was almost admirable, really. It was a pity I didn''t feel the same kind of urgency. "Huh, I feel a sense of de-ja-vu." As the Revenant descended, his harpoon pointing straight at my head, the sea around me roared, spiraling with his every move. I just looked up, tilted my head a bit, and did the only thing that came naturally. I punched it. Discover more content at mvl The moment my fist collided with the tip of his harpoon, the ocean around us convulsed violently, waves and whirlpools spinning into the air. But nothing happened to me. My hand held, and the Revenant''s almighty harpoon stopped mid-air, our collision freezing the chaos around us. The sea stilled, as if we had pressed pause on the entire battle. "Maybe I should move," I muttered to myself. Instead of retracting the punch, I sidestepped, letting the full momentum of his attack crash into the sea beside me, sending a tidal wave so massive it swallowed the horizon for a moment. The Revenant looked stunned, his hulking frame hovering awkwardly as he tried to pull his harpoon out of the sinking sea below. Bored, I leaped forward,unching myself with such force that the oily sea beneath me seemed to disappear for a second. Filled with a sense of justice and jittery anxiety, I punched the Revenant right in the face. No magic, no technique, just a straight, clumsy fist to the jaw. He staggered. And Iughed. Not because of some genius tactic, but because the whole situation was ridiculous. This towering, reality-bending monster of legend¡­ and here I was, punching him like I was trying to swat a bug. The Revenant snarled, trying to regainposure. He hurled another attack, dark tendrils of energyshing from his harpoon, splitting the air like a hundred whips. I should have dodged, I think. Or blocked. But no, I didn''t do any of that. Instead, I stepped forward again and punched him in the stomach. "Right in the gut!" I giggled to myself. "If only Sir Aethe has a recording function¡­" The Revenant keeled over slightly, his enormous frame shaking under the force of the blow. He quickly recovered, of course, but roared in rage. His harpoon shed through the air toward my head, spinning in a dark spiral. I ducked, almost as an afterthought, and grabbed the haft of the harpoon mid-swing. "Nice weapon," I mumbled, feeling its weight in my hands. "It''s mine now." In an unexpected moment of absurdity, I tried to snatch away his signature weapon, only to end up swinging the Revenant himself by his harpoon like a hammer throw, spinning him around once, twice, before flinging him high into the sky after I let go of the harpoon. He crashed into the oily sea in the distance with a resounding boom, sending waves sorge they seemed to tear the white sky apart. "Ah, sorry." The Revenant, stubborn as ever, rose from the waves again, his armor dripping with that brackish, cursed water. His eyes¡ªthose haunting, glowing eyes¡ªwere filled with even more hatred. But I barely noticed. My brain was too busy trying to figure out how big my horns were now. They felt bigger, definitely pointier, too. "I guess they are fully grown, now," I muttered, feeling the dark bony spikes from my skull. The Revenant, clearly sick of me, began charging another deadly attack, his harpoon pulsing with energy. The sky cracked and split open as the air itself seemed to ripple with his power. I began to question if the Revenant had any more variation with his arsenal of special moves. Then again, this benefits me since he didn''t perform anymore of those bullshit magic and trickery. I wonder if Kuzunoha was the reason. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 130: The Drowned Revenant Is Now A Woman Stay updated through mvl "Are we still doing this?" I asked, yawning mid-sentence. "This is getting kind of old." But do you know what''s not old? My horns! With azy smile, I stomped the ground, cracking the sea beneath me as I shot forward, leaving a massive wake of disced water in my path. I reached him in a heartbeat, twisting my body in the air before bringing my horned head down in a fierce headbutt. The impact was absurd. The Revenant''s facete shattered under the force, and for a moment, the world itself seemed to stop. The water didn''t move, the sky didn''t breathe. The Revenant''s body convulsed, staggering backward. "Hah!" Iughed, rubbing my horns like they were trophies. "I should do this move more often!" He wasn''t done, though. He raised his harpoon, desperately attempting another strike. But I was already too close. I nted a stamp of my foot into his chest, violently, sending him skidding across the surface of the oily sea, waves of ck water trailing behind him. "Seems like you''re having fun," Kuzunoha returned with her weed voice. "The Drowned Revenant seemed to be having a frustration. What did you just do?" "I kicked him hard!" "Right, I forgot that you''re still dumb." Kuzunoha cleared her throat. "I''ve already surrounded the Qliphoth Core of the Drowned Revenant with the needed spell to subdue him. "Before we can finally take him down, I need to nt a lingering presence of my arcane spell onto his soul and physicality. If you have a suggestion on what kind of spell that I will cast on him, feel free to voice your idea before I use a spell of my own choosing." Hmm, a single, one final spell to finally mark our domination over this unrelenting Qliphoth Object¡­ Now that I think about it, why did the information screen of the Qliphoth Object refer to the entity as a ''he'' instead of a neutral ''it''? The same went for the other Qliphoth Object that I faced so far. Does this imply that the concept of gender was much more prevalent to their lore and origin than I thought? Regardless, it would be hrious if I could just give them the same fate that befell upon me, which was me arriving in this world as a different gender than my original one. "Let''s genderbend him!" I suggested enthusiastically, not even caring about the details and consequences, because I''m still in the state of idiocy. "Consider it done~!" With a burst of light and crackling energy, Kuzunoha''s spell shot from the pure white sky, spiraling toward the Drowned Revenant like aet. I stood back, sneering like a child waiting for a prank to unfold. As the spell connected, the Revenant let out a guttural roar, his body appearing to be twisting and convulsing under the power of Kuzunoha''s magic. The sea around us surged, waves crashing in confusion as the Revenant''s towering, hulking form began to warp. With the Revenant trying his best to close his distance with me before the spell took effect. But unfortunately for him, transformation was immediate. The once-massive, lumbering behemoth began to shrink, his armor copsing inward like an empty shell as his limbs slimmed down, his broad chest narrowing. Barnacles and seaweed sloughed off in heaps, sinking into the dark, oily sea below. His entire form became lithe, almost delicate, though his rage-filled eyes remained fixed on me. When the light finally faded, the Revenant already stood before me¡ªtransformed. Instead of the monstrous figure I had been fighting, there now stood a woman of normal size¡ªwhich was considerably small and adorable inparison to my current physicality. Her once-massive body was reced with a slender, human-sized frame. Her skin, now pale and smooth, still glistened with water, and remnants of her old armor clung to her form, hanging loosely like sea-drenched rags. Her face, uncovered and exposed, was sharp and fierce, framed by damp, dark hair that clung to her neck and shoulders. Despite her smaller stature, the fire in her eyes burned with a familiar fury. Also, her face was quite cute and youthful. "You..." Her voice, though now higher, still carried the same chilling echo of the abyss. But this time, there was a quiver, a touch of something foreign for her¡ªthe feeling of embarrassment. "What have you done to me?" I blinked at her, confused for a moment. "Uh... I mean, you look great?" I said with an awkward grin,pletely unsure of what to say in situations where my enemy suddenly turned into a woman, even though it was my very own wish. The Revenant''s hands clenched into fists, her new, more delicate fingers trembling as she looked down at herself. "This... this is humiliating!" she spat, her voice cracking slightly as she fought to regain control of her emotions. She red at me, her pale cheeks tinged with red¡ªwhether from fury or shame, I couldn''t tell. "Embarrassing or not, you''re kind of cute now," I teased, giving a reassuring thumbs up, as I was still adjusting to the bizarre new situation. Her eyes shed dangerously, and in an instant, she lunged at me, her harpoon sword, now slimmer and sleeker to match her form, whistling through the air with a new kind of grace and speed. But despite her newfound elegance, I was quicker. Without a second thought, I ducked under her swipe and delivered a yful jab to her side. "You''re faster now! But are you sure you know how to handle that smaller body?" Her face flushed even more as she whirled around to face me. "I... don''t need your condescending remarks!" she hissed,shing out with a wild swing. I sidestepped easily, watching as her new form struggled to keep up with her oldbat instincts. "Yeah, you definitely don''t move the same," I noted, dodging her next attack with azy spin. "You might want to get used to those legs before you try to kill me again." "Silence!" she growled, her harpoon crashing into the sea with a spray of oily water. "I will end you, no matter the form I take!" Chapter 131: Sealing The Qlipha She thrust her weapon at me again, but it was slower than I expected. Her bnce was off, her strength clearly diminished, and it seemed that even she wasn''t fully adjusted to this new body. I casually caught the haft of her harpoon mid-strike, holding it in ce as she struggled to pull it free. "You might want to rethink your strategy," I said, grinning with a yful smug. Her eyes narrowed, and with a furious grunt, she let go of the weapon entirely, diving forward to tackle me instead. She caught me off guard, mming into my chest with surprising force for someone of her size. We both crashed into the oily sea, the dark water swirling around us as we struggled against each other. "Get off!" she snarled, her hands gripping my arms as she tried to force me under the water. Despite her smaller frame, her strength was still formidable, and I had to admit, her determination was impressive. But I wasn''t about to let her have the upper hand. With a yful smirk, I pushed back, easily flipping her onto her back in the shallow water. She let out a frustrated yelp as I pinned her down, her new body struggling to adjust to the unfamiliar movements. "Is this really what you wanted?" I teased, holding her wrists down as she thrashed beneath me. "Because, honestly, you seem a lot less intimidating like this." Her face turned a deep shade of red, and for a moment, she lookedpletely flustered. "I¡ªthis unholy doing of yours!" she spat, her voice cracking again with barely contained frustration. "You and that witch! I will make you both pay for this indignity!" I let out a loudugh, unable to hold it back. "You really are cute when you''re angry. Who would have thought the Drowned Revenant had this side to them?" Her expression darkened, and with a sudden burst of strength, she kicked me off, sending me flying back into the water. I skidded across the surface for a moment before hopping back to my feet, still grinning like an idiot. The Revenant stood, panting, her damp hair clinging to her face as she red daggers at me. "This... this is not over," she growled, her voice shaking with a mix of rage and embarrassment. She reached for her harpoon again, her grip firm but noticeably more hesitant. "Urgh! Why can''t I dispel this off!?" I stretched my armszily, not feeling particrly threatened by her anymore. "Come on, let''s at least make this fun," I said. "I don''t want to fight someone who''s too embarrassed to even swing her weapon properly." She lunged again, her movements more controlled this time, but stillcking the raw power she had oncemanded. I dodged with ease, letting her dance with herself with each swing. As she stumbled slightly, I couldn''t help butugh again. "You''re really not used to being this small, huh?" She froze, her chest heaving withbored breaths as she stared at me. Her hands trembled around the hilt of her weapon, and for a moment, she looked as though she might actually cry. My heart sank a little, but it also lightened. Who knew that watching the suffering of your own very reality-warping nemesis could be this entertaining? And then, she did something unexpected. She smiled¡ªa cold, eerie smile. "Laugh while you can," she whispered, her voice chilling. "Because when I figure out how to wield this form... I''ll make sure you neverugh again." "Well, good luck with that," I said, still chuckling. "In the meantime, try not to trip over your own feet." Her smile faded, and with a final, frustrated growl, she hurled her harpoon at me with everything she had. It spun wildly through the air, but I simply stepped aside, watching it ssh into the sea far behind me. "Well," I chuckled. "This is going to be fun." "Don''tugh!" The new and adorable Drowned Revenant red at me, her petite form trembling with rage as the sea churned beneath her. Read exclusive adventures at mvl "You''re seriously angry, huh?" "I will end you," she growled, her voice now far less menacing. She lunged at me again, faster this time, but stillcking the raw strength she used to have. With a sigh, I stepped aside, barely making an effort to dodge. Her attack whiffed through the air, and she stumbled forward, nearly tripping over her own feet. The harpoon, now too light for her swings, nged awkwardly into the oily sea. "Urghhh! Stop dodging!" she shrieked, clearly frustrated. "Well, I don''t feel like getting hit," I shrugged, looking away yfully. "And besides, I have better things to do, like¡ª" Suddenly, the air around us shimmered with a faint arcane glow. I paused, turning my attention to the flickering sky above us. The entire realm began to shake, as if responding to some unseen force. "Looks like Kuzunoha is finally ready," I muttered. The Drowned Revenant froze, her eyes wide. She looked up, noticing the shift in the realm as well. Her expression twisted from confusion to anger. "No¡­ what is happening?!" Before I could respond, the sea beneath us split open, revealing a swirling vortex of darkness. Arcane fog and symbols danced across the air, wrapping themselves around the Revenant''s body like chains. She screamed, thrashing wildly as she tried to resist, but the spell was too strong. Slowly, she was pulled into the vortex, her feet sinking into the inky ckness. "No! You can''t do this to me!" she shouted, her voice filled with desperation. "I am a force of the abyss! I cannot be sealed away like some¡ª" Kuzunoha''s voice suddenly echoed through the realm, cutting her off. "Oh, but you will be, darling. You''re going to have plenty of time to get used to your new body in your private little realm. Don''t worry¡ªI''ll make sure you''re well taken care of, before we order you around like a little puppy, of course~" The Revenant let out one final, enraged shriek as her form was dragged deeper into the abyss, the arcane chains tightening around her. Within moments, she was gone, sealed away in her new prison that Kuzunoha prepared for her, leaving the realm eerily quiet. I blinked, looking at the empty space where the Drowned Revenant had just been. "Well, that was anticlimactic." Chapter 132: Exciting Reunion Kuzunoha''s voice came back, cheerful as ever. "Great work, darling! The Revenant is safely sealed, and you don''t have to worry about her for a while. Now, I''ll meet you in the real world to check on you and your¡ªoh, you know¡ªcondition." Before I could respond, the realm shifted around me, the sea fading into darkness. In the blink of an eye, I was back in the real world, standing in the middle of a drowned forest, probably quite far away from my bastion, which I didn''t know the location of, because my brain was still nerfed from that Qliphoth Object encounter. The thick, wet smell of the night air filled my lungs as I looked around, trees half-submerged in the swampy seawater. The spiraling moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie glow over thendscape. I nced at my reflection in the water¡ªwell, I tried to. But all I could see was a vague outline. My new form still felt weird, bigger, and more voluptuous? I hadn''t exactly figured out everything had changed, and that fact had been bugging me the entire fight. "Kuzunoha''sing¡­ I guess I''ll find out soon enough." Momentster, a ripple in the air signaled Kuzunoha''s arrival, alongside a tug on the connection that binds my soul and Kuzunoha''s soul together in our merry contract, as if it was used as a coordinate reference to find my whereabouts. A portal of crackling arcane energy opened nearby, and out she stepped, her usual confident smile stered on her face. She looked extremely tired despite her usual re and confident. Also, she never told me that she could just spawn a bloody portal for movement and transportation! Unless she could only do it to get to my location. Regardless, she still hid a lot of details about her prowess and whatnot, so I shouldn''t be reallyining. But the moment her eyes fell on me, her smile froze. Her jaw dropped slightly, and she blinked rapidly, as if trying to process what she was seeing. "Oh¡­ oh my," she whispered, taking a step back. "Narcissus, is that you?!" I frowned, finally curious about my own body. "What? What''s wrong?" Kuzunoha looked me up and down, her eyes wide. "You¡­ You''re huge! And¡­ oh dear, your hair! Your face!" She paused, speechless, before finally blurting, "This phenomenon should only exist in hypothesis, but who would expect that it practically unfolded in front of me, in that garish realm no less!" I blinked, still confused. "What are you talking about?" She rushed over, grabbing a lock of my now absurdly long hair. "Inhumanely tall stature of unparalleled strength and beauty, a pair of demonic horns, and this silverish aqua hair!" She stepped back, gesturing wildly to my figure. "This figure befitting of a goddess. There''s no mistake, these are the traits of the ancient race Valtherion!" I stared at her, still not entirely understanding. I checked my biography section of my detail screen and my race was still tagged as ''Unknown''. "Oh, okay." Kuzunoha sighed dramatically, covering her face with one hand. "To put it in a way that your dumb-dumb state can understand, your own blood basically healed you to an impossibly high threshold to the point that it just decided to reconstruct the structure of your entire DNA and bloodline, transforming you into that of an actual Valtherion." I blinked again. "Oh." Kuzunoha just stared at me for a moment, her mouth slightly agape, before letting out a long sigh. "Well, I guess we''ll just have to get used to this." She shook her head, still looking at me. "But honestly, Narcissus, you look like you belong on the cover of some divine warrior calendar or something. This is also reinforced by your immense psionic charm, and I couldn''t help but to feel my eyes being buttered." She summoned what was essentially a mirror with her arcane power. Right, I was also currently naked. So, to summarize the overall change to my physicality, I had grown to around 210 centimeters in terms of height. My shining golden locks had been reced with silkier, silverish light-aqua hue that reached the ground and two times my current height. It was also unbelievably smooth, that it didn''t even get stuck in my surrounding environment. My physique had also transformed from that of a modest youth to an towering supermodel with divine hourss stature of massive bosom, wide hips, and thick powerful thighs. The face had also turned to be morescivious and mature, in contrast to my former youthful and adorable face, but still as beautiful and perfect to my liking. My uniquely-shaped scarlet eyes were still there, which reassured me that it was my body that underwent a gradual change instead of me possessing an entirely new one. I couldn''t help but grin. "Well, at least I look like a divine hottie while being confused." "Should we treat your case of idiocy first before we continue with our business?" Kuzunoha reminded me. "Yes, we shall." "Aww, but I like bimbo Narcissus~" "If you like it so much, why not make yourself one?" "I prefer my intelligence intact." After 20 minutes of quick treatment for myck of brain cells, I was finally able to witness my Consciousness reaching its normal threshold once again. While on it, Kuzunoha reported everything that happened while I was away. To summarize, the bastion was no more, but the crew managed to build a makeshift raft from the cabin''s roof to exit the flooded area and stabilize. Continue your saga on §Þ?? They encountered a sizable amount of variety of Cmity Object in their way, but thankfully, there weren''t any serious casualties amongst the bastioneers. To put it simply, they were doing fine. "How is the Drowned Revenant?" "Acessible only to me, as of the moment. I can set up a meeting if you n to greet her again in the near future." "How is my body?" "Terrific~ You might be the only full-fledged Valtherion alive in Carcosa." "Can I hypothetically turn back to my ''fairy'' form?" "I currently have ess to the history of your physicality. In practicality, I can try reverting your state of bodily vessel to the time right before your body is reconstructed into a Valtherion." A curve appeared on my lips. "Can you make me be capable of switching the state of my body just like how you did with the ''dimensional organ''?" Chapter 133: Valtherion Form "Do you find your current form to be overwhelming?" Kuzunoha tilted her head. "Not to me, but to anyone that I interact with in my current form." My hands grabbed a handful of my silky silverish hair. The sensation was simr to trying to grasp aprehensive body of liquid due to how smooth and soft it was. "I can see that you''re trying your best to keep your mind sane, my lovely secretary. You have been really fidgety and blushing like crazy since you saw this version of me." "As someone who is bound to your will, it is the least I can do to maintain my own sanity and dignity~" "But not everyone is the same as you." I pointed. "Now that I''m notcking in brain cells anymore, I can tell that my current form is much more sensitive and responsive to my consciousness. In that regard, I still want to be able to go back to this form whenever I need it. "But when ites to future negotiation and social activity, this Valtherion form might prove to be more of a nuisance than a blessing. "Not to mention, I find great practicality in my original size and appearance. I''m also going to miss my adorable face, you see?" "Consider your will to being to a reality then, darling~" Kuzunoha began sending numerous spells and conceptual tools of magic directly to me through the soul connection that we established. "However, since this will be my first attempt to establish a switchable dimensional vessel, it will take more than half a day, especially since I need both bodies to synchronize themselves directly into yourplicated soul." Your journey continues at §Þ?? "Magnificent. I expected the process to be counted in days instead of hours." "You''re in the presence of a genius of an unparalleled degree, my Narcissus darling~" Kuzunoha confidently smirked as she opened one arm and gracefully ced the other on her chest. "One that doesn''t need to be rewarded, for she deem her current opportunity to be a blessing of a lifetime." "Oh, how would I do without you~" Now that I had the minimum mental capacity to recall things and churn my thinking gear, I took a deep breath as I masked my relief with a smile. We did it, we subdued the seemingly unbeatable and invincible Qliphoth Object. Sure, Kuzunoha definitely contributed the most since she was the whole key to the operation, but I would like to think of myself as a reliable and indestructible soul. I didn''t know if it was because of my increasing sensitivity to emotion, but the feeling of pride and aplishment had embroidered itself on the spacious corner of my heart. All that aside, my current Valtherion form was the result of my body being minced nonstop until my golden blood decided to just impart the rest of the traits and DNA of the Valtherion into the reconstruction of my body. And because of that, the spell that Kuzunoha cast to make my own blood foreign to my vessel had dissipated. Meaning that my body would no longer heal inside that realm if I were to suffer a single fatal damage. Just the thought of my dumbass self manning a powerful vessel in that high risk scenario gave me goosebumps. Thankfully, this body was durable to endure all of those crazy attacks. Makes me wonder why the Valtherion race got extinct in the first ce. "This makes me impatient to see those folks'' reaction when seeing this version of you." Kuzunoha sang. "So, what reason should we give to make them rationalize this?" I for one, didn''t want myself to be known publicly rted with this body, considering that it would lead to someplication that would require me to be seen as this one powerhouse of a titan for a lot of asions. My future vision was to gain arge and meaningful influence over my seemingly non-threatening yet lovable figure who had the power to heal all ailments with her bodily liquid. In this vision, I nned to have someone like Verina to be the powerhouse figure. So if possible, I only want my real identity as a Valtherion to be only known by Kuzunoha. Afterall, there was a possibility that I might be capable of controlling my ''fairy'' form and ''Valtherion'' form individually like a puppet¡ªif my understanding of ''dimensional organ'', or in this case, ''vessel'', was correct. "Introduce me to the rest of the crew as your longtime acquaintance," I suggested to my gothic-fashioned secretary. "We will act as if Narcissus is currently dealing with something important and private." "Should I try masking the signature of your soul then?" Kuzunoha snapped her fingers. "Are you assuming that someone in our group is capable of identifying people through their soul?" "Verina will soon be grasping the neededprehension of arcane leylines to be able to delve into the realm of souls and spiritual nes." Kuzunoha spoke like a proud teacher. "She might be able to discern a hint of it there and there at this stage. Better be meticulous in ourmitment if you want to go this path, don''t you think so?" "Sure, I''ll leave that matter to you then." "I will also try to blur your signature psionic charm so that Verina won''t find out right away." "Huh, good reminder." "And before we finally go." Kuzunoha weaved her hand in a pattern as if she was drawing something in the air. Gradually, arge body of arcane fog began enwrapping me, before transforming into that of aplete set of apparel. "Oh my." A long, dark trench coat served as the centerpiece, its high cor framing my neck, while the hemline brushed the ground. The fabric itself seemed shifting from deep midnight to a shadowy charcoal, embroidered with intricate patterns of silver crosses and abstract symbols. Beneath the coat, a fitted vest and blouse clung to my torso. The sleeves of the blouse were loose, giving it the same impression akin to that of a robe. A wide belt cinched the waist, from which hung various pouches and holsters for adventuring tools, as well as a short, flowing skirt that red out just enough for freedom of movement. My legs were covered by thigh-high,ce-up boots, which was stylish and yet surprisingly practical enough to move around in this physique. Was it because of the material? The finishing touch was a pair of dark gloves, the fingers tipped with silver, making them both practical and ornamental. Following the theme, was a single, delicate cross pendant hung from a choker around my neck,pleting the look with a subtle hint of faith¡­ or entricity, depending on who was looking. A work was also magically done to style my overgrown hair, not letting it to caress the ground anymore. Chapter 134: A Forgotten All-Dreaming Tale "The size has been adapted to your current physique. It was not originally like this when I wore it, mind you." Well, it was still rather tight in a certain area. For example: my chest and hips. "I''m surprised that you have this kind of clothing in your wardrobe," Imented with an unsure grin. She smirked. "I sincerely hope that you won''t damage it in the slightest." "I guess this is expected of borrowing clothes from ady." With all of the potential problems addressed, we departed for the new location of my bastion, or maybe an outpost. "Why don''t you use that portal spell so that we can immediately arrive at our destination?" I asked with a smirk. "Saddly, that spell only works when the other end of the passage is within the close proximity of something or someone that was bound to my directly. Like per say, a contract~" "I assume that you can''t freely create a spell of simr nature to allow you to travel around the world because it''s arcane by nature, then." I sighed a heap of disappointment through my grin. "And arcane by nature, is weird and convoluted." "If only that you aren''t limited by the fact that you can''t perform a simple ohrtending, I would have taken you under my wing as an apprentice." Kuzunoha chuckled. There was a simr tone of disappointment escaping from her throat. "Well, I guess the world needs to nerf me in some way." A smug smile began to form on my face. "Otherwise, I would be too much of a perfection." "You really live up to your name." Now that this topic was brought up¡­ "And what do you mean by that?" I yfully asked, but not too yful that I was given an equally jesting of an answer. "Hmm, the lore for the origin of the word itself is extremely ancient, and has been devoured by the All-Dreaming Beast. But in core-value, it persistently means that you''re narcissistic in nature~" "Wait, an All-Dreaming Beast?" "Do you want to know?" Kuzunoha smiled devilishly, shrinking the roof of her gaze as she cast it to the side. "Harboring this enlightenment might damage your psyche if you''re not mentally fortified toprehend it." Something akin to knowing that you were living inside a video game that may or may not be shut down or tampered with at any given time? Like the realization that your whole life and meaning exists to beposed of mere data and highly-trained artificial intelligence? Well, I doubted that there was anything that could be as reality-breaking as that fact. "Sure,y it all out." "This is just based on my research and personal observation." Kuzunoha widened her grin into a manic edge. "But when ites to the matter of time and space, this world, Carcosa, is currently engaging in an ever-ongoing chase with something. "There exists an insurmountable amount of information of the past that has been destroyed. When I prod further, there is nearly an infinite amount of existential void behind us, like an impossibly long graveyard that is left behind this very world. "And that graveyard is expanding, catching up to us in every minute, every second we travel through time and space." Her eyes were devoid of life as she eerily tilted her head, as if trying to process this information alone had affected her very mind and existence considerably. "And to make the matter worse, there is a physical and spiritual trail that can be traced when you delve into that graveyard. "Something impossibly gargantuan and infinitely dimensional is eating and consuming the very world that we live in." Her words faded to ck, and I felt something gripping my throat, slithering¡ªall-epasing manner of malicious embrace that came out of nowhere, and not evening from Kuzunoha herself. Stay tuned with §Þ?? "And that very being is also carrying the same signature of the beginning that started this whole universe. "Numerous destroyed and shredded records refer to this being as the All-Dreaming Beast, an entity that is so full of paradox and oxymoron, that many schrs of the past were troubled on whether to deem this entity as the conceptual force of entropy or an outright god." Kuzunoha then pointed her gloved finger at my face. "The knowledge about the Valtherion race as a whole is also one of the destroyed pieces of information that I manage to scavenge in that very graveyard." From this point onward, Kuzunoha began to start giggling for no reason as she mumbles iprehensible words while conveying nonsense in front of my face. Just by listening to her in this state alone, I started to lose Sanity unknowingly. "... I apologize for my impertinence just a moment ago." Kuzunoha expressed her guilt with a flustered face. "It''s been a while since I tried to reim my memory that is rted to the All-Dreaming Beast." "Well, I can see why you''re having a hard time conveying all of that information," I chuckled as much as I was disturbed. "I saw the whole reality shift into something scary as youy out your words, all while you began to get possessed by madness." "Thankfully, I managed to filter most of the dangerous parts," Kuzunoha sighed with relief. "No matter how powerful someone''s mind is, they are still vulnerable to the danger of knowledge." Now I started to wonder what kind of reality-bending effect would happen if I began unveiling the fact that we all live inside some stupid VRMMO world, and that there was an actual real world inhabited by the very creator of this universe. Then again, this world felt too vivid, absurd, and mind-breaking toprehend for it to be a mere simtion of digital data strewn together. There was also my case of getting a random vision when I reached zero in terms of Sanity, and I doubted that all of those details and emotions were something that could be emted with the technology of humanity in the year 2030. Yeah, the more I tried to make sense of the whole big picture, the more I lost my sanity. Ignorant is a bliss, they say. Thankfully, our bliss was apanied by a calming peace as we only encountered a single Cmity Object in our journey. Chapter 135: Lambda, The Gentle Guardian By the time Kuzunoha and I arrived at the temporary bastion where Verina and others had been relocated, the world was still draped in darkness and maddening moonlight. The spiraling moon hung low, casting silvery light over the surroundings. The forest had a haunting quiet, except for the asional rustle of wind through the damp trees and the distant sounds of nocturnal creatures moving about. The Ordeal seemed to be in its timely hibernation. From afar, I could see that my people had set up their camp in the aftermath of the flood that had destroyed the original bastion, constructing makeshift shelters and watch posts with whatever materials were at hand. Lanterns flickered here and there, casting long shadows that danced in the night. "This is where we part with Narcissus for a bit," Kuzunoha whispered with a mischievous smile as we approached the edge of the encampment. "You''re not Narcissus anymore. From this point on, you''re Lambda, my¡­ long-time acquaintance." She grinned as if amused by her own theatrics. I rolled my eyes but couldn''t help but grin back. "Lambda it is. And I''ll let you do the talking." "Of course, as it is within my expertise~" The moment we stepped into the light of the camp, all heads turned toward us. Verina was the first to spot us. Floating in the air, her sharp violet eyes widened slightly as they swept over me¡ªher leader, yet unrecognizable in this form. Kuzunoha, with her typical confident stride, addressed the camp after we arrived at the center of the encampment. With my slightly unkind face and cold gaze, I had my psionic charm to be converted into that of overwhelming dread and menacing re. And since my psionic charm had been reduced in terms of effectiveness by Kuzunoha, everyone seemed to connect the dots in a beneficial way for my incognito. "Everyone, allow me to introduce someone very special¡ªthis is Lambda, an old acquaintance of mine." She gestured toward me with a flourish. "She''ll be helping us out for the foreseeable short future, until we have Narcissus finished with her busy handling... delicate matters elsewhere." There was a moment of silence, the recruits sizing me up, clearly wondering who I was and how I fit into the equation. My towering figure, along with the apparel I was adorned in, didn''t exactly exude the subtlety of a humble visitor. I wasn''t sure what sort of first impression I was giving, but I decided to y it domineering yet minimal. The image of a powerful yet gentle giant came to my mind, which I tried to emte with my current acting skill. Verina approached us, her usual deadpan expression firmly in ce, though I noticed a flicker of confusion in her eyes. "A pleasure to meet you, Lambda." Her voice was even, calm, despite the slight tension in the air. "Kuzunoha, are there any specific instructions we should follow regarding our new... ally? Assuming that this is part of Narcy''s will and order." Kuzunoha''s eyes twinkled with amusement. "For now, just consider Lambda an observer. She''s here to guarantee our safety, but otherwise, she''ll stay out of the daily operations. No need for formalities, Verina." "Unsurprisingly, your acquaintance kinda fits the image that I have of you." She was basically saying that I was equally as entric as my parasal-twirling secretary. "She is only here with us for a while." Kuzunoha yfully sneered. "Her presence here is nothing but a coincidence, and she is also seeking something to consume before she resumes her journey." "Understood," Verina replied, giving me a nod of respect before retreating back to her previous position. "Coincidentally, we''re brimming with ration. I hope that you may findfort in our humble struggle to make it through the night, Lambda." "Likewise," I replied as I tried my best to lower the tone of my voice. Regardless, Kuzunoha had reported that these folks was already informed of our glorious victory against the Qliphoth Object. Because of that, their moods and morale were quite high despite my sudden introduction. I also heard that they were nning to throw a party after I returned as their powerful and reliable leader. Which, made me quite happy to know that they were already this considerate of me despite our short-time with one another. They didn''t lie when merit speaks for your impression of others. And thus, I began my assimtion as a guest of my own bastion until Kuzunoha finished her experiment to allow me to switch between my normal and Valtherion form at will. And after around the 15 minutes mark, my low-influencing psionic aura began to wane in their image, allowing them to getfortable with my presence. I caught a nce from Kara, the stocky ex-brawler. There was no fear in her gaze, but rather a curious challenge. "Lambda, huh?" she said, her voice low and gravelly. "Without even seeing your prowess with my own eyes, you''re actually an incredibly strong person, am I right?" "I get by," I said casually, meeting her eyes with a small smirk. Kara chuckled, her gaze lingering on me for a moment longer before she shrugged and walked off to help with a pile of supplies. Nearby, Yora, the former scout, observed me from a distance, her green eyes flicking nervously between me and Kuzunoha. She seemed less inclined to approach, perhaps sensing the overwhelming aura I was unintentionally giving off. I offered her a polite nod, which caused her to blush and quickly turn her gaze elsewhere. Erika, the petite Deowl healer, was another one who kept her distance. Her wide, owl-like eyes darted in my direction every few seconds as she worked on setting up the avable medical supplies, her talons delicately picking up items from her pouch. When our eyes finally met, she squeaked and fumbled with a container filled with herbs, nearly dropping it. "Easy," I muttered under my breath, just loud enough for her to hear. Erika stiffened but managed to ce the container safely on the ground before giving me a shaky thumbs-up. Adorable, but skittish. Callista, the sly half-Darrack, sauntered up next, her gaze openly appreciative. "Lambda, was it? I''m Callista," she said, giving me a mischievous grin as her eyes flicked over my form with shameless curiosity. "I must say, you''ve got quite the presence. If I didn''t know better, I''d say you''re hiding something wonderful." She winked, clearly trying to get a rise out of me. I raised an eyebrow. "You''ll find I''m full of surprises." "Oh, I like surprises." Her grin widened. "I also like what I see." Before she could continue with her degeneracy, Amelia, the ex-mercenary, approached with her usual air of discipline. Her sharp blue eyes briefly assessed me before she saluted. "Lambda, it''s good to have you with us." Unlike the others, her greeting was short and professional, though I could see the gears turning in her mind, trying to ce who¡ªor what¡ªI really was. I nodded back. "The honor is mine." Naosi, the weaponsmith, barely spared me a nce. She was busy building defenses in the bastion parameter¡ªher silverish hair tied back to keep it from getting in her way. "Nice to meet you, hope we can get along~" she muttered without looking up, clearly more interested in her work than formalities. I wasn''t offended¡ªshe seemed the type to prioritize practicality over politeness. Finally, Lydia, the sharp-eyed strategist, stepped forward. Her gray eyes locked onto mine with a calcting gaze. "Lambda," she said smoothly, her voice carrying a note of intrigue. "I look forward to work with you in this temporary coboration" "Likewise," I responded, keeping my expression neutral. She was definitely sizing me up, though for what purpose, I couldn''t yet tell. With that, the crew went on with their own business, each of them casting asional nces in my direction as they went about their tasks. For one, Verina lingered for a moment, her violet eyes still slightly narrowed in thought before she turned and acted as the temporary leader of this bastion. The only person that I didn''t interact with at all was Sera, the auburn-haired forager with a secret personality to her. She seemed to be intentionally avoiding me. "Well," Kuzunoha said once they were all out of earshot, "I''d say that went smoothly." Your next read awaits at §Þ?? "I''d call it decent," I replied, watching the recruits disappear into the night. "I think I''ll have to work harder to keep them from connecting the dots." Kuzunoha smirked. "Don''t worry, darling. With how distracted they are by your new look, I doubt they''ll suspect a thing." I rolled my eyes. "Let''s hope you''re right." The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 136: As If Cheating With A High-Leveled Character With the suppression of the Big Bad Evil Guy finished and detained her own realm, we trailed amongst the maddening moonlight of Carcosa with merry tip-toeing and self-rewarding activity. After all, I was here to ensure that my people held their chin high for surviving their first night under the reign of mymand. ¡ª [The Ember-Tide Colossus] [Description: A towering, molten figure that seems to rise from the ground itself, withva flowing like veins through cracks in its ashen skin. Its body is perpetually burning, but the mes never spread beyond its own mass, instead drawing all nearby heat toward it. The Colossus strides through forests and cities alike, leaving behind a trail of solidified ss and scorched earth. It has no face, only a glowing cavity where its head should be, and its low, rumbling footsteps create shockwaves that turn air to scorching heat. As it moves, people and objects nearby are drawn into its gravity, slowly incinerating into embers as they are pulled closer.] [Hint: The Colossus can only be extinguished by dousing its core with water from the deepest ocean trenches¡ªwaters that are near impossible to find, let alone ess] ¡ª Because regardless of the adversary, my basic punch could obliterate any annoying gimmick-oriented Cmity Object through sheer brute force. This was my sixth time defeating a different Qliphoth Object without breaking a sweat. "Well, that is quicker than I expected." Though I''m saddened by the loss of lootable material, since most of my victims were mostly disintegrated or damaged beyond recovery. Cheers erupted around the bastion as the recruits witnessed what could only be described as a casual show of indomitable strength from Lambda¡ªme. As I stayed and interacted with my very own crew, I realized something. Their reaction to Lambda doing cool and absurd things were much more prominent than when it was Narcissus doing it. They saw Narcissus as their frightening boss, and someone who they deem untouchable and unreachable after the shenanigans rted to my own psionic charm. When it came to Lambda, they deem her like that one legendary traveler who fatefully just joined their humble abode. There were no factors or emotions that limited their festivity with the towering giantdy. Not to mention, some of them had already been threatened with death a couple of times by Narcissus before they were officially recruited into this group. "Well, that answers that!" Karaughed heartily, her voice echoing through the night. "You weren''t kidding, Lambda, you''re an absolute beast!" The others chimed in, their voices carrying through the night air, each one contributing their admiration, awe, or excitement. Even the more reserved members couldn''t help but be impressed, although some¡ªlike Yora¡ªlooked like they were still processing the whole thing. "That was... incredible," Yora muttered under her breath, trying to make herself less visible in the back of the crowd. But still, my sharp ears managed to hear the mutter. "Lambda''s just warming up," Kuzunoha said with a mischievous grin, standing beside me as though none of this was out of the ordinary. "But I''d say that was enough to remind you all that you''re in good hands." Callista sidled up to me, her sly grin ever-present. "Forget good hands. I''d say we''re in mighty hands. Tell me, Lambda, is there anything you can''t do?" She winked, clearly flirting again. I chuckled, brushing off her remark. "I''m pretty sure there are limits. I just haven''t hit them yet." For one, the indomitable strength of a War Goddess that I acquired had been bought with a considerable price of my impossible dexterity. It might have something to do with the biological differences between the original Narcissus and Valtherion''s body. Hence why, I couldn''t really craft good shit anymore when I''m in this form¡ªreferencing my failed attempt to properly speedrun deforestation and make a quick formation of wooden wall, something that I could easily achieve with Narcissus, and not Lambda Callista''s grin widened. "I''m betting it''ll be a fun ride watching you try." As the crew dispersed, chattering among themselves about the disy, Verina floated over, her usual deadpan expression was unwavering but her eyes were sharp and calcting. "I must admit, I didn''t expect someone like you to contribute this much, Lambda," Verina said, her violet eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she observed me. "Kuzunoha has a habit of keeping interestingpany, as much as I despise her existence." "Interesting is an understatement," Kuzunoha chimed in, twirling her parasol with that ever-yful smirk of hers, ignoring the hate promation of her own student. "Indeed," Verina replied tly, her attention shifting back to me. "You''ve certainly earned the crew''s respect, but I hope you don''t mind me asking¡ªwhat exactly are you looking for here? I doubted that Kuzunoha was this close with anyone of your personality, and you seemed to be someone who wouldn''t chase an annoying speedy rat unless there was a key to a treasure vault on its stomach." Well, that was a little bit specific. Though, I began to wonder if my presence as Lambda made her feel strong difort of any sort. For one, she might be afraid and anxious that Lambda''s goal was rted to Narcissus, or that she was anxious of having someone from Kuzunoha''s faction to break the power bnce of Narcissus'' eyes for meritocracy¡­ There was no way that it was the case, right? I nced at Kuzunoha, who gave me a quick nod, signaling that this was all part of the n. "I''m just passing through. Kuzunoha and I went way back, and when I heard she had a new group, I figured I''d stop by. No hidden agenda, Verina." Verina didn''t seem fully convinced, but she let it slide for the moment. "As long as you''re not here to disrupt the bastion''s operation. Someone of my greatest importance left us with a lot of responsibilities to juggle." Kuzunoha smiled sweetly. "Don''t worry, Verina. Lambda is here to help, not hinder~ That and this, then nothing more~" Verina looked even more convinced because of Kuzunoha''s annoyingly roundabout behavior, but before she could probe further, Erika nervously approached, holding a small container of herbal remedies in her talons. "L-Lambda, do you need anything for your... uh, muscles? I-I mean, after that demonstration, you might need... you know... something to help with soreness?" She looked like she was about to burst into nervous tears. I softened my expression, doing my best to appear approachable despite my intimidating form. "Thank you, Erika, but I''m fine. You''re doing great with the medical supplies, though. Keep up the good work." She blushed furiously, nodding quickly before scurrying away. I caught Kuzunoha stifling augh beside me. "You''re a hit, Lambda," she teased, leaning closer. "They''re practically worshiping you already." "I thought that was your job," I muttered back, eliciting a yful nudge from her. Also, seeing how interesting some of these recruits'' personalities were disyed right now, it made me a little bit jealous that it was Lambda who was able to see them first. Chapter 137: To Live Another Day, Another Way Just as the newly outposted bastion was nearly fortified and stabilized, we continued our unified effort to kick the asses of Cmity Objects for another hour. "Looks like their way of using pikes has gotten significantly better," I muttered to myself. Was this the effort of Amelia''s constant guidance and second-inmand to others beside Verina while I''m gone? Just as I thought that I could finally rest my fatigued body until the sunrise, my ears caught something. Verina watched the interaction of her crew and me with her usual stoic expression, though I could sense she was still meticulously processing all of this. "Kuzunoha," she began, "Despite everything that I hear and perceive, my gut feeling still convinces me that you really failed to mention someone of character like Lambda right after Narcissus'' action to settle vague and non-lingering things." Ah, it seemed like tricking Verina''s guts feeling was proven harder than we thought. Kuzunoha waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, Verina, there are many things I''ve yet to mention. Lambda is one of those rare acquaintances who pops in and out of my life when the stars align." Verina blinked, unamused by Kuzunoha''s cryptic response. "I see." Seeing that Verina appeared as if she wanted to push Kuzunoha even further regarding this, I decided to step in and just wane the overall hostility that these two exuded. "Worry not," I added, out of nowhere. My stealth skill was still as impable despite my towering stature. "I won''t be interfering with the work here. My presence is just... temporary." Verina nodded slowly, her eyes lingering on me for a moment longer before she turned to address a nearby crew of the group. "Very well. We''ll resume our usual tasks, then." As Verina floated away, Kuzunoha leaned in closer, whispering in my ear. "That was close. She''s dangerously sharp, that one." "I can tell," I replied. "She''s the kind that will be the most skeptical person when I''m not here." "Good thing we''re not fooling her, are we, darling? Just... redirecting attention," Kuzunoha winked. She wasn''t even trying to fool her at the slightest! "Let''s just hope that redirection holds¡­" As the night was only one hour away, I found myself watching over the bastion from a distance, observing how the recruits went about their assigned duties. Kara and Naosi were working together, fortifying part of the camp''s defenses as Verina was protecting and observing them. Callista and Yora handled the scouting routes. Amelia was busy organizing the ration and needed supplies that Kuzunoha withdrew from her all-epassing arcane pocket. Meanwhile, Lydia seemed to be immersing herself with the content of the Yellow King''s Script, now that we finally receive another down time from the relentless ordeal. Kuzunoha appeared beside me, her parasol twirling idly. "Quite the crew you''ve gathered, Narcissus¡ªwell, Lambda," she corrected herself with a smirk. "They''re amusingly more useful and hrious than they appear, aren''t they?" Well, I did put a lot of effort into reading the painstakingly long information inside their Info tab, while also essing their Highlighted Traits and what they showcased in front of me. "They have potential," I admitted. "More than I initially thought." "Ah, but with you here, they''ll have someone to really look up to," Kuzunoha teased. "After all, who wouldn''t be inspired by a towering, silver-haired warrior goddess?" So you''re saying that they weren''t inspired by a beautifully stern and wise golden-haired angel?? Preposterous! "You''re not letting that go, are you?" "Not in the slightest." With the bastion no longer needing any kind of excessive protection, I mingled myself closely to Kuzunoha, ying off as Lambda, the acquaintance of the arrogant and prideful Animaphage. In that timeframe, Kuzunoha reported her progress on the invention of the ''dimensional vessel'', alongside the state of the Drowned Revenant and our n about bending her to our will. Before I knew it, the sunrise was careening from the horizon and into the sky, waving their orchestrated shadows of hope through the patternful clouds. Then again, I began to feel doubtful that the light that was illuminated by the blinding ring of an eldritch ck hole could be referred to as ''sunlight''. Regardless, my fourth Ordeal was over, and the crew expressed their joyous gratitude to even live for another day in this fickle and unrelenting world. While some people like Lydia and Amelia were still as spirited to help around and take a look at the content of their pre-ordained Scripts, the majority of my eight buffoons had already imed the shabby hut that I build with the help of Naois as their humble abode, barely caring that they were sprawling and snoring on the ground. Verina also took this time to take a light nap as she leaned on the wall of the freshly deployed workshop. She seemed to be extremely fatigued in particr, considering that she needed to use more of her brain power to cast higher level spells whilemanding a rag-tag squad of nonsense. "I want to look from a close distance, but I''m afraid that I will wake her." It hadn''t been long since I proimed Verina as my most adorable puppy in existence. She always wagged her imaginary tail whenever she was waiting for my order, and I also started to imagine a small shift of her expression whenever her tone changed or if she was saying something more emotional than usual. She had also been protecting the cryopreserved head of Lupina like it was her own life. It was a little bit disappointing that Kuzunoha couldn''t take a barely living head into her arcane storage, so Verina still needed to carry around that fragile head everywhere on her back. I nned to craft a better backpack to amodate that head of Lupina after this ordeal, but my hands weren''t as crafty and divine as the original, so I decided to do itter when Kuzunoha finished with her most important experiment. Still, I could somewhat feel their disappointment that Narcissus wasn''t there when the sky changed into hope, after that terrible yet allegedly victorious encounter with the ever so-dangerous and mysterious Qliphoth Object. "... Am I getting a little bit too sensitive or what?" Chapter 138: My Fifth Day Living In Carcosa This should be my fifth day of staying alive in Carcosa. But if I went by the passage of times in the real world, it should be my tenth day, since one day in this world was the equivalent of two. "... To think that I had so much free time now that most of my activity is rendered inefficient with these hands." I still had my 1000% multiplier for Maniption, but it seemed like there was some sort of disconnect between my brain and this body that prevented me from performing my utmost dexterity like I usually do. My hypothesis still lies on the ipatibility of Narcissus'' brain piloting her own version of Valtherion vessel. "You look a little bit carefree for someone of your stature." Just as I was enjoying the sunlight and the breeze while my back was leaning on a tree, a certain lovely kilnn sneaked up to me from above. Kuzunoha was in her new private cabin, trying to connect and converse with ck Daffodil as part of her experiment for my soul, and maybe acquiring some revtion about her progress to establish the ''dimensional vessel'' in me. Yes, I referred to the void-faced dark-haireddy in my soul as ck Daffodil as to not be confused with Daffodil from my zero-sanity vision. "Having a big body is not really a privilege, you know?" I raised an eyebrow, maintaining my aloof disguise through an indifferent expression. "Have you met with Narcissus yet?" Verina went straight to the point. There was a hint of frustration on her face, despite the permanent deadpan that she wore all the time. Maybe my guesses about her worrying that Lambda''s appearance connected to Narcissus was true. Well, it couldn''t hurt to y along. "Yes." "Where is she now?" Verina continued as she warily took a seat beside me. The way she held her musket close to her chest signified that her guard was up and stead. "Your animaphage friend is a tricky one, she hasn''t revealed where Narcy is the whole time." "The realm manifested by the Qliphoth Object." I crafted an excuse. "The evil entity is all defeated and subdued, but both Kuzunoha and that gold-haireddy wanted to see if they can use the Qlipha for their benefit in the long term. "So right now, the scarlet-eyeddy is having some heart-to-heart conversation with the sea murderer." "Looks like Kuzunoha mad-chanting about using the Qliphoth Object has been rubbing against her." Verina sighed. "So, what is your deal here?" "I''m just helping until the leader of this group is back." "Doubtful." It appeared that she misread her gut feeling of distrust as ''this Lambda person is shady, and it must be rted to Narcissus since I won''t really care much otherwise'' quite deeply. Just to be a little yful, I curved the edge of my lips into a mischievous smirk. "It seems like I won''t be able to hide anything from you." "I knew it!" She bravely pointed her index finger at my face. "You have fallen in love with Narcissus, aren''t you? And you''re staying here to wait for her when shees back!" I couldn''t help but let my grin widen, amused by Verina''s usation. She was practically trembling, her deadpan exterior barely hiding the fire of challenge flickering in her violet eyes. "Fallen for Narcissus, you say?" I repeated, stretching out each word as if savoring it. "Well, who wouldn''t fall for someone with that level of... presence? Or if I''m to be blunt, the indomitable level of her beauty that may leave any mortal awestruck with emotion~" She narrowed her eyes, her pointed finger still aimed directly at me. "So it''s true! I knew it," she whispered, before immediately pointing her weapon at me, gripping her musket a bit tighter. "Everyone seemed to underestimate my instincts. But I could feel it the whole time¡ªthe way you were just too interested in everything going on here." I chuckled softly, lowering my voice to a near-whisper. "And here I thought I was doing an admirable job of keeping it subtle." Verina''s stoic expression wavered ever so slightly, and she looked away, just a flicker of hesitation betraying her usual calm. "You''re here to y a waiting game, then? Hoping to earn her favor before she gets back?" "What can I say?" I shrugged, letting my tone remain indifferent yet subtly yful. "I''d be a fool not to want her attention. Perhaps I''ll just wait here quietly until she returns and see if I can impress her and take her for myself. You know that I got the strength to do it." A patch of clenched veins could be seen on Verina''s neutral face. "Not going to happen," she shot back, her eyes gleaming with fierce determination. "She doesn''t need any more distractions, especially from someone like you, who just drifts in and out. "If you want a way of currying her favor that I can ept, stay here without doing anything crazy in front of her. Better yet, try to sneak out every time you feel her presence and keep your distance away forever from her." Aww, she was afraid that Narcissus would prefer Lambda over her. That''s adorable. I feigned a dramatic sigh. "Well, it looks like I''ve walked straight into a rivalry then. Though... I''d saypetition keeps things interesting and fresh, wouldn''t you?" Her grip tightened on the musket. "This is not aboutpeting. I''m making sure she''s protected¡ªfrom people with unclear intentions." She lifted her chin, her aura turning serious again. "You seem strong, and Kuzunoha trusts you, which is the only reason I''m not asking you to outright leave. But don''t think I''ll just let you have her attention." "I wouldn''t expect you to. But what if... say, she suspects you of preventing her from meeting any useful pawns and individuals that she might be able to utilize. Imagine the three of us working closely side by side,bining our prowess." I leaned my head to the side, lowering my voice just enough to let the suggestion hang in the air between us. "Your intention is pure, but selfishness is only a benefit to yourself, not to Narcissus." Verina''s eyebrows seemed to draw together, her face somehow remaining stony while her eyes betrayed a flicker of doubt. "Your words carry more poison than a colorful mushroom. As expected for an acquaintance to that devilish animaphage." "Ah, but you''re forgetting¡ªNarcissus is more than just a leader. Just by our short encounter, I can deem that she possesses a powerful,plex mind that could benefit from diverse talents and perspectives. Think about it¡ªhow sad she will be to see that you''re working against her instead of with her?" She opened her mouth as if to argue, but her gaze wavered. "I suppose... I''ve seen her get intrigued by different minds. But don''t get any ideas, Lambda," she said, her voice now a low hiss. "You may have strength, and maybe Kuzunoha sees you as a friend. But my role is something that can''t be reced, since my mind is the mostpatible one to absorb her otherworldly wisdom and intention. That''s something you can''t just... walk in andpete with." "Well," I said, "I suppose we''ll just have to see who manages to impress her the most." I gave her a mockingly respectful nod, but the spark of rivalry was clear in both our eyes. She turned, her expression stubbornly fixed, then nced back. "Don''t think I''m letting my guard down." "Looking forward to it," I replied, my smirk widening. "I''ll try my best to be close to you too~" "... Don''t think that just because you have a pretty face and a divine figure, you can seduce me out of my loyalty!" At this point, she began to appear like a jealous kid throwing a lovely tantrum. "Narcissus is prettier and divine than you! Don''t think that you can covet that position either!" Verina then proceeded to fly into the sky as her escape. Looking from how smooth and fast her ascension was, her telekic prowess seemed to be making significant progress. I felt so proud of her. When I get back as Narcissus, I should reward her with something more affectionate. It had been quite a while since we had any kind of skinship or private conversation that could bring us closer. If all goes well, I might be able to amicably solidify our rtionship with a sacred union called ''marriage''. "Making her be my first seemed to be the right choice to maintain her pride and role as my closest." We might possess a ratherrge age gap, but I don''t have any problem with bonding deeper with an old soul. Chapter 139: Lambdas Departure "Hmm~ I wonder when did I began to crave something as fickle as a rtionship~" It might be because of the nature of this world, but every moment together with Verina had a much more meaningful and stronger effect than that of time I spent with someone in the real world. Everyday was such a rollercoaster of gratitude and insatiable effort for survival, and it was solidified even more when our feelings started to be more mutual in the early days. Though, it felt a little bit too convenient that things fell apart to the right ce this quickly. "Right, that mysterious divinator¡­" This Loki person was the whole cause that both Lupina and Verina even dared toe to this ce, and I felt that something simr also happened with Kuzunoha. That one part of thetest zero-sanity vision made me begin to doubt the reality around me. Not to mention, there was also that bastard case with the massacre of my prisoners. "So much to think about." Anothing thing that I noticed was that there was a massive ipatibility between the mind of a former man called Lothair and the subconsciousworks and biological prowess of Narcissus. Some things matched with one another, and some things didn''t. For one, Narcissus'' overall thinking capability is much higher than that of Lothair. It didn''t ur to me immediately, but I could process information and performplex calctions much faster and more precisely than when I was a Lothair, who was barely able to keep a good score in his education without excessive studying. There was also some underlying rejection in my action and thoughts, and I found it morefortable to do and think of things thatpatibly align with Narcissus'' subconsciouswork. After all, it was greatly tied to how I could preserve and increase my Sanity. Before I knew it, hours had passed. Most of the people in this bastion had awoken from their resting slumber, while it was time for Lydia and Amelia to take their rest, knowing that there were people awake to maintain the bastion. In that time, Kuzunoha appeared to be done with her interaction with ck Daffodil for today. She had written her reports about it, but the reporting session won''t bemenced since ''Narcissus'' was not present in the bastion. After all, the meeting would also include Verina since it would break our bond and trust if I were to suddenly exclude her. As such, the meeting was postponed for a couple more hours, in which Kuzunoha began working on establishing the feature of ''dimensional vessel'' into my psyche and physicality. Speaking of the ''dimensional vessel'', the ''dimension organ'' of my reproductive tool also worked in my Valtherion form. One could imagine my surprise with how big ''that'' thing was, now that my body grew bigger than the average adult male. "It''s done!" Kuzunoha chimed after she doused my soul with a huge amount of arcane energy in her process of constructing the needed establishment to facilitate the vessel-switching between thetest pristine state of my original state and my Valtherion form. "That''s kind of you to impart me with the manual on how it works," I chuckled. "It seems like it will be a while until you can meet with Lambda again." "I will miss you wearing my outfit again." "I''m technically going to wear your other outfit when I''m back as Narcissus." I wryly grinned. "I will return naked otherwise." And using the same outfit after changing to Narcissus would rouse too much suspicion. Soon enough, a parting sessionmenced as Lambda dered that she would depart from the bastion because of some urgent reason. Kuzunoha, always enjoying her dramatic ir, pped her hands lightly to gather everyone around. "My friends, our dear acquaintance Lambda has pressing matters to attend to. She''ll be departing for now, but I have a feeling this isn''t goodbye¡ªmerely a temporary farewell." Everyone gathered, their expressions varying as they looked on. I straightened, giving a small butmanding nod to keep up the act. "Thank you all for your hospitality," I began, ncing over at the gathered bastioneers. "I''ve enjoyed my time here and wish you strength in the ordeals ahead." The recruits exchanged nces and murmured to each other. Kara, the stocky former brawler, grinned and gave a salute, her eyes gleaming with respect. "Come back anytime, Lambda! We could always use a strong-woman like you!" Beside her, Erika, the petite Deowl, gave a shy wave, looking as if she''d been caught staring. She flushed but managed to say, "Yes¡­ Safe travels, Lambda." Naosi, the weaponsmith, gave me a calcting look before nodding. "Hope you find what you''re looking for, stranger. We could use another round with someone as¡­ seasoned as you." Amelia offered a curt nod and a firm handshake, her professional demeanor unwavering. "Thank you for the support, Lambda. We''ll manage from here." Even Lydia, the cunning one, cast ast, appraising nce. "Should you return, know there''s always a ce here for someone as uniquely gifted as yourself, Lambda." A chuckle escaped my lips. "I''ll remember that." The rest were either silent or merely giving their gesture, but still genuine nheless. Then there was Verina. She looked at me with her usual stoic expression, though I detected a flicker of something lighter in her eyes. Relief, maybe? Yes, there was definitely a hint of satisfaction in her gaze as she realized ''Lambda'' would be leaving before Narcissus'' return. I met her stare, leaning in with a knowing smirk. "Well, Verina, it seems you''ll get what you wanted after all," I said, making sure only she could hear. "I''ll be off before I get another chance to meet Narcissus." Kuzunoha was confused as hell in the background. Verina blinked, a sh of triumph crossing her face before she schooled it back into neutrality. "That''s¡­ eptable," she said, with her usual deadpan demeanor, though her eyes gleamed faintly with satisfaction. "Thank you for the temporary assistance." "It was a pleasure. I hope your dedication doesn''t go unnoticed." I straightened up, offering her a knowing look. "Take good care of Narcissus until I return, won''t you~?" Verina stiffened, annoyed, but a light flush rose to her cheeks before she quickly regained herposure. "I always have," she replied, voice steady, though I noted her attempt to hide a smile as she nodded curtly. "Safe travels." With farewells given and a few wry smiles exchanged, I took one step back, gave them a silent wave, and made my way to the horizon like arge cheetah. I nned to have my exit with the fancy portal that Kuzunoha could conjure, but she couldn''t even do it without having the destination to be somewhere near me. "Ahahaha, I hope that I''m already far enough." Chapter 140: Dimensional Vessel With the first light of day on the horizon, I found a quiet clearing and came to a stop, bracing myself for the shifting sensation I was about to experience. Kuzunoha''s enchanted mechanism was finally ready¡ªa direct link between my original form and this newfound Valtherion physique. I closed my eyes, feeling a warmth spread through me as the spell began to unravel my current form. There was a rushing sensation, as if I were slipping throughyers of existence, each peeling back to reveal my truest, golden self beneath. My muscles shifted, receding from their impressive, hulking size, while my silhouette refined itself back to a lithe, graceful build. And finally, with onest breath, I felt the familiar lightness of my natural form. My long golden hair fell in silky waves, framing my face, which now held its gentle regality once more, with my scarlet eyes reflecting the subdued daylight in glints of warm light. It was like returning to the home of my own skin¡ªa feeling offortable, natural strength and ease. "Oh, back to my angelic self again," I murmured with a smile, my fingers running through my golden hair as I admired its luxurious sheen. With my transformationplete, I tapped the soul link channel and notified my bright secretary. "Kuzunoha, it''s done. I''m ready for whatever grand entrance you''ve nned." A teasing chuckle rippled through the link. "Oh, but I should make you wait a moment longer, no? After all, you were positively radiant in that other form. You really left quite the impression." "How cruel," I sighed dramatically, "To dy your precious Narcissus in need. Are you trying to imply my true form is not magnificent enough?" Kuzunohaughed openly. "Hardly. I''m just savoring the theatrics." With a crackle and shimmer, an arcane portal spun into being nearby, and out stepped Kuzunoha, her parasol casting shadows across the morning light. She took one look at me, then exaggeratedly ced a hand over her heart. "Ah, there she is. Truly, this is a form I am honored to call mine." "Trying to butter me up, are you?" I raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Always." With a practiced flourish, she handed over a set of garments with a snap of her finger, enchanted to weave into ce as it made me wear them. They were more understated than her usual mboyant taste but still bore her touches¡ªa midnight-blue cloak embroidered with silver constetions, an elegantly fitted tunic beneath, and practical yet sleek boots. A choker with a small silver lily finished the ensemble, lending a subtle note of formality. It was finally rightful of me to confirm this, but none of Kuzunoha''s dresses and outfits barely had any kind of enchantment or special effect and power, like the one I crafted with Cmity Alloy. They were still made with extremely high quality material, but not anything otherworldly or arcane-like, something that I didn''t imagine. They were what they were meant to be¡ªpretty dresses. As the fabric settled around me, Kuzunoha turned serious, flicking a finger to transfer a bit more of her knowledge through our soul connection. "Here''s something I didn''t mention earlier. With your new ''vessels,'' each body will retain the state you left it in. Any wounds, changes, clothing¡ªyou name it. That body will hold them when you switch. So I suggest you''re strategic with your outfit choices and, well, not to treat injuries lightly. "Oh right, I had also fiddled with your original vessel beforehand and nullified the Forced Foreignization state of your blood." She smirked with greed and lust. "Your blood is mature now, and you have be a fully-fledged walking panacea and blessing-giver." I snickered. "You''ll get your shareter when we''re back." "Oh my~ this is why I love our current rtionship~" "Think that we can maintain this in the long term?" "As long as you''re fine with me by your side." Kuzunoha mischievously grinned. "I''ll be the judge of that~" With our ns settled, we began the walk back to the camp, keeping to the wooded path. The morning sunlight filtered through, casting golden spots on the dewy ground as we made our way. I filled Kuzunoha in my interaction with Verina, and sheughed, twirling her parasol. "I would pay to see the look on Verina''s face when I mentioned my share of interest for Lambdater." A chuckle escaped my grin. "I think I know why you''re so fond of prodding people to their flustered side, now that I experienced it." "Fufufu, d that I''ve found myself a kindred spirit amongst my endless trailing in this world." She shrinked one of her eyes, with eyelids still parted enough to not be a wink. "I think she may adore you even more than she realizes," Kuzunoha remarked with a knowing smile. "But it''ll take some time before she admits it, even to herself." "Are you in the same situation?" "Oh, darling, I''m always stay true to my feeling and intrigue~ There''s a reason why I have been buttering you up ever since~" "Right, my skin is all shiny oily from all of the buttering." "I think the glisten of your skin is your default state of being, Narcissus." "Please, don''t make my cholesterol go up." Still, I found myself intrigued knowing that butter exists in this world. There were a lot of dishes using it that I wanted to make. If only I get my hands on it." Our conversation meandered, asionally drifting into talk of future ns and potential contingencies for uing encounters. Before long, we spotted the bastion nestled between trees, its hastily constructed walls and makeshift fortifications already familiar but holding a new sense of aplishment. As we crossed the threshold, the first person to notice us was Verina. She blinked, and then a broad excitement broke across her deadpan face. "Narcissus! You''re back!" The ripple effect was instant. The camp bustled with newfound excitement as others turned, realizing my arrival. Erika, still shy as ever, practically bounced with a timid wave, her wide, owl-like eyes full of admiration. "Wee back, Lady Narcissus!" Kara gave me a hearty nod. "So, you went and subdued that Qliphoth Object after all! Guess we''re in really good hands." "More than just that," Callista added, winking. "With someone like her leading and carrying us whole, we''ve got nothing to fear!" I raised a hand with a gentle, calm smile. "I had plenty of help, believe me. Kuzunoha and Verina were both critical in the task. And you, all of you¡ªwithout your perseverance, we wouldn''t have made it this far." The statement was simple, but the wave of cheers that followed was anything but. The bastioneers called out with confidence, celebrating not just survival but victory. I could sense the morale, the faith, that was now woven into our small bastion. After so much uncertainty, it was like witnessing a fire sparking to life. Chapter 141: Lets Feast! With all of this vivid emotion exuded, it seemed that everyone was already informed and even affirmed with the appropriate knowledge to know how big of a deal Qliphoth Object was. And seeing how they were this convinced, I also assumed that Kuzunoha did something that proved my victory, instead of a mere promation. Though, since they were uniformed of my Valtherion form, the truth might be more muddled than I expected. Regardless, it was a wave of positive reinforcement. Even Amelia, normally reserved, offered a nod and a brief, genuine smile. "You''ve given us a leader we can trust in, Lady Narcissus. We''ll follow your direction as long as it takes." Behind her, Lydia leaned against one of the barricades, her sharp gray eyes shining with approval. "Our future''s looking brighter than it ever did with the old crew," shemented, a rare look of genuine optimism in her gaze. As the sun rose higher, the atmosphere lightened even more. It wasn''t long before someone began a celebratory chant, and within minutes, our whole crew¡ªVerina included, though with her usual deadpan expression¡ªwas swept up in the sound of unity. Watching them all, I felt an unfamiliar sensation. Pride. These were only with me for two-days equivalent to real world time, but they had be my people, and I, their golden guide through the shadows of Carcosa¡ªbrought upon their spirit with warmth. And maybe the Scripts I gave to them contribute greatly to this very scene. Still, I''m quite d that I''m not as lonely as I thought I would be. "... This moment truly warrants a proper celebration." The celebration quickly gathered momentum, and I found myself drawn toward the heart of the bastion. Seeing the light in their eyes and the unified energy radiating through our camp, I couldn''t let the moment slip by without properly acknowledging it. It called for a feast, however modest¡ªsomething to cement our camaraderie and reinforce our shared spirit. And fortunately, I knew exactly how to turn the limited, foraged ingredients into something they''d remember for a lifetime. I shall be in Sir Aethe''s favor once again for this asion. "Verina, I''ll need the heat," I called, inspecting the collection of meat from hunted beasts, gathered herbs, mushrooms, and edible roots we''d amassed¡ªand some surprising edible parts from the Cmity Object we defeated. "Fire shall there be," Verina said as she set the numerous stove aze. The foraged offerings weren''t exactly luxurious, but that had never stopped me before. Abination of basic ingredients and skill could make anything enjoyable. Within moments, the campfire zed under their careful watch, and I moved quickly to prepare each ingredient, my hands working with the familiar dexterity that always filled me with calm. Erika passed me a bundle of wild rosemary and thyme, and I set to work crushing the herbs with a mixture of salt and wild garlic, creating a fragrant rub for the meat. While some of the crew were preparing the feasting location, some went on to hunt for more ingredients. "Looks like we''re in for a real treat again!" Yora grinned, nudging Erika, who was practically sparkling with anticipation. Amelia leaned in, watching my movements with analytical interest. "Honestly, you could charge a citadel lord a good ransom for your cooking," she remarked. "I still remember the first incredible meal I ever had in the bastion under yourmand." With a small smile, I took up a piece of game meat, seasoned it, and set it over the fire to sear. "If it were only about bloodies, perhaps. But there''s something to be said for sharing this with people who''ll genuinely enjoy it." While the meat cooked to a perfect char on the outside, I made quick work of dicing roots and mushrooms, adding them to a simmering broth with a handful of herbs for vor. Verina suddenly came by with a wild tangle of mushrooms she''d gathered earlier, and I nodded appreciatively, incorporating them into a side dish that could only be described as a rustic stew with wild onions and garlic for warmth. Seeing Verina getting worked up when I was cooking on arge scale like this made me remember why I often saw her as an energetic puppy from time to time. "Don''t suppose you''d consider making this an everyday urrence?" Naosi joked, eyeing the spread with growing enthusiasm. "Only if you can keep up with the hunting and gathering," I replied,ughing. "Though we''ll have to ration the leftovers." The fragrant aroma wafted through the camp as each dish came together, and by the time I arranged everything in grandiose proportion, the looks on their faces were nearly as satisfying as the food itself. They dived in, relishing every bite. There was no ceremony, just heartyughter, cheers, and expressions of honest pleasure as they savored the vors. It wasn''t long before their usual walls broke down, and stories and memories began to spill out, each person eager to share something of themselves with the rest. Amelia, usually reserved,ughed heartily with Lydia as they recounted an amusing, narrow escape from a particrly nasty Ordeal. Yora and Erika were deep in conversation, and Naosi was boasting, much to everyone''s amusement, about her "genius" in constructing a useful makeshift trap the other day. Then, with a look of curiosity and genuine awe, Callista leaned over, eyes shining with mischief. "Come on then, Lady Narcissus, tell us how you defeated the Drowned Revenant! That can''t have been as easy as you made it sound." I let out a smallugh. "I don''t know that ''easy'' is quite the word I''d use, Callista. The Revenant was as persistent as she was destructive." I paused, remembering the eerie realm I fought in and the tide of dark energy that felt so close to drowning me multiple time. "Let''s just say, there were moments when it felt like facing an entire sea alone." "Wait, ''she''?" I could hear Sera confusedly murmuring. She probably saw the Revenant''s form quite clearly. A collective hush fell over the group, each of them riveted. I continued, exining the Revenant''s tactics, her control over dark water, and how each strike was like trying to cut through an ocean''s weight. "It took more than just strength¡ªthere were times she forced me to rely on wit and, asionally, on¡­ a touch of improvisation," I said, smirking as I recalled some of myst-minute attempts to dodge her ruthless attacks. And also the huge amount of time where I was a brainless brute who parried the attack of the world-splitter with my Valtherion horns. As I reached the end of the story, I noticed Verina''s intense gaze. "What happened to your Soulthread Aegis?" she asked, her voice soft yet intrigued. I gave her a sheepish smile. "It was¡­ utterly destroyed, I''m afraid. By the end, there was nothing left of it, and I was practically¡ªwell, let''s just say I was less than fully clothed." The group erupted inughter, and I joined in, nodding. "Yes, Kuzunoha eventually threw a cloak over me, though not before she was finishedughing at my predicament. She even went as far as to ''lend'' me one of her dresses." "Heh, I was confused at first with how you appeared, but it seemed that Kuzunoha had been a rich nobledy in the past." Verina muttered, amused. But I could see relief, too, as she processed the reality of our encounter. The battle had clearly left its mark on her thoughts. Kuzunoha raised the edge of lips in annoyance. "You make it seem like I was avish snob before I met you lots." Wait, you were not?" "Next time, I''ll make sure to outfit myself with a spare or two," I promised, patting Verina''s shoulder. "If only to save us from relying on Kuzunoha''s wardrobe." "You make it sound like the contents of my wardrobe is cursed." "It is cursed with loan-shark sigil that will activate if there is damage done to the fabric." I snickered. With that, we returned to the food, talking andughing until we felt bloated. The warmth from the feast and the fires keep the afternoon chill at bay. I watched each of them, the crew who had quickly be more than mere recruits. In every smile, every conversation, and every expression of honest awe, I saw the beginnings of a loyalty and bond that would carry us through whatever Carcosa held in store. Chapter 142: Rewards For Your Contribution "... Why am I in this position?" Verina sheepishly uttered. "You don''t want to?" I whispered. "I don''t dislike it¡­!" After the festive celebration, I gave my bastioneers an extra two hours of free time, a moment to indulge or satiate whatever they desire. Of course, I already nned something after those two hours vanished. "You two are really enjoying this, huh," Kuzunoha said with an irritated smile. After doing some deforestation and proper construction, now that my hands were back to being miraculous as they were reliable¡ªwe held a meeting session to hear the report of Kuzunoha''s visit to the soul realm where ck Daffodil resided. Though, because of my mood and eagerness to reward Verina for her performance and loyalty, I put her to sit on myp as I purred and rested my chin on her shoulder, doing a little bit of cuddling for theck of skinship that we did for the past days. Time to time, I glinted a mischievous smug toward Kuzunoha. She had no idea why I did this, and it was a payback for freely putting my personal information on the table for everyone to learn from the past reporting session. "As you can see, my good friend and my honey dear~" There was still a tone of annoyance in her voice, but it was anything but hostile. "These are the reports for my today''s interaction with Daffodil." "ck Daffodil," I insisted. "ck Daffodil, ehem," Kuzunoha corrected. "I separate my reports into things that I directly perceive and experience, from things that I hypothesized and assumed into an unconfirmed conclusion." For one, there was a difference in appearance between thest ck Daffodil and the current one, but Kuzunoha confidently confirmed that they were still the same entity. Unlike the ck-haired void-faceddy in a business get up, the current form of ck Daffodil was something even more unexpected. To quote Kuzunoha''s report: A towering goddess-like figure stood, her form a living cosmos, with skin that shimmered like stardust and constetions woven across her flesh¡ªher presence was celestial and awe-inspiring, a universe bound in graceful human shape. Draped in minimal, flowing fabric reminiscent of ancient Greek attire, her ethereal garment clung like mist, revealing yet respecting the majesty of her form. Each movement caused gxies to swirl upon her skin, a dance of stars lighting up the void. Eyes aglow, she exudes both serenity and power¡ªa divine embodiment of the universe itself. "This encounter is certainly much more nerve-wracking than thest," Kuzunoha yfully sneered. "There isn''t many differences in term of personality, but I found myself slightly cowering from the overwhelming presence." "Well, the fact that your mind is still intact is a miracle," Verina said with not an ounce of emotion on her face, per usual. "You can''t lie because of the contract, and based on the things you reported¡ªI can''t see myself staying sane from stepping a single step into that maddening soul realm." Sometimes, I wondered how the hell that I got such a dangerous thing inside. There was also aplete recap log on the content of the conversation itself. Amongst some of the information that I didn''t mind sharing¡ªpreferably to show these two that they were close enough to uncover these secretive and personal sides of me, I also noticed that ck Daffodil felt quite hostile and passive-aggressive in her sentences. She was still cooperative nheless, but I could see why it became much more nerve-wracking than thest. "I also found out the reason behind your phobia of y," Kuzunoha chuckled. "Never would have thought that such a Cmity Object could exude that much influence over reality." "Hence why, pottery has been banned in our bastion ever since," I said with a gentle smile. Aside from those, there wasn''t anything noteworthy to mention and exin. Kuzunoha also didn''t get many chances to ask questions about me since ck Daffodil had been a little bit finicky in theirst encounter. After we finished our meeting about ck Daffodil, I suggested to Verina to rest further in the room I built for her. It wasplete with the proper amenities of a cozy cabin to live in, andfort-inducing bed that was crafted from the avable material and fabric. Even though she didn''t need it to stay alive and maintain a healthy body, she would still benefit from thefort and mood that would bloom from a proper rest. I pampered her beforehand for this very reason, after all. "Your task right now is to get your head prime andzy." I couldn''t help but smile at this hard-working kilnn. "Don''t think much about doing anything, so feel free to daydream about warmth and shiny things." Verina''s mouth opened slightly, and a rare flush of color crept across her otherwise cid face. Her eyes, wide with something between admiration and disbelief, flitted over me as if she were memorizing each detail. "Daydream about you, you mean, Narcissus?" she murmured, reaching out a hand, hesitant but undeniably drawn. Before I could respond, her fingers slipped over mine, gentle yet lingering. "I''ll admire you endlessly then," she whispered, almost too soft to hear. "Divinely perfect, beautiful¡ªmore than I could ever have imagined." Her grip tightened just slightly, her gaze locked onto mine, and for a moment, it was just the two of us, standing amidst a world quieted by her reverence. I chuckled, charmed by her asional boldness. "Verina, you''ll spoil me if you keep going like that." I watched the way her expression flickered, a slight glimmer of amusement tinged with something deeper. "Oh, believe me," she whispered, stepping closer and lowering her voice to a sultry tone, "I''ll happily keep spoiling you. Day and night, if you''ll let me." She lifted my hand to her lips, her gaze unwavering as she brushed a soft, almost reverent kiss against my knuckles. "However, as I''m tasked to be in the state of daydreaming bliss for the time being, I''ll ensure to achieve all of those promises with my mind version of you in my head." At that very moment, an exasperated cough broke through the atmosphere. Kuzunoha leaned against the doorway, arms crossed below her heavy bosoms. Smiling, her gaze narrowed as she looked between us. "It looks like someone is really going all out the moment they are given a chance to make a move." I smirked, arching a brow. "Why, Kuzunoha, feeling left out already?" Kuzunoha stepped forward with a grin, her voice dripping with mock dismay. "Left out? Oh, hardly. I''ve been admiring you long before Verina here ever mustered the courage to do so. Tell me, my love, who was the one who appraised every inch of your worth and beauty? "Tell me, was the one whomitted every second of her time for the very progress that you sought? Such closeness and bond. I doubted there could be anything that can amount to the sinct beauty of our cooperation~" This¡­ was the first time I saw Kuzunoha bing this agitated, ahaha. Verina''s eyes glinted with challenge, but her lips remained in their ever-so-slightly bemused line. "I''m not sure ''practically in rags'' is quite urate. If I remember correctly, Lady Narcissus handled herself perfectly fine without anyone''s cloak." "Oh?" Kuzunoha''s voice lilted, taunting. "Maybe not the cloak, but I certainly provided much-needed warmth, didn''t I?" She brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face, her gaze still holding that yful edge. "Besides, if she needed to warm her hands on mine, I''d wee it without hesitation." Verina held her ground, a flicker of intensity igniting in her eyes as she turned to me, voice sweet yet tinged with challenge. "That still doesn''t diminish the fact that you only appeared in this bastion before me." "The order of appearance doesn''t decide the winner to someone''s heart, my friend~" "But it does signify the order of importance, assuming the bond created between gaps." While they were having apetition with one another, I practiced my stealth and watched the chaos unfold with a bag of fruits in my hand. I''m not in possession of popcorn yet, so I must utilize any kind of snack that I have in my hand. Nevermind, their target changed from bashing each other to going back to teasing and flirting with me. My presence was not stealthy in the slightest all along. With chin held high and easiness exhaled, they ended their suddenpetition amicably like a pair of rivals who had known each other for years, increasing their favorability with one another instead of their favorability with me. It was time to give Kuzunoha her fair share of reward. As Verina slipped away to her well-deserved rest, Kuzunoha remained. Now in our private retreat, her sharp gaze glinting with an almost childlike anticipation. She could hardly contain her excitement, a rare sight that softened the usual sharpness of her features. For once, she dropped the cutting remarks and cynical detachment, her entire focus unwavering, drawn in by the promise of something truly extraordinary. And she deserved it. "Kuzunoha," I began, and she straightened instinctively, every trace of her habitual venom momentarily subdued. "I think it''s time for you to enjoy the fruits of your loyalty, cooperation, and¡ª" I let a mischievous smile creep over my lips, "¡ªyour endless teasing." She chuckled softly, though the eagerness in her eyes betrayed her more than her calm exterior did. She reached into her arcane storage, retrieving a slender goblet, polished and prepared in advance. Holding it out, she awaited her prize with barely concealed excitement. Chapter 143: Liquid Treasure Slowly, I lifted my left arm, positioning my wrist above the goblet, and with a practiced ease, I made a precise cut along the surface of my skin using the prepared knife. The golden liquid began to seep, gleaming in the low light, like molten sunbeams encased in ss. As the blood flowed, I watched Kuzunoha''s face¡ªshe was utterly transfixed, her gaze fixed on each precious droplet of gold as if they held all the secrets of the universe. This reminded me of what happened to Daffodil and that heartless witch. Well, atleast, I got myself partnered with an entric one. Kuzunoha exhaled in quiet awe as the goblet filled, her usualposure softened by the gravity of the moment. This wasn''t merely a substance to her¡ªit was the essence of a miraculous healing power, an ancient relic, a legend foretold in the lost history of Carcosa¡ªone she had only dreamed of. For the first time, I saw her approach something with reverence. Which made me think. How could she not find someone to be a test subject for the Xenogene Injector this whole time? The only reason that I could think of was that, she only got hand on the Theotech relic, she practically had no one she could approach thanks to her loner tendency, there was a conflict in her disposition that didn''t allow her to carelessly give out any of her belongings to others. Other than that, I also noticed that this body was essentially a fountain of blood, due to theck of side-effects from the amount of blood-loss that I experienced from the start of my journey as Narcissus. The zero-sanity vision about Daffodil also helped me reach that very conclusion. "... Valtherion Blood," Kuzunoha murmured, her voice just above a whisper. She held the goblet up, admiring the way the golden liquid caught the light, casting flickers across her features. Her eyes, usually narrowed with sarcasm or mischief, were wide with admiration as she studied the blood''s luminous sheen. "The stories and records about it didn''t do it justice. This is¡­ an utter perfection." It was akin to witnessing an avid collector getting their hands on a precious object in their field. "How long are you going to keep admiring it?" I teased, though I didn''t rush her. I, too, appreciated her fascination. "You gazed at that blood so passionately, I almost feel jealous that it wasn''t directed to me~" At my words, she nced up, her gaze simmering with something rare¡ªa warmth that nearly made me forget her usual barbed tongue. "Patience, Narcissus. Something this exquisite deserves a proper moment." It wasn''t everytime that I got called Narcissus by her. Seeing someone who cares nary of keeping one''s name, it really did make me feel aplished at gaining her trust. Nerve-wracking, Kuzunoha raised the goblet to her lips, inhaling the faint metallic, yet somehow invigorating scent. When she finally took a sip, her eyes fluttered shut, and I watched as she visibly melted into the taste, her entire frame easing as if relieved of an invisible burden. The effect was almost instantaneous; a deep, shuddering breath escaped her, and I could see her mind grappling with the overwhelming sensation. It wasn''t until that there was a strong vivid sign of ecstasy taking ce on her fevered red face, as if she had just indulged in something forbidden, something that even gods would like to covet for their own possession. "This¡­" she whispered, her voice thick with emotions, "¡­is unlike anything I could have imagined." She swallowed her saliva as the aftermath, visibly savoring the taste and the profound vitality coursing through her. Her hands tightened around the goblet as if anchoring herself from the overwhelming tidal, and when she opened her eyes, they held a dazed glint, as though the sheer pleasure of the blood had taken her momentarily beyond herself. "Seeing how satisfied you''re, it makes me want to take a sip of my own blood," I remarked, watching her expression, noting the quiet transformation it had brought. She looked¡­ softer. Momentarily vulnerable, as though the very essence of the blood had tempered her habitual defenses. "So, what do you think?" Sheughed softly, a sound devoid of its usual edge. "Essentially, it is irreceable." Another sip, and I watched as her face melted into an expression of absolute bliss. The profound healing powers of the blood were likely restoring her vitality in ways she''d never experienced, soothing her animaphage cravings with a potency that ordinary blood could never achieve. After a moment, she nced at me, a quiet but profound gratitude in her eyes. "This is¡­ something else entirely," she murmured. "You''ve granted me more than just a taste, Narcissus. The taste of this blood isn''t fully attributed by the fact that it is a Valtherion Blood. No~ "This Valtherion Blood became this enjoyable and priceless because it''s yours." She swirled the remaining blood in the goblet, admiring the lingering shimmer. "And I''m curious about its potential quality depending on your mental and physical state at the moment of extraction. "An Animaphage doesn''t only taste the physicality of the blood when they consume them, after all. We also took a fair peek at the emotion, soul, and also the mind of the owner of the blood~" "What did you peek at when you passionately savored my blood, then?" "A lot of things, surprisingly." Kuzunoha giggled. "Pride, satisfaction, longing, strength~ "And many other factors that might also conflict with one another, yet exist harmoniously within the vessel of the liquid gold~" She grinned. "I also tasted your towering willpower and hope for a better future, something that I find quite adorable to digest." Well, I did expect that there would be a day where she would uncover me naked, but never would have I thought that it would be this way. "I hope that with this, our partnership will be even more stronger and meaningful as time goes by." I said with my chin resting on the bridge of my fingers. "I will happily be providing you with my blood as long as you don''t get on my bad side." Chapter 144: Generalist-To-Be "I''m genuinely scared to get myself on your bad side, now that you mention it." Kuzunoha wryly smiled. "There is a great chance that I might be severely addicted to you, and I don''t n to sever the source of that addiction anytime in the future." "Huh, you''re not afraid that the addiction will severely impact you in the future?" "The addiction will be worth it." "What if I''m gone?" "I''ll just search for you until I find you." "What if I''m dead?" "I''ll just revive you, and make you immortal." Well, that was scary, seeing how she easily uttered those statements with so much conviction behind her sweet smile. After the sessful bestowment of reward, I excused myself to observe the state of the current bastion. The remaining of my blood in Kuzunoha''s hands shall be used as research material, and she was incredibly happy when I assured her that she could ask me for a couple of droplets when it was rted to the research in that field. Chapter Find: "Not in my wildest dream, that I would attain someone of her caliber." It felt a little bit too convenient that fate suddenly handed over someone of her skill and profession, and probably constitution¡ªI found myself to be ever-so grateful with every reminder that I made. My Mood and Sanity would be at sky height, if only not for the meta-level prank that I received yesterday. It kept me on my toes as long as I''m conscious, and I hoped that the gruesome incident wouldn''t befall someone that was close to me in this life. "It might be too early for this, but there should be no problem with my application." I held a meeting for the 8 newbies of my order, hoping to start something that will oust its influence. So far, I observed that despite their inherent knowledge of maintaining a bastion and making one, they were still constrained to their own specialist role and didn''t really care for the quality of their work as long as they were above the minimum. If I would exin it in the game terms of this world, their stats for the skill outside of their assigned role were mostly below average. This wouldn''t matter much as long as we have more people to cover up each other''s shorings, but this bastion operated with a minimum number. It was time to incentivize them to be generalist for a while until we achieved enough manpower. Fighting was not the only method of survival, after all. "Their Moods are still good." The eight bastioneers gathered promptly, disying a mixture of excitement and curiosity. They seemed ready, each of them eager, sensing that today would be a day ofyered importance. "Today," I began, ncing across the faces turned up to me, "We''ll be expanding those worths you all brought to the table." They exchanged looks of interest as I exined that adaptability would be essential in the current state of our bastion. They couldn''t rely solely on fixed skills in this realm, where survival meant more than expertise. It demanded resilience, adaptability, and an ability to pivot at a moment''s notice. Fortunately, they appeared to be quite eager to digest my words seriously, thanks to my achievement not only as a leader, but also as an individual who went toe-to-toe with a Qliphoth Object and survived. Also, the effect of the Scripts that I gave them might have already taken effect for those who had consumed its early content. Starting with the basics, I demonstrated foundational tasks, such as setting up defensive barricades, checking for weak points, and teaching them how to reinforce equipment in a pinch. Even Erika, our foraging expert, listened attentively, nodding as I instructed her on quick repairs that could mean life or death if supplies ran low in the field. I also gave them tips and information about foraging, hunting, tracking, first aid, cooking, and many things that I had already included in the Scripts of one but not the other. I even gave them some modern trivia from time to time through the courtesy of Sir Aethe. It might look like I was teaching and telling them of the things they know and are familiar with in their years of surviving in thend of Carcosa. But there was a ring difference in the efficiency of knowledge that they hold in this world inparison to the boundless information that had been procured in the modern world through a simple browsing and fact-checking on the inte. Heh, this made me realize that I haven''t been utilizing modern technology to its fullest when I was still Lothair at that time. After the initial round of general skills, I made my way to the workshop, calling Naosi to join me. Her trap-making expertise had proven valuable, but it was time to effectively introduce her to the mechanics of maintaining and repairing the bastioneers'' armor and equipment. This knowledge was vital not only for longevity in the field but for any unexpected skirmishes and ordeals that would push them to their limits. Naosi followed closely, her expression poised between curiosity and resolve as we reached the workshop. "This," I said, gesturing toward a set of gauntlets worn from our recent warfare. "Will be your task to repair today. It may look simple, but the details matter. Each piece of armor is a second skin, one that we rely on when all else fails." Naosi gave a sharp nod, reaching out to examine the gauntlet. She had the careful eyes of a trap-maker, attuned to fine details and mechanisms. I noticed the way her hands moved, precise yet searching, as she familiarized herself with the leatherwork and ting. "Look for weak spots, the tiniest imperfections," I instructed, pointing out a tear along the edge where the metal had worn thin. "A slight crack here could give way under pressure, which would be disastrous midbat. Reinforce it with a thin strip of metal, mold it to match the curve here, then secure it with rivets." The others observed, each of them studying Naosi as she followed my instructions. Her confidence grew as she hammered the rivets into ce, the sound of her handiwork mingling with the hum of anticipation around us. Amelia, who typically shied away from anything technical, watched with unexpected intensity. Her gaze lingered on the tools, her posture slightly leaning forward, and I saw an eagerness to understand more. I decided to put her curiosity to good use, calling her over. Then we moved to the crossbows, and then pikes, and I even began teaching her some of the techniques that I learned myself. "Amelia, think you''re ready to give Naosi a hand with the final adjustments?" I asked, holding up a finer file used for polishing and sealing. She looked momentarily surprised, but then her lips curved into a determined smile as she took the tool, cautiously refining the armor''s edges with Naosi''s guidance. All of this was something that I could easily achieve without breaking a sweat, but I want a future where I could just nap for an hour and have my share of work be done by my own underlings. My main goal to achieve in this world was happiness, after all. And to achieve that, I need stability. One by one, I led the bastioneers through various aspects of our base''s upkeep, assigning tasks that went beyond their specialties. Lydia, the thinker-than-brawn amongst them, practiced hand-to-hand techniques with Yora and Kara, our sharp-eyed scout and fighter. Meanwhile, Callista and Sera ran through basic first aid, a skill they might never need on their own but could save a life on the field. Erika was also there to help me teach them. By the end of the day, the bastioneers, by the least, had transformed from a scattered assembly of talents into a cohesive, adaptable unit at the budding degree. They were sweaty and tired, but the satisfaction in their faces spoke louder than words. I also encourage them to read their Scripts further for their passive indoctrination, giving them leads and how important and precious the content was by mentioning some of the topics that I covered in their personalized bible. Also began editing the content of some of their Scripts to adapt to their growth and new things that I noticed while working with them. Before I knew it, it was time for me to resupply the rations and cook some food for the fourth meal of the day-time. Chapter 145: Wolf-ish Revival "Looks like it''s time to see the miraculous property of the golden panacea." Now that I had 8 underlings that could minimally cover my work while I was doing something else, I had no pressing urge to work arduously to prepare for theing of the next ordeal. Or at least, not as ardently. As of now, I held another meeting amongst two of my precious confidantes. The topic was about bringing Lupina''s cryopreserved head back to life. With the dashing scene of a frozen human head atop the dining table, Verina and Kuzunoha worked together as they shared their knowledge about the spell that was concocted to preserve every living cell of someone''s head, including the fragile biological structure of the brain. We also got confirmation that Lupina herself was still alive ording to Kuzunoha''s criteria for a living being. Mass, design, lifeline, and soul. Lupina still possessed the mass that her soul coveted as her own, and so did the design of the gears and organs that kept her existence churning and with meaning in this physical realm. Within those cryopreserved masses exist her unthawed lifeline, cared for and passively maintained by the Theotech nanites within her crown blood vessels. Andstly, her soul was still anchored to the remaining bits of what she used to be, dangling like a person holding tight onto the rope attached to the edge of a cliff, saved before their demise because the world is suspended in time. We have prolonged her existence in this world, and we will bring her back into this ne with the miraculous property of my Valtherion blood. "Once she is free from the stasis, you must drench her mouth and surfaces of her flesh for the Valtherion blood to seep and take an imminent effect." Kuzunoha confidently smiled. "You confirmed that the Valtherion blood can indeed reconstruct your body back into its peak state, even if you were to be minced again and again by the wrath of the thorny sea. Chapter Read: "If what you witnessed and experienced is true, then this beast person should have her whole body be reconstructed, since there are no direct changes to the very codes of her mass and design." Her arcane powers were churning in and out of the cryopreserved head of Lupina, while she was assisted by Verina who cast that very spell on her dear friend. I positioned my hand over Lupina''s mouth, exhaling slowly to keep my focus, and when the spell was dispelled, I made the cut¡ªfeeling the sharp sting before a steady stream of golden blood poured from my wrist, cascading down like a waterfall. The Valtherion blood gleamed as it washed over her face, painting her lips and cheeks with its shimmering hue. It pooled and glimmered against her forehead, slipping down her cheeks and into her open mouth, seeping into every preserved crevice. The whole room seemed to hold its breath, the faint hum of Kuzunoha''s arcane energies filling the air. The leftover cold of the preservation spell dissipated in a glimmer of icy vapor, and Lupina''s pale skin began to flush with life. The blood soaked into her skin, spreading as if drawn by some deep hunger in her cells. For a breathless moment, I watched, waiting for the blood''s regenerative magic to do its work and restore her fully. Verina''s hands gripped the edge of the table, her gaze transfixed, and even Kuzunoha, ever the cynic, looked on with awe. Yet¡­ nothing happened. The blood seeped into Lupina''s skin, but there was no emergence of a new body, no reconstruction of muscles or bones. Instead, Lupina''s head remained there, her body conspicuously absent. And then, as if awakening from a long slumber, her eyelids fluttered. Her eyes blinked open, strangely golden and alert, filled with the same sharp, animal-like intelligence she''d always possessed. "...What?" Lupina croaked, her voice hoarse but miraculously present. Her gaze flitted between the three of us, confusion darkening her expression as she took in the odd scene. "What¡­what happened? Why am I¡­ only¡­?" There was a beat of silence, and then Verina let out a small, delighted gasp. "Lupina!" she almost cried, her voice thick with relief. She leaned forward, her hands gently cupping her friend''s cheeks. "You''re alive! You¡­ you''re here!" "I¡ª" Lupina''s brows furrowed, as her cheeks were being squished by her best friend, realization dawning as her eyes widening with mounting panic, but it appeared that this sudden revival rendered her null to even think of what was the issue to begin with. "I¡­ what!?" Kuzunoha raised an eyebrow, looking perplexed. "Strange¡­ Valtherion blood should have regenerated her body. We were meticulous in our assessment¡­ This doesn''t make sense." Well, I for one, was extremely confused by this situation¡ªespecially since I was the sole confirmer of the miraculous effect that could be produced by my very own blood. "You''re back!" With the return of her closerade, Verina''s face looked more loose and free of guilt, especially since she was the person who cast the spell of preservation on her friend''s freshly decapitated head. "You¡­ well, sort of." "Sort of?" Lupina frowned, still panicking, trying to shift her gaze around, only to realize her body wasn''t responding. "Wait, where''s¡­ where''s the rest of me?" Kuzunoha''s mouth quirked in a wry smile, though her eyes sparkled with intrigue. "Ah, yes, you''re¡­ a bit more condensed than you might remember." Lupina''s eyes widened in horror. "Condensed? What do you mean, ''condensed''? Where''s my¡­ my arms? Legs?" She looked as if she might scream, but Verina held her still, trying her best not tough. At first, I thought that Verina would be disappointed that Lupina didn''t get her whole body back. The same with Kuzunoha, I thought that she would be let down knowing that the Valtherion blood didn''t work as intended, or the possibility that I lied in my testimony when fighting with the Drowned Revenant. It seemed like my worry was unnecessary. "Rx," Verina said, though the shaping faint smile tugging at her lips made it difficult to feign seriousness. "At least that you''re still with us, Lupina. Somehow¡­ as a, well, talking head." Chapter 146: Lupina, The Talking Head Lupina''s mouth opened, but words seemed to fail her. She blinked up at me, a hint of embarrassed annoyance crossing her face. "You¡ªyou''re Narcissus, right?" "Yes, I''m your beloved Narcissus, alright~" I put on a smile. "I worried greatly for your survival, and it seemed like fate allowed me to speak with you in person once again." Lupina gasped. "... W-what happened to the cold and serious fairy I knew!?" "You missed a lot of character development, if I do say so myself." "T-then, is this situation supposed to happen, as in, uhm..." Lupina shouted in distress. She seemed to be still drowning in confusion. "How can I even speak!? How am I still conscious!?" "Well, your situation is not exactly typical," I replied with a grin, resisting the urge tough as she red at the absurdity of her situation. "But if it''s anyfort, you''re alive. And given what you''ve been through, I''d call that a sess?" Kuzunoha snickered. Looking at how she already started to gaze at Lupina fervently as if she had found a new specimen to dissect, she would definitely get to the bottom of this. "In a way, you''ve got the best of both worlds¡ªstill with us, and without the worry of pesky things like ''limbs.''" Lupina''s cheeks flushed, her bewilderment quickly turning into a mixture of indignation and painful realization. "Pesky limbs? Don''t joke about this¡ªI want them back! What am I supposed to do as a talking head? Am I supposed to roll around after you?" Verina couldn''t hold back herughter any longer, and even Kuzunoha smirked. "Well, we did hope the Valtherion blood would, you know¡­ rebuild you. Seems it only went halfway." "Valtherion what!?" "Maybe the problem lies in the amount¡­" I muttered. Undeterred, I cut my wrist again, letting a fresh cascade of golden blood flow over her, determined to trigger a full regeneration. Lupina spluttered as the thick liquid coated her face, seeping into every pore. "Hey! I''m¡ªglub¡ªdrowning over here! I don''t need a bath, just my body back!" Lupina yelped, her voice muffled as more Valtherion blood poured over her. I didn''t relent, allowing the all-healing essence to drench her thoroughly, though Verina and Kuzunoha exchanged worried nces as the puddle beneath Lupina''s head grew. "Narcissus," Kuzunoha murmured, eyeing the growing pool with concern, "You''re practically bleeding yourself dry¡­" "Not to worry," I replied, steadying my breath despite the increasing light-headedness. "It''s for a good cause." "Good cause or not!" Verina added with a note of anxiety, removing my hand from Lupina''s sky, hurryingly bandaging my wound as she cast a soothing spell that would help the blood from flooding out freely. "We need you to stay standing, and definitely not force yourself at the expense of your own precious health!" "Wait, that gold thing is Narcissus'' blood!?" Lupina was distressed while coughing out my excess blood that barely did anything to her. "Gyaaa! What are you doing!?" "Dear me, I didn''t expect that my partner in crime would be this stalwart." Kuzunoha started to join the group as she mildly panicked over my wound, probably knowing full well that the blood no longer healed me like back then. The scene became a mess as two trusted confidantes of mine, and a single screaming talking head began to drown me with their worry and attention. It took quite a while before we headed our focus on Lupina''s predicament. We started inspecting Lupina¡ªher face had gained a healthy glow, her vitality evident, yet her body remained absent, no signs of regrowth in sight. There were also no useful hints or status in her detail screen, making this situation even more of an enigma. Lupina blinked, apparently unharmed but thoroughly unimpressed by her continued head-only state. "Well, at least we know the blood did revive, since her head functioned as if her whole body was healthy, and exists." Kuzunoha remarked, attempting to sound optimistic. "Even if it''s¡­ unconventionally different than what we hoped." Lupina sighed, her annoyance melting into a resigned eptance. "So¡­ I''m just a head now. Wonderful. Well," she looked around the room with a mix of irritation and reluctant gratitude, "I suppose I''m grateful to be back at all." Verina chuckled, leaning close to Lupina with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Don''t worry, I''ll carry you around. You can be my little talkingpanion. I''ll even make sure your ears are clean, and maintain your orange-sunset hair." "Oh, please, spare me your jokes," Lupina huffed, her cheeks tinted red as she tried to turn away, though her limited range of movement only made her frustration more apparent. "Just introduce me to whoever''s here." She hinted at Kuzunoha, the most striking person in the room. "I can only re at so many people at once." I stifled a smile and nodded toward Kuzunoha, who raised a hand in a half-mocking salute. "Lupina, meet Kuzunoha. She''s the one who''s responsible for confirming your¡­ eligibility for revival." Kuzunoha''s smile widened as she looked down at Lupina with an almost predatory glint. "Pleasure to meet you, Lupina. I see we''ll have no trouble keeping you in one spot. It''s wondrously convenient, even for my high-standard of usefulness~" Lupina scowled. "And I see Verina still surrounds herself with sarcastic types. Wonderful. Maybe I should just roll myself off the table and save everyone the trouble." Verina ced a firm hand on Lupina''s cheek, stopping her from any further movement, though she chuckled. "You''re not going anywhere, Lupina. Not without your pesky limbs." "They are not pesky! They are mandatory!" Lupina cried. "I can''t be useful like this!" "Hush," Verina picked up her bodiless friend like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Your presence alone makes the living room increase in its worth of vanity." "I''m not meant for disy!" "We can also use you to scare the crows." "This is not what I meant by useful!" Lupina fell into despair. "My beautiful muscles¡­! My chiseled figure¡­!" Well, the bastion acquired yet another member in the end. Regardless of theplication, Verina was quite satisfied to have Lupina be back at her side. "Well, looks like we need to introduce you to the rest of the¡ª" Chapter 147: Elemental Conjuring Suddenly, a tremor rippled through the floor, causing Verina to stumble and attempt to regain her bnce as she held Lupina''s head. The entire structure shuddered violently, knocking over equipment and sending a few tools crashing to the ground. I steadied myself against the table, my eyes darting to Kuzunoha. Her brows furrowed as she muttered a spell under her breath, and her gaze darkened with an intensity that meant this was no ordinary quake. "Everyone outside!" Imanded, my voice rising above the unsettling rumble. Verina rushed toward the exit as her ck Wheels skated with full speed, still clutching a bewildered Lupina, whoseints were momentarily drowned out by the surrounding chaos. Kuzunoha and I followed suit. Outside, the scene was one of confusion and mounting fear. The bastioneers scrambled for stability, some clutching onto anything nearby, others ncing toward me with wide, panicked eyes. Their usually confident postures were shaken, and the ground beneath us continued to quake, far stronger than anything I''d ever felt in Carcosa. "Verina, the sky!" Imanded. "Yes." "Gyaaah! Since when did you know how to fly!?" Lupina shrieked. As the ground continued its disorienting tremor, Kuzunoha''s expression darkened, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Something''s not adding up here," she muttered, ignoring the fearful looks from the bastioneers who clustered nearby, eyes wide as they clutched their Vorrathite crossbows and pikes. "Can you find a way to directly analyze the movement of the earth?" I asked. "I know the exact way to do it." Kuzunoha rolled up her sleeve, muttering a brief incantation under her breath. From her fingers, a swirl of earthen energy materialized, pulsing and spinning until a small, stone-like creature took shape in mid-air. Hovering just above her hand, the creature hummed gently, wings of shimmering sand particles beating with a low, rhythmic pulse. Tiny veins of glimmering minerals traced across its stony body, its molten orange eyes glowing with an intense awareness. This must be the Elemental Conjuring that had been told by Kuzunoha''s detail screen. I''m surprised that she didn''t utilize it a lot. I tried opening whatever interactive screen that was attached to the elemental by the game world. ¡ª [Geodryx] [Description: Geodryx, the Earthen Seeker, is a small, hovering Elemental that resembles a hummingbird made of stone and shimmering minerals, with wings of glimmering sand particles. Despite its small size, Geodryx''s perception is unmatched, detecting shifts in the earth''s crust and reading subterranean patterns with ease. Its eyes glow a deep, molten orange, and with each wingbeat, it sends gentle seismic pulses through the ground to locate hidden resources, underground caverns, or shifts in tectonic tes. Geodryx hums softly, and when it finds a valuable deposit or a potential fault line, it emits a pulsing amber light, signaling its discovery] ¡ª "Geodryx, the Earthen Seeker," Kuzunoha intoned, her voice calm and direct. "I summoned you to uncover the truth of these tremors. Seek the patterns beneath us, read the earth''s hiddennguage." The Geodryx tilted its head, amber eyes flickering with a knowing gleam, as if acknowledging her request. With a faint hum, it darted toward the ground, each rapid wingbeat sending a seismic pulse through the shifting soil. The faint tremors it created were almost indiscernible next to the ongoing quake, but to the Geodryx, they were as distinct as a heartbeat, revealing the movements and mysteries hidden beneath the earth. Hovering just above the ground, the Geodryx emitted soft pulses, like waves in a still pond, each one seeking deeper, scanning further into theyers of earth. Its amber light glowed brighter, signaling its findings with a rity that cut through the chaos around us. Kuzunoha''s expression grew even more serious as the elemental work, her gaze shifting from the Geodryx to me. "Whatever''s going on, Narcissus, it''s beyond normal tectonic movement. It''s¡­ controlled. Directed. Yet, it''s chaotic in nature." "So it''s not a normal earthquake, if you have to say it like that." The Geodryx let out a soft, resonant hum, its amber light pulsing as it conveyed its findings. With a sudden, urgent sweep of its wings, it darted back to Kuzunoha, hovering inches from her face as if sharing its secrets with her alone. Kuzunoha nodded, her voice edged with a mixture of awe and unease. "The Geodryx has confirmed it. The tes are shifting¡ªyes¡ªbut not in the way they normally would. This isn''t a random upheaval. It''s¡­ deliberate. Thend is rearranging itself like aplex puzzle. Entire regions are moving across tectonic tes, sliding into new positions as if under an ancientmand." The Geodryx emitted a final, low hum before hovering at her shoulder, its taskplete. It turned its amber gaze to me, as if awaiting further orders, its body glowing faintly from the energy of the earth''s secrets it had just unraveled. Verina descended with horrified glint in her eyes. "There are visible edges to some of thends, and they are moving and grinding away from one another. Luckily, our bastion exists nowhere near the splitting of thend." "I have noment," Lupinamented. "Let''s talk while keeping our resources and workshop safe first," I prodded Kuzunoha, who immediately knew of her duty as the sole storage carrier of the bastion. "Still, I don''t quite get what''s going on." Verina stated. "Can you summarize the event, Kuzunoha?" While hurriedly moving from ce to ce Kuzunoha began moving from hands glowed as she activated her arcane storage, and supplies, materials, and pieces of the bastion itself began vanishing from sight into dissipating dusts, stored away safely for whatever was toe. "I''m saying," Kuzunoha replied, her voice unsteady but resolute, "That the surface of Carcosa had been separated into countless pieces and started to move erratically. It''s not an earthquake¡ªCarcosa is shifting." "Verina, can you keep the bastioneers in check? In the meantime?" "I''ll try my best." "It will also serve as this talking head''s debutante too," Kuzunoha chuckled. "Ah, now that I see it, we have a lot of people in the bastion now," Lupinamented. Chapter 148: Shifting Carcosa As the whole phenomenon unfolded, we hiked to the high ground inside our perimeter ofnd to take a visual grasp of what was happening. "This is crazy¡­" I watched as thendscape ahead rippled, immense fissures and gaps opened up in the distance. Mountain peaks in the far-off horizon seemed to rearrange themselves, forests folding and repositioning as if thend were a colossal puzzle. A vast, continental rift opened, exposing gashes in the earth that glowed faintly with an unearthly, molten light. Was this also the reason why I managed to stumble on Vorrathite veins in a ce without volcanic activity? Kuzunoha shot me a concerned look. "This isn''t a mere relocation. The entire continent is being rearranged¡ªno, it''s beyond that. Now that I look closely¡­ Every region is shifting, like¡­ like a massive Rubik''s cube." The vast scale of the shifting was nearly iprehensible; entire valleys moved like tiles, and massive rifts tore across the earth, yet nothing was copsing. Instead, it was as if the world itself were being restructured, reassembled into some unguessable configuration. Yet our bastion remained intact, like a solitary ind on a sea of shifting earth. Whatever force was orchestrating this change, it had a purpose beyond simple destruction. "What''s causing this?" I asked, steadying myself as another tremor rippled beneath us. "I''m afraid the reason for this phenomenon¡ªand any knowledge about it¡ªis buried deep within that Graveyard of Knowledge I mentioned." Kuzunoha''s tone held a hint of dark amusement, although her eyes remained wary. "So, this has already happened, long ago... back when the All-Dreaming Beast prowled with endless hunger." "Precisely," she replied, her voice tinged with frustration. "Even if I summoned every Elemental and cast every spell I know, it''s unlikely I''d uncover anything that could fully satisfy our curiosity." I exhaled, watching thend shift and reshape itself like a living puzzle. "Well, since this upheaval doesn''t seem entirely destructive, I''d say our best bet is to try and survive¡­ until the terraforming isplete." As the hours crept on, the bastioneers began adjusting to the constant rumbling beneath us, moving more steadily and finding their bnce despite the unsteady ground. The bastion itself was a scene of organized chaos¡ªbut still operating nheless, especially since this whole earthquake was not the strangest or destructive phenomenon that would happen in Carcosa. asionally, there was a spike in the tenacity of the tremor, but it was nothing that made any one of us tremble under pressure.. Verina''s voice cut through the noise, directing everyone to secure what they could. "This isn''t your average tremor, so hold your ground, keep low if you must, and move again the moment it starts dissipating." Even amidst the growling, my ears managed to catch some interaction within the bastion that was far away from me. "Why am I the only one head-only¡­?" Lupina asked, still confused and disappointed as her gaze darted from person to person. "Also, why are there only women in this bastion?" "Well, let''s say that our leader is an entric kind," Lydia quipped. "Huh, I guess I didn''t expect that she would be this entric." Kara let out a low chuckle, her voice gruff but amused. "Don''t worry, Lupina, you''ll get used to the strange and stranger." It seemed like Verina had sessfully introduced Lupina to everyone in the bastion. To my surprise, none of them questioned how in the world that we have a talking head as a bastioneer. "I guess I can expect even stranger things to happen from now on," I muttered. As the tremors became more rhythmic, almost like the slow beat of a colossal heart, I felt the entire bastion adapt, shifting from panic to a kind of shared eptance. Kuzunoha remained nearby, her Geodryx perched on her shoulder like a sentinel, its wings sending out gentle seismic pulses, constantly reading the changes in the earth. She had also redeployed the workshop and some of the material and provision after ensuring that our piece ofnd was safe from any kind of destruction. I also once asked Kuzunoha about the Elementals and how many types of them she could summon. With a boastful glee, she proimed that she was able to conjure more than 100 types of Elementals. Though, she prefers to not summon the majority of them because of the limitation and criteria that was imposed on her. She even mentioned that Elemental Conjuring was one of her earlier passions in life, only to be ditched for arcane learning because of how inefficient and meddlesome it was when ites to dealing with the Elemental that possessed insufferably personality and behavior. I asked her if she could teach me how to perform Elemental Conjuring, since the idea in itself was quite novel to me. Kuzunoha immediately broke my dream by saying that I had zero talent for it. "If you think about it, this ce is like a giant puzzle that keeps moving itself around," Callista murmured as she pounded a makeshift stake into the earth. "Makes me wonder who or what is rearranging." Naosi snorted, pausing from securing another makeshift tent. "If I had to guess, I''d say it''s the work of two petty gods who can''t stand seeing the world arranged in any way but their own. There''s an old tale about it¡­ I heard it a lot back in the home-citadel when the days were long. Of course, the ''Inquisition'' killed the legend, so there is nothing about it that can be dug now." At this, Callista perked up, a spark of curiosity in her eyes. "Really? Two gods rearranging things because they can''t agree? Well, that is definitely something that the Inquisition will try to shut about." "Oh, it''s more ridiculous than that," Naosi replied, a smirk tugging at her lips as she leaned on her stake. "Apparently, they''re like cosmic siblings. Ancient, powerful, and¡­ well, childish. They''re said to be pr opposites in nearly every way. One loves symmetry, the kind of order that makes perfect sense when you see it from above¡ªthe geometric beauty of cities, perfect rows, even down to the lines on leaves. "And the other, the second god, despises predictability. Finds joy only in chaos, in the asymmetry of wild forests and twisting rivers, where no two things are alike." Chapter 149: Suppressed Legend Verina, overhearing, began approaching them as she raised a brow. "So they just¡­ what, throw the continents around until they each get the world looking how they want it?" Naosi nodded, her expression caught between amusement and exasperation. "That''s the legend. Supposedly, theye around every few millennia to rearrange things, never content with how the other leaves it. "The first god carefully moves each piece, crafting a perfect grid, a pattern no mortal could ever see in full. But then alonges the second, scattering thends, bending rivers, lifting mountains with no rhyme or reason other than to undo it all. "This endless cycle of order and chaos, resetting the world as if it were nothing more than a ything. And now look at our current situation, sounds familiar?" "Sounds like a nightmare," Callista muttered, ncing at the fracturedndscape before us. "Imagine living with gods who never settle on anything." Naosi shrugged, her eyes thoughtful. "The elders always said that''s why Carcosa is so strange. The ground beneath us, they imed, isn''t quite solid¡ªevery part of it remembers being something else. A forest bes a desert, then a mountain. Maybe it''s just these two restless gods fighting over and they could never truly im as their own. "Before the Inquisition dealt with the legend, of course." Kuzunoha, who listened quietly beside me, began disying her thoughts about the topic. "And if it were true," she murmured, "Perhaps what we''re feeling now is the start of yet another argument. They''re bored, or angry, or restless. Whatever it is, it looks like we''re all caught in the middle." "Do you believe in the existence of those two gods?" I said. "Well, some legends are a mere mask behind what actually happened." Kuzunoha shrugged. "And at this point, it wasn''t that of a random straw to pinpoint the cause of this earth-shifting phenomenon." I also asked Kuzunoha about the Inquisition that they were referring to, since I had no recollection of simr information in my info-dumped brain on the early day. Apparently, the Inquisition referred to a certain duty of the Anthropocentric Order, a massive and vital humanitarian organization that exists in every citadel at varying degree and intensity. Kuzunoha exined that sometimes, a human heart might found a reliance on something far dangerous and harmful to a whole humanity as a whole, and it was the duty of the Anthropocentric Order vanquish any kind of potential informational hazard that could easily spread and grow into a cult withrge followings. Of course, the info dumps also mentioned a thing or two about the Anthropocentric Order, but not as clear to the point that I confidently could link the Inquisition to be about them. There is also the existence of the Anthropriests¡­ "Happens more often than you''d think," Kuzunoha chuckled. "The fact that Naosi''s still breathing might be a testament to skill¡­ or dumb luck. Or both." "Do you think we''ll run into the Anthropocentric Order when we reach the next citadel?" I asked. "Depends on how much influence they''ve gained there," Kuzunoha replied, shrugging. "Not every citadel is directly under their rule, but they''re undeniably the one steady force keeping humanity tethered to existence in this chaotic world." "So, basically, if there''s civilization, there''s the Order?" "Exactly," she said with a smirk. "For a citadel to even exist, they need at least one Anthropriest presiding over it." Huh, this information might be crucial if I were at the stage to make a citadel of my own. After all, owning and establishing a citadel should be the most stability-inducing achievement for my future in this world. Because for one, a citadel simply meant a thriving civilization. ording to the info dumps and Kuzunoha''s knowledgebined, a citadel stands as a monumental testament to the heights that human civilization can achieve¡ªa grand, stable, and well-protected society that surpasses the mere istion and defensive nature of a bastion. Unlike a simple bastion, which is primarily a stronghold designed for survival, the Citadel is a sprawling civilization akin to a nation, offering not just safety but also prosperity, culture, and opportunity. The key lies in the structure and stability. At its core, the citadel is meticulously structured, with vast walls and all sorts of defenses that ensure long-term security against external threats. Its boundaries are fortified by formidable technological and magical advancements, standing as an enduring bulwark against the chaos that may surround it. Inside these walls, the citadel is a hub of innovation, governance, and thrivingmerce, with unique systems in ce to maintain order and ensure the well-being of its citizens. This stability is what sets the Citadel apart¡ªa sense of permanence, unlike the transient or temporary feel of a bastion. While a bastion may offer protection in times of crisis, itcks the self-sustaining massive infrastructure that makes the citadel a true civilization. The citadel is not merely a ce to survive; it is a ce to live, to grow, and to flourish. "Kuzunoha," I uttered. "Can you teach me more things about establishing a citadel?" Hearing those words, a wicked curve of excitement began to widen as Kuzunoha squinted her eyes. "With pleasure~" The citadel itself is organized into distinct tiers, each representing a level of contribution, privilege, and responsibility within the society. These tiers, known as the Pirs, define the social structure and ensure that every member of the Citadel has a ce of belonging and purpose. The first one: Pir of Aegis, otherwise known as the Protectorate Tier. This is the first and outermost tier and stage of civilization,prising the soldiers, guards, and defenders of the Citadel, and the means to maintain it all. At this stage, the Pir of Aegis is responsible for having reliable defenses to ensure a high chance of survival against even the hardest of Ordeal. Soldiers of the Aegis need to be highly trained and respected for their role in keeping the Citadel secure. Unlike the isted defenders of a bastion, those in the Aegis mostly have ess to superior resources, training, and technology, making the Citadel a safer and more stable ce to live. After all, only when civilization is protected, things like agriculture and animal herding can be made possible. However, the Pir of Aegis is still at the stage where cooperation from other citadels are needed, alongside many bastions surrounding it until it manages to establish a strong foundation that would cement its economy and technological breakthrough. "I guess it makes sense, since the one foremost thing that needs to be erected in a civilization is the safety against the daily urring threat of the Ordeal." I sighed. Chapter 150: Citadel As Humanitys Pillars "When you think that you possess enough power to defend your people, you can go to the Anthropocentric Order and have one of their Anthropriest assess your citadel if they meet the requirement for the Pir of Aegis." Kuzunoha chuckled. "Most of the time, it will take a month before they deem that your citadel is safe enough to be one of the pirs." "And after the security, we need a strong economy, huh." After the Pir of Aegis, came the second phase: Pir of Forge, otherwise known as the Industrial & Engineering Tier. The second tier of a citadel proved that the civilization has taken a great advancement on production, invention, and craftsmanship. The Pir of Forge needed to have artisans, builders, and engineers who ensure that the Citadel remains self-sufficient and technologically advanced. Self-sufficient from weapons to infrastructure, ensuring that the Citadel doesn''t just survive but thrives. In a bastion, resources are often limited, with survival taking precedence over innovation. The Pir of Forge ensures that life is constantly improving. "What happens if a Pir of Aegis falls before they be a Pir of Forge?" I asked. "They it will be a fallen citadel, simple as is~" "Are you implying that a citadel asionally falls?" "They do, especially if we use centuries as the measure of time." "Nevermind, I forgot that I asked an ancient hermit." Andstly, the Pir of Lumina, otherwise referred to as the Intellectual & Cultural Tier. The third tier and phase of a citadel will need to possess a strong enough defenses and advancement, enough for them to be able to devote their civilization to knowledge, governance, and culture. Schrs, artists, and leaders make up the essence of the Pir of Lumina, as they are crucial for the citadel''s eternal development in both intellectual and governmental realms. After all, the Pir of Lumina needed to ensure that their civilization is not just physically protected but also culturally rich and intellectually vibrant. Education and enlightenment are core values here, in stark contrast to a bastion''s focus on survival. The Pir of Lumina cultivates a firm innovation, philosophy, and the arts, making it a much more fulfilling ce to live. "While a bastion may offer temporary refuge in times of danger, itcks the long-term vision and infrastructure that the citadel provides." Kuzunoha weaved her hand, conjuring her arcane dust to construct animated imagery of what a citadel should look like in the eye of the beholder. "A citadel is built for the future, offering not just safety but a life of opportunity, stability, and growth. It is a ce where people can dream, innovate, and build without the constant fear of copse." In the citadel, you are not just surviving¡ªyou are thriving. "And then there are still people banding together to form an independent bastion, I assume¡ªaside from being part of the guild, citadel''s military, or relic hunting." "Well, dreams are precious resources that can turn the world around, after all~" The private lesson about the citadel was very useful and informative. We also nned to continue this kind of teaching in the future, since I had already broken my all-knowing impression a long time ago. "I''m a good student to have, no?" "We''ll see the result of your heightened education with time, Narcissus." As the sun dipped lower in the sky, the golden light cast a strange glow over the fractured mobilendscape. The bastioneers were gathering around a central fire pit, resting in shifts to conserve energy amongst the quake. Though, some were still performing the work that they can handle. Naosi heeded mymand to maintain the supply of the bolt for the bastioneers'' crossbows. There was also Erika who was able to help carve the wooden ammunition with her talon. I was quite surprised that her talons were that sharp, she might need her own personal armor that allowed her to move easier and ws her way through danger. Amelia, ever the disciplined soldier, took up a post at the perimeter, her gaze scanning thendscape with calm vignce. She nodded to me as I approached. "Any luck in deciphering what''s happening out there, Leader?" she asked. "Not exactly," I replied, watching the horizon with her. "But Kuzunoha believes it''s not a natural quake. More like an ancient force moving the pieces of the world around." Amelia''s expression tightened, but she simply gave a firm nod. "If even someone as wise and old as Madam Kuzunoha doesn''t have a clear grasp on what is happening, then maybe it''s just another will of Carcosa itself." "Is there a legend pertaining to this?" "Indeed." Amelia lightly smirked. "However, unlike Naosi, my memory pertaining to it has been erased by the Inquisition, so I know nothing of the details regarding the legend you''re curious about." "The Inquisition is persistent, huh." "You''ll find their annoying and endearing side soon enough." "... Looks like you got me." I snickered. "It is rare for a fairy toe in contact with a civilization, after all." Amelia grinned vibrantly for the first time ever. "Let alone one that leads a pack of humans to build a bastion, sharing her precious wisdom and knowledge to mortals without any sacrifice prompting the action." "Well, your people died, and some of them be women now." "I guess we''re just very lucky then," "I don''t know what kind of experience you went through to even deem that tragedy as a lucky incident." Experience new stories with M-V-L ''I''m still living and breathing. Usually, that''s enough." "Can''t agree more." Overtime, the earthquake became not as noticeable, but the changingndscape and the moving bits of the region were still ongoing and strong. Regardless, we were d that we no longer need to be constantly massaged by the ground whenever we lean onto something. In the flickering firelight, Verina sat beside Lupina, who had quieted somewhat, taking in the surreal scene around her. Her head rested on a sturdy stone, her golden eyes observing everything with a renewed intensity. "This is still¡­ well, it''s something, alright," Lupina mumbled, a faint hint of wonder in her voice. "I thought I''d seen and experienced strange things, but this whole head thing takes it." Kuzunoha joined us, her gaze falling thoughtfully on Lupina. "Imagine the stories you''ll have to tell," she said with a faint smirk, "Once you''re back in one piece." "Hikh!" It might be me, but Lupina seemed to be wary of Kuzunoha for some obvious reason. As evening began to settle over the bastion, I felt an odd calm and readiness consuming the group. We had stabilized our little piece of Carcosa amid a shifting world, even as the earth continued its tectonic dance beneath our feet. The Geodryx was also called off, and we were back to time before we faced the Ordeal head-on¡ªminus the relentless training and focus. Chapter 151: My Fifth Ordeal Of The Dusk At first, I intended to continue building myndship today, but since the arrival of the recruits, I needed to rework the schematic design that I had in my mind. I also didn''t craft anything personally in the end, so I would be fighting against the ordeal with the clothing that was borrowed from Kuzunoha''s wardrobe. And I needed to give it extra care to ensure that there would be no damage done to the fabric for the whole night¡­ Well, I definitely built quite the temperature resiliency, and I also no longer had a problem with getting a cold since the Valtherion''s Blood appeared to be bolstering my immunity to an immense degree. "... Let me just go naked¡ª" It was too bad that a crowd of my confidante and underlingsbined were preventing me from fully undressing¡ªthough some of them appeared to be hoping that I undressedpletely. It was quite the chaos, and a lot of flustered red on the faces of everyone I knew. "I couldn''t believe that you hate my clothing that much to cause a ruckus about it." Kuzunoha held her migraine as she wryly smiled from amusement and annoyance. "I don''t like the deal thates with damaging it." To ensure that I won''t do something like that ever again, Kuzunoha outright gave me the outfit with a forceful smile. "Just, take it." "Yay!" Thanks to that, I finally got my second clothing set in my non-existent wardrobe. When the first stars began to prick the sky, I addressed my bastioneers. "Prepare to hold your ground. Whatever Carcosa decides to throw at us tonight, we will meet it together." Readtest chapters on M-V-L [The Ordeal of the Dusk will be approaching in 5 minutes_] [However, due to the absence of the Storytellers in this world, the Random Events will be regted to spawning a regr amount of Cmity Objects] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Per usual, I assigned Verina as the actingmander below me, together with vicemander Lupina who shall be with her all the time, tied to the waist of her friend like antern. For Kuzunoha, I made her focus on keeping an eye on the moving piece ofnd that we were inhabiting, and to notify me at any moment of potential threat. "May our will persist amongst the dark." As for me, I shall be a supporting leader for everyone and supervise every field in this bastion, together with my Fortcracker Mk II, and a Vorrathite Pike of my own that I crafted from the excess ore that we mined back then. After all, most of my equipment was lost to the Drowned Revenant''s realm, like my Emberfang knife. Thankfully, I still have my Broken Gloamkeeper''s Beacon, since I gave it to Kuzunoha for safekeeping before I went toe-to-toe with the seafaring Qliphoth Object. [P¨¥d¨©c¨¡b¨­ ego v¨­s et irrum¨¡b¨­!!@&%] "Cover the perimeter!" I shouted. "Notify at the moment of finding the special Cmity Object!" [A special type Cmity Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] "Lady Narcissus!" Yora shouted. "An unidentified structure has been found!" ¡ª [The Widow''s Forge] [Description: A massive, ancient forge that smolders on its own, surrounded by ghostly, hammering sounds, as if dozens of cksmiths are hard at work, though none can be seen. The air around it smells of scorched metal and sweat, and weapons and armor forged here appear indestructible but are cursed with terrible hunger for battle. Anyone who approaches the Forge is drawn to its fire, feelingpelled to craft something with their bare hands. Once crafted, the item binds itself to its creator, refusing to be put down, and drives them to seek violent conflict endlessly. The more they fight, the stronger the weapon grows, but the closer theye to bing a revenant trapped within the Forge''s grasp] [Hint: Only by submerging the item in a calm river can its curse be broken, but the object will dissolve entirely, which few are willing to ept] ¡ª "Ah¡­ I see¡­" Well, the problem was¡­ The Widow''s Forge exists in a ce different from thisnd. And as we speak, that forge was moving away from us to the north. "It looks like there won''t be any special Cmity Object for half of the ordeal," Kuzunoha chuckled. And thus, the start of our daily activity of keeping the pesky Cmity Objects away from taking our lives. The bastioneers settled back into their positions, casting wary nces at thendscape, the subtle tension of an impending threat still filling the air. Just as I finished a round of checks along the perimeter, Yora called out. "Lady Narcissus! There''s something shifting just beyond the eastern edge!" ¡ª [The Mirage Harbinger] [Description: A flickering figure made of shifting desert sand and water vapor, its form barely holding together as it drifts across thend. The Harbinger often appears during moments of intense heat or drought, offering visions of cool oases, safe shelter, or friendly faces. Anyone who follows it finds themselves led deeper and deeper into an endless mirage, each scene promising something but shifting just as they approach. The Harbinger seems almost benevolent, even protective, until its followers are lost in a mirage of their own desires, unable to find their way back. As they wander, the Harbinger siphons their strength and spirit, feeding off their desperation] [Hint: The only way to break free from the Harbinger''s spell is to ignore every mirage it offers, which bes increasingly difficult as thirst and exhaustion set in] ¡ª Across the moving neighbor rocky ins, an indistinct figure emerged, flickering like a mirage, its form wavering in and out of focus. The Mirage Harbinger''s body seemed to be woven from desert sand and vapor, drifting closer with each passing second. Even from a distance, its ethereal glow exuded a strange, tempting warmth, images of distant oases and shelter appearing and vanishing in its wake. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 152: All Manner Of Danger "Everyone, stay back," I ordered, immediately recalling its luring nature from the description I''d read. "Do not approach the visions. It will try to pull you in with whatever you desire most." The Harbinger moved slowly, its body pulsing with illusory promises of water and safety, just out of reach. Although, because there was really no reason in our biome and environment to need any of those hopeful visions, none of the bastioneers were really affected. Verina concocted a dastardly dangerous spell into her musket before sting it toward the Hawsrbinger''s face from far away. Unfortunately, overwhelming firepower wasn''t enough to ward off spirit-like entities. However, because it could still be influenced by the attack, I ordered the bastioneers to attack it with their crossbows, sending a flurry of projectiles alongside my Fortcracker, and more of what Verina prepared in her arsenal. Frustrated by the barrage of attack, the figure dissipated into a swirl of sand and mist, leaving only a trace of dried soil in its wake. The tension eased, and the bastion was safe once again. We collected a small bag of dried sand from its remains that dropped in our piece of movingnd, which I suspected might have some use in the future. It wasn''t after another hour where we stumbled upon the next Cmity Object. It seemed like today would be anotherzy day for the Ordeal. Just as we settled back, a strange glimmer caught my eye¡ªsmall, jagged shards of crystal appeared scattered across the ground near the center of the bastion. I opened the interactive screen to confirm my suspicion. ¡ª [The Broken Crown] [Description: A shattered, crystalline crown that floats just above the ground, surrounded by faint whispers in ancient, forgottennguages. Any who approach the Broken Crown feel an overwhelming need to pick up its pieces and put them together. However, with each shard they lift, their sense of self erodes, as the Crown''s original owner¡ªan old, fallen monarch¡ªattempts to rebuild themselves through the wearer. As the pieces are reassembled, thendscape begins to change, the world warping to resemble the lost kingdom of the Crown''s past. Anyone whopletes the Crown fully bes a vessel for the ancient king''s spirit, losing their identitypletely] [Hint: The Crown can only be safely discarded if the shards are returned to the ce of the monarch''s downfall, which often requires confronting their ghostly shade] ¡ª The shards faintly glowing and whispering innguages long dead. "Keep away from the shards," I warned. "Do not pick them up, no matter how strong the urge." Lupina, now securely strapped to Verina''s waist, gazed at the shards warily. "Why would anyone feel like touching broken ss?" she muttered, though her eyes were fixed on them with unnerving intensity. Despite my warning, the fragments seemed to call out, tempting the bastioneers to piece them together. Callista shifted nervously, shaking her head as if clearing a fog. Kuzunoha, ever the pragmatist, extended a gloved hand and swept the shards with her proficient telekinesis, and onto her gloved hand. "All we need to do is justpletely dispose of it," she said as she turned the shards into arcane dust and ignored its existence. With the threat neutralized, we continued our survival for the Ordeal of the Dusk. For the next three hours, we encountered themon Cmity Objects that we already met before, like the Bloodhounds, Sandstalker, Crawling Husks, Shardfiends, etc. We even met a pack of Skinwalkers. Thankfully, Verina and Kuzunoha was quick to identify the fake and banish the imitator without any further damages done to the morales and in terms of casualties. Though, some of us got wounded. They were all treated, not with my Valtherion blood, but with the avable medicines. My golden blood was still confidential, only known by my confidantes. I won''t use it unless we run out of herbs and medicine, or if one of us suffers a critical condition. It won''t also being from my blood vessel either, but from Kuzunoha''s storage. That way, we could just pretend that the golden potion was a precious Theotech relic that Kuzunoha looted from the past. ¡ª [The Lichen Queen] [Description: A towering figure wrapped in robes of moss and lichen, her skin pale and cracked like ancient stone. The Queen moves slowly, her movements graceful yet unsettling, and her touch causes life to bloom uncontrobly¡ªflowers sprouting from skin, moss covering armor, vines weaving through weapons. She whispers promises of eternal life and beauty, but those who ept find themselves rooted to the spot, bing part of her living garden. As they grow more entangled in the vines and flora, they lose their sense of individuality, their thoughts blending with the Queen''s, until they be little more than statues in her silent, green kingdom] [Hint: The Queen can be kept at bay by reciting a personal memory aloud, as individual recollections weaken her hold on the mind, but she often tries to drown memories with her sweet, hypnotic promises] ¡ª Later into the night, the air grew damp, a strange greenish fog rolling in from the south, and with it came the slow, deliberate footsteps of The Lichen Queen. She moved like a spectral figure, her towering form wrapped in robes of thick moss and draping lichen, her touch leaving trails of blooming flora wherever it fell. Her cracked, pale skin seemed to drink in the life around her, and a faint whisper filled the air, promising beauty and eternal life. "I know that this is obvious, but do not let her touch you," I reminded the bastioneers. "She''ll root you in ce, and her garden will consume you." I also took my time to inform everyone of the gimmick that the Lichen Queen possessed, since it would be nice if we defeated it withoutying a single ammunition or weapons. As she drew closer, her whisper softened, bing almost melodic. "Would you like to feel peace, atst?" Her voice was honeyed, each word sinking into the mind like warm soil, inviting rest, a return to nature. Lupina, held securely to Verina''s waist, was the first to chant and remind everyone, "Remember something personal, something only yours," she shouted to the others. "The memories keep her away!" The bastioneers each began murmuring aloud, recounting moments from their lives¡ªnames of family members, ces they once called home, sounds ofughter. I joined in, recalling the details of my life before Carcosa, albeit in a much more vague sense. The Lichen Queen paused, her mossy robes rustling, unable to draw near as the memories dulled her allure from ever taking a grasp on our consciousness. Chapter 153: Ink-Born Chase, Inspirational Hunt With a hiss, the Lichen Queen retreated into the forest on a different movingnd, her robes trailing behind her like a shroud, the dense fog fading along with her. In her wake, we gathered samples of moss and a length of lichen from the ground, carefully preserving them forter use. After that, the Ordeal proceeded to hibernate for a couple hours. We used this time to eat our ration and rest for those who felt drowsiness drowning their eyes. ¡ª [The Petrified Tempest] [Description: A swirling, violent storm that moves slowly across thend, but instead of water or lightning, it is filled with shards of ancient stone and jagged fragments of statues from different civilizations. The storm twists through the air, catching anything in its path and gradually turning it to stone. Creatures caught within find their flesh hardening, their minds filled with memories and regrets of long-lost eras they never experienced. The Petrified Tempest has no center; it''s a mass of fragmented history swirling together, drawn to locations of significant past events. Once it passes, thendscape is littered with statues of those who could not escape] [Hint: The Tempest can be redirected, but the method is not known by many souls] ¡ª Near midnight, a sudden gust of frigid air announced the approach of The Petrified Tempest. This wasn''t a storm of wind or water; it was a swirling mass of stone shards, fragments of statues from long-forgotten civilizations caught in a violent whirlwind. As the Tempest drew near, an unnatural weight filled the air, and fragments of memories not our own began creeping into our minds¡ªimages of ancient cities, battles, faces both familiar and strange. "Shall I?" Verina nonchntly asked. "You shall have the honor~" Frick the hint, we shall use brute force. Pointing her musket to the Tempest, Verina unleashed a concentrated torrent of wind that spread in formation, pushing away the iing cmity while also attempting to destroy the wind-path for once and for all. The rest of bastioneers aside from Kuzunoha could only wear a ''Yep, that happen'' expression from the sheer-powerhouse Verina proved to be. Even Lupina herself began to question if her pipe-horned friend was truthfully her all along. In the end, we managed to drive away, and eventually suppress the Tempest for good, all thanks to Verina, and a couple of countermeasure preparations on Kuzunoha''s side, in case that the scenario went south, which it did for a second. Not even ten minutester, we were introduced by another new Cmity Object. ¡ª [The Ink-Born Muse] [Description: A shadowy figure formed of flowing ck ink, with countless quills and brushes poking out of its amorphous body. The Muse appears to artists, writers, and creators, whispering inspiration with a voice like scratching parchment. Its touch fills minds with visions and ideas,pelling people to create works of obsessive detail. However, the more they create, the more they lose control of themselves, until they are no more than puppets, endlessly working on a single, impossible masterpiece. The ink it leaves behind is indelible, staining not just hands but memories, drawing the artist deeper into a trance of unending creativity] [Hint: The Muse can be dispelled by destroying one''s most treasured creation, a task few creators can bring themselves to do] ¡ª Finally, with midnight fast approaching, a shadowy figure slipped into the edge of our camp, flickering like ck ink pooling over parchment. The Ink-Born Muse hovered silently, its form shifting, countless quills and brushes sprouting from its dark, fluid body. It whispered in a voice like scratching parchment, weaving ideas into the minds of those nearby, visions of intricate works of art, stories and music, filling each person with a burning need to create. Its presence imbued me with many ideas and assortment of inspirations. And I could assume that it was the same with others. Well, these free embers of creativity were fine and all, but if we kept this spirit in this bastion any longer, and someone ended up creating something with those inspirations while they were still in its range of influence¡ªthey would definitely be doomed. As such, we immediately held a Ghost Hunt, using brute force once again in the hope that we could chase it out of our small bastion. "Alright, everyone!" I called, shaking my head to dispel the sudden rush of foreign thoughts crowding my mind. "Do not pick up a quill, a brush, or even a stone to scratch an outline in the dirt! This thing feeds off creative work and will have you trapped in endless creation if you so much as doodle." ""Understood, ma''am!"" came everyone and Callista''s voices, though her fingers already drummed against her crossbow like she was itching to sketch. I turned to Kuzunoha, who observed the Muse with narrowed eyes, a sardonic smile creeping over her face. "Looks like I need to join this bout. I''m one of the most vulnerable out of all of us, after all," she said, already conjuring a brilliant array of arcane mes around her fingers. "Why not?" I replied, hefting my Vorrathite Pike. I caught Verina''s eye, and she adjusted her musket, clearly itching to send the Muse fleeing with a show of raw power. The Muse drifted forward, its dark form shifting and swirling, as if beckoning us closer. Its ink-ck gaze fixed on Verina, and a voice whispered through the air, like scratching parchment, wordsyered with something both tempting and unsettling. "Create... bring forth beauty... surrender to the inspiration..." Verina flinched, caught off guard, her fingers twitching toward her musket as her usually cool demeanor slipped into intense focus. "Narcissus¡­" she murmured, almost as if the voice were guiding her hand. "I¡­ I can make a masterpiece out of you!" "Verina! You can do it when the sun is here!" Lupina shouted to keep her friend''s mind in check. "Think about it. Narcissus'' beauty can only be fully captured when her glimmering sheen of golden locks are met with the gentle sunshine!" "I¡­ I guess you''re right¡­" Well, that was fast. I didn''t even need to do anything. Verina took a sharp breath and pulled herself together, her eyes sparking with renewed rity. With a tight nod, she leveled her musket at the Muse, firing a blinding shot of crackling energy in its direction. The st seared through the air, temporarily dispersing the Muse''s inky form, which recoiled, twisting away from her. The Muse tried to regroup, its tendrils weaving intoplex shapes in an effort to mesmerize us again. But this time, the bastioneers were ready. Yora, Kara, and Erika, followed by the rest¡ªloosed volleys of bolts at the creature, their crossbow strings humming with the force of each release. The bolts sliced through its form, scattering bits of ck ink like oil stters. As if it was not enough, Amelia, Naosi, Lydia, and Sera had the spearhead of their pike lit ame with the help of rendered animal fat. They then bravely rushed forward with their pike aimed at their enemies. In the meantime, I reached out the spearhead of my pike to Kuzunoha, who enchanted a vitriol spell onto the metal with mes that could disturb the formation of semi-physical living matter. While being aggressively cornered through, the Muse let out a hiss, an eerie, scraping sound that seemed to vibrate through the very air around us. "I''ll add your dreams... your visions... to the masterpiece¡­" "Oh, no, you won''t," I countered, hurling my Vorrathite Pike for a sh with all my thunder. The pike struck true, slicing through one of its inkden limbs, forcing it to recoil with another shriek. In the flickering light of our makeshift torches, the Muse''s body seemed to weaken, losing some of its dark luster as we continued to bombard it with bolts and sts of magic. But the Muse was persistent; with ast effort, it reached out, extending a tendril toward everyone in the vicinity. "Not a chance!" I stomped forward and hurled my Vorrathite Pike with an almighty throw toward the ink-stained demon, igniting them in a ze of bright orange fire. As the mes leapt up, the Muse shrieked, recoiling in fear as it sensed the loss of any foothold here. Kuzunoha grinned with grim satisfaction, conjuring another wave of purple mes that formed a burning barrier between the Muse and the rest of us. "I hope you''re as skilled at running as you are attempting, little muse~" she said, as the fire red and trapped it in. With nowhere left to turn, the Ink-Born Muse let out a final, furious wail before dissipating, its ink-like body vanishing into smoke and shadows that faded into the night sky. It left behind only a single vial of its dark, indelible ink¡ªa potent reminder of its eerie influence, and something I would save for another time when its properties might be of use. "Alright, everyone," I said, stowing the vial in a secure pouch. "The Muse is gone, but the night isn''t over. Keep up your guard; we''re only halfway through." The bastioneers each nodded, their eyes still wide but filled with newfound determination. "Eheheh." As for me, I''m busy extracting what was left of the Ink-Born Muse, with the hope of making some interesting Cmity Alloys when I have the time in the future. Chapter 154: History Behind Names Thanks to the flurry of inspiration given by the Ink-Born Muse, I started to notice things that were usually out of my sight. For one, Verina was actually the name of a married Eastern Roman empress, and a prominent figure in the politicalndscape of the Eastern Roman Empire during the 5th century. Born into a noble family of the Balkans, Verina gained significant influence through her marriage to Leo, supporting his rule andter bing a power broker in her own right. She was the sister of Basiliscus, who wouldter be emperor for a brief period, and she yed an instrumental role in his rise to power. Verina''ster years were marked by her involvement in various conspiracies, as she attempted to manipte political events in favor of her allies, including supporting revolts against Zeno. Her influence gradually waned as Zeno tightened his control, and Verina''s political maneuvers ultimately led to her imprisonment. She died in 484 under uncertain circumstances. Despite her ambitious political efforts and strategic alliances, Verina''s legacy is primarily remembered for her role in theplex and turbulent politics of the Eastern Roman Empire, marked by family alliances and betrayals. "... Doesn''t really fit my Verina in the slightest." It might be a coincidence, but since this game tends to take or reference something from real life history, myths, and legends¡ªI might as well take this knowledge as a warning. And speaking of a person whose name matched with a certain prominent figure of the past, Kuzunoha was one of them. Kuzunoha is a mythical figure from Japanese folklore, known as a powerful and mysterious fox spirit, or kitsune, with a deep love and loyalty toward her human family. Her story begins when Abe no Yasuna, a young nobleman from the prestigious Abe n, rescues a white fox from hunters. Unbeknownst to him, this fox is actually a kitsune, a supernatural creature with shape-shifting abilities and mystical powers. Grateful for Yasuna''s kindness, the fox transforms into a beautiful woman, taking on the name Kuzunoha. In human form, Kuzunoha marries Yasuna, and they live together in harmony, eventually having a son named Abe no Seimei. Seimei wouldter grow up to be one of Japan''s most famous onmyoji, or sorcerers, known for his mastery of magical arts and connection to the spirit world¡ªa talent inherited from his mother''s supernatural lineage. However, Kuzunoha''s life as a human cannotst forever. One day, Seimei identally catches a glimpse of her true fox form reflected in water. Realizing that her secret has been discovered, Kuzunoha knows she must return to the spirit world, as she can no longer hide her nature from her family. Before leaving, Kuzunoha writes a farewell poem on a sliding door in their home, expressing her sorrow at parting and her enduring love for her husband and son. In the poem, she reveals her true identity as a kitsune from Shinoda and promises to watch over them from afar. This tragic farewell is considered one of the most poignant moments in Japanese folklore, symbolizing both the conflict between the human and supernatural worlds and the eternal bond of family love. Kuzunoha''s story is widely retold in Japanese literature, art, and kabuki theater, where she is often portrayed as apassionate, self-sacrificing figure¡ªa rare and cherished type of fox spirit who uses her powers to protect rather than deceive. Her legacy lives on through her son, Abe no Seimei, who carries forward the gifts of his mysterious, otherworldly heritage, using them to shape Japan''s esoteric traditions for generations. "Surprisingly fit." I ended up nodding to myself. "For one, my Kuzunoha is also a fox, and she has a proficient mastery in magic." And then there was me, whose name is not only the exact same with a certain huntsman in Greek mythology, but whose former name when I was still a normal human was the same with a certain historical figure. Lothair I was the eldest son of Emperor Louis the Pious and a grandson of Charlemagne. As the Emperor of the Romans and King of Italy, he struggled to bnce his inheritance of the Carolingian Empire, a sprawling and divided realm. However, his hold over the empire remained tenuous as his brothers continuously challenged his authority, undermining his capacity to unify or effectively rule over his fragmented territory. Despite his imperial title, Lothair''s reign was marked by political instability and external threats. He struggled to protect hisnds from Viking invasions in the north and Saracen incursions in the south, while managing internal dissent and maintaining a fragile alliance with the Papacy. Toward the end of his life, weary of the constant conflict and desiring peace, Lothair abdicated in 855, dividing his kingdom among his three sons, which further fragmented the empire. He retired to a monastery, where he died shortly after. Though Lothair''s legacy was overshadowed by the divisive nature of his reign, his reign shaped the future of Europe, as the Treaty of Verdun and his territorial divisionsid the groundwork for the emergence of distinct European kingdoms that wouldter be France, Germany, and Italy. "It was quite the tale, huh." I don''t know if it was rted to me somehow finding myself in Carcosa, but it sure was a nice tidbit to know after some surfing with Sir Aethe. "The Ordeal is hibernating again, it seems." While everyone was taking turns resting and scouting the perimeters in pairs, I sat by the central fire pit, absentmindedly stirring the embers as thest waves of the ordeal subsided. Kuzunoha felt a minor disturbance within the phenomenon of rearrangednds of Carcosa, so she had to standby and observe the underground activity with caution, preparing to notify me at any given moment if needed. While I was wondering what kind of things I should do to remove my boredom, Verina and Lupina joined me, both wearing expressions that wavered between exhaustion and amusement. "The perimeter is secured, and it seems that we will have a three minutes to a one hour break time before the Ordeal starts being active again," Verina reported. "Do you mind if we sat next to you?" "Sure, let me entertain you two with these thoughts of mine." Chapter 155: Three Friends In Front Of The Bonfire Verina happily nodded, and Lupina was detached from the harness on her waist, now held with both hands while ced above Verina''sp. "Verina," I began, ncing at her, "Do you know why you''re named as such?" "I think she doesn''t know why," Lupina quipped. "Regardless, I''m quite proud of that name," Lupina darted a dagger stare at her talking head of a friend, before continuing her speech. "I''m somewhat attached to it too. Why the question all of a sudden, though?" "Did you know that there was a Verina in the long-forgotten history of humanity¡ªan empress who plotted conspiracies, backstabbing, and political maneuvers all while bncing power with grace?" Verina raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "You''re not insinuating that I''m some kind of reincarnation of a puppet master, are you?" she said, though a hint of pride glinted in her eyes. "Oh, no," I replied, unable to resist the smile creeping over my face. "But I am implying you couldmand any empire you pleased if you wanted to." Verina leaned back. "I''d say my empire''s already well established here. And I''ve got the fiercest allies to back me." She nced at Lupina, whose brow furrowed, trying to decipher where this conversation was headed. "And also the most beautiful fiance that one could ever covet." For one, I''m surprised that the word ''empire'' exists in this world, considering that all civilizations were referred to as citadels. "Your empire?" Lupina interjected, narrowing her eyes. "Please, Verina, the only thing you''ve gotmand over is that oversized musket and maybe... a couple of willing bastioneers. But an empire? That is too early for you, my scheming empress!" She scoffed, though the amusement was evident in her voice. Verina smirked, tightening her hold around Lupina''s head. "Well, I''d say that''s one more kingdom than you''re presiding over, oh mighty head of state." "Hey!" Lupina protested, but it was hard to take her seriously, given she was entirely dependent on Verina for movement. "This head still has more power than you realize! I''m a literal visionary now." That was a horrible joke. "That is fancying from you, Lupina." I said with a chuckle. "You don''t have a leg to stand on in this discussion." Verina burst out trying to hold herugh, shaking her head out of hrity "See, Lupina? The queen herself agrees. You''re at a slight disadvantage here. Maybe sit this one out?" Lupina huffed, somehow managing to look indignant with nothing but her expression and tone. "I might be a head, but I''m a determined head! Narcissus, if you ever tire of Verina''s endless gloating, remember you still have me. We could form a formidable alliance¡ªyou could wield me as the first talking war club in Carcosa!" "As crazy as that sound, that will definitely make a certain someone very jealous," I replied, ncing over at Verina, who was mock-ring at her best friend. "Jealous?" Verina ced a hand over her heart, feigning shock. "Narcissus, the day you choose Lupina over me is the day the entire bastion crumbles." "Wait, that sounds a little bit extreme, don''t you think?" Lupina nervously chuckled. "I''m just joking, you know!?" "I''m also just joking, dumb-dumb Lupina." "Gah! It doesn''t sound like a joke at all!" I chuckled, finding it surprisingly easy to be around them, a kind of camaraderie that I rarely experienced with anyone else. It was a small, fleeting reminder of the life I''d known before Carcosa¡ªyet here I was, surrounded by these remarkable and ridiculous people. "Let''s make a pact then," I said, trying to utilize this merry state of conversation to deepen our rtionship. "The three of us: regardless of our rtionship in the future, we shall promise to survive until the end and help each other out." After all, a long time camaraderie or friendship would be as weak as any normal rtionship without proper initiative and connected established goals. "Sounds easy enough." Verina happily answered. "I''ll try my best to use my head for that very goal!" Lupina said with excitement. Verina then extended her hand, and I took it firmly. Lupina, looking determined, attempted to ce her forehead against our joined hands, her version of the pact. Verinaughed, and I unconsciously smiled, feeling oddly grounded in this world than ever. "Shouldn''t you two get some rest?" I asked, finally, though I was reluctant to break the moment. "Not until I get to hear what Narcissus thinks of the name ''Verina'' after everything we''ve been through!" Verina eximed for a jest. "Well," I replied, smiling, "Let''s just say that any empire with a Verina is bound to have its fair share of wit, power... and delightful chaos." "That sounds about right." Verina beamed. As I met her dull yet adorable gaze, a warm calm settled over me. Just as I was thinking this, Lupina, ever the rogue, sighed dramatically. "Alright, lovebirds, if you''re going to stare into each other''s eyes all night, at least have the decency to let me close mine." "But weren''t you nning to propose to me back then?" I brought out Lupina''s fervent attraction to me back when we were trapped underground beneath two Qliphoth Objects duking it out. Lupina''s eyes went wide, her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to deflect. "That was¡ªback then! I''ve matured since then," she protested, though the faintest hint of a blush tinged her cheeks. "I''m conscious of my own state and position. As if I can make Narcissus happy with only a head and a dream inside this skull of mine¡­!" "Giving up already?" Verinaughed, patting Lupina''s head with mock sympathy. "It is not like you to give up this easily. You''re always the adventurous kind of person." Lupina groaned, her eyes narrowing in frustration. "I said I''m over it! Can we all just pretend I never had a crush on Narcissus in the first ce?" She cast me a quick nce, trying and failing to act indifferent. "Oh, believe me, I could pretend¡­ if you weren''t so terribly obvious," I teased, giving her an amused smile. "And here I thought you were above pretending, Lupina." Lupina''s blush deepened, her defiance wavering. "Fine! Maybe I thought you were, well¡­ magnificent. Back then," she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. "But I''m a new person now! A head without burdens," she added, her eyes shing with a dramatic sense of resignation. Verina snorted from the sheer amusement. "A head without burdens? You''re practically drowning in them, heh. It''s okay to admit you''re still smitten," she said with a wicked grin. "But I get it. Narcissus is a hard person to resist, I''d say." "Thank you, Verina," I replied with a half curtsy. Lupina groaned, rolling her eyes. "You two are impossible! Honestly, I could get whish just listening to you flirt so shamelessly." She tried to scowl, but her expression softened with reluctant amusement. "I suppose it''s good to know you''re both fond of teasing, even if it''s at my expense." "Oh,e on, Lupina," Verina said, lifting her head a bit higher, "You know you''re secretly enjoying it. And who knows, maybe one day you''ll win Narcissus'' heart by sheer persistence alone." Lupina smirked, managing a defiant look despite her predicament. "Don''t count me out yet. After all, I''m a visionary, remember? If anyone''s going to change the course of fate, it''ll be me¡ªhead and all." Iughed, unable to hide my amusement at her indomitable spirit. "Then keep at it, Lupina. If nothing else, you make life here¡­ entertaining. And who knows?" I leaned in, dropping my voice to a yful whisper. "Maybe you''ll find a way to sweep me off my feet yet." Lupina''s eyes widened, her mouth opening slightly in surprise before she quickly looked away, cheeks bright red. "I¡­ I''ll, uh, consider that." Verina chuckled, reaching over to give Lupina''s head a friendly ruffle. "Dream on, little visionary." At this point, I already noticed four people who peeked and eavesdropped on our interaction. The whish of reaction on their face was quite the amusement on their own, and I can''t wait to see what kind of conclusion that they woulde up with down the line. It was time for them to know my rtionships with my own confidantes, after all. After that, we fought with some of themon Cmity Objects, albeit in much higher numbers than usual. It was simr to the aggressive swarms of Cmity Objects that happened when the Hollow Star was present in the night. Before we knew it, we were already close to midnight, preparing for the worst to descend into this selfish world. [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 25 minute_] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] Per usual, I already had Kuzunoha to snatch every resource and the very workshop of the bastion into her arcane storage, in case that the entrance of the special Cmity Object would cause a saddening damage towards my lovely working station. And if it happens to be another Qliphoth Object, then it should be confirmed that I had the worst luck in Carcosa when ites to the lottery for the Ordeal. Chapter 156: Nightly Healing, And Reward? While we were waiting for the clock to strike midnight, I proceeded to do something that I always wanted to do when my Valtherion blood got sessfully cultured into my body. "I''m ready." Inside the cabin, with both of her Aetherstride prosthetics removed, Verina sat on a chair with fervent anticipation. "Please, administer the miraculous water onto my body whenever you''re sure of your decision." "... You''re making it as if we''re going to do something regrettable with your body." Most of the bastioneers were currently busy with their own task, so not many of them would notice any detailed matter regarding this impromptu meeting with all of my confidantes present. And if that wasn''t enough, I had already ordered Kuzunoha to turn this building into an isted space. "I thought the prosthetic looks cool on you," Lupinamented,fortably being ced on the table in front of Verina. "So you''re saying that I should be disabled just to look cooler," Verina replied with her signature deadpan. "What kind of a disabled person who can fly around and move faster than Bloodhound!?" Lupina eximed. "By that definition, you''re regarded to have a healthy and fully-able body if you fly faster than a Bloodhound if we hurl you into the air with Narcissus'' portable ballista." Kuzunoha whispered right into Lupina''s ear. Lupina shuddered, drenched in cold sweat as she felt the breath of a maniacal mad scientist who had been eyeing her as a precious specimen since the time she was revived into this world. "If you ever feel threatened, Lupina. Feel free to shout my name as loud as you can." I smiled as gently as I could. "If that''s the case, I only need to sew her mouth when she is rendered unconscious~" Kuzunoha sadistically giggled. "It is easy to snatch her without anyone knowing, after all~" "Hiikh!!" Lupina''s impending doom aside, the result of this will tell us if my Valtherion blood was truly capable of regenerating lost organs and body parts. As such, whether Verina''s legs were restored or not would greatly help our understanding of why Lupina was still a singr talking head after being drenched with gallons of my precious blood¡ªto the point where Kuzunoha attempted to scrape the floor to collect it for herself. My left palm open, I held my knife and pointed the edge of the de toward my skin. But before I finalized the cut, I eyed the surroundings, only found multiple concerned face. Even Verina''s eternal poker face starts to noticeably crumble. At this moment, I was d that they were thinking of my safety. It was also quite adorable of them to be scared of me having a single cut. But then I started to retrace my gaze to my palm. There, the wound from when I chucked my blood waterfall onto Lupina''s face was still visibly gold. I might feel like I had an endless supply of blood, but my own wound won''t get healed immediately if I kept bloodletting myself. It might be because this body no longer had the scars and wounds from my earlier days, since it had all been healed when the Valtherion Blood was made foreign to my own vessel¡ªmaking a single cut wound look prominent. I also could no longer make my own blood be foreign to my body again, since Kuzunoha told me that it had developed some sort of immunity to that certain spell, preventing me from doing the same trick. I tried re-reading the description of my blood. [Valtherion''s Blood: The dormant gene of the Valtherion race fuses with the host, granting them the ability to produce an all-healing liquid through their bodily liquid. This substance can heal any wound, cure illness, and even regenerate lost limbs, making the host a living source of miraculous recovery. The gic enhancement also fortifies the host''s vitality, making them resistant to physical and psionic corruption] "Maybe this is a better way to do it," I mused, lowering my knife while eyeing Verina with a mischievous glint. I approached Verina closer, and lowered my head to her position. Without warning, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers. Her eyes widened in shock as I deepened through,mending my tongue for seeking entrance¡ªI figured my saliva would carry the same healing properties, and this method wouldn''t leave me drilled by concerned gazes. It might be because it was my first kiss, but I realized that I might be a little bit too aggressive with my tongue. I severely enjoyed the sweetness, however. "Mmph?!" Verina''s muffled protest only encouraged me further as I thoroughly explored her mouth, making sure to coat every surface with my enhanced saliva¡ªpushing out what was in my mouth while trying to prevent her from pushing back by interlocking our tongues together when she acted deviant. Her hands gripped the armrests of her chair as I continued the passionate exchange. "Oh my~" Kuzunohamented with her usual mischievousplexion. "What an... innovative method of administration. The surface area contact and absorption rate through the oral mucosa could potentially increase efficacy~" Kuzunoha was basically saying that I need to ensure that I marked every surface of Verina''s territory. "Eeeekh!" Lupina went haywire on the table, her ears standing on end as she tried unsessfully to avert her eyes. "I-I didn''t expect... should I even be watching this?!" I pulled back slightly, a thin strand of faintly golden-tinged saliva connecting our lips. "We may need more for full regeneration," I stated matter-of-factly, though I couldn''t help smirking at Verina''s dazed expression and flushed cheeks. "Shall we continue?" "... What¡ª" Before she could respond, I captured her lips again in an even deeper kiss. My tongue swirled and stroked against hers as I held her face between my palms. The stimting warmth of my saliva began spreading visibly through her body, concentrating in her lower half. "Fascinating~" Kuzunoha muttered, taking rapid notes in her head. "The transfer medium appears equally effective, perhaps more so given the enthusiasm of application." Lupina had fallen silent, though her twitching ears betrayed her flustered state. I maintained the kiss until I felt Verina''s legs beginning to reform beneath my hands. Though I appeared focused solely on the task, I was secretly quite pleased with everyone''s reactions¡ªespecially the way Verina melted into my touch despite her initial surprise. When I finally pulled away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I gave them all my most innocent smile. "See? Much more efficient than bloodletting, wouldn''t you agree?" Verina''s legs had been restored before she knew it, appearing as if it hadn''t gone in the first ce¡ªbut she was severely conflicted on whether she should celebrate the return of her body parts, or celebrate the fact that we had just french-kissed for an extended amount of time. Though, seeing the increasing favorability in her detail screen, it seemed that it was both. "... Firstly, thank you," Verina tried her best to maintain herposure, even though her face was visibly burning red. "Secondly, thank you¡­" She seemed to be at loss for words. There seemed to be a civil war inside her head/ "T-this¡­ this is unfair!" Lupina cried out, throwing her tantrum. "How can Verina get her leg back, but I''m still a decapitated head!?" "Is there any difference between administering the healing effect through blood and saliva?" I asked Kuzunoha. "Why don''t we try?" Kuzunoha slyly answered. "Well then..." I picked up Lupina''s head from the table, cradling her between my palms. Her protests died in her throat as I gazed into her eyes. "Let''s conduct another experiment, shall we~?" "W-wait! I didn''t mean¡ªmmph!" I silenced her objections by pressing my lips against hers, sliding my tongue past sharp canines to thoroughly coat her mouth with healing saliva. Her fur bristled in shock, but she couldn''t escape my grasp as I deepened the kiss. "Mmmnngh!" Lupina''s muffled whimpers filled the room as I explored every corner, making sure no spot was left untouched. Droplets of our fused liquid trickled down her neck where it ended abruptly. "The reaction appears different," Kuzunoha observed clinically, though her fox ears moved with poorly concealed amusement. "No visible regeneration urring..." I continued the passionate exchange, determined to test if increased quantity would help. Lupina''s resistance gradually melted into submission as my tongue stroked against hers. When I finally pulled away, she was panting heavily, eyes zed. "Unfortunately, still just a head," I noted matter-of-factly, though my lips curved into a slight smirk. "But at least you got something out of it, didn''t you?" "That was... that wasn''t... you..." Lupina stammered incoherently, her entire face flushed like a heated metal. "Fascinating how the healing properties manifest differently between subjects," Kuzunoha mused, while Verina watched the scene unfold with widened eyes, absently touching her own tingling lips. I set Lupina''s head back on the table, watching with satisfaction as she continued to sputter and blush. "We''ll have to keep investigating other methods," I said innocently. "For science, of course." I think I began liking science more after this. Regardless, we no longer had time to dilly-dally after this. It was time for us to face the timely boss fight of the midnight. Chapter 157: Somashift, And The Fifth Ordeal Of The Midnight "So this is how it feels like," Verina muttered as she changed between her biological legs and her Aetherstride prosthetics again and again. "It doesn''t consume any lifeline either, now that I think about it." Kuzunoha haughtily answered, "Yes, praise me more for my ingenuity~" After restoring Verina''s legs with the Valtherion blood, I implored Kuzunoha to modify our kilnn''s soul and vessel to amodate ''dimensional bodyparts'' that allowed her to shift between having a pair of proper legs or her Atherstride prosthetics. As much as she was grateful to have her legs back, she found it much more useful andfortable to wear the Aetherstride. I nned to craft a leg essory or boots that would allow the same function, but we only had a few minutes left before the Ordeal of the Midnight. Because of that, the Aetherstride were now permanently regarded as Verina''s body parts after some tinkering¡ªsince the dimensional bodyparts didn''t allow foreign parts when shifting between one set to another. Also, I had been referring to ''dimensional organs'', ''dimensional vessel'', and ''dimensional bodyparts'' rather loosely and interchangeably. Because of that, Kuzunoha and I decided to name this whole function and phenomenon as ''Somashift''. Likewise, we also categorized it into two levels ording to the size and criteria of the somashifted parts: Somashift Vessel, and Somashift Organ. A hand or a leg was technically an organ, so we didn''t really want to oveplicate the early phase of Somashift''s etymology¡ªalthough we were sure that it would be prone to modificationter down the line. And with it, we nned to evolve Somashift into something more than a mere organ-changing between private dimensions. "Everyone, be prepared for what''s toe." [The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 1 minute_] [This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent furtherplications in your immersive ying experience] As always, thest minute to the beginning of the Ordeal of Midnight has never been less nerve-wrecking than a major event going on in your life. Despite that, the bastioneers around me didn''t really exude any kind of visible anxiety. Was this because they were too used to gambling their lives everyday outside of thefortable grasp of a citadel? If I lived in this world long enough, would I be indifferent to the ticking bomb in my head? [ Qu¨© m¨¥ ex v!ersicu!l¨©s me¨©s put?¨¡stis, quod!? su?nt mollicul¨©, par!?um pud¨©c?um!! ] I knew that the appearance of a Qliphoth Object was a rare urrence, but I couldn''t help but be wary that I would get another one of them after encountering one the day before. [A special type Cmity Object have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_] [Attempting to analyze its property and identity_] ¡ª [ The Abyssal Harbinger ] [ Description : A towering, spectral figure with eyes like glowing embers that leave scorched, wed marks in the air. Its form is ever-shifting, leaking thick, dark smoke that induces despair in those who breathe it. The Harbinger drags a weapon forged from nightmares that drains courage with each strike. Its mere gaze pierces the mind, causing hallucinations of engulfing shadows and bottomless voids, pulling victims into a spiral of terror] [ Hint : The Harbinger''s strength wavers when confronted with symbols of unyielding hope or light, disrupting its shadowy form and lessening its grip on the mind] ¡ª While we stood on and that was ever moving to an unknown destination, a maddening existence appeared on the horizon¡ªa dark smear against the dying light. At first, it was almost formless, more like a storm cloud than anything solid. But then, it shifted, looming taller and darker, until a pair of eyes like molten coals burned through the haze, leaving faint scorch marks across the sky itself¡ªs if it wed at reality to pull itself forward. As it drifted closer, tendrils of thick, inky smoke oozed from its shape, curling and expanding in the air, reaching out like the bony fingers of some deep-sea creature. While the Cmity Object was still far away, I used this time to inform all of my bastioneers of what we were going against, "That''s the Abyssal Harbinger¡ªa creature of nightmares, born from the deepest, ckest voids, and it thrives on fear; its very presence seeps into your thoughts, wing through your mind until you drown in despair. "Its weapon doesn''t just cut flesh¡ªit steals courage, leaves you hollow, too paralyzed to fight back. And don''t, whatever you do, meet its gaze or breathe that smoke; both will drag you into hallucinations so dark, so all-consuming, that they''ll feel more real than the ground beneath your feet." One would think that I''m being hyperbole, but my speech was enough to entuate the danger that we would be facing. "Should we engage from afar?" Verina asked, already having a certain spell chambered into her musket. "It is too early," I said. "We don''t know how it will react, and if any of your spells and our equipment can even hurt it." "A wise way of thinking," Kuzunoha snapped her fingers, sending out a rippling wave of bluish arcane energy that coated every weapon in its vicinity, every bolt, and every spearhead with a zing glow . "This is not a sure-way to victory, but now our arsenal can damage it at minimum." "I also forgot to mention this." I almost forgot to give thest piece of information. "But the Abyssal Harbinger''s strength waver when against light and anything hope-rted. So make sure you choose anything luminous when concocting your spell, Verina." "I shall remember that." Verina nodded. "Don''t worry, I''ll remind her until she is annoyed by it," Lupina slyly added. For a moment, the Harbinger slowed down, before conjuring a spiraling portal. One of its smoky tendril inserted itself into the portal¡ªbefore conjuring a fourth-dimensional object of unstable form. Just the mere sight of its weapon was enough to bind all of us to the ground, unconfident of what was about toe. Chapter 158: Holy Objects And The Abyssal Harbinger "... I think I''m starting to hate fighting against a spectral-type Cmity Object that can influence our minds." The giant ''weapon'' it dragged trailed across the ground with a slow, dreadful scrape, carrying an aura that attempted to drain every ounce of courage from my body. I couldn''t look away; it was as though its gaze was pressing straight into my mind, cracking it open, spilling out nightmares of endless pits and creeping shadows that swallowed everything whole. The world around me dimmed, blurred by the thick smoke. Every fiber in my being screamed to run, but my legs felt like lead as if they''d forgotten how to obey¡ªbut it was not enough to make me flee from my position. At first, I thought that the others would be overwhelmed by this. That was, until I was reminded that I had the highest Psychic Sensitivity out of all of them by an enormous margin. Yep, they will be fine. "The Harbinger is entering our piece ofnd!" I shouted. "Everyone went to their positions except Naosi!" ""Yes, ma''am!"" "Kuzunoha, deploy the workshop and spew out as much wood and malleable material we have in the storage!" "Order recognized~" While they were guarding the perimeters, I started crafting like crazy. My targeted object of creation: Cross. "Should I make a giant one?" The Harbinger''s strength wavers when confronted with symbols of unyielding hope or light, but it didn''t say what kind of symbol. While not being the most devout follower of any religion, it was a well known fact that the cross is the principal symbol of the Christian religion, recalling the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the redeeming benefits of his Passion and death. The cross is thus a sign both of Christ himself and of the faith of Christians. It symbolized love for humanity, faith, hope, sacrifice, and victory over death. I started simple, carving out severalrge, wooden crosses. They were solid, unadorned, but unmistakably symbols of resistance and hope. As I worked, I could feel the rush of time closing in, but my hands moved faster still, each cross finished almost as soon as I began. "Move them!" Imanded the nearby bastioneers. "Adorn our bastion with these holy objects!" After making a good amount of crosses in all kinds of sizes and material, I started to change the product of my creation. If the cross wouldn''t be enough, I had to cover all my bases. I mentally cycled through every religion I could remember. My fingers moved to form crescents, stars, lotuses, and even the Wheel of Dharma¡ªI poured my focus into each one, ensuring the details were immacte. Their holy significance was more than just their shape¡ªit was the belief behind them, the collective faith of millions, maybe billions, that had been poured into these symbols over centuries. But it might not work on this asion, or even in this world overall. Hence why, I referred to them as holy objects immediately¡ªif the only belief that these objects possessed were my half-assed faith, then at least everyone in this bastion should believe that these objects were holy based on my acknowledgment and creation. I had always been regarded as some sort of divine entity by some of them, after all¡ªeven though I''m far from something holy with all of the traditional sins Imitted. I felt a curious presence behind me and turned to see Naosi watching quietly. Her eyes were wide, a mix of awe and confusion. "Are these truly¡­ holy objects, you''re making?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yes," I replied, my hands never stopping. "Even if they arenot holy objects in this world, they are one in different worlds and universes. Because they''re not just mere objects. They''re ideas, and ideas are powerful when acknowledged and pushed into realization." Naosi nodded slowly, her gaze shifting between the growing collection of symbols and the horizon, where the Harbinger''s dark form loomedrger with each passing second. The Harbinger was starting to get close to the bastion now. Its form, once a distant blot on the horizon, had grown into a massive, spectral figure, towering over thendscape. Its eyes burned like molten coals, each one leaving a trail of scorched air in its wake as it moved. The thick, oppressive smoke that leaked from its form had already begun to creep toward the bastion, curling around the walls like the tendrils of some great, malevolent beast. I could feel its presence pressing down on us, an overwhelming sense of dread that wed at the edges of my mind. But I shook it off, focusing on my task. With a final flourish, I crafted a massive, prismatic cross made of an amalgamation of materials¡ªone that stood five meters tall. I nted it into the ground at the center of the bastion with a satisfying thunk. "This should do it," I muttered, stepping back to admire my work amidst the impending doom. The rest of the bastioneers stood at the ready, their eyes fixed on the Harbinger as it approached. The tension in the air was palpable, thick enough to cut with a knife. But we were ready. The Harbinger stopped just outside the bastion''s borders. Its massive, glowing eyes seemed to narrow as they swept over the crosses and other holy symbols that now adorned the walls and the ground. For a moment, I thought I saw it hesitate. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, it raised its weapon¡ªa twisted, nightmarish thing forged from shadows and fear¡ªand let out a low, rumbling growl that reverberated through the air like a thunderstorm on the horizon. "Attack!" Starting from Verina¡ªa firm ray of luminous energy was sted off from the barrel of her lifeline-infused musket. Following it, were the barrage of projectiles that were imbued by enchantment that could damage the darn Harbinger. The sudden flurry of attack managed to stagger the abyssal giant, preventing it from ever finishing its hurling toward the wall of our bastion. And if that wasn''t enough, Kuzunoha cast a spell that conjured a spiraling pir of bluish, spectral, arcane me below the Abyssal Harbinger. The presence of the holy objects and the culmination of our every attack began to wear down the Abyssal Harbinger into a near-inactive level. Just as it was about to shrink twice its normal size, a spectral arcane hand erupted from the ground and grabbed the misty existence of the Abyssal Harbinger¡ªbeforepressing itself into the size of an apple and exploding into a bright luminescence light. "We won¡­!" Yora said in disbelief. "Let''s go!" Kara shouted "s, evil has been vanquished!" Lydia told herself in a prideful tone. The rest of the bastioneers cheered their celebration. While it might not be the hardest one we fought yet, it was certainly one of the most dangerous ones. After all, it needed solid interference from Kuzunoha, who had been bound to a contract that only allowed her to help in our fight for survival against the Ordeal if it was really a necessity. So the fact that Kuzunoha needed to act as the one who did the final blow was telling enough that, if we didn''t defeat the Abyssal Harbinger here and now, we would get heavily screwed. "... Wait," Erika muttered in disbelief, as her eyes weretching toward the far horizon of the ever rearrangingnds. "T-The Abyssal Harbinger! They are back!" Chapter 159: Three Abyssal Harbingers Erika''s words sent a chill through the air, and a sudden silence fell over the bastion. Every head turned to where she pointed, and I saw their heart sink before I squinted into the horizon. Three dark, spectral shapes loomed, hazy yet unmistakable, like distant storm clouds on the march. Three Abyssal Harbingers. Even from afar, I could feel the oppressive dread they radiated, as if their presence alone was devouring the very light around them. The brief relief from our victory evaporated, reced by a sense of doom that settled over us like a second, suffocating skin. Verina turned to me, her expression unusually anxious. "I''ll try not to be frugal with my lifeline this time." For a moment, there was no sound but the faint rustle of equipment as the bastioneers tightened their grips on their weapons, their expressions a mix of horror and grim determination. "Brace yourselves!" Imanded, attempting to shake off the deep dread wing at my mind. "We''ve faced one Harbinger before and won. Three might be an overstatement, but we''ll endure this together!" I forced as much assurance into my voice as I could, hoping it would rally the others. Verina readied her musket, casting an anxious nce at the faint glow of our holy symbols. "They worked once," she muttered, "It will work three more." Kuzunoha was already preparing another barrage of enchantments and spells, her face appearing to be that of an amusement puppeteer, genuine with her intention to help, but vague in her true feeling. "I can interfere as I did before, but I won''t but doing so without any casualties this time," she warned, her gaze piercing as she met my eyes. "If you are to push through this, darling, you''ll need more than just wit." She was basically implying that I should shift to my Valtherion form. As much as I wanted to finish this job done and dusted, I sensed a faint etching of pride inside me. If I were to always rely on my Valtherion form, I won''t be able to grow as a leader and a person. I''ll see at the very edge of danger on whether I should transform into my Valtherion form or not. "Keep an eye on their distance, and notify me of their advancement!" I said, already starting toward the workshop. The bastioneers moved into position with nearly military precision, each one visibly steeling themselves. My heart swelled with pride at their resolve, but my mind raced with worry. I threw myself into my workshop, mming open the door,hands already reaching for tools and materials to craft more crosses, more crescents, more stars¡ªanything that could hold even a semnce of holiness. It was during this desperate effort that Verina''s voice called urgently from the wall. "Narcissus! You need to see this!" Without a second thought, I dropped my tools and rushed to her side, heart pounding. When I reached the wall and peered out, my breath caught. Moving with amanding presence across the battlefield was a human figure unlike any I had ever seen. She stood tall, d in armor of burnished goldyered over heavy metal, inscribed with holy symbols and intricate patterns. A crimson cape flowed behind her, adorned with golden litanies that seemed to glow with an inner light, each word a small testament to faith. From her waist hung banners bearing sacred texts, swaying gently as she moved, and strapped to her back was a giant, two-meter cross, gleaming with technological intricacies that made it appear both ancient and advanced. Her skin was a deep, ashen gray adorned with elegant tattoos of golden text covering every inch of her visible surface¡ªonly her face remained bare, save for two thin, golden lines that stretched from her forehead to her chin, framing her radiant, luminous gold eyes that could be seen shining from afar. Her shoulder-length white hair framed her face, the stark contrast making her look like a celestial avenger. In one hand, she wielded a spiked mace, which zed with ethereal light. In the other, a whip braided from sanctified leather and chain, tipped with a holy emblem that glowed with a fierce energy. She was a living monument to faith and strength, each step exuding a radiant authority that was as calming as it was terrifying. And in her direct confrontation with the three Abyssal Harbingers, her deep and mature voice boomed as though her presence was bigger than the battlefield she was in. "Where the darkness gathers, there must the light be sown," she proimed, her voice both fierce and reverent. "In the wastnd devoid of society, I am but a shield raised high, a me held against the endless night!" Her speech was so cheesy! But it strangely fit the asion! With each step, she grew closer, her massive cross shifting on her back, catching glints of light in its intricate holy engravings. Her gaze, unwavering and fixed on the Abyssal Harbingers before her, burned with a golden fire that seemed as ancient as it was resolute. Her armor gleamed with every movement, each etched line of holy scripture visible even from afar. "Doubt may steal the hearts of those unguarded, and shadows may consume the timid." Her hand tightened around the sanctified whip in her grip, the spiked emblem glowing with ethereal energy as she continued, "But we, who have pledged our lives to virtue and to faith, are bound to meet despair with unyielding steel!" She nted her feet, lifting her mace with purpose as she red up at the spectral giants. Her furrowed gaze was as sharp as the sanctified edges of her armor, glinting as she addressed the figures towering above her. "I stand here a vanguard!" she valiantly dered, "Armed not by mere weaponry but by the endless hope that lives in each soul that has ever dared to dream of light within the dark. You, creatures of the abyss, know this well," she called out to the Harbingers, her voice echoing with challenge, "Where there is darkness, so too shall light grow. You may shadow the earth and poison the air, but your dominion falters before the faithful heart. For I am no mere mortal in your path¡ªI am Dame Theresa, a member of the martyred Sisters of Aegis, and my faith shall shatter you!" The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 160: Theresa, The Virtuous With a final, defiant cry, the knight surged forward, her cross-pressed cape billowing out behind her, and swung her mace toward the first Abyssal Harbinger. The heavy weapon crashed into its form, sending arcs of holy light splintering through the air, sanctifying the very ground beneath her feet. Her whipshed out, each strike a deadly arc, infused with an aura so potent that even the ethereal shadows of the Harbingers seemed to falter. In her presence, thend itself seemed to bend to her will, purged and consecrated with every blow she delivered. The Harbingers recoiled from her light, their dark tendrils reaching out in desperation only to be driven back by the brilliance of her faith. "For even the darkest night," she dered, her voice ringing over the battlefield that we have no part of, "Cannot oust the dawn!" And with that, she tore into the Harbingers, a one-woman vanguard against the nightmare, her every strike a promation of defiance, her every word an anchor of hope. Verina was watching, awe-struck. "She''s... unstoppable." The knight moved from one Harbinger to the next, her whipshing with expert precision, each strike tearing away pieces of their smoky forms as if peeling awayyers of shadow. Her mace crashed down with a thunderous finality, each blow breaking apart the Harbingers, leaving hallowed ground in her wake. As she moved, holy light pulsed from her, flooding the battlefield and sending waves of calm through our bastion. The thick, smoky despair that clung to the air dissipated, reced by a strange, almost peaceful rity. I nced around, seeing that even the bastioneers looked uplifted, their fear momentarily forgotten in the knight''s radiant presence. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Thest Abyssal Harbinger shrieked in defiance, but the knight''s whip silenced it with one final, decisive strike. It burst apart in a blinding sh of light, leaving nothing but hallowed ground where it had stood. The battlefield fell silent, save for the soft rustling of the knight''s banners in the breeze. The knight turned toward us, her gaze steady, and approached with an unhurried stride. She stopped just outside our bastion''s entrance and removed her helm, revealing a face that was both stern and gentle, framed by that stark white hair and marked by the glowing golden tattoos. With a bow, she addressed me. "I am Dame Theresa, a member of the Sisters of Aegis of the Anthropocentric Order. Ie in offering both peace and unquestionable protection!" Her voice was deep and resonant,ced with warmth, and I felt her words settling like a balm over our nerves. There seemed to be some rather overwhelming glint of excitement and curiosity in her eyes that I couldn''t make it out yet. While she was not so far away likest time, I finally managed to open her detail screen. ¡ª [ Theresa ] [Human, Female, Age 34, Sisters of Aegis] ¡ª Abilities ¡ª [ Sacred Ground : This individual can consecrate the area around her, transforming it into hallowed ground for a limited time. While active, this ability creates a sanctuary that repels dark entities, weakens malevolent powers, and soothes the wounds and spirits of allies within its radius. Those in the area feel a surge of calm and courage, while any unholy beings are struck with an overwhelming urge to retreat] [ Divine Fortitude : Through unwavering faith, this individual ispletely resistant to any evil influences, charms, or temptations. This immunity allows her to remain steadfast against corruption, dark magic, or even the psychological tactics of her enemies. Her presence acts as a beacon of light and integrity, inspiring purity and resolve in those around her] ¡ª Highlighted Traits ¡ª [ Boundless Compassion : This individual''s empathy knows no bounds,pelling her to see the good in others even when it''s obscured. Thispassion allows her to connect deeply with both friends and foes, often leading to peaceful resolutions where others would resort to conflict. However, her unyielding kindness can sometimes leave her vulnerable to deceit, as she struggles to recognize true malice in those she seeks to help] [ Unshakeable Faith : This individual''s devotion to the Light is absolute, giving her the strength to persevere even in the face of insurmountable odds. This faith is both her armor and her guide, allowing her to perform her duties with a serene calm that few can rival. It also enables her to resist any form of doubt or hesitation, though it can make her seem upromising or stubborn to those who do not share her convictions] [ Inspiring Presence : This individual''s presence uplifts and invigorates those around her, instilling courage in allies and encouraging unity in times of strife. People feel drawn to her warmth and integrity, finding in her an embodiment of hope and resilience. While this trait makes her beloved among her allies, it can sometimes create an unapproachable aura that others find intimidating or difficult to rte to] ¡ª [<{ Biography }> { Inventory } { Health } { Needs } { Social } { Log } { Info }] ¡ª I also did a quick scan on the rest of her tabs to know her better. The amount of enhancement in her body and statuses were just staggering! It was a buff on top of buff on top of buff upon a mountain of list of many things, even to the most minor of blessing from a small litanies. And if the information in her Health tab was correct, then nearly her whole body was covered by the visible golden scripture that was inked to her dark grey skin. Make me curious if she would just essentially glow in the dark if she were naked. The weird thought aside¡ªseeing her log, she didn''t seem to be traveling alone. I wonder where the other one was? Aside from that, I need to address the elephant in the room. "Anthropocentric Order¡­" The info-dump gave me jack shit about the existence of the branches within the Anthropocentric Order, let alone what the Sisters of Aegis meant. I nced at Kuzunoha, whose wisdom surpassed that of any among us. She observed Theresa with a measured gaze, nodding slowly. "Kuzunoha," I murmured, "What exactly are the Sisters of Aegis?" She nced at me, her eyes gleaming with that characteristic glint of hers whenever she was about to ry a well-stored fragment of wisdom. "Ah, the Sisters of Aegis," she began, folding her arms with a thoughtful nod. "They''re a rare breed of knights, unique to the Anthropocentric Order¡ªa half-humanitarian, half-military branch of female-only warriors dedicated to spreading hope and protection." "Interesting," I mused, watching Theresa''s figure more closely. "Not exactly what I''d expect from an order under the Anthropocentric banner." "Indeed," Kuzunoha agreed with a smirk. "They''re¡­ different from the other factions you might have heard of. Unlike the Inquisition, who spread their authority as relentlessly as mes spread in a drought, the Sisters of Aegis are much more intentional. Their purpose is less about enforcing doctrine through fear and more about safeguarding and elevating humanity in a way that inspires devotion rather than dread." Chapter 161: Sisters Of Aegis I raised an eyebrow. "Elevating how?" She tapped her fingers thoughtfully against her arm. "You see, the Sisters of Aegis believe that the most sacred gift humanity possesses isn''t a weapon or a powerful spell but something far more enduring:nguage and letters. "They viewnguage as the most profound creation humanity has gifted the world, the very thing that binds people together and records all thought, knowledge, and memory." I blinked, slightly surprised. "So they are more of a schr, then." "100 points for you, darling~" Kuzunoha nodded. "Teach, protect, and preserve. They''re known for traveling to outlying regions, offering education, literacy, and protection to those in need. "To the Sisters of Aegis, every written word, every story passed down, is a small miracle. Their duty is not only to shield with steel but to protect thenguage that preserves the past and builds the future." "Quite different from the Inquisition then," I murmured. "Oh, very much so," Kuzunoha chuckled. "The Inquisition enforces their will with mes and iron. The Sisters, however¡­ They''re more akin to shepherds than warriors, even though they''re deadly enough to stand against any dangerous Cmity Objects like the Abyssal Harbinger. Some of those who are in the higher hierarchy can even rival that of Qlipha." Her gaze shifted to Theresa with a newfound respect. "They upholdnguage and humanity as something sacred, almost untouchable. But they don''t do so with aggression or with an iron grip. Their strength lies in protection, not domination." Theresa''s expression softened, and she lowered her head slightly, as she seemed to be able to hear our stealthy conversation above the walls. "It is our duty to spread hope and protection wherever we go. We are tasked with preserving humanity''s greatest gifts:nguage, knowledge, and the strength of our faith." "So, simr to you, Verina," I said with a slight smile. "A protector and a bit of a warrior saint." Verina crossed her arms. "Oh, I do enjoy theparison. But I don''t quite have the faith nor does the style." "How about the strength?" "Well," Verina recalled the very scene that had transpired before her eyes just a moment ago. "Looks like I''m alsocking in strength." Theresa chuckled, a gentle sound that held no mockery. "Strengthes in many forms, and they are also shared amongst you who band together with endeavor," she said, her gaze shifting warmly between us. "You have built something incredible here¡ªa beacon in and so often dark and cruel, with only a mere poption below twenty. That alone exudes strength! "And if it may be courageous to convey the truth, it is almost anomalous to see that such a small bastion like this is still thriving under the unholy brigade of the Cmities, and amidst a world-wide phenomenon, nheless." "We appreciate the words of wisdom." I signaled Verina to the north, in which she aimed and sted her musket toward an opportunistic pack of Bloodhounds, obliterating them. "And I hope that you can endow us with more knowledge as you grace us with your presence, Dame Theresa." Even amidst this moment of peace, the Ordeal were still in their peak of activity. Though, it was nothing that Verina couldn''t deal with. We exchanged a few more words, and it wasn''t long before I decided that she could join us¡ªher intent and presence radiating a purity I could not deny. As if summoned by some unspoken signal, another figure appeared, manifesting from aprehensive cloud of inky shadows. This one was a slender woman with long, dark hair, a sharp gaze behind ck-rimmed sses, and an alien-looking ck crossbow slung over her shoulder. She wore a tailored outfit that was almost like a maid''s uniform, though every detail spoke of precise, deliberate functionality. She sighed, shaking her head at Theresa. "Sister Theresa, once again you''ve charged into danger without assessing the risks. Must I constantly remind you to practice caution?" Her voice held a mix of exasperation and affection. Theresa looked slightly sheepish, though she maintained her poise. "Forgive me, Sister Lubaris. I merely sought to provide assistance where it was most needed." She then reached out her hand toward us. "Don''t you see the joyful expression and hope that I brought to these people after I secured their safety? This alone should be enough of a reason why I dashed into battle, am I right?" Lubaris turned her attention to us, bowing with impable grace. "My apologies for any rm we may have caused. I am Dame Lubaris, also a Sister of Aegis andpanion to Dame Theresa." She sighed with a mixture of anxiety and relief. "We are bound by the same vow of protection, and I pray that her existence isn''t overwhelming to all of you." Seeing how she deemed herself as part of the Sisters of Aegis, it seemed like that specific branch of Anthropocentric Order didn''t withhold any attire code and the likes. Another interesting detail I noticed: They refer to one another as Sisters while introducing themselves to us with their title of Knighthood. "Well, you both arrives precisely when we needed you," I said, extending my hand. "We wee you to our bastion." Without making it conspicuous, I opened her detail screen before I turned around. ¡ª [ Lubaris ] [Human, Female, Age 29 (478), Sisters of Aegis] ¡ª Abilities ¡ª [ Umbral Manifestation : This individual can seamlessly dematerialize into a cloud of living darkness, allowing her to blend into shadows or bypass physical barriers. In this form, she bes intangible and nearly undetectable, able to move swiftly and reappear wherever shadows exist. This ability makes her a master of evasion, ambush, and infiltration, striking from the darkness when least expected. Additionally, she can use this power to obscure allies or confuse enemies by manipting the shadows around her] [ Veil of Lies : This individual is an enigmatic deceiver, capable of weaving intricate illusions and adopting false identities with ease. Her ability to lie is practically supernatural, allowing her to fabricate false realities that are nearly impossible to detect. This skill makes her a master maniptor, enabling her to sow discord among enemies, gather intelligence without detection, or even convince others of her false loyalties. Inbat, she uses this to create phantom versions of herself or cloak allies in deception, making it difficult for foes to discern truth from trickery] ¡ª Highlighted Traits ¡ª [ Cunning Deceiver : This individual is sly and quick-witted, with a sharp mind that excels at reading others and exploiting their weaknesses. Her ability to manipte situations to her advantage makes her a dangerous adversary, though it can also lead to distrust, even among her allies. Her constant scheming and tendency to withhold information can make it difficult for others to fully trust her, even if she has their best interests at heart] [ Shadow of Temperance : Despite her dark and deceptive nature, this individual possesses an unshakable belief in the inherent good of humanity. She views her acts of deception as necessary evils, done to protect and preserve the greater good. Her faith in humanity keeps her grounded, preventing her from falling into the corruption she so closely dances with. This inner conviction gives her remarkable temperance, allowing her to resist temptations or maniptions that might sway others. However, her dual nature often leads to inner conflict, as she bnces her morally ambiguous actions with her righteous intentions] [ Master of Disguise : This individual has an unparalleled ability to slip into various personas, adopting not just the appearance but also the mannerisms, speech patterns, and even subtle emotional cues of her targets. This makes her an invaluable asset in espionage missions, but it also means she sometimes struggles with her own identity, as the lines between her true self and her fabricated personalities blur over time] [ Faith in the Shadows : This individual believes that even in darkness, there is light. Her faith in her belief and in the cause of humanity is unwavering, and she uses her unique skills to serve the greater good, even when her methods seem questionable. This conviction grants her a deep sense of purpose and allows her to endure the moralplexities of her role. However, her belief in the necessity of her actions can sometimes iste her from others who do not understand or agree with her approach] ¡ª [<{ Biography }> { Inventory } { Health } { Needs } { Social } { Log } { Info }] ¡ª And just like that, she managed to be at the top of the list of people that I need to be cautious with. Lubaris nodded with a deceptively kind smile. "Thank you. It is an honor to serve alongside those who share amitment to resilience and order." Unlike Theresa, Lubaris'' voice was soothing and whispery, akin to that of a devout preacher from heaven. It was unknown whether this was part of her trickery. "I must admit, I am relieved to see a bastion thriving in thesends amidst this puzzling world-wide event." Regardless, the bastioneers opened the gate as they weed the new warmth of their newfound allies. Though, I was unsure on whether I had opened my gates to a pair of holy protectors of justice. Or a pair of rats that were sniffing my den with a dangerous intent. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 162: A Warm Welcome For The Warm Guests I stepped forward, gesturing for the bastioneers to lower their guard¡ªeven though their guards were already down for quite a while. I might need to strengthen my indoctrination¡ªI mean, training. "Wee to our bastion, Dame Theresa, Dame Lubaris," I greeted them with a nod, infusing as much authority as I could into my tone. "I am Narcissus, the leader here. Or as some of my bastioneers would say¡ªthe local fae with an odd tolerance for humanity''s antics." Theresa''s golden eyes sparkled with what looked like amusement, a gentle smile curving her lips. "It is an honor, Lady Narcissus," she replied, bowing deeply. "It is always a joyful asion to have a fairy with no malicious intent against humans!" It seemed like the fae reputation in this world was not as peaceful as I thought. "I hope that your experience with my kin won''t make you feel ufortable with my presence." I replied with a wry smile, ncing sidelong at the rest of my closest confidantes, who had gathered to meet the neers. "Oh no, not at all!" Theresa assured. "In fact, it is a delight I''m experiencing right now!" How bad did her encounter with a fairy go for her to be brimming with joy right now!? Dame Lubaris adjusted her sses, her gaze lingering on each of them with what I could only interpret as a scrutinizing stare. "The fae-kin rarely interact with humans due to their innate scrutiny against a being ofnguage." she said smoothly, her tone as formal as herpanion''s, thoughced with an undertone of curiosity. "Prideful and haughty as they might be, it is indeed a discovery to encounter a human-like fairy who doesn''t scheme and speak ill of our kind like they are the superior race. "I also found a weing and well-socialized fairy to be joy-inducing, as it means that we don''t need to tolerate any of their dangerous and high-risk antics." "And speaking of well-socialized," I continued, stepping back slightly to shut her speech and introduce the others to them, "These are my trustedrades." Verina, her musket resting over her shoulder, dipped into a half-mocking bow, a judgemental gaze locked forward. "I''m Verina¡ªa kilnn and lover of all things explosive," she announced, her purple eyes gleaming with scrutiny toward the ck-haired maid knight. "You might say I''m the bastion''s unofficial defense system." She raised her musket slightly, as if to emphasize the point. "A pleasure to meet two such noble knights." "A pleasure to meet you, Verina!" Theresa''s eyes sparkled with approval, and she inclined her head. "You must be one of the reasons why this bastion managed to uphold its defenses. I saw your prowess when you singlehandedly obliterated that pack of Bloodhounds! "I hope that we can establish a good rtionship with one another while we stay here!" Lubaris merely nodded. Though, their gazes were against one another, as if they wanted to drill the other with their line of sight. I then gestured to the gothic, enigmatic fox woman beside me, who regarded the neers with a knowing smile and her usual air of mystery. "This is Kuzunoha, our resident arcane expert and, in many ways, the brains behind much of our operation." While it might sound like I undermine myself, I didn''t want too much attention from these two knights. Kuzunoha smirked, inclining her head with a flourish. "Charmed," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "I suppose if Narcissus is our leader, I''m the bastion''s humble advisor on all things¡­ mystical, I see~ You might say I prefer seeing things from all perspectives¡ªeven those that are invisible. "Irregardless~ I hope that we can peacefully exist within the distance of one another." Kuzunoha smiled. "Just you know that unlike our leader, I''m not really fond of you two, so make sure that our intention don''t sh with one another too often in your time staying here~" Theresa and Lubaris exchanged an intrigued nce. "A wise approach," Theresa said, nodding, though Lubaris watched Kuzunoha closely with a glint of suspicion. Those two seemed to know that Kuzunoha meant well in her words of disapproval, and they respected it by not fueling the small spark of distrust that had already knotted between them. Finally, I gestured to the small, defiant head resting securely in Verina''s grasp. "And this," I said, stifling a grin, "Is Lupina¡ªthough we''ll call her ''our head of counsel,'' given her current state." Lupina gave a dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes. "Yes, yes,ugh it up. You may call me the ''disembodied strategist''¡ªa ''head of the state'' and in every sense of the word." She shot me a yful re, adding, "Though my current¡­ state was never in my job description, I ''head'' you, I''m still an important member of this bastion!" I noticed that both Kuzunoha and Verina tried their best to not burst intoughter. Theresa stifled an understandingugh, though her eyes softened. "It''s a privilege to meet you all, and a relief to know that such strong bonds exist within these walls. A true bastion is made not just of defenses but of the people who stand with one another." She looked at each of us in turn, her gaze settling on Lupina with a touch of sympathy. "It''s evident that each of you has strength beyond mere skill. It''s a privilege to join you." "Likewise~" We then proceeded to escort them into our humble abode within the apocalyptd surrounding us. The bastioneers buzzed with curiosity as Dame Theresa and Dame Lubaris entered through the gates. Still, their presence was almost surreal¡ªtwo menacing yet hope-inducing knights radiating an otherworldly devotion and strength, with Dame Theresa still exuding a palpable warmth that seemed to settle the nerves of everyone around her. If I were to dig into bastioneers'' perspective: The Sisters of Aegis were more than just coincidental reinforcements; their presence was like a beacon of faith in a world where faith often meant little. To make it even matter, the armored gray-haired knight was also taller than everyone in the bastion with a possible height of 190 cm in her presence. I even needed to look up to gaze at her face when I stood in front of her in this fairy form. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!