6.3K words long.
Second part is already completed, I'll try to release it within a far shorter timespan.
Enjoy!
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—
/Crunk…/
Philip stepped out of the bathroom with nothing but a bathrobe to cover himself, looking down at where MT once stood.
The space it occupied was now empty, the faint hum that once echoed in the background grown silent.
But something was wrong. His senses told him something was nearby, but he couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
Still, a logical explanation soon reached his mind, 'MT is no magical construct, even after being enhanced twice with… a very magical power… I think this is something else.'
He touched his chest, feeling his heartbeat…
'I was quite busy to try it before, but there is a connection between my Hyper Cells and MT. I could theoretically use MT to manipulate them, so are they reacting to its change, perhaps?'
Although he did not regret his actions, to a certain degree, he wondered if he should've taken more precaution before strengthening MT the way he had. His overconfidence and belief that every single action he took would cause a complementary effect were born from his many successful experiences and few failures.
'… Maybe I do need some time to cool my head down and rest.' He thought as he cleared his right ear
/Crunk…/
His eyes narrowed slightly, 'This sound again.'
A faint, irregular ticking echoed from below; subtle at first, it did not escape his hearing even as he stood in another room.
Philip's gaze lowered, settling on the floor beneath his feet and beside his bed, where the wooden panels had warped ever so slightly, rising and falling in pulses that seemed almost like breathing.
He crouched on the ground, "What the…"
'There's a small hole… did MT crawl inside? Hm… It looks more like it cracked the ground instead.'
The thought of a fridge-sized machine burying onto the ground passed through his eyes, and he couldn't help but laugh dryly.
Nonetheless, worry formed in his eyes as he tried looking into the hole, "Given there isn't a commotion… I wager it didn't go through all the way to the floors beneath."
/Shua…/
At the same time, a dark tentacle tangled around his wrist, coiling as it took the shape of a wristwatch.
"What is happening to… it?"
Philip straightened his back, lifting his hand, "Seems like you got yourself acquainted with MT."
"I had the time to exchange some words with it while you were… away… you know, after you touched the statue and went limp?"
"A strange yet fascinating… thing? I still don't quite understand what it is. Machine, construct, or something else in-between."
Philip's gaze fell on Laplabe for only a moment before it turned to the hole once more, "It depends on how you want to look at it… perhaps before, it was nothing but an advanced machine…"
"But I can't quite say how it'll turn out now."
Philip lightly touched the hole, and the weak weaving immediately ceased, reacting to his touch as the wood trembled before halting.
/Crunk…/
A thin fracture spread across the ground, followed by another, and then several more in rapid succession, forming a web of jagged lines that converged toward a single point before him.
From within those cracks, something metallic emerged. It wasn't pushing itself from the ground, nor was it reforming… It was difficult for him to explain, but the flowing metal seemed to grow out of the wood, like a plant rising from soil.
Very much like a leafless tree, each branch pierced through the wood, expanding before him as he was forced to step back and watch it all unfold with a dumbfounded expression.
If Laplabe had a face, his expression wouldn't be so different from his… the watch's pointers came to a sudden stop, as if he were holding his breath.
/Crack!/
The first piece twisted unnaturally as it rose, bending and stretching, its surface shimmering faintly like molten alloy or an oil-stained surface.
More followed, thin filaments pushed through the fractured floor, each one adjusting itself mid-emergence as they grew wider and longer, fusing into each other.
They reshaped, corrected, and discarded unwanted shapes as they grew ever closer to their perfect, desired form.
/Hum…/
A low vibration filled the room, sending a subtle distortion through the air that made the space itself that shook even Philip's chest.
"… Ugh… what is this sound? My entire body's shaking." Laplabe complained as its body grew unstable for a moment
The wristwatch shook, the metal and glass that composed its being grew elastic, momentarily displaying the abhorrent form sealed within…
"It seems to be coming from this tree…"
'Can I even call it tree?'
/Crack…/
The fragments continued to converge, in an orderly manner. But halfway through, the tree suddenly inverted.
The spreading branches grew closer to each other, forming a strange sculpture of a mirrored tree, although the roots supporting it remained hidden, those of the mirrored one spread around the ceiling, forcing Philip to duck as they spread around him.
"…"
'This is getting a little out of hand.' He thought as he avoided touching the branches
Lines of faint light etched themselves across the forming structure, appearing and disappearing in rapid succession, and soon after, everything halted.
/Crack…/
Several branches grew inward toward the center of the sculpture. There, dozens of branches fused together into a sphere, almost like a nest.
A minute or two after, the sphere cracked open, and from within, a hollow disc appeared before him, lights shining around, guiding his gaze towards it, almost as if waiting for him to pick it up.
The surrounding branches grew dull, while the center shone ever brighter.
Philip saw it no other way; it had to be deliberate… if this was some sort of key process or some plain identification, he hesitated no further and reached out to fetch it.
/Touch…/
The moment he touched it, the surrounding branches crumbled into gray ash, vanishing right before their eyes as a strong burst of air brushed past them, blowing his loose robe away as he covered his eyes.
Amidst that chaos, Philip could feel something move around him… yet it only lasted for a split second.
As everything settled, he looked around, slightly wary, "… Okay, I think it's over."
/CRACK!/
But at that moment, the ground where the metallic tree grew out of crumbled, and a hole leading to the floor below formed right before them.
Philip looked at the ground as he waved his free hand in the air, dispersing the dust, "Well… ahem… there goes solving this quietly."
His gaze turned to the smooth metallic disc in his hand.
"… No matter how I look at it, it looks completely ordinary." He muttered as he inspected the disc
'Is this supposed to be MTs evolved form? Is this tiny halo-like thing supposed to possess all of its previous functions? How am I supposed to print things from this? What even is powering it?'
He thought about it for a moment longer, 'I've seen a lot of things, but I don't think I can quite process that yet.'
/Crack…/
As he toyed around with it, he twisted the halo around, causing it to split in the middle with a very unhealthy sound…
/Gasp!/
Philip gasped as he felt his stomach grow light, "D-Did I break it??"
"Don't talk to me as if I knew! You were the one who made it." Laplabe exclaimed as his tone also carried a hint of surprise
"That was the original version…"
/BURST!/
"What the hell is all this noise?!"
Viera dashed inside the room with an annoyed expression, a beauty sleeping mask on her face as a worried maid ran after her with a tray in her hands.
"?!?!"
But as she looked down, Viera was quick to notice something dangling in the air…
Her maid, who seemed to be about to suggest for them to move, also saw it, and her face turned to the side with such speed that it knocked Viera's mask off as her ponytail slapped against the back of her head.
Even then, she did not take her eyes off him…
"Y-Y… Put some damn clothes on!"
/SLAM!!/
Viera slammed the door in his face, sending a wave of air down his face as he stood there wondering what had just happened.
"… I didn't even have the time to joke around." Philip said as he sighed faintly
Laplabe sighed, "If you had joked, I'm afraid she would've blasted this room to cinders."
'The young lady as it rough.'
"She's the one who barged into my room…" He said with a sigh as his gaze fell on MT
'Now then, how do I activate this thing?'
[DING]
[Scanning for new Data]
[New Parameters are being added… Calculating…]
"!"
But at that moment, amidst the awkward feeling lingering in the air, the long-quiet notifications from his journey to the Trial Spire resurfaced.
…
[DING]
[Scanning for new Data]
[New Parameters are being added… Calculating…]
[Unknown Data has been processed. Secondary pending processes have been temporarily postponed]
[Processing…]
[Scanning complete, formulating an adequate response]
[A reward shall be given]
'So the time has finally arrived.'
"Philip?"
"Give me a moment…"
He sat down and focused on the notifications, but not before putting some clothes on so the previous occurrence would not repeat again.
With everything ready, he spread the notifications before him as he crossed his legs.
[DING]
[You have made an achievement never once recorded in history!]
[You have forced the evolution of a foreign construct beyond its original framework. You have rewritten its limits through external influence, creating an impossible object within existence!]
[Time and time again, you seek that which exists beyond the border. For your constant search within the infinity of the unknown, you've been granted the Trait, Inquisitive Mind]
"Mnn?…"
Philip's head tingled for a moment.
The pain and the process of awakening new Traits and Skills often varied, but perhaps because of his immense mental resilience, the shock was quickly buried within his consciousness, like a drop of paint dropping into a lake, it was all quickly dispersed…
[The Mental Knight awakens]
But the lake was inhabited by a rather territorial ruler…
[A product of numerous realities compressed into a single creation. Within the past and the future, your actions shall be remembered as one who attained a timeless achievement]
[You have acquired the Title, Unbound Creator]
{Your tale is recorded}
[Your actions have given birth to a new possibility! The Unique Class, Unbound Creator, shall now appear within ***** to those that meet the set requirements]
[An achievement beyond any other!]
[You have successfully left a mark in the endless river of time, your achievements living eternally through others who shall, one day, add onto its myth]
[Where you walk, Heroes follow. You have surpassed others, becoming the first Hero to transcend their Class. For your actions, you have acquired the Title, Class Paragon]
[An imprint of your existence has been left on *****]
However, before he could continue reading the notifications, Philip felt something stir within his body… and a rather familiar feeling took root.
[Your Trait, Inquisitive Mind has strongly activated]
His stomach grew lighter, '… Wait… I think I saw this before…'
[Your Trait, Inquisitive Mind is shaking]
[Trait, Castle Town ***** detects an anomaly within your mental world]
[The Mental Knight has begun to dismantle the impurity within its domain]
[Your Trait, Inquisitive Mind is shaking]
"Oh no… It's that situation all over again…"
'Both Apex Evolver and Mind Castle Town are extremely aggressive Traits that govern two sections of my body. Whenever new Traits, or even Skills of their elements appear, they immediately react to them.'
There had to be another way instead of helplessly watching the fruits of his effort be consumed and shattered.
He could believe something beneficial would happen, like last time, but this wasn't how he liked to act.
'Since you're going to break it anyway, at least find a use for it!'
Controlling Mind Castle Town was still something Philip could barely do, but if he put enough emphasis into it, then something should happen, right?
He tried his best to focus and change the course of events, but where to even start? What even was a Trait, and how was he supposed to protect it when he didn't even understand how it was being damaged in the first place?
The Mental Knight acted in a way he couldn't quite put into words. A manifestation of the side of consciousness he couldn't grasp, how was he supposed to command his brain to stop an action that had always been instinctual?
In the end, as he swam amidst his mental world…
[The Trait, Inquisitive Mind has been dismantled]
His actions turned out to be in vain… or did they?
[Trait, Castle Town ***** consumes a portion of its remnants]
[Trait, Castle Town ***** has been slightly enhanced]
Philip opened his eyes as mild relief and exhaustion escaped his lips, "Huff… phew."
'That was tiring… in more ways than one.'
His attention turned back to the notifications, "Alright… is it done?"
'Smaller than I expected, given the nature of what happened, but perhaps I've been pampered all this time.'
'I already got my rewards from last time, and this is only a portion of everything I brought from the Complex… If only this cascaded into a massive string of rewards, then if I were to get my hands on Darius' body…'
But as always, Philip's was about to be proven wrong yet again.
[Further rewards have been pooled]
[Pending processes shall be calculated]
{An interference has been detected}
{Cleansing…}
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
"?!"
A gut-wrenching scream rang out in the room as Philip felt something crawl out from the depths of his body, beyond anything he had felt before.
Gritting her teeth in agony, Falpurgiana was expelled from the depths of his Soul with a harpy-like scream the likes of which he never thought a warring deity like her could produce even in her most grueling moment.
But he paid those little heed, being quick to reach out to her as she coiled around in the air before him.
He looked at her and momentarily hesitated, not knowing where to start as he noticed her appearance, "A-Are you okay?"
"Don't… don't touch me." She claimed as incandescent golden blood poured down her face and arm, vaporing into strings of bright mist that coiled around her body
Her face, like the surface of porcelain, was now fractured. As if something had smashed into her, the entire right side of her face had been broken, so much so Philip believed he could see bone and flesh underneath.
But a deity like her did not possess a physical body in the manner that he did. Her flesh and blood, if those could even be classified as such, behaved almost like glass.
Throughout her left arm, cracks continued all the way to her fingers, where some of them had been shattered so completely they were now mere outlines of dust and shattered particles in the shape of a hand orbiting glass bones and flesh.
"Urg…" She grumbled as she stood before him, "I knew this was going to happen… I should be happy it ended with only this much."
She then turned to face Philip, who looked at her with a mix of worry and other complex emotions, and smiled awkwardly.
"Don't worry about me. This isn't anything I haven't experienced before."
Her hand reached forward, brushing her hair aside, "I owe you an explanation, but perhaps we're better off leaving that for another time."
/Clap!/
She clasped her hands together, "I'm being serious now, but it'll take a while for me to recover."
"I thought hiding within your Soul would mitigate my punishment… perhaps it did, but I feel like I'm worse now than I was before I met you."
"… Punishment? For what?"
She grimaced, "For everything I did… before and now."
"But I thought you had solved those."
"Me too… but part of me always knew that wouldn't be enough. Yet I wished… it doesn't matter anymore."
"If it were this lenient, too much chaos would ensue in this world. Or perhaps it is the way I did things… regardless, I'll leave this to you."
Before him, white light flashed as a lifeless corpse landed before him, shocking not only him, but Laplabe as well.
He usually remained quiet whenever Philip interacted with the System, but this time, he couldn't help but flinch at the sudden appearance of this abnormal corpse.
He achieved his own conclusions as to what it truly was, but until it was over, he kept his role and remained in place, waiting… Not that it stopped him from having his own thoughts.
'What the hell is going on now?… If the little lady were to enter the room now…'
Meanwhile, the injured goddess looked at Philip, but somehow, he felt she wasn't talking with him, "… I've done my part, the rest is now up to you."
"Can you be a bit more specific?"
But she only bit her lips in pain as she held onto her half-shattered arm, "Don't make this harder on me… my clueless little Apostle."
For a moment, Philip felt hollow, as if something was about to escape him. And he wondered just how much he cared about this obnoxious entity.
It didn't take much for him to realize those emotions were not entirely his. It seemed that her injuries were far greater than she made them look, because for a slight moment, she lost control of her own emotions.
Just like him, it seemed she too had complex thoughts about the one before her.
Reaching out to her as he had before, he smiled, "I thought it was something along the lines of… Fated Chosen."
She was taken aback for a moment before she smiled too, "Put down your senseless delusions, mortal."
/Swoop!/
And just like that, she vanished, wandering deep within his Soul, somewhere Philip felt he could reach her, yet knew he shouldn't.
If the Mind was something he didn't quite understand, then the esoteric realm of the Soul and the Spirit were things he shouldn't even try to dabble in.
Before he could call himself a master of the Spiritual, perhaps it was best to master the aspects that carried him this far in the first place. The consciousness and that which existed beyond it…
The realm of dreams beckoned to him whenever he closed his eyes. And now, more than ever, he wished to answer it.
"This is a mess…"
/Gleam…/
As he pondered over everything that had just occurred, Darius' body scattered into a thousand sparks, drifting in the air…
[Missing Parameters have been collected… Calculating…]
[Cannot proceed — Data overflow — Continuity error]
[Trying to contact *****]
{Permission for ***** received}
{… Allowed}
[Confirmed. Authority level increased]
[Sub-routines operating layers have been raised]
[Additional Directives have been granted]
[Janus Protocol is set in motion. Suboptimal Parameters and Routines are being recalculated…]
[Initiating Orpheus Sub-routine…]
[Entering ***** Mode]
[Daedalus Main-Directive has been engaged]
[Processing… Completed]
[Updating Mnemosyne Archive… Completed]
[***** Mode has been terminated]
[Re-initializing Ouranos Directive]
The torrent of notifications struck him like a truck, "What the hell is going on…"
'I feel like I'm holding a candle. Is this how the System operates behind the scenes?'
His gaze fell on the strange System windows, 'And these darker windows… is the System requesting permission from them?'
'What even are they? Some higher layer of the System?'
[In the face of never-before seen conditions, pooled rewards shall be calculated at once]
[Processing achievements…]
[DING]
[Processing completed]
[You have made seven —+???— record-breaking achievements and a few minor ones that shall be fused into the rewards]
[First Achievement: You have successfully moved between two incompatible worlds while being in the lowest State possible]
[Second Achievement: You have located and restored a runaway ***** previously removed from established order and become her highest acting representative]
[Third Achievement: You have charted an unrecorded world, bringing its existence into the confines of *****]
[Fourth Achievement: You reached the summit of the Trial Spire, greatly exceeding its intended limits]
[Fifth Achievement: Your actions have attracted and engaged the attention of multiple ***** entities]
[Sixth Achievement: You have once again expanded the ***** with never-before seen, knowledge]
[Seventh Achievement, you have massively contributed to ***** by providing the conditions needed for a comprehensive System update]
[*****]
[Plus some minor achievements]
[Your rewards shall be given taking your current bodily state and condition into consideration]
[Rewards have been calculated based on present conditions and the individual capabilities of the host's vessel when performed]
[Displaying rewards…]
[You have gained the Title, Worldwalker]
[Your ability to bypass restrictions has been strengthened]
[Skill Fusion has detected two abilities suitable for fusion]
[Under unique conditions, the Title, Worldwalker and the Skill, Somnium Courier Lv3 resonate…]
[Skill Fusion will automatically activate and be added to the rewards]
[Chances of critical fusion have been considerably increased]
[Critical Fusion!]
[Fusion complete]
[You have acquired the new Ability, The Incomplete Realm (???)]
[Advanced Skill Fusion Lv14 ->LvMax]
[Conditions have been met]
[Advanced Skill Fusion LvMax has evolved into Pinnacle Skill Fusion Lv1]
[Pinnacle Skill Fusion Lv1 -> Lv2]
[You have gained the Title, Divine Chosen]
[Your Affinity for the Divine Arts has advanced greatly]
[Affinity to all Elements has increased significantly]
[Resistance to all Elements has increased significantly]
[The Titles, Falpurgiana Mulplex' Apostle and Divine Chosen are conflicting]
[Skill Fusion will automatically activate and be added to the rewards]
[The Title, Falpurgiana Mulplex' Apostle has been broken down]
[The Title, Divine Chosen has been strengthened]
[You have received the Title, Celestial Host]
[Pinnacle Skill Fusion Lv2 -> Lv5]
[You have gained the Title, The First Challenger]
[You have gained the Title, Center of Attention]
[The last reward shall be a pick between several choices]
[1- Partial vessel synchronization
2- Titles
3- Skill Officialization
4- Knowledge Extraction
5- Authority Increase
6- A ticket to the Trial Spire
]
[The host has 24 hours to decide]
...
As the notifications ended, Philip scanned them one last time before putting his hands over his face and sighing.
'There's a lot to go through here.'
He began not from the top, but at the bottom, 'Whenever something big happens, the System likes to compile rewards like this. I'm not particularly thrilled, but it's better to choose than hope something good comes my way.'
He brushed the other notifications aside, 'The options this time are quite unique too.'
Philip reached for his chin before tapping his lips.
"It's even first time I'm not offered a race as a reward…"
He raised an eyebrow, 'That said… why is the System considering something I achieved in the Complex all of a sudden?'
'I was expecting it to accept some aspects of it, but for it to use my feats as Darius and reward me… the System really is kind to Heroes.'
'I sometimes wonder what makes Heroes so special in the first place. The System governs all, yet we are given so many benefits and support. What exactly is the goal here?'
He tilted his head backward, 'I might be putting too much thought into things… Perhaps it's not the System that is kind, but the ingenuity of the ancient people who created Heroes in the first place.'
'For all I know, the System might be working exactly as intended…'
He tapped his legs, 'Anyhow… let's get this sorted.'
…
A few minutes passed in quiet observation, "It's more or less the same as the other times."
'The rewards are systematic. Less than I expected, but I suppose everything was pooled towards the final rewards.'
'Titles and even a Trait that was consumed… those are okay, I'll check them all later, but there is one thing that caught my attention… or rather, two.'
'Skill Fusion somehow reached max level and evolved once again. If I'm not mistaken, this is the final form before I'm given access to Title fusion, and even greater features.'
'That perk is the entire reason why Dae was so adamant in having me collect as many Titles as possible, and it seems the day all of it will pay off is fast approaching… I hope it comes a little sooner too… I've been meaning to clean my Status for a little while.'
He pulled another notification before him, 'As for what caused it to evolve… it seems the unique conditions of this operation caused a Title to resonate with a Skill.'
'I knew it was possible to fuse both together, but I never thought it would result in another Skill with an unknown level like this!'
"The Incomplete Realm… does it ring any bells?"
"…"
"Hey!"
"You talking to me?"
He rolled his eyes, "Who else could be in this room?…"
"I don't know, you have the habit of speaking out loud."
"That's because... it helps me sort out my thoughts."
'And recently because I often have someone to talk to.'
"That's another problem..." Laplabe said in calm, tired tone
"Each day I spend with you something strange happens. One day you're stealing from one of the most secure institutions on the continent, then on another day, your Soul is taken to another dimension..."
"And everything that happened before, after, and in-between."
Philip brushed him off with a click of his tongue, "Never mind all that, just answer the question."
"Not at all."
"Tsk…"
"Don't you click your tongue at me! I spent many decades studying under the principal's guidance! I'm the most cult mimic there ever was!"
Philip rolled his eyes as he scratched his nose, "Right… teach a kid about Plasma and he's suddenly the most intelligent in class…"
"I'll act as if I understood what you just meant and be upset about it."
"…"
"Look, I might not know about it, but if there's a name for it, then its likely mentioned at least once in the principal's archives. There are many unique documents within their collection, so there might be an answer to your questions there."
"Right…"
'That reminds me of MT. It's still unresponsive, but if there's an answer to this, then it definitely knows.'
'I'll figure that out later…'
'If Skill Fusion's evolution is one thing, and that new Skill is another, then how should I take what happened to my other Title?'
'Skill Fusion can break Skills apart for their experience, but Titles?… And why did Falpurgiana's Title break?'
A somewhat amusing answer reached him… 'Don't tell me it was of a lower quality than Divine Chosen…'
He laughed drily.
'When she wakes up, she'll throw one hell of a fit, that's for sure.'
"The other Titles are okay… I'll check out their effects and synergies in detail later…"
His expression quickly fell as his eyebrows furrowed, "#!!"
'But what the hell do you mean I'm the center of attention? That's the thing I hate the most!'
He didn't quite believe that, but it made him feel a bit better.
With everything accounted for, he moved on to his choices yet again.
'... All options are viable in their own ways. But if I really had to make a choice… then it would fall between the first, third, and last options.'
'Titles are too generic a reward for everything I did, and if I'm not mistaken, it might be the worst one here. And an Authority Increase is too vague for me to care.'
'Knowledge Extraction… I don't even know what that might do, and its not like I have to think about it either.'
He expanded the window so he could take a better look at it, 'So this leaves three.'
'Partial vessel synchronization. If I were to make a guess… then this choice will fuse Darius' body into mine, perhaps allowing me to inherit his status.'
'But something is missing, otherwise, I wouldn't be given 'Skill Officialization' as a reward. The way I see it, given it's a partial synchronization, I won't be able to inherit all of Darius' Skills, and will instead awaken a portion of them.'
'While I should be able to develop some those Skills naturally with training, many of them are rewards based solely on the Complex or some unusual power… It's impossible for me to nurture them without a starting point.'
'And many of them wouldn't exactly fit in with my current set of abilities. The last thing I need is to add more complex ability systems into my already disorderly body.'
'Rather than leave it to luck, the better option would be to choose my own abilities and move on with what I can… but then, the last option slaps me in the face.'
Philip clenched his teeth and fists, 'A damn ticket to that accursed place… what the hell happened?'
'Did the System and the Complex fuse? Why is this a reward of all things? Has the System gained some level of influence over that world?…'
'I'm left with more questions as always...'
'The repercussions of this were amidst some of my previous worries. If the System and the Complex were to clash, what would happen?'
He could feel his old headache coming back, 'I don't even want to think about that.'
"But I don't want to return to that place…" He thought as his head dropped low
After a moment of silence, he raised his head, "Laplabe, if you had the option between taking the easy, but less rewarding path, and the harder, more rewarding path…"
"Yes."
"I didn't even finish…"
"And yet you already know the answer. Did you expect me to say something else? As if that would change your thoughts…"
"You don't know me! I listen to the opinions of others!"
But Laplabe's tone was condescending, "Only when it benefits you, it seems."
"…"
Philip said not a single extra word, going back to his thoughts.
'Maybe I shouldn't be so pessimistic about this… if I were to go to the Trial Spire the way I am now, I can only wonder how things would be… but then again, I lack something Darius possessed.'
'His unique Skill, the sole reason I excelled at the later stages. Without it, I might start struggling around the middle to later stages of the trials. It's a shallow excuse, but its not devoid of logic.'
'But if we're talking about value, then there's no competition here. Going through the trial grounds again would be… a damn pain in the ass.'
He dropped his head on his pillows as his eyebrows narrowed...
"… It's not like this is my only shot at it."
'If the System and the Complex have merged, even if partially, then I'll get another chance… eventually.'
After a few seconds of silence, Philip made his choice.
'Since that's the case, I know what I want.'
He reached for the air above him:
[You have chosen to officialize your previous Vessel's Skills]
[You may register two Skills into your current Vessel]
A System window popped up before him, one he was quite familiar with…
[Identity: Darius Narfa 18M
-Trial Graduate-
-Mythic Challenger-
*Awaiting Registration at the Fable Monolith*
| Reliquary Progress |
…
| Attuned Essences |
…
| Extended Tale |
…
| Approximated Qualities |
Physical Body: Limit S (Limit SS-)
Spiritual Body: Limit S (5 SS)
Astral Body: Limit S (5 SS)
…
]
'I feel like its been a while, but it hasn't been that long ago at all…'
He looked back at Darius' status, and couldn't help but sigh.
'Several of these Skills are technically just evolved versions of the ones I took with me. I don't need to bring them back, all I have to do is train.'
'But two Skills is quite limited, actually; it's far less than I expected... is it too late to turn back now?'
[…]
'Sigh… Out of everything I achieved, all the Skills I raised to the limits of the Trial Grounds… I can only pick two? I'd rather not have a choice at all.'
'Maybe the System is trying to say something... to punish me for my hubris... or even that it does not accept external powers outside of its confines.'
'Fine then, I'll play your games. If I can only choose two Skills, then so be it. The most important thing was the experience and the recovery of Falpurgiana's Codex.'
'Everything else was only an extra.'
After scrolling through the list, he picked his choices:
'I can't ignore Darius' unique ability. I made a promise to him that I would at least go through with what he left behind, and they helped me greatly already.'
'As for my second pick, part of me tells me I should just go with the Skill Falpurgiana told me to get before… but I don't like it very much.'
'It's plenty powerful, yet... it's not my cup of tea.'
'There are multiple great picks, but I need something a little more grounded than one more senseless ability.'
"It's a bit of a waste… I made my choices."
[The Skills, The Guiding Hand -???- and Systemic Synthesis <|> have been registered]
[You have gained the Skill, The Guiding Hand (???)]
[You have gained the Skill, Systemic Synthesis Lv???]
[The Skill, Systemic Synthesis Lv??? is conflicting with another Skill]
[Pinnacle Skill Fusion Lv5 has automatically activated]
[The Skill, Systemic Synthesis Lv??? has been dismantled]
[Pinnacle Skill Fusion Lv5 -> Lv12]
'It worked as I wanted. Systemic Synthesis has been added onto Pinnacle Skill Fusion, bring it ever closer to achieving its true potential.'
'Now... is it over?'
[Status recalculation is in progress…]
He straightened his back, 'There's this, too. I might gain some new achievements once all my Skills catch up with my actual abilities, so I should get that finished when I have the time.'
'But while the training room is undergoing maintenance, its best to not swing a weapon around in the garden…'
"Is there anything else?…"
[Pending notifications haven't been reviewed]
[Disclaimer, there are pending rewards to be collected]
"Pending notifications?… Ahh…"
Philip's headache grew even stronger, 'Everything is pilling up...'
'That should be from when I started using magic. It's likely the notifications regarding my newest Class abilities like all before.'
'It might be as intense as this string of notifications. No... it'll be far more.'
'This was far tamer then I expected it to be.'
He exhaled out loud as he laid down and rolled to the side.
'I'll check those out later… I'm too tired to bother with them now.'
He looked at the hole beside his bed and got up.
'But before going to sleep… I'll have to get this in order.'
"… This is all your fault. Why did you break the ground?" He said as he looked at MT lying beside him
"Anything to say in your defense?"
/Silence…/
"Right… we're done here."
"Time for a midnight walk?"
"Do you want to kill me? I need to sleep every once in a while... I'm not a vampire."
Laplabe joked, "Actually, Vampires sleep quite often. There are several species with unique behaviors and..."
"You got the memo..."
"What is a memo?"
"Haaaa..."
/Clack/
Philip carefully put MT on a nearby table before walking to the door and stepping outside.
As he did so, MT lit up for a moment, flickering…
[… update… successful]
[All_Purpuse Multi-Tool FJSS V4.0 is rebooting…]
/Creak!/
Philip immediately burst through the doors, looking at his shelf.
"I heard that!"
He grabbed MT and looked at it with narrowed eyes, "Was all that silence, drama?"
[…]
"Hm..."
'I did hear it say it was rebooting… very well, I'll be taking you with me.'
He took the halo and stepped outside, not turning back.
...
{***** integrity… challenged}
A few minutes after he stepped out, the dark System window flashed into existence above his bed.
/Crunk…/
In the outer cosmos, the ever-present watcher awakened…
{Warning}
{Multiple instances of instability have been detected}
{Warning}
{Multiple instances of instability have been detected}
{Warning…}
/Tremble…/
{Stability is reducing… Order is…}
/CRACK!/
The void shattered. From the depths beyond sight, countless chains pierced into the gray world, pulling everything in sight into the swirling vortex!
Ancient dust was kicked upward, the world that had remained undisturbed for thousands of years saw conflict once more!
/Crunk…/
The floating pyramid spun, on its multiple surfaces, countless passages flew by in the blink of an eye.
{…}
{… Request for direct intervention… Negated}
{Solution… elimination of the source… Approved}
{Termination Nexus has been awakened}
{Processing…}
/Tremble…/
The world shook once more. In the white desert, numerous spires reached for the heavens, their black surfaces riddled with wounds from time immemorial.
{Termination Nexus shall eliminate the instability factor}
/CRACK!/
The chains continued to pull and tug. Fragments of the desert, some the size of mountains, carrying within dark pieces buried in the sands, were dragged into the darkness, vanishing from reality.
Some chains reached out into the obelisks themselves, trying to tilt them and collapse them… But none fell, they stood, even as the stone beneath them cracked.
/BURST!/
Rays of light pierced into the void, almost illuminating the world beyond.
But as soon as even a glimpse of it came to be, the void closed, cutting off all chains that slowly fell together with the pieces they held onto.
/Boom…/
/Boom…/
As the chains fell down onto the earth, the pyramid continued its silent calculations.
{External interference… neutralized}
{Termination Nexus has been deactivated}
{Processing results… accessing damage}
{Raising… Risk magnitude…}
{Total processing time… 20 seconds… Archiving}
{A new archive has been created — Complex}
{Contact Central… Necessary}
{Resuming normal operations}
The white desert welcomed silence yet again as the seared planet came into view.
…
.
.
.
Notes
This puts a lid on the Trial Spire Arc for now. There are still some rewards pending, such as having his actual abilities displayed on his Status page, and more things to uncover, but I think I managed to do what I wanted with the arc.
We'll be proceeding with the usual arcs. There is quite a bit left to cover before Philip returns from to the Human Empire, and I'm still thinking about the changes to the plot I'll introduce in the future.
I'm still uncertain how to move on with the Complex, but I wanted to develop the idea that the worlds Philip go to might not end once he steps out of it.
I really wanted to see something a little more chaotic occur such as having a Daedric Prince make its way to Eden or something... maybe have a Great One just pop up, or something along those lines.
We still have a few things left to develop, and as we conclude these layered ideas and move on to the middle and end of the City of Freedom Arc, and the end of the "Adventure Arc", we'll be exploring some of these more neglected abilities Philip carries.
I think that's most of what I wanted to say. Thank you for reading, see you later.
Peace be upon ye.