[No host, actually, we do have something. We have a new quest that was assigned by an unknown. It seems he has backdoor access to the supreme system. I don’t know why, though.]
William frowned, his eyes tightened as he slowly straightened his posture.
The infinite domain around him had returned to its earlier calm, and sunlight filled the empty sky.
"Hmm!!"
"Do you think he was some god or something?"
[no]
William waited for the system to elaborate as seconds stretched out.
"...that’s it?" he muttered.
There was no follow-up from system’s side even then.
William exhaled sharply and dragged a hand down his face, fingers pressed against his temple as a dull ache began to bloom there.
His head throbbed from overload.
Too many events and revelations had stacked on top of each other without a pause these past few weeks.
It felt like standing beneath a collapsing tower and being expected to appreciate the architecture while the stones were still falling.
He sat there for a long moment, shoulders slumped, feeling strangely detached from his own body.
The domain of infinity no longer felt like his own space, unknown had easily invaded it.
Not just that, almost every other thing had spiraled too quickly.
At first, he had wanted to do something else, but then Lia’s quest had surfaced, dragging him into matters he hadn’t planned to touch yet.
That single thread had unraveled into a hidden scandal, buried rot festering in the southern continent.
He had come here looking for answers, but had found more questions instead.
Coming here had been about saving Lia. That was all.
Instead, he had uncovered information about the veil and learned of veil creatures.
He had lost control of his anger in a way that unsettled him. It had driven his actions instead of his judgment.
Worse still, he had seen his own reflection in spilled blood, talking to him.
And now a colossal eye had descended into his personal domain, looked at him with curiosity, and assigned him a mission before vanishing.
It was too much.
"Nothing is going my way," William complained in a rough voice, "everything is fcking unpredictable."
He pushed himself upright, sitting properly now instead of slouching like a corpse that had forgotten how to stand.
His spine cracked faintly as he straightened. He rolled his shoulders once, then drew in a slow, deep breath, forcing the air deep into his lungs.
"I just wish things were more in my control."
His eyes lifted to the sky, where warm sunlight spilled down evenly.
[Well, even if you reach the peak of this world, or say this universe, things might never be in your control.]
[No one can control everything that happens, calamities will still strike, you just have to be stronger than the calamity itself, you just have to defeat it.]
William let out a dry but genuine laugh. "Never thought you could talk like a shifu."
[call me Master~]
The system mimicked Tamasya’s voice with keen accuracy.
William blinked, then snorted. "What the hell, you really know how to mimic people."
A brief grin tugged at his lips.
"If you were a real living person on earth, you could have caused wars with just a phone call."
[yea i know how talented I am, but I think you should focus on this thing]
The humor evaporated as quickly as it had come.
A translucent interface unfolded before him, hovering in the air at eye level.
[Ding!! mission: what’s cooking in south has been completed]
[Ding!! Rewards are being calculated.
[Ding!! You have been awarded system binder x 1]
[Ding!! You have been awarded system points x 3,000,000]
"Whoa!!" William’s eyebrows shot up as his fatigue cracked. "That’s a first time!!"
He straightened fully now, interest unmistakable. "You never awarded a system binder before."
[Let’s just say you did not put enough work into it]
His expression froze.
"...what the hell does that mean?" His tone sharpened.
"I literally peeled off Vorin, and you are saying I did not do enough!!"
[I won’t give rewards just because you torture demons well, if you had dominated Vorin and had not delayed his death i would have given you greater rewards than just points]
William’s brows knitted together, irritation flaring. "How I kill my enemy is my choice."
[sure!! I don’t mind that, but Vorin could have killed you that day if not for your divine physique, plus you relied on sword intent a lot and didn’t use other sword techniques.
[For instance i pardon you considering people were watching the broadcast, still you wasted too much time, could have cooked Vorin with stellar fire in a minute.
William clicked his tongue, lips curling in displeasure. "Tsk, how would I see him suffering then?"
The words came easily.
Too easily.
[I don’t mind you hating demons, just keep your own life above their agony, that’s all I want, I want to see you grow, not die young]
William’s jaw tightened.
He nodded, "I understand,"
"I will take care from next time, I will only torture high-ranked demons."
[tsk!!, just say it, you don’t agree, what is that half-assed conviction]
William opened his mouth, then closed it again.
[never mind, see this]
The mission interface shifted, reorganizing itself. New symbols etched themselves into place, darker, heavier.
———⁜⁜⁜——————⁜⁜⁜———
[# Unknown’s Chain-Quest ]
[Sub-quest 1: Where is the veil??]
[Description: Clayman cult’s leader knows the location of the veil]
[Task: Enslave the cult leader and find the veil]
[Rewards: Sun-based God Spell]
———⁜⁜⁜——————⁜⁜⁜———
"Oh wow!! a god spell!!"
The fatigue that had been clinging to him disappeared, replaced by a brighter mood.
[It’s truly crazy, host!! Though you must know that the cult leader is on a very high level of the cultivation realm.
"hehe!!" William’s smile turned predatory, something dark glinting behind it. "Not as high as my master."
[tsk!! gold digger host]
"What did you say?"
[I said that Tamasya’s cultivation is sealed behind godly seals; you would need to help her break them]
William scoffed lightly. "Tsk, I’ll keep that in mind."
"What should I do with Lia now? She is not healing in any way."
[Keep her inside the domain, host, at least the high-purity environment would be able to stabilize her body until we find a cure for that energy.]
William nodded, though reluctance lingered in his eyes. He didn’t like leaving things unresolved.
Another thought surfaced. "What was that shop update message?"
[Your Adaptation talent added another category of products based on ??? energy ]
"But my body didn’t adapt to the strange energy, did it?"
[For unknown reasons, it did not host, but the most probable reason might be that your talent rejected the blood of ??? and then just compensated you with a new shop category]
[We can infer two solid facts from these]
"Which are?" William asked, attention sharpening.
[First is that your supreme talent has more to it than meets the eye. Remember the strange notification of absolute adaptation eating ???, I think your talent has intelligence of some sort.]
William frowned slightly. "We can’t be sure, just because the notification said the word eat doesn’t mean it is a sentient talent."
[well there is no harm in assuming so]
The system paused, then continued.
[because the second fact that I inferred was that your talent lawless adaptation and the supreme system have some connection, otherwise it wouldn’t have been able to update the shop]
William crossed his arms, gaze distant. "well aren’t my other talents related to the system anyway?
[yes they are, but they were given to you by the system. It makes sense, but lawless adaptation talent was something you awakened on your own during your awakening.]
Silence fell again.
William exhaled slowly.
"You are right," he admitted. His voice was quiet. "But didn’t expect you to be so curious."
"It seems even you are unaware of everything, even after being a part of the system itself."