Staring at the window in front of me, I carefully studied the new changes. The more I read, the faster my heart began to beat.
This...
’It’s fucking good, isn’t it?’
The new skill especially caught my attention. It looked incredibly useful, and alongside [Trait Transfer], I couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities.
’I’m sure there’s a limit to the skill, but if I can use it once or even twice, that’s more than enough to save my life multiple times.’
In other words, it made me somewhat immune to physical attacks. But that wasn’t the only use for the skill. If it allowed me to ignore the physical world, then it could also be used to infiltrate places that would otherwise be hard to.
The more I looked at the skill, the more pleased I felt.
Looking at the Realm... No, Voidwalker, I felt incredibly pleased.
It looked even stronger than before. I was certain that its physical capabilities had improved as well.
I was sure that it would be able to tank a few more attacks.
’Let me try the new skill.’
Approaching the Voidwalker, I slapped it in the head.
Smack!
"....Eh?"
But contrary to what I’d expected, my attack landed cleanly against the side of its face, causing the entire room to freeze.
"I..."
I looked at my hand, the sting still lingering over its surface.
That... it felt strangely good.
But that wasn’t the issue. Lifting my head, I met the Realmwalker’s... ugh, Voidwalker’s gaze as I coughed and covered my lips with my fist.
"...I was trying to test your new skill. I thought you’d dodge it, but I didn’t expect you not to react. Plus, I’m sure you didn’t feel anything. I can feel that you’re a lot stronger than before, you—Ha!"
Already expecting the Voidwalker to lunge at me, I brought both hands up to meet it head-on. But just as I expected it to latch onto me, its entire body phased straight through mine.
It felt almost like a cold wind had blown past me, a dark mist-like substance slipping through my body before the Voidwalker’s form emerged behind me.
I just barely turned my head when—
Smack!
I felt the sting on my right cheek.
The Voidwalker’s middle parted into a grin as it pointed at me, its other arm clutching its belly as it leaned back.
"Ke..."
Ke?
All the anger subsided as I stared at the Voidwalker.
’Wait, it can speak?’
"Ke... Ke..."
No, it doesn’t seem like it can just yet, but it can make sounds now.
That...
’Thinking about it, it’s not surprising. The Voidwalker has been getting smarter with every upgrade. It isn’t surprising that it can make sounds now. Perhaps by the time I upgrade it again, it’ll be able to speak.
Thinking about the Voidwalker speaking, I suddenly didn’t want to upgrade it anymore. The Voidwalker was already a pain when it didn’t speak. Imagine if it could speak?
"Hell no."
Yeah, just the thought of it made me want to puke.
’In that case, I should consider upgrading one of the other three. Mirelle, the mirror, or Mr. Jingles.’
The decision wasn’t hard to make. Taking into consideration Mirelle’s recent personality shift, along with the fact that I still needed to explore the mirror’s abilities further, I decided to upgrade Mr. Jingles.
’I’m also dealing with humans lately, and with the Gates mainly handling humans, I think this is the most appropriate choice.’
Making up my mind, I didn’t waste any time.
Mr. Jingles belonged to the [Illusionist Decree], so I texted the Guild Master, asking him to hand me any [Illusionist Decree] fragments he had. I also selected the [Illusionist Decree] as the attribute for the essence.
The requirement for Mr. Jingles to upgrade was;
Illusionist: 0/80.
Essence [Illusionist]: 0/10
Having already collected all the essence, I didn’t waste any time and began removing the attribute from each one.
Mr. Jingles didn’t waste any time either. The lights across the entire room flickered in and out as the essence that faded into the air was directly sucked into the monitor before my very eyes.
Essence [Illusionist]: 1/10
Essence [Illusionist]: 3/10
Essence [Illusionist]: 5/10
Essence [Illusionist]: 7/10
Essence [Illusionist]: 10/10
Once it had absorbed all of the essence, I retrieved all of the [Illusionist] fragments I had and removed their attributes. Since I didn’t have all of the fragments with me, I could only get it to about one-quarter of the way there, but I wasn’t too worried.
Illusionist: 23/80.
"Wait a bit, I’ll get the delivery soon. I’ll upgrade you then."
Checking my phone and seeing that the Guild Master had seen it, I reached for the drawer beside me and retrieved a particular book. With Mr. Jingles taken care of, it was time to focus on myself.
"I have the essence, and I’ll soon get the fragments. All that’s left is for me to select a proper reagent."
Since entering this world, I had never really paid much attention to the technicalities of how Nodes and Orders worked. I had a general idea, but all I truly focused on was collecting fragments and getting stronger.
Nobody had taught me either, since nobody was aware that I had actually developed my Nodes.
At least, not until recently.
I couldn’t afford to remain indifferent to the technicalities anymore. I’d reached a point where I needed to understand exactly what was happening inside my head, especially since the path ahead was only going to become more difficult.
"They say the Fifth Order is the point where someone truly joins the ranks of the elite. I can’t afford to be negligent."
Especially since this involved the unlocking of the first ’Advanced Node.’
Unlike Basic and Intermediate Nodes, Advanced Nodes required Essence to be found. Unlike fragments, which allowed a person to locate Basic and Intermediate Nodes, Essence was necessary because Advanced Nodes were buried much deeper within the lattice.
The deeper the Node, the more energy was required to find it. At first, this could be compensated for by adding more fragments, but I’d reached a point where I needed something stronger.
In this case, Essence.
But that wasn’t all.
"Null Larynx, Silence Stone, Muted Cord..."
I read through each possible reagent listed in the book in front of me, whilst scratching the back of my head.
This was the part that was stumping me.
Unlike Basic and Intermediate Nodes, Advanced Nodes were much harder to take control of. This was where reagents came in, allowing one to seep through the outer layer of the Node and gradually take control of it.
They were usually made from parts collected from the bodies of certain anomalies, with each part suited to a specific Decree.
But this was where the problem lay.
"There’s nothing for the Shepard Decree."
There was a long list of reagents, but none that I knew would be useful to me.
"Ugh."
I scratched the back of my head, my head aching considerably.
This truly did feel like a massive headache.
"What should I choose? Don’t tell me that I have to look one for myself?"
"Pick this one."
A long, slender finger pressed against the book. As I looked down, a certain reagent appeared before my eyes.
"Knitting Marrow?"
I looked back to see the smiling Conductor.
How did...
"This is safe for you to take. It’s not the perfect reagent, but since you’re only trying to reach the Fifth Order, it should be enough."
"What do you mean?"
"For your first Advanced Node, this is more than enough. It might not be completely compatible with you, but that won’t be an issue until the Sixth Order. By then, you’ll have no choice but to choose one that’s compatible with you."
"Why is that?"
The Conductor’s smile widened.
I could already feel my blood pressure shoot up. I raised my hand to stop it from speaking further.
"Okay, I get it. I’ll experience it myself later."
Seeing the Conductor’s smile twist further up, I really did feel my blood pressure shoot up, but I held myself back and focused my attention back on the book.
’Knitting Marrow...’
Honestly, I didn’t know much. I wasn’t sure if this was the right decision or not, but considering the Conductor’s goal, I had a feeling this was probably the best choice for me.
’...Anything to stop these headaches.’
Reaching for my head, I texted the Guild Master.
[I want this too]
"Haaa."
Tossing my phone onto the table, I leaned back.
"Alright, it’s done."
All I had to do was wait for the material to come. It wouldn’t take long.
"...I hope it gets here faster."
These headaches...
I really couldn’t stand them anymore.
It felt as though I was going crazy.
No...
I’m already crazy.