#234
Karma Shopping (2)
A border area of the abyss where chaos and emptiness are mixed.
"That's strange."
It was a brief sentiment expressed by a revolutionary who had observed the progress of recent events.
The assassination of the princess to divide the empire, the sinking of the Enamel Continent through the exclusion of the World Tree, the division of humanity due to the northern advance of the Tribal Alliance, and even the awakening of the Immortal King, who thought he had already succeeded.
The operations that started simultaneously were becoming strangely complicated.
To the point where it feels like artificial and malicious intervention, as if someone is deliberately interfering with it.
'Actually, I guess it's been too easy up until now.'
The task he pursues is against the intentions of the Lord, the Creator of this world.
From the beginning, I never thought things would go smoothly.
That's why I hid in the darkness of the world for a long time and made thorough preparations in advance…
but it seems that this level of preparation was not enough.
'But it's not like I gained nothing at all.'
It was heartbreaking to see all that effort go to waste, but at least it was much better than previous plans that were stranded before even getting started.
Because it was able to meet its minimum usefulness of causing enormous human casualties, causing chaos, and at the same time eroding the power of the world.
'There it is…'
That wasn't the only thing I gained through a series of recent events.
"her! Just in case. "I can't deny it anymore."
It is of no certainty.
In fact, I had been doubtful about it for quite some time, but now it seemed like it could be considered almost certain.
The immortal king who, as the vanguard of the abyss, must take the lead in covering the world with death—.
That he has some unknown secret relationship with the saint of the main church, who is no less than his natural enemy.
"Phew, what kind of absurd thing is this?"
Others on the continent could not even imagine, let alone doubt, but he, who knew the Immortal King better than anyone else, was able to judge the situation more objectively.
What I thought could never happen actually happened.
'Jusin…what on earth have you done?'
Using the Immortal King was a plan that went off without a hitch even a thousand or three hundred years ago.
Thanks to this, we were able to successfully eliminate the dragons, which were the biggest obstacle to the great world.
But now that we have entered the final stage, something like this is happening.
'What can be said to be the biggest variable in recent times… Are the aliens the most likely?'
The revolutionary, who had been contemplating with his eyes closed, quickly came to a conclusion and frowned.
An impurity from this world who came from another dimension with a rapid growth rate and unique abilities.
After discovering their existence, he not only captured them and used them in many ways, but also experimented on them while they were still alive.
Then, after realizing that they were just humans with slightly special abilities and strangers who would soon leave, I didn't pay much attention to them.
Perhaps he had underestimated their potential too much.
'…Anyway, I don't think a single mortal can overcome the death of the abyss and intervene in it. No, this is just a hypothesis, so hasty judgment should not be made.'
What I needed to think about right now was what to do in the future.
In any case, since the Immortal King, who was the best option, showed a lukewarm attitude beyond expectations, he had no choice but to choose the
next best option… The problem was that the current progress of that method was also not very satisfactory.
'The progress of the saturation of madness is slower than expected. How many giants have been sent to the ground so far, but it's still only like this?'
The revolutionary turned his gaze to the crouching human figure next to him and then frowned.
The prerequisite for the next best solution was for the concentration of madness spread in the world to exceed a certain threshold, but it still seemed like it would take quite some time to reach the target in the current situation.
'That barbarian… what on earth is he?'
This all happened because a barbarian with a saint consumed all the enormous madness that would have spread throughout the world as it was supposed to.
Even recently, wasn't it possible to see that even the madness scattered in the air was swirling around him and being sucked into him?
Like the situation with the Immortal King, this was also an incomprehensible miracle.
'Still, the overall saturation rate is steadily increasing, but too much time wasted because of that one guy. I feel like I want to deal with him first, but…'
The timing is also right, as he is separated from the death squad and is left alone in the south.
However, the problem was that now that most of the forces he had disintegrated, he did not have the resources to deal with such a strong person.
It didn't seem like sending in a few giants who weren't fully awakened would solve the problem, and he himself was in a position where he couldn't move easily.
"…Tsk, I guess I need to buy more time."
It was difficult for the continent to stabilize so quickly when the plan had not yet been completed.
The monsters' rampage and the white giant's attack continued, but it was not enough.
Especially since the Immortal King withdrew from the south, and the raids of the Immortal Army across the continent also slowed down.
'Then…'
Eventually, a strange light directed the young revolutionary's gaze toward one of the numerous cracks in the distorted space surrounding him.
It started at the same time as operations taking place in other regions, but due to its unique secretness, it is carried out quietly without much disturbance externally.
To the Republic of Zephia in the eastern part of the Aeon Continent.
***
"hmm."
Actually, I was a little worried.
I even used the Dragon Heart, but I was afraid that Harley would create something like a disguised race called 'Dragon Man'.
Of course, I'm not saying that dragons are bad, but since they are quite different in class from real dragons, I couldn't help but feel an old grudge.
The points included here are not just one or two pennies.
'It was just rain, though.'
Fortunately, the race created was definitely a dragon.
'Just…'
And now I am.
He was looking at the avatar that was finally born with his arms crossed.
Lower your gaze slightly.
The dragon avatar also stared at the main body.
Raise your gaze slightly upward.
'I did it just in case.'
There is no need to compare, there is a clear difference in eye level.
I quietly looked at the dragon, a golden creature the size of a large dog, shining before me under the fluorescent light.
Where had the head full of spirit and dignity that had been painstakingly refined through "customization" gone? A small, round and cute baby dragon was looking up with a sullen expression.
'No, now that I think about it, it's a good thing that it didn't reach the egg.'
They are said to have a longer lifespan than humans, but unlike elves and dwarves, who live only a few hundred years, dragons' lifespan is known to be close to 10,000 years.
I am still in my 20s, so even if the skill called "Customization" covers a certain part, it would have been difficult to create Jackie Chan from the beginning.
Even the dragon race is originally a race that grows stronger in proportion to age.
There was a limit to the power of the avatar at the beginning of its creation, so it was natural that this result occurred.
"Karrung!"
Due to his oral structure being unsuitable for using human language, he was unable to speak yet, but this could also be resolved by using magical power once he got used to his new body.
I nodded with satisfaction as I looked at the individual information of the new dragon avatar, Horus.
〈Individual Information〉
-Individual name: Horus
-Race: Dragon (Hatchling)
-Common characteristics: 「Mind Herb」 「Persona」 「Xenogloss」
-Individual characteristics: 「Gold Dragon」 「Ruler of All Things」 「Polymorph」「 Yongeon Magic」
– Special Features: Han Seong-hyeon's eleventh avatar. The dragon heart of the Gold Dragon Hatchling was used as a medium. Although it is still only a hatchling, its growth potential is unrivaled.
'I guess it's because I used an expensive medium.'
As many as four initial skills.
The only additional skill I chose was "Dragon Magic," and the other three were abilities given by default from the creation stage.
What is unusual is that, upon creating the avatar, all the skills obtained by strengthening the status, from "Super Recovery" to "Visiting", were incorporated into the abilities of "Gold Dragon".
"Gold Dragon" was a skill that further strengthened the dragon's racial characteristics, such as excellent physical ability, perception, and anti-magic power.
"Ruler of all things" was a skill that supported affinity and resistance of all attributes, including mana.
"Polymorph" was a transformation ability that allowed dragons to live and mix with other races.
'This is worth the investment. In addition, I was able to obtain the "Dragon Magic," which normally a hatchling could not even dream of.'
Yongeon (龍言) is an ability of the language spirit system that embodies phenomena through language, and was one of the abilities representing the dragon along with breath.
However, neither of those abilities were allowed to hatchlings as infants, but I was able to obtain one of them using the 'Choose one of three random skills' function.
'I was lucky. There is no guarantee that you will be able to learn it from someone even later, and even if you could learn it, it would have taken an extremely long time.'
Now that I had the skill, I glanced at the knowledge needed to activate it and was able to figure it out clearly.
If I had to learn this entirely by learning, it would have taken at least ten years, even with all kinds of corrections.
The level of learning difficulty and structure itself was incomparable to the "Introduction to Magic" that Hesperon had learned.
'It's a bit of a problem being a hatchling, but since the activity itself will be done in human form anyway, it won't be a big deal for the time being. Because Horus has a "polymorph."
Now was the time to check it out.
My eyes turned to Horus, who was walking around the living room with his small body checking his condition.
"Kwaaan!"
And at the same time, a cute roaring sound came out of its mouth.
Paaaa—
The body covered in golden scales was engulfed in a soft light and its shape slowly began to change.
At some point, he became a human being standing on his own two feet.
It is so captivating that anyone can't help but lose their attention.
Shiny blonde hair and golden eyes that shine with rain.
He was a very handsome and cute guy with soft, smooth white skin and plump cheeks.
…The problem was that he only looked like five or six years old.
"yes? And why is this happening?"
Chop! With a sound, Horus raised his hands to his cheeks and frowned, wiggling his fingers.
To others, it was an action to express displeasure, but in the main body's eyes, it just seemed like an infinitely cute action.
'Oh, I see.'
"Polymorph" was not just a simple appearance change magic, but an ability that was like the power to become the race itself that one wanted to imitate.
In theory, it was a means of changing one's appearance at will without being restricted by race, gender, age, etc….
'The skill level is insufficient.'
It's been less than an hour since I created my avatar.
Of course, there was no way I could already master the skills I had just acquired.
And considering the potential that the ability holds, it might take longer than expected.
'The avatar's individual skills cannot be strengthened through 'other skill enhancement'.'
Therefore, all that was needed was time to master the skill.
Originally, abundant capital could accelerate even the most necessary time.
Without hesitation, I opened the Karma Store again and purchased the 'Elixir of Growth'.
The experiment with Hesperon and Howard had not yet been completed, but there were still 2 million points left anyway, so it was well worth the investment.
'I should try feeding it to Horus as well. Aside from his skills, I might be able to make him grow faster.'
And right after I got the product, I glanced through the menu, thinking about how I could use the remaining points.
Any changes could be found.
"uh?"
It was so impressive that it could not help but be deeply engraved in my memory.
『XX Fragments of XX Transformed XXX (29700000)』
There was a price change for an unknown product that was worth 30 million points.