Skyler meticulously cleaned the hand-sized, dark elemental stone, removing all traces of blood before storing it in his storage ring.
Only when he was finished did he turn his attention to the three Beast race people.
"Thanks for the elemental stone."
Hearing him, the man who had pointed his sword at him earlier stepped forward.
"You are from planet Eldoria?"
"Yes, from the human continent."
The man nodded. He glanced at the troll's lifeless body, then at Skyler. To him and his team, the latter was weak, considering he was only at the final stage of 4-star.
At first, they had wondered why he had entered the 1st level when he wasn't even strong, but seeing his proficiency with the handgun and how he could form elemental bullets instantly, they knew they shouldn't judge him solely based on his strength.
"Are you a rogue Light?"
Skyler shook his head in denial. A Rogue Light was someone who wasn't affiliated with any academy, guild, or organization. They entered crystals or the Battle Royal just to get stronger. He could understand why they thought he was one.
"I am from Starlight Academy."
The man nodded. The pair of horns on his head and his brown slit pupils glistened in the light, attracting Skyler's attention.
"I know about that academy. Its name is quite famous in Eldoria. We don't have any prejudice against humans. If you are alone and haven't yet found your friends, you can join us, as long as you won't harm us. Your ability with the handgun was helpful."
Skyler chuckled softly.
"No, it's fine. I prefer traveling alone. I have trust issues from past experiences of being abandoned without any notice."
"Okay, do as you please. My name is Xai. It was nice meeting you, human."
Skyler gave his name, and the horned man quickly departed with his team. As they left, 505 finally appeared.
("Host, have you regained your senses? Or are you still under the influence of the one who plunged into a perilous situation just to acquire an elemental stone?")
"I never lost my senses. I did what I did on my own. What are you even talking about?"
505 was left speechless, not sure if it was good or bad that its host was half-crazy.
("Host, how about you use the elemental stone you just acquired to form your 2nd elemental crystal? Instead of letting it sit there gathering dust, you should use it.")
Skyler gasped as if what 505 said was blasphemy. He couldn't believe the system was telling him to use his presence gem!
"Are you crazy? I can form my second elemental crystal without it. Why would I use something so precious?"
505 left to scream in the system chat group to share his suffering with the other systems. Was there really no way to get its host to act and think like a normal host should?
Skyler sensed more trolls approaching the vicinity, likely drawn by the scent of blood and the noise of battle, and left the area.
Looking around, he found a hidden cavity within a tree trunk where a 3-star fanged squirrel was sleeping. He killed the beast and settled down in the hidden cavity.
With a heavy exhale, he glanced at his status for a second and closed his eyes.
The memory of the pain he felt when he formed his first elemental crystal was still fresh in his mind, making him hesitant, but he knew he had to forge his second.
'The process was hard the first time and required supervision, but now that I know what to do, I believe I can do it alone.'
His heart rate spiked, anticipating the familiar pain. Steeling himself, he felt the tiny particles of Evol swirling around him.
He sensed many colors of Evol, but the most dominant was golden Evol—the color of the Light element. Then he sensed the second most dominant color, a dark hue—the color of the Darkness element.
'First step, sense the Evol. Done.'
He was very careful. Unlike the first time, when he had no choice but to form his first elemental crystal to survive, this time he was in a relatively secure setting. So, he wanted to take his time to get used to the process. After all, who knows just how many crystals he would have to form in the future?
Controlling the dark Evol around him to move, he willed it to enter his body. To his surprise, he succeeded on his first try. He knew once someone had sensed the Evol, the process of guiding it into one body became easier. But not this easy!
The dark particles trembled slightly, and everything around him faded into silence.
Skyler's entire focus was on the particles as they entered his body. Just like the first time, he didn't have to create a pathway within his body for the particles to reach his heart; his entire body became a channel for them, and they flowed throughout his body, heading straight for his heart on their own.
He would have marveled at his unique constitution, but he had no time for such musings. Sweat beaded on his hairline as it was finally time for him to form the crystal.
He concentrated and gathered the dark particles into a single spot within his heart. Then, he harnessed their power to create a thin layer of shield around them.
So engrossed in his task, he missed the ominous pitch-black aura emanating from his body. With him at the center, the black aura spread out in all directions, enveloping everything in the surroundings, sending all the monsters who noticed fleeing in fear.
Skyler's lips trickled upward when he easily formed the shield around the dark particles. It was very weak, so he added another layer, then another, and at last, another glowing, ant-sized dark crystal floated in his heart.
It settled opposite the golden crystal.
"I did it! Haha..."
He laughed, and 505, who watched the entire process of what had just transpired, jolted in fear. The system couldn't believe its host was such a scary entity!
Skyler opened his eyes. The dark color in them had deepened, taking on an obsidian hue. He was startled to find himself cloaked in darkness, with not a speck of light in sight.
But as he blinked, with a speed that gave 505 another shock of its life, the dark aura that had spilled out of his body retreated, and everything returned to normal.
He was still seated inside the tree cavity.
The forest air was calm and quiet.
"Did I just imagine that?"
He was bewildered. Yet, if those with keen senses were in the area, they would notice that every particle of dark Evol was sucked dry from the place. The other kinds of Evol were still present, but no dark Evol.
"505, did I imagine what I just saw...!"
Skyler halted mid-sentence, a searing pain lancing through his chest. The dark crystal, floating quietly within his heart opposite the golden one, suddenly began to expand, its size growing with alarming speed.
A strangled cry escaped his lips as he clenched his heart. Agony overwhelmed him, plunging his mind into a fog. The air was filled with the echoes of screams. But no one heard him. The ominous dark aura that had spread earlier had driven away everything alive in the surroundings.
505 was horrified at the sight. It couldn't do anything, as it lacked a body and could only flash one system screen after another.
("Host! What happened!")
("Host! Did something go wrong with the elemental crystal? Stay conscious!")
("Don't die, host!")
("Give 505 permission! 505 will buy a healing potion from the system store!")
Skyler pressed his fingers against the rough bark of the tree, his knuckles white with the effort as he bent over. A coppery taste filled his mouth, and he spat out blood. The gray screens flashing before his eyes were the only things keeping him conscious.
Just as he felt like he could no longer bear the pain and his dark eyes began to close, the agony suddenly disappeared.
"Aaaa..."
He let out a gasp as his head touched the rough, textured surface. His breathing was labored, as if he had run a marathon. It was shocking considering he didn't feel this tired after running around so much earlier.
Mustering all his courage, he rasped.
"Buy it! The potion... I am dying! Ha..."
505 didn't need any more instructions. It sprang into action, and in the next second, a vial filled with glowing liquid dropped next to Skyler. He hastily scrambled to grab it.
Without even noticing just how expensive the healing potion was, Skyler opened the vial and quickly gulped down the liquid.
Only when the healing potion began to take effect did he feel somewhat relieved. After a few minutes, he finally regained a bit of his composure and stared at the empty air.
"What the hell just went down?"
("Host... you scared 505! I thought you were going to die and I'd have to find a new host!")
Skyler glared in a random direction, unable to pinpoint 505's location.
"Shut up!"