*Poof*
“…..!”
A chunky machine materialized right above me as I brought my hands forward and caught it.
“Hmpfh!”
Groaning, I hunched over and barely managed to keep it from dropping to the floor before quickly moving to my desk and setting it down there.
Bang!
“That… was heavier than I expected.”
I looked at the machine in front of me with a frown. It had a bulky, boxy shape with a small display screen, rows of rubbery buttons, and a paper tray sticking out from the back or side.
From what I understood, this was supposed to be the purity enhancer.
But…
“Why does this look so much like a fax machine?”
No matter how I looked at it, it just seemed like a fax machine; an old, outdated model at that.
“No, wait.”
Taking a closer look, there was a small cylindrical tube by the side.
’I presume that’s where the fragments are placed.’
I took the only fragment that I had and placed it there. Indeed, it fit nicely.
“So what am I supposed to do?”
I looked around the machine before settling my gaze on a specific switch by the side. That looked to be the power switch, and I didn’t waste a single second pressing it.
Cha— Chak!
A weird sound came out from the ’fax’ machine as I turned it on, and the display screen lit up.
Shortly after that, a number was displayed on it.
[91%]
“Oh.”
So it displayed the purity of a crystal.
Then…
“I presume this button over here is to change the purity.”
By the side of the machine was a glaring red button.
I thought about pressing it, but stopped myself.
“This looks pure enough. I don’t think I want to risk increasing its purity.”
Thus, taking out the crystal, I looked towards the system window and chose the [Conceptualization] area before pressing [Yes] and accepting my other half of the rewards.
*Puff*
A fairly sized brown pouch formed out of thin air, falling right into my hands as I caught it.
“One, two, three, four… ten. Looks like everything is here.”
Counting all the fragments and seeing all of them there, I took a random crystal and replaced the previous fragment with the new one.
Cha— Chak!
The machine made another strange noise, and moments later, a new number appeared.
[68%]
“Oof.”
The number was lower than I expected.
’No, it’s more like the first fragment that I received had an absurd level of purity. This should be normal according to what I heard from Myles.’
He also mentioned that 60% was the optimal purity level.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough for me.
I needed my purity to be higher.
I needed to create the most resilient node possible. As someone who most likely already had a cognitive shard, I couldn’t afford to take any risks.
But at the same time, thinking about Myles’s words, I fell into thought.
“He said Cognitive Shards form when a node suffers too many fractures. But how does that explain my situation? Is it possible I don’t have a Cognitive Shard at all, or could someone have a Cognitive Shard without even having a node?”
The entire situation felt weird to me.
Something was amiss and I felt completely blind to it…
“For now, I’ll test the other fragments.”
I decided to brush those thoughts aside for now and focus on what was ahead.
Cha— Chak!
Like that, I began to test each fragment one by one.
The results were…
55%, 73%, 81%, 14%, 27%, 94%, 39%, 88%, 61%.
“Hmm.”
I didn’t really know what to make with these numbers. Some were really good while others were really bad. In particular, the 14% fragment.
That was way too low.
“I guess you’ll be the one.”
Given that I already had a fragment, added to the ten I had, I had one fragment to spare.
I planned on using the low percentage one to test the machine.
But before that…
[Would you like to remove the attribute?]
▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]
“Yes.”
The color faded from the fragment as a misty gray cloud formed above me. The fragment grew warm, and my head felt a little light. It was still bearable, and nothing terrible. The moment the cloud appeared, a tingling shot through my arm, and I summoned the Nightwalker.
Swoosh!
It was just like last time. The moment it appeared, it funneled the gray cloud into its mouth before disappearing.
Looking at my laptop, the number on its profile went to 2/10.
I was just about to place the crystal in the fax machine when I stopped.
“Wait, does the purity matter when it comes to anomalous entities?”
From what I understood, they didn’t have nodes.
In that case…
I looked towards the other fragments in my hand.
[Would you like to remove the attribute?]
▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]
“…..”
I paused for a moment before eventually pressing [Yes].
Immediately, my arm stirred, and the Nightwalker appeared once more. A gray cloud drifted slowly, pulling away from the fragment below.
Conceptualization: 3/10.
I repeated the process twice more.
A new cloud formed each time and the Nightwalker immediately sucked it.
Conceptualization: 5/10.
I could feel changes happening to the Nightwalker as it sucked the gray clouds. It was hard to describe, it almost felt like it was growing stronger.
I didn’t waste time.
I removed the attribute of the other fragments.
Conceptualization: 7/10
Conceptualization: 8/10
Conceptualization: 9/10
By this point, my mind was throbbing, and my breath was quite heavy.
I felt rather nauseous, but I continued.
Just one more.
And then…
Conceptualization: 10/10
A change suddenly occurred.
“…..!”
The Nightwalker began to squirm, its form shifting as parts of its body expanded. Its arms thickened, its frame broadened, and its already towering height stretched even higher, looming over me with an imposing presence.
I could only stare in silence while the changes happened in real time.
The entire time, I kept alternating my gaze between the Nightwalker and the computer, watching as its profile started to change.
Soon…
“…..”
Silence.
The surroundings fell silent as the Nightwalker finished its changes. Its body was now a head taller than mine, and though the changes weren’t massive, I could feel its presence was a lot more imposing than before.
I took a silent breath before looking at its profile.
─────
<E> Ranked Anomalous Entity – Dreamwalker
[Description]
: Once a Nightwalker, the Dreamwalker is its evolved form, strengthened through fragments of Conceptualization. Its shadowy body has grown more resilient, now capable of withstanding light far better than before, though it still instinctively clings to darkness. While no longer as fragile in the presence of light, it remains most powerful in the dark.
Loyalty : 35–> 65 [+30] (….)
Skill :
[Body Morphosis]
: Skill enables the Dreamwalker to alter its body in any way possible.
Fragments :
Conceptualization: 1/20
─────
“Hiss.”
I drew a cold breath upon seeing its description.
From the description to the new skill tab.
Yes… Skill tab.
It now had a skill.
Not only did the Nightwal-No, Dreamwalker become stronger physically, but it also earned a skill.
This…
The changes were glaring, and I couldn’t help but feel excited knowing that such a creature was working for me.
There was also the fact that its loyalty had increased by a whopping thirty points.
I felt so much better knowing that it wasn’t going to be killing me anytime soon.
“This is great.”
I muttered while staring at the Dreamwalker. With it becoming this much stronger, I started to wonder what would happen once it evolved again.
But then again…
“Twenty fragments. That’s… quite a bit…”
I knew I wouldn’t get as lucky with the system next time. Remembering how tough it had been to collect just one fragment from the last gate, the thought of gathering twenty felt almost impossible.
But then again…
What does the rank of a gate matter if the reward is just a single fragment?
If so, wouldn’t it be more practical to just farm low-ranked gates?
The thought settled into my mind for a brief moment before I shook it away and looked at the fragments in my hand and then at the fax machine.
“Right, I should stop wasting time.”
I looked towards the ten fragments in my hand and then settled my eyes over the fax machine.
Taking a deep breath, I moved towards it.
“Hopefully, it’ll be my turn too…”
I couldn’t wait to reach the Second Order.
What would happen to me then?