“Yikes…”
An overwhelming torrent of information and excitement inundated Northern’s mind. So much to process, so much cause for exhilaration.
He could potentially become either of those two beings?
Northern yearned to summon them immediately… but not yet. He was not finished exploring the full breadth of his newfound rewards.
‘Let’s unveil the main course…’
This, after all, was the catalyst for his arduous journey thus far. The reason he had so fervently anticipated his evolution.
Northern’s gaze returned to the largest panel floating prominently amidst the smaller ones.
[Profile]
Name: Northern Longguard
True Name: [Nameless]
Attributes: [Formless], [Spawn of Void], [Limitless Void], [Vestige of Chaos and Void], [All Eyes], [Chaos Thread], [Flames of Chaos]
Soul Rank: [Drifter]
Talent Fragments: [0/2000]
[Copied Talents]: [0/2]
[Owned Talents]: [1]
[Attribute Abilities(Active/Passive)]: [9/10]
[Owned Items]: [Mortal Blade], [Eternal Twilight], [Silver Sword], [Death Glare] and 24 others.
As Northern focused on a particular set of letters, a satisfied grin reformed across his features.
‘Finally… finally, it’s gone.’
He had grown immensely weary of seeing [Walker] listed there.
‘Now, all that remains is ranking up…’ he speculated, shifting his scrutiny to the next line.
“The talent fragments have increased to two thousand,” he commented. “And… I have two free slots for copied talents. There’s also a new entry… Owned Talent.”
Northern frowned pensively for a moment.
‘I thought I would merely gain one additional slot, but two more is incredible… and I’m guessing my former copied talent transitioned to owned…?’
To confirm, Northern clicked on the [Owned Talents] prompt. Immediately, a new panel materialized over it.
[Owned Talent – 1]
Talent: Singularity
Class: [S]
Talent (True) Name: [Me, Myself And I]
Description: [I am the only one, it is me, myself and I! All others strengthen me.]
Talent Ability: [Soul Clone]
Attributes: [All The Same]
[You can now view the information of Attributes from Copied Talents.]
Talent Progression: [0/1000]
[Additional information: all Copied Talents upon Soul evolution are integrated into your soul and become Owned Talents.]
Northern’s eyes widened, sparkling with azure stars.
“Oi! Oii! Oiii!! You’re telling me if I reach my next rank, I’ll have three owned talents and three slots for copied talents? Then the rank after that, I’d possess six owned talents and four copied talent slots? This is massive!!!”
He washed his face with his palms, closing his eyes tightly before slowly peeking through parted fingers to reconfirm.
‘Maybe I’m dreaming…’
Yet the same information remained, immutable.
The same strings of letters, the same staggering rewards…
“All this… and I had to become a drifter to receive it?”
His true strength had been obscured by the limitations of being a mere walker.
Being a walker was akin to existing in a larval state. Now, he had experienced a complete metamorphosis, unveiling the unbelievable potential to become the world’s mightiest entity.
‘I may already be powerful enough with these attributes from the Vestige of the Chaos Prince… but coupled with this…’ Northern trailed off briefly.
He was not finished, not yet. One… no, two matters remained to inspect.
Northern gulped audibly. At this rate, he was growing overwhelmed by the onslaught of revelations.
‘I’d welcome something mundane for a change…’
[Talent Attribute]
Name: [All The Same]
Rank: [Unique]
Description: [We are all the same. This attribute allows you to maintain equal power with all clones. Upon evolution, it now permits endless creation of clones sharing the same prowess.]
Active Ability: [Create Clone]
[Additional Information: attribute abilities should not manifest. However, since you lack a core, it has been actualized. The attribute ability exists to preserve the talent’s true nature.]
‘… this is quite baffling. I made a wrong decision that is…’
Northern realized he had erred in choosing a singular clone over an endless quantity.
But unable to discern the attributes information at the time, he naturally assumed greater numbers would diminish individual quality.
‘It seems I was mistaken… however, this attribute rectifies that oversight,’ Northern exhaled slowly. ‘Does this imply talent attributes exist to uphold talents’ inherent natures?’
Currently lacking an answer, the question gnawed at him – what role did attributes play in relation to talents and soul cores?
And also…
‘Are soul cores a limitation?’
Because no core formed within his soul, Northern became a defective existence, devoid of talent. Yet in exchange, he could actively wield the abilities of his attributes.
At this juncture, Northern began viewing the soul core as a constraint rather than a source of power for drifters.
He sighed heavily and turned his focus to the final entry. This was the last of his rewards – the one he would not forget.
‘I gained an item after slaying Night Terror… I can’t wait to discover what it is.’
Northern grinned eagerly as he summoned the item’s details.
[Item]
Name: [Night Terror]
Type: [Armor]
Rank: [Heroic]
Order: [IV]
Description: [A king driven mad by avarice for power became an entity of destruction. He met a human and they shared an adventure together. Upon his demise, he bequeathed his body as a metallic vessel to serve and safeguard his human companion.]
Northern nearly retched upon reading that description. He glared down at the diligently floating panel, leaning forward as outrage spilled forth.
“What is this? Friend? Adventure? Who went adventuring with whom? What about the part where he tried to kill me, you damn system? Twice… that monster attempted to murder me twice!”
Pulling back, Northern folded his arms indignantly. “Nonsense. Pure nonsense. You must be joking with me.”
Who knew the system also possessed an amazing sense of humor? Despite Northern’s tantrum, no new panel manifested.
The remaining information patiently awaited his perusal.
Of course, the system had never behaved as a freely communicative entity since their first encounter.
It only responded based on his commands or when specific requirements were met.
Northern knew better than to anticipate a reply. Instead, he studied the rest of the details intently.
Weapon Abilities: [Stalwart], [Induce Fear], [Night Terror], [Eyes of a Terror]
Stalwart: [This armor is practically indestructible. Any weapon of lower rank cannot pierce through.]
Induce Fear: [When donning this armor, a crippling fear is induced in those around you. The far weaker may lose consciousness due to extreme fear.]
Night Terror: [This armor’s true might manifests at night or in darkness. Your presence becomes undetectable, a terror of utter darkness weaving through the shadows as you reap blood and break necks.]
Eyes of a Terror: [This armor possesses four eyes – two for you, two for itself. In extreme situations, the armor can perceive unperceivable attacks and reflexively take momentary control of your body to react.]
‘The last one…’
The notion of something else controlling him, even the armor now under his ownership, kindled skepticism within Northern.
Night Terror was the catalyst for so much of his suffering, that indomitable monster marking both the beginning and bitter end.
Having its armor seize control of his body, even fleetingly, felt traumatic.
Suddenly, Northern’s features settled into a pensive frown.
“Come now. You are not a child – Night Terror is deceased. This is an incredible armor,” he paused, glancing around furtively before dipping his head slightly. “Thank you, Night Terror… for the gift.”
It felt extraordinarily bizarre yet somehow… appropriate.
‘Since the monster’s soul resides here, who knows what ill could befall me if I remained ungrateful after receiving such a memento?’
Northern smiled wanly and dismissed all the panels.
“Now, let’s see how this armor looks.”