To Leo’s immeasurable disappointment, Naz’Tor couldn’t provide him with a way to contact Tarak. Apparently, thanks to the Old One’s personalized communication transmitter, nobody could add him to their contact list unless he called them first. Somehow, his number—or whatever the thing was called—was unavailable to the public, and anyone trying to extract it would just waste their time.
Despite that, the merchant promised to call the Lone Traveler later and try to set up a meeting. Leo didn’t try to stop him, but he doubted anything would come from that. If Tarak wanted to meet with him, it would have happened a long time ago. But no, he preferred to call Naz’Tor to gather information instead.
I bet he is still banking on me reaching this Netherum. I should have asked what it is. He clicked his tongue, looking down at the transmitter in his hand. Well, next time.
Once he returned the device to his soul, he reached for another item—or rather, three of them. They all appeared before him in a flash, and he quickly grabbed the one that seemed the most familiar.
TEK Transmitter V4.5… Looks good if a bit battered. Leo observed, rolling the green device across his palm. Aside from the color and bigger mass, I can’t see a difference between this and my own… Lily will have to test the rest.
With a shrug, he consumed the item and grabbed the next one—a gray fist-sized crystal shard. He scanned it for any runes or other modifications but found none. Whatever this thing did, it wasn’t obvious from its appearance.
Identify.
Core Shard (Uncommon):
A tiny piece of a Supercluster core, heavily modified to assist survivors with finding more of its brethren. This primitive tool will start to glow brighter the closer you are to a healthy Supercluster core. Remaining lifetime: 4 days and 3 hours.
Primitive my ass. Leo snorted, returning the shard to his soul. If this is called primitive, then I want to know what else they have. A direct teleporter to the core?
He shook his head and reached for the last item he needed to check, probably the most valuable of them all.
Like all Install-types, its half-transparent form preferred hovering slightly above the ground. Its deep purple glow washed over his hand, emitting coldness similar to the one he felt during his short stay in the Ice Wasteland.
Nonetheless, Leo closed the remaining distance and grabbed the simple orb of energy—not dissimilar to Touch of Carnage. The coldness intensified, but he held on tight and activated Identify.
Install: Phantom’s Whisper (Radiant):
A high-quality install-type item created through careful processing of the Essence of many Greater Phantoms. With further modifications done by an expert Soul Artificer, this nightmarish energy formed into an item that would benefit anyone who prefers to remain hidden.
Passive: Your Essence signature becomes distorted, thus becoming much harder to detect and track.
Active: By channeling the power of Phantom’s Whisper into your stealth abilities, they become much stronger, enhancing their efficiency by a wide margin.
Radiant?! Leo’s eyes widened. Just how much Ether did he lose on this deal? This has to be in the tens of thousands if not hundreds… Holy shit… And it’s also just what I need.
For a single second, he thought of calling Naz’Tor again and forcing him to take this back. However, his common sense and desire to become stronger quickly pushed that idiotic idea out of his head. He needed this.
Here we go, then. With the item still in his hand, he pushed a bit of Essence toward it. A new notification instantly appeared.
Do you wish to Install Phantom’s Whisper into your soul? Install-Type items can be removed any time you want.
Go on.
Just like that, the purple orb dived into his body. Within a few seconds, he felt it settle inside his soul, quite close to the other two install-type items. Like always, a phantom weight settled on his shoulders, but he barely noticed it this time.
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That went well... I think. Leo smiled, flexing his Essence to make sure there were no issues. Yeah, all good. Now, to test it all out…
First things first, he summoned the Cloak of True Night and let it fall over his shoulders. After that, he allowed a tiny layer of shadows to slither over his form, covering it from top to bottom. Finally, he reached for the new item inside his soul, grabbed its power, and pushed it into the activation of Stealth Shroud.
It took a few seconds for the skill to settle, but when it did, Leo couldn’t find any issues with it. Every single part of the ability worked at least twice as efficiently, pushing the illusion of invisibility to new heights.
Let’s see.
Slowly, he stood up and disappeared from his position in a burst of Essence. He did again and again, always keeping an eye on the integrity of his Stealth Shroud. Only after about twenty jumps did he stop, finally noticing some imperfections in his skill. Yet, even then, once a few seconds passed, they all disappeared, leaving the ability in perfect condition.
Nyx! He called out through the link. I know you’re not asleep. What did you see?
The feline groaned. ‘And here I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.’
He rolled his eyes. Just answer the question.
‘Nothing, I saw nothing, and I heard nothing,’ she grumbled. ‘However, the same cannot be said about your Essence. It’s harder to catch now, but I still felt a bit of it when you used Blink.’
Thanks. Leo flashed back to his starting position, canceled his skills, and sat down. It’s still a massive improvement. This item really is a dream come true for any assassin.
‘Don’t get too complacent. There is still plenty of room for improvement in Stealth Shroud,’ Nyx warned. ‘Just think about it… Phantom’s Whisper already makes it so much better. If you improve the base, nobody will be able to detect you…’
‘Nobody’ is stretching it a bit, but I see your point.
‘Good,’ the feline harrumphed. ‘Now go and start that trial of yours. Stop wasting time.’
Yes, mother. Leo chuckled and once more looked into his soul. He poked the dormant link inside it and smiled when a new notification appeared before him.
Your second Trial of Primes is waiting. Do you wish to begin it now?
Yes.
Acknowledged. Please relax and don’t resist the pull. The land behind the Veil is waiting.
----------------------------------------
Leo gasped, opening his eyes as the feeling in his body returned. He looked around and frowned at the completely different scene compared to the previous trial. One thing for sure, there wouldn’t be any hunting today—at least not on this large rocky plateau filled with nothing aside from some big stones.
He tried to reach beyond the limited space, to see further than the boundaries of the plateau allowed. Yet, there was nothing there—only solid darkness.
“So what is it this time?” he muttered.
“The Trial of Blood, or more precisely, your bloodlust.”
Those words came from a phantom that materialized right in front of him. The creature looked quite similar to him, only much slimmer, and instead of legs, it possessed five tendrils that allowed it to float above the ground.
“Bloodlust, you say?” Leo repeated after he calmed his rampaging heart.
“Indeed,” the creature nodded. “Bloodlust is a weapon of every Akirian, one we have to learn to wield to perfection along with the instincts that come with it. For almost all of us, our Apex aspect is the only teacher.”
“But I don’t have one, thus the trial.”
“Correct again… Until now, you only had a taste of what bloodlust is capable of. Take your Night Hunter’s Blade Mastery, for example. Every time you fight, your instincts are there to help you. You might not hear them, but they are there, slowly expanding the knowledge you received when you obtained the skill from the System.”
Leo hummed as he recalled some of his old battles. Back when he just evolved into Prime Night Hunter, he barely knew what to do with his blades. He wasn’t much better than a street brawler. But now? In his fight against Payne? Maybe his style wasn’t perfect, but it was still more refined than what any other survivor could show.
I see… I definitely heard my instincts, but those times were few and far between. Now, it makes sense.
Unaware of the thoughts in his head, the phantom continued. “Then we have your Relentless Hunger. Many Akirians call this type of skill ‘The Trigger.’ A fitting name, if I have to say. After all, those abilities pretty much trigger our bloodlust and let it free without almost any limits. It is the most powerful way of utilizing bloodlust but also the most taxing one—especially in your case, young Prime.”
Hard to disagree here. Leo held back a laugh.
“Now, there are a few more ways of using the power given to us, two of which I will teach you today,” the creature exclaimed, and suddenly, its form fully manifested. “Once you understand the concept behind those methods, you will get a short break to practice. Afterward, your real trail will begin. Follow me!”