I woke up early the next morning, fired up and ready to go. I had learned quite a good deal from Muriel's specter regarding the Arachne's Hand and other PK syndicates.

It was... awkward to say the least. Apparently, news of how I had conquered a couple of floors by myself had spread like wildfire throughout the internet, with people speculating what my stats were like. PK syndicates caught wind of this and were motivated to follow in my footsteps of growing exponentially powerful. While I couldn’t do anything about it, I was planning on mentioning it to the other Enigma members as well as Tessa. They could probably do something about that.

With it, there was also some criticism from those who thought my Risk strategy was stupid, noting that hitting walls every so often disrupts the growth progression of others. I wanted to create an account just to inform them that I was no longer pushing tower floors and instead switched over to dungeon resonances, but it didn't seem like it was worth it when I had bigger things to worry about.

Having killed my first Player, I had expected to gain Muriel’s levels and experience points, but to my surprise, I wasn’t awarded either of them, leading me to believe that it was only possible if she was higher in level than I was. I guess the system was all about balance if PKing worked that way, or if I was the only one it wanted to screw over. Whatever the case was, unless I killed Players higher in level than I was, I wouldn’t benefit from PK. That was fine by me.

My plans for today included going to the GPA to practice with the others, then hopefully have some time to myself to finally be able to test out the things I never got the chance to. As I finished getting ready, I sat on my bed, eager to accept the reward from farming my achievement.

[What do you think you'll get this time? :o Seems like it's a singular reward again like before.]

"Not sure," I murmured in response to Sephera's message. "Hopefully something just as good as the pendant. It'd be even better if it was the last item of my patron or whatever."

[System alert: Even Death Can't Stop Me! has finished calculating rewards.]

[You have been granted (2) options.]

[Legendary Skill] [Legendary Weapon]

"Damn," I muttered, slightly disappointed. Given two options with neither of them being an item, I didn't exactly have high hopes for my reward. Maybe I should farm my deaths sparingly. I was supposed to get something good every time I died, so maybe dying in bulk consolidated the rewards.

[No item huh? You think maybe if you choose one of the rewards now and farm again, you'll end up with one option? Maybe one you didn't choose yet?]

I made a face. If Sephera was right, and if I chose either the Skill or the Weapon, then a few hundred deaths later would net me the last remaining choice. Well, it wasn't like I had much to lose besides time.

I took out the Soultaker, studying it carefully. It had grown alongside me, eventually being able to Link with my Strength stat to achieve even more damage. I didn't really need any other weapon besides this one.

On the flip side, as I opened my Skills window and looked them over, I also didn't think I had a need for another skill. As far as damage went, Death's Shadow, Reap, and sometimes Lightning Bolt were all that I really needed, and they were ranged Skills, too. For passive Skills, it was a damn nice thing to have Divinity to help with damage management, along with Tough Skin for shields and Grim Mantle for utility. The insane crowd control combo of Flooded Kingdom empowered by Holy Element was basically all I needed for grounded enemies, and Rainfall would virtually make me untouchable. To cheat death, Final Gambit and Death Match were okay Skills, provided that I meet the requirements. To top it off, Duplicate and Neutralize were also amazing shutdowns.

I sighed, recalling what Sephera said about the rewards the first time I was presented with the options. She did say that a legendary Skill would be the second best right after the item.

"Fuck it," I muttered, tapping on the Skill reward.

[System alert: You have obtained a hidden Title Skill.]

[Patron of the Dead's Blessing (Passive)]

[Effect: (Active) Grants the user the ability to peer into the memories of the one who watches over death. Requires the sacrifice of all Risk (min. 1 million) for each use. [Locked [Locked] [Locked].]

I stared at the new, supposedly legendary Skill. A minimum of 1 million Risk points just to look at some memory of my patron? And what the hell was up with three locked descriptions?

I sighed, resigning myself to the mystery. It was a moot point unless I wanted to sacrifice what I had worked so hard to build up. I had a sneaking suspicion that the use of this Skill would be tied to something big. Something I wasn't quite ready for yet.

[Interesting...] Sephera's message popped up in front of me. [That would... actually help you a lot in understanding the past.]

"Indeed," the Soultaker chipped in. "I would love to peer into my master's memories."

"Yeah, me too," I said, looking down at the sword. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. There are some things I need to do first."

My phone buzzed as I heard knocking at my door at the same time. I didn't answer my phone this time, opening my door instead to reveal Celine standing there.

"Oh, Immortal," she looked surprised to see me up and ready as she hung up on her end. "Are you just as eager for another day with Enigma?"

"Not... exactly," I replied with a small smirk. "But I've got some things to sort out with them, yeah."

Celine raised an eyebrow at my cryptic response, but she didn't push the matter. "Well, are we... ready to go?"

She seemed hesitant and nervous, more so than usual. I could tell it was because of my absurd Speed stat at this point. I smirked with a mischievous glint in my eye.

----------------------------------------

Literal seconds later, we landed in front of the GPA building, Celine clinging onto me tighter than before. Her knuckles were white with how hard she was gripping my shirt.

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"I don't think... I like this mode of transportation..." Celine shakily remarked as she reluctantly let go. I did feel a bit bad for not warning her how fast I could fly at this point, but it was worth it to see visible fear on her otherwise expressionless face.

"Aren't you the one who likes to be earlier than most?" I playfully shot back.

"Perhaps... not being early... is okay at times..." Celine replied with a weak smile, still trying to steady her breath. I chuckled, leading her into the GPA building and to the simulation room, where we saw the other members of Enigma already gathered.

As soon as we stepped into the room, or at least, as soon as I did, Aurora, Gigi, Ophelia, and Seth immediately flinched and spun around towards us. Their reactions were mixed, ranging from surprise to suspicion.

"Lu." My sister came up to me with shock written all over her face. "Holy fuck, what the hell have you been doing?"

"Yeah, I could've sworn your stats were nowhere near my Behemoth form," Seth added with a wry grin. "Please tell me you're considering joining Inanis."

I hesitated, realizing two things. One, the way that Aurora and Seth didn't seem overly speechless meant that I was not the strongest Player they had ever seen. Two, I wasn't actually sure if I wanted to join Inanis anymore. Or Helianthus, for that matter.

"Er... this might be a little awkward, but a woman named Izu met with me to offer a spot in her guild," I carefully replied, avoiding eye contact with Aurora. "But I haven't made up my mind yet. This is still all new to me."

I didn't receive a response from anyone for a moment, the room was silent. The only sound was the faint hum of the simulation room's machinery. I could feel Aurora's gaze on me, but I chose to ignore it. I knew she'd be upset if I didn't choose her guild, but I had to do what was best for me.

"Take the offer, Lu."

"Huh?" I blinked, looking up at her in surprise. My sister, supporting a choice that I made for myself for the first time? It was unexpected, to say the least.

"As much as I'd hate to give up on you, your sister's right," Seth scratched the back of his head with a small grin. "Every Player around our level knows of Izu Shen, the legendary goddamn Abyss Walker. Part of the Noble guild, she's pretty much the right-hand man- woman, sorry, of Nephilim himself."

[!!!]

Their words clicked into my head. Nephilim was the strongest Player in the world, but Izu was his most trusted second?

"Avarice and Behemoth are right, Luquier," Ophelia stepped in, her face just as expressionless as Celine's. "If they see potential in you to offer an invitation to their guild... it's a gesture that's more significant than you realize."

"Wow, look at Luquier go," Gigi remarked from the side, a wistful expression on her face. "I should've tried harder to recruit you into my guild."

'It's not too late' was what I wanted to respond to her before Sephera started spamming my vision with blue system messages. I caught Celine's eyes, a hint of envy in her look. But then it went away, replaced by what I thought was a sort of resignation and support.

"Go for it, Immortal. You deserve the best after all the work you've put in."

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I wasn't sure why, but Celine's approval solidified my resolve. Once again, I felt a little guilty for keeping it from her till now, but I didn't exactly know how to break it to her, aware of her complicated feelings towards her sense of inferiority.

I nodded my gratitude to her. "Thanks, Celine."

"Well," Seth clapped his hands together, trying to brush past the shocking news I had informed them of. "The third party has a mission today, but they'll be available later tonight if you guys want to officially meet the team. In the meantime, how bout we get some sparring practice in?"

I raised my hand timidly. "Actually... I have something else to tell you guys."

----------------------------------------

After calling over Tessa as well, I explained the PK syndicate situation to them, feeling somewhat responsible for their movements. As I talked, I could see Aurora's expression grow darker and darker, as if she was already plotting the best way to utterly destroy them. Seth looked thoughtful, stroking his chin, while Ophelia remained as stoic as ever, processing the information without any outward signs of concern. Gigi was the only one who seemed concerned for my safety, that blessed woman.

"That's... a lot of information, Luquier," Tessa finally spoke after I finished. "While we're very much aware of the surge in PK activities, we weren't certain on why they were acting so much. I can honestly see why they would be influenced by your recent uprising, considering no sane person would actually dump millions of Risk points to grow stronger. Perhaps they assumed you were killing Players instead of monsters to capitalize on your Risk stat."

Her words made sense. The only thing was, it was true. That was what the system had led me to believe, that killing Players gave you more stat points than monsters. However, I had only killed Muriel, not really gaining much from it save for her specter.

"You didn't really kill other Players, right?" Tessa asked, glancing at me with a hint of doubt in her eyes. "Besides the syndicate member?"

"As crazy as he seems, I highly doubt my little bro was going around killing higher-leveled Players," my sister surprisingly spoke up for me. "I've seen him in action- all of us have seen him in action. There's no way."

"You're right," Tessa agreed, the doubt leaving her eyes as she relaxed. "Of course, I was just asking to be sure. I know by now that Luquier wouldn't do those types of things without a good reason. Better safe than sorry."

"Thanks, guys," I said, feeling a bit awkward. "And just know, I'm willing to help in any way I can."

After everything was said and done, Tessa left us to continue our training. This time around, I managed to keep pace with both Seth and Aurora, quickly picking up on their techniques with our equalized stats. Towards the end of the session, it also seemed like Celine had improved, and I noticed that her stats had significantly increased.

We wrapped up the training session, going over things to improve upon before dispersing for the day. Celine vehemently denied my offer to fly her to the clothing district, so I went to grab lunch with Tessa.

It was a casual lunch, with Tessa seeking my reassurance that I wouldn't break our partnership off in search of a better offer. She also offered a monthly allowance to ensure that I stay on good terms with her and the GPA. When I asked why, she gave me an ambiguous response, stating that she'd need my growing influence later. Like that didn't seem shady.

Finally, after finishing up everything I needed to do, I flew back to my apartment, preparing to use the achievement I had been the most curious about.

To prepare, I made sure that I had enough extra Stat Points for later. Then, I triggered the 'At Long Last, Victory!' achievement.

[System alert: Would you like to sacrifice half of your Risk points to simulate an unknown floor or dungeon?]

I tapped Yes, watching as the 72 million points became halved into 36. Ouch. I restored most of my Risk by putting the rest of my Stat Points into it. That was pretty much the reason why I held on to those points for so long. The higher my Risk, the more my abilities that required it would take. I sighed, seeing my Risk stat rise back up to 70 million. I sincerely hoped that this achievement was worth dumping all those precious points into.

[At Long Last, Victory! has been triggered. Teleporting Player Luquier Vaunt to Last Stand...]

A blue light enveloped me, making my body feel light and almost non-tangible. I steeled myself, prepared for whatever would happen next.

There was another flash of blue light, and I suddenly found myself standing in a very familiar place.

[Please state the instance you would like to simulate.]

Though the system message was flashing right before my eyes, I was more focused on the person in front of me.

Lounging on a leather couch and eating potato chips, she was breathtakingly beautiful, with pale, porcelain skin and piercing sapphire blue eyes. Her long, flowing hair of midnight blue cascaded down her back and she was robed in clothes of dark ultramarine. I blinked in shock, staring at the source of all my irritation and guidance.

"Sephera?"

The woman in front of me paused mid-crunch as she registered my presence inside her tower's chamber. She slowly finished eating as she sat up straight. Then, her face mirrored my own stunned expression.

"Luquier?"