“Hey Sedric, me and Lucy are going somewhere. Do you want to-”

“Go away you blighted snake.”

The door of the workshop slammed shut. Scytale turned around to face Lucy and Vincent. “I tried,” he said with a shrug.

Lucille rolled her eyes. “Hardly ‘tried’. You could’ve given him some hint as to where we were going.”

“I was just doing what you did to Vincent,” her bond argued.

“Vincent’s a special case,” Lucy replied with her arms crossed.

The silver-haired man narrowed his eyes at her. “What exactly do you mean by, ‘special case’?”

Lucy walked off and ignored her cross aide as she began to make her way to the main lobby. “Well, if Sedric doesn’t think spending time with us is worthwhile, then he misses out. We’ll get to visit a prestigious location on the Aeternus plane in his stead and-” She paused as she spotted a certain ex-mercenary with scarlet hair walking down a corridor and walked up to him. “Ah, just the man I was looking for. Hargrave!”

Hargrave paused and blinked when he spotted her. “…Lucille? Do you need me for something?”

“Not need you, per se, but…” She tilted her head as she looked up at him. “Have you made any plans for today?”

“No, not really,” he replied, looking confused.

“Then would you like to come with us to the Aeternus plane?” Lucy asked with a smile.

“The… Aeternus plane?” Hargrave repeated.

Lucille nodded and gestured to the others. “I intend to visit a specific location in Imperialius Aeternia. While I understand you may not wish to because of your… identity, I doubt the people who could recognise you will be wandering the outer streets we’re going to go to.”

Hargrave crossed his arms as he considered it. “…there was something I wanted to deal with in the Capital,” he slowly replied.

Lucy blinked.

He doesn’t seem to want to explain. Is it related to his revenge? Then…

“Perhaps we should split up once we arrive at the city,” she suggested. “If you don’t think your task will take too much time then we should enjoy a meal after we’re all done.”

Hargrave nodded. “We could do that.”

“Good.” Lucille clapped her hands together. “Then you should go get anything you need and we’ll meet in the main lobby before using a planar teleportation array.”

…

They stepped out of the violet kilometre-wide teleportation array of the Capital City and had to take a moment to accustom themselves to the overwhelming density of mana on the plane. The air itself felt like it was a multitude of times stronger than a stone on the Gilded Dome plane.

Those with only mana sight skills wouldn’t be able to detect it, but with her perception field, Lucille could sense the chaotic auras of mana-enhanced demonic power, gloomy death mana, bestial presence, and intent-filled Qis of different colours. The only thing she didn’t detect…

…was the stark unified sensation of esper abilities, abilities that were fusions of mana and concept-imbued spiritual energy that gave them strict functions, but also made them go against normal laws. Once Earth began to explore the realms, she was sure that would change, but… Earth was only a very small population of the Cosmic Realm. Small, but important.

“Lucille, will we need to take a coach?” Vincent asked.

She hummed and looked around once they were out of the way of the other people. Hargrave was wearing what almost looked like a leather duffle coat, Vincent was wearing his normal travel coat and Scytale was bracing the cold with the fearlessness of a magical beast with rocks for brains.

“We will, but it would make sense to take one with Hargrave.” She turned to the scarlet-haired man next to her. “What district of the western sector are you heading to?”

“Red Drake District,” he informed her.

Lucille nodded. “We’ll be heading to the Brass Bell District, so we may as well take a coach together and drop you off when we pass by.”

Red Drake District… a district of Guilds and guilder lodging. Is he planning on meeting with some of his contacts?

Hargrave didn’t reply besides giving her a nod and they followed her to where they could hire a carriage. After the payment, they all sat in the four-man coach. Scytale had changed into his shrunken serpent form to make things easier space-wise.

“So… you going to tell Vincent what’s so special about this place we’re going to?” her winged bond asked from his place on the windowsill. “I’d kinda like to know the full gist of it all too.”

“Yes, I would appreciate that,” Vincent replied dryly.

Lucy smirked and crossed one leg over the other. “Well, this time we’re going somewhere more… standard. We’re going to an artifact shop.”

Vincent paused as the implications of why Lucy would want to go to a place with artifacts came to mind. “Is there something important there?”

“Two things, yes,” she said. “And both are linked. Unfortunately, the owner of this shop is a bit eccentric, so I can’t simply ‘purchase’ what I want. From what I’ve heard we need to go through a test or trial of sorts before we can obtain the artifact.”

“How important is this artifact for you to come all the way to this plane for it?” Hargrave asked.

Lucy smiled. “It’s not amazingly powerful but it is rare. The owner doesn’t know what he’s holding onto.”

Vincent held his chin. “I presume this store must be semi-famous to be placed in the prosperous Brass Bell District filled with craftsmen. Would I have heard of it?”

She nodded. “Most likely. It’s called the Artifice Exchange of Warlock Mazdor.”

Her aide’s eyes widened. “That place? I suppose if you were going to go anywhere for rare artifacts, that would be the best location, but…” He gave her an odd look. “I’ve heard Mazdor is especially picky about which artifacts he lets go and what he’s repaid with.”

“…warlock?” Hargrave muttered.

“Yep, those same guys who are the guy version of witches. Summoning demons, gaining demonic plants and materials from them, doing rituals for power…” Scytale opened his mouth to yawn. “I’ve heard plenty about this Mazdor guy though. He’s one of the strongest known warlocks but he couldn’t care less about anything besides collecting artifacts.”

“He’s rumoured to have a duplication artifact, which is why he allows himself to sell or exchange his artifacts,” Lucille interjected. “I don’t intend to exchange anything with him today. Just remove something that could potentially blossom into catastrophe, as well obtain an unusual treasure that few would recognise.”

Hargrave frowned at her. “You’re always very cryptic.”

Scytale began to laugh while Vincent chuckled. Lucy sighed and propped her chin up with her elbow against the windowsill. “It would be difficult to explain anything right now. Once we meet up in the afternoon for lunch, then I can discuss it and perhaps show you.” The thought of lunch made her realise something and she straightened up. “Speaking of which, shall we decide where we’re going to have our meal? Unless your task will take too long, Hargrave?”

He shook his head. “No, it will be quick.”

Lucy smiled. “Then let’s decide where to go… it would be a shame if we didn’t get to enjoy some more expensive food on our trip out here, wouldn’t it?”

…

The coach pulled up to the central plaza of the Red Drake District, and after Hargrave pulled out a small object which he activated to change his hair and eye colour, he stepped out of the carriage. He pulled up the hood of his coat and was just about to walk away when Lucy’s call made him pause.

“Hargrave, wait just a moment.” Lucille opened her dimensional bag to withdraw a roughly plum-sized gemstone of greyish-blue and held it up. “First time trying this… let’s see if it works,” she murmured. She held out another hand and an indigo-blue spell formed. With a twist of her Gemstone Processor skill, it was sucked inside and sat in the gemstone, slowly rotating. She gestured to the watching ex-mercenary. “Here.”

He came forward to hesitantly take it just as she inserted her mana. He blinked when illusion mana suddenly surrounded him, altering the appearance of his clothes, his hairstyle, and his facial features to some extent. The colour faded to reveal an unfamiliar person.

Lucy crossed her arms with satisfaction. “That should mask your appearance better. The spell will last half an hour, after which you can recast it by using the gemstone again. It should give you the same appearance as now.”

Hargrave looked down at the stone that appeared very small in his hands, then looked up at her. “…thank you for the help.”

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“It was the least I could do.” She gestured for him to leave. “Off you go then. Don’t get mixed up in any trouble or else you won’t be able to enjoy a fancy lunch.”

He looked slightly amused as he shook his head. “I’ll be careful. See you later.”

The door of the coach shut and it began to roll down the street, taking them to their next location.

“Do you have any interest in explaining what this rare artifact you want is?” Vincent asked.

She smirked and shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

He let out a sigh. “As expected.”

They made small talk for the rest of the trip as the coach continued to travel. Scytale pretended to sleep so he wouldn’t have to participate in their conversation, which was mostly about work. It was nearly half an hour later when the coach pulled to a stop again in front of a busy street of shops.

Lucy, Scytale and Vincent got out and looked up at the building before them. It was taller than it was wide, with what looked like three stories and a shopfront filled with whirring magical devices. A slanted signboard that read ‘Artifice Exchange of Warlock Mazdor’ hung above the doorway. It looked like it might fall on their heads at any moment. There wasn’t an incredible amount of people entering the building, but there were still a few now and then who either left or entered it, showing that it was an established shop.

Vincent observed it with bemusement. “For a shop of a famous warlock, it’s rather…”

“Not what you had in mind, I take it,” Lucy remarked. She pulled her gloves on tighter and walked forward. “Wait until you see the inside before you make up your mind.”

The three of them – Scytale in his human form – stepped through the doorway, when their entrance was announced by the magical chime above their head. Vincent’s eyes widened as they found themselves in a massive tiered hall with balconies and edges that allowed them to see up to the domed roof, and anyone on the top story to see to the bottom. Magical mechanisms flew through the air, as well as Archive orbs of many of the mages in the shop.

Close to the front counter was a large bronze birdcage filled with metal birds that looked like cranes, their wings engraved with sharp-edged characters of the Heavenly Realm. Large clear orbs containing miniature images of cranes sat in the centre of their chests. It seemed they were spiritual artifacts or treasures, instead of magical artifacts, and were powered by soul beast cores.

One wall on the bottom floor was covered in a multitude of different clocks, some with hundreds of small faces, while some measured time in strange runic languages. Metal mana was present in large quantities throughout the hall, but so were all the six essential elements and even many of the mid-level ones. Warlock Mazdor wasn’t a famed collector for no reason.

“Where is the artifact you want?” Vincent asked quietly.

“Don’t forget I’m here for two reasons,” she reminded him. “But it’s on the second story. That’s where he keeps his ‘enigmas’, the artifacts he allows people to gain if they complete certain trials.”

They walked up the stairs that were bordered by a curved banister. The spatially expanded hall almost appeared like it had been carved using wood magic. Everything had an organic formation to it that seemed almost unnatural. Lucille headed towards one wall that was set up almost as if it were an art exhibit. The artifacts sat on pedestals or hung from the wall and had plaques that listed their names and effects. But for these… most of their effects were unknown.

A separator of golden cord prevented them from coming closer to the artifacts, but next to the items were signs that detailed what trials needed to be completed for each, as well as instructions to request for Warlock Mazdor to be present before the trials were attempted. While the trials for each were different, they all had the underlying theme of investigating the effects and rules of the mysterious artifacts.

Lucy continued to walk past the displayed artifacts, past the golden chalice with endless liquid, past a bouquet of silver lilies that wilted if anyone got close, past an empty scabbard that didn’t fit any sword…

She came to a stop in front of the last artifact. Placed on a shelf on the wall was a bronze tube with multiple perpendicular rings. The tube itself wasn’t what she had come for, but what was inside. The tube was only a mechanical seal.

Vincent and Scytale arrived behind her. “Is this it?” her aide asked.

“Indeed it is. This is why I came here,” she said with a smile.

Vincent observed the metal seal warily and then turned to her with mild confusion. “I take it you want what is within, but… you called this a problem as well?”

She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against an arm thoughtfully. “To be more accurate, it’s not what lies within the seal that is the problem, but what has chosen the artifact to be its host. But you’ll see what I mean very shortly.”

She turned to face the stairs and the two men behind her glanced at what she was looking at. Surprised, they took in the appearance of a grizzled man with greying black hair. But what was surprising wasn’t his age or hair.

From his right shoulder down, his limb was replaced by a red, muscled arm that ended in sharp claws within a bronze gauntlet. A twisted and cracked horn curled up from his left temple, and his left eye was instead an artificial glass orb that mimicked the appearance of an eyeball. He wore a leather belt around his waist covered in pouches and bags that held dark feathers, animal claws, small bones and even teeth. He took one step on the second level and it was clear even his legs had changed because the heavy metal clunk pointed them to the right mechanical leg made of cogs and gears in return for a normal foot.

If the transformed arm and twisted horn didn’t make his semi-demonic nature apparent, then the glowing blood-red demonic script crawling up his arms and face did. The man grunted as he limped closer and glanced at what Lucille was observing.

“Interested in the Scroll of Endless Enslaved, are you?” he said with a rough voice.

Lucille placed a hand on her chest and bowed. “Warlock Mazdor. It is a pleasure to meet the owner of this establishment.” She turned back to the metal tube on the shelf. “It intrigues me, yes. I can admit that.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “No chance you’d be willing to part with this over a few crystal tokens?”

He barked a harsh laugh and shook his head, gesturing to the entire hall. “Miss, if I needed more money then I wouldn’t be running this place. The number of nobles I’ve had try to use money to solve things…” He narrowed his eyes at her. “If your next step is force, then you’d best believe I’ll be showing you what a ‘warlock’ is today.”

Lucy shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that. I only thought I’d try my luck.” She turned back to the artifact and hummed. “I can’t help but notice that this is the only artifact displayed without information about a trial. Does that mean it’s impossible to gain it for myself?”

“No, but compared to my other artifacts… I think the trial is too brutish,” Mazdor replied.

Lucy and the others glanced at him curiously. “Brutish?” she repeated.

“Well, the only way to deal with the ‘endless enslaved’ is to kill them all,” he said with another harsh laugh. “Haven’t worked out how to stop them coming myself, so I assume the only way is to beat enough of them up to exhaust the thing. Don’t have time for that, and it would reflect badly on my shop to have such a trial otherwise I’d have a bunch of ignorant warriors coming in here to test their luck.”

Lucille went silent as she pondered over what to do, looking at the tube again.

“You said something about this being a scroll?” Vincent asked.

“I suppose you wouldn’t know when it’s all sealed up like that.” The warlock gestured to the seal with his clawed arm. “It’s a scroll with a fancy painting on it. The picture moves when the scroll gets opened up, and then the ‘endless enslaved’ start pouring out. Ugly things, they are,” he spat with distaste. “I’d think them monsters if it weren’t for their endless nature and the fact they’re part of the scroll.”

Lucille glanced at him.

They’re not part of the scroll, but I suppose if he hasn’t been able to get close to the artifact because of the endless enslaved, then he wouldn’t know what the scroll really does.

“I want to take the trial,” she announced.

They all turned to look at her. “You sure, Miss? I don’t feel much strength from you,” the warlock said with scepticism.

Lucy pulled back her violet suit jacket to show him her sheathed daggers. “I won’t claim to be the most practised fighter, but I have wielded these against people before.” She gestured to the scroll. “And besides, the artifact responds to the strength level of the opposition, doesn’t it? The weaker I am, the weaker the force thrown at me.”

Mazdor narrowed his eyes at her. “You’ve heard about this trial from some other, haven’t you?” He glanced at the sealed scroll and sighed. “Alright. I guess I’ll let you at it. But not here.”

He unlinked the rope separator and walked up to the shelf to carefully take the metal tube down. With the sealed artifact in his grip, he walked with his uneven gait towards the stairs to the next level. He pointed at them. “Follow me.”

He limped up the stairs, dragging his metal leg behind him. They followed until he made it to the third floor and then walked off towards one lone door set into a wall. The wall had a long window in it that allowed people to see inside the room, which looked to have its walls covered by protective wards of all sorts.

Mazdor took out a large bundle of keys from one of his bags and unlocked the door. “You two stay outside and watch unless you plan on taking the trial with her,” he told them. “I wouldn’t suggest it, considering that’ll just increase the difficulty.”

Scytale and Vincent watched through the window as Lucy was led inside. The warlock walked over to one wall with a couple of strange hooks in it, and he placed the metal tube on top. Then he walked back outside and locked the door behind her.

“I’ll activate the mechanism to undo the seal whenever you say go, okay girl?” he stated, the glass muffling his voice.

Lucille shrugged off her jacket and flung it off to the side so it wouldn’t get damaged. Then she unsheathed her two daggers. “I’m ready.”

Mazdor clicked his tongue. “I’ll warn you, it’s messy. Don’t complain if you get dirty.” He pulled out a metal plate from one of his pockets and pushed the small round button with a click.

Lucy kept her eyes firmly on the scroll’s container as one by one, the rings began to rotate until they all lined up and its runes glowed. Releasing the sound of clanking metal, the tube split in half lengthwise and folded up and down to reveal the white parchment curled up within. A mechanical arm within the seal latched onto one end of the scroll and tilted it vertical, and then slowly unravelled it to reveal a horizontally orientated image.

The painting seemed to be in shades of grey and black and looked like it depicted a room full of furniture covered in black cloth veils as if protecting it. The vague shape of an armchair and a table could be seen underneath the shadowy fabric, as well as the outline of a picture frame hanging on the wall, but even the walls were covered in drapes. It was like someone had covered up the room in memorial of something, to keep it undamaged but unseen.

That was until the ‘cloth’ moved to reveal that it wasn’t fabric, but a thick, tar-like liquid without shine. Slowly slipping off the walls and furniture, it pooled on the dark carpet of the room.

And then it began to spill over the edge of the painting into the room.

Lucille lengthened her two snake-swords and let them hover around her, guarding against any surprise attacks as she analysed her Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray skill.

Do the Acts only apply to enemies or does a conflict encompass an ‘event’? Is it possible to stack the buffs so I have bonuses from the ‘event’ as well as the enemies? And what if I’m fighting multiple enemies? Can I focus the Acts on independent enemies too?

With her thoughts sped up, she concentrated on the feedback she felt when applying her skill to her present situation. She could feel that somehow there was a way to make what she wanted to do happen, but if she tried it now it would fail. As the black liquid slowly clumped together, even as more continued to flow out of the painting, she kept testing her skill’s reactions to her thoughts. Then she realised what was needed.

Oh, as it’s my skill it’s responding to my own thoughts. I need to have a ‘goal’ for this conflict. Something that when I obtain defines the ‘climax’ of the fight.

She slowed part of her consciousness to real-time as the black liquid thickened and solidified. Soon it fused and formed three vaguely humanoid creatures of dripping black sludge. The liquid continued to fall out of the picture, but its rate had slowed down. It seemed she had to fight.

Considering what I know about this artifact, let’s make it that my goal is to make it to the scroll without any of the ‘enslaved’ landing a hit on me.

The sphere of Influence within her chest flickered briefly as something settled in her mind as if she had made an oath with all her being. Her movements and reflexes quickened as the +10% AGI boost activated, while her ability to analyse the actions of the creatures grew stronger. She tried to apply the effect to the lone enemy in front of her, and then to her goal of obtaining the artifact for herself.

Lucy winced as the static-like strain pressed down on her mind and her skin felt rigid and tight. She felt shackled in a way, even though she had gained a full +30% to her AGI.

It seems triple stacking is the limit for me. It’s probably to do with my CON or perhaps stat cap. The stat cap only exists to prevent Users’ bodies from breaking down, so when people go beyond it… I’m not beyond it yet, but I definitely don’t have a large enough ‘capacity’ with my low level to put up with the stacking.

She cancelled the Expositionary for the lone enemy, even though she knew she’d have a month-long cooldown for it. But she planned on defeating them all today.

Regisseur of Warfare will give me enough evasion ability. In fact…

Changing her mind about how she was going to deal with the creatures, she retracted Apophis and Ouroboros and sheathed them.

I’m not going to attack them at all.

The mana surrounding her turned white as her AGI was enhanced by her wind mana. She dashed towards the three black creatures who were standing twenty metres away.

Horrific roars that sounded like the bubbling of molten tar sounded from their gaping mouths as the three creatures stumbled towards her. They were slow, but the substance dripping from them left black scorch marks on the ground, showing its corrosive power.

When she got close to the first creature, thick droplets of liquid sprayed out towards her. She swiftly moved out of the way and ducked under the delayed outstretched claw of the sludge monster.

Lucy continued dashing forward and weaved past the multiple attacks of the three creatures. She pulled to a stop when a fourth sludge monster congealed from the pooled liquid, right in front of the painting. Then a fifth and sixth formed.

Gurgles echoed from the creatures again as one clumsily lunged forward. She leapt over its thrust and dived into a roll to avoid the stumbling grasp of the one next to it. Then the three she had passed came up behind her to surround her.

It doesn’t know what I’m trying to do yet. I need to get it to create a breakpoint when it works out that our goals temporarily align.

The ring around her shrunk as the monsters moved towards her. Just as they were going to do a combined lunge and grapple her, she triggered her second Act to enhance her STR by +20% due to the stacked Acts and forced her strength into her legs.

Lucille shot up as she jumped high enough to nearly touch the roof. The sludge monsters were waiting eagerly below, but when she fell she expertly cast an arcane spell at just the right moment to bound off the solid platform and escape the circle.

She dashed back to lure the creatures away from the scroll and they flung thousands of corrosive drops at her in a long-range attack.

More liquid poured out of the painting as it was clear more monsters were about to form. She bolted around the edges of the room as they limply trudged towards her. Half of the floor was covered in corrosive black liquid, making it dangerous for her to cross through that zone.

When the monsters were finally a sufficient distance away from the scroll, she amplified her AGI to its absolute possible max, casting a speed enhancement spell at the same time. She shot towards the scroll by dashing straight through the centre of the monsters, with her third Act of Climax giving her an incredibly precise ability to avoid their attacks.

Warlock Mazdor’s eyes widened. “Hey! What are you doing, you insane girl?!”

Just as she was only a metre away from the scroll, the liquid near its base congregated and became the bottom half of an incompletely formed sludge monster.

But as if whatever pseudo-sentience was within the scroll had finally registered what she was doing, the incomplete monster collapsed back into a pool. Her arm plunged into the black and grey painting. Every monster in the room collapsed onto the ground at the same time.

The warlock cursed and fumbled with the keys to hastily unlock the door. When it swung open and he stumbled inside, he paused.

Lucille had withdrawn her arm from the painting, and something was held in her grip. It was a solid black inkwell and a feather pen.

Then the black liquid clumped together and crept towards her. Lucy gritted her teeth in a strange grin as sludge poured out of the painting nonstop and gravitated towards her. Matte liquid overflowed from the inkwell and began to encase her hand.

“Warlock Mazdor, could I request your help with dealing with this Heretical parasite,” Lucy stressed.

Mazdor started as he realised what was happening and he quickly limped towards her. Sparing a second to analyse the liquid steadily climbing up Lucille’s arm, he summoned a short, twisted staff of dark wood from his dimensional skill and snatched a fang emitting malevolent demonic power from a pouch.

He pointed the staff at the sludge and opened his mouth, but what came out wasn’t the name of a spell in Imperial Common but the guttural, esoteric tones of the demonic tongue.

Red and black demonic sigils manifested in a circle on the floor around Lucille as he yelled the demonic spell’s name.

With a crash, the sludge was expelled from her arm and the inkwell and pen pair were thrown against the nearest wall. The black liquid tried to clump together again but Mazdor growled, “Oh no you don’t.”

This time without the aid of demonic materials, he wielded his staff to call out, “Gravitational Suppression Seal: Quake!”