Chapter 15: Vengeful Valkyrie’s Core.
Adam POV
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As she approached, her hand extended slowly, until finally… She gently patted my head.
“huh?” My voice escaped me as a screen popped up in front of me.
Blessing of the Astral Nymphs:
* The entities residing in Nocturnal Grooves will no longer be hostile to you unless provoked.
* Health and NEP regeneration increased by 30% while in any nocturnal Groove biome at night.
"Woah," I exclaimed, watching as the Astral Nymph released my head, offering a smile before gracefully waving her hand and strolling in the direction the butterfly had taken. I reached up to touch my head, and sparkly dust resembling stardust gently fell off.
"That was... amazing?"
Besides the obviously amazing blessing, the entire experience left me in awe, the feeling was similar to an abandoned cat discovering a feast left by a benevolent human.
"Nove... what was that?" I inquired, still processing the enchanting encounter.
"That might be an Astral Nymph. They are the protectors of celestial butterflies and don't usually reveal themselves. There's a hypothesis that they only show themselves to individuals of pure heart or children, but it's never been conclusively proven," Nove explained.
"Huh... Cool," I muttered, trying to play it off as if encountering a cosmic lady in the wilderness was just another Tuesday. But let's be real, it was definitely not.
Before I could even contemplate my next move, a couple of eerie silver eyes peered out from the darkness of the forest. Sure, the place was illuminated by all sorts of glowing plants, but there were still plenty of dark spots lurking around... each one seemingly hiding a set of those glowing eyes.
"Uhhh, Nove... What are those?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual despite the growing sense of unease.
"Hypothesis, could be Moonshroud spectators. They're the protectors of the Nocturnal Groove," Nove replied matter-of-factly.
"Are they... uh, hostile?" I inquired, feeling a slight tremor of nervousness creeping in.
"Normally they're not, and guide visitors to the exit of the Nocturnal Groove. They could be here due to sensing your blessing," Nove explained, though her attempt at reassurance did little to ease my nerves.
One of the silvery eyes finally decided to make a grand entrance, revealing a ghostly figure draped in a large white veil. It resembled a spectral widow, her entire body and face hidden behind the veil, except for those unnervingly glowing silver eyes that seemed to pierce through the fabric. The ghostly entity approached cautiously, as if afraid I'd bolt at the sight of her.
Instinctively, I took a step back, and to my surprise, she halted. Kneeling down, she rolled something toward me before retreating a few steps. I looked down to find... an orange? Yeah, you heard me right, a good ol' orange from back in my world.
“It’s a fruit, Alper. It’s called a cream orange. You’ve eaten them in the past,” Nove chimed in, her voice betraying a sense of amusement.
Ah, I get it now. These ghostly beings were treating me like humans do when they’re trying to feed or befriend a wild cat. I couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all. Taking the orange, I sliced it open with the dagger that I forgot to give back and began munching on it. Surprisingly sweet and with a creamy, bread-like texture, even though it looked exactly like the oranges from Earth.
Not quite sure what to make of the situation, I settled for sitting down and digging into the orange. Seemed like a safe bet, right? But as I chomped away, I noticed the ghostly specter inching closer. Now, in normal circumstances, this would send chills down my spine, but after the whole Astral Nymph encounter, I was surprisingly chill.
The specter, sensing my nonchalance, extended her hand toward me, mirroring the earlier gesture of the Astral Nymph. Was I about to receive another blessing? Well, not exactly. Instead of some cosmic gift, she just started... patting my head. Yep, you heard me right. The ghostly widow was treating me like a lost puppy, and oddly enough, I found myself kinda liking it.
She seemed pleased with herself, bouncing up and down in what I can only describe as ghostly glee. And just like that, the other specters emerged from the darkness, eager to get in on the head-patting action. They tiptoed toward me, as if afraid I'd bolt at the slightest provocation, like a cat spooked by sudden movements.
After a good minute of head-patting, one of them extended her hand, silently asking me to hold it. I shrugged and took her hand. Soft as a cloud, it felt like grabbing onto a fluffy ball of cotton candy. Hey, who knew making ghostly friends could be this... cozy?
So, there I was, being guided through the enchanted forest by a bunch of ghostly widows. Surreal, right? I had no clue where they were leading me, and normally, I'd be putting up a serious protest, but kid's body, cosmic blessing – what could possibly go wrong? Besides, with like 20 of these specters around me, if they were planning anything shady, I was pretty much helpless.
After a few minutes of this spectral parade, they brought me to an unexpected sight: a human corpse. All that remained were bones and some beaten-up armor, a grim scene next to a lonely tree. Couldn't tell how long it had been there, but it definitely had seen better days.
The Moonshroud specters gazed at me with tilted heads, like they expected me to have all the answers. Nove chimed in, "They might be asking you to bury the body, Alper." And honestly, that was exactly what I was thinking.
I kneeled down next to the skeletal remains, offering a few words of sympathy. "May you forever rest in peace." Then, with a wave of my hand using Base arts, I opened up a generous patch of dirt to give the poor soul a proper burial. Just another day in the magical forest, right?
As I prepared to bury the body along with its belongings, my eyes caught something unexpected – a dark purple, four-sided crystal nestled within the ribcage of the corpse. The moment my gaze fell upon it, a glitchy window popped up in front of me
H̶a̷r̷n̸e̸s̵s̷ ̸t̶h̷e̸ ̵p̵o̴t̴e̴n̴t̵ ̸e̵n̷e̶r̶g̶y̶ ̴o̶f̸ ̴t̷h̸e̶ ̵n̴e̶x̸u̵s̶ ̶c̵o̶r̶e̶ ̷b̸y̶ ̴t̸a̵k̷i̵n̵g̴ ̴t̷h̵e̸ ̴N̷e̸x̶u̸s̵ ̷c̷r̵y̴s̸t̸a̷l̷,̵ ̴E̴n̸g̸a̴g̵e̴ ̴i̶n̵ ̸i̷t̵s̶ ̷a̵b̴s̸o̶r̶p̴t̵i̵o̴n̷ ̴t̵o̵ ̷e̸v̷o̸l̵v̴e̵ ̷y̸o̵u̷r̶ ̵c̶o̸r̵e̸,̸ ̵o̷r̸ ̶i̵n̷f̷u̵s̸e̴ ̷y̵o̵u̷r̷ ̶f̵r̸a̶m̵e̶s̵ ̶w̸i̴t̶h̶ ̸t̸h̸e̶i̸r̸ ̷c̷e̴l̵e̶s̷t̶i̷a̴l̴ ̸e̴s̷s̵e̵n̷c̵e̶ ̴t̷o̶ ̷u̷n̴l̸e̸a̵s̷h̶ ̶t̴h̷e̷i̸r̸ ̸f̸o̵r̷m̸i̶d̵a̵b̴l̵e̸ ̷p̸o̴w̴e̸r̷s̷.̶
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Uhhh… is this the soul frame nexus core talking to me? I can tell because of how glitched it looks
“Nove do you see this window?” I asked.
“What window?”
Oh boi.
Since the Moonshroud specters were around, I decided to grab the nexus core crystal and stash it in my pocket for now. After carefully burying the body, I took a seat, and the specters mimicked my actions, joining me on the ground. It was all a ruse to check what the soul frame nexus core wanted.
Closing my eyes, I delved into the core area. Nove mentioned losing connection with me as I found myself in the expansive realm with the infinite ocean below and the empty, bright sky above. There it was – the iridescent orb in front of me, accompanied by mini iridescent orbs floating around it.
Taking out the nexus crystal from my pocket, I pondered my next move. Should I feed it to the core or equip it to the frame? Decisions, decisions.
As I kept thinking about it, another window opened up.
Feeding the crystal to the core no longer allows it to be equipped in any frame, But, it can be equipped and unequipped to any frames at any time.
Oh… so that’s how it works… I don’t even know what kind of nexus core this crystal even has so I decided to equip it to the frame, I placed it into the smallest orb and the orb started glowing into a bright light before it became a radiant golden orb.
Equipped core: Vengeful Valkyrie’s core (1/6 Star Tier)
Passive Attributes:
* Divine Wrath: This attribute bolsters the user's combat prowess and resilience. (Strength +20, Endurance +30, Agility +10)
* ??????? (Locked: Upgrade this core to unlock this ability.)
* ??????? (Locked: Upgrade this core to unlock this ability.)
Special Abilities:
* Valorous Echoes: Activating Valorous Echoes invokes the echoes of heroic deeds performed by valkyries of old. The user and their allies receive a temporary boost to combat prowess, increased resilience, and enhanced morale, turning the tide of battle in their favor.
Duration: 1 minute.
NEP Cost: 20
Cooldown: 10 Seconds (After duration ends.)
* ??????? (Locked: Upgrade this core to unlock this ability.)
* ??????? (Locked: Upgrade this core to unlock this ability.)
* ??????? (Locked: Upgrade this core to unlock this ability.)
* ??????? (Locked: Upgrade this core to unlock this ability.)
Woah… this… now this is cool.
But I’m really curious… how do you upgrade these core again?
A window opened up again,
You can upgrade the c̴o̵r̸e̵ ̵n̶o̷d̶e̴s̵ or their abilities by using a similar star tier Nexus crystal and through an Alchemical circle and techniques.
So, you're telling me it's not only possible but also pretty straightforward? Well, that's music to my ears. I couldn't wait to get back and experiment with all these newfound abilities. The prospect of what I could do was exhilarating.
Exiting the core area, Nove informed me that her connection had been restored. It seemed to get cut off whenever I delved into my other nexus core, but with my excitement about the new core, I temporarily forgot I was surrounded by these spectral beings.
I stood up, and to my surprise, they all stood up as well. "Alright, let's roll!" I exclaimed with a massive grin, and judging by the response from the specters, they seemed to like the idea.