Arlosse felt himself fall through a familiar pool of darkness that was so vast and so tranquil that it would most definitely drive a weaker soul to madness with enough time. Suddenly, the throne where Alabas sat – split – had vanished from sight, as did the remains of his royal residence.
This experience was quite like how it was when the Incarnate was first dragged into this afterlife establishment known as ‘Prospect For Reincarnation’; right before his Incarnation.
Because Arlosse recalled that experience vividly, he wasn’t startled. He knew there was a destination, and soon enough, he reached it. He landed safely within a perfectly cubical space with a twilight fog hue to its interior.
This was the Isolated Foyer of New Beginnings, the cramped space within which he had been given a crash course on everything to do with ‘Prospect For Reincarnation’. Thankfully, unlike before, when Arlosse was merely a floating consciousness, he had his full Demonling body this time.
He retained his odd body, fitted with rough red skin and well-defined muscles that proudly exhibited the deep well of strength behind them, past his tattered tunic. (Of course, this was a change brought on by the Incarnate’s growing physical prowess.)
Arlosse’s jaw-length locks of navy-blue hair swished as he plopped to the ground, his icy blue irises drowned in black sclera trembling in both excitement and curiosity.
“I did it,” the Incarnate said with a sigh of relief.
As he had surmised, the First Floor had had three stages to pass through, and he had done well to overcome them all.
[Well done! You have completed the FIRST FLOOR with outstanding results!]
[Your Privilege Tier rises. You are now in possession of Privilege Tier 2 benefits]
[The Host Guide acknowledges you as its user]
[The Host Guide enables the ‘Bond System’. Creatures of all forms, intelligent and otherwise can be bonded to the user and compelled to be partners of said user on their journey. However, the greater the intelligence of the creature in question, the greater the difficulty in establishing a bond]
==
Name : Arlosse (Incarnate ^8001)
Privilege : 2
Race : Hollow Demonling
---
Far Ji (Unique Quality) :
>Hermetic Vault
>Reform
---
STR : 13
AGI : 13
END : 15
---
Stolen story; please report.
Spirit Essence : 130/150
---
Kanva (Acquired Skill) :
>Sundering Bunt
>Soaring Severance
---
SeiJo (Equipment) :
None
---
IP : 5
---
Ria (Bonds) :
None
===
‘I see. So, this tablet…’ the Incarnate thought, “…is the Host Guide.’
The screen detailing all the information he was reading had its own name apparently, and only now that Arlosse had reached a higher Privilege, had he been acknowledged by it enough to know its name.
“I imagine this Privilege Tier can only be increased by conquering floors. Fascinating,” the Incarnate said as he winced slightly. The wounds he had sustained all through the First Floor hadn’t healed, after all. Even the ghastly scar stretching from his face to his neck and chest was quite sore despite having closed up.
Arlosse scratched his chin.
“The Bond System. It’s easy enough to understand. Though, I wonder what it takes to create these bonds. If it is harder to do for intelligent creatures, then that must mean there are conditions to be met, right?”
As he thought on this…
[Would you like to move on to the SECOND FLOOR now?]
“NO, NO! Not yet!” Arlosse refused at once. He wasn’t quite ready for that yet. He wanted some time to recover and get acquainted with all his new strengths.
After giving his response to the Host Guide, another screen appeared, showing what looked like an hourglass.
[You will be automatically transported to the SECOND FLOOR when the last grain of sand falls – that is, in ONE HOUR]
Arlosse grimaced.
“I see,” he said, watching as the sand began to fall into the bottom half of the illustrated contraption. “Then I don’t have that much time. I suppose the first thing I should check is…”
Arlosse immediately looked at the item titled ‘Reform’ on the Host Guide, below the Far Ji (Unique Quality) section.
Indeed.
Arlosse had doubted it, but to his great surprise, he had acquired a second Unique Quality!
Even though the Host Guide had told him that one of the differences between Kanva and Far Ji was the fact an individual could only acquire one of the latter while an unlimited number of the former could be obtained, the Demonling had found that he was an exception.
Right when he realized that he had earned 10 Incarnation Points, Arlosse had taken a chance and dived towards the candle beside Alabas’ throne.
He had successfully paid a price of 5 Incarnation Points and now…
“I still can’t wrap my mind around this. I thought for sure I couldn’t get another Far Ji,” Arlosse said with a frown. “Maybe it’s because the phrasing the Host Guide used was ‘only one is allowed’? Or maybe…”
As he theorized, it suddenly hit him.
“Right…” Arlosse said.
There was that lengthy declaration the Host Guide had made after he acquired the Hermetic Vault days ago.
[Your entirety embodies the notion of greed and ambition. Your flesh desires to devour more than its designated portion of gifts in the world. It desires double, and so does your soul. You seek things beyond what you were afforded in your last life]
[You are a rare case where flesh and soul are in mutual agreement]
[You, Incarnate ^8001, are a true Hollow Demonling]
“Double,” Arlosse voiced with hints of excitement.
This was why.
Arlosse didn’t quite understand if this was a benefit afforded because of his race or a blessing by the Host Guide. If it was the former, he imagined that he wasn’t the only exception; there were likely others who could acquire more than one Far Ji.
Unique Qualities were really powerful. The sheer fact that they did not require any energy to use was astounding on its own, but the fact that the already ridiculous powers of Far Ji could be expanded on was even more insane.
The specifics of Arlosse’s new Far Ji supported this fact.
===
[Reform | Grade Rare]
Allows the user to restore living and non-living matter, down to intrinsic details, back to their most proper state.
-
Definitions:
1.[Unassigned]
2.[Unassigned].
-
Limit:
>Each successful usage of this Far Ji requires half an hour.
===
At once, two things became clear to Arlosse.
“I see. So, this is how Alabas retained his sanity.”
It had been a mystery to the Demonling why Alabas hadn’t behaved like Tenyen or Kadyas; like mindless warriors. The King had apparently used this power, Reform, to keep his mind intact.
Quite like the Hermetic Vault, the application of Reform seemed to differ depending on whether it was attached to an object or a living being. Now that Arlosse had acquired it, it had a Limit and was restrained.
‘Reform…’ Arlosse thought, and his eyes sparkled. ‘Could I use this to heal myself?’