Lorry's question was definitely warranted, but his demeanor and way of talking wasn't. He had his prose as a Guide but so what? Both Murai and Lisa glared back at him, aware that they remained chatting between them alone because why not? Who was he to judge that? They were Blessed and a Blessed Companion talking to one another.
And Lisa was unnaturally willing to talk. More than usual at least.
“Lorry means... You keep blabbering something important. Lorry knows it.”
“So?” Lisa talked out loud. “I am fairly certain that things regarding any rewards are fine as they are. Like my talking to him that needs some attention and care. I am merely explaining to him what he wanted to get. Is that wrong?”
“Nah. Nay!” Lorry shook his head, floating a bit away. “Lorry would do everything to make Murai time better. If Lisa does so after who knows how long, then that is a surprising time indeed. Lorry just making sure that such time is fine, but time is ticking, even though there are no time limits. Rewards... Has Murai picked something at last, or did Lisa do so instead?”
“Want another smack to your face?” she said dead cold, stroking her hand. “We are going over this issue right now so pipe your skull down. Unless you want a third hole for the 3rd Soul Flame, I don't mean to be so petty or poor.”
Lorry shuddered, glancing at Murai who wasn't interested in his comments. If this tome spoke of an issue about the demonic kind of mana that he wasn't all that familiar with, he would gladly take whatever this Pillage Emperor left behind.
“Lorry..” He started, glancing at him and stopping Lisa from doing whatever she wanted. “Heavenly Shaping. What is its history? What you can tell me about it?”
“Haven't Li...”
“Answer it!” Lisa argued. “I can only know so much about ancient things of this world. This tome right here has been in this place for a long time as a part of his legacy. Mindarch knows more, won't he? Or you. Yes. You should know a whole lot about everything in those Vaults, "Guide.”
Lorry went closer to the Heavenly Shaping Tome, glancing at it with his flaming eyes for another time. It was an interesting treasure with even more interesting history, regardless of anything else.
But as Lisa said, he knew this thing better than her. “Well, if Lorry takes some sense out of the nonsense, then this tome is an unusable pile of shit. An old pile of shit from more than 14 thousand years ago. It is the Tome Technique when the Beast Sect revolved around the Somalis. Cherished times, weren't they? Lorry's Lady got this out of those times but was angry about how dogshit it was, so Lady tossed it away and forgot it.”
“Somalis?” Lisa frowned. “I didn't hear of that, but Beast Sect is different. Is this tome something else than what Pillage Emperor had in mind when creating the Beast Sect?”
“Pillage? That one was under interesting times indeed, but that is far away from what matters to Murai. Lorry should talk about what matters. Mindarch thinks so too. This tome is nothing more than a pile of nothing but lost legacy. Old and tattered, this tome has been here for many millennia. A nefarious loot that Lady earned and didn't know what to do with it.”
“Can I take a look inside at what it is about?” Murai asked.
“Look? No. No No. The Vault isn't working like that. Murai has to choose. The choice is finite. No looking inside.”
Murai grunted as he glanced around this Vault once more. There were many Spell Tomes that intrigued him, but if anything, the fundamental technique would be more helpful than some spells he could eventually force or work with. And the fact was, that his head was full of technique regardless of this Vault, but one thing was knowing their ways, and another was having Tome with comprehension that could directly come from it to the head and core.
It was different than acting according to his memories.
The prices were problematic. Most basic tomes started at 1,000 points, and the better-graded ones required more points. “I will take the Heavenly Shaping if there is a discount.” Murai decided to haggle.
“D-discount? For this? Wait, this tome? Does Murai want this pile of mess? Is Murai even aware of what history it has? What does it entail to the Shaping and its history? Yes... Lorry guess what it means... Lorry should talk, considering Murai's silence and cold stare and Lisa's cracking hands.” Lorry suddenly calmed down, as if he understood something they wanted.
By all means, this wasn't that bad, since Mindarch did confirm to talk it out.
So he talked about some sense that was coming more from Mindarch than him.
“Heavenly Shaping is under Pillage Emperor's ancestry, describing demonic energies and bloodlines alike. Beast Cores and Shaping take priority in Heavenly Shaping, as it is taking power over mana and Shaping to a unique level. That is at least... the bare mentions of the origins of this tome, but the tome's inner structure and quality are terrible as a tome. No one figured out much out of it, since it is a complicated and chaotic kind of technique, unlike what the name suggests. This isn't the sole tome of this caliber by the way. It is one of the many left behind that Will of the Battleworld will know more about it. Does Murai have a connection to it?”
“What connection?”
“Talk,” Lisa added to Lorry while turning to Murai. “Will of the Battleworld grands occasional chances for information requests or gatherings, but not for you, I suppose. Maybe the Encounter is why it's so stingy. Or... you? No idea.” She shrugged.
Lorry hummed in interest after he heard what he wanted. “Then... Murai should be glad. Mindarch can provide such information himself.”
“For free?” Murai chucked; he was almost sure it wouldn't be free. Few things were ever that, and if they were, they would be under harsh, or straight-up exploitable excuses. Free things were most often a lot more costly than they suggested.
“Eh... If... Oh!” Lorry heard something hit his head and jerked his head sideways and upwards. “Seems so... convoluted. That isn't usual practice, just w...” Then he grunted as he flew from the left bookshelf sideways, before hitting the table in pain. He mumbled something along the lines of terrible welfare, pleads, and how sorry he was.
It calmed when he stumbled before Murai's face, no longer questioning a thing. “Murai is weirdo to want this tome, so let Lorry tell why.”
Murai never had an itch to uno reverse his nonsense, but he was more interested in what he would say than what he said. If anything, Lorry was a weirdo.
“Diffulty and Grade are at double S tiers. It requires a deep bond over mana and shaping, and most of all, the tome is alive.”
“Alive? Does it have some intent? Can't feel it.”
“Nay. Tome has something worse. Bloodline.”
“Huh? Not sure what you are getting into, but not like it matters, am I right?” Murai wasn't sure what he meant.
“Depends. All Lorry says, is that the Heavenly Shaping's difficulty originates from the complications of mana of this tome. Got it?” Lorry said as if he couldn't be less bothered with it.
“Well, it will be great to have something interesting anyway,” Murai said.
“So Murai can take it. Discount? Sure. Is 500 points enough?” Lorry went ahead and floated above the tome. “Not many would accomplish anything with such a tome anyway, so tome should go away from this place in respectable hands or wings? Maybe it will find its rightful place under Murai's wings, but who knows? Someone else may kill Murai and take the tome to the rightful owner, creating a cycle like a lot of things in this world. Old things work like that.” Lorry stated a series of strangely connecting sentences, which weren't that wrong or right.
But he forgot to mention some things, though Mindarch wasn't fussing over Guide's choices. Usually.
In the end, Murai accepted the discount and took this Heavenly Shaping because it sounded interesting. There wasn't much else to it. He sort of accepted what Lisa explained and what Lorry added.
Not like it mattered much, but he got what he paid for and perhaps even more than that. If Lisa thought of this as something special, she already stormed him to get it, giving him almost no other choice.
Not like there were a lot of choices for a duck anyway.
With the remaining 500 points, Murai made the last purchases that he wanted. Those were items he lacked in this life: proper potions he couldn't create out of nothing. It wasn't possible loot from the undead. He understood after skimming over piles of broken glass bottles in Gate 1.
A pair of Grade D Vitality Potions were 100 points a piece.
Grade E Mana Potion will restore some mana: 50 points per bottle.
Rejuvenations Potions were of Grade F, but they were dirt cheap in this place, so he took 10 of them for 100 points. They worked against fatigue of the body, and a neat bonus was less hunger, which his Robust Spirit didn't solve. Robust Spirit was more about spiritual help, rather than physical issues.
Unfortunately, there was no meal for him at this place. Disappointing him.
As for the rest, he had not much left, so he went ahead and spent it all on potions that went directly to Lisa's pouch. Lorry said that the points would get terminated between the Gates, so anyone who came here, had to purchase their worth. Buying was thus required.
Murai got plenty of useful things, apart from the dogshit tome that hadn't got clear advantages. He had to look at it closely before he would run to some conclusions, but he trusted Lisa's persuasion. His current spatial pouch was enough to store potions for the lower Gates when they would be undoubtedly useful. Lisa agreed with his choices because he didn't need a lot of things that this Vault had.
There were tons of equipment selections, but like 99% was meant for humanoid races.
Essences were essential to him, so spending 1000 points on them was right, or almost too good to be the truth. The most expensive was the Heavenly Shaping, which sounded like a mistake, but he took this gamble with an open heart. If it ended up useless, he had a clear idea of who he was to blame.
Apart from that, if he wanted to do what he planned for, he needed 100s of those essence pouches, which had some purchasing limitations. In fact, there was something strange about them.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Essences were dirt cheap when he glanced at the potion values right beside them. They weren't as far apart as they should've been in normal circumstances.
200 points per 5 Low-Grade 7s were a steal.
40 points per Low-Grade 7 essence seemed to have a brand new meaning when Murai thought of their drop rate. It spoke of level differences, or the prices of the essences were cheap in this place for a good reason? That was an interesting point since he got 25 of them for basically nothing, yet he got only 2 out of the direct battles in Gate 1.
He kept this wonder for another time. For now, he wondered if the next Gate provided a similar style of Vault like this, if not better.
If so, his worries about the required essences for his Core Defining Fusion shouldn't be an issue as they would be on the Surface. Murai had no idea how rare and problematic essences were on the surface. Lisa knew exactly that, yet even without knowing what he hoped for, she granted him this rare chance to exploit the shit out of his place.
She didn't even know what she had started.
Soon, Murai went outside of the building, satisfied and in a great mood, followed by Lisa who held the Spatial Pouch in a lighter mood. It felt good to finally talk it out between them, and she felt particularly happy to talk with Murai in such a way. She felt validated that she helped him after all. While also getting some of his answers in return.
It seemed they both underwent some character development between each other.
On the other hand, Lorry was still speechless and nervous about something. He was in a better mood after he went out of the Vault, and without glaring at the other building, which had only demonic rewards from Hell Haven and a bunch of bloodline-related treasures, he gestured them to the portal between the Vaults.
Looking at it, Murai was inclined to jump toward the chaotic waves without hesitation, but Lisa stopped him before he did so.
“Feel the colors first. There are a lot of things to this portal that I know and figured out before. It may be random in nature, but trust me on this, there were a lot of challengers with plenty of heart and ideas over the years. I have an idea to decide the path forward. Care to hear that?”
“One can decide it even amidst this Chaos?”
“Oy! What the fuck ar...” Lorry complained out loud, shouting like a lunatic, but a mere jolt of her hand shut him up.
“You are familiar with the Portals anyway, aren't you? Colors represent the Paths that go to the other sides. There are around 10 of them, but some are clearer than others. Only 4 or 5 are familiar paths, while the rest are either impossible to enter or unavailable for most Challengers. Do you think you can choose your path? It depends on the individual senses, so I can't help you.”
“Mere idea that you even talk like this, and helpfully so, gives me a weird headache and fear the world will soon shatter. So yes. I will give it a shot.” Murai obviously didn't hesitate to try what she offered, so he stepped toward the waves of this portal. He wasn't teleported straight away, but his head was overwhelmed by powerful force like the rest of his body.
The waves enveloped him in a series of threads, crashing into him in powerful waves. A regular person couldn't connect to them, as they were so fast, it may as well be random. And this Portal wasn't a normal kind where one simply stepped in and went to the Chaos Space.
As Lisa said, Murai figured out what she meant. There were colors to those threads, and some were clearer than the rest. Few were much wilder, making them impossible to feel or see. There was only a blur. Some colored threads were transparent, black like the color of the black hole, or bright like the sun.
Murai hesitated which one to choose, but he had no doubts he could direct one towards him with his magic. He wasn't lost, helpless, or torn to shreds as he refused to accept the random thread that looped around him almost right away.
It was a unique portal with a simple premise. One could force the threads to move closer, making a connection if one were powerful and careful enough.
The threads were strong since they were connected to the Chaos Space. Anything of that caliber was dangerous. He could accept one on a whim, or be an idiot and force one thread to wrap himself up. What sounded more ridiculous, or harder? The former, so Murai decided to connect with the color that wasn't looking too hard to connect to. Those impossible ones were clearly out of his touch.
Behind him, Lisa was looking at him, observing his every thought and action.
“You do great. At least you can control yourself not to be sucked into the Chaos Space like a fool. Seen some arrogant fools come here, and get obliterated in seconds. Those were idiots, whose remains were gone under a few breaths.” Lisa recollected a few memories, before continuing to explain what he needed.
“There are a few colors that may be good for you since they were explored throughout the ages. What they depict is simple: some underlying qualities and differences go to a different Gate 2. That is the idea about them. There are differences, but each makes up what is known as Gate 2, which is a mash of places that Levandis created, or found already in this temple. You only need to enter a single one of them and prove yourself. But they can provide different rewards in their prose. They also include special pathways that are determined by the Mindarch. Wanna hear about them?”
“Go on. I am still feeling things around, but it isn't biting me like a fool. Gentle. That is what is needed when handling anything related to the Chaos Space. Nothing fancy, you see.” Murai said, shrouded in the ripples of Chaos Space, but was still fine. He had yet to fully manifest his connection to the threads, but he figured few were clearer to catch than others. Those fast ones were literary impossible.
“I will mention those that are direct. The red one with the tinge of killing intent is a Hellwar Zone. It's quite literary the trail of Hell Haven. It is a connection to a plain that is under Levandis, filled with all kinds of demons and undead. Dangers are countless and full of chaos. It's a more normal choice of the options.”
“The black one with a tinge of silver and light is a native place called Islands of Greatness. It has a simple premise that is full of battles. It has more of an Order than Chaos. One goes through the Island to Island, battling 100 kinds of opponents till the end. One had to defeat everyone to move towards Gate 3.”
“The purple, filled with velvet sheen is Trail of Lottery. It is a weird choice when one can get a plethora of rewards, but gamble the enemies. One may meet a weak opponent with good rewards, or a bad one with bad rewards. It's quite a funny choice which I took in my first visit. Not recommended by the way.”
Lisa explained the 3 options she thought were the best.
They were most optimal for Murai's current issue, but there were still others she remembered. Those weren't great under her understanding. She considered the rest to be too special, requiring the powers of the Extremes, or Laws at bare minimum.
“What gives the most rewards?” Murai asked the most important question.
“Lottery if you are lucky. If you are strong in individual battles, the Islands will give you a plethora of points and options to fight. As for the Zone, it is dangerous and chaotic. But it is also possible to get great loot out of the foes, similar to the Islands, or Gate 1. The Islands can take some time, but the enemies are clear and subject to not overwhelm you. They are deemed to be like a duel around your level, but I never took that path. I only heard about it from a friend at that time. He regretted it because he spent way too much time in that place, and he wasn't as prepared for it on a 2nd visit.”
Murai thought about the choices. Lisa explained them rather well, and it seemed he didn't have to get over the other choices if they weren't worthy. Those 3 were enough for this help, even though Lorry was fuming in anger. Obviously, this went against the rules, but Mindarch wasn't complaining, so he had no choice but to remain silent.
Murai disregarded other choices, unwilling to waste more time. If the others already built the path, why create the road next to them? He may as well take what others figured before him and use it to his advantage.
“I will take the black one. 100 duels, right?”
“Yes. That is good as well. Let's go. Lorry?” Lisa turned to the skull, who remained frowning because of his terrible luck. Having this pair of a Blessed and a former Blessed was awful. They were a terrible team that frustrated him to no end. They weren't giving him any face whatsoever!
He sighed as he moved along, flowing to the waves of dark that soon enveloped Murai and Lisa alike. They all disappeared in a dark colorful blink, traveling into the Islands of Greatness, where Murai will challenge 100 foes.
The Vaults remained closed, waiting for the upcoming challenger that was slowly ushering in slaughter, traversing through Gate 1. Razmund was coming, and he was closer than ever.
But something in this place was yet to be over.
In the corridor that underwent an invisible fight and butchery, blood was visible beneath the fog that kept lingering on the ground. It was there, as it wasn't something meant to disappear. It added mystery to this place, making up a great atmosphere.
After Murai and the rest disappeared from Gate 1, in a closed corner, the ancient door cracked open after squeaking loudly. It was more than a 4-meter tall gate, and surprisingly, the person who walked from there wasn't fit for this gate.
But he opened it without much trouble. It was a person. A very small person.
Suited in black attire akin to a suit, he was an officer of the Hell Haven and current caretaker of the Levandis Temple. He was male looking person, smaller than even Murai. 20 centimeters was his bare height, yet he carried himself as if his head touched the ceiling. His head was a bit disproportional to the rest of the body, bulkier and thicker. But the suit looked fit for his figure, giving him a neat aura.
He walked through the museum, leaving the fog in shambles after a mere flick of his two fingers, leaving the place clean. “Dislodge the rundown. Fight, information of Blessed Anatidae. Put it into a request.” He spoke in a normal voice that was quite powerful.
[Access granted. Request accepted.] A male voice that held other tones told out loud, traveling to every corner of this museum. [Blessed Anatidae fought with an ushering tone, fighting on all legs against the Crowhell Bat. The fight lasted 3 minutes and 20 seconds. Enemies clashed 15 times with various means. Final move...]
“Shut the nonsense, Mindarch. Grand the information of this Blessed. Don't leave the Battlewill behind either. Initiate a total lockdown. Villan acted behind my back. Wretch!” the little person argued, speaking loudly as if he wasn't even that small. His aura flared, cracks spread under his feet, and the surrounding voices yelped. He wasn't happy at all for some reason.
[Uhm...] Mindarch squeaked as misty and dense fog waves erupted from the floor, making up a weird face that was akin to a ghost. It had two holes for eyes and mouth, but that was about it. Made of whitish azure mist, it spoke in a clear tone. [Reports are... unclear. So are the rules. Battlewill is rather ferocious in taking it under a rug. There are reasons in the Sky that are kind of big. ]
“I have access granted by my Lady. What is wrong?” He clicked his tongue, impatiently standing before Mindarch, back straight and hands behind his back.
[Report has already been sent to you, Manager Kil, as per the request and rules by Levandis.]
“I wasn't clear enough?!”
[Um... You were. Right. A lockdown can be initiated. Reports are clear. Blessed Anatidae... huh? Delivering the report.]
The mist quivered, swirling around the museum in order to manifest ghostly images that showed every single one of Murai's steps since he arrived here. Manager Kil watched it from the beginning, indifferent but watchful over Murais' every step. Mindarch didn't show Lisa or Lorry. Murai was enough.
Stops to seek the treasures on the shelves, platforms, or the pauses before the statues of the prisoners were shown. They didn't clear much for him, but the fight against the Crowhell Bat was clear as the day. Mindarch created a shimmering image of the bat so Manager Kil could watch it as if it were real.
The clashes, moves, and forces slowly changed the tides before the fight was clear to his experienced eyes. It ended in a few minutes in rather few exchanges that were quite significant and straightforward.
Murai stood over the destroyed bat, frozen and unmoving as the report ended.
[Report complete. Do you want further vision? There are 138 estimated possibilities of how this fight would've gone in other directions. Variables and choices.] Mindarch spoke to the entire museum once more.
“Denied.” Manager Kil mumbled, standing before misty Murai, observing his feathers, face, and eyes. The vision that Mindarch created was spotless, bloodless, and clear like a picture. “Blessed Anatidae huh? How in the world this had happened? Report this to Levandis straight away!”
[Denied. She is sleeping.]
“S-sleeping? Do you think this is fine?”
[I dare you to wake her up.]
This shut Manager Kil for good, but he couldn't help but curse. He grunted and finally noticed what he wanted. Bloody steps showed the mess the fight had left, and there, soft feathers remained, bloodied on the ground. He walked towards them, picked them up, and clutched them in his tiny hand. They were about half of his height and soft like any feather.
“Just outer ones... Just these?!”
[Panacea detected, as well as abnormal magical aptitude. Do you want a full rundown of his Spells? Grades?]
“Denied... Tell me the age.”
[Less than a year old.]
“Less than what?!” he asked again just in case.
[Single. Year. Blessed. Panacea. An Old Soul in the body of an Anatidae. Do you still want a report of the Encounter?]
“D-denied... Later.” Manager Kil grunted and watched the feathers in his grasp.
[Anything else?]
“Observe the target. Report to me. Wait for Lady Levandis to wake up. She will want to hear about this more than you think, tool.”
[That can last days...] Mindarch said dejectedly.
“Do it!” Manager Kil shouted and almost shattered the feathers under his power. In a swoop of a finger, he stored them into a gem on his belt. “Careful of Battleworld's messages, or any movements from the other side of the Encounter, got it? Work well and I won't mention any wrongdoings.”
Mindarch grunted, but sighed in the end, letting the picture of Murai dissolve into the mist before clearing everything up.
Manager Kil preferred his hands behind his back, so he walked away, vanishing into the previous door that led to a bright portal. “I swear... Something nasty is brewing from this...” He mumbled as he left.