After the carnage and destruction caused by the lone invader, one thing I was particularly afraid of was the thought that he could simply turn around and leave. He had the ability to do so, and I personally expected him to, especially since he had already expended half of his M.P reserves. Therefore, I was relieved to see that he was brave and bold enough to not take that route.
I watched as my spawns seeped from the seemingly external bubbles, engaging the lone invader and flooding into him from both the front and the back.
The simultaneous onslaught of so many Shadow Specters was overwhelming.
_____________________________
[Shadow Specter (Patrolling Spawn, Enhanced), Level 18, slain by Verdenkind, mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
_____________________________
[Shadow Specter (Patrolling Spawn, Enhanced), Level 18, slain by Verdenkind, mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
_____________________________
[Shadow Specter (Patrolling Spawn, Enhanced), Level 18, slain by Verdenkind, mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
_____________________________
[Shadow Specter (Patrolling Spawn, Enhanced), Level 18, slain by Verdenkind, mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
Though he managed to fend off some, my Shadow Specters were the equivalent of a small army, each averaging at level 18, with four of them reaching level 20.
_____________________________
Name: Christian
Level: 23
Race: Verdenkind
Class: Mage
Health: 38%
Status: In Combat
『Expand』
_____________________________
"You should've left when you had the opportunity to," I couldn’t help but lament on his behalf as I watched the man's health plummeting down.
_____________________________
Name: Christian
Level: 23
Race: Verdenkind
Class: Mage
Health: 11%
Status: In Combat
『Expand』
_____________________________
_____________________________
[Shadow Specter (Patrolling Spawn, Enhanced), Level 18, slain by Verdenkind, mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
_____________________________
[Shadow Specter (Patrolling Spawn, Enhanced), Level 18, slain by Verdenkind, mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
“You’re a tough asshole, aren’t you?” I couldn’t help but praise as I watched the lone invader fighting to what was clearly the bitter end. “But sadly so are my spawns. Guys, spare me total humiliation. Make this the last time I say this. Get him, boys."
_____________________________
Name: Christian
Level: 23
Race: Verdenkind
Class: Mage
Health: 3%
Status: In Combat
『Expand』
_____________________________
_____________________________
[Shadow Specter (Patrolling Spawn), Level 18, slain by Verdenkind, mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
_____________________________
Name: Christian
Level: 23
Race: Verdenkind
Class: Mage
Health: 1%
Status: In Combat
『Expand』
_____________________________
_____________________________
[Death Paladin (Patrolling Spawn, Enhanced), Level 17, has slain Verdenkind Intruder, Mage, Level 23]
_____________________________
_____________________________
[ ???'s Interface ]
System Notification Intrusion Report:
Invasion successfully repelled, G.P and domain secured, all interfaces are now available.
_____________________________
“Finally.”
***
After the slaying of the lone adventurer by my spawn, I didn't simply proceed as I usually would. Instead, I took a moment to contemplate life, if one could call that a life. In that moment, I no longer felt the urgency that had initially driven me to defeat the lone adventurer. Perhaps it was because I knew very well that what was to be acquired was already mine, or perhaps it was something else—I couldn't tell.
I just stood there, satisfied and content with myself.
"I guess that was the most threatened I've ever been as of recently." While I truly thought those words, I didn't feel the slightest bit threatened during the whole invasion. If he had managed to make it past the corridor of Shadow Specters, he would have reached my final line of defense—a platoon of Death Paladins. Even if he had overcome them, he would still have to face my Domain Guardian.
"Now that I think about it, I actually hoped it’d actually happen. There's something I would've liked to try with my Domain Guardian. I guess next time, maybe. Actually, it's fine even if it doesn't happen."
“Anyway, it’s about time, let’s see what we have here.”
_____________________________
[ ???'s Interface ]
Name: Christian
Level: 23
Race: Verdenkind
Class: Mage
Harvest [67.50 GP]
Otherworldly Synergy
Acquire [456.48 GP]
Store
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Clarence
Harvest [3.7 GP]
Store
Dáinsleif
Harvest [1.32 GP]
Store
Harvest All Now [529 GP]
Harvest Later [529 GP]
Exit
_____________________________
“Anyway, it’s about time. Let’s see what we have here."
The moment I opened the interface containing my spoil of war, I was met with an unexpected sight. "What?"
Before me were four separate options. The first represented the invader mage Verdekind, followed by a hippie-like wooden staff adorned with a crystal attached to the wooden staff with robust rope—supposedly a magical staff named Clarence. Next was a short sword named Dáinsleif, and, of course, the authority: Otherworldly Synergy. They came with names, the possibility to be stored, harvested, and thus had a clear G.P value. What left me perplexed was how that said value was distributed across these four.
To be frank, the moment I was told there would be a 529 GP reward for that lone invader, I knew there would be something special. Indeed, on his own, he caused more damage to my domain than any group of invaders before. So, somewhere, I was expecting the 529 GP to be what I would get from harvesting him. However, it turned out the reward for harvesting him was much more normal than expected.
"67.5 GP, that should be normal for a mage Verdekind of his level, right?" To confirm, I checked my spawn catalog and learned that the price of acquiring a level 23 Verdekind mage was 58.5 GP—less, but close to his.
"I guess this is normal, after all. I got carried away with my assumption." After a moment of hesitation, I harvested the lone invader's body. "Don't worry, Pal. I'll make good use of your GP value." Following the principle that, in the long run, led me to be burdened with thousands of shields, swords, and maces, I kept the hippie staff and harvested the shortsword. Now, I was only left with the authority to be harvested. Surprisingly, it didn't even have the "harvested" option as the others did; there was just the option to "acquire" it. So that's what I confidently did.
I'd yet to have a tangible and in-interface confirmation of what the deal was with that authority. However, the moment I acquired it, I felt it—a change within myself. Fair enough, the change I was feeling manifested itself in the interface.
_____________________________
Dungeon Core Interface
Authority acquired.
Establishing Authority Core Functions…
Loading Core Functions…
Core functions Established.
_____________________________
_____________________________
[ ???'s Interface ]
Name: ???
Entity: Dungeon Core
Designation: Dungeon Master
Status: Idle
[ Ressource ]
- Raw Manacyte (R.M): 37▲ / 37▲
- Mana Available (M.A): 8032▲ / 13067.7▲
- Godhood Potential (G.P) Earned: 3786
[ Dungeon Master Core Function ]
- Dungeon Visualisation
- Labyrinth Editor
- Resource Management
『Expand』
[ Spawnable Entities ]
- Guardians
- Spawns
- Spawns Catalog
[ Authorities ]
- Otherworldly Synergy
『Expand』
_____________________________
----------------------------------------
What is the Otherworldly Synergy Authority and what does it do?
It didn't take me long to get an answer to that question. Sadly, the answer didn't come in the form of a "simple" explanation. Instead, they presented themselves as countless and subtle hints—hints that I only discovered as I, per my old habits, skimmed through the system interface.
First, it came across as what I initially believed was sight, but no, it wasn't. It was close to how I saw the interface, but it simply wasn't with eyes. It was like the interface, but at the same time, it wasn't. If there were a word to describe it, it would be "raw." It was once again like seeing, but at the same time, very different from simply seeing. It was like seeing the wind, in its predictable and unpredictable movements, or like seeing gravity and how it affected each object individually.
However, in this, I neither saw the wind and gravity nor felt; there was simply the interface there for me, which is what I first thing noticed the Authority’s effect on.
The screen before me was no longer just a holographic display but became instead an amalgamation of countless glowing, floating symbols of diverse proportions. The sight, while not currently in the least overwhelming, was something I was fairly certain would've been, had I, in my old form, had a brain—something I most certainly would simply be incapable of processing.
It was a strange thing to say, but I was fairly certain that it was the fact that I was brainless or at least devoid of a brain and flesh that allowed me to withstand the sight of what was before. In that very moment, I realized that the thing at the origin of this—the authority—was most likely of Divine origins. Two names came to me at that moment: Mighty K.R.U.L and A42675.
Mainly the former. Naturally, in that moment, at that thought, a series of theories and assumptions assailed my fleshless brain. "Could it be that the man was someone like me, contracted to some high power? Mighty K.R.U.L mentioned entrusting a shard of his existence to me. So it's safe to say that there should be other 'shards.' Could it be that this 'authority' is one of the shards? But if it is, then does that mean that the man was a colleague?"
I conjured, from near-perfect memories, the visage of the lone invader. While somewhat handsome, he looked like invaders I'd slain many times before. There was simply nothing special about him, which is why I so casually harvested him for his G.P value.
"That can't be, or at least, I hope he was. Because... I mean, if that authority was that shard, then shouldn't there be one for mine? Just like Otherworldly Synergy. I didn't know why, but I instinctively knew that there wasn’t only one authority, but that instead there were more of it out there. How was I so sure? I didn't know. I just instinctively knew."
"Did I mess up somehow by killing him?”
...
“No, I didn't. I acted upon my feeling—that urge to acquire the invader's G.P and that authority... Or did I get that wrong?" I thought about the man, about how much of a challenge he was to deal with, so almost immediately my thoughts turned around. "What am I saying? Am I questioning my purpose? This is fine. Of course, it is fine. I've been doing great. Of course, I have. If someone messed up, it's been him."
***
One thing I also noticed was how easily the "Otherworldly Synergy" authority adapted itself to the whole system's interface. That's what it did—to a point where I would go as far as describing it as changing it, if not improving it. Even now, I wouldn't be able to explain exactly what it does, but I know for a fact that it changed interfaces, like my resources interface.
_____________________________
[ ???'s Interface ]
Clarence
(Animalistic Monsters-Slaying / Undead-Slaying enhancement / Elemental Enhancement)
Harvest [3.7 GP]
Store
???
(Demons/ Undead-Slaying enhancement)
[Rename]
Harvest [0.037 GP]
Store
???
(Undead-Slaying enhancement)
[Rename]
Harvest [0.022 GP]
Store
???
(Demons/ Undead-Slaying enhancement)
[Rename]
Harvest [0.12 GP]
Store
BrownSister
(Undead-Slaying enhancement / Enhanced Slashing)
Harvest [0.32 GP]
Store
SkullBreaker
(Undead-Slaying enhancement / Enhanced Bludgeon)
Harvest [0.13 GP]
Store
『Expand』
Harvest All Now [67.7 GP]
Harvest Later [67.7 GP]
Exit
_____________________________
Before me floated an interface listing all that I'd been storing from each invasion. By storing at least one object from each invasion, I ended up with a little mountain. In the interface that used to list items with what I believed was the name they went by when they were used by their, may-their-soul-rest-in-peace, former users and the option to be renamed for me, for those that didn't have a name, I could now clearly see the properties of these objects. These properties were the reason a small knife, completely average, could be of higher G.P than a seemingly new sword. Before, these G.P values felt and looked completely random, but now, now that I could finally see these peculiar properties, I understood that it was them that brought up the G.P value of each item.
As I zoomed into "Clarence," the hippie staff the lone invader brought along and thus left me with, I read the properties it came with: Animalistic Monsters-Slaying enhancement, Undead-Slaying enhancement, Elemental Enhancement. As I read them, I couldn't help but think about something that I've come to realize very recently. It seemed that in this world, as is generally the case with objects like swords or any sort of weapon, or even a staff as in the case of that lone invader, there's some sort of enhancement that sticks. What do these enhancements do? Well, I could clearly tell that, much like titles which could be found from time to time on my invaders, they allow better performance against the type of monster to which they're applied.
In this staff's case, one of the enhancements is "Elemental Enhancement," which is clearly different from the others, as it, instead of providing better performance against anything, increases the output of elemental magic. How do I know that? I don't know, but I will blame two things: my reading comprehension and, of course, "Otherworldly Synergy."
As I stared at the staff, I started to notice something about it. The staff was made of three archaic, hippie sections: the wooden shaft, the rope part, which served to fix the last part, the gem, to the first section. It was mostly the gems that I came to notice something about. They were oozing with illusory glyphs and symbols that I knew I was able to see due to Otherworldly Synergy.
"This gem is familiar, where did I see it?" I was fairly certain that if that thing was familiar, it didn't come from my old world; instead, it came from here. There was hardly anything I'd seen in this world except what's shown to me through the system interface. So I began skimming, skimming through until I eventually arrived at it. It wasn't very far away; it was in the same resource section of the interface.
“There you were.”
_____________________________
[ ???'s Interface ]
Name: ???
Entity: Dungeon Core
Designation: Dungeon Master
Status: Idle
[ Ressource ]
- Raw Manacyte (R.M): 37▲ / 37▲
- Mana Available (M.A): 7832▲ / 13067.7▲
- Godhood Potential (G.P) Earned: 3786
_____________________________
The symbols flowing out of the gem on the staff seemed familiar, like a sort of alphabet I could almost recognize. They were similar, but not exactly the same as the ones coming from the Raw Manacyte (R.M) and Mana Available (M.A) information.
I left that section of the interface to yet another neighboring section: Dungeon Visualization in the Dungeon Master Core Function, I was met with a section that displayed the various deposits of the material known as Manacyte, which I came to understand grants my domain mana to assign to my spawns.
Noting the similarities between the glyphs and symbols oozing between the gems and the Manacyte, which I'd been able to faintly feel the weight and presence of, I understood that the gems were what Manacyte visually looks like. Sure, there's clearly something different about it, but I had no doubt the gem section was made of a similar Manacyte than the one I was passively producing in my domain here and there.
***
The more I examined the interface before me, the more I grappled with the Authority it held. It dawned on me that my initial assumption, attributing the change in the system's interface to "Otherworldly Synergy," might have been off the mark. With some time and deeper contemplation, I began to realize that rather than altering the system's interface, this synergy had shifted my perspective.
Drawing an analogy, I likened it to using a computer. While I was humble to not see myself as a complete expert, I could relate it to staring at a tool like Photoshop. I understood that, in such a scenario, my perception would differ from that of someone like Andry, my seasoned fellow mercenary who was more of a man of action than a man of such things.
It wasn't that the system itself had changed; rather, it was my outlook that had undergone a transformation. This revelation led me to acknowledge that nothing was inherently different except for my perspective.
A more precise analogy dawned on me—a language, a perfectly exact language that had been implanted into my understanding. It was as if I had been presented by the authority with a linguistic system that had eluded me until now. While I couldn't precisely "speak" this newfound language, there existed a level of comprehension. It was like the language was speaking to me, with some words lost in translation. However, I sensed the potential for improvement.
Although there were elements that remained beyond my grasp, I believed that with time and deeper exploration, I could enhance my understanding. It was as if I had been handed the linguistic keys to a realm that, though initially unfamiliar, held the promise of becoming more decipherable and communicable as I delved further into its intricacies.