Chapter 25: Your Flaw Is...
[Aspect Ability Acquired.]
[Aspect Ability name: Hunter’s Instinct]
I anxiously summoned the runes.
At first glance, I could tell it was a utility aspect. But~
With a grim expression, I still couldn’t help but hope for a miracle, no matter how nonexistent the odds.
I wanted to get to the description of my ability right away, but the fear of it being something... useless... held me back.
After some deliberation, I decided to check my overall status first.
’The aspect description could wait...’
This was the excuse I told myself- the balm I had come up with to lessen the fear and anxiety swiftly rising within me.
Name: Klaus
Origin name: The Lord
Origin rank:
Rank: Dreamer
Lord Core: Dormant
Lord Fragments: 0/1000
’Weird," I muttered under my breath.
Logically, only my system should be able to detect anomalies in my progression path, yet something felt... off.
In theory, all Arcanists followed the same standard path- consuming soul shards, possessing soul cores. But... there were certain exceptions to that theory.
A few others followed different progression paths. Some advanced through rituals. Others by devouring supernatural beings.
And some... by killing.
Usually, the devouring progression path belongs to profane creatures or humans.
And-
My expression darkened as a grim realization settled in.
If I had to guess... my progression path belonged to the latter.
"What a scam." I scowled.
But eventually, I had no choice but to accept it. Complaining wouldn’t change a damn thing anyway.
Staring at the number of lord fragments, I frowned.
After all, I had not only slain the tyrant. I had also felled the darkeinsten tree by some miraculous means. So, even if the spell decided to be... petty, I should have at the very least, received a few lord fragments.
Yet, I had none.
"....?"
My frown deepened, but before long,
"Haa..."
It clicked.
The Arcane Trials were called trials for a reason. Nightmarish or not, everything one encounters within them are simply reconstruction of events from the ancient history of the world.
"That explains it, then." I nodded.
"Hmm... Origin ranks." I muttered under my breath, a smile creeping up my features.
’I wonder what my rank will be?’
I mused with a raised brow.
Though, I wasn’t too anxious about that anyway. After all-
My grin widened.
I’d find out soon enough.
With a smile, I moved on to the other stats.
Memories: [Thunder Fang Dagger], [Momentum Ring]
Echoes: -
Attributes: [Comprehension], [Combat Prodigy]
Aspect: [The Hunter]
Aspect rank: ***
Aspect Abilities: Hunter’s Instinct]
Aspect Ability Description: [To see is to know. To know is to strike. To strike is to... kill.]
"....?!"
I blinked, trying to make sense of the cryptic words before me.
Seconds passed by and I still couldn’t figure it out. And~
"Aaargh!"
Frustration. It slowly clawed its way up my throat, coiling and tightening around my neck with each breath I took.
’What the hell is this supposed to mean?!’
I scowled in anger.
An irrational urge to smash the runes rising within me.
But, of course, I couldn’t.
No one could.
"Huff... Huff..."
Exhaling sharply, I forced myself to calm down.
"Alright. Let’s try to analyze this crappy description."
This was the only way to keep my sanity intact.
"Huff..."
If I had to guess, it probably has to do with the unrelenting nature of a hunter and the acute almost nightmarish senses and unnerving precision that came with it. But, given the weird nature of my aspect’s rank.
I knew it couldn’t be that simple.
’The gods be damned if it were that simple.’
Not after all I had gone through to get it.
"Huff..."
’I should probably check out my attributes.’
Nodding, I moved on to the other stats.
Attribute: [Comprehension]
Attribute Description: [Knowledge and power are one and the same in your hands.]
"Hmm?" My brows arched upward.
This likely enhances my battle comprehension and sharpens my ability to analyze and adapt mid-fight.
"Still useful," I muttered with a nod.
Attribute: [Combat Prodigy]
Attribute Description: [You’re a prodigy of battle. Reflexes sharpened to perfection. Tactics instinctive. Battle techniques, second nature.]
Reading the description, a smile unconsciously tugged at the corner of my lips, growing wider with each passing second.
’Now this is something!’ I grinned widely.
With such an attribute, even the old man back in his teenage age would have to bow before me!
I thought smugly, even though a certain part of me knew a fight with the old man in his teenage years wouldn’t be a... simple one.
Even if I did manage to come out on top, It would be with broken bones and rumpled organs.
Sighing lightly, I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.
’Ukh-! I can’t even bask in glory for a single second!’
Shaking my head at my thoughts, I was about to close the runes when-
Ba- dump! Ba- dump!
A new set of runes flickered into existence before me. Almost simultaneously, I heard it.
The spell’s voice.
It echoed through the endless black void, shattering the oppressive silence.
[All power has a price.]
My breath caught in an instant, my heart pounding in my ears.
The runes glowed- pulling my gaze in, as if they were about to determine my fate.
[You have received a Flaw.]
Thump... Thump...
My heart pounded against my chest as though to break out of my chest, the intensity growing stronger with each passing second.
[Your Flaw is...]
With my breath caught in my throat, my chest heaved up and down as I slowly read the runes with unabated anxiety. Each second stretching into an eternity.
[Stillness is Stagnation, and stagnation is... death.]
I stared at the words, feeling as if an endless expanse of darkness was slowly crawling its way towards me, suffocating me as though to drag me into a bottomless abyss.
At first, I merely blinked. But as the seconds passed, as my gaze lingered on the runes-
It hit me,
Harder and faster than a moving truck.
My eyes widened, my chest tightening as the very act of breathing slowly eluded my grasp.
"What the-!"
I barely had time to curse- barely had time to think.
When I suddenly felt it.
Ba- thump! Ba- thump!
The spell.
It spoke again.
And this time around-
It drowned me in despair.
’What kind of life awaits me with such a flaw?’
That was my final thought before the words burned into my mind:
[Wake up, The Lord!]
And then-
An endless darkness surged towards me, dragging me into its bottomless depths.
The black void surrounding me began to disappear.
And before long-
".....!"
I opened my despair-filled eyes to the ceiling above me.