The Third Encounter (1)
Inside a luxurious carriage, where the seats and table were firmly fixed, and the walls and ceiling were adorned with intricate patterns.
A soft hiss filled the air.
Dalen leaned back against the plush seat, effortlessly conjuring a delicate ice flower in his hand.
“Ice Bloom.”
A unique skill he acquired while retrieving a wizard’s corpse from hell.
As he meticulously manipulated the icy crystal in his palm, Dalen began to review his status window from the top.
――――――――
Name: Dalen
Level: 25
[Strength: 38] [Dexterity: 34] [Stamina: 31]
[Senses: 30] [Intelligence: 31] [Magic: 33]
Skills: Dehaman’s Armor Combat (D), Night Vision (E), Leap (E), Flame Arrow (D), Rapantella’s Crushing Sword (C), Hegaleus’s Rain of Fire (C), Piercing Lightning (D), Curse Ward Seal (D), Leredonara’s Secret Sword (B), Sacred Flame’s Ember (C), Crimson Dragon’s Blood (A), Key to the Gates of Hell (C)
*Unique Skills (6)
――――――――
“This is insane.”
The spoils from hell were indeed extraordinary.
He gained one level by slaying a summoned demon, and another by using the power of a true dragon to unseat it from its throne.
Technically, it was two separate gains, but killing a single demon had boosted his level by three.
Adding the rewards from the corpses he retrieved, his abilities had increased by over ten points from just one battle.
Since awakening in this world, he had never experienced such explosive growth.
“But that’s not the main point.”
Despite the impressive stats, the greatest reward from this expedition wasn’t the increase in abilities.
In his subspace, he stored the Elixir of Falling Stars and the essence of a high-ranking demon, and two of his skills had reached 100% proficiency.
Yet, the most significant gain from vanquishing the demon and collapsing hell was a higher dimension of potential.
“Unique Skills.”
[Unique Skills (6)]
[Thunder Strike, Shadow Eye, Flame Mastery, Stagnation, Crimson Pearl, Ice Bloom]
The list of unique skills that appeared once he exceeded five.
In the past, as a player behind a monitor, unique skills were a double-edged sword.
Their power far surpassed ordinary skills, but acquiring and mastering them was so challenging it was almost infuriating.
“Ordinary skills could be learned from spellbooks or under a mentor. Using them was as simple as pressing a hotkey.”
Unique skills were different. Acquiring them depended solely on the character’s capabilities, not the player’s.
A character would gain insight during battle or training, twisting their existing powers through their own imagination and domain to create a unique skill.
The problem was that this “insight” was a random element from the player’s perspective.
Even hero-level characters in the late game could die without ever seeing a unique skill if they were unlucky.
“The minimum requirement of forming a domain was also a hurdle.”
Notifications for acquiring them were random, and there was no way to check if they had been learned.
The randomly assigned skill commands were so complex it felt more like a fighting game than an RPG.
But now.
A soft hiss filled the air again.
As a living resident of this continent, not a gamer behind a screen, the situation had changed.
The constraints of unique skills no longer felt like limitations.
The sprouting of potential began not from the mindset of a third-party game character but from Dalen’s own imagination.
He was the starting point of his imagination, and the process of twisting and weaving power was entirely his own.
The additional effects that were implemented as various random buffs or extra attacks in the game were now anomalies born purely from his talent and intuition.
Their versatility and adaptability transcended the concept of mere skills, opening up new possibilities.
The exhilaration from this was a sensation entirely different from gaining stats.
While previous growth felt like developing within a set framework, now it was as if he had broken free from that framework.
A crackling sound echoed.
On his palm, the ice crystal continued to bloom endlessly.
The number of petals had surpassed dozens, reaching into the hundreds.
The density of magic condensed in the cold increased proportionally with the number of petals.
“Ice Bloom: Blossom.”
Just as the cold was about to explode, freezing the entire area.
“That’s enough.”
At Dalen’s will, the flower withered just before it could fully bloom.
A faint crackling sound followed as the ice crystal crumbled in his palm, a small amount of cold escaping before it could completely dissipate.
A spell of his own creation, unseen in any magic tower on the continent.
Watching its birth and demise, Dalen smiled in satisfaction.
“Not bad.”
A power newly created by twisting existing skills and abilities, a unique skill.
From the design of the power to its final stage, every process was in his hands.
Even after revisiting it several times, the endless potential was still hard to believe.
A power that started from a single root was now branching into hundreds of possibilities in his mind.
“I should look for spellbooks at the auction house. Or something similar that can teach skills.”
The unique skill list at the bottom of his status window already indicated that six such roots were anchored beyond his imagination.
If he could increase their number, facing the impending doom head-on might not be impossible.
A sliver of hope he thought he would only grasp in the distant future.
That small light now felt much closer.
Dalen clenched his fist. The road ahead was still long.
But the path he had walked so far was not short or lacking in substance.
Even with the end looming before him, he had never once thought of giving up.
“Ugh, it’s a bit chilly…”
“Oh dear.”
Sienna’s sleepy mumble brought him back to reality, and he noticed frost on the carriage windows.
The cold that had seeped out from the dissipating Ice Bloom had lowered the temperature inside the carriage to that of a high mountain.
“Adjusting to regained power must be exhausting, and catching a cold would be troublesome.”
It was time for the heater to do its job. Dalen called upon the demon in his subspace.
“Hey.”
[Yes, Master?]
“Come out and turn on the heater.”
[Surely, as a high-level mage, controlling a spell should be easy for you, so why…]
This cheeky little…
[…I mean, of course, I should serve you. Master, what temperature would you like?]
Warm air began to flow from the entrance of the subspace that had opened in mid-air.
A learning heater perfectly suited for a luxury carriage.
The labyrinth city of Falcion is divided into seven districts.
The Bronze District, which supplies external manpower and raw materials for various industries, forming the backbone of the city.
The Silver District, the entrance to the labyrinth and the cradle of explorers, as well as the source of various byproducts from the labyrinth.
Beyond another wall lies the Gold District, where most of Falcion’s wealth is concentrated, as its name suggests.
Branches of the continent’s top ten largest merchant guilds are located here, and the city’s mint is also situated in this district.
And where money gathers, power follows.
“The central council is also here.”
Clatter, clatter.
Leaving behind the carriages that had dropped them off, Dalen tilted his head back to gaze at the building before him.
A towering structure over 40 stories high.
A vast site that could combine several merchant guilds.
Thousands of windows reflected the setting sun beyond the city walls, and the massive main gate was a bustling hub, swallowing and spitting out countless people.
Since arriving in this world, he had never seen a building so grand.
The rest of his party seemed equally impressed, staring at the building even after disembarking from the carriage.
“This is the main building of Falcion’s central council,” Gawain, who had followed the procession, said. Bjorn exclaimed eagerly.
“Haha! This is impressive. Human architecture has certainly advanced. Though, of course, they still have a way to go to catch up with us dwarves! Hahaha!”
”…Wipe the drool from your mouth before you speak.”
The dwarf’s words and expressions were at odds, and Sienna’s chiding voice lightened the mood among the special forces agents.
Beside them, Dalen quietly crossed his arms and observed the council building.
For someone who had lived in a modern city filled with skyscrapers, the sight of this building evoked a unique sense of nostalgia.
“Let’s go inside.”
Gawain approached and politely gestured for them to enter.
Soldiers and knights had already secured one of the entrances, clearing a path for the group.
Dalen took in the building’s facade one last time before following Gawain inside.
If the end continued its relentless advance, this view would soon be lost forever.
The group was directed to the 15th floor, while Dalen was shown to a reception room on the 21st floor.
Despite the building’s grand scale, its interior was surprisingly modest.
It looked even more businesslike than the reception rooms of the Bronze District’s Mage Tower branch or the Silver District’s Labyrinth Management Office.
This was a glimpse into the role the Central Council played in the city and the character of its members.
“At least the coffee here is better,” Dalen mused, savoring his second refill. Who would have thought he’d be sipping a vanilla latte here?
As he indulged in the sweet aroma, the door to the reception room opened, and a young man with blond hair entered.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well. I see you haven’t changed your face.”
“Even if I did, you’d notice. Why bother? Comfort is key.”
The blond man chuckled lightly and took a seat on the sofa, looking exactly the same as he had six months ago.
“Still, just in case there are listening ears, could you call me Evan from the Labyrinth Management Office?”
“Of course.”
Evan from the Labyrinth Management Office.
More precisely, he was Everon Raktala, the transcendent of the Golden Palace, operating under that identity.
Despite his reputation as the “Face of a Thousand Changes,” there was no discernible aura from him. Naturally, this body was just one of the many vessels he possessed.
The nickname “Face of a Thousand Changes” wasn’t given without reason.
“I wanted to bring you here to discuss the recent events in the Tsar Kingdom.”
Everon continued, sipping the pre-prepared coffee.
“Thousands of restless spirits were unleashed upon the land, and the souls of the victims were sacrificed for a massive ritual. Our investigations revealed that the Tsar Kingdom’s rebel forces, who recently descended into the labyrinth, and the special task force pursuing them were involved.”
And you were the guide for that task force, Everon added.
Dalen nodded. He didn’t expect the Golden Palace, with its all-seeing sage, to be completely unaware of the incident.
The question to test here was the extent of the sage’s vision.
Holding a fragment of omniscience doesn’t mean knowing everything.
For mortal beings, that’s a given, and even for a transcendent, it’s the same.
How far can the all-seeing sage see? Into the deep abyss of the labyrinth? Or even to the thrones under Enaxagus?
“So?”
Dalen’s indifferent response left Everon looking awkward. He continued.
“If you don’t yet know who was summoned by that incident, or the repercussions and the weight of responsibility that might fall on someone…”
“No explanation needed.”
Dalen reached into his pocket dimension. There was no need to entertain such blatant probing.
“The Chain Throne’s Kalkas. It’s been completely annihilated.”
“What…?”
The unexpected revelation left the transcendent speechless, instantly shifting the conversation’s balance.
“Kalkas’s annihilation… So that’s why Enaxagus’s nebula is shrouded…”
As the transcendent pondered with a pale face, Dalen prepared his next move.
With the negotiation now in his hands after just one question and answer, all that was left was to present the decisive evidence to seal the deal.
“If you need proof, here it is. The essence that emerged from breaking its throne…”
Inside the pocket dimension, his hand swept through the air. Damn, what’s this?
A chilling intuition made Dalen glance into the pocket dimension.
In the neatly organized space, what should have been there was missing.
[It wasn’t me! Ugh, no. This is…]
Instead, he saw the demon’s face, twitching like someone caught sneaking a snack.
”…”
No wonder it had been so obedient lately. Something felt off.
Did this bastard really steal and consume the demon essence?