Chapter 68: Reflection of the Light

The pillar of gold tore through the dungeon ceiling with enough force to make the stone beneath Jaxir’s feet tremble, but none of the falling dust reached him. Light wrapped around his body first, then folded inward toward the crown, robes and staff hanging before him until the nine sacrificed pieces disappeared completely.

A cascade of notifications filled his vision, and Jaxir ignored Nick’s increasingly worried muttering long enough to focus on the first one.

―

[Reflection of the Light has awakened]

Name: Reflection of the Light

Grade: Epic

Level: 10

Contents: Crown of the Light; Robes of the Light; Staff of the Light

Description: Betrayed before her ascension could be completed, the Goddess of Light never established the final Path of her Divinity. What remains is not a road to follow, but a foundation upon which another may decide what Light should become.

[When the Crown of the Light maintains its connection with the Robes and Staff, Reflection of the Light grants +500 Mind.]

[When the Crown’s Halo is transferred to an external item, this connection is weakened and Reflection of the Light grants +250 Mind.]

[The finer expressions of this Set remain undefined. They may change as its bearer develops the Path of Light.]

―

Jaxir read the last line twice, feeling the same strange satisfaction he’d felt when the Light Blessing hadn’t listed a recommended Path. The Goddess had left him power rather than instructions, and considering how poorly following other people’s plans had worked out for both of them, he could live with that.

The robes appeared next, flowing white cloth threaded with old gold that looked almost too clean for the underground prison surrounding them. Jaxir reached toward them, and another screen unfolded.

―

Name: Robes of the Light

Grade: Epic

Level: 10

Description: She allowed those closest to her beneath her light, and they used that closeness to cast her down. Never again shall Light reveal what its bearer does not choose to reveal.

Abilities:

[Selective Illumination: The wearer determines what Light may reach them. Magical effects originating outside the wearer suffer greatly reduced effectiveness when crossing the Robes’ protection.]

[Veiled Light: The wearer may conceal their Name, Level, Divine Standing and physical features from observation and inspection effects up to the limits of this item.]

[The precise nature of what may be accepted, rejected or concealed can be further developed through comprehension of Light.]

―

Jaxir’s eyes stopped on the second ability, then slowly shifted toward Nick.

Nick noticed immediately. "What?"

"I was right."

"That narrows down absolutely nothing with you."

Jaxir laughed and equipped the robes, watching white and old gold replace the equipment covering his body while the fabric settled around him without any noticeable weight. A thought was enough to make the light around his face distort, and when Nick’s eyes widened, Jaxir knew he had found the exact solution he’d been hoping the Goddess would give him.

His name disappeared next, followed by his Level, and even the feeling of Light around him seemed to retreat somewhere that outside eyes couldn’t reach. Gravity boy could ban Jaxir Chance from every settlement in the province all he wanted. Finding Jaxir Chance, though, inside one had just become a considerably more annoying problem.

"Oh, that’s beautiful."

―

Name: Staff of the Light

Grade: Epic

Level: 10

Description: Her strength was divided among those she trusted until too little remained in her own hands. Light shall gather rather than scatter, and its bearer shall waste nothing that can be made his own.

Abilities:

[-95% MP Cost to Simple Cast.]

[-75% MP Cost to Charged Cast.]

[While the wielder possesses the Contingent Title "Mage" or greater, all Root Abilities and L1 Branch Abilities receive a 50% reduction to MP Cost.]

[Upon attaining the Contingent Title "Archmage," this reduction will extend to L2 Branch Abilities.]

[Further expressions remain undefined and may be developed according to the wielder’s Path of Light.]

―

Jaxir’s eyebrows rose as he reached for the staff. His old Twinkle Weighted Staff had already made Cast cheap enough to abuse. This one took it to an even further extreme, even giving him such a good MP cost reduction on his higher abilities as well.

"Archmage, huh?"

That was probably a Contingent Title beyond his current Mage Contingent Title. Did he need to reach Level 40 in his Root Abilities to get that one? He was already pretty close to that, especially after the last killing spree. He had gotten a few Cast notifications that he had ignored.

The crown descended last.

It wasn’t large or ornate, consisting mostly of thin pieces of white-gold metal separated by narrow gaps where light flowed between them. Jaxir didn’t particularly like crowns, but when its screen opened he forgot to complain about the fashion choice.

―

Name: Crown of the Light

Grade: Epic

Level: 10

Description: A crown denied before it could be claimed. Having once trusted others to decide where her light should fall, the Goddess left this one final authority to its bearer alone.

Abilities:

[Halo of Light: Cast a Halo upon one item. While illuminated, that item’s attributes and abilities will be elevated to the standard of an Epic Grade, Level 10 item.]

[Maintaining a Halo costs no MP.]

[The Halo may be transferred instantly to another item for 100 MP.]

[When no external item is illuminated, the Crown forms a complete connection with the Robes and Staff, enhancing all abilities of Reflection of the Light and increasing its Set Effect from +250 Mind to +500 Mind.]

[The Crown may absorb further Divinity to evolve. Should the Crown evolve, the potential of its Halo and the remaining pieces of Reflection of the Light will evolve alongside it.]

―

Jaxir stared at that last line for a while, because he had absolutely no idea how far "evolve" was supposed to go. What he did understand was the immediate problem, and the moment he equipped the crown, power flooded through his head so violently that the dungeon seemed to sharpen around him.

Five hundred Mind was obscene.

His thoughts moved with a clarity that made the frantic minutes leading here feel slow by comparison, while mana responded to the smallest impulse without the usual delay between intention and movement. Jaxir enjoyed the sensation for several seconds before looking down at his Weightless Boots and immediately deciding that half of five hundred was still obscene.

"Let’s see what you can do."

The halo around the crown separated from the set and flowed downward, wrapping his boots in white-gold light as his Mind bonus fell from +500 to +250. Their old status vanished and rebuilt itself almost immediately.

―

Name: Weightless Boots

Grade: Epic

Level: 10

[These boots reduce the effective weight of the user and every item they wield or possess by 90%, so long as the affected item is Epic Grade, Level 10 or below.]

[These boots grant the user the ability of double jump, allowing quick change of direction mid-air]

[This item is currently empowered by Halo of Light.]

―

Jaxir’s grin became ridiculous.

He shifted his weight forward and nearly launched himself several meters before catching the movement, his body feeling so light that the increased responsiveness bordered on absurd. The original boots had already made his Body Stats stretch much further than they should have, while this version made ninety percent of his weight almost irrelevant.

Then he noticed the map.

It remained at the edge of his vision exactly where it had always been, bright halo and all, despite the Sparkling Third Eye piece having disappeared with the other sacrifices. When Jaxir focused on it, he could still see nearby dots and information, and stranger still, he could feel other familiar functions moving somewhere inside Reflection of the Light like remnants of the sacrificed inheritances had been broken apart without truly being lost.

"Oh, you beautiful thing."

With his +250 Mind, not only did he map out the entire village instantly, but he could even see beyond it to the borders of the surrounding forest ring.

Nick looked between him and the stairs ahead. "Please tell me that means we’re leaving."

Jaxir turned toward him with a huge grin. "You’d better be ready to run."

They shot through the dungeon together, though Jaxir spent most of the trip deliberately holding his speed back so Nick could remain beside him. The primary route carried them upward beneath the Village Head’s mansion and through the building before they burst toward the village exit, with Jaxir already enjoying how little effort every stride required.

Then both of them skidded to a stop.

A single man stood in the road ahead.

Jaxir focused on him, expecting the usual pale status screen, only for the entire display to emerge in a deep gold unlike anything he’d seen attached to an ordinary NPC.

―

Name: Grimm

Title: Village Head of Glimmer

Level: 20

Designation: Named Region Boss

―

Nick stared at the screen for half a second before his face collapsed into horror. "Fuck. Fucking fuck, are you serious? Who the fuck made a tutorial village head a fucking named region boss. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me!"