B2 Ch 89 - Wildbloom Pollen Storm [Bonus]

“So what exactly does it do?” Jester asked. “You've been dancing around a real answer since the day I got this thing.”

Igrio continued following him until they reached the manor's central hall. Jester finally stopped there, while Igrio came to a halt a few steps behind him, hands folded neatly behind his back.

“Because there isn't a simple answer, Your Highness. The Heart contains a fragment of the Abyss itself, or at least something drawn from its depths. It is meant only for those prepared to gaze into that depth and risk being swallowed by it.”

“Poetic. Try again in plain words.”

“Very well, Your Highness. Most who come to possess a Heart eventually absorb it. But not in the same way one would absorb an ordinary item or skill. Instead, it manifests as a challenge. A trial that the bearer must enter, face, and survive.”

Jester fell into thought for a moment. For some reason, that made a lot more sense.

“A trial domain, then. Some kind of instanced space that opens once I activate it.”

“That would be a reasonable way to describe it, though I confess I've never witnessed the process myself. I've only heard accounts, most of them secondhand and considerably embellished by the time they reached my ears.”

“How do I even trigger it?”

“I do not know the precise method. What I do know is that most accounts agree there is likely a level requirement involved, along with some form of willing activation on the bearer's part. It is not the sort of thing that simply happens by accident.”

Jester considered that for a moment. If the Heart really contained some kind of trial, then whatever reward waited at the end had to be far more valuable than an ordinary item. Maybe the reason he couldn't activate it yet was simply because he hadn't met the requirements.

Whatever waited on the other side of that trial, he had a feeling it wasn't something to walk into unprepared, and unprepared was exactly what he was right now, buried under reconstruction reports and dealing with an uncooperative prisoner several floors beneath his feet.

“One more thing, Your Highness,” Igrio added. “Every account I've gathered agrees on this much. The Abyss does not simply hand over its gifts. Whoever enters that trial either masters what waits inside, or is consumed by it. There is no middle outcome.”

“Consumed how? Like, killed?”

“Killed, corrupted, or, in the rarer and more troubling accounts... replaced. The details vary depending on who is telling the story.”

“Replaced?” Jester raised an eyebrow. “As in whatever's down there comes back out wearing my face?”

“I would not dismiss the possibility.”

“Well, that's not concerning at all.”

Still, as unsettling as that sounded, Jester couldn't quite shake the feeling that the warning didn't fully apply to him in the same way it might apply to an NPC or some unlucky soul born into this world.

He was a player.

Whatever the Abyss thought it could take from him, his mind, his identity, his control over his own body, he had the System behind his consciousness. He had a character sheet, an account, and a real body belonging to a real person somewhere far outside this world.

There was no way some corrupted trial inside a game could actually take him away.

At the end of the day, this was still a game. He was still turning that thought over when a small voice came from the doorway.

“Igrio! Igrio, there you are!”

Jester turned toward the voice and saw a little girl in a maid dress, her blonde hair tied into two neat braids, skipping toward them with quick, cheerful steps.

“Lula,” Igrio said. “You're in front of His Highness. You know you're not supposed to come running in here unannounced.”

For the first time Jester could remember, Igrio seemed genuinely caught off guard.

“I know, I know, sorry!” She didn't sound sorry at all. “But you promised! You said you'd help me water the flowers in the east garden today, remember? You said right after lunch, and it's already past lunch, and the flowers are going to be sad if we don't get to them soon!”

“I did say that,” Igrio said. Then, in a noticeably gentler voice, he added, “You may go ahead without me. I'll join you as soon as I've finished my duties with His Highness.”

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Jester almost stared at him.

Was this really Igrio?

Even his voice sounded completely different from the calm, formal tone he used with everyone else.

“I never forget a promise!” Lula puffed out her chest proudly before finally seeming to notice Jester standing there.

She immediately straightened and gave him a small, careful bow. “Oh! Good afternoon, Your Highness! I hope I'm not interrupting anything important. Are you doing well today? Did you eat lunch already? Sister Lucia said you sometimes forget.”

Jester couldn't help the small smile tugging at his mouth. “I'm doing fine, Lula. And yes, I ate.”

“Good! That's good!” She nodded firmly, completely satisfied with his answer, then immediately turned her attention back to Igrio and tugged lightly at his sleeve.

Jester waved a hand. "Go ahead, Igrio. We're done here for now."

"Your Highness." Igrio bowed properly before allowing himself to be towed toward the door.

The moment the two of them stepped out into the hallway, Jester caught a glimpse through the still-open door of Lula practically skipping in place.

Jester stood there for a moment, blinking.

The same man who calmly discussed decapitated Knight Commanders and interrogated captured spies without so much as raising his voice turned into something visibly softer the instant a small child demanded his attention.

Jester almost laughed out loud. Of course Igrio had a weakness like that tucked away somewhere. The man really was a complete package, wasn't he. Loyal, competent, terrifyingly efficient, and apparently helpless against pigtails and flower-watering schedules.

Filing that away for later, Jester returned to his study, settled back behind the desk, and finally pulled up the notification he'd been putting off since the battle ended.

The raid boss loots!

He opened his inventory and pulled out the first item sitting at the top of the list.

[Wildbloom Pollen Storm | Epic Skill Scroll]

[Unleashes a massive Nature explosion that spreads toxic pollen across a wide area, dealing heavy initial damage, inflicting Poison, slowing and disorienting enemies, while enhancing the caster's Nature abilities.]

[Effects scale significantly with Nature affinity.]

Jester whistled low under his breath as he read through the description a second time. The damage numbers attached to it were genuinely impressive, easily one of the strongest offensive skills to drop from the entire raid.

But it was also completely wasted sitting in his own inventory. His build leaned nowhere near Nature affinity, and forcing a skill like this onto himself would be like handing a master chef's knife set to someone who could barely boil water.

He knew exactly who it belonged to instead.

A few moments later, the door opened and the green-haired elf stepped inside, offering a small bow before settling into her usual quiet, attentive posture near the desk.

“You called for me, Your Highness?”

Jester held the scroll out toward her. “Yes. I thought you might be able to make good use of this. It suits you almost perfectly.”

Elora blinked, staring at the scroll for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Your Highness, I couldn't possibly, this is an Epic scroll. Items like this should be reserved for someone far more essential to your forces than a personal attendant."

"You're a Nature mage with a hundred and fifty levels behind you and barely anything to show off with in a straight fight. This fixes that." Jester held it out further. "Take it."

She hesitated, glancing between the scroll and his face, clearly searching for some sign that he might change his mind if she waited long enough.

Jester then rose from behind the desk and walked over, holding the scroll out to her.

“Elora.”

The girl seemed surprised. She stepped forward and accepted the scroll with both hands, holding it as if it might shatter if she wasn't careful.

After one last glance at Jester for confirmation, she tore it open.

Light spilled out from the torn parchment, wrapping around her in a slow spiral of green before sinking into her skin. Elora gasped softly, her whole body going rigid as the skill settled into place.

Jester watched, satisfied, right up until a familiar notification blinked into existence in front of his own eyes.

[Elora's gratitude has reached an unprecedented level. She could not have imagined receiving a gift of this magnitude, one that will fundamentally strengthen her for the rest of her life.]

[Chaos +75]

Jester barely had time to process that before a second notification appeared right behind it.

[Your bond with Elora has deepened significantly through this act of generosity.]

[New Ability Unlocked: Kindred Reserve.]

[While fighting alongside Elora, your Stamina and Mana regeneration rate is increased.]

Jester stared at the notification for a long moment, genuinely caught off guard. He hadn't been expecting anything back from this. He'd just handed off a skill scroll he had no use for, because it seemed like a waste to let something that powerful sit uselessly in a menu when it could actually make a difference in Elora's hands.

Apparently the Chaos had other ideas about what counted as a simple gift.

Elora, meanwhile, was still staring down at her own hands as if she couldn't quite believe what had just happened. When she finally raised her face, tears were already gathering in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, only for more to follow.

“Your Highness, this is... I don't know what to say. Something this valuable, and you gave it to me so easily.”

Jester only gave a small laugh.

But instead of answering, Elora suddenly stepped closer and buried her face against his chest. Her shoulders trembled as the tears she'd been trying to hold back finally came freely.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” she whispered. “You keep giving me things I never thought I'd deserve. I promise I won't waste any of it.”

Jester froze for half a second, then returned the hug, one arm settling loosely around her shoulders.

“I gave it to you because I know you'll make good use of it.”

A moment later, Elora seemed to fully realize what she'd just done. She jerked back so quickly she nearly stumbled, her face turning a deep shade of red as she immediately folded herself into a series of rapid, panicked bows.

“Your Highness, I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me. That was completely inappropriate. Please forgive me, I...”

Jester just laughed. “No, it's okay. I don't mind. Actually, I liked it.”

Elora froze. Her face somehow turned even redder before she quickly lowered her head.

“Y-You liked it, Your Highness? I... um... I see. Th-Thank you...”

That wasn't what he meant. But whatever. He still had another item to check.