Chapter 439 : Space and Essence

With my [Personal Rift] recovered, my study of the notes and the snow globe itself increased tremendously. Not only because of the precision it added to studying spatial anomalies, but also because I no longer needed to leave home to observe them. In what I could only describe as a spark of brilliance, I placed a [Rift Beacon] right next to the snow globe, allowing me instant access to it from across the world.

I also had a promised appointment with Keldenar now that I had recovered my ability, but I still held off for an extra day or two to indulge myself in magical research. Sadly, I didn't reach a workable conclusion just yet, mostly because I got distracted by other tasks I jumped on or by occasional fooling around with [Exchange].

Yes, the spell was proving more useful than I initially realized, as soon as I found very little limit to what I could swap with. Even across massive distances, it didn't really seem to matter, except for granting some minor extra protection in case they wanted to resist being swapped.

Possibly the most devious use I found involved my ever-favorite [Nitro Slime], where I could sneakily replace something with a hidden bomb replica. In a way, it was sort of a step backward, as why bother replacing a rock with a bomb when I could send living bombs thanks to [Slime Puppetry], but I found it amusing regardless.

I also successfully upgraded my [Blink] spell, as even though [Exchange] was what I'd describe as perfection, I couldn't exactly swap places with open-air, and for that, I was better off using [Blink]. Yes, annoyingly, even though air was technically something, it wasn't a valid target for [Exchange], and unfortunately, that seemed to apply to things like water too. Honestly, I was just glad that slime was a valid target, or I would've never let Mother hear the end of my complaints.

Thanks to the experience of upgrading [Blink] by referencing both [Exchange] and [Sand Maw], I was a lot more familiar with creating staged spells that flowed well and looked visually spectacular. The first tangible benefit was greater Mana efficiency, which was admittedly negligible for me, but the second was faster casting, both in formation and application, which made it well worth the effort.

The main reason for my distraction, however, was that I had hit a roadblock in trying to replicate the miniaturized space, and the key to that puzzle was probably my improved [Triangulate]. Thankfully, I wasn't necessarily stuck there, but the effort required to piece it together was beyond my initial estimates.

I was tempted several times to use [Skill Deconstruct], but the actual skill [Triangulate] was giving me nothing. Honestly, what I was dangerously close to taking apart was [Folded Geometry] and [Personal Rift], and in the near future, I might actually go down that route. [Folded Geometry] I could get away with it, but I wanted it to have another level or two before I did, to maximize the benefits.

As for [Personal Rift], yes, I was genuinely considering taking it apart, even at the cost of a trait point, for what I assumed were tremendous gains. It was even at a decent level, but what ultimately stopped me was that I might need it for the last labyrinth. Once I had my third and final labyrinth secured, I could afford to lose it while I slowly leveled it up again. Especially if I had my [Dungeon Master] approval by then, as then I'd have reason to stick around and slowly accumulate power.

With no more excuses left, I took a short break from home and left to visit Keld, returning once again to the golem-built city. Not much had changed since my last visit, except maybe for a few more buildings and more golems wandering the streets. From my perspective, it seemed to be growing at a steady pace, and I wondered when Keldenar would find himself in hot water from all his poaching.

My arrival was quickly noted, and in almost no time at all, I had an appointment arranged and booked. I could sense Sylvester and Sylthaeryn nearby, with the former somewhere in the castle while the latter was somewhere out in the city, probably enjoying the scenery.

"Well, you certainly know how to keep me in suspense," Keldenar sighed as he looked at me. "When I heard you reached the final reward tier, I wanted to know what your secret was, and the explanation I got from Sylvester wasn't enough to justify it, so it must have been from before you called him over."

"Sorry, I was a little busy trying to digest my recent gains, and I was also somewhat injured from the final fight. I hadn't expected the Hollow Monarch to be able to eat literally anything."

"It's tricky but not that bad… Unless your version was somehow enhanced by your previous actions?"

"So we fought a super version? What was your one like?"

"Pretty much the same from what Sylvester described, although it wasn't nearly as durable. It might have taken longer to consume, but that might have been because of me…"

Keldenar briefly explained how he beat that monstrosity, and honestly, it felt like cheating. He fed the creature golems until they built up immunity to being devoured, and from there, he just pummeled it with golems until it stopped moving. Compared to what we went through, it felt like a cruel joke.

I didn't mention that I detonated a slime core, and thankfully, it seemed Sylvester, despite being an unexpected blabbermouth, wasn't foolish enough to mention it either. The actual solution I offered was that I fed it spatial rifts, which gave us enough opportunities to attack.

"Sheesh, it could even eat space? Talk about a potential world-ending disaster, it's no wonder the gods smited his ass."

"So all of that happened?"

"From what I could gather, yes, although the name and events seem to be scoured from the history books. I'm not sure if the gods did that or the rulers, but one way or another, the only record of the forbidden deeds is recorded in that snow globe."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I nodded, then finally told Keldenar what we had done, and he was quite surprised by our discovery and by our efforts to save the people. According to him, the solution was to kill everyone, as they were all effectively guilty by association, which then led to storming the castle.

"In fact, depending on how you go about it, you can even receive help from the invaders," Keldenar explained. "I didn't witness it myself, as I had my own golem army, but I know several diamond-rankers who can confirm that they had a platoon of paladins magically appear to help them fight back the monsters."

"Interesting… I guess that must be a reimagining of the army that surrounded them before the smiting."

"Probably. But you're telling me that you actually went around assassinating only the truly guilty? Talk about a crazy idea… Where did you even come up with that? Why not just kill them all?"

"Vee wasn't too happy about killing humans, so we looked for an alternative method."

"Sounds like she's a big softie, which is weird considering they aren't even human. Being spawned like dungeon monsters was one thing, but the fact that they can turn into ravenous beasts is proof that their humanity is only a disguise."

I could only shrug and tried to explain that, thanks to [Soul Sight], I could eventually sense their levels of cursed corruption, which ultimately led us to the idea of trying to clean up. It must have been the right solution, or maybe the ideal solution rather than the mass smiting that happened in the real history, which was why it resulted in the greatest reward.

Keldnear frowned. "The way you said that… It almost makes it sound like the gods regret cleansing everyone involved. Which is admittedly very uncharacteristic of them."

"Either that or maybe the Hollow Monarch regrets it?"

"Okay, that's even more absurd. Can that unending hunger even regret anything?" Keldenar asked with an amused snort.

Logically, I agreed with him, as it seemed that creature thought only about consuming more and more. But maybe, just maybe, there were minor glimpses of sanity between the endless hunger, and that was where he regretted pulling down everyone around him. Why else were the final reward notes from seemingly his own research?

"So… I have a question that I'm hoping you'll answer since I can't exactly read your profile anymore: how did you get [Soul Sight]?"

"Oh, you might be confused by the names not matching. It was kind of stupid, I'll admit, but I combined [Life Sight], [Essence Sight], and [Mana Conception]."

I was laughing at that old memory of mine, only to notice Keldenar not sharing in the humor.

"[Essence Sight]? I've never seen that one before… I always thought that the fact that Mana and Life had two completely different names meant there was no combination to look forward to, but now you're telling me I was just missing this [Essence Sight]? Where did you even find such a trait?"

"From an ant princess, they use it to find the ideal locations to build nests for spawning eggs."

Keldenar seemed genuinely surprised by this statement, which was odd. Surely his [Eyes of Truth] would've revealed the trait from the first monster that could produce spawn, or had he somehow avoided fighting any of them?

Or… Do they not all have it, and is it instead a super rare trait hidden among their profiles?

I wasn't sure, but seeing the look on Keldenar's face, I felt somewhat obliged to share it with him. I expected him to thank me profusely for showing it to him, but instead, his frown only grew.

"Huh… Incompatible with my race? Please seek out additional qualifications to bypass?" Keldenar murmured as he scratched his chin.

"I guess because you don't lay eggs, you can't get it?" I joked.

"I'd joke back that I'd never seen a trait with a gender bias before, but that doesn't really apply to slimes either. I suppose you do spawn your own, but even though it's a Slime Queen, it's not exactly female…"

I coughed awkwardly, not willing to admit that Slime Queen was on my list of evolutions and something I was considering at some point in my journey. Despite her absence and no sign of her since the dwarves, her warning about that evolution still rang in my head.

I had expected Keldenar to drop it, but weirdly enough, he called over a female assistant of his and had her try to purchase the trait. She also received the same rejection, proving that being human was the issue.

"I wonder if I can build a golem that can take this trait… Honestly, I kind of need to make a golem spawner somehow if I hope to have them classified as a proper race."

"Maybe when Sylvester gets more experience, he can help you make one of those crystals?" I suggested, recalling how Keldenar had produced a crystal to grant the [Roleplaying] skill.

A spark seemed to flash through his eyes, and he immediately smiled triumphantly. "Now that is an excellent idea! I'll send orders to Adrith immediately."

Whoops… Sorry Sylvester.

I silently snickered to myself, not exactly feeling guilty. If anything, Adrith was once again being a way for me to express my jealousy without actually harming Sylvester for his legendary class.

Once Keldenar finished sending orders, we returned to our previous discussion after getting sidetracked, and it was a subject I had been expecting.

"I hate to ask this since you just gave me several juicy bits of information, but… Would you mind telling me what you got as your reward? You probably didn't realize it since you could reach the end, but from my perspective, I couldn't even see the final section of the room."

"I had no idea. Anyway, I had three books to choose from, and I picked the one on Compressed Space."

I had debated hiding the answer, but at this juncture, I saw no reason to keep it a secret. Even though I was still cautious, I wanted to treat Keldenar as my ally, and hiding it from him could cause Sylvester to retire with a useless class. Not to mention the man was genuinely willing to poke the hornet's nest that was the Outeatus Kingdom.

"A book?" Keldenar replied, looking shocked. "I'm both surprised and disappointed. I was expecting a legendary artifact or something. What were the other two books?"

"Applications for Cursed Energy and Introspections on Time."

"Well then, it's no bloody wonder the man got his ass smited," Keldenar replied, shaking his head. "I'm just glad you were sensible and picked the lesser of three evils."

"I mean… I am a Riftmancer, so the choice was pretty obvious."

Keldenar nodded. "If you can figure it out, please let me know. I would be willing to pay you in pretty much anything for something similar. It makes even the most advanced storage bag technology look like cheap knockoffs."

Now it was my turn to receive inspiration as I gasped in excitement and then hastily made my request. "I need every storage enchantment you have! With both a blueprint and a physical example too, if you've got!"

Gods, the way you reacted made me think you were going to ask for my firstborn child or something. Anyway, done and done. I'll even handle the paperwork for the Merchants Guild for licensing and all that nonsense."

"Oh, Sylvester is actually registered there if you want to put it under his name."

"Really? Huh… Just when I think you've run out of surprises, you come up with more. You really have been dipping your tentacles into everything."

I awkwardly laughed, as unfortunately, it was very true. If I saw something interesting, it was extremely hard to resist poking it a little and seeing what I could learn or gain from it.