But now... things were different.
Very different.
After checking the status of his evolutions, the reason Uriel had felt so strange was one that shook him to his core.
He couldn’t feel it.
The usual stinging, the burning, the weakness, the languidness; he couldn’t feel any of it. None of his usual symptoms were present, and it was as if he’d never been born with his illness.
This was shocking.
’My evolutions... offset the spread of my symptoms.’
This ant that as long as he regularly evolved and continued to cultivate as fast as he’d been doing, he’d never have the sa cripple-like symptoms.
He’d live like a normal person.
Granted, he was sure this would most likely worsen the symptoms if he ever slowed down, and still only leave him with a year to live, but it was still much better nonetheless.
This totally changed his philosophy regarding his Mage Path.
Uriel smiled at the thought, many ideas for his new mage path already swirling in his mind. Ideas that would put his feats leading to his Pioneer status to sha.
Ideas so grand the gap between him, the regressors, and third actors would beco irrelevant, inconsequential, and laughable.
But for now, he’d have to wait.
Slicking his hair back, Uriel picked his bowl of food back up, digging in as his thoughts churned.
’I’ll have to study the sequence of my evolution and how it shattered then reford my core. Maybe I can create a core reformation thod from it.’
’That could be useful, especially for the others.’
As he continued to think, part of his attention turned to his abode mark, more specifically to his rewards.
The rewards he’d gained after pleasing the system and becoming a Pioneer.
...
[•>100,000,000,000 God Aether Seeds!]
[•>True Na Formation! >>>True Na Upgrade!]
[•>True Title Formation! >>>True Title Upgrade!]
[•>Akashic Slip(x6)!]
[•>Rakashic Slip(x7)!]
[•>Forging Spark Legacy!]
[•>Alchemic Spark Legacy!]
[•>Arcane Magic Spark Legacy!]
[•>Aurorous Martial Spark Legacy!]
[•>Runic Spark Legacy!]
[•>Mastering Spark Legacy(x2)!]
[•>Boon Multiplier(x5)!]
[•>Pioneer Spark Compass!]
...
TOH!
The bowl Uriel had just picked up dropped to the floor, his stew spilling across the ground.
He rose to his feet, eyes wide and mouth hung agape, breath irregular and mind frozen in pure and utter shock.
Thirteen Unique Rewards!
WHOOOSH!
Uriel sensed Ophanis stir, awakening from her slumber, and through their bond he felt her shock and disbelief.
"W-when did you get this?" she asked, her voice trembling. "When?!"
Uriel ignored her for a few monts. Regaining his breath, he sat back down and exhaled deeply.
"While I was becoming a Pioneer. It started with the System expanding my mind, then—"
"The system touched your mind?! You let it happen?!" she practically shrieked in his mind.
Uriel was montarily taken aback. He’d absolutely never seen Ophanis react like this to anything. Even when he faced his sin, she’d been sad at most and exhausted at worst.
To see her lose composure like this was... strange.
"Let it happen? Do I seem like soone able to stop the system from doing what it desires?" he asked, amused.
"Plus, it doesn’t matter. Whatever harmful thing the system could’ve possibly done to my mind is gone. The fabric of my mind broke so many tis, refined by resonance so many tis, that it isn’t even sothing worth noting."
"But like I was saying, it started after I ford Ayah’s Class, then continued as we built my Pioneer Path. I got a bunch of rewards at that point."
He paused.
"...am I now supposed to also be wary of the System?" he asked, his gaze narrowing.
If that was the case... things would be getting much more complicated.
"No! No!" Ophanis, still shaken, seed to beam with joy, sothing Uriel found even stranger.
Usually, her aura was that of an old and wizened sage and advisor, a divine presence looming above him, but right now, for so reason, he felt like he was interacting with soone his age.
’Strange.’
"No, this is great! In the future, try and get more and more of the system’s approval!" she rapidly said.
The tattoo on his back shuddered, and at that mont Uriel could feel she’d spent much more energy than desired.
She’d be falling asleep again soon, most likely for a long while, until he reached the F-Rank.
"Wait until I wake up to unlock any of your rewards, let alone even checking their descriptions. Please, quickly reach the F-Rank! As fast as you can!"
With that, her voice vanished, all that remained being its echoes.
Uriel was left alone, with more questions than answers, but by this point, this wasn’t anything new.
He chuckled, scratching his hair, then slicking it back.
’What a weird interaction we just had,’ he thought with a smile. ’At least it’s good to know she isn’t emotionless.’
Now, there remained only one thing he needed to check.
Uriel turned a palm over, looking at its back side, where a small golden dot lay, radiant and resplendent.
’Corythn Mark.’
The mark he, Lady Emtt, and Amon had gotten in the white room after eting the ’quota’. Apparently, it’d evolved after he’d killed his needed amount of Flon-n and Boar Striders.
But he couldn’t feel anything special coming from it.
Uriel observed the mark, curious. ’I couldn’t defeat the Emperor before we were sucked into that portal... is that why it isn’t working?’
He smiled bitterly. ’Am I going to have to find him specifically then kill him... or will any king I find be enough?’
Both options were bad.
Thinking back to his fight with the Emperor, Uriel was in disbelief at the sheer skill he’d displayed back then, whether it be from his ridiculous elental control, to his suddenly sharp martial and grand skills, or even to his complex magic usage.
Sohow, he’d managed to use Mind Resonance to wield magic without a core, turning atmospheric aether into natal aether. He’d also managed to push and stretch the limits of his talent and uniqueness to ridiculous heights.
In his current state, he wasn’t even a tenth as powerful or skilled as that version.
’But maybe with my shell...’ He shook his head, not even bothering to finish the thought.
Though having to kill a King would prove difficult, Uriel wasn’t worried in the least.
If there was anything he’d learned from Thoryl, it was that idle hands often brought doom.
Victors had to always remain in motion, endlessly laying step after step ahead of them, fathoming the endless scope of the road ahead.
And for him, that would start with sothing he’d been putting off for a while already.
’My mage tool.’
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