< Chapter 167: Adam’s Mark (3) >
I’ve come to roughly understand my changed ability through this event.
First and foremost, the significant change in color.
“When one holds the relic of a certain race, the mark turns black.”
Yesterday, right after holding the relic called the ‘Promise of the Great One’ of the Elf race, the mark of the Elf turned black.
Today, right after holding the relic of the Beastman race, the mark of the Beastman turned black as well.
“And when it turns black, one cannot use the relic of that race.”
In other words:
White is activated.
Black is deactivated.
“And over time, the black mark will turn back to white.”
I glanced at the mark of the Elf on my shoulder. The mark had already turned back to white. The time it takes to revert is still unknown.
“I’ll need to find out whether the reactivation time varies depending on the duration of the relic’s use, or if there’s a fixed cooldown.”
Well, roughly, by observing the time it takes for the Beastman mark to turn back to white, I should be able to guess.
“If the cooldown is proportional to the time of relic usage, the time it takes for the Beastman mark to revert to white will be longer.”
The time I held the relic of the Elf was barely 30 seconds, but the time I held the relic of the Beastman was a whopping 15 minutes.
Yes, a whole 15 minutes.
This means,
“The usage restriction time of the ancient relic has increased.”
Or perhaps, the usage limit time might have disappeared entirely.
‘I only held it for 15 minutes because I felt someone’s presence.’
That’s a bit regrettable. If there are no adverse effects for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or even over an hour, then it’s safe to say the usage restriction time of the ancient relic is gone.
‘I need to experiment with this later on.’
Lastly, I discovered a rule regarding the most crucial characteristic.
“When holding an ancient relic, one transforms into the appearance of the respective race and can use its attributes.”
I confirmed this a little while ago in the training grounds, experimenting with the Beastman’s relic.
‘I was able to use even the attributes of the Beastman that I hadn’t mastered.’
From the Predator’s Killing Intent to the boiling pureblood. Not only the beastman traits I often used, but I was also able to use numerous other beastman traits I wanted to acquire.
Of course, I couldn’t use all the traits.
‘I couldn’t use high-ranking traits like the Blessing of the Beast King, Bloodline, Blood Circulation Acceleration, and Acceleration.’
Why might that be? I’m not certain, but I theorized that it might be due to the ‘changed form’ of the tattoos.
‘Perhaps the reason why only the markings of the Angels, Spirits, Beastmen, and Elves changed is because I possess the most traits from these four races.’
In other words, the hypothesis is that the traits I had were replaced with other powers.
‘Something like a fusion rate.’
The more traits I acquire, the higher the fusion rate of that race might increase, unlocking high-ranking traits. That’s my assumption.
‘So, from now on, instead of gaining the traits of a race every time I hold an ancient relic, does the fusion rate increase?’
This needs to be verified in the future.
‘I also need to check about complete assimilation.’
I should also find out about the various special effects that could be obtained by fully adapting the racial traits to my body.
‘Considering that Illyna said yesterday that she smelled the unique scent of elves from my body, it’s likely that the effects of complete assimilation are still present.’
Either some rules were replaced, or only those I had completely assimilated remained in my body.
‘… What I need to find out now is whether multiple uses of ancient relics are possible.’
But well, I should be able to find out soon. As soon as the beastman mark turns white, I can tell immediately by grabbing the greatsword in the training grounds.
‘But why has my ability changed like this?’
This is the most crucial point. The reason my ability, something like a bug derived from my system error, has evolved.
‘Though technically, my power isn’t really a bug….’
I’m an irregular created intentionally by the Creator, the God of this world. My existence and power are akin to a ‘cheat’, like a top-tier hack created directly by a game operator.
‘… Probably, the real [bug] might be the Unknown.’
The [Devour] ability of the Unknown is a virus, a bug of this world.
‘It’s like a zombie virus that eats up the system.’
Unknown error. That’s the identity of the Unknown.
‘Did the collision of errors lead to the change in my abilities? Or, did some discrepancy arise when I traveled back in time?’
The difference between this timeline and the modern one is whether the ‘main system’ is awake.
‘What if, in line with the appearance of the main system, my abilities evolved because they were [set] by God?’
My power is within God’s calculations. And it’s plausible that God anticipated the ‘main system’ would awaken according to the scenario’s flow.
Maybe he had planned for my abilities to change or evolve, aiming for that moment.
‘He did say he had preparations made for me when we met.’
That preparation might have been activated when I flew back to the past.
‘… Or it could be a combination of both factors.’
The encounter with the Unknown. The awakening of the main system. A combined effect of these two.
‘I can’t draw a conclusion right now.’
I should just leave this issue alone. There’s no way to experiment. What I need to think about now isn’t ‘Why has it changed?’ but ‘How has it changed?’ and ‘How should I use this changed power?’
* * *
That day at lunch.
I quickly found an opportunity to experiment with my power.
Thanks to Illyna, I managed to rent the entire training ground.
“Looks like the queen really trusts you, Seo-yul. She lent you such a crucial military base without any hesitation,” said Lust as she casually stretched.
“I was surprised too.”
All I did was mention it offhandedly during lunch. I wanted to test the extent of my weakened power after getting hurt. However, I didn’t want to show my descendants my vulnerable state.
So, I simply asked to borrow the training ground quietly.
To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes.
I thought at the very least, Illyna would want to watch.
But surprisingly,
― Understood. I’ll ensure that nobody can enter within a 1km radius of the training ground.
She agreed without the slightest hesitation.
“And on top of that, she even entrusted you with that relic,” Lust pointed out, gesturing towards the object in my hand.
Exactly, the sealing orb.
Inside this sealing orb was the “The Great One’s Promise.”
The relic ‘of the elves’, and specifically, the one that only responds to the ‘High Elves’. The relic that I came to possess because of Illyna’s scheme yesterday.
“You’re lucky. To be loved by such a beauty,” Lust said with a sly grin.
It was a peculiar smile, a mix of envy, sadness, and menace.
No, she was genuinely sulking.
Ever since the day we coincidentally met that kid and I recounted every single detail about my recent days to her, she has been genuinely upset.
‘Especially since I even mentioned that I originally planned to kill her…’
Maybe I was too honest. But being deceitful might come at a greater cost later on. I learned that the hard way.
“Not only the queen but it seemed other elves also have a fondness for you, Seo-yul. You must be living in heaven, huh?”
I sighed inwardly as I looked at Lust’s mockingly upset expression.
‘I have to keep her in a good mood today.’
With that resolution, I spoke up.
“What’s the use of being liked by people I’m not even interested in?”
At my words, Lust’s shoulders slightly trembled.
“…You’re not interested in the queen either?”
“Not really?”
“Even though she’s so pretty?”
“Well, she is pretty, that’s true.”
I gave a sly smile.
“When I have someone even prettier by my side, why would she catch my eye?”
“Ah…”
Lust looked at me with surprised eyes, seemingly both shocked and pleased.
“Do you think I would be swayed by such an obvious compliment?”
“Seriously, don’t you trust me?”
To be honest, whether it’s Illyna or Lust, they are both pretty. Once beauty exceeds a certain threshold, it all looks the same to me.
“She’s pretty, has a good personality, and even saved my life.”
I listed, counting off on my fingers.
“With such a woman by my side, who else would catch my eye?”
“R-really?”
The corners of Lust’s mouth twitched.
To anyone watching, she clearly looked like someone struggling to hide their joy.
“Hmm. Alright. I’ll believe you.”
Lust said with a feigned arrogant expression. However, her twitching lips gave away the fact that she wasn’t coming across as arrogant.
Just cute.
My flattery continued, and I safely navigated through the situation.
“Shall we start then?”
“Yes.”
We both squared off, getting into our stances.
“You know you can’t use your Bloodline Power, right?”
“I know. The Succubus clan is considered a malevolent force in this world, right?”
“Right. It could cause serious trouble, so never use it.”
Lust and I each took one of the wooden swords hanging in the training ground.
“You’re planning to test out the power of the elves, right, Seo-yul?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
If the racial restriction has been lifted, I’d be testing the power of the elves. If the restriction still exists, I’d be testing my current strength.
“Whew.”
Swallowing my nervousness, I approached the mirror on one side of the training ground. I proceeded to sequentially unseal the sealing orb.
The orb glowed with a blue magical light as it was unsealed. Inside it, a small bead glowing in green, the ‘The Great One’s Promise’, revealed itself.
I took a deep breath and reached out to the green bead.
And the next moment…
“Ugh.”
I felt a burning pain, similar to the one I felt yesterday.
However, today’s pain was much milder, about 20% of yesterday’s intensity. It was a bearable pain.
And precisely 3 seconds later,
After all the pain subsided…
“…You really do look just like an elf.”
Reflected in the training ground’s mirror was my appearance, transformed to that of an elf.
…Did it really work?
* * *
After the duel ended.
I was escorting Lust to her room.
Well, it wasn’t for the sake of seeing her off, but because I was put in a situation where I had no choice but to escort her.
“Do you just need to lie her down on the bed?”
“Yes, I’d appreciate it.”
Due to our duel at lunch, Lust was unable to walk, so I had to carry her there.
“Is there anything else you need?”
Lust grinned slyly.
“Could you help me change my clothes?”
“…That’s a bit much.”
“You can’t even do that much? After failing to control your strength and leaving me like this?”
…When she puts it that way, I don’t have much to say. The fact that Lust can’t move is entirely my fault.
‘I became stronger than I thought and couldn’t control my strength at all.’
To be honest, I didn’t have much intention to control it in the first place. I never imagined I’d become strong enough to overpower her. I only realized something had gone wrong in the midst of our fight.
Well, Lust didn’t use her Bloodline Power, and she wasn’t in the best condition due to the flux of his energy, but the important thing is that I won.
“Hurry up. I can’t sleep like this.”
Now, what should I do in this situation?
“Seo-yul~ Hurry up~”
It feels like the dark Seo-yul is about to open his eyes.
* * *
After barely avoiding her temptation and returning to my room, I was taking a shower with a very excited expression.
“I really didn’t expect the time limit and the duplicate limitations to disappear.”
Since I was able to use ‘The Great One’s Promise’ twice after having used it once, it meant the duplicate restriction had disappeared. And since I had been holding onto ‘The Great One’s Promise’ for a full hour during my duel with Lust, the time limitation had gone away.
‘Of course, there might still be a limit like 2 hours or 3 hours…’
But that’s beside the point. The usage time limit went up from just 1 minute to over an hour!
‘The stats are a bit disappointing though…’
As expected, the characteristics were converted into an assimilation rate, and the stats decreased.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
It’s a slight pity, but it’s not a big problem.
‘Being able to use the ancient relic without limits, what could be the problem?’
Stats are just a detail. The truly important thing is the ancient relic.
‘If I can overpower her one-on-one, that says it all.’
Of course, Lust didn’t use her Bloodline Power, and she had depleted a lot of energy breaking through the Dragon’s Lair, so she was weakened.
But what’s important is that I won using an emblematic ancient relic, ‘The Great One’s Promise’, which has no other powers.
“If I were to use an S-rank relic…”
It wouldn’t be a dream to overpower Lust in her best condition.
“Now, I just need to observe when the Elf race’s mark returns to ‘white’.”
If I can figure out the rule for the cooldown of when Adam’s mark turns white, I would have grasped all the current rules.
Ah, I should also closely look into the rules for increasing the assimilation rate.
‘But that’s something I’d naturally learn over time.’
There’s something more important left. I had forgotten about it, but it’s really the most crucial thing.
‘I need to obtain the Artisan’s Portable Forge.’
The Dwarven trait, Artisan’s Portable Forge. A space where countless ancient relics are stored.
‘Although it’s inactive now if I can obtain the Dwarf’s relic and activate the Artisan’s Portable Forge…’
I can get my hands on all the ancient relics I used against the Unknown, including the Heart of the Time Dragon.
‘If only that could happen…’
I could become a demon, an angel, a dragon,
A unique being that transcends all races.
< Chapter 167: Adam’s Mark (3) > End.
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