"Oh! Oh! Add me!" Higure immediately volunteered when she saw the Imperial Guard skill. "There is no better choice to have as your first."
Rakna gave her a dry look. "You'll be second. Maybe."
"What?!" The cat looked appalled.
"Hey, little guy, come here," the therian ignored her and everyone wryly smiled as they continued to read the rest of the system prompts. Unlike Rakna, they didn't have photographic reading speed and comprehension.
Pronos tilted his head at being called and jumped on his master's lap.
"This should be quick. It wasn't specified but I assume we both have to agree to it," Rakna said and put a finger on top of the snake's head. He concentrated and his pupils abruptly flared with power that was neither weak nor strong. It was simply imperial.
The others shuddered as the invisible aura filled the room and even Kaelith had her hand quiver for the split of a second. It was gone in a blink but in that minute instant, the oppression reminded her of the Clan Patriarch, her very own father.
She scowled as she observed a transfer of mana and soul occur between Rakna and Pronos. The latter also trembled, but in tension. Strength filled him and he, who was already deeply linked with Rakna, became even more synched.
The process lasted no more than a few seconds and there were no visual cues from the beginning to the end but the changes were shown on the snake's status.
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❮ ◈ ❯
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New Guardian Admitted: Pronos!
Assessing Unit… S Rank Pet, Path of Ouroboros, Hydra Bloodline…
Legendary Imperial Guard has leveled up! 5x
The attribute boost increased to 6%!
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Name: Pronos
Master/Emperor: Rakna Xiorra Blade
Age: 3 | Level: 96 (231/960)
Race: Eion Hydra Fledgling | Path: Ouroboros
Titles: Poison Master, Legendary Imperial Guard
Potential: S | Pet Rank: VIII
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Attributes:
STR: 30 + 5.6 | END: 90.8 + 5.46
SPD: 90 + 5.9 | DEX: 10 + 4.2
INT: 66.4 + 2.5 | LCK: 3 + 0.5
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Statistics:
STA: 522/503 | MP: 1048/1048
SWI: 338 | AGI: 134
SEN: 374 | ATC: 313
ATT: 321 | DEF: 413
MA: 224 | MR: 5.44
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Rakna's eyes widened instantly. Not because of the increase of attributes, amounting to 6% and probably +1 at every level increase, but because of the +0.5 next to LCK. "That's unexpected… this is the first time I see it being affected."
"Hm? What is it?" Kaelith asked.
He responded by flicking a finger in her direction. The attribute panel of Pronos was revealed to her and she jumped up from her seat. "No way…" She muttered. "Do you have any idea of how high the Pavilion and Guilds would value you with the ability to increase the luck of others?"
"It's not like I can do it indefinitely. I have only five slots available. One of which is now taken."
"Nonetheless, and even if it's just 0.5, someone with 10.5 of Luck is a hundred times more valuable than someone with only 10."
"Right… Alexa did mention the exponentiality of it," Rakna said with a shrug. "I don't have any plan to do something like that anyway. I will not use them on any of you, much less a random stranger in exchange for money."
"Why?" Flavia immediately inquired. "I don't think any of us would care about the strength boost but it would be safer for you to be able to call us for support considering your reckless tendencies… Since we know we can't stop you anyway."
The girls nodded several times at that last part and Rakna huffed in amusement as he patted the little snake's head.
"None of you are my 'guards'," he stated. "I'm not about to bind your life to mine under the nice pretense that you're my friends and should help me. However, Pronos, Higure, Tyran, or Aster are acceptable. Two of them essentially owe me their 'life', one of them is still a Full Undead, and the little guy is my pet. If I need help, calling those four is more than enough."
The group was silent for a while and Flavia seemed hesitant to relent. She really wanted to take this opportunity to avoid incidents like today from happening again.
"Besides," he continued. "The four of them are all half-immortal. Tyran, Higure, and Aster can heal with my mana. And Pronos has 'Nine Lives' that will probably become even more practical once he evolves for the first time at level 100. I would be far more relaxed with having their help."
The Chaos Witch sighed. "Fine…"
"I would like to insist too but… you wouldn't be able to have me in your Guard since we are too far apart in strength anyway," Kaelith said calmly but a certain item appeared in her hand with a flash of light. "Take this though," she said and tossed it to him.
He inspected it and hummed. It was a sort of stone tablet with engravings on it and he promptly found out its purpose with one use of Appraisal.
"Break it and I will be able to teleport to you instantly, no matter the Plateau."
"Red, huh?" Rakna commented with a smile; it was the rarity of the item. "Are you sure?"
"Obviously. There aren't any people apart from you that I would give this to. Why should I leave it to gather dust in my storage?"
"I see… Thanks, I'll use it if I need to," he said and it was transferred in his storage. "So, what do you think about the perks of my title?"
"They're nice. The Imperial Guard and Designation are quite powerful. But I sort of already knew about it from other Emperors, though I only met one of the three that exist, not including you. Your versions are a bit stronger; probably due to the Legendary tag. Next, the gates to the Celestial and Eonian Plateau are not surprising. I also have them. As for the last two…"
"What's wrong about them?" Nyx asked when she, along with a few others, noticed the uneasiness on the vixen's expression.
Kaelith paused to think about it. "Well, I know about both. I have the Empirical Tribulation myself that I have yet to use. As for the other… I only know about it from records. A handful of people got that ability and the majority received divine bodies or skills. But let's say that the last and only time where a Host who used it became an actual Celestial… their Domain was Murder."
Rakna frowned at that. "Are you saying a Host became a God of Murder?"
"Yeah," Higure answered for the fox woman whilst licking her paw. "I was alive back then. I'm sure you understand the kind of disaster it was. That guy was a plague. His Domain was Murder and so was his personality."
"Gaining an Aspect of Divinity, a Domain, is more than just a fancy title," Kaelith followed up. "You become what you represent to extreme levels depending on circumstances. That's even more true if you are a normal mortal ascending to Divinity. The change can mess up your mind and soul."
"And I assume you want me to be careful about it?" Rakna asked.
She nodded slowly. "Yes…"
"Don't worry. I'm not your regular mortal. And I don't intend to use that thing at least until I unlock my Sub-Path. I'll have plenty of time to consider or take precautions," he said. "But while we're on the topic, what happened to this God of Murder? Is he still alive?"
Kaelith shook her head. "No. He was killed in a collective effort."
"Really? The collective effort of whom?"
The vixen smiled and shrugged teasingly. "Why don't you ask the one in your head? He was one of the leading forces, if not the leading force that allowed the God of Murder to be taken out without many casualties."
"Fray?" Rakna both exclaimed in surprise and called him out. "Is it true?"
"{…it is,}" the storyteller responded rather tamely. "{While that is a feat to be proud of recounting, I do not have good memories of it. I lost dear friends and…}" He paused. "{You could say that some of the victims… were even dearer,}" he said and let the statement sink in. "{Perhaps that is why I was called Exalted. During those times, I was nothing more than a quill exalted on vengeance.}"
Fray then chuckled heartily to clear the mood. "{But it is in the past. Do me a favor, Rakna, do not force me to condemn my soul so that I can come back to life and kill you.}"
Rakna squinted and his eyes flickered to pure black for a moment. He looked at his hand where an undetectable sliver of his Hoarfrost Star clashed with the Volcanic Star. He closed it after a short second and smiled. "I certainly owe you for your earlier pep talk… So, count on it."
"{Hahaha!}" Fray laughed. Maybe the others hadn't noticed Rakna's wording but for him, it was as clear as the day. He was not promising him anything and at the same time, he was silently sending him a plea to help in the worst-case scenario. "{I will count on it. Be sure of it.}"
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* * *
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When the discussion was over, Rakna proceeded to add Tyran and Higure to his Guard; and in that exact order, much to the lioness' chagrin. The skill unsurprisingly shot up to Exceled considering what kind of beings Tyran and Higure were. He also decided to not add Aster. Or at least, he put it on hold for now.
When it was time to sleep, he tuned out the girls' bickering, mainly the passive-aggressive dialogue between Flavia and Kaelith, and lied down on his bed. He then mentally cast a spell and activated a skill; Tūkkamum and Onera. Eye of Symphony made him able to live without sleep but it didn't make him unable to.
The effects were as instantaneous as he experienced it for the past week. He was put into a deep sleep far beyond normal standards and his ensuing entrance into Enthymio's Second Layer made his mind independent but resident to his dreams.
This had the effect of pulling him into an empty place where darkness surrounded him and a light of unknown source followed him around like a lantern to brighten his path.
He could manipulate this realm as he wished and he casually willed an entire garden with a night sky above it to appear. Beyond the boundaries of this construct, the darkness was still present but he didn't need to make it bigger.
Rakna sat down against a large tree in the center of the garden and closed his eyes. One thing he loved about this place was that he could stay conscious even though he was technically sleeping in the outside world.
That left him all the time he wanted to meditate, though it didn't affect his soul at all, it was still a ritual he liked to perform even before getting pulled into Systema.
While he was in the middle of it, much to his shock, he heard a voice speak, "Rakna…?"
It was feminine and soft. It also seemed hesitant and fearful. He promptly got to his feet and turned to the source. There shouldn't have been anyone in here. Not even Fray and Higure were capable of interacting with him in this realm.
But that certainty was thrown out of the window when a woman he had never seen before stood a few meters away on the grass. To describe her, if anything, the best word would have been 'doll'.
Her skin was paler than it should be possible. It was nearly fully bleached as if she was made out of porcelain. Her expression was empty, or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it 'still'. It was as if apart from her pupils, nothing else could move.
She was also holding her hands together in front of her in a respectful manner. Her head was very slightly tilted to one side and her long shining white hair was covering her cheek and reached the middle of her back.
She had golden eyes filled with life compared to her physical appearance. She was wearing what appeared like a black and white Victorian dress. Her features were attractive but not sensual and her figure seemed fragile but endearing.
Summarized… Rakna couldn't make head or tails of what was happening. Her looks were much too unique for him to draw a blank on whether or not he had met her before.
The woman seemed to understand his plea as she straightened herself and opened her mouth to speak, "It is… me." The softness of her voice was a definite contrast to the rest but it sounded quite anxious as well.
However, those three additional words were enough for Rakna to recognize it and he gazed at her in utter shock. It took him a minute to voice it out.
"Alexa?"