Chapter 10: Artifact
After getting all the main details from the book he was currently reading, Tai Xin put it down.
He then looked around the cabin, with his eyelids twitching as he realized the mess, created by him.
'Sigh forget it.'
It wasn't time to worry about these all. Tai Xin stood up ready to go and gain some EXP.
Eh.
Mana fluctuation?
But it looked like fate had different plans for Tai Xin. Looking in the direction from which he felt the magical waves Tai Xin saw what looked like a mask, or at least a remnant of a mask.
He could have sworn that there was no such object here a second ago. He didn't doubt his memory as it was pretty good. It was nearly perfect. Thinking about this his mouth curled up into a smile... What can I even say about my perfectness?
Tai Xin shook his head and then looked at the mask once again.
After deliberating for a moment picked up the remanent of the 'mask' hesitantly.
As the 'mask' came in contact with his fingers, Tai Xin felt the strong magical waves, which were trying to invade his mind, Nonetheless, it was unsuccessful.
Ding!
----------------
-Object: Artifact
»Name: The Deceitful One
»Rank: ???
»Abilities: ???
»Condition: ???
»Flaw: Enhances Greed mostly, and other emotions. ???
------------------
Artifacts. These were some of the most dangerous objects in the calamity online.
These objects, not only did they possess unimaginable strength, but also have flaws that could get you killed.
The ranks of these artifacts were » White »Yellow » Green » Blue » Red » Calamity.
The danger of flaws within the artifact was equivalent or it was sometimes higher than its rank. In some cases, the flaw would seem to be very harmless but would turn out to be unfathomable.
On top of that, there was the condition. One would be required to fulfill the condition of the artifact before being able to use its ability.
A glint flashed through Tai Xin's eyes as he looked at the artifact. It was a broken piece of 'mask'. Only one side if it was present, and would be able to cover a single side if worn.
Even an artifact that was merely present in White rank would be coveted by players, much less this mysterious artifact that was present in front of him.
But Tai Xin wasn't someone stupid who would just grab some mysterious artifact or object and form a bond with it becoming its wielder.
It wasn't like he didn't covet for artifact, he did but he was cautious.
'Well, no harm in wearing it right? I'll not form a bond.' Tai Xin thought as he slowly brought the mask to his face. Just as he was about to wear this mask on the left side, he suddenly froze.
This was completely out of character! This didn't make any sense.
He was a lover of challenges yet very cautious. He did take gambles when it was necessary but wasn't stupid to just wear something unknown when he had many other paths.
He had suffered such instances when he was playing Calamity online. But during that time he was wielding that artifact. Thankfully that memory was still embedded in his mind as a result Tao Xin quickly stopped himself.
Just as he was continuing his deliberation about it, suddenly the blue screen popped up in front of him.
Ding!
[Would you like to know about the shortcut to getting the inheritance]
[Yes] (/) [No]
Tai Xin looked at the screen in front of him with dilated eyes, as he read that one sentence over and over again.
This was an obvious trap.
'But what if it's real? Should I take the gamble?' Just as this thought entered his mind Tai Xin realized this mask was once again affecting him.
Mask?
Where's the mask?
"F*ck! F*ck!" Tai Xin exclaimed as he immediately noticed that the broken mask wasn't present in his palm.
Tai Xin quickly rushed towards the mirror present in the cabin simultaneously touching the left side of his face. What he felt was something similar to wood but was much sturdier than a piece of wood.
As he was rushing towards the mirror, Tai Xin felt that his eyelid on the left side was constantly twitching as if it was irritated.
"What the F*ck!" Tai Xin couldn't help but exclaim once again as he looked at himself in the mirror. The mask wasn't present on his face!
Are you playing a joke on me?! If you're then it's not funny!
Tai Xin once again touched the left side of his face. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The rough wood was no longer felt.
"What is the meaning of this!" Tai Xin's heart almost leaped out of his heart as he heard a thundering voice that seemed to have originated from him but in fact, it didn't.
It wasn't Tai Xin who spoke. Tai Xin quickly touched his face more specifically the place where his lips used to be.
Yes. The keywords were 'Used to be there.'.
Currently, it looked like his lips had completely melted away. No, more like his lips had been stolen.
'Thief!'
His lips were present just below his eyes speaking freely as if it was a whole other person.
"Ye Xiong! What is the meaning of this!" The 'lips' once again released a thundering voice. The next second the lips suddenly disappeared before reappearing again.
However this time it seemed to be smaller than the previous time.
Argh!
Simultaneously Tai Xin's right eye completely melted, leaving a socket. It completely shifted away to the left side of his face appearing right below the lips.
A 'crack' appeared below the 'second' eye. Tai Xin's lips were being shared!
"Anotiguse~ what's the problem~ I was just playing a small prank, no big problem."
"Prank?! On whom?! Him or me?! We were so close?! We were so f*king close!"
"But that wouldn't be fun. Just possessing him and then achieving our goal so easily. Boring~"
"Listen to me! We-!"
"Boring~"
"You-!"
"Boring~"
"Prick-!"
"Boring~"
"Argh!"
'Listen to me!'
Tai Xin suddenly exclaimed. After all these two 'people' were talking to each other by sharing 'his' body parts.
"You shut up! Accept our deal! Take the shortcut of getting the inheritance. It's an amazing inheritance! It's two in one!"
'You do realize that you're just like a scheming salesman. Not very convincing. And give me my lips and eyes back!'
"I will kill you if you don't accept it!"
'No, you wo-' Before Tai Xin could complete his line, his right hand quickly moved towards his neck. Tai Xin wasn't able to react in time, and as a result, his right arm grabbed his neck trying to crack it.
Tai Xin reacted a split second later immediately grabbing his right hand with his left one.
'Should I snap it?' Tai Xin thought hesitantly. He wasn't used to pain at all. Though his willpower was strong, living in the peaceful era of Earth had already dulled it. His pain tolerance was laughable.
He slowly clenched his fist.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Before he could completely snap his arm, Tai Xin felt the grip on his neck loosen. Feeling his right arm Tai Xin immediately retracted it.
As his lips were stolen, Tai Xin couldn't even scream properly. His arm was red and a little swollen.
"What are you trying to do Ye Xiong!"
"It was so boring~ Why to just kill him?"
"Because you showed your F*ckery over here."
"That's rude."
"You're god damn right."
*Whe'se Tedre?!* "Who's there?!" At that moment suddenly a voice echoed from behind the door.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
*Ope thou dor!* "Open the door!"
*Ope thou dor irou aytwj yeyswu taujw yeujw ysuakhsa uiajs have uuwujab jaj hwua! Yeuwgwt gauajb yaunwbbv haha!* "Open the door or else I'll break it! It won't be good for you!"
Seeing that no response came from inside the soldier quickly kicked the door breaking in. Behind him were two other soldiers.
All three of them dashed towards the cabin only to be confused. It was clear that someone had been there however they couldn't see anyone.
On the other hand, Tai Xin was extremely confused. The reason? He legit saw one of the soldiers pass right through him while the other two couldn't see him at all.
'Am I dead?' Tai Xin questioned as he walked towards another soldier and passed right through him.
"Yes." The mouth which was named Ye Xiong said.
'What?!' Tai Xin questioned as he tried his best to grab the attention of the soldiers. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.
'Damn it! You must have done something.' Tai Xin exclaimed inwardly.
"What happened?!"
Look the windows are broken!"
"He must have escaped from here!"
However, the three then froze the next second. "Hey, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Yes."
Tai Xin who was near one of the soldiers trying to touch him also froze.
"Ah, shit."