After Xander quit thinking about his new trait, he looked at his full status.
[Name: Alexander Stone]
[Rank: Dormant]
[Core N/A]
[First trait: Reaper's Revival] - [Death Charge: 7.5%]
[First trait Rank: Divine]
-
[Rank: Dormant]
[Core N/A]
[Second Trait: Mirage Realm]
[Second trait Current Rank: Dormant - Unlocked]
"Wait, I get a second core?" Xander said out loud.
"Yes, that is another bonus to having a second trait. You can make a second core, so make sure you pick wisely because now you can have two different main affinities instead of just one," the Artifact Spirit explained.
"Is this not all just a little too broken?" Xander asked, still not quite able to wrap his head around all of this.
"It is definitely better than the average, but it still all comes down to the skill of the user. Just because you have two traits doesn't mean you can easily beat people with only one. Traits are more like a bonus; they aren't the sole reason for your strength."
"And the same goes for having two cores. While having a second affinity does give you an advantage, you can still only really use one core at a time. You just have a wider range of abilities, but the ceiling to those abilities is the same."
"Oh… okay, I see," now that it was put like that, it sounded a little less broken, but he still felt overpowered.
"You also have to think about how now that you have double the traits and cores, you will have to spend double the amount of time mastering your new abilities. And a master of one is often better than a master of none."
Xander nodded his head to that.
'No matter how many abilities I have, I still have to do my best to master each one and not become an average jack of all trades.'
Xander was also familiar with the saying, 'Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,' but when it came to fights, versatility would only take you so far. The more reliable winner would often be the master who had honed one set of skills to perfection over the guy who trained a bunch of skills to only average quality.
"Alright, it's now time for you to go," the Artifact Spirit said.
"Okay, and thanks for all the information and help. Will I get to talk to you again?" Xander wondered.
"Who knows, you might come across another opportunity, or you might not," the Artifact Spirit said before disappearing.
[Analyzing…]
[Analyzing Complete]
And just like that, Xander's vision went dark, and an unknown amount of time later, he woke back up in his real body that was in the capital of Division 1.
After waking up, Xander felt groggy.
He quickly checked his status and confirmed that he was dormant and didn't have a core, so he sat down on his bed and created his Death Core once again.
[Name: Alexander Stone]
[Rank: G-rank - Entry] - [Saturation: 0%]
[Death Core] - [Attunements: Death 100% - Life 10% - Other 50%]
[First trait: Reaper's Revival] - [Death Charge: 7.5%]
[First trait Rank: Divine]
-
[Rank: Dormant]
[Core N/A]
[Second Trait: Mirage Realm]
[Second trait Current Rank: Dormant - Unlocked]
After doing that, he stood up and walked outside, down the hall, and found directions to the cafeteria.
He was starving, and he wasn't sure when his next meal would be because he didn't know if he would be sent off to the tower immediately or not, so he filled his plate up to the brim three times before he was finally finished.
"Xander, congratulations on passing your trial. I'm so happy for you," Xander heard behind his shoulder.
He turned and looked to find the short alien council woman Zyra, who had called his name and brought him to the capital, standing there with a smile.
"Umm, thanks, Zyra," Xander said with a small smile. He was happy to have made it back, and thanks to Austin still being alive, he was happy to enter the tower, but he still had an odd relationship with the Council, who forced him and many others to enter the tower against their will.
"Ohh, you remembered my name. I'm flattered," Zyra's smile brightened up.
She then walked around and sat across from him, and put on a serious face.
"So now, down to official business. There are several things that you need to do and a big decision you need to make," Zyra said.
"And what exactly is that?" Xander asked.
"Well, first we will give you a little one-on-one interview where you can tell us about your experience in the trial as well as what your trait is and its rank."
Xander gulped. This is exactly the type of thing Austin said not to do.
"But of course, you don't have to share if you don't want to," Zyra said after seeing Xander's displeased look.
Xander nodded his head.
"Next is the decision you need to make."
Xander nodded his head once again curious to what this big decision was.
"You need to choose whether you want to enter our academy here, or do you want to risk it, not be a part of the Council, at least for now, and just enter the tower where you can do whatever you want."
'Ok, that is a big decision,' Xander thought.
"And what exactly is there to do once I get into the tower?" Xander asked, wanting to consider all options. He wasn't exactly keen on entering the Council. He grew up hating them, and now his brother was saying they had traitors. He wasn't sure who the enemy was, but he knew it had to be bad for his brother to bring it up.
"Well, once you enter the tower, you will be sent to a random place on a random planet. It could be out in the wild, or you could get lucky and end up in a city, but there is always a possibility you end up in a death zone. That's why we always encourage you to join the Council's academy to be as prepared as possible. But after entering the tower you can literally do whatever you want. There are so many opportunities in the tower, it's nothing like your planet now. You can get a regular job, work as a mercenary, join a sect or guild. You can even join the planet's academy. Most planets have their own academy that is unaffiliated with our Council."
"So what do you choose?" Zyra asked with a welcoming smile.
"Umm… I think I'll just risk it and go to the tower," Xander said. He knew she was likely using fear mongering to make him select the Council's academy, so he wasn't quite as worried as he should be based on her description, and he really didn't want to have anything to do with the Council at least at the moment.
"Ok if that's your choice that's fine. In six hours, we will be opening the portal back up to send people into the tower, and you will be lucky enough to be one of them," Zyra said.
"But don't worry, we won't just throw you to the dogs just yet. We let everyone have a look at our library for free. The council is, of course, always on the side of our realm, even if you choose not to work with us."