#234 Karma Shopping (2)
The border region of the abyss where chaos and void intermingled.
"Strange."
It was a brief sentiment muttered by the Revolutionary after witnessing the progress of recent events.
The assassination of the imperial princess to divide the empire, the sinking of the Enamel Continent through the exclusion of the World Tree, the division of humanity caused by the tribal alliance's northward advance, and even the awakening of the Undead King that he had thought had already succeeded.
The operations that had begun simultaneously were getting twisted to a strange degree.
To the extent that he could feel artificial and malicious intervention, as if someone was deliberately interfering.
'Well, rather, it must have been too easy until now.'
The task he pursued was something that went against the will of the Creator God, the creator of this world.
He had never thought things would go smoothly from the beginning.
That was why he had hidden in the darkness of the world for a long time and prepared thoroughly in advance, but...
It seemed this level of preparation had been insufficient after all.
'Still, it's not like I gained nothing.'
Though it was bitter that his long efforts had come to naught, it was much better than the previous plans that had been thwarted before they could even begin.
Because he had at least fulfilled the minimum utility of causing massive casualties to create chaos while gnawing away at the world's power.
'Moreover...'
What he had gained through the series of recent events was not just that.
"Hah! I had wondered, but I can no longer deny it."
It was a certain conviction.
Truthfully, he had been half-convinced for quite some time, but now it seemed almost certain.
That Undead King who should be at the forefront of covering the world with death as the vanguard of the abyss—
was in some incomprehensible honeymoon relationship with the Saint of the Creator God's Church, who was virtually his natural enemy.
"Puhuhu, what an absurd thing."
The others on the continent couldn't even imagine it, let alone suspect it, but he, who knew the Undead King better than anyone, could judge the situation a bit more objectively.
Something he had thought absolutely impossible had actually happened.
'Creator God... what in the world did you do?'
Using the Undead King had been a plan that had proceeded without issue a thousand years ago, and three hundred years ago as well.
Hadn't they even succeeded in eliminating the dragons, who had been the greatest obstacle to the grand scheme?
But for this to happen now, of all times, when they had entered the final stage.
'What could be called the greatest variable of late... As expected, is it most likely the Otherworlders?'
The Revolutionary, who had closed his eyes and fallen into thought, quickly reached a conclusion and furrowed his brow.
Impurities of this world who had crossed over from another dimension with rapid growth speed and unique abilities.
After identifying their existence, he had captured them and used them in various ways, and even experimented on them while they were alive.
Then, after realizing they were merely humans with slightly special abilities and outsiders who would soon leave, he hadn't paid them much mind.
Perhaps he had underestimated their potential too much.
'...No matter what, I can't imagine a mere mortal overcoming the death of the abyss and interfering with it. No, this is only a hypothesis, so hasty judgment is inadvisable.'
What he needed to think about right now was how to respond going forward.
Since the Undead King, who had been the best option, was showing a lukewarm attitude beyond expectations, he had no choice but to select an alternative, but...
The problem was that the progress of that method was also not very satisfactory.
'The saturation progress of madness is slower than expected. Just how many giants have I sent to the surface, and yet it's only at this level?'
The Revolutionary turned his gaze to something crouched beside him in a humanoid shape, then soon furrowed his brow.
The essential condition for the alternative was for the concentration of madness spread throughout the world to exceed a certain threshold, but from the current state, it seemed quite a bit of time was still needed to reach the target.
'That barbarian... what exactly is he?'
All of this had happened because some barbarian accompanying the Saint had devoured all the massive madness that should have spread throughout the world.
Hadn't it even been observed recently that the madness scattered in the atmosphere was swirling around him and being sucked in?
This too was an incomprehensible strange occurrence, just like the Undead King's situation.
'Still, the overall saturation is steadily increasing, but the time wasted because of that one guy is too great. I'd like to take care of him first, but...'
The timing was also appropriate, as the barbarian had separated from the expedition and remained alone in the south.
But the problem was that the forces he commanded had mostly been destroyed, so he didn't have the capacity to face such a strong opponent.
It didn't seem like sending a few not-fully-awakened giants would solve it, and he was in a position where he couldn't move easily himself.
"...Tch, I suppose I really need to buy more time."
It would be troublesome for the continent to stabilize too quickly when the plan hadn't even fully progressed yet.
The rampage of monsters and the attacks of the white giants continued, but that alone was insufficient.
Especially since the Undead King had withdrawn from the south and the raids of the undead army across the continent had grown infrequent.
'In that case...'
Soon, a strange light dwelled in the Revolutionary's gaze
—turning toward one of the countless fissures in the distorted space surrounding him.
A place that had started at the same time as the operations in other regions, but was proceeding quietly without great external commotion due to its unique secrecy.
The Zepia Republic in the eastern part of the Ion Continent.
***"Hm."
Truthfully, I had been a bit worried.
I had even used a Dragon Heart, so I was afraid something like the Dragonkin, the race that Hali disguised as, might be created.
Of course, it wasn't that Dragonkin were bad, but there was a considerable difference in rank compared to real dragons, so it was inevitable to feel needless worry.
I hadn't invested just a few points here.
'Though it was just needless worry, as it turns out.'
Fortunately, the created race was definitely a Dragon.
'However...'
And now I
was looking intently at the finally born Avatar, arms crossed.
Lowering my gaze slightly.
The Dragon Avatar also stared blankly at its main body.
Raising its gaze slightly.
'I had wondered.'
An obvious difference in eye level that didn't even need comparison.
I quietly examined the golden lifeform in front of me, shining under the fluorescent light—a dragon the size of a large dog.
Where had the majestic and imposing head I had painstakingly refined through [Customizing] gone—a small baby dragon with a round, cute impression was looking up at me with a sullen expression.
'No, come to think of it, I suppose it's a good thing it didn't even come with an egg.'
It was said that unlike elves or dwarves who only lived a few hundred years despite having longer lifespans than humans, a dragon's lifespan approached ten thousand years.
I was still only twenty, so no matter how much the skill [Customizing] covered certain aspects, it must have been impossible to be born as an adult dragon from the start.
Besides, weren't dragons a race that grew stronger in proportion to their age?
Since the strength of a newly created Avatar had its limits, this result was only natural.
"Karr!"
Unable to speak yet due to an oral structure unsuitable for human language, but this too should be solvable using magic power once accustomed to the new body.
I checked the individual information of the new Dragon Avatar, Horus, and nodded in satisfaction.
-Name: Horus
-Race: Dragon (Hatchling)
-Common Traits: [Mind Hub], [Persona], [Xenoglossy]
-Individual Traits: [Gold Dragon], [Ruler of All Things], [Polymorph], [Draconic Magic]
-Special Notes: Han Seonghyeon's eleventh Avatar. A Dragon Heart of a Gold Dragon Hatchling was used as the medium. Still merely a hatchling, but its growth potential is second to none.
'As expected, is it because I used an expensive medium?'
A whopping four initial skills.
The only additional skill I chose was [Draconic Magic]; the other three were abilities given by default from the creation stage.
If there was something unusual, it was that skills obtained by strengthening stats, from [Super Regeneration] to [All-Seeing Eye], had all been incorporated into [Gold Dragon]'s abilities upon Avatar creation.
[Gold Dragon] was a skill that further enhanced racial characteristics of dragons such as outstanding physical ability, perception, and magic resistance.
[Ruler of All Things] was a skill that assisted affinity and resistance to all attributes including mana.
[Polymorph] was a transformation ability that allowed a dragon to live among other races in their forms.
'At this level, the investment was worth it. Moreover, I even obtained [Draconic Magic], which a hatchling couldn't even dream of normally.'
Draconic Speech was an ability of the word-spirit system that manifested phenomena through language, and was one of the representative abilities of dragons alongside breath.
But neither of those abilities was permitted to a hatchling in its infancy; I had obtained one of them through the function of 'selecting one of three random skills.'
'I was lucky. There was no guarantee I could learn it from someone later, and even if I could, it would have taken an enormous amount of time.'
Now that I had obtained the skill, after roughly scanning the knowledge needed to activate it, I could tell for sure.
If I had to learn this purely through study, it would have taken at least ten years even with all sorts of corrections stacked.
The learning difficulty and structural complexity itself were on a level incomparable to the [Introduction to Magic] that Hesperon had mastered.
'Being a hatchling is a bit concerning, but since I'll be active in human form anyway, it won't matter much for the time being. Horus has [Polymorph], after all.'
Now was the time to check that.
My gaze turned to Horus, who was wandering around the living room in his small body, checking his condition.
"Kya-ang!"
And at the same time as a cute roar was uttered from his mouth.
Paaat!
—his body covered in golden scales was enveloped in a faint light, and his form gradually began to change.
At some point, he had become a human standing on two legs.
And an extremely enchanting appearance at that, one that would captivate anyone's gaze.
Glossy, flowing blond hair and golden pupils shining with moisture.
He was a very handsome and cute beautiful boy with smooth, silky white-jade-like skin and charming chubby cheeks.
...The problem was that he only looked to be about five or six years old.
"Huh? Why is it like this?"
With a smack! Horus placed both hands on his cheeks, squishing them with his fingers as he furrowed his brows.
It was an action meant to express his displeasure, but even that appeared as nothing but infinitely cute behavior in the main body's eyes.
'Ah, I see.'
[Polymorph] was not mere appearance-changing magic, but an ability akin to an authority that allowed one to become the race they wished to mimic.
Theoretically, it was a means to freely change appearance without being constrained by race, gender, age, and so on, but...
'His proficiency is lacking.'
It had been less than an hour since the Avatar was created.
Obviously, he couldn't already handle a newly acquired skill proficiently.
Moreover, considering the potential contained in the ability, it might take longer than expected.
'Individual skills that an Avatar possesses can't be strengthened through 'Other Skill Enhancement' either.'
Therefore, what was needed was only time to master the skill, but...
Abundant capital could always accelerate even the necessary time.
Without hesitation, I opened the Karma Shop again and purchased a 'Potion of Growth.'
The experiments through Hesperon and Howard were not yet finished, but since I still had 2 million points left, this was worth investing in.
'I should feed it to Horus at least once. Skills aside, it might make him grow faster.'
And right after acquiring the item, as I was lightly scanning the menu thinking about how to use the remaining points—
I discovered a certain change.
"Huh?"
It had been so impressive that it was deeply etched in my memory.
[Fragment of XX XXX XX (29,700,000)]
There had been a price change in the unknown item that had been 30 million points.