Mornn
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Chapter 665 - Check them Specs
🕑 Added 2025-04-30 16:01:20 +0000 UTCIn one of the cheaper spectator rooms with hundreds of seats, the crowd was in a serious uproar as the main screen turned white.
Calmer than the others were two avians sitting in a corner.
“Quite the sight to behold…” Eternam commented, “To think I would forget about such a proficient necromancer, and colleague. Truly shameful, yes.”
Zerei cackled from the seat next to him, “And she forgot to fix your memory, she should be the one who’s ashamed, yes? But she has been quite busy… I’ll tell her to go see you after the trial if you want, yes?”
“No, that shall wait,” Eternam rebuted, “considering her performance here… I am sure she will have no time to spare for this old man any time soon, no. Just look at them,” he said, looking down at all the tiered rows of seats below. Reactions were varied, from people being flabbergasted at the sight, to others debating on what had just happened in heated discussions. “No doubt she will receive many an offer and proposals in the near future, yes, necromancer or not.”
Zerei laughed again, “No need for you to worry about that, no. Not many necromancers around, you might not remember but you used to talk a lot when she was a teacher, yes. Sofia is not the kind to shun her friends, no.”
In the room of the lich tea party, the screens all showed the same pure white light.
“D- Does anyone understand what just happened?” a bear-skeleton lich asked, scratching his skull.
“After the King died, I’ve not the faintest clue,” a female skeleton answered, “Richard? You have the better understanding of the system among us all, any ideas?”
“Hmm… It looks like to me that some parameters of the trial changed when she hit the core with Anna’s key. But there is only so much one can see through a screen… After that she used the storage eye prototype I gave her to steal the core. That should not work, on several levels, but it did. And my guess is that the instance crashed due to the sudden displacement of its core into the margin, which isn’t fully simulated for mana efficiency. She must be stuck in that white void still,” he explained to the other liches.
“The seraphs must be at their wit’s end right now,” another skeleton wearing dark robes snickered, “even the room transfers have just been shut down. We’re stuck here unless we disconnect completely.”
In yet another private room, a small group was waiting for an old Dwarf to speak.
The tension was palpable as he confirmed his findings. “It’s the toybox,” he announced, “I am sure of it. It was faint, but I felt the freeze.”
“Really?!” the youngest of the group asked, shock in her voice, “How? You don’t mean to say she got past the guardian like you did, right?!”
“I have no clue,” the old dwarf answered with a stifled laugh, “I’m tempted to say she would not survive that trip, but it is clear that person is not to be underestimated. Her name is worrying enough even without the deep magic.”
A tall elf in almost integral mithrium armor paced back and forth in the room, a frown on his face, he stopped and turned to the old dwarf, “We should recruit her and her skeletons... No, we HAVE to recruit them,” he confidently said, “They could be a great asset to the cause!”
“They could probably survive the expeditions like me!” the youngest member rejoiced, “ And I’d no longer have to go alone!”
“Others might have recruited her already. The sheer amount of divine essence she carries is honestly baffling,” the old dwarf noted, “Nonetheless, it would indeed be a great boon for us to have more people able to go on expeditions, our time runs short…”
“But how do we convince her to join our side?” the younger one asked.
“I have an idea, Sonia,” the elf said, staring at the white screen, “We’ll have you give her the location of another mirror as an incentive for joining. She’s almost certain to be interested, and we can gauge whether she is trustworthy and truly capable of surviving an expedition.”
“You still have doubts after what you just witnessed?” a fourth member who had been silent until now asked from the side, “the crown alone is proof enough in my eyes,” he told the others, “ask any other Orc, Victory’s approval is no laughing matter.”
Sofia was stuck as nothing but a thin stream of consciousness in an endless white void, the constant notification of error messages ringing in her mind for only company.
Finally achieving what I set out to do. This should net some real points!
Hopefully…
That’s got to be an historic first, right? Maybe not the longest survival time, though… But I doubt anyone else ever managed to ‘kill’ the god. Even the Queen gave no bonus time, it’s safe to say she wasn’t supposed to die at all, it’s basically certain she never did. Until now.
Suddenly the stream of error messages stopped.
Oh! Is it about time I get an earful from the Seraphs for breaking everything?
[EVENT: Unavoidable death - Awakening of the slumbering god, HUMANELY OBLITERATED!]
I guess not? That doesn’t look like the usual message…
[Unavoidable death - Awakening of the slumbering god : Event historical rankings]
‘By default, only your score and 4 closest ranks will be displayed, you may search through the full rankings at your own leisure in your system logs’
[Rank 1 - Sofia Aphenoreth & Pareth (twin ruleset) - Time : NO]
[Rank 2 - Jewel of Truth - Time : 12:42]
[Rank 3 - Saria Aphenoreth - Time : 08:26]
[Rank 4 - Sen - Time : 08:16]
[Rank 5 - Sonia Rotfallen - Time : 07:59]
[Detailed results:
Tier 2 event - Maximum point reward : 145 000 000 TP
Time breakdown: NO
Actual survival time (including bonus): 8:12
Time reward (Assuming infinite time) : 145 000 000 TP
Hidden reward: ‘Take the Queen’ : 55 000 000 TP
Hidden reward: ‘I am the god now’ : 100 000 000 TP
Hidden reward: ‘Beat you at your own game’ : 1 TP
Hidden reward: ‘Totally fair human-only reward’ : 1 Message
Total earned : 300 000 001 TP]
‘Placement : top 0%’
‘You have received Placement reward : Ark’s Gold Star Pin *1!’
‘You have received : Folded piece of paper *1!’
‘You have received 300 000 001 tournament points!’
‘Current balance : 368 587 021 points’
Finally some capital P POINTS! Now we’re talking!
No wonder the results came so quickly, it looks like even this kind of thing was within the expectations of the admins.
Humanely obliterated, totally fair human-only reward… I assume the human admin had a lot of fun setting this up. I did learn from the unique titles that he bet a human would be the first to take Victory’s crown, so this kind of thing isn’t all that surprising, I suppose? Even if I’m not really human anymore…
I wish I could read that ‘message’ but I’m still stuck…
Looking at the names… Jewel of truth dominating again, though I beat him for a second time. But damn, almost thirteen minutes… Saria also did well, and Sen too, no wonder he was valuable enough to end up working as a Seraph. He might actually be the strongest human alive, since the admin is gone.
Well... Richard is there too but he’s not alive alive. And maybe there are some more level 500 humans that I never heard of. Hmm.
And lastly, Sonia Rotfallen… This name rings a bell too…
After a quick search, Sofia found the name again in her logs, that person had ranked current third and historic twelfth in the dungeon time attack.
I see… Must be one of the fakes this time. That winged beast woman who took room 5, maybe? I should try to ask her name if I find the time.
Ahh… Finally I can relax a little. With so many points I can buy the Awakening Pill and the Specialization point right away.
I’m quite certain of what I want to do with that specialization now, but I need to get another fusion ticket first. I’ll buy the pill as soon as I’m back to the Ark and search for another one of the hidden shops. The only issue is that the new skill might not be specializable right away if my ‘comprehension’ is too low. I’m so used to the two skills, though, it’s hard to believe I wouldn’t master the fusion right away. It will probably be fine…
It took about half an hour for Sofia and Pareth to be sent back to their room in the Ark. There was no one there to welcome them, not even the Odon shopkeeper to sell her the pill nor the Seraphs to comment on her performance, so Sofia wasted no time and returned to the hidden shop right away.
‘You have spent 100 000 000 tournament points’
‘Current balance : 268 587 021 points’
‘You have received : Specialization point (Passive) *1!’
Sofia bought her third specialization while Pareth bought his ‘first’.
“Eheheh. Finally! I should just check the details before I commit to a skill fusion though… Let’s see…”
[Skill specialization point (Passive)] : This reward for completing the fourth level of a hidden shop event is not to be used lightly. This will be your third and last specialization. Use it to permanently imprint a known passive skill in your entire being.
The chosen specialization will have different effects depending on your chosen ancestry.
Item level : -1.
Grade : Virtual
[Please pick an ancestry for you specialization]
“Wait wait wait! I’m not ready yet!”
Comments
Tejing
I did wonder when she wrote that letter to Eternam whether he would even remember her. Guess the answer's no, but he's at least aware that he *should* remember her, so hopefully the letter did its job. So even Richard didn't pick up on the Paradise Toybox skill being used. Interesting. This new group is certainly interesting. I wonder what their goal is, though? I suppose we'll find out soon from this Sonia... Ahahaha!!! "Time: NO"!!! I love it! I'm a bit surprised her actual time is that far behind Saria's, but I guess she didn't drag out the forced events as long as she could have. I guess "I am the god now" is for killing the god, but what's "Beat you at your own game" for? I'm definitely curious to know what the message is about, though. Might just be a "yes! A human did it" thing, or it might be a lot more. Guess we'll see. There's definitely some specific recognition that a human pulled this off built into the reward mechanism. "Totally fair" huh? Sure... So, the final specialization... and she wants to fuse skills first... is it what I've been expecting all this time? Also... ancestry? Corrections: Eternam rebuted, rebuted -> rebutted she will receive many an offer and proposals proposals -> proposal the constant notification of error messages ringing in her mind for only company. the ... for only company -> only the ... for company OR for -> her [EVENT: Unavoidable death - Awakening of the slumbering god, HUMANELY OBLITERATED!] HUMANELY -> HUMANLY Humanely obliterated, totally fair Humanely -> Humanly
OmniGlitcher
Mornn's said there's no "official" pronunciation for her name or any other. The audiobook narration says "Sa-rye-ah". I disagree with that, but it's as close to official as you're going to get. I say it like "Sar-ee-ah", like rhyming with Aria.
Matt Grayson
Is anyone else charmed by the notion of a Lich Tea Party? I quite like that we're seeing the world's factions with their own (still somewhat vague) concerns and without strong good vs. evil labels. And we still have the Kleptra... And have we seen a negative item level before, or are we seeing more signs that the System has some spreading chaos and needs a major bug-fix release ASAP. PS: Mornn, I just did a full reread and the hidden moon arc is now clear. I hope that if Remia is ever rescued, that the whole pocket realm is shut down. That poor Queen...
E
I'm more excited to see what becomes of Pareth with the >300mil points he has now. His usefulness is constantly overshadowed by Sofia. Pareth needs to become a proper hero for the saintess. At this point if Pareth fought the Calamity I think he would lose which just ain't right. Wonder if he gears up or invests in stat and skill upgrades/rewrites. What I really hope happens is Sofia's upgraded heart results in an evolved Signature that can buff Pareth into a calamity. (random tidbit, but Pareth technically got the same folded letter as Sofia and System messages)
Clara
I hope she can just delay answering the specialization question and go do a fusion in the meantime Also she gets 5 fusions total here right? Can she just fuse several of her passive skills together?
Matt Grayson
Speaking of Saria, how is her name pronounced? SAR-ya? Sar-EYE-a? Sar-EE-a? Sar like Sargon or like Sarah?
Matt Grayson
Human and Lumian only?
Chance Rose
Im guessing the beat you at your own game was an Easter egg towards orator from the admins. Saying they were able to best his toy box and it's limitations. Im almost definitely wrong, but it's a cool thought.
Dan N
If it wasn't for Sofia breaking things Saria actually outlasted her by 14 seconds. Big sis gotta be smug about that.
Tom Asciola
Could be because she used admin tools to break the trial?
Mornn
The letter is safe, Eternam has been aware about what he forgot for a while, just that this doesn't make his memory come back
ArtTheGreat
I want to know the conditions for her having gotten the “I am the god now” and “beat you at your own game” rewards. The later I think might be for having killed the ‘god’ but I am really uncertain about the first one.
E
This feels so passive aggressive, I love it. Could've put NA but instead I imagine some Seraph typing "NO.... I'm not dealing with this!"
E
Bit confused about that. I thought the theme of the forbidden moon was that they played with fire (Deep magic) and got burned. Also recall learning that toy box can only be properly wielded by a Marked. I figured the admins were utilizing some aspect of the System to safely use the power, but even others can use it?
Emily Gurnavage
The time running short may be about the next phaegid invasion. Its been a hot minute since the timescales for that were brought up but isn't the next biiiiiig attack, like the one from a couple hundred years ago, due to happen again fairly soon-ish? I feel like that was a thing we learned a long while back.
OmniGlitcher
It's something Orator related probably. The inscription from Orator said: "For my marks, I leave here the first of four mirrors, a world free from the clutches of death: the [Paradise Toybox]". Unless Orator intended his marks to get the other Lords' divine essences, it's probably Deep items/objects/magic that aren't tied to the False Lord spells.
Cyclone001
Since Eternam's memory was not restored, I wonder if Sofia's letter she had Speed deliver ended up in the garbage unopened. If so, the avians at the restaurant can't catch a break.
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter!
OmniGlitcher
Honestly surprised that Jin predicted someone would debug break the heart. I wonder if they're special messages only intended for Jin himself as his own internal easter egg. That conversation in the middle with the mirrors is interesting. Some of Yvraveteth's marks maybe? Or Nex's former exploration party? Could be Eddarinians too, given there's a "cause", and Orator does seem tied to fate to some degree. The obvious assumption is that the group's Sonia is the Sonia Rotfallen with the historic records. Ancestry? I mean, it's got to be [VPPV] right?
Cyclone001
Any ideas who the Old dwarf and his group are? It seems to be a survivor from Nex's trip to the other moon. And is "another mirror" their way of saying another deep spell location?
Lazy Monster
Well according to the last trial humans have some fae ancestors, she also could get demon ancestry (she’s an apostle), divine ancestry (she’s a saint and avatar), maybe Lumian and Lord are on the list.
Vettu
TFTC The dwarf and his group are interesting. I'm guessing they're going on "expeditions" related to either the deep or some lost epoch ruins, possibly both The fact that they aren't familiar with Sofia means they likely aren't hostile (at least not yet), but I doubt they're on good terms with Erredis either, since it appears the dwarf "got past her" to the 2nd moon where he found the toybox at some point "our time runs short..." This will have no plot significance whatsoever, surely I would've liked to hear from the dragons this chapter. I thought Nex's reaction would be interesting, but if the human admin already accounted for someone killing the "god", then I suppose he must've known as well
Lazy Monster
TFTC. I kinda want it that when Sofia finally meets Nex she starts with: “Here’s a message I was asked to deliver (clears throat) HaHaha I told you so. -sincerely human admin.” The ancestry thing is interesting, all humans can pick fae according to her mana heart in the last trial, I assume she can also select demon, divine/godly, Lumian is probably in there. But the real question is Lord an option
Kennyevilmonkey
By the time she's done, this whole place is just going to be up in flames and chaos.
Ceasar Salas
Thanks for the chapter! So many things to unpack here, I look forward to learning about them as the time comes. Great opening to book 8, let’s see where this roller coaster goes!
Cinnamon Toast
Well nice to see Sophia and the admins aren’t the only ones with access to the toybox but I am concerned about people not related to the deep looking into those skills, I just have a feeling that never ends up going good
Emily Gurnavage
Chosen ancestry? So, like, between the skill having some sort of human specific effect or a lumian (is lumian right? I forget) specific effect? Or is it any ancestry maybe? Could pick orc or dragon or elf if she wants? Makes more sense if it's only the ones her body/soul has access to though. Which I think would just he those other 2. Maaaaybe Deep options could be rationalized. Should be interesting to see one of her passives tweaked to be racially specific in some manner.
BOT
a lot of the people had a better understanding of the Toybox than I thought there would be, interesting nonetheless. TFTC!
Joshua Nutter
Makes sense the admins gave point rewards for killing the god and queen, even if it wasn't expected to happen it still probably wasn't much effort to prevent a future error occurring that way
Tom Asciola
Time: NO
Quentin Cozzi
Thanks for the chapter!
