Chapter 65

♠ Main Quest

◈ Act I, <Imperial Capital Fracture>

-Chapter 2, <Night of the Hunt>

▶ Due to external interference, the difficulty has skyrocketed.

▶ The event content has been changed from the original “Large-Scale Raid” to “Subjugation of a Top-Tier Beast”!

▶ Due to the difficulty change, the quest rewards will be enhanced upon completion!

Just looking at the quest window, it was clear—there was no way they were supposed to be dealing with a monster like this right now.

A beast that could brush off attacks from Noel and Katya as if they were nothing—there weren’t many of those across the entire world.

‘……Top-tier beasts normally never leave the Void Zone.’

Even within the Void Zone, an area optimized for the law of the jungle, top-tier beasts sat at the very peak of the food chain. Typically, they roamed inside in search of prey, paying no attention to the outside world.

And the reason was simple. Beasts existed for destruction and consumption, and the Void Zone's inner territory was the perfect nest to fulfill those urges.

For a beast like that to suddenly appear outside meant only one thing—someone had definitely messed with it before it crushed the Puppeteer, Rad.

To be more specific—

This “Berserk” status afflicting the creature known as Soul Reaver was likely that very tampering.

It had been lured out of its natural habitat by reducing its cognitive functions to that of a near-mindless beast.

So, considering all that—

This beast was currently in a state where its greatest strength—rational thinking—was out of play, and Aiden himself held two Skill Copy Tickets from the one who had messed with it to begin with.

That meant there had to be a way out. The monster had a clear weakness, and they had the means to exploit it.

For example—

While it might have looked like they were simply running away, they had at least managed to slam every stick they had brought beforehand into the ground in passing, more or less.

◆ Dark Energy: Hydraulics

Analyzes the flow of energy within a target that possesses dark energy. Once the flow is understood, ‘Divine Order’ can be used on the target.

★ This skill was copied using ‘Mimicry’. It is weaker than the original!

◆ Dark Energy: Divine Order

Invades the mind of a fully analyzed target and implants a “command.” The target influenced by Divine Order will absolutely obey the command until another being nullifies it.

★ This skill was copied using ‘Mimicry’. It is weaker than the original!

As the stream of system messages flashed quickly past the corner of his eye, Aiden let out a soft laugh and placed his hand on Soul Reaver’s head.

Maybe it was because dark energy—the nature of this power—was derived from sealed gods, but the abilities it produced were eerie and grim in every way. And this one, in particular, showcased that nature quite vividly.

Still, just this once—

Aiden found himself grateful for such power.

After all, abilities like these couldn’t easily be measured in strict numerical terms when it came to power. Even if what he copied was weaker than the original, it wasn’t something he could really feel as a drawback.

More importantly—

-System Message

▶ Activating ‘Skill: Dark Energy – Hydraulics’.

▶ Analyzing the flow of dark energy within the target!

▶ Analysis complete.

A black pulse-like flow revealed itself within Soul Reaver’s body. Aiden, identifying the point where the energy was most densely concentrated, reached out.

-System Message

▶ Activating ‘Skill: Dark Energy – Divine Order’.

▶ A duplicate skill is already active within the target. Activation failed—

Before that message could even fully appear,

Aiden pulled out the perfect ability for this situation from his arsenal.

▶ ‘Supernatural Power: The Purifier’ deletes the existing ‘Skill: Divine Order’ implanted in the target.

Did that bastard Rad even realize?

All those tricks he had pulled to try and trap Aiden—

Had now become a banquet of riches, generously laid out for him on a silver platter.

Because to Aiden right now, those skills—

—were worth more than gold.

-System Message

▶ Target’s ‘Berserk’ status has been lifted.

▶ ‘Skill: Dark Energy – Divine Order’ has successfully activated.

▶ The target now obeys your commands!

That’s right.

As those words appeared before him, a pure, unblemished smile spread across Aiden’s face.