Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 131: Smoke Pillar
[Longing]
[Rank: Tier IV Evolved Relic]
[Function 1: Accuracy of 90% for all attacks]
[Function 2: Can be imbued with user’s element]
[Function 3: Release phantom arrows half the power of the original]
[Function 4: Replenishes user’s essence a quarter the usual regeneration speed]
[Memory: A hunter never wavers. An archer never dies—because their place is away from danger. An archer’s reach... is the widest]
Kaiser re-read the functions, blinking in amazement. Every one of its functions felt like a blessing. The one that surprised him the most was the last function.
’It’s like having an extra source of power. As long as I’m holding the bow, I can almost never run out of essence.’
He calmed his breathing, then summoned the relic into his hand. A bright light flashed, and it appeared without delay.
Almost five feet long, the bow was crafted intricately from golden metal. It was curved in the right places, radiating a divine aura.
"This."
Kaiser tightened his grip on it. He slowly rose from where he sat, then climbed onto the nearest sand dune. From there, he had a better view of the desert.
In order to test the ability of the relic, he needed to find a suitable target. To expand his vision, he activated the Eyes of Sequence. Like a falcon, he zoomed in on a heavily furred mammoth-like creature over a kilometer away.
’Target locked.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
A slight smile appeared on his lips as he raised the bow. Although no arrow was natively present, the instant he drew the string, an arrow manifested.
It was the same color as the bow, carrying a divine golden glow. Kaiser took a deep breath, formed a mass of darkness and infused it into the arrow.
The projectile turned black immediately, losing its divine look and becoming dark and sinister.
Kaiser’s arm pulled the string taut, then he released it.
Weng~
The string released a melodious sound after it was freed, vibrating slightly. The arrow traveled fast. It shot through the air, covering over a kilometer in a few seconds.
It struck the unsuspecting creature, sinking into its flesh without any resistance. The next moment, the creature burst apart, splashing gore and blood onto the hot sand.
[You have slain an Awakened Fiend, Titan Mammoth]
Kaiser sucked in a cold breath, amazed by the bow’s reach and power. It was the second Evolved relic in his inventory, and he could confidently say it was the best.
With that, he dismissed the relic, allowing it to return to his crystal core.
"This surely gives a lot of reassura—"
["Berserke## ?broken? Tot/\$ shrapnel..."]
The Nullweave Carapace’s whisper cut him off, making his head ring painfully. He stumbled slightly, holding his head as he steadied himself.
’Goodness gracious... this is really going to be a hassle.’
Sighing in resignation, he strapped the two Deathstalkers to his waist, then tied a black scarf around the lower half of his face.
He turned east, staring at a plume of black smoke rising into the sky.
’How many days would it take?’
He didn’t know, but he had a clear target for his journey. Without further delay, he began making his way towards the pillar of smoke in the distance.
The journey was insanely perilous, almost like the days of his simulation on the Worship Island—only with greater risk. Despite his efforts to conceal his presence while traveling, he was still forced into combat by some unnaturally perceptive creatures.
The armor’s function of concealment only worked effectively against Awakened Beasts, Monsters, and a few Fiends. In the end, Kaiser had to kill over twenty creatures before finally arriving at the source of the smoke.
The journey took him four days, and when he finally arrived, it was the dawn of the fifth day.
Leaning on a withered tree stump, Kaiser sighed. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his armor was riddled with cuts. He had barely slept during those four days since he constantly had to change location. The terrifying creatures that roamed the night were deadly, and he couldn’t risk getting maimed or swallowed again.
As he remained still, leaning against the tree, he heard a rustling sound above him. He looked up, spotting a small brown snake slowly slithering towards him.
As soon as his gaze landed on it, it froze and retreated hurriedly. Perhaps it was because of the look in his eyes, the creature was unnerved and fled.
Kaiser turned his attention away from it, gently rubbing the phalanx pendant on the Bone Whistle.
In the recent days, this had become his favourite relic. Without it, he honestly couldn’t tell how much his mental state would have deteriorated. The Nullweave Carapace had been insidious, always assaulting him with its broken whispers full of incomprehensible words.
’Perhaps it might really kill me.’
As much as he now harbored resentment towards the armor, he couldn’t deny its usefulness. The functions were impressive, and it was one of the things that allowed him to survive this long on this dangerous terrain.
Pushing himself off the weak tree, he looked at the source of the thick black smoke, once again left breathless by the wonders of the Nirad Realm.
"This... is it?"
It was an altar made of granite. The large silver stones were piled against each other, reaching the height of a regular building. On the top of this altar was the remnant of a burnt offering.
The remnants continued to exude smoke which billowed into the sky like a pillar. It was said that the smoke had existed since over a century when humans located the ruins here. And here it was, still existing like time had no effect on it.
’Although I’m curious about what the offering was... I don’t have time to loiter around.’
His gaze shifted to the small opening right at the bottom of the altar, leading deep underground. This was the exact place someone rumored to be his father was last seen.
’I... am risking everything on a single rumor.’
He walked forward, his steps slow but determined. He doubted he could still find that man, but even a little sign that he had been here would be enough. It would be enough to satiate his deep longing for that figure.
With his blue eyes shining ominously, he stepped through the opening into the passageway.
