An EX-rank. This wasn’t Zyrus’s first time seeing one, as all of his main skills were of the same rank before his regression.

After F to A ranks, there were S, SS, SSS, and finally EX.

It was the rank that signified that one had reached the peak of the sanctuary. With a surge of anticipation and anxiety, Zyrus clicked on the first title he had earned. Although he knew what the EX-ranked skills were capable of, it was his first time getting an achievement of that rank.

[The Architect of Abyss: Your mana attribute changes from Neutral to Abyss. You can now imbue the power of abyss into all of your physical and magical attacks.]

‘Abyss huh...’

Zyrus thought over his past actions with confusion as he wasn’t sure why he got the power of abyss. Although the power was strong, it wasn’t what he was looking for.

“Need my help?”

“I’m not even surprised at this point,” Zyrus stared at the smug-faced Aurora. Franken, the players, and even the yet-to-hatch specter scorpions were nowhere in sight.

It was obvious as to who had teleported them out of the pyramid.

“Tch…Not even a thanks.”

“Thank you for everything you have done so far,” Zyrus spoke in a sincere tone as he looked at his one and only friend who knew about both of his lives.

“A-ahem, I was just joking.”

“It’s rare to see you getting embarrassed.”

“Shut up!”

After bantering for a bit they finally arrived at the main topic. Aurora had also brought some good quality tea along; one sip was enough to clear up one’s spirit.

“This is the last time I’ll be able to talk with you in the first ring, so listen carefully.”

Zyrus nodded with a serious look and gestured her to continue. He knew how valuable this information was as it could save him a lot of time in finding the right path.

“The reason you got the powers of abyss is mostly because of your race. You should have obtained the powers even before this achievement, but we intentionally held them back.”

“What? You can do that? And why?” Zyrus’s eyes widened after hearing her reply. He knew that the administrators had a lot of power within the sanctuary, but it was the first time he was hearing about them directly interfering with a player’s status.

“We can’t meddle with the player’s affairs, but yours is a special case. As for the ‘Why’, let me ask you this: Why are the Eternals able to use the powers of origin despite being under the influence of the sanctuary? Especially when you, who was instinctively using the same power, were deemed a threat by the system?”

Zyrus felt like a hammer had struck on his head. He gulped down the whole cup of tea as thousands of thoughts ran through his head. All this time he had never considered the reason behind his death from this perspective. He had believed that the Eternals were just afraid of his growing strength. And they, along with the ‘system,’ didn’t want him to leave the sanctuary.

Maybe those reasons were correct, but was that all?

“Are you really an arcanist? Your brain only works when it comes to creating spells to win a battle.”

“C’mon, give me a break. Every time I see you, you give me the information that fucks my worldview over. Do you seriously expect me to think properly in this case?”

“Well... fair enough. It’s because of your achievement. You know how the levels, skills, and achievements work, right?”

Zyrus nodded in understanding as he heard her reply. Levels increased one’s state of existence and gave them stats, while skills determined how one used those stats.

Achievements, on the other hand, were much more complex. Aside from giving new skills, SP, and EP, their main function was to prove yourself against the sanctuary.

Certain classes, ranks, regions, equipment, and a lot of leadership and authority-related skills were reliant upon one’s achievement.

For example, if a player didn’t have the necessary achievement, then they wouldn’t be able to unlock some quests and travel to certain areas. In the sanctuary where power was gained by war and conquest, this condition was a severe handicap.

“Do you get it now? It’s like the difference between an adult holding a sword and a kid holding a sword. No one would bother the former as long as they followed the guidelines, but what of the latter? The kid would harm not only himself but all of those around him as well.”

“I see... I don’t understand all of it, but I suppose I’m in the right direction.”

“That’s enough for now. You didn’t ask anything about instinctively using the powers of void in your previous life, so I’ll assume that now you know the basics.”

“Indeed.”

“Good. Here, take this.” Aurora hovered above and threw an orb of blue energy toward Zyrus.

Although he didn’t know what it was, he was all too familiar with the orb's aura.

It was his mana. His mana when he was the void monarch.

“Use the abyssal magic and get familiar with the laws of void. Although they might seem different, they have more in common than you’d think. Remember this, only use a fraction of your source of origin when you are in the sanctuary. In case of emergency you can go all out, but it’d be better if you don’t take that risk,” Aurora pointed at the orb with solemn eyes.

From the urgency in her voice, it was apparent that her time here was running out.

“How do I use it?” Zyrus asked the most important question, but in the next second, it was rendered useless.

As if it had sensed Zyrus’s desire, the cube floated in front of the orb of energy. Zyrus glanced at the fading Aurora one last time and pushed the orb towards the cube without hesitation.

An intense red glow erupted from the cube, just like on the first day of the tutorial. Thousands of mirror-like fragments were being created and destroyed simultaneously.

This power reminded him of the black robed man who was responsible for his regression. He was wary of the man’s intentions but he knew that he meant no harm. The cube wasn’t like the system. It was a tool, just like a sword. The person in control was the one using it, not the one who had created it.

The more he learned about the sanctuary and the system, the more questions he had. With every new encounter he realized just how ignorant he was in his past life. He had disdained those who treated this world like a game, but from the looks of it, he wasn’t much different compared to them.

Despite all of that though, one thing was certain. He was getting stronger with every new encounter, and slowly but surely, he would once again stand at the peak of the sanctuary.

‘And this time, I don’t plan to lose against anyone or anything.’

Zyrus clenched his fists in determination and looked at the screen in front of him.

[You have gained the Authority: 13 Curses of Void]

It was just a single sentence, but it meant the world to him.

After struggling for more than a thousand years he had finally found a path, a path that would give him the power that solely belonged to him. The cube didn’t give him any new skills or stats. It just showed him what he already had. It was akin to a mirror that allowed him to examine himself.

If before he was fumbling in the darkness to find a correct path, then this was a torch that would guide him on the way.

He had a clear destination in mind, and how to reach there was completely up to him. Of course, the cube had another use besides this. It would allow him to use the power of origin while hiding from the eyes and ears of the Eternals.

[Authority: 13 Curses of Void]

He who rules the 13 Curses shall wield the power that eclipses Immortality.

Curses created: 2/13

Curse of Collapse: Spatial Stab

Curse of Nothingness: Shackles of Nihility

Zyrus walked in circles as he thought over his future plans. Although he wanted to join with the rest of his troops, he had more pressing matters to attend to. Silver crown and the final phase of the crown hunt had to wait as his first priority lay elsewhere.

Thanks to the rapid exp gain in this event he was able to go back on earth sooner than he had predicted. It was undoubtedly a great thing, but still, there was an underlying issue he had to fix before that.

Zyrus held the cube in his palm and opened the skill tree. Before anything else he had to assess his current strength as well as the updates in the void tree.

He pressed his claw against the reverse tree hologram, and a familiar law tree appeared before him. Unlike before, there was an additional region that had become visible.

 

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