Karma Shopping (2)
The boundary of the Abyss, where chaos and emptiness intertwine.
“How strange.”
A brief commentary was uttered by a revolutionary who had been observing recent events.
The assassination of the princess to cause the division of the empire, the sinking of the Enamel Continent through the exclusion of the World Tree, the division of humanity due to the northern advance of the tribal alliance, and even the Undead King’s awakening, which was thought to be already successful.
The operations, which had all started simultaneously, were entangled in ways that seemed almost unnatural.
It felt as if someone was deliberately intervening, giving off an artificial and malicious vibe.
‘Well, I suppose it’s really been too easy up until now.’
The endeavor he pursued was an act that went against the will of the Holy God, the creator of this world.
He had never thought that things would go smoothly from the start.
For that reason, he had spent years thoroughly preparing in the darkness of the world…
It seemed that this level of preparation was still insufficient.
‘But at least it’s not all for naught.’
It stung deeply that all that long effort went to waste, but it was certainly better than previous plans that had failed before they even began.
He had at least managed to create chaos by causing massive casualties, thereby gnawing away at the world’s strength.
‘And then…’
What he gained from the recent series of events wasn’t just that.
“Hah! I had a feeling, but I can no longer deny it.”
It was a certain conviction.
In fact, he had been half-believing it for quite some time, but now he felt it was nearly certain.
The Undead King—the one who should be at the forefront, cloaking the world in death as the spearhead of the Abyss—was in some sort of secret relationship with the saint of the Holy Church Order, who was akin to a nemesis.
“Puhuh, what a ridiculous situation.”
While others in the continent couldn’t even imagine, he could be more objective about the situation since he knew the Undead King better than anyone else.
What he had thought to be impossible had started to happen.
‘Holy God… what the hell is going on?’
Using the Undead King had gone smoothly a thousand years ago, three hundred years ago, and there had been no issues.
Thanks to that, he had successfully excluded the dragons, the greatest obstacle to the grand plan.
But now, at the final stage, this situation arises.
‘The biggest variable as of late is… I suppose the most probable culprits are the outsiders?’
The revolutionary, who had closed his eyes and fallen into contemplation, quickly arrived at a conclusion, frowning.
The impurities that had crossed over from another dimension, possessing rapid growth and unique abilities.
Since discovering their existence, he had caught and used them in various ways, even conducting living experiments on them.
However, after realizing they were merely humans with a few special abilities and wouldn’t stick around for long, he had become complacent.
Perhaps he had underestimated their potential too much.
‘…But still, I can’t imagine a mere mortal overcoming the death of the Abyss and intervening. No, this is just a hypothesis, so I shouldn’t make hasty judgments.’
What he needed to think about now was how to respond in the future.
Regardless of everything, the Undead King, who had initially been the best course of action, was showing underwhelming results, leaving him with no choice but to adopt secondary measures…
The problem was that even the progress of this method was not satisfactory at all.
‘The progress of Madness saturation is slower than expected. How many giants have I sent to the surface, and we’re still only at this level?’
The revolutionary turned his gaze towards something crouching next to him and quickly frowned.
The secondary option’s essential requirement was that the concentration of madness spread in the world needed to exceed a certain threshold, but it seemed that reaching the target under current conditions would require quite a bit more time.
‘That barbarian… what on earth is he?’
All this was a consequence of that barbarian eating up the massive madness that should have been spreading through the world along with the saint.
Recently, had not even the madness that was scattered in the atmosphere begun swirling towards him, being sucked in?
It was another inexplicable phenomenon, much like the situation with the Undead King.
‘Still, the overall level of saturation is steadily increasing, but the time wasted because of that one guy is far too great. I’d like to deal with him first…’
Just then, he had been left alone, away from the Special Task Force, making it an appropriate time.
However, the problem was that most of the forces he had commanded had crumbled, leaving him without the capacity to deal with such a strong individual.
Sending a few giants who hadn’t fully awakened didn’t seem like it would solve anything, and he was in no position to move easily.
“…Tch, I see I’ll need to buy some more time.”
It was troublesome that the continent was stabilizing too quickly when the plan hadn’t even been fully executed yet.
While the chaos of monsters and the onslaught of the White Giant continued, it was still insufficient.
With the Undead King’s retreat from the south, the assaults of the immortal army, which had been occurring all over the continent, had also reduced.
‘Then…’
The revolutionary’s gaze finally turned toward one of the many fissures in the distorted space surrounding him.
This operation had begun at the same time as events occurring in other regions, yet it was quietly progressing without much disturbance due to its inherent secrecy.
To the Zephia Republic in the eastern Ion Continent.
*
“Um.”
In fact, there were some worries.
After all, he had used the Dragon Heart, and there was the chance that Harley would create something like the disguised race of “Dragons.”
Of course, there was nothing wrong with Dragons, but the gap between them and actual dragons was significant enough to warrant caution.
Moreover, the points invested were not negligible.
‘It was just a groundless worry, after all.’
Fortunately, the race created had undoubtedly been dragons.
‘But…’
And now, I was quietly observing the avatar that had finally been born with my arms crossed.
Looking slightly down.
The dragon avatar was also gazing back at me curiously.
I looked up a little.
‘I had a feeling it might happen.’
The clear difference in height was undeniable.
I stared into the glimmering golden creature in front of me, illuminated by fluorescent light—it was a dragon the size of a large dog, with a round, cute expression looking back at me sulkily.
‘Well, thinking back, it’s a relief that it hasn’t laid any eggs yet.’
While dragons had a lifespan longer than humans, typically soaring close to ten thousand years, elves and dwarves had lifespans of merely a few hundred years.
Since I was still in my twenties, even if the skill of “Customization” covered some ground, it would have been unreasonable to expect it to be born as an adult dragon right away.
Moreover, the dragon race inherently became stronger as they aged.
It was only natural that a newly born avatar would have limitations regarding power, leading to such results.
“Kahr-lung!”
Due to its mouth structure being unsuitable for human speech, it couldn’t speak yet, but this too could be resolved once it got accustomed to its new body using its mana.
I nodded in satisfaction as I checked the entity information of the new dragon avatar, Horus.
[Entity Information]
-Entity Name: Horus
-Race: Dragon (Hatchling)
-Common Traits: “Mind Hub,” “Persona,” “Xenoglossy”
-Entity Traits: “Gold Dragon,” “Supreme Ruler of All,” “Polymorph,” “Dragon Speech Magic”
-Special Note: Seong-hyun Han’s eleventh avatar. The Dragon Heart of a Gold Dragon hatchling was used as a medium. It is still just a hatchling, but its potential for growth is unparalleled.
‘Using such an expensive medium really pays off, doesn’t it?’
It had four initial skills.
The only other skill I had chosen was “Dragon Speech Magic,” while the remaining three were granted as basic abilities from the creation stage.
What was notable was that upon the avatar’s creation, all skills acquired from strengthening the stats, from “Super Recovery” to “Insight,” were integrated into the abilities of the “Gold Dragon.”
The “Gold Dragon” skill enhanced the innate attributes of the dragon, such as physical capabilities, detection abilities, and magic resistance even further.
“Supreme Ruler of All” was a skill that supported mana affinity, resistance, and various properties.
“Polymorph” was a transformation ability that allowed dragons to live as other races by assuming their forms.
‘This seems to be worth the investment. Moreover, I managed to acquire “Dragon Speech Magic,” something a hatchling wouldn’t even dream of under normal circumstances.’
“Dragon Speech” was a capability that manifested phenomena through language, one of the representative abilities of dragons alongside their breath.
However, both skills were typically not available to a hatchling; I had managed to acquire one through the function of “choosing one from three random skills.”
‘Lucky me. There’s no guarantee I could learn it from anyone later, and even if I could, it would have taken an immense amount of time.’
Now that I had obtained the skill, skimming through the knowledge required to activate it clearly showed me how.
Had I needed to thoroughly learn it purely through study, with every adjustment and complication factored in, it would have taken at least ten years.
The learning difficulty and structural complexity were simply on a level that couldn’t compare to the “Introduction to Magic” learned by Hesperon.
‘Although being a hatchling is a bit concerning, still, since I’ll primarily be functioning in human form, it shouldn’t matter too much for the time being. Horus also has “Polymorph.”’
It was time to confirm that.
My gaze turned towards Horus, who was moving around the living room and checking its bodily state.
“Krraang!”
At that moment, a cute roar escaped its mouth, and instantly—
Pah—
Its body, covered in golden scales, was enveloped in a soft glow, gradually beginning to transform.
Before long, he had turned into a human standing on two legs.
Moreover, his appearance was so fascinating that anyone would be captivated.
With glistening blond hair that shone with brilliance and golden eyes sparkling with moisture.
Smooth, white, and delicate skin along with chubby cheeks made him an extraordinarily handsome and cute young man.
…The only problem was that he looked barely five or six years old.
“Ang? What’s with this?”
With a chab! sound, Horus placed both hands on his cheeks and pinched them while furrowing his brows.
His display of dissatisfaction was evident; yet, even that just appeared endearingly cute in the eyes of his original self.
‘Ah, I see.’
“Polymorph” was a power not merely for altering appearance, but a capability that allowed one to become the very race they wished to imitate.
Theoretically, it was a means to change one’s appearance without regard to race, gender, or age…
‘But the skill level is insufficient.’
It had barely been less than an hour since the avatar had been created.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be possible for it to handle a skill just acquired with finesse.
Moreover, considering the potential encompassed within the ability, the time required might be longer than expected.
‘The individual skills possessed by the avatar cannot be enhanced by “Other Skill Enhancement.”’
Therefore, all that was necessary was time to master the skill.
However, having ample resources often meant that the requisite time could be hastened.
Without hesitation, I re-opened the Karma shop and purchased the “Growth Potion.”
Even though the experiments involving Hesperon and Howard had not concluded yet, points still remained at two million, making it well worth the investment.
‘I should let Horus have some too. It’s not just the skills; I might be able to help it grow faster.’
And immediately after acquiring the item, I benignly surveyed the menu, pondering how best to use the remaining points—when I discovered a certain change.
“Hmm?”
It was something so striking that it could not help but engrave itself into my memory.
『XXed XXX Fragment (29,700,000)』
The mysterious product that had been priced at thirty million points had undergone a change in its pricing.
