Volume 2 chapter 28
Ironwood Keep.
Charlo woke slowly.
"Ugh... my head hurts... hiss!"
He clutched his forehead, his mind still groggy, like it was filled with paste.
"Right!" He suddenly remembered. He still needed to wake up Clyris!
The thought jolted him awake. He leaped out of bed with a start.
"Hm? My body? How am I back?" Charlo moved his limbs, feeling the familiar weight of reality. He was confused.
"Mr. Phyx, Ms. Omis, did I succeed?" Charlo murmured into the air.
"Indeed! You did well, young man! Clyris has awakened and expelled the Demon Lord of the Old Days," Phyx's voice echoed in his ear.
"Is that so... that's good!" Charlo sighed in relief, a gratified smile spreading across his face.
"Young man... regarding Clyris... what are your thoughts?" Phyx asked hesitantly.
"My thoughts on what?" Charlo was puzzled.
"That... she was once a man. Do you not mind?" Phyx sighed as he asked.
"Oh, that..." Charlo scratched his head. "To be honest, it's a bit bizarre. But whether in the past or the present, she has always been a good person. So, I won't discriminate against her! besides, does my opinion really matter? As long as she can accept herself, what does it matter what others think?"
After seeing Clyris's past, Charlo truly understood her. He could view her normally, though he felt a bit of sympathy. A grown man turned into a woman? He didn't dare imagine what he would do if that happened to him.
"This..." Phyx paused, then spoke somewhat awkwardly. "As long as you don't mind. I won't disturb you further. I'm leaving now... By the way, we left you a gift. Remember to use it."
With that, He vanished hurriedly, as if he had urgent business elsewhere.
"What gift?"
Charlo paused, patting his body but finding nothing new.
"Hey! What did you leave me?" he called out, but Phyx was already gone.
"Honestly... what's with the mystery..."
Charlo muttered, then froze.
As he habitually checked his System Interface, he found it had changed! Bold letters now displayed across the screen:
"The Stellaris Fourth Scourge System is at your service!"
"Stellaris? Fourth Scourge?" This was the first time Charlo had seen the System's full name. He clicked open the panel.
A dense directory of data unfolded before his eyes.
From primitive stone tools to cold steel, then to gunpowder weapons.
From stone knapping to metallurgy, then to molecular synthesis.
A complete technology tree spanning from the Paleolithic Era to the late 20th century was clearly listed. And further down lay an even more massive, endless web of future tech.
"Wait, I only unlocked up to the early 20th century before! How did it jump to the late 20th century?"
Charlo was confused. Then, he noticed a notification on the side.
"Sub-System Distribution: 1/3"
"What is this?" He clicked it.
"Sub-System 01 Distributed. Host: Clyris. Status: Activated."
"Holy crap?!"
Charlo was dumbfounded. What the hell? There are Sub-Systems? And what does 'Activated' mean?
He looked at the top of the interface. Under "Stellaris Fourth Scourge System," it read: "Main Host: Charlo. Status: Inactive."
"Are there conditions for activation? Why is Clyris's Sub-System active, but my Main System isn't?" Charlo wondered.
He scrolled down to the explanatory notes.
"This System is designed to provide assistance and reference for the development of human civilizations across different universes. Each System is allocated three Sub-Systems to assist the Main System. Sub-Systems can be granted to individuals with a Loyalty Rating of 80 or higher. Sub-System Hosts can also earn Research Points to unlock Main System technologies. Additionally, 30% of Research Points earned by Sub-Systems are remitted to the Main System."
"I see!" Charlo realized. The war between the Demon Race and the Alliance involved millions of troops. The Research Points generated from such a conflict must be astronomical.
Previously, a few battles involving ten thousand men had pushed him to the early 1900s. It was no surprise that total war pushed the tech tree to the late 1900s.
"But how do I activate the System?" Charlo pondered for a while but came up with nothing. It can't be based on supernatural rank, right? This is a sci-fi system!
"Forget it. If I can't figure it out, I won't worry about it!"
Charlo closed the panel. Out of sight, out of mind.
Shifting his focus away from the System, he noticed a golden sphere floating within his soul.
"This... when did this get in here?"
He frowned, probing it with his spiritual sense.
He discovered that the golden sphere was slowly releasing pure, gentle spiritual energy, gradually strengthening his soul.
"Could this be... the gift Phyx mentioned?!" Recalling Phyx's parting words, Charlo understood.
"Just this? Just helping me strengthen my soul? I mean, it's faster than training manually, but couldn't you give me something more practical?" Charlo sighed.
"Wait! If that's the case... Can't I attempt to break through to the Seventh Rank right now?"
Charlo suddenly realized the sphere's greatest utility. The most critical factor for advancing to a Grand Knight (Seventh Rank) was a sufficiently strong soul. A strong soul provided better traction when exposed to natural mana and bought more time to sense elements and attempt resonance.
In the ascension process, failure meant the soul would be scoured by chaotic mana. The best case was spiritual damage requiring decades of recovery; the worst case was soul dissipation and death.
But with this Spirit Sphere, he had nothing to fear! A preliminary scan showed the energy within was immense—at least ten times his own capacity. And as a transmigrator, his spiritual power was already at the peak of his tier!
Moreover, the power was incredibly pure, free of any residual will. He could absorb it directly without issue.
I can start the ascension immediately!
Charlo grabbed the phone.
"Lawrence!"
"Young Master, what is it?"
"Prepare a secret chamber for me immediately. I am going to ascend!"
"What?! Yes, Sir!"
___________________________
The City of Darkness.
The black-haired, red-eyed Demon Lord looked down from high altitude.
Below lay a colossal city tightly enclosed by three concentric walls, each stretching for dozens of kilometers and inscribed with three Saint-level Defensive Arrays.
This was the only Megacity surviving from the Dark Era. Its defensive rating was incomparable to the fortresses built later.
Regrettably, even this city couldn't stop eight Saints. But fortunately, they had all been grievously wounded by Phyllis. The greatest threat to the Demon Race was temporarily neutralized.
"I should thank her. If not for her, the Demon God wouldn't have supported us at such cost, and those eight Saints wouldn't be crippled."
Clyris smiled lightly and descended toward her city.
The Deep Abyss.
This was a place visited only by the Glorious Hero since the time of the Primordial Hero.
But the Abyss was not just a hole. It encompassed over a hundred thousand square kilometers of land.
It was a true wasteland. Not a speck of life existed. It was as if the Life Element itself had been murdered here.
In the center lay a bottomless pit with a diameter of ten kilometers. This was the Abyss proper.
At the bottom of the pit lay a Spacetime Tunnel. Countless demons surged out of it like a tide.
On the Rodinia side, the demons were mostly Mid-to-High Rank, with the occasional Ninth-Ranker appearing. Their forms were similar to the Nine Great Tribes on the continent.
But on the other side of the tunnel...
There were horrors. Hideous, indescribable abominations radiating power that could swallow worlds.
They were Saint-Rank Demons. The Commanders. The True Archdemons.
But they were all blocked by a single sword.
A broken sword, stained with blood, was stabbed into the floor of the tunnel. The bright red blood on the blade had not dried; it flowed slowly, eternally.
The Ninth-Rank demons passing by trembled in fear, carefully skirting around it. Even then, unlucky ones occasionally disturbed the sword's aura and were cut down instantly.
For the Saint-Rank demons, their power was too great. Their mere approach would trigger the sword. The Sword Intent was something even they could not withstand. Thus, the true main force of the Demon Race was barred from the world of Rodinia.
However, they finally saw hope.
Above the tunnel on the Rodinia side, a massive vortex of energy swept through the cavern.
Within the vortex, the will of Phyllis slumbered, slowly recovering...
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