Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 540: Inventor

Chapter 540: Inventor

Welcome.

Ulysses felt an intense buzzing assault his mind upon hearing the divinely powered word.

It almost felt like he was receiving constant life-threatening damage, yet, for some bizarre reason, he was able to survive the process.

His expression contorted as he struggled to maintain his consciousness.

Indeed, you are worthy of the task ahead. A fine specimen.

"Ah!" Ulysses screamed out loud, unable to keep up the struggle as he dropped to his knees, while blood trailed out of his seven orifices.

You will adjust.

Ulysses gasped in a bid to catch his breath, only managing to recover after several seconds of anguish.

Once he had stopped screaming, he asked in a hoarse tone. "... Who are you?"

You are unworthy to hear my name. Ask again when you prove yourself worthy.

Realizing that the buzzing was no longer as damaging as the first time he heard it, Ulysses asked further questions. "Why did you bring me here?... What do you want from me?"

You have already completed the first step, marking yourself as a Mystic of the Abyss Wheel.

"What?... I didn’t. I couldn’t have!" Ulysses argued, having recovered more of his strength at an astonishing pace allowing him to get back on his feet.

Even more shocking was the fact that the buzzing damage was almost negligible at this point, almost like his body was adapting to the damage.

The moment you made a deal with an Illogicality, you marked yourself an eligible candidate. Indeed, you are worthy to walk this scorned path.

"... I don’t want to," Ulysses muttered weakly even as he could tell that he had no choice.

You either accept... or die.

Ulysses dropped to his knees, allowing his head to hang low as he struggled to come to terms with his current situation.

Then there was a rumbling followed by the emergence of an arched gate made from pus-covered tentacles with a tree of ten branches visible at its center.

Soon after, the one-eyed Guardian of the Abyss Wheel remarked.

Give up your soul and embrace the Abyss.

A gut-wrenching scream escaped Ulysses’ lips as he felt his soul being forcibly molded into a different form.

***

"It’s been a while." Adam calmly remarked as he sat across from Alex, looking over a sparkling blue lake that extended toward the horizon.

Alex nodded. "It has. What’s with the change in scenery?"

"Recent events gave me the privilege to make some adjustments so I decided to change the scenery. What do you think?"

"... It’s calming," Alex admitted, finding his mind to be at peace.

Adam smiled. "You were quite the hero, don’t you agree?... Managing to repel an Illogicality as you did is quite the notable feat."

"Illogicality?" Alex raised a brow.

"What you humans refer to as Otherworldly."

"Why do you call it that?" Alex inquired, rather curious at the peculiar name.

Adam replied. "You’ll know in time, I reckon, so no need to ruin the surprise."

"Hmm, fine then." Alex didn’t push it as he asked a different question. "So you were watching?"

"Indeed, recent events have been quite... intriguing. It was the first time I saw the aether weakened to such an extent."

"I’m guessing that’s a sign for worse things to come."

Adam chuckled before revealing a wry smile. "Unfortunately so."

Alex nodded, having already expected such an answer.

Silence persisted for a bit longer as Alex and Adam gazed at the sparkling sea before the latter broke the ice. "So tell me, why are you here?"

"I would like to know if it’s possible to switch."

"Switch?" Adam raised a brow.

Alex nodded. "I overestimated myself and ended up making a terrible mistake. I wish to fix that."

"How so?"

"I would like to take the trial for Inventor instead of Scholar."

"You plan to invent something?" Adam raised a brow. "That takes decades of work. Are you sure you can wait that long?"

"It won’t; I already have an idea, and I plan to make use of it. At the latest, I should be done in a week or two."

Adam pursed his lips. "I see. Mind telling me what your idea is?"

"... Emily had a dream. I wish to complete it for her." Alex calmly replied, taking a moment to look down at his palm as he spoke.

"Ah, I see," Adam remarked before adding. "You are quite the sentimental one, aren’t you?"

"She didn’t deserve to die. I plan to immortalize her in some way, and it works for me, so... I would like to switch if possible."

Adam nodded. "Well, considering you managed to recover the keys to WatchGuard, Hero, and Shepherd rather neatly, it’s fine if you want to switch, but you have to understand that it would take some time before the trial would be completed up to acceptable standards unless you wish for an unstable foundation once again."

"If I hadn’t rushed the last time, would I have regressed?"

"... Not as much," Adam admitted.

Alex let out a sigh. "Then I’m willing to wait."

"Don’t worry, if you do things well, you won’t have to wait for too long."

"Sure."

"So would you like to start now?"

"If possible," Alex replied.

Adam nodded as he got to his feet. "Sure."

Alex arose as well and followed closely behind.

"The trial is simple." Adam began. "Invent a tool that hasn’t been invented yet, one that can allow human society to grow."

"I plan to improve an already existing device, does that work?"

Adam furrowed his brows as he turned to glance at Alex. "Are you serious?"

"Indeed. The current steam engine only works as a result of divine intervention. I plan to make one that does not require that."

"That... is quite ambitious. In truth, I am unhappy that human civilization owes its current growth to a false god. Fine then, make this adjustment and I would be happy to let you pass the trial."

Alex let out a relieved sigh. "Will do."

"Well then, I guess we will be parting ways here," Adam remarked.

"Thank you," Alex replied just as a gust of wind swept by him, returning him from whence he came.

Adam let out a sigh as he glanced toward the sky. "Time is running out and the others have begun to make their moves. You must make haste, Alexander Regulus."