Transcendent Gene
Chapter 201: Reward [1]

Chapter 201: Reward [1]

There wasn’t much he could understand within the letter.

The speaker was intentionally vague, as if even the final reward room seemed protected against outsiders.

By the end of the letter, there were only a few things Gio could surmise.

The first was that VNIR was some sort of group.

’When the author refers to VNIR, they either say its name or say "We." They talk about how VNIR has been awaiting the successor and how it will aid him on his path to Infinity.’

Those were specifically quoted words.

’Did they know the successor was going to be male? If so, is this group still active somewhere?’

He even wondered if another member of this year’s freshman class at the First Institute was the destined successor instead.

’I’ll have to watch for reactions when we get back. Maybe someone knows something about it.’

There was no specific mention of VNIR’s goals other than their intention to "take their successor to Infinity." It didn’t tell him anything about VNIR because it assumed him to be someone already aware of it.

More importantly, the successor’s only job was to grow stronger and find the legacies of VNIR hidden around the Gehenna Complex. At least in this specific legacy, there wasn’t even a single mention of something important.

[You may only understand a little now, but you need not worry. With time, everything will become clear to you. Seize your reward and become the hero you were born to be.]

The letter ended without a signature. The only indication of the author as an individual was the emotion contained in those final few words.

The word "Hero" was particularly dark, splotched in ink as the author struggled through the word.

’Hmm...’

Gio looked through the remaining papers on the desk.

A lot of them were broken copies of the same note. Some of them were filled with emotion as the author begged the successor to reach the peak and save them. Some were cold and cruel, as if they were written by a robot.

The various iterations it took to reach this one small note that never reached its original destination were strewn about, mixing in with papers filled with chicken scratch and calculations on things Gio couldn’t understand.

’There are fewer clues on the desk than I thought there would be.’

Gio opened its cabinets and sifted through them, finding nothing more than the same ordinary items anyone would keep in their desk.

It was far too ordinary to be present at the end of this trial, especially when it was hidden behind such an ornate entrance mechanism.

’There has to be something else...’

Gio wasn’t stupid. The immediate conclusions that came to his head when he entered this space were not good.

[VNIR].

Wasn’t it a familiar naming scheme?

’I don’t know.’

Gio shook his head as he sorted through the files in the lowest cabinet, looking for anything that contained more than just scribbled numbers and charts.

’If this is related to VNGRD somehow, I need to know how. We knew nothing about them. We were never able to find out anything about them. This would be my first real clue about their activities.’

VNGRD was incredibly mysterious.

It couldn’t be considered a djinn group because it did not target humanity purely for the sake of evil. VNGRD had a clear goal that sometimes even led them on a path of benevolence. However, that same goal led them to massacre people like pigs.

’We only know some of the projects they were working on, but we don’t know why. We don’t know how they were able to make progress. In certain aspects, we don’t even know how they started.’

As far as humans went, VNGRD was Gio’s greatest enemy.

He couldn’t allow them to be one of the only unknowns in his life.

Thud!

He slammed the cabinet door shut after once again finding nothing.

’I’m getting agitated.’

It was a rare emotion, but when it came to VNGRD, nothing could stop him from feeling it. Even his own Weakness was stumped by the heights of his emotions.

His mother was one of them, after all. He would never forget the day she forced her way into his life and took away everything he loved.

Stepping away from the desk, Gio scanned the entire room for anything else of note.

Nothing showed itself to him obviously.

’But if they know about the Rune of Change...’

His eyes turned black, and his thoughts were confirmed.

’If VNGRD had access to something like the power of Change, the world would have been turned into a caricature of itself before anyone realized it. If VNIR is studying it...are they really a different thing?’

It was too early to come to any sort of conclusion. For now, there was a reward awaiting him.

Gio walked up to the [VNIR] plaque on the back wall and grabbed it from both sides. It lifted off of the wall easily like it was a hung painting.

Behind it was a small cubby, and within that cubby was another cube similar to the one Gio touched to enter this place. Its light didn’t shine so brightly that it hurt his eyes. It was a bright and sparkling light, however, it seemed dull when Gio looked into it.

Like the heart of a star, or perhaps like a star itself contained within a cube, it illuminated the cubby in a stellar glow.

’I’m supposed to have learned my lesson about touching things like this...’

But at the end of the day, wasn’t it a good idea to touch the first cube?

The reward mentioned in the letters on the desk was referred to as "The Prism."

’If there’s anything here that deserves a name like that, it’s this thing.’

With near-certainty that it was a reward meant for him to take, Gio reached out and grabbed it.

He still didn’t know what it was or how he was meant to use it, but he trusted his gut and grabbed it anyway.

The cube vibrated.

The stellar hue within grew, and...

’Dammit.’

Whoooosh!

...Gio was swallowed whole by a flurry of starlight.

***

Gio and Neriah entered the legacy together; however, from the start, they believed that it was meant for only one person.

The trials were laid out to be completed alone, and there were even times when having another person present was a burden.

When Gio got transported away, Neriah was left frowning to herself, wondering what to do.

She didn’t have any way to define what happened. All she knew was that she was alone now, and there was a yellow cube on the ground where her companion once stood.

’This is not good.’

She didn’t think Gio was dead. She trusted the trial’s mechanisms.

’Until now, anything lethal has been prefaced by a warning.’

Whether that warning was in the form of a direct message written on a sign or ominous foreshadowing, it was always present.

As long as this place was a legacy site, there was no reason to create a mechanism that would incinerate a possible successor without any kind of test.

She looked at the cube with wary eyes. Her mind was telling her to leave it alone and see if anything changed outside the griffin’s body, however...

’I owe a debt.’

She owed a debt, and she was owed a battle. She couldn’t allow her rival to get stuck alone in this legacy site before she was ever able to attempt to surpass him.

Regardless of how terrible of an idea it was, and regardless of the fact that she was walking into the unknown with no preparation whatsoever, Neriah reached down and grabbed the cube.

They’d entered this legacy together.

She’d make sure they left the same way.

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