Night.
On the second floor of the small building, in the bedroom.
A mysterious radiance enveloped the entire room.
On the silk-covered bed, several plates lay scattered.
Golden and jade-colored glows intertwined over the plates.
Most of the contents were materials Taro had obtained from abyssal demons.
Three items stood out:
● A thick, pitch-black mist, formless and intangible.
● A turquoise orb, around which white currents swirled.
● A diamond-shaped crystal, faint images flickering within it.
"Sure enough, trying to forge something beyond an artifact… these alone won't cut it."
Holding a heavy scale in his hand, Taro sighed.
Crafting equipment?
Any high-level player could do that.
Every top-tier expert was a master smith in their own right.
Aside from the exclusive set tied to his World Champion class, every piece of gear Taro had was something he painstakingly crafted.
The best isn't necessarily the most suitable.
But the most suitable is always the best.
Taro pursued both—and achieved both—in the game.
He had tried making every kind of equipment and item.
The only exception was world-class gear, which couldn't be crafted.
These demon materials? They were fine for forging artifacts.
But to surpass artifact level? Impossible.
"Looks like when I meet Old Ruoduo tomorrow, I'll need to 'borrow' a bit more from him. Regular demons aren't good enough… but the Dragon King should do, right?"
If even that wasn't enough, then there was probably no hope.
Unless he could pluck wool from the Four Shadows—though who even knew if they had real bodies?
"Forget it. I'll shelve equipment crafting for now. Time to study something else."
He set aside the thought of forging and reached for the black mist.
This was Karmic Debt.
Zhongli had personally severed and sealed it away with adeptal arts.
It was the very same karmic filth extracted during Guizhong's resurrection—half of it, anyway.
The other half, Zhongli had forcibly burned away, his face turning pale from the effort.
That alone showed how difficult this stuff was to handle.
The essence of karmic debt? Taro didn't need to fully understand it yet.
He only needed to test if he could counter it, cleanse it, remove it.
"Negative essence that corrodes life and soul… let's see."
Dispel. Purify. Cleanse. Illuminate with holy light.
He started from first-tier cleric magic, escalating spell after spell.
When he reached Eighth-Tier Magic, the reaction was finally dramatic.
"Eighth tier already works? Easier than I thought…"
Rubbing his chin, Taro spread his fingers.
"Then full eradication should only need ninth or tenth tier."
[High-Tier Skill: Wings of Light]
Illusory white wings unfolded, wrapping the karmic debt within them.
A blinding radiance flared.
When it faded, the sealed karmic debt had vanished completely.
"Not bad…"
Satisfied, Taro nodded.
That little wisp alone had accounted for more than three-fifths of Guizhong's karmic debt.
At this rate, completely clearing hers would only take about two castings.
"Almost too simple."
Well—for him, anyway.
His main classes were both priest-types.
And what better specialty for purification than holy light magic?
Professional work, professional tools.
Karmic debt? Nothing to worry about.
After confirming that, he set it aside and turned to the other two items.
The turquoise orb. The diamond crystal.
These were the trade goods he had received from Venti.
The first was the Power of Storms, belonging to Decarabian, the Tower King of Wind.
The second was a fragment of the Power of Time, belonging to Isser, the Sovereign of Time.
Both, however, were incomplete.
[Ding! Detected skill: Storm (Complete). Learn and load?]
[Ding! Detected skill: Time (Fragment). Learn and load?]
The same prompt as when he first obtained them.
But this time, Taro hesitated.
He opened his personal status window:
Name: Taro
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown (?)
Race: Unknown (?)
Level: 101
Race Modules:
● Archangel LV.15
● Virtue LV.10
● Seraph LV.5
● Holy Sky LV.5
● Highest Heaven LV.5
● (Slot available)
Class Modules:
● High Priest LV.10
● Judge LV.10
● Temple Knight LV.10
● World Champion LV.5
● (Slot available)
Skill Modules:
● Tier Magic (expand)
● Super-Tier Magic (expand)
● Class Skills (expand)
● (Powers may be added)
In the game, a level 100 player normally had about 300 skill slots.
The peak limit was around 400.
With special classes, this could be broken—like Touch Me's Dark Wisdom skill, which let him memorize over 700 spells.
But Super-Tier Magic was different.
The first slot only unlocked at level 70.
Even at max level 100, a player could only learn four super-tier spells.
Once chosen, they couldn't be replaced—unless one had special world-class items like the "Snake Ring."
And if super-tier was that restricted, what about Powers?
Could he only load one?
Would there be other requirements?
But his situation wasn't bound to the game's rules anymore.
He had already exceeded the level cap, broken free of many restrictions.
Maybe powers worked differently for him too.
Still… was it worth the risk?
What if it was a trap?
What if one wrong choice locked him in forever?
No way to undo it.
So Taro hesitated.
Should he learn them now, or wait?
The same went for classes and races—additions he hadn't touched yet.
"Forget it…"
After a long pause, he turned away.
The orb and crystal went back into storage.
If the Power of Time weren't just a fragment, but whole?
Then, sure—he'd gamble it all.
But with scraps? Not worth it.
He wasn't about to throw away future potential just for immediate gain.
His strength was already more than enough.
No need to rush.
(End of Chapter)
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