There may also be some inaccuracies, since English is not my native language.
Essentially, TBATE is first translated from English into my native language — and in that process, some details are already altered to make it more understandable for us. Now I'm taking that adapted (and somewhat distorted) version, revising it, rewriting it, and then translating it back into English.
I hope you'll point out any mistakes in the text that I might have missed.
× × × × ×
Lucius Zogratis POV
After a short break, we began to reap the fruits of our victory. We had all agreed in advance to save time, so Regis, knowing the capabilities of the system I had told them about, touched each large crystal without question. Leaving the hills of aether crystals to Regis, I focused my attention on the millipede.
A quick glance was enough to understand that the corpse of the aether beast was the highest and most powerful source of aether in the entire cave. Climbing onto the giant millipede, Arthur and I began to absorb the aether from its body.
As my aether core developed, the absorption rate increased. However, given how massive the beast was and how dense the aether inside it was, it took several attempts to absorb it all.
Although the process of absorbing aether was fairly simple with my newly created core, it took more than a third of the millipede's aether essence to test what Arthur had done in the book.
Fortunately, I had more than enough material to work with, so I was able to experiment and fine-tune the process — increasing its efficiency and preparing my body to eventually be able to directly manipulate the aether, not just what was in my aether core.
Like Arthur, I divided the process into three stages and named them absorption, tempering, and finally purification. At the moment of replenishing the aether core, I sent Arthur part of this chapter to understand what we were going to do.
After absorbing the aether, I checked and found that filling my core to the point where it was almost overflowing did indeed cause the aether to condense and purify faster.
However, the purification stage was the most important and required my utmost concentration. I needed to expel almost all of the aether that I had squeezed into my core at once. As the surge of aether spread through my body, I needed to track the paths that this aether used to move, and then slowly direct the remaining aether along the same paths.
Each time I purified the aether from my core, I slowly trained it to pass through more efficient "channels" in my body, rather than simply spreading aimlessly. The channels I am talking about were thin lines that stretched from my core to my legs, arms, and head. There were five of these thin lines in each arm, leg, and head. They were simple and very untrained, even for me.
At first, I focused on training the channels in my arms. The main problem was how widely the aether spread throughout my body when I released it from my core. I couldn't generate enough power to do serious damage without using up almost all of my aether, as in the last attack. One powerful blow that didn't even pin down the millipede and a burst of aura emptied my core to zero.
I knew that if we were lucky in the next zone, we could fix all this, but it would be good to lay some groundwork before climbing into the lava. Only a day passed while Arthur and I repeated the process of absorbing ether from the centipede's corpse, tempering it in our core, and then quickly purifying it.
There was another plan if we ended up in the lava zone. Accumulating and shooting extreme amounts of aether from our hands or feet, Arthur did this in the zone with a huge monster, which he burned to ashes using a GodRune of Destruction. In essence, it was almost as effective as bathing in lava, but it would severely maim me. On the other hand, I feel almost no pain, and this body can return to its best condition as soon as a huge amount of aether appears, so does it matter?
It seems that the system really took Arthur's talent to a new level, since in the original story it took him a couple of days here. The fighter's talent helped my body, so even without much experience, I progressed very quickly.
After absorbing almost eighty percent of the millipede's aether essence, I finally felt that I had achieved that effect.
Stretching my arms out in front of me, I released the aether from my core. I let it spread evenly throughout my body, trying to feel the aether channels in my hand strengthen. Then I did it again, but concentrated more aether on my hands. This time, I felt about a fifteen percent increase in the flow of aether to my hands compared to the rest of my body. It was still bad, but at least I understood the pattern.
A smile crept across my face as I looked at my hands, clenching and unclenching them. The faint veil of aether around me dissipated as I relaxed. Arthur was a little behind, but I could understand that I had a system and Arthur didn't, so I decided to check out the millipede's lair.
And finally get some clothes!
Regis was nearby, so as I got up, I gave him a look that said I needed his help. Understanding, he flew up and led me away.
I followed Regis through a huge cave, which was about the size of a city block, and he led me past a particularly large mound of ether crystals. When we reached the top, the hill formed a crater where a particularly bright pile of aether crystals was gathered around four large spheres, each slightly different in shade of milky purple.
Regis said, flying nearby, "I don't know how, but this giant millipede has acquired offspring."
"But that's not the main thing," he continued, descending into the crater. "Look at these crystals surrounding the eggs, although who am I telling this to, you seem to already know about it."
Smiling, I climbed down the slope of the bowl of aether crystals that served as the cmillipede's birthing bed and focused my gaze on a bright cluster of crystals that glowed much brighter than all the other crystals in the cave. Trapped inside the aether crystals, which were much larger and brighter than the others, were various pieces of equipment, weapons, and other items.
Just as I had seen the monkey devoured, its very life sucked out of its body, these people met the same fate after being swallowed whole, leaving behind only their belongings.
It was a cruel death for anyone, but I felt no pity; they were dead, that was all. People die every day, and the deaths of strangers were no tragedy to me. I looked down, examining my naked body, and then back up at the various pieces of armor and equipment glistening inside the crystals.
"You should see your eyes, they're sparkling," Regis teased, examining the aether crystals himself. "Luckily for us, it looks like the millipede mama feasted on quite a few mages."
I was eager to get my hands on some of the equipment sealed in the aether crystals, so I moved toward the first large crystal.
It took several hours to absorb enough aether from the crystals to reach the items inside, but the thought of having something better than my bare body motivated me. Unfortunately, although there were more than ten human-sized crystals containing equipment, most of them were unusable by the time I broke through the crystal shell in which they were stored.
But I thought that the level-up system could fix that, so I asked Regis to hold on to some clothes, whether they were torn pants, tunics, or underwear. Although he complained a lot about the latter.
[First rank set of thin fabric clothes x10 or upgrade to second rank?]
Choosing to upgrade to second rank, I took the clothes out of the system and realized that the size, which was originally smaller, was now perfect for my body. And it seemed that my theory was confirmed: when the rank was increased, the item was upgraded and became better, so the holes in the clothes were closed and the quality of the fabric was greatly improved compared to what it was before.
Quickly putting on the clothes, I relaxed for the first time, realizing that my genitals were hidden from everyone's eyes. But these clothes were still not the best, so shaking my head and remaining in my underwear, I began to rummage through other crystals.
There were a few skillfully crafted items left, which undoubtedly belonged to powerful mages and warriors, or at least to wealthy people. First, I examined the weapons. There was a golden spear with red runes running along its shaft, an unstrung longbow, a long sword with a gemstone embedded in its pommel and a crack running the entire length of the blade, and a staff with a broken stone at its end.
Regis frowned as he hovered over the weapons scattered on the ground in front of me. "Well, that's not very impressive."
Glancing at him, he flew over and touched each weapon, and a series of notifications immediately appeared in the open system.
[Second rank golden spears with red runes x10 or upgrade to third rank?]
[Second rank long swords with precious stones x10 or upgrade to third rank?]
[Second rank long bows x10 or upgrade to third rank?]
[Second rank staff with a broken gem x10 or upgrade to third rank?]
After upgrading everything to the next rank, I watched mesmerized as the previously cracked sword returned to its best condition. First, I picked up the long sword. It felt good in my hand, but when I poured aether into it, the expected cracks did not appear. Although I only poured in a little aether, it was enough considering that the original sword cracked immediately.
Regis's eyes widened. "Ooh! We have a winner!"
Shaking my head, I put the sword aside. Although this sword was not bad, there was another sword without any runes, and that was the one I was hoping for. I didn't even bother to take out the rest of the weapons. They were first class, but not particularly capable of conducting aether. I moved on to the other items I had taken out of the aether crystals and improved them using the system.
Unfortunately, I encountered the same problem with wearing plate armor as I did with using weapons. Since all higher-level armor was forged for better mana conductivity, the large amount of aether caused it to crack quickly.
Yes, they cracked not break, I don't know how the system did it, but as I got more and more improved equipment out of it, I realized that everything was improving, from the sharpness of the blade to the absorption of damage by the shield or armor. I think the system had some internal perks that it improved. It was like sharpness, durability, and energy conductivity, if there was any. Some of the initially poor swords began to shine when, as it seemed to me, the metal from which the weapon was made evolved.
And it seems that even among the ranks there are sub-ranks, because when upgrading two swords made of different crystals, I noticed that one of them, which was initially less damaged during the upgrade, was able to break the initially heavily damaged sword, which was also upgraded to the same rank.
What I have left are several sets of clothing made of thin fabric or leather, which were originally second rank and were upgraded to third rank. I was left in my underwear because I wanted to give this clothing to Arthur to raise his rank to fourth. I took back the clothing I gave to Regis because, even though it was of good quality, it would be strange if we appeared in identical clothing.
In essence, the system worked very simply with regard to Echoes. When I gave Regis the sword, it did not disappear from the world; it was still with Regis, but since we were connected, the system gave me the opportunity to get 10 such swords or raise its rank. Regardless of what I chose, I couldn't give the sword back to Regis from the system; there was no infinite improvement. And even if I gave Arthur the sword and upgraded it to the next rank, I wouldn't be able to throw the sword to Regis and wait for the system to activate again.
It was sad, but understandable.
Just as I was thinking about this, Arthur approached, apparently having finished with the millipede, as I had been here for about five hours. Without saying a word, I began to hand him the clothes, weapons, and armor upgraded to the new rank one by one, and he calmly accepted them and put them away as soon as I gave him a new set. One set particularly attracted me because it had no runes, although the clothing itself was second rank and became third rank after I gave it to Regis, having removed the dagger beforehand. And it was this set that I chose after it was upgraded to fourth rank, giving Arthur another set of clothing, which I also upgraded to fourth rank.
"You look good, princesses," Regis teased, circling around us.
My new outfit consisted of a loose white shirt with long sleeves, which I tucked into a pair of bracers made of thick, blackened leather. Over it, I wore a gorget made of the same material as the bracers. Thanks to the system, the material stretched and fit well, tightly hugging my shoulders and reaching my chin. It also made the outfit incredibly comfortable.
Arthur wore a loose-fitting white shirt with long sleeves and bracers made of metal without any runes. On top of everything, he wore leather armor that also had no runes. Combined with black high boots, Arthur looked very motley but presentable.
After some testing, I realized that the shirt and leather parts of the armor were surprisingly durable, but that's exactly what I expected after bringing this set to the fourth rank. Along with a pair of pants and soft leather shoes, there was also a rather elegant cloak trimmed with soft white fur around the edges of the hood. It was cut-resistant and incredibly warm, and although it was white with fur on the inside, the outer fabric was a soft turquoise color.
Putting on the cloak, which stretched to just above my knees, I found its weight to be pleasant. Rummaging through the pile of weapons thrown together, I pulled out an item.
"I thought you went through all the weapons," Regis said, examining the dagger in my hand.
"No, this is the most important weapon in this pile," I muttered, mesmerized by the small weapon.
Handing the weapon to Regis and looking at the system, I waited for a notification.
[White Dagger, rank fourth x10, or upgrade to rank fifth?]
I chose to upgrade to fifth rank, took the original weapon from Regis, placed it in the system's inventory, handed over the upgraded fifth rank weapon, and as soon as the notification sounded, took it from Arthur.
[White Dagger, fifth rank x10, or upgrade to sixth rank?]
After upgrading to the sixth rank, I stared in amazement at the dagger in my hand. Unlike the clothes, it hadn't changed in appearance; it hadn't become longer or anything else. Without all that, it was perfect.
The smooth, polished silver handle was just the right length for me to hold with one hand, my fingers fitting perfectly into a row of small indentations. A ring for the index finger was attached to the end of the handle, in case I decided to hold it blade down. Gripping the handle tightly, I pulled it out of its sheath, revealing a flawless white blade with a hexagon emblem carved at the base, with three parallel stripes inside.
"Wow. What is it made of?" Regis asked, examining the shiny white blade.
I brought it close to me, unable to take my eyes off it. "The bone of an etheric monster, I think? The book didn't mention what it was made of, only that it was originally capable of conducting a small amount of aether and that it was the weapon of Lady Сaera's late brother."
Arthur stood nearby and also looked at the dagger with interest. A couple of times I mentioned that there had been a setback with other items in order to maintain the appearance of the system I had told them about.
Regis's eyes widened, but after a second he said impatiently, "It's a pity, of course, that this beauty lost her brother, but try it, pour a little aether into it. I'm curious how much aether this dagger will now be able to conduct after you improved it through the system."
So I did. The dagger, upgraded to rank six, easily withstood it and even calmly conducted some of the aether.
"Your system is broken, you devil," said Regis, struck by the sight of the purple aura emanating from the white blade.
"I know," I replied, twirling the white dagger that matched the color of my skin.
I gave Arthur a long, jet-black sword that had been upgraded to rank five. I glanced back at the millipede's eggs and, twirling the dagger, approached them.
"What are you going to do?" Regis asked from behind me. I had only shown Arthur part of the chapter, so Regis only knew part of it.
I didn't answer, but grabbed the white dagger and easily directed the aether into it. The white dagger was enveloped in a purple aura when I easily pierced the egg with a swing. Too easy, the blade cut through the egg. Turning my gaze to the other eggs, I destroyed them one by one, leaving only one.
"Why are you leaving one alive?" Regis asked.
"This floor has a rather fragile ecosystem. I don't want to completely destroy it, because we'll be back here in the future," I replied, waving my hand at Arthur and pointing to the aether in the eggs.
The already dead baby millipedes were unable to resist, so we easily absorbed their aether essence. Even I was a little surprised at how easily I could kill, but to achieve my goal, I couldn't hesitate.
I had to go home.
Exhaling heavily from the rush of emotions, I looked at Arthur, who was staring at the dagger.
"Why did you take all the best stuff for yourself?" Regis asked, looking at the white dagger.
"Because I don't have fifty years of experience. I rely on my talent, but I can easily make a mistake and break a weapon, which could potentially kill me," I replied, touching my new clothes and turquoise cloak.
"It makes sense that I can fight with a worse sword, but you can't," Arthur replied, holding a jet-black fifth rank sword, "although this sword is not bad at all."
"Of course it's not bad, his system is too broken," Regis protested a little, but then suddenly looked at Arthur as if he remembered something. "Give me twenty percent of the aether from your core."
Since Regis wasn't eaten this time, he didn't ask for twenty five percent because he knew Arthur would refuse.
After Arthur nodded, Regis flew into his body and flew out a few minutes later, slightly changed. All this time, Arthur and I were collecting crystals in the wealth multiplication system, or more precisely, in the inventory of this system. I was only able to upgrade the strongest crystal to the fifth rank, but now was not the time for that.
Regis was pleased with his growth, as evidenced by the light dancing around him. He was especially pleased with the growth of his horns, which were now slightly smaller than the first phalanx of my little finger.
"Why are you so concerned about the size of your horns?" Arthur asked in confusion.
"Why are men so concerned about the size of their genitals?" he retorted.
Arthur looked down, then at me, then back at Regis. "Sorry for asking."
A couple of minutes later, after putting all the crystals in my inventory, Regis asked impatiently, "Ready?"
"Just a minute," Arthur said, gathering his hair, which had grown well past his shoulders, and loosely tying it at the base of his neck. Grabbing the ponytail, he cut it just below the knot, allowing strands of pale wheat-colored hair to fall to the ground.
Regis nodded approvingly. "I admit, that was quite brave."
"Aren't you going to cut your hair?" Regis asked, turning his gaze to me.
"No, you saw for yourself in battle that it didn't get in my way at all, and besides, my mother loved my long hair," I said, shaking my long black and white hair.
It was true, I didn't quite understand how, but my hair never once blocked my view during the entire battle; it seemed to stick to my body, giving me no reason to cut it.
I was born with black hair, but at thirteen, I dyed a few strands white, and after coming to this world, that color became my natural color. The same thing happened with my eyes. My eyes were originally blue, but they became heterochromatic because of the lenses.
My eyesight was never good, and when it got even worse, we bought me lenses. I don't know how, but my younger siblings found multicolored lenses and ordered them for me. After that, I couldn't get out of changing my lenses every day in front of them to make them happy, but when I left, I still put back the ones that helped me see. That day, I just had to go to the store and change my lenses there, but what happened happened.
After talking about my mother, Regis simply shrugged and turned his gaze to the tunnel.
Taking one last look at the rotting remains of the giant millipede, I then turned to the tunnel leading back into the jungle and said, "Let's go, there's nothing else useful here."