Aeron put the pulsing egg on the ground.
He actually found this egg within an undead after he killed it. It was the toughest foe he had ever encountered since he arrived here almost twenty-four hours ago.
He was very strong now!
But he almost died a bit ago and escaped here to hide and do some power-ups.
'I have to practice my new deck, but I only have one card from this deck. I have to do something about that.'
Death Reaper Deck (SS-rank)
[ 1/7 cards—0 Inspiration—0 Epiphany ]
Cards:
1. Death Undone (7-star)
—
[ Death Undone ]
-Card Quality: 7-star
—> If you have killed a being of Tier-7 or below, you can reanimate them as your servant.
Servant: [1/1]
—> [ Hellforged Ape (Tier-2) ]
—
'This servant also couldn't defeat that monster, and if I can't defeat it, I can't progress the quest.'
Aerons's flickered as he looked at the Quest.
[ Quest: Return to the land of living ]
-Step-1 ( Completed )
-Step-2
—> Follow the arrow and enter the cemetery after defeating the guardian undead. ( 1 hour and 37 minutes remain. Failure will result in death )
-Step-3
Step 1 was passing through the Hollow Forest, which he completed five hours ago.
The good thing was that he wasn't hungry or thirsty here.
Moreover, he constantly got stronger by killing undead monsters here.
'I have to do something and become strong enough to complete step-2, or I am dead. But as of right now, none of my attack cards are strong enough.'
Aira and the Dojo Master couldn't see the details of his cards and the information about his gift because it was visible within his mind.
However, the quest tab and other things from this Battlefield of Death he checked were in front of his eyes, so Aira and Dojo Master could see that.
"It looks like he hit the first big block." Dojo Master rubbed his chin. "One hour and thirty-seven minutes. His fate will be decided soon."
"Aeron…." Aira mumbled, her eyes filled with worry. She was truly confused about this.
Aeron got a new chance at life, so why did he take a risk like this?
Well, they were about to find out soon.
Aeron looked at the egg and started infusing Prana into it.
[ Death's Call Egg ]
Rank: Special
He only wished he had gotten more information, but the egg was like this.
The only thing he found out was that the black egg would pulse with crimson and golden light patterns over it when he infused Prana and Stamina into it.
He had been doing it every time he got a chance ever since he got it five hours ago.
Outside, Dojo Master narrowed his eyes.
"Do you know anything about Death's Call Egg?" Aira asked.
"I have no idea, but I have sent its picture and name to a friend. He is searching through the Geoxar Network. The only hope we have is that those two beings who returned alive have shared some information in public."
Aira nodded. "It's a race against time. By the way, are we able to communicate with him with your technique somehow?"
"That's the unfortunate thing. I am not strong enough to do that. The barrier of this technique is powerful. It was created by a Tier-10 being from the public information in Geoxar Network."
Dojo Master smiled. "Although many people lost their lives ever since I brought this technique here, I don't regret it. I just wanted someone from our planet to succeed, though I have abandoned that thinking."
"Tier-10…" Aira wryly smiled. That was too far.
The strongest beings of Earth were Tier-5. And they don't know the true depths of Geoxar Network, as it had only been a decade since the beings of Earth became strong enough to become a part of it.
But there were some native beings closing into Tier-6 after learning much by travelling in the Geoxar Network. Tier-5 was the major hurdle for Earth's people, and many died when trying to break through due to a tough requirement.
"What is he doing?"
Dojo Master raised his eyebrows.
Aeron finished spending his energies on the egg as he emptied himself.
And then he checked the Epiphany he got in his Valiant Force Deck.
Dojo Master and Aira could see four cards floating in front of him, and one of them was glowing.
"I thought you said he had one card." Dojo Master blinked.
"He had one, but I guess he got more." Aira's eyes twinkled. "So his gift must be powerful."
"But not powerful enough if he fails here." Dojo Master's eyes flickered. 'What will it be? Will I see someone of that potential or not?'
Inside, Aeron was contemplating.
Valiant Force Deck (B-rank)
[ 4/4 cards—0 Inspirations—1 Epiphany ]
Cards:
Power of Two (Vorpal) (1-star)
—> Card Creation: Vorpal Impact Shot (3-star)
Valiant Burst (2-star)
He had finally acquired epiphany of his Valiant Burst after he barely escaped from the cemetery guardian, so it was time to evolve the card.
——
Option 1.
Valiant Burst (Crippling): Stunned targets have their damage output decreased by 50% for 5 seconds.
—-
Option 2.
Valiant Burst (Zeal): You gain a +20% damage boost to your next attack card per number of target stunned. Maximum 200% boost.
—
Option 3.
Valiant Burst (Blaze): Stunned targets are lit up in a storm of blaze, dealing devastating damage and burning them.
'This will be game-changing. The difficulty is that I can't dodge its attacks with certainty. One miss and I could die, as I barely escaped last time. My servant is only strong enough to tank two hits at most, but it will be crippled in one hit, and then I'll have to wait for an hour to revive it, making it useless.'
Aeron chose Valiant Burst (Crippling), as it was the best option to fight against foes with high lethality.
'Alright, this is done, but why is the SS-rank deck's first card like this…' Aeron sighed. 'Well, it's strong, but I am not strong enough to get a stronger servant.'
He looked at the time.
One and a half hours. This wasn't much time to go out and hunt other monsters to increase his stats.
It wasn't enough time to overcome the difference between him and that guardian of the cemetery.
The only way was to get a second card from his new SS-rank deck! A powerful offensive card!
He glanced at the egg and clicked his tongue. 'This thing is also not hatching.'
Honestly, Aeron was feeling pressure.
'I have to focus and get a card.'
Death Reaper Deck.
'Inspiration, Epiphany….it's up to me. Aside from the first time, the other cards and their epiphany were always acquired after battle or during battle.'
'I have to do this myself.'
Aeron stared at the black-gold card of the Death Reaper Deck. It had shadowy eyes and a scythe design on its back.
'I got this deck after my toughest battle so far, where I almost died. And it's called Death Reaper Deck.'
Aeron clenched his fist. 'I did feel death when all came crashing down. For one second, just one, I thought it's better to die than live like that.'
'And I will forever regret that one second of thought because I want to live!'
'I want to become strong and explore this wonderful world and wield my gift!'
Aeron's eyes reflected Aira's face. 'I want to become strong enough to make those eyes of hers look only at me.'
'And that's why I came here!' Aeron looked at his gift. 'Deck of Forbidden Arcana. I will not waste this gift.'
Aeron closed his eyes.
'I am in the battlefield of death.'
'I am surrounded by death.'
'I am fighting death.'
'If death and reaping death is the main theme, then I should get a power that can unleash death. Death must manifest…through me.'
'For I am become death.'
Aeron opened his eyes.
'It's cringe, but it makes sense to me. Come on.'
[ You have acquired an Inspiration: Choose your second card of the Death Reaper Deck. ]