"Hello Adam," greeted Luvicidix.

"You look… different," he replied. "I thought I had to get the Vanity upgrade for you to become humanoid."

"My sister and I cannot be affected by the Vanity upgrade, nor any of the other upgrades that might affect the Interim Island's Denizens. Our transformations are caused by the progression of the Trials."

"Wish I'd known that sooner," Adam said.

The white moth was no longer a giant fluffy insect. No, she had turned into a woman. Sort of. Her fluffy white shoulder-length hair sprouted two black comb-like antennae and white wings hung down her back. Her skin was pale and her eyes were huge with black irises and long lashes. She had a simple white dress made of fluffy scales and her arms were pale with black bands running down to her finger tips, making it appear as though she wore socks on her arms. Her legs had the same pattern.

"Since you have cleared the fifth Stage, I have a new item for sale. My sister has two new things for sale as well."

"Let me guess, your new item is the Scale of Remembrance."

Luvicidix gestured with a hand and her menu popped up before his eyes. She was shorter than him now by a head, but still gave off the same feeling as when she'd been a huge moth.

< < Meta Upgrades For Sale > >

< Damage — Increase All Damage by 25% — 2500 Points >

< Rewards — Increase Reward Options by 1 — 626/4000 Points >

< Vendors — Increase Vendor Options by 1 — 4000 Points >

< Rerolls — Start every loop with 1 Reroll Dice — 2500 Points >

< Relic Saving — Start every loop with 2 Saved Relic Slots — 5000 Points >

< Cheat Death — Start every loop with the Cheat Death Relic — 10000 Points >

< Scale of Remembrance — 0/25000 Points >

"That's pretty pricey."

"You have already witnessed its power, surely it is worth acquiring?"

Think I'm better off getting Cheat Death, truth be told.

"It's more of a long-term goal, to be honest," he said. "I'd need the Visiting Stone to utilise it anyway."

Luvicidix looked up into the sky briefly, before saying, "Since you have experienced the Scale's power, I am allowed to explain its function more in-depth for you. So, let me correct a misconception. You do not need to be in the same dimension as another Player in order to gift them the Scale. It is capable of piercing through the dimensional veil, meaning you can give it to another Player in the Tavern, if you so choose."

"I see."

Although I'd still need the Visiting Stone in order to give someone the Kindling Flame and set up the events necessary to save them in Stage Five.

"I don't think I ever asked this," Adam started, "but how exactly does the Cheat Death Relic work? Does it take up something like a ring or necklace slot?"

Luvicidix looked up into the clouds briefly again, and Adam realised she was likely asking for permission before answering, perhaps because she was unsure what she could and could not say.

"It will not use any Relic slot you are familiar with, that is all I am allowed to say."

"It's not something like the backside of my eyeball, right?" he joked.

"I cannot say," she replied seriously.

Now I'm kind of worried where it would show up…

"The description of the upgrade says that I'll start every loop with it, if I unlock it, but that doesn't mean I have to wait until I loop to actually obtain it, right?"

"You will receive the Relic the moment you unlock it, but if you use it in this loop, you will only get it back when you start a new loop."

"That's good to know. But how does it work? It's not like the Hobgoblin Pendant, right?"

"Once triggered, the Cheat Death Relic will return you back to full, refilling all lost Health, Stamina, and Mana."

Awesome. That definitely makes it worth getting.

"Alright, thanks. I'm going to sell off my haul in the market," he said, summoning his barriers and fusing them together before sliding them under the sack of Relics.

"I will be here when you return," she replied.

Her floating scales flew back to her wings and with a lazy flap she lifted into the air, gracefully ascending into the clouds.

As time resumed, flute song flowed across the air in waves. The Eye floated over to the centre where Adam had just been standing and spewed dark smoke out from within its cube body. The smoke took on the shape of a plinth with a round stone orb on top of it. It was part of the Altar and it glowed with that white hazy energy that told Adam it was active.

[Because you chose an Absolute to worship, an Altar to your chosen Patron can now be found at the central point of Interim Island. Communing with the Altar will allow you to receive instructions, should your Patron have the need for you to fulfil a certain task.]

"Is there a way that I'll know if new instructions are waiting for me?" Adam asked.

[You will know,] replied the Eye ominously.

Adam approached the new feature in his world and put his hand on the stone orb.

Immediately the Tome Keeper's voice filled his head.

< < Altar Communion > >

< The Tome Keeper >

< Adam. I need you to find Alepheria's notes on Chimaeral Transmutation. She made a promise to me that the notes would be mine once her research concluded, but she perished before we could make the transaction. I want them for my collection and study. Though I know much, I do not know where she hid the notes, but they must be somewhere within her tower. >

< Reward: 1000 Points or Relic >

He gave me a Quest?

The overly-familiar tone was somewhat off-putting, considering the Tome Keeper was a God that surrounded himself with monstrosities of his own creation. Adam wondered if it was because Players rarely worshipped him, since it seemed the requirement was to possess knowledge that the Tome Keeper was not in possession of already.

"What kind of Relic does the Tome Keeper reward?" Adam asked the Eye.

[I cannot say anything about the Absolute in question, but Relics rewarded by Absolutes are otherwise inaccessible to Players, with their powers and functions centred around the domain of the Absolute who rewarded it.]

So it might be something that allows me to obtain knowledge or utilise knowledge that the Tome Keeper already possesses. It could also have something to do with the creatures that serve him.

Still, I have no idea who Alepheria is or what tower he's talking about. Perhaps it has something to do with the next Stage? Although it might also be something for a later Stage.

Adam pushed the thoughts from his mind for now and left the Altar, heading for the Market.

Now that he'd made it further than ever before, he was starting to think that the Cheat Death Relic sold by Luvicidix might not be a bad thing to get, depending on how many Points he was left with after selling off his haul to Lucca.

When he reached the Market, he found Yenna the wasp standing in front of the fountain, playing a piccolo. The melody was spirited and upbeat, like the kind that'd play in the start of a fantasy movie as the heroes set off on their journey.

He waved at her and passed by the fountain where the sculptures now resembled the Statue Elementals. The barrier with his loot floated in front of him like a magical dolly.

Oh, before I forget.

"Put the Fetish of Sloth with the long cooldown in my storage along with the Cruel Summoner's Gauntlets, and the Golden Map."

[Understood.]

"And equip the other Fetish."

[Understood.]

The dried worm appeared, hanging from his belt. He contemplated whether or not to sell the Affliction Ward, but decided he might as well save it.

"Pull the Statue Elemental Core and Affliction Ward out of the sack and into my hands."

[Understood.]

Like magic, the two Relics appeared in Adam's left and right hand. He put the Ward in his pocket, figuring he'd swap to it for the next Stage if necessary. Then he walked up to Lucca's stall, keeping his floating loot behind him.

"I've brought a lot to sell," he told the spider.

"I can see that," she replied.

"First, I'd like to know how much this core is worth."

Lucca inspected the glass core in his hand. It was the first Uncommon core he'd found, and he was hoping to sell it for more than the 150 Points that Uncommons normally sold for.

"I'll be able to charge the slime a lot for this," she chittered gleefully. "I will buy it for 200 Points."

"Deal," Adam said. "I'd also like to sell everything on my barrier behind me. Do I have to place it on your counter?"

"Please don't," she answered. "They are close enough for me to handle."

"The total for all 2 Epic, 4 Rare, 7 Uncommon, and the Statue Core Relics is 3,250 Points."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Adam took a second to do the math in his head. It sounded right.

"Deal."

< < Relics Sold > >

< Statue Elemental Core (Uncommon) >

< Blood Mage Choker (Epic) >

< Tainted Helmet (Epic) >

< Captain's Cape (Rare) >

< Forlorn Cuirass (Rare) >

< Purple Slime Glove (Rare) >

< Slothling Fur Coat (Rare) >

< Barrage Glove (Uncommon) >

< Blink Ring (Uncommon) >

< Bone Armour (Uncommon) >

< Parry Bracer (Uncommon) >

< Fragile Impact Glove (Uncommon) >

< Stone Bracer (Uncommon) >

< Tainted Bracer (Uncommon) >

< 6450 Points Remaining >

I honestly thought I'd end up with more, but I still basically doubled my Points from the Stage.

Adam wasn't sure what to put his Points towards. Part of him wanted to invest half of it into the Cheat Death Relic from Luvicidix, but he could also buy the 25% permanent Damage boost and finish out the Rewards upgrade to gain a fourth option from all chests and upgrade rewards in the Stages.

He had until it got dark to decide, but he was heavily leaning towards the Cheat Death Relic, though a part of him wanted to start chipping away at the Scale of Remembrance as well.

"Show me what Relics you have for sale," he told Lucca.

"Please spend some of the Points you just made," she chittered before gesturing to the black chest next to her.

A golden light glowed beneath its lid and it popped open to reveal four Relics.

< < Relics For Sale > >

< Overflow Diadem (Uncommon) — Activate to immediately deliver all remaining damage of Afflictions, dealing 10% increased damage for every Affliction affected. Breaks after use >

< Choice Ring (Epic) — Allows you to pick two options from a Stage reward. 1-Stage cooldown >

< Scope of Insight (Rare) — Any target viewed through this Relic has their weaknesses laid bare >

< Scroll-Preservation Talisman (Uncommon) — When a Spell Scroll is activated this Relic is consumed instead >

The Choice Ring is new. I think it could easily earn back its cost, especially if I use it alongside the Lucky Stone. But I don't yet know how rewards work in the group-based Stages.

The rest of these options are all ones I've seen before.

"Don't you have any new Relics besides the Choice Ring?" he asked. "Like the Stone Mask, for example?"

"I do not," Lucca replied. "Aside from the Choice Ring, there are no new General Relics added to the selection. Stage Relics from the Forbidden Altar are exclusive to the Stage itself, meaning I cannot sell them to you."

Weird.

"Wait, what do you mean by General and Stage Relics? This is the first I've heard about that."

Lucca's eight eyes all blinked. "I thought that you would have picked up on this already, but there are two types of Relics that I can sell. Stage Relics are ones bound by the theme of a specific Stage, such as the Purple Slime Glove from Stage One. General Relics are unlocked and added to the selection with each Stage that is cleared, but these are not bound by a uniting theme, but rather serve to fulfil some specific function, such as the Parry Bracer introduced after Stage Two."

That does explain what I've been seeing, but I just never put two-and-two together to be honest.

"Are Absolute Relics a different type?"

Lucca paused, her eyes staring at him intently. "I do not sell those. Only the Absolutes and their Envoys may gift you those in exchange for your service."

"Are they worth a lot?" he asked. "Could I sell one to you?"

"I would pay triple the sales price based on rarity," she immediately replied. "But take care not to sell me Relics your Patron wishes for you to use."

"Like the Abyssal Tooth?"

"I will not purchase such vile things," she said, chittering loudly.

"Gotcha," he replied.

"Would you like to purchase one of my Relics?" she asked. "The Choice Ring is a good investment."

I could afford it and still spend 5,000 Points with Luvicidix, but I think I'll hold off on buying anything until after I've talked to Emelia about it. But I'll definitely invest most of my Points into Meta Upgrades, since that seems the smartest thing to do right now. Emelia also seemed to imply that Stage Six wasn't a huge challenge.

That being said, my defensive stats are pretty poor, so I might just spend my remaining Points on General Upgrades instead of the Choice Ring.

Adam said goodbye to the spider and took off on his barrier towards the centre of the island.

Time froze and the white moth descended from the clouds, alighting on the ground in front of him. He just now noticed how all the houses in the area looked like actual buildings now. A lot of Players had to have died for them to become this coherent.

"You are back already," Luvicidix said.

"I've decided to put 5,000 Points into Cheat Death," he told her. His main issue was still that he didn't know anything about future Stages, meaning it was impossible for him to properly plan ahead. Having the insurance of surviving death and being able to hopefully go further as a result, seemed a no-brainer to him. It could perhaps also be the thing that helped him get past Stage Eight, although he already felt fairly confident he'd survive that with his current setup.

"Good choice," she replied.

< < Meta Upgrade Progress > >

< Cheat Death — Start every loop with the Cheat Death Relic — 5000/10000 Points >

Hopefully I can get enough Points from the next Stages to afford the rest, but we'll see.

Adam brought up the currency menu.

< < Player Currencies > >

< Points — 1450 >

If I sell the Committed Attack Ring I'll be able to afford five General Upgrades. Think that might be a good idea, but I'll go check in with Emelia first, just to see if the Choice Ring is worth getting instead of upgrades.

He said goodbye to the white moth girl for a second time and flew off to the Tavern on his barrier.

The Dimensional Tavern had undergone the same drastic transformation as the other buildings on Interim Island. It now looked like a quaint medieval inn, with warm light spilling out of the windows that only existed on the exterior and couldn't be seen from within.

Adam pushed open the door, and the moment he stepped inside something surprising happened.

A giant blue flower appeared in front of him, the petals forming a large pod. Then they pulled back and revealed Belamouranthe before vanishing into motes of blue-purple light.

"Hello, Adam," she said.

"You're back," he replied, letting out a sigh of relief. He'd been worried he'd never see her again.

"Listen, listen! I met the All-Mother! She is very nice and beautiful! She gave me this fruit as a gift for thee."

The Elphin girl handed him a blue apple-sized strawberry with pink seeds. Adam immediately recognised it as the same kind of fruit that had saved his life during Stage Four in his last loop.

< < Relic > >

< All-Mother's Fruit (Rare) — Consume to restore Health, Stamina, and Mana to 100%. Once consumed, the Relic disappears >

This is the same thing I would've gotten if I chose to worship the All-Mother.

"Thank you," he said and put it in his left pocket.

"All-Mother's garden was incredible! Tasty fruits grew on every branch and stem of the trees and plants. There were a lot of children like me, and they all love her dearly."

Adam smiled.

I'm glad she isn't upset about what her mother did.

As though reading his thoughts, she said, "I thought that mine destiny was to open the way to the Forbidden Altar and save mine people, but All-Mother told me that our people only needed saving from themselves. She is an Elphin too, is it not amazing!? She is very wise."

Adam nodded. "I'm glad she allowed you to come back here."

"She said I am safe on Interim Island, but I have to return to her at night."

Charlie the red ant came over. "What would you like to eat?" she asked. She had a pep in her step, clearly excited that Belamouranthe had returned.

"Meat stew!" the Elphin girl exclaimed.

"I'll have a strawberry milkshake," Adam started, "and a Pad Thai with chicken."

"Of course," Charlie replied and left for the kitchen.

Adam brought his fused barrier out in front of himself and shaped it into an ergonomic chair before sitting down.

The tables around him and on the floor above filled with the holograms of people, but he quickly dismissed them with a mental prompt.

"How many survived?" he asked the Eye.

[29 million Players survived Stage Five. Currently, 21 million Players are utilising the Dimensional Tavern.]

Damn, that's a lot… 131 million people gone, just like that. It's a couple percent under 20%, I guess because 6-man Stages are rare and because some might have ended without any winners. Still, more than 20% was impossible and it could have been much worse.

In the previous loop, probably less than 8 million people made it this far.

But to think that only about 5,000 Players make it to Stage Ten in this universe is insane… And there's more than 10 Stages after that. No wonder the Divine Relic is so enticing, since there must be only a handful of people left after Stage Twenty…

He prompted the Tavern to show him Emelia, Beck, and Gladwyn. All three of them appeared and Adam breathed a sigh of relief.

Still, an anxious part of his mind couldn't help but wonder when their little group would lose its first member. Beck and Gladwyn didn't normally survive this far according to Emelia.

The two older guys were clearly talking to each other already, but Emelia was looking around, no doubt trying to assess the damage. She had told him that she was only sharing information with those she knew would survive Stage Five, so she was probably trying to do a headcount to figure out how effective her advice had been.

Adam looked at the coloured spheres above her head. She had white, beige, and orange, which meant she had gotten All Secrets and the Secret Boss, but he didn't know what the beige colour meant. She had also failed to complete the Speedrun and had taken damage.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked her, focusing his voice so only she could hear it.

Emelia paused what she was doing and turned to face him.

"I'm fine," she replied after a moment. "How did it go for you? Did you manage to save Willow?"

You already know the answer to that, he thought to himself.

"No," he said. "She was dead before I could get to her. I went as fast as I could and was still too late…"

Adam sighed deeply.

"I don't really want to talk about it, to be honest."

"I tried the thing you suggested," Emelia said, surprising him.

"Really?"

"There's another girl in my Stage Five who I got to know a little bit during my first loop. She's only nineteen, but has a very strong spirit. I tried to get her to survive the Altar with me, but it didn't work. In the end she let me claim it after we beat the Secret Bosses together."

"My Patron told me how to do it," Adam blurted out when he saw how sad Emelia looked.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, but I can't tell you…" Adam said with a sigh.

"The Absolute told you not to share it?"

He nodded.

"Who is it?" she asked. "Messimer has never told me anything like that."

"I can't tell you that either," he replied. "I might get Scorned if I tell you."

"Is it one of the Absolutes I didn't know about?" she asked.

Adam nodded.

"I see," was all she replied. But then she smiled a bit, "I'm glad it's possible. I will find a way to save Maya in a future loop."

She has all the requirements for it, but I'm not allowed to tell her, otherwise the Tome Keeper might 'intervene'… I suppose for the Primogenitor of Greed, being miserly with knowledge is to be expected…

Maybe I can find some way to tell her how to unlock him without actually saying it outright.

"Do you know who Alepheria is?" Adam asked, remembering the Communion Quest he'd received.

Emelia nodded. "How did you hear of that name?"

"I got a Quest from my Patron to find her notes on 'Chimaeral Transmutation'."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "And you absolutely can't tell me who this Patron is?"

Adam shook his head.

"Anyway," he started, "I really just wanted to check you guys were okay. And I needed to ask you about how best to spend my remaining Points."

"Should we invite Gladwyn and Beck to our conversation?" Emelia asked.

Adam paused, before saying, "Actually, I was hoping you'd come visit me. It'd be a lot easier to decide what to do if you could see what I have to pick between."

"Are you sure?" Emelia asked hesitantly.

"I meant what I said yesterday," Adam replied. "I really do enjoy your company. I'm just not looking for more than a friendship. It's too complicated."

"I understand," she said. Then she smiled and added, "I will be there in a few minutes then."

With that she cut the connection. With her gone, Adam could only see Beck and Gladwyn who were still talking to each other. Beck was doing an explosion gesture with his hands while his friend shook his head with a sigh.

I forgot to ask Emelia what the beige colour meant in terms of bonuses, Adam realised as he saw the spheres above Beck and Gladwyn's heads.

The tall Spellcaster had the Speedrun, Flawless, and Eradication bonuses, which was quite impressive and made Adam pretty curious. He'd talked about using his spells as traps and it seemed to have been super effective. After all, he'd beaten the Stage in less than 10 minutes without taking damage and getting the Eradication bonus, which Adam realised probably meant he'd killed all other Players in his Stage.

Gladwyn had the Eradication, All Secrets, and Secret Boss bonuses, meaning he'd also killed every other Player in his Stage, but he'd taken damage. Beck hadn't defeated the Aristocrat in Stage Four, so he wouldn't have been able to get the Golden Map, which might've been why he chose to focus on the Speedrun bonus instead.

Adam turned to the Eye and asked, "How many Points did the Speedrun Bonus give for Stage Five?"

[500 Points.]

That's pretty good actually.

Adam was wondering how he'd stack up compared to his friends in terms of Points, when an announcement interrupted his train of thought.

< < Visiting Stone Activated > >

< Player Emelia has entered your Dimension >

He moved his floating barrier over to the door of the Tavern, pausing at the threshold to yell to Charlie, "Can you hold off on delivering my food until I'm back? I'm going out for maybe an hour or so."

The ant came over and said, "Of course, Adam."

"Do not delay mine food!" Belamouranthe exclaimed, perhaps worried that Adam's order would affect her dinner delivery.

"Worry not, Belamouranthe, yours is on its way very soon," Charlie told the girl.

"Excellent! I have eaten nothing but fruit since yesterday, I crave meat stew!"

Charlie chuckled in that bubbly way of hers as Adam left the Tavern.

After stepping outside he shaped his barrier and hopped on, flying towards the centre of the island.

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