"Can you hurry...?"

Even her behavior was like that of a teenager.

I rubbed my head, trying my best to keep calm, but Mirelle really wasn't letting me.

"What's up with you? I'm—"

"Nope, go back."

I summoned her back, her form vanishing from sight as the area fell silent once more. Sitting down in my chair, a wave of exhaustion hit me, and for a brief moment, I started to regret my actions.

That cute little girl who would always ask for chips...

I want her back.

Well... Let me keep her new skill, though.

'Rensentful Giggle...'

I could already picture the flood of misunderstandings this skill would cause, but the more I thought about its potential, the more a spark of excitement stirred within me. It would no doubt prove invaluable when facing intelligent anomalies or humans.

"Still, that exhausted me quite a bit."

The worst part...?

I wasn't done just yet.

There was still one more anomaly that I planned on upgrading.

"Come out."

A black shadow stretched across the floor, rising before me and taking shape as the Realmwalker. Its presence felt far more imposing than before, a suffocating pressure that seemed to fill the entire room as its form solidified.

Seeing the state of the Realmwalker, I started to wonder, 'If this is how it is after upgrading into a Realmwalker, how much more terrifying will it become?'

I didn't waste a second.

Reaching down, I grabbed a 'Conceptualization' fragment.

[Would you like to remove the attribute?]

▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]

I didn't hesitate and pressed 'yes'. The familiar process repeated again, and a grey cloud formed right above the two of us. A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I stared at the cloud and nudged it with my chin.

"Go ahead."

But—

"....."

The Realmwalker merely stared at the cloud before looking away.

"Eh...?"

I stared at the Realmwalker in confusion, blinking while turning my attention towards the cloud and pointing at it.

"You're not going to absorb it?"

The Realmwalker turned its attention toward me, and whilst it didn't have any facial features, the moment our gazes met, it almost felt as though it was scorning me. Almost as if it was saying, 'You expect me to absorb this?'

"Pu!"

Okay, that was just me imagining that.

But it really did feel like he had spat on the floor.

"What's wrong with you? You never used to care about such things. Why are you suddenly becoming picky?"

The Realmwalker didn't answer. It couldn't answer. It could only show me its disgust with its body language, its head turned away from the 'disgusting' cloud that roamed in the air.

I was at a loss for words, and soon, a figure appeared next to me, its sickly hand placed against my shoulder.

"It's reached a point where just any low-quality attribute won't help it grow."

"What?"

I turned my attention towards the Conductor.

"Are you saying that it won't accept attributes coming from low-purity fragments? I thought it wouldn't make a difference."

"That only applies up until a certain level."

The Conductor explained, staring at the Realmwalker amusingly.

"The Realmwalker has reached a stage where it can only grow through fragments of sufficient purity. For the little girl, things progressed smoothly because the ones you used were of high quality. But this stage is crucial for anomalies. It's the foundation for the next, far more significant level."

"...I see."

I suddenly felt grateful for the Conductor's presence. If not for him, I would've never realized any of this. No one else shared the same Decree as I did, and without his guidance, I had been stumbling forward blindly.

To some extent, one could argue that Conductor was my translator.

"So in short, I need higher quality fragments in order to upgrade the Realmwalker."

"Yes."

"....."

I groaned to myself.

This was...

Really bothersome.

Looking at the numerous fragments in front of me, I could only lament to myself.

'I should've asked the Guild Master of higher purity ones.'

Or maybe not. I had never planned on asking too much from the Guild Master. The main reason I had asked for low-purity ones was that I had a fax machine, which could turn fragments into high-quality ones. However, in hindsight, I probably could've pushed further and asked the Guild Master for higher-quality ones.

Still, I was also aware of one fact.

The more I asked, the more I'd have to give back.

'I'll settle for now.'

I turned towards the fax machine and sighed. If possible, I'd want to upgrade the fragments now, but I didn't have any SP.

I'd need to wait a bit before doing that.

'In this case, should I try to reach the Fourth Order?'

It hadn't been long since I'd reached the Third Order. I wasn't sure how my progress compared to the others, but considering it had taken Kyle four years to reach the Fifth Order, I couldn't help but think my pace was absurdly fast.

Still, I didn't plan on stopping.

Given the upcoming mission, I had no choice but to reach the next Order quickly.

And so, after taking a few moments of rest, I took out several fragments from my locked-up drawer and placed them on the table alongside the other fragments that I had removed the attribute of.

"Okay, this should be it."

I felt a little nervous while staring at the fragments before me.

However, I was also excited.

I wanted to know what my next node would be.

Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand over the fragments. A notification followed a moment later.

[Forty fragments have been located!]

[You have met the criteria to advance]

[The purity level is 82.3%]

[Do you wish to advance?]

▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]

The answer was clear. My hand moved on its own, and just as I was about to press "yes," a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The Conductor's figure materialized in front of me, its tall, lank form bending slightly as it stared at the notification panel before me. It could see it...?

But more importantly.

"I shouldn't do it?"

I blinked slowly, trying to understand where the Conductor was coming from.

"You shouldn't."

The Conductor shook its head, pulling away from the panel before turning its face toward me. A raw, tearing sound filled the air as the stitches across its eyes and mouth came undone, threads snapping one by one.

As its gaping eyes fixed on me, its lips stretched into a wide, unsettling smile.

"You shouldn't do it for a very specific reason."

Its hand rose slowly, a single finger extending toward me as its grin stretched wider, twisting into something creepy.

"Your mind isn't stable."

"..."

"The moment you absorb the fragments…" The Conductor's words trailed off, its smile widening until it reached the corners of its face. It raised a finger and pressed it gently against my forehead. "You'll become something like us."

"....."

"You'll turn into an anomaly."

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