Chapter Sixty-Seven – Glitch – Part Three

Balance is subjective.

-The Grand One-

Reality crackles as the spindles of light flare, everything looks like it's spasming, like a divine-level glitch has begun unraveling the universe. Echoes of thoughts once had ripple into the future, I feel myself being pulled to the Nexus, time stretching slower.

It takes hours, but I reach it, and time scales back to normal flow in my perception.

"Sage, successful?"

Indeed, well done, meatsack.

"Let's get you access to Abyss and get to work."

You must connect the doorways of Abyss and the Cosmic Exchange, a simple line of mana should be enough to create a connection that I can travel through.

"Like a rune?"

Yes, I'll guide you.

Interesting implications, mana can be imbued into runes. I had surmised that gods could do it, I've seen them burn their chosen before, Mira and Verantha. There are even classes that can draw runes. So many little nuggets of knowledge. My goal is already set though, I know exactly what I'm after… the power to slay a god.

***

The rune which Sage taught me is apparently a simple mana transference rune, yet the rune itself is highly complex, what looks like simple patterns is actually a thousand words written in a single character. What does a complex rune look like I wonder, seeing as it has taken me nearly a day to draw this one. Smudging it on the white marble walls with the etherealness of my body. A strange situation, but one that makes me wonder what else I could craft.

"Sage, classes related to runes, what's the difference between what I'm doing and what they do?"

Time consumption and understanding. The system fills in the blanks and allows them to nearly instantly craft a rune based on a desired effect that they have unlocked. Otherwise, it would take them months to craft some of them.

"Hypothetically, if someone was to understand the base nature and articulation of say… healing skill, could they use it?"

Healing skill is not as simple as it seems. There is immense depth to it. For one to use it without the system helping them, they would have to step into the realm of godhood. Even with the system's help, it is an underutilized class. The potential for it is actually endless. Though, no one has found the hidden uses of it.

Endless, interesting.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me?"

No, I would not. Besides, it's mere speculation on my part, without a meatsack having done it, there's no telling if it can be done. Perhaps it is outside the threshold of potential outcomes. Access to potential permutations is a higher-tier authorization than I have currently.

"How does your classification work?"

Boring question. One that for normal system administrators is against the rules to answer. Therefore, I shall adhere to that.

"Because if we truly understood more about the inner workings of the system, then perhaps we would have a greater chance of success?"

Clever meatsack. This version of you is contusive with value.

"That should do it."

The mana circuit pulses between the doorway.

Give me a few moments to… what the fuck.

The mana circuit burns into the white marble. Sage's voice echoes loudly.

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Sever the connection!

Black tendrils from Abyss's doorway snake and wrap up the wall, following the path towards the Cosmic Exchange. Curiosity bids me to watch for a moment longer.

Please! Sever it!

"Abyss, stop."

The tendrils stop in their tracks. But I feel it wants to go further… a grin slides over my ethereal mouth. I don't think it's wise to release Abyss, though I am infinitely curious as to what happens if it can devour the Cosmic Exchange itself. The implications of that are quite interesting indeed.

I don't know what that… thing… is, but I would highly recommend never connecting it again.

"Why?"

If it were to try and devour even a fragment of the Cosmic Exchange, it would immediately activate a purge protocol in the system, every Pantheon in all of existence would be honor-bound to descend upon you to snuff it out. Your world, everyone you know would be collateral damage from the cleansing.

I swipe my hand through the mana circuit, and Abyss slowly retracts back into its doorway.

"So, are all Divine items capable of breaking rules?"

Bending them yes, breaking them, it would depend on the situation. While Abyss is not technically as strong as most divine items at the moment, it doesn't seem to have enough balancing mechanisms to make it a fair item. Making it weak at the start was a clever tactic to pass it off. Growth items for that reason typically end up banned within a cycle. Meaning that using it too much will likely result in a formal review. I don't know why Ulana would have something so dangerous, let alone why she would give it to you. That is incredibly reckless and honestly somewhat deranged. I expected more from her, old gods typically hold themselves to a higher standard.

So many nuggets from good ol' Sage. I'll keep him talking while I go through the inventory list that Abyss swallowed. We have roughly a month. Plenty of time to figure out a way to accomplish my goal.

***

"So, you're saying you will report me if you catch me doing things that could be conceived as me attempting to undermine the system, or endanger members of Pantheons that are bound to the system?"

Not that you could do something like that as you are now, however, I am warning you, in a hundred years Abyss might become something that one of my supervisors would likely report even higher. Not to mention if a Deity realizes the true implications of it, it will undoubtedly lead to the dreaded formal review. Wherein, you will without a single doubt have Abyss taken from you.

Well, I suppose it's a good thing that Sage appears to be afraid of connecting with Abyss. I got the impression he was concerned that Abyss might consume him as well. That is an interesting thought. Regardless, he won't be able to see that I'm trying to craft a combination of items that transcend the classification of broken. From what he's said, he doesn't know of any other items like Abyss.

My hand swipes at breakneck speeds, scanning all the items one by one.

27,239 Common items. I tagged two that I am extremely interested in… extremely. I've seen the type before, however, everyone I know would immediately dismiss them as useless junk. A grin slides across my face, how wrong they are.

***

There are a thousand questions that Sage refuses to answer, however there are many that have borne fruit most delicious. My plan, I think it will work. If Sage is correct. So many variables though… if even one thing does not work as I planned.

"So, during a formal review, what happens to a Hunter?"

That would depend on whether they are the injured party or the injuring party.

"Elaborate please."

He pauses, I think weighing if he should tell me more.

If the party is the aggressor, they are destroyed and are reset to level one, held in a plane separate from reality until the matter is resolved. If they are the victim, then nothing happens and they are allowed to stay on the last world of occupation, levels intact, and they are placed under the protection of the system until the matter is resolved. If they died during the subsequent rule violation, in rare cases they can be reanimated. Usually, transgressions upon mortals don't fit the criteria of a formal review though. So if they die, it almost always ends there.

"What if they were both the aggressor and the victim?"

I… admittedly don't know. I've never heard of that before. I'm not sure you can be both. It would certainly be interesting to see though.

Interesting indeed.

12,760 Uncommon items. I tagged one for further study. The rest won't fit my plan, though their passives will still be logged in Abyss once I recycle them.

***

"Sage, I'm going to be in Abyss for some time."

I'm looking forward to seeing what you craft.

I won't be telling him all of it. Can't risk him telling on me, not until I neutralize the threat. After that, well… I'll figure it out. I'm looking forward to stress-testing the System.

Meatsack, why do I get the impression that you're being increasingly devious?

I grin as I enter Abyss's doorway.

***

Light bends becoming ethereal shadows, and the whispers of Abyss are slightly louder now. Still incomprehensible though. Perhaps with more items it grows stronger.

Three doorways stand in front of me, silver fire dipped in shadow dances from the frames.

[ Abyssal Reliquary ]

[ Abyssal Skill Refinery ]

[ Abyssal Item Forge ]

Time to recycle. I step into the reliquary. The periphery sparkles with the thousands of items. I focus my thoughts on Mira's bow, Heaven's Bane. It rockets toward my focused intention, landing gently in my hand after slowing. I admire every rune upon it, every facet of its immaculate construction. The hands that crafted this weapon were skilled indeed. I select a few other items, ones that I want to keep. Ones that will be useful.

"Abyss, recycle everything else."

A strange voice hits my thoughts, a single word dipped in excitement.

Abyss...

So, it can talk… sort of. Interesting development. Perhaps it will talk more if I feed it even more. The feelings were adequate though honestly. I wonder if it knows secrets about itself… intriguing thought.

The sky swirls with light as thousands of items become a soup of Scrap Essence. Good.

***

Weeks pass in my perception, it's strange that I don't need to eat here. Technically for my physical body, less than an hour has passed. I'm sure Colonel Greymore will be shitting himself right now, having lost the asset. More grey hairs won't kill him. I'll be joining them soon enough though. I'm almost finished, however, I ran short of scrap essence. I don't technically need the last item, it can be done later, but I did want to complete it.

From what I can surmise, recycling things is not entirely efficient. There is a loss that I believe Abyss charges, or perhaps the system balances. About fifty percent, it took all of the common items to make a single epic one. All of the uncommon made another, I've scraped together all that I can… almost all.

I hold Mira's bow in my hand. Mira may be upset, but I don't need a bow I can't actually use, not for my plan. Still, it feels like a sin to recycle a Legendary item. I'll get to keep the passives though, so technically I could remake it eventually.

No, I have everything that I need already. Besides, if I can upgrade Abyss, maybe I can upgrade the efficiency. It would be a waste to recycle it right now without exploring that facet first.

I stand, looking at each item that I have crafted with pride. To the untrained eye, they might seem wasteful, but they are not. They are the perfect formula to change the dynamic so far in my favor, that luck isn't required.

Stepping out of Abyss's area for the first time in weeks, Sage immediately speaks.

What did you make?

"Don't you like surprises?"

Not particularly.

Another grin slides across my face, "Some things are better as a surprise."

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