Chapter 5: The Crown's Whisper(Rewards)
Quest Complete
+1 Level +6 Unassigned Stat Points Talent Unlocked: [Will of the Crown] (Growth Type) Skills Acquired:
• [Basic Marksmanship] – 34% Mastery
• [Improvised Knife Combat] – 19% Mastery
• [Stealth Movement] – 7% Mastery
New Functions Unlocked:
Inventory (Basic) Shop (Locked to System Items Only) Exchange (Partial Access)
(Additional functions will unlock at higher levels.)
The interface blinked softly in his vision—blue, translucent, and eerily intuitive. Despite everything, Ethan couldn't help but lean forward slightly, gaze narrowing on the text.
Talent: Will of the Crown (Passive | Growth Type)
Description: A fragment of mental resilience inherited from a forgotten imperial line. Strengthens the host's resistance against confusion, fear, mental coercion, and panic-based debuffs. Grows with battle experience and system integration.
Skills:
[Basic Marksmanship] – 34%
Improves handling and accuracy with firearms and ranged weapons. Basic recoil control, aim assistance, and threat assessment protocols integrated.
[Improvised Knife Combat] – 19%
A crude but practical style forged in panic and blood. Emphasizes flailing slashes, survival stabs, and unrefined aggression. Slightly increases lethality when attacking exposed or wounded targets.
[Stealth Movement] – 7%
Improves sound suppression and body movement in obstructed terrain. Partial integration with terrain-awareness not yet unlocked.
System Functions Overview:(Partial)
Inventory (Basic):
Grants access to a pocket-dimensional storage space.
Current capacity: 10 m³
Items stored are preserved in stasis—no decay, no weight burden, and no time passage inside.
Accessed mentally through the system interface.
Inventory can be expanded via system evolution or dimensional upgrades.
Shop (System-Bound):
Offers basic survival tools, low-grade weapons, and minor healing items purchasable through system points or relevant exchange currency. Higher tiers locked.
Exchange:
Converts environmental items, remains, or gathered materials into system points or usable resources. Requires identification grade above "Primitive" for efficient value.
He scrolled through each panel, absorbing it faster than most would. The layout felt familiar—too familiar.
"Inventory... skills… mastery percentage... This feels like a hybrid of LitRPG and cultivation mechanics," he muttered.
Ethan rubbed his temple, blood-crusted fingers dragging across his cheek.
"Basic mastery, huh? That means there's gotta be—what? Intermediate, advanced, expert... maybe even transcendent levels? Hell, if this is like those grind-heavy system novels, there could be Grandmaster tiers, or hidden evolutions depending on use-case patterns."
The edges of his mouth twitched—not into a grin, but a twitch of restrained curiosity.
It's like my bookshelf got weaponized.
A new chime echoed in his head.
Scanning...
Host Constitution: Anomaly detected.
Elemental Compatibility Scan: COMPLETE.
Result: All-Element Compatibility – 100% Sync
Status: Extremely rare.
Recommendation: Preserve host integrity. Await magical resonance development.
He sat up straighter.
"All-element compatibility?" he repeated slowly. "What kind of protagonist-tier nonsense…"
Then again, it made a strange kind of sense.
He wasn't from here. He had fallen—or been dropped—into this world. The rules weren't Earth's anymore. And apparently, neither were his limits.
Another scan began automatically, pulsing lightly against the inside of his skull like a sonar ping.
Origin Confirmed: Otherworlder
Transfer of foundational knowledge: Commencing...
A jolt—not pain, but like a surge of information pouring into him.
The air thinned. Or maybe his thoughts did.
Not memories—but understandings. Definitions. System laws. Energy frameworks. Constructs of magic, soul-link interfaces, evolution trees, bloodline ranks...
His breathing slowed.
His eyes sharpened.
[Otherworlder Status Detected]
Unique designation confirmed: Outworld-Origin: Tier 0.8(Civilization level)
Granting access to knowledge framework compatible with host's cognitive architecture.
Transfer of Basic Knowledge: INITIALIZED.
—System privileges updated—
Perks Unlocked: [Otherworlder's Insight] As an individual originating outside the system's native plane, host gains access to specialized information-processing and scan-type skills.
New Skills Acquired:
• Cosmic Appraisal (Passive/Active):
Grants the ability to analyze items, materials, relics, and environments using extraplanar data nodes embedded in the Hollow Crown System.
Accuracy exceeds 99.98% across known and hypothetical materials.
(Cooldown: None; efficiency scales with system sync and mental clarity.)
• Inspect (Active):
Allows focused scan of living entities. Reveals target's basic stats, condition, and known skills—limited by target's level, concealment, and host's perception.
(Range: 10 meters; cooldown: 30 seconds.)
[Basic Knowledge Transfer: COMPLETE]
Host's cognitive functions successfully synchronized with available system archives.
Ethan blinked, his head slightly throbbing as torrents of structured knowledge ebbed into clarity.
"Haha… so there is a Grandmaster tier," he whispered with a grin, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. "Nice. This world's got levels to it."
He leaned back slightly, absorbing the revelations flashing through his mind like fragments of some long-lost fantasy epic.
> World Data Unlocked: Registered Name: Virellia
Recognized Continents: 7 (Incomplete visibility)
Major Races: Humans, Demons, Dragons, Elves, Demihumans
"Seven continents…" Ethan murmured, furrowing his brow. "Huh? No… it feels like there's one more. Why can't I make it out?" A strange weight hung at the edge of his thoughts, an invisible fog around something vital. He shook his head. "Tch, whatever. Let's go continent by continent."
---
Continent Overview
> 1. Velerath (Human-Dominant)
A land of ambition, magic, and endless conflict. Divided into political factions always hungry for power.
> Human Powers within Velerath:
• Empire of Solmara – The Empire of the Radiant Flame; known for fire mages and phoenix knights.
• Everglen Imperium – Proud militaristic empire with strict class divisions and arcane academies.
• Valtross Dominion – A shadowy empire ruled by a council of masked seers and hidden bloodlines.
• Kingdoms: Greystar, Halberdon, Myrthia, Zelvaran, Iridale, Thorneveil, Aurith, Bravengarde, and Hallowen Reach.
> 2. Duskir (Demon-Dominant)
A realm cloaked in shadows and abyssal mana. Infamous, isolated, and feared.
> 3. Skadrial (Dragon-Dominant)
Home to draconic clans, celestial mountains, and magma-forged valleys. Birthplace of the elder breeds.
> 4. Aeloria (Elf-Dominant)
Verdant, untouched lands bathed in ancient magic and starlight. Seat of old-world wisdom and nature's wrath.
> 5. Theralune (Demihuman-Dominant)
Diverse and dynamic; inhabited by beastfolk, aquatic tribes, and skywalkers. Civilization varies from tribal to modern.
>6.Frostgrave
A deadly, ice-covered continent where survival is near impossible. Storms rage endlessly, ancient beasts roam freely, and mana itself freezes. Though not forbidden, it's a hell-level zone where few return alive.
>7.Nix'aral
A forbidden continent wrapped in mind-numbing cold. Time distorts, memories fade, and reality breaks. Even gods seem to avoid it. None who enter ever return.
---
Ethan tilted his head. "So every continent has a ruling race, but others exist in lesser numbers. A hierarchy, then."
Then he paused.
"But why is the demon continent hidden from public knowledge? It's… only known to dragons, high-level humans, and the demihuman upper crust? Tch. Sounds like something they don't want people asking about."
His smile faded. The weight in his chest returned. A quiet realization surfaced, like something scratching the back of his mind.
"Wait... then where the hell am I?"
As if answering the call of his thought—
> [Location Scan: ACTIVE]
Host is currently located within:
Outer Trial Grounds of Vhar'thael Expanse
(Ancient domain linked to the fallen Arkhaval lineage)
Ethan's breath caught for a moment.
"Vhar'thael…?" The name rang with power. With memory. With something almost… sacred.
Before he could dwell deeper—
> [System Inquiry Prompted]
Trail Grounds Detected.
Would host like to:
▸ Continue challenge
▸ Exit and warp to nearest continent: [Destination: Velerath - Human Region]
---
[To be continued...]