The fight with the Shadow Stalker had been a brutal lesson in the necessity of situational awareness. Archelius pressed his hand tightly against the gash on his back, the wound throbbing fiercely despite the mitigation from Iron Skin.
[Health: 75/100. Bleeding: Minor.]
He immediately consulted the System.
Is there a healing function?
[Analysis: Healing requires consumption of specialized resources (Potions/Plants) or allocation of high-tier Core Power. Current User Rank F is insufficient for direct healing.]
No easy fix. Archelius gritted his teeth. He needed to find cover and wait for his natural recovery, which was painfully slow.
He quickly scanned his inventory and the newly acquired material.
[Inventory:]
Shadow Essence (Minor) x 1
Void Lurker Scales (Minor) x 1
Corrosive Grotesque Residue (Foul) x 5
He returned to the Crafting Menu, hoping the Shadow Essence offered a new blueprint.
[Available Blueprints (Rank F):]
[Simple Dagger (Requires: 4 Scales, 2 Residue)]
[Arm Guard (Requires: 5 Scales, 1 Residue)]
[Simple Potion (Requires: 5 Residue, 1 Shadow Essence) - NEW!]
The Simple Potion! A surge of relief washed over him.
He immediately selected the blueprint.
[Crafting Simple Potion (Rank F). Requires: 5 Residue, 1 Shadow Essence. Success Chance: 90%.]
[Warning: Crafting consumes all available Corrosive Grotesque Residue. Proceed?]
He confirmed the selection. The materials vanished in a swirl of silver light, replaced by a small, thick vial of shimmering, dark liquid. The potion looked dangerous, but Archelius didn't hesitate.
He uncorked the vial and swallowed the potion in one swift gulp. It tasted like ash and bitter metal, burning down his throat.
[Simple Potion Consumed. Health Restored: +20. Bleeding Effect Removed.]
[Health: 95/100 (Normal).]
The pain instantly receded, and the deep cut on his back closed, leaving only a faint scar beneath his ruined uniform jacket. The power of the System's crafting was absolute.
He used the remaining materials to craft an Arm Guard for better defense. The Arm Guard, made of tough Void Lurker scales and reinforced with Grotesque residue, materialized on his forearm, offering much-needed protection.
[Arm Guard (Rank F) Acquired. Defense +5. Durability: Medium.]
The Ruined Temple
Feeling stronger and better protected, Archelius knew he couldn't stay. The Shadow Stalker's presence confirmed the area was being patrolled by high-level enemies.
He descended from the plateau, moving toward the vast, ruined temples he had seen earlier. If they were the remnants of an ancient civilization, they might offer shelter, materials, or perhaps, valuable lore.
The descent was challenging, but he reached the edge of the sprawling ruins about an hour later. The scale of the structures was breathtaking. Columns taller than any skyscraper lay fractured, half-buried in volcanic ash. The air here was strangely quiet, the magical charge slightly subdued.
[Warning: Environment Anomaly Detected. Residual Energy Field (High Density).]
[Energy Type: Divine Conflict.]
He stepped over a massive, collapsed archway and entered what must have been the main courtyard of the temple. The sheer devastation was apparent. This wasn't just ruined; it had been violently obliterated, likely by the Lords he had witnessed in his vision.
In the center of the courtyard, bathed in the sickly green light filtering through the storm clouds, stood a towering statue—mostly intact. It depicted a majestic figure, heavily armored, with eyes of fierce, ancient power. The figure held a massive, stylized broadsword.
[Divine Imprint Detected: God of the Divine Seven Swords (Lord Lami).]
Archelius stared at the statue. It was one of the gods from his vision. The sheer power radiating from the stone was humbling.
[Initiating System Scan of Divine Imprint...]
[Scan Complete. Opportunity Detected: Acquisition of Lore and Minor XP.]
He cautiously approached the statue, laying his hand on the cold, rough stone base.
[Lore Fragment Acquired: The Shattered Alliance.]
Images flooded his mind—swift, fragmented memories of cosmic battles. He saw Lord Lami (Swords) and Lord Levi (Destruction) locked in a devastating, world-ending conflict. He saw Lord Lija (Beast Nation) and Lord Leka (Demon Race) forming fleeting, treacherous alliances. Aethelgard was not a battlefield; it was a cemetery.
[Minor XP Gained: 100. Total XP: 390/800.]
The System's logic was becoming clearer: exploration and discovery were just as crucial as combat.
The Divine Seven Swords Blueprint
As the influx of memory subsided, the statue's eyes flashed momentarily with a residual silver light.
[New Blueprint Acquired: Divine Edge (Rank E)]
Rank E? This was the first time the System had offered a blueprint above Rank F.
Archelius opened the Crafting Menu, focusing on the new entry.
[Divine Edge (Rank E): Requires: 5 Shadow Essence, 10 Void Lurker Scales, 1 Divine Imprint Shard.]
He had the scales and the essence, but he was missing the crucial Divine Imprint Shard.
He looked back at the imposing statue of Lord Lami. It seemed impossible to chip off a piece of a god-statue.
He tried the only physical action he was confident in. He channeled the full force of the War God's Fist (Rank F+) and delivered a brutal punch to the statue's massive foot.
BZZZZT!
The punch didn't shatter the stone; it hit an invisible, crackling barrier. The statue retaliated with a small burst of residual divine energy, pushing Archelius back several feet.
[Warning: Assault on Divine Imprint. Health: 90/100.]
"Okay, brute force is out," Archelius muttered, rubbing his sore shoulder.
He focused his gaze on the statue's sword. The enormous stone blade was still radiating power, and it had a faint, hairline fracture near the hilt, likely from the original catastrophic battle.
He climbed carefully up the statue's massive foot and leg, his Sprint Burst helping him grip the rough stone. He reached the hilt of the sword.
He activated War God's Strike on his Simple Dagger, coating the Rank F blade in silver-white energy. He needed precision, not power. He found the tiny fracture and began to carefully saw into the stone.
The energized dagger worked perfectly, slicing through the millennia-old stone like butter. With a final, delicate cut, a small, shimmering piece of stone—glowing with residual violet light—came free.
[Divine Imprint Shard Acquired: 1.]
Archelius quickly descended, tucking the shard into his inventory.
He immediately opened the Crafting Menu.
[Crafting Divine Edge (Rank E). Success Chance: 85%.]
He confirmed the crafting. The materials vanished. The silver light flared with intense, violet power this time, swirling rapidly into a single point of focus.
A new weapon materialized in his hands. It was a beautiful, lethal sword, about the size of a standard short sword. The blade was forged from the dark, slick scales, but etched with faint, glowing lines of violet energy, humming with power.
[Divine Edge (Rank E) Acquired. Damage: Significantly Higher. Enchantment: Minor Swords Affinity.]
He activated War God's Strike. The silver-white energy that flowed through the blade was now tinged with violet, looking far more potent than his Rank F dagger.
Archelius felt a confidence he had never known. The Core Zero was now armed with a Rank E weapon capable of challenging the dangers of Aethelgard.
He looked back toward the path, knowing he had to continue his climb toward the higher peaks to find more challenging enemies and the materials needed for Rank E upgrades.
"Thank you, Lord Lami," Archelius whispered, giving a small, grudging nod to the colossal, silent statue.
He secured the new Divine Edge and started moving out of the temple ruins, ready for the next level of conflict. He knew the ruins were a temporary haven, and true power lay in the hostile world beyond.