Carter squinted his fake eyes. He turned around and chose a different path.
But that path also had a girl in a white dress sitting.
'Terrorstate, huh…'
Carter turned once more and chose a different path. There was also a girl sitting on the path. He spun around and everywhere he saw, a girl was there.
The girl didn't move but she was slowly appearing closer to Carter. It was as if the space was distorted and it pulled Carter closer to the girl.
'I guess I can't be you right now, System Ghost. Equip Eldritch Knight!'
[ELDRITCH KNIGHT EQUIPPED]
A dark cloud enveloped Carter.
The girl in the white dress was now extremely close to Carter. Her cry echoed. A desperate cry that made the skin of the listener crawl.
The girl lifted her head up. Her face was a mix between a human and a bird. Her nose was a long beak. Her eyes had no eyelids. They were two black sleek spheres. She had no mouth nor ears.
The girl suddenly stood up and lunged at the dark cloud.
Carter's fist shot out and punched the girl, sending her rolling a few times on the ground.
The cloud disappeared, revealing Carter.
Pure white robe on the outside. A black battle suit on the inside. His right hand held a black sword. His left hand had a metallic bracer on the wrist.
Carter's face also changed. He had a pair of determined eyes. Short brown hair. And a dangerous relentless aura on him.
This was not Carter Hayes. Nor the System Ghost. It was no one that Carter knew before. It was the Eldritch Knight.
"Hunter..." The girl growled.
Carter unsheathed his sword. The Prisoner was shorter than he thought. It had no guard, only a sleek black body.
All the powers within the skin flooded into Carter. He knew everything he needed to know. All the strength, skills, and minor details embedded into Carter automatically.
Carter raised the Prisoner higher, entering a sword stance.
"En Garde." Carter said.
The girl jumped at him. Carter slashed the Prisoner at her.
The girl was slashed in two. Her body dissolved like smoke. The girl reappeared behind Carter and lunged at him.
Carter could react to her. He already anticipated it. But he didn't. He only smirked.
"Heh."
The girl jumped on his back. Her fingernails grew longer and slashed at Carter.
A pulse of white energy shot out and repelled the girl back. She slammed her back on the wall.
Carter spun and kicked her in the abdomen. He held his leg there to pin her to the wall.
"You should have let me leave."
Carter swung his sword, decapitating the girl in one hit.
[Synchronization +5.3%]
[Current Synchronization]: 10.6%
<+10 Prime Coin>
The girl dropped to the ground. Her body convulsed and changed. She showed her true form once she's dead. She was a bird demon with no wings. Her skin was as dark as charcoal.
At the same time, both windows of the Prime System and the Infinite Skin System popped up.
The Prime System was built to colonize other worlds. It had a basic feature of rewarding Primer when they killed any being of another dimension.
The Skin System, however, showed a more unique stat.
'What is Synchronization?' Carter asked in his head.
The Skin System responded immediately.
[Synchronization: The measurement of how much you have become the character of the skin]
[At 100%, Host will absorb the strength of the skin]
[At 100%, Host may choose one aspect to receive from the skin (1 Ability or 1 Skill or 1 Item)]
There weren't many things that could cause Carter to be uneasy. But for the first time, he was.
Carter widened his eyes a little before returning back to normal.
'Synchronization… It is basically acting according to the skin. The more I become it, the more powerful my true self will be. Perfect for a little actor like me.'
Carter looked back down at the Terror. A pulsing sledge hammer appeared right above it. It was coming from the Skin System, not the Prime System.
'What is this?' Carter asked himself.
[Please put your hand on the target]
The Skin System immediately responded.
Carter placed his hand on the corpse of the Terror. Immediately, a progress bar appeared right beneath the pulsing hammer. It filled up slowly. Once it was full, the body of the Terror disintegrated.
[+1 Minor Terror Skin Shard (Awaken)]
[Skin Forge is unlocked]
[You can forge 10 Skin Shards of the same rank together to receive the corresponding skin]
Carter smiled gently, 'Skin Shards, huh? So this is how I can gain new skin without accessing a new world.'
The Eldritch Knight stood up. He sheathed his sword and continued on his way. The night was young and Terrors lurked in all the corners of this world.
Carter needed to fill the shoes of the Eldritch Knight. There was nothing more fitting than him hunting Terrors in the night.
A Terror jumped out from the corner. Its hand reached out at him. Carter was surprised. If he was his usual self, he would turn around and run for his life.
But he wasn't Carter Hayes at the moment. He was the Eldritch Knight. And a hunter of the night does not run. They hunt.
Carter maintained the cold facade and grabbed the Prisoner. He drew the sword in the same motion as slicing the Terror.
[Synchronization +4.6%]
[Current Synchronization]: 15.2%
<+10 Prime Coin>
The Terror was decapitated in one simple motion.
"Mortal. Awaken. Then Champion. I am one rank higher than an Awaken. These Awaken Terror are like children to me. I can kill them easily."
Carter placed his hand on the Terror and converted it.
[+1 Minor Terror Skin Shard (Awaken)]
Then Carter heard a scream. A guttural angry scream. His head snapped over.
He saw Alan stabbing a large machete inside Nina Chekhova.
"You damn traitor!" Nina's hands glowed pink as she punched Alan, sending him flying.
Alan rolled a few times on the ground. He quickly regained balance and got up, wiping his bleeding nose.
"That sword is a cursed object. The Terrors would kill you now." Alan stepped into darkness and disappeared.
Terrors walked out from the shadow and circled Nina.
"Tch. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Nina shouted. "I should've known!"
She was injured and tired. There was no way out.
Then she saw a man in a white robe approaching.
He grabbed his sword and unsheathed it slightly.
"Prisoner... Unbound."