Chapter 464: Hidden Phase!

'It's still one of the worst experiences in this game…'

Although I wasn't as dizzy as the last time I experienced spatial travel thanks to my 'Transcendent Immunity' skill leveling up from the repeated 'trips', I still felt disoriented when I finally came to…

Looking around me to find myself in the exact same position I was in before being transported, I was relieved to find that nothing unexpected happened, I was able to safely return!

Of course, analyzing it from this angle made me wonder how the demon expected to escape from here without trouble. At the same time, it also made me wonder if the returning location depended on the person who crushed the orb.

'Maybe…'

If the mechanism made it so that the orb would teleport the targets back to a 'Corrupted' demon base in the case of it being crushed by a Corruption user, then it would make more sense, but it wasn't completely logical either.

Why would they even give the 'puppet candidate' a chance to escape to safety? That only strengthened one of my assumptions about the source of this artifact, it was more likely to be something the demons didn't make themselves.

'You can switch it off now.'

Since I wasn't thrown into some strange enemy territory, I told Long to remove the light disguise as it was no longer needed before bracing for the impact…

"Huh?!"

"Eh?!"

"What…"

As a person who has appeared out of nowhere, I naturally understood the shock factor of what just happened, therefore, I simply stood in my place, holding the 'retarded' demon using his neck as a handle.

'Let's see what that notification was…'

Considering that I had to wait a while for the shock to go away so we can talk about actual details, I decided to check the notification that I received just when I was teleported out of the Corruption Space.

[ 'Prophecy' Hidden Phase 1.5 has been completed! ]

Just as I was feeling slightly confused by the notification, the system bombarded me with more as if it was lying in wait for me!

[ 'Prophecy' (Player Initiated)

Phase 1.5(Hidden):

The enemy has infiltrated the natives' 'Home' with the target of harming a 'core character'. Help them evade the sudden danger!

Completed Objectives(Full Completion):

+ Managed to protect the core character. (+75% of EP needed for next Level-Up)

+ Replaced the core character as the target. (+45% of EP needed for next Level-Up)

+ Took down the infiltrating enemy. (+90% of EP needed for next Level-Up) ]

[ Level-up bar progress +210%! ]

[ Level-up bar progress +20%! (Phase 1.5 full completion bonus)! ]

[ You have leveled up! ]

[ You have leveled up! ]

[ You have leveled up! ]

[ You have reached level 120! ]

'This is unexpected…'

Although I was glad about this surprise reward which returned the stat points that I used in the Corruption Space, I was surprised by the fact that this was also part of the quest.

Despite being mentioned as (Hidden), it was still acknowledged as a part of the 'Player Initiated Quest'. 

Considering that one of my assumptions regarded the 'Fortune Teller' as the one who 'Initiated' the quest, being a player himself, then predicting such a surprise event felt even more surprising than the event itself.

'Then why?'

Even if I were to suppose that this certain player had the ability to 'predict', the whole thing didn't feel right. If he knew this was going to happen and wanted to prevent it, why didn't he just mention it earlier so we could prepare for it?

'What if the problem lies in the ability itself…?'

Despite being as close as possible to being cheat keys, not all 'innate abilities' were easy to use, some had special preconditions to use like the twins' pair of abilities. As such, my first guess was that this 'impossible' ability probably had some severe restrictions to it.

"Sir Azure…?"

As I was lost in thought, someone finally approached me and spoke out in an inquisitive tone, the voice was familiar. Unsurprisingly, it was someone I knew.

"Oh, hey there."

It was none other than the leader between the two guides that showed me the way here, he seemed to be less shocked and warier in comparison to the other. Moreover…

'His bloodline seems less diluted than last time…'

Although using 'Omni-viewing Eye' on him showed me the same description, I could tell he was slightly different from the deeper color of his skill and the slightly more sense of closeness brought by similar bloodlines.

"Just what happened to you, sir? And this… you are holding-"

"I can answer your questions, but I don't want to repeat myself. So, just let the clan leader know we need to have a talk, and you can hear the answer if he allows you to."

Having spent over forty days in the Corruption Space, I knew that a lot must have already happened in the week or so that passed in the Fire Domain. As such, it would be better to quickly meet the Dragon Clan Leader and have an information exchange instead of me blabbering about what happened to an irrelevant character.

'Perhaps I can even get to know who the 'core character' is…'

With the tiny bit of knowledge that I managed to steal out of the demon's head, I already knew that the 'core character' was the Dragon that the demons targeted. Since the war is probably going to enter its critical phase soon, it wouldn't be unexpected if the Dragon revealed himself as an important asset in an all-out war.

"Oh, yes. The Clan Leader already knows you are back and invites you for a conversation."

The guide acted slightly flustered for having forgotten the main reason he was sent to talk to me for, bowing his head lightly before dashing in the direction of the 'Natural' building that the Dragon Clan Leader stayed in.

'This feels slightly weird…'

Taking fast steps behind the dashing guide, I couldn't help but feel strange. Just before I was 'kidnapped' by the demon, I had just come out from the Dragon Clan Leader's room, and now that I'm back again at the stronghold, I was heading there once more. If one looked at it from a certain angle, it felt like an endless conversation stretching over space and time was coming into being...