Chapter 268: A New Feature

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Since Fuhrer was the one to open the portal, the other side was linked to the position of his body. When Apollo, Typhir, and Ouroboros stepped through they stood before Fuhrer's motionless body. 

Slowly, he opened his eyes to view them with a subtle nod, "I don't know how you did it, but the projection of my will is seamless. Through normal means, that wouldn't be accomplishable. Nevertheless, since you have made good on your promise, you have my unblemished trust from this moment on."

In response, Apollo nodded. The usefulness of the system was not to be doubted. Even he didn't know what else the system had in store for him. However, one thing did remain true, whatever it was, he looked forward to unearthing it. Up until this very movement, apart from the pain, there wasn't much he disliked about the system.

Meanwhile, the moment they arrived Typhir clutched his chest while falling to his knees. The increased pressure from Ashiraem disgruntled Typhir to the point of distorting his equilibrium. Not to mention, the distortion of plane traveling also tampered with his senses.

Like a fountain, the contents of his stomach ejecting from his stomach, "I hate it! I HATE IT! Dear god... A-Ablehghgh!"

In the middle of his gasping and exclamations, not only his but even Apollo's body started to convulse. Naturally, this was a drawback from being made from Apollo's essence. The restrictions that fell upon him plagued the others as well. 

Moreover, there was an inverse relationship. In other words, if his followers did something to warrant punishment, Apollo would be affected as well but not the other way around. Any punishment he garnered would mostly likely cripple his followers in the long run. 

On the other hand, Fuhrer found their convulsions to be hilarious. Being as his spirit had escaped the boundaries of the mundane, he wasn't a typical demon. The mention of any holy deities didn't invoke punishment upon him. As a Daemos, he was a being that stood just under these deities. As a result, he possessed the ability to resist.

"Tsk tsk, young one. It seems you have learned your first lesson. Unless you step into the realm of the Daemos, I suggest you refrain from mentioning the rulers of the other race. It'll just excite punishment," Fuhrer said before extending his hand forward. 

A subtle power covered both Typhir and Apollo as the punishment was quelled by Fuhrer's energy. Once this happened, they both heaved a sigh of relief. Even though Typhir looked at Apollo with a tinge of guilt, Apollo simply chuckled.

"Truth be told, I did the same exact thing so there's nothing to be ashamed about. What's more important is for us to elevate our current standing. I think it'd be better for us to stay here. Fuhrer, how long can we stay here?" Apollo questioned while turning towards Fuhrer.

In response, Fuhrer shrugged, "That much is up to you. If you can step into the Greater State, then there is a chance of extending your stay here. You'll be able to sacrifice a substantial amount of Sin to continue staying here. If you don't I can keep you here for...approximately 7 days. As you know, that'd be slightly over 2 months in the other world."

Silently, Apollo made calculations. '7 days should be more than enough. On average, it took about 1 day to increase a single level. However, that is under the assumption that I continue to fight Lesser Ifrits. At the very least, we should seek out opponents that stand at the peak of our level.' 

"That should be more than enough. By the time we return, we should have accumulated enough experience. However, there is no need to dawdle. I think we shou-..." 

All of a sudden, Apollo stopped mid-sentence as he narrowed his eyes. It wasn't an enemy that caught his attention but rather the appearance of a notification in the corner of his eye. His last time here, the system has just increased his authority to Level 4.

Unfortunately, at that time, there wasn't enough time for the other additions that came with it to function properly. Fortunately, this was a completely difference visit. Thus, the system's sealed features immediately granted Apollo access. Not to mention, this specific feature made Apollo jubilant. 

〈System Alert! The "Dark Scanner" feature has awakened. In short, the use of this feature is to assist you in locating the hidden pieces. There are two functions to the scanner.〉

When Apollo read this, he immediately opened the tab to understand more about it.

«Dark Scanner» 

«Active» Pulse - This scans the current world and the immediate linked world for the presence of any hidden pieces. If used when in proximity to a piece, the exact location will be revealed. However, the piece will also become privy to your existence but not your aura. Thus, tread carefully.

«Passive» Dark Path - This enables a thread that points you in the correct general direction. Unlike the active version, this function doesn't possess an innate cooldown. Furthermore, depending on how close a piece is, the color of the thread will change color. The darker the white line becomes, the closer the piece.

After closing the menu, the tread mentioned in the information appeared. After the thread appeared, it vibrated before shifting and pointing towards the area that Saehtyn barred him from. In other words, there was another piece located somewhere near the area that possessed Greater Demons and Archdemons alike.

Typically, such an environment would cause one to become stagnant with fear. But, this wasn't the case for Apollo. In fact, he saw this as a stellar opportunity. If the next piece was stronger or just as strong as Fuhrer's current condition, then he would secure yet another strong assistant. 

The only issue was the warning that came along with the feature. 'Tread carefully for the other side will become privy to my existence. If they are as hostile as Fuhrer was in the beginning, then there may be a rough journey ahead. Additionally, I'm not even sure if I can summon Fuhrer's avatar here. I'll have to experiment on that once we gain some distance from him,' Apollo inwardly thought.

With the appearance of this feature, Apollo was almost impatient to set out towards his initial landing place. However, suddenly the singular thread split into five paths. At first, Apollo didn't understand what this meant, but then the next notification clarified it.

〈System Alert! The general position of the 5 closest hidden pieces has been determined. 2 resides with Ashiraem whereas the other 3 reside within the next linked ring. It is advised to follow the thinnest thread.〉

As Apollo read through the information, he first focused on the last sentence. Now that he took a long look to examine the threads, he noticed they all varied in thickness. One was fine like hair while the thickest one resembled the width of Apollo's finger.

When he looked at that thread, he felt a sense of dread, 'I'm almost certain that this thread belongs to an Archdemon, or even worse, a Noblesse. This option is immediately thrown out the window. In Fuhrer's state, he said he isn't their opponent. Then, the thinnest thread it is.'

Now that he came to a conclusion as to how he would move forward, he glanced in Typhir's direction. "Are you ready to set out?"

"I guess so," Typhir mumbled in response. Compared to the moment they landed, his state was much more stable. The only issue is he felt his insides bubbling. While he didn't disclose this to Apollo, Apollo was already aware of his. 

Naturally, this was because of Fuhrer. He alerted Apollo that Typhir was about to go through his initial demonizing. 

"Well, hurry up and transform," Apollo chuckled. 

Typhir then looked at him with an odd expression. 'Transform? What does he mean?' While perplexed, Apollo didn't continue with any more words. The atmosphere seethed before he took on his Iraym Form.

Even though he didn't understand why for now, Typhir's body resonated with him and responded in kind. He started to demonize. As this took place, something dawned upon Apollo.

"Fuhrer, I have a question. Is it possible to venture to other worlds?"

The moment he heard this, Fuhrer opened his eyes and grinned. His eyes told the tale of what Apollo wanted to know. "Could it be that you wish to venture to another Ring already?"

"It's a thought, for now," Apollo nodded. Outside of his curiosity, this question was spurred by the fact both of the notifications mentioned "linked rings."

"Ah, then I guess I should explain to you exactly how that process works," Fuhrer voiced while rubbing his chin. Since the Typhir's change would take quite some time, Fuhrer beckoned Apollo over.