Because there was so much to test out, and Nial was in need of a mountain of resources, he spent more than a day conquering dungeons. He experimented a lot as well, but he couldn't quite get a hang of the Vengeance of Chaos ability even after he sorted his thoughts.
Nial now knew that the Orin family was not related to him by blood at all. That didn't mean his love and care for them would suddenly disappear, but it made him wonder who he was and where his biological parents were.
If they were dead, did he have some other relatives he didn't know about?
Why did the Oracle ask if he was human?
Was he really born in Jundra, or did he emerge from the other side of the irregular dungeon portal 22 years ago?
There were dozens of similar questions tormenting his mind, and they didn't disappear even after he told himself that everything was fine.
'At least, I don't doubt my parents' intention behind taking me in, not anymore… I should thank the little Oracle for asking the right questions when only my shadow was left behind…'
Now that he thought about it, the Little Oracle knew way too much about his family, and his situation. That made it seem as if she had always been by his side. It was quite weird and it made him shudder as he recalled a few situations in the past, but overall, it was quite calming to know that someone was looking over him.
But that made him question something else.
Was the Little Oracle something like a Guardian sent out by the Origin?
If Nial was favored by the Universe, the little Oracle might be an Original who came into existence to make sure that the prophecy would come true…or that it would be prevented.
Without an answer to any of his doubts, Nial ended up joining the dungeon conquest of Kaeldur and Tyrant. Instead of doing something useless and getting distracted all over again, he felt that fighting some powerful dungeon beasts would provide him with the best help.
There were way too many dungeons all over the wilderness, and Nial chose to spend a little bit more time conquering a bunch of permanent, low-ranked dungeons as well.
He used the massive amount of dark energy in his body to create a darkness domain throughout the dungeon before crushing it in an instant. Afterward, he took the Dungeon Core and left, leaving behind a destroyed permanent dungeon that would close and cease to exist in no time.
The Dungeon Cores possessed a tremendous amount of highly purified mana, which Nial would make use of once he came back to the Forest of Life.
He had yet to finish the last half of the 10,000 Refinements of Imperfection, after all!
'I cannot clear my mind…let's just take one step at a time…'
After he had cleared his thoughts, Nial ended up freeing the leashed dungeon beasts. The Spatial rings were returned to him, filled to the brim. And both Kaeldur and Tyrant returned to the Heart of Darkness where their powers would slowly recuperate.
It was only a matter of time and a question of Nial's progression until the two Devils would regain all their powers.
Flying back to the Forest of Life, Nial first took a glance at his father. He was sleeping soundly, so Nial didn't disturb him.
Nonetheless, a gentle smile appeared on his face when he visualized his father.
"Take me with you!" A shrill cry reached his ear. Nial halted in his tracks, turned around, and visualized the Little Oracle, who was holding the sleepyhead Ryu.
The Gryphon was growing rapidly and he almost reached the Little Oracle's height. Ryu was also quite heavy because he had to eat lots to fill the seemingly endless blackhole that was his stomach. But the Little Oracle carried Ryu with ease even if he weighed a ton for her little hands.
Though, visualizing them was enough to make Nial grin.
He picked up Ryu and pushed the monster's body against his broad chest, allowing Ryu to sleep once again. As for the Little Oracle, she stretched out her hand and demanded him to pick her up as well.
"Don't you think that you're a little bit too old for that?" He scoffed, knowingly.
The Little Oracle bit her lips, not wanting to say anything.
"I really don't understand why you try to keep up the image of a little girl. Last time you grew up from a six-year-old child to an eight-year-old child in a matter of days but now you don't grow at all.
You are probably as old as some planets in the vast Universe, and much stronger than anyone who can currently enter Jundra, or Origin if you want to call it such. I really don't get it," Nial confronted the Little Oracle in a calm and composed manner.
He didn't hate the Oracle for barging in his life and revealing things about the Universe that he didn't actually want to know. He was not planning on becoming part of the prophecies everyone spoke about, so they might as well stop talking about them altogether.
Nonetheless, he could not deny the fact that the Little Oracle had helped him to get his hands on the Swirl of Chaos ability crystal. He was not sure if he could have done that without her creating the isolated space.
There were also many questions Nial had about the Oracle's help, but he didn't feel like hearing the answer because he was quite certain that he wouldn't like it.
"I will leave soon, either way…so let me have some fun and memories that are not filled with pain and sadness…" The Oracle squealed, her voice cracking a bit and showing that she was on the verge of crying.
'What a frail Oracle…Did the Origin pick up a crybaby?' Nial thought for a moment before he grasped the Little Oracle's tiny hand.
Her violet eyes began to shine brightly and her expression improved drastically. The tears that had accumulated in her eyes trickled down her cheeks but she was not sobbing anymore.
"Let's goo~!"
Nial circulated some dark energy around the Oracle to make sure that she wouldn't be dragged behind him while they flew.
Afterward, he set off to make his way to Orion Artisan Guild. He gave the reception the resources they had collected when conquering dungeons, and he wanted to leave afterward.
Unfortunately, it was just at this moment when his sensitive ears heard something that made him focus his range of perception and Mana Sense in a specific direction.
"Are the Drug addicts of the second stage still here? Why were they not kicked out of the Guild and the Association?" Nial asked, his head flicking in the direction of the staff members that he had handed over his spatial ring just a moment earlier.
The staff member, a young woman in her early 20s, looked into Nial's milky white, lifeless eyes and she subconsciously swallowed her saliva. Her throat felt like it was tightening as she felt the pressure originating from the young, and handsome man in front of her increasing all of a sudden.
"T-th…they were kicked out…but there are always a few troublemakers…some have a debt to pay because they wanted to deal with the Cultivation drug by themselves…it didn't work out because Mr. Zorn found them and destroyed the drugs…so there are a few Artisans in high debt…" The staff member explained while stuttering.
Her explanation provided him with more details than Nial could have hoped for. Thus, his expression changed slightly and he nodded at her with a faint smile.
Afterward, he went on his way toward the troublemakers, while holding a mutated Darkness Gryphon in one arm, while holding the hand of an otherworldly beautiful child.
His steps were slow but he found the troublemakers in no time.
Clearing his throat while amplifying his vocal cords with mana, he spoke in an imposing voice that could be heard by the bunch of people in front of him.
The troublemakers, who were beating the shit out of three human Artisans, belonged to various races. Nial was not even familiar with the races which the members belonged to and which he visualized in his head just now. They turned their heads toward him upon hearing him clearing his throat.
"You guys realize that you're infiltrating someone else's property, right?" Nial asked, feeling emotionless and calm.
"So what?!" One of the troublemakers asked, kicking the Artisan that lay on the ground just next to him.
'So what? This might become a little bit funny!'