Chapter 55: Chaos and the Sun, and Then
Knock, knock.
-“Your auction item delivery has arrived.”
I donned my mask again and spoke.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the male staff member with the rabbit mask, who had been my guide, entered the room.
He placed the auctioned Magi Item from the cart onto the table.
“Thank you for using the Black Market auction, esteemed customer. Was it an enjoyable experience?”
“Yes, I found it quite entertaining. Spending money, competing, and winning a bid—it’s all very thrilling.”
“I’m delighted it was to your liking. There are still many items remaining, so please continue to enjoy. Payment can be made by inserting your Black Market card into the card reader next to the sofa. The amount will be automatically withdrawn once the auction concludes.”
Ah, how convenient! The system was quite impressive.
I took the card out of my pocket and inserted it into the reader.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Wishing you the best of luck in acquiring the stars.”
The auction continued.
Half of the items appeared in rapid and dazzling succession, were bid on, and disappeared.
A short intermission was announced.
During the break, I opened my Inventory and pulled out the Black Wings I had received from the Miracle Guild.
“I’ve already gathered two of them.”
A satisfied smile spread across my face as I placed the Magi Item from the table beside the wing item.
As though anticipating this, the wing began to absorb the Magi imbued in the item.
Crack. Cr-rack! Snap!
In an instant, the Unique-grade item, drained of all its Magi, shattered into pieces. The wings, now shining with a brilliant black hue, began to awaken from their seal.
Slice.
I carefully pricked my fingertip and let drops of blood sprinkle onto the wings.
The wings eagerly absorbed the blood, and then, transformed into black light, merged into my body.
〚Item – Holy Relic: Seat of Arrogance, Lucifer’s 24th Wing [Mythical], has acknowledged you as its owner!〛
〚The item has been absorbed into Skill: Wing of Arrogance [Mythical]!〛
〚Skill: Wing of Arrogance rank has increased from D- to D!〛
〚The First Wing is now operational!〛
〚When the wing is operational, the rare stat Divine Power is temporarily manifested!〛
〚When the wing is operational, all stats receive a temporary +10 boost!〛
〚Due to low proficiency, activation time is limited to 15 minutes! Cooldown time is 3 hours!〛
〚The 24th Wing is now operational!〛
〚When the wing is operational, the rare stat Magi is temporarily manifested!〛
〚When the wing is operational, all stats receive a temporary +10 boost!〛
〚Due to low proficiency, activation time is limited to 15 minutes! Cooldown time is 3 hours!〛
Flap!
Behind me, a pair of wings materialized.
Light and darkness. Divine power and Magi. White and black.
These two opposing colors harmonized beautifully, granting me newfound strength.
〚Item – Holy Relic: Seat of Arrogance, Lucifer’s Pair of Wings, has acknowledged you as its owner!〛
〚Currently, only the first seal has been released.〛
〚Set Effect: Mythical Stat – Chaos +20 has been generated.〛
〚Effects of the 1st and 24th Wings: Rare stats Divine Power and Magi are permanently integrated into Chaos and can now be used without activating skills.〛
Divine Power and Magi began to merge.
Opposing forces that should never intertwine combined to form a new power.
Once, these wings belonged to the archangel who sat at the highest seat.
Fallen into the abyss, he became the angel of arrogance.
The Seat of Arrogance, Lucifer’s power, now resided within me.
The overwhelming might coursing through me felt intoxicating, filling me with a sense of omnipotence as though I could accomplish anything.
But this sensation didn’t last long.
“Urgh! Cough! Cough!”
Suddenly, my internal organs twisted violently, and my body convulsed as blood sprayed from my mouth.
After vomiting a mouthful of blackened, dead blood, realization struck.
This is dangerous. I can’t handle this. Something is wrong.
The Sun.
The powers from a shared origin, Chaos and Sun, were colliding within me. Both forces, vying for dominance, clashed against each other, and the aftermath wreaked havoc on my body.
Normally, the more dominant power would erase the weaker one.
However, these two stats were of equal rank. Separating and using them independently wasn’t an option—the system, nor my body, would allow it.
“Arghh!!”
The pain engulfing me was unbearable, and I felt on the brink of death.
What do I do?
I couldn’t think clearly. The pain was so intense that it left no room to act. I writhed helplessly on the ground, vomiting black blood over and over.
There must be a way…!
With trembling lips, I barely managed to utter one desperate solution.
“Equivalent… Exchange…”
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] LV1 has summoned the Scales of Equivalence!〛
〚Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange [Origin] LV1 has accumulated enough experience to rise to LV2!〛
〚With the rise to LV2, permanent exchanges for specific conditions are now possible.〛
〚With the rise to LV2, a portion of the cost for exchanges can now be permanently preserved.〛
I couldn’t make a clear decision. Though the ability had activated, I couldn’t manage to vocalize further commands.
Within my mind, I screamed for a solution—to end this agony!
Giving up wasn’t an option. If left unresolved, I risked losing either Chaos or Sun permanently. Yet, abandoning either wasn’t something I could accept.
Even if I canceled the skill, the stat gained from the set effect would remain.
In the end, I had to choose: sacrifice one, or risk losing both by reaching too far.
“No, absolutely not!”
These are things I’ve acquired with great difficulty! I can’t just throw them away like this.
Even in the midst of pain, I steeled my resolve. I bit my tongue hard to awaken my mind through the pain and barely managed to open my mouth.
“End… this situation!”
〚Adding the caster’s request to the left scale〛
〚Left: Permanent cancellation of the repulsion between Mythical Stat: Sun and Mythical Stat: Chaos〛
〚To balance the scales, the cost to be placed on the right will be determined〛
〚Right: An item of Mythical rank or higher〛
Damn it! The cost was outrageous. They wanted me to offer a Mythical rank item.
〚Will you use Equivalent Exchange?〛
I had no choice but to decide. A loss was inevitable. In the end, if something had to be sacrificed… giving up an item made the most sense.
There was only one, but I indeed possessed a Mythical rank item.
〚Item: Eye of the Supreme Sun [Mythical]〛
It was too precious. Swear words spilled from my mouth. An item of such immense value, and I had to sacrifice it because of this ridiculous situation!
Was it reading my thoughts? Equivalent Exchange started acting on its own.
〚The Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange, frustrated by the perceived loss, is taking action on its own〛
〚Adding the item: Eye of the Supreme Sun to the right scale〛
It was indeed a near-unknown Origin-level ability. As an ability with the greatest potential to grow into an Authority, I already knew it had a will of its own from previous experiences. But to think it could act this recklessly.
Well, being forcibly taken might hurt less than voluntarily giving it up.
The translucent disc hovering above my head disintegrated with a soft crackle into ash and vanished.
At the same time, the power of Equivalent Exchange extended toward the chaotic conflict raging within my body.
Equivalent Exchange forcibly suppressed the clash of the two stats, halting the pain, and demanded another choice from me.
〚With the current mastery level, it is impossible to coexist with two Mythical-grade magic stats〛
〚Mythical Stat: Sun. Mythical Stat: Chaos. To cancel their permanent repulsion, one must devour the other〛
〚Choose. One will ascend to the next tier〛
I bit my lips hard and made my decision.
‘This stat is better aligned with my profession anyway.’
It wouldn’t completely disappear. It would be absorbed, so it wasn’t as if I couldn’t use it at all.
“I choose Chaos.”
〚The Unique Ability: Equivalent Exchange (Origin) is unleashing its full power!〛
〚Stat: Chaos (Mythical) evolves into Stat: Arrogance (Origin)!〛
〚Stat: Sun (Mythical) is absorbed into Stat: Arrogance (Origin)!〛
The scale and power of Chaos began to grow rapidly, and it completely devoured the smaller and weaker Sun.
〚Current Stat: Arrogance (Origin) is unstable due to imbalance〛
〚Stat: Sun (Mythical) is a stat related to light. Acquire a Mythical-grade dark-related stat to stabilize it〛
“Damn it. After demanding a Mythical item as an offering, couldn’t they at least include this as a bonus?”
Where was I supposed to find another Mythical stat?
Even as I grumbled, I rose to my feet, my face not looking as bad as I thought.
That was because I knew a way to obtain a Mythical-grade stat—one related to darkness.
“They said if I obtain that profession, I can get a Mythical-grade stat.”
It was a dark-aligned stat. Well, to be exact, calling it light and darkness was a simplification since both Sun and that stat exceeded those categories. But for convenience, I’ll call it that.
Did Equivalent Exchange foresee even this and prepare such a plan? Or was it merely a coincidence?
These Unique Abilities, having wills like Authorities, only made me more suspicious.
While Cursed Misfortune was technically an Authority masquerading as a Unique Ability, Equivalent Exchange was a complete mystery.
A Unique Ability should not have a will, but Equivalent Exchange seemed to break that limitation with overwhelming power and grade.
“I don’t know. Anyway, it’s a gain for me.”
An Origin-grade stat. For sacrificing one Mythical-grade item, this was a deal well beyond fair.
〚You have obtained Origin-grade Stat: Arrogance F (50+20/100)!〛
〚One pending quest’s grade and difficulty have increased! Check upon entering the Abyss〛
〚The remnant of a once-great being, now extinct, watches you as you inherit their power through two wings〛
〚Skill: Heart of the Titan designates Stat: Chaos〛
〚Stat: Mugeuk (Mythical) increases to F (50+20/100)!〛
With the Heart of the Titan, an additional 20 stat points were gained.
My body grew stronger again, instantly erasing the damage I had sustained from the pain earlier.
Satisfied, I raised my hand and summoned the power of Arrogance.
The pure, dense ash-colored energy surpassed the Chaos that once blended light and darkness.
“This is Lucifer’s true power.”
It was a strength that couldn’t be obtained with just two wings.
At least 24 wings and other legacies of Lucifer had to be collected to reach this level.
Normally, this overwhelming power was reserved only for those granted a seat among the Seven Deadly Sins.
“It seems I can still use the Sun.”
Of course, it wasn’t the same Sun as before.
The Sun now manifesting in my hand was more divine and radiant than ever.
A Sun made of divinity rather than fire.
I erased the bloodstains scattered on the floor with the Sun, then loosened my body and let out a deep sigh of relief, feeling utterly satisfied.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment