Cultist Essence Purge

Eager to continue his preparation for the impending war, Adam decided to seek out his adopted mother, the Hive Empress Zara.

He found her in her usual place, occupying the throne that connected her to the hive's consciousness.

Zara looked significantly healthier than she had been previously. It was clear she'd dedicated more of the hive's precious biomass to recuperating her own vitality.

Her royal guards were as ever vigilant, standing at attention around her.

A smile played at the corners of her mouth. "I see you've reached level 15, Adam," she commented.

He nodded in affirmation.

"Can I join the war?"

"I presume the sudden appearance of a tier 1 hobgoblin in my hive was your doing?"

"Yes, I recruited him." He went on to explain about Gundug, his recruit, and why he was currently unfit for war due to the lingering effects of death.

Zara paused, mulling over Adam's words. After a moment, she responded. "You were supposed to have subordinates, but this time, I will make an exception. You are permitted to join the war. However, if you fail to bring suitable subordinates next time, you won't be allowed to participate."

"Understood, Mother Zara," Adam responded, nodding seriously. "I promise to have capable companions with me next time."

Zara hesitated for a moment before closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she said, "It appears you have recruited more people."

Adam's smile widened, "Yes, and not only that, I've managed to meet the requirements for my cult establishment mission after performing a sacred sacrifice."

Zara leaned forward, her interest clearly piqued. "A sacred sacrifice? Do explain, Adam."

Adam recounted the process of the sacred sacrifice to her, the gathering of specific resources, and the careful following of set rituals. "And you'll never guess what the reward is," he added, a hint of excitement in his tone.

Zara smiled, covering her mouth with a slender hand as she guessed, "An attribute point?"

Adam's expression was of sheer surprise.

His shock quickly transformed into annoyance. "Did you have someone spying on me?"

Shaking her head, Zara said, "No, Adam. It doesn't require spying to figure out. It's a matter of simple arithmetic. I know how many attributes you gain per level and I've inspected you to see your attribute tally. There was an extra point."

Adam fell silent for a moment, before uttering, "Sorry."

Zara waved her hand dismissively. "All I want, Adam, is you to be the best you can be. Every action I take is to that end."

Zara shifted the conversation, "Are you going to accept the mission rewards now? Remember, once you do, it's likely that the next mission will begin."

"I will," Adam confirmed, opening his mission tab.

He inspected the Cult Establishment II mission, noting that both conditions of recruiting 10 people to the cult and performing a sacred sacrifice were marked green. He accepted the reward.

The Immortal Dream Blade, his trusty knife, sprang to life beside him. It whirled around him, picking up speed with each revolution. Tiny sparks erupted from the dagger, darting about like twinkling stars in the night sky. Each spark shone like a tiny lantern before winking out, leaving behind a thin streak of light as its last breath.

He checked the system message about his talent upgrading. The only change that he saw was his talent now being rank D.

Adam shared his upgraded talent with Zara.

Her face lighting up with hope, Zara asked, "Now that your talent has upgraded, can I be added to the cult? Maybe tier doesn't matter as much anymore."

He attempted to add her, but received the same message as before. "I can't," he informed her, seeing the disappointment flash in her eyes.

Zara quickly composed herself, lifting one hand from the armrest of the throne. Adam hadn't noticed the hand-shaped dent in the throne's armrest Zara left behind.

"It's no problem," she assured him.

Changing the subject she asked, "Did you receive the next mission in the chain?"

He nodded in affirmation as he looked over it.

[Cult Establishment III]:

Mission Brief: Your dedication and unwavering will have lit the path for a handful of followers. However, true leadership lies in the ability to lead not just a handful, but hundreds. It is time to stoke the flame of your teachings, drawing in a hundred disciples into the fold of your cult.

The connection between immortality and sacrifice is ancient and deep. It is the bond that binds the temporal and the eternal. Perform ten sacred sacrifices with your followers. This act of devotion will strengthen your followers' belief, solidifying their trust and faith in the cult.

In addition, you must elevate your cult to Level 25. This is a crucial step, symbolizing your commitment to the path of immortality and the intensity of your teachings.

You have 100 days to complete this mission.

Time Remaining: 99 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 55 seconds.

Reward: The rank of your talent will be elevated once again, unlocking new horizons for your cult and the weapon bound to your talent.

Penalty for Failure: Death for you and your followers until you reach the target.

Adam winced at the new demands.

'Recruiting a hundred more followers isn't too bad, and the sacred sacrifices are doable. But pushing the cult to level 25? That's a steep mountain to climb.'

Adam navigated to the [Cult] tab and glanced at the cult's basic information.

Cult name: Immortal Dream Cult

Cult type: Undying soul

Level: 10 (Tier 1)

Cult progression: 8%

Leader: Adam Emmanuel-Amin

A grimace crossed Adam's face as he took in the painfully slow progress. It seemed that only his sacrifices contributed experience to the cult, with the sacred ones providing the most.

The cult needed 100 times more experience to level up than a regular person at the same level, which, on second thought, made sense since any cult member could contribute to its growth. With only two Tier 1 members currently, Adam was certain that as more people hit Tier 1, the cult would skyrocket in levels.

With a sigh, he muttered, "Guess there's no quick way to boost my talent."

Shaking off his frustration, he turned his attention to the new ability on the Immortal Dream Blade, his mood brightening considerably.

With a gleam of anticipation in his eyes, he eagerly explained the Immortal Dream Blade's new ability to Zara.

Ability 3: [Cultist Essence Purge] - This powerful ability harnessed by the Immortal Dream Blade can strip a cultist of one of their skills, wiping clean the imprints of the learned ability from their essence.

The ritualistic act produces a radiant skill orb, containing the extracted skill. The skill orb holds the forfeited abilities of the cultist, granting the skill to another. However, the orb diminishes upon use and needs time to replenish before another skill can be obtained. Warning: The extracted skill can never be regained by the initial skill holder.

Engrossed by the potential of the [Cultist Essence Purge], Adam eagerly discussed his thoughts with Zara. He was sure that this powerful ability had hidden depths that could be unraveled only through practical testing.

However, Adam knew that the timing was not right. The looming war occupied most of his attention and resources. His priority was preparing himself for the upcoming battle. As such, he decided to shelve the testing of this new ability for a later time.

He also understood that the skill's full potential could be realized once more of his cult members advanced to Tier 1. At their current state, using [Cultist Essence Purge] wouldn't yield the desired results.

Zara listened to his thought process and agreed with his approach. Despite the tantalizing prospects offered by the new skill, they both knew the importance of prioritizing the immediate threats.

The war was of utmost importance, and it demanded their full attention.

For the time being, the mysteries of [Cultist Essence Purge] would have to wait. But it sat there, like an unopened gift, full of promise and potential for the future of their cult.

A group of people were escorted into the hive's staging ground. Adam excused himself from Zara to handle the new arrivals. Among the crowd were not just adults, but children and babies as well.

The Dreamverse made no distinctions based on age - everyone was drawn into its web. Adam could vouch for this firsthand, having been brought into the Dreamverse as a newborn himself.

Adam had extended the invitation to every child in the Amin family, as well as the family members of their staff.

Once they'd seen how serious the Amins were, they'd brought their entire families into it. Persuading all these individuals, many of whom he didn't particularly care about, was a tedious task, but it was his responsibility.

There were a couple dozen people in front of him now. The wailing of the children was starting to grate on his nerves.

One particularly vexing aspect was the Cult Establishment mission.

It appeared that if he over-recruited, the counter for the next mission in the chain would reset to zero upon claiming the reward. This forced him to claim the reward as soon as he reached the mission goals, or he would lose efficiency.

It was impossible to complete multiple Cult Establishment missions in a row under such conditions.

Adam spent some time arranging for the children's accommodation, ensuring that at least one of their parents stayed with them. He did his best to shield the new cultists from the hive's more questionable activities, particularly the parasite conversions.

He didn't want them, especially the children, to witness such a thing.

His family members lent a hand, with Annabelle taking charge of the logistics working with the hive unit assigned to them. Adam briefly addressed his family, discussing the cult's potential and the necessity of creating more binding stones, as their single tier 0 stone was nearing its capacity.

For now, they needed to focus on leveling up and bringing the new recruits up to speed, with the hive units providing as much assistance as possible.

Adam was keen to show them the benefits of the sacrificial rituals, but he wanted to do it right.

Predictably, it was his grandmother who broached the subject first.

"Adam," Matriarch Emmanuelle began, her voice a practiced blend of elegance and authority, "you've done a commendable job of recruiting, but I notice there are no Emmanuelles present in today's batch."

Adam had been expecting this. He held her gaze steadily, "That wasn't by accident, Grandma."

Her eyes, keen as a hawk's, narrowed slightly. "Whatever do you mean, Adam?"

Everyone else fell silent, their attention focusing on the brewing confrontation.

"What I'm saying, Grandma, is that actions have consequences. And right now, you're dealing with yours," Adam replied, his tone even.

"And what 'actions' might these be?" she queried, feigning innocent curiosity.

"You know exactly what you've done, Grandma. I'm tired of your power games, the last straw was you refusing to help my dad."

She attempted a defense, her tone placating, "It was a trifling wound, Adam, hardly a cause for alarm..."

Adam cut her off, his voice dipping with suppressed anger, "Don't. I don't want to hear your excuses. I'm not a kid. I know what you were up to, and I'm telling you now, if you cause any more problems, I won't recruit a single Emmanuelle ever again. Do you understand?"

A tense silence filled the air as they locked gazes. Finally, Matriarch Emmanuelle broke into a smile, "Very well."

Adam had bought himself some time. He was well aware that once he recruited enough Emmanuelles, his grandmother would resume her manipulative games in her relentless pursuit of power.

"I'm going to go now, but ensure you lead the others and share your knowledge with them," Adam instructed. "We don't have much time, and things are progressing faster than we anticipated."

His father, Yusuf, reassured him. "Don't worry, son. We'll handle it."

Adam left them with a final message, "I'll request everyone's return at some point, but for now, do your best."

Then, he returned to Zara. She had already arranged for his transport to the hive's frontline base.

A ripple of excitement surged through Adam. The entire journey was a blur of anticipation. He was finally about to be part of the war.

Upon arrival, he was directed towards a striking tent, erected in the heart of the camp. The tent, crafted from some sort of organic materials, gave off an imposing aura.

However, upon entering it, Adam's mood plummeted rapidly, casting a shadow over his initial excitement.