Chapter 23: Legacy Artifact

Fate, it was an enigmatic concept that was obscure to understand but affected anything or any creatures. The fate was said to be imminent and couldn't be altered by even those that were the strongest in the world of ' Exodius'.

That was what I had been living with till my awakening. I was forced to believe in the obscure yet imminent nature of fate after being deemed as a worthless creature that couldn't even sense the mana in a world ruled by magic. 

It was only after gaining the legacy and changing my fate that I understood that fate wasn't an eternal truth that could never be altered. Instead, it could be wielded and manipulated by those truly powerful beings who had touched upon the realm of godhood. They were said to be masters of fate, capable of altering the destiny of anyone they chose. It might seem surreal to think that someone out there has the ability to control the most enigmatic concept that was deemed inevitable, never to be changed by mere mortals.

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And here I was, standing in one of the chambers of the dungeon after killing the boss that was deemed as one of the most bizarre yet powerful by the ones that had been able to leave this place alive. I looked at the place where the body of the monster had melted into a puddle before disappearing into a puff... leaving a core in its wake.

It was already three hours by the time I woke up from meditation. My mind was refreshed, my body full of vitality and strength. I started my search from the chamber I was in right now. This place gave me the most prominent vibe, as if it held the artifact hinted at by my legacy. I searched every nook and cranny of this place thoroughly, even inspecting the roof above me for hidden magical phenomena that might have been hidden from my naked eyes.

After getting done with my search here, I looked at the place where 'Blood Puppet' and 'Blood Mother' had been for the last time before turning back to the door that led me to this place in the first place.

I moved down, walking the corridors that didn't have any corpses in their wake. The stifling smell of Blood was also gone, it felt like the corridor that I had walked earlier had been just a mere dream.

After walking for about five more minutes, while taking everything I had seen in my mind, trying to get insight on them, I reached the door that took me inside the room filled with 'Crimson blood Fairies'. Even the overbearing maw made up of tangible bloodlust was gone and the monsters inside were also nowhere to be seen. I looked around, checking every corner of the room, searching for the artifacts hinted to me by the legacy.

Even the ' Rune of Insight' had been working all the time as I was now able to fully control this rune after it provided me with insights while battling with the abomination earlier. I was looking for the hidden magical phenomena that could possibly lead me to the artifact I was searching for. After thoroughly looking at the chamber, and scouring every corned did I left this chamber once again heading downwards.

The chamber belonging to ' Dried Blood Fairies' was also empty, I couldn't find anything that could be deemed as an artifact by me. Left with no other choice, I was forced to exit the cathedral and search for the hidden artifacts in the area filled with greenery outside the cathedral.

I hadn't thought much regarding finding anything outside the cathedral but I was sorely mistaken as the artifact I was searching for definitely was present here. 

After exiting the cathedral, I was instantly bewildered by the strong magical fluctuations on one side of the forest filled with greenery. What caught my attention was the thick red miasma concentrated at the same spot, seemingly being pulled by a certain force that it couldn't resist.

I slowly walked towards it, my mind filled with awe as I looked at the magical scene unfolding in front of me. I wasn't feeling nervous about the unknown, but rather filled with longing towards the entity that was pulling the thick scarlet red miasma towards it.

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My whole body was excited, as if I were in the presence of someone or something I had known my whole life. It felt like I was meeting the most cherished person in my life after a long time.

I teared up as I couldn't control my emotions, looking at the simple-looking spherical crystal levitating in one of the trees surrounding the cathedral. It was slowly absorbing the blood-red miasma from the surroundings, refining it, and then releasing the purified mana into the surroundings filling the whole forest with vitality and tranquility. The rustling of the trees, fluttering with rhythm along the purified mana released by the sphere, was truly magical, filling my mind with serenity.

It looked lackluster, as if something had stolen its charm. Its appearance also puzzled me; I could see subtle cracks on its surface, even though it was entirely made up of energy.

"Was the crystal in front of me recovering itself by absorbing the blood from the fairies killed inside the cathedral??"I couldn't help but think that as every time it absorbed the miasma from the environment, the cracks etched on its surface would close themselves for one-tenth of a second before returning to their original state.

As for the purified mana it was releasing into the atmosphere, it was merely a byproduct that was exuded by the crystal while trying to heal itself. 

I slowly brought my hand closer to it, my mind filled with countless thoughts. As my fingers neared the crystal, it started fluctuating violently as if excited and trying to get near to me, but was stopped by some unknown force.

This behavior shown by the crystal puzzled me even more as I sensed its excitement, as if it was telling me to take it away from this accursed place where it was sealed.

"Are you sure you want to leave this place with me?"

I couldn't help but question, feeling that the crystal could understand me by the way I was able to sense its excitement.

Wing... Wing...

The crystal started to vibrate, increasing the cracks on its surface even more. This scared me, so I hurriedly asked it to stop vibrating, lest the crystal really cracked before I could even know its identity.

"If you really want, then come with me," I said as I poked the crystal with my finger, feeling a sensation that I had never felt until now.

[Congratulations to the host.]

[Host has found the legacy artifact.]

[The artifact is waiting for the host to complete the quest required to release it from the seal]

[Primary Quest: Kill the boss of the dungeon that had been sealing the artifact with bloodied miasma.]

[Quest Completed]

[Additional Quest: Master the 'Rune of Insight' inscribed on the host]

[Quest completed]

[The legacy artifact '*o$# #f ru@#0#$' that had been trapped inside this dungeon has been released from its seal.]

[ Legacy Quest: Release the 'Legacy artifact' from its seal has been completed]

[ Quest completed]

[ Reward for the completion of the 'Legacy Quest' has been granted to the host. The host is provided with the chance to upgrade one of his runes to 'Rare' rarity]

[ Do you want to upgrade the rune right now?] [Yes/ No]

I was bombarded with several notifications as soon as I touched the crystal in front of me. The crystal in front of me was a 'Legacy artifact,' something I had no recollection of. It might be because my Legacy was sealed, and the information related to legacy artifacts was also sealed in the process of partially imprinting the legacy when I obtained it.

[ The artifact is waiting for the host's acknowledgment.]

[ Do you want to acknowledge the 'Legacy artifact'] [ Yes/ No]

The notifications were still bombarding me. All the information in front of me had flustered my mind as I couldn't make heads or tails about the situation I was in.

I had to calm my mind for about five minutes before reading all the notifications I had been bombarded with.

"Can I upgrade the rune after thinking for some time?" I didn't want to upgrade my rune haphazardly for now because I wasn't in the proper shape to think about the runes inscribed on me and consider their pros and cons, before upgrading the rune.

"And what about legacy Artifacts?" It was something I required an answer for.

[Cannot retrieve the information. It is sealed.]

"Does the artifact provide me with benefits??" 

[Affirmative. Anything related to legacy grants an immense benefit to the host.]

"And, How am I supposed to acknowledge it??" Yup, I didn't know how to acknowledge the freaking artifact I was provided with just for killing the 'Blood Mother'. 

Well, It was a nearly hopeless battle I had fought to kill the monster. So, I guess the 'Legacy Artifact' was somewhat perfect reward for the quest.

[Drip your blood into the Artifact.]

"Is that all??"

[Affirmative. Leave the rest of the job to the legacy and Artifact.]

"Why was I getting bad feelings about the acknowledgment process?" I couldn't help but shudder thinking about it. Although I had a bad feeling about acknowledging the 'Legacy Artifact' in front of me, I steeled my heart before finally creating a little cut on my finger and dripping my blood into the artifact that was vibrating with excitement in front of me.

"Let's go Legacy. Help me with the acknowledgment process."