Chương 370: Blessing For My Eyes

Absorbing one of those so-called system crystals was quite simple for me. They disappeared into the void of my not-stomach even faster than flesh did while in the 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' form. Though it had no effect on me, I didn't feel the sensation of devouring something like I did with the rest. The crystal merely disappeared without a trace.

Of course, the one experiencing the effects was Nara, and although she was focusing intently at the moment and was thus not saying anything, I could tell that it was having some sort of effect on her, especially as system panels opened up on their own before my eyes, with the information being rearranged before my very eyes.

Name: Mara Maeve Maya Nebulo Classification: Steel-Bound Curse/Vengeful Spirit/Awakened Machine/Human/Steel-Bound Curse/Living Curse/Vengeful Spirit, /Onryo/Reborn Tumour Innate Ability: - Living Metal - Tormentor - Torturer - Impersonator - Tortured Soul Release - Tortured Soul Imbuement - Embodiment Of Negativity - Soul Haunt - Flowing Metal - Cursed Metal The status was updated with the new information I had just received, and it even displayed my full name now, but that was only the most basic of the changes.

The way the system displayed information changed completely and became much more readable, and it even gave me the option to arrange which of my upgrades were displayed together. It was certainly a welcome change, but that was only what Nara was able to accomplish after absorbing her first crystal.

Nara was able to absorb several more before she felt like it was best to call it quits for today. The subsequent crystals instead improved her ability to view and interact with the systems of others, which she swiftly put to use to rearrange Rose's own system into something more readable and accessible, but of course, the main usage Nara could make of this was for the more aggressive side of things.

The only issue–Which was shared by pretty much every ability in existence–Was that the strength of the target mattered a lot. As such, Nara could do some nasty things from a distance in the blink of an eye, but only to a single target at a time, and one that is weak at that. It isn't yet enough for me to perform 'miracles' for the System Fundamentalists, nor is it good enough to help you with even a mildly powerful opponent, but I suppose that we could use it to get what we want from more regular people…

I'll try to figure some things out, but as I continue devouring crystals, I doubt the offensive side of things will progress much I can already tell that I am more suited to do beneficial work–If we absorb enough, then perhaps you could gain a minor ability to interact directly with people's systems as well, but that is uncertain It doesn't matter much if I gain anything. As long as it benefits you, Nara… Not to mention that beneficial effects are just as valuable as offensive ones, you know?

We have a big family that could benefit from this, after all, and I think that's much more important than being able to mess with an enemy. Our adversaries will end as corpses for nourishment and be forgotten. Family is eternal, however. The best part is that we are eternal too, so we'll be together forever! Right as I was saying this, I spotted my next destination. The wind was blowing heavily. If I hadn't been in my 'Base Form' during this ride, I definitely would have been swept off a while ago…

Indeed, whilst the Deep Dream wasn't exactly disliked or engaging in any suspicious activities in the eyes of the rulers of the alliance, it didn't mean that the Cave of Somn was left as an easily accessible area. The ground down there was a real quagmire of mud that acted much like the most murderous of quicksands… The kind of quicksand that was alive and fed on the decomposing bodies of its victims, that is. I thus needed to aim correctly as I leapt off the giant beast that had flown me all the way out here.

The strength of the winds made it difficult for me to be precise, so I waited a while for a sufficiently large 'island' of dirt to show up. If I crash-landed in the mud, I would struggle dearly to get out, and that was without taking into account the monstrous trees that grew all over the place in there. As far as I could learn, they were the real killers of this damn swamp.

They used their prehensile roots to latch onto people already struggling with the mud, dragging them deeper so that the victims would suffocate before stabbing them with these very same roots and draining all that could be drained. Some areas of the swamp were treated as death zones because they were within the range of especially large trees… These ones had managed to eat a lot, and they didn't even need to wait for someone or something to be restrained by the mud.

Their roots were enormous and could flatten a knight in full-plate armour in a single strike. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I was stronger than that and didn't have to worry about having soft flesh and organs, but they had more than a single root. They had dozens, if not hundreds. I would rather not have to use one of my stronger, flashier forms when I was trying to show up somewhere for a friendly visit.

It would be a pretty bad look with a guest you were expecting transformed into a giant molten creature, manifesting a huge explosion, evaporating much water from the swamp you used as protection, and setting many of your natural protectors ablaze. I could have just told them that I was coming, but I wanted to catch them off guard when they weren't expecting me. You could learn a lot about people by simply breaking into their houses and watching the state it was in normally. …

Anyway, I got myself a new upgrade–Yet another one–From Mari specifically for this. Despite being native to a swamp that was constantly muddy, and thus constantly humid to an extreme degree, the trees were actually well-known to be dry beyond belief. These kinds caught fire so easily that a single, thumb-sized flame could potentially turn them into charcoal. Of course, since they were monsters, they could react and use their roots to fling mud onto themselves to extinguish the flames…

Which would definitely be more effective if they just kept themselves covered in mud all the time, but what do I know? Maybe they have tree-etiquette to worry about or whatever. In any case, I've had 'Machine Blood' for a very long time, a liquid I could spew and which was extremely flammable by design. Though I had probably used it more as such a blinding projectile than anything else… Now, Mari added a way for me to set this liquid aflame at any time.

Jaw Of Ignition - When shutting your maw, you can decide to manifest a great amount of sparks It was an upgrade I had first encountered a long time ago, and it was now going to come in handy if any of those annoying trees were to try messing with me–Frankly, they shouldn't even bother. What nutrients could they possibly get from a hunk of steel? But you never know with monsters. Some of them would genuinely try to fight their own shadow with how aggressive and territorial they could be.

Sometimes, the shadow might even fight back. Regardless, my aim proved good despite the weather, as I slammed into solid ground, sending dirt and grass flying as I landed in… Well, I didn't land. That's the thing. The winds did manage to turn me around a little bit, so I fell head-first, not that it meant much since I was pretty much immune to damage caused by falling. Well, now I just need to get to the cave. I would have happily landed there directly, but it simply was not possible.

Unlike the System Fundamentalist, who used a powerful illusion that was ineffective against me, the Deep Dream used another kind of illusion array, one that was considered weaker, but which was more effective against me. Instead of targeting a person's mind and perception, it just created a curtain of sorts. It just projected a three-dimensional image that made it seem like the spot where the cave actually was was just a random portion of the swamp.

I did my best to land as close to where it was said to be, but I really couldn't know for certain. The way the distant trees were positioned told me that I was in the spot Leou had managed to fish up for me, but it was unclear if the intel was truly correct. No matter, I'll know when I can smell flesh… I trudged forward carefully, moving to avoid any areas that would result in me sinking too rapidly. The soft mud was omnipresent in this swamp, but most areas weren't too bad.

I would only sink down to my ankles in most places. I just needed to be careful of the vicious spots that did not show how dangerous they were until you were already sunk down to your neck. I could advance without problem as long as I took my time and was cautious, but Nara showed that her progress was valuable…

It was quite the intensive work even for her, but since the Universal System existed in all, it meant that she could reach out to the countless systems all around me owned by the very inanimate mud all around. Nara focused on what was in front of me, and through her analysis of the systems present in my line of sight, she could determine whether an area was dangerous or not.

Sir Seventh would certainly lose his mind if he learned this, but it seems like the Universal System does adapt to a certain extent to the host. The quickmud has special stats determining how dangerous it is… It would seem that even the inanimate can gain experience via killing… If someone knew how to prevent experience from reaching them when killing, they could potentially cause a simple rock to increase its level, turning it into a stronger variant of itself…

It might even allow it to become a thinking being–How fascinating! Oh, so you mean that if a swordsman wasn't the one getting experience from his kills, then his sword would be counted as the true killer and… Level up? Exactly.

This is the sort of discovery that the System Fundamentalist would love, if they don't already know of it, but I did not spot any tools or weapons enhanced using this method, so they either don't know of it, or are simply unable to replicate the theory into reality The second option feels more likely… With Nara's assistance, the progress was rather smooth, and I arrived at a piece of land elevated over the rest.

It was a landmark I had been told about as a 'block of dirt torn from the ground and put down in the swamp'. That description was pretty accurate. There were apparently several of those throughout this place, but this one was special since it also housed a tree that was foreign to the area. It was a regular apple tree, but it did a good job of letting people know where they were. Otherwise, this swamp was quite similar wherever one looked.

I just need to climb onto this, and I should be able to see another landmark. If the information is accurate, it won't be too long until I pass through the illusory curtain and find the Cave of Somn. Upon getting on top of the block of dirt, I immediately noticed something that I couldn't see from down there, which was a skeleton still garbed in suspiciously new-looking robes.

The robes were tainted with mud and blood, but it was obvious that the material hadn't been exposed to the elements much, or that the decay of the body had not affected it despite the material looking rather mundane. The bones were tangled with roots, making it quite obvious what was going on. Does this trick work on people? This is about as overt as a chest mimic sneezing out of the blue. The corpse was leaning against the apple tree, unmoving exactly as one would expect from a cadaver…

Not only is it visually obvious, but I can tell that the smell of 'flesh' the bones emit is the kind that belongs to an entity that is not yet ripe to be properly consumed. Mmh… Possessed remains. The trees of the swamp can grow in this direction when they struggle with the typical hunting methods, opting to possess a corpse with their roots and abandon their tree body to live as a parasite. Odd that we didn't hear of those before coming here Odd indeed… Anyway, let's pretend that I am none the wiser for a second…