Chương 18: Cypher Arts

Sunny kept hold of Nero's hand for a bit, before letting go. He took on a thoughtful look right after, while Nero looked at him dubiously.

"You're pretty odd, I've just said the name of this ability is Aura of Decay, and you went for a grab like I'd said it was an Aura of pleasure or something."

"Ah, that. Aura-based abilities don't harm people the user doesn't hold any harmful intentions towards." So he knew that. He elaborated further, "You see, if you had held even a miniscule amount of hatred towards me deep down, your Aura would've immediately lashed out upon contact with it." Nyx raised an eyebrow at that.

"So did you just do it to check whether I held any harmful intent towards you?" Sunny looked at him with a plain face.

"Yes, and I'm glad to have found that you held no such intention… otherwise…" He stopped and sat back down in his chair, not finishing the thought. Yeah, Nero didn't feel reassured anyway. He shook his head, and got back to the reason he'd come here for.

"Ignoring you and your odd tests, mind explaining these specific types of talent genes?" … After getting the explanation from Sunny, Nero crossed the street and went back to the guild hall, exchanging some warm greetings with Miya along the way. He stood in front of the quest board.

"Most of the easier and more lucrative quests had already been snatched up by the adventurers," he sighed, looking over the rest. There were three types of quests on the board: Gathering type, Defense type, and the more complicated Investigation type. There were also miscellaneous ones, where some rich guy sought a sword teacher to train his kids. The reason Nero was even bothering to eye these quests was specifically for the defense-type ones. He'd gotten his first gene talent, a very good one at that.

And according to both Miya and Sunny, it wasn't wise to immediately go for another solo dungeon run. Nero kind of agreed too.

"Talent genes, especially the kind you have, provide immense power. But at the same time, they could very well make you overconfident in your capability and lead to all sorts of disaster in a dungeon," Sunny had said.

"I'd advise you to first get adjusted to your ability by doing something safer, with other people around. Because going solo with that newfound power could turn your vision tunneled." And that was why he'd come to the quest board. A defense-type quest mainly consisted of defending a village from monster attacks, escorting caravans, or guarding a herb gatherer while they picked stuff in dangerous forests.

It often included a good chunk of information about the threats he'd be dealing with, along with some assistance when needed. Plus, he could keep the loot from the monsters he killed, while also getting an additional payment for completing the quest. But beyond that, there lay an additional benefit.

"Guild Contribution Points." Those who completed quests officially put out by the guild itself received an additional contribution point beyond the money they got from the employer. At a certain amount, these contribution points could be exchanged for goods discounted up to 50% of market price. And the goods didn't just include better swords, potions, and technique manuals, but exclusive stuff that wouldn't be found anywhere else!

There were sects in the seventh district that people could join and work for to gain sect contribution points. Outsiders weren't allowed to buy from them there, and the items those contribution points could purchase were sect-specific. The guild worked the same way. The difference between the guild and the sects lies in how they interact with other entities, after all. The guild was a sect too, but instead of a strict hierarchy of seniors, juniors, and elders, it had the badge system.

And instead of those within the sect putting out quests, it was outsiders who sought the guild's services and were allowed to put up the corresponding request. People also weren't required to stay within the guild, though they had the option to, by paying a certain amount, of course. In that vein, the guild is more of a free public sect, while the other sects are more of a private type, bordering on a clan-type system. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Though other sects recruited disciples from outside, unlike a clan, they also tended to reshape the views, behaviors, and everything else that recruit knew, to match the sect's overall philosophy.

"Though, if I could, I'd still rather join a sect," Nero sighed, looking over the listings. Sect disciples often got access to foundational techniques, Spirit Stones, and so on, all for free. A single spirit stone cost at least one whole silver mark, and those were low-grade spirit stones. From this alone, one could easily see the advantage sect disciples had over average adventurers, who had to risk their lives from day one just to scrape together an ounce of resources.

Sect disciple recruitment was also limited and gated to only the community of cultivators. Unless your father or grandfather had an awakened beast core, you wouldn't even be allowed entry to take the sect's entrance exam. So for the current Nero, who didn't have a father with a Core, his chances of acquiring any good techniques were abysmal—especially techniques that allowed one to fully utilize the potential of their genes. Those were termed Art Du Cistron, or the Cypher Arts.

At high mastery, someone with a good genetic foundation could have their Cypher Arts reach the level of an actual talent gene! So, for now, Nero's goal was to do a few quests while getting used to his talent gene, then get back to dungeon diving. Once he'd awakened his dormant core, he'd fully focus on quests and start acquiring Cypher Arts!

"Found one," he said, finally picking up one parchment from the myriad of postings on the board. ….. After picking up the quest, Nero headed to the hotel, spent the last of his money on some food, and bought two vials of healing potions. Spirit Potions existed too, which could help one recover mental energy faster, but those were unfortunately way out of his budget, coming at nearly fifty copper each.

"Seriously, do they make these things with actual human souls? So expensive." Putting both supplies in his bag, Nero left for the station. It lay several kilometers north of the seventh district. Walking over the snow with his snowshoes, even his enhanced stats couldn't keep him from tiring after nearly twenty kilometers straight. In between, he took sips of water and bites of food to reenergize himself.

Most of the carriages that could run over this deep snow cost an arm and a leg to board, so he just walked the distance. After a full three hours of travel, he finally reached the station. There he found a carriage with a yellowish cover and three brown horses waiting for him. From it, an old man in rather tattered clothing climbed down and walked up, brown-haired and withered in build. He looked every bit the overworked man—his eyes bore deep shadows, suggesting chronic lack of sleep.

"Are you the adventurer the guild informed us about?" He looked down at a little note in his hands and read it.

"Are you Adventurer Nero?" He nodded.

"Yes, I am. Have you been suffering from frequent goblin invasions?" The old man nodded furiously.

"Yes, we have! For six months! Our village was so vibrant before, and now—now it's turned desolate." His voice cracked, nearly breaking into tears. He extended his palm as snowflakes fell over it—the snowfall was intensifying again.

"And this sudden, accursed snow! It's gravely ruined our harvests, and on top of that, the goblins are now eyeing our grain stocks, after having already kidnapped tens of our daughters—!" Nero placed a hand on his shoulder and boarded the carriage.

"Come. Snowfall is increasing—it's better to leave quickly," Nero said. The old man wiped his eyes and promptly took the front seat, pulling on the horses' reins as they began trudging through the snow. Their feet each bore a different kind of snowshoe, specially made for them. After a while of riding through the snow, watching the signs of civilization thin out as forests, trees, and mounds took hold—all buried to the brim in white—the old man finally broke the silence.

"Lord Adventurer, sorry for troubling you with all the sob story. I've already offered so little in exchange for helping my village. It was unwise of me—""The goblins," Nero started.

"The goblins?" the old man repeated dubiously.

"The goblins you described in the quest—they're no ordinary goblins. They're what us adventurers refer to as Vice Goblins. Although they're not white, and nothing about them suggests any affinity with snow and ice, they're in fact exactly the kind of species that becomes active during winter." He exhaled, trying to breathe out the sick feeling the story about the Vice Goblins had stirred in his chest.

The old man stared at him dazedly for a moment before turning back and whipping his horses up to greater speed, his expression hardening. Vice Goblins are known to launch their strikes during particularly intense snowfall. It's likely because the villagers usually stayed home during storms—these things had probably been attacking them long before the snow started, and they simply hadn't recognized the pattern. But now, he probably has.

Vice Goblins tended to be most active during winter, but that didn't mean they hibernated in summer—they weren't bears. Instead, they mostly stayed huddled within their dungeons, feeding off the crystal the dungeon provided, and ventured out to hunt only when the outside climate turned colder. Nero looked outside, and the snowfall had indeed turned into a blizzard, just as he'd expected. That means an attack on the village is imminent.

It was a good thing the horses pulling the carriage were hybrids and not pure-bred. Hybrids were far better acclimated to harsh climates. Otherwise, if the old man had brought a carriage drawn by pure horses, a blizzard of this magnitude would've frozen them dead and left us stranded in the middle of nowhere. He pulled his winter jacket tighter. He'd borrowed it from the guild, knowing a blizzard like this could very well strike. He'd slept through one last night. He didn't want to experience that again.

As the horses of myriad elements swiftly carried them through the snowy path, Nero began to pick up screams from further out. He attempted what Sunny had taught him. He imbued his body with Neonic Aura of Decay, and with his intent, he peeled back the layer of decay from it, leaving behind only the force of white, pristine Aura that covered his body, now devoid of the Decay. He used it to further strengthen his muscles, joints and tendons before bursting into the blizzard and toward the village.