MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1674: Shifting Focus

”...Well then.”

”They passed through the first test.”

Watching both Valyr and Ataraxia dive deeper through the screen before them, the Director and the guard had somewhat surprised expressions on their faces.

The latter even more so.

”...I guess I shouldn’t be surprised they were able to pass through that,” said the guard, letting out a faint sigh after giving the entire thing a bit of thought. ”Both of them were able to fulfill all of the trial’s requirements, after all.”

”Speaking of which, do both of them fulfill all of the requirements or them together fulfills all of the requirements, Director?”

”The latter,” the woman replied, her expression returning to its previous calm as she continued to watch the two dive deeper into the Ocean of Crystallized Truths. ”I won’t mention which of them fulfills what.”

”Understood.” The guard nodded, not surprised that the Director would keep such things under wraps.

After all, the fact that a Herald of the Zeihardt Clan was currently making use of the Ocean of Crystallized Truths would undoubtedly make massive waves throughout the continent if news were to spread.

Add on the fact that both of them fulfilled the two other requirements of the Trial of Crystallized Truths in a way, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that the focus of the ongoing war could possibly change with knowledge of their existence.

”That’ll be all for now.” Looking at the screen for a bit more, the Director eventually gestured for the guard to leave, briefly thanking him for his time.

”Oh. Before you go, swear a veridical oath that you will not leak any of the information we’ve shared during our conversation.”

Stopping in his tracks the moment he heard those words, the guard turned to look back at the woman and nodded before doing what he was told.

”Under the witness of the omnipotent and omniscient mana, as well as the everlasting and indefatigable truths of the universe...”

Whoosh!

Feeling the air surrounding them getting slightly stuffy after the man was done with the oath, the Director faintly nodded in satisfaction as she allowed the former to leave the room after that.

Click.

”...Hmm.” Briefly staring at the door the guard just closed, the gears within the Director’s mind slowly began to turn as she moved the screen closer to her.

Then, utilizing her authority over the Ocean of Crystallized Truths, she changed the view on the screen to where far more detail regarding the duo’s descent could be obtained.

”The fact that they were able to pass the first test in just a few hours shows that their overall attributes are exemplary for their rank,” muttered the woman to herself, glancing at the depth the two had reached on the side.

600 meters...

700 meters...

”For them to remain unperturbed even after diving a quarter into the True Depths, there’s a decent chance that they might just tackle the second test of the trial,” she said, thrumming her fingers on an armrest.

”However, no single person recorded in history has ever reached the depth needed to take the second test.” As these words left her mouth, the Director briefly glanced at the ceiling, her eyes faintly making out the silhouette of a familiar face.

”Progenitor...”

”Are they really the fated inheritors of his legacy?”

...

’...Holy fuck.’

’That’s... tough.’

Tightly gritting their teeth as they dove past a thousand meters into the Ocean of Crystallized Truths, both Valyr and Ataraxia glanced at each other with pained expressions as they tried their best to acclimate to their current environment.

Then again, with how deep they were into the ocean, it went without saying that the challenges they faced while staying at their current depth were far harder than the ones they came across in the depths they stopped at before.

Whether it was the physical aspect or the mental aspect of staying a thousand meters below the ocean, the two eventually came to the conclusion that they would lose out if they were to force themselves to stay at their current depth.

And thus, aiming to find the ideal depth where the challenges they had to face could be endured, both Valyr and Ataraxia showed no hesitation in swimming upward, eventually stopping at a depth of around 850 meters.

’...I guess we’ll be spending the next three months here.’ Spending a bit of time to check and see if they could remain at their current depth, Ataraxia glanced at Valyr and gave him an affirmative nod.

Nodding in return, the latter asked, ’How fast is your comprehension compared to the usual?’

In response, Ataraxia went silent for a bit before giving him a slight smile. ’Around 80 times faster than normal.’

’In fact, I’ve already pushed my [Intent Seed of True Mana] to the First Stage with how fast it is here.’

Inwardly sucking in a cold breath of air at the figure his other self gave him, a look of anticipation appeared on Valyr’s face as he asked, ’Do you think the skill’s effects would stack additively or multiplicatively?’

’Does it matter?’ said Ataraxia in response, only to then get into a comfortable position as he slowly closed his eyes. ’Our comprehension speed would be faster either way.’

Whoosh!

Feeling his other self gradually attune himself to the massive amount of iridescent streaks surrounding them, Valyr went ahead and pushed all of his errant thoughts to the side as he got into a comfortable position as well.

Briefly checking to see what the other side was comprehending through [Soul Entanglement], the young man soon closed his eyes, slowly attuning himself to his current surroundings as he activated [Perception of the Grand Origin] without hesitation.

Swoosh!

Sensing that Ataraxia activated the same skill not long after, Valyr went ahead and shifted his attention towards the various concepts he had comprehended, eventually choosing one that he had neglected for quite some time.

’[Intent Seed of Mystic Energy].’

Recalling that it had been stuck at the Second Stage the last time he focused on the concept, the young man’s goal was to push the concept to the Intent level at the very least.

Curious as to how long it would take for him to achieve his goal, the young man soon felt an influx of information enter his mind, all of which contained various aspects related to Mystic Energy.

Carefully discarding all of the ones that didn’t align with his understanding of the concept, Valyr proceeded to absorb and assimilate everything else that did, eventually getting the feeling that the foundations of the Intent Seed were solidifying at breakneck speeds.

Whoosh!

By the time the concept’s foundation had become solid enough, the Intent Seed reached the Culmination Stage, prompting the young man to deepen his comprehension of the concept even further.

Whoosh!

Yet, even that did not take long as a fair bit of time later...

The Intent Seed of Mystic Energy had now become a bona fide Intent.