Chapter 189 - Surpassing Fate (Long Chapter) (1/2)
”Friend List?” Aurus muttered in slight confusion as he read through the couple of notifications he had received from his system. He then manipulated the notification screen that had appeared in front of his field of vision to an area of his vision that wouldn't obstruct him that much, focusing his sense of vision towards Bell before asking, ”Do you know anything about this, Bell?”
”To be honest, this is the first time I've heard of this feature in my system,” Bell responded, having the same bewildered expression as Aurus. He then pondered over something for a while, a flash of inspiration surfacing in his mind not long after. With this inspiration in mind, Bell gathered Aurus's attention as he asked, ”Don't you think this Friend List feature might be similar to the friend lists that exist in those games back in our previous life?”
”Is it really?” Aurus replied to Bell's query with a hint of doubt, thinking that a friend list feature akin to the ones in the games back in their previous life would make them a force to be reckoned with. ”I used to play an MMORPG back in my previous life, and the friend list offered a lot of things. Trading items, chatting from any location, knowing the being's location, teleporting to their location, and so on.”
He then added, ”Would our systems, considering our current levels of strength, allow us to have access to those features?”
Bell pondered over Aurus's words for a bit, sighing before replying, ”You're right. I assume you've read web novels, right?”
”Mhm,” Aurus answered Bell's question before adding, ”What about it?”
”The systems in those novels, they would allow the main character to grow incredibly strong as an individual, allowing them to become invincible against equally leveled peers,” Bell responded to Aurus's question. He then added, ”If I didn't pass through the rift…if I didn't meet you…if we didn't ponder on ways to connect even though we're from other worlds…would this feature be unlocked?”
”True,” Aurus responded before letting out a sigh. He then pondered over the new feature a bit more before saying, ”I'm pretty sure our systems are going to nerf this feature and return to its original form once we grow strong enough.”
”Want me to check if that's the case?” Aurus soon added, to which Bell replied, ”It would definitely be a good thing to know before I leave this world.”
”Alright then,” Aurus said after hearing Bell's reply. After a few seconds, he then asked the system inwardly, ”System, what features does this Friend List have?”
Ding!
It did not take long for Aurus's system to answer, a holographic screen appearing in front of his field of vision not long after. He read through it, making sure that he did not miss a single word on it.
'Due to the limitations of the systems of the two system holders, the system has decided to bestow the user a rudimentary version of the Friend List feature, allowing the user to communicate with the befriended system holder at any place and time. Once the user has attained the existence level of a Rank 9 Animate, more features of the Friend List shall be unlocked, allowing the user to rely more on the befriended system holders.'
”Well, our problems of communication while being far away is solved,” Aurus said as he closed the holographic screen after making sure that he fully understood what the system said. He let out a light chuckle as he added, ”We only have a rudimentary form of the Friend List unlocked, but it allows us to communicate whenever and wherever.”
”I see,” Bell replied before radiating an aura of slight elation. ”I guess we can unlock more features of the Friend List once we grow stronger?”
”Exactly,” Aurus chuckled before responding. He then said, ”And with that, let's add each other as friends.”
”You took the words right out of my proboscis,” Bell said before letting out a chuckle. They then went ahead and commanded their respective systems to add each other as friends.
Ding! Ding!
'Bell (Aurus) is now a contact in your Friend List. You can communicate with this being at any time and any place.'
Seeing a new notification pop up in their notification screens that told them that they've successfully added each other as friends, both of them let out auras of intense happiness, only to be replaced with an aura of slight sadness not long after.
”Haah…” Bell let out a sigh. ”Who knew that even though we've only met for quite a while, it feels like we've known each other for a long time?”
”Don't say that,” Aurus replied, ”You're gonna make me cry. Then again, we'll still meet each other in the future. Once we grow stronger.”
”Once we grow stronger,” Bell agreed with Aurus's words.
Buzz…
After saying that, Bell went ahead and intensified his flapping, increasing his altitude in a matter of an instant as he shouted to Aurus, ”I've enjoyed killing that wolf with you! May we meet again in the future!”
”May we meet in the future, indeed!” Aurus shouted in response, to which Bell hastily flew towards the direction of the rift in response, sending a non-verbal message to Aurus in the process.
Noticing the non-verbal message sent by him, Aurus went silent for a few seconds before letting out a chuckle.
”A fight once we meet again?”
”Sure, I'm all in for that.”
…
Whoosh!
After getting to know more about the system, as well as parting ways with Bell, Aurus went ahead and teleported back to the main hall of the new Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance, appearing in the center.
”Er…” At the instant Aurus had appeared in the center of the main hall, his aura had attracted the attention of everyone in the main hall, prompting them to focus their sense of vision towards Aurus. While this was happening, Aurus could not help but feel a sense of pressure…which was nullified by a being that radiated an aura more intense than his.
��Aurus is back!” This being shouted with glee before adding, ”Let us give our thanks to the War Commander!”
”Thanks to the War Commander!” Not long after the being said that, everyone in the main hall said what the being wanted them to say, making Aurus feel a bit weird. Although he cherished the feeling of being someone in a high position, the feeling of being called out like that by multiple beings made him feel weird.
Letting out an awkward chuckle as he told everyone to continue what they were doing, Aurus soon started to hover, making his way towards the being that told everyone to shout those words a while ago. This being was a being that radiated an aura that far exceeded the aura radiated by Herellia or Aurus, its appearance akin to a glowing mass of energy.
This being was none other than Horell, the Supreme Guardian of the new Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance. At the very instant Aurus had arrived in front of Horell, Horell went ahead and asked him, ”Herellia told me that you settled some things with the Animate you brought in the final minutes of the war. How did it go?”
”Everything went well. Thanks for asking, Horell…” Aurus replied to Horell's query in a formal tone, which was hastily replaced with a slightly annoyed tone as he added, ”Is what I would say if I didn't know you that well. You didn't have to do that once I arrived, you know.”
Horell laughed at Aurus's response, saying, ”If only you knew how much Herellia was praising your contributions a while ago. To be honest, Herellia could become a bard with the level of praise she had given to your contributions.”
Hearing the word 'bard' being mentioned by Horell, Aurus could not help but ask, ”Where'd you learn the word 'bard'?”
”Ah, that.” Horell tried to recall where he had learned that word, replying not long after with, ”Remember the town you and Herellia went to to obtain a Comprehension Leaf?”
”Although you weren't in the alliance at that time, yeah,” Aurus replied with slight confusion. He then added, ”What about it?”
”We used to rummage through their libraries back then, trying to grasp more knowledge of the Animate society before ascending to the Animate existence level, or in my case, the Pseudo-Animate existence level,” Horell replied to Aurus's query not long after, quelling Aurus's curiosity.
”Anyways, speaking of Herellia, where is she?” After his curiosity had been piqued, Aurus went back to the topic of Herellia praising her, wondering where she was at the moment.
”She's currently at the Alliance Hall,” Horell responded to Aurus's question before adding, ”She's currently giving Harriott and Cermalia the official positions of Alliance Elders. Unlike you, who had naturally obtained the position after the alliance had undergone an upgrade, for us, we have to undergo an initiation to officiate our positions. For me, it's my second time though.”
”Should I go there?” Aurus muttered to himself in ponderation as he remembered the soul balls he had deployed around the magic circle that the formerly alive Chungus used to control. He soon recalled these soul balls, manipulating them to return to him, looking through the perspectives of the soul balls to pass the time.
While looking through it, Aurus noticed that an element on the area outside the alliance base had disappeared while he was talking with Bell. After recalling all of the soul balls, Aurus went ahead and asked Horell about this missing element, saying, ”Horell, do you know what happened to Chonk's corpse?”
”Indeed, I do,” Horell radiated an aura of slight elation as he replied to Aurus's question. He then added, ”I'd suggest you ask Herellia about this.”
”With that being said…” He then went ahead and teleported to the corridor that led to the alliance's small ecosystem. Horell then went ahead and sent a strand of energy, sensing that the soul connection he and Aurus had was removed. On it was the question, ”Would you like to go to where she is?”
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, Aurus teleported beside Horell, sending a strand of energy back at him, saying, ”Let's go.”
…
Swoosh!
It did not take long for the two to arrive at the Alliance Hall in the alliance's small ecosystem, with Horell relying on his existence level to travel a great distance in one teleportation while Aurus relied on his Ruler skills to bridge the gap in existence level.
At the instant they had appeared at the entrance of the Alliance Hall, Horell looked at Aurus in wonder and said, ”To think that you can teleport as far as me while still being an S-grade Inanimate…”
”When are you going to go and evolve to X-grade?” Horell soon asked him, to which Aurus replied with an awkward chuckle as he said, ”I'll evolve once things settle down.”
After responding, the two of them went ahead and entered the Alliance Hall, seeing two rays of light hit Harriott and Cermalia at the center of the hall. It was only when the rays of light had disappeared did Herellia, Harriott, and Cermalia notice the two enter the hall, with Herellia, ”Ah, Horell and Aurus. Glad to see you two here.”
”Hello there, Supreme Guardian and Vice Leader,” Harriott said to the two of them, radiating an aura of respect.
”Is it fine to call the two of you by your names?” Cermalia asked the two of them in a playful tone, with Harriott berating Cermalia soon after, saying, ”They're at a higher position than us! Do you think we can say their names just like tha—”
”Yeah, that's fine with me,” Aurus replied to Cermalia's query before adding, ”It would allow us to get closer anyway.”
”What Aurus said,” Horell said after Aurus was finished talking. They then made their way beside Herellia, with Horell on Herellia's right, and Aurus on Herellia's left.
”So, what brings you two here?” Herellia asked the two of them, to which Horell made a pointing finger out of energy in response, pointing it towards Aurus as he responded, ”Aurus here was wondering about Chonk's corpse. Could you tell him about it?”
”Oh, that?” Herellia said with slight indifference. Recalling her plans for the corpse, she then focused her vision towards Aurus before saying, ”Just before I say it, let me tell you that this plan is only known by those with a high position in the alliance. In other words, don't spread it to the members of the alliance, alright?”
”Of course,” Aurus responded. ”I'm not that stupid.”
”Well…” Herellia listened to Aurus's response before saying, ”The plan is very simple. Using my Sanguine Arts, Harriott's special magic skills, and Cermalia's great mastery over illusions, we're planning to 'revive' Chonk and transform him into the greatest trump card of the alliance.”
”A controllable being capable of dishing out Animate level attacks.”
Aurus could not help but imagine a future war where the enemies would undoubtedly be wiped out by a single attack from Chonk. With this in mind, he could not help but shudder as he muttered, ”I don't really condone playing with corpses, but if it allows the alliance to fight back against stronger enemies, then I don't mind.”
Ding!
Just as he was about to continue talking with Herellia and the others, Aurus obtained a notification from the system, confusing him quite a lot as this notification was truly out of the blue. Splitting a part of his soul to go and check the notification he had received, manipulating the notification screen that had been on the far side of his field of vision all this time to the center, he read through the new notifications he had gotten. In an instant, he had become silent on the outside.
On the inside though, he was screaming out of intense bewilderment, shouting inwardly, 'So that's why I haven't gotten anything from Chonk at the instant he was killed!'
'It's because the rewards from an Animate for an Inanimate is too large to handle!'
Very excited to go ahead and check the rewards he had obtained, Aurus sent a thread of energy to Herellia while the five of them were conversing, saying, ”Herellia, I'm going to go to the Tower of Seclusion.”
”Eh? Why?” Slightly bewildered at the abrupt message from Aurus, she sent back a message to him using a strand of energy. In response, Aurus sent back a strand of his own, saying, ”I'll have to keep it a secret from you for now. All I can say is that it's very urgent.”
”I…see. Well, I hope it's not serious.” Herellia pondered over Aurus's words for a bit and let out a sigh inwardly. She then sent a strand of energy with these words on it. Not long after, she obtained a response from Aurus to a strand of energy that said, ”It's not. This urgent matter will surely help out the alliance.”
After saying those words to Herellia through a strand of energy, Aurus went ahead and interrupted the conversation the five of them were having, abruptly saying, ”I apologize but I need to leave right now. I have an urgent matter I need to do.”
Whoosh!
And just like that, without letting Horell and the others reply to Aurus's words, Aurus had disappeared from their sight, hastily making his way towards the Tower of Seclusion. As for Herellia, she could not help but be inwardly disappointed, muttering, ”It wouldn't hurt to open up to me, you know.”
…