Chapter 465: Beware the Terminus (1/2)

Zac froze like a deer in the headlights as he looked in all directions. Back when the integration first took place he had been completely clueless, unaware of just how powerful a thing the System was. But now he was all too aware just how mighty it was, and the attention put him under immense psychological pressure.

However, he knew this was a rare opportunity and he needed some clarifications.

”Was it you who pushed me down this path, who put these two remnants in front of me?”

[Yes. User qualified for unique empowerment scenario. Congratulations.]

Zac felt some fury flare up at hearing the same annoying emotionless congratulations as he did when the two last spoke, but he quickly restrained himself this time and instead focused on what was important.

”Are we done then?” Zac asked, his heart pounding. ”You won't mess with me any longer? I gave you that Pattern, and you provided me with protections against the fractals.”

[Reciprocity has been achieved and balance is maintained. Beware the Terminus.]

”What does that even mean?” Zac asked with some bitterness in his voice, but he was only met with silence.

”What regrets are you talking about? And what alternate path? Please elaborate,” Zac tried instead, as he didn't understand what the hell the system had been talking about earlier.

Unfortunately, it looked like the System wasn't any more talkative this time around, and it had left after delivering a few cryptic lines. Zac once again looked upon the screen with the three rewards, his earlier resolve completely crushed. Could he trust the System? Or was it messing with him once again?

His thoughts about the first reward didn't change, as the comment was in line with his own thoughts. But the other two threw him for a loop. What did an alternate path mean? Did it refer to his soul cultivation, or was it something much bigger? Would it tamper with his nascent Creation based on Life and Death? Would it actually force him to embark on Buddhist Cultivation, forgoing his current classes?

And what the hell did rectification of regret mean?

He had done things he wasn’t too proud of since the integration, but he would say there was only one real regret; not reaching his father before he was murdered. It couldn’t possibly be an array that could resurrect the dead, could it? Or was it rather related to his inability to cultivate? The more he thought about it the more likely it felt.

Wasn't that exactly what Divine Investiture meant? The ability to cultivate was based on one's affinity with the Daos, something that he was completely lacking. What if this array could rectify that deficiency in his body, allowing him to embark on the path of a true cultivator?

There were a lot of secrets related to his body, secrets that might make him want to stay a mortal. But he also knew that things would get extremely rough the further he walked down the path of cultivation. Things weren't too bad right now in F-Grade, but the situation would get much worse for each grade as far as he knew. This might be his shot at getting the final, and greatest, boost to his power, becoming a proper cultivator.

Zac finally went with his gut and reached for the second option.

Zac chose the [Divine Investiture Array] based on his guess that the System wasn’t actively messing with him. Why would it even bother? It was in control of the rewards after all. He wasn’t interested in changing his path, which would potentially make the [Yin-Yang Arhat Soul Array] useless.And between rectifying regret and strength, he chose the former.

He had plenty of Strength from a bunch of other sources, and a constitution array wasn’t required for him to deal with the issues on Earth. He hadn’t even seen anyone in his sector utilizing this kind of thing, and it didn’t come up when Galau talked about constitutions. It was probably some sort of high-tiered boost not available in his sector, but people did just fine without them.

Rectifying regret was more in line with his purpose of cultivation. He didn't really care about power for power's sake, and not all his troubles could get solved by becoming stronger. Perhaps the [Divine Investiture Array] would make him a cultivator, or perhaps its function was something else entirely, but it didn't matter.

He didn't want to experience some tragedy in the future and realize it could have been prevented if he hadn't been too greedy for more power.

Zac didn’t immediately pick the reward though, but he first started putting on one ring after another on his fingers, before moving on to bracers, earrings, and necklaces. It was the jewelry he looted from the mentalist, each of them a pretty strong treasure that contained one charge either of offensive or defensive nature.

He had seen a couple of similar items by now, and he guessed that all of them were either high or more likely peak-tier quality. It was like he was decked in treasures that each could release an attack or shield at least at the level of the [Void Bomb] that was powerful enough to tear holes in space. The items were clearly made for a woman, but he wasn’t in a position to be picky at the moment. The whole square could be full of people wanting to rip him to shreds for all he knew, and every small advantage would make a huge difference.

They were outside items so they were pretty limited inside the Tower, but they would be back to their full power out in the Base Town. He actually wanted to don a few dresses as well to improve his defenses even further, but he was afraid that he’d ruin any chances of finding a patron if he came out looking like a maniac.

He looked down at his body a second later, satisfied with the result. Ogras had once told him that wealth was one of the greatest weapons, and he was inclined to agree as he looked at the glistening treasures covering his hands and arms. It was like he suddenly had 10 lives, though each item spent was probably the equivalent of losing Hundreds of Millions of Nexus Coins, perhaps even Billions.

Zac also had enough Creation Energy in his body for one major restoration as well, but he didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. He finally prepared one of the spikes of Faceless 9 in the sleeves of his robes, but he was even leerier about that spike compared to the Creation Energy. It might be lethal for outsiders to use, and he would only stab himself with that thing if he really didn't see any alternatives.