(Task — Find the Traces of the Enders)
(Reward: 30,000 task points, a random low-level wind-type Essentia Art)
Azrael looked at the task he had received before reaching the Flato Solar System and fell into deep thought.
At first, he had assumed that this task was somehow related to the Transcendent Organization and that he would be able to complete it after dealing with them.
But now, although he had already taken care of most of the members of the Transcendent Organization, he still hadn't found any traces of the Enders as the task required.
At this thought, he couldn't help but recall the sound of rattling chains inside his mind, which he suspected was connected to the Seed of the End.
'The sound of chains inside my head is deeply attracted to that space rift located in the underground chamber. If the Seed of the End really is related to the Enders, then the traces of the Enders that this task requires me to find must be inside that rift.'
Azrael took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the notification.
(Task — Make the Seed of the End within you acknowledge you as its master.)
"How the hell am I supposed to make this parasite inside my body acknowledge me as its master?" Azrael muttered with a gloomy expression, irritation flashing across his face at the thought of something unknown living within him.
Taking another deep breath to calm himself, he finally moved on to the last few notifications.
(Conditions have been fulfilled.)
(Your White Grade Trait — Cold Blooded is evolving.)
[Cold Blooded (White Grade) → Cold Blooded (Red Grade) → Cold Blooded (Orange Grade)]
---) Cold Blooded (Orange Grade — Evolvable):
1. Grants perfect control over your emotions, allowing you to remain calm in any situation.
2. Provides a certain level of protection against mental-type attacks.
3. Releases a torrent of bloodlust to instill fear and paralyze your target. Consumes a small amount of the user's spiritual power.
(If certain conditions are met, this trait can evolve further.)
Azrael was genuinely surprised when he saw the notification about his trait's evolution.
From the moment he had seen the word Evolvable beside his trait, he had known it could evolve. But until now, he had never discovered how to evolve it.
'Did it evolve because the White Grade Cold Blooded trait failed to suppress my emotions?' Azrael wondered inwardly.
Because of his personality and this trait, Azrael's emotions had always remained under his complete control. But earlier, even with the help of Cold Blooded, he had failed to suppress his emotions, which was the only reason he could think of that had triggered its evolution.
'There are two new effects, and both are quite useful,' He thought to himself as he examined them carefully.
Even before its evolution, the Cold Blooded trait had given him considerable resistance against mental attacks, as it always kept his mind calm. But now, with the second effect, that resistance would be even stronger.
As for the third effect, his thoughts immediately went back to the strange shapeless entity with deep-red eyes, formed entirely of pure bloodlust, that had appeared behind him earlier. This content belongs to novel fire.net
Azrael stared at the third effect of the trait for a long time. He didn't know why, but he felt strongly that this effect wasn't as simple as his status window described.
Especially when he recalled those crimson eyes filled with endless bloodlust that had materialized behind him, he had an unsettling feeling that something was off.
His gaze lingered on the word Evolvable that still remained beside the trait, indicating that Orange Grade wasn't its limit and it could continue to evolve further.
'I wonder if the conditions for further evolution will be the same… or if they will be even harsher,' He thought to himself, before finally shifting his gaze to the last notification he had received after killing Boris.
(You have received 100 Causality Points.)
Azrael frowned upon seeing this notification. Unlike other notifications, he had no idea what this one meant.
He checked his task points, wondering if the Causality Points were somehow related to them. But on his status window, there was no information about the Causality Points.
Even when he went to check in the shop, there was no mention of the Causality Points.
"Just what are these Causality Points supposed to be?" He muttered in a low voice.
By this time, Azrael had already moved some distance away from the tower-shaped building. Suddenly, he felt something and turned his head.
As he looked ahead, he caught sight of No. 4 inside the tube a few hundred meters away.
Although the power of the World had disappeared after the Absolute Decree's effect ended, strong gusts of wind were still firmly protecting the tube.
Even though their strength had diminished by more than half, they were still powerful enough to restrain normal class-level warriors below level 20.
The moment he saw No. 4, Azrael stopped thinking about the Causality Points altogether and quickly rushed toward her.
When he stopped before the tube, the protective wind that surrounded her slowly shifted toward him. After brushing past him gently, almost as if greeting him, it dispersed into nothingness.
Azrael carefully examined No. 4's life force. Though it was still extremely weak, he could feel that unlike before, it was no longer declining.
'It seems the red liquid they were injecting into her was the real problem…'
Azrael sighed in relief as he confirmed that her life force was stabilizing.
Looking at the familiar face, memories of a little girl causing trouble for all the members of the Dawn Breakers flashed through his mind, and unknowingly, his lips curved upward into a gentle smile.
Just as he was wondering what to do next, he suddenly sensed fluctuations of cold cosmic energy coming from the distance.
Looking ahead, he saw icy mist slowly rising into the sky.
'So, they didn't leave after all and somehow managed to enter the hideout…'
From the ice mist, Azrael could clearly sense Luo Bingqing's aura and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
'Once the security forces arrive, they won't let me enter that rift so easily…'
His eyes narrowed at the thought, and he immediately made up his mind.