Lost in the Trance

Shin Yujun had fallen into a trance.

He could no longer tell whether this was a dream or reality. Equanimity was failing to do its work, perhaps because whatever had taken hold of him was doing him good. Heat seemed to fill his body and his head until he could barely keep his mind together. He was plainly driving his flesh past its limits, and yet a cool, electric pleasure rose through him all the same.

He cut along the grain of flame and ice and unraveled every last thread of it. Even that was not enough. Yujun closed in on the Heresy Inquisitor and began to hack the man's entire body to pieces. The Inquisitor tried to resist, but he could not read the movements of a Yujun lost in the trance.

Then, at a certain moment, his body buzzed as if lightning had struck him dead-on.

Yujun stared ahead as if his soul had left him. To think the trait would truly evolve—and not into SSS+, but two full ranks at once, into EX. Honestly, he had no idea what an EX-rank Swordsmanship would even do. It had already been absurdly overpowered as it was.

"Hah..."

The afterglow refused to fade. That he had been sunk in a trance until a moment ago felt like a dream, and then his mind cleared. He had never been especially burdened by stray thoughts, but now his head felt scoured clean, a perfect white.

Yujun looked around. Erger and Leonhard stood there with vacant faces, while Tapagol was wholly occupied searching every corner of the room for the Tears of an Angel. The Heresy Inquisitor had locked stiff and could not move at all. Paranet, looking thoroughly pleased with himself, was muttering something under his breath and clapping.

What is he doing? I told him to keep watch, and he's just standing there gawking. Well. It worked out, so it's fine.

Yujun drew out the Absolute Sealing Orb again. That was when Paranet came over and addressed him.

"You have obtained something, Master, have you not?"

"What?"

"It is written plain upon your face. Did you acquire a skill?"

"Something like that."

"Then some of the credit is mine, is it not?"

"...I won't say it isn't. Don't start preening."

"But of course. Heh heh heh."

Paranet's instincts were growing sharper by the day. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, one fact was certain: it was obnoxious. For an undead, wasn't his face a little too expressive?

EX-rank Swordsmanship...

He wanted to check it at once. Yujun's gaze dropped, and there on the floor lay the Heresy Inquisitor, sprawled where he had fallen.

"..."

Strange. He ought to have gotten up long ago. Don't tell me—when Swordsmanship's rank rose, had Yujun's own presence risen with it? Had that actually killed the Heresy Inquisitor?

Then the Inquisitor's chest rose and fell, ever so faintly. With the Eagle Eye Scouter still on his face, there was no chance Yujun would miss it.

"Who told you to play dead?"

The Heresy Inquisitor flinched.

"Hey. I already know everything, so get up."

"..."

Slowly, the Heresy Inquisitor pushed himself upright.

"What business do you have with me? Who are you?"

"You're not pretending you've lost your memory, are you? That won't work."

"...Why in the world are you doing this to me? Have I truly wronged you so badly?"

"Yeah. You have. You were going to take the Tears of an Angel. I nearly got robbed with my eyes wide open. If it were you, wouldn't you be furious?"

"I shall withdraw. Let us say ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the retrieval of the Tears of an Angel never happened."

"And who decided that?"

"...Why won't you release me? Why!"

"Because you committed a crime. Against me. You have to take your punishment."

"I have already suffered plenty! How much more must you torment me before you are satisfied?"

Yujun brought his sword down on the Heresy Inquisitor's head.

"Ghk!"

Then he poured mana into the Absolute Sealing Orb. Light leaked from the sphere, and the Heresy Inquisitor's body began to be sucked inside.

"Wh-what is this?"

"What do you think? The house you'll be living in from now on."

"...W-wait! I'm sorry! I was wrong! What do I have to do—I—aaaaagh!"

And so the Heresy Inquisitor was sealed.

Wooong! Wooong! The Absolute Sealing Orb shuddered violently. He was probably throwing a fit in there.

"Struggle all you like. You're never coming out."

Yujun smiled, slow and viscous. The malice in that smile was wicked enough that even Paranet, undead though he was, quietly edged two steps back.

Whatever else, he had sealed the Heresy Inquisitor, who had been nothing but a problem to dispose of. Smiling in satisfaction, Yujun went over to where his teammates stood.

"That was incredible," Erger said, and he meant every word.

The sight of that fight against the Heresy Inquisitor had been a true spectacle. When the Inquisitor had thrashed with everything he had, desperate to bring Yujun down, Yujun had crushed him with nothing but a single sword. Watching the line of his back as he swung in a trance, as if he had seized some enlightenment, Erger looked at him with open admiration.

The stare of so large a man sat poorly with Yujun, so he turned his eyes to Tapagol. The golem had not found the Tears of an Angel he had been told to seek. He simply stood with his eyes closed, for all the world like someone being punished in the corner.

"What are you doing?"

"The Tears of an Angel are nearby."

"Then why are you just standing there blankly? You're not looking."

"I cannot find them. I know they are somewhere in this area. But the precise location... cannot be determined."

"That so?"

Yujun began a mana search. Tapagol had said the Tears of an Angel were close, so he spent mana without stinting, and the Eagle Eye Scouter was still on him as well. He found them almost at once. A few steps from where he stood, he carefully began ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to dig through the soil, and uncovered a blue gem of luminous, exquisite beauty.

Finally...

This was the Tears of an Angel. The level 11 objective was right in front of him. Strictly speaking, he would only clear it by crafting an item with the tears as a material, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but he had found the most important piece. Before anything else, Yujun checked the item's information. He had to confirm whether it was genuine.

It really was an excellent consumable. If he ate it himself, rounding off the decimal, every stat would rise by 46. An item like this would not be easy to obtain again.

Do I eat it... or do I clear the level 11 objective?

Honestly, it was a bind. The Tears of an Angel were already a finished item in their own right. Use them as material for something of Mythic grade or higher, and he might well end up regretting it.

Let's take the gamble. I might make something even better out of the Tears of an Angel.

In truth, the choice had been settled from the start. He had meant to clear the level 11 objective all along. Seeing the tears' effect again after so long had only made him wistful.

"A Mythic item... do you suppose you can make one?" Leonhard asked, his face uneasy.

Yujun nodded.

"Just trust me."

In truth, he had never once crafted an item with the Tears of an Angel. Of course he hadn't. Who would spend something that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠precious as a mere material? Even he had managed to obtain only a single one.

Yujun opened his inventory and looked through his materials. Among them, he found several that ought to sit well with the Tears of an Angel.

The Abyss Herb I received from the Abyss King last time... and the Root of Darkness is here, too.

Contrary to its name, the Tears of an Angel were steeped in the dark attribute. Naturally, he chose synthesis materials of a similar character. After a long deliberation, he took out three items: the Root of Darkness, the Abyss Herb, and last of all a high-grade catalyst pill that had originally sat in No-Pay Casual Gamer's inventory.

A catalyst pill did nothing on its own, but when synthesized with other materials, it raised the chance of producing an elixir. A high-grade one was rare even among those. That brought the items for synthesis to four: the Tears of an Angel, the Abyss Herb, the Root of Darkness, and the high-grade catalyst pill.

Honestly, as materials go, I selected only from the high end up through the very best. The chance of failure is practically zero.

From here, it was a matter of leaving it to luck—and his luck had climbed high enough to punch through the sky, because he had eaten the Ring of Fortune. That effect would last forever.

This is why you eat the Ring of Fortune early.

When he had played War of the Gods, the single most important thing in raising a character had been raising luck. Not long after he was summoned to the Tower of Infinity, Yujun had consumed the Ring of Fortune. There was no need to wear out his mouth explaining the profit that had followed.

"Hoo..."

Yujun drew a deep breath. He had not shaken like this even in his first battle. The reason Equanimity could not press the trembling down was simple: he was enjoying this.

Item synthesis isn't so different from a gacha pull.

There was one more thing he was counting on.

An item synthesis machine was a consumable one could rarely obtain while hunting monsters. The ones that dropped that way, however, were all lowest-grade or low-grade—lower-mid at best, even when one was lucky. He had made up his mind to use this machine, which he had obtained with difficulty... no. Easily. By paying.

Erger's eyes went wide.

"Um, Shin Yujun."

"Yes."

"That is a synthesis machine, is it not?"

"It is."

"It disappears after a single use, doesn't it? I don't feel I've been much help, so please take mine."

"You're giving me a synthesis machine?"

Even a low-grade synthesis machine tended to trade at a considerable price. And he was simply handing one over?

Erger broke into a broad smile and nodded.

"Of course!"

"Let me see it."

Yujun checked the information on the machine Erger held out.

"Hm."

"What is it?"

"I don't need this."

"Pardon?"

"A low-grade? I wouldn't put that under anyone's nose."

"..."

"I appreciate the thought, but I'll just use mine."

"Do you have a mid-grade or higher, by any chance?"

"Yes. A supreme-grade."

"...S-supreme-grade?" Erger stammered.

"Supreme-grade?" Leonhard echoed.

The two of them were shocked at the same time. They had been born players, and naturally they knew synthesis machines well—which was precisely why they could not help it. Lower-mid, even mid-grade, they could understand. Supreme-grade was the territory of another world. It had never once been discovered. As far as Leonhard knew, an upper-mid-grade synthesis machine was the highest anyone had ever found. And this was supreme-grade?

Leonhard laughed, hollow with disbelief.

"You truly do surpass every expectation."

"Take a look at the materials going in. Anything short of supreme-grade would be a waste."

"I see."

"I'll attempt it now. Please stand well back."

"Pardon? Do explosions occur during item synthesis, by any chance?"

"No. I just feel more at ease when there's no one around."

The truth was that he could not trust the two of them.

Yujun set the four items atop the supreme-grade synthesis machine, then injected mana. Wooong! Wooong! The machine began to shake with a noisy clatter.

This reaction...

The corner of Yujun's mouth lifted.