The Transcendent's Bequest

The transcendent's voice echoed once more. "Whoa, what is all this?"

Inside the treasure chest lay an array of extraordinary items: a mysterious orb shimmering with an ethereal blue glow, a ring etched with overlapping geometric patterns that looked anything but ordinary, an aged and tattered scroll inscribed with a magic circle of intricate geometric designs, and three luxurious potion bottles containing something that seemed to hold the very essence of an aurora in its multicolored depths. Compared to the time, effort, and traits I'd sacrificed to reach this point, the contents were far more remarkable than I'd anticipated.

"Swallow the orb. Only then will you obtain power."

Hearing those words, I focused on the orb. Moments later, an information window appeared.

The item description was remarkably straightforward. Interestingly, it had no grade. Perhaps it was because it was prepared by a transcendent, much like the god-related traits I possessed. I carefully picked up the orb and spoke to Chaos.

'Is it safe to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eat this?'

[Chaos says that while it won't endanger your life, forcibly containing and absorbing a transcendent's aura will be quite painful.]

Right. As long as I don't die. Surely the transcendent wouldn't have pulled any tricks that even Chaos, who could see the system window, wouldn't notice. And even if there were some underhanded scheme, the only way to escape this place and reach the third floor was to follow their instructions.

"Yeriel, I'm going to absorb this now. No matter how much pain I'm in, don't use any healing on me. You can hold back, right?"

"Hmm… I don't know what that orb is, but if you're insisting so strongly, I'll trust you. Just be careful, okay?"

Good. Preparations were complete. Gulp. Any further hesitation would be a luxury. After giving Yeriel my instructions, I immediately placed the orb in my mouth and swallowed it. It was small, and I swallowed it straight down without chewing, fearing complications. Aside from a chilling sensation sliding down my throat like ice water, there was no resistance at all. I understood what it meant for something to melt away without a trace.

"Ghh…"

It's coming—the reaction! A massive surge of energy began churning through my insides. It wasn't the mana that constantly circulated from my heart; instead, a frost-like aura raced through every blood vessel in my body. It was cold. Like it was trying to freeze me solid on the spot, the gloomy, heavy presence clung to my lungs and tightened around my throat.

"Hah, hah."

Whoosh— Before I knew it, the temperature around me began to drop along with my stiffened body. My breath came out in white puffs, just like in the polar regions. An alarm rang in my mind.

'I have to control this energy. If I can't contain it and leave it unchecked, I might actually freeze to death!'

Faced with an unexpected situation, I desperately racked my brain. The energy coursing through my body was pristine and pure, untainted by impurities, just as one would expect from a transcendent. 'It's already spread throughout my entire body. My head's freezing up and I can't think straight—there's no way I can gather all of it in one place.'

Things like channeling the cold into my dantian or forming circles around my heart were impossible. In that case… the only option was to crush it with my overflowing mana!

I rapidly circulated my mana, forcibly intensifying the previously calm flow. "Ngh—!" Gritting my teeth, I concentrated. The frost flowing through my veins was pushed aside by the rapidly spinning mana, forced toward the edges. Hum. Zing— The frost, suppressed by the mana and unable to spread, eventually gave up circulating and began adhering to the surface of my blood vessels. Keep going. Until it spreads even thinner. More, just a little more!

Crack. For an instant, my entire body glowed blue, and a layer of frost formed over my skin with a cracking sound. "Kgh." I forced my aching body upright and exhaled the breath I'd been holding. My head still felt foggy as I clutched it. I'd succeeded!

[Chaos claps and says you've done well.]

'How should I describe this? Did I coat the mana pathways with frost? Or did I turn my entire circulatory system into a frost circuit?' Either way, this was the best I could manage right now.

"Haha! This is a masterpiece. You absorbed everything without missing a single drop? To think you'd surprise me twice."

Yes, fuck. You were surprised? Meanwhile, someone was suffering like they were dying. How nice for you, you bastard.

'Damn it. I didn't expect to get it instantly with a single click, but I didn't think it'd be this hard.'

Whether it was Chaos or the voice I was hearing now, they were all transcendent beings. Their standards for pain were probably different from a mere human like me. I shook the frost from my hair and lifted my head. What greeted me was Yeriel with a worried expression and Lumia, who maintained a blank face but couldn't hide her trembling hands.

"Ugh."

"Hehe. It's fine. There were a few complications, but I absorbed it safely."

"You're smiling right now? You jerk!"

Yeriel lightly punched me with her soft fists. Knowing how worried she'd been, I smiled and spoke up.

"Thanks for worrying so much, both of you. I'm really okay now. If anything, I feel refreshed? Anyway, the biggest problem's solved, so let's check out the other items."

Oh, right. "Lumia, can you give me your hand?"

"Huh? Here."

I covered Lumia's still faintly trembling hand with both of mine. "Eep. Ugh."

"Feeling better?"

The trembling stopped, and her ears perked up again. She must have come to her senses. Party member mental care was an important matter. Once both of them seemed fine, I turned my attention back to the items in the chest. Next after the orb was… the ring.

This one had no grade either. Normally, common items would have an alphabet grade, and unique items would be marked as such right next to the name. Hmm, so for now, it was just an intricately crafted ring with no abilities? I slipped it onto my index finger and stopped paying attention to it. Next was what appeared to be an old parchment scroll.

Oh… If used well, this could save my life in a pinch. Otherwise, it could be used to create a major variable. It would've been great if it retained its original high-grade power, but even this much was more than enough to be grateful for. Finally, there were the luxurious potion bottles that kept shimmering with various colors.

Whoa, this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would fetch a fortune if I sold it. It was a shame I had to drink it here. When I explained the detailed information while holding the bottle, Yeriel and Lumia's faces lit up with joy.

"W-wow, wow! We can really drink this, right?"

"A consumable related to talent, of all things… How did three of something this precious end up in here?"

"Yeah. Since the effects will disappear once we leave anyway, let's drink them right now."

Clink! The three of us clinked our bottles together and downed the contents simultaneously.

The taste… was euphoric. Rather than being delicious, the moment the contents touched my tongue, I felt like I was floating on clouds. While I was still lost in the aftertaste, the transcendent's voice echoed once more.

"Well then, it seems everything is finished, so it's time to say goodbye. I shall await the day we meet again, mortal."

What? 'W-wait, at least tell me your name so I know what to call you!'

"Kek. I've long since discarded my name. If you're truly curious, find out for yourself later."

Rumble—

"Kgh."

"Aaaah!"

"Eep."

The cavern shook so violently that I could barely keep my balance. Why all of a sudden? Had the space itself begun to disappear now that everything the transcendent wanted had been resolved? No, if they weren't even going to tell me their name, couldn't they at least open a path out? I hurriedly dropped to the ground and braced myself. Amidst the deafening roar, I felt like I was being spat out somewhere. After enduring for about ten minutes, the noise finally ceased and the surroundings grew quiet.

[Chaos tells you to look around.]

Following Chaos's words, I stood up and surveyed my surroundings.

"Holy shit…"

The altar, and even the vast cavern our party had entered, had vanished without a trace. Where was this? First, I needed to check if Yeriel and Lumia were okay.

"Heeugh… I'm dizzy."

"Are you two alright?"

Yeriel patted her soft cheeks with a cute pat-pat. "Agh, I didn't even ride a portal… I keep having strange experiences ever since entering the labyrinth."

"You're telling me. How about you, Lumia?"

Lumia was still hunched over, clutching her ears. Worried something was wrong, I quickly approached her.

"You okay? Did you get hurt when you fell?"

That shouldn't be possible. Wasn't this the same Lumia who had landed flawlessly with her superior sense of balance when we first arrived on the second floor as a beastkin? I carefully covered the hand on her head with mine.

"I-I'm fine. I guess having good senses backfired this time. I'll feel better after a bit."

I nodded and looked around before speaking. "Anyway, it's a relief we made it out without any major issues. We got a lot out of it, too."

"Yeah! A-actually, I feel bad that Aren had to go through so much alone…"

"Yeriel, you at least did some healing. I didn't do anything at all."

"There you go again. If we're going by that logic, I wouldn't have even reached the fork in the road by myself. We're in the same party, and good things are good, right?"

She cut off the gloomy talk with a firm "good things are good." Then she immediately pulled out the map to check it.

"As long as there aren't any weird anomalies like another fork, we should reach a rest area if we keep going. Alright, once everyone's recovered, let's head straight forward!"

With nods of agreement, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I led the two of them onward. After walking for about two hours, we finally arrived at a rest area. Just like on the first floor, there was a hole in the wall large enough for one or two people. 'No one's here, right? Surely not.' I went in first, and the others followed. Fortunately, it seemed to be an unpopular area—there was no one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inside. The scarcity of adventurers we encountered suggested that few had fallen into the swamp zone itself.

"Darkness is my servant. Rise and obey."

Fortunately, once we moved away from the cavern, my familiars were resummoned, solving the night watch problem. After laying out our sleeping bags and taking out preserved rations from our backpacks, we gathered together for a meal and chatted leisurely. We talked about the trait and items I'd obtained, the master of the altar, and the Winter's Breath we'd just drunk.

"Haaam." My body was fine, but I was mentally exhausted. Before long, everyone's words began to dwindle. Eventually, we each closed our eyes and went to sleep, bringing an end to what had been an especially long and grueling day. Already at the center. The third floor wasn't far now.