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[Core Rank Up Possible]
[Please follow the instructions for ranking up]
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'Ranking up? But I was still somewhat far away.'
Waiting another moment the instructions appeared.
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[Rank I -> II Process]
[Please follow one of the suggested]
>[1] day of undisturbed cultivation
>consumption of [1] rank [1] core stone
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"Has it appeared?"
Ash's face slightly moved in reaction to the question.
"So it has. Well then choose. Would you like to cultivate or use a stone?"
Ash while still perturbed, finally spoke up answering the question.
"You won't let me do either am I right?"
Following the question a slight gust of wind blew behind Ash, and the figure quickly appeared before Ash.
"Am I right? Father Adam or should I call you Floch?"
The figure standing before him was indeed Adam, but the way he moved, the way he spoke. It had little resemblance to the holy figure he knew.
"Floch will work just fine."
Adam's body spoke up once again with Floch's creepy smile on his face.
"What have you done to him?"
Ash asked, without an ounce of fear or hesitation.
The man's smile disappeared, replaced by an expression that was much more passive, but just as terrifying.
"Hey Ash, you've gotten rather confident in these last few months. But I'd like you to remember why you are still alive. You know it too right? That I made this place, and that I was the one that gave you lives to endlessly throw away. Don't think for a moment that I cannot take it away just as easily."
Ash froze for a moment, understanding his position. Still after a bit he spoke up once again, be it with a bit less confidence.
"...Then why did you do it?"
"Huh?"
Floch was confused for a moment, acting like he didn't understand his question.
"If you could kill me so easily, why even keep me alive in the first place? Why make a training ground just for me?"
The smile reappeared on his face.
"So you knew."
Ash seeing his acknowledgement replied.
"At first I wasn't sure, but with my progress carrying over, the difficulty increasing with each fight, it became apparent... So here's my question. Why?"
The man wearing Adam's skin hesitated for a moment, then replied.
"It was something that had to be done, so you would survive. While there were quicker options, this one seemed the best as it also gave you the experience you lacked."
Ash quickly understood that second point, but the first one still bothered him.
"Why do you care about my survival?"
Silence descended as no answer came. Then he spoke up.
"Anyways, I see you still have the remains of the core stone."
Ash looked at his hand, and it was actually there. It seemed he unconciously held onto some of the fragment.
"I can help you with that."
Suddenly he snapped his fingers. In the next moment the shards in Ash's hands started floating with more shards joining in flying out from the dead "cyclops".
"There. Now you can rank up. Don't worry I won't hurt you while you do it."
Ash took the stone, which now shone the same way it did before he shattered it.
"You really think I'll just do as you ask?"
Ash looked at Floch with an almost mocking expression.
"You just told me that you want me to survive, now I'm certain you wouldn't hurt me. There is no reason for me to obey you."
Floch looked at Ash still smiling, and opened his mouth.
"Well, I suppose you are right."
Ash eased upon hearing this, but Floch wasn't done.
"If you want we can just stay here forever. It would be fun, right?"
Floch's smile intensified. While Ash's disappeared.
Floch wouldn't hurt him, but he wouldn't let him leave either.
"Fine I'll do it, but atleast answer my first question before I do it."
Floch though for a moment.
"Hmm... first question... ahhh the one about Adam."
Ash nodded as a way to confirm.
"Hmm Adam is how do I say it. Dead."
Ash's face trembled slightly, but quickly recovered, already somewhat expecting it. But in the next second Floch continued.
"Oh but don't get me wrong he's not exactly dead. It's more like I erased the Adam inside and took him over. I mean as you can see the body is alive and well."
While explaining this Floch kept on doing some strange gestures as to showcase his control over the body.
Ash was more shocked by this than the other statement, but it seemed only logical.
Taking a deep breath Ash calmed himself down, and contiued questioning.
"Why did you do that?"
The question was simple, and as such he received a simple answer.
"To blend in."
"Huh?"
Ash didn't understand what Floch was saying.
"You know I did this because of you. I mean you noticed me, saw through my disguise. That was when I realised, that if I wanted to be a part of human society I couldn't just keep using my old "body".
He gestured the quotations.
"So while other abilities may not be on the same level as Truth Seeker the possibility is still there so it's just safer this way. Besides Adam is a pretty decent vessel. Rank five should be able to last me for a while."
With his explanation finished he turned to Ash with a smile and spoke up.
"So are you ready?"
For a moment Ash wasn't sure what he was asking, but he quickly realised it was about the ranking up.
Knowing this, while still somewhat reluctant he once again nodded, before speaking up.
"So how do I consume it?"
An answer came almost immediately.
"You can use Aura already, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Just like how you move your own Aura, try to move this foreign energy and integrate it into your core."
Closing his eyes Ash focused back onto the crystal like core in his hand, trying to feel the foreign energy. And it wasn't long before he felt that familiar energy.
It was the same energy he had felt while crawling inside the "cyclops", this was certainly the energy he was looking for.
Then with the same technique as how he contolled his Aura he slowly started moving this energy towards his own core.
The moment the two touched a strange feeling swept through Ash.
Like a cold breeze, but also like an electric shock. A feeling that was both painful and pleasant. Something truly strange.
Still he kept pushing through till he could feel it no more.
Opening his eyes he could see that the once radiant crystal was now lightless, and looked much closer to a normal rock one could find anywhere.
"So it's done."
Floch was the first to congratulate him, not like there was anyone else to do so.
"So now what?"
Ash asked, but quickly his Interface appeared before him once more.
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[Congratulations on becoming a Rank II]
>Displaying updated information...
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[Soul Chip Interface]
>Core Power: [Truth Seeker]
>Proficiency: [0%]
>Rank: [II]
>Attribute: [Light]
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[Minor Skills]
>Slashes [G] Proficiency: [100%]
>Basic Aura Control [F] Proficiency: [100%]
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His screen remained mostly unchanged, other than his core rank increasing nothing else changed, not like he expected it to change anyways.
Dismissing his screen, Floch spoke up answering Ash's prior question.
"Now what...huh?"
"Well I don't think you are really gonna like this one, but it doesn't really matter."
Ash didn't understand, but the way Floch spoke didn't arise confidence in him.
Suddenly a crow appeared in the distance, slowly flying towards the two.
Ash had notices it too, and started watching it as it flew closer and closer.
As it came closer something slowly started becoming visible in it's grip.
Ash could barely see it, but from a distance it just looked to be a stone of some kind.
Once it was close Ash was able to see it.
The stone the bird carried had a slight radiance similiar to the core stone he had just consumed.
But there was an obvious difference.
The light from this stone was no light at all. No what it radiated was closer to the pitch black abyss outside. A darkness so deep that it spread around itself.
Finally the bird landed on Floch's hand handing the stone to him.
"Are you familiar with this stone Ash?"
Ash was confused, not fully knowing where this was going, still he answered.
"I'm not sure, is it another core stone?"
Floch moved his empty hand to his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Haha, no this isn't just a core stone...pffft."
Compossing himself Floch once again looked at Ash.
"You've seen this thing before. Around here it was called a "warding stone" ring any bells?"
Ash's eyes widened, before asking.
"But the warding stone I saw was small, and it had none of this ominous energy."
Floch slowly started moving towards Ash whilst still talking.
"Well, that was because it was just a fragment, but now it's whole again."
Ash sort of understood what was going. Connecting it to what Floch had done with the core stone before.
"So it was like that. Well what do you need it..."
But while speaking Ash was interruped as a hand quickly impaled him.
Floch had plunged his hand into Ash's chest, right to where his core was.
Then just as quickly he took his hand out too.
"Aaaaahhhhh...waaahhh"
Ash collapsed to the ground, clenching the hole in his chest.
"Come on now, you've died so many times, there is no way it's that bad."
Floch would have normally been right, but right now Ash wasn't just feeling the hole in his chest there was something much worse going on within his core.
While the core stone from before had atleast a bit of pleasantness to it.
But what he was feeling had none of that, it was just pain. Pain way worse than anything he had felt before.
It felt like his existence was being overridden, like he'd be erased and would never exist again.
All the pain before was merely physical, but this one was something that was altering his soul at its core.
The screaming continued for a bit before it came to an end, with Ash laying there motionless.
Floch stood there somewhat disappointed, before a slight voice reached his ears.
A whisper so quiet, you'd think it was from a man on his deathbed, but the voice carried with it immense hatred.
"I'll fucking... kill you... I swear."
A smile appeared on Floch's face once again.