Chapter 93: 93. 100X feedback X Ethan – 1

“Wait a minute… what the hell is happening?”

William’s voice echoed inside the Domain of Infinite as he stared at the last set of tracking results.

His brows were tightly knit, and the excitement he had felt just moments earlier about looking into Ethan’s 100X returns was completely gone.

Something about the information did not sit right with him at all, and the more he thought about it, the worse it felt.

The system responded after a brief pause.

[Host, one thing I am sure of is that the cult branches operating in the southern region of Aris are doing something big, and how Lia ended up there is also a mystery, last time we tracked her, she was beyond the Aris boundaries.]

[There was no mention of any major experiments being conducted by the cults in the novel in the southern territories by the cults.]

“It was written that the Vampire Empress was merciless towards the cults and never let them gain a steady foundation in her empire. I thought that was also the reason her own daughter, Katherine, was abducted by them and transported to the abyss.”

William held his head in frustration.

“Oh gosh… this is such a fucking hassle,” he muttered under his breath. “But at least now I know something shady is going on down there.”

He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to calm down.

A brief silence settled in the environment as William stared at the distant horizon.

His thoughts moved rapidly, weighing options and possible consequences. After a few moments, he spoke again.

“There are three possible things I can think of doing right now if I actually want to interfere in whatever bullshit they’re cooking in the south.”

He raised a finger unconsciously as he started listing them out.

“First option,” William said. “I go directly to the southern region myself.”

His gaze sharpened.

“There are mainly two empires in the southern part of Aris. One is the Blood Veil Empire, which is vampire territory. The other is the Dwarven Empire. If I go alone, I will handle everything on my own terms.”

That option appealed to him the most on a personal level. No relying on anyone. Just him, his strength, and whatever demons or cultists stood in his way.

But it was also the most time-consuming one, and he had other things planned out for him.

“The second possibility,” he continued, lowering his hand and raising another finger, “is sending a divine mail.”

“I will send it to someone strong. Someone who already has enough enmity with the cults that they would jump at the chance to personally go down south and fuck up whatever those assholes are planning.”

He paused, thinking through it carefully.

“For that to work, the message would need to sound serious as hell. I’d have to exaggerate certain facts and make the situation seem even more grave than it already is just to make sure the people on the other end don’t hesitate.”

It was manipulation, plain and simple, but William had long stopped pretending that morality was black and white.

“The third possibility,” he said slowly, his voice dropping slightly, “is somehow making the main cast handle Lia’s rescue.”

Even as he said it, he frowned.

“This way, they gain experience too,” he continued. “But honestly, I don’t even know how I’d pull this off properly. There’s a real chance it could lead them straight into their deaths.”

He clenched his jaw.

“And if that happens, I lose my precious binders. That alone makes this option fucking stupid.”

Silence returned for a moment.

William then added, almost to himself, “I need to investigate first. If I can figure out what’s really going on, saving Lia might also stop Maximus.”

But then his eyes darkened with a realization.

“With Maximus gone, I’ll lose my lead on the cults. I won’t know who the cults might contact next inside the academy. But if Maximus stays in place, at least he can lead me straight to them and expose other spies.”

The system responded after listening to his entire thought process.

[I would advise you to think in between.]

William blinked.

“…Huh?” he said. “What the hell does that even mean?”

[Figure it out yourself. You have seven years inside this place. If, at the end of those seven years, you still can’t cook up something useful, I’ll gradually have to help your dumb ass.]

William stared blankly for a second before a slow smirk formed on his face.

“Oh?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge?”

[Yes.]

William’s grin widened.

“Then why don’t you give me a mission?” he said confidently. “Only a decent amount of SP can make me take you seriously.”

The system went quiet for a second.

[Tsk. Fine.]

A new screen materialized in front of William, glowing faintly in the air.

==========

Mission: What Is Cooking in the South?

Description: Demonic cults in the southern region of Aris are conducting experiments on the individual Lia and possibly other beings as well.

Task: Stop the experimentation and disrupt whatever they are planning.

Rewards: Will be calculated based on performance.

==========

William read through the mission once.

Then again.

A wide grin spread across his face.

“Let’s gooo!!” he shouted, pumping his fist into the air. “More SP!”

The system responded, sounding almost resigned.

[I shouldn’t say this, but whenever it comes to messing with demons or cults, you start getting excited in a weird way.]

[I know you hate them, but it feels like there’s another person inside you that comes out whenever they’re involved.]

William shrugged casually.

“Well, I’m passionate about killing demons and their lapdogs,” he said without hesitation. “Anything that gives them pain feels like bliss to me.”

He genuinely sounded confused about why that would be concerning.

The system replied more seriously.

[Revenge is essential. I just hope you don’t lose yourself in the heat of vengeance.]

William scoffed.

“Tsk,” he replied. “Says the system that refused to tell me about painkillers before putting me through that much pain.”

[Oi!! It’s not like you never make mistakes. Over the past few years, you went through multiple major transformations, and not once did it cross your mind that painkillers might exist in the shop until I mentioned it.]

“Tsk,” William clicked his tongue. “It’s literally your job to help me as a system, isn’t it?”

[Eat shit, bro.]

[I helped you with everything I had. Painkillers are only effective till some point, not if you turn into paste every fcking single time.]

[You are also too broke to afford painkillers most of the time anyway.]

“Bla bla bla…”

[bla bla bla…]

The verbal back-and-forth continued for several minutes, neither side backing down. Eventually, William sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

“Fine, fine. ”

“You win,” he said, panting.

“Now show me Ethan’s returns.”

[bla bla bla…?? (⊙_⊙)]

[Okay, fine.]

A new system screen appeared.

[ding… Individual Ethan has received:]

[– Training in light-based movement art Radiant Flash Steps (Heaven)]

[– Training in 2nd and 3rd forms of Tempest Sword Technique (Saint)]

[– Azure Stormblade (Mythic)]

[ding… Calculating 100X rewards…]

[ding… Congratulations, Host, for receiving: ]

[– 100x training in light-based movement art Radiant Flash Steps (Heaven)]

[– 100x training in 2nd and 3rd forms of Tempest Sword Technique (Saint)]

[– Nine-Heavens Stormcleaver (Ancient)]

_________________

[A/N:

Stages of technique mastery:

Newbie → Beginner → Intermediate → Master → Grand Master → Perfection]

—–

ranks of battle technique:

Iron → Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Heaven → Saint → Sage → GOD

—–

ranks of artifacts and weapons:

Iron → Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → diamond → Mythic → Legendary → Ancient → Divine → Sovereign

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