Chapter 23: Ashen Wyrm [1]

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Perhaps it was because he and his father had shared their first truly heartfelt conversation, or perhaps because Louis had suddenly begun acting far more responsible and motivated than ever before. For once, his father simply chose to believe in him.

Whatever the reason, Gustaf trusted his words. Using his Authority as King of Frostbane—an authority he had always disliked—he convinced the people around the castle and even those in the underground VPI HQ to cooperate on “Operation Faith Eradication.” The mission aimed to eliminate the dangerous cult members of the Abyssal Mother lurking in the Nameless Streets. They threatened the entire Kingdom with the horrifying possibility of summoning their aberrant evil goddess into this land, allowing her Fantasy Realm, the Weeping Nest, to devour everything and everyone in utter destruction.

Louis honestly wanted more time to train and prepare properly. If he could have chosen, he would have spent at least three more months training to nearly double his stats and greatly improve his chances of survival.

The problem was the risk. If he delayed too long, he could not predict what butterfly effects might emerge. As a regressor, he refused to act with blind confidence, pretending he knew exactly what would happen. Perhaps his own inaction over those three months—or small events triggered by that inaction—could accelerate the Abyssal Mother’s arrival. That was something he refused to allow at any cost.

Thus, after Zorba was freed and after warning his father that further delays would only heighten the danger, Louis decided to take just one more week to prepare, no more. During that week, he planned several tasks. He would use the materials Agustina had just delivered today to create special Spiral Potions that would boost his Spiral growth and stats.

Beyond that, he intended to do a few things he had neglected before: visit a certain Dwarf who possessed the Heart of Resonance in hopes of obtaining something valuable, and train alongside Zorba. He also planned to formally introduce Zorba to everyone in the castle, explain his abilities, and prevent strange reactions when they saw him fight. Ideally, others could synergize with those abilities or build strategies that accounted for him.

“So you want to synthesize these materials into a Spiral Potion using the lab equipment?”

His father greeted him with a slightly puzzled expression. Louis had never shown the slightest interest in science before, least of all in the VPI, which he had always disliked most. The sharp scent of disinfectant, the sterile white walls, ceiling, and floor, and the unnatural artificial atmosphere usually made him feel claustrophobic. Yet Louis knew this was necessary if he wanted to grow stronger using Agustina’s generosity.

“Yes,” Louis nodded. “These are all materials harvested from distant Farms. I don’t know if Catrise told you about my friendship with a half-elf, half-dwarf noble lady named Agustina…”

“Yes, I know you’ve been trying to build connections among the nobles your mother brought from her world,” Gustaf sighed. “Nobles are a complicated matter. Whenever I think about them, I feel like giving up. Managing such people is really not my strength. They were humble and kind before, but after your mother fell ill, most of them suddenly grew far more arrogant—especially the second and third generations.”

“I see. I was planning to handle those problems myself later,” Louis sighed. “I know you’re not suited for it, and I never intended to ask for your help.”

“Hah… Strangely, hearing that makes me sadder than if you relied on me more,” Gustaf said with a bitter smile. “I’ll see what I can do about it once our current mission is over. Now, you want me to make a potion… All right. Do you have the formula?”

“I created it,” Louis replied, showing his father the digital formula he had prepared. The sight surprised Gustaf deeply.

“…?!” Gustaf stared, stroking his short beard in amazement. “Y-You made this, Louis? Since when you understand how each elemental energy and essence interacts with the others?”

“I studied,” Louis answered, his face mostly expressionless. “I told you I’m not the same as before. I’m trying to improve.”

Although he had studied, the formula’s creation owed much to William’s assistance. In the Sinners Academy game, an Alchemy System existed in the Academy’s Laboratories. Players could combine materials harvested from the Academy Farms, dangerous Fantasy Fields missions, or explorations of the Dimensional Labyrinth’s many Stratums.

The game offered almost no guidance on combinations. Wrong mixes could produce terrible negative effects upon consumption, while the right ones yielded incredible items. William had memorized a vast spreadsheet of the best recipes and formulas for top-tier in-game creations.

That knowledge remained vivid in Louis’s mind because William’s memories functioned like an imaginary book floating within his consciousness—one he could access and read in precise detail. For some reason, it never faded or became forgotten.

“I see… From what I read here, your Spiral is named Hollow Spiral of the Ashen Wyrm? I’ve never heard of such a Spiral before. Its elements are… Ash, Ice, Void, and Dragon?” Gustaf wondered aloud. “I see. That’s why you asked me to bring a scale from your mother?”

“Yes. I know Mother understood they were precious materials. She extracted many from her tail and stored them in a special box for you to use,” Louis said.

“I… well, yes… I still feel ashamed about it. I insisted she didn’t need to do that,” Gustaf sighed. “But she knew they were valuable research materials… I’ve brought one. It should qualify as Dragon-type. Now come with me.”

Gustaf led the way through the vast corridors of Floor 61, where all manner of factories operated. Here, enormous quantities of materials were processed daily and transformed into countless products shipped throughout the Frostbane Kingdom.

The machines—and indeed the entire underground megastructure—were powered not by electricity but by Fantasium. Louis noticed large Fantasium Batteries infusing energy into every piece of machinery. These batteries were made from purified Fantasium Crystals, synthesized into safe, contained forms that even normal humans could touch without harm—though it was still not recommended.

“As you know, our modern technology can no longer rely on electricity alone. Nuclear reactors are a thing of the past. We’ve adapted to this new world by creating Fantasium Batteries and Fantasium Reactors,” his father explained. “The science behind processing Fantasium into high-quality energy wasn’t my idea. The genius responsible is none other than your grandfather, who shared this technology with us through your mother.”

“You mean the Dragon King created this technology?” Louis asked, genuinely surprised.

“Yes. The Dragon Family of Yggdrasil has been aiding humanity since the Dimensional Convergence,” Gustaf continued. “Without their kindness toward humanity, we wouldn’t even be here right now.”

“I see…” Louis nodded. “I thought you had developed some of it yourself, but I suppose it’s the dragons again.”

“Well, what you see here has been thoroughly modified and improved by me and my team,” Gustaf said with a light smile. “Ah, it’s always enjoyable to refine alien technology and correct the flaws their original creators tend to overlook.”

Louis observed massive machines processing Fantasium Crystals alongside bones, dried skin, wood, salt, plants, and everything harvested from Fantasy Fields or Dimensional Rifts. Materials were ground down, separated into components, then recombined. Pills, tonics, syringes filled with liquified Fantasium and more rolled off the lines daily.

Of course, another section handled harder materials such as metals and ores, crafting equipment for Agents, Soldiers, and Knights of the Frostbane Kingdom—but this was not that area. That section was usually overseen by the Dwarf Louis planned to meet later.

“This machine here handles custom orders,” Gustaf said, patting a large device that resembled a giant mechanical cauldron glowing with neon lights. A mixer-like mechanical arm was attached to it. “I’ll load the formula you gave me… here.”

Louis’s father entered the commands and started the machine. It began glowing with bright neon hues. Then he placed the requested materials and ingredients as the machine’s A.I. prompted.

“Did you know? In Yggdrasil, Spiritias, and Zipangu, one thing they all share is Alchemy. It is a Magical Art that lets users combine the elemental and magical properties of materials to create new things,” Gustaf explained. “These automated machines operate on alchemical principles but refined even further.”

“I wish I could have a machine like this in my room,” Louis said. “I’ve heard learning to use them properly takes years of effort.”

“Ah, yes… more or less,” Gustaf nodded. “There are also Traditional Alchemists who avoid technology entirely. They’re a bit more archaic, but because Alchemy is a Magic anyone can learn with enough dedication, even schools exist for those wealthy and interested enough.”

“I’m interested in delving into Alchemy myself,” Louis admitted. “But unfortunately, I don’t think I have the time yet. And since technology like this is freely available to me, I see little point in learning Traditional Alchemy right now.”

“Hmm, you’re not wrong,” Gustaf agreed.

Father and son watched in silence as the machine blended the materials: various herbs, flowers, roots, the dragon scale from Benladra—Louis’s mother—and several others, including a large portion of Liquified Fantasium.

After an hour and a half of mixing, the potion was complete. A bubbling, multi-colored liquid remained inside the giant contraption. It was bottled into three separate potion vials and handed to Louis.

“It’s done. Whether it works as you expect… is unknown,” his father said. “I would advise waiting for us to analyze the potion’s properties and— Wait, Louis! You’re drinking it already?!”

Gustaf gasped as he watched his son down the first bottle without hesitation, then the second and third in quick succession until every drop of the rainbow liquid was inside him. Louis felt refreshed, brimming with vitality.

“Gotta say, it’s not too bad… I can feel it’s compatible with me.”

“…?!”

Gustaf fell silent, staring as his son’s Aura surged rapidly. Louis suddenly felt much stronger. Several colors flared from his body. Pure Fantasium erupted from him in near-endless waves for a moment before rapidly forming eight spirals that pierced his heart and vanished.

“Hm, I think I’ve reached the Middle Stage of Tier 8 with this alone,” Louis said. “However, I noticed I barely gained anything from the third potion, so I likely won’t draw more power from drinking these, unfortunately. Nonetheless, thank you, father. It was a great help.”

“Ah… well, I’m glad it helped. Are you all right, though?” Gustaf asked. Several small drone-like robots floated around him, analyzing Louis’s Fantasium Corruption. “I know Sinners are among the few who can withstand Fantasium without falling ill, but still… I worry. You never showed any kind of power before. You didn’t even have internal Fantasium stored in your body…”

“I’m fine,” Louis clicked his tongue, brushing the annoying drones away. “Now that I’m finished here, I’ll go train with Zorba. He needs to adjust to his new environment. As for his materials…”

“Louis, you know I can’t simply hand him people to murder, right?” Gustaf sighed. “Don’t ask for nonsense.”

“I’m well aware. We’ll go ’hunting’ with Zorba later. Don’t worry—it’ll be criminals nobody will miss,” Louis said with a smile.

“You plan to go alone with him to hunt criminals?!” Gustaf asked in alarm. “Don’t you know how dangerous that is?”

“The Knife are the weakest among them. If we can deal with them ahead of time, the better,” Louis replied. “I also know they aren’t actively working with the Church of the Abyssal Mother based on what I’ve gathered. It’s better to take them down than let the Church exploit them the way they did the Black Fangs.”

“Haa… I suppose I can’t control you anymore. You’re an adult now,” his father conceded. “However, you aren’t going out like that. I’ve been preparing a special uniform for the Sinner Academy. I’ll get your Military Uniform ready, so wait at least two days. I know you don’t like wearing anything else for some reason.”

“I have to admit it, I just look way too good in these garments,” Louis smiled. “Any other type of clothing isn’t for me.”

“The uniform I’ve prepared uses special materials such as Adaptive Fantasium Threading,” Gustaf continued, gesturing to a holographic blueprint that flickered to life beside him. “It will respond to your Aura fluctuations and reinforce your body during combat. The fabric is laced with micro-reactive runes—some based on your mother’s draconic heritage, others drawn from old Sinner archives.”

Louis leaned closer, eyes narrowing. “So it’s not just for show. Good.”

“Of course not,” Gustaf scoffed. “It will also mask your Fantasium signature when necessary. You’re Tier 8 now, and that kind of power draws attention. The Knife may be weak, but the Church… I don’t think Priest Soma is the only threat. I bet they have hounds that can sniff out anomalies like you from miles away.”

Louis nodded, his expression sharpening. “Then I’ll need Zorba cloaked too.”

“I’ve already started working on a mantle for him,” Gustaf said, tapping his wrist console. “It won’t suppress his murderous intent, but it will prevent tracking. Still, I’d prefer if you didn’t take him into the city until the uniform is ready.”

Louis turned, his Aura still flickering with residual Fantasium slowly gathering inside his body. “Two days, then. I’ll train in the training grounds until then. Zorba needs to learn restraint and cooperation.”

Gustaf hesitated. “Louis… about your Spiral. Eight is rare. That’s not just Tier 8. I felt something within that Spiral—something… alive. I’ll need to run deeper scans.”

Louis paused at the doorway, his silhouette framed by the lab’s pale light. “I know, father. I felt something… ancient. Like the potion unlocked a gate that was never meant to open. But that is the power I wield. The Hollow Spiral of the Ashen Wyrm is an anomalous Spiral that doesn’t seem to function exactly like the others, yet it possesses immense power.”

“That’s precisely why I ask you sincerely to let me analyze your Spiral more thoroughly,” his father said. “Please, Louis… I promise I’ll give you a reward or something. It’s not just because I want to add this new Spiral to the archive. I’m worried… I’m worried about you.”

“…” Louis had little patience for sentimental moments. Seeing his father act so affectionate made him genuinely annoyed.

“Come on, son,” Gustaf pressed. “If I understand how your Spiral works, we can figure out the conditions to advance. I’ll also be able to create equipment specifically designed for your powers.”

“…!” Louis quickly grew interested. “Hm, all right then. If that’s the case…”

Gustaf smiled lightly. He knew his son would agree the moment a tempting offer appeared. Louis was that kind of man, and no one understood him better than his own father.

“Then shall we run some scans right now?” his father asked. “Surely Zorba can wait a few more hours. It’s early in the morning.”

“Fine…” Louis sighed. “I’ll send him a message just in case… Let’s go.”

Louis followed his father toward another laboratory. The hallway leading to the Spiral Analysis Chamber was dimly lit, lined with containment pods and humming Fantasium conduits that pulsed like veins beneath the floor. Gustaf walked ahead, his coat trailing behind him like a banner of authority, while Louis followed, his steps silent but heavy with power.

As they entered the chamber, the walls shimmered with containment runes and Fantasium regulators. In the center stood a crystalline platform surrounded by eight floating rings, each attuned to a different Elemental Energy.

“What is this thing? I’ve never seen it before,” Louis commented, studying the impressive apparatus.

“Ancient machinery, repurposed from the ruins of the First Sinner War and modified by yours truly,” Gustaf said, tapping several buttons.

“The First Sinner War…”

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