Chapter 67: Exposed
"How lively," Hiro found himself on a high hill not too far from the great canyon that separated the various parties involved in the battle.
Seated in an inconspicuous corner and with the system keeping his aura in check, Hiro watched as the battle played out.
The most intense battle was probably the location of the dimension's core, and everyone engaged in that battle was at the peak of Tier-7 in terms of level.
As for their abilities and skills, all kinds of colorful spells and enchanting tactics were on display.
"I don't want to waste my time here… Also, I can use this chance to show off instead of working hard for something so easily obtained."
After Hiro made up his mind, he slowly stepped forward to the hill's edge.
Then, the cosmetics around his body changed together with the aura exuded from his person.
Now, he was wearing the "Babylon" cosmetics, and a hazy white halo surrounded his body as a murky silver river whirled in currents along his frame.
Hiro had to admit that although it was a pity to reset the CB and spirit arrays to the starting line whenever he switched sects, it no longer felt bad when his goal had changed.
Now, he was no longer obsessed with elevating his Daoist character from Tier-5 to Tier-4 standards.
Instead, he was obsessed with missions, contribution points, and learning the various martial arts and magic spells offered by the different schools.
It had gotten to a point where Hiro no longer remembered how many tricks his Daoist character had accumulated.
In any case, he could be considered a walking library of secret manuals.
If this were the real world, his reputation would have long since spread, and no sect would accept him.
The reputation of someone who joins a sect only to learn their secret techniques, martial arts, and spells then leaves… Which sect would accept him?
They'd have to worry about whether or not this person would share their core teachings with outsiders, be it voluntarily or otherwise.
Furthermore, Hiro had plans to purchase the genuine expansion package from the system shop with gems.
Hiro discovered that expansion packs existed in the system's catalog, but he had yet to complete the conditions for unlocking that feature.
As for what the condition was, he didn't know.
If he had to guess, it was probably a set requirement to complete a set number of games or purchase a complete game with gems at least once.
In any case, with 140 gems and the 80% discount voucher, he could cut down the price of any original game as long as it didn't exceed 700 gems in price.
If he remembered correctly, there existed games with a price range from 520 gems to 680 gems in the shop, the only conundrum was; what game to buy?
With these thoughts in mind, Hiro released his aura as he moved to the center of the battlefield, his figure floating in the air.
Rumble! Rumble!
The entire world started to shake as the massive pressure of Hiro's aura spread for hundreds of thousands of kilometers in all directions.
The invisible threads of law and order operating in the background experienced a strain strong enough to bend and twist the fabric of reality.
Spatial fissures over 10km long webbed across the sky, revealing a depthless void.
Those in the sky and those on the ground, and even those hidden underground; they felt waves of pressure from all sides, squeezing them to death.
The pocket dimension was about to reset itself and experience destruction in one last attempt at self-preservation.
"Hurry and leave! Someone is breaking the rules!"
"What the fuck is going on?! I thought the Holy Church has blocked all entry channels?!"
"Who cares?! Run for your lives!" Read the latest only on m-v,L-em|p,yr
…
While the majority of the participants were scrambling to run away, activating one dimensional key after another and escaping back to their respective worlds or realms, a group of battle priests and priestesses rushed to the sky.
They were protected by a shell of golden divine energy, but even then, they could hardly move over 20m above the ground.
"Who are you?! State your name and purpose this instant!" Shouted the leading battle priest.
A massive broadsword floated horizontally on his side, and his buff arms were crossed in front of his chest, veins bulging noticeably through his skin.
Hiro swept them with a brief glance before ignoring the guy and the divine energy completely.
With one step, he moved next to the dimension's core which was levitating in the air, spinning crazily with visible cracks.
Can I take this thing into my inventory? Hiro asked the system in his mind.
[Notice: This core is severely damaged, and it can only be repaired when the laws of the dimension are reset. However, the pure demonic energy is restricting the operations of the laws, slowly corroding and converting the essence of the dimension. In conclusion, you will need to purify and fix the laws of the dimension in the process of retrieving the item.
Estimated value: 100,000,000 achievement points.]
Hiro stared at the notice, feeling his teeth ache. Then again, this was a pocket dimension with over 300 million square kilometers of landscape, so of course it wouldn't be cheap to fix it.
The demonic energy was corroding this place for over a decade, and it seemed like the church had no plans to expend energy in the efforts of fixing it up.
After a moment of silence, Hiro asked the system again, Then, how much will it cost to store the demonic energy in my inventory?
[Notice: Since the host can use the innate gluttony physique as a catalyst, together with the help from the dimension's self-protection mechanism, the system doesn't need to exert much energy in the process of extraction.
Estimated value: 10,000 achievement points.]
Hiro gritted his teeth hard, questioning whether it was worth it to spend 10,000 achievement points just to reward Arabella.
This is a strand of demonic energy obtained by the cooperative efforts of the system, the pocket dimension, and Hiro's innate gluttony physique.
It could be imagined how valuable this thing was.
Forget about other things, 10,000 achievement points are enough to get another contracted servant with unlimited growth potential.
In a sense, Hiro was about to double Arabella's initial capital, and he had no clue how far her level, bloodline, and abilities could improve after she obtained this pure demonic energy.
At the very least, she would jump the ranks from an ordinary succubus to a Greater Demon, and potentially become a Demon King in the future.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Consecutive explosions in the background woke Hiro up, and after making up his mind, Hiro extended his hand under the stunned gaze of everyone.
…
In the crowd, the most but least shocked was probably Rosaline.
From Bella's descriptions, she already guessed that this was most likely Babylon, the person who entered the provincial capital's Paranormal Society recently.
However, the Holy Church had the power to intercept any and all channels from their world to this pocket dimension, so how could someone else get in?
Furthermore, the pocket dimension wouldn't causally allow anyone with an overpowered strength to enter, as that was no different from self-destruction.
The more Rosaline thought about it, the more confused she became.
Even if Babylon made it inside from a different world or a different minor realm, he had to get his hands on the coordinates.
Even if he got his hands on the coordinates, he had to get over the pocket dimension's operating laws.
It wasn't just Rosaline; even the people from the Holy Church, the government, and various influential groups in the Paranormal Society were feeling confused at the moment.
During their confusion, one of the Great Demons suddenly shouted in alarm and disbelief, "The demonic energy is weakening!"
It was fine if he hadn't said anything, but now that he did, everyone closed their eyes and carefully sensed their surroundings.
The Great Demons were most sensitive to demonic energy, but very quickly, everyone who was strong enough was able to feel it.
As the creature said, demonic energy was being diluted at an increasing rate. Looking at the cracked dimension's core, everyone saw wisps of black energy being extracted from the core.
What?! Seeing this, Berlin was shocked as a scene replayed in her mind. It was the scene of Hiro extracting the demonic energy from her body.
An absurd, yet not an impossible conclusion popped into her head. Are these two related…?
She didn't want to believe it; as the difference in strength was just too great. However, she hadn't learned of any techniques that allowed someone to extract demonic energy in the past.
This ability was too heaven-defying! If a secret organization got its hands on such an ability, it should be the Holy Church!
No wonder he didn't want to meet with the people from the church back then, Berlin assumed that she finally figured things out.
Looking at the back of the battle priest, she opened her mouth to report her conclusion and guesses. However, the moment she harbored that intent, a piercing, borderline suffocating feeling gripped her heart.
Berlin frowned, sweating smearing her brows. For some reason, she felt that she would be making an unforgettable mistake were she to expose Hiro's matter.
She was confused, Where was this feeling coming from?