Chapter 71. Spoils (3)
Concept Skill, Infinite [M].
If my guess was correct, this was an authority possessed by the Monarch of the Abyss.
Furthermore, it was an ability that I had been unable to acquire through Predation [S+] in my previous life.
◆Infinite [M] : A state in which a particular concept is limitless and therefore has no end. Based on the player’s [Understanding of Infinity], the player may attempt to integrate it with a specific concept. The integrated concept will then be converted into an Infinite state.
Its measured rank was [M], which stood for Myth.
It was even higher than [L], which stood for Legend.
Furthermore, this was a skill I had absorbed by using Predation [S+] on Avarus.
Judging from the skill’s description, I could understand how Avarus had been able to use infinite stamina and mana.
In other words, there could hardly be a more outrageously overpowered ability than this—
‘A Concept Skill?’
A Concept Skill.
It was a type of skill I had never obtained in my previous life.
That was only natural, since it was an authority possessed by the Monarch of the Abyss, but perhaps for that very reason, I had no idea exactly what kind of skill it was or how I was supposed to use it.
However, if I borrowed the knowledge of the Archmage, one of the heroes of the Coalition Forces—
—A concept is a general term for abstract ideas such as philosophy, language, psychology, and logic, which are “generalized” through induction from specific facts.
As expected.
It was information and a memory that I could not understand at all.
Nevertheless, if I forcibly dug through my memories of my previous life—
—As a simple example, an enormous number of different kinds of dogs are included within the species classification known as [dog].
Large dogs, small dogs, vicious dogs.
Purebreds, mixed breeds, hunting dogs, military dogs, yellow dogs, and so on....
—However, we disregard all those specific characteristics and differences and simply refer to them all as [dogs].
We extract only the genetic characteristics they share and “generalize” them under the species classification known as [dog].
—In this way, the generalization of a group of objects is called a “concept”.
This was not limited merely to things that actually existed.
It also encompassed invisible subjects such as human thoughts, time, gods, and transcendent entities.
—In that sense, the word “concept” is itself already a concept.
Judging from all this—
The Concept Skill, Infinite [M], could be considered a skill created by generalizing the abstract concept of “infinity”.
With that, I activated the Concept Skill, Infinite [M]—
◆Error: The player’s current understanding of Infinite is insufficient to integrate it with the concept of “Agility”.
◆Error: The player’s current understanding of Infinite is insufficient to integrate it with the concept of “Stamina”.
◆Error: The player’s current understanding of Infinite is insufficient to integrate it with the concept of “Mana”.
◆Error: The player’s current understanding of Infinite is insufficient to integrate it with the concept of “Strength”.
....For some reason, none of them could be integrated.
Apparently, merely knowing the concept of infinity was not enough.
I had to “understand” the concept.
It followed the same principle as how simply knowing the category [dog] did not tell you whether the dog was large or small, purebred or mixed, or reveal any of its other specific characteristics—
Was that why?
None of them worked.
Forget infinite strength and agility; I could not even integrate it with stamina or mana, as Avarus had done.
It seemed the range of its applications differed depending on my [Understanding of Infinity].
There was a reason it was called a “Concept” Skill.
It appeared I had to raise my “understanding” of the skill rather than its proficiency.
‘Does that mean I can’t use it right now?’
It was a pie in the sky—something that looked impressive but was practically useless.
Still, there had to be a reason its rank was [M], signifying Myth.
Even from its description alone, it was obviously an outrageously overpowered ability.
I would gradually discover ways to utilize it.
‘It’s certainly different from the Monarch of Beasts.’
An Unknowable Terror Beyond Explanation, the Monarch of the Abyss.
His authority was likewise impossible to explain.
In that sense, absorbing his authority had not been easy either.
Frankly, if I had not possessed Ian’s ability, Player’s Will [EX], I might have died.
Regeneration [B+] did not work on mental fortitude, so there was nothing I could have done about it.
That made it clear why the message had raised such a fuss.
After all, Player’s Will [EX] did not grant complete immunity.
Fortunately, my mind had not collapsed, but it had nevertheless been dangerous.
The whispers had continued eroding my mind, almost as if they knew about the flaw in Player’s Will [EX].
Then there was the person I had seen in the vision. I had been unable to see what he looked like, but—
‘They called him a Hero, didn’t they?’
He had referred to himself as a “Hero”.
More precisely, the people in the vision had called that person a Hero.
And as far as I knew, there was only one person called the Hero.
“Ian.”
That meant the owner of the voice I had just heard and the central figure of the vision I had seen was Ian—
‘....That can’t be.’
It made no sense.
Obviously, it had not been Ian’s voice.
Furthermore, the nuance, atmosphere, and manner of speech—
Not a single one of them matched Ian.
To begin with, it was a voice I had become capable of hearing only after using Predation [S+] on the strange entity known as Z’thulonak.
In other words, they were the whispers and visions of the authority possessed by the Monarch of the Abyss.
What if the person in that vision was Ian?
That would mean Ian was the Monarch of the Abyss.
‘Impossible.’
Of course, no one in the Coalition Forces had ever personally seen the Monarch of the Abyss, but—
‘There’s no way.’
I could be certain of that.
It was a hypothesis that did not even warrant considering the slightest possibility.
Nevertheless, it remained an undeniable fact that the person in the vision had been called a “Hero”.
‘Ian seems like he would know something.’
Ian was the only person who had directly confronted the Monarch of the Abyss.
Ian would undoubtedly know something.
That gave me one more reason to reunite with Ian as quickly as possible.
After organizing my thoughts, I looked around—
Kai stood right beside me, as motionless as a deeply rooted ancient tree.
The expression on his face as he stared at me was dazed, as though he had witnessed something unbelievable—
“Weren’t you...,.dead?”
Kai said exactly the same thing Seraphia had last time.
To an observer, it might have seemed as though those two were siblings rather than me and Seraphia.
“I came back to life.”
“What? Y-Yes...?”
There is.
Kai asked again as though wondering what nonsense I was talking about, but I casually ignored him.
Honestly, there was no way to explain it any further than that.
I walked past Kai and continued looking around.
Although what could be called the main course had turned out to be nothing more than a pie in the sky—something that looked impressive but was practically useless—
‘I should scrape up and devour everything that remains.’
Avarus, the Forger of Greed.
As one could tell from his epithet—Avarus had been overflowing with greed.
Therefore, if Avarus had used Venenon County as his base, he was almost certain to have a “secret vault”.
He had probably concealed it thoroughly beneath layer upon layer of magical barriers.
With my mana sensitivity approaching zero, it would have been impossible for me even to detect it, but I currently possessed an Agility score of no less than 111.8.
My senses were no longer merely similar to ESP—they were practically on par with it.
My razor-sharp senses did not miss a single piece of minor information perceived through my five senses.
‘Let’s see....’
I carefully examined the ruined mansion.
* * *
Adrian had flopped around like a fish dragged onto dry land.
As Kai stared at Adrian, his eyes contained not only confusion and astonishment but also a faint trace of fear.
Even as he tried to accept that this incomprehensible phenomenon—someone returning after overcoming death—was real, Kai simply could not comprehend the unbelievable sight before him.
Seriously—
“I came back to life.”
Kai could not understand the person known as Adrian.
Only the phrase, “Because that’s just how Adrian is”, allowed Kai to accept it.
Just as Kai was trying to calm his bewildered mind—
“It should be somewhere around here....”
Adrian suddenly began looking around for something.
“What are you looking for?”
“Dessert.”
“....What?”
“I’ve finished the entire main course, so now it’s time for dessert.”
What was he talking about this time...?
No, he was going to eat again after consuming all that?
He had carelessly picked up—or rather, ripped apart and eaten—something strange and had even died because of it.
“Ah, is it over there?”
Adrian suddenly strode forward.
Kai’s gaze naturally followed Adrian, but—
….There was nothing particularly distinctive there.
All he could see was a scene covered in shattered debris.
However, when Adrian cleared away the wreckage—
Crack!
More precisely, when he tore away the entire wall along with the debris—
Crash—!
The space rippled and distorted as the sound of a barrier shattering rang out.
The distorted space gradually returned to its original appearance.
A dark underground entrance and a spiral staircase descending beneath it were revealed.
Kai’s eyes widened on their own when the concealed space appeared.
He had not noticed it at all.
“How did you know?”
“I just did.”
Adrian answered indifferently and descended the dark staircase.
However, Adrian soon came back up.
Beyond Kai’s puzzled gaze, Adrian’s body remained submerged in the darkness belowground.
Only Adrian’s face protruded from it.
It looked like the face of a ghost floating by itself in midair—
“Kai, come over here and use your Aura to make some light.”
Kai gathered his scattered wits and drew his sword.
Using the blue Aura gathered around Kai’s blade like a torch, they descended the staircase.
A thick door blocked their path.
Even at a glance, it did not look like an ordinary door. Adrian casually gave it a push before speaking.
“It’s a door made of RuneSteel.”
“RuneSteel, you say...?”
RuneSteel.
A special type of steel that possessed magical power.
However, its strength and durability were not particularly high. As far as Kai knew, it was only slightly harder than ordinary steel.
The true value of RuneSteel lay not in its strength or durability, but in its “resistance to Mana”.
Aura and magical power—all forms of energy founded upon Mana.
RuneSteel possessed tremendous resistance to both of them.
It went beyond mere resistance and could even temporarily “nullify” Aura and magical power.
In other words, RuneSteel was a metal that even Kai could not cut.
“Considering they made the entire door out of solid RuneSteel, there must be something quite valuable inside.”
And if it was made from a solid slab of RuneSteel—
Crack—!
The RuneSteel was suddenly torn apart like a sheet of paper.
Kai lost his grip on reality once again. RuneSteel or whatever else it might be—
Crack, crunch!
Adrian simply tore it apart as though ripping through a paper door.
....Kai wondered whether that person was truly human.
However, Kai soon realized that he had started accepting it by telling himself, “Adrian has always been like that.”
....It seemed Kai was gradually going insane as well.
Adrian tore the entire RuneSteel door apart in an instant.
He strode into the chamber beyond it. Then, just as quickly, Adrian came back out.
“What are you doing? Come inside and provide some light.”
Kai barely managed to recover his scattered senses and entered the room. When he illuminated the interior with the light of his Aura—
“W-What is all this...?!”
Gold and silver coins were piled up like mountains, while glittering gemstones densely filled the chamber from floor to ceiling.
The wealth, mixed in shades of gold and silver, gleamed even within the darkness, and expensive accessories and artifacts had been placed upon it like decorations.
It was worth tens of millions of gold at the very least.
Kai practically felt his soul leave his body.
It was an enormous—no, astronomical—fortune that he had never seen and could never have imagined seeing throughout his entire life.
There was a reason they had concealed the vault’s location with countless barriers.
There was also a reason they had gone so far as to make the vault door out of solid RuneSteel.
Clatter.
The sudden sound of coins clattering reached Kai’s ears.
When he looked toward the source of the sound, he saw Adrian sweeping up the gold coins.
Adrian was shoveling the coins into a large sack.
Each time he did, the coins clattered as they slid into the sack.
But where had he obtained that sack?
Adrian was utterly incomprehensible no matter how hard Kai tried to understand him.
* * *
The gold coins piled inside the secret vault appeared to be worth tens of millions of gold at the very least.
I scraped every last coin into the sack, determined not to leave behind even a single one.
Even then, the sea of gold coins showed no sign of ending.
‘I wish I could put all of it into my inventory.’
To put it crudely, I was desperately craving the convenience of my inventory.
Unfortunately, my inventory had a storage weight limit.
Specifically, it was [Strength Stat × 40 kg].
My current strength stat was 87.4.
Just as I was diligently sweeping the coins into the sack by hand—
‘Could Infinite be applied to my Inventory?’
The thought suddenly occurred to me.
Without thinking much about it, I activated Infinite [M]—
◆Integrating the Concept Skill, Infinite [M], with Inventory.
◆The Inventory’s current storage weight capacity is [3,496 kg].
The translucent message appeared before my eyes, instantly snapping me to attention.
It could store a considerable amount of weight, but it still was not enough.
After all, the mountains of gold coins and gemstones spread out before me clearly demonstrated why Avarus had been known as the Forger of Greed.
A capacity of 3,496 kg would not even come close to being enough.
◆The Inventory’s storage weight limit has been converted to [∞ kg].
....That actually worked?
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