Ascension: Online

I confidently walked up to the true chest in front of me and opened it without a second thought.

Inside were a new set of armor and what appeared to be… a pair of metal claws? But before I could ascertain what the item was, a hologram appeared in front of my eyes, blocking my view.

[Would you like to store the items?]

[Yes/No]

I clicked on 'Yes'.

[Obtained Deceiver Hood x1]

[Obtained Deceiver Robes x1]

[Obtained Deceiver Pants x1]

[Obtained Deceiver Socks x1]

[Obtained Deceiver Boots x1]

[Obtained Bond of the Deceiver x1]

[Obtained Deceiver Ring x1]

[Obtained Deceiver Gloves x1]

[Obtained Claws of Deception x1]

"The Claws of Deception?" I wondered aloud as the contents of the chest disappeared. I hurriedly switched to my inventory to check out what I got.

First off, the armor set:

[Name: Deceiver Hood]

[Type: Armor]

[DEF: 25]

[DUR: 100%]

[*When used together with the rest of the Deceiver set, decreases cooldown on ability: Lie Recognition.]

Lie Recognition…? I was confused, but put that aside for now. The other new armor pieces I received shared the same stats. For the record, in comparison, these were the stats of the Corrupter set I currently had on:

[Name: Corrupter Helm]

[Type: Armor]

[DEF: 15]

[DUR: 95%]

[*When used together with the rest of the Corrupter set, amplifies Corruption skill.]

In other words, this was a 10 DEF stat increase. The armor would absorb more incoming damage - at least, that's how I assumed defense worked. So, in total, counting the headpiece, chestpiece, leggings, socks, shoes, and gloves, that would be a 60 DEF stat increase overall.

I then took a look at the new weapons I got - the Claws of Deception.

[Name: Claws of Deception]

[Type: Weapon]

[ATK: 25]

[DUR: N/A]

So, the durability, like Dokujin, was 'not applicable'. Guess this thing would never break or wear out. Then, I spotted a tiny arrow below the text - one I hadn't even noticed before. I clicked on it, and more information was presented. My eyes widened.

[Skills:]

[ - Can turn invisible at user's will.]

[ - Can become untouchable at user's will.]

[ - Passively equipped, does not count as an weapon (another weapon may be equipped while using this weapon).]

"Huh… that's interesting," I murmured. Dokujin probably had a panel like this too, but I just never realized it before, since the arrow to expand this information was so tiny.

I equipped the Claws of Deception. My hands were immediately enclosed in black gauntlets of some sort. Attached to them were a set of three long and sharp metal nails each.

"Hm…" I mentally willed it to become invisible, and to my surprise, they really did. However, I could still feel them, so I then willed for them to become untouchable as well.

Incredibly this also worked. I couldn't feel them at all anymore - it was as if they weren't there at all. I quickly switched to the Inventory tab on my System and saw that I could indeed equip another melee weapon, despite already having the Claws of Deception on. I tested this by unequipping Dokujin, then equipping it again. It materialized in my hands and turns out, I could still wield it perfectly fine. Now, however, I had a secret attack as well that no one will see coming.

I smirked in satisfaction and closed up my System after equipping my new Deceiver armor set. It was pretty bland compared to the assassin-like and stylish Corrupter set, but this could be a blessing in disguise, allowing me to pass off as just a normal citizen in the city. The Corrupter set tended to attract a lot of attention, after all.

And then, suddenly, the distorted voice of the male AI responsible for this Vault spoke once again.

[CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS. YoU hAvE pAsSeD tHe FiNaL tRiAl.]

"So, that was the true final Trial, huh? The maze was only the second one," I chuckled. "I kinda had a feeling since the Vault of Corruption also had an introductory test, but this confirms it, I guess."

[ThE sKiLl YoU wIlL bE rEcEiViNg WiLl bE cAlLeD 'LiE ReCoGnItIoN'. ChEcK yOuR sKiLlS sCrEeN.]

I did as told, pulling up my System once more and switching to the Skills tab. There it was, right below the Corruption skill, outside the skill tree.

[Name: Lie Recognition]

[Category: Vault-Exclusive]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Allows you to test whether or not something is a lie. Works on both written text and spoken words.]

Below, in smaller print font, was a side note:

[*Passive: Way of the Deceiver]

[Description: Prevents anyone from using Inspect on you.]

I smirked. This was exactly what I needed. While this wasn't perfect - anyone using Inspect on me would be confused as to why it didn't work - this was the best solution I had right now. With this, no one else would be able to discover my true stats - apart from Nadeshiko Nakano who already knew them, of course.

"Alright… so, like, how do I get out of here?" I asked aloud, hoping the AI would respond.

[StEp OnTo tHe PlAtFoRm.]

As if on cue, a round platform of some kind behind the chest began glowing. I was hesitant to do as told. This *was* the Vault of Deception, after all. Still, it's not like there were any other options.

I walked past the chest and stepped onto the platform, letting the white light glow brighter and brighter until it completely enveloped me.

[GoOdByE, pLaYeR.]

A hologram appeared in front of me as the white light blinded my eyes.

[Vault Complete: The Vault of Deception]

[Claim your rewards in the 'Quests' tab of your System.]

*****

My eyes shot open, and I was back on the surface. I found myself staring right at Hina-nee and Aisa, the former wearing a shocked expression and the latter unamused as usual.

"Kaze-kun… you're back!" Hina-nee hugged me tightly with tears in her eyes, much to my surprise.

"U-Uh… yeah," I replied in a soft tone, gently embracing her back. "What happened…? Why are you crying? Was I in there for a long time?"

"N-No… Aisa-chan just said something that made me worry a bit, that's all," Hina-nee giggled, wiping away her tears as she pulled away.

"Ah, okay… I see."

"… How did you beat the last Trial?" Aisa suddenly asked, eyeing me sternly.

I smirked. "What. Surprised?"

"…"

"Well, you're going to have be more specific. Do you mean the maze… or do you mean what came after? Don't play dumb with me. I know you know what I'm talking about."

"… What came after," Aisa replied quietly.

I scratched my head. "Well, it was pretty obvious, to be honest. If that entire maze was an illusion, then I should have, in reality, remained in the wooden corridor lit up by torches, correct? In that black room, I discretely turned around. There was no corridor there, and definitely no torches. So, I instinctively knew it was a trap."

"… Hmph. I have underestimated you, human."

"Yeah? I don't like the sounds of that. Does this mean you're going to throw me into even more difficult and dangerous situations from here on out?"

Aisa scoffed and folded her arms, turning away. "Naturall-"

"Nope! I'm not allowing that, Aisa-chan!" Hina-nee frowned, pouting angrily. "No putting Kaze-kun into situations more dangerous than this."

"You think you can tell me what to do, deuteragonist?" Aisa snorted, unamused.

"I have my ways! I may not be able to hurt you, but…" an evil grin crept up Hina-nee's face as she suddenly grabbed Aisa's tiny frame and began…

… Tickling her.

"W-Wha- hey! Stop that, human- ahaha!" Aisa cried as she began to crack up from laughter.

I blinked at this scene in surprise. "Aisa, you… you're *ticklish?* Aren't you supposed to be a supercomputer?"

"S-Silence, pawn- AHAHAHAHA! No, stop!"

"Heheheh, she may be an omnipotent supercomputer AI, but right now, she's in the body of a little girl," Hina-nee smirked deviously as she continued torturing Aisa without any sign of stopping. "All little kids are afraid of one thing - tickling."

I gulped in fear. Hina-nee was probably the only person in any reality plane who could manage to subdue the omnipotent 'god' watching over all… and by tickling them, no less.

"AHAHAHA- N-No! Ugh, let me go, accursed huma- AHAHA!"

Aisa's laughter I never thought I would get to hear echoed across the night as the sun set completely. I kind of pitied the poor AI, but hey, now we knew her weakness. If and when necessary… we could force her to do stuff for us.

I smiled in amusement. Hina-nee always discovered unexpected things that end up becoming useful.

Shortly after, we returned to Qilian City. It was already nearly 7 PM, and we had a long day of battles ahead of us tomorrow. I checked my profile and noticed that I was incredibly close to Level 31 - once I claimed the reward for beating the Vault, I should be able to reach it with ease and then some, seeing as how completing Vaults gave lots of XP.

Speaking of… I wonder. Was it possible to re-do Vaults to farm for XP?

Well, guess I'll ask Aisa about it later.