Faceless Phantom

"Hey, is your work done yet?"

"Umm... Soon..."

"Hah! Don't tell me... By the time it's done, we will be old and already have grandchild."

"Hahahahahaha!"

'Shut up....'

"Tell me... Which one is more important, your family or your study?"

"I think my family is more important to me..."

"You're wrong if you said that, your mid-test is way more important. What a waste of time. We're done here."

"But, professor-"

'Shut. Up.'

[I'm sorry. Thank you for everything.]

"No... Please...don't! Please answer my call! God, please...save her..."

'SHUT UP!'

I snapped out of my mind when an explosion happened in front of me. The loud noise and the debris that was thrown made me squint my eyes. After that, I couldn't help but sighed. It was because I couldn't damage the Dimensional Envoy at all.

'The more I think the more I have no chance of win.'

Well, he was ghost monster. Immune to physical attack was understandable. However, for him to be immune to magic attack too... He was basically invincible.

'Could it be because Wind Blessing buff only gives me additional 10 wind attack?'

I shook my head, I didn't think so. At least the damage should be 1 or 0, or maybe blocked or nullified, but the system message didn't even show up. So, there was only one explanation. He was unbeatable. And that led me to think that he was an illusion.

'Yeah, I believe he's an illusion.'

It seemed plausible. System message didn't show no matter how I attack him. But his attack was real when his sword clashed mine though. It even damaged me.

'Ah... This is driving me nut.'

My mind kept telling me that he was an illusion but the thing I saw seem real. Still, I had to think calmly before I draw a conclusion.

'Let's start from the beginning.'

Think about it... Nothing could damage him, but he could damage me. It was like I tried to attack randomly at invisible enemy, and of course he could attack me at ease because I didn't know his position.

'That means the form I'm against right now is an illusion.'

[Formidable Mind has detected an anomaly]

With that system message showed up, it seemed I was right. The faceless being then occasionally faded and became transparent. Because of that, I could see something inside the chest. Even though it was still covered with black smoke, I could sense it clearly. But then something was coming afterwards.

Fwoosh!

A dark orb was sent flying straight to me. It was fast. I leaned my body to the right and then kicked the ground. I was a few centimeters away from being hit. The dark orb passed and hit the ground. I used my left hand to cover the explosion impact.

Boom!

I focused my eyes to where it came from, and everything became slow. Right inside the faceless being, there was a strange emerald and black aura mixed. The emerald aura was thin, as if it could be getting eaten by the black one at any moment. It seemed like a war between them. Among them, I could see a tiny figure with two pairs of wings. Its height was a palm small. And it flapped its wings like dragonflies.


'Is it a Fairy?'

It matched its description no matter how you look at it. It was a fairy. Also, atop of its head, a black bead was floating with some black strings attached to the fairy. It made the figure look like a puppet. Something about the bead was strange. I felt unpleasant feeling from it. However, I tried to put the feeling aside.

Now that I could clearly see the fairy, the faceless being slowly faded and then completely disappeared.

[Formidable Mind has purified Inner Illusion]

[Inner Illusion effect's has worn off]

'I never thought Aphu basic skill is really this amazing.'

It felt great and I couldn't hide my smile. However, that happiness didn't last long.

The fairy learned that I already knew its real body. It attacked with its dark orb. Not only one, but two at once. Explosion after explosion filled the room. Craters were everywhere. Thus, it slowly made my mobility limited. It was becoming hard to dodge.

'Of course it's becoming this frustrating again...'

Grieving wouldn't change my situation. However, I wasn't giving up yet. I kept my distance because I couldn't get near the fairy. So I just used observe to see its name. Surprisingly, two windows appeared.

[Corrupted Astral Core]

[Dimensional Envoy]

'Wait a second... Isn't the quest about defeating Astral Shadow?'

The quest indeed told me to defeat Astral Shadow. However, Astral Shadow was nowhere to be seen. I looked at the fairy again. The fairy must be the Dimensional Envoy, and the black bead was definitely Corrupted Astral Core.

'Corrupted, huh? Does that mean if I purified the Astral Core I'll complete the quest?'

The quest was about 'Defeat' though, not 'Purify'.

'Then, do I have to defeat the fairy?'

Of course not. The fairy didn't even had Astral Shadow on her name. The fairy might be being controlled like Mirage. There's also a chance that the fairy was already dead and what I fight was just a zombie. Yeah, a Zombairy... Zombie fairy? Well, I was thinking like that because Uruzak was here. Moreover, everything I fought so far was a bunch of undead.

'I have to find the Astral Shadow.'

Right. If I remembered it correctly, Uruzak said that I would pass the test right after I disturbed his channeling. It could be that I had to use the same method. And that was detecting aura which I learned from Halton's book.

The skill was actually very simple. Halton's explanation was also very detailed and easy to understand.

Every living being was producing mana inside their body. The mana would be occasionally leaking outside, and that output was the thing called aura. So, the very basic for learning the skill was detecting that flow of mana. I actually took a good amount of time for practically understanding the skill. To put it short, I could feel my own mana that was flowing out my body whenever I used my skills. And from that, it led me learning to detect and visualize my own aura. However, up until now I didn't get the skill yet. Even though I did it multiple times already. It seemed I was still lacking.

I began to feel the mana in every corner of the room. First I felt my own aura that was having deep blue color, and it was occasionally changing into dark purple. Then I saw the fairy's emerald and black aura. The black aura from the bead also present. If that the case, then the emerald aura was definitely the real fairy's aura.

'The black aura. I need to track where it's coming from...'

It was the bead, there was another string on the bead. The black string was stretched behind the fairy. There, a vague shadowy figure was following the fairy. I immediately checked its name.

[Astral Shadow]

'Ah... So there you are...'

I used Wind Blessing on my sword and gulped one lesser HP potion. Then I immediately rushed towards the shadowy figure.

The dark orb was fast so I placed my sword in front of me while running. When one was sent towards me, I slashed the orb and kept moving forwards. Of course, I still took some damage from it. Still, it wasn't that high so the potion regeneration could still cover my health.

I eventually got near him and stabbed him.

Stab!

The Astral Shadow's eyes widened. A smile was visible, it was wide that the tip almost reached his eyes.

Kuhahahahahaha!

[Your attack has been nullified]

The tip of my lips went up. At last, I was smiling. I didn't hesitate to attack anymore, because it was already the time to put an end to this.

'Let's cut those strings.'

I swung my sword horizontally. I cut all the black strings that attached to the bead in one swing.

The Astral Shadow's eyes widened and screamed.

Kaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!

Stab!

I stabbed him again to make sure I damaged him. Suddenly, the air was sucked into the astral shadow and, like a black hole, it slowly swallow him and disappeared. Then the air dispersed creating a blast. I was pushed backwards and fell to the ground. And then, system messages showed up.

[You have defeated Astral Shadow]

[Final Challenge Quest completed!]

[Skill Acquired!][You have learned Aura Detection]

I couldn't check what they were. My vision was faded and everything went black.

In the darkness I saw a dim ball of light floating towards me. When the light got near me, it turned into a figure. A pale figure as tall as me. Its face was faceless. As if I remembered something, I said to him.

"So it's you. You are here..."

The faceless being stretched his hand towards me, then he opened it. There was a colorful bead inside. I grabbed the bead, and then he slowly faded and disappeared. My vision became completely black once again.

・・・

Mirage's sad face was right in front of me. The tip of her eyebrows went up while her teary eyes were looking at me. Knowing I was conscious, her lips slowly forming a smile. When I got up, Mirage immediately hugged me.

I looked at the ceiling and asked her what had happened. She told me that my body immediately fell after I touched the pedestal. Then I was becoming unconscious.

'Was that all boss thing a dream?'

From what Mirage had said, it might be really a dream after all. Yeah, Mirage wasn't even in the room when I fought the boss. It was like I fought inside another copy of this room. I might be really tired after exploring the tunnel and secret laboratory. I even had a fight with Uruzak and Ilkaav. It had to be a bad dream, a nightmare. However, my mind completely blank and stopped after my hand felt something round. I turned my gaze to see what it was. My hand was holding the Astral Core. My logical thought immediately crushed.

'It wasn't a dream.'

I grabbed Mirage's shoulders and gently pushed her body. Her hair was a mess, and tear marks were visible on her cheeks. I sighed and made my voice soft.

"How long I've been unconscious?"

"I don't know... I think it's about an hour."

That was strange. I was fighting the boss for more than six hours. It was because I had to learn the enchantment magic. Still, an hour of my absent, yet she still faithfully beside me all along.

"Aren't you getting too much worry for a stranger like me?"

She hid her lips and looking down. Her voice was low, but I could still hear it clearly.

"Y-you're the only one I know..."

I sighed. My mind was blank for a second, then I unconsciously caressed her hair and patted her head. It lasted a few minutes until I saw her shoulders fell. It seemed she already calmed down.

But then, suddenly, we heard a moan. We looked at each other for a second then turned our head to where it came from.

Behind the pedestal, there was something sitting on the ground. Golden long hair. Azure colored big alien eyes. It was wearing a green dress which probably made from leaves, covering its tiny body which was probably a palm tall. It was a fairy.

The fairy eventually looked at us and surprised. Seeing the scene in front of our eyes, we were dumbfounded. However, her action seemed understandable since she was a tiny creature.

"Eek! Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me! I'm not delicious at all!"

The fairy immediately flight backwards while stretching her hands toward us. She was trembling and her voice was squeaking like a mouse.

"Hey it's alright. I'm not gonna eat you..."

"Really?"

She peeked between her fingers and occasionally startled. I got up and started to walk towards her. Mirage also followed me.

"Yes, it's okay."

"Eh!? So you're not bad human?"

"No... I'm an Aphu though..."

She eventually moved her hands and began to look at us with her own two eyes directly. Her face showing that she was shocked. I wasn't sure if it was good or bad. She might be scared of us. However, she immediately flight towards us.

"Hoooh... So you're not bad human! Heheheheheh..."

She was flying around observing our figure.

"Y-yeah... Anyway, I'm Zeroth. And this is Mirage. What's your name?"

I gestured my hands towards Mirage. She was smiling while waving her hands. The fairy stopped midair and began to bow.

"Hello! My name is Lumi!"

"Ah Lumi... Do you remember why you're here?"

Her shoulders fell and she tilted her head. She put her index finger on her chin. After a brief moment, she shook her head.

"No..."

"Then do you remember what happened before you wake up here?"

She was silent. It might be I was too straight forward. I began to interrogate her after she just woken up from her slumber. Still, I couldn't help but curious about the matter.

"Hmmm..."

Lumi put her right hand on her chin while looking up, trying hard to remember as she closed her right eye. And then her two eyes were wide open and she sprang up.

"Ah! I was traveling to gather magic dust, but there was a rip in the dimensional passage. And inside the rip, there was a lot of shiny marbles! They were beautiful and had rainbow inside them. They made sounds like blup blup blup pip pip pip."

Her eyes were sparkling. She made a gesture which she put her hands in front of her face and making a shape similar to a bird beak. She opened and closed it multiple times. Then she put them on her cheeks.

"They were so cute, I thought. So I went in and flight near them, and then I touched them."

She made another gesture as if poking the marbles with her index finger. After that, she folded and spread her fingers multiple times.

"They made sound like ting ting ting... Hihihihihi..."

She put her hands on her mouth and laughing gleefully. But then she made a sad face while pouting her lips.

"Then I saw a lonely one which had black stain on it. I grabbed it and tried to wipe the stain, but then everything went black. The next thing I know is that I'm here all of sudden."

She hid her lips and puffed her cheeks. Both tips of her eyebrows went up while looking down.

Hearing from her story, perhaps the Astral Shadow was like a parasite. It was corrupting the Astral Core which seemed to be some kind of energy inside the dimensional rip. And then Lumi happened to pass through there. So it made her became a host and controlled her. She was really unlucky.

Well, she was free now. She could go home or somewhere she belong.

"So, what do you wanna do from now on?"

"I think I have to go home pronto. My family must be really worried."

"I see. That's probably the best..."

Lumi was silent. It seemed she still worried, as if she wanted some answers about what had happened to her. Noticing her expression, I tried to lessen her worries.

"Don't wander into bad things again. Just go straight to your home, okay?"

"Unh..."

She nodded and smiled.

She chanted something I didn't understand, it could be a fairy language. A ripple appeared in the air. She flight upwards to the rip while looking back at us and waving her hand. I smiled at her and slowly waved my hand. Then the fairy, Lumi, went home through the rip. After that, the rip closed and disappeared into thin air.

'Dimension travel, huh?'

It also could be a teleportation magic though. Well, put that thought aside, I had to do something important now.

It was creating the Soul Cubic.

I took out the rest two items from my bag. Cubic Fragments and Soul Crystal.

Just like I saw on the blueprint, I put the Astral Core inside the Cubic Fragments. Then I used Aura Detection, colorful aura was flowing from them. However, they were different. It was like solving a puzzle, I tried a lot of things. Eventually, I succeed to match their mana wavelength. After that, they automatically merged.

[You have successfully created Soul Cubic]

The Soul Cubic was floating and shinning. Then a window popped out in front of me.

///////

Job Change

Astral Artisan is a chosen one who can gain access to astral dimension beyond the physical plane. You will gain a power to see things that a naked eye can't see. Thus, creating item which is unknown beyond understanding is possible.

Do you want to activate the Soul Cubic?

///////

I didn't know if, in this game, we could change job when we had one. Maybe we could get multiple jobs, or we could delete the one we currently had then we could change it. There should be penalty for doing that though. However, if this was one chance decision... If the game only allowed one job for a character, then was this the job I really wanted to be?

'Ah... I did it again.'

I shook my head and sighed. I always had doubts when I had to make a decision. Of course, it was a good thing that I needed to choose wisely. Still, it was also a bad thing since I would always delay my decision and then the chance which could be one life time opportunity would be gone forever. Then I would regret that later. I needed to change that. So, without hesitation, I answered the floating window in front of me.

"Yes."