Chapter 123: We Are In A Game
"Now I know why Luna is so arrogant." Marianne slowly nodded her head, relaxing back into the plush leather of her seat. The pieces of Silverspire’s brutal political puzzle were finally clicking into place.
"I understand, we aren’t yet strong enough... Um... Is there a way we can defeat someone that is way beyond SSS-RANK?" she asked, staring at Asher with a mixture of hope and desperation.
"With Astrid’s strength, without complete Mythic-Tier gears, you won’t have a single chance against such an opponent... Remember, this is when that opponent isn’t in Mythic-Tier gears," Asher explained in a calm, measured tone. The terrifying reality of the world’s power ceiling hung heavy in the room.
"Wow... I thought when we reached SSS-RANK, our only target was to increase the purity of our spirit energy, which makes us stronger. The higher the purity, the stronger an SSS-RANK Awakened gets... But compared to those above this rank, even 100% purity won’t get you anywhere," she said with a heavy sigh, looking up at the chandeliers sparkling on the ceiling, as if searching for answers in the glass.
"If I may continue, how did you advance to such a rank? Is there a way we can also get there?" She lowered her gaze to Asher.
Asher lightly shook his head, his expression an impenetrable mask.
’The hell?? How would I know about that??’
He had only touched that mythical rank by using a skill; he hadn’t cultivated a single step toward it. Right now, beneath his calm exterior, he was just as lost as she was. But the fact remained: true EX-Rank entities existed. It was fiercely difficult, but not impossible.
He stared at Marianne, a new concept echoing in his mind. Purity. Why does someone increase their purity to 100%, and how do they shatter that limit?
"How high is your purity?" he asked.
"Mine? I am only 30%."
"30%? That low?" Asher asked with a slight frown.
"Low? I am 29 years old, my purity is already considered high! You can’t increase your Purity with evolution stones, you can only do that by cultivating, which is more difficult than absorbing stones." she said seriously, her pride slightly bruised.
Asher slowly nodded his head. To everyone in the room, he was an authentic EX-Rank titan, meaning they assumed he had already conquered this grueling cultivation path. In truth, he hadn’t even started. Regardless, gathering new intelligence was never a bad thing.
"Alright, let’s drop the matter about killing," Asher said, sitting forward and shifting the atmosphere entirely. "Who created the Awakened system?" he asked.
From the moment he had awakened his own unique system, the global system had been bugging him—especially its chilling habit of referring to everything as a game.
"Huh?" Marianne held her jaw, genuinely lost in thought. After ten whole seconds of silence, she merely shrugged. "I have no idea."
"....?!"
Asher and everyone else blinked a couple of times. If she had absolutely no idea, then what on earth was she thinking so deeply about for ten seconds?
"Why didn’t you mention the ancient families at least?" he asked.
"Ancient families? It’s true those guys are insanely powerful, but the Awakened system controls everything related to an Awakened, from inventory, ranking board, talents, ranks, extraction of evolution stones, and many more things... Not only that, it also has a way to keep track of every dungeon any Awakened enters... There is no way they have control of such a thing." She waved her hand, shaking her head:
"They are already too powerful to begin with... Another reason is because, they also depend on this system, just like every other Awakened," she added.
Asher exhaled softly, the pieces of a much darker reality assembling in his mind. "Okay, so why does this Awakened system identify all Awakened as Players?" he asked.
".....??"
Everyone was utterly stunned. Even Sara and Juliana were rendered speechless, turning to their husband in pure surprise. Asher’s question had struck a foundational, terrifying nerve.
"Truthfully, this thought hasn’t crossed my mind, not even for a bit," Marianne said, a cold sweat breaking out as the existential dread set in.
"Alright, I should ask another question... If this Awakened system takes everyone as a Player, does that mean all the dungeons are just a game zone built for entertainment? And there can never be a game without a creator. So, who is this creator?"
"...?!!"
They all froze, Asher’s words replaying endlessly in their heads. The geopolitical wars, the monster waves, the frantic scramble for evolution stones—was it all just an amusement park for a higher being?
’What he said does make sense...’ Marianne slowly nodded her head, terrified by the cold logic.
"Husband, there are mysteries in the world that are still unknown to us... I think at this moment, we shouldn’t speculate about such things."
’Husband?’ Asher was stunned, turning to Juliana:
"If the Awakened system has a Creator, he, she, or it will be watching and listening to whatever we are doing or saying... I think we should drop this, and focus on something else," Juliana added, staring at him, her survival instincts flaring violently.
’She is right, we are all bonded to the Awakened system, if the Creator wants to deal with us, we won’t even be able to resist... I think for now, we shouldn’t poke the lion while it’s asleep. We should grow our forces, take down the ancient families first, then we will think about this unknown variable,’ Asher thought inwardly, mentally switching on the system’s screen.
’Do you have a way to destroy or devour this Awakened system?’
{....}
’Just fucking answer the question.’
{I can devour the Awakened system, and if successful, system will upgrade to the peak stage, unlocking new functions, ranks, store, and information for Master.}
’Whoa! I can even upgrade you?!’ Asher blinked, stunned by the sheer ambition of his private system.
{Correct Master, but the moment I start, the Awakened system will send a distress signal to its creator, and Master will be in danger. With your current strength, your surviving rate is 0.000000000000001%.}
"....?!"
{Not only that; System will shut down for one month, rendering all system’s functions inactive; including inventory, investments rewards, and more.}
’The Hell?!!’