When The Cute Godkiller Opens A Tavern [Stubbed]

Chapter 112 - A So Called Class Inventory

”What’s the best way to hide something, while teaching that exact something at the same time?” ~Shallies Mythernal

”So, what do you think?” Shallies asked Destiny. The two were lounging inside the Fate Weave Archive, enjoying some tea and biscuits. The kaleidoscope of various timelines and realities slowly moved and rotated above them. But this complicated weave wasn’t the thing the newly established Godkiller was asking about.

“Well, to think that even Fello’resh couldn’t recognize you, needless to say, the veil works,” said Destiny, who was wearing Kurfurul’s visage this time around. They had just visited the Goddess of Colors and Trickery, who also hadn’t recognized Shallies, and the Keeper of the Archive was feeling a little clingy. “He might have just ascended, and while he’s pretty attached to you, I wouldn’t blame him for not recognizing you from within such a perfect veil.”

“That’s good,” Shallies said, sighing. “If I’m going to observe the gods, I’d rather they not know.”

“You’re not going to use that veil to hide from me, are you?”

Shallies shook her head. “I have to anchor this veil’s existence to someone for it to have its effect. The more significant the bearer of this secret, the stronger it’ll be. And I don’t know anyone who’s more significant than Destiny herself.”

“Well, that’s good to know.”

“Besides, one of the veil’s restrictions is that once someone knows I have it, I can never use it to hide from them.”

“Fair enough.” Destiny gave a chuckle, accurately mimicking the way Kurfurul would playfully hide her lips when doing so.

“What?”

“Look at you, casually hiding your presence from gods.”

“I’ve been doing that since I used to be one.”

“How are you holding up?”

Shallies understood that the question had a lot of layers around it. So, being completely honest with Destiny, she answered them one by one.

“Having my eyes back feels weird,” the Godkiller began. “My sister didn’t know, but I can actually see things beyond what normal eyes can provide, even when I was blind. Pretending was part of my Divine Mandate. And now that I don’t have to follow that, I can see way, way more…

“As for my sister, well, I’m not sure how to feel about it. I was partly at fault that she became that way. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

“What about your Concepts?” Destiny asked, sipping from her teacup. Her eyes were looking right past Shallies’ shoulders.

“I’m not a goddess anymore.”

“Yeah, but they’re still right with you.”

At that, Shallies could only sigh.

“They’re quite attached, I think.”

The Concepts of Secrets and Veils expressed their glee. Contrary to their names, these Concepts were more than happy to share. Confiding with someone trustworthy was Secret’s guilty pleasure, while Veil found joy in shrouding things just barely out of clarity.

These Concepts, Shallies understood, were a lot more tame than their kin. Even after she had relinquished her godly status, they refused to accept another keeper. Their argument was sound, in the first place, since a Godkiller could pretty much function as a god would when Concepts were involved.

And she didn’t mind their company.

“Well, for better or for worse, I think they’ll be a great help with your new task.” Once more, Destiny took a sip of tea. The clink from her cup was a bit heavier this time around, however. “So about this System you’re planning on implementing…”

“It’s a necessity,” Shallies started. “Ysvil agreed that we had to keep some things contained. It’s not like we’re keeping these powers out of the mortals’ reach, but we have to be careful.”

“You’re hiding some of those things right under their noses,” Destiny commented. “Attributes? Inventories? Spells and skills? You’re even willing to tell the people about dungeons, raids, and towers.”

“If I learned anything from being the Goddess of Secrets and Veils, it’s that no one looks under their nose,” Shallies said rather proudly. “Years from now, heck maybe even millennia from now, people would probably find a lot of improvements and innovations on what the System can provide, maybe they’ll even figure something out that I can’t, but they’ll never know what these things were originally used for.”

“But you’re making them accessible for almost everyone,” Destiny said, her tone acting like a reminder.

“It doesn’t make a difference,” Shallies said. “Everything boils down to only two things: mana-control and Stellar mana. Those will be the gatekeepers for the System.”

At that, Destiny sighed. Shallies noted that Kurfurul never sighed in front of her, so the sight was actually quite novel.

A short, petite girl with twin-tails, who looked exactly like any other ordinary girl. Full of joy and mischief behind a bright smile. That was Kurfurul. A goddess who loved mingling with the common folk, playing with them, making fun of them while rooting them on, and then disappearing without a trace. She never once showed a hint of worry, unlike what Destiny was showing now.

Shallies realized she didn’t like it.

“Well…” Destiny started. “As far as I can see, this is the best option we have. Who’s going to be the mediator?”

The Godkiller stared at the Keeper of the Archive as if the answer was already obvious. Once more, Destiny, who was wearing Kurfurul’s face, could only sigh.

The Favored One in front of him was carrying some mysterious power. Something more tremendous than his own.

But he had an army.

From the moment he had awoken in Thrush’ven Alir, he had been accumulating Stellar mana to manifest them. Dragons, giants, and other creatures of frightening power. His kin, the nephilim, who were shunned not only for their origins but also for the forbidden strength that their mutated blood carried was also part of that army.

His goal was to liberate himself from the confines of the Cloud Castle, this place that seemed determined to keep him imprisoned. From there, he would finally be able to achieve his purpose.

Silently, he cursed Chaos. He didn’t expect the Concept to follow the instructions to the exact detail. It was uncharacteristic of it.

But maybe that’s exactly why it did what it did… No matter. Once I’m done with these nuisances, I can get out of this cursed place.

Daryl’kan frowned. He had been processing his thoughts for an awfully long time now. Sure, he was using Stellar mana to help him think faster, but it seemed he had miscalculated. The rain of death his army had unleashed was still midfall.

That brought his attention to the small girl standing at the center of the arena. White hair with glowing pink and blue highlights. She was wearing common clothes, underneath a fancy-looking coat. Her sandals were admittedly stylish, but mundane nonetheless.

And yet, she was smiling.

“Still can’t recognize me, Daryl?” the girl asked, omitting the rest of his name.

The girl’s hair grew. No, it blossomed. Long, white strands, mixed with shining pink and blue. Something peeled away as both colors tied the white in a long ponytail, the ends of which reached the girl’s ankles.

Daryl’kan’s eyes widened. He recognized the colors of her hair and the way they transformed. Those colors were the Concepts that refused to leave their goddess’s side.

“Secret and Veil… You’re…”

The nephilim couldn’t finish his words. He hesitated. The rain fell down, but they were met by gaping voids that opened in between him and the goddess.

The name wasn’t much, Shallies had to admit. From an outsider’s perspective, it might even be considered lame. But making such a skill become a common everyday utility for every adventurer, to the point that having it as a Secret Art became lame, was exactly her plan to hide its actual use.

Multiple ‘Class Inventories’, or personally linked domain portals in this case, opened wide in front of her, facing the rain of projectiles and engulfing them.

Within Shallies’ Class Inventory, this personal domain, in a location completely isolated from her treasures and actual possessions, she allowed the projectiles to persist. She analyzed them, enhanced them, and multiplied them with her own Stellar mana in an instant. Like recognizing a word or a sentence in a single glance and finding the mistakes and points of improvement that could be taken.

Then, with a snap, she opened smaller Class Inventories beside each and every individual of Daryl’kan’s army. Some had multiple portals, unleashing from within a skill or spell or some other projectile that came from one of their comrades.

The creatures, especially the dragons and giants, were met by magical attacks originating from the nephilim. Most of these creatures had resistance or immunity from their own attacks after all, but enough other people had thrown attacks that were conveniently and coincidentally one of their weaknesses. Spotting some grouped up nephilim, Shallies opened up a focused Class Inventory, where she compressed all the breath attacks and monster abilities and unleashed the resulting blasts of devastation upon them.

A few were talented or fortunate enough to survive or avoid getting hit, but the second wave of Class Inventories, combined with a sudden Mass Dancing Stars that covered the entire army and more, ensured that no one survived.

Explosions of mana, of various parts of people and creatures alike filled the skies. Shallies had deliberately multiplied every projectile she had absorbed by tenfold, and had tactically and mercilessly unleashed the entire arsenal at the army.

They had no chance.

Almost instantly, Daryl’kan was surrounded by motes of dispersing mana, his army completely gone. As wide as the broken skies atop him was, he was left completely and utterly alone.

Shallies hadn’t even moved an inch.

“You…” Daryl’kan started, his voice quivering in disbelief. He started muttering. “What is a goddess doing in this place? No, that can’t be right… I saw that Fello’resh is dead. A dead god, now a goddess. Does that mean she now owns this place? But the corpse is still here.”

Shallies waited. Daryl’kan had lived during a time with no Godkiller, only the rumors of one. In those times, dealing with the madness that gripped the gods had always been the domain of the still sane gods. And the nephilim, though most of his kin were shunned, and much like Fello’resh, had served under different gods to battle against the mad ones.

He was supposed to have died right before Fello’resh had ascended into godhood.

Yet here he is…

“Arun’dul,” Shallies began, beckoning the seraph beside her. The young man was shaking, and he wouldn’t dare look her in the eyes. “You already knew who I was from the beginning. It would be better if you just stay the same as you were before.”

“I-I’ll try…”

“On your own time, then.” The Godkiller pointed upwards. “Have you seen him in your dreams?”

One of the reversed projectiles had grazed Daryl’kan’s face, but the impact was enough to dispel the lightning covering him. Within was a likeness that looked sculpted by artisans, blemished by a scar on his right cheek. Raven black hair flowed carelessly in the breeze, and a black diamond was embedded in his forehead, like a third eye.

He was handsome through and through, and the way his face twisted from anger and fear only diminished that impression a little bit.

“No. I don’t think so,” said Arun’dul.

“Think hard,” she said, putting down her arm. She avoided turning to him suddenly, cautious of how he might react. She did it slowly instead. “You must’ve seen many faces in your visions, most you don’t recognize. I need you to make sure.”

Arun’dul closed his eyes, concentrating. He began with a frown before gradually relaxing as he recalled his dreams.

In the meantime, Daryl’kan had finished muttering to himself. He was staring. Shallies could tell he was deliberating hard with himself to find the best way to escape the situation.

Finally, Arun’dul opened his eyes. “It’s blurry, but I either saw him in a rainforest or an upside down desert.”

“Nefurul, huh…”

The name made Daryl’kan flinch.

“Looks like we hit the spot.”

“Who’s Nefurul?” Arun’dul whispered.

“I’ll explain everything when we get back,” Shallies said, exerting her presence to prevent Daryl’kan from blurting out. He didn’t like the fact that the young seraphim had no knowledge of who Nefurul was.

This time, Shallies gently placed a hand over Arun’dul’s shoulder. “Last question. How would you like to be a vessel?”

“Lady Shallies! That’s absurd!” Valor’el called out.

“Who gets to decide, Valor’el?” she asked calmly. “Is it you or me? Or is it Arun’dul?”

“What vessel?” the young seraph asked.

Once more, she pointed at the nephilim near the cloudy ceiling. “I’ll lock him up inside you. Well, not him, but his mana-core. It should have the necessary traits to push back your curse. Not completely, but at the very least, if you can utilize his core, you won’t be blind to your own mana-core anymore.”

“What’s the catch?”

Shallies smiled, appreciating Arun’dul’s cautiousness. “You might find more visions. Not just from Fello’resh, but also Nefurul, and I’m pretty sure hers wouldn’t be as nice.”

Mana flared above them. Daryl’kan had heard everything, though Shallies had been deliberate with her taunts in the first place. She didn’t want to bother going through the motions of interrogating the nephilim, so she just went straight to her best solution.

If Arun’dul agreed to become Daryl’kan’s vessel, there wouldn’t be any need to interrogate the nephilim. But obviously, the other party wouldn’t be so likely to simply accept such a preposition.

“Don’t take me for a fool, goddess!” Daryl’kan started. “I don’t care what era you’re all hailing from, but I know how to deal with the likes of you.”

“Think about it, Arun’dul, but don’t take too long.” Shallies turned to the enemy and smirked, unleashing a portion of her Stellar mana that matched him equally.

“I’m not a goddess, nephilim,” she began. She was surrounded by a soft glow as her equipment loadout switched. “I’m a Godkiller.”