The Gamer's POV-Chapter 252: Grade Three

The new heart formed within Cedric, and when it beat life into him, his evolution began.

A cold sensation flooded his body from the new heart, and as it spread through his veins, all his muscles shredded and instantaneously rebuilt themselves. But since Cedric was unconscious at the moment, he didn’t feel it and just kept sleeping like a baby.

The entire process took a long time. During this time, the tattoo of his bond had slowly inked itself back on his right arm.

Then after what should have felt like an eternity, the cold sensation began to recede until it finally settled on the tattoo on his arm.

Now that the evolution was complete, Cedric’s eyes slowly fluttered open. His vision was blurred at first, but then, it slowly began to settle. When it did, rather than see the gray darkness, he saw himself lying on the ground of the temple of his inner sanctuary.

For a few seconds, he didn’t move and just remained lying on the ground with his belly facing down. He had so many questions about that test and the things that he had seen and heard. His mind was in turmoil and he was struggling to process everything.

First off, the test was said to reveal a bit about one’s true nature. So did that mean that the monstrous being he saw hanging in that darkness was his true nature?

That was crazy, really.

Also, he began to think about the story of the Lord and the scholar, and the story that was told within the story about that made-up Cedric.

He also thought about Aika suddenly appearing there and claiming that she was the absolute evil. To be honest, that version of her really did scare him. It was almost as if he couldn’t even recognize her, and the hatred he felt from her was so palpable it had made his stomach turn.

Not sure exactly what to conclude about what that meant, he finally thought of the beautiful heart.

After thinking about it for a few more seconds, he let out a long breath. He decided to set the many thoughts aside and just focus on himself and the change he had undergone. He would think about them properly later, perhaps when he was back in the real world.

With those thoughts pushed to the back of his mind, his attention returned to the present. He began to grow excited and a small chuckle in relief escaped him. "Ah... I did it. I really did it. I’m a Grade Three."

The dust on the floor swirled after he spoke, making him sneeze, after which he scrunched his face.

He then decided to get up. Slowly, he pushed himself off the floor, then took a look down to see and feel himself.

He flexed his fingers experimentally, and then he could feel that he was stronger now, faster... sharper. It felt like everything had been enhanced, including his vision and cognitive processing.

The side of his lips tugged up in satisfaction. To him, more power meant a higher chance of survival, so he really was glad. There was nothing he really wanted more in the world than for him and bond to survive.

Still looking at himself, he noticed that instead of the clothes he had worn before entering this sanctuary, currently, he was wearing a long, black mantle. It was a majestic high-collared robe that flowed all the way to the ground, and the heavy fabric trailed behind him like a dark shadow.

Rows of iridescent black feathers were adorned on the shoulders, shimmering with a dark, oily light that shifted as he moved.

He raised his hand, and there on his index finger, he could see a heavy, obsidian ring. He began to study it, and that was when he saw the words etched into the dark stone:

[Lord of the Karmic Manifests]

’...karmic manifests?’

He arched a brow with that thought. Then, right at that moment, smoke flowed out from under his sleeve, swirling across the stone floor until Aika stood in front of him. Just like him, she too was dressed in similar clothes. The high-collared mantle was tailored perfectly to her, and it accentuated her figure, making her look really stunning. Thick, dark eyeliner defined her eyes, and her lips were painted in a deep, dark lipstick that gave her the look of a gothic beauty.

’Damn... I can’t lie, she’s really hot,’ his eyes scanned her curvy figure slowly, ’she gives off total baddie vibes.’

Aika caught him staring and smirked. She placed her hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly to tease him while she tilted her head. "Like what you see?"

Cedric swallowed hard, his eyes still glued to her. "Respectfully? Yes. Yes, I do."

She chuckled softly and she didn’t seem bothered by his gaze. Instead, she bit her lower lip.

"Well, you look... not bad yourself." She smiled, folded her hands and muttered quietly, "Now stop eating me up with your eyes. It’s making my heart race for some reason. Tsk." She clicked her tongue and turned away looking up at the hole in the roof where a raven perched.

But just before she turned, Cedric was able to catch her finger which held the ring and words:

[High Mistress of the Karmic Manifests]

He smiled and looked away from the ring and her, then he thought to himself, ’I make your heart race, huh.’

In his mind, he pumped his fist then said, ’Ha! You’ve still got it in you, Ceddy.’

After reveling in that for a few seconds, he finally took a look around his surroundings for the first time since waking up.

Currently, they were in the chamber of the temple that had the altar in its center. This was the chamber where they had done their first evolution. Just like how he remembered it, it was dilapidated and vast, and the roof had collapsed in places, making the only light in here the one from the moon.

As he looked around, something caught his attention, causing him to narrow his eyes. There was a collection of stone tablets resting on the altar.

He began taking steps closer to have a better look. When he got there, he saw three different stone tablets laid out side by side on top of the altar.

He picked up the first one and studied it. Just like the writing on his ring, the words were written in a foreign language, yet he could read it clearly as if it were his mother tongue:

[The Temple of Perpetual Equilibrium]

’...perpetual equilibrium? That’s what this temple is called?’

He turned the tablet over, but there was nothing written on the other side. So, he dropped it down and picked up another.

[The Temple of Perpetual Equilibrium is the foundation of the sanctuary, and the holy ground belonging to the Lord of the Karmic Manifests. As the source, everything, including life, favor and grace begins and can end here.]

’Hmm...’

Like the previous one, Cedric turned this one over, and when he didn’t see any more writings, he dropped it and picked up the last.

[This temple is in a perpetual cycle of restoration and decay. It slowly decays by the day and reaches its dilapidated state on the seventh day. However, the temple can be restored to its full glory by the benevolence of the Lord at any time.]