Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1508 1508: Transformation

A mental buzz stirred Arthur awake the next day, and he thought they were under attack. After orienting himself and looking around, he realized that it was the small runic device he had in his subspace activating.

He groaned as he took out the device, which looked like a small pocket watch, and answered the incoming call by infusing it with mana. A moment later, he could hear Julia's voice in his mind.

These communication devices were a novelty created by Runera and sold around the world. After the merge, the internet and cellular towers stopped working, as their infrastructure was torn apart. Even the satellites in the sky that they had once relied on were now thrown off orbit.

Arthur was the one to create the first runic communication device, publicly known as RCDs now. It used a unique encryption of runes that could only be deciphered by another device with the imprint, allowing people to add acquaintances to call. It was the most reliable communication method as of late.

Julia relayed the current events and what happened to the Runic Dome, and Arthur was pleased to know that no one was killed, even though a few of the goblins caught on fire while grilling some food with the runes. Their hardened skin lessened the damage to be only superficial wounds.

After disposing of the Runic Dome outside of Runera, Julia worked with the other rune masters, including Maryam, to salvage what could be used. Julia was even confident that while the dome could not be used as a whole, the inscribed and evolved runes would fetch quite the sum that could even be profitable.

The call ended when Li visited Julia, and she hurriedly shooed Arthur away to receive the man she adored. Arthur could only helplessly smile as he placed down the device and turned to look at Diana.

Her flawless back greeted him, with blonde hair cascading down. The two shards that she had over her ears reflected the morning light of their hastily erected room. Arthur smiled as he caressed her skin but soon noticed that there was a red string inside her ice shard.

Arthur was confused, as he knew that she didn't have these before. He grew worried that this was a result of a fight or a curse that Invidia had placed upon her. In the end, he could only wait for her to wake up to ask.

Diana looked troubled by his question but reassured him it wasn't anything bad. She was still reluctant to explain what this red string was and asked him to wait for her to be ready before telling him.

Arthur agreed, given that it wasn't an urgent matter but something she needed time to share with him. He had the desire to use his spiritual energy to scan her for any illness but knew that it would be an invasion of her privacy.

In the end, he could only give her the time she needed. Diana made them breakfast, and Arthur was back to understanding how to transform between his two races. One of them was Solari, and even after talking with Julia earlier during their call, Arthur learned nothing about them. As for the other, it was still a mystery.

As the two were still chatting over breakfast about possible ways to transform, a knock came on their door. Arthur was surprised since they were in the land outside of Runera, almost with no other civilization around. He opened the door to see three knights with Runera's emblem engraved on their armor.

"Good morning, sir," the knight said with a nod. "My name is Captain Raul from Runera's Runic Guards. My badge number is Six-Seven-Three. May I see the permits you have to build a house outside the walls of Runera?"

Arthur stared at the man for a moment and smiled. The man was clearly a Vetus-ranker, not far from evolving either. But he was respectful and polite. He didn't know that his knights enforced such a rule in the surrounding area of his city but was glad that they did.

"I'm afraid I don't have a permit, but maybe I can create one for you?" Arthur asked with a smile, but the knight looked at him in confusion.

Arthur took out the RCD from his subspace, but the sudden appearance of a device alarmed the knights, and they backed away while unsheathing their weapons. Raul was more level-headed and only placed his hand on the hilt with a frown.

A few moments later, Julia's voice appeared from the device, making the knights visibly relax.

"Hey, Julia. I have a few diligent knights here who are asking me for a permit to build a house outside the city. Can you issue one for me and send it over?"

"They want a permit from you? Are they blind?" Julia asked with confusion, which was understandable since the guards should recognize Arthur as their lord. However, she didn't know that Arthur looked nothing like before.

"Don't give them any trouble. They are good knights," Arthur said with a smile before hearing Julia sigh and ask for their badge numbers.

In just under a minute, Raul received a call from Velos, the Commander of the Runic Guards, who explained the situation. The knights turned pale as they stared at Arthur, bowed in a hurry, and excused themselves.

Arthur wasn't offended, but the opposite. It was refreshing to see good people working for him. Of course, he also knew that Velos had weeded out all the corrupt and arrogant officers from the knights of Runera.

The little interruption ruined his mood for breakfast and instead decided to sit outside and find out how to transform. Diana created a small porch outside for them to sit, although it was made of ice. Then, she used her sigil to make it look like a very elegant but cozy porch.

Arthur sat outside on the ground, feeling the grass beneath him. He had been too focused on his legacy that he forgot to look inside. He scanned his body with his spiritual energy and was shocked at what he saw.

An elaborate branching tree of pathways, similar to his own Path's tree, was sitting inside his body. The tree was so similar that Arthur was even sure that the top of the tree, where his glabella should be, was the place for his inspection skill.

The tree had multiple nodes throughout his body, which Arthur felt were filled with power but dormant at the same time. He thought that the path would focus on opening the nodes for him in a sequential manner but realized that each node was connected to all the others, albeit not directly. For example, the node in his glabella was connected to the ones in his palms, which made Arthur sure that these would be available as he unlocked the node.

Arthur saw another tree underneath this one, like a mirror running in parallel to his current tree. He understood that it was the tree belonging to his other path, but it wasn't really there. It was like a shadow, hidden unless summoned.

The secret to activating the second tree seemed to lie in his body and possibly a way for him to transform into his other form. After another hour of searching every inch of his body, he found the connection that the two trees had.

It was in his navel area, and specifically where his sea of subconsciousness could be accessed. It was a small bridge connecting the two trees, and within the two was a black and golden core.

The core was in a constant shifting state between black and golden, and Arthur felt the delicate balance between them only required a small push to collapse, making him fear that his current form was unstable.

Arthur spent another few hours examining the core, not willing to interact with it lest he ruin the balance. In the end, he couldn't think of anything else that could let him transform, as he examined all the branches that the trees had.

"I'm about to try something risky," Arthur said with a frown as he looked at Diana, who looked at him with reluctance. "I need to do it before I go into the trial."

Diana could only sigh and create another ice barricade around them. Arthur sat down again, and this time infused his core with mana. A few moments went by before he realized that the core had simply absorbed it and nothing changed. After a moment, he infused it with spiritual energy.

The core burst with light, as the golden spiritual energy seemed to trigger another transformation inside the core. Arthur could see the balance collapse between the two sides of the core and felt an immense amount of wrath enter his body. He was alarmed and, with instinct, tried to keep it at bay. His defenses shattered the moment a blazing pain erupted from his navel and then spread to the rest of his body.

Arthur let out a pained cry as he collapsed and felt the soothing cold of Diana infiltrate his body and ease away the pain. However, the process felt like he was being boiled from the inside as every cell in his body underwent tremendous change.

After what seemed like an eternity, Arthur opened his eyes again. The world never looked so different as it did now.