For a second, Melvin couldn't believe that he had actually defeated the Sea Slug King. Hearing the sweet sound of the system announce his triumph over the abomination bore a certain feeling of relief into him.
With a deep, victorious exhale, he swayed where he stood and crumpled down on the marble floor. Then, he crossed his hands behind his head and pegged his legs into a slant as he gently lay on the floor.
He had done it.
Melvin continued staring at the shadowed ceiling above, and after a while, sighed.
"What now?"
According to the formation he had seen earlier, it meant his journey in this bastion was still far from over. According to his deductions after observing the intricate designs on the formation, he thought he needed to defeat all servants of the knightly statues to gain the keys.
Yes, how can he forget to make it clear?
The servants standing at the sides of the knightly statues in the second-to-last formation he saw seemed to be the reason for the missing keys. And he had just defeated one of those servants that had been standing beside the whip wielder.
"Phew."
But how was he even going to get these keys in the first place? They were clearly his means of getting out of this first step of the Silver Spire. He just needed to follow what the formation said, right?
Yes, that was it.
'Perhaps I should have gotten those keys as a reward after defeating the abomination, but why?'
Just then, he remembered the voice of the system he had heard after slaying the Sea Slug King and called up the runes once again.
[You have received a Soul Signature.]
[You have received a Soul Signature.]
[You have received Fragments.]
'Hmm, two Soul Signatures and Fragments,' Melvin mused and called out the details.
[Soul Signatures]: Aftertick; Seven Keys-1; Brinewrought Aegis
Melvin stared at the two new soul signatures he had received. Just like he expected, he received a key after defeating the Sea Slug.
Which confirms his speculation. He needed to defeat all seven servants of the knightly statues to receive the keys that led to his freedom out of this cursed place.
Concentrating his mind on both soul signatures, he read their details.
[Soul Signature:]: Seven Keys-1
[Rank]: ??
[Soul Signature Description]: A part of a key.
Melvin released the hands he had crossed behind his head and tapped on his lips several times in thought.
Just like Aftertick, the rank of this soul signature was immeasurable, or is the system purposefully hiding it from him? But why?
Somehow, it made sense, though, how he was able to use Aftertick against a Mythic-ranked creature. According to what the stunning lady had told him, if he had acquired a Feral-ranked signature, then his chances would have been so indistinct.
'That girl definitely knows a lot. I guess I would have to read as much as I can when I return.'
A carrier, or a climber, was bound to encounter various mythical creatures while exploring the Silver Spire. These mythical creatures had their ranks, and it was believed there's an order in which they appear in each step of the Spire.
There was the Feral rank, the Evolved rank, the Prime rank, the Ancient rank, the Mythic rank, the Ethereal rank, the Transcendent rank, and…
Yet again, the stunning lady had also made it clear she didn't know of the last rank of mythical creatures.
Just like flux carriers ascend in Soul ranks, mythical creatures descend to profanity.
So, any soul signature one received from any mythical creature had both its rank and might dependent on the soul rank of the creature.
Aftertick and the key didn't follow this proposition, but why?
Melvin thought hard about this for a while but found it difficult to make any sense yet. So, he crossed his hand again, using it to support his head from behind, and concentrated on the second soul signature he had received.
[Soul Signature]: Brinewrought Aegis
[Rank]: Mythic
[Soul Signature Description]: A fragment of a gelatinous horror born in the depths where light rots and flesh forgets its shape.
[Brinewrought Aegis Forms]: —
Melvin read the rune description again and again. He tried to understand what it meant, but it didn't even make sense to him. So, he decided to summon the brinewrought.
[What form does Host want it to take?]
When he tried to invoke the signature, the question popped up before his view.
It now made a little sense.
"Let's see, what about an armor? Form an armor around my body."
As soon as he relayed the command, he rose from the ground to allow for a smooth process.
Then, it began. A faint chill spread beneath his skin.
Then, from his pores, something wet and translucent began to seep out.
A thin membrane coated his arms first, clinging tightly like a second layer of flesh. The substance thickened, turning opalescent, hardening at the same time.
Within seconds, a seamless suit of glistening, purple slime armor embraced his body.
[New Brinewrought Aegis form registered!]
[Brinewrought Aegis Forms]: Slime Armor
[Slime Armor Description]: Sewn from the flow of brine, plates shaped by wrought. Augmented by Aegis, this armor can repair itself while being worn.
Melvin stared at the new runes for a while but chose to ignore them in the meantime and examined his body with ecstasy gleaming in his eyes. Then, he summoned the Aftertick and held it with his right hand.
'Can I also extend this slime armor to augment my weapon?' he thought and tried it simultaneously, but nothing happened.
'It seems it can only take one shape at a time.'
Finally understanding the concept of how the Soul Signature worked, Melvin dismissed both Aftertick and the brinewrought and went over to sit on the fallen half of the pillar, resting atop the Sea Slug.
For him, he shouldn't be in a rush to venture into death situations. He needed all the rest he could get before setting off to face other servants.
At this thought, he turned his gaze toward the dark, inner part of the bastion's underground hall. He tried to remember how the patterns had flowed from the formation earlier. Maybe locating the other servants won't have to be a big deal.
But when he couldn't weave through the path patterns, he decided to let it go in the meantime.
"Hmm," Melvin sighed. "Let's see what Fragments says."
[Fragments]: 5/1000
[Description]: A physical measure of one's soul flux.
As one defeats a mythical creature, the essence absorbed from the monster is measured discretely in fragments. Hence, it's just a numerical manifestation of one's strength.
Gaining fragments in the Silver Spire didn't require squashing or crushing a fallen monster for shards to absorb its essence. It was there after a defeat is certified.
There was also the spirit manifestation of a carrier's strength.
'What did she call it again? Yes, Soul Flux.'
As one advances in hierarchy, their Soul Flux evolves as well as their fragments expand. But it doesn't determine the strength of the Awakened.
While a Master-ranked Awakened can be stronger than an Adept-ranked on literal basis, an Adept-ranked Awakened with more Fragments might be a rival of the Master-ranked Awakened.
Hence, it was also among the goals of the Awakened to try to accumulate as many fragments as they could to strengthen their soul flux.
So, Melvin thought that if he defeated the other monster servants, and if by chance they retained the same rank as the Sea Slug King, he might be able to leave the first step of the Silver Spire a bit augmented in strength for other Awakeners out there.
'That's it. Let's get the killing spree star–'
Grrrrh.
His stomach churned.
"Oh, yes. I can't achieve anything on an empty stomach," he realized. "But what do I eat now?"