Chapter Two-Hundred-and-Fifty-Seven

Karie’s eyes lit up as Adam stopped in front of her stall. “You have truly blessed me with many points as of late, Adam.”

“What exactly are you doing with all of these points?” he asked.

“I cannot tell you,” Karie replied, rubbing her large back legs nervously, producing a small chirp.

Yenna, who had followed Adam and Parvillo to the stall, said, “Once the vendors have amassed enough points or whichever currency they are paid in, they may purchase their freedom.”

Parvillo glared at her, but she ignored him.

“How many points?” Adam asked, surprised the reason was something so simple. It made sense though. What else would they be longing for, if not their freedom?

“I do not know,” Yenna said.

Karie looked between Adam, Yenna, and Parvillo nervously.

[You do not need to know about this, it is irrelevant,] Parvillo told Adam.

“I’ll decide that for myself.”

“Do your points reset with every loop?” Adam asked Karie.

The cricket avoided his gaze, so Yenna answered for her, “They do.”

Adam almost blurted out the immediate thought that followed, but managed to stay his tongue.

There’s basically no way most of the denizens will ever go free.

It’s likely just a convenient lie to make them play their roles properly.

While he thought it was rather obvious, he knew it would be cruel to say it out loud in front of all the vendors.

Maybe it works differently for Luvicidix and Alivida since their unlocks are permanent, but Fal and Meilo have no way of being set free, nor does Yenna.

He looked at Parvillo. “When I beat the Trials, will they all be freed?”

[Yes. Once the Trials of Defiance have concluded, there will be no further need for the denizens to perform their roles.]

“What about other universes?”

[They will continue until their Trials are beaten.]

I guess it’s too optimistic to believe I could free all universes at the same time.

Adam sighed.

One thing at a time.

“I’d like to buy 24 upgrades,” he told Karie, who was happy to leave the topic.

< < General Upgrades Purchased > >

< Crush (Legendary) x3 >

< Damage (Legendary) x12 >

< Health (Legendary) x4 >

< Movement (Legendary) x5 >

< 2,290 Points Remaining >

After the upgrades, Adam’s damage was up to an absurd 5,236%, his speed at 4,200%, health at 2,114 points, and his crush upgrade at 1,470%.

As he hit level 120, his body started to glow and he was faced with three evolutions, highlighted in front of Parvillo’s body.

The first option showed Adam dressed as a Parisian mime while a treasure chest with two skinny legs stood next to him, teeth visible within and a large tongue lolling out between the two halves; the second showed him in a dark suit, laughing while holding a teddy bear aloft; and the last was him as a craftsman seated at a desk, lifting a trinket in some apparent euphoric revelation.

< < Select an Evolution > >

< Iniquitous Mime — Obtain a friendly Mimic Chest as a permanent companion. All other mimics are no longer hostile towards you. You may eat another humanoid to assume their appearance and traits >

< Jovial Madman — Your mind is opened to the voices of the inanimate >

< Euphoric Tinkerer — For a period of 4 seconds, all Relics have no cooldown. 1-day cooldown >

Adam almost immediately picked Tinkerer.

Mime and Madman both seem kind of… bad?

Being able to steal someone else’s identity and ‘traits’ might be powerful depending on how it works, but I don’t know if it would be stronger than having no relic cooldown. It could be a trump card against the Flayed Lady’s adherents in the group stages, perhaps, but if I turn into a flesh-and-blood human, then I’m going to be much weaker against her powers.

Having a friendly mimic chest might be interesting, but it also just seems a bit weird and I doubt it would be able to keep up with my speed. Perhaps it’s meant to be a companion that carries stuff, or helps set up ambushes?

The upside to a mimic chest is that it’s not something that can be detected with blood magic.

Adam stared at the image and text for Jovial Madman.

This one seems truly bizarre.

It’s implying that things like teddy bears might start speaking to me? But wouldn’t it mean that all inanimate things would speak to me? I mean, it could potentially help with reconnaissance, but mostly I just think it would drive me insane.

“What is the point of Jovial Madman?” Adam asked. “It sounds like it’s describing a form of schizophrenia. Why would anyone pick that?”

[I am not responsible for the Evolutions you are offered. I believe it is meant to invoke an aspect of the Chaotic Convergence, which is fitting, given that the Fool Class is a requirement for unlocking its worship.]

Great… I’m going to be worshipping someone who talks to teddy bears. That really does not instil me with a lot of confidence.

“But what is the point of it?”

[I am unsure.]

Not even Parvillo knows…

“For Tinkerer, are there any limitations?”

[The cooldown removal only applies to Relics that do not have a set number of uses. Relics cannot be activated more than once per second.]

“Which means I get four uses out of each relic, five if I can time it perfectly.”

[Correct.]

“It works on the relic renewal stone, right?”

[Correct.]

So, even if the evolution doesn’t affect relics with limited uses, I can still apply the renewal stone to them.

“If I activate the evolution skill while my bear traps are already deployed, will it simply switch them back to ready?”

[Yes.]

That’d allow me to do some pretty nasty combos then, Adam mused.

“The ‘traits’ referred to with the Iniquitous Mime, what exactly do they entail?”

[If you were to use the Iniquitous Mime’s ability to devour, for example, a bloodfiend, you would gain their unique traits. This means both strengths and weaknesses.]

“Would it allow me access to their magical powers too?”

[Correct.]

That means that Mime is quite versatile, and potentially quite powerful. Eating a bloodfiend would let me turn into a bloodfiend beast. If I ate the Patriarch or Matriarch, it would be even stronger.

Hmm…

“What is the friendly mimic chest like?”

[It is a standard Mimic Chest creature that will follow your commands. It may also carry most items, so long as they are physically able to fit inside its body.]

“If I find other mimics, can I recruit them to help me?”

[Possibly.]

“Is the mimic chest as fast as me?”

[The Mimic Chest has its own fixed stats. Its power does not scale with yours. Given your current movement speed, it would not be able to keep up with you.]

Adam was actually somewhat torn. He had written off Jovial Madman as useless, but Mime presented some quite fascinating use-cases, and could be worth picking simply to confuse the Flayed Lady’s efforts.

“How much do I need to eat of a humanoid to adopt their appearance? And do statue elementals count?”

[You need to consume the majority of their body for the effect to trigger. Statue elementals do count, yes.]

I wouldn’t be able to use it much in the altar, mostly just because I don’t think my slime body is able to consume the statues, especially not if I have to eat most of them.

“Would it work if I pulverised the body before eating it?”

[Yes. The manner of consumption is irrelevant.]

So, it might work, if I turn a statue to dust first and then put all of that into my slime body. But turning into a statue elemental means that I just have one core and can be taken out in a single hit from a decent build.

“Do I keep my current stats when I wear someone’s appearance and gain their traits?”

[No. Your stats are swapped for those of the humanoid you are transformed into. Your current stats return once you drop the disguise.]

Oh…

“I’m selecting Euphoric Tinkerer.”

< < Evolution Selected > >

< Grinning Scholar =>Euphoric Tinkerer >

< < Mastery Shard Obtained > >

Now I can get a fifth vanity and give it to Luvicidix.

[You have now evolved the Fool Class a total of four times, but you may return to the first set of Evolutions once you reach the next level threshold of 165. This will allow you to keep evolving. However, every Evolution now requires increments of 45 levels.]

“Wait, really? That seems extremely powerful.”

[Given your inability to use other Classes as part of your strategy, this is meant to ensure Fool stays powerful as the Trials of Defiance progress further.]

“I’m way stronger than I have ever been,” Adam argued.

[Eventually, your strength would stagnate. Close-quarters fighting is the riskiest fighting style once you pass beyond Stage Ten, and thus this decision was made. Of course, there have never been any Player with the Fool Class that made it beyond the Tower of Mirrors.]

“Does this mean I’ll be able to pick the same evolution again?”

[No. Your previously chosen options will not be offered again.]

“Once I hit level 300 and have evolved eight times, can I do it a third time to get the last four evolutions?”

[No. You are allowed a maximum of eight evolutions.]

Still, that’s going to be really powerful, Adam realised.

Since I have guaranteed dodge, I could pick Dancing Jester and gain double damage after every dodge. Coupling that with the pugilist’s belt, my insane stats, and the shapeshifter’s claw, means I can octuple my damage…

“Were you serious about throttling the number of upgrades I can purchase after stage five?”

[Yes. I allowed you to purchase extra to ensure you survive the Forbidden Altar and complete our goal, but there is no need for you to survive beyond that, thus I am limiting my aid to you starting tomorrow.]

I need to get a lot of points so I can buy as many upgrades as possible today. Hopefully I can challenge someone and use a bunch of traps against them. Otherwise, I’ll need to go fishing.

“I’ll be back later,” he told Karie.

“Where to next?” Yenna asked.

“First the garden,” Adam said.

Adam was about to take off and sprint across the island, but then he looked at Yenna and paused.

“What is it?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Adam scooped her up in his arms. He already knew his slime body didn’t harm her because of yesterday.

“This is more efficient,” he said.

Adam moved so fast that her words of protest died in her mouth, turning into a small yelp from the insane pull of his high speed.

Adam skidded across the flagstones of the garden, coming to a stop near the flowerbed with Christian, Helena, and Kat’s flowers.

Unlike the rather unique flowers that the two women had favoured, Christian’s was a simple daisy.

Yenna had her clawed hand on his shoulder to steady her shaking legs, as Adam reached out to touch the flower.

A zap rolled through him and he briefly saw a memory through Christian’s eyes. He was holding a simple drawing with a field of daisies surrounding three stick figures that said ‘Mommy’, ‘Daddy’, and ‘Me’. In the bottom of the drawing was the name ‘Laura’, written with a backwards R.

The memory faded and a soul drop floated out of the daisy and into Adam’s chest.

Adam released a deep breath.

Aside from his father and grandmother, Helena, Christian, and his niece Laura were the only family he had left.

I’ll find a way to save them. I need to.

Adam left the flowers to Meilo’s care and went over to Alivida’s tent. Yenna stayed outside as he entered.

Despite it being daytime, the black moth awaited him inside, thanks to the vanity mirror making her ever-present on Adam’s island.

“Hello Adam, I sense you have brought many… shards.”

“I’d like to buy another vanity upgrade,” he told her. “I’ll be giving it to Luvicidix. Hopefully it’ll make it possible for you to meet.”

Alivida stared at him for a moment, but said nothing. Then she gestured and the vanity appeared on her table.

< < Mastery Upgrade Unlocked > >

< Vanity — Turn an Interim Island Denizen into a humanoid >

“Do you not think it’ll work?” he asked her.

“Now that I have left my tent and witnessed Meilo at work and Fal brooding by her spot near the island’s edge, I am uncertain. Only once have I been allowed to properly meet my siblings. The Trials of Defiance are unlikely to grant us such freedom again. As it stands… I am pleased to be able to see my sisters from afar, even if we may never speak.”

“I’m committed to finding a way that you can actually meet,” Adam told her.

“I hope you succeed.”

Adam left the tent and found Yenna outside.

“Where to now?” she asked him.

“The centre of the island.”

“I’d like it if we could walk this time,” she said.

Adam nodded. “Sure.”

They walked through the dumpy uneven streets of Interim Island, neither of them saying anything. Still, it was a nice change of pace from his frantic running around, and it wasn’t like the extra few minutes changed anything about his schedule.

When they reached the island’s centre, white scales fell down from above like snow, freezing Yenna in place.

The giant white moth descended from the gold-tinged clouds above, alighting first on one of the houses nearby, before gliding down to stand in front of Adam and the time-frozen wasp.

“Hi again,” she greeted him.

Adam didn’t waste a moment and handed her the vanity.

“Thank you, Adam,” she replied gratefully.

As she stared into the mirror, her body was transformed into the humanoid version that she normally didn’t obtain until after stage five.

“Do you think you will be able to meet your sisters now?” he asked her, hopeful that it had finally worked.

“I will try,” she replied. “One side-effect of the new freedom you have granted me, is that I am allowed to roam during daytime, and at night you can still find me here.”

She pushed her fingers together excitedly. “I look forward to seeing my sisters.”

Adam smiled, glad to at least have been able to give her that much.

“I’ll be back later to check how it went,” he said.

“Before you go,” she replied, “I need to show you something. But first, take this.”

Cupped in her hands was a single fluffy scale. He thought for a brief moment that it was a ‘Scale of Remembrance’, but when he reached out to take it, he saw that it was something completely different.

< < Unique Relic Obtained > >

< White Moth’s Wings (Legendary) — Soaring above the clouds is the purest expression of freedom imaginable to the White Moth >

Adam equipped the wings and felt them appear on his back, below his nightwing cloak.

Luvicidix grabbed his hands and lifted off of the ground, pulling him with her. Adam looked at Yenna for a moment, before flapping his own wings, following the moth up into the clouds above.