Chapter 177: Terrifying Arcane Projection

Aurelius ultimately managed to suppress the impulse to test the limits of the Netherworld Seal and restrained himself from seeking death.

Partly because he had already experienced the danger that activating this skill would entail.

A more important reason, however, was that he still had another ability he wished to test.

With that thought, Aurelius pushed the matter of the Netherworld Seal to the back of his mind.

His eyes flashed.

Then, he focused on the space before him.

To other people, there appeared to be nothing there.

But from Aurelius’ point of view, a large amount of Spirit had gathered.

Engraving a Netherworld Seal already required a huge amount of Spirit.

Yet casting Arcane Projection required even more.

It was enough to completely exhaust a Rank 1 Arcanist.

Fortunately, Aurelius had already reached Rank 3.

Even so, he could clearly feel his Spirit rapidly decreasing.

Just when Aurelius sensed that thirty percent of his total Spirit had disappeared out of thin air, the space he was looking at finally changed.

The Spirit took on a material form.

Then, it rapidly squirmed, transforming into the shape of a human.

Long orange hair appeared first, followed by a pair of similarly colored eyes.

Soft, delicate features gradually emerged until a familiar figure stood before him.

She looked quite lively, like a young adult who was hopeful for the future.

Mia!

The moment she appeared, even Aurelius was caught off guard.

Although he already knew the effects of Arcane Projection based on its description, the sight of him "creating" another person was still quite shocking.

Seeing Mia stare at him with a "focused look", Aurelius felt somewhat embarrassed.

However, upon closer inspection, he discovered that the depths of her eyes were completely blank.

She possessed no intelligence, much less Mia’s memories and feelings.

More importantly, Aurelius sensed a connection between himself and the Arcane Projection.

Using that connection, he passed a command.

’Move!’

The moment that thought arose, Mia immediately followed his instructions, taking a step to the side just as he wished.

’So responsive?’ Aurelius muttered inwardly and gave her another command.

This time, Mia did a spin.

Despite the complicated movement and her own lack of intelligence, she didn’t make a single mistake, moving as naturally as a real person.

Aurelius continued testing her.

’Raise your hand.’

Mia immediately raised her hand.

’Walk forward.’

She obediently took several steps forward.

’Stop.’

She stopped in place.

There was no pause between her movements.

As soon as Aurelius gave the command, the projection would move.

Finally, Aurelius controlled her to come closer.

Reaching out, he gently touched her left cheek.

Sensing the soft sensation against his hand and the slightly warm skin, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

’What a terrifying skill!’

’I’m afraid that if one doesn’t know any better, they could directly mistake the Arcane Projection for a real person!’

If not for the complete lack of intelligence in her eyes, even Aurelius would have had difficulty believing that the person standing before him wasn’t the real Mia.

Upon further inspection, Aurelius was pleasantly surprised to find that the consumption of Arcane Projection wasn’t as high as he had originally expected.

After the projection itself was formed, he only needed to supply it with a minimal amount of Spirit.

At its current rate of consumption, he would be able to sustain Mia’s existence for several hours.

Although her identity as an ordinary person certainly played a role in that, it allowed him to understand that most of the cost of using Arcane Projection was "upfront."

As long as the projection was summoned, controlling it afterward was simple.

The more Aurelius studied this skill, the more excited he became.

At the same time, however, he became somewhat fearful.

’This skill is too terrifying. It’s fine if an upright young man like myself possesses it.’

’But if there are any perverted Forbidden Arcanists...’

Aurelius didn’t finish that thought.

Instead, he glanced at Mia from the corner of his eye and then at the underground room around him.

He had heard in his previous life that there were strange toys specifically made for doing unspeakable things.

But compared to Arcane Projection, those things obviously lagged far behind.

With this skill, someone could create a perfect imitation of another person and command it as they wished.

For the first time since he had come to this world, Aurelius felt relieved that Arcanists had disappeared!

This also made him wonder:

’Could it be that some Forbidden Arcanist did something unspeakable to a high-Ranked Awakener and evoked their wrath, eventually leading to the Class’s extinction?’

For some reason, Aurelius felt this was highly likely!

He quickly decided not to think about it any further.

He felt that some mysteries were better left unsolved.

--

Aurelius’ synthesis of skills, his advancement, and the subsequent experimentation with his new abilities took quite some time.

Although he had returned to the mansion quite early, by the time he walked out of the underground room, the moon had already appeared in the sky.

It was already late.

His advancement had taken up most of the day.

With his current strength, he could go for a few days without sleeping.

Under normal circumstances, Aurelius would have gone out to hunt monsters and make up for the wasted time.

But today, he strangely did the opposite.

Perhaps exhausted by his advancement, he directly returned to his room and lay down on his bed.

He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before he finally shook his head.

’Tomorrow is going to be a tough day. I should recharge my batteries while I can...’

With that thought, Aurelius closed his eyes and quickly drifted into sleep.

--

Aurelius’ Fan Club had gained seven new Awakeners!

The news quickly spread through the Player circles, completely drowning out the noise surrounding World_Builder’s own advancement and the special cinematic he had poured so much thought and effort into.

At the same time, news of how they achieved this spread as well.

Upon learning that a Class Coupon had appeared in Aurelius’ Shop and that it could be purchased by spending five seemingly useless Skill Points, the Players burst with enthusiasm.

The addition of other items that were just as valuable, if not even more valuable, only made them even more excited.

Most of the Players participating in the Beta didn’t sleep that day!

They used the entire night to travel through the Dawn Kingdom, moving toward Blood Sun City by whatever means they had.

They didn’t care about the possible dangers along the way—dangers that even Awakeners wouldn’t dare to challenge.

They charged forward fearlessly, like soldiers returning from a bloody battlefield.

The reason behind their reactions was quite simple.

Tomorrow was the final day of the Beta Version!

This was their last chance!

If they managed to become Awakeners, they would be able to suppress the rest of the Players in the game’s actual release.

If they didn’t, however, they would be directly swept away by the times, suppressed by more powerful Players like TheoryMaster69 and World_Builder!

With the motivation of being unwilling to fall behind others, the Players erupted with shocking potential.

The next morning, Aurelius witnessed that potential firsthand.

--

The sound of loud yelling woke Aurelius up.

Hearing the thunderous screams coming from outside, he couldn’t help but wonder whether the Sol mansion was under attack.

He didn’t even have time to properly dress himself.

He immediately jumped out of bed and rushed toward the source of the noise.

He was worried that if he hesitated for a brief moment, he would find the mansion in ruins.

’Could it be that my father and stepmother learned about my identity as an Awakener? Are they planning to wipe me out?’ Aurelius guessed.

Countless heart-wrenching scenarios played through his mind.

He had ample experience reading books in his previous life.

The experiences of the protagonists quickly emerged in his mind, causing his imagination to run wild.

What about a father and son turning against each other and engaging in a life-and-death confrontation...

What about a stepmother and her son arriving here to scold the bastard son...

What about a dissatisfied servant trying to bully the unwanted son to curry favor with their master...

All in all, Aurelius had many guesses about what was happening.

Yet none of them proved to be true.

When he arrived at an entrance, he didn’t meet soldiers nor the Sol family as he had expected.

Instead, what came into view was a sea of unfamiliar people.

They surrounded the mansion’s guards, their eyes red with excitement.

The guards looked fearful, waving their weapons in an attempt to intimidate them.

But the crowd showed no intention of leaving.

A moment later, their intentions were revealed.

As the crowd’s eyes landed on Aurelius, their fervor grew even more intense.

"The NPC is here! The NPC is here!"

"Where’s the Class Coupon?! Where are the Gacha Fruits?!"

"Nobody stop me! I had to sell my dowry to come here!"