Chapter 57: The Exposition Dump Continues

Beyond the ranks of Aether cores was another classification system.

It went: [Human, Aberrant, Mutant, Monster, Wretch, Anathema, Demon, ...]

At least, those were the only classifications he knew of.

Though he didn’t know what each classification entailed, he knew the scale wasn’t necessarily a measure of strength. A Human could easily be on the same level as a Wretch or even a Demon. Although, there was some difference between each classification.

’But I have no idea what the distinction is...’

Next came the applications of Aether.

As he already knew, Aether could be directed throughout the body to enhance it or be used to activate a Relic. Now, he knew it could also be channeled into inanimate objects, such as weapons.

Unless the object itself was special, the enhancement had to be consciously sustained, though it could make the object many times more powerful.

The only problem was that doing so seemed to require considerable control and mastery of Aether...

His instincts and memories would undoubtedly help, but they could only carry him so far.

Either way...

’I still have no clue what a "Spawn" is...’

That was what the system had called Axel when Zayn killed him, while Claire had been a regular "Nascent Human."

...

Zayn winced at the memory of the previous day’s events.

Worse, he was now using their deaths to fuel his own research.

’Pathetic...’

Setting his self-loathing and regret aside...

Beyond Aether, there were three more avenues of power: Contracts, Items, and Relics.

Contracts were powers obtained by communing with a god — a process also known as becoming an Apostle.

Each Contract was unique and served as the main source of one’s power, often forcing its wielder to build their strength around it.

Upon contracting with a god or goddess, a summoned received both a Contracted Summon and a crux ability. As far as Zayn knew, that crux ability was the only way to learn a Skill aside from intrinsically possessing one or receiving one from a god with no strings attached, as with [Fall of Babel].

A Contracted Summon was typically a weapon, though it could also take the form of armor, a miscellaneous object, or even a golem of some sort.

That was the extent of Zayn’s knowledge about Contracts.

As for Items and Relics...

Relics were... ’something’ connected to Contracted Summons. That connection was what distinguished them from regular Items...

’Not that it makes any sense right now.’

His knowledge of Relics was severely limited, though he did know they fell into tiers.

Relic tiers: [Minor, Lesser, Greater, Ascendant, Mythic, Origin, Primordial, Divine]

The tiers represented a Relic’s strength and the overall quality of its materials.

As for Items...

Items were man-made and unrelated to Contracts. Unlike Relics, they couldn’t be summoned and unsummoned.

Like equipment in a game, they were divided into tiers: [N, C, UC, R, SR, SSR, UR, M, L]

Had Zayn learned this earlier, he might have mistaken this world for an RPG. After going through hell, though, he knew better. No game he’d ever seen was this harsh or unfair...

Besides, if he remembered correctly, the summoned had created that classification system, and the system had merely adopted it as something humans could understand. The natives of this world had no such system.

If an item was powerful or useful, then it was powerful or useful. Simple.

Aside from what his unlocked memories had revealed, summoning his Status had shown him one of the most damning — and important — pieces of information yet.

Alongside Hae-Ryung’s and Cynthia’s names were several more sets of question marks...

’Seven total.’

Two had been there before.

As far as he could tell, each ’???’ represented a Disaster he had seen but not definitively identified.

The two already there somewhat undermined that theory. Zayn had thought he’d touched everyone, but perhaps he was mistaken...

’Wait... have I ever made contact with Lucas...?’

Either way, he surmised that the five new mystery Disasters were somewhere in town and that he had glimpsed them among the massive crowd upon their arrival.

Speaking of that crowd...

’Why were we all summoned at the same time?’

There was no way they all passed their trials at the same time.

Zayn sighed. His search for an explanation had gotten him nowhere.

’My memories don’t help me much on this one.’

Beyond that, he now had an absurd quest: touch as many people as possible.

’Man... I’m going to become quite infamous, aren’t I?’

Especially since he couldn’t just brump into people. From what he learned, he had to touch them skin to skin.

’I really need to learn a better way of identification.’

Finally, there was one more detail in his Status to consider...

[???] - (Progression: 0.01%)

The number had gone up.

His mysterious Affliction had progressed.

His recovered memories offered no clues about the Affliction other than he didn’t remember possessing it in his past life.

’Hmm...’

Was it something caused by regression? Like a curse for breaking time?

Zayn was about to sink into deeper contemplation but decided to give his mind a rest.

He’d allow himself to enjoy the solitude a little longer before this awful world battered him again.

After another ten minutes, Zayn forced himself to rise.

’I need to brush my teeth...’

His mouth didn’t feel as rancid as it should have — awakening Aether had seemingly cleansed it of most impurities — but he could tell his breath hadn’t received the same boon.

Picking up his coin pouch and room key, Zayn left the room, followed the hallway, and started down the stairs.

First, he’d eat breakfast. Then he’d shop for necessities while exploring the town.

’And finally get shoes...’

At least, that was the plan.

A few steps down, Zayn froze.

The dining area was mostly empty, but...

’Oh, right...’

There was another issue he’d been dreading facing.

Below him, a deathly pale Maks sat across from Lucas.

Lucas noticed Zayn and waved.

"Zayn, I’m glad to see you’re alright..." His expression darkened. "Come, tell me... is it true?"