Abyssal Awakening - Chapter 873

Capítulo 873: Karina

“That includes shaving away at the two souls tethered inside your body.”

Alice’s pupils constricted.

How? She didn’t sense the informant having any kind of power that interacted with the soul.

If anything, she wasn’t using any power at all!

So how did she notice Cayla and Alyss?

“Surprised? Shall I tell you?” The informant grinned, sitting back down while tapping the table.

“Tch.” Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Alice placed down more coins as the informant smiled happily.

“When you’re in tune with the nightmare realm, you begin to unlock certain abilities that reflect in reality. One of the abilities I possess is the power to discern the state of one’s shadow.

“How much they died, how much they gained. How much they’ve warped. For your friend, he should be careful with how much death he’s experiencing. But when I look at your shadow, I see three layers overlapping one another.

“And that only happens when multiple active souls are residing within one body.” She explained, ‘eating’ the coins that Alice offered.

“Of course, that only accounts for the active soul. In terms of dormant souls… You have the biggest capacity I’ve ever seen. How many have you killed?”

“That doesn’t matter. Instead, I’d rather you tell me a little more about the realm.” Alice shook her head, ending the topic there.

The informant already found out more than she wanted her to.

Giving her any more information like this would be stupid.

“Very well~ But I hope you understand that there are things that not even I can talk about. As long as we keep that in mind, this exchange shall be rather fruitful.” She leaned back and smiled elegantly.

“So far, in the Nightmare realm, I’ve only found Embryos that stop upgrading my stats after a certain point. Is it alright to assume that they have rarities and the higher rarities will upgrade my stats further? And if they do, is there a limit to what each stat can accomplish?” Alice asked, going straight to the point.

Elias decided to stay silent for now since he didn’t have much to add. He was simply here to listen and understand, especially since Alice had most of the information.

“Oh~ You really have a good head on your shoulders.” The informant narrowed her eyes.

“Yes, it’s as you say. Each zone in the Nightmare realm has an Embryo matching its difficulty. The first zone, without exception, grants Embryos of the lowest rarity. As you follow the butterflies, you’ll reach zones that grant you further enhancements.

“There is indeed a limit to how many enhancements you can receive from higher rarity Embryos so it’s best you use them wisely. Ah but make sure you don’t slack on enhancing your vitality okay?

“There are certain unavoidable abilities that you have to endure if you wish to kill the guardians.” She warned.

Alice furrowed her brows before nodding.

Since that was the case, she had already mapped out how she wanted to invest her powers. Primarily, strength was a stat she can completely ignore since she had no use for it. Based on her requirements, she needed speed and endurance the most.

As for the next question…

Having saw the weapon in Monika’s hands, Alice couldn’t help but wonder…

“Where can I find new weapons in the Nightmare realm? New spells included.”

“Fufu~ that’s a pretty expensive piece of information you’re wanting there~”

“Is money really that important for you? Haven’t you had enough already?” Alice grumbled, handing more money over.

“Of course my dear. This world of ours runs on money, you can never have enough. Those who say money can’t buy you happiness clearly haven’t felt poor before. With money, so much of your troubles can be erased.” The informant swallowed the money and licked her lips.

“Yes, there are places where you can purchase wares using the Embryos you’ve collected. Weapons, spells, even consumables like Blood vials can be purchased there. And… if you defeat guardians like Sister Adela, she’ll drop a unique Embryo. It crystalises their existence into a single crystal.

“You can either use it on a branch to gain their spell or you can use it to forge a weapon they may have used. The choice is yours.” She explained.

‘So a shop within the realm. Pale lance is good but I probably need something better to fight against Sister Adela. Not to mention the blood vials. Hopefully they can heal me if needed.’ Alice made a note in her mind.

“Is there a way for us to find each other in the Nightmare realm? I know Monika said that the realm is large but surely there’s a method of travelling around right?” Alice asked.

However, instead of demanding a price, the informant simply stuck out her tongue slightly.

“Can’t say, sorry~”

Alice scratched her hair.

“Can you at least tell me about what the faith stat means? Does putting points into it suddenly make me a devote to a god I don’t know?” Alice asked.

But instead of responding, the informant only smiled knowingly.

Alice clicked her tongue. She can’t say but Alice could already guess what the answer was.

With most of her questions being answered and anything she didn’t know about could probably be found inside the realm, she had one last question that she absolutely wanted to know.

“Is there a way to access or leave the realm manually? Or does it simply happen every night?” Alice asked.

“Hmm… You’ll probably find this out anyways. The Nightmare realm occurs every other night. Tonight, there will be no nightmare, you can reast easy. As for accessing the realm freely… that I cannot say.” She shook her head.

“I see… Final question from me.” Alice nodded before letting out a small sigh.

“The anomalies we’ve seen in this city, the people who ignore the commotion happening… Are they still themselves?” Alice furrowed her brows.

The informant’s smile widened to an uncomfortable degree. So much so that even Alice felt put off.

“Drones. They lose themselves in the Nightmare. Their essences consumed and worn as a suit to ensure order is maintained. Their shadows may not show signs at first, but if you look carefully… Ah~ Anymore and my head might be in danger haha~” She covered her smile with her hand.

“Please enjoy yourselves before the next nightmare arrives. I believe I will be rather busy… looking for Monika.”

“Before I go, may I have your name? I believe we’ll be meeting more often in the future after all.” Alice asked, standing up.

“Picking up habits from the witch I see. Karina. That’s my name.” Karina did a small bow and a wave of her hand.

Without waiting for Alice’s response, Karina waved her hand and an invisible force pulled Alice and Elias into the elevator as the doors slammed shut.

“Rude.” Elias mumbled while Alice couldn’t help but agree.

However, the information they’ve gained today left them much to think about.

The key being…

“We need to do something about your deaths in the realm. But with two days left…” She sighed, looking at Elias who was still staring at the saliva coated package in disgust.

“I know. But training my reaction speed and such isn’t something that can be accomplished in a day or so.” Elias sighed.

Now that he knew the dangers of dying in that realm… he couldn’t deny that he was feeling a little anxious.

“If you want, you can head back to the Abyss for now. I assume the nightmare is unique to this country and this country alone since I don’t see it happening elsewhere.” Alice suggested.

But after saying this, she froze.

If the people who come here experience the nightmare, why hasn’t the news reported about it? They reported something big like the disappearance of the North but why not the nightmare realm?

What caused them to stop the articles mentioning this?

Is it a recent occurrence?

Alice doubted it.

Then…

[Do you think the ‘drones’ that Karina mentioned are scouting out everyone who enters the country?] Cayla frowned.

‘Maybe… Unless… they die enough times that drones take over their body before they could write about anything.’ Alice wondered.

[I don’t think that’ll account for the reporters that are stronger than usual though. Since some might be able to survive just fine like you and Alyss without accumulating too many deaths.]

Alice folded her arms.

Whatever the case was, the best thing she should do right now was spread the word. Spread the word so that people are careful about what’s going on in this country.

“Elias, let’s head back to the Abyss for now. I also have something I want to test once we’re there. If we’re not dragged into the Nightmare while outside of this country, she should be relatively safe.” Alice suggested.

Nodding in agreement, the two made their way back to the tavern and packed their things.

###

After bidding farewell to Alice, Karina rested by her tree. Fog rolled in from the edges as butterflies landed on her body.

Some sunk their teeth into her flesh, drinking her blood.

Others simply rested without doing anything.

Roots beneath to writhe beneath the surface as one slowly reached up and…

Pierced the back of her neck.

Veins bulged across her body as she held back a slight cry.

The glow in her eyes shifted and she opened her mouth.

In front of her, the fog started to manifest into the silhouette of a witch.

“Monika…” Karina sighed.

“Hm? Oh~ Elfie~ It’s not often you come looking for me. Even going as far as to do this of all things. What is it? An emergency? Or~ Are you asking about little flame?” Monika hopped over with glee.

“Don’t you think you’re pushing the boundaries a little? Or are you saying you want to get erased by them?” Karina massaged her eyebrows.

“Ah~ That’s what you’re worried about. I got this all~ under control. The cogs of my fate don’t end here Elfie. Just do what you think is reasonable. I got other things I need to do so take care~ Oh and, try not to pull any tricks with little flame.” Monika warned.

“Play around with fire too much and you’ll get burned~”

With that, she swiped down with her finger and the connection was severed.

Recoiling back, Karina furrowed her brows before sighing.