Reborn as an Extra Chapter 546: What are you? Part-1.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
Rio remained motionless, allowing the decaying evil spirit to move past before he resumed his advance.
’These bizarre entities make this place so baffling...’
An SS-rank evil spirit endured nonstop torment, its very blood drained and exploited by lesser evil spirits clinging to its enormous form like parasites.
Rio had no desire to clash with an SS-rank entity, so he stayed put and merely watched the scene from a safe distance, avoiding any close scrutiny of the evil spirit’s frame.
Rather, he directed his attention to the smaller evil spirits that leaped and cavorted around it.
Rio had once practiced alongside Jin and understood that SS-rankers possess incredibly sharp instincts and threat-sensing capabilities.
Gaze at them for even a brief moment too long, and they’ll sense your presence right away, regardless of any hostile intentions on your part.
’Encountering an SS-rank evil spirit this early in the spirit realm suggests there could be numerous SS-rank creatures lurking within...’
The spirit realm spans as vast as the whole universe, brimming with intense miasma concentrations that make it simpler for tainted beings to ascend to superior levels here.
’Fortunately, corrupted entities lacking reason can hardly wield their ’world authority,’ and some fail entirely to advance their authorities...’
As he pressed onward, Rio recalled a crucial detail from one of Ashtel’s provided documents.
The document confirmed that the spirit realm indeed hosts more SS-rank beings than the outer world, yet each one is far feebler than even the lowliest SS-rankers beyond these borders.
SS-rankers in the world alliance tread the ’path’ of ’order,’ sharing a key trait: exceptional intellect and masterful command over their abilities.
Advancing your world authority bears no direct tie to being at peak or early SS-rank.
An SS-ranker might swiftly elevate their world authority tiers, though attaining peak SS-rank could demand much longer.
The primary methods to boost world authority involve gaining proficiency, deepening insight into your personal ’path,’ employing it repeatedly, and surpassing boundaries.
Above all, it requires forging greater dominion over the ’world,’ ’laws,’ and ’reality.’
World authority mirrors your degree of mastery over a specific law or facet of the ’world’; it grows through enhancing your ’control’ and ’skill’ in that domain.
However, such pursuits are intricate and demand extensive time.
SS-rank evil spirits from the spirit realm, or demons ascending to SS-rank yet stripped of reason by miasmic taint, lack the capacity for these elaborate endeavors.
They simply cannot elevate their world authorities.
Occasionally, evil spirits climb to peak SS-rank, yet their world authorities linger at level 1 for centuries on end!
This stands as a prime reason why every SS-ranker in the world alliance dreads miasma intensely and refuses to stray from their ’path’ of ’order.’
Nobody wishes to forfeit their mind and shatter their potential through self-sabotage.
Miasma delights in twisting and unraveling beings from within, reveling in the ridicule of their very being; none seek entanglement with such a malevolent force.
Demons themselves shun miasma, much less any other souls.
’So what sets me apart? I can’t help but wonder...’
Rio scooped up a portion of liquid miasma into his hand, sensing its pleasant warmth and soothing embrace.
’Uh... I’m not some demon, am I? Hold on... even demons wouldn’t risk grasping such pure miasma bare-handed...’
Contemplating this, Rio sighed in resignation; he shook his head and continued ahead, guided by the cube’s indicators.
’Someday, once I’ve grown powerful enough... I’ll seize a mighty SS-rank demon and examine its innards against my own... maybe then I’ll uncover what’s off about me...’
As he journeyed and pondered countless thoughts, Rio stepped into a region shrouded in thick mist.
This mist consisted solely of dense miasmic fluid suspended in the atmosphere, slashing visibility to near zero.
Fortunately, Rio relied on miasmic detection, sparing him concerns over sight.
Were it another person, prolonged exposure in this nightmarish zone—after such an arduous trek—would have led to corruption or death multiple times over, unless they matched Ashtel’s SS-rank prowess.
Yet Rio remained untouched; his traveler’s attire stayed pristine, and he progressed without a trace of dread or unease.
’Strange... a peculiar sensation has suddenly gripped me...’
The cube’s guidance held steady in one direction, and with each step deeper into the miasmic haze, Rio sensed mounting pressure.
’This area’s spatial ripples feel remarkably steady; it’s the most balanced space I’ve encountered so far in the spirit realm...’
’What could this location be-’
Rio’s query halted abruptly as he realized he stood before a pair of enormous pillars.
These pillars bore intricate engravings across their surfaces, though vast sections lay ruined and eroded from miasmic decay.
Rio tilted his head upward and saw the pillars connected by a huge slab of stone atop them.
’Could this be the gateway to an ancient temple or revered edifice?’
Rio recognized such designs from before; these portals typically graced temples or structures from a bygone era.
Two words were etched into the large stone archway.
The script wasn’t ’EzKina,’ the prevailing tongue adopted universally by the world alliance.
Instead, it was a tongue Rio knew intimately: ’English’!
For the first time since arriving in this realm, Rio beheld this long-lost language after all this time.
Over three years had elapsed since Rio’s arrival here, marking his initial encounter with this script in use.
King Allen had devised ’EzKina’ to bind all races together and eradicate prejudice upon founding the world alliance.
This shift doomed regional dialects to oblivion; ’English’ faded into history over the centuries.
’Celeste Fortuna... ’Heavenly Luck’ or ’Divine Luck’... does that mean this is a sanctuary devoted to venerating ’heavenly luck’?...’
Rio wasn’t one to master multiple tongues, but he grasped common phrases from tales and writings.
’I never imagined I’d chance upon a relic of such ancient history out of nowhere...’
For some purpose, the cube of possibilities directed him here, and the employment of ’English’ in this sanctuary implied something clear.
This forsaken site was most likely erected prior to the ’world alliance’’s formation, placing its age around 1900 to 2000 years.
Rio eyed the cube drifting serenely nearby and mused inwardly.
’What potential awaits here that you’ve guided me to this spot?’