Wizard: Unlimited Profession Slots Chapter 738 - 341: Abyssal KPI Assessment

Constructed entirely of bone and flesh, the immense Coral Reef pulses in the gloom like an enormous beast lost in slumber.

Centuries ago, this site served as a forward operating base for the Steel Brotherhood.

Three millennia past, this organization of Wizards—masters of mechanical modification—sought to stake a permanent claim within the Abyss.

The result was entirely predictable.

Today, those once-unyielding steel bastions have merged completely with biological matter, creating a grotesque hybrid of structure and organism.

Thick alloy plating is buried beneath layers of throbbing blood vessels, nerve endings have supplanted complex circuitry, and the muzzles of dormant turrets drip with viscous fluid.

"Such nostalgia... the final cries of those little insects..."

Nari gingerly brushes the wall where the Steel Brotherhood's faded emblem remains.

In its place, a massive compound eye has sprouted, its pupil still mirroring a frozen, human expression of terror.

It possesses clear memories of the fortress's subjugation.

The recollection remains vivid, not because of the battle's intensity, but because the varied final sounds uttered by those explorers were so captivating.

Some wept, others shrieked with laughter, and many sang as they met their end.

Nari struggled to comprehend why, in the face of inevitable Death, different humans exhibited such erratic behaviors.

Swarms of eyes cover the walls, packed as tightly as a beehive, ensuring not a single inch of the surface goes unobserved.

These serve as ocular extensions of its own body, maintaining constant surveillance over every corner of the nest.

Tendrils of nerve-tissue hang from the ceiling, swaying listlessly while tiny auditory receptors at their tips remain poised to detect even the faintest whisper.

Nari delights in the symphony of sounds—clashing metal, the rhythmic drip of fluids, the thrum of beating hearts, and the cryptic whispers echoing from the void.

These sounds merge into a complex auditory landscape within its consciousness, serving as one of its few diversions during these endless ages.

Currently, however, Nari’s focus rests primarily upon its secret treasury.

Deep within the nest lies this restricted chamber, swathed in thick, iridescent membranes.

These linings were harvested from the Brain Jellyfish King, an apex predator capable of transmuting stolen information into translucent, film-like layers.

Within this shimmering, kaleidoscopic vault float the "treasures" it has curated over time:

A heart, sealed perfectly, continues to pulse within a vesicle.

That specimen belonged to a solitary, arrogant Wizard.

When Nari intercepted him, the wretched individual had been eroded to the point where only his heart remained, stubbornly clinging to life.

Nari found such tenacity "charming" and saw fit to preserve the organ.

Nearby, clusters of luminous Soul Fragments drift like fireflies inside a glass container.

These are the "pure memories" it has painstakingly plucked from its victims.

It possesses the sweetness of first love, the gentle warmth of a mother, the loyalty of friends, contrasted by the sharp sting of betrayal, the primal fear of Death, and the suffocating weight of despair.

Nari often muses over these emotional artifacts during moments of ennui, attempting to unravel the intricate tapestry of human sentiment.

Occasionally, it exhales a heavy sigh: "Why must the hearts of these tiny bugs be so remarkably intricate?"

"Another visitor has arrived..."

Nari carefully deposits the vesicle containing the Stand-In Puppet into the very center of its hoarding place.

A ripple of excitement flickers through it, much like a young girl receiving a long-coveted treasure.

"You appear to be unique compared to my other acquisitions."

The titan drifts slowly around the central vessel, its colossal body moving with uncanny grace inside the confined space.

"The scent of a Wizard, the lingering miasma of the Abyss, and hints of something else... sensations I have never cataloged before..."

Abruptly, a tidal surge of agony crashes through Nari’s consciousness.

Having only recently awoken, its internal Spirit structure remains dangerously volatile.

Chaos surges wantonly through its thoughts, manifesting as both excruciating pain and a terrifying sense of existential fragmentation.

While it desperately craves Order to harmonize its thoughts, its innate chaotic nature revolts against such stability.

"Ugh... the torment returns..."

Nari collapses into a heap in the corner of its treasury.

Sensing their master’s suffering, the countless eyes across the walls blink shut in unison, as if they too share in the agony.

This suffering transcends physical damage; it is a violent tearing of the soul itself.

Every Apostle of the Abyss must ultimately confront this fate—the greater their capacity, the more crushing the burden of Chaos.

"Mother... if you were only here to witness this..."

Nari’s thought-waves turn threadbare and delicate, echoing with the helpless plea of a child.

"You would provide guidance, would you not? Unlike the others, you would never dismiss me for being clumsy..."

The "Mother" it refers to is the Primordial Abyss itself, the singular force that birthed it.

Once it had nurtured its progeny, that ancient entity retreated, ignoring all further pleas for communion.

For Nari, that presence remains the only source of warmth in its Memory—a fleeting instance of total acceptance and divine protection.

Presently, it possesses nothing but a legacy of pain.

The laws governing survival within the Abyss are far more nuanced than they appear on the surface.

Though this realm is defined by Chaos, it is not a territory of mindless insanity lacking all structure.

On the contrary, the Abyss adheres to a clandestine order defined by innate power and the ability to adapt.

Foremost among these requirements is the preservation of rationality.

While beings at the Apostle level possess the might to shatter worlds, the pervasive Chaos constantly gnaws at their very consciousness.

Nari experiences this erosion as a palpable force.

Whenever it exerts its power beyond its limits, its cognitive processes become muddled and inconsistent.

Memories begin to fold over themselves in confusion, even sparking lethal impulses of self-destruction.