Zeke was startled by the message that appeared.
"System Connectee?"
He knew that their hearts were linked through the Oath of Sincerity, but he hadnʼt realized it came with a system connection function.
Another message followed.
[You can grant the system connectee sharing authority or change the relevant settings.]
[Would you like to grant sharing authority to the system connectee?] This meant that, if Zeke approved, Serazade could share his system as well.
Zeke realized the true function of the Oath of Sincerity.
"Is this the system sharing function the Great Sage mentioned? It means the Kabbalah
System can be applied to others besides me."
Seeing Zekeʼs expression, Serazade asked, "Whatʼs wrong? Did my voice really echo in your mind?"
Zeke shook his head at her words.
"Iʼm not sure, Your Majesty."
"Hmm, the records clearly stated it would be that way. Perhaps thereʼs another method."
At that moment, messages continued to appear before Zekeʼs eyes.
[System Connecteeʼs message 'Can you hear me?ʼ has arrived.]
[System Connecteeʼs message 'Hear me?ʼ has arrived.]
[System Connecteeʼs message 'Why refuse to share a bed? You wouldnʼt happen to be a...ʼ has arrived.]
Zeke quietly closed the message window and looked at Serazade.
"The fatigue from the Sacred Trial was suddenly overwhelming. You must be tired too,
Your Majesty, so Iʼll take my leave for today."
Zeke ignored Serazadeʼs insistence that he wasnʼt tired and should stay longer.
Serazade sent him off with a regretful expression.
*
Back in his room, Zeke sat on the edge of the bed and opened the system window.
"I need to sort this out."
The newly discovered system sharing function was intriguing, but since heʼd gone straight from the Primordial Temple back to the Phenomenal World and then to the Sultanʼs Imperial Palace, he hadnʼt yet organized the rewards heʼd received.
Zeke decided to put the system sharing function aside for now and first examine the rewards from the Primordial Temple.
"I got ten thousand points as a reward, plus the Extra-Grade Random Box and the Special
Random Box from before. Letʼs start with the points."
Checking his status window, he had 24,478 Karma Points.
Zeke checked the Karma Points required to unlock the Dragon Race Skill "Polymorph," which he hadnʼt released yet.
"It needs 7,500 points to unlock, but with a 30% discount, thatʼs 5,250 points."
He had plenty of Karma Points to spare.
On top of that, heʼd gained the ability to settle a large amount of Karma Points through the full activation of defense mode.
Zeke decided to unlock the Polymorph skill without hesitation.
Selecting the unlock option brought up a message right away.
[You have acquired the Dragon Race Skill Tier 5: Polymorph.]
Zeke had unlocked the skill, but now he wondered how to use the newly acquired Polymorph skill.
Then another message window appeared.
[Please select the race to polymorph into.]
At the same time, a list of numerous races appeared before Zekeʼs eyes.
"Oh? I can turn into an elf too. What? Even goblins or ogres are possible."
Upon closer inspection, it seemed that any race heʼd encountered could be selected for polymorph, as even his master Nigelʼs One-Horn Tribe was on the list.
"One-Horn Tribe, huh. They said itʼs a race thatʼs even disappeared from the Eastern Continent now."
Out of curiosity, Zeke selected the One-Horn Tribe. But a message appeared saying selection was impossible due to insufficient proficiency.
Zeke clicked his tongue and scanned the list again, then chose the straightforward elf for polymorph.
Tss tss tss—
Zekeʼs body was enveloped in light, and his physique began to change.
After a moment, as the light faded, Zeke looked down at his transformed body.
"Hmm? Is this an elfʼs body? It feels lighter somehow." Zeke slowly stood before the mirror in that state.
"Oh?"
As an elf, Zeke had become much more feminine in appearance, with a slender build compared to his original form.
It seemed the basic features were based on his original looks, with only the race changing.
"This is incredibly fascinating."
As he examined his body, Zeke suddenly realized something astonishing.
"The various energies in the atmosphere feel much clearer."
Elves were the race closest to elementals, possessing sensitive senses that could perceive realms beyond human perception.
Through the elfʼs keen senses, Zeke realized for the first time how many different energies were mingled in the atmosphere.
"With an elfʼs body, I can truly understand how chakra is formed." Zeke marveled as he moved his body around.
He could move more nimbly than in his human form, and his senses responded sharply.
Zeke had long surpassed human limits, so he didnʼt feel a huge difference from his original body, but a normal human probably couldnʼt easily adapt to an elfʼs senses.
After testing the elfʼs senses for a while, Zeke released the polymorph.
"With this level of proficiency, I can probably maintain it for about half a day."
The duration seemed to vary depending on the race transformed into.
Having tested the Polymorph skill, Zeke pulled out the Extra-Grade Random Box from his rewards.
"Iʼm curious what item will come out this time."
Zeke activated the Authority "Fortune" and slowly opened the Extra-Grade Random Box.
[The userʼs strong will activates the Authority "Fortune."]
[Due to the influence of fortune, the random boxʼs outcome changes.]
[Deriving the optimal outcome suited to the user.] Opening the random box released a prismatic glow.
An item emerged from within the radiance.
Once the light fully dissipated, Zeke tilted his head at the item before him.
"A box?"
Opening the random box had yielded another box.
Zeke reached toward the antique-looking box. At that moment, a message appeared.
[You have acquired the Legendary Item "Ark of the Sacred Relic."]
"Ark of the Sacred Relic?"
The Ark of the Sacred Relic typically referred to a container for preserving sacred relics.
He couldnʼt easily grasp why a storage box was a Legendary Item.
Muttering his doubt, Zeke immediately checked the Ark of the Sacred Relicʼs information.
—Ark of the Sacred Relic Info—
Description: An ancient treasure preserving the power of the Primordial Light. Originally created by the constellations combining their powers to store sacred relics so they wouldnʼt lose their strength.
Unique Authority: Layered Imbuement
Special Notes: Placing an item in the Ark of the Sacred Relic for a certain time enhances its attributes and stats or grants a new skill. (However, only one item can be placed at a time.)
Zeke was startled after reading the description.
"Just putting it in here enhances the stats?"
He could already enhance items using the system, but gathering materials or meeting conditions wasnʼt easy.
Filled with anticipation, Zeke pulled out a suitable item from his inventory.
"I wonder if this works too."
What he took out was the Perennial Ice Crystal heʼd obtained after defeating the Eye Queen, a nephilim.
Since he didnʼt know where to use it and had just been storing it, it seemed perfect for testing if enhancement was possible with the Ark of the Sacred Relic.
He opened the Ark of the Sacred Relic and placed the Perennial Ice Crystal inside.
Closing the lid caused a mystical light to emanate softly from the surface.
[Enhancement will take approximately 3 hours.]
Following the message, the enhancement progress began to display.
"Three hours, huh. Iʼm looking forward to seeing how it changes."
While waiting, Zeke decided to examine the system sharing function linked to Serazade through the Chains of the Oath.
"System, show me the related details."
At Zekeʼs command, the relevant list appeared before his eyes.
—Sharing Settings—
1. Communication Function Settings
2. System Sharing Settings
3. Inventory Sharing Settings
4. Secure Archives Sharing Settings
Zeke couldnʼt help but be surprised by the sharing settings list.
"Not only sharing the system itself, but even the inventory and Secure Archives can be shared?"
He had formed the Oath of Sincerity with Serazade, but their relationship wasnʼt yet a true alliance, so sharing system functions with her carried significant risk.
Zeke first checked the Communication Function Settings.
Opening the message inbox, it was filled with messages from Serazade.
Zeke deleted Serazadeʼs messages while shaking his head.
"Iʼd better not mention that we can communicate with each other."
Examining the message function, it was possible to send stored videos and memory information, and even share oneʼs field of vision with the other party.
Moreover, as a system administrator, Zeke could set the direction of communication.
He could configure it so that he sent messages while the other side could only receive.
While magic could achieve something similar, it consumed a lot of mana and had more limited functions than the system.
"For now, Iʼll close the message function too. If I need to communicate with the sultan later, Iʼll change the settings then."
As Zeke was examining the various system sharing functions, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Enhancement complete.]
It was the message that the enhancement of the Perennial Ice Crystal in the Ark of the Sacred Relic was finished.
Zeke approached the Ark of the Sacred Relic and slowly opened the lid.
A strong chill emanated from within.
Inside the Ark of the Sacred Relic lay a fist-sized white orb.
Originally a blue orb, it had turned white after enhancement by the Ark of the Sacred Relicʼs power.
Zeke immediately checked the information on the enhanced Perennial Ice Crystal.
—Ice-Attribute Elemental Stone Info—
Description: A Perennial Ice Crystal transformed by enhancement with the Primordial Light. A crystallized substance embodying pure cold elemental power itself.
Unique Authority: Absolute Zero.
Special Notes: To wield the Elemental Stone, one must be able to control elemental power. Otherwise, thereʼs a risk of the power running rampant.
Zeke focused on the part about it being a "crystallized substance of pure elemental powerʼs essence" after reading the description.
"It can only be handled if one can control elemental power."
He picked up the Elemental Stone and activated his elemental power.
A fierce cold immediately burst forth from it.
Tss tss tss—
The temperature in the room dropped rapidly in an instant, and everything around Zeke began to freeze solid.
Zeke hurriedly reined in his energy.
"My goodness."
Just a brief surge of power had completely frozen the room.
The cold was incomparable to when he used the Authority of Freezing.
Zeke pondered while looking at the frozen floor and furniture. "Hmm, what to do with this. It doesnʼt seem like itʼll thaw on its own." After some thought, Zeke drew out the Elemental Stone again.
He carefully extended the Chamber of Water Power and adjusted the Elemental Stoneʼs cold energy.
Tss tss tss—
As the intense cold threatened to surge out again, Zeke focused his mind and instead absorbed the surrounding cold.
The cold, which kept trying to emanate, changed direction according to Zekeʼs will.
Accordingly, the cold that had frozen the room transformed into white energy and flowed back into the Elemental Stone in reverse.
Tss tss tss—
The room, which had been completely frozen, returned to its original state.
Zeke withdrew the Chamber of Water Power and finally opened his eyes.
"Whew, controlling elemental power is really difficult."
Even though the Elemental Sword, the most powerful skill in Zekeʼs arsenal, was hard to use easily, this was why.
Zeke looked satisfied at the powerful Elemental Stone and stored it in his inventory.
"If it can emit this level of cold, it should be very useful in the war against the Demon Kingʼs army."
He recalled the ancient monsters, demons, and colossus engines trapped in ice.
Using the Authority of Absolute Zero to freeze and seal large-scale monster and magical beast legions on the battlefield would greatly hinder the Demon Kingʼs armyʼs movements.
As he put away the Elemental Stone while thinking of future uses, Zeke examined the newly acquired Authority of Amplification, which had been enhanced as an area buff, and tried activating it.
Woooong—
Its basic role seemed similar to the area buff skill that enhanced skill power and abilities.
However, upon deploying the authority, something in Zekeʼs bosom began to hum.
"What is this?"
Pulling out the vibrating item from his clothes, it was the hand mirror given by the Hermit of Stories.
As soon as Zeke took out the hand mirror, the Hermit of Stories shouted from the other side.
—"Haha! Finally connected! Zeke! Where are you right now! Come here quickly!" He cried out in an urgent voice.
—"Nigel has been captured by them!"