Reborn as an Extra Chapter 546: What are you? Part-1.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
Rio remained motionless, permitting the decaying evil spirit to drift past before he resumed his journey ahead.
’Such bizarre phenomena exist in this place that they’re tough to grasp...’
An SS-rank evil spirit endured endless agony, its blood relentlessly drained and exploited by lesser evil spirits that clung like parasites to its colossal frame.
Rio had no desire to clash with an SS-rank entity, so he stayed put and merely watched the scene from a distance, avoiding close scrutiny of the evil spirit’s form.
His attention shifted instead to the smaller evil spirits leaping and frolicking around it.
Rio had once practiced alongside Jin and understood that SS-rankers possess incredibly sharp instincts and threat-sensing capabilities.
Gaze upon them directly for even a brief moment, and they’ll sense your presence right away, regardless of any hostile intentions.
’Encountering an SS-rank evil spirit so early upon entering the spirit realm suggests there could be numerous SS-rank entities lurking within...’
The spirit realm spans as vast as the universe, brimming with intense miasma concentrations, making it simpler for tainted creatures to ascend to superior levels here.
’Fortunately, depraved beings lacking reason can scarcely wield their ’world authority,’ and some struggle even to advance their authorities...’
As he pressed onward, Rio recalled a crucial detail from one of Ashtel’s provided documents.
It confirmed that while SS-rank beings abound more in the spirit realm than in the outer world, they pale in strength against even the feeblest SS-rankers beyond.
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 an early or peak SS-ranker.
An SS-ranker might swiftly elevate their world authority tiers, yet require ages to attain peak SS rank.
The primary method to boost world authority involves honing proficiency, gaining profound insight into your ’path,’ employing it repeatedly, and surpassing boundaries.
Crucially, it demands 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 enhanced ’control’ and ’skill’ in that domain.
Yet these processes prove 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 such elaborate endeavors.
They cannot elevate their world authorities.
Occasionally, evil spirits climb to peak SS-rank, but their world authorities linger at level 1 across centuries!
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.’
No soul wishes to forfeit their mind and shatter their prospects through self-inflicted ruin.
Miasma delights in twisting and crumbling beings from within, reveling in the derision of their very being; none seek entanglement with such malevolent force.
Even demons themselves shun miasma, much less others.
’What sets me apart then? I ponder...’
Rio scooped a portion of liquid miasma into his hand, sensing its pleasant warmth and soothing comfort.
’Wait... I’m not a demon, am I? Hold on... even demons hesitate to grasp such potent miasma bare-handed...’
Reflecting on this, Rio sighed in resignation; he shook his head and continued ahead, guided by the cube’s indications.
’Someday, once I’ve grown mighty... I’ll seize a formidable SS-rank demon and examine its form against my own... maybe then I’ll uncover my anomaly...’
As he traversed while mulling over these thoughts, Rio stepped into a region shrouded in thick mist.
This mist consisted solely of dense miasmic liquid suspended in the atmosphere, slashing visibility to near zero.
Fortunately, Rio relied on miasmic detection, sparing him concerns over sight.
Were it another, they’d have succumbed to corruption or perished multiple times by now, enduring this nightmarish domain for so long without SS-ranker prowess like Ashtel’s.
Yet Rio remained untouched; his traveler’s garb stayed pristine, and he advanced devoid of any dread or unease.
’Strange... a peculiar sensation has gripped me abruptly...’
The cube’s guidance held steady in one direction, and as Rio delved deeper into this miasmic haze, mounting pressure weighed upon him.
’Spatial ripples here feel utterly serene; this marks the steadiest region I’ve encountered so far in the spirit realm...’
’What could this location be-’
Before Rio could probe further, he stood before a pair of enormous pillars.
Each pillar bore intricate engravings, though vast sections lay ravaged and eroded by miasmic decay.
Rio tilted his head upward, spotting how the pillars converged beneath a huge stone atop them.
’A gateway to some temple or ancient edifice?’
Rio recognized such designs from before; these entrances typically graced temples or bygone structures from eras long past.
Two characters adorned the grand stone archway.
The script wasn’t ’EzKina,’ the prevailing tongue adopted across the world alliance.
It was a script Rio knew intimately; it appeared in ’English’!
For the first time since arriving in this realm, Rio beheld this long-lost language after so much time.
Over three years had elapsed since Rio’s arrival here, marking his initial brush with this tongue’s usage.
King Allen devised ’EzKina’ to bind all races and eradicate prejudice upon founding the world alliance.
This led to the demise of regional dialects; ’English’ faded into oblivion over the centuries.
’Celeste Fortuna... ’Heavenly Luck’ or ’Divine Luck’... does this signify a sanctuary devoted to venerating ’heavenly luck’?...’
Rio wasn’t versed in multiple tongues, but even he recognized phrases common in tales and writings.
’I truly never anticipated stumbling onto such a relic of antiquity so unexpectedly...’
The cube of possibilities directed him here for a purpose, and its employment of ’English’ implied one truth.
This venerable site likely predated the ’world alliance,’ rendering it some 1900 to 2000 years ancient.
Rio eyed the cube hovering calmly nearby and pondered inwardly.
’What prospects lie here that drew you to guide me to this spot?’