Archie got up from his chair and sent his forging equipment back into his spatial storage. After he had selected Runic Amplification

  Unsurprisingly, they did.

  Similar to his chestpiece, his bracers’ Self-Repair rune and Greater Physical Resistance runic script were almost completely faded, while his boots’ Self-Repair rune had faded. But within a couple of minutes, the runes and runic script were re-etched onto them.

  However, unlike the rest of the equipment he’d crafted, his mask and pants did not have any runes etched onto them.

  , Archie mused as he stared at the faint energies that clung onto his mask and pants. However, similar to his other equipment before he repaired their runic damage, the energies that clung onto the mask and pants were fainter than what he remembered and gave off a similar feeling like an almost faded rune.

  When he tried to etch a rune onto the mask, the mana ink refused to sit still, and as a result, he failed at etching the rune atop it. Similarly, when he tried to do the same to his pants, he had similar results.

  At that moment, he remembered his Runic Scriber was built for scribing on metal and not atop wood nor hide.

  Looking at the remaining chunk of Starforge Steel beside the Totem of Spring’s Ascent and Spirit Nucleus, that looked like it was starting to gain a bit of color. He gave the Spirit Nucleus an Identify Forgesmith’s Flame

  Spirit Nucleus (Epic) – Growing:

  The origin for a spirit to physically manifest into the physical plane. The type of spirits imbued into the Spirit Nucleus, along with its environment, determines whether a spiritual entity will form. [Redacted]. [Redacted]. Currently imbued with nature spirits that have an intrinsic tie towards Archie Gracefield’s Greater Nature Affinity, enhancing the Spirit Nucleus’ records. Currently bound to Archie Gracefield.

  Its previous Empty tag was replaced with a Growing one. Meaning that his spirit beast was starting to finally develop within its nucleus.

  Once it hatched, he would gain his own spirit companion, and together, they would wreak terror across the multiverse.

  Once it finally hatched, of course, or when he finished smelting down the Starforge Steel… whichever finished first.

  Stepping out of the jungle, Archie took out his Mana-Bike from his spatial storage and sat on the bike with his newly plated leggings. With them giving an increase of 20 points in both Strength and Endurance, while Vitality was increased by 10 points.

  Archie felt his adrenaline start to pick up as he turned on the engine and felt the runes within the bike activate. The soft thrum under his ‘seat’ reminded him of a modern electric motorcycle, without its padding, of course. His ‘seat’, if it could even be called that, was nothing more than a flat Magmasteel plate.

  Unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to acquire enough leather or cushioning material to create a proper one, and he really did not want to take apart the mattress of his bed for cushioning for his seat. While yes, sitting on the plate wasn’t a bother at all, it was more of a principle thing to Archie.

  That was the main reason as to why he would be heading towards Michael’s camp first, to find Bill and commission a seat from him. . Archie smiled as he went to check and see how much mana was in the mana container of the bike.

  Archie’s brows furrowed as he pushed his mana into the Runic Mana Engine in the center of his bike. “It’s almost empty?” Archie mumbled before he funneled more mana into the engine, but as he did, his eyes widened in realization. “That? That’s considered to be a major loss in its Mana Retention and Efficiency?” he chuckled in disbelief.

  , Archie thought as he stopped the flow of mana into the engine.

  He had been funneling mana into the bike’s engine for well over six hours straight with mana strings as he was forging, and it wasn’t full. Nowhere near full.

  If he could calculate the percentage of how much he’d filled, it would be less than a percent.

  Archie chuckled with a shake of his head. Placing both his hands on the metal grips, Archie pulled back on the throttle, and both he and the bike exploded forward, kicking up dirt behind him.

  Archie let out a shout of joy as he sped towards Michael’s camp, unaware of the dirt trail he left behind.

  A being with scales of gold slowly pushed open the large doorway, allowing himself purchase inside the throne room of his lord. Once inside the throne room, they covered their body with a large purple and white robe before making their way to the throne at the end of the room.

  “Lord Sarcsk, The Abyss of Toxin,” a robed being said, whilst kneeling in front of a throne, their eyes never leaving the floor.

  The being the robed one referred to as The Abyss of Toxin was an entity that looked to be made out of sludge, one that constantly bubbled and burst with every shift in motion. Upon its body lay robes of purple and gold, seemingly shaping the constantly shifting toxic sludge body of theirs into that of a humanoid form.

  With a dismissive wave of its half-deformed toxic humanoid fingers, the robed being continued its message: “The Azars, Nismues, Zulons, and Purebachs have all gathered within the 50th Sanctum.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Are all the preparations in order?

  “Of course,” the robed one wretched out whilst clutching its chest in pain, but refusing to look up from its position. “I’ve personally delivered them to the 50th Sanctum, the Sanctum of Aeternum.”

  With a silence that settled after the robed one’s response, The Abyss of Toxin replied, “You are dismissed, Tzerarral. You have my appreciation; a reward shall be given.”

  Pressing their head on the floor, Tzerarral replied with conviction, “The fact that I am allowed within your presence is a gift that is unlike any other, my Lord.”

  With a gurgling sigh that had no business sounding like an uncountable number of explosions, The Abyss of Toxin waved away Tzerarral, who moments later vanished from The Abyss of Toxin’s throne room.

  “I curse the system for giving me sentience at times,” Tzerarral muttered while staring at the ornamental ceiling above.

  He came into existence just before the end of the 32nd cycle, split from an ordinary slime. As he evolved, he grew in strength, and over time, so did the toxins he cultivated and gained through fortuitous encounters with Heirlooms of the System.

  When he fully achieved sapience, he was provided the opportunity to receive a Profession; however, at that point in time, the tensions between those born with sapience and those who weren’t were at an all-time high on his home planet.

  He was initially going to decline the offer from the System Aspect, but one of his split clones he’d left within a town’s sewer system merged back with him as he’d evolved. He wasn’t sure how, chocking it up to the all-encompassing power of the System as the clone was more than four kingdoms away from where he evolved.

  It had informed him of how it had witnessed a knife ear bringing a gnome back from the dead with but a few liquids. It was then when his interest in Alchemy budded into existence, and he’d eventually learned how to adapt it to his unique constitution.

  He took to it like a fish to water, using this newfound knowledge to soar in power. With Alchemy, he sought a way to either remove or at least suppress the environmental effects of his toxins.

  By the end, he ascended to godhood and, after a few cycles of relentless effort, became a branch leader of the Workshop—an achievement he took immense pride in, especially given the fierce and unending competition for his position.

  However, his unique constitution remained a significant obstacle. Anyone who wasn’t powerful enough to withstand his toxins inevitably became affected by them, severely. The best solution he managed was to periodically consume a continuously developing concoction that could temporarily negate his toxins' effects, albeit only for a limited time.

  The only entities capable of withstanding his full presence were gods stronger than him, of which there were quite a few. However, due to his past actions of galactic genocide, he stood at odds with quite a majority of gods, thus, the idea of becoming properly acquainted with them was tossed.

  He was hesitant to involve himself with any factions lately, especially the major ones. This reluctance was further reinforced by the turbulent political climate that had been brewing over the past few cycles.

  Getting up from his throne, Tzerarral vanished into his alchemical garden to collect the herbs and toxins he’d cultivated over the past few billion years for the gathering in the 50th sanctum. Along the way, he gave one last glance toward the Galaxy Heart he kept in stasis before releasing another sigh.

  The number of Galaxy Hearts that were currently on the market was at their lowest, and their prices were absurd. Not to mention the ingredients needed to create one, Heirlooms of the System.

  As per their name, Heirlooms of the System are system-created items that are heavily infused with records and are designed to facilitate growth within newly budding universes and the multiverse as a whole once the protection period granted to newly integrated universes comes to an end.

  So, until the 72nd universe’s protection period comes to an end, he would have to halt his galaxy-wide experiments.

  Tzerarral looked at the graveyard of cores held in stasis to his right before whispering, “Soon our race shall be allowed to prosper

  Not a moment later, he vanished from his alchemical garden.

  Putting away his Compass of Desire into his spatial storage, Archie crouched atop a kapok tree branch and stared down at the giant outpost. Looking back at the notification he received a couple of minutes ago, he now located where the supposed dungeon was located.

  Dungeon of the Troll Outpost

  Objective: Reward:Requirements: Warning:

  Archie wondered as he took in the large outpost and its inhabitants.

  He’d been following the needle of his compass as it led him to the last Sigil Dungeon, and on his way, he passed through something akin to a spiderweb-like screen of mana, not unlike the normal feeling he got when entering a dungeon.

  As the mana washed over him, he received the Dungeon Notification. Confirming his theory moments ago that he was indeed in a dungeon.

  But unlike the other dungeons, there wasn’t any path, door, archway, or anything that would be a barrier or distinction between the dungeon he was currently in and the jungle outside it. Thus, the reason for Archie’s confusion.

  As he tree-hopped through the dungeon, he stumbled upon the Troll Outpost.

  The Troll Outpost itself was massive, at least three times the size of Michael’s camp. Large logs, mashed together and crookedly held together with vines, surrounded the camp. The entrance of the camp was a giant gaping hole that looked to be around six meters tall.

  Within the outpost were crooked, hastily put-together large huts made from beast skins, logs, and bits and scraps of warped iron. Large fire pits that bellowed thick dark smoke that filled the air with the acrid smell of… sArchie blinked owlishly at the sudden smell of sweet potatoes.

  Shaking his head, he continued to survey the outpost.

  Trampled grass, rotting wood, warped bits of metal, and chunks of mossy stone littered the outpost and the various-sized towers on each corner of the outpost, with a giant tower at the back. Small pools of stagnant water, shaped like large footprints, dotted the ground, with swarms of insects hovering above them.

  At the far end of the outpost was a large hut, surrounded by beast skulls mounted atop tree spears, covered with moderately better-looking beast hides. Most definitely where the boss lives, Archie assumed before focusing on its inhabitants.

  They stood at four meters tall, their moss-covered frames bristling with jagged, stone-like growths that mirrored their rocky skin. Their glowing yellow square-shaped eyes and wild manes of mud-covered, tangled hair matted their heads.

  Bone-like tusks jutted out from beneath their chins and ears, while their arms were adorned with stone-like growths resembling intricately woven bracers.

  [Orgamine Troll Lv 91]

  Archie stared at the six or so trolls that dotted around the outpost, two outside it and four inside. However, with Vital Sight

  Each of them either carried or lounged beside large wooden clubs, studded with jagged, tooth-like bits of stone and bound together with thick vines.

  Taking out an Emberlash Eudromaeosaur Beastcore, Archie activated Spirit Bond

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