Chapter 54

The next day.

I immediately headed for the Inheritance Shrine, my destination.

From the capital, it takes about half a day to reach the 'Forest of Arandil,' and even deeper within that forest.

There, standing alone, was a single stone pedestal.

"Good, it seems to be intact."

After letting out a sigh of relief, I placed my hand on the pedestal and recited the passphrase.

"O Absolute Sword Intent, test my aptitude. May the door of the Sword Emperor now be opened."

This was a unique keyword, different from the standard passphrase provided by the system.

Then,

'Keyword confirmed.'

'Emblem name: [Emblem of Nothingness] confirmed.'

'Conditions met. The door of trials will be unlocked.'

As the system sounds echoed, the pedestal began to move with a creaking sound.

There, a long staircase leading downward awaited.

It was a scene reminiscent of the [Spirit Temple of the Underworld] that I had cleared with Shuna.

"Alright, let's go."

After steeling myself, I slowly began to descend the stairs.

Along the way, I reflected on the game knowledge from my previous life.

In 'Crest Online,' there were basically three ways to acquire skills: initial skills, growth skills, and inheritance skills.

However, after the game had been running for some time, a new system was added.

This was the skill development system.

By consuming items obtained from clearing high-difficulty dungeons or completing limited-time quests, players could create their own original skills.

The content of these skills could vary widely, from sword techniques to special magic.

Sometimes, the effects of items could be extracted and used as skills.

I suddenly remembered the words of Scarlet, with whom I often formed parties.

"Listen, Zeronity! I finally developed a new magic, but I can't experiment with it because I keep dying to random monsters! What? 'The dragon in the town's event quest is quite tough, so it's perfect for testing. I often use it as a test subject for my sword techniques'? ...That's great! I'll go check it out!"

Scarlet was fond of using this system.

For magic users, the freedom to customize was higher compared to front-line classes, which suited her well.

"I was often dragged into her new magic experiments..."

While savoring the bitter memories, I returned my thoughts to Creon.

In fact, another system was implemented alongside the skill development system.

This was the creation of Inheritance Shrines.

Yes, it became possible to create shrines to pass on original skills to others.

This added depth to the world of Creon and increased the replay value, leading to the creation of many hardcore players. However, that's beside the point.

Those with a good intuition would have already guessed.

I am currently heading to an original Inheritance Shrine.

And, of course, the one who created it was—

"...A nostalgic sight."

Before I knew it, I had finally reached the lowest level.

The interior was a perfectly white space, one hundred meters in diameter, without a single blemish.

As soon as I stepped into the space, the system sounds echoed again.

'Challengee entry confirmed.'

'Analyzing challengee's status.'

'Analysis complete. Boss will appear.'

A blinding light appeared in the center of the room.

After several dozen seconds, when the light faded, a swordsman stood there.

I recognized his appearance, build, and demeanor.

However, this was from my previous life, not now.

"...Status."

As I spoke, the status appeared before my eyes.

――――――――――――――――――――

[Phantom of Zeronity]

- Recommended Level: 45

- Trial Boss: [Inheritance of Will]

- A phantom swordsman imbued with the thoughts of the shrine's creator. The challengee's level, status, skills, and the powerful original skill [Will of the Sword Emperor] are all available.

- Upon successful defeat, the original skill [Will of the Sword Emperor] will be inherited.

――――――――――――――――――――

[Will of the Sword Emperor] Lv.1

- Sword Skill

- When equipped with a sword, all parameters except HP and MP increase by 10%.

――――――――――――――――――――

Indeed, this is the Inheritance Shrine I created in my previous life.

The conditions for clearing an original Inheritance Shrine can be freely set by the creator, but I had only one condition in mind.

It was to defeat myself, who possessed the exact same status, skills, and the powerful original skill [Will of the Sword Emperor].

Naturally, the combat style and skill level were based on my own at the time (though there were limits to the AI's ability to replicate it).

The difficulty was high, and when I opened it to other players in my previous life, almost no one could clear it.

(There was a limit of 10 people who could inherit each original skill... but in the end, only 5 people managed to inherit this skill.)

So why am I challenging such a high-difficulty trial?

Of course, it's because the [Will of the Sword Emperor] skill, obtainable here, is an excellent skill that any swordsman would desperately want.

"Who would have thought I'd end up challenging a quest I created for other players."

I faced the phantom and muttered with a touch of irony.

Then,

'Failed to reflect some skills.'

'Sword trial [Inheritance of Will] starting.'

'Challengee must defeat the boss [Phantom of Zeronity].'

The system sounds announcing the start of the trial echoed.

As I raised the [Guardian's Legacy Sword], the phantom also readied its sword.

Incidentally, not only the status and skills but also the equipment were reflected, so the sword the phantom held had the same performance as the [Guardian's Legacy Sword].

In other words, I had to defeat this formidable opponent head-on.

"...This is what I wanted."

Living in this world as Zeros, I realized that there were important things beyond knowledge and skill.

If I could bring everything I've learned to bear, victory is not impossible.

I will overcome my former self here.

"Let's go, Zeronity."

'――――'

Thus, the confrontation with my past began.

In fact, this was the debut of the skill development system, which had been hinted at in '027 The Empress of Magic.'

Next time, the chapter will feature the battle against my former self! Please look forward to it!

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