Chapter 389: Luck?

Ray stared at the Echo for several moments, a wide smile spreading across his face.

But the System’s warning about the gate interrupted his thoughts.

’Uh.... How do I send it away?’

{Just unsummon it.}

’And how do I do that?’

{Oh, for fuck sake. I really want another Host. ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ}

"Tch." Ray scoffed, choosing to ignore the System for the moment before turning toward the King-rank beasts Nebula had destroyed.

But the instant that thought crossed his mind, he shook his head, recalling the System’s explanation.

.... Only beasts specifically killed by him could be turned into Echoes.

Those ones had been killed by Nebula.

Speaking of,

Ray spun around and stared at Nebula’s corpse.

A hint of mischief flashed through his eyes the moment he looked at it.

Without wasting another second thinking, he bolted toward the dead Spider Queen.

His body felt naturally faster than before, every stride lighter and more explosive than the last.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

’If-If I can get her, I won’t even need to fight much. I-I need her. She was the only one to genuinely bring me close to death since I awakened my bloodlines. I need her.’

Sliding to his knees in front of the beast, he paused before looking toward his summoned Echo.

"Oi. Go gather beast cores from your fallen kin. Gather as many as you can."

"...."

The spider stared at him for several seconds.

Then, without hesitation, it dashed toward the nearest intact spider, ready to carry out its master’s command.

Watching it sprint away, Ray frowned.

’Not as fast as an Advanced-rank beast should be. Do my Echoes become a tiny bit weaker than the originals?’

{One minute till the gate closes....}

Placing his hand on Nebula’s cold head, Ray inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling in anticipation of the System’s response.

[Ding]

[Echo Candidate Detected.]

[Create Echo?]

[YES /NO]

Seeing the notification flash before his eyes, Ray almost wanted to shriek in excitement, but there wasn’t any time for that.

He needed to act quickly.

"Yes."

*Tring!*

[Cost of creation: 50 Essence.]

’Huh? Fifty? Hey! Bring up my Essence bar.’

[Echo Essence: 70/100]

’Wait. How did it reduce?’

{Creating Echoes has an Essence cost. Summoning an Echo also costs Essence. But once summoned, they remain active for as long as you want, until they are destroyed, or until you unsummon them. They don’t consume additional Essence while remaining active.}

Ray stared at the screen before him, his chest tightening as he slowly turned back toward Nebula’s corpse.

’What’s the success rate of turning an Emperor-rank beast?’

[Calculating.....]

Ray swallowed hard, fearing the worst.

[Host is a Tribrid Master.... So success rate....]

The screen switched again.

[Host has to be incredibly lucky to convert an Emperor-rank beast.]

’How lucky?’

[Blessed by the heavens typa one.]

"...."

Ray’s hands trembled atop Nebula’s corpse.

His throat suddenly felt dry.

’Oi, Elyon; you are a Celestial, right? Please, let your luck favour me. I really need he—’

{Hurry up, damn it. Only fifty seconds till the gate closes.}

Without wasting another moment, Ray took one deep breath before uttering,

"Create Echo."

[-50 Essence.]

The instant the notification flashed across his vision, the entire chamber trembled violently.

This wasn’t the small disturbance that had accompanied the creation of the Advanced-rank Echo.

This felt like an actual earthquake.

The ground rumbled beneath Ray’s feet, while cracks rapidly crawled across the already damaged marble floor.

Ray instinctively stumbled backward, his brows knitting together in shock.

Purple particles burst into the air like flames erupting from dry brush.

They multiplied by the second, swirling violently around Nebula’s corpse before spiralling higher and higher into the chamber.

The light grew brighter with every passing heartbeat until it resembled a miniature violet sun.

The violent energy forced Ray to shield his eyes with one arm as powerful waves of pressure rolled across the chamber, whipping his clothes and hair wildly in every direction.

The Tribrid silently prayed to the heavens for success.

{Thirty seconds....}

’Come on. Come on. Come on. I need you, Nebula! I killed you, yeah? Come on!’

"Come on! Come forth! Let your vengeance guide you to the path of revenge so you come to my side! EMERGE, GODDAMNIT!"

BOOOOM—!

The purple particles exploded outward like a devastating shockwave, forcing the Aspirant backward for several steps.

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his temple.

The corpses of the other dead beasts were hurled into the air as the violent surge swept through the chamber.

Another burst of force followed immediately, sending the massive bodies crashing into pillars and walls with deafening booms.

Dust and shattered marble filled the air.

{Twenty seconds....}

"Come on... come on... don’t you dare fail me, otherwise I will kill you all over again, damn it!"

SCREEEEEECH—!

A deafening screech erupted from within the sea of purple particles with such terrifying fury that, for a brief moment, Ray’s heart skipped a beat.

A frightening thought crossed his mind.

Had he really killed Nebula...?

Slowly, the violent storm of particles began settling down.

[Ding!]

Ray dreaded what he might see on the notification as he slowly turned toward the screen.

[Echo successfully created.]

[Congratulations; Emperor-rank beast successfully added to your army.]

"....."

It was as though the message hadn’t properly registered in Ray’s mind.

His brain simply refused to process what he had just read.

Slowly turning forward, he finally saw Nebula’s Echo land before him.

But it looked drastically different from the corpse still lying a short distance away.

Instead of the monstrous twenty-foot spider with countless eyes and eight colossal legs...

...standing before him was a seven-foot humanoid spider.

Two powerful legs anchored her firmly to the ground as though not even the fiercest storm could force her back.

Two enormous arms, shaped almost like living blades, rested at her sides, each looking capable of cleaving through even the toughest armour with frightening ease.

A dozen crimson eyes lined her face, each one hollow yet eerily vigilant.

Instead of a human mouth, she retained the razor-sharp mandibles that had nearly crushed him to death only minutes ago.

Even her body remained covered in the same durable violet chitin, its surface gleaming faintly beneath the chamber’s dim light with an almost metallic sheen.

She looked just as intimidating as before.

Perhaps even more so.

Ray found himself gulping loudly.

"The hell? Where’s your remaining four le—"

{Ten seconds till the gate closes.}

’Fuck!’

Looking toward Nebula’s corpse, Ray glared at it with frustration coursing through his veins.

A perfect Emperor-rank beast core was still inside that gigantic body...

...waiting to be excavated.

On one hand, he could risk spending a few extra seconds retrieving it.

On the other...

...doing so could leave him trapped inside the Gate forever.

And even if he decided to search for it, where exactly would he begin looking inside such a massive body?

"Ah, damn it! Damn it! There are more Emperor-rank beasts in the world. I’ll get their cores later. De-summon now!"

Purple mist flowed around Nebula and the Advanced-rank Echo before both figures dissolved into countless glowing particles and vanished into who knew where.

Ray pushed himself to his feet before turning toward the Gate, which was now only six metres away.

{Five seconds.....}

Leaning forward, he shifted all his weight onto his feet.

The marble beneath his boots fractured violently.

BOOOOM—!

The Tribrid exploded forward like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow.

Chunks of marble shot into the air behind him as he tore through the chamber with blistering speed.

{Two seconds....}

The Gate was still three metres away.

’LOL!’ he shouted inwardly.

Sparks flew.

A golden lasso instantly materialised in his hand, and without hesitation, he hurled it forward with every ounce of strength he possessed.

Luckily, the knot wrapped itself around a stone embedded within the archway of the Gate.

’Contract!’

Instantly, the golden lasso shortened, violently catapulting the boy toward the swirling vortex.

{One sec—}

Ray’s body shot into the Gate in a blur, swallowed whole by the swirling vortex before vanishing without a trace.

Barely a fraction of a second after he disappeared, the entire Obsidian Spire began trembling with overwhelming force.

The ceiling cracked apart.

Massive slabs of stone rained down like an avalanche.

The swirling vortex quivered violently for several moments before collapsing into nothingness.

And with its disappearance...

...the mighty Obsidian Spire itself finally began to crumble to the ground.