MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith
chapter-928

"Oh, dear. I guess I put a bit too much energy into it." Slightly licking her lips, the Serpent Maiden had a faint smile on her face as she looked at Valyr on the ground, seemingly having fallen into a deep sleep.

Staring at the young man for a bit more, she eventually shrugged her shoulders, deciding to wait until the young man returned to the waking world.

"Even though I put a bit too much energy into it, it'll be a good thing for him," muttered the Serpent Maiden to herself, faintly nodding as she went through the thoughts in her mind.

"I'm sure he'd make great use of it. As long as it continues to remain inside him, the Shadow Plane would continue to benefit."

"Then again, I wonder whether he would gain enough strength in the future to seize control over it." Saying these words, the Serpent Maiden let out a chuckle.

"Well, even if he fails, the Shadow Plane would benefit either way."

...

Darkness.

After he had fallen unconscious, Valyr found himself in the center of a world of darkness.

However, unlike the other worlds of darkness he had gotten himself into before, the young man got the feeling that he would stay within the darkness for an eternity if he didn't do anything.

Feeling a hint of fear at the thought, the young man quickly took in a few deep breaths to compose himself, reminding himself that he had obtained this as a reward from the Serpent Maiden.

'Though, I'm not sure whether this world of darkness is included in that reward,' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, letting out a bitter chuckle at the thought. 'If it's just the kiss, then I really have no clue how to get out of this.'

Thankfully, Valyr didn't have to do anything as the world of darkness soon began to move out of its own accord.

Whoosh!

Mimicking the ebb and flow of water, the young man soon found himself moving through the world of darkness.

As more and more time passed, a familiar sensation began to encompass him, prompting Valyr to recall the sensation he felt whenever he was in the Shadow Plane.

Seeing as this sensation was gradually growing stronger the longer he allowed the world of darkness to move in, the young man eventually got an idea on what he needed to do, slowly immersing himself into that sensation.

In short, his senses needed to become one with the Shadow Plane.

'... This is why the Serpent Maiden put me here... right?' asked Valyr to himself in slight uncertainty, recalling the time he awakened [Shadow Eye] the first time he entered the Shadow Plane.

Making use of that experience, he slowly made progress in immersing himself in the feeling, gradually feeling his senses overlap with the world of darkness itself.

Eventually, hours began to pass...

Then days...

Then weeks...

After an unknown amount of time, the young man eventually felt his senses extend far beyond his body.

At that moment, he felt as if he could let his senses encompass the entire world of darkness with just a single thought.

With this all-encompassing sense, he soon sensed a small speck of light embedded deep within the world of darkness.

Curious, Valyr focused all of his senses on it, only to feel the energy of the Shadow Plane wash over his body, taking on an incredibly pure form as it seeped into every pore.

Fortunately, after that experience, his consciousness returned not long after to the shrine the Serpent Maiden had brought him to, sitting upright the moment he could do so.

Ding!

"Ah. You've finally regained your senses." Just as the young man heard a couple of notification sounds resound in his mind, the Serpent Maiden's voice immediately echoed throughout the shrine.

Seeing that the woman was sitting down at a nearby chair all this time, the young man took in a deep breath to calm down before looking back at her with a hint of concern. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Not that long," replied the Serpent Maiden with a smile. "Only around a day or so."

"Is that so..." murmured the young man to himself for a bit, only to look back at the woman after that. "Do you know where my friend is at the moment?"

"Considering our current circumstances, I've temporarily had him remain in the same place you two would have originally appeared in," said the woman in response.

"To your companion, it would seem like not much time has passed since you two appeared in the Shadow Plane. However, in reality, time back in your world would have already moved by a few hours."

"In any case, take a look at your second reward. I'm sure you'd be pleased."

Nodding in response to those words, Valyr brought up his notification screen as he briefly glanced at the Serpent Maiden.

Recalling the kiss he had received from her earlier, the young man profusely shook his head to forget it, causing the Serpent Maiden to softly giggle in response.

Ding!

[The Saintess of the Shadow Plane has decided to bestow upon you the title 'Child of the Shadow Plane', giving you the ability to roam the Shadow Plane unfettered.]

[Being one of the lucky few to directly gaze upon the Shadowsource and return unscathed, the Saintess and the Overseer of the Shadow Plane have fully accepted your identity, recognizing you as a native of the Shadow Plane.]

[The title 'Child of the Shadow Plane' has been upgrade to 'Native of the Shadow Plane'.]

[Your Shadow Energy has improved by 10 points.]

'A title, huh.' Reading through the notifications he'd obtained in detail, Valyr went ahead and commanded the system to bring up the description of his newly obtained title.

Ding!

Staring at the screen that popped up before him, the young man soon nodded in understanding, immediately getting a good idea of what the title had given him.

Being a Legendary grade title in terms of rarity, [Native of the Shadow Plane] basically allowed him to ignore what Noel told him in the past about having to leave the Shadow Plane before it turned sunset in Veldanyr.

"Immunity to detrimental effects related to prolonged stay within the Shadow Plane,"

muttered the young man as he read the exact effect.

"On top of that, I've also gained increased resistance to the existence of the Void and the Abyss... probably something to do with the Shadow Plane after sunset."

Aside from those effects, the title gave him a 3% boost to all of his stats, which was always a

welcome addition.

Closing his screen, the young man looked at the Serpent Maiden before mustering up the courage to ask the question that was on his mind. "Why did you kiss me?"

"What?" The Serpent Maiden responded back with a sly smile. "Did you not like it?"

In response, Valyr felt his face heat up a bit, causing him to turn his head to the side as the woman let out a bit of laughter.

"To answer your question, it's one of the easier ways to have you make first contact with the Shadowsource." After the woman was done laughing, she began answering Valyr's question

seriously.

"Shadowsource?" murmured Valyr in response as he felt that it had something to do with what he saw while he was unconscious. "Would that perhaps be the small speck of light I saw while I was in that world of darkness?"

The Serpent Maiden thought about the question for a bit before nodding. "That might indeed

be the case."

"The Shadowsource takes on a different form depending on the person's perception," she explained. "However, if there's one thing that's always consistent about it, it's the fact that making contact with it would allow you to feel the purest form of the Shadow Plane's

energy."

At those words, Valyr nodded in understanding, now more or less certain that the 10 points of Shadow Energy he gained came from extending his senses towards that small speck. "Anyways, now that you've made contact with the Shadowsource, I'd argue that it'll be many times easier to improve your Shadow Energy from now on, whether that be in quantity or in quality," said the Serpent Maiden after that.

"However, don't let that feeling consume you." The Serpent Maiden's expression turned serious. "Remember to remain steadfast and not forget the path you're traversing. If not, you'll be giving the Shadowsource the opportunity to turn your efforts into a waste." Though the first part of the woman's explanation on Shadowsource brought the young man great joy, the second part brought him a bit of dread, committing the words to memory as he made sure to remind himself of it from time to time.

Feeling like they'd gone over the second reward for long enough, the Serpent Maiden took the initiative to give Valyr his third reward. "With that out of the way, let's give you your third

reward." "Similar to the second reward, the third reward is a title." At those words, the woman slightly licked her lips, causing Valyr to slightly shudder in response as he took a few steps back. "You're no fun," said the Serpent Maiden with a bit of laughter, finding it both delightful and amusing to tease Valyr about it. "Either way, there's no need for me to take such a drastic approach for this one."

"Unlike the title I gave you just now, this title is more in line with the path you've taken thus far." Bringing up her screen, the Serpent Maiden began to tap a few things on it once more.

"You'll see what I mean when you get it."

Ding!

Hearing a notification sound echo in his mind the moment the Serpent Maiden closed her screen, Valyr went ahead and brought up his notification screen.

At the same time, he felt as if a small chasm had been expanded within his body, immediately causing a great deluge of energy to rush towards it and fill it all up.

Splitting part of his focus to keep an eye on where this sensation was coming from, the young

man proceeded to read through the notifications he received, his expression now slightly

curious.

[The Saintess of the Shadow Plane reminds you that your actions have greatly contributed to the betterment of the Shadow Plane.]

[Because of that, the Saintess of the Shadow Plane wishes for you to keep focusing on the path involving the fusion of Azure Energy and the concept of the Four Elements.]

[Thus, the Saintess of the Shadow Plane has decided to bestow upon you the title 'Progenitor

of the Four Azure Paths', allowing you to have greater reserves of Azure Energy while also having greater control over the Four Azure Paths.]