Chapter 240 – Florida Man Called Cops and Begged for Red Pills to Escape the Matrix.
As soon as the fate crystals appeared, they reacted to Leo's alien ring. Everything floated and disappeared into the mysterious artifact.
DING
<You have collected 17 earth fate crystals.>
<You have collected 4 sky fate crystals.>
<You have collected 1 entity fate crystal.>
DING
<You can assemble seven earth fate crystals and combine them into one true earth fate crystal. Will you combine the earth fate crystals?>
Finally, the old tutorial quest could be completed. Leo was also curious about what this true fate crystal could do.
"Combine them."
<Combining…>
Leo's fingers radiated in brown light. The alien ring spat out a Ping-Pong-sized brown crystal ball, which landed in Leo's hand.
At first, Leo didn't think highly of it as it looked similar to essence stones. But then, it started producing tiny invisible tentacles around itself.
Leo narrowed his eyes as he could sense them wiggling on his palm but he couldn't see them. He felt like he was carrying a restless tarantula spider in his hand.
"This kinda tickles. What is this for?"
Mu-Nyang pointed at the pylon tower. "You can either insert them into one of the tower's sockets or implant it into somebody's soul, munya."
Leo nodded as he finally remembered the feature, but he was curious about the implanting part.
"What will happen if I implant this into someone's soul?"
"That person will have a series of lucky streaks for a few years before the true earth fate crystal is ejected from his body, munya."
"…And, will that ejected crystal be separated into seven pieces and they need to be assembled again?"
"That's right, munya!"
"Isn't that practically dragon balls?!"
"Dragon balls can't be combined, munya. These crystals can't summon a dragon or a genie monster with green chickenpox issues. Also, fate crystals don't grant just one or three wishes, munya. The combined crystals can grant wishes for years until their luck energy is depleted. Don't compare our holy artifacts with those knock-offs, munya!"
"…"
Leo wiped his sweat. Dragon Ball fans would have rioted if they heard Mu-Nyang's remarks.
"So." Leo coughed and changed the subject. "If I implant it in my soul, can it grant my wishes?"
"Depends on the wishes, munya. If it's something mundane, such as growing a bigger PP, that can be done as many times as you want, munya. But if you have an impossible wish. For example, you wish to obtain an infinite lifespan to abuse the system shop. Then, you will probably get a lump sum of lifespan, and the true fate crystal will run out of energy, munya. In short, you will get your wish from "WISH APP" instead of what you truly desire, munya."
"…That's reasonable."
Leo heard enough. He smiled and guided his guardian statues to the pylon tower, which had been fully repaired.
The tower never stopped supplying yin and yang Qi to the environment in the domain. Hot and cold air entwined as the Qi mixed together. Leo walked closer to the tower and welcomed the warm air.
At the foundation of the tower, there were round socket holes as Mu-Nyang had mentioned. Each came at a different size.
The tower of Leo was already level 15, and it came with 15 socket holes. However, the labels disappointed him.
True Earth Fate Crystal
True Sky Fate Crystal
True Heavenly Fate Crystal
Those were the available sockets. As for the superior fate crystals, they were incompatible with the current tower.
Leo shrugged and inserted the true earth fate crystal in his hand into one of the available sockets.
DING
The pylon tower's crystal changed color to brown. The foundation lifted itself off the ground while the entire structure underwent a transformation.
An empty fountain pool became a new addition to the tower. The embedded socket transformed into the face of a cat with an open mouth, which spilled brown water to fill the fountain pool.
DING
The status of the pylon tower also changed.
.
Yin-Yang Pylon Tower Level 15
Yin and Yang Essence Production Level (10/10)
Fire Essence Production Level (1/10)
Water Essence Production Level (1/10)
Wood Essence Production Level (1/10)
Earth Essence Production Level (1/10)
Metal Essence Production Level (1/10)
Lightning Essence Production Level (0/10)
Wind Essence Production Level (0/10)
Holy Essence Production Level (0/10)
Darkness Essence Production Level (0/10)
Current Socket: True Earth Fate Crystal (1)
Current Production: Holy Water of True Earth Fate Crystal
.
Leo raised his eyebrows as he remembered the item's name. He recalled that the perverted Minotaur Sierra and the brain-rot Hua Taixu needed this holy water to evolve.
"Perfect timing! Can I use this in alchemy, too?"
"You can try, munya."
"Neat!"
The new holy water was not the only thing that Leo obtained. He also completed the tutorial quest, which was rotting in his system quest menu.
.
Fate Crystal Tutorial
Primary Objectives:
1 - Collect 7 Earth Fate Crystals (7/7)
2 – Assemble 7 Earth Fate Crystals (1/1)
Secondary Objectives:
1 – Kill 7 Immortals (7/7)
2 – Upgrade Humble General Store to Shopping Mall (1/1)
Primary Mission Rewards: Gnosis of Earth Fate, True Earth Fate Crystal, Ring of Entity Upgrade Feature
Secondary Mission Rewards: 7 Lucky Draws, 777 Free Tickets
.
Leo pressed the submit button and confirmed the completion of his quests.
DING
<You have completed the Fate Crystal tutorial!>
<You have obtained the gnosis of earth fate and a true earth fate crystal.>
<You have unlocked a new feature – Inventory System!>
As Leo already obtained the 7 gacha tickets and 777 expansion tickets, he only got the primary mission rewards. Thus, he received ANOTHER earth fate crystal, a gnosis of earth fate, and a new feature.
He was slightly disappointed with the new feature. He already had a bunch of storage rings, so he didn't need a cliché game-like inventory system.
"Lame, boring, and uninspirational." Complained Leo.
"An owner of an imploded submarine said the same, munya."
"…"
Leo turned around and glared at the snarky cathulhu. The latter giggled and fled to the flying island like a naughty cat.
After Mu-Nyang had left, Leo turned his attention to the pylon tower. He flickered the new earth fate crystal in his hand. He hesitated if he should add it to the tower or implant it into somebody's soul for an experiment.
"Kitten."
"Yes, master?" Aslan stepped forward. He could guess what Leo wanted to ask, but he pretended not to know.
"How many years of lifespan will I get if I inject this into my soul?"
"A million years at best."
"Then, when it is ejected from my body, can I assemble it again and put it back?"
"Depleted fate crystals require a long time to recharge their luck energy, master. We'll have to leave them alone for a billion years before they can be used again."
"Meh. What a long cooldown."
"We can't help it. It's the nature of y-… I mean, this universe."
As Leo already stacked several million years of lifespan in his pocket, he didn't need to waste a rare resource in exchange for some numbers. Instead, he measured which action he should take to get the best benefit from the true earth fate crystal in his hand.
"Socket another or give it to wifey… Oh, hey. Kitten. If I can assemble seven earth fate crystals into a true earth fate crystal, can I do the same with sky fate crystals or others?"
"Of course, master. You can even combine seven entity fate crystals into a true entity fate crystal if you have enough."
Leo rubbed his alien ring to recheck the number of entity fate crystals he had collected so far.
The first one belonged to him when he first woke up on the alien ship. Leo got the second entity Fate Crystal from the mystic realm. And recently, he received the third one from Mu-Nyang.
Leo needed four more.
"Eh, I might as well put it in the socket… or should I research it for alchemy? Can I create these with the system buildings?"
Aslan smirked and nodded in approval. "You're getting smarter, master. I'm proud of you."
"Does that mean I was always stupid in your eyes?!"
"Of course, not. You were very smart in your own way. If we compare your IQ to the local people, you're still smarter than them by miles. It's just that… you picked up things slower than an average entity's standard.
"…"
Leo had the urge to smack the guy. However, he remembered how strong Aslan was in the simulation mode, so he left the guy alone.
"If you're so smart, tell me what will happen if I put another true earth fate crystal in the tower."
"It will just accelerate the production process. I suggest you should sacrifice that thing to the alchemy workshop to get a recipe or something worthwhile. I bet you will be very happy to see that, too."
Leo gave Aslan a meaningful look. Somehow, this guy showed up and replaced Meowmeow as an advisor. But unlike the black-winged angel, this old fisherman seemed suspicious.
He put the true earth fate crystal away. Then, he turned his attention to the gnosis next.
The gnosis came out in the form of a pink heart-shaped crystal. Leo didn't bother inspecting it and put it back in his storage ring.
"Are you planning to research on that, master?" Aslan asked to make sure.
"Yeah, so?"
"Gnosis is different from fate crystals. You can't make it with alchemy. I suggest you should use it."
Leo rolled his eyes. He could always get new skills and daos by defeating random cultivators and aliens that he had met. Thus, he didn't need to use an artifact to gain power.
"No need. I can get new daos whenever I want to. I'll just put this to research."
Aslan narrowed his eyes. He blinked and appeared in front of Leo to stop him.
"Master, I'm sorry. This time, I have to convince you to change your mind. You'll regret it if you research that thing."
"Why?"
"The dao of fate crystals is unique. Nobody in the universe, including the strongest karmic sovereigns, has managed to comprehend it. If you learn the dao, you will be one step ahead of other players."
"Is that so? Then, why can't I research and mass-produce it?"
"As I said before. It's a unique dao. You can't produce it or mimic it no matter what. Please trust me on this."
"…"
Leo paused and brought the gnosis out. He flipped it around while he stared into Aslan's eyes.
"What else do you know? Rather, what else are you hiding from me? Why am I getting a feeling that you aren't exactly my shadow but another bastard who possesses one of my subordinates?"
Aslan bitterly laughed and jokingly revealed the truth.
"I am your father."
"Yeah, right. If you're my father, I'm Luke Skywalker! Get outta here!"
Aslan shook his head. He tried, but Leo didn't believe him.
Fortunately, Leo heeded Aslan's advice. Instead of wasting the gnosis in the alchemy workshop, he shoved the gnosis into his forehead.
The crystal sunk into his forehead and merged with his soul inside his brain. Then, a new knowledge entered his mind.
DING
<Calculating karma…>
The new knowledge was nothing special. It told a story of how a deity condensed his dantian and formed a universe inside him. Then, he sacrificed some of his life force to condense an artifact for his dantian universe.
The artifacts were called fate crystals. They represented the deity, and they contained some of his power.
Time passed. Lifeforms grew and occupied the planets that the deity had created. The artifacts also accelerated the progress and automatically adjusted the balance of nature.
Countless years passed. The small lifeforms either evolved to survive or died out. Some of them gained intelligence and became sentient while many creatures relied on their instinct to survive.
Intelligent lifeforms soon dominated the habitable planets. Several of them discovered the artifacts, which the deity had left behind. The mortals quickly mistook them as tools and wielded them as weapons.
Some insane lifeforms with mental issues made up stories and established religions around the fate crystals. Afterward, disasters struck as wars broke out because of the conflicted religions.
The deity who created the fate crystals noticed the commotion and descended to pacify the mortals. However, everybody mistook him for the devil and rebelled against him.
The deity was enraged. He confiscated the fate crystals and massacred the useless mortals, who plagued his dantian universe. Then, he stopped relying on them to increase his power.
Leo slowly opened his eyes and deeply frowned. He looked up to the sky in a bad mood.
"Are you telling me that we're freaking living in someone's dantian universe or something?!"
Aslan flinched, but he kept his mouth shut. He wryly smiled and gazed at Leo.
"You don't have to worry about that. Even if we are, we won't be harmed."
"How do you know about that?"
"Because the owner of this universe…"
Aslan hesitated if he should reveal the truth. Again, he changed his mind and concealed the most important information from Leo for the sake of his future.
"Nobody owns this universe. We aren't living in a matrix. This is our reality."
"Are you sure?"
"100%."
"Hmm…"
Leo didn't fully believe in Aslan. Still, judging from Aslan's soft expression, he decided to trust him just this once.
"Fine. Also, how the hell did you know what I learned from the gnosis?"
"I'm your shadow. Whatever you learned, I learn it, too."
"…Fair enough."
Leo turned around and proceeded to the shopping mall. He planned to research on the new holy water and the fate crystals next.
Aslan let out a long sigh. Then, he gazed toward the sky, thinking of his wife, the other deceased foster children, and the one who ordered him to start the past inhumane experiment – Matriarch Eleanor of the Divine Elf, aka Esen's mother.
'Eleanor. Your soul transmigration experiment was successful indeed. Rather, it was TOO SUCCESSFUL. We've awakened a monster, and your sandcastle empire will be swept away by the tsunami soon.'
