Taking in Ryvrthe's suggestion, Valyr could not help but feel a hint of confusion. "Huh? But didn't you want to avoid using the system?"
At those words, the Sapient One tilted his head as he raised his eyebrow. "Where did you get that idea?"
In response to the question, the young man then explained how the man had a sour expression on his face when he suggested that they use the system to communicate with one another.
Through there, Valyr gradually inferred that Ryvrthe was someone who did not want to rely on the system, if possible.
"How did you get to that conclusion?" Once he was done listening to the young man's explanation, Ryvrthe let out a peal of laughter in response, making Valyr faintly blush in embarrassment.
After all, from what the man's question implied, it seemed that his inference was wrong.
However, reality seemed to always work differently.
"Then again, you're not entirely wrong," said Ryvrthe once he was done laughing, prompting Valyr to look at him with curiosity.
Seeing the young man's attention fully focused on him, the Sapient One explained, "There are indeed a few features on it that I would rather not touch even once, such as the system's chat function."
"However, most of the system's features allow me to make greater use of my strength. It has also allowed the protectors of our race to achieve the strength they currently have."
"With that, even if we take into consideration my distaste for some of the system's features, the system is more of a boon rather than a detriment," said Ryvrthe.
"Aside from that, I'm pretty sure almost every species is using it, so why would I go against the tide?"
Listening to the man's words, Valyr inwardly let out a long sigh, admonishing himself for hastily arriving to conclusions.
Then, with a faint nod, he activated [Superior Analysis] on Ryvrthe, causing the latter to briefly feel like every single cell on his body had been examined by an otherworldly force.
"So, that's what it feels like to be identified." Faintly shuddering at the sensation that briefly washed over his body, the Sapient One had a faint smile on his face as he watched a screen appear in front of Valyr's vision.
Ding!
Taking a look at the information on the screen before him, the young man quickly found something that made Ryvrthe's claim more believable.
However, his attention was soon taken over by something else as he looked at the Sapient One in disbelief.
"You're only Rank 1?"
[Ryvrthe, the Sapient One] (Level 11)
Class: Hundred Rebirths Sage (Mythic)
HP: 168/168
MP: 204/204
Attack: 28 - 28
Defense: 28 - 28
Stats: 14 VIT, 14 STR, 15 AGI, 15 DEX, 17 INT, 32 WIS, 15 PER, 12 LUK
Remarks: A descendant of a being from a civilization that once was, only to be forgotten by the sands of time. Confined for eons to bare metal walls, their semblance of humanity had regressed to an era far back into the past.
However, unlike its peers, it seemed to have been enlightened, awakening to the primitiveness of their ways. Because of this, it has taken the lead to push their race to what it was before, allowing them to regain a bit of their past valor.
Then again… how long would it be until they recovered its remainders?
————
"Didn't my aura already make that obvious?" As the smile on his face grew wider, Ryvrthe looked at Valyr with a hint of amusement, thinking that his position and their conversation so far had undoubtedly affected the young man's impression of him.
"I thought you were concealing your aura," said Valyr in response, wryly smiling. "Who knew that you had actually unleashing the entirety of your aura?"
"In any case… Hundred Rebirths Sage, huh?" Getting over the initial shock that was Ryvrthe's true level of strength, Valyr eventually returned his attention to what he had noticed first.
"Have you really lived through 100 generations?"
Ryvrthe let out a faint chuckle. "To be honest, I've already lost count. The number could be just a bit below 100, or it could be way past 100. We may never know."
"Either way, I hope checking my status screen has dispelled at least some of the doubts you have towards the information I've shared regarding the Great Cataclysm."
"It definitely did." Valyr nodded in agreement. "It also dispelled the doubts I had as to whether or not you were stronger than Vrlvadh."
"Combat isn't really my strong suit," replied Ryvrthe with a bit of laughter. "Then again, I've only become the leader of the Forsaken race around a year ago."
"Before that, I sat under a pillar for about a century," added Ryvrthe with a shrug.
With the time dilation that existed between the inheritance and the outside world, Ryvrthe's offhand comment regarding the amount of time he led the Forsaken race so far caused Valyr's eyes to slightly widen.
After all, that meant that 14 years had passed in the outside world since Ryvrthe had become known as the Sapient One.
Then, if one were to translate the century of ponderation he spent under a pillar into time in the outside world, it would equate to roughly a millennium and a half.
A time far longer than some kingdoms on Veldanyr have been around for.
'I guess it makes more sense as to why he's only gone through a hundred rebirths so far instead of more,' thought Valyr to himself. 'It also gives me a frame of reference as to how long ago the Great Cataclysm had occurred.'
As the topic of the Great Cataclysm came to mind, Valyr looked at Ryvrthe and asked, "Now that I think about it, how did you and the others survive in this space for so long?"
"Survival of the fittest," said the man in response, a pained smile appearing on his face. "As well as tons of selfless sacrifices from many people in the past."
At those words, the man began to talk about how the people underground were in utter chaos in the past, with many among them forming temporary alliances for their personal benefits.
Though, with how the reserves of basic resources they had continued to dwindle, those kinds of temporary alliances slowly disappeared as everyone cooperated to make sure they could last for as long as possible.
Fortunately, at some point, they were able to find a way to replenish part of those resources and become somewhat self-sufficient. However, the number of people at the time was far greater than what their production could handle.
With that, many were forced to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the many, though Ryvrthe did mention a few incidents where groups of corrupted people were mercilessly slaughtered.
"In any case, that's all in the past," said Ryvrthe with a shrug. "All that matters is that the Forsaken race remains standing to this day."
"Definitely." Valyr could only nod in agreement, causing the two of them to become silent as they ran out of topics to discuss.
"Say, Valyr." Allowing the silence in their surroundings to linger for a bit, a thought eventually surfaced in Ryvrthe's mind, prompting him to break the silence.
"Mind if I ask you a favor?"
"Hopefully it doesn't involve me having to risk my life." Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Valyr listened to what the man had to say.
Listening to Valyr's words, Ryvrthe briefly scoffed. "As if I'd let you do that. It's a simple favor, really."
"I just wanted to ask you if you could find traces of a certain person's whereabouts," said the man, which piqued Valyr's curiosity even further.
"That depends." Pondering over Ryvrthe's favor for a bit, the young man eventually shrugged his shoulders. "Whose whereabouts am I going to find?"
In his mind, he expected Ryvrthe to ask him to find the whereabouts of an important being in their race, or the being that used to lead the Forsaken race in the past.
However, what the man requested from him was far beyond that.
"It's not really that difficult," said Ryvrthe.
"I just want to see if you could find the whereabouts of the last leader of humanity."
