Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 401: Numbered Equipment

"How did the duel of the Warrior's Honour go?" The Silver haired man asked while leaning against a rock overlooking the outpost.

"Alice Agnelia didn't do much except struggle. Her senses are sharp but her actually power in combat is limited to deploying a shield every now and then. However, I believe we'll need to update our information on Egil Holgersen and Bo Gunnulf."

"Hou?" The man raised an eyebrow.

"Egil Holgersen has reached a level of physical power where he could break out of Torgeir's confinement at the end of the duel. Bo Gunnulf's speed has increased and he was even able to make last second corrections to avoid the attack. Rather than a duel to see how useful Alice is, it was more a fight between Egil and Bo." The scout explained as the man rubbed his chin.

"Decrease the priority of Alice. Increase the priority on Egil and Bo. Adjust the ambush, we'll attack once command sends the order." He ordered as the scout nodded and left.

Now that Egil had the power to break out of Torgeir's confinement, it might get a little annoying but he was glad that Alice didn't turn out to be the variable that he was expecting. It was simply a case of her having sharper senses than others.

Regardless, it's about time they sped up their preparation for the next attack. On top of the Ambush, he had prepared an Abyss Break into a monster wave.

Curling his lips into a grin, he looked forward to how Torgeir planned on protecting this outpost of his.

###

The explanation Alice gave Bo was simplified down since the actual process was far more complex and annoying.

By splitting these fragments into small sand like grains, they lose a lot of their durability.

To compensate for this, whenever Bo landed against a fragment, it created a magnetic type response with the other fragments. This caused them to begin stacking and almost create a springboard that goes back to its original place once Bo jumps off.

The platform that manifests is simply the multiple fragments resonating with each other.

There was no reason for her to expose all of her cards. Simply mix the truth with some lies.

"I see… I look forward to fighting alongside you in the future." Bo smiled.

Nodding her head, Alice shook his hand while watching him leave.

Once Alice was left alone, Torgeir made his way over.

"You've certainly proved your worth. What were you doing before you arrived in the north?" Torgeir asked curiously.

"Just roaming around in the Abyss." Alice chuckled.

'Jumping into the past, getting training from Apostles, killing Lords and foiling the plans of someone who wishes to overthrow the Will of the Abyss. Yeah, just a casual roam.' Alyss added in their mind causing Alice to laugh.

"Is that so? Well regardless, once you join the military it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you do your job." Torgeir shrugged.

"You and your friend should follow me. I'll finish your registration personally since I'm going to make a few adjustments. You're a good asset for Bo's team so I'll be moving you there instead of staying in the beginner squad."

"Hou? Are you sure that's fine? I'm pretty sure a newbie would just disrupt the team dynamic no?" Alice raised her eyebrow in surprise.

She didn't think he would just send her into the deep end like this.

"That's your job to figure out. Weren't you learning how to adapt to new allies without knowing them for a long time?"

Hearing this, Alice realised that Torgeir understood what she was aiming for during the fight.

Sticking out her tongue, Alice glanced over to Selen.

"What about my friend? Is she going to be in the beginner squad?"

"Her situation is… Unique from what she's told me. She'll be joining you. Though I still need to personally verify your abilities for that." Torgeir thought for a moment.

"Are you going to spar with us?"

"What? No. We don't use a barbaric method like that to check abilities. Not everything can be verified through a battle. Some shine elsewhere." Torgeir furrowed his brows, causing Alice's smile to twitch.

'So you don't use a barbaric method to check abilities but you duel to see who's right or wrong???' Alice retorted in her mind, feeling as though their priorities were flipped.

"You'll understand once you follow me."

Guiding Alice and Selen through the barracks, they soon arrived at a rather unsuspecting building with a single floor.

Opening the door, Alice was surprised to see a staircase leading down.

"Since you two are foreigners that come from the Abyss, I should explain to you how we call things in the North. As you know, the word Hunters is replaced with Warriors. Instead of beasts, we call them Spirits.

"Sigils are what we Northerners consider as attuning to the Spirit we kill. And in the north, we have names for the rank of the Warrior that attune to spirits." Torgeir began to explain.

In the north, they place more importance on the individual ranks rather than splitting it into three, unlike the Abyss.

1 Sigil – Beginner

2 Sigil – Proficient

3 Sigil – Expert

4 Sigil – Master

5 Sigil – Advanced Master

6 Sigils – Grandmaster

From the 7th Sigil onwards, they don't have names for them and simply refer to them as the titles granted to them by the Abyss.

Same with the resonance. They keep the same name.

"However, there's been a new ritual conducted in the capital. A baptism for those that reach beyond the sixth rank. To grant them a title belonging to the North.

"Are you familiar with Lord Urigar? The Abyss Lord of Titans." Torgeir asked as there was a glimmer in his eyes.

"I've heard of him before." Alice nodded.

"Rather than calling them Abyss Lords, Her Majesty has begun to baptise them and bestow upon them a new title and rank. 7th rank is Spirit Lord, 8th is Spirit King and finally, the fabled 9th Rank is Spirit Sovereign.

"Lord Urigar will be the first to be baptised by this method so if you get the chance, you should head to the capital and watch the ceremony." Torgeir suggested as they descended into the depths.

"When will this happen?" Alice asked curiously. She wanted to see what kind of 'baptism' this was and if the new titles were purely ceremonial or had some value. If it was the latter, there was a chance that Nyer may dip his hands into the politics of the North considering the fact that he's looking for things to overthrow the Will.

"It should be around two months or so from now. Hopefully, the war settles down during that time so I can go watch the ceremony too." Torgeir laughed.

Seeing this, Alice could clearly see the respect he had towards the Abyss Lord of the North.

"How many Lords are there in the North?" Four that are publicly known. We don't know if there are more. There is Lord Urigar, Abyss Lord of Titans. Lady Frida, Abyss Lord of Winter, Lord Sigurd, Abyss Lord of The Forge and finally, Her Majesty herself. Queen Verona.

"However, for Her Majesty, we don't know her title. We just know she has reached beyond the 6th realm." Torgeir shook his head but Alice's interest was focused on Sigurd.

"What do you mean when you say Lord Sigurd is the Abyss Lord of the Forge?"

"Simply put, he's the greatest blacksmith in all the lands. Even the scrap he creates are considered to be high quality weapons and armour. But his masterpieces are known as the Numbered Equipment.

"They are given a number based on when he forged them and so far, he has created ninety nine masterpieces that he considers to be worthy of a number. If you make a big achievement for the north, you might even be granted a numbered equipment yourself." Torgeir chuckled as they reached a set of metal doors.

"Personally, I got my eyes set on Number 35: Gungnir. One of, if not the best spear that Lord Sigurd has crafted. Though it's just a distant dream ahaha."

Pushing open the doors, he revealed a ritual circle with several strange apparatuses around it.

Flickering orange lights illuminated the room while Torgeir gestured to the people waiting by the side.

"Once you sit in the centre, we'll begin the ritual and it'll record your strengths. These are categorised into six values we used to determine what you're compatible with. Naturally, it's easier for you to experience it yourself first before I explain." He gestured for Alice to step in first.

Hesitating for a moment, Alice nodded and stepped into the circle.

She could sense strands of energy emanating from the circle and slowly entering her body as the lights around her began to fade.

Pain flashed across her body momentarily and faded before she could even flinch. She felt the wind crashing into her, pushing her hair back.

An invisible pressure bore down on her, reminding her of the time she felt into the Waters of the Abyss. The sense of restriction while the sludge attempted to crush her.

She felt a strange familiarity. The sensation of energy coursing through her body.

The exhaustion that comes with fighting a long battle.

And finally, she felt the intent to harm tracing across her body, causing her to furrow her brows in discomfort.

"And we're done." Torgeir's voice rang out with a mild hint of surprise.

Opening her eyes, Alice could see that she was still standing in the centre of the circle and didn't move from her spot.

"That's it?" Alice raised an eyebrow with doubt but Torgeir nodded his head.

Beside him, a man was writing down the report before handing it to Torgeir.

"As I said earlier, this ritual circle helps us determine what you're compatible with and splits it into six values. Power, Speed, Physicality, Spiritual, Endurance and Instincts. And I must say, your results are… rather interesting."

Receiving the report of her statistics, Alice blinked her eyes in surprise.