Surviving in my Own Unpublished Failed Novel

The hours of the silent and serene night had passed as the bluish moon over the horizon gradually disappeared, giving the sun time to shine.

The two siblings almost woke up at the same time because of an alarm clock that was installed for the students of both Obelisk and Sky Academy. Almost sitting up on their respective beds, Russell yawned for a moment before he greeted his younger sister.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Oppa."

Freya then did the same as a response.

After some time, one after another, they took their time to wash to at least fight the remaining drowsiness, and then went to the expansive high-end cafeteria of the Wanderer Hotel.

"Good morning, Russell."

Glancing alternatively between the two siblings, Amelie paused for a moment before she greeted, with a joyous smile, her very close friend.

"...Good morning, Freya."

After that, they ate their breakfast, which recipes originated from different countries, for free because of the benefits of being students from the prestigious academy that was granted during this school trip.

"Hey, isn't he the one who defeated Acelyn? I heard she's fuming and cried after the match."

"You're right, but serves her right. She's too arrogant just because she's a marquis' daughter."

"Hahaha! Well, it doesn't change the fact that she got knocked out of the area in just a kick."

"Fair enough, but the new number one in the first year also got defeated by someone named Jiho, right? That man is incredible!"

"I'm glad to see they're put in their place. Those arrogant bastards."

Two female students from Sky Academy that just entered the cafeteria talked regarding yesterday's mock battle. They were then heard by Russell, Freya, and Amelie, but they didn't react in any way and just walked out of the cafeteria toward the waiting Stream Bus.

"Russell... I think I just remembered something.

"It's been on my mind since last night during the auction, but I can't wrap my head around it."

Arriving inside the Stream Bus that was bound in Enfiya or Nereia's Capital in the next thirty minutes, Amelie, sitting alone for now from behind Russell and Freya arbitrarily spoke.

Without turning his head, Russell asked, wondered.

"Czerina… isn't she the one who chased and managed to kill you before?

"I didn't recognize her instantly last night because of her outfit since the last time she went after us, she's wearing a hotel maid dress.

"It was night at that time, and I only caught a glimpse for a moment when she instantly appeared behind you before we left."

Amelie whispered, but it was enough for Freya to hear her words. The latter's deep blue eyes widened as she glanced alternatively between Russell and Amelie.

"Oppa?"

She asked in confirmation, to which Russell casually nodded.

"But it's alright… for now. So don't worry."

"What do you mean 'for now'? Is she a threat?"

"It's about the Orb of Truth."

Freya and Amelie listened to Russell's words. But this time, his words were delivered through telepathic communication.

He then explained the case to both of them, causing both their jaws to almost drop as they marveled in anticipation.

"Inform Ken later"

Russell casually gave an order to Amelie, to which she nodded in response.

'It isn't supposed to happen yet, but because of the forwarded System Reboot. The causality of things is also disrupted.'

'System, let me consume every stored Chaos Power.'

[You have consumed all of the stored Chaos Power.]

[Your Chaos Power increases by 751]

[You have broken the law of nature!]

[With the help of your Attribute: Nihility, your transgression has been hidden from the eyes of the gods and goddesses of the Last Close Mystery Tower!]

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Current Chaos Power Stat: 1251]

[Current Chaos Mana: 12,510]

[The Pure Chaos in your body has been greatly strengthened!]

[The number of Earth Days for Partial Being Reconstruction to utilize 1% efficiency of every Active Inherent Powers has been reduced to 375 days.]

Before the School Trip, during the month and a half, Russell discovered some things about Chaos itself.

First, as he correctly remembered, according to the System's description of his very first summon, Chaos Slime or Ceru, it was said that it was a slime "tainted by Pure Chaos."

And that Pure Chaos, at least based on what Russell comprehended when he previously took the time to ask the System, was something more refined than Chaos itself.

More refined meant more powerful and more adaptive to one's body. It means — that Ceru was on the verge of development to adapt to Chaos Realm.

This raised another question in Russell's mind, added to the list of numerous mysteries to be unveiled, about why such a case exists. Because Ceru came from a Chaos Dungeon itself.

Could it just be possible that Pure Chaos was the necessity for evolution?

It's the question that Russell had, thinking of possibilities for his summon monsters to evolve in the future.

Second, although the Attribute: Nihility had erased the details of his important assets of being a player, he still could ask the System about the current effects of them.

And lastly, with the help of the effect of his Inherent Power: Chaos Moon, which maxed out the level of his every Chaos-related skill, the Abyssal Cut's cost of using has been reduced from 50% to 5% of his current Chaos Power.

Not because it leveled up since from the beginning it was a maxed-out skill, but rather because the Swordsmanship of the Night was maxed out, giving Russell a proficiency of wielding the sword by 4,000% even without the hundred percent amplification due to his Title: Resident of Chaos.

But it was more of a curse than a blessing with the current him.

In other words, Russell's body wouldn't be able to keep up with the flawlessness of swordsmanship if his Chaos Power was too low. It's the same case with Scythemanship of the Reaper, in which proficiency became 2,000% without the hundred percent amplification of the above-mentioned title.

'System, show me my current weapon proficiency, as well as the remaining Chaos Power, Strength, and Swift stats required to fully master wielding my weapon without breaking my body.'

Russell thought as various students from A-1 and A-2 classes were gradually arriving in the Stream Bus.

***

[Current Sword Proficiency based on the effect of Passive Skill: Swordsmanship of the Night: 4,000%(+4,000%)]

[Current Scythe Proficiency based on the effect of Passive Skill: Scythemanship of the Reaper: 2,000%(2,000%)]

[Current Weapon Proficiency based on the effect of Passive Skill: Cull and Cut: 1,000%(+1,000%)]

[Total Sword Proficiency: 10,000%]

[Total Scythe Proficiency: 6,000%]

[Chaos Power needed to fully utilize the above weapons proficiency: 2,499]

[Chaos Power remaining to fully utilize the above weapons proficiency: 1,248]

[Strength needed to... 2,499]

[Strength remaining to... 1,778]

[Swift needed to... 2,499]

[Swift remaining to... 1,818]

'I need to raid more Chaos Dungeons.

'I need to basically reach A+ rank to master wielding my weapon.'

It was far better to raid a Chaos Dungeon because of the Chaos Power stat he could store or consume after killing Chaos Monsters. It was extremely generous compared to the cheap monsters from the Tower of Growth.

Silently re-reading the System messages, Russell noticed something peculiar as his focus previously was directed to his current Chaos Power and Pure Chaos.

'What? Breaking the law of nature? System, what does it mean?'

[You have bypassed the concept of Golden Stat and Chamber of Breakthrough.]

"Haaa... Hahaha."

Russell realized what just happened and let out a self-deprecating laugh. With the existence of Golden Stat and Chamber of Breakthrough after the System Reboot, he shouldn't be able to exceed the cap of his main stats according to his current rank. It also meant that he should have undergone in the Chamber of Breakthrough to advance his rank, but what happened just broke the law... unintentionally at that.

'I almost died, f*ck!'

Goosebumps spread all over Russell's body when the realization hit him.

If not for his Attribute: Nihility, he would be detected by the gods and goddesses from the last floor of the Close Mystery Tower, and something like that was never a good thing, especially when it was about breaking the law of nature.

'It seems I haven't adjusted yet to the sudden changes in the System.'

Russell didn't fail to recall the irony between the Golden Stat and the Unallocated Stat. If the player hit the limit of his main stats, breaking through was needed to advance, but with the existence of Unallocated Stat, he could simply exceed it by allocating stats to his main stats.

But it couldn't be done without a price. According to his unpublished novel, breaking the law of nature by not going through the Chamber of Breakthrough was only done in scenarios when the player was in trouble and didn't have a choice, depending on the circumstances.

After that, the player's soul would be snatched by a random god or goddess, but mostly by someone whose authority was related to souls. For Russell, it was the same thing as calling a death sentence upon himself.

"Alright! Is everyone here?"

Azalea's voice resounded within the Stream Bus, jolting awake Russell's reverie.

After some time, the Stream Bus left for Nefiya.

***

After a few minutes, with the help of the enormous Warp Gate, the Stream Buses from either Obelisk or Sky Academy arrived in the capital of Nereia.

In the same way, similar before they arrived in the capital of Etheria, Russell read the itinerary for this day.

[School Trip Itinerary — Seven-day Trip Guide.]

*Second Day — Capital of Nereia, Enfiya.

1. Royale Palace's sightseeing – two hours only.

2. Chaos Hunter Guild's Headquarters tour – two hours only.

3. Port of Aquatic Resources – four hours only, including lunchtime.

4. Underwater Strayed Dungeons – from 2 P.M. to 6 P.M.

5. Dinner Time – from 6 P.M. to 8 P.M.

6. Wrap up – 8 P.M. to 9 P.M.

7. Underwater Hotel: Nereian Sea Life – from 9 P.M. onwards.

***

A few hours quickly passed and the designated groups with different designated leaders from the Student Council and Disciplinary Committee arrived at the Port of Aquatic Resources.

They found themselves seeing the vast, seemingly endless, ocean of the East and numerous seiners or fishing vessel that were being operated by player civilians with professions related to fisheries or the sea itself.

Live fish were floating, but couldn't escape the grasp of the fishermen. They were many species caught that were unknown to Russell and the others.

After some time, as the groups now were separated to tour the largest supplier of fish across the Orion Continent, Elizabeth asked the group she was guiding or monitoring.

"What do you think of this place?"

"Similar to the Field of Harvest in Etheria, it evokes a sense of serenity and peace."

Celiya von Elydine spoke, her blue eyes seemed to reflect on the transparent blue water of the calm yet dangerous ocean.

"You're right. And it's Rumia's turn to guide her group without getting help from anyone.

"Well, it's not like I'm unfamiliar with this country, you know."

Elizabeth casually replied. Russell noticed that after she discovered the truth regarding her father's death, her emotions seemed to be on the verge of breaking at any moment. In other words, she's just forcing herself to interact as though there's no problem.

'This is bad. It's never good to bottle up emotions, especially if it's livid.'

Russell thought somewhat anxiously, following the group from behind that was numbered around twelve.

Sometime later, Russell, Elizabeth, Celiya, and the others, whom Russell didn't know anything about, arrived in a cave just a hundred meters away from the port. Someone then looked down below the cave.

"Isn't that the Strayed Dungeon that we'll explore later on?"

One of the students, whom Russell didn't know, spoke to her friend walking beside her.

Elizabeth then did her job as a guide. Glancing down from the mouth of the cave, they saw infrastructures underwater that was being organized by some players from the Chaos Hunter Guild.

"Yes, there are two Strayed Dungeons.

"They are around E Rank, and we'll compete later with a random group from the Sky Academy."