It was not an easy choice.
Reapshade was a creature consumed by pride—desperate to appear strong, yet deeply afraid of showing weakness.
However, he also didn't want to be trapped here forever.
He wanted freedom.
Squandering a precious opportunity just because of pride was pointless.
He had to be honest.
Deceiving himself would only lead to regret.
"I want to get out of here," he said.
Although reluctant, he felt he had to say it anyway.
"But..."
He drew his pitch-black scythe, then turned around.
"I want to ask one more thing."
Golden energy radiated from his body, shaping colossal scales in the air behind him.
"You... who are you really?"
"!!!"
Scales of Veritas...
A divine truth-enforcing magic that conjures ethereal scales behind its wielder.
Once this magic is activated, all lies, deception, and verbal manipulation will be forcibly shattered, and only pure truth can be spoken by anyone bound by its effects.
This was bad.
Very bad.
If he lied even a little, then...
The black scythe would cleave his body.
He swallowed his saliva, panicked.
Lies would only lead him to death.
'Is there no other way?'
No, perhaps there was.
There was only one way.
However, if this method failed, then it would be the end.
This was the only way he could think of.
He had experienced many things since transmigrating to this world.
The scenario changed without his knowledge.
Many incidents deviated and shouldn't have existed in the original story.
And surely there was a reason for that.
There was only one thing he suspected...
Nonconformity!
This Nonconformity was truly unclear and something that shouldn't exist in this world.
Perhaps... this Nonconformity was also the cause of the scenario changes.
He could only confirm one thing...
Most likely, this Nonconformity would not be affected by the Scales of Veritas.
In fact, he could also survive the Nihility Collapse so far likely because of Nonconformity.
He wasn't too sure, but he couldn't deny it.
This was a one-time opportunity.
He stared sharply into Reapshade's yellow eyes.
"I'm nothing but a lowly human."
"..."
"..."
He waited.
The Scales of Veritas were processing his truth.
A bright golden-yellow light shone.
And...
The result.
"You speak the truth. Now, I believe you."
The giant scales disappeared, leaving behind yellow energy at the location.
Ding!
[Quest complete!]
[Quest: Gain Reapshade's Trust (Complete)]
[Reward: All objectives achieved.]
[Note: Now Reapshade has placed complete trust in you. He will not betray you. However, do not try to betray him if you don't want to die.]
He looked at the screen with a relieved expression.
'Finally.'
Although a little complicated, he managed to complete it.
However, if it weren't for this Nonconformity... He might not have succeeded.
That was truly terrifying.
If the Scales of Veritas had worked on him, he would surely no longer be here now.
Now, he gained another unique fact.
Illusion magic, Scales of Veritas, and mind manipulation would not work on him.
He didn't know why, but it was definitely because of Nonconformity.
He was a little curious about what he could do with his magic now.
His magic had leveled up, there would surely be some kind of unique ability to his magic.
He couldn't wait to test it.
However, Reapshade was in front of him.
He couldn't do something stupid like that.
He looked around until his eyes caught the grimoire he had taken earlier.
"There it is."
He ran, then took the grimoire.
"Let's go back."
The creature, Reapshade, approached.
His presence was completely different.
No longer intimidating as before.
He no longer seemed dangerous.
However, carelessness was still not recommended.
Caution was better.
"Is that the grimoire that will take us out of here?"
Reapshade approached.
"A little strange, but I believe you."
Hastora nodded, then opened the grimoire.
A rune was visible on its page.
The rune shone brightly after he channeled a little mana into it.
...
They found themselves inside a water cave as a dark red light illuminated them.
"Where are we?" Reapshade asked, confused.
Hastora put the grimoire into his pocket. "An underwater cave. We're back."
"..."
Reapshade looked incredulous.
He walked around the underwater cave, observing every detail, trying to ascertain whether it was real or not.
However, he found no lies.
This was real.
"Thank you," he said.
He enveloped his hand with mana.
A bright yellow gate appeared after he extended his hand forward.
He had tried to create a gate like this before, but none had succeeded.
The energy in the Nihility Collapse was so chaotic, spatial magic wouldn't work there.
He looked back.
"If you need help, you can call me."
A crystal appeared in his palm before he threw it to the ground.
"You just need to channel your mana into that crystal," he said.
With calm steps, he walked towards the gate in front of him.
The gate closed as he walked through it.
Now, Hastora was alone.
It was time he checked the results.
"Magic status"
[Magic]
—Flamma Infernus
—Control over Darkness
[Choose one to see the description]
"Flamma Infernus"
[Flamma Infernus]
[Level: 2]
[Description: Pitch-black flames that can be manipulated at will. The temperature can vary, depending on the mana used by the user when using this magic.]
His eyes widened as he looked at the screen.
"This magic... it's beyond anything I imagined."
The temperature can vary, depending on the mana the user releases when activating this magic.
"This means... If the user's mana is sufficient, this magic can become a miniature sun!"
"However, my mana isn't enough yet. I can't unleash the full potential of this magic yet."
His mana had probably increased drastically after leaving the Nihility Collapse.
However, that alone was still not enough to unleash the full potential of that magic.
He had to grow stronger still.
It wasn't just a choice—it was a necessity.
"Now, the next magic."
"Control over Darkness."
[Control over Darkness]
[Level: 2]
[Description: Allows the user to have complete control over shadows.]
An idea popped into his head as his eyes fell on the screen.
"Maybe it can..."
He took the grimoire from his pocket and stored it in his shadow.
"I figured. It worked."
He no longer needed to bother carrying things.
Now he could store them in his shadow, this was fantastic.
However, one problem just occurred to him.
Why was he in the underwater cave?
He should have returned to the astral dimension first, then returned through the secret dimension.
Somehow, he didn't know.
He had to check it himself.
He put on his diving gear, then jumped into the pool.
Another oddity appeared.
He found nothing more when he reached the bottom of the pool.
Where did the secret passage go?
This was too sudden.
Did someone lock the entrance to that dimension?
If so, it was hard to believe.
No one knew the existence of that dimension except Hastora, the author.
Even the scenario of the dimension's disappearance wasn't in the novel.
'This is strange.'
'It seemsI have to find out about this myself later.'
He swam back up.
He took off his diving gear and sat on the cave wall.
"What a troublesome day."
He had done a lot of activities today.
He still felt a little tired after getting out of the Nihility Collapse.
Maybe this was a side effect of being there for too long?
Whatever, the important thing was that he had succeeded.
His mana had increased drastically, using magic as much as possible was no longer a problem.
However, there was one thing that intrigued him.
... The rune.
He had to find out about the rune in the grimoire.
He took the grimoire from his shadow.
"There must be something hidden here."
His expression changed.
"I'll surely find out soon."
He channeled a large amount of mana into the grimoire.
The red light on the grimoire shone brightly before finally turning into dust.
"...? The crystal is destroyed?"
Too... weak.
The crystal wasn't as strong as he thought.
Suddenly, the grimoire opened by itself.
The runes on its pages disappeared, and then an inscription appeared on its page.
"!!!"
To be continued in the next chapter…