Chapter 700: The Promotion Mission
{Read the Disclaimers at the end.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What did you detect?" Edward asked as soon as he was teleported home.
"Void Energy," Morgana replied. "A great mastery of the space-time characteristic of Void Energy."
"How much more advanced compared to us?"
"Let me put it this way: the small information I was about to gather should allow me to increase the Void Gate Project from 30% to 50%."
"Such a large gap, huh?" His eyes shone brilliantly. If he could finish the Void Gate, it would mean bypassing navigating through the dangerous Void and directly opening a portal to his chosen world, as long as he had the coordinates. Edward wanted this artifact, but he will be satisfied with using it to complete that project.
"The good news is that the utilization of energy is quite rigid, which might be further proof that the artifact is running at its lowest capacity."
Edward nodded. "Did you detect the monitoring system they have on Earth?"
"Not yet," Morgana replied. "I need you to launch the satellite, and I will take control."
Edward activated his watch to put on the suit. ’As expected, the energy output has been reduced to Tier 3.’ Edward raised his hand to construct a silver ball. The miniature statelite entered Chameleon Mode before flying to Earth’s atmosphere. Morgana’s core was essentially Tier 11 after building the artificial Speed Force, making her senses even better than Edward’s.
"Wow, there are so many people secretly watching this small planet," she muttered. It’s in the best interest of the reincarnators to keep an eye on the planet, whether it’s out of a sense of duty and protection, or just to keep an eye on the primary base of operation of the Samsara Hall.
"Focus."
"I am," Morgana pouted. "...Bingo. It uses something like a Causality Grid to monitor Earth and the entire universe. However, Earth is the primary focus. The gride can detect when people do something and activate the Samsara Hall’s power. It’s also used to detect when people meet certain requirements and recruit them.
"Tsk, you were lucky you used a Causality Spell to create your identity; otherwise, you would have immediately been discovered."
"You often mocked my paranoia, but it often saves the day," Edward sneered. "Alright, show me the grid." An image projected into his mind. This Causality Grid reminded him of the Mana Grid back home — a conceptual construct woven with reality itself.
Edward observed, and most of the concentration was in the Solar System, followed by Earth. An idea flashed through his mind, and he zoomed in on Earth, focusing on the countries where the grid was most concentrated. As expected, China was first, followed by the US. He tried to zoom further in, but to no avail.
"Can your senses be more detailed?"
"I can probably only observe at the state level before I trigger something."
"Do it," Edward ordered. A few minutes later, Edward saw the areas where the grid had the strictest control or observation. The highest concentration was a zone that covered parts of Hebei and Tianjin Province, which Edward knew was the area where Beijing was located. The second most concentrated area was in Fujian Province.
’Got you,’ Edward sneered. The Beijing Area should be where the hidden identity of the Purple Robe Daoist is, and Fujian should be where his family stays. The artifact’s primary responsibility is to keep its future owner alive, which is why Beijing is the most closely monitored area. Meanwhile, the Purple-Robe Daoist probably asked it to keep his parents safer from the chaos of all the reincarnators.
’I can probably draw him out, or deduce his identity if I take a trip to Beijing,’ Edward pondered. However, this was not the time for that.
"Morgana, can you create a loophole in this monitoring system?" Edward asked.
"Let me calculate...We would need to find the core of the Causality Grid."
"Can you?"
"No, your armor would at least need to be Tier 6."
"I see," Edward nodded. For his plan to work, he’ll need a way to operate while under the hall’s watch, and the best method is to create a loophole. However, this was currently beyond his ability. "Let’s continue this conversation after updating the armor. I need you to help me find the assassin who killed me."
"Give me a moment...He’s on Mars."
"Why is he there?"
"It seems he became Tier 4 and refused to have his power seal. There is a hidden colony on most of the planets of our solar system for reincarnators below Tier 6 to live in."
"Send 10 Doom Bots to kill him. Make it quiet."
"I wouldn’t do that if I were you," Morgana said. "A group of Tier 6 reincarnators runs each of the colonies, and based on information I gathered, there may be even more powerful people behind them. I’m sure the bots could do it quietly, but you haven’t created any Anti-Divination or other form of Anti-Tacking Methods, so it’s not wise to kick such a hornet nest."
"Alright, he can leave for a while longer," Edward muttered. He spent the rest of his time preparing for the upcoming promotion mission. A few days later, he was teleported to the Samsara Hall.
[Reincarnator, are you ready for your Lieutenant Promotion Mission? Yes/No. Reminder: Promotion Missions are solo quests.]
"I’m ready."
A white light enveloped him, and when he opened his eyes, Edward found himself in what resembled a broken cathedral. A woman drenched in blood and dressed in medieval clothes and a head cover lay not too far from him. Before he could completely analyze the situation, his watch updated.
[Active Mission World: Elden Ring+
[Difficulty: Limit — Nightmare.
[Main Mission: Become the Elden Lord. Reward: 70,000 Points.
[Submission: Defeat Radhan. 40,000 Points
[Submission: Defeat Malenia. 35,000 Points
[Submission: Defeat Mogh. 20,000 Points.
[Submission: Defeat Rykard. 20,000 Points.
[Side Mission: ...
[Identity: You are Tarnished, recently blessed by Grace, but you are an anomaly even among your kind since you are not blessed with immortality.
[Perfect Mission: The Land Betweens is a chaotic world, and you need to turn into one of absolute order. Make this world a normal one. Reward: 400,000 - 1.5 million.]
"What the hell?" Edward cursed. He didn’t know what Elden Ring was, but after seeing the difficulty level, he wanted to curse. The Samsara Hall mission’s difficulty is as follows: Easy, Ordinary, Medium, Hard, Limit, Death Defying, Hell, Nightmare, Miracle, and Impossible. So, why on Earth would a Tier 4 mission react to Nightmare Tier?
The second thing Edward noticed was all the side missions that can add up to half a million points. This mission seemed generous, but this only made Edward suspicious. Lastly, there is the identity that is directly included in his update. As he looked at the Perfect Mission, he was intrigued. If he could do it perfectly, the million points would be enough to skip Tier 5 and directly enter Tier 6.
"Let’s see what this world has to offer," Edward muttered as he clicked on the plus sign. A lot of information was crammed inside his mind, and by the time he was done, there was only one thing in his mind: what a fucking world — what a fucking perfect mission.
’I think you may have to give up the perfect mission this time,’ Morgana said to him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer:
I have not played Shadow of the Erdtree, so characters and elements from that part will not appear. I will use the lore, but nothing else.
Elden Ring’s story is told through item descriptions, and everything is vague. This resulted in various understandings and interpretations. This will be based on my interpretation, and I don’t claim it to be one hundred percent accurate.
Lastly, Elden Ring is an incredible world and deserves its own volume. However, since it is part of this Samsara Hall Arc, it will be short and everything will be fast-paced.