Ansu sat alone in a gray pavilion within the Sea of Consciousness.

Kanzaki Rei’s mindscape was vast—so vast it was hard to believe it was merely a sea of consciousness.

But that endless expanse also carried an overwhelming oppression of supreme elevation.

The Sea of Consciousness—

was also the manifestation of the mind.

To glimpse a person’s mindscape

was, in some sense, to glimpse what kind of being they truly were.

And what Kanzaki Rei’s sea of consciousness made Ansu feel now—

was that he was no longer human.

But some great existence overlooking the mortal world,

disdainful of worldly dust.

Clang—

Clang—

Clang—

Forging truly was a merciless killer of time.

Kanzaki Rei ordinarily didn’t simulate forging in [Future Simulation].

Some complex equipment pieces required more than an entire day to forge.

Like the one in his hands right now.

Under the scorching burn of [Molten Sanctified Flame]—

the metal before him rippled like water.

It was a flawless long robe,

its surface shimmering with jagged, layered waves of light.

As the flames receded—

groove-like patterns emerged across the entire robe,

like the folds of a brain.

Though made from alloy and iron,

the garment was astonishingly soft.

Almost unnaturally supple—

Even carrying the bizarre sensation of touching exposed cerebral matter.

[Indra Brain Robe]

Though he had not taken Indra’s corpse—

Kanzaki Rei had removed his brain.

According to the secret scriptures of the Living Crucible Church,

different parts of different class-holders

could be used in forging and refining equipment.

The Brain of an Erudite.

The Eyes of an Observer.

The Living Muscles of a Warrior.

The Brain of a Mage.

The Skeleton of a Defender.

...

Through specialized secret methods,

these could be forged into living equipment with extraordinary properties.

The world called such things—

Evil Gear.

But in the end—

it was only another form of power.

Kanzaki Rei had no aversion to such things.

As for why he hadn’t forged equipment this way before...

Simply because his level hadn’t been high enough.

And once it was—

he hadn’t had enough time.

After all, it was only upon reaching Level 2 Blacksmith

that he gained:

[God-Tier · Perfect Forging Heart]

Before that,

he hadn’t possessed truly complete forging formulas.

Attempting Evil Gear forging had been unrealistic.

Now—

with raw materials in hand—

he naturally could.

[Indra Brain Robe]

Equipment Tier: Second Tier

Forging Effect: Indra Living BrainWhile wearing this equipment, one may directly comprehend knowledge this brain learned in life.

Forging Effect: Water-SoftThis equipment is as soft and fluid as water.

Forging Effect: Focus DomainWhile wearing this equipment, entering a state of mental concentration becomes easier.

Enchantment Effect: True Eye TowerThe wearer gains the True Eye Tower within their Sea of Consciousness, enabling observation of reality.

This was the Brain Robe Kanzaki Rei had forged.

For knowledge-type equipment like this,

raw attack and defense were not the focus.

Unfortunately—

Second Tier lacked truly powerful alloys capable of granting stronger knowledge augmentation.

There was only so much forging effects could achieve.

Putting on the gray robe with its unnaturally soft texture—

Kanzaki Rei’s consciousness re-entered his mindscape.

The first thing he saw—

was the palace he had built for Ansu.

Ansu looked up at him.

Kanzaki Rei resembled a god,

gazing over the Sea of Consciousness

as though inspecting the mortal realm.

Ansu rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue.

Internally, he cursed Kanzaki Rei’s smugness a few times—

Though said nothing aloud.

His temperament wasn’t bothered by such things.

Kanzaki Rei ignored him.

In a single instant—

he arrived before a tower wrapped in clouds.

[True Eye Tower]

The enchantment effect of this robe

was almost like the mindscape structure granted when certain classes reached Level 5 mastery.

Kanzaki Rei had directly gained

a new Sea of Consciousness structure.

[Eye of Truth: See reality hidden beneath fabricated concealment.]

For breaking falsehoods,

seeing through disguises,

shattering illusions—

It should be quite useful.

As for how powerful it truly was...

Even Kanzaki Rei couldn’t say.

At minimum—

it definitely could not see through the concealment of the Unsolvable Riddle.

Which meant there were certainly things in the world beyond even its sight.

At the end of the day,

this was merely an enchantment effect.

A mindscape structure.

Nothing absolute.

Tap.

In an instant—

Kanzaki Rei arrived inside the tower.

At the same time,

his real-world eyes slowly opened.

His pupils glowed,

faintly white.

His gaze swept through the room.

Nothing unusual.

Then—

he spread out his perception.

Shhha—

The instant his perception unfolded—

every class-holder of Level 3 or above in the City of Silent Darkness lifted their heads toward the sky.

They all felt an overwhelmingly powerful perception sweep over them.

It was so bright—

it almost felt visible.

Then just as quickly—

the light vanished.

Huuu...

As this wave of perception passed—

Kanzaki Rei saw the land itself as slightly dimmer than normal sight revealed.

Darker.

And in portions—

stained with purple-black corruption.

So this...

was the Abyssal erosion Indra’s research had described.

His suicide had partly involved Kanzaki Rei.

But aside from the fate of death—

the subjective reason Indra chose suicide

was still his discovery of an Abyssal problem he could not solve.

Erosion and corruption were polluting Hollow Valleys...

And now—

Kanzaki Rei saw it with his own eyes.

His perception continued extending.

Toward Luluvi and the others.

They had already been fighting for a full day and night.

Once an Abyss Rift opened—

Abyss creatures poured out endlessly.

Until the Rift closed on its own.

If an adventuring party ran out of stamina,

or lacked strength to handle the monsters—

the kingdom would take over.

And all remaining spoils

would belong to the state.

It was a tremendous source of revenue.

Most small and medium adventuring parties—

Even those in alliances—

could never kill every Abyss creature.

But...

Shumi’s party this time

was astonishingly fierce.

Though these were Fifth-Tier Abyss monsters—

the same level as they were—

they kept killing relentlessly.

Without pause.

Only the mage seemed tired,

recovering mana.

This Rift should continue for at least another three days...

As Kanzaki Rei thought this—

his gaze turned toward the Abyss Rift itself.

Normally,

humans could not enter an Abyss Rift.

An immense repulsive force prevented it.

As though the Abyss’s laws themselves declared:

You may not go upward.

But if one entered the Abyss through a Rift—

that meant moving upward.

And by the law of the Abyss—

upward was downward.

Entering the Abyss through the Rift

was equivalent to leaving the Abyss through the Rift.

And so— 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

no matter how one approached it—

entering through a Rift was impossible.

Looking inward revealed only darkness.

But now—

through the True Eye Tower—

Kanzaki Rei saw something beyond the Rift.

On the other side—

Eyes.

Watching.

They were looking at Luluvi.

Watching Shumi.

...

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