Reborn as a Leader: King's Debauchery, SSS-Yandere Harem and Evolution-Chapter 32 - Integrity of Artifacts

’Explain,’ Akhil inquired after mentioning how their lives were linked with the artifact.

He considered that he would have definitely abandoned them, but somehow, knowing the length of time they had spent for him, he did not want to let them die like this.

Although they were just tools for him to accomplish his revenge until the end, and there were no feelings in his heart, it appeared that due to sharing two personalities while dealing with them, his other self—who was still him—had developed unconscious feelings for them.

These feelings, though not love, were definitely a bond.

And he was not sure, but they had become more than just tools to an end for him.

[Host, their souls are linked with the Integrity of Artifacts.]

’!?’

’Which one?’ Akhil was clearly taken aback, given that the integrity of an artifact is the basis that determines the remaining strength it has to manifest its abilities.

To be more specific, every artifact naturally has a particular ability aligned with it.

However, when using its ability repeatedly, the artifact itself needs to recover to a certain percentage to use those abilities effectively.

For example, if someone possesses a dagger-type artifact with an integrity percentage of 30%, this percentage denotes the artifact’s overall peak condition, which has been diluted due to bloodline loss and is permanent.

If that person were to use the dagger artifact in battle, each time the dagger vanishes due to colliding with something far stronger, it would start to lose integrity by a value of 5%.

However, of course, this loss is temporary.

By residing in the Dominion, the integrity lost in battle would recover over time until it reaches its peak condition of 30%.

If compared to an example from his past life, it could be likened to an old battery.

An old battery, although it once provided 100% of its capacity, after several years, may only deliver 40% or 30% of its maximum output, needing to be recharged every time it exhausts—making that 40% or 30% the new peak state even though it was 100% at its new phase.

It is the same for the artifacts, which lose their permanent integrity over time, determined by the threshold of their tier; for instance, 100% integrity is for shattered tier, while 400% is for dim tier.

As the tier increases, so do the percentage levels.

Due to the dilution of the bloodline, as the artifacts become weaker, they lose their overall integrity permanently, breaking into several parts.

For example, if a parent possesses an artifact with 400% integrity, which automatically places it in the dim tier, and it is passed down to their children—if divided into four parts—the integrity would become 100% for each, thus automatically making the artifact fall into the shattered tier.

Though it would be the same artifact, it is now divided into four different fragments and pieces and has been passed down to the children.

It is the same for everyone with an impure bloodline to have a low tier of the artifact, considering that what they possess is a degraded and fragmented version of a stronger artifact.

Considering integrity are nothing but fragments of artifacts that break while being passed down through the bloodline.

Naturally, given 1,000 years ago, even if a person possessed an artifact at the highest level, as fragments and integrity divide among upcoming generations, the artifact would dilute, breaking into several parts and ultimately falling into the lowest tier.

Thus, the mechanism of this world is not too difficult to understand, as it simply follows a designated threshold of integrity that determines its tier.

The integrity is divided into permanent and temporary parts, where the temporary loss can be recovered and is fixed to the performance and present state of the artifact, while the permanent portion is inherited through bloodlines and linked with the scattered fragments of the artifact.

So, Akhil presently had inquired about to which integrity is their soul was connected to? Permanent or temporary?

[ Both, to be exact ]

’...be brief,’ Akhil halted outside the cell, not leaving the dungeon cell, considering that outside was Grace standing nearby.

Though she was not looking inside, he did not want to deal with her presently, as this was more important to him.

It was the only thing remaining from his past life and also the answer to the question of why he was alive.

[Host, their souls are linked with the integrity of the artifact, considering that each time it loses its temporary integrity, pain is inflicted on their bodies too. Because like normal artifacts, they are now artifacts themselves. So each time the artifact vanishes, they face severe backlash and pain, which, though healed in the dominion, is akin to them being killed each time. But for the permanent one, if their overall integrity reaches 0%, then they would most probably lose their permanent integrity too. Considering their souls are bound to the artifact by me, it doesn’t necessarily follow the safety mechanism of this world.]

’!’

Akhil heard the system’s explanation and recalled that, according to this world’s mechanism, when an artifact keeps losing its integrity in a battle and finally reaches the value of 5%, it stops materializing and remains dormant inside the dominion, which stores the artifact while recovering its integrity.

This is a safety measure to protect the artifact from completely vanishing and losing its permanent integrity.

However, according to the system, given that Laila and Niharika both were now part of artifacts due to it’s own ability, they would still be able to materialize even after reaching the last remaining 5% temporary value, and if they were to lose even that remaining 5%, their souls would vanish.

Unlike how artifacts in that condition automatically remain inside and prevent themselves from being destroyed, they both would not have any restriction on that.

Akhil knew very well that if they could go this far as to kill their father and then bring him back to life, then most likely, if he were to find himself in a situation of death in the future, they would materialize themselves regardless of their integrity, even if it meant for them to be killed and vanish.

This made him understand what the system was pointing out.

It was hard to digest, but he definitely needed to upgrade the artifacts, considering he could not stop them from coming out. Naturally, in the future, to survive in this world, his life would be in danger.

Knowing their personalities, they would undoubtedly come back again and again to help him, even at the cost of their own lives.