Unholy Player-Chapter 165: Cragfin Sentinel

After his call with Henry Bates ended, Adyr’s Earth body headed to the Talent Training Floor to resume his simulation grind.

At the moment, he had 15 available talent slots. His goal was to register at least 4 more Level 2 talents—ones he could later upgrade to Level 3 with minimal effort. Eventually, he planned to bring all his existing Level 2 talents up to Level 3 as well.

He intended to push his progression in a rapid cycle, continuing until he hit a threshold—until the system, or his own limits, forced him to stop.

While his Earth body moved with determined focus to complete its assigned mission, Adyr’s Game body had just wrapped up a tactical debrief with the other Practitioners, covering general knowledge and future planning.

By then, the black-and-white sun had already begun to shift—its golden hues casting soft light over the land. Adyr thanked Liora and the others, then politely took his leave.

With 10 Spark slots available and only 4 currently filled, it was time to return to the Market District and acquire more Sparks, especially now that he had gathered sufficient knowledge to make informed decisions.

Lucen’s sword training had been postponed for now. His Earth body was already at Player Headquarters registering talents, so there was no rush on that front.

Sparks made up the foundation of his power. Prioritizing them made sense, especially since his [Sanctuary] would soon need carefully tailored environments to house each one. Planning and setup would be labor-intensive, and he wanted to get it done while he still had breathing room.

While en route to the market grounds, Adyr reviewed his plans in silence, his gaze occasionally drifting to the sky and the landscape passing beneath him. Currently, he possessed 4 Sparks—and thus, 4 active Skills:

For debuff utility: Sense Fade, granted by the Null Maggot.

For movement and melee attack: Burst Hop, from the Pulse Hopper, and Wraith Glide, newly acquired from Dusk Rend. The latter, while primarily a mobility skill, also offered limited defensive value due to its hardening wings, but not enough to count as a proper defensive ability.

And lastly, for pure offense: the Sonic Burst skill of the Echo Screamer.

On the surface, it seemed like a diverse arsenal. But Adyr was aiming for a balanced, adaptable build—and from that perspective, he still had critical gaps.

The biggest were in defense and healing. His evolved body already came with passive regeneration and an innate talent that allowed him to absorb life force from raw meat. But that wasn’t enough. He needed a skill that could actively accelerate recovery during live combat.

With that in mind—and after reviewing options from the field guide Liora had given him—he selected his targets and reached the market zone within a few hours.

The first Spark on his list was a rare one. He knew exactly what he was after. After scouting several stalls and comparing prices, he eventually found the most affordable option in a Nether-aligned shop with a stone atmosphere.

Unlike his previous visits, this shop wasn’t on the first or second floors. It was located on the third floor—the one dedicated to Rank 3 Sparks.

Now that he was officially a Rank 2 Practitioner, he had access to Rank 3 options. And the Spark currently floating before him carried a skill no one at his level should pass up.

A bit pricey... but absolutely worth it.

Adyr peered into a stone basin, where several small fishlike creatures floated in mineral-rich fluid, their lengths ranging from 10 to 15 centimeters.

Then, a system prompt appeared in front of him.

[Name] Cragfin Sentinel

[Path] Nether

[Rank] 3

[Ability] Lithoform Hide / Crystal Surge / Seismic Anchor

Description:

Cragfin Sentinels reside in mineral-rich basins composed of solid rock and sharp crystal formations. They move by gliding or dragging themselves across the terrain. Their bodies are dense and compact, resembling fish with segmented, overlapping armor plates formed from fused stone and trace minerals.

They do not possess eyes or fins. Instead, they rely on internal sensors to detect vibration and pressure changes in their surroundings. Cragfin Sentinels feed by absorbing minerals directly through contact with solid surfaces. The more minerals they consume, the more their outer shell condenses and hardens.

Ability — Lithoform Hide, Crystal Surge, Seismic Anchor:

The Cragfin Sentinel is protected by a Lithoform Hide—an adaptive outer shell composed of dense, layered minerals that passively disperses incoming physical force. As long as it maintains contact with mineral-rich surfaces, this shell gradually regenerates. When under threat, the creature triggers a Crystal Surge by releasing sharp, pressurized fragments of its armor in a localized burst, damaging nearby targets and reducing its mobility until the outer layer reforms. In unstable environments or when overwhelmed, it activates Seismic Anchor, locking itself into the terrain to enhance stability, resist forced movement, and detect vibrations across solid ground with increased sensitivity.

Adyr read the description with quiet satisfaction. Being Rank 3, the Cragfin Sentinel had three abilities, but when subdued, only one unique skill could be extracted. According to Liora’s notes, that skill would be the passive Lithoform Hide.

This ability didn’t just grant up to 10% additional protection against physical attacks. Its greatest advantage was that it was passive, requiring no activation or energy consumption, and constantly remained in effect.

By subduing this Spark and housing it within Twilight Land, Adyr would gain a steady 10% increase in physical damage resistance.

The best part was that Lithoform Hide could stack. Each additional Cragfin Sentinel subdued would add another 10% resistance. Theoretically, subduing 10 of them would make it 100% and double his physical damage resistance.

This meant that as his natural defenses improved over time, Adyr would always benefit from a multiplied effect, up to twice his baseline durability, making this skill both reliable and scalable.

And there was one more advantage for Adyr. Since he maintained the role of an Astra Path practitioner, and because this particular Spark had no active abilities that might expose its true nature, no one would suspect it belonged to the Nether Path. Its effects were passive and non-intrusive, offering no visual traits or behaviors that could reveal its origin.

If he ever needed to explain his unusually high physical resilience, he could simply claim to have subdued a Spark from the Astra Path that enhanced endurance. It was a plausible answer. And more importantly, no one ever directly asked a practitioner what Sparks they owned—it was considered both rude and intrusive.

When Adyr checked the price tag, he saw that each Cragfin Sentinel was listed at 700 crystals by energy value. This was the cheapest offer he had found. For a Rank 3 Spark, it was exceptionally affordable. The reason was clear: Cragfin Sentinels were easier to locate and subdue compared to other Sparks of the same tier. That made them extremely valuable to someone like Adyr, who prioritized practical efficiency over prestige.

If he wanted to obtain a similar level of physical resistance from an Astra-aligned Spark, prices would start at 2,000 crystals by energy value. Since physical durability wasn’t the Astra Path’s main focus, Sparks with such traits were rarer and more expensive.

Ever since gaining access to the third floor, Adyr had been tracking the prices of Rank 3 Sparks and had seen how absurdly high some of them could go.

This was another key advantage of having access to all four Paths. He could target any specific trait or ability he needed, compare Sparks across all Paths, and choose the most cost-effective one to subdue. He wasn’t bound by convention or expectation—only by efficiency.

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