Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

649. The Page of a Corrupted, and the Power of The Light

Elsewhere, in a certain Library –

“Even when we’re Corrupted, pieces of us are still here, huh. We don’t fully lose ourselves.” Frost noted.

It was an obvious statement. But having experienced the Corruption twice caused her to put particular emphasis on this.

“That’s how we can Realize ourselves, and even be brought back through Salvation. What do you think? The Corrupted can feel like an extension or augmentation of aspects of us, with the whole just sitting somewhere at its core?”

Anna, who joined Frost and Nav in her Library, slipped the book she carried into an empty slot on a shelf and said:

“It’s one thing for people. But what about Corrupted that aren’t born from people, but just their thoughts? Their fears, their desperation? The Yetzirah says there’s 11 Affinities. Only one gets to be drawn out as person’s true self. I hate that we call it ‘true’, but it really does feel that way from what I’ve read.”

She ran her fingers gently down the spine of the Iron Candle, which was shelved in her cozy section of the Eternal Library. Tea was eternally served here, and Nav took every opportunity to help herself with an equally endless supply of cupcakes shipped from Kissaria.

“So, why did you bring me up here all of a sudden?” Frost asked, folding her arms softly.

She was now in a more casual apparel, with just a regular black coat, shorts, black tights, and a pair of black and golden, fluffy slippers made by Ber.

The picture of the Sleepy Frost’s face was embroidered on the slipper.

Her air of authority didn’t disappear at all, but she had a homier feeling to her in that apparel. Her Coat of Prejudice was sent to Kissaria again for repairs. But this time she specifically requested it to be strengthened in any way possible.

Of course, she also mentioned that she’d be happy to use her body again as a material. Anything if meant that it would stop breaking after every encounter.

“I found something you will want to see! It’s about your Corruption Personas.”

“Do you mean Corrupted Personas?”

“Corruption. It’s the form you took while you were Corrupted. You didn’t Realize or come back normally, so they weren’t Archived. But that’s the interesting part!”

Anna exclaimed like a ball of childish energy, sifting through the bookshelves where she pulled out a book with only a single page.

“Look at this! It’s an incomplete Book of the Vengeful Red-Hooded Avenger. We can’t use it as a Corrupted Persona, so adding it to a Collection is out of the question. But take a look at this!”

Anna tore out the page. She channeled light into the Corrupted page, and suddenly, the Vengeful Red-Hooded Avenger appeared.

< Manifesting the Page of The Vengeful Red-Hooded Avenger >

It took the appearance of Frost, but not to the point where one would immediately think it was her.

Unlike Corrupted Personas and Corrupted Manifestations, the Corrupted existed as its own separate self. It was closer to the Archived Main Sequence Corrupted, who could fight alongside the Archetypes within the Nexus.

< Bonding Complete >

Its stats were heavily decreased. But what took Frost aback the most was the inclusion of a brand-new Stat.

Light

< Manifestation of infinite possibilities, born from the conversion of Nex. May only be used in the presence of the Nexus. Requires tremendous amounts of Nex to create >

“Each of its attacks uses Light. So when it extinguishes it, it’ll end up returning to this Book. We can then summon it again!” Anna answered. “This is the start of a new kind of power! Isn’t it exciting!?”

“Absolutely.” Frost nodded, also eager to understand it better. “But I didn’t expect to see it this soon. Not right after the Arbiter used a power like it. I thought we’d at least start with that. Still… Absolution. Nav. Does the Voice know the difference between the two?” Frost asked, moving to touch the Corrupted.

“I think you should be more concerned about the conversion ratio. It’s currently one billion Nex to one Light. We should start introducing new terms to describe such vast quantities, including HP and MP. Mega for millions, and Giga for billions.” Nav suggested. “Hm? What’s wrong?”

Frost’s jaw dropped to the ground, and the Book nearly stumbled straight out of Anna’s hands as she stumbled all over the place.

“You’re… That’s a joke, right? Nav. NAV! Don’t… don’t do this to me. What are the reserves like?”

Nav did not care in the slightest about their concerns. She was too busy enjoying her cupcakes and tea.

“Enough where several summons won’t put a dent into the Nexus. The daily Nex Requirement is at 200,000,000 Nex to maintain. We have plenty of excess. I think we’re around a few hundred billion Nex in total. The Voice claims it has the specific numbers. Is it time to go now?”

“Yeah... Thank goodness for that. I thought we just killed the Nexus with this. Hey. Hello. Can you hear me?” Frost tried speaking to the Corrupted, but it just vacantly stared back, tilting its head to both directions before suddenly –

*Floof~*

“A-Ah… Yes?”

– The Corrupted plopped its head onto Frost’s chest, its eyes closed with euphoria as if it had sat down for the first time in its life.

< Bonded has ended with Anna >

< The Vengeful Red-Hooded Avenger is now Bonded with Frost >

“T-That’s because…!” Anna looked down at her measly chest in despair. “Wait, but Frost isn’t that different from me!”

“Jury will be the judge of that.” Nav coldly said, disagreeing with Anna. Nav curiously stared down at herself, then at the Corrupted. “Though if it was a matter of size… then it should have come to me.”

“You two… Listen. Can we unsummon it?”

“No. Jury needs competition to thrive.” Nav nodded to herself. “I jest. I don’t know myself, but I doubt the Light can be refunded after it’s been converted.”

Frost sighed dejectedly. Well, there wasn’t any harm in keeping it around. Or ‘Her’ around? Frost didn’t know how to refer to the Corrupted properly. On the bright side, the Nexus was much safer now with a Corrupted of her caliber ready to pounce at any threat.

So, Frost made the decision to keep the Vengeful Red-Hooded Avenger around for now.

That was until suddenly, an obnoxious voice called from behind the shelves.

“Frooooost! Is this where you’ve been!? Just cause I ain’t got access to your Blessing doesn’t mean you can ignore me! I wanted to ask you something!” That voice belonged to Cer.

The Red Avenger tore her head away from Frost’s chest, her eyes burning with sudden hatred.

“Since you can manifest tales, how about you take a bite of my tail and manifest it –!?”

Cer was met with the end of a barrel the moment she turned the corner. A massive sniper rifle had formed in the hand of the Red Avenger, and she had ever intent to eliminate Cer where she stood.

< The Vengeful Red-Hooded Avenger has detected a soon-to-be bad wolf >

< It will cull it before it can have the chance to hunt >

However, it did not attack. Neither did Frost foresee it attacking. It dropped its weapon, holding it to the side as it scoffed to itself.

< In a change of heart, it senses that the soon-to-be bad wolf is misunderstood >

The prompt was surprising.

And knowing how these things work, Frost interpreted a deeper meaning behind it as her gaze mellowed on Cer. But then, she was reminded why this sentiment was a rarity.

“Heh. What can I say? Even a Corrupted will stand down against a wolf like me. Yeah, I can tell that’s a Corrupted even without the Blessing.”

The Red Avenger’s eyes narrowed in irritation.

Cer must have been the first person in the world to get under the skin of a Corrupted.

She was lucky that the Red Avenger didn’t change her mind.