The Search for the Dark Crystal
"Lots of wind-element spells, a few water and earth spells… Overall, while it wasn't bad, it wasn't impressive either."
Edric tossed the books aside.
In the past, he had desperately sought spellbooks, lacking the talent and knowledge to create his own spells. But now, with the help of [Magic Computer (Pink)], [Magic Intuition (Cyan)], [Formation Intuition (Cyan)], and [Spell Intuition (Cyan)], he could craft mythic-level spells with relative ease. Comparing his personally designed spells to those in the books… they were indeed a bit inferior—but not by much.
"These mythic spells were likely created by ultra-tier elven mages. No wonder they're so masterfully crafted. Being part of a powerful empire really has its advantages. If she came from some remote faction, there's no way she'd have spellbooks of this quality," Edric mused.
A few spells stood out as useful, such as [Water Shield], an excellent defense against fire-based attacks, and [Arrow], a wind-element spell not meant for attacking but for instant movement. While its range was short, it was incredibly simple to cast and perfect for dodging attacks or covering short distances in a flash.
Instant-movement spells, like [Shadow Leap], were invaluable for evading enemy strikes. They were simple, efficient, and easy to cast, but not without weaknesses. Edric had once faced a mage who dodged several of his attacks using [Shadow Leap]. At the time, he hadn't known how to counter it. But now, he did—eliminate all shadows, and the spell would become useless.
For mages, who were generally frail, knowing multiple instant-movement spells was crucial. Of course, Edric, who was also a Mythic Knight, didn't have to worry much about close combat.
"I can't use my own knight or mage abilities. As long as I maintain this disguise, I can only use her spells, and my physical rank is locked at Silver." He frowned. Sylvara was a Silver-ranked Knight in addition to being a Mythic Mage.
"The only way to access my full power is to deactivate [Disguise]. That's a weakness. It would have been ideal if I could use my own strength on top of Sylvara's."
"But I can use my skills, even while disguised as her," he reassured himself.
As he was lost in thought, a knock echoed through the room.
"Come in," Edric said.
An elf entered—a man appearing in his twenties, though who knew his true age? He bowed respectfully as he stepped forward.
"Your honor, I am here to retrieve the documents," he said.
Edric immediately understood. Every day, Sylvara signed documents and handed them to this man.
"Here they are, all signed and ready," Edric said, handing over the papers.
The elf hesitated for a brief moment. The judge seemed a little more energetic today than usual… but he said nothing. Taking the documents, he bowed once more and left.
After the man left, Edric leaned back, lost in thought.
"There doesn't seem to be any system tasks. Without them, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Hmm… I should just act as Sylvara and let time pass. I get 10,000 XP every day, so every day that passes is actually good for me," he mused.
Edric was never the type to take unnecessary risks, especially when the system provided free, risk-free XP daily. If there were a task with good rewards, he might have been tempted to be more proactive—but with no tasks available, there was no reason to push himself.
Ding!
New task available!
Part 1: Find the Dark Crystal in the Dark Forest. Reward: 100 million XP. Part 2: Replenish the Weird Blood inside the Dark Crystal. Reward: 200 million XP. Part 3: Once the Dark Crystal is ready, take it out of the Dark Forest and drop it in the Elven Imperial Capital. Reward: 500 million XP. Part 4: Once the land is wiped clean of inferior beings, repopulate it with your own descendants. Reward: 1 billion XP.
Edric's eyes widened.
"Too demonic!"
This was, by far, the most evil task he had ever received. It outright demanded the extermination of elves, even referring to them as "inferior beings."
But then, his gaze lingered on the rewards.
"Too good to ignore..."
After a moment of hesitation, he made his decision.
"Where do I even find the Dark Crystal?"
He had no idea what it was.
From Sylvara's memories, the Dark Forest was rumored to be a deadly, cursed place where anyone who entered would perish from poisoning. But Edric knew that wasn't true—he had spent months inside the forest, and here he was, completely fine.
"Either they were misled, or I'm immune somehow."
But that didn't add up. Too many powerful figures—legendary and mythic-ranked knights and mages alike—believed in the Dark Forest's danger. Could they all have been wrong?
"No… It's more likely that I have some kind of immunity. Maybe one of my skills protects me without me even realizing it."
As for the Dark Crystal, Sylvara's memories held no information about it. Finding it could take a long time.
Edric sighed.
Then, without hesitation, he dispelled [Disguise].
His form shifted back to his true self—vivid red hair and piercing green eyes. At the same time, a woman collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Edric didn't hesitate.
He summoned his Mythic Lance and slashed downward.
Sylvara's head separated cleanly from her body.
Her eyes flickered open in shock, but before she could even react, her Silver-ranked head was crushed beneath his foot.
"Now that I have her memories, I don't need to retrain myself so much," Edric thought.
While maintaining [Disguise], he couldn't use his own strength, which was a major downside.
The skill [Disguise] was nearly flawless, capable of fooling even Extreme-ranked mages, but such an advanced deception wasn't necessary in this remote region. As long as he could conceal his identity from Legendary mages, that was enough.
After tidying up, he cast a cloning spell. Before him, a perfect replica of Sylvara took shape—identical in appearance, power, and presence. A Mythic Mage, flawless enough to deceive even a Legendary Mage.
"Sylvara, you stay here and manage things as usual," Edric instructed.
The clone nodded obediently.
Originally, Edric had planned to stay here, accumulating XP passively while enjoying a peaceful life. But now that the system had issued a task, things had changed. He needed to search for the Dark Crystal, which meant he couldn't afford to keep [Disguise] active—it restricted his power too much.
The Mythic Clone he had just created contained an immense mana reserve, enough to cast multiple Mythic-tier spells and maintain itself for an infinite amount of time. Of course, if it were to engage in battle against other Mythic-ranked knights and mages, it would eventually exhaust its mana and disappear. But as long as it only handled administrative tasks—signing documents, managing affairs—it would persist indefinitely.
Clones had physical bodies of their own, and this one could even replenish its mana to a degree. As long as it didn't completely deplete its energy, it could theoretically exist forever.
Of course, there were risks. The longer a clone lived independently from the original, the greater the chance of breaking away and developing its own will. But Edric wasn't concerned. He had implanted mostly Sylvara's memories into the clone, leaving little of his own. Even if it did rebel, he wouldn't lose much. He could simply deactivate the spell and erase it.
Not that rebellion was likely.
Edric had placed countless restrictions in the clone's mind—layers of safeguards that would take years to bypass, if it were even possible at all.
Clones were inherently more independent than Incarnations and Avatars, which made them prone to defection. The fewer memories they inherited from the original, the higher the likelihood of breaking away.
Clones, incarnations, and avatars… though similar in concept, they were fundamentally different from one another.
Incarnations were fragments of a higher being's will, descending into pre-existing bodies. For example, if Edric forcibly inserted his will into an ordinary person, he could control that body—it would function as his Incarnation. Though it wouldn't be his body, it would still act entirely according to his will.
However, Incarnations required constant attention from the original body, meaning they could not rebel unless the host body was already strong enough to resist.
If Edric took over someone's body but left behind only a fragment of his will, allowing it to operate without his direct control, then it wouldn't be an Incarnation—it would be a Clone.
Clones did not need genetic similarity to the original. They didn't even need to share the same soul or any direct or indirect connection.
This led to an interesting question.
What exactly defines a clone?
A clone is an independent being that was once part of a larger entity and remains loyal to that entity. If it defects, it can no longer be considered a clone. Conversely, if it was never part of the larger entity to begin with, it cannot be considered a clone.
The mana that formed Sylvara's clone once belonged to Edric, and since it remained loyal to him, it was unquestionably his clone.
Most of the time, the definition of a clone is clear. However, in certain cases, it can become murky. The most important factor is that the larger entity must be responsible for the clone's existence. While there are rare situations where it's difficult to determine whether a smaller entity is truly a clone, in most cases, the distinction is obvious.
As for Avatars, they are nothing more than projections—pure energy constructs that resemble humanoid forms but have no real body or independent will of their own.
...
After ensuring everything was in order with Sylvara, Edric departed for the Dark Forest in search of the Dark Crystal.
At the same time, he instructed Sylvara to use her authority and resources as the Presiding Judge to gather any relevant information regarding the artifact.