Seals.
They were an extension of a hero's ability.
A seal could grant a hero with special skills as well as other powers that they could not obtain normally.
Or so the fairy said.
Apparently only 4-star heroes and above could obtain a seal.
Moreover, a hero could obtain a second seal once they reached 5-star and obtain a third one once they became a 6-star, which would enhance their power tremendously.
Sigyn already had three 4-star heroes in their army that had a seal of their own.
Ulrica, Djhotti, and Graihan.
These three heroes had special background to themselves, which allowed them to be privileged to unique powers.
Ulrica was a Near-Kin of the Guntur people. She had the blood of an ancient dragon in her veins, allowing her to draw immense powers from it.
Graihan as a lycanthrope inherited special prowess that no ordinary humans could replicate.
As a Keeper, Djhotti possessed a range of great abilities that made him one of the finest warriors in all of Dunia.
Training alone would not allow us to learn what those heroes were capable of.
We needed something more. Something otherworldly to bridge the impossibilities.
The Advent Stone was that bridge.
"How would this rock grant me a seal? Do we need a facility like the promotion chamber to use it?"
I asked the fairy as I stared at the Advent Stone in my hand.
We were still inside the Tactical Post. It had not been half an hour since most of the Third Advanced Scouts perished in the twentieth floor.
Alam shook her head upon my words.
She turned to the window which overlooked the first floor square.
[You'll use the Advent Stone on the rift of space-time. The Advent Stone will open a new dungeon inside the rift from which you can obtain a seal.]
As expected, the Advent Stone was something that could only be used in the forged land.
A rock that could create a dungeon.
We only had three dungeons inside the rift so far.
The Main Dungeon or the tower, our main objective of being in the forged land.
The Weekday Dungeons, the places where we could collect resources.
And the Exploration Dungeon, a gateway back to reformed Dunia.
Now we would be introduced to a new one.
The higher we climbed the tower, the more absurd the forged land turned out to be.
This Advent Stone did not make matters any simpler.
"Speaking of the rift, I just remembered one thing. It's actually something I've been meaning to ask."
I told the fairy.
[Hm? What is it?]
I proceeded to open a portal to the second floor of the lobby.
A large stone gate depicting two winged-maidens embracing each other stood tall beyond the portal.
It was a replica of the space-time rift on the first floor square.
"Where does this second rift leads to?"
I asked the fairy.
She immediately shrugged her shoulders.
[Can't tell you. It's classified.]
"Then why is it already built?"
[Don't worry. I will tell you about it once you've cleared the twentieth floor. You can't do anything with it before then anyway.]
I supposed it was the same as the Weekday Dungeons and the Exploration Dungeons.
Two facilities that were only available after we climbed certain points in the tower.
[Enough with the questions already!]
Alam suddenly yelled as she snatched the Advent Stone from me.
[We still have some preparations to do before you can get your seal. Come, follow me to the item synthesis lab!]
She said before disappearing with the glowing rock.
The synthesis lab?
I wondered what it had to do with the Advent Stone.
As the fairy instructed, I teleported myself to the item synthesis lab in the magic hall.
It was basically an improved enchantment station.
After the improvement of the magic hall, the enchantment station now had a section of its own, which formerly was part of the alchemy lab.
The enchantment station had become a huge room lined with shelves of elemental stones as well as rows of weapons and other equipment.
This place was where we enchanted our gears, created enchantment stones, and produced golem cores, which was why the facility was now called the item synthesis lab.
Alam was already waiting for me by the large enchantment pedestal at the center of the room.
The magic equipment had actually been modified and resembled more like a wide cauldron now. Except that various magic runes were carved all over its surface.
An enchantment vessel was a more accurate name for it.
We still had the regular flat enchantment pedestal where we would enchant our weapons.
The vessel was used when we had to use liquid material for the enchantment process. Or when we had to enchant a bunch of objects all at once.
Anyway, I went to Alam and discovered that she had laid the Advent Stone inside the vessel, as well as another object.
A silver feather which resonated with vague whispering voices.
"This is one of the object we obtained from the tenth floor's subquest."
I remarked as I gazed upon the feather.
Alam nodded.
[That's right. Now Master wants you to fuse this feather with the Advent Stone.]
I frowned at the fairy's words.
"Fuse? For what purpose?"
Surprisingly, the fairy proceeded to answer my question with an extensive explanation.
[As I've told you, the Advent Stone is used to open a dungeon where you can obtain a seal.
[There are many types of seal existed and the dungeon they originated from varied as well.
[If you use a plain Advent Stone inside the rift, it will open a dungeon at random, which would grant you a random seal with generally random quality.]
"Let me guess, Master doesn't want to open the dungeon randomly."
I told the fairy.
She nodded.
[That's right. Master wants to open a special dungeon that could grant you a high-grade seal.
[You will need an attributed Advent Stone to get access to such dungeon.
[By synthesizing an Advent Stone with certain item, it would receive a unique attribute and a specific dungeon could be opened.
[Naturally, the rarer the fused item the more special the dungeon, hence the more unique and powerful the seal you'll obtain.]
There was a great depth to this seal system.
I supposed it had to be considering it was part of the forged land's law.
The seals belonged to Ulrica and the others were indeed varied.
There, of course, had to be some way to obtain certain kind of seal considering their extensive varieties.
"I assume by fusing this feather with the Advent Stone, I will be able to obtain a seal which relates to the feather's origin?"
I asked the fairy.
She nodded again.
[Pretty much. This feather in particular is an incredibly rare item. The rarest thing in the lobby, in fact.
[If you fuse it with the Advent Stone, you'll be able to open a special dungeon which rewards a high-grade seal.
[That is why Master is ordering you to synthesize the silver feather with the Advent Stone first.]
I had been speculating that this silver feather was the reason the lobby now had five 4-star heroes in the lobby.
If we fused it with the Advent Stone, would its effect on the heroes' summoning cease?
The fourth Quintal Trial kept turning out to be our greatest challenge yet.
Master probably wanted to increase our firepower by granting me a seal.
What was the point of having many 4-star heroes if we would just perish in the twentieth floor anyway?
What was the point of a strong army if we could not reach the top of the tower?
What was the point of the forged land if we could not save our world?
There was no reason for me denying this order.
My speculation regarding the silver feather was, indeed, just a speculation.
We had to focus on the battle that was certainly right in front of us.
If fate willed it, we would have more 4-star heroes regardless of the silver feather's presence.
"Let's begin."
I declared as I poured my mana into the vessel.
The runes on the magic equipment began to pulse with ethereal light.
My magical energy began to flow into the two objects inside.
"Interesting…"
I sounded as I probed the Advent Stone.
This peculiar artifact was structured in a way that I had never seen before.
There was an absolute vacuum to the stone that enabled it to potentially absorb anything.
And yet it also possessed this immense energy that could affect the threads of space and time.
I still had not figured out what the silver feather really was.
But I could fuse it with the Advent Stone, after I had comprehended the peculiar rock's properties.
So I began the fusion process.
[Starting item synthesis!]
[Selected materials – Intermediate Advent Stone, Fragment of Malaikat (SS)]
[Completed item – Unknown]
[Success rate – Unknown]
[Synthesis method – Automatic]
[Designated synthesizer – 'Serafina (★★★★)']
Swooshh!!!
Like a dam torn apart, a great surge of energy suddenly burst forth from the silver feather.
It took all I had to wrestle the powerful stream so it could flow into the Advent Stone.
"How could a single object…possess this much…power?!"
I grunted as I desperately controlled the raging torrent of energy.
The enchantment vessel began to shake.
The Advent Stone started to deform as it absorbed the astronomical amount of energy from the silver feather.
['Serafina (★★★★)'s Intermediate Enchantment has levelled up to level 8!]
['Serafina (★★★★)'s Intermediate Alchemy has levelled up to level 8!]
The fusion process seemed to be going forever.
My limbs began to feel numb after handling such a large amount of energy for this long.
But I must not falter.
I needed to complete the fusion process.
Our climb effort might depend on this seal I would obtain.
[★!Super Success!★]
['Serafina (★★★★)' has created 'Intermediate Advent Stone (Divine Malaikat Spirit)'!]