After confirming that parsing the Fragment of Knowledge Authority wouldn't damage it, Luo Shu hesitantly agreed to let the system proceed with analysis.
The moment he gave consent, an invisible wind enveloped his palm. The current gathered rapidly and quickly formed a visible storm. Oddly enough, despite the violent turbulence swirling around his hand, it didn't harm him in the slightest.
Within the eye of the storm, the diamond-shaped blue crystal lit up with densely packed points of light, glittering like stars.
[Ding!]
[Parsing complete. Memory of the demon god Vasago has been acquired. Occupation data has been decoded and optimized based on system records. Would you like to view the job class information?]
"Wait!" Luo Shu immediately halted the system from going further and asked, "Make Vassago's memories accessible to me—I need to be able to view them at any time and interrupt them whenever I want."
[Command received. Vassago's memories have been compiled into a data archive.]
As soon as the system completed this action, a new "Data Archive" option appeared in Luo Shu's vision.
He tapped into the archive, skimming through the memories of the demon god summoned by Isaha while instructing the system, "Go ahead and list the job classes that suit me."
While issuing the command, Luo Shu readied himself to cross-reference whatever the system brought up with Vassago's memories. The extra steps were tedious, but he had no intention of being careless.
The system didn't seem to expect Luo Shu to be so thorough, but since it was only a tool with intelligence but no emotions, it simply carried out the command.
Soon enough, a series of job classes appeared before Luo Shu's eyes.
[Windbound Oathkeeper (Demi-God potential).]
[By forming a contract with the Wind Elemental King, wielder of the Authority of Wind, and etching a sacred brand onto the body, the user becomes its chosen kin. Grants absolute command over the wind element within the bearer's physical limits. Power is heritable through bloodline.]
[Demon of Knowledge (Godrealm potential).]
[A class created by the noble son of Hell Vassago, utilizing his core Authority: Knowledge. The class emphasizes the acquisition and understanding of knowledge, leaning heavily toward mental attributes. It possesses the trait: the more knowledge acquired, the more powerful the user becomes.]
[Harbinger of Calamity (Elite tier, advancement class, preliminary evaluation: Godrealm potential).]
[Pursuer of disaster, loophole in order, a hybrid class. Core attribute: Catastrophe. Grants access to wield natural calamities such as windstorms, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, lightning storms, etc. Allows one to bestow disasters upon others and absorb strength in the process—such is the Harbinger of Calamity.]
There were only three classes listed, but a glance told Luo Shu all he needed to know.
"Windbound Oathkeeper has the lowest potential and puts me under the thumb of the Wind Elemental King—absolutely not an option. Demon of Knowledge sounds good on paper, but I just scammed Vassago. What happens if he comes for revenge? If I choose this class, would I end up being forced to serve its creator?"
"So... the only real option is the Harbinger of Calamity, huh?"
With that thought, Luo Shu silently opened the Data Archive and searched for why the system had chosen this class in the first place.
Suddenly, his perspective shifted.
He became a devoted deity responding to the prayers of believers, gaining conceptual power through worship. This god resided in a divine realm, watching over the infernal plane. From on high, it received the offerings of its followers and, in times of peril, bestowed wisdom upon the faithful, allowing them to overcome adversity through knowledge.
One day, this god answered a prayer from a believer who, while not particularly devout, consistently offered new knowledge and rare items. The god descended to a location to guide her fate.
But the moment its divine will touched the believer's soul, attempting to discern her condition and offer enlightenment, the Authority of Knowledge responded, warning the god that the location it had entered... was another deity's divine realm.
And that seemingly "useful" follower? She was planning to possess a human being under the protection of another god.
Before the god could react, the other deity noticed its intrusion.
In an instant, typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, sandstorms, and hailstorms descended upon the god's consciousness. The catastrophic onslaught surged into its true form, devastating its divine realm in a flash.
At the same moment, the Authority of Knowledge returned—bearing a slew of indecipherable data—and reported: the god had trespassed into the divine realm of the Calamity Sovereign.
Using the Authority of Knowledge to defend itself, the god was able to decrypt a sliver of the Calamity Sovereign's power. Just a fragment.
That tiny fragment: Harbinger of Calamity (Elite). Calamity Sovereign (Godrealm).
The vision ended.
Luo Shu's eyes snapped open, and his expression turned unusually complicated.
"So the class came from Vassago accessing my divine realm?"
"This divine realm I'm in... it belongs to the Calamity Sovereign?"
"No, that's not all. Vassago is also a Godrealm-level existence, but he was utterly helpless against this Calamity Sovereign, whose will was guided by mine. That means... the Calamity Sovereign's power alone wouldn't account for it."
"This divine realm must contain power above even the Calamity Sovereign. Vassago was wounded because he was struck by a force at a higher level."
"That fits with his memory—the Knowledge Authority returned with data too vast to parse. And now, that indecipherable information... is right here in my hand."
As he said this, Luo Shu began to toy with the diamond-shaped blue crystal in his palm. Inside it lay a fragment of a god's Authority—specifically, Vassago's.
And the analysis results delighted him.
[Fragment of the Authority of Knowledge. Within it lies a trace of an even greater power—Calamity.]
[This fragment was stripped from a god who, due to a follower's blunder, accidentally provoked a higher being. If fully consumed and digested by a living being, it would bestow near-demi-god strength. Suspected to be an advancement material for certain classes.]
[Note 1: The fragment contains mixed powers. Host is advised to separate the Authority of Knowledge from the embedded Calamity Power.]
[Note 2: After separation, the Knowledge fragment can serve as advancement material for the Demon of Knowledge class, and the Calamity Power can serve as advancement material for Harbinger of Calamity.]
"So Vassago's memories also include the method to summon the Wind Elemental King. That's why all three classes showed up—they're all eligible for advancement."
"With that in mind, there's really no decision to make."
Luo Shu chuckled, then crushed the diamond-shaped crystal in his hand. As shards of the gem scattered into the air, two objects materialized: a phantom, translucent brown tome and a new blue diamond-shaped crystal, its interior roiling with miniature storms, tidal waves, lightning, and solar flares.
Luo Shu reached out and touched the storm-crystal.
At the same time, a matching blue crystal appeared in the real world, nestled in Luo Shu's hand.
He stood up and glanced at Kisara, who was still unconscious on the hospital bed. Then he turned his eyes to the plastic water bottle on the nearby nightstand and raised a hand.
The full bottle floated over to him and was sliced neatly in two by a blade of wind, adjusted perfectly to match the crystal's size.
With a splashing noise, half of the water hit the ground while the rest stayed in the cut-off bottle base. Luo Shu dropped the storm crystal into the water, then lifted the half-bottle... and downed it in one gulp.