As an outsider and invader, Mystery was inherently a contaminant, possessing memetic properties that could distort reality and corrupt the minds of living beings.
In other words, mental corruption and reality alteration!
Moreover, it did so in a crude and forceful manner, inflicting severe harm on people's thoughts, minds, and even bodies.
This was fundamentally different from the reality alteration and fantasy creation Su Yun had produced using the system and Fantasy Power. It also meant that the two forces were completely opposed.
Since Su Yun had personally granted Artoria her template, he had naturally taken into account the mental corruption and interference caused by Mystery. Thus, having received the Inheritance, Artoria had an exceptionally strong resistance to Mystery's corruption.
The instant the thought of reuniting with her family arose in her mind, Artoria immediately realized something was wrong and instinctively resisted it.
The mental corruption of Mystery, which ordinary people could not resist, was easily blocked and could no longer affect Artoria's will in the slightest.
When she came to her senses, Artoria frowned at the picture frame, then raised the Sword in the Stone and brought it down on the object of Mystery.
Clang!
The picture frame split in two, and an eruption of magic power tore the force of Mystery apart.
An object of Mystery that could only be completely destroyed by humans with the sun or a nuclear bomb had now been destroyed just like that.
In an instant, the Mystery Domain created by Mystery vanished completely. The lights in the house came on all at once, and the decay that had eaten away at the building quickly receded, as though the foul stench of rot had been nothing but an illusion.
That was what happened when Mystery's invasion of reality ended: the parts of the real world it had corrupted naturally returned to normal.
However, the places that had been destroyed would not be restored, and the harm inflicted on people was just as real.
Only five people remained alive in the entire house, including the Yukinoshita Sisters.
At the same time, a Light Screen visible only to Artoria appeared before her.
[New Operator Mission (Complete)] [Congratulations! You've completed your first mission as an Operator of Destiny. You did a great job, but there's still room for improvement. Still, you've made an excellent start, and I look forward to seeing what you do next. Your mission reward has been issued. Please check it.] [Mission Reward: Inheritance Essence x1.]
Then Artoria saw a golden orb of light suddenly appear before her, and she instinctively reached out to catch it.
The moment she touched it, the orb merged into her body, and Artoria understood what it was.
Forged by Destiny specifically for its Operators, it could be used to strengthen them, much like an enhancement stone in a game.
According to the knowledge Artoria had received, her Inheritance could be enhanced seven times in total, and the first enhancement required five Inheritance Essences.
"So if I do a few more missions like this, I'll be able to strengthen my Inheritance, right?"
Artoria mused, instantly filled with enthusiasm for her first enhancement.
Still, it all felt a lot like a game: take on missions, earn rewards, then strengthen yourself...
"Of course it's a game. What do you expect? I'm a terrible game planner. I don't know how to do anything else, so I can only make it work like a game."
Su Yun shrugged, making no secret of the fact that it was deliberate.
A detailed battle results panel was displayed by the system in front of him, along with the Fantasy Power reward.
He had gained over three thousand Fantasy Power in one go, which was quite a haul.
As for that so-called Inheritance Essence, it was actually just one-fifth of a Fantasy Crystal.
What's more, the Fantasy Crystal was still in Su Yun's hands. He hadn't given it to Artoria at all; what she'd received was merely information packaged to look like one.
A lousy game planner was good at that sort of thing, after all.
Of course, Su Yun hadn't gone through all that trouble just to mess with her. He wouldn't have minded giving Artoria the Fantasy Crystal directly.
It was just that Artoria hadn't yet reached the level required to use one.
[Operator: Artoria Pendragon] [Gender: Female] [Age: 16] [Template: King Arthur (Fate)] [Level: 11] [EXP: 235/1900] [Mood: 92/100] [Health: 100/100] [Magic: 75%] [Current Status: On a mission]
These were Artoria's status changes after the battle, as quantified by the system.
Her level had increased from 10 to 11, giving her a slight boost in strength. More importantly, she had gained actual combat experience and a deeper understanding of her own power. The system reflected that as a level increase.
As for the requirements for using a Fantasy Crystal, she had to reach level 20 first. Once she met that first level cap, she could use a Fantasy Crystal to break through it, raising her maximum level from 20 to 30 and completing one Ascension.
After that, every ten levels, Artoria could complete another Ascension. Once she had completed all seven, she would reach the maximum level of 90.
But even that wouldn't be the limit. Su Yun was already planning a large-scale, over-the-top upgrade later on to break through the level-90 cap and make Artoria even stronger.
After all, she had to be powerful enough to become a useful Operator and fight Mystery!
So Su Yun was definitely a conscientious boss who treated his employees wonderfully—many times better than those wicked capitalists. Whether anyone else believed it or not, he certainly did.
Next, it was time to clean up the aftermath. Su Yun figured there was no need to keep watching, so he prepared to stop monitoring Artoria for the time being.
But just then, Su Yun sensed something. His eyes turned grave, and he murmured, "With an existence like that, those guys can't sit still already? They're moving much sooner than I expected... Still, they've come at just the right time!"
He glanced at the Fantasy Power count, which had already surpassed sixty thousand, and narrowed his eyes.
Chiba City, Yukinoshita Mansion.
The Nine-Tailed Fox Squad and Baal had entered the mansion.
All the detection equipment indicated that Mystery had disappeared, and they had also gotten in touch with Artoria and learned from her that Mystery had been dealt with.
Now it was up to them, as professionals from the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office, to handle the cleanup.
To be honest, this was an entirely new experience for the Nine-Tailed Fox Squad, and it left them feeling rather awkward.
After all, they had always been the ones to deal with Mystery while others cleaned up. Today, they had to do the cleaning themselves.
Fortunately, the information had already been sent to headquarters, and a support team would arrive soon to handle the professional cleanup.
For the moment, however, they had a small but troublesome problem to deal with.
The Yukinoshita Sisters, the victims and survivors, seemed to have been terribly unlucky. They had come into contact with Mystery. Their younger sister, Yukino, had touched the Flesh Monster with her right hand, and her older sister, Haruno, with her left. Both had been contaminated by Mystery. Now disgusting flesh was writhing over each of their hands, as though it were eating away at them.
Artoria had tried to suppress it with her magic, but it had not worked. Instead, although both girls were unconscious, their faces still showed signs of extreme pain. Cracks had appeared in their left and right arms, respectively, and blood was flowing from them. Clearly, though her magic could still counter Mystery, it had judged the Yukinoshita Sisters to be part of Mystery as well and tried to cleanse them along with it. That left Artoria unable to act for fear of making things worse.
To be honest, it was deeply frustrating. Artoria had become a supernatural fighter, but she had no healing abilities. Her solution to Mystery was simple: cut it down, and whatever needed cleansing would be cleansed.
Naturally, she couldn't cut down the two girls. And agencies dealing with Mystery in various countries had encountered victims like this before, so they had thorough procedures for handling them.
So when Baal assured her that the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office would take responsibility for treating the two girls, Artoria accepted with a heavy heart.
The girl felt guilty. In her eyes, if she had only been a little faster, she could have saved both victims unharmed. Instead, she had been just a little too slow, and the two girls had come into contact with an object of Mystery, allowing it to corrupt their bodies.
As she brooded over this, Artoria's expression suddenly changed. She turned to Baal with the look of someone facing an enemy and said, "Miss Baal, please take everyone else and retreat immediately!"
Baal was taken aback. "Miss Artoria, did you notice something?"
Cold sweat ran down Artoria's face. The cowlick on her head and the fully developed Instinct skill she had gained through her Inheritance were both warning her frantically. "Something extremely dangerous is coming!"
As the words left her mouth, the Mystery Domain descended without warning!
The entire wealthy district was engulfed, and the lights representing the flame of human civilization all went out in an instant!
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