It likely didn’t cancel his glitch, since it wasn’t empowering him the way [Focus] did. As Ash understood it, it was simply increasing his base stats.
Sadly, he could only test that later once his left arm was back. And his tail...
With most of his tail gone, his maximum mana pool was two-thirds of what it should have been.
Ash reequipped [Sealed Fate] and turned to his right. All he had to do was follow the ridge between zones, and he’d eventually reach the Totem.
While he did want to go back and check it out, along with the functions revealed by the slight injection of knowledge he’d received upon reaching Level 5, he was first going to head to the edge of the basin and call upon the Goddess of Spring.
***
It was a calm walk.
Relatively... considering what walks like were in the seal.
A Marauder did ambush him at one point, but he swiftly dispatched it without much issue. The main notable thing in the encounter was that [Danger Sense] warned him much later than it should have. That didn’t seem to be because the Marauder was no longer much of a threat, but rather because of a skill it possessed.
Ash got a good look at it with [Glasses of Knowledge] and even used [Assessment] to peek at its status.
♱♱♱
[Marauder]
LEVEL: 4
STR: [21]
AGI: [23]
DEX: [12]
INT: [19]
CON: [14]
ACTIVES: [Rake]
PASSIVES: [Stalk]
♱♱♱
Taking this one as a synecdoche of every Marauder he’d faced, Ash finally understood just how harrowing his situation had been when he’d fought three at once — as well as why each kill had rewarded him with so much EXP.
’I only got one EXP for killing it this time.’
Pitiful compared to the +11 he’d received before. Then again, he had reached the next tier and was now a higher level.
Anyway...
Ash continued calmly along the edge of the basin, watching the fish dip and weave through the water. Deep beneath the surface, he even spotted several dangerous-looking fish-humanoid hybrids, with other potential beasts lurking farther below.
Yet, nothing approached him.
He followed the bank until his legs carried him back near the spot where he’d first met her. He recognized it by the shape of the shoreline, having studied the area thoroughly during his first visit.
[You have equipped [Stone Throne]]
Ash watched the black stone rise from the dirt, phasing through the blades of grass rather than breaking them apart. Once it fully formed, he sat down, crossed his legs, and called out:
"Are you there, Goddess?"
For a moment, everything remained still.
Ash listened to water dripping, leaves rustling, and animals chirping as the fresh scent of the basin filled his nose.
Then, a warm pair of pale hands covered his eyes.
’She’s touching me...’
From behind him, a woman snickered:
"Hehe... guess who, darling."
Her fingers slid across his face and over his cheeks, restoring his sight.
Somehow, in the brief moment it had taken her to move her hands, she’d transported herself directly in front of him.
Either that, or it was an illusion.
She hovered there with one hand over her mouth while the other kept a steady stream of water swirling around her waist.
Of all the questions crowding his mind, Ash settled on one.
"Why are you still naked?"
The Goddess of Spring chuckled.
"Oh...? Do you not like my current outfit, darling?"
Ash looked her up and down. The only things concealing her were her long silver hair and the semi-transparent water.
"Can that even be called an outfit?"
The Goddess giggled.
"If I say it is, then it is!"
Ash sighed and shook his head.
"Goddess... why did you tell me to ’call’ you Demitra?"
Hovering just above the ground, Spring freely wiggled her feet.
"Oh? So, you noticed... hehe. I never said my name was Demitra, did I? I just told you to call me that!"
Ash’s eyebrows furrowed.
"...Why?"
"Because you’re so dimwitted and obstinate, darling. Things would have been much trickier for you if you had used my name when you met me. However, because you said her name, I trusted you!"
’I... she said "I".’
Furthermore...
"So, you are Vera? And... it was real? How did you know I’d go into the instance...?"
She immediately brightened, a silver gleam glowing in her eyes.
"Oh? Brother was right, you do have an inquisitive problem! Should you not be overjoyed to see me again?"
"I don’t even know if you’re her..."
’And last we met, I killed you.’
Her head tilted from side to side like a metronome as she pretended to think.
"I wonder, oh, I wonder!"
’Okay, that was enough "oh’s" for me.’
She was nothing like the crying husk or the Vera Ash knew. Still, he felt confident it was her.
"Your personality is definitely... different from the Vera I know, but you do seem to be her."
Pouting, the Goddess of Spring shouted:
"Hmph! Don’t conclude that so easily! Because I’m not!"
Ash leaned closer.
"Then, who are you?"
The Goddess of Spring smiled.
"You saw it, didn’t you? I simply look like her — made in her image and all!"
Ash continued scrutinizing her.
"Yet you referred to her as yourself..."
Spring’s eyes darted around as she began to spin slowly like a dying drill.
"Oh... did I? Oops! That’s because, uh... Hey! Where do you get off questioning a Goddess so ruthlessly?!"
"..."
"Okay... fine! I’ll tell you and answer your other question as well — two birds with one stone."
The Goddess of Spring stopped twirling, cleared her throat, and began:
"The power bestowed upon me as the Goddess of Spring has a prophetic side to it... I have no memories from my life as Vera, though I am undoubtedly a reincarnation of her, in a sense. My spirit won the struggle for dominance by sheer luck. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that my father’s will never fought for control in the first place. He only sought to stop Winter from seizing control, allowing my weak spirit to win. Reborn, I then used the Vera I saw in visions to reconstruct myself. So, in a sense, I am her, but also not."
A prophetic ability.
’That explains how she knew I’d go into the instance and why she told me to call her that, but...’
"Then that means you know I killed you... Why do you call me ’darling’ and treat me so cordially?"
The Goddess lowered her gaze.
"Hehe... I wonder, oh, I wonder..."
"..."
"Oh, come on! Let a woman have her secrets!"
’I see...’
Ash simply accepted her refusal and moved on to his next question:
"What about the instance itself?"
’Did I truly go back to the past and help bring this reality into existence, or...’
"I’m afraid that’s one thing I cannot answer just yet."
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