Chapter 8: Hanging out with the Main Characters - The True Potential of a Worthy Faceless!!! (I)
BONUS CHAPTER DEAL: (Power Stones are counted for Chaos and Order only)
1. 70 Power Stones per day - 1 Bonus Chapter for both original and revamped
2. 100 Power Stones per day - 2 Bonus Chapters for both original and revamped
AN: A part of the upcoming chapters have been taken from the Original Novels to show the discrepancy between the Timeline and the diverged Random World.
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Chapter Begins:
SMASH!
The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.
The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame.
The noise of the storm outside dropped a little.
He turned to look at them all.
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey.…"
He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.
"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.
Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.
"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.
Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.
"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."
*
*
Harry Potter was one of those Random Worlds where even the minute changes in the recorded Timeline had been noted down and analyzed since ancient times in the Primordial Tower.
All Contestants, at least those who had Harry Potter as their main Random Worlds, remembered the original Plotline by their hearts. It was to such a degree that they even learned all dialogues, body language, and expressions.
Kai had done the same a long time ago, too.
Not only Harry Potter, he had done the same for many Random Worlds like Game of Thrones, One Piece, Naruto, etc., the worlds which had a definite Timeline behind the events.
The thing in which Kai differed from others, though, was that when he learned about the Characters, he did it on an even more personal and in-depth level.
All Faceless were masters of acting out the part of their faces.
If one didn't even know all the minute details of the person to whom the face belonged, how could that person still be called a Faceless?
That's where the Standalone Title Faceless shone the brightest.
If Kai had reincarnated as Rubeus Hagrid, then he still would have interacted with all the Main Side Characters and the Main Character. It would have been a direct result of Kai's Worth and Privilege. But, like in the case of Darcie, Rubeus Hagrid wouldn't have been Kai Stormborn.
Now, though, things were different.
The Faceless looked at Harry Potter with his beady, black eyes.
The-Boy-Who-Lived was burning under a monstrous fire of blue Mana. It surrounded him like a mother's embrace, protecting him from the eyes of evil.
The Faceless felt as if he was a leaf standing against the storm, his very breath breaking apart under the effect of the Spells in the surroundings and the magical might of the Harry Potter of a C+ Random World.
In No One's eyes, two yellow crystals bobbed up and down, making him forget about the stifling effects the Mana was causing on him.
The Ad Infinitum also actively acted as a filter, erasing the dull-gray colored Notifications the moment they appeared.
…
[
Contestant Kai Stormborn
You are hereby WARNED!!!
…
Harry Potter is under the combined protection of Timeline's Prime Providence and Bloodline Protection Magic.
All physical attacks on him will absolutely and instantaneously result in Timeline Backlash.
All magical attacks on him will absolutely and instantaneously be reflected.
All spiritual attacks on him will absolutely and instantaneously result in the cracking of the Contestant's soul.
]
…
"Inputting Timeline's Retribution as Timeline Backlash and Bloodline Protection Magic as Love Magic," the Ad Infinitum beeped.
*
*
"Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys after bending the gun, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."
From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing.
Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"
The giant chuckled.
"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."
He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.
*
*
Two yellow crystals bobbed up and down in Harry's green, innocent eyes.
Instantaneously, the Mana surrounding the boy pulsed furiously. It lashed out at the yellow crystal and cracked them apart in tiny shards.
"Infiltration failed." the Ad Infinitum beeped. "Initiating 1,00,3456th Iteration…"
The Faceless began preparing tea and sausages for himself, simultaneously checking if all the accessories Hagrid carried on him when he arrived to the hut at the Original Timeline were still there or not.
Suddenly, his large fingers touched… letters.
For the first time, the Faceless struggled to hold back a demonic grin.
...
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
You have achieved Title - Proficient Collector…
…
Title: Proficient Collector
Specification: Collect 50 different Artifacts from any Random World and Timeline.
Status: (50/50)
Effect: Luck +15
]
...
Everything had changed since the moment Kai had become a Faceless and then later got the Yellow Cloak from the Deep One, Death The Artificer.
Before, Kai could do almost nothing in his, a Contestant, favor while acting as Darcie, even though she was a walking treasure hoard.
However, the moment he became Faceless, he began using the Polyjuice Potion to assume Darcie's appearance even during the Identity Period. The Artifact, Yellow Cloak, effectively hid his lack of Kai's magical might, letting him blend into the other in-world Characters as the young Malfoy.
It was then he started actively working on his Stats using Darcie's status.
As Darcie, he embezzled funds to deposit nearly 5000 Galleons in his Mutliversal Gringotts Bank Account, bringing his Noble Philanthropist Title's Status to 50/100. Once completed, it would also grant him a +15 Luck.
Then he began collecting Plot-defining Books, bringing his Literary Savant Title's Status to 45/300. Not only this would let him increase his Inventory size by another 100%, but it would also grant him an Inventory Manipulation Skill.
But the biggest influence having freedom as a Faceless granted him… was the Artifacts.
A Contestant needed to hold an Artifact for 1 minute to make it count towards his Title.
Moreover, for the entire duration of the Current Mission, no other Contestant was supposed to make the Artifact his/her's. Otherwise, the original Contestant needed to repossess the stolen Artifact.
As a Contestant, it would have been impossible for Kai to collect so many Artifacts so quickly.
As Darcie… it was as easy as breathing.
Almost all Major Support Characters' wands were Artifacts. Moreover, Darcie had access to Diagon Alley, Malfoy Manor, Weasley's home, etc., noticeable places like the back of her hand.
It didn't come as a surprise that as a Privileged Faceless, despite having a minuscule 3 hours of Identity Period, Kai became a Proficient Collector.
But the reason behind the held-back demonic grin wasn't the +15 Luck itself.
It was the Title that was about to come next.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
You have unlocked a new Title…
…
Title: Master Curator
Specification: Collect 5 Timeline Artifacts from any Random World and Timeline
Note: Timeline Artifacts are those Artifacts that define an entire Plotline within a Random World by themselves. A Timeline Artifact doesn't lose its Artifact-status after becoming an Item
Status: (4/5)
1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Original)
2. Jack Sparrow's Compass
3. Sounga
4. Harry Potter's Wand
Effect: Luck +50
]
…
The Tales of Beedle the Bard and Sounga had both become Items the moment Kai had obtained them.
As Artifacts, they didn't count toward his Proficient Collector Title. But the moment Kai unlocked Master Curator, both of these Items bloomed with their true potential as the plot-defining Artifacts.
Moreover, because of the absence of Master Curator, Jack Sparrow's Compass and Harry Potter's Wand, which Darcie had secretly got hold of while practicing Wandlore in the shop, were counted as normal Artifacts.
Now these two too burst out with their true worth.
Collecting even 1 Timeline Artifact was a matter discussed and struggled against by the Highest Floor Contestants.
What could have been a strenuous task for almost all, Kai accomplished and went beyond using his Worth and the three contrasts of Facelessness.
Bad Luck…
The two words had pained Kai and brought uncountable troubles to him in these years.
Why was his Luck so low? Was it an external effect or something inherent? Who did it?
For once, Kai cared nothing.
So what if the Luck was low? He would become lucky with his efforts. Never had he depended on anyone else to gain power anyway. He was a demon. And all demons had their definitions for what was lucky and what was not.
Only one Timeline Artifact remained to be collected.
And Kai knew before he was done playing Faceless by the next day, he would have already become a Master Curator.