“Snap!” Orion Locke suddenly broke free from the strange state as though waking from a nightmare.
His expression changed instantly, and he ripped the mask from his face before throwing it across the bedroom, staring at it with genuine fear for the first time in years.
“What the hell is that thing?” He touched his face repeatedly, clearly remembering the horrifying sensation of something inside the mask trying to burrow beneath his skin, almost as though it wanted to merge with his flesh.
Before Orion could approach the mask again, he noticed that the Black Book had changed.
He immediately summoned it within his consciousness and found several new entries on his status page.
His Constitution had already risen after consuming the Special Energy obtained from killing the Collector, but another point of Special Energy had somehow appeared.
Name: Orion Locke Age: 30 Life Level: Level 2 Physical Fitness: 2.00 (+) Constitution: 3.00 (+) Talent: Basic Self-Healing Artifact: Mask of the Faceless (!) Servant: Hannibal — Ogre Skills: Combat Lv.4, Shooting Lv.3, Infiltration Lv.3, Mobility Lv.3, Espionage Lv.3 Normal Energy: 16 Points Special Energy: 1 Point “Artifact?” Orion frowned as he read the unfamiliar category.
“Mask of the Faceless… so that’s what you’re called.” When he glanced toward the dark mask lying in the corner, he suddenly sensed an extremely faint connection between himself and the object, almost like the link the Black Book had established between him and Hannibal.
The other strange detail was the returned Special Energy.
Orion had already spent the point obtained from the Collector to raise his Constitution from 2.00 to 3.00, so there shouldn’t have been anything left.
After thinking about what had happened moments earlier, he could only assume the Black Book had extracted another point directly from the artifact when it stopped the mask from invading his mind.
Orion focused on the exclamation mark beside the Artifact entry.
The Black Book immediately flipped several pages before stopping on the newly created page containing an image of the mask and a detailed description beneath it.
Classification: Anomalous Artifact Name: Mask of the Faceless Abilities: 1.
Resilience: Extremely resistant to physical damage.
2.
Fearlessness: Suppresses emotional interference, increases Physical Fitness and concentration, and allows the wearer to ignore pain and certain other negative effects.
3.
Shielding: Conceals the wearer’s Life Level information and provides resistance against certain mental attacks.
Costs: 1.
Repeated use gradually creates psychological dependence and addiction.
2.
Prolonged use steadily erodes the wearer’s emotions until only their strongest obsession remains.
Status: Collected Permanent exemption from negative effects available for 1 Special Energy Point.
Orion stared at the description for several moments.
“Mask of the Faceless.
Pretty dramatic name.” More importantly, the artifact possessed three extremely useful abilities, each powerful enough that Orion immediately understood how the Collector had survived things that should have killed an ordinary human.
The discovery also shattered another assumption Orion had carried for thirty years.
“So much for this being a completely materialistic world.” Mutant cannibals could perhaps be explained through genetics, drugs, or environmental contamination, but a mask that altered emotions, resisted rifle rounds, concealed Life Levels, and attacked the wearer’s mind crossed well beyond anything ordinary science could reasonably explain.
Its disadvantages were just as terrifying.
Orion finally understood why he had nearly become emotionless after wearing it for only a short time; without the Black Book protecting him, repeated use might eventually have transformed him into another Collector.
The artifact didn’t simply provide power—it gradually hollowed out the person wearing it until only obsession remained.
Then Orion’s attention returned to the final line.
“Permanent exemption… one point of Special Energy.” He hesitated only briefly.
Special Energy was extremely valuable, but using the Mask of the Faceless without suffering its psychological corruption was worth far more than a small increase in his attributes.
Orion therefore selected the exemption immediately.
“Whoosh!” The single point of Special Energy sank into the artifact page like a drop of water falling into a perfectly still lake.
Ripples spread across the illustration, and the actual mask lying in the corner vanished at the same instant, apparently being absorbed directly into the Black Book.
Its image on the page became sharper while the disturbing black coloration gradually faded into a deep blue-green tone.
The sinister feeling surrounding the artifact disappeared with it.
What had previously looked like something created specifically for a murderer now possessed an almost artistic quality, though its strange textured surface remained unmistakable.
Orion could still sense the mask clearly through the Black Book, confirming that it had become part of his collection rather than being destroyed.
Spending the Special Energy didn’t bother him.
The artifact itself seemed to have provided that additional point in the first place, so using it to remove the mask’s drawbacks felt almost like completing the process the Black Book had started.
More importantly, every one of its three abilities had obvious value.
Resilience was the simplest.
Orion had personally fired rifle rounds into the Collector’s head and face without leaving visible damage on the mask itself, meaning it could provide extraordinary protection to the most vulnerable part of his body.
After reaching Life Level 2 and acquiring Basic Self-Healing, Orion could survive injuries that would kill ordinary humans, but catastrophic damage to his brain remained an obvious weakness.
The mask could potentially solve that problem.
Fearlessness was more complicated but equally valuable.
Suppressing unnecessary emotional reactions wouldn’t automatically make Orion a better fighter, yet during high-intensity combat, fear, rage, hesitation, and pain could interfere with judgment even among experienced soldiers.
Temporarily eliminating those distractions while increasing concentration would allow him to process information and control his body far more efficiently.
The Collector had demonstrated the practical effect perfectly.
Orion had torn off his arm, crushed his chest, and inflicted injuries that should have left him screaming on the floor, yet the masked killer remained focused entirely on escaping and continuing the fight.
The artifact hadn’t prevented the damage, but it had prevented pain and fear from reducing his effectiveness.
For researchers, surgeons, snipers, or anyone performing work requiring absolute concentration, that alone would be an extraordinary ability.
The third ability interested Orion most.
“Resistance to mental attacks…” The recurring nightmare immediately came to mind.
Orion stood and walked into the bathroom, stopping in front of the mirror.
With a thought, the Mask of the Faceless appeared directly in his hand from the Black Book.
This time, he didn’t hesitate before pulling it over his head.
“Whoosh!” The moment the mask settled into place, the material adjusted automatically.
Its rear straps tightened while the interior shaped itself perfectly around Orion’s head and facial structure, neither pressing too tightly nor leaving any loose space.
Despite its durability, the material was so thin and comfortable that after several seconds Orion could barely feel that he was wearing anything at all.
His mind changed immediately.
Emotions receded into the background while his concentration sharpened to a level he had never experienced before.
Every detail around him seemed clearer—the faint movement of air across his skin, tiny sounds elsewhere in the farmhouse, and even individual particles of dust slowly drifting through beams of morning sunlight.
Orion didn’t literally experience time slowing down, but his dramatically improved perception made the world appear as though everything around him had become slower.
Then power surged through his body.
Orion calmly examined the change and realized that Fearlessness wasn’t merely psychological.
The artifact increased his Physical Fitness in proportion to his existing strength, and because his normal attribute stood at 2.00, the mask increased it by another full point.
His effective Physical Fitness had temporarily reached 3.00, a fifty-percent increase over his ordinary Level 2 state.
Raw strength alone now exceeded three thousand pounds.
The Black Book confirmed the effect.
Name: Orion Locke Age: 30 Life Level: Level 2 Physical Fitness: 3.00 (Base: 2.00) Constitution: 3.00 Talents: Basic Self-Healing, Fearlessness — Active, Shielding — Active Artifact: Mask of the Faceless — Active Servant: Hannibal — Ogre Skills: Combat Lv.4, Shooting Lv.3, Infiltration Lv.3, Mobility Lv.3, Espionage Lv.3 Normal Energy: 16 Points Special Energy: 0 Points Orion remained in front of the mirror, calmly adapting to the enormous increase in perception and physical control.
Every muscle seemed available to him with unprecedented precision, while distracting thoughts and emotional impulses had been almost completely silenced.
With the artifact’s corruption permanently removed, the state felt less like becoming the Collector and more like entering an extraordinarily advanced form of combat focus.
“Ahhh!” A piercing girl’s scream suddenly exploded inside Orion’s mind.
His eyes narrowed behind the mask as a stream of black mist erupted from his body, invisible to ordinary sight.
The darkness gathered several feet away and twisted into the distorted form of the little blonde girl Orion had accidentally killed during the hostage rescue six months earlier.
Her mutilated face contorted with hatred as she struggled violently against an invisible pull.
For the first time, Orion saw what had truly been haunting him.
The Mask of the Faceless reacted.
An unseen force seized the screaming apparition and dragged it toward Orion.
The girl fought desperately, but the black mist surrounding her stretched apart before being sucked directly into the mask.
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