《Shadow of the Soul King [275+ Chapter Symbiotic Munchkin LitRPG]》 Chapter 1: Death Is Only The Beginning Tilarmus Tilarmus led his army through the Izimathune Canyon in high spirits. This would be a safe mission for once. The main forces of his dimension had launched an assault on the Prime Material, but not so major as to get the Prime Material¡¯s higher gods involved. All he had to do was guide his force through one of the inter-dimensional backroads, an intermediary minor dimension filled with nothing but sand, and send all the mortals, i.e. everyone but him, through the portals there. They would enter into the Prime Material and attempt to infiltrate and gather souls, while he could just head back, getting a full third of the stolen souls for only a few weeks of work. For a relatively weak demon god like himself, it was the best type of mission¡ªat least until he saw her. She looked like an old woman, human, with shoulder-length white hair, blue eyes starting to get cloudy, and pale skin. She was wearing a brown battle robe and holding a cane, which she seemed to need to keep herself standing, and, upon closer look with his senses, he could see she was an A rank, not a god. She was a powerful mortal, but a mortal nonetheless, and, judging from her life force, one with half a foot in the grave. She was standing at the end of the canyon, only a few thousand kilometers away, and, as he looked at her, he saw her throw up a little blood. But, just because she was dying, it didn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t danger. She had done something to the canyon, trapped it somehow. As Tilarmus looked around at his army, the weaker demons were starting to die and, every time they did, a black and white gas, emanating the power of yin and yang, left their bodies and entered into their neighbors. It only took several seconds for the lowest soldiers to all fall, and then everyone else in the army began to feel the effects as well, especially the weakest demons left, no one able to block the intangible gas, not even Tilarmus himself. When the weakest demons remaining then fell in turn, the next most powerful demons started to succumb as well, and the process was quick, the entire army dead within a few minutes. Tilarmus tried to move forward, to attack the woman with the large red claymore he drew from his back, but, even though it only took three minutes for him to flash step in front of her, by that point his body was already full of the gas from his entire army. He couldn¡¯t lift his heavy sword and the old woman reached up and placed the tip of her cane against his forehead, a light force pushing him onto his back, where he quickly expired. That small movement seemed to hurt her almost as much, however, and she threw up a very unhealthy amount of blood as she opened her status screen to check her contribution points. ¡°Just enough.¡± Speaking her final words, Xara Valin, the Yin Yang Sage, died of old age. * * * Mila ¡°So, your name is Li Mila and you are a Chinese spy.¡± As Mila woke in the bed of the Russian oligarch she¡¯d been sent to steal from, on the side of the bed nearer the room¡¯s door, her training kicked in, and she immediately started analyzing the situation. First, the old man had handcuffed her right wrist to one of the back posts of his four-poster canopy bed. Second, she was only wearing a nightgown, not exactly fighting attire. Third, he was pointing a gun at her, an American made pistol. And, fourth, he had two body guards behind him, both with kevlar vests and rifles, yet neither was prepared for action. Finally, most important of all, he was standing too close. As quick as she could move, she launched her body toward him and kicked the gun out of his hand with her left foot, the gun launching itself right toward her chest. Then she caught the weapon in her free hand and fired at the two guards, both shots right to their faces to avoid their kevlar. ¡°Hand me the keys please, Dimitri,¡± she commanded in the flawless Russian which had helped her gain access to his bed in the first place. The old man reached into his pocket, but it was to pull out his phone, not the key, which his body language let her know was not on his person, but on the body of one of the guards. ¡°Do you really want me to kill you?¡± From what she knew of the man, no other guards would come running from the sound of his own gun, as he¡¯d been planning on executing her, so, as he put his phone away before being able to do anything, she had time to question him. ¡°First, how do you know my name?¡± The fact he even knew she was Chinese was a surprise. The child of a Chinese man and a Polish woman, with a little hair dye and an ever so tiny bit of makeup, most white men couldn¡¯t even tell she wasn¡¯t fully caucasian. The idiots. They just saw her pretty face and body and their hormones did the thinking. ¡°Do you know Aalam Alvaro?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Mila¡¯s face involuntarily twitched, the strongest emotion she was feeling guilt, followed by anger¡ªmostly at herself¡ªand the oligarch saw, taking a step forward in an attempt at intimidation. ¡°Of course you do. You were at the very top. Well, your former target sent out a list of all the intelligence assets ever sent to spy on him, a quite extensive one, in an email blast to the heads of the world¡¯s intelligence agencies, including my friend Ivan, and an hour ago he forwarded it to me. It included your picture and I was able to immediately recognize you.¡± The last part was obviously a lie. Even with her sharing his bed while he did so, it seemed it had still taken him a minute to place her as the more obviously Chinese woman from any picture Aalam would have had access to, but, as far as she could tell, everything else appeared to be the truth. ¡°Thank you, Dimitri. That will be all.¡± She then shot him in the neck, specifically the carotid artery so more blood would spurt out and, as he was close, her nightgown was soon covered. Then she carefully angled the gun and shot at the cuffs holding her right hand to the four-poster, breaking the chain and thankfully not damaging her arm. Careful not to step in the growing blood puddle on the carpet, she then walked over to the guard with the key and undid the cuff on her wrist before undoing the other cuff from the four-poster and hiding both cuffs under the room¡¯s mattress. Realizing she wasn¡¯t going to be able to hide the forensic evidence showing they¡¯d been holding her, and that her identity was compromised anyway, she didn¡¯t even try to clean up more and took out Dimitri¡¯s phone from his pocket, downloaded a bit of malware from a website she¡¯d memorized, and set up the phone so agents of her government could listen in on all communications. Then she called the local police and stammered out a semi-coherent string of babble about how her one night stand had been murdered in front of her by one of his guards, saying all the right keywords for them to send more than just a patrol car. She then put on a pair of socks, the only article of clothing she¡¯d been wearing the night before which was at all practical, and put a few obstacles in front of the door so the other guards would need time to get in once they started trying. Then, after waiting until she heard sirens, she wrapped her hands in pillow cases stolen from the bed¡¯s pillows and headed toward the room¡¯s large windows, opening them up to the night air. Dimitri¡¯s room in his palatial complex was on the third floor, but, even before sleeping with the man, she¡¯d already looked out the window and figured out how she could escape. There was a large tree out there, leaves bare as winter had started, but, due to Global Warming, it wasn¡¯t too cold for the skimpy attire she was wearing, meaning she wouldn¡¯t risk hypothermia by going out. Using the pillow cases wrapped around her hands to keep herself from getting any injuries which the cops would be able to notice, she then jumped out the window, grabbed onto a branch, and dropped herself down to two others before lightly landing on the grass below, not having a single mark on her body. Then she left the pillow cases under the tree before avoiding security cameras and the lines of sight of distracted guards while she made her way to the front gate, where she ran up to the cops a blubbering mess. It was pretty easy to not answer questions she didn¡¯t want to, as almost all the cops were male and her nightgown was made of sheer fabric, but escaping their custody was a bit harder, what with all the staring. She was forced to call several of them perverts and act like she was scared before enough stopped looking so she could escape and make her way to the nearby extraction site, jumping into the backseat of an unmarked white SUV. ¡°What happened?¡± one of the two men in the front, the driver, asked in Chinese, and, as he was her handler for the mission, Mila told him the facts of the night. ¡°Thank you.¡± The other man, the one she didn¡¯t recognize, turned to look at her, a gun in his right hand and, as she¡¯d just put on her seatbelt, she wasn¡¯t able to dodge as he fired a bullet right into her chest. ¡°With your identity revealed, however, you are no longer an asset.¡± * * * Aalam ¡°This is potentially treason, Mr. Alvaro.¡± Aalam Alvaro looked over at the member of the US Senate, one Mr. Tom Taylor, who looked like a cross between a tortoise and a humanoid blob monster, and shook his head slightly. ¡°Respectfully sir, that¡¯s not how treason works. Even someone like you, who¡¯s been taking money from three Russian oligarchs for the last ten years in exchange for political favors, technically isn¡¯t committing treason. Tax fraud and a few other crimes, yes. Treason, no. ¡°Do you understand this?¡± Tom Taylor looked scared, the C-SPAN cameras catching it, and Aalam internally congratulated himself again for not agreeing to this interview with the Senate Subcommittee on Intelligence unless it was public. He¡¯d at least learned some things from Mila over the last six years. ¡°Does anyone else have any stupid questions?¡± Aalam, a young natural born American citizen of half Iraqi and half Argentinian heritage looked at several of the other members, most of whom he also had dirt on. ¡°I put a Trojan into my own computer system, not yours, not China¡¯s, not the Russian¡¯s, nor any of the other governments and businesses whose internal files have now been leaked online. You all stole my research, along with said Trojan, and, through said illegal act, released your own information onto the internet. ¡°All I did was look at these publicly available documents and then send an email out with the information of all the individuals who have spied on me, including members of the CIA and no members of the FBI, which raises a whole lot of red flags, seeing as I¡¯m an American citizen.¡± Aalam moved his messy shoulder-length brown hair out of his eyes as he continued to glare. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll ask again, why am I here? The information about your corruption is already out there, so dragging me away from my research doesn¡¯t seem to serve any purpose. ¡°In case you¡¯ve forgotten, the world is facing three pandemics and a global climate crisis, but, as you all won¡¯t pay with the money you are exploiting to solve these problems with my current solutions, I need to go try and make everything cheaper.¡± ¡°Mr. Alvaro.¡± Doctor Penny Smith, one of the few senators on the committee without any skeletons in her closet, at least not any Aalam had yet found, sighed as she spoke to him. ¡°Do you realize the implications of what you¡¯ve released? ¡°I understand you¡¯re in pain. Your girlfriend lied to you for years, your sister is sick, and everyone keeps going after you with a political agenda when you¡¯re just trying to save the world, but the secrets you¡¯ve released. It seems we¡¯re almost on the verge of thermonuclear war.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam leaned back in his seat, his previous anger replaced by a deep depression as he looked down at the desk in front of him. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡± ¡°Judging from your past accomplishments, you seem to be a very, very smart man.¡± Doctor Smith looked at him with fearful eyes, but of a different kind of fear from Tom Taylor, or at least that¡¯s how it seemed to Aalam, fear for others rather than fear for oneself, though he couldn¡¯t be at all sure his interpretation was accurate. ¡°Do you have any ideas to stop what¡¯s coming?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Aalam seemed to think for a few seconds. Then he took out his phone and placed it in front of him. ¡°I do. But I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll like it very much.¡± ¡°Anything you can do, Mr. Alvaro. Anything.¡± Aalam messed with his phone for a few seconds, sending out a signal to a half dozen receivers hidden throughout the Capitol building, and, about 20 seconds later, the Capitol building, and Aalam and all the senators with it, vanished in a fiery explosion. Chapter 2: RPG-Mechanics Verse Aalam Aalam woke to find himself in a strange sterile white room sitting on an out of place high-backed wooden chair. He was wearing grey clothing which consisted of sweatpants, underwear, and a T-shirt and in front of him was a large oak desk. Most out there of all, however, was the thing behind the desk, a fantasy style puppet seemingly fully made of wood. It was human-looking to an almost perfect degree, with full features and bark-like skin, and clothes which would look normal on a medieval noble had seemingly grown out of its body. Now, if that wasn¡¯t weird enough, the being then began to talk to him with what felt like telepathy. ¡°Hello Aalam Alvaro and welcome to Earth¡¯s Monster Tutorial. Due to you dying within 27 standard days of your world¡¯s apocalypse style integration, equivalent to 30.375 earth days, your soul was protected and gathered by the System. ¡°At this time, those with talent still alive in your world will be entering into their own tutorial, and, when that tutorial is finished, they will have to face monsters, foreign invaders, and each other to compete over Earth¡¯s sovereignty. You, on the other hand, will have no part in that conflict. ¡°Instead, you will compete in another world undergoing a similar apocalypse style integration, but, instead of as a native, you will be reborn as a monster. ¡°Do you have any questions or may I begin the explanation of what will be coming next?¡± Aalam thought about it for a half second. This felt like the start of a webnovel and, as his dreams went, it was a bit more out there than usual. Still, if he was having a dream, it meant he wasn¡¯t actually dead, and he really didn¡¯t feel like waking up, so he decided to just go with it. ¡°No questions. You can start the explanation.¡± ¡°Alright then. ¡°First, an apocalypse style integration is different than a normal integration. In a normal integration, mana levels in a world rise naturally, a tutorial is given to those of talent, and the world is brought under the control of a local force and then given seventy-two standard years to adapt. ¡°When the local species of a world threaten to destroy themselves and their planet before mana in the world can rise to reasonable levels, however, the integration of the world is instead changed to apocalypse style. Mana in the world is made to artificially rise by the System, souls of the dead are taken to be made into monsters to invade other worlds, and everything is turned into a fight instead of allowing for a peaceful transition. Tutorials still happen, but deaths are common in them instead of nonexistent, and the world is left on its own for seventy-two years, instead of having a benefactor. ¡°At least this is the normal case. Your world, Earth, is slightly special as the former testing grounds of the Yin Yang Sage. The sage died roughly 2,000 years ago, but, through services rendered to the gods, her spirit has lived on and she will serve in a benefactor role during your integration process, providing you and your fellow Earthlings with quite a few benefits you¡¯ll learn about later. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°You, as someone who died, are just a soul, and you will remain as such during your tutorial. This has advantages, as your body will not affect your cultivation talent and law comprehension will be slightly easier as a result, but you also won¡¯t be able to improve your body during the tutorial and will instead gain a new one at the end. For the purposes of training, however, your body will still act as if it is human. ¡°The tutorial will last 81 days and consist of three challenges with downtime mixed in between. How you use this time, and what level of challenges you accept, will be up to you, but the trial points you earn from challenges will be used as currency when purchasing your new form and the stats you gain in the tutorial will transfer over, so the more risks you take during the tutorial the more likely you are to survive what comes after. ¡°Shall we start your soul¡¯s integration with mana? More information will be provided at each step.¡± Aalam nodded, and then he felt his surroundings start to change, even though there was no visible difference. It felt like he was swimming underwater, only without anything blocking him from breathing. In fact, breathing felt really, really good, like fresh air after being stuck in an old library for most of a day, and, uncalled for, black text appeared in front of his eyes. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 0 Race: Human Soulform (G-Common) Bloodline: NA Class: Citizen (G-Common) Laws: NA Stats Strength: 3 Agility: 3 Endurance: 3 Toughness: 3 Vitality: 3 Perception: 3 Magic: 3 Spirit: 3 Soul: 3 Aura: 3 Attunement: 3 Luck: 3 Free Stats: 144 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Small + 1 Medium Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Huge Mental Forge Uniqueness: Id ¡°You should be able to see your status now, a gift granted to all cultivators in the Prime Material by the gods to help you better understand your power and control the assignment of nascent energy. ¡°Normally, souls like you would gain only 36 free stat points at this time, and I would not be able to give you any extra information beyond definitions for the keywords in your status, but your case is slightly special. Your world was facing three apocalypses¡ªglobal warming, plague, and thermonuclear war¡ªand you were apparently the largest contributor working to stop all three, even fully blocking the final apocalyptic force before the integration and saving over a billion lives. ¡°In return, you gain an extra 36 free stat points for each apocalypse and, for fully stopping the final apocalypse before the integration, your world¡¯s benefactor, the Yin Yang Sage, has been given the authority to grant you one major boon, and she has chosen the Boon of Information. ¡°By thinking about it, you can access all the sage¡¯s knowledge on monsters, classes, laws, bloodlines, skills, and the like, as well as the rules for various System-hosted competitions such as the rules of Earth¡¯s Monster Tutorial itself.¡± A smile started to form on Aalam¡¯s face. ¡°How much time before I have to continue to the next step?¡± ¡°You have as much time as you desire. Time in this small subspace is currently proceeding at nearly a million times the speed of the outside world, so you could take a year and it would be less than a minute in the tutorial.¡± Aalam¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°Oh, this is going to be so much fun.¡± Chapter 3: Definitions Mila Name: Li Mila Level: 0 Race: Human Soulform (G-Common) Bloodline: NA Class: Citizen (G-Common) Laws: NA Stats Strength: 3 Agility: 3 Endurance: 3 Toughness: 3 Vitality: 3 Perception: 3 Magic: 3 Spirit: 3 Soul: 3 Aura: 3 Attunement: 3 Luck: 3 Free Stats: 72 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 3 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Mila sat in silence for a good five minutes as the wooden puppet waited for her to assign her free stat points. First, the fact there was a System, gods, and stats was insane. It was like something in the web novels she¡¯d read while on assignment in the United States. Mila even briefly considered if she¡¯d somehow been captured by American agents and then put in some sort of virtual reality created by Aalam, but the technology necessary to create something on the level of the Matrix was beyond what even Aalam had been capable of, at least within the three months after she¡¯d run away. That said, if this was all somehow real, it didn¡¯t speak very highly for the human race as a whole. The puppet had just said she was the second highest contributor toward fixing two of Earth¡¯s three apocalypses, granting her 36 extra free stat points, yet all she¡¯d ever done was keep Aalam focused. Thinking about him, though, she realized what she had to do next. First, she checked and found it was easy to summon and unsummon the black text of her status. Then she sought the definitions of every term she had access to, the black text of the status fading and new black text appearing in front of her eyes each time. Name was just as she would have suspected, and the definition of level provided pretty much no information, but the next three terms¡ªrace, bloodline, and class¡ªwere all quite interesting. Race: The species of the individual. Each race provides a number of racial abilities, gives bonus stats on each level up, and affects the maximum allowed values for all stats. Bloodline: Inherited power which modifies an individual¡¯s race. A bloodline will usually cause modifications to one or more of an individual¡¯s racial abilities and/or change the bonus stats provided on level up. Almost never affects the maximum values for stats determined by race. Class: The manifestation of an individual¡¯s path to power. Affects the cultivation pathways in an individual¡¯s soul, the attributes gained per level up, and limits the number and types of skills which can be learned. The definition of laws was incredibly vague, only saying it represented an individual¡¯s understanding of the universe, but the definitions of G and Common were a lot more interesting. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. G: The weakest rank for individuals, representing those not yet on any path to power, i.e. level 0. Common: The second weakest grade for classes, races, bloodlines, skills, and the like. One grade higher than Inferior. One grade lower than Uncommon. Then the definitions of Human Soulform and Citizen provided even more information. Human Soulform (G-Common): A race representing the soulform of a human, one of the most common races in the Prime Material. As a G rank race, this race allows for only two racial abilities and provides no stats on level up. Upgrading to an F rank race is required to make advancement possible. Citizen (G-Common): The entry class for those not yet on a path to power for all human and humanoid races. Allows for 3 skills of any type with no other benefits. Judging from her gaming experience, Citizen appeared to be a basic starting class. Future classes would likely be at least partially determined by the three skills she learned and her stat distribution, which made the next section quite important. Strength: A value representing the physical power an individual can exert. Agility: A value representing an individual¡¯s speed. Endurance: A value representing the potency and quality of an individual¡¯s qi. Toughness: A value representing the defensive capabilities of an individual¡¯s body. Vitality: A value representing the power of an individual¡¯s self healing capabilities. Perception: A value representing the power of an individual¡¯s senses. Magic: A value representing the potency and quality of an individual¡¯s mana. Spirit: A value representing the potency and quality of an individual¡¯s psyforce. Soul: A value representing the power of an individual¡¯s intrinsic foundation. Aura: A value representing the power of an individual¡¯s presence. Attunement: A value representing an individual¡¯s connection to Laws. Luck: A value representing an individual¡¯s favorability in the eyes of fate. Mila took a little time to analyze what these 12 attributes represented. The first six were pretty basic, as long as Mila simplified qi to mean stamina, though she suspected that was a bad idea. Magic and Spirit seemed to be the equivalent of Endurance, but for mages and psychics instead of warriors, though again that was probably an oversimplification. And Soul and Aura she didn¡¯t really understand, though she suspected they were more important than any of the other stats proceeding them. Finally, the effects of Attunement and Luck were both pretty obvious, the former likely the most important of all the stats if Laws were as important as she expected and the latter filled with scary implications. Then she looked at the definitions of qi, mana, and psyforce and they were all pretty bare bones. Qi: The power of lifeforce. Mana: The power of the Universe. Psyforce: The power of the mind. When she looked into the definitions of the terms under the soulstructures section, however, things started to make a whole lot more sense. Soulstructures: The fundamental structures in an individual¡¯s soul. Lower Dantian: The central hub of all qi distribution cultivation techniques, located just below the navel in humanoid creatures. Middle Dantian: The central hub of all mana distribution cultivation techniques, located in the center of the chest next to the heart in humanoid creatures. Upper Dantian: The central hub of all psyforce distribution cultivation techniques, located above the eyes, just behind the center of the forehead, in humanoid creatures. Core Container: Container for an individual¡¯s accumulated qi. Mana Well: Container for an individual¡¯s accumulated mana. Mental Forge: Container for an individual¡¯s accumulated psyforce. Medium: A representation of capacity for a soulstructure, representing four times more capacity than Small and four times less than Large. Large: A representation of capacity for a soulstructure, representing four times more capacity than Medium and four times less than Huge. Huge: A representation of capacity for a soulstructure, representing four times more capacity than Large and four times less than Colossal. The definitions didn¡¯t give her all the answers, for example she had no idea what having multiple mana wells meant, but it was pretty obvious the main resources for combatants in however the game-like system of the universe worked were qi, mana, and psyforce and that having larger soulstructures representing each meant having a larger maximum of that resource. If her suspicions were true, as her Core Container was Huge while her Mental Forge was only Large, for the same values of Endurance and Spirit, she would have four times as much qi as psyforce, and that likely had major effects. Finally, she checked the last two definitions she had access to. Uniqueness: The unique talents of an individual¡¯s soul. Shadow Princess: ??? Either the System didn¡¯t have access to her uniqueness, even though it could show her what it was called, or there was some sort of permission level and she didn¡¯t have the authority to know about her own self. She was rather hoping for the former. Taking a deep breath, Mila decided it was probably best to just consider everything as fact for the time being. Then she began to try and figure out how to use her free stat points. She had no idea how classes in the universe worked, but she guessed there were specialized classes based around using just qi, mana, or psyforce. Sadly, she had no idea whether these types of specialized classes were better or worse than classes which used all three and she had no way to find out. She did, however, have a way to experiment with what stat increases were allowed as adding free stats required a confirmation step, so she quickly came to understand a few rules. First, neither Strength nor Agility could be greater than two times the other, and neither could be greater than two times Vitality, nor could Endurance and Toughness. Vitality could be no more than 50% greater than Endurance and no more than three times Toughness, Strength, or Agility. And, for the final physical stat rule, Perception could be no more than four times Agility and Agility could be no more than three times Perception. Neither Magic nor Spirit could be more than three times Soul, though there didn¡¯t seem to be any limit on the Soul stat, and Luck didn¡¯t seem to have any limits whatsoever. The most interesting two stats when it came to limits, however, were Aura and Attunement. Aura appeared to have its limit set at the average value of all stats other than itself, Attunement, and Luck, while Attunement¡¯s limit appeared to be the minimum value of all stats other than Luck, including Aura. It was entirely possible these limits were only for the first allocation of free stat points, but Mila guessed even if there was nothing to stop her from raising her stats past these limits in the future, it would be a good idea not to. It didn¡¯t really matter all that much though as, not sure about how she¡¯d want her stats in the future, Mila decided to go with a strategy she¡¯d argued against more than once, going with what Aalam would do in such a situation instead of following her own instincts. Are you sure you want to add all 72 free stat points to Luck? Yes/No Confirmation. Luck increased to 75. Chapter 4: Abilities Aalam Are you sure you want to add 141 free stat points to Luck? Yes/No Confirmation. Luck increased to 144. Limit for the Luck stat met. Are you sure you want to add 2 free stat points to Soul? Yes/No Confirmation. Soul increased to 5. Are you sure you want to add 1 free stat point to Spirit? Yes/No Confirmation. Spirit increased to 4. Given what was about to come next, at least if the information Aalam had spent the last week of accelerated time looking over was accurate, raising the Luck stat as much as possible was the best move. As a soul, he didn¡¯t have to eat or sleep, but he¡¯d been growing bored, and it was now time to start implementing one of the plans he¡¯d come up with¡ªwhich one, however, would depend on what racial abilities he unlocked. ¡°As a Human Soulform, you will awaken two racial abilities. Should we start now?¡± Aalam nodded upon hearing the puppet¡¯s telepathic voice and then a new type of System message appeared in front of him. Awakening your first racial ability as a Human Soulform. Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Omniglot Reader (Epic): You can understand all non-magical languages in both written and spoken form.
  2. Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary): Any extra stats which would be lost due to the stat¡¯s limit having been reached instead become free stats.
  3. Passive Daoist (Legendary): Gain insights into Laws more easily through meditation, but less easily through combat.
The choice was simple, as one of the abilities was the key to enabling all the most powerful builds he¡¯d come up with and the other two weren¡¯t even on his list. So, Aalam chose Nascent Energy Converter and then waited a couple minutes for his soul to change, the feeling like being wrapped in a cloud and then poked by several hundred needles. Awakening your second racial ability as a Human Soulform. Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Amber Soul (Epic): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul stat by 12.5%.
  2. Miracle of Thought (Legendary): Increase the power of psychic category skills.
  3. Miracle of Creation (Legendary): Increase the power of crafting category skills.
This choice was more difficult. Psychic and crafting skills were the main ones he would go for in the near future, but both abilities would be less useful the more powerful he got. Amber Soul, on the other hand, was only Epic grade, one level of rarity below Legendary. Its effect, however, would always be useful and it unlocked several future race options he wouldn¡¯t have access to otherwise. As the choices for awakened abilities were affected by an individual¡¯s actions and natural talent, and the possible abilities for humans were wide and varied, it wasn¡¯t surprising every choice was a good fit, especially given Aalam¡¯s Luck stat, and he easily chose Amber Soul without any regrets. The feeling of being wrapped in a cloud and poked by needles came over him again and this time it took even longer to pass. ¡°Your soul¡¯s integration with mana is now complete.¡± The wooden puppet appeared to smile and it was somewhat creepy. ¡°Would you like to share your uniqueness with the Yin Yang Sage for a minor boon to help in the tutorial¡¯s first challenge?¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Aalam shook his head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± The puppet¡¯s expression turned back to normal. ¡°Would you like to take more time or move into the tutorial now?¡± ¡°Now please.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± The room his soul was in began to fade to nothingness, the blank walls disappearing first, replaced by black. Then the chair he was sitting on, the desk, and the puppet disappeared as well and he was floating in an endless dark void, white text appearing in front of his eyes. Please choose the level of difficulty for your first challenge in Earth¡¯s Monster Tutorial. Your options are as follows:
  1. Easy: Odds of survival 92%.
  2. Normal: Odds of survival 75%.
  3. Hard: Odds of survival 50%.
  4. Torment: Odds of survival 8%.
  5. Nightmare: Odds of survival 0.7%.
Without even thinking about it, Aalam chose the Nightmare level difficulty and the world around him began to brighten up. Before his eyes could adjust, however, a new notification in glowing golden text appeared in front of his eyes. Law Egg gained - Soulform Temporal Acceleration Congratulations! You are the first to gain a Law Egg of anyone from Earth. All stats +6 Luck is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +6 Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility + 3, Perception + 6, Spirit +1, Soul +2 * * * Mila Awakening your first racial ability as a Human Soulform. Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Spring Step Agility (Rare): Increase the effectiveness of the Agility stat by 6.25%.
  2. Prodigy of the Fist (Epic): Increase the power of martial category punching skills.
  3. Omniglot Reader (Legendary): You can understand all non-magical and low-magical languages in both written and spoken form.
Mila looked at her choices and quickly settled on Omniglot Reader. All three abilities seemed at least somewhat in line with her actions when she was alive, but understanding languages had always proven more useful than combat skills, not to mention the ability was Legendary, which a quick check of definitions showed was a grade higher than Epic. A tingly sensation, which kind of felt like a shiatsu massage, covered her entire body and then a second choice popped into her vision. Awakening your second racial ability as a Human Soulform. Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Prodigy of Natural Disguise (Rare): Slightly increase the power of martial category disguise skills.
  2. Hawk Eye Perception (Rare): Increase the effectiveness of the Perception stat by 6.25%.
  3. Fairy Law (Legendary): Increase the power of all bonds and contracts you enter into or for which you provide the magic.
Mila wasn¡¯t too sure about Fairy Law, but it was Legendary grade while the other two were only Rare, so she decided to choose it anyway. It at least seemed like something she could potentially use to make money in the future. The shiatsu massage feeling then started again and this time it took even longer. ¡°Your soul¡¯s integration with mana is now complete.¡± The wooden puppet moved its fake mouth into a smile, sort of defeating the purpose if it was trying to seem anything other than creepy, given it didn¡¯t move its eyes to match. ¡°Would you like to share your uniqueness with the Yin Yang Sage for a minor boon to help in the tutorial¡¯s first challenge?¡± Mila considered why this question was being asked. From what the puppet had said before, Earth had apparently been the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s testing ground before the start of the modern calendar, but she didn¡¯t know what that meant. She also didn¡¯t understand what Uniqueness¡¯s really were, as she couldn¡¯t see what hers did nor did she yet know anyone else¡¯s. The question¡¯s very existence, however, revealed at least one thing. The Yin Yang Sage most likely couldn¡¯t see her Uniqueness¡ªor likely anyone else¡¯s for that matter. It was entirely possible the question was some sort of con, causing humanity to underestimate the ancient powerhouse, but it was more likely the dead woman just wanted the information. It could be to test her experimental results after two millennia or maybe it was to help her identify who she could most benefit from by training, but it was unlikely to be anything too negative for anyone who revealed it. The entire tutorial system so far screamed soldier empowerment to Mila and there were usually more benefits to sticking out in training than not, but Mila felt confident in sticking out anyway, so she decided to keep what few cards she was left with close to her chest. ¡°Thank you, but no.¡± The puppet¡¯s expression stayed creepy. ¡°Acknowledged. The Yin Yang Sage would like to offer you one of her limited minor boons which require neither payment or accomplishment, a Boon of Whispers. Will you accept?¡± Mila thought about it for a few seconds, her mind going through all sorts of various possibilities, but she didn¡¯t have enough information to go off, so she just decided to accept as it wasn¡¯t likely she would lose out if she did. ¡°One moment.¡± The puppet¡¯s expression went back to normal, but the voice of its next telepathy message was quite a bit different, no longer robotic and male, but a silky and somewhat deep female voice. Also, unlike the puppet¡¯s normal telepathy, which was in Chinese, the female voice spoke in English instead. ¡°Nightmares are scary, but how else do you meet lost loves.¡± Mila had no idea what this meant, but then the puppet spoke in its normal voice again. ¡°Starting the tutorial now. Prepare to choose the difficulty of your first challenge.¡± The room faded until she was floating in an endless dark void, white text appearing in front of her eyes, and Mila quickly realized what the message from the Yin Yang Sage likely meant, her non-existent heart starting to beat faster. Please choose the level of difficulty for your first challenge in Earth¡¯s Monster Tutorial. Your options are as follows:
  1. Easy: Odds of survival 92%.
  2. Normal: Odds of survival 75%.
  3. Hard: Odds of survival 50%.
  4. Torment: Odds of survival 8%.
  5. Nightmare: Odds of survival 0.7%.
Without thinking about it anywhere near as much as she should have, she chose to enter into the Nightmare level difficulty and the world around her began to grow bright. Chapter 5: Oath Mila Following the training she¡¯d received since she was four, the first thing Mila did upon her eyesight returning was to analyze her surroundings. She was in a large stone room, perfectly circular with a roughly 50 meter radius and a five meter ceiling at the edges, but the ceiling wasn¡¯t perfectly flat, rising up to 7 meters at the center, and it was covered with a large sigil of a language not of earth made from orange and yellow fire, providing the room¡¯s light. With her new racial ability, Mila could understand this sigil as easily as she could understand Chinese characters or English words, but, looking around at the 316 others in the room, it made her very, very nervous. ¡®Battle Royale, Only One Team Survives¡¯ Depending on the size of a team, almost everyone in the room was going to die for a second time, and Mila realized putting all her free stats into Luck had been incredibly stupid. Still, the Yin Yang Sage at least hadn¡¯t lied to her. Aalam was sitting against one of the room¡¯s walls, glowing with a golden light from under his skin, his body, like everyone else in the room, looking no different from normal even though they were all only souls. At the same time, however, there were only two other East Asians in the room, which was odd given her homeland¡¯s population, and she quickly did a little math. In the time period the System was supposedly gathering souls, there would have been around 5 million deaths under normal circumstances. With the pandemics and the other effects of global warming, that was doubled at most, but a thermonuclear war would have made the count way larger. Even with a conservative estimate of 7 million, it was extremely unlikely there would only be 317 idiots as stupid as her who chose Nightmare difficulty, which meant there were more versions of this challenge than the one she was in, and this meant the Yin Yang Sage had likely done something to put her and Aalam in the same one. When she walked in front of Aalam, the golden glow from under his skin changed to green, but then, when he finally noticed her, the glow changed again from green to gray, and Mila wasn¡¯t sure yet what this meant. He was looking at her with a gaze she¡¯d never seen on him before, not hate, not surprise, not even apathy. Instead it was a look of judgement, like he was weighing whether she would live or die, and Mila realized he already knew what type of challenge this was. ¡°Hey, Aalam. Want to form a team?¡± It was a stupid thing to say, and even stupider to say it in Mandarin, a language he¡¯d only learned so they could communicate better, even though her English had been pretty much flawless, but she was nervous and her instincts kicked in to hide their conversation from everyone else around them. Before he could respond, however, a man walked up to them and started yelling. ¡°You¡¯re that terrorist, right! The one who blew up the Capitol!¡± Like everyone in the room, he was wearing unflattering gray sweatpants and a large gray T-shirt, shoes apparently not a thing for starting tutorial clothing. Caucasian, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a beer belly, he looked to be in his mid-thirties and his accent placed him as from the United State¡¯s northeast. Taking a quick glance at Aalam, Mila noticed a complete lack of surprise at the man¡¯s outburst, which was worrisome given what it implied about how Aalam had died, but there was also a complete lack of fear, and that wasn¡¯t normal for him. Unlike her, he¡¯d never been in a fight in his life, and there was no way he¡¯d be able to remain so calm. This type of expression on anyone else, however, would imply he was confident of his chances, even with the Nightmare level challenge¡¯s rules, and that, along with the knowledge Aalam seemed to have far more information about what was going on than she did, altered how Mila approached the situation. Her goal with the yelling man was no longer to eliminate him, but to get him and everyone else to leave her and Aalam alone long enough so they could form a team before all hell broke loose. ¡°Sir,¡± she said calmly in English to the yelling man, ¡°you do realize racial profiling is rather untoward, right?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The man, an American liberal from all signs, almost looked like he was slapped in the face, and, noticing the opportunity, she took her chance. ¡°Now, from what we were told by that puppet thing, our souls were gathered over 30 days. Were the US Capitol blown up, I gather it would be major news and I would have heard of it, so I likely died before you. What is it you think you know?¡± ¡°There was video of him pressing a button on his phone just before the Capitol blew up.¡± The man continued to point at Aalam. ¡°Ah.¡± Mila nodded as if in understanding, the commotion having gathered a crowd. Then she pointed at Aalam as well, who was watching her actions with an expression of mild interest. ¡°Do you know who he is?¡± ¡°Some scientist.¡± The man looked unsure. ¡°His name is Aalam Alvaro and he is, by standard definitions, a hero. Our world was facing three apocalypses according to the tutorial puppets¡ªpandemics, global warming, and thermonuclear war. Were our world¡¯s integration with magic to have not happened, the first two would have most certainly been solved, and, even after his death, it would have been almost entirely because of him. ¡°A multi-disciplinary scientist, he¡¯s designed new computer chips, solved quite a few of the problems blocking a neuro-electronic interface, and written computer code capable of getting around the security measures of pretty much all the world¡¯s governments. More importantly, however, his work in material science found an efficient way to get greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere at scale and his work in gene modeling and in understanding the human proteome led to breakthrough technology completely upending traditional medicine, allowing him to take the genetic code of our world¡¯s pandemics and find effective treatments and vaccines for all three in just a few months.¡± ¡°Then why did he blow up the Capitol?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my point. He wouldn¡¯t and, more importantly, couldn¡¯t.¡± Mila smiled in a somewhat fake manner, anyone with any social skills able to see she was thinking something bad. ¡°Sure, he could have almost certainly built a bomb, but he was nowhere close to having the skills to get one past Capitol security, and the only person he knew with those types of skills was his ex-girlfriend, but she was a Chinese spy and she¡¯d run away without talking to him. ¡°He had, however, pissed off most of the world¡¯s governments at the time, as well as many major corporations. As a security measure, he¡¯d placed a piece of code in his research files which would automatically upload to the internet every file on every domain-joined computer for any domain on which his research was stored other than his own, so, if anyone stole his research, all their private data would be revealed. And, over the last year, almost everyone stole his research. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be surprising at all if someone framed him.¡± The man looked a little shaken, and those who had moved closer didn¡¯t have expressions of hostility, which was good, some even nodding along, seeming aware of Aalam¡¯s identity or at least some of the facts she¡¯d explained, and three people, as she¡¯d suspected, seemed to recognize her as well. The news of something like the Capitol blowing up would have dominated 24-hour news channels all over the world for days and it was basically impossible her own identity wouldn¡¯t have been revealed in the process. The man questioning her, however, seemed less aware of the facts than some of the others. ¡°If you died before the Capitol exploded, how do you know all this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the Chinese spy ex-girlfriend.¡± Mila changed her facial expression again, this time to show controlled annoyance. ¡°The last thing I remember from Earth is being shot to death by my own government, and now I learn the man I spent years living with died as well, likely due to something that was at least partially my fault. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little guilty here and was hoping to talk to my ex before whatever dangerous thing is going to happen starts happening, but then someone started yelling at us.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± The man, who she was now sorry would soon most likely die, left, going over to talk with some others who¡¯d been listening in, and Mila and Aalam were left alone again, everyone giving them a bit of space, too caught up in the strangeness that was the monster tutorial. ¡°What are your racial abilities and how did you allocate your stats?¡± Aalam spoke in Chinese, but he still looked as if he were judging her, which made Mila extremely uncomfortable. The Aalam in her memory was a happy-go-lucky nerd and his actions so far were extremely out of character. ¡°I can read¡ª¡± ¡°The names of the abilities and their rarities only, please.¡± The gray glow from Aalam¡¯s skin faded and he instead started to glow blue. ¡°Omniglot Reader, Legendary, and Fairy Law, also Legendary. All stats at 3, other than Luck at 75.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Aalam looked a little surprised, and she was pretty sure it was pleasantly so. ¡°Repeat after me, but replace the names. ¡°I, Aalam Alvaro, pledge to make no actions I believe might lead to the death of Li Mila or loss of her future potential.¡± ¡°I, Li Mila, pledge to make no actions I believe might lead to the death of Aalam Alvaro or loss of his future potential.¡± As soon as her words were done, a System message appeared in front of her in blue text. You have entered into an Oath Pact with Aalam Alvaro. If you go against the terms of the Oath Pact, your soul will be damaged. Mila learned two things then. One, Aalam had access to a whole lot more information than she¡¯d thought and, two, Fairy Law was going to be a much more useful ability than she¡¯d expected. Trial Taker Aalam Alvaro has invited you to his team for the event Nightmare Royale. Do you accept? Yes/No Chapter 6: Twelve Elements Mila ¡°How do you know so much already?¡± Mila felt the situation odd. Aalam had always been more knowledgeable than her about how the universe worked, but information gathering from unknown sources was not his strength, so, while she could see his knowledge allowing him to gain an advantage in however exactly Laws worked, likely the cause of his soul continuing to flash in odd colors, it didn¡¯t make sense he would know more about her abilities than she did unless someone told him. ¡°I¡¯m a hero.¡± Aalam frowned at her in a way she recognized meant he was not at all happy. ¡°And time with the puppet passed at a greatly accelerated rate.¡± Translation, he¡¯d received a boon with a lot of information, likely from the Yin Yang Sage, and he¡¯d had a lot of time to go over it. He didn¡¯t seem to want to talk anymore, however, which Mila found reasonable given the circumstances, so she just accepted his invitation to join his team and then they both waited in silence as nothing happened. The blue glow emanating out from Aalam soon faded, replaced by red, then brown, and then an iron-color, and a bit later his skin glowed purple, then white, and then black. More and more people were noticing, but he wouldn¡¯t explain, and Mila was able to manipulate them into giving him space. Finally, after a half hour of him not glowing at all, about three hours since they¡¯d all appeared in the room, he glowed silver, and only then did Mila get another System notification. You have the second highest Luck of everyone in the Nightmare difficulty challenge, Nightmare Royale. You are already part of a team and cannot choose another. You may choose one skill and one artifact from the following lists as a pre-challenge reward. The skill can be learned immediately or granted as a skill orb and secretly placed in your pocket. The artifact will appear on your person, secretly in one of your pockets if small enough. You have two minutes to choose. Mila didn¡¯t even bother looking at the lists of skills and artifacts as she could already tell they were quite long, and it wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d understand what any of the choices were. Instead, she was more concerned with the implications of the System messages than their content anyway. Aalam had a higher Luck than her¡ªthat much was obvious¡ªand he¡¯d seen the System messages about the challenge three hours before and done nothing, making it likely he had a much longer time limit than two minutes. In fact, his delay likely led to her having less time, and probably everyone after her as well, which was good planning, albeit a bit scary coming from him. ¡°Get the rare skill orb for Rapid Thoughts for me, and I¡¯ll help guide you to a Legendary skill of your choice. For the artifact, the Shield of Twelve Elements will help us survive this challenge. You won¡¯t be able to use it, but, seeing as I would use it to protect your life, I don¡¯t see a need to offer you anything else.¡± Aalam was holding a small piece of parchment with a rough symbol etched into it in his hand, a symbol which Omniglot Reader helped her understand meant ¡®gust¡¯, and, as she looked at him, he began to glow yellow, the twelfth color she¡¯d seen from him. The parchment was almost certainly the artifact he¡¯d chosen, and something about it was making her sense of danger, trained over years of spy work, scream. Without any fuss, Mila selected the skill and artifact he¡¯d asked for and a light weight appeared in the right pocket of the unfashionable gray sweatpants she was wearing, likely the skill orb, while an odd hoop appeared in her hands. It was made of twelve different materials, all threaded together, most seeming like different types of colored crystals, but there was what looked to be a vine and a metallic wire as well. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. More important, however, as she held it, another System notification popped up in front of her eyes. Shield of Twelve Elements (G-Rare) A theoretical experiment made by craftsman Az Hendriar in his youth from materials strong enough to make three to four E rank Epic artifacts. Due to its design, it has a self-contained mana cycle and a powerful effect¡ªable to create a 2.5 meter diameter sphere of adjustable impermeability, unbreakable by anyone below E rank¡ªbut it requires a single source of mana influenced by at least a Law Egg from one of each of the major elements to activate. Effects: Sphere of protection (Up to two hours of cumulative uptime every day) Requirements: At least one Law Egg from each of the 12 elements¡ªFire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Metal, Light, Dark, Life, Death, Space, and Time As she handed the hoop to Aalam, Mila realized two things. One, with just one assistant, Aalam was in no danger during this challenge, so it was a very good thing she was said assistant. Two, having twelve of whatever Law Eggs were, from all 12 elements, was very rare, yet Aalam had achieved such a feat in just over three hours. Seeing the hoop, people came over, but Aalam then activated it, causing it to expand out and transform, and the two of them were surrounded by a sphere of energy, extending through both the air and the floor. It wasn¡¯t visible, at least from the inside, and it didn¡¯t block air flow, yet it did block sound and Mila was pretty sure those outside couldn¡¯t see in, given the movements of everyone else in the room. ¡°Could you give me the skill orb?¡± Aalam held out his hand and Mila reached into her pocket and took out a small 3 cm diameter sphere, which looked like a translucent pink-purple crystal, causing another System notification to appear in front of her eyes. Rapid Thoughts (G-Rare) Psychic, Passive, Enhancement Quickness of thought is quickness of action. Effects: Learn the skill Rapid Thoughts (G-Rare) Requirements: Free skill slot, able to learn passive psychic enhancement skills She then handed it to Aalam and it disappeared, fading away as if to nothingness as he learned the skill. ¡°What type of Legendary skill do you want?¡± Aalam didn¡¯t look at her, instead looking up at the flaming sigil above them, but Mila didn¡¯t read too much into his actions. It could be he was angry with her, which was likely, but it could also be he was studying the magical effect, which was even more so. Mila¡¯s guess was a mix of both. ¡°What types of choices do I have? I know next to nothing about skills, Aalam.¡± Aalam looked at her for a second, as if trying to decide if she was real or not, and then looked back at the sigil. ¡°You¡¯ve read litrpg stories and played video games before, while we both know you¡¯re not stupid. You¡¯ve already picked up on a few of the rules, so I¡¯ll just give you the limitations. Humans can usually only have one class, and that class will only allow a certain number of skills, the vast majority allowing for six. The three skills you have before advancing will also greatly affect your class choices, and at G rank the max possible grade for skills is Legendary. ¡°What do you want to be, Mila? Once you decide, it¡¯s just a matter of hard work.¡± Mila thought about it for a bit as the others in the challenge started getting their artifacts, everyone with the same Luck value seemingly getting the System messages at the same time. She knew what she was good at, social manipulation, information gathering, quietly killing, and it was likely all these skills would be useful in the new world they found themselves in. If they were going to be reborn as monsters, Mila would excel most as one based around stealth, maybe seduction. This was if she was on her own, however, and she didn¡¯t like the idea of leaving Aalam by himself. Sure, he seemed like he had everything in hand, but, had she not been there, he would have been crowded and accosted, not given the time and quiet to gain all those Law Eggs, and, knowing him as well as she did, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten a trustworthy assistant from the crowd. ¡°How about a skill to enhance the artifacts I use?¡± Aalam looked at her again, appearing to think for a second, and then he nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± She¡¯d seen that look before. She wasn¡¯t sure how much information Aalam had, but he¡¯d just analyzed her choice and approved of her decision, in a game build sense at least. One of the first things she¡¯d done to secure his affections at the start of their relationship was to drag him into playing a tabletop RPG campaign she game mastered, and, as was typical for him, he couldn¡¯t help himself but to try and optimize. It had taken her a month to get him into the habit of only telling her the optimizations of others¡¯ characters rather than the other players themselves, and she still knew the looks he¡¯d make upon approval or disapproval of a build. More important, however, she knew the types of powers Aalam gravitated towards. No matter what game he played, if there was a way for him to reach max power as a crafter, he would, and that wouldn¡¯t change if the world started operating like a litrpg. The Nightmare Royale is now starting. You have one hour to kill each other until only one team is left. If more than one team is living after the hour, everyone dies. The System message appeared in front of her eyes and, from what she could see from the panic happening outside their protection, it appeared in front of the eyes of everyone else as well. The panic didn¡¯t last long, however. Aalam held out the parchment artifact he¡¯d received and gusts of wind emanated out from him, right through their sphere of protection and traveling all throughout the room. Then something in the wind changed and everyone outside the sphere fell apart, literally. Blades of wind cut their fellow humans into ribbons of bone and flesh, while Aalam looked on dispassionately, smiling slightly with a look of pride on his face, appearing like he didn¡¯t care about the hundreds of people he¡¯d just killed at all. Chapter 7: Battle Royale Mila Mila almost threw up. It wasn¡¯t the death, at least not completely. She¡¯d killed thirteen people during her life and she¡¯d gotten over her squeamishness by the time she was a teenager. It wasn¡¯t even the gruesome way in which they¡¯d died. Instead, it was the ease of it, the realization of how little a life was worth in front of someone with true power. The display she¡¯d just seen was almost certainly nothing in the grand scheme of things. They were G rank, not even F, and the scale almost certainly went up to at least A. Then, even more worrisome, there was something very, very wrong with Aalam. Ever since she¡¯d learned what type of new world she was entering, she¡¯d expected Aalam would excel. Engineering and fantasy stories were the two main things he was passionate about and, when Aalam was passionate about something, he¡¯d make his peers look like idiots. When she¡¯d heard he¡¯d somehow died and entered into the Nightmare difficulty challenge, she¡¯d entered to meet him only partly because she thought his lack of combat experience and generally missing social awareness would get him killed, but also because she subconsciously wanted to rely on him. Now, however, he was acting like a psychopath when she knew he wasn¡¯t one, and his actions didn¡¯t make sense. The Aalam she knew would hesitate before a mass slaughter even if he for some reason thought this was all a dream, and, after said slaughter, he wouldn¡¯t immediately dispel the shield around them and go looking through the corpses for things to steal. He wasn¡¯t as hard and twisted as she was, at least he hadn¡¯t been. ¡°Anything particular you¡¯re looking for?¡± Not knowing what else to do, Mila fell back on her training and ignored what she was feeling, instead joining Aalam in his search, picking up every artifact she could find and reading the resulting System notifications. ¡°Skill orbs, materials, and limited time use artifacts.¡± They took about a half hour looking through everything, and they ended up with 23 artifacts they wanted to keep and seventeen skill orbs, including one Aalam had her learn as it could later be fused into a skill which could then in turn be fused into a Legendary skill. Mana Weapon Enhancement (G-Rare) Magic, Mana Infusion, Enhancement Stronger weapon, harder hit Effects: Learn the skill Mana Weapon Enhancement (G-Rare) Requirements: Free skill slot, able to learn mana infusion based magic enhancement skills Of the artifacts they kept, one was a bag of holding, a small sack with a relatively small spatial pocket inside, despite being the only other Rare grade artifact, and the rest were three bracelets, four swords, six knives, and ten pieces of parchment like the one Aalam had used which Mila learned were called talismans. The bag of holding was only big enough for the skill orbs, bracelets, knives, and talismans, so they each had to wear two of the swords, and none of the other artifacts were good enough to keep. As she read over a hundred System artifact descriptions, it quickly became obvious the Shield of Twelve Elements was an outlier. Most of what they kept was Uncommon rarity, but even the one time effects of the talismans were weaker than the rechargeable effect of the shield. The best of the weapons, one of the knives and one of the swords, both had requirements for Law Eggs of an element, Darkness for the knife and Fire for the sword, so it seemed more requirements lowered rarity, but the effects of both weapons were still quite minor. Finally, from what Aalam said while they talked about the artifacts, Mila realized there was no such thing as a Law Egg of Darkness or a Law Egg of Fire, instead there were only subcomponents of the larger Laws like the Law Egg of Night and the Law Egg of Sparks. Another hour passed and, when the time limit of the challenge was done, a new System message appeared. Your team has survived the Nightmare Royale You may choose one skill and one artifact from the following lists as a reward. The skill can be learned immediately or granted as a skill orb and secretly placed in your pocket. The artifact will appear on your person, secretly in one of your pockets if small enough. You have six minutes to choose. Mila and Aalam both looked at the lists and Aalam chose almost immediately, learning a skill called Meditative Focus (G-Rare) and taking an artifact called Orb of Skill Combination (G-Rare), a one time use talisman shaped like an orb of misty energy. As soon as he chose it, the orb entered into his body and, in the future, if he mastered skills of rare grade or lower which could be combined, i.e. the three skills he¡¯d already learned, he could instantly fuse them into a new skill. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Mila took a little longer, reading through the lists to gain more information, but she eventually chose similarly, also getting an Orb of Skill Combination (G-Rare) and learning another skill for use in future fusing, Psyforce Weapon Enhancement (G-Rare), the psychic equivalent of her Mana Weapon Enhancement skill. Then something surprising happened as, instead of the challenge ending, a new System notification appeared in front of their eyes. Conditions met for the bonus round of the Nightmare Royale Would you like to continue on to the bonus round, where you will compete in the same challenge with winners from other Nightmare Royale instances for further prizes, or will you give up? Your team leader will decide for your team. Before Mila could say anything, Aalam, who¡¯d obviously been expecting this, accepted, and the world faded until they were in an identical chamber, this one, however, not filled with blood. Aalam immediately activated the Shield of Twelve Elements and Mila watched as several hundred other humans, 429 in total by her count, appeared in the room as well, most carrying a whole bunch of artifacts, and, from their interactions, Mila had a strong guess the largest team size allowed in the challenge was six. Then, two minutes after they arrived, when seemingly everyone who was going to join in this massacre had, the System notification appeared again. The Nightmare Royale Bonus Round is now starting. You have one hour to kill each other until only one team is left. If more than one team is living after the hour, everyone dies. Aalam immediately activated his gust talisman and wind started to blow through the room, killing all but three individuals. Two African men were seemingly a team and had activated an artifact much like the Shield of Twelve Elements, while the third was a Chinese youth fully covered in blood whose robe seemed to have provided him a one time use protection. Aalam then activated the gust talisman again, using up the last of its power, and the talisman disintegrated in his hands. Wind blasted through the room, killing the Chinese youth and breaking the African men¡¯s shield, and Aalam then activated an extra talisman he¡¯d been holding and a fireball formed in front of the Shield of Twelve Elements¡¯ barrier, flew at the two men, and exploded right between them, killing them instantly. There had been people who activated defensive skills, elemental armor or shields of energy appearing around them, but they hadn¡¯t been strong enough to block Aalam¡¯s talisman, and Mila suspected the gust talisman had been a built in way to cheat in this challenge if someone had the right information beforehand, which opened up a lot more questions she didn¡¯t yet have time to think about. Aalam lowered the shield from the Shield of Twelve Elements and waited for a minute, looking over all the bodies. Then, when no one attacked or seemed to be breathing, he started looting again and Mila joined him. They gained 3,457 skill orbs, 2,152 talismans, 29 Rare bags of holding, and way more artifacts than they could carry, which they placed into piles based on how much Aalam believed they were worth. For the low, low price of more than 100,000 human lives, they¡¯d gotten quite the haul. The skill orbs contained Qi Weapon Enforcement (G-Rare), the last skill Mila needed for the skill fusion to Weapon Enhancement (G-Epic), and they also contained Artifact Activation (G-Rare) and Material Strengthening (G-Rare), the skills she¡¯d apparently need to fuse with Weapon Enhancement to form her Legendary skill. ¡°What would it take for you to pick an epic skill orb for me from the final rewards?¡± Aalam continued to look through the artifacts as he spoke, but there was an intensity to his voice that made her know he really, really wanted the skill orb. ¡°Build me a Legendary weapon within the next three hundred years.¡± Aalam looked up at that, a slightly startled expression on his face, then he nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Your team has survived the Nightmare Royale Bonus Round You may choose one skill and one artifact from the following lists as a reward. The skill can be learned immediately or granted as a skill orb and secretly placed in your pocket. The artifact will appear on your person, secretly in one of your pockets if small enough. You have an unlimited time to choose. After waiting in silence for a few minutes until the hour time limit was up, the message was similar to the previous round, the only difference in the wording the name of the round and the time they had to make their choice, but the lists were also a lot better, including Epic skills and artifacts. Aalam wanted two very specific skills, Myriad Thoughts (G-Epic) and Mental Spike (G-Epic), so the decision on skills was easy, but the artifacts took longer to decide on. There were a couple spatial storage artifacts with much larger space than the bags of holding and some weapons without requirements which seemed impressive, like a mana, qi, or psyforce powered pistol Mila was pretty sure would work great with her weapon enhancement skills, but Aalam looked at none of those, and he had more information. ¡°There are twenty-four legacy artifacts, each with built in training for class-based techniques, skill usage, and Law guidance. Powers on their deathbeds make them for the System in exchange for benefits for their heirs, and, while the best legacies are never given in trials like these, they are still far more useful than any of the other artifacts.¡± Mila looked at the 24 legacy artifacts, and, like the other artifacts on the list, there was quite a bit more information about each than for their previous choices, including full color pictures, all of which appeared like having a virtual screen in front of her eyes. There was a hammer called Legacy of the Iron Monger, which was obviously a smithing legacy; a sewing needle called Legacy of the Drape Maker, a tailor legacy; and weapons of almost every type. Aalam chose his legacy artifact after briefly scanning over each of them and an orange and blue cloth appeared in his hands, covered in tiny intricate runes Mila¡¯s Omniglot Reader ability couldn¡¯t help her understand. It was a headband called Legacy of the Psycrafter¡¯s Apprentice, and, after reading over its information now grayed over on the list, Mila quickly realized it fit Aalam almost perfectly. It gave him a weakened telekinesis skill and, while it had very little in the way of Law guidance, it gave a great deal of information on the use of psyforce and on training the basics of multiple crafting disciplines, from smithing and tailoring to alchemy and enchanting. As Aalam put the headband on, holding back his messy shoulder-length hair, Mila was trying to decide between three choices. The Legacy of the Shadow Walker was a knife and provided Law guidance on the path of Shadows, whatever that meant, as well as ways to use qi, mana, and psyforce for stealth and assassination. The Legacy of the Sharpshooter was what looked like a sniper rifle and provided guidance on the path of Guiding Wind along with ways to use her internal resources to create stronger attacks and fight from extreme range. Finally, the Legacy of the Weaponsmaster was a blob of silverish metal which could transform into any weapon from a sword or spear to a pair of pistols or a rifle, and it provided Law Guidance on the path of Illusion, which she hadn¡¯t been expecting, and a flexible style of using her resources which allowed for any type of weapon. Chapter 8: Auction House Aalam After realizing none of the legacies had any extra storage capabilities, Aalam went with plan B, being as efficient with storage as possible and wearing everything he wanted to keep. As each bag of holding, while only the size of a coin purse, held a cube of space with roughly 48 cm to a side, none of the swords or larger artifacts could fit, which was about half of them, but he was able to put all the skill orbs and talismans in just two bags, and that simplified things. Jewelry, clothing, and small weapon artifacts filled up the rest of the bags of holding and, thankfully, there was an Uncommon backpack artifact called Thief¡¯s Knapsack which was big enough to hold all 29 bags. The backpack could also disguise the material it was made from, allowing it to look like an Inferior grade product, but Aalam decided to keep it in its main form of black leather. He¡¯d put on the Rare grade red robes the Chinese youth had been wearing, already cleaned by their self-clean function, so a plain backpack would look less cool. On his waist, he wore an Uncommon grade black belt which required a wind element Law Egg and could help slow falling speed. Attached to the belt was a Rare grade black dagger artifact in a black sheath which required a dark element Law Egg to drain the mana out of artifacts or mana shields. And on his left hand was a Rare grade artifact that looked like a red leather fingerless glove, which required a fire Law Egg and could be used to emulate the Fireball skill. The Shield of Twelve Elements was on a hook on his belt on the other side from his dagger and on his left hand he also wore a Rare grade ring which could enhance a spell once per hour, including one from another artifact. The most valuable artifact on his person, however, was his new pair of boxers, the Shorts of Protection, a Rare grade artifact requiring a Law Egg of the earth element which would help dissipate all force targeting his pelvic area. He could only take a single artifact out from the tutorial, and the tutorial¡¯s third trial wouldn¡¯t allow him to use any artifacts anyway, so dressing like this was pretty much pointless, but dressing up like a fantasy action hero was fun, and he had other uses for the artifacts, so he didn¡¯t care. At his direction, Mila had postponed choosing her legacy artifact and she was now dressed in a set of artifacts as well, though of lesser quality as none of them required Law Eggs. Her undergarments were Rare grade and had the same minor shield spell as the robes he was wearing, and over them she was wearing a tasteful Uncommon grade long-sleeved blue dress enchanted with high defense, a Common grade belt enchanted to slightly decrease the weight of anything attached to it, and what looked to be a large topaz pendant in the shape of a shield around her neck, another Rare grade defensive artifact. Like Aalam, she hadn¡¯t been able to find shoes, but the dress was long enough she no longer had to wear the sweatpants, and, according to her, it actually made moving easier. On her right wrist she wore an Uncommon grade bracelet which could emit a blindingly bright light once every two hours. And, on her left ear, she wore a Rare grade golden stud earring with the rune for ¡®focus¡¯ on it in a language different than the rune on the ceiling, at least according to her, which provided extra mental clarity. On her belt she wore four different swords, all Rare grade but only one with effects she could actually use, and, like Aalam, she was carrying some of the Rare grade artifacts too big to keep in the bags of holding. She had two shields, while he, who now had superhuman strength from his stats increasing as he gained twelve different Law Eggs, held a bundle of staffs, greatswords, axes, and halberds all tied together by three belts. There had been a lot more Rare grade artifacts on the list when the first round of the Nightmare Royale started, but most winners of the first round hadn¡¯t been stupid enough to continue onto the second and, of those who did, most had teams of three or larger, lowering their rewards from the first round to include only up to the Uncommon grade. So, other than the bags of holding, there were only forty-eight Rare artifacts in Aalam and Mila¡¯s possession. Even holding so many artifacts, however, there were still over a thousand they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep and that wasn¡¯t optimal. So, as Mila made her choice of Epic grade artifact, a silver metallic orb appearing over her head and transforming into a bandolier, enabling her to grab an extra three swords, he tried to lift all the artifacts he could with telekinesis and managed to raise almost six percent of them off the ground. His plan worked and, as their surroundings disappeared, transforming into what looked like an empty void, none of the artifacts he¡¯d managed to lift disappeared, unlike all the others which had been left on the ground. Challenge over. Calculating rewards. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Base Trial Points: 144 Nightmare Royal Bonus Round cleared Base Trial Points X 4 Nightmare Royale cleared with the fastest clear time. Trial Points + 300% Nightmare Royale cleared in less than 4 seconds. Trial Points + 500% Nightmare Royale Bonus Round cleared in less than 4 seconds Trial Points + 1100% Nightmare Royale cleared with no damage Trial Points + 200% Nightmare Royale Bonus Round cleared with no damage Trial Points + 500% Nightmare Royale cleared with two party members. Total Trial Points X 11/24 Nightmare Royale cleared with total Luck higher than 216 Total Trial Points X 6 Trial Points for team leader Aalam Alvaro: 42,768 Trial Points for team member Li Mila: 42,768 Both members of your party also gain the following rewards: All stats +6 1 Legendary free building coupon Both Aalam and Mila saw those rewards, but only Aalam could see the next part. Luck is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +6 Then a different notification appeared in front of both of their eyes. You will now be transported to the City of Dreams. Which section of the city would you like to be teleported to? Marketplace University Residential: High Residential: Low ¡°Do you have a specific plan, Aalam?¡± Mila looked to him and asked. Aalam nodded. ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll head to the marketplace and then into the auction house. ¡°But first, give me a few seconds.¡± Aalam put down the items he was holding up with telekinesis and, as expected, they didn¡¯t disappear. Then he assigned his new 6 free stats to Aura, which would help boost the range of the telekinesis skill built into his new headband, and took a quick glance at this status. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 0 Race: Human Soulform (G-Common) Bloodline: NA Abilities Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) Amber Soul (Epic) Class: Citizen (G-Common) Skills Concentration (G-Uncommon) 17% mastered Rapid Thoughts (G-Rare) 14% mastered Meditative Focus (G-Rare) 6% mastered Laws Law Eggs: Soulform Temporal Acceleration - Early Bacteria - Early Asphyxiation - Early Molecular Deceleration - Early Molecular Acceleration - Early Inertia - Early Ionic Conductivity - Early Ionization - Early Ultraviolet - Early Ultraviolet Absorption - Early Vacuum - Early Gust - Early Stats Strength: 21 Agility: 22 Endurance: 21 Toughness: 25 Vitality: 31 Perception: 25 Magic: 58 Spirit: 33 Soul: 43 Aura: 21 Attunement: 21 Luck: 144 Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Small + 1 Medium Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Huge Mental Forge Uniqueness: Id ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s head to the marketplace.¡± Aalam picked up the artifacts with telekinesis and they accepted the teleportation, appearing in the center square of what looked like a medieval city, all the buildings large and gothic and the streets paved with stone. There were three buildings which stood out the most. One was a huge circular structure of columns and arches, an amphitheater for sports and plays, the city¡¯s main location for entertainment and combat training; the second was a large structure of spires and angelic gargoyles which looked like a church, though it was boarded up and covered in vines like it had been abandoned, their instance of the monster tutorial not allowing any universal religions to interfere; and the third looked like a palace, with large grassy lawns and multiple beautiful buildings, but was actually the city¡¯s auction house, as shown by the large stone sign in front of it which was magically transitioning every few seconds to show the words ¡®auction house¡¯ in every Earth language. Aalam dropped all the artifacts he was holding with telekinesis and then walked into the main building of the auction house with Mila following him to find a large open space with multiple alcoves around the walls, each with a wooden puppet behind a desk ¡°Hello, Sir and Madam.¡± As they walked up to it, a puppet spoke to them via telepathy. ¡°What might I do for you today? I see you have a lot of items with you. Would you like to put them up for sale?¡± ¡°Later.¡± Aalam shook his head and placed the bundle in his arms on the floor in front of the desk. ¡°I have a legendary free building coupon and I¡¯d like to use it to take control of this auction house.¡± ¡°Certainly, Sir.¡± The table in front of the puppet faded out of existence along with the chair the puppet had been sitting on, and the same thing happened in every other alcove as well. Then every single puppet knelt down on the ground and the next telepathic message sounded as if it came from hundreds of voices. ¡°Welcome, Master.¡± Chapter 9: Home Mila Watching the puppets bow to Aalam was a weird experience and Mila just stood there and absorbed it as Aalam emptied the bags of holding and sent some puppets to retrieve the artifacts he¡¯d left by the teleportation platform, at the same time giving instructions to the puppet in front of them on how to handle their loot, adding most of it to an auction that would apparently be occurring on the 25th day of the trial and evenly splitting the profits between the two of them. ¡°Would you like to change any of the default settings, Master?¡± the puppet in front of them asked as all their artifacts and skill orbs faded out of existence and Aalam put the Thief¡¯s Knapsack back on. ¡°No. Keep the settings the same. Just add all profits to my account instead of the System¡¯s. Do, however, send me a notification in the following cases: any Uncommon or Rare grade artifact requiring more than one Law Egg is put up for sale, any Epic grade artifact is put up for sale, or any Rare or higher grade crafting materials for any discipline is put up for sale. ¡°Finally, until I say otherwise, Trial Taker Li Mila here has equal authority to me.¡± ¡°Very well, Sir.¡± The puppet bowed again and then turned to Mila and bowed as well. ¡°We look forward to working with you, Madam.¡± Without another word Aalam turned to go, and Mila, now unencumbered as well, quickly followed him. They walked across the central square to the amphitheater and walked in, Aalam aiming directly for another puppet. Then Aalam turned to her. ¡°You should take this building. Unlike me, you are probably aiming for a combat class, so this building is where you would have been spending most of your money, and, from tournaments and performances, the profits should be second only to the auction house.¡± Mila looked around the stone room and then back to Aalam. ¡°This is a structure only our souls can visit, right? So, what are the benefits to buying.¡± ¡°For one, due to the coupon you received, it¡¯s free.¡± Aalam looked a tad annoyed, but he explained anyway. ¡°You gain all the profits for the entire tutorial and the resulting Trial Points will help you buy a better body. Then, if you ever become the lord of a settlement, you¡¯ll be able to ask the System to build you a free amphitheater far better than you could build yourself. ¡°Before you ask, an amphitheater in the universal context is like a stadium, able to host concerts and combat tournaments alike, but the most profitable part is the suite of training rooms, magical rooms that help train skills and energy control. One of these rooms is probably where you will spend most of your time if you¡¯re serious about getting stronger.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila walked up to the puppet and asked to buy the place, getting a bow and a universal ¡°Welcome, Madam¡± from every puppet in the building. Then she gave Aalam the same level of rights he¡¯d given her in the auction hall and Aalam started to give orders. ¡°Keep all the normal settings, but for the first five days run promotion C37 to help the trial takers learn the amphitheater¡¯s importance. And send a notification to Mila if the building spots anyone with C rank potential or higher.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± The puppet bowed to Aalam first and only then to her, causing Mila to feel a little miffed. Aalam then turned to her, a relatively neutral look on his face, and asked something she really hadn¡¯t been expecting. ¡°Would you consent to living together? There should be only one best dwelling and, from the information I have, the benefits of its various rooms should be usable by up to five people at once.¡± Mila felt her non-existent heart start to beat faster again, even though her brain knew Aalam was asking purely for the sake of optimization and there was still something extremely wrong with him, but none of her emotions showed on her face or in her body language. ¡°Sure.¡± They headed out of the amphitheater and into the central square again, where Mila could now see two groups of people, one of four and the other of five. Given the way they were geared, Mila was pretty sure they were both victorious groups from the Nightmare Royale¡¯s first round, but Aalam didn¡¯t seem to care, heading directly for the teleportation platform. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! One of the groups seemed to either want to talk to them or accost them, while the other, a backpack on one of their members, headed directly for the auction house, but she and Aalam teleported away before the first group could reach them. They appeared in another central square, but this one was in the high residential district. If the direction where the fake sun rising in whatever type of space they were in was to be taken as east, the three main roads leading away from the central square were traveling west, north west, and south west. To the north was a small park in front of a large lake while to the south was a small mountain with what looked like quite a few walking and running trails. Most of the houses in the district, all large mansions, were on the three roads, but the largest and most dominant residence was a huge palatial complex to the east. It had both European and East Asian influences, with stone, primarily white marble, as the main building material, but every roof of the thirteen buildings was multi-tiered and tiled. It had its own private access to both the lake and the mountain, and it was just plain ostentatious and huge. Aalam, of course, walked up to it. Then, as soon as they reached the actual border of the property, only ten meters from the teleportation points, they were stopped by an invisible forcefield and a System message appeared in front of them. The Dream Palace is a protected private residence. You may not enter. The Dream Palace is currently unoccupied. Would you like to purchase for 20,736 Trial Points? Yes/No ¡°We would like to split the purchase.¡± Aalam spoke to the air and a new notification appeared in front of Mila¡¯s eyes. Would you like to split the price of the Dream Palace with Aalam Alvaro? The price for you would be 10,368 Trial Points. Yes/No Mila accepted and a new set of notifications appeared in front of them. You have purchased the Dream Palace. As a palatial structure, the Dream Palace has the energy to empower 8 points worth of powered rooms. Please consult with your partner and choose which you wish to purchase. Alchemy Lab (1) Enchanting Lab (1) Smithy (1) Tailoring Room (1) Combined Crafting Room (3) Martial Training Room (1) Magic Training Room (1) Psychic Training Room (1) Combined Training Room (2) Personalized Teleportation Room (1) Dao Finding Room (3) Dao Finding Enhancement to Existing Room (4) ¡°Each of these room types can be found in other places in the city as well,¡± Aalam turned to her to explain, ¡°except for the combined crafting room, which I would like. The amphitheater has three Dao finding enhanced combined training rooms for example, which you can get to in just a couple seconds with a personalized teleportation room, as you own the amphitheater and can directly teleport to its lower levels.¡± Mila felt herself start to smile. ¡°So, you want a Dao finding enhanced combined crafting room, worth seven points, for you and a personalized teleportation room, worth one point, for me.¡± Aalam started to look a bit worried, but she quickly continued. ¡°Alright.¡± Aalam had a tendency to underestimate his own value and his information had already saved her likely at least half a day¡¯s worth of exploring, so she didn¡¯t see an issue with him getting most of the benefits. He wanted to be a crafter and she was trying to go the route of being better able to use artifacts, so it wasn¡¯t like she was losing out. They confirmed the choices and then they headed inside. Aalam ignored the bedrooms, the kitchen, and the dining room on the first few floors of the main building and headed up to the top floor, where there was a large circular room surrounded by windows looking out over the palace grounds. On the north side of the room was the alchemy section, with one cabinet full of odd liquids and powders and another filled with beakers, pipettes, and the like. In front of the cabinets was a table with a controlled magical flame, but otherwise it reminded Mila of the chemistry section of Aalam¡¯s home lab back when they¡¯d been alive. On the room¡¯s west side was the enchanting lab, with a table covered in simple runes Mila could read with Omniglot Reader, most variants on the word ¡®infusion¡¯, and a bookcase filled with works such as ¡®How to enchant the skin of a toad and other interesting discussions.¡¯ To the east was the smithing section, with the requisite magical furnace, anvil, hammer, and tongs. And, on the south side, was a tailoring section, with a magical loom and sewing machine along with a cabinet full of various magical threads. ¡°If Tony Stark can make an arc reactor in a cave, I wonder what you could build in here?¡± Even as she was half way through, Mila knew the joke was a bad idea, but she wasn¡¯t expecting Aalam¡¯s reaction. He hit her in the face, hard. Chapter 10: Stunned Mila Had Mila not been wearing her magical underwear, which reacted automatically to create a shield, she would have at least lost teeth, if not outright had her jaw broken. In fact, given his superhuman strength, and her lack of reaction, she could have possibly even died. Mila had thought he might get angry. Despite what they¡¯d gone through in the last couple hours, things were not back to how they¡¯d been before she¡¯d run away and he¡¯d found out their entire relationship had been built on a lie. But Aalam¡¯s anger in her memories usually consisted of quiet grumbling, at worst occasionally screaming in impotent rage when lives were on the line and politicians were being politicians. He¡¯d never hit her before, or anyone for that matter. Then, to her further shock, after almost killing her, Aalam¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t to say sorry, or to yell at her, or to even acknowledge what he¡¯d done in any way. He just walked over to the alchemy section of the room and started to work while Mila stood there, mind blank. Law Egg gained - Obfuscation Congratulations! You are the fourth to gain a Law Egg of anyone from Earth. All stats +3 Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility + 2, Perception + 2, Magic +4, Spirit +2, Soul +2 It took a full minute for Mila to come back to herself and, not knowing what to do, she went to the teleportation room and teleported to the amphitheater. Then she asked one of the puppets there for directions and went to find one of the combined training rooms with the Dao finding enhancement. She didn¡¯t understand how the enhancement worked, but something about Aalam¡¯s crafting room had helped her gain her first Law Egg, her feelings of being overlooked translating into something in her soul shifting and granting her power. But, at least at the moment, she didn¡¯t really care. She just wanted to hit something. * * * The room was large, an underground rectangle about the size of a football field, and she¡¯d needed to use an elevator to get down to it, so she wasn¡¯t exactly sure how deep it was, but, given she was apparently a soul and the city obviously wasn¡¯t on a planet, instead either in some kind of pocket dimension or, more likely, a virtual space, it didn¡¯t really matter. Welcome to Training Room 0003. This room costs 48 Trial Points per hour. Cost waived as you are the owner. This training room has two modes: Self Service - No extra charge Puppet Assistance: An Amphitheater puppet will guide you in how to use the room - 2 Trial Points per hour (Recommended for first time users) Spirit Assistance: One of 48 spirits of fallen warriors will instruct you personally - 12 Trial Points per hour Costs waived as you are the owner Mila was about to select Puppet Assistance, as she didn¡¯t know how to use the room and didn¡¯t want to talk to someone sentient, but then she realized she wasn¡¯t alone. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. As she was off her game at the moment, she wasn¡¯t sure how long the woman had been there, but she wasn¡¯t stupid enough to not guess who the woman was. Standing by the far wall of the room, right in Mila¡¯s line of sight since entering, the Yin Yang Sage looked like a 90-plus-year-old caucasian grandmother, tiny and wearing a simple attire of a beige sweater, black pants, and a forest green vest¡ªthough oddly no shoes. She was also holding a wooden cane in both hands, seemingly using it to keep herself steady, though Mila very much suspected her of acting. ¡°Instead of choosing a fallen D rank warrior as an instructor, would I do instead, child?¡± Mila¡¯s training immediately kicked in and she bowed slightly. ¡°I would be honored, benefactor.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± The sage sighed. ¡°I¡¯d wanted to talk to you when you were off balance from the boy hitting you, but it seems I underestimated your level of brainwashing.¡± ¡°Brainwashing?¡± ¡°You were trained to be a spy and an assassin, child, not so you could hide your own secrets or kill your own enemies but so you could find secrets for others and kill who they wanted dead. Of course that would be considered brainwashing, just not of the magical kind.¡± So, there was magical brainwashing. Mila didn¡¯t like the sound of that. Also, it was pretty obvious the sage wanted to be perceived as someone honest, which was interesting. Being viewed as someone manipulative was already a foregone conclusion, given her actions so far, but the woman was playing into that role way more than she would if she was just trying to gain information. ¡°So, should we start the lesson?¡± Mila decided it would be better not to drive the conversation herself and the sage smiled at her. ¡°Ah, that type of tactic. Ok.¡± The woman tapped the floor of the room with her cane. ¡°Have you seen the movie Star Wars?¡± Five floating orb-shaped robots, looking like the one Obi-Wan used to train Luke in Episode IV, appeared and floated over to Mila. ¡°Don¡¯t get hit.¡± The sage smiled at her as all five robots started shooting red bursts of energy her way, getting faster and faster as she dodged. ¡°This is actually one of the best types of training, especially for you.¡± The sage¡¯s voice was calm and somehow carried throughout the room, despite the noise of the robots shooting. ¡°Agility boosts your movement and Spirit your thinking speed and reaction time, while Perception, Soul, and Aura all boost your spatial awareness. ¡°For someone with your skillset, I¡¯d recommend Agility and Perception as your primary stats, with Endurance and Spirit as close secondaries. You won¡¯t want to skimp on the Magic stat as well, but sustainable burst and quick thinking speed will do you better than more powerful spells if you are going to be relying on empowering artifacts in combat. ¡°You¡¯ll of course want to raise Aura, Attunement, and Luck as high as possible, but for the other stats you can just keep the ratios you found when you were first assigning your stats at the start of the tutorial.¡± Mila got hit by one of the beams in the shoulder, causing her muscles to spasm and allowing four more beams to hit her, forcing her to fall to the ground as if she was having an epileptic fit. ¡°You probably don¡¯t know this yet, but almost no classes will give you the Aura, Attunement, or Luck stats and, other than the first assignment for soulforms, no free stats can be given to the Luck stat unless all the other stats are at their maximum.¡± The sage raised her hand and the hovering robots, which had all still been shooting at Mila while she was down, backed off, allowing the effects of the blasts to wear off. ¡°Now let¡¯s go again, but this time I want you to focus on how the energy flows in your body. You¡¯ve been naturally using qi and psyforce your entire life, so only mana is new, and, as a soulform without an actual body, the movement of these three energy types should be easier for you to sense than normal. ¡°You¡¯re trying to be an artifact specialist, yet, when the going got tough just now, you unconsciously stopped the flow of energy to the very artifacts which could have protected you. One of those blasts should have barely gotten through your dress, let alone the shield of your pendant, and you even have an Epic grade artifact there which can transform into anything you want.¡± The hovering robots started up again and Mila decided to ignore how focusing on the training would almost certainly distract her from whatever the sage wanted to find out. Instead, she focused inward, and, as the sage had indicated, she could feel energy flowing through her body as she dodged. There were three independent flows. One was centered around just below her navel, the location of her lower dantian, and the energy flowed along her blood vessels throughout her body. The second was focused about two cm behind her glabella, the part of her forehead just above and between her eyebrows, the location of her upper dantian, the energy flowing through her brain and then throughout her body following the path of her nervous system. Then, finally, the third was focused around the center of her upper chest between her lungs, and it was a mess, moving around and trying to connect with the artifacts she was wearing, but not flowing smoothly and not following an efficient path through the energy channels she could slightly sense within her body. There seemed to be more energy channels designed for qi than she was using, but only by about 30%, and her flow was quite efficient. She also seemed to be using a bit more than 60% of her psyforce energy channels, but this flow felt like it had more room for improvement. For the energy channels which appeared to be designed for mana, however, she was only using about 20%, and the flow was horrendous. Then there were her skills. She could feel them, like they were complicated runes carved into her soul at a level slightly deeper than her energy channels, and all three of them seemed to have projected versions of themselves wherever any of the artifacts she was wearing connected with her spiritual body, seeming to improve the connection between her energy channels and the artifacts along with allowing her to pour more energy into the artifacts than normal. Mila was surprised just how much detail she could perceive, as usually this type of thing was a lot harder in novels. As was typical in novels, however, her surprise at her new discovery caused her to become slightly distracted and, not having managed to get to the point where she could instinctively activate her artifacts yet, she got hit again, this time on her left thigh, and she was then quickly hit multiple times, almost everywhere but her face. ¡°So,¡± the Yin Yang Sage asked conversationally as Mila twitched on the floor. ¡°Are you in love with your boyfriend?¡± Chapter 11: Cool Old Lady Mila Mila couldn¡¯t control her expression, what with her surprise at the question and the state of her body, which was of course the sage¡¯s plan. So, as the hovering robots stopped shooting her and she again stood up, she decided not to answer the question but instead say something which would make her seem more defensive than she actually felt. ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend.¡± ¡°Technically, you never actually broke up.¡± The sage smiled at her and, taking a step forward to appear right in front of her, reached up to push Mila¡¯s hair out of her eyes in a grandmotherly way. ¡°You ran away and then you never actually talked about it. ¡°Granted, you tried to do the nerdy flirting thing he likes and he punched you in the face, so a breakup seems likely, but neither of you have actually said the words yet.¡± The little old woman beamed at her and Mila felt uncomfortable as it was pretty obvious the sage had been watching their every move since the start of the tutorial, and possibly before. The sage, who¡¯d primarily been speaking English despite it almost certainly not being her primary language, had switched to Mandarin when saying ¡®nerdy flirting thing¡¯, and that was a term Mila had made up for one of her first reports about Aalam. ¡°You have me at a disadvantage, ma''am.¡± ¡°Yes. Yes, I do.¡± The sage¡¯s grin grew wider and Mila allowed herself to sigh. ¡°What do you want?¡± That was always the question, the key to knowing how to manipulate anyone, and Mila felt like a failure for having to ask it out loud, as she knew the sage would only give her a half answer at best. ¡°To figure you out.¡± The sage took a step back, appearing a few meters away, and, when she raised one of her hands, the hovering robots started to attack again. ¡°As part of being the benefactor for Earth¡¯s trials, I get to take in two formal apprentices. I¡¯ve already chosen one and, given what I suspect about you, you¡¯re on the shortlist for the other spot.¡± Mila just continued trying to dodge, loosening active control over her movements and letting her instincts take more control. She¡¯d been trained to always focus when in combat, plan at least three moves in advance at all times, but this was training, not an actual fight, and that active control was getting in the way of her energy flow, blocking her ability to feed power to the artifacts she was wearing. About a minute later, she got hit again, but the enchantment on her dress was active and the arm where she was hit barely twitched, so she managed to recover almost instantly. ¡°Good.¡± The sage nodded in approval. ¡°You¡¯ve improved already. I told you this type of training was suited for you.¡± The sage tapped her cane on the ground again and the robots stopped. ¡°Do you want to make a deal, Ms. Li? I¡¯ll make a detailed training plan for you and, in return, all you have to do is play one round of Five Questions.¡± Mila kept her expression blank, but she was internally extremely frustrated as the sage had spoken ¡®Five Questions¡¯ in Mandarin, meaning she knew something about her which wasn¡¯t written down. Five Questions was a game she¡¯d played with her grandfather since she was little. It consisted of taking turns asking questions and the person answering had to either be truthful, say the answer was classified, or, for only up to two questions, choose not to answer. Questions the other party chose not to answer could not be asked again in a different form and, for every question with a classified answer, the questioner got to ask an extra question. The main goal of the game, which was designed as a form of social manipulation training, was to fully answer questions in such a way as to prompt the other party to ask a different question than they¡¯d originally intended. Mila took a deep breath, deciding to no longer hide the existence of her annoyance, just the full extent of it, and allowed herself to frown. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± The sage tapped her cane to the ground again and two wooden chairs rose up from the floor, as if the floor of the training room was a spatial portal, and they both sat. ¡°I¡¯ll go first then. Why did you choose not to tell me your uniqueness?¡± Mila was slightly surprised by the question, but she didn¡¯t let it show on her face. ¡°The very fact you asked made me think it was something you couldn¡¯t know and, in a strange environment, it felt wise to keep such information private until I could understand its value.¡± She was also confident enough to gain rewards from the tutorial even without revealing her uniqueness, but Five Questions only required full truth, not extra context, and Mila was fully aware of the distinction. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Fair enough.¡± The sage nodded and looked a bit more serious. ¡°Given what I now suspect, such an action probably saved your life and, thankfully, my first apprentice made the same decision. If your uniqueness is of the line I suspect, I almost got you killed by asking during a time the System was recording. ¡°Had you answered then, the nature of your uniqueness you see in your status screen would no longer come from your understanding of your own soul, but from the System¡¯s records. And, while no one with the level of authority to access that part of the System would ever do so while you¡¯re weak, if you grew into a powerhouse and met any god in person, you probably would¡¯ve been killed on sight.¡± Well, that was horrifying. The sage was either trying to gaslight her or, more likely, something about her would make gods want her dead. The extra information was an obvious distraction, however, and Mila was sure the sage would continue the topic on her own, so she didn¡¯t need to waste one of her limited questions. ¡°How do you know about Five Questions? That should be something between only me and my grandfather.¡± The sage smiled at her again. ¡°You know the tutorial on earth is happening at the same time as this one, but you probably don¡¯t know the nature of tutorial challenges. For challenges, all trial takers are brought into a dream realm and, in the dream realm, the challenge can last for months yet no longer than a day will pass in the tutorial. ¡°Your grandfather is in a longer challenge which, like yours did, promotes team building and, as no one still alive on earth knows about the monster tutorial, he thinks you¡¯re dead. Thus, when the topic of families came up in a discussion, he told some stories about your childhood.¡± There were two rather nice pieces of information Mila got from that answer. One, the sage likely couldn¡¯t read minds, though she could seemingly watch everyone in the tutorial at once, and, two, her grandfather had possibly made a friend or two. That old man had been pretty much alone since her grandmother had died, so that was kind of nice. ¡°Why did you want Aalam Alvaro as your assignment?¡± Mila allowed herself to frown at this. As far as she was aware, the fact she¡¯d requested to honey trap Aalam was not documented, and only five people should know. Then she took a couple seconds to think and, upon realizing the likely source of the sage¡¯s information, if she wasn¡¯t already consciously controlling her facial expressions she probably would have started to cry. The sage hadn¡¯t said who her grandfather had told about Five Questions. From her answer, assuming it was true, all Mila could determine was he was talking to someone about her and, with that old man, it was far more likely he¡¯d talk about Five Questions with someone he was torturing than someone he was trying to form a bond with, and that was the only time the topic of her choosing to date Aalam would have come up. Her grandfather most likely knew how she¡¯d died. ¡°As you undoubtedly know, I tested out of most of high school and then spent a good chunk of my teenage years as a honey trap assassin helping set up coups in Africa. My grandfather, an ex agent for the Ministry of State Security, didn¡¯t like how I was being used, so he pulled some strings and my real identity was padded with fake schooling records and I was sent to Harvard in the United States. The assignment was to get a masters in teaching within five years, so I could then do the same type of job in the US, though with more spying and less killing. ¡°I made a lot of useful contacts while at school, just as instructed, and, through some of those contacts, I learned about Aalam.¡± Were she not controlling her face, Mila realized she would have started smiling at that moment, even given how sad she was, and that pretty much answered her questions to herself about her choices at that time. ¡°He was a couple years ahead of me, despite being a year younger, and he had an in school nickname, the Curve-breaker of the Sciences. ¡°I liked how pissed off he made all the entitled brats at that school, but, more importantly, at the age of nineteen he already had three patents with the US Government with four more filed. I did a bit more research and realized he was someone my government would want to spy on for the long term, then I studied him for a bit, decided there were far worse people I could be forced to couple with, and spent a year slowly attracting him.¡± She hadn¡¯t actually meant things to go so slow, but she¡¯d never met someone quite as dense. Her mind flashed back to those many, many times she¡¯d caught him staring at her chest and acted oblivious, even though they were alone, and she silently cursed herself for not earlier doing what she eventually did and just taking off her clothes and pulling down his pants. ¡°We were college sweethearts and I enjoyed myself. He was super, super introverted, so he was very low maintenance, allowing me to keep an entire separate group of friends for my job. I liked his sister, who was studying in the law school. And, probably most important, I didn¡¯t really have to pretend much with either of them, other than hiding the fact I was a spy. They liked how I was smarter than them in some ways and that¡¯s hard to find, especially when you¡¯re honey trapping someone. ¡°So, when I graduated and the Ministry tried to assign me to honey trap an old US senator, I passed my handler twenty three different patent applications and he quickly made it his idea to honey trap Aalam instead.¡± Mila calmly looked at the sage and smiled slightly. ¡°You asked why I wanted Aalam to be my assignment. Mainly, I was tired of old man dick.¡± Chapter 12: Shadow Line Mila The sage smiled back, but there was an undercurrent of sadness for a split second and the assumption Mila had been fishing to confirm, about the identity of the woman¡¯s first apprentice, seemed much more likely. Without showing any reaction, though, she asked her next question. ¡°What advantages do you get from having apprentices?¡± ¡°There are quite a few. Given the purpose of the System, which I cannot tell you as it is classified, raising up another power to your level or beyond is greatly rewarded. For me, though, the principal draw has to do with my main class. ¡°I was at the peak of A rank when I died, at the level just below gods, but what I died from was old age. My body couldn¡¯t take it anymore and, had I not made a deal with the System in exchange for some rather ridiculous feats, my soul would have perished as well. ¡°I messed up and blocked my path to apotheosis due to a lack of information, severing the two main paths to my class¡¯s advancement, and that left only one rather ridiculous achievement which would allow me to be reborn as a god. ¡°I have to raise a student from G rank all the way to divinity.¡± Mila didn¡¯t hide the shock she felt at that statement. She couldn¡¯t confirm the veracity of what the sage said, but it recontextualized what she knew about the woman already in a way that fit. ¡°I don¡¯t expect my plan to actually work.¡± The sage¡¯s smile grew wider again. ¡°It¡¯s an act of desperation and mainly I just want to have fun. ¡°Still, I¡¯m not going to choose an apprentice with no chance at all of rising that high. I didn¡¯t kidnap hundreds of extreme talents to seed my experimental world for no reason.¡± Having dropped another conversational bomb, the sage smiled, but Mila had already been planning to ask about the woman¡¯s experiments on Earth next anyway, so she didn¡¯t really care. Now, though, it was the sage¡¯s turn. ¡°If Earth would stay normal for your entire life, no integration with the System and no apocalypses, yet you could go back and change one thing, what would you change? Would you stop the car accident which killed your parents before your first birthday in Boston? Have your grandfather not kidnap you back to China and instead move to Poland with your mother¡¯s family? Stop that human trafficker from taking you when you were twelve? Or would you not go after Aalam? Maybe stay when you knew he¡¯d find out what you¡¯d done instead of running?¡± Mila started to grow a bit angry. She hadn¡¯t known about her grandfather kidnapping her, but that was very much in character. Thinking about that trafficker always got her in a bad mood¡ªthere was a reason she¡¯d killed him, getting on the Ministry of State Security¡¯s radar as a result. Mostly, though, she was angry about how much information the sage had on her. She was tired of feeling like a pawn in other people¡¯s games. She was tired of being disposable. ¡°No comment.¡± The sage smiled. ¡°There is a secret to being the one in control, Mila. It¡¯s called having the biggest stick.¡± She bowed her head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about deliberately pushing your buttons.¡± Mila just looked at the woman for several seconds and something which should have been obvious clicked into place in her head. ¡°My lack of control over my energy exposes my emotions, doesn¡¯t it?¡± The Yin Yang Sage grinned at her, a grandmotherly look of pride in her eyes. ¡°Yes, though it¡¯s more control over aura than energy.¡± Mila took a deep breath and dropped the facade she¡¯d been showing. She didn¡¯t glare at the sage, as she honestly wasn¡¯t that angry anymore, at least not with the woman in front of her. She was just tired. The sage was trying to understand her, which was annoying, but she didn¡¯t need to go about it the way she was, offering way more information than she had to in exchange, and Mila could at least respect that. ¡°Is your uniqueness of the Shadow line?¡± ¡°You already know the answer.¡± Mila¡¯s expression changed to a glare. ¡°And you know I wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable answering out loud after what you said before.¡± The sage waved her hand in the air, but this time the robots didn¡¯t attack. ¡°Oh, the System isn¡¯t recording now. I¡¯m not an idiot.¡± ¡°Then yes.¡± Mila decided not to waste any more time trying to hide information from the really, really old woman, as it almost certainly wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°What experiments did you perform on Earth?¡± ¡°Nothing too extreme.¡± The sage leaned back in her chair. ¡°Just a little eugenics, no actual tampering. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I had a husband for a while and a family, along with several other children before that, but most of them died of old age long before I did. I also had an organization, but it was crushed by a few gods when it grew a bit too powerful, so I hid the survivors and allowed them to multiply hidden away on unintegrated planets. ¡°After that I managed to kill a grand total of thirteen low level gods invading from other dimensions¡ªan accomplishment far more impressive than you have the context to realize¡ªand I could choose what to do with their subordinate organizations, so I crippled their most talented humans and hid them away as well. ¡°Then, about a hundred thousand years ago, I moved the most talented cultivators from all these populations to Earth, and continued bringing over any other extreme talents until my death about 2,000 years ago. ¡°As a result, Earth¡¯s population is way above average when it comes to cultivation talent and the amount of the population with uniquenesses is about 1 in 20,736, which is quite high given the average of humans in the universe is closer to one in nine trillion.¡± The sage smiled again, but this time it was more of a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m an ancestor to all of Earth¡¯s human population, including you, so you should call me Granny Xara.¡± Mila¡¯s Omniglot Reader racial ability kicked in with that last statement and she realized the word granny meant ¡®Supreme Holy Leader¡¯ in some other language, so she instead decided to go with a different term with the same level of informality. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to ask your last question, Nana Xara.¡± ¡°Right, Omniglot Reader.¡± Nana Xara frowned for a few seconds then seemed to get over it, and Mila was pretty sure she was trying to lighten the mood. ¡°Do you know why your boyfriend blew himself up?¡± Mila just stared at the old woman for a few seconds. Then she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, there were a few reasons. As you¡¯ve suspected, his sister is my first apprentice, so I¡¯ve gotten this information from the person closest to him, who sadly still thinks he¡¯s dead due to System rules, but was likely more honest than normal as a result. ¡°From what I¡¯ve been able to tell, he was quite depressed and angry after you left, but then Diana got sick. It was a reaction to the rising mana on your planet, as Diana¡¯s mana wells are the largest on earth and she has a uniqueness which greatly boosts the effectiveness of her Magic stat, increasing her amount of mana even more, but Aalam didn¡¯t know that at the time and, for the first time in his life, he felt helpless with a science problem. ¡°More important, however, his actions with that trojan program and releasing all the world¡¯s secrets was about to start World War III, this time with everyone having nukes, and that made him feel kind of desperate. ¡°Diana¡¯s conjecture is he found out from the leaks that some other organization or government was going to blow up the Capitol and prematurely activated the bombs while he was inside. She thinks his goal was to trigger a pause in the rising global tensions through an unexpected tragedy from an unexpected source, and, if that was the case, for the three remaining days of your world at least, it worked. ¡°The thing is, and this is actually the most important part, it wasn¡¯t supposed to. The System¡¯s calculations, based on the Laws of Fate and Divination, were that a short thermonuclear war would wipe out over a billion people, and it was by stopping this prediction that Aalam earned a major boon, allowing me to give him access to all my knowledge on monsters, classes, laws, bloodlines, and skills, as well as the rules for various System-hosted competitions, including the rules of this tutorial. ¡°I managed to hide the granting of the boon and the System error, thankfully, but this is a rather huge deal. The System, while in truth more an artifact than a life-form, operates at the level of divinity. Normally, it would require a god taking action for it to mess up a prediction, yet your boyfriend seemed to manage it on his own. ¡°The only other way this would normally be possible were if uniquenesses were involved, specifically uniquenesses of the Shadow line.¡± Taking another deep breath, Mila opened her eyes. ¡°This line of uniquenesses provides resistance to¡ªor, at higher grades, the ability to manipulate¡ªkarma and divination, as well as an extremely useful general effect, an increase to the effectiveness of the Aura stat. ¡°Someone with the Shadow Soldier uniqueness, the weakest uniqueness of the line though Epic in grade, has a 12.5% increase in Aura effectiveness and a resistance to divination and enforced karmic bonds of C rank powers or lower. Someone with the Shadow Agent uniqueness, the Legendary grade in the line, like your grandfather, has a 25% increase in aura effectiveness and resistance to divination and enforced karmic bonds of B rank power or lower. ¡°To mess up the System¡¯s divination, divination at a level above most gods, however, Aalam would need to have a much more powerful uniqueness of the line, one three grades above Shadow Agent, Shadow King, but I¡¯ve been watching and his Aura stat doesn¡¯t have an increased effectiveness. Yours does. Yet for him to cause such a large shift in the divination with you acting as the catalyst, you would normally need to have an even higher grade of uniqueness, Shadow Empress. ¡°Your aura, however, is not that strong. From what I can tell, your aura is only double the strength of what it should be from your Aura stat, so you have the Shadow Princess uniqueness.¡± Nana Xara looked irritated as she leaned forward in her chair. ¡°Now, normally you having such a great uniqueness would be awesome. Sure, the gods would all want to kill you if they found out, as you have the perfect ability to become a spanner in their workings, but I love that. And I like you as a person. You¡¯re crafty. ¡°I would normally have already given you an offer to become my apprentice and, given your personality, it would have been really fun to try and convince you after you say no. But, sadly, I can¡¯t. ¡°Confirming you have the Shadow Princess uniqueness means your boyfriend has the uniqueness I thought and I can¡¯t have another apprentice linked to someone so unstable, even if he is the greatest talent I¡¯ve seen in my life. ¡°Do you know while we¡¯ve been talking he¡¯s already advanced two of his Law Eggs from early to middle grade. That is utterly ridiculous. ¡°Were you the type to abandon him, I wouldn¡¯t like you as much. But, if you stay with him, you¡¯re going to die, and I can¡¯t risk one of my only two chances dying without even getting out of the tutorial.¡± Nana Xara sighed and then tapped her cane on the ground, causing the hovering robots to fully disappear. ¡°Go ahead and ask your final question.¡± Mila looked at the woman, guessed her frustration was genuine, and felt extremely worried as a result. ¡°What is wrong with Aalam?¡± Chapter 13: Id Mila ¡°What is wrong with Aalam?¡± The sage leaned back in her chair again, but this time she was frowning. ¡°Well, quite a bit. ¡°First, there is something wrong with that family. Uniquenesses have the same grades as classes, skills, races, and the like with Heroic, Fabled, and Mythic being the three grades higher than Legendary. Unlike most other things on the same grade scale, however, uniquenesses, like bloodlines, can have a grade higher than Legendary at G rank. ¡°Your Shadow Princess is a Fabled grade uniqueness, and that¡¯s a higher grade than I ever expected from anyone on Earth, but that family, both have Mythic grade uniquenesses. And the one with a second uniqueness helpful with Law comprehension isn¡¯t the one who has mastered the equivalent of fourteen early grade Law Eggs.¡± Nana Xara paused for a second. ¡°Make that fifteen. ¡°By the gods, I wish that boy wasn¡¯t insane.¡± Nana Xara looked over at the wall for a second, her focus seemingly elsewhere, then she turned back to Mila. ¡°The problem is what Mythic grade uniqueness he has. In English, I think it would be translated as Id, of Id, Ego, and Superego fame. ¡°You know what a berserker is, right?¡± Mila nodded. ¡°In Earth¡¯s fantasy stories it''s someone who trades sanity for power. They¡¯re usually strong and fast rage machines.¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± Nana Xara nodded. ¡°Well, berserker uniquenesses are a whole category, where the user can enter a state where the effectiveness of one or more of their stats is raised for a cost. For most berserker uniquenesses, the cost is a decrease in the effectiveness of another stat or stats, but uncontrollable rage is also common, and for most there is a time limit in which the user can stay in the state and they are weakened for a while after they exit it. ¡°Id is a very high end berserker uniqueness. The user can stay in the berserking state for years, not minutes. The boost is to the Spirit stat, arguably the most useful of the nine base stats, and is by a factor of 12, which is ridiculous, the maximum any type of boosting ability can reach. But the problem is people born with this uniqueness on mana filled planets generally don¡¯t survive to adulthood. And those who awaken it in a tutorial have never once passed. ¡°The berserking state of Id doesn¡¯t make a person any different. It doesn¡¯t make them angry. It doesn¡¯t make them horny. And it doesn¡¯t make them think they¡¯re invincible. But it¡¯s generally considered far worse than berserker powers with those types of effects because it is much more unpredictable. ¡°Id completely removes the user¡¯s inhibitions.¡± Mila thought about it for a second and realized how that could be worse. Someone in a berserker rage might attack everyone around them, but the effect of the rage would be obvious and people could avoid the berserker. Someone with a lack of inhibition, however, might be completely happy, then get annoyed at someone for something minor and slit their throat. Were someone super horny due to a berserker power, their significant other could make sure no one else was around them, taking away most of the danger, but someone without inhibitions might become horny on a whim and just decide to rape someone, resulting in others wanting to take revenge. And if someone thought they were invincible, they still might think twice before taking an action and thus make a slightly better one instead, but someone without inhibitions wouldn¡¯t. Aalam was an odd case, however. He was a high functioning autistic, logical to a fault. Thinking about future consequences and making detailed plans was innate to his very being, so the types of issues he¡¯d cause from a lack of inhibition would be different than normal. More important, however, he was very introverted. Aalam would like nothing more than to stay in his lab doing experiments and, because he was Aalam, he was unlikely to accidentally blow himself up. The bigger risk while he was in there was he might stop eating or sleeping, but, as a soulform, he didn¡¯t have to do either. Until the next challenge, he was unlikely to leave unless he needed to get something, and she could do that instead. He had most likely made some ridiculous plan for vast cosmic power, however, especially as Nana Xara had given him all the necessary information to make an optimized build, and those plans almost certainly involved doing some crazy things in the next two Nightmare difficulty challenges. This was a greater danger, but Aalam¡¯s stats were already five times higher than normal and his Luck was high, while his Spirit already exceeded what was normally possible for a trial taker, so it was entirely possible he wouldn¡¯t get himself killed. But what about after? His lack of inhibition would be an advantage in some cases. If he was his normal self, for example, he wouldn¡¯t have started making use of her just because he knew she was competent in areas where he understood himself to be lacking. His pride would have gotten in the way. And quick actions were often far more useful in a fight even if they weren¡¯t optimal. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. His sexual fantasies wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem, given they always consisted of a more intellectual connection than a physical one, so she wasn¡¯t much worried on that front. Were he to ever interact with people vastly more powerful than him, however, he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his mouth shut even more than normal, and the result could be deadly. ¡°So, you¡¯re not even going to consider leaving him, are you?¡± Nana Xara had an amused expression on her face by this point, and Mila felt a little self conscious knowing the woman had likely seen through her entire thought process. ¡°It¡¯s kind of cute.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s face then became sterner and she tapped her cane on the ground again, causing the chairs they were sitting on to merge into the floor, leaving them both standing. ¡°But are you sure of your decision?¡± Mila thought about it for a second. ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°He hates you, you know.¡± Mila found the idea reasonable, and it didn¡¯t change her mind. She¡¯d given him pretty good reason. Still, she wanted a bit more information. ¡°What makes you think that?¡± ¡°He saw you and then immediately comprehended the Law Egg of Asphyxiation.¡± Mila didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a good sign at least that he didn¡¯t try to strangle me?¡± ¡°Honestly?¡± Nana Xara relaxed her expression and it reminded Mila of the look Diana would often have on her face whenever Mila was leaving her and Aalam¡¯s apartment before she and Aalam actually got together. ¡°I have no idea. It¡¯s probably not a good idea to try flirting with him, though.¡± Then a System message appeared in front of Mila¡¯s eyes. The Yin Yang Sage has offered you and Trial Taker Aalam Alvaro a quest. Partners in Crime (G-Legendary) Aalam Alvaro must accomplish the following:
  1. Achieve at least a middle grade Law Egg for each of the main elements
  2. Craft at least one artifact of Common grade or higher with infusion of Law power from at least 12 middle grade or higher Law Eggs
  3. Have a Citizen class with two Legendary skills and one free slot
  4. Not die
Li Mila must accomplish the following:
  1. Achieve at least 3 Law Eggs
  2. Have a Citizen class with two Legendary skills and one free slot
  3. Not die
Rewards: One Legendary skill orb from the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s collection for each trial taker, guaranteed to help optimize the paths to power of both Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°I¡¯ll give you a couple pieces of advice, Mila.¡± Nana Xara had a serious expression on her face. ¡°First, while, at least to my knowledge, no one has ever done it before, Id is only a Mythic uniqueness and it seems to be the start of a uniqueness line, so it should be possible to advance it three times, and, as it already gives the maximum stat increase, it¡¯s likely an advancement would greatly reduce the lack of inhibition. This is only a theory, though. ¡°Second, one thing that is known about the Id uniqueness berserker state is that it is very easy to enter but very difficult to leave. And, while I don¡¯t know how bad the effects of leaving the state are, I wouldn¡¯t recommend doing so in the tutorial. The chances are high it would leave him so weak as to not even be able to function. ¡°Third, and this is probably the most important, don¡¯t over-rely on the Luck stat. It represents an influence on fate and is incredibly useful as a result, but in the tutorial it has a far more magnified effect, the Luck stat of trial takers greatly influencing the nature of the challenges. Its effects outside of the tutorial will be far, far less. ¡°Finally, don¡¯t expect cool quests like this in the future. I just happened to have two Legendary skills which would be perfect for you and Aalam, but, to give them to you, I needed to give you a quest which no one should normally be able to accomplish. There are rules about this given the deal I made with the System and I can¡¯t even give my own apprentice presents. She first has to qualify for a reward one grade lower of the same type for me to give her anything.¡± Mila bowed to the woman and then accepted the quest, the confirmation telling her Aalam had already accepted as well, but, while she was looking at the ground, she heard a sharp clink of wood on stone and when she looked up the hovering robots were back and Nana Xara was grinning again. Then the robots immediately started to attack her and she had to start dodging. ¡°I promised you a detailed training regimen, so here it is. As you do not need to eat or sleep, you will live in this room when not working to keep your boyfriend from killing himself. Every day you will self-train with the teachings of your legacy artifact for four hours, especially focusing on Law guidance and energy control. The control methods for qi, psyforce, and mana of the so-called Weaponmaster, while crude, will set a good foundation for you if you survive the second Nightmare challenge and I accept you as an apprentice. If that happens, however, you will be changing your control methods, so don¡¯t get attached. ¡°Next you will spend two hours on dodge training like you are doing right now, and the intensity will grow with your level of skill, so don¡¯t expect to be able to slack off. This will be followed by three hours training energy concealment techniques with the D rank spirit of this amphitheater known as the Shadow, then another three hours with the D rank spirit known as the Enhancer, training your skills. ¡°Two hours of meditation will follow, where you will consolidate what you learned. Then you will train with me for two hours followed by another two hours of meditation. Finally, the remaining six hours of your day you will spend in the library of the University district, where you will read, especially focusing on biographies of those who entered the System through apocalypse style integrations. ¡°You will not pay attention to the other trial takers outside of whatever Aalam requests and you will take two of the reserve puppets of this amphitheater and order one to follow you everywhere and place the other in Aalam¡¯s crafting room so he can contact you at any time. ¡°If anything comes up which would cause Aalam to leave that room, you will drop everything and accompany him. Am I understood?¡± Mila would have given an affirmative, but the robots had gotten significantly faster, so she couldn¡¯t respond without risking another round of being tased on the floor. Chapter 14: Story of an Archlich Mila Mila dodged the purple bolt, took a red bolt on the back of her dress, and then blocked one of the yellow bolts filled with kinetic force with Legacy of the Weaponsmaster, the silvery metallic artifact transformed into the form of a silver kite shield with a symbol of a sword crossed with a spear on the front. The resulting kinetic push knocked her out of the encirclement of the 20+ hovering robots and she landed lightly by controlling her body¡¯s qi. Mila then used her new Law Egg of Hologram and control over her aura to create a projection of herself two meters to her right. It wasn¡¯t good enough to trick human eyes, but more than 80% of the robots fell for it. Legacy of the Weaponsmaster then flowed into the form of two silver pistols in her hands and she enhanced them with her newly merged skill, Weapon Enhancement (G-Epic). Then she fired green energy bolts filled with the power of the Law Egg of Obfuscation and started taking out robots one by one, her Law infusion delaying the robots from noticing the attacks until it was too late. Even with her all out use of Laws and energy, however, she only managed to take out less than half of the robots before they managed to encircle her again. But that was enough. As she continued shooting, this time without wasting her concentration on empowering her attacks with a Law Egg, she activated her other two new skills as well. She used Material Strengthening (G-Rare) on her dress, allowing it to take even the more powerful purple bolts without letting any energy through, and used Artifact Activation (Rare) on her Earring of Focus, ever so slightly slowing down time to her senses. For the next three seconds, even while dodging the robots¡¯ yellow, blue, and orange bolts, which her dress would not be able to properly block, she managed to shoot down eight more. This only left four, all with mana shields around them, and none of her attacks were powerful enough to penetrate through. Still, with only four left, dodging became easy and, while it took almost all her resources, with over a dozen shots to take down each, the robots all fell before she ran out of energy. ¡°You see your weakness, right?¡± Nana Xara looked on with an expression of disappointment. ¡°I have no offensive Law to empower my attacks. I know.¡± Mila collapsed onto the floor and looked up at the ceiling. Laws represented one¡¯s understanding of the universe, but there was more to it than that. There was a shift in the fundamental structure of the soul which happened whenever someone advanced in Laws, an empowerment. The extra stats which came from advancing in Laws might be from the System, but there was a reason the System could give extra stats whenever anyone in the universe advanced their Laws. That fundamental change in the soul meant a little energy went a long way, so giving extra stats after a Law advancement was extremely cost effective. Laws then could be used to empower qi, mana, or psyforce, be that to strengthen or alter the effects of a skill, to create skill-like effects from nothing, or to alter the effects of an artifact, and there were probably far more uses Mila didn¡¯t yet know of. The most important thing to Mila, however, was that Laws were the basis of a cultivator¡¯s flexibility and a measure of their power. Nana Xara could kill gods as a mortal because her Laws were higher than the gods she fought, and, if Mila wanted to have the strength to control her own destiny, understanding Laws was the way to go about gaining that strength. The style Mila was developing relied on running, hiding, and then quick overwhelming attacks, but she was lacking in firepower. Both her Law Eggs were approaching middle grade, which, according to her readings in the city¡¯s library, was extremely impressive for only 40 days of training. Hell, her own amphitheater marked her as a B rank talent even without having her race or bloodline set, which was the highest of everyone who had used its services so far. Compared to Aalam, however, she felt useless. He hadn¡¯t just been advancing his twelve initial Law Eggs, but gaining new ones as well, and he now had over thirty Law Eggs, over half of which were middle grade. Granted, that was apparently a record¡ªwhich gave him extra stats as if he wasn¡¯t already overpowered enough¡ªbut she still couldn¡¯t help feeling superfluous by comparison. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Obfuscation has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility + 2, Perception + 2, Magic +4, Spirit +2, Soul +2 Mila just groaned, completely understanding her own insecurities were what had just allowed her to advance the Law, and Nana Xara started laughing. ¡°Come on. It¡¯s not that funny.¡± Mila, despite being only a soul, felt sore, but she still stood up and glared at the woman. ¡°You¡¯re wrong about that.¡± Nana Xara smiled at her. ¡°People like you are the classic butt of jokes in the cultivation world. ¡°There is this one story about the rise of a famous archlich, a master of the Law of Death. The first Law Egg he gained was the Law Egg of Despair after his girlfriend of two years dumped him. Gaining a Law Egg while only G rank got him noticed by his local cultivation sect and he started dating one of the other disciples. ¡°He didn¡¯t advance much over the next year, however, so she dumped him as well, causing his Law Egg to advance to middle grade, and this resulted in a higher position. He then started dating the sect master¡¯s daughter, but he again barely advanced at all over the next year. When she inevitably dumped him as well, his Law Egg advanced to high grade.¡± Mila rolled her eyes. ¡°Let me guess. He dated someone else and then his Law Egg advanced to peak grade?¡± ¡°No.¡± Nana Xara changed her expression to look serious. ¡°He decided dating wasn¡¯t for him and instead found a new hobby, necromancy. He turned his entire sect into zombies, then his world, then quite a few other worlds. He rose up to A rank and became one of the five heads of the Undead Empire. Last I checked, he had the third highest bounty of anyone in the Universe.¡± Nana Xara reached out her hand and placed it on Mila¡¯s shoulder in a concerned fashion, but she couldn¡¯t seem to hide the smile trying to break through her facade of sternness. ¡°Don¡¯t give in to your sense of inferiority, Mila. Just because your boyfriend is far more talented than you doesn¡¯t mean you have no worth at all.¡± She finally broke down and started grinning again. ¡°Though I might not want to see you anymore if you don¡¯t get a destructive Law Egg soon. You¡¯re a potential apprentice of the Yin Yang Sage, not a measly future destroyer of galaxies.¡± Nana Xara patted Mila¡¯s shoulder a couple times. ¡°Not that you could even destroy galaxies by hiding and making illusions.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. There was a real lesson in there, hidden behind all the snark, about how getting a middle grade Law Egg in G rank was quite impressive and she shouldn¡¯t feel down about herself. From what she¡¯d read, an early grade Law Egg was the minimum requirement to advance to E rank, not F, and she was already far ahead of the game. Mila just wasn¡¯t sure if that hidden lesson was intentional. ¡°You¡¯re underestimating my mysterious ways again, aren¡¯t you.¡± Nana Xara narrowed her eyes. ¡°You have five hours until the next challenge. I would suggest going to see your boyfriend as he¡¯s just accomplished the second requirement of your quest.¡± Then a wide smile appeared on Nana Xara¡¯s face and she dropped her act. ¡°He also has some new toys for you to play with.¡± Mila just stared at the woman for a second, wondering if she¡¯d be quite as happy-go-lucky if she were an ancient being given a second chance at life or if there was just something wrong with her teacher. Then she quickly ran away before Nana Xara could react to reading her aura. * * * ¡°So, we have five hours. What do you have for me?¡± Mila asked, feigning more joviality than she actually felt as she entered into Aalam¡¯s crafting room. ¡°So much. Let me show you.¡± Aalam thankfully seemed in a good mood, as he jumped up from where he was sitting cross-legged in the room¡¯s center and walked over to a black metallic briefcase on one of the room¡¯s tables, the type of carrying case his auction house used for smaller items. Then he opened it and turned it around so she could see inside, showing her three items. First was what looked like a cloak made of shadows, feeling extremely light as she picked it up. Cloak of Shadows (G-Rare) The masterpiece of an unremarkable E rank apprentice tailor. This cloak uses thread of the Wraith spider as its main material and greatly boosts concealment when worn, especially in the presence of deep shadows. Effects: Boosts concealment from all natural senses and slightly boosts concealment from supernatural senses, auto-repair Requirements: A shadow-based Law Egg It didn¡¯t seem like it would be too restrictive, which was good, and it had the auto-repair feature, so Mila would most certainly make use of it. With her now middle grade Law Egg of Obfuscation, she might even be able to hide from some E rank senses, which would be useful given what Aalam had told her about the challenge they would be entering. Even more useful though was the second item, a black belt to be worn from her left shoulder to her right waist with five built in pockets. It was an uncommon grade artifact with enchantments to protect whatever was put into the pockets, but it had been modified by Aalam as each of its five pockets now had one of their 29 bags of holding seamlessly sewn into it, allowing for easy access to the main types of artifacts Aalam had been building over the last several weeks. The item to get her heart racing, however, was the last one, a simple wooden ring, as Mila had already noticed Aalam was wearing a similar artifact on his right ring finger. Paired Ring of Telepathy (G-Rare) A wooden ring created by a Treant craftsman for his lover. When worn, this artifact allows for telepathic communication with the wearer of its pair. Effects: Telepathic communication with the wearer of this artifact¡¯s pair within 5 km Requirements: None Aalam didn¡¯t seem to see the potential implications of giving her a ring, which wasn¡¯t actually that surprising, and he seemed to be expectantly waiting for her to put all three artifacts on, so she just did so without saying anything, putting the ring on her right ring finger like he had instead of the traditional left. There had been an auction at the auction house the day before and Aalam, as the owner, had been able to give bidding rules to one of the auction house¡¯s puppets to bid for him on any artifacts he wanted. So, as the richest man in the tutorial even without having gone on any of the tutorial¡¯s optional challenges, he¡¯d won everything he wanted quite easily, except for a couple of crafting materials which had sold for well beyond what they were worth. Aalam was also wearing a bandolier similar to hers, and he had on a shield necklace like the one she¡¯d been wearing since day one as well, but otherwise he hadn¡¯t bought himself anything new. What was new was what was in the second briefcase Aalam brought over and opened, one side filled with vials of red, blue, and purple liquids and the other with talismans, sheets of cloth or animal hide with carved on symbols. The red vials were qi recovery potions he¡¯d bought at the auction, the blue mana recovery potions, and the purple for psyforce recovery. As all the items in the briefcase were for her, there were about four times the number of qi recovery potions as the other two types and all the talismans either didn¡¯t require a Law Egg or, for four of them, would work with one or both of the Law Eggs she had. She quickly emptied the briefcase¡¯s contents into the bags of holding on her bandolier and then Aalam excitedly brought out one last briefcase, this one filled with four types of colored potions, seventeen in total, as well as what looked like twenty grenades. Antidote for Creeping Death (G-Common) An antidote for the poison Creeping Death, a creation of the genius craftsman Aalam Alvaro when he was only G rank, modeled on the Theories of the Yin Yang Sage Effects: An antidote for the poison Creeping Death Requirements: None Antidote for Last Breath (G-Common) An antidote for the poison Last Breath, a creation of the genius craftsman Aalam Alvaro when he was only G rank Effects: An antidote for the poison Last Breath Requirements: None Antidote for Heat Death (G-Common) An antidote for the poison Heat Death, a creation of the genius craftsman Aalam Alvaro when he was only G rank Effects: An antidote for the poison Heat Death Requirements: None Antidote for Wintery Grave (G-Common) An antidote for the poison Wintery Grave, a creation of the genius craftsman Aalam Alvaro when he was only G rank Effects: An antidote for the poison Wintery Grave Requirements: None Void Bomb (G-Common) A grenade which uses spatial, fire, and death Laws to create a contained fiery explosion, a creation of the genius craftsman Aalam Alvaro when he was only G rank Effects: Two seconds after the pin is pulled, will explode in a fiery entropic explosion with a radius of 3 meters and a safe distance of 7 meters Requirements: None Mila didn¡¯t know about the poisons, as they most certainly required quite a few Laws she didn¡¯t have and could thus only be used by Aalam, but just the Void Bomb was in the upper tier of Common talismans she¡¯d seen so far, and Aalam most certainly had better grenades for himself as well. ¡°What do you think, Ms. Bond?¡± Aalam joked and Mila found herself almost freezing while in the middle of putting the new grenades and antidotes into her bandolier. ¡°Beyond adequate, Q.¡± Neither of them had watched more than a couple Bond movies and the one she remembered best didn¡¯t even have Q in it, so neither of them were directly quoting, but Aalam seemed to appreciate her use of a British accent and nothing went wrong. ¡°Want to see my masterpiece?¡± Aalam looked excited so Mila nodded and Aalam reached into his own bandolier and took out a grenade that, from the outside, looked almost exactly like a Void Bomb. When he let her touch it, however, Mila realized it very much wasn¡¯t. Minor Thermonuclear Mana Bomb (G-Epic) A grenade making use of twelve middle grade Law Eggs¡ªGas, Liquid, Solid, Plasma, Matter, Fission, Fusion, Energy Storage, Order, 3 Dimensional Geometry, Molecular Deceleration, and Pause¡ªas well as several high end ingredients to create a bomb capable of a contained thermonuclear explosion, a creation of the genius craftsman Aalam Alvaro when he was only G rank Effects: 57 seconds after mana containing the power of the Law Eggs for Molecular Acceleration, Ionization, Vacuum, and Energy Transfer is inputted and the pin is removed, will explode with a large blast with the power to destroy a small city Requirements: Law Eggs for Molecular Acceleration, Ionization, Vacuum, and Energy Transfer As Aalam put away the nuclear bomb, Mila began to reconsider whether it was safe to leave him in his crafting room. Granted, she¡¯d seen the materials he¡¯d used to make the thing, and they were supposedly incredibly rare¡ªthough, according to her reading, not as rare as the materials for normal thermonuclear bombs¡ªand he¡¯d at least modified the triggering requirements to only respond to the Laws he himself had in a very specific order, so that was good. But Aalam had also been making poisons and she was pretty sure Creeping Death was a biological weapon at the same level as the nuke, while the protections on it were nowhere near as good. An artifact being G rank just meant it could be activated with G rank mana, qi, or psyforce, and wasn¡¯t a direct representation of power, but Mila was starting to get scared as she realized Aalam thought he¡¯d need such weapons in the Nightmare challenge they were about to enter yet, even with such weapons, Nana Xara still didn¡¯t like their chances of survival. Chapter 15: Rolling Death Mila The Nightmare challenge Rolling Death is now starting. Survive for eight days. Trial Points will be rewarded at the end depending on performance. Mila found herself in a damp and slightly cold room, her bare feet on mossy stone, and there was no light. Thankfully, however, her training with Nana Xara had granted her two abilities to see her surroundings. First, she could create a hologram which would give off light in exchange for mana using her Law Egg of Hologram and a technique of the Weaponsmaster. It was nowhere near as efficient as using a skill, or even an artifact, but for just light it was fine. It would, however, allow anything else in the area to see her, so it wasn¡¯t a good idea. Second, she could spread out what aura she had into a sphere with a roughly two meter radius and, while the quality of information she would receive wasn¡¯t high, it was enough to get a sense of her surroundings. Using the second method, she was able to sense the space where she¡¯d arrived was carved out of stone, roughly 3 meters by 5 with a 2 meter ceiling, the right angles of the cave making it obviously not natural, and there was an open archway that led to a hall in one of the walls, which seemed to have once been a doorway, only the door had long since rotted away. Most important, however, there was a pile of bones which had at one point been a body and that body held an artifact of some kind. Taking a risk, Mila created a spherical hologram of low light and took a closer look at the skeleton. It wasn¡¯t human, but it was humanoid, with two legs and two arms. Each hand seemed to have only four fingers instead of five, and the same was true of its feet. There were also horns growing out of its forehead and extra bones for what looked like a tail, which made Mila think demon, but she wasn¡¯t going to make any assumptions on such little information. Reaching down, she picked up the artifact it had been holding, a 16 by 8 cm tablet, about the shape of a large phone, and, as normal when touching artifacts when the System was involved, an information window appeared in front of her eyes. Information Access Tablet (G-Common) In your world, this mana-charged artifact would be called a smartphone, and it once had all the same capabilities, but the network it was connected to has since been lost Effects: Store information, take pictures, connection to a standard mananet Requirements: None By charging it with her own mana, the front of the tablet began to give off light of its own, so she stopped her hologram and focused on the screen in front of her. There was thankfully no access protection, so she could see everything which had been downloaded to the device itself, but, without a connection to the local equivalent of the internet, there wasn¡¯t much, only a total of three files on the device. The first two weren¡¯t all that useful. One was a text file which looked like a grocery list, though Mila didn¡¯t recognize any of the ingredients other than milk, which she guessed was likely not from cows. And the other was a video file showing a young child of the skeleton¡¯s race tearing through boxes containing coloring supplies, stuffed creatures from nightmares which would put Uglydolls to shame, and, for some reason, socks. From the video file, it seemed the skeleton¡¯s race looked like smaller versions of Wookiees from Star Wars, only with less fingers and toes, horns coming out of their heads, and prehensile tails. The last file, however, was supremely useful, and Mila was reminded of how Nana Xara had explained the Luck stat was magnified in the tutorial. It was a map showing a total of seventeen underground levels and helpfully marked all the rooms with words she could translate. ¡°Aalam,¡± she sent through the telepathy provided by the ring on her finger, ¡°I found a map in my starting room. Did you find anything?¡± There were a few seconds of silence, then she heard Aalam¡¯s telepathic voice. ¡°I arrived in a room full of large F rank insects and am now somewhat injured, but I managed to kill them all with a Wintery Grave grenade. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°In exchange, I¡¯ve found three skeletons with tablets holding information, but I can¡¯t read them.¡± Aalam sent several images over the telepathic link, including a map like hers, a couple to do lists, and what seemed to be a checklist of valuable items and their locations for a visiting higher up to look at. He¡¯d found more where he¡¯d appeared, but he¡¯d also been immediately put into danger, and, as she sent back the images with translations, Mila began to ponder on the nature of the Luck stat when interacting with the tutorial. She¡¯d learned about Aalam¡¯s stat distribution, and she had less than two thirds of his Luck, yet she¡¯d arrived somewhere completely safe while his arrival was within the middle of a swarm of insects. She, however, was careful and fully trained while he currently had no inhibitions and had been a normal civilian, so it was probably safer for him to immediately face danger, and it seemed the System had taken that into account. ¡°How hurt are you?¡± she sent to him. ¡°I¡¯ll be at 100% again in about an hour with a couple qi recovery potions.¡± Translation, he was quite injured, to the point he likely couldn¡¯t move, requiring him to pour all his qi into healing himself, something they could now do as superhumans. But he probably wasn¡¯t so injured as to his life being in danger. Lucky indeed. Aalam then sent over a video file of one of the Wookiee-like creatures giving what were almost certainly her last words and the setting of the challenge became quite clear. ¡°The surface was bombed by the Jem-Hadari today, so we¡¯re all trapped down here. But the shaking broke the cages. The Rollie-Pollies and their feed larvae escaped, gaining access to the vitality fruits and growing. Then they started killing everyone. ¡°There¡¯s no more food. And the water we have access to is contaminated. ¡°Scientist Morithil Maan tried to access the chambers of the mana and mental fruits, but there¡¯s a species lock. Only human variants can enter. ¡°But we killed the Jem-Hadari inspector.¡± There was a pause in the video as the woman broke down and cried. ¡°We¡¯re all going to die.¡± The video was time stamped and Mila checked it against the time shown on her own tablet, learning 3,097 days had passed. Then she quickly translated the video for Aalam and gave him her time estimate. ¡°It sounds like the fruit are the ultimate reward of this trial.¡± Aalam sounded contemplative. ¡°We¡¯re in a closed off system with seventeen floors and a total surface area of a little more than 300 thousand square meters. ¡°From the maps we found, we¡¯re in a closed off lab, at least a kilometer away from the surface, previously only accessible via teleport. But there is oxygen in the air, despite these bugs I killed having to breathe, so the air filtration system has to still be working. ¡°From the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s knowledge of tutorials, a Nightmare challenge like this one should have one D rank threat, 12 E rank threats, and an untold number of F and G rank threats. And, from the information we have, whatever these Rollie-Pollies are should be the D, E, and maybe some of the F rank threats while these insects, mostly F rank now, are the things they eat. ¡°So, if we want to kill them all, we should start by releasing Creeping Death in the output of the air filtration system, accessible from floor fifteen. Then we should just have to hide for a few days and everything will become quite a bit easier.¡± He paused the telepathy for a bit. ¡°I guess first we need to figure out where we are, though, so we can actually use the map.¡± Mila snorted to herself, the sound not transmitting over the telepathy, then she sent, ¡°Stay where you are and recover first. I¡¯ll look around where I am and see if there are any signs on the walls so, when you¡¯re back at 100%, we¡¯ll be able to more quickly figure out where you are as well.¡± With that, Mila put the Information Access Tablet into one of her bags of holding. Then she used Artifact Activation on her cloak to slightly boost its concealment effects and wrapped herself with the power of her Law Egg of Obfuscation, before slowly walking through the archway. The hallway was straight and she didn¡¯t sense anything moving with her aura, but she did quickly notice two other doorways leading into rooms almost exactly like the one she¡¯d been in, and, from the layout and the map, she was pretty sure she was in one of the office-lined hallways on the sixteenth or seventeenth floors. Looking around the area for another fifteen minutes, slowly walking so as to not be spotted herself, she didn¡¯t find any other skeletons, but she did find two insects of the type which had ambushed Aalam. They looked like terrier-sized cockroaches and, lucky for her, they were not traveling together. F rank and very low leveled, with most of their stats seemingly in Toughness and Vitality, neither noticed her even as she got close, and, with Aalam having several around him for analysis, he had already sent her enough information for her to figure out their weaknesses. For both, she transformed Legacy of the Weaponsmaster into a spear and quickly stabbed them through the gap in their chitinous armor right behind their heads. Then she pulled out the weapon with speed and quickly backed away, leaving the monsters only able to move their front legs and still not able to sense her presence, both dying from fluid loss after about a minute. * * * As she moved through the hallways, she eventually reached a much larger one, about five meters across, and, pushing her body up against the smaller hallway she was in, she risked creating a hologram out in the main hall to provide light. With the light, she could see a couple signs pointing toward different locations on the complex¡¯s sixteenth floor and, with that information, she knew where she was. Before she could put out the light, however, she heard a noise and then, within a second, a huge iron ball flew past her down the larger hallway, destroying her hologram in the process. It took her a couple seconds to realize it hadn¡¯t actually been a five meter diameter iron ball. Then it took her a few more to register that the thing which had just passed her at speeds quite a bit higher than a car on a highway had been a living creature, something like an armadillo rolled up in a ball and traveling near mach one. ¡°Aalam, I think I just saw a Rollie-Pollie and I think I now know why this challenge is called Rolling Death.¡± Chapter 16: Creeping Death Aalam finished looking over the brief memory of a Rollie-Pollie Mila¡¯d sent through their rings¡¯ connection and then looked down at his feet again, annoyed. The insects hadn¡¯t been able to bite through his robes, but the two that had gone after his feet had bitten him easily. He could see why shoes weren¡¯t really a thing. With a high Perception stat, sensing minute vibrations in the ground would become possible, and shoes would make that harder. With a decent Toughness, stepping on rocks or glass would no longer cause injuries, removing the main reason for footwear in the first place. And, with higher and higher Agility, the flexibility brought by bare feet would quickly become important for balance and rapid changes of direction in combat. Still, he¡¯d like something like the fingerless glove covering his left hand for his feet. Just a little armor would have stopped him from being stuck. Taking his first qi recovery potion, Aalam continued running his qi throughout his body, gathering the slight amount of superfluous energy from his cells for the slight amount of extra efficiency it would give. Then he guided his qi and the superfluous energy to his feet to help boost the regenerative effects from his Vitality, continuing to help speed up the process of his body¡¯s natural recovery, the only healing he had access to. Health recovery potions weren¡¯t really a thing like in most litrpgs, and it made sense why. Health wasn¡¯t a universal resource like qi, mana, or psyforce. What recovery meant for every type of animal was different and, even with magic, that fact wouldn¡¯t change. Health recovery potions were, however, possible, just as healing skills and healing artifacts were possible. They just had to be designed to work with a species and they required a high level of qi control to guide the energy to the right place, qi control tutorial trial takers were not expected to have. Thus, like in classic Dungeons and Dragons, the only healing which could usually be found in tutorials was from those who gave themselves up to gods to eventually become clerics or paladins, using the power of their god¡¯s Laws to make up for their own terrible energy control. Given the Yin Yang Sage had blocked access to their trial¡¯s temple, however, no gods could interfere, so there was no one able to provide healing, leaving Aalam to heal himself. As he took his second qi recovery potion, another insect monster entered the room, the third one attracted to the smell of its dead brethren so far. And, like the two which had come near the beginning, it died as soon as it got within the light of the lantern artifact Aalam had left on the floor, Aalam¡¯s Epic skill Mental Spike, empowered by his middle grade Law Egg of Entropy, killing it instantly. Then Aalam had to wait another half hour before his wounds were completely healed and his resources were back to full, three extra dead insects added to the room during that time, and he was finally able to get moving. Instead of trying to walk quietly like Mila, however, Aalam took a different approach, moving to the wall away from the room¡¯s only entrance and then yelling at the top of his lungs. As expected, a whole swarm of the insectoid F ranks, came toward him, but Aalam was ready this time. He tossed a grenade filled with his poison Heat Death at the entrance of the room and took an antidote for it himself. Then he watched as every insect which came tried to get through the invisible gas and started to boil to death for their trouble. They didn¡¯t die instantly, their cries bringing even more of their brethren, but their senses were disrupted, so they couldn¡¯t find Aalam on the other side of the small room, instead attacking others of their kind suffering the same fate. Five minutes later, the poison in the air lost its effect, but the area Aalam had arrived in was clear of the insects, and it was very easy for him to move around. It took him only three minutes to find one of the more major hallways and there were signs on the wall just as Mila had seen. Then he sent the image to her and she got back to him with the translation in almost an instant, allowing him to know he was already on the fifteenth floor. This showed just how useful having Mila around was and, because of her, he also knew not to go out into the hallway. As he watched, Rollie-Pollies flew by once every ten to fifteen seconds, showing just how dangerous the larger hallways were. But he didn¡¯t have to enter the larger hallway at all, instead moving along a path he could see thanks to the map to a different larger hallway. There he waited for a Rollie-Pollie to pass and then he ran across to another section of the underground lab, where he found another blocked off room to summon all the insects in the section to die. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! He repeated this process three more times, ignoring the artifacts present in each section of the lab, and, after only thirty minutes, he was right where he wanted to be, the main control room for the lab¡¯s air filtration system, which wasn¡¯t locked at all. It took him about ten minutes with Mila¡¯s telepathic help to figure out how to open a vent to the air filtration system¡¯s output chamber using the command terminal in the room, which used really cool holograms, and then he started setting up the more complicated device for releasing Creeping Death. Mila joined him a few minutes later, having found a set of stairs down from the sixteenth floor and then following the path he¡¯d cleared. Then, over the next hour, as he poured mana and qi into the small 13 cm orb which would release Creeping Death, she figured out something cool to do with the terminal. A large hologram popped up in the middle of the room showing a 3D version of the map they¡¯d been following, and, all over the map, were orange dots of different intensities. There were twelve large dots rapidly flying around the larger halls of all seventeen floors, so fast it was hard to track one dot at a time. There was an even larger dot on the lowest floor, not moving at all. And, throughout the entire lab, there were several tens of thousands of smaller dots, much more concentrated on the lower floors but present everywhere. When Aalam was ready, Mila opened the vent to the air filtration system¡¯s output chamber and Aalam dropped the sphere inside. Then Mila closed the vent and triggered a safety protocol to seal off the room they were in from the rest of the base. Aalam didn¡¯t want to take any extra chances, however, even though they both had an antidote which should work, so he activated the Twelve Element Shield, forming a sphere of protection around them as well. Then they watched in silence as a light orange mist started exiting from vents all around the lab, quickly filling it up almost entirely, some even entering into their supposedly closed off room, but there were a few rooms on the first and second floor which no mist entered at all, which was interesting. Over the next hour, the mist in the hologram began to fade, and, by hour two, when the Twelve Element Shield¡¯s barrier stopped working, it was almost gone everywhere, only a little bit emanating out from all the dots whenever they exhaled. As a precaution, however, both Aalam and Mila took an antidote. Then they continued to watch. The first few deaths started happening at hour three, 103 tiny orange dots disappearing over the next hour, replaced by small areas of orange fog, the remaining trial takers stupid enough to enter the Nightmare challenge all winning their Darwin Awards. Then the smaller of the remaining dots began to be replaced by fog as well, from their locations in concentrated clusters on the lower floors, likely the young of the insectoid monsters. More and more monsters throughout the lab began to fall and soon the hologram was filled with mist again, after eight hours the upper floors only occasionally having one of the Rollie-Pollies rolling through, all the insectoid monsters already having died. They waited five more hours, three hours past the mist on the upper floors completely disappearing, and then Mila suggested going through the upper floors to steal whatever they could. Aalam instantly agreed and Mila opened the room again. Then Aalam headed down to floor eight and Mila up to floor seventeen, and they started searching the floors and stealing whatever they could, including the artifacts of the other trial takers. On floor ten, Aalam found a skill orb repository, the contents of which filled three of the bags of holding in his backpack. On floor fourteen, Mila found a room with five Epic grade bags of holding. And, on floor thirteen, they together found a room filled with a golden metal called Solar Iron where the description said extra trial points would be given for every kilogram a trial taker managed to take with them, which they split. The greatest reward from the challenge, however, was something Aalam couldn¡¯t access. Every section of the lab had a terminal, and, on that terminal, was the recipe for the alchemical or smithing product that section was built to create, and there were between four and sixteen sections on each floor. Realizing this, Mila went back over the sections Aalam had been through and Aalam, who was strong enough with his limited telekinesis to carry the larger crafting artifacts they couldn¡¯t fit into their bags of holding, went over her old sections to take everything that could be taken as well, using multiple trips to bring everything back to the control room on the fifteenth floor. Then, noticing floors three through seven were clear as well on the hologram, they went through those sections as well, finding a whole lot more resources like the Solar Iron which were worth extra trial points and fit into their bags of holding. By that point, a standard day and a half had passed since the beginning of the challenge and there were only six and a half days left, but there were only thirteen orange dots besides themselves and no mist left on the holograms. Creeping Death wasn¡¯t done yet, though. Aalam had broken some record when he¡¯d designed and successfully created three deadly poisons, Wintery Grave, Heat Death, and the yet to be used Last Breath. All three had been based around his Law Egg of Bacteria and created by alchemically modifying some magical bacteria he found in the auction house with several of his other Laws, and this had allowed the Yin Yang Sage to give him another boon. She seemed to like him as she¡¯d given him a set of information from her own research into bacterial diseases, the part about how to make bacteria which would eat a host¡¯s qi and mana especially useful, and Creeping Death had been the result. If just one bacterial cell got inside a creature, it would start to feed on the creature and multiply, each bacterial cell feeding more and splitting when enough energy had been gathered, again and again and again. This meant it didn¡¯t have to be very concentrated when it was released and also, as Creeping Death was light enough to travel through the air, a little bit leaving an infected host with every breath out and a lot leaving upon host death, it was incredibly infectious. Granted, Creeping Death could be quite easily fought off with pretty basic usage of qi and mana control, but all the monsters in the challenge were quite stupid, so the result was all the weaker monsters dead and the stronger monsters slowly dying from the infection. Aalam just had to wait and the E rank monsters at least would fall in just a few days. Chapter 17: Calm Mila Mila couldn¡¯t figure out what unnerved her more, Aalam again casually murdering everyone else in the challenge, the ease with which he took out tens of thousands of monsters, or the fact that, even before the introduction of magic, he probably could have created a pandemic capable of wiping out all of humanity with relatively little effort. Sure, it made sense. Destruction was always easier than creation, and Aalam had created cures for the world¡¯s worst diseases. So it should have been obvious he could create worse ones. She¡¯d just never really thought about it before. Now, though, he wasn¡¯t completely sane and had even more dangerous capabilities. What worried her most, however, was not Aalam, but herself. She was having a bit too much fun. She and Aalam had always made a good team. He was great at long term and out of the box thinking, but execution details were not his strong suit. They were, however, hers. And, while he was good with science and engineering, her strengths had always been people and languages. This dynamic had continued with the introduction of magic and the rather amazing results they¡¯d had in this second trial, but there was a danger if she wasn¡¯t always on top of what Aalam was doing. And, from experience, she knew it was easier to get complacent when she was enjoying herself. Still, that was no reason not to go after easy rewards. She¡¯d noticed all thirteen of the living Rollie-Pollies were on the first floor, likely dealing with the aftermath of all the young Rollie-Pollies dying, so she and Aalam hurried to the second floor and quickly cleared out the floor¡¯s four subsections. Sadly, however, there wasn¡¯t much new. The terminals in these subsections each had more than one recipe, and the recipes were available in more than one language, including one called Universal Standard, but they were all recipes they¡¯d found on higher floors. All the crafting artifacts on the floor had been destroyed. And they didn¡¯t find any special crafting resources lying about. The most important parts of the second floor, however, were two locked rooms, rooms the natives hadn¡¯t been able to open because they were species locked to humans, but which she and Aalam could easily open as a result, as they hadn¡¯t yet been turned into monsters. The first was filled with rare crafting resources of all twelve elements and Aalam literally started jumping up and down with excitement, seemingly now having enough resources to build a custom weapon for himself to use during G and F ranks. The second room, however, contained something even better, several refrigerators filled with fruit, twelve of each kind, and, touching them, the fruit were impressive. Jem-Hadari Vitality Fruit (G-Rare) A special fruit bred by the Jem-Hadari to boost the stats of their children aiming to be warriors before advancing to F rank Effects: Permanent boost to Endurance by +2, Toughness by +2, and Vitality by +2 Requirements: None Jem-Hadari Mana Fruit (G-Rare) A special fruit bred by the Jem-Hadari to boost the stats of their children aiming to be mages before advancing to F rank Effects: Permanent boost to Magic by +4 and Soul by +2 Requirements: None Jem-Hadari Mental Fruit (G-Rare) A special fruit bred by the Jem-Hadari to boost the stats of their children aiming to be psychics before advancing to F rank Effects: Permanent boost to Perception by +2 and Spirit by +4 Requirements: None Aalam immediately pulled out one of the mental fruits, which looked kind of like a blueberry the size of an apple, and started eating. Meanwhile, Mila instead tried a vitality fruit, which looked more like an apple-sized raspberry. It was quite tasty, somewhere between a grape and a banana, very sweet, and Mila belatedly realized she hadn¡¯t eaten in over a month of subjective time. When she finished it, she felt her qi reserves increase and her body change ever so slightly, not yet accustomed to the effects of her increased Vitality and Toughness, but it felt good and she reached for a Mana Fruit, which looked like an orange, yet turned out to be incredibly sour. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Aalam, unlike her, didn¡¯t seem interested in taste¡ªor maybe the Mental Fruit was the best of the bunch¡ªas instead of trying one of the other two types, he started eating another Mental Fruit. When they both finished their second fruit, however, Aalam fell on the floor, thrashing and screaming. Mila¡¯s first thought was the second fruit he¡¯d eaten had been poisonous, but that didn¡¯t seem likely, and her second thought, that eating two of the same type of fruit in a row caused side effects, didn¡¯t make much sense either. It was only then that she realized what was happening. Aalam¡¯s uniqueness made his Spirit stat 12 times as effective. Even though he¡¯d told her one of his abilities increased the effectiveness of his Soul stat, it seemed very unlikely Aalam would have the normal healthy limit of Spirit being able to be up to three times the value of Soul, and he¡¯d just pushed his Spirit stat up by 8, with no changes to his Soul stat, so it was likely he¡¯d gone over whatever his healthy limit was, causing the disastrous result she was seeing. Quickly, Mila grabbed a Mana Fruit and transformed Legacy of the Weaponsmaster into a knife, which she used to cut the fruit into pieces. Then she pushed one of the pieces into Aalam¡¯s mouth and held his lips closed, forcing him to chew. That first piece seemed to alleviate some of his symptoms, so she fed him another, then another, and then another. When he finished the last piece, he seemed fine, exhausted and drained of mental energy, but not unhealthy. ¡°That was caused by your Spirit being too high for your Soul, right?¡± Mila sat down on the floor next to where he was still lying and looked down at him. Aalam didn¡¯t say anything, but he nodded. ¡°What¡¯s your ratio, for future reference?¡± ¡°One to one.¡± Aalam groaned slightly as he rose to his feet. ¡°My Spirit stat went just one over my Soul and that was the result.¡± Mila started taking out the fruits from the refrigerators and putting them in two of the specialized Epic bags of holding she¡¯d found earlier, ones designed to keep food just as fresh as when it was put in. Then, when all the fruits were put away and she¡¯d given Aalam one of the bags, she helped Aalam, still slightly groggy, back up to the fifteenth floor and their temporary base in the control room for the lab¡¯s air filtration system. There she watched the hologram for a few minutes, confirming all thirteen remaining monsters were still on the first floor, and something in her mind clicked. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Hologram has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility + 2, Perception + 2, Magic +4, Spirit +2, Soul +2 ¡°Stay here for a bit and recover. I¡¯m going to go check out what¡¯s happening on the first floor.¡± Mila left him there and then quickly made her way to the closest stairwell, making it all the way down to the second floor past the several hundred insect carcasses still on the stairs and the empty nest between the third and second floors. The stairs ended there, none of the stairways leading down to the first floor, so she had to take the alternate way down, the ramping hallways the Rollie-Pollies were normally rolling through. The major hallways on each floor of the lab all curved at their ends and then ramped either up or down, wrapping back to another floor, but not always the one directly above or below. So, if looked at carefully, there were actually only four large hallways in total in the entire lab, likely existing in the past so vehicles could easily transport materials and people between floors. Again wrapping herself up with her Law Egg of Obfuscation and using Artifact Activation on her cloak, Mila walked down one of the ramping hallways from the second floor to the first as quietly as possible, soon finding herself in a large open room. From the map, she knew the first floor was shaped differently than all the others. It didn¡¯t have large hallways or subsections, as it wasn¡¯t used for crafting and usually barely had people in it. Instead, there was one large main room where the moss now growing throughout the lab had originally been isolated, and the four hallways of the lab started on that room¡¯s north side. Then to the west, south, and east were the species-locked doorways to where the three types of Jem-Hadari fruit were grown. Mila came out of the west-most of the four ramping hallways and found that the main room now looked like a pigsty and smelled like one as well as it was covered with dried excrement and mostly eaten insectoid carcasses. To the east and west were large doors, still locked, the orchards hidden behind them isolated for years, but to the south, directly across from Mila, the doorway to the room which had held the Jem-Hadari Vitality Fruit orchard was open and Mila could see in. The room had large bush-like trees, what looked to be three unripe vitality fruits growing on each one, and they appeared to be placed at least seven meters away from each other. Mila was also able to confirm Rollie-Pollies looked a lot like armadillos, able to see five from where she entered, four with gray armor and one whose armor looked almost golden, the D rank. They had furry undersides and armored tops, but with three pairs of legs instead of two, less elongated faces, and no eyes. Also, they were seven meters long, making them larger than elephants. Thankfully, they were all distracted, digging into the ground in the room and burying small forms which looked to be their young, all killed by Aalam¡¯s Creeping Death. She sent the image to Aalam, as he would stop trusting her if she didn¡¯t, and his response was about what she¡¯d expected. ¡°This looks like an ideal opportunity.¡± Aalam¡¯s telepathic message sounded excited. ¡°See if the door to that room can still close as I make my way down there. If it can, you can trigger it to close while I throw some bombs in from the ramps. Then we both rush and open the western doorway and hide inside.¡± Mila thought the plan was risky, but it seemed a lot less risky than anything else they could come up with later, while she knew Aalam would go after the D rank no matter if she helped or not, so she agreed. As Aalam ran down from the fifteenth floor, Mila slowly made her way around the room to the western side of the open southern doorway, arriving without drawing attention. Then she took a deep breath. Law Egg gained - Calm Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +8, Soul +4 Through a quick inspection, Mila confirmed the door was still working, then she waited for another ten minutes until Aalam made his way to the bottom of the westernmost ramp. She pressed the button at the side of the doorway, starting the quick process of it closing, and then Aalam telekinetically threw 24 grenades and what looked like one of the mental fruits into the room through the gap. The plan didn¡¯t work flawlessly, however, and one of the Rollie-Pollies flew out of the door before it could fully close. Aalam was dashing toward the western doorway, running next to the wall, but the Rollie-Pollie went full speed at him, and, even though Aalam tried to jump out of the way, it smashed into his legs, crushing them completely from thigh to feet even through his robe¡¯s automatic shield. Chapter 18: Rage Mila Law Egg gained - Rage Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +8, Soul +4 Mila was about to attack the Rollie-Pollie, an uncharacteristically stupid decision, but Aalam screamed at her through their telepathic connection. ¡°Open the door!¡± Using the telekinesis skill from his headband, he took out two grenades from the bags of holding on his chest and a mana fruit from the Epic bag of holding on his waist. Then he unpinned the grenades, stuffed them into the fruit, and tossed it at the Rollie-Pollie who¡¯d crushed his legs, unrolled and shaking its head after running at full speed into the wall. Mila ran, unconsciously using her new Law to increase her speed. Then, as she started to open the western door, the Rollie-Pollie ate the grenade filled fruit and Aalam launched himself through the still opening door with telekinesis. She pressed the close button and then rolled in after him, the last thing she saw the Rollie-Pollie rolling itself back up into a ball as the door fully closed behind her. Aalam then grabbed her with telekinesis as well and threw the both of them to the other side of the room, where they landed unceremoniously next to the wall. Instead of speaking, or doing anything about his still bleeding and absolutely crushed legs, Aalam pulled out the Twelve Element Shield and activated it. Then he activated a second barrier from a pendant he was wearing, an artifact he¡¯d gotten from the auction house, before finally falling unconscious. Mila only then realized what had likely been inside the fruit Aalam had thrown into the room with the Rollie-Pollies and, after activating her own pendant artifact, creating a third barrier around them, she spent a few seconds panicking. That wasn¡¯t useful, however, so Mila forced herself to calm down, using the power of the Law Egg of Calm to bring herself back under control, and then she started to worry about something she actually had control over, how to save Aalam¡¯s life. His body would recover in full after the challenge, so all she had to do was keep him alive. Thus, instead of trying to fix his crushed legs, she decided to go with a simpler option. She took off his pants and then used his belt to make an extremely tight tourniquet on his upper left thigh, making sure not to remove his boxers so things wouldn¡¯t be awkward. Then she used her own belt on his upper right thigh. Only after this did she pull out a previously useless sword one of the other trial takers had brought in to the second Nightmare challenge, one that required a fire element Law Egg to turn into a flaming sword for no practical effect other than to look cool. With her new Law Egg of Rage, however, technically of the fire element, she could activate it, and, while still useless in combat, the flaming sword did have a use in field medicine. She used it to slowly cut off Aalam¡¯s legs so the flame of the blade could cauterize the resulting wounds. Then she released the tourniquets and placed her hands over his lower belly, above his lower dantian, and sent her qi into him, using her weaker but almost as abundant qi to move his qi through his body, focusing on empowering his bone marrow to make more blood, and, a couple minutes later, he seemed stable. Law Egg gained - The Healer Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. All Base Stats +1, Soul + 3 Mila took a second to try and figure out what a Law called The Healer meant, and then another to realize ¡®base stats¡¯ meant all stats other than Aura, Attunement, and Luck, but then she realized it had been almost three minutes since Aalam had thrown the fruit she had assumed contained the nuclear bomb, yet the world hadn¡¯t shaken at all. Five minutes later and still nothing happened. Then the world shivered, but it only felt like a minor earthquake, and that seemed wrong. Three more minutes passed and nothing changed. Then the door into the room buckled and a golden ball flew in, crashed through a tree, and slammed into a wall. Mila pulled out a Void Bomb, but then she noticed the D rank Rollie-Pollie wasn¡¯t moving and watched as it uncurled, lying there on its back. There was blood coming out of its mouth, and its stomach seemed unnaturally sunken in, but Mila didn¡¯t move to confirm her suspicions. The Twelve Element Shield¡¯s barrier effect blocked against bacteria, so Mila just waited. Aalam woke up an hour and a half later, and Mila fed him a vitality fruit, and then another. Then they both took antidotes for Creeping Death and Last Breath, which had been in all the grenades Aalam had tossed first, and only then did Mila finally ask her question. ¡°Was your nuclear bomb in the first fruit you threw?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam nodded, also looking at the D rank Rollie-Pollie. Stolen story; please report. ¡°And did that thing eat the bomb?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± Aalam looked almost as shocked as she felt. ¡°I threw the fruit right in front of it.¡± ¡°Yet it still managed to make its way through two magically empowered metal doors.¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± ¡°And only then succumb to lots and lots of poison.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°D rank Toughness seems to be a lot more impressive than we thought.¡± ¡°If it could so easily take down the doors to the other fruit, why didn¡¯t it do so earlier?¡± Aalam looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°It was really dumb. That E rank who destroyed my legs almost went down from my Mental Spike, so their Spirit and Soul are both quite weak for their rank. And, with the doors sealed, there was nothing to attract their attention.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Mila took a deep breath and continued channeling her Law Egg of Calm into her mind. ¡°I¡¯ll go start the looting process then. Anything you need?¡± ¡°No.¡± Aalam looked down at his missing legs, then back up at Mila, a large smile on his face. ¡°Thanks for saving my life, though, Mila.¡± Mila just stared at him for a few seconds, and she couldn¡¯t help but smile back. ¡°No problem.¡± She first walked over to the room with the vitality fruits, whose door had also been blown through by the D rank¡¯s rolling charge, even more impressively. The Rollie-Pollie outside appeared to have boiled due to a double dose of Aalam¡¯s Heat Death and then ultimately died to Creeping Death. The eleven inside, however, had it even worse. They¡¯d received an overdose of Last Breath and hadn¡¯t been able to breathe for over an hour. There were no vitality fruit which were ripe, or which would ripen before the challenge was over, but she did find 23 ripe Jem-Hadari Mana Fruit and 18 mental fruit in the other two rooms. The true reward of the first level, however, was not the fruit. It was the bodies of the Rollie-Pollies. There were over a hundred juvenile Rollie-Pollies Aalam had killed, including one special mutant with dark azure scales, and, unlike the insectoids, each had a crystallization of power in their bodies called a monster core. The E and D rank Rollie-Pollies all had one as well, and they were apparently very useful in alchemy and artifact creation. The other valuable part of the Rollie-Pollies were their scales, and Mila spent the rest of the time in the challenge skinning all the beasts and pulling out their cores, the D rank especially taking forever. The Yin Yang Sage has offered to take you in as an official inheriting disciple. Do you accept? Yes/No With only a few minutes left in the challenge, and all their loot already evenly split between them back in their temporary base in the air filtration control room, Mila considered. Without Nana Xara, Aalam at least wouldn¡¯t have survived the challenge. For one, she wouldn¡¯t have had enough control over her qi to help trigger his healing. More important, however, without the old woman purposefully pushing her buttons for the last month, she wouldn¡¯t have had enough insights to gain the Law Egg of Rage and thus have the ability to cauterize Aalam¡¯s wounds, though it was debatable whether that had been intentional. An individual, however, couldn¡¯t take a new official master until she had reached the same level of power as her previous master, her previous master gave up the relationship, or her previous master ceased to exist, and Nana Xara was guaranteed life until everyone in both of Earth¡¯s tutorials died, so normally Mila would be stuck with the woman until she herself became a god, or at least one of the most powerful A ranks. But Mila had the Shadow Princess uniqueness, which provided resistance against enforced karmic bonds of up to the divine level, and, as far as Mila knew, almost all contract magic in the universe, including things like teacher disciple contracts, were created through enforced karmic bonds. Nana Xara had never said it explicitly, but, if Mila wanted to, she could sever her relationship with the woman at any time. In short, there was almost nothing to lose by accepting and a lot to gain. The only thing holding Mila back was her pride. You have become the second official inheriting disciple of the Yin Yang Sage. You may receive personalized quests from your master at any time, with rewards based on difficulty. Rewards from any system quest may include choices of up to one grade higher from your master. Her accepting was right on time, as the challenge was over and it was time for the rewards. Challenge over. Calculating rewards. Base Trial Points: 144 4 Vitalized Insectoids Killed Base Trial Points + 4 128 kilograms of Solar Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 128 64 kilograms of Lunar Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 64 32 kilograms of Eclipse Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 128 All hidden recipes found Base Trial Points + 128 Fully explored all areas Base Trial Points + 256 Rolling Death cleared in second place Base Trial Points X 4 Rolling Death cleared with no damage Trial Points X 6 Rolling Death cleared with no surviving monsters Total Trial Points X 4 Rolling Death cleared with total Luck 72 or higher Total Trial Points X 2 Trial Points for Li Mila: +163,584 All stats +6 1 Legendary free building coupon 1 Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic) You may choose one skill, one artifact, and one System boon from the following lists The first two lists were the same as the ones at the end of the previous challenge, but each also had one extra choice. In the skills list there was one Legendary skill, Devil¡¯s Contract, which was obviously from Nana Xara. It allowed the user to create powerful soulbinding contracts between two or more parties, allowed those contracts to have hidden clauses so long as those entering into the contract were told hidden clauses existed, and it would be greatly enhanced by her racial ability, Fairy Law, so it was obviously intended for her. The Legendary choice in the artifact list, however, seemed designed for Aalam. It was called an Orb of Devouring and, when used in the creation of an artifact, that artifact would have the ability to grow by eating new materials and feeding on the power of enhanced Laws. Mila had been planning on getting an Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic) for her artifact choice, but it was given for free so she didn¡¯t have to. Thus Mila immediately chose both the Legendary options. The choices for System boon, on the other hand, didn¡¯t have an option from Nana Xara, and there were only four options in total. She could enhance the grade of a skill, which was useless for her as a Legendary skill couldn¡¯t be enhanced at G rank. She could remove a skill from her class, which she didn¡¯t want. And she could enhance the grade of an ability, useless for the same reason as the first boon. Finally, she could gain +3 to all stats. With no other choice, she went with the last one, but it felt like a waste. Then she and Aalam, along with all the larger artifacts Aalam was holding onto with telekinesis, were teleported out of the challenge and back into Aalam¡¯s crafting room. And there, in a seat in the corner, was Nana Xara, wearing a wide grin and slow clapping. Chapter 19: Aalam and the Sage Mila ¡°So, I said get an offensive Law to round out a good trio, and you instead gain two opposing buff Laws and a healing Law.¡± Nana Xara was grinning from ear to ear, obviously quite happy. ¡°You really don¡¯t listen, do you?¡± She then turned to Aalam, who was putting his pants back on now that he had legs again, and patted him warmly on the shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s rather impressive, isn¡¯t she? Sure, she¡¯s no you. But she¡¯s on the road to becoming a true yin yang specialist, just like her ancestor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Aalam finished pulling his pants up, but didn¡¯t seem embarrassed. Instead, he seemed to be honestly considering Nana Xara¡¯s questions. ¡°What Laws did she gain?¡± ¡°Calm and Rage for water and fire. I know you already have those, but they are probably the least compatible with you as they are your only Laws not science related, so the two of you should be able to help each other.¡± Nana Xara looked over at Mila and then back to Aalam, excitement on her face. ¡°But for her life element Law she gained The Healer.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam also looked excited and Mila realized she might have accidentally done something quite impressive. ¡°So, she¡¯ll want to go for The Reaper for the death element. Do you have any way of getting her the Devil¡¯s Contract skill?¡± ¡°Already done.¡± If she were any younger, Mila thought Nana Xara might have started jumping up and down. ¡°I even have a Reaper¡¯s Token she can use to upgrade her legacy artifact.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡± Aalam actually did start jumping up and down and Mila began to think it might be a bad idea to have the two of them in the same room, given this was what they were like when they hadn¡¯t actually met each other before, but then Aalam abruptly stopped. ¡°But how are you going to give it to her? That¡¯s a legendary artifact and I don¡¯t think she¡¯s skilled enough to complete a quest worth one of those.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be tricky.¡± The Yin Yang Sage has offered you a quest as her apprentice. Do the Impossible, and Some Other Stuff (G-Legendary) Accomplish the following:
  1. Using no artifacts, beat the Torment level Tournament of the Damned optional challenge with each match taking no more than a second while taking no damage
  2. Using no artifacts, beat the Torment level Ghost Defense optional challenge in less than an hour while taking no damage
  3. Using no artifacts, beat the Torment level Puzzle of the Twelve Elements optional challenge in less than three minutes with no mistakes
  4. Using no artifacts, beat the Nightmare level Damage the Invincible Caged Monster optional challenge in less than one second and then continue the challenge and kill the monster in under seven hours
If you feel you cannot complete one or more of these tasks, you may subcontract this quest to another trial taker by prepaying the other trial taker with artifacts or resources worth as much as this quest¡¯s rewards. Rewards: One Reaper¡¯s Token and one Rare primal stone of each of the twelve elements¡ªFire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Metal, Light, Dark, Life, Death, Space, and Time Do you accept? Yes/No Mila had read up on optional challenges and she was pretty sure she couldn¡¯t complete any of those tasks, while it sounded like each one was perfectly suited for Aalam and he¡¯d be able to complete them easily. He¡¯d also quickly gain skill efficiency by doing so, which was at least one of Nana Xara¡¯s goals. ¡°I think an Orb of Devouring is probably worth almost as much as a Reaper¡¯s Token, so, if you give that and all your lovely new fruit to Aalam as a prepayment, he could probably do the quest for you?¡± Nana Xara smiled at her and Mila decided to just go along with it, even though, from the way Nana Xara spoke, she was pretty sure she was lying about something, probably the value of the Orb of Devouring. From Aalam¡¯s excitement about the Reaper¡¯s Token, it sounded like it would be extremely useful for her, and, given she was Nana Xara¡¯s apprentice not Aalam, she had a feeling she somehow wasn¡¯t missing out by giving away her fruit. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. She handed Aalam the Epic bag of holding containing her half of the fruit and the black, abyss-like orb Nana Xara had obviously always intended for him to have. Then she shared the quest with him and he grew even more excited than before. ¡°Any chance I could get those primal stones?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s smile changed, this time to the type Mila associated with the woman abruptly sending robots to shoot at her. ¡°Mila could use the monster core and hide of the Invincible Beast for her legacy artifact upgrade. So, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be willing to trade.¡± Aalam¡¯s eyes grew wide and it looked to Mila like he was reading through something in the air, likely taking a closer look at the quest prompt. Then he turned to look at Nana Xara. ¡°The requirements on the optional challenges, they¡¯re the requirements for additional rewards from the challenges themselves?¡± Nana Xara looked proud as she nodded. ¡°The rewards will be useful for the artifact you¡¯re planning on creating.¡± Then she looked shocked as Aalam raced toward her and wrapped her in a hug. ¡°Thank you, Ms. Sage.¡± Aalam then proceeded to start taking his clothes off, right there in front of them, and Mila discovered there was another way she hadn¡¯t yet thought of for him to get himself killed in the future. ¡°Aalam! Why don¡¯t you start eating all your fruits and send a puppet to bring you some non-artifact clothing from the auction house.¡± ¡°Good point.¡± Aalam, now only wearing his boxers, a necklace, and a single fingerless glove, sat down and started bringing out fruit to eat, the puppet previously in the corner of the room leaving to go carry out his telepathic orders. Meanwhile, Nana Xara was looking at Mila and trying to suppress laughter. ¡°A couple things, Mr. Alvaro,¡± Nana Xara finally said almost a minute later. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you¡¯re missing six Laws from your set of 36. I would suggest gravity, kinetic energy, antimatter, and multi-dimensional geometry for your final earth, wind, metal, and space Law Eggs, if you would want my advice. And, for your last life and death element Law Eggs, you can come find Mila and me in the amphitheater¡¯s Training Room 0003 if you¡¯d like the Law Eggs of Bonds and Severing. I have a training method which should help you awaken to them in just a few hours at most after you master and merge your skills.¡± ¡°Ooh. Those are good suggestions. Thanks,¡± Aalam said with his mouth full and Nana Xara had to try hard again to not laugh. ¡°Also, try not to allow any of your Law Eggs to advance to high grade until you¡¯ve advanced all of them to middle grade first. I think you know why.¡± Aalam nodded and then Nana Xara turned to leave. ¡°Come on, Mila. While Aalam is doing the hard parts, you¡¯ll need to train to keep up.¡± Mila followed and, after they went through the teleportation in the nearby room to get to the amphitheater, she asked, ¡°Am I accidentally kind of following in your footsteps? You seem more cheerful than normal.¡± ¡°No. Not really.¡± Nana Xara started leading her toward the nearby elevators, but she still seemed in a really good mood. ¡°I actually wasn¡¯t as impressive as you when it came to Law Eggs when I went through my tutorial, and what Law Eggs I did have were all offensive. ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve exceeded my expectations, but, if I¡¯m being honest, my current level of cheer has more to do with your boyfriend than you.¡± She walked into an elevator and Mila joined her, pressing the button for the bottommost floor. ¡°And not just because I got to see him mostly naked.¡± She smiled suggestively but then continued. ¡°You have to understand, there are two parts to my title, Yin Yang and Sage. And they represent two lines of classes, the Heavenly Cycle Mage line and the Sage line. ¡°Until I was A rank, my class at each rank was of the Sage line and it was only when I became A rank and unlocked the ability to choose another class that I took a class of the Heavenly Cycle Mage line, Yin Yang Archmage, for which I was actually far more suited. Had I followed that path from the beginning, I would have been a god ages ago. And that is also the path Diana is naturally suited for, which is why I took her as my first apprentice. ¡°You lean toward a very different path, one I¡¯m also quite suited to teach even though it wasn¡¯t the path I followed, but your boyfriend, I¡¯ve realized, is aiming for the path of a Sage, and that makes me happy. ¡°I gave him so much information, everything I know about paths to power, and he decided to follow in my footsteps.¡± Nana Xara frowned slightly as the elevator stopped and they got out. ¡°Albeit with rather drastic, and somewhat insane, modifications.¡± They walked over to the entrance to room 0003 and entered. ¡°What¡¯s special about The Healer and The Reaper Laws?¡± Mila asked, bracing herself to start getting attacked. ¡°Two things.¡± As expected, Nana Xara raised her hand and many, many robots, over 60, started attacking, and Mila realized she was in for a round of survival training, not one where she¡¯d be able to win. ¡°First, both are what are known as divine role Laws. Almost every culture that has made up their own gods has a god of healing and a god of the dead, and the Laws of The Healer and The Reaper represent those roles. ¡°Unlike most Laws, divine role Laws have an aspect to them called resonance. When you perform actions in line with the role it becomes easier to understand the component Laws that make up that role. ¡°In practice, it¡¯s like the saying ¡®Fake it until you make it¡¯. If you fake the role, resonance feeds you knowledge, and then you naturally get better at the role. Acting ability is actually more important for divine role Laws than actual talent and that makes them perfect for you.¡± Mila didn¡¯t know whether to be proud or offended, but, as she continued to weave between the robots, she quickly decided she should probably be both. ¡°Divine role Laws are also very flexible,¡± Nana Xara continued. ¡°So they are highly practical.¡± She waved her right hand and the number of hovering robots attacking Mila doubled, forcing her to rely on her skills and Laws even more. ¡°The other important part of those Laws is that they open up several lines of classes which wouldn¡¯t otherwise be available, ones which will actually allow you to keep up with Aalam if that is what you want.¡± Mila used Weapon Enhancement to enhance Legacy of the Weaponsmaster in double pistol mode and went out in a blaze of glory, channeling her Law Egg of Rage to move faster, and attacking wildly while giving up defense. She fell quickly, use of Material Strengthening on her dress not enough to protect her, but she did manage to take out almost a dozen of the flying robots. ¡°What do you mean if it is what I want?¡± Chapter 20: Future Class Mila ¡°You understand what your boyfriend¡¯s insane goal is, right? At least the general gist?¡± Mila waited for her body to stop twitching, but didn¡¯t get up, instead looking up at the ceiling. ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but, knowing him, he¡¯s probably going for some ultimate build of ultimate power.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡± Nana Xara swiped her hand in the air and half the hovering robots faded out of existence. Then the others started attacking again and Mila pushed herself back to her feat, this time shooting back while trying to dodge. ¡°He¡¯s trying to maximize everything, from his race to his class, but that comes with a cost. ¡°Race is relatively simple. Most people increase only the rank of their race as they advance, not its grade. And there are plenty of A ranks in history with Common grade races and Common grade abilities, with no bloodlines or uniquenesses. ¡°There are, however, no A ranks with classes below Legendary grade as, every time someone increases in rank, their class has to increase in grade, and this is the cause of the bottleneck for most cultivators in the universe, as every higher grade has higher requirements. ¡°Aalam is aiming for something insane, a Heroic grade class at F rank, one grade higher than Legendary, and, if you want to follow him, your class should at least be Epic grade, if not Legendary. But this means, if you don¡¯t die, you are extremely likely to hit a bottleneck at some point.¡± Mila shot down two more hovering robots and then started to only dodge as she spoke. ¡°What are the requirements for a Legendary grade class?¡± ¡°At F rank, usually at least one Law Egg at high grade. Though you will meet the Law Egg requirements for the Legendary class I¡¯d recommend just by gaining the Law Egg of the Reaper, as your two main Law Eggs are already middle grade. And Laws are usually the biggest bottleneck. ¡°Other requirements are specific achievements, specific skills, and, occasionally, specific races, bloodlines, or abilities. It¡¯s generally good to plan your classes all the way up to A rank if possible, but most don¡¯t have an awesome teacher who can give them access to that type of information.¡± Mila dodged three bolts, took another on her reinforced dress, and blocked a third with Legacy of the Weaponsmaster in shield form. ¡°You want me to go for the more difficult route, even though it will decrease my chances of becoming a god and reviving you?¡± Nana Xara raised her hand, her expression serious, and the robots all stopped in place. ¡°Mila, no matter what you choose, your chances of becoming a god are slim to none. Your start so far has been impressive, but there have literally been trillions with starts better than yours, yet only 0.0000000003% of them have ascended. ¡°Many of them had masters way more talented than me, ones who were alive and could offer them actual protection, with resources far more useful than anything I ever managed to get my hands on.¡± Nana Xara smiled again and swiped her hands, the number of robots doubling and all starting to attack again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Choose whatever you want, and then let me fulfill my role as your mentor in life, guide to power, and moral conscience.¡± Mila almost fell over and was soon twitching on the floor again. ¡°Moral conscience? Nana Xara, I read your biography in the library, and, while it wasn¡¯t very detailed, it did have a list of your achievements. I only killed thirteen people in my life, but one of your epithets was Mistress of Plagues. I¡¯m pretty sure your kill count was in the billions.¡± Nana Xara walked over and looked down at her. Then she poked Mila twice in the chest with her walking stick. ¡°If you rise to A rank in the future, your kill count will likely be about the same. Do you think I, who¡¯ve gone through that process and then lived countless years after, wouldn¡¯t be able to guide you through the moral implications you¡¯ll have to deal with?¡± Mila paused to think about it. Then she decided she didn¡¯t like where her mind was going and that her teacher was almost certainly at least partially right, so she might as well hear the advice in the future, even if she didn¡¯t follow it. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°So.¡± Nana Xara poked her again and the robots finally stopped shooting her, as they had been the entire time she¡¯d been on the floor, Nana Xara not the nicest of masters. ¡°What do you want?¡± Mila took a few seconds to think, but the answer came quite quickly and it wasn¡¯t complicated. ¡°I want to get powerful enough where I don¡¯t have to be under anyone and I want those I care about to be safe, especially Aalam.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Nana Xara held out a hand and Mila hesitantly took it, the old woman helping her up. ¡°Let¡¯s make you a Diabolical Trickster, then.¡± ¡°A what?¡± ¡°The Legendary grade class your boyfriend and I think you should aim for. It has no limitations on the skills you can learn, which is rare; it boosts disguise related skills, which suits you; and it allows you to more easily make unfair magical contracts with people under some kind of influence while also strengthening those contracts, which provides many, many possible exploits. ¡°You¡¯ll be stronger in utility and less so in pure combat, but the advancement conditions for the future classes at higher ranks suit you.¡± Mila parsed the name and decided it made sense. The class could basically be read as ¡®Giver of unfair contracts who disguises herself and fools people.¡¯ The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°To truly gain the benefits of the tutorial, though, you¡¯ll have to pass the last Nightmare difficulty challenge.¡± Nana Xara reactivated the robots and Mila had to start dodging. ¡°But now that you are my apprentice, I can actually give you some information. The last Nightmare challenge never allows you to bring in anything. You¡¯ll be given simple clothes upon entering. And, more important, it will be an isolated challenge for each trial taker, so both you and Aalam will have to find a way to survive on your own. ¡°To that end, let¡¯s talk about your performance during this last challenge. Here are the reward calculations for you.¡± Challenge over. Calculating rewards. Base Trial Points: 144 4 Vitalized Insectoids Killed Base Trial Points + 4 128 kilograms of Solar Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 128 64 kilograms of Lunar Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 64 32 kilograms of Eclipse Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 128 All hidden recipes found Base Trial Points + 128 Fully explored all areas Base Trial Points + 256 Rolling Death cleared in second place Base Trial Points X 4 Rolling Death cleared with no damage Trial Points X 6 Rolling Death cleared with no surviving monsters Total Trial Points X 4 Rolling Death cleared with total Luck 72 or higher Total Trial Points X 2 Trial Points for Li Mila: +163,584 Automatic Rewards: All stats +6 1 Legendary free building coupon 1 Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic) Skill Choice: Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) Artifact Choice: Orb of Devouring (G-Legendary) System Boon: All stats +3 ¡°And here are the reward calculations for Aalam.¡± Challenge over. Calculating rewards. Base Trial Points: 144 53,628 Vitalized Insectoids Killed Base Trial Points + 53,628 107 Juvenile Vitalized Rollie-Pollies Killed Base Trial Points + 321 12 Adult Vitalized Rollie-Pollies Killed Base Trial Points + 124,416 1 Vitalized Rollie-Pollie Queen Killed Base Trial Points + 248,832 128 kilograms of Solar Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 128 64 kilograms of Lunar Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 64 32 kilograms of Eclipse Iron retrieved Base Trial Points + 128 All hidden recipes found Base Trial Points + 128 Fully explored all areas Base Trial Points + 256 Rolling Death cleared in first place Base Trial Points X 6 Rolling Death cleared with no surviving monsters Total Trial Points X 4 Rolling Death cleared with you responsible for more than 99.3% of monster deaths Total Trial Points X 12 Rolling Death cleared with total Luck 144 or higher Total Trial Points X 4 Trial Points for Aalam Alvaro: +493,107,840 Automatic Rewards: All stats +8 1 Legendary free building coupon 1 Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic) Skill Choice: Runescriber (G-Legendary) Artifact Choice: Token of Pocket Dimension (G-Legendary) System Boon: +1 Temporary Max Mastery Skill [Cognitive Healing (G-Rare)] ¡°Do you notice the difference?¡± Mila was twitching on the floor again, the System messages having messed up her vision and thrown her off long enough for several bolts to hit her, but she did notice what Nana Xara was trying to point out. Aalam¡¯s base trial points were higher than her total. He¡¯d gotten an extra +2 to all stats. And his skill and artifact lists had both included Legendary options by default. His System boon was also one she hadn¡¯t seen before, so he¡¯d had more options there as well, and she didn¡¯t fully understand any of his choices, so she¡¯d have to ask him later. ¡°You both almost died.¡± Nana Xara stopped the robots from shooting her any more. ¡°You got close to a D rank without understanding the power difference. You and Aalam both ignorantly thought a nuclear bomb would kill a D rank specialized in Toughness, which was very wrong. And you, for some reason, thought a D rank wouldn¡¯t be able to get through locked doors any average E rank wouldn¡¯t have much trouble with, just because it had never tried. ¡°And this isn¡¯t even going into how you stupidly almost tried to single-handedly fight an E rank as a G rank after losing control over your emotions. ¡°To your credit, you did bring a lot of talismans and bombs into the trial, which was smart, even if you never used them, but none of them would have worked on the E ranks and D rank you faced, as they specialized in Toughness. ¡°Most important, you were incredibly lucky the trial suited the two of you. It was a contained space, allowing Creeping Death to spread all throughout. The E ranks had low Spirit and low Perception, allowing you to hide from them. And the D rank was too stupid to care about you even though it did notice your presence when you got close.¡± Mila took a couple seconds to absorb all that. She really hadn¡¯t had a practical understanding of the powers of an E or D rank and they had been extremely lucky the D rank Rollie-Pollie Queen had been mourning her children when they met. ¡°What should I do to prepare for the next challenge?¡± ¡°First, master your current skills.¡± Nana Xara waved her hand and the robots started attacking again. ¡°It should only take you another day or so of intensive training. Then you can fuse your skills into the Legendary grade Artifact Enhancement skill and learn Devil¡¯s Contract. ¡°That will finish your section of the first quest I gave you and, once Aalam finishes merging the extremely rare skill he¡¯s been going for and learns Runescriber, I¡¯ll be able to give you the Legendary grade skills I¡¯ve prepared for the two of you, ones which should make it much more likely you¡¯ll survive the next challenge. ¡°By that time, Aalam should have also finished your other quest and you¡¯ll be able to upgrade Legacy of the Weaponsmaster into something worthy of the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s apprentice. You won¡¯t be able to use it in the next challenge, but you should be able to get the Law Egg of The Reaper before then, and that will be extremely helpful, as you will actually have a destructive Law.¡± Nana Xara raised her hand again and the number of hovering robots doubled. ¡°First, though, you need to master your skills. And you won¡¯t be leaving here until that is done.¡± Chapter 21: Multi-Mind Aalam Aalam was growing annoyed. It had been six hours and the thing still wasn¡¯t dead. Sure, the blue-gray slime was D rank, with high Toughness and high Vitality, but it was locked in a forcefield-like cage and he¡¯d been hitting it with three full power mental spikes per second for six hours. Granted, his skill was only Epic grade and of G rank, only able to show the power of Spirit up to a value of 144, so, with his Id state, he¡¯d hit the max threshold it could handle back when he had a Spirit of 12. But he¡¯d doubled the amount of his Spirit he could use through his Law Egg of Calm, and then increased that by another 50% when the Law Egg advanced to middle grade after the first two hours, yet the thing still wasn¡¯t dead. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Rage has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +8, Soul +4 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +8 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +4 Aalam tried using the Law Egg of Rage instead and his mental spikes quickly became more effective. He couldn¡¯t use as much Spirit as when using the Law Egg of Calm, but he was able to add in the power of his middle grade Law Eggs of Entropy and Energy Transfer at the same time, and that almost doubled the power of the spikes from his previous versions. Four minutes later, the thing finally died. Congratulations! You have completed the hidden objective of Damage the Invincible Caged Monster, Kill the Invincible Caged Monster. You gain the following: D rank Monster Core of the Invincible Slime You have completed Kill the Invincible Caged Monster in under 7 hours. You gain the following: Flesh of the Invincible Slime Aalam was immediately teleported back to the central square of the city¡¯s Market District, where the notice board of optional challenges had gone up on the tutorial¡¯s second day, right in front of his auction house. In his right hand, he was holding a glowing blue sphere about 10 cm in diameter, while in his left was a large pink plastic bucket filled with blue-gray goo, the slime¡¯s flesh. Both were very high end resources, but they couldn¡¯t be used for the weapon he¡¯d designed, while the primal stones were a perfect fit, so he was looking forward to the trade. With his maximized Agility stat, he was almost certainly the fastest trial taker in the tutorial, and he practically flew into the amphitheater and up to the elevator bay. During his ride down, he started to have a bit of an epiphany about speed and, when he entered into training room 0003 on the bottom floor, the epiphany ended. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Gust has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility +4, Magic +4, Spirit +2, Soul +2 Agility is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +4 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +4 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +2 Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +2 Aalam didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d been expecting, but it hadn¡¯t been to walk in on Mila being chased by what looked to be 83 Marksman-H combat remotes from Star Wars while the Yin Yang Sage watched on with a look of glee on her face. The training did look effective, however, so Aalam decided not to disturb them. Instead, he set the monster core and bucket down near the entrance and then went to sit in one of the room¡¯s corners, assigning his free stats to maximize his Attunement. The process of killing the Invincible Slime had helped him fully master his mental spike skill, but he still hadn¡¯t reached even 80% with Flow State or Myriad Thoughts, so he pushed his psyforce into the two skills to boost their effects for greater training. Both skills were passive, Flow State helping him more easily focus and Myriad Thoughts allowing his subconscious to process more at once, but he¡¯d discovered pushing psyforce into the skill runes boosted the effects of both skills, and it wasn¡¯t like he had any other use for the resource while trying to gain new Law Eggs. Using the Law Egg of Calm on his mind, he entered into a deep meditative state, and focused on the concept of gravity for about two minutes. Law Egg gained - Gravity Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Magic +6, Spirit +3, Soul +3 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +6 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +3 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +3 Gravity had always been something he understood quite well, so, even with already having 30 Law Eggs making gaining new ones somewhat more difficult, it didn¡¯t take him long for the initial Law Egg formation and he quickly used his new free stats to again increase his Attunement by as much as possible. Then he focused on the second concept the Yin Yang Sage had suggested, most of what she¡¯d said having already been part of his plans, and gained a Law Egg of Kinetic Energy in about four minutes. Gaining the Law Egg of Antimatter took almost an hour, but then the Law Egg of Multi-Dimensional Geometry was surprisingly easy, taking only about thirteen seconds. He then spent the next several hours fully focused on improving his already existing Law Eggs, getting the Law Eggs of Inertia, Ultraviolet, and Ultraviolet Absorption to middle grade first, as they¡¯d been close for a while, and then advancing the Law Eggs of Temporal Relativity, Infrared, and Infrared Absorption as well. Finally, he advanced his very first Law Egg, the Law Egg of Soulform Temporal Acceleration, and he was done with one of his first major goals. Using all but six of his free stats, he fully maximized the last of his twelve attributes. ¡°Ya-ta!¡± He jumped to his feet and raised his hands, screaming out like a crazy time-stopping Japanese otaku, and the two women in the room turned to look at him. Mila, who¡¯d just gotten up after being shot into a tased mess on the floor, stared, appearing confused about why he was so excited, but the Yin Yang Sage began to clap. ¡°Nice job, Aalam. I think you¡¯re only the third person I¡¯ve ever heard of maximizing all twelve stats during a tutorial. ¡°For such a feat, I¡¯m allowed to grant you a minor boon, so how about this? Before you start on the construction of your artifact, why don¡¯t you write out a full design document for me, including any reach goals you might have, and I¡¯ll look it over and help you optimize.¡± Aalam was about to start jumping up and down again, but the Yin Yang Sage raised her hand and Aalam stopped himself, focusing on the woman. ¡°Before you start on your artifact creation, though, you¡¯ll first need to gain your last two Law Eggs, train up your final six Laws to middle grade, and master your final two skills. ¡°So, go work on your four newest Laws and your skills while I help Mila master hers.¡± Aalam was about to complain, but then the Yin Yang Sage said words which he could not argue with. ¡°We need to maximize our efficiency.¡± He sat down and meditated, spending the next fourteen hours bringing up all his new Laws to middle grade, this time the Law Egg of Kinetic Energy taking the most time. By that time he¡¯d also mastered his skills, the process of gaining and improving Laws greatly helping him understand both Flow State and Myriad Thoughts, and it was time for his skill merge. When merging Rapid Thoughts (G-Rare), Meditative Focus (G-Rare), and Concentration (G-Uncommon) into Flow State (G-Epic) there wasn¡¯t any issue. That merge had as a requirement only the equivalent of 72 Spirit, and he¡¯d met that easily. The merge he was about to try, however, was marked as theoretical in the information the Yin Yang Sage had given him, and also had rather ridiculous requirements. First, unlike all but four proven merge combinations for creating Legendary skills at G rank, it required four skills instead of two or three¡ªFlow State (G-Epic), Myriad Thoughts (G-Epic), Cognitive Healing (G-Rare), and any other psychic category Epic skill. In order to get a mastered fourth skill he¡¯d needed to kill the D rank in the second Nightmare challenge of the tutorial to gain access to the Temporary Max Mastery Skill Boon from the System, and that had been hard. The first requirement was much easier than the second, however. The second requirement for the merge was to have a Mental Forge smaller than Colossal, yet have at least 73,728 units of psyforce. A unit of a resource was defined as the amount of that resource someone with a small Core Container, Mana Well, or Mental Forge would have for each additional +1 to the corresponding stat. So, as each size up meant four times the units, 73,728 units of psyforce was equivalent to someone with a Colossal Mental Forge, a full 144 Spirit stat, and a Spirit stat effectiveness of +100%. Thus, for someone with a Huge Mental Forge, effectiveness would have to be at +700%, and that was extremely, extremely rare at G rank. Aalam had 110,592 units of psyforce, however, so he met the second requirement quite easily. He activated the boon, temporarily gaining the mastered Cognitive Healing (G-Rare) skill for two hours, and then he activated the Orb of Skill Combination (G-Epic) he¡¯d absorbed before leaving the tutorial¡¯s second challenge. Attempting to merge Flow State (G-Epic), Myriad Thoughts (G-Epic), Cognitive Healing (G-Rare), and Mental Spike (G-Epic) to Multi-Mind (G-Legendary). Requirements met: Mental Forge size not Colossal or higher, + 73,728 units of psyforce Congratulations! You have merged four skills into Multi-Mind (G-Legendary) Congratulations! You are the first in the history of System tutorials to ever gain the Multi-Mind (G-Legendary) skill All stats +24 Strength is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Agility is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Endurance is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Toughness is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Vitality is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Perception is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Aura is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Attunement is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Luck is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 You currently have 342 free stats. For Human Soulforms at G rank, the nascent energy for only 72 free stats can be maintained. Find a use for the remaining 270 free stats in the next four hours or the energy will be lost. Chapter 22: New Skills Mila Just as Aalam upgraded the third of his four new Law Eggs to middle grade, really benefiting from that maxed out Attunement stat, Mila finally mastered her last skill, Artifact Activation (G-Rare), and Nana Xara raised her hand, causing the robots to stop attacking. Then, a couple hours before Aalam was ready to merge his own skills, Mila started her skill merge first. Attempting to merge Weapon Enhancement (G-Epic), Artifact Activation (G-Rare), and Material Strengthening (G-Rare) to Artifact Enhancement (G-Legendary). Requirements met: Core Container Large or bigger, at least one Mana Well Large or bigger, Mental Forge Large or bigger Congratulations! You have merged three skills into Artifact Enhancement (G-Legendary) ¡°Well done.¡± Nana Xara made a gesture and the robots faded out of existence. ¡°Now you should learn your new skill.¡± Mila walked over to one of the room¡¯s corners, not the one Aalam was sitting in, and opened up the small case there, where the skill orbs for both her and Aalam were stored. The skill orb for Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) was clear and filled with a dark mist while the other skill orb was alternating between silver and gold, looking somewhat divine. Curious, she decided to see the description of Aalam¡¯s choice of skill first. Runescriber (G-Legendary) Magic, Runic, Crafting Inscribe in any type of medium. Flexibility is king. Effects: Learn the skill Runescriber (G-Legendary) Requirements: Free skill slot, Magic +108, Perception +72, Spirit +72, able to learn runic magic crafting skills The description didn¡¯t actually tell her much, but she could surmise the gist of what it did. If her suspicions were correct, it was a general crafting skill for writing runes into artifacts, like those present on pretty much every artifact she¡¯d seen other than Legacy of the Weaponsmaster, but it also probably had combat usage of some kind as well, given what she knew of Aalam¡¯s preferences. Most likely it would allow him to inscribe runes into the very air for one-time-use effects, but it was also possible he¡¯d just have to carry around a lot of talismans he made himself. She decided to ask later. Picking up her own skill orb, its status then appeared in front of her again. Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) Soul, Diabolical, Contract The devil¡¯s in the details. The details are in the contract. And, sometimes, the details are hidden. Effects: Learn the skill Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) Requirements: Free skill slot, Soul +36, able to learn diabolical soul contract skills, must have spent 6 of the last 12 years lying to those closest to you every day Mila used the skill orb and, upon learning the skill, she understood it better, learning a bit more than had been in the description when she¡¯d originally chosen it. Devil¡¯s Contract was a skill for making soul-binding deals between two or more parties, and it allowed these soul-binding deals to have hidden clauses so long as those entering into the deal were clearly told hidden clauses existed, but, while they had to be told explicitly, they did not have to be told in a way they would understand. For example, she could tell someone about the hidden clauses in a completely different language than any they understood, even those which weren¡¯t verbal, so long as she believed at least several million individuals in the universe would be able to understand. Finally, the soul-binding nature of the contracts enforced through Devil¡¯s Contract were only able to compel G and F rank individuals normally, but her Fairy Law ability would boost the power of the contracts so they could compel E ranks as well as long as her Soul reached at least a value of 108. Mila walked back over to Nana Xara. ¡°We¡¯re waiting for Aalam now, right?¡± Looking over at Aalam, Nana Xara nodded. ¡°He should be done in a few hours. Why don¡¯t you spend this time getting rid of some of the miscellaneous tasks you have left? ¡°With your Legendary free building coupon, I would recommend getting the library. And, while you are there, you can also check out a book called ¡®A Devil¡¯s Guide to Nefarious Deals¡¯. It should be extremely helpful for you. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°You should also put every single artifact you and Aalam own up for auction, other than Legacy of the Weaponsmaster, Aalam¡¯s legacy artifact, the Shield of Twelve Elements, and the resources Aalam has collected. You¡¯ll only be able to take one artifact out of the tutorial with you, so you should sell everything else for trial points.¡± Mila acknowledged the wisdom of this but, before she left, she followed Nana Xara¡¯s gaze. ¡°He¡¯s about to do something insane again, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll soon be merging his skills into a skill called Multi-Mind, which should give him extra Mental Forges, effectively allowing him to have three minds at once.¡± Nana Xara looked back to her, an excited look on her face. ¡°It¡¯s never been done at G rank in recorded history and this will be the second unique achievement from your boyfriend during this tutorial.¡± Mila felt something shift inside her, something to do with Laws, and she was pretty sure Nana Xara felt it as well. Both of them knew she¡¯d just taken another step forward with her Law Egg of Obfuscation, not enough to raise the grade of the Law Egg, but a large step nonetheless, and, without saying a word¡ªand without looking at her teacher who she knew would be about to laugh again¡ªshe quickly ran away. * * * Aalam Aalam opened his eyes and quickly looked at his status. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 0 Race: Human Soulform (G-Common) Bloodline: NA Abilities Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) Amber Soul (Epic) [Upgradable] Class: Citizen (G-Common) Skills Multi-Mind (G-Legendary) 0% mastered Laws Law Eggs: Molecular Acceleration - Middle Plasma - Middle Rage - Middle Molecular Deceleration - Middle Liquid - Middle Calm - Middle Inertia - Middle Solid - Middle Gravity - Middle Gust - Middle Gas - Middle Kinetic Energy - Middle Ionization - Middle Fission - Middle Fusion - Middle Ionic Conductivity - Middle Matter - Middle Antimatter - Middle Ultraviolet - Middle Infrared - Middle Energy Transfer - Middle Ultraviolet Absorption - Middle Infrared Absorption - Middle Energy Storage - Middle Bacteria - Middle Order - Middle Asphyxiation - Middle Entropy - Middle Vacuum - Middle 3 Dimensional Geometry - Middle Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Middle Soulform Temporal Acceleration - Middle Temporal Relativity - Middle Pause - Middle Stats Strength: 144 Agility: 144 Endurance: 144 Toughness: 144 Vitality: 144 Perception: 144 Magic: 144 Spirit: 144 Soul: 144 Aura: 144 Attunement: 144 Luck: 144 Free Stats: 342 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Small + 1 Medium Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Huge + 2 Small Mental Forges Uniqueness: Id There had been two upgrade options for Amber Soul for a while now, but they weren¡¯t as good as the option which would become available with one more middle grade Law Egg from the life and death elements, so he hadn¡¯t even looked at them. What made Aalam truly excited about his status, however, was not his Laws or his stats, but the Multi-Mind skill and the two extra Mental Forges which came with it. They were Small for now, but he could already feel the two new instances of himself starting to awaken, and, while they would be incredibly stupid for a while, when he mastered the skill the Mental Forges would be the same size as his natural Mental Forge, and he would truly have three active thought processes. Aalam then looked around the room. Mila was in another corner, reading an evil-looking tome which reminded him of the Darkhold from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and she was wearing just a plain white dress, none of her artifacts visible other than Legacy of the Weaponsmaster in sword form next to her. The Yin Yang Sage, on the other hand, was standing right in front of him, both hands on her wooden cane as she looked down at him. And then she held her hand out to another corner of the room and the case holding the skill orb for his Runescriber skill flew over to land between them. ¡°Here you go, Mr. Alvaro.¡± Aalam immediately learned the skill and the Yin Yang Sage smiled. ¡°Congratulations. Here is the reward from your quest.¡± The Yin Yang Sage reached out her hand palm up and a skill orb appeared on top of it, one which glowed with a deep purple light. Lord (G-Legendary) Soul, Noble, Contract You¡¯re the lord. They¡¯re the slaves. Your word is law. Effects: Learn the skill Lord (G-Legendary) Requirements: Free skill slot, Soul +144, able to learn noble soul contract skills, Soul stat effectiveness 112.5% or higher, Land owner Aalam took the skill orb and felt himself smiling, as he could guess what the other skill reward from the quest would be. ¡°And here¡¯s what I¡¯ll be giving to Mila.¡± The Yin Yang Sage handed him another skill orb, this one glowing bronze. Exemplary Servitor (G-Legendary) Soul, Humble, Contract You are not just anyone under your lord. You serve with style. Effects: Learn the skill Exemplary Servitor (G-Legendary) Requirements: Free skill slot, Soul +36, able to learn humble soul contract skills, in an active servant or slave relationship with a Lord Aalam stood up and hugged the woman. Then he threw the second skill orb at Mila, who unconsciously caught it and looked over at him, an angry frown quickly forming on her face. ¡°Your teacher is awesome, Mila.¡± The purple skill orb in his hand faded as he learned the Lord skill. ¡°This opens up so many possibilities. Let¡¯s quickly form a contract so you can learn that.¡± Aalam had an optimum build in mind, but there were several problems with it at the lower ranks, mostly the feeding difficulty. He had several ideas on how to get around these issues, but a Lord and Servitor relationship, especially with someone who could strengthen contracts, was ideal. There was just one problem he hadn¡¯t expected. Mila seemed truly pissed off. Chapter 23: Bonds and Severing Mila Mila put down ¡®A Devil¡¯s Guide to Nefarious Deals¡¯ and stood, glaring at Nana Xara. ¡°I said I didn¡¯t want to be under anyone and you¡¯ve interpreted that as it would be a good idea to make me a servant or a slave?¡± ¡°Technically, you¡¯re going to be reborn as a monster, and that will automatically change the nature of both these skills in the eyes of the System, so you will be a familiar, not a servant or slave.¡± Mila continued glaring at the smiling woman. ¡°That would make me a pet. And that¡¯s worse.¡± Aalam spoke up at this point, sounding confused. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re a shadow princess, so you could literally break the contract at any time. Do you not know that?¡± His voice then became cold as he seemed to realize something. ¡°Or were you just using me again?¡± ¡°No. Aalam. I didn¡¯t mean.¡± Mila stumbled for words. She hadn¡¯t been aware Aalam knew about her uniqueness, but, as her mind flailed and tried to understand what was going on, it made sense. He had access to Nana Xara¡¯s information, knew about his own uniqueness, and had been around her enough to know how much her Aura stat¡¯s effectiveness had been boosted by, so it was only natural he¡¯d come to the same conclusion the sage had. ¡°Why would you want a contract knowing I could just break it?¡± Aalam gave her a look she¡¯d only ever seen targeted at others, a look which made it obvious he thought she was being an idiot. ¡°It¡¯s a magical bond, Mila, not just words. And you benefit more than I do. So what if you could break it, why would you want to?¡± Mila looked from Aalam, who still seemed angry, to Nana Xara, who was grinning, then back. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something.¡± ¡°Of course you are, dear.¡± Nana Xara waved a hand, a chair rising up from the floor behind her. Then she sat down, all while looking at Mila. ¡°A bond based on the Lord and Exemplary Servitor skills normally provides the benefits of long-distance telepathy, the ability for the master to see the servant¡¯s status, and the ability to share resources when within a relatively short distance. With some slight modifications of the normal contract, however, the control of the bond can be made even, instead of sitting solely with the master, and you would be able to see Aalam¡¯s status as well. ¡°Also, when I say long-distance telepathy, I don¡¯t mean long-distance like your cell phone plan from before the integration of Earth, but true long-distance, like within a galaxy. ¡°These are all the lesser benefits, however. Servant bonds are one of the main sources of loopholes in System-hosted competitions. If you take that skill, for example, Aalam will be able to use any excess trial points he has after making his choices at the end of the tutorial on you. And your possible selections will be based on his achievements rather than your own. ¡°That¡¯s about it for this type of bond normally, but you have the Fairy Law ability, increasing its effects. The distance limits on telepathy and resource sharing will be greatly lengthened, the max resource transfer rate will be increased, and, most important, the two of you will be able to transfer nascent energy between each other as well. And that includes the 342 free stat points Aalam has right now which will otherwise dissipate away.¡± Mila stared at Nana Xara for a few seconds. She¡¯d wanted three main things: more power so she wouldn¡¯t have to rely on institutions, not to be directly under an institution, and to protect those she cared about, especially Aalam. This type of servant contract, while on the surface putting Aalam above her, was actually exactly what she needed. Her biggest problem with keeping Aalam safe was keeping someone sensible, preferably herself, around him, and Aalam¡¯s excitement for this contract meant it would likely allow her to more easily keep him from getting himself killed. Not to mention how the side effects would directly increase her own power. ¡°Okay.¡± She turned to Aalam and nodded. ¡°Sorry. Nana Xara here deliberately didn¡¯t explain things to me previously because it would be more entertaining for her.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Aalam had a look of realization on his face and Mila felt like something bad was about to happen. Then it did. Aalam turned to look at Nana Xara. ¡°Not telling her things so she can¡¯t disagree with them, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± ¡°No. No. Aalam, it¡¯s not.¡± Mila was quick to start speaking before Nana Xara could get a word in edgewise, the woman almost certainly wanting to make things worse for her own amusement. ¡°What did Diana always say was the sign of a good leader?¡± Aalam turned back to her, a somewhat thoughtful expression on his face. ¡°Knowing when to delegate.¡± ¡°Right. And why would you want to form this kind of bond with me?¡± Aalam again looked like he realized something. ¡°So I can delegate things to you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mila quickly nodded. ¡°And how can I help you correctly if I don¡¯t know what is going on?¡± Then she said the key words she was pretty sure would get Aalam to listen to her. ¡°We¡¯ve just wasted over a minute of time because no one explained to me the knowledge about a skill I was supposed to learn. That¡¯s a pretty big loss of efficiency.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam turned to glare at Nana Xara, then looked back at Mila. ¡°Li Mila, will you agree to serve me as my chamberlain.¡± Wandering Lord Aalam Alvaro has offered you a position as his chamberlain. Will you accept? Yes/No ¡°Again, Aalam, I¡¯m not sure what a chamberlain means in this context.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Aalam looked a bit guilty, which was a good sign he was no longer angry. ¡°A chamberlain is like a chief servant. She can manage all of her lord¡¯s wealth, but can¡¯t knowingly waste it. If the lord gets any other servants, they would answer to her. And, should the lord be indisposed, she can make decisions for him. Also, as a hired servant, the contract is evenly held by both parties. And, so the chamberlain can correctly perform her job, she can see her lord¡¯s status as well.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Alright then.¡± Mila took a deep breath, thinking she was very likely to regret this decision in the future, but going through with it anyway. ¡°I¡¯ll be your chamberlain.¡± There were no super obvious effects, but, after looking for her new bond for a few seconds, she could sense a connection to Aalam. Then, at about the same time she sensed the bond, Aalam started glowing green and she realized he¡¯d gained another Law Egg. Slightly annoyed about how fast he was gaining new Laws, she then absorbed the Exemplary Servitor skill from the skill orb and took a look at her status. Name: Li Mila Level: 0 Race: Human Soulform (G-Common) Bloodline: NA Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Legendary) Class: Citizen (G-Common) Skills Artifact Enhancement (G-Legendary) 0% mastered Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) 0% mastered Exemplary Servitor (G-Legendary) 0% mastered Laws Law Eggs: Obfuscation - Middle Hologram - Middle Calm - Early Rage - Early The Healer - Early Stats Strength: 22 Agility: 30 Endurance: 24 Toughness: 24 Vitality: 24 Perception: 30 Magic: 42 Spirit: 46 Soul: 43 Aura: 21 Attunement: 21 Luck: 93 Free Stats: 0 [354] Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 3 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Shadow Princess ¡°And it¡¯s okay if I use those free stats?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll disappear in four hours if you don¡¯t.¡± Aalam sounded like he didn¡¯t care much and was instead focusing on something else, likely analyzing their new bond. So, as energy of a type beneficial to souls passed from him to her through their metaphysical karmic connection, she used his 354 free stats to maximize her Attunement stat, bringing all her stats other than Aura and Luck up to 66. ¡°Okay.¡± Nana Xara clapped from her seat. ¡°Now start making and breaking bonds like crazy, but make sure the punishments are light and don¡¯t break that primary bond. In a bit, we¡¯ll have Mila start to use her uniqueness and I¡¯ll hide its usage from the System so gods don¡¯t eventually hunt you down and kill you.¡± Then they started five hours of training. For the first ten minutes, they only made simple vows without using Mila¡¯s Devil¡¯s Contract skill, things like ¡®I will stand on one leg for twenty seconds¡¯ with punishments like ¡®if I don¡¯t comply, I¡¯ll have to say the word Gazebo¡¯. Sometimes they complied. Sometimes they did the punishment. At Nana Xara¡¯s direction, however, they never didn¡¯t go through with the punishments as, even with the relatively weak vows they were making, it could damage the foundation of their souls¡ªat least it could for Aalam. Mila quickly realized, if she could sense a bond, she could break it with relative ease, but she held off doing so and they spent 50 minutes trying out contracts with the Devil¡¯s Contract skill. Then, after that first hour, they started making simple vows again, but this time Mila began to sever them with the power of her uniqueness. The first few times she did, however, Aalam no longer had to keep his part of the bargain either. It didn¡¯t take long for Aalam to gain the Law Egg of Severing and Mila got slightly closer to advancing her Law Egg of Obfuscation as a result. Then she used the twelve new free stats to raise her Attunement by one and they continued for another four hours. By the time Aalam raised both his new Law Eggs to middle grade, Mila had gained both Law Eggs as well. Though it would have been hard not to with him using them on every new bond they created, so, even with him unable to break any of the bonds she made no matter how hard he tried, she didn¡¯t feel much pride. What she did feel better about was her new ability to break a bond¡¯s effect on her with her uniqueness without the effects on Aalam changing. Aalam, even with a middle grade Law Egg of Bonds, couldn¡¯t tell when she did it and, as she worked at it more, it was starting to take Nana Xara more effort to notice as well. Excited after finally advancing his Law Egg of Severing to middle grade, Aalam sat on the ground and opened his status screen, and Mila, using one of the new effects of their master servant bond, forwarded the messages from his connection with the System to hers so she could watch. You have chosen to upgrade your racial ability Amber Soul (Epic) Please choose from the following three possible upgrades.
  1. Silver Soul (Legendary): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul stat by 25%.
  2. Pure Soul (Legendary): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5%.
  3. Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%.
Aalam chose the third option and a few more system messages appeared. Congratulations! You have upgraded Amber Soul (Epic) to Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) Congratulations! You are the first in the history of System tutorials to gain the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) ability All stats +12 Strength is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Agility is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Endurance is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Toughness is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Vitality is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Perception is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Aura is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Attunement is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Luck is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 You currently have 144 free stats. At G rank, the nascent energy for only 72 free stats can be maintained in a body. Find a use for the remaining 72 free stats in the next four hours or the energy will be lost. Mila felt a little numb as she made use of the new free stats, and a System message of her own appeared. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Obfuscation has advanced to high grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility + 4, Perception + 4, Magic +8, Spirit +4, Soul +4 Then, as Mila had expected, Nana Xara started laughing. Chapter 24: Twin Dragons Mila It took almost a minute for Nana Xara¡¯s laughter to stop, and Mila felt a little self conscious as Aalam looked on in confusion. ¡°Alright. Time to upgrade your weapon.¡± Nana Xara finally stopped laughing and made a gesture, Legacy of the Weaponsmaster flowing off of the ground and into a silver orb above her right hand. Then she gestured with her left hand and the glowing blue monster core and bucket of slime flesh by the door flew over to hover over her right as well. A gray token, about 7 cm in diameter with a carved scythe on both sides, then faded into existence above her left hand while twelve orbs, each about 10 cm in diameter and glowing with the defining color of one of the twelve elements, appeared on the floor in front of Aalam. The token then burst into gas, forming a small cloud of gray mist, and Legacy of the Weaponsmaster, the monster core, and the slime flesh, including the bucket, floated into the mist, all seeming to somehow break down and disappear. 30 seconds passed and Mila noticed Aalam watching with interest, so she figured something was happening she couldn¡¯t sense herself, and then the mist condensed, forming a small 3 cm diameter orb which flew over to her, hovered right in front of her forehead, and initiated a bond. A nameless artifact would like to form a bond with you. Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Yes.¡± Upon accepting, she felt a bond as strong as between her and Aalam form between her and the orb. Then the orb began to flash black, followed by white. Then it turned blue, then red, and then shifted to green before finally changing back to gray. The orb then split itself in two and the pieces flew to her ears, transforming into earrings which she felt wrap around the sides of her earlobes, up the back of her ears, and then up over the tops to pop out in front. Nana Xara summoned a mirror from somewhere to show her and Mila could see the artifact had copied her favorite earrings from when she¡¯d been alive, looking like a pair of silvery gray eastern dragons wrapped around her ears. Aalam had built the originals in his lab for her twenty-fourth birthday and the students at the school where she worked loved them, so she¡¯d ended up wearing them far more than she¡¯d originally expected. She¡¯d left them behind along with everything else she owned when she ran away, however, and she hadn¡¯t realized until she saw this new pair just how much she¡¯d missed them. A few tears starting to form in her eyes, she looked at the artifact¡¯s status. Twin Dragons of Lord Alvaro¡¯s Favored (G-Legendary) [Growth] A legacy artifact formed by a Reaper¡¯s Token from the flesh of an Invincible Slime, Formless Silver, and the emotions of Lord Aalam Alvaro¡¯s chamberlain. Due to the chamberlain¡¯s desires, the Twin Dragons can only be used by Lord Aalam Alvaro or one of his servants and has multiple effects, including the ability to absorb the legacy information of other legacy artifacts, the ability to transform into multiple forms, and the ability to store unused nascent energy. Current Legacies: The path of Illusions from a random D rank, the path of The Reaper from the Origin of Death Possible forms: Twin Dragon earrings (weight greatly reduced), Twin Pistols, Longsword, Spear, Shield, Reaper¡¯s Gown Effects: Legacy Eater, Transformation, Nascent Energy Storage, Conductivity Requirements: Lord Aalam Alvaro or one of his servants The tears almost immediately stopped and she looked over at Nana Xara. ¡°What?¡± Nana Xara raised a hand and the floor of the room moved Mila over to her, where she raised a hand and touched the dragon on Mila¡¯s right ear. Then the old woman started to grin and spoke via telepathy. ¡°The Reaper¡¯s token scans your emotions to form the artifact you truly desire, not the one you want.¡± She looked over at Aalam and then back to Mila. ¡°So, should we start training seriously or should I explain more out loud?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s train.¡± Mila was very quick to respond. ¡°Alright then. First, a little demonstration.¡± Nana Xara waved her hand and the chair she was in moved to the edge of the room, opposite the doorway. Then she waved her other hand and the floor under Aalam and Mila moved, pushing them to face each other in the center of the room. ¡°I¡¯ve used my authority to change the nature of your soulform bodies while you are in this room. When your body dies here, it will be instantly revived.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. This statement answered a lot of questions Mila had about the tutorial. They were souls, so she¡¯d been wondering if anything here was real or if it was all a simulation, and it seemed it was the latter. It also explained why they could only take one artifact out. The System was trying to save on cost. From what she¡¯d gathered so far, power was mostly housed in the soul, not the body, so the power they had now was all real, just nothing around them. Though she did wonder if it might be hard to gain higher Laws in such an environment. Maybe that was why Aalam had immediately aimed for breadth rather than going all in on one Law for quick power. ¡°Now, murder each other. Or, in Aalam¡¯s case, at least try to.¡± Aalam immediately attacked, and he was fast, but he still had pretty much zero combat skills. He had never trained in martial arts back when they were alive and, since entering into the tutorial, he¡¯d focused almost entirely on crafting and learning Laws. His control over his resources was good, but, compared to Mila, who¡¯d focused on that aspect, he was sloppy. Had they fought six hours before, it might have been different, but, with all the free stats she¡¯d been able to use, Mila now had a minimum base stat of 85, and she was used to fighting people stronger than she was. She dodged his lunge effortlessly, then the next, and then the next one. Then, when he tried to attack her for the fourth time, she punched him in the throat with all her strength. He went down. And Nana Xara just watched for twenty seconds as he writhed on the floor, unable to breathe. ¡°Okay. That is probably enough.¡± Nana Xara waved her hand and Aalam¡¯s throat instantly healed. Then he stood up, looked at Mila with an expression of awe on his face, and looked down at his hands. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°No. No you don¡¯t.¡± Nana Xara stood up from her seat and walked over. ¡°You spent all your time in the tutorial so far on other things. And Mila was trained to fight since she was four. No matter what you do until the next challenge, you¡¯d never be able to beat her and, honestly, it would be a waste of her time for you to try. ¡°But I wanted you to feel that. ¡°Your current build has pretty much no combat ability, but I can see what you¡¯re going for. At F rank, you will most likely get a Heroic grade telekinesis skill, and that, combined with Runescriber, will be your main form of combat. If anyone gets close to you, though, or finds a way to counter your telekinesis, you will be screwed, so you should still learn to fight. And this is especially true given you have the Multi-Mind skill. ¡°Imagine fighting like a warrior with one mind while another inscribes runes into the air for a finisher and yet another uses telekinesis to keep anyone else trying to interfere away.¡± Aalam looked excited and Mila was pretty sure both of Nana Xara¡¯s goals had been achieved. He¡¯d been distracted from asking about her artifact, the status of which he could not see through their bond, and he would almost certainly say yes to what she was about to ask. ¡°From what I can tell, your only remaining goal before the third challenge is to finish creating your personal artifact. If that is true, how about splitting your time between that and training here? Say, six hours in your lab and eighteen hours here each day?¡± Aalam thought about it for a second and then nodded. ¡°Getting combat training now was part of the plan, but I realize I¡¯m far more behind than I thought.¡± He bowed to Nana Xara. ¡°Thank you for your advice and future training.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Nana Xara waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Now go work on your design like you want to. Just be back here in six hours.¡± Aalam immediately ran to grab the primal stones from the ground and then was almost out the door when Nana Xara yelled at him. ¡°And make sure to send one of your puppets to use your free building coupon to get one of the crafting halls!¡± Aalam ran out of the room and Nana Xara then started laughing again. ¡°I can see why you love that man.¡± She turned to look at Mila. ¡°He has no inhibition, yet he still thanks people politely. ¡°His instincts are to be nice. Do you have any idea how rare that is?¡± Mila decided it was best not to engage, so she instead asked something she¡¯d been wondering since Aalam raised his racial ability to Legendary, boosting his Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and his affinity with all Laws by 25%. ¡°What is affinity?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re no fun. Ms. Chamberlain.¡± Nana Xara smiled as Mila began to glare at her, but then she actually answered the question. ¡°Higher Attunement makes you closer to the Laws, allowing you to learn them more easily, but that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be able to use them well. Affinity, on the other hand, affects both aspects. The higher your affinity with a Law, the easier you will find advancing in that Law, but also the easier you¡¯ll find using the Law. ¡°You, for example, have a very high natural affinity for the Law of Obfuscation, with your affinity for your other Laws slightly lower, at least from what I¡¯ve seen. There isn¡¯t really a good test and I could be wrong. ¡°You might just have a huge inferiority complex toward your boyfriend.¡± Mila glared at her teacher but decided to again just ignore the provocation. ¡°So, affinity is mostly based on one¡¯s individual talent?¡± ¡°No.¡± Nana Xara shook her head while still smiling. ¡°Affinity is mostly based on race, followed by bloodline, and only then natural talent. One of the advantages of the monster tutorial is that, without a true race or bloodline, it becomes much easier to know what you¡¯re naturally good at, which will become more important at higher ranks.¡± Mila took a couple seconds to think about this, finding it somewhat interesting she didn¡¯t seem naturally inclined toward anything offensive, but then she quickly came to the conclusion this likely had far more to do with the state she¡¯d been in since being killed, unsure of her purpose, than a lack of actual inclination. She just hadn¡¯t truly tried to kill anyone since the start of the tutorial, at least not in the way she would normally go about doing so. ¡°Heavenly Spark Pure Soul is a Legendary grade ability just like Aalam¡¯s other two choices, but it was obviously stronger than the other two, essentially the second one with an added affinity boost. Why are the grades the same?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± Nana Xara shrugged. ¡°An Attunement boost by the same percentage is obviously better than a boost to Soul while an affinity boost to all elements is way better than an affinity boost to one specific Law, but the System values them the same when it comes to assigning grades. It probably has something to do with intrinsic limits in the way the universe works, but I don¡¯t fully understand myself. ¡°A 12.5% increase in any stat and a 25% increase affinity for any subset of Laws is also valued the same, but that makes more sense to me as affinity isn¡¯t as valuable as stat effectiveness in most cases. ¡°In common parlance, the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul ability would be considered a half grade better than Pure Soul, effectively a Legendary grade ability with an Epic grade ability merged in, and half grade higher abilities like that are extremely rare. ¡°For that one, Aalam had to gain three middle grade Law Eggs from each of the twelve elements, something I¡¯ve only ever heard of a handful of cultivators doing at G rank throughout the entire history of the universe. ¡°So, don¡¯t aim for half grade higher abilities, Mila. You¡¯re not talented enough. Almost no one is.¡± Chapter 25: Death to the Settlement The Nightmare challenge Death to the Settlement is now starting. Your goal is to kill as many humans over the next 27 days as possible. Trial Points will be rewarded based on the number and power of the dead, irregardless of how they died. Your role for this challenge is that of a human-shaped spirit of energy, but you can die just as easily as a human. Finally, you have the following options for this challenge, but you can only choose 4 points worth.
  1. The language of the settlement is set to English (4)
  2. A detailed dossier about the settlement (2)
  3. Your form will be considered attractive by the settlement citizens (1)
  4. You start the trial with a sword (1)
  5. You start the trial with fitted armor (1)
  6. The teleportation point of the settlement will be broken upon your arrival instead of being down for 25 days 1 day after you arrive (3)
¡°Aalam, can you hear me?¡± Mila sent through their bond. ¡°Yes.¡± Aalam¡¯s telepathic voice sounded excited. ¡°The bond works even when we¡¯re in different instances of the trial. ¡°What are you thinking about choosing from the options?¡± ¡°The detailed dossier and to be considered attractive.¡± As she stood in the void, the System waiting for her to make a choice, Mila continued. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to choose anything, I can probably translate for you. I think the chances are high our instances of this trial will be the same.¡± ¡°No.¡± She could almost imagine Aalam rubbing his hands together. ¡°For trials like this, the instances are always the same, even across tutorials. ¡°I¡¯ll choose no options and you can go with your choices. There will almost certainly be bonus points at the end as a result.¡± Mila chose the dossier and to be considered attractive and the void around her faded. Then she arrived on a platform covered with detailed magical sigils along with twenty-three other people, and three armed guards¡ªthe sword and armor kind¡ªguided them into the settlement proper. There was a sun in the sky which was starting to head below the horizon; the air was cold, feeling like winter in the US¡¯s northeast; and the small city, housing about a hundred thousand people, was mostly gothic in design, almost everything pointy and made of stone. The three guards then explained the teleportation platform would be deactivated during the night and then turned on one more time the next morning for those heading out. Due to an astrological phenomenon the guards didn¡¯t understand, the platform would then be unable to work for 25 days, so they were all advised to find housing for the long haul. She and the twenty-three others were then left to their own devices in a city square and the same happened in Aalam¡¯s instance as well, so Mila was able to confirm for herself that the instances were likely exactly the same. For further proof, both she and Aalam headed to an alchemist shop in the city¡¯s northeast, one specializing in water purification and medicine. Then she wrapped herself in her high grade Law Egg of Obfuscation to look around in the dark, finding the alchemist, his two apprentices, and the alchemist¡¯s wife all already asleep in the house above the shop. The alchemist was F rank, but her sense of him was his physical stats were terrible, so there wasn¡¯t much threat. According to Nana Xara, most F ranks were level 1, as advancing further almost always involved either killing things or resources generally monopolized by powerful forces, so, given the alchemist likely wasn¡¯t much of a killer, his stats were less than even Mila¡¯s. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Mila directed Aalam to an unlocked window and his high stats and new training allowed him to silently enter. Then she guided Aalam into the kitchen, where he picked up a knife, and into the three bedrooms, where he pretty easily slit all four throats. Aalam then got to work in the lab behind the shop in his instance, which, due to the influence of their Luck on the tutorial, had all the tools necessary for creating variant magical bacteria, just as Nana Xara had expected. While he did that, in her instance, Mila left to do her own thing. First, she headed back to the teleportation platform and, using her high grade Law Egg of Obfuscation and the stealth skills she¡¯d learned on Earth, she managed to look around for over thirty minutes without the guards in the area being any the wiser. She then consulted with Aalam on the design of the platform and, using his expertise and her ability to read low-magic runes, they came up with a way to jam the platform¡¯s effect for a day, which was all she needed. Then she snuck away and broke into an enchanter¡¯s shop, took a few tools, and traveled back to the teleportation platform where she spent the next two hours quietly opening up an access panel on the back of the platform and another hour using one of the enchanter tools to quietly channel mana backwards through a small circuit. She then closed the access panel, left the area of the platform, and returned the tools to the enchanter shop before spending the rest of the night sneaking through the city, looking for secrets. One of the secrets she found, on one of the desks in the guardhouse near the teleportation platform, was the name list for who would be leaving the city through the platform the next day and, using the dossier, she quickly figured out where each of them would have spent the night. The next morning before dawn, she guided Aalam in where to use his Molecular Acceleration Law Egg to start a fire in the alchemist shop. Then she led him to where she¡¯d found a dead homeless man in the slums and Aalam changed into the man¡¯s clothes and stole an empty bottle of alcohol. She then led him to the edge of the slums to the home of one of the twelve people leaving through the platform, the servant of a merchant, someone weaker than most humans on Earth before the integration, and Aalam emptied two of the four vials he¡¯d made during the night into the bottle, containing a magically enhanced plague. In her instance, Mila snuck into the servant¡¯s home and watched him get ready, staying out of his way so he would do the exact same actions as in Aalam¡¯s instance, and, when he was about to leave through his front door, she signaled Aalam. Then, in Aalam¡¯s instance, Aalam dropped the bottle in front of the man¡¯s house with enough force to cause it to shatter and walked away. The man walked out and was infected, causing the end of the city to begin. In Mila¡¯s instance, on the other hand, the results weren¡¯t so decisive. She followed the servant and caused repeated delays in his progress. She tripped someone else into spilling something nasty, seemingly used to clean bathrooms, on him so he had to go back home to change. She stole his wallet, with the identification he¡¯d need at the platform, and he spent 15 minutes looking for it. Then, when he gave up and headed for the platform anyway, she manipulated his environment so he would trip twice, slowing his walking speed due to the pain. She managed to delay him almost an hour without ever being seen and his boss, one of the most powerful merchants in the city, delayed the activation of the platform to wait for him. Then, only when he finally did arrive, did they try to activate the platform and realize it was broken, but by that time it was too late. They only had half an hour before the astrological phenomenon started and they were no where close to fixing it in time. Mila and Aalam were both operating under the assumption that killing every single person in the settlement would provide a large bonus, so they had to either stop anyone from leaving or kill them if they did. Aalam¡¯s strategy, as he could make an extremely deadly plague over the course of a single night, was to infect those going through the teleportation platform. The strongest of those traveling through was the merchant, only on the high end of F rank, so none of them would survive. Given Aalam¡¯s extensive knowledge of the human body and the advancement of his Law Egg of Bacteria to high grade, the plague he¡¯d made was far more effective against humans than Creeping Death had been against Rollie-Pollies or Insectoids. And, given he was an energy life form during this challenge, not a human, he¡¯d had no reason to build an antidote, allowing him to make the plague extremely hard to cure. The hope was many more would die on the other side of the teleportation as well, leading to bonus points. Mila, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t create a plague on a whim, so she instead just settled for trapping everyone in the city, allowing none to escape. Aalam had things easier once their first task was done. He headed back to the dead body of the homeless man, found the warm clothes he had started with, and changed back into them. Then he made his way to two other locations in the city and dumped the contents of the other vials of his plague. And, finally, he headed to the home of one of the other men who¡¯d left through the teleportation platform and broke in through one of the back windows, using his strength to break the latch. Then he started a round of meditation on the man¡¯s bed. Mila, on the other hand, openly moved around the city. Mostly, she listened in on conversations to try and learn the language, but she also confirmed several pieces of information the dossier had been lacking, like the locations of the largest stockpiles of food and the sources of the city¡¯s water. Chapter 26: Devil Mila According to the dossier, the city had a total of 15 individuals above F rank, made up of two D ranks and thirteen E ranks. One of the D ranks was the city lord, his wife one of the more powerful E ranks, and the other D rank was a man called Corith, a mercenary who¡¯d retired to the settlement about a year before the challenge¡¯s start time. Corith was a warrior while the city lord was a mage, and both had Laws more powerful than Mila¡¯s. Trying to fight either would be instant death, and trying to fight any of the E ranks would be as well. So, she¡¯d have to be smart. She had two main advantages she could make use of, however. One, unlike all the humans, she didn¡¯t need to eat or sleep. Two, with her powers she could enforce contracts on E ranks. She¡¯d learned quite a bit about contracts through reading ¡®A Devil¡¯s Guide to Nefarious Deals¡¯, however, and contracts weren¡¯t quite as easy to use as she¡¯d thought. First, it wasn¡¯t possible to hide a contract was a contract. She couldn¡¯t get someone to make a vow and apply the effects of Devil¡¯s contract to it, for example, and all contracts required the other person to purposefully agree. This meant people had to know she had a contract skill, limiting her choice of fake identities. Second, contracts had no true enforcing function. They had punishments, and those punishments could even be the death of someone who agreed to the contract, but there was no way to stop someone from taking the punishment, so the terms and punishments in a contract had to be considered carefully to make sure the other party did what you wanted. Also, punishments could only affect those who signed onto the contracts, not third parties. A punishment where someone else died if the contract signer failed to honor the terms, for example, couldn¡¯t work unless that someone else signed onto the contract as well. Third, while Devil¡¯s contract could enforce contracts made with E ranks, its extra effect, creating hidden terms, was weaker the stronger the other party. When dealing with another G rank, almost any contract she made could have almost any hidden terms added to it, but, when making a contract with an E rank, the types of hidden terms she could add were very limited, and she couldn¡¯t add hidden punishments at all. Finally, an individual had to be in their right mind to enter into a contract, at least magically speaking. The person could be tired, or even drunk so long as the alcohol that made them that way was in no way magical, but they couldn¡¯t be charmed and they couldn¡¯t be magically compelled. At least this would be the case until Mila got her F rank class. Still, her contracts and lack of need to eat and sleep at least gave her the chance to kill everyone in the city while surviving herself. She just needed to gather a bit more information first. To that end, in the afternoon on the second day, she headed to the wealthier of the city¡¯s two school complexes, watched as a particular child¡ªa twelve-year-old girl with pale skin, yellow hair, and blue eyes¡ªleft and started walking home. Then, when no one was around, she dragged the girl into an alley, held a knife she¡¯d stolen up to the girl¡¯s throat, and asked, ¡°Will you agree to make a contract with me?¡± While asking the question, she deliberately blinked in a pattern that meant there were hidden clauses in the contract in a language Nana Xara had started teaching her for just such a purpose, and that was enough. When the girl agreed with a trembling voice, the hidden clauses of their contract were set. ¡°Go run to your father now, girl,¡± Mila told the child. Then she vanished from the girl¡¯s sight and followed as she ran home. The girl¡¯s father, a widower, was a well off information broker in the city. He had a large house, with multiple servants, but the girl knew exactly where he would be and ran into his study upon returning home. As soon as she ran into his surprised arms, however, the door she¡¯d entered through closed and Mila appeared out of the shadows, scaring her badly. Mila then sat down in the room¡¯s other chair, across a wooden desk from the man and his daughter, and activated Devil¡¯s Contract. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal, Mr. Geralva. You tell me everything I want to know with no lies, and your daughter doesn¡¯t die at sundown from the soulbinding contract she¡¯s already agreed to.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Who are you?¡± The man¡¯s body was trembling slightly as he seemed to be trying to decide if she were lying or not, even as he held his daughter tight. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that, Mr. Geralva.¡± Mila smiled in a way she knew would be unnerving. ¡°You just need to accept the contract I initiated with you. Should you refuse, the contract your daughter agreed to will kill her. Should you delay, the contract will kill her. Should you accept yet not follow through on your end, the contract will kill her. ¡°So, what will you do?¡± The F rank man agreed to the contract and, again using the blinking pattern he wouldn¡¯t understand, Mila added quite a few extra terms and an extremely strict punishment of death to both him and his daughter for breaking any of them. Like his daughter, he could immediately feel the extra clauses were there, and, unlike her, he actually focused on reading the System message explaining what they said. ¡°If I don¡¯t speak to you honestly, we die. If anyone else notices your presence in this house, we die. If either of us try to tell anyone about you or warn about your potential presence, we die. If you get hurt within the next two days, we die.¡± He took a deep breath and held his daughter close, patting her back as a comforting gesture. ¡°What would you like to know?¡± ¡°Tell me everything you know about Corith.¡± Mila almost growled the name and the man, who was not on pleasant terms with the D rank, caught the implications of her faked anger combined with her not being a native of their Zoridon Kingdom. Mila wasn¡¯t yet good with the language, so she¡¯d decided to use that as a strength. ¡°Not much is known about the warrior, other than that he¡¯s stronger than the city lord. All I know for certain is he is not from the Zoridon Kingdom, that he knows how to fight, and that he seems to have decided to retire here. ¡°He brought four subordinates with him, all E rank, three other warriors and a smith, but they mostly seem retired as well. Nordal, one of the warriors, is the only one who hasn¡¯t mostly kept to himself. He¡¯s taken over most of the slums and likes to consider himself a bit of a lord, getting in the way of my business, which you probably know, as I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s why you targeted me.¡± ¡°What about their relationships in the city? What is the city lord¡¯s position?¡± ¡°Corith, though that might not be his real name, fought with the city lord once when he first arrived and won. He¡¯s been living on a mountain in the city¡¯s outskirts ever since. By all accounts, they don¡¯t have much of a relationship, just city lord and citizen. ¡°Nordal has some business dealings with the city lord¡¯s wife, but not very strong ones. He¡¯s mainly protected by his own power and his relationship with Corith. ¡°The other three mostly keep to themselves. Like Nordal, they¡¯ll often be found in the city¡¯s two main whorehouses, but they mostly just drink. They don¡¯t seem to have much in the way of relationships with anyone. If you want my guess, they seem to be drowning their sorrows about something. ¡°Tell me more about the city lord and the other E ranks. Their connections. Their business dealings. Everything.¡± * * * Mila left the house a couple hours later, not killing anyone, and she started on the next part of her plan. Having a couple hours before sundown, she went to the homes of two of the city¡¯s E ranks and knocked on the front door of both. Both times she was met by a servant and both times she gave the same information to send to the house¡¯s master, that she was a representative of a conglomerate called the Tower of Baharun there to discuss future trade with the settlement. Both times she was let in to meet with the E rank and both times she made the same basic contract, a promise of safety and confidentiality before she left the settlement. The Tower of Baharun was a powerful company spanning across multiple kingdoms¡ªand kingdoms in this case were made up of multiple inhabited planets. It was also known for making backroom deals and Mila had learned both E ranks would be susceptible to negotiation with the Tower. They both thought the agreement made with her was the start of a potential trade contract and that she¡¯d guide them to a true representative of the Tower after the teleportation platform reopened, as she¡¯d agreed to do such so long as they were both alive and well at that time, a standard clause. More important to Mila, however, were two other standard clauses. They couldn¡¯t do anything they knew could lead to her getting hurt nor could they tell anyone anything about her. If they did, the penalty was the standard halving of their power for fourteen days. Feeling relatively good about her progress so far, Mila then headed toward the whorehouse and telepathically checked in with Aalam. He hadn¡¯t been disturbed in his instance, spending the entire day meditating, but his plague was starting to take effect. If everything in his instance was going as planned, everyone in the city was already dead, they just didn¡¯t know it yet. His new plague was extremely transmissible, able to travel through the air, and there were no airlocked rooms in the city as far as they knew. Most important, however, the bacteria only activated after the human had fallen asleep, the best defense against the city¡¯s more powerful individuals. Then it released more hormones and chemicals to keep them that way while it killed them in four different ways at once. There were probably some citizens of the city who hadn¡¯t been infected yet, but almost everyone who went to bed that night wouldn¡¯t be waking up. Chapter 27: Contract Mila Getting Corith¡¯s four E rank subordinates to sign contracts wasn¡¯t difficult at all. Along her way to the whorehouse, she¡¯d stopped by the home of a wealthy but physically weak merchant for a bit of B & E and took a bag of holding from off the man¡¯s belt, which was lying in the house¡¯s hallway as the man spent time in his bedroom with his young wife, his guards having been sent away from the house. The contents of that bag of holding included a couple bottles of exceptional magically influenced alcohol and she used those at the whorehouse to pretend she represented a distributor of high end liquor. All four men were there and not yet under the weather, as was their pattern, and she got them to agree to standard contract terms quite easily, only having to follow one of them up to a room, where she then escaped by jumping out the window after he got drunk. She then snuck into the same alchemist shop where Aalam had committed murder in his instance and killed the alchemist, his wife, and his two apprentices in hers as well. Aalam had spent the day thinking about what she could make in there by herself and over the next night he guided her in making her own specialized bacterial disease. It wasn¡¯t as cool as his, not being airborne for one thing. But, given what she¡¯d learned about the settlement¡¯s water supply, it was pretty much perfect. She put her creation in seven vials, took a decent shower, and then left after setting the building on fire. Then she snuck into the city¡¯s reservoir and poured the contents of three vials into the water before traveling to the four other temporary water storage locations throughout the city and pouring a vial into each. Her bacteria wasn¡¯t anywhere near as deadly as Aalam¡¯s, or as stealthy, but it would kill anyone with less than 63 Vitality, i.e. everyone in the city other than about 103 individuals, within two days of ingestion, so that was nice. Mila then headed to the school, kidnapped a few kids one by one through the use of sleep inducing potions she¡¯d stolen from the alchemist shop, potions which she was able to directly inject into the children with a stolen syringe, and then, deliberately having them awaken at different times over the next hour so she could threaten them all alone in different abandoned buildings, she forced the children into contracts. Through the contracts, she then had the children wait for a specific time, knowable by loud churchbells, and then head toward their relative who was an E rank, explain the terms of the contract they were under, and bring their E rank relative to a secret meeting spot, where Mila would wait for them. For the first three times, everything worked out rather easily. Mila got the E rank to agree to a contract with both their and the child¡¯s death as the punishment and added a few extra clauses not allowing them to reveal anything about her or let her get significantly injured. More important, however, even without being able to use any secret clauses due to the fact they were E ranks, she got them to agree with some more specialized terms. They each had to kill one E rank from the list of E ranks she¡¯d formed standard contracts with, i.e. the E ranks she didn¡¯t think she could get to make contracts with death as the punishment, and they had to kill them sometime after sundown but before sunrise the next day. Her second to last meeting, however, went very, very wrong. Tall with dark skin and reddish hair, Kiloran Kiv was generally considered the third most powerful man in the city, and he had an F rank wife and a ten-year-old son. When he came to Mila¡¯s second to last secret meeting spot with his son, however, the living room of a house whose owner had recently died, instead of talking and trying to understand what she wanted and eventually capitulating, he thrust his right hand through his son¡¯s heart, killing him instantly, and then grabbed Mila¡¯s throat with his left, effortlessly raising her off the ground. ¡°What exactly are you aiming for?¡± Mila quickly thought about what she knew about the man, and how that was all almost certainly wrong given his actions just now. Then she thought about the setting of the challenge and what might make someone so decisive and cruel put on the persona he¡¯d been living under. She quickly came up with a guess and decided it would be best to tell the ¡®truth¡¯. ¡°I want to kill the man who goes by Corith, as well as his underlings.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Mila, as Nana Xara had taught her, thought about the man who¡¯d killed her back on Earth, leading her emotions, and thus the emotions shown in her aura, to show what would be expected if she were telling the truth. ¡°He killed my father and raped my mother.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The man just stared at her for a few seconds, eyes cold, aura unreadable for someone of her skill level, even though it wasn¡¯t much stronger than hers. But then he grinned and started laughing, placing her down on a couch in the room. ¡°And how would you kill a D rank, little girl?¡± Mila rubbed her throat, thinking about her grandfather to create the right amount of anger and hope in her aura. ¡°The same thing I was trying on you, but on the city lord. I¡¯d threaten his kids, get his wife to sign a contract binding her life to the success of the mission as well, and force the city lord to kill the bastard or lose them all.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work.¡± Kiloran Kiv sat on the couch next to her and started slowly removing the coat she was wearing, his son¡¯s body still on the floor. Though, somehow, there was no blood on his hand. ¡°Corith is actually Jaaspeer Jarn of the Forilon Empire. He wasn¡¯t a huge deal there, but, by the standard of the Zoridon Kingdom, he¡¯s a monster. Even with a sneak attack, the city lord wouldn¡¯t win.¡± Mila thought of the human trafficker who¡¯d taken her when she was twelve to put her emotions in the right state. ¡°Then why are you still talking to me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re pretty.¡± The man took off her shirt, leaving her top only covered by her underclothes. ¡°But also because your plan has a chance to work, just a low one.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to leave soon if I¡¯m to make it to my meeting with the city lord¡¯s wife.¡± Mila feigned more fear than she actually felt. Counting the Russian oligarch, this was the third time in her two lives she¡¯d been put in a state like this, and she¡¯d managed to survive the other two. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s too bad.¡± The man pushed his hand behind her back and undid her bra, but he didn¡¯t pull it off. Then a System prompt appeared in front of her eyes. Mysterious man Kiloran Kiv has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not discuss anything about your interactions with Kiloran Kiv or anything you learned during them with anyone
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm Kiloran Kiv
  3. Tomorrow at noon, if you are still alive, you will join Kiloran Kiv in his bedroom
  4. Kiloran Kiv will not immediately tear out your heart
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No Mila accepted and then put her clothes back on and left, not breaking the contract with her uniqueness because she didn''t have Nana Xara with her to hide the act. Then she made her way to where she¡¯d instructed the city lord¡¯s two children to bring their mother, and made a similar deal with the E rank woman as she had with the E ranks before the man very obviously not named Kiloran Kiv. The target of assassination this time was the man known as Corith and he had to die before sundown, but, unlike with her previous contracts, Mila allowed her to tell her husband everything to enlist his help. Now done making contracts with all the E ranks with young children or grandchildren, Mila then moved on to the E ranks with weak partners. She kidnapped and enforced contracts on the partners of the two remaining E ranks, but the deal she made with them was slightly different, forcing them to kill quite a few powerful F ranks during the night instead of a fellow E rank. Mila then found a place to watch the festivities, hiding on the tallest tower in the city, right above the bells of the city¡¯s main church. Then, right when the bells started ringing and she realized her location was not at all good for her enhanced hearing, the attack occurred, a giant explosion happening on the mountain outside the city walls. She then saw the city lord fly back into the city, landing on the steps to his mansion off a large plaza, but Corith, AKA Jaaspeer Jarn, flew after him, his right arm missing and the rest of his body bloody, but his aura strong. Corith landed in the plaza, but that was apparently the second part of the city lord¡¯s plan and another explosion occurred there, the energy all focused on right where Corith had landed. When it faded, however, Corith looked about the same, only his energy levels appeared lower, his aura not as strong. Corith then charged up what looked like an energy blast attack from Dragon Ball Z in his remaining left hand, pointed it toward the city lord, and released, blasting through the man and taking out the entire mansion behind him as well, along with a rather large section of the town. The city lord¡¯s wife, who had an assassin class, then appeared behind Corith and stabbed him in the back with all her energy. Corith was able to react at the last second, however, and the attack missed his heart. He backhanded her head without turning around, crushing it completely, and then rushed toward her husband. The city lord was unstable on his feet, most of his right side missing, but he put all his energy into one blast of fire from his left hand and hit Corith right in the face. The attack didn¡¯t do enough immediate damage, however, and Corith reached him before the attack had put out all its energy, punching the city lord¡¯s face and crushing the man¡¯s skull. Then the man going by the name Kiloran Kiv took his turn. The dossier hadn¡¯t had much to say on him, but Mila suspected he was an agent of Zoridon Kingdom¡¯s greatest rival, the unoriginally named Burning Kingdom. He¡¯d infiltrated the settlement for about six months according to the dossier as well as the information broker she¡¯d questioned, and Mila was guessing one of his tasks was to take out the city lord and any other D ranks attached to Zoridon Kingdom if possible. He appeared behind Corith like a ghost, a much more powerful assassin than the city lord¡¯s wife had been, and his knife found the D rank¡¯s heart, some kind of special attack activating after the stab causing Corith¡¯s entire chest to burst out with an explosion of blood and guts. Then he disappeared again, using some sort of movement skill, and the next thing Mila knew he was right in front of her, smiling. ¡°Thank you for your work, but I think it¡¯s safer if I don¡¯t let you live any longer.¡± His knife traveled at a much, much slower speed than when he¡¯d attacked the D rank, moving toward her right eye no matter how much she moved, and Mila realized she was going to die. She¡¯d taken a stupid risk to try and keep up with Aalam, and it was backfiring on her extraordinarily. Chapter 28: Reaper The knife continued toward her right eye, but then it stopped, a large see through barrier forming around her. ¡°Sorry, Kiloran.¡± One of the five remaining E ranks Mila had forced into a contract with a death punishment, a male mage with pale skin and blond hair, appeared on the roof of a building a couple floors lower than the tower she and her assailant were on. ¡°While I would very much like to see her dead, I can¡¯t let you kill her.¡± At the same time, six other E ranks arrived as well, another of the E ranks Mila had forced into a death contract, one of the first E ranks she¡¯d tricked into signing a standard contract, and all four of the dead Corith¡¯s subordinates. Corith¡¯s four subordinates took one look at their dead boss, then looked at all the E ranks present. ¡°Who killed him?¡± the one blacksmith in the group asked, a large hammer appearing from out of nowhere in his right hand. ¡°Kiloran.¡± The blond mage who¡¯d originally saved her pointed at the man who¡¯d tried to kill her, the only E rank in the area who wouldn¡¯t be negatively effected by her being hurt. ¡°The city lord and his wife did most of the damage, but he finished your boss off.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± As the smith spoke, the three warriors all summoned armor onto their bodies and weapons into their hands as well. ¡°You have to die now.¡± They attacked and, without the barrier from the mage, Mila would have died just from the shockwaves, the tower she was standing on starting to crumble as the mage¡¯s barrier broke. Thankfully, her stats were near maximum for G rank and her training with Nana Xara made her good at using her qi to help with movement. She jumped down along with the falling stones and used her high grade Law Egg of Obfuscation to hide from all the E ranks¡¯ senses during the chaos. Then she ran. Both D ranks were dead, which was awesome, and the city lord¡¯s E rank wife had died as well, which was great. More E ranks would also hopefully die in the fight which had just started. But Mila wanted to be nowhere near them as they fought. She was G rank. Most F ranks would destroy her in a fair fight, let alone E ranks, so she had to hide and then wait to hear about the aftermath. This didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t take advantage of the chaos, however. Mila made her way to the city¡¯s granary, snuck inside while the guards were distracted, and then dumped the rest of the alcohol from the rather large bag of holding she¡¯d stolen the night before. She then placed a scented candle she lit with a magical lighter, both also from the bag, right near the alcohol, and quickly made her way out of there. When she was a few blocks away, she heard a muffled boom, and then she hid and watched as the entire building lit up in flames and the guards panicked. Magic being a thing, the fire was quickly put out, but most of the food had been burnt, so the city now had a food shortage crisis on top of its still unknown poisoned water, and more chaos was better. Mila then made her way to one of the three main houses of healing in the city, the only one not affiliated with a church, and walked in as they were slowly starting to get overwhelmed with cases from her plague. A nurse met her and asked if she had any symptoms and Mila quickly said no, explaining she¡¯d heard about how busy things were getting and was there to offer her help. Through that lie, she then spent the entire night in the best possible training environment for her Law Egg of The Healer and also a hub of information. She helped treat several patients not suffering from the poisoned water, doing her actual best, and watched as more and more patients came in during the night. Most of those with actual healing skills in the city were also sick and those that weren¡¯t, and even some that were, were dragged off by the city officials to treat the E ranks still alive from the day¡¯s battle. Through overhearing conversations, Mila learned Kiloran Kiv had managed to kill all four of Corith¡¯s underlings, but had been heavily hurt himself, along with several of the other E ranks who¡¯d been around. During the night, the two E ranks she¡¯d made standard contracts with while disguised as a representative of the Tower of Baharun were killed as well, along with quite a few of the city¡¯s strongest F ranks, but no one knew why. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Mila then deliberately tripped herself and fell into a table, hurting her arm rather badly, and she spent the rest of the night healing it with her mana¡ªas she was an energy lifeform and healing worked differently, qi of no help. About an hour later, she heard all the city¡¯s remaining E ranks other than Kiloran Kiv had died under mysterious circumstances, along with their children or spouses. Then, at about an hour to noon, Mila practiced using her Law Egg of The Reaper, which she¡¯d gained quite quickly after obtaining the relevant legacy, and silently killed every healer still in the building with a knife she¡¯d stolen from one of the patients. She moved quickly to avoid blood splatter on her clothes and used obfuscation and a hologram over her form to disguise her identity, making everyone in the building think the killer had been a male. Then she made her way to Kiloran Kiv¡¯s house, where he was convalescing, and used the identity she¡¯d established over the night to help out the exhausted healers there, entering the room at noon to fulfill the contract the E rank had forced on her. The man was not in a state to do what he¡¯d been planning, however. He was unconscious, having been seriously hurt the day before and only barely saved by the intervention of the healers, but then they¡¯d filled him up with fluids and, their healing mostly done through magic, the fluids they¡¯d filled him with was just water with added sugar, the water very much contaminated by Mila¡¯s new bacteria. Now, it wasn¡¯t like these healers were worse than those from Earth. In many ways, they were way better. She¡¯d watched F rank healers use magic to completely cleanse the bacteria from patients¡¯ systems multiple times. The problem was they were infected as well, along with over half the city¡¯s population when the symptoms finally started after the first twelve hours, and most people¡¯s symptoms started after sundown. The lack of sleep, combined with the best of the healers being pulled away to help the E ranks, just meant they were delayed in figuring out the water was poisoned. Mila then practiced with her Law Egg of The Reaper again, killing all the exhausted healers still in Kiloran Kiv¡¯s house, and then she stole Kiloran Kiv¡¯s personal bag of holding, finding quite a few poisons, antidotes, and assassination weapons inside. For the next few days, she then practiced with those weapons, killing every healer she was able to find on the first day, then all the alchemists by the second, and anyone she could find by the third. By that time in Aalam¡¯s instance, the only ones left alive were the two D ranks, but Aalam found where they were sleeping. Then he searched the city for explosives and, as the settlement had been built for a mining operation on a D rank planet, where all non-living materials had been infused with enough mana to make them very, very hard to break, there were quite a few, and most were almost as powerful as a nuke. He piled them up around the two D ranks and then blew their very weakened bodies into pieces. Only his city lord actually died from the explosions, but his Corith then finally faded three days later. On the thirteenth day of the challenge, Mila felt her contract with Kiloran Kiv disappear as he finally succumbed to the disease she¡¯d made before he¡¯d forced her into a contract. Then she planted half the explosives she¡¯d found with Aalam¡¯s help and set the entire city on fire, watching from Corith¡¯s old mountain as twelve individuals escaped through the path she¡¯d left for them, right into the invisible field of poison she¡¯d made using a powerful E rank talisman she¡¯d found in Kiloran Kiv¡¯s bag of holding. It had taken her five concentrated blocks of mana from the city lord¡¯s mansion to power it, but it killed all of them, even the three powerful F ranks she would have had no chance to kill even with a sneak attack, in under an hour. She then waited four days for all the fires to go out and made her way back into the city, finding the teleportation platform at its edge still up and running, its entirely stone surroundings having protected it from the flames. Someone had fixed it after her sabotage and, on the last day of the challenge, it activated and allowed twenty-four individuals through. They all died immediately, however, as Mila had set up another invisible poison field, and, on Aalam¡¯s end, no one came through, something they considered a good sign. Mila¡¯s instance of the trial, however, still had one more test. One hour before the challenge was completed, 16 F ranks, 7 E ranks, and 1 D rank came through. Mila immediately activated all the explosives she¡¯d placed around the platform and, when the dust cleared, the D rank was the only one alive, and thankfully slightly unsteady on his feet. Mila then used the remainder of the city lord¡¯s blocks of mana to activate a D rank talisman, the only one she¡¯d found in Corith¡¯s bag of holding after tracking it down, and she was so thankful Aalam had tried activating the one in his instance first so she knew how it worked, or she would have missed. The talisman fired out a beam of light, but it would have been incorrect to fire it at your enemy. Instead, it needed to be fired quite a bit to your enemy¡¯s right. The light beam bounced around, almost instantly drawing out a pentagram in the air, and a second later everything inside the pentagram turned to dust, the D rank, the bodies, and the teleportation platform all destroyed like half the universe after Thanos¡¯s snap. Chapter 29: Rewards Mila During the third challenge, mainly while meditating after everyone was dead, Mila raised her Law Egg of The Reaper, her Law Egg of the Healer, her Law Egg of Bonds, and her Law Egg of Severing all to middle grade. They joined her already middle grade Law Eggs of Calm and Rage, and her high grade Law Eggs of Obfuscation and Hologram. Objectively, this was quite impressive, G ranks rarely having even a single Law Egg, let alone Law Eggs strong enough to qualify for a Heroic grade class, and this was mainly because the Attunement stat was ridiculously hard to raise. Compared to Aalam, however, who had 36 high grade Law Eggs by the end of the challenge and was responsible for more of her stats than she was, Mila felt quite useless, and that feeling became even more apparent when she saw her points from the challenge compared to his. Her points were good, more than Aalam had made up until that point. Challenge over. Calculating rewards. Base Trial Points: 144 104,698 G Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 104,698 3,973 F Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 23,838 20 E Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 207,360 3 D Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 746,496 Death to the Settlement cleared without using all starting points Total Trial Points X 2 Death to the Settlement cleared with those entering the settlement at the end unable to return Total Trial Points X 2 Death to the Settlement cleared with no survivors Total Trial Points X 6 Death to the Settlement cleared with you personally responsible for more than 99.3% of settlement deaths Total Trial Points X 12 Death to the Settlement cleared with total Luck 72 or higher Total Trial Points X 2 Trial Points for Li Mila: + 623,540,736 Aalam¡¯s points, however, were record breaking. Challenge over. Calculating rewards. Base Trial Points: 144 93,503,287,034 G Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 93,503,287,034 103,478,124 F Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 620,868,744 24,732 E Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 256,421,376 102 D Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 25,380,864 3 C Rank Humans Killed Base Trial Points + 1,289,945,088 Death to the Settlement cleared without using any starting points Total Trial Points X 6 Death to the Settlement cleared with no damage Total Trial Points X 2 Death to the Settlement cleared with no survivors Total Trial Points X 6 Death to the Settlement cleared with you personally responsible for 100% of settlement deaths Total Trial Points X 24 Death to the Settlement cleared with you personally responsible for more than 99.3% of massive casualties not in the settlement Total Trial Points X 12 Death to the Settlement cleared with the complete destruction of the Zoridon Kingdom Total Trial Points X 12 Death to the Settlement cleared with total Luck 144 or higher Stolen novel; please report. Total Trial Points X 4 Trial Points for Aalam Alvaro: + 95,248,811,993,997,312 It seemed his bacteria had spread during the 26 days after his initial target left the settlement and had then caused mass casualties and most likely a war, the higher rank deaths coming from another country invading. That didn¡¯t matter much, though. He had tens of quadrillions of trial points and there were a lot more messages. All stats +8 1 Legendary qi cultivation technique coupon 1 Legendary mana cultivation technique coupon 1 Legendary psyforce cultivation technique coupon They both got equivalent messages about the basic rewards of the trial. The +8 to all stats maximized all Mila¡¯s stats other than Luck, while the same for Aalam boosted their free stats by 96, and Mila used part of those to maximize her Luck. The rest of the free stats, like all the extra free stats from Aalam raising his Laws to high grade Law Eggs, they sent over Mila¡¯s bond to her artifact, the Twin Dragons of Lord Alvaro¡¯s Favored, which she thankfully could do even though she wasn¡¯t wearing it. That was the best of the four rewards. The coupons would normally be excellent, allowing them to choose the best cultivation techniques available for their new monster forms during the final section of the tutorial, when they¡¯d actually get to use their trial points. But, given the utterly ridiculous amount of trial points they already had, it didn¡¯t much matter. The next section, only in Aalam¡¯s System feed, made that clear. Congratulations! You are the first in the history of System tutorials to ever gain over 8,772,199,356,238,612 Trial Points in one challenge All stats +12 There were a lot of notifications about turning those and the previous stats into free stats due to his ability, but Mila ignored them and instead just moved onto the next section they both had. You may choose one skill, one artifact, and one System boon from the following lists She then looked through all three lists and wasn¡¯t surprised to see they were exactly the same. Aalam had far surpassed whatever the highest achievement of the challenge was supposed to be and Mila had probably met the threshold. She also wasn¡¯t that surprised when a quest from Nana Xara popped up. The Yin Yang Sage has offered you a quest as her apprentice. Give Your Master What You Don¡¯t Need (G-Epic) Accomplish the following:
  1. Give your master a Yang Spirit (G-Legendary) skill orb
  2. Give your master a Yin Spirit (G-Legendary) skill orb
Rewards: None Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Aalam, are you okay with giving Nana Xara the skill orbs we don¡¯t need?¡± Mila sent over their bond, slightly smiling to herself. ¡°Sure.¡± And, as usual since the tutorial had started, Aalam¡¯s response was pretty much instant. ¡°Okay.¡± Mila shared the quest with him. ¡°You get Yang Spirit and I¡¯ll get Yin Spirit.¡± Then they both chose the skills and the quest completed, the black skill orb which appeared in Mila¡¯s hand fading from existence as soon as it arrived. It was possible to remove skills from a class with a System boon, and both skills had been of summoning type, so Mila was pretty sure Diana would be taking a specialized yin yang summoning path thanks to their help. ¡°What do you think about the artifact choices?¡± she sent to Aalam. ¡°Both the artifacts we¡¯ve prepared for taking out of the tutorial can¡¯t be improved much.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Healer¡¯s Token, so you should probably take that. The Healer and The Reaper are two sides of the same coin, so their tokens can be combined into one artifact and it should enable it to automatically rise in grade upon advancement to F rank.¡± Aalam sounded excited. ¡°For me, I¡¯m going to go with a Token of Soulbinding. Your connection to your artifact even when you¡¯re not wearing it has proven useful so far.¡± Aalam¡¯s artifact had a small pocket dimension inside from the token he¡¯d chosen in the last trial, so, if he was soulbound to it, he¡¯d have access to the pocket dimension even when he wasn¡¯t wearing it, and there would be some interesting possibilities with that in the future. She also agreed with Aalam¡¯s suggestion of her own choice, so she chose the Healer¡¯s Token and it appeared in her hand, looking just like the Reaper¡¯s Token, only green and having a stethoscope on it instead of a scythe. Then she looked over the list of System boons more closely. There were the boons she¡¯d seen before¡ªskill enhancement, skill removal, ability enhancement, and +3 to all stats¡ªbut she wasn¡¯t going to choose any of them. There was also the boon Aalam had chosen last time, Temporary Max Mastery Skill, but that was useless to her as well, as were the boons for +6 to all stats and +12 to all stats. She was more interested in the remaining two choices. One was Soulstructure Enhancement, which would increase the size of one of her soulstructures in a safe way with no lasting negative effects, while the other was Uniqueness Awakening, which would flood her soul with a type of energy which would awaken a second dormant uniqueness if she had one. For both her and Aalam, the last choice would probably be more useful, but she was scared her new uniqueness would be known by the System. ¡°Go with Uniqueness Awakening!¡± Nana Xara was holding Mila¡¯s Twin Dragons of Lord Alvaro¡¯s Favored back in the main trial space and, while she couldn¡¯t use the artifact, she could speak to Mila through their bond as master and apprentice via Mila¡¯s bond with the Twin Dragons. ¡°The System won¡¯t be able to see anything and that boon is pretty much never given. You only have access to it because you are Aalam¡¯s servant and he did something absolutely ridiculous, enabling me to give you access to the boon as well with the last of my own boons in the trial. ¡°The energy cost isn¡¯t something the System would normally ever use in a G rank trial, let alone one out in the hinterlands like this.¡± Aalam had already selected that reward without talking to her, she was pretty sure, given he was no longer responding to any messages she sent him. So, given how powerful her first uniqueness already was and Nana Xara¡¯s extreme excitement, Mila quickly chose it as well. She felt a tingling sensation cover her entire body, the feeling pleasant and relaxing, and she passed out. * * * Mila awoke some indeterminate time later in Training Room 0003, Aalam waking up next to her, and then she checked and saw two identical System messages in her and Aalam¡¯s feeds. Congratulations! You have awoken to a new uniqueness! Growing slightly excited, she then checked her and Aalam¡¯s statuses. Name: Li Mila Level: 0 Race: Human Soulform (G-Common) Bloodline: NA Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Legendary) Class: Citizen (G-Common) Skills Artifact Enhancement (G-Legendary) 37% mastered Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) 53% mastered Exemplary Servitor (G-Legendary) 13% mastered Laws Law Eggs: Obfuscation - High Hologram - High Calm - Middle Rage - Middle The Healer - Middle The Reaper - Middle Bonds - Middle Severing - Middle Stats Strength: 144 Agility: 144 Endurance: 144 Toughness: 144 Vitality: 144 Perception: 144 Magic: 144 Spirit: 144 Soul: 144 Aura: 144 Attunement: 144 Luck: 144 Free Stats: 72 {439} Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 3 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Third Eye Princess Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 0 Race: Human Soulform (G-Common) Bloodline: NA Abilities Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) Class: Citizen (G-Common) Skills Multi-Mind (G-Legendary) 42% mastered Runescriber (G-Legendary) 25% mastered Lord (G-Legendary) 13% mastered Laws Law Eggs: Molecular Acceleration - High Plasma - High Rage - High Molecular Deceleration - High Liquid - High Calm - High Inertia - High Solid - High Gravity - High Gust - High Gas - High Kinetic Energy - High Ionization - High Fission - High Fusion - High Ionic Conductivity - High Matter - High Antimatter - High Ultraviolet - High Infrared - High Energy Transfer - High Ultraviolet Absorption - High Infrared Absorption - High Energy Storage - High Bacteria - High Order - High Bonds - High Asphyxiation - High Entropy - High Severing - High Vacuum - High 3 Dimensional Geometry - High Multi-Dimensional Geometry - High Soulform Temporal Acceleration - High Temporal Relativity - High Pause - High Stats Strength: 144 Agility: 144 Endurance: 144 Toughness: 144 Vitality: 144 Perception: 144 Magic: 144 Spirit: 144 Soul: 144 Aura: 144 Attunement: 144 Luck: 144 Free Stats: 72 {439} Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Small + 1 Medium Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Huge + 2 Medium Mental Forges Uniqueness: Id Prince Now the question was what types of benefits Third Eye Princess granted. Also, why did Aalam¡¯s uniquenesses always seem to have cooler and less complicated names? Chapter 30: Second Uniquenesses Mila ¡°Well, that went better than expected.¡± Nana Xara smiled down at them as they awoke, seemingly having waited for them in Training Room 0003, and then she tossed Mila the Twin Dragons in spear form. ¡°But we don¡¯t have much time. ¡°You two were unconscious for almost half a day and missed the loud voice giving the final instructions for the tutorial, as well as my final message to all the participants containing advice on what to aim for with their trial points, and now you only have two hours before the tutorial is finished. ¡°Upgrade your artifacts and then run around buying every building better than common.¡± Mila put her energy into the green Healer¡¯s Token in her right hand and then she suddenly knew how to make the best use of it. She turned the Twin Dragons into its earrings form and put them on. Then the token turned into green mist, flowed out from her hand toward her head, and flew into the two small dragons¡¯ forms. Something was odd about the process, though. She could feel the change happening through her bond with the artifact, and that was normal. But she could also hear something, like a breath on the wind, and she somehow instinctively knew it was the sound of a tiny monster awakening, a being of rage and cold logic, one that in the future could destroy stars or mend planets, all while hiding from gods and tricking trillions. Twin Dragons of Life and Death (G-Legendary) [Growth] A legacy artifact formed by a Reaper¡¯s Token from the flesh of an Invincible Slime, Formless Silver, and the emotions of Lord Aalam Alvaro¡¯s chamberlain. Due to the chamberlain¡¯s desires, the Twin Dragons can only be used by Lord Aalam Alvaro or one of his servants and has multiple effects, including the ability to absorb the legacy information of other legacy artifacts, the ability to transform into multiple forms, and the ability to store unused nascent energy. It was later enhanced by a Healer¡¯s Token and gained the further ability to act as a Seal of Contract for both Lord Aalam Alvaro and his chamberlain. Current Legacies: The path of Illusions from a random D rank, the path of The Reaper from the Origin of Death, the path of The Healer from the Origin of Life Possible forms: Twin Dragon earrings (weight greatly reduced), Twin Pistols, Longsword, Spear, Shield, Reaper¡¯s Gown, Healer¡¯s Raiment, Lord¡¯s Seal, Seal of the Chamberlain Effects: Legacy Eater, Transformation, Nascent Energy Storage, Conductivity, Contract Seal Requirements: Lord Aalam Alvaro or one of his servants ¡°What the Hell,¡± Mila exclaimed, looking around wildly. Aalam had walked away a bit to where he¡¯d left his own artifact in the room, a scaled azure fingerless glove for his left hand, and he wasn¡¯t paying attention as he started the process of upgrading it with his own token, but Mila did notice he looked a bit clearer in her vision, like her Perception stat had increased. She just hadn¡¯t noticed when he was closer. Nana Xara, on the other hand, was watching her with interest. ¡°I blocked off the System. What¡¯s your new uniqueness, Mila?¡± Mila stopped trying to find the source of the sound, already having a pretty good guess and realizing she wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything if she was right. ¡°Third Eye Princess.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s ever present smile grew wider. ¡°Interesting. That will double your effective Perception, which is the main thing you¡¯ll notice at your rank, but it is the third eye aspect of the uniqueness, a metaphysical direct connection from your Mental Forge to the outside world, which will prove more useful as you grow in power. ¡°It will grant you extra senses based on your Laws. You will be able to see through illusions and find things hidden by magic, your ability to read emotions through auras will increase, and you should eventually be able to sense karmic bonds way, way before you would normally gain that ability. ¡°The best part, however, should probably be the interactions between your third eye and your Law Eggs of The Healer and The Reaper. Like I explained previously, those Laws have a resonance effect where acting the roles will grant you divine insight into said roles. Combine that divine insight with a third eye and the results should be interesting to say the least. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I have no idea what the exact effects will be, however, as I¡¯ve never heard of someone with that uniqueness line having divine role Laws, so it is entirely possible the results won¡¯t actually be that good. We¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± Nana Xara then moved closer and reached out a hand to touch one of the twin dragons on Mila¡¯s ears. ¡°As for what you just heard.¡± She grinned at Mila. ¡°That was the Twin Dragons starting to form an artifact spirit. It is inherently bound to your Laws, so your new senses allowed you to feel the birth, and your mind interpreted it as a sound.¡± Mila took a deep breath, taking a moment to absorb the information, and then she started to smile herself. For her, Perception was probably the most useful of the base stats, and the extra senses sounded like they¡¯d be incredibly useful. Granted, it wouldn¡¯t fundamentally change her plans for her build, but it was an overall improvement to what she was already aiming for, and she couldn¡¯t ask for much better. ¡°Aalam¡¯s new uniqueness is called Prince. What does that do?¡± Nana Xara¡¯s expression stayed the same, but her normally controlled aura, for a brief instant, showed an emotion of shock and then annoyance to Mila¡¯s senses. ¡°You don¡¯t have much time, Mila, so why don¡¯t you start running around and buy up every building epic grade or higher other than the church. I can explain to you how Prince works later.¡± Nana Xara looked over at Aalam as she spoke and Mila was pretty sure she had quite a bit to say. She just didn¡¯t want to say it where one of Aalam¡¯s minds was almost certainly listening. So, Mila did as she was asked and ran out of the room, heading to the teleportation platform in the square and teleporting to the University district. There she bought the three remaining Legendary grade crafting halls and three of the originally eight Epic grade crafting halls. Then she also bought the Legendary grade exam hall she¡¯d never used as well as the Epic grade school and dining hall. She then teleported to the wealthy residential district and found all the Epic grade houses had already been bought, and there were no Epic or higher grade buildings in the other residential district, so she headed back to the market district and went to the only remaining Epic grade or higher building in the tutorial, the Epic gambling hall hidden several streets away from the main square. When she went inside to buy the establishment, however, she found Nana Xara at one of the room¡¯s slot machines, somehow cheating to win every time. First she walked up to one of the puppets to buy the establishment, and was surprised to find it more expensive than even the original price of the auction house without a coupon, but she bought it anyway. Then she joined her teacher at the slots. ¡°Remember when I said, ¡®By the gods, I wish that boy wasn¡¯t insane.¡¯¡± Nana Xara didn¡¯t look at her as she spoke and she wasn¡¯t smiling, instead appearing somewhat irritated. ¡°That feeling has doubled now.¡± ¡°Is Prince really such a good uniqueness?¡± Mila put one Trial Point into her slot machine and pulled, quickly losing the point. ¡°Not just good, Mila, arguably the best.¡± Nana Xara pulled on her own slot machine and got a jackpot, though she didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°You might not have noticed, but most higher grade uniqueness lines follow the same naming scheme. Something soldier for Epic grade, something agent for Legendary, something lord or lady for Heroic, et cetera. ¡°The uniqueness line Prince is part of is the origin of that naming scheme.¡± Nana Xara sighed. ¡°Prince is the same grade as both your uniquenesses, Fabled grade, but tell me if it sounds equivalent to you when you hear its effects. ¡°The Prince uniqueness increases the power of noble category skills to the same level as a Legendary grade ability with the same effect. Useful, but not the main part of the uniqueness. The main ability of prince is to triple a cultivator¡¯s stats when in his own Territory, i.e. the lands he is magically recognized as owning. This isn¡¯t a tripling of effectiveness, however, but a tripling of the stats through a completely different mechanism, with the gained stats able to be increased again if stat effectiveness is higher than 100%. And it isn¡¯t just for one stat, but for all stats, Aura, Attunement, and Luck included.¡± Mila just stared at her teacher. From what she¡¯d read, while owning Territory was rare, it was the expected goal of anyone talented upon leaving a tutorial. Hell, the reason none of the Epic homes in the tutorial were still on the market was because quite a few trial takers had learned owning property was a requirement for lord line skills, the skills responsible for magically forming Territory. ¡°That is so unfair.¡± Nana Xara turned to her with the same level of jealousy on her face. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°He already learns Laws so fast. What will he be like with triple Attunement.¡± ¡°Even more of a monster.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s not even counting how he can wipe out a kingdom like it¡¯s nothing.¡± Nana Xara raised her hand to show she actually had something important to say, and Mila held back the other complaints which had been forming in her brain. ¡°Remember, Mila, that the effects of the Luck stat are heightened in the tutorial. You were lucky when it came to that kingdom. While what Aalam did was impressive for a G rank, there are many, many people who can release custom plagues in the universe, and most civilizations have contingencies in place which would have stopped both your and Aalam¡¯s attempts at mass murder cold. ¡°Still, in the real world, don¡¯t let Aalam play with bacteria.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Mila leaned back in her seat. ¡°The outside world is going to be different, right?¡± The smile that had reformed on Nana Xara¡¯s face faded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°More dangerous?¡± Nana Xara looked thoughtful. ¡°In the near future, probably not.¡± Mila felt herself perk up at that. ¡°You and Aalam are connected, and you are also overpowered for you rank, so you¡¯re likely to be sent to a world without any other tutorial monsters to rely on. ¡°That world will have its own natives and, given your Luck and the probabilities, it will most likely be a world undergoing an apocalypse style integration. There will be invaders from powerful organizations in the universe trying to take over the planet, but they¡¯ll be limited to sending their young, who will have to be G rank when they are sent over. So, to most trial takers, it would be more dangerous than the challenges. But for you and Aalam? There won¡¯t be any E or D ranks for a while, just powerful F ranks.¡± Chapter 31: Races and Bloodlines You have a servitor relationship with Aalam Alvaro. Are you willing to maintain that relationship during your rebirth? Yes/No When the time was up, Mila saw this notification in front of her eyes and, after a brief pause, she accepted. Then the gambling hall around her faded and she found herself floating in an empty void, more System messages all she could see. You have 623,879,540 Trial Points Congratulations! This is the second highest in the tutorial. Trial points increased by 25% You have 779,849,425 Trial Points As you are a servant of Aalam Alvaro, all your Trial Points will go to him. Your master will choose your bloodline, race, and any other benefits for you. ¡°Wait. What?¡± Mila hadn¡¯t known being able to use Aalam¡¯s insane number of points meant he¡¯d get to make the choices for her. And the fact Nana Xara hadn¡¯t told her made her think she wouldn¡¯t like the results. Quickly, she looked at Aalam¡¯s feed. You have 95,248,812,492,630,856 Trial Points Congratulations! This is the highest in the tutorial. Trial points increased by 50% You have 142,873,218,738,946,284 Trial Points Your servitor Li Mila has granted you 779,849,425 Trial Points You have 142,873,219,518,795,709 Trial Points You may choose rewards for yourself and servitor Li Mila Aalam had also received a message asking if he wanted to accept her as his servant, and he¡¯d accepted, so now, if Aalam wanted, he could make her the cheapest type of monster possible, and there was nothing she could do about it. She didn¡¯t have any worries about this, however. Aalam couldn¡¯t stop himself from trying to optimize, even with other people¡¯s builds, so he was going to make her powerful. What she worried about was that he almost certainly had a plan for what bloodline and race to choose for her already, and he likely wouldn¡¯t consider things like form, aesthetics, or morals. As she worried, a System menu showed up in front of Aalam and, through their bond, Mila could see the menu too, even if she couldn¡¯t interact with it. Races | Bloodlines | Techniques | Boons | Other Aalam being Aalam, he then began to look through every single option and, while Mila had absolutely no control, she could see everything he could. He first looked at races and there were a lot of them, ranging from Inferior grade to Legendary, the cheapest something called a Puddle Newt. Puddle Newt (G-Inferior) A tiny newt monster that lives in puddles and feeds off ambient mana and insects. Racial Abilities: 1 Limited to water and earth element abilities Max stats: Strength: 102 Agility: 120 Endurance: 126 Toughness: 102 Vitality: 128 Perception: 108 Magic: 106 Spirit: 108 Soul: 108 If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Aura: 108 Attunement: 36 Luck: 144 Stat Growth Per Level: Not applicable for G rank Advancement Criteria: None. Unable to advance without high end treasures. Cost: 12 Trial Points The fact it cost 12 Trial Points showed that anyone with less wouldn¡¯t even have the chance at being reborn, their souls instead fading into nothing like would have happened had their souls not been collected in the first place. The most expensive Legendary grade race, on the other hand, seemed a lot cooler. And it also had a built in pathway to higher grade races at higher ranks. Chaos Dragon Hatchling (G-Legendary) The hatchling of one of the three most powerful dragon races in the universe. Powerful in its own right and filled with nearly unlimited potential. Racial Abilities: 4 No order related abilities Max stats: Strength: 252 Agility: 216 Endurance: 252 Toughness: 288 Vitality: 288 Perception: 252 Magic: 360 Spirit: 288 Soul: 324 Aura: 324 Attunement: 324 Luck: 288 Stat Growth Per Level: Not applicable for G rank Advancement Criteria: Live for 2 standard years. Comes with automatic grade increase. Cost: 1,283,918,464,548,864 Trial Points Unlike races, the available bloodlines ranged from Rare to Mythic grade, with even the cheapest costing more than most Common grade races. Child of Fire (Rare) One who¡¯s been touched by flame Effects: Fire element abilities are easier to learn and slightly more powerful Magic +2 per level Cost: 1,728 Trial Points There were equivalent bloodlines for water, earth, and wind elements for the same cost, but the ones for lightning, metal, light, and darkness cost double, and the ones for life, death, space, and time cost double again. The single element bloodlines at each grade, however, were the cheapest there were, and bloodlines with more specialized effects generally cost more. The most expensive bloodline of all, for example, just had two simple yet powerful effects. God of War (Mythic) Aspect of slaughter personified Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 100% when in combat Increase the effectiveness of all stats by a further 6.25% for 15 minutes after every kill, up to +200% Cost: 15,407,021,574,586,368 Trial Points With just 32 kills, the holder of this Mythic bloodline could match the performance of Aalam¡¯s Fabled grade uniqueness when in his own Territory. Granted, uniquenesses were generally far more powerful than bloodlines of equivalent grade, but still, Prince was overpowered. Aalam then looked at the techniques and the list was far shorter. The legacy Mila had received from the Weaponsmaster was better than most for forming a strong foundation at G rank. What these techniques had that her legacy didn¡¯t, however, is that they would be specially modified to the race and bloodline chosen. According to Nana Xara, the techniques were a trap by the designers of the monster tutorials. The amount of energy the System would put in to the creation of new bodies was proportional to the amount of pathways required by the techniques chosen, so the correct thing to do was to just buy all of them even if you wouldn¡¯t use any. For each of them, the total cost of buying all the cultivation techniques would only be a bit over 5 billion¡ªand this was without using the tokens they¡¯d received during the final challenge, removing the cost of the most expensive three altogether¡ªso, without even looking at any of the techniques, Aalam just bought all of the cultivation techniques available for them both. Boons were next and all the boons they¡¯d seen during the last two challenges were there, though the one for adding a uniqueness, which was worth the same amount as the Chaos Dragon Hatchling race, was grayed out. Instead there was a notification saying they couldn¡¯t safely receive the same boon for another two years. There was also another boon they¡¯d never seen before, the ability to add a new Mana Well, and Aalam quickly bought her nine Medium sized Mana Wells, which would bring her count up to twelve Medium-sized and one Large when the process started after all his choices were made. The first new Mana Well cost nearly nine trillion Trial Points and every one after that cost double, the entire nine costing around four and a half quadrillion. Aalam then paid another nine trillion Trial Points to increase the size of her mental forge from Large to Huge, and another nine trillion to increase the size of his own Core Container from Large to Huge. Then, finally, he increased the size of his twelve Small Mana Wells to Medium, for nearly three million Trial Points each, and increased the size of his one Medium Mana Well to Large for a bit more than five billion. The end result? After they were reborn as monsters, they would have the exact same soulstructures, one Huge Core Container, twelve Medium and one Large Mana Wells, and one Huge Mental Forge, albeit in Aalam¡¯s case he would have two more Mental Forges from his Multi-Mind skill as well. She didn¡¯t know why he was doing this, but she suspected it was to unlock something for her, and she didn¡¯t know whether to be thankful or fearful. Aalam then switched to the Other tab and Mila didn¡¯t see any new notifications for a while, so she sent a question over their bond. ¡°Aalam, what¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°I¡¯m negotiating with the System.¡± Aalam sounded quite happy, so it seemed to be going well. ¡°Adding and increasing the size of soulstructures is not a very clean process, leaving issues that would take quite a lot of treasures to alleviate later, so I was trying to figure out how many Trial Points would be required to fix all those problems during the process instead of us having to deal with it later, and the cost seems quite reasonable. ¡°And now I¡¯m trying to see if I can get a bloodline which wasn¡¯t on the list. From Nana Xara¡¯s information, it should be possible.¡± There was a short pause. ¡°And apparently, because I had three unique achievements during the tutorial, it is.¡± A new System message then popped up in front of Mila, showing the bloodline Aalam had chosen for himself. Genetic Thief (Mythic) Some steal legacies, you steal inheritance in its purest form Effects: Once per rank, you may steal the genetic power, from both race and bloodline, of a being which has died, but whose soul is yet to pass on, and use that power to enhance your next racial advancement Cost: 61,628,086,298,345,472 Trial Points He then went back to the bloodline list and chose a bloodline for her as well. Prime Servitor (Mythic) You are your master¡¯s agent, in body as well as soul Effects: After entering into a master servant bond with a master of the same race and rank as you, if that master ever changes his or her race when advancing, you may change to the same race when advancing as well, even if you don¡¯t meet the requirements Cost: 3,851,755,393,646,592 Trial Points And there it was, the thing Mila wouldn¡¯t like, or at least that¡¯s what she hoped. Given Aalam¡¯s bloodline, his advancements would be nearly impossible to match and this bloodline would allow her to gain the same benefits, effectively tying her growth in power even more to Aalam¡¯s continued existence. But then he chose what their race would be. Incubus/Succubus (G-Uncommon) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an incarnation of Lust nonetheless, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance for charm and disguise related abilities Max stats: Strength: 144 Agility: 144 Endurance: 162 Toughness: 144 Vitality: 162 Perception: 180 Magic: 192 Spirit: 216 Soul: 252 Aura: 192 Attunement: 192 Luck: 180 Stat Growth Per Level: Not applicable for G rank Advancement Criteria: Eat an F rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Cost: 10,368 Trial Points While Aalam began to negotiate with the System for the use of the rest of their points, Mila started thinking about the best ways to kill him, the slower and more painful the better. Chapter 32: The Knight and the Princeling Isaiah stabbed his spear for the 1,728th time, and then he returned to a neutral position, standing straight and leaning the spear up against his left shoulder. He was in one of the training halls of his clan, but not one of the nice ones. There were no automated training robots, no holographic projectors for showing lessons from the clan¡¯s ancestors, no dao enhancement field allowing for easier comprehension of Laws. Instead, there was just a large empty room, a couple straw practice dummies anyone stronger than G rank would destroy in an instant, and Isaiah with the spear his teacher had bought with his life¡¯s savings. Tall, with salmon-colored hair and fuchsia eyes, his skin was a shade lighter than anyone else in the clan and he was built like a bear. As usual since his teacher¡¯d passed away, he was alone in the room, and, as usual, 1,728 thrusts was nowhere close to the end of his exercise routine. He was about to start his movement exercises, but, unlike almost every other day, he was interrupted by someone entering the room. ¡°Pink Ursa, the clan master wants to see you.¡± Ava was the clan master¡¯s daughter. With long greenish blond hair, yellow eyes, and medium dark skin, she was a better looking version of the typical clan member and, as usual, the nineteen-year-old girl was dressed in an elaborate dress, this time colored red and black. Even though he was a decade her senior, she didn¡¯t wait for a response, and, when she turned to leave, he wordlessly followed. They then traveled without speaking for fifteen minutes, entered the clan master¡¯s palace, and made their way into the throne room. ¡°Now that everyone is here, I¡¯ll begin.¡± The clan master sat on his intricately carved lifewood throne and looked down at the four of them, Isaiah and Ava joined by Ava¡¯s twin brother Aleron and the second daughter of the clan master¡¯s younger sister. Also present at the clan master¡¯s side was his eldest son, Raven, already an E rank master at the young age of forty-three, and two of his advisors. The room was showy, with expensive tapestries on the walls and quite a bit of precious metals built into the ceiling to create an astrological design, but Isaiah noticed a few of the tapestries had been changed since he¡¯d been in the room last and, though as a G rank his senses weren¡¯t very good, the Law intent emanating from the new tapestries seemed weaker than the old ones. ¡°The natives of Hira, the new world we were promised by the king, have brought about their own doom, starting the process of an apocalypse style integration which will begin in a year. So, instead of those of us from the older generation helping to guide them, you of the younger generation will conquer their world. ¡°The four of you are the strongest G ranks in the clan, so you will be the leaders of our force, with Aleron as general. But you won¡¯t just be up against the natives. Eleven other forces will be competing for the world as well. So, we¡¯ll have to make you stronger.¡± The clan lord waved his hand and four skill orbs appeared out of thin air, one flying to each of them. Power Attack (G-Epic) Martial, Offensive, Weapon Hit hard, hit fast Effects: Learn the skill Power Attack (G-Epic) Requirements: Free skill slot, able to learn martial offensive weapon skills, Strength and Agility effectiveness both higher than 106.25% Isaiah caught the skill orb and couldn¡¯t help his excitement. This was the first skill orb he¡¯d ever been given, and it was even Epic grade. As far as he was aware, in the entire clan, only Raven had ever learned an Epic grade skill as a G rank. But then he saw Raven raise a hand from next to the clan master, indicating him to wait, so he instead put the orb in his pocket. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°The four of you will have unlimited access to my personal training room for the next year, as well as training from the elders of the clan, so do us proud and improve to the point you¡¯ll be unstoppable at F rank. ¡°Dismissed.¡± Ava and Aleron walked up to talk with their father more, while their cousin went to talk to one of the advisors, her grandfather. Only Isaiah, who had a much, much lower standing in the clan, took the clan master¡¯s words as an order and started to leave the room. ¡°Brother, wait,¡± Raven called out and both Aleron and Isaiah stopped and turned to look at him. Aleron and his sister then turned to Isaiah, a hint of irritation in their eyes, but Isaiah didn¡¯t move. The clan prince had given him an order that did not fully contradict the order of the clan master, so he did as told and waited. ¡°Walk with me for a bit.¡± Raven took a step and appeared next to Isaiah. Then he began walking out of the room, ignoring the slightly annoyed look in his father¡¯s eyes as well as the less controlled expressions of his younger half-siblings, and Isaiah followed. Raven was a bit taller than most of the clan members, though still quite a bit shorter than Isaiah, and he had a few black streaks in his greenish blond hair which made him stand out even more. ¡°This is your chance, little brother. My father won¡¯t say it, but there is more to this new world than most know, and the clan cannot afford to have another force take it over.¡± He reached into a bag of holding on his belt and brought out three skill orbs, handing them to Isaiah. Quick Steps (G-Uncommon) Martial, Movement Run, run, run Effects: Learn the skill Quick Steps (G-Uncommon) Requirements: Free skill slot, able to learn martial movement skills Wind Walk (G-Rare) Magic, Movement, Wind Float like a leaf on the wind Effects: Learn the skill Wind Walk (G-Rare) Requirements: Free skill slot, able to learn wind magic movement skills Bolt Steps (G-Rare) Magic, Movement, Lightning Move like lightning Effects: Learn the skill Bolt Steps (G-Rare) Requirements: Free skill slot, able to learn lightning magic movement skills Raven then took an orb of misty energy out of his bag of holding and thrust it into Isaiah¡¯s chest. ¡°That¡¯s a rare grade orb of skill combination. Learn those three skills, master them, and then merge them into a better movement skill. Only then should you learn the skill my father gave you.¡± Raven then reached into his bag of holding again, bringing out a book radiating a small amount of Law intent, and handed it to Isaiah. ¡°Finally, knowing what you are good at, I got this for you as well. It¡¯s not as useful as a skill orb, but, after you merge those skills, you should be able to form the skill described in here on your own with a little work.¡± Raven reached up and patted Isaiah, who was now completely teary eyed, on the back. ¡°Let¡¯s show them the most talented members of the clan are Mom¡¯s children, not my father¡¯s.¡± * * * - Current Time Prince Morin Daal started laughing. His eldest brother had invaded a newly integrated E rank world when he was G rank, transforming the entire planet into a haven for the undead, but he¡¯d run into problems with his Soul stat not being high enough and had been stuck at D rank for nearly a century. His second eldest brother had also invaded a newly integrated E rank world, but he¡¯d been forced to run by another of the invasion forces. And his third eldest brother had fully conquered an F rank world, but hadn¡¯t received much benefit, still E rank over 30 years later. He had much better luck. The world he was invading, Hira, was an F++ rank world, an F rank world with two natural wonders. And he¡¯d just found one of them. A member of the Nightwalker race, one of the six races of undead to have the ability to naturally reproduce, Morin Daal looked like a human but with all the color taken away and then black and white inverted. He had nearly black gray skin, black eyes with white pupils, and shoulder length gray hair. As with most Nightwalkers, the path he planned on following was one heavily dependent on the Soul stat, and not being able to increase that stat enough was one of the major sources of cultivation bottlenecks. For him, however, with the soul cave his subordinates had found, that was no longer going to be an issue. With the right arrays set up, he could just sit in there and his Soul stat would automatically grow to his max possible value over about a year. To that end, he spent the high cost and sent a subordinate still at G rank back home through the teleportation platform and the response was almost immediate. The subordinate came back with the requisite arrays and some extra arrays to help hide the location from other invaders as well. His father even sent him a letter of commendation along with a young mutant Soul Collector, asking him to allow the one meter abyssal squid-like beast to cultivate in the cave with him as well, with promises of high rewards from the clan¡¯s stores when he returned as long as the beast grew well. Whoever said the System favored those with high Luck when granting starting locations during apocalypse style integrations had been wrong. Morin Daal¡¯s Luck was only 6, yet he¡¯d received the best possible starting location for himself. Chapter 33: Succubus Mila When Mila regained consciousness after having her soul modified and a new body created, she wanted two main things. First, she wanted to strangle Aalam. She¡¯d calmed down a bit from her initial murderous rage, so she no longer wanted to kill him. But she¡¯d thought she¡¯d be some kind of monster that still ate food, not souls, and especially not souls filled with lust, so she was very interested in him feeling pain. Second, she wanted to know what she looked like. This, however, was easily fixed. Her new body had been spawned right next to a lake in what looked to be a tropical jungle, so all she had to do was look down into the water to discover that she appeared almost exactly like she had back when she was human. Granted, her chest was about a half size bigger, her waist maybe half a centimeter smaller, and the few small scars on her body were all gone, but her face was pretty much exactly the same and nothing else about her had changed. For having been reborn as a monster, the differences were quite minor. She was also almost completely naked other than the Twin Dragons on her ears, both dragons still the grayish-green color they¡¯d been in the tutorial, but that didn¡¯t bother her. The changes to her artifact after it was fully created in the real world, however, did. Twin Dragons of Life and Death (G-Legendary) [Growth] A legacy artifact formed by a Reaper¡¯s Token from the flesh of an Invincible Slime, Formless Silver, and the emotions of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s chamberlain. Due to the chamberlain¡¯s desires, the Twin Dragons can only be used by the Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants and has multiple effects, including the ability to absorb the legacy information of other legacy artifacts, the ability to transform into multiple forms, and the ability to store unused nascent energy. It was later enhanced by a Healer¡¯s Token and gained the further ability to act as a Seal of Contract for both the Heavenly Spark Soul King and his chamberlain. Current Legacies: The path of Illusions from a random D rank, the path of Shadows from a random D rank, the path of Passion from a random D rank, the path of Tranquility from a random D rank, the path of The Reaper from the Origin of Death, the path of The Healer from the Origin of Life, and the art of crafting from an apprentice psychic Possible forms: Twin Dragon earrings (weight greatly reduced), Twin Pistols, Longsword, Spear, Shield, Reaper¡¯s Gown, Healer¡¯s Raiment, Lord¡¯s Seal, Seal of the Chamberlain Effects: Legacy Eater, Transformation, Nascent Energy Storage, Conductivity, Contract Seal Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants The first change was the System now referring to Aalam as the Heavenly Spark Soul King, seemingly his title as a monster, which was way too cool sounding for him. Second, along with Aalam¡¯s crafting legacy, there were three new legacies as well, one each for her Laws the artifact hadn¡¯t had guidance for, the paths of The Healer and The Reaper already covering the paths of Bonds and Severing. Mila felt her anger almost start to fade, but then she quickly activated her Law Egg of Rage to bring the anger back. Even if so far her body seemed almost perfect, far better than she¡¯d expected from the term ¡®monster¡¯, she wasn¡¯t going to let Aalam get away with turning her into an incarnation of lust. Taking a deep breath, Mila activated the Twin Dragons to transform into its Healer¡¯s Raiment form, giving herself actual clothes, but she didn¡¯t like the result. The transformation consisted of a somewhat puffy blouse, a long and somewhat restrictive dress, and a hat which called to mind nurses from the 1800s, all in shades of greenish gray. The outfit seemed designed for desexualization, which could be handy, but it was a terrible thing to wear when trekking through the jungle. She then tried the Reaper¡¯s Gown and it was much better. Granted, it was a gown, obviously designed for sexualization, and it consisted of a single grayish-green sleeveless dress with a plunging neckline, but it was easy to move in and, when she had no other options, that was what was important. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. She then felt for her bond with Aalam and, instead of yelling at him over it, she used it and her Law Egg of Bonds to figure out where he was, following it a quarter of the way around the lake to find him sitting cross-legged on a rock a couple meters into the water. He looked different. First, he¡¯d grown more than twenty centimeters to be 194 centimeters tall. His usually messy hair was still shoulder-length, but it now made him look more like Fabio and less like he just never showered, its color a very dark shade of blue instead of dark brown. And his previously brown eyes were now a bright shade of amber, almost orange. His skin, which he¡¯d never really taken care of, was flawless. His face had morphed to become more traditionally handsome, his jaw especially more defined. And, with the washboard abs and defined musculature of a Hollywood action star, he was basically the definition of handsome. ¡°Care to explain yourself, Aalam?¡± Mila almost growled out the words. ¡°Explain what?¡± Aalam jumped to his feet and lightly hopped the couple meters to the shore. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you would be turning me into a Succubus?¡± ¡°Oh that.¡± Aalam looked her up and down, his eyes staying a bit longer on her chest. But that wasn¡¯t abnormal. She knew he liked her in the style of dress Reaper¡¯s Gown had copied. Just like with the dragon-shaped earrings, that¡¯s why the artifact had taken the form in the first place. What was abnormal was the lack of appreciation in his eyes. He was looking at her in the same way he¡¯d look at a new piece of equipment for his lab. There was an excitement, an interest in why she¡¯d changed in the way she had, but there was no aesthetic admiration. Aalam had never cared about appearance much, more attracted to an intellectual connection than a physical one, but he was still a warm blooded male. The last time she¡¯d worn a dress like the one she had on now, when they¡¯d been invited to a black tie event, he hadn¡¯t been able to stop staring at her all night. Now, though, he wasn¡¯t seeing her as a sexual prospect at all, his focus on her chest only because that was the part of her which had changed the most. And it hurt¡ªfar more than she¡¯d thought it would. ¡°Nana Xara told me not to.¡± Seemingly completely oblivious to her emotions, Aalam continued answering the question. ¡°She said it¡¯s the race you¡¯d want if given the choice, but would never admit to, so I should choose it for you, asking for forgiveness instead of permission.¡± ¡°So you made me a so called ¡®incarnation of lust¡¯ because an old woman told you it''s what I¡¯d want?¡± The hurt Mila was feeling translated into her words as anger, but Aalam either didn¡¯t register it or, more likely, just didn¡¯t care. ¡°No.¡± Aalam shook his head. ¡°I made you a Succubus because I needed to be an Incubus but couldn¡¯t be in charge of gathering my own souls. It was the best way to get around the build¡¯s feeding problem.¡± Mila just glared at him for several seconds. She was obviously missing something again, and she didn¡¯t like where her mind was taking her. ¡°So, let me get this straight.¡± Mila was very much growling by this point. ¡°Your optimum build required you to become an Incubus who doesn¡¯t rip out people¡¯s souls during sex. And, to get around that limitation, you needed a strong magical bond with someone who could get those souls and then send them to you via the bond. Correct?¡± ¡°Almost.¡± Aalam nodded, completely ignoring the implications of her tone of voice. ¡°Sex doesn¡¯t have to be involved for getting the souls though, just feelings of strong lust.¡± Mila felt her anger growing, but her training kicked in and she tried using her Law Egg of Calm to lessen her emotions. ¡°So, when we met in that first challenge and you agreed to partner with me, this was the reason?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Aalam nodded his head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure you¡¯d be able to get the Exemplary Servitor skill, but Fairy Law would make the sending of souls at G rank possible if you did, so I wouldn¡¯t have to make a specialized artifact.¡± Aalam raised his left hand, on which he wore his only article of clothing, his azure scaled fingerless glove, and he smiled while looking at it. ¡°That freed me up to make this.¡± Aalam looked back up at her, a smile still on his face. ¡°Also, you had the right skillset, what with your previous job and all.¡± At that moment, Mila¡¯s training broke. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Rage has advanced to high grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +16, Soul +8 ¡°Aaaaaaaaaah!!!¡± Mila couldn¡¯t help herself, screaming out at the top of her lungs. Then, having to fight the urge to punch him in his now perfect face, she turned around and started walking away. ¡°When you¡¯ve cooled off a bit, could you find a settlement? We¡¯re probably going to start getting hungry in a few days.¡± Aalam spoke over their bond without any irritation of his own, and Mila looked back to see him moving to sit on his rock again. ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯ll focus on improving my Laws. That way we¡¯ll be able to get more free stats before my advancement to an F rank race makes it impossible for a while.¡± ¡°And what makes you think I won¡¯t just go my own way?¡± Mila growled over the bond. ¡°Nana Xara¡¯s predictions haven¡¯t been wrong yet and she has a lot more experience with this type of thing than I do.¡± Mila stopped walking for a few seconds, then continued, muttering under her breath, ¡°I¡¯m going to find a way to murder that woman.¡± ¡°Oh? Why?¡± Mila heard Nana Xara¡¯s voice in her head, sounding cheerful, and then she started running. She ran several kilometers away, effortlessly ignoring the obstacles present in the tropical forest. Then, aware she couldn¡¯t get rid of the old woman but far enough away Aalam wouldn¡¯t be able to hear her, she found a rock, sat on it, and allowed her tears to start falling, not really knowing what exactly to feel. Chapter 34: The Way Things Are Mila ¡°Okay, as your teacher, I feel I should explain a few things.¡± Nana Xara let her cry for a few minutes, but then the woman spoke again, directly into her mind, causing Mila¡¯s sadness to again change to rage at the complete and utter invasion of privacy. ¡°First, I¡¯m speaking to you now through our bond as master and apprentice. I can do the same with Diana and the bond allows me to sense everything you do. From now on, when you¡¯re not crying, I will listen to you whenever you ask me not to watch. And, once you reach F rank and gain the capability, I¡¯ll teach you how to block me from watching completely. ¡°Second, I¡¯m sorry for not telling you about what Aalam had planned.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice sounded serious and Mila only now registered how incongruous that was with how cheerful she generally seemed. ¡°I knew you might not accept it, but, given your goals, both stated and otherwise, this seemed like the best option.¡± ¡°And how is me being forced to gather lust charged souls for the rest of my life a good option?¡± Even over telepathy, Mila¡¯s voice still sounded like she was growling. ¡°First, stop being hyperbolic.¡± Mila could almost imagine the old woman giving her a stern look, one without a smile trying to come out from underneath. ¡°Lust charged souls are not hard to make, especially once you get a charm skill at F rank and can affect dead souls directly. They also don¡¯t have to be sentient, except for during advancements. Find a pair of the local equivalent of rabbits mating, kill them before they understand what is going on, and you¡¯ll have enough food for both you and Aalam for over a week. ¡°The requirement for Aalam not getting his own souls will also only be until D rank, at which point neither of you will need souls for food anyway. ¡°Second, the term soul is too loaded in your world. It¡¯s the magic equivalent of a body and it¡¯s not required for reincarnation. In fact, eating souls makes reincarnation happen faster, so you¡¯re actually doing the person a favor. ¡°Third, and most important, I never said this was a good option, Mila, just that it was better than the alternatives.¡± Nana Xara projected an image of herself over the link and it looked like she was standing before Mila in the forest, a stern expression on her face. ¡°I keep stressing how your boyfriend isn¡¯t sane, and I think you get the magical aspects of that, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve grasped just how incongruous some of his actions have been. ¡°Why, when his legs were crushed by that Rollie-Pollie in the second challenge, was his instinctive action not to panic but to act like the lead from an action movie? He¡¯s not like you. He didn¡¯t receive training since he was four. And I¡¯ve seen his sister¡¯s reactions. The first time she got hurt she nearly fell apart. ¡°Why, in the first challenge, did he have so much disregard for the lives of his fellow humans? Back on Earth, he dedicated his life to helping people. He was the type of person to immediately stop and help if someone dropped their bag of groceries. And he couldn¡¯t understand why someone would try to profit off the life saving medicines he created because, in his worldview, that just didn¡¯t make sense. ¡°Finally, why did he partner up with you? Despite some of his actions on paper, he quite obviously doesn¡¯t have romantic feelings for you anymore and, at the beginning, I do very much think he wanted you dead.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s projection sat on the forest floor and looked up at Mila on her rock. ¡°I think he still believes he¡¯s dreaming. And he doesn¡¯t want to wake up. ¡°He already killed himself once when his uniqueness hadn¡¯t fully activated, and, when he realizes he¡¯s not dreaming, I¡¯m afraid he might do so again.¡± Nana Xara paused for a second. ¡°His backup options if you don¡¯t help at this point, I¡¯m almost positive, involve crossing a line he won¡¯t be able to come back from. His powerset doesn¡¯t allow for anything else. And, in that case, when he finally does realize he¡¯s not dreaming, he will most likely end his own life.¡± Mila¡¯s emotions changed multiple times over the next several seconds. From sadness, to anger toward Nana Xara, to anger toward Aalam, then to anger toward herself. Instead of handling those emotions maturely, however, she lashed out. ¡°So you¡¯re holding his life and death over my head?¡± The expression of Nana Xara¡¯s projection changed from a sad concerned look to one of anger as she stood up again. ¡°You do not get to play that card with me, little girl. I took you and Diana as apprentices, and you both care about that boy more than your own wellbeing, so I¡¯m doing my best to keep him alive. But I¡¯m dead, and what I can do is limited. ¡°You can get angry with me about not telling you things. I deserve that. But you do not get to turn your sadness and anger about the boy you like not liking you back toward me. ¡°An apprentice of mine does not get to act like such a hypocrite.¡± ¡°A hypocrite.¡± Mila almost started laughing. ¡°Like a disembodied soul telling me eating souls is no big deal?¡± ¡°No.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s projection continued to glare at her. ¡°Like a girl getting upset the boy she likes doesn¡¯t like her back and has been nice to her only to fulfill a business contract, when she did the exact same thing to him first, only with actual malicious intent, creating his lack of desire in the first place. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Those same emotions you¡¯re feeling right now. He felt them after you ran away. And his emotions were justified. Yours are not.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s projection took a few steps back and they both paused for a few seconds. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s projection took a deep breath. ¡°That last part was a bit too far. Your emotions are justified. Also, you have a good point about souls. I haven¡¯t been explaining well. ¡°I was A rank when my body died and specialized in the Soul stat, yet even I wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep the fires of my Mental Forge from going out without the System¡¯s help. I always say I died, but I¡¯m technically alive. I¡¯m a living soul, like the soul in a lich¡¯s phylactery or an alchemist trapped in a suit of armor, but I¡¯m housed in a small mental world created by the System instead of a physical object. ¡°The souls you would be eating would have their Mental Forges extinguished. On a fundamental level, they are completely different, truly dead.¡± Mila stayed quiet for a few minutes, getting her emotions under control, and Nana Xara let her. Then Mila said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry as well. You¡¯re right in that most of my anger was redirected. Though I¡¯m still mad at you about lying.¡± ¡°As you should be.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s projection smiled at her, but her tone of voice stayed serious. ¡°I took away your choice and control over your own destiny, and, while I did so for your own future power as a master should, afraid your emotions might get in the way and cause you to do something you might regret, I manipulated you nonetheless.¡± Mila thought it over for a bit. Nana Xara was quite obviously not a good person, and it was likely she was holding back other information, but, while she was Mila¡¯s extremely distant ancestor, she wasn¡¯t Mila¡¯s grandmother. She was her teacher. Nana Xara had no responsibility to make her happy, only to lead her to become more powerful, and she was doing that well. Mila thought about what race she would have chosen for herself, going over the list of monsters Aalam had looked at, and she realized there had only been a half dozen types which could pass for human, all of which had disturbing feeding habits, from having to drink blood to needing to eat the livers of the living. After actually thinking about it, Succubus was the least disturbing, and it fit her build the best as well. ¡°Is there some advantage to human form?¡± ¡°In general, yes.¡± Nana Xara smiled proudly at her. ¡°You can walk around cities, trade, form business alliances, et cetera. Your skills also stay the same as if you were a cultivator race rather than a monster, allowing you to more easily control cultivator servants. And, most important, even while being a monster, your talent for cultivation will be no less than that of a cultivator with a race of the same grade. ¡°The main difference between cultivators and monsters is that monsters can take the natural primal energy of the universe and use it to gain power, leveling up naturally over time, while cultivators need to get that type of energy in a different form for their own advancement, either through killing, specialized processed materials, or natural treasures. Meanwhile, cultivators have a huge advantage when it comes to controlling energy and advancing in Laws, at least on average, allowing them to surpass their natural limits much more easily than monsters, so, at higher ranks, cultivators are much more common. ¡°The succubus/incubus line of monsters is famous for straddling the line between cultivators and monsters, gaining levels from ambient primal energy much slower than most monsters, but having a talent for energy control and an affinity with Laws roughly the same as cultivator races of equivalent grade. So, for someone aiming to reach the very peak of power, it is a very good choice. ¡°There is another benefit to human form, however, that only someone like you can make use of. ¡°The System tends to treat cultivator races as those to be nurtured and monsters as those to be hunted for parts, giving far more benefits to the former. You, with your first uniqueness combined with the class line you¡¯re going for, would normally be able to trick the System into thinking you were a human once you reach D rank, but with your second uniqueness and your Law Eggs of Bonds and Severing, you should be able to do so at F rank instead, and in a way that won¡¯t lead to gods wanting to kill you. ¡°Given how talented you are, and that you¡¯ll also then be able to trick the System into treating Aalam as your familiar, the benefits you¡¯ll be able to receive are immense.¡± Mila took a deep breath and activated her Law Egg of Calm to help ameliorate the effects of her emotions further. Had she received that explanation beforehand, there is no way she would have chosen another race unless she¡¯d also known about what Aalam was planning, but that was kind of the point. Emotions were bad for operational efficiency and they could make things unpredictable. ¡°Okay.¡± Mila closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and then opened them again. ¡°Two questions before I start looking for a settlement and some mating rodents. First, what is Aalam going for in his build that requires him to not get his own food?¡± ¡°My final sage class, the Fabled grade Virtuous Sage, which I gained when I reached A rank, only he¡¯s going for it at D rank. It requires one to have never once given in to the sin they¡¯re most inclined toward, and, having a new life as an Incubus, he is now most inclined to the sin of lust. ¡°It¡¯s a quite powerful class, improving the soul of the cultivator to the point they can safely gain another class and, unlike me at the time, he knows how to advance it properly without getting stuck.¡± Mila looked at Nana Xara incredulously. ¡°As an A rank, you¡¯d managed to never commit one of the seven sins? I¡¯m changing what I said. I have so many more questions. ¡°What sin are humans inclined toward?¡± The projection of Nana Xara¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°On average, greed, but that wasn¡¯t what I was personally inclined to. As a genius and eventual A rank talent, my inclination was toward pride. Yet, at the young age of 137,263, I¡¯d always been humble, so I was able to get one of the best sage line classes and eventually become a powerhouse.¡± ¡°How could you stay humble for over a hundred millennia? You¡¯re such an arrogant ass.¡± The projection of Nana Xara started laughing. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re talented, Mila?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mila shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around Nana Xara being humble, despite over ten thousand decades of life. ¡°And you¡¯re wrong about that.¡± Nana Xara smiled at her. ¡°But you¡¯re comparing yourself against someone who¡¯s even more of a genius. I had three such people during my rise to power and I didn¡¯t become an arrogant ass until all of them died.¡± There were so many more questions Mila wanted to ask, but Nana Xara raised her hand, her expression losing its joviality. ¡°Some other time, Mila. Those stories involve deaths of people I was close to, and I don¡¯t want to talk about them right now.¡± Mila had read Nana Xara¡¯s biography while in the tutorial, but it had been short, with barely any details in general, and almost nothing about her early life beyond the fact she¡¯d been part of an apocalypse style integration, so Mila didn¡¯t actually have any good guesses as to who Nana Xara could be referring to, but she decided not to pry¡ªmostly because the woman wasn¡¯t going to tell her anything if she did. ¡°My original second question then. What is the origin of the System and its purpose?¡± Nana Xara laughed. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not allowed to tell you. But, if you analyze how it operates, it¡¯s not that hard to figure out.¡± Chapter 35: Prince Things were going Roland¡¯s way. Hira¡¯s tutorial hadn¡¯t allowed any of the trial takers to kill each other, so, for the first time since his father¡¯s assassination, he¡¯d been able to walk around without hiding his identity. The rebels had never had much support, what with how they used the blood of slaves, commoners, and nobles alike to power spells even before the rise of mana, leading to the apocalypse style integration in the first place. And the generals faction, despite having pretty much the entire military and most of the nobility as members before the tutorial, had started to show weakness as personal power began to matter more, especially given several of the faction¡¯s main leaders hadn¡¯t had the requisite talent to enter the tutorial in the first place, completely unable to cultivate. Meanwhile, Roland had excelled. With a uniqueness which increased his effective Perception by 50%; his royal bloodline turning out to be magical, boosting the strength of martial skills; and the combat training from his childhood, along with the skills gained being on the run for five years, allowing him to make use of his advantages, he was the only one to complete Torment level for all three challenges, and he had gained the most tutorial points by the end, standing out from the crowd. As a result, of the three factions on Hira, the Rebels, the Imperial Generals, and the Royal Faction led by him, his was the most popular among the regular populace, and he was the most powerful cultivator. Using his tutorial points, he¡¯d bought some treasures which had helped him advance his race, increasing its grade to Uncommon, becoming something called a Human Skirmisher. Then, immediately upon leaving the tutorial, he¡¯d chosen his class, becoming the first to do so and gaining a large stat boost. Raindrop Ranger (F-Rare) When it storms, you hunt Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Agility and Perception stats by 6.25% Increase all physical stats by 6.25% in the rain Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Psychic Fire Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 12 Agility: 24 Endurance: 12 Toughness: 9 Vitality: 9 Perception: 18 Magic: 12 Spirit: 6 Soul: 6 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: Early grade Law Egg of Rain, at least one Rare grade or higher martial category skill, Agility and Perception greater than 24 He¡¯d also found his younger sister, Uliana, who now had an Uncommon grade class similar to his just called Ranger, and they had formed a group with two other previously unaligned talents. There was Benido, an Uncommon grade Barrier Mage, for added protection and his brother Conido, an Uncommon grade Axe Warrior, as their frontline. After the tutorial, the four of them had been deposited into what used to be known as the Forest of the Ashen Mistress before the integration, on behalf of the dormant nearby volcano. And, for the last seven days, they¡¯d been looking around for a good spot for Roland to use his reward for having the highest rank of all those in the tutorial with a noble category skill, a Legendary grade Token of Sanctuary. They¡¯d just found the area¡¯s largest city, Eshna, which before the integration housed around 50,000, and Roland was seriously considering claiming the area. Then, however, they got lucky. Around the time they confirmed there were still over 30,000 people living in the city, they got a quest notification. You have entered the area of a quest. Hunt Down Hira¡¯s Monster Lord (F-Legendary) Accomplish the following:
  1. Either kill or permanently subjugate the monster lord Heavenly Spark Soul King
  2. Either kill or permanently subjugate the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s chamberlain, the Mistress of Oaths and Deception
You may share this quest with a party of up to 144, but a Party Leader must be selected. Party Leader Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: One choice of F rank skill orb up to Legendary grade If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. One choice of F rank artifact up to Legendary grade Individual Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: All stats +6 Party Leader Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Mistress of Oaths and Deception: One choice of F rank skill orb up to Epic grade One choice of F rank artifact up to Epic grade Individual Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Mistress of Oaths and Deception: All stats +3 Do you accept? Yes/No They of course all accepted, setting up Roland as the party leader. Then they looked around the city, careful in case there were rebels or members of the Imperial Generals faction around. They quickly learned the city was under the command of a powerful cultivator, the hundred or so people who¡¯d returned from the tutorial in the city all under her command, and they were noticed by the other cultivators and invited to meet her. ¡°Who is this woman?¡± Uliana asked the cultivator guiding them through the town hall. ¡°Is she part of one of the factions?¡± Most people, even the cultivators who had been in the tutorial, roughly 4% of the population, didn¡¯t know Roland or Uliana¡¯s faces, so, like usual, they were pretending to be a normal party rather than the lead party of the royal faction. ¡°No one knows.¡± The cultivator, a middle-aged man with graying hair, but fit from exercise, seemed rather excited. ¡°But she¡¯s powerful. When she first came four days ago, several cultivators challenged her, but she beat them unconscious with her bare fists. Then she healed them, not with a skill, but with pure qi control, like nothing I saw during the tutorial. ¡°After that she forced them to sign a contract, created by some skill of hers, and from then on they were basically her slaves.¡± The man smiled. ¡°Three of the bunch were even former nobles, like you and the young master.¡± The man was of commoner stock, skin not as dark as those usually found in the nobility, but darker than most slaves, and, like most commoners, his view of the nobility after the events of the last several years wasn¡¯t that favorable, though he was still polite. ¡°The rest of us were forced to sign contracts as well, but the terms weren¡¯t as bad. We just have to help defend the normals if the settlement is attacked, with the temporary loss of 80% of our stats for 18 days if we don¡¯t. And we can¡¯t attack the leader or take any actions to knowingly hurt her without our souls crumbling.¡± ¡°That seems kind of harsh.¡± Conido unconsciously put his hand to the axe hanging from his belt. ¡°Maybe,¡± the cultivator conceded as they entered the hallway to the town mayor¡¯s office. ¡°But it seems reasonable to me. The lass is really pretty and I could see quite a few cultivators trying to attack her later if she didn¡¯t put such protections in place.¡± The cultivator opened the door for them and they headed in to find the leader of Eshna behind a large wooden desk, putting the final touches on some document. Pretty was an understatement. The woman had dark eyes and hair, rare for someone with the skin tone of a slave, and, as she stood, Roland could see she had the type of figure he¡¯d only ever seen on a few of the women who¡¯d been forced to work in his father¡¯s bedchamber. She was wearing a simple blue dress, obviously an artifact of some kind, and on her ears were two grayish-green dragons, though they didn¡¯t seem to be an artifact, Roland¡¯s aura senses not reacting at all. He was about to greet her, but then Uliana started yelling. ¡°Roland, she¡¯s a¡ª¡± His little sister got cut off by the beautiful woman exploding into action. She kicked the desk she was behind right at Conido and Benido before they could react, the desk hitting Conido, who had much higher physical stats, first and with quite a bit more force, but knocking both men into the wall. Then the woman disappeared. It wasn¡¯t like she teleported. For a brief second, Roland¡¯s empowered senses just couldn¡¯t find her. And, the next thing he knew, she was standing between him and Uliana. A grayish-green spear was in her right hand, the tip at Uliana¡¯s throat, and in her left was the sword he¡¯d been in the process of drawing, glowing with a blue light, its tip right at his jugular. But the weapons at their throats weren¡¯t the scariest thing. The woman had released her aura and it filled the entire room, squashing down the auras of his party members with a level of power and control they couldn¡¯t hope to match. ¡°Samial.¡± The woman smiled at the cultivator who¡¯d brought them into the room, who looked almost as shocked as Roland felt. ¡°Would you be a dear and close the door? The princess here has noticed something she shouldn¡¯t have and I¡¯m afraid you all will need to sign a further contract or I¡¯ll sadly have to kill you.¡± As the cultivator closed the door and took a few steps to the other side of the room, Roland belatedly noticed a few things. First, the woman¡¯s earrings were gone, seemingly having transformed into the spear in her right hand, so it was definitely an artifact, but the fact his senses still couldn¡¯t recognize it as one meant it was of a very high grade. Second, the sword she¡¯d stolen from him was glowing blue, something it only did when a water element Law Egg was channeled into it, so, combined with whatever Law she¡¯d used to escape his senses, she had at least two Law Eggs, placing her above anyone from the tutorial. Third, and most concerning, she¡¯d figured out their identities, probably from Uliana saying his name. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked, almost whispering. ¡°She¡¯s a monster, Roland,¡± Uliana growled, glaring daggers at the woman. ¡°I used identify on her and it said she¡¯s the Mistress of Oaths and Deception. Also, she¡¯s only G rank. We can easily take her.¡± The woman just stood there and smiled, but the next second Roland saw what looked like her twin behind Uliana. Then, as he realized the Mistress of Oaths and Deception in front of him didn¡¯t look quite as pretty, the Mistress behind Uliana, who was wearing the two dragon earrings again and no longer held his sword, grabbed his little sister¡¯s arms and yanked. There was a muffled popping sound to Roland¡¯s enhanced perception, and the Mistress behind Uliana then disappeared. ¡°Now, Prince Roland Raphaiya of Hira, what will you choose?¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception holding his own sword to his throat disappeared as well, and he could see what he assumed to be the woman¡¯s true form again, sitting calmly on the chair which had been behind the desk, one leg over the other, calmly tossing his sword with her left hand and effortlessly catching it each time. ¡°Will you attack me and die for your troubles or will we have a pleasant conversation?¡± Roland looked at his sister, who had fallen to her knees and was screaming in pain, then at Conido and Benido, who were trying to stand up again after pushing the desk back away from them. From the looks of it, the woman in front of him, the monster, could have killed them all effortlessly, but she hadn¡¯t. Likely, she wanted to enslave them like she had the others who¡¯d challenged her, but it was possible she wanted something else, and it wouldn¡¯t hurt him to at least listen to her. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°To grow powerful enough to get back to my home world.¡± The woman smiled at him and he felt a slight stirring in his pants, despite how utterly terrified he was. ¡°I want to hunt down and murder those responsible for killing me.¡± ¡°Killing you?¡± Roland was confused, but he wasn¡¯t so politically unskilled to not see she was deliberately leading the conversation. Still, the weirdness of it meant it was possible this terrifying woman wasn¡¯t an enemy, but, given her title, he probably couldn¡¯t trust anything she said. ¡°Yes.¡± The woman tossed the sword back to him and he caught it. ¡°During an apocalypse style integration, everyone on the planet killed 27 standard days before the integration truly starts has their souls protected and taken to a separate tutorial, one where they are turned into monsters at the end and spawned on a different world than their own. ¡°This is what happened to me and the so called Heavenly Spark Soul King, so, as former humans, we don¡¯t see much purpose in random slaughter.¡± As the woman was further away from him than before, he completely missed when she replaced herself with a hologram. So, when she appeared again in front of his sister, her earrings now in the form of a sword pointed directly at Uliana¡¯s throat, everything was over before he even realized it was happening. ¡°That said, you have accepted a quest to kill me and the man I protect, so, if I don¡¯t have assurances of our safety, I won¡¯t let any of you live.¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the Mistress of Oaths and Deception or the Heavenly Spark Soul King to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the Mistress of Oaths and Deception or the Heavenly Spark Soul King
  3. You must accept a slave contract with the Heavenly Spark Soul King when offered
  4. You must convince the other non-monsters in the room to accept the contracts the Mistress of Oaths and Deception offers them
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Accept the contract within twelve breaths, or I will kill your sister.¡± Roland struggled with himself for a few seconds. He didn¡¯t want to give up his dreams of uniting Hira. He didn¡¯t want to become someone¡¯s slave. At the same time, however, he didn¡¯t want to die, and he didn¡¯t want Uliana to die either. But the woman, the monster, wasn¡¯t giving him much of an option. Reluctantly, he accepted. Chapter 36: Hira The planet Hira was a little smaller than Earth, with slightly weaker gravity, though Mila¡¯s much higher stats made the difference pretty much negligible, and the planet¡¯s rotation speed and orbit around its star were very close to Earth¡¯s, days about fifteen minutes longer and years shorter by about three days. Mostly water, with one large continent, its weather patterns were similar to earth as well, the continent having rainforests near the equator, deserts further north and south, and then plains and forests for a large section before desert again, followed by tundra. For about four hundred years before the integration started, the world was entirely ruled by one empire, but it was a declining one. There was a relatively large noble class making up about 1% of the world¡¯s population, mostly of the race of the original island country off the continent¡¯s east coast which had conquered the world. About sixty percent of the populace were slaves, of the type where freedom for even their children was impossible, and, as a result, there was a big military to keep them in check. Finally, there were commoners, better off than the slaves, but nowhere near as well off as the nobles. Their technology level was around that of the Roman Empire or China¡¯s Han Dynasty, able to create impressive feats of engineering, but lacking things like dynamite and guns, and their lacking knowledge of medicine meant Aalam could probably wipe them all out with about half a night¡¯s work and a year for his diseases to spread. Their knowledge of magic, however, was not nonexistent like Earth¡¯s. From one of the cultivators who¡¯d tried to challenge her, Mila¡¯d learned of a cave in the northwest of the continent where there was what the cultivator now recognized as an inheritance from a dead power. That dead power didn¡¯t seem to have been a very good person, though, as the magic released was that of blood sorcery, using the souls of sacrificed victims to empower a cultivator or cast curses. A faction of rebels in the empire gained access to this magic and, with mana levels slowly rising before the full on integration, they¡¯d cast a curse and killed the emperor five years before the integration fully started. That emperor had been a hedonistic pig who did no one any good, so there was no mourning for his loss, but his death started authority in the empire shifting. A group of five generals in control of the military tried to place themselves in power, forcing Crown Prince Roland, who was only fourteen at the time, to flee. Then they engaged the princess, Uliana, a twelve-year-old girl, to one of the generals¡¯ sons. The last five years hadn¡¯t been great for the populace of the planet, the generals and the rebels fighting. The generals had moved their many men around the continent and not worried much about supply lines, taking from the local populace wherever they went, causing local famines all over the empire. Meanwhile, the rebels sacrificed hundreds of thousands in their effort to fight back, empowering their men with transformation magic, effectively turning themselves into a different, half-monstrous race of humans. When the tutorial finally happened, however, things changed. Those with the talent to become cultivators all vanished from the planet and were brought to a subspace somewhere where things proceeded in a very similar way as in Mila and Aalam¡¯s tutorial, only with everyone using their actual bodies instead of soulforms. Roland and his sister had met up again, the rules of the tutorial not allowing the generals¡¯ faction to stop them, and the two of them, especially Roland, excelled. In the tutorial at least, Roland had shifted the minds of a great deal of the independent cultivators into thinking he, the rightful ruler according to the empire¡¯s laws, would actually be good at the job. And, through the connections he made in that separate space, he¡¯d set the foundation for a third major faction on the planet, one built around him. As for why there were humans on the planet in the first place, no one she talked to knew, but Mila suspected the story was similar to that of Earth, a powerhouse or large organization seeding the planet in preparation for its future integration. The seeding just hadn¡¯t included the best talents from B rank, A rank, and divine level organizations, leaving the overall talent level far lower than Earth. ¡°So,¡± Mila asked Roland after he helped convince everyone else in the room to agree to the same type of restrictive contract as he had, only ones which didn¡¯t involve them becoming magically bound slaves, ¡°what are your goals?¡± Roland watched her as she retook her seat, the Twin Dragons returning to earring form, as if he couldn¡¯t understand the question, quite obviously not trusting her in the least. ¡°I want to take over Hira and make life better for its people.¡± From his aura, he was actually telling the truth, and Mila couldn¡¯t help but smile. Such youth and naivet¨¦. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll help make that happen, then.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mila deliberately raised one of her eyebrows. ¡°You weren¡¯t listening, were you? The so called Heavenly Spark Soul King and I¡ª¡± She paused. ¡°Actually, let¡¯s come up with better names. You can refer to me as Shadow and the so called Heavenly Spark Soul King as Guardian. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Well,¡± she continued, ¡°Guardian and I are after power so we can get back home and protect our loved ones. We were reborn as monsters, however, and we don¡¯t get the same nice treatment by the System as you do. ¡°You might be able to get off world before your planet¡¯s integration is done. All you need to do is conquer the entire planet, but we don¡¯t have permission to do that ourselves. And, unlike you, we don¡¯t gain any benefits from fighting off invasions. ¡°Why do you think I am going to set you up as Guardian¡¯s slave when I just made restrictive contracts with every other cultivator I¡¯ve met?¡± Roland looked thoughtful for a few seconds and Mila confirmed she wasn¡¯t dealing with an idiot, which was good. ¡°The quest to kill you marked you as the Heav¡ªGuardian¡¯s¡ªchamberlain, which means he has a lord line skill and you do not, and lord line skills only allow for a limited number of servants or slaves. So, one reason would be that you don¡¯t see my colleagues as worth your limited number of spots, even though you¡¯d be able to take any rewards they¡¯d gain from quests. And this means you might not want my rewards either, and instead be after my authority over the planet if I manage to conquer it, including the off world teleportation platform which will appear.¡± Mila nodded, which in Hiralian culture meant acceptance. ¡°Mostly correct, but it sounds like you are missing something very important.¡± She activated her Law Egg of Hologram to make three other versions of herself appear around the room, one behind each of his companions. Then she used an application of aura from the Weaponsmaster¡¯s legacy to project her voice from each of those holograms. ¡°The benefits in this relationship are very much flowing in the opposite direction you think they are.¡± Mila had the three holograms fade. ¡°Were you able to see through which was my real body?¡± From Roland¡¯s expression, she could see the answer was no. ¡°Well the leaders of each of your planet¡¯s twelve invasion forces would have easily spotted I didn¡¯t move from my chair, as would quite a few of their subordinates. ¡°What you are going through is called an apocalypse style integration for a reason, and it¡¯s not just because you brought it on yourselves by nearly destroying your own planet. I did well in my own tutorial and got access to more information than you seem to have. For an F rank world like Hira, natives like you have only successfully protected their planet in less than 1% of cases.¡± She stood up and walked closer to him. ¡°Do you understand what that means?¡± A look of horrified realization appeared on Roland¡¯s face and he took several seconds to think. ¡°We¡¯ve been overestimating ourselves.¡± He seemed to calm down a bit as he put together more of the implications. ¡°If things were to follow the normal pathway, the twelve invasion forces wouldn¡¯t care much about us and instead fight among themselves to see who conquers us. ¡°But your goals are different than that of the invasion forces. You don¡¯t have an organization behind you, so you don¡¯t want to conquer us and strip us of our resources. Instead, you want us to be your organization.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Mila transformed the Twin Dragons into its Lord¡¯s Seal form, a stamp with the image of a twelve-pointed multicolor star surrounding what looked like an actual star, and pressed it to the prince¡¯s forehead. ¡°You also don¡¯t understand the implications of a G rank monster having the terms King and Heavenly Spark in a System generated name. There¡¯s a reason I entered into a servant contract with him when given the choice.¡± ¡°Aalam,¡± Mila sent over her bond with the bastard, ¡°I¡¯ve captured the technical ruler of the entire planet and forced him to accept a slave contract from you. I¡¯ve got the Lord¡¯s Seal up against him right now and have it activated so you can initiate the slave contract over our bond. In the short run, he should be able to claim the local Territory. And, in the long run, with our help, the entire planet.¡± Mila felt the contract being sent over their bond and could feel it as Roland accepted. ¡°Is there anything you need from me,¡± Aalam asked. ¡°No. I¡¯ll work on getting us more land and resources. You focus on improving yourself. I¡¯d like to get to F rank as soon as possible.¡± Aalam didn¡¯t respond, but that was normal for him so Mila wasn¡¯t offended. She transformed the Twin Dragons back into earrings form and then took a couple steps away from Roland. ¡°This is the seat of power of the city and you should have a Token of Sanctuary. Let¡¯s start the process of claiming our first Territory.¡± Roland reached into one of the pockets of his pants and took out what looked like a golden coin, around 5 cm in diameter. Then he activated it and it slowly faded from existence. You have claimed the first Territory on Hira. All stats +6 As Roland was now Aalam¡¯s slave and Mila was Aalam¡¯s chamberlain, she could see Roland¡¯s System messages. What would you like to name your Territory? She could also highjack his choices, such as choosing the name of his Territory herself, but she didn¡¯t see a need to do so, allowing him to make the selection as he would have without her interference. You have selected the name New Raphaiya for your Territory. Raphaiya was the surname of the royal family and also the name of the empire¡¯s capital in the eastern part of the continent, so the name New Raphaiya didn¡¯t make it absolutely obvious who the Territory¡¯s leader was, but it gave a pretty big hint. It probably wouldn¡¯t cause too many problems in the short term, however, and would be a decent name in the long term as well, so Mila didn¡¯t have any problems with it. New Raphaiya (50 km^2) The Territory of Lord Roland Raphaiya, taking up a large chunk of the Forest of the Ashen Mistress. Lord: Roland Raphaiya Overlord: Heavenly Spark Soul King Benefits to humanoid population: Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% further when in the rain Affinity for all Laws +6.25% It didn¡¯t seem like they could hide Aalam being Roland¡¯s overlord, and that last benefit about affinity for all Laws Mila knew to be extremely, extremely rare in the universe, making it something the invasion forces would notice, so Mila would have to make sure none of them got the chance to report about it off world. Chapter 37: Runes Aalam was a bit disappointed by his second uniqueness. On paper it was awesome, +200% to all stats in a way that didn¡¯t interfere with Id or boosts in effectiveness from abilities or classes. But it required him to be in his own Territory and, more important, it required his Territory to be large enough to empower that +200% boost. At the moment, with the new Territory the Hiralian prince had claimed for him, he was only getting +36 to most of his stats, +24 to Aura and Attunement, and +12 to Luck. Before Mila managed to get him that Territory, she¡¯d been benefiting from his uniqueness more than he had, its boost to noble category skills like his Lord skill strengthening their bond and giving her a 3.125% boost to all her Law affinities. Still,a +24 boost to Attunement followed by a further 12.5% boost from his Heavenly Spark Pure Soul ability was rather good, his effective Attunement at the moment 243, and, since they¡¯d arrived on Hira, he¡¯d already managed to raise seven of his Law Eggs to peak grade. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Temporal Relativity has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Perception +32, Spirit +8, Soul +8 Perception is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +32 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +8 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +8 Just as his eighth Law Egg reached peak grade, Aalam noticed something interesting, an unnatural change to his Territory. It was over 7 kilometers away and, from what he knew, his connection with the Territory, especially given he was not the direct lord, shouldn¡¯t have been strong enough at his rank for him to have those types of senses, so it seemed Prince was more useful than he thought. Feeling good, Aalam rose off his rock and decided to go investigate, jumping to the shore and then starting to run. The superhuman movement was fun, and he tried using his Law Eggs of Inertia and Kinetic Energy to speed himself up, but he wasn¡¯t very good at it, so, for the first six or so kilometers, he was actually slower than if he just ran normally. He was starting to get it at the end, but then he stopped as he reached the location of the anomaly. There was a small hamlet in the middle of the forest, some type of fruit farm, and all the citizens who¡¯d been living there were dead. From the looks of it, they¡¯d somehow managed to survive the monsters that had started showing up during the integration, animals transformed by the rising mana levels, but then they¡¯d been killed anyway. The woman who¡¯d killed them had piled up their bodies in a heap between the hamlet¡¯s three main buildings and was drawing runic symbols around the pile. These symbols had an odd aura of death and life Laws, both somehow twisted, and they were the cause of the unnatural feeling he¡¯d felt from the area. The young woman looked human, but with all color removed and then dark and light reversed, but the oddest thing to Aalam was her white pupils. Aalam couldn¡¯t understand the point. Pupils were black because they allowed light in. That was their function. So how could the woman see? As soon as he arrived, however, even without normal eyes, she still somehow noticed him. Then she instantly attacked, so Aalam decided to figure out how her senses worked later, pushing his left palm forward and, for the first time, using his new prized possession as an implement of death. Left Hand of the Runescribe (G-Legendary) [Growth] A fingerless glove for the left hand of a humanoid made from processed Mutant Juvenile Vitalized Rollie-Pollie scales, this artifact contains a minor pocket dimension and a telekinetic connection to twelve flying needles within. Each flying needle is made from the processed scales of a Vitalized Rollie-Pollie Queen, effectively indestructible below C rank, and is designed to channel the power of one of the twelve elements. Through the use of an Orb of Devouring during its construction, the Left Hand of the Runescribe can devour other materials to improve itself and, through the use of a Token of Soulbinding, it gains more power through the Law advancements of its creator. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Effects: Minor Pocket Dimension, Telekinetic Connection, Conductivity, Qi Channeling, Mana Channeling, Psyforce Channeling, Runescriber Enhancement Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants The fingerless azure glove on his left hand shone silver for a split second and two golden needles flew out. Each was about a meter long, with one end pointy and sharp. Around two thirds to the end, the golden material they were made from split and wrapped around a visible 10 cm diameter orb before coming together and straightening again. But the most impressive bits were actually inside, thread taken from the Shield of Twelve Elements there to guide the specific element the needle was designed for and intricate scripts to help enhance the needle¡¯s conductivity and channeling of elemental energy. Of the two needles which flew out, one had a brown orb and the other a yellow one, representing the elements of earth and air respectively, and each were controlled by one of Aalam¡¯s separate minds. Sadly, though, he wasn¡¯t very good with them yet. They both attacked her together at the same time, yet she easily managed to dodge them and continue her attack, and she was wielding a sword emanating Laws of ice and death, so Aalam was pretty sure he¡¯d die if he were stabbed. His glove glowing silver again, he summoned another needle and grabbed its end with his right hand, this one with a red orb. Then he began to channel mana into it enhanced by his peak grade Law Egg of Molecular Acceleration and swiped it in front of him multiple times, each swipe creating a line of fire, as he stumbled backwards. This bought enough time for the other two needles to catch up and the woman had to start dodging them again. Though, sadly, as he didn¡¯t actually have a telekinesis skill yet, he couldn¡¯t move them anywhere close to the speed his powerful Spirit would normally allow. Realizing he was going to lose if he didn¡¯t change things up, he switched control of the earth flying needle to the mind controlling the wind one and summoned another needle to start flying around, this one with a gray orb. The earth and wind needles then began to fly together, as if tethered to each other, making them even easier to dodge, but the death element flying needle did something completely different. As Aalam bought time by running away, waving around fire, and distracting the woman with the paired flying needles, the death flying needle flew up about five meters and started writing a rune into the air, the entire process taking about five seconds. And, when it was completed, a wave of psyforce powered raw entropy flew down at them, making use of Aalam¡¯s full effective Spirit, and the woman¡¯s motions paused as she was hit by the energy. Barely affected by his own power, Aalam managed to take that moment to attack. The earth and wind flying needles both hit the woman, empowered by his Law Eggs of Inertia and Kinetic Energy respectively, stabbing into her gut and sending her flying. Then Aalam threw the needle of fire at her, setting her clothes on fire when it stabbed into the arm that wasn¡¯t holding her sword. He underestimated her, however, and she managed to send a burst of mana and qi out from her body, the three needles which had stabbed her all flying out as she bled gray blood. Then she started running away, heading outside his Territory, and he followed. ¡°Aalam, what are you doing?¡± Mila sent over their bond. ¡°Chasing an invader,¡± Aalam sent back, sending an image of the fleeing woman along with the words. There was quiet for a second, Mila probably talking to Nana Xara, and then Mila yelled back. ¡°Aalam, that¡¯s a Nightwalker. Undead nobility. Don¡¯t chase her alone.¡± Aalam didn¡¯t even bother to respond, however, as he was having too much fun. Invaders were F rank at most, and he was powerful, while that short fight had done more for his Law advancement than his past day of meditation. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Kinetic Energy has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Strength +16, Agility +16, Endurance +16 Strength is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +16 Agility is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +16 Endurance is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +16 In the next couple minutes of chasing, he managed to raise his Law Egg of Inertia to peak grade, and, after seeing the woman¡¯s usage of her ice Law, he was really close with his Law Egg of Molecular Deceleration as well. All he¡¯d then need was to raise his Law Egg of Multi-Dimensional Geometry, the Law he was actually best at, to peak grade and he¡¯d have a peak grade Law Egg for all twelve elements. Then, after advancing his race, he¡¯d be able to look at his class options and know if he would have to train his other Laws up as well to unlock better classes. He was a bit lost in his excitement, so he almost missed when the woman met up with a small horde of zombies, which all then attacked him as she continued to flee. They were a lot slower than she was, however, and he sent two needles out from the Left Hand of the Runescribe again, this time one with a blue orb representing the water element and the other with a silver orb representing space. While Mila had spent her time between challenges two and three in the tutorial studying contracts, Aalam had spent most of his time getting combat training from one of the training spirits with his two lesser minds while using his main mind to train with another spirit in the study of magical runes. As Nana Xara had predicted, he still wasn¡¯t much good at fighting, but in runes he¡¯d proceeded at a breakneck pace. Runes were the building blocks of everything in magic, stable multi-dimensional structures of qi, mana, and psyforce, where the amount of each resource at each point in the rune and how they were elementally attuned created different forms of power. Then arrays were just sets of runes combined to make an effect. Artifacts worked by creating unpowered molds of arrays which would activate when qi, mana, and psyforce were poured in, and skills worked pretty much the same way, only with the molds created in a cultivator¡¯s soul so the array¡¯s effects could be activated much quicker. Arrays created outside the body, so long as they were stable enough, could be just as powerful as a skill, and that was what the Left Hand of the Runescribe was designed to help with. Aalam had invented a few of his own arrays from the runes he¡¯d learned, and, as he was given a bit of time as the zombies were slow and he could keep away from them, he got to test one of them out. He used his Law Eggs of Molecular Deceleration and Multi-Dimensional Geometry to create a two rune array, using a basic space element rune to twist an ice aligned water element rune into a much more powerful configuration. He had to use about a third of his mana, but the array was formed after only six seconds, the lines of energy drawn by the needles of water and space, and, three seconds later, the 25 zombies chasing him were all completely frozen, as was all the plant life around them, and, as they were unable to move, he used the two needles to smash in their heads. Chapter 38: Arrogance Aalam Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Molecular Deceleration has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Toughness +4, Perception +8, Magic +24, Soul +12 Toughness is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +4 Perception is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +8 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +12 Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Multi-Dimensional Geometry has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Perception +24, Spirit +16, Soul +8 Perception is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +24 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +16 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +8 His goals with his Law Eggs completed, Aalam started chasing the woman again, but this time, as he didn¡¯t have to waste concentration trying to enhance his Laws, he used the extra time to prepare an attack. From his glove, he summoned five of his needles, the ones representing the elements of fire, water, light, darkness, and space. Then, as he continued to run after the woman he could still hear, he began inscribing a five rune array anchored in space about a meter in front of his chest. On his right side, in front of his outstretched right hand, he used the needles of water and darkness to create two runes which together formed a subarray which would function a lot like the Dungeons and Dragons spell Cone of Cold, decreasing temperature in an expanding 45 degree zone in front of it. However, instead of dispersing the resulting heat from the spell to the surroundings like a refrigerator, the subarray instead absorbed the energy into a secondary rune made mostly of dark element energy and stored it for future use. Then, on his left side, in front of his outstretched left hand, he used the needles of fire and light to create a subarray which functioned effectively opposite to the first one, the main rune increasing temperature instead of decreasing while the secondary rune was designed to take in extra energy from an outside source rather than just qi and mana. Finally, the single extra rune in the middle, located between the two subarrays, which he created using the needles of light and space, served as a bridge. The energy absorbed by the subarray of cold would instantly be transferred to the subarray of heat, basically doubling the array¡¯s energy efficiency. Most important to the power of the array, however, was the nature of the runes he chose to use. They sacrificed a bit of power, and were far more complicated than the runes he¡¯d used in his attack against the zombies, but they were runes which fed off of environmental mana to create their effects, the resources of the creator just used as a primer, and the elements needed for the runes were in abundance in the local environment, so the resulting energy would be far more abundant than a G rank could normally use. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The array then also benefitted greatly from Aalam¡¯s Law Eggs of Molecular Deceleration, Molecular Acceleration, Infrared Absorption, Infrared, Energy Storage, Energy Transfer, Vacuum, and Multi-Dimensional Geometry as he used them all one at a time while setting the component runes up. This allowed him to get around his inability to use more than one Law in a single attack without the power of his Law Egg of Rage, which wasn¡¯t usable for careful delicate work. And, as a result, his array was far more powerful than anything a G rank could normally achieve. Aalam ran after the woman for a few minutes, plenty of time to create his runes, but then, after about two and a half kilometers, he noticed the environmental mana start to shift. The abundant life element mana in the air began to be replaced by death element mana and the abundant trees and other foliage began to look more and more rotted. The trees then disappeared almost completely and Aalam found himself standing on a small hill above what he assumed to be the undead base camp. It wasn¡¯t that nice. No gothic castles, no bone-based architecture. Instead, there were about a dozen stone huts based around a wide ten meter tall pillar and the stone huts weren¡¯t even nice ones. The stone pillar on the other hand was quite interesting. It was covered in time and space runes of a type much, much more complicated than anything Aalam had yet seen, and he was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t something the undead had made. In the information about apocalypse style integrations he¡¯d learned from Nana Xara, invading forces all entered the world undergoing the integration through an object called a Pillar of Conquest. It was the center hub of the invading force¡¯s Territory and their only connection back to where they came from. Planets undergoing apocalypse style integrations were hidden from the rest of the universe for seventy-two years by the System, so, if the Pillar of Conquest of a force was lost or damaged, no member of that force would be able to contact home for seventy-two years without somehow getting off planet first. For the natives, taking over Pillars of Conquest would help expand their own territories; count as defeating an invasion, giving large rewards; and stop the force on the other side of the pillar from spending more resources to send further forces through. Sadly, monsters like him couldn¡¯t do much with a Pillar of Conquest, but that was what native slaves were for and, by extension, why Mila was so useful. Around the pillar and huts were a couple hundred undead. From a quick look, only about half were converted natives, the zombies still looking mostly alive, while the rest were mostly scaled lizard men, low grade zombies brought from another world to act as workers in the early stages of the invasion. There were also about a dozen walking skeletons, a slightly higher grade race than zombies; a half dozen large two-headed black dogs called Shadow Wolves, the traditional mounts of the Nightwalkers; and two other Nightwalkers besides the woman he¡¯d been chasing. The woman was talking to another of the Nightwalkers next to the six Shadow Wolves near the edge of the small town, with three of the skeletons near them as well, so Aalam pointed his right hand toward them and let loose. A cone of cold burst out from in front of him, freezing about a dozen zombies before reaching his main targets. Then it continued on even beyond them, freezing even more zombies. Heat energy flowed into the subarray¡¯s secondary rune and was quickly transferred over to the subarray controlled by his left hand. Then that rune started throwing out fire like a flamethrower and he moved it back and forth, setting every zombie on the left side alight. There were still about a hundred zombies, nine skeletons, and a male Nightwalker behind the huts he couldn¡¯t reach and Aalam realized he hadn¡¯t accounted for their sheer numbers. Sure, empowered by the environmental mana, his runes had the power of a peak F rank spell, but they were still draining his own resources and he was dealing with several hundred F ranks while also wasting power heating and cooling the air. After just a bit over a dozen seconds, he couldn¡¯t keep the runes up any longer and they all collapsed. Then three of the skeletons and the Nightwalker he hadn¡¯t hit all started throwing bolts of energy at him and Aalam realized he hadn¡¯t thought about how to defend himself from ranged attacks. Dropping to the ground, he summoned three of his needles and, as about a hundred zombies and skeletons started running toward him through the heated or cooled air, he used all three of his minds to control the creation of another powerful three rune array, this one of the type he belatedly realized he should have gone with first. Undead had a rather major weakness. They weren¡¯t truly living creatures, but more like flesh-based automatons with partially repaired souls. So, while their core containers and mana wells were fine, those soul structures not affected much by death, their mental forges were incredibly fragile, and this made them weak against spirit attacks, what Aalam was currently best at. The first rune he drew was a water-based psychic attack rune he infused with the power of his Law Egg of Calm, while the second was a fire-based rune of the same type infused with the power of his Law Egg of Rage. By themselves they were designed to respectively calm and enrage a crowd, but, when under the effects of the array¡¯s third rune, a death element rune empowered by his Law Egg of Entropy, those effects were twisted and the fragile artificial souls of the zombies and skeletons were ripped apart as the two opposing emotions battled for supremacy in their already fragile mental forges. The attack would have had no effect on a crowd of humans beyond maybe causing a few mild headaches, but to the undead forces it was an annihilation spell way beyond the ice and fire runes he¡¯d started with. Every single zombie and skeleton left died and the only enemy remaining was that one Nightwalker. Or, at least that should have been the case. As Aalam stood up, he noticed two of the Shadow Wolves and the other two Nightwalkers were missing, no longer frozen into their starting positions as before. Then he felt pain. The two two-headed wolves had teleported into his shadow behind him and were now biting him, each grabbing one arm and one leg in one of their mouths, their teeth digging in enough to nearly crack his bones. And, putting Aalam in an even worse situation, they¡¯d brought the two Nightwalkers with them. Both Nightwalkers walked around to his front and the woman he¡¯d originally chased stabbed her ice and death empowered sword into his right kidney, causing him so much pain he nearly blacked out. The other Nightwalker, a male wearing full plate armor, even over his hands and feet, then pressed his right gauntlet to Aalam¡¯s chest, doing something Aalam couldn¡¯t understand, and Aalam suddenly couldn¡¯t move a muscle, his connection with his flying needles also broken, causing the three he had out to fall to the ground. Then the third Nightwalker, a man holding a staff and dressed in a black robe, walked up and placed the tip of his wooden staff on Aalam¡¯s forehead. He muttered to himself and Aalam felt a binding of some type wrap around his main Mental Forge, causing a kind of compulsion in him he couldn¡¯t understand. The three then talked to each other in a language he didn¡¯t know, so he used one of his subminds to send the conversation to Mila for translation. As their conversation finished and the mage looking one started running to the north, however, Mila didn¡¯t provide a full translation like he wanted. ¡°You lost to the invasion¡¯s three generals, not even their leader,¡± she sent, sounding almost as angry as when they¡¯d first arrived. ¡°They are going to question you while that other one goes to get their boss. ¡°Try not to anger them so much that they kill you.¡± Chapter 39: Souls Mila tried to look on the bright side of Aalam getting himself captured. At least the two in front of him were very, very horny for each other. Aalam couldn¡¯t see it, both because he couldn¡¯t understand their language and because he was generally oblivious, but he and Mila had started sharing their senses with each other over their bond and Mila was nowhere near as dense. Aalam had also managed to kill seemingly every undead other than the generals and two dogs, so that was also good. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Calm has advanced to high grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +16, Soul +8 Mila¡¯s intensive use of the Law over the last several minutes had finally led to a breakthrough, allowing her to calm her thoughts enough to not worry about Aalam dying from blood loss with all his limbs held in the jaws of Shadow Wolves. She was then able to shift to her Law Egg of Obfuscation and get within five meters of the Nightwalker mage heading to wherever their boss was located, and, just as the Nightwalker was about to notice her, she flared her aura to surround his and created a hologram of herself attacking him from the other direction. In the split second he was confused, she dropped her use of the Law Egg of Obfuscation and transformed the Twin Dragons into its spear form. Then she stabbed the man in his unbeating heart with an attack empowered by the Law Egg of The Reaper and her Artifact Enhancement skill. He didn¡¯t die from that, but it became difficult for him to move and she was right behind him, so she transformed the Twin Dragons into its sword form and decapitated him, this time ending his life. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly where the undead leader was, but she was pretty sure he¡¯d be notified about his general¡¯s death. The System didn¡¯t care about the troops an invasion came with, but the generals held an important position in the planet conquering game that was an apocalypse style integration, so the leader would get a System message about one¡¯s death. The other generals, however, wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Mila,¡± Aalam sent over their bond, ¡°Did you kill the mage guy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mila knew the mage had done something to Aalam, and that effect had likely disappeared with the mage¡¯s death. ¡°Now that the spell is gone, I think I know what the mage did to my main mental forge. I think his skill was designed to make me unable to move my resources and my body, only it overlapped with the knight¡¯s skill, so it was hard to tell. Given the mage added his skill on top, however, I think it likely the knight¡¯s binding on me won¡¯t last that much longer. ¡°As I had unaffected mental forges, even without you, I could have escaped on my own.¡± Aalam sounded pleased with himself, the enemies not knowing about his Multi-Mind skill and thus incorrectly binding him, but he¡¯d forgotten a few things and Mila felt obliged to point them out. ¡°Aalam, are you or are you not currently in the jaws of two two-headed wolves?¡± ¡°I am.¡± His mental voice sounded less sure of himself. ¡°Do you or do you not currently have a magic sword poking into one of your kidneys?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Are you or are you not in considerable pain?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Are there or are there not two powerful enemies right in front of you?¡± ¡°There are.¡± ¡°Have they or have they not taken your weapon?¡± ¡°They have.¡± ¡°Then Aalam, as someone with ample combat experience, trust me when I say you are not in a position where you could escape on your own.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Aalam sounded somewhat dejected, but at least the overconfidence which had gotten him into this state in the first place wouldn¡¯t grow. Mila waited for a full ten minutes near the general¡¯s body, but the leader of the undead never showed up, and, through her link with Aalam, she learned a possible reason why. ¡°What do you think is taking so long?¡± the woman asked and, as had been happening the entire time, she seemed fidgety and kept looking at Aalam¡¯s lower half. ¡°He¡¯s probably near a breakthrough from the effects of that cave.¡± The knight had taken his helmet off by this point, it now hanging from his belt, and he kept looking at the woman¡¯s lips and chest. Nightwalkers, as a species, were generally turned on by death, and Aalam¡¯s state of undress was heightening the effect, Mila having yet to find clothes which would fit his new taller body. Aalam¡¯s Aura and Spirit were also quite a bit higher than the two Nightwalkers and, as an Incubus, he ever so slightly boosted the lust of everyone around him. ¡°You don¡¯t think Prince Morin was attacked when we were, do you?¡± the knight asked, sounding like a man who was normally very concerned about duty but was currently extremely distracted. ¡°This bastard is an Incubus, almost certainly from a monster tutorial.¡± The woman flicked her sword, still stabbed into Aalam¡¯s kidney, and Aalam screamed, causing the woman to smile with even more lust at the knight. ¡°Given how powerful he is, there¡¯s no way he was spawned with others, so his only backup could be some kind of lover, yet no lover would be able to leave him like this, so she doesn''t exist.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Mila considered if she was disregarding Aalam¡¯s pain a bit too much as she moved back toward the undead¡¯s main camp. Sure, he¡¯d put himself in the situation; sure, it was a good learning experience which would hopefully cause him to plan more in the future; and, sure, he hadn¡¯t actually asked her to save him, seeming to prefer her plan of ambushing the undead powers one by one if possible, but he was in immense pain and, if he were in his right mind, he¡¯d be screaming for her. Still, though, what she was doing, while cold, was more likely to keep him alive. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of The Reaper has advanced to high grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +2, Soul + 6 Mila made it to the area where Aalam was held within a minute, being as quiet as possible, but there wasn¡¯t much foliage to hide behind and the two two-headed wolves likely had excellent hearing, so she didn¡¯t get close. Instead, she waited for Aalam to give the signal he was free to move again and only then did she attack. From her hidden vantage point about twenty meters away, she used Artifact Enhancement to pour over half of her mana and qi into the Twin Dragon¡¯s gun forms, aimed at the two generals, and then, using her Law Egg of Obfuscation to hide the blasts, she fired. The two shots hit the now making out generals in their heads, killing them, and Mila ran forward. At the same time, Aalam used all his strength to slam his back into the two two-headed wolves holding him. Mila then shot each of them, already injured from Aalam freezing them earlier, six times each and they went down, thankfully not taking any of Aalam¡¯s limbs with them. Aalam began trying to take the sword out from his kidney, but Mila quickly stopped him, instead having him sit down crosslegged and focus on healing. He was bleeding from four sets of bite marks and had been stabbed, so it was not smart for him to move around at all. Instead of immediately helping him with healing, though, Mila checked the souls of the generals and the two wolves, surprised to find them all filled with lust. Then she felt her own self unconsciously staring at Aalam¡¯s lower region and realized something more must be going on than she understood. ¡°First,¡± Nana Xara sent over their bond, ¡°while Aalam¡¯s aura has only half the strength of yours and his control over it is abysmal, he has 36 Law Eggs, 12 of which are peak grade. When it comes to aura being able to affect the souls of others, he¡¯s got you beat. ¡°Second, and magically more important, he¡¯s been bleeding a lot and Incubus blood is a strong aphrodisiac, even just being smelled. Aalam has maximized the stats for his race, so racial effects like that are also strengthened quite a bit.¡± As Nana Xara explained, Mila touched the two wolves and used her control over her aura to absorb the power of their souls into herself. Invisible energy flowed out of them and entered into her body using her aura as a conduit, the process almost as natural as breathing, and Mila felt satiated. Then she sent that power over her bond with Aalam and helped him pull out the sword, the energy from the Shadow Wolves¡¯ souls helping Aalam heal at a visible rate. Mila then pulled out the souls of the two generals as well and she realized their souls held significantly more energy than the wolves had, over three dozen wolves not being able to match one Nightwalker. You have met the criteria to advance your race to F rank You have the following three options: Succubus (F-Uncommon) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an incarnation of Lust nonetheless, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance for charm and disguise related abilities Max stats: Strength: 1728 Agility: 1728 Endurance: 1944 Toughness: 1728 Vitality: 1944 Perception: 2160 Magic: 2304 Spirit: 2592 Soul: 3024 Aura: 2304 Attunement: 2304 Luck: 2160 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 2 Agility: 2 Endurance: 4 Toughness: 2 Vitality: 4 Perception: 6 Magic: 7 Spirit: 8 Soul: 10 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Succubus (G-Uncommon) Shadow Succubus (F-Rare) An incarnation of lust born from shadows, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and shadow related abilities Max stats: Strength: 2160 Agility: 2592 Endurance: 2376 Toughness: 1944 Vitality: 2376 Perception: 2592 Magic: 2736 Spirit: 3024 Soul: 3240 Aura: 2736 Attunement: 2736 Luck: 2592 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 3 Agility: 6 Endurance: 4 Toughness: 3 Vitality: 4 Perception: 6 Magic: 8 Spirit: 9 Soul: 11 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Kill 3 E rank beings without them ever realizing they are in danger. Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Succubus (G-Uncommon), has killed at least 3 F rank beings without them ever realizing they were in danger Diabolic Succubus (F-Rare) An incarnation of lust and a natural born devil, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and contract related abilities Max stats: Strength: 2016 Agility: 2016 Endurance: 2232 Toughness: 2016 Vitality: 2232 Perception: 2448 Magic: 2880 Spirit: 3384 Soul: 3816 Aura: 2736 Attunement: 2736 Luck: 2592 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 2 Agility: 2 Endurance: 4 Toughness: 2 Vitality: 4 Perception: 6 Magic: 9 Spirit: 10 Soul: 15 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Destroy the souls of 3 E rank beings through them breaking the terms of a contract. Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Succubus (G-Uncommon), has destroyed the souls of at least 3 F rank beings through them breaking the terms of a contract Will you advance to a Succubus (F-Uncommon), a Shadow Succubus (F-Rare), or a Diabolic Succubus (F-Rare)? Chapter 40: Genetic Thief Mila dismissed the System message, not choosing to advance at all, and a new System message popped up. You have absorbed the power of two F rank souls consumed by lust at the time of their deaths and chosen not to advance with their power. The power will slowly dissipate. You have four standard days to advance your race with this power. Mila then sent one of the souls over her bond with Aalam and the System message changed. You have absorbed the power of one F rank soul consumed by lust at the time of its death and chosen not to advance with its power. The power will slowly dissipate. You have one standard day to advance your race with this power. Aalam then also got the System notification about meeting the criteria for race advancement, but his racial advancement options were different than hers. You have met the criteria to advance your race to F rank You have the following four options: Incubus (F-Uncommon) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an incarnation of Lust nonetheless, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance for charm and disguise related abilities Max stats: Strength: 1728 Agility: 1728 Endurance: 1944 Toughness: 1728 Vitality: 1944 Perception: 2160 Magic: 2304 Spirit: 2592 Soul: 3024 Aura: 2304 Attunement: 2304 Luck: 2160 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 2 Agility: 2 Endurance: 4 Toughness: 2 Vitality: 4 Perception: 6 Magic: 7 Spirit: 8 Soul: 10 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Incubus (G-Uncommon) Psychic Incubus (F-Rare) An incarnation of lust and mental powers, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and psychic related abilities Max stats: Strength: 2088 Agility: 2088 Endurance: 2304 Toughness: 2088 Vitality: 2304 Perception: 2520 Magic: 2448 Spirit: 3816 Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Soul: 3384 Aura: 2736 Attunement: 2736 Luck: 2592 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 2 Agility: 2 Endurance: 4 Toughness: 2 Vitality: 4 Perception: 6 Magic: 5 Spirit: 15 Soul: 14 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Kill 3 E rank beings with psychic abilities. Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Incubus (G-Uncommon), has killed at least 3 F rank beings with psychic abilities Incubus Lord (F-Rare) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a lord of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Max stats: Strength: 2088 Agility: 2088 Endurance: 2304 Toughness: 2088 Vitality: 2304 Perception: 2520 Magic: 2736 Spirit: 3024 Soul: 3888 Aura: 2736 Attunement: 2736 Luck: 2592 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 3 Agility: 3 Endurance: 5 Toughness: 3 Vitality: 5 Perception: 7 Magic: 8 Spirit: 9 Soul: 11 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a small amount of Territory for an F rank Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Incubus (G-Uncommon), has control over a small amount of Territory for a G rank Incubus Prince (F-Epic) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a prince of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 3 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 2448 Agility: 2448 Endurance: 2664 Toughness: 2448 Vitality: 2664 Perception: 2880 Magic: 3168 Spirit: 3456 Soul: 4752 Aura: 3168 Attunement: 3168 Luck: 3024 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 4 Agility: 4 Endurance: 6 Toughness: 4 Vitality: 6 Perception: 8 Magic: 9 Spirit: 10 Soul: 12 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a medium amount of Territory for an F rank Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Incubus (G-Uncommon), has control over a medium amount of Territory for a G rank, has maximized stats as an Incubus (G-Uncommon) Will you advance to an Incubus (F-Uncommon), a Psychic Incubus (F-Rare), an Incubus Lord (F-Rare), or an Incubus Prince (F-Epic)? Aalam also dismissed the System message, not choosing to advance, and gained the same message as her as a result. Incubus Prince was quite awesome, requiring a little more than 25 square kilometers of Territory and maxed stats to gain the advancement, and it was better than Chaos Dragon Hatchling in one respect, even though the latter was a Legendary grade race. It allowed for dual classes. According to what she¡¯d learned from Nana Xara, dual classes meant having two classes instead of one, but the classes would both be half as effective. Their stat bonuses per level, class effects, and number of skill slots would all be halved while they would keep their separate advancement requirements, so generally it wasn¡¯t that great of an idea. With an even stronger soul from a more powerful race, however, or the right classes, those limitations could be mitigated and that was obviously Aalam¡¯s goal. Aalam took a couple more minutes to fully heal himself. Then he found the Left Hand of the Runescribe, put it back on, and gathered up all the artifacts of the generals and skeletons, putting them all in his artifact¡¯s subspace. The two of them then walked over to where they¡¯d left the body of the last general and Aalam collected the man¡¯s staff, robe, and other clothing. ¡°Where do you think their leader is?¡± Aalam then finally asked, speaking English. ¡°They mentioned he was cultivating in a cave.¡± Mila pointed to the small mountain the mage had been heading toward before she¡¯d ambushed him, visible through the treetops. ¡°Follow me.¡± Then Mila used the tracking lessons her grandfather had drilled into her as a child and they walked a couple hundred meters further into the jungle. When they got about half way up the mountain, however, they didn¡¯t find a cave but a sheer cliff, and something wasn¡¯t right. The tracks through the jungle, both the humanoid ones and the ones that kind of looked like they were from a being made up of multiple snakes, just stopped about three meters in front of the cliff. Mila focused on the area for a few seconds and only then did she notice what was going on. Her eyes couldn¡¯t see it and her aura couldn¡¯t feel it, but her third eye could sense some kind of magic barrier blocking off a small subsection of the cliff, and, as she focused on her third eye, its sight overlapped with her vision, making the barrier appear like a slight shimmer in the air. ¡°There¡¯s an illusion formation here, an extremely powerful one.¡± She turned to look at Aalam. ¡°It¡¯s probably worth a lot, so we don¡¯t want to damage it.¡± As Aalam studied the area for a bit, likely trying to sense the formation himself, Mila walked into the jungle for about seventy meters. There she caught a lizard-like monkey thing, a G rank monster about the size of a capuchin, and then she walked back and threw it into the formation. Nothing changed in her senses, and she saw the monkey thing safely run out a few seconds later, so she again caught it, indicated for Aalam to follow, and then walked right into the illusion. As soon as she walked past it, she could see the mouth of a cave, the inside lit by artificial magical lights, and she then slowly walked in. About twenty meters later, her senses picked up something else hidden deeper in and she threw the monkey thing again. This time, however, it didn¡¯t survive. As soon as it got five meters in front of her it got cut into about twenty pieces by some kind of extremely sharp invisible grate. Aalam stepped up next to her and pointed his left palm at the grate, three needles flying out, one with a gray orb, one with a yellow orb, and the third with a silver orb. Then he used the three needles to make some kind of complicated array over about eight seconds and the invisible grate in front of them temporarily became visible to Mila¡¯s third eye before fizzling out. Mila was pretty sure he¡¯d made some kind of entropy increasing gas using his Law Eggs of Gas, Entropy, and maybe Multi-Dimensional Geometry, but she didn¡¯t really understand. All she knew was the runes in the array he¡¯d created could be read as ¡®Entropic Air¡¯ and that it had been effective. They walked a further ten meters in and found no other defenses. Instead, they found a room about six by eight meters wide, one with an odd energy infused into its air which made Mila feel exceedingly comfortable, and inside were two beings. One, sitting on a throne made of stone seemingly raised up from the cave floor, was a Nightwalker about the same size as Aalam, significantly taller than his two male generals or any of the natives she¡¯d seen, who seemed to be 10 cm shorter than humans from Earth on average. And the other was a one meter long black and red squid-like beast lying in what looked like a stone dog bed. Both radiated F rank power and both looked like they¡¯d just woken up from a long nap, still kind of groggy. Without talking, Mila and Aalam then both attacked. Aalam sent out all twelve of his needles in three sets of four to stab into the abyssal squid thing multiple times, his aura emanating extreme excitement. Meanwhile, Mila transformed the Twin Dragons into its spear form, activated Artifact Enhancement, and then infused it with all the qi, mana, and psyforce she could muster. The Nightwalker leader was wearing a pair of black pants and a black T-shirt, as well as a belt holding a sword on his right hip, allowing Mila to know he was left handed. So, before he was aware enough to react, she sliced down on his left elbow and cut off his lower arm. Then, as he fully woke up and screamed in pain, she placed the blade of the spear at his neck and spoke in Universal Standard. ¡°Surrender or die.¡± It wasn¡¯t the language his generals had been speaking, but it was the standard language of the universe, so those from all major powers knew it enough to function, much less a prince. It had also been the language spoken by everyone in the tutorial¡¯s third challenge, so Mila¡¯s proficiency was quite high. More important, however, she also sent out a contract with her words, neither her or Aalam allowed to kill the man so long as he didn¡¯t try to hurt them first, honestly answered all questions, and made no attempts to escape. As he got the bleeding of his left arm under control, the man at first looked like he wanted to resist, but then he looked over at Aalam and the squid-like thing. After killing the beast, Aalam had stuck his right hand into the squid thing''s body and then the thing started to glow with black and red light. That light then flowed into Aalam, strengthening him, and the squid-like thing¡¯s soul shattered into pieces and dissipated, the being deader than dead. The process was visible to both Mila and Prince Morin through their auras, and Mila could sense as the prince grew incredibly fearful, almost immediately agreeing to her contract. Chapter 41: Race Evolution Mila Aalam then placed his needles and the squid-like thing¡¯s body into his artifact¡¯s subspace and sat down crosslegged on top of the stone bed to read his notifications. And Mila, guiding Prince Morin out of the room, read them as well. You have used the power of your Genetic Thief bloodline to steal the genetic power of an Abyssal Soul Collector (F-Legendary) with the Soul Eater (Fabled) bloodline. This power can be used in your next racial advancement. Then, as he still had one of the generals¡¯ souls, he checked to see his new racial advancement options. You have met the criteria to advance your race to F rank You have the following six options: Incubus (F-Uncommon) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an incarnation of Lust nonetheless, one which eats souls. ~~ ~~ Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an enhanced prince of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 3 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Advanced dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 2448 Agility: 2448 Endurance: 2664 Toughness: 2448 Vitality: 2664 Perception: 2880 Magic: 3168 Spirit: 3456 Soul: 4752 Aura: 3168 Attunement: 3168 Luck: 3024 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 4 Agility: 4 Endurance: 6 Toughness: 4 Vitality: 6 Perception: 8 Magic: 9 Spirit: 10 Soul: 12 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a medium amount of Territory for an F rank Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Incubus (G-Uncommon), has control over a medium amount of Territory for a G rank, has maximized stats as an Incubus (G-Uncommon), has absorbed the genetic power of a Legendary grade or higher life form specializing in the Soul stat Incubus King (F-Legendary) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a king of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 4 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Dual classes possible A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Max stats: Strength: 2808 Agility: 2808 Endurance: 3024 Toughness: 2808 Vitality: 3024 Perception: 3240 Magic: 3600 Spirit: 3888 Soul: 5616 Aura: 3600 Attunement: 3600 Luck: 3456 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 5 Agility: 5 Endurance: 7 Toughness: 5 Vitality: 7 Perception: 9 Magic: 10 Spirit: 11 Soul: 13 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a large amount of Territory for an F rank Eat an E rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Incubus (G-Uncommon), has control over a medium amount of Territory for a G rank, has maximized stats as an Incubus (G-Uncommon), has absorbed the genetic power of an Legendary grade or higher life form specializing in the Soul stat Will you advance to an Incubus (F-Uncommon), a Psychic Incubus (F-Rare), an Incubus Lord (F-Rare), an Incubus Prince (F-Epic), a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), or an Incubus King (F-Legendary)? Mila looked at these messages and she was pretty sure what Aalam would pick. Incubus King was awesome, an overall improvement to Incubus Prince, with higher max stats, higher stat growth, and even an extra racial ability, but it didn¡¯t have the same potential as Strong Soul Incubus Prince. Strong Soul Incubus Prince was exactly the same as Incubus Prince except for one thing. Instead of dual classes, it allowed for advanced dual classes. And that difference was huge. Dual classes allowed a cultivator to gain two half-powered classes instead of one, with half the stat bonuses per level, half the number of skill slots as normal, and half-powered class effects, but advanced dual classes was different. With advanced dual classes, the class effects for both classes would be at full power and there would be no halving of skill slots, halved stat bonuses at each level the only detriment. So, Aalam of course immediately chose Strong Soul Incubus Prince without giving it any extra thought and, as Mila looked back before leaving the room herself, her extra senses allowed her to see Aalam fall unconscious. Then the soul energy from one of the generals flowed out of his mouth and nose as a red and black mist and wrapped around his entire body before entering him again from all sides. The odd energy in the air also started flowing into his body, and Mila was pretty sure that was going to give him an even larger benefit. ¡°What was that room?¡± she asked the prince as they walked out of the cave and into the light of day. The prince looked like he didn¡¯t want to answer, but he was under the effects of the contract, so he had to. ¡°It¡¯s one of the two natural wonders of this world that makes it an F++ rank planet. It¡¯s technically called a soul well, but, like you just saw, it''s usually shaped like a cave. Just by staying inside, a cultivator¡¯s Soul stat will gradually increase, and it will be even faster if he cultivates.¡± Translation, it was an ideal cultivation cave for Aalam and, were she to leave him there, he wouldn¡¯t leave unless she needed him. Nana Xara had said multiple times the Luck stat had heightened effects in the tutorial and that apparently included exit location as well. Both her and Aalam¡¯s Luck stats had been as high as they could be when the tutorial had ended and that had resulted in them not only being placed on a planet with an inheritance from a dead power, but near the best choice of the natives to enslave, near an ideal candidate for Aalam to make use of his Genetic Thief bloodline, and near an almost perfect cultivation cave as well. ¡°Who are you and where are you from?¡± Mila started leading Prince Morin through the jungle back to his previous base as she asked for more information. ¡°I am Prince Morin Daal, fourth son of Kalan Daal, B rank monarch of all undead in the Palazin Galaxy Cluster.¡± The way he said that, Mila understood she should be impressed, but she didn¡¯t really feel it given the man had mainly lost to her and Aalam through his own idiocy. ¡°I am from Planet Daal, named after my father.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mila feigned complete indifference, annoying the prince, and then they didn¡¯t talk for a bit as Mila instead spoke with Nana Xara. ¡°Could I ransom him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a possibility.¡± Nana Xara sounded contemplative. ¡°It would be difficult, however, and I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. Given how much of an idiot he is and that he has three older siblings, he¡¯s probably not worth anything you couldn¡¯t get through safer and easier means. ¡°You and Aalam also already killed everyone else who could travel through the Pillar of Conquest, making sending a ransom note expensive. ¡°If you want to steal all his money, however, that is backed by the System and couldn¡¯t be tracked by anyone less than a god, so feel free.¡± ¡°Alright. Brutal murder and trickery it is.¡± Mila ended the conversation and then enhanced her connection with Roland Raphaiya, allowing her to send a brief message to the young man telling him the location of the undead force¡¯s Pillar of Conquest and what she wanted him to do. Then she started asking Morin Daal as many questions as she could think of, but his answers weren¡¯t of much use. Any question about cultivation, Nana Xara knew far more. Anything actually useful about undead politics Nana Xara wouldn¡¯t know, he couldn¡¯t talk about without his soul being destroyed. And he was quite obviously a sheltered brat, so he didn¡¯t know much more. All she really got was a better idea on who the other invading forces were, and even that was quite limited. ¡°Want to make a second contract?¡± she finally asked. ¡°You give me all your artifacts, skill orbs, et cetera, as well as all your money and, in return, neither my partner nor I stop you from leaving.¡± They¡¯d arrived back at the undead camp and Prince Morin could see the devastation. ¡°Just the two of you did all this?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mila looked at the ice covered houses in one corner and the still burning ground in another. ¡°Almost everything was him. I only killed five of your subordinates in total.¡± She very deliberately didn¡¯t mention those five had been the strongest of his wolves and all his generals, setting him up for overconfidence. ¡°Then what is to stop me from just running for the pillar?¡± He turned a smug look at her and she responded by transforming the Twin Dragons from their earring form into spear form, creating a bright flash of light with her Law Egg of Hologram, and then using a lot of force to cut off his right foot. ¡°That.¡± Completely off balance, both literally and figuratively, just as intended, he quickly agreed to the new contract she¡¯d sent him and she then helped strip him of his artifact shirt, his artifact pants, and his artifact boxers, as well as his artifact belt, his artifact sword, and the bag of holding which had been opposite his sword. At the same time, she also got a few new System messages. Morin Daal has transferred all his wealth to you. You have gained 3 D rank universal credits, 1047 E rank universal credits, 112,945 F rank universal credits, 26 D rank undead credits, 27,894 E rank undead credits, and 37,766,349 F rank undead credits Congratulations! You have made money. Your status screen now contains an assets section. Then, as Morin Daal turned to hobble toward the pillar, Mila transformed the Twin Dragons into its spear form again and cut off his good leg at the knee. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this!¡± the prince yelled at her after turning over from where he¡¯d fallen on his face. ¡°I only agreed not to kill you and not to personally stop you from leaving.¡± Mila transformed the Twin Dragons back into earring form as Roland Raphaiya ran at them from where he¡¯d been hiding, sword drawn. ¡°There was nothing to stop me from maiming you or allowing my master¡¯s slave to kill you.¡± Mila moved away from the prince as Roland made it to where they were and cut off Morin Daal¡¯s head. Then she took the time to look at the System messages Roland had received since she¡¯d called him to come. You have found an invading force. Generating annihilation quest. Destroy the Invasion I (F-Epic) Accomplish the following:
  1. Either kill, force to flee, or permanently subjugate the leader of the invasion force
  2. Either kill, force to flee, or permanently subjugate the three generals of the invasion force
Rewards for this quest are based on contribution. Extra rewards for killing the leader of the invasion force. Extra rewards for killing one of the three generals. This quest will be shared by every Hiran native in the area of the invasion. Do you accept? Yes/No That was the first message. He then received another from killing Morin Daal. You have solo-killed the leader of the invasion force, Prince Morin Daal. Extra rewards will be given when the invasion force is fully removed. ¡°Alright,¡± she told Roland as she started picking up Morin Daal¡¯s stuff. ¡°Go touch the Pillar of Conquest and complete the quest.¡± Chapter 42: Soul Collector Roland looked down at the camp of the undead in wonder, the hundred or so frozen or burned zombies, the six wolves he could spot, four frozen, two with holes in their heads and hearts. Most disturbing of all, however, were the dead zombies and skeletons which had apparently started charging up the hill and then just died. The latter two wolves he was pretty sure had been killed by the Mistress of Oaths and Deception, but the frost and fire, the mass destruction, that had to be from the Heavenly Spark Soul King. From the appearance of the battlefield, the Heavenly Spark Soul King had started the invasion by himself, destroyed almost the entire force, and then been captured. There was a section on the hill covered in both wolf blood, the blood and brain matter of two of the invasion force¡¯s generals, and a slightly more pink blood that almost gave Roland an erection when he got close to it. The Mistress of Oaths and Deception had seemingly then saved the Heavenly Spark Soul King and they¡¯d both just walked away, found the invasion force leader somewhere else, and then the Mistress of Oaths and Deception had made the type of tricky deals which gave her her name, getting the leader in position for Roland to easily kill. Roland had gotten a good sense of the invasion force leader. While very much an early F rank, his aura had been much stronger than any of the F rank beings Roland met inside the tutorial¡¯s challenges, with a strong feeling of weight and darkness, yet the Mistress of Oaths and Deception had handled him with ease, even while she herself was only G rank. If what she¡¯d said was true, and she and the Heavenly Spark Soul King were human up until recently, it was quite obvious she at least had received quite a bit of training. Given how he had seemingly been captured, however, without even having the chance to run away, the Heavenly Spark Soul King had likely not. He was just far more powerful than any G rank had the right to be, with at least a cold and fire Law Egg at high grade each. Roland walked up to the so-called Pillar of Conquest and placed his right hand on its surface, causing a System message to pop up in front of his eyes. You have touched the Pillar of Conquest of one of the invasion forces into your world. The process of conquest will take half a day, during which time you must protect the pillar from the original invasion force as well as any other challengers. Would you like to begin the process of conquest? Yes/No Roland accepted and then the Mistress of Oaths and Deception walked up to him. ¡°Head back and continue to hunt with your party.¡± She placed a hand on his shoulder, all the undead leader¡¯s artifacts held in her other arm. ¡°Our best protection now is secrecy.¡± Roland nodded to her and then headed back, finding himself wondering why she didn¡¯t want him to meet the Heavenly Spark Soul King, the man she wanted him to refer to as Guardian. Was it to keep up an air of mystery about their master, because the Heavenly Spark Soul King wasn¡¯t quite as impressive in person as his obvious power would suggest, or maybe just because it was a needless risk? He probably wouldn¡¯t know until he finally met the man. What he was sure of, however, was that, without the two monsters, he and the rest of his people in the area would have been killed by the invasion force within the next couple of months. * * * Mila covered herself with her Law Egg of Obfuscation and then headed back to the cave, taking her time to obscure the tracks which had allowed her and Aalam to find it in the first place. Then she headed inside, making sure all the arrays other than the offensive one Aalam had destroyed were intact, and sat down on the throne to wait for Aalam to wake up. It took about five hours, with Mila¡¯s Soul stat increasing by 2 during the time as she meditated on her Laws, but not much had changed with Aalam by the time he woke up. His dark blue hair had fallen off to be replaced by hair the same color but maybe a little darker. His amber, almost orange, eyes were a bit brighter, a bit less natural looking. But the truly noticeable difference was his aura. It hadn¡¯t grown stronger, his Aura stat no different than before, but it felt more solid, harder to affect. The feeling of increasing lust from being in his presence was more potent and there was now an additional urge to bow in deference. Most important, the many Laws in his aura, previously a chaotic mess, felt more ordered and controlled, his new race seemingly giving him much higher natural affinities with all Laws. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Awakening your third racial ability as a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic). Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Soul Collector (Epic): Gain a unique small size soulstructure for long term storage of deceased souls
  2. Passive Daoist (Legendary): Gain insights into Laws more easily through meditation, but less easily through combat.
  3. Lord¡¯s Aura (Heroic): Increase the effectiveness of the Aura stat by 50%.
As soon as he woke up, Aalam also got to choose his third racial ability, and, as with most of his decisions since entering into his berserker state, he made it almost instantly, choosing Soul Collector. Then he fell unconscious again, and this time he was under for almost ten hours. Roland¡¯s invasion quest even finished before he woke up. Destroy the Invasion I (F-Epic) Completed! Personal completion percentage: 100% There were no escapees among the invasion¡¯s forces. You solo-killed the leader of the invasion. Calculating. Rewards: All stats +6 Three choices of F rank skill orbs up to Epic grade Three choices of F rank artifacts up to Epic grade ¡°What?¡± Mila even spoke out loud as she used her authority as Aalam¡¯s chamberlain to block Roland from personally selecting his choices. Then she sent the System message over her bond to Nana Xara and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Why are the rewards so low?¡± Nana Xara started laughing on the other end and Mila realized what her answer would be even before she said it. ¡°Low? Mila, those rewards are incredibly high for what you just accomplished. ¡°Legendary grade rewards from the System are extremely rare, requiring you to do something outrageous. Do you remember what you and Aalam had to do to get Legendary grade rewards back in the tutorial?¡± She could almost see Nana Xara¡¯s smile. ¡°You had to kill D ranks as G ranks. That¡¯s not something which is normally ever done.¡± ¡°The reward for killing Aalam is Legendary,¡± Mila sent over defensively, again realizing what Nana Xara would say immediately after. ¡°And he¡¯s incredibly abnormal.¡± Nana Xara started laughing again and Mila felt like a bit of a fool. She¡¯d gotten too used to getting the best of the best rewards each time she and Aalam did anything. Destroying the invasion force had been more difficult than some of the challenges in the tutorial, but that was only due to her and Aalam being underleveled for the task and Aalam rushing into things like an idiot. The true challenge actually wasn¡¯t that hard. ¡°Do you have advice about what I should pick?¡± Mila sent the contents of both lists over the bond. ¡°Unlike Aalam, you will want to go for Legendary grade skills, so for one of the artifacts I would choose an F rank Epic grade Orb of Skill Combination. Depending on the classes you choose, you might have another way of performing skill combinations, but it¡¯s probably a better route to just use the stones, as you don¡¯t have too much need for other artifacts given what you¡¯ve received from the undead. ¡°Then it just boils down to what type of skill you want and the other two artifacts don¡¯t matter too much. My advice would be to choose two of the Epic grade ingredients Aalam would want for improving the Left Hand of the Runescribe. From that list, the rarest would be a Contained Life Essence and a Contained Time Essence.¡± Mila immediately chose those three artifacts, but they didn¡¯t appear near her, so she was pretty sure they appeared near Roland instead. He had no way to contact her, however, so she just sent him a message telling him the artifacts and the soon to come skill orbs were hers and not to use them. ¡°Do you have advice on what skills I should get? I¡¯ve got three skills now, but it sounds like I¡¯ll have room for a total of 12 at F rank. I wasn¡¯t expecting to have so many.¡± ¡°With Aalam¡¯s choice of race,¡± Nana Xara sent, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure what plans he has for your second class, and I don¡¯t see any issues with taking it, though it will be your choice. That class will work a little different from normal, though, so it won¡¯t give you any extra skill slots for yourself. It will, however, take your Exemplary Servitor skill, leaving you four slots to fill on your main class. ¡°One of those needs to be a charm skill for your class to work properly, but I have a good option prepared, and another needs to be a disguise skill, but you¡¯ll get that from your class, so that only leaves two slots. Normally, I would recommend a detection skill and a movement skill, but the other class should cover the detection skill if what I¡¯m guessing is correct.¡± Nana Xara sounded contemplative. ¡°Given the way you fight, however, speed isn¡¯t really as important as the ability to distract and hide, so, for your final two skills, I would recommend a skill to complement your path of illusions and another to complement your path of shadows, the latter also ideally a movement skill. ¡°Since there is an inheritance on this planet, it will likely have some skill orbs usable by both you and Aalam, meaning it¡¯s more likely than not the inheritance of a thief or a craftsman, with a thief more likely. Thus, my recommendation is to go for an illusion skill.¡± Mila thought about it. Given her bloodline and how Aalam had upgraded their soulstructures, she was pretty sure she knew what the class line he wanted her to take for her second class would do, and she was still thinking about it. But that didn¡¯t stop her from taking it into consideration when choosing a new skill, so they spent the next half hour or so going over her options. Then she chose the skills Illusion Steps (F-Epic), Second Self (F-Epic), and Blur (F-Epic). It was a bit later that Aalam woke up and Mila finally got the chance to confirm the effects of his third racial ability, having wanted to avoid the topic of lust filled souls with Nana Xara. ¡°Aalam, does your new ability effectively work as a refrigerator for souls?¡± Aalam looked perplexed for a second, probably by her analogy not being technically correct, his ability likely more like an ice box than a refrigerator, but, instead of going into a long explanation about the nature of heat pumps, he instead just nodded. ¡°So we can stock up now and I don¡¯t have to go hunting every couple of days?¡± He nodded again. Mila sent the slowly degenerating soul of the last general over to him for safekeeping. Then she quickly explained the results of taking over the Pillar of Conquest and left to put everything in order back in Eshna. She would go take the rewards from Roland before he used any of them, hunt enough souls to last for a month or so, and then enter into secluded cultivation with Aalam. There she would upgrade her race to Strong Soul Succubus Princess, which her bloodline allowed for even though she didn¡¯t meet the prerequisites, and finish mastering her skills like Aalam was working on so she could gain her two classes and finally make it to level 1, the first true step on the road to power. Chapter 43: Classes Aalam Aalam was happy with himself, even though his performance had shown a distinct lack of combat planning. Tactics he could get better at, and Mila seemed pretty good at them already. But racial choices were permanent, and he¡¯d gotten the exact race he wanted. On top of that, he hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d be able to find a creature like the Abyssal Soul Collector until he was F or E rank. Absorbing the genetic power of any Legendary grade being specializing in the Soul stat, such as the Nightwalker prince, would have allowed him to get the race, but the Soul Collector ability was not one he was at all naturally suited for and he would never have had the possibility of receiving it without his Genetic Thief bloodline. The soul well was also a great find. There was information about such natural born structures in the boon he¡¯d received from Nana Xara, and, while they were pretty common on new worlds, being able to dominate one was quite rare. This soul well, for example, had contained enough energy to raise someone¡¯s Soul stat by around 7,000, though 300 worth of that energy had already been used by the Nightwalker prince and the Abyssal Soul Collector. A large amount had also been absorbed by both him and Mila as they advanced in the cave, both their Soul stats more than doubling as a result, and that increased the strength of their bond and Mila¡¯s contract abilities. Almost as important as the soul cave for Aalam¡¯s cultivation, however, was the increase in Territory of the native prince from conquering the invasion. New Raphaiya had increased in size from 50 square kilometers to 150, and that boost had increased the amount of bonus stats Aalam could receive from his Prince uniqueness by 50%, resulting in an effective extra 13.5 to his Attunement stat. This, along with the drastic rise in his base affinities with all Laws when he¡¯d upgraded to a Strong Soul Incubus Prince, had made his cultivation of Laws a lot easier, so, even as he focused on mastering his skills, he still got really close to raising several of his other Laws to peak grade as well. Then, after two more weeks, he finally mastered his last skill. Not being a soulform anymore, both he and Mila had to sleep, but having higher affinities and stronger Soul and Spirit stats really helped speed up skill mastery, as did experimenting with them in combat. For both of them, however, it was the skills that gave them their bond which were the most difficult to raise, at least until they found the trick. Aalam¡¯s regeneration of resources was more than doubled when within his own Territory, not from Prince, but from the basic effect of owning Territory, and he and Mila could send resources over their bond, even from kilometers away, with very little loss. So, they started practicing independently, Aalam in the cave and Mila back in the city, using their resources to help boost Artifact Enhancement and Runescriber, all while sharing resources back and forth. This act of sharing resources over a distance helped their lowest mastery skills grow at the fastest rate and the extra resources from him having Territory and sharing the regenerated qi, mana, and psyforce helped their second lowest mastery skills grow faster as well. When his skills were finally mastered, the final piece required for class advancement was done and, as he was no longer in the tutorial, all he had to do was go into his status screen, click on his current class of Citizen, and choose to upgrade it. You have chosen to upgrade your class Citizen (G-Common) Please choose from the following 3,483 possible upgrades. As usual, Aalam read through the entire list, and he quickly confirmed all the classes followed the general patterns Nana Xara¡¯s information had indicated. Inferior grade classes provided 54 stats per level, Common grade classes 72, Uncommon grade classes 90, etc, a difference of 18 stats per grade up until Legendary classes at 144. Then there was a 32 stat jump to Heroic which gave 180. Each class also provided intrinsic effects equivalent to 3 to 4 same grade racial abilities, a class¡¯s greatest benefit. And pretty much every Uncommon grade class and above provided 6 skill slots, only three classes, all from the same line, providing more. For advancing from G to F rank, the grade of his G rank class didn¡¯t matter, so his class choices were from Inferior all the way up to Heroic grade. Most of the classes had been in Nana Xara¡¯s information, but a grand total of 317 hadn¡¯t. Some, such as several of the Heroic and Legendary grade classes, had high requirements when it came to Laws as well as unique accomplishments. Others, such as the dozen or so high grade bomber and plague line classes had really difficult accomplishments, such as killing billions as a G grade or blowing up multiple individuals two ranks higher. There was even one Heroic grade bomber class where the only requirement was killing someone three ranks higher with a bomb. More than half, though, just required the Multi-Mind skill, as that was a really rare skill even at higher ranks. And even the weakest class which required Multi-Mind was quite good. Thinker (F-Uncommon) Process many things at once and process at speed Effects: Increase the power of psychic category enhancement skills Skill slots: 6 May only learn skills of the following categories: Psychic Passive Active Enhancement Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 0 Agility: 0 Endurance: 0 Toughness: 0 Vitality: 0 Perception: 0 Magic: 0 Spirit: 45 Soul: 45 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: The Multi-Mind (G-Legendary) skill, Spirit greater than 36 Boosting just Spirit and Soul, the class was designed to make the Multi-Mind skill and other skills like it work better and the result would be a cultivator specialized in thinking, which Aalam thought was pretty cool. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He¡¯d never choose something that would limit him like that, but the basic effects were still pretty awesome, so the highest graded class requiring Multi-Mind was probably what he would pick if he could only choose one class. Heavenly Spark Thinker Mage (F-Heroic) Master of Laws, magic, and multiple minds Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Magic, Spirit, Soul, and Attunement stats by 50% Raise affinity with all Laws by 100% Greatly increase the power of psychic category enhancement skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Martial Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 9 Agility: 9 Endurance: 9 Toughness: 9 Vitality: 9 Perception: 9 Magic: 36 Spirit: 36 Soul: 36 Aura: 9 Attunement: 9 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 high grade Law Eggs for each of the 12 elements, at least one Legendary grade magic skill, the Multi-Mind (G-Legendary) skill, Magic greater than 144, Spirit greater than 144, Soul greater than 144, Attunement greater than 72 It had one of the easier requirements among his Heroic grade class options. It would ¡®greatly¡¯ increase his Multi-Mind skill and its advancements, which was one step higher than ¡®markedly¡¯ and two steps higher than no modifier. And, given the type of class it was, he could likely even get it to allow martial skills in future advancements. The only problem was there was nothing about it which would cause his Lord skill to take up one of its skill slots over one from the class he needed to pick for his build to work, and that meant he wouldn¡¯t be able to choose the class he needed without losing the Lord skill, which was required so he could get souls from Mila and make use of his second uniqueness. The final requirement of the class he needed was quite hard to fulfill. Void Sage (F-Legendary) A creator of arrays, yet empty Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 6.25% Increase the speed of mastering skills by 100% May freely fuse mastered skills Skill slots: 8 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 8 Agility: 8 Endurance: 8 Toughness: 8 Vitality: 8 Perception: 8 Magic: 8 Spirit: 8 Soul: 80 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 sets of opposing Law Eggs at middle grade or higher, has Soul as the highest stat, has personally invented at least 3 new arrays with G rank effects, has no skills There were multiple sage lines, but the line of the void sage provided the best benefits in Aalam¡¯s opinion. It was one of the only class lines with more than 6 skill slots, the Epic grade version having 7 and the Heroic grade version having 9. Like all sage line classes, it boosted skill mastery speed and had stat gain almost entirely focused on the soul, but it also allowed free skill fusion and boosted the effectiveness of all stats, which was incredibly rare. It required no skills, however, which for a dual class situation meant all three skills Aalam currently had needed to go to his other class, something which wouldn¡¯t happen with Heavenly Spark Thinker Mage, as the natural tendency of skills which could be used by either class equally would be to take the skill slot of the class with less skills. Among the Heroic grade classes Aalam could choose from, there were only three which would take all three of his skills while also boosting his affinities with all Laws instead of a subset, so those were the only ones he would consider for his second class. First was Heavenly Spark Psymage Lord, a combat focused class. Heavenly Spark Psymage Lord (F-Heroic) Master of Laws, Territory, psyforce, and mana Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Spirit and Magic stats by 25% Increase the effectiveness of the Attunement stat by 50% Raise affinity with all Laws by 100% Markedly increase the power of psychic, magic, and noble category skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Martial Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 9 Agility: 9 Endurance: 9 Toughness: 9 Vitality: 9 Perception: 9 Magic: 36 Spirit: 36 Soul: 36 Aura: 9 Attunement: 9 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 high grade Law Eggs for each of the 12 elements, at least one Legendary grade psychic skill, at least one Legendary grade magic skill, the Lord (G-Legendary) skill, Magic greater than 144, Spirit greater than 144, Soul greater than 144, Attunement greater than 72, has control over a medium amount of Territory for a G rank, has slain a being two ranks higher or greater with pure psychic or magic skills, has killed over 72 beings one rank higher or greater with pure psychic skills, has killed over 72 beings one rank higher or greater with pure magic skills Technically, psychic arrays counted as pure psychic skills and magic arrays counted as pure magic skills, so the last two requirements he¡¯d gotten from killing zombies, and, for the requirement of killing an E rank or higher with pure psychic or magic skills, the only true case had been his killing of the entrapped Invincible Slime in the tutorial, a D rank, but that hadn¡¯t been at all fair. Aalam knew he wasn¡¯t very good at combat, so it was almost impossible for him to meet the requirements to upgrade the class in the future, not to mention how it boosted the effectiveness of Spirit without a corresponding boost to Soul, so it was by far the worst of the three choices. The second class, on the other hand, was a pure crafting class and it was awesome. Heavenly Spark Crafter Lord (F-Heroic) Master of Laws, Territory, thinking, and craft Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 50% Raise affinity with all Laws by 100% Markedly increase the power of crafting and noble category skills Greatly increase the power of psychic category enhancement skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Martial Offensive Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 12 Agility: 12 Endurance: 12 Toughness: 12 Vitality: 12 Perception: 18 Magic: 12 Spirit: 30 Soul: 36 Aura: 12 Attunement: 12 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 high grade Law Eggs for each of the 12 elements, at least one Legendary grade psychic category enhancement skill, at least one Legendary grade crafting skill, the Lord (G-Legendary) skill, Spirit and Soul greater than 144, Attunement greater than 72, has control over a medium amount of Territory for a G rank, has personally designed and crafted at least one Legendary grade artifact Even without requiring the Multi-Mind skill, it gave the same boost to that skill and its advancements as Heavenly Spark Thinker Mage would. Aalam was also pretty confident about being able to meet the requirements for future upgrades. The only problem was it provided no help to combat whatsoever and Aalam couldn¡¯t just craft if he wanted his build to work. So, he decided he would choose the third class. Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord (F-Heroic) Master of Laws, Territory, telekinesis, and craft Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Aura and Attunement stats by 50% Raise affinity with all Laws by 100% Markedly increase the power of psychic, crafting, and noble category skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Offensive Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 12 Agility: 12 Endurance: 12 Toughness: 12 Vitality: 12 Perception: 16 Magic: 12 Spirit: 32 Soul: 32 Aura: 16 Attunement: 12 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 high grade Law Eggs for each of the 12 elements, at least one Legendary grade passive psychic category skill or the Telekinesis (G-Legendary) skill, at least one Legendary grade crafting skill, the Lord (G-Legendary) skill, Spirit and Soul greater than 144, Aura and Attunement greater than 72, has control over a medium amount of Territory for a G rank, has personally designed and then used telekinesis to craft at least a Legendary grade artifact It was also a crafting class, but it was pretty much guaranteed to give him Telekinesis (F-Heroic) while also boosting said skill and, while Telekinesis wasn¡¯t a true combat skill, given the strength of Aalam¡¯s Spirit stat and the way he fought, it would greatly, greatly increase his power and was thus a skill he¡¯d be going for anyway. Aalam hadn¡¯t had the Prince uniqueness when he first made the plans for his build, however, so he briefly looked at another class, one requiring peak Law Eggs for the elements of space and time, which would allow him to temporarily create a Territory wherever he went, but then he realized one of the skills he had planned for his build would give him the same effect at E rank if he slightly modified its advancement path, so he decided to proceed as planned. Chapter 44: The Benefits of Having a Master Mila Mila only had 2% left until full mastery of her Devil¡¯s Contract skill. Previously it had been her most mastered, but there was no good way of training it without actually making contracts and she couldn¡¯t just make and break contracts like crazy. She had an image to maintain. It did help, however, that the Territory of New Raphaiya was growing, as she made a new contract with every cultivator who came, but the growing nature of the Territory was also a problem. Hira had two other native factions, the Rebels and the Imperial Generals, and both wanted Roland Raphaiya dead. The week before, Roland and his party had been attacked by five members of the rebel forces while out hunting and, while they had managed to defend themselves, one of their assailants had gotten away. Mila had thus been babysitting the prince ever since, as Aalam needed him to maintain the Territory. Though, if Mila were being honest with herself, it was also because she rather liked the prince¡¯s party. They¡¯d all lived pretty hard lives, but they were quite innocent and truly believed they could change things for the better. ¡°So, the monkey lizard things are called karthacs?¡± Mila asked as she walked through the jungle with the group, teaching the two rangers, the mage, and the warrior how to move quietly, even if she wasn¡¯t doing so with her voice. Their goal was to hunt monsters so the party could level up, and monsters tended to attack humans, so being quiet wasn¡¯t beneficial at the moment, but it would be later, so the party members were all seriously trying to learn. ¡°Monkey lizards?¡± Benido the Barrier Mage asked. ¡°Two different types of animals where I come from,¡± Mila explained as she showed Conido, Benido¡¯s younger brother, where he had left obvious footprints. ¡°Lizards are cold blooded and have scales, while monkeys are genetically similar to humans.¡± ¡°Genetically?¡± Uliana asked, as Mila had used the English word. She was following Mila¡¯s directions on how to move quietly and not leave a trail the best, though it was mostly because she was the lightest. ¡°Do you guys have the concept of evolution on this planet?¡± Mila asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know the right word in your language. It¡¯s where creatures become different over time due to survival of the fittest, new species forming when alternative characteristics become more dominant due to environmental change.¡± She got a lot of blank looks. ¡°Where do you think the different species on your planet come from?¡± ¡°From the gods, of course,¡± Roland said, as if speaking to a simpleton. ¡°All the species were fully formed by the gods and then placed on the land and in the sea. This was confirmed in the tutorial.¡± ¡°Damn this planet is backwards.¡± Mila looked up at the jungle canopy, really quite happy the temple had been disabled in Earth¡¯s tutorials as she could just imagine how the religious hardliners would have reacted. ¡°I miss the internet¡ªand television. You all haven¡¯t even invented the printing press, so there aren¡¯t even novels to read.¡± Roland was about to respond to her, likely to ask what a printing press was, but he was instead distracted by something and raised his hand, calling for a halt to their movement. Mila strained her senses, but, as he was already level 6, his effective Perception stat was about the same as hers, even with her second uniqueness, and, unlike her, he had a sensing skill. ¡°I think I hear the sound of a group talking, but I can¡¯t quite make out what they are saying and the voices are unnaturally deep.¡± Roland sounded nervous, which Mila respected, as it showed he wasn¡¯t a hotheaded idiot. ¡°Shadow, could you go take a quick look. I think it might be more rebels.¡± Mila nodded, projecting more calm than she actually felt. ¡°Move east and move quietly. Stealth over speed. I¡¯ll find you again using our bonds.¡± Then she wrapped herself in her Law Egg of Obfuscation and moved southwest, to where Roland had heard the talking, moving fast. About twenty seconds later her own senses caught the speaking voices and she slowed down. Then, about half a minute later, she could see them. It was a large group, twenty or more, and they weren¡¯t completely human. They looked like werewolves, though more Teen Wolf werewolf than full on beast, with extra hair, extended lower jaws, and mouths full of teeth. They were also definitely hunting Roland. A few, who obviously had scouting classes, were leading the others directly in the direction she¡¯d come from and, as she hid behind a tree, she could hear a little of their conversation. ¡°I hate the jungle. So many smells,¡± one female said. ¡°It¡¯s less overwhelming if you practice,¡± one of the males, who was carrying a large broadsword, responded. ¡°Do you think the prince¡¯s soul will have a stronger effect when sacrificed?¡± another of the males asked, this one obviously an archer. ¡°It should,¡± a female wearing a mage robe answered, the one in the group with the darkest skin. ¡°The texts retrieved from the inheritance spoke of bloodlines increasing a sacrifice¡¯s potency. But you won¡¯t get to enjoy it, Brenet, his soul and that of the princess are both mine.¡± ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± the archer named Brenet responded. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Halt,¡± one of the scouts, a male wearing a set of 9 different daggers, raised his hand. ¡°One of them split from the group and is right behind that tree.¡± * * * Roland The Mistress of Oaths and Deception had been gone for too long and Roland didn¡¯t like it. He was faster than her now that he¡¯d leveled up a few times¡ªnot to mention how he had a movement skill while she didn¡¯t¡ªbut Benido as a mage and Conido as a strength focused axe warrior were not, so she should have been able to catch up easily, especially given they weren¡¯t moving at the two brothers¡¯ max speed. He also didn¡¯t understand why she¡¯d had them move east. They¡¯d been hunting in the jungle on the south side of their Territory, so moving east would bring them closer to where the no longer functioning Conquest Pillar of the undead was located, but there were no towns around there anymore, no place to get help. Then, following a game trail, they entered into a small clearing, an area of low underbrush between seven very large trees, and Roland realized why she¡¯d sent them there. Sitting crosslegged in the center of the clearing was an extremely tall commoner-looking man with blueish black hair and almost orange eyes. He was wearing black pants and a black short sleeve shirt, which Roland recognized as having belonged to the undead leader. And on his left hand was a scaled blue fingerless glove which Roland couldn¡¯t sense anything special from, its obvious quality and his experience with the Mistress of Oaths and Deception¡¯s earrings making him think it was a very high grade artifact. The man¡¯s aura was strong, rivaling the Mistress of Oaths and Deception for the strongest he¡¯d ever seen, and being in his presence made Roland want to bow while, from her aura, he was pretty sure his sister was fighting the urge to rip off her clothes. They hadn¡¯t spotted him as he was just sitting there meditating, not making any other sounds than slowly breathing, but he wasn¡¯t trying to hide his presence. His aura spread throughout the clearing and beyond. It was just hard to notice as, other than the lust inducing and suppressing effects, it felt no different than the natural world, at least to Roland. A sudden inspiration hit him and Roland took a look at the status page for his Territory. New Raphaiya (157 km^2) The Territory of Lord Roland Raphaiya, taking up a large chunk of the Forest of the Ashen Mistress. Lord: Roland Raphaiya Overlord: Heavenly Spark Soul King Benefits to humanoid population: Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% further when in the rain Affinity for all Laws +12.5% The affinity for all Laws benefit in his Territory had doubled. Then Roland quickly looked at his own status page. Name: Roland Raphaiya Level: 6 Race: Human Skirmisher (F-Uncommon) Bloodline: Martial Lord (Heroic) Abilities Spring Step Agility (Rare) Prodigy of the Blade (Epic) Class: Raindrop Ranger (F-Rare) Skills Power Attack (F-Rare) 13% mastered Water Walk (F-Rare) 16% mastered Lord (F-Rare) 7% mastered Sound of a Raindrop (F-Rare) 8% mastered Laws Law Egg of Rain - Early Stats Strength: 154 Agility: 234 Endurance: 148 Toughness: 130 Vitality: 130 Perception: 184 Magic: 146 Spirit: 108 Soul: 110 Aura: 28 Attunement: 28 Luck: 28 Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 1 Large Mana Well Upper Dantian: 1 Medium Mental Forge Uniqueness: Perception Agent Territory: New Raphaiya Boons: Personal Slave of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 6.25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 12.5%. Something about the Heavenly Spark Soul King had changed, likely the man advancing to F rank, and that change had resulted in a huge gain for Roland, his status as a slave earning him more than even his class effects when not in the rain. The Heavenly Spark Soul King made a gesture and four small spirals of air formed in front of him, empowered by some sort of powerful Law Egg of the wind element. Then, five seconds later, the underbrush in those four spots was completely clear, the ground just dirt like where the Heavenly Spark Soul King was sitting himself. The wind spirals then stopped and the Heavenly Spark Soul King made a gesture Roland interpreted as inviting them to sit down. Roland wondered for a second why the man didn¡¯t just speak, but then he remembered that the two monsters were supposedly reborn humans from another world. The Mistress of Oaths and Deception obviously wasn¡¯t completely familiar with their language, likely having some sort of skill or ability which had helped her quickly adapt to the point she could fake being a native, but the Heavenly Spark Soul King, a true combatant, wouldn¡¯t have wasted one of his limited slots on something like that. They didn¡¯t know his language and he most likely didn¡¯t know theirs. Quickly, Roland sat down, motioning for his party to do the same, and they joined him. It was awkward for a bit, and they didn¡¯t feel comfortable speaking amongst themselves, but then, about twenty seconds later, Roland heard something, and, three seconds after that, he could tell what it was. Transformed rebels, empowered from sacrificing the lives of hundreds of his citizens, growling and running through the jungle. The Heavenly Spark Soul King raised his left hand and five golden needles appeared from seemingly nowhere, each attuned to a different mana type¡ªone each for fire, water, earth, air, and metal. The needles then moved at rapid speed, drawing out a set of intricate runes around all of them which Roland couldn¡¯t understand at all, each element seemingly empowered by a different Law. Then, after eight seconds, Roland¡¯s magical senses were all cut off roughly 4 meters away from the Heavenly Spark Soul King and the five needles flew back to the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s left hand, disappearing. About a second passed with just noise, but then the Mistress of Oaths and Deception ran into the clearing and right through whatever barrier the Heavenly Spark Soul King had erected, moving to stand right behind her master. Then 26 beastmen rebels entered into the clearing and all quickly stopped to look at the barrier in front of them. ¡°We will give you one chance to surrender without pain,¡± the Mistress of Oaths and Deception called out, the barrier not doing anything to block sound or, apparently, her contract magic judging by the way most of the beastmen seemed to be listening to something, likely receiving their System messages as if they were spoken verbally. One common woman dressed like a mage, however, was instead reading, showing a higher level of education. ¡°Should you force Guardian¡¯s hands, you will not like the result.¡± Chapter 45: Heavenly Spark Soul King The Mistress of Oaths and Deception¡¯s aura was calm and restrained as normal, but she¡¯d been injured. Her dress was ripped slightly over her left abdomen, the fabric covered in her blood, and there was an open gash on her right arm, though both wounds were closing as she channeled her qi into them, guided by some Law Roland hadn¡¯t seen before. Still, given what type of monster she was, it was hard not to be at least somewhat affected by her, and Roland had to fight those feelings down. ¡°Who are you?¡± the leader of the rebels asked, her eyes looking from the Mistress of Oaths and Deception to the Heavenly Spark Soul King and back. Given the lack of lust in her eyes, the barrier around them seemed to block her from being able to sense the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s aura, so she didn¡¯t show any fear at all. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception smiled, her apparent confidence boosting Roland¡¯s morale even further. The rebel force¡¯s beastmen were powerful, each requiring more than 100 live sacrifices to create, and they all had the racial ability to sacrifice other sentient lifeforms to boost their own stats, though the conversion was absolutely abysmal. In return, the race couldn¡¯t advance past E rank, but in an F rank world what did that matter? ¡°You¡¯re the Mistress of Oaths and Deception,¡± the woman answered, looking contemplative. ¡°You can speak.¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception started laughing and it was the most pleasant sound in the world, some of the male beastmen seemingly affected as well, but the female leader didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°You work for the prince, yet he somehow hasn¡¯t cleared the quest to subjugate you?¡± ¡°The other way around, dear. He works for us.¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception¡¯s face grew serious and her wounds were somehow already completely healed. ¡°But I take it you are not surrendering.¡± ¡°No.¡± The female leader smiled herself. ¡°There are rewards for your deaths and if you can talk, it means you might work as a sacrifice. I wonder if sacrificing you and the tall one might even allow for a racial evolution.¡± Then she raised her right hand to point at the barrier. ¡°Everyone, attack!¡± The first to attack were the five archers and seven mages, but the effect of their onslaught was minimal. The mages¡¯ attacks¡ªlances of fire, ice, and lightning¡ªall just disappeared as they hit the barrier, but the arrows, half covered with elemental effects as well, made it through, though any qi, mana, or psyforce powered ability attached to them did not. And, when the arrows passed through the barrier, their flight was somehow altered and they headed right for the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s left hand, promptly disappearing from existence when they got close. The rest of the beastmen were all melee fighters like Conido, so they ran toward the barrier. When they got close, however, they all rose into the air as if pulled up by their left ankles, and then they just hung there, unable to get any kind of leverage or physically touch whatever was holding them. Then, as the archers and mages watched on in horror, one by one each of the fourteen melee fighters were stripped of all their weapons and clothing, four invisible hands seemingly undressing each of them in turn in only about half a second. Their clothing and weapons were then clumped together in the air and flew at the Heavenly Spark Soul King at speed, disappearing when they approached his left hand. The mages and archers tried to attack again multiple times during the eight seconds it took to incapacitate and strip the melee fighters, but it was to no effect. The attacks of the mages seemed to just stop being able to exist when they hit the barrier, the mana constructing them fizzling into nothing, and, while the arrows could pass through, their effects all fizzled at the barrier as well and the arrows vanished when they grew close to the Heavenly Spark Soul King. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The twelve mages and archers then joined the melee fighters, being pulled up into the air by their left ankles as well by an invisible force, and the archers¡¯ weapons were all taken in the process. Then they were unceremoniously stripped as well and their clothing, weapons, and other artifacts were collected into what Roland assumed was a subspace in the fingerless glove artifact on the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s left hand. One of the melee fighters then reached up and tore off his own foot, obviously hoping to fall back to the ground and escape, but it didn¡¯t work. Instead of him falling and his foot staying in the air, his foot fell and whatever grip was holding him up just moved to below his stump. ¡°Guardian,¡± the Mistress of Oaths and Deception said, still looking at the beastmen, ¡°I said their original chance to surrender was the last they would have without pain. Would you be a dear and break them a bit for me?¡± Roland was pretty sure the Heavenly Spark Soul King was not just the muscle in the relationship between the two monsters. For one, the two skills he¡¯d shown so far had been rune creation and an extremely powerful version of telekinesis, both of which required an insane level of multitasking to accomplish. Two, the amount of Spirit required to power the telekinesis so easily overpowering the 26 individuals was immense, meaning the man was likely primarily a psychic. Third, and probably most important, he was almost certain the Heavenly Spark Soul King didn¡¯t understand a word the Mistress of Oaths and Deception had said, the two instead communicating in their native tongue over some sort of psychic connection. The fact he didn¡¯t speak the native tongue, however, made it difficult for the Heavenly Spark Soul King to provide the right type of intimidation himself. So, the idea he was someone the Mistress of Oaths and Deception, the one initiating the contracts with all the beastmen, could control created a much better story to get the beastmen immediately compliant. And this was especially the case when, immediately after she asked, the Heavenly Spark Soul King crushed the lower leg bones of every one of the beastmen¡¯s right legs, all while still maintaining an unbreakable grip on their left ankles. ¡°Let me ask this again.¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception¡¯s voice hadn¡¯t changed at all, even as most of the beastmen were screaming. ¡°Will you surrender and become slaves of your planet¡¯s prince, or should Guardian here kill you?¡± ¡°We¡¯d rather die than become the slaves of the spawn of that bastard!¡± yelled the beastman who¡¯d tried to rip off his own leg. ¡°You might as well just¡ª¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception pointed at the man and his head burst, as if massive force had pushed in on it from all directions, the man likely killed by the Heavenly Spark Soul King. ¡°Okay.¡± Then she looked at the others, smiling, and Roland, who objectively knew he was on her side and was pretty sure she was acting, felt a chill run down his spine. ¡°Any of the rest of you interested in death? I promise it won¡¯t be quite as painless.¡± ¡°I surrender,¡± one of the mages was quick to say, and his declaration was almost immediately followed by six others. The Mistress of Oaths and Deception then nodded at the Heavenly Spark Soul King and those seven were lowered half way to the ground, the telekinesis now holding onto their waists and shoulders rather than their left ankles. Then they were brought into the barrier and the Mistress of Oaths and Deception moved over to the first mage who¡¯d surrendered. She then sent her energy into his leg as the Heavenly Spark Soul King used telekinesis to brace the broken bones. As a mage, his Vitality wasn¡¯t very high, but the Mistress of Oaths and Deception was skilled and it only took about thirty seconds for his leg to be back on the road to a full recovery, his own Vitality able to fully heal it in under a day. ¡°I surrender as well.¡± Seeing the healing process, four others surrendered, and the Heavenly Spark Soul King brought them into the barrier as the Mistress of Oaths and Deception moved from beastman to beastman, healing their wounds. After a couple minutes, the beastmen leader, who was growing pale, finally surrendered, and the rest all followed. Without any further talking, the Mistress of Oaths and Deception continued healing each of them, getting more and more skilled with each leg she healed, and Roland realized she was using them for practice. Then, when she was done, the Heavenly Spark Soul King used another telekinetically controlled minor whirlwind to clear out the entire clearing, leaving firm, albeit wet, ground for everyone to sit on. Then, with the same blank disinterested expression he¡¯d had since the beastmen had arrived, the Heavenly Spark Soul King stood up and walked away into the jungle, leaving the mess for his chamberlain to clean up. ¡°So, I guess we should start with an interrogation?¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception smiled at the 25 now sitting beastmen, completely ignoring the corpse the Heavenly Spark Soul King had left behind them, and, seeing the obvious fear on their faces, Roland almost felt bad for the mass murdering bastards. Chapter 46: Levels and Morals Mila Staying ahead of the beastmen had been tough for Mila, and, had Aalam not been out of the cave practicing with his new powers nearby, they would have caught and killed Roland and the others. Each of the beastmen had a heightened sense of smell, and she didn¡¯t have any magical ways to stop that type of sense. She also couldn¡¯t have fought them on her own as, while none of them were quite as strong as Roland, through the sacrifice of hundreds of civilians they could each match any of Roland¡¯s party members. It had taken all her skill to stay ahead of them, and even then they¡¯d managed to cut her twice. Sure, if she¡¯d been on her own, she wouldn¡¯t have needed to buy time and she could have escaped, as her Law Egg of Obfuscation was almost peak grade, but it was a wake up call to Mila how much rank and levels really mattered. In the tutorial, she¡¯d fought against level 1 insect monsters and non-combatant humans. Anyone who¡¯d actually been a danger she¡¯d taken out with poison or guile, and, as a result, it hadn¡¯t really sunk in just how much actually fighting would have been suicide. This was the reason her and Aalam¡¯s level of rewards had been ridiculous. For most G ranks, even killing a single F rank was nearly impossible. F rank went from level 1 to level 36 and even the weakest cultivator, with an Inferior grade race and class, gained 81 stats per level. Even Aalam, with his many high grade Laws and ridiculous +1100% boost to Spirit, wasn¡¯t anywhere close to invincible in F rank at level 1. To protect himself in the battle which had just happened, he¡¯d used almost half his resources to create what was called a Four State Seal, a specialized barrier requiring the Law Eggs of Plasma, Solid, Liquid, Gas, and Matter to set up. It only allowed physical objects through, not qi, mana, or psyforce, other than that of the creator¡ªand that was why Mila had had to use Aalam¡¯s resources to send out the contracts. Then he¡¯d used four of his five Mental Forges from his new Advanced Multi-Mind skill and his overpowered Spirit stat to take on the 26 beastmen, letting one of his two new dumber minds control his body. Had the beastmen been able to actually cast spells at him, he would have had to kill them much quicker, as telekinesis couldn¡¯t block magic. And there was a chance he would have died as he still wasn¡¯t very good at fighting. ¡°So,¡± Mila began after finishing her healing of the beastmen, ¡°does anyone know where any of the invasion forces are?¡± All the beastmen, under a contract where they would feel intense debilitating pain if they didn¡¯t answer truthfully, shook their heads. ¡°Alright. Where did you come from and how did you find Roland?¡± What followed was a relatively long interrogation, taking roughly two hours, and Roland proved incredibly helpful, having enough in depth knowledge about Hira to ask more detailed questions. So, Mila let him do most of the talking and the only times she spoke after the beginning were to ask Uliana to explain context she was missing. There was a jungle going through almost the entire center of the continent from east to west, with two mountain ranges blocking off parts, and they were in a section at the very center of the continent called the Forest of the Ashen Mistress. The area was about 5,000 square kilometers and had one of the continent¡¯s larger mountain ranges as a border to the east, but it housed the largest city within 200 kilometers, Eshna. Given its population and easy access to a river, Eshna was effectively the capital of a region around the size of Germany back on Earth, only much less populated. The region as a whole was mainly a location to gather spices for the nobles in other regions and the nobles who owned the land had lived in the empire¡¯s capital for generations, almost never actually visiting. The beastmen all came from a much more populated region to the southwest, having returned from the tutorial around the three major cities of that region. And it seemed in the month since the return of cultivators from the tutorial, the rebel forces had mostly conquered those cities and the region as a whole, using mass human sacrifices to make even more of their kind. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The beastman who¡¯d escaped from Roland¡¯s party before had escaped to there and told the rebel leadership about Roland¡¯s existence. That leadership had then sent a good portion of their elite to kill the prince, the 25 in front of them and their dead friend. Other than where they came from and information about the area, Roland also asked a lot of questions about the nature of the blood sacrifice rituals and many other questions about the inheritance the rebels had discovered in the northwestern part of the continent, information Mila filed away for later. ¡°Alright then,¡± Mila said when there were no more questions, having learned way too much about the nature of the blood sacrifices required to become beastmen. ¡°Roland, would you do the honors?¡± ¡°What?¡± Roland looked at her, seemingly confused, as did the beastmen and Roland¡¯s party members. ¡°Killing them of course.¡± Mila pointed at the beastmen but maintained eye contact with Roland. ¡°Why do you think I put debilitating pain as the punishment in their contract instead of death? It was so you could gain a few levels from killing them.¡± Mila then turned to look at the beastmen, several of whom were writhing on the floor in pain from trying to attack, but most had been wise enough to start the process of trying to run away, so she yelled, ¡°Come back here and sit down.¡± None of them actually followed the order, but it didn¡¯t matter. Going against a direct command from her counted as violating their contract and they all dropped to the ground screaming. Mila then looked back at Roland, who seemed a little uncomfortable. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Roland didn¡¯t move his eyes away from her and she could tell from his aura he¡¯d decided to just be honest. ¡°Killing defenseless prisoners makes me feel kind of evil.¡± Mila nodded at him, understanding that position though not holding it herself, and she decided to be honest as well. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call myself a good person, Roland. You¡¯ve certainly noticed I have training in covert warfare and assassination. Back on my world I was an assassin and a spy. And I¡¯d killed thirteen people even before the integration. ¡°Their souls don¡¯t really weigh on my conscience, though, as none of them were good people.¡± Mila pointed at the beastmen writhing on the ground. ¡°But the worst of them didn¡¯t hold a candle to these men and women. They¡¯ve each killed at minimum 144 people to become what they are. ¡°Granted, were I in their position, to protect those I care about, I might have made the same decision. As I said, I¡¯m not a good person. But that empathy I have doesn¡¯t change the fact I wouldn¡¯t regret their deaths.¡± Mila continued to look Roland in the eyes. ¡°But I think you mostly agree with me on those points. Your issue is more about killing those you already have absolute control over. You coming from a world where slavery is incredibly common, I commend you for that. ¡°Personally, my view is mostly about pragmatism. I just mastered my last skill and now have the ability to advance to F rank. This means in about a day I¡¯ll be powerful enough to go try to start the process of fully conquering this planet and ending the other eleven invasions, but I need you to stay alive for my plans to work. ¡°Unlike me, Guardian is a good person, and he has people he wants to protect back on our home planet, but our planet is being invaded just like this one, so the quicker we can get back the better. You leveling up will do more for your safety than having 25 bodyguards who all want you dead. And that will allow me to do more of what I need to in order for you to fully conquer your world so we can get off of it.¡± Roland nodded, seeming to contemplate what she¡¯d said. Then he asked, ¡°What would you do if they weren¡¯t evil shitheads but still attacked us?¡± Mila smiled at him, not faking it. ¡°You mean like what you and your party did to me?¡± Roland opened his mouth to respond, then seemed to realize the situation he¡¯d asked about was pretty much exactly the same as when they¡¯d first met. ¡°Oh.¡± He seemed to think a bit more. Then he asked another question. ¡°What would you have done if you¡¯d met the leaders of the other native factions instead of me?¡± ¡°Probably the same thing,¡± Mila answered honestly. ¡°Though I wouldn¡¯t have had conversations with them about moral philosophy. And I likely would have betrayed them at some point. Guardian has standards and they all sound like utter dicks.¡± From Roland¡¯s aura, Mila could tell she¡¯d made the right call. He couldn¡¯t read her aura or her face if she tried to hide things from him, but he didn¡¯t trust her to begin with and he wasn¡¯t stupid. Being honest brought his fears into the foreground, but he couldn¡¯t do anything stupid due to them because of the contract and he wasn¡¯t likely to anyway, so there wasn¡¯t much risk. Instead, his level of trust in her words would go up for future interactions, and that was what was important. Roland took out his sword and stabbed one of the beastmen through the heart, the primal energy contained in the man¡¯s soul flowing into him, working basically like XP in video games. ¡°Thank you for saving our lives.¡± Then he stabbed another beastman and another. ¡°No problem.¡± Mila looked at Roland and then at his party members. ¡°I like you guys. You¡¯re not quite as jaded as me.¡± Then she turned to walk away. ¡°After advancing, I¡¯m going to go deal with those rebel leaders to the south. Then I¡¯ll probably head to the inheritance site. Try to keep yourselves alive until I get back. Guardian won¡¯t be there to save you next time.¡± Chapter 47: F Rank Advancement Mila Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Obfuscation has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility + 8, Perception + 8, Magic +16, Spirit +8, Soul +8 After using her Law Egg of Obfuscation in the chase, all Mila needed was a little meditation to raise it to peak grade, and she felt very, very proud as it was the first time it had advanced without her feeling inferior to Aalam. ¡°Are you sure your Law advancement has nothing to do with Aalam easily restraining those beastmen you stood no chance against?¡± Nana Xara cut in and Mila¡¯s happiness faded. ¡°You couldn¡¯t just let me have a moment?¡± ¡°Complacency is the mother of regret. And it is both my joy and responsibility as your master to make sure you don¡¯t grow full of yourself.¡± Mila decided to stop engaging before things got worse for her and instead started the process of advancing to F rank, feeling safe in the hallway leading to Aalam¡¯s cave. You have chosen to upgrade your class Citizen (G-Common) Please choose from the following 526 possible upgrades. Unlike with Aalam, every class in Mila¡¯s list of upgrades was in Nana Xara¡¯s information. But this wasn¡¯t just because she wasn¡¯t as impressive as Aalam. Nana Xara had purposefully gathered information about the types of classes Mila was suited for back when she¡¯d been alive, and that was one of the reasons the woman had taken Mila in as an apprentice in the first place. To Mila¡¯s excitement, she¡¯d even qualified for a grand total of 9 Heroic grade classes, and the first was the advancement of Diabolical Trickster. Advanced Diabolical Trickster (F-Heroic) You are an exceptional cheat, one who no one should make a contract with Effects: Markedly increase the power of disguise category skills Markedly increase the power of all bonds and contracts you enter into or for which you provide the magic Greatly decrease the penalties for creating bonds and contracts with those under magical influence Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 12 Agility: 16 Endurance: 16 Toughness: 12 Vitality: 12 Perception: 16 Magic: 32 Spirit: 32 Soul: 32 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 2 high grade Law Eggs of the light and darkness elements aligned with the paths of illusion and shadow, 2 or more divine role Law Eggs at middle grade or higher, the Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) skill, Soul greater than 144, has tricked someone out of at least a large amount of treasure for a G rank or has had 72 F rank or higher beings die as a result of breaking a contract Given her trickery to steal from Prince Morin Daal, she qualified, but the plan of her build required the Legendary grade version of the class to allow for a future class merger, so she couldn¡¯t choose Advanced Diabolical Trickster. She was going to have two classes, however, so it wouldn¡¯t be bad to get a specialized Heroic grade class as her second. Advanced Shadow Enhancer (F-Heroic) You are an exceptional controller of artifacts and shadow Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Endurance, Magic, and Spirit stats by 25% Raise affinity with darkness element Laws by 100% Greatly increase the power of triforce category enhancement skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Light Soul Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 12 Agility: 12 Endurance: 32 Toughness: 12 Vitality: 18 Perception: 12 Magic: 32 Spirit: 32 Soul: 18 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: Peak grade Law Egg of the darkness element on the path of shadow, the Artifact Enhancement (G-Legendary) skill, Endurance greater than 144, Magic greater than 144, Spirit greater than 144, has killed over 72 beings one rank higher or greater using an enhanced artifact Advanced Shadow Enhancer was the only Heroic grade class option which made use of her peak grade Law Egg, the other Heroic grade classes mostly making use of her having multiple high grade Law Eggs instead, but classes of the enhancer line made up most of her choices. These included Advanced Fire and Ice Enhancer, Advanced Light and Dark Enhancer, Advanced Life and Death Enhancer, Advanced Yin Enhancer, and Advanced Yang Enhancer. The most powerful of all the advanced enhancer Heroic grade class options, however, was Advanced Yin Yang Enhancer. Advanced Yin Yang Enhancer (F-Heroic) You are an exceptional controller of artifacts, yin, and yang Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Endurance, Magic, and Spirit stats by 50% Raise affinity with fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death element Laws by 100% Greatly increase the power of triforce category enhancement skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Soul Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 12 Agility: 12 Endurance: 32 Toughness: 12 Vitality: 18 Perception: 12 Magic: 32 Spirit: 32 Soul: 18 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: High grade Law Eggs of the fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death elements, the Artifact Enhancement (G-Legendary) skill, Endurance greater than 144, Magic greater than 144, Spirit greater than 144, has killed over 72 beings one rank higher or greater using an enhanced artifact It gave double the bonus to Endurance, Magic, and Spirit, as well as raising affinity with all her Laws instead of only a subset, so it was objectively the best class she had access to, but Mila was a bit frustrated. She¡¯d been hoping to get some assassin classes, but her skills weren¡¯t right for them, and high grade combat classes were obviously a bad trap to fall into. Beyond the issues of advancing stats and Laws, the advancement criteria for the highest grades of combat classes would likely have her needing to kill gods as a B rank at least, something which was almost impossible. Her build path as a trickster would also later need the advancements of her Artifact Enhancement skill, so she couldn¡¯t choose any class which required the skill if she wanted her first path to work. This then sadly left only the last Heroic grade class, one she actively hated the idea of, as an actual option. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) You follow your master, and in turn gain a semblance of his might Effects: Your master decides your skill slot usage for this class Your master may use any of your skills in this class for his own skill fusions Free skill slots can be temporarily filled with a shadow of any skill your master has Gain half the effects your master gains through classes, your master¡¯s choice Stat growth equivalent to your master¡¯s stat growth from classes Skill limitations the same as your master¡¯s most powerful class If your master dies or you lose your position, you lose this class Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: ?? Stat bonuses per level: Strength: ?? Agility: ?? Endurance: ?? Toughness: ?? Vitality: ?? Perception: ?? Magic: ?? Spirit: ?? Soul: ?? Aura: ?? Attunement: ?? Luck: ?? Requirements: The Prime Servitor (Mythic) bloodline, the Exemplary Servitor (G-Legendary) skill, has the status of chamberlain to a master with a Heroic grade F rank class, has the same race as her master, has the same basic soulstructures as her master It was quite obviously the class Aalam would like her to pick and she qualified for the last requirement of the class as it didn¡¯t take into account extra soulstructures gained through skills or abilities, like Aalam¡¯s extra Mental Forges or his new Soul Storage, but it was also objectively weaker than the other Heroic grade class options. First, given Aalam¡¯s classes, her stat bonuses per level from the class would be between a Heroic grade and a Legendary grade class instead of that of a full Heroic grade class, as the class¡¯s stat growth was based on Aalam¡¯s total stat growth from classes, half the normal growth from each of his classes, and not the stat growth which would have been granted by his Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord class alone. Second, instead of getting a full Heroic grade class¡¯s effects, she¡¯d get half the effects from a particularly powerful Heroic grade class and half the effects from a relatively rare Legendary class. It was close to that of a full Heroic grade class, but not quite there. Finally, Aalam would choose her skills instead of her, and she just didn¡¯t like that. It wasn¡¯t like she couldn¡¯t see the benefits from the class, however. First and foremost, she could gain shadows of Aalam¡¯s skills. These shadows would be fully functional skills. She just wouldn¡¯t be able to advance them herself, the mastery instead dependent on Aalam¡¯s mastery of the main version of the skill. And she herself would never be able to qualify for a skill like Advanced Multi-Mind, while Telekinesis would be incredibly useful, so this benefit was huge. Second, while the stat growth and effects were weaker than a normal Heroic grade class at F rank, that wouldn¡¯t be the case after a couple advancements. Aalam was definitely planning on upgrading their races to have something even better than advanced dual classes in the future, and the very nature of the sage line part of his build was all about upgrading his soul to allow for even more classes. If everything went to plan, by D rank, when the Essence Chamberlain class would be upgraded to Mythic grade, it would provide even more benefits than the Mythic upgrade of Aalam¡¯s Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord class, and every rank after would have the difference only increase. Finally, she didn¡¯t have to do anything to manage the upgrade requirements of the class other than help Aalam as she already intended. And, if something happened to her relationship with Aalam, she¡¯d just lose the class and get to choose another. Honestly, the class¡¯s issues were pretty minor given Aalam¡¯s inability to not optimize, and the only thing really holding her back was her pride. Had she not had the Shadow Princess uniqueness, things might be different, as the whole master servant thing would actually be real, but, with it, she probably had more control over Aalam than he had over her. Given his choice of sage class, he probably needed the extra skill slots provided by her taking the Essence Chamberlain class for some insane skill mergers, and that gave her leverage if she ever truly needed it. Resigned, Mila first looked at what she¡¯d been planning all along to be her first class. Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) You are a cheat, one who no one should make a contract with Effects: Increase the power of disguise category skills Increase the power of all bonds and contracts you enter into or for which you provide the magic Markedly decrease the penalties for creating bonds and contracts with those under magical influence Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 8 Agility: 12 Endurance: 12 Toughness: 8 Vitality: 8 Perception: 12 Magic: 28 Spirit: 28 Soul: 28 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 2 middle grade Law Eggs of the light and darkness elements aligned with the paths of illusion and shadow, 2 or more divine role Law Eggs at early grade or higher, the Devil¡¯s Contract (G-Legendary) skill, Soul greater than 72, has tricked someone out of at least a medium amount of treasure for a G rank or had 12 F rank or higher beings die as a result of breaking a contract She then looked over all the other classes she qualified for, wanting to better understand her own accomplishments, before taking Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) as her main class and Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) as her second. Her whole body started to itch and then she passed out, waking up almost a half day later to some new System messages. You have gained the Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) class. As part of your class upgrade, you have gained the Trickster¡¯s Guise (F-Legendary) skill Trickster¡¯s Guise (F-Legendary) Triforce, Trickster, Disguise Use the power of qi to physically change your appearance, magic to hide your form in illusion, and/or psyforce to trick the minds of others. It was an extremely flexible disguise skill, combining the effects of the three main types of disguise skills, and, as a result, like Artifact Enhancement, it had the triforce category keyword, meaning it could use all three resource types. You have gained the Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) class. Your master has chosen the effects of your class to be the following: Increase the effectiveness of the Aura and Attunement stats by 50% Raise affinity with all Laws by 100% Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 6.25% Increase the speed of mastering skills by 100% It seemed the free skill merging effects of Void Sage were more valuable than she thought, or maybe her new class just rounded up when allowed to choose half the effects of Aalam¡¯s classes, as Mila was pleasantly surprised to gain the other two abilities from the Void Sage class, which were far more useful for her. As part of your class upgrade, Exemplary Servitor (G-Legendary) has upgraded to Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) Soul, Humble, Contract You are not just anyone under your lord. You are his confidant and the one he allows to control his assets. Aalam had received similar notifications upon gaining his classes, and for all three of his skills, but Mila didn¡¯t mind. She didn¡¯t want her other two skills to increase in grade yet, as it would cut off her path, and Exemplary Chamberlain itself was incredibly useful. Aalam¡¯s Lord skill had advanced to Soul Lord, and that upgrade allowed for his direct subordinates to gain boons based on one or more of his abilities, currently only Heavenly Spark Pure Soul. Mila gaining Exemplary Chamberlain to match greatly boosted the strength of their bond, allowing them to feel each other¡¯s emotions if both sides allowed, and it enhanced the previous effects as well, but the largest benefit to Mila was that she would receive a boon of twice the strength compared to Aalam¡¯s other subordinates, effectively gaining the full Heavenly Spark Pure Soul racial ability for free. As part of your class upgrade, your master was able to choose from a variety of skills based on your Laws, and has chosen the Life Death Detection (F-Legendary) skill for you Life Death Detection (F-Legendary) Magic, Detection, Life, Death You gain a sixth sense allowing you to know the health of living things It was obviously a skill Aalam wanted to use for skill fusion in the future, but it was pretty useful for Mila by itself, as it would allow her to know the health of anyone she saw or detected with her aura. It was also, from a brief consultation with Nana Xara, incredibly rare, the other skills Aalam needed for fusion likely much more common. The upgrades done, Mila then chose two of Aalam¡¯s skills to shadow, Advanced Multi-Mind and Telekinesis, knocking herself out again. When she woke up, there were five of her inside her soul. Two were stupid, but she had three fully working minds and it felt extremely weird. Unlike from Aalam¡¯s instance of the skill, they didn¡¯t also come with enhanced multi-processing and faster thinking speed, as she didn¡¯t have any abilities or class effects which boosted psychic skills, but there were still three of her with two idiots on top. She could think about five different things at once, learn from different sources, focus on different senses. It was extremely overpowered. One of her intelligent minds she left to control her body. Another focused on her bond with the Twin Dragons to learn from the legacies it contained. Then the third started to ponder on her Law Eggs of Bonds and Severing, her needing to advance both past Law Egg state if she wanted to fake herself as a native. Finally, she left one of her two dumber minds to monitor her existing bonds for irregularities and the other to focus on the extra senses she¡¯d gained from her third eye, which she¡¯d yet to master. Then she took a quick look at her status, with the settings changed slightly so all her various boosts to her stats could be seen at once. Name: Li Mila Level: 1 Race: Strong Soul Succubus Princess (F-Epic) Bloodline: Prime Servitor (Mythic) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Legendary) Master of Disguise (Heroic) Class 1: Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) Skills Artifact Enhancement (F-Legendary) 0% mastered Devil¡¯s Contract (F-Legendary) 0% mastered Trickster¡¯s Guise (F-Legendary) 0% mastered Class 2: Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) Skills Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) 0% mastered Life Death Detection (F-Legendary) 0% mastered Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) [shadow] Telekinesis (F-Heroic) [shadow] Laws Law Eggs: Obfuscation - Peak Hologram - High Calm - High Rage - High The Healer - High The Reaper - High Bonds - High Severing - High Stats Strength: 165 (+6.25%) Agility: 175 (+6.25%) Endurance: 169 (+6.25%) Toughness: 165 (+6.25%) Vitality: 167 (+6.25%) Perception: 180 (+106.25%) Magic: 196 (+6.25%) Spirit: 226 (+6.25%) Soul: 542 (+18.75%) Aura: 148 (+156.25%) Attunement: 147 (+68.75%) Luck: 144 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Small Mental Forges Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Third Eye Princess Assets: 3 D rank universal credits 1047 E rank universal credits 112,945 F rank universal credits 26 D rank undead credits 27,894 E rank undead credits 37,766,349 F rank undead credits Boons: Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%. When she¡¯d advanced her race, she¡¯d gotten a choice of 3 possible new abilities, but only one of them was Heroic grade and, as it markedly increased disguise category skills, an effect she wanted, she¡¯d taken it. As she stood up and headed toward the cave to talk to Aalam, she took a quick look at his status as well. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 1 Race: Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic) Bloodline: Genetic Thief (Mythic) Abilities Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) Soul Collector (Epic) Class 1: Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord (F-Heroic) Skills Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) 3% mastered Runescriber (F-Heroic) 5% mastered Soul Lord (F-Heroic) 3% mastered Telekinesis (F-Heroic) 4% mastered Class 2: Void Sage (F-Legendary) Skills Void Sense (F-Legendary) 2% mastered Laws Law Eggs: Molecular Acceleration - Peak Plasma - Peak Rage - High Molecular Deceleration - Peak Liquid - Peak Calm - High Inertia - Peak Solid - Peak Gravity - High Gust - High Gas - Peak Kinetic Energy - Peak Ionization - High Fission - High Fusion - Peak Ionic Conductivity - High Matter - Peak Antimatter - High Ultraviolet - High Infrared - High Energy Transfer - Peak Ultraviolet Absorption - High Infrared Absorption - High Energy Storage - Peak Bacteria - High Order - Peak Bonds - High Asphyxiation - High Entropy - Peak Severing - High Vacuum - High 3 Dimensional Geometry - High Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Peak Soulform Temporal Acceleration - High Temporal Relativity - Peak Pause - High Stats Strength: 256 (+6.75%) Agility: 264 (+6.75%) Endurance: 284 (+6.75%) Toughness: 264 (+6.75%) Vitality: 284 (+6.75%) Perception: 266 (+6.75%) Magic: 277 (+6.75%) Spirit: 312 (+106.75%) Soul: 809 (+19.25%) Aura: 266 (+56.25%) Attunement: 264 (+68.75%) Luck: 180 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Small Mental Forges Unique: 1 Small Soul Storage Uniqueness: Id Prince Territory: Lord NA Overlord New Raphaiya (Lord: Roland Raphaiya) Boons: Hunter of Sentients I: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 0.5% His Attunement stat was slightly higher than his strength, but that was fine. The true rule for the Attunement stat was that the ratio of its percentage of its max value had to be lower than the same ratio for all other stats than Luck, not that its value had to be the lowest. Mila just hadn¡¯t been able to tell before as Human Soulforms had the same max value for all stats. Strong Soul Incubus Prince, on the other hand, had a max value for Attunement quite a bit higher than Strength. The biggest change to Aalam¡¯s status, however, was that he now had a Boons section as well. After killing the beastman while at the same rank, Aalam had received the first of the Hunter of Sentients line of boons. The line was a unique boon for monsters, each subsequent boon requiring twice the deaths, with the deaths of 144 sentients of one rank lower equivalent to the death of someone at the same rank. No matter how strong the boon got, however, it only affected base stats¡ªnot Attunement, Aura, and Luck¡ªand it would reset upon rank advancement, so Aalam didn¡¯t have much interest. As for his immense Soul stat, like her, he¡¯d received a free 288 increase by advancing his race in the cave, but he¡¯d also spent the last two weeks in there as well, so he¡¯d gained a lot more. Not to mention how he gained 68 to his Soul stat each level compared to her 54. The cave was very useful and, as she walked in and felt the energy for the first time as an F rank, she realized it was incredibly comfortable as well. Aalam likely wouldn¡¯t be leaving the cave for a while unless he had to and she would have liked to join him, but sadly she had things to do. ¡°Aalam, I¡¯m going to leave for a while.¡± Mila watched as Aalam, sitting on the throne in the room, opened his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to work on conquering this planet. You should probably just focus on improving yourself.¡± Aalam nodded, but then his expression changed and the confidence in his eyes suddenly disappeared. ¡°If this was a dream, she wouldn¡¯t leave again,¡± he muttered to himself, looking down at the ground, and Mila¡¯s heart started to race. The overpowering Spirit present in Aalam¡¯s aura had disappeared, and he was starting to look terrified. Chapter 48: Berserking’s End Mila Mila felt more nervous than when she¡¯d been kidnapped as a child. Aalam¡¯s berserker state had faded. After committing suicide, killing hundreds of his fellow humans, and being reborn as a literal monster, he was back to normal. And Mila had no idea how he would react. First, he tried to vomit, but, as he¡¯d never eaten anything in his new body, nothing came out. Next, he started crying, holding his face in his hands, but Mila didn¡¯t have the courage to hug him. And then he fell unconscious, falling to the floor. ¡°Uhm.¡± For a couple seconds, Mila didn¡¯t know what to do, but then she walked up to him and moved him onto the bed previously used by the Abyssal Soul Collector, curling up his body slightly so he would fit. Then she touched the artifact on his left hand and accessed the sub-dimension inside, pulling out some of the beastmens¡¯ clothes to make the bed more comfortable, and, after that, she moved out into the hall so she wouldn¡¯t absorb any more of the room¡¯s energy herself and just sat down to wait. Twelve hours later, however, during which time almost all her minds were distracted, he still hadn¡¯t woken up, so Mila decided to ask Nana Xara. ¡°Do you have any idea what is happening?¡± ¡°I have a guess.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice sounded serious and that was almost never a good sign. ¡°Aalam has been in the berserker state of his uniqueness for a bit over five months. I don¡¯t have any data on the aftereffects of Id¡¯s berserker state, but the general rule for berserking powers is the stronger and longer the effects the stronger and longer the aftereffects.¡± Mila took a deep breath. ¡°So, do you think we¡¯re talking permanent damage, a long period of weakness, or is he just going to be unconscious for a long time?¡± ¡°Best guess?¡± Nana Xara sounded contemplative. ¡°He¡¯s going to be unconscious for a while. Uniquenesses are intrinsic to a soul, so they can¡¯t really have aftereffects which are impossible to recover from. Worst case would be the loss of some stats, most likely Soul. Given Aalam¡¯s race, though, which has greatly helped to strengthen his soulstructures, that shouldn¡¯t be an issue. ¡°Finally, berserker powers which increase the Spirit stat generally don¡¯t have a period of weakness. They instead just cause unconsciousness until the overloaded Mental Forges are fully healed.¡± ¡°How long are we talking?¡± ¡°No idea. Generally, I would guess three times as long as he was in the state, but your boyfriend has five Mental Forges instead of the usual one, which could either help or hurt, and he¡¯s sleeping in a soul well, which will definitely help.¡± Mila took a couple minutes to think. She could just wait and let everything on the planet happen without interference, dealing with the aftermath later. Or she could do what she had planned, go work on conquering, as she hadn¡¯t actually expected Aalam to help much anyway. More important, however, she was worried about what would happen if he woke up and she wasn¡¯t around, even with their ability to communicate over long distance. And she was even more worried about the case where someone found him. The illusion formation over the cave entrance was good enough no one would find it by accident, and it had enough power to run for the next two years, so it wasn¡¯t like there was a more safe place to move him, but there was nothing which would notify her and there were no actual defenses. ¡°Nana Xara, do you have any advice on what I should do now?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± From her tone, Mila could tell Nana Xara was smiling, and that helped her calm down. ¡°You¡¯re worried about leaving Aalam alone but you¡¯re also worried about not going out and eventually being hunted down for not growing as fast, right?¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s what artifact rewards are for.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s tone was still jovial and Mila felt her breathing, which had previously been a little rapid, go back to normal. ¡°Defensive formations, alarm formations, teleportation formations, they¡¯re all available as System rewards. ¡°You just advanced to F rank, so normally, as your master, I would be able to give you one artifact of your rank, one skill of your rank, and one cultivation technique, but sadly I can¡¯t right now. With Aalam asleep, he can¡¯t allow you to use one of the skill slots of your second class to learn one of your illusion skills and I can¡¯t physically send you a skill orb nor an artifact, since you are not on Earth where my soul is linked to the universe. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Given you only have three skill slots available, I would highly advise learning and then merging your illusion skills, with me only later granting you a skill directly over our bond. But, if you so desire, you could instead learn my skill first and then wait for Aalam to wake up to learn the last illusion skill. Either way, though, I¡¯ll give the artifact to Diana.¡± Nana Xara sounded quite pleased to have the extra artifact go to Diana instead, and Mila didn¡¯t quite know how to feel about that, but she didn¡¯t really mind. If she was going to leave by herself while Aalam slept, she was going to take the Left Hand of the Runescribe with her anyway. ¡°My advice is to just go do what you were going to do anyway. Before you start getting rewards, you need to be able to fake yourself as a human, and that will require raising your Law Eggs of Bonds, Severing, The Healer, and The Reaper to peak grade and then fusing them into Law Larvae of The Healer and The Reaper. ¡°You¡¯re not like Aalam. Staying still and cultivating doesn¡¯t really suit you. You need to go use your Laws if you are going to get better at them.¡± Mila was about to ask about how to make sure Aalam wouldn¡¯t die of starvation, but she was rather unnerved by something Nana Xara had just said, so she instead went off topic. ¡°Law Larvae?¡± ¡°What did you think a Law Egg would evolve into?¡± Nana Xara sounded surprised, and Mila kind of felt like an idiot for never really considering the question before. ¡°I don¡¯t know. A Law chick? A Law Hatchling?¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Nana Xara sounded like she¡¯d just realized something. ¡°Before the integration, Earth hadn¡¯t had a new outsider brought in for over 2,000 years. While a lot of your myths and stories are based on facts, you¡¯ve lost some of the important ones, like the Heavenly Scarabs. ¡°You know how in your country there is a myth about carp becoming dragons after swimming up a heavenly river and jumping through a gate at the top of a waterfall?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well, that myth is true, and there was a scarab beetle monster which tried to do the same thing. But it died during its transformation into a dragon. Before its death, however, it laid twelve eggs, and those eggs hatched into larvae and grew up feeding on the feces of the various dragons in the valley beyond the gate. ¡°One of the larvae liked feeding on the excrement of space dragons, one on the excrement of time dragons, and so on, and eventually all twelve beetles grew into extremely powerful A rank monsters. No one in the universe more talented than them in their respective Laws other than gods. Then, after a hundred million years, they all ascended to divinity themselves, becoming the followers of the Divine Child.¡± ¡°When talking about Laws, everyone in the know in the universe would talk about the Heavenly Scarabs as well. So, the names of the stages of Law comprehension just naturally started following the Heavenly Scarabs¡¯ development cycle.¡± Mila took a few seconds, but it didn¡¯t sound like Nana Xara was joking. The stages of Laws were named after the life stages of beetles and the origin was heavenly creatures who grew powerful through eating poop. Mila decided to just move on. ¡°How can I make sure Aalam doesn¡¯t starve to death?¡± ¡°Oh. That¡¯s easy.¡± Mila could almost imagine Nana Xara waving her hand dismissively. ¡°Eating souls doesn¡¯t require movement like eating physical food. He¡¯ll automatically eat when he¡¯s hungry if you send him souls, and things will be even easier given his new Soul Storage. Just make sure enough souls are sent over and you won¡¯t have any problems, no different than if he was awake.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Mila said out loud. ¡°One major problem down.¡± Then she sent over, ¡°Are you sure I¡¯ll be able to form the Law Larvae in a reasonable time frame? You seem far more sure than I do.¡± ¡°Advancing to F rank by itself more than doubles affinities with all Laws, as your soul grows better able to communicate with the universe.¡± Nana Xara laughed. ¡°And, while Law affinities are unique to each individual, race is the largest factor, and your race, as a strong soul variant, enhances all affinities more than most Legendary grade races enhance the ones they¡¯re best at. This means your base affinities with your Laws have likely gone up by a factor of around 6 compared to when you were in the tutorial. ¡°Combined with your new +125% affinity with all Laws and +68.75% Attunement effectiveness? You even have legacy guidance of the highest grade for the Laws in question. If you don¡¯t improve at a rapid rate, I¡¯m dropping you as my apprentice.¡± Mila tried creating an illusion with her Law Egg of Hologram and was surprised to find it significantly easier than before. She wouldn¡¯t say it was 13 times easier. But double? Definitely. There was more to creating skill-like effects without skills than just Law mastery and it seemed she was now hitting a different bottleneck than before. Interesting. Mila walked into the room and moved Aalam back onto the throne. Then she used the sword form of the Twin Dragons to carve a bed into the ground that was actually his size. She then took the Left hand of the Runescribe off his left hand and put it on hers, the Legendary grade artifact shrinking slightly to fit her, and took out more articles of clothing to put down under Aalam so he wouldn¡¯t be quite as sore from not moving if he really did sleep for a few months. Then she walked out of the room, picked up the 3 skill orbs for her new skills from where she¡¯d left them in the hallway, and learned them. Illusion Steps (F-Epic) Magic, Movement, Illusion Your steps are quick and hard to see Second Self (F-Epic) Magic, Clone, Illusion Which of you is real, which is illusory Blur (F-Epic) Magic, Disguise, Illusion Your outline a blur, you are hard to identify Mila then took out the Epic grade Orb of Skill Combination and activated it, the gas inside, much denser than the G rank variant, smoothly entering into her body. Then, without a look back so she wouldn¡¯t rethink her decision, she started using her new Illusion Steps skill to exit the cavern and headed toward the southwest, guided by the light of Hira¡¯s two moons. Chapter 49: Acceptable Targets There was one big advantage to having Aalam unconscious: he wasn¡¯t using his own resources. Aalam¡¯s resources were more abundant than hers, as they had the same soulstructures while every single one of his stats was higher, and, as he was in his own Territory, his regeneration rate was more than double her own. She couldn¡¯t take his resources without his permission, but, with their stronger bond, she could take the excess resources generated by his regeneration. And, as they would otherwise dissipate, there was no loss to Aalam. All three of her new illusion skills, which her main mind was focusing on as she ran through the forest, only used mana, as did her new Life Death Detection skill. So, to make use of the extra resource regeneration she had access to from Aalam, she also practiced with her qi and psyforce. One of her dumber minds used her qi and Artifact Enhancement to empower the Twin Dragons in spear form and one of her intelligent minds used her psyforce to practice with Aalam¡¯s Telekinesis skill using one of the needles from the Left Hand of the Runescribe. Her other dumb mind monitored her senses for potential danger and her final intelligent mind kept studying the legacies in the Twin Dragons. For the first hour of running through the night, she focused on the legacy of illusions, her first legacy from the Weaponsmaster. She was closest to reaching peak grade with her Law Egg of Hologram and, given her new skills, that Law Egg was going to be her most useful in combat for the near future, so it was a good use of her time. Then, as she was already quite close and her new skills gave her several novel ideas, she managed to advance after only a single hour. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Hologram has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility + 8, Perception + 8, Magic +16, Spirit +8, Soul +8 Mila then began to focus on the legacies of The Healer and The Reaper, which also contained quite a bit of information on most other Laws of life and death, and, about an hour later, she entered into the region controlled by the rebels. With her Agility, Perception, and Spirit stats at 175, 180, and 226 respectively, she was well above normal humans, who would average 3 in each, so her movement and reaction speeds were superhuman. The world record running speed for humans was a little less than 45 km/h, running on flat ground and maintained for only a few seconds. With her Endurance and Vitality also at superhuman levels, however, she could maintain more than double that speed for several hours even while moving through a jungle at night and practicing with her skills. It was kind of terrifying. The planet was only so big, and she was only going to get faster, yet she could already run at highway speeds through a dense jungle. Over open plains, she¡¯d be able to move even faster. And someone like Roland, who gained more than twice the agility she did per level, could move even quicker. She hadn¡¯t really thought about it before, but wars with superhumans wouldn¡¯t be like medieval warfare at all, despite the weaponry being similar, but like modern warfare with nukes and fighter jets. Individual combatants could move too fast and hit too hard if given a bit of time to use larger techniques, so things like numbers and supply lines weren¡¯t anywhere near as important as in wars back before mana. And this was only at F rank. She quickly made her way to one of the major cities in the region, its population much larger than Eshna, housing more than 200,000 before the start of the integration, and she didn¡¯t like what she saw. As she expected was happening in most cities on both Hira and Earth, a large societal gap had formed between those natives without the talent to ever reach F rank and those who¡¯d been taken away by the System. On Earth, it wouldn¡¯t be as bad, as over 99% of the population were naturally talented cultivators, but on Hira that ratio seemed more like 4%. 96% of the population didn¡¯t have advancement criteria for their race as they were Inferior grade humans and would thus require high grade resources to ever raise their race to F rank, the first step on a path to power. Yet the other 4% could do so simply by killing 3 G rank monsters, the advancement criteria for Common grade humans. This created a large difference in power given how many stats even a level 1 F rank cultivator gained, and things were even further exacerbated by the new environment. When a planet underwent integration, the rising levels of mana would start to transform some of the animals and plants into monsters, and cultivators were needed to keep them from treating humans as food. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Like with her, most monsters could extract more energy from sentient races than other monsters, and this included those unable to ever pass G rank. As a result, at least according to Nana Xara, authoritarian or oligarchical power structures almost always developed during integrations, especially apocalypse style ones, with the most powerful cultivators on top, the rest of the cultivators below, and then the normal populace at the bottom. Whatever social structure existed before would generally be torn down, as talent in cultivation rarely had any correlation with status in a manaless world. In most cases, however, the worst things got was that the normal populace was treated with mostly indifference and not protected, anyone pretty taken to serve those in power and the rest left to starve. This city ruled by the rebels, however, was so much worse. Using Trickster¡¯s Guise and qi, Mila¡¯d modified her body, darkening her skin and modifying her features slightly to look like a native commoner. Then she¡¯d used the Trickster¡¯s Guide skill and mana to put an illusion over herself, making her look more plain. After just a few minutes of walking around, even though it was a couple hours past midnight, she¡¯d already seen 3 different beastmen performing sacrificial rituals on members of the populace to increase their own power, and there were a lot more beastmen than she¡¯d have thought. The original rituals to become beastmen had been conducted before the introduction of mana and had required 144 sacrifices for each beastman created. Regardless of whether the individual was originally a Common grade human or Inferior grade, everyone who had undergone the ritual had been able to cultivate, though those with the Common grade version of the race had found their version of the beastman race was Uncommon grade while the grade of those who were originally Inferior grade humans was only Common. With the introduction of mana, however, the ritual only required the sacrifice of 12 lives, and it seemed the leaders of the region had started using it on everyone who followed them in preparation for what was to come, including a lot of those unable to cultivate. At the start, the region had contained more than 600,000 humans, about 25,000 of them cultivators, and only 3,000 of those number had been rebels. By the point she¡¯d arrived, however, a month after the return of cultivators from the tutorial, there were less than 400,000 humans left in the region and around 18,000 beastmen, though most of the new beastmen were stuck at G rank due to not yet having 3 skills. They¡¯d figured out how to naturally generate skills, however. Cultivators just had to repeat certain actions enough and a skill would naturally generate. They didn¡¯t know the right actions to generate any skills higher than Inferior grade, but 15,000 new F ranks wouldn¡¯t be a small number, even if they were all low quality. Roland and the couple thousand cultivators in the region around Eshna wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Thankfully, the beastmen weren¡¯t actually united. Through her interrogation of the beastmen, Mila already knew there were three factions among the rebels in the area and, without outside forces to fight against for the last month, they¡¯d been drifting further apart. Only one of those factions knew about Roland and, even in that faction, the number in the know could be counted on one hand. The female mage who¡¯d acted as leader of the 26 beastmen sent after Roland had been the only one to know about the prince¡¯s existence when the group originally left, telling the others after they¡¯d already traveled more than 100 kilometers. And, as far as she was aware, the only other beastmen to know were the leader of their faction, the beastman who¡¯d escaped after attacking Roland, and one of the leader¡¯s lieutenants who that beastman had originally told the information. Mila didn¡¯t know where the latter two were, but it was pretty easy to find the leader. He was sleeping in the governor¡¯s mansion and, with her Law Egg of Obfuscation now at peak grade and her stats increased from reaching F rank, it wasn¡¯t hard to break in. He wasn¡¯t alone, however, a human commoner woman with the weak aura of a G rank in the large bed with him. The woman wasn¡¯t young, likely in her early forties, a couple years older than the leader himself, and she wasn¡¯t that pretty, drawing Mila¡¯s interest. Like the man, she was naked, and, from what Mila could tell, the two of them had had sex before falling asleep, sex which had not been physically forced. From interrogating the beastmen who¡¯d tried to kill Roland, she knew the man wasn¡¯t married, his wife and kids killed by a nobleman a couple years before the start of the integration, so she couldn¡¯t figure out who the woman was without asking. To that end, she took two swords out of the Left Hand of the Runescribe and placed them hovering in the air with telekinesis, then she used two of her other minds to grab the left ankles of both the leader and his lover and yanked them out from under the covers to hover in midair, the swords right next to their throats, while also stuffing both their mouths with the covers so they couldn¡¯t scream. ¡°Hello, Mr. Beastman Leader and friend. Let¡¯s have a little talk.¡± Mila sat down on the bed crosslegged and smiled at the two of them. ¡°Now, if you scream after I remove the gags, I will kill you and then easily escape unharmed. Nod if you understand.¡± They both nodded and Mila first released the gag on the woman. ¡°Now, first, who are you?¡± ¡°K-Kaylen from Jorich Village, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°And who are you to him?¡± Mila casually pointed at the leader. ¡°W-we grew up in the same village.¡± ¡°I see. And did you choose to sleep with him by choice?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± The woman looked at the man when she spoke, and there was almost as much fear in her aura toward him as toward Mila, so, Mila had a good guess as to what had happened. The woman was the leader¡¯s first love, but he¡¯d never had a chance with her back when he was weak. So, when he came into power, he forced her into his bed. Mila felt bad for her, but there were most likely thousands of women on the planet right now going through similar circumstances, and Mila couldn¡¯t individually help them all. The best she could do for them was what she already had planned, and that required pretending she didn¡¯t care about the woman at all. ¡°Interesting, so you¡¯re not really useful as a hostage.¡± Mila moved the sword away from the woman¡¯s throat and then dropped her unceremoniously onto a carpet in the corner of the room. ¡°Agree to stay quiet about everything you see tonight and I¡¯ll let you live.¡± Mila sent over a contract to the woman which basically said the woman would die if she revealed anything related to Mila and her activities this night during the next two years. The woman accepted, binding her own soul, and then Mila completely ignored her. Chapter 50: Aura and Contracts Mila There was a reason Aura was generally considered the third most valuable stat, behind only Luck and Attunement. Luck affected how the universe saw a cultivator. It wouldn¡¯t summon a bigger fish to eat a monster already trying to kill you. It wouldn¡¯t get you out of a prison you stupidly got yourself thrown in. In fact, it generally didn¡¯t have any effect on anything with a Mental Forge. What it did do was twofold. It gave a cultivator a passive treasure detection ability which grew as the stat did, almost useless at the lower ranks, and it affected uncontrolled magic, making favorable results much more likely. A random teleport might put you on a planet instead of in the middle of nowhere in space. A randomized magical trial was more likely to be one you were suited for. And, for randomized magic such as racial ability selection, the choices would be better. Due to the existence of the System, a purely magical construct heavily affected by Luck, the stat was generally considered the most important, but in truth it was overvalued as it was the most difficult stat to raise, at least in Mila¡¯s view. Attunement, the second most difficult stat to raise, was far more useful, raising a cultivator¡¯s connection to Laws and thereby benefiting almost all parts of cultivation. Having higher laws was the biggest differentiator between normal and genius cultivators for a reason. Just look how easy it was for Mila to sneak around on Hira where her Law Egg of Obfuscation was of higher grade than the Laws of any of the natives, even when she didn¡¯t yet have a stealth skill. And this wasn¡¯t even mentioning how most bottlenecks in cultivation could be easily passed with higher grade Laws. Aura, however, was just plain practical. Raising the Aura stat increased the power of a cultivator¡¯s aura and that had multiple effects. A stronger aura meant a cultivator could more easily read the emotions of other sentients. Skills like Aalam¡¯s Telekinesis, and most other area of effect skills, were almost as dependent on Aura as Magic or Spirit, Telekinesis for example relying on the Aura stat to increase in range and fine control while Spirit mainly increased the skill¡¯s strength. Finally, a strong aura could be used to suppress a weak one, making it nearly impossible to move resources outside of the cultivator¡¯s body. This wasn¡¯t that useful in combat, as suppressing an aura when resources were in active motion was much harder. But for threatening a captive? It made things easy. The leader hanging by his foot in front of her couldn¡¯t extend any of his power outside of his body. For warriors this wouldn¡¯t be a huge issue, but the leader was a mage, and not being able to use magic outside of his body effectively blocked all of his skills. ¡°What is it you want, Mr. Beastman Leader?¡± Mila removed the gag from the man¡¯s mouth. ¡°Who are you?¡± The man was obviously extremely angry, but he was the original leader of the rebels in the area for a reason. He was only a Common grade beastman, so he¡¯d been losing support lately, but he had serious presence and was able to keep his outward cool even in a situation like this. ¡°Who do you think?¡± Mila used Trickster¡¯s Guise with mana to drop the illusion making her seem plain and substituted it with a different illusion which made her canines appear extra long. She still looked like a Hiran commoner due to her previous use of Trickster¡¯s Guise with qi, her skin darker and her facial features slightly different, but to him that would just make her look prettier. ¡°The Mistress of Oaths and Deception.¡± More fear entered into the man¡¯s aura and Mila was able to confirm he¡¯d at least heard her title. ¡°Correct.¡± Mila smiled, showing off her canines even more. ¡°Though I do hate that epithet. Sure, my powers are contracts and illusions, but I don¡¯t deceive anyone. I want food and I politely ask for it.¡± The leader very obviously didn¡¯t believe her, but that wasn¡¯t the point. She¡¯d deliberately made his distrust go in the wrong direction, leading him to believe she was actually after food, and this would be helpful for the next steps. ¡°But you haven¡¯t answered my question yet, Mr. Beastman Leader. What do you want?¡± ¡°To survive the night would be nice,¡± the man answered calmly. ¡°Being right side up would also be highly appreciated.¡± Mila laughed, the action deliberately designed to put the man off balance by attracting his attention to her chest. ¡°So, not power, not control, just survival?¡± The man looked at her more intently than before, deliberately focusing on her eyes, and a lot of the fear in his aura started to fade. ¡°You¡¯re looking for some kind of exchange?¡± ¡°Two of your men have formed factions trying to take over your position, something they cannot do without your death. Don¡¯t you need help?¡± ¡°I already have a way to handle that?¡± Mila made her smile wider. ¡°Yes, the prince¡¯s head would help you stabilize your position for a while, wouldn¡¯t it.¡± The man¡¯s aura suddenly had a lot more fear and Mila realized her guess about the situation was correct. As one of the weaker beastmen to come out of the tutorial, his position wasn¡¯t secure and he was truly afraid he¡¯d be killed soon. He still held a lot of sway with most of the rebels, however, and, with Roland¡¯s head, he¡¯d be able to secure his position until an external enemy became available to use as a uniting force. ¡°How do you¡ª¡± he started to ask, but Mila cut him off. ¡°Your men made the unfortunate mistake of trying to hunt the Heavenly Spark Soul King. I managed to convince him to leave one alive for a bit to answer questions in exchange for a nice clean decapitation. The rest I¡¯m afraid were torn into a few too many pieces to properly bury.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. From his reaction, she was able to confirm a few things. One, Aalam¡¯s title was also known by the man, either from the beastman who¡¯d given him the information about Roland or because her presence in the city spread the same quest as before. Two, the loss of those 26, the greatest combatants still loyal to him, greatly lowered his power and protection. ¡°You are allies with the prince?¡± Mila laughed again and this time the beastman leader had a harder time not getting distracted. ¡°No. We enslaved him. He had the ability to establish a Territory and the Heavenly Spark Soul King has the word king in his title for a reason. He benefits from Territory yet the System makes it difficult for him to claim one himself.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Mila could almost see the gears turning inside the man¡¯s mind. ¡°So the reason you¡¯re hanging me upside down is you want to make the same type of deal?¡± ¡°A little different.¡± Mila turned the man over, changing her telekinetic grip to hold him by the back of his neck instead. ¡°He had a token to allow him to create a Territory and nothing else, but you actually have a large force. Admittedly, your grip on that force is extremely shallow, but that¡¯s easy to fix.¡± Mila took off both of her earrings and placed them inside her cupped hands, transforming the Twin Dragons into its Seal of the Chamberlain form, a stamp with the image of a yin yang symbol on parchment with a quill next to it. Then she used Trickster¡¯s Guise to disguise the identity of the artifact, something she could do as the artifact had been born from her own soul, and this made the seal on the bottom look like a roaring dragon. Finally, she used Artifact Enhancement to boost the artifact¡¯s effects for the next day¡ªeven longer if she sent qi, mana, and psyforce over her connection to it. Then she tossed the seal to the leader, its information disguised. Monster¡¯s Seal (F-Epic) An artifact to empower contract category abilities of monsters, normally disguised as a pair of dragon-shaped earrings. This artifact can also store a reusable contract which can be used by the monster¡¯s servants. Possible forms: Twin Dragon earrings (weight greatly reduced), Seal of the Beast Effects: Transformation, Conductivity, Contract Seal, Stored Contract Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King, the Mistress of Oaths and Deception, or one of their servants The artifact¡¯s true information, however, was quite a bit different. Twin Dragons of Life and Death (F-Heroic) [Growth] A legacy artifact formed by a Reaper¡¯s Token from the flesh of an Invincible Slime, Formless Silver, and the emotions of the Mistress of Oaths and Deception. Due to the mistress¡¯s desires, the Twin Dragons can only be used by the Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants and has multiple effects, including the ability to absorb the legacy information of other legacy artifacts, the ability to transform into multiple forms, and the ability to store unused nascent energy. It was later enhanced by a Healer¡¯s Token and gained the further ability to act as a Seal of Contract for both the Heavenly Spark Soul King and his chamberlain. Upon the Mistress of Oaths and Deception¡¯s rise to F rank, it then further gained the ability to strongly hold disguised information. Current Legacies: The path of Illusions from a random D rank, the path of Shadows from a random D rank, the path of Passion from a random D rank, the path of Tranquility from a random D rank, the path of The Reaper from the Origin of Death, the path of The Healer from the Origin of Life, the art of crafting from an apprentice psychic Possible forms: Twin Dragon earrings (weight greatly reduced), Twin Pistols, Longsword, Spear, Shield, Reaper¡¯s Gown, Healer¡¯s Raiment, Lord¡¯s Seal, Seal of the Chamberlain Effects: Legacy Eater, Transformation, Nascent Energy Storage, Conductivity, Contract Seal, Held Disguise Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants The artifact had advanced while she did, but she hadn¡¯t immediately noticed on account of being unconscious when it happened. Its new ability allowed her to more easily change its information and disguise it with Trickster¡¯s Guise, which would normally only work on herself. But the best part was the strengthening of all the artifact¡¯s old abilities. She could channel energy into it more easily. Its longsword and spear forms were far sharper. And the amount of nascent energy it could hold had increased by 12 times. Her goal with giving it to the leader was simple. She¡¯d made it look like she¡¯d placed a built in reusable contract into the artifact. Stored Contract Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the initiator of this contract to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the initiator of this contract
  3. You must follow all the orders of the initiator of this contract
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No In truth, however, she didn¡¯t have the ability to create stored contracts yet, let alone reusable ones, so she would be using her own power to create the contracts each time he tried to activate the ability, and this was an important distinction, as she would slightly change the wording on the contracts she actually sent over. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the initiators of this contract to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the initiators of this contract
  3. You must follow all the orders of the initiators of this contract
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No The Hiran language had two words for initiator, one which had a completely different word for its plural and one which didn¡¯t. In the contract the leader could see by inspecting the artifact, the contract used the first word, while in the actual contract she¡¯d send, it would use the second. She could probably get away with larger changes, but one thing she¡¯d learned in her training with her grandfather was that the simplest lies were the easiest to maintain, so it had pretty much become her instinct to not add complexity when she didn¡¯t need to. ¡°So,¡± the leader asked, his aura showing he was carefully looking for loopholes, ¡°this says I need to be your servant to be able to use this artifact.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Mila sent him over the servant contract she¡¯d already thought up. The Mistress of Oaths and Deception has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the Mistress of Oaths and Deception or the Heavenly Spark Soul King to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions you believe might harm the Mistress of Oaths and Deception or the Heavenly Spark Soul King
  3. You accept the role of servant to the Heavenly Spark Soul King until the Heavenly Spark Soul King leaves Hira
  4. You must send 8 F rank humans to the Mistress of Oaths and Deception every 6 days for food, all limbs intact
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No The fourth clause was the key. The leader didn¡¯t trust her, rightfully so, and she didn¡¯t need to go through the effort of making him think she wasn¡¯t a monster for what she wanted from him. With an obvious dark desire built into the contract, he wouldn¡¯t think as much about the possibility of her true desires being something completely different. The gears kept turning inside the man¡¯s head, but then he said the word which sealed his fate and the fate of thousands of others. ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 51: New Subordinates Mila A soul could only accept so many contracts and that amount was determined by the strength of the contracts and the value of the Soul stat. But there was a very easy trick to make an almost unlimited amount. Just don¡¯t bind yourself. It was relatively simple, as all you had to do was make contracts where all the terms limited only the other party, but in practice it was difficult. People would pretty much only agree to that type of contract when the alternative was death or something even worse. And, without the anchor of a second soul, the contracts were extremely easy to break for anyone with the right type of skill. In the outside world, almost every organization would have multiple people with such skills, but most of the natives only had four skills total, three from the tutorial and one from their F rank class. Contract breaking skills were not common in the normal sense of the word, and never below Uncommon in grade, so, among all the native cultivators, there were probably at most 5 with such skills. And, of those, probably only one if any would be able to break the level of contracts Mila created with her Legendary grade contract skill markedly increased by the combination of her racial ability and main class, even if the contract wasn¡¯t properly anchored. What she had planned would most likely not work on any of the invasion forces, but against the rebels there was nothing blocking her. Mila spent the next few days hunting in the other two major cities in the region, finding cultivators raping civilians and then silently killing them while they were in the heat of lust. She would then silence the civilian with a contract and move on, and, over only three days of work, she completely filled Aalam¡¯s Small Soul Storage with high quality souls which could keep them both fed for a couple months. Sadly, however, even killing 18 F ranks wasn¡¯t enough to level her up once. With a race at Epic grade and two classes at Legendary and Heroic, it would apparently take a lot more primal energy than normal for her to level, and that was one of the reasons even genius cultivators generally didn¡¯t choose such high grade classes. During those three days, she hadn¡¯t been anywhere near as busy as the rebel leader, however. He¡¯d started by pulling in some of the less loyal of his own subordinates and using his loyal subordinates to threaten them into accepting the contract or dying. Then he used those subordinates under contract to do the same to his truly loyal subordinates. The process had then snowballed and he stayed in the governor¡¯s mansion as his ever increasing number of soul contracted subordinates brought in more and more cultivators. Over those first three days, he¡¯d started with only rebels, but then he expanded to other cultivators as well, and a lot more people, most of them ideal future subordinates for someone like Roland, started choosing death instead. Thankfully, however, the leader was practical. As she¡¯d expected, he didn¡¯t want to sacrifice the humans who agreed to be his subordinates to her for food, so he just beat those who didn¡¯t agree near to death and used some of his subordinates with restriction skills to keep them imprisoned. Mila started hunting beasts in the area for primal energy, though they didn¡¯t give as much as cultivators, nor did they advance her Hunter of Sentients boon. Still, it was good practice for her skills and something to do while she waited. Then, six days after her initial contract with the leader, Mila got her first shipment of 8 human cultivators. As agreed, they were all left unconscious near a small pool in the jungle by some of the leader¡¯s subordinates, and, after a bit of questioning, Mila killed the three beastmen left to spy on what she¡¯d do with them. Then she picked up the 8 with telekinesis and moved to a secret location she¡¯d found during her hunting, out of range of most surveillance abilities, and woke them all up. ¡°Who here is under contract with the beastman leader? Raise a hand.¡± Mila, in her guise as an ordinary looking commoner, smiled down at the group as they woke, all too injured to stand, and watched as two of their number worked hard to raise one of their hands with shocked expressions. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. They hadn¡¯t had to follow her words, but they¡¯d felt their souls start to burn when they hadn¡¯t, and so quickly complied. ¡°Ignore all previous orders from the rebel leader and tell me what they were.¡± ¡°If we survived, we were supposed to report back,¡± one of the men stammered out, seemingly having been exhausted by the effort of raising a single limb. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± Then the other said the same thing. ¡°Fair enough.¡± Mila looked at the other six, all also still lying on the forest floor, unable to even move their arms let alone stand under their own power. ¡°And why did all of you disagree to take the contract the leader provided?¡± ¡°Jorith is a bastard who¡¯d kill his own family if it gave him power,¡± one of the men growled. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯d serve him.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± From their auras, pretty much everyone agreed with the man¡¯s statement. The two who¡¯d capitulated likely had family in the area and just had more to lose. It made sense why the rebel leader had chosen to get rid of these men first. A couple of them even seemed close to forming a Law Egg, which was very impressive on Hira at the moment. ¡°What¡¯s your view on Roland Raphaiya?¡± ¡°The prince?¡± one of them asked, the brother of the one who¡¯d already spoken. ¡°Yes.¡± Mila nodded. ¡°Not much to form a view on.¡± The man frowned as he looked up at her. ¡°His father was reportedly an ass, but all we really know about the prince was he was talented in the tutorial.¡± From their auras, it seemed everyone agreed with that statement. ¡°Any interest in working under him for a couple of months? You¡¯d be left with only the same responsibilities as most of the cultivators in his domain after.¡± Mila sent the six who hadn¡¯t already agreed to the leader¡¯s contract a modified version of the contract she¡¯d forced everyone back in Eshna to sign. They¡¯d have to protect those unable to cultivate if the settlement they were in was attacked, with the temporary loss of 80% of their stats for 24 hours if they didn¡¯t. They couldn¡¯t attack her, the lord of the Territory, or the overlord of the Territory without their souls crumbling. And they would have to serve Roland Raphaiya for 80 days and couldn¡¯t go back to the region the rebels were in control of until he gave them the ok. ¡°You¡¯re performing some kind of scam on Jorith?¡± the first man asked after looking through the contract, learned enough that the contract came to him as writing instead of spoken words. ¡°You gave him that artifact and there is some trick behind it?¡± Mila just smiled. ¡°Who are you?¡± the man asked. ¡°An ally of the prince.¡± The man stared up at her. ¡°Your aura is too strong. If you were in our tutorial, you would have stood out.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡± The man, still lying unable to move on the floor, seemed to give up, his aura showing he understood he wasn¡¯t going to get more from her with that line of questioning. ¡°What do you get from helping us?¡± ¡°If the natives of a planet undergoing an apocalypse style integration stop all twelve invasions and a native then takes up the position of planet head, that native will earn a token for a special kind of trial.¡± Mila squatted down so she wasn¡¯t towering over the men anymore. ¡°My boss and I want that token so we can gain a possible reward from that trial, the ability to go home. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter who I partner with, but Roland seems to actually care about the citizens of this planet, and that¡¯s a lot more than I can say about most leaders. So, my boss decided to help the prince instead of one of the other possible leaders. ¡°He and I both don¡¯t really care for mass murder of defenseless civilians.¡± ¡°What if we don¡¯t accept the contract you¡¯re offering.¡± Mila kept looking at the man directly in his eyes, not changing either her voice or expression. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you.¡± The man took a deep breath. ¡°Alright. I agree.¡± As Mila had already noticed, the man was the de facto leader of the other five, so, when he agreed, they quickly did as well. Mila then placed her hands on the belly of the leader¡¯s younger brother and started the process of healing him. His wounds were quite a bit more complex than just crushed legs, so it took nearly half an hour to get him back in near perfect shape, but the knowledge flowing into her mind from her resonance with the Law of The Healer as she worked made it all possible and she felt her Law Egg slightly advance. With the second healing, it then advanced even further, and again with the third, the time it took her to heal the same type of complex wounds on each man slightly faster each time. Then, after she finished healing the seventh man, her Law Egg advanced. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of The Healer has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +4, Soul +12 She then quietly healed the eighth man, gave some strict orders to the two under the contract from the beastman leader, and sent all eight of them to Roland in Eshna. Chapter 52: Level 5 Mila It took the rebel leader about two weeks after being given the seal to get every single cultivator in the region under a contract. And this was no simple feat as it required Mila to generate 100 plus contracts per minute near the end. The visible feedback response she¡¯d added to allow the leader to see when cultivators accepted the contracts had increased the mana expenditure for creating the contracts by nearly 25%, and sending the energy through the seal was not without cost, so, while the seal could thankfully create contracts for anyone within 10 meters, allowing for more efficient batch generation of contracts, Mila had been forced to eat half the souls stored in Aalam¡¯s Soul Storage to account for the resource drain. Thankfully, her Law Egg of Bonds had advanced to peak grade during that time, or she would have needed to eat even more souls. The leader, as dictators were want to do, then summoned most of the enslaved cultivators in the region to one single field outside his main city, where there was an elevated platform he could speak from, and started to give a speech. ¡°Thank you all for coming. Together, we will make history. Together, we will change this world. Together, we will¡ª¡± Mila decided the speech was just going to be a waste of time, so, with the power of her Law Egg of Obfuscation poured into her Blur skill, she ran up onto the stage, pulled an axe out from the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace, and severed the leader¡¯s head from his shoulders. The Blur skill obfuscated her form as if it were covered in smoke, making it nearly impossible to predict her movements from seeing how her muscles and resources moved, but its usual purpose was to help a cultivator disguise their identity, something Mila didn¡¯t really need. With her peak grade Law Egg of Obfuscation empowering it along with her enhancement of disguise skills, however, it was a good substitute for a stealth skill until she could actually get one, leaving her almost invisible. The leader was only level 2, having not spent much time hunting, and he was a mage with low perception and no detection skills, so it was easy to get behind him. A few people in the crowd noticed, but only one reacted, and he was too late to do anything. ¡°Alright,¡± Mila looked out over the crowd, who were all so shocked no one had moved yet, and deactivated blur so they could all see her plain disguised appearance. ¡°He enjoyed the sound of his voice way too much. ¡°I¡¯ll instead be brief. ¡°If you are a beastman, if you have raped someone and enjoyed it, or if you have murdered someone for a petty reason, please kill yourself.¡± Her voice was enhanced with a basic qi effect, so everyone heard her. No one who met the criteria actually committed suicide, however, so they all had their souls crushed about six seconds after she finished talking. All the beastmen and about a fourth of the humans died just like that, falling limply to the ground, and a whole bunch of primal energy entered into Mila, about 90% of what she would have gained from killing each person individually. Altogether, it was the primal energy from a little more than 15,000 G rank beastmen, about 3,000 F rank beastmen, and a little less than 5,000 F rank humans, yet it only brought her up to level 5. Gathering primal energy was tough. ¡°Okay,¡± Mila continued a few seconds later, ¡°now that the cleanup is done, a few orders for the rest of you. One, you are now citizens of New Raphaiya, the Territory of Prince Roland Raphaiya. Two, you all must follow all orders of Roland Raphaiya and his party members, unless they would have you rape someone or murder a child under the age of 16. ¡°If they order you to do either of those things, you have my permission to kill them. ¡°Three, you can¡¯t run away. Do not leave this region unless given permission by Roland Raphaiya or his party members, though you can expand out for hunting purposes so long as you return within a few days each time. ¡°Finally, I do consider what has happened here a secret, and you all have already agreed to the contract, so you will all die if you reveal how I killed this idiot to anyone I don¡¯t give you explicit permission to tell.¡± She kicked the leader¡¯s corpse. ¡°And I haven¡¯t yet given you permission to tell anyone.¡± Mila reached down and picked up the disguised Twin Dragons, pretending to put it in the pocket of her dress with her left hand but actually putting it into the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Thank you, everyone. That will be all.¡± Mila then looked at the several notifications she¡¯d just received. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of The Reaper has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +4, Soul +12 Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Severing has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +4, Soul +12 You have leveled up from level 1 to level 5 Strength +52 Agility +60 Endurance +68 Toughness +52 Vitality +60 Perception +80 Magic +112 Spirit +136 Soul +216 Aura +16 Attunement +12 Luck +0 Your total Sentient Kill Count for F rank has gone up: 15,432 G rank 8,137 F rank Your Hunter of Sentients Boon has increased to Hunter of Sentients XIV Hunter of Sentients XIV: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 7% Then Mila reactivated Blur and disappeared from almost everyone¡¯s senses before running to the former leader¡¯s prison. There were quite a few injured decent people there, so she could practice with her Law Egg of the Healer, most of her minds already focusing on merging her peak grade Law Egg of the Healer with her peak grade Law Egg of Bonds. First, though, she had to get rid of the guards, the only 16 enslaved beastmen who hadn¡¯t been invited to the speech. Instead of giving them orders, however, Mila practiced with her skills. She used Illusion Steps to move around them, Second Self to create illusory clones of her disguised self for confusion purposes, and Blur so they couldn¡¯t predict her movements even if they could see through her clones to find the real her. While having them confused, she then killed each one with the spear form of the Twin Dragons empowered by Artifact Enhancement and her Law Egg of The Reaper. With her stats greatly increased from leveling up and her Hunter of Sentients boon advancing, it wasn¡¯t too difficult. Mila then used the keys from one of the guards'' waists to free the most injured prisoner and started working on healing him. Several of the other prisoners tried to talk to her, but she raised a hand, indicating she needed to concentrate, and, as they were mostly exhausted, that alone stopped them. A few minutes later, a large group of cultivators from the speech came, seemingly with the intention of freeing the prisoners, and she quickly gave out orders. ¡°I¡¯m going to continue working here, healing everyone until they are all okay. Some of you, go get food for everyone here. The others, don¡¯t allow any of these prisoners to leave until they sign the basic contract of New Raphaiya.¡± She sent the same basic contract every cultivator of New Raphaiya had signed to the several hundred injured prisoners and then started healing only those who¡¯d signed. She gave permission for those enslaved cultivators to talk about what had happened to the injured cultivators and soon every single injured cultivator signed the basic contract. After that, she gave an order to a couple of the enslaved cultivators to go find and then bring to her the best group of scouts who knew the way to Eshna and soon a group of four came to see her. She told them to go find Roland Raphaiya in Eshna and tell him Shadow would like to see him to talk about his new domain, granting them permission to tell him and his party everything that had happened. Mila kept working on healing, taking continuous small steps toward advancing her Law Egg of The Healer, and about seven hours later she sensed Roland enter into the room. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve been busy,¡± he said. Mila didn¡¯t look up from her patient, but one of her minds focused its attention on Roland. ¡°I¡¯m going to work on healing these people for the next few days and then I¡¯ll be moving on to the next location I told you about. If you need me while I¡¯m here, feel free to ask questions, but I would suggest finding those with governing experience, ideally the commoners who actually did most of the work rather than the nobles who gave orders, and asking them instead.¡± There was something strange about Roland¡¯s aura. It had grown slightly more powerful, his Law Egg of Rain seemingly having advanced to middle grade, but he seemed unsure about something, as if he wanted to ask a question but didn¡¯t feel it was appropriate. ¡°Out with it, Roland.¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± Mila looked up at him at that, even as one of her main minds continued to work on helping her patient, her face showing slight confusion. ¡°You seem more serious than normal.¡± Roland put one of his hands behind his head, obviously uncomfortable. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just kind of expected you to be a bit more jovial.¡± Mila just stared at him for a few seconds. ¡°I did just kill over 20,000 people, Roland. That¡¯s not nothing to me.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Roland suddenly looked ashamed and his aura allowed her to know the emotion was genuine. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to helping people then.¡± Roland left and Mila started wasting an entire main mind thinking about her own emotions. The truth was, she hadn¡¯t felt any different before and after her mass slaughter. Killing those people hadn¡¯t made her feel a thing, not sadness, not pride, and that wasn¡¯t normal for her. Usually, she would have felt a whole lot of excitement for the plan having worked so well and a bit of loss for having it highlight yet again how many bad people there were in the universe. But not this time. ¡°Nana Xara,¡± she sent over their bond, ¡°is there something wrong with me?¡± Chapter 53: Humans ¡°Of course there is something wrong with you.¡± From her tone, Mila could tell Nana Xara was smiling. ¡°You¡¯re human, or at least you still see yourself as one. The death of one person you¡¯re close to will hurt a lot more than thousands of strangers. And that¡¯s just how humans are. ¡°The people killed in the first and second challenges during the tutorial were mostly innocents, especially those killed during the first round of the first challenge, so you felt something. Those you killed during the third challenge didn¡¯t exist, so you didn¡¯t care. And, finally, those you killed before the tutorial were mostly people you studied for weeks and sometimes even slept with, so of course you felt closer to them than the inhuman beastmen you targeted here. ¡°You¡¯re not a monster, Mila. Well, technically you are in English, but most languages in the universe split those concepts a bit more.¡± Nana Xara paused for a second. ¡°My main point is your psychology isn¡¯t all that different compared to most soldiers after a few years of war, at least those with good training. ¡°There are some concerning things you need to watch out for, such as being desensitized to the deaths and suffering of people your morals tell you you should care about, but your current attitude of looking at the whole and trying to make things better overall is quite healthy. ¡°You¡¯re stressed about Aalam, so you aren¡¯t having as much fun as you normally would, but for that you probably just need time. ¡°The main thing you should worry about is that you haven¡¯t slept in weeks. Letting your individual minds rest for 7 hours each day in rotation doesn¡¯t count. Even with the Multi-Mind skill, you need to sleep at least one night every 7 days or so.¡± Mila thought about it for a second, thinking back to some conversations she¡¯d had with Aalam on the topic back before the integration. Aalam wasn¡¯t like her. Despite her training and life experiences, her psychology was mostly normal. There was nothing intrinsic about her which made it difficult to function in normal society. Despite her job before the integration, she wasn¡¯t even a psychopath, her ability to easily lie a result of years of training rather than a lack of caring about other people. Aalam was different. He was born autistic and, as a result, was overly rational by default. According to him, he viewed a million as a statistic just like everyone else, but the difference was he valued statistics more. For him, for example, it was easy to ignore one homeless person on a street, but it was nearly impossible to ignore the statistics about homeless people in the United States. When the pandemics started, Earth benefited from that attitude of his. He¡¯d dropped the valuable contracts he¡¯d been working on, angering quite a few powerful individuals, and focused his energy on stopping the plagues, becoming incredibly energized by the thought of helping millions or possibly billions of people. Aalam would view what she¡¯d just done from a macro lens, and he would approve. Sure, the rebel leader had killed quite a few people while he¡¯d been under her power, and, sure, if she¡¯d focused on it, she could have stopped quite a few crimes during those two weeks. But the end result was what mattered and she¡¯d gotten rid of pretty much all the scum in an entire area, the number of future crimes she stopped far, far higher than the number she could have through more traditionally heroic actions. Yes, she wasn¡¯t a good person, but she didn¡¯t quite meet the criteria for a villain either, at least not yet. ¡°Thanks, Nana Xara. Please tell me if I ever seem to stop caring.¡± She worked to stabilize everyone in the former prison, the loss of one good F rank worth quite a bit on the macro scale, then she went and hid in an abandoned house, allowing herself to fall asleep. The next day she could feel the difference, finding herself able to think much clearer, and, after going to work on healing the former prisoners again, she summoned Roland to see her. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°It should take me about 4 days to heal everyone here.¡± Mila didn¡¯t look up when she felt Roland enter, but she did smile, and her tone was less serious. ¡°Before I leave, could you get me the scouting reports for the area. It doesn¡¯t sound like there are any other invasion forces nearby, which makes sense given the undead, but I should probably be a bit more aware of the power distribution in the nearby regions even if I¡¯m going to leave.¡± Roland left for a few minutes and then came back with a map of the continent, which he laid out on a table next to the larger table where she was healing a patient. ¡°We¡¯re in the Voranin Region here,¡± he said pointing at a section of forest on the map when he could see she was looking. Then he pointed at a dot on the map to the northeast. ¡°Eshna is here, in the Folanin Region.¡± He then pointed to a mountain range to the east of both regions. ¡°The Eastern Mountains block normal passage to the east. Cultivators can cross, but the scouts report the monsters there are stronger than in the forest and the mana density is lower, making resource regeneration slower.¡± ¡°The mana is flowing more strongly into the beasts, lowering the amount in the atmosphere,¡± Mila explained, briefly looking back to her patient. ¡°From what I read in my tutorial it is a natural phenomenon. Mana higher up in the lower atmosphere of planets is closer to primal energy, so monsters have an easier time converting it than they do mana at sea level, allowing them to more quickly level up, even without killing anything.¡± In reality, she¡¯d learned that from Nana Xara about a week into arriving on Hira, but she wasn¡¯t going to tell Roland about Nana Xara¡¯s existence as there were only detriments to doing so. ¡°Oh.¡± Roland paused to think for several seconds, but then he continued. ¡°Well, it is unlikely many cultivators would go through the mountains. Almost no one is as stealthy as you are and it would be incredibly unsafe.¡± Roland then pointed to the area north of the Folanin Region on the map. ¡°To the north of the region where our Territory is located is unclaimed lands. The Empire¡¯s population was only so big and no one ever claimed the lands to the north. There is known to be the start of the Goran River, which flows from the Eastern Mountains all the way to the sea in the west, but not much else.¡± He then pointed to the west of the Folanin region. ¡°The Ashen Mistress erupted about forty years ago and the wind was blowing west, so it sprayed ash all over this area, causing it to be pretty much uninhabited as well.¡± The dormant volcano known as the Ashen Mistress was to the middle of the Folanin region, about 20 kilometers to the west of Eshna. ¡°The parts of the Folanin region to the west of the mountain were resettled during the last ten years with several villages, but no one bothered with this unnamed area as the Cocran Trees, whose fruit produce a nice spice, don¡¯t grow there.¡± He then pointed to the south of where they currently were in the Voranin region. ¡°The Tilanin Region here is about as populated as the Voranin region, but all the beastmen from there moved up here during the first month after the tutorial. It¡¯s currently governed by several neutral powers and we¡¯re thinking of sending diplomatic envoys to these cities.¡± He pointed out three cities in the region on the map and then an extension of the Eastern Mountain range to the south of the region. ¡°To its south is more of the Eastern Mountain range.¡± Then he pointed to the west of the Voranin region. ¡°Finally, the Korithanin Region. It contains the start of the Royal River, which flows all the way to Raphaiya, the Empire¡¯s capital, far to the east.¡± Mila took a quick look and saw a river which started flowing west from the end of the Eastern Mountain range, turned south soon after, and then turned to the east after several hundred kilometers, flowing all the way to the sea. ¡°As a result, it is the entry way to the area we control, but sadly it is currently ruled by one of the Five Generals.¡± He pointed at a mark in the northwest of the continent. ¡°This is where you want to go. I¡¯ll get a copy of the map made and get it to you in the next couple days.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mila briefly looked over the map. ¡°I¡¯ll assassinate that general for you on the way. You can make your plans assuming he¡¯ll be killed in five days.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Roland breathed out a sigh of relief, quite obviously having wanted to ask her to kill the general but uncomfortable asking for another favor. ¡°I don¡¯t know where I¡¯d be without you.¡± ¡°Likely hunting by yourself in the Eastern Mountains,¡± Mila spoke jovially as she returned her eyes to her patient, ¡°training to get revenge for the deaths of your party.¡± There was a shift in Roland¡¯s aura, the previously happy emotions changed to more stern thoughts, and Mila looked up at him. ¡°Roland, focus on expanding your Territory if you want to help me. You don¡¯t bring nothing to this partnership. At the same time, though, don¡¯t stop focusing on becoming stronger. Your Law Egg has advanced to middle grade, but that makes you talented only by Hira¡¯s standards. Keep training like your life depends on it, because it does.¡± Roland looked at her for several seconds, saw what she was doing even while they talked, and then nodded. She could feel through his aura as his resolve firmed up again. Then he left and she continued to practice with her life element Laws. Chapter 54: Bavarian Fire Drill Mila Congratulations! You have merged your peak grade Law Egg of The Healer and peak grade Law Egg of Bonds into the Law Larva of The Healer. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +8, Soul +24 Congratulations! You have merged two Law Eggs into a Law Larva. Your soul is affected by your upgrading of Law. All Stats +3 Mila was taking a break after finishing the process of healing her last patient when something in her mind just clicked. The act of saving someone¡¯s life formed a strong karmic connection. Save a hero and all her good acts would reflect back on you. Save a villain and you yourself might be damned. Through the act of healing, the creation of one bond, karma is formed. By that same logic, kill a hero and the potential of her good acts is lost. Kill a villain and weak positive bonds will be created with the future victims he would have otherwise oppressed. Through the act of killing, the ending of a life, karma is formed. But how could you hide your act of killing in a world where powers can track karmic bonds. You¡¯d have to sever the bond between you and your victim as you took his life. Congratulations! You have merged your peak grade Law Egg of The Reaper and peak grade Law Egg of Severing into the Law Larva of The Reaper. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +8, Soul +24 Congratulations! You have merged two Law Eggs into a Law Larva. Your soul is affected by your upgrading of Law. All Stats +3 Mila took a deep breath, in and out, as she felt the changes. The world looked different to her senses. It wasn¡¯t exactly visible, as she was processing the information through her third eye¡¯s connection to her aura rather than her eyes, but she could see the karmic bonds she had with her last patient who was slowly walking out of the room. She could see the thick and complicated bond she had with Aalam heading to where he was sleeping. And she could see the master apprentice bond she had with Nana Xara, reaching off into the void. She followed the patient out and realized she couldn¡¯t see any of his bonds other than the one he had with her, but she was quickly able to find Roland by finding the right bond in her senses and following it to where he and his party were hunting in the jungle. Given her status as Aalam¡¯s chamberlain, she¡¯d always been able to do this, but with her new senses it was far easier and she could have found any of his party members as well, which was kind of awesome. She watched for several seconds as the four of them took down a lizard bear thing she hadn¡¯t yet learned the name of. Then she walked out of the jungle in an obvious way so their senses would pick her up before they could see her. ¡°Good luck, everyone. I¡¯m leaving now. The general¡¯s head will be gone from his shoulders by nightfall.¡± ¡°Good luck to you as well, Ms. Shadow.¡± Roland bowed and the others followed his lead. Mila then activated Blur along with her Law Egg of obfuscation and disappeared, heading west. ¡°Alright, Nana Xara, time to teach me how to make you unable to spy on me.¡± ¡°So, you gain new abilities with immense possibilities and the first thing you want to do with them is deny the fun of the one person who can teach you how to use them to their fullest potential?¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Mila started to smile as she ran through the jungle. ¡°Yeah, pretty much.¡± ¡°What a terrible apprentice I have.¡± Nana Xara muttered a few other things Mila couldn¡¯t quite make out, but it sounded like she was complaining about not getting to see Mila and Aalam finally talk. ¡°It¡¯s not fair.¡± ¡°And having someone watch me sleep is?¡± ¡°Come on. I¡¯m trapped in a spiritual void with nothing else to do. What do you want from me?¡± ¡°To teach me how to limit your ability to have fun.¡± Mila¡¯s smile grew a bit wider. ¡°We¡¯ve already established this.¡± Nana Xara snorted. ¡°Alright then. Your Law Larva of The Healer now holds all the abilities of your previous Law Egg of Bonds, only slightly more advanced. Use it to empower the bond between us until you can identify individual components of the bond.¡± Mila kept one of her main minds focused on her body and one of the dumb minds focused on her other senses, but concentrated on the bond between her and Nana Xara with the other three, using one of her minds to empower the bond with her Law Larva. It took a few minutes, but Mila was soon able to sense more than just the bond, as if the bond was actually more than a dozen bonds connecting her with Nana Xara all entangled with each other, not just a single link. It made sense. She¡¯d interacted with Nana Xara quite a bit, so they had more than one connection. They were master and apprentice, a type of magical bond, but Nana Xara was also someone she joked around with, another type of karmic connection, someone who¡¯d comforted her when she was sad, and a biological ancestor of her original body. They had multiple connections and, by empowering their bond with her Law Larva of The Healer, Mila could see those multiple connections. ¡°I can see it,¡± she sent over to Nana Xara. ¡°Alright. Then you just need to find the component of our bond which links your sensory information to me here in my personal spirit realm. If you use your Law Egg of Obfuscation to¡ª¡± Mila found the correct component of her magical bond with Nana Xara as master and apprentice and used her peak grade Law Egg of Obfuscation to block that one part of their connection, causing Nana Xara¡¯s words to break off in the middle. ¡°Ah, finally alone.¡± For a couple hours, as Mila ran through the jungle toward her destination, not using the winding road so as to save time and have better stealth, she continued practicing with her three new illusion skills, one of her dumb minds keeping up the blocking of Nana Xara¡¯s monitoring. Then, when she arrived at the city in question, she used Trickster¡¯s guise to take on the form of a Hiran noble and walked in like she owned the place. ¡°Where is General Morice?¡± she asked one of the guards at the gate, flaring the full strength of her aura to subdue the man. ¡°H-he should be in the mayor¡¯s mansion,¡± the guard, a young commoner maybe 18-19, said quickly. ¡°Guide me.¡± Then, channeling the true spirit of a con artist, Mila walked past him and didn¡¯t wait for him to come to his senses. And, as she¡¯d hoped, he left the other guards at the gate and ran after her to guide her way. Mila normally wasn¡¯t a big fan of this type of con. Just one skeptic and everything would fall apart. But, as she was fast enough to slip away and had a disguise skill which would allow her to change her appearance, it wasn¡¯t much of a risk and would get her to the general faster. If anything truly went wrong, she¡¯d also be able to functionally turn invisible if she allowed Nana Xara to start watching her again, freeing up her Law Egg of Obfuscation for use with her Blur skill. The guard guided her all the way to a mansion in the center of the city where there were two more guards at the entrance, these two slightly higher in level. ¡°Bring me to General Morice. I have a message for him.¡± Mila spoke as if she had authority, but it was really her aura which brought the intimidation factor, not her acting. She had an effective Aura stat of above 400 while Roland, the native with the highest Aura stat, was only at 28. Most Hirans had an Aura less than 6, so her aura, when she didn¡¯t control it, made her seem far more powerful than she actually was. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± One of the guards quickly guided her and the guard she¡¯d brought with her into the mansion, up a flight of stairs, and then into an office. There they found the general, a man in his mid forties, behind the desk working on some papers. And, in the corner by the door was a young noble woman, maybe his secretary. From the general¡¯s aura, he was F rank, and, as Mila contemplated how best to kill him, she discovered two new senses. One, probably from her evolved Law Larva of The Healer, allowed her to sense his health, which was redundant at the moment given her Life Death Detection skill. Comparing what she felt from him with the others in the room, he seemed healthy, as like everyone else he was F rank, but he was also tired and overworked. This correlated well with his emotions, which were strained, likely from his position becoming less stable after the integration, and matched with the information from the Life Death Detection skill, so Mila felt she could trust her new sense. The second allowed her to feel his weaknesses, the same as all humans, the heart and the brain, though it also highlighted the major places to attack to make these stop functioning, such as the lungs, liver, and major blood vessels. It wasn¡¯t that useful against humans, as she already knew all those weaknesses, but it would be a godsend if it worked on creatures she wasn¡¯t familiar with. From her sense of him, he wasn¡¯t a strong cultivator, and neither were the two guards in the room. The only real danger was the young woman. Though, from her attire and the staff on the ground near her, Mila was pretty sure she was a mage and not a melee fighter. ¡°What do you¡ª¡± the general began. But Mila didn¡¯t let him finish. She moved as fast as she could and drew the swords hanging from each guard¡¯s waist. Then she used Artifact Enhancement on one of them, which enhanced the enchantment making the blade sharp, and threw it at the general as hard as she could, the blade spinning and cutting off the man¡¯s head. Then she moved quickly and had the other blade next to the young woman¡¯s throat before she could get up from her chair. ¡°You aren¡¯t unhappy he¡¯s dead. Why?¡± From the young woman¡¯s aura, she felt shock, fear, and annoyance, but no sense of loss. ¡°One of his partners had my father executed.¡± The young woman glared at her. ¡°But you killed him, so it will be harder to find the bastard.¡± From the woman¡¯s aura, she was pretty sure the words were true, so Mila lowered her blade, mostly ignoring the stunned guards, neither of whom had yet figured out how they should react. ¡°What¡¯s your view on the royal family?¡± ¡°The former emperor, the prince, or the princess?¡± The woman¡¯s aura when asking the question was all Mila needed. She wasn¡¯t a fan of the emperor, was indifferent to Roland, and felt sorry for Uliana. ¡°If you want your revenge, I would suggest partnering with the prince and princess.¡± Mila walked over to one of the room¡¯s windows, opened it, and then jumped down, leaving the sword she¡¯d stolen from one of the guards at the bottom. Then she quickly moved through the streets, changed her appearance to that of a plain former slave with Trickster¡¯s Guise, and headed out of the city. Chapter 55: A Special Kind of Suicide Mila ¡°So, how do I trick the System into thinking I¡¯m a native?¡± Mila sent over her connection to Nana Xara after she stopped blocking it. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But I think I¡¯m only going to talk to Diana for a while.¡± There was a slight pause. Then Nana Xara asked, ¡°Are those trees different than the ones before.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila smiled, Nana Xara able to feel her expression over the bond. ¡°I killed the general and now I¡¯m heading northwest again.¡± There was a longer pause. ¡°You blocked me from being able to see a cool assassination, while at the same time limiting your own power to do so?¡± Nana Xara sounded really annoyed and it made Mila so, so happy. ¡°You hid information from me affecting my very state of existence.¡± ¡°But what does that have to do with me seeing cool assassinations?¡± Mila continued smiling. ¡°It¡¯s the only thing I can do to you which doesn¡¯t really hurt me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so petty,¡± Nana Xara complained. ¡°Do you have any idea how boring it is to be stuck in a System generated mental space? The internet on Earth stopped working as soon as the integration started and my monitoring link to the planet disappeared after the tutorial.¡± ¡°Well, maybe you shouldn¡¯t hold back information in the future.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s not like you offer much more than cool assassinations.¡± Nana Xara continued, seemingly completely ignoring Mila¡¯s point. ¡°You¡¯re a literal incarnation of lust, yet you go all slasher movie villain to get your food rather than providing anything in the way of sexy times. Diana has two hot guys pursuing her, yet doesn¡¯t realize it. It¡¯s like a teen romance show over there. But your side is all sadness and sorrow.¡± ¡°Well, you could help me and then go back to her.¡± ¡°And your fighting style isn¡¯t that interesting to watch. Quick kills with an overpowered artifact and contracts with those weaker than you to convert enemies to allies. There is no flash at all. When Diana fights, her spirits lay waste to an area.¡± Nana Xara continued ignoring her, so Mila just stopped talking and waited, the silence lasting about ten minutes. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re no fun.¡± ¡°I believe we¡¯ve already established that.¡± If Nana Xara had wanted to make things difficult for her, it would have been different. Someone millions of years old would most certainly have developed incredible patience. But that wasn¡¯t the point. Nana Xara wanted to have fun and now both parties had to agree for that to work, so Mila was able to make some ground rules. ¡°Alright.¡± Nana Xara gave in. ¡°First, find your bond with the System.¡± It took Mila a lot longer than she¡¯d expected. Her bond with the System wasn¡¯t like her bond with Aalam or Nana Xara. There wasn¡¯t a direct connection as a result of a defined relationship and, more important, there wasn¡¯t an obvious location. All her other bonds could be visualized as ropes, the various types of connections she had with the other person threads wrapped together into one bond leading directly to the other person. But the System seemed to be everywhere, so that analogy didn¡¯t work. Aalam would talk about multi-dimensional geometry or something and would probably find understanding the way karma worked relatively easy if he had her abilities. But she wasn¡¯t him. She thought more visually and it took her almost half an hour to adjust her mental model to be able to find her bond with the System. And her new model didn¡¯t include any directionality, completely losing the ability to use bonds to track the locations of others, so she likely wouldn¡¯t use it much in the future. ¡°Alright. Done.¡± ¡°Harder than you thought, right?¡± Nana Xara sounded like she was having fun again. ¡°Next you need to pour the power of your Law Larva of The Healer into the bond to see its component parts. Like with me, there will be a connection in that bond used to track you, but there will also be another part that connects you to your stored records. There are quite a few other components as well, helping with things like sending you energy or physical rewards from quests, giving you access to your status, and helping simplify upgrades to your race, class, et cetera. ¡°You will need to find a location where no other lifeforms with primal energy are within 106 meters so the System can¡¯t monitor you through its bonds with other beings. Then you will have to sever the connection allowing the System to monitor you using the power of your Law Larva of The Reaper and, after 3 seconds but before 5, sever the component leading to your stored records.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°This should make the System think you have died and, when the System finds you again, only your information from before the integration of Earth will remain, so the System will view you as a human, not a monster. And, as it will be finding you on Hira, it will recognize you as a native of Hira instead of Earth. In addition, if you manage to accept the quest for killing yourself before the second severing, you will get some decent rewards.¡± Mila had about 6,000 km to travel to get to the cave holding the inheritance the rebels had found, which would take her about 5 days if she didn¡¯t stop to rest at all. And a large portion of that travel would be running through the sand of a desert, where there wouldn¡¯t be many lifeforms. A few days later, after practicing severing specific components of her bonds with most of those she¡¯d healed, Mila found a good spot in the middle of nowhere using her Life Death Detection skill and severed the first connection of her bond with the System. Then, three seconds later, as the connection started to be reestablished, the System message for her and Aalam¡¯s subjugation quest showed up. You have entered the area of a quest. Hunt Down Hira¡¯s Monster Lord (F-Legendary) Accomplish the following:
  1. Either kill or permanently subjugate the monster lord Heavenly Spark Soul King
  2. Either kill or permanently subjugate the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s chamberlain, the Mistress of Oaths and Deception
You may share this quest with a party of up to 144, but a Party Leader must be selected. Party Leader Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: One choice of F rank skill orb up to Legendary grade One choice of F rank artifact up to Legendary grade Individual Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: All stats +6 Party Leader Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Mistress of Oaths and Deception: One choice of F rank skill orb up to Epic grade One choice of F rank artifact up to Epic grade Individual Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Mistress of Oaths and Deception: All stats +3 Do you accept? Yes/No She quickly accepted the quest. Then she severed the second connection. Nothing happened for a few minutes, but then a system message popped up giving her rewards. You have solo killed the Mistress of Oaths and Deception! Rewards for Ending the Threat of the Mistress of Oaths and Deception are slightly increased. All stats +6 You may choose two F rank skill orbs and two F rank artifacts from the following lists As expected, she felt no different and there was only one noticeable change to her status¡ªher money had all transferred to Aalam upon her ¡®death¡¯¡ªso she just transferred it back and dealt with the results of the quest. For the artifact rewards, she chose two parts of a multipart array. The first part was a 3 meter wide platform she¡¯d have to set down somewhere, which contained the main functions of the array and would actively devour the mana in a kilometer radius of where it was placed. Then the second was a token she could carry around with her, which was magically connected to the platform. By pouring a large amount of her mana into the token, she could trigger the power of the platform and have it teleport her to it as long as she was within 7,367 kilometers. Eshna, and thus the soul well Aalam was in, was within 100 kilometers of the center of the continent, so, if she placed a platform there, she could teleport back from anywhere she could get to. And there were four other platforms available in the list, so she¡¯d be able to get them as well and set up a personal teleportation network around the continent if she so desired. Next, for her two skill orbs, she chose Spatial Sense (F-Epic) and Temporal Sense (F-Epic). Along with two rare skills she could get later, they could be combined into Spacetime Sensing (F-Legendary), a skill Aalam would need for the insane Heroic grade skill he was obviously going for. ¡°Is there any good way to get Legendary grade skills?¡± Mila sent to Nana Xara. ¡°It would be a lot more useful for what Aalam wants.¡± ¡°For the quests to destroy an invasion, you need 100% completion percentage with no one escaping and you have to solo kill all three generals as well as the invasion leader.¡± Nana Xara seemed quite happy, likely a result of Mila successfully changing her status to that of a native. ¡°Had you let Roland kill the three generals as well, he would have gotten Legendary grade rewards.¡± Mila thought about it for a bit. That 100% completion was the hardest part. Roland had only managed because he¡¯d been the first to find the undead other than those the invasion had killed and turned into zombies, as Aalam and Mila hadn¡¯t counted. But if any native managed to kill any member of the invasion force and stay alive, Mila¡¯s chance at a Legendary skill orb and artifact would be gone. And this wasn¡¯t even considering how difficult the invasion forces would be to deal with. The undead were a special case. They¡¯d only brought in the minimum 144 cultivators, filling most of their number up with zombies, and this was because they¡¯d planned to convert natives to make up for their numbers. There was only so much an invasion force was allowed to bring to a world and the undead had spent most of their quota on the powerful array now protecting Aalam. The other forces would have a lot more manpower and their numbers wouldn¡¯t be filled with G rank zombies, but full F rank cultivators. ¡°Things aren¡¯t quite as bad as you¡¯re thinking,¡± Nana Xara assured her. ¡°Hira is an F++ rank world, so there are probably a couple B rank forces like the undead of the Palazin Galaxy Cluster, though they wouldn¡¯t have sent their best. The C and D rank forces, however, would. ¡°Invasion forces have a quest to keep the completion percentage against them as low as possible, so they¡¯d try to kill anyone who killed any of theirs. So, if you manage to eliminate all 11 of the other invasion forces, chances are you could manage a Legendary grade skill and artifact pair or two.¡± Chapter 56: Surrounded Inheritance When Mila arrived in the area where the cave was supposed to be, the situation was quite a bit different than she¡¯d expected. The land for kilometers around was flat, just plains and forests, with very little even in the way of hills, and the cave entrance was in the middle of a forest. From what she¡¯d learned from the beastmen she¡¯d questioned, the rebels hadn¡¯t built much infrastructure around it before the integration, hoping to keep it hidden, but that was now old news. After the integration, it seemed a large portion of the rebels had moved to the area, dragging a whole lot of other natives along, and built a small fortress around the entrance. But they hadn¡¯t lasted very long as four different invasion forces had come to the area a few weeks later and worked together to destroy the rebels and take over the entire region, the four forces now each with a base around the entrance to the inheritance. Mila had been able to get this information quite easily by questioning one of the natives still in the area while pretending to be a powerless G rank herself, gaining the relevant quests for destroying each invasion force after getting close enough, and it hadn¡¯t been that difficult. The four forces had imposed martial law, but they¡¯d only killed the native cultivators, leaving most of the powerless natives alive to provide the area with food and amenities through farming and services, making it quite easy for Mila, with the help of Trickster¡¯s Guise, to sneak in. Mila then used her Blur skill and Law Egg of Obfuscation to walk around the edge of the area the invasion forces controlled, and, after about half an hour, she managed to find four cultivators from one of the three human forces alone in the forest coming back from hunting further out, three of them carrying a large lizard bear thing. She then got in their path and hid behind a tree. When they¡¯d just passed her, she used Illusion Steps to move behind them. But the one not carrying the monster noticed her before she expected him to, so she couldn¡¯t knock him unconscious like she¡¯d intended and instead had to use Artifact Enhancement on the Twin Dragons in spear form to stab him before he was fully ready. As he was stabbed in the heart with an attack powered by her Law Larva of The Reaper, he wasn¡¯t going to survive, but her plan was disrupted. He was obviously the scout of the group, armed with a bow and a couple small knives, and he was likely the weakest combatant, thus why she¡¯d wanted him as her hostage. With him dead, she had to keep one of the others alive, and that would be more difficult. They all seemed like warriors, wearing metal armor and carrying spears in one hand with swords on their waists. Thankfully, however, their spears were all stabbed into the bear thing to help with carrying it and they wouldn¡¯t be able to pull them out easily, while their helmets were hanging from belts around their waists rather than on. Activating her Second Self skill and empowering it with her Law Egg of Hologram, Mila made two duplicates of herself overlapping with her body and then had them move to attack two of the warriors while stabbing at the third herself, making it nearly impossible for the men to tell which her was real. The man she personally attacked was barely able to get his sword up to block her spear and, with Blur still active even though she¡¯d stopped infusing her Law Egg of Obfuscation into it, he missed her intention to not attack again as she moved to stab one of the others. The second man was off balance from trying to let go of the bear thing and protect himself from her illusionary clone, so she managed to stab through his left eye before he fully understood what was going on. Then she dismissed the illusory clone which had been attacking him and created another to attack the first man she¡¯d tried to kill. The third warrior was also off balance for the same reasons, but she didn¡¯t attack him, instead going after the first man again, deliberately making her movements not flow with the same ideal smoothness as the clone attacking him. For a brief second, he thought her clone was the real her and tried to defend against it, but that action put him off balance and she managed to stab him in the upper throat with her Twin Dragons¡¯ spear form, ending his life. There was only one warrior left and he¡¯d completely let go of the bear thing, the monster falling to the forest ground with a thump. But he was surrounded on all sides by her and her two illusory clones. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Would you like to make a deal or would you prefer to die?¡± Mila asked using Universal Standard, sending over a contract. But, instead of replying, the man lunged at her true body as she¡¯d expected. She moved backwards to dodge his sword and the two illusory clones both whacked him on the back with their spears, one of them containing actual force through a clever use of Telekinesis. Then he tried to attack that one, but his sword flowed right through the illusion and the other illusion whacked him on the back in the same way. According to Nana Xara, telekinesis skills weren¡¯t all that uncommon but clone skills that could actually do damage were, thus her trick. For natives, this wouldn¡¯t add an extra intimidation factor, but for those from the wider world, it would imply a type of backing they didn¡¯t want to mess with. With 12 invasion forces, the chances were very high he wouldn¡¯t know the identities of all the other forces, and, with her Blur skill active, he couldn¡¯t even tell her species. ¡°Alright.¡± The man lowered his sword and accepted the contract. Now neither of them could kill the other, but he had to answer all her questions to the best of his ability, would have to warn her of any dangers to her or himself, and would have to follow basic non life threatening directions or he would be weakened and she could kill him. Mila quickly put the three bodies of the fallen invaders in the Left Hand of the Runescribe, along with the one still alive¡¯s spear, and started walking away from the invaders¡¯ camps. ¡°Follow me.¡± The man followed, walking beside her, and Mila started her interrogation. ¡°Tell me about your force and the other three around the inheritance, leaving nothing out which you think might be useful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m from the Flare Clan of the Kingdom of Night. Are you familiar with our kingdom or should I give more context.¡± He had the habits of a good subordinate, which was useful. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you much due to oaths, but I can reveal public knowledge. The Flare Clan is known for our fire magic class paths and is an above average D rank force in the Palazin Galaxy Cluster. Our leader on this expedition is the current clan head¡¯s second son and his three generals are all descendants of the clan¡¯s elders. I can¡¯t share more than that, such as the location of our Pillar of Conquest or the makeup of our forces, but I myself and those you killed were just outer members of the clan, not expected to ever reach E rank. ¡°Two of the other forces come from our kingdom as well. First is the royal family, led by the youngest child of our kingdom¡¯s monarch, Silveea Night. She has an assassin class, specializes in the Law of Shadow, and wields a sword. Her three generals are scions from three different clans of the Kingdom of Night. Gorin Lorok is a warrior specializing in war-hammers and the Law of Inertia. Civilax Co is a magician specializing in large area of effect spells and the Law of Storm. And Jameel Fa is a healer especially talented in the Law of Rejuvenation. ¡°Each of them are probably more talented than any of the leaders of most other forces. ¡°They brought with them about three thousand production specialists and six thousand combatants, evenly distributed between warriors, magicians, and assassins. Only about half their combatants are in this area though, and I don¡¯t believe anyone knows where their Pillar of Conquest is yet.¡± Mila quickly decided the names weren¡¯t important, though she remembered them anyway. The royal family was probably one of the more powerful factions on the planet and they were led by an assassin with an armored warrior, a storm wizard, and a traditional healer as her generals. From what she knew, most kingdoms in the universe were effectively C rank forces, but she didn¡¯t yet have a good grasp of what that meant. Morin Daal, the leader of the undead invasion, said he was from a B rank force, with his dad the actual B rank, but she hadn¡¯t found him that impressive. Granted, they¡¯d never actually fought, so she wasn¡¯t sure how powerful he¡¯d actually been. ¡°The third force from our kingdom is the Gale Clan. They are led by the younger son of their clan leader, Aleron Gale, a swordsman specializing in the Law of Wind. And their generals are Aleron¡¯s twin sister Ava Gale, their cousin Omalia Gale, and someone known as the Pink Ursa, apparently the bastard child of their clan leader¡¯s first wife. Both Ava and Omalia follow the same path as Aleron, but little is known about the Pink Ursa. ¡°They were the clan originally going to guide this world if it hadn¡¯t undergone an apocalypse style integration and they brought in an extremely large force, spending the maximum amount possible for an F rank world just to bring in more bodies, In total roughly 20,000 combatants and no more than a few hundred production classes. ¡°They also seem to have been aware of this inheritance before the integration started. I don¡¯t know the details, but I think my clan¡¯s leaders do.¡± He pointed to the south. ¡°Their Pillar of Conquest is about 144 zi that way.¡± Zi was a galactic unit of measurement, roughly 0.4 kilometers, so it seemed the Gale clan was quite close, likely not by accident. ¡°The Flare Clan and the Gale Clan do not get along, but with the Night royal family present, we are both staying in line. ¡°Finally, the last force here is the royal family from the Life Tree Empire, one of the major powers of the Palazin Galaxy Cluster. They found the inheritance by following the movements of our forces and, while their leader isn¡¯t a scion of their Empire¡¯s B rank, no one dares to kill him. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about their force at all other than that they¡¯ve brought thousands here. ¡°As for why we¡¯re all standing around in a stalemate, everyone who¡¯s gone into the inheritance agrees it won¡¯t open until a year after the start of the invasion. All that can be gained from going in now is the method to make those useless beastmen. ¡°Whoever left the inheritance seemed to want to leave his possessions to people actually capable, so the inheritance was set to release soul sacrificing magic so the people of this world would destroy the planet¡¯s balance and trigger an apocalypse style integration.¡± Chapter 57: Invasion Forces Mila ¡°What do you know about other invasion forces and the natives?¡± Mila asked as she and the Flare Clan cultivator kept walking away from the inheritance site. ¡°Of the eight other invasion forces, I only know of five. First is the Amoranth royal family from the Amoranth Kingdom. They¡¯re the enemy of the Kingdom of Night and their relationship is worse than that of the relationship between the Gale and Flare Clans. I don¡¯t know much about who they sent but their force should be about as powerful as the Kingdom of Night¡¯s royal family. The Vol Clan and the Quill Clan from the Amoranth Kingdom have also both been confirmed, though I barely know anything about their forces either.¡± Mila found it interesting how Omniglot Reader translated his words. Clan names like Gale, Flare, and Quill were translated by what they meant even though the words used weren¡¯t Universal Standard, while names like Amoranth and Vol, which were more associated with the clan than any original meaning they might have had, didn¡¯t. ¡°According to the Gale Clan, it seems the Amoranth royal family visited the inheritance before we or the royal family from the Kingdom of Night arrived, so they¡¯ll likely come and try to compete when the inheritance opens. ¡°The undead have also sent a force and the fact no one knows where they are has everyone nervous. Historical records show that if the undead, yet alone those from a B rank force, are given a year to grow secretly, they generally take the world two thirds of the time. ¡°Finally, we know the Kindar Raiders have a force. They are pirates who plunder the trade routes between the Kingdom of Night, the Amoranth Kingdom, and the Life Tree Empire. I don¡¯t know much about who they brought, but they are probably weaker than the Flare, Quill, and Vol clans. ¡°There should be three more forces, likely subordinates of the Life Tree Empire or maybe some independent planets who got lucky, but I don¡¯t know who they would be. ¡°The location of the Vol Clan and Quill Clan¡¯s Pillars of Conquest are both known and should be on the map our squad leader was carrying, but I don''t know the location of any of the others. ¡°As for the natives, they seem to be divided into three main groups. There are the rebels who killed this world¡¯s previous world leader, the forces loyal to the five main generals who used to serve the world leader, and the rest, who mostly hate both of those forces. ¡°The rebels in the entire north of the continent have mostly been wiped out, as nearly all of them came to the inheritance site and were killed by us. And I¡¯ve heard two of the five generals are dead, but I don¡¯t know much more.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Mila transformed the Twin Dragons into its shield form and hit the man with about half her strength in the head before he could get his sword out from its sheath. It wasn¡¯t enough to knock him out, though, so she hit him harder and this time he went down. Then she checked his pulse, finding him still breathing, and she felt relieved. If she¡¯d accidentally killed him she¡¯d have had to use her Shadow Princess uniqueness to break the contract and she would prefer to hold that trump card back forever if possible. Mila then used telekinesis to completely strip the man, placing all his belongings in the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace, before lifting him with telekinesis and moving away from the inheritance at a quick jog. A few minutes later, she found an F rank monster and threw the man in front of it. The lizard bear thing looked at her for a few seconds, then it moved forward and stepped on the man, placing most of its weight on his chest, and took a bite out of his leg, ripping off a large portion of his thigh. The man didn¡¯t wake up even from that, so Mila quickly moved away, not really wanting to see what happened next. Unlike her or the natives, the invasion forces had chosen to come to Hira to start a war of conquest. And the four forces around the inheritance had slaughtered all cultivators they came across, not just the beastmen, so Mila didn¡¯t feel at all bad about killing the four men to get information. She wasn¡¯t that good of a person. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Feeding the man to a monster, however? She could probably find a better way to kill those she¡¯d made a mutual non-killing contract with. Mila was getting close to mastering her three new illusion skills after using them all the time, closer and closer to being able to merge the skills and gain Nana Xara¡¯s prepared charm skill, and that would help a lot with the problem. She then quickly found a place to hide, moving over 100 kilometers away, and there she took out the three corpses she¡¯d collected, stripped them, and left them in front of a different monster. Feeding a live man to a monster she had a problem with. Dead ones, not so much. Mila then looked over the map the last man had mentioned and found the locations of the Vol and Quill Clan¡¯s Pillars of Conquest. The Vol Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest was located in the southeast of the continent, past the southern desert, and the Quill Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest was in the west of the continent near the coast. There were no other marks on the map, but, given only those two Pillars of Conquest were known, Mila expected the Flare Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest would be in either the far south or somewhere in the southern desert. It likely wouldn¡¯t be that difficult to find, however. If a random cultivator squad of the Flare Clan had the locations of two other invasion forces marked on their map, other forces would probably have the locations of different forces. And the best source of information would likely be the nearby Gale Clan. They knew about the inheritance first and obviously very much cared about getting their hands on it, so they¡¯d invested more manpower than the other forces and had likely sent scouts all over the continent. Before anything else, however, Mila felt it wise to set up her teleportation platform. She was good at sneaking around, but she didn¡¯t have a stealth skill and she wasn¡¯t confident enough in her knowledge set about any of the invasion forces to kill a female cultivator, take on her identity, and safely get into her camp. If she set up the teleportation platform somewhere, however, the token she carried would allow her to escape so long as she managed to exit combat for 13 seconds. So, instead of sneaking around or finding anyone else to question, she took a day to run back to the desert and found a cave, very far from any type of normal route. Then she took out the platform and activated it. The platform, which looked like a 3 meter wide stone slab, lowered the mana in a kilometer radius, making it very easy to sense for any cultivator who entered the area, but by placing it in the desert, where almost no cultivator would go, she could be reasonably certain no one would find it, at least within the next few months. Along the way, her Law Egg of Calm rose to peak grade, which was nice, and her mastery of her illusion skills grew by a few more percentage points, raising her mastery having become much more difficult once she¡¯d surpassed 75%. Mila then moved to the west and ran through the desert for a good 500 kilometers before turning north again. She wasn¡¯t sure what type of tracking skills the invasion forces had, but it didn¡¯t hurt to be cautious. Her main goal at the moment was to improve her skills and that mainly required time. From the south, she entered the region controlled by the Gale clan, a forest filled with trees which looked like oaks, then she found an area where monsters still roamed about 20 kilometers directly south of where she assumed their Pillar of Conquest to be. She didn¡¯t hunt herself, however, and instead used her Law Egg of Obfuscation to help hide her presence as she climbed up the largest tree in the forest, finding a good concealed spot 30 meters up. There she sat and waited. One of her main minds focused on improving her Law Egg of Illusion, another focused on improving her Law Egg of Obfuscation, and the third practiced with her Blur and Second Self skills, making sure to place each second self in other hiding spots. It was left to her two dumber minds to monitor her senses for what she was looking for. A few hours later, a group of eight cultivators entered into her sight, but that was too many to capture someone, so she just watched as they hunted and didn¡¯t take the risk of trying to take one of them for interrogation. Then they left before it got dark. From what she¡¯d seen, two of them had been about as powerful as Roland, an early grade air element Law Egg infused into their attacks, and that made Mila nervous. Sure, those two looked like they¡¯d been in their forties, and had been the only ones in the group with greenish blond hair, which likely meant something, but it was still scary. The invasion forces could only bring in G ranks, so it seemed the Gale Clan at least had kept some of its cultivators from advancing for a long time. The average strength of their force was likely far higher than Mila had assumed, so she decided to be even more cautious than she¡¯d been planning. Then, a couple hours later, the perfect target arrived, and her high Perception allowed her to make him out in detail from afar. Tall, with salmon-colored hair and fuchsia eyes, he otherwise looked like a typical European from Earth, albeit built like a bear. He was wearing leather armor and had a spear over his shoulder which was in disrepair, the blade slightly chipped and the shaft looking like one of the lizard bear monsters had bitten it. Most important of all, however, he was alone. Mila was pretty sure he was one of the Gale Clan¡¯s generals, the so called Pink Ursa, and he would likely have far more information than anyone else she could possibly capture. Chapter 58: Mila vs Isaiah Mila Quickly, Mila took a look at her status. Name: Li Mila Level: 5 Race: Strong Soul Succubus Princess (F-Epic) Bloodline: Prime Servitor (Mythic) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Legendary) Master of Disguise (Heroic) Class 1: Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) Skills Artifact Enhancement (F-Legendary) 23% mastered Devil¡¯s Contract (F-Legendary) 19% mastered Trickster¡¯s Guise (F-Legendary) 18% mastered Illusion Steps (F-Epic) 97% mastered Second Self (F-Epic) 92% mastered Blur (F-Epic) 94% mastered Class 2: Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) Skills Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) 27% mastered Life Death Detection (F-Legendary) 14% mastered Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) [shadow] Telekinesis (F-Heroic) [shadow] Laws Law Larvae: The Healer - Early The Reaper - Early Law Eggs: Obfuscation - Peak Hologram - Peak Calm - Peak Rage - High Stats Strength: 261 (+13.25%) Agility: 287 (+13.25%) Endurance: 281 (+13.25%) Toughness: 261 (+13.25%) Vitality: 271 (+13.25%) Perception: 312 (+113.25%) Magic: 368 (+13.25%) Spirit: 446 (+13.25%) Soul: 906 (+25.75%) Aura: 176 (+156.25%) Attunement: 171 (+68.75%) Luck: 156 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Small Mental Forges Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Third Eye Princess Assets: 3 D rank universal credits 1047 E rank universal credits 112,945 F rank universal credits 26 D rank undead credits 27,894 E rank undead credits 37,766,349 F rank undead credits Boons: Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%. Hunter of Sentients XIV: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 7% She was a lot stronger than she¡¯d been when she took out the undead force¡¯s generals, but Mila didn¡¯t think that meant killing the Pink Ursa below her would be easy. None of those generals had been hunting much, all level one or two, and the swordswoman and knight had been nearly frozen by Aalam before she got there and were subsequently affected by his aura and blood. The only one she¡¯d truly killed on her own had been the mage, and that had been a favorable match up. His vitality and toughness were low, and he hadn¡¯t had a detection skill, at least not a passive one, so Mila had been able to get the drop on him and make use of the overpowered nature of her artifact. The Pink Ursa in the forest below, on the other hand, was a warrior. And he was confident enough to go out to hunt by himself even with other forces relatively nearby. It wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to underestimate him. Still, the terrain suited her. The trees in the forest cast a lot of shadows, which would heighten the effects of both her illusions and stealth capabilities, and she was 30 meters off the ground and over 200 meters away from him. She also didn¡¯t have to worry about other enemies nearby, unlike with most of her fights since reaching F rank, so she could fight like she wanted to. Transforming the Twin Dragons into its double pistols form, she used Artifact Enhancement to boost the conductivity effect of her weapons and charged up two shots. Then, using her Law Egg of Obfuscation to make the energy of her shots nearly undetectable, she pointed both pistols towards the man¡¯s chest and fired. Covered by the effects of Blur infused with her Law Egg of Obfuscation, she then used Second Self to create an illusion of her in the same place and jumped to another tree, all the while watching her opponent. She expected the man to be hit by both shots and survive due to high Toughness, but that¡¯s not what happened. As soon as her shots were within 30 meters of the man, he seemed to notice, and he quickly side stepped. Then, at a speed Mila had only ever seen from E ranks in the third tutorial challenge, he charged toward the tree Mila had just vacated. She was still in the air when he got within 50 meters of her, about 25 meters up in the air, and, even with her Blur skill empowered by her Law Egg of Obfuscation covering her and making her nearly invisible, she saw his eyes turn away from where she¡¯d left her illusionary self to look right at her as he changed the direction of his charge. Thanks to the teachings of the various legacies stored in the Twin Dragons and conversations with Nana Xara, she¡¯d learned a few things from this brief exchange. First, his effective Agility was over double hers. Second, from the way he used his speed, his effective Perception had to be higher than hers, even with her Third Eye Princess Uniqueness. And third, he had a high grade detection skill. She shot at him two more times, dropping her use of the Law Egg of Obfuscation and instead infusing the shots with the power of her Law Larva of the Reaper, but he easily dodged both, barely slowing down. Then she landed on the branch of the tree she¡¯d been jumping toward and tried something different, using her Law Egg of Hologram and Second Self to create two clones jumping to other trees while she herself stayed on the branch. The large man completely ignored her illusionary clones, indicating his detection skill could likely see through them, and qi gathered on the tip of his spear as she fired down at him. Her shots were empowered by her Law Larva of The Reaper, but this time he completely ignored them, allowing them to hit the armor on his chest, and then his spear hit the tree with an explosion of qi. The power of his blow, which had taken him about as much time as it would take her to fire her guns twice, utterly destroyed the tree¡¯s base, breaking the tree in half and pushing the bottom half of the tree¡¯s upper part, upon which she still stood, backward with the speed of a train. This caused the top of the tree, and thus Mila, to move toward him and he prepared another qi empowered blow aimed right at her. Mila moved her body and jumped off the back of the tree, leaping away, but he followed her, and Mila realized she only had one chance. She grabbed the back of her dress with Telekinesis and pulled herself up as fast as she could, until she was 100 meters above the ground, and only then did she stabilize herself by changing Telekinesis to instead push up on her feet to keep her in the air. ¡°The Pink Ursa¡¯s power is far more than advertised,¡± she spoke out, hiding how utterly terrified she was with a calm voice as she used her mana and Trickster¡¯s Guise to create a new appearance behind the effects of Blur. Then she dropped Blur and all the man could see, so long as his insane Perception and high grade skill didn¡¯t allow him to completely see through her illusion empowered by the Law Egg of Hologram, was an elf of the variety found in the Life Tree Empire. She looked Caucasian, but with mono-lidded blue eyes and pointy ears. She didn¡¯t have to do anything about her figure, which was good as it was basically impossible to reduce her Succubus bust with an illusion, and she only changed her face slightly to look less attractive. Then, as she looked down at the man and he looked up at her, she used one of her other minds to scream at Nana Xara, ¡°What the hell is this guy? He¡¯s so fast, yet his defense is good enough to completely stop my shots empowered by an offensive Law Larva.¡± Nana Xara responded at the same time as the man started speaking. ¡°He has a defensive Law Larva and a class specializing in the spear, but it¡¯s hard to know what else as the only skills he¡¯s used so far are a detection skill and the Legendary grade version of the skill Power Attack. ¡°No matter what, though, he¡¯s a genius who shouldn¡¯t be working for a D rank clan, so your disguise should be surprised.¡± ¡°Is the Life Tree Empire planning on dissolving the truce?¡± The Pink Ursa asked, his voice as deep as his huge frame would suggest. ¡°No.¡± Mila smiled jovially and transformed the twin Dragons back into earring form, showing off the high grade of the artifact so he¡¯d be even more likely to think she was a member of a B rank force. ¡°There just wasn¡¯t any information on you in the dossiers we received, so I thought I¡¯d test you out.¡± She changed her smile to a lascivious one. ¡°Any interest in a roll in the sheets once all this is done and the Life Tree Empire wins this world?¡± ¡°Your initial attack didn¡¯t have enough power to be called a killing strike, but you still attacked me, so fighting back isn¡¯t against the rules of the truce.¡± The man¡¯s fuchsia eyes were calm as still water, not reacting at all to her flirting. ¡°But you are dangerous, so it is better to not let you live while you are alone.¡± With that, the man kicked off the ground and jumped high into the sky. It wasn¡¯t enough to reach her, but Mila quickly used Telekinesis to grab the back of her dress and drag herself another 50 meters back horizontally just to be safe. Then her caution was rewarded. The man activated a movement skill when he reached the zenith of his jump, pushing off the air with his foot, and, had she not moved away, he would have been able to stab her, as he was moving with nearly double the speed he¡¯d had on the ground. The man then started to chase her through the sky, and he was way faster than she could move with Telekinesis. ¡°What the hell, Nana Xara!¡± Mila was truly panicking by this point. ¡°How do I not die?¡± Chapter 59: Rapid Spear Guardian ¡°Well, I¡¯m pretty sure I know his class now.¡± Nana Xara said, sounding excited as Mila threw herself back to the ground with Telekinesis and began running as fast as she could with Illusion Steps. ¡°He should be a Rapid Spear Guardian, a Legendary grade class. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve found yourself another genius.¡± ¡°Actually useful information, please!¡± Mila shouted over the link as the man reached her and stabbed toward her back, not at all confused by the illusory effects of Illusion Steps. One of her minds tried to grab him with Telekinesis, but, even though the man¡¯s Aura stat was weaker than Roland¡¯s, allowing her to initiate Telekinesis incredibly close to him, he just emitted a bit of his qi and Telekinesis failed. Thankfully, she¡¯d been worried that might happen, so, while running, she¡¯d taken out the sword of the female Nightwalker general, enhanced it with Artifact Enhancement, and, when he got too close, she grabbed it with Telekinesis and tried to stab him. Even empowered by her Law Larva of The Reaper, the weapon didn¡¯t do any damage, but being hit with its momentum forced him to slow down, so Mila didn¡¯t die. She thought about using the needles of the Left Hand of the Runescribe, but, even though their shells were made of D rank materials, their insides and primal stones weren¡¯t, so she was afraid the man would break them. Instead, she summoned the swords of the Flare Clan members she¡¯d killed and the greatsword she¡¯d taken from the Nightwalker knight and used two of her main minds to attack her pursuer with the five weapons, enabling her to stay ahead of him. ¡°If I¡¯m correct, his detection skill is the Legendary grade version of Kinetic Senses, so he can sense moving objects. As your illusions have no mass, his skill can¡¯t see them even though his other senses can, and that process of elimination makes them useless in front of him. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to hide if you can get out of his range and not move. ¡°His movement skill looks like the Legendary grade version of Storm Steps, which will allow him to expend extra mana to run in the sky, but it is just as fast on land. And it looks like he has either abilities and or a bloodline, which boost his Agility, so you are never going to outrun him. This is even without the fact he¡¯s using a speed path Law Larva. ¡°He should have another Legendary grade skill he hasn¡¯t used yet, on top of the Power Attack he¡¯s already shown, known as Guardian. But he doesn¡¯t even need it to block most of your attacks, able just to use his defensive Law Larva, so you should give up trying to kill him. You won¡¯t be able to damage him at all unless you get in close combat while wielding the Twin Dragons, but that would basically be suicide. ¡°The Rapid Spear Guardian class is a rare combat class that doesn¡¯t require killing to meet its requirements. It instead requires a whole lot of training, so just the fact he has it shows you are outmatched in close combat skill. ¡°Finally, and probably most important to you, the Rapid Spear Guardian class boosts all physical stats by 25% when holding a spear, and it has to be a whole spear. So, if you can break his weapon, he¡¯ll get weaker, though not to the point you¡¯d be able to outrun or damage him.¡± Mila immediately started aiming her telekinetically controlled swords at the spear, spending some extra psyforce to empower them with Artifact Enhancement. Aalam¡¯s Advanced Multi-Mind skill didn¡¯t just provide extra minds for her, but extra Mental Forges which supported those minds, and that meant extra psyforce. She had more than three times as much psyforce as any normal genius cultivator, and psyforce was the only resource she could add to Artifact Enhancement when she wasn¡¯t touching the weapons, so she didn¡¯t see a reason not to. ¡°Do you think I could outlast him?¡± she sent to Nana Xara. ¡°His qi and mana usage seems incredibly high.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°No.¡± Nana Xara actually sounded worried, as if she¡¯d just realized something. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he has a Colossal core container and at least two huge Mana Wells. You are outmatched in everything but psyforce.¡± ¡°Well, great.¡± Mila stopped talking with Nana Xara and focused on the fight. The two swords she¡¯d stolen from the Nightwalker generals were both Epic grade and did quite a bit of damage whenever they hit the Pink Ursa¡¯s spear, but the three other swords were Common grade and they didn¡¯t do anything, so she was pretty sure the spear he was holding was Rare grade. It was just really old, so its durability wasn¡¯t good. He had been trying to redirect her weapons while chasing her instead of outright dodging so as to keep up his speed, but, when she started targeting his weapon, he quickly realized what she was doing. He started trying to fully dodge, which slowed him down more, and those attacks he couldn¡¯t dodge he took with his body. She couldn¡¯t hurt him, but physics still existed, and constantly changing direction and being hit by flying metal meant the man couldn¡¯t keep up his max speed, which allowed her to hit him even more, so she could keep him about 20 meters away from her while they ran. It would be further if Aalam had mastered Telekinesis more before he fell asleep, but the range of his Telekinesis was only so far, even with Mila¡¯s high Aura stat, and she had to be able to continually retrieve the weapons to keep attacking. Thankfully, she was able to hold the Pink Ursa off for a little over 7 minutes, time enough for them to arrive at the Gale Clan¡¯s camp. The area was covered in tents, most a dull brown color, and it was dinner time on a nice day so almost everyone not on duty was eating outdoors around multiple campfires. Being surrounded by thousands of enemies was utterly terrifying, but it would allow Mila to play to more of her skillset, and she was so exhausted she had no other choice. So, she ran right at the camp and used Blur infused with her Law Egg of Obfuscation so no one but those with detection skills or particularly high Perception would be able to sense her. Then she transformed the Twin Dragons into spear form, used Artifact Enhancement on it, and cut off the head of a guard on the outside of the camp as she passed. ¡°Why is the Pink Ursa killing people?¡± she shouted in Universal Common, copying the Pink Ursa¡¯s accent. Then she ran deeper into the camp, moving from shadow to shadow. She stopped her Telekinetic control over the swords she¡¯d stolen from the Flare Clan members, allowing them to drop to the ground, lowering her psyforce usage. Then she instead focused her two main minds not controlling her body on handling the weapons she¡¯d stolen from the Nightwalkers, having them stab anyone who seemed to actually notice her while her main body killed everyone she passed. ¡°Help! Help! The Pink Ursa is going on a rampage! Why is he killing us?! Why is he killing us?!¡± When Mila had worked as a teacher, she¡¯d mostly taught first and second graders, and that had often consisted of reading to them, so she¡¯d developed the skills of a voice actor. She¡¯d always assumed it would be useful in her work as a spy, but she¡¯d never thought it might help save her life. Some brave heroes heard her shouting as multiple people and came to help, and they fell for Mila¡¯s ploy. From the little information she¡¯d received, the Flare Clan, a rival clan to the Gale Clan, had detailed information about the Gale Clan¡¯s leaders for this expedition, but they knew nothing about the Pink Ursa¡¯s powers. Given their information likely came from spies, that meant the general clan members probably didn¡¯t know much about the Pink Ursa¡¯s powers either. So, when he looked enraged and had two swords flying around him killing people, it was pretty easy for them to assume there wasn¡¯t another person he was chasing, but that he himself was killing their people. The only fact she¡¯d learned about the Pink Ursa before she¡¯d met him was that he was the bastard child of the Gale Clan Leader¡¯s first wife. This implied a few things. One, he likely wasn¡¯t a true member of the Gale Clan. According to Nana Xara, most powerful clans didn¡¯t have marriages between clan members at the highest levels, instead bringing in women from other clans. Two, his status in the clan was likely not good. He was obviously a genius, yet he had a Legendary grade class. That would make his future advancements harder and it was generally not something a clan would allow a genius to do, especially a weak D rank clan like the Gale Clan. Depending on his training environment, the Pink Ursa, who was probably around 30, was somewhere between a C and A rank talent, so, if he was supported and had chosen a Common or even Rare grade class, he himself could have raised the Gale clan by a rank or two, so it spoke volumes that his future was being sacrificed. The Gale Clan wanted something from the inheritance on Hira, but it was unlikely whatever was in the inheritance would allow a member to easily rise to C rank, let alone B rank. Inheritances generally only gave the possibility, while the Pink Ursa¡¯s talent made C rank almost certain if he was supported. This led Mila to believe he wasn¡¯t trusted and that is why she tried the tactic of faking he was attacking, a tactic that worked. Three Gale Clan members attacked him and she stabbed two of them with the Nightwalker¡¯s blades. Then, as the Pink Ursa was forced to stop due to the third clan member, and other new arrivals, attacking him, she managed to get out of the range of his detection skill, allowing her to slip away, though she sadly had to abandon the two Epic grade artifacts from the Nightwalkers in the process. Chapter 60: Infiltration From her brief observations of the Gale Clan while running through their base, Mila noticed a few things. One, the clan was very hierarchal. Those with greenish blond hair and yellow eyes were like nobles among the masses, likely true descendants of the clan, but they only made up around an eighth of the force. Two, the Pink Ursa was truly an outlier, looking Caucasian while pretty much everyone else had features common in South Asia on Earth. Finally, three, they weren¡¯t very well disciplined. Everyone was wearing artifacts, but they weren¡¯t uniform, a sign Nana Xara had taught her meant the clan likely didn¡¯t have many of their own craftsmen, instead buying things from outside. There hadn¡¯t been enough guards, allowing her to easily sneak in as only one had a detection skill and she¡¯d killed him. And, probably the biggest sign, almost no one had a weapon near them while they were eating, which had allowed her to kill twenty soldiers with relative ease. Using Trickster¡¯s Guise, Mila changed the illusion around herself to show her as a greenish blond haired Gale Clan woman of around 40. Then she dropped the effects of Blur, put the Twin Dragons in the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace, and just started casually walking around the camp, moving away from the site of the commotion. There was a lot to be learned just from listening in on conversations, and an effective Perception of 643 made doing so easy. Using all five of her minds to listen and moving to the more central area of the camp, she started to learn quite a bit. First, the inheritance on Hira was left by a C rank power called the Shadow Thief, or at least that is what the name translated to. She¡¯d died several hundred years ago, killed by someone called the War Dragon King, but all the treasures she¡¯d stolen had never been found. One of the things she¡¯d taken was the collected class paths of the Gale Clan, blocking the leadership of the Gale Clan from knowing how to advance to C rank, and that was the main thing the Gale Clan was after, though Mila expected there was something else which wasn¡¯t common knowledge. Second, the Gale Clan wasn¡¯t doing very well. They had been a C rank force in the Night Kingdom, third in power after the Imperial family and another clan, but their C rank elder had died around the time their class paths had been stolen, and many clans in the Night Kingdom had been suppressing them ever since, especially the Flare Clan. From looking beyond the obviously biased words she heard, it very much sounded like the Gale Clan had abused their position when in power and were now getting their just desserts, but Mila was more interested in how no one seemed to know how their elder had died. Third, and probably the most immediately important, she learned more about the Pink Ursa. His mother had been the most powerful cultivator to come out from a planet which had undergone an apocalypse style integration and actually beaten off the invaders. She¡¯d then fallen in love with the first son of the Gale Clan¡¯s previous clan master and married him, giving him one son, the current next in line for the clan master position. Then, a little more than a decade after her first son¡¯s birth, she¡¯d had another son, but his hair and eye color made it obvious he wasn¡¯t the child of the clan leader, and she¡¯d killed herself in embarrassment. The people speaking were blaming the Pink Ursa, whose name was Isaiah, for not being properly thankful to the clan for raising him despite his mother¡¯s infidelity, but Mila was leaning toward there being nothing for him to actually be thankful for. First, she very much doubted Isaiah¡¯s mother had married the current clan leader by choice given the obvious power difference at the time, Isaiah¡¯s mother only an F rank when her planet had lost its protection while the Gale Clan¡¯s C rank elder¡¯s death hadn¡¯t been widely known. It was, however, possible she was unfaithful, but Isaiah had such obvious characteristics with his salmon hair and fuchsia eyes¡ªcharacteristics which hearing about his older half brother obviously didn¡¯t come from his mother¡ªso it was suspect none of the people talking seemed to know who his father was. His father¡¯s identity had been suppressed and that didn¡¯t fit with what she could gather about the personality of the Gale Clan leader unless Isaiah¡¯s father had quite a bit of power, as otherwise he would have been hunted down and killed. If Isaiah¡¯s father had power, though, and had actually been in a relationship with Isaiah¡¯s mother, the poor circumstances of Isaiah¡¯s upbringing didn¡¯t make much sense, so Mila thought it more likely Isaiah¡¯s mother had been raped and the Gale Clan leader was too scared of Isaiah¡¯s father to kill him as a child. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Finally, Mila highly doubted Isaiah¡¯s mother had actually killed herself. From what she¡¯d heard, there had been tension between the Gale Clan leader and his eldest son for over a decade, and Mila was already guessing there had been no love between the Gale Clan leader and his first wife, given how fast he¡¯d remarried. So, there was a pretty good chance Isaiah¡¯s mother had been killed by her husband. Family drama aside, however, Mila was now convinced Isaiah wasn¡¯t a C or B rank talent, but an A rank one. Sure, at 30, he was quite a bit older than she or Aalam, and he¡¯d been born in a world where learning Laws had been possible from his early childhood. But Laws were much, much easier to access in System generated soulspaces and worlds undergoing integrations. That was one of the main reasons forces risked the lives of their young on invasions even when the chance of death was quite high. And, given how weak his Aura stat was, Isaiah¡¯s Attunement stat was likely less than 32. It wasn¡¯t easy to qualify for a Legendary grade class at F rank even with a good environment, and Isaiah had only received his first skill orb a year before the Gale Clan¡¯s invasion of Hira, before that receiving pretty much no help whatsoever. Mila entered into one of the nicest smaller tents near the center of the base, likely the personal tent of someone higher up in the Gale Clan force¡¯s hierarchy, and sat down cross-legged on the mattress placed on the floor. She spent about fifteen minutes just allowing her resources to recover, Aalam¡¯s recovery overflow greatly speeding up the process, and then she started practicing with Second Self. She¡¯d completely mastered Illusion Steps as she ran away from Isaiah, and both Second Self and Blur had advanced a few percentage points as well even though they¡¯d been useless, the discovery of their limitations improving them quite considerably. Nana Xara had confirmed for her that skills were specialized metaphysical runic arrays carved into a cultivator¡¯s soul, either allowing the cultivator to pour in resources to create an effect or taking in energy from the universe to create an effect automatically, so skill mastery was then the process of the soul adapting to the skill, and there were multiple ways to go about it. External energy of certain types could make the process easier, just using the skill slowly improved the adaptation process, but the best way was for a cultivator to increase their comprehension of how to use the skill. Given the metaphysical nature of skills, the better a cultivator understood their own skill, the more their souls naturally adapted to it. For Mila, this process was made even easier due to the Void Sage class¡¯s effect of increasing the speed of mastering skills by 100%, which she could make use of through her Essence Chamberlain class. The effect helped her soul adapt and it made a huge difference in her growth. Legendary grade skills were harder to master, being made of far more complicated and powerful arrays, so her mastery of them was slower, but she was very close with her last two Epic grade skills and the enlightenment she¡¯d received when they proved completely useless against Isaiah would hopefully help her fully master them within the next few days. ¡°Who are you and what are you doing in my¡ª¡± The woman who entered was in her late thirties, with the greenish blond hair of a true Gale Clan member, but she was nowhere near as strong as Isaiah and she wasn¡¯t actually prepared for a fight, so Mila was able to grab her head with Telekinesis and break her neck. Mila hadn¡¯t fully understood before the fight with Isaiah, Nana Xara seemingly deliberately not explaining anything to her so she could learn on her own, but Telekinesis was an extremely powerful and versatile skill. Mila¡¯s effective Spirit was nowhere close to Aalam in his Id state, but it was her second highest stat after Soul and the skill itself was Heroic grade even if it barely had any mastery, so it could produce quite a bit of force. Then, as long as Mila¡¯s effective Aura was more than 12 times her opponent, she could initiate Telekinesis close enough to their bodies to physically touch them. The technique was relatively easy to defend against with qi, mana, or psyforce, like Isaiah had, and it wouldn¡¯t do much against someone with Isaiah¡¯s level of Toughness, but it was a very useful assassination technique and it didn¡¯t make much of a mess as she was able to kill without bloodshed. She¡¯d chosen the tent she was in because it seemed to be the highest grade of the tents not in the very center, and it had met her expectations. With excellent privacy features, it didn¡¯t allow anyone¡¯s F rank detection skills to enter from the outside, but allowed the occupant¡¯s senses to easily pass through, so no one in the camp noticed as she committed murder. Mila then quickly looked through the items on the woman¡¯s body, stripping her bare. Then she put the body in the subspace of the Left Hand of the Runescribe along with the blue dress she¡¯d been wearing since she¡¯d taken it from one of the native cultivators during her first few days in Eshna. The Left Hand of the Runescribe was an artifact designed by Aalam to be usable by her, so it could shrink to the size of her left hand, but that wasn¡¯t a very common function, especially as it required a subspace built into the artifact to put the extra mass. And she hadn¡¯t found any artifacts better than the dress which could comfortably allow for her increased bust size as a succubus, so she hadn¡¯t replaced it. Isaiah had seen the dress, however, along with the Left Hand of the Runescribe, so it was dangerous to keep wearing them around the Gale Clan camp. Mila thus bound her chest with cloth and put on the dead woman¡¯s light armor, hiding the Left Hand of the Runescribe under a glove she¡¯d found for that purpose while handling the rebels in the Voranin region. Then she continued practicing with Second Self and Blur inside the safety of the tent and waited for nightfall. Chapter 61: Kidnapping Mila Mila waited for the dead of night and then started moving. She¡¯d figured out the camp layout during the day, and she knew where the tents of the leaders were, so she headed to the tent of the general furthest away from Isaiah¡¯s, the tent housing Omalia Gale, niece of the Gale Clan leader. From the conversations she¡¯d overheard, she knew Omalia and the clan leader¡¯s twins leading the invasion were not perfectly aligned, so she had an idea on the best way to get the information she¡¯d originally been after when she¡¯d targeted Isaiah. Disguised as a non-existent relatively young Gale Clan member, she walked up to the two guards in front of Omalia¡¯s tent and saluted like she¡¯d seen other Gale Clan members do, placing her right hand over her heart with fingers fully splayed. ¡°News from the Life Tree Empire¡¯s forces.¡± Both guards'' eyes grew slightly wide and one of them quickly entered into the tent, which was about the size of a one person apartment. Less than a minute later he came back out, and then both guards brought her in. ¡°What¡¯s the news? Something about the assassin that idiot Isaiah chased to our doorsteps?¡± Omalia was pretty, her long greenish blond hair in a single braid down her back, but her room was not. The various pieces of furniture were covered with papers and there were artifacts all over the place. On a table to the right of the room, however, Mila could see a map of the main continent, marked in many places in script not native to Hira, and that was exactly what she wanted. ¡°Yes.¡± As Mila spoke, she spread out her aura to cover the entire room. Then, using one of her main minds, she snapped the necks of both the guards, thankfully succeeding due to their surprise and lack of Toughness. Omalia¡¯s effective Aura stat was above a twelfth of her own, however, having actually received resources to boost it unlike Isaiah, so trying to attack her body directly with Telekinesis wouldn¡¯t work at all. Instead, as she killed the two guards, Mila summoned the Twin Dragons into her right hand in sword form and lunged at Omalia, using Artifact Enhancement and her Law Egg of The Reaper to cut off the woman¡¯s dominant left arm in one attack, making the sword on her right hip useless. The young woman wanted to scream, but Mila had used her third main mind and Telekinesis to grab a pair of artifact pants from the floor near where Omalia was standing and she wrapped them around Omalia¡¯s throat, cutting off her airway. Mila then changed Trickster¡¯s Guise to show her elf identity again, making it look like the illusion covering her had faded rather than changing. ¡°Your monster tried to kill me today, you won¡¯t do the same, right?¡± And then she sent over the contract she¡¯d originally wanted to give to Isaiah. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the initiator of this contract to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the initiator of this contract
  3. You must follow all the orders of the initiator of this contract for half a day
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No It was a bit riskier than the contract she¡¯d given the Flare Clan cultivator, as there was a higher chance Omalia wouldn¡¯t agree given there were no stipulations to stop Mila from killing her. But by this point Omalia should also know of her conversation with Isaiah, so the fake identity she made would likely make Omalia think the chances were higher Mila would let her go. And, thankfully, Omalia accepted the contract. ¡°Alright then.¡± Mila smiled warmly at the woman, changing the Twin Dragons to earring form with enough control to not disturb her illusion. ¡°Just stand there and don¡¯t move. You do, however, have my permission to stop the blood flowing out from your arm.¡± Mila then pulled the glove she was wearing over the Left Hand of the Runescribe into the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace and used Telekinesis to gather everything in the room of value into the subspace as well, including the bodies of the two guards, Omalia¡¯s severed arm, and the bloodstained carpet. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Tell me where anything of any value I haven¡¯t already gathered is hidden.¡± There were a total of five secret compartments in the room and, with Omalia¡¯s directions, Mila was able to open them all at the same time and take out their contents. There were two communication artifacts, like one half of the paired rings Mila and Aalam had used for long distance telepathy in the tutorial¡¯s second challenge, and the other three contained papers with intelligence reports Omalia hadn¡¯t shared with the rest of the clan. Mila didn¡¯t look into them more as she didn¡¯t have the time. ¡°Alright,¡± she told the trembling woman as she stepped extremely close to her. Then Mila took out the token she¡¯d received from her last System reward and poured a lot of mana into it, and, 13 seconds later, she and Omalia were standing on the platform hidden in the desert cave. Mila put both the token and the platform away, needing to move the platform to a new location to be safe. Then she sat down on the cool ground and indicated for Omalia to do the same, which the other woman quickly did. ¡°First, transfer all your wealth to me as ransom for your life.¡± Omalia looked scared, but she relaxed slightly as soon as Mila mentioned the word ransom, and Mila got a new System message. Omalia Gale has transferred all her wealth to you. You have gained 47 E rank universal credits and 849 F rank universal credits Congratulations! You have made money. It was absolutely nothing compared to what she¡¯d received from Morin Daal, but every little bit helped, so Mila didn¡¯t really care. Her class advancement would require tricking people out of a lot of wealth, and getting them to pay for freedom she had no intention of granting counted. ¡°Okay.¡± Mila smiled warmly. ¡°Just sit there quietly for a bit.¡± Without bothering about modesty, Mila took off the uncomfortable armor she¡¯d stolen and put back on her blue dress. Then she took a little more than a half hour to go over everything she¡¯d stolen from Omalia¡¯s tent, using all three of her main minds to speed up the process, and she quickly gained the information she¡¯d originally been looking for. The remaining three invasion forces were two subordinate clans from the Life Tree Empire and an independent force called the Albatino Merchant Union. The Gale Clan had found the location of all of their Pillars of Conquest and they had the locations of the Pillars of Conquest for several other forces as well, namely those of the Flare Clan, the Kingdom of Night, and the Quill and Vol Clans Mila already knew about. There was also a detailed dossier of all the forces in the Palazin Galaxy Cluster, where all the invasion forces came from, and Mila was relieved to learn there wouldn¡¯t be any cultivators with divine classes among the invasion forces, as everyone in the cluster, even the undead, worshiped a war god called The Unstoppable Blade, and Nana Xara was quick to point out he was not the type to lend any divine power to anyone under C rank. More interesting to Mila, however, were several documents showing the Gale Clan¡¯s guess about where Hira was located, as this allowed Mila to infer some very useful information. Hira was assumed to be somewhere in the Palazin Galaxy Cluster, but the cluster was too large and the System would shroud the planet¡¯s location for the next 72 years. The implication then was that it was standard to have invasion forces from around where new planets would appear, and this meant it was very easy to form grudges with future neighbors, something natives of worlds undergoing apocalypse style integrations would need to worry about. Mila hadn¡¯t asked Nana Xara about the rules of where invasion forces could come from or how they were chosen before, and she resolved to do so in the future. There was also a lot of information about the assumed or confirmed generals and leaders of the various invasion forces, and Mila particularly liked the analysis of Morin Daal. It stated he was likely one of the most powerful leaders, what with his Legendary grade race and the extra racial abilities that gave him, but he was an idiot who his father was hoping would grow up by having to face the battlefield. Finally, in the documentation Omalia hadn¡¯t hidden, there was detailed information about the natives as well. They didn¡¯t know where Roland was, thankfully, but they had pretty detailed information on the native forces in the center of the continent from around the time Mila was manipulating the rebel leader, meaning several of their scouts had snuck in without her knowing. Altogether, the invasion forces could be thought of as five groups. First in power was the Kingdom of Night, with their two subordinate forces the Gale Clan and Flare Clan. They seemed to have invested the most into the conquest of Hira, the two forces other than the Gale Clan investing more than normal for an F++ rank world as well. Next was the force of the Life Tree Empire and their two subordinate forces. They¡¯d seemingly invested the bare minimum, not sending any of their true talents, but their bare minimum was better than the maximum of a D rank force like the Gale Clan under normal circumstances, so the Gale Clan considered them the largest danger. Third then was the force of the Kingdom of Amoranth and their two subordinate clans. From what the Gale Clan could find, they¡¯d invested more than normal for an F++ rank world, but not to the same degree as the forces of the Kingdom of Night. Finally, the Kindar Raiders and the Albatino Merchant Union were independent forces whose goal was likely to use the environment of the world undergoing integration as a way to train their young talents, not actually aiming for the conquest of the planet or the contents of the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance. At least that is what Mila would have thought if she hadn¡¯t seen the contents of Omalia¡¯s hidden documents. After seeing them, however, she was very suspicious of the Kindar Raiders. One of the documents showed an estimated guess of the location of the Kindar Raiders¡¯ Pillar of Conquest as well as confirmed reports of some of their movements since the start of the integration, their force seeming to have scattered, with all their members individually training, while the other two showed confirmed reports of the Flare Clan investing quite a bit more than the main reports of the Gale Clan while the other contained reports from scouts who¡¯d been trying to find the Undead. When she was done reading through everything, Mila looked at Omalia and raised one of her eyebrows. ¡°So, your family has betrayed the Gale Clan?¡± Chapter 62: Omalia Gale Omalia Omalia became even more terrified than previously, but her emotions quickly stabilized as she realized the woman in front of her would actually be less likely to kill her after finding out her family was willing to betray the Gale Clan, not more. ¡°Yes. My family has betrayed our clan.¡± The scary elf looked at her with a calm expression. ¡°From now on, answer every question I ask honestly and share any related information you think I might find relevant.¡± The elf woman waved her left hand and all the documents and everything else from Omalia¡¯s tent disappeared. ¡°Why betray your clan?¡± Omalia took a deep breath. ¡°The Gale Clan has grown weak since our C rank elder was lost several hundred years ago, but it¡¯s been a lot worse in the last several decades. Three of our D ranks died by angering the fifth son of the War Dragon King while on an expedition and our clan mistress was raped by the monster, resulting in the beast who chased you into our camp. Then the clan master killed his wife for daring to have sex with another man, even though she was facing a bloody C rank dragon. Omalia couldn¡¯t help feeling heated at the sheer idiocy of the man. ¡°We had 7 D ranks and then lost 4 of them within a year. The Grand Elder will fall from age within a decade and then the only two D ranks will be the clan leader and my paternal grandmother. ¡°Previously, it was possible young master Raven, the son of the clan master and the wife he killed, could have grown strong enough in time to help us pull out of this mess, but, while most don¡¯t know, Raven left the clan a year ago due to his father¡¯s actions and his paternal half siblings don¡¯t have even half his talent.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The elf nodded, acknowledging how sensible the reasons for leaving were. ¡°But why the Flare Clan?¡± ¡°Bloodlines.¡± Omalia felt sick revealing secrets of the clan, but she didn¡¯t want her soul to burn so she answered honestly. ¡°Both the Flare Clan and the Gale Clan are offshoots of a much more powerful clan from the past. If our Wind Pheasant bloodline is mixed with their Fire Pheasant bloodline, it is possible for a child to be born with a Scorch Pheasant bloodline. ¡°There are ancient animosities between the two clans, but the Gale Clan is already on the road to ruin, so they accepted us with the condition that I am to marry the young lord of their clan.¡± The elf didn¡¯t seem to have much reaction to this, but it made sense. The bloodlines in the Life Tree Empire were numerous and powerful. To the woman in front of her, with her powerful Spirit and Aura, even the Scorch Pheasant bloodline was likely trash. ¡°Why did you hide information about the Kindar Raiders and the Undead as well?¡± Omalia thought about how to answer the question so as to hide some of the deeper details, but then her soul started to itch and she realized she¡¯d die if she did. Those hidden details would be very relevant to the elf, so she couldn¡¯t deliberately hide them without her soul burning. ¡°The Kindar Raiders are the remnants of the force that used to follow the Shadow Thief. ¡°They were the original ones to know about the inheritance and reached out to the Gale Clan a hundred years ago. My grandmother was the one responsible for contacting them, so, when we betrayed the Gale Clan for the Flare Clan, she helped create a new contract between the Kindar Raiders and the Flare Clan. ¡°I kept the information about the undead secret for a much simpler reason. If the undead forces grow too strong, multiple other forces would be required to wipe them out, and if we had information before others it would be easier to make those forces not our own, weakening our competition.¡± The elf smirked slightly, but Omalia didn¡¯t know why. ¡°What is in the inheritance that you want so badly? It can¡¯t just be class path information.¡± Omalia felt sad at that statement. Being part of a powerful B rank force like the Life Tree Empire must make things so much easier. Given how obviously talented she was, the elf probably had access to thousands of known paths to C rank, so she dismissed just how rare that information was. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate how much class path information matters to minor clans,¡± Omalia said bitterly. ¡°Knowing the requirements in advance means you can train in the right direction from the start, and can set up the right foundation at each rank, giving a better chance of advancing before reaching old age. Especially for clans which rely on class paths based on their bloodlines, that information is essential.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Omalia took a deep breath. ¡°To answer your question, though, the Shadow Thief also stole resources for improving one¡¯s race. For the Flare Clan, the class path information is less valuable than those resources, as they could be used to possibly make several C rank powerhouses.¡± Beings with higher grade races usually had better natural affinities with Laws, and Laws were generally the main source of rank bottlenecks, so improving the grade of one¡¯s race was the easiest way to see a major improvement as a cultivator, but race was even more important in the transition to C rank. To become a C rank a cultivator needed to establish a core, somewhat similar to the monster cores more powerful beasts naturally generated, and a more powerful race made that process infinitely easier. ¡°Who do these artifacts connect you to?¡± The elf summoned Omalia¡¯s two communication rings from the subspace seemingly built into the fingerless glove on her left hand. Then she casually held them up with Telekinesis. ¡°The leaders of the invasion forces of the Flare Clan and the Kindar Raiders.¡± ¡°Do they know you?¡± ¡°The leader of the Flare Clan force, Hogar Flare, is the younger brother of my fiancee, though I barely know him. We¡¯ve only briefly met twice at functions in the Kingdom of Night. I haven¡¯t yet used the second artifact and have never met the leader of the Kindar Raiders'' force in person.¡± Omalia was pretty sure the woman wanted to use the artifacts to potentially impersonate her, and that made her feel very disposable, but she had to answer to stop her soul from burning. ¡°What do you know about the defenses and structure of the inheritance? And how are the Gale Clan and Flare clan preparing to get away with the treasures with so many other forces watching?¡± ¡°The inside of the structure looks like a dungeon made of carved stone, and at the entrance is a small hall holding an Orb of Information containing the instructions for how to create those beastmen monstrosities the natives have turned themselves into. Behind that is a closed entrance. The entire structure is made of D rank materials, so, even though it wasn¡¯t exposed to mana for hundreds of years before the integration started, its defense is still so strong no one on the planet can do anything to it. ¡°The closed entrance is set to open one standard year after the invasion forces arrived, but behind it should be sixteen powerful E rank golems. Other than that, we don¡¯t actually know. It¡¯s expected the Shadow Thief left a portion of her soul behind to run the inheritance, but no one knows what she was thinking at the end of her life, so the criteria for gaining her treasures isn¡¯t certain. ¡°Following her will is the only way to get them, though. For us F ranks stealing them will be impossible, and the inheritance will be destroyed in 36 years, well before any E ranks or higher can come.¡± Omalia had to stop herself from smiling as she¡¯d found a loophole in the elf¡¯s orders. There was one criteria which, while not absolutely certain, had over a 90% chance of earning the favor of the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment according to the Kindar Raiders. They just had to sacrifice a blood relative of the one who killed her on an altar inside the inheritance. Why had that idiot clan leader kept the bastard child of the woman he¡¯d killed alive for all these years? It wasn¡¯t because he feared the boy¡¯s father. The fifth Dragon Prince was a notorious playboy and had thousands of illegitimate children throughout the universe. He wouldn¡¯t care about Isaiah at all. The Shadow Thief on the other hand was known to be petty in life. She¡¯d almost certainly desire revenge on the War Dragon King for killing her, and the death of his descendent would make her a little happy at least. Omalia didn¡¯t need to tell the elf this, however, as it wasn¡¯t relevant to the woman. The Pink Ursa had grown way too powerful during the campaign to take over the north of Hira¡¯s main continent and the woman didn¡¯t have the power necessary to take him down, nor the right information to create the specialized tools the Flare Clan crafters were working on to counter him. She did, however, need to tell the elf something which would make all her own plans come crashing down. ¡°As for the Gale and Flare Clan¡¯s plans to handle the interference, the answer is war. The Gale Clan has the best information network on the planet at the moment and, through me, that information is shared with the Flare Clan. They¡¯ve both formed an alliance with the force of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s royal family and the alliance plans on starting a war of conquest once the undead are found and eliminated. ¡°The Kindar Raiders have already abandoned their Pillar of Conquest and plan to stay on this planet until the 72 years are over and both the Gale Clan and the Flare Clan expect them to help eliminate the remaining forces of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s royal family along with the other clan once the war of conquest is over.¡± The elf woman¡¯s smile was a bit creepy and Omalia was scared she¡¯d be killed to silence the fact the Life Tree Empire now knew their plans. But instead, the elf woman asked an unrelated question allowing Omalia to realize the elf was after more personal benefits. ¡°Who among the Gale Clan have contract breaking skills?¡± Again, Omalia was forced to answer honestly, but this time it wasn¡¯t much of a loss and she found herself feeling a bit safer. ¡°Only the twins. Our leader and the general you haven¡¯t met yet.¡± ¡°Alright then. What were you trying to hide when I asked about the inheritance?¡± The elf woman smiled at her and Omalia realized she¡¯d forgotten the woman¡¯s aura was many times stronger than her own. She was forced to explain about the plan for Isaiah and she started to grow far more scared as the elf woman¡¯s face darkened the more she spoke. Then the greenish gray dragon earrings the elf was wearing flowed and expanded into a grayish green spear in the elf woman¡¯s right hand and the next thing Omalia knew her head was flying through the air while her body began to collapse. Chapter 63: Coming to Terms with Death Mila Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Rage has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +32, Soul +16 Mila stripped Omalia and threw both her body and artifacts into the subspace of the Left Hand of the Runescribe, a subspace she distractedly noted was at this point half full. Isaiah¡¯s situation reminded her too much of her life on Earth, and rage, which she hadn¡¯t realized she¡¯d been unconsciously keeping in check, seemed ready to boil over. ¡°Aaahhhh!!!!¡± Mila stood up and screamed out loud. Then, instead of making a plan or moving away from the place where space mages might be able to track her, she sat back down and leaned her back against the wall, starting to cry. Nana Xara waited several minutes and, when she did speak, her voice was more neutral than normal, less jovial. ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± It took Mila a few minutes to answer, but she finally did so. ¡°Yes.¡± Then, however, it took a few more minutes for her to actually start talking. ¡°Was my entire life up until I died pointless?¡± ¡°That all depends on how you value a life?¡± Mila could almost imagine Nana Xara smiling. ¡°If you value your life by the number of lives you took, you¡¯re better than most on Earth. If you value your life by the number of lives you saved, you did ridiculously well. But, if you value your life based on how happy and content you were at the end, you kind of sucked.¡± Mila snorted. ¡°Right, I kind of forgot I was indirectly responsible for saving over a billion people.¡± Then she paused for a second. ¡°But who values their lives based on the number of people they killed?¡± ¡°Monsters mostly.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice was completely cheerful again. ¡°Like succubi.¡± Mila thought about her current circumstances and then couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°My existence hasn¡¯t been normal, has it?¡± ¡°Even by the standards of apocalypse style integrations, no.¡± Tears were still flowing down Mila¡¯s cheeks, but their production had slowed. ¡°I worked so hard, did everything they asked of me, sacrificed my happiness for the ¡®greater good¡¯, yet as soon as I was a liability they killed me.¡± Once she started, Mila found it hard to stop. ¡°I began training from as early as I can remember. Instead of playing with dolls and stuffed animals, I played with knives and guns. Instead of making friends when my grandfather moved us to the city, I practiced manipulating people and stealing things. When I was a teenager, instead of hanging out with friends and dating boys, I went to Africa, slept with men more than twice my age, and engineered coups.¡± ¡°I bloody spied on the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with from the moment we met.¡± Mila took a deep breath. ¡°I did this for my country. I sacrificed because I thought it was right. To make the world a better place. To make my grandfather proud. ¡°Yet as soon as my continued existence was no longer an asset, I was disposed of. I wasn¡¯t moved to a desk job. I wasn¡¯t asked to retire. I was just killed.¡± Nana Xara fell silent for a good minute, giving Mila some needed time. Then she asked, ¡°Do you know Wang Hao-Ran?¡± ¡°The Minister of Traffic Control?¡± Mila couldn¡¯t figure out why Nana Xara would mention such a relatively unimportant official. ¡°Not really? Why?¡± ¡°It turns out he was embezzling money using his position and France found out. His information was in the leaked data from Aalam¡¯s trojan virus. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°He knew he was going to go down for it, so he pulled some strings to have you killed out of anger.¡± Mila didn¡¯t know how to react. Was her death being the result of a petty man¡¯s petty revenge better or worse than her entire government being corrupt and her work throughout her life being pointless? Sadly, she wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°I had no relation to him and he killed me anyway.¡± Mila spoke out loud, looking up at the ceiling of the cave. ¡°That¡¯s how the universe works. Things aren¡¯t always a big conspiracy. Sometimes you¡¯re hit and you can¡¯t see it coming, only understanding why after the fact.¡± Nana Xara sounded cheerful again. ¡°That¡¯s why power is so important. If you¡¯re powerful enough, even if they try to hit you you can survive and hit right back.¡± ¡°What happened to Wang Hao-Ran?¡± Mila felt the rage which had mostly been replaced by sadness return. ¡°How should I say this?¡± Nana Xara sounded contemplative. ¡°Your grandfather isn¡¯t a very nice person.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Mila felt her body relax slightly. Whatever she would have done to the man, he¡¯d suffered much, much worse, so she didn¡¯t have to worry about him getting away with things due to the apocalypse. They were both silent for a bit, Nana Xara giving Mila time to fully calm down. Then, about fifteen minutes after killing Omalia, Mila stood up, brought out a shirt taken from Omalia¡¯s tent, and wiped her eyes. ¡°From what I know, the quests for invasion forces involve keeping their Pillar of Conquest and own members safe for the first year and only then can they gain quests to start conquering each other,¡± Mila sent. ¡°What happens if they start trying to fight before then?¡± Nana Xara chuckled. ¡°Before the first year is up, they would be like you back when you were considered a monster. They can¡¯t take the pillars themselves and, so long as a native with any percentage of contribution takes the pillar before the year is up, the quest will be finished.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila spoke out loud and smiled in the type of way Omalia would have found unnerving. ¡°The plan is simple then. Sneak into the forces of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s shaky alliance, try to help direct things so none of the opponents escape back through their pillars, and personally kill as many leaders and generals as possible.¡± Law Egg gained - The Tactician Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. All Base Stats +1, Soul + 3 ¡°Ooh.¡± Nana Xara sounded excited. ¡°Interesting.¡± Mila¡¯s minds had been distracted for a while and then all focused intensely on one thing, resulting in her gaining a new Law Egg, and Nana Xara seemed to think it was a good one. ¡°It¡¯s another divine role Law. Is it related to the water element?¡± Mila asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± Nana Xara sounded proud, but Mila was pretty sure it had to do with her gaining another divine role Law and not from her correctly guessing the role¡¯s aligned element. ¡°It is one of the four battlefield roles of the base elements. The Messenger for wind, The Guardian for earth, The Berserker for fire, and The Tactician for water. ¡°And for you it is definitely one of the best paths. ¡°Your second uniqueness allows you to interact with divine role Laws in a different way than most. Your Law Larva of The Healer grants you an extra sense allowing you to know the health condition of anyone you focus on. Your Law Larva of The Reaper shows you the specific weaknesses on the bodies of your opponents. ¡°What type of sense, then, would the Law Larva of The Tactician give, a role specialized in personal combat technique and the moving of forces on a battlefield?¡± Mila started to smile more genuinely as she left the cave and began running back toward the inheritance. ¡°I see what you mean.¡± Combat guidance? Morale sense? Whatever the new sense would be, it would likely be quite a bit more useful than whatever she¡¯d get from the Law Larva of Tranquility she was originally going for. Mila set one of her main minds to focus on her remaining two unmastered Epic grade skills and another to start using Trickster¡¯s Guise with qi to change her face to better implement the plan she¡¯d started to form in her head. Her third main mind, however, continued to talk with Nana Xara. ¡°For the continuation of balance in my cultivation, won¡¯t I need to get another divine role Law for the fire element? I don¡¯t want to follow the path of a berserker.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no problem.¡± Nana Xara still sounded excited. ¡°You¡¯re perfectly suited for the most famous of the fire element divine role Laws, the Law of The Courtesan.¡± Mila inwardly groaned, but Nana Xara wasn¡¯t wrong. She¡¯d spent most of her life training for that type of role, and it certainly aligned with her race and class paths. Then, as she thought about it more, it actually started to appeal to her. She sent one of her minds into the Twin Dragons and began to read up on the information of The Courtesan Law contained in the legacy she¡¯d received from the Healer¡¯s Token. The divine role of The Courtesan wasn¡¯t just to inspire lust. It was to inspire passion of all kinds, kind of like a mix of the nine Muses and Aphrodite from Greek Mythology. As a result, it was also about observing people, figuring out what they were good at and what they would enjoy, and Mila guessed the sense she might gain from it could be far more useful than those from the Laws of The Healer, The Reaper, or The Tactician. It would also greatly help with empowering charm skills, probably more effective than the Law of Passion she¡¯d been aiming for. And that would be extremely useful seeing as both her remaining Epic grade skills had increased noticeably in mastery in just the last ten minutes, her good cry seeming to have cleansed her soul slightly. Before she arrived back at the inheritance site, she¡¯d be able to merge her illusion skills and that would then allow her to gain the charm skill and cultivation technique Nana Xara had prepared for her. Chapter 64: Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers Mila Attempting to merge Second Self (F-Epic), Illusion Steps (F-Epic), and Blur (F-Epic) to Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers (F-Legendary). Requirements met: Illusion Path Law Egg at peak grade or higher, effective Aura of 432 or higher Congratulations! You have merged three skills into Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers (F-Legendary) Having taken an extra hour to find another good cave in which to leave the teleportation platform and then another eight hours to properly sleep, it was about a day later when Mila finally mastered Second Self and Blur. Then she immediately fused her three skills. Before talking with Nana Xara, however, she played around with the skill a little, gaining a feel for it. Whenever she activated Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers, a ghostly mist would spread out around her, causing an effect kind of like Blur, and then herself and up to four generated clones could start moving separately. She was able to control each clone individually and, like her real body, they could be covered in a ghostly mist, making it more difficult to tell them apart from her than the clones previously produced by Second Self. The most useful aspect of the skill, however, was not the distracting nature of the clones, but the fact the clones, while not material, copied half the strength of her aura and could use all of her skills. The range wasn¡¯t that good. Like with the clones produced by Second Self, the clones from Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers couldn¡¯t move more than 98 meters away from her, and their skills had to rely on her resources. But still, once she gained a stealth skill she could send clones to sneak into dangerous areas for spying and be far enough away to escape if they were found. Already, she could use Devil¡¯s Contract and Trickster¡¯s Guise through the clones with the same effects as used through her own body, and she could even use Telekinesis with the same power, only half the range. ¡°Pretty nice, right?¡± Nana Xara sent over. ¡°In a few ranks, you¡¯ll be sending clones to different worlds to do your bidding.¡± ¡°Do you have a choice of charm skills or is there only one option?¡± Mila had deliberately not asked about the charm skill Nana Xara wanted to give her, mostly to not distract herself, but also because she was slightly scared of what types of effects charm skills would have. Now, however, as she actually got to gain one as Nana Xara¡¯s reward for her reaching F rank, she was rather excited. ¡°There are a couple options, but the one I want to give you opens up a powerful advancement for your class once you reach E rank.¡± Mila was pretty sure, if Nana Xara were still alive, she¡¯d be grinning from ear to ear. ¡°The first option I wouldn¡¯t recommend is a Legendary grade skill which allows for charming an entire group at once, with power based on Spirit and area based on Aura, but its charm strength is quite a bit lower than other Legendary grade charm skills and the activation time is a bit too long to make use of in combat. ¡°There is another skill which only affects one person, but where the power of the charm is based not only on Spirit but Aura as well, and that is what I would normally recommend to someone like you if you were just after power at F rank. The long term evolution of the skill, however, is quite a bit weaker than the skill I actually think you should take. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Finally, the skill I am recommending is a skill called Evil Eyes - Lust. It¡¯s a diabolic eye-based charm skill, meaning you have to meet the other person¡¯s eyes in order for it to work, and it can only create a lust effect and no other types of charm. But the initial effect is instant and the charm grows in power the longer eye contact is maintained. ¡°Its power is only based on Spirit, which isn¡¯t as good for you, but it can make use of all three resource types and the range is infinite so long as you and the other person are able to see each other, which is quite nice. The charm state it induces is classified as a curse and lasts quite a bit longer than that of other charm skills. But the main reason you should choose it is it will likely produce interesting extra effects when combined with your Strong Soul Succubus Princess race and Third Eye Princess uniqueness.¡± ¡°Evil Eye, huh. Is there a version for each of the other six sins as well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Nana Xara sounded even more excited, likely because Mila seemed interested. ¡°The Heroic grade version of Evil Eyes combines three of the sins and then the Fabled grade version of the skill contains all of them and is called Evil Eyes - Sin. There are several different upgrade paths from there, the most powerful of which you should find relatively easy to gain.¡± Mila thought about it for a minute. The foremost reason for getting a charm skill was not to enable unfair contracts nor to distract opponents in combat. It was to help get food for her and Aalam, and Evil Eyes - Lust was obviously the best for that. For her purposes, the fact its charm state was only lust-based was not a big deal. With her contracts, she¡¯d almost never be using charm on its own. The true deciding factor, however, was its potential interactions with her Third Eye Princess uniqueness. She was already planning to start building her Laws around her second uniqueness. Why shouldn¡¯t she try to build her skills in the same way? Before saying yes, however, Mila had another question. ¡°Do you have any Legendary grade stealth skills?¡± ¡°Sort of.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice became a bit more serious, allowing Mila to know what she was about to say would be important information for her to remember. ¡°Technically I have two, but, while they both have the Stealth keyword, neither is what you¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°First, there is a skill called Silence. It is an advanced version of the Muffle skill and uses quite a bit of qi and mana to block vibrations, and thus sound, in a relatively large area. When controlled tightly to a cultivator¡¯s body, it can be used just like the Muffle skill, but its main use is to block skills which require a verbal component, none of which you¡¯ll likely see any time soon as they have very much gone out of style.¡± ¡°The second is Invisibility, which, while it perfectly blocks sight, would be mostly useless for you, as it does nothing against aura. Your Law Egg of Obfuscation is already good at making people without detection skills not notice you just through sight, so it would be a mostly wasted skill.¡± ¡°You have to remember, Mila, Legendary grade skills are incredibly rare. To form one naturally through actions, it takes a lot of effort and often some truly incredible achievements. Most skill orbs are made from specialized production classes processing the souls of the dead and removing the skills they mastered during their lives. Thus, for every Legendary grade skill orb, there had to be an individual who died at that rank having mastered the skill and his or her soul had to be recovered within minutes and then later processed. And this is for a one time consumable.¡± ¡°The System makes things easier. The skill orbs you get from it are created with godly power and don¡¯t require that type of process. But there are very few people who have the talent to get a Legendary grade skill orb from the System yet not the desire to use it themselves.¡± ¡°Most of my skill orbs are either remnants from my own force or from the forces I destroyed in my life. Granted, quite a few of those were forces with gods at the helm, but the amount of skills I have for you and Diana is not large. For example, I have zero Heroic grade skills for F rank and I have none of the Legendary detection skills Aalam wants for his latest insane experiment.¡± Mila contemplated that for several seconds and realized she had to value the chances she¡¯d have at getting skill orbs more in the future. Apocalypse style integrations, if a cultivator was skilled enough, were the easiest time to gain skill orbs from the System, and she wouldn¡¯t always have it so easy in the future. ¡°Thank you, Nana Xara. And thank you as always for your advice. I¡¯ll go with Evil Eyes - Lust.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Mila could almost see Nana Xara grinning, her seriousness completely gone. ¡°Before I send you the skill, though, you have one other decision to make. You have to choose the cultivation technique you will be using for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Mila, who¡¯d still been practicing with Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers while talking to Nana Xara, stopped, the last part of Nana Xara¡¯s words startling her. ¡°The rest of my life?¡± Chapter 65: Cultivation Technique Mila ¡°The System only helps with cultivation. It makes things easier by granting energy, skills, and artifacts as rewards. It allows cultivators to know themselves better through being able to see their status. And it makes advancement easier through helping ease the process of increasing in rank. But cultivation existed long before the System and there are many manuals in existence which, by themselves, could allow a cultivator to reach A rank. ¡°The biggest difference between powers in the universe is usually not class paths or the possession of skill orbs, but the possession of cultivation manuals. A good cultivation manual helps in breaking through the bottlenecks cultivators face in rank advancement, helps with converting primal energy to useful level gain more efficiently, and helps wash away the residual impurities from cultivation treasures or injuries which could block cultivation in the future. ¡°Probably more important to you, however, cultivation manuals generally speed up skill activation, boost the power of certain types of skills, and increase the speed of resource regeneration.¡± Nana Xara sounded excited, and Mila was starting to expect this would be the true advantage to gaining a deceased former god killer as a master, but the excitement in Nana Xara¡¯s voice faded as she continued to talk. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to worry about things you couldn¡¯t yet control, so I didn¡¯t bring it up before, but F rank was known as the Foundation Establishment Stage before the rise of the System for a reason. It is very hard to change cultivation techniques after F rank, so, if you don¡¯t start practicing with a good cultivation technique before advancing to E rank, your cultivation has a good chance of being blocked in the future. ¡°You and Diana don¡¯t have to worry about this, however. I have one of the six best cultivation techniques in the universe, Yin Yang Cosmology, and you are both perfectly suited for it. You only need to decide between three different variants.¡± Mila could read between the lines to hear what Nana Xara was very loudly not saying and found herself sighing. ¡°You very deliberately didn¡¯t mention Aalam.¡± ¡°I mean there is a reason I always call him insane.¡± Nana Xara sounded somewhat irritated. ¡°No one I¡¯ve ever heard of has made it to A rank following the path of twelve elements from the beginning. And there is only one cultivation technique which even makes it theoretically possible, the Twelve Element Primal Code. ¡°Granted, it was made by one of the Universe¡¯s senior gods as the theoretically best cultivation technique, with power and ease of energy control surpassing The Six, but as far as I know, the best person to ever practice it only ever made it to C rank, abandoning the cultivation technique and moving to one of The Six as he couldn¡¯t continue otherwise. And that man later became a god.¡± ¡°That is one good thing about the Twelve Element Primal Code, though. As it is at such a high level, it is very easy to change to one of The Six later if you get stuck. And, as it is mostly considered a theoretical technique, the strongest forces haven¡¯t monopolized it so quite a few forces in the universe have a copy, even some C and B rank forces. I just never bothered to get one myself.¡± Mila took a couple deep breaths to calm herself, but then she realized something. ¡°You¡¯re saying it¡¯s impossible to cultivate but you¡¯re acting like Aalam couldn¡¯t choose anything else.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Nana Xara didn¡¯t say anything for several seconds. ¡°I am aren¡¯t I? He won¡¯t be in the Id state anymore once he wakes up, yet I for some reason don¡¯t like the idea of him training in Yin Yang Cosmology. ¡°Hmm. I guess it feels like a waste.¡± ¡°Can cultivation techniques be received as rewards from the System?¡± Mila asked. ¡°Normally, yes.¡± Nana Xara still sounded contemplative. ¡°But even just the F rank portions of a copy of one of The Six would be considered a Heroic grade reward. And, while the Twelve Element Primal Code has much higher requirements and would thus usually be given a lower grade, it would likely take the System quite a bit more energy to produce, so it should be about the same. ¡°Cultivation technique manuals imprint on the soul like skill orbs, but they are generally made to be reusable as their imprinting process is a form of copying and doesn¡¯t require the original copy to disappear, so, as a result, their creation takes quite a bit of energy. ¡°No matter what, though, it¡¯s impossible to get a Heroic grade reward from the apocalypse style integration of an F++ rank world, so, if Aalam wants to practice the Twelve Element Primal Code, you would have to wait for the Trial Tower just like with the chance to get back to Earth.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Okay.¡± Mila felt herself grow energized. ¡°So, the end goal is to perform well in the test of the Trial Tower and the way to perform well in that test is to grow as powerful as possible. The best way to grow more powerful is to gain resources from the System and the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance, and to do that I need to show more guile and skill than ever before.¡± Mila started to smile. ¡°Nana Xara, what are the three variants of Yin Yang Cosmology I should be choosing from?¡± ¡°I like this attitude.¡± Nana Xara sounded excited again. ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t stretch yourself too far and get yourself killed. ¡°There are a total of five variants of Yin Yang Cosmology, but I only have three of them. One of the variants focuses on psyforce and improves skills that use that resource by a larger extent than those which use qi or mana, and another focuses on qi. But those are the two variants I don¡¯t have. I do, however, have the variant which focuses on mana, and that is the variant Diana chose. ¡°Diana has two Colossal mana wells and a uniqueness which boosts Magic, so that is the best choice for her, but it looks like you¡¯re heading down the balanced route, and that is option number two. It has a balanced boost to qi, mana, and psyforce usage and is what I used to recommend to almost everyone in my force who qualified to study Yin Yang Cosmology. ¡°Finally, there is the mixed variant. This one is a bit special. Functionally, it is just a weaker version of the balanced variant, less effective by about 30%, but it allows another cultivation technique to be practiced at the same time, though that cultivation technique would also grow weaker than if it were practiced on its own. ¡°It was originally made for cultivators with powerful bloodlines, bloodlines which showed far more effect with special cultivation techniques, but I think you could use it in a different way. Should you stay working with Aalam, and should you get Aalam the Twelve Element Primal Code, your bloodline and second class would continue allowing you to share resources with each other. ¡°By relying on his resources and Laws, you would be able to practice the Twelve Element Primal Code yourself in a weakened form, one which would be perfect for becoming the secondary cultivation technique to the mixed variant of Yin Yang Cosmology. ¡°This would benefit you, as the mixed variant of Yin Yang Cosmology combined with a weakened version of the Twelve Element Primal Code would be stronger than the balanced variant of Yin Yang Cosmology by itself. And, should you ever separate from Aalam, it would be almost effortless to switch to the balanced variant, so you wouldn¡¯t be losing anything. ¡°For Aalam it would be a win as well, as it would be easier for him to make use of your resources in the future.¡± ¡°And this isn¡¯t even considering the types of classes such a combination of cultivation techniques might open up for the advancement of your second class, which would help you both.¡± Mila started laughing, and she realized she didn¡¯t even care that Nana Xara had obviously planned what cultivation technique to recommend from the beginning. She was the teacher. That was her job. And it was also her job to only introduce new topics when her pupil was ready. Before being open with her emotions about how she died, Mila hadn¡¯t been ready to deal with the stress of trying to get the Twelve Element Primal Code for Aalam, but now she was. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go with both your recommendations.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t regret it.¡± With Nana Xara¡¯s last word, Mila felt the bond between her and her master and the bond between her and the System strengthen. Then, over her bond with the System, energy and information flowed. Mila found a small cave in the forest where she¡¯d been practicing with Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers, killed its monster inhabitant, and then sat down cross-legged on the floor as new information entered her mind and a new skill formed in her soul. Congratulations! You have learned the skill Evil Eyes - Lust (F-Legendary) Evil Eyes - Lust (F-Legendary) Triforce, Diabolical, Charm Your eyes inspire lust in all those who see them Mila felt pain in her eyes as she almost fell unconscious, and to distract herself she started to look at her new cultivation technique. Bonded to her soul in a way she couldn¡¯t fully perceive, she was able to view Yin Yang Cosmology in the same way she could view the legacies stored in the Twin Dragons. If she put the attention of one of her minds on it, it was like she slipped into a different mental space and could see lessons from a teacher as if she were right in front of him. The only main difference between it and the legacies was there wasn¡¯t an attached library in the mental space filled with other knowledge. The teacher attached to the cultivation technique reminded her of the teachers in the legacies she had for the Laws of The Healer and The Reaper as, like those two teachers, he gave off the aura of a mortal, something Mila assumed meant the teacher of the technique was a god. He looked like an old caucasian man with shoulder length white hair and a thick white beard, but his eyes were mono-lidded and his ears were pointed like the elves from the Life Tree Empire and he had six fingers on each of his hands. Most disturbing of all, however, he had a third eye right in the middle of his forehead, right over his upper dantian. Unlike the teachers from her various legacies, he didn¡¯t say anything when she entered the soul space of inheritance and, when she asked questions, he didn¡¯t respond at all. Instead, he just started moving his resources around, resources which perfectly matched her own. And she could somehow see how all three resource types moved inside him, guided by balanced early grade Law Eggs from each of the six elements of fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death. The balance between the Laws was the key, however, so, even though her Laws were all far beyond early grade Law Eggs, she realized she wouldn¡¯t be able to practice the cultivation technique until they were all balanced, and that was going to take a while. Chapter 66: Amorac’s Servant Silveea Silveea Night was starting to grow worried. The Gale Clan¡¯s third general had chased an elf into their camp, but the elf had somehow slipped away and that night the Gale Clan¡¯s second general had disappeared. The general knew about their plans to start a war and it was very risky if the Life Tree Empire¡¯s forces found out, but so far there were no movements from the elves. Gorin Lorok had even gone along with the Gale Clan¡¯s young clan mistress to ask the elves about their assassin, but the elves denied such an expert in illusions being among their force. Taking off the hair tie which had been holding her long black hair in a ponytail, Silveea entered into her personal tent hoping to have a good night¡¯s sleep, but what she found meant she would likely have to stay up for quite a bit longer. Her tent was not that large. It had a bed on the far side from the entrance, a dresser to the right holding her extra belongings, and a desk and chair to the left covered with the intelligence missives her underlings had prepared for her. But, instead of being empty, there was a woman wearing a blue dress sitting calmly on her bed as if waiting for her. She had the type of pale skin rarely seen in the Kingdom of Night, long red hair down to her shoulders, and irises so brightly pink Silveea was pretty sure they¡¯d been enhanced by a skill. She looked relatively old, maybe in her mid forties, so Silveea would normally have thought she were someone untalented, forced to train and wait to increase a clan¡¯s chance at taking over the new world, but her aura was among the strongest Silveea had ever sensed from an F rank, and Aura could only be increased to the level of the average of the nine base stats, so the woman was almost certainly stronger than she was. Silveea was about to call for her guards, but then a notification showed up in front of her eyes. Amorac¡¯s Servant Havina has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm Amorac¡¯s Servant Havina
  2. Amorac¡¯s Servant Havina may not take any actions with the intention to harm you
  3. Amorac¡¯s Servant Havina will give you information which might help save your life
Punishment: Loss of 75% of stats for half a day Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Alright.¡± Silveea accepted the contract and pulled a wooden chair out from under her desk, turning it to face the woman and sitting down. Amorac was an independent power in the Palazin Galaxy Cluster, a senior C rank the Kingdom of Night was on good terms with. She had a habit of finding young talents, forcibly enslaving them, and then providing resources and training. She¡¯d then give them missions and, if they achieved the results the old power wanted, she¡¯d set them free. This was the origin of Silveea¡¯s great-grandfather, the true power behind the throne of the Kingdom of Night, so Silveea had more information than most. Being classified by the System as one of Amorac¡¯s servants rather than as one of Amorac¡¯s slaves meant the woman in front of her was close to earning her freedom, so she was very unlikely to want to make an enemy of the Kingdom of Night. ¡°Thank you for being intelligent.¡± The woman smirked at her. ¡°I thought it even odds you¡¯d get your guards killed.¡± Silveea didn¡¯t like the woman¡¯s tone, but the third item in the contract request had her worried, so she ignored it. ¡°You have information which might save my life?¡± ¡°You, the Gale Clan, and the Flare Clan are planning to start eliminating the other invasion forces.¡± The woman spoke as if she were certain, despite less than twelve people knowing about the plan, and that made Silveea nervous. ¡°When are you planning to start?¡± Silveea considered for a second, but she guessed the information concerning her life had to do with their conquest plan, so she decided to answer the question. ¡°After the undead are dealt with. They¡¯re too big of a variable otherwise.¡± The woman started laughing and, when Silveea was about to ask why, the woman summoned a sheathed sword and tossed it to her. Silveea examined the sword for a second, pulling it out of its sheathe, and was surprised to find it a Legendary grade F rank artifact capable of boosting death element magic like a staff. The weapon was a sword designed for a mage and its quality was too high to have been received as a System reward by any of the natives. ¡°The undead have already been dealt with. You can start your conquest at any time.¡± Silveea felt her heart, which had barely reacted even to an intruder in her tent, start to beat faster. ¡°You killed them all by yourself?¡± ¡°Only their leaders.¡± The woman shrugged and pulled the sword back from Silveea¡¯s hands with telekinesis, causing it to disappear again into the subspace of the fingerless glove artifact she was wearing on her left hand. ¡°I still have the staff of one general, but the weapons of the other two I was forced to leave in the camp of the Gale Clan. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Are you aware of their half dragon?¡± Silveea felt her eyes widen slightly as everything started to click into place. The elf illusionist wasn¡¯t an elf, but this Havina in front of her, and that was why the Life Tree Empire knew nothing. She was also probably responsible for the disappearance of Omalia Gale, which could create problems. But a half dragon? ¡°Isaiah Gale is a half dragon? What kind?¡± ¡°War Dragon, son of the Fifth Dragon Prince and grandson to the War Dragon King.¡± Havina nodded, moving to a cross legged position on the bed, exposing her underclothes in the process, though she didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°He has a Legendary grade combat class, four Legendary grade skills, and at least two Law Larvae. From what I¡¯ve seen, he could probably annihilate your entire force by himself and not receive a scratch.¡± Well, Silveea thought, That could be a problem. The Gale Clan had invested almost everything they had into the conquest of this world. If they had someone who could force the monster in front of her to run away, they might try to betray her to gain sole rights to the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance. ¡°Lucky for us, the Gale Clan doesn¡¯t seem to trust him very much. Something about the clan leader having killed his mother and his half brother leaving the clan.¡± Havina looked quite relaxed as she continued to drop information which, if true, were likely some of the Gale Clan¡¯s most tightly kept secrets. ¡°If you start the conquest soon, they will leave him behind to protect their pillar, and that will make it harder for him to level up compared to your forces, so you¡¯ll gain an advantage.¡± Silveea thought for a second and decided the idea was favorable. If the undead leaders were killed and the rest forced to escape through their Pillar of Conquest, there was nothing else holding them back. And, if the information about Isaiah Gale were true, which she was almost certain it was given the facts she could already confirm, starting the conquest now and raising the levels of her force through battle was the best way to keep him in check. ¡°Is Isaiah Gale the threat to my life?¡± ¡°No. Not really.¡± Havina waved her right hand dismissively. ¡°He¡¯s probably not even aware the Gale Clan plans to betray you and the Flare Clan, annihilating both your forces after everyone else is dealt with using help from the Kindar Raiders. And he¡¯s certainly not aware the Flare Clan plans to do the same to you and the Gale Clan using the same ally.¡± Silveea¡¯s heart started to beat faster again. ¡°How do you know this?¡± Havina waved her left hand and a corpse appeared in front of Silveea, floating in the air with the woman¡¯s telekinesis skill. It was Omalia Gale, who had disappeared along with all her possessions. ¡°This one, along with her family, had betrayed the Gale Clan to join the Flare Clan.¡± Havina said dispassionately, storing the naked body back in her glove. ¡°The Kindar Raiders are the remnants of the force who used to follow the Shadow Thief. They originally had a contract with the Gale Clan for dealing with the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance, but their contact there moved to the Flare Clan so they should be contracted with them now. ¡°From what I¡¯ve been able to gather, they have a good idea of what riches are available in the inheritance, but they only have guesses about the inheritance¡¯s rules, so there is not much reason to keep them alive. But they¡¯ve abandoned their Pillar of Conquest and are prepared to wait out the 72 years, so they will be more difficult to deal with than the clans. ¡°My suggestion, if you agree to an alliance with me, is to proceed with the conquest as originally planned, agreeing to take on the already defeated undead by yourself. Then, during the conquest, we can play the Gale and Flare Clans off each other, weakening them both for the final confrontation when the Kindar Raiders show up. ¡°I¡¯ll also place Omalia Gale¡¯s body and the belongings people know about in the elf camp for the Flare Clan to find, cleaning up their suspicion.¡± Silveea took a few seconds to slow her rapidly beating heart, then another few seconds to consider what Havina had just said. Given the information she could already confirm, Havina¡¯s explanation fit. She¡¯d been wondering how the Gale Clan could have known about the inheritance in advance. And, with the clan having lost most of its D ranks, it wasn¡¯t at all surprising for one of their elders to move to the Flare Clan. The prerequisite of everything, however, was that the treasures contained in the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance were enough to warrant risking the wrath of the Kingdom of Night for both clans. ¡°If we team up, Ms. Havina, how would you want to distribute the treasures in the inheritance?¡± Havina grinned at her, seeming to have been waiting for the question. ¡°I don¡¯t represent a force like you, just myself for the most part, but I originally came to the world following a rumor the Kindar Raiders might know where a Bottle of Liquid Courage could be found. If we find a bottle in the inheritance, I want it. Beyond that, I¡¯m fine if you treat me like one of your generals. Just give me first dibs on one or two items. My path is different enough from yours that there shouldn¡¯t be much overlap in what we want.¡± Silveea found herself relaxing slightly. Liquid Courage was exactly what it sounded like, the extracted emotional essence of those who died courageously on a battlefield. It was very rare as it was difficult to produce, but also of very little use to anyone in the Kingdom of Night. It was, on the other hand, possibly a required item for helping Lady Amorac have the chance to advance to B rank, so getting it was likely a mission which would allow Havina to gain her freedom. And, should Lady Amorac advance and Silveea have a hand in making it possible, Lady Amorac was the type to be grateful, not to mention the potential future powerhouse in front of her. As for Havina taking one or two items Silveea herself might want, that was a minor issue. From what she¡¯d heard about the elf who escaped the Gale Clan, Havina, like her, seemed to follow the path of shadows, but she followed the path of illusions as well, along with having a high power offensive death Law. What they wanted wouldn¡¯t be exactly the same. And the Shadow Thief was called that for a reason. She had followed the path of shadows and would likely have multiple resources useful for that path. ¡°Alright. I agree.¡± Silveea nodded. ¡°Let me do a little research on my own to confirm your story and then we can sign a contract. ¡°I¡¯ll also help you create a good identity to allow you to participate in the conquest.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Havina smiled playfully and used telekinesis to open up Silveea¡¯s dresser, pull out her spare battle clothes, and then pull them over. A dark gray pair of pants and a loose dark grey T-shirt, both rare artifacts, they looked almost the same as what Silveea was wearing, only the performance was a little worse. ¡°But could the identity include some reason for me to wear your spare battle clothes? Mine were damaged fighting the undead and I¡¯ve been forced to wear this dress I stole from a native ever since. ¡°Everyone on this planet is so flat, but you look like you¡¯re about my size.¡± The blue dress was something already in the information Silveea had received about Havina¡¯s elf disguise, so it would have to go anyway, and the loose clothing favored by assassins like her was likely the only type of clothing in the army which would fit the woman, but almost no one else had the luxury of bringing an extra set of artifacts, so the request was reasonable. ¡°Alright.¡± The woman then immediately took off the dress, placing it inside the subspace of the artifact on her left hand, and started putting on the spare clothes, much to Silveea¡¯s embarrassment. Silveea did, however, notice a small tattoo carved into Havina¡¯s lower back showing an intricate pattern and emanating a weak aura of rage and calm, matching the reports Silveea had of the slave marks created by one of Amorac¡¯s main disciples, so she could be almost certain the woman wasn¡¯t faking her identity. Chapter 67: War Silveea Silveea was sure she¡¯d made the right choice immediately after their first battle with the Life Tree Empire. There had only been one general among the elf forces around the inheritance, an archer with an excellent life element detection skill capable of easily noticing her or any of the two thousand assassins she¡¯d brought to the inheritance site, but Havina used her illusions to take on the form of an elf and, while the forces of the Kingdom of Night started a frontal assault, she mixed in with the enemy forces. Then, during the assault, the elves quickly moved into a formation designed to protect their general and allow his archery to control the battlefield, but, before he could get in position, Havina arrived there first, summoned the sword of the undead leader without anyone noticing, and dropped it on the ground before moving 20 meters away to join a group of elf spearmen, having somehow gotten one of the elves¡¯ spears while moving through their forces. She then telekinetically controlled the undead leader¡¯s sword when the elf general was focused on his bow and used it to cut off his head. Through the use of her shadow path Law Egg merged into her telekinesis, it was nearly impossible to tell she was the one controlling the blade, and she then used it to kill 12 other people before having it attack the group she¡¯d joined. Even while controlling the blade, she perfectly acted the part of someone trying to protect herself from the sword, and, when everyone else in her group was dead, she acted like she was running away, having the blade chase her behind a tent where both she and the blade disappeared, allowing her to secretly bury Omalia Gale¡¯s body and hide the documents and artifacts from the woman¡¯s room in the general¡¯s tent as she and Silveea had planned. Silveea saw the skillful assassination with her Hawk Eye skill, which allowed her to focus her vision like a telescope, and it was somewhat terrifying. Granted, Havina, even if she were the same age as Silveea herself, would only be a second or third rate talent in the Palazin Galaxy Cluster, but compared to a fourth rate talent like Silveea and most of the leaders and generals of the invasion forces, she was a monster. Havina was nothing compared to Isaiah Gale, however. During that first fight, even with the thousands participating from the Flare Clan, Gale Clan, and Kingdom of Night forces, overwhelming the elves in numbers three to one, he alone killed over 300 people despite the combat being incredibly short. And Silveea was very, very glad the half dragon was left behind to guard the Gale Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest. Over the next month, they traveled to the three Pillars of Conquest owned by the Life Tree Empire¡¯s forces and didn¡¯t allow any of the elves to escape, Silveea¡¯s idea of bringing thousands of assassin class cultivators showing its use. The Gale Clan had heavily invested in being able to take over Hira, and they brought out enough Spacetime Sealing Scrolls to seal all the Pillars of Conquest on the world for three months. Each scroll would only work for half a month¡¯s time, and had to be used within 129 meters of a Pillar of Conquest, but the effects were instant and Silveea¡¯s death-sworn were able to successfully activate the scrolls twice on all targets, blocking any information of their actions from getting off planet. She¡¯d confirmed the undead¡¯s Pillar of Conquest had been taken over by a native, so she was able to save two of the scrolls given by the Gale Clan thanks to Havina¡¯s work, and, as the Kindar Raiders had abandoned their pillar, she didn¡¯t have to sacrifice any death-sworn to disable their communication either. Disabling the pillars of the Gale Clan, the Flare Clan, and her own had been left up to the individual forces, but she did use a few assassins to confirm the Gale Clan and Flare Clan followed through. In the three battles against the elves, Havina proved her worth further, personally taking out all three of the elf leaders and killing more than half of the generals, but the Gale Clan and the Flare Clan hadn¡¯t noticed despite all three forces fighting together. Silveea had given Havina the identity of her personal assistant, claiming she was a commoner talent who¡¯d stood out during the early stages of the invasion, and Havina had changed her face and body to look like a beautiful 18-year-old to match the story. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Havina spent most of her time following Silveea around as a result, even coming to strategy meetings, and, every time she ¡®nervously¡¯ opened her mouth to speak, her true age shone through and she greatly helped reduce their mistakes while also subtly pushing more responsibility, and thus losses, onto the forces of the two clans. For fun, she also somehow had Civilax Co, Silveea¡¯s mage general, and Jameel Fa, Silveea¡¯s healer general, as well as quite a few of Silveea¡¯s high level soldiers, eating out of the palm of her hands. At first it was a little worrisome to Silveea, but she quickly realized Havina was manipulating the men under her into relationships with other women rather than herself, so she didn¡¯t discourage it. A better sense of closeness between her subordinates and the woman would only be beneficial. The elves hadn¡¯t invested much at all in Hira, not having had any idea about the inheritance before their arrival, so they ended up being quite a bit easier opponents than everyone had been expecting, and the members of the alliance started relaxing a bit too much. It was first noticeable when they lost over 1,000 cultivators to the force of the Albatino Merchant Union. The merchants had brought quite a few magic grenades and the alliance made the mistake of attacking them directly. The true problem, however, started when they went after the Quill Clan, the first of the subordinate forces of the Amoranth Kingdom, the Kingdom of Night¡¯s greatest rival. ¡°Are you saying the entire river was poisoned?¡± Silveea glared at Jameel Fa, who was looking down at the ground in the tent they brought around as a strategy room. ¡°And we somehow didn¡¯t detect that?¡± Everyone in the room¡ªJameel, Silveea, and Civilax; Ava and Aleron Gale; Hogar Flare and the general he¡¯d brought with him; even Havina¡ªthey¡¯d all been poisoned and were experiencing great pain in their stomachs. And the same was true for over two thirds of their forces, yet there wasn¡¯t anything they could do about it. Poisons and biological weapons were quite common in warfare and it wasn¡¯t until the middle of D rank that they generally became useless. But, for invasions of worlds undergoing apocalypse style integrations, the cost of bringing in such weapons was astronomical, as were the tools necessary to make them after arriving. The general goal of an invasion was to train a force¡¯s young talents, so such weapons were incredibly uncommon. Still, though, she¡¯d brought Jameel to help make sure this type of thing would never happen, and the Gale and Flare Clans both had their own experts of the type as well. She was afraid the Quill Clan would attack them while they were vulnerable, or worse, all three forces from the Amoranth Kingdom. But the reality was much worse. Jameel, still looking down at the ground, pulled out what looked like a piece of paper from his belt and threw it to the ground. It wasn¡¯t a piece of paper, however. It was a talisman. And, if she read it right, it was a spatial coordinates transmission talisman. Just as she understood what was about to happen, a flash of light appeared and the talisman burnt up. Then the room had more people in it, ten of them. Their skin was slightly more red than the people of the Kingdom of Night, and they all had larger noses. Their hair and eyes, however, came in three distinct varieties. There was the leader of the Quill Clan and his three generals wielding swords, with short black hair and nearly black eyes, all on the path of the ink sword. There were the three generals of the Vol Clan wielding spears, with icy blue hair and cold gray eyes, all on the path of the snow spear. And there was Prince Tomin Amoranth and two of his followers, all with dark brown hair and normal brown eyes, their features not influenced by a bloodline. Tomin was holding a sword, one that was at least Epic grade given how much mana was flowing through it, and he seemed to be following the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s path of the mana blade. One of his generals, the only female among the ten, was wearing a loose dress, and it was hard to look away from her, so it seemed she was on some kind of charm path. Finally, the other general was holding a staff and wearing a gray robe with a silver trim, scarily on the path of a space mage. ¡°Silveea, Silveea, Silveea.¡± Tomin smiled at her as he placed his free hand on Jameel¡¯s shoulder, the latter man standing between Tomin and the female general, looking at the general as if she was a goddess. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would fall for such a simple plan.¡± ¡°Amoranth.¡± Silveea growled, but there was no energy in it. She and her allies were all sick, Jameel had turned traitor, and the enemy had more numbers. ¡°How does it feel to be so thoroughly¡ª¡± ¡°Tomin!¡± The space mage shouted, pointing at Havina who¡¯d been sitting dejectedly at the side of the tent up until that point. Silveea looked over at the woman, hope starting to enter her mind, but what she saw made her terrified. Seventeen black orbs appeared in the air right after the space mage shouted, controlled by the woman¡¯s telekinesis, and she recognized them as the Albatino Merchant Union¡¯s highest grade explosives. They were aimed all throughout the tent, and, as soon as they fell, everyone in the tent was going to die. The forces of the Amoranth Kingdom didn¡¯t know that, however, and Tomin used the skill Blink, a short range teleport, to appear right in front of Havina, swinging his sword down at her head. Havina tried to dodge right, but she wasn¡¯t fast enough, Tomin¡¯s sword hitting her left forearm and slicing right through. He didn¡¯t try to attack again, however, blinking out of the tent, and then Havina completely disappeared as well, a ripple of space magic emanating from where she¡¯d been on the floor, and all that was left of the woman was her slowly falling left hand. Chapter 68: Preparation Mila ¡°Aaah!¡± Mila screamed as she fell down on the platform hidden in the desert cave, trying desperately to move her qi to stop the bleeding of her left arm as she activated her Law Larva of The Healer, empowering her qi as much as possible. Everything had been going so well. Using the information she¡¯d gathered from Omalia, she¡¯d created the perfect identity to trick the Kingdom of Night¡¯s princess. She¡¯d acted slovenly to lower the subconscious impression her identity might be fake. She¡¯d revealed most of her powers. And she¡¯d even created a shadow copy of Aalam¡¯s Runescriber skill to carve a mark in her own flesh to completely eliminate suspicion. The real best part of her disguise, however, had been her new ability to change her name while making a contract. Contracts were effectively just enhanced bonds with magical punishments attached, so her Law Larvae could work on them as well. With the Law of Severing mixed into her Law Larva of the Reaper, she was able to cut the section of the contract holding her name as she made it and, with the Law of Bonds mixed into her Law Larva of The Healer, she could imperfectly heal that section to show a new name. It wouldn¡¯t work against someone with higher Spirit or Soul than her, as they would notice she was changing the contract as she made it, and it wouldn¡¯t work without a skill like Devil¡¯s Contract, which allowed her to change the final terms to match what she¡¯d altered when it attached to the other party¡¯s soul, hiding the surgery, but against the princess it had been relatively easy after a little practice, and it meant neither of them were actually bound by the contract as her fake identity didn¡¯t actually exist. With the disguise in place, Mila hadn¡¯t had much other troubles. The Law Egg of The Courtesan only took her a few days to gain, and then she was able to practice with it and her Law Egg of The Tactician by playing both roles, raising both Law Eggs to high grade after a month. She also killed quite a few people, using the strategy of taking on a disguise and mixing in with the opposing force every time the alliance attacked to take down leaders and generals, the tactic working quite well all four times. She just hadn¡¯t had any clue the forces of the Amoranth Kingdom were far more prepared than the forces of the Kingdom of Night knew, and there hadn¡¯t been any way for her to know. Sure, she¡¯d sensed Jameel¡¯s emotions were different than they seemed on the surface after everyone drank the poisoned water, but she¡¯d already been in the command tent and couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Had she still been human, the poison affecting everyone would have affected her as well and she would have died. Had she not immediately activated the teleportation token after the leaders and generals of the Amoranth Kingdom forces arrived, and used Artifact Enhancement to speed up the process by half a second along with her Law Egg of Obfuscation to delay the space mage from noticing, she would have died. And, had she not leveled up to level 6 during the campaign and gained 15 Agility, she would have died. It had been a very close call and, even with all her advantages, she¡¯d still lost her arm and, more importantly, Aalam¡¯s Left Hand of the Runescribe. Sure, so long as the space mage had died, which was likely, they wouldn¡¯t be able to open the subspace, but the Twin Dragons had been stored inside Aalam¡¯s artifact along with almost everything else she owned. Thanks to her Epic grade race, her hand and forearm would grow back over the next month so long as she hunted enough lust filled souls, but she only had a week before the Pillars of Conquest would become unsealed and she had to get the Left Hand of the Runescribe back before that or the forces of the Kingdom of Amoranth might pay to send it back for their seniors to break into. ¡°Well, that was far more entertaining than the last month,¡± Nana Xara sent cheerfully. ¡°Playing politics with people you plan to kill anyway is kind of depressing.¡± Mila just grunted in response, pulling lust filled souls from Aalam¡¯s Soul Storage over their bond and absorbing them rapidly. Each time an almost sexual pleasure washed over her, but she ignored it and instead started thinking about the fact the Soul Storage was almost empty. She needed a lot of food if she was going to regrow her arm, and F rank monsters wouldn¡¯t do. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It was time to use her newest skill to go hunting. So, as she finally stopped the pale pink blood flowing from her stump, she ran out of the cave and headed northwest. The forces of the Amoranth Kingdom had almost certainly started the process of destroying the forces of the Kingdom of Night, even if she took out most of their leaders, and there was a good chance the bastard who took her arm, their highest leader, was still alive. She¡¯d deliberately thrown the bombs she¡¯d stolen from the storage item of the leader of the Albatino Merchant Union in such a way she might have a chance to live if her teleportation was cancelled, and he¡¯d been right on top of her when she¡¯d disappeared, not to mention how he seemed to have a short distance teleportation skill which could have allowed him to leave the tent. Their next goal then would be to wipe out the remaining forces of the Kingdom of Night, and the Gale Clan was the closest, so she was going to head there first before moving south toward the location of the Quill Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest. Sure, Isaiah Gale was still a monster, but, with her new skill, she was pretty sure she¡¯d be able to run away from him. More important, however, the two members of the Gale Clan with contract breaking skills, their leader and his twin sister, were dead. So, if she could sneak into the Gale Clan, she could initiate contracts left and right, making money and taking in subordinates. Before that, though, she could use any Gale Clan member she found as food. Without Illusion Steps, however, it took her almost a day and a half to get to Gale Clan territory rather than the day it would have taken before, and by that time she was almost starving, as she¡¯d left the last two souls in Aalam¡¯s Soul Storage alone for him to subconsciously eat. So, when she entered the forest area south of the Gale Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest, before finding any Gale Clan members, she first found a few F rank monsters, looked them in the eyes for a few seconds while activating Evil Eyes - Lust, and then killed them with Telekinesis, gaining enough food to last her at least three days, even with how fast she was using energy to heal her arm. She¡¯d already used Trickster¡¯s Guise to take on the form of a true greenish blond haired Gale Clan member and, when she ran into a hunting party of Gale Clan members, there were too many of them to feed on so she made herself look excited and then collapsed, faking being out of energy. As expected, they dropped their hunting expedition, checked her life signs which she deliberately made weak with some applications of qi and her Law Larva of The Healer, and then brought her back to camp. Instead of Isaiah, an older Gale Clan member came to talk to her, and she told him everything her fake identity would know. Two thirds of the allied force had been poisoned, there was a large explosion from the command tent, and the forces of the Amoranth Kingdom had attacked. Her fake identity had been out hunting at the time and was thus close enough to see everything but far enough away she was able to run without being chased by more than a couple soldiers, who she managed to kill at the expense of her left arm and losing her sword. By using Artifact Enhancement with her Law Egg of Obfuscation on her clothes, she was able to hide the fact they were rare artifacts, and the middle aged man believed every word, growing more and more worried as she talked. ¡°Where¡¯s Lord Isaiah?¡± she asked when the conversation was done, using the form of address most of the Gale Clan members used out of respect for the Pink Ursa¡¯s power. ¡°He¡¯s out hunting, but he should return in around three hours.¡± The man¡¯s expression became more relaxed at the mention of Isaiah¡¯s name, so Mila was pretty sure he didn¡¯t know about the Gale Clan¡¯s plan to sacrifice their protector on an altar for power. ¡°Okay.¡± Mila locked eyes with the man and activated Evil Eyes - Lust. Then, a couple seconds later, as the man was just about to start taking off his clothes, she sent him a contract. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the initiator of this contract to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the initiator of this contract
  3. You must transfer all your System credits to the initiator of this contract
  4. You must follow all the orders of the initiator of this contract
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No Mila smiled at the man. ¡°Now accept.¡± He did so. Then he immediately transferred his small amount of credits to her account as the effects of her charm slowly started fading. From his aura, she could see how he grew terrified and, to make the next part of her plan work better, she decided to alleviate some of his fears. ¡°I¡¯m not actually a member of the Gale Clan, but a subordinate of the now dead Princess Silveea Night. Everything I said about what happened with the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s forces, however, other than my identity and how I escaped, is true. ¡°The princess knew about the Gale Clan¡¯s plans to betray her, but I¡¯m not going to hold that against you, as you didn¡¯t make those decisions. Your money is your payment for your life and that will be the same for everyone else you bring me. ¡°I just need Isaiah Gale¡¯s strength for revenge and you all are going to be my hostages so he doesn¡¯t try to kill me like the last time I visited.¡± Mila smiled warmly at the man, but flared her Aura to completely suppress his. ¡°Do we have an understanding?¡± The man quickly nodded. ¡°Alright then. Start bringing in people one by one, the strongest first.¡± Chapter 69: Isaiah Isaiah Isaiah didn¡¯t like the marks which had formed on his spear. It was only a G rank Rare grade artifact, nowhere near strong enough for his current level of power, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to change weapons. The spear was all he had left of Varick, and it was the only present he¡¯d ever received. Isaiah had started training by himself when he was five. Mostly left alone in the Gale Clan, his older brother had been his idol, and Raven had trained every day in the yard of the compound they shared, always practicing with his sword. No one would give Isaiah a sword, however, so one day he picked up a stick and tried to follow his brother¡¯s movements. At the time, he was small and the stick the size of a sword was too big for him, making his movements uncoordinated, but then, in the best moment of his young life, Raven saw this, grabbed a spear, and came over to show Isaiah a basic kata for the weapon. Up until that point, his older brother, thirteen years his senior, had mostly ignored him, so Isaiah focused like he never had before to quickly memorize the movements. From that day forth, Isaiah practiced the kata every day and, when Raven left for training at the Krisholm Academy and Isaiah was moved to servants quarters, he started going to one of the clan¡¯s smaller training halls used by external members every day to continue the practice. This was where he met Varick, an old soldier of the clan and the master of the training hall. After a week of Isaiah coming every day, Varick started giving him pointers on the kata. After a month, Varick started assigning him alternative training routines. And, after six months, Varick started to train him directly. The old man didn¡¯t have a family or really any friends, so he didn¡¯t know how to interact with a child, and this meant he treated Isaiah just like any of the adult recruits who came into his hall. He was gruff and he was demanding, but, unlike most of the clan, he actually used Isaiah¡¯s name, and that meant everything to the young boy. For the next seven years, Isaiah spent most of his time in the training hall and, after puberty started, he began to grow big. Varick, on the other hand, grew older. He had only ever made it to level 6 as an F rank spearman, and he was approaching the end of his life. For Isaiah¡¯s thirteenth birthday, however, the old man used most of his life savings to buy a spear Isaiah could use as an adult and, with Varick dying only a few months later, that spear meant everything. Walking into camp after his daily hunting trip, Isaiah was so focused on his spear that he almost didn¡¯t notice the oddness. Normally, he could find people all over camp. The few craftsmen the Gale Clan brought would be building more permanent shelters or making weapons from the resources brought in. The more numerous combat personnel would be training, eating, or making merry of some kind. There would be noise. Aleron and Ava had brought most of the combat cultivators with them, leaving only a little under a thousand to protect the pillar, and this was the right move. Other invasion forces couldn¡¯t do anything to the pillar, and the natives would have to touch it and then defend it from him for half a day, so he didn¡¯t need much help. The fact he couldn¡¯t see a single cultivator after entering into the Gale Clan camp, however, meant something was wrong. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Welcome, Isaiah!¡± He heard a female voice coming from the center of the camp and looked up, spotting a woman he didn¡¯t recognize sitting on top of the Pillar of Conquest and smiling at him. She had long red hair and unnaturally bright pink eyes. She was wearing the grey-black clothes of an assassin, pants and a short-sleeved shirt. And it looked like her left forearm had been cut off and was slowly regrowing. Isaiah moved toward her and soon saw the Gale Clan cultivators all sitting around the pillar, most looking nervous. ¡°Let¡¯s have you not come any closer.¡± The woman continued smiling, but there was a slight threat in her tone. ¡°I would rather you not try to kill me like last time, so I took your entire camp hostage. Let¡¯s just have a good conversation and I¡¯ll let them go.¡± Isaiah looked at the faces of the Gale Clan cultivators, most of whose names he didn¡¯t know, and saw none of them believed she was lying, so he stopped well outside the range of his Kinetic Senses skill. ¡°Who are you and what do you want?¡± ¡°My name isn¡¯t important.¡± The woman transformed to look like the elf who¡¯d attacked him over a month ago and then back to the form of the red haired pink eyed woman, though in both cases her left arm was missing. ¡°What is important is that up until two days ago I was working for Princess Silveea Night.¡± Isaiah was confused for a few seconds, but then he realized the woman was a tricky person and pretty much anything that came out of her mouth could be lies. Still though, it was probably best to just take things at face value. ¡°Why¡¯d you stop two days ago?¡± ¡°Silveea died. Jameel Fa betrayed the princess, allowing two thirds of the soldiers and all the commanders of the allied army to be poisoned. Then the forces of the Amoranth Kingdom attacked and all the commanders died.¡± The woman raised the stump of her left arm. ¡°I only escaped with the help of a teleportation formation I set up after arriving on this planet, yet I still lost an arm to Tomin Amoranth.¡± Isaiah felt his heart start to beat faster. ¡°Ava and Aleron?¡± ¡°Almost certainly dead.¡± Isaiah didn¡¯t want to believe her. He¡¯d known Ava and Aleron all their lives. Sure, they¡¯d always been mean to him. And, sure, there were a total of seventeen times over the last year where Aleron had beat him up after ordering him not to defend himself. But that was a large reason Isaiah had improved his defensive Law Egg. On the list of people he was closest to, they were second and third. Tears started to form in his eyes and he didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°You¡¯re sad they¡¯re dead?¡± The woman on the pillar sounded confused. ¡°From the way they talked, they seemed to despise you. And they weren¡¯t subtle about it.¡± ¡°You knew them?¡± Isaiah wanted someone to commiserate with and for a second forgot about the hostage situation. The woman paused for several seconds and just stared at him, seemingly trying to study his expression. ¡°We interacted.¡± The woman frowned. ¡°They seemed like terrible people.¡± More tears started to flow down Isaiah¡¯s cheeks. ¡°They were a bit mean.¡± The woman looked down at the crowd. ¡°The person who knows best, explain to me why Isaiah is having that reaction.¡± ¡°Uh, um.¡± Simon Gale, the middle aged butler Aleron had left in charge of the camp, coughed as everyone looked at him. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, the clan master deliberately isolated Lord Isaiah. Almost no one in the clan interacted with him, so he¡¯s probably had more interaction with Lord Aleron and Lady Ava than almost anyone in his life as they trained together.¡± The woman looked back at Isaiah and there was something weird about her eyes, an expression he¡¯d only ever seen occasionally on Varick¡¯s face. ¡°You poor thing. You must be all kinds of messed up. Why do you serve this absolutely shitty clan?¡± Isaiah held his spear and prepared a Power Attack, even though he knew it wouldn¡¯t reach her. He was just too angry. ¡°You take that back. The Gale Clan is the best clan in the universe.¡± ¡°Why?¡± The woman kept having that look in her eyes. ¡°What makes the Gale Clan great?¡± ¡°They took in a bastard like me, even when my mother abandoned me. The clan master and the next clan master gave me powerful skills, even though I¡¯m worthless.¡± The tears kept flowing. ¡°And Varick served the clan his entire life.¡± ¡°Is Varick the one who gave you that spear?¡± The woman kept looking at him with those eyes and Isaiah felt slightly uncomfortable. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Everyone, move two kilometers to the west and stay there for one hour before coming back. If I die, kill yourselves.¡± To Isaiah¡¯s surprise, all the clan members, without question, followed the woman¡¯s orders, and the woman just kept looking at him. ¡°I would like to have a conversation about your past and future, Isaiah, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s polite to have an audience.¡± Chapter 70: Dragon Drive Isaiah Isaiah waited for the Gale Clan members to leave, deactivating the Power Attack he had ready, and tried to figure out why all eight hundred plus members of the Gale Clan were following the woman¡¯s orders. ¡°Do you not know much about skills?¡± The woman asked him, looking somewhat confused. Isaiah knew quite a lot about skills, but probably not as much as Aleron or Ava. There was a reason they always called him stupid. In his mind, though, most skills were about boosting combat roles. Movement skills to chase or run away faster, offensive skills to hit harder, defensive skills to provide protection, these were the basics. Then there were stealth skills and detection skills to counter them, as well as the trickier types of skills the woman in front of him seemed to favor. He didn¡¯t know of any command skills which would make another force listen to you, though. ¡°I signed contracts with all of them,¡± the woman explained, looking at him with those eyes again. ¡°They have to follow my orders or they die.¡± Isaiah knew about contracts and what she said didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Who would sign a contract like that?¡± ¡°Someone who would die if they didn¡¯t.¡± The woman smirked. ¡°Or someone really horny.¡± ¡°It sounds like it would be better to just die.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± The woman was watching him intently, and Isaiah got the feeling she was trying to decide something. ¡°But I¡¯ve yet to have anyone make that choice, Omalia Gale included.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re the one responsible for Omalia¡¯s disappearance.¡± Isaiah started to grow angry again. He¡¯d been yelled at for hours due to the woman in front of him¡¯s first arrival at the Gale Clan. ¡°Yes.¡± The woman kept looking at him with those eyes. ¡°And I learned quite a lot from questioning her. ¡°For one, her family was in the middle of betraying the Gale Clan to the Flare Clan. Two, both clans think they are working with the Kindar Raiders, but it is more likely the Flare Clan due to Omalia¡¯s betrayal. And three, some interesting facts about you. ¡°Would you like to know what they were?¡± Isaiah started to glare at her, but he didn¡¯t dismiss her claims. Aleron and Ava had been worried about just such a betrayal from within the clan. ¡°First, are you aware who your biological father is?¡± Isaiah just continued to glare at her, not answering. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t get his name, but he is a powerful C rank, the fifth son of the War Dragon King, and he raped your mother for some reason. The more important fact about him is his father, and thus your grandfather, is the one who killed the Shadow Thief whose inheritance is over that way.¡± She pointed north toward the inheritance, but Isaiah just continued to glare at her. ¡°Second, your mother didn¡¯t abandon you. I have no information on her personality, but Omalia explicitly told me she was killed by her husband, the leader of the Gale Clan, and seemed very certain of that fact.¡± Isaiah just continued to glare, now not believing a word the woman said. ¡°Finally, according to Omalia, the reason the Gale Clan leader kept you alive, even though your talent was a potential threat to him, is because sacrificing you on an altar inside the inheritance is an almost sure way to gain a reward.¡± Isaiah decided to stop listening to the liar¡¯s words and moved forward with Storm Steps while charging up Power Attack. The Clan Leader was Raven¡¯s father. He wouldn¡¯t have killed his wife and he wouldn¡¯t have raised Isaiah with the plan to sacrifice him. The woman was lying. Aleron and Ava were not dead. And he was going to kill her. When he got close enough, however, he realized the woman on the pillar was an illusion. And he couldn¡¯t sense her actual location. Then he heard a noise to the east and, when he looked over, he saw a woman running away from the eastern edge of the camp who looked like a Gale Clan member. Without thinking much, he chased her, but the woman was fast, moving as if with the wind, and, with her head start and the obstacles in the woods, it took Isaiah almost a minute to catch her. He stabbed a power attack toward her, but, before he hit, the fear faded from her eyes and he realized she¡¯d died. At the same time, Isaiah received a System notification. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Your Pillar of Conquest has been taken over by a native of Hira. If you don¡¯t regain control within half a day, your force will be considered conquered and you will be trapped on Hira for the next 72 years. He¡¯d been tricked. Ignoring the Gale Clan member who¡¯d died after distracting him, Isaiah ran back toward the camp as fast as he could, and, during that time, he figured out what had happened. The tricky woman was a native pretending to be an elf and then pretending to work for Princess Silveea. Everything she said was a lie and Aleron, Ava, and their entire force were certainly okay. The woman did have the power of contracts though. The actions of the Gale Clan members left in camp didn¡¯t make sense otherwise. And she¡¯d forced the Gale Clan messenger he¡¯d just chased to run away from him with an order such as ¡®run away to the east if Isaiah attacks and, if he catches you, kill yourself¡¯. The messenger didn¡¯t want to kill herself, so her soul burned up from the contract and the native woman gained the primal energy. She then knew Isaiah was as far away as he was going to get and activated the Pillar of Conquest so he¡¯d have to stop and regain control of it, allowing her to get away. She¡¯d likely been hiding in one of the tents near the Pillar of Conquest and he¡¯d been stupid to think her illusion skill was powerful enough at low F rank to project an illusion from the edge to the very center of the camp. Running up into the air and focusing all his attention on his eyes, Isaiah could see the woman running to the west. But it wasn¡¯t simple as she had a high grade shadow path Law Egg. Isaiah, however, had the Perception Prince uniqueness, tripling his Perception, so she couldn¡¯t get away. He didn¡¯t stop to regain the pillar and instead chased her, but, even though she seemed slower than she was the last time they fought, likely having used her movement skill as part of a skill combination, she still started ahead of him. He wasn¡¯t close enough for his Kinetic Senses skill to track her, so, when she split into five people, all running about thirty meters away from each other, he couldn¡¯t tell which one was her real body. The five clones reached where the rest of the Gale Clan members had stopped, and then four of them vanished, the last one turning to look at him, her pink eyes slightly odd to his heightened sight. His anger started to fade as soon as he looked at her eyes and an odd feeling began to spread from his groin to the rest of his body. For some reason, he wanted the woman to like him, and that didn¡¯t make sense. With the power attack charged up on the end of his spear, he stabbed his own left thigh, trusting in his Troll Heart racial ability to passively heal him, and the feeling faded, allowing him to look away from her eyes. Then he rushed the woman, fighting through the pain, and stabbed her, his spear passing right through her illusionary body. Due to his confusion, he¡¯d failed to use Kinetic Senses, and he quickly activated the skill, looking around at everyone. Wherever he looked, however, he felt that same feeling, and he had to stab himself again. ¡°Everyone, kill yourselves.¡± The voice came from behind him and Isaiah whirled around to see the woman standing about five meters from him, looking directly at his eyes. The effect felt stronger than before, even though he knew the woman in front of him wasn¡¯t real, and he had to stab himself once again to shake himself out of it. He quickly turned back to see all the Gale Clan members falling and the woman running away again, leading to an almost instant realization. The effect was stronger because the woman had leveled up from killing all the Gale Clan members. Isaiah tried to chase her, but every time he looked near her, even while her head was turned, he felt the effect. It wasn¡¯t as strong as when he looked into the eyes of one of her clones, but it was overpowering and required quite a bit of pain to shake off. It was then Isaiah had an idea. He closed his eyes and focused on following her with his ears. It slowed him considerably, but he didn¡¯t feel the effect and managed to chase her. Then he heard a different noise, however, and almost immediately something felt wrong. He opened his eyes to look and saw his spear, the spear Varick had given him, had been cut in half, the upper half having dropped to the ground. When the charm skill stopped working, the woman had used telekinesis again and, while he had his eyes closed and was adjusting, she¡¯d sent a sword to attack his spear. It was one of the same two swords she¡¯d used to kill Gale Clan members while trying to frame him last time, and the other one, the larger of the two, hit him in the chest while he was distracted. She¡¯d apparently recovered them during her time in the Gale Clan camp, and she was using the same strategy which had allowed her to escape before. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!!!¡± Isaiah yelled, feeling more anger than ever before in his life, and, for the first time, he ignored the one thing he remembered his mom telling him when he was barely two years old, only a day or two before she killed herself. She had said, ¡°Isaiah, no matter what happens, don¡¯t give in to anger.¡± It hadn¡¯t been until puberty that he¡¯d understood what she¡¯d meant. In his blood was the power of a War Dragon and it was activated through rage. According to Varick, rage meant a loss of control, and a loss of control meant a loss of status as a warrior and a degradation into being a monster. So, his mother had wanted to keep him from becoming the type of monster his biological father had been, and she didn¡¯t think he could, which is why she¡¯d killed herself. Completely ignoring the System messages which started popping up in front of his eyes, Isaiah slowly, reverentially, moved backward and placed the lower half of his spear on the ground next to the upper half, where he could come find it again later. Then he closed his eyes and fully lost himself to his rage, chasing after his enemy. Had he looked at his system messages, however, he would have seen something other cultivators could only wish for in their dreams. Law Egg gained - Incineration Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Magic +8, Soul +4 Law Egg gained - Ravaging Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Strength +6, Agility +3, Vitality +3 Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Incineration has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Magic +8, Soul +4 Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Ravaging has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Strength +6, Agility +3, Vitality +3 Congratulations! You have self formed the skill Dragon Drive (F-Epic) Dragon Drive (F-Epic) Magic, Activation, Dragon You burn your health to destroy your enemy Chapter 71: War and the Sea Mila Mila felt sorry for Isaiah, but not to the point she¡¯d allow him to kill her, so she¡¯d done everything she could to get away. Now though, she was starting to think breaking his spear hadn¡¯t been the best idea as it seemed to have really, really pissed him off, to the point she was pretty sure he¡¯d gained new Law Eggs. After he stabbed himself a few times, she¡¯d already realized one of his racial abilities fed off his qi to allow for passive healing¡ªwhich was completely unfair¡ªand now he seemed to have developed a skill which burned his health to make him stronger and faster, completely making up for the fact he was no longer holding his weapon and thus couldn¡¯t make use of the best of his class effects, an increase to all physical stats by 25% when wielding a spear. Sure, with her Third Eye Princess uniqueness allowing for the rather amazing ability to use a weakened version of Evil Eyes - Lust through her aura, it meant Isaiah had to close his eyes if he wanted to chase her. And sure, her telekinesis and the two swords from the undead generals she¡¯d recovered from the Gale Clan camp allowed her to slow him down even if she couldn¡¯t injure him, so she didn¡¯t have to maintain her full speed just to live. But Isaiah didn¡¯t seem like he was going to stop and the look on his face was rather terrifying. She could escape if she could stay still for thirteen seconds to use the token to return to the platform in the desert, but Isaiah wasn¡¯t going to give her that chance. Slowing down ever so slightly, Mila lowered her use of telekinesis to the point she¡¯d only make use of the swords when Isaiah got within 15 meters and prepared herself for the long haul. Isaiah was burning through his qi faster than she was burning through hers and, with Aalam¡¯s help, she recovered her resources faster, so, even though he had over three times as much qi as she did, he would lose if she could drag on the time. Sadly, he soon realized this, and he slowed down to match, stopping his boosting skill and just relying on his superior speed and perception. They ran like that for several hours, running through forests and fields, and, for a while, Mila was able to increase her lead in the forests as Isaiah still had his eyes closed. But he quickly adapted. Mila didn¡¯t have anything to block the sounds she was making while running and the range at which he could correctly sense her location with his ears was further than with his eyes. Things changed, however, when, five hours after the chase started, they reached the sea. Using Telekinesis, Mila pulled herself out over the water and then down into it, moving herself further out and deeper every second. Isaiah¡¯s Storm Steps didn¡¯t work well underwater and his hearing didn¡¯t help as much as he wasn¡¯t yet accustomed to the way sound traveled through liquids. He also couldn¡¯t stay under as long as Mila as he didn¡¯t have a healing-based Law and, as his race didn¡¯t run on soul energy, he required more oxygen. This allowed Mila to slip away even without teleporting to the platform, and, as she¡¯d planned before Isaiah started chasing her, she moved south. Then, roughly seven hours later, when the time limit for a member of the Gale Clan to retake their Pillar of Conquest had passed, she got her reward. Destroy the Invasion IV (F-Epic) Completed! Personal completion percentage: 100% There were no escapees among the invasion¡¯s forces. You solo-killed the leader of the invasion. You solo-killed one of the generals of the invasion. Calculating. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Rewards: All stats +8 Three choices of F rank skill orbs up to Epic grade One choice of F rank skill orb up to Rare grade Three choices of F rank artifacts up to Epic grade One choice of F rank artifact up to Rare grade Mila hadn¡¯t received any System notifications about killing people after teleporting away as the System wasn¡¯t unfair enough to give her information she would otherwise not have access to, but, as Nana Xara had told her, the kills still counted toward her quest completion. Judging by the contents of the quest, however, Mila hadn¡¯t killed Ava Gale, so it was possible the woman was still alive. Putting that to the side, however, Mila quickly went into the System lists and chose her rewards. She¡¯d gathered quite a few spatial storage artifacts inside the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace and, even though she currently didn¡¯t have access to those, she¡¯d stolen a bag of holding about the size of those she¡¯d seen in the tutorial from the man left in charge of the Gale Clan camp, along with a belt to hang it on, so she didn¡¯t waste any of her picks on another storage artifact, even if that meant she couldn¡¯t choose another teleportation platform. Instead, for the Epic artifacts, she went with the materials she knew Aalam would want, a Contained Space Essence, a Contained Death Essence, and a Contained Darkness Essence. Then, for the Rare artifact, she chose something which could prove useful for herself, a Ring of Defense. Every three standard days it could protect her from one attack and, had she had it before, she wouldn¡¯t have lost her arm. For the skills, the Rare skill was simple, one of the two skills required for skill fusion to form Spacetime Sensing (F-Legendary) along with the Spatial Sense (F-Epic) and Temporal Sense (F-Epic) skill orbs still in the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace, Mana Sense (F-Rare). Then, for the Epic grade skills, she took Spherical Vision (F-Epic), Mental Spike (F-Epic), and Mental Influence Field (F-Epic), which, when mastered, could be combined into Psychic Domain (F-Legendary). Putting the contained essences and skill orbs in her bag of holding, she then moved south. It took three days, but she successfully arrived at the location of the Quill clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest and it didn¡¯t take her long to figure out what had happened. She just found a hunting party, killed half of it, and then charmed and enslaved the other two. The force of the Quill Clan, along with more than half of the forces of the Vol Clan and the Amoranth Royal Family had ambushed the forces of the Kingdom of Night and completely wiped out almost all of them. They¡¯d lost their leadership in turn, however, with only Prince Tomin Amoranth surviving, and someone who sounded like Ava Gale was taken as a prisoner. Her two new slaves didn¡¯t know about what had happened to the artifacts of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s leaders, however, so she just took their money and cut off their heads when they weren¡¯t looking. Moving quickly, she then ambushed twelve other hunting parties, enslaving everyone she could for information and killing them afterwards. She didn¡¯t get any more leads on the Left Hand of the Runescribe, but she did get a good sense of the current positions of the forces of the Amoranth Kingdom. Most of the forces who had ambushed the Kingdom of Night¡¯s alliance had moved with Prince Tomin toward the Pillar of Conquest of the Flare Clan, which was relatively nearby, but, having to give time for the soldiers to recover from injuries sustained in the battle, they¡¯d only left half a day before. In the Quill clan camp, there were several thousand injured soldiers and only 634 healthy cultivators to look after them, of which she had already killed 52. And most of those six hundred were crafters or healers. Then, killing the last hunting party she could find, Mila settled on a plan. She used Trickster¡¯s Guise to take on the distinctive traits of a Quill Clan member, reddish skin, a slightly larger nose, black hair, and nearly black eyes. Then she dipped her recovering left arm in blood and dirt and staggered into the Quill Clan. ¡°There¡¯s someone hunting us in the woods.¡± It was the same thing she¡¯d done in the Gale Clan. With the fear generated by seeing her injuries and faking her condition with her Law Larva of the Healer, she was able to distract the Quill Clan members from even thinking about her identity. Then they brought her into a makeshift hospital tent with noise cancelling functions and the leader of the Quill Clan forces still around their pillar came to see her along with five other people. Using Telekinesis and the weapons of the undead generals, she quickly killed the five people with him and, using Evil Eyes - Lust, she made him her slave. ¡°Where are the artifacts of the leaders of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s forces? Tell me now.¡± Not wanting his soul to burn, the man answered. ¡°They should be with Prince Tomin, inside his storage ring.¡± ¡°Alright then. Thank you.¡± Mila used Telekinesis to snap the man¡¯s neck. Then she activated Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers to create four clones and used her Law Egg of Obfuscation to make them functionally invisible to those without the right kind of detection skills. One of the five to come in with the middle aged man she¡¯d just killed had been the only known holder of a contract breaking skill in the camp, so she and her clones quickly moved around the camp, charming and enslaving everyone they met who was healthy enough to move on their own. It took a couple hours, but she pretty soon had about a thousand people under her and she ordered all of them to form a large group and follow Prince Tomin¡¯s forces. She heavily implied she would be using them to attack, and this gave them hope someone in Prince Tomin¡¯s force would be able to save them, so they complied. The main reason for the order, though, was just to get them out of the way. With five Mental Forges instead of the normal one, both her and Aalam¡¯s psyforce regeneration rates were very fast, and Evil Eyes - Lust could use qi or mana as well, albeit with more of the resource type needed for the same effect, but still, Mila was exhausted after charming so many people. So, with them gone, Mila took a couple hours to kill all the invalids still in the camp the old fashioned way, by stabbing them in the throat with a spear, and then she quite quickly caught up with the force she¡¯d sent out, as they were moving as a slow group, and ordered them all to kill themselves, gaining most of their primal energy when they failed to comply. Chapter 72: The Start of the Long Game Mila Mila took a quick break and thought about whether what she was doing was right. Acting on her own internal wartime rules, she¡¯d slaughtered a few thousand cultivators during the last several days, and it seemed like a good idea to quickly evaluate if she¡¯d gone too far. Her main goal was to get Aalam back to Earth to see his sister and, to do that, she needed a native to take over the planet so he could give them an access token to the Trial Tower, the only place she and Aalam could get a reward which would allow them to return home. Roland was the best choice to be that native leader, especially from a moral point of view, so she didn¡¯t feel any problems with that. The main issue was the invading cultivators wouldn¡¯t just sit by and allow Roland to take over, even if she squashed them all and took away their ability to return home. All the invasion forces she¡¯d seen so far had also killed off the native cultivators, so they had chosen war over peaceful occupation. Maybe things would be different if the inheritance didn¡¯t exist, but it very much seemed the invasion forces were going for a scorched earth policy and Mila, as someone on the side of the natives, couldn¡¯t allow the dangerous variables that were the invasion force cultivators to stay alive. It was dark, and it was messy, but that was war. Maybe things would be different if invasion force cultivators were still alive after the war was won. Mila debated for a bit whether to claim the Quill Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest. If what she assumed was correct, she¡¯d gain Legendary grade rewards from that action, but there were downsides as well. She was pretty sure that, at least until the Kingdom of Night¡¯s forces were completely wiped out, the Amoranth Kingdom would follow the same strategy the Kingdom of Night had, blocking all the remaining Pillars of Conquest with Spacetime Sealing Scrolls, at least those not their own. Having the Gale Clan¡¯s pillar taken over by a native would be shocking, but no one would link Silveea Night¡¯s subordinate with the action unless they talked to Isaiah. If she were to do the same to the Quill Clan, however, that link would automatically enter into people¡¯s minds. Due to her continued identity as Aalam¡¯s chamberlain, the pillar she¡¯d claimed from the Gale Clan had the area around it automatically claimed as part of the Territory of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and Mila would much rather knowledge of that System generated title not leave Hira if she could help it. Mila came to the conclusion claiming the pillar with the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s main army less than a day away would be a bad idea, so she decided to wait. The skills and artifacts she wanted the most wouldn¡¯t be much help with what she needed to do in the short term, and she still had months in which to claim the rewards. ¡°Nana Xara, do you know the rules concerning the use of soul contracted slaves to kill people, specifically in relation to the gain of primal energy and the advancement of the Hunter of Sentients boon?¡± Mila asked as she started moving at speed to catch up to the army. ¡°Ooh. Interesting.¡± Nana Xara sounded like she was smiling. ¡°If you get someone else to kill for you, so long as they make the decision, all the primal energy gained would go to them, so you can¡¯t use a loophole there with your current abilities. For the Hunter of Sentients boon, however, things can be different. It¡¯s how monsters like Brood Mothers advance their title. ¡°You would have to form a different type of contract, though, making them effectively half slaves, half familiars, and they couldn¡¯t have a noble skill like Roland. But, on a world with low restrictions like Hira and given the strength of your contracts, the range would be quite large, about 289 kilometers, and each kill they perform would be worth about 75% of if you had killed them yourself. ¡°If you try to advance Aalam¡¯s title instead, however, the range would be quite a bit longer given his Soul Lord skill and the strengthening provided to it by the effects of his class, increasing to around 13,847 kilometers.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mila felt herself start to grin in a way that certainly wasn¡¯t healthy. ¡°I have a plan then.¡± * * * If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. It took Mila only a few hours to catch up to the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s forces, as they were moving as a large group, and, through continuing with her disguise as a member of the Quill Clan, it was pretty easy to just walk in, even with her left forearm still missing. By listening in on a few conversations during the march, it wasn¡¯t difficult to learn what the army¡¯s plan was. They were going to crush the Flare Clan. Then they would move on to the Gale Clan¡¯s pillar and crush everyone there. Finally, they would move to the pillar of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s royal family and crush their remaining forces as well. Even with most of their leaders dead, they were supremely confident in the power of Prince Tomin, and, in Mila¡¯s mind, that pride was rightfully placed. She¡¯d only interacted with the man for 12 seconds, but he scared her. Like Isaiah Gale, he was significantly faster than her, but, in several ways, he was even more dangerous. From his fighting style, it was obvious he followed one of the two main paths of the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s royal family, the path of the mana blade, and she¡¯d learned from Silveea there were three different variations of that path for F rank cultivators. Given his speed, the way he attacked her as soon as she pulled out the grenades, and how he¡¯d escaped from the tent before the actual blast, however, it was obvious which variation he followed. His class was the Rare grade Peril Sword, a class that required the Legendary grade skill Danger Sense to learn, and that skill worked like Spider-Man¡¯s Peter Tingle. She wasn¡¯t positive what his other skills were, as he hadn¡¯t used them, but that one Legendary grade skill meant it was nearly impossible for her to ambush him, and Mila¡¯s build was not designed for fair fights. Her goal for the next several days as the army moved toward the location of the Flare Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest was thus simple. She would reduce the power of the army while gaining benefits for herself, and she would try to steal Prince Tomin¡¯s storage ring, which most likely had the Left Hand of the Runescribe inside, if she found a chance. To that end, the first thing she did was wait for nightfall. Then she sent four doppelg?ngers, hidden from normal senses by her use of her Law Egg of Obfuscation and from most detection skills which could penetrate her Law Egg by not having any mass, into the private tents of four of the alliance¡¯s most powerful warriors, deliberately avoiding any mages or psychics. None of the four occupants of the tents were asleep yet, but they all met her doppelg?ngers¡¯ eyes, fell under the effects of Evil Eyes - Lust, and quickly agreed to a slave contract. Terms:
  1. You waive your rights to your freedom and enter into a slave master relationship with the master of the initiator of this contract
  2. As a slave, you may not reveal any secrets about the initiator of this contract or your new master to anyone for any reason
  3. As a slave, you may not take any actions with the intention to harm the initiator of this contract or your new master
  4. As a slave, you must follow all the orders of the initiator of this contract or her master
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No As a master slave relationship was by no means balanced, especially the type Mila had designed, the rate of the soul burning death if they tried to violate the contract would be almost instantaneous, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to reveal Aalam¡¯s System generated title of Heavenly Spark Soul King, otherwise Mila wouldn¡¯t have taken the risk. ¡°Your orders are simple,¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?ngers all said once the effects of Evil Eyes - Lust wore off. ¡°Every day from now on, you have to secretly kill one cultivator from the forces of the Quill Clan, the Vol Clan, or the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s royal family. If you are found out, you must either kill everyone who learned of your actions within one hour, or kill yourself.¡± She then performed the same actions thirty-three more times, until Aalam had a total of 136 murdering slaves, the max number of slaves he could have given his soul stat while already having Roland and her as a servant, and she also slightly modified Aalam¡¯s bond with Roland so he could gain credit for Roland¡¯s kills as well. During the process, three individuals noticed her doppelg?ngers moving about the camp, but she snapped their necks while infusing Telekinesis with her Law Larva of The Reaper, leaving no karmic trails which could be tracked to her. And this time she wasn¡¯t worried about contract breakers in the army. Her contracts made use of a Legendary grade contract skill empowered by a Legendary grade racial ability and a Legendary grade class effect while, after leveling up several times, her base Soul stat was over 1,000. She doubted anyone on the planet could break her normal contracts, and these weren¡¯t normal. These 136 cultivators were enslaved by Aalam, and he had a Heroic grade noble skill empowered even further than her contract skill. Very, very few F ranks in the entire universe could break a slave contract created by her with Aalam as the master, let alone anyone on Hira. It was completely different from when she made the unanchored contracts she usually preferred. Mila then acted like she was a scout heading out and quietly left the army, moving toward the Flare Clan, hoping to kill the last two generals herself before the forces of the Amoranth Kingdom arrived. Given what she¡¯d learned of Prince Tomin¡¯s personality, she was no longer worried about the Left Hand of the Runescribe being sent back before Tomin himself left Hira, so she could afford to play a longer game, and, from a couple discreet questions to those she¡¯d enslaved, she¡¯d learned Tomin planned to block travel through all the world¡¯s Pillars of Conquest using Spacetime Sealing Scrolls until after the opening of the inheritance, so she didn¡¯t have to worry about any of the invaders escaping either. When she was half way to the Flare Clan¡¯s base, however, she felt a change in the strongest of her bonds connecting her to the center of the continent, and she stopped in place. Something had changed with Aalam. Chapter 73: Awake Aalam Aalam woke to the sound of thunder, a storm occurring outside the mountain holding the soul well, but he didn¡¯t open his eyes. With his Void Sense skill he could tell someone was sitting in the hallway, and, with a quick check of his bond with Mila, he confirmed it was her. He really didn¡¯t want to talk to her, however, so he decided to delay, taking a while to take stock of his situation. First, it was very unlikely he was dreaming. While many of his dreams had involved fantasy elements, none had ever had him falling asleep only to wake up in the same situation, so it seemed the world really did work like a litrpg and he was now an incubus. All things considered, minus the death and danger, that was pretty cool. Second, Diana¡¯s illness had almost certainly been caused by the rising mana on Earth. Given the high grade of his two uniquenesses, Diana¡¯s first uniqueness had likely been a powerful one and, if it greatly boosted Endurance, Magic, or Spirit and her relevant soulstructure was Colossal in size, it could cause a resource overrun effect, her symptoms especially similar to mana overrun. This was of course taking as a postulate that all the information the Yin Yang Sage had given him was accurate, but so far everything he¡¯d been able to confirm had been, so, at least until a new source of information presented itself which caused a contradiction, it seemed reasonable to take everything from the Yin Yang Sage at face value. This meant, as long as she hadn¡¯t been killed due to the danger of an apocalypse style integration, Diana would still be alive. And that made Aalam start to smile. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Bonds has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +4, Soul +12 Third, he was effectively a psychic Bruce Banner and he needed to figure out how to deal with his Hulk side. Were it not for Mila, he would have died two or three times just from being an idiot. Fourth, he¡¯d killed several hundred people during the tutorial, real life humans from Earth. Granted, like him, they¡¯d already died, so, technically, he¡¯d just stopped them from being revived as monsters, but that didn¡¯t make things any better. Those he¡¯d killed in the Capitol building, however, would also have been revived, so in total he¡¯d killed quite a few less people than he¡¯d thought. Thinking about it a bit more, of the people he¡¯d killed in the tutorial, all but maybe seven or fewer would have died anyway, so he could lower the weight on his soul. He just had to not commit mass murder again in the future. Fifth, he was now more intricately linked with Mila than ever before, even back when they¡¯d been alive and living together, and that made him feel sick. He¡¯d been able to close off the emotion transfer aspect of their bond already, but she would have been able to see the System message showing the advancement of his Law Egg of Bonds, so she likely already knew he was awake. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Pause has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +24, Soul +24 Unconsciously, he raised another Law Egg to peak grade and, in his mind, he cursed, as his Void Sense skill already showed Mila moving toward the soul well. Then, while he still had time, Aalam checked his status. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 1 Race: Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic) Bloodline: Genetic Thief (Mythic) Abilities Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) Soul Collector (Epic) Class 1: Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord (F-Heroic) Skills Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) 3% mastered Runescriber (F-Heroic) 5% mastered Soul Lord (F-Heroic) 3% mastered Telekinesis (F-Heroic) 4% mastered Class 2: Void Sage (F-Legendary) Skills Void Sense (F-Legendary) 2% mastered Laws Law Eggs: Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Molecular Acceleration - Peak Plasma - Peak Rage - High Molecular Deceleration - Peak Liquid - Peak Calm - High Inertia - Peak Solid - Peak Gravity - High Gust - High Gas - Peak Kinetic Energy - Peak Ionization - High Fission - High Fusion - Peak Ionic Conductivity - High Matter - Peak Antimatter - High Ultraviolet - High Infrared - High Energy Transfer - Peak Ultraviolet Absorption - High Infrared Absorption - High Energy Storage - Peak Bacteria - High Order - Peak Bonds - Peak Asphyxiation - High Entropy - Peak Severing - High Vacuum - High 3 Dimensional Geometry - High Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Peak Soulform Temporal Acceleration - High Temporal Relativity - Peak Pause - Peak Stats Strength: 260 (+11.25%) Agility: 268 (+11.25%) Endurance: 288 (+11.25%) Toughness: 268 (+11.25%) Vitality: 288 (+11.25%) Perception: 270 (+11.25%) Magic: 281 (+11.25%) Spirit: 340 (+1111.25%) Soul: 1600 (+23.75%) Aura: 266 (+56.25%) Attunement: 264 (+68.75%) Luck: 180 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Small Mental Forges Unique: 1 Small Soul Storage Uniqueness: Id Prince Territory: Lord Unnamed Overlord New Raphaiya (Lord: Roland Raphaiya) Boons: Hunter of Sentients X: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 5% The strength of his soul had almost doubled since he¡¯d fallen unconscious, his rate of absorption of the energy from the soul well meaning he¡¯d likely been out for around 78 days, yet Mila had taken care of him all that time, finding him lust filled souls. The other odd thing about his status was his Hunter of Sentients boon. A boon of level 10 usually required killing 512 people of your own rank, yet he¡¯d only killed that one beastman. He quickly tried to figure out what was going on and then he noticed he had 82 slaves he¡¯d never formed a bond with himself and they were all to the west. His Territory had also increased in size, his Prince uniqueness providing him with four times as many bonus stats as before. It was still nothing compared to the maximum the uniqueness could provide, but it seemed Mila had been busy. Then, as his Void Sense and hearing picked up Mila was just at the entrance to the soul well, he quickly checked her status as well. Name: Li Mila Level: 7 Race: Strong Soul Succubus Princess (F-Epic) Bloodline: Prime Servitor (Mythic) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Legendary) Master of Disguise (Heroic) Class 1: Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) Skills Artifact Enhancement (F-Legendary) 34% mastered Devil¡¯s Contract (F-Legendary) 31% mastered Trickster¡¯s Guise (F-Legendary) 37% mastered Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers (F-Legendary) 16% mastered Class 2: Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) Skills Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) 39% mastered Life Death Detection (F-Legendary) 27% mastered Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) [shadow] Telekinesis (F-Heroic) [shadow] Runescriber (F-Heroic) [shadow] Laws Law Larvae: The Healer - Early The Reaper - Early Law Eggs: Obfuscation - Peak Hologram - Peak Calm - Peak The Tactician - High Rage - Peak The Courtesan - High Stats Strength: 303 (+13.75%) Agility: 333 (+13.75%) Endurance: 331 (+13.75%) Toughness: 303 (+13.75%) Vitality: 317 (+13.75%) Perception: 368 (+113.75%) Magic: 440 (+13.75%) Spirit: 562 (+13.75%) Soul: 1070 (+26.25%) Aura: 192 (+156.25%) Attunement: 185 (+68.75%) Luck: 164 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Small Mental Forges Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Third Eye Princess Assets: 3 D rank universal credits 1186 E rank universal credits 123,782 F rank universal credits 26 D rank undead credits 27,894 E rank undead credits 37,766,349 F rank undead credits Boons: Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%. Hunter of Sentients XV: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 7.5% She¡¯d apparently been killing a lot of people, which wasn¡¯t surprising. She was a psychopathic assassin after all, and he¡¯d given her quite a lot of power. She must have been having a lot of fun. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Asphyxiation has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Strength +8, Endurance +8, Toughness +8, Vitality +24 Just like when he¡¯d first seen her in the tutorial, his mind went to strangling her, and that caused an epiphany. He wouldn¡¯t actually do so, however, and he¡¯d already punched her in the face once during the tutorial. Physically, that was more than he was comfortable with. Emotionally and psychologically, however, he kind of wanted to break her. Aalam started chuckling to himself as he got up from the bed she¡¯d apparently made for him and changed into a cross legged position, his body facing the entrance to the soul well, but he didn¡¯t yet open his eyes. ¡°Hello, Aalam.¡± Mila¡¯s voice sounded nervous, but that was obviously an affected performance. She could fake pretending to love him for six years, so she could fake anything, and her control over her aura was better, so no supernatural senses would allow him to see through her lies. There was something strange about her through his Void Sense skill, though. In exchange for its high range and ability to sense through almost all forms of obstruction, the skill didn¡¯t have very good resolution, but Mila¡¯s left hand seemed to be missing. Aalam opened his eyes and what he saw made him feel a whole host of emotions. Even after changing race, Mila didn¡¯t look much different. Maybe her breasts were a bit bigger, but it¡¯s not like they¡¯d ever been what people would focus on when it came to her appearance, and, given the race change to succubus or incubus would have someone changing to what they considered ideal beauty, the sheer level of vanity on display was staggering. Her left hand was completely missing, and half of her forearm was raw, looking like it had recently regrown, which it likely had. His first reaction on noticing this was a desire to run up and hug her, but he quickly squashed that down and instead focused on the fact his own left hand was bare. She had taken his artifact. And then she had lost it. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Rage has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +32, Soul +16 ¡°Ms. Li, what did you do with my artifact?¡± Chapter 74: Confession Mila Mila didn¡¯t know how she expected her first interaction with Aalam to go after he dropped out of his Id state, but she hadn¡¯t thought his first response on seeing her injury would be to get angry about her losing his artifact. Sure, she knew he¡¯d put a lot of effort into the Left Hand of the Runescribe, but they¡¯d lived together for five years. He should have at least some sense of empathy after seeing her hurt, yet his powerful aura was completely stable. And he¡¯d never called her Ms. Li before, not once. ¡°My arm was cut off by the leader of one of the invasion forces, the prince of the Amoranth Kingdom. And he has the Left Hand of the Runescribe now.¡± Mila felt defensive, and she didn¡¯t try to hide it, but there was no reaction from Aalam. ¡°I did manage to kill 4 leaders and 11 generals during the process of my escape, however. And this is on top of killing 4 leaders and 8 generals of other forces earlier.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Aalam looked at her and she couldn¡¯t read the nuances of his emotions at all, as he seemed to be deliberately keeping his face and aura passive. She could just tell he was angry. ¡°You¡¯ve killed a lot of people. And you¡¯ve apparently now enslaved quite a few to kill in my name as well. Your new form really suits you better.¡± ¡°New form?¡± Mila knew getting angry wasn¡¯t going to help the situation, but she¡¯d never actually had a fight with Aalam before as she¡¯d always used manipulation to avoid them, and her control over her emotions was nowhere close to what it usually was. ¡°From what I read, you were always a bit of a harlot and you seemed to like killing people. Now you¡¯re in a body designed for both. You must be so happy.¡± ¡°I was never a harlot, prostitute, or any other word for sex worker.¡± It was completely the wrong thing to focus on and Mila knew it. Aalam barely cared about that part. It was much more the lying and, to a slightly lesser extent, the killing, but it was the part she felt the most guilty about. Aalam raised one eyebrow. ¡°You slept with men for money. Sure, the men weren¡¯t the ones who paid you, and, sure, you sometimes killed them. But you didn¡¯t film the acts. So, technically, Mila, you were.¡± He continued to glare at her and his aura fluctuated with a different type of power as he advanced yet another Law in his anger, this time the Law Egg of Severing, which told Mila a lot about how he felt about their relationship. ¡°We also never actually broke up, yet you slept with a Russian oligarch.¡± ¡°If you agree we never actually broke up, then let¡¯s not.¡± Mila knew she was setting herself up to be hurt, but she continued anyway. ¡°I don¡¯t want to break up.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aalam¡¯s strong aura started going through all sorts of changes, showing his emotions as chaotic, and his face showed confusion. ¡°We were good together. I don¡¯t think we should break up.¡± Aalam¡¯s aura and face settled back on anger. ¡°You lied to me our entire relationship.¡± ¡°Technically, I never once lied to you.¡± It was true. She¡¯d been spying on him the entire time, but Aalam was pretty easy to manipulate once you understood how he functioned and she¡¯d been using her real identity the entire time, so it had been pretty easy to avoid any topics which would have revealed anything about her mission. She could see the wheels turning in Aalam¡¯s mind, and he wasn¡¯t able to find anything, which was only making him more frustrated. ¡°You said Henry Cavill was the best Superman.¡± ¡°Okay. I change my position.¡± Mila sighed. ¡°I never lied to you without making it absolutely obvious. I rescind my joke from four years ago. Zack Snyder¡¯s version of Superman was the worst.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°You spied on me and sent all my data to the Chinese government since before we got together.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you were the perfect boyfriend. There were multiple major incidents where you were at fault as well.¡± It wasn¡¯t the right thing to say, but, for this conversation, Mila was trying to squash that part of her which always overanalyzed social situations to find the best thing to do, and she was making some really dumb mistakes as a result. For example, when Aalam just glared at her, she started listing the bad things he¡¯d done. ¡°First, there was that time you came with me to the retirement party for one of my colleagues. Everyone thought I was single for months.¡± Aalam had done a very Aalam thing and forgotten to give full context to what he was saying in several conversations that night. And the result was many of the other teachers getting confused and thinking he was just her friend and that she was single. Mila¡¯s best guess was he¡¯d started talking about Diana at some point, who was single at the time, without giving the relevant context to those he was talking to that he was no longer talking about her, and for some reason he¡¯d also been trying to find Diana a date, even though Diana would have been extremely against the idea. The result was multiple male teachers trying to flirt with her, seemingly encouraged into the act by her own boyfriend. ¡°There was also the time you broke off your contract with Yamato Technologies without telling anyone, even Diana. I had to effectively blackmail their CEO so you wouldn¡¯t go bankrupt.¡± Diana had been a lawyer specializing in patent and contract law and her main client had been Aalam. She was very good at her job, but when Aalam had decided to work full time on researching the plagues starting to go around the world and dropped his neuro-electronic interface work, he hadn¡¯t told Diana and then accidentally verbally broke his contract with the people funding him. Diana had been so pissed off she¡¯d spent almost an hour shouting at him, and Mila had felt the need to step up. She¡¯d called into work for a leave of absence and then gotten on a plane to Japan that very night, conned her way into a meeting with Yamato Technologies¡¯ CEO the next day, and then calmly explained the kind of work Aalam would be changing to and how very, very bad the PR would be if they did anything to stop him. Yamato Technologies decided to alter their contract with Aalam and Mila had been Diana¡¯s favorite person for a good three months after that. ¡°Then there was that time you confused my friend when you literally told her ¡®I love you¡¯.¡± That incident had been interesting. One of the main reasons it had taken a year for a relationship to start between herself and Aalam was she¡¯d really not wanted to be the first person Aalam ever dated and especially not the first person he¡¯d ever slept with. She was afraid if that was the case she¡¯d always be compared with the ideal girlfriend in Aalam¡¯s head rather than a true person, and that would cause small cracks in the relationship. Getting him to date anyone else, however, had proven a lesson in futility, and she effectively friend-zoned herself. So, eventually, she just gave in, took off her clothes, and jumped him. The potential issue of him comparing her to his ideal girlfriend instead of a real person, however, didn¡¯t go away. So, when her two college roommates were going to move away from Boston, she invited them over and manipulated one of her friends into suggesting a foursome. It had been actually quite nice for her, but Aalam hadn¡¯t enjoyed himself anywhere close to what he¡¯d expected at the start, which was exactly what she¡¯d thought would happen. It was only when her friends were about to leave, however, that Mila told Aalam about the gift one of them had given to them earlier in the night, an old and hard to find video game with excellent couch co-op, and he¡¯d hugged her as she left and said ¡®I love you.¡¯ It hadn¡¯t actually taken that much work to get her friend to understand he¡¯d just been really happy about the video game, but it had opened up an avenue for both friends to tease her for the next few years, so it had been quite annoying. ¡°Those don¡¯t seem that major in comparison.¡± ¡°Of course not. There is a reason I¡¯m the one begging not to be dumped right now.¡± Aalam¡¯s glare lessened as he seemed even more confused than before, and his aura became chaotic, so Mila decided to just say it. ¡°I love you, Aalam. And I would like to spend the rest of my life with you.¡± Congratulations! Your Law Egg of The Courtesan has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +4, Soul +12 Confessing like that had given her an epiphany, and she hadn¡¯t been in the right state of mind to suppress it. Aalam¡¯s aura hardened and his expression became cold, both for very obvious reasons, and Mila decided to just give up. The stupid universe had screwed her and nothing she said would make Aalam think she hadn¡¯t been lying the entire time. ¡°You know what, never mind. Let¡¯s just work together and get you back to Earth to see Diana. Then we can talk about other things after.¡± Chapter 75: Plan to Get Back to Earth Aalam Aalam was angry and very, very confused. This wasn¡¯t exactly a rare situation for him. Confusion in general made him angry, as he hated not knowing what to do. And social interactions were often confusing. Sure, he¡¯d been getting better at them over the years before his death, but the main reason for that was Mila putting things in the right context, and now she was the problem. The strategy he¡¯d found best for understanding human interactions was to look at what a person wanted. If he could figure that out, every action of that person from then on usually made sense, at least until what they wanted changed. Running various models in his head, however, the two wants that made Mila¡¯s actions make the most sense were one, that she actually did love him and wanted what was best for him, or, more likely, two, that she wanted the type of power which, in this new world which functioned as a litrpg, seemingly only he could give. The problem was, better than anyone, Mila knew how he thought, while he didn¡¯t know her at all, so he couldn¡¯t trust his judgement. Given he wasn¡¯t completely missing something, however, and what she wanted was one of the two cases which made the most sense, she would at least need him alive and to grow more powerful, so it was probably best to work with her. ¡°You mentioned Diana just now. Do you know if she¡¯s still alive?¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine.¡± Mila was speaking a little faster than normal, which was odd, and it could mean several things, but Aalam ignored the part of him he¡¯d trained up to try and actively interpret such signals, as it was entirely pointless given who he was talking to. He¡¯d been starting to believe her when she was confessing before, yet it had obviously been a lie, so it was better to just ignore the parts of their conversation he couldn¡¯t understand and focus on what he could, just the words. ¡°She¡¯s Nana Xara¡¯s other apprentice, so I¡¯ve been getting several pieces of information about her.¡± Aalam nodded. It made sense given what he¡¯d assumed as Diana had probably had a stronger start than either he or Mila, and she hadn¡¯t had to take care of an insane person. ¡°She¡¯s apparently in a love triangle with two men,¡± Mila continued, causing Aalam to get slightly more confused. ¡°As a result, she¡¯s apparently more fun to watch than you and me. Oh, and those two Legendary grade skills we gave to Nana Xara were for Diana, so she¡¯s a yin yang summoner of some kind.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a way to get back to Earth?¡± Aalam decided to ignore all the weird details Mila was giving and instead just focus on what was important. ¡°A possibility.¡± Mila¡¯s aura seemed to calm down slightly as she sat down crosslegged on the floor just outside the entrance to the soul well. ¡°If we defeat all the invasion forces and make Roland the leader of this planet, he¡¯ll get a token to participate in the next instance of the F Rank Trial Tower. We can then use that token to instead participate in the trial ourselves. If we do well enough, there is the possibility of rewards which will allow us to get there even during the integration.¡± Aalam narrowed his eyes, going over what he¡¯d learned about the F Rank Trial Tower from the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s information boon. If the information he had was correct, there were four major problems with what Mila had just said. First, a Trial Tower token would normally only allow one person to enter, not two. Second, a Trial Tower token was useless to them, as they were both monsters and wouldn¡¯t be able to use it. Third, such a token wouldn¡¯t work even if they weren¡¯t monsters, as the user would have to have at least some contribution to getting rid of the invasion forces, which they couldn¡¯t get as non-natives. And, fourth, even if they were somehow able to undergo the test of the Trial Tower, there were no rewards in his knowledge set which would allow them access to a System hidden world undergoing an apocalypse style integration. Some of these problems he could think of solutions for, but not all of them. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Why are you lying to me?¡± Aalam almost growled the question. ¡°Oh.¡± Mila seemed to realize something and she quickly reached down to her waist, took off a bag of holding from her belt, and tossed it to him. ¡°With Nana Xara¡¯s instruction and my second uniqueness, I was able to fake myself as a native. The proof is in there, the rewards I received for ending one of the invasions, though I missed two of the generals. ¡°As someone recognized as a native by the System, I can also take you as a familiar, which would end the quest to kill you and allow you to accompany me into the Trial Tower.¡± So that was her play, trick him into accepting the role of a familiar while keeping their master servant relationship. She¡¯d still be able to benefit from her second class and any run over nascent energy, but if she altered the familiar contract enough with her Devil¡¯s Contract skill, she could force him to do anything she wanted. Seeing his reaction, the crafty woman acted like she¡¯d just realized this and quickly clarified. ¡°But you don¡¯t trust me at all right now, so such a contract is very much not something you would accept.¡± She acted like she was thinking for a few seconds. Then she said something surprisingly reasonable. ¡°Nana Xara has told me about the insane skill merge she thinks you are planning, and one of the possible merge combinations for one of the Legendary grade component skills you need, Noble¡¯s Senses, uses the Rare grade contract skill Lord¡¯s Binding. I can get that for you and the other skills required for merging together Noble¡¯s Senses from the Epic and Rare grade rewards for shutting down other invasions. Then you can create the familiar contract yourself. ¡°Given the effects of your class and the fact the skill has the Noble category, the strength of the bond will still be quite strong, but you should be able to break it if your Law Egg of Severing advances into a Law Larva, as the skill is only Rare grade.¡± Aalam couldn¡¯t see anything wrong with her logic, and he knew her abilities. Technically, she could make him unable to see her true information through their bond, but she¡¯d lose her second class if she did, so it was unlikely. Instead, she probably wanted the rewards which would come from being able to bring him into the Trial Tower with her. ¡°There are no rewards from the tower I know of which would allow someone to enter into a System hidden world undergoing an apocalypse style integration.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Mila acted like she was honestly confused about that. ¡°Nana Xara said there were, but I didn¡¯t ask for specifics. My guess is it has something to do with Diana being there and Nana Xara being able to communicate with both her and me.¡± Aalam¡¯s glare became a bit fiercer and he felt himself again grow more mistrusting. ¡°Why not just ask her?¡± Mila looked a little embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m deliberately blocking her from being able to watch us right now. She has some voyeuristic tendencies and I wanted privacy.¡± It took Aalam only a few seconds to figure out how Mila could block the Yin Yang Sage from being able to watch them over her bond and then another few seconds to figure out what type of reward from the Trial Tower would allow them to get back to Earth. If someone on Earth created a teleportation portal able to get to other planets and connected it to the System, anyone could teleport in so long as they knew the right passcode and had the right System permissions. The reward that was possible to get from the Trial Tower then was the ability to purchase those permissions, but, given they were in a completely different galaxy cluster from Earth, the boon they needed was a very rare one, requiring them to do very well in the tower. ¡°Do you trust the Yin Yang Sage?¡± Mila looked surprised by the question, and Aalam himself was somewhat surprised he was asking for the liar¡¯s opinion, but more information was always better, even if it was from an unreliable source. ¡°Mostly.¡± Mila took a second, seemingly having to think about her answer. ¡°There was a biography in the tutorial and, if it and the things Nana Xara has told me are true, she doesn¡¯t have anything she could gain from lying to us. This of course is predicated on us having accurate information about her in the first place, but, if we do, she was one of the most powerful people in the universe and then died of old age. ¡°Any enemies she had who she couldn¡¯t handle herself, we wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about until we are at least A rank, so us getting revenge for her is pretty much impossible. The only bad case I can think of is if she has some way to take over either my or Diana¡¯s bodies, but I doubt that is the case. ¡°If she had such an ability, I¡¯d think it would be something easier to do when she was at her most powerful rather than a System-bound soul. ¡°I don¡¯t know everything, however. So it is probably best not to talk about it when she can listen in.¡± ¡°Could you send Diana a message for me?¡± An odd expression crossed Mila¡¯s face, maybe guilt, but Aalam actively wasn¡¯t paying attention. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Nana Xara is cagey about anything to do with the origin or purpose of the System, and she¡¯s cagey in the same way when talking about communicating with Diana. ¡°My best guess is that no one in an apocalypse style integration is supposed to know the powerful monsters born on their world were once people. I¡¯ve been an odd case as I have the Omniglot Reader racial ability, which is apparently quite rare, but the normal situation would have just been conflict. ¡°I don¡¯t think Nana Xara can send any information about us being alive to Diana as that would break some rule of the System.¡± Chapter 76: Purpose ¡°What do you think the purpose and origin of the System are?¡± Aalam asked, seemingly getting more curious than angry upon hearing he couldn¡¯t send a message to his sister. Mila looked up at the ceiling of the soul well, contemplating just how odd the situation was. She¡¯d just confessed and had it all blow up in her face, yet now she and Aalam were talking about the mysteries of the universe. Sure, it¡¯s not like it was surprising. This was Aalam she was talking to. But it was weird. ¡°Personally, I think the purpose of the System seems to be to train up soldiers for war.¡± She looked back at Aalam. ¡°Nana Xara¡¯s biography mentioned gods invading from another dimension, several of whom she killed, and my current guess is the purpose of the System is to help train up pawns to help fight off these other dimensions. ¡°From what little information I have, gods seem to be ascended lower lifeforms like humans, so it is likely the gods of our universe have quite a few internal conflicts as well, and my guess is the System was set up by them to create a set of rules under which they allow each other to operate. ¡°They would need to make sure their internal conflicts don¡¯t damage each other to the point they can¡¯t fight off external threats, but they probably don¡¯t want too many new gods to rise up either, especially ones not under their control, so it would make sense if the System is more designed to raise up powerful A ranks than gods. ¡°Again, though, this is just a guess.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Aalam audibly sighed. ¡°Politics.¡± Mila found herself smiling. ¡°Otherwise the restrictions on things like cultivation techniques don¡¯t make sense.¡± Aalam looked up at the ceiling himself. ¡°We¡¯re just tiny little ants at the whims of a universe full of boots, aren¡¯t we?¡± Mila¡¯s smile grew a little wider. ¡°Pretty much, yeah.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Aalam closed his eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t handle politics.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Mila couldn¡¯t help but laugh slightly. ¡°That¡¯s why the insane version of you appointed a chamberlain, right?¡± One of the things she loved most about Aalam was how he so easily accepted what he wasn¡¯t good at. It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t try to shore up his weaknesses, but he had no ego about someone being better than him at anything, so he had no problem letting other people fill in where their skillsets better matched. And, in her experience, that was quite rare. Aalam opened his eyes and glared at her. ¡°But I can¡¯t trust you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Mila stopped smiling and just met his eyes, making sure not to accidentally activate Evil Eyes - Lust. ¡°Because you lied to me for the entire time I knew you,¡± Aalam almost growled. ¡°We already established I didn¡¯t.¡± Mila kept her voice and face neutral. ¡°You¡ª¡± Aalam was about to say something, but Mila cut him off. ¡°I get it, Aalam. I betrayed your trust. But let¡¯s just talk facts. And, for arguments sake, let¡¯s ignore all facts you only know through me. ¡°First, from the data you gained from China stealing from you, you should be aware I was raised by my grandfather and was never suspected of having loyalties to anyone other than him and the Chinese government. Second, Earth is undergoing an apocalypse style integration as we speak, so it is very unlikely the Chinese government will survive. As a result of these facts, where do you think my loyalties lie right now?¡± Aalam continued to glare at her, but his expression became contemplative. ¡°Just following the logic, I guess to yourself and maybe your grandfather.¡± ¡°Alright. That¡¯s not fully correct, but it¡¯s perfectly reasonable you don¡¯t believe what I said earlier, so let¡¯s just go with that. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°If that is the case, why can¡¯t you trust me?¡± Aalam sighed and looked up at the ceiling again. ¡°You¡¯re a good liar with an expertise in manipulating people, and I don¡¯t trust you because of those capabilities. Yet it is exactly those capabilities that I need. ¡°I¡¯m probably letting my emotions sway my decision making.¡± ¡°Probably. But it is extremely, extremely reasonable. I am a hundred percent at fault. When I learned you were going to figure out I¡¯d been spying on you, I should have talked with you instead of running away.¡± Aalam¡¯s glare changed to a look of derision and his aura became hard. ¡°No, Mila, that¡¯s not what you should have done. And, if what you said earlier was at all true, it¡¯s not what you would have done. ¡°If you truly cared about me, you would have told me yourself. ¡°You know how to predict the way I¡¯ll react to things better than I do, and, had you told me yourself, it wouldn¡¯t have ended our relationship. Sure, I would have been angry for a few days, and sure, I would have stopped you from continuing to steal from me. But you didn¡¯t do that, because you didn¡¯t feel that way.¡± Aalam took a deep breath, calming himself slightly. ¡°Please stop lying to me, Mila.¡± Congratulations! You have advanced your peak grade Law Egg of Obfuscation into the Law Larva of Shadow. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility +24, Perception +24, Magic +16, Spirit +16, Soul +16 Congratulations! You have advanced a Law Egg into a Law Larva. Your soul is affected by your upgrading of Law. All Stats +12 Congratulations! You are the first native cultivator on Hira to form a Law Larva. All Stats +36 Mila ignored the System notifications and instead tried to process what Aalam had just said. He was right. Had she truly cared like she thought she did, she would have told him, but she hadn¡¯t. Sure, maybe things had changed after her death, but at the time she hadn¡¯t cared enough about Aalam and had run as a result. It hadn¡¯t been because she was scared. It had been because she truly hadn¡¯t been invested enough in her relationship to risk losing the other parts of her life, the parts she¡¯d since learned were pointless. Was she maybe overly invested in her relationship with Aalam since her revival due to it being the only thing left of her previous life? Was it maybe not due to her valuing the relationship itself? Mila was about to go on a downward spiral, but she was stopped by what Aalam said next. ¡°If you stop the lying, though, I agree to continuing to work together. ¡°Please tell me what¡¯s happened since I fell into a coma. I seem to have missed a lot.¡± Mila entered all five of her minds into work mode, stopping the downward spiral before it could fully start. Then she began giving a detailed description of everything that had happened since Aalam had left his Id state. While one of her main minds focused on that, a second started analyzing everything she could have done differently, effectively using the story she was telling with one mind as a platform to train herself with another. One of her dumber minds kept Nana Xara from being able to listen in, while the other focused on maintaining her senses so no one could sneak up on her and Aalam. Finally, her last main mind tried analyzing the story she was telling through the lens of her Law Egg of The Tactician, comparing what she thought for herself with what her resonance with the Law suggested. As she continued talking, however, her main minds kept not being able to fully focus, instead thinking back to when she was dying with a bullet through her chest and the events which led her there, so she kept having to rotate which mind was talking to Aalam. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of The Tactician has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +4, Soul +12 Through thinking about it, she was able to see many things she could have done to have not died back on Earth, and those realizations were enough to push her Law Egg forward, but they weren¡¯t the main thing she was thinking about. What had gone through her mind when she¡¯d sat there dying? There was a sense of betrayal, of course, and she¡¯d mostly dealt with that by this point, but there had also been a sense of relief. She¡¯d had split loyalties throughout the last five to six years of her life. She¡¯d believed in what she was doing, in her job as a spy, but she¡¯d fallen for her mark. It wasn¡¯t enough to choose him over the loyalty which had been ingrained in her since she was old enough to talk, but it was real. Had she been just a normal young woman, she probably would have manipulated Aalam into proposing several years before he decided to do so on his own and she definitely would have said yes. In this second life, she was choosing to put him first, and that choice made her happy. At the same time, however, it wasn¡¯t just her choice to make, and she was trying to push Aalam too fast. She¡¯d betrayed him badly and, if she was being honest with herself, she didn¡¯t deserve a second chance. Aalam, however, was someone who might give her one, and she¡¯d already set the right groundwork on which to build something stable, but she couldn¡¯t push. She had to let Aalam make the decision. Most important, however, and probably the hardest for her, she had to not manipulate him into it, otherwise it couldn¡¯t be real. Mila was feeling pretty good about her resolution, but then she realized something. Nana Xara was going to love this type of development where she would have to interact with Aalam without her normal manipulative filter, and that was going to be terrible. Chapter 77: How to Proceed ¡°That Gale Clan is terrible.¡± Aalam, as was usually the case, was a good listener when interested in what someone was saying, and he¡¯d been interested in her story, so he¡¯d gotten invested. ¡°That poor ¡­ mass-murdering adult who should know better.¡± Some of the heat left his voice. Then he asked, ¡°Why should I care at all about Isaiah Gale? Sure, he¡¯s powerful and it sounds like his life has been terrible. But, given how many deaths were required for you to level up, wouldn¡¯t he need even more primal energy, and doesn¡¯t that mean he personally slaughtered a bunch of natives who never had a choice in any of this?¡± ¡°I mean, technically they were at war and he was ordered to do so.¡± Mila knew the argument wasn¡¯t great as soon as it left her mouth, even if it would have totally worked on her less than a year before. ¡°Does that make it any better?¡± This was one of the good things about talking through problems with Aalam. He could get swayed by emotions just like anyone, but usually not for very long, and this allowed him to see to the heart of issues extremely quickly. For science and engineering problems, he could usually come up with an ideal solution himself, but for social problems his ideas were usually quite bad, as they were solutions which would only work if everyone operated the same way he did. This didn¡¯t take away from his ability to identify the heart of social issues, however, and he¡¯d grown better and better at identifying them over the years. ¡°Yes, actually.¡± Mila started smiling as Aalam had allowed her to realize exactly what she¡¯d been struggling with. ¡°It does. ¡°What is it you¡¯ve always said about things like the justice system and social welfare? The goal should be making a better future, not giving punishment for the past. ¡°My goal, for example, has been to get us back to Earth, and a stable Hira is required for that, so I¡¯ve been killing members of the invasion forces who would not be a threat to me. A lot of these people are almost as innocent as the cultivators of Hira who they helped slaughter, going along with their clan¡¯s goals just like the United States¡¯ soldiers went along with your politicians whims.¡± Mila could see Aalam frowning so she decided to avoid geopolitical related metaphors as she continued her explanation. ¡°But I¡¯ve been killing them because their past actions make it seem likely they would be a future threat, not because of their past actions themselves. Isaiah is quite a bit more innocent than these cultivators, not in his actions but in his mentality. With a bit of work, and no lying or trickery, he could probably be convinced to become an asset rather than a hindrance. And he¡¯s powerful enough to warrant the effort.¡± Aalam continued frowning, but Mila could tell he was thinking and not angry about what she¡¯d said. ¡°I don¡¯t like the moral implications of killing thousands of people, no matter the reasoning.¡± ¡°You killed over a thousand people by blowing up the Capitol and through that action saved over a billion lives.¡± Mila had really been wanting to ask him about that, so, now that she was given a reasonable opening, she took the chance. ¡°Yeah, and that was stupid.¡± Aalam didn¡¯t seem at all uncomfortable with the topic, and Mila internally breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡°I was depressed and wanted to kill myself, so I found a halfway decent excuse.¡± Mila¡¯s entire body froze, but Aalam didn¡¯t seem to notice and just continued. ¡°Given the assets I had at the time, I probably could have gotten the same result without killing people.¡± Mila took a deep breath and moved all the emotions which had her wanting to scream and cry onto one of her minds not in control of her body. ¡°Do you think that possibility exists here?¡± ¡°No.¡± Aalam¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°And that is the problem.¡± He tucked a lock of dark blue hair behind his right ear. ¡°It¡¯s an odd situation.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a natural one.¡± Aalam focused on her more and Mila elaborated. ¡°You grew up in the most powerful nation on Earth which had enjoyed an uncontested democratic system of law and order for hundreds of years before you were born. There were systems in place to make changes without physically fighting, even if they were sometimes hard. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°And the main reason you could enjoy such a stable society was the existence of the major countries on our planet having sticks so big using them would cause an apocalypse, as this made wars and violence far less common than was natural for humanity. Yet still, in the poorer nations of Earth, there was violent competition over resources and death as a result. ¡°The natural state of humanity is violent competition, not peace, and it takes special circumstances for the latter to happen.¡± Aalam looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath, taking about half a minute. Then he looked back at her. ¡°You make a good point.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Mila stood up from her position on the floor of the hallway and patted her thighs, mostly wanting to change the topic so she wouldn¡¯t start to cry about the whole suicide thing. ¡°We should make a plan then. ¡°For now, I think you should stay here and figure out how to absorb the energy from the soul well faster. At the same time, it would be super helpful if you could further master the Telekinesis and Advanced Multi-Mind skills as their shadows have proven incredibly helpful.¡± ¡°Where is the Amoranth army now?¡± Aalam asked, also standing, but not leaving the soul well. ¡°They seem to have gone to the Gale Clan and are now heading to the location of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s royal family¡¯s Pillar of Conquest in the far northeast. Given the rate they are moving, it should take them around seven to eight days to get there.¡± Aalam looked contemplative for a few seconds and Mila realized he might have a different plan in mind. ¡°I think we should both teleport to your platform and then you can run down to the location of the Quill and Flare clans to take over their Pillars of Conquest. You might have to kill a few people, but it shouldn¡¯t take you very long. ¡°Meanwhile, I can take the platform and run to the Pillar of Conquest left by the main Life Tree Empire force. It should take me about the same time to get there as it would take you to finish up with those two clans, and I can practice with Telekinesis while carrying the platform. You can then teleport to my location and take that Pillar of Conquest as well before starting to run to the Kingdom of Night¡¯s pillar. Then I can bring the platform back here and work on more quickly absorbing the power of this soul well.¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something. What is the reason for the rush?¡± ¡°My second uniqueness gives more bonus stats the larger my Territory, so increasing my Territory faster helps speed up my advancement of Laws, which is the key to increasing my absorption rate of the power of the soul well.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± It seemed the Prince uniqueness was a lot less overpowered than Nana Xara had thought, requiring Territory of a certain size to have the effect of tripling all of a cultivator¡¯s stats, but Mila wasn¡¯t that surprised. Nana Xara hadn¡¯t had the uniqueness herself, and everyone she¡¯d known who did was at least the master of an equivalent grade world, so she wouldn¡¯t have known about the limitations. The relative weakness of Aalam¡¯s aura compared to what it could be under the full effects of Prince wasn¡¯t because he wasn¡¯t tapping into his uniqueness¡¯ power, but because the current size of his Territory didn¡¯t increase his Aura stat by more than 100. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Mila thought about it for a bit. Then she agreed. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s do that. Learn the skills in the bag of holding I gave you earlier, then we¡¯ll run over to the undead¡¯s Pillar of Conquest and teleport from there. No need to risk the soul well by teleporting from here.¡± * * * A few minutes later she and Aalam arrived in the desert and she was incredibly uncomfortable. In order to teleport, Aalam had to be extremely close to her, so she¡¯d effectively been hugging him for the last twelve and a half seconds, and, as a result, she almost didn¡¯t notice the ambush. There were five of them in the cave, four Vol Clan members with icy blue hair and cold gray eyes holding spears and one man who was dressed similarly to the space mage general of the Amoranth Kingdom she¡¯d killed. The four Vol Clan members, one of whom she recognized from Omalia Gale¡¯s documents as the leader of the entire Vol Clan force, stabbed their icy spears toward them, the cave incredibly cold from the Law Eggs each of them were using, and the space mage uselessly locked down space so they couldn¡¯t teleport away, not aware they didn¡¯t have the ability to do so. Aalam froze in place, unable to react for a second, but Mila managed to save them both. Using Telekinesis in an extremely energy inefficient way, she pushed all the air in the cave between her and Aalam and their assailants towards their foes, knocking them back with the force. Then she pulled the sword of the female undead general out of one of the bags of holding on her belt, activated Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers, and personally lunged for the Vol Clan leader while her doppelg?ngers attacked the other four. Aalam unfroze and hit each of the five assailants with his new Epic grade Mental Spike skill, and that gave Mila the opening to easily stab the Vol Clan leader through the heart. No longer in his Id state and up against elites, Aalam¡¯s mental spike skill wasn¡¯t deadly to any of their opponents, but they were affected by the peak grade Law Egg of Asphyxiation he¡¯d imbued into the skill and it made them feel like they couldn¡¯t breathe, allowing Mila to easily kill the other Vol Clan members as well. Then she locked eyes with the space mage and used Evil Eyes - Lust, quickly turning him into Aalam¡¯s slave. ¡°First,¡± she asked the man after the lust effect faded, ¡°how did you track us here?¡± ¡°I was at the battle where you took out my senior brother. And, as I was able to arrive within minutes of your escape, I managed to catch the spatial signal used by your artifact through the interference of the explosions. Prince Tomin then had me get Nihail Vol and his men to try and find you. ¡°We arrived here three days ago, but your trail was cold, so we decided to wait to see if you would return.¡± Mila turned to Aalam, who was breathing hard, and sent him a message over their bond. ¡°And I got a complete kill of Vol Clan leadership as a result, which means we should be able to get Legendary grade rewards.¡± Then she turned back to the space mage. ¡°Does anyone else have the ability to track that platform if we move it?¡± ¡°Not in the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s forces.¡± Mila¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Good. Now, finally, do you have some sort of teleportation ability?¡± Chapter 78: The Terrifying Witch Tomin Tomin fell back onto his bed and started to try and figure out where everything had gone wrong. He¡¯d known the assignment would be difficult. The Kingdom of Night had invested a lot, and the B rank forces of the Life Tree Empire and the undead could completely trample them both if they knew what Hira was worth. But his sister¡¯s new boyfriend had given them all the information, and they had prepared. The problem wasn¡¯t with the intelligence. The inheritance existed and all signs pointed to it containing quite a few valuables. The Kindar Raiders abandoned their Pillar of Conquest, and the Kingdom of Night¡¯s forces attempted to wipe out everyone else before the one year deadline, all as predicted. Granted, the undead were nowhere to be seen and the Kingdom of Night¡¯s forces started their assaults early, but they¡¯d gone after the forces of the Life Tree Empire first and he¡¯d successfully ambushed them. He just hadn¡¯t expected that woman who¡¯d been working with Silveea Night. The plan had been simple, wipe out all the forces of the Kingdom of Night after they eliminated everyone else, but keep Silveea Night and the three siblings of his sister¡¯s boyfriend alive. He would have then gotten to play with Silveea for a year or two while fully conquering the world, and that would have been fun. Instead, however, the young woman working under Silveea had indiscriminately killed everyone. She¡¯d destroyed the Quill Clan¡¯s leadership, ended the generals of the Vol Clan, and even killed the two strongest generals under him, the senior brother of the Void Academy and the senior sister of the Glamour Conservatory, all at once, taking out Silveea and all the Kingdom of Night¡¯s leadership at the same time. Ava Gale had only survived due to a one time use artifact, and she was a poor replacement for Silveea as she was far too willing to join him in his bed. Tomin looked over to the greenish blond haired woman breathing hard next to him and then back up at the ceiling of his tent. It was the woman whose arm he¡¯d taken who was the source of all his problems. As far as his intelligence operatives could figure out, she¡¯d teleported up to the desert about a day away from the inheritance site, somehow wiped out all the remaining members of the Gale Clan, and had then been chased to the sea by the man who by all reports was the strongest on the planet. Then she¡¯d made her way down to the Quill Clan and wiped out everyone Tomin had left behind before sneaking into his own camp and doing something to more than fifty of his men, causing them to turn traitor and start killing people. Yet now she hadn¡¯t been heard from for fifteen days. Whoever she was, she was strong and crafty and his advisors were leaning toward her being a native or a monster, as the last two generals of the Flare Clan had apparently been assassinated a day before his forces arrived at their pillar. Given there were no reports from questioning the natives they¡¯d captured at the start mentioning anyone like her, his advisors were leaning more toward monster. The area of the Gale Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest was marked as being the Territory of the Heavenly Spark Soul King in Universal Standard rather than any of the local languages, and that sounded like a System generated monster title. None of his advisors knew what the term Heavenly Spark represented, but the fact the monster had the word King in his name meant he had to be at least equivalent to a first grade talent of the Palazin Galaxy Cluster, and the fact he was working with the natives meant he was intelligent, likely a reborn soul from another apocalypse style integration. King monsters, his advisors had explained, were usually born on a world alone, so it was possible the woman was that king, having some transformation ability to make himself look like a woman. Or maybe the woman was someone from the invasion forces who¡¯d decided to work with Hira¡¯s monster lord. Whatever the case, Tomin had to find her as she was too powerful to continue allowing to roam around and was the sole cause for most of his losses. ¡°Are the two of you done now?¡± Tomin was startled as he heard the voice and subconsciously reached for the sheets on the bed to cover himself instead of doing anything actually constructive, Ava Gale having much the same reaction. ¡°You were going at it so hard I thought it rude to interrupt.¡± As he summoned his sword out of his spatial storage ring and into his hand, he looked over at the dresser in the corner of the tent, about two meters from the bed, specifically at the young woman sitting on top of it, legs dangling from the side. It was her, beautiful and young with dark hair and dark eyes. And her left arm seemed to have almost fully grown back, only quite a bit of muscle still missing. Activating his Blink skill, he teleported next to her and sliced through her entire torso, but there was no feeling of connection as his blade went through her at the waist from left to right. ¡°So, I was wondering about something,¡± the woman continued, completely ignoring the fact he¡¯d tried to kill her. ¡°Who¡¯s your source of information? The Gale Clan learned about the inheritance first from the Kindar Raiders. Then the Flare Clan learned about it from a Gale Clan traitor, while the Kingdom of Night¡¯s forces saw what their subordinates were doing and invested accordingly. ¡°You, on the other hand, seem to have been able to predict most of the other forces¡¯ actions, and that requires foreknowledge.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She looked from Tomin to Ava and then back to Tomin. ¡°Raven Gale, huh?¡± Tomin and Ava were both surprised and, given the strength of the aura of the woman in front of then, she had undoubtedly caught it. ¡°And it¡¯s a partnership, the Gale Clan prince not in the deal against his will.¡± The woman smiled and something about her eyes changed ever so slightly, becoming sexier. ¡°What did he ask you to do with Isaiah? Were you to protect him or sacrifice him on an altar?¡± The woman¡¯s smile grew brighter and, even though his Danger Sense wasn¡¯t activating, Tomin realized he was under a charm effect, so he stabbed his own left arm slightly and looked away from the hologram toward the door of his tent. He¡¯d just heard something else out there and he was starting to grow worried. ¡°So, let me get this straight.¡± The woman¡¯s voice attracted his attention again as he felt lust building up inside him, whatever charm skill she was using still having an effect. ¡°Raven Gale asked you to protect Isaiah, yet you decided to sacrifice the man instead.¡± Tomin looked at the woman again, or at least her illusionary clone, and saw as her smile grew even wider, the creepy expression somehow sexy. ¡°No, you were ordered to do so. Interesting.¡± Tomin overcame the charm effect for a second and Blinked himself out of the tent, only to find pandemonium. There were two mages who¡¯d been blocking the sound of it from reaching him, but his army was destroying itself. Over a hundred of his most powerful cultivators were slaughtering everyone else, quite a few of them looking like they were crying, and it had apparently been going on for a while, as almost no one was left. ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± The woman was beside him again, and he felt his lust continue to build when she looked at him, but his Danger Sense skill still hadn¡¯t activated. He tried to slice this version of her in half as well, but she was an illusion just like the last one and completely ignored his attempt. ¡°The control over someone else¡¯s life and death, you must enjoy it as well.¡± The woman turned to look at the last of his army being killed by his own men. ¡°There is a sense of power unlike increasing your own strength.¡± ¡°What do you want from me?¡± His danger sense hadn¡¯t activated yet, meaning she didn¡¯t intend to do him harm, or at least hadn¡¯t yet initiated any type of action to hurt him. ¡°You took something from me and I want it back.¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You return the glove artifact you took from the Mistress of Oaths and Deception along with everything which had been inside its subspace
  2. You will take no actions to increase your level for your remaining stay on Hira
  3. You will take no actions with the intention of harming the Mistress of Oaths and Deception or the Heavenly Spark Soul King
  4. The Mistress of Oaths and Deception will take no actions with the intention to kill you or your lover
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°You want that glove?¡± She¡¯d been wearing the azure glove when he¡¯d sliced her hand off, and it was definitely a high grade artifact, but it was only G rank. Still, his space mages hadn¡¯t been able to break open its subspace with their early F rank strength, so it was likely quite valuable and probably had important contents. Tomin thought about it for a second, his lust for the woman increasing due to whatever charm skill she was still using, and then he lightly stabbed his left arm again. ¡°What will you do if I say no?¡± The woman smiled at him and his Danger Sense skill flared. ¡°Everyone, please kill Prince Tomin.¡± Twenty-three long range attacks were sent his way while everyone else charged at him, forcing Tomin to use Blink three times in short succession so he wouldn¡¯t be hit. ¡°Alright everyone, you can stop.¡± The woman was gone from where she¡¯d been standing and was now behind him, a sword held to his throat as he turned his head to look at her, but his Danger Sense skill gave him no warning, so she didn¡¯t have the intention to kill him. ¡°Would you like to accept the contract, your highness?¡± The woman smiled at him, pleasantly this time, and, even with her charm skill still making him feel lustful thoughts, the expression was the scariest he¡¯d seen on her so far. ¡°Even though your ring is soul-locked like my glove, I have the ability to force open your artifact, so I don¡¯t need you alive to get access to my belongings. But I would rather not waste my time.¡± The woman raised her left hand and showed three fingers, the sword in her right not moving. ¡°I¡¯ll give you to the count of three.¡± Tomin¡¯s Danger Sense skill flared. ¡°One. Two.¡± Tomin accepted the contract and the sense of danger immediately left. Then the woman disappeared from behind him, the sword gone as well. He looked around and a new version of the woman was ten meters in front of him, walking out from behind his men. ¡°The glove then, your highness.¡± Warily Tomin took the glove, which he couldn¡¯t fully identify, out of his spatial storage ring. Then he tossed it to her. This woman must have been the real one, as she caught the glove, held it for a few seconds, and then put it on her left hand. Immediately after she finished, though, Tomin felt a powerful Law from her, on the level of a Law Larva, and something changed in the bond created by the contract between them as his Danger Sense skill started to flare again. ¡°Alright, everyone, kill him.¡± The woman turned her back to him, but Tomin didn¡¯t have the time to make use of such an opening, even if it was real, which it almost certainly wasn¡¯t. He used Blink several times, making his way back into his tent, where Ava was thankfully still alive and had managed to put on some pants. Without talking to her, he embraced her. Then he took a one time use token out of his spatial storage ring and activated it, the token randomly teleporting them somewhere within 300 or so kilometers, a small hill in the middle of a forest. ¡°Ava, how long do you think it would take you to break a contract where one side severed the contract using the power of Law?¡± He took his own clothes out of his spatial storage ring and started to get dressed. ¡°Not long at all.¡± Ava held her right hand out and placed it on his chest, her breathing relaxing now that they weren¡¯t in danger anymore. ¡°That type of action would nearly destroy the contract unless a high grade Law of Severing was used.¡± She started to frown. ¡°But that seems to be the case here, and the original contract was strong.¡± The young woman shuddered slightly. ¡°If one side¡¯s connection point hadn¡¯t been severed, I don¡¯t think I could remove this contract at all. As it is, with my current strength and if I somehow managed to level up once every twelve days, it would probably take me over a third of a year to get you free from the terms.¡± Chapter 79: A Good Lesson Aalam had never seen Mila truly work before. Sure, when he was in the Id state she¡¯d guided him through killing a fake family so he could gain access to the father¡¯s alchemy lab, but he hadn¡¯t paid attention to what she was doing in her own instance of the tutorial. And, sure, he¡¯d seen her work with kids back on Earth. But he¡¯d never seen her perform the type of work she¡¯d trained her life for. Now, however, she¡¯d been sharing everything she was experiencing over their bond, from her senses to her emotions, and it was eye opening. After sneaking into the army disguised as a Quill Clan soldier, she hadn¡¯t taken any actions for several hours, just watching the soldiers and commanders. Then she¡¯d targeted one person very deliberately, got him alone, and used her Evil Eyes - Lust and Devil¡¯s Contract combo to enslave him. Before letting him go on his merry way, however, she¡¯d asked twenty-three questions. Some were indirectly confirming the location of the Left Hand of the Runescribe, not saying outright it was her goal. Some were about the patrol schedules of the army¡¯s scouts. And some were about the man¡¯s impressions of other commanders. To Aalam, the information had all seemed a bit random, but, when he¡¯d asked, Mila had explained she was using the man to fill in gaps in the information she¡¯d already had. Then she¡¯d proceeded to enslave men up to the number Aalam¡¯s Soul stat would allow. During the process, she¡¯d noticed something when charming five men and killed them instead, and Mila¡¯s explanation was that they wouldn¡¯t follow all the orders she wanted. When she was done, she¡¯d sent several relatively powerful assassins after the army¡¯s patrols, assigned two sound mages to block all noise from reaching Prince Tomin¡¯s ridiculously nice tent, and then ordered everyone else, including all the slaves who¡¯d stayed hidden in the army for fifteen days, to start massacring the army. Not one of the men sacrificed themselves to save others and that was Mila¡¯s true ability. Just one person putting the lives of others above their own, or just realizing they wouldn¡¯t live anyway and risking everything to hurt her, could have derailed everything, but it didn¡¯t happen. Mila was able to read people to an almost scary degree and she¡¯d found and specifically targeted the powerful cowards, killing those with more valor before the fighting even started, and during the fighting she¡¯d assassinated several dozen commanders who could have helped bring the soldiers of the Amoranth Kingdom together. The much more impressive bit, however, to Aalam at least, came when she started talking to Prince Tomin. Mila had four goals when going after Tomin and his army. One, weaken the forces of the Amoranth Kingdom as much as possible, preferably killing everyone but Prince Tomin himself and Ava Gale. Two, get the Left Hand of the Runescribe back. Three, figure out the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s plans for Isaiah Gale. And finally four, keep Prince Tomin alive and in a position where he could practice his Danger Sense skill. The Legendary grade Danger Sense was one of the skills Aalam needed, and Prince Tomin had it. But the possibility of stealing the skill if he fully mastered it before they killed him in the future was not worth sacrificing a Legendary grade skill and artifact from killing him and his one remaining general immediately. The problem was Prince Tomin, at least for the moment, was a very dangerous opponent they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to kill. His build was created around the Danger Sense skill, so, if they had the intention to kill him, he could escape and, if they got close to him, given his speed and attack power, they would almost certainly die. Yet, even with the restraints of deliberately not trying to kill the most dangerous person on the battlefield, Mila had ended up with everything she wanted. She¡¯d retrieved the Left Hand of the Runescribe. She¡¯d destroyed the entire force of the Amoranth Kingdom other than the two she wanted to live. And she¡¯d forced Prince Tomin to run away in a state where he would be unable to level up for at least a third of a year. She could even find Prince Tomin and Ava Gale at any time. Before taking on the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s forces, she¡¯d ended quite a few invasions, from which she¡¯d gained stats, artifacts, and skills. Two of those skills had been Hunter¡¯s Mark (F-Epic) and Mark Tracking (F-Epic). Together with another Epic grade skill and a Rare grade skill they could be merged into Hunter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary), but just the two themselves were already incredibly useful. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Having secretly placed Hunter¡¯s Mark on both Tomin and Ava, she¡¯d be able to track them anywhere on Hira for at least a year, and neither of the two had the right skills or Laws to even figure out they were marked, let alone remove them. Most impressive to Aalam, however, she¡¯d done all this while deliberately hiding most of her power. It was especially telling that, as far as he was aware, Mila had yet to use the special ability of Devil¡¯s Contract once since she¡¯d arrived on Hira, using it as if it were a normal contract skill. There was a good lesson for him in that. Unless necessary, there was no reason to expose your full abilities. It would be a good habit to get into himself as well. ¡°So, do you hate me more than before? Are you disgusted?¡± Mila walked up to where he was sitting on the top of a hill about a hundred kilometers away from where the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s force had set up camp, her face looking nervous. ¡°Did I scare you?¡± Aalam looked at the 162 slaves who had followed her, then back at her now supernaturally pink eyes. ¡°What are you talking about? Why would I be scared of you?¡± Mila looked a little confused. ¡°You just saw me destroy an army. I would expect some reaction, some shock.¡± ¡°But you told me what you were going to do in advance.¡± Aalam tried to figure out where she was coming from. Sure, the blood, guts, and screams had been worse in reality than in fiction, and he¡¯d never been in war before, so it was a bit distressing. But he¡¯d been fighting plagues and natural disasters for a few years before his death. He¡¯d seen thousands of people dying and, in most ways, their deaths were worse. It was getting over the moral implications of killing with his own hands or Mila killing with hers which had been troublesome, but he¡¯d passed through quite a few native villages and towns over the last several days. He¡¯d seen the recently made mass graves and he knew that was the result of wars. The invasion forces had killed cultivators because it made their goals easier and Mila had killed them because their deaths did the same for her. It wasn¡¯t right, but it was how wars worked, and they were at war. There were lines which shouldn¡¯t be crossed, but Aalam wasn¡¯t about to stand on a high horse. The very fact killing other cultivators brought more primal energy than killing monsters meant the real universe would likely be far more violent than Earth, and Mila was right about the level of comfort he¡¯d enjoyed as a citizen of the United States. He wasn¡¯t going to get that back any time soon, and he was ready to live with that. ¡°Still.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t a warrior, Mila, so your fighting style is more insidious, but it¡¯s not much different than the Bride killing the Crazy 88. And people root for the Bride in that scenario.¡± Mila gave him a look he found hard to place. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t like Kill Bill.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Aalam shook his head. ¡°There isn¡¯t enough plot.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila nodded twice, seemingly thinking to herself. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I feel about you being so comfortable, though. It feels like I¡¯ve taken away your innocence or something.¡± ¡°No.¡± Aalam stood up. ¡°That was Houston.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Mila nodded, looking more comfortable this time. Around three years before their deaths, they¡¯d been planning on going on vacation to Europe when an extremely powerful hurricane had nearly destroyed Houston, a last minute change in its path leading to far more lives lost than expected. Instead, they¡¯d gone there and Mila had worked to help with the psychological damage inflicted by the storm while Aalam helped repair the electrical grid and worked on maintenance for a fleet of rescue robots. They¡¯d both seen quite a lot of horrific things on that trip and viewing the devastation caused by climate change up close had helped push Aalam to switch the focus of his research. ¡°Could you have them move over there.¡± Aalam¡¯s face became stern, uncomfortable with what he was about to do, as he pointed to a spot at the bottom of the hill and Mila gave him a look he again couldn¡¯t figure out. Then she ordered the men she¡¯d enslaved to move and Aalam placed his right foot on a disturbed section of the hill, pushing all his remaining magic, qi, and psyforce into a rune he¡¯d drawn into the ground. That rune transferred energy into an array which flowed all around the hill and then into a set of twelve runes surrounding the slaves. Gravity lessened around a kilometer in every direction, but increased where the slaves were standing by about a factor of twelve. At the same time, heat rose in the same area gravity had decreased, and the temperature around the slaves rapidly lowered, freezing them all almost solid. Blades of wind then smashed into all of them, flowing throughout the small area they were trapped in, and they died, the Four Elements Formation variant he¡¯d deployed completing its job. Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Gravity has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Magic +24, Spirit +12, Soul +12 Congratulations! Your Law Egg of Gust has advanced to peak grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility +16, Magic +16, Spirit +8, Soul +8 You have leveled up from level 1 to level 5 Strength +56 Agility +56 Endurance +64 Toughness +56 Vitality +64 Perception +80 Magic +76 Spirit +120 Soul +272 Aura +32 Attunement +24 Luck +0 Your Hunter of Sentients Boon has increased to Hunter of Sentients XV Hunter of Sentients XV: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 7.5% Aalam felt a bit sick, but it was necessary. ¡°Killing is a bit bad, but slavery is worse. Have fun in hell you worthless cowards.¡± Chapter 80: Nana Xara’s Apocalypse Style Integration Mila Mila watched Aalam level up and felt a bit dirty. The guilt had stopped when he¡¯d mentioned Houston, as it wasn¡¯t her causing him to change, it was the universe, and if he didn¡¯t change he¡¯d just die again. But she didn¡¯t like the fact he had to change in the first place. ¡°What are you feeling?¡± Nana Xara spoke to her for the first time since Aalam had woken up and Mila¡¯d blocked their connection. ¡°I¡¯m kind of hating the universe a bit.¡± Mila took off the Left Hand of the Runescribe and handed it to Aalam as they both sat down and waited for their resources to regenerate, the Twin Dragons safely on her ears. After enslaving the space mage, she¡¯d had him take her to the empty Quill Clan, follow her to the empty Flare Clan, and then finally teleport her to the Vol Clan, where she¡¯d used her Evil Eyes - Lust, Devil¡¯s Contract, and order suicide combo to destroy the entire force. He¡¯d saved her several days of running and had allowed her to eliminate an extra invasion force, which was nice, and, during the time they were together, she¡¯d picked his brain for everything he knew about spatial magic, translating and then sending it all to Aalam. But neither she nor Aalam were big fans of long term slavery so, after he¡¯d teleported them back to the cave in the desert, she¡¯d killed him. Then she¡¯d teleported to the platform Aalam had set up near the Pillar of Conquest of the Life Tree Empire¡¯s main force and taken over that pillar as well before catching up with and infiltrating the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s army. Now, after destroying the force of the Amoranth Kingdom, the plan was for Aalam to return to the Eshna area. He would then place the teleportation platform at the location of the Undead¡¯s Pillar of Conquest before returning to the soul well. Meanwhile, she would travel to the remaining Pillars of Conquest and end the ability of all invaders to communicate with the outside universe for the next seventy one and a half years. The pillars of the two Life Tree Empire¡¯s subordinate forces and the Albatino Merchant Union would be simple, as there were few if any cultivators from those forces left. And the Kindar Raiders would most likely be easy to conquer as well, at least so long as one of the many people she¡¯d killed so far had been a member of the Kindar Raiders in hiding, giving her a contribution percentage in destroying their force and thus the ability to claim the pillar. But the Pillars of Conquest of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s royal family and the royal force of the Amoranth Kingdom would likely still be guarded, so she had to hurry before they scattered. ¡°Yeah, hating the universe is usually pretty normal during an apocalypse style integration.¡± Nana Xara sounded like she was speaking from experience. ¡°It generally gets better, but it usually doesn¡¯t go away if you have anyone you care about.¡± ¡°You underwent an apocalypse style integration a long time ago, right?¡± Mila asked. ¡°How did yours go?¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Nana Xara sounded like she was smiling. ¡°I don¡¯t talk to you for days and the first thing you want to know about is my life history?¡± ¡°You seem to only be speaking to me now because you think I need someone to talk to about my feelings.¡± Mila started to smile slightly herself. ¡°What better way to comfort me than to tell me about your own experience so I can compare and contrast?¡± Nana Xara snorted, but then she said, ¡°Alright. Fine. But in return you need to tell me what happened when you talked to Aalam. I can only guess so much from context.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After a few days had passed, Mila had started to want to talk with Nana Xara about that anyway, as she wanted an outside perspective and she had no one else to talk to. ¡°Well, my world was more like Hira than Earth. About the same percentage of cultivators to not cultivators. Though some, but not me, were lucky enough to have an Uncommon grade race from the start. ¡°It was an F rank world with nothing special about it and our technology level was about that of Earth in the early 1900s, just starting to introduce chemical warfare. But we took longer to get there, several hundred years, and the global warming effect we¡¯d caused was even worse than on Earth in your time. War and Global warming were then our two apocalypses. ¡°I was about fifteen when the integration started and I performed moderately well in the tutorial, gaining two Law Eggs, one of the fire element and another of the water element, but I was by no means our best. The bastard daughter of a line worker in an industrial plant, at the time I couldn¡¯t even read and my System notifications were all verbal. ¡°In the tutorial, my mother died and, after the tutorial, I was captured by one of the invasion forces and forced to mine for mana influenced metals. That lasted for three years, but the invasion force was destroyed by an alliance of four of the world¡¯s seventeen nations under the leadership of the most powerful cultivator to come out of our world¡¯s tutorial. ¡°I then fought under him and, thanks to a legacy I earned in the tutorial, I earned the Uncommon grade class Sage, after a few years becoming one of the more powerful cultivators under his force. For the first twelve years after I joined, we traveled around the world fighting against invasion forces and other native alliances, and, in the sixteenth year after the start of the integration, that man became the ruler of our planet and we had peace.¡± Nana Xara sighed. ¡°That peace didn¡¯t last long, but that¡¯s a story for another time. You asked about my experiences during my planet¡¯s apocalypse style integration and that¡¯s about it. We were lucky and didn¡¯t have any invasion forces which were too strong, and no force of undead, while we were a moderately more powerful planet compared to Hira, though nowhere close to Earth. As a result, we were able to win, but I didn¡¯t play too major of a role.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Now.¡± Her voice shifted to an excited tone. ¡°Tell me everything.¡± Before Mila could send over even a word, however, Aalam interrupted them, opening his eyes from where he¡¯d been meditating, standing up, and walking over to kneel down in front of her. ¡°Before we head out, would you mind using the tokens to upgrade the Twin Dragons in front of me? I think I could learn something from the process.¡± Completing the quests for stopping four invasions had given Mila quite a few rewards. For the Quill Clan, the Flare Clan, and the Vol Clan quests she had a personal completion percentage of 100% and had solo killed the leader of the force along with all three generals. This gave her +12 to all her stats for each, along with a choice of a Legendary grade skill and a Legendary grade artifact. Talking with Aalam, she¡¯d chosen the skills Heightened Senses (F-Legendary), Thief¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary), and Crafter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary), all skills required for the fusion Aalam was aiming for. And, for the artifacts, she¡¯d chosen a bundle of twelve Triforce Threads, an F rank Legendary grade material useful for upgrading the Left Hand of the Runescribe, and two tokens, a Tactician¡¯s Token (G-Legendary) and a Courtesan¡¯s Token (G-Legendary). For completing the quest relating to the main force of the Life Tree Empire, however, the rewards hadn¡¯t been as good, as she¡¯d missed one of the generals. She¡¯d received only +10 to all stats and, for the skills and artifacts, she had the choice of three Epic grade rewards and two Rare grade rewards of each type. Her Epic grade skills had been Hunter¡¯s Mark (F-Epic) and Mark Tracking (F-Epic), which as a combo allowed her to mark targets and then hunt them down, along with Hunter¡¯s Sight (F-Epic), a skill which greatly increased all aspects of vision, enhancing ranged combat. Her two choices for her Rare grade skills were then Hunter¡¯s Smell (F-Rare), a skill which would allow her to track via scent and could be merged with the three Epic grade skills to form Hunter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary), and Spacetime Analysis (F-Rare), a skill which boosted space and time sensory skills and could be merged with skills she¡¯d already collected to form Spacetime Sensing (F-Legendary). Sacrificing all her shadowed skills other than Advanced Multi-Mind, Mila had learned all three Epic grade skills, while Aalam had learned everything else along with the skills previously gathered, consisting of four skills which, when mastered, could be merged into Spacetime Sensing (F-Legendary); three skills which, when mastered, could be merged into Psychic Domain (F-Legendary); and Hunter¡¯s Smell, which, given the effects of Mila¡¯s class, he could merge with the skills Mila had taken when all four skills reached 100%. For artifacts, she¡¯d chosen a Contained Light Essence and a Contained Lightning Essence for helping the upgrade of the Left Hand of the Runescribe in the future, both Epic grade materials, and a chunk of metal called Rain-soaked Iron, a Rare grade material Aalam was going to use to try making Roland an Epic grade sword, but it was the final two artifact rewards which Mila was the most excited about. For the second Rare grade reward, they¡¯d chosen an Orb of Knowledge Transfer (F-Rare), a small reusable orb one cultivator could put knowledge in which another cultivator could then absorb, the transfer of information quite a bit quicker than transferring knowledge through writing. Mila had put her acquired knowledge of Universal Standard in it and Aalam was going to spend some of his time over the next year studying so he could communicate in the wider galaxy without her needing to translate. The final Epic grade reward, on the other hand, came with knowledge built in, a legacy artifact called the 12 Elements Bastard Sword. It contained the combat skills legacy of a D rank cultivator called the 12 Elements Psyblade and the legacy was all about using the power of telekinesis and Laws in close combat, exactly what Aalam needed. Taking off the Twin Dragons from her ears, Mila held the pair of dragon-shaped earrings in her left hand and with her right she reached into one of the bags of holding on her belt and took out two tokens. One was a metallic blue with what looked like a Go board on both sides while the other was a warm red with what looked like a diamond necklace as its image. Both tokens were about 7 cm in diameter, just like the tokens of The Healer and The Reaper, and, when she took them out, they broke down into gas and entered into the Twin Dragons. Like the last time she¡¯d upgraded the artifact, Mila heard something, interpreting the change in the Twin Dragons'' artifact spirit as a sound through her Third Eye Princess uniqueness. It was still like a breath on the wind, and the artifact spirit still wasn¡¯t fully ready to reveal itself, but it was no longer a being of rage and cold logic. In the future, it still felt like it could destroy stars or mend planets, all while hiding from gods and tricking trillions, but now it felt like its previous logical side had been merged with skill to make it a chess master and its rage had evolved into the talent and skill to incite passion. Physically, the greenish gray scales on the two dragon earrings had now changed to a mix of greenish gray and purple, and, when she switched the artifact between its various forms, the color change was the only visible difference other than the artifact now having two new forms. The most important difference, however, was in its potential. Twin Dragons of Yin and Yang (F-Heroic) [Growth] A legacy artifact formed by a Reaper¡¯s Token from the flesh of an Invincible Slime, Formless Silver, and the emotions of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s chamberlain. Due to the chamberlain¡¯s desires, the Twin Dragons can only be used by the Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants and has multiple effects, including the ability to absorb the legacy information of other legacy artifacts, the ability to transform into multiple forms, and the ability to store unused nascent energy. It was later enhanced by a Healer¡¯s Token and gained the further ability to act as a Seal of Contract for both the Heavenly Spark Soul King and his chamberlain. Upon the Heavenly Spark Soul King chamberlain¡¯s rise to F rank, it then further gained the ability to more strongly hold disguised information. Then it was further enhanced by a Tactician¡¯s Token and a Courtesan¡¯s Token, increasing its potential but providing no immediate increase in abilities. Current Legacies: The path of Illusions from a random D rank, the path of Shadows from a random D rank, the path of Passion from a random D rank, the path of Tranquility from a random D rank, the path of The Reaper from the Origin of Death, the path of The Healer from the Origin of Life, the path of The Tactician from the Ultimate General, the path of The Courtesan from the Mother of Love, and the art of crafting from an apprentice psychic Possible forms: Twin Dragon earrings (weight greatly reduced), Twin Pistols, Longsword, Spear, Shield, Reaper¡¯s Gown, Healer¡¯s Raiment, Tactician¡¯s Armor, Courtesan¡¯s Negligee, Lord¡¯s Seal, Seal of the Chamberlain Effects: Legacy Eater, Transformation, Nascent Energy Storage, Conductivity, Contract Seal, Held Disguise Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants There was no new increase in ability beyond its two new forms, armor and seductive bedclothes, but, on her advance to E rank, it would likely automatically increase to Fabled grade, and that benefit was rather huge. The biggest reward for upgrading the Twin Dragons of Life and Death to the Twin Dragons of Yin and Yang, however, had nothing to do with the artifact. Aalam, watching with his various sensory skills, had a series of enlightenments. He advanced his Law Eggs of Calm, Vacuum, and 3 Dimensional Geometry to peak grade and gained a rather large increase in mastery for several of his new skills. ¡°Alright,¡± Nana Xara sent over, sounding a bit impatient by this point. ¡°Now tell me everything.¡± Chapter 81: 12 Elements Bastard Sword Aalam ¡°So, a bastard sword. Why not a spear?¡± Using one of his minds to enter the inheritance space of the 12 Elements Bastard Sword, Aalam¡¯s senses for that mind had been transferred into a mental space which looked like a large futuristic city. It was about the size of Manhattan in New York, but with a technology level a couple hundred years more advanced, and it reminded Aalam of Coruscant, the galactic capital planet from Star Wars. Mostly, however, Aalam was thinking about Star Wars because the man standing opposite him on the roof of a tall building looked like he could be the same race as the main villain from Episode I, Darth Maul. He had the same type of horns, the same yellow and red eyes, and the same tattooed-looking skin. Only, instead of red, the contrasting parts to the black sections of his skin were purple, and he looked more like Kumail Nanjiani than Ray Park. ¡°Um.¡± Aalam thought for a second, not having expected to be asked why he¡¯d chosen the weapon type the inheritance was housed in. ¡°Because I wanted to learn how to move with a weapon using telekinesis and various Laws, and this inheritance seemed to match me the best.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The expression on the man¡¯s face relaxed. ¡°So you aren¡¯t that attached to your weapon type.¡± ¡°No.¡± Aalam felt confused. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The man, who was wearing a black gi and what looked like a spatial storage ring on his right hand, summoned a white bastard sword, seemingly made from bone, into his right hand. ¡°What weapon do you prefer?¡± Aalam felt a little embarrassed. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough experience to know.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± The man attacked him, moving relatively slowly, like all his stats were at 144, and Aalam tried to defend himself using the copy of the 12 Elements Bastard Sword in his hand. He wasn¡¯t able to, however, and he was stabbed right through the heart, though there was no damage as nothing was real. ¡°And when you say you don¡¯t have experience, you really mean you have no experience. ¡°What level are you?¡± ¡°5.¡± The man frowned. ¡°And how did you reach level 5 without knowing how to fight?¡± ¡°I set a trap with runes and killed a bunch of slaves.¡± The man frowned further. ¡°Well that¡¯s rather dastardly.¡± Aalam¡¯s embarrassment deepened. ¡°They¡¯d been enemy combatants only a couple hours before.¡± ¡°So, you took prisoners and then killed them.¡± The man kept frowning. ¡°You don¡¯t learn from such actions. You should have at least tried fighting them one by one. Even if you¡¯re weak, your attributes seem high.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam realized the man was disappointed in him not because of the moral implications, but because he seemed like he¡¯d be a bad student. ¡°I¡¯m a crafter and I¡¯ve been studying arrays for use in combat. The slaves didn¡¯t see the attack coming and I killed 162 warriors all higher than level 5 in one go, leveling up to level 5 straight from level 1.¡± The man¡¯s face brightened slightly. ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re a noncombatant who wants to learn to defend himself. Why this legacy then? If your main goal is to defend yourself, you should choose a weapon with a better reach, like a spear. That way you can keep more distance.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Aalam was a bit nervous. Should he have chosen a spear legacy? But there hadn¡¯t been one based around making use of telekinesis and infusing the power of all twelve elements. ¡°I have the multi-mind skill and a skillset and artifact which allow me to create runes during combat. By holding a bastard sword, I can trick my enemies into thinking I¡¯m a warrior and then destroy them with my runes, so the weapon seemed like a good choice. Finally, I have the Heroic grade Telekinesis skill and 36 peak grade Law Eggs, so this legacy seemed like a good fit.¡± Aalam had completed upgrading all his Law Eggs to peak grade before deciding to try and learn how to better use them. ¡°Ah, using a bastard sword to disguise yourself as an idiot warrior. Good thought.¡± The man seemed happy. ¡°What Law Eggs?¡± It was then Aalam realized he was talking to a relatively advanced AI. Had he been dealing with a soul fragment, there would have been either doubts about his claims of having a Heroic grade skill at F rank and 36 peak grade Law Eggs or amazement at the same. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. But then what was up with the AI not liking swords and instead always praising spears? Aalam decided to ignore the AI¡¯s idiosyncrasies and just answered the question, listing out all his Law Eggs. ¡°Alright.¡± The AI nodded. ¡°In that case, you meet the requirements for all twelve styles of 12 Elements Psychic Swordsmanship. ¡°Given you aren¡¯t even holding your sword right, however, it seems we will have to start from the basics.¡± * * * Having arrived back via the teleportation platform, Mila came to the edge of the soul well, but didn¡¯t actually step into the cave so as to not disturb the function of the series of basic runes Aalam had carved into the wall, which, after some experimentation, he¡¯d found made the energy in the room a little easier to absorb. Then she tossed him a bag of holding containing her spoils from conquering the pillars of the last six invasion forces. There were the five skills for merging Noble¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary), which he would learn after merging his current skills and gaining back the needed skill slots. The three Epic grade skills were Knowledge of Watching Eyes, which allowed a cultivator to know when they were being observed; Noble¡¯s Sight, which made it easier to see the karmic bonds between people if they were in close proximity; and Allegiance Tracking, which made it possible to know if someone was a servant or a master of someone else and of who if that person was close. Then the Rare grade skills were Lord¡¯s Hearing, which made it possible to listen in on any conversation in a given range where your name was spoken, and Lord¡¯s Binding, a noble category contract skill which strengthened bonds between masters and servants and masters and slaves. Mila had also managed to gain three Legendary grade skills. They were Mana Domain and Qi Domain, the mana and qi equivalents of Psychic Domain, both of which allowed for much easier control of their respective resources within the range of a cultivator¡¯s own aura, and Kinetic Senses, the sensing skill Isaiah Gale used. Finally, the last skills Mila had chosen were Psyforce Construction (F-Epic), Psyforce Material Cleansing (F-Epic), and Psyforce Material Strengthening (F-Epic), which could all be merged into Psyforce Construction (F-Legendary), one of the component skills for the last Heroic grade skill Aalam wanted for his main class. He couldn¡¯t use them until after he merged the sensory skill he was going after, but it was nice to have them already. Then, for the artifact rewards, the bag of holding held the remaining Contained Essences required for upgrading the Left Hand of the Runescribe, the essences of metal, fire, water, earth, and wind. Then there was a secondary material for creating a sword for Prince Roland to go with the Rare grade Rain-soaked Iron Mila had already chosen, the similarly Rare grade Essence of Raincloud, which looked a lot like the Epic grade elemental essences but wasn¡¯t as powerful. At Aalam¡¯s insistence, Mila had also chosen materials from which he could make her a hopefully Legendary grade or higher artifact, the Legendary grade Midnight Leather, the leather of a rare and powerful E rank beast; 3 drops of Shadow Essence, an Epic grade material for strengthening Shadow path Law Effects in an artifact; and Shadow Thread, a Rare grade thread which, if used on the Midnight Leather, would not degrade the leather¡¯s effects. Finally, there were two Legendary grade books Nana Xara had insisted on. First was Alashan¡¯s Book of Runes I. The first volume of a set, it contained the entirety of a long dead yet powerful A rank¡¯s knowledge of runes and arrays suitable for G, F, and E ranks, reportedly containing all theoretically possible low rank runes, even ones with no known uses in arrays. It was a legacy artifact on the same level as Mila¡¯s tokens, even though it couldn¡¯t upgrade an artifact, and Aalam was extremely, extremely excited about it. So far, his knowledge of runes had come from books in the tutorial and Mila telling him things from Nana Xara. But Nana Xara wasn¡¯t an expert on runes and, as a System-bound spirit, she was limited in what she could pass on without making it the reward for a quest. Second then was Camoran¡¯s 93rd Puzzle Book. Camoran the Spirit Smith had been an A rank crafter who¡¯d died of old age like Nana Xara. In his day, even gods commissioned works from him, and he¡¯d left behind 108 puzzle books as the keys to his legacy. It was said that if the puzzles in all 108 books were solved, those who held the books would gain the right to teleport into the hidden demiplane where he¡¯d left his inheritance and compete with each other to become his successor. From Nana Xara¡¯s knowledge, however, only 38 of the puzzle books had been completely solved as of two millennia ago, despite being created many, many years before, so the reason she recommended the book had nothing to do with Camoran¡¯s legacy. The puzzles inside each book were just the best training tools for practicing the type of array carving necessary for creating truly impressive artifacts. And creating new arrays and forging high grade artifacts were the conditions for upgrading Aalam¡¯s classes. ¡°Thank you, Mila,¡± Aalam told her. ¡°You¡¯ve done a lot of work.¡± The only true reward Mila had gained from conquering the pillars had been +50 to all stats and +3 to all base stats, the rewards from capturing the pillar of the Kindar Raiders extremely low due to her low completion percentage, and she¡¯d instead given pretty much everything else to Aalam. Granted, she could shadow his skills, so she would be able to use the skill he was trying to merge, and she had Nana Xara, so she had much less use for legacies. But still, she¡¯d effectively stopped all twelve invasion forces by herself, yet all she¡¯d received was a legendary grade skill, two tokens, and a Rare grade ring for herself. It didn¡¯t seem fair. ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Mila waved any further praise or discussion of compensation away, an excited expression on her face. ¡°Just upgrade the Left Hand of the Runescribe. I want to see its new effects.¡± Aalam paused for a second, mind flowing back in time to the three different Dungeons and Dragons campaigns Mila had run, and he realized he¡¯d forgotten for a bit she was almost as big of a nerd as he was. He¡¯d kind of assumed that had all been fake, but he belatedly realized it probably hadn¡¯t been. There¡¯d been no need for her to go as far as she did unless she actually enjoyed it. And what was more fun in a game than upgrading your favorite artifact while potentially being able to understand more of the universe through the process. Chapter 82: Law Advancement and Cultivation Mila Using telekinesis, Aalam summoned all twelve golden flying needles from the Left Hand of the Runescribe he was wearing on his left hand. Then he took out all twelve contained elemental essences and placed them two thirds to the end of each needle, next to the orbs in each needle holding elemental power. Finally, he took out the twelve transparent Triforce Threads Mila¡¯d taken as one of her Legendary grade rewards, each of which was about a centimeter thick and three meters long, and placed the end of each thread at the end of one of the needles. All he had to do then was stop holding the Left Hand of the Runescribe back and each needle began glowing the colors Mila had started to associate with their element, green for life, gray for death, gold for time, etc. The energy of the contained essences were absorbed, along with most of the materials of the containment orbs, and the Triforce Threads started to be pulled into each needle, slowly disappearing as the material was integrated. She stayed in the hallway so she wouldn¡¯t absorb any of the unique energy in the soul well, but the Left Hand of the Runescribe wasn¡¯t as polite, each needle absorbing enough energy to raise Aalam¡¯s Soul stat by 12. Previously, each needle was about a meter long, with one end pointy and sharp and the other flat. Around two thirds to the end, the golden material they were made from split and wrapped around a 10 cm diameter orb holding the needle¡¯s elemental power source before coming together and straightening again. Over the next four hours, however, the appearance of the needles changed. First, while the orbs holding elemental power grew much stronger, they also shrunk, only a single centimeter in diameter at the end. This allowed the golden material to not have to noticeably wrap around them anymore and the result was needles which were straight all the way down, the elemental orbs now hidden completely behind a thin layer of golden material. The needles also condensed slightly, shortening to become only 90 cm in length and the tips became sharper. Internally, she was pretty sure the addition of the Triforce Threads would allow energy to flow much more easily, but Aalam would know more. When the needles were done changing, it was then the turn of the artifact¡¯s glove section. The leftover materials from the orbs which had contained the elemental essences flowed into the glove. Then energy from each needle, seemingly the excess power remaining from the contained essences, flowed through the telekinetic connections the needles had with the glove and began to power its upgrade. Over the next two hours, the glove section absorbed enough energy from the soul well to raise Aalam¡¯s Soul stat by 108, and, while the azure fingerless glove didn¡¯t change in appearance, something about it was altered on a fundamental level. It didn¡¯t feel like an artifact anymore, but just a glove, and the same could be said about the needles still hovering in the air. Left Hand of the Runescribe (F-Legendary) [Growth] A fingerless glove for the left hand of a humanoid made from processed Mutant Juvenile Vitalized Rollie-Pollie scales, this artifact contains a minor pocket dimension and a telekinetic connection to twelve flying needles within. Each flying needle is made from the processed scales of a Vitalized Rollie-Pollie Queen, effectively indestructible below C rank, and is designed to channel the power of one of the twelve elements. Through the use of an Orb of Devouring during its construction, the Left Hand of the Runescribe can devour other materials to improve itself and, through the use of a Token of Soulbinding, it gains more power through the Law advancements of its creator, the Heavenly Spark Soul King. Through absorbing extra materials after its creation, it advanced from G to F rank and greatly increased the amount of energy which could be channeled through its needles while also becoming much better at containing its own energies, exceeding the threshold for becoming a Heroic grade artifact. Due to the will of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, however, its advancement in grade was delayed, so its true abilities at F rank have yet to be unlocked. Effects: Minor Pocket Dimension, Telekinetic Connection, Conductivity, Enhanced Triforce Channeling, Runescriber Enhancement Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants As he¡¯d explained previously, Aalam was holding back the full advancement of the Left Hand of the Runescribe until all his Laws were Law Larvae, but just the upgrading of rank made a huge difference. One, it was just plain cool. The new version of the needles were far sturdier than before, the fragile bits much, much more difficult to break. And that meant the needles could be used to stab people with more freedom, not to mention how much more energy Aalam would be able to channel through them, allowing him to write runes faster. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. It wasn¡¯t obvious, but she was pretty sure with just this much of an improvement to his primary weapon, Aalam had become at least six times more dangerous. Second, with the upgrade happening in the soul well, and with energies of all twelve elements exposed during the process, it was like they¡¯d both been given a glimpse at the mysteries of the universe, an excellent catalyst to gaining the inspiration required to upgrade their Law Eggs into Law Larvae. Mila¡¯s Law Egg of Hologram advanced into the Law Larva of Illusion while she watched. So, as her Law Eggs of The Tactician and Calm had already merged into the Law Larva of The Tactician during her conquering of the Kingdom of Night¡¯s Pillar of Conquest, she only had her Law Larva of The Courtesan left to gain before she could start practicing her cultivation technique. Aalam, on the other hand, had benefitted far more. First, his Law Egg of Multi-Dimensional Geometry advanced to a Law Larva, then his Law Eggs of Order and Entropy, followed by his Law Egg of Temporal Relativity. As each of these advancements boosted all his stats by 12 points, including Attunement, an absolute flood of Law advancements then followed. They included his Law Eggs of Plasma, Solid, Liquid, and Gas, as well as Inertia, Kinetic Energy, Matter, Ionic Conductivity, and Ionization. His Law Egg of Molecular Acceleration advanced into the Law Larva of Heat and his Law Egg of Molecular Deceleration advanced into the Law Larva of Cold. Then, finally, his Law Eggs of Ultraviolet and Infrared merged into the Law Larva of Electromagnetic Radiation and his Law Eggs of Ultraviolet Absorption and Infrared Absorption merged into the Law Larva of Electromagnetic Absorption. In total, Aalam gained 17 Law Larvae in just under six hours and Mila felt it was unfair, her Law Larva of Shadow almost advancing to middle grade. Granted, Aalam¡¯s Attunement stat was very high for his level and was boosted more than 100% by his Prince uniqueness given the size of his Territory after she¡¯d taken the remaining Pillars of Conquest. And, granted, unlike her, Aalam was soulbound to the artifact being flooded with elemental energies. But Mila knew it was mainly just because Aalam was better than her when it came to Laws, the usual source of bottlenecks in the universe. So, she resolved to work harder in order to keep up. * * * It was only about a week later that Mila managed to merge her Law Eggs of Rage and The Courtesan into the Law Larva of The Courtesan, having spent most of her time working as a matchmaker in the major city Roland was now operating out of. Then she immediately ran to the soul well and sat down to meditate in the hallway, entering her mind into the cultivation legacy bound to her soul. There she saw the old man again, the three-eyed elf, and this time, as he showed the first step of the mixed variant of Yin Yang Cosmology, she could follow it. His soulstructures and stats were a complete copy of hers, and she could sense inside his body even better than her own, so all she had to do was follow the same steps he was taking. It was a slow process, but it was relatively easy. The first step of the cultivation technique, which seemed like it would take about five days if she didn¡¯t take any time to sleep, was to move her resources through six specific patterns in her qi, mana, and psyforce channels, a different pattern for each of the six elements her Laws represented, and the normal bottlenecks were twofold, neither of which affected her. First, she had to infuse her resources with Laws, which would normally be difficult for someone who¡¯d just gained Law Eggs, but Mila already had Law Larvae, so that wasn¡¯t an issue. Second, any obstructions in her channels would slow down the rate at which she could cultivate and would have to be removed, but that also wasn¡¯t an issue as Mila¡¯s channels were wide and robust as well as entirely clean. Her body was created with near perfect cultivation talent and Aalam had paid extra so its integration with her soul would be flawless. According to Nana Xara, the soul of a cultivator effectively had two parts. The first part represented the intrinsic identity of the cultivator, holding her memories, personality, etc, while the second part was used for cultivation, holding the soulstructures and resource channels. The first part was independent from the cultivator¡¯s body, but the second part was very much linked to the cultivator¡¯s physical form, effectively a metaphysical representation of their anatomy. When Mila and Aalam had been reborn as monsters, their cultivation talent, represented by their soulstructures, resource channels, and Law affinities, had changed, but their intrinsic natures had not. This was why, despite having effectively the same cultivation talent, Aalam was so much better than her at mastering Laws. He was naturally someone skilled in studying how the universe worked, and that hadn¡¯t changed when he¡¯d been reborn. The first step of the mixed variant of Yin Yang Cosmology was to use her Laws to widen and strengthen all her resource channels, and, according to Nana Xara, the second step would do the same, but the third step, corresponding to high grade Law Eggs, would start the process of strengthening her soulstructures as well. It wouldn¡¯t help to increase their size or the amount of resources they could hold, but it would instead help strengthen the quality of her resources, which was far more useful, even with her low resource usage build. By the end of the fourth step, corresponding to peak grade Law Eggs, the higher quality of her resources would allow her to cut the resource cost for her skills almost in half. It was the fifth step, however, which Mila was truly looking forward to. That step would allow her to take six of her thirteen mana wells and start to elementalize the mana stored within them with her Laws, the different types of mana able to empower her skills with different effects. But it was also at this point she would have to drop the resource moving technique she¡¯d learned from the legacy of the Weaponsmaster and start to use the more complicated one which came with Yin Yang Cosmology. Just making that change would take one of her main minds weeks of work, and that was on top of how long each step of cultivation would take. Mila almost audibly sighed at the sheer length of the process, and Nana Xara sent, ¡°Cultivation is a marathon, not a sprint, but it¡¯s important, so you have to do it. ¡°You finally have a little more respect for me, right?¡± Chapter 83: Territory Growth Roland One year after returning from the tutorial, things were going much better for Roland than before the apocalypse. Instead of being hunted across the continent, he was leading a force of tens of thousands of people with superpowers and his people were hunting down the last remaining of the five generals. Instead of fearing for the safety of his sister and awaiting the news of her forced marriage, he could now see her every day and watch as she grew into an amazing young woman. And, instead of always being alone or with old men, he had a girlfriend now, the last remaining heir to the fallen Galen House, and she was awesome. Sure, to get all this he¡¯d sold his soul to some kind of sex demon, but the couple times he¡¯d met Guardian after he and his party were saved by the man were all rather pleasant experiences. Yes, the two times Guardian had come to his new capital, people had attacked the man to try and get the promised Legendary grade rewards, which was annoying, and, yes, Guardian had telekinetically ripped some of their heads off their bodies for their troubles, utterly terrifying the populace both times, but the man himself seemed rather pleasant, asking questions through Shadow which made him seem more like an academic or a crafter than the utterly terrifying force of nature he obviously was. Also, both times he¡¯d brought presents. First was an F rank Rare grade Sword which was marked by the System as the ¡®first work of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯ which replaced the G rank weapon he¡¯d been using. It was perfectly designed for his own path, more than doubling his offensive power, and even its balance was good, confirming in Roland¡¯s mind that Guardian had been a crafter before the integration. Second then was a series of five array disks, slabs of metal with complicated runes carved into them. He¡¯d supplied the metal to Shadow himself for the purpose, and Guardian had apparently gotten too excited so he¡¯d brought the results himself instead of waiting for her. The array disks worked to help claim new Territory like the token provided by the System, but the effect was slower. It took a disk about 24 hours to claim a new area of around 17 square kilometers, the mana of about 80 mages was required to start one up, and a running array attracted all the beasts in an area, meaning it had to be defended. But still, the disks were absolutely amazing. Upon receiving them, Roland had created five brigades of cultivators to use the disks to expand his Territory and, as Guardian made more disks, he¡¯d made more brigades. The beast attraction side effect provided an excellent way to level up for himself and his more powerful warriors and, as his Territory expanded, more and more of his subjects were able to benefit from the effects of the Territory. The boost in resource regeneration was amazing, and the extra Law affinity provided by Guardian being the overlord had greatly increased the strength of his subjects, but the biggest benefit was part of the intrinsic nature of a Territory. Beasts could feel that a Territory belonged to someone and, if they were instinctually afraid of that individual, they would generally avoid his Territory. The beasts of Hira weren¡¯t afraid of Roland. He and Shadow had performed some tests, creating a small Territory without Guardian as overlord, and only the weakest of beasts had avoided it. They were afraid of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, however, and, given the three times Roland had seen the man help defend one of the disks during the last half year, they were right to be. The man¡¯s main power was not telekinesis but the ability to write runes into the air to simulate skills. Empowered by Laws several grades higher than the highest grade Laws of any native on Hira, one skill from him could destroy an entire beast horde, and his favored skill type seemed to be soul attacks. Watching several hundred beasts die from flames and ice was one thing, but watching them die from what Roland¡¯s senses registered as nothing more than a light breeze was utterly terrifying. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Thankfully, no one but him and his party had seen the display, otherwise even scarier rumors about the man probably would have spread. While using the disks, Roland¡¯s Territory had also expanded using the normal path, increasing the number of those recognizing him as lord while clearing out beasts and those who didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t fully understand the process, but, from what Shadow explained, there was some sort of karmic effect at play. If those in his Territory recognized him as lord, part of the excess power they regenerated past their maximum would go into expanding his Territory, while the excess power of those who opposed him, both beasts and other humans, would cause his Territory to shrink. The effects were small at first, his Territory only increasing by about 0.1 square kilometers every day back when Shadow left to go deal with the invasions, but it had increased by a lot since then, the passive growth of the Territory now greater than that provided by Guardian¡¯s array disks. After the chaos that was the start of the integration, just bringing back law and order had won him most of the populace, but the bigger reason was probably Shadow. He was pretty sure she was the source of most of the more favorable rumors about him, as well as a couple of the not so favorable rumors that still seemed to earn him support, such as that he had no idea what he was doing when it came to sex. Sure, that was true, but it had been so embarrassing when he¡¯d overheard it from two of his citizens. ¡°We¡¯re going to head to the inheritance now, to get there when it opens.¡± Roland jumped, reaching for the sword at his waist. Then he belatedly realized it was Shadow sitting on his bed and not an assassin sent to kill him. His room was dark, no lamps lit as he¡¯d just entered, and it was of modest size given his status, only around 60 square meters. It was decorated far too opulently for his tastes, much like the entire mansion he¡¯d temporarily taken over as his headquarters, but it looked shabby next to Shadow, even if she was dressed in her battle clothes, a set of black leather pants and a black leather shirt, not the dresses she seemed to prefer. ¡°Why did you sneak into my room?¡± There wasn¡¯t any anger in his voice. From interacting with the woman, he¡¯d learned whenever she made an abnormal action there was always a purpose, and he thought she was likely making a point about how undefended he¡¯d been. ¡°Your assumption is correct.¡± Likely having read his aura, she smiled at him and he involuntarily felt his heart speed up slightly. ¡°I¡¯m trying to make a point that you shouldn¡¯t move around alone, even to your own bedroom. ¡°Given the rate things are moving, you should be ready to take on the position of Hira¡¯s World Sovereign around the time we return, and you need to stay alive at least until then.¡± Her smile stayed warm, but her tone was serious. ¡°Please keep your bodyguards around at all times for the next 14 to 18 days, even when you need to use the bathroom or are interested in romance. Once whatever goes down at the inheritance site happens, members of the invasion forces who remain are likely to come after you.¡± Roland thought about what she¡¯d said for a few seconds, as he¡¯d learned to do whenever given advice, and decided she was right. It would be inconvenient, and it wasn¡¯t like his bodyguards would be that useful against someone like her, but they would help with surprise attacks. And he needed to stay alive if the peace Hira was starting to experience was to continue. ¡°Do you need any help at the inheritance? I know quite a few cultivators under me have gone there even though I advised against it.¡± ¡°No.¡± Shadow shook her head slightly. ¡°A fragment of the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul is thought to be controlling the inheritance and my guess is she won¡¯t let anyone in without a requisite amount of talent. Only a few natives of Hira would meet that bar, probably less than a dozen, and no one you should be willing to risk. Numbers won¡¯t be useful.¡± ¡°In the wider universe, we¡¯re pretty much nothing, aren¡¯t we.¡± Roland felt a bit down. He¡¯d visited the north and some of the other areas where the native cultivators had all been killed by the invaders, and he fully understood Hira would have been rather easily conquered if it wasn¡¯t for Guardian and Shadow. ¡°Yes.¡± Shadow was blunt with him, which usually meant she considered the answer to the question something he should remember. And it made sense to Roland. Knowing your place in a power hierarchy was very important for survival. ¡°But don¡¯t sell yourself too short. You gained your Law Egg of Rain without any type of inheritance, which means the path you are on is likely the right one for you.¡± ¡°I just shouldn¡¯t compare myself against Guardian or you.¡± Roland smiled a bit sadly, but Shadow¡¯s smile turned into a grin. ¡°Why not?¡± Shadow faded out of his senses and her voice started to come from all over the room. ¡°Aim for the stars and you might hit the moon.¡± Then she was gone and Roland took a second to think, his smile turning genuine. Chapter 84: Isaiah and the Sea Isaiah Isaiah paused for a second a hundred meters below the water, focusing on his Kinetic Senses skill as he held on tightly to the harpoon in his right hand. Then he moved, activating Dragon Drive and stabbing out with five Power Attacks in quick succession. The giant eel-like creature trying to surround him was cut into six pieces and Isaiah felt quite a bit of primal energy flow into his body, pushing him up to level 12. Again, however, the weapon he was using wasn¡¯t strong enough to handle his new Law Larva of Fiery Destruction, so it fell apart in his hands. Still, his goals for his training were met. He¡¯d raised and then merged his new Laws, learning how to control the offensive power so it would only destroy what he wanted and not everything around him, even if it did almost always overwhelm his weapon. He¡¯d brought his Storm Steps, Power Attack, Guardian, and Kinetic Senses skills all to 80% mastery or higher. And he¡¯d mastered his only Epic grade skill, Dragon Drive. He grabbed the eel creature¡¯s head. Then, with a quick activation of his Law Larva of Storm Speed and his Storm Steps skill, he launched himself through the water and out into the open sky above the sea. Then he kept running through the air for an hour until he arrived at the island, roughly 56 kilometers from the shore, and landed in the village of natives. He said hello to Grandma Wilma and took the Yamila Fruit she offered him, biting into the fist-sized purple source of deliciousness. Then he went to the workshop of Camden, the village¡¯s blacksmith, and one of only five cultivators on the island, where he dropped the beast¡¯s head. ¡°The harpoon not able to take your power either, Izzy?¡± Camden, a small middle-aged man with light skin, moved over to inspect the head, kneeling down next to it. ¡°No.¡± As usual, Isaiah felt a little embarrassed, even though he knew Camden didn¡¯t really care. ¡°Sorry for destroying your work again.¡± ¡°Bah.¡± Camden waved toward him in dismissal, still engrossed with looking at the eel creature¡¯s fangs and not looking up. ¡°It¡¯s a smith¡¯s job to make tools to help better the lives of the village. Any spear destroyed by you would have served its purpose in lessening the monsters in the area, and that¡¯s as good a purpose as any.¡± Camden looked up, an expression of mixed pride and regret in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just sorry I don¡¯t have the skill to make you a weapon which can actually withstand your power.¡± After failing to capture the sneaky lying woman, Isaiah hadn¡¯t known what to do, so he¡¯d just searched around in the sea for a bit. Only after about half an hour, and getting frustrated at not being able to find her, had he remembered he only had a little more than six hours to reclaim the Gale Clan¡¯s Pillar of Conquest, but he hadn¡¯t had the energy to get back in time and he¡¯d broken down crying where he¡¯d left Varick¡¯s spear, now broken in two. He¡¯d then waited by the Pillar of Conquest, but a couple days later one of the Gale Clan scouts who¡¯d left with the army came back and he learned at least part of what the lying woman had told him was true. The army had been destroyed almost down to a man and, as far as the scout knew, Ava and Aleron were dead as well. Isaiah hadn¡¯t taken that very well, growing rather angry and scaring the man away. Then he¡¯d been alone and, after a bit, he¡¯d decided on revenge. He¡¯d gone hunting for the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s army, but he hadn¡¯t been able to find them in time, and, when he did find the army, they¡¯d already been destroyed, but by who he couldn¡¯t tell, and there was no one left alive to tell him. Directionless, he¡¯d realized the best time to find any survivors would be when the inheritance opened, so he decided to just work to prepare himself for that event, heading back to the sea to fight the powerful ocean beasts and overcome his weakness in fighting in that environment. He¡¯d taken a spear from one of the corpses, but it didn¡¯t last very long and he¡¯d gotten overwhelmed by the sea monsters, fleeing through the air to an island relatively near the coast. There he¡¯d been found by some of the local villagers and, even though he couldn¡¯t speak the language and had coloring not of their world, they treated him kindly, giving him food and a hut to sleep in. Without really realizing it, his life then entered a routine, going out to the sea to fight for as long as he could, then heading back to the island for sleep and food. He¡¯d started to bring back monster corpses to help pay for his room and board and Camden, who at the time didn¡¯t know him, made him a sword from a fang of one of the monsters, bringing him to tears. From then on, he¡¯d worked to learn the local language, a variant of the tongue used on the mainland, and, after a bit of broken speech and some hand gestures, Camden had started making him spears from the bodies of the beasts he brought. ¡°I have to go now.¡± Isaiah grabbed one of the replacement harpoons hanging from the wall of the workshop, one equivalent to the one he¡¯d broken fighting the eel monster. ¡°The inheritance is about to open up.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Camden stood up at that and, as Isaiah moved to leave, the man hugged him from behind. ¡°Be safe, Izzy. And make sure you don¡¯t get sacrificed.¡± Isaiah had told the man about his life and about what the sneaky lying woman had said, and Camden hadn¡¯t said much, but his expression had been the same as the woman¡¯s. Now it seemed Camden agreed with her and thought the Gale Clan had raised him as a sacrifice to get rewards from the inheritance of the Shadow Thief, and Isaiah felt tears start to form in his eyes. Camden only hugged him briefly, but Isaiah didn¡¯t move for several seconds after the hug stopped. Then he started to leave the workshop and said, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to stay safe.¡± Before leaving the island, he headed to the opposite side of where the village was, to a cliff overlooking the ocean. And there he sat in front of the small cairn he¡¯d made, inside of which were the remains of Varik¡¯s spear. He just sat there for about an hour. Then he stood, headed back to the village to get a large pack of dried food, and strode into the sky. He headed to the inheritance site, getting there a couple days before it was to open, and then he sat in the entrance, waiting for others to arrive. The first to come was a large group, several hundred individuals at least, and they seemed like natives given the language they were speaking. Then more natives came, and more, until there were several thousand of them. Mixed in were several people with obvious signs of bloodlines not found on Hira, a few members of the Flare Clan, even less members of the Gale Clan, and some people from the Quill and Vol Clans as well, along with a few elves. The Gale Clan members, on seeing him, almost all came over and sat with him, saying how good it was to see him alive, but he found it hard to focus as, at that point, he saw Ava. She was walking with a man who was either a relatively odd looking native or a resident of the Amoranth Kingdom, his medium brown skin somewhat reddish, his nose slightly larger than usual for the Kingdom of Night, and his brown eyes seeming to analyze everyone in the area with a glance. Then, when Ava saw Isaiah, she grabbed the hand of her companion and brought the man over. ¡°Isaiah, glad to see you are still alive.¡± Ava was frowning slightly as she said the words, seemingly unhappy, but the man beside her was different, looking extremely relieved. Ava¡¯s companion held out two slightly bent fingers toward Isaiah, the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s version of a handshake, and Isaiah, somewhat confused, did the same, allowing the man to give him a light tug of greeting. ¡°I¡¯m Prince Tomin of the Amoranth Kingdom,¡± the man began. Then, seeing Isaiah start to grow angry, he quickly continued. ¡°This planet was recommended to me by your brother, who is dating my older sister. ¡°I¡¯m on your side and the original plan was to use the chance of conquering this world to take you away from the Gale Clan and bring you to your brother. ¡°That obviously didn¡¯t work out due to the witch, but I¡¯d still like to be allies if possible.¡± Prince Tomin summoned a reddish crystalline orb into his hand and passed it to Isaiah. ¡°That¡¯s a bloodline crystal made by your brother. There is a message inside for you.¡± Isaiah took the crystal and used his qi to cut the tip of his right index finger. Then he placed his finger on the crystal and it was as if Raven was in front of him. ¡°Hey little brother.¡± He could see Raven sitting behind a desk in what was very obviously not the Gale Clan, the opulence in the room not something which could even be found in the clan master¡¯s lodgings. Raven also looked a little different than the last time he¡¯d seen him, the black streaks in his greenish blond hair a little wider and his eyes slightly red, more wolf-like, his power seeming to have grown¡ªbut the oddest thing was Raven¡¯s smile. He¡¯d never seen Raven smile like that, pride emanating from the man, and it looked good. ¡°If you¡¯re seeing this, it means Prince Tomin is in a bad enough state that he needs your help.¡± Raven¡¯s smile faded and he looked serious. ¡°Given your level of genius, I¡¯m assuming you¡¯ve advanced quite a bit while on that little world, but you still need to be careful. I¡¯ve joined the Amoranth Kingdom, having met Tomin¡¯s older sister while out adventuring, and we¡¯re in love, but that doesn¡¯t mean my position is secure. ¡°You might have learned this already, but the Gale Clan raised you with the intention to sacrifice your life in the inheritance on that world. The Shadow Thief was killed by your paternal grandfather, the War Dragon King, and everything we know about the woman makes it seem likely she¡¯d want to take whatever little revenge she could by having you killed. ¡°By all accounts, the woman stole something the War Dragon King, one of the most powerful B ranks in the universe, required to help him advance, angering him enough to lower his status by personally killing a C rank, so everyone in the know wants her inheritance and most of them will do whatever it takes to get it. ¡°My recommendation to you is to not enter the inheritance at all, but there might be some artifacts or materials inside which only you can make use of, so it would probably be a good idea to work with Tomin. ¡°My guess is he wants to sacrifice you as well, but, if he¡¯s showing you this, it means he¡¯s desperate enough to risk you knowing that. And if, like I expect, you are stronger than him, that gives you leverage. ¡°If you can stay alive long enough for that inheritance to collapse and then make it to the Amoranth Kingdom, I should be able to protect you with my influence and the Amoranth Kingdom will try their best to raise you, maybe even attempt to send you in as an apprentice to a B rank force. Raven smiled again, but this time there was some sadness behind it. ¡°Good luck brother, and I¡¯m so sorry I couldn¡¯t do more for you when you were little.¡± Raven reached forward, as if to end the message, but then he seemed to consider something and he didn¡¯t. ¡°Finally, if you can find it in your heart and if it isn¡¯t too much trouble, I would much appreciate it if you could keep Aleron and Ava alive. They¡¯ve been raised by that evil father of mine, who killed our mother for petty, petty reasons, but they¡¯re still my blood.¡± Raven then reached forward and the message was over. ¡°So, did Raven warn you about the whole sacrifice thing, or is he as bad as the rest of the Gale Clan? I¡¯ve been dying to know.¡± Isaiah turned around at the sound of the voice and saw a pretty young woman he didn¡¯t recognize, but the fact he could only see her and couldn¡¯t sense her with Kinetic Senses made it obvious who she was, and he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to find her main body among the crowd. Prince Tomin and Ava, he noticed, were also looking around wildly, so the sneaky woman was probably the witch Prince Tomin had mentioned, and, as he thought about it, it seemed she hadn¡¯t lied much at all. Chapter 85: Recruitment Offer Isaiah ¡°Excuse me, everyone!¡± As the illusionary clone of the woman looked at him, Isaiah heard a different voice yell over the sounds of the crowd. ¡°I¡¯m the head of the Kindar Raiders¡¯ invasion force and I have a few things to say!¡± Isaiah, Tomin, Ava, and the woman¡¯s illusionary clone all turned to look at the shouting middle-aged man, who looked no different from a native Hiran commoner. ¡°The inheritance of the Shadow Thief is about to open in a minute and, at that time, anyone can enter. Inside, a fragment of the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul will test your potential. How exactly, we don¡¯t know. So, for those of you thinking of fighting before entering, it is probably a better idea to wait and steal from people trying to leave.¡± ¡°Oh. Interesting.¡± Another clone of the woman appeared right in front of the man and locked eyes with him, the man quickly starting to breathe more quickly, his eyes dilating. Then a couple seconds later she asked, ¡°Now, could you please point to the real leader of the Kindar Raiders?¡± The man seemed to come back to himself and he looked horrified. Then, as if compelled, he pointed to a young man closer to the inheritance entrance. At just that time, however, the ground shook slightly and a wave of dark element mana emanated out from the inheritance entrance. ¡°Every man for himself!¡± The young man who¡¯d been pointed at teleported into the inheritance and disappeared. Then Prince Tomin did the same and most of the crowd started charging, Isaiah letting them pass. ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question yet.¡± The illusionary clone of the woman in front of him didn¡¯t leave, even while the other one disappeared. ¡°Did your brother tell you about the sacrifice?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to run in as well?¡± Even Ava and the fake Kindar Raiders leader had run in, leaving only Isaiah and the clone outside. ¡°I already have. It¡¯s not that big.¡± The woman smiled at him and then her form changed, becoming a beautiful human woman with slightly elf-like pink eyes. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°My brother advised me not to.¡± Isaiah looked at the woman and wondered why she¡¯d changed form, so, seeing as she seemed to want to talk anyway, he just decided to ask. ¡°Why¡¯d you change your appearance?¡± ¡°It¡¯s generally seen as more polite to use your actual appearance when trying to recruit someone.¡± The woman smiled at him. ¡°I can also stop paying the extra mana cost to maintain the changed form. It¡¯s a small amount, but small amounts add up.¡± Isaiah just looked at the illusionary clone for several seconds. This was a new experience for him. He¡¯d come to realize over the last year or so that he was powerful and that power was generally desirable. Seeing Camden and Grandma Wilma¡¯s confusion about why the Gale Clan hadn¡¯t supported him more after he¡¯d explained the differences between himself and the other leaders of the invasion forces had been especially eye opening. But this was the first time anyone had tried to recruit him. Even Prince Tomin had only reached out to him because he was desperate, yet he was pretty sure the woman in front of him was the cause of that desperation. ¡°Why?¡± The woman¡¯s illusionary form laughed. ¡°Do you want the honest answer or the lie?¡± Isaiah felt even more confused. ¡°Why would I want a lie?¡± The woman just looked at him for several seconds. Then she shook her head. ¡°Yeah, the two of you will get along.¡± Her expression then changed back to a smile. ¡°To answer your question, though, some people don¡¯t like hard truths. Are you sure you want to know?¡± Isaiah nodded. ¡°Okay then.¡± The woman made a gesture, indicating his entire body. ¡°First, you¡¯re an A rank talent who¡¯s messed up his cultivation and thus won¡¯t be valued by major forces, allowing what I have to offer to be better than any other offer you¡¯re likely to get. ¡°Are you aware why most would consider it a bad idea to choose a Legendary grade class like Rapid Spear Guardian at F rank?¡± Isaiah felt two different emotions from what she was saying. There was surprise that she knew his class, though it wasn¡¯t that shocking. She¡¯d questioned Omalia and Omalia had been part of the discussion when he¡¯d asked for help in making his choice. The other emotion then was rage, though not directed at the woman in front of him. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! His initial inclination had been to choose the Rare grade Rapid Spearman. Varik had recommended him to choose whatever he liked best of the Rare grade spearman options if he ever had the chance to advance to F rank, but he¡¯d always assumed Rare grade was just the highest grade he¡¯d have the possibility of choosing. So, when Aleron and Ava had enthusiastically recommended him to take one of the three Legendary grade classes he¡¯d been offered, he¡¯d gone along with their advice. ¡°No.¡± Isaiah felt worried. ¡°Why was choosing a Legendary grade class a bad idea?¡± ¡°Every time you increase your rank, you have to first qualify for a class of a higher grade so you can advance to that class.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was calm and matter of fact, causing Isaiah to focus back on how she had said ¡®most would consider it a bad idea¡¯, not that it was definitely a bad idea. ¡°The higher grade the class, the higher the requirements. But you¡¯re lucky. Your class path won¡¯t require you to kill scarier and scarier enemies in order to advance, but you will have bottlenecks with Laws, stat points, and cultivation techniques. ¡°These are things my partner and I can help with.¡± ¡°Partner?¡± Isaiah was confused for a second. Then he remembered the Pillar of Conquest the woman in front of him had taken over had been under the control of someone called the Heavenly Spark Soul King, a name that didn¡¯t seem to match the woman. ¡°Technically, I¡¯m his chamberlain. Do you know what that means?¡± Isaiah did and it scared him. He¡¯d seen the woman in front of him trick almost a thousand people to their deaths and, without a combat focused class, she¡¯d managed to escape from him twice. Yet she was someone else¡¯s servant? Just how powerful was the Heavenly Spark Soul King then. Isaiah nodded. ¡°Second, you have a combat focused class. My power set is based around trickery, contracts, and charm while my partner is a crafter. We could thus make use of someone who¡¯s specialized in just hitting things and making them die.¡± Isaiah felt a little tension leave his body. It seemed the reason the Heavenly Spark Soul King wasn¡¯t in the field was that he was a crafter. But if the Heavenly Spark Soul King was the master of the woman in front of him, it would usually mean he was a better crafter than the woman was a sneaky lying trickster, and that was exciting. The man might be able to make him a spear which could actually withstand his newest Law Larva. ¡°Finally, and this is the one you might not like, your life experiences make you someone who would be pretty easy to make loyal. Given what you¡¯ve recently learned about your life, you¡¯re liable to latch onto anyone who gives you a purpose and pats you on the back a few times, as your understanding of what you deserve in life is truly poor.¡± Isaiah just stared at her for almost half a second, trying to figure out why she would say that. With a little self reflection, however, he realized she was probably right, though less so given his experience with the village. But he couldn¡¯t understand why she would say it out loud, so he decided to ask. ¡°Why would you say that out loud?¡± The woman continued to smile. ¡°Think back to point one.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Then it made sense to Isaiah. The woman was confident she could give him what others couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t, so she didn¡¯t feel the need to trick him. And, by being up front about it, she was trying to earn his trust, even though he knew she was a sneaky lying trickster. ¡°What would you do if I said no?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The woman¡¯s smile became a bit threatening. ¡°It depends on your actions since we last met. If you¡¯ve been living peacefully and only fighting monsters, I¡¯d force you to sign an oath to not interfere with the natives. But, if you¡¯ve been killing natives to gain your levels, I¡¯d kill you.¡± The woman¡¯s aura flared and Isaiah realized it was almost exactly the same as the true body he¡¯d chased last time, meaning the strength of her actual aura had likely doubled or her clone skill had somehow gotten stronger. Then the flared aura disappeared and the woman¡¯s smile returned to normal. ¡°But it seems you¡¯ve not only been living peacefully, but among natives you consider yourself close to, so we likely wouldn¡¯t have conflicting desires.¡± ¡°What is it you want?¡± Isaiah was feeling a bit closer to the woman as he realized she would have been angry had he hurt the villagers. ¡°My partner and I are humans who were reborn as monsters due to dying before an apocalypse style integration on another planet. We want to get home so my partner can see his sister.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a monster?¡± It didn¡¯t make much sense as Isaiah knew all the rules of apocalypse style integrations. ¡°But you activated the pillar.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a sneaky trickster specializing in making and breaking bonds.¡± The woman¡¯s smile grew wider again, showing a little pride. ¡°That includes my bond with the System. I faked myself as a native.¡± Isaiah thought for a bit. First, if what the woman said was true, she was scarier than he thought, likely able to break any contract she made. But she¡¯d exposed that ability herself when she didn¡¯t have to and Isaiah knew his head would start to hurt if he tried to figure out if she was trying to trick him. Instead, then, he focused on the offer. Was it better than what his brother had recommended? ¡°My brother thinks if I made it to the Amoranth Kingdom and this inheritance had been destroyed, they would support me, maybe even get me into a B rank force as an apprentice.¡± The illusionary woman nodded and raised three fingers before putting one down. ¡°First, your brother has no way to know you chose a Legendary grade class, so that support would likely be lower than what he¡¯d expect.¡± She then put down a second finger. ¡°Second, you have no way to get to the Amoranth Kingdom until after 71 years. I¡¯ve already captured all twelve Pillars of Conquest, so my faction will control the only teleportation platform connected to the outside universe, and I wouldn¡¯t allow you to leave unless you were part of my faction. Finally, third¡ª¡± The woman¡¯s facial expression changed to show irritation, but he didn¡¯t think it was directed at him. ¡°The inheritance has a more complicated layout than I expected and I need this mind. There¡¯s more to my offer I haven¡¯t been able to get to yet, but let¡¯s talk again later.¡± The illusion of the woman then ceased to exist and Isaiah was left there to ponder on his choices. Chapter 86: Prove Your Worth I Mila The inside of the inheritance wasn¡¯t that large, at least the top part, but it branched. After the first room with the orb containing the ritual to turn humans into beastmen there was another room which flashed red every time a cultivator passed through. With the Noble¡¯s Sight skill Mila had learned and mastered, along with her Laws and third eye, she was able to see karmic threads attach to every cultivator who entered, linking them to something down below, likely the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief, but she wasn¡¯t worried. There was no power to the threads, no contracts, and Mila was pretty sure it was just an indicator of how they would be monitored and tested while within the inheritance. Beyond that room then were eight different paths, all long and leading down to different directions. They weren¡¯t far enough away Mila couldn¡¯t maintain her Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers, but all her senses were blocked for any of the paths she or her doppelg?ngers didn¡¯t travel through themselves, so she dissipated and then recreated the doppelg?nger which had been talking to Isaiah and had it follow Prince Tomin¡¯s group. She herself was in a group with no one she recognized while her other three doppelg?ngers followed two random groups and the one with the leader of the Kindar Raiders in it. With her Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers skill having advanced quite a bit, she could now make a total of nine doppelg?ngers, but she only had five minds so she generally only made four if she wanted them to do anything remotely complex. The range of the doppelg?ngers had also increased quite a bit, however, and that was helpful. Moving through the long stone hallways, each path ramped downwards by about a hundred meters and then opened up into a large round chamber, reminding Mila a lot of the soulspace room where the first challenge of her tutorial had taken place, only much larger. Each was made of stone and perfectly circular with a roughly 600 meter radius and a concave ceiling 70 meters tall at the center and 50 meters at the edges. Only, instead of a couple hundred other humans, there was a single human sized golem standing in the middle of the room and, instead of a glowing rune made of fire providing light and hinting at the purpose of the room on the ceiling, there was a large orb glowing with green and blue light. In each room, the golems, who all looked to be wearing stone armor and held large two-handed swords, turned their glowing purple eyes to the cultivators at the entrance to their rooms. Then a System notification showed up in front of Mila¡¯s eyes, and likely those of all the other cultivators in the inheritance as well. The Soul Fragment of the Shadow Thief has offered you a quest. Prove Your Worth I (F-Legendary) You must accomplish the following:
  1. Fight one on one against a weakened E rank golem for 96 seconds
  2. Keep the Soul Fragment of the Shadow Thief¡¯s interest
  3. Not die
Rewards: You may continue deeper into the inheritance Do you accept? Yes/No Mila accepted along with most of the other cultivators, and, in each room, she watched the golem take one hand off its blade and point at a cultivator, in most cases a native. Then it made a ¡®come here¡¯ gesture and everyone realized that cultivator was up first. In each room, the cultivator chosen stepped forward and there was a gong-like sound emanating from the entire room. Then the golem moved, about as fast as a cultivator with 500 or so effective agility and, in every room, the golem¡¯s large sword hit the cultivator with what looked to be about 750 effective strength, the cultivator instantly dying and blood splattering the floor and wall. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. A good portion of the cultivators in each room Mila was watching then tried to flee, but the golem in each room moved far faster than before, with what looked like an effective agility of around 1300, and two thirds of the fleeing cultivators died. The ones who hadn¡¯t accepted the quest, however, and the clone Mila had sent out of one of the rooms, managed to leave. Mila¡¯s clone followed further and watched as those who hadn¡¯t accepted the quest left the inheritance, Isaiah allowing them to pass, and she only killed five of them, the five who were obviously not natives, breaking their necks with telekinesis from the entrance. Then the clone nodded to Isaiah, who didn¡¯t seem all that surprised, and headed back into one of the testing chambers she hadn¡¯t seen yet. There were about sixty people left in each testing chamber and the following hour or so wasn¡¯t pretty. The golems all called up a second challenger and the results weren¡¯t much different than before. Then, after a 28 second break, another cultivator took the challenge and died, then another, and then another. A few people tried to run away again while others were challenging the golems, but they were quickly killed, the golem speeding up to chase them before returning to the challenge fight, its effective stats again lowered. There was an obvious pattern to the order in which the cultivators were challenged, each subsequent cultivator able to survive a little longer. And, by the time there were only a dozen or so people left in each testing room, cultivators started to pass. It was pretty obvious the golems were choosing people in order of perceived strength and it was also pretty obvious most of those who remained were members of the Kindar Raiders. It wasn¡¯t that the Raiders were particularly strong, most seeming to have only uncommon grade skills, but they were all agility-based cultivators with high levels, and they all had at least one movement skill. It appeared they¡¯d had more information about the inheritance than they¡¯d given out, and they all seemed to have spent the entirety of the last year out in the wilderness fighting the beasts which had transformed into monsters to level up. Ava Gale also passed, her class based around wind Laws and agility, and Prince Tomin somehow seemed even higher leveled than her, likely having hunted like crazy once Ava¡¯d finally managed to remove the contract restricting him. He passed quite easily as well, being the only cultivator Mila saw do any damage to the golem, leaving a small superficial cut on the golem¡¯s shoulder armor, and, when he was done, it was the turn of the Kindar Raiders'' leader in another testing chamber. That young man showed off strength which was somewhere between Ava Gale and Prince Tomin, but his fighting style was more reminiscent of the Shadow Wolves the undead had brought than anyone else. He teleported from shadow to shadow as he fought and he seemed to have a high grade Law Egg of the shadow path, though Mila could tell it wasn¡¯t the Law Egg of Obfuscation. He, Tomin, and the other cultivators left in the rooms with her clones were quickly able to identify who she was due to the golems not targeting her, and, when the golems were done with the examinations, they all quickly moved through the doorway which opened up on the other side of their chambers, a doorway with a forcefield her clones could not pass through, so she lost sight of them. Then, as it was finally her turn, Mila dissipated all four of her clones. The group she had joined had more Kindar Raiders cultivators than most, so, being the last one to get a turn, she was several minutes behind Prince Tomin and the Kindar Raiders¡¯ leader. The golem attacked her with its large sword, but she easily dodged without using any skills. She might not be an agility-based cultivator, specializing more in Spirit and Soul, but she¡¯d grown to level 14 and she¡¯d monopolized the rewards for ending eleven of the twelve invasions. Her base agility was already two thirds of the way to one thousand, so she could just dance around the golem when it restricted its stats, not even having to follow the optimal movement paths she could now see thanks to her Law Larva of The Tactician¡¯s interaction with her Third Eye Princess uniqueness. At the same time, she was also able to confirm something about her uniqueness¡¯s interaction with her Law Larva of The Reaper. Previously, she¡¯d confirmed her weakness sight could show her the weaknesses of monsters, which had already proven useful, but now it seemed it worked on golems as well, and she was pretty sure she would be able to destroy the golem in front of her if it kept its stats restricted, though she didn¡¯t try. She did, however, send all the information she¡¯d gathered about the golems to Aalam, who was waiting several kilometers out from the inheritance in case anything went wrong. Then, when she was nearly done with her test, one of the other cultivators in her group who¡¯d passed, who she was pretty sure was a member of the Kindar Raiders, held his hand out at her and, for about half a second, she was unable to move. She managed to pretty easily pull herself back with Telekinesis to save her life, and then she returned the favor by grabbing that cultivator with Telekinesis as well, pushing him right into the path of the golem¡¯s swinging blade. Nothing happened to her for interfering with another cultivator, but she wasn¡¯t sure if it was because he¡¯d attacked her first or if the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief just didn¡¯t care, so she didn¡¯t risk killing or enslaving any of the other cultivators still in the room, most of whom were now looking at her with fear plain on their faces. After her test was done, she got another System notification showing she¡¯d passed the quest, and, after leaving an illusionary clone behind, she and the other survivors in her group entered into the door on the other side of the room and Mila realized she couldn¡¯t sense back into the previous part of the inheritance site at all, the clone immediately dissipating. From the slight shift in the directions of her bonds with Aalam and Roland, it seemed she¡¯d moved further down into the ground than she¡¯d expected, and the range of Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers just wasn¡¯t long enough. Chapter 87: Prove Your Worth II Mila Mila walked with her group down a stone corridor and then down a spiral staircase about 120 meters. At the bottom was another nondescript stone corridor and this led to another large room which Mila calculated was directly under the entrance to the inheritance. This room was almost identical to the testing rooms, only there were eight archway entrances and a waist high pedestal in the center with a basketball-sized black orb sitting on top of it. All the others who¡¯d passed the first test were standing around the orb, seeming to have come out of the room¡¯s seven other entrances, and there were three golems at the edges of the room, forming a triangle with all the cultivators at the center. Her group moved forward to join everyone else, but Mila herself didn¡¯t particularly like the setup, so she instead split off an illusory clone to continue on with the others and walked back to the staircase herself instead. ¡°Is there a reason you don¡¯t want to come see me?¡± a female voice asked via telepathic messaging, Mila tracking the telepathy to the karmic link attached to her when she first entered. It was connected to the orb in the center of the room, and the bond had strengthened since she passed the first test. ¡°She can only send you messages,¡± Nana Xara quickly informed her, their link allowing her master to share her senses and thus hear the message. ¡°If you want to respond you¡¯d have to speak out loud.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really like the feeling of being trapped somewhere I could easily be killed,¡± Mila said aloud, responding to who she assumed was the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief. ¡°But why would I want to hurt you?¡± the voice asked, sounding confused. Its tone was angelic and smooth, maybe what the Shadow Thief originally sounded like, but Mila didn¡¯t have a way to tell. What she did know was that the confusion was almost certainly faked, at least a little, as there was no reason for the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief to not know how threatening her actions had already been. Still, there was no reason to play her hand. ¡°I have no idea because I don¡¯t know a thing about you.¡± Mila smiled as she continued walking toward the staircase. ¡°That¡¯s kind of the problem. Also, I¡¯m enemies with pretty much everyone in that room.¡± ¡°Ah. Alright. Fair enough.¡± The soul fragment¡¯s voice sounded contemplative. ¡°The next test doesn¡¯t require you to be personally present anyway, so long as your clone can talk. And you seem to be the most powerful cultivator to enter the competition, so I¡¯ll let it slide.¡± Then, from the black orb, sound emanated. ¡°Let¡¯s start the next round.¡± The Soul Fragment of the Shadow Thief has offered you a quest. Prove Your Worth II (F-Legendary) You must accomplish the following:
  1. Argue why the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance should be left for you and convince the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment it should
  2. Not die
Rewards: You may enter into a binding agreement with the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment to gain the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance Do you accept? Yes/No Mila didn¡¯t immediately accept, but she could see almost all the others did so through her Noble¡¯s Sight skill combined with her third eye. ¡°Why should I choose to give my inheritance to you?¡± the orb asked, no indication the question was aimed at any of them in particular. Several people were about to speak, but Mila¡¯s clone made a throat clearing sound and flared her aura, everyone giving her the chance to talk first. ¡°What is it you want?¡± ¡°Revenge.¡± The woman¡¯s voice sounded cold, very different from the friendly demeanor she¡¯d used previously. ¡°Against the War Dragon King, a powerhouse among B ranks, and twelve separate C ranks.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Mila¡¯s clone took a step back, allowing the others a chance to talk first. ¡°I¡¯m Prince Tomin Amoranth of the Amoranth Kingdom,¡± Tomin began, but the soul fragment interrupted him. ¡°I could already tell that much. I stole from your kingdom multiple times during my life and your skills are relatively obvious.¡± The soul fragment of the Shadow Thief sounded somewhat dismissive. ¡°Why are you afraid of the succubus?¡± Prince Tomin looked at Mila¡¯s clone, not that surprised by her race, then back at the black orb. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Well, that¡¯s an obvious lie. Do so again and I¡¯ll have my golems kill you.¡± The black orb¡¯s tone was neutral, as if she didn¡¯t care all that much about killing a prince, which she probably didn¡¯t. ¡°Gale Clan girl, why is he afraid of the succubus?¡± Ava was trembling slightly, looking from the orb, to the golems, to Mila¡¯s clone, then to Tomin, and then back to the black orb. ¡°She¡¯s more powerful than us at the moment.¡± ¡°And what are her skills? So far I¡¯ve only seen a Legendary grade illusion-based clone skill and what looks to be Heroic grade Telekinesis.¡± Almost everyone looked surprised by that, seemingly not having guessed the grade of Mila¡¯s skills, or at least her Telekinesis, but Ava recovered quickly and answered. ¡°She has a disguise skill of some kind, a contract skill, and a charm skill. We don¡¯t know about her last slot, but all her skills are of at least Legendary grade and she seems to have a Legendary grade or Heroic grade class based around contracts, making it nearly impossible she¡¯ll even reach E rank in the future, let alone C or B rank.¡± ¡°Ms. Succubus, is that true?¡± the voice sounded somewhat disappointed. ¡°Except for the last part, yes.¡± Mila decided to speak casually through her clone and brought up her confidence by thinking back to how she¡¯d felt when she¡¯d destroyed the Amoranth Kingdom¡¯s army, which would then be reflected in her aura. ¡°I met all the requirements for my E rank class over half a year ago. Now all I need to do is level up, gain one more skill, and then raise all my skills to full mastery.¡± ¡°Can you prove that?¡± Ava asked angrily, fear the defining emotion of her aura. In response, Mila¡¯s clone just raised a hand and six small orbs of pure mana rose out of it, each emanating a different elementalization. ¡°Is that good enough?¡± ¡°What does that even¡ª¡± Ava began, but the voice of the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment cut her off. ¡°You have at least six Law Larvae and a cultivation technique which allows for elementalization at only the fifth stage.¡± She sounded contemplative. ¡°I only know of three cultivation techniques which would allow for that for those elements and all three are highly controlled.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an A rank talent. The tutorial was kind to me.¡± Internally, Mila was kicking herself for exposing her cultivation technique, opening up a bit of distrust in the soul fragment, but she hadn¡¯t known enough about cultivation techniques to know elementalization wasn¡¯t common. Still, she didn¡¯t let it show in her emotions. ¡°Why are you enemies with the invasion forces. As a monster, you shouldn¡¯t have many inherent conflicts.¡± Mila thought for a second on how to answer. ¡°As monsters, my boss and I didn¡¯t have many options for System rewards, so, early on, we decided to side with the natives. My boss took the native leader as a slave and I¡¯ve orchestrated the capture of all 12 Pillars of Conquest, my boss and I gaining the rewards.¡± Technically, everything she said was true. She just left out the fact she had broken her connection with the System, allowing her to claim the pillars herself, and, as the soul fragment certainly had at least some ability to look at the world outside the inheritance site, she also proactively talked about Aalam, as the soul fragment almost certainly already knew his title. ¡°So, none of you are able to leave this world other than the genius succubus.¡± The soul fragment of the Shadow Thief sounded a bit happy. ¡°Why should I choose anyone over her?¡± ¡°What about this mysterious boss of hers?¡± Ava asked, looking over at Mila¡¯s clone while her aura showed terror. ¡°What was your System generated title, little miss succubus?¡± the soul fragment asked, but Mila¡¯s attention was more on the leader of the Kindar Raiders and his thirty-seven subordinates who¡¯d also passed the first test, the only ones to do so other than Ava, Tomin, and herself. None of them had said anything yet, but all the subordinates were looking at their leader, who¡¯d been about to say something when Ava beat him to it. ¡°The Mistress of Oaths and Deception.¡± ¡°And what about your boss?¡± the soul fragment continued. ¡°A king talent I¡¯m assuming if the System named you subordinate.¡± ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King. He was my life partner on our original world.¡± ¡°Heavenly spark, really?¡± The soul fragment sounded contemplative. ¡°Grandmother,¡± the leader of the Kindar Raiders then spoke up, ¡°even if the succubus is extremely talented and might rise to C or B rank in the future, becoming capable of getting your revenge, there is nothing to force her to follow through. She specializes in contracts and, if she were to rise to your level, no contract you could make could bind her. ¡°There¡¯s also only a chance she could rise to that level, while there¡¯s another option which will allow you at least partial revenge immediately. ¡°Outside this inheritance right now is the grandson of the War Dragon King. With the Altar of Sacrifice you should have here in the inheritance, and the blood sacrifice of a few million F rank natives, you could put a curse on the bloodline of the War Dragon King, lowering the strength of even the War Dragon King himself.¡± ¡°And who are you?¡± The soul fragment sounded interested and Mila realized things were likely about to slip from her control. The leader of the Kindar Raiders knelt with one knee and raised his opposite arm with fist outward while bowing his head. ¡°Your great-great grandson through the line of Ronado, Holt.¡± ¡°There is a war dragon among the invasion forces, yet he didn¡¯t enter the inheritance to compete for my treasures?¡± The soul fragment sounded interested. ¡°What a stroke of luck. Yet why would he wait outside?¡± ¡°We were lucky before the apocalypse started, but we didn¡¯t anticipate the interference of the succubus, grandmother.¡± Holt kept his eyes to the ground. ¡°We originally made a deal with the Gale Clan from the Kingdom of Night to gain access to your inheritance, unaware you would trigger an apocalypse on Hira, and then the Gale Clan wanted to back out. But my father learned the wife of the Gale Clan leader had been raped by the fifth son of the War Dragon King and had a child, the Gale Clan leader wanting revenge for the slight, so we revealed the potential of the bloodline curse to get him to invest more. ¡°He did, and he sent in the boy unaware, but his son with the half dragon¡¯s mother fled to the Amoranth Kingdom after finding out and it seems the Amoranth Prince revealed the plan to the half dragon, at least what was revealed to the Gale Clan. This, however, seems to be after the succubus did the same, having captured and interrogated our contact in the Gale Clan. ¡°Given the succubus is on the side of the natives and seems to have been trying to recruit the half dragon, she would have to be held or killed for the sacrifice to work.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The soul fragment sounded contemplative, and Mila so wanted to run. But she knew it wouldn¡¯t work, so she didn¡¯t even try, just sitting down on the bottom of the steps. ¡°Alright then.¡± One of the golems raced into Mila¡¯s tunnel while the one she tested against ran down the stairs, both stopping five meters from her as a small bag holding some kind of dust appeared out of a spatial storage within the black orb and landed right in front of the Kindar Raiders leader. ¡°That is a bag of Dragon Subduing Powder. Even if he¡¯s a half dragon, that should knock him right out. Use it and bring him to me. ¡°Ms. Succubus, I¡¯d still like to make a deal with you, but for now I am sorry to have to ask you to stay here for a while, at least until we come to an arrangement of some kind.¡± Chapter 88: Kindar Raiders Mila Mila was feeling a lot of emotions, but the biggest one was disgust. She didn¡¯t consider herself a particularly moral person, and her powers, while incredibly useful, would make the way she fought unethical to many, but what the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment and the Kindar Raiders had planned was revolting even to her. There weren¡¯t a million native cultivators on the planet, so their plan was to capture and hold Isaiah, then either wait for the population on the planet to increase or, more likely, artificially increase the number of cultivators through blood sacrifice rituals to make beastmen. Whatever the case, given the numbers involved, they were planning on mass murdering children and adults alike, and effectively committing genocide on the entire planet. Thankfully, however, their plan wasn¡¯t going to work. Ever since approaching the entrance to the inheritance where everyone was gathered, she¡¯d been sharing her senses with Aalam. The extra senses provided by her third eye couldn¡¯t be shared, but he knew what was happening and she¡¯d been talking to him with one of her extra minds throughout her time in the inheritance. So, when Holt and the other Kindar Raiders rushed out of the inheritance to surround Isaiah, they met four large rocks the size of dressers falling from the sky, and five of them were crushed. Their shock gave Isaiah an extra quarter second to react when holt threw a large pinch of Dragon Subduing Powder at him, so he managed to dodge almost all of it, but a small amount still hit his foot and somehow entered into his body, causing him to almost instantly stumble and fall. Holt tried to reach for another bit of powder, but Aalam had been watching everything with his Hunter¡¯s Senses skill, which contained a weakened version of Hunter¡¯s Sight, improving vision, and he¡¯d been running closer at max speed the entire time. Now close enough, he grabbed the pouch holding the Dragon Subduing Powder with Telekinesis and brought it towards him, storing it inside the Left Hand of the Runescribe, and, at the same time, he broke the necks of all the Kindar Raiders other than Holt, the leader having a high enough Aura stat to make grabbing his neck directly impossible. Holt, however, wasn¡¯t impervious to being stabbed, so Aalam used four of his minds to grab the weapons of the fallen Kindar Raiders and, the weapons moving at a speed normally impossible for an F rank to achieve, turned the Kindar Raiders¡¯ leader into a red pincushion. Then he finally got close, used Telekinesis to strip every corpse of their artifacts, and held out his left hand, pulling all the artifacts into the now noticeably different Left Hand of the Runescribe. The fingerless glove was still made of azure scales, and it still emitted almost no feeling of power when examined, but the scales had darkened, and the glove was more perfectly fitted to Aalam¡¯s hand, almost looking like it was part of him. Aalam was still wearing the clothing they¡¯d stolen from Morin Daal, a black pair of pants and a black T-shirt, and he still looked like a model, his dark blue hair shoulder length and silky, his amber eyes bright, and his skin and musculature flawless, but Mila couldn¡¯t see him from an outsider¡¯s perspective due to sharing his senses, and it was a little disappointing. Instead of talking to or even checking on Isaiah, however, Aalam rushed into the inheritance and there he met three golems in the relatively enclosed hallway, which was only about three meters wide and tall. Instead of slowing, or even pulling out a weapon, however, Aalam just ran straight forward and, when two of the golems tried to attack him with their large swords, all the air in the hallway, along with the golems, were shoved into the walls, and Aalam just ran past. Five needles appeared from out of the Left Hand of the Runescribe, all a darker golden color than before, and started drawing a complicated array around Aalam¡¯s body. Then, a few seconds later, Aalam reached the barrier Mila had passed through after the first test and ran right through, the array around him somehow tricking the barrier into letting him by unimpeded, and then he immediately passed through the short distance portal behind it. The three golems were right on his heels, but with only 1300 effective Agility, they weren¡¯t as fast as Aalam, who had gained far more stats than Mila due to advancing so many Laws and his time in the soul well. Even if he wasn¡¯t using Telekinesis to help boost his speed, which he was, he would still be faster than them. While this was happening, Mila didn¡¯t react, but, when she could hear Aalam tearing down the spiral staircase above her, she stood up and severed her bond with the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief using her Law Larva of The Reaper. Then, in the moment of confusion that caused the golems, she slipped past the two next to her and moved up the staircase, stopping twenty meters up where she and Aalam met. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. They both then stopped and focused on the five golems moving toward them, two from in front and three from behind, and only then did Aalam show what he¡¯d figured out by using several separate Legendary sensing skills to take a closer look at the locations of weakness Mila had sent him. The other seven needles of the Left Hand of the Runescribe appeared, joining the five already out, and Aalam activated the new effect the artifact had gained when he¡¯d fully advanced it to Heroic grade, Law Suppression. In the range of Aalam¡¯s aura, his 36 Laws became more prominent and the Laws of others became weaker, even Mila¡¯s, but this was just the main effect. The suppression also slowed the resource flow speed of any active array formation in the area of effect, and that included the ones inside the golems. The golems slowed down noticeably and Aalam was able to sense inside them with his Void Sense skill, the Spacetime Sensing skill he¡¯d merged, and the Crafter¡¯s Senses skill he¡¯d learned from one of her Legendary grade skill orbs. This then allowed him to get the timing perfect and he stabbed two needles into each of the five golems, one to the upper left of where the T4 vertebra would be on a human and one to the lower right of the T10 vertebra. All the golems stopped working, cut off from their power source, but were minimally damaged, and Aalam pulled each of them into the now larger subspace of the Left Hand of the Runescribe. They both then rushed into the main chamber on the floor, where only Prince Tomin and Ava Gale were left, and, when the two other golems in the room tried to stop them, Aalam disabled and collected them as well. The speed of the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s needles was proportional to Aalam¡¯s Spirit stat, which he¡¯d managed to raise to maximum, and even Mila could barely follow them with her boosted perception, let alone the golems whose perception was average. ¡°Miss Shadow Thief,¡± Mila said as she walked toward the black orb, trying to keep her tone pleasant and respectful, ¡°could we talk?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The voice of the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief sounded cold. ¡°Why are you and your mate blocking my revenge?¡± With Mila¡¯s perception, she could hear four other golems running down the hallways to the room, but most of her focus was on tracking the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief. According to Nana Xara, the orb in front of her wasn¡¯t an artifact that could hold a soul fragment, but one a soul fragment could connect to to send out its will, so the soul fragment had to be deeper in the inheritance somewhere. She sent this information to Aalam, and he replied back by sharing his senses of some magical array formations built into the room, two of which were defensive, three of which were offensive, and one of which looked like it might open a passage in the floor, likely leading deeper into the inheritance where five more golems should be found if the information she¡¯d gained from Omalia about their estimated number was correct. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Mila said calmly, allowing her aura to show the slight anger she was feeling. ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King saw enemies of ours leave the inheritance, so he killed them and robbed them, just like we¡¯d planned before I entered. ¡°Had you consulted me instead of trapping me, I could have told you that would be the case.¡± Mila smiled warmly. ¡°And it¡¯s not like the Kindar Raiders¡¯ plan would have worked in the first place. The invasion forces were too focused on each other due to your inheritance, so they killed almost every native cultivator they found as well as each other.¡± Mila pointed at Ava and Prince Tomin. ¡°It¡¯s entirely possible those two, along with the half dragon, are the only members of the invasion forces still left alive. ¡°There aren¡¯t enough sacrifices on the planet, let alone enough of a force to bring them to you. And the half dragon is strong and now knows about your powder.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The soul fragment of the Shadow thief sounded contemplative as the four golems Mila had been hearing entered into the room at a walk. ¡°Gale Clan girl, is she speaking the truth?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Ava was staring at Aalam, seemingly distracted by both his beauty and the strength he showed by easily dispatching the golems, but she turned back to the black orb. ¡°We don¡¯t know of any other members of the invasion forces who are still alive. A lot of native cultivators were slaughtered. And Isaiah was the strongest cultivator among the invasion forces.¡± ¡°Ms. Succubus, you and your mate could complete the ritual, correct?¡± the orb asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Mila nodded. ¡°But we wouldn¡¯t as there are no advantages for us to do so. In a couple weeks, the entire planet will become the Territory of the Heavenly Spark Soul King and that will allow us to leave this planet, which we will. ¡°We gained quite a lot of rewards during our tutorial and through conquering this planet, and one of those rewards was access to the treasures and knowledge of a dead A rank. Your treasures and knowledge would be a nice addition for us, but they aren¡¯t necessary.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± The voice of the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief changed, sounding more greedy than anything else, and then one of the offensive array formations in the room activated, a powerful aura emanating from the black orb, covering the entire inheritance. Aalam fell to his knees. Prince Tomin and Ava fell unconscious, blood starting to flow out of Ava¡¯s orifices. And Mila felt as if chains wrapped around her soul, her body falling limply to the ground. ¡°You have a lot of advantages for a tiny little F rank.¡± Mila heard the voice of the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment in her mind as the four golems in the room rushed at Aalam. ¡°I¡¯ll just take over your soul and have them for myself then.¡± Successfully baited, the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief ignored Aalam as expected, aware advancing his classes would prove impossible, and quickly paid the price for aiming at an apprentice of the Yin Yang Sage. Chapter 89: Battle at the Center of the Soul Mila Mila had improved quite a lot since being reborn as a succubus. Name: Li Mila Level: 14 Race: Strong Soul Succubus Princess (F-Epic) Bloodline: Prime Servitor (Mythic) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Legendary) Master of Disguise (Heroic) Class 1: Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) Skills Artifact Enhancement (F-Legendary) 85% mastered Devil¡¯s Contract (F-Legendary) 78% mastered Trickster¡¯s Guise (F-Legendary) 83% mastered Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers (F-Legendary) 77% mastered Evil Eyes - Lust (F-Legendary) 74% mastered Class 2: Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) Skills Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) 68% mastered Life Death Detection (F-Legendary) 87% mastered Noble¡¯s Sight (F-Epic) 100% mastered Allegiance Tracking (F-Epic) 100% mastered Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) [shadow] Telekinesis (F-Heroic) [shadow] Laws Law Larvae: The Healer - Early The Reaper - Early Shadow - Early Illusion - Early The Tactician - Early The Courtesan - Early Stats Strength: 583 (+14.25%) Agility: 667 (+14.25%) Endurance: 639 (+14.25%) Toughness: 583 (+14.25%) Vitality: 611 (+14.25%) Perception: 737 (+114.25%) Magic: 865 (+14.25%) Spirit: 1029 (+14.25%) Soul: 1741 (+26.75%) Aura: 382 (+156.25%) Attunement: 368 (+68.75%) Luck: 326 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Medium Mental Forges Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Third Eye Princess Assets: 3 D rank universal credits 1279 E rank universal credits 168,236 F rank universal credits 26 D rank undead credits 27,894 E rank undead credits 37,766,349 F rank undead credits Boons: Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%. Hunter of Sentients XVI: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 8% And Aalam, even though he¡¯d gained less levels, had improved a lot more. Name: Aalam Alvaro Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Level: 7 Race: Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic) Bloodline: Genetic Thief (Mythic) Abilities Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) [Upgradable] Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) Soul Collector (Epic) [Upgradable] Class 1: Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord (F-Heroic) Skills Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) 52% mastered Runescriber (F-Heroic) 49% mastered Soul Lord (F-Heroic) 45% mastered Telekinesis (F-Heroic) 57% mastered Spacetime Sensing (F-Legendary) 71% mastered Crafter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary) 53% mastered Class 2: Void Sage (F-Legendary) Skills Void Sense (F-Legendary) 89% mastered Hunter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary) 53% mastered Psychic Domain (F-Legendary) 61% mastered Mana Domain (F-Legendary) 58% mastered Qi Domain (F-Legendary) 57% mastered Knowledge of Watching Eyes (F-Epic) 100% mastered Lord¡¯s Binding (F-Rare) 100% mastered Lord¡¯s Hearing (F-Rare) 100% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Heat - Early Plasma - Early Passion - Early Cold - Early Liquid - Early Tranquility - Early Inertia - Early Solid - Early Gravity - Early Storm - Early Gas - Early Kinetic Energy - Early Ionization - Early Fission - Early Fusion - Early Ionic Conductivity - Early Matter - Early Antimatter - Early Electromagnetic Radiation - Early Energy Transfer - Early Cleansing - Early Electromagnetic Absorption - Early Energy Storage - Early Contamination - Early Cells - Early Order - Early Bonds - Early Deprivation - Early Entropy - Early Severing - Early Vacuum - Early 3 Dimensional Geometry - Early Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Middle Temporal Acceleration - Early Temporal Relativity - Middle Pause - Early Stats Strength: 1129 (+13.75%) Agility: 1129 (+13.75%) Endurance: 1228 (+13.75%) Toughness: 1129 (+13.75%) Vitality: 1228 (+13.75%) Perception: 1327 (+13.75%) Magic: 1732 (+13.75%) Spirit: 3456 (+1113.75%) Soul: 4752 (+26.25%) Aura: 1459 (+56.25%) Attunement: 1459 (+68.75%) Luck: 594 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Medium Mental Forges Unique: 1 Small Soul Storage Uniqueness: Id Prince Territory: Lord NA Overlord New Raphaiya (Lord: Roland Raphaiya) Boons: Hunter of Sentients XV: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 7.5% The total of Aalam¡¯s stats was 20,622, which was huge, usually a value not even achievable by an F rank, but even the weakest E rank had at least 6,516 total stat points at level 37 and 52,524 at level 108. That difference was even more exaggerated at D rank, yet alone C rank, so, when the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief activated the inheritance¡¯s array formation and tried to take over Mila¡¯s soul, there was nothing Aalam could do. Thankfully, him protecting her from the Shadow Thief was not part of the plan. Just as there was a virtually impossible difference between an F rank and a C rank, there was an even larger difference between a C rank and an A rank, and that wasn¡¯t even accounting for the fact the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul was just a fragment while Nana Xara¡¯s was in perfect condition. Now, normally, Nana Xara couldn¡¯t have any direct effect on anything in Mila¡¯s life, but someone trying to take over her soul was one of the few exceptions. Nana Xara had a contract with the System to allow her to take two disciples, but she wasn¡¯t allowed a third, and, if the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment succeeded, that is what would happen. The soul fragment was just that, a fragment, so what it was trying to do was not to replace Mila¡¯s soul and take over her body, which would result in a loss of all Mila¡¯s karmic bonds, but to merge itself with Mila¡¯s soul, only replacing the parts which held Mila¡¯s memory and sense of self, not the parts which held her power. This violated the System¡¯s will, as it would effectively kill Mila while automatically giving Nana Xara a new apprentice, so it didn¡¯t just allow Nana Xara to interfere. It forced her to or else she¡¯d lose several unspecified privileges. Thus, as soon as the soul fragment got close to Mila¡¯s soul, it felt a soul much, much, much more powerful than it reach out from far away and trap it in a little box of soul power. Nana Xara was free to stop the soul fragment¡¯s actions in any way she wanted, and she saw no reason to waste such a good cultivation resource like the fragment of a C rank soul, so she locked the fragment away inside Mila¡¯s own soul, where Mila could talk to it, affect it with Evil Eyes - Lust so she could eat it, or just kill it, but, while Mila could affect the soul fragment, the fragment couldn¡¯t do anything to her. When she was consulting with Nana Xara about how to approach the inheritance if the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment turned hostile, Nana Xara had revealed this loophole, but it hadn¡¯t originally been Mila¡¯s intention to use it as she still didn¡¯t fully trust Nana Xara¡¯s intentions. She had, however, kept it as a backup, as she judged the chance Nana Xara was lying was quite low and the chance the soul fragment would attempt a soul merge was quite high. Originally, Mila¡¯d wanted to just trick the soul fragment, get the treasures, and then break whatever deal they made later, but the ritual sacrifice plan of the Kindar Raiders had made that impossible, and Aalam had to enter the inheritance to rescue her. Mila hadn¡¯t been sure what capabilities the inheritance had, however, so she and Aalam couldn¡¯t just leave, as it was possible the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment could do something drastic which would ruin all their plans. She then stalled for a bit while Aalam analyzed the array formations in the heart of the inheritance to try and figure out what they could do and, when one of the offensive formations appeared to be designed to release a powerful soul attack which would kill every single life form on the planet, she hadn¡¯t had much choice. She¡¯d baited the soul fragment, and Nana Xara had done the rest, though to Mila¡¯s senses it felt about the same as when she¡¯d been granted her cultivation technique. Her senses weren¡¯t strong enough yet to see the soul magic used by either the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment or Nana Xara, so all she felt was her soul being suppressed by the soul fragment¡¯s array formation. Then that suppression stopped and another small piece of foreign matter was attached to her soul, only this time it was a cage around an enemy instead of a container around an inheritance. She could only sense both the inheritance and the caged soul fragment in an abstract way, somehow knowing they were there, but without any actual direction, and it was all very metaphysical. If she wanted to interact with either, she easily could, she just had to have the intent to do so and it would be done. But, as she wasn¡¯t like Aalam who somehow found abstract multi-dimensional analysis as easy as breathing, thinking about it any more would just make her brain hurt, so she stopped. The golems who¡¯d been about to attack Aalam had come to a halt around him before they¡¯d gotten the chance to swing their swords down, Nana Xara having done something to stop both them and the array when she¡¯d sealed up the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment. And Aalam was slowly recovering from the array¡¯s soul suppression, which seemed to have done more to him than her, the effect on her likely having been deliberately less. Still, however, Aalam was Aalam, so the experience gave him some kind of minor epiphany, raising his Law Larva of Cold to middle grade, even though no water Laws had been used in the formation. Not wanting to waste time, Mila walked over to Ava Gale and Prince Tomin. Ava, she quickly judged, had died from the soul suppression, her Soul stat having been too low, so she stripped the woman of all her artifacts and the artifacts and her body went into the Left Hand of the Runescribe. Then Mila stripped Prince Tomin, who had fallen unconscious, of all his possessions other than his underclothes, putting everything in the Left Hand of the Runescribe, and shook him awake, not at all gently. When he came to, she then gave him the option to die or accept a contract, holding the Twin Dragons in spear form to his throat. Terms:
  1. You will take no actions with the intention of harming the Mistress of Oaths and Deception, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, Isaiah Gale, or any natives of Hira
  2. You will take no actions to increase your level for your remaining stay on Hira
  3. You will immediately transfer all your System credits to the Mistress of Oaths and Deception
  4. You will follow all the orders of the Mistress of Oaths and Deception and the Heavenly Spark Soul King for your remaining time on Hira
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°I-I accept.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Gaining quite a few credits, Mila transformed the Twin Dragons back into their earrings form and pointed to one of the exits. ¡°Leave the inheritance and wait outside until we come out.¡± Tomin left and Mila then turned to look at Aalam. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll actually be able to get access to the treasures?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± Aalam was all smiles as he poured mana into a rune of one of the array formations built into the room, causing the entire array to light up. The stone around the pedestal holding the black orb then lowered into the ground to form a spiral staircase and Aalam started to slowly walk down, carefully using his various sensory skills to check for traps. Chapter 90: Treasure Mila ¡°Treasure!¡± Aalam looked around the inheritance¡¯s warehouse like a child in a candy store, the expression on his face one she hadn¡¯t seen since their last vacation, when they¡¯d gone on a helicopter ride over the grand canyon. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± He pointed to a pile of silvery metal ingots nearly a dozen meters high, beside which one of the five E rank golems in the warehouse was frozen. ¡°Refined Antimagic Tin.¡± Mila shared Nana Xara¡¯s explanation with Aalam and tried not to laugh. ¡°It has rather extreme qi, mana, and psyforce blocking capabilities, so it is often used in the construction of hats to block telepathy and mind control powers.¡± It was a true explanation, but Mila still found it funny. Aalam, on the other hand, just moved onto the next thing to catch his eye, a metallic barrel filled with some kind of purple dust. ¡°What about that?¡± ¡°Shade Dust. It¡¯s a material left behind when certain types of ghosts are killed and is often used in alchemy.¡± ¡°What about that?¡± Aalam pointed to a small pile of transparent gems, mostly violet and blue, which reminded Mila of rupees from Zelda games. ¡°Primal Energy Stones.¡± Mila felt a bit shocked by what she was hearing from Nana Xara. ¡°They can be absorbed to help level up.¡± ¡°What about¡ª¡± ¡°Hey, Aalam, what if I just tell you about every item one by one?¡± Aalam was in an excited state, so, if she didn¡¯t stop him now, she knew him well enough to know he¡¯d ask her about every item in the entire large warehouse in a random fashion, which would make the process take at least twice as long. ¡°Okay.¡± Aalam nodded his head quickly and Mila couldn¡¯t help one of her minds comparing him to a golden retriever watching someone about to throw a ball. He was just so excited, and it was making her excited as well. They then started walking around the four story warehouse, made of seventeen rooms ranging from the size of a small closet to the size of a professional basketball stadium, and Nana Xara told her about each and every item, information she then shared completely with Aalam, minus some snarky side comments. The inheritance didn¡¯t hold everything the Shadow Thief had ever stolen, just what she, as a C rank, had considered to be of passable value. But that still consisted of a couple hundred metric tons of magical metals, enough materials to supply the industrial alchemy lab of a C rank force for a couple dozen years, and several tens of thousands of artifacts and one time use talismans. Materials, unlike artifacts, Nana Xara explained could be considered as having different grades when used to make artifacts of different ranks. Moonlight iron for example, the metal the inheritance had the most of, would be considered Epic grade when used for F rank artifacts, Uncommon grade when used for E rank artifacts, and Inferior when used for D rank artifacts. The inheritance didn¡¯t hold much in the way of plant life, maintaining the effectiveness of magical plants difficult, but it did contain quite a few gems, a whole lot of monster remains, several hundred skill orbs, and thousands of information orbs stolen from various sects and powers, such as those taken from the Gale Clan. Altogether though, other than the Primal Energy Stones they¡¯d found at the beginning, some of the information orbs which were bound to be useful, and the various training artifacts, there wasn¡¯t much which would be that useful for either her or Aalam¡¯s cultivation, and that didn¡¯t seem right. She and Aalam looked through the various spatial storage artifacts housed in the inheritance, finding even more materials, but no big surprises. ¡°Okay,¡± Aalam said, rubbing his hands together with excitement. ¡°The good stuff has to be hidden somewhere. There¡¯s not a single Legendary grade or higher artifact, skill orb, or material in here. Yet there is still so much to play with.¡± He then started running around the warehouse while Mila began looking through the information orbs with one mind and had another keep using her max possible power to use the effects of Evil Eyes - Lust on the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Given the metaphysical oddness of souls, the effects of the skill worked on the soul fragment even though she couldn¡¯t technically look at it. ¡°You know, I didn¡¯t say anything beforehand, but I think this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen Aalam look truly joyful since I met him,¡± Nana Xara sent. ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila audibly sighed. ¡°This is what he¡¯s usually like when he sees something wondrous, or at least that he considers wondrous. I¡¯ve seen the same excited kid mode both when flying over the Grand Canyon and when going to Lego Land.¡± She thought for a second. ¡°Also when he cracked how to fix the plagues. This is probably most similar to that, as I would bet one of my legs at least two of his minds are thinking about what he could make with the resources we¡¯ve already found.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a natural born crafter then. Most of the best are like that.¡± ¡°Mila! Mila!¡± Mila heard Aalam yelling her name from the largest of the warehouse rooms, so she ran over. There she found Aalam with his right hand against one of the giant room¡¯s walls, the shelf which had been where he was standing hovering two meters off the ground above his head. The room was pretty much filled, with piles of materials and rows of shelves taking up almost its entire space, so there wasn¡¯t really a good spot to place the shelf Aalam was holding, but, before doing anything else, Mila took the shelf from him and telekinetically brought it to an open spot on the other side of the room a couple hundred meters away. Aalam was usually very careful and considerate, but, when he got excited, he¡¯d become incredibly focused on one thing to the exclusion of everything else, and Mila had gotten into the habit of taking care of the things he ignored before getting drawn into whatever had made him excited. When she returned, she found Aalam drawing a very complicated rune making use of darkness, light, and water Laws using the Left Hand of the Runescribe. It took him several minutes to draw it, and she didn¡¯t fully understand what was going on. Nana Xara, however, did. ¡°That wall there isn¡¯t made of the same material as the rest of the inheritance, but a higher grade stone called Phase Stone. Normally, you would be able to walk through it as easily as if it were air, along with anything wrapped in your aura, but right now it¡¯s sealed by something.¡± ¡°Your senses are somewhat able to make it out now that your attention has been drawn to it, but Aalam¡¯s Spacetime Sensing and Crafter¡¯s Senses skills probably gave him a much better view of the seal.¡± ¡°More importantly, though, there is a high grade C rank obfuscation formation set up to stop anyone from noticing the wall in the first place, powerful enough to even block the special sight of your Third Eye given your limited Perception, so how did Aalam find it?¡± ¡°Aalam, how did you find this wall?¡± Aalam looked over at her. ¡°I noticed the feeling of paused time behind the wall and wanted to check it out. Then I noticed this seal. I think there¡¯s some kind of obfuscation formation I accidentally broke.¡± ¡°Paused time, often useful for keeping cultivation resources fresh, but rather difficult to set up, and most likely beyond the capabilities of the Shadow Thief.¡± Nana Xara sounded contemplative. ¡°She probably stole some kind of artifact capable of keeping time frozen in a room without cultivators. Those are usually hard to find. ¡°Also, Mila, try to get Aalam to hide the fact his temporal Laws are so strong. Normally, time and space Laws are the hardest to advance, but that seems reversed for Aalam.¡± Aalam finished writing his rune and then telekinetically pushed it into the wall, something about the wall changing. Then, without consulting her, he just walked right through. ¡°It¡¯s completely safe. The seal has been deactivated, so you can just walk right in.¡± Mila took a deep breath, feeling like Harry Potter in King¡¯s Cross Station trying to enter platform 9 and 3/4 for the first time, and then she walked right through the wall. What she found was quite different than what she¡¯d been expecting. She¡¯d thought there¡¯d be a room filled with artifacts, skill orbs, and materials. Maybe some cool lights. At least something wondrous. Instead, there was a stone room the size of a closet, smaller even than the smallest room in the warehouse, and inside the room was a pedestal, which looked to be made of a black onyx-like material, with only one artifact resting on top of it, a simple iron-looking ring. ¡°Oh, interesting,¡± Nana Xara said as Aalam just stared at the ring. ¡°That¡¯s a Temporal Pedestal. It¡¯s made by carving a natural treasure called Temporal Stone into the shape of a pedestal and its use is to pause time for any non-living artifact. On top is what looks to be a C grade spatial storage ring, probably the one used by the Shadow Thief in her prime, and, through the use of the pedestal, time is frozen for whatever is inside.¡± ¡°Nana Xara, how do we gain access to the resources inside the spatial storage ring?¡± Mila asked out loud, making it obvious to Aalam she was consulting Nana Xara. ¡°You can just reach in. The pedestal can¡¯t affect any living creatures, but I wouldn¡¯t try for now. The Shadow Thief probably had it booby trapped somehow and her traps wouldn¡¯t be like the door.¡± ¡°Nana Xara says we should wait to try and access the resources in the ring until I finish charming the soul fragment,¡± Mila told Aalam. ¡°We might lose the resources inside if we don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Aalam walked out of the room and Mila followed him. ¡°I¡¯m going to go study the nine golems I haven¡¯t damaged yet to try and figure out more about how they function. I feel I might be able to get a couple breakthroughs from that.¡± Aalam then raised his hand for a high five, something they used to do a lot, and Mila slapped it, internally feeling very weird. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to Isaiah then.¡± Aalam excitedly ran toward the nearest golem, and Mila shook her head slightly before climbing up the stairs and heading outside the inheritance. Chapter 91: Contamination Core Isaiah While sitting crosslegged on the ground and trying to cycle his qi to remove the effects of the powder the leader of the Kindar Raiders had thrown at him, Isaiah saw Prince Tomin exit the inheritance. The man didn¡¯t try to talk to him, however, and just curled up in a ball on the ground and started to cry. ¡°Um?¡± Isaiah started to ask. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± ¡°No!¡± Tomin rose to his feet and looked down at Isaiah, his face all puffy. ¡°Things are not okay! ¡°I was supposed to take over this planet and gain the treasures in the inheritance!¡± He pointed at the inheritance entrance. ¡°I was supposed to have Silveea as my bed warmer, not that stupid Gale Clan girl, maybe take a few natives or cultivators from other forces to add variety! I was supposed to be living it up! ¡°Yet everything was ruined by that pair of monsters! And the only other cultivator from off planet I know about is you, the idiot I was supposed to sacrifice for resources! ¡°Everything is terrible!¡± ¡°Ava¡¯s dead?¡± Isaiah felt weird. The last time he¡¯d thought Ava had died he¡¯d been distraught, but learning she¡¯d been planning on sacrificing his life for years kind of put a damper on any positive feelings. ¡°How¡¯d she die?¡± ¡°That succubus and her lord or whatever pissed off the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment by stopping her from sacrificing you for some bloodline ritual, and the bitch took it out on all of us!¡± Prince Tomin sat down in the blood of one of the Kindar Raiders, not seeming to even notice as he continued to cry. ¡°Ava¡¯s soul was too weak and she died!¡± So, Ava had died as collateral damage while the woman and the Heavenly Spark Soul King had been trying to save his life. Instead of feeling sad, Isaiah felt rather happy. He¡¯d seen the Heavenly Spark Soul King briefly and the man felt powerful, like an embodiment of Law, yet his expression had been one of worry, more for his partner obviously, but at least part of it had been directed toward Isaiah as he ran past. And it sounded like they¡¯d risked themselves to save him. ¡°What happened to the woman and the Heavenly Spark Soul King?¡± Tomin glared at him, tears still flowing from the prince¡¯s eyes. ¡°They¡¯re fine. They killed the soul fragment somehow¡ªit didn¡¯t make any sense. Now they¡¯re probably looking through the treasures.¡± Prince Tomin then curled up on the ground again, still in the puddle of blood, and kept crying while Isaiah carried on trying to find a way to remove whatever the powder had introduced into his body. His efforts didn¡¯t have much effect, however, and he was still pretty much helpless, unable to activate any of his skills, fully circulate his qi, or even walk. They both stayed like that for a couple hours, and then the woman came out of the inheritance, walking over to Isaiah while looking over his body with a critical eye. ¡°Do you want some help with that? I don¡¯t have a healing skill, but I do have a healing-based early grade Law Larva which might be able to do something.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Isaiah was pretty much defenseless anyway, so he didn¡¯t think he could be put in a worse position. ¡°Good. Take off your shirt.¡± Isaiah had been wearing a hide T-shirt and pants, but, as the woman sat behind him, he took off the shirt. She then placed her hands on his back and he felt her qi enter into his body. Normally, his instincts would have naturally fought against the intrusion of foreign qi, but he was in such a weakened state she could explore his body at will, and that made Isaiah extremely uncomfortable. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem the woman was trying anything nefarious, her qi just spreading around his body in an exploratory manner. ¡°Alright. The problem is simple, just difficult to solve.¡± The woman spoke from behind him. ¡°Whatever that powder was, it made an artificial core in your core container which is blocking your circulation of qi. ¡°As it is a block of contamination made from your qi and whatever was in the powder, not an actual core at all, there is pretty much nothing I can do, and normally you would be basically crippled for life unless you could get the help of a D rank, but you are lucky. The artificial core is extremely tiny and my partner just happens to have a Law Larva of Cleansing. With my help, he could get that cleared up in just a few hours.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Prince Tomin¡¯s voice was dripping with sarcasm as he stood up from where he¡¯d been lying. ¡°It sure is lucky he just happened to have the Law Larva required.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Not really.¡± The woman smiled at Prince Tomin and Isaiah saw Tomin flinch back. ¡°He has 36 of them, so one is usually useful for most situations.¡± ¡°36 what?¡± Prince Tomin asked, still sounding sarcastic but at the same time a lot more subdued. ¡°Law Larvae.¡± The woman looked at Tomin like he was an idiot and Isaiah got the distinct impression she was feigning not understanding how ridiculous that sounded. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the term Heavenly Spark before? It¡¯s used for racial abilities and classes which require three Laws of each element.¡± She turned to look at Isaiah. ¡°I forgot to ask earlier, Isaiah, but would you mind if I killed the prince here later? It seems possible my main reason for keeping him alive might disappear in a couple of days.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Isaiah looked from Prince Tomin, to the woman, then back to Prince Tomin, then back to the woman. ¡°He did admit he was going to sacrifice me earlier. But would his death cause problems for my brother?¡± The woman looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°Probably not any more than he would already have now. I captured all the Pillars of Conquest, remember? So there is no way he¡¯ll be getting off this planet for the next 71 years. And they probably already think he¡¯s dead. ¡°Were you to join us after we heal you, though, it would probably be better for your brother if he died.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King exited the inheritance at that time and he looked from Isaiah to the woman. ¡°What do you need me for? I just made a breakthrough regarding the golems.¡± ¡°First, thanks for using Universal Common so Isaiah can understand.¡± The woman said calmly, likely mostly for Isaiah¡¯s benefit. Then she pointed at Isaiah. ¡°It seems the Dragon Subduing Powder works by making a contamination core.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The expression on the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s face changed from minor annoyance to excitement almost instantly. Then he walked up to Isaiah and, without asking, placed his right hand over Isaiah¡¯s navel, pushing some of his qi inside to inspect Isaiah¡¯s core container for himself. ¡°Interesting. I wonder how dragon qi is different. There must be something the Dragon Subduing Powder reacts to.¡± Isaiah felt a different type of energy enter into his core, one that felt somehow bright and clean, and then the woman moved to his back and her qi entered into him as well, guiding the Law power from the Heavenly Spark Soul King into the right place. The Heavenly Spark Soul King kept talking about the Dragon Subduing Powder and how it might work, the woman pointing out flawed arguments or giving alternative ideas every few minutes, but Isaiah couldn¡¯t follow it at all. What he could tell, however, was the two were very used to each other, maybe siblings or childhood friends, and his qi was quickly unblocked as they worked together. ¡°Don¡¯t try moving your qi yet,¡± the woman told him when he tried to start moving it again. ¡°There is still quite a bit of contamination and it will be easier to get rid of if it all stays in one place.¡± ¡°You realize they¡¯re playing you, right?¡± Prince Tomin said from the side, having sat down while the treatment proceeded. ¡°It¡¯s all an act.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King turned his head to look at Tomin, the cleaning up of Isaiah¡¯s core not faltering in the slightest. ¡°Tell me the mastery percentage of your Danger Sense skill.¡± A look of utter terror appeared on Prince Tomin¡¯s face and Isaiah couldn¡¯t really understand it. The woman behind him, however, he heard place one hand over her face, a gesture he was pretty sure indicated exasperation. ¡°N-ninety-seven percent mastery.¡± A rock hurtled from the ground toward Prince Tomin at a speed Isaiah could barely follow, but Prince Tomin dodged it. Then another shot at him, and another, all while the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s focus on cleaning up the contamination core inside Isaiah never seemed to waver. ¡°Don¡¯t run away and tell me when it hits 100%.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s voice was apathetic and Isaiah finally figured out what was going on. Inside the inheritance, there were almost certainly the materials necessary for extracting at least one skill from someone recently deceased, and the Heavenly Spark Soul King wanted Danger Sense. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be worried.¡± The voice of the woman behind him sounded annoyed and a little resigned. ¡°We already got a Legendary grade Kinetic Senses skill orb from closing one of the Pillars of Conquest, not to mention we will only extract skills from enemies we would otherwise kill, no one else.¡± Then she took one of her hands and flicked the forehead of the Heavenly Spark Soul King. ¡°Stop throwing things.¡± The rocks stopped flying and Isaiah saw the Heavenly Spark Soul King look at the woman with a confused expression. ¡°You revealed too much and made your intentions obvious. He was considering whether to allow one of the rocks to kill him, and he would have decided to do so before he mastered the skill.¡± Isaiah then felt the woman turn her head toward Prince Tomin. ¡°You may leave and try to escape from us, but you have to master Danger Sense within 10 days. Us two monsters will leave this planet within 36 days, so, if you manage to keep away from us during that time, we won¡¯t be able to kill you.¡± Prince Tomin just stared at her for a few seconds. Then he looked to the Heavenly Spark Soul King, who was frowning, before starting to run, seemingly moving with his maximum agility in an easterly direction. ¡°I think I¡¯ll join.¡± Having made his decision, Isaiah nodded his head. ¡°After that poor quality display?¡± The woman behind him asked, sounding surprised. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Just because.¡± Isaiah tried to analyze it himself, why he¡¯d want to join these two. Sure, they were obviously both ridiculously talented and, sure, they¡¯d effectively been using the scion of a C rank force as a cultivation resource, which was awesome, but the main thing was how they treated each other. He¡¯d only interacted with them for about an hour, and most of that was the two of them having a conversation he couldn¡¯t even begin to follow, but there was an obvious respect between them he hadn¡¯t seen much in the Gale Clan. The woman was technically the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s servant, yet in situations of dealing with people he seemed to treat her as his superior. The woman on the other hand deferred to him in the science conversation they were having, seemingly perfectly comfortable with him being the one in control of that area. That type of camaraderie was what he¡¯d been looking for his entire life. Chapter 92: Better Treasures Mila ¡°So, even if you are up against a C rank, the System has a loophole to allow your master to protect you from soul possession?¡± Isaiah sounded confused as he worked to roast monster meat in one of the fire pits of the Gale Clan¡¯s former camp, looking to Mila, who¡¯d just told him what had happened in the inheritance. ¡°Even if your master is a former A rank, that seems a little too convenient. Aren¡¯t apocalypse style integrations supposed to be challenges for F ranks?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Aalam, who was studying one of the golems he¡¯d brought out of the inheritance next to the fire, didn¡¯t look up as he answered. ¡°And a C rank being shouldn¡¯t appear in an F rank challenge. But, even out in the wider world, there would of course be protections against possession. If I were going to make a universe wide training program like the System, I¡¯d also set up some backdoor loopholes to help protect my descendants as well.¡± ¡°What?¡± Isaiah looked at Aalam, but Mila, who was still using one of her other minds to continue trying to charm the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment, answered instead. ¡°Our current assumption is the System was set up to create the ground rules for competition between our universe¡¯s gods, so none of them would go overboard and not be able to fight against foreign invaders, while also serving to train up future subordinates for them as well. And, if this is the case, it would make perfect sense for the gods to deliberately add in loopholes to allow them to protect their own descendants and subordinates. ¡°Descendants of gods would likely have the best bodies and be the most at risk of soul possession attacks, so, if the loopholes in the System were deliberately put in, it makes perfect sense they would add several to protect genius cultivators of lower rank from soul possession.¡± Isaiah had a look of realization on his face, which was matched by his aura, and Mila again confirmed her assumption that Isaiah was ignorant, not stupid. There was silence in the group for the next few minutes, but then, in her mind, Mila heard something she¡¯d spent the last three days waiting for. ¡°Mistress, what can I do to please you?¡± After continuously using Evil Eyes - Lust on the soul fragment of the Shadow Thief for over 72 hours, it seemed she¡¯d finally charmed it. She¡¯d had to continuously tap into Aalam¡¯s larger reserve of psyforce and she¡¯d been beginning to wonder if it was worth it, but Nana Xara had designed the cage to only allow the fragment to be able to talk to her once it was fully charmed. And Nana Xara had been one of the foremost experts in the aspect of souls in the entire universe, so it was very unlikely the full soul of a C rank would be able to play any tricks, let alone a fragment. ¡°Where can I find the better treasures you stole during your lifetime? Your warehouse only seems to have normal treasures.¡± ¡°There are three separate secret rooms in the inheritance.¡± The soul fragment almost sounded like it was breathing hard. ¡°One holds higher grade materials and artifacts, the entrance on the roof of the inheritance¡¯s main room, where my orb was located. One holds the skill orbs and information orbs I found more valuable and is located behind a wall in the third largest room in the warehouse. Then, finally, the most valuable treasures, and any natural items I deemed worthy of preserving, are located inside my personal spatial storage ring and time sealed by a Temporal Pedestal in a small room behind a wall in the largest room of the warehouse. All three rooms are sealed by powerful obfuscation formations and are locked by relatively simple runes. The password runes are¡­¡± Mila was able to confirm the third rune was exactly the rune Aalam had used to get into the third secret room and then she asked about any other defenses, the soul fragment giving her the instructions for unlocking her spatial storage ring. ¡°Okay.¡± Mila then said out loud, Isaiah and Aalam both looking at her. ¡°There are two other secret rooms we hadn¡¯t found. Let¡¯s go check them out before unlocking that ring.¡± The two men both got big grins on their faces, and Isaiah even abandoned the meal he was cooking for himself as all three of them ran back to the inheritance. The first secret room they entered was the one with the entrance on the ceiling of the inheritance¡¯s main room, all three of them flying up to the ceiling with Telekinesis or, in Isaiah¡¯s case, Storm Steps. Given the right location, Aalam¡¯s sensory skills allowed him to see the section of Phase Stone and, already knowing the rune to get through, it took Aalam only a minute or so to verify the rune was correct with the seal he was seeing and then a few seconds more to draw it. They rose up through the phase stone and found themselves in another room about the size of the main chamber, and it was filled with shelves of materials and artifacts all at least at the Legendary grade, though it was far less full than other parts of the inheritance. Nana Xara described each item to Mila and she in turn gave that information to Aalam and Isaiah, both of whom seemed to find the experience far more impressive than Mila did. There were only thirteen artifacts total in the room, including one giant evil-looking altar, but mostly they were weapons, yet none were spears and only one could be used at F rank. It was a Legendary grade sword which consisted of just a handle which could emit a blade of condensed fire and light, kind of like a lightsaber. Neither Mila or Isaiah could use the weapon, as it required fire, light, and space element Law Eggs, and Aalam seemed more interested in taking it apart and learning how it worked than actually using it as a weapon, as its cutting power seemed less than the Epic grade bastard sword he¡¯d been training with. Other than the Condensed Flame Blade, the room held absolutely nothing they could use during F rank, which was the main thing Mila was focused on, but the materials were more abundant than the artifacts and there were quite a few Heroic and even Fabled grade materials for making E rank artifacts, as well as more than half the materials Aalam would require to upgrade the Left Hand of the Runescribe to E rank, which would save them quite a bit of time and effort. Aalam began asking Isaiah what he wanted in a spear as they went back down through the Phase Stone section of the floor and Isaiah¡¯s expression lit up like a Christmas tree as he began describing his powers and what he needed from a permanent weapon. While Aalam was getting Isaiah¡¯s information the old fashioned way, Mila instead just took another look at Isaiah¡¯s status, which she could access as Aalam¡¯s chamberlain. Name: Isaiah Gale The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Level: 12 Race: War Dragon Hybrid (F-Legendary) Bloodline: Phantom Wolf (Fabled) Abilities Iron Skin (Epic) Silver Body (Legendary) Active Daoist (Legendary) Troll Heart (Legendary) Class: Rapid Spear Guardian (F-Legendary) Skills Storm Steps (F-Legendary) 92% mastered Power Attack (F-Legendary) 88% mastered Guardian (F-Legendary) 83% mastered Kinetic Senses (F-Legendary) 93% mastered Dragon Drive (F-Epic) 100% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Storm Speed - Early Iron Defense - Early Blazing Destruction - Early Stats Strength: 593 (+37.5% + 25% when holding a spear) Agility: 769 (+62.5% + 25% when holding a spear) Endurance: 449 (+0% + 25% when holding a spear) Toughness: 601 (+37.5% + 25% when holding a spear) Vitality: 473 (+6.25% + 25% when holding a spear) Perception: 585 (+200% + 25% when holding a spear) Magic: 375 (+0%) Spirit: 307 (+0%) Soul: 279 (+6.25%) Aura: 28 (+0%) Attunement: 27 (+6.25%) Luck: 13 (+0%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Colossal Core Container Middle Dantian: 4 Large + 2 Huge Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Perception Prince Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 6.25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 12.5%. It was rather telling he had no wealth whatsoever, but Isaiah was truly a natural born talent. His Core Container was one size larger than hers and Aalam¡¯s; his Mana Wells, while not as numerous, were also a size bigger; and his Mental Forge was only one size smaller. Then there was his uniqueness, which she could only see on his status because he had intentionally revealed it to her, which was at the same grade as both of hers. While it didn¡¯t provide any additional benefits like protection from divination or the opening of a metaphysical third eye, it tripled his effective Perception stat, and that was far more practical. It was his race, bloodline, and racial abilities, however, which were truly impressive. War Dragon Hybrid (F-Legendary) The offspring of a human and a war dragon or the offspring of a human and a half dragon who has started on the path to slaughter Racial Abilities: 4 No limits, but a higher chance for abilities which raise the effectiveness of physical stats Max stats: Strength: 4032 Agility: 4032 Endurance: 4032 Toughness: 4032 Vitality: 4032 Perception: 4032 Magic: 2592 Spirit: 2592 Soul: 2592 Aura: 2592 Attunement: 3456 Luck: 3456 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 9 Agility: 9 Endurance: 9 Toughness: 9 Vitality: 9 Perception: 9 Magic: 6 Spirit: 6 Soul: 6 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Kill 144 cultivators of your own level along with 1 cultivator of a level higher within 1 hour Requirements: ??? He¡¯d naturally been born with a Legendary grade race, and he hadn¡¯t advanced its grade when raising it to F rank, but it was a truly powerful race for a warrior, and it was all thanks to his father. His bloodline, however, he¡¯d inherited from his mother. Phantom Wolf (Fabled) Awe inspiring speed, devastating attack Effects: Increase Strength stat effectiveness by 25% Increase Agility stat effectiveness by 25% The flow of qi is faster with better burst potential Strength +6 per level, Scalable Agility +8 per level, Scalable Perception +6 per level, Scalable Spirit +3 per level, Scalable Unlike her or Aalam¡¯s bloodlines, it didn¡¯t provide a unique ability, but it made Isaiah faster and stronger and the increased stats at each level would continue at the same rate at least until he hit B rank, scaling to give extra stats at each higher rank, and this was quite rare. It was his racial abilities, however, which Mila was particularly jealous of, as she didn¡¯t have a single racial ability which increased the effectiveness of any of her stats. Iron Skin (Epic): Increase the effectiveness of the Toughness stat by 12.5%. Silver Body (Legendary): Increase the effectiveness of the Strength and Agility stats by 12.5% and the Vitality stat by 6.25%. Active Daoist (Legendary): Gain insights into Laws more easily through combat, but less easily through meditation. Troll Heart (Legendary): Qi is passively drained whenever injured to boost the healing of injuries. Silver Body especially was a quarter grade higher than most racial abilities, which Nana Xara described as incredibly rare, while Troll Heart was from one of the three most sought after racial ability lines for warriors in the universe. Finally, Isaiah¡¯s class, unlike either of hers or Aalam¡¯s, was all about battle. Rapid Spear Guardian (F-Legendary) You move fast, stab fast, and have the toughness of steel Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Agility and Toughness stats by 25% Increase all physical stats by 25% when wielding a spear Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Crafting Psychic Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 16 Agility: 24 Endurance: 16 Toughness: 24 Vitality: 16 Perception: 24 Magic: 8 Spirit: 8 Soul: 8 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 2 high grade Law Eggs on the paths of Speed and Defense, the Storm Steps (G-Epic) skill, the Guardian (G-Epic) skill, an Epic grade or higher Weapon skill, Agility greater than 72, Toughness greater than 72, has spent an average of 94 minutes or more training with the spear every day of his life ¡°Nana Xara,¡± Mila sent as they approached the location of the second secret room and Aalam started the process of unlocking it, ¡°in your opinion, what would be the best possible last skill for Isaiah? I¡¯m sure you have a thought.¡± ¡°If he continues working with you and Aalam, probably a Legendary grade Knight skill. If what the War Dragon King was after when he killed the Shadow Thief is what I hope, and you allow Isaiah to use it, the Knight skill would open up a very powerful class line while also allowing both you and Aalam to communicate with Isaiah telepathically from afar. ¡°Were he not working with you, however, I¡¯d probably suggest a passive skill to help him control his destruction Law. Those are usually more trouble than they are worth and he probably would have killed himself already without his Troll Heart racial ability.¡± Aalam opened the second room and all three of them went inside. Chapter 93: Shadow Stride, Danger Sense, and Knight Mila The second secret room contained a grand total of 47 Legendary grade or higher skill orbs, but only 9 were for F ranks, most of the rest for G ranks instead, and there was only one Heroic grade skill among the 47, a D rank farming skill. Of the nine F rank skills, two were copies of the Legendary grade Lord skill and three were farming skills, likely stolen from the same source as the Heroic grade D rank skill. And that left only four skills which the three of them could learn. First was Danger Sense, likely stolen from the royal family of the Amoranth Kingdom, making the continued existence of Tomin Amoranth pointless as Aalam just put it in the Left Hand of the Runescribe as soon as he saw it. Next there was an offensive skill called Breath of the Frost Wolf, which seemed to be designed for ice mages yet Aalam, the only one who could learn the skill, completely ignored it. Then, finally, the last two skills were both of the stealth category. The first was what Nana Xara called ¡®the standard of stealth skills¡¯, the Legendary grade version of the skill Stealth. While the name was boring, it made one hard to notice with detection skills, provided camouflage effects against sight, and blocked most sounds and smells. The second skill, however, was the skill Mila and Nana Xara had decided was Mila¡¯s ideal choice for her final skill slot. Shadow Stride was basically Stealth mixed with an Epic grade movement skill, providing all the effects of Stealth only when moving. The normal Stealth skill provided better effects when still, but Mila was specialized in disguises. For stealth, she mostly wanted to be able to move from one disguise to another without being noticed and she didn¡¯t have much use for stealth for anything but that and running away. The final nail in the coffin, however, was that Shadow Stride with the stealth functions disabled was basically the Epic grade version of the standard martial category movement skill Flash Steps. This, along with the effects of her second class, would allow her to more easily fake having other classes, and that was far more useful to Mila in the short term than having better overall stealth on its own, not to mention her build was missing a movement skill. In the future, when she gained the ability to have more classes along with Aalam, she could also merge the skill into pure stealth or a pure movement skill, so there was pretty much zero downside. The room also contained several information orbs with high grade cultivation techniques, but they were nowhere near the quality of those in Nana Xara¡¯s possession, and the same was true for all the other information orbs containing techniques as well. The only ones truly useful for their group were the ones containing details on forces and individuals in the Palazin Galaxy Cluster and other nearby territories. ¡°There doesn¡¯t look to be a good skill for you, Isaiah.¡± Mila patted the large man on the back. ¡°But Aalam and I are now pretty much done with our skills and we have a quest we can complete to get two Legendary grade skill orbs, so we can use one of those on you.¡± Isaiah¡¯s eyes grew slightly wide and Mila thought about how the best present he¡¯d ever received was a Rare grade G rank spear, making her a little sad. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Aalam spoke up as they left the room, seemingly not aware how much getting such an expensive present meant to Isaiah. ¡°It¡¯s not like we were going to use the skill for anything other than money, anyway.¡± Among the skill orbs up to Epic grade in the main part of the warehouse, they¡¯d found the six necessary skills to merge Mana Construction (F-Legendary) and Qi Construction (F-Legendary). Along with the three skills Mila had obtained for him to merge Psyforce Construction (F-Legendary), he had all the required skills to eventually merge the final skill for his main class, Triforce Construction (F-Heroic), and he thought it was better to start with the lower grade skills and work his way up if he wanted to forge himself into a true crafter, so there was no need to speed up the process by getting the Legendary grade skills directly. ¡°Actually,¡± Nana Xara sent, ¡°Could I have the other skill for Diana? There is a Legendary grade skill called Spirit Enhancement which would be ideal for her build.¡± Mila told Aalam about Nana Xara¡¯s request and Aalam¡¯s response was pretty much exactly what she¡¯d expect. ¡°Why even ask? If anything is better used by Diana, even if it could be useful to us, just take it.¡± ¡°Um, who¡¯s Diana?¡± Isaiah asked. Mila looked at Aalam, but Aalam was looking to her, preferring her to explain, so she did. ¡°Aalam¡¯s big sister. She¡¯s four years older than him and they had a really close relationship. She¡¯s the other apprentice of Nana Xara and is still alive on our home planet.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Isaiah nodded, but he seemed to have another question he wanted to ask, only he wasn¡¯t comfortable asking it for some reason. ¡°There are no bad questions, Isaiah,¡± Mila prompted. ¡°Feel free to ask anything.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Isaiah took a deep breath. ¡°Is it not a bit insulting to call an A rank by such an informal name?¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Oh, it completely is.¡± Mila smiled. ¡°But she¡¯s technically our ancestor, and she¡¯s dead, so there isn¡¯t much she could do about it.¡± Mila saw the look of horror on Isaiah¡¯s face and decided to stop playing around. ¡°Also, it¡¯s what she asked to be called. Well, mostly.¡± ¡°Mostly?¡± Isaiah¡¯s eyes were wide and Mila got the impression A ranks were held in very high esteem in the Gale Clan, and likely throughout the universe. ¡°Well, the word for grandmother in Aalam¡¯s native tongue sounds a lot like the word ¡®Supreme Holy Leader¡¯ in Universal Standard, and Nana Xara was trying to make a joke by getting me to call her that, but I have the Omniglot Reader racial ability so it failed, thus I started calling her Nana Xara instead.¡± Mila paused for a second. ¡°She knew I had that racial ability though, so her goal was probably to get me to call her something informal in the first place.¡± ¡°What A rank is so kind?¡± Isaiah was looking at Mila with an expression of wonder. ¡°Was Nana Xara the Hearthmother? The Holy Maiden?¡± ¡°The Yin Yang Sage.¡± Mila watched as Isaiah¡¯s eyes grew wider as she said the words, his expression showing utmost terror, and Mila began to think it would probably be best in the future to never expose Nana Xara¡¯s title. ¡°You¡¯re both descendants of the Mistress of Plagues?¡± ¡°Mmmh. Yeah.¡± Mila tried to keep her face expressionless, but Aalam looked angry, seemingly having realized something from the epithet. Then Mila asked, ¡°What do you know about the Yin Yang Sage?¡± ¡°Can she hear everything I say?¡± Isaiah looked around a couple times before he seemed to remember Mila had explained how her master shared her senses and had no other way to see the world. ¡°Not if I don¡¯t want her to.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t cut me off, Mila,¡± Nana Xara sent, sounding excited. ¡°I want to hear about my legacy.¡± ¡°But she rather wants to know how she¡¯s remembered.¡± Mila decided keeping Nana Xara around to hear what Isaiah had to say was probably better for everyone as it wasn¡¯t like any information Isaiah had on an A rank would be reliable, especially one who died 2,000 years before he was born. ¡°Um, okay.¡± Isaiah took a few seconds to collect himself. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know much about the Yin Yang Sage when I think about it, just rumors I guess. The Yin Yang Sage was one of those people parents use to scare children. ¡°Don¡¯t eat too many sweets, or the soul of the Yin Yang Sage will poison you. Don¡¯t make enemies for the clan, or the clan might be destroyed by a black and white plague. Don¡¯t wake mommy up too early or the Yin Yang Sage might rise from the grave and eat you.¡± Isaiah paused. ¡°Thinking about it, the Yin Yang Sage was supposed to be a standard human, so that last one doesn¡¯t even make sense. ¡°The only real facts I can confirm are two. First, she used magical plagues as one of her main weapons¡ªbut if I think about the stories they were probably more controlled diseases than plagues, as most of the stories involving them don¡¯t have any innocent bystanders die. Second, she had a lot of enemies, responsible for killing a lot of beings known as heroes.¡± ¡°My husband wasn¡¯t necessarily a good person. And, after he was killed, I might have gone a tad homicidal for a bit.¡± Nana Xara sounded slightly ashamed of herself, which was rare. ¡°Mila,¡± Aalam asked, voice, aura, and expression showing he didn¡¯t quite know how to feel about the question he was asking, ¡°was Nana Xara responsible for the apocalypses on Earth?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± Nana Xara said before Mila could ask, and Mila repeated her master¡¯s words to Aalam. ¡°But I brought quite a few humans to Earth over the thousands of years before my death, most of whom were educated. Quite a few families on Earth knew about the integration long before it started and some of them were responsible for some of your apocalypse forces, the plagues for certain.¡± Aalam nodded upon hearing that, seemingly content with the answer. He still had another question, though. ¡°But she wanted the apocalypse style integration to happen?¡± ¡°Of course she did.¡± Mila didn¡¯t even wait for Nana Xara to answer. ¡°A normal integration wouldn¡¯t have provided the same benefits to her apprentices, or a good environment for finding candidates. I¡¯m not, however, certain having an apocalypse style integration is a bad thing. We at least would have been dead before the integration actually happened in the case of a standard integration, as it wouldn¡¯t have started for a hundred years, and we probably wouldn¡¯t have existed at all if she hadn¡¯t seeded the planet the way she did. ¡°We can, however, blame her for our trauma. That¡¯s a very reasonable thing to do and she should pay up for it.¡± ¡°Hey, I give plenty of good advice and I already gave almost all my knowledge on everything build related to Aalam.¡± Nana Xara faked being offended, but Mila caught something in her words and decided to go on the attack. ¡°Almost everything? What did you hold back?¡± ¡°Pretty much everything involving mass sacrifice and necromancy, along with anything which involved twisting one¡¯s soul for power.¡± Nana Xara sounded a bit less jovial than normal, as if she was taking what they were saying seriously. Then she asked a different question. ¡°What are you thinking, Mila?¡± ¡°Nothing different than I have the entire time I¡¯ve known you. It¡¯s not like you hid the fact you deliberately seeded Earth with talents from the organizations you destroyed, at least not from me, and I haven¡¯t been able to contradict anything you¡¯ve said. ¡°From what I¡¯ve been able to tell, you also would have been able to extend your life through vile means had you wanted to, but you didn¡¯t, so I think you are what you present yourself as, a sad old woman taking one last hail marry and trying to have as much fun as possible while doing so. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t punch you in the face if I ever do manage to revive you, however.¡± Nana Xara started laughing. ¡°Fair enough.¡± To Aalam and Isaiah Mila then said, ¡°Just think of Nana Xara as an ancestor we can turn to for advice at any time, and one who is so bored she¡¯ll answer anything. ¡°For example, Isaiah, I asked her what skill she thought would be best for you and she thinks the Legendary grade Knight skill would open up a really powerful class line, so, when we finish the quest, that¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking of getting for you. ¡°Does that sound good?¡± ¡°Advice from an A rank?¡± Isaiah¡¯s eyes grew wide again, looking like Aalam after hearing about a new Marvel movie coming out. ¡°Sure, the Knight skill sounds great.¡± ¡°But the classes requiring the Knight skill with¡ª¡± Aalam started, looking confused, but then he seemed to realize something and, without explaining, he grabbed Isaiah by the wrist and started running out of the room. ¡°Come on, Mila! We have to go check those final resources! You were so right to not just kill Isaiah!¡± ¡°Wait. Kill me? What?¡± Isaiah wasn¡¯t as strong as Aalam, so he got pulled along, obviously confused, and Mila ran after them, a smile on her face. Chapter 94: The Ring’s Contents Mila ¡°The Knight skill is a variant servant skill of the Soul, Humble, and Contract categories, similar to Mila¡¯s Exemplary Chamberlain skill, though only Legendary in grade,¡± Aalam explained as he did something complicated to the Shadow Thief¡¯s C rank spatial storage ring, the unlocking process taking quite a bit of mana to the point he was drawing on Mila¡¯s reserves as well. ¡°It provides the same type of long-distance telepathy with a master who has a Lord variant skill, albeit weaker, but it doesn¡¯t allow for the sharing of resources. Instead, it has an empowering function when in the lord¡¯s Territory, effectively a boosting skill.¡± Aalam¡¯s hands were both touching the ring on the Temporal Pedestal, but, as he was living, the pedestal had no effect on his body¡¯s time. ¡°The different grades of the Knight skill are generally used to unlock knight line classes,¡± Aalam continued, at least one of his main minds still focusing on unlocking the ring. ¡°So, that would be the line of classes Nana Xara would want Isaiah to unlock. The thing is, knight line classes are particularly known for balancing offensive, defensive, speed, and rejuvenation-based Laws, something that doesn¡¯t make much sense for Isaiah, as his Laws are designed to boost only offense, defense, and speed, not rejuvenation. ¡°With his current class and Laws, I would think one of the Knight variant skills would provide better class choices, such as Spear Knight or Hell Knight. But that¡¯s only if he doesn¡¯t gain a rejuvenation-based Law. ¡°Given his race, however, such a Law would be nearly impossible to learn, even if we raised his Attunement stat up to its maximum. He was able to learn and raise his destruction Law so fast because his race gives him a ridiculously high affinity for it. From his bloodline, he has a high affinity for speed Laws as well. And his defensive Law comes almost purely from his own natural talent, his bloodline only providing a slight affinity for earth and metal element Laws. For rejuvenation-based Laws, however, his race makes his affinities so low he would need an Attunement stat in the tens of thousands just to gain a Law Egg. ¡°This is of course assuming his race stays the same.¡± Mila felt as the spatial storage ring was fully unlocked, mostly because Aalam stopped draining her mana. ¡°Mila, you have the thinking encyclopedia of arcane knowledge in your head.¡± Aalam stepped back from the ring. ¡°Why don¡¯t you look at the ring¡¯s contents?¡± ¡°Um, before that,¡± Isaiah said nervously, having obviously been worried by what Aalam had said right before running to the ring, ¡°could we talk about the killing me thing?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam started answering and Mila debated whether she wanted to allow him to give an untactful answer, but then she quickly realized one, Isaiah would have to get used to Aalam eventually; two, she needed to let Aalam practice his social skills more, at least in low stakes situations, advising him after the fact instead of interrupting him; and three, Isaiah probably trusted Aalam more than her at the moment, so trying to stop Aalam from answering would be a bad idea. ¡°You tried to kill Mila a few times and I thought you¡¯d be more of a hindrance than a help, so I voted for killing you.¡± Aalam smiled jovially, seeming to not be reading Isaiah¡¯s body language at all. ¡°Mila argued against, so I deferred to her.¡± ¡°And have you changed your mind?¡± Isaiah still radiated nervousness. ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°After I realized you aren¡¯t a mass murdering lunatic. We already have one of those, and two is too many for a team.¡± ¡°I am not a lunatic.¡± Mila didn¡¯t even turn to look at Aalam, but her aura allowed her to watch a big grin appear on his face, and she found herself smiling as well. ¡°Also, we probably shouldn¡¯t be joking about murder.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called gallows humor, Mila, and it¡¯s very important for staying sane.¡± Mila considered for a second that Aalam might quote actual science, but then he immediately disillusioned her of that idea. ¡°Why do you think Spider-man was always quipping?¡± ¡°Spider-man?¡± Isaiah looked confused and Mila decided to clarify. ¡°A fictional character. A human with the powers of a spider demon.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Spider demons being an actual thing, that made more sense to Isaiah than if she¡¯d actually tried to explain the various origin myths, so she didn¡¯t even bother. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. She did, however, turn her head to look at Aalam. ¡°Should I actually check the ring now? Or do you have any other jokes you need to get out of your system?¡± Aalam gave her a stern expression, but from his aura she knew he was going to make at least one more joke. ¡°The larch.¡± Isaiah looked at Aalam strangely and Mila decided to just ignore the both of them. Most people on Earth wouldn¡¯t get that Monty Python reference, and it wasn¡¯t worth her dignity to either respond or explain. Instead, she reached her right hand through the zone of stopped time, not feeling anything, and touched the ring. With one of her minds, she could see into the ring and know its contents, but the first thing that surprised her was the ring itself. It had enough space to store New York, not the city, but the entire state, and Mila was reminded yet again of how a nuclear bomb couldn¡¯t kill a D rank monster on its own, even when the bomb was eaten. Power levels in the universe were like those found in Dragon Ball Z or xianxia stories, not the traditional type of planet-bound fantasy tales where the most powerful people were only capable of destroying large cities in one blow at best. C ranks in the real universe could blow up planets like walking Death Stars, and, while they were often the most powerful people in an entire galaxy, they were by no means rare. Mana, however, made everything weird. A fully integrated planet was much harder to destroy for a C rank than one with no mana and, on a C rank planet, a C rank cultivator would have their destructive potential suppressed to the equivalent of an E rank cultivator on a planet like Hira. This effect of high amounts of mana was also seen in the Shadow Thief¡¯s personal storage ring. If someone was going to store materials without mana inside, they could fit all of Greece in there, but one object about the size of a basketball was taking up almost all of the ring¡¯s spatial magic just to keep it inside. The ring contained all the natural materials an alchemist could want, seemingly all the flora gained from the same place as the alchemy materials in the outside warehouse, but that only took up a tiny amount of space. Other than those materials, which Nana Xara informed her could be purchased in almost every galaxy cluster in the universe¡ªand were thus expensive but not rare¡ªthere were only eleven items or item sets stored in the ring which were what the Shadow Thief had likely considered her most valuable treasures. First, there was the Shadow Thief¡¯s personal weapon, a C rank Heroic grade dagger. Then there was the Shadow Thief¡¯s personal armor, a set of dark gray clothing a lot like what Mila was currently wearing, only C rank and again Heroic grade. Both were potentially things Mila could wear if she ever made it to C rank, but they weren¡¯t useful at the moment. Next were five treasures helpful for advancing the grade of a human¡¯s race, none of which were suitable for advancing from F to E rank, and all of which gave an added elemental affinity¡ªthe strongest two granting metal and lightning and the weaker three granting earth, metal, and light. They¡¯d never be useful for the three of them, and they were too high rank for anyone on Hira to likely ever be able to use. The final four items, however, they could start to make use of immediately. The first was a small baby-sized humanoid skull made of a pure onyx-like material which was a type of treasure called an elemental dao guide. Elemental dao guides were supposedly objects made by A ranks or higher and infused with the power of elemental Laws for the purpose of leading future generations to enlightenment. Unlike inheritances, they didn¡¯t come with any Law guidance, cultivation techniques, or any information about paths to power. Instead, they exposed their creator¡¯s understanding of Laws in their most raw form, making the Laws contained within much, much easier to grasp. As a result, they were far more valuable than inheritances, but they did have one major flaw. They only exposed their creator¡¯s Laws, not all the Laws in the universe, so it was very easy for a low rank cultivator to accidentally start following the Law path of the dao guide¡¯s creator instead of the Law path which naturally suited themselves, and that would almost always result in bottlenecks. This particular dao guide was for the darkness and death elements and, according to Nana Xara it was relatively weak, likely created by a weaker A rank or a particularly powerful B rank, but still Mila shouldn¡¯t try to make use of it until her Law Larvae advanced to at least peak grade. Aalam, however, with all his other Laws to compare and contrast against, could use it right away without it affecting his personal path. Second was a Mythic grade D rank artifact. It was pretty much useless, a device to artificially stimulate the formation of an egg in a planet-sized space roaming beast known as a Dread Leviathan, which Mila only knew because of an information orb which came with it, not because Nana Xara had ever heard of such a thing. And, upon discovering what it was, Nana Xara had said even a C rank would have to be a madwoman to ever try to use it, given how anyone who tried would likely be killed by the B rank beast. But it was still a Mythic grade artifact and Aalam could learn a lot from analyzing its construction. Third, and most immediately useful, was a bathtub-sized container of a substance known as Foundation Establishment Soup. It was literally a type of soup, but one eaten by only the direct disciples of B rank forces or higher, and, if Aalam consumed it all, he¡¯d likely be able to maximize all his base stats and gain a couple thousand free stat points on top with his Nascent Energy Converter racial ability. The final item, however, which took up most of the spatial magic of the ring despite not being physically large, was probably more valuable than the entire rest of the inheritance by several orders of magnitude, and its theft was almost certainly the reason for the Shadow Thief¡¯s death at the claws of the War Dragon King. Chapter 95: Dragon Heart Isaiah ¡°Okay.¡± Aalam sounded impatient and Isaiah was feeling the same way as they both looked at Mila, her hand still on the Shadow Thief¡¯s ring. ¡°Is the last item what I think it is? You¡¯ve been describing everything else for over ten minutes now.¡± Mila turned to look at them and smiled. ¡°What do you think it is, Aalam?¡± ¡°A whole lot of blood from a B rank life aligned dragon, maybe a Forest Dragon.¡± ¡°No.¡± Mila shook her head. ¡°Close, but you¡¯re underestimating both the type of dragon and how much of its body is in there.¡± Aalam looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°The whole body of a B rank Life Dragon.¡± Mila shook her head again, looking mildly disappointed. ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a reach, but in the right direction.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Aalam looked at Isaiah, then back to Mila. ¡°My third and final guess is the heart of a B rank Harmony Dragon.¡± Mila just stared at him for a second. ¡°You knew the right answer from the beginning and were just playing with me, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Mostly.¡± Aalam smiled smugly and then, to Isaiah¡¯s relief as he didn¡¯t know much about dragons at all, he explained. ¡°It had to be valuable enough that the War Dragon King could use it to help him advance to A rank, yet weak enough it could fit in that ring. ¡°Nana Xara probably had more to go on for her original guess, maybe more knowledge about Harmony Dragons and War Dragons, but I was able to figure out what her guess was from the additional contextual clues. ¡°Given the same resource would be useful for both the War Dragon King advancing to A rank and Isaiah advancing his race to E rank, suitability for the War Dragon race would have to be high, but that alone would leave four options. Then the fact it had to be life aligned given Nana Xara recommended the Knight skill limited those options to only two. And I could eliminate a Harmony Crystal by asking about dragon blood.¡± Mila nodded. ¡°According to Nana Xara, she made the guess because she happened to know the exact class of the War Dragon King from before her death, so she was able to determine the resources he¡¯d need to give himself a good chance at advancement, and the heart of a B rank Harmony dragon is the only one it seemed possible for a C rank to steal.¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s not like Isaiah can just absorb a B rank heart on his own, even if it is that of a Harmony Dragon, the gentlest of all dragon bloodlines, so we¡¯ll have to use the two Legendary grade artifacts from the quest as well, along with one of the array formations built into the inheritance.¡± It finally registered in Isaiah¡¯s mind what they were talking about when Aalam said it explicitly. They¡¯d acquired, without his help at all, the heart of a B rank Harmony Dragon, the type of resource the entire Palazin Galaxy cluster would fight over, yet they were going to give it to him. ¡°No, no.¡± Isaiah quickly started saying. ¡°Such a valuable resource, shouldn¡¯t you use it for yourself?¡± Mila took her hand back from the ring and looked to Aalam, smiling slightly, while Aalam was looking at Isaiah like he was an idiot. ¡°Why?¡± Aalam asked the question and Isaiah saw Mila¡¯s smile grow a bit wider. ¡°The heart blood of such a B rank dragon should have the ability to help you advance to a very powerful race, right?¡± Isaiah spoke out the first reason that came to his mind. ¡°My race is all about soul power and equal affinities for all elements, and I¡¯ve already set its advancement path, so why would I contaminate it?¡± Isaiah looked to Mila, then back at Aalam. ¡°What about for Mila?¡± ¡°She has the same race.¡± Isaiah got the distinct impression Aalam was thinking less of him with every word he said, but he couldn¡¯t just take such a valuable resource. ¡°The heart blood could also give you a powerful bloodline, right?¡± ¡°A Fabled grade one.¡± From the way Aalam said the words, even though Universal Standard was obviously not the language the man was most comfortable with, it sounded like he was looking down on Fabled grade bloodlines. ¡°Mila and I both have Mythic grade bloodlines. So why would either of us want to downgrade?¡± And there it was. Mila had said they¡¯d be able to offer better resources than any force which would take him, and he hadn¡¯t quite believed her. Sure, after he learned she was the apprentice of the Yin Yang Sage, that had changed, but he¡¯d thought any truly impressive advancement resource would go to the two of them first, or Aalam¡¯s sister, which would mean he¡¯d only get what they didn¡¯t want. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He just hadn¡¯t realized that even if he¡¯d only be getting resources they didn¡¯t want, those resources would include Legendary grade skills and materials, along with normally impossible to find resources like dragon hearts, so he started to tear up. ¡°Thank you.¡± Aalam looked over to Mila. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t want the heart, could we sell it? I imagine we could trade it for something more useful.¡± Isaiah looked on in horror, but then he saw the expression on Mila¡¯s face, a look of mild disappointment filled with acceptance, as she started to explain why that would be a bad idea. ¡°We¡¯d have to wait until we were B ranks ourselves to sell something like that. It¡¯s too hot an item and even gaining access to those with enough money to buy it would be impossible, not to mention how anyone with that amount of money could kill us with barely an effort.¡± ¡°Oh. Right.¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°So, we want an Essence of War and a Dragon Enhancing Catalyst, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila nodded, seemingly not at all fazed at how fast he moved on after she convinced him. Aalam then released his aura, the power of his Laws dominating the tiny room they were all in, and he spoke in a voice which resonated with the power of a skill. ¡°Shadow of Planet Hira, do you accept me, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, as your familiar?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After Mila responded, both their auras suddenly spiked in power for a second, but then they faded back to normal. Mila, however, seemed slightly more powerful than before and a second later an orb filled with a red and purple miasma appeared in her right hand, the contents of which activated something in Isaiah which made him feel hungry, and in her other hand a transparent glass can of some kind of powder made him feel a similar but different emotion. Aalam telekinetically took both the orb and the can, pulling them into the Left Hand of the Runescribe, his Heroic grade artifact shaped like a scaled fingerless glove, and then something changed in him and Mila, something Isaiah almost couldn¡¯t sense. It felt like a skill merge, but for some reason it was shared between the two of them, so that couldn¡¯t be right. Aalam then took out five skill orbs from the Left Hand of the Runescribe, however, and, from the way they glowed, all five looked to be Legendary grade. Two of them he telekinetically passed to Mila, who immediately learned them, while the other three he learned himself. Then another skill orb appeared in Mila¡¯s hands, this one glowing a soft blue mixed with silver, and she telekinetically tossed it to Isaiah, who caught it. Knight (F-Legendary) Soul, Humble, Contract You are not just anyone under your lord. You are his shield and lance. Effects: Learn the skill Knight (F-Legendary) Requirements: Free skill slot, Soul +144, able to learn humble soul contract skills, in an active servant or slave relationship with a Lord, possess a combat focused class ¡°Learn and get better at that skill for now,¡± Mila told him. ¡°We have some preparations to make before we start the process of enhancing your race and there is a question you have to decide the answer to.¡± Mila reached for the spatial storage ring again and brought out a large bathtub-sized container. Then she telekinetically passed it to Aalam. ¡°First, Aalam, you need to drink all the Foundation Establishment Soup we have access to over the next five to six days.¡± She then brought out something else from the ring, a small skull statue made of some kind of onyx. ¡°While you are digesting, you can also study that. Nana Xara suggests you only use it to focus on darkness Laws for now, as its darkness Laws are less advanced than its death Laws, so you won¡¯t be as affected by it as you focus on not allowing it to alter your path. According to her, this should be relatively easy so long as you keep contrasting your darkness Laws with your light Laws. ¡°Finally, Nana Xara also recommends cleaning all your channels with your Law Larva of Cleansing as you drink the soup so you¡¯ll have less to clean up later when we get you your cultivation technique.¡± Mila then started walking out of the small room, indicating for Isaiah to follow. ¡°Isaiah, come with me and let¡¯s talk. We need to go hunt down Prince Tomin while Aalam gets the formation ready for your race advancement.¡± Isaiah followed Mila out of the inheritance and, as they started running, he realized Mila seemed to know exactly where to go, probably never having lost Tomin¡¯s location at all. ¡°Let me ask you one question first. Then you can ask me what you¡¯ve been thinking about.¡± Mila spoke as they ran and Isaiah was again reminded of how her Aura stat was way above his, so he couldn¡¯t hide anything from her unless she let him. ¡°You have two possible routes when you upgrade your race. You can either keep your human side and continue as a dragon hybrid, with the best option being becoming a Mettle Dragon Hybrid, or you can drop your human side and become a human form dragon, the best option becoming a Human Form Young Mettle Dragon, both of which will provide quite high affinities for all three of your Laws as well as whatever rejuvenation-based Law you decide on. ¡°Becoming a human form dragon comes with the advantage of having your race advance automatically just by aging up to B rank, with every advancement also bringing an advance in grade as well, but a Human Form Young Mettle Dragon is only a Heroic grade race, and you will lose your bloodline in the process while your affinity with Laws other than those of your race will go down. ¡°Staying a Dragon Hybrid on the other hand has the advantage of raising your race to Fabled grade immediately, along with the higher affinities that grants. You won''t be considered a monster by the System, which is an advantage, and, more important, you¡¯ll be better suited to cultivation in general, not gaining the monster weakness of incredibly slow advancement of cultivation techniques. The biggest downside, however, is increasing the grade of your race during your next race rank up will take quite a few resources or some rather ridiculous achievements.¡± Isaiah was quiet for a few minutes as they ran. ¡°What do you recommend?¡± Mila laughed. ¡°Me? I recommend the human form dragon route, but mostly because it would be cheaper for me and Aalam. You¡¯d also get to be a whole lot lazier. ¡°Nana Xara and Aalam, however, both think the hybrid route would be better, Nana Xara because it would be more exciting and Aalam because your max possible power would be higher and he¡¯s not one to settle for less potential to his own detriment.¡± Chapter 96: A Run and a Killing Isaiah ¡°Okay. Let me see if I have this correct.¡± As Mila finished explaining about her and Aalam¡¯s lives as they ran through a forest, Isaiah thought hard about how to make what he was about to say not sound offensive. ¡°In your previous lives, Aalam was basically a young Alashan¡­¡± Isaiah still wasn¡¯t sure how to say the next part, and Mila took his pause to ask a question. ¡°Alashan, the rune master?¡± She then raised her hand as they continued running, indicating for him to not answer, and, about a dozen seconds later she explained. ¡°Sorry. Nana Xara was explaining the reference. So, Alashan was also a genius on the autistic spectrum. Got it. Please continue. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about insulting me.¡± Isaiah took a deep breath. ¡°So, you noticed Aalam¡¯s talent as it was budding, approached him, became his friend, and then his dao companion, all the while stealing everything he invented. I guess the question I most want to ask is why does he still seem to trust you? ¡°I was manipulated my whole life, so I can kind of put myself in his position, and I absolutely want to destroy the Gale Clan. Demons below, I knew a lot of the people you¡¯ve killed, yet I don¡¯t feel any kind of sadness now that they¡¯re gone other than that I didn¡¯t get to do it myself.¡± It had taken him a while to get there, mostly because he hadn¡¯t believed the truth, but after coming to terms with what had been done to him, Isaiah was angry. ¡°Do you want the truth or the lie?¡± Mila sounded a bit sad and Isaiah had no way to read her aura, so he decided to go with his gut that the emotion she was showing was genuine. ¡°Why do you do that?¡± Mila turned from looking forward to look at him. ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Ask if I want to hear the truth. I thought about it a lot when I was thinking back on our interactions, trying to figure out if I wanted to trust you, and I think that type of question sounds like a psychological trick to put my mind in a mode where I will be more likely to believe you.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Mila looked forward again, frowning slightly. ¡°I hadn¡¯t realized I was doing that.¡± Isaiah felt confused, and Mila started to explain. ¡°You are right. It is a psychological trick.¡± Mila¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°My grandfather taught it to me when I was five along with quite a few others, and a few of them have entered into the way I speak normally, even when I¡¯ve been deliberately trying to tone down the manipulation.¡± She sighed. ¡°As you might have guessed, I didn¡¯t have the most normal of childhoods. ¡°To your original question, that¡¯s probably part of the reason Aalam¡¯s not really expressed any extreme anger toward me and is okay with us working together. After I ran away and he figured out what I was, you can be assured he found all the information he could get on me, and that would have included things like my psychological profile, upbringing, and probably the fears of my government about our relationship. ¡°More important, however¡ªand yes, I am somewhat deflecting here¡ªI¡¯m pretty sure my death occurred about seventeen days before Aalam¡¯s. He hasn¡¯t talked about it, and I haven¡¯t pried, but those seventeen days must have been Hell. ¡°He contributed quite a bit to me getting killed, sending my information, along with that of everyone else who stole from him, to all the intelligence agencies on our planet. His intention was likely just to make us unable to do our jobs, but there is a good chance I wasn¡¯t the only one killed as a result, and that would weigh on his conscience. ¡°Then add to that his sister getting sick with mana overrun due to the effects of the integration starting, the symptoms not matching any known disease on our world, and he probably thought someone was deliberately trying to poison Diana for his release of their information.¡± Tears started to form in Mila¡¯s eyes as she continued. ¡°Given what I know about Aalam, his anger toward me would have shifted from being about me lying to him to me not being there when he needed me most. Then that anger would have shifted to himself because he is an utter idiot when it comes to handling his own emotions, and that¡¯s why he killed himself.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Mila wiped the tears from her eyes and then took a deep breath. ¡°To fully answer your question, however, probably the main reason Aalam hasn¡¯t expressed any extreme anger is that he doesn¡¯t feel it as strongly as a month before the integration. And, as to why he trusts me, that¡¯s mainly because he didn¡¯t have any better alternatives. ¡°He was in a berserker state and thought he was dreaming throughout the tutorial, so he made choices he wouldn¡¯t have otherwise, and I had to keep him from accidentally killing himself, so I didn¡¯t stop those choices either. As a result, our powers are more linked than most people. ¡°Due to some particulars about our classes and their future progression, if I abandoned him, Aalam wouldn¡¯t be able to choose one of the classes he wants for D rank in the future, a class essential to his build, not to mention having no way to get back to our home planet, so he probably doesn¡¯t feel comfortable completely showing his anger, what little of it is left. ¡°As a result, for the last six months, we¡¯ve been working together, communicating daily, but we haven¡¯t really dealt with the big issue, mostly avoiding it entirely. And, as you¡¯ve observed, we¡¯ve entered into a lot of our old habits, teasing each other and generally acting like friends.¡± Isaiah didn¡¯t say anything for a bit. Then he decided to just say what he was thinking, as Mila had almost certainly already read his aura anyway. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very healthy.¡± ¡°No. No, it is not.¡± Mila looked over at him again. ¡°And that¡¯s part of the reason I wanted you to join us. Like you said, your situation and his were somewhat similar, and Aalam, despite how well he¡¯s hiding it, really needs someone to talk to. And that someone can''t be me.¡± Given Mila was able to read his emotions like an open book, Isaiah decided to just start saying whatever he was thinking. ¡°What is it you want?¡± ¡°Logically, just for Aalam to get better, a part of which is to get him back to see his sister. I feel I need to atone at least that much.¡± Mila smiled slightly. ¡°Emotionally I¡¯m a bit more of a mess and what I want is something I¡¯m still debating with myself if I even deserve to pursue.¡± Isaiah thought about it for a few minutes as they continued running. He¡¯d decided to take everything Mila said at face value and, if that was the case, Aalam¡¯s situation and his were quite a bit different. First, despite both being after material wealth, the people manipulating him wanted to kill him, while Mila¡¯s manipulation of Aalam hadn¡¯t put him in any danger. Second, the people who¡¯d been willing to sacrifice him hadn¡¯t shown any remorse, while Mila seemed to very much regret her actions. Third, and probably most important, the people manipulating him had constantly put him down his entire life, limiting his potential, while, from what he¡¯d seen from their interactions over the last few days, even while manipulating Aalam Mila had most likely lifted him up. Isaiah wasn¡¯t going to ask the question, but, from getting a sense of their personalities, he was guessing Aalam had benefitted more from their relationship than Mila had stolen, at least materially. The actions and betrayal were still inexcusable, but, unlike in his case, they were forgivable, so long as that is what Aalam wanted after a lot of thought and a bit of distance. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him.¡± Isaiah nodded. ¡°But, technically, I¡¯m his knight, not yours, so I¡¯m going to take his side.¡± Mila just smiled and they continued running. Then, four days later, they caught up to Tomin Amoranth, who they found sitting in a cave under a mountain. The two dragon earrings on Mila¡¯s ears transformed into a pair of pistols, a weapon type rarely seen in the universe, and she infused them with a death element Law Larva and started firing. Tomin couldn¡¯t fight back due to their contract, so he just dodged, and Mila didn¡¯t give the prince any orders, even though she could kill him easily if she did, so Isaiah realized she was using Tomin to help her master her skills. About fifteen minutes later, she finally hit Tomin, the prince running out of resources, and then she killed him. The prolonged fight would have been troubling to Isaiah had it been someone else, but Tomin had been planning to sacrifice him, so he didn¡¯t have much sympathy. Mila, he gathered, thought much the same, and he felt she likely wouldn¡¯t have prolonged the fight had her victim not been such an ass. ¡°Well, that¡¯s done now.¡± Mila turned to look at Isaiah. ¡°Thanks for coming with me even though you didn¡¯t gain any primal energy.¡± ¡°No. Thank you for bringing me.¡± Isaiah felt himself smile slightly. ¡°I feel like I learned a lot.¡± ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s at least find a way to help each other practice our skills together on the return journey.¡± They started running and, three days later, they arrived at the inheritance again, quite a few of their skills noticeably advanced from having dueled with their extra resources almost all the way back. ¡°Alright, Isaiah, you lie down there.¡± When they got back to the inheritance, they found a formation activated in the main room, seemingly having been modified by Aalam while they were away, and there was an indentation carved into the D rank stone ground perfectly the right size for Isaiah¡¯s body. ¡°Mila, you move against the wall.¡± Not seeing anything wrong, and not even thinking about how Aalam could have carved into D rank stone, Isaiah lay down in the indentation, and he didn¡¯t even react when Aalam reached down with his left hand and stored everything he was wearing into the Left Hand of the Runescribe. Isaiah only started to notice something was wrong when Mila began speaking slowly. ¡°Aalam, Nana Xara is saying this array formation looks like it¡¯s made more for torture than¡ª¡± But she was cut off by Aalam telekinetically slamming her into the wall of the room with no warning, not even looking at her and instead focusing on the formation he was activating. This of course disturbed Isaiah, and he tried to get out of the indentation, but, as soon as he did, a telekinetic force grabbed his entire body and held him in place, feeling even more unmovable than the D rank stone under his back. Chapter 97: Agonizing Enhancement Mila After sliding to the floor of the room, Mila just sat there for a full two minutes doing nothing. For one, she was in pain. Aalam had thrown her quite hard, and she was a bit out of it as a result. But the more important reason was she didn¡¯t know what to do. Aalam was back in his Id state, and he seemingly had been for a while. What had triggered it, she had no idea, but that wasn¡¯t what was important. He was doing something to Isaiah and she had no way to stop him. This wasn¡¯t like when Aalam thought everything was a dream. Then his goals had a simple twisted logic, like he was playing a video game, and she was able to easily influence his decision making as he viewed her as a part of his own imagination. This time, however, Aalam was aware everything was real, so emotions were involved. And Aalam in his normal state generally didn¡¯t handle emotions all that well, often making rash decisions without considering the consequences, so she had no idea what he would do under the influence of Id. In the tutorial, Mila could beat Aalam in a fight, and the same was true at the beginning of their time on Hira, but things were different now that they had both advanced to F rank and Aalam¡¯s Territory had grown. Ever since the capture of the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment, the inheritance had become part of Aalam¡¯s Territory, increasing all his stats even before his effective Spirit was multiplied by 12, and, unlike most F rank skills, the Heroic grade Telekinesis could handle Aalam¡¯s currently D rank effective Spirit. Were she to anger Aalam in the tutorial, she could defend herself. Were she to somehow anger him now, however, he might fail to control his own monstrous strength¡ªthe type capable of destroying an entire city with one blow¡ªand accidentally kill her. ¡°Nana Xara, what is it Aalam is trying to do?¡± Mila sent, deciding she should at least understand the situation before she decided if she was going to try and do anything. ¡°You were saying something about the formation being designed for torture.¡± Mila could see the dragon heart, a somehow still beating giant red organ about the size of a basketball, floating above Isaiah, and it had three other race upgrading materials floating around it. One was a metallic bone, one of the two most powerful race upgrading treasures from the Shadow Thief¡¯s ring, aligned with the metal element; the second was a non-material orb of energy around the size of a baseball which seemed to be made of purple lightning, the other most powerful race upgrading treasure, aligned with the lightning element; and the third was a normal looking brown stone about the size of a grapefruit, one of the weaker treasures for upgrading race, aligned with the earth element. The orb containing the Essence of War was floating above the dragon heart as well and the can which had contained the Dragon Enhancing Powder was empty at the side of the room, Aalam seemingly having already dropped it all on Isaiah, but the powder was designed to work a lot like the Dragon Subduing Powder, easily entering into Isaiah¡¯s body, so Mila couldn¡¯t sense it. The indentation where Isaiah was lying was also filled with a red liquid, which Mila guessed was about half the supply of high grade F rank qi potions stored in the inheritance, but Mila couldn¡¯t sense anything from the formation at all, no energy leaking, and Isaiah was barely moving, so she had no idea what was going on. ¡°He¡¯s trying to upgrade Isaiah¡¯s race by more than we originally planned, but doing so in a way that causes a lot of pain.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s tone made Mila think she was both nervous and impressed at the same time. ¡°It¡¯s kind of ingenious and, with his effective Spirit having risen to D rank, I think it might actually work, but I doubt Aalam and Isaiah will be able to be friends after this. ¡°Upgrading race, racial abilities, and the like doesn¡¯t work like you probably think it would. There is almost no modification of DNA for example, and this is why most race upgrades don¡¯t change appearance much. So, even though Isaiah is a half dragon, since he was born with a humanoid body, it is impossible for him to turn into a dragon with a race upgrade, at least until C rank, though he can gain the full power of a dragon in human form. ¡°This is because what race upgrades mainly change is the soul. And the soul is far more receptive to change and adaptation than a physical body made of matter. As an example, a common practice among powerful forces is to take control of a special environment filled with a certain type of energy helpful to the force¡¯s main cultivation technique. If everyone in the force lives in that environment, over time their cultivation won''t just be faster, but their souls will absorb some of that energy and their choice of racial upgrades will include races taking advantage of the energy their souls have absorbed. ¡°The original plan for Isaiah was to use the prepared array formation the Shadow Thief left in this inheritance to allow Isaiah to slowly absorb the power of the heart of the B rank Harmony Dragon and the Essence of War. Given Isaiah¡¯s race, this would allow him to evolve into some variant of a Mettle Dragon, a more powerful dragon type which is also the usual result when a War Dragon and a Harmony Dragon breed, but most of the energy of the dragon heart would have been wasted, dissipating into the air. The process would have also taken about a month. ¡°Aalam, however, has modified the formation so it doesn¡¯t allow any of the energy to dissipate while also greatly increasing the infusion rate. This in itself is dangerous, incredibly so, but he¡¯s also taken three of the human race upgrading treasures from the Shadow Thief¡¯s ring and is using them as well, adding quite a bit more energy on top. ¡°Normally, doing such a thing to an F rank would be a death sentence. Even given how gentle the power of a Harmony Dragon is, which will ease the absorption of the energies from the other treasures, there is just too much energy involved and, while a soul might be able to take it all in, the body housing the soul would not be able to survive. ¡°Isaiah, however, is a special case. He has the Troll Heart racial ability, so, as long as he has enough qi, he¡¯s unlikely to die, and Aalam has covered his body in pure high rank qi potions, which will automatically be absorbed into Isaiah¡¯s body as his Core Container approaches empty. This, along with his Silver Body and Iron Skin racial abilities, should allow Isaiah to survive the energies, especially if those racial abilities take some of the energy to evolve during the process, which seems to be Aalam¡¯s goal. ¡°This just means Isaiah will survive, however, not that he won¡¯t be in excruciating pain. As his soul is forced to absorb the energies of the dragon heart and the other treasures, an extremely, extremely painful process, the contained energy will repeatedly destroy his entire body over and over again, Troll Heart healing him each time. ¡°The thing is, however, what Aalam is trying to do will probably work. It¡¯s incredibly crude, just forcing energies inside a soul, but Isaiah¡¯s race is already a half dragon, the main source of external energies is from a dragon heart, and a Dragon Enhancing Catalyst is being used, which will help guide the other energies to enhance the two dragon energies instead of working against them. Isaiah also hasn''t practiced a cultivation technique yet, so there shouldn¡¯t be any sources of interference which could alter the energies¡¯ natural flow. ¡°As for what Aalam is actually trying to do, he seems to be attempting to advance Isaiah¡¯s race to a level beyond a Human Form Young Mettle Dragon to a race called Human Form Young Balance Dragon, a type of dragon one tier below the top three. ¡°Balance Dragons are Legendary grade from birth like the top dragon types, but they have quite low affinity for light, darkness, space, and time Laws, so they are considered a tier below Chaos Dragons, Order Dragons, and Divine Dragons. ¡°Aalam is planning to accomplish this upgrade by following the normal pathway for advancing to a Human Form Young Mettle Dragon¡ªa dragon of the water, life, fire, and death elements¡ªand adding in energies of the earth, wind, metal, and lightning elements to increase the power of the transformation. The wind and a bit of the earth elemental power will be gained from not allowing the power of Isaiah¡¯s bloodline, which holds those elements, to leak out of his soul, while the lightning and metal elements will come from the strongest of the two extra race upgrading treasures, and the extra earth element power from the third. ¡°Other than the extreme pain, it¡¯s actually pretty impressive, showing Aalam has understood a great deal more of the first volume of Alashan¡¯s Book of Runes than most crafters who¡¯ve studied it for hundreds of years, as well as what race would be most suitable for Isaiah¡¯s Laws and future cultivation.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Mila took a deep breath. ¡°Should I try to stop it?¡± ¡°At this point, no.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s tone of voice had changed, back to its normal joviality, and Mila got the distinct impression the woman was enjoying the show. ¡°The time you could have safely stopped it already passed while you were stunned, and if you tried now Isaiah would probably die, with you and Aalam having a good chance of being blown up as well. ¡°The pain has already started. You just can¡¯t tell because Isaiah physically can''t scream and his aura is suppressed by all the energy flowing through his soul.¡± Mila found herself sighing and she just started running her qi through her body to heal the damage Aalam had done by throwing her into the wall, using one of her minds to monitor Isaiah¡¯s System feed. Then, a couple minutes later, the first System notification appeared as expected. Congratulations! Your racial ability Iron Skin (Epic) has upgraded to Dragon Scales (Legendary) Dragon Scales (Legendary): Increase the effectiveness of the Toughness and Attunement stats by 12.5%. Isaiah¡¯s pain resulted in his weakest racial ability rising to Legendary grade like his others, and it even gained an increase in effectiveness to the Attunement stat, which was quite rare. And this was only the first of multiple notifications. Congratulations! Your racial ability Troll Heart (Legendary) has upgraded to Dragon Heart (Heroic) Dragon Heart (Heroic): Qi and mana are passively drained whenever injured to boost the healing of injuries and the normal flow rate of qi and mana is increased with better burst potential. The second to advance was Isaiah¡¯s Troll Heart racial ability, gaining the power to passively heal from mana as well as qi and increasing the potency of Isaiah¡¯s qi and mana, which would make his cultivation speed and skill activation time noticeably faster. And, more important, it raised his chance of surviving all the energy in his soul up to nearly 100%. Congratulations! Your racial ability Silver Body (Legendary) has upgraded to Golden Body (Heroic) Golden Body (Heroic): Increase the effectiveness of the Strength and Agility stats by 25% and the Vitality stat by 12.5%. Then his quarter grade higher Legendary grade skill rose to a quarter grade higher Heroic grade skill. The System notifications stopped at this point, however, and it took about three hours for the next one to appear. Your bloodline has been lost You no longer have the bloodline Phantom Wolf (Fabled) No bloodline has been awakened to replace it It was expected, and it wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing so long as that energy went somewhere useful, but Mila could only imagine how painful having a bloodline stripped from your soul could be. Bloodlines weren¡¯t actually genetic, more a special type of energy infused into a cultivator¡¯s body, and Isaiah¡¯d had his from birth, so its loss was likely as much psychologically scarring as physically painful. And that pain continued for half a day, no new notifications appearing for Isaiah. Aalam, on the other hand, seemed to be gaining a lot from the experience, raising a Law Larva to middle grade almost every hour, and, when Mila checked his status page, it seemed he¡¯d advanced all his darkness and light element Laws before they¡¯d returned, the elemental dao guide apparently quite helpful for his darkness Laws. So, as all his darkness Laws formed pairs with his light Laws, he¡¯d found it easy to raise them as well. It took about a day after the process started for Isaiah to get another notification, and this time it was the second advancement of his Dragon Scales racial ability. Congratulations! Your racial ability Dragon Scales (Legendary) has upgraded to Dragon Scales (Heroic) Dragon Scales (Heroic): Increase the effectiveness of the Toughness and Attunement stats by 25%. Throughout the entire time, Mila just sat there, unable to interfere, and, without having anything else to do, she spent all her time watching the changes occurring in Isaiah¡¯s power. Congratulations! Your Law Larva of The Healer has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +16, Soul +48 Thinking about Isaiah and the medical marvel he was going through, Mila managed to advance one of her Laws. Then, however, unwilling to continue doing nothing but watch, she walked down the stairs to the inheritance¡¯s warehouse, grabbed several Primal Energy Stones suitable for F rank, and brought them up before sitting back down in her spot, where she started using the energy of the stones to level up. Two days later, the process of upgrading Isaiah¡¯s race was starting to reach the end and Isaiah began to receive more System messages. Congratulations! Your race has upgraded from War Dragon Hybrid (F-Legendary) to Human Form Young Balance Dragon (E-Fabled) Human Form Young Balance Dragon (E-Fabled) A young dragon in the form of a human, balanced eight elements, balanced stats Racial Abilities: 6 No limits, but a higher chance for abilities which raise the effectiveness of all stats Max stats: Strength: 62208 Agility: 62208 Endurance: 62208 Toughness: 62208 Vitality: 62208 Perception: 62208 Magic: 62208 Spirit: 62208 Soul: 62208 Aura: 62208 Attunement: 62208 Luck: 62208 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 72 (12) Agility: 72 (12) Endurance: 72 (12) Toughness: 72 (12) Vitality: 72 (12) Perception: 72 (12) Magic: 72 (12) Spirit: 72 (12) Soul: 72 (12) Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Live for 72 standard years. Comes with automatic grade increase. Requirements: ??? His new race was far more powerful than War Dragon Hybrid, with two extra racial abilities and quite a bit more stat growth per level, the values in parentheses how many stats the race would grant per level before Isaiah officially entered E rank. Congratulations! You have gained a new bloodline, Ideal Human (Legendary)! Ideal Human (Legendary) The idealized form of the most common intelligent race in the universe Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 3.125% Raise cultivation speed to half that of an Ideal Human¡¯s if your race would make it less Aalam had managed to give Isaiah a new bloodline using the non-elemental energies of the treasures designed to boost the human race and the human half of Isaiah¡¯s original race, and it was a very useful one. Even if it was weaker than his old Phantom Wolf bloodline, it helped to solve the biggest problem with dragon races, cultivation speed. Because of it, Isaiah also didn¡¯t grow any horns or scales. Granted, his hair might have changed color, but all the hair all over his body had fallen off and no new hair had grown in yet, so it was impossible to tell. And, as he¡¯d fallen unconscious, his eyes were closed, so she couldn¡¯t see if they¡¯d changed either. The notifications weren¡¯t done, however, and a couple of Isaiah¡¯s racial abilities rose to Fabled grade as well. Congratulations! Your racial ability Dragon Heart (Heroic) has upgraded to Dragon Heart (Fabled) Dragon Heart (Fabled): Qi and mana are passively drained whenever injured to markedly boost the healing of injuries and the normal flow rate of qi and mana is markedly increased with better burst potential. Congratulations! Your racial ability Dragon Scales (Heroic) has upgraded to Dragon Scales (Fabled) Dragon Scales (Fabled): Increase the effectiveness of the Toughness and Attunement stats by 50%. And, finally, his only non-Legendary grade skill advanced as well, reverting back to 0% mastery, as it had also been originally formed by dragon energy. Congratulations! You have used external energy to advance the skill Dragon Drive (F-Epic) to Dragon Drive (F-Legendary) Dragon Drive (F-Legendary) Magic, Activation, Dragon You burn your health to destroy your enemy The skill was now more efficient, with a higher effect, greatly increasing Isaiah¡¯s strength further, and Isaiah¡¯s base stats had all risen by more than 300 due to the remaining energy. Sure, he was passed out, but he was now stronger than her and, when he woke up, he¡¯d almost certainly try to kill Aalam, so the entire strengthening was pointless. Aalam then walked up to Mila, a big grin on his face like he¡¯d done something really praiseworthy, instead of something incredibly stupid. ¡°Pretty cool, right?¡± ¡°No, Aalam.¡± Mila didn¡¯t quite know what to say, so she just decided to go with the unfiltered truth. That generally worked best on Aalam, and he seemed in a good mood, so he probably wouldn¡¯t squash her into paste. ¡°You just really hurt a teammate without asking, and he¡¯s probably going to hate you now.¡± ¡°Right, asking people things.¡± Aalam looked like he just remembered something. Then he knelt down on one knee in front of her, summoned out a small box from the Left Hand of the Runescribe, and opened it to show a simple moonlight iron ring with an inset fire ruby. ¡°Li Mila, will you marry me?¡± Chapter 98: Change in the Relationship Mila Mila didn¡¯t know how to feel. On the one hand she''d wanted this proposal for a couple years. On the other, Aalam had just brutally tortured someone she¡¯d been trying to make a friend; was not in his right mind, making the entire proposal pretty much invalid; and, instead of showing an expression of love and anticipation, he was glaring at her like he wanted to kill her. Overall, it wasn¡¯t very romantic. ¡°It¡¯s a simple question, Mila. You either say ¡®yes¡¯, or you say ¡®no¡¯.¡± With the now rather immense power difference, Aalam glaring at her was quite terrifying, and Mila didn¡¯t know how to respond. Given his effective Aura stat was quite a bit higher than hers, however, Aalam could easily sense this and she was not in the right headspace to use memories to alter her emotions. In that case, with someone like Aalam, brutal honesty was the way to go. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Aalam closed the small box holding the ring and it disappeared back into the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace as he stood back up, towering over her. ¡°Because you aren¡¯t in your right mind now and you obviously don¡¯t want me to answer yes.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯d answer yes if I wanted you to?¡± Aalam looked somewhat confused and Mila felt her heart start to beat faster. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I like the idea of spending the rest of my life with you.¡± Mila decided she should probably clarify. ¡°At least when you¡¯re not in a berserker state.¡± ¡°Then why did you partner up with me during the tutorial when you knew I was in one?¡± Aalam was still glaring at her, but the intensity had lessened a bit. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want you to get yourself killed and there wasn¡¯t a better option.¡± ¡°So, even if there was no chance of us reconciling, you¡¯d still want me to do well?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± It was then Mila realized what was going on. Aalam was testing her. He¡¯d been observing her for months, and he was now using her new favorite interrogation tactic against her. He¡¯d gotten her emotions in a mess by throwing her across the room and through what he¡¯d done to Isaiah. Then he¡¯d further put her off balance with the proposal. This meant she wasn¡¯t able to hide her emotions from his more powerful aura, so he could ask her questions and tell when she was lying. ¡°Damn.¡± Aalam turned around and walked away, seemingly aware he¡¯d been seen through. Then, as Mila stayed sitting at the edge of the main room, he walked down into the warehouse and came up with several qi and mana potions, which he proceeded to telekinetically pour down Isaiah¡¯s throat. ¡°Did you get his consent before doing that to him?¡± Mila¡¯s voice was rather soft, but Aalam¡¯s raw Perception stat was 2,880. Nothing in the inheritance could escape his notice. ¡°Of course.¡± Aalam didn¡¯t even turn to look at her, instead summoning all twelve of the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s needles to start practicing writing runes in the air. ¡°I don¡¯t hate Isaiah and, while beneficial, it was obvious that ritual was going to hurt.¡± Mila highly doubted Aalam would have correctly conveyed just how much pain Isaiah would be in, but, as long as he had asked, Isaiah was unlikely to want to kill him at least. Aalam then turned to look at her again, the twelve needles still moving, and his expression was less angry and more contemplative. ¡°I know you are now in a state where you can lie through your teeth, but I figure that trick won¡¯t work again, so I might as well ask. Why did you target me with your honey trap scheme in the first place?¡± ¡°Ooh, so it¡¯s finally time for this conversation,¡± Nana Xara sent, sounding way, way more excited than Mila felt, and Mila contemplated cutting the woman off before deciding against it. She was pretty sure what was about to happen wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d want to have to explain to the woman in the future. ¡°The truth? I was enjoying the freedom I¡¯d gained during my time at college, and I didn¡¯t want to have to seduce new men all the time. ¡°If I attached myself to you, I thought my superiors wouldn¡¯t want me to leave. And you seemed like someone I could be mostly myself around, which was a bonus.¡± Aalam looked interested, even forming his next rune behind his body instead of all around himself. ¡°How weren¡¯t you yourself?¡± Mila took a second to think, not to try and lie, but just because she wasn¡¯t exactly sure. She had definitely been different around Aalam than other people, more blunt, less likely to hold back her thoughts on anything, and more explicit with her emotions, but that was just adapting her communication style to him, something she did with everyone, not hiding a part of herself. If anything, she was hiding a lot less. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Mostly, there were just some things I didn''t talk about. Otherwise, I didn¡¯t really have to change much at all. You liked me for me.¡± Mila felt herself start to tear up as Aalam nodded. ¡°Makes sense. That¡¯s probably why Diana wanted to give you a chance even though she knew you were a spy.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Mila¡¯s tears stopped as her emotions shifted from sadness about what was about to happen to surprise. Aalam looked at her with a slightly confused expression again. ¡°When I said I was going to propose, she said I had to wait until she talked to you, but you left the day before you were supposed to meet.¡± Mila thought back. Diana had sent her an email to make a lunch date for the day after she left, but that had been a relatively normal thing for them, so Mila hadn¡¯t thought anything of it. ¡°When did she find out?¡± ¡°According to her, she''d had suspicions for years.¡± Aalam¡¯s facial expression changed to show anger again. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t like China respected intellectual property anyway, so them getting my inventions before they were patented wasn¡¯t much of a loss, and she had no way to confirm her suspicions, so she didn¡¯t want to offend you. Then, when China was the first country to have stolen my Trojan, she looked through the data before I did and found who your grandfather was, then who you were. ¡°She was going to give you a chance to come clean, but then you ran away and she got sick. She was pretty pissed at you.¡± Mila felt the tears start up again. Diana had wanted to give her a chance. Granted, Aalam¡¯s older sister had probably been afraid he¡¯d come live with her again if Mila left and, granted, she¡¯d probably been worried Aalam would do something stupid like release all his research for free so someone else could patent slight variations and block all innovation without talking to anyone if Mila wasn''t there to talk him out of it, but the fact coming clean and still getting engaged was even an option in Diana¡¯s mind meant a lot. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The surprise on Aalam¡¯s face when she said the words hurt more than when he¡¯d been angry at her after waking up from his coma. ¡°Well, at least you finally said it.¡± Aalam in his normal state would be somewhat angry, but also uncomfortable. In his Id state, however, only the anger remained. ¡°I¡¯ll say the words I haven¡¯t been saying as well then. Let¡¯s officially break up.¡± Congratulations! Your Law Larva of Shadow has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility +48, Perception +48, Magic +32, Spirit +32, Soul +32 Mila felt the tears start to flow faster, but she nodded. ¡°You¡¯re still in charge, though, and you still need to get us home.¡± The anger in Aalam¡¯s voice lessened. ¡°After that, if you¡¯d still like to remain partners, I think that would be good for both of us. I may never truly trust you again, but I can¡¯t deny you are very good at what you do, and what you do fills up most of the gaps in my skillset.¡± Mila nodded again, though the tears started to flow faster, and Aalam turned away from her, the mind he¡¯d been using to talk to her seemingly transitioning to help with his practice as the speed of his rune creation increased. ¡°Okay, I know you¡¯re sad now, so I¡¯m going to distract you with some rude questions.¡± Nana Xara sounded chipper, but it wasn¡¯t her normal tone, more affected and less genuine. ¡°Why did it take you so long to say sorry?¡± ¡°Because I heavily suspected what just happened would be the result.¡± As she answered the question, Mila started to use telekinesis to wipe at her eyes. ¡°I was also afraid doing so would reactivate Id.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Nana Xara paused. ¡°Any idea what did?¡± Mila thought about it for a second. ¡°Probably the process of coming up with this plan. Either the emotions which the plan triggered or the realization he wouldn¡¯t be able to pull it off without the Id state. We don''t have enough data.¡± ¡°Aalam.¡± Mila just decided to ask. ¡°What triggered Id this time?¡± Aalam turned to look at her and his expression was neutral while his aura was pretty much unreadable. ¡°The strong emotions when I realized I might have a way to know if you were lying to me or not. I think there also might be a time component as well, the state easier to slip into the more time has passed since I was last in it.¡± Mila stood up and took a deep breath, getting herself in the mindset of a team leader again. ¡°Do you have any clues on how to advance your uniqueness? There is a lot of documentation on Prince but almost nothing on Id.¡± Aalam nodded, seemingly perfectly comfortable with the line of questioning. ¡°I think having multiple mental forges is a requirement, though I am not positive. It just feels right. ¡°Ever since I acquired the Multi-Mind skill, the effects of the state have been less extreme. For example, you can stop worrying I will hurt you so long as you don¡¯t have plans to betray me. The current version of the state makes me more rash and decisive, but it¡¯s not like it would make me do something I would never do in my normal state, and violence against my allies isn¡¯t really in my nature, unless of course it is part of a plan.¡± Mila nodded in return. ¡°Understood.¡± That had been bugging her. Yes, Aalam¡¯s autistic nature would make his id state different than that of a normal person¡¯s, but from Nana Xara¡¯s description of the uniqueness it had sounded worse than what she and Aalam had experienced. Now that made sense. Multi-Mind at G rank had only been theoretical to Nana Xara, so Aalam¡¯s solution to making the state less bad likely wasn¡¯t something anyone else had ever tried. She still wouldn¡¯t trust Aalam around important people who could easily kill him, or pretty much any crowds, as he was likely to antagonize people without realizing it, but she wouldn¡¯t trust him in those situations in his normal state anyway. ¡°Ugh.¡± Mila turned to look at Isaiah, who was groaning, and watched as he opened his eyes. They weren''t the same fuchsia as before, more a vivid indigo, and the pupils were now reptilian slits. Isaiah then sat up and looked over at Aalam. ¡°You said it would hurt a little. That was extreme pain for three days.¡± He sounded more annoyed than angry, which was a good sign, and he quickly stood up and started literally bouncing around the room, using the walls, ceiling, and floor all as spring boards to test out his new power. ¡°Alright, Isaiah.¡± Mila grabbed the large man¡¯s attention and, done with his tests, he landed on the floor and just stood there. ¡°I¡¯m going to head to the new capital and talk to Roland to see if we can speed up the process of completely claiming this planet. Then, in the near future, my and Aalam¡¯s souls will be heading to the Trial Tower and I¡¯ll need you to guard Roland while we¡¯re gone. Until that point, though, you should test your new power against Aalam.¡± Mila then turned to Aalam. ¡°Aalam, during training you are forbidden from using Telekinesis or any other power making use of your Spirit stat. It¡¯s effectively D rank right now, and you won¡¯t gain anything from a completely unbalanced fight.¡± Isaiah looked at Aalam in amazement but he looked back to Mila when she turned back to him. ¡°Before that, though, Isaiah, put on some pants.¡± Chapter 99: Sovereign Roland As Roland watched the two men fight, he felt really small. They were outside the new capital, next to a large lake about 500 kilometers away from the center of the continent, and Shadow thought it would only be a couple minutes until the System recognized him as ruler of the planet, so almost his entire government in the area were in attendance, some 10,000+ people. But no one was looking at him. Skies above, even Roland wasn¡¯t paying any attention to the upcoming event. Guardian and his new subordinate, who Shadow referred to as Dragon, were fighting over the lake, Guardian using a bastard sword and Dragon using a spear, and they were moving faster than almost anyone among his government could follow. Roland, who had the highest perception of any of the natives present, could only see their movements because he was sufficiently far enough away, and he would instantly die if he were to face either one of them. The new man, apparently one of the invaders who¡¯d been betrayed by his people, was huge, even slightly bigger than Guardian, with the lighter skin tone which Hirans would have associated with slaves pre-integration. Given his indigo reptilian eyes and short lavender hair, however, no one would confuse the living force of nature for a native. Unlike Guardian or Shadow, he obviously had a combat focused class, with a powerful attack skill, a powerful defensive skill, and a very impressive boosting skill he seemed to be using all the time, but the biggest advantage he had over Guardian was his movement skill. It allowed him to move around in three dimensions with ease, both under the lake and through the sky, so, with the longer reach of his weapon, he was dominating the pace of the fight. He wasn¡¯t winning, however. As Dragon moved around in three dimensions and attacked, Guardian ran around the center of the lake, freezing the water below him with every step due to a pair of runes hovering around his feet, and he somehow dodged or deflected every single attack from Dragon, even with his much less elegant movement. Guardian obviously had a large advantage in stats, even with Dragon boosting himself the entire time, but, to Roland at least, it was obvious Guardian was much weaker when it came to martial skill. He was just able to predict all of Dragon¡¯s attacks and his Spirit stat was high enough his reaction speed was faster than Dragon¡¯s. If Guardian didn¡¯t use any skills at all, it might be an even fight. Even though Guardian had many, many Law Larvae at early and middle grade, Dragon seemed to have three Law Larvae which could match him, and he was much more skilled with using his Laws, each of his three Laws¡ªone which emphasized speed, one which emphasized defense, and one which emphasized attack¡ªwas perfectly suited for combat. But, while Guardian for some reason wasn¡¯t using his telekinesis skill, he seemed to have two domain skills and they covered the entire lake. One based on qi and the other mana, they appeared to allow Guardian to draw runic magic anywhere, and Guardian was using them to draw five to six powerful attack spells every second. These spells¡ªmostly variations of wind blades powered by both qi and mana¡ªwere often created and launched in such a way at least a few of them weren¡¯t dodgeable, forcing Dragon to use his defensive skill and Law. Given the difference in stats, however, they often still did damage even through Dragon¡¯s defense, and the man was already covered with his own blood. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s time!¡± Shadow yelled at the two from beside him, using the Universal Standard language Roland had recently gotten good enough to converse in, and the fast moving warriors stopped, Dragon landing on the ice created by Guardian. The two then ran toward them and Roland realized why Guardian hadn¡¯t been using any psyforce techniques as, when Guardian used Telekinesis to speed up his movements, he was over three times faster than Dragon, even with the latter¡¯s perfect combination of Law and movement skill. ¡°What do you think?¡± Shadow asked Dragon when he arrived, pointing at Guardian, no one but Roland and Uliana in the immediate area able to understand what they were saying. ¡°He¡¯s incorporated his new sensing skills into his fighting style well and his bladework has improved to the point it is no longer a liability, but his sustain could still use quite a bit of improvement. He¡¯s over reliant on his Territory greatly speeding up his resource regeneration at the moment and he has a tendency to overuse Laws he''s trying to improve rather than those he''s best at, which is great for practice but not for a real fight. Otherwise, under the condition he can¡¯t use any psyforce techniques, he''ll probably be able to beat me about fifty percent of the time with a few more weeks of training.¡± Roland was confused, as Dragon¡¯s words implied he¡¯d been winning the fight which had just happened, and that hadn¡¯t seemed the case. But then Guardian made some runes which gathered water from the lake and submerged both him and Dragon before sending the water back into the lake along with all the dirt and blood on their bodies, and Roland saw there wasn¡¯t a scratch on Dragon while there were quite a few on Guardian. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Dragon seemed to be a Vitality specialist and light injuries would mean almost nothing to him. He also looked a bit annoyed about being submerged without warning, but he didn¡¯t say anything. As Roland was wondering if he¡¯d ever get as strong as either of the two he felt something shift. It was like an earthquake, only, instead of the world shaking physically, it was shaking metaphysically instead, Roland¡¯s magical senses going crazy for a few seconds. Then the System messages arrived. Congratulations! You have been recognized as Sovereign of the planet Hira! Your Territory New Raphaiya has disappeared and you now rule over the entire planet. Then came the System messages about the status of his new Territory. Hira (F++ rank planet) The planet Hira, Territory of Lord Roland Raphaiya. Lord: Roland Raphaiya Overlord: Heavenly Spark Soul King Benefits to humanoid population: Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% further when in the rain Affinity for all Laws +12.5% There was a pause for a few seconds, then more System messages came. The Apocalypse Style Integration of Hira is now over and the natives have achieved full victory. Granting rewards based on contribution! Rank 1: Shadow (All Stats +180, 1 medium System boon) Rank 2: Roland Raphaiya (All Stats +24, 1 minor System boon) Rank 3: Kimor Tal (Base Stats +3) Rank 4: Geric Tal (Base Stats +2) All stats have increased by +24 and you may choose one minor System boon. ¡°I would recommend increasing your Prodigy of the Blade racial ability with your boon, as you should be able to increase the other one on your own soon anyway,¡± Shadow said from his side, fully able to see all his System messages. ¡°And what will you be doing with yours?¡± Roland asked as he did as suggested, it having been what he was leaning toward in the first place. ¡°For what comes next, what I need most is stats, especially Luck, so I¡¯ll be increasing all my stats by a further 144.¡± With Shadow also choosing her boon, the System notifications then continued. Rewards based on contribution done. As Sovereign, you gain three separate rewards.
  1. Interplanetary Teleportation Platform: You have 3 standard days to choose a location where the System will create a teleportation platform connected to the Universal Teleportation Network, which will allow those you grant access the ability to teleport off world
  2. Status of Planetary Lord: Your Lord skill will be increased from Rare grade to Epic grade with the advancement pathway of your choice
  3. Token of Trial (F rank): A System-bound token you may either take for yourself or grant to another cultivator, it will allow the cultivator to participate in the next Trial Tower. The Trial Tower is a test for F ranks which is run by the System every six years with valuable prizes the further you climb. The next Trial Tower test is in 24 standard days. No cultivators with E rank races or higher are allowed.
As agreed on earlier, Roland first granted the Token of Trial to Shadow. Then he chose to upgrade his Lord skill to the Epic grade Servant Lord skill, which strengthened the connection between him and Guardian, allowing for telepathic communication across galaxies and, in the future, even further as Guardian grew in power. More important, however, it also allowed telepathic communication with Shadow, as she was Guardian¡¯s chamberlain. Then, finally, he chose the location of the teleportation platform to be right where they were standing and a stone platform just appeared in front of them, about the size where six people could comfortably stand on it, though it looked like nothing more than a stone octagonal platform, no runes or any of the internal workings visible, at least not with his detection skills. Guardian, on the other hand, seemed able to see inside the platform somehow as he started talking to Shadow excitedly about how it worked, everything going above Roland¡¯s head. ¡°Roland, thank you for your work.¡± Shadow patted him on the back. ¡°You now have a bit more than 70 years to prepare yourself for what is to come in the wider world.¡± She then passed him an information orb and just a brief look at the information inside made Roland¡¯s heart start to beat faster. ¡°I was lucky.¡± Shadow smiled at him. ¡°There was a random orb in the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance that happened to have the Raindrop Ranger class¡¯s advancement paths up to C rank and the Shadow Thief let me copy the information. I also got a suitable cultivation technique for you and I managed to negotiate for a set of more common cultivation techniques and the class paths for most common and uncommon classes with simple requirements. ¡°All of that is in that orb and you can use it as Hira''s inheritance.¡± Roland was excited and he wanted to ask if there was anything more he could receive from the Shadow Thief, but what Shadow said next dashed his hopes. ¡°I can''t get any more resources until I hit D rank and I have to do so before Hira reintegrates with the universe or else the inheritance will implode in on itself. Sorry. ¡°Also, don¡¯t let anyone head into the inheritance. The entrance is guarded by five E rank golems and they¡¯ll kill anyone who tries.¡± ¡°Thanks for your patronage, Shadow.¡± Shadow just nodded at him, as did Guardian, and then, seeing the other two do so, Dragon followed suit. Then the three of them disappeared. Shadow vanished from everyone¡¯s senses, Guardian launched himself into the sky with Telekinesis, and Dragon ran into the sky like he was walking on the ground. Chapter 100: Ready Isaiah Isaiah didn¡¯t know much about the Trial Tower but, if it was truly a series of tests designed for F ranks, he couldn¡¯t see anyone doing better than Aalam, as long as it was fair. With the connection between them strengthened by his Knight skill, Isaiah could, with Aalam¡¯s permission, see Aalam¡¯s status, and his effective stats were just ridiculous. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 16 Race: Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic) Bloodline: Genetic Thief (Mythic) Abilities Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) [Upgradable] Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) Soul Collector (Epic) [Upgradable] Class 1: Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord (F-Heroic) Skills Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) 56% mastered Runescriber (F-Heroic) 55% mastered Soul Lord (F-Heroic) 53% mastered Telekinesis (F-Heroic) 66% mastered Spacetime Sensing (F-Legendary) 87% mastered Crafter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary) 66% mastered Class 2: Void Sage (F-Legendary) Skills Void Sense (F-Legendary) 94% mastered Hunter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary) 58% mastered Psychic Domain (F-Legendary) 76% mastered Mana Domain (F-Legendary) 72% mastered Qi Domain (F-Legendary) 71% mastered Kinetic Senses (F-Legendary) 49% mastered Danger Sense (F-Legendary) 43% mastered Heightened Senses (F-Legendary) 37% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Heat - Middle Plasma - Middle Passion - Early Cold - Middle Liquid - Middle Tranquility - Early Inertia - Middle Solid - Middle Gravity - Middle Storm - Early Gas - Middle Kinetic Energy - Middle Ionization - Early Fission - Early Fusion - Early Ionic Conductivity - Early Matter - Middle Antimatter - Early Electromagnetic Radiation - Middle Energy Transfer - Middle Cleansing - Middle Electromagnetic Absorption - Middle Energy Storage - Middle Contamination - Middle Cells - Middle Order - Middle Bonds - Early Deprivation - Middle Entropy - Middle Severing - Early Vacuum - Early 3 Dimensional Geometry - Middle Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Middle Temporal Acceleration - Middle Temporal Relativity - Middle Pause - Early Stats Strength: 2448 [+2160](+13.75%) Agility: 2448 [+2160](+13.75%) Endurance: 2664 [+2160](+13.75%) Toughness: 2448 [+2160](+13.75%) Vitality: 2664 [+2160](+13.75%) Perception: 2880 [+2160](+13.75%) Magic: 3168 [+2160](+13.75%) Spirit: 3456 [+2160](+1113.75%) Soul: 4752 [+2160](+26.25%) Aura: 3168 [+1440](+56.25%) Attunement: 3168 [+1440](+68.75%) Luck: 3024 [+720](+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Medium Mental Forges Unique: 1 Small Soul Storage Uniqueness: Id Prince Territory: Lord NA Overlord Hira (Lord: Roland Raphaiya) Boons: Hunter of Sentients XV: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 7.5% Thanks to his Nascent Energy Converter racial ability, Aalam had managed to maximize all his stats through drinking the Foundation Establishment Soup from the Shadow Thief¡¯s ring and advancing his Laws, but the more impressive part was how much Aalam¡¯s effective stats were raised by his two uniquenesses. According to Nana Xara through Mila, the Trial Tower worked by projecting a cultivator¡¯s soul into a different sub-dimension, so the stats inside were the same as those of the cultivator¡¯s true soul in his or her body. This meant locationally conditional powers like Isaiah¡¯s Knight skill or Aalam¡¯s Prince uniqueness could show their full effect the entire time, one of those features disguised as bugs according to Mila¡¯s theory on the nature of the System. So, even with Hira not able to support the full power of Prince, throughout Aalam¡¯s time in the trial, his effective Spirit stat would be 68,164.2, a value very high even for a D rank, while his other stats would be well within the E rank range. Granted, Aalam had lost more than half his bouts with Isaiah even in the last few days, but that was with Isaiah activating his Knight skill and Aalam allowing him to take some of the energy of the Territory to raise his stats, lowering Aalam¡¯s, all while having every technique relying on psyforce restricted, which was like Isaiah fighting with both hands and a leg tied behind his back. Aalam¡¯s entire fighting style, from his movements to his offense, was built around the Telekinesis skill, and the Left Hand of the Runescribe used Telekinesis to move its needles, meaning he couldn¡¯t make use of his main weapon either. For combat related skills other than the multiple detection skills he was training up to fuse into something insane, this then left two domain skills and Runescriber which could be used without psyforce. The two domain skills were utility skills, designed to enable and empower other skills, effectively useless against someone with the same level of Laws and an equivalent amount of mana and qi, while Runescriber was a crafting skill. It wasn''t designed for combat at all and the fact Aalam could use it as one was already somewhat insane. Aalam didn''t even have a cultivation technique yet, so the power of the runes he created mid-battle without the Left Hand of the Runescribe were quite a bit weaker than his stats would suggest. If they were to actually fight for real, however, with Aalam allowed to use Telekinesis and Psychic Domain, Isaiah wouldn''t stand a chance and, if Aalam hadn¡¯t made him an F rank Rare grade spear out of moonlight iron, Isaiah¡¯s own power would break his weapon and he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight at all. Even with his race upgrade, his stats just weren¡¯t anywhere close. Name: Isaiah Gale Level: 12 Race: Human Form Young Balance Dragon (E-Fabled) Bloodline: Ideal Human (Legendary) Abilities Dragon Scales (Fabled) Golden Body (Heroic) Active Daoist (Legendary) Dragon Heart (Fabled) Power of Balance (Fabled) Human Blood Adaptation (Heroic) Class: Rapid Spear Guardian (F-Legendary) Skills Storm Steps (F-Legendary) 93% mastered Power Attack (F-Legendary) 90% mastered Guardian (F-Legendary) 87% mastered Kinetic Senses (F-Legendary) 94% mastered Dragon Drive (F-Legendary) 36% mastered Knight (F-Legendary) 32% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Storm Speed - Early Iron Defense - Early Blazing Destruction - Early Law Eggs: Tranquility - High Regeneration - High Stats Strength: 988 (+28.125% + 25% when holding a spear) Agility: 1143 (+53.125% + 25% when holding a spear) Endurance: 1003 (+3.125% + 25% when holding a spear) Toughness: 1076 (+78.125% + 25% when holding a spear) Vitality: 1106 (+15.625% + 25% when holding a spear) Perception: 913 (+203.125% + 25% when holding a spear) Magic: 802 (+3.125%) Spirit: 743 (+3.125%) Soul: 709 (+9.375%) Aura: 492 (+3.125%) Attunement: 489 (+59.375%) Luck: 504 (+3.125%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Colossal Core Container Middle Dantian: 4 Large + 2 Huge Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Perception Prince Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 6.25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 12.5%. The race upgrade came with quite a lot of extra stats due to all the extra energy involved, along with two new racial abilities which, although useless at the moment, would drastically increase his power in the future, so Isaiah had decided to forgive Aalam for underselling how much upgrading his race would hurt. His new race also greatly raised his affinities, allowing him to feel close to advancing all three of his Law Larvae, though he was waiting to merge his two new Law Eggs into a fourth Law Larva first. According to Nana Xara through Mila, he¡¯d have a lot of gunk in his soul from the racial upgrade process, but, given the quest the A rank had given Mila for doing well in the Trial Tower, he was going to get the best cultivation technique for his Laws in the universe when the three of them managed to reach Aalam and Mila¡¯s home planet in the future. This would allow him to easily clear up the gunk and it was another thing he likely wouldn¡¯t be able to receive from any other force which would take him in. More than him, though, Mila had improved drastically. Name: Li Mila Level: 32 Race: Strong Soul Succubus Princess (F-Epic) Bloodline: Prime Servitor (Mythic) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Legendary) Master of Disguise (Heroic) Class 1: Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) Skills Artifact Enhancement (F-Legendary) 89% mastered Devil¡¯s Contract (F-Legendary) 85% mastered Trickster¡¯s Guise (F-Legendary) 87% mastered Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers (F-Legendary) 82% mastered Evil Eyes - Lust (F-Legendary) 81% mastered Shadow Stride (F-Legendary) 47% mastered Class 2: Essence Chamberlain (F-Heroic) Skills Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) 72% mastered Life Death Detection (F-Legendary) 89% mastered Noble''s Senses (F-Legendary) 46% mastered Thief¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary) 33% mastered Advanced Multi-Mind (F-Heroic) [shadow] Telekinesis (F-Heroic) [shadow] Laws Law Larvae: The Healer - Middle The Reaper - Early Shadow - Middle Illusion - Early The Tactician - Early The Courtesan - Early Stats Strength: 1632 (+14.25%) Agility: 1632 (+14.25%) Endurance: 1776 (+14.25%) Toughness: 1632 (+14.25%) Vitality: 1776 (+14.25%) Perception: 1920 (+114.25%) Magic: 2112 (+14.25%) Spirit: 2345 (+14.25%) Soul: 3240 (+26.75%) Aura: 2112 (+156.25%) Attunement: 2112 (+68.75%) Luck: 650 (+6.25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 3 Huge + 2 Medium Mental Forges Uniqueness: Third Eye Princess Aura Lady Assets: 3 D rank universal credits 1,745 E rank universal credits 207,492 F rank universal credits 26 D rank undead credits 27,894 E rank undead credits 37,766,349 F rank undead credits Boons: Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%. Hunter of Sentients XVI: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 8% She¡¯d gained quite a few stats from finishing most of the quests available for a native on Hira, had raised her level by a lot with the help of Primal Energy Stones, and had then gained 6238 free stats from Aalam, who¡¯d also used some of the Primal Energy Stones to level up to half her level. As Aalam was technically her familiar, she could take him into the Trial Tower with her so long as he was no more than half her level, so they had planned accordingly. Isaiah had dueled Mila several times as well since becoming allies and the results were quite different than with Aalam, every single time a draw. They both knew each other¡¯s powers, so Mila, as someone specialized in hit, hide, and run tactics couldn¡¯t successfully get the drop on Isaiah, whose best stat was Perception. And, due to the interference from Mila¡¯s Evil Eyes - Lust and Telekinesis skills, Isaiah was never able to catch Mila even if she got close enough for him to sense her through her stealth, the woman always able to run away. Given Isaiah was very much built for duels while Mila was very much not, Isaiah generally considered these mostly wins for Mila. ¡°Alright.¡± Mila, having used her Trickster¡¯s Guise skill to change her appearance to look like a member of Hiran nobility, lay down next to Aalam on the second bed they¡¯d made inside the soul well the two of them had apparently found right after arriving on Hira. ¡°No one else should know about this cave, and the System should protect us in the case anyone attacks our bodies while our souls are being projected, but please stay close anyway. And thank you Isaiah, both for your help training and the protection you¡¯re about to provide.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Isaiah couldn¡¯t help but smile, very much having enjoyed spending time with people who treated him as an equal. ¡°Just promise to win the thing.¡± Mila chuckled as she closed her eyes. ¡°This is effectively a tournament for the young of the entire universe, Isaiah, so we¡¯ll be competing against the true disciples of A rank forces and Gods. We¡¯ll be lucky to even get a ranking. But, thankfully, we shouldn¡¯t need one to get what we need.¡± A dome of force then wrapped around both her and Aalam and Isaiah suddenly couldn¡¯t sense their existence at all. He could still see them, but to all his magical senses it was like they didn¡¯t exist. ¡°That is so cool.¡± Isaiah then sent what he was sensing to Aalam and Mila, their bond still able to allow communication, and Mila changed her mind, allowing Isaiah to go to a better hunting ground on the planet, like the deep sea. There was a teleportation formation established nearby and Isaiah, who had the portable key, could teleport back in a matter of seconds if anything went wrong. Chapter 101: Trial Tower Mila When Mila opened her eyes, she was in an empty void wearing the same type of nondescript gray clothing she¡¯d worn at the beginning of the tutorial. Then System messages started to appear. Starting the Trial Tower. Welcome, Shadow. In the Trial Tower you will participate in a series of challenges. The better you do, the better your rewards at the end. During the trial, your body will be protected by the System and nothing short of a B rank attack will get through. Detecting a contract skill and a familiar. As one of your skill slots has been used for a contract skill, you may bring along a familiar so long as its race has not evolved to E rank or higher and its total level is less than half your own. Please choose which familiar you would like to bring into the Trial Tower with you:
  1. Heavenly Spark Soul King (level 16)
You have selected the Heavenly Spark Soul King. Pulling the Heavenly Spark Soul King into the Trial Tower to participate with you. Aalam then appeared next to her in the void, wearing the same type of nondescript gray clothing, and the System messages continued. Both you and your familiar may choose one artifact for the Trial Tower to copy for your use in the trials. Please select from the following items on your person. The list held all their artifacts, and, as planned, they immediately chose the Left Hand of the Runescribe and a special artifact Aalam had crafted with Nana Xara¡¯s input, the Twin Dragons of Yin and Yang sadly not brought in. Isaiah then shared his senses with them, showing how well their bodies were protected, and Mila changed her mind about him needing to be close, allowing him to go hunt to level and gain skill mastery instead. Are you ready to start the trials? Yes/No Mila then selected yes and the void around them started to fade as a new System message appeared. Trial I is starting. Scenario: You have been trapped in a force barrier with a Targonian Terror by cultivators of an enemy sect, but you have successfully sent a message to your sect describing the situation and have been told reinforcements are on the way. Goal: Survive one hour. When the void fully faded, Mila found herself in a tropical forest and, looking up, there was a transparent red barrier covering the sky. Looking at the curvature, and assuming the barrier was a dome, she and Aalam were trapped in a circular area with a roughly 5.4 kilometer radius, and there was some kind of monster trapped in there with them. Using her Life Death Detection skill and her over 4,000 effective Perception, Mila could sense every lifeform in the entire dome and, other than her and Aalam, there was only one other reading, a strong one about two kilometers away from them. Then it disappeared. Aalam had an effective Perception higher than her own and more than a few Legendary grade detection skills. He also had an effective Aura stat of 7,200 while the level of suppression in the trial¡¯s environment was low, so, combined with his Psychic Domain skill, he could initiate Telekinesis from anywhere within a range of 7.2 kilometers. Mila didn¡¯t even get to see the beast before Aalam killed it. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Telekinetic force then pushed on multiple points of the red barrier, breaking it, and Mila detected 7 F rank cultivators with powerful life auras, six of which immediately faded. The six bodies, the materials used to create the barrier, and the one living cultivator then all flew toward them, all but the last going directly into the Left Hand of the Runescribe, and Mila used Evil Eyes - Lust on the living cultivator, a male humanoid with blue skin and antennas. Then she enslaved him to Aalam and, after a quick question and answer session, they learned where the enemy sect was located. Continuing their preprepared plan, Aalam then picked up both her and the cultivator with Telekinesis and they started flying east. About three minutes later they made it to a valley covered by a powerful E rank formation and Aalam broke it as well. Then, as Mila searched for life signs, Aalam started killing everyone, including the cultivator they captured, and, in under a minute, all several thousand cultivators who¡¯d been in the sect¡¯s headquarters were dead, including 7 E rank elders. Mila and Aalam then began to loot the place and Mila found some good Rare grade clothing for them both, including a black mask for Aalam to wear to hide his face and several decent weapons. Meanwhile, as they¡¯d expected and hoped for during one of the early trials, Aalam found a whole bunch of alchemy materials, including one of the types of specialized bacteria required for creating several of Nana Xara¡¯s most potent low rank plague designs, as well as the tools required for the modifications. He then spent the rest of the hour making several new variants of plague while Mila traveled back to their own sect and reported on their victory, becoming the chief elder in the process as their sect had a method of long distance viewing and were deathly afraid of her familiar who could wipe out an entire sect in a matter of seconds. Congratulations! Trial I over. Calculating rewards. Base Trial Points: 12 Killed the Targonian Terror within 2 seconds. Base Trial Points +13,824 Killed all seven members of the Dusk Sect Hunter Squad Base Trial Points +1008 Killed 7,346 members of the Dusk Sect Base Trial Points +1,057,824 Killed all 7 elders of the Dusk Sect Base Trial Points +1,741,824 Became the Chief Elder of the Rising Sun Sect Base Trial Points +2,985,984 Fully Destroyed the Dusk Sect Trial Points + 300% No deaths of Rising Sun Sect forces Trial points + 100% Comparing against other trial takers in your sector. They had to wait for about twenty minutes, likely for all the other trials in their sector¡ªan area made up of three or more galaxy clusters¡ªto finish, but the results were positive and it gave them time to change into their new clothing for the next trial. Highest completion in Galaxy Cluster Trial Points X 2 Highest completion in Sector Trial Points X 4 Total Trial Points = 162,346,080 There was a bit more they could have done, like hunting down other Dusk Sect cultivators not in their main base, but they couldn¡¯t have raised their total trial points by anything more than 8% at most, while they got to keep everything they¡¯d stolen or created, including the materials and tools necessary to create three plagues quite a bit more deadly than the ones Aalam had made in the tutorial, all of which required more than a single hour to finish. Still, even though they¡¯d maximized their time, it was only the first trial and there were likely tens of thousands in the universe who had performed just as well or even better. The Palazin Galaxy Cluster wasn¡¯t in the frontier of the universe like Earth, but it wasn¡¯t in the areas where mana was most concentrated either, so there was not a single A rank cultivator in the entire cluster, or even the sector. The Trial Tower was occurring all across the universe and there were many other loopholes for this type of competition which they, without stronger cultivators to rely on, couldn¡¯t make use of. And this wasn¡¯t even accounting for the fact they only had about a year of training while most of their competitors had dozens, or the fact there were many other talents in the universe. They weren¡¯t likely to directly compete with any of them for a while, however. And, until then, with Aalam having D rank strength, they would just rack up as many points as possible. * * * Krysta Krysta La¡¯Vordi looked at the total number of trial points she¡¯d earned for the first trial and smiled. Total Trial Points = 162,570,720 According to her mother, that was the highest amount of points possible for the first trial for the last 1,237 competitions, so it meant she was meeting expectations. Half human and half Heavenly Scarab, Krysta looked mostly human, with silver semi-translucent hair, dark brown skin, and eyes which were pure black orbs. She was also heavily favored by those in the know to come first in this instance of the F rank Trial Tower, so she was under a lot of pressure. She waited a few minutes and Trial II started, but it was sadly a duel against a relatively powerful System generated F rank cultivator in an enclosed and inescapable sub-dimension, the type of trial with the lowest possible max number of trial points, so Krysta just channeled mana through her Heroic grade staff and, without writing any runes or even using a skill, she twisted space and the System generated cultivator was cut into five separate pieces. * * * Brom Total Trial Points = 162,559,200 Brom Karendesh looked at his total trial points and felt a bit sad. He¡¯d seemingly missed two of the enemy cultivators, letting down the teachings of his father. Tall, well over two meters, Brom was a humanoid lizard beast called a coran. He had three fingers on his hands, hooves instead of feet, and an extended jaw like a wolf, as well as a long prehensile tail and bronze scales all over his body. On his back was a Heroic grade greatsword, which his body structure made easy to draw, and, when Trial II started, he flash stepped forward and slashed through the System generated cultivator in under half a second, even though they started over two kilometers apart, well below the System¡¯s two second threshold for points. * * * Reginald Total Trial Points = 162,432,480 Reginald Vin had been a second slow in finding the Targonian Terror and it had cost him, his points below the max he could have gotten. An elf with shoulder length blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin, he was of normal height for a human or elf male and very thin. But on his back was a large Heroic grade greataxe. When Trial II started, though, he didn¡¯t draw his weapon. Instead he just pointed at the System generated cultivator and a bolt of lightning shot out from his finger to smite the man. Chapter 102: The Planning of the Yin Yang Sage Krysta La¡¯Vordi looked out over the sea of undead and finally understood why the first trial had put them up against an evil alchemist sect. Trial VII was to help protect the last of humanity on an F rank planet against an invasion by an undead empire for eight days until rescue arrived, so the normal route would be to take command of the last of the native forces and try to keep as many people alive as possible. There would definitely be bonuses the more people were protected and there would likely be further bonuses if the undead army attacking the last human stronghold was destroyed. Given the limitations of the trial, in a normal case even the best trial takers couldn¡¯t do much better than that. But the true key to the trial was that it was leadership style. The trial taker would gain points for every undead killed, so long as it was by one of their subordinates or something they¡¯d set in motion, and that meant the best strategy would be to create a quick acting plague that would only work against the undead, such as the various varieties listed and explained in the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s Anti-Undead Treatise which the System had started selling a year ago. The System was basically just a complicated living spell created by the universe¡¯s gods and it required a lot of resources to run¡ªwhile the resources given out as prizes didn¡¯t come from nowhere either. These types of resources were generally controlled by A ranks and gods, so, when the System had a hot commodity A ranks and gods would be interested in, such as the techniques that enabled the Yin Yang Sage to force all the undead empires in the universe to pay her tribute for over a hundred million years, it wasn¡¯t above making knowledge of its hot commodity a requirement for doing well in its hosted competitions. It was a way to force even factions who wouldn''t normally desire such a technique to buy it in order to stay relevant. This F rank Trial Tower competition was the first such universe-wide competition since the Anti-Undead Treatise had started being sold, so her mother had suspected knowledge of the treatise would be helpful and Krysta had been allowed to read it. It was also one of the reasons she hadn¡¯t brought her own Heroic grade growth staff she¡¯d been using since G rank and instead brought a Heroic grade staff with its own sub-dimension so she could take everything she found in earlier trials and bring it all to later ones, such as the bacteria and tools from Trial I. Before she started preparing the plague, however, Krysta put a little over half her mana into one of her skills and pointed her staff at the approaching undead army, thankfully only coming from one side of the fortress. The undead only numbered a little more than two million and, when she released her skill, an extremely wide spatial slice, all but a few of them were cut in half, the rest not threatening to the fortress at all. Then Krysta got to work, mostly ignoring the natives. According to her mother, the Yin Yang Sage had been a genius, someone who would have easily been able to become a deity had she not accidentally gone down the wrong path, and her techniques for creating plagues were second to none. The best of her plagues for use in F rank, however, relied on multiple Laws of multiple elements working in harmony, and that wasn¡¯t something Krysta was good at. Krysta definitely had the highest space element affinity of anyone in the trial, and probably of any F rank in the universe for at least the last several million years, and, from her mother, she had a very high life element affinity, allowing her to make the most basic of the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s anti-undead plagues, but she knew she wasn¡¯t going to do very well in Trial VII compared to some of her strongest competitors for taking the trial¡¯s top spot. Granted, it was quite rare to have Laws for all six elements of fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death like the Yin Yang Sage, but she knew from the reports given to her there were at least three practitioners of Yin Yang Cosmology among the scions participating in the trial, so all three of them were likely able to make one of the better plagues, raking in quite a few more points. Krysta comforted herself with the knowledge that at least no one would have the thirteen separate Law Larvae to make the best of the F rank plagues and no one with access to the knowledge from the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s Anti-Undead Treatise would have wasted their artifact slot to bring in an artifact capable of readying a plague for instant use upon entering Trial VII. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. * * * ¡°What did I tell you!¡± Nana Xara sounded extremely proud of herself as Mila and Aalam saw the contents of Trial VII. ¡°I can manipulate the universe, even after my death!¡± ¡°Yeah, you gave away a secret which in the future we could have used to threaten hundreds of A and B rank empires for A and B rank resources so we could potentially get some amazing F rank resources.¡± Mila was impressed to have learned just how much weight her teacher used to have in the universe, as a lot of the more shady things Nana Xara had done had not been in the biography she¡¯d read, but she was also disheartened to learn how much the universe operated like she¡¯d thought it did. Back when Nana Xara had been alive, she¡¯d used most of the resources she¡¯d gained from tribute to pay tribute in turn to a few divine forces she¡¯d angered so, upon her death, she hadn¡¯t been anywhere as rich as most in the universe would believe. That tribute had stopped with her death, however, so the credits she was earning through selling one of her ultimate sets of techniques went directly into her own account which, at the next System hosted major auction in nineteen years, would allow her to buy whatever Mila, Aalam, Diana, and anyone else in their force needed, though they would then need to earn the resources through quests. ¡°It¡¯s not like I sold the best stuff anyway.¡± Nana Xara sounded a little annoyed and Mila found herself smiling as she walked up to the man who looked like the head of the defenders, an F rank warrior. Then, as she charmed and enslaved the man, she responded. ¡°Yeah, but the stuff you didn¡¯t sell could pretty much only be used by Aalam. It¡¯s not like anyone else has seventeen of the nineteen Law Larvae necessary to create Silent Repose of Undeath at F rank.¡± Silent Repose of Undeath was Nana Xara¡¯s true ultimate F rank plague against the undead, but it required at least early grade Law Larvae of Cells, Order, Deprivation, Entropy, Passion, Tranquility, Energy Transfer, Cleansing, Energy Storage, Contamination, Multi-Dimensional Geometry, Temporal Acceleration, Plasma, Solid, Liquid, Gas, Matter, Shadow, and Illusion. Aalam on his own could create all the components which made the plague stable and deadly, but Mila¡¯s Laws were necessary to keep it hidden from the undead¡¯s detection before it was too late. ¡°Where are the undead¡¯s portals off world and what is the quickest way to get there?¡± Mila asked her new slave and, as he quickly answered her due to the nature of the contract he¡¯d signed while charmed, Aalam started destroying all the undead heading for the fortress, mostly using psyforce empowered runes to attack the undead¡¯s artificial souls. From the man¡¯s information, they learned of a set of portals located roughly 60 kilometers away which led to the main hub of the undead on the planet, where there would be portals leading to the local undead empire off world, and that was all they needed. Aalam, having been listening in, then acted as they¡¯d planned for a situation like this and grabbed Mila with Telekinesis and flew toward the nearby portal at his max speed. At the same time, Mila used Trickster¡¯s Guise to make herself look like a Nightwalker, removing all the color from her body and then inverting black and white, leaving her with nearly black gray skin, black eyes with white pupils, and pearly white hair. Aalam then gave her the Left Hand of the Runescribe and Mila dropped down on her own roughly 6 kilometers away from the portals, flying the rest of the way on her own as Aalam headed back to keep destroying the army. Using the excuse of the army getting destroyed, the energy of which could be felt even from so far away, Mila was able to trick herself through a portal using the undead¡¯s inbuilt deference to high grade species like Nightwalkers. She was then let out in a portal complex at the undead¡¯s main base, where there were multiple portals to other locations on the planet as well as a single portal which led off world. The portal complex was at the center of a large city filled with undead which had a sort of magitech feel like a city from one of the higher tech Final Fantasy games, and Mila quickly stepped into an alley, hid behind some refuse, and took out the second artifact they¡¯d brought in a copy of, a specialized container for quickly empowering and multiplying magical plagues. It looked like a large brass cylinder with three small cylinders inside and each cylinder held a different plague. Over the last six trials, Mila and Aalam had used all their spare time, even sacrificing bonus points for finishing some of the less valuable trials quickly, to make three varieties of plagues. Then they had placed them in the artifact to accelerate their growth and fed the artifact all the qi, mana, and psyforce they could spare. As a result, there was enough of the Silent Repose of Undeath bacterial plague that, when she opened the cylinder and the plague started leaking out and spreading with the wind, there was already enough that everyone in the city would be infected within a couple hours. Silent Repose of Undeath was also attracted to spatial gates like the undead preferred to use, so, given how close she was to the portal complex, about 80% of the plague would end up going through the portals instead of just infecting the undead in the city. At the other end of the portals, the plague would then spread, something in the way spatial portals worked and the plague was designed making sure the individual bacteria wouldn¡¯t reenter the same portal for at least 24 hours. Done with everything she could do, Mila then put the device away, waited an hour, and then tricked her way back through the portal she¡¯d come through, heading back to join Aalam so they could prepare for future trials, there not being much more they could do to improve their score in Trial VII. Chapter 103: Destroying an Undead Empire Aalam The best thing about mass murder through plagues was the unattended loot. As Aalam was in the tutorial under the status of a familiar, if he died in a trial he¡¯d be revived for the next, so it wasn''t much of a risk for him to travel to where C or maybe even B rank undead might show up. He just gave Mila the Left Hand of the Runescribe and went through a couple portals, ending up on what he gathered, from text Mila helped him read, was the local undead empire¡¯s main world. Even if it was fake, this was his first time on a C rank world, and he finally felt what the suppression of a high rank world was like. He felt like a pure mortal again, all his power reduced so much even his telekinetic strength was back to what it had been immediately after his advancement to F rank. At the same time, however, his connection to the Laws of the universe felt much stronger than it had in the previous worlds the trials had taken him to, though still a whole lot less close than on Hira where the integration was still taking place. The portal thankfully took him to the very center of the world¡¯s military industrial complex, so he was able to find an entire warehouse full of F, E, and D rank talismans, along with quite a few blocks of concentrated mana which would allow even Mila to activate the E and D rank talismans if given a bit of time. Then, after a bit of searching, he found what he was truly looking for, the materials necessary to improve one of the other varieties of plague they¡¯d made to the equivalent of some of the even more deadly plagues in Nana Xara¡¯s knowledge set. Once he found that, he then started looking for deceased undead with strong auras, especially F ranks, and he managed to find someone he assumed was a princess of some kind, gaining a Legendary grade black robe for Mila which could boost stealth skills and a Legendary grade death and shadow sword which was perfect for her as well. Then, about an hour later he felt the ground start to vibrate and, looking out of the tower he was searching through, he saw three undead and five humanoids fighting in the air a couple hundred kilometers away. Even with his stats, due to the suppression of the C rank world, he could only really tell what was going on through the crashing of Laws and his magical senses, but he was able to feel when the undead died and he started to smile. It seemed, like back in the tutorial, the forces against the undead empire were taking advantage of the plague to attack, and that would lead to a lot more points, as his plague wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to C ranks or higher. He kept looking around after that, but the trial ended before he found anything else which would be of practical use, the spatial storage artifacts he was wearing all only half full. Congratulations! Trial VII over. Calculating rewards. Base Trial Points: 144 Your actions led to the death of 6,119,764,823,094 G rank lower undead. Base Trial Points +6,119,764,823,094 Your actions led to the death of 6,798,123,009 G rank middle undead. Base Trial Points +27,192,492,036 Your actions led to the death of 7,986,437 G rank higher undead. Base Trial Points +95,837,244 Your actions led to the death of 898,123,890,675 F rank lower undead. Base Trial Points +10,777,486,688,100 Your actions led to the death of 7,943,412,167 F rank middle undead. Base Trial Points +381,283,784,016 Your actions led to the death of 35,688,653 F rank higher undead. Base Trial Points +5,139,166,032 The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Your actions led to the death of 532,473,122 E rank lower undead. Base Trial Points +920,113,554,816 Your actions led to the death of 13,623,552 E rank middle undead. Base Trial Points +94,165,991,424 Your actions led to the death of 247,832 E rank higher undead. Base Trial Points +5,139,044,352 Your actions led to the death of 305,987 D rank lower undead. Base Trial Points +76,139,357,184 Your actions led to the death of 23,652 D rank middle undead. Base Trial Points +23,541,497,856 Your actions led to the death of 1,679 D rank higher undead. Base Trial Points +5,013,467,136 Your actions led to the death of 178 C rank lower undead. Base Trial Points +76,536,741,888 Your actions led to the death of 39 C rank middle undead. Base Trial Points +67,077,144,576 Your actions led to the death of 12 C rank higher undead. Base Trial Points +61,917,364,224 Your actions led to 3 B rank middle undead fleeing Base Trial Points +743,008,370,688 Your actions led to 1 B rank higher undead fleeing Base Trial Points +743,008,370,688 Fully Destroyed the army of General Klag Trial Points + 500% No loss of life at the Last Bastion after your arrival Trial points + 600% Fully cleared the undead from contested planet Ewinor Trial Points +3,100% Fully cleared the undead from contested planet Kiminor Trial Points +1,500% Fully cleared the undead from contested planet Galga Trial Points +1,500% Fully cleared the undead from contested planet Yimin Trial Points +1,500% Fully cleared the undead from contested planet Orivar Trial Points +1,500% Fully cleared the undead from contested planet Tindal Trial Points +1,500% Fully cleared the undead from 8 F rank death planets Trial Points +12,000% Fully cleared the undead from 2 E rank death planets Trial Points +6,200% Started the process of full collapse of the Undead Empire in the Finorimal Galaxy Cluster Trial Points X 6 Comparing against other trial takers in your sector. In the extra time Aalam had while the System was calculating, he looked around a bit more and ended up quite lucky, finding a nice Heroic grade defensive robe for himself on display in a side room of what looked to be the undead empire¡¯s royal palace. A loud alarm rang out when he took it, but no one was alive or unliving in the area, so it wasn¡¯t an issue. The robe had the ability to alter its appearance and Aalam quickly had some fun with it, making it look like a grim reaper¡¯s robe, complete with a cowl he could put over his head to create an artificial shadow to block anyone¡¯s view of his face. As it was already past the time limit for the trial, Aalam wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the robe, but in the time he had he studied how it was constructed and, by the end, he was pretty sure he¡¯d be able to make one of his own in a few years so long as he could get the right materials. Highest completion in Galaxy Cluster Trial Points X 2 Highest completion in Sector Trial Points X 4 Total Trial Points = 289,823,381,215,171,200 Biological weapons were interesting. In most cases, they weren''t actually all that useful, as they usually had to specifically target a species for the fullest effect. Undeath made things a bit easier as all undead had enough similarities to almost count as one race, likely why the Yin Yang Sage had targeted the undead when she¡¯d needed wealth, but even then it would normally be impossible for an F rank like Aalam to kill D ranks with any biological weapons he made. The quality of his resources and Laws was just too low. But this is where Nana Xara was a genius. The true value in her Anti-Undead Treatise wasn¡¯t in the specific plagues, though those were useful, but in the ability to have a plague take in the resources of an undead to empower itself. This was Nana Xara¡¯s true technique, the ability to take the energy of others to empower something else, and her preferred tool for expressing this technique had been plagues. Yet it wasn¡¯t just undead whose energy she could take and use, that was just one of the more specialized subsets of the technique she¡¯d been willing to sell. Aalam, for example, had been given a more generalized subset of the technique for use on almost any living creature who hadn¡¯t practiced a cultivation technique via a boon during the tutorial, and, at the time, he hadn¡¯t realized just how valuable what he¡¯d received had been. Aalam had already been an expert on plagues, both viral and bacterial, and giving him the technique to use his targets¡¯ own energy to speed up their demise was like giving a tiger wings, which of course was why Nana Xara had done so. As a result of her gift, Aalam had been able to afford to enhance himself and Mila far more than he would have otherwise before their rebirths, and the same technique had now likely granted them more points than anyone else in the Trial Tower. Granted, it wasn¡¯t much compared to the points they would have earned if the points multiplying scheme used in the third trial of the tutorial had been used, but the different scheme made sense to Aalam. The Trial Tower¡¯s last section was effectively a tournament, and the rewards structure didn¡¯t give new points, but instead multiplied the points earned in the main part of the Trial Tower. If they got past the first few rounds, their total points would probably more than double, and, if they managed to get to the ranking matches, their points would double after each win. Until then, though, whatever points they earned weren¡¯t going to make much of a difference, as no other Trial was likely to grant them even a billion points, let alone nearly 300 quadrillion. That didn¡¯t mean the trials wouldn¡¯t be fun or help them grow, however. Trial IX for example was a magical puzzle which Aalam found really fun, even though he solved it in just a few minutes, and Trial XI gave Mila quite a few chances to practice her hiding and illusion skills, her Law Larva of Illusion and Aalam¡¯s Law Larva of Pause both advancing to middle grade. Chapter 104: Battle Royale Mila Trial XII, the last trial of the first section of the Trial Tower, was effectively a dungeon dive. They were underground and had to go through multiple chambers. There were traps, which their detection skills made easy to spot, and there were mobs in most rooms, weak monsters Aalam killed as soon as he spotted them. Then there were also magical puzzles, of the type Aalam seemed to love; elite mobs, powerful E rank monsters with F rank Perception they were obviously supposed to hide from, which Aalam just killed; and boss monsters, weaker E rank beasts a skilled level 36 F rank would likely be able to beat, all of which died almost immediately. The time limit given was 12 days, but they beat it in about half an hour, not having had to take any breaks and Aalam moving at full speed while bringing her along with Telekinesis. This gave them 12 days of preparation time, which they used to the fullest of their abilities, coming up with more detailed battle strategies, getting used to the new equipment they¡¯d found throughout the trials, and improving the plagues they¡¯d made with the higher grade materials they¡¯d stolen, especially those Aalam had found during trial VII. Then it was time for their first fight with other cultivators instead of just System generated enemies. Congratulations! You have completed the first section of the Trial Tower and it is now time for you to compete with your peers. Battle Royale I is starting. You and 126 other trial takers will be randomly placed in an isolated subspace around 32,000 square kilometers in size. For every one of your competitors you kill you will gain 1 royale point and, when you die, half your points will be given to your killer. The three trial takers with the most points at the end of 1 standard hour, no matter if they were killed or not, will move on to the next round and the trial taker with the most points will have his or her trial points multiplied by 1.25. Mila found the translation provided by the System interesting. In Universal Standard, the name for the type of trial translated to English as Battle Royale would more strictly be Free For All Kill For All, but the Japanese film, followed by the Hunger Games franchise and multiple successful video games had entered the phrase battle royale into the English Lexicon, so, even though the type of trial they were in was not strictly a battle royale, as the winner wasn¡¯t necessarily the final survivor, that is still how the System decided to name the trial in English. As she was thinking about this, Mila then also came to the realization that the origin of the 24 hour day on Earth almost certainly came from the wider universe, as, while most cultures on Earth operated on base ten, most in the universe operated on base 12. Just giving it a little thought it was obvious, what with what she knew about how Earth¡¯s human population came to the planet, but she hadn¡¯t considered it before. During the battle royale, all she had to do was stay in stealth and avoid all other trial takers, so her extra minds had time for these thoughts. Meanwhile, Aalam tried to kill everyone in their immediate vicinity in as loud a way as possible and, at the same time, spread a fast acting plague designed to work on pretty much all cultivators which would first act as a paralytic before becoming deadly. The goal was pretty simple. First, the loud noises would cause people to either approach Aalam or move away, both cases making it less likely they would immediately try for points by killing those around them. Then the plague would spread to the entire area of the trial, affecting everyone other than them, who had the antidote, or those with the ability to notice and block the disease. Ideally, Aalam would kill everyone himself, earning all the royale points and thus getting her the max trial points multiplier of 2. But, if someone managed to kill another trial taker, even if Aalam and the released plague managed to kill everyone before the 1 hour deadline, that multiplier would go down to 1.5. And, if someone managed to kill Aalam, they wouldn¡¯t gain any points as Aalam wasn¡¯t a trial taker but a familiar, and Mila would try to stay alive for the entire hour, gaining them a stat multiplier of 1.25 so long as Aalam and the plague had killed enough people. Whatever the case, so long as Aalam and the plague managed to kill enough early, even if Mila died they¡¯d likely still get to go to the next round, and that was what was most important. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. They¡¯d appeared in what looked like a European forest on Earth, the leaves of the many trees in the process of changing colors, and Mila could briefly sense two other cultivators nearby as she started slowly walking while staying within the range of Aalam¡¯s overpowering aura, the steps required to activate Shadow Stride. While she did this, Aalam used Telekinesis to rip out trees and started using them to bludgeon other cultivators to death as four needles of the Left Hand of the Runescribe flew out of the subspace and started drawing runes. The space element needle helped draw a space rune Aalam then connected to other simpler runes created through the use of his domain skills to teleport the plague all over the subspace. Meanwhile, the other three, representing the wind, fire, and lightning elements, made a combined set of runes which just made a really, really loud noise. Then, as Aalam started flying all over the place, returning the needles to the Left Hand of the Runescribe and using Telekinesis on actual weapons to kill everyone he could find, Mila just stayed in the same general area, slowly walking around the mostly destroyed forest. Ten minutes later, she confirmed she had 126 royale points, but she maintained stealth anyway as Aalam made sure to collect all the bodies of their opponents, the artifacts the trial takers had brought in things they could use throughout the rest of the Trial Tower. Aalam got 36 new Legendary grade weapons he could use his Telekinesis on as well as a Heroic grade defensive robe which he started wearing, even though it looked incredibly gaudy, all bright yellow and electric green. He also gained a powerful untriggered necklace which would unconditionally defend him against a single attack below C rank from someone who¡¯d died from the plague, probably his best find. Then, after the one hour was done, the first battle royale finished. Congratulations! Battle Royale I over. Calculating rewards. You had the most royale points. You were the only living cultivator remaining. Hidden Achievement I received. You were the only cultivator to earn any royale points. Hidden Achievement II received. Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 2 Current Total Accumulated Trial Points: 579,646,762,433,056,968 They were given a day of rest before the start of the second battle royale, though they still couldn''t interact with the outside world. The System was feeding them, though, so there wasn¡¯t much of a problem, Mila not having to hunt for lust filled souls. During the downtime they also got to make use of the better environment on Hira than in most of the Trials, even while they felt like they were still in the subspace where they¡¯d just won the first battle royale, and this enabled Aalam to have a few breakthroughs, his Law Larvae of Ionization and Ionic Conductivity both rising to middle grade, Mila immediately making use of the free stats the breakthrough generated. Then the second battle royale started, and this time it was much harder. Of their 133 opponents, every single one had gotten in the top three of their previous royale and they were all quite strong. At least half were being boosted through outside forces, that boost represented in their body in the trial space, so Aalam was effectively up against 71 E rank warriors and mages. Still, with upper D rank Spirit and the skills to make use of it, along with way too many Legendary grade detection skills, Aalam was able to find and beat everyone, especially given only five individuals had a way to block the plague. He wasn¡¯t, however, able to kill everyone before they killed others, so the results were a bit worse, though he did find several other useful artifacts, including an even better stealth increasing robe for Mila and an artifact to make feeding mana blocks into the usage of higher rank formations and talismans quicker and stealthier. Congratulations! Battle Royale II over. Calculating rewards. You had the most royale points. You were the only living cultivator remaining. Hidden Achievement I received. Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 1.5 Current Total Accumulated Trial Points: 869,470,143,649,585,452 Aalam was inspired by one of the cultivators he¡¯d fought against and managed to raise his Law Larva of Antimatter to middle grade during the day long break, and this then left only his Law Larvae of Passion, Tranquility, Storm, Fission, Fusion, Bonds, Severing, and Vacuum still at early grade. Battle Royale III then started, the final one according to the System, and the opponents were even tougher, everyone equivalent to an E rank instead of just half. The plague still went out though, and, even if people were defending against it, most had to concentrate to do so and that made it easier for Aalam to kill the first couple dozen. Then, however, through the use of his Heightened Senses skill, he spotted a woman with silver semi-translucent hair and pure black orbs for eyes slicing three cultivators to death with what looked like spatial slices, an annoyed expression on her face. She was over twelve kilometers away from the cultivators she¡¯d killed and Aalam was about 100 kilometers away from her, over half the distance of the subspace, but, even when watching her from that distance, the ripples of the Law she¡¯d infused into her attack helped Aalam¡¯s Law Larva of Vacuum instantly break through to middle grade. ¡°Aalam, avoid her and kill as many other cultivators as possible. You can try fighting her when there is no one else left,¡± Mila sent. She had been watching through Aalam¡¯s senses with one of her minds, and she didn¡¯t need Nana Xara¡¯s commentary to tell the silver-haired woman was someone they likely wouldn¡¯t be able to beat. Even from 150 kilometers away, she could feel the ripples of the Law the woman used and it was like nothing she¡¯d ever sensed. When she did hear Nana Xara¡¯s commentary, however, she completely gave up on Aalam having any chance of beating the woman, and Nana Xara had only said six words. ¡°That is not a Law Larva.¡± Chapter 105: Paths of Law Advancement Aalam Unlike Isaiah¡¯s Laws, most of Aalam¡¯s weren¡¯t particularly useful for combat, and this was for two main reasons. First, when Aalam had formed his Law Eggs, he hadn¡¯t really thought about how they would be applied, only caring about being able to raise them, and, second, Aalam¡¯s 36 Laws were designed to form a system, where by the time he reached A rank he¡¯d be able to use them to describe the entire multiverse. Neither him nor Isaiah had been trained in their choice of Laws and Law advancement paths like Mila and most of the other Trial Tower participants, but they¡¯d each independently stumbled onto one of the two main methods most major forces in the universe seemed to recommend, judging from Nana Xara¡¯s words through Mila and the Laws of other trial takers. Isaiah was moving down the traditional route for cultivators focusing on combat, extreme Laws overly focused on one aspect, preferably well matched for use with one or more skills. Meanwhile, Aalam was moving down the traditional path for cultivators focusing on crafting, Laws with a broad focus useful for multiple applications, but not ideal for any. And for both of them, their Laws reflected how they viewed the world, so their advancements so far had been relatively easy. Isaiah was one with his spear. He didn¡¯t live for combat, but he enjoyed martial training and the simple things in life, so his Laws were simple but practical¡ªspeed, defense, offense, and regeneration. Aalam on the other hand was someone who wanted to understand the universe. His style was to make a complete theoretical model and only then find practical effects when testing his model or when his model was finished. As a result, he had numerous Laws all designed more for future cohesiveness than for immediate practicality, with far more paired Laws of opposing elements than was common. And, for him, space and time Laws, the Laws he viewed as the backbone of the way the universe worked, were the easiest to advance. As Aalam ran around and killed a dozen more cultivators, he was thinking about Laws, and he quickly realized Mila¡¯s Laws were likely even more abnormal than his. Her two main Laws, Shadow and Illusion, were about hiding and lying, the types of skills she¡¯d apparently been taught since she¡¯d been old enough to walk, while the rest of her Laws were all effectively different disguises she could put on. How then did she see the world? Aalam felt the complexities of space and time were far simpler to understand. Finishing off a couple more cultivators, Aalam couldn¡¯t find any more, and Mila already had 73 points, more than half the royale points possible for the trial, so he instead started focusing his senses on the silver-haired woman. So far, he¡¯d been able to sense three Laws from her. The first was a Law Pupa which he didn¡¯t recognize, but it seemed to be something like Void Slice. With it empowering one of her spatial spells, Aalam wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to defend himself from even one attack, especially as her Magic stat seemed to be about the same as his Spirit. Second was another spatial Law, a peak grade Law Larva, something like maybe Wormhole. Whatever the case, she was using it to empower a skill that created portals, which she was mostly using to move around the subspace and sometimes to send other cultivators¡¯ attacks back at them. Then, finally, there was a Life element Law Larva, seemingly the same as one of his, the Law Larva of Cells. Even though it was only early grade, she was using it to stop his plague from being able to affect her, and it likely allowed her to sense the bacteria which entered her body. Then a passive skill or maybe a racial ability of hers was somehow teleporting the bacteria away. He wasn¡¯t sure what her Laws said about her, as her spatial Laws seemed to be more combat focused while her life Law was more useful for crafting, but she was definitely dangerous. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Unlike him, he was pretty sure she had a Heroic grade race and, like him, her stats were maxed. As a result, with the external boosting she was getting from whatever force she belonged to, all her stats, other than Spirit, were quite a bit higher than his, and her Laws made her an utter beast, the difference between a Law Larva and a Law Pupa absolutely massive. She had noticed him a while ago, his killing people with telekinetically controlled weapons not exactly subtle, but she¡¯d avoided him and just killed others, likely also wanting to finish off everyone else first. When she was done searching, however, she created a portal and stepped out onto a hill roughly 10 kilometers away from where he¡¯d landed to stand on an open meadow, within her range of attack but not his. ¡°Who are you?¡± Given there were no other sources of noise in the subspace, Aalam could hear her clearly even though she wasn¡¯t yelling. Her voice was deep for a woman, pretty, and, though Aalam wasn¡¯t certain, she seemed genuinely curious rather than trying some angle to get him to lower his guard. Mila then of course wanted to take advantage of that. ¡°If she wants to talk, let her. Just don¡¯t reveal any personally identifiable information.¡± Mila had been hiding in the areas he¡¯d cleared, at the edge of where his aura reached, allowing him to easily see through her stealth with his multiple Legendary grade detection skills, but his aura blocked the senses of the silver-haired woman, so she¡¯d never spotted Mila, as Mila was on the other side of him. As the woman spoke, Mila started running to the other side of the subspace and, if he kept the woman talking in one place long enough, it would be more likely Mila would survive if the woman killed him. ¡°I¡¯d rather not reveal my identity, thus the mask.¡± Aalam, his right index finger pointing to the plain black full face mask on his face, gave the silver-haired woman the full attention of one of his minds as his other minds tried to figure out how to kill her. * * * Krysta ¡°Well, I¡¯m Krysta.¡± Krysta found the man in front of her fascinating. His stats were mostly quite a bit weaker than her own, the boost provided by his force not as high, but the power of his Spirit was in the upper D rank, which meant he was powerful. More important, his Telekinesis skill seemed fully able to utilize the power of his spirit, which meant it had to be Heroic grade. He also seemed to be actively using three different domain skills which she was pretty sure were the Legendary grade versions of Qi Domain, Mana Domain, and Psychic Domain, but his psyforce was so much more plentiful than his qi or mana, so his skill allocation didn¡¯t make much sense. She¡¯d yet to notice the other two skills which would be required to merge the Heroic grade version of Triforce Domain, and that was the only reason she could think of to acquire the other two domain skills. Most interesting of all, however, was his aura. It didn¡¯t feel like the aura of any cultivator she¡¯d met before, more like the ambient energy of a dying subspace she¡¯d once visited with her mother, where the Laws of the universe had degraded and become a lot weaker. It took her a second, but then she realized it was because the man in front of her had Law Larvae for all twelve elements, and more than one for each, most of which seemed to be middle grade. ¡°Wow.¡± She just kept looking at the man, dressed in a gaudy green and yellow hooded robe, with the hood up and a black mask over his face. He looked and sounded human, and his exposed feet and hands led her to think he actually was, but his eyes were almost orange and his hair was bluish black, a combination which could easily be the result of thousands of different bloodlines. ¡°Are you on the path of the Heavenly Spark?¡± The man cocked his head slightly, as if confused. ¡°Yes?¡± Krysta herself was definitely confused. ¡°How do you not know?¡± ¡°The term Heavenly Spark could be used for a lot of things. I''ve personally seen it in at least three different contexts. But I assume you mean my Law path?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then you would be correct.¡± The man¡¯s voice was deep and smooth, reminding Krysta of her father the few times she¡¯d spoken to him. Then he asked a different question. ¡°But what force do you hail from Ms. Essence Void Mage?¡± He was able to guess her class, which was interesting, yet he¡¯d not heard of her, so maybe he was the secret disciple of some major power. No one sane would raise such a genius on the path of the Heavenly Spark, however, and it was pretty obvious he hadn¡¯t managed to practice the Twelve Element Primal Code yet, likely after it as a reward from the Trial Tower. ¡°I come from the Forest Cauldron.¡± Krysta moved a bit closer down the hill, within the range of the 36 swords hovering around the man. ¡°My mother is the leader of that force and my father is Kilvorax, the Heavenly Scarab of Space.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± The man nodded, showing no signs of trying to attack, but no signs of lowering his guard either. ¡°One of the dragon poop beetles.¡± Chapter 106: Krysta La’Vordi Krysta Krysta just stared at the man, mouth agape, not really sure how to respond as she¡¯d never heard someone insult any god so brazenly. But then she started to laugh. ¡°I''ve never heard my father and his brothers described that way.¡± Dragon poop beetles. Thinking about it, that''s probably what most people who first heard of the Heavenly Scarabs would think, but no one sane would ever say it out loud. They were powerful gods after all. ¡°Sorry if I was offensive.¡± The man sounded genuinely apologetic, so Krysta decided to forgive him. She did, however, offer a recommendation. ¡°I would advise never saying that type of thing again out loud. My father wouldn¡¯t care much, but there are other powers who would kill you on the spot for such an offense.¡± The man just nodded his head, likely a sign of acknowledgement in whatever culture he came from, and continued to watch her from the center of the meadow. His aura was interesting, more stable than any she¡¯d felt before from an F rank, even if nowhere close to being the most powerful, and she couldn¡¯t get a reading on his emotions at all, even with her Aura stat likely well above double his. ¡°Your class has the Heavenly Spark keyword?¡± The man nodded. ¡°And it¡¯s Heroic grade?¡± The man nodded again. ¡°You know whoever recommended that path to you was likely trying to cripple you, right?¡± The man shook his head. ¡°I highly doubt it.¡± Krysta took several steps closer, traveling over 100 meters with each step. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I plan to become a god.¡± There was conviction in the man¡¯s voice and Krysta was pretty sure he was smiling behind his black mask. ¡°And I have no intention of crippling myself.¡± ¡°So, you chose the path yourself? Why?¡± There were quite a few geniuses in history who had tried to travel down the path of the Heavenly Spark. Those who chose a class relying on 36 Laws, however, mostly got stuck at F rank or, in some rare cases, E rank. There were just too many chances for bottlenecks. The best to ever go down that Law path was Lord Kavon Kemizle, now a god known as the Law Master, who¡¯d had access to the Twelve Element Primal Code from his mother, its creator, but his class path had been that of a sage, only requiring opposing Laws and not even the same Laws for every rank advancement, yet he¡¯d abandoned the Law path of the Heavenly Spark at D rank, only relying on one Law of each element at C rank, and then even abandoning that so he could grow further. It was a really, really foolish path to go down. Instead of answering, the man asked her a question instead. ¡°Why did you choose to become an Essence Void Mage?¡± He seemed serious, so Krysta, who was only 23 years old, decided to give it some thought. ¡°I have a really, really high affinity with space magic, allowing me to advance space Laws much faster than other Laws, and the only requirement for advancing in the Essence Void Mage line is comprehension of space Laws. Essence Void Mage was thus the only combat focused Legendary class I could choose at F rank where I wouldn¡¯t have a bottleneck.¡± ¡°And do you enjoy space Laws and combat?¡± Krysta just stared at him for a few seconds. No one had ever asked her that before. Ever since her birth, it had just been expected by everyone around her that she would become an Essence Void Mage, and she¡¯d just gone along without really thinking. It wasn¡¯t like she disliked space Laws or combat training. It was fun to get better at something. But there was a reason she¡¯d managed to advance her Law Egg of Cells up to a Law Larva despite not spending much time on it. She liked alchemy as well, especially when she did it with her mother. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I don¡¯t dislike them.¡± The man nodded again. ¡°So, you decided your future path based on power and ease of advancement rather than on skills which would allow you to do what you love?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± Unconsciously, Krysta took several steps closer. ¡°I chose my path a bit differently.¡± There was excitement in the man¡¯s almost orange eyes. ¡°I like understanding the universe and then using that understanding to make things. So, I chose the path which would best help me do those. ¡°Is advancement more difficult than if I had focused on one subset of Laws? Yes. Am I more powerful at my rank than I would be otherwise? Also yes.¡± She was pretty sure the man with the sexy voice was smiling behind his mask. ¡°But the most important part is that the extra affinity I get for all Laws allows me to grow my understanding of the universe more easily, and that is so much fun.¡± The man¡¯s aura changed slightly, and she realized he¡¯d just had a breakthrough, seemingly in a fire element Law. Given the slight change she¡¯d sensed from him earlier, that was two Laws he¡¯d brought up to middle grade in just a few minutes. The man was a genius, and she¡¯d love to continue talking to him, but the plague which had been introduced into the subspace was draining her energy a bit too fast, her Void Clean Body racial ability requiring more and more of her resources to stay active. The masked man on the other hand didn¡¯t seem affected at all, and she realized the rather terrifying disease which would almost certainly kill her before the time limit was up had been released by him. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said as she gathered mana to the staff in her right hand, ready to release a full powered use of her Spatial Slice skill from a little over 5 kilometers away. ¡°The disease you released is a little too powerful, so I have to try to kill you.¡± As she spoke, he didn¡¯t stay still, running sideways on the meadow using random jagged motions to make himself harder to hit. At the same time, twelve needles flew out of the dark azure fingerless glove artifact on his left hand and started drawing lines of mana and psyforce in the air as two heroic grade weapons, a greatsword and a katana, flew toward her, empowered by his Telekinesis skill. Just using the power of her aura, she cut off his connection to the two weapons and then created portals in front of them, causing them to end up behind her. Then she released her attack. The spatial slice flew forward at a speed so fast five kilometers were gone in an instant, but the masked man still almost managed to dodge. Infused with the power of a middle grade spatial Law Larva, his three domain skills slowed the spatial slice slightly. The artifact on his left hand released some kind of suppression, making foreign Laws in the range of his aura less powerful, even affecting her Law Pupa ever so slightly. And, somehow, he seemed to know the spatial slice¡¯s travel path as well as she did. Most important, however, he activated a one-time-use talisman he¡¯d gotten from somewhere that completely removed air resistance, allowing his telekinetically empowered movement to be even faster than normal. It wasn¡¯t enough, however, and her spatial slice would have cut off his left leg, but the necklace he was wearing under his robe seemed to be some kind of talisman itself and it created a powerful shield which completely blocked her attack. A tiny bit nervous about whatever the needles were doing, she decided to ignore them and instead attacked again with Spatial Slice, but this time something even more shocking than the necklace saved the masked man. During her first attack, his domain skills had been infused with a spatial Law, seemingly the Law Larva of Multi-Dimensional Geometry, but it had only been middle grade so it didn¡¯t have enough effect to allow him to dodge. This time, however, the masked man¡¯s Law Larva of Multi-Dimensional Geometry advanced to high grade, and that extra power slowed her attack just enough for him to, with the help of another one-time-use talisman, escape her slice. She then sent out a third attack, this time with three other spatial slices accompanying it so the masked man wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge, but, at the same time, the runes the needles had been drawing were joined by five other runes through his Psychic Domain skill, forming a complex and powerful array. The masked man seemingly had the Heroic grade Runescriber skill and, through the runes he¡¯d created, she was hit by the full force of his effective Spirit while her spatial slices cut him into three pieces. His head and most of his upper torso, however, were sadly still intact. Her Spirit, while not at his level, was also strong, and her mental fortitude was high, while her cultivation technique had been fully practiced up to the ninth level, but she still wasn¡¯t able to activate a skill or one of her artifacts for a short instant and, during that very short timespan, she was hit by a trap. Somehow, when he¡¯d been killing the other cultivators, he¡¯d left a D rank talisman to be powered by mana blocks and delayed its activation, likely through some complicated array. He also probably had a mechanism in place to correctly aim it and, like an idiot, she hadn¡¯t moved since the start of their fight. Coming from over 100 kilometers behind her, a powerful breath of fire, likely from a D rank talisman, hit her, the flames charring her body to ashes, and, before she fully succumbed, she saw the flames reach the masked man as well, realizing the talisman must have been set to aim at him, thus why he¡¯d moved sideways to put her first in the line of fire. Her soul projection died. And then she woke up in a void like during the start of the Trial Tower. Congratulations! Battle Royale III over. Calculating rewards. You had the second most royale points. No reward, but you may still participate in the next round. Chapter 107: Trial Tower Third Section Mila ¡°Alright.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice was different than normal, sounding almost awed. ¡°That was impressive. Stupid, but impressive. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that girl is going to come first in this trial, but the two of you together managed to beat her.¡± While Krysta talked with Aalam, Mila had run over a hundred kilometers away and then charged up one of the three D rank talismans Aalam had managed to steal from the undead empire in Trial VII, the only one with enough range to attack from such a distance. They¡¯d wanted to wait and let the plague they¡¯d released drain Krysta''s energy more before they fought, but she¡¯d been aware enough to attack first and Aalam had almost died. Without him extremely, extremely stupidly raising his Law Larva of Multi-Dimensional Geometry to high grade and then sacrificing his own defense to create that one instant of psychic shock, Mila¡¯s attack would have failed and, even as it was, Aalam had still died. As he was already cut into three pieces, and thus going to die anyway, he didn¡¯t do anything to protect himself from the Dragon Breath talisman when its fire reached him and instead used everything he had to keep the Left Hand of the Runescribe from getting damaged so he¡¯d be able to use it and everything in its subspace during the next fight. He¡¯d actually died before Krysta, but it was unlikely the girl had noticed, what with her being burnt to death at the time, so the illusion that Aalam was a solo cultivator and not someone with a partner was still intact. Aalam she was pretty sure hadn¡¯t realized it, but that girl had been starting to fall for him, and she had enough clout to make their lives difficult if she¡¯d known more information and asked her mother, a very politically connected A rank alchemist, to try and figure out who Aalam was based on actually accurate information. Sighing to herself, Mila ran up to Aalam¡¯s body. Then she took the Left Hand of the Runescribe and started to loot all the cultivators who¡¯d fallen in the battle royale, the level of artifacts she received far higher than during the previous two royales, though nothing which would drastically change how either she or Aalam fought. Then, when the hour was up, the System notification arrived. Congratulations! Battle Royale III over. Calculating rewards. You had the most royale points. You were the only living cultivator remaining. Hidden Achievement I received. Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 1.5 Current Total Accumulated Trial Points: 1,304,205,215,474,378,178 She was left alone for around half an hour. Then Aalam appeared again next to her, somehow not shocked from having experienced being burnt to death, which was scary. He then sat down on the ground and immediately raised his Law Larvae of Temporal Acceleration and Matter to high grade as well, allowing Mila to make use of the extra stat points. ¡°You should have just taken the loss.¡± Mila sat down next to him. ¡°I know.¡± Aalam shook his head. ¡°That was stupid and it will now take me a lot longer to advance to E rank.¡± Just like with Yin Yang Cosmology, the Twelve Element Primal Code required balanced Laws in order to practice, so, to advance to E rank in an ideal state, Aalam would now have to bring all 36 of his Law Larvae up to high grade so he could establish his foundation with the technique, assuming they managed to get a copy. And, as Mila¡¯s second class was dependent on Aalam advancing first, this meant Mila was blocked from advancing to E rank as well. More of immediate concern, he wouldn¡¯t be able to advance his Heavenly Spark Pure Soul racial ability to Heroic grade until all his Law Larvae reached high grade as well, and that meant he, Mila, and Isaiah wouldn¡¯t get the resulting Soul, Attunement, and Affinity increases which would have made advancing all their Laws easier. ¡°On the bright side, you probably have the highest seed for the tournament portion of the Trial Tower which is about to start,¡± Nana Xara sent, and Mila relayed her words to Aalam. ¡°True.¡± Aalam nodded and took a deep breath, his Law Larva of Tranquility rising to middle grade. With that Law rising, the only Law Larvae he had left to raise to middle grade were Storm, Fission, Fusion, Bonds, and Severing. Bonds and Severing he was deliberately saving for last as, with Mila''s help, they were pretty easy to advance. Fission and Fusion he just hadn¡¯t been focusing on. But, if there was one Law which would trip Aalam up, it would be Storm. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Of Aalam¡¯s 36 Laws, the ones which matched him the least were Storm, Passion, and Tranquility. As a Strong Soul Incubus Prince, however, while he had strong affinities with all Laws, his affinity for emotional Laws was slightly higher, allowing him to advance Passion and Tranquility as easily as the Laws he was personally better at. Then they had another day of rest and the two of them just sat there, meditating, pondering on Laws, and resting. Then, when the day was up, the world around them vanished and they appeared in the void. Congratulations! You have completed the second section of the Trial Tower and it is now time for you to compete with your peers one on one. Trial Tower Tournament Round I is starting. Randomly generating competition. Puzzle competition chosen. You and your opponent will each appear in a different trial instance where a puzzle of runes and magic is blocking your entrance into a vault holding copies of all your opponent¡¯s possessions. The first to gain access to the vault wins and will have their trial points doubled. They both appeared in a relatively dark room, the only source of light some luminescent moss on the ceiling, and behind them was a hallway, which their senses showed led up to the surface of a planet. In front of them was a large intricate circular stone door on which Mila could see quite a few runes, and, with her Omniglot Reader racial ability, she could read the runes said ¡®Yang Over Yin and Advancement You Shall Win¡¯. She then told that to Aalam, who¡¯d been looking at the mana flow pathways inside the door using his Crafter¡¯s Senses and Spacetime Sensing skills. Then Aalam immediately did something with Runescriber through his Mana Domain skill and the door started opening. All in all, opening the vault took them about two seconds. Congratulations! Trial Tower Tournament Round I is over. You have made it to the top 2048. Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 2 Current Total Accumulated Trial Points: 2,608,410,430,948,756,356 The round had felt very easy, but for all they knew the other person would have solved the vault in 3 seconds. Given the fact there weren¡¯t any artifacts in the vault at all, however, it seemed more likely their opponent had just been weak, with a much lower Luck stat then either of them, resulting in an even more unfair competition. From Nana Xara¡¯s description of these types of trials, the battle royale rounds would have been pretty well balanced, so, as three people would pass through each of the instances of the final battle royale, and they had been up against the top seed in their instance, the System seemed to have judged that she and Aalam were near the bottom of the second third of contestants who could make it to the Trial Tower¡¯s third section. Given they¡¯d won against that top seed, however, they had probably just been up against the worst trial taker to make it to the tournament section, so their next challenge would be much more difficult. Between the tournament battles, there was only a twelve hour break instead of a day, but the dueling rounds could last up to two hours, and they¡¯d finished very quickly, so they had almost 14 hours instead. During that time, Mila thought back to how they¡¯d beaten Krysta and, after figuring out what she could have done so Aalam wouldn¡¯t have had to advance his Law Larva of Multi-Dimensional Geometry in order to win, her Law Larva of The Tactician Advanced. Congratulations! Your Law Larva of The Tactician has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +16, Soul +48 A couple hours later, they were moved to the void again and a new System Message appeared. Trial Tower Tournament Round II is starting. Randomly generating competition. Forest Combat competition chosen. You and your opponent will each appear in a large forest. The first to kill the other will have their trial points doubled. The two of them appeared in what seemed like a very old forest of the type which could be found along the northeastern coast of the United States back on Earth, all the trees very large, and Aalam instantly released their plague, the same type used against Krysta and everyone else in the battle royales, while Mila entered into stealth and moved about a hundred meters away from him. Then they waited, Aalam setting up quite a few traps with his runes. About twenty minutes later, an elf walked into Aalam¡¯s sensory range. He had shoulder length blond hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin, making him look like a gentleman. The violet robe he was wearing, an Epic grade artifact available from one of the early trials, made him look dignified, and Mila couldn¡¯t imagine he hadn¡¯t been able to find a better one, so it seemed likely he¡¯d kept it just for the appearance. But he was carrying a huge axe in his right hand, one Mila was pretty sure was Heroic grade, and, from the comfortable way he was holding it, Mila was almost certain it was the artifact he himself had brought into the Trial Tower. Aalam waited for the man to get in range of his telekinesis. Then, when the man did, seemingly still not having sensed Aalam¡¯s aura, Aalam activated some prepared runes, sending out a psychic shock, and attacked the man with 36 weapons, most of which were heroic grade. What happened next, however, was a first. The man was affected by the psychic shock for only about the same amount of time as Krysta, allowing three of the weapons Aalam was attacking with to hit him, but the man¡¯s Toughness was too strong, seemingly enhanced by some powerful passive skill, and the weapons, even though all sharp, only left superficial wounds. Then a shield type skill formed around the man, wrapping him in dense moving air filled with lightning, and the man pointed his left hand toward Aalam, sending out a bolt of lightning almost as fast as Krysta¡¯s spatial slice. Aalam managed to dodge, moving backward quickly with Telekinesis, but the man started to move forward to match and he sent out five more bolts of lightning, one from each of the fingers on his left hand, and Aalam only managed to dodge four of them. Unlike how quickly the man shrugged off Aalam¡¯s psychic attack, Aalam¡¯s Toughness was nowhere near high enough for him to ignore the almost D rank lightning, and he fell to the ground of the forest as the elf rushed up to him, using the same Storm Steps skill as Isaiah to run through the air, an Epic grade version instead of Legendary, but powered by a stronger Law and much higher Agility. Then the elf continued sending out bolts of lightning every second, blasting through trees, and, while Aalam¡¯s armor kept him from dying, he remained paralyzed. Soon after, the elf appeared next to Aalam and smiled down at him. ¡°You¡¯re a bit too weighted toward Spirit, friend.¡± The elf then lifted his axe and, instead of aiming for Aalam¡¯s chest or cutting off Aalam¡¯s head, the elf severed Aalam¡¯s right pinky toe. ¡°Let''s have some fun together.¡± Chapter 108: Reginald Vin Mila ¡°Aaaah!¡± Mila could hear Aalam yelling even from tens of kilometers away, the elf¡¯s axe cutting through more than just flesh and affecting the projection of Aalam¡¯s soul as well, causing a lot more pain than normal. So, she quickly strengthened their bond and called to him. ¡°Aalam, do you want me to commit suicide?¡± Committing suicide would exit them both from the Trial Tower, stopping the elf from continuing to torture Aalam, and it was pretty much all Mila could do. She was completely outmatched by anyone who could even fight with Aalam, let alone the elf who¡¯d overpowered him. ¡°Rank 1,025 isn¡¯t high enough to get what we need.¡± Aalam¡¯s mental voice was strained, almost like he was growling, and, for a second, Mila didn¡¯t know what to do. Rank in the Trial Tower was very important. The first ranked trial taker had first choice of resources, second got second, and so on, and there were a lot of unique resources in the list of trial rewards, such as the Twelve Element Primal Code cultivation technique, which the System would only sell one copy of every trial. Reaching the same stage in the trial, whoever had the most trial points would be considered the highest ranking, so, for this round, where only 1,024 cultivators could move on to the next, Mila would have rank 1,025 if she gave up, as she almost certainly already had more trial points than the rank one would have after winning. Mila¡¯s state of indecision, however, didn¡¯t last for long. ¡°Aalam, exaggerate your screaming. Assholes like this live for the feeling of control and he¡¯ll hurt you less to prolong his pleasure. ¡°At the same time, use up your resources to make him use up his. Don¡¯t stop struggling and make him succumb to the plague faster. ¡°Finally, use your Law Larva of Bonds to strengthen the bond between us further. I want to try something and, if it works, this asshole will feel pain.¡± From sharing Aalam¡¯s senses, Mila could tell the man was wasting energy fighting against the plague they¡¯d released. Sadly, his method was slightly more efficient than Krysta¡¯s had been and he had about the same resource reserves Krysta had. Given the nature of the plague, however, the resource drain from fighting against it would only increase, and the elf didn¡¯t know that yet. So, if Aalam could waste his resources more now, the man, whose biggest weakness appeared to be Perception, would definitely die from the plague long before he could find Mila. Aalam¡¯s extra minds, less affected by the pain of his body, used his domains to create runes to try and attack the elf, but the elf just casually broke them with lightning every time. Then the man, whose effective Aura stat was seemingly almost three times that of Aalam¡¯s and who¡¯d practiced his cultivation technique to the seventh level, tried to suppress Aalam¡¯s aura with his own so Aalam wouldn¡¯t be able to send his resources out of his body to attack, but, even after five minutes, he wasn¡¯t able to. Aalam¡¯s aura, influenced by his 36 Laws, was just too stable. During this time, however, Aalam lost three more toes and was in considerable pain, pretty much only able to hold on because he knew the pain wouldn¡¯t last. It was about that time when the exponential growth of the plague¡¯s resource drain really started to kick in and, through Aalam¡¯s senses, Mila could see the elf consider just ending Aalam¡¯s life. ¡°This disease of yours is impressive. But, seeing as you aren¡¯t affected, you must have the antidote.¡± ¡°No,¡± Aalam growled out, clenching his teeth so tightly some were cracking. ¡°I only had the one dose.¡± This was technically true and, given how much more powerful the elf¡¯s Aura was, he could probably tell. Aalam had only held the dose of antidote he¡¯d taken at the beginning of the trial while Mila had all the rest hidden in one of her spatial storage bags. The elf smiled down at Aalam and raised his greataxe. ¡°Well, that¡¯s too bad. Even if your disease is powerful, I still have several minutes. Let¡¯s see if I can¡¯t cut off something a little more important.¡± Aalam felt rather terrified, Mila able to sense it through their bond, and that was what she was waiting for. Having experimented for the last several minutes, she¡¯d figured out how she could trigger a contract through Aalam¡¯s aura instead of her own. Aalam just had to take some of her resources and, with the strength of their bond, creating a bond from herself to someone else with him as the intermediary was rather simple. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Instead of making a contract with just the evil elf, however, she instead made one with both the elf and the System, a special type of contract only available in System hosted competitions like this one, a System guaranteed bet. You have offered a bet to Trial Taker Reginald Vin. Terms:
  1. Whoever wins this Forest Combat stage of the Trial Tower Tournament will gain all the trial points of the loser.
  2. Whoever wins this Forest Combat stage of the Trial Tower Tournament will gain all the System-bound assets of the loser
  3. Torture is not allowed
The elf just looked down at Aalam and smiled. ¡°So, you want me to end you earlier with this bribe.¡± He slowly pushed away the hood covering Aalam¡¯s hair and cut off Aalam¡¯s right ear, causing Aalam to scream yet again, but then he accepted the bet. ¡°Fine.¡± The elf then lifted his axe above his head and the weapon started to be covered with the concentrated power of wind and lightning. ¡°Do you have any last words?¡± ¡°If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.¡± Aalam had a last bit of fun, but the elf didn¡¯t care, and the axe slammed into Aalam¡¯s chest, causing him to slowly die. The stage didn¡¯t end with Aalam¡¯s death, however, and, though Mila couldn¡¯t see it, she was pretty sure Aalam¡¯s choice to quote Star Wars had actually been a good idea, the man still probably not aware Aalam had only been a familiar. * * * Reginald Reginald Vin looked down at the masked man and smiled as he saw the light go out from the bastard¡¯s almost orange eyes. He didn¡¯t care about the man¡¯s identity, but the peasant had thought himself capable of advancing on the path of the Heavenly Spark, the path which had killed Reginald¡¯s idiot of a father, and that pissed Reginald off. If a genius like Reginald¡¯s father couldn¡¯t travel down the path of the Heavenly Spark, no one could, and the masked man needed to learn his place. When the masked man died, however, no System message of congratulations appeared, and the disease was still ravaging through Reginald¡¯s body. If nothing changed, he would be dead as well in less than two minutes. Reginald thought back to the man¡¯s last words. Then he thought about the skills he knew the masked man had¡ªHeroic grade Telekinesis, Heroic grade Runescriber, Legendary grade Qi Domain, Legendary grade Mana Domain, Legendary grade Psychic Domain, and some kind of contract skill. He couldn¡¯t have a skill which allowed him to revive from the dead or one that allowed his soul to live on so he could go take over another body, but it was possible the masked man had an artifact which would allow his soul to temporarily hide. That would go well with the disease the man had released. Desperately, Reginald started taking off the artifacts from the man¡¯s body, the plain black mask, the gaudy robe, the fingerless glove on the man¡¯s left hand, but he couldn¡¯t find anything. The fingerless left glove obviously had a sub-dimension inside it, which could hold the artifact maintaining the man¡¯s soul, but the artifact was well made and Reginald didn¡¯t have the skill to break it open. Angered, Reginald stood up and looked down at the man¡¯s beautiful face, taking in his dead almost orange eyes and his long nearly black blue hair. Then, with the last of his strength, Reginald slammed his axe down on the man¡¯s face and fell to the ground. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the real world, System messages appearing in front of his eyes. Trial Tower Tournament Round II has ended with your loss. Then the next System messages made him almost want to cry. In accordance with your bet with Trial Taker Shadow, all your trial points and System-bound assets have been transferred to Trial Taker Shadow. You have lost 13,705,240,500 trial points. Total Accumulated Trial Points: 0 You have lost 32 C rank universal credits. You have lost 756 D rank universal credits. You have lost 12,947 E rank universal credits. You have lost 4,895,128 F rank universal credits. You currently have no credits to your name. Congratulations! Your rank in the F rank Trial Tower is 2048. ¡°So, what rank did you get?¡± Reginald saw his grandfather¡¯s excited gaze as the man stopped the combined spell he and 17 other family members had been using since the Trial Tower had begun, the one which had given Reginald a nearly 200% boost to all his stats. ¡°Do you think you earned enough trial points to buy what the family needs?¡± The Vin Clan was a huge A rank force with three different A ranks among its members, the royal family of the largest elven empire in the universe, but, due to his father, Reginald¡¯s family within the clan wasn¡¯t that well off. His father had taken out loans he hadn¡¯t been able to pay back, dying of old age at E rank due to the stupid path he¡¯d chosen, and the family was hoping to somewhat lower that debt by selling to the main line of the clan resources gained from the Trial Tower. His grandfather, a powerful B rank, had been injured in war, but he¡¯d chosen to agitate his wounds and lower his life expectancy to boost Reginald¡¯s power, all in the hope he could get one unique resource offered by the System in this year¡¯s Trial Tower, a resource called the Highgenion Flower, a special flower which, if eaten, could allow the body of an F rank cultivator to temporarily contain energies even the best E ranks normally couldn¡¯t withstand, something needed for the seventeenth princess of the empire to successfully advance her race past F rank. Had Reginald, like his father, had a royal line uniqueness, allowing him to multiply his power through owning Territory, his grandfather wouldn¡¯t have had to sacrifice himself, yet Reginald hadn¡¯t even managed to return with a single trial point and had even lost a good deal of money. He was worse than his father, and that thought especially made him start to cry. Chapter 109: Brom Karendesh Mila Congratulations! Trial Tower Tournament Round II is over. You have made it to the top 1024. You have gained 13,705,240,500 trial points from your opponent. Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 2 Current Total Accumulated Trial Points: 5,216,820,889,307,993,712 Mila also got far more money than she ever had before, the elf having been far, far richer than Prince Morin Daal, but she wasn¡¯t happy. Aalam had been tortured and all she¡¯d managed to do was ruin the Trial Tower for the bastard and steal his money, not give him any kind of true trouble. Sitting down, she then waited half an hour for Aalam to reappear, but he didn¡¯t. Instead, she got a System message. Your familiar, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, has fallen into a coma and has not responded to requests to rejoin the Trial Tower. System protection for the Heavenly Spark Soul King will be released in one hour. Good luck participating without your familiar. Mila¡¯s first reaction was anger, followed closely by sadness. Aalam had likely been psychologically scarred for life, yet that rich bastard was going to be fine. But then she realized the coma was much more likely just Aalam falling out of the Id state, which didn¡¯t necessarily mean he would be in a bad place when he woke up. Granted, he almost certainly would be¡ªbeing tortured like that was very, very far from fun¡ªbut the fact he¡¯d entered into a coma wasn''t indicative of how bad things would be. Centering herself, Mila took a deep breath. There was nothing she could do to help Aalam psychologically until he woke up, but she could make sure he didn''t have any extra stressors he''d have to deal with. Contacting Isaiah to go back to the soul well to protect Aalam once the System¡¯s protection was gone, Mila then took the Left Hand of the Runescribe off of Aalam¡¯s corpse and put it on her own left hand. Then she placed everything in her possession other than the clothes she was wearing into the Left Hand of the Runescribe as well. This was followed by a half day of meditation, and then the next round started. Trial Tower Tournament Round III is starting. Randomly generating competition. Arena Combat competition chosen. You and your opponent will each appear in a small arena. The first to kill the other will have their trial points doubled. The world faded and she appeared in a large stone room, perfectly circular with a roughly 250 meter radius and a 25 meter ceiling at the edges. The ceiling wasn¡¯t perfectly flat, rising up to 35 meters at the center, and it was covered with a large sigil made from orange and yellow fire which read as ¡®combat¡¯ in the most common rune style of the universe. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. In short, it looked almost exactly like the first trial room from the tutorial, where she had met Aalam after their deaths, only it was five times bigger. She was on one side of the room, about 100 meters away from the wall, and, on the other side was her opponent. Tall, well over two meters, he was a humanoid lizard man cultivator with three fingers on his hands, hooves instead of feet, and an extended jaw like a wolf. Covering his entire body were bronze scales and a long prehensile tail extended from his lower back. Finally, he was wearing a black gi, with a large seemingly Heroic grade greatsword on his back and a spatial storage ring on the middle finger of his right hand. ¡°He¡¯s a coran,¡± Nana Xara sent to her. ¡°In general, they are very martially focused and value honor, but they are also almost always combat pragmatists, so your plan should work.¡± * * * Brom Brom Karendesh looked at the woman in front of him. She had dark skin for a human, with shoulder length wavy black hair, and she was wearing black robes and a dark azure fingerless glove on her left hand. But she didn¡¯t seem strong enough to have made it to the third round of the Trial Tower¡¯s tournament section. Her aura was relatively powerful, and it seemed she¡¯d practiced an advanced cultivation technique, but his instincts were telling him her other stats were far weaker than his. Then, however, instead of trying to fight him, she bowed. ¡°I am Zera Mara, a humble stealth expert from the Timore Galaxy Cluster. Might I have Lord¡¯s name?¡± Ah. That made more sense to Brom. During the Free For All Kill For All section, a stealth expert would have an easier time moving between rounds. Then, if she somehow got lucky, it wasn¡¯t impossible for one such as her to make it to the third round of the tournament if the competition types suited her. ¡°Brom Karendesh, of the Bronze Legion.¡± Brom drew his greatsword, readying an attack. ¡°I know I¡¯m no match for you, Lord Karendesh.¡± The woman bowed to him again, putting up no defense. ¡°But I¡¯m wondering if you would be interested in a trade before eliminating me from the competition. Your illustrious self almost certainly has quite a few universal credits, while I happen to have a biological weapon capable of killing even one such as you in under an hour, along with the antidote. For someone such as yourself, it might make the difference between a loss and a defeat during later rounds, as your opponent would have to waste quite a bit of resources fighting it off.¡± This got Brom¡¯s interest. He was a Strength, Endurance, and Toughness focused warrior. If he wanted to fight defensively, he could hold off almost everyone he knew of his generation¡¯s young experts, except for Krysta La¡¯Vordi, for at least thirty minutes. With such a weapon added to his arsenal, he might be able to even get second place if Krysta La¡¯Vordi wasn¡¯t in his side of the bracket. ¡°Show me.¡± He didn¡¯t put away his sword, wary of some kind of trick, but he was pretty sure the woman had no way of harming him. Rising back up from her bow, the woman summoned a small open vial from a subspace seemingly in the glove on her left hand and downed it. Then Brom¡¯s senses felt small microbes try to start entering his body, apparently originating from the glove as well. They were relatively easy to defend against, his qi passively destroying them, but before each of their deaths they seemed to eat a bit of his qi, creating more of themselves, and he was pretty sure they were multiplying in the air and on the ground and walls as well, passively absorbing the mana of the room. For a few minutes, he was able to fight against the plague without losing much of his resources, but, after five minutes, the amount started to increase and it took more of his resources to keep the disease away. At this point, the woman took off the glove on her right hand, moved forward, and placed it on the ground 200 meters in front of him before backing off. Brom then moved forward to investigate and he realized he wouldn¡¯t be able to break into the glove to gain access to either the disease or the antidotes. Picking up the glove and tossing it back to the woman, Brom then said, ¡°Alright. What are your terms?¡± Zera Mara has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. Zera Mara will give you 10 vials of F Rank Bacterial Plague III along with 10 vials of antidote
  2. You will give Zera Mara 48 D rank universal credits
Punishment: Death in the Trial Tower Do you accept? Yes/No The woman put the glove back on, temporarily bringing her fingers together and interlocking them in the process, but the gesture looked completely natural to Brom, so he agreed, transferring 48 D rank universal credits to the woman. Instead of giving him the plague and antidotes, however, the woman just smiled at him. ¡°Please kill yourself.¡± Brom felt his soul start to burn and he quickly looked at the contract again. Terms:
  1. Zera Mara will give you 10 vials of F Rank Bacterial Plague III along with 10 vials of antidote
  2. You will give Zera Mara 48 D rank universal credits
  3. You will not try to harm Zera Mara
  4. You will obey all of Zera Mara¡¯s demands
Punishment: Death in the Trial Tower He¡¯d been tricked. The woman had a high grade version of the Devil¡¯s Contract skill and he belatedly realized the gesture she¡¯d done with her hands likely meant in some language in the universe that there was a trap. A second later, Brom¡¯s projection in the Trial Tower died and he woke up surrounded by his attendants and the 26 buff mages his father had hired. Trial Tower Tournament Round III has ended with your loss. Total Accumulated Trial Points: 27,415,955,304 Congratulations! Your rank in the F rank Trial Tower is 769. Taking a deep breath, Brom just shook his head. Then he rose and knelt on the ground as his father, one of the twelve subleaders of the Bronze Legion, entered the room. ¡°Report.¡± His father¡¯s deep voice boomed out, his aura and Laws covering the room and making everyone but Brom shake. ¡°I made it to the third round of the tournament and then met a weak cultivator who tricked me into a contract she made using a high grade Devil¡¯s Contract skill before ordering me to kill myself, breaking my soul when I wouldn¡¯t comply. I have no excuse for my foolishness.¡± ¡°Everyone out.¡± His father coldly glared at everyone in the room and they all fled. Then he walked over and knelt in front of Brom, giving him a hug. ¡°Tell me all the details and what you¡¯ve learned. These types of experiences are best reflected on so you can avoid making the same mistakes again in the future.¡± Chapter 110: Trial Tower End Mila Congratulations! Trial Tower Tournament Round III is over. You have made it to the top 512. Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 2 Current Total Accumulated Trial Points: 10,433,641,778,615,987,424 Mila felt quite accomplished after the coran man died. She¡¯d used American Sign Language¡¯s sign for trap when activating the special ability of Devil¡¯s Contract, warning the man about the hidden clauses she was adding as required by the skill, and the man hadn¡¯t been any the wiser. Still, she¡¯d been lucky. The man could have not accepted and insisted on a trade without a formal contract, but he¡¯d perceived her as weak and, like many a human man before him, he¡¯d paid the price for underestimating her. Mila then spent the next twelve hours meditating before the System message for the fourth round showed up. Trial Tower Tournament Round IV is starting. Randomly generating competition. Dungeon Dive competition chosen. You and your opponent will each appear in a different trial instance where you will need to pass a series of challenges, consisting of puzzles, trap rooms, fights against groups of weaker monsters, and fights against a single strong monster. Whoever passes all twelve challenges first wins, gains all the belongings of the other trial taker, and has their trial points doubled. Mila was again impressed by the System¡¯s use of English, as the way the term dungeon was being used was barely even in the dictionary. But she didn¡¯t have enough time to dwell on her feelings, as the first challenge involved fighting a small group of chimera-looking beasts and they were all beyond her, forcing her to use a vial of plague and wait. Less than a half hour later, the beasts had all died in her instance, but the System informed her that her opponent had already finished the entire dungeon and she found herself waking up in the soul well, somehow not at all sore from lying there for weeks. Trial Tower Tournament Round IV has ended with your loss. Total Accumulated Trial Points: 10,433,641,778,615,987,424 Congratulations! Your rank in the F rank Trial Tower is 257. All in all, things went better than they¡¯d expected. Had Aalam not fallen unconscious, they likely would have only gotten half the points and rank 513, as pretty much everyone in the top 1500, if not the top 2000, was stronger than Aalam even in the Id state. Still, though, Mila would have preferred Aalam not to get tortured. She looked over at him on the stone bed next to hers and sighed. Then, checking the amount of lust-filled souls in Aalam¡¯s Small Soul Storage soulstructure, she decided to go hunting to get more souls, giving Isaiah permission to go hunt in better locations for him when she met him on her way out. The Trial Tower for her was over, but she couldn¡¯t choose her rewards until the Trial Tower was fully over and 256 others chose their rewards first. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. * * * Krysta Krysta La¡¯Vordi sent out five spatial slices and her opponent, a demonic warrior holding a giant war hammer, was cut into seven pieces. Congratulations! Trial Tower Tournament Round XII is over. You are the top ranked cultivator of the Trial Tower Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 2 Total Accumulated Trial Points: 18,858,988,781,568 Then, she got one more message. Congratulations! Your rank in the F rank Trial Tower is 1. Standing up from the automated boosting platform she¡¯d spent the entire Trial Tower lying on, Krysta saw her mother smiling at her, the only other person in the room. Joma La¡¯Vordi was a human with yellow eyes, long mossy green dreadlocks down to the middle of her back, and dark brown skin like Krysta¡¯s. She was a little over ten million years old, but she looked maybe a year or two older than Krysta, and the yellow sundress she was wearing made her look even younger. ¡°So, how was the experience?¡± ¡°I actually lost!¡± Krysta almost jumped up and down with excitement, but her mother looked confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Her mother waved her hand and a list of trial takers and their ranks materialized in the air, each letter drawn by a tiny floating vine. It showed Krysta¡¯s name in first place. ¡°The System gave your rank as first.¡± ¡°Yeah, I won the tournament.¡± Krysta nodded. ¡°But in the third Free For All Kill For All, this handsome masked man managed to kill me.¡± Krysta looked at the floating list, recognizing over half the names in the top 2024 from the information on possible trial takers she¡¯d looked at before the Trial Tower started. Then she focused on those who ranked the highest for each batch of losers in the tournament section, aware that a plague master in Trial VII likely would have earned far more points than she had. ¡°He¡¯s probably that one.¡± She pointed at the rank 257 cultivator, Shadow, an obvious alias. ¡°He¡¯s an odd secretive man following the path of the Heavenly Spark. Most of his stats were barely boosted, but his Spirit was almost as high as my Magic, and he was an absolute genius. Just from watching me, he advanced one space Law Larva to middle grade. I think Vacuum. Then, to save himself so he could successfully trap me, he advanced another of his Law Larvae, Multi-Dimensional Geometry, to high grade, meaning he must have been suppressing its advancement for a while.¡± Her mother frowned, looking slightly confused. ¡°His advancement of space Laws allowed him to beat you?¡± Krysta realized her mother needed more context, so she explained more about what happened during the third Free For All Kill For All, ending with a smile. ¡°Then I burned to death.¡± ¡°So, he¡¯s someone following the path of the Heavenly Spark with a Heroic grade class at F rank and he probably would have succeeded at making it to E rank had he not fought you.¡± Her mother sounded contemplative. ¡°What a waste of a genius.¡± ¡°I thought so too at first, but isn¡¯t it admirable to follow the path you enjoy?¡± Krysta had a big smile on her face. ¡°And his aura was so stable due to his path. I couldn¡¯t read his emotions at all.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her mother nodded, but there was a stern look on her face. ¡°But it is also incredibly risky and usually results in a weaker cultivator. Take this Shadow for example, he was obviously suppressing his advancement in Multi-Dimensional Geometry, one of the most difficult yet powerful space Laws. Most likely this means his natural affinity and inclination for this Law is so high that, while bringing his other Law Larvae up to middle grade, just his passive insights gave him enough understanding to raise his Law Larva of Multi-Dimensional Geometry to high grade. ¡°Given that level of talent, were he to have focused on just his Law Larva of Multi-Dimensional Geometry instead, it likely would have reached peak grade already, and one peak grade Law Larva has more practical use than even 36 middle grade Law Larvae. ¡°With 36 Laws, you¡¯re just too likely to run into a bottleneck. There is a reason no one has ever been able to make it past E rank with a Heavenly Spark class, and most of those geniuses who tried chose an Epic grade Heavenly Spark class at F rank, the lowest available, two full grades lower than this Shadow.¡± Her mother smiled warmly and reached out to pat Krysta¡¯s head. ¡°You enjoy alchemy and you¡¯ve raised your Law of Cells up to a Law Larva as a result. In the future, you might even take an alternate route of class advancement due to this love when you reach B or A rank, but you¡¯re not limited by it if you ever change your mind while you are still a child.¡± Krysta thought about it for a second. ¡°But my talent for spatial Laws comes from my race and bloodline. What if someone instead had a race which was good at all Laws?¡± ¡°All Laws?¡± Her mother appeared contemplative. ¡°For someone with Laws like this Shadow, maybe if he was an Order Dragon he might be able to pull it off for a couple ranks, or maybe a strong soul variant of a race with weaker balanced Laws.¡± Her mother¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, as if she¡¯d just realized something. ¡°Those domain skills. And you said he had the Legendary grade Danger Sense skill as well.¡± Her mother then frowned slightly. ¡°But he has Heroic grade Telekinesis and Runescriber. He would need¡­¡± She started to smile. ¡°Oh.¡± Krysta frowned. ¡°Care to explain?¡± Joma looked at her daughter and started laughing. ¡°This new friend of yours might actually have a decent plan for advancing with a Heavenly Spark class. Most likely, his race is a strong soul variant, probably a strong soul human of some kind. This would give him two full classes from F rank, and, given Runescriber is one of his skills, his second class is likely the Heroic grade Advanced Void Sage. With his Telekinesis and Runescriber skills, he would have 13 skill slots remaining, and these remaining skill slots could then be used to train up 13 different sensory and domain skills which could be used to merge a skill which I only know as theoretical at F rank, Sensory Domain. ¡°With that skill, learning Laws would be slightly easier, and the advantages when doing alchemy or crafting artifacts would be immense.¡± Her mother turned and started walking out of the room. ¡°I¡¯ve just been inspired, dear. It might be a few months until I come out of the lab. Keep training and maintain your momentum.¡± With that, her mom disappeared, and Krysta, who was very used to this type of action after years of it happening, decided to look at the System notification which was counting down the time she had to exclusively choose rewards from the Trial Tower. There wasn¡¯t really much she wanted, being the child of one of the best alchemists in the universe making rare materials and unique treasures easy to come by, but then she looked at the cultivation manuals section and smiled, an awesome idea coming to her so she could see the deep-voiced man again. Chapter 111: Stolen Reward Mila ¡°Damn that spoiled entitled brat!¡± A couple monkey-lizard things ran away from Mila, who¡¯d been hunting in the forest near the soul well, but Mila didn¡¯t care. She was just so pissed off. The Trial Tower had finished about half an hour before and she now had to wait 15 days to get her chance to choose her rewards, as the 256 before her had the chance to choose first, with the duration of their exclusive times ranging from 3 hours for the top four to 1 hour for those who lost in the round of 256. Then she herself would get 1 hour of exclusive time as well. To speed things up, however, the System allowed her and the other trial takers to see everything on the list of rewards they could afford, as well as when those items disappeared from the list because someone else bought them, so Mila¡¯d spent the first half hour looking through the resources, and for that first half hour everything had looked good. There were only three instances of the normal boon for gaining the rights to purchase teleportation permissions, the boon they needed to get back to Earth, and, according to Nana Xara, those were all likely to disappear as they were relatively cheap, only a little over 5 billion trial points, but there was a better version of the boon for a little under 9 trillion which no one was likely to take. The second most important item on their list, the first 16 levels of the Twelve Element Primal Code, cost double that at nearly 18 trillion, so, other than them, probably only the winner or maybe second place would be able to take it. Then, finally, there were multiple boons, raw materials, artifacts, and unique items in the hundreds of trillions range, the quadrillions range, and even a couple in the quintillions range, all of which Mila could choose at her leisure. The ability to exchange trial points for resources would continue for six years until the start of the next F rank Trial Tower, and Mila was pretty sure she was the only one with over 32 trillion trial points, so she was the only one even able to see the most expensive items. These super expensive resources had obviously been chosen with her and Aalam in mind, Aalam¡¯s high Luck score likely helping quite a lot with the specificity of some of the unique items, but several of them required an important prerequisite, and that was Aalam getting to at least the fifth level of the Twelve Element Primal Code. For example, one of the two resources costing over a quintillion trial points was a unique treasure called Primal Code Soul Washing Dew, which, according to the System provided description, would wash the soul of a cultivator who had practiced to at least the 5th level of the higher version of the Twelve Element Primal Code, the one requiring following the path of the Heavenly Spark. It required the user to still have an F rank race for it to work, but it resulted in a permanent increase in affinity with all Laws. There wasn¡¯t much more of a description than that, but Nana Xara had grown very, very excited when seeing it. Apparently, along with the other reward costing in the quintillion range, it might allow Aalam to advance his race to something of a higher level than he¡¯d been planning, a race upgrade Mila would then get for free. The problem was, after that first half hour, the only version of the Twelve Element Primal Code offered by the System as a reward for the Trial Tower had been taken, and, in its place, there was a message. ¡°Mr. Shadow, I hope you¡¯re doing well. I didn¡¯t know how to contact you, so I figured I¡¯d leave you a message here. I quite enjoyed our brief chat and would like to talk more, so please come to the Forest Cauldron¡¯s main planet to see me. ¡ªSincerely, Krysta La¡¯Vordi.¡± The other resource costing in the quintillion range was the almost dead body of a Mythical grade D rank monster called a Soul Carver, one with a bloodline at the Empyrean grade, the grade higher than Mythic, Soul Lord Prince. A Soul Carver had the ability to directly tamper with the souls of its victims, a set of racial talents Aalam definitely wanted, and with the System preserving the beast in a state just before its death, upon selecting the reward the beast would appear in front of Mila with just enough lifeforce for Aalam to use his Genetic Thief bloodline to extract the power of its race and bloodline. This was an excellent opportunity, as this type of monster was exactly what Aalam wanted, but, to see the full benefits from the Trial Tower¡¯s rewards, he¡¯d need to make use of the Primal Code Soul Washing Dew before Mila summoned the monster. Now, normally, this wouldn¡¯t be the case. Aalam¡¯s Genetic Thief bloodline wasn¡¯t so weak that genetic power had to be stolen right before advancing, and, for most races and bloodlines, the stolen genetic power could last in a cultivator¡¯s body for years, at higher ranks even millennia. But with the D rank Mythical grade monster, Aalam¡¯s body in a normal state would explode instantly from absorbing its genetic power, let alone having it last. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. This could be fixed with a relatively cheap resource called a Highgenion Flower, a special flower which, if eaten, could allow the soul of an F rank cultivator to temporarily contain energies even the best E ranks normally couldn¡¯t withstand, and there were three of them offered as a reward for the Trial Tower, with each costing almost 124 billion, a number most of those ranked above her couldn¡¯t afford, so she was likely to get one. Still, however, the Highgenion Flower wouldn¡¯t allow Aalam to hold the power of the Mythical grade monster for more than a few minutes at most, so the order of operations of what Mila would have to choose was obvious. First, once it was her turn, she had to take all the unique resources others lower ranked then her might be able to buy, such as the Highgenion Flower, quite a few raw materials Aalam would definitely be interested in, and a bunch of blueprints for artifacts which Aalam would love, as well as a race advancement resource for Roland. Second, she¡¯d have to take a common boon which cost only 1,728 trial points, one which would allow her, Aalam, and Isaiah to establish a System approved force. Third, she would then take the more expensive version of the boon for gaining the rights to purchase teleportation permissions, one which would allow her to purchase permissions for her entire force instead of just for herself. Fourth, she and Isaiah would use that permission to teleport themselves and Aalam, even if he was still unconscious, to Earth and quickly take it over in the name of the Heavenly Spark Soul King. An E rank planet like Earth would have enough energy to maximize Aalam¡¯s Prince uniqueness, so this action would vastly increase Aalam¡¯s effective Attunement and thus greatly speed up his advancement of Laws. Fifth, with Earth in their possession, Mila would buy all the expensive resources in the list useful for people other than Aalam. Sixth, and most difficult, Mila would need to figure out a way to gain access to at least the first five levels of the Twelve Element Primal Code before Aalam finished raising all his Laws to high grade. How she was going to do this, she had no idea. Then, seventh, Aalam would train the Twelve Element Primal Code up to the 5th level, or the 7th if they had time and Mila was able to gain access to levels 6 and 7 of the technique, and Mila would buy the Primal Code Soul Washing Dew and the nearly dead Soul Carver and the other resources Aalam could use for his racial advancement, allowing Aalam to advance his race by eating the soul fragment of the C rank Shadow Thief. Finally, eighth, Mila would advance her race as well and they would train themselves up and enter into E rank, figuring out what they wanted to do after. The last steps of course were all dependent on step six, Mila somehow gaining access to the Twelve Element Primal Code, and, given the ability to exchange trial points would disappear at the start of the next F rank Trial Tower in six years, she had a time limit of only about three or four years to get the cultivation technique to Aalam if they wanted their ideal racial evolutions, something that wouldn¡¯t have been the case without the demigod blocking their path. Mila spent the next fifteen days disguised in Eshna or hunting in its surroundings, working to improve the skill proficiencies of her three sensory skills and to improve her Law Larvae of The Reaper and The Courtesan. As she didn¡¯t kill very much, she wasn¡¯t able to advance the Law Larva of The Reaper, but her Law Larva of The Courtesan advanced to middle grade by the time the fifteen days were up and it was her turn to choose resources. Taking everything she needed and placing it into the Left Hand of the Runescribe, she then summoned back Isaiah and they quickly traveled to the Interplanetary Teleportation Platform, Isaiah carrying the still unconscious Aalam. ¡°Is he okay?¡± Roland alone met them near the platform and he looked concerned when he saw Aalam unconscious. ¡°He¡¯s just recovering from using an ability above his normal level of power during the Trial Tower.¡± Mila smiled at the now king of the entire planet. ¡°He¡¯ll be up and ripping off heads again in just a matter of days.¡± Then she summoned an apple-sized fruit from the Left Hand of the Runescribe she was wearing and tossed it to Roland, who caught it easily. The fruit looked kind of like a large blueberry, only it seemed to be made of somehow solidified rainclouds instead of fruit matter, and it radiated a type of power, Mila able to notice Roland had an urge to bite into it, as did, to a lesser extent, Isaiah. ¡°Eat that,¡± she told the king. ¡°Then, when you¡¯re done, we¡¯ll set off.¡± Looking excited, Roland took a bite of the fruit, his face changing to look like it was the best thing he¡¯d ever tasted. Then he took another bite, and another, soon devouring the entire fruit whole. Like with Isaiah¡¯s racial advancement, eating the fruit didn¡¯t meet the requirements for the normal racial advancement of a Human Skirmisher, Roland¡¯s F rank race, but it didn¡¯t matter. Over the next hour, after falling unconscious onto the wet ground next to the lake where the Interplanetary Teleportation Platform was located, Roland¡¯s body changed, his hair falling out and his brown eyes changing to a deep sea blue. If what Mila judged was correct, his hair would turn blue as well and, more important, his affinity to water Laws would be much, much higher. Isaiah, as Nana Xara had expected, gained an epiphany from watching the power of water change Roland, merging his new two Law Eggs he¡¯d raised to peak grade together to form the Law Larva of Hydro Healing, a Law with a name which was far less impressive than his other Laws, but a powerful pragmatic Law nonetheless. It was just too bad Aalam was unconscious or he might have gained some advancements as well. Mila then shook Roland awake and, as he bowed even more deeply than before, she and Isaiah got onto the Interplanetary Teleportation Platform and teleported away. Chapter 112: Diana Alvaro ¡°Well, that was anticlimactic.¡± Diana Alvaro had just activated a set of four Epic grade F rank artifact spheres around one of the three Pillars of Conquest her force had conquered, each granted to her from the Yin Yang Sage instead of a Rare grade resource from the System. But, for some reason, there hadn¡¯t been a single physical or magical sign of anything happening. ¡°Space magic of the non-weaponized variety generally is.¡± The Yin Yang Sage sounded even happier than usual, the level of excitement in her voice almost palpable. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I at least be able to sense some magic at play?¡± Of Latin American and Middle Eastern descent, with tan skin, brown eyes, and long brown hair, Diana was short, which often made people underestimate her, but she had the highest effective Magic stat of anyone on Earth, along with Legendary grade skills, so earning four Rare grade rewards hadn¡¯t been that difficult. It hadn¡¯t exactly been easy, however, so she didn¡¯t want her hard work to have been wasted. ¡°Not unless you had at least a Law Larva of the space element.¡± The Yin Yang Sage entered into lecture mode, even while still sounding excited. ¡°All you did was create a spatial beacon. The magic for the teleport will be provided by the System and the initiation of that magic will be on another planet. ¡°Three, two, one. Alright, they¡¯re coming. You can disable the formation now and head back. They¡¯ll be arriving somewhere random and I¡¯ll send them your way when they get to Earth.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re sure I didn¡¯t just doom the planet?¡± Diana gathered up all four artifacts and put them in the spatial storage ring she¡¯d stolen from the corpse of one of the twelve invasions¡¯ leaders. ¡°Though, why am I asking you? You¡¯re the sketchy one.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sketchy.¡± ¡°You made me activate a beacon so another apprentice of yours from some other planet can come here along with two other people, but you won¡¯t even tell me their names.¡± Diana held out her right hand and gathered energy into her palm before emitting it out, the elementalized mana then forming into a form that looked almost exactly like a pegasus, only made from somehow solid fiery light. ¡°There are rules I¡¯m not allowed to break.¡± ¡°And that is totally not what a sketchy person would say.¡± Diana hopped onto the yang spirit and it took off into the air. ¡°Says the one person on Earth with a race and bloodline obviously not from anyone I brought to this planet.¡± The Yin Yang Sage somehow sounded like she was rolling her eyes. ¡°We already established this. I have no idea who my mother was.¡± ¡°Yet she came to my experimental planet, found the most talented man on it, and then had two children with him and left.¡± ¡°Again. I was four when she disappeared.¡± ¡°The gall of that woman. Messing up my perfectly good long term experiment.¡± ¡°For the better, obviously.¡± Diana ran her right hand through her long hair like a woman showing off hair products in a commercial. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have found someone as awesome as me, otherwise.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re objectively the lesser of my two apprentices.¡± Diana stopped her showboating and suddenly looked serious. ¡°By how much?¡± ¡°Well, three of your skills were provided by her. That¡¯s basically half your power. And she captured all the Pillars of Conquest on her world in a matter of months, while, after a year, you¡¯ve only managed to capture three, even allowing two other native forces to take over one each.¡± The Yin Yang Sage sounded mock contemplative. ¡°Granted, she found a much better partner than any of yours, but still, if I was going to compare your performances, she¡¯d be a tiger and you¡¯d be a gnat.¡± ¡°Hurtful.¡± ¡°You called me sketchy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a good thing you have no actual practical power.¡± ¡°She found a loophole which allowed me to act so she could take over the wealth of a C rank.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. That last part actually kind of stung. Diana had been hearing about this other apprentice since the end of the tutorial and, for a while, she¡¯d thought the woman was made up, an attempt by the Yin Yang Sage to push her to train harder, but now they¡¯d soon be meeting and Diana was kind of nervous. By all accounts the woman was impressive, but the scarier thing was how excited the Yin Yang Sage was for them to meet. Diana wasn¡¯t the best at reading people, but her impression of the Yin Yang Sage was that the ancient bringer of death basically had the personality of a stereotypical housewife. She liked blood, guts, and death as much as the next homicidal mass murderer, but she really got excited by romance and drama. So, as she seemed to view Diana¡¯s life almost like how Diana would view a good book or TV show, the fact she was so excited for her two apprentices to meet smelled of trouble. * * * A couple hours later, Diana arrived at her base, located in what used to be Sydney, Australia, but was now the capital of her own nation, Florin. After the tutorial, the Yin Yang Sage had dropped her in the area and, as none of the ancient powers of Earth were located in Australia, and the only Pillar of Conquest on the continent had been on the other side, it hadn¡¯t been difficult for Diana to establish her own power in the area, the effects of a Territory making an extreme difference when competing against monsters. Holding some of the most dangerous wildlife before the integration, Australia wasn¡¯t much different after, and this had allowed Diana¡¯s force to grow quickly through many battles to reclaim land. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late.¡± Having landed on the roof of one of the skyscrapers in downtown Sydney, Diana walked down the stairs to the top floor where the entire floor was taken up by a large sized conference room. The room was where the Territory government had its weekly meetings and Diana was almost an hour late. ¡°Where were you, Di?¡± asked Ezra Walker, an Australian citizen with blond hair, blue eyes, and the type of body which made a lot more sense when you learned he was an olympic level triathlete before the integration. He was the head of the Territory¡¯s third legion, responsible for thinning out the number of beasts along the coast. ¡°Training.¡± Diana smiled at everyone in the room. ¡°I was almost about to break through to the next level in my cultivation technique and got caught up in the excitement.¡± A few people in the room knew it was a lie, but even they couldn¡¯t be sure as Diana¡¯s Aura stat was quite a bit higher than any of theirs. ¡°Continue with the report.¡± Francis Davies was a middle-aged white man from the United Kingdom who¡¯d been in Australia on vacation with his wife when the tutorial had started. Somewhat taller than average, he had brown hair, blue eyes, and a well trimmed goatee which made him look like a classic Hollywood villain, but before the integration he¡¯d been the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and had actually been liked, while after the integration he was a very powerful psychic. Diana had appointed him as the Territory administrator, so he was the one who led these types of meetings. ¡°The birds in the outback are growing into a problem.¡± James Robinson was from the United States, the son of a pair of Haitian refugees, and he was incredibly handsome, with a chiseled jaw and a perfectly shaped shaved head. Formerly one of the most famous Hollywood stunt men in the world, he had been the stunt coordinator of a major movie filming in Australia at the time of the integration, and now he was the head of the Territory¡¯s second legion, responsible for thinning out the number of beasts in the interior. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough ranged attackers and their ability to fly has enabled them to dominate several areas with high natural mana.¡± Mr. Davies turned to look at Diana. ¡°Diana, would you be able to take a week to help?¡± ¡°The birds would probably be good training for one of my other apprentice¡¯s companions,¡± the Yin Yang Sage sent while Diana was thinking. ¡°No.¡± Diana smiled at Mr. Davies. ¡°I have some other things I need to do over the next couple weeks, but I should be able to spare some of my time and some extra manpower as well in about fifteen days.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ms. Alvaro.¡± Mr. Robinson nodded his head. He was the type to bring up problems to his superiors early, so the birds wouldn¡¯t start becoming an actual threat for about three weeks at least. Mr. Davies turned to look at the oldest person around the table, sadly also a man. Of the people high enough ranked in the Territory to be in the room, only about half were men, but of the highest military positions there was only one woman, the head of the first legion, but her legion was off fighting against one of the invasions in Asia, so Nitya couldn¡¯t make it to the meeting. ¡°Mr. Li, what about the movements of the other forces?¡± ¡°No big updates,¡± the old Chinese grandpa spoke calmly. ¡°The Smith Family¡¯s forces in North America are still fighting against the two remaining invasion forces from the Daybreak Empire. The Garcia Clan is consolidating its power in South America after taking down the Daybreak Empire¡¯s third force, while our allies in the African Army are doing the same after we helped take down the two invasion forces there. And the Ice Giants from the Kingdom of Frost are still staying peacefully in Antarctica, treating any diplomatic visitor with the utmost courtesy. ¡°The Five Family Alliance in Europe has finished taking over the land of the Imari Merchant Union and is now focused on fighting the last remaining invasion in Europe, which we can now confirm is from a force called the Ultra Impressive Golden Legion. They seem to be a C rank force in the Evolon Galaxy Cluster, so, even though they have sent their best, it is expected the Five Family Alliance will either force them to run or annihilate them within the next three months. ¡°Finally, in Asia, the Chinese Communist Party is still fighting against the Lizardmen from the Kaori Kingdom in Mongolia. Our ally, the United Godless State, along with our own first legion, are fighting against the Flameborn from the Fiery Hell Legion in Pakistan. And the disparate forces in Russia are all being quickly enslaved as the Psionics from the Deep Void Empire are expanding their Territory the fastest of anyone on Earth.¡± Li Dai-Zhao was the paternal grandfather of the woman who¡¯d dated and spied on Diana¡¯s little brother, and Diana hated him. But she had to admit the handsome 72 year old was effective at his job, so she¡¯d reluctantly appointed him the head of the intelligence forces of her Territory. Chapter 113: Honest Answers Ezra Powered up by the nature of his class, which increased his Agility and Endurance when on the shore of a large body of water, Ezra Walker cut through a small swarm of huge demon crabs with his sword, blocking claw attacks from the monsters the size of German Shepards with the shield in his left hand. Then, when all the crab demons were dead, he looked around and found he¡¯d somehow been separated from his squad. Focusing on his senses, he could hear the sounds of them fighting one beach over, and he was about to go join them, but he noticed a woman seemingly sunbathing on the beach a little inland from where he¡¯d been fighting the crabs, and he became distracted. She was beautiful, with blond hair and blue eyes like him, and she was wearing a grayish green gown that, despite the dark azure fingerless glove on her left hand, made her look like a goddess. She was also looking at him, and, when their eyes met, he couldn¡¯t think about anyone else. A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger
  3. You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment: Silent Pain Do you accept? Yes/No Ezra accepted, but then the cloud of lust dominating his brain faded and he realized he¡¯d fallen into a trap. ¡°Answer all of my questions honestly.¡± The woman stood up and smiled at him as she walked a bit closer, her bare feet immaculate on the rough sand. ¡°And you can relax. There is a very low chance I will kill you, at least today.¡± The woman walked up to be only two feet away from him and, even though she was shorter than he was, he felt dominated, her aura far stronger than even Diana¡¯s. ¡°You are Ezra Walker, the leader of the third legion of the Territory of Florin, correct?¡± He considered lying to test what Silent Pain in the punishment section of the contract meant, but the question was simple, so he decided against it. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And who do you serve?¡± ¡°Diana Alvaro, the leader of¡ª¡± Pain began wracking his entire body and he fell to his knees, the pain in his chest making it hard to breathe and impossible to raise his voice to more than a whisper. ¡°The Anderson Family of the Five Family Alliance.¡± The pain stopped and the woman looked down at him, face expressionless. ¡°What are your intentions toward Diana Alvaro?¡± ¡°To marry her.¡± Ezra took several deep breaths, very much desiring to never feel such pain again and thus willing to tell this mysterious woman anything. ¡°Why?¡± The woman squatted down so they were at eye level. ¡°She¡¯s the most powerful human on Earth and the most likely to become Sovereign of the planet. Were I to marry her, I¡¯d have power over the entire world.¡± ¡°And what is the Anderson Family¡¯s stance toward Diana?¡± A part of Ezra was wondering why the woman was so interested in Diana, but there were a million possible reasons and he felt the pain would return if he delayed answering for too long. ¡°As far as I know, they want peaceful coexistence. The family is aware how much more beneficial it is in the universe to be high up in a large force compared to the head of a small force.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± The woman stood up and turned to leave. ¡°Try not to hurt yourself too badly in the near future.¡± Then, with that warning she took a step and disappeared, completely gone from his senses. * * * James James Robinson walked into his own dwelling after a hard day¡¯s work fighting monsters to find a blond haired blue eyed woman sitting on his couch, wearing a beautiful gown and eating his food, specifically a large bag of potato chips. He immediately summoned his spear from his spatial storage ring, but then he noticed how pretty the woman was and attacking her seemed like the dumbest idea ever, so he put the spear back. A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger
  3. You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Punishment: Silent Pain Do you accept? Yes/No He accepted without thinking and, as the cloud of lust faded, he started to grow scared. ¡°Answer all of my questions honestly.¡± The woman put another chip in her mouth and smiled at him. ¡°Also, take a seat.¡± She gestured at the big comfy chair opposite his couch as she chewed and, understanding the situation he was in, James sat down. ¡°You are James Robinson, the leader of the second legion of the Territory of Florin?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± James nodded quickly. ¡°But your true loyalties lie with the United States'' Smith Family, correct?¡± James felt his heart start to beat faster. ¡°No.¡± Pain wracked his body and he quickly changed his answer, whispering, ¡°Yes.¡± The woman just stared at him for several seconds, eating a few more chips. ¡°Good.¡± Then she paused again, telekinetically grabbed a can of soda from his kitchen, popped it open, and brought it into her right hand before taking a sip. ¡°What are your intentions toward Diana Alvaro?¡± ¡°Marriage.¡± James tried to calm his heart, willing to tell this mysterious woman anything to not feel such pain again. ¡°Why?¡± The woman took another sip of her drink. ¡°She¡¯s the most powerful person on the planet, the most likely to become Sovereign of Earth. Were I to marry her, my future advancement would be easier.¡± ¡°And what is the Smith Family¡¯s stance toward Diana?¡± James wasn''t even thinking about why the woman was asking these questions, as it was obvious. Diana was the most powerful person on the planet and this woman was trying to figure out the relationships between her and the other human forces. Whether this was good or bad for Diana, he had no idea. He just didn¡¯t want to hurt again. ¡°As far as I know, peaceful coexistence, but I wouldn¡¯t know for sure. I¡¯m just a peripheral member, and the leadership of the family are mostly arrogant assholes.¡± The woman smiled at that. ¡°Thank you.¡± She then stood, telekinetically grabbed three more bags of chips from his kitchen along with a whole set of soda cans, put the food all under her arms, and took a single step, completely vanishing from his senses. * * * Francis Francis Davies, practicing his Telekinesis skill with three coins floating in the air in front of him, was walking home from a long day¡¯s work when he saw someone sitting on a bench in the park near his dwelling. She was pretty, with long blond hair, a thin waist, and absolutely mesmerizing blue eyes. As he looked into them, he couldn''t help but compare her to his wife when they¡¯d first met 20 years before, and she didn¡¯t come up short. A mysterious stranger has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the mysterious stranger to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the mysterious stranger
  3. You must follow all the orders of the mysterious stranger
Punishment: Silent Pain Do you accept? Yes/No Anyone who reminded him of his wife couldn¡¯t be bad, so he accepted, but then the lust faded and he realized something very bad was about to happen, the coins he was levitating falling to the ground. ¡°Come sit here and answer my questions honestly.¡± The woman patted the other half of the bench next to her and Francis moved to sit down, utterly terrified. ¡°Please, if you are going to do something to me, leave my wife and daughter out of it.¡± The woman raised an eyebrow at him and laughed. ¡°Relax, Mr. Davies. I¡¯m not out to hurt anyone, just to find information. Sure, if you don¡¯t answer my questions honestly, you¡¯ll experience the worst pain of your life. But, if you do answer honestly, nothing bad will happen to you. And, no matter what, I¡¯m not going to go after your family.¡± Francis nodded, aware that in his muddled state he''d probably revealed more than he''d needed to, possibly putting his wife and daughter in more danger in the future, and he felt ashamed. ¡°First question, you are Francis Davies, head administrator of the Territory of Florin?¡± Francis nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Second question. Who do you serve?¡± ¡°Diana Alvaro.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The woman raised one of her eyebrows again. ¡°That¡¯s a first today. I questioned both the legion commanders in the area and they work for other families.¡± ¡°We¡¯re aware.¡± ¡°Yet you keep them around?¡± ¡°Mr. Li only confirmed his suspicions a few months ago, telling both me and Ms. Alvaro. They aren¡¯t malicious as far as we can tell, just opportunistic, so we¡¯ve continued to make use of their talents. Was our assumption correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded her head, either marking her as a human from any of the majority of countries which used nodding as a sign of agreement, or maybe someone from the Daybreak Empire as, when it came to the cultures of the invasion forces, he was pretty sure that was the only one where nodding had the same meaning. ¡°Interesting. I gave myself away a bit there, didn¡¯t I?¡± The woman smiled at him and her appearance changed, becoming a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair and eyes, the same figure as before, and features that made him think she was bi-racial. ¡°I haven¡¯t been interacting with the outside world much since the tutorial ended, spending more time with our planet¡¯s hidden D rank rather than other earthlings, and it seems I¡¯ve gotten a little rusty.¡± She held out her right hand, which Francis shook. ¡°My name is Li Mila. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Francis felt his heart start to beat faster, but from excitement, not fear. He didn¡¯t recognize her, as he hadn¡¯t been watching the news on his vacation, but Li Mila was Li Dai-Zhao¡¯s granddaughter and a woman who used to date and spy on Diana¡¯s younger brother. She was supposed to be dead, killed by the Chinese Communist Party, but, if she was alive, she would likely be an ally. And, if that was the case, given the powers she¡¯d shown, and the fact she was Li Dai-Zhao¡¯s blood, of course she¡¯d check out everyone around her grandfather and almost sister-in-law before meeting them. ¡°Why do you serve Diana?¡± The woman¡¯s form changed again, back to the blond haired caucasian beauty. ¡°She helped get my daughter back to me, rescuing her from a bad situation, so she has my loyalty just for that, but the more important thing is her personality. She¡¯s not the type who would pursue power in the old world and she¡¯s smart enough to know what she should do herself and what she should delegate. She¡¯s also constantly working to improve herself.¡± Mila nodded, likely not needing an explanation for why those things were important. ¡°Alright. Final question.¡± She smiled in a friendly and relaxed manner. ¡°Why do you wear a goatee that makes you look like a count with six fingers?¡± Francis couldn¡¯t help laughing, remembering Diana asking him the same thing half a year before. ¡°My wife likes it.¡± ¡°Good reason.¡± Mila stood from the bench. ¡°I¡¯ll be going then. Accept the position I¡¯m offering within the next half hour.¡± Li Mila has offered you the position of servant on behalf of the Heavenly Spark Soul King. Will you accept? Yes/No ¡°Um, what is this?¡± Francis was now scared again, as it seemed Dai-Zhao¡¯s granddaughter might have different intentions than helping Florin. ¡°Functionally for you, just a boon.¡± The woman smiled at him. ¡°Accepting that will immediately increase the effectiveness of both your Soul and Attunement stats while also increasing your affinity with all Laws. ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King is an injured D rank crafter who¡¯s been hiding on Earth since before the integration, and he¡¯s now ready to start making his move. Within twenty-four hours, Diana will accept him as her overlord. Then, within the next two weeks, all the Pillars of Conquest on Earth will be captured and all human forces will have surrendered to Diana. I personally will make sure of that.¡± ¡°What if Diana doesn¡¯t capitulate?¡± Francis felt scared, but Li Mila just laughed. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about that, Mr. Davies. Diana has already met with the Heavenly Spark Soul King quite a few times. Sending me over to finalize the deal is just to formalize the arrangement. And you¡¯ll start seeing the benefits of having a D rank overlord almost immediately, so look forward to feeling safe from monsters within your own Territory.¡± Chapter 114: Li Dai-Zhao Diana ¡°You wanted to talk to me?¡± Diana gestured for Mr. Li to sit and he did. They were in the Sydney penthouse apartment Diana had taken over once they¡¯d figured out how to convert mana to electricity, specifically her sitting room. The ceiling was over four meters high and there were three couches arranged around a coffee table next to a set of large wall to ceiling windows showing the setting sun, Diana sitting on the couch to the right of the window while Mr. Li was on the couch to the left. ¡°You need to start worrying more about the other native forces.¡± Mr. Li, as usual when they were alone, was very blunt. ¡°Other than the Psionics and the Ice Giants, the remaining invasion forces are all losing men too fast to last, so Earth¡¯s forces are going to start competing with each other over who will be the planet¡¯s sovereign. ¡°You will need to watch out for assassination attempts even more and, if you desire to become the planet¡¯s lord, you¡¯ll probably have to start politicking more than you have been, even given your own personal power. The African Army and the United Godless State, our two closest allies, are the forces most likely to scatter and factionalize when the invasion forces are gone, and, even if they were fully under your wing, you¡¯d still have a weaker base than the Chinese Communist Party, not to mention the major families and their many talents.¡± ¡°Do you have any specific suggestions?¡± Diana felt a headache coming along. Wars and fighting against invasions she was by this point experienced with. But politics and backstabbing? ¡°Personally work to close some of the invasions the families are struggling against, showing the populace the difference in your power.¡± Mr. Li leaned back into his couch, trying to get as physically far away from her as possible, a mannerism Diana knew meant he was about to say something she wouldn¡¯t like. ¡°There is also always the option of forming a marriage alliance with one of the families.¡± Diana¡¯s aura flared, her immense mana reserves leaking slightly, causing the air to shake. Mr. Li, having leaned back against his seat, unlike the first couple times Diana had lost her temper, didn¡¯t have the mana inside his body shake to a completely disordered state, so it only took him a couple seconds to get his mana back in order. When those two seconds were done, however, both Diana and he realized they were not alone. ¡°I would personally advise leaving romance and politics as separate.¡± Both Diana and Mr. Li turned to the third couch to see a young woman sitting on it. She was blond, with bright blue eyes and the type of figure Diana could only dream of, wearing black leather armor which completely covered her arms, legs, and torso. On her left hand was a dark azure fingerless glove, and in her right hand she was holding what looked to be a half eaten donut. ¡°Who are¡ª¡± Mr. Li began, pulling out a black sword from the spatial storage ring he wore on his left hand. But the woman didn¡¯t let him finish, frowning at him and somehow lifting him into the air and turning him upside down. Then, as the woman turned to look at Diana, Mr. Li¡¯s sword flew out of his hand, followed by his spatial storage ring, and both flew toward the woman¡¯s upraised left hand, disappearing into the subspace of her glove artifact. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong.¡± The woman, whose accent was somewhere between London English and standard American, gestured to Mr. Li with her donut. ¡°But didn¡¯t this old man help almost start nuclear Armageddon on this planet with such advice to one of his own family members?¡± Diana took in the woman, who she was almost certain was her fellow apprentice given it had been three days since she¡¯d set the beacon formation. So far, she could confirm the woman had a stealth skill of some kind and some version of the Telekinesis skill, but the most noticeable thing was the woman¡¯s aura. Diana had the highest Aura stat of anyone on Earth, but she felt completely suppressed when in the presence of the woman in front of her. Shadow has offered you the position of servant on behalf of the Heavenly Spark Soul King. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Will you accept? Yes/No As Diana was confused by the sudden request, the woman explained. ¡°You¡¯re going to accept that in the near future, so I thought I¡¯d send it to you now.¡± The woman, apparently named after the word shadow in Universal Standard, then turned her attention to the old man floating upside down. ¡°As for you, accept the contract I sent you or I¡¯ll start breaking things.¡± Mr. Li turned his head to look at Diana and Diana, who¡¯d gotten a lot better at dealing with surprises over the last year, calmly asked him, ¡°What does your contract say?¡± ¡°That I¡¯m forced to be honest for the next two hours or I¡¯ll feel extreme pain.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Diana smiled at Mr. Li, rather enjoying the not quite shocked, not quite irate, tinge to his aura, even while his face was as controlled as ever. ¡°Why don¡¯t you accept?¡± Mr. Li looked from the woman, to Diana, and then back, likely trying to figure out how they knew each other, but then Diana was pretty sure he accepted, as the woman started smiling. ¡°Alright then.¡± The woman turned Mr. Li right side up and placed him back on his couch. ¡°There¡¯s a game my teacher played with me when we first met called Five Questions, and she said she learned it from you, so you should know the rules. ¡°As you are much, much older than me, I¡¯ll even let you ask first.¡± The words five and questions were both in Universal Standard, while the woman had been speaking English the entire time, which made Diana think they were important, but the biggest hint was how Mr. Li¡¯s aura trembled with rage when they were said. ¡°How did this teacher of yours learn of that game?¡± Mr. Li sounded as calm as ever, but Diana was still pretty sure he was furious, as his normally masterful control over his aura was allowing through hints of rage. ¡°My teacher was watching you during your tutorial. Apparently you went on a bit of a rampage of revenge and told someone about it while torturing them.¡± The woman put the rest of the donut in her mouth and chewed for a few seconds before swallowing. ¡°Who did you kill while not on Earth?¡± Mr. Li was outwardly calm, but his aura still wasn¡¯t fully in control, which was very unlike him. ¡°Zhang Tai-Chen, the trigger man; Huang Zhu-Tong, the corrupt Ministry of State Security official who ordered the hit; and Wang Hao-Ran, the man who bribed Huang Zhu-Tong to give the order. ¡°Who is this teacher of yours?¡± ¡°She has quite a few titles. The Mistress of Plagues. The Godslayer. That Woman Who Blackmailed All The Undead Of The Universe For A Hundred Million Years.¡± The woman smiled as she summoned what looked to be a cheeseburger from the subspace of her fingerless glove artifact and took a bite. Then, when she finished chewing, she continued. ¡°The name you probably know her as is the Yin Yang Sage, ancestor to the human race of Earth. I just call her Nana Xara.¡± The woman took another bite, seeming to quite enjoy it, probably not used to Earth food. Then she asked her next question. ¡°Why did you train your granddaughter to be a spy from such a young age?¡± Mr. Li just stared at her for several seconds and his aura became fully controlled again. ¡°The old world wasn¡¯t kind to women, especially pretty ones with foreign blood. I wanted her to be able to protect herself.¡± He looked up at the ceiling for a second then back at the woman. ¡°After the deaths of my wife and son, I probably also got too invested in my job and treated my granddaughter more like a recruit than a little girl.¡± Diana had already learned Mr. Li had been a wandering secret official throughout most of his granddaughter¡¯s early childhood, going from town to town to city to search out corruption and report it to the state, and he¡¯d brought Mila along, by the time she was five using her as an intelligence asset. At one point, a young Mila was even kidnapped by a human trafficking ring and her training had allowed her to escape on her own, the authorities then able to capture almost everyone. ¡°The Yin Yang Sage, is she a source of protection for you?¡± The woman just stared at Mr. Li in turn, the cheeseburger returning to the subspace in her fingerless glove artifact. ¡°Not really, at least in most cases. She¡¯s been dead for over 2,000 years and doesn¡¯t have a body. She¡¯s a source of knowledge, however, and knowledge is power.¡± The woman took a deep breath. ¡°Why are you serving Diana Alvaro?¡± Mr. Li turned to look at Diana, then back to the woman. His face and aura were both perfectly controlled, but Diana was pretty sure his eyes had been tearing up slightly, and that seemed odd. ¡°You cared about her and her brother, yet he was already dead, so, with my old loyalties having been burnt, I wanted to do what I could to keep her safe.¡± Diana looked over to the woman, whose face and aura were calm in the same way as Mr. Li¡¯s, her mind racing, and she almost missed the question Mr. Li asked. ¡°How did you survive?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± The woman smiled, her face and body transforming into the form of Mr. Li¡¯s granddaughter, only with bright pink irises and maybe an ever so slightly enlarged bust. ¡°Have you been well, grandfather?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mr. Li¡¯s aura was leaking again, but this time there wasn¡¯t rage but a deep sadness, and the tears forming in his eyes started to fall. ¡°If you died, how are you here?¡± ¡°Those of us who died within a month of the integration starting went into a different tutorial and were reborn as monsters. I managed to find a good partner and did rather well, enabling me to become a succubus instead of some kind of inhuman beast. Then, a few days ago, I got back to Earth through a rather complicated process.¡± Mila¡¯s eyes were also watering, but to a much lesser extent than Mr. Li¡¯s. ¡°Do you regret raising me that way?¡± Mr. Li moved forward, over the coffee table, and wrapped his granddaughter in a hug, seemingly surprising her, but Diana was too distracted to really notice how shocked Mila appeared. ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 115: Siblings Reunited Mila Mila had never once been hugged by her grandfather and her conscious mind didn¡¯t know how to react. Her unconscious mind, on the other hand, felt anger and threw the old man off of her with an instinctive use of Telekinesis. But she didn¡¯t control her strength, so, instead of just moving the old man a couple of meters, her telekinetic push rammed him through the room¡¯s window and out into the open air, roughly 200 meters above the ground. Surprised, it took both her and Diana a couple seconds to react and rush to the window, but there they realized the old codger was just fine. He couldn¡¯t fly like them, but he was a decently powerful F rank specializing in shadow magic and the sun was setting. The old man teleported himself from shadow to shadow and he ended up on the ground safely, mostly unharmed. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about Li Mila to anyone for any reason
Punishment: Silent Pain Do you accept? Yes/No Knowing her grandfather well, Mila sent him the contract without chasing after him, and, as expected, he accepted. Also as expected, however, after being thrown out of the top floor window of a 230 meter building, he didn¡¯t come back, so they weren¡¯t going to fix their issues any time soon. * * * Diana A lot of different thoughts were going through Diana¡¯s head. First, Mila¡¯s family was really messed up. Who threw someone off a building just for hugging them? Second, Mila being a succubus made a lot of sense. The status of the System didn¡¯t include it for good reason, but if a charisma stat existed Mila would have a very high score, and it seemed to fit with her skillset of stealth, disguise, and contract magic. She probably even had a charm skill. Third and most important, however, given what Mila had said before her grandfather hugged her, everyone who had died a month before the integration was reborn as a monster, and Aalam would be included among that number. ¡°Is my brother still alive?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mila sat down where Mr. Li had been sitting, though Diana continued to stand by the window. ¡°And he¡¯s on Earth as well. But he¡¯s in a coma.¡± Diana felt her heart rate increase, feeling both excitement and fear at the same time. ¡°It isn¡¯t anything to worry about,¡± Mila assured her. ¡°Your brother has a berserker uniqueness that puts him in a state where his Spirit increases by an entire rank which can last for months. When he exits the state, he then falls unconscious for a long time as well. ¡°This last time, he was in the state for over two months, and he¡¯s only been unconscious for about 23 days, so he¡¯ll likely stay unconscious for a while. We don¡¯t have enough data to really make an estimate.¡± Diana stood up. ¡°I want to see him.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mila stood as well, summoning out a token of some kind from the subspace in the fingerless glove artifact she was wearing. ¡°First, though, you shouldn¡¯t be following someone just because they transformed to look like the woman who betrayed your little brother. Talk to Nana Xara first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Heart still racing, Diana nodded. Then she sent to the Yin Yang Sage, ¡°Evil Ancestor, is this really Mila, and is everything she¡¯s said true?¡± ¡°Evil Ancestor?¡± The Yin Yang Sage sounded mock insulted, but Diana wasn¡¯t in the mood to play around with her. ¡°You purposefully didn¡¯t tell me my brother was alive. That seems kind of evil to me. Is what she¡¯s saying true?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Yin Yang Sage sounded like she¡¯d decided to take the matter seriously, which was a relief. ¡°But there were rules in place by the System so I couldn¡¯t tell you. How does that make me evil?¡± ¡°You could have hinted and led me to figure it out on my own.¡± ¡°But then you wouldn¡¯t have trained as hard.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s change the title. Selfish Evil Ancestor.¡± Diana just ignored the Sage¡¯s response and instead turned her attention toward Mila, ¡°The evil ancestor confirmed it. Where is he?¡± ¡°Tasmania.¡± Mila took one step, disappeared completely from Diana¡¯s senses, and almost instantly reappeared next to her. ¡°We¡¯ll be there in a second.¡± Mila then hugged her and Diana felt spatial element magic surround them. Then the next thing she knew the two of them were standing on what looked to be a portable teleportation platform next to a large lake, the atmospheric mana levels very low, likely due to the teleportation platform. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. What lake, she had no idea. Like most Americans, her knowledge of Australia¡¯s internal geography wasn¡¯t good, and that was even more so for the state of Tasmania. There were mountains rising up all around, with the highest one seemingly to the north, and that was the direction Mila started running. Unable to keep up on foot, Diana gathered cold dark energy into her left palm. Then she emitted the energy and the elementalized mana formed into the shape of a twin-headed serpent made of solid darkness which she started riding through the air. About twenty minutes later, they arrived at a large tent on the mountain, the beasts they¡¯d seen along the way all keeping well clear despite how out in the open it was, high enough to be above the tree line, and there was a man sitting at the entrance. The first thing Diana noticed about him was his size. He was about 6¡¯9¡±, seemingly built out of solid muscle. Second, he obviously wasn¡¯t human. Yes, he had the complexion and facial features of a Scandinavian, but his short hair was lavender and his eyes were reptilian with indigo irises. Finally third, he was definitely not her brother. For one, he was conscious, but, more importantly, he was holding a spear in a relaxed posture like he knew how to use it, and Diana couldn¡¯t imagine her brother choosing any kind of melee combat class. It just wasn¡¯t in his nature. Diana unsummoned the yin spirit and fell a couple feet to the ground next to Mila. ¡°Isaiah, this is Diana.¡± Mila pointed to Diana. ¡°And, Diana, this is Isaiah.¡± Mila was speaking in Universal Standard, which Diana could understand with her Omniglot Reader racial ability, but Diana was more focused on wanting to know who this Isaiah was. ¡°Isaiah is Aalam¡¯s knight and a former member of one of the invasion forces on the planet we were reborn on. And he¡¯s also a dragon.¡± Mila was smiling and Diana¡¯s mind started to race. ¡°Isaiah, you already know who Diana is.¡± Then, before Diana could start asking Isaiah questions, Mila took hold of her hand and guided her into the tent. ¡°A dragon. A real dragon. Mila, is poly¡ª¡± Diana, a lover of the supernatural romance genre before the start of the integration, had so many questions. Why did Isaiah look human if he was a dragon? Did dragons actually know polymorph? Why was a dragon holding a spear? But everything in her brain stopped when she saw the man lying in the tent. Aalam was much, much taller now, maybe 6¡¯4¡±, with long dark blue hair down to his shoulders, and his skin, which he¡¯d previously never taken care of, was flawless. Given he was only wearing a pair of pants and no shirt, his washboard abs and defined musculature, which he¡¯d never had before, were on full display. But the biggest difference was his face. She couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on it, but he somehow looked like a cross between his original appearance and about five different social media stars she¡¯d followed before the integration. ¡°What is that?¡± She turned to look at Mila, who still looked mostly like herself. ¡°An incubus, a Strong Soul Incubus Prince to be precise.¡± Mila smiled at her. ¡°Now imagine him meditating naked on a rock in the middle of a small lake. That¡¯s how I first saw his new appearance.¡± ¡°That must have been great for you.¡± Diana said the words absentmindedly, a bit too focused on the fact her brother was still alive, but it wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d never talked about sex with Mila before, so it wasn¡¯t awkward and instead probably lowered the tension Mila was almost certainly hiding. ¡°Not really. He¡¯d just turned me into a succubus against my will at the time, so I wasn¡¯t quite in the mood to enjoy the view.¡± Mila guided Diana out of the tent and they sat down on a pair of rocks a couple dozen meters away. ¡°Remember how I said he was in a berserker state? Well, the first time he was in that state was all throughout the tutorial and, after trying to commit suicide, he thought he was dreaming.¡± The joy of Aalam being alive finally faded and Diana remembered how he died. ¡°Is he okay now?¡± ¡°Probably not.¡± Mila looked up, staring out at the beautiful sky where the sun was about to set. ¡°During the tutorial he thought everything was a dream, so, being your brother, he went for an optimized build, and that build requires him to be an incubus but to not have sex or to farm his own lust filled souls to eat until he reaches D rank, so I do the farming for him.¡± Quite a few thoughts started to rush through Diana¡¯s head, but Mila quickly squashed most of them. ¡°At the beginning, I just killed a few mating animals. Then I got a charm skill and things became much, much easier. Your brother also managed to get a racial ability which gives him a separate soulstructure for storing souls during his racial advancement to F rank, while our bond is strong enough for me to send souls to him from over half a planet away, so it¡¯s almost like grocery shopping by this point. ¡°The important bit is he was effectively stuck with me as his only support on a foreign planet where he didn¡¯t speak the language, so he didn¡¯t feel comfortable actually having the talk and breaking up with me until over a year after the tutorial finished and he entered into his berserking state a second time, afraid I¡¯d abandon him. ¡°Then, during the Trial Tower¡ª¡± Mila turned to look at Diana. ¡°Do you know about the Trial Tower?¡± ¡°The basics, yes.¡± Diana nodded. ¡°Well, through the way my powers work and my Laws, I was able to fake myself as a native of the planet we were on and take Aalam as my familiar to bring him into the Trial Tower with me. There, in the second round of the individual tournament section at the end, this asshole elf tortured Aalam to death right before Aalam¡¯s berserker state ended, and he might be somewhat messed up from that as well.¡± Mila smiled, looking up at the sky again, which Diana found weird until Mila kept talking. ¡°Though he might not be. He quoted Obi-Wan from A New Hope when he died and managed to take the elf with him. It was kind of epic.¡± Diana looked over at the tent, then to Isaiah standing in front of it, then back to Mila. ¡°Is there anything we can do to help him wake up faster?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila stood up. ¡°We can take over the planet.¡± Diana looked at her with a confused expression and Mila smiled. ¡°Aalam and I earned enough points in the tutorial to each have a second uniqueness awakened and Aalam¡¯s second uniqueness is called Prince, a royal line uniqueness. Has Nana Xara explained that uniqueness line to you?¡± Diana shook her head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, basically, so long as Aalam¡¯s Territory is large enough and he is within it, his stats can be tripled in a way different from other boosts, multiplicative rather than additive when interacting with other increases in stat effectiveness.¡± Diana felt her jaw drop. That was so broken, more so than even her Nascent Energy Converter racial ability. ¡°First, though, we need this area to be part of your Territory.¡± Mila summoned an array disk, about the size, shape, and thickness of a manhole cover, from within the subspace of her fingerless glove artifact and handed it over to Diana. The slab of metal was covered with runes of all twelve elements and, with her Omniglot Reader racial ability, Diana could read that the runes were all about claiming and expanding, though they weren¡¯t clean enough to be translated as an entire sentence. ¡°Mark that with the energy from your Lord skill and then pour enough mana in to activate it.¡± Mila gave the direction and Diana followed it, surprised at how much mana the array disk took. It wasn¡¯t much to her, but it would probably take 5 normal Earth mages all their mana to activate. Mila then took the array disk back and tossed it like a frisbee to land next to the tent Aalam was in. ¡°Have fun defending the area from monsters for the next twenty-four hours, Isaiah.¡± ¡°Monsters?¡± Diana felt she was missing something. ¡°Yeah. The array disks Aalam made help claim about 17 square kilometers of area over 24 hours, but they attract monsters during the process.¡± Mila had a pretty big grin on her face, though her aura was unreadable given how powerful it was. ¡°But none of the monsters on Earth have grown to E rank yet, so we can leave claiming this area to Isaiah. Summon your yin spirit and let¡¯s head south.¡± ¡°South.¡± Noticing Mila seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, Diana summoned Dioscuri, her two-headed snake spirit, and both she and Mila mounted it as they started to hear the sounds of roaring beasts. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to go slaughter some Ice Giants.¡± Chapter 116: Honest Conversation Mila, Isaiah, and Aalam had arrived on Earth somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, but there hadn¡¯t been any land anywhere within sight, so they hadn¡¯t known where they were. Isaiah carrying Aalam on his back and Mila by herself then ran in opposite directions, Mila¡¯s high Agility along with her Shadow Stride skill not allowing her to run through the air like Isaiah but at least enabling her to run over water. Mila had hit land first, arriving on the west coast of Canada, and this had allowed Isaiah to change direction, them having decided to set up camp in Tasmania from the start. Instead of immediately going to see Diana, however, Mila decided to go to each Pillar of Conquest and use the leftover Spacetime Sealing Scrolls stolen from the invasion forces on Hira to block any of the invasion forces from sending out people or information for the next fifteen days. First she traveled to the two active pillars in North America, then the one in Europe, and then the three in Asia, Shadow Stride allowing her to easily get within the 129 meters of the pillars required by the scrolls. Then, instead of running all the way to Antarctica, she used her teleportation token to teleport to the platform Isaiah had set up in Tasmania and ran down from there. From questioning and then killing a few members of each of the other invasion forces, she¡¯d heard the Ice Giants were acting peaceful, which most of the other forces seemed to think abnormal, so, in Antarctica, after sealing the Ice Giants¡¯ pillar as well, she¡¯d spent a bit more time looking around. There were forces which would send their young to worlds undergoing apocalypse style integrations and choose to stay out of all conquest activities, just aiming to obtain the benefits of the better cultivation environment, but the Ice Giants weren¡¯t one of them. They were warlike and the merchant union sponsoring the invasion force was known for things like slaughtering entire races to take and sell their stuff. Mila had found a few giant warehouses under the ice filled with ice path water element resources, and this allowed her to figure out what they were doing. The Ice Giants weren¡¯t not competing with the other forces and the natives because they wanted to be peaceful. They were doing so because it was profitable. Even with everyone starting at G rank like normal, the natives on Earth were on average much stronger than usual for E rank worlds undergoing an apocalypse style integration, and the only reason they hadn¡¯t wiped out all the invasion forces within the first year was their own internal bickering. Were the Ice Giants to compete, it was pretty obvious they would lose. Yet they had an entire continent on an E rank world undergoing the integration process effectively to themselves, so they were strip mining the continent for all it was worth, putting that wealth in warehouses, and would then leave after 2 years, taking all that wealth away with them. To the human race on Earth, they were actually the biggest threat, as a couple more months of their activities would irreparably alter the elemental balance on Earth for the rest of time. It wouldn¡¯t be a major effect, but it would make cultivating on Earth less efficient than on other E rank planets for all but fire element cultivators. Were they to be stopped within a few days, however, the damage they¡¯d done would completely disappear over the course of just a few months, and, as this night was the time of a religious festival in their culture, they¡¯d all be gathered in one place, making it the best time to attack them. ¡°Those giant white furballs.¡± Diana almost growled after Mila finished her explanation, looking over at Mila from the other head of her two-headed yin spirit currently flying over the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. Then, like Mila had been, she communicated through the paired telepathic communication ring Mila had given her instead of speaking out loud. ¡°Even the Psionics don¡¯t want to damage the planet.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why we¡¯re going to kill all of them tonight.¡± Diana didn¡¯t answer for a few seconds and, from her aura, Mila could tell the idea of killing every member of an invasion force still felt wrong to her, but then she sighed. ¡°Thus is war. Alright.¡± From this statement, Mila could tell a lot about what type of mental growth Diana had been forced to undergo during the last year. She was the leader of a force which had already destroyed three invasions, so she wasn¡¯t the same cheerful lawyer Mila had known before her death. ¡°But we still have a couple hours until we get there.¡± Diana looked over at her with a serious expression. ¡°So, until we do, let¡¯s have the talk you¡¯ve been avoiding. What are your current intentions toward my brother?¡± * * * Mila took a couple seconds to answer. Then she started to say a lot of nonsense instead of getting to the main point. ¡°We¡¯re in kind of a weird situation. Aalam got to choose my race, remember, and he also got to choose my bloodline. My most powerful skills, Telekinesis and Advanced Multi-Mind, are both shadowed versions of his, something my second class allows me to do. And, when he advances in race, I can advance to that same race without meeting the requirements. I also get to use any free stats he gains which he can¡¯t use himself, of which there have already been a lot. ¡°Fundamentally, at the moment, I¡¯m a lot like a Warlock from D&D, and he is my patron. Were I not to help him to the best of my ability, I would be doing myself a disservice.¡± Diana looked over at her, allowing Dioscuri full control over where they were flying. ¡°Alright. Here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do. You¡¯re going to make a contract between us where we both have to be honest for one hour or face pain. Then we¡¯re going to ask each other all the questions we¡¯ve wanted to know and clear the air.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. They were both apprentices of the Yin Yang Sage and, from what she¡¯d gathered so far, Aalam would need Mila at least until he was D rank. Most likely, they¡¯d be working together for years, possibly in the future even measuring in the millions, so it would be good if they could get along. Mila looked over at her, seemed to think, and then sent her a contract. Shadow has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. For one standard hour, neither you nor Shadow can tell a lie
Punishment: Silent Pain Do you accept? Yes/No Diana¡¯s Omniglot Reader ability activated while Mila was looking at her, the way she was blinking saying ¡®There is a hidden clause¡¯ in some language of the universe. So, Diana instantly chose the no option and glared at her former friend. ¡°What the hell, Mila? What sort of clause were you going to add?¡± ¡°Oh, so you have Omniglot Reader as well?¡± Mila¡¯s face and aura remained impassive. ¡°I was trying to show off what my skill can do, but I guess you have the right counter. I was just going to add a confidentiality clause.¡± Shadow has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. For one standard hour, neither you nor Shadow can tell a lie
  2. Any information shared during the next hour must stay confidential and cannot be shared without the explicit permission of the other party
Punishment: Silent Pain Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Evil Ancestor, is she telling the truth?¡± Diana sent to the Sage. ¡°Can we stop with the Evil Ancestor title?¡± The Sage still sounded mock annoyed. ¡°I gave your brother knowledge I haven¡¯t even shared with you or Mila and helped him be the first person with the Id uniqueness to ever survive a tutorial. Then I helped him get back to you as soon as physically possible. How is that deserving of being called evil?¡± Diana thought about it for a second, fully realizing the Sage had just heavily hinted that Mila had been underplaying the seriousness of Aalam¡¯s berserker uniqueness, and felt a bit thankful as a result. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m going to use Mila¡¯s term for you, Nana Xara. Agreed?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The faked annoyance was gone and the Sage, Nana Xara, was back to her usual chipper self. ¡°But you can¡¯t keep not having sex with eligible bachelors just because I can watch.¡± ¡°You¡¯re disgusting.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look away. But you should really get some at some point. You¡¯re obviously suffering from a lot of stress.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s tone was playful and Diana was already regretting changing her form of address. ¡°There is an over 99% chance Mila is telling the truth. Her skill doesn¡¯t have any way to stop you from seeing the real contract after it is established, and I don¡¯t think she wants to kill you.¡± ¡°So, you think there¡¯s a one percent chance she wants to kill me?¡± ¡°Well, I wanted to kill you for the whole Evil Ancestor thing. She might be more protective of my feelings than you are.¡± Diana didn¡¯t even grace that with a response, instead sending a message to Mila. ¡°Sorry, I was chatting with the Evil Ancestor to see if you were trustworthy.¡± ¡°I noticed.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Diana accepted the contract and then asked the first question, deciding to try and put Mila off balance. ¡°What was the thing my brother did when you were together that you liked the most?¡± Mila looked over at her and raised an eyebrow before looking forward again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer that question.¡± ¡°Oh, right. That¡¯s an option within the rules, isn¡¯t it.¡± Diana frowned, looked at Mila, and then looked forward again. ¡°How emotionally attached were you to my brother before you were killed?¡± Mila took a deep breath and then took a few seconds to answer. ¡°Very. So my statement can¡¯t get around the rules, let me clarify. I loved Aalam, definitely more than anyone else in my life. But, as he pointed out during our first conversation after he exited his berserker state, I didn¡¯t love him enough to tell him I¡¯d been spying on him and stop. ¡°Have you had any relationships since the integration started?¡± Diana started to smirk. ¡°No. I had two guys pursue me, but both of them reminded me of you, and it was kind of a turn off.¡± Mila laughed out loud, and Diana asked her next question. ¡°Have your feelings for Aalam changed since your death and rebirth?¡± ¡°Yes. Losing everything, you kind of realize what you had, and I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone better out there.¡± Mila paused for a second. ¡°But I can¡¯t deny a magical powerhouse is a bit more of a turn on than a super scientist.¡± ¡°He¡¯s also much better looking.¡± ¡°I¡¯m less shallow than you, Di.¡± ¡°A person reborn as a succubus will be transformed into her own ideal of beauty,¡± Nana Xara interjected, and Diana got the impression she¡¯d sent it to the both of them. ¡°Vanity and shallowness are two different things.¡± Mila¡¯s face hardened. ¡°Also, if you are going to spy, do so silently.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Nana Xara sent over the sound of a zipper being zipped and didn¡¯t speak again for the rest of the conversation. Then Mila asked her next question. ¡°How do you see me?¡± ¡°I hated you quite a bit for a while, even after I learned you¡¯d died.¡± Diana¡¯s voice over the telepathy took on a more serious tone. ¡°But then I met your grandfather and it kind of put things in perspective. You¡¯re a lot like him, an excellent liar yet extremely loyal at the same time. ¡°I think you¡¯re someone who doesn¡¯t want to be alone and who doesn¡¯t want power, but, at the same time, you thrive on bringing order to chaos, which makes you a good match for Aalam. He naturally generates sources of power¡ªbe it inventions in the old world or, if I know my brother, wondrous artifacts and new spells in the new one¡ªyet he has little desire to actually do anything with them and so he leaves only chaos in his wake. He needs someone like you in his life to keep him from getting himself killed or accidentally starting a nuclear war, and I wouldn¡¯t be against you getting together again if he ever wants to.¡± Even while she¡¯d been stealing from him, Mila¡¯s presence had greatly boosted Aalam¡¯s productivity, helping with a lot of the small things like ordering supplies and correspondence with business partners so Aalam could purely focus on what he was best at. And, for the bigger things, like contracts with companies, while Diana had been his lawyer, Mila had been much better at understanding the true worth of Aalam¡¯s inventions, having a much better feel of what the companies he worked with would be willing to spend. Purely from a monetary standpoint, having Mila around had been a huge boon, and that wasn¡¯t even accounting for how happy her brother had been, while Diana had always gotten the sense Mila was happy as well, something she was now sure hadn¡¯t been faked. ¡°But you¡¯re definitely also really damaged and I would recommend talking to someone other than our teacher, as she¡¯s a lot like you, only with millions more years of baggage. ¡°I¡¯d advise looping in Mr. Davies and talking to him. That man is a lot like you and your grandfather, only far more stable.¡± Mila nodded, and with Diana¡¯s Perception stat it was easy to see tears start to form in her eyes. So, when asking her next question, Diana made it less serious. ¡°Okay, so that Isaiah guy. He¡¯s really hot. What¡¯s his story?¡± Chapter 117: End of the Ice Giants Diana Having heard all about Mila¡¯s experiences in the tutorial and on the planet called Hira, Diana was feeling a lot more thankful her brother had managed to get someone like her in his life. He definitely wouldn¡¯t have survived without her and Diana was quite happy the two would at least continue working together in the near future. When she heard about what that demigod had done after the tutorial, however, Diana wanted to rip the woman¡¯s head off. How dare such a spoiled brat block Aalam¡¯s path to power. No wonder she got the impression Mila was in a rush. There was a six year time limit. When they landed on Antarctica near the Ice Giants¡¯ Pillar of Conquest, Diana dismissed Dioscuri. Then, as planned, she got on Mila¡¯s back and Mila started running, the stealth effect from Mila¡¯s skill covering her as well. A couple minutes later they arrived at the Ice Giants¡¯ village surrounding their Pillar of Conquest, a series of gothic buildings grown from the ice, and Mila ran right in, none of the Ice Giants able to spot her. The Ice Giants looked like the classic depiction of a yeti, white-furred and ape like, their average height about the same as her brother¡¯s knight, and all roughly 12,000 of them who had come to Earth were clustered around the main square of their town. There they had some kind of church, and, from what Diana could tell, they were all taking turns painting its walls with what looked like the blood of monsters evolved from penguins. With them distracted and Mila¡¯s stealth skills, they were able to easily make it to the Pillar of Conquest, and Diana then lightly brushed her hand against it as they rushed past. You have touched the Pillar of Conquest of one of the invasion forces into your world. The process of conquest will take half a day, during which time you must protect the pillar from the original invasion force as well as any other challengers. Would you like to begin the process of conquest? Yes/No Diana chose yes, and then she summoned both Dioscuri, who slithered over to the Pillar of Conquest and wrapped himself around it, as well as his sister Helen, Diana¡¯s Yang spirit, who took the form of a pegasus and went to attack the Ice Giants where they were all clustered up around the church. Neither spirit truly had any gender, both born from her own soul and brought to life by her magic, and technically yin was feminine while yang was masculine, but Diana didn¡¯t really care. Her yin spirit favored the form of a two-headed serpent, which she felt seemed like the type of stupid choice a boy would make, while her yang spirit preferred the form of a winged horse, like from My Little Pony, which, even though the original Pegasus from myth was a stallion, to her seemed more feminine. She¡¯d named her yin spirit after Greek Mythology¡¯s famous pair of twins, Castor and Pollux, together known as the Dioscuri, and then named her yang spirit after their sister, the famous woman the Trojan War was fought over. Dioscuri, as a yin spirit, could wield the elements of water, darkness, and death, his form black and shadowy and his temperature cold. He could shoot out beams of pure death mana from his mouths, emit an aura of freezing cold, and enter into stealth almost as effective as Mila¡¯s. Made up of pure mana, he was nearly impossible for anyone below C rank to destroy and, to disperse his essence so he¡¯d take a few hours to reform, one would have to inject his body with yang aligned energy or hit him with a very powerful attack containing at least the same amount of energy he was made from, something quite difficult given he was formed from all the mana of one of Diana¡¯s two Colossal sized mana wells, empowered by Diana¡¯s effective Magic stat of over 10,000. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Helen on the other hand wielded the elements of fire, light, and life. Her favored form of attack was to create little balls of flame that looked like miniature suns and then shoot them at her enemies like bullets. She was also a master of illusion, usually making copies of herself as decoys and distractions. And she could heal with a touch, something which had saved Diana¡¯s life twice already. The two spirits were powerful, but the biggest weakness of a summoner was the summoner herself. Diana¡¯s skill slots consisted of the two Legendary grade skills for her spirits, one Legendary grade skill to enhance her spirits further, one Legendary grade skill so her mana channels didn¡¯t fry from having such concentrated yin and yang energy flowing through them, and an Epic grade version of the Lord skill which would be advanced when she became sovereign of the planet, while her last skill slot was still empty. She didn¡¯t have a defensive skill, a movement skill, or even a detection skill, so she herself was vulnerable to ambush, couldn¡¯t defend herself, and couldn¡¯t even run away. By this point, just based on stats, she was by far the most powerful person on Earth before Mila, Aalam, and Isaiah arrived, yet she¡¯d never been able to show off her full power because A, she couldn¡¯t risk knowledge of her power getting off world, and B, she was quite easy to kill. On Mila¡¯s back and completely out of her enemies¡¯ sight, however, she could let loose, and Helen especially was drawing on the full force of her mana, firing fiery bullets at such speed it was like they¡¯d been shot from a machine gun. The Ice Giants, mostly warriors or ice mages, tried to defend themselves, but their defensive skills, artifacts, and ice walls, due to the sheer difference in stats, could only slightly slow down the fire bullets. Some of them tried to rush for the pillar, but they met an even worse end, hit by beams of pure death from Dioscuri and having their bodies forcibly rotted to death. A few of the brighter Ice Giants tried to flee from the village, but they didn¡¯t make it very far. Eight clones of Mila hidden in some kind of mist, completely obscuring her identity, flew out from Mila¡¯s body and entered into stealth as well. Then, any of the Ice Giants who tried to flee silently had their necks twisted by Telekinesis, killed almost effortlessly. Mila¡¯s true body also took a pair of pistols out of the subspace of the fingerless glove artifact Diana now knew to be Aalam¡¯s main weapon, and she silently disabled all of the stronger Ice Giants, allowing Helen and Dioscuri to kill even faster. In less than 7 minutes, the battle, if you could call it that, was over, and Mila put Diana down. Then they took the next four hours to loot the bodies, burn all the corpses in a somewhat respectful funeral pyre, and loot the village, gaining way more resources than from the other invasion forces Diana had destroyed, the Ice Giants having taken so much from Earth¡¯s fifth largest continent. Mila then gave Diana a whole set of Territory expanding array disks, hugged her, and left, rushing off to deal with the other forces on the planet. Meanwhile, Diana climbed up to sit on top of the Ice Giants¡¯ Pillar of Conquest and, while Dioscuri and Helen kept her safe, took the time to try and advance her Law Larvae of Flesh and Necrosis. Then, after eight more hours, the Pillar of Conquest was hers. Destroy the Invasion IX (Epic) Completed! Personal completion percentage: 100% There were no escapees among the invasion¡¯s forces. You solo-killed the leader of the invasion. You solo-killed all three generals of the invasion. Calculating. Rewards: All stats +12 One choice of F rank skill orb up to Legendary grade One choice of F rank artifact up to Legendary grade For the skill orb, Diana chose the last skill she and Nana Xara had planned for her class, Spirit Avatar (F-Legendary), a skill which would allow her spirits to merge with her to let her fight with their powers. This was the true cornerstone skill of her class, and Diana¡¯s own body would no longer be her weakness. Then, for the Legendary grade artifact, she chose something called Camoran¡¯s 97th Puzzle Book. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it did, but apparently it would be useful for Aalam¡¯s training in crafting, and Aalam and Mila had gotten way too many points in the Trial Tower, so any other Legendary grade artifact they could need Mila could just buy. Learning the skill, she then flew back to Tasmania at full speed on Dioscuri, and, when she arrived, she saw Isaiah fighting monsters. His skin was covered with purple magical scales from some boosting skill and he was literally running through the air at any beast stupid enough to get within a kilometer of Aalam¡¯s tent, killing each one with a single stab of his spear. She just hovered above and admired for a few minutes. Then she had Dioscuri fly down next to the tent, nodded to Isaiah when he looked over at her, and entered. There she saw Aalam still sleeping and she left the puzzle book next to his bed, kissed him on the forehead, and then finally accepted Mila¡¯s request to take him as her overlord. Nothing special happened, and Diana couldn¡¯t even feel the magical connection, her not being in her Territory and not being an expert on bonds like Mila or Aalam, but she felt a lot more relaxed then she had in a long, long time. Her little brother was alive and he was doing well, with good people around him to keep him safe even if she couldn¡¯t always do so herself, and, with him back, she wasn¡¯t facing the cruel universe by herself anymore. Smiling, she left the tent, summoned Dioscuri, and started flying back to Sydney. Chapter 118: Chaos Human Mila With Diana accepting Aalam as her overlord, Mila had access to Diana¡¯s status, and it brought up a lot of questions. Name: Diana Alvaro Level: 18 Race: Chaos Human (F-Heroic) Bloodline: Primordial Titan (Empyrean) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) Silver Soul (Legendary) Miracle Summoner (Legendary) Lady¡¯s Aura (Heroic) Class: Yin Yang Summoner (F-Legendary) Skills Balance of Dualism (F-Legendary) 92% mastered Yang Spirit (F-Legendary) 88% mastered Yin Spirit (F-Legendary) 88% mastered Spirit Enhancement (F-Legendary) 86% mastered Lord (F-Epic) 100% mastered Spirit Avatar (F-Legendary) 2% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Spark - High Frost - High Day - High Night - High Flesh - Middle Necrosis - Middle Stats Strength: 808 Agility: 880 Endurance: 1064 Toughness: 1064 Vitality: 1064 Perception: 952 Magic: 3104 Spirit: 952 Soul: 2376 Aura: 613 Attunement: 469 Luck: 496 Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 6 Huge + 2 Colossal Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Magic Princess Yin Yang Queen Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 6.25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 12.5%. Mila had already known about Diana¡¯s uniquenesses. Magic Princess, a Fabled grade uniqueness, increased Diana¡¯s effective magic stat by 200% and Yin Yang Queen, a Mythic grade uniqueness, increased Diana¡¯s affinity with fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death element Laws by 700%. Together with her two Colossal and six Huge mana wells, no matter what stats Diana had she would be a powerhouse. It also wasn¡¯t surprising her Laws were more advanced than either Mila or Aalam. Even with quite a bit less Attunement and no multi-mind skill, a plus 700% to affinities was just broken. What was surprising, however, were Diana¡¯s race and bloodline. Chaos Human (F-Heroic) A human born from primal chaos or a human who has traced the power of their ancestry back to the very beginning Racial Abilities: 5 No order related abilities Max stats: Strength: 4320 Agility: 4320 Endurance: 4320 Toughness: 4320 Vitality: 4320 Perception: 4320 Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Magic: 4320 Spirit: 4320 Soul: 4320 Aura: 4320 Attunement: 4320 Luck: 4320 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Endurance: 10 Toughness: 10 Vitality: 10 Perception: 10 Magic: 10 Spirit: 10 Soul: 10 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Reach level 36 and then absorb the same amount of primal energy required to get you there Requirements: ??? Mila and Aalam had talked about the various human races and Chaos Human was one of the rarest and most powerful of the Heroic grade human variants, with the highest natural affinities for all Laws. If their tutorial had instead allowed them to be reborn as cultivators, getting Chaos Human¡ªor ideally Strong Soul Chaos Human¡ªwould have been one of Aalam¡¯s ideal races for F rank, yet that was his sister¡¯s race for likely far less resources than had been required to evolve Aalam into the only Epic grade Strong Soul Incubus Prince, as Diana¡¯s bloodline made advancing race grades much easier. Primordial Titan (Empyrean) Humanity was created in their image Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 25% The flow of all resources is much faster, with much better burst potential Cultivation is sped up by 6 times All stats +12 per level, Scalable Less resources and achievements are required for advancing the grade of a human line race when advancing its rank Her bloodline was Empyrean grade, a grade higher than Mythic, and it was a very, very powerful bloodline, with multiple incredibly useful effects. It was also something Diana had almost certainly been born with, and, given Aalam was her full biological brother, a bloodline Aalam had almost certainly been born with as well. ¡°Nana Xara,¡± Mila sent as she continued running through South America, ¡°is the population of Earth even more naturally gifted than you led me to believe?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Nana Xara sounded like her normal cheerful self and, if she had a body, she¡¯d definitely be smiling. ¡°Most of Earth¡¯s population is descended from my force and the talents from various B, A, and Divine rank forces I destroyed, but natural born Ideal Humans like Diana are very rare in the universe. Even Isaiah¡¯s mother only managed to advance to Ideal Human when she raised her race to D rank, allowing him to awaken that bloodline. ¡°Earth¡¯s tutorial only had 37 individuals born with Epic grade human variant races, and no one else with a Legendary grade race. No one but Diana even had a Mythic grade bloodline. When it came to races and bloodlines, the forces I destroyed just weren¡¯t that powerful.¡± ¡°Diana and Aalam¡¯s mother wasn¡¯t a native of Earth, but some human from the wider universe and she somehow came to Earth, had two children with the most talented of my descendants, and then disappeared. I have no idea why she came or where she went, and Diana doesn¡¯t seem to know either. "Her and Aalam¡¯s father might have had more information, but I can confirm he died in a car crash a couple years later.¡± Mila took a couple minutes to absorb that information. Then she looked at Diana¡¯s racial abilities. Omniglot Reader (Legendary): You can understand all non-magical and low-magical languages in both written and spoken form. Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary): Any extra stats which would be lost due to the stat¡¯s limit having been reached instead become free stats. Silver Soul (Legendary): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul stat by 25%. Miracle Summoner (Legendary): Increase the power of summoning category skills Lady¡¯s Aura (Heroic): Increase the effectiveness of the Aura stat by 50%. Other than Miracle Summoner, every racial ability Diana had was of a line Aalam had also received the chance to awaken, the last one even after he was reborn and had advanced to a Strong Soul Incubus Prince, and that was notable to Mila. ¡°Nana Xara, I don¡¯t believe you have no guesses as to who Aalam and Diana¡¯s mother might have been, but we¡¯ll get to that later. First, what are the rules when it comes to awakening racial abilities?¡± ¡°And there¡¯s my Mila.¡± Nana Xara started laughing. ¡°First, awakening a racial ability is an inherently random process, with most cultivators having many, many racial ability lines they could awaken abilities from, but what abilities are most likely to appear is heavily dependent on race, bloodline, family, and personal inclination. Second, while both you and Aalam died and changed your race, in practice that isn¡¯t much different than a normal racial advancement, so the family and personal inclination aspects didn¡¯t change for either of you. ¡°Among humans, especially the normal variants which don¡¯t strongly lean in any direction, the family aspect is often times quite important, being the biggest differentiator between clans. My husband, for example, had the Omniglot Reader racial ability, so, while it is a quite rare ability in the universe, it is a fairly common ability on Earth. ¡°Nascent Energy Converter and the line of abilities which affects the Aura stat, however, are both even rarer in the universe and unheard of on Earth except for Diana and Aalam, so that is a pretty big hint to who their mother might be, as you expected. ¡°That family aspect of a soul, however, has no effect on Law talent whatsoever. That¡¯s much more individual. The reason Aalam is better with Laws than you, despite the two of you having the exact same affinities, is purely due to who he is and the way he thinks, not because he was born with more gifts.¡± Mila decided to completely ignore the last part, even though it had been very much part of the reason she¡¯d originally asked the question. ¡°So, in practice, does the System affect the choices? Or does it just help guide a cultivator¡¯s energy to awaken the desired ability?¡± ¡°I can neither confirm nor deny?¡± The cheerful way Nana Xara said the words, to Mila, completely confirmed her guess that the System just helped guide the energy, not fully controlling it inside a cultivator¡¯s body. ¡°In that case, why does Luck seem to affect the grade of the racial ability choices?¡± ¡°Awakening a racial ability is a very random process, affected by countless ever changing variables related to a cultivator¡¯s soul. Why wouldn¡¯t a stat that represents the confluence of good fortune affect such inherently chaotic magic? That¡¯s the type of natural magic the Luck stat affects most.¡± Right. Mila had started to think of the Luck stat mostly in relation to the System, as the biggest uses she¡¯d seen from the stat were in things like getting good stages in the Trial Tower, the side with more Luck always having an advantage. But the true use of the stat, or what the stat represented, was usually seen in relation to gaining positive effects from natural magic. It was pretty much useless when dealing with other cultivators, but in those limited cases where it applied, such as the awakening of racial abilities, the results of high Luck could be huge. ¡°So, who do you think Aalam and Diana¡¯s mother was?¡± As Mila made her way into the heart of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the capital of the area controlled by South America¡¯s Garcia Clan, she went back to the main point of their discussion. ¡°I truly don''t have a good guess.¡± Nana Xara sounded like she rather liked not knowing, which made sense to Mila given Nana Xara was effectively treating their lives as a final story she was reading and spoilers generally weren¡¯t fun, even if Mila, at least for this case, would have liked to have them all. ¡°Them both having access to an Aura increasing racial ability line, and the fact Aalam awoke to a royal line uniqueness, would normally lead me to think their mother was a princess from one of the major human empires, but I¡¯d never heard of Diana¡¯s bloodline before the tutorial and Nascent Energy Converter is not an ability I¡¯ve ever heard of any of the universe¡¯s human royal families having, so I can¡¯t make a good guess as to which one, if any.¡± Mila already knew humans were the most populous race in the universe, with the most gods rising from their numbers, and thus many, many royal families, so she didn¡¯t think Nana Xara was lying. Her teacher most likely really didn¡¯t know. Sighing to herself about having yet another possible future disaster she¡¯d have to deal with, Mila checked the last remaining part of Diana¡¯s status, her class. Yin Yang Summoner (F-Legendary) You are a master of spirits and one with the forces of yin and yang Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Magic, Soul, and Aura stats by 25% Raise affinity with fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death element Laws by 50% Markedly increase the power of magic category summoning skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Martial Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 8 Agility: 12 Endurance: 8 Toughness: 8 Vitality: 8 Perception: 16 Magic: 36 Spirit: 16 Soul: 24 Aura: 8 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: Middle grade Law Eggs of the fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death elements, the Balance of Dualism (G-Legendary) skill, the Yang Spirit (G-Legendary) skill, the Yin Spirit (G-Legendary) skill, Magic greater than 72, Soul greater than 36, Aura greater than 36 As expected, it was a powerful combat class, and thankfully it didn¡¯t seem like it would be that difficult for Diana to keep advancing as it was unlikely progressing her Laws and increasing her stats would be much of a bottleneck. ¡°One last thing, Mila.¡± Nana Xara mentioned, almost sounding like what she was about to say was an afterthought, scaring Mila as a result. ¡°Given Diana¡¯s race and bloodline, her heart, brain, and other body parts would make great cultivation resources for pretty much any human cultivator up to C rank, so if you could help make sure she hides the true extent of her race and bloodline it would be much appreciated.¡± Mila almost stumbled, but then she sighed and added protecting the secrets of Diana¡¯s race and bloodline to her ever growing list of responsibilities and snuck into the Garcia clan¡¯s main compound to have a good chat with their leader. Chapter 119: A lot of Work in the Future Diana Diana looked down at Sydney from the top floor of one of the city¡¯s super tall buildings, a floor completely taken over by a conference room, and took a second to marvel at human engineering. Most of the animals on Earth had either died or begun to change upon the integration starting, becoming monsters and absorbing primal energy from the universe to rise from G to F rank, yet almost all major cities on Earth still had their skyscrapers and other large buildings. Granted, Earth¡¯s monster population was apparently quite low compared to other worlds which underwent apocalypse style integrations, humans having taken over most of the land while sea monsters hadn¡¯t yet started to come out of the depths. And no monsters had reached E rank given the limited amount of time since the integration started. But still, Diana had expected the world to be far more destroyed after a year than it had been, and it was a pleasant surprise this wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°So, Diana, are you going to answer the question? Who is this Heavenly Spark Soul King and why have you agreed to enter into a servant relationship with him?¡± Nitya Chakrabarti was the head of the first legion and, a powerful wind mage, she¡¯d flown back to Sydney upon noticing the Territory they¡¯d claimed in Pakistan had a new overlord. A software developer originally from India, she was the most powerful subordinate Diana had, with a Legendary grade race and Epic grade class, but she was also a friend from before the integration as well, one of Mila¡¯s former roommates at Harvard. ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King is a powerful crafter who, by himself, could quite easily kill every living being on Earth.¡± Diana turned from the window and smiled at everyone there, from Mr. Li and Mr. Davies, to her three legion heads, to the high level members of the administrative staff which kept her Territory running smoothly. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have much interest in power, but he does have a skill which empowers him based on the size of the Territory he controls. ¡°Given I don¡¯t have such a skill, and the benefits and protection he can provide, I didn¡¯t see much point in refusing the offer.¡± ¡°What sort of benefits?¡± Mr. Davies, who Mila had already talked to and thus already knew a bit more about Aalam¡¯s fake identity, asked the important question to make the conversation flow without distractions. ¡°First, everyone should have noticed my Territory now provides an increased affinity to all Laws, which I¡¯m led to believe is something quite rare in the wider universe. I myself also get an even bigger benefit in the form of a boon, as will anyone else the Heavenly Spark Soul King accepts due to the nature and power of his Lord line skill. More important, however, to monsters my Territory now feels as if it is the domain of a much more powerful entity than me, one they know to actively avoid. ¡°The number of monsters attempting to attack our citizens living in population centers with more than 1000 humans should go down to single digits per month, freeing up most of our armed forces.¡± Diana smiled at the shocked looks on the faces of the administrative staff members, those in the room not personally among Earth¡¯s elite, to whom this benefit would provide a huge relief of anxiety. ¡°Second, the Heavenly Spark Soul King has sent his most powerful retainer to help us get rid of the invasion forces and force Earth¡¯s other native forces to bend the knee.¡± Diana looked at Ezra Walker, James Robinson, and Mr. Davies. ¡°She should have said hello to the three of you before she and I headed to Antarctica to destroy the Ice Giants last night, so I¡¯m guessing you understand how effective she can be.¡± Mr. Davies nodded, while Ezra and James both looked extremely nervous. ¡°Why destroy the Ice Giants? They¡¯ve been peaceful.¡± Nitya asked one of the questions almost everyone else in the room was thinking. ¡°The Ice Giants were plundering Antarctica and had planned to leave with their wealth, permanently harming the elemental balance on Earth. We didn¡¯t know it, but they were actually doing the most damage of any of the invasion forces. And I was able to personally confirm their actions myself.¡± Diana summoned three array disks from her spatial storage ring and tossed one each to Nitya, Mr. Davies, and Mr. Li. ¡°The third reason is that the Heavenly Spark Soul King is a crafter. Those he apparently made back when he was an F rank and his world was undergoing its own integration. As a D rank now, the types of things he can create are much more useful.¡± ¡°How did a D rank get onto our planet?¡± Nitya was again the one asking questions. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°He¡¯s been here since before the start of the integration.¡± ¡°And do we have any way of confirming he doesn¡¯t have some hidden agenda?¡± Nitya was looking right at Diana¡¯s eyes. ¡°No.¡± Mr. Li answered instead and everyone turned to look at him. ¡°But this is a D rank from the wider universe, and nothing points to him being stupid. Quite a few of Earth¡¯s citizens have the chance to get to D rank and beyond, but right now there is nothing we could do to stop him from doing anything he wants. Given he¡¯s helping us, it¡¯s likely he¡¯s playing the long game and hoping to be a part of the force created by our planet in the future.¡± ¡°Why now then? Why not earlier?¡± Nitya was asking all the right questions, which was one of the reasons Diana valued her so much, but in this case it was a bit annoying. Thankfully, Mila had helped her prepare a good answer. ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King has no interest in taking away our chance to train ourselves against enemies at our own level, but the Ice Giants were taking things too far.¡± Diana summoned twenty more array disks from her spatial storage ring and summoned Helen in a small form to carry them over to Nitya. ¡°More questions can wait until we¡¯ve dealt with the other invasion forces. ¡°Nitya, I want you to deliver these and the other three to the second and third legions before returning to the first. They¡¯re all marked with my power and, when charged with mana, placed down, and protected for 24 hours, they will help expand the Territory. Make sure the two legions are aware the activation of the array disks will summon monsters from nearby, so they need to be protected.¡± Diana then turned to look at Ezra and James, her expression turning into a glare. ¡°Finally, the last item on today¡¯s agenda. The two of you are relieved from your duties as the heads of the second and third legions for being spies from the Anderson and Smith families, and you have two options. You can either travel to Pakistan and help fight against the Flameborn invasion, maybe earning back a little of your status after a year depending on your performance and how quickly your masters bend the knee, or Dioscuri can rot your flesh from the inside. What do you choose?¡± Diana released her control over her mana and the mana in the room twisted slightly, making everyone other than her uncomfortable, even as most were looking from the two men to her and then back, no one stupid enough to not see the confirmation of her accusations on the men¡¯s faces. James was the first to get out of his chair and take one knee on the room¡¯s carpet. ¡°I¡¯ll head to Pakistan.¡± Then Ezra was quick to follow James¡¯s example. ¡°I¡¯ll do the same.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Diana turned to look out the window again and retook complete control over her mana. ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t suspected your true allegiances for months. So don¡¯t worry about being found out now. Nothing much has changed.¡± Nitya looked at the two former legion leaders and then back to Diana, a somewhat concerned look on her face, all of which Diana could see through her aura. ¡°What are you going to be doing then?¡± ¡°The Psionics'' invasion has been going a bit too far lately.¡± Still not turning around, Diana summoned Dioscuri and called back Helen from where she was floating next to Nitya. Then she merged both into her body, the mana in the room starting to tremble as her hair began to fly every which way and her skin alternately emanated and absorbed light. ¡°I¡¯m going to go end them.¡± Moving at a speed faster than anyone else in the room was capable of, Diana then raced to the entrance to the building¡¯s main stairwell located in the corner, ran up onto the roof, and began flying towards the north, wings of yang energy forming on her back and propelling her forward as yin energy covered her form and provided her a powerful stealth effect. It was time to go test out her new skill by annihilating an invasion force alone. * * * Francis James and Ezra were the first to leave, hopefully to rush toward the front lines in Pakistan and not to do something stupid, and Nitya followed them, having been left out of the loop throughout the entire process of the two being suspected and then having the suspicions confirmed, so likely wanting to talk to them. Most of the administration staff then left as well, talking about the Heavenly Spark Soul King and their boss¡¯s obvious increase in power, and this left only him and Mr. Li. ¡°How long have you known about this?¡± Francis asked the older man. ¡°I just found out yesterday.¡± Mr. Li was actually smiling, an expression he¡¯d never seen before. ¡°But you¡¯re sure that scary woman I met yesterday was actually your granddaughter?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mr. Li¡¯s smile grew slightly wider. ¡°And do you actually think partnering with this Heavenly Spark Soul King is safe for Earth and Diana, or were you just doing your job in the meeting?¡± ¡°Partnering with the Heavenly Spark Soul King is safe for Diana and almost certainly the best thing for Earth.¡± The certainty in Mr. Li¡¯s voice was out of place for his normal behavior. As a point of pride, Mr. Li was never certain about anything, always understanding what he saw could be wrong. So, for a second, Francis wondered whether Mr. Li had signed a contract with his granddaughter and was being forced to lie to him. But then he realized they were dealing with Mr. Li¡¯s granddaughter, who by all accounts had been trained since she was a small child by Mr. Li, so why was he trusting what anyone was saying, even Diana? ¡°You have information I don¡¯t? And there is some kind of secret, which I shouldn¡¯t try to figure out?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mr. Li patted him on the shoulder. ¡°The thing you should be worrying about is how, with my granddaughter starting to move and Diana increasing her power, our Territory will likely soon cover the entire planet, leaving you the effective leader of Earth. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.¡± Without another word, Mr. Li then teleported himself to a shadow on top of another nearby building and Francis was left in the room by himself, it only just dawning on him what his role would be if Diana actually became the sovereign of Earth. ¡°I should really go spend some time with my family while I have the chance.¡± Chapter 120: Irena Krol Irena Irena Krol, the head of the Krol Family of Europe¡¯s Five Family Alliance, was widely considered one of the top five humans on Earth despite having been in her late sixties when the integration started. The key to her success? Knowing how to pace herself. According to her clan¡¯s ancient records, Law comprehension more than anything else laid the foundation for becoming a powerhouse, and the key to Law comprehension was the right state of mind. To this end, every morning, without fail, Irena walked out to a gazebo in one of the gardens of her estate outside of Warsaw and made herself some tea using a hotplate. This was a practice she used to share with her daughter, and then with her husband after her daughter¡¯s untimely death. With her husband now dead as well, killed by one of the plagues five months before the start of the tutorial, it was a practice which made her both emotional and relaxed at the same time, the perfect mental state for coming to better understand the universe. It was also a time she wasn¡¯t to be disturbed, yet one of her guards, a man who¡¯d married into the family over thirty years before the start of the integration, guided a young woman to her without saying a word. ¡°Thank you, Aleksander.¡± The young woman, a pretty half East Asian who looked to be somewhere between 17 and 28, smiled at the guard as she sat down on one of the three unoccupied pillows on the gazebo floor. ¡°Please leave now.¡± ¡°Aleksander, stay and explain.¡± Irena glared at the young woman as she gave the order, but, while the guard turned to look at her with shame on his face, he didn¡¯t follow her command, instead giving the young woman a quick look, shivering slightly, and leaving quickly. ¡°You have a lovely home.¡± The young woman was looking around with an interested expression on her face, yet, as far as Irena¡¯s magical senses were aware, she didn¡¯t exist, and it didn¡¯t seem to be from a skill, but instead resource and aura control combined with a high grade stealth focused Law Larva, which was far more impressive. ¡°It¡¯s a lot more peaceful than I imagined as a child.¡± ¡°Who are you and what do you want?¡± Irena¡¯s tone was far from polite. Yes, the woman seemed powerful and skilled, capable of making the quite strong Aleksander terrified of her, but she was also sitting in a seat no one had dared take since Irena¡¯s husband had died. ¡°You don¡¯t recognize me?¡± The woman frowned slightly. ¡°Should I?¡± Irena looked a bit closer at the woman and felt she had seen her somewhere, maybe on television before the tutorial. ¡°My name is Li Mila.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Irena still glared at the young woman. ¡°The Chinese spy who¡¯d been living with Diana Alvaro¡¯s little brother. I¡¯d heard reports you were dead.¡± Ms. Li¡¯s expression changed, becoming one of obvious anger, and the stealth effect on her aura and resources disappeared, her aura expanding to cover the entire garden, suppressing Irena¡¯s aura like an avalanche taking out a lone climber. ¡°That bastard. That utter bastard.¡± Irena got the distinct impression the young woman¡¯s anger wasn¡¯t directed toward her, but just being in the presence of the woman¡¯s rage was terrifying, like standing in the middle of a hurricane, and Irena now understood why Aleksander hadn¡¯t been willing to go against the young woman¡¯s orders. ¡°Is there something I can do for you, Ms. Li?¡± Ms. Li took a deep breath and her aura retracted, no longer suppressing Irena¡¯s aura completely, but still showing rage even through its obvious power. Ms. Li then took another deep breath and her aura completely stabilized. ¡°The Krol Family is the last of Earth¡¯s major families and clans I¡¯ve visited over the last few days.¡± Ms. Li¡¯s voice sounded completely controlled, but it was more dispassionate than the tone she¡¯d been using at first. ¡°I was expecting to make your contract different than the others, either better or worse depending on your reactions, but we¡¯ll just go with the same contract as everyone else.¡± At that point, a System message appeared in front of Irena¡¯s eyes. Li Mila has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about Li Mila, Diana Alvaro, or the Heavenly Spark Soul King to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm Li Mila, Diana Alvaro, or the Heavenly Spark Soul King
  3. You must accept a slave contract with Diana Alvaro
  4. You must select the top 12 cultivators from your family¡¯s forces and travel with them to Sydney to join Diana Alvaro¡¯s force within one week
  5. You must give up all of your family¡¯s Territory to Diana Alvaro
Punishment: Extreme Pain Do you accept? Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Yes/No Irena found herself getting angry again, even if the woman in front of her was almost certainly more powerful than she was. ¡°Who would accept such a one sided contract?¡± ¡°Everyone.¡± Ms. Li looked at her, expression placid and almost certainly not showing her true emotions. ¡°The head of every other major family and every other native force with Territory.¡± Irena took a deep breath. ¡°And what did you threaten them with?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± The woman¡¯s expression turned somewhat derisive and her brown irises changed to a bright pink. ¡°They all fell in love with me with a look and couldn¡¯t wait to do whatever I asked of them.¡± So, Irena realized, the woman had a charm skill and, if she could be believed, she could make contracts with people under the charm skill¡¯s influence even through the normal natural protections a soul had against such things. ¡°If you have such an ability, why aren¡¯t you using it on me?¡± Ms. Li just looked at her for several seconds, seeming to be thinking on how to answer. Then she appeared to come to a decision. ¡°My skill is called Evil Eyes - Lust, so it seems kind of icky to use it against my own grandmother.¡± Irena stopped breathing for a second. Before her daughter had gone to college, they¡¯d gotten into a big fight, something about Lidia not wanting to continue combat training while in the United States, or maybe about what type of major she was going to pursue. It was nearly thirty years ago by this point and Irena honestly couldn¡¯t remember. But they hadn¡¯t talked much after that, Lidia mostly communicating with her father instead. Irena remembered Alfred being worried during those last six months, though, thinking Lidia was hiding something from them, and they¡¯d bought plane tickets to visit her, but then Lidia had come back in a body bag, having died in a car accident while driving her boyfriend to class. Thinking back on it, Irena remembered Lidia¡¯s boyfriend had been Chinese with the surname Li, and, from what Alfred knew, the two of them had been living together, but there had never been any news about a baby. Thinking about the American legal system and how quickly Lidia¡¯s body had been flown back, however, along with what she now knew about Li Dai-Zhao, what the young woman in front of her was saying wasn¡¯t impossible. Gods above, the girl¡¯s name was Mila, a short form of the name Ludmila, her own mother''s name. It was at this time another System message appeared. Destroy the Invasion VI (Epic) Completed! Personal completion percentage: 0.03% There were no escapees among the invasion¡¯s forces. Calculating. Rewards: Base stats +1 One choice of F rank skill orb up to Common grade One choice of F rank artifact up to Common grade Invasion 6 was the Psionics, purple humanoid aliens with six eyes, and Irena had earned a small amount of contribution as she¡¯d killed three of their number when they tried to assassinate her. The last she¡¯d heard, they¡¯d barely had any losses and were steadily gaining ground in northern Asia, but now it seemed they¡¯d been completely wiped out, none able to flee back through their Pillar of Conquest. ¡°It seems Diana is finally done playing with the Psionics.¡± Ms. Li¡ªno Mila¡ªdidn¡¯t sound surprised at all, likely also getting a notification. ¡°So we should finish this fast, allowing you to go join the other families in ending the Ultra Impressive Golden Legion. ¡°Will you accept my contract, or will I have to force you?¡± Mila just looked at the teacup sitting on the gazebo floor by Irena¡¯s side and it shattered into millions of pieces, the entire ceramic structure crushed into dust. ¡°I¡¯m in a bit of a rush.¡± Irena wanted to ask more questions, and she didn¡¯t want to accept the unfair contract, but she was quickly able to comprehend what had just happened, so she understood just how outclassed she was. Her cup had been within her own aura, yet Mila had used a high grade version of the Telekinesis skill to crush it. This meant Mila¡¯s effective Aura stat was more than 12 times her own, and, given the limits on advancing the Aura stat, even if Mila had abilities which boosted her Aura stat¡¯s effectiveness, her other stats were almost certainly far beyond Irena¡¯s as well. The contract also had Irena becoming the slave of Diana Alvaro, not Mila or whoever the Heavenly Spark Soul King was, while, from what she knew of Diana Alvaro, Diana wasn¡¯t the type of person to abuse such a contract. ¡°Can I¡ª¡± She began to ask for a delay to think things over, but Mila interrupted her. ¡°No. Accept the contract within the next 10 seconds or I¡¯ll start destroying your home. Don¡¯t accept the contract within the next 30 seconds and I¡¯ll move on to injuring your people. I have a healing Law and it would be a good chance to practice. Wait for ten minutes and I¡¯ll instead start taking lives. My offensive death Law has just advanced and I could use a few more killings to help consolidate my understanding.¡± Mila¡¯s tone was cold and relaxed, completely controlled, and Irena was pretty sure the threat was genuine. She was also pretty sure Mila would much prefer she''d agree so the threat wouldn¡¯t have to be carried out, but that didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t do so. This type of contract, while excessive, was what she¡¯d expect if any of the forces on Earth suddenly became far more powerful than all the others, as her clan records recommended such an approach for dealing with former rivals if they actually took control of the planet, and it was probably the same for every other major force on Earth as well. Not seeing any better option, Irena thus agreed to the contract. Then, with a speed quite a bit faster than Irena¡¯s own, Mila moved, some type of magical seal appearing in her hand out of the subspace in the fingerless glove she was wearing on her left hand, and placed the artifact up against Irena¡¯s forehead. Li Mila has offered you the position of slave on behalf of Diana Alvaro. Will you accept? Yes/No Due to the previous contract, Irena was forced to accept or feel a type of pain her clan¡¯s records described is ¡®unimaginably terrible¡¯, so she did so. ¡°Alright. Thank you, Family Leader Krol.¡± Mila summoned 24 array disks onto the gazebo floor. ¡°These array disks have been marked by Diana and will allow your clan to help increase the size of her Territory, each disk claiming 17 square kilometers after a 24 hour process. Monsters will attack while the claiming occurs, so it should be a good training experience for your forces.¡± Mila then disappeared, completely vanishing from Irena¡¯s senses, and Irena just sat there for over ten minutes, at least half that time thinking about everything she knew about Li Mila and pondering on the awkwardness of the young woman during the latter half of their conversation. Then, having to travel to Sydney anyway due to the contract, she resolved to put having a chat with Li Dai-Zhao very much at the top of her itinerary. * * * Mila ¡°You¡¯re really not good with this family stuff, are you?¡± Nana Xara sounded like she was almost laughing. ¡°First you toss your grandfather off a building. Then you threaten your grandmother with the destruction of your own extended family.¡± Mila just ignored her teacher, rushing toward Pakistan to help Diana¡¯s force against the Flameborn. Chapter 121: Dianas Announcement Nitya Chakrabarti didn¡¯t know how she felt about Diana taking the mysterious Heavenly Spark Soul King as her overlord, but she had to admit the trade off so far had been totally worth it. Their Territory was now almost completely safe from monsters, leaving them free to expand and protect more people. And Diana alone had completely wiped out the Psionics in just a few days, followed almost immediately by the lizardmen who¡¯d taken over more than half of Mongolia, something only possible after the Heavenly Spark Soul King helped Diana receive 100% of the rewards from destroying the Ice Giants, giving her a Legendary grade skill which completed her build. Meanwhile, at the same time Diana was destroying those two forces, the woman who¡¯d utterly terrified Ezra and James had apparently crippled every other invasion force, literally. Nitya herself had seen the shots of pure death energy coming out of seemingly nowhere and destroying the legs of at least a hundred of the most powerful flameborn, humanoid creatures made of living fire, and this had allowed her and her men to easily kill them. As a result of the two¡¯s actions, all the remaining invasion forces were destroyed within a week of Diana¡¯s acceptance of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and this wasn¡¯t even the truly impressive part. Within that same time period, every major power on Earth other than those powers which hadn¡¯t established any Territory due to a lack of Lord line skills¡ªsuch as the Chinese Communist Party and the European Union Allied Forces¡ªhad come to bend the knee to Diana, handing over their Territory in its entirety even though they seemed reluctant. Now the leaders of those surrendered powers, as well as representatives of all but a few of Earth¡¯s more middling forces¡ªand quite a few individual talents from around the world as well¡ªhad all gathered in the main theater of the Sydney Opera House. They were all waiting to hear what Diana had to say, and Nitya was in the very back to help act as security. ¡°Welcome everyone.¡± A voice seemed to emanate from all sides, very obviously not from the room¡¯s speakers, yet there was no obvious origin and Nitya couldn¡¯t feel qi emanating from any one direction to cause the effect. The voice, female and pleasant, spoke English with a standard American accent, and it sounded like someone Nitya was almost certain was dead. ¡°Thank you for coming, both those forced and those who came of their own free will. There are just a few announcements I¡¯d like to make. ¡°First, while you are here, please act with decorum. I know many of you have enmity with each other, but, while fighting will be permitted once the main section of this event is done, damage to the venue or any permanent damage to another human will be punished severely. Second, please save all questions until they are asked for. It won¡¯t take very long. Finally, third¡ª¡± Several rows in front of Nitya, a woman with long black hair appeared¡ªNitya not at the right angle to see her face¡ªpointing what looked to be a gun made of greenish gray and purple metals at the head of one of the individual talent attendants. Then the gun silently emitted death element mana of a type Nitya recognized from the woman Ezra and James were scared of and the woman again faded from everyone¡¯s senses. ¡°While we won¡¯t necessarily hunt down all invaders still on the planet, we won¡¯t allow them to attend our high level meetings either.¡± The woman¡¯s gunshot had been very precise, barely damaging the man¡¯s head at all, and Nitya, along with almost everyone else in the room, watched as the man¡¯s skin slowly changed to purple and two other pairs of eyes formed on his forehead. Then Diana, seemingly coming from nowhere, floated down to hover over the stage, her skin alternately emanating or absorbing light to create a rather inhuman effect. This time her hair wasn¡¯t going every which way, showing she¡¯d gained quite a bit more control over her new skill, but just the act of being able to fly, something only about ten people on the entire planet could do, was already extremely impressive to the crowd. ¡°Earth, as most of you are aware, is a bit special in the universe.¡± Diana¡¯s tone, emanating to the entire room through the use of her qi, was commanding and in control, Diana herself radiating more confidence than Nitya had ever seen from her. ¡°The former testing ground of the Yin Yang Sage, an extremely powerful A rank, every one of us is descended from her, her followers, and the talents of some of the forces she conquered, including those of eight gods. ¡°As a result, the average citizen of Earth is just as talented as the most talented individual from a majority of planets undergoing apocalypse style integrations, while most of you, the true talents of Earth, have the potential to at least become C ranks, yet it still took us over a year to end the invasion forces, and I had to personally act to finish things. ¡°This was because our planet was divided and you lot were all more interested in grabbing your small pieces of the tiny pie that is Earth than actually working together to make the planet better for everyone. ¡°This will end now. ¡°Whether you like it or not, within a few weeks I will become sovereign of Earth. And I will have control of who leaves the planet for at least the next 70 years. ¡°My intention is to use the population of Earth to found a new force rather than joining an existing one. Over the next 70 years, we will work together to make everyone more powerful and then establish ourselves as a true force in the Evolon Galaxy Cluster and potentially beyond. ¡°I ask that you join me, and I will let that be your choice, but please know I will be using the stick just as much as the carrot.¡± The mana in the entire hall twisted, just like what normally happened when Diana was angry, but this time the effect was far more profound, as Diana was doing it intentionally. ¡°Those who act against me will not have a good time.¡± The mana twisting faded and Diana stopped hovering, landing on the stage as the effects of her fusion with her spirits faded, the normal short and cute Diana looking at everyone with a smile on her face. ¡°Feel free to ask questions now.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Are you saying you plan to become Earth¡¯s dictator?¡± The representative from what was left of the United States¡¯ military asked angrily. The previously greatest force on the planet, their power had reduced drastically after most explosives, from gunpowder to nuclear bombs, were taken away by the System while everyone was in the tutorial, but they were still a large power and they¡¯d been working closely with America¡¯s Smith family to fight against the forces of the Daybreak Empire¡¯s invasions. ¡°Yes.¡± Diana smiled warmly at the middle-aged man. ¡°I have the power to kill every single human on Earth if I wanted to, so you sadly have to follow my whims or risk being destroyed.¡± Nitya didn¡¯t know where Diana had learned how to smile so sweetly while making such an absolute threat, but, after her previous display, it worked, and the man sat down. Everyone else who had questions then all started raising their hands instead of calling out and Diana pointed at one of the talents of the Smith Family. ¡°You¡¯re also from the United States. Are you planning on getting rid of civil liberties?¡± ¡°Excellent question.¡± Diana smiled at the young man and Nitya noticed him shiver, even though Diana¡¯s smile this time was almost certainly genuine. ¡°No. I quite like the types of freedoms we had in the west and I¡¯ll keep them. ¡°The world isn¡¯t like it was before, where power came from having a large group of people follow you. In the wider universe, the power of an organization is almost entirely dependent on its most powerful member, and, for Earth, that is me. I¡¯m also fully aware of my level of talent compared to everyone else on Earth, and I have several unfair advantages you can¡¯t access and I can¡¯t give you, so I¡¯m not afraid of others surpassing me. ¡°As a result, I have no need to suppress speech, persecute minorities, or bow to the whims of powerful factions. In order to get more resources for myself and those at my level through the work of those below me, I will also naturally have the desire to raise all of Earth along with me, but, given my position, I don¡¯t need to have an in group and an out group. I just need talents, no matter their race, gender, or any other form of identity. So, you can probably expect Earth to become far more of a meritocracy than ever before. ¡°But this is all pretty words at the moment, so please wait a month to see the policies start to be implemented.¡± Diana then pointed at one of the powerful independent cultivators who¡¯d come. ¡°I understand you¡¯re very powerful, and you have a decent track record of giving good lives to the people of Florin, but why do you sound like you think no one will be stupid and try to go against you?¡± The cultivator was a middle aged woman. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if it¡¯s offensive, but that just sounds a little na?ve.¡± Nitya couldn¡¯t imagine anyone in the room being willing to ask such a question after Diana¡¯s display, but then she noticed the woman who¡¯d asked looking toward Mr. Li in one of the box seats and she realized the woman was likely a plant. At the same time, she also noticed Mr. Li giving nervous looks to the head of the Krol Family of Poland who was glaring at him with murderous eyes, but she was more interested in Diana¡¯s answer to the question. ¡°All the heads of the major forces as well as their main talents have agreed to become my slaves, albeit not by choice, so most of those who could plot against me are already under my control.¡± Diana looked at the man from the Smith Family. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to certain rules, only enforcing them against others, but I¡¯ll upgrade all the slaves I have to servants within the next decade so long as they don¡¯t act against me.¡± Diana then called on Irena Krol, who¡¯d raised her hand even while glaring at Mr. Li. ¡°Ms. Krol.¡± Irena Krol looked away from Mr. Li and bowed slightly to Diana. ¡°I understand the actions of establishing absolute control. But that¡¯s part of the stick you mentioned. What about the carrot?¡± Diana smiled and Nitya could tell it was genuine. Irena Krol, like Nitya, was considered one of the five most powerful native humans, so she had more confidence than most of the other representatives in the room. She also probably had enough intelligence on Diana to know Diana generally responded well to frankness over any kind of double talk. ¡°Well, as you¡¯ve all probably guessed a while ago, during the tutorial the spirit of the Yin Yang Sage took me and one other person as an apprentice.¡± There were some soft mutterings in the room, most powers on Earth having suspected such a thing but surprised Diana was actually willing to say it out loud, and Diana waited for them to finish. ¡°This relationship allows me to seek advice on cultivation and other questions at will, advice I can then share, and it also allows me to exchange rewards from the System for rewards of up to one grade higher from the Yin Yang Sage, which is one of the sources of my current power. There is no way to access all the wealth the Yin Yang Sage had when she was alive, as the System owns all of it, but some of the resources I can exchange for, such as cultivation techniques, are not one time use. ¡°There is also an individual called the Heavenly Spark Soul King, a very skilled D rank crafter the Yin Yang Sage helped advise in the past, who arrived on Earth with the intention of helping raise up the force created by the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s apprentices in exchange for our force helping him once we gain more power. ¡°You can already see his effect on raising the affinity for all Laws for everyone in my Territory and anyone who becomes a servant of his will gain a boon with an even larger effect, which is one of the reasons I allowed him to become my overlord. ¡°Most important of all, however, he is a crafter and he¡¯ll occasionally make us things when he¡¯s not pondering on Laws, and I am sure you¡¯ll all enjoy the first thing I¡¯ve asked of him, which should be ready in a few months, a special soul network for Earth¡¯s use which will cover the entire planet.¡± A few members of the powerful families looked excited, especially Irena Krol, but most looked confused, and Diana explained. ¡°For those who don¡¯t know, you can think of a soul network like a magical virtual reality based internet. Through its use, you¡¯ll be able to participate in ranking battles to the death without actually risking your life, communicate with your friends in real time from the deepest of jungles or thousands of meters under the sea, even when on opposite sides of the planet, as well as do normal internet things like sharing cat videos. Basically, it is an internet your soul can access and it will be the source of a lot of the meritocracy I was mentioning before.¡± Diana then called on another person, the head of the Garcia Clan from South America. ¡°Mr. Garcia.¡± ¡°You mentioned another apprentice, and I have a guess as to who that is. What is to stop her from taking over instead?¡± ¡°Lack of interest.¡± The same voice from before came from everywhere in the hall again, but this time the source of the voice appeared on stage, one hand on Diana¡¯s shoulder, and Nitya almost stopped breathing. ¡°The main reason, though, is that I don¡¯t have a lord skill. Also, I need very different types of resources than Diana, and she¡¯s much better at straight up killing things, so there isn¡¯t any competition between us. Finally, as you might have noticed, I kind of hate the limelight.¡± With that, Li Mila took a step and disappeared from everyone¡¯s senses again, but Nitya was starting to grow angry and she was very much going to have a long talk with Diana, whether Diana wanted to or not. Chapter 122: Listening in on Conversations Mila Earth had been a lot simpler to conquer than Hira, and there were several reasons for that. First, while Earth would eventually be an E rank planet, it was still undergoing the integration. The ease of sensing Laws, the power of the monsters born from the loose primal energy in the atmospheric mana, etc., everything related to the planet itself was about the same, and would be for the next couple years at least. Second, the invasion forces were of about the same strength. Earth was an E rank world, so most of the invasion forces were of a high quality, but quite a few of the forces attacking Hira had been aware of the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance and had thus invested far more than they usually would have, while those forces which had invaded Earth had not been aware Earth was the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s testing grounds before arriving, and, in every case other than the Daybreak Empire and the Psionics from the Deep Void, hadn¡¯t invested more when they found out. Finally, third, when arriving on Earth, Mila was already too strong for the challenge of an apocalypse style integration, as was Diana as soon as she got that final skill. On Hira, Mila had started on equal playing ground with everyone else, but her accomplishments there had filled out her skill set and allowed her to grow her stats well beyond what most F ranks in the universe ever achieved. No one on Earth, other than maybe Diana, could resist her Evil Eyes - Lust leading to Devil¡¯s Contract combo, nor even see through her stealth. The aftermath of conquering the planet, however, was going to be more complicated. Due to the nature of Nana Xara¡¯s contract with the System, every cultivator in both the normal and the monster tutorials knew Nana Xara¡¯s spirit was still alive, and there was no way to hide this information. Every force which had invaded Earth was aware long before Mila, Aalam, and Isaiah had even arrived, and the monsters born from Earth¡¯s monster tutorial would likely spread the information even wider. This wasn¡¯t too bad, however, for two main reasons. One, Nana Xara wasn¡¯t an idiot and had prepared some countermeasures to help keep her apprentices from just being squashed by her enemies, and, two, they had Aalam. As part of Nana Xara¡¯s deal with the System, Earth had gained a couple benefits related to its apocalypse style integration. First, while Earth was invaded by forces from the Evolon Galaxy Cluster, the planet wasn¡¯t actually in the Evolon Galaxy Cluster, but 17 galaxy clusters away. And, second, instead of having 72 years after the tutorial where the System would keep the planet hidden from the wider universe, the sovereign of Earth could continuously extend that hidden status for the cost of 12 C rank universal credits per year. This would allow them to hide the planet, at least from people who didn¡¯t already know its location like Aalam and Diana¡¯s mother, but Aalam¡¯s existence would make it even easier to hide their force. In the wider galaxy, the System generated title of Heavenly Spark Soul King would have an interesting effect, screaming that, A, this was a force which was operated by a monster not a cultivator and, B, that this was a force at the very top for its rank but unlikely to ever rank up. Hopefully, this would make forces at their own level not want to fight them and forces above their level not view them as much of a threat, while not having anyone associate them with the Yin Yang Sage. When the meeting was done, Mila, still stealthed and walking around, noticed Irena Krol approaching Diana and moved closer to listen in. ¡°Do you need something, Ms. Krol?¡± Diana asked, a little too politely in Mila¡¯s opinion, as Diana had to radiate strength to keep people like Irena in line. ¡°Yes, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Irena¡¯s tone was respectful, but not submissive, almost the same as Diana¡¯s. But she did wait for Diana to nod to continue. ¡°You said fighting would be permitted so long as no permanent damage is done. Does that extend to your people as well?¡± Instead of getting irritated or flaring her aura like she should have, Diana just smiled. ¡°That depends on who you want to fight.¡± ¡°I have a question for Li Dai-Zhao, and, if the answer is what I expect, I¡¯m really, really going to want to punch him. Probably repeatedly.¡± ¡°Wait. You didn¡¯t know?¡± Diana had a somewhat shocked expression on her face. Then she looked around, aware that likely almost everyone in the room was listening in, but she quickly seemed to relax. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask me the question first? If it¡¯s what I think it is, I probably know the answer.¡± Irena looked around at the other people as well and extended her aura, filling it with the power of a wind based Law Larva to keep their words from spreading, forcing Mila to move to a location where no one was in order to have the right angle to read both of their lips. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I want to know if his son and my daughter had a child out of wedlock and if he then kept me and my husband from knowing.¡± The expression on Irena¡¯s face showed anger, sadness, and quite a bit of guilt, while her aura also trembled slightly, but Mila couldn¡¯t trust any of it was genuine. This was her own biological grandmother after all. Diana, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t good at seeing through such deception. ¡°That¡¯s the case at least according to Mila¡¯s former profile on the Chinese Communist Party¡¯s servers. According to the copy of her birth certificate revealed in one of the dumps from my brother¡¯s trojan, her parents were Lidia Krol and Li Xiu-Bo. ¡°Also, sure. Feel free to beat the bastard up to your heart¡¯s content.¡± Diana reached up and placed a hand on the older woman¡¯s shoulder, squeezing slightly. ¡°Just no permanent harm. He¡¯s still quite useful.¡± Irena took a few seconds, seemingly to get in control of her emotions, but possibly just because that is how long such a thing should take. Were Mila doing the acting, however, she probably would have added a couple seconds more. ¡°Thank you, Ms. Alvaro. We all knew someone was going to become sovereign of Earth and I¡¯m glad it''s someone like you.¡± She took a deep breath and her aura came back under full control. ¡°But do you mind if I give you a piece of advice?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Diana took back her hand and smiled. ¡°I noticed you only used an alien spy in your show of force today. It¡¯s all well and good if you¡¯d like to keep all us remaining humans alive. I¡¯ve felt your power and you probably don¡¯t personally fear any of us. But you really shouldn¡¯t agree to things like allowing a new subordinate to beat up an old one, especially someone like me, representing an entire new faction.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Diana¡¯s expression became a bit more serious. ¡°But this case is special, so how about this?¡± Diana released her own aura, stopping Irena¡¯s wind element Law from keeping everyone in the area from being able to listen. ¡°Irena Krol, I order you to find Li Dai-Zhao and beat him up to your heart¡¯s content, so long as no permanent damage is done. Then, when you feel like it would be enough, please punch him three more times. ¡°When he regains consciousness, however, you must talk with him and bury the hatchet. ¡°Do you agree?¡± Irena smiled, the look reminiscent of a boxer right before a match. ¡°Yes. Thank you, my lord.¡± Irena bowed slightly and then rushed away at max speed, likely already knowing Mila¡¯s grandfather¡¯s location. ¡°Diana, can we talk?¡± As soon as Irena was gone, Nitya Chakrabarti approached Diana, a somewhat controlled look of anger on her face, and Diana nodded. ¡°Not here.¡± Nitya then exited the opera house, followed by Diana, and started flying up into the air, Diana following after absorbing her spirits. Mila, in turn, then made steps in the air for herself with Telekinesis and followed them while maintaining stealth. ¡°What would you like to talk about, Nitya?¡± Diana asked after they¡¯d risen a couple kilometers into the air and Diana had spread out her mana to greatly weaken sound vibrations leaving the area. ¡°You know damn well what I¡¯d like to talk about.¡± Nitya almost growled. ¡°How long have you known Mila was alive?¡± ¡°A couple weeks.¡± ¡°And when were you planning on telling me?¡± ¡°Today.¡± Diana was deliberately keeping her voice calm. ¡°And you¡¯re working with her? After what she did?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why!?¡± Diana raised the index finger on her right hand. ¡°One, I never felt all that betrayed by her in the first place.¡± She raised her middle finger. ¡°Two, she¡¯s my fellow apprentice and she represents the Heavenly Spark Soul King, who I need.¡± Then she raised her ring finger. ¡°Finally, three, she said sorry.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Nitya snorted. ¡°Sure, stealing all your brother¡¯s tech and using me to gain access to Biosteel¡¯s mainframe is all from before the integration, but how can you trust someone like that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been working with Mr. Li for almost a year now,¡± Diana said calmly. ¡°Why did you agree to that?¡± Nitya paused for a couple seconds, and, knowing her, she was most likely just realizing her argument was an emotional one rather than rational. ¡°She betrayed me. Acted like my friend for over 7 years all for the sake of using me.¡± ¡°Then she was shot by her own government and only survived due to the tutorial starting.¡± Diana was getting a lot better at lying, her statement entirely true but totally designed to make Nitya not realize Mila had actually died. ¡°That type of thing can make people have a change of heart. Look at Mr. Li.¡± Nitya took a deep breath, tears starting to form in her eyes. ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t she said anything yet? We used to talk on the phone every week.¡± Mila didn¡¯t know what to say. Nitya had been one of her college roommates, and they¡¯d stayed close even after Nitya had moved back to India. Other than Diana, she¡¯d probably been Mila¡¯s best friend, yet, when asked by her handler, Mila had taken the chance of her leaving her laptop at her apartment to steal all her company¡¯s data, and she¡¯d never really thought about it afterwards. Diana moved forward in the air and gave Nitya a hug. ¡°Do you want my guess?¡± ¡°No. I want the truth.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re unlikely to get that from Mila today, so my guess will have to do.¡± Diana smiled slightly as the two of them continued the hug. ¡°I think Mila¡¯s either afraid of rejection, so she¡¯s been avoiding you, or she¡¯s been so caught up in her own drama she hasn¡¯t realized she owes you a major apology.¡± Nitya continued to cry and Diana¡¯s eyes turned to follow exactly where Mila was walking through the air to maintain her stealth, quite obviously having been able to see through Mila¡¯s movements, at least while in the air. Mila was trying to figure out what to do, but Isaiah spoke to her through their bond before she could make any decisions. ¡°Aalam¡¯s stirring and it looks like he¡¯s about to wake up.¡± ¡°Diana, we have to go.¡± Mila sent, embarrassed at how relieved she felt. ¡°Your brother is about to wake up.¡± Diana gave her a judging look, then stopped the hug with Nitya. ¡°Nitya, I have to go do something, but I¡¯m going to make you a promise. Mila will talk with you sometime in the next week, or she and I are going to have some problems.¡± Diana then gave Nitya one more quick hug and flew off, Mila following her as Nitya flew back to the ground. Chapter 123: A Typical Sibling Reunion As Aalam woke up, the first thing he did was open his eyes and quickly check that all his extremities were still attached, which they thankfully were. Then he scanned the tent, noticing Mila, Isaiah, and his sister were all standing around his bed, Diana not seeming to have undergone any noticeable physical changes since the start of Earth¡¯s integration. ¡°That was not fun.¡± He sat up and looked at Mila. ¡°Did it work?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila handed him the Left Hand of the Runescribe and he immediately put it on. ¡°The elf left with none of his trial points, or his money.¡± Aalam began to quickly look through Mila¡¯s System messages. ¡°But we have quite a few more points than I would have expected.¡± He stood up from the bed and raised his right hand toward Mila, palm out. ¡°You managed to win another round. How did that happen?¡± Mila, looking slightly surprised, gave him a high five. Then she explained. ¡°The trial was one on one arena combat and I came up with the idea of trying to sell your plague.¡± ¡°Ha.¡± Aalam looked at Diana as he pointed at Mila. ¡°Don¡¯t ever make a contract with her, Di. She¡¯s killed so many people that way.¡± Aalam then started looking through a different System window, the rewards list from the Trial Tower. ¡°Now, what did we get?¡± He started to read the descriptions of the really, really expensive items obviously targeted toward him and Mila. ¡°This is so cool. Mila, you¡¯re amazing. This¡ª ¡°That evil poop daughter!¡± Having gotten to the listing for the Twelve Element Primal Code, Aalam started to feel rage. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to get to the Forest Cauldron¡¯s main planet!¡± ¡°Yeah, and you¡¯re not going there.¡± Mila quickly interjected and Aalam looked at her, starting to calm down. ¡°Diana¡¯s going to become Sovereign of Earth in just a few weeks. Then I¡¯ll travel out into the universe to get you access to a different copy of the Twelve Element Primal Code. We can¡¯t risk exposing ourselves to an A rank force with our current level of power, especially not one backed by gods Nana Xara was not on good terms with.¡± ¡°Nana Xara wasn¡¯t on good terms with the dung beetles?¡± Aalam was quite interested in their patron¡¯s history, especially after what he¡¯d learned during the tutorial. ¡°The Heavenly Scarabs are followers of the Divine Child. Nana Xara doesn¡¯t have any particular problems with them or their overgod, but she had quite a few issues with a couple of the Divine Child¡¯s other followers.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam used one of his minds to start looking through System messages again. ¡°How long have I been out?¡± ¡°A little over a month.¡± Mila smiled slightly. ¡°About half the time you were in the Id state.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Aalam took a few seconds to think. ¡°Still not enough data. With the increase in Territory my effective Soul stat has gone up enough to almost certainly affect the results. ¡°Do you have much confidence in getting another copy of the Twelve Element Primal Code?¡± Mila nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve talked it over with Nana Xara. There are quite a few copies out there, some even owned by C rank forces, but the main problem is we don¡¯t know who owns them. So, my idea is to approach the one D rank following the path of 12 elements I know of who is stuck at the peak, unable to advance to C rank on his own, the creator of that bastard sword you¡¯ve been training with. I was able to confirm his status and he¡¯s still alive, though he only has a couple hundred more years to live. He should have been searching for the Twelve Element Primal Code for years, so he¡¯ll hopefully have at least a few leads I can follow.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Aalam then turned to look at Isaiah, having checked the man¡¯s status and noticing far less growth than he would have expected. ¡°Isaiah, I noticed you haven¡¯t grown much. Is there something blocking you?¡± Isaiah looked a bit confused and Mila answered instead. ¡°Isaiah has been spending all his time guarding you, Aalam, and, even with his bloodline allowing him to cultivate at about the same speed as us, he doesn¡¯t have multiple minds, so he couldn¡¯t cultivate and fight monsters at the same time.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam walked up to Isaiah and lightly punched the larger man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Thanks for protecting me.¡± Isaiah smiled, his aura showing a quite high level of happiness. ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°So, what does blood taste like?¡± Aalam¡¯s other mind had taken a look at Diana¡¯s status and her race and bloodline were both quite surprising, with some really happy implications. ¡°I¡¯ve been eating souls for about a year now and there¡¯s no real taste, more of an emotion, like a muted attraction feeling. It¡¯s a bit weird. But I imagine drinking my sister¡¯s blood would feel kind of like your body slowly transforming, and that must be interesting.¡± ¡°What?¡± Diana, whose aura had been a bit odd for a while, suddenly appeared angry as she turned to Mila, who almost seemed to be laughing. ¡°Mila, what is he talking about?¡± ¡°Why are you asking me instead of him?¡± There was obvious mirth in Mila¡¯s eyes and Aalam felt like he was missing something. ¡°Because you¡¯ll answer more concisely and I¡¯m pissed off at my idiot brother.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Aalam felt confused. ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± ¡°No,¡± Diana snapped, but, at the same time, Mila calmly nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Aalam looked at Mila. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°You woke up on Earth, saw your sister for the first time in over a year¡ªafter you committed suicide, likely giving her a lot of emotional pain¡ªand then you immediately started talking shop instead of expressing how happy you are to see her.¡± It was at this point a couple of Aalam¡¯s other minds, which had been contemplating on his Law Larvae of Fusion and Fission after being inspired by the elf¡¯s lightning, succeeded, both his Law Larvae advancing to middle grade at almost the same time. ¡°Diana, I¡¯m very happy to see you.¡± It having been explained what he¡¯d done wrong, he said the words, but Diana just glared at him and didn¡¯t say anything, still apparently angry. Then she looked back at Mila. ¡°What about that blood thing?¡± Mila looked from Diana, to Aalam, and then back, looking contemplative. Then she seemingly decided to just answer the question. ¡°Isaiah has the Ideal Human bloodline and it resulted in a cool racial ability called Human Blood Adaptation. It enhances the effects of his bloodline, in his case boosting his cultivation speed, and allows him to advance his bloodline to one of a higher grade if he drinks 1 liter of blood every three days for thirty-six days from someone with a race advanced from the race represented by his bloodline, such as yourself. ¡°Nana Xara suggested him to take it.¡± ¡°Why did no one tell me about this before?¡± Diana asked Mila while, at the same time, Isaiah asked, ¡°Ms. Diana was a natural born Ideal Human?¡± Then, while Mila looked like she was about to answer Diana first, Aalam remembered that most people didn¡¯t skip grades when upgrading their race and that bloodlines of the grade of Diana¡¯s would never be offered from a tutorial. ¡°Wait. If Di was a natural born Ideal Human, does that mean I was as well? And I would have had that bloodline?¡± He looked from Mila to Diana, then back to Mila. ¡°I thought natural born Legendary grade races were very rare outside of products of rape like Isaiah, only found in extremely powerful forces. Sure, Nana Xara killed gods, but they were weak ones. I thought the highest grade race on Earth would be Epic and the highest grade bloodline would be Fabled.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After taking a second and looking at the three of them, Mila nodded, seemingly mostly to herself. ¡°Let¡¯s go by order of simplicity.¡± First she turned to Isaiah. ¡°Yes, Diana was born an Ideal Human and she has now advanced her race to Chaos Human. She also has a bloodline your ability might be able to absorb some of the power of as well.¡± Next she turned to Diana. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you because the timing wasn¡¯t right. You¡¯ve been busy and draining your blood would weaken you. I also thought it would be better if Aalam asked than if I did.¡± Then, finally, she turned to Aalam. ¡°Aalam, everything you said was correct, only your mother seems to have been someone not native to Earth. She somehow came to the planet before the integration, had two children, and then disappeared. Nana Xara thinks your father might have known more, but he actually did die in a car crash. ¡°Nana Xara doesn¡¯t have a good guess who your mother might have been.¡± Aalam felt his emotions start to rise. Growing up in foster care hadn¡¯t been much fun, but he¡¯d never blamed his parents. They¡¯d died in two separate accidents, so he¡¯d always just thought he and Diana had been unlucky. But he was wrong. Their mother had abandoned them. Not only that, given her obvious power, she¡¯d known the apocalypse style integration was coming and she hadn¡¯t prepared them even a little. Hell, had she explained at all, Aalam wouldn¡¯t have thought Diana was going to die and he wouldn¡¯t have killed himself. He¡¯d be a Chaos Human too, or maybe a Strong Soul Chaos Human, instead of a Strong Soul Incubus Prince. He¡¯d still be able to enjoy food instead of that weird taste of souls. ¡°Aalam.¡± Diana¡¯s voice was soft, obviously trying to be comforting. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I miss burgers.¡± Aalam sat down on his bed again and put his face in his hands. Through his aura and detection skills, he could see everyone else turn to look at each other, but he didn¡¯t really care. ¡°Aalam, you do realize you can eat normally even though it doesn¡¯t give you any energy, right?¡± Mila asked tentatively and Aalam felt his soul shake. ¡°While the food on Hira was rather terrible, there are some food items I¡¯ve gathered from Earth in the Left Hand of the Runescribe if you want them.¡± Aalam quickly checked. Then he pulled out a bag of chips, tore it open, and took a bite. ¡°Ah, this must be what heaven feels like.¡± He even started to cry a little. Chapter 124: Diana and Isaiah Watching Aalam get so emotional about food, Diana didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand, her little brother likely hadn¡¯t physically eaten anything for a year and a half, so the fact he now realized he could was probably a huge burden off his shoulders. On the other hand, the fact he was so much happier at seeing a bag of chips than seeing her really pissed her off. She should have expected it. From her brother¡¯s perspective, he¡¯d just been away for a year, and he was really bad at putting himself in other people¡¯s shoes, so the amount of pain he¡¯d put her through had likely not sunk into his head yet. But still, she¡¯d been so happy to know he wasn¡¯t actually dead, yet he didn¡¯t seem to feel anything. ¡°He was really emotional when he learned you were alive, Diana,¡± Mila sent over the psychic connection created by the rings they were still wearing. ¡°You just weren¡¯t there when it happened. It was slightly more intense than with the chips.¡± That did make Diana feel better, but she also felt like hurting Mila, as the woman could have told her the same thing earlier instead of having fun at her expense. ¡°So, what¡¯s the status of Earth?¡± Aalam asked, his mouth full. ¡°Anyone with cool abilities? Are there any wondrous places like the soul well?¡± ¡°Quite a few people with cool abilities.¡± Mila smiled at Diana and then turned back to Aalam. ¡°But you can see for yourself. There are the tools necessary for establishing a soul network in the Left Hand of the Runescribe and we¡¯ll be relying on you to set it up once Diana becomes sovereign. Then, under as many aliases as you want, you can participate in the ranking challenges to compete against everyone in the world. ¡°As for natural wonders, Earth is an E+ rank planet, not just E rank, and that¡¯s not from an inheritance. Its wonder is called an enlightenment zone and it is an area of about 3 square kilometers on the western coast of the island of Zakynthos in Greece. Within that zone, it is easier to advance skills, comprehend Laws, and break through bottlenecks, especially Law bottlenecks. Advancing a Law into a Law Pupa, for example, is much, much easier there. ¡°One of the five families of the Five Family Alliance, the Pappas Family, found it after the integration and was using it themselves, but they granted the entire island to Diana for her personal use as part of their surrender, so you¡¯ll be able to use it whenever you want.¡± Mila smiled. ¡°I imagine you¡¯ll probably want to live there.¡± ¡°Oh, that was nice of them.¡± From his tone, Aalam seemed to have completely understood that the Pappas Family had not granted the wonder at all willingly, and, for a second, Diana started to consider when Mila had been planning on telling her about the wonder. Then she realized Mila just had, and she wouldn¡¯t have had time to use it during the last week anyway. Mila then began explaining everything that had happened since Aalam had fallen unconscious in detail, and Diana and Isaiah stepped out of the tent. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Isaiah asked when they¡¯d walked a little distance away. ¡°Yeah,¡± Diana lied, sitting down on a rock. But then she changed her answer. ¡°No. Not really.¡± The large man sat down on another rock lower down than her on the mountain and looked up at her. ¡°Why?¡± Diana contemplated how she wanted to answer. Mila had told her most of the facts about Isaiah, and Diana understood Isaiah¡¯s life had been a lot tougher than her own. She also understood that despite his upbringing, he was a lot like her brother in temperament, not one to really think about politics at all. If Mila¡¯s judgement of the man was to be believed, he was asking not because he wanted something from her, but because he genuinely wanted to see if he could help elevate her mood, and that made her a lot more nervous than if he¡¯d been someone like Ezra or James. ¡°Partly it¡¯s my brother. The fact I was so worried about him but he seems so fine, as well as his lack of reaction when seeing me for the first time in a year and a half, is kind of infuriating. ¡°Then there¡¯s Mila. Seeing how comfortable Aalam is around her still¡ªI don¡¯t know. I thought I was in a good place, having fully forgiven her, but I don¡¯t think I have. I just found myself not trusting her again, not based on anything new, and I don¡¯t really like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very reasonable feeling.¡± Isaiah smiled, his teeth perfectly clean, which Diana realized was a relatively odd thing to notice. ¡°She lies a lot, so it¡¯s hard to know when she¡¯s being genuine.¡± Isaiah then laughed, a joyous deep booming sound. ¡°The first two times I met her, she was using completely fake identities.¡± ¡°But you trust her now?¡± Diana felt curious about this, as Mila had a tendency to gloss over anything remotely emotional in her storytelling. Isaiah contemplated for a few seconds, looking down at the ground. Then he looked back at her. ¡°To have my best interests in mind, yeah. To not lie to me, no.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Diana had forced Mila into a contract where she couldn¡¯t lie and then had an honest conversation with her, but Mila was an expert at contract magic, so she still didn¡¯t fully trust what was said. ¡°I trust your brother.¡± Isaiah looked back over at the tent, smiled again, and then looked back. ¡°Do you know the story of how I became a Balance Dragon?¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Mila just said my brother helped you advance?¡± Diana felt confused. Mila had mentioned how the resources used were incredibly expensive, and that Aalam had controlled the array which allowed for the absorption, but it hadn¡¯t sounded like there was really much of a story beyond that. Isaiah laughed again. ¡°The resources I absorbed were well beyond what someone at my level should have been able to handle, and, even with my ability to passively regenerate, what your brother did to me was basically torture. If he hadn¡¯t asked first, I probably would have wanted to kill him. But he was in his berserker state and Mila had no way to know he¡¯d actually asked me, as it had been done telepathically, so she was in a panicked state while Aalam¡¯s Aura stat was significantly higher than hers. ¡°Then, to put her even further off balance, your brother asked her to marry him, and he was then able to ask a couple questions while she was too much of an emotional mess to be able to hide her emotions. ¡°She¡¯s an excellent actor and all, but she¡¯s not a robot. And, from what Aalam has told me, I don¡¯t think she was faking. ¡°That¡¯s when Aalam fully broke up with her, and their relationship got quite a bit better afterwards.¡± That sounded like Aalam. Once he saw a problem, he was very much one for creative and, to a normal person, insane solutions. Diana could now better understand why Aalam seemed so much more comfortable around Mila than she¡¯d expected. He didn¡¯t trust his own judgement of people, for good reason, so he¡¯d gone overboard in his verification. ¡°Were those the only two things which were bothering you?¡± Isaiah asked. Diana thought about it for a second. ¡°I¡¯m probably also stressed from having to play politics with all the leaders of Earth¡¯s forces. It¡¯s not very fun.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Isaiah summoned a metal spear from his spatial storage ring and stood up from his rock. ¡°Want to have a duel then?¡± ¡°A duel?¡± Diana looked up at him, frowning slightly. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always found training helps me destress.¡± Isaiah smiled. ¡°And, ever since I met your brother, I¡¯ve found training with someone else is generally more fun than training by yourself.¡± Diana just looked at him for a few seconds. Then she released her control over her mana, causing the mana in the area to twist as she summoned both Dioscuri and Helen into her hands. Next, taking full control over her mana again, she merged both her spirits into her body. Isaiah, in response to her provocation, released his control over his qi and the air for over a meter around him began to vibrate slightly, the rocky ground under his feet vibrating as well. Purple scales formed from mana and qi began to appear all over his body, covering his skin, and, as he retook control over his qi and the vibrations stopped, the energy from her Territory began to gather around him as well, further boosting his power. Isaiah then rushed at her, thrusting his spear towards her chest at a speed which showed his effective Agility was quite a bit beyond hers, and Diana quickly took to the air to try and avoid his attack. But Isaiah stepped into the air like it was solid ground and Diana was forced to take drastic measures, activating her Spirit Enhancement skill to empower Helen and then using the full power of her Magic stat to make a wall of living fire to block Isaiah¡¯s movement. The flames were incredibly hot, Diana¡¯s effective Magic stat quite a bit higher than 10,000, but Isaiah didn¡¯t avoid it, activating a defensive skill and jumping right through, getting burned very, very badly in the process. Pretty much only his underclothes survived the fire, but, with his spear right at her neck, Diana watched as his burns visibly started to heal. ¡°I specialize in speed, defense, offense, and self-regeneration.¡± Isaiah smiled, somehow not at all bothered by the type of pain he must have just undergone, his burns already half healed. Diana, for her part, was just looking at him in shock. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Compared to my race advancement, that was nothing. And I need to get injured if I¡¯m going to practice with my regeneration Law.¡± Isaiah took several steps back. ¡°Want to go again?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Diana was feeling a little nervous, as Isaiah was seeming more like a madman than even her brother, but, given how fast he healed, his burns already completely gone, maybe pain just wasn''t a big deal to him. She moved back about a hundred meters and then used Dioscuri¡¯s power to enter into stealth. In response, Isaiah charged toward her former position and she moved to her right to try to get around to his back. When they were only about 40 meters from each other, however, the closest they were going to get given their trajectories, Isaiah, without looking toward her, changed directions and charged straight at where she was moving. Startled, she froze for a fraction of a second. Then she tried throwing beams of pure death energy at him using her hands. But Isaiah was too quick, too close, and had too good of a defensive skill. He dodged both beams and got even closer to her. Then, when he was within striking range, he changed his Law usage to empower his defensive skill instead of his movement, allowed her to hit his defense with both beams, and held his spear to her neck again. Yes, she was hitting him with her attack, but she hadn¡¯t been able to do any damage to him at all before his spear reached her, and she only managed to get through his defenses a quarter of a second after she would have already died. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she shut off the death mana and Isaiah¡¯s chest, slightly rotted from her powerful middle grade Law Larva of Necrosis, quickly started to heal. ¡°You knew where I was from the beginning?¡± Isaiah nodded as he took several steps back again. ¡°Perception is my highest effective stat and I have a powerful detection skill. Even Mila can¡¯t hide from me within a range of 70 meters, and her stealth skill is better than yours while she has a stealth boosting Law. You shouldn¡¯t try to use stealth against me unless we are practicing.¡± He then looked at her appraisingly, seeming to be analyzing the way she was fused with her spirits. ¡°Your Magic stat is incredibly high and your skills all seem to be the same grade as mine, while your Laws are quite a bit stronger, but the skill which allows you to merge with your spirits is new, right?¡± Diana nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed at how easily he could see through her. ¡°You¡¯re powerful, but you¡¯re like your brother when we first started training together. You don¡¯t seem to have much practice fighting against those at your same level and you have several major weaknesses as a result.¡± Isaiah looked contemplative for a second and Diana sensed Mila and Aalam exit from the tent to her right as he continued talking. ¡°First and foremost, like your brother, you don¡¯t have a movement skill. ¡°While you seem to have a summoner class, your skill set seems designed to have you fight like a mage. Right now, however, you don¡¯t have the ability to keep yourself at range when fighting a warrior like me, so that¡¯s the first thing you should focus on. ¡°Nana Xara, however, might have other ideas and I would trust her judgement over my own.¡± Isaiah smiled widely and the scales covering his body faded away. ¡°Do you feel a bit better now?¡± Diana just stared at him, at his large pectoral muscles, his perfect abs, his seemingly perfectly chiseled face, and she didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°No. Of course not.¡± Sure, the adrenaline had helped with her stress, but who liked having their weaknesses pointed out? She looked over at her brother, who was looking at her avatar state with excitement in his eyes, and she realized there was one such weird person right there, and it seemed Isaiah might have incorrectly assumed, given she was Aalam¡¯s older sister, that she was similarly insane. Chapter 125: The Alchemist of the Deep Woods Mila After guiding Aalam to his new home on the Greek island of Zakynthos, where he set up a formation she¡¯d bought from the Trial Tower¡¯s rewards to keep out any unwanted visitors from the enlightenment zone, Isaiah got to go hunt monsters in the Pacific while Mila was forced to do something a lot less pleasant. She had to lie to her oldest friend. The requirements for the Legendary grade version of the Devil¡¯s Contract skill at G rank had been one free skill slot, the Soul stat at 36 or higher, the ability to learn diabolical soul contract skills, and, most important, having spent 6 of the last 12 years lying to those closest to you every day. When advancing to F rank, the skill had only increased in rank, not grade, so there hadn''t been any issue. The only requirement that changed from the G rank version of the Legendary grade Devil¡¯s Contract to the F rank version was the Soul stat needing to be at least 432 instead of 36, yet class advancements voided the requirements for stats to be above certain values, so it hadn¡¯t been an issue. When she advanced to E rank, however, she would have to meet the requirements for advancing the skill to the Heroic grade Advanced Devil¡¯s Contract, and that skill required her to have spent at least 12 of the last 16 years lying to those closest to her every day instead of 6 of the last 12, and she wasn¡¯t quite there yet, having spent several months each year when she was a teenager with her grandfather. Thankfully, closest in this case didn¡¯t mean emotionally close, but who she interacted with the most, and anyone she spoke to over a bond, such as Nana Xara, for some reason didn¡¯t count. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for deceiving and using you.¡± She, Diana, and Nitya were in Diana¡¯s penthouse home in Sydney, in the same room where she¡¯d reunited with her grandfather, and she and Nitya were on opposite couches while Diana was on the couch in-between. ¡°Well, thank you for that.¡± Mila wasn¡¯t actually sorry, at least for her actions. She¡¯d made friends with Nitya when they''d been assigned as roommates in college and that friendship had been genuine. Nitya had never known Mila was a spy and assassin, and Mila had never verbally lied to Nitya about it. The requirements for Devil¡¯s Contract counted lies of omission, but Mila herself didn¡¯t, so she felt no guilt. And, unlike with Aalam, she''d never stolen from Nitya directly, only the company where Nitya worked. After being asked to find the necessary passwords to access Nitya¡¯s company¡¯s servers, Mila¡¯d just opened a file called Passwords on Nitya¡¯s computer when she¡¯d come to visit her and copied the file¡¯s contents with no one the wiser. The only reason anyone ever figured out she¡¯d stolen anything was from Aalam¡¯s trojan posting what her handler had written down about her theft to the internet. Mila was sorry about hurting Nitya¡¯s feelings, but her friend had made it way too easy, so, Mila didn¡¯t actually feel at all apologetic about the theft itself. If she said that, however, it would hurt Nitya¡¯s feelings and make working together in the future more difficult, so the lie was just easier. * * * Krysta Krysta was walking through the garden of her mother¡¯s estate, silver translucent hair flowing in the slight breeze as she looked at the millions of varieties of plants, about a third of which were flowering, and felt peaceful. Four days before, she''d advanced her race, and now she was spending a few weeks to get used to its power before advancing her class. While there were no outward differences, she already felt so much stronger, able to sense so much more from the life energy present in the garden than before her advancement, her affinity with the life element Laws much higher than previously even though her race heavily focused on space Laws. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Oh, so here you are.¡± Her mother, mossy green dreadlocks tied up behind her back, walked out of the main alchemy building of the complex, a large structure made out of a single huge tree of life which rose to a height of over 2 kilometers, with a trunk diameter to match. Krysta hadn¡¯t seen her mother since she¡¯d had her inspiration after hearing about the Heavenly Spark crafter called Shadow, but there was already a new pill listed for sale on the Forest Cauldron¡¯s universal soul net site, one which would greatly boost a cultivator¡¯s effective Perception within a limited area, so it seemed her mother had been successful. ¡°Congratulations on your advancement, Krysta.¡± Her mother took a single step and crossed the 800 meters which had been between them. ¡°Is there anything you would like to eat to celebrate?¡± Krysta thought for a second. Then her black eyes lit up. ¡°Life Dragon Bone Soup?¡± Her mother started laughing. ¡°Life Dragon Bone Soup it is.¡± Krysta couldn¡¯t sense it, but she knew her mother had contacted the high kitchens to order the dish. And, given the nature of the cooking process, it would be ready in about six hours. ¡°So, I noticed you provided very few resources to the organization.¡± Her mother smiled at her. ¡°What did you end up spending your trial points on, dear?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Krysta grew excited as she took the multi-colored orb holding the first 16 levels of the Twelve Element Primal Code out from her spatial ring and held it up for her mother to see. ¡°This.¡± Her mother had a surprised look on her face. Then it changed to one of disappointment and resignation. ¡°Dear, why did you buy a copy of a cultivation technique the organization already has, and without as many levels as the organization¡¯s copy as well?¡± Krysta began to realize she might have done something bad, so most of her excitement left her. ¡°I wanted to leave a message for that Shadow, asking him to come here. I was going to give this orb to him.¡± Her mother actually put a hand over her face. ¡°Krysta, two things. One, in order to see the message you left, this Shadow must have had enough points to be able to purchase the cultivation technique himself, which is doubtful given he lost in the fourth round of the tournament section and you yourself could barely buy it. Second, the man didn''t even want to show his face. Even if he were able to see your message, there is no way he would be willing to come here, so you effectively just blocked his path.¡± ¡°He was almost certainly able to gain enough points. The plague he used against me was very powerful, and he could almost certainly make a much better plague targeted towards the undead in Trial VII.¡± Krysta defended herself at least partially. ¡°That¡¯s worse, dear.¡± Her mother lowered the hand over her face and looked at her seriously. ¡°You seem to like this boy, and he sounds talented so I¡¯m not going to immediately disapprove. But you made a big mistake here and he probably hates you right now.¡± Krysta started to feel fear and her mother placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. ¡°Let me see if I can at least patch it up slightly.¡± She then took the orb holding the Twelve Element Primal Code from out of Krysta¡¯s hands and the orb soon disappeared. "There, if he''s talented enough to be able to use it, he will be able to get it.¡± * * * Mila ¡°Damn that stupid girl!¡± Mila shouted out loud suddenly in Chinese and Diana and Nitya both looked at her, Nitya thankfully unable to understand, so Mila quickly spoke in English. ¡°Sorry, I just got a System notification about someone in the Smith clan doing something stupid. I have to go.¡± At the same time, she spoke telepathically with Diana. ¡°I really do have to go talk to the Smith clan, cleaning up the mess some of their members made by creating alliance contracts with members of the Daybreak Empire, but that was already planned. I just got a System message showing the space scarab¡¯s daughter realized her mistake and then made another one.¡± Mila looked again at the quest which had popped up in front of her eyes. The Alchemist of the Deep Woods has offered a quest to all the trial takers from the latest F rank Trial Tower who earned more than 17,832,200,896,512 trial points. Follow the Path of the Heavenly Spark (Heroic) Accomplish the following:
  1. Raise 3 Law Larvae from each of the 12 elements to high grade within 72 years
Rewards: The first 16 levels of the Twelve Element Primal Code Do you accept? Yes/No If Aalam had been a normal trial taker, this would have solved all of their problems, but Aalam had entered the Trial Tower as a familiar, so he couldn¡¯t accept the quest, and Mila had no chance of being able to complete it on her own. Likely, Krysta¡¯s mother had realized what a stupid action her daughter had taken and was trying to rectify it, but Mila¡¯s own actions of hiding the fact Aalam was a familiar were now biting her in the ass. Exiting Diana¡¯s penthouse suite, Mila summoned the Twin Dragons out from her spatial storage ring in spear form and just stabbed the assassin waiting by the elevator instead of trying to question him. Assassins had become too common since she and Diana had returned to Sydney and Mila was too frustrated to deal with this one, so she left him there with half his life so someone else could deal with questioning him. Chapter 126: Sovereign of Earth Diana Standing in the outdoor garden of her new penthouse home in New York City, as Mila charmed and then questioned the latest assassin to try and kill her, Diana for a brief second wondered if it wouldn¡¯t be better to let someone else become Sovereign of Earth. But then she remembered why she¡¯d started on this path all those months ago. Walking around Australia, she¡¯d seen how many of those first to enter F rank started to use their power to abuse those weaker than them, such as committing mass slaughter to increase their own strength or taking advantage of every pretty girl in an area. She¡¯d been strong enough to protect herself, but through Nana Xara she knew how small she was in the wider universe. If she didn''t change her mindset, take every opportunity given to her, she knew she would eventually become like one of those victims. Sure, part of the reason she wanted to become Earth¡¯s Sovereign was to make life on Earth better for the average person, but the bigger reason was so she could gain enough power to protect herself and those close to her from the dangers which would eventually come. It was at this moment Diana felt something shift, like a metaphysical earthquake, her magical senses going crazy for a few seconds as her realization sped up the final stages of her Territory¡¯s development. Then the System messages arrived. Congratulations! You have been recognized as Sovereign of the planet Earth! Your Territory Florin has disappeared and you now rule over the entire planet. Then came the System messages about the status of her new Territory. Earth (E+ rank planet) The planet Earth, Territory of Lord Diana Alvaro. Lord: Diana Alvaro Overlord: Heavenly Spark Soul King Benefits to humanoid population: Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% Effectiveness of Soul stat +6.25% Affinity for all Laws +12.5% There was a pause for a few seconds, then more System messages came. The Apocalypse Style Integration of Earth is now over and the natives have achieved full victory. Granting rewards based on contribution! Rank 1: Diana Alvaro (All Stats +36, 1 medium System boon) Rank 2: Javier Garcia (All Stats +12, 1 minor System boon) Rank 3: Nitya Chakrabarti (All Stats +12, 1 minor System boon) Rank 4: Irena Krol (All Stats +10, 1 minor System boon) Rank 5: Anton Smith (All Stats +8) All stats have increased by +36 and you may choose one medium System boon. For her medium boon, Diana then chose to advance her Miracle Summoner racial ability as planned, further increasing the core of her power. Congratulations! Your racial ability Miracle Summoner (Legendary) has upgraded to Wondrous Summoner (Heroic) Wondrous Summoner (Heroic): Markedly increase the power of summoning category skills The System notifications then continued. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Rewards based on contribution done. As Sovereign, you gain four separate rewards.
  1. Interplanetary Teleportation Platform: You have 3 standard days to choose a location where the System will create a teleportation platform connected to the Universal Teleportation Network, which will allow those you grant access the ability to teleport off world
  2. Status of Planetary Lord: Your Lord skill will be increased from Epic grade to Legendary grade with the advancement pathway of your choice
  3. Token of Trial (F rank): A System-bound token you may either take for yourself or grant to another cultivator, it will allow the cultivator to participate in the next Trial Tower. The Trial Tower is a test for F ranks which is run by the System every six years with valuable prizes the further you climb. The next Trial Tower test is in 2,148 standard days. No cultivators with E rank races or higher are allowed.
  4. Given your planet was deprived of its chemistry-based weapons during the tutorial process, you receive the value of those chemistry-based weapons as universal credits
The fourth reward activated first. You have gained 16 D rank universal credits, 1,678,934 E rank universal credits, 612,945,378,092 F rank universal credits Congratulations! You have made money. Your status screen now contains an assets section. It was quite a bit of money, which made sense given the sheer number of guns, military hardware, and nuclear bombs which had been taken away by the System, and about what Nana Xara had guessed, but it didn¡¯t make Diana as excited as it should have. To a normal newly integrated planet¡¯s sovereign it would be an incredibly large sum¡ªmost F ranks never touching a single E rank credit, let alone D rank¡ªbut Mila¡¯s wealth, which she was planning on using to boost the entire faction, contained 32 C rank credits, along with over 800 D rank credits. Granted, the sheer amount of E and F rank credits would be useful for Earth as a whole, but the type of resources Aalam, Mila, and she needed could only be bought with D rank credits at the minimum. Diana then made use of the second reward. Congratulations! You have used external energy to advance the skill Lord (F-Epic) to Underlord (F-Legendary) Underlord (F-Legendary) Soul, Noble, Humble, Contract You are a lord, but also a servant With this, she could now telepathically communicate with Aalam, and by extension Mila, over extremely long distances, making the telepathy ring she was wearing paired with the one on Mila¡¯s hand now useless. More important, however, she could share resources and even nascent energy over a close range through her bond with Aalam, which would be extremely useful as Aalam had quite a bit of extra nascent energy which Mila for the time being didn¡¯t want. ¡°Mila,¡± she sent over the bond she now had due to Mila being Aalam¡¯s chamberlain, causing Mila to turn to look at her. ¡°I¡¯ve just become Earth¡¯s Sovereign. Do you want to head out now, or is there something else you need to do?¡± ¡°Now.¡± Mila summoned her transforming artifact, the Twin Dragons of Yin and Yang, in spear form and stabbed the man she¡¯d finished questioning. Then she tossed the spear to Diana and quickly changed out of her nice black armor, instead putting on a Rare grade blue dress before tossing Diana one of her two spatial storage rings as well. ¡°Trade you for the telepathy ring.¡± Diana caught and placed the spatial storage ring on her own finger while transforming the Twin Dragons into its earrings form on her own ears. Then she took off her telepathy ring and tossed it to Mila, who placed it in her remaining spatial storage ring. The two of them then flew off the elevated garden, Diana merged with Dioscuri and Mila running along telekinetically created steps so they could both maintain stealth, and traveled south through the night air to Ellis Island. The new world government was in the process of being established in New York so Diana had moved there, but she¡¯d soon be traveling to Zakynthos, Greece to train in the enlightenment zone with Aalam. Mila, however, needed to leave as soon as possible given their time limit and Aalam¡¯s requirement for the Twelve Element Primal Code. So, to that end, when they landed on Ellis Island, Diana chose the location of the teleportation platform to be in the center of a small park area. Then a stone octagonal platform appeared in front of them, about the size where six people could comfortably stand on it. ¡°Keep him from doing anything stupid while I¡¯m gone.¡± Mila hugged her and then transferred some of the rewards from her and Aalam¡¯s tutorial which could only be used by at least the lord of a settlement, but were much better used by the sovereign of a planet. You have received 1 Legendary grade auction house coupon from Li Mila You have received 1 Legendary grade amphitheater coupon from Li Mila You have received 1 Legendary grade personal residence coupon from Li Mila You have received 1 Legendary grade library coupon from Li Mila You have received 1 Legendary grade exam hall coupon from Li Mila You have received 4 Legendary grade crafting hall coupons from Li Mila You have received 3 Epic grade crafting hall coupons from Li Mila You have received 1 Epic grade school coupon from Li Mila You have received 1 Epic grade dining hall coupon from Li Mila The major forces of Earth had worked together to buy most of the buildings in their own tutorial, some of them aware the resulting coupons could be used to directly purchase an entire building from the System by a planet¡¯s sovereign, and those coupons were also mostly in Diana¡¯s hands by this time due to Mila¡¯s contracts. The one coupon Mila did keep was the one for the Epic grade gambling hall, as that would be much better used on a planet with intergalactic trade and not a hidden place like Earth. After Diana released her, Mila, who had already said goodbye to Aalam and Isaiah the day before, then got on top of the platform and disappeared. * * * Mila Arriving on a fully integrated planet of the universe for the first time, Mila felt a bit of culture shock. The city which housed the planet¡¯s main teleportation platforms looked futuristic. There were tall buildings made of what looked like glass and steel, almost every other building higher than 500 meters. There was no green anywhere, not a plant in sight. And everyone walking around was carrying a sword while wearing no shoes. As Mila had discovered in the tutorial, shoes just weren¡¯t really a thing in the wider universe, but she initially found it odd almost no other weapons were visible besides swords. Then, however, she saw the System message describing the Territory and it made perfect sense. Toril (E rank planet) The planet Toril, Territory of Lord Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone. Lord: Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone Overlord: NA Benefits to humanoid population: Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +12.5% further when holding a sword The teleportation platforms were in a large square near the center of the huge city, but they weren¡¯t guarded. There were just a few attendants telling new arrivals to get off quickly so more people could teleport in or out, and this meant Mila was released unsupervised to do whatever she wanted. The first thing she had to do, however, was spend a few minutes to get used to the suppression effect of a fully integrated E rank world, her movement speed, strength, perception, and the power of her Telekinesis skill all noticeably weaker. Chapter 127: Epecteos Ka’Dravone Epecteos Summoning his bastard sword into his spatial storage ring, Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone sighed and waved his left hand over his head, emitting water element infused mana to clean his face and the ten horns his race had instead of hair. Then he took a white T-shirt out of his spatial storage ring and put it over his purple and black patterned chest. Epecteos was tired. He¡¯d lived too long and almost every day had been spent training with his sword. But the passion wasn¡¯t there anymore, and he was noticing the starting signs of his body truly starting to age. He¡¯d been alive for 5,347 years, yet what did he have to show for it? He¡¯d been the only member of his tribe to ever make it to D rank, so everyone he''d ever loved had died over half his lifetime ago. And no one in the tribe had been knowledgeable enough to tell him the dangers of following the path of 12 elements, so no force powerful enough to help him rise had ever been willing to take him in. He was stuck. Advancement was impossible. And, while he controlled an E rank and five F rank planets, he had to serve at the whims of a king less talented than himself just because the man was C rank. What was the point? Considering yet again to just give up on his advancement and live out the rest of his life like a hedonist, Epecteos activated Telekinesis and launched off the surface of the ocean, flying through the sky about a quarter of the way across the planet in just a few minutes. Then he landed on the rooftop garden of his palatial penthouse apartment taking up floors 678 to 683 of the planet¡¯s tallest building. ¡°Bothil!¡± Almost immediately, a human male with pale pinkish skin, blond hair, and blue eyes appeared, having teleported next to him. ¡°You called, sir?¡± As he entered the rooftop entrance to his home, a door which led onto a balcony overlooking a large room, his butler followed him. The room was five stories tall, took up 400 square meters, and housed his book and weapons collection, the room filled with the aura of all twelve elements emanating out of 144 Epic Grade E rank weapons and 1728 books of magic. Jumping from the balcony down into the center of the room, where there were three couches surrounding a triangular table, Epecteos sat down on one. ¡°Bothil, I want to be entertained.¡± ¡°Women, performance, or story, sir?¡± ¡°Woman, singular, new.¡± Epecteos leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. ¡°Yes, sir. I have just the female.¡± And with that Bothil disappeared. Then, about a minute later, a young woman wearing a forest green sundress was teleported in to sit on one of the couches and Epecteos opened his eyes to look at her. Human, she had long scarlet hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes, or at least that¡¯s how she wanted to appear. It took Epecteos a second, but he had a Law Pupa of Illusion and the Perception of a max level D rank, so he could tell there was an illusion around her, though he couldn''t tell what it was hiding. Intrigued, as he took off his shirt, he also puffed out a breath and the illusion around her crumbled, showing a woman who looked exactly the same, only with different coloring. Instead of red, her hair was black. Instead of bright green, her irises were yellow. And, instead of pale, her skin was a light violet. She wasn¡¯t a normal human, but one with Infernal ancestry. Her dress was also blue, not forest green, but Epecteos didn¡¯t care much about that, as it would be removed soon anyway. ¡°Interesting.¡± The woman smiled at him. ¡°Your E rank butler didn¡¯t appear able to see through the illusion, but you could easily. It seems my skill isn¡¯t strong enough to hide from a peak D rank, at least one that trains in the Law of Illusions.¡± She leaned forward, placing her left elbow on her left thigh and using her hand to hold up her chin. ¡°But are you able to see through my other layer of disguise?¡± Epecteos started to frown. This woman was interesting, and her form was definitely beautiful, but she wasn¡¯t the type of woman Bothil would generally pick for him. Epecteos was long bored of flirting, especially with a youngster like he was still sure this woman was. But, more than her personality, after thinking about it for a second he realized the subtlety of the woman¡¯s illusion had been far stronger than he¡¯d ever heard of from an F rank, meaning she likely had several abilities strengthening an already very high grade skill. And, if her words were to be believed and she had another layer of disguise, it was a disguise he couldn¡¯t see through, which was a bit scary. She had to be an emissary of some kind, but by this point in his life Epecteos didn¡¯t really care. Anyone who sent an F rank emissary to him wasn¡¯t someone who could help him with his advancement, so what did it matter? Using his Telekinesis skill he gently tried to remove her dress, but she smiled at him and used her own Telekinesis skill, one at least Legendary in grade, to hold her dress to her body, and, as he didn¡¯t feel any desire to use force, he stopped. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to take me, Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone. I can¡¯t and won¡¯t try to defend myself.¡± She smiled warmly. ¡°You would however most likely anger the only man in the universe both able and willing to give you what I¡¯m guessing you most desire.¡± The woman summoned what looked to Epecteos to be a pair of F rank telepathic rings, one of which she put on and the other she tossed at him. Intrigued, and honestly not having anything much better to do, Epecteos put on the ring, the artifact resizing itself slightly to be able to fit on his right pinky. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So, what is the offer you are trying to make? And why make it while disguised as a high class prostitute?¡± Epecteos leaned back in his seat. ¡°For the latter question, it is difficult for an F rank to meet with someone of your stature, especially if she wants to remain secretive about the offer she¡¯s making. For the former, I¡¯d need you to sign a contract first before we talk about it.¡± [Blank] has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. For one standard hour, neither you nor [Blank] can tell a lie to the other
  2. Any information shared during the next hour must stay confidential and cannot be shared without the explicit permission of the other party
Punishment: All stats reduced by 36 times for 24 hours Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Interesting.¡± The fact she was even trying to make a contract with him, a powerful D rank, meant she was confident the contract would be able to bind him, which was almost as revealing as her ability to hide her name. The woman had already shown off a powerful illusion based disguise skill and implied she might have a biological based one as well, both of which would have to be heavily boosted and of high grade¡ªor, more impressively, possibly a single triforce based skill which could do both. If her contracts were as powerful as her being able to bind him with one would imply, combined with the strength of her disguise, it meant he was likely talking to someone with at least a Legendary grade class. And, given her ability to hide her name in the contract and the strength of the Law of Illusions he¡¯d felt from her disguise, she had at least two Law Larvae at middle grade, which was very impressive. No matter how stupid he¡¯d learned such a choice of starting class grade was, it meant he was likely talking to someone with an even higher degree of talent than himself. ¡°Forming a contract with an unknown party is generally a bad idea, what with the Devil¡¯s Contract skill, which, seeing your other skills, you might have.¡± The smile on the woman¡¯s face grew wider. ¡°It sounds like you don¡¯t know much about the Devil¡¯s Contract skill. Even with the highest grade version, its special ability requires the target¡¯s soul to be at most one rank higher, with the only exception being if the higher rank target¡¯s Soul stat is half that of the user¡¯s or less. And, even boosted, a two rank difference still makes it nearly impossible for the skill to change any punishment clause.¡± Epecteos started laughing, having almost confirmed the woman¡¯s contract skill was in fact Devil¡¯s Contract, and then agreed to her terms, the contract binding him like he expected. ¡°So, what is it you¡¯re offering, young lady?¡± ¡°Attunement increase by 6.25% and affinity with all Laws increased by up to 25%, dependent on the affinities of your race, both of which are likely to double within 7 years if you cooperate. Also, a high grade D rank System boon which you can use to clean your body of impurities, greatly increasing your chance of forming a core.¡± Epecteos felt his eyes go slightly wide. Attunement increases were nearly impossible to come by, yet the woman seemed confident he¡¯d get the full 6.25%. More than that, however, a high grade System boon was very rare. The only case he could think of where he could possibly get one would be to take an apprentice at F rank and raise him or her up to become an absolute powerhouse of a C rank. Given the obvious talent of the woman in front of him, she would likely fit the criteria if she were to rise to C rank, but he didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be a good fit for his teachings, so it was more likely it would be the man she¡¯d mentioned. ¡°What is it you want?¡± The woman smiled, likely knowing she had him interested. ¡°Have you ever heard of the Twelve Element Primal Code?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Of course he had. Knowledge of the names of the best cultivation techniques in the universe weren¡¯t much of a secret once one reached D rank and could use D rank universal credits to buy information, and the Twelve Element Primal Code was the one he still dreamed of seeing a full copy of. One of the main reasons he hadn¡¯t been able to advance after all these years was that his foundation wasn¡¯t stable, and this was because the cultivation technique he practiced didn¡¯t have an elemental leaning and wasn¡¯t powerful. Had he trained in the Twelve Element Primal Code from when he was an F rank, he would have become C rank long ago, and, if he could get his hands on the section of the cultivation technique which described core formation, it would be a huge help in his advancement. ¡°If you can help me acquire the full first 8 levels of the cultivation technique within the next three standard years, I can help you have a much better chance of advancing.¡± Ah. Epecteos had a better understanding of what he was dealing with now. This woman was ridiculously talented, but she likely didn¡¯t have a big force behind her, or her force wasn¡¯t willing to help her with what she was attempting. The man she¡¯d mentioned was then also likely an F rank, but one she had confidence would at least reach E rank, thus the need for the Twelve Element Primal Code. Epecteos, as one of the relatively low number of people in the universe to have ever followed the path of 12 elements to D rank, had been looking for the Twelve Element Primal Code for over half his lifetime, and thus had quite a bit of information on the forces in his galaxy cluster and the surrounding galaxy clusters which had the technique. He just didn¡¯t have the power or influence to gain access to any of the versions of the technique he knew about without paying an exorbitant price, so it had never been worth it before. ¡°Why me?¡± The woman summoned a bastard sword out of her spatial storage ring and tossed it to him. ¡°My partner thought highly of the training he received from that.¡± If Epecteos had been surprised before, he was much more surprised now. The sword was a legacy artifact he¡¯d made and sold to the System only a hundred years ago, wanting to leave his techniques behind before his death, but not having any living heirs to leave them to. And he¡¯d received a System notification about a year ago saying a native cultivator of a world undergoing an apocalypse style integration had chosen it as a reward. The partner the woman was talking about thus couldn¡¯t be someone from a major force, and almost certainly neither could she, despite her talent. He was dealing with two little people who¡¯d managed to defend their newly integrated world, but who had made some major mistakes during the process, and it seemed one of them was already at least half his apprentice. A genuine smile appeared on Epecteos¡¯s face for the first time in over five hundred years. He¡¯d mostly given up on teaching a long, long time ago, but he was starting to feel that urge again. ¡°Alright.¡± He summoned a cracked 3 cm diameter orb which glowed with twelve different colors and tossed it to the woman. ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing to lose. Let¡¯s work together.¡± ¡°I was sold that 16 hundred years ago and it contains undamaged copies of the third, fifth, and seventh levels of the Twelve Element Primal Code.¡± Epecteos couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the surprised look on the woman¡¯s face. Sure, it was unlikely the woman would actually be able to help him advance, but helping out two talented F ranks would at least be more fun than just training by himself and hoping for a miracle. Chapter 128: Copies of the Twelve Element Primal Code Mila ¡°Does it contain the version of the Twelve Element Primal Code for the path of the Heavenly Spark as well?¡± The yellow and red eyes of Lord Ka¡¯Dravone widened as she asked the question, his aura showing surprise, and he was a bit slow to answer. ¡°Yes. The first, second, third, fifth, and seventh levels are all undamaged.¡± Mila took a deep breath. Just from this one cracked orb, she had everything Aalam would need at F rank other than the fourth and sixth levels. Having the first three levels already would help give her a little extra time to find the missing pieces, as Aalam could practice them immediately after balancing all his Law Larvae at high grade, but it would only give her a few weeks at most given how high grade Aalam¡¯s Laws would be, even with Aalam likely having to clean his resource channels a lot more than when she¡¯d started cultivating the mixed version of Yin Yang Cosmology. The bigger win was that she might be able to get the other two levels from another damaged copy of the cultivation technique, which might be a lot easier to find. ¡°Would you tell me about the other copies of the Twelve Element Primal Code you know about?¡± Lord Ka¡¯Dravone just looked at her for several seconds, his expression showing his mind was likely racing. Then he asked, ¡°Your partner is following the path of the Heavenly Spark?¡± Mila shook her head side to side, the sign of assent in the predominant culture of Lord Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s Toril planet. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You mentioned a high grade D rank System boon, and it sounded like you believed it was a sure thing. I was assuming that would be based on taking an apprentice and helping him or her rise to C rank, but, from what I know, only one person has ever risen to D rank following the path of the Heavenly Spark, let alone C rank.¡± Mila could see the confusion in the man¡¯s aura as, even with her own power suppressed, her Aura becoming more easily readable, it didn¡¯t take away from her ability to read the aura of others, and his effective Aura stat was less than 2,000. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard as well, but you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Mila smiled at him. ¡°The offer isn¡¯t for you to take my partner as your apprentice.¡± Mila had lowered her stats to the normal amount one would expect of a level 33 cultivator with a Rare grade class by creating what was called a soul shackle, a basic technique for those in the universe with contract creation powers. It involved making a contract with herself and then breaking it, with the punishment for the contract being the actual goal. In her case, for example, the punishment lowered her stats to the values she wanted and she could disable or reenable the reduction at any time she wanted. Normally, soul shackles were quite easy to spot, but, as she¡¯d furthered her mastery of her Trickster¡¯s Guise skill, she¡¯d figured out how to use all three of her resources to disguise the nature of her soul, helping her disguise herself as pretty much any humanoid race and making the soul shackles nearly impossible to passively spot. Certain types of cultivators would be able to see through the disguise easily, just like how Isaiah¡¯s detection skill was the bane of stealth abilities, but those types of cultivators were quite rare and, given the triple boost her Trickster¡¯s Guise skill was getting from her class and her Master of Disguise racial ability, they would need to be at least E rank or incredibly specialized. ¡°The offer is for you to take one of his subordinates as an apprentice, a young balance dragon spearman.¡± Lord Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s aura showed surprise again, just as Mila expected. She already had a pretty good idea of the man¡¯s personality. He was a talent limited by the circumstances of his birth who had already gotten past the anger phase of realizing he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to advance again, so mostly he was just bored. The possibility of advancing would entice him, but he wouldn¡¯t trust it coming from an F rank, thus the best way to get him on her side and motivate him to help her was to get him excited. Knowing she had him hooked, she then pressed forward before he could start asking more questions. ¡°I can explain more once we have a contract, but could you please first give me a brief overview of the copies of the Twelve Element Primal Code you know about? You don¡¯t have to go into specifics.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Lord Ka¡¯Dravone took a deep breath and calmed himself. ¡°I sadly don¡¯t know of any damaged copies like the one I was sold. An E rank found it in an old ruin and then deliberately searched me out knowing I would be willing to pay for it and likely wouldn¡¯t kill him. ¡°I do, however, know of four complete copies. The first two are held by A rank forces. There are likely other A rank forces out there with the Twelve Element Primal Code, but I only know of the two. Both are quite insular, however, and are unlikely to ever sell the technique to outsiders. There is also an information house that is rumored to be in almost every galaxy cluster in the universe which sells cultivation techniques, but it only sells the techniques one level at a time and the cost is exorbitant, each level measured in A rank universal credits. Then, finally, there is a local B rank force which I know has at least the first ten levels, but they¡¯re also unlikely to sell it to outsiders.¡± Mila thought about it for a few seconds. The information house was out. According to Nana Xara, stores like that which span the entire universe almost always had gods behind them, and Mila didn¡¯t want to risk having a paper trail when it came to buying Aalam¡¯s cultivation technique if possible, not to mention she had no way to afford the price. It was possible the B rank force or one of the two A rank forces might have need of some of the items she¡¯d bought from the Trial Tower, or one Nana Xara could make a quest to give her, though, so those might be possibilities. Given she had a time limit, however, the best choice was probably to join one of the forces herself and see if she could pretend to have a relationship with Lord Ka¡¯Dravone to get someone in the force to give her the technique as a gift. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s make a contract.¡± * * * Epecteos Shadow has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the Heavenly Spark Soul King or any of his subordinates to anyone for any reason without explicit permission from the Heavenly Spark Soul King or Shadow
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the Heavenly Spark Soul King or any of his subordinates without explicit permission from the Heavenly Spark Soul King or Shadow
  3. You must do your reasonable best to help acquire the first 8 levels of the Heavenly Spark version of the Twelve Element Primal Code for the Heavenly Spark Soul King within 3 standard years
  4. If item 3 is accomplished, Shadow must do her reasonable best to help you advance to C rank before your death
  5. Reasonable in this contract is held to the following definition: taking all actions which do not require a sacrifice of one¡¯s own future potential nor a higher than 30% chance of death for one¡¯s self or those one cares about
Punishment: Never-ending Pain Do you accept? Yes/No The contract seemed sensible, but the title Heavenly Spark Soul King really got Epecteos¡¯s interest. He was pretty sure the title of king was only given to monsters who gained a high grade Law Egg before leaving their tutorial, while the term soul likely meant the man had been reborn with a race that emphasized the Soul stat. Having the term heavenly spark in a System generated title, however, was something he¡¯d never heard of. Had the partner this Shadow was talking about actually left his monster tutorial with 36 high grade Law Eggs, or was the woman messing with the names in the contract like she¡¯d shown she could do before? Also, for that matter, was the woman in front of him a monster? She¡¯d mentioned there was an extra layer of disguise he hadn¡¯t been able to see through. Curious, and again not really having much better to do in his old age, Epecteos accepted. ¡°Now, would you tell me about those four copies of the Twelve Element Primal Code and those forces which hold them? I would like to start making plans.¡± From the woman¡¯s demeanor and the fact she¡¯d set a 3 year time limit, Epecteos could tell she was in a rush for some reason, but he figured he could ask later. ¡°First, the information house is called Voidwalker¡¯s Heavenly Secrets. I believe the fourth, sixth, and eighth levels together would cost 5,184 A rank universal credits. ¡°Next, the two A rank forces are an undead empire from one of the universe¡¯s central galaxy clusters, having taken it when they destroyed another A rank force about a hundred thousand years ago, and the Vin Clan, the royal family of the largest elven empire in the universe. Both are quite insular, and it is unlikely we could ever make a deal with the undead, but the Vin Clan has a reputation of being honest in trades, so it might be possible to make a deal with them if we somehow got our hands on something they want. ¡°Finally then is the Violet Mountain Sect, the highest force in the Carium Galaxy Cluster. It is an upper B rank force, with its chief elder at the peak of B rank, and the eighteen kingdoms of the Carium Galaxy Cluster are each ruled by the families of one of its eighteen C rank elders, including the Hewin Kingdom which I am technically subordinate to.¡± Chapter 129: Violet Mountain Sect Mila took a second to think before deciding the Violet Mountain Sect was going to be her target. ¡°Is anyone able to watch us right now?¡± ¡°No. There¡¯s a privacy formation that¡¯s active and, though Bothil is spying on me for the Hewin Kingdom, he knows not to take things too far.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Mila had already guessed Epecteos¡¯s butler was an open spy of some kind, given she¡¯d been able to see he had a master with her Noble¡¯s Senses skill yet it wasn¡¯t Epecteos, so it wasn¡¯t much of a surprise to have it confirmed. ¡°Then please tell me as much as you know about the Violet Mountain Sect.¡± As Epecteos began to explain, another of Mila¡¯s minds started asking questions of Nana Xara. ¡°Is there anything I should know about sect infiltration?¡± ¡°Oh, so much.¡± Nana Xara sounded like her normal cheerful self. ¡°First, it¡¯s generally a bad idea. All sects use powerful contracts to restrict their members, either through treasures or, better, through the powerful skill of one of the sect¡¯s elders.¡± From Epecteos¡¯s descriptions, one of the elders of the Violet Mountain Sect was responsible for the contracts of all sect members, a non-combatant non-crafter C rank who was getting old, likely having less than 3,000 years left to live. He didn¡¯t personally activate all the contracts, however, his skill instead triggered through an artifact by those of lower rank. ¡°Entering a sect is also essentially the same as entering into a master servant relationship with the sect¡¯s leader, giving high level members of the sect access to your status page.¡± Nana Xara continued. ¡°So long as the contract skill isn¡¯t triggered personally by a C rank, however, it should be possible, given your Laws and skills, to disguise your information. Trickster¡¯s Guise is a versatile skill and, with it triple boosted, you should be able to hide your classes and race even from some B ranks.¡± According to Epecteos, the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s Chief Elder was a powerful warrior, very much focused on qi and magic more than psyforce. If he deliberately looked at her soul with his powerful perception, he¡¯d be able to see she had two classes and, if he focused, he¡¯d be able to tell she was a monster. But the Chief Elder was generally not at all involved in the day to day running of the sect and almost certainly wouldn¡¯t pay attention to a cultivator before they at least reached the middle of E rank. ¡°For disguising yourself as a talented youngster, there is then also the problem of master apprentice relationships. Most sects would very much prefer you to have a master from within the sect, so your growth will boost the strength of the sect in more ways than just your own strength. As a result, you¡¯ll generally get less resources if you have an outside master unless that master is someone the sect wants to curry favor with.¡± As Mila already had a master in Nana Xara, she couldn¡¯t take another master until she became a god, or at least an A rank more powerful than Nana Xara in her prime, but her bond with Nana Xara was not something even the B rank Chief Elder of the Violet Mountain Sect would be able to spot, so Mila could instead use her bond with Aalam and make it look like it was a bond with Epecteos as her master instead. So long as Epecteos spent most of his time hiding on Earth, it wouldn¡¯t create too many complications. And it was a lot better than not having an excuse for why she couldn¡¯t take on a master from the sect. ¡°Lastly, the level of benefits given to different categories of sect disciples varies wildly, so you¡¯ll have to craft your identity very carefully before joining to get them to value you enough to do something like give you a cultivation technique for your outside master.¡± This was the key in any infiltration, and something Mila had already been considering. Her biggest issue, however, was actually food. She¡¯d already solved the issue of Aalam being able to eat while she was gone, buying two cheap artifacts from the Trial Tower¡¯s list of rewards, one of which would allow Diana or Isaiah to capture the souls of the monsters they killed and another to charge those souls with lust so Aalam could eat them. But she had to eat as well, and normal cultivators didn¡¯t consume souls of any kind, let alone lust filled ones, while it wasn¡¯t like she could hide when she did so. This then limited her choices of fake races, bloodlines, and racial abilities. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Done with figuring out the more mechanical issues with infiltrating the Violet Mountain Sect, Mila had the mind which had been talking to Nana Xara instead keep focusing on mastering the skills Aalam needed for his insane fusion, while her mind listening to Epecteos continued to do so, allowing her to get a better and better understanding of the state of the Carium Galaxy Cluster and its leading force. The Violet Mountain sect was very old, the current Chief Elder actually its third, and it had been a B rank sect for all but the very beginning of its lifetime. Before the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s rise, two B rank forces had divided the Carium Galaxy Cluster, fighting over the cluster¡¯s major wonder, a special minor dimension with Law strength equivalent to a B rank world known as the Violet Mountain Blessed Land due to the huge violet mountain which took up 30% of its area. One of those two B rank forces was populated mainly by humans, while the other was populated mainly by jinn, one of the more common cultivator races in the universe which humans from Earth would likely confuse for demons. Epecteos for example was of an Uncommon grade variant of the race specializing in the Spirit stat. These two races were the main ones in the Carium Galaxy Cluster, with about 48% of the cluster¡¯s cultivators being human and 49% jinn, but this wasn¡¯t reflected in the upper echelons of the Violet Mountain Sect, and this had historical reasons. The founder of the Violet Mountain Sect had been the grandson of the Chief Elder of the jinn force, his mother a human prostitute, but, due to his mixed race and his mother¡¯s profession, he¡¯d been ostracized in his force despite being the most talented cultivator it had ever produced. Through various trials and opportunities, he¡¯d then made it to B rank, but, according to legend, his grandfather had attacked him out of fear as soon as he returned. The chief elder of the jinn force died in the attempt, the founder becoming the leader of his force and initiating a quick cleansing. Then the chief elder of the human force married his only daughter to the founder and the two forces effectively combined, the jinn force subjugated under the founder¡¯s might and the human force having willingly surrendered. This resulted in unequal treatment, humans and those of mixed blood having a much better time than full jinn, and, as a result, after over seven million years, there were no full jinn among the C ranks of the Violet Mountain Sect while powerful full jinn like Epecteos weren¡¯t treated all that well. The entire galaxy cluster as a whole had very few psychics, Epecteos very much an outlier, and the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s main heritage paths were seven different varieties of warrior, a very specialized blacksmith, and a few different varieties of earth, metal, and water mages, all of which could make full use of the resources naturally produced in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land. This meant there were quite a few roles the Violet Mountain Sect didn¡¯t have enough talents to fill, such as a replacement for the non-combat elder responsible for the sect¡¯s contracts, and Mila thought that would be a good opening. ¡°Finally,¡± Epecteos continued, ¡°the Violet Mountain Sect will be holding its bi-annual recruitment event in 143 days. It sounds like you want to join the sect, and, if that is the case, this would be the time to do it.¡± So, she had five months to set up an identity. It wasn¡¯t much time, but with Epecteos¡¯s help it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to create something completely solid even under close scrutiny. ¡°Okay. Here is what I need.¡± Mila started to think out loud. ¡°First, I need a list of everyone you¡¯ve slept with over the last few thousand years. Then I need a list of destroyed communities in your Territory during the same time period as well as anyone who has gone missing on one of the two F rank monster worlds you control in the last five years and is presumed dead. That you looked up this information also can¡¯t be known by anyone.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Epecteos smiled, seeming to not mind taking directions from an F rank. ¡°I already have all that information and I can get a copy to you within three days without anyone being able to find anything suspicious. ¡°Would you mind explaining the reason for your rushed timeline?¡± Mila gave a brief introduction, explaining how she was a succubus who¡¯d faked her identity as a native on a world and then gone to the Trial Tower with Aalam as her familiar, briefly mentioning how many trial points they¡¯d gotten. Then she explained how a demigod had taken the Twelve Element Primal Code they¡¯d earned because she¡¯d developed a crush on Aalam and how that made all the higher resources they had access to effectively useless. As expected, throughout the entire explanation Epecteos¡¯s expression and aura showed more and more shock. ¡°How did you know how to do all that?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Mila smiled brightly, knowing she was dropping the final nail to get him fully invested in helping her. ¡°My master is a mostly dead A rank who can secretly talk to me at all times, the Yin Yang Sage. She says hi by the way.¡± Epecteos¡¯s eyes grew even wider and Mila could almost hear his heart start to race. Chapter 130: Epecteos on Earth Epecteos Arriving on the home world of the young woman he now knew was named Mila, Epecteos almost immediately noticed three things. First, as Mila had promised, the world was E rank and had started its integration less than 2 years before. This meant, for the next 70 years, the ease of acquiring and advancing Laws would be equivalent to that of a B rank world, and that was huge, especially for someone like him who¡¯d never been able to spend more than a year on even a C rank world in his entire life. Second, from what he could sense of the city he¡¯d arrived in, the world¡¯s technology level was high for a newly integrated world, already having entered the information age before the integration and likely having already started to explore its own solar system. This was pretty rare, especially among worlds dominated by humans, as, despite being one of the most self-destructive races in the universe, humans that reached the information age generally had enough knowledge of science to stop any force which could be termed apocalyptic. The cases where they didn¡¯t generally resulted from particularly stupid sub-variants of the race becoming dominant or deliberate manipulation to create an apocalypse style integration over a natural one. For Earth, he was pretty sure it was the latter, as the third thing he noticed was the sheer number of cultivators. For most newly integrated worlds, the percentage of the population which became cultivators was only ever at max about 2%, yet in the entire city he¡¯d arrived near, while there were quite a few G ranks, he hadn¡¯t found a single individual who seemed like a non-cultivator. At the same time, the average talent level of the cultivators of the world seemed about that of a C or B rank force. Epecteos¡¯s detection skill, Swordsman¡¯s senses, specialized in reading the danger level of others, and for F ranks he could generally get a good sense of their level, max stats, and the grade of their Laws. For Laws especially the planet was amazing, over 30% of the cultivators he could sense, a population of millions, having at least a Law Egg less than two years after the start of their tutorial. This then raised a few questions, however. From what he knew of Mila, she¡¯d definitely qualify for admission into a B rank force like the Violet Mountain Sect, but so would over a dozen other people he could sense from the nearby city as well. So, unless she¡¯d somehow been hiding her power from even his Heroic grade skill or she was far weaker than the other members of her faction, it was possible her faction¡¯s grip over the planet was less secure than he¡¯d been led to believe. Fourth, and probably most impressive of all, however, the planet already had a soul net. Establishing such a large scale piece of infrastructure generally required quite a bit of capital as well as a crafter with E rank power to set it up, so the fact they had someone so capable already was telling. That soul net attempted to connect to him immediately upon his arrival, and, when he logged in and created an account, he was informed his arrival had been expected through a telepathic voice and that he should remain in his position until someone arrived to get him. Covering himself in the power of his Law Pupa of Shadow, he then waited on the completely unguarded artificial island on which the teleportation platform had been placed. Until the end of the integration, no one but the Sovereign of the planet and those the sovereign approved of, such as himself, could make use of the platform, so having guards would have been pretty much pointless, and anyone who could possibly bypass the System protection to arrive anyway wasn¡¯t someone even B rank guards could do anything against, let alone F ranks. After about five minutes, he felt someone teleport onto a more local teleportation platform several kilometers inland and, as the power of the world¡¯s Territory was flowing into them, he could tell it was the world¡¯s sovereign, so he stepped onto the wind and almost instantly arrived to see a young human woman, somewhat on the shorter end, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and desert colored skin. Epecteos had never seen a true core disciple of an A rank force, but, from what he¡¯d heard, most of them never gained 6 different high grade Law Larvae during F rank, especially not within two years. And most probably didn¡¯t have D rank effective Magic stats backed by what felt like almost a Titanic sized mana well, but was probably instead a mix of Colossal and Huge mana wells instead. The woman radiated elementalized mana, showing she practiced a high grade cultivation technique, but also that her effective Magic stat was too high for her effective Soul stat to fully rein in her power with her current level of skill. While this meant she likely wasn¡¯t able to make full use of her might, it also meant she had a lot of room to grow, even in F rank, which was amazing given the amount of power she already had. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°You¡¯re Mr. Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone?¡± The woman smiled warmly at him and Epecteos realized her effective Aura stat was higher than his, which meant she had to have some way of generating free stats and thus had likely been able to raise her Attunement stat close to the same value, something he could only dream of. ¡°Yes.¡± Epecteos shook his head in assent, but then he noticed the woman looked confused and quickly realized that gesture might be different in her culture, so he stopped. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m Epecteos.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The young sovereign summoned two spirits into her hands, neither of which he¡¯d ever seen the likes of. One looked like a small winged mammal of some kind, maybe something humans would ride on, and felt like a mix of a flame, light, and life spirit, so he guessed it was a mythical yang spirit. The other looked like a two-headed wingless dragon and felt like a mix between water, darkness, and death spirits, so it was likely a yin spirit. She then absorbed both of the spirits into her own body at the same time, something Epecteos would have thought impossible given how incompatible the two types of energies felt, and rose into the air with the power and speed of her yang spirit but the stealth effects of her yin spirit. ¡°Follow me.¡± Epecteos stepped onto the wind to follow her, making use of his Law Pupa of Shadow to hide himself again, and he could tell from the woman looking around that she couldn¡¯t see through his stealth at all even though he could easily see through hers, so he lowered the power of his Law until she could sense him again, giving her a bit of comfort. Then the two of them flew out over the ocean and the woman continued talking. ¡°So, Mila says you¡¯re going to be our combat instructor, and my master thinks there¡¯s a lot I could learn from you.¡± ¡°Your master?¡± Epecteos felt himself grow nervous. ¡°You mean the Yin Yang Sage?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded at him as they flew and Epecteos realized that was likely the gesture in her culture for assent, explaining her earlier confusion. ¡°Mila and I are her two apprentices, so she¡¯s seen you through Mila¡¯s senses and thinks you are impressive. ¡°According to her, your foundation is too weak, so you¡¯ll almost certainly never make it past C rank, but your combat skills are such that you could probably win in a fight against most combat cultivators with twice your stats, and that¡¯s apparently quite rare in the universe.¡± The young woman frowned slightly. ¡°She also says you might want to hide your level of skill better by not always having it incorporated into your movements. While constant training is definitely good, the element of surprise can make a huge difference, so you should try to hide it better when in new environments.¡± Epecteos thought about that advice for a few seconds, understanding it was coming from an ancient powerhouse and not a young F rank, and he could see the value in it. Having maxed out his level a long, long time ago, he¡¯d gotten used to traveling in his own domain or in other areas where everyone powerful enough to give him a challenge already knew of his skill, so he¡¯d developed the habit of always incorporating his Laws, qi, magic, and psyforce into his movements, but that would give his level of skill away if he went to other areas in the future and it was something to be conscious of at least. ¡°Tell her ¡®thank you¡¯ for me.¡± Immediately after saying the words, Epecteos realized the Yin Yang Sage was likely watching, and had almost certainly heard him directly, so he clarified. ¡°I mean, thank you, ma¡¯am.¡± The young woman smiled, likely having gone through the same thing before. ¡°She says you¡¯re welcome. And she also says we¡¯re moving too slow and that she¡¯s bored, so I should ask you to help us speed up.¡± The young woman pointed toward the east south-east. ¡°We want to go that way and, at my current speed, it would take us about forty minutes.¡± Epecteos wrapped the young woman with his Telekinesis skill and then infused his Law Pupa of Gust into his Elemental Steps movement skill, causing them to move forward considerably faster than the speed of sound. Then, less than a minute later, they arrived at what he assumed to be their destination, a large cargo boat of some kind floating in the middle of the ocean. There was another local teleportation platform on top of the ship, along with three people seemingly waiting for them, a young woman and two young men, who all walked forward as they landed. One of the young men was quite obviously the Heavenly Spark Soul King. He was large, about half a head taller than Epecteos, with dark blue hair and nearly orange eyes, wearing simple looking black clothing Epecteos was pretty sure was made up entirely of Epic grade artifacts, and on his left hand was a fingerless azure glove. His total stats were by far the highest of the group, seemingly all maxed out and then boosted by a factor of slightly more than 3 if Epecteos¡¯s senses were to be believed, and his aura felt like that from a minor dimension more than from a cultivator, his Laws almost forming their own natural order. To his left was an even bigger young man, with pale skin, short lavender hair, and reptilian indigo eyes, likely the young balance dragon Epecteos was supposed to take on as an apprentice. Of the four, he had the least stats and the lowest grade Laws, despite having already advanced the rank of his race, but, from the way he was standing, he probably had the most combat experience of any of them and was likely the one best suited for Epecteos to teach. Epecteos would have to have a couple bouts with the young man to truly gauge his level of talent, but just from what he was sensing he was quite happy. Finally, though, and most surprising, he was pretty sure the young woman to the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s right was Mila, and she looked almost nothing like the various forms he¡¯d been interacting with over the last few months other than her general body shape, having paler skin than he¡¯d expected from her true form, dark hair, and unnaturally bright pink eyes. Her stats were also much, much higher than he¡¯d ever sensed from her before, her Aura stat especially, and Epecteos realized she¡¯d managed to hide her true level of power from him as an F rank. She probably didn¡¯t have the same level of combat potential as the planet¡¯s sovereign or the dragon, but, of the four, he was almost certain she was the most dangerous. There was a reason she was the one interacting with the outside world. Chapter 131: Masters’ Recommendations Mila Watching Epecteos¡¯s aura when he was looking at Aalam, Isaiah, and her without her disguise skill for the first time was quite entertaining, but seeing how fast he could move when Nana Xara was telling her it was obviously not his max speed really put into perspective how weak they were in the wider scheme of things. She¡¯d already intellectually understood how large the difference was between ranks, but she hadn¡¯t seen a D rank fight since the third challenge of the tutorial, and that was two weak D ranks while Epecteos was max level with excellent combat capabilities. If he wanted to, with a lot of work, he could probably destroy the entire planet so long as it didn¡¯t reach a certain level of integration, let alone kill the four of them. And he was by no means unique. ¡°Hello again, Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone. Let me first give some introductions.¡± Mila stepped forward slightly and indicated Diana, who moved over to stand next to Isaiah. ¡°You¡¯ve already met Diana, the sovereign of Earth.¡± She then pointed her hand at Isaiah. ¡°This is Isaiah, who will be your apprentice.¡± Finally, she indicated Aalam. ¡°And this is Aalam, Diana¡¯s brother and the so called Heavenly Spark Soul King.¡± Mila then gestured toward Epecteos. ¡°Everyone, this is Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone. He will be our combat instructor going forward and, in the short term, he will also help us interface with the outside world.¡± She then turned back to Epecteos. ¡°Care for a bout so you can get a feel for your future apprentice and how you might help train the rest of us?¡± Epecteos smiled and summoned a blunt metal longsword from his spatial storage ring. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s make it at least a bit fair, though.¡± Mila then sent over another contract to Epecteos. Terms:
  1. You will not become a servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King
Punishment: Base stats are reduced by a factor of 72 while in the Territory of the Heavenly Spark Soul King for the next six years or until the Heavenly Spark Soul King gives explicit permission for you to have full power in his Territory Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Oh.¡± A look of interest appeared on Epecteos¡¯s face. ¡°So, soul shackles. That seems fair indeed.¡± He then turned to look at Aalam. ¡°But you¡¯re okay with giving me a boon before I¡¯ve helped you acquire the Twelve Element Primal Code?¡± Aalam, as well as Diana and Isaiah, all turned to look at Mila and Mila noticed an emotion of realization pass through Epecteos¡¯s aura, the old man not at all naive enough to miss the obvious signs of the leadership structure of their group. It wasn¡¯t like she was trying to hide how they operated from him, however, so Mila answered instead of Aalam as she was the one making the decisions when it came to Epecteos and trying to acquire the Twelve Element Primal Code. ¡°You already partially granted your side of the deal, so we don¡¯t see an issue with partially granting our side as well, as, like you, we don¡¯t lose anything in the process. ¡°Ideally, we wouldn¡¯t need a contract at all, but keeping the formalities is still important.¡± Mila then telekinetically grabbed the Twin Dragons Isaiah had been making use of over the last few months as a temporary spear and transformed it into its Lord¡¯s Seal form before moving forward and placing it on Epecteos¡¯s forehead. Then she used her own doubly boosted Devil¡¯s Contract skill to enhance Aalam¡¯s triply boosted Soul Lord skill, allowing Aalam to make a servant offer to a D rank like Epecteos, something an F rank would normally find impossible. Epecteos accepted the servant request and his soul was instantly shackled, and, at the same time, as a result of Epecteos¡¯s strength, the number of servants Aalam could have was cut by more than half. Due to being a D rank with a C rank race, and thus having much higher affinities with most Laws compared to Aalam, Epecteos¡¯s affinities barely went up, and his Soul stat only increased by about 1,125, 6.25% of Aalam¡¯s effective Soul stat instead of his own, but, for Attunement, as his Attunement score was lower than Aalam¡¯s, he received the full 6.25% boost. Name: Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone Level: 216 Race: Psy-Jinn (C-Uncommon) Bloodline: NA Abilities Psychic Leanings (Uncommon) Iron Mind (Rare) Class: Advanced 12 Elements Psychic Swordsman (D-Heroic) Skills Elemental Steps (D-Heroic) 100% mastered Swordsman¡¯s Senses (D-Heroic) 100% mastered Telekinesis (D-Heroic) 100% mastered Elemental Blade Infusion (D-Heroic) 100% mastered Elemental Raiment (D-Heroic) 100% mastered Lord (D-Legendary) 100% mastered Laws Law Pupae: Void Slice - Early Temporal Flux - Early Regeneration - Middle Soul Poison - Middle Illusion - Middle Shadow - Middle Bolt - Middle Iron - Early Blaze - Middle Rain - Middle Stone - Middle Gust - Middle Stats Strength: 97299 [shackled down to 1,351] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword)) Agility: 115487 [shackled down to 1,604] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword) Endurance: 111391 [shackled down to 1,547] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword) Toughness: 81883 [shackled down to 1,137] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword) Vitality: 81883 [shackled down to 1,137] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword) Perception: 111391 [shackled down to 1,547] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword) Magic: 127775 [shackled down to 1,775] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword) Spirit: 152643 [shackled down to 2,120] (+56.25% + 50% when holding a sword) Soul: 142639 {+1125} [shackled down to 1,997] (+0% + 50% when holding a sword) Aura: 1875 [shackled down to 1875] (+0%) Attunement: 1875 [shackled down to 1875] (+6.25%) Luck: 1875 [shackled down to 1875] (+0%) The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 3 Medium + 2 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: NA Assets: 3,489 D rank universal credits 79,309,283,981 E rank universal credits 649,005,296,103,892 F rank universal credits Territory: Lord Toril [E Rank] Overlord Torem (Lord: Zoric Na¡¯Milan) [F Rank] Toran (Lord: Carth Hi¡¯Olim) [F Rank] Torot (Lord: Talia Wen¡¯Lo) [F Rank] Toref (Lord: Sawim El¡¯Kimar) [F Rank] Torik (Lord: Vot Na¡¯Milan) [F Rank] Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 6.25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 12.5%. There were several important things Mila noticed when looking at Epecteos¡¯s status. First, the natural advantages he¡¯d been born with were nowhere near as powerful as any of theirs. He had no uniqueness, no bloodline, no soulstructures of a size bigger than Large, and his race was only Uncommon in grade. Psy-Jinn (C-Uncommon) A jinn heavily influenced by psyforce Racial Abilities: 2 No limits, but a higher chance of psychic related abilities Max stats: Strength: 3,483,648 Agility: 3,732,480 Endurance: 3,732,480 Toughness: 3,483,648 Vitality: 3,483,648 Perception: 3,732,480 Magic: 3,732,480 Spirit: 4,478,976 Soul: 3,732,480 Aura: 3,732,480 Attunement: 3,732,480 Luck: 3,732,480 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 864 (144) Agility: 1080 (180) Endurance: 1080 (180) Toughness: 864 (144) Vitality: 864 (144) Perception: 1080 (180) Magic: 1080 (180) Spirit: 1728 (288) Soul: 1080 (180) Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Kill one creature of a higher rank Requirements: ??? Even his racial abilities were quite weak. Psychic Leanings (Uncommon): Master Psychic category skills 12.5% faster Iron Mind (Rare): Increase the effectiveness of the Spirit stat by 6.25%. The second thing Mila noticed was that his class showed he was following a similar path to Isaiah. Advanced 12 Elements Psychic Swordsman (D-Heroic) You are an exceptional swordsman and psychic with the power of the twelve elements Effects: Raise affinity with all Laws by 100% Increase the effectiveness of the Spirit stat by 50% Increase all base stats by 50% when wielding a sword Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Crafting Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 648 Agility: 720 Endurance: 720 Toughness: 576 Vitality: 576 Perception: 720 Magic: 720 Spirit: 936 Soul: 864 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 1 high grade Law Larva for each of the 12 elements, has the 12 Elements Psychic Swordsman (E-Legendary) class, has spent an average of 106 minutes or more training with the sword every day of his life Finally, third, he¡¯d never received a single stat point from the System or from any treasure beyond what he received for advancing his Laws. Mila had gotten so used to the System doling out rewards like crazy, but that was the advantage of an apocalypse style integration. Most didn¡¯t get so many stats from the System, and no one on Earth, even Diana, had gotten anywhere close to the amount Mila had. Treasures which boosted stats were also rare, fully controlled by the universe¡¯s more powerful forces, and they generally didn¡¯t work on those whose stats had already increased beyond a certain threshold, far more useful at F rank and sometimes E. Yet still, even with all those natural disadvantages, and even facing them four on one with his soul shackled, Epecteos still easily destroyed them when they all flew up into the air and started to fight. Isaiah took on the tanking role, moving close while again using the Twin Dragons in spear form, trying to block Epecteos¡¯s mobility. Diana flew off to the side, attempting to attack Epecteos with alternating beams of death and flame. And, at the same time, Aalam stayed back and started writing runes around the battlefield with the help of the Left Hand of the Runescribe. Finally, knowing her illusions and stealth wouldn¡¯t work given Epecteos had Law Pupae of both Illusions and Shadow, Mila mainly tried to work to suppress his aura while disrupting him with her charm skill and using Artifact Enhancement on both the Twin Dragons and the Left Hand of the Runescribe, able to do so by strengthening the bonds she¡¯d formed with the two artifacts with her Law Larva of The Healer. Their tactics didn¡¯t help, however. Epecteos just moved around, dodging everything Diana threw at him, avoiding every stab from Isaiah, and barely affected by Mila¡¯s disruption. He did almost get hit a few times when Aalam¡¯s runes started to throw some sort of invisible psyforce infused dimensional spheres at him, each only about 3 cm in diameter, but he never actually got hit and, after the first surprise, he started sending out little gusts of mana to disrupt Aalam¡¯s runes as they were being written. The all out fighting continued for about five minutes, but then Epecteos seemed to decide he¡¯d seen enough of their skills and actually started to attack. Using his Telekinesis skill for the first time since the start of the fight, he increased his speed by a large margin and appeared next to Aalam, infused his Law Pupa of Stone into his practice sword, and then hit Aalam deep into the ocean. This was then followed by him doing the same to the rest of them and only Isaiah required two hits due to pouring all his resources into his defensive skill to just barely block the first. Wet and mostly undamaged, they all then flew back up and, spitting water out of her mouth, Mila asked, ¡°So, do you have any suggestions for what we should work on?¡± Epecteos looked at the three others in turn and then back to Mila, a serious expression on his face. ¡°First, what has your master recommended?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been letting us practice on our own for a few months,¡± Mila started, but then Nana Xara began talking to her and she paraphrased the words out loud. ¡°We mainly needed to focus on our skills and Laws, so she let us do that and not worry about combat.¡± ¡°But now she has recommendations.¡± Diana took over, Nana Xara obviously now talking to her instead. ¡°For Isaiah, there¡¯s not much to say. His foundations are solid and the only things he should be focusing on are raising his Law Larvae to middle grade, practicing his cultivation technique up to level 6, and then leveling up and mastering his skills. He¡¯ll then need to absorb a few treasures Mila has already got for him and clear out his channels afterwards, which might take a few months, but that¡¯s about it. The rest of his time is fully available for training. ¡°Mila needs to do her spying work and doesn¡¯t have much free time, but, while on Earth, she should probably spend an hour or two every day participating in fair fights. It¡¯s not her style, but the experience would be useful. More important, however, is practicing her cultivation technique up to level 6 and then trying to raise her Laws one more time so she can practice up to level 7 before rising to E rank. ¡°Lastly, Aalam should be left mostly to his own devices. Trying to guide him at this stage would probably cause more harm than good and he needs to work on meeting the requirements for his class upgrade once his insane skill merger is complete. That said, please drag him out of his lab for combat training for two hours every day unless he¡¯s absolutely in the middle of something. If he manages to win one bout in a fair manner against Poland¡¯s Fist in an equal stat instance on the soul net, however, without the use of artifacts or his Runescriber skill, he can be relieved of all further combat training until he hits E rank.¡± Aalam just stared at Diana with wide eyes and a look of horror on his face. Poland¡¯s Fist was the username for Mila¡¯s grandmother, who specialized in using her fists to attack and thus barely relied on artifacts, so Nana Xara¡¯s instructions were basically to force him into combat training every day, something which Diana especially seemed to find humorous. So, Nana Xara being Nana Xara, the words she had Mila say next were perfectly designed to bring Diana down a peg. ¡°Diana, however, is the one who needs the most help. She needs lots and lots of sparring practice, which Nana Xara hopes you could provide. And she should really stop trying to develop a movement technique on her own until she has a better foundation in magical theory. Right now her attempts are just sad, especially when she could so easily ask her brother for help instead of being stubborn.¡± Diana¡¯s mouth closed tightly and she started frowning, but Mila then continued and what she said next seemed to make Diana feel a bit better. ¡°Finally, for you, Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone, you should probably consult Aalam for ways to improve. Your foundation is solid enough you could probably easily add runes into your power set for a relatively large increase to your combat potential, and it would be a good thing for you to learn, as it might open up a more powerful class evolution for C rank.¡± Epecteos¡¯s eyes grew wide again, his aura growing excited as he turned to look at Aalam, then he bowed toward Mila. ¡°Thank you, Sage. I will follow what you say.¡± He then turned to look at each of them in turn. ¡°Although her potential is very high, I agree with the Sage that Ms. Diana needs the most work. I for one especially do not understand why you merged both of your spirits into your body at the same time instead of just one, allowing the other to fight beside you. Yes, your class is obviously designed for merging the powers of yin and yang at some point, but your control over your own mana isn¡¯t even at the level to stop your massive reserves from leaking. Trying to merge yin and yang is way, way too advanced for you right now.¡± Diana frowned again, but Epecteos just turned toward Isaiah. ¡°I can see why the Sage thinks we would be a good match. Your foundation is very solid, but you can still use a lot of polish. And I can help you with that.¡± Then he turned to Aalam, the feel from his aura slightly less confident. ¡°You¡¯re a crafter?¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°And you¡¯re somehow able to handle multiple thought processes at once as an F rank?¡± Aalam nodded again. ¡°Then I think I understand what the Sage wants. Your control over your body is the worst of the four of you, so the main thing you need is to build up your foundation. I am your servant, however, and you are the source of my ability to possibly advance, so I will only train you if that¡¯s what you want.¡± Aalam looked hopefully at Diana, but Diana, who was still frowning about her own upcoming work, just shook her head and Aalam looked down toward the sea. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about pushing him, Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone.¡± Mila decided to explain, a slight smile on her face. ¡°He won¡¯t punish you for trying to help him and he¡¯s the type of person who cares pretty much nothing for intrinsic hierarchy. He¡¯ll defer to anyone in their area of expertise, such as me while we are here having our first meeting with you, or his sister when he wants validation to do something he knows isn¡¯t good for him. On the training field, he¡¯ll treat you like you are the master. Just don¡¯t expect him to necessarily be a good student.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Obviously relieved by the information, Epecteos¡¯s aura grew more stable as he turned to Mila. ¡°As for you, Ms. Mila, you feel like someone who had excellent combat training before you were introduced to cultivation, and you are a bit over-reliant on those old skills. For you, I recommend the opposite of what the Sage recommended for me through Ms. Diana on my way here. Try to integrate the use of your resources and Laws into all your movements from now on to get used to the power you hold. This should help integrate your old training with your new self and speed up the process of you gaining a foundation as firm as Isaiah¡¯s.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Mila bowed to him as a sign of respect, helping to set a precedent for how the others should treat him when he was in the role of instructor. ¡°Should we go for another bout then?¡± Epecteos smiled as he raised his training sword and Isaiah radiated excitement. The Alvaro siblings, on the other hand, didn¡¯t look quite as enthused. Chapter 132: Sensory Domain Aalam Watching Epecteos yet again dismantle the combined assault of Isaiah, Diana, and Dioscuri at the same time, Aalam pondered if he should have gone with a combat class. Sure, the Laws he liked were much more suited for crafting than combat, and, sure, when he¡¯d tried to copy Isaiah¡¯s practice schedule using similar techniques with his bastard sword¡ªstabbing and slashing at the air repeatedly for hours on end¡ªhe¡¯d briefly considered slitting his own throat. And, yes, when he¡¯d followed Isaiah into the ocean depths to hunt monsters, he¡¯d instead gotten distracted playing with all his various sensory skills and hadn¡¯t hunted a single beast until the end, when he¡¯d created a giant magical faraday cage and just electrocuted every single monster within a couple hundred meters. But it would be nice to gain more power from holding a weapon like Epecteos and Isaiah, or enter into what effectively looked like a black and white avatar state like Diana. He could have had cool skills like Epecteos, who, other than his Lord, Telekinesis, and Swordsman¡¯s Senses skills, had three skills all designed to work with any of his twelve Laws. The Heroic grade movement skill Elemental Steps, for example, could be infused with any of Epecteos¡¯s twelve Laws to reproduce over a dozen different types of Legendary grade movement skills. Infusing in his Shadow Law, Epecteos could reproduce a D rank version of Mila¡¯s Legendary grade Shadow Stride skill, and, using his Gust and Bolt Laws at the same time, he could reproduce a D rank version of Isaiah¡¯s Storm Steps skill. The skill Elemental Blade Infusion then had a similar effect, allowing Epecteos to reproduce over a dozen different kinds of offensive sword skills, and Epecteos¡¯s last skill, Elemental Raiment, allowed him to reproduce over a dozen different defensive and boosting skills. With the flexibility provided by his skills and his ability to seemingly predict everything they would do, Epecteos had completely toyed with the four of them during the five times they all fought him at once over the Atlantic Ocean, and Aalam had started to find the process boring. So, when he finally fully mastered the Danger Sense skill, leaving only Heightened Senses left of the 13 skills required for the fusion of the theoretical Sensory Domain, he¡¯d returned to the massive cargo ship which had been left floating in the middle of the ocean after its crew was taken away to the tutorial and just watched Isaiah and Diana continue to fight. Mila had then landed on the boat next to him so they could use the limited time they had together to help each other improve their Law Larvae of Bonds, Severing, The Healer, and The Reaper through creating and severing bonds like crazy, and it was a far more useful use of his time. Mila had grown skilled enough with Devil¡¯s Contract and her Law Larva of The Healer to deliberately create bonds weak enough for Aalam¡¯s Law Larva of Severing or her Law Larva of The Reaper to safely cut, and it was amazing how fast they advanced, Aalam¡¯s two Law Larvae reaching middle grade in under an hour. During that same time, another of his minds was using his Heightened Senses skill to watch the training bout, and something inside his mind finally clicked, his Law Larva of Storm also advancing to middle grade as he watched Epecteos use his Law Pupa of Gust when moving past Diana to subtly shift the aim of the beam of death energy she was using, making the attack hit Isaiah instead. This then left Aalam with 27 middle grade and 9 high grade Law Larvae, meaning he still had a lot of work to do, as those Law Larvae he¡¯d already advanced were the ones he was best at. ¡°Do you want to head back now?¡± Mila asked, standing up from her sitting position on the ship¡¯s deck. ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam stood up as well and they both took out teleportation keys. One of Mila¡¯s purchases with her trial points had been several more teleportation platforms and an extra key for each member of their group. Then they both activated their keys and arrived not on one of the thirteen purchased platforms, but in the separate teleportation platform which had been generated when Diana had used the Legendary grade personal residence coupon Mila had given her to build a home in the 3 square kilometer enlightenment zone on the western coast of the Greek island of Zakynthos. The teleportation platform was in a white marble gazebo on the edge of the property, near where the powerful arrays Mila had bought from the Trial Tower would incinerate anyone who tried to forcibly enter the enlightenment zone. Then there was the main residence and crafting buildings closer to the water. The main residence looked a lot like the White House in Washington, DC, and had 216 rooms in total, 18 of which were bathrooms. Most of the other rooms could later be turned into bedrooms, but currently there were only four, and only he and Isaiah lived there permanently. The building was only 50 meters away from a beautiful beach, and it was apparently a nice place to relax according to his sister. Aalam, though he realized the building was designed to accommodate the elites of Earth in the future, found the mansion too big and he only ever entered when he needed to sleep, which by this point was only about 12 hours every week. Instead, he much preferred the other building which held his crafting hall, a large geodesic marble and glass dome the same size as the mansion situated up on a nearby cliff. Inside were all the tools he¡¯d need for smithing, alchemy, and enchanting until he hit D rank, provided directly by the System, and it was nice and open. Out one door toward the ocean there was also a small patio for meditation and, when sitting there at sundown, the sun would set directly behind a relatively large tree and it was one of the most beautiful sights Aalam had ever seen, already having helped him advance his Law Larvae of Tranquility and Pause up to high grade even when he hadn¡¯t been focusing on either. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The entire complex, including the sunset tree and several other instances of foliage, had all just suddenly appeared when Diana used the token on the area, adding in some parameters to choose what would be built and in what general styles, and the entire area was covered in a System provided dao finding enhancement formation, instead of just his crafting room, slightly enhancing the effects of the enlightenment zone and apparently cheaper as a result of being inside it. Aalam had been there when everything appeared, but the Laws involved were too high grade and he hadn¡¯t managed to understand anything about where the materials and foliage had come from, nor whether the buildings had been pre-constructed before arriving or made instantly on Earth. It had just shown him how far he still had to go. Moving to the patio outside his crafting hall, both Aalam and Mila sat down across from each other and Mila continued creating contracts for them to sever, the activity quite a fun game for both of them, something they could quietly focus on for hours. When the sun began to set and fell behind the tree again, however, Aalam spoke. ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to go through so much for my sake.¡± ¡°Of course I know.¡± Mila smiled at him and then looked out at the sunset. ¡°But it¡¯s for me as well. And it¡¯s also kind of fun. ¡°According to Nana Xara, it will also help set us up for the future. Powerful B rank forces like the Violet Mountain Sect get invited to events we would otherwise not have access to, and thus the potential for resources we will need in the future. So I would have had to join such a force anyway, and at F rank with a powerful D rank backing my identity is a much better way to enter than most of the alternatives.¡± ¡°Still, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Mila scooted a bit closer to him as they both watched the sunset and reached out to hold his right hand with her left. ¡°Then master your last skill quickly and get me a Sensory Domain to help keep me safe. Following that, you also owe me an artifact of at least Legendary grade, remember?¡± Aalam felt his heart start to beat faster, and, likely due to Mila¡¯s words triggering a slight shift in his soul, his Heightened Senses skill, which had been at 99%, was immediately mastered. It was then time to perform the merge he¡¯d been preparing for since he and Mila had entered into F rank. Attempting to merge Spacetime Sensing (F-Legendary), Crafter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary), Void Sense (F-Legendary), Hunter¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary), Psychic Domain (F-Legendary), Mana Domain (F-Legendary), Qi Domain (F-Legendary), Kinetic Senses (F-Legendary), Danger Sense (F-Legendary), Heightened Senses (F-Legendary), Life Death Detection (F-Legendary), Noble''s Senses (F-Legendary), and Thief¡¯s Senses (F-Legendary) to Sensory Domain (F-Heroic). Requirements met: One space element Law Larva at middle grade or higher, one time element Law Larva at middle grade or higher, one life element Law Larva at middle grade or higher, one death element Law Larva at middle grade or higher, one light element Law Larva at middle grade or higher, one darkness element Law Larva at middle grade or higher, effective Perception of 6,912 or higher, effective Soul of 10,368 or higher, effective Aura of 10,368 or higher Congratulations! You have merged thirteen skills into Sensory Domain (F-Heroic) Congratulations! You are the first in the history of the System to ever gain the Sensory Domain (F-Heroic) skill All stats +432 Strength is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Agility is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Endurance is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Toughness is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Vitality is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Perception is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Aura is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Attunement is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Luck is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +432 Mila took her hand away, stood up, and then looked down at him with a big smile on her face. ¡°So, it seems I was right. The fact you advanced so easily when that Krysta was flirting with you wasn¡¯t a coincidence. It makes sense. You are an incubus prince after all.¡± Then she leaned down and reached across his body with her right hand to touch the Left Hand of the Runescribe, summoning a bright green and gold skill orb into her hand before standing back up. ¡°Now, please allow me to learn a healing skill, master.¡± The skill orb contained the skill Breath of Life (F-Legendary) which she¡¯d bought using a few tens of thousands of trial points from the Trial Tower, but, given the nature of her second class, she couldn¡¯t learn a skill without Aalam¡¯s permission, so he gave it and the skill orb in Mila¡¯s hand vanished. Then, without saying another word, Mila walked away and, if the same thing had happened a minute before, Aalam would have been very confused. With his new Sensory Domain skill, however, he¡¯d sensed Mila use qi to stop herself from blushing, and he could sense her heart beating as fast as his own. Instead of trying to analyze what that meant, however, he instead focused on understanding his new skill. It was Heroic grade, the max possible grade for a skill at F rank, just like his other remaining skills, but the requirements for merging it were so much higher, so there was almost certainly more to it than just being able to sense everything which happened in a domain around him. Chapter 133: A Gift From a C Rank ¡°So, is there anyone promising in this backwater?¡± the emissary from the Hewin Kingdom asked, not even bothering to look at Bothil and instead disinterestedly gazing out over the crowd which had gathered in Toril¡¯s largest arena, waiting for the final round of recruitment testing. ¡°Yes, Lord.¡± Bothil made sure to bow deeply as he brought drinks for the emissary and the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s recruiter. ¡°Mr. Epecteos has recently taken an apprentice, a descendent of his and a prostitute he slept with a couple hundred years ago, and she is particularly talented, having passed the seventh mark.¡± Every six years, before the arrival of the recruiters from the Violet Mountain Sect and the various other forces the Violet Mountain Sect allowed to exist in the Carium Galaxy Cluster, tests for F rank youths under the age of 30 were performed through the soul net shared between planet Toril and Lord Epecteos¡¯s five F rank worlds, standardized tests performed by the proprietary software of the Violet Mountain Sect. These tests consisted of a couple monster encounters, fighting both solo and in groups, as well as a couple war scenarios against simulations of other cultivators. The Violet Mountain Sect had no interest in non-combat cultivators from the outside, so the tests were fully focused on evaluating the youths¡¯ abilities when it came to fighting. From these tests, a total of nine marks were possible, but gaining each subsequent mark was exponentially more difficult, and six marks was the cut off to be considered for an outer sect disciple position in the Violet Mountain Sect. Seven marks would allow a cultivator to become an outer sect disciple able to live in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land. And eight marks meant a cultivator could become an inner sect disciple and thus be given far more resources. Finally, the exalted nine marks meant a cultivator could become a core disciple of the Violet Mountain sect, possibly even rising to C rank in the future. During Bothil¡¯s two hundred year tenure on planet Toril, he¡¯d only seen one young cultivator receive 6 marks, but Lord Epecteos¡¯s great-granddaughter was far, far more impressive. ¡°The apprentice of a D rank and only capable of getting seven marks.¡± The emissary from the Hewin Kingdom, an E rank human man with pale skin, red hair, and green eyes scoffed as he looked over at Bothil, his opulent green robes shimmering from the sun shining down onto the open arena¡¯s seating. ¡°That can''t be right.¡± The Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s recruiter, a human with the same coloration and rank as the emissary, but with less gaudy clothing, sounded puzzled. ¡°While he¡¯s an unaligned D rank, Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone is, as far as I know, as strong or stronger than the most powerful D ranks of my sect. Even if it was his own descendant, any disciple he¡¯d be willing to take on should be capable of at least eight marks.¡± ¡°Epecteos is old,¡± the emissary from the Hewin Kingdom interjected before Bothil could speak. ¡°He¡¯s going to die in a few hundred years at most, so why not train his most talented descendant, even if their talent is low.¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± The recruiter nodded, as if the emissary¡¯s flawed logic made perfect sense and Bothil felt troubled. If he said what he¡¯d been planning now, both men would look foolish, but if he didn¡¯t say anything, they would notice within the next hour anyway and it would be even worse. ¡°Ms. Ka¡¯Dravone is a utility cultivator.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a completely useless act and Epecteos is getting senile if he thinks¡ª¡± the emissary continued, speaking over Bothil and not listening to what he was saying at all, but then he stopped as a black and purple hand suddenly wrapped around his throat. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Bothil,¡± Lord Epecteos asked, having appeared from stealth to effortlessly lift the emissary, who¡¯d been sitting in the seat normally reserved for the lord in the arena¡¯s lord¡¯s box, into the air by his throat. ¡°Would there be any repercussions if I killed Kalin¡¯s emissary?¡± Kalin Hewin was one of the eighteen elders of the Violet Mountain Sect and the king of the Hewin Kingdom, so almost everyone in the Carium Galaxy Cluster would respectfully refer to him as King Hewin, but Lord Epecteos didn¡¯t like the man, and he was personally powerful, so he never saw the need to be respectful, even in public. ¡°Not to you, My Lord, but there might be negative effects for Ms. Sarra.¡± ¡°The girl eats souls. What if I considered the soul of this brat a gift from Kalin for my descendant joining his Violet Mountain Sect as a core disciple?¡± Lord Epecteos looked at the recruiter from the Violet Mountain Sect and then back at Bothil. ¡°I imagine even an idiot of an E rank would still be tastier than the monsters she normally snacks on.¡± Bothil had to think for a few seconds, as the case had never really come up before. ¡°That might be acceptable, My Lord, but it still might cause enmity.¡± ¡°Excuse me, Lord Epecteos.¡± The recruiter from the Violet Mountain Sect sounded as respectful to the powerful D rank currently asphyxiating the Hewin Kingdom¡¯s emissary as Bothil had when talking to him. ¡°Did I correctly hear from your butler that your descendant achieved seven marks as a utility cultivator?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Epecteos sat down in his seat while still slowly choking the Hewin Kingdom¡¯s emissary to death with his right hand, a large smile on his face. ¡°My great-granddaughter has the Uncommon grade class Lawyer, a third of her skills specialized for making contracts, and her subspecialty is healing magic. She is my blood, however, so she already has two Law Larvae.¡± ¡°Tw-Two Law Larvae?¡± Bothil risked looking up and he could see the shock on the recruiter¡¯s face. For someone who started with an Uncommon grade class at F rank, only a high grade Law Egg was required to advance to E rank, while advancing to D rank would only need a middle grade Law Larva. Ms. Sarra, as an F rank, was just half a step away from qualifying for her D rank class, and that was, as far as Bothil knew, rare even for core disciples of the Violet Mountain Sect. ¡°And she¡¯s a healer as well?¡± ¡°Her second Law Larva specializes in healing, so I had Bothil go out and get her the Triforce Healing skill.¡± Lord Epecteos laughed. ¡°As for her fighting skills, she got to level 33 on her own while lost in the forests of Torem. I only had a few months to polish them before your recruitment event started, but she still performed adequately.¡± The Violet Mountain Sect recruiter looked down at the arena floor, where seventeen young cultivators were standing in a line, all those who had earned at least five marks in the soul net testing. ¡°Which one is she?¡± ¡°The pretty one who looks like me.¡± Lord Epecteos¡¯s words were misleading and Bothil could see the Violet Mountain Sect recruiter looking confused, so he pointed at Ms. Sarra, a young woman who looked almost nothing like Epecteos. She was average height for a woman, with long legs and a lithe yet shapely figure, extremely pretty. Three quarters human, her skin was one of the paler human shades with patterns of light brown covering her entire body, and she had long forest green hair flowing down to the middle of her back, ten horns about half the size of a full jinn¡¯s pointing out from between her curls. Probably the most attractive thing about her, however, at least to Bothil¡¯s judgement, were her large amber eyes. ¡°Wow.¡± Looking at Ms. Sarra, the recruiter only had that to say, which, over the last couple months she¡¯d been staying with Lord Epecteos, Bothil had come to find was the normal reaction. He wasn¡¯t positive, but, from several clues he¡¯d received, he was pretty sure Ms. Sarra had awakened to a Succubus line bloodline, so she had that effect on most men. ¡°You said she eats souls?¡± The Violet Mountain Sect recruiter turned to look at Epecteos as the first individual from the group on the arena floor started to demonstrate his power, fighting against a monster equivalent to the one he¡¯d beaten one on one in the soul net. ¡°Yes.¡± Epecteos¡¯s face grew slightly somber. ¡°She nearly died when going hunting to kill a beast to advance her race to F rank.¡± He then smiled again. ¡°But in exchange for not dying she awoke to a powerful bloodline, which allowed her to awaken a racial ability when she actually did advance the rank of her race. And it is a really good one, allowing her to permanently increase her Soul stat by regularly consuming souls.¡± Lord Epecteos then casually squeezed the throat of the Hewin Kingdom¡¯s emissary a bit tighter, breaking the man¡¯s neck, and summoned out a small ornate bone and iron box from his spatial storage ring, capturing the man¡¯s soul inside. ¡°She¡¯s yet to taste the soul of an E rank cultivator, though. ¡°I really must thank Kalin for his gift.¡± Chapter 134: Sarra Lin’Talic Mila Mila had been quite lucky when it came to taking over the identity of Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, one of 398 different female descendants of Epecteos older than 17 and under the age of 30. First, the woman had been training up to be a lawyer, so, if she had managed to advance to F rank, the class she would have been aiming for was one Mila could quite easily fake. Second, Epecteos was her only living relative, the rest of her family having died of old age or from a major factional war which had taken place in the city where she¡¯d grown up, easily allowing Mila to fake having a bloodline awakening. Finally, third and most important, she had a Rare grade race from birth, something extremely uncommon among Epecteos¡¯s descendants, and there was an easy story for having her race advance to Epic grade at F rank. Either her family or one of two others had gotten their hands on a powerful treasure which would allow for a massive boost in the Soul stat upon its energy being absorbed, but someone had stolen it and fled into the wilderness on the mostly uninhabited planet of Torem, probably to try and absorb it himself. Who this person was, Mila couldn¡¯t be sure. What she could confirm, however, as she and Epecteos had found all the bodies, was that the children of the three families involved had all been sent to Torem to hunt monsters for their F rank race advancements, likely as an excuse for the forces of their families to come with and secretly hunt for the thief. And she could also confirm how powerful the treasure was, as they¡¯d found it in one of the spatial storage rings on one of the corpses. From what Epecteos had been able to discover from the three year old remains in the forest, one of the families had likely found the thief and killed him, but then all three families, which weren¡¯t that large, had fought and mostly killed each other, the monsters on the planet killing everyone who managed to survive. Sarra Lin¡¯Talic seemed to have died very early on in the fighting, but the story Mila and Epecteos were going with was that she was almost killed, but awakening the Law Egg of Cells had allowed her to save her own life. She¡¯d then recovered the treasure from the corpse of her father, who¡¯d been holding it, and used it on herself over the next month or so, helping to awaken the hidden bloodline of a Succubus Empress hidden in her soul and to maximize her soul stat. Lost in the woods of Torem and not knowing how to get back to the teleportation platform, she then had to survive by herself on the planet filled with monsters for three years until she was rescued by her great-grandfather who happened to visit the planet during that time, Epecteos having been checking in on all his descendants over the last several months, mostly out of boredom. During that time, she¡¯d advanced her race to Epic grade and taken the Uncommon grade Lawyer class she¡¯d always wanted, at the time not realizing she¡¯d be stuck for so long in the wilderness. Then, having to survive by herself all alone for three years, she¡¯d managed to raise both her original Law Egg of Bonds and her new Law Egg of Cells into Law Larvae through her trials and tribulations while hunting for food and levels as an F rank. The story was actually pretty believable, as the treasure involved was in truth quite amazing, helping Diana raise her Soul stat by over 1,000 points over a couple weeks, and even the least believable part of the story, the rapid increase in Law comprehension, wasn¡¯t that difficult to believe once anyone realized Sarra Lin¡¯Talic¡¯s original race had been Forest Human-Jinn Hybrid, a race which provided excellent affinity for life element Laws, something the race she¡¯d advanced to, the Epic grade Forest Soul Human-Jinn Hybrid, did even better. Altogether, Mila and Epecteos had managed to make an identity which was quite a bit more talented than they had originally intended while keeping the backstory believable at the same time, Mila¡¯s fictional status ending up quite impressive. Name: Sarra Lin¡¯Talic Level: 33 Race: Forest Soul Human-Jinn Hybrid (F-Epic) Bloodline: Succubus Empress (Heroic) Abilities Iron Mind (Rare) Amber Soul (Epic) Soul Eater (Legendary) Class: Lawyer (F-Uncommon) Skills Contract (F-Uncommon) 93% mastered Concentration (F-Uncommon) 100% mastered Heightened Hearing (F-Uncommon) 100% mastered Contract Enhancement (F-Uncommon) 87% mastered Quick Step (F-Uncommon) 25% mastered Triforce Healing (F-Uncommon) 22% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Bonds - Early Cells - Early This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Stats Strength: 436 (+0%) Agility: 436 (+0%) Endurance: 501 (+0%) Toughness: 468 (+0%) Vitality: 731 (+0%) Perception: 469 (+0%) Magic: 469 (+0%) Spirit: 634 (+6.25%) Soul: 2147 (+37.5%) Aura: 34 (+100%) Attunement: 27 (+0%) Luck: 27 (+0%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Huge Mental Forge Uniqueness: Aura Lady She and Nana Xara had discussed for a couple hours the costs and benefits of allowing her fictional identity to share one or both of her uniquenesses, and neither of them thought it a good idea to advertise her uniquenesses¡¯ secondary effects. But, at the end of the day, doubled Perception was quite easy to hide while doubled Aura was not, so she did include Aura Lady, the uniqueness which would provide the same increase to Aura as her Shadow Princess uniqueness, but without giving a reason for gods to hunt her down. Then, for her soulstructures, she didn¡¯t change anything other than hiding the effects of Advanced Multi-Mind as explaining how she had the skill would be incredibly problematic. For her other soulstructures, hiding the amount of her resources would be difficult, but it would be much easier for her Mental Forges, given her stated skills used less psyforce than qi and mana, so it would never be the bottleneck. Her bloodline then would account for her always eating souls, while its awakening also allowed her to look quite a bit different than the original Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, letting her keep more of her actual appearance. Succubus Empress (Heroic) Soul stirring beauty with control over men Effects: Increase Soul stat effectiveness by 25% Your aura has a passive lust inducing effect Spirit +3 per level, Scalable Soul +9 per level, Scalable Along with her fake race, her bloodline helped turn her into a real talent. Forest Soul Human-Jinn Hybrid (F-Epic) A Forest Human-Jinn Hybrid heavily influenced by a soul-based bloodline Racial Abilities: 3 No limits, but a higher chance for life element and soul stat related abilities Max stats: Strength: 2592 Agility: 2592 Endurance: 2808 Toughness: 2592 Vitality: 3456 Perception: 2880 Magic: 2880 Spirit: 3168 Soul: 4536 Aura: 2880 Attunement: 2880 Luck: 3024 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 5 Agility: 5 Endurance: 6 Toughness: 5 Vitality: 10 Perception: 6 Magic: 6 Spirit: 8 Soul: 12 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Kill and absorb the primal energy of 3 beast category E rank monsters while in forest terrain Requirements: Current race is Forest Human-Jinn Hybrid (G-Rare), has a Legendary grade or higher soul-based bloodline, has maximized soul stat And, together, they gave her some impressive yet easy to fake racial abilities. Iron Mind (Rare): Increase the effectiveness of the Spirit stat by 6.25%. Amber Soul (Epic): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul stat by 12.5%. Soul Eater (Legendary): You can eat souls for sustenance and, by eating high quality souls, your Soul stat will grow Iron Mind, inherited from Epecteos, and the Rare grade version of the ability which came before Amber Soul, Copper Soul, were both racial abilities held by the original Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, and maximizing the Soul stat, a requirement for the fake racial advancement, would also unlock upgrading Copper Soul to Amber Soul, so they made perfect sense for her backstory. Soul Eater, however, a very rare ability which could be unlocked by the Succubus Empress bloodline, was the true key to her disguise as it meant there was no reason for her to not eat souls over normal food. And, in the Violet Mountain Sect, where there were no moral compunctions about such a thing, the only issue would be if her racial ability wasn¡¯t widely known, but that was solved by Epecteos¡¯s actions with the rude emissary from the Hewin Kingdom making her racial ability something that would definitely be talked about. Finally, her class would hopefully give her an interesting role in the Violet Mountain Sect. Lawyer (F-Uncommon) You wield the power of contracts Effects: Slightly increase the power of contract category skills. Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Offensive Crafting Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 7 Agility: 7 Endurance: 7 Toughness: 7 Vitality: 7 Perception: 7 Magic: 7 Spirit: 7 Soul: 34 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: The Contract (G-Common) skill, Soul greater than 12 Given the main C rank who controlled most of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s contracts was in his twilight years, the sect needed to raise a replacement, but the replacement they were currently raising, the granddaughter of King Hewin, had entered into a bottleneck for the last hundred and fifty years, so it was questionable if she would even be able to make it to D rank, let alone C. King Hewin also had a couple rivals within the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s elders who very much didn¡¯t want his granddaughter to succeed, at least from the reports Epecteos managed to buy when visiting one of the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s three C rank planets the month before. So Mila¡¯s hope was that they would desire to help raise her as an alternative if she entered the sect, especially given her great-grandfather¡¯s obvious enmity with King Hewin, thus the main reason for Epecteos to kill the Hewin Kingdom¡¯s emissary. According to Nana Xara, who knew a lot more about the types of politics which would go on among cultivators with ridiculously long lifespans, this was the best route to getting a copy of the Twelve Element Primal Code sent to Epecteos, as old powerhouses were generally quite petty and would thus be much more likely to give something like the copy of a cultivation technique, which cost them nothing, to the enemy of a rival than to a promising subordinate to give to their family member, the two combined making it very likely Aalam would be able to get the cultivation technique within their three year time limit. Mila then took a deep breath, it finally her turn to fight a monster, and bowed to the crowd, Epecteos¡¯s box especially. Then she summoned a spear from her spatial storage ring and stepped forward to face the relatively weak E rank monster, the defeat of which would represent being able to fight at the seven marks level. Chapter 135: Core Disciple Dodging the claws of the horse-sized furred scorpion by a margin way too close for comfort, Mila sliced a small gash in its flank with her spear and then dodged backwards, avoiding the beast¡¯s tail. Then, as the beast turned to face her, she flash stepped to its other side and gave it another small slice before dodging back again. This was now the fourth E rank monster she¡¯d fought by herself, counting the two from the tests in the soul net, and, starting out, this fight was already tougher than the other three. It wasn¡¯t the beast. The furred scorpion thing was probably a bit weaker than the five-eyed feathered ox-beast she¡¯d killed in Epecteos¡¯s arena. Instead, it was the environment. She¡¯d never truly been on a C rank world before. Sure, some of the environments simulated in the Trial Tower had been similar, but she usually hadn¡¯t been the weaker party when it came to stats in those cases, and Aalam had done most of the killing, so she hadn¡¯t noticed as much. Being on a C rank world like the capital of the Carium Galaxy Cluster, where the main entrance to the Violet Mountain Blessed Land was located, it wasn¡¯t just that the Laws were clearer and the effectiveness of stats was lessened in relation to the environment. It was more complicated than that. Vitality and Toughness, for example, as stats which didn¡¯t have an effect on the environment, were barely suppressed, while the same was true for Spirit, at least in its effect of allowing a cultivator to think faster. Strength, Agility, and the ability of Magic to empower spells, however, very much were. This meant fights were much more like you¡¯d see in the movies. Almost every cultivator could mentally react before their opponent¡¯s attack could even half way reach them, making defense and dodging maneuvers much more common. At the same time, the damage of offensive powers was greatly reduced, meaning cultivators could often take hits they wouldn¡¯t be able to in less suppressive environments and recover from wounds even during a fight. Endurance became much more important and, useful for Mila¡¯s disguised identity, the ability to heal yourself mid-fight became far more practical. Aiming her spear at one of the scorpion-like thing¡¯s eight eyes, she allowed the monster¡¯s claw to clip her, sending her flying, in exchange for blinding the eye. Midair, she started the process of healing herself with her Breath of Life skill, its effectiveness greatly reduced via a soul shackle to disguise it as the Uncommon grade Triforce Healing, and, after about ten seconds of running away, she was fully healed again. The scorpion beast, however, was not. This quick slice and dodge strategy, combined with the occasional advantageous exchange of blows, continued for fifteen minutes straight, and by that point Mila was starting to feel exhausted. Her disguised level of qi and mana were both getting low, but, given her true amounts of both resources were much higher, she wasn¡¯t feeling much of an effect. The bigger issue for her was the mental exhaustion which came from being at peak alertness for the entire time, something no amount of psyforce could help with. Thankfully, the scorpion beast was in a much worse state. It had lost seven of its eight eyes, its right claw was mostly limp, and its tail had reduced in speed by more than half, so Mila now had a chance to finish it. She came at the beast from its right and, with all her strength, she stabbed through one of its already destroyed eyes and into its brain, pushing as deep as she could and then kicking the spear in further while dodging the clumsy tail stab which came her way. The beast twitched three times. Then, finally, it died. Falling to her knees, Mila heard the crowd start to cheer. She¡¯d been fighting in a large arena, far more low tech than the one owned by Epecteos, reminding her more of the Roman Coliseum than a modern sports stadium, though there was magic to replace all the same functionalities a stadium would normally have, such as her exhausted face appearing on a giant screen hovering in the sky made out of what looked like clouds. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The three D rank judges evaluating her were about ten meters away from where she landed, in an arena-side box, and, through the use of the Sensory Domain skill she¡¯d shadowed from Aalam, which she turned back on immediately after the fight was over, she could sense the approving looks on their faces even while looking down at the ground in exhaustion. They were communicating with each other through an application of qi which allowed them to send their voices directly to each other¡¯s ears, but Sensory Domain could pick up that normally hidden form of communication as well, and Omniglot Reader allowed her to understand they were all in agreement to make her a core disciple. Even while only at 17% mastery, Sensory Domain was a broken skill. Within a certain radius around the cultivator, the length of the radius dependent on the Aura stat, almost nothing could escape the cultivator¡¯s notice. The extra senses provided by the various skills merged to create the skill were all slightly magnified within the domain, which was awesome, but the truly broken part was how the skill operated. Most detection skills, on a fundamental level, worked by sending energy out from a cultivator¡¯s soul and then calling it back at a rapid speed. How the energy was changed by the environment, such as how the type of energy sent out by Danger Sense was altered by karmic ripples created by possible future pain, then determined what the cultivator sensed. This sending out and retrieving of energy, however, could be easily detected by those with much higher Perception, so there was no way for weaker cultivators to spy on those of higher rank without running the risk of being found out. Sensory Domain, however, worked differently. Instead of sending out and retrieving various types of energy, the skill gave the ability to sense the changes of the naturally occurring energy types in the area of the domain without interfering with them. How that worked, Mila didn¡¯t know. Nana Xara said she wouldn¡¯t understand until she reached A rank and, when Mila told that to Aalam, he¡¯d just nodded and dropped the subject, so she figured Nana Xara probably wasn¡¯t lying. What Mila did understand, however, was the skill¡¯s basic operating principles. If the energy types weren¡¯t already in the area, Sensory Domain would use more of a cultivator¡¯s resources to create them, but that would never happen on a C rank world or in a B ranked blessed land, so, for practical use while she was in the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s headquarters, Mila could spy with impunity. Only those with Laws at the grade required to reach A rank would be able to sense what Mila was doing, so, when it came to the Sensory Domain skill, she didn¡¯t need to limit herself at all, her soul shackles deliberately designed to allow the skill access to the full unshackled values of her Perception and Aura stats. ¡°Thank you, Ms. Ka¡¯Dravone.¡± The D rank judge in the center nodded to her in appreciation. ¡°For a utility cultivator to perform so well during her first day on a C rank world is truly impressive, and we look forward to great things from you in the future. ¡°Given the nature of your skills and class, along with your achievement and obvious talent, we have unanimously decided to accept you into the Violet Mountain Sect as a core disciple.¡± The cheering in the arena, which had stopped, started up again, even louder. Most of the audience members were outer disciples of the Violet Mountain Sect, those that lived on the C rank world connecting to the blessed land, and it was pretty uncommon for a cultivator from outside the sect to be brought in as a core disciple, so they were excited. Bowing deeply to the D rank, Mila then jogged over to the other edge of the arena and climbed up a set of stairs to a section reserved for those undergoing evaluation, sitting next to the recruiter who¡¯d brought her from Epecteos¡¯s main world of Toril, and slumping down in her seat. This had been the final test for joining the Violet Mountain Sect, and she¡¯d already passed two rounds of inspection without triggering any red flags, so now there would be only one more round of inspection and the swearing of loyalty left before she would become a full member of the Violet Mountain Sect. She also, for the first time in a while, was very much alone, unless of course she counted Nana Xara, which she didn¡¯t. Even when he¡¯d been unconscious, the master servant bond she shared with Aalam had always allowed her to know his state and, at any time they wanted, they could share each other¡¯s senses. But now she was too far away and their magical bond wasn¡¯t strong enough to maintain that connection. It was one of those things she hadn¡¯t really understood the psychological value of until she lost it when going to meet Epecteos for the first time. And now she didn¡¯t have Epecteos either, her only link back to Earth the fact Nana Xara could still talk to Diana. ¡°You¡¯re getting a lot better at fighting without relying on your main skills.¡± Nana Xara sent, seemingly as cheerful as ever. ¡°Training with limits to your power like this is actually really helpful, and something I used to force the talents in my force to do, but you hadn¡¯t had time before this. These next six years are going to be very useful for setting the foundation for your future growth.¡± Silently, Mila started to wonder yet again if she was truly ready to once more act as a fictional identity every day for years, but, by this point, it was too late to back out. Chapter 136: Crafting Aalam was enjoying his new skills. Psyforce Construction (F-Epic), Mana Construction (F-Epic), and Qi Construction (F-Epic) all allowed him to use the given resource to mold a material into the shape of his desire. Psyforce Material Cleansing (F-Epic), Mana Material Cleansing (F-Epic), and Qi Material Cleansing (F-Epic) each allowed him to cleanse the material of impurities using their given resource. And Psyforce Material Strengthening (F-Epic), Mana Material Strengthening (F-Epic), and Qi Material Strengthening (F-Epic) allowed him to strengthen the material with their resource and the power of his Laws. With the nine Epic grade skills, he could merge three Legendary skills and then, with the three Legendary skills, he could merge one Heroic grade skill, Triforce Construction. The nine Epic grade skills together had pretty much the same effect as the Heroic grade Triforce Construction, though, so Aalam didn¡¯t have to worry about waiting until he merged his skills to start making use of the best materials he had available. He did, however, want to wait until his personal ability with the skills was better, so he was first practicing only with materials sourced from the various powers on Earth. The planet hadn¡¯t had enough time to form any truly high grade materials, so there wasn¡¯t much of a loss if he messed up. And, beyond his expectations, mess up he did, over and over again for the first several days. Cleansing materials was easy, especially when his Law Larva of Cleansing improved to high grade after working with it for a few days, and strengthening materials was quite simple as well, especially when his Law Larvae of Matter, Solid, and Liquid all improved to high grade. But moving materials with just his resources was hard. There wasn¡¯t only a visualization component. That part he found easy. The energy control was just really difficult. He hadn¡¯t practiced a cultivation technique yet, so his resource control was much, much worse than Mila, Diana, or Isaiah. Thus, over the first few days working in his crafting hall in the enlightenment zone, while wasting many, many materials, his energy control increased at a rapid rate even without a cultivation technique. And it was so much fun to see the obvious improvement every day. Always being pulled away from his work for two hours at 9 am, however, was not fun. Diana would drag him to the teleportation portal¡ªwell, more like just glare at him until he did what she wanted¡ªand then Epecteos would have him take out his bastard sword and practice while the old man sparred with Isaiah and his sister. It was the same movements every day, with Epecteos stepping down from the air to correct him if he ever messed anything up, and the movements were incredibly boring. Also, after watching Diana and Isaiah get their asses handed to them for the 104th time, watching their many, many practice duels was starting to get boring as well. Epecteos began always using a bastard sword when facing Isaiah and Diana about half way through Aalam¡¯s first lesson, and each fight he would infuse his body with a different element, showing off each of his twelve styles in turn. But, while this was definitely enlightening, allowing Aalam to advance several of his Laws more quickly and helping him integrate his use of resources into his monotonous sword movements, it also showed Aalam very clearly how far he had to go, and it was very, very far. With artifacts, Heroic grade was the best he could do at F rank for anything other than one time use items, and he knew what he had to do in order to be able to build them, but combat skill seemed like a deep well he could never get to the bottom of, and he just didn¡¯t enjoy it as much as crafting. Mila had given him thousands of blueprints earned from the Trial Tower before she left, all of them for F rank artifacts, and the grades of the items he could make by following the blueprints ranged from Common all the way to Heroic grade. Starting with the Common grade blueprints, Aalam repeatedly attempted to craft the artifacts requiring resources he had an abundance of until he successfully crafted three, depositing both the useful failures and the successes in a set of spatial storage rings Diana had provided for the purposes. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°How can you do that for so long?¡± Isaiah asked one day, having taken up the habit of practicing his cultivation technique in a corner of Aalam¡¯s crafting hall while Aalam was working. ¡°You¡¯ve been shaping that same box for five hours now.¡± ¡°How can you keep getting your ass handed to you by Epecteos for ten hours a day?¡± Aalam didn¡¯t move his head from looking at the artifact which was taking form in front of him, about 400 kg of the frost iron stolen from the Ice Giant¡¯s warehouse flowing like liquid in the air in the shape of a hollow three meter cube. Isaiah shrugged and Aalam could see it using both his aura and Sensory Domain. ¡°It¡¯s fun.¡± ¡°And I enjoy this.¡± After five hours of cleansing the metal of contaminants, strengthening it to the best of his ability, and forming it into a perfect cube, Aalam began using his three construction skills along with Runescriber to start forming runes inside the material, a process which would take another hour or so. ¡°Watching something transform from raw materials into a fully functional piece of machinery under my personal manipulations is probably the most rewarding feeling there is.¡± ¡°What are you building?¡± Isaiah sounded genuinely interested, so Aalam answered. ¡°When it¡¯s done, I¡¯ll cut a doorway in it and it will be a walk in refrigerator.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Isaiah¡¯s expression and aura both showed surprise. ¡°So you¡¯re spending over a quarter of a day on a refrigerator?¡± Aalam actually turned his head to look at Isaiah, starting to frown as he grew a bit angry. ¡°Being able to refrigerate food allows it to last multiple times longer, giving people access to a healthier and better balanced diet. At higher grades, a refrigerator might not be as valuable as a spear, but for commoners it is far more useful.¡± Isaiah looked up at the sky through the marble and glass geodesic dome and appeared to think for a few seconds. ¡°On certain types of worlds, like Earth before the integration, yes. On other types of worlds, where hunting or protection of the home is more required, no.¡± Aalam absorbed that statement, thought about it for a second, and then realized he might be wrong. ¡°Good point.¡± ¡°Still, though, my confusion was less about what you were making than the time you¡¯ve been spending making it. I¡¯ve seen you create other artifacts in a matter of minutes.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam nodded and looked back at the artifact he was creating. ¡°This is my first attempt at an Uncommon grade artifact without using Uncommon or higher grade materials, so I¡¯m putting extra effort in. ¡°We have a lot of really nice materials, and I need to get my skills up to a level where I can actually improve on their quality.¡± Aalam raised his left hand to show the Left Hand of the Runescribe. ¡°This for example was made from materials far more valuable than I truly realized at the time, but its design is flawed and can only make use of about 50% of the materials¡¯ power. So, I need to get skilled enough to drastically increase that percentage when it advances to E rank.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Isaiah stood up from his normal meditating posture and walked over to the side of the crafting hall where Camoran¡¯s 93rd and 97th Puzzle Books were resting on a counter. ¡°And you¡¯re mostly doing that through the creation of more powerful runic arrays?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Isaiah looked over at him, his face and aura both showing interest. ¡°And those same runic arrays can also be used to create temporary skills?¡± ¡°What do you think skills are, Isaiah?¡± Both Isaiah¡¯s expression and aura showed he was unsure, but he made a guess anyway. ¡°I feel like the answer will be something like runic arrays carved into a cultivator¡¯s soul, but, if that is the case, I didn¡¯t know that before.¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± Aalam¡¯s main mind kept working on carving runes into the artifact he was creating while one of his side minds handled talking to Isaiah. ¡°From Nana Xara¡¯s information packets, classes are more like clothes added to a cultivator¡¯s soul, not quite intrinsically part of the soul itself, and the skills are carved into the soul substance that makes up classes instead of the soul, but otherwise you¡¯re pretty much correct. ¡°Runic arrays are fundamentally just specialized ways to move qi, mana, or psyforce to produce an effect. Nothing more, nothing less. There are complications and requirements, such as the environment the resources are flowing through being able to hold the resources without breaking down, something soul substance is the best at stopping, thus making high level skills much easier to create than high level artifacts, but anything a skill can do can be achieved by an artifact as well, as skills and the arrays on artifacts work fundamentally the same way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just cool, Aalam.¡± Aalam turned to look at Isaiah again, but this time with a look of excitement on his face. ¡°I know, right?¡± Congratulations! Your Law Larva of Passion has advanced to high grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Spirit +256, Soul +128 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +256 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +128 Chapter 137: Violet Mountain Blessed Land ¡°Well, this is interesting.¡± Nana Xara sent as Mila stepped through the portal to the Violet Mountain Blessed land. ¡°This blessed land isn¡¯t a natural wonder at all.¡± Stepping from the top of the tall mountain on the Carium Galaxy Cluster''s capital planet to the periphery of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, Mila felt like she''d entered into a different universe. The Law suppression was higher, at the B rank planet level, making it instantly harder for Mila to move, but the bigger change had to do with space and light. So far, she¡¯d been to five planets other than Earth¡ªHira, three of Epecteos¡¯s planets, and the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s capital¡ªbut they were all similar in that they had a yellow sun, mostly green plant life, and gravity that was all about the same. Also, they were planets, spherical orbs of matter floating through a much, much, much larger plane of existence. The Violet Mountain Blessed Land was different. Only about 3,000 square kilometers in area¡ªor about the size of Hong Kong on Earth¡ªthe blessed land was hemispherical in nature when taking into account the ground and just looked weird. Every point on the hemisphere, not including the ground, linked to a different point, so looking up you could see the ground and looking out across the horizon you could see the entire blessed land over and over and over again, the entire area spatially closed off. Effectively, it looked kind of like the Mirror Dimension from Marvel¡¯s Doctor Strange, only a bit less dreamlike and a bit more endless. Also, the colors were all wrong. About 30% of the blessed land¡¯s area was taken up by a huge mountain made of colorless translucent crystal and about another 20% was taken up by a large lake, while the rest was filled with skyscrapers, the technology level seeming more like Epecteos¡¯s main world of Toril than the purposefully lower technology level of the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s capital planet. The main source of light in the blessed land, however, didn¡¯t come from the city sections, but from inside the crystal mountain, where a kilometer wide sphere of some kind was giving off violet light. And this made all the colors weird, like looking at everything under a blacklight. ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not a natural wonder?¡± Mila sent as the D rank guiding her and 107 other new recruits allowed her and the others to just stare out at the blessed land for a while. ¡°Just what I said.¡± Nana Xara chuckled slightly. ¡°This is an artificially created pocket dimension, and one not designed for use by cultivators. ¡°You haven¡¯t noticed, but, by borrowing the senses granted by your Sensory Domain skill, someone at my level can immediately see that the Laws of this sub-dimension are twisted. While the sub-dimension may have Law suppression effects at the B rank level, that is because it¡¯s infused with god level Laws of earth, metal, and water. ¡°This makes training in those elements easier at the beginning, like someone was on an upper tier B rank world, but training in this sub-dimension for those who have not already formed Law Pupae is a bad idea. The higher access to Laws granted to this space is artificial, showing only the Laws of the creator of this sub-dimension, and that creator¡¯s knowledge of the Laws is shallow compared to the true extent of the Laws of the universe. ¡°Effectively, this entire subspace is filled with the aura of a dao guide, and there is a reason I haven¡¯t yet allowed anyone on Earth to see the dao guides I prepared. ¡°The understanding of Laws, at least until full mastery at a level well beyond what anyone I¡¯ve ever met has reached, is a very personal thing. If you follow someone else¡¯s path instead of creating your own, you will hit a bottleneck and your foundation won¡¯t be as strong as you didn¡¯t have to struggle to create the path you already walked, so you¡¯ll almost certainly get stuck. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°It was fine for Aalam to look at the dao guide you found in the Shadow Thief¡¯s ring, as that dao guide was of a lower level and Aalam had enough of a foundation to not allow it to influence his path, but the Laws of the creator of this space are too high. Those who haven¡¯t yet gained peak grade Law Pupae won¡¯t be able to notice the issues, but almost everyone who trains following the Laws of this space will get stuck. ¡°I¡¯d been wondering why this force has so many more D ranks than C ranks but this space explains it. If you are training in Laws other than water, earth, and metal, you won¡¯t be affected much, but, in that case, it would be just as effective to train in here as to train on the C rank world outside.¡± ¡°You said this sub-space was artificially created. For what purpose?¡± Mila asked. ¡°This space is almost certainly designed to empower monsters, not cultivators.¡± Nana Xara was in full on lecture mode. ¡°Monsters, over successive generations, adapt to their environment much quicker than cultivators and to a much greater extent. Were a race of monsters to make this sub-space their home, after several generations individuals naturally suited for following the creator¡¯s path would be born. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be strong monsters, and they would almost certainly get stuck before reaching even the middle of B rank, but many of them would reach B rank nonetheless. ¡°It is also probably a space designed to produce certain natural resources. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard about it yet, but the Violet Mountain Sect almost certainly pays protection fees to several nearby A rank forces. That¡¯s just how the universe works. And what they pay is almost certainly a very large percentage of what this sub-space produces, likely some unique metals, minerals, and water judging by the Laws. ¡°The A rank forces are almost certainly aware of what this space is, thus why none of them have taken it over, but it is uncertain if the Violet Mountain Sect itself knows. ¡°Finally, the last use of this sub-space is actually the most valuable, at least in my opinion. That capital planet this space is connected to is almost certainly naturally only a D or E rank world, but this space has upgraded that entire planet by a rank or two.¡± ¡°Is it possible to move the sub-space?¡± Hearing that last bit, this was Mila¡¯s first question, one of her minds fully focused on her talk with Nana Xara as the Violet Mountain Sect D rank started to show them around. ¡°Almost certainly yes.¡± Nana Xara laughed. ¡°But not for the Violet Mountain Sect and likely not for the surrounding A rank forces either. I¡¯ve seen a few sub-spaces like this before, created by monster gods, and they are generally inheritances. Given how cultivators were able to fully move into this space, however, the inheritance was likely raided of all its treasures long, long ago, as otherwise the space¡¯s defenses would have kept trying to kill everyone, but I doubt anyone strong enough to do so has bothered changing the spirit which would manage the sub-space¡¯s core functionality.¡± ¡°So,¡± Mila asked, ¡°we could steal it and use it to boost Earth?¡± ¡°Technically yes, but stealing it isn¡¯t something I would recommend. The trial area is almost certainly heavily guarded, and, given the nature of the Laws of the creator, I don¡¯t think you yourself would be able to pass the inheritance¡¯s highest level to gain ownership. ¡°Aalam probably would be able to, as my guess is the god who created this sub-space was a crafter, but it would be a huge risk bringing him here. Even if he succeeded, the transfer of ownership would take time and be obvious, allowing the chief elder of the Violet Mountain Sect, as well as all the normal elders, to easily find and kill you. And, even if you were somehow able to steal the sub-space out from under the noses of these powers, knowledge of such an action would quickly spread across the universe and put a target on your backs. ¡°The biggest reason, however, is that it¡¯s just not worth it. Through transferring the subspace, you might be able to raise Earth to a C rank world, creating a very rare C rank enlightenment zone as well which would be extremely useful. But, if you were C rank or even D rank, the benefits this would provide would be pretty much negligible. Right now, Earth is undergoing its integration, which will make training in Laws for the next 70 years as easy as if you were on a B rank planet, but afterwards it would be much better for you to sell some treasures and move to a small house on a B rank world than to own your own C rank planet, and, given your talents, this wouldn¡¯t be that difficult for your core force.¡± ¡°So, instead of planning to steal this place in the future, I should just get the Twelve Element Primal Code and get access to whatever events and quests I can.¡± Mila looked around at the sub-space as the D rank continued to guide them, only having one more step to pass before she could start receiving benefits. Chapter 138: Well That Was Easy Mila ¡°She¡¯s clean.¡± The D rank human woman nodded to the D rank human man who¡¯d been guiding Mila and the other 107 new recruits and moved on to one of the others. She¡¯d just scanned Mila with several D rank artifacts and a couple detection skills of her own, but she hadn¡¯t been able to notice Mila was a monster, or anything else wrong with her fictional identity. This wasn¡¯t just because Mila specialized in disguises and her Trickster¡¯s Guise skill was powerful, but more because succubi were inherently one of the monster races closest to cultivators. Her cultivation speed as a Strong Soul Succubus Princess, for example, was about the same as an Epic grade human. Sure, it was nothing compared to Diana¡¯s speed, even discounting her bloodline, but it was far faster than most people on Earth, and that was almost unheard of for a monster. There just wasn¡¯t that much Mila had to change, making her disguise easy. Located in a large ornate hall on the top floor of one of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land¡¯s many skyscrapers, Mila then followed the directions of the D rank guide, a man with a class specializing in food production, and placed her hands on a black orb floating in the middle of the room. The Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s Elder Lander Haxor has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You will accept the position of a Core Disciple of the Violet Mountain Sect, with all the benefits and obligations that come with it
  2. You will not kill other core disciples or those of higher rank in cases other than self defense
  3. For any resource you receive from the Violet Mountain Sect, other than in cases where you are given explicit permission, you are not allowed to in turn give the resource to anyone else
Punishment: Permanent loss of cultivation Do you accept? Yes/No The position of core disciple of the Violet Mountain Sect was a lot like the position of servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, in that it was a position bound by a contract. Granted, core disciple was a nicer position than servant, but it was a contract bound position nonetheless, and the big loophole in this contract was that the sect could redefine the benefits and obligations of the position at will, without any core disciple being able to do anything about it. Sure, that would almost never happen outside times of war, but it was something Mila very easily spotted and it was something her identity, with the class of Lawyer, would notice as well. So, she walked up to the large caucasian-looking D rank chef with the bald head and huge bushy beard and asked, ¡°What are the obligations and benefits of a core disciple of the Violet Mountain Sect?¡± ¡°You have to show improvement every 3 years as an F rank, you have to represent the sect in any inter-sect competitions, and you must follow the instructions of any of the sect¡¯s elders, core disciples of higher rank, or D rank inner disciples such as myself. Though these obligations will change as you advance in rank. ¡°As for benefits, the sect will help raise you to the best of our ability. ¡°You will have your choice of any of the sect¡¯s cultivation techniques, every 30 days you will receive a serving of Foundation Establishment Soup made by me and my department, and you will receive 32 E rank violet mountain credits every year for use in paying for training, obtaining sect resources, and any other type of spending within the sect. ¡°Like any member of the sect, you are free to run your own business to earn violet mountain credits, and, while you maintain your status as a core disciple, you¡¯ll be free from the mandatory contribution requirements of sect members with less potential.¡± Mila pretended to think for a little bit, then asked, ¡°Are there any rules about having to stay within the sect? My grandfather is a really good teacher and I¡¯d still like to train with him, but he has his own lands to govern.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be able to find much better teachers within the sect,¡± the large chef began, but then, as she started frowning, he seemed to think about the fact she was a new core disciple from outside. ¡°If that isn¡¯t the case, though, you can ask for special permission from the sect. ¡°Who¡¯s your grandfather?¡± ¡°Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone.¡± The chef¡¯s eyes widened ever so slightly. ¡°Ah. In that case, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be able to get special permission quite easily. ¡°Is Lord Ka¡¯Dravone doing well?¡± Mila smiled at the man, acting like she enjoyed his obvious admiration of her great-grandfather. ¡°He¡¯s getting on in years, but he¡¯s still as hale and healthy as ever. Thank you for your concern.¡± Mila then accepted the contract and, to her surprise, a special violet runic tattoo appeared on the back of her right hand, flowing all the way up her forearm. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°What is this?¡± Mila politely asked as she stepped away from the black orb. ¡°A mountain mark.¡± The D rank rolled up his right sleeve and poured mana into a previously invisible tattoo on his arm of a similar shape, only his was red. ¡°Violet is for core disciples. Red is for inner sect disciples. And blue is for outer sect disciples. The mark monitors your lifeforce, so the sect can know if you are in danger as long as you stay within the Carium Galaxy Cluster, and it also provides proof of your identity within the Violet Mountain Sect. ¡°It will serve as your residence key, as your identification when receiving resources, and as your access key for your violet mountain credits. If you ever want to trade violet mountain credits to another disciple, for example, you can just touch your mark to his and will the mark to transfer the credits.¡± ¡°It also monitors your status,¡± Nana Xara added after listening to the man¡¯s explanation. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to change your identity while within the Carium Galaxy Cluster or the sect will instantly notice. And, by the same logic, you won¡¯t be able to leave the Carium Galaxy Cluster without the sect noticing either.¡± Well, that complicated things. At the same time, however, it seemed the simplest of her plans to get access to the Twelve Element Primal Code would work, and that was a good thing. When the last new disciple had pledged his loyalty and received his mountain mark, the chef then brought them to another building, one under much, much greater security judging by all the formations Mila could sense through Sensory Domain, and Nana Xara began describing each one in detail as they passed them. The place was very much not somewhere Mila would be able to break into on her own, and it would probably take Aalam a month of work just to get past the lesser defenses on the building, let alone the more complicated ones. After they had passed through all the security, however, they arrived in a large room which reminded Mila of an art gallery. All four walls, except for the doorway they¡¯d just entered, were covered in small glowing information orbs behind some strong see-through crystal walls, and, through Sensory Domain, she knew the visible orbs were just a small fraction of the information orbs stored in the repository, Sensory Domain allowing her to spot seven different spatial storage artifacts behind the walls as well. Through the walls there were small tunnels, just the right size for the information orbs to move through, and these tunnels were connected to eighteen pedestals in the center of the room. The chef had eighteen of the new disciples move to the pedestals and, after seemingly looking through some System menus, one by one they started choosing the cultivation techniques they wanted to practice and orbs moved from the walls into the tunnels, then down through the floor and up to rest on the pedestal in front of the disciple who wanted to learn their contents. The disciples would then place their right hands, covered in their mountain marks, onto the information orbs and the information contained within would transfer directly into their minds. Soon it was Mila¡¯s turn and she also stepped up to a pedestal, her mountain mark glowing slightly in response, and she almost immediately saw some System messages pop up in front of her eyes. Detecting Violet Mountain Mark. Detecting F rank power. Welcome Core Disciple Sarra Lin¡¯Talic. Only access to cultivation techniques currently unlocked. No cultivation technique yet chosen. Access to all cultivation techniques granted. Please choose a cultivation technique from the following lists. There were three lists, one for outer sect disciples, one for inner sect disciples, and one for core disciples. In the cultivation techniques for core disciples, however, there was no cultivation technique for a purely life element cultivator, and, in the cultivation techniques list for inner sect disciples, the best pure life cultivation technique was the Seventeen Life Codex, a cultivation technique Mila already had. Nana Xara had been able to give an artifact to both Diana and Mila upon them reaching F rank, but had pretended she had to give Diana Mila¡¯s artifact instead given Mila was on Hira at the time. And, in truth, she¡¯d offered Diana Mila¡¯s artifact, but Diana had refused, just taking a resource which would help with her next race advancement for her own reward. Thus, when Mila arrived on Earth, she still had an artifact reward from Nana Xara pending, and Mila, already aware she¡¯d need to search the universe for a copy of the Twelve Element Primal Code, had chosen an artifact she thought might help with that, an information orb duplicator, before cutting Nana Xara off from watching her for a few weeks. With enough mana and time, the duplicator could copy even a complicated cultivation technique into a new orb. And, as Mila had way more trial points from the Trial Tower than she could actually use on her own small group, she¡¯d used a couple hundred trillion points to get some of the best cultivation techniques the Trial Tower allowed for purchase. This included two different levels of techniques for those training in Laws of only one element, the best she could get access to and the cheapest technique among those considered second tier for the element, the one generally the easiest to find in the outside world. Being common didn¡¯t mean these twelve single element second tier techniques she¡¯d acquired were bad¡ªthey were still the types of techniques which would be the cornerstone of a C rank force¡ªbut it meant there were likely quite a few supplementary techniques and cheap guidance tomes from existing powers for each of them, and that was a big plus. The original intent was to use these cultivation techniques to reward compliance on Earth, the second tier techniques available for anyone who qualified and the better techniques available for those who were more loyal, but, when Mila decided on the identity of Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, she immediately set the duplicator to create a duplicate of her second tier technique for the life element, and that¡¯s how she got her hands on a copy of the Seventeen Life Codex which couldn¡¯t be traced back to the Trial Tower. The copy of the Seventeen Life Codex was in her spatial storage ring, and her story was that it was meant to be a backup cultivation technique from her great-grandfather in case she couldn¡¯t find anything better in the Violet Mountain Sect. So, instead of getting another copy from the Violet Mountain Sect, Mila went back to the list for core disciples only and chose the cultivation technique she¡¯d originally joined the Violet Mountain Sect for in the first place, the Twelve Element Primal Code. Using Sensory Domain, she watched as the information orb holding the Twelve Element Primal Code shot out of one of the spatial storage artifacts, down the tunnels, and up through the pedestal in front of her. Then, when she reached out her right hand to touch the orb, she received another System message. Would you like to learn the Twelve Element Primal Code? This will be the only cultivation technique you will be able to learn from the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s repository and it appears to be a technique you won¡¯t be able to use. Do you still want to pick it? Yes/No Mila chose yes and the information orb glowed with twelve colors, marking her soul in the same way Yin Yang Cosmology had when she¡¯d learned it, Mila now able to enter the legacy bound to her soul at any time to learn the technique. More important, however, if she was on the same planet as Aalam, given the abnormal strength of their bond, he¡¯d be able to do the same. The only problem would be getting to see him again, but that was a much easier issue to solve than trying to get a copy of the Twelve Element Primal Code gifted to Epecteos. Chapter 139: Scamming for Soup Arl Arl Gremin spotted his sect¡¯s new core disciple choose the Twelve Element Primal Code a bit too late, the information orb having already marked her soul before he¡¯d realized what was happening. And this made him panic for a few seconds before he rushed over to her. ¡°Why choose the Twelve Element Primal Code?¡± he quickly asked. ¡°You know you can¡¯t transfer that copy to your grandfather, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The young woman looked at him with an expression of confusion, her aura showing the same. ¡°Are you alright, Mr. Gremin?¡± ¡°But you need to choose a cultivation technique for yourself.¡± The confusion left the young woman¡¯s face and aura and she reached out her left hand, summoning a forest green information orb into it from her spatial storage ring. ¡°This orb contains a copy of the Seventeen Life Codex. My grandfather gave it to me as a backup in case the sect didn¡¯t have a better life element cultivation technique and I just confirmed the Seventeen Life Codex was the best life element technique in the repository, so I didn¡¯t see the need to read your copy when I have one of my own.¡± She placed her right hand gently on his arm. ¡°Thanks so much for worrying about me, Mr. Gremin. And sorry for worrying you. ¡°I just thought that, since I have a free slot for getting a cultivation technique, I might as well read the Twelve Element Primal Code. As far as I know, it is considered the best cultivation technique in the universe, so I might learn something.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± The young woman¡¯s words made a lot of sense. But it also meant one of the main reasons for joining the sect as a core disciple had been effectively useless for her, which made Arl feel like he was letting her down. So, he decided he¡¯d increase the size of her serving of Foundation Establishment Soup a little. * * * Orianthi Looking at the young woman who¡¯d just been introduced by Mr. Gremin, Orianthi Hewin smiled pleasantly and said a few polite words like the other core disciples, but inside she was screaming. This Sarra Ka¡¯Dravone was her replacement and there wasn¡¯t anything she could do about it. Human, with pale skin, blue eyes, and long light green hair, Orianthi was E rank and she hadn¡¯t had any noticeable improvement for 34 years, while she was also out of things to improve other than raising her Law Egg of Bonds into a Law Larva and advancing to D rank. She¡¯d been trying to do this for over a century, however, and by now she was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t going to happen. In two years, she was going to lose her core disciple status, dropping down to an inner sect disciple, and there was now no chance she could get an extension. Previously, as the granddaughter of the sect¡¯s C rank with the highest chance to advance to B rank, she might have been given a little leeway to give face to her grandfather, but this new core disciple, at less than 30 years of age, already had a Law Larva of Bonds, so there was no chance the sect wouldn¡¯t put all their focus on her instead. And this wasn¡¯t even mentioning how the young woman in front of her already had the attention of almost every male core disciple just because she was pretty. Even Corin Val, the man known as the Stone Faced Killer, was laughing at some joke the woman made. Feeling nervous, Orianthi left as soon as she could and went to find her grandfather, who¡¯d been staying in the sect for the last several dozen years, and asked for an audience. She had to stay sitting in the hall of his residence on the Crystal Mountain for three days, but he still allowed her to see him, so there was some care for her left. ¡°What is it you need, girl?¡± King Hewin asked from the golden throne in his mansion¡¯s audience chamber, looking down at her from his elevated seat. Orianthi bowed her head, unwilling to risk looking up at her mother¡¯s father. ¡°There is a new core disciple who was just brought in from outside who seems likely to take over my position, one Sarra Ka¡¯Dravone.¡± ¡°I am aware.¡± King Hewin¡¯s voice was deep and, due to his sheer amount of qi, it reverberated around the room as he spoke. ¡°But what am I to do? You¡¯re too weak to maintain your position even without her joining the sect.¡± ¡°What if I were to advance to D rank?¡± Orianthi grabbed at her last straw. ¡°Then things might be different.¡± Her grandfather¡¯s booming voice sounded contemplative. ¡°Sarra Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s existence in the sect already has my old rivals bringing up my loss to her ancestor, and your inadequacy has been giving them further ammunition. ¡°Were you to rise to D rank on your own power and this Sarra Ka¡¯Dravone to hit a bottleneck, or somehow disappear, I might be willing to use my influence to give you the sect¡¯s last remaining Fruit of Life.¡± Orianthi felt her heart start to race with excitement. The Fruit of Life was a supreme race changing treasure and the sect had only managed to gain four several hundred thousand years ago through a lucky encounter of the current chief elder. The three previous Fruits of Life had all been used on powerful healers or contract specialists, each individual eventually making it to C rank, and having her race changed through the use of the last one would completely alter Orianthi¡¯s fate. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Thank you, grandfather. Orianthi will work hard.¡± Orianthi kowtowed toward her grandfather three times, slamming her head hard against the stone ground as her grandfather preferred. ¡°Orianthi will work hard.¡± ¡°Dismissed.¡± She couldn¡¯t see it, but from the breeze which blew her back several meters, Orianthi knew her grandfather had waved his arm in dismissal. ¡°And don¡¯t come back unless you reach D rank.¡± She quickly stood and started walking out of the room, making sure not to walk too fast or too slow, and, as a result, she was able to hear her grandfather''s final words as well. ¡°Useless girl.¡± Orianthi¡¯s eyes started to tear up, but she didn¡¯t allow herself to break down until she was back in her own residence. * * * Pimala Pimala Kelmin, a half human half jinn with small horns poking through her red hair, blue eyes, and dark patterned brown skin, had been crippled a couple hundred years before when attempting to advance to C rank, which would normally have had her drop from her position as a core disciple to an outer sect disciple at best, even though she¡¯d been a powerful D rank mage. Thankfully, however, Pimala¡¯s father, Eminar Kelmin, was one of the sect¡¯s eighteen C rank elders, so, while she still lost her own position as a core disciple, she instead received the position of Chief Trainer, responsible for overseeing the instruction of the sect¡¯s younger core disciples along with their evaluations every three years. Their newest core disciple, Sarra Ka¡¯Dravone, however, was giving Pimala problems. First, she¡¯d used her own cultivation technique instead of taking one from the sect. Then she¡¯d set aside some of her violet mountain credits to automatically buy monster souls every month, which had been disturbing until Pimala learned about her bloodline. But now the girl had signed up for her classes for the next semester and her choices seemed completely illogical. Stepping up to the gate of the small compound Sarra had chosen as her residence at the base of the Crystal Mountain, Pimala knocked twice and waited, Sarra coming a few seconds later and letting her in. Behind the stone walls, there were three stone buildings, indestructible remnants from before the time of the Violet Mountain Sect. Completely open to the air with mostly open floor plans, the buildings had windows, but no glass separating the inside from the outside, and it was the residence assigned for use for core disciples that almost no core disciple in the history of the Violet Mountain Sect had ever chosen, as the others, made of steel and glass, had much better modern conveniences. ¡°Why did you choose this residence?¡± Pimala asked as Sarra brought her into one of the buildings, where there were a few stone benches around a low table. ¡°I spent three years trapped in a forest.¡± Sarra smiled at her as she sat down on one of the benches. ¡°Modern comforts just don¡¯t feel quite right yet, and this residence is a good middle ground.¡± When Pimala sat on one of the other stone benches, Sarra then asked, ¡°So, what brings you here, Chief Trainer?¡± ¡°Your class schedule.¡± Pimala decided to get straight to the point, knowing most young cultivators, especially talents, didn¡¯t like wasting time. ¡°I wanted to confirm with you your choices. ¡°You chose nothing related to either of your two specialties we have on file, and no combat classes either. Instead, you¡¯ve chosen Introduction to the Theory of Skills, Introduction to the Theory of Artifacts, Introduction to the Forces of the Universe, and Introduction to Monsters. These are classes normally targeted toward children and I wanted to make sure you were choosing the courses best for helping you advance. Would you mind explaining your reasoning?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The young beauty smiled at her. ¡°Thank you for worrying about me. ¡°Well, as you probably know, I didn¡¯t grow up in a B rank force, a C rank force, or even a D rank force.¡± The young woman radiated excitement. ¡°The strongest person in my clan was E rank. So, before Grandpa Epecteos found me, I wasn¡¯t thinking much beyond the city I grew up in or the monster-filled forest planet I was later trapped on. My foundational knowledge is not on the same level as you when you were my age and I think my first order of business now that I have this chance should be to fix that.¡± Pimala shook her head in assent. Most youngsters didn¡¯t have such a mentality and she very much approved of Sarra¡¯s reasoning. The bigger issue was that Sarra had first gone to introduction courses on healing, contracts, and combat, but then dropped them. ¡°What about the courses on your specialties and combat?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Sarra looked a little embarrassed, and her aura showed the same. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I can say.¡± Pimala had a guess about why the young beauty might not have liked those classes, but, after a minute of cajoling the young woman and making sure she¡¯d feel safe to speak, the answer she received was not at all what she¡¯d been expecting. ¡°Mainly, they seemed kind of useless. ¡°Contracts are simple. You form a bond between two people or between two parts of a person¡¯s soul and you set a series of rules with a set punishment if those rules are not followed. Due to the nature of karma, if someone breaks those rules, their own soul then punishes them. There¡¯s not much there and the limitations have to do with the skills, class effects, and racial abilities involved, not the gobbledygook that teacher was talking about. ¡°Healing, on the other hand, is complicated. I gained a healing Law Larva because I repeatedly needed to heal myself. As a result, I know my own body well, but my theoretical knowledge on how to fix other people is really low. The class designed for those with my level of Laws didn¡¯t seem like one I would be able to follow, so I thought next semester, after I fix some of my missing common knowledge, I would start with more biology, anatomy, and zoology courses. ¡°Finally, that combat teacher didn¡¯t seem very good, his explanations needlessly complicated, and he couldn¡¯t answer any of my questions on incorporating life Laws into my movements, so training with him seemed like a waste of time. If I want to get better at combat, I can go back home and train with my grandfather, so there¡¯s no need to settle for lesser quality instruction when there are better things I could learn.¡± The girl¡¯s eyes lit up and her aura showed excitement again. ¡°For example, I learned the names of seventeen different gods in class today. Isn¡¯t that cool? And the teacher just knew their names off the top of her head.¡± Pimala didn¡¯t say anything for a few seconds. It sounded like for contracts no one but Lord Haxor would be able to teach the girl, which wasn¡¯t going to ever happen given the man¡¯s personality, and for combat Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone was probably far more skilled than anyone in the sect other than the chief elder. He¡¯d fought across ranks with King Hewin and forced the latter to run after all. They could offer her knowledge, but the totality of what she seemed to need could probably be freely bought from the sect by another force for just a few D rank credits, though the girl didn¡¯t seem to know that yet. In the long run, there wasn¡¯t much binding the girl to the sect, and that was a problem. So, while politely chatting with the girl for a little longer, Pimala thought about some possible solutions, and she settled on upping the girl¡¯s resource allocation. The slots for the next War of the Chosen set to start in eight years weren¡¯t fully set, and if the girl was E rank by that time Pimala would definitely give her a spot as well. Sarra probably wouldn¡¯t be powerful enough as an early E rank, but healers were always valued on the battlefield, so it was possible she¡¯d do better than any of the sect¡¯s warriors. Chapter 140: The True Value of What She Already Had Mila Once she''d passed the hurdles to create her identity, the Violet Mountain Sect was actually quite nice, filled with kind and easy to manipulate people. Granted, they were only kind to her. With Sensory Domain she could spy on everything within roughly 54 meters of herself, allowing her to see behind a lot of closed doors, and there were many, many depraved people in the sect. To her, though, most were deferential, her status as a core disciple putting her on nearly the same level as most of the sect¡¯s D ranks, and this made people want to win her favor, even those who were in charge of giving her resources. More important, however, as a new core disciple from outside the sect, it was the job of those giving her resources to make her want to be loyal to the sect, and her preparing her own cultivation technique so she could gain access to the Twelve Element Primal Code had the nice side effect of both the cook in charge of her meals and the politically connected trainer feeling like they needed to give her more resources than normal, which was helping her raise her stats quite quickly. Sure, Earth had a lot of Foundation Establishment Soup and other stat boosting treasures from Mila spending most of her extra trial points, but it was always nice to get things for free. She¡¯d even managed to gain access to a residence holding one of five secret entrances into the core of the Crystal Mountain, where she assumed the subspace¡¯s inheritance was located. Then of course there were all the men fawning over her, which she could probably make use of in the future in some way. The true advantage of joining the sect, however, for her at least, was the information she was gaining access to. It wasn¡¯t the lessons. She was fully aware she could buy taped copies of pretty much everything she was learning for a few D rank universal credits at most. But watching those lessons on her own wouldn¡¯t give her the perspective she was gaining just by living in an upper B rank force. In the tutorial and then on Hira and Earth, she hadn¡¯t truly understood her own place in the universe, but, after joining a B rank force as a core disciple, she realized that from the beginning of the integration she¡¯d been enjoying the same types of benefits granted to core disciples of A rank forces. Granted, she¡¯d had to work harder for the resources than normal core disciples, but she¡¯d gotten so many Legendary grade resources she¡¯d started to give them away. As a result, she¡¯d had an incorrect understanding of the value of what she already had. Just the information Aalam had been given at the beginning of the tutorial would be measured in units of at least thousands of A rank universal credits, and something like the Orb of Devouring used as the core of the Left Hand of the Runescribe would be valued in a similar range. More important than the material benefits, however, or even the boon Aalam had received which allowed him to design the insane builds they were using, she hadn¡¯t been making full use of the greatest benefit she¡¯d received from the tutorial, the fact she had the ear of an experienced A rank at any time she wanted. There were so many possibilities which existed for turning her access to Nana Xara into tangible power, and it was time to start making use of them. Take the Violet Mountain Blessed Land for example. By this point, Mila was almost positive everyone she¡¯d met so far in the Violet Mountain Sect didn¡¯t know their core area was effectively acting as a poisonous dao guide. But she could tell the chief elder and at least some of the elders were definitely aware, judging by how their descendants were encouraged to train in Laws other than water, earth, and metal, and the ability to realize this was very valuable. With Mila¡¯s knowledge from Nana Xara, she could see how the sect truly functioned, and how being stationed on one of the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s three C rank planets was not at all worse than being allowed access to the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, which really changed the political dynamics compared to if she didn¡¯t have that information, several elders holding far more power than they¡¯d originally seemed. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. This knowledge wasn¡¯t super useful at the moment, but when she eventually chose a faction in the near future it would be invaluable. And this was a very, very minor example. Through the boon Mila had received from the Trial Tower, Mila¡¯s own force¡ªwhich admittedly currently only consisted of her, Aalam, Isaiah, Diana, and Epecteos¡ªcould purchase access to any public teleportation platform in the universe. Even with the high costs of teleportation, with 12 universal credits of the same rank as the teleporting cultivator required for intra-cluster teleportation and 144 universal credits required for inter-cluster teleportation, along with the high costs for the rights to use each platform in the first place, there was a lot of money to be made from moving resources from where they were common to where they were rare, and the type of access they had was not at all common among forces as weak as theirs. A rank forces wouldn¡¯t care much about D and C rank forces in the outer galaxy clusters of the universe, but, with just this single boon, Earth had the possibility to make a lot of money in the future once they brought more members into their force. Without Nana Xara¡¯s information, however, it was very, very likely they would try to trade something too valuable and just get their members killed, or worse blackmailed into giving over their entire operation to a force with more power. With Nana Xara¡¯s information, however, they could avoid accidentally competing with other powers in the same line of business, at least those which had been around for a long time, as well as choose some known good trading partners with long standing history of honest transactions. From her lessons, Mila was getting a better sense of the types of resources forces at each rank would desire yet not have easy access to, and she was really kind of enjoying the idea of creating a multi-cluster conglomerate of sorts in the future based around planets with the Heavenly Spark Soul King as overlord, only with multiple different pseudonyms created by Aalam¡¯s eventual Pupa of Bonds. ¡°So, we have an interesting opportunity on the home front,¡± Nana Xara began one day as Mila rolled out of bed, about a week after she¡¯d officially entered the Violet Mountain Sect. ¡°No one told Epecteos we already have access to the Twelve Element Primal Code, so he sent a message to the Vin Clan royalty of the Grand Elven Empire asking if they needed anything for trade and he got back an interesting reply. ¡°It seems the Vin Clan has set a bounty on Highgenion Flowers after you bought all three from the Trial Tower, and, while they only need one, they are willing to trade for resources worth up to twelve times as much.¡± Mila thought about it for a few seconds. She¡¯d learned about the Vin Clan from her classes, as they were one of the closest A rank forces to the Violet Mountain Sect, and she was pretty sure the elf who¡¯d tortured Aalam had been a member. This didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t honorable business partners, however, just that one of their disciples was a sadist. ¡°Is it possible to tell the origin of a Highgenion Flower?¡± ¡°No. It is not.¡± Nana Xara sounded like she was smiling. ¡°Is there a way to tell how long ago a Highgenion Flower had been picked?¡± ¡°Not if it was sealed well, which our Highgenion Flowers were.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Mila nodded as she quickly got dressed. ¡°Unless you see any problems, we should have Epecteos change the box of one of our flowers and then trade it to the Vin Clan for the remaining required materials for upgrading the Left Hand of the Runescribe as well as the materials for the Twelve Element Stationary Enhancement Formation to boost Diana during her run at the Trial Tower. Any leftover difference can be granted to Epecteos in universal credits. ¡°Is there any way to make the transaction not be in person?¡± ¡°The elves provided a System guaranteed contract which can be initiated over the universal soul net which will then have the System teleport the traded materials between the interested parties. For F and E rank materials, the price is about the same as teleporting equivalent rank cultivators, but the elves are eating the cost so we don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± ¡°Now, if only we¡¯d learned about this earlier, it would have simplified so much.¡± Mila was disappointed. It had only been a few weeks, but she was already missing spending time with Aalam, Diana, Isaiah, Nitya, and even her grandparents. In the Violet Mountain Sect she always had to act a part, and there were less benefits than she¡¯d thought from joining. She was already the least talented of her small group, yet now she, stuck in the equivalent of a C rank planet, was also in the worst environment, and she couldn¡¯t easily go back to Earth due to the stupid Mountain Mark. Though maybe¡­ Mila started to think, several decent excuses to leave the range of the Mountain Mark beginning to appear in her mind. Sure, she¡¯d probably have to remain in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land for several years first, but then she could probably arrange to stay on Earth for at least until after the next F rank Trial Tower, so she¡¯d be able to help Aalam advance and Diana to gain rewards. A plan in mind, Mila started to feel a lot better as she left her compound to go gain what little she could from the Violet Mountain Sect. Chapter 141: Power of Balance Isaiah Isaiah readied his new weapon in his right hand, a moonlight iron spear which was the prototype for a custom design Aalam was working on for him, and in his left was a matching moonlight iron shield, round with two indents on the sides. Then, when Diana said go, he activated Storm Steps at full power and charged through the air at Epecteos, fully boosted by Dragon Drive and Knight. At the same time, Epecteos moved like the wind to attack him and Isaiah blocked it with his shield, activating Guardian through the artifact to completely stop Epecteos¡¯s offensive skill. Isaiah then activated Power Attack and Epecteos was forced to bring back his sword to defend, using his earth element stance. Epecteos was knocked back despite his best efforts and Isaiah pressed the attack, stabbing out two more times in rapid succession, his destruction and speed Laws both infused into his offense thanks to having reached level 6 in the Four Aspect Cycle, the cultivation technique Mila¡¯d received for him from Nana Xara after she and Aalam completed the A rank¡¯s quest by doing well in the Trial Tower. The first stab knocked Epecteos¡¯s weapon away and the second stab entered into his teacher¡¯s heart. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s just not fair.¡± Epecteos looked down at his chest as Isaiah removed his spear point, the large wound almost instantly healing as Aalam, down below on the boat, temporarily released the soul shackles on his teacher¡¯s Vitality stat. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can win anymore with my stats the same as yours. That racial ability especially is just unfair.¡± It had been a couple years since Isaiah had started training with his teacher, and he had learned so much. At the same time, he had reached max level for F rank and was about ready to advance. Name: Isaiah Gale Level: 36 Race: Human Form Young Balance Dragon (E-Fabled) Bloodline: Primordial Chaos Human (Heroic) Abilities Dragon Scales (Fabled) Golden Body (Heroic) Active Daoist (Legendary) Dragon Heart (Fabled) Power of Balance (Fabled) Human Blood Adaptation (Fabled) Class: Rapid Spear Guardian (F-Legendary) Skills Storm Steps (F-Legendary) 100% mastered Power Attack (F-Legendary) 100% mastered Guardian (F-Legendary) 100% mastered Kinetic Senses (F-Legendary) 100% mastered Dragon Drive (F-Legendary) 100% mastered Knight (F-Legendary) 100% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Storm Speed - Middle Iron Defense - Middle Blazing Destruction - Middle Hydro Healing - Middle Stats Strength: 2170 (+135.875% + 25% when holding a spear) Agility: 2170 (+160.875% + 25% when holding a spear) Endurance: 2170 (+110.875% + 25% when holding a spear) Toughness: 2170 (+185.875% + 25% when holding a spear) Vitality: 2170 (+123.375% + 25% when holding a spear) Perception: 2170 (+310.875% + 25% when holding a spear) Magic: 2170 (+110.875%) Spirit: 2170 (+110.875%) Soul: 2170 (+117.125%) Aura: 495 (+9.875%) Attunement: 492 (+66.125%) Luck: 507 (+9.875%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Colossal Core Container Middle Dantian: 4 Large + 2 Huge Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Uniqueness: Perception Prince Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 6.25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 12.5%. Hunter of Sentients II: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 1% After a month of drinking Diana¡¯s blood every three days, his bloodline had advanced, even taking on some aspects of Diana¡¯s own bloodline, and that had improved his cultivation speed by a huge amount, along with providing a further boost to all his stats. Primordial Chaos Human (Heroic) The bloodline of an elite human born from primal chaos Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 9.375% Raise cultivation speed to double that of a Chaos Human¡¯s if your race would make it less His Human Blood Adaptation racial ability had also advanced, now boosting his cultivation speed even more and adding an extra 0.5% boost to all his stats as well. And, as a monster, when he¡¯d killed three assassins attempting to murder Diana, he¡¯d gained the Hunter of Sentients II boon, boosting his base stats, i.e. all stats other than Aura, Attunement, and Luck, by a further 1%. The true source of the increased stats which had allowed him to overwhelm his teacher, however, was his Power of Balance racial ability. Power of Balance (Fabled): Increase the effectiveness of any stat with the same value as one or more other stats by X times 12.5%, where X is the number of other stats with the same value. With Mila¡¯s help acquiring lots of natural treasures to help boost his other base stats to match his Agility, especially his Magic, Spirit, and Soul, all his base stats were further improved by 100%, and the effect of that was huge. With his greatly increased cultivation speed, he had also managed to purify his body from all contaminants contained in those natural treasures in just a matter of months, so he was now ready to advance. Smiling, he stepped over and hugged Diana in excitement. Then he rushed down to the boat and opened up the System messages about his advancement options, completely ignoring the first five and selecting the Advanced Balanced Spear Knight class. Advanced Balanced Spear Knight (E-Heroic) You move like a storm, stab like a wildfire, have the toughness of steel, and can regenerate severed limbs in a matter of seconds Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 12.5% Increase all base stats by 50% when wielding a spear Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Crafting Psychic Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 120 Agility: 120 Endurance: 120 Toughness: 120 Vitality: 120 Perception: 120 Magic: 120 Spirit: 120 Soul: 120 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 4 early grade Law Larvae on the paths of Speed, Defense, Destruction, and Regeneration, has the Rapid Spear Guardian (F-Legendary) class, has the Knight (F-Legendary) skill, has spent an average of 106 minutes or more training with the spear every day of his life, has the same value for all base stats The process wasn¡¯t quick, his soul feeling like it was burning up and his entire body feeling tingly, but it was a pleasant type of pain and it lasted for about five hours. Isaiah had his eyes closed throughout the entire time, but when it was done he opened them and looked at Aalam. ¡°How many of your Laws advanced?¡± Aalam held up a hand with four fingers raised and Isaiah just started laughing. Then he checked his status again. Name: Isaiah Gale Level: 37 Race: Human Form Young Balance Dragon (E-Fabled) Bloodline: Primordial Chaos Human (Heroic) Abilities Dragon Scales (Fabled) Golden Body (Heroic) Active Daoist (Legendary) Dragon Heart (Fabled) Power of Balance (Fabled) Human Blood Adaptation (Fabled) Class: Advanced Balanced Spear Knight (E-Heroic) Skills Tempest Steps (E-Heroic) 0% mastered Advanced Power Attack (E-Heroic) 0% mastered Advanced Guardian (E-Heroic) 0% mastered Advanced Kinetic Senses (E-Heroic) 0% mastered Dragon Drive (E-Heroic) 0% mastered Servant Knight (E-Heroic) 0% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Storm Speed - Middle Iron Defense - Middle Blazing Destruction - Middle Hydro Healing - Middle Stats Strength: 2362 (+147.375% + 50% when holding a spear) Agility: 2362 (+147.375% + 50% when holding a spear) Endurance: 2362 (+122.375% + 50% when holding a spear) Toughness: 2362 (+172.375% + 50% when holding a spear) Vitality: 2362 (+134.875% + 50% when holding a spear) Perception: 2362 (+322.375% + 50% when holding a spear) Magic: 2362 (+122.375% + 50% when holding a spear) Spirit: 2362 (+122.375% + 50% when holding a spear) Soul: 2362 (+128.625% + 50% when holding a spear) Aura: 495 (+9.875%) Attunement: 492 (+66.125%) Luck: 507 (+9.875%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Colossal Core Container Middle Dantian: 4 Large + 2 Huge Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Perception Prince Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 6.25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 12.5%. His Hunter of Sentients boon was gone, the boon not something that continued after a rank advancement, and his base improvements to the effectiveness of his Agility and Toughness were slightly less, but overall there was a massive improvement. Tempest Steps was just like Storm Steps, but a bit more subtle, slightly more focused on sustained speed than rapid bursts. His advancements for Power Attack, Guardian, and Kinetic Senses were just straight up improvements, no real changes other than a higher stat to effectiveness ratio. And Dragon Drive, the only skill to not change its name on advancing grade, offered a higher percentage boost to his base stats than before for slightly less of a health cost. The most important skill improvement, however, was Knight changing to Servant Knight. With this upgrade, he, like Mila, could receive free stats from the Alvaro siblings, and Aalam¡¯s plan for him was to have all his stats maximized at E rank to allow for an alternate race advancement and D rank class, both of which would improve all his stats instead of just his base stats, something which really seemed to excite his friend. ¡°Congratulations.¡± Epecteos, who¡¯d been guarding him with Aalam and Diana as he advanced, gave Isaiah a quick hug. It was something the man did often whenever he was particularly proud of him, but it still meant the world. ¡°Yeah. Congratulations.¡± Diana grabbed his right hand and squeezed, then, letting go, she hurriedly took a few steps back, her face blushing for some reason. Before he could try and figure out what her problem was, however, Aalam clapped him on the back and looked at Epecteos. ¡°E rank is called the Mortal Shedding stage for a reason, right? So Isaiah¡¯s true hell training starts now?¡± Epecteos burst out laughing. ¡°Yes.¡± Then he looked pointedly at Aalam, smiling a tad predatorily. ¡°And you can look forward to yours as well.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Aalam said hurriedly, moving quickly toward the teleportation platform. ¡°I have to go build something.¡± ¡°And I have a meeting I¡¯m late for.¡± Diana for some reason also made a quick excuse to leave, and Epecteos burst out laughing again. ¡°You have a good group, Isaiah.¡± He turned to look at Isaiah and his tone became more serious. ¡°Make sure you value and protect them.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Epecteos stretched his upper body, drew his longsword, and then summoned two short blades out of his spatial storage ring which started to float around his upper body. ¡°While you were advancing, Aalam loosened my soul shackles to the point that, even with your crazy racial ability, our stats match. Before we were just establishing your foundation. Your true training starts now.¡± With that, he took off into the sky, and, grinning to himself, Isaiah stepped into the air to follow. Chapter 142: I Love You Aalam Almost three years after Mila left, Aalam, having already created a Heroic grade F rank shield and spear set for Isaiah to practice with, was working on his first E rank weapon, a common grade spear, hoping to give Isaiah a better weapon to use as soon as possible to help with his knight training. And, as usual these days, Diana had for some reason joined Isaiah in cultivating and meditating inside his crafting hall, despite the entire enlightenment zone providing the same effects. ¡°Do you have any sense for how long you might be stuck at your bottleneck?¡± Diana asked as she cultivated to clear the contaminants in her body from the natural treasures she¡¯d eaten that day. ¡°I¡¯m not at a bottleneck.¡± Aalam finished with the cleansing and strengthening of the materials he was going to use and started to move them into the desired form, the process much, much quicker than it had been back when he¡¯d started practicing in the hall, his control over his Heroic grade skill far better than his control over his nine Epic grade skills back then. ¡°But all your other Law Larvae reached high grade almost half a year ago.¡± ¡°All my other Law Larvae were already on the right path.¡± Aalam smiled as the outline of the spear began to take form, the metal floating in front of him responding to his every slight thought. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Aalam looked away from the spear he was working on toward his sister. ¡°What¡¯s your mental model for your Laws?¡± ¡°My mental model?¡± Diana looked confused and Aalam sensed Isaiah exiting his meditative state to listen. ¡°How do you think about your Laws and how they interrelate to each other?¡± Having acknowledged Diana for the conversation they were going to have, Aalam turned his eyes back to his work. ¡°Oh.¡± Diana nodded her head. ¡°I see them as three interconnected heavenly cycles. Each individual set of Laws follows the concept of yang to yin, yin to yang, like that fish symbol. Spark to frost, frost to spark. Day to night, night to day. And flesh to necrosis, necrosis to flesh. The Laws of Spark, Day, and Flesh are then connected by the concept of Yang while the Laws of Frost, Night, and Necrosis are connecteed by the concept of Yin, creating three interconnected yin yang heavenly cycles.¡± Diana¡¯s aura showed amusement. ¡°What is your mental model, Aalam?¡± ¡°A puzzle.¡± Aalam finished putting the floating metal into the form of a spear and started the process of carving the weapon¡¯s internal qi channels and drawing its internal three dimensional runic structure. ¡°All Laws in the universe make up a giant multi-dimensional puzzle, with each early Law Egg a puzzle piece. When you grow your Laws, it¡¯s by adding pieces to those you¡¯ve already put in the correct place, and the name of a Law is based on the center of where the puzzle pieces representing the Law are located, which is how the name of a Law can change upon advancement. ¡°Most of my Laws in two dimensions would look like a circle, even most that changed names when they advanced to Law Larvae, but my Law of Storms is different. In two dimensions it would look like a line going from the area representing the Law of Gust, through the edge of the area representing the Law of Storms, and then into the area for the Law of Atmosphere. ¡°All my other Laws are pretty near the center of the area representing one of the twelve elements, but my Law Larva of Storms is different. It¡¯s quite near the border with the elements of lightning, water, and fire. Were I to advance it wrong, it wouldn¡¯t be a pure elemental Law anymore, and that would mess up my path, so I have to be careful.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fully understand,¡± Isaiah said, the tone of his voice and his aura telling Aalam that he was confused. Diana, however, appeared to get it. ¡°Basically, Aalam messed up by starting with the Law Egg of Gust, as it doesn¡¯t work well with his path, so he has to be a lot more careful with how he advances his Law Larva of Storms than his other Laws. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s stuck, but that probably over 40% of the insights he gains that he would normally add to his Law have to instead be thrown away, which makes the Law take longer to train in.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I also want to get the wind element Law of Anti-gravity once I get out of the Law Pupa stage,¡± Aalam added, ¡°so I have to raise my Law Larva of Storm into a Law Pupa of Atmosphere, and then merge that with my Law Pupa of Gas to form a Law Scarab of Gas. As a result, the amount of insights I have to throw away is more like 70%¡± ¡°Back to a variant of my original question then.¡± Aalam could sense Diana smile at him with his almost fully mastered Sensory Domain skill. ¡°How long do you think it will take for you to advance your Law Larva of Storms to high grade?¡± ¡°Not very long.¡± Aalam finished carving the spear he was working on and found everything acceptable, the spear a solid Common grade E rank weapon which he couldn¡¯t activate himself. ¡°I think I only have one puzzle piece left.¡± Aalam stood up and telekinetically tossed the spear to Isaiah, who, used to this after years of cultivating in Aalam¡¯s crafting hall, quickly tested the spear and found it worked as intended. Then Aalam spoke out. ¡°The soul net says there is a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic Ocean. I¡¯m going to go there and take a look to see if I can break through.¡± Both Diana and Isaiah nodded at him and Aalam made his way to the compound¡¯s teleportation platform and teleported to the boat in the center of the Atlantic. Then he used his mana to form temporary runes over his legs to act like a much inferior version of Isaiah¡¯s Tempest Step skill and enhanced his movements with Telekinesis as he ran through the sky, eventually coming to a large mass of storm clouds and diving right in, making his way to the eye of the hurricane. When he entered, however, he discovered he wasn¡¯t alone. There was an Indian woman floating in the center of the eye and meditating while wind swirled around her in the air. And he recognized her. It was Mila¡¯s old friend Nitya, who Diana said was now her chief general. ¡°Who are you?¡± Nitya noticed him as he entered and used wind to send him her words, a rather impressive display of magic. Aalam thought about it for a second. He wasn¡¯t supposed to reveal his identity as the Heavenly Spark Soul King. And he also wasn¡¯t supposed to reveal his real identity either. As a result, he hadn¡¯t interacted with anyone other than Isaiah, Diana, and Epecteos over the last three years, which had been quite nice. So, he did the first thing to pop into his mind. He quoted Superman. ¡°A friend.¡± Then he followed Superman¡¯s example and started flying away. ¡°Bye.¡± Nitya, however, sadly wasn¡¯t like Lois Lane. She could fly as well. And she had wind magic, which she tried to use to restrict his movements. He could have easily broken out of the restrictions. Her stats weren¡¯t even close to his. But he noticed something in her manipulation of the wind and she was able to approach him as he focused on it. Congratulations! Your Law Larva of Storm has advanced to high grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility +128, Magic +128, Spirit +64, Soul +64 Agility is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +128 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +128 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +64 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +64 Then, not wasting any time, Aalam immediately advanced his Heavenly Spark Pure Soul racial ability, a process which took only about 12 seconds but would have a huge ongoing effect. Congratulations! Your racial ability Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Legendary) has upgraded to Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Heroic) Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Heroic): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 50%. ¡°Yes!¡± Without really thinking about it, Aalam broke free of Nitya¡¯s wind restrictions with Telekinesis and then zoomed in and hugged her. ¡°I love you, Nitya.¡± * * * Nitya Being hugged by the extremely handsome man was shocking, and being told he loved her even more so, but while he immediately flew away and was gone from her effective perception range in a matter of seconds, Nitya just floated there in the middle of the hurricane, her mind going to the last time a similar thing had happened. Then her thoughts started racing. Three years ago, Mila had reappeared after everyone, including her own grandfather, had assumed she¡¯d been killed, yet somehow she¡¯d become extraordinarily powerful without her name appearing at all on the lists of those who¡¯d fought the invasion forces. At the same time, Diana¡¯s mood had vastly improved, and even more so after she¡¯d effectively conquered Earth. Nitya had thought it due to a reduction in stress levels, but thinking back, that is when the daily assassination attempts had begun. A ridiculous theory starting to form in her mind, Nitya made a beeline back to New York at top speed, intent on interrogating Diana. Chapter 143: Back to Earth Mila ¡°Here¡¯s some food. Don¡¯t eat too much each month or it will be harder to clear out the resulting impurities.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stay away for too long. If you can reach E rank before five years are up, you have a guaranteed spot to participate in the War of the Chosen.¡± ¡°Try not to die.¡± A lot of people, both seniors and most of the core disciples of her same level crowded around Mila as she prepared to leave the Violet Mountain Blessed Land for several years. Arl Gremin gave her some servings of Foundation Establishment Soup to go. Pimala Kelmin, the chief trainer, finally told her she had a guaranteed spot in the universal E rank competition called the War of the Chosen. And Orianthi Hewin tried to hide the fact that she really, really wanted Mila to die. The bit about the War of the Chosen was especially something Mila was excited about. That competition, like the Trial Tower for F and D ranks, was the best place for Earth¡¯s leadership to gain access to the level of resources they would need to advance to D rank, and, while she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get anywhere close to the level of resources they¡¯d received from the Trial Tower, given what they¡¯d achieved at F rank, they wouldn¡¯t need resources of the same level for E rank. ¡°Good luck.¡± Corin Val, the stern and taciturn leader of all the E rank core disciples, shook her hand just like everyone else and the aura of most of the others seeing her off changed to show surprise, the man very rarely talking or showing any sign of emotions. ¡°Make sure you¡¯ll be ready to lead me when it comes time for the War of the Chosen to start, Corin.¡± Mila smiled at him, causing the man to blush slightly, and then she exited the courtyard where everyone was seeing her off and jogged to the portal to the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s capital planet. There, she spent the 12 F rank credits required to teleport to Epecteos¡¯s main planet of Toril, where Epecteos met her. Then they spent 144 F rank universal credits and 144 D rank universal credits to teleport to Earth, using Epecteos¡¯s authority over the planet to make it look like they were teleporting to an E rank world in a neighboring galaxy cluster instead. When they arrived, however, they found more people than Mila was expecting waiting for them. Diana was there, likely having been told the exact time of their arrival by Nana Xara, but Nitya and Irena Krol, Mila¡¯s friend and maternal grandmother, were there as well. Mila just looked at Diana and raised an eyebrow. ¡°My brother is not that good at hiding his identity.¡± Diana pointed to Nitya. ¡°He met her when they were both trying to advance their Laws in the center of a hurricane and, when he managed to advance his last Law, he got too excited and forgot to hide the fact he knew her before running away.¡± Diana then pointed to Irena. ¡°Given Nana Xara¡¯s criteria for him to stop getting dragged to sword practice, he¡¯s been challenging her at least once a day for the last three years with one of more than twelve different identities he made for himself on the soul net. ¡°Nitya came to me asking if my brother was somehow still alive and Irena wanted to know if the Heavenly Spark Soul King was actually an F rank, so I figured I¡¯d just explain the truth rather than making up any more convoluted lies.¡± Mila looked at both women in turn. ¡°Have you told anyone?¡± ¡°No.¡± Both women said the word, but Irena¡¯s aura showed a slight abnormality, making Mila think she wasn¡¯t fully aware if what she was saying was true. The extra sense Mila¡¯d gained from her Third Eye Princess uniqueness¡¯s interaction with her Law Larva of The Courtesan, however, detected Irena¡¯s denial as a lie. The extra sense was a lying detection ability she hadn¡¯t yet found much use for as her true Aura stat was generally higher than most of the people she interacted with, but it worked a bit differently than aura detection, not measuring emotions at all but more the speaker¡¯s belief about their own statement, so it was still useful. For example, with its help, Mila was pretty sure Irena thought she was lying, but wasn¡¯t very concerned about the lie. Given the data she had, Mila guessed this meant Irena had technically told someone, but that someone wasn¡¯t anyone Mila would care about, and, given the woman¡¯s circumstances, Mila¡¯s guess was the person she¡¯d told wasn¡¯t among the living. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Just to be safe, however, she locked eyes with Irena and made it very obvious she didn¡¯t believe her. ¡°I told your mother and grandfather, but there wasn¡¯t anyone else around.¡± Mila nodded at that and then turned back to Diana. ¡°So, are these the two who will be joining us in the Trial Tower?¡± As with Mila¡¯s contract skill allowing her to bring in a familiar or slave to the Trial Tower so long as its race had not evolved to E rank and its level was less than half her own, Diana¡¯s lord skill provided special benefits for the Trial Tower as well. And, as a lord skill provided almost no use by itself, unlike a contract skill, the benefits were better. Inferior or Common grade lord skills allowed for the trial taker to bring in one subordinate so long as the subordinate¡¯s stats were weaker than the trial taker¡¯s by more than 33%. Uncommon and Rare grade lord skills allowed for two subordinates so long as the subordinates¡¯ stats were weaker than the trial taker¡¯s by more than 50%. And Epic and Legendary grade skills, like Diana¡¯s, allowed for three subordinates so long as the subordinates¡¯ stats were weaker than the trial taker¡¯s by more than 66%. It had already been decided Mila would be one of the subordinates if she could make it back to Earth, which she had. And Aalam wasn¡¯t a possibility as he¡¯d have to advance his race before the Trial Tower started, while Isaiah was already an E rank. So, this left two slots and, when Mila asked, Diana confirmed her choices were Nitya and Irena, which made sense. Of those on Earth, Nitya and Irena were the best mage and front line combatant respectively, and they could be trusted far more than Javier Garcia or Anton Smith, the other two who¡¯d contributed in the top five when fighting off the invasions. ¡°Alright then.¡± Mila nodded at all three of them and then tossed her spatial storage ring to Diana, receiving a second spatial storage ring holding things like her token for accessing the local teleportation network and the last several years of intelligence reports in return. ¡°Let¡¯s practice soon. First, though, I need to go cultivate with Aalam.¡± Mila then left the three of them with Epecteos and activated Shadow Stride at full power to run to the nearby local teleportation platform, teleporting directly to the enlightenment zone and then running into Aalam¡¯s crafting hall. Inside, Aalam was telekinetically crafting some kind of spear, but, when he noticed her, the half-formed spear dropped to the ground and Aalam jumped up and rushed to the side of the room. There he grabbed what looked like a sniper rifle hanging on the wall and then he rushed up to her and placed it in her hands, a big grin on his face. Yin Striker (F-Heroic) A ranged triforce-powered sniper rifle created by the Heavenly Spark Soul King designed to fire triforce-created bullets empowered by mana of all twelve elements and the Law of The Reaper, with accuracy improved by the Law of The Tactician and shots hidden by the Law of Shadow Effects: Conductivity, 12 Element Mana Bullets, Stealth Shot, Empowerment of The Reaper, Accuracy of The Tactician Requirements: At least a Law Larva of Shadow, a Law Larva of The Reaper, a Law Larva of The Tactician, and having cultivated to at least the 6th level of the Twelve Element Primal Code ¡°Your weapon for use in the Trial Tower. Legendary grade or above as promised.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Mila looked at the weapon in wonder, not having received such an awesome gift in years, and she immediately wanted to test it out. Sadly, however, she didn¡¯t yet meet the requirements. By cultivating with Aalam, however, and using his resources and Laws through the effects of their bond and her second class, she could cultivate a weakened version of each level of the Twelve Element Primal Code once Aalam cultivated the level¡¯s main version, benefitting them both as it would allow them to share their resources more easily. Putting the rifle away, Mila sat down in the center of the hall, right in front of where Aalam usually sat, and Aalam then joined her. As time was of the essence, he entered one of his minds into the inheritance of the Twelve Element Primal Code attached to her soul while she focused on analyzing his channels to see if there was anything she could help clean up with the resources from her sixth level of the mixed version of Yin Yang Cosmology. Thankfully, due to his high grade Law Larva of Cleansing and already having practiced the Twelve Element Primal Code to the third level, the impurities from the natural treasures he¡¯d absorbed were almost all gone, unlikely to slow his cultivation time by more than maybe a few days at most, so, given how long Nana Xara projected it would take the two of them to practice the Twelve Element Primal Code up to the seventh level, it seemed they would be done at the latest about a week before the next F rank Trial Tower started. ¡°So, how was the Violet Mountain Sect?¡± Aalam asked when he was done fully understanding the fourth level of the Twelve Element Primal Code. ¡°You must have years of stories. I want to hear them all.¡± He wasn¡¯t lying, actually interested in her life in the outside universe over the last few years, so, using one of her minds, she started telling him. And, using one of his minds, he listened. Then she started asking him questions and he told her all about all the various artifacts he¡¯d created as well as lamenting the mistakes he¡¯d made which allowed Nitya and Irena to see through Mila¡¯s lies, seeming very interested in getting better at not making such mistakes in the future. To that end, Mila explained in detail some of the strategies she¡¯d used to avoid people even asking questions about her identity in the Violet Mountain Sect, and they ended up talking for over a half a day. After the first few hours, they didn¡¯t need to cultivate in the same room, Mila being anywhere on Earth having pretty much the same effect, but, for Mila at least, it was really nice to see him again after so long apart, and he seemed to feel at least somewhat the same, not showing any signs of wanting her to leave. Chapter 144: Soul Laboratory Aalam Aalam finally mastered the seventh level of the Twelve Element Primal Code with eight days to spare. Then he and Mila spent a few days getting her weaker version of the cultivation technique up to match before Mila summoned a small ornate purple crystal bottle containing three drops of liquid, the so called Primal Code Soul Washing Dew. The liquid inside appeared to Aalam¡¯s Sensory Domain as pure water, but it obviously wasn¡¯t. As he took off his shirt and lay down in the center of the crafting hall, he could see the visible appearance of the liquid as Mila used Telekinesis to take it out of the bottle, and it was pure white, reflecting all light, both visible and otherwise. Mila then placed one drop of the dew above his eyes in the center of his forehead, the location of his upper dantian; one at the center of his chest next to his heart, the location of his middle dantian; and one just below his navel, the location of his lower dantian. The dew entered through his body and into his soul, a warm sensation spreading out from his three dantians into all his resource channels, and, over the next five hours, his channels noticeably widened and strengthened, the quality of his soul improving as well. It wasn¡¯t like how his soul improved when he raised his Soul stat, nor when he increased his Soul stat¡¯s effectiveness, but more like the change he¡¯d felt when he¡¯d upgraded his race from Incubus to Strong Soul Incubus Prince. He could feel his affinity with all Laws rising and, by the end, his affinities were about the same as he would have expected if his race had been Strong Soul Incubus King. Rising up, he bounced around the room a few times, literally hopping from wall to ceiling to wall, and there was a noticeable improvement in his resource flows. Before the dew, with just the Twelve Element Primal Code, he¡¯d grown able to use three different Laws at the same time, albeit not mixed together, and his twelve medium sized mana wells were all elementalized with one of the twelve elements. At the same time, his qi flowed smoother and with more force while his psyforce traveled through his channels at a much greater speed. With the Primal Code Soul Washing Dew added on top, however, he almost felt like a completely different person. Every move he made was so much easier, his resources flowing like he¡¯d been practicing with them for his entire life instead of only seven years, and he could make use of four Laws at once. ¡°Alright.¡± Aalam nodded toward Mila, Diana, Isaiah, and Epecteos, the latter three having been in the room the entire time to watch his transformation. ¡°This is awesome. ¡°Now let¡¯s summon the Soul Carver.¡± He then removed a container holding one of their two remaining Highgenion Flowers from the sub-dimension of the Left Hand of the Runescribe and rushed out the door, running at max speed toward the beach next to the enlightenment zone¡¯s main residence, the other four quickly following him. Then, nearly six years after they finished the Trial Tower, Mila finally paid for the most expensive item on the Trial Tower¡¯s rewards list, a D rank monster with a Mythical grade race and Empyrean grade bloodline appearing out of thin air and dropping into the Mediterranean Sea. The Soul Carver looked like a brachiosaurus with fins instead of legs and a slightly shorter neck. And, like a brachiosaurus, it was huge, causing a big splash as it landed in the water. It was also pretty much dead, its soul just about to leave its body. So, quickly eating the Highgenion Flower, stuffing the purple petals and red stalk into his mouth and chewing as fast as he could, Aalam rushed up to the beast and jumped on top of it, holding onto its scales with both hands and feet. Then he activated his Genetic Thief Bloodline and began to absorb the Soul Carver¡¯s genetic power, taking in the energy from both the beast¡¯s Mythical grade race as well as its Empyrean grade bloodline. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The process took about 20 minutes, and Aalam¡¯s entire soul was in intense pain by the time there was no more energy to absorb, but the benefits of Advanced Multi-Mind showed themselves again and Aalam focused all the pain he was feeling toward one of his minds, leaving the other four to quickly make use of the energy before it could start leaking. You have used the power of your Genetic Thief bloodline to steal the genetic power of a Soul Carver (Mythic) with the Soul Lord Prince (Empyrean) bloodline. This power can be used in your next racial advancement. First, he upgraded two of his racial abilities. You have chosen to upgrade your racial ability Soul Collector (Epic) Please choose from the following three possible upgrades.
  1. Soul Collector (Legendary): Gain a unique medium size soulstructure for long term storage of deceased souls.
  2. Soul Kitchen (Legendary): Gain a unique small size soulstructure for long term storage of deceased souls. If you eat high quality souls which have been stored for more than a month, your Soul stat has the chance to slightly grow.
  3. Soul Laboratory (Legendary): Gain a unique small size soulstructure for long term storage of deceased souls. You gain control of the souls inside, allowing for the extraction of skills and, in special cases, racial and bloodline energy.
Aalam chose the third option, having just unlocked it due to the nature of the Soul Carver race, and it was awesome. In the future, he could easily extract the skills of anyone he killed without the need for expensive and specialized rare materials, so he would no longer be limited to always getting skills from the System. More importantly, future advancements of the racial ability would allow him to generate skills himself, and that especially was going to be fun. But it was his second racial ability upgrade which would grant an even more important long term benefit to his power. You have chosen to upgrade your racial ability Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) Please choose from the following two possible upgrades.
  1. Nascent/Primal Energy Converter (Heroic): Any extra stats which would be lost due to the stat¡¯s limit having been reached instead become free stats. You may also convert primal energy into free stats with a very poor conversion rate.
  2. Nascent Energy Constructor (Heroic): Any extra stats which would be lost due to the stat¡¯s limit having been reached instead become free stats. You may also spend 144 free stats at F rank to increase the size of any small-sized soulstructure to medium. This cost will then go up as rank increases.
The first option he¡¯d had for a while, as it only required him to maximize his stats to unlock, but Diana would be able to unlock that upgrade as well, so there was no benefit to him taking it. The second, however, was part of the power granted by the Empyrean grade Soul Lord Prince bloodline and it was the best possible upgrade for Nascent Energy Converter, at least for the build Aalam had in mind, so he immediately chose it. Done with upgrading his second racial ability, Aalam then upgraded his new Soul Laboratory racial ability for a second time. You have chosen to upgrade your racial ability Soul Laboratory (Legendary) Please choose from the following two possible upgrades.
  1. Soul Laboratory (Heroic): Gain a unique medium size soulstructure for long term storage of deceased souls. You gain control of the souls inside, allowing for the extraction of skills and, in special cases, racial and bloodline energy.
  2. Advanced Soul Laboratory (Heroic): Gain a unique small size soulstructure for long term storage of deceased souls. You gain control of the souls inside, allowing for the extraction of skills and, in many cases, racial and bloodline energy.
Aalam chose the second option, his soul itching like during the previous two upgrades. Then he used his new Nascent Energy Constructor racial ability and 144 free stats he¡¯d saved from his Law advancements to increase the size of his advanced soul laboratory to medium, effectively gaining the benefits from both possible upgrades. Altogether, all the upgrades to his soul took about 34 minutes, and by then it was getting more difficult for his soul to maintain all the genetic power from the Soul Carver, so he couldn¡¯t hold off advancing his race any further. Mila transferred the long-charmed soul fragment of the Shadow Thief to his soul laboratory, which was now just large enough to hold it, and multiple System messages started to show up in front of his eyes. You have absorbed the power of one C rank soul fragment consumed by lust. You have met the criteria to advance your race to E rank You have the following seven options: Chapter 145: E Rank Race Evolution Aalam Strong Soul Incubus Prince (E-Epic) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an enhanced prince of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 3 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Advanced dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 29,376 Agility: 29,376 Endurance: 31,968 Toughness: 29,376 Vitality: 31,968 Perception: 34,560 Magic: 38,016 Spirit: 41,472 Soul: 57,024 Aura: 38,016 Attunement: 38,016 Luck: 36,288 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 24 Agility: 24 Endurance: 36 Toughness: 24 Vitality: 36 Perception: 48 Magic: 54 Spirit: 60 Soul: 72 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a medium amount of Territory for an E rank Eat a D rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic) The first choice of racial upgrades, keeping the same race and raising it to E rank, was usually the only choice most cultivators received, but for Aalam it wasn¡¯t even a consideration. Strong Soul Incubus King (E-Legendary) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an enhanced king of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 4 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Advanced dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 33,696 Agility: 33,696 Endurance: 36,288 Toughness: 33,696 Vitality: 36,288 Perception: 38,880 Magic: 43,200 Spirit: 46,656 Soul: 67,392 Aura: 43,200 Attunement: 43,200 Luck: 41,472 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 30 Agility: 30 Endurance: 42 Toughness: 30 Vitality: 42 Perception: 54 Magic: 60 Spirit: 66 Soul: 78 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a large amount of Territory for an E rank Eat a D rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has control over a large amount of Territory for an F rank, has maximized stats as a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic) Strong Soul Incubus King, a rather awesome race which required a cultivator to control an entire planet of their own rank, wasn¡¯t a consideration either. Strong Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but an enhanced emperor of their kind, one which eats souls. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Racial Abilities: 5 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Advanced dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 43,200 Agility: 43,200 Endurance: 46,656 Toughness: 43,200 Vitality: 46,656 Perception: 48,960 Magic: 53,568 Spirit: 58,176 Soul: 79,488 Aura: 53,568 Attunement: 53,568 Luck: 51,840 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 42 Agility: 42 Endurance: 54 Toughness: 42 Vitality: 54 Perception: 66 Magic: 72 Spirit: 78 Soul: 90 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a huge amount of Territory for an E rank Eat a D rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has control over a huge amount of Territory for an F rank, has maximized stats as a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has absorbed the genetic power of a Fabled grade or higher life form of at least E rank specializing in the Soul stat, is using the power of at least a D rank soul to power the advancement The race he¡¯d originally intended to take at E rank when he¡¯d made his plans during the Tutorial had been Strong Soul Incubus Emperor. As a huge Territory for an F rank consisted of controlling at least three F rank worlds, with his Territory containing both an E rank and an F rank planet he more than met the requirements, but he hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d be able to get enough genetic power to advance his race a grade higher. He, however, had been wrong. Strong Soul Minor Soul Lord (E-Fabled) An enhanced minor lord of souls, high in the hierarchy of the universe, low in the hierarchy of afterlife rulers. Racial Abilities: 6 No limits, but a higher chance for soul and noble related abilities Advanced dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 57,600 Agility: 57,600 Endurance: 57,600 Toughness: 57,600 Vitality: 63,936 Perception: 57,600 Magic: 63,936 Spirit: 63,936 Soul: 76,608 Aura: 63,936 Attunement: 63,936 Luck: 62,208 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 54 Agility: 54 Endurance: 54 Toughness: 54 Vitality: 90 Perception: 54 Magic: 90 Spirit: 90 Soul: 108 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a huge amount of Territory for an E rank Have a maximized Soul stat Eat the equivalent of 6 D rank souls at once Requirements: Current race is Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has control over a colossal amount of Territory for an F rank, has maximized stats as a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has the Pure Soul (Heroic) racial ability or a variant thereof, has absorbed the genetic power of a Mythic or higher grade life form with a Soul Lord line bloodline of at least D rank, is using the power of at least a D rank soul to power the advancement A colossal Territory for an F rank was either owning 12 F rank planets or one E rank planet, such as Earth, so Aalam even qualified to become a minor Soul Lord. For his D rank race, Aalam had been planning on entering into the Soul Lord line of races, not thinking it would be possible at E rank, but, for his D rank classes to work, he couldn¡¯t lose the incarnation of lust aspect of his race when advancing to E rank, so, if these four races had been his only choices, he would have had to choose Strong Soul Incubus Emperor instead of Strong Soul Minor Soul Lord. Thankfully, however, enhancing his soul with the Primal Code Soul Washing Dew had given him a different line of options. Sublime Soul Incubus Prince (E-Epic) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a supreme prince of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 3 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 29,376 Agility: 29,376 Endurance: 31,968 Toughness: 29,376 Vitality: 31,968 Perception: 34,560 Magic: 38,016 Spirit: 41,472 Soul: 57,024 Aura: 38,016 Attunement: 38,016 Luck: 36,288 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 24 Agility: 24 Endurance: 36 Toughness: 24 Vitality: 36 Perception: 48 Magic: 54 Spirit: 60 Soul: 72 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a medium amount of Territory for an E rank Eat a D rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has maximized stats as a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has absorbed the genetic power of a Heroic or higher grade life form of at least E rank specializing in the Soul stat, has an enhanced pristine soul The key difference between a Sublime Soul Incubus Prince and a Strong Soul Incubus Prince lay in the difference between advanced dual classes and complete dual classes. Advanced dual classes allowed a cultivator to have two classes with all the class effects at 100%, but each class only gave half the stats on leveling up. Complete dual classes, on the other hand, gave a cultivator 100% of a class¡¯s effects and both classes¡¯ full stat increases when leveling. For Aalam, who had Nascent Energy Constructor, a bunch of Laws, and a high grade cultivation technique which allowed him to make use of pretty much as many natural resources for raising his stats as he wanted, this normally wouldn¡¯t have been that great of a benefit, and at E rank the advantages honestly wouldn¡¯t be that huge. But at D rank, it would transform into a game changer. When he reached D rank, the multiple sage line classes he planned to take would allow him to have four classes instead of two, but he¡¯d been expecting his two extra classes to be half classes, like normal dual classes, granting only half their effects and half the stat growth. With a sublime soul race, however, those two extra classes would function more like advanced dual classes, with half the stat gain but the full class effects, and that was amazing. If he was only offered Sublime Soul Incubus Prince, he would have taken it, but that wasn¡¯t his only option for gaining the sublime keyword. Sublime Soul Incubus King (E-Legendary) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a supreme king of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 4 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 33,696 Agility: 33,696 Endurance: 36,288 Toughness: 33,696 Vitality: 36,288 Perception: 38,880 Magic: 43,200 Spirit: 46,656 Soul: 67,392 Aura: 43,200 Attunement: 43,200 Luck: 41,472 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 30 Agility: 30 Endurance: 42 Toughness: 30 Vitality: 42 Perception: 54 Magic: 60 Spirit: 66 Soul: 78 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a large amount of Territory for an E rank Eat a D rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has control over a large amount of Territory for an F rank, has maximized stats as a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has absorbed the genetic power of a Fabled or higher grade life form of at least E rank specializing in the Soul stat, is using the power of at least a D rank soul to power the advancement, has an enhanced pristine soul Sublime Soul Incubus King was better than Sublime Soul Incubus Prince, but it wasn¡¯t even the best sublime soul race he could choose. Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a supreme emperor of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 5 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 43,200 Agility: 43,200 Endurance: 46,656 Toughness: 43,200 Vitality: 46,656 Perception: 48,960 Magic: 53,568 Spirit: 58,176 Soul: 79,488 Aura: 53,568 Attunement: 53,568 Luck: 51,840 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 42 Agility: 42 Endurance: 54 Toughness: 42 Vitality: 54 Perception: 66 Magic: 72 Spirit: 78 Soul: 90 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a huge amount of Territory for an E rank Eat a D rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has control over a huge amount of Territory for an F rank, has maximized stats as a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (F-Epic), has absorbed the genetic power of a Mythic or higher grade life form specializing in the Soul stat, is using the power of at least a D rank soul to power the advancement, has an enhanced pristine soul Will you advance to a Strong Soul Incubus Prince (E-Epic), a Strong Soul Incubus King (E-Legendary), a Strong Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), a Strong Soul Minor Soul Lord (E-Fabled), a Sublime Soul Incubus Prince (E-Epic), a Sublime Soul Incubus King (E-Legendary), or a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic)? Without even having to think about it, Aalam chose Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor on the spot and, as racial evolutions generally made a cultivator fall unconscious when not causing torture level pains, and Aalam was still on all fours on top of the Soul Carver corpse in the sea next to the beach, Aalam fell off the monster and into the water. Despite other things about his physiology changing, he still needed to breathe, but thankfully everyone was there and Mila had the presence of mind to fish him out of the water before he drowned. Chapter 146: Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor It took 53 hours for Aalam to wake up and again he didn¡¯t look much different. His dark blue hair had all fallen out just like the last time he¡¯d advanced his race, but hair of a half shade darker had already grown in. His amber, almost orange, eyes were a bit more subdued, appearing somehow more inhuman yet more natural at the same time. And, again, the biggest difference was in his aura. Previously, due to his Prince uniqueness, he¡¯d had by far the highest Aura stat of anyone on Earth and, due to his 36 Laws, he¡¯d had by far the most stable aura as well, his emotions under normal conditions impossible to read even for those with double his effective Aura. Then training in the Twelve Element Primal Code had only solidified his aura even more. This solidity of his aura, however, in Mila¡¯s mind, had always been a weakness. Anyone who interacted with him and had some understanding of Laws could easily tell how special he was. His aura broadcasted to everyone nearby he was following the path of the Heavenly Spark and had raised 36 Laws to high grade Law Larvae. Then there were the effects of being an incubus prince. Any woman who was near him, or any gay man, without fail had their lust slowly increased and the effects were quite obvious to anyone wary of such a thing. With his race advancement, however, Mila couldn¡¯t sense his aura at all. His aura was still there. Standing near him as he slept, she could feel the lust inducing effects strengthening in real time. But, for the life of her, even with Sensory Domain at 100% mastery, she couldn¡¯t connect him to the effects she was obviously feeling. He seemed like nothing more than a very, very handsome mortal, or maybe a powerhouse actively restraining his aura. It was almost like his aura was perfectly integrated with the surrounding atmosphere and, as she tried to suppress it with her own as a test, it quickly became obvious that was the case. Her heart starting to beat a little faster, Mila realized the effects of a sublime soul were not only limited to much higher affinities, but would also greatly increase a cultivator¡¯s capabilities in stealth and disguise as well, capabilities she would be able to make use of much more easily than Aalam. Hell, when she advanced to E rank she¡¯d probably be able to easily hide herself as either an F or D rank, something normally not possible due to the inherent differences in the quality of mana, qi, and psyforce exposed in a cultivator¡¯s aura. ¡°Aalam has achieved something insane again, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Diana commented from Mila¡¯s side and Mila couldn¡¯t help but agree, nodding in response. Congratulations! Your Law Larva of Shadow has advanced to high grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Agility +96, Perception +96, Magic +64, Spirit +64, Soul +64 With this upgrade, Mila only had her Law Larva of The Reaper yet to improve. She hadn¡¯t had much chance to train with either her Laws of Shadow or Illusion during her time in the Violet Mountain Sect, but she¡¯d managed to improve her Law Larvae of The Healer, The Courtesan, and the Tactician while there. Then she¡¯d managed to raise her Law Larva of Illusion about a year after she¡¯d returned to Earth. She just wasn¡¯t as talented as Aalam or Diana, the latter of whom had already raised all six of her Law Larvae to peak grade, and she wasn¡¯t like Isaiah, who could focus on training indefinitely even when not seeing improvement. She¡¯d spent most of her time disguised among the various powers on Earth, rooting out dissent while her other minds focused on learning minute details about the various forces of the universe in ever more galaxy clusters, Epecteos having taken the initiative to get many, many detailed reports from the elves in the Vin Clan royal family as part of his ask for trading them a Highgenion Flower, and she hadn¡¯t put enough time into training. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°You¡¯re kind of amazing, Mila.¡± Mila was shocked out of her self recrimination by Diana¡¯s words and looked at the shorter woman, as did Isaiah and Epecteos, who were standing to either side of them, Isaiah on Diana¡¯s right and Epecteos on Mila¡¯s left. ¡°The resources you¡¯ve given us access to are astounding. Thanks to your initial work before I became sovereign and your undercover work over the last three years, the political situation on Earth is already stable, with the cultivators growing at a steady rate, ready to help increase our power in the near future. And you even managed to get Aalam the Twelve Element Primal Code and find us all an extremely capable combat instructor.¡± Diana nodded slightly to Epecteos before turning her big brown eyes back to Mila. ¡°Congratulations on being able to advance to what looks like an insanely strong race in the near future. You totally deserve it.¡± Mila felt her emotions lighten at the comment as she thought back to how Nana Xara had managed to stay humble even until she hit A rank. Like Nana Xara, she was surrounded by people far more talented than herself, and humility was a good thing, but belittling her own accomplishments wasn¡¯t. She¡¯d done a lot of good work and it was okay to acknowledge that. She wouldn¡¯t be where she was without Aalam and Diana, but they wouldn¡¯t be where they were without her either. She couldn¡¯t slack off, but she didn¡¯t need to keep comparing herself to Aalam in the areas where he seemed to be one of the best in the entire universe, especially when the areas she was good at complimented him and allowed him to focus on just what he needed to improve himself. ¡°Yes!!!!¡± As Mila was coming to a relatively profound realization about herself, Epecteos screamed to the heavens, his qi and mana shaking the very air with his excitement, and they all turned to look at him. Mila, however, had the presence of mind to check Epecteos¡¯s System messages through her role as Aalam¡¯s chamberlain and immediately had her guess confirmed. Not only had Epecteos¡¯s Law Pupa of Iron advanced to middle grade, his Law Pupa of Void Slice had as well. With Aalam¡¯s race advancing in both grade and rank, his base affinities had risen greatly as well, to the point the affinities of his Heroic grade E rank race were actually higher than Epecteos¡¯s Uncommon grade C rank race. This meant the extra 25% boost to Epecteos¡¯s affinities from his Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King boon was now boosting Epecteos¡¯s affinities based on Epecteos¡¯s own affinities instead of Aalam¡¯s, and this rise in affinity had finally allowed Epecteos to break through his bottlenecks in two of his three remaining non-middle grade Law Pupae. ¡°Congratulations Epecteos,¡± Mila was the first to say. ¡°How close are you to advancing with your Temporal Flux Law?¡± ¡°Quite close.¡± Epecteos was almost jumping up and down as he watched Aalam sleeping on the beach. ¡°I should be able to raise it to middle grade within the next fifty years or so.¡± He moved to give Isaiah a huge hug while smiling at Mila and Diana. ¡°I¡¯m going to be able to reach C rank. Thank you all. Thank you.¡± As Epecteos¡¯s infectious excitement pervaded their little group, Aalam woke up, sat up from the beach, and looked at them all, tilting his head slightly in confusion. Then he seemed to get what was happening, having the same level of access to Epecteos¡¯s System messages as Mila, and a smile spread on his face. Instead of joining them in their celebration, however, Aalam started the process of choosing his two new racial abilities. Awakening your fourth racial ability as a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic). Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Master of Thought (Heroic): Markedly increase the power of psychic category skills.
  2. Prince¡¯s Aura (Fabled): Increase the effectiveness of the Aura stat by 100%.
  3. Monster Prince (Fabled): Increase the max stats of your race by 25%.
Aalam, being Aalam, of course chose Monster Prince. And his choice made perfect sense to Mila, who did a little quick math. With his Prince uniqueness, his Monster Prince racial ability, and Id active, as all three were multiplicative with each other rather than additive, he¡¯d be able to boost his effective Spirit stat by more than 45 times in his own Territory if he maxed out the stat, and that was ridiculous. Awakening your fifth racial ability as a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic). Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Master of Creation (Heroic): Markedly increase the power of crafting category skills.
  2. Advanced Swordsman (Fabled): Increase the effectiveness of all physical stats by 50% when wielding a sword.
  3. Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor (Fabled): Increase the base value of all physical stats by 25% of your effective Soul stat.
The Soul Lord Battle Armor line of racial abilities was one of the main reasons Aalam had chosen to pursue the Soul Lord racial line. Effectively armor over the soul, the racial ability operated differently than normal effectiveness boosts or Aalam¡¯s Prince uniqueness. If he chose it, it would take his effective Soul stat, without the boost from Prince, and use a quarter of that value to increase the base of all his physical stats, which would then be multiplied by their own effectiveness boosts and Prince on top. More important than being another multiplier to Aalam¡¯s already ridiculous stats, however, was how the extra stats from the Soul Lord Battle Armor racial ability line didn¡¯t put any extra stress on a soul. With the racial ability¡¯s next advancement, it would start to increase the Magic and Spirit stats as well, having a large effect on Aalam¡¯s already ridiculous Spirit stat multiplier, and, unlike a pure effectiveness boost to these stats to get the same result, it wouldn¡¯t cause Aalam to immediately pass out and never wake up. So of course Aalam chose it. Chapter 147: The Power of Luck and Planning Diana Diana had never experienced the Trial Tower before, but she was pretty sure the first section wasn¡¯t designed to be as easy as she and her team made it appear. In each of the combat based trials, Mila, with Aalam¡¯s Sensory Domain skill, was able to find any hidden enemies with ease, killing anything far away with the extreme range of her Yin Striker sniper rifle. And Diana, with the help of Helen and Dioscuri, was able to kill anything close by with ease. Nitya and Irena were pretty much just along for the ride. For the two puzzle trials, Mila, who was sharing her senses with Aalam the entire time, just followed Aalam¡¯s directions to solve them in a matter of seconds. And, after they found the necessary materials for creating a plague in Trial IV, given Mila had the Twelve Element Primal Code practiced to level 7, Aalam was able to guide her to create the plagues they wanted during the long lasting Trial V, which effectively worked like a tower defense game. This made Trial IX, where the plagues were the cheat to gain a whole lot of trial points, easy as well, and in that trial they even found a set of Masks of Disguise, artifacts which allowed them to change their appearances, enabling them to hide their identities without needing to completely cover themselves with armor. Their true main advantage, however, came from the massive boost to their stats from the Twelve Element Stationary Enhancement Formation, all their stats effectively tripled through the hard work of Aalam and Epecteos. The formation, the design of which had been Mila¡¯s third most expensive purchase from the previous instance of the Trial Tower, was extremely powerful, and it took so much of the world¡¯s mana to run that its use throughout the Trial Tower would not normally be possible on an E rank world, only usable on Earth due to the planet currently undergoing integration. Diana had maximized all her stats, completely mastered all her skills, and advanced all six of her Law Larvae to peak grade, so she couldn¡¯t get any more powerful, and Aalam had delayed his advancement to E rank so Mila could still use his mastered shadowed skills, while her skills were also mastered and her stats were only missing the points she would gain if she advanced her Law Larva of The Reaper to high grade. Together, they could use stealth to the point most of the best trial takers wouldn¡¯t be able to notice them within a range of 100 meters, and they had Nitya and Irena to act as decoys, so they had a much better chance of getting a high ranking than when Mila and Aalam had competed in the previous instance of the Trial Tower. Congratulations! You have completed the first section of the Trial Tower and it is now time for you to compete with your peers. Battle Royale I is starting. You and 126 other trial takers will be randomly placed in an isolated subspace 32,000 square kilometers in size. For every one of your competitors you kill you will gain 1 royale point and, when you die, half your points will be given to your killer. The three trial takers with the most points at the end of 1 standard hour will move onto the next round and the trial taker with the most points will have his or her trial points multiplied by 1.25. Leaving Nitya to release the plague, Diana immediately had Helen start killing cultivators loudly while she herself merged with Dioscuri and hid. At the same time, Mila found high ground on a mountain at the center of their subspace and, while the range of Sensory Domain was nowhere close to allowing her to see the entire subspace, her effective Perception and Aura stats allowed her natural senses to spot pretty much everyone who wasn¡¯t using a stealth skill of some kind, and she proceeded to silently snipe anyone trying to kill another cultivator. This way, in a little under five minutes, every other cultivator was dead and, after collecting all the artifacts the cultivators had been carrying and replacing all their old artifacts with better ones, then waiting for the hour to be done, they managed to get full rewards from the round, doubling their already large number of trial points. During the second battle royale, they managed to do the same, but, in the third, one of the other cultivators managed to kill someone before Mila could even try to snipe him and proved a bit too powerful for them to risk fighting fairly, so they just ran away and let the plague take him down. Overall, during the battle royale rounds, they managed to multiply their trial points by 6 instead of 4.5 as Mila and Aalam had achieved during the previous Trial Tower, but their total trial points were still a lot less, the trial where the plague was a cheat only allowing for gaining points in the hundreds of trillions rather than the hundreds of quadrillions. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. When it came to the third section of the Trial Tower, however, the tournament rounds, it quickly became obvious Diana was wrong about their biggest advantage. It wasn¡¯t the boost they were receiving. It was their luck. As someone with a Heroic grade race with her stats maximized, Diana had the highest base Luck stat possible at F rank, and her bloodline even boosted her Luck stat¡¯s effectiveness by a further 25%, which was rare. Combined with the Twelve Element Stationary Enhancement Formation, a rare formation which spent extra resources on boosting the effectiveness of Luck as well, for the first ten rounds of the elimination tournament it was pretty obvious her Luck was higher than any of her opponents. The first round was a puzzle competition they solved in two seconds with Omniglot Reader and Aalam¡¯s help. The second round was a dungeon dive where Diana was able to bypass every single challenge just with the use of stealth. And the third challenge was a competition to see who could get out of an illusory maze formation first, a challenge Mila¡¯s Sensory Domain allowed them to complete almost instantly. It wasn¡¯t until the eighth round that they ended up in a stage like the one where Mila and Aalam had fought the elf in the previous instance of the Trial Tower, but, while their opponent in that round managed to kill Nitya and Irena, and even had a plague of his own, albeit much weaker than theirs, Helen the yang spirit made their opponent¡¯s plague completely useless against Diana and Mila¡¯s Law of The Healer greatly slowed down its effects. Their plague, on the other hand, killed the young man before he could even find them. Then rounds nine and ten were the types of trials where they were competing against their opponent in different instances of a challenge, another puzzle and a test to see who could kill 1,718 powerful F rank monsters the fastest, and it was impossible to know by how much they won. Perhaps with the puzzle the opponent managed to solve it within two seconds, almost beating their one. When they reached the semifinals, however, their luck ran out and they had to compete in an arena battle. ¡°A group of four.¡± The man a hundred meters in front of them was short, only around one and a half meters tall, and he was wearing gaudy purple hide armor of some kind. ¡°So, it seems your leader has an Epic or Legendary grade lord skill.¡± The man, a dwarf of some kind, had orange skin which clashed with the purple of his likely stolen armor and black hair. And he was holding a spear, Diana getting a similar impression from him as she did from Isaiah. They were in a large perfectly circular stone room with a roughly 250 meter radius and a domed ceiling ranging from 25 to 35 meters high, while only Irena on their team was a close combatant, so Diana didn¡¯t like their odds. If their opponent¡¯s Luck was as high as hers, or likely even higher, all his other stats had to be maximized as well and boosted by at least 200%. In the confined space of the room, if they fought fair, they would lose. So, they of course didn¡¯t fight fair. All four of them bit down on the antidote pills they already had in their mouths and Nitya cracked the glass container of plague in her pocket, but the man in front of them didn¡¯t seem to care, just standing there and watching them. ¡°You managed to make it to the Trial Tower¡¯s semifinals, yet I don¡¯t recognize you. Which force do you come from?¡± As they had planned for this exact type of situation, Nitya, Irena, and Diana all turned to look at Mila, treating her as their leader to make the opponent think she was the one he¡¯d have to kill to win, or at least confuse the issue. ¡°Our masters want us to temper ourselves without benefiting from their influence, so I am under orders not to say. You can refer to me as Shadow.¡± She then pointed to Diana, Irena, and Nitya in turn. ¡°This is my fellow apprentice Summoner and our servants Fist and Wind.¡± She smiled at the dwarf. ¡°And who might you be, young sir?¡± ¡°Prince Cilarmi Cal of the Stormfire Empire, great grandson of the Windfather and apprentice to Zarina of the Living Flame.¡± The dwarf lifted his spear and pointed it at Mila. ¡°The plague you¡¯ve released seems resistant to my windfire, so I can¡¯t afford to talk with you any longer.¡± And with that, the dwarf attacked. But he¡¯d given them too much time. Using space element mana and her Telekinesis skill, Mila had reached her mind into the spatial storage ring she was wearing and charged one of the five D rank talismans they¡¯d found in Trial IX with half the D rank mana blocks they¡¯d found in the same trial. So, when the dwarf decided to attack, she took out the talisman and a sphere of force appeared around her and Diana. Irena and Nitya were both left outside, Nitya dying with one stab as Cilarmi¡¯s wind Element Law Larva appeared to be at peak grade, allowing his movement and attack skills to bypass her wind-based defenses. Irena, on the other hand, with her four high grade Law Larvae of the four elements of water, fire, earth, and wind, managed to defend against the young man¡¯s attacks for three seconds and even landed a punch on his right arm when he stabbed her through the chest, doing a tiny bit of damage. Diana then summoned Helen and Dioscuri and her two familiars left the protective bubble created by the talisman to start battling with the dwarf. ¡°Did you recognize any of those names he said?¡± Diana sent to Mila as they watched her flying horse and twin-headed serpent familiars fight not to win against the dwarf prince but to waste his resources as fast as possible. ¡°The Windfather is an ancient god who followed a similar path to Nitya. He is one of the weaker gods in the universe, but a god nonetheless. And the Stormfire Empire is an A rank force located in one of the universe¡¯s strongest galaxy clusters. Zarina of the Living Flame, an A rank fire mage, is the second most powerful of the Stormfire Empire¡¯s current five A ranks. So, it seems this Cilarmi has quite the high status in the universe.¡± Mila smiled at her. ¡°From his fighting style, he seems to be following the Windfire Spearman path of the Stormfire Empire¡¯s founding ancestor, and he appears to have peak grade Law Larvae of both the wind and fire elements. ¡°For the Trial Tower, though, he seems relatively weak for having made it to the semifinals. Not by much, but it is indicative that this instance of the Trial Tower is likely a tad weaker than the last one.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still stronger than us.¡± Diana watched as the dwarf tried his strongest attack against the D rank barrier, not even causing a tremor and taking a hit from Dioscuri for his trouble. ¡°He¡¯s been training for a lot longer than 7 years.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t this feel a little unfair? I don¡¯t think we could win if not for this barrier.¡± Mila laughed. ¡°He could have also released a plague in trial IX and snuck into the vault of a B rank force. There was nothing stopping him. He also probably wouldn¡¯t have a chance to beat us in any type of trial other than the arena.¡± ¡°True.¡± After about four minutes of intense combat, the dwarf died and Diana¡¯s team moved on to the finals. Chapter 148: Anticlimax ¡°Why are you running?!¡± The final battle of the tournament was taking place in an arena as well, but one much, much larger, several dozen kilometers in diameter, with a ceiling at least a few kilometers high. Their opponent was a humanoid alien with gray skin, six arms, and insectoid features¡ªa race Mila called a Vilorax¡ªand she seemed to be a psychic mage of some kind, with what Diana was pretty sure were three peak grade metal element Laws. As soon as the round started, Mila disappeared and Diana grabbed hold of Nitya and Irena to begin fleeing after they released the plague, and the Vilorax woman chased them by effectively surfing on a large three meter flying sword. Then Mila, who¡¯d been hiding using her stealth skill, activated a D rank talisman and a destructive flame emanated from her position, hitting their opponent from several kilometers away, and they won. Congratulations! Trial Tower Tournament Round XII is over. You are the top ranked cultivator of the Trial Tower Reward: Total Accumulated Trial Points X 2 Total Accumulated Trial Points: 6,843,344,226,191,081,472 Diana then got one more message. Congratulations! Your rank in the F rank Trial Tower is 1. ¡°Well, that was anticlimactic,¡± Nitya said as all four of them rose from the floor of Aalam¡¯s crafting hall and the invisible mana swirling around each of their bodies began to fade. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to survive the finals, but that idiot just ran right into your trap.¡± ¡°There was a bit more to it than that,¡± Irena refuted, but not at all strongly. ¡°Mila did have to predict she¡¯d chase us.¡± ¡°The Trial Tower doesn¡¯t seem designed to be fair,¡± Aalam said as he used Telekinesis to start the process of dismantling the twelve three meter high pillars arranged in a dodecagon around the crafting hall, each emanating the power of one of the twelve elements. ¡°Most cultivators are never able to raise their Luck outside of breaking through to a new stage of Laws and the Trial Tower seems to be affected by the Luck stat far more than even the tutorials.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a system designed to be exploited by the already rich to gain resources for their juniors.¡± Mila stretched slightly, a movement almost any heterosexual male would be distracted by, but Epecteos, who was sitting in the corner, was almost unconscious from helping run the Twelve Element Stationary Enhancement Formation over the last month and Aalam wasn¡¯t paying attention. ¡°We just exploited it better because Nana Xara sacrificed the potential for massive A rank wealth so we could get F rank resources. ¡°Remember everyone that this wasn¡¯t done on our own merit, but because we have a backer who has invested all her accumulated wealth into raising us. ¡°That said.¡± Mila turned to look at Diana, a look of excitement on her face. ¡°What did we get? I don¡¯t have the authority to see the Trial Tower rewards list without your permission.¡± Diana also quickly took a look, opening up the description of the most expensive resource on the list first, something called a Stone of Primal Beginning, but almost immediately she was distracted by the psychic sound of Nana Xara screaming in her mind. ¡°Yes! Yes! Yes!¡± ¡°Explain please,¡± Diana sent. ¡°A Stone of Primal Beginning is an extremely, extremely rare F rank resource, even rarer than the Primal Code Soul Washing Dew, and its usage requirements are almost as difficult.¡± Nana Xara sounded incredibly excited as she spoke rapidly. ¡°But you meet them, so it won¡¯t absorb your soul if you use it.¡± ¡°Absorb my what?¡± Diana turned to look at Mila. ¡°Apparently the Stone of Primal Beginning might absorb my soul.¡± ¡°No it won¡¯t.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice had a hint of annoyance mixed in with her excitement. ¡°I said it won¡¯t absorb your soul.¡± ¡°Which implies it is dangerous and absorbs souls. That¡¯s terrifying.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Diana felt Mila strengthen the connection between them. ¡°It would probably be good if you explained, Nana Xara. I imagine you¡¯re getting excited again and not doing that properly. What is a Stone of Primal Beginning?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Nana Xara seemed to deliberately slow down her words, but the end result was her speaking at a normal speed. ¡°The dimension we live in is called the Prime Material Universe. It¡¯s the oldest and largest of all the known universes of the many dimensions known to cultivators, so old that there are records from quintillions of years in the past of the universe already being at least quintillions of years old. No one alive, except for maybe some of the oldest gods, know how it started. ¡°And, before you bring it up, that big bang theory people on Earth came up with was just a misunderstanding from viewing magical phenomenon through a purely non-magical lens. ¡°Other universes we know about, however, including other material universes, have known beginnings. And a Stone of Primal Beginning is a type of crystalized mana created during the formation of a material universe. But there is usually only enough material to make four or five Stones of Primal Beginning per material universe, and there are probably only a few dozen material universes young enough that their Stones of Primal Beginning wouldn¡¯t have had their energy fade after many, many trillions of years.¡± Diana felt herself getting slightly lost by the enormity of this information, but she was pretty sure Nana Xara was about to get to the practical uses of the stone, so she didn¡¯t let her mind wander. ¡°A Stone of Primal Beginning has multiple uses. It can be used as a power source for high grade artifacts. It can act as a very, very high end dao guide holding all the Laws present in the universe which birthed it in a raw state without affecting a cultivator¡¯s path due to the breadth of Laws it contains, though only up to the Law Pupa stage due to the full Laws of the universe not having been born by the time of its formation. And it can be implanted into the soul of a cultivator who hasn¡¯t yet reached C rank to slowly torture the cultivator by extracting and absorbing the power of the cultivator¡¯s soul into its raw components. ¡°This, however, is only for cultivators who can¡¯t absorb the power of the Stone of Primal Beginning themselves. ¡°What are these requirements you want to know? Well, first is the ability to absorb 20,736 units of Soul boosting energy at F rank over the span of a year, something your Nascent Energy Converter ability makes possible. Second is having perfectly balanced base stats, something your Chaos Human race has allowed you to already achieve by maximizing your stats. And third is having a cultivation speed fast enough to get rid of the incredibly toxic impurities the process of absorbing the Stone of Primal Beginning will generate, something that is almost impossible for F ranks. ¡°Even with your bloodline boosting your cultivation speed by 500% and the best external formations for boosting cultivation speed available for F ranks, you still might die from the process, but not if you first use the Stone of Primal Beginning as a dao guide to help raise your Laws to the Law Pupa stage and raise your Yin Yang Cosmology to level 9. Having six Law Pupae will also have some impressive side effects for when you use the energy of the Stone of Primal Beginning and the other resources you¡¯ve prepared to advance your race.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Mila interjected into the conversation before Diana could ask any questions, Nana Xara obviously having been giving the explanation to her as well, ¡°if it is a dao guide which won¡¯t cause problems, might it not be better to delay Diana¡¯s advancement to E rank and use it to help raise many more talented humans on Earth?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t advise it.¡± Nana Xara had calmed down after her initial excitement and seemed back to her normal cheerful self. ¡°In fact, I wouldn¡¯t recommend for anyone other than Diana, Aalam, and maybe Epecteos to look at it for more than a few hours. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t cause any intrinsic problems, but relying on an external source to break into the Law Pupa stage for one¡¯s Laws isn¡¯t something I would normally recommend. It makes the process too easy and takes away from a valuable experience which would help the cultivator more easily raise their Laws later. ¡°Aalam is different. He¡¯s going down the path of understanding an entire material universe with his Laws, so studying the Stone of Primal Beginning and seeing which Laws a universe forms first would actually be extremely beneficial to him. ¡°But for people like you, Isaiah, or anyone else from Earth, it would be much better for your future Law advancement speed to use the benefit of Earth undergoing its integration, having the same Law exposure as a B rank world, to help with your Law advancement than relying on studying a Stone of Primal Beginning. In the long run, it would serve you much better.¡± Mila audibly sighed. Then she summoned the Twin Dragons out from her spatial storage ring and transformed them into their earring form on her ears before summoning out her Yin Striker sniper rifle as well. ¡°It seems in the near future I¡¯ll be falling far behind when it comes to Laws, so I¡¯m going to go kill the four remaining major problem makers on Earth and practice my Law of The Reaper.¡± Diana could feel Mila soul shackle herself to greatly reduce her stats, making what she was about to do, go kill the heads of four underground factions trying to undermine Diana¡¯s rule, much, much harder. Then she headed to the teleportation platform and teleported away. At the same time, though, Aalam came over with an excited look on his face and Diana realized Mila had already told him about the Stone of Primal Beginning or, more likely, Mila¡¯d been sharing the conversation with him the entire time. And he probably also wanted her to buy him the full 16 levels of the Twelve Element Primal Code offered by the System in the Trial Tower store, as the copy Mila¡¯d gotten from the Violet Mountain Sect only had the first 12 levels. Before dealing with her little brother, however, Diana turned to Nitya and Irena and reached out both her hands. In her left appeared a roughly 30 cm tall jar with what looked like a contained cyclone inside while in her right appeared a branch with four apple-like fruits on it. One was covered in a small layer of fire, one seemed almost soaked, one had six different cycles of air swirling around it, and the last looked like it had been squished and somehow crystalized. These were the two best race enhancing resources available for her two helpers, both far more powerful than they¡¯d normally be able to absorb, but, when they took them, she also handed them two Highgenion Flowers as well, having purchased three more from the Trial Tower¡¯s rewards. Then, temporarily stopping Aalam with a few words, she began spending all her trial points on everything Nana Xara recommended, making full use of the time she had to buy things before the second place trial taker could start buying as well. This included the orb holding the Twelve Element Primal Code Aalam wanted, a formation which would drastically increase cultivation speed, and her favorite purchase, a type of artifact called a Book of Languages. It cost several hundred trillion trial points but, with its help, both she and Mila would be able to much more easily advance their Omniglot Reader racial abilities, a process which would otherwise have taken at least hundreds of years. Chapter 149: Law Pupae Mila In a small room at the heart of Paris, France, Mila took out the spear form of the Twin Dragons from the chest of her third target and sighed with relief, quickly starting to clean up the bodies of both him and his five subordinates who¡¯d been hiding together and forcing contracts on innocent cultivators to have them try to assassinate Diana. She¡¯d just upgraded her Law Larva of the Reaper to high grade to match her other Laws and she would now be able to train Yin Yang Cosmology to level 7 before advancing. This in turn, given the limitations of the mixed version of Yin Yang Cosmology which only allowed the secondary cultivation technique it was matched with to be at most a level higher, would allow her to train the Twelve Element Primal Code to level 8 once Aalam reached peak grade in all his Laws, something Nana Xara judged he would almost certainly finish before the three months it would take her to raise her level of Yin Yang Cosmology. Diana had used several hundred quadrillion trial points to buy a truly supreme formation which would help speed up everyone¡¯s cultivation, and only with that could Mila reach level 7 of Yin Yang Cosmology so quickly. She didn¡¯t have Diana¡¯s insane bloodline which made cultivating six times faster, and the base cultivation speed of her race was lower as well. If she didn¡¯t advance her race, cultivating to level 8, even with the formation, would likely take years. But, looking at the massive increase in cultivation speed of Aalam¡¯s new race, which she would benefit from as well when advancing in the Twelve Element Primal Code as she¡¯d be making use of his resources, she was very much looking forward to her own advancement in the near future. Done cleaning up, Mila undid the soul shackles on herself. Then she quickly started heading toward Shanghai, where the last of the major troublemakers on Earth was located. Once she killed him, the assassination attempts on Diana would hopefully completely stop, and that would allow everyone to just quietly focus on growing and readying themselves for the challenges they would face at E rank. * * * Diana As her Law Larva of Spark transformed into a Law Pupa of Flame, Diana felt her body heat up. What was a flame if not an expression of destruction. The ability to burn, the means to incinerate. The power to bring something to an end. Yet at the same time fire was creation. Through fire, man created civilization. Through flame, materials transformed. Because of the flaming ball of gas that was a star, life found a way to start. Fire was destruction, yet fire was creation. Fire was the end, yet fire was the beginning. Flames were power, and that power was something she could control. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes to see the setting sun behind that beautiful tree outside Aalam¡¯s crafting hall, inspiration having hit yet again, her final Law now at the Law Pupa stage. Then she looked through the glass behind her into the crafting hall where Aalam was sitting and she yet again took in the sight of the Stone of Primal Beginning. The stone was pure white, reflecting all light like the Primal Code Soul Washing Dew, and it was about the size and shape of a softball, nearly perfectly spherical. The System had given it to them inside a glasslike vacuum-filled container and, for the last three months, it had been on a pedestal in the center of Aalam¡¯s workshop. Looking at it with her magical senses was like looking at an unformed universe, and it was such a wondrous experience. Diana had never been very religious before the integration. Given how she¡¯d thought her parents had died and she¡¯d had to spend so much effort taking care of her little brother, it had been more comfortable to believe everything in her life was just a coincidence than that some active force was trying to make her miserable. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. But training in Laws, while she still didn¡¯t want to practice any religions given what she¡¯d learned from Nana Xara about how gods worked, she felt far more spiritual than at any other time in her life. * * * Aalam Aalam still liked the multi-dimensional puzzle analogy for thinking about his own Laws, and looking at the Stone of Primal Beginning was like looking at a roughly 8% complete version of that puzzle. If the analogy was reduced to two dimensions, it was like 8% of the pieces had been connected to others in small separate unconnected groupings, providing a good feel of what the entire puzzle would look like, but still too scattered for most to know where each individual grouping of pieces should be placed. Given Aalam¡¯s multiple Laws, however, he could easily arrange the groupings in their proper locations, something Diana could also do to a lesser extent, and, as the stone provided an extremely clear view of those Laws it did contain, both his and his sister¡¯s speeds of Law advancement had sped up considerably. After three months, Diana had managed to raise all her Laws to the Law Pupa stage, which she said was an extremely enlightening and spiritual experience. Meanwhile, it took Aalam six months to raise all his Laws to Law Pupae, a process he found very mechanical and not spiritual at all. And this lack of spirituality was especially the case when he advanced his Law Larva of Storm to a Law Pupa of Atmosphere, when he merged his Law Larva of 3 Dimensional Geometry into his Law Larva of Multi-Dimensional Geometry to form a Law Pupa, and when he raised up a new Law Pupa of Dimensional Solidity so he would still have three space element Laws, all very deliberate choices not based on instinct at all. During the same time period, he¡¯d also raised his Twelve Element Primal Code to level 8, but it was pointless. His Laws by this point were high enough to advance to his intended D rank classes, let alone the ones available to him at E rank, and there were no new classes available. It seemed Fabled grade really was a hard cap in the universe for everything other than bloodlines and uniquenesses at E rank. But maybe for artifacts¡­ Aalam got an idea, but it would be incredibly irresponsible to try and attempt what he was thinking on Earth, the possibility for a massive explosion just too high. That didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t make a theoretical model, however, and he was pretty sure it would work. * * * Isaiah Watching Diana and Aalam raise their Laws so fast, Isaiah started to feel nervous. Mila was about to advance to the same incredibly powerful race as Aalam, and Diana was going to advance to something almost as amazing. So, it would soon become harder and harder for him to keep up. ¡°Stop it.¡± Epecteos knocked Isaiah¡¯s spear away as they fought above Earth¡¯s Atlantic Ocean and took several steps back. ¡°I know what you are thinking and I just have a few simple words for you. Don¡¯t be an idiot.¡± ¡°What?¡± Isaiah felt confused, like he was missing context. ¡°You¡¯re comparing yourself against the Alvaro siblings. Stop and don¡¯t be an idiot.¡± Epecteos walked forward through the air and placed a hand on Isaiah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°They¡¯ve been making use of a type of resource maybe only one or two A rank forces in the universe have access to, which has saved them possibly several dozen years of Law meditation, but that¡¯s only saving time and it¡¯s good you¡¯re not using that stone as it would be worse for you in the long run. ¡°Instead, the bigger issue is that they are way more talented than you to begin with.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel like that great of a pep talk.¡± Epecteos started laughing. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not. As your master, I just want to make sure you¡¯re thinking within the right context. ¡°Your power is mostly a result of Aalam, Mila, and Diana getting you resources, so you feel obligated to help them. And Aalam is your best friend while you¡¯re romantically interested in Diana.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Isaiah was about to protest, but Epecteos raised a hand and Isaiah shut his mouth out of respect. ¡°It¡¯s obvious to everyone but the two of you and probably Aalam. Irena, Mila, and I even have a betting pool going and it would be nice for me if you asked her out before she reaches E rank. She¡¯d say yes, and I¡¯d win some credits. ¡°But that¡¯s beside the point. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to tell you is that you need to change your mentality. The level of training you are putting yourself through is good, but don¡¯t train out of fear of being left behind. These very secretive people have let you in on all their secrets, and this shows they trust you. They also don¡¯t have anyone more talented than you among their subordinates, and are unlikely to for at least a couple hundred years. Just from purely practical reasoning, they wouldn¡¯t abandon you, and, from interacting with them for a couple years, I can tell you with certainty that they¡¯re not the types of people who would do so anyway. ¡°If you want to repay them, all you have to do is do your best. If your best allows you to keep up with them and you can fight with them as their front line fighter, that''s great. If your best has you lagging behind in your advancement speed, you can help Aalam conquer planets in the future as he¡¯ll need more bodies to do that. ¡°No matter what, you¡¯re not going to become useless.¡± Isaiah just stared at Epecteos for a full minute, trying to absorb what he was saying, then he asked what his mind was truly focusing on. ¡°If I asked Diana out, she¡¯d say yes?¡± Chapter 150: Invitation From the Heavenly Blade Brom ¡°So, do you think you can do it?¡± Brom¡¯s father, Orom Karendesh, the twelfth and youngest subleader of the A rank force known as the Bronze Legion and the man everyone acknowledged as its next leader, looked at Brom from across a small two-person table in the home they shared on the Bronze Legion¡¯s B rank planet of Dorinal, a relaxed look on his face. He¡¯d just asked Brom if he¡¯d consent to being the general of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second force in the War of the Chosen, and the request was making Brom nervous, especially given how he¡¯d been tricked in his last System hosted competition. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would do well,¡± Brom said honestly, his scaled tail waving nervously behind him. ¡°The age limit for the War of the Chosen is 72 years, yet I¡¯ll only be 26 when it starts.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t expect you would.¡± His father¡¯s tail was lying lazily on the floor as he took a drink of kimani blood from the bottle on the table. ¡°But that¡¯s not the point. The first force will attempt to win the War of the Chosen. That is their role. The role of the second force is to prepare the soldiers who will fight in the first force in 36 years. And you are the strongest of those who won¡¯t have passed the age limit by then.¡± Brom looked down at his hands. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready to be a leader.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Brom could almost hear the mirth in his father¡¯s voice and he looked up again. ¡°Logistics, soldier deployments, keeping up morale, I feel confident in the role of a quartermaster or maybe even a defending general, but I know myself. I¡¯m not good at trickery and I¡¯m not good at predicting the trickery of others. From everything I¡¯ve read, that is very important.¡± His father opened his mouth slightly, a little blood flowing down his jaw onto his neck, as his tail waved slightly with amusement. ¡°And what should a general do if he knows he isn¡¯t good at something?¡± Brom paused for a second, thinking. Then he realized what his father was hinting at. ¡°Find someone who is, put them in a high position, and listen to them.¡± Brom thought for a bit more. ¡°That Shadow girl was in the same Trial Tower instance as me, so she should be roughly my age. And her stats weren¡¯t maximized, which means even if she is from one of the larger forces, they don¡¯t value her all that much. I could invite her as one of the twelve commanders I¡¯m allowed.¡± His father reached out a hand and passed him a large silver medallion, the token of a general in the War of the Chosen. ¡°That¡¯s what I would recommend. It¡¯s also possible the plague you mentioned was actually created by her and if that¡¯s true you¡¯d be gaining a lot more than just an advisor. I¡¯ll create a quest for her and set the deadline to one year before the War of the Chosen starts.¡± Brom placed his chin on the table and rolled his eyes up to the sky. ¡°Thank you, father.¡± ¡°No need to be so formal.¡± His father waved a hand dismissively and stood up from the table. ¡°And no need to put so much pressure on yourself. Yes, the expectations from others due to you being my son are high, but you don¡¯t need to care about them. Do what feels right for you. Strive for what you want. I¡¯m powerful enough to protect you and, so long as you don¡¯t become a wastrel, I¡¯ll always support you. ¡°You¡¯ve seemed interested in following the path of a general and that does make me proud, but make sure you are doing it because it is what you want to do. Take this War of the Chosen as your chance to find out.¡± Brom just sat there thinking for a bit, pondering his father¡¯s words. Then he rose, summoned his greatsword into his hand from his spatial storage ring, and walked out to the training yard, starting to swing his blade to help clear his head. * * * Mila Heavenly Blade Orom Karendesh has offered you a quest. Make it to E rank (Common) Accomplish the following:
  1. Make it to E rank at least one standard year before the next War of the Chosen
Rewards: 1 War of the Chosen Commander token and 4 War of the Chosen Soldier tokens for the army Bronze Legion II Do you accept? Yes/No Mila, who would be ready to advance her race and then class in a couple of weeks, looked at the quest which popped up in front of her and immediately thought of Brom Karendesh, the lizard-man cultivator she¡¯d tricked during the tournament portion of her first F rank Trial Tower and, from the information on the forces in the universe she¡¯d been reading, Orom Karendesh¡¯s son. Then she asked Nana Xara, ¡°First, does the fact Orom Karendesh can make this quest mean he knows who I am? And, second, if not, any idea why he would want me in his force¡¯s army?¡± ¡°Like with the quest you received from the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, quests made through the System can be granted to people a cultivator doesn¡¯t personally know by giving the System specialized criteria. The name Shadow is viewable to anyone powerful enough to have access to the ranking list from the Trial Tower, and the Bronze Legion is at that level. So, the quest should have been made by specifying your name and ranking in the Trial Tower, leaving nothing to worry about when it comes to your identity.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°As to why Orom Karendesh would want to give you this quest, his son probably mentioned you, or might even be one of the other commanders or even the general of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army participating in the War of the Chosen. ¡°Given what we know about the Bronze Legion, in my opinion at least, this is unlikely to be a trap. They can¡¯t do anything to you in the War of the Chosen when neither your real body nor your real soul will be there. So, they probably want to either talk or, more likely, they think you are talented and want your help.¡± ¡°You think the offer is legitimate?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well, damn.¡± Mila felt frustrated. ¡°Was there any point to joining the Violet Mountain Sect? This is a much better way of joining the War of the Chosen than getting a soldier token from them.¡± ¡°Had we been forced to gain the Twelve Element Primal Code from the Vin Clan, we couldn¡¯t have gotten all the resources for the Twelve Element Stationary Enhancement Formation and then we couldn¡¯t have received all the resources which came from the latest Trial Tower, such as the Stone of Primal Beginning and the Book of Languages.¡± ¡°Alright. Well, there¡¯s that.¡± Mila sighed. ¡°But I¡¯ll still have to go back to the Violet Mountain Sect soon and use their soldier token, so this token could only go to Diana. And that opens up a lot of strategy issues.¡± ¡°Diana¡¯s identity as your likely apprentice should already be known in the Evolon Galaxy Cluster, and Earth¡¯s other native powers should be recognizable as well, including Nitya and Irena, who would normally take two of the soldier positions. Isaiah shouldn¡¯t be as much of an issue, as he looks quite a bit different from when he was in his clan, but it would still be a risk to have him interact with the universe¡¯s most powerful youths at this time, to say nothing of allowing Aalam to join as well. ¡°For acquiring the skill orbs Aalam and I need, however, the most efficient way is through the War of the Chosen. Sure, they might be available in the universal auction you¡¯ve been invited to, but they also might not, and we¡¯d then have to somehow buy or steal them from an A rank force.¡± The original plan had been for Mila to participate in this War of the Chosen to get a sense of it and then wait 36 years for the next one, by which time she could likely get them a deal like the one Orom Karendesh was offering them now. By that time they would have leveled up quite a bit and increased their stats through natural resources, so they would have done well even without Aalam, but, if they wanted to do well in this instance of the War of the Chosen, they would need Aalam¡¯s power, so he would have to participate with Diana and the others. ¡°What do you think, Nana Xara?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Nana Xara didn¡¯t sound like her usual cheerful self, actually seeming to take this seriously. ¡°There are risks to including Aalam, but the risks are a lot less than they used to be. ¡°Due to the Stone of Primal Beginning, Aalam advanced way faster than anyone would expect of him, and anyone who saw that type of growth wouldn¡¯t immediately think of such a rare resource but would instead think his Laws were forcibly raised, and that makes him much, much less of a threat. At the same time, due to his Laws advancing so fast and two of his Laws being Bonds and Severing, if he is able to advance both Laws to middle grade before reaching D rank and you are able to advance your Laws of The Healer and The Reaper to Law Pupae, the two of you together should have the power to change his name in the overlord status of any planet he adds to his Territory while he is E rank, and it will also allow you to change the effect his overlordship will have on those planets as well. ¡°This gets rid of the two biggest issues with exposing Aalam to the universe. So I would advise going for it. With Aalam¡¯s new race, it won¡¯t be obvious to most he¡¯s following the path of the Heavenly Spark anyway. ¡°No matter what, he¡¯s going to be exposed eventually, and this will allow you to control the narrative.¡± Mila thought about it for a few minutes. Then she decided. ¡°Alright then. Diana will be the commander and she¡¯ll be joined by Aalam, Isaiah, Nitya, and Irena.¡± But then Mila realized something. ¡°Wait, there is an age limit, right? Irena probably wouldn¡¯t qualify.¡± ¡°No. She would,¡± Nana Xara explained. ¡°For System related age limits, everyone on Earth would be considered nine at the start of the War of the Chosen.¡± Mila hadn¡¯t really thought about it much, but her own body was only seven years old. ¡°So, it¡¯s not by the age of the soul?¡± ¡°No. That would be unfair to cultivators from newly integrated worlds. Instead, for these types of events, the measurement is the time from when the System officially recognized you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila contacted Diana, Aalam, and Isaiah through their bonds and told them about their new change in plans. In a few weeks, Aalam would be done raising his Twelve Element Primal Code to level 9 and Mila would be done raising hers to level 8 with his resources. Then Mila could join everyone and finally advance her race to E rank, though they¡¯d already determined she¡¯d have to use a whole lot of souls to account for the fact a D rank soul was required to power the process, the one requirement for the race her bloodline couldn¡¯t let her bypass. Thankfully, she still hadn¡¯t used the various E rank souls the Violet Mountain Sect had prepared for her before she left. Then, seeing as Nana Xara was absolutely positive Aalam wouldn¡¯t be able to unlock any alternative classes no matter how high he raised his Laws or the level of his cultivation technique, they would both join Diana and Isaiah in advancing to E rank with the classes they had already planned on taking long ago. ¡°Nana Xara,¡± Mila sent. ¡°Remind me again why I can¡¯t just have Aalam break the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s mountain mark and not go back. Sure, they could change the rules on me and potentially destroy my soul. But if I faked my death convincingly, they wouldn¡¯t be able to.¡± She wasn¡¯t going to say it over her bond with her teacher, as Nana Xara¡¯s soul was located in a mental realm created by the System and it was very possible the System would be able to listen in on their conversations, but Mila¡¯s Shadow Princess uniqueness would allow her to break her bond with the elder of the Violet Mountain Sect who controlled the sect¡¯s bonds and easily fake her own death. Sure, doing so would allow any god who looked into her later to find out about her uniqueness, likely leading to said god killing her, but there was a very high chance the Violet Mountain Sect wouldn¡¯t go so far as to force her to completely sever the bond. Also, if Mila were able to get her hands on a powerful contract severing skill, given her Law Larva of The Reaper, which had a strong severing component, was already high grade and Aalam¡¯s Law of Severing was already a Law Pupa, she¡¯d be able to break the bond herself and easily fake her own death. ¡°To advance to D rank with a Devil¡¯s Contract line skill, you¡¯re going to need more years of hiding your identity, and to meet the qualifications for the other skills you¡¯ll want to gain, you¡¯re going to have to act like a saint. That fits the persona you¡¯ve been building in the Violet Mountain Sect, but it would be impossible to achieve on Earth. And there¡¯s nothing to gain from creating a new identity on a new planet instead.¡± ¡°Curse my power set.¡± Mila sighed again. ¡°I¡¯m going to miss talking to everyone over our bonds.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Nana Xara sounded contemplative and Mila felt herself growing excited. ¡°If Aalam¡¯s Soul stat gets high enough and his Law Pupa of Multi-Dimensional Geometry advances to middle grade, there are some specialized artifacts which might make that possible.¡± Mila felt her heart start to beat faster. ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll make a quest to give Diana the blueprints if you manage to achieve one twelfth of the requirements for the Advanced Angel¡¯s Release skill.¡± So, at least one more year of not being able to talk to Aalam and the others over her bonds with them, but now she had something to look forward to. Chapter 151: After a Time Skip ¡°So, is everyone from the sub-forces accounted for?¡± Brom asked as the members of the Bronze Legion and the Bronze Legion¡¯s subordinate B and C rank forces started setting up camp in the forest clearing, the combatants all helping out the small amount of crafters and logistical staff under his orders. ¡°Everyone but the 12th commander and the four soldiers she should be bringing.¡± Darra Jur, Brom¡¯s assistant, used light magic to display the army¡¯s status window in mid air, which showed that Brom, his twelve commanders, and all 1,728 soldiers were within the minor mental world which would be their practice area before the start of the War of the Chosen. It didn¡¯t show anyone¡¯s names, only their roles, but it was obvious everyone had accepted the System¡¯s request for their souls to be projected into the System¡¯s mental world. ¡°All five are online. They just haven¡¯t arrived at our gathering location.¡± Brom and Darra then heard some noise to the south¡ªjudged based on the movement of the fake sun in the mental world¡¯s sky¡ªand turned to look. There they could see three humanoid females walking into the camp, but how they actually looked was hard to tell as all three had masks which covered their entire faces, including their eyes. And the rest of their bodies were covered as well, with hooded jackets, gloves, pants, and even shoes, all seemingly made from grass and processed tree fibers. What was most shocking, however, was that every piece of clothing was seemingly a Common or Uncommon grade E rank artifact. For the War of the Chosen, every cultivator would be brought in without any artifacts at the start, just drab gray clothing like Brom and all the other coran men of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army were wearing, yet every single artifact on these women appeared to have defensive runes built in, with the masks obviously allowing them to see through from the inside as well. And it had only been about fifteen minutes since everyone had entered into the mental space. Before any of his soldiers or commanders could ask any questions, Brom flash stepped in front of the three. ¡°Welcome. My name is Brom Karendesh and I am the general of this army. May I ask who you are?¡± ¡°You can call me Summoner.¡± The woman in front of the other two, who was short for a human yet tall for a dwarf, bowed slightly in his direction. ¡°And these two are my servants, Wind and Fist.¡± She pointed to the two women behind her, Wind about average height for a human female with the aura of a wind mage and Fist slightly taller with an aura that contained the power of the four elements of wind, earth, fire, and water. Both seemed relatively strong, though they might have been holding their auras back. The one in front, however, Summoner, was much harder to read, Brom getting pretty much nothing from her aura. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say but Shadow will be unable to join us as you originally asked,¡± Summoner continued. ¡°My other two servants, however, will arrive shortly. They are currently scanning the area for usable resources to turn into artifacts.¡± ¡°Summoner?¡± Brom could easily tell the name was an alias, just like Shadow from the Trial Tower, but it was an alias he¡¯d already heard. ¡°The first rank from the last F rank Trial Tower?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Summoner nodded at him, a gesture that for most humans in the universe meant assent and, given Shadow¡¯s race in the trial tower, he was guessing the three in front of him were human as well. Getting first place in the Trial Tower was beyond difficult, a feat no one from the Bronze Legion had ever accomplished, so there was a good chance the woman in front of him, despite having been in E rank for a shorter period of time, was quite a bit more powerful than he was. And this made Brom somewhat nervous. ¡°May we speak in private for a few minutes?¡± The woman stepped off the ground, launching herself into the forest without the use of a skill, but her movement showed her Agility stat was likely somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000, so Brom quickly decided to follow. For most E ranks, their highest stat would only ever reach a little over 10,000 and, for summoners, which he presumed she actually was, all physical stats would generally be at most half the value of their Magic. This meant this extremely young E rank, who could only have been at her current rank for a couple years at most, likely already had the strength of a soldier from some of the War of the Chosen¡¯s best armies, putting her on a slightly higher tier of power than himself. After about a minute of running through the forest, they stopped and she turned to him, bowing slightly again. ¡°First, I would like to thank you for sharing a War of the Chosen commander token. As you might have guessed from our obviously fake names, my sister apprentice and I are part of a hidden force, so we normally wouldn¡¯t get to participate in something like the War of the Chosen as doing so with our allies would expose our existence and make us easy to identify. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°With you giving up a token through a System quest, however, it is enabling me to have the chance to compete against some of the best E ranks in the universe without exposing my identity. And for that you have my thanks. ¡°That said, I am going to have to change the nature of our relationship.¡± The woman released her aura and Brom realized he¡¯d been greatly, greatly underestimating her. It wasn¡¯t that her Aura was powerful, even though it was, her effective Aura stat likely around 12,000. And it wasn¡¯t the nature of her aura, though it somehow emanated a level of regality he hadn¡¯t even felt from the B rank emperor he¡¯d once met with his father. It was just that her releasing her Aura showed how powerful she truly was. Six Law Pupae of early grade, a Magic stat greater than 24,000, and a Soul stat seemingly even higher than that, her control over her energy was so flawless he hadn¡¯t been able to notice at all before she showed herself. And then she began to summon her spirits, all eight of them. The most terrifying two were a twin-headed serpent spirit made of yin energy and a yang energy spirit in the shape of a winged mammalian creature. They were of a higher tier than the other six, likely inhabiting two larger sized mana wells, but Brom was pretty sure any of the weaker six could easily kill him as well. There was a songbird made of flame, a small nine-tailed carnivorous mammal formed of light, and a mammalian creature with large horns made of pure life energy, but these were the yang aligned creatures. More terrifying were the yin aligned tentacled monster made of water, the wolf formed of darkness, and the large two-tailed carnivorous mammal of pure death energy. The woman in front of him had Laws beyond most C ranks and her main stats were well into the D rank level. If she wanted to kill him, she easily could. ¡°I would like to continue to work with you, Mr. Karendesh. And I have no desire to take over the operation of your army. But, as you have probably noticed, I have a Fabled grade race and two Heroic grade classes. I require resources of a very high grade if I want to continue to advance as I have been doing, the type of resources only available to generals of War of the Chosen armies who go very far in the competition. ¡°To that end, I would like to swap our positions, you taking my commander role and me becoming general. I believe this will also result in you gaining more resources for the Bronze Legion than you were originally aiming for. And, if it is experience you are after, you¡¯ll most likely gain more on that front as well.¡± Brom thought about it for a few seconds. If the woman wanted to, given the rules of the War of the Chosen, she could have just challenged him to a duel for leadership. But she hadn¡¯t done so. She was instead asking for him to give up his position willingly. And she was doing so quite politely. Sure, she¡¯d shown her power to intimidate him, but that was completely normal. He wouldn¡¯t even be considering her proposal otherwise. ¡°What level are you currently?¡± Brom asked, leaning toward accepting the woman¡¯s proposal but needing to clarify some things first. The woman¡¯s spirits all disappeared, her aura retracting. ¡°37.¡± It was as he expected. The woman was already so powerful, yet she was only at the very beginning of E rank, while the War of the Chosen would last for years. ¡°And you don¡¯t want it known that you are the actual general? You just want the benefits of the role?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded. ¡°Alright. Final question then. The artifacts you are wearing, they were made by one of your subordinates?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The woman pointed toward the east and Brom saw two men walking towards them, both wearing the same style of artifacts as Summoner and her other two servants, masks completely hiding their faces. One was absolutely massive for a human, large even by coran standards, and he was holding a metallic spear artifact. His aura was even more powerful than Brom¡¯s, showing he¡¯d advanced four Law Larvae to high grade. And, from the way he moved and the control he had over his resources, Brom got the sense he was either at his own level or possibly slightly stronger. But the other man, shorter and slimmer of build, but still tall for a human, felt almost like a G rank, which was impossible in the War of the Chosen, and that was terrifying. ¡°These are Knight and Crafter.¡± Summoner pointed toward the two men in turn. ¡°Crafter is the one who made our artifacts. And he¡¯s also the key to how we¡¯ll do well in the War of the Chosen. With him around, you¡¯ll also be able to replace all the crafting personnel in your army with combatants.¡± Brom looked over the two men carefully, the shorter of the two, Crafter, still inscrutable to his senses. Then he turned back to Summoner and willed the System to have the two of them switch roles in the army. She was giving him face by not openly challenging him, but he was positive she would do so if he refused and then he would lose anyway, so there was nothing to gain by antagonizing her. ¡°If you are after resources, will you be wanting to have your subordinates take on commander roles?¡± Given the nature of the War of the Chosen, where if anyone died inside they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter again until the next instance 36 years later, and where surrendered opponents could be brought into one¡¯s army, the commanders of an army at the start of the war would be unlikely to maintain their positions to the end, especially if they were relatively weak like most of his commanders. So, for the stability of his army, he would actually prefer if at least the spearman powerhouse Knight took on a commander role. ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded again. ¡°With your permission, general, they will proceed with their own challenges against the four commanders whose loss of role will least affect the army as a whole.¡± Chapter 152: The War of the Chosen The War of the Chosen was a relatively simple competition. A number of armies were created at the start with 1,728 soldiers, 12 commanders, and 1 general. Then every three months, i.e. 4 times a year, two or occasionally more armies would compete against each other and only one army would move on. This then continued for 6 years until a champion army was crowned after winning 24 battles. If there were survivors on the losing side and dead among the winners, the winning army could absorb any of the remaining loser army¡¯s soldiers, commanders, or even the general into their own ranks so long as they didn¡¯t go over the number of combatants they had when the war started. That was pretty much it. There were also army points based on individual contribution, with half of every soldier¡¯s army points going to their commander and half of every commander¡¯s army points going to the general. But this was only important after the War of the Chosen was completed. Three months before the start of the war proper, each army would be brought into their own projected space for three days, where those not previously acquainted could get to know each other and the army could start preparing their tools of war. And there, challenges could be issued to commanders by any soldier and to the general by any commander, with the higher ranked cultivator losing their position if they lost. Challenges weren¡¯t common, as generally one force in the real world was a lot stronger than the subordinate forces it brought in to help fill out its ranks, but they weren¡¯t unheard of, especially in cases like Brom was in now, where he had invited in cultivators thinking they were weaker when the reality was very much the opposite. To try and avoid the possible disunity which could result when his men inevitably lost, Brom first decided to make a short speech. ¡°Everyone,¡± he spoke out, using his qi to make his voice spread across the camp. ¡°It seems we are quite lucky. I intended to gain a scout and advisor when I sent out one of our commander tokens to the individual who eliminated me in the Trial Tower, but we instead received a powerhouse. ¡°I just had a quick spar with Summoner here and I didn¡¯t stand a chance. By the terms of my agreement with her, this means her four subordinates can challenge for commander positions as well and, if some of them are as powerful as I believe, we will likely have some shuffling of roles. ¡°In this case, however, the command structure will still stay the same. We are effectively just granting a boon to an external power and by all signs the Bronze Legion and its subordinate forces will benefit as we should be able to last quite a bit longer in this war. ¡°Warrin, Mandar, Livan, and Oro please step up and accept the challenges.¡± These four were the weakest of his commanders and hadn¡¯t been expecting to keep their positions for more than a few battles at most, but they were still angered to be challenged. After the strongest of the four, Oro, started to battle with who Brom suspected was the weakest of Summoner¡¯s subordinates, however, the woman known as Wind, their anger quickly faded. It wasn¡¯t rare for E ranks to be able to fly, but it wasn¡¯t exactly common either, especially among the Bronze Legion, where most were warriors and their main class paths started to allow for flight at D rank. Wind, however, was obviously a wind mage, and one with seemingly Legendary grade skills, likely meaning her class was Legendary grade as well. Even with such a class, she likely wouldn¡¯t be able to beat Brom, as her two wind Law Larvae seemed to only be at middle grade and her stats weren¡¯t all that high, but she was probably on par with his strongest three commanders. And, against the commander she was fighting against, she could attack from the sky at will while Oro couldn¡¯t do a thing to her, the young woman easily dodging the blades of qi he sent her way. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The fight was over in about 30 seconds and Brom was pretty sure Wind held back a bit to make sure not to accidentally eliminate Oro altogether. When the fight was done, their tokens were swapped, and then Summoner summoned that horned mammalian life spirit and had it heal all of Oro¡¯s wounds, the process taking less time than the actual fight. ¡°Thank you.¡± Oro was an honorable warrior, so he bowed to Summoner. And then he bowed slightly lower, as custom indicated, to Wind. ¡°I look forward to fighting with you both.¡± The challenge between Livan and Fist then started and the fight was a little bit closer. While it was quickly obvious Fist¡¯s movement skill could allow her to fly, she was a close combatant, so she stayed on the ground for most of the fight, just continuing to punch, kick, and elbow Livan in close quarters, each of her movements infused with a high grade Law Larva of one of the four elements of fire, water, earth, or wind. Her class seemed to only be Epic grade, and her stats were lower than Brom¡¯s, so Brom was pretty sure he¡¯d be able to beat her one on one, but she was still slightly more powerful than Wind. Livan, like most of the Bronze Legion, specialized in the use of heavy swords, and his stats were weaker when he wasn¡¯t holding a weapon, but he probably would have lost even if he¡¯d had a blade, given he didn¡¯t manage to land even a single punch and was knocked unconscious in under 10 seconds of quick close-combat fighting. Summoner¡¯s life spirit then healed him as well and he quickly bowed to both her and his opponent just like Oro. When Knight stepped forward, however, there was an obvious difference between him and the previous two female servants. While his stats lowered slightly when he tossed his spear to Summoner, he allowed his opponent, Mandar, who had about the same strength as Livan, to attack him for a full minute while he just stood there. And Mandar wasn¡¯t even able to damage him through his defensive Law Larva. Sure, Mandar didn¡¯t have a weapon, but Knight appeared to be a warrior. He almost certainly had a defensive skill, and he hadn¡¯t had to use it. Knight then moved quickly, again only using a Law and no skill, and hit Mandar once in the chest with the power of a third Law that seemed based on pure destruction. Mandar suddenly had a hole in his chest, but, while the wound was terrible, Knight almost instantly stabilized it with a healing Law of some kind. Then Summoner¡¯s life spirit quickly helped Mandar heal the wound in under a minute. ¡°And he¡¯s their third strongest?¡± Brom¡¯s assistant Darra asked from his side. Brom chuckled slightly. ¡°They¡¯re all also only level 37.¡± Darra turned to stare at him but Brom¡¯s focus was all on the man called Crafter, who still felt more like a G rank than an E rank powerhouse. From the artifacts the five were all wearing, as well as the spear Knight had taken back from Summoner, the man had to be a skilled craftsman, likely with a crafting class, yet he was the last of those undergoing the challenge, indicating he was likely stronger than Knight. Warrin, the last and weakest of the Bronze Legion¡¯s four commanders, stepped forward, looking confident. But, when the fight started, Crafter didn¡¯t use a skill nor any Law as he ran toward Warrin, grabbed one of the warrior¡¯s legs, and then threw him many, many kilometers away, all without Warrin being able to do a thing. There was little skill involved, and seemingly very little thought. Crafter¡¯s stats were just far, far beyond anyone else in the entire space, so he could do what he liked. ¡°Crafter,¡± Summoner asked as her servant turned to look at her, ¡°could you bring him back so he could transfer his token to you?¡± Crafter turned back to where Warrin had flown and held out his right hand. Then, to the shock of everyone not from Summoner¡¯s group, powerful psyforce spread out from the man and headed all the way to where Warrin had landed. Then Warrin came flying back, returning to hover upside down in front of Crafter in less time than it had taken him to fly away. Warrin quickly surrendered, their tokens swapping, and then Crafter walked out into the forest, completely ignoring everyone staring at him. ¡°Well, that was bound to happen sometime.¡± Summoner walked up to Brom and Darra. ¡°Before you ask, yes, his stats are ridiculously high. That¡¯s what happens when you artificially raise someone¡¯s Laws and fill their bodies with natural treasures. He will probably never advance to C rank, but at E and D rank he will be an absolute powerhouse. ¡°Personally, I think it¡¯s a bit cruel, as the boy is an absolute genius, but I don¡¯t get a say as he¡¯s my masters¡¯ experiment.¡± She clapped her hands together, shocking Brom out of the daze he¡¯d just entered. ¡°That being said, Crafter and Knight did find several ore deposits when they were searching around the forest earlier, so it would probably be good to get everyone not necessary for other tasks mining as fast as we can so we can get everything possible from this space.¡± ¡°Right.¡± There was time for aimlessly trying to figure out the force behind these people later. For now, it was best for him to just focus on the War of the Chosen. Brom quickly started to give orders, shocking his soldiers out of dazes of their own, and they truly got to work. Chapter 153: Sin Eater Mila The War of the Chosen simulated real war, so every army couldn¡¯t just consist of combatants. No one started with any artifacts, so smiths, leatherworkers, and the like were needed to create them from the raw materials provided by the War of the Chosen¡¯s various environments. Potions and other types of consumables were also incredibly useful, so alchemists were needed as well. And the true key to doing well in a war in the universe was unifying the power of an army into a singular whole, so masters of war arrays, arrays which could accept power from many cultivators at once, were probably the most useful individuals in an army, at least early on. Most with these types of skills weren¡¯t like Aalam, however, able to serve each crafting role all at the same time with multiple minds, so an army would generally have dozens of crafters at least. Food was also important. Each battle in the War of the Chosen would take 3 to 7 days. And, while most E ranks could go for months without eating, it would greatly lower their power. So, keeping the entire army fed was a must, meaning cultivators with farming skills would be brought in as well. Finally, healers were probably the most valued non-combat role after array masters, their usefulness not lowering the longer the war progressed like craftsmen and farmers, who would generally be eliminated by their own armies once they had enough artifacts and food to last them to the end. And Mila had joined the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s army in this role. Most healers, however, had specialized healing classes, making their combat skills rather bad, so healers with actual combat talent, like Mila¡¯s fake identity with the Contract War Healer class, were very much valued. In fact, among the 1,741 cultivators in the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s army, their D rank teachers actually suspected Mila would go the furthest in the War of the Chosen, as her abilities as a healer and scout would both be valued by any army that could defeat them so long as she didn¡¯t die. And, as a result, they had given her a commander position at the very start even though, due to her low level, she couldn¡¯t yet beat more than maybe 25% of their army¡¯s soldiers with the power she¡¯d shown. ¡°Do you need any help?¡± she asked some of the crafters, looking for anything useful to do. During the three days they had in the mental space, there was no need for either a scout or a healer, but it was within the Sarra Lin¡¯Talic identity¡¯s nature to try and be helpful, so she had to keep up the disguise. At the same time, however, one of her other minds was chatting with Aalam, Isaiah, and Diana. Due to the way the System¡¯s mental spaces worked, while they were within different instances, they were judged as being within the same region of a galaxy, so they could easily talk over their bonds. And, given the strength of her bond with Aalam, especially after they both advanced to E rank, they could even share their resources and she could send him over lust filled souls, solving the issue of him being able to eat during the war without making it obvious he was an incubus. Name: Li Mila Level: 37 Race: Sublime Soul Succubus Empress (E-Heroic) Bloodline: Prime Servitor (Mythic) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Fairy Law (Heroic) Master of Disguise (Heroic) Sin Eater (Heroic) Princess¡¯s Aura (Fabled) Nascent Energy Converter (Legendary) [shadowed] Class 1: Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster (E-Heroic) Skills Advanced Artifact Enhancement (E-Heroic) 41% mastered Advanced Devil¡¯s Contract (E-Heroic) 53% mastered Trickster¡¯s Guise (E-Heroic) 52% mastered Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers (E-Heroic) 34% mastered Evil Eyes - Lust, Greed, Wrath (E-Heroic) 37% mastered Shadow Stride (E-Heroic) 42% mastered Class 2: Essence Chamberlain (E-Fabled) Skills Exemplary Chamberlain (E-Fabled) 48% mastered The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Breath of Life (E-Heroic) 72% mastered Law Infusion (E-Heroic) 45% mastered Elevated Multi-Mind (E-Fabled) [shadowed] Telekinesis (E-Fabled) [shadowed] Sensory Domain (E-Heroic) [shadowed] Laws Law Larvae: The Healer - Peak The Reaper - High Shadow - High Illusion - High The Tactician - High The Courtesan - Peak Cultivation: Technique: Yin Yang Cosmology - Mixed (Level 7) Twelve Element Primal Code - Heavenly Spark [Weakened] (Level 8) Foundation: Flawless Stats: Strength: 2,840 (+12.5%) Agility: 2,864 (+12.5%) Endurance: 3,092 (+12.5%) Toughness: 2,840 (+12.5%) Vitality: 3,068 (+12.5%) Perception: 3,350 (+112.5%) Magic: 3,710 (+12.5%) Spirit: 4,130 (+12.5%) Soul: 6,362 (+37.5%) Aura: 3,288 (+312.5%) Attunement: 3,252 (+137.5%) Luck: 3,024 (+12.5%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 5 Huge + 2 Medium Mental Forges Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Third Eye Princess Assets: 32 C rank universal credits 807 D rank universal credits 12,634 E rank universal credits 5,827,283 F rank universal credits 26 D rank undead credits 27,894 E rank undead credits 37,766,349 F rank undead credits Boons: Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 25% and raise affinity with all Laws by 50%. She¡¯d advanced her race to match Aalam¡¯s, empowering the process with a whole bunch of E rank souls she¡¯d received from the Violet Mountain Sect and modified with her evil eyes, but that was only after maximizing her stats and upgrading Fairy Law to Heroic grade. Fairy Law (Heroic): Markedly increase or decrease the power of all bonds and contracts you enter into or for which you provide the magic. It had required her to max out both her Soul and Magic stats while also having her Law Larva of The Healer at high grade, the equivalent of a middle grade Law Larva of Bonds, but it now allowed her to not only increase the power of her contracts by more than before, but drastically decrease their power if she wanted to as well, and decrease the power of any contract she entered into. Had she had this racial ability when she¡¯d joined the Violet Mountain Sect, she and Aalam would have already been able to break her contract with the sect. And, given she was going to get a strong contract breaking skill at E rank, in the future this ability would allow her to join almost any force in the universe, get whatever she needed from them, and leave at will. Then, after advancing her race, she also gained two new racial abilities. Sin Eater (Heroic): You may slowly absorb the karmic sin or karmic merit of those whose souls are at your mercy, and you may also slowly transform your own karmic sin into karmic merit as well. On Earth, the Buddhist and Hindu religions had apparently been the closest to the truth, as reincarnation was actually a thing in the universe. And karmic merit and karmic sin, markings on a soul based on the soul¡¯s actions throughout its life, really existed, only they and reincarnation had absolutely nothing to do with each other, reincarnation basically just the universe reusing soul matter. Each soul was formed around an intrinsic piece called a truesoul, life experiences, environment, et cetera then adding soul matter to the truesoul to form the soul cultivators were familiar with. And it was only the truesoul which was reincarnated, not the parts of the soul that had anything to do with memories, classes, or any form of actual power. Effectively the genetic component of souls, a truesoul did, however, have a lot to do with natural cultivation talent, so certain forces with the ability would track the truesouls of fallen powerhouses and then take their reincarnations in as disciples, but, beyond that, reincarnation in the universe was mostly ignored. And there was basically no relation between the present and past lives of a truesoul. Karmic bonds, karmic merit, and karmic sin interacted with the parts of a soul that were lost upon death, so reincarnation tropes like past lovers being reincarnated to meet again, an evil cultivator being reborn as an insect, or a saint being reborn as the son of a god were no more common than any other options. Karmic merit and karmic sin weren¡¯t even something intrinsic to the universe, but, like Territory, were a magical effect greatly influenced by the collective faith and will of living creatures, especially powerful ones. In an area of the universe that worshiped the bringing of death, a mass murderer would quickly gain karmic merit, and, in an area of the universe where survival of the fittest was heavily believed in, an active healer saving lives on the daily would quickly accrue karmic sin. Both karmic merit and karmic sin were effectively just alternate forms of energy, and they had no effect on most paths of cultivation. Powerful cultivators and weaker cultivators specializing in karma would be able to see the amount of karmic merit and sin accrued by living creatures, so cultivators were encouraged to not act overly evil if they wanted to avoid being immediately arrested and questioned when entering into the domain of a truly powerful force, but otherwise they were mostly ignored. Mila¡¯s paths to power, however, were all about karmic sin and karmic merit. Her skills of the Evil Eyes and Devil¡¯s Contract lines for example both required the accrual of certain types of karmic sin to upgrade and operate their skill runes. Thus a racial ability of the Sin Eater line, while useless for most cultivators, was ideal for helping to speed up her cultivation, allowing her to absorb the karmic sin and merit she needed from the dead instead of having to accrue it through her own actions. It was also no coincidence she awakened to such a racial ability. As someone born with the Shadow Princess uniqueness, Mila¡¯s soul was completely primed for karmic related racial abilities. That was how she¡¯d awakened the incredibly rare Fairy Law racial ability upon first becoming a cultivator, and that nature of her soul, where if she had enough Luck she would eventually awaken to a racial ability of the Sin Eater line, was one of the main reasons Aalam and Nana Xara had both recommended her current paths to power in the first place. Princess¡¯s Aura (Fabled): Increase the effectiveness of the Aura stat by 100%. Princess¡¯s Aura was then a racial ability she likely only had the chance to take due to her race, not having as high an affinity towards it as Diana or Aalam. But a 100% increase to her Aura stat was extremely useful, increasing the range on Telekinesis, Sensory Domain, and her own Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers skill, greatly increasing her power. Chapter 154: Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster (E-Heroic) You are an exceptional cheat with the power of evil eyes Effects: Markedly increase the power of disguise category skills Markedly increase the power of all bonds and contracts you enter into or for which you provide the magic Markedly increase the power of your Evil Eyes skill Greatly decrease the penalties for creating bonds and contracts with those under the magical influence of your Evil Eyes skill Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 72 Agility: 96 Endurance: 96 Toughness: 72 Vitality: 72 Perception: 96 Magic: 192 Spirit: 192 Soul: 192 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 2 early grade Law Larvae of the light and darkness elements aligned with the paths of illusion and shadow, 2 or more divine role Law Eggs at peak grade or higher, has the Diabolical Trickster (F-Legendary) class, has an Evil Eyes line skill, has tricked someone out of at least a large amount of treasure for an F rank or had 72 E rank or higher beings die as a result of breaking a contract The Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster class wasn¡¯t just a straight upgrade on her Diabolical Trickster class, but it was close, giving an extra boost to her disguise and contract skills. Instead of further lowering the penalties for creating bonds and contracts with those under magical influence, however, the class specialized in only doing so for those under the influence of her evil eyes while also boosting the power of her Evil Eyes skill as well. She¡¯d scammed C rank universal credits out of the sadistic elf in the Trial Tower, so she quite easily met the only difficult requirement for the class other than having to meet the requirements for her upgraded skills, and the reward was having all her skills upgraded automatically. Most of the skills didn¡¯t change much, just becoming enhanced versions of themselves. Trickster¡¯s Guise gave her disguise abilities which were harder to see through. Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers had better range and the clones created had 66% of her effective Aura instead of 50%, still able to use all her skills. And Shadow Stride let her move faster than before and enter into a deeper level of stealth. Advanced Artifact Enhancement and Advanced Devil¡¯s Contract, even with the changes in their names, were then even more boring, allowing her to enhance artifacts with more resources and allowing her to create stronger contracts respectively. Her only skill with new abilities was Evil Eyes - Lust, Greed, Wrath. Just like with her previous version of the skill, if another living creature could see her still unnaturally pink eyes, she could induce them into a charmed state of lust, but now she also had the option to induce them into a state of greed or wrath instead, and this would prove useful. The increase in power to the skill from her class also didn¡¯t increase the power of the charm state, but increased the subtlety of its effect, making it more difficult for her opponents to notice she was affecting them, and that was awesome. Also, as with before, due to her Third Eye Princess uniqueness, she could use a weaker version of the skill on anyone who looked anywhere covered by her aura, and the applications of that, especially when mixed with Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers and Trickster¡¯s Guise, were almost endless. Sadly, though, due to her spending most of her time after reaching E rank in the disguise of Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, she hadn¡¯t been able to raise the mastery of most of her skills anywhere near as much as if she¡¯d been on Earth. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Essence Chamberlain (E-Fabled) You follow your master, and in turn gain a shadow of his might Effects: Your master decides your skill slot usage for this class Your master may use any of your skills in this class for his own skill fusions Free skill slots can be temporarily filled with a shadow of any skill your master has Gain half the effects your master gains through classes, your master¡¯s choice Stat growth equivalent to your master¡¯s stat growth from classes Skill limitations the same as your master¡¯s most powerful class If your master dies or you lose your position, you lose this class You and your master each gain a shadowed version of one of the other¡¯s racial abilities reduced by a grade Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: ?? Stat bonuses per level: Strength: ?? Agility: ?? Endurance: ?? Toughness: ?? Vitality: ?? Perception: ?? Magic: ?? Spirit: ?? Soul: ?? Aura: ?? Attunement: ?? Luck: ?? Requirements: The Prime Servitor (Mythic) bloodline, the Exemplary Chamberlain (F-Heroic) skill, has the status of chamberlain to a master with an E rank Fabled grade class, has the same race as her master, has the same basic soulstructures as her master The upgraded Fabled grade version of her Essence Chamberlain class was pretty much exactly the same as the Heroic grade version, except for one thing. It allowed her and Aalam to gain shadowed versions of one of each other¡¯s racial abilities reduced by a grade. For her, the racial ability they chose was the extremely broken Nascent Energy Converter and, for Aalam, given he¡¯d almost never be out of bond range of both Mila and Diana at the same time and so could always use them to translate, he hadn¡¯t taken Omniglot Reader but instead the weakened version of Princess¡¯s Aura, Lady¡¯s Aura. The Essence Chamberlain class¡¯s true power, however, had almost nothing to do with its own effects, its true strengths her ability to copy half of the effects of Aalam¡¯s classes, shadow his skills, and gain the same stat bonuses as him per level. And that last part especially was broken with their new shared sublime soul race. Aalam had two classes he gained stats from every level and, with his Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor race, he gained the full stats from both classes as well as the stats from his Heroic grade race. Essence Chamberlain¡¯s stat gain for Mila was then the full total of the stat gains from both of Aalam¡¯s classes and, as she also had effectively the same race, her total stat gain per level was the exact same as Aalam¡¯s ridiculously high amount plus the stats from her Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster class. The amount of stats she gained per level was likely way, way higher than all but maybe a handful of E ranks in the history of the universe. Granted, given stats could be gained from treasures and, even with her ridiculous stat gain per level, it wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough to max out her stats, it was still rather impressive, and also indicative of the type of brokenness Aalam was aiming for. On top of still being able to shadow Aalam¡¯s utterly broken Elevated Multi-Mind, Telekinesis, and Sensory Domain skills, she then also got half his class effects, and, given Aalam¡¯s own classes were powerful, those were quite impressive as well. The effectiveness of all her stats was increased by 12.5%, her Aura and Attunement stats were both increased by a further 100%, her affinity with all Laws was raised by 200%, and her speed of mastering her skills was increased by 200% as well. These effects, when combined, were definitely on the level of a Fabled grade class. Her Exemplary Chamberlain and Breath of Life skills had also advanced, the former granting her a much higher range for all aspects of her bond with Aalam, such as communication and sharing resources and souls, while the latter just allowed her to be better at healing. When advancing the class, due to her having a free skill slot, she was also able to learn the Law Infusion skill. Aalam had deliberately not advanced the grade of his Sensory Domain and Triforce Construction skills so he could change the paths of the skills slightly and Law Infusion, which allowed a cultivator to infuse the power of his or her Laws into objects to create new effects, was one of the two Heroic grade skills he would be fusing with Triforce Construction. Ideally, she would have wanted to help him train up one of the skills required to upgrade Sensory Domain instead, but, sadly, she wasn¡¯t qualified to awaken the required skills when advancing her class. Then, when it came to cultivation, Mila, like Aalam, Diana, and Isaiah, had formed a flawless foundation, something only visible in the System a couple days after a cultivator achieved E rank. Even when looking at a servant¡¯s status, only E rank or higher masters could see their servants¡¯ cultivation, and this seemed to imply a hidden rule in the System to make it more difficult for F ranks without strong backing to truly grow powerful, showing yet again how lucky they were to have Nana Xara. To achieve such a level with Yin Yang Cosmology and her F rank race and classes had only required reaching level 6 in the technique, while she¡¯d reached level 7 in its mixed version and level 8 in the even better Twelve Element Primal Code. This had pretty much no noticeable effect at early E rank, but E rank was known as the Mortal Shedding stage, where the soul and body would merge. And the level of that merge, which would have a very noticeable effect once it was closer to completion, was strongly dependent on the level of a cultivator¡¯s foundation. Finally, Mila¡¯s assets, even with the teleportation costs and the buying of teleportation permissions to Epecteos¡¯s E rank world of Toril, had actually increased over the years due to gaining some E and F rank universal credits while undercover as Sarra Lin¡¯Talic. The Violet Mountain Sect, as the owner of their C rank capital planet, had given her permission to teleport there for free, a permission her force then shared, which was good as it saved her quite a bit. But, sadly, due to Epecteos teleporting between Earth and Toril multiple times, costing 144 D rank universal credits each time, the total wealth of her force had gone down. It just wasn¡¯t reflected in her own assets, but Epecteos¡¯s. Still, it was worth it, as, even though it wasn¡¯t reflected on her status page, Mila¡¯s control over her resources and her combat skills had gone way up due to his training. ¡°Sarra.¡± Corin Val, the stern and taciturn leader of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s E rank core disciples, and the general of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s army in the War of the Chosen, walked up to her as she helped out the crafters. ¡°Seeing as you are the only utility cultivator among the commanders and already have a good relationship with the members of our army¡¯s logistics staff, would you be willing to take all our crafters, farmers, and other utility cultivators under your command?¡± In the later stages of the War of the Chosen, logistics cultivators other than array masters and healers might not have much ability to generate army points, but in the early stage they would usually generate far more than warriors, so it was coveted to have them under her command, and this was one of the benefits of Corin Val having already formed a rather massive crush on her a while ago, so she gladly accepted. ¡°Thank you, General Val. I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± Chapter 155: Plans for the Future Brom ¡°So, why do you look so nervous?¡± After their servants finished placing down their meal of lightly cooked meat and left the room, Brom¡¯s father, Orom Karendesh, sat down at the two person table in the home they shared and looked at his son¡¯s face carefully. ¡°I lost my position as general of the army.¡± Orom grinned, an expression which on a coran did not mean happiness, and his tail started to wave in agitation. ¡°Elaborate.¡± Brom then told his father exactly what had happened and his father¡¯s tail changed to a more rhythmic movement of deep contemplation. ¡°Interesting.¡± Orom looked out the window of their home to the view of the Bronze Legion¡¯s capital city and then back to his son. ¡°Have you spoken to any of this Summoner¡¯s servants?¡± ¡°I tried.¡± Brom felt himself relax a little after realizing his father wasn¡¯t angered by his actions. Given how reasonable his father generally was, he hadn¡¯t thought he would be. But his actions, if revealed, would reflect badly on his father, and he didn¡¯t want that. ¡°And I watched as my men tried as well. ¡°The ones called Wind, Fist, and Knight would respond to inquiries and were generally friendly, but they wouldn¡¯t answer any personal questions. The one called Crafter, on the other hand, didn¡¯t talk at all throughout the entire three days. But, any time he needed something, one of the others would come and talk in his stead almost immediately, so I¡¯m pretty sure he has the means to telepathically talk to them.¡± Orom¡¯s tail lay back down on the ground and he took a few bites of meat, seemingly thinking while he chewed. ¡°Given their obviously hidden identities and your experiences with that Shadow, you probably shouldn¡¯t take anything they say at face value. But, given they went out of their way to show respect even when they didn¡¯t have to, there is no reason to treat them as enemies either. ¡°From the sounds of things, they don¡¯t actually want to lead, and it probably is true they are after the rewards. Given the main goal for the second army is to help train everyone, and their power should hopefully allow you to go further, your choices are pretty much exactly what I would have done in your situation.¡± Orom looked Brom directly in the eyes, his expression calm. ¡°What do you plan to do in the future?¡± Brom felt himself calm down. ¡°No real difference. Once we find surrendered cultivators who we think will allow themselves to integrate with the army, I¡¯ll probably ask our crafters to suicide. But, other than that, the plan hasn¡¯t changed. ¡°Crafter will provide us much better artifacts than we originally intended, including power sharing formations according to Summoner, as well as being a powerhouse we can rely on if everything else fails. And Summoner and Knight are powerful single combatants we can rely on. But their presence shouldn¡¯t really change how we operate.¡± ¡°And what will you do if this Summoner gives you an order?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow it.¡± Brom took a bite of meat as he watched his father, who didn¡¯t have any reaction to his statement, so he continued. ¡°From what I can tell, I¡¯ve only seen a small part of their abilities, while they probably have a much better understanding of us. Given how they have operated so far, if Summoner gives an order it is probably either urgent or due to something she isn¡¯t willing to explain. ¡°And, given the nature of the War of the Chosen, I can¡¯t see anything she could gain from betraying us. It isn¡¯t like we are one of the favored forces in the first place, so it seems wiser to give her the benefit of the doubt to not create conflict with someone so obviously talented.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°What is the difference between your attitude now and how you were when you were tricked by that Shadow in the Trial Tower?¡± His father looked at him inquisitively, his tail relaxed on the ground. ¡°I¡¯m trying to think about what people want. Shadow was in competition with me in the Trial Tower, so she would benefit from my death. Summoner in the War of the Chosen, however, is my ally. Given we¡¯re one of the forces with the least desire for army points, keeping us around would be to her benefit if army points are what she is truly after, which at this time seems most likely.¡± ¡°Good.¡± His father¡¯s tail swished through the air once in approval. ¡°The War of the Chosen is after all a fake war, a training tool for you youngsters. Treat it as such and make sure those of the Bronze Legion under you treat it as such as well. ¡°But also remember that it is a universal training tool. If you go far in it, you¡¯ll be dealing with some of the most powerful forces in the universe. Treat even your foes with respect so as to not make enemies in the real world, and treat your allies well as good relations with other young powers your own age might prove beneficial down the line.¡± ¡°Yes, father.¡± Brom¡¯s tail swung in excitement and he found himself looking forward to the first battle in the War of the Chosen. * * * Orianthi Orianthi Hewin looked at her servant and frowned. ¡°Not only did they give her a commander position, but they gave her command over the crafters and other utility personnel at the start?¡± Even as the granddaughter of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s C rank with the highest chance to advance to B rank, she had been dropped down to an inner sect disciple due to not having improved for 36 years, stuck at the bottleneck of raising her peak grade Law Egg of Bonds to an early grade Law Larva. This was her own fault. She knew this. But she normally would have received a bit more leeway. The arrival of the descendant of Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone, however, had made her lose any special privileges, as the girl at F rank had already had a Law Larva of Bonds and even another Law Larva as well. ¡°Giving her the utility personnel was the decision of the army general, not the sect.¡± Her servant, a relatively young E rank, was one of the soldiers in the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s army, so he was reporting to her about everything which had occurred in the special mental space he and the others had been in for three days while their bodies outside were protected by the power of the System. Like her, he was human with pale skin and blue eyes, but his hair was brown, different from her light green. ¡°Yes, like most of the other male core disciples, Corin Val is attracted to her.¡± Something inside Orianthi¡¯s mind suddenly clicked. ¡°Skill is all well and good, but bonds are more important.¡± As she said the words, Orianthi felt something change within her and she quickly left her servant and rushed into the meditation chamber of her estate near the edges of the Violet Mountain Blessed land, quickly activating the several arrays inside to both calm her beating heart and clear her mind, attuning her slightly better to the Laws of the universe. Then, after several hours, she grasped the ephemeral epiphany she¡¯d almost lost and made the most important Law breakthrough of her life. Congratulations! You have advanced your peak grade Law Egg of Bonds into the Law Larva of Bonds. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Base Stats +8, Soul +24 Congratulations! You have advanced a Law Egg into a Law Larva. Your soul is affected by your upgrading of Law. All Stats +12 With this breakthrough, she met the Law requirements for advancing her class, only, due to not having previously met the Law requirements, she¡¯d never bothered to meet the other requirements either, so now she needed to make 1,728 legitimate contracts between parties that did not include herself. It might take some time to accomplish that, but, once she did, and once she broke through to D rank, she could reclaim her status as a core disciple. And then, if she managed to get rid of Sarra Ka¡¯Dravone like her grandfather had suggested, her grandfather would grant her resources which would allow her to soar into the skies and become the sect¡¯s next C rank bond master, arguably the second most powerful position in the entire sect. Grinning like crazy, Orianthi was about to run out to the capital world to start acting in the capacity of a lawyer immediately so as to speed up her ascension, but then she realized, for the first time in decades, she no longer had to worry about her future. So, instead of rushing to do work, she decided a little stress relief would be better. Checking the soul net, she found the next showing for a new play her friends all said was good. Then she bought her ticket and went to have some much deserved fun. Her advancement would come naturally, and she could worry about killing Sarra Ka¡¯Dravone later. Chapter 156: Soul Queen Diana ¡°Mila, why is your opponent so easy while we have to face the army of an upper tier A rank force?¡± Diana sent angrily as she fought with who she guessed was one of the enemy force¡¯s commanders. For all the armies in the War of the Chosen, the first round had the same rules. There was a giant forest thousands of kilometers in diameter with 128 clearings inside. The two armies set to face each other would each be teleported to one of these clearings. And then they would have 7 days to explore, fight, and do anything else they needed, such as grow the food required to survive later battles. Whoever had the most cultivators alive at the end of the 7 days would win. At the very start of the round, Aalam, Diana, and Isaiah had all left to scout as Brom worked to stabilize their position in the clearing they¡¯d arrived at, protecting the cultivators with farming skills as they rapidly grew food, and it had only taken about half a day for Diana, who¡¯d actually been looking for enemy cultivators, to find some when visiting one of the other clearings, three undead who somehow saw through her stealth and moved to attack before she could sneak away. All three looked like human skeletons that had somehow been fed more bone matter to become about three times as bulky, their bones connected together by a black oily jelly of some kind. And, when she sent the image to Mila over their bond, Mila¡¯d identified the three as all being Crypt Lords, and Diana realized her army had a very, very bad first matchup. Crypt Lords were high grade skeleton cultivators, so high grade they were only ever found in the strongest of the universe¡¯s undead empires, one of the strongest A rank forces in the universe and the ruler of all other empires ruled by undead. This force, usually just referred to as the Undead Empire, had four armies in the War of the Chosen, and, as Diana began to fight, she hoped they were up against the weakest of the four, but she was pretty sure that wasn¡¯t the case. Of the three Crypt Lords, two were only about as strong as she was. One fought with his fists like Irena, only with a powerful death element Law Larva instead of Irena¡¯s four elements. And Diana was forced to merge with her yang spirit Helen and use the powerful movement skill rune Aalam had helped her carve on the surface of her soul to move around the battlefield and dodge his attacks. The second, however, was a death element mage of some kind and, thankfully, his abilities were perfectly countered by two of Diana¡¯s new spirits¡ªOdysseus the light element nine-tailed fox and Daedalus the life element white stag¡ªwho fought with him while she dodged the skeleton monk. But it was the third skeleton who was the true danger, his stats obviously more than double hers. Thankfully, he seemed to be a swordsman and Dioscuri, her yin spirit, working with his remaining four junior siblings¡ªAjax the miniature leviathan of water, Medea the fire phoenix, Atalanta the darkness element wolf, and Arachne the two-tailed death element lynx¡ªmanaged to destroy the earthen sword he¡¯d been trying to use, a seemingly Inferior grade E rank weapon, thereby causing him to lose the boost he received from using a weapon. Her training every day with Epecteos then allowed the five spirits to temporarily tie the undead powerhouse down. Using her biggest advantage in the fight, the fact her Laws were all at the Law Pupa stage, Diana then focused on empowering her light element spirit¡¯s power with her Law Pupa of Day and used up all of the spirit¡¯s mana in one attack, burning the skeleton mage¡¯s soul to cinders. The fox spirit was then forced to retreat back into her body to spend time recuperating in one of her Mana Wells, but this freed her life spirit to help his siblings in attacking the swordsman, and his life element power tipped the scales to make that part of the fight stable, allowing Diana to fully focus on the skeleton monk. Activating the second skill rune Aalam had helped her carve onto her soul, Diana used her Law Pupa of Flame and her Law Pupa of Day at the same time to empower her use of her yang spirit¡¯s energy to create what looked like a small sun in her right palm. Then, risking injury, she allowed the skeleton monk to close in on her, and even hit her in the shoulder¡ªnearly ripping her arm off¡ªso she could push the miniature sun into its chest. The skeleton burned, dying instantly, and then Diana had her yang spirit leave her body and join her siblings to truly push the swordsman over the edge. The third skeleton only lasted a few more seconds, the yang spirit truly the best counter to undead cultivators, and then Diana plopped down on the ground in exhaustion. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Atalanta and Dioscuri, her two spirits capable of stealth, quickly spread out to explore the surroundings, their mission to make sure no more undead found her, and her life spirit Daedalus used his life element energy to get rid of the death element energy in her arm before starting the process of helping her heal it. ¡°Okay,¡± Mila sent over when her words would no longer be distracting, ¡°I know you¡¯re a little outmatched over there. But you have to admit that what you just did was kind of amazing. Those three were all max-level E ranks, yet you beat them even when they had 71 levels on you. ¡°Also, I just told Aalam what you guys are up against and he¡¯s already started to make the requisite plague. At the same time, I also told Irena, so she and Nitya will deal with helping the Bronze Legion move their army away from where the undead should be. Just stay alive for a couple days and you¡¯ll win.¡± Diana took a few deep breaths, thankful Irena had chosen to advance her Lord skill to Underlord so she and Mila could talk remotely. ¡°Yeah. Thanks. And good luck with your side as well.¡± Mila, working as a scout, had already found her side¡¯s opponents, a dwarven force even weaker than the Violet Mountain Sect, so she was in a lot less danger. Then, with everything she had to do immediately done, Diana did as both Nana Xara and Epecteos had taught her, reflecting back on the fight she¡¯d just finished, starting with analyzing her own power. Name: Diana Alvaro Level: 37 Race: Strong Soul Primal Human (E-Fabled) Bloodline: Primordial Titan (Empyrean) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Legendary) Nascent/Primal Energy Converter (Heroic) Golden Soul (Heroic) Master Summoner (Heroic) Lady¡¯s Aura (Heroic) Spirit Prodigy (Fabled) Class 1: Advanced Yin Yang Summoner (E-Heroic) Skills Balance of Dualism (E-Heroic) 38% mastered Spirit of Primal Yang (E-Heroic) 36% mastered Spirit of Primal Yin (E-Heroic) 36% mastered Underlord (E-Heroic) 38% mastered Spirit Enhancement (E-Heroic) 42% mastered Spirit Avatar (E-Heroic) 39% mastered Class 2: Advanced Yin Yang Rune Warrior (E-Heroic) Spirit of Primal Fire (E-Heroic) 34% mastered Spirit of Primal Water (E-Heroic) 34% mastered Spirit of Primal Light (E-Heroic) 34% mastered Spirit of Primal Darkness (E-Heroic) 34% mastered Spirit of Primal Life (E-Heroic) 34% mastered Spirit of Primal Death (E-Heroic) 34% mastered Laws Law Pupae: Flame - Early Ice - Early Day - Early Night - Early Flesh - Early Necrosis - Early Cultivation: Technique: Yin Yang Cosmology - Mana (Level 9) Foundation: Flawless Stats: Strength: 4,560 (+25%) Agility: 4,572 (+25%) Endurance: 4,560 (+25%) Toughness: 4,560 (+25%) Vitality: 4,560 (+75%) Perception: 4,584 (+25%) Magic: 4,656 (+400%) Spirit: 4,560 (+25%) Soul: 4,620 (+462.5%) Aura: 4,416 (+125%) Attunement: 4,392 (+37.5%) Luck: 4,392 (+25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Large Core Container Middle Dantian: 6 Huge + 2 Colossal Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 7 Large + 2 Huge Mental Forges Uniqueness: Magic Queen Yin Yang Queen Soul Queen Assets: 16 D rank universal credits 1,678,934 E rank universal credits 612,945,378,092 F rank universal credits Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%. After absorbing the Stone of Primal Beginning¡ªa long and painful process that had effectively been the equivalent of overdosing herself with poisonous heavenly energy and then using everything she had to flush out the poisonous part¡ªDiana¡¯d had several amazing advancements to her power. First and foremost, one of her two uniquenesses had advanced and she¡¯d awakened to a third. Magic Princess, which had previously increased her effective Magic by 200%, was now Magic Queen, increasing her effective Magic by 300%. And her new uniqueness, Soul Queen, increased her effective Soul stat by 300% as well. These two uniquenesses were both relatively boring compared to Aalam¡¯s or Mila¡¯s, but Soul Queen especially was a godsend. Diana¡¯s biggest issue as a cultivator had been that she had too much mana, what with having the equivalent of three and a half Colossal sized Mana Wells then boosted further by her Magic Princess uniqueness. And, even with Yin Yang Cosmology as her cultivation technique, she hadn¡¯t been able to fully control her own magic, causing mana to constantly leak out if she relaxed her control in the slightest. With her new Soul Queen uniqueness, however, her effective Soul stat was now higher than her effective Magic, and that made it so much easier to control her own power, allowing her to much more easily use her Laws in combat as well. Chapter 157: Strong Soul Primal Human Diana had already maxed out her stats before participating in the Trial Tower, and that had allowed a few of her racial abilities to advance, Silver Soul to Golden Soul, Miracle Summoner to Master Summoner, and Nascent Energy Converter to Nascent/Primal Energy Converter. So, her original racial abilities provided quite a bit more power than before. Omniglot Reader (Legendary): You can understand all non-magical and low-magical languages in both written and spoken form. Golden Soul (Heroic): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul stat by 50%. Nascent/Primal Energy Converter (Heroic): Any extra stats which would be lost due to the stat¡¯s limit having been reached instead become free stats. You may also convert primal energy into free stats with a very poor conversion rate. Master Summoner (Heroic): Markedly increase the power of summoning category skills Lady¡¯s Aura (Heroic): Increase the effectiveness of the Aura stat by 50%. With the absorbed Stone of Primal Beginning and the use of another resource she¡¯d gained from Nana Xara as a reward for advancing to F rank, she¡¯d also advanced her race into an extremely strong one about a month before the War of the Chosen started. Strong Soul Primal Human (E-Fabled) An elite human who has traced the power of their ancestry back to before the beginning of their race Racial Abilities: 6 No limits Advanced dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 62208 Agility: 62208 Endurance: 62208 Toughness: 62208 Vitality: 62208 Perception: 62208 Magic: 62208 Spirit: 62208 Soul: 62208 Aura: 62208 Attunement: 62208 Luck: 62208 Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 72 Agility: 72 Endurance: 72 Toughness: 72 Vitality: 72 Perception: 72 Magic: 72 Spirit: 72 Soul: 72 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Reach level 108 and then absorb twice the amount of primal energy required to get you there. Comes with an automatic grade increase. Requirements: Has the Primordial Titan (Empyrean) bloodline, current race is Chaos Human (F-Heroic), has maximized stats as a Chaos Human (F-Heroic), has absorbed a Stone of Primal Beginning, has absorbed the power of a Soul Cleansing Gem of Yin and Yang As a strong soul race, she could gain a second class with the full effects from both, albeit with only half the stat gain from either class, but the base race itself was the best possible human race at Fabled grade, with ridiculously high affinities, and it would automatically grant her the option of a higher grade race when she advanced its rank, so she didn¡¯t need any further resources for her race at E rank. Automatic grade increases were almost unheard of for non-monster races and it was only thanks to her bloodline she was able to awaken to the possibility. Primordial Titan (Empyrean) Humanity was created in their image If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 25% The flow of all resources is much faster with much better burst potential Cultivation is sped up by 6 times All stats +12 per level, Scalable (+72 at E rank) Less resources and achievements are required for advancing the grade of a human line race when advancing rank At E rank, her bloodline provided 72 extra stat points in each stat per level while keeping its other awesome effects, and it, along with her new race and high Luck, allowed her to awaken an absolutely broken racial ability. Spirit Prodigy (Fabled): Spirits born from your soul and brought to life by your magic are more closely connected to your being, sharing your emotions and acting as secondary external Mental Forges. With this ability, her spirits were basically an extension of herself. She gave them names and oftentimes operated as if they were separate entities, but each of her spirits now had a Mental Forge of their own one size smaller than the Mana Wells they inhabited, and each of those Mental Forges was truly hers. Each of the Mental Forges did, however, share the senses of one of her spirits, not her own, so it wasn¡¯t quite the same as the extra Mental Forges granted by the Elevated Multi-Mind skill. Still, for her, Spirit Prodigy was better than Isaiah¡¯s Power of Balance or Aalam¡¯s Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor, and the best thing was it also allowed her spirits to operate at a much greater distance. Given the Law suppression on the battlefield in this first round of the War of the Chosen, for example, only at the level of an F rank planet, she could actually send her spirits anywhere on the battlefield while she herself hid at the very edges. She¡¯d just been a bit too stupid and overconfident to do so. Advanced Yin Yang Summoner (E-Heroic) You are an advanced master of spirits and one with the forces of yin and yang Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Magic, Soul, and Aura stats by 50% Raise affinity with fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death element Laws by 100% Greatly increase the power of magic category summoning skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Martial Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 72 Agility: 96 Endurance: 72 Toughness: 72 Vitality: 72 Perception: 120 Magic: 240 Spirit: 120 Soul: 168 Aura: 48 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: Early grade Law Larvae of the fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death elements, the Balance of Dualism (F-Legendary) skill, the Yang Spirit (F-Legendary) skill, the Yin Spirit (F-Legendary) skill, at least two Large or bigger Mana Wells Some of her confidence came from her main class advancing to Heroic grade, a grade Nana Xara told her was very rare, even among E rank elites. And, with all her skills becoming all around stronger versions of themselves after advancing as well, she felt like a completely new person. The Heroic grade version of Balance of Dualism made controlling the yin and yang aligned energies generated by her spirits even easier, especially improving her control over the state she could enter by merging with her spirits using the Heroic grade version of Spirit Avatar. Once she completely mastered both skills, she could probably even enter the avatar state using all eight of her spirits at the same time. Spirit of Primal Yang and Spirit of Primal Yin were just straight up improvements over her Yang Spirit and Yin Spirit skills, her yin and yang spirits, now under the full control of her own will due to her racial ability, having much improved energy channels and more powerful skills than before. And the Heroic grade version of Spirit Enhancement made them even stronger. Finally, the Heroic grade version of Underlord improved everything about her connection to Aalam, such as allowing him to send her some of his resources from anywhere on the same planet like he was doing right at this moment to help her recover. It was her second class, however, that made fighting in person a lot stronger than just sending out her spirits remotely. Advanced Yin Yang Rune Warrior (E-Heroic) You are an advanced master of fighting with self-created runes, especially those involving yin and yang Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Vitality, Magic, and Soul stats by 50% Raise affinity with fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death element Laws by 100% By yourself or with the help of a skilled runescriber, you may create semipermanent skill runes on the surface of your soul Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Soul Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 120 Agility: 120 Endurance: 120 Toughness: 120 Vitality: 120 Perception: 120 Magic: 144 Spirit: 72 Soul: 144 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: Early grade Law Larvae of the fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death elements, has personally formed and then successfully used more than 12 different temporary skill runes The class seemed designed to effectively allow Diana to act as a magic warrior, but she was using it a little differently than most would. For one, she¡¯d suppressed the energy trying to grant her a Heroic grade version of the Runescriber skill when awakening the class, as she trusted her brother to help draw the skill runes the class would allow her to add to the surface of her soul much more than she¡¯d trust herself. But the bigger difference was the skills she chose. If she¡¯d just had the Advanced Yin Yang Rune Warrior class by itself, she definitely would have gone for a full set of boosting skills to improve the temporary skills drawn on the surface of her soul, but she¡¯d wanted the class for its final effect and its ability to merge with her Advanced Yin Yang Summoner class during her next rank advancement, not really caring about the other effects. Due to the nature of dual classes, overlapping effects from a second class would be reduced in effectiveness, so her Advanced Yin Yang Rune Warrior class, while providing the full 50% extra effective Vitality and allowing for semipermanent skill runes to be carved on the surface of her soul, only provided 25% extra effectiveness for both her Magic and Soul Stats, and only improved her affinities by 50%. For what she wanted, however, it was perfect, and it still gave her six extra skill slots, which she¡¯d used for summoner skills. As a reward for both her and Mila advancing to E rank, Nana Xara had been able to give each of them a present, and, after talking with both of them, she¡¯d given each of them three Heroic grade E rank summoning skills and Mila had given her three to Diana. Nana Xara had apparently gotten the skills from the secret vault of an A rank sect she¡¯d destroyed which hadn¡¯t had any powerful summoners and she didn¡¯t know their original origin, but they were perfect for Diana, especially with her new Spirit Prodigy racial ability, and had increased her power by quite a bit. Their only real weakness was their low mastery, not allowing her spirits to fully express their power, but fixing that was just a matter of time. Diana wasn¡¯t like Aalam and Mila, however, whose skill masteries grew three times as fast, so mastering her skills would probably take her at least a couple decades if not more. Thinking about the battle she¡¯d just had, Diana¡¯s main conclusion was she should have used her spirits for scouting and herself stayed with the Bronze Legion. For any of her spirits, she could sacrifice half of the mana within their corresponding Mana Well to have their externalized form disperse and their essence return to her, and that cost was a lot less than her life, as had almost been the case. Thankfully, though, it was unlikely she¡¯d run into another commander before Aalam¡¯s plague had time to work. It appeared she¡¯d thought too soon, though, as, at that moment, her yin spirit spotted a group of seven undead running in her direction, only a few tens of kilometers out, and four of them were Crypt Lords as powerful as the swordsman her spirits had fought. The other three, however, were much more terrifying. Skeletons of normal size, their bones were black and violet instead of white, and each of the three emanated more power than not just the Crypt Lords, but of Aalam as well. ¡°Oh crap,¡± Diana sent to Mila along with her yin spirit¡¯s impression of the skeletons as she merged with her yang spirit, sacrificed her yin spirit at the cost of half the mana from one of her Colossal sized Mana Wells, and desummoned all her other spirits before starting to fly away from the skeletons and towards Aalam. ¡°Those are the actual commanders, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Most likely,¡± Mila sent, sounding somewhat worried. ¡°Those look like Blackviolet Dread Liches and they are extremely powerful. They do have some weaknesses they usually use artifacts to make up for, however, so you are lucky to meet them in the first round.¡± ¡°Keep running towards Aalam and Isaiah. They¡¯re already setting up a formation, so you¡¯ll at least have a chance.¡± Chapter 158: Order Unto Undeath Isaiah ¡°Alright. It¡¯s ready.¡± Both standing in a large several hectare formation Aalam had set up using his energy to carve runes into the forest¡¯s trees and ground, Isaiah caught the spear Aalam had been using several minds to forge over the last twenty minutes. The spear was entirely made of a green transparent metallic substance called Living Amber Titanium, an Epic grade E rank resource Aalam had found within about an hour of starting to search the forest, and it was very flexible, feeling almost perfect in Isaiah¡¯s hands. Due to Aalam¡¯s Triforce Construction skill, the weapon had been strengthened well beyond what was needed to withstand Isaiah¡¯s high grade Law Larva of Blazing Destruction, and, even though its blade wasn¡¯t anywhere close to as sharp as Aalam could have made it, the spear allowed for Isaiah¡¯s resources to flow incredibly smoothly, so, even in its unfinished state, it was already equivalent to a Rare grade E rank artifact. Order Unto Undeath - Unfinished (E-Rare) An unfinished artifact designed by the Heavenly Spark Soul King to absorb the power of undeath so as to bring death to the living Effects: Conductivity, Undeath Absorption Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants According to what Aalam had explained, the weapon would absorb the power of undeath that animated things like living skeletons to use as its own power until it had enough to fundamentally transform, finishing the second step of its forging process and becoming an Epic grade artifact. Then Aalam could forge it again and turn it into a weapon Isaiah could use hopefully until the end of the War of the Chosen. The amount of undeath energy required, however, was equivalent to the total energy needed to animate over 10,000 normal E rank skeletons or about 1,000 Crypt Lords, so, basically, Aalam¡¯s plan was to use the entire enemy army as a set of weapon forging materials, starting with those chasing Diana. And the only surprising part about this insane plan was how no one in their group, not even Nitya or Irena, found it at all surprising. It took about half an hour for Diana to finally enter into the formation region Aalam had set up, and most of her mana was completely depleted while her projected body was wet with sweat from her exertions, something very rare among E ranks, but at least she was safe. While running, she¡¯d repeatedly sent her spirits one by one to distract and delay the enemies, repeatedly having them sacrifice their bodies when their energy was mostly depleted so they could instantly return to her. But each time she did it cost her half the mana from the spirit¡¯s respective Mana Well, and she only had eight spirits, so, even with her impressive mana recovery from her 9th level Yin Yang Cosmology, she was still only able to do this fourteen times. And, right before entering into the formation region, she¡¯d used up her very last usage. ¡°Relax now,¡± Isaiah said as Diana collapsed into his arms. He and Diana could only use their servant bonds to communicate with Aalam or Mila, not each other, so he had to speak out loud. ¡°We¡¯ve got this.¡± Then, as the four Crypt Lords and three Blackviolet Dread Liches entered into the area of the formation, Isaiah handed Diana over to her brother and stepped forward. The runes carved into the ground and trees hadn¡¯t had any energy flowing through them, so they weren¡¯t easy to notice, but, given Aalam had reached the 9th level in the best cultivation technique in the universe, the Twelve Element Primal Code, he was able to activate the huge formation before their opponents were fully able to notice, and that was a game changer. The formation¡¯s name was Region of Life and it wasn¡¯t a very complicated formation. Aalam hadn¡¯t even learned it from the Yin Yang Sage or from the contents of the two runic legacies he trained in, instead receiving it from Epecteos. But it was one of the most common formations used to fight against the undead for a reason. The Region of Life formation did exactly what its name would imply. It gathered life energy from all around and greatly raised the percentage of life element mana in the region it was set in. According to Isaiah¡¯s master, it was originally designed as a formation to boost the yield of crops, but the undead found life element mana as poisonous as most creatures found death element mana, so it quickly became a staple used by any force when facing the undead. When the formation activated, the Crypt Lords and Blackviolet Dread Liches, who would normally be carrying treasures to ward off life element mana, had to use more than half their resources to fight against the life element poison while, given Isaiah¡¯s own powers, the regeneration provided by his Dragon Heart racial ability was tripled. With the unfinished Order Unto Undeath Spear in hand, Isaiah then began to battle with all seven undead at the same time. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Name: Isaiah Gale Level: 37 Race: Human Form Young Balance Dragon (E-Fabled) Bloodline: Primordial Strong Soul Primal Human (Fabled) Abilities Dragon Scales (Fabled) Golden Body (Heroic) Active Daoist (Legendary) Dragon Heart (Fabled) Power of Balance (Fabled) Human Blood Adaptation (Fabled) Class: Advanced Balanced Spear Knight (E-Heroic) Skills Tempest Steps (E-Heroic) 67% mastered Advanced Power Attack (E-Heroic) 61% mastered Advanced Guardian (E-Heroic) 58% mastered Advanced Kinetic Senses (E-Heroic) 66% mastered Dragon Drive (E-Heroic) 56% mastered Servant Knight (E-Heroic) 70% mastered Laws Law Larvae: Storm Speed - High Iron Defense - High Blazing Destruction - High Hydro Healing - High Cultivation: Technique: Four Aspect Cycle (Level 7) Foundation: Flawless Stats Strength: 2714 (+177% + 50% when holding a spear) Agility: 2714 (+177% + 50% when holding a spear) Endurance: 2714 (+152% + 50% when holding a spear) Toughness: 2714 (+202% + 50% when holding a spear) Vitality: 2714 (+164.5% + 50% when holding a spear) Perception: 2714 (+352% + 50% when holding a spear) Magic: 2714 (+152% + 50% when holding a spear) Spirit: 2714 (+152% + 50% when holding a spear) Soul: 2714 (+164.5% + 50% when holding a spear) Aura: 2714 (+139.5%) Attunement: 2714 (+202%) Luck: 507 (+14.5%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Colossal Core Container Middle Dantian: 4 Large + 2 Huge Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Large Mental Forge Uniqueness: Perception Prince Boons: Personal Servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 12.5% and raise affinity with all Laws by 25%. Isaiah¡¯s total stats were considerably weaker than Mila¡¯s, Diana¡¯s, and especially Aalam¡¯s, but the average boost to his stats was the highest of them all. With free stats provided by Diana, he¡¯d raised his Aura and Attunement stats to match his base stats, his Power of Balance racial ability now giving all his stats other than Luck an effective boost of 125%. Due to his draconic race, his cultivation foundation was also flawless despite having a weaker cultivation technique than the others. And, with Diana¡¯s help, he¡¯d boosted his bloodline to become much more powerful. Primordial Strong Soul Primal Human (Fabled) The bloodline of an elite human who has traced the power of their ancestry back to before the beginning of their race Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 12.5% Raise cultivation speed to double that of a Strong Soul Primal Human¡¯s if your race would make it less Lowers the barrier to awakening a strong soul variant race when undergoing racial evolution With the boost to his bloodline, the boost to all his stats from his Human Blood Adaptation racial ability had increased from 0.5% to 2% as well. And, given he¡¯d been in E rank the longest, his skills were closer to full mastery than those of the others. Finally, and most important, he¡¯d benefitted the most from Epecteos joining them. If he had the same level of stats as any of the others, even with Aalam and Diana¡¯s ridiculous level of Laws, they all agreed he¡¯d dominate in a straight up fight. Mostly, though, this was still due to the nature of his Laws, each of which was perfectly aligned to help out in combat. With Aalam supporting him from the side with the new domain skill he¡¯d gained from advancing his second class, Heavenly Spark Domain, the power of Isaiah¡¯s Laws was slightly boosted while those of his opponents were slightly decreased. And, after Aalam left the formation with Diana and started using Telekinesis to launch dozens of rocks towards the undead at a time to disrupt their actions, he also activated a second formation that made it difficult for both Isaiah and the undead to leave the area of the Region of Life, meaning all the undead were forced to fight Isaiah in an area where they were greatly weakened. The battle against the weakened undead then lasted around five minutes, Isaiah using his berserking skill Dragon Drive the entire time. And he didn¡¯t hold back his resources at all, using Tempest Steps with every step and Advanced Power Attack with every stab of the unfinished Order Unto Undead. He was able to catch one of the Crypt Lords off guard at the very start, killing it instantly and causing its energy of undeath to enter into his Order Unto Undeath spear. Then it was mostly a matter of trading attacks. Two of the three Blackviolet Dread Liches were mages along with one of the Crypt Lords, the Region of Life formation lowering their abilities even further than the warriors, so Isaiah was able to just tank their weakened attacks with his Iron Defense Law infused into the purple scales of qi and mana generated by Dragon Drive. The strength of these scales was even further boosted by the interaction of the Dragon Drive skill with his Dragon Scales racial ability, so his defense even without his Advanced Guardian skill was quite strong. With Advanced Guardian on top, however, which he was skilled enough with to directly increase the strength of his scales rather than create a separate layer of armor, even the Blackviolet Dread Lich warrior could only draw blood when it struck him with its greataxe, not break any of his bones. This allowed Isaiah to take up to two hits from any of the warrior undead when attacking, so, as there were only three warriors total after his initial surprise attack, he only needed to dodge one of the warriors at a time while attempting to injure one of his opponents. Order Unto Undeath then directly absorbed the energy of any undead he stabbed, and, as a result, while Isaiah was a bloody mess at the end and his qi and mana were both almost gone, all the undead died and he, while completely exhausted, was physically uninjured. ¡°Please try to release that plague before they find us again,¡± Isaiah sent to Aalam as the latter deactivated the formations. Then, as Aalam caught him in the arm not holding the now passed out Diana, Isaiah fell unconscious as well. Chapter 159: Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Prince Aalam Watching both Diana and Isaiah pass out, Aalam began to fear they wouldn¡¯t get anywhere near as far into the War of the Chosen as they wanted to. Sure, if he¡¯d entered into the formation and fought with Isaiah, the battle would have gone much faster and Isaiah wouldn¡¯t have become so exhausted, but that would have forced him to stop the process of making the plague. Also, the small apparatus for plague construction he¡¯d made after challenging for a commander position during the free round, the small 10 cm metallic orb in the left pocket of his pants, was too fragile and likely would have broken. But, had the undead not given him enough time to set up the formations, he would have lost even with his full power. The difference in stats was just too high. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 37 Race: Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic) Bloodline: Genetic Thief (Mythic) Abilities Nascent Energy Constructor (Heroic) Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Heroic) Advanced Soul Laboratory (Heroic) Monster Prince (Fabled) Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor (Fabled) Lady''s Aura (Heroic) [shadowed] Class 1: Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Prince (E-Fabled) Skills Elevated Multi-Mind (E-Fabled) 53% mastered Runescriber (E-Fabled) 63% mastered Soul Prince (E-Fabled) 58% mastered Telekinesis (E-Fabled) 66% mastered Sensory Domain (E-Heroic) 76% mastered Triforce Construction (E-Heroic) 74% mastered Class 2: Advanced Void Sage (E-Heroic) Skills Heavenly Spark Domain (E-Heroic) 69% mastered Laws Law Pupae: Heat - Early Plasma - Early Passion - Early Cold - Early Liquid - Early Tranquility - Early Inertia - Early Solid - Early Gravity - Early Atmosphere - Early Gas - Early Kinetic Energy - Early Ionization - Early Fission - Early Fusion - Early Ionic Conductivity - Early Matter - Early Antimatter - Early Electromagnetic Radiation - Early Energy Transfer - Early Cleansing - Early Electromagnetic Absorption - Early Energy Storage - Early Contamination - Early Cells - Early Order - Early Bonds - Early Deprivation - Early Entropy - Early Severing - Early Vacuum - Early Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Middle Dimensional Solidity - Early Temporal Acceleration - Early Temporal Relativity - Middle Pause - Early Cultivation: Technique: Twelve Element Primal Code - Heavenly Spark (Level 9) Foundation: Flawless Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Stats Strength: 11,444 {+16,834} (+12.5%) Agility: 11,316 {+16,834} (+12.5%) Endurance: 12,184 {+16,834} (+12.5%) Toughness: 11,956 {+16,834} (+12.5%) Vitality: 14,488 {+16,834} (+12.5%) Perception: 15,770 {+16,834} (+12.5%) Magic: 20,514 (+12.5%) Spirit: 20,934 (+12.5%) Soul: 48,971 (+37.5%) Aura: 8,508 (+162.5%) Attunement: 8,472 (+137.5%) Luck: 8,244 (+12.5%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 5 Huge + 2 Medium Mental Forges Unique: 1 Medium Advanced Soul Laboratory Uniqueness: Id Prince Territory: Lord NA Overlord Hira (Lord: Roland Raphaiya) Earth (Lord: Diana Alvaro) He¡¯d gained a lot of stats from advancing all his Laws to Law Pupae, each new grade of Laws providing double the stats of the grade below. And for every Law Pupa he formed from a single Law Larva he gained +144 to all stats. Diana had also earned a tremendous amount of free stats before her race breakthrough¡ªfrom raising her own Laws to Law Pupae, from eating natural treasures, and from her absorption of the power of the Stone of Primal beginning¡ªand most of those free stats had gone to raising Aalam¡¯s Soul stat. As a result, just from his Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor racial ability, all of Aalam¡¯s physical abilities were boosted by 16,834, a value higher than any of his raw physical stats by themselves. Given he¡¯d also managed to raise two Law Pupae to the middle grade within the last year, Multi-Dimensional Geometry and Temporal Relativity, foundational universal Laws the Stone of Primal Beginning had been a bit more help with than his other Laws, he¡¯d expected to be one of the stronger individuals in the War of the Chosen, at least in the early stages. Yet all three of those commanders had possessed higher stats than him, and the only reason he and Isaiah could fight them was the Region of Life formation effectively reducing their stats by 80%. With Hira only providing a maximum possible increase to his base stats of 2,160 for his Prince uniqueness and Earth, as an E rank planet, only 25,920, his stats had also risen enough his Territory was no longer large enough to allow his Prince uniqueness to triple them. And, while this was not yet relevant in the War of the Chosen where he had no Territory and thus couldn¡¯t receive the boost, it was greatly lowering his possible training speed with his skills. Even with the power of his new classes, he¡¯d still need to work a lot harder to improve himself if they wanted to get actually useful resources from the War of the Chosen. Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Prince (E-Fabled) Lord of Laws, craft, telekinesis, and Territory Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Aura and Attunement stats by 100% Raise affinity with all Laws by 200% Greatly increase the power of psychic, crafting, and noble category skills Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Offensive Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 90 Agility: 90 Endurance: 90 Toughness: 90 Vitality: 90 Perception: 120 Magic: 90 Spirit: 216 Soul: 216 Aura: 120 Attunement: 84 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 middle grade Law Larvae for each of the 12 elements, has the Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord (F-Heroic) class, has control over a large amount of Territory for an F rank, has personally designed and then used telekinesis to craft at least a Heroic grade artifact His first class was just an overall improvement on its F rank variant, all of the Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Lord¡¯s effects improved by one level. Instead of 50%, the effectiveness of his Aura and Attunement stats was now boosted by 100%. Instead of 100%, his affinity with all Laws was now boosted by 200%. And instead of two levels, all his skills other than Sensory Domain¡ªwhich had neither the psychic, crafting, nor noble keywords¡ªwere now boosted by 3 levels instead. It was a powerful class boosted to be even more powerful, but it didn¡¯t really change how he operated at all, and this was the same with his skill upgrades as well. Elevated Multi-Mind granted 6 extra Mental Forges instead of Advanced Multi-Mind¡¯s 4, and Aalam¡¯s boosts to psychic category skills greatly strengthened all 7 of his Mental Forges, providing excellent defense from any kind of mental attack and boosting the thinking speed and multi-processing capabilities of each of his minds. Runescriber at Fabled grade, beyond the benefits just from the rank increase from F to E¡ªwhich enabled him to use his more powerful E rank qi, mana, and psyforce for rune creation¡ªallowed him to draw runes faster and with finer detail. And Telekinesis at Fabled grade allowed for finer control and, unlike the Heroic grade variant, would be able to express the full might of his effective Spirit stat even if he reached the max value and was in his Id state. The upgraded version of Soul Lord, however, Soul Prince, was probably the most exciting of his skill upgrades. It greatly increased the range of his bonds with his servants, while also increasing the range at which he could share resources with them. But, more importantly, it also greatly increased the distance which the planets he controlled could be from each other while he was their lord or overlord. Hira and Earth, despite being in non-neighboring galaxy clusters, were relatively close together when multi-dimensional geometry was taken into account, so he¡¯d been able to be overlord of both at F rank due to his Soul Lord skill being high grade and boosted three times, twice from his class and once by his Prince uniqueness. He hadn¡¯t, however, been able to become overlord of Epecteos¡¯s planets even if he wanted to. With his skill advancing in both grade and rank, however, as well as getting an extra level of boost from his class, the distance between the planets he controlled could now be much greater. He still wouldn¡¯t normally be able to become overlord of any of Epecteos¡¯s planets, but, with the special artifact he¡¯d created to allow him and Mila to talk over their bond even when she was in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land and he was on Earth, he could now accept Territory from anywhere in that galaxy cluster as well, and even maintain it from much further away. Also, if he maximized his Soul stat, the power of the boon he granted his servants would increase, allowing him to share half the effects of another of his racial abilities in addition to Heavenly Spark Pure Soul, and he was still debating between Monster Prince and Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor. The former might enable Isaiah to unlock a higher grade race just by maximizing his stats instead of needing more specialized resources, but it was just a possibility and raising everyone¡¯s stats even more would cost a lot of resources to generate the required free stats. Meanwhile, even the partial effects of Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor would be a massive all around improvement to everyone and would cost nothing. Finally, during his class advancement, Aalam had suppressed the automatic upgrade to his Sensory Domain and Triforce Construction skills, as he wanted to move them toward different upgrade routes than they¡¯d naturally follow, so both skills were still only Heroic grade, having the exact same effects but massively boosted due to their rank advancement. Advanced Void Sage (E-Heroic) An advanced creator of arrays, yet empty Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 12.5% Increase the speed of mastering skills by 200% May freely fuse mastered skills Skill slots: 9 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 60 Agility: 60 Endurance: 60 Toughness: 60 Vitality: 60 Perception: 60 Magic: 60 Spirit: 60 Soul: 600 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 sets of opposing Law Larvae at early grade or higher, has Soul as the highest stat, has personally invented at least 6 new arrays with F rank effects, has no skills Advanced Void Sage was just an upgraded version of his Void Sage class, increasing his speed of mastering skills by an extra 100% and the effectiveness of all his stats by an extra 6.25%. It did, however, allow him to awaken a skill that would normally be nearly impossible to find, Heavenly Spark Domain, which could later merge with his Sensory Domain skill and one other skill to form what would probably be the most important skill for the rest of his life, so that was awesome. And it would also enable him to advance to some truly broken classes at D rank, which was really cool as well. Heavenly Spark domain was a useful skill by itself, capable of enhancing the Laws of Aalam¡¯s allies and suppressing the Laws of his enemies within the range of his aura for a very low resource cost compared to its effects, and, due to its range, it was an incredibly useful skill during a war. As he waited for Diana and Isaiah to wake up, he continued running through the forest, using Sensory Domain to search for valuable resources as he held his sister and his friend over each of his shoulders. And, while he was running, he used Telekinesis to continue the process of creating his plague. Then, a couple hours later, after Nitya and Irena had come to take Diana and Isaiah away from him, he ran toward where he assumed the undead base was, got to the point he could see whole groups of lower grade undead within the roughly 1.86 kilometer radius of his Sensory Domain, and released the plague. Chapter 160: Forest Materials Mila Given Sensory Domain was in the shape of a sphere and gave an absolute view of everything within that sphere, including everything underground, it was one of the best treasure finding skills in existence, and, while the conversion wasn¡¯t perfect, the radius of the E rank Sensory Domain skill in meters was about equivalent to a cultivator¡¯s effective Aura stat divided by 12. This then made the radius of Aalam¡¯s domain about 1.86 kilometers, and Mila¡¯s about 1.13 kilometers, which was huge. Since the start of the round, Aalam had been running around at max speed in his instance of the first battle map of the War of the Chosen, only getting distracted for a bit when he needed to save Diana, and, as soon as she¡¯d been able to get out of her camp, Mila had done the same. It hadn¡¯t taken them long to confirm the two maps were exactly the same, with the exact same hidden resources¡ªwhich, according to Nana Xara, was a common occurrence in early rounds¡ªso, from then on, they¡¯d deliberately not covered the same area while searching. Aalam moved a lot faster than Mila, what with his Agility stat being almost an entire order of magnitude higher and him making up for not having a movement skill with a pair of artifact boots he made early on, while his domain was inherently larger due to his higher Aura stat as well, but Mila had an unfair advantage which made her almost as efficient as him when using Sensory Domain to search for crafting materials. She had the Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers skill. Each doppelg?nger created by the skill could use Sensory Domain with her full Perception stat and 66% of her Aura, and, given the skill was Heroic grade, her doppelg?ngers could be made quite far away. Then, given her doppelg?ngers could also use her Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers skill, while they wouldn¡¯t allow her to increase the total number of doppelg?ngers she could create, each doppelg?nger did allow her to extend the range of where she could create a new doppelg?nger, and that made a big difference. As she ran through the forest while stealthed, sixteen doppelg?ngers, eight in a line to her left and eight in a line to her right, ran stealthed as well, and they were all using Sensory Domain. Aalam¡¯s effective search width was roughly 3.7 kilometers, double the radius of his domain, as he ran through the forest, but Mila¡¯s effective search width was 26.3 kilometers, so, even though Aalam moved nearly ten times faster, Mila was able to search almost the same total area during the same time period. And the two of them together found a lot of materials. Under each of the 128 clearings was a vein of E rank Inferior to Rare grade metallic ores and spread seemingly randomly around the forest underground were veins of Rare to Legendary grade ores as well. Some of the trees in the forest were also magical, Mila and Aalam both finding a lot which could be cut down for Inferior or Common grade wood, and Mila even found one seemingly random Heroic grade tree which, in Aalam¡¯s instance, she quickly sent Diana to go harvest. There were other types of crafting materials as well, ponds of mystic water, several seemingly recent skeletons of what seemed to be D rank monsters, and so much more. Part of the design of the stage was definitely based around resource gathering, but Sensory Domain was a bit of a cheat and would only grow to be more so as Aalam and Mila¡¯s stats improved. As it was, after the seven days their armies were allowed in the stage, they¡¯d covered about 35% of the stage¡¯s available surface area, the forest in the stage a closed off minor dimension, and Aalam¡¯s side had a rather huge harvest of Epic grade or higher materials, most of which almost no other army could have found. Also, while Aalam was running around searching for materials using two of his minds, occasionally harvesting some materials himself, his other five minds had focused on crafting, his abilities as a psychic crafter proving incredibly useful for crafting on the move. Out of the small amount of Heroic and Legendary grade metals they were able to find, he made a Heroic grade greatsword and armor set for Brom and a Heroic grade shield to complement Isaiah¡¯s spear. And, out of the materials from the Heroic grade tree, he made three Heroic grade light armor sets for Diana, Nitya, and Irena. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. At the same time, Isaiah¡¯s new spear, after Isaiah headed into the enemy camp and stabbed all the most powerful of the undead as they were unconscious and dying, had absorbed enough undeath energy to evolve into an Epic grade artifact. But this was just based on the Epic grade Living Amber Titanium it was made from advancing to Legendary grade Unliving Amber Titanium, not a true upgrade of what the spear could do. When the spear entered back into Aalam¡¯s hands, however, and a few Heroic grade materials were added into its design, Aalam managed to transform the weapon into what was almost undoubtedly the most powerful artifact he¡¯d ever created, Aalam still waiting to advance the Left Hand of the Runescribe to E rank in the real world. Order Unto Undeath (E-Heroic) [Growth] An artifact designed by the Heavenly Spark Soul King that has absorbed the power of undeath so as to bring death to the living. Anyone injured by this weapon will be poisoned by the energies of undeath in the form of a deadly plague and, after his or her death, will rise again as an undead absolutely loyal to the wielder of this weapon. Should anyone with a strong positive bond with the new undead be within a range of 117 kilometers when the undead rises, he or she too shall then be infected by the undeath plague and rise again as a servant of the wielder of this weapon upon his or her death. This weapon can further grow in power by absorbing undeath energy, even from the undead it itself creates. Effects: Conductivity, Undeath Absorption, Undeath Plague, Lord of the Undead Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants With a runic design making use of the high amounts of undeath energy held within the Unliving Amber Titanium, Aalam¡¯s Law Pupae of Bonds and Order, and a modified plague Aalam stored within the weapon and magically made subservient to the spear, Isaiah¡¯s new weapon effectively gave him the power of a particularly talented Lich King. And the scariest part was the karmic magic which would allow the magical plague to infect any of a victim¡¯s nearby friends as well, slowly draining their energy and turning them into new vectors of the undead plague if they died. Aalam, even with his Law Pupa of Bonds, normally wouldn¡¯t be able to create such magic as the nature of his psyforce, qi, and mana just wouldn¡¯t allow it, but Mila was special for an E rank and her resources didn¡¯t have any such restriction. Given they were close enough to transfer resources if they both used their Laws to strengthen their bond, Aalam was then able to use Mila¡¯s resources to create the required runes. The coolest thing of all, however, was that the weapon could still grow in power, able to advance to Fabled grade should it absorb enough death energy. And, given any undead raised through the spear would not be able to leave the battle instance they were created in, there was absolutely no reason not to take the strengthened undeath energy from them before each stage would end, so Order Unto Undeath would almost certainly rise to Fabled grade should they last long enough in the War of the Chosen. After making the Heroic grade artifacts, Aalam then focused on making high grade spatial storage rings to hold all the other materials they¡¯d collected, creating two Heroic grade spatial storage rings, one for himself and another for Diana, along with four Legendary grade spatial storage rings for Isaiah, Nitya, Irena, and Brom. Then he made seven more Epic grade spatial storage rings for Brom¡¯s other commanders and sixteen Rare grade spatial storage rings for those in the army dealing with logistics. After that he created a set of 24 rings which would allow for long distance telepathy between 24 individuals, one of which went to Diana and another to Irena, the rest given to Brom to distribute. And then he made a set of two rings which would allow Nitya, the one member of their group who didn¡¯t have a lord or servant line skill, to talk with Diana. Finally, he spent the rest of his time turning the large amount of Epic grade metals they¡¯d gathered, ones which were useless for space element artifacts, into Legendary grade weapons for the Bronze Legion, quickly turning most of the Bronze Legion into absolute fans even though he was only able to finish a couple hundred within the seven days. Meanwhile, in Mila¡¯s instance, the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s army was still fighting against the dwarves, unable to completely wipe them out like Aalam¡¯s plague had allowed the Bronze Legion to do in theirs. So this meant Mila had to keep checking in to the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s main camp. During the time she was running and searching, however, she did manage, by temporarily shadowing Aalam¡¯s Triforce Construction skill instead of Telekinesis, to craft a pebble-sized piece of a Heroic grade material perfect for space element artifacts into a Legendary grade spatial storage artifact without changing its appearance, which she could then hide in her pocket. And, by the end of the stage, that spatial storage rock was absolutely full of Legendary and Heroic grade materials she could give to Aalam if they ever ended up in the same instance. More important than that, however, she hunted multiple of the dwarves herself, using Evil Eyes to fill them with lust when they were in her aura and then Telekinesis to kill them before they even knew she was around. So, by the end of the stage Aalam¡¯s Soul Laboratory had enough souls inside to feed them both for months. Chapter 161: Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower Nitya ¡°So, what did you learn?¡± Epecteos asked as he looked at all five of them during their first training session after they woke from the battle. Nitya and Irena had started joining in on the daily training after they learned about Aalam¡¯s identity and it had benefitted the two of them greatly, their ranking on Earth¡¯s soul net now solidly above everyone but Diana. Aalam and Isaiah had accounts as well, but they generally used the soul net for combat training, not ranking, and thus greatly reduced their own stats whenever they fought on it, so their rankings weren¡¯t that high. ¡°Even Isaiah and I are only about the level of an average soldier of one of the more powerful armies in the War of the Chosen.¡± Despite their complete and utter victory, not a single member of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army having died, Diana sounded somewhat dejected. ¡°We are rather young for the War of the Chosen, so, even though our skills are all of high grade, our combat experience will generally be quite a bit lower than our opponents,¡± Isaiah added, his expression and aura also somewhat dour. ¡°Anything else?¡± Epecteos didn¡¯t seem down at all, and was instead smiling, as he always seemed to do when any of them were in the middle of learning something new. ¡°Aalam is still overpowered.¡± Nitya decided to inject something a little more positive into the conversation. ¡°As long as we can avoid fighting, he can generally wipe out the entire enemy army by himself.¡± Epecteos turned to look at Diana as Aalam frowned, and the smile on his face did not change. ¡°What is wrong with Nitya¡¯s statement?¡± Diana raised three fingers of her right hand. Then she lowered her ring finger. ¡°First, Aalam isn¡¯t the only individual with a strong detection skill. We were just lucky we were up against the undead in a forest, as their detection skills are generally about sensing life. The forest environment made their skills much less accurate and they had yet to create artifacts for themselves to fix this flaw. Had that not been the case, we couldn¡¯t have trapped the soldiers and commanders who were chasing me in a formation and their army would have found and annihilated our main force without us able to do a thing.¡± Diana then lowered her middle finger. ¡°Second, there are multiple different types of battle scenarios in the War of the Chosen, and they can generally be broken down into 43 types. Of those 43 types, only 27 would allow plagues to work. And biological warfare is a known tactic others will try to use against us as well.¡± Then Diana lowered her last finger. ¡°Finally, in the War of the Chosen it is absolutely impossible for one powerhouse to carry a weak army. And we are currently a weak army, the average stats of our soldiers even lower than those of the Violet Mountain Sect army Mila is part of, which isn¡¯t expected to last past round four. There are five battle variants which make having one powerhouse only completely pointless, and those become much more common in the War of the Chosen¡¯s later stages. ¡°Even with the artifacts Aalam has been creating and the law armors he¡¯ll hopefully be able to make soon, we might not make it past more than a few more rounds as we are right now.¡± Epecteos nodded and then turned to look at Isaiah. ¡°So, apprentice, what do we need to do to improve?¡± At the word apprentice, Isaiah¡¯s dour feelings seemed to disappear and he stood up a little straighter. ¡°First and foremost, we need to increase our stats, and there are two main ways to do this. First, we can increase our levels. Second, we can use natural treasures. ¡°Leveling up will prove challenging, however, as we want to remain on Earth for the benefits to Law comprehension and safety concerns. There isn¡¯t anyone to kill here and, even for monsters like me and Aalam, the ambient primal energy levels just aren¡¯t that high yet, so to this day I¡¯ve only gotten close to advancing to level 38 and Aalam is only about a twelfth of the way there. ¡°We¡¯re also out of Primal Energy Stones after Diana used the last of our reserves from the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance to trigger her race evolution, so, unless we want to leave Earth and head to an E rank world or higher where we can spend our time hunting, leveling up at this time will probably be difficult and it would be better to just wait a few decades until Earth itself can support our growth. ¡°As for natural treasures, we¡¯ve already used most of what we gained from our two trips to the Trial Tower and what we have left is only enough to add maybe a total of 1,000 stats to whoever absorbs their power. ¡°We do, however, have Diana who can now rid herself of impurities at a ridiculous speed; Aalam, who can rid himself of impurities about a fourth as fast as her; and me, whose bloodline grants the ability to rid myself of impurities at a high speed as well, though nowhere near as fast as those two with their ninth level cultivation techniques. ¡°If we had some way of getting a lot of natural treasures, even ones with a high percentage of impurities, our two strongest cultivators would be able to strengthen themselves at a rather fast rate.¡± Epecteos started laughing and everyone turned to look at him, Isaiah¡¯s expression and aura quickly showing he was worried. ¡°Master, am I wrong?¡± ¡°No. No, Isaiah.¡± Epecteos waved his hand as well to even more highlight the negative. ¡°I just find this situation a bit absurd is all. Here I am, someone who never used a single natural treasure in his life because the impurities would make my future advancements impossible, yet to you impurities from treasures worth 1,000 stat points seem like nothing. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. The logic is just so beautifully different from what I¡¯ve been used to all my life that it made me laugh.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Epecteos¡¯s aura did show a high level of joy to match his face, so Nitya was pretty sure he wasn¡¯t lying. Epecteos then turned to Diana. ¡°Does your master have a way to get such natural treasures?¡± ¡°No.¡± Diana shook her head, but her expression was the same as she usually wore when she was reading or gaining information from some other method, so it was likely someone else was talking to her. ¡°Mila does, however.¡± There was a pause for a second as Diana seemed to wait for something. Then, instead of starting to explain what Mila had suggested, she asked, ¡°Did anyone else know our force is technically called the Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower?¡± The name of the force was spoken in Universal Standard while they were all speaking in English, and Nitya could feel Diana¡¯s frustration. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Nitya turned to look at Aalam and Isaiah, both of whom were looking at Diana with slight expressions of confusion. Then she looked back at Diana, who appeared frustrated. ¡°Why did you allow her to name it that? It¡¯s so boring. And it means nothing.¡± Diana was mostly looking at Isaiah, likely correctly thinking her brother was a lost cause given Aalam had never cared one whit about the name of anything he¡¯d ever invented. Even with his artifacts he would just go with whatever the System suggested. ¡°She gave good reasoning.¡± Isaiah seemed even more confused by the question. ¡°Whatever the name of our force was, it would appear on official documents, so, as we are a hidden force, it would be best if it was both boring yet would make people think there was some complex history behind it as well. That way they wouldn¡¯t even start down the path of thinking the name was just something completely random.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The level of irritation in Diana¡¯s aura quickly dropped. ¡°That sounds very much like Mila.¡± ¡°What is it my granddaughter has suggested?¡± Irena¡¯s voice sounded normal, but her aura showed more irritation than Diana¡¯s had. As far as Nitya could tell, Mila had been actively avoiding both her living family members, yet Irena¡¯s servant bond with Aalam meant she and Mila could talk whenever they wanted even with Mila many galaxies away. But Mila had barely ever said any words to her grandmother over that bond unless she had to pass on information or give orders. ¡°Mila¡¯s explaining a complicated trade plan.¡± Diana summoned what seemed to be a blank information orb into her right hand and started filling it with information. ¡°And apparently she¡¯s been working on this for years with Nana Xara¡¯s help.¡± When she finished putting the information in, Diana tossed the information orb to Irena, who took a few minutes to read through it, and then Irena passed it to Nitya and Nitya started reading through as well, coming to understand the multi-step plan which seemed to end with them having a hidden Territory about the size of a galactic empire. There was a section at the beginning, however, which was highlighted, and it didn¡¯t involve taking over Territory at all. In fact, it involved locations too far away from Earth for Aalam¡¯s Territory to expand to until he hit D rank and at least doubled his Soul stat from its highest possible effective value at E rank. These three locations were all incredibly far away from each other, three different E rank worlds in three different Galaxy Clusters where there wasn¡¯t even a single B rank force. But each of these three Galaxy Clusters had something special about them. In the first there was a natural wonder called a Miasmic Soul Mine where a type of natural treasure called Miasmic Soul Gems could be found by the trillions each year. Miasmic Soul Gems were Soul stat boosting treasures, but only the most desperate cultivators would use them raw as they were absolutely filled with impurities. Instead, they would be processed by alchemists into pills. But the level of impurities would still be high no matter what the alchemists did, so the pills would always be of very low quality, only ever used by D rank forces or weaker on cultivators who no longer had a chance to advance. As a result, for the amount of Soul boosting energy they contained, Miasmic Soul Gems were some of the cheapest natural treasures on the market. The second of the three galaxy clusters also had a natural wonder, a Netherwater Spirit Source. This was a natural treasure shaped like a 70 kilometer orb which hovered over the galaxy cluster¡¯s only C rank planet and couldn¡¯t be removed. It absorbed mana from the planet, lowering the planet¡¯s level to the border of D rank, and it used this mana to generate a type of liquid natural treasure called Netherwater, which could boost Spirit by a low amount if consumed, but would also kill anyone with less than roughly sixteen thousand Vitality and twelve thousand Toughness. The amount of Netherwater on the C rank planet made it basically unlivable, and Netherwater wasn¡¯t a good poison due to being nearly impossible to conceal and also incredibly difficult to aerosolize. As a result, Netherwater was incredibly cheap as well, especially in that Galaxy Cluster. Finally, the third galaxy cluster had an artificial wonder created by a long dead B rank, the World of Wood. This was a minor spacial dimension that didn¡¯t hold much power, but it grew certain types of trees at a ridiculously fast rate. The types of trees it could grow were not very powerful, producing Uncommon grade E rank wood at most, but there were so many trees and they grew so fast that any of the types of wood produced were incredibly cheap in that galaxy cluster. According to the information in the information orb, when she¡¯d been bored near the end of her life, the Yin Yang Sage had come up with a way to use a side effect of one of her plague techniques along with Miasmic Soul Gems, Netherwater, and one of the types of wood the World of Wood produced the most of to create a special type of offensive poison cloud talisman, the blueprint of which they¡¯d already received as part of a bundle of blueprints the last time Mila had completed one of the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s quests. The creation of this talisman used the impurities of the Miasmic Soul Gems and the Netherwater, not their beneficial parts, so, as a byproduct of the talisman construction, Miasmic Soul Gems and Netherwater with far, far less impurities were produced, not usable by most, but basically perfect for Aalam and Mila. And they could also make a profit by selling the talismans. ¡°Nitya.¡± Diana turned to look at her. ¡°Out of all of us, you have the aura and power set that stand out the least.¡± ¡°Thanks, Di.¡± Nitya wasn¡¯t actually offended, as it was true. She was a wind mage, a powerful one, but still a wind mage. And wind mages were common. Yin yang summoners, heavenly spark crafters, four aspect warriors, and four element monks, however, were not. Still, it was fun to watch Diana stop for a second before she realized Nitya was joking. ¡°Would you mind taking the risk and going to buy large amounts of the required materials?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± From what Nitya had learned, E rank planets were generally ruled by D ranks and usually didn¡¯t have too many E ranks, so, as long as she didn¡¯t flaunt too much wealth and also heavily hinted she had a powerhouse behind her, she would likely be able to buy all the required materials without much issue. She was still nervous, however, though she tried to hide it. ¡°Glad to be of help.¡± ¡°Epecteos should go with her just to be safe.¡± Aalam looked from Nitya, to Diana, to Epecteos. ¡°I can make him some armor which will make it impossible for people to read his aura, so he can just act as if he¡¯s Nitya¡¯s bodyguard.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Diana nodded as Nitya felt her heart start to beat a little faster. ¡°That¡¯ll be more expensive, but it would be good to be safe.¡± She turned to look at Epecteos. ¡°Are you okay with that, Epecteos? I know this is digging into your savings.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Epecteos smiled. Then he looked over to Nitya and nodded. ¡°Keeping my apprentices safe is important.¡± The nervousness which had been building up inside Nitya completely went away. With Epecteos along, this little trip of theirs wouldn¡¯t be dangerous at all. Chapter 162: System Approved War Nitya had been wrong. This trip of theirs was incredibly dangerous, just not for the two of them. Getting the low grade wood and the Miasmic Soul Gems had been easy. She and Epecteos had just gone and talked with the relevant local organizations, told them what they wanted, and then bought it all for a reasonable price. They hadn¡¯t even had to leave the E rank planets they¡¯d originally arrived on. And the entire process had only taken two days. When they arrived on the E rank planet where their goal was to buy Netherwater, however, things didn¡¯t go as smoothly. Epecteos, the same as in both other locations, was wearing a full set of plate armor Aalam had made him out of a material called Antimagic Tin. It wasn¡¯t that powerful of an artifact, Legendary grade yet only E rank, but it did what it was designed to do. Epecteos¡¯s aura couldn¡¯t leave his armor except through the effects of a specially designed telepathic ring he was wearing, meaning his Swordsman¡¯s Senses skill was pretty much useless, but no one could sense Epecteos¡¯s aura either, so, as he was following Nitya around like a bodyguard, everyone assumed he was E rank like her. This led one of the three powerful E ranks under the local D rank force Netherwater¡¯s Chosen Sect, a black haired human with a type of dark reddish brown skin not found on Earth, to make a really bad mistake. When Nitya was negotiating with him inside his estate, he suddenly activated a formation and he, along with two other E ranks, all surrounded her with weapons drawn, threatening her to hand over all her money if she didn¡¯t want to die. ¡°Ask them if they are initiating a war against the Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower,¡± Epecteos instructed through the complementary telepathic ring artifact she was wearing on her right hand, his voice completely calm. And Nitya then did so, word for word, fully allowing the fear she was feeling to leak through into her aura, but understanding Epecteos wouldn¡¯t allow anything bad to happen to her. She was, however, extremely thankful to Aalam for ensuring Epecteos would come along, as otherwise she likely would have died. ¡°Not a war little girl, just thievery. Who cares if you have a power behind you? They¡¯re far away. Here¡ª¡± The man stopped talking as Epecteos made his move, summoning out his sword from his spatial storage ring and then stepping on the wind. Nitya could barely follow his movements in the enclosed space, and the next thing she knew all three men were cut in half at the waist and Epecteos was behind her again. ¡°You can deal the finishing blows, Nitya. I have no need for more primal energy at the moment.¡± Nitya noticed an icon pop up to the lower left side of her vision, a system she¡¯d set up to show when new System messages were available while she was in combat, and she took a closer look. A System Approved War has begun between the F rank force Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower and the D rank force Netherwater¡¯s Chosen Sect. War Initialization Conditions: Attempted thievery by Netherwater¡¯s Chosen Sect Beginning force comparison. Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower President: E rank Vice Presidents: 2 E ranks Members: 2 E ranks, 1 D rank Netherwater¡¯s Chosen Sect Master: D rank Elders: 4 D ranks Disciples: 37 E ranks, 874 F ranks Due to the aggression of the Netherwater¡¯s Chosen Sect, rewards increased to 50% of any killed cultivator¡¯s credits in the case of victory for the Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower or 100% in the case of a complete victory The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong,¡± Nitya sent as she released six wind blades to attack the three nearly dead cultivators, killing all three and allowing her to gain 2 whole levels, ¡°but a System approved war requires the sign off of a force¡¯s leader, right? In our case Mila.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Epecteos swung out his sword once, breaking through the formation designed to entrap them. Then he collected the three corpses into one of his spatial storage rings, along with their own spatial storage artifacts, and began walking toward where Nitya and he had assumed the estate¡¯s vault was located. ¡°We can¡¯t contact her from here, but she has already given me permission to request for System approved wars, only requiring her approval for the war to actually begin. This one, as it was somewhat expected, she approved almost instantly.¡± ¡°Somewhat expected?¡± They moved quite fast and Epecteos was quickly at the vault, swinging his sword once to break all the protections around it. Then he started the process of putting the artifacts and natural treasures inside into a few of the several dozen spatial storage rings they¡¯d brought along. ¡°D rank inter-cluster teleportations are expensive. Do you really think Mila would ask me to come along just to act as a bodyguard? Getting the wood at least involved pretty much no danger.¡± ¡°But Aalam¡ª¡± Nitya cut herself off, realizing what had actually happened. It wasn¡¯t that Aalam himself was worried about her. Mila had been. He was just the mouthpiece. For a second she felt disappointed. Then she realized her friend was looking out for her and that felt pretty good. Epecteos nodded toward her, likely knowing what she¡¯d been thinking. Then he swung his sword out using his Law Pupa of Gust and blasted a hole out of the estate which they both flew out of, moving towards a mountain several hundred kilometers away from the city the estate had been located in. ¡°Both getting the Miasmic Soul Gems and here had the possibility of the local force trying to rob you. And I came along with the hope one of them would. ¡°First, I could keep you from dying. Second, we could make up for our losses by stealing from them in turn.And, third, winning a System approved war is the quickest way to rank up our force so we could have more than just six members.¡± They landed on the mountain and both turned toward the south, where five individuals could be seen flying toward them, the D rank forces of the Netherwater¡¯s Chosen Sect moving very quickly. ¡°Also, my apprentice was wrong about leveling up being difficult. Watch how the wind can be used in D rank, Nitya, and then take the finishing blows for all five of these men.¡± Three warriors and two mages flew toward them, all human, the warriors running through the air and the mages flying on streams of water. ¡°How dare you¡ª¡± their leader, the warrior whose aura made it seem like he had the highest level, began. But Epecteos didn¡¯t give him time to finish. With one step, he zoomed through the air and appeared next to one of the mages, his sword covered by an aura of wind. Then the next instant that mage was cut in half and falling from the sky. Before any of the other D ranks could fully put up their defenses, Epecteos was already behind the other mage, having silently moved by riding on the wind. Then that mage was falling from the sky as well, also bisected at the waist. Nitya sent out wind blades using all her mana and the full power of her sixth level cultivation technique, aiming toward the heads of both falling mages, but she didn¡¯t take her eyes off of Epecteos. Even as primal energy began to flow into her soul from her attacks killing both mages, she just watched as he stood there in the air, looking like a knight from myth or fantasy. The three warriors did the smart thing and tried to flee, but they all seemed to have Laws of the elements of water or metal, not helping with speed much at all, and Epecteos cut them down as they tried, Nitya sending wind blades to kill everyone who fell. It was all over in just a matter of seconds and Epecteos gathered the spoils of war and walked back to her. ¡°What level have you reached?¡± Nitya checked and her eyes nearly fell out of her head from shock. ¡°103.¡± ¡°So, that still wasn¡¯t enough?¡± Epecteos laughed out loud. ¡°You¡¯re a monster as well, Nitya. You all require so much more primal energy than I did.¡± ¡°Will you be doing the same for the others?¡± Nitya asked, fully aware just how powerful Diana, Isaiah, and Aalam could grow if they maxed out their levels at E rank. Having gone through Earth¡¯s integration and seen how even relatively weak local powers had misused their strength, she¡¯d long lost her sympathy for such people, no longer having any qualms about killing them. And she¡¯d seen the looks in the eyes of those E ranks from the estate, so she knew they¡¯d planned more than just killing her. ¡°No.¡± Epecteos shook his head. ¡°We had other goals to achieve here which made it worth the risk, but we have no way of getting a full sense of any force in the universe, let alone local powers in other galaxy clusters. Even the Netherwater''s Chosen Sect could have had a C rank behind them, and still might. ¡°The purpose of the War of the Chosen is also to allow young E rank cultivators the chance to practice in a war environment where their own power can¡¯t allow them to just smash through all obstacles, but that wouldn¡¯t be their experience if Aalam, Diana, or Isaiah reached max level. Unlike you, they don¡¯t have much experience facing people on their own level of power or higher, and they need that experience if they want to survive in the future.¡± ¡°But the resources¡­¡± Nitya began. ¡°Secondary to the experience.¡± She could imagine Epecteos was likely smiling. ¡°Still, the deadline to when Aalam¡¯s secondary planet will be exposed to the wider galaxy is less than 63 years away. The quicker you all grow the better. Why do you think I helped you level up so much?¡± The argument made sense. And it likely came from the Yin Yang Sage through Mila, someone who had far more experience than even Epecteos. Nitya took a couple seconds to calm herself down. Then Epecteos tossed her three spatial storage rings. ¡°Take those filled rings back home through the teleportation platform. They alone should have everything we need. But I need to stay here for a bit and clean up so we won¡¯t leave too many trails behind.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Nitya saluted to him, it just feeling like the right thing to do. Then she flew east toward the planet¡¯s main city and its teleportation platforms while he flew south to where the Netherwater''s Chosen Sect¡¯s main base was located. They had everything they needed for Diana and Aalam to start strengthening themselves, and Nitya herself was now at a high enough level she was actually stronger than either of them, though of course that wouldn¡¯t last. Chapter 163: Henrietta Vin Krysta ¡°How much do you think the Luck stat affects the War of the Chosen?¡± Henrietta Vin asked from behind the oversized black cauldron the Vin Clan¡¯s army¡¯s crafters had made for her. ¡°It¡¯s probably relative like the Trial Tower.¡± Krysta thought for a few seconds as she proceeded with her own alchemy. ¡°The general¡¯s Luck stat I would guess matters most, followed by the commanders, and then the soldiers. But I¡¯m not sure what it would do, as every stage is the same for all the competing forces except for those that occasionally involve more than two armies.¡± The Forest Cauldron had only a single army in the War of the Chosen as they didn¡¯t have many warriors and it wasn¡¯t a particularly powerful one, so, when they met the Vin Clan¡¯s main army, where princess Henrietta was one of the commanders, they¡¯d lost quite badly. They had, however, managed to cause damage before their surrender, so Krysta and seventeen others were brought into the Vin Clan¡¯s army, some as warriors and some as alchemists. Krysta had been brought in as both, but she was enjoying the alchemy part a lot more, especially as she and Princess Henrietta had quickly hit it off. Princess Henrietta had been born with an extremely powerful bloodline, Mistress of the Eternal Flame, which gave her immense affinity to the elements of fire and time, but for her the bloodline, which she inherited from her mother, had been more of a curse than a blessing. Her father was the Vin Clan¡¯s youngest A rank, the current emperor of the most powerful elven empire in the universe, and he was a water and darkness element swordsman. As a result, he¡¯d advanced his race to be extremely yin aligned, so Henrietta had been born with a Legendary grade yin aligned race which greatly conflicted with her bloodline. As such, she¡¯d been bedridden for most of her life and had to keep taking medicine from the Vin Clan¡¯s alchemists in order to stay alive, starting her own interest in alchemy. Cultivators who reached A rank or higher rarely if ever managed to have children, so the Elven Emperor had tried everything he could to help his daughter fix her race to better align with her bloodline, but for a long time he was missing one key ingredient, a Highgenion Flower. Thankfully, he managed to trade with an unknown cultivator and was then able to use several powerful treasures to transform Henrietta¡¯s race from yin aligned to one specializing in fire and time. As a result, Henrietta didn¡¯t look like most of the other elves in the Vin Clan¡¯s army. She didn¡¯t have blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, and she wasn¡¯t willowy and lithe. Instead, she had fiery orangish-red hair, green eyes with golden specks, and her skin was a healthy pinkish color. Also, while no one would describe her as voluptuous, she didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d be knocked over by a strong breeze like most elf women. So, she stood out from the crowd in the army almost as much as Krysta, with her silver semi-translucent hair, dark brown skin, and entirely black eyes. ¡°Do the two of you need anything?¡± Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, one of the other utility cultivators in the Vin Clan army, a healer they¡¯d picked up a few rounds before Krysta, came over and offered her assistance like she always did whenever she returned from a scouting mission. ¡°No.¡± Krysta smiled at the extremely pretty quarter jinn woman. ¡°But feel free to sit down and chat if you don¡¯t have anything else to do. The pills we are working on right now don¡¯t require our full concentration.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lady Krysta.¡± The healer bowed slightly with both hands clasped in front of her. Then she sat down. ¡°What¡¯s your goal in the War of the Chosen, Sarra?¡± Henrietta asked, a smile on her face. ¡°Me?¡± Sarra seemed to think about it for a few seconds. ¡°Originally, I just wanted to earn enough points to buy some natural treasures to help my race increase in grade when I advance, but now that it seems I might be able to advance quite a bit further than I originally expected, I want to see if I can find a way to help my ancestor. He¡¯s been stuck at the peak of D rank for several thousand years and is approaching the end of his life, but he¡¯s so talented. It¡¯s not fair that I received so much help from him when he never received help from anyone.¡± ¡°He rose to the peak of D rank on his own?¡± Krysta asked, feeling interested. ¡°What cultivation technique did he use?¡± Sarra¡¯s aura briefly filled with resentment and she didn¡¯t hide it on her face, but then she took a deep breath, the resentment fading, and she answered the question. ¡°He didn¡¯t use any cultivation technique at F rank, only starting with a basic non-elemental technique at E rank. As he grew up in a tribe suppressed by the local power on his F rank planet, he didn¡¯t know cultivation was a thing until it showed up on his status after he advanced to E rank.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Krysta felt uncomfortable as she realized she¡¯d asked a rather ignorant question. Her mother had told her most cultivators didn¡¯t have the same amount of resources she enjoyed and most of them barely had any resources at all, but it was one thing to hear about a statistic and another to meet someone whose family had been affected. ¡°Reaching the peak of D rank with that kind of start, he must be amazing.¡± Henrietta, despite not having left the elven royal palace much at all during her childhood, had received lessons on statecraft, so she handled the slight awkwardness caused by Krysta¡¯s mistake much better than Krysta could, bringing a smile to Sarra¡¯s face. ¡°He¡¯s amazing.¡± Sarra¡¯s eyes were almost sparkling. ¡°Without having used a single natural resource in his life and never having gone to even a C rank planet until well after he entered D rank, he managed to train Laws of all twelve elements up to the Law Pupa stage and even bring eleven of them up to middle grade.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± Krysta was genuinely impressed. Sure, she had a high grade Law Pupa, one grade higher than the highest Laws of Sarra¡¯s ancestor, but she had an extremely powerful race and bloodline, her affinity for the space element probably among the top three in the history of the universe for E rank. And she¡¯d spent almost all her life on an A rank planet. ¡°That is impressive.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Sarra was all smiles again, looking very proud of her ancestor. ¡°He recently gained some enlightenment on his last element and thinks he¡¯ll advance it within the next several decades. If I as his apprentice can reach C rank before he dies, allowing him to gain a System boon and make up for some of his flawed foundation, he¡¯ll have a 30% chance of advancing and extending his life. He can already beat C ranks as a D rank, so how amazing will he be then?¡± Krysta immediately thought of the Foundation Mending Pill the Forest Cauldron generally sold for 156 B rank credits. With just one such pill, which cost only about 47 C rank credits to produce, Sarra¡¯s ancestor¡¯s chance of successfully advancing would go from 30% to closer to 95%, but there was no chance Sarra or her ancestor would be able to afford the price. Sarra herself, however, was very impressive. Her stats weren¡¯t that high for an E rank, as she was only level 37, but the Violet Mountain Sect seemed to value her, and the Vin Clan had chosen to take her in as healers were extremely rare, especially ones like her who could help regrow limbs as only an E rank. Sarra¡¯s class, however, was primarily about contracts, and she had excellent people skills. Around some of the other members of the Vin Clan, for example, she wouldn¡¯t allow her emotions to be so apparent. According to Henrietta, Sarra had just decided not to hide her emotions when dealing with the two of them, mostly because she couldn¡¯t as their Aura stats were much higher than hers. Part of what Krysta was supposed to do during the War of the Chosen was to find potential new members for the Forest Cauldron, and Sarra would be an excellent fit for a merchant role helping to sell the Forest Cauldron¡¯s pills, maybe even an auction host. In that case, Krysta could justify giving Sarra¡¯s ancestor a Foundation Mending Pill to help ensure loyalty, and that would make Krysta feel better. Such a talent as Sarra described shouldn¡¯t be stuck just because the universe was unfair. ¡°Gyaaa!¡± Krysta looked over at the scream and the first thing she saw was what looked to be a fire element spirit flying down from the sky in the shape of a large songbird, landing on the shoulder of one of the Vin Clan¡¯s soldiers. Reginald Vin was young, only about Krysta and Henrietta¡¯s age, but in the next War of the Chosen he would almost certainly be a commander of the Vin Clan¡¯s main army, or maybe even the general of its second army. He was powerful, yet, when the songbird landed on him, he was almost immediately burnt to a crisp. And he wasn¡¯t the only one being killed by spirits. There were seven other spirits also attacking and Krysta, who quite enjoyed reading and learning about monsters, realized each was in the shape of a Fabled grade or higher beast. The songbird burning soldiers was actually a phoenix. The light element spirit creating illusions so the Vin Clan¡¯s soldiers would attack each other in the chaos was a nine-tailed fox. And the life element spirit seemingly killing soldiers by flooding life energy into their brains to create blood clots was a white stag. The large spirit of water restraining three of the Vin Clan¡¯s commanders was a miniature leviathan. The spirit of darkness running through the shadows and assassinating anyone who tried to take command during the chaos was a moon-eating wolf. And the death element spirit who had already killed two of the Vin Clan¡¯s commanders was a twin-tailed ghost cat. The most powerful two spirits, however, were the yin spirit shaped like a twin-headed serpent king which was coiled around the Vin Clan¡¯s general and the yang spirit shaped like a winged horse which immediately killed one of the Vin Clan¡¯s commanders and was now fighting with five more by itself. Krysta expanded her senses and then noticed their camp was completely surrounded by coran warriors, even though it was only an hour after the stage had started, and each of those warriors was wearing a set of silver armor, which was the scariest thing of all. Those armors looked like a massive set of law armors, capable of allowing everyone wearing them to share energy for defense and to greatly empower a few powerful combatants with the energy of everyone else. They were a staple of armies throughout the universe, but they were hard to make, so they generally wouldn¡¯t start to appear in the War of the Chosen until maybe the ninth or tenth round, and even then only from forces with really, really skilled crafters. This was only round eight, and the enemy force, seemingly one of the Bronze Legion¡¯s armies, already had over 600. Chapter 164: Law Armor Along with the six hundred silver law armors, Krysta was able to spot three black armors as well, which appeared to be the core of the law armor sets. One was on someone she recognized from the intelligence reports she¡¯d received before making her attempt at the F rank Trial Tower, Brom Karendesh, who she was pretty sure was the general of the weaker of the Bronze Legion¡¯s two armies. But she didn¡¯t recognize the other two. Both seemed generally human shaped, but it was hard to identify their races due to them wearing full face helmets, gloves, and even boots. One was large, extremely so for a human, roughly the same size as Brom, and he was carrying a medium-sized shield made of some kind of green crystal and an evil-looking purple spear. The other, likely female, was much shorter and wasn¡¯t holding a weapon of any kind, but her body was turned directly toward Krysta as if she was looking at her. The male with the evil spear launched into the battle between the Vin Clan and the eight spirits, using the combined power of the qi from over 600 coran soldiers to move extremely quickly, but he didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of killing anyone, just stabbing anyone he got close to once each. Meanwhile, the unarmed woman began walking over toward Krysta, the aura around her absolutely filled with mana. While the spearman was apparently granted the qi of everyone wearing the silver law armors, it seemed this woman was given their mana. ¡°So, you must be the famous Krysta La¡¯Vordi.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was pleasant, but she sounded annoyed. And her aura was slightly more powerful than Krysta¡¯s own, so Krysta couldn¡¯t tell if the annoyance was genuine. ¡°Do you have some sort of issue with me, madam summoner?¡± The woman was connected to the eight spirits absolutely destroying the Vin Clan army, so it was obvious she was their summoner. And Krysta wasn¡¯t sure if she would be more powerful than the woman even in an unboosted state, as the woman¡¯s aura contained six separate Law Pupae and the massive amount of mana she received from the law armors of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army was well controlled, barely leaking out, showing her control over her own power was almost certainly extremely high. The woman¡¯s expressionless mask, which hid her face entirely, just looked at her for a bit. Then she started saying something which left Krysta extremely embarrassed. ¡°Mr. Shadow, I hope you¡¯re doing well. I didn¡¯t know how to contact you, so I figured I¡¯d leave you a message here. I quite enjoyed our brief chat and would like to talk more, so please come to the Forest Cauldron¡¯s main planet to see me.¡± In the background, Krysta¡¯s subconscious noticed all the elves the large spearman had stabbed, and who had since been killed, rising as zombies, but she could barely pay attention, even as Henrietta next to her was trembling in impotent rage. Instead, she just waited to see what the woman who¡¯d read the message she¡¯d left for the amazing man following the path of the Heavenly Spark had to say next. ¡°First of all, Shadow is female, the master of the individual you fought.¡± The annoyance in the woman¡¯s voice was even more present than before. ¡°And your actions of delaying her subordinate¡¯s growth gave one of our masters the excuse he needed to use said subordinate as an experiment.¡± The annoyance turned to anger. ¡°Why would you do something so stupid? Do the lives and wellbeing of others mean nothing to you?¡± ¡°I, I¡­¡± Krysta didn¡¯t know what to say, but it seemed the woman was done with her as she turned to Henrietta and bowed slightly. ¡°Princess, our general would like to speak with you to discuss the terms of your surrender.¡± Henrietta looked pale, almost like she was poisoned, and Krysta subconsciously noticed that, of the other eleven commanders of the Vin Clan army, one was dead, killed by the woman¡¯s yang spirit, and the other ten had risen as zombies and were attacking the Vin Clan¡¯s soldiers. Meanwhile, their general was almost dead as well, his body mostly starting to rot from the yin spirit coiled around him. And, when he finally died, Krysta absently watched as he rose to become a zombie as well. This left Henrietta as the only leader of the Vin Clan army, and she¡¯d somehow been poisoned without either of them noticing how. Silently, the two of them, along with Sarra Lin¡¯Talic who was still by their sides, followed the woman to where Brom Karendesh was standing. The Bronze Legion¡¯s general had his helmet clipped to his belt, showing his bronze-scaled lizard-like face which had an expression of calm interest on it, the same as what Krysta could feel from his aura. And there was a large greatsword on his back which at first didn¡¯t look that impressive. The part of Krysta not still preoccupied with what the summoner had just said to her, however, recognized the material of the blade as holy true steel, a material filled with metal and light element power, the same as the Laws the reports said the Heavenly Blade¡¯s son followed. So long as the weapon was decently made, it was at least a Legendary grade artifact. Given the intricacy and amount of law armors the Bronze Legion¡¯s army had, however, it was likely Heroic grade instead, way better than any of the weapons of the Vin Clan. ¡°Let¡¯s just be blunt.¡± The coran general¡¯s voice was deep and booming. ¡°My army is powerful and I don¡¯t have much need for alchemists. The Bronze Legion, however, has no conflicts of interest with the Vin Clan or the Forest Cauldron and I lost sixteen soldiers in my last battle. The law armor formation we are building also requires three focal cultivators specializing in qi, three specializing in mana, and three specializing in psyforce, while I am missing one mana specialist and two psyforce specialists.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He turned to look at Krysta. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, you would be an excellent choice for my remaining mana specialist. Should you surrender and choose to join, I will accept you. Were you to offer one of the three component skills of the Heroic grade E rank skill Soulcraft, however, I¡¯d be willing to give you a commander position.¡± Krysta realized something from what he said. The Bronze Legion¡¯s force had to have a ridiculously talented artificer to make the weapons of both the spearman still killing elves and Brom Karendesh in front of them, as well as all the law armors, so the Heroic grade skill would definitely be for that cultivator. And the most talented artificer she knew of was likely the young man she¡¯d thought was Shadow. So, she started looking around frantically for anyone who could be that deep voiced young man. While she was distracted, however, the Bronze Legion general ignored her and turned to Henrietta. ¡°Having a pure alchemist, however, wouldn¡¯t be a negative, and your level of magic would help raise the power of my mana specialists. So, if you would like to continue on as a soldier, I can offer you and any of the remaining soldiers from your Vin Clan 15 spots in my army for the price of one of the three component skills of the Heroic grade E rank Soulcraft, so long as it is not the same as the one from Ms. La¡¯Vordi.¡± ¡°And why would I want to work under you, you butcher?¡± Krysta was distracted from her search by the sound of her friend¡¯s seemingly genuine anguish, and then again by General Brom¡¯s laughter. ¡°Because you apparently don¡¯t have much experience with war and should probably get some as the daughter of an emperor.¡± General Brom¡¯s tail waved back and forth in what Krysta was pretty sure was the coran equivalent of a smile. ¡°Talk to your father after you wake up. The Bronze Legion is fully willing to offer you combat training as well during these battles.¡± ¡°I think I can get access to the E rank Legendary grade skill Soulshape,¡± Sarra Lin¡¯Talic said as she stepped forward, putting a hand on Henrietta¡¯s shoulder to stop the princess from saying anything else to potentially insult the general. ¡°That¡¯s one of the three component skills you are asking for. If I offer it, could I have a commander position as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, miss, but I¡¯m not sure who you are.¡± The general looked at Sarra and spoke politely, but slightly less so than when he¡¯d been talking to Krysta and Henrietta. ¡°I¡¯m a healer and a lawyer who can also work as a scout.¡± Sarra bowed to the general, a gesture Krysta was pretty sure was shared by both corans and humans. ¡°I¡¯m not particularly powerful, but I¡¯m quite skilled. For example.¡± Sarra moved behind Henrietta and placed both hands on the back of Henrietta¡¯s head. Then she sent some psyforce into Henrietta, which Henrietta didn¡¯t fight against, and Krysta saw a black gas start to leave Henrietta¡¯s body with her magical senses. ¡°This plague of undeath was created by that purple spear your commander wields and seems to infect others via karmic bonds. Knowing that, I just need to move the energy of undeath away from a victim¡¯s head, where most karmic bonds connect, and the link to the main source of the undeath energy will be cut off, allowing the victim¡¯s body to naturally expel the remaining undeath energy almost instantly.¡± The coran general started laughing and then turned to look at the female summoner. ¡°Summoner, what do you think? As the only healer in our army, I imagine you have a better understanding.¡± ¡°I only heal with my life spirit, but what she just did requires actual skill and training.¡± The summoner¡¯s voice sounded impressed. ¡°With the help of the law armors, she¡¯d probably prove extremely useful for us, more so than the space mage.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± General Brom turned back to Sarra. ¡°You have a deal then. Surrender and I¡¯ll accept you. Give the skill, and I¡¯ll raise you to become a commander.¡± ¡°Thank you, general.¡± Sarra bowed again. ¡°I, Sarra Lin¡¯Talic of the Violet Mountain Sect, surrender to the Bronze Legion.¡± ¡°Princess.¡± General Brom turned to look at Henrietta again. ¡°You¡¯re now down to 14 slots.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your artificer?¡± Krysta quickly asked, knowing she¡¯d disappear from the space if Henrietta surrendered for them. ¡°Back at our camp, of course.¡± The summoner answered instead of the general and the general, part of Krysta noticed, didn¡¯t seem to have any problem with that. ¡°I surrender as well then,¡± Krysta quickly said. Then she turned to Henrietta. ¡°Etta, the Forest Cauldron has all three skills and Sarra¡¯s apparently bringing Soulshape. Which one are you going to offer?¡± In the War of the Chosen, it was a common custom to require surrendered members of other forces to pay a fee to join the army which beat them, especially when the defeat was so sound. It was even part of the mechanics of the War of the Chosen to teleport any fee directly to the winning army¡¯s general. So, what General Brom was asking was not at all excessive. Given the skills were obviously to empower the army, it was basically an investment into their own future rewards. ¡°I¡­¡± Henrietta turned to look at her. Then she looked at the remaining thirty something Vin Clan warriors, the strongest of those who hadn¡¯t been commanders. All of them had thrown down their weapons when the discussions had started and all of them looked sick with the undead plague. She then turned to look at the many, many zombies that used to be Vin Clan cultivators, who the spearman was successively stabbing in the heart, seemingly absorbing all the power of undeath in them back into his spear, causing them to then collapse. ¡°You don¡¯t think this is excessive?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a war competition.¡± Sarra sounded somewhat confused. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to prepare us to participate in wars.¡± ¡°They just did it better.¡± Krysta took a closer look at that purple spear and realized it was growing ever slightly more powerful as it absorbed the undeath energy from each zombie. ¡°To the point they are even using your soldiers as crafting materials.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not honorable,¡± Sarra added, ¡°and it definitely isn¡¯t something the Bronze Legion would do in the actual universe as it would cross the bottom line of several other forces. But, in the War of the Chosen it is perfectly within the rules and no forces would have problems with it.¡± ¡°Oh. Got it.¡± Henrietta seemed to calm down slightly as General Brom looked on, his aura clearly showing confusion. Then Henrietta turned to Krysta. ¡°We¡¯ll give the Legendary grade Soulcarving skill.¡± She then bowed to the coran general. ¡°We surrender.¡± Everyone from the Vin Clan¡¯s side started to vanish from the soulspace, and Krysta started to wake up. Chapter 165: Bargaining with Major Powers ¡°Shadow is female. The boy is a subordinate. Multiple masters.¡± Joma La¡¯Vordi, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, looked contemplative. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something.¡± Then a look of realization appeared on her face and she snapped the fingers of her right hand. ¡°You haven¡¯t stopped thinking about him even after meeting only briefly. The identity that makes the most sense died less than a month before the integration started, so of course he¡¯d be reborn as a monster. And he would be inspired by Xara Valin, so why not choose an incarnation of lust?¡± Her mother then frowned. ¡°But his skills don¡¯t make sense. If he was going down that route, he would have chosen the Legendary grade Void Sage, not the Heroic grade Advanced Void Sage. So he would only have the class now. ¡°But everything else fits too well.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything else for a few minutes. ¡°Maybe if he had an essence chamberlain. But how would a monster get that bloodline? Also, if Shadow were the other apprentice, wouldn¡¯t she be a monster too? How would she get into the Trial Tower?¡± A deep frown appeared on her face. ¡°I¡¯m definitely missing something.¡± Krysta waited a few more minutes, but her mother didn¡¯t say anything else, seemingly deep in thought. Normally, Krysta would just leave the room and go do something else when this happened, but it was pretty obvious her mother had realized something after she¡¯d explained what had happened in the War of the Chosen, and she wanted to know what it was. ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°Oh right.¡± Her mother blinked her yellow eyes and brushed back several mossy green dreadlocks which had fallen over her face. ¡°You must be rather confused.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Krysta nodded and then just stared at her mother, making it extremely obvious she wanted an explanation. ¡°That summoner girl is most likely lying.¡± She and her mother were sitting at a table on the patio which had been built on top of one of their life tree¡¯s branches, about a kilometer off the ground, and, while Krysta had been pacing, she now sat across from her mother, waiting for her to continue. ¡°After your experience in the Trial Tower and the talk of plagues, I looked into the current status of the Yin Yang Sage and found she¡¯d made an experimental planet where she¡¯d left the talents of her own force and most of the forces she destroyed before she died, a planet called Earth somewhere in the Evolon Galaxy Cluster. The Yin Yang Sage is apparently still alive in spirit form and is the guide of that planet, so I expect she¡¯s able to take on apprentices and then see through their eyes. ¡°This information is only known because the planet was undergoing an apocalypse style integration, but all the forces invading the planet were cut off from communication at about the same time and nothing has been heard from them again, so it is suspected they were all destroyed. ¡°The most powerful cultivator from Earth was a summoner by the name of Diana Alvaro who specialized in both yin and yang Laws, and I suspect that¡¯s the summoner from the War of the Chosen. I don¡¯t know how she got the other six spirits, but it seems very unlikely there is another youngster in the universe with yin and yang spirits in the shapes of a twin-headed serpent and a winged horse, as those skills are both very, very rare. ¡°As to why she¡¯d be lying to you, I suspect the boy whose cultivation path you effectively crippled was her younger brother, Aalam Alvaro, who supposedly died about half a month before the start of their planet¡¯s integration. He would have gone through a monster tutorial and, given what you said about him, I¡¯m leaning toward him being some kind of incubus.¡± ¡°An incubus.¡± Krysta thought about that for a few seconds and felt rather embarrassed. ¡°How sure are you about this?¡± ¡°That the summoner is Diana Alvaro, about 87%. That the heavenly spark crafter is her younger brother, about 48%. There are several things that don¡¯t fit and I don¡¯t have all the information. ¡°What I can be sure of, however, is that it is not a coincidence the Bronze Legion offered spots to both you and Henrietta. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to figure out anything if they¡¯d just killed you and, if they have Xara Valin behind them, which I highly suspect they do, they almost certainly know that. ¡°When you go for the next battle in three months, find a chance to talk to the summoner privately. Especially make sure the Bronze Legion and Vin Clan members, including Henrietta, aren¡¯t around. Likely they¡¯ll have some sort of deal they want to make and, given who¡¯s behind them, I¡¯m interested.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. * * * ¡°So, just to be clear, you¡¯re on first name speaking terms with the princesses of both the Vin Clan and the Forest Cauldron?¡± Eminar Kelmin was one of the eighteen C rank elders of the Violet Mountain Sect and the father of Mila¡¯s friend Pimala, the chief trainer of the core disciples. Of the C rank elders, he was the only one she¡¯d ever talked to before and, of the five elders on the committee to see if she could offer up the E rank Legendary grade skill Soulshape to become one of the commanders of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army, he seemed the most excited. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Mila bowed toward him. They were in a large room inside one of the larger buildings in the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s so called blessed land. And the room reminded Mila of a courtroom from Earth, the elders all behind individual desks on a raised platform as they looked down at and passed judgement on her. It was normally used for situations like the one they were in now, where a younger member of the Violet Mountain Sect was asking for something the sect¡¯s rules required a quorum of elders to decide on, and, as intended, the effect was quite intimidating. ¡°And we¡¯re just supposed to accept your word on this?¡± Kalin Hewin, the youngest of the sect¡¯s C ranks and the most likely to advance to B rank in the future had been beaten up by Epecteos in the past for being an asshole. Thus he wasn¡¯t the biggest fan of her fictional identity as Epecteos¡¯s great-granddaughter. ¡°Seeing as all the other disciples of the sect participating in the War of the Chosen have been killed, and you probably don¡¯t want to ask the Vin Clan, yes.¡± She smiled pleasantly at him, showing no irritation in her face or her aura, and Eminar on the other side of the five burst out laughing. ¡°Can you explain more about why the Bronze Legion would be willing to grant you a commander position?¡± As the sect¡¯s lawyer, in charge of all their contracts, Lander Haxor was the true second in command of the Violet Mountain Sect, as shown by his position in the center of the five listening to her request. Like Eminar and King Hewin, he was human, and all three looked most like those from the Indian subcontinent on Earth, but he had the appearance of an old man while the two younger C ranks looked to be in their late twenties at most. He had smiled at her response to King Hewin, however, so she was pretty sure he was leaning toward accepting her request. ¡°They have all the power they need with over 600 law armors and likely more to come, but they don¡¯t have any healers able to turn that power toward saving their soldiers other than seemingly their most powerful commander, and she¡¯s primarily a summoner. So, they need technical skill more than they need raw stats, and I was able to impress their general by healing Princess Henrietta of an undead plague which targets new victims via karmic bonds.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Mr. Haxor nodded. ¡°So your training as both a lawyer and a healer helped.¡± Mr. Haxor turned to look at Eminar. ¡°Find a suitable reward for a job well done and grant it to your daughter in my name.¡± Then he turned to the elder sitting between him and King Hewin, who was in charge of resources for the sect. ¡°In my name, triple Ms. Lin¡¯Talic¡¯s resource allocation.¡± Then he turned a rather cold look to King Hewin before looking back to the elder in charge of resources. ¡°She hasn¡¯t been lying and, no matter what we decide today, she¡¯s already contributed greatly to the prestige of the sect.¡± He then turned back to her. ¡°Ms. Lin¡¯Talic, please make your argument for what the Violet Mountain Sect will gain by you joining the Bronze Legion¡¯s army as a commander which we wouldn¡¯t were you to join as a soldier.¡± ¡°Prestige, sir.¡± Mila bowed toward him as well, then straightened her back and continued to answer. ¡°First, given the power on display from the Bronze Legion¡¯s army, it is likely they will go quite a bit further than anyone would have originally expected. Being a soldier in such an army would allow me to cultivate personal relationships with the Bronze Legion, the Vin Clan, and the Forest Cauldron, as well as whatever force the summoner and spearman are from, but it wouldn¡¯t be of much help when dealing with other forces. ¡°As a commander, however, were I to be part of negotiations on behalf of the sect in the future, the starting line of respect given to me would be higher. And you, more than anyone, know how useful that could be. ¡°Also, on a personal relationship front, being a commander would allow me to speak to the other forces involved in the Bronze Legion¡¯s army as a peer rather than a subordinate. In fact, I¡¯d be at a higher level than Princess Henrietta and, given her personality, that would be a good thing so long as I remain friendly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a more detailed answer than I expected from your reputation.¡± Mr. Haxor nodded toward her. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, you seem to most delight in charity work.¡± Mila bowed again, not raising her head before she answered. ¡°I like helping people, sir. It makes me happy. But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m an idiot or unaware of politics.¡± Mila raised her head to see Mr. Haxor smiling. ¡°I¡¯m in favor of giving away the skill.¡± He looked at each of the other elders in turn. ¡°We¡¯ve had it for over five million years and no one has had the talent to learn it, so we might as well use it for political capital.¡± ¡°I concur,¡± Eminar Kelmin agreed. ¡°As do I.¡± ¡°And me.¡± All four of them turned to look at King Hewin, who seemed contemplative. Then King Hewin nodded as well. ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Good. It seems we are unanimous.¡± Mr. Haxor turned to the elder responsible for resources. ¡°Please see to it that the skill is sent to the general of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army as per the rules of the War of the Chosen.¡± Mr. Haxor then rose from his seat and gave a very slight bow to Mila. ¡°It¡¯s good to finally see the sect produce someone who might be able to take my place when I die. Good luck, Ms. Lin¡¯Talic.¡± Then Mr. Haxor left the room, along with all the elders other than Eminar Kelmin, who instead walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder in a way that wasn¡¯t quite appropriate. ¡°Good job, Sarra. Please come see me in my residence if you ever need anything.¡± Chapter 166: Boom Three months later, Krysta appeared in a large castle along with the other members of the Bronze Legion¡¯s army. Having sent the skill to the army¡¯s general¡ªwho her mom suspected was actually the summoner and not Brom Karendesh¡ªshe was now a commander, so the System gave her more information on the stage than would be given to a soldier. Apparently, both armies would be given fortified castles during this stage, making it very difficult to attack each other, and the winner between the two would be whoever could take over the most of the surrounding land. But Krysta didn¡¯t care much about the stage and quickly looked for the suspected incubus she¡¯d met in the Trial Tower. The aura of someone following the path of the Heavenly Spark was incredibly distinctive, so it should have been easy, but she wasn¡¯t able to find him, even though she scanned everyone. There was, however, someone very weird who was about the right size. He was sitting in a room using telekinesis and several crafting skills to create what looked to be extra law armors, and he himself was wearing one of the black armors with a full face mask and boots, seemingly the sole psyforce specialist of the army. He didn¡¯t give off any aura as she approached, however, let alone one with the traces of 36 Laws, and to all her abilities he felt completely like an ordinary mortal, nothing special about him at all. She wanted to ask him a few questions, but she couldn¡¯t as Sarra was there, bowing to him while holding another set of the black version of the law armor in her arms. ¡°Thank you for the armor, sir. I won¡¯t trouble you any more.¡± The man nodded at her. Then he looked at Krysta, summoned another set of the black law armor from the spatial storage ring on his finger, and threw it at her. The throw wasn¡¯t hard, and Krysta managed to easily catch the armor, but then she felt the air near her pushing her and Sarra out the door and she didn¡¯t fight against it. The door to the room, however, a large wooden thing nearly half a foot thick, then slammed in their faces. ¡°According to the soldiers I talked to, he goes by the name Crafter and he¡¯s actually the most powerful person in the army,¡± Sarra explained as Krysta stood there in a daze. ¡°He never talks, though, and if you annoy him one of his original team members will come and speak for him.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± Krysta didn¡¯t really know what to say. She was pretty sure it was the same man given the skills she¡¯d seen him use, but he felt so different. ¡°Ms. Lin¡¯Talic.¡± The summoner had somehow appeared right in front of Sarra without Krysta even noticing. Sure, she hadn¡¯t been paying attention, but that still implied a level of stealth skill extremely uncommon among E ranks. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go prove your skills by acting as a scout?¡± Then, as Sarra ran off, she turned to Krysta. ¡°Ms. La¡¯Vordi, come with me to one of the castle¡¯s secret chambers so we can have a talk.¡± She started walking away, deeper into the castle, and Krysta, still holding onto her set of black armor, silently followed her. What had happened to the man to cause his aura to change so much? Was her mother wrong and the summoner had actually told her the truth, that he¡¯d been experimented on? As they walked deeper into the castle, the light of day no longer reached them and the summoner summoned out her nine-tailed fox light element spirit to illuminate their way. Then they entered into a room which looked like it was designed for small conferences, the main furniture a thick wooden table and a set of chairs which could seat twelve, and the summoner took a seat at one of the heads of the table, indicating Krysta to take the other. ¡°So, how much has your mother been able to guess?¡± Krysta felt her heart start to beat faster as she put the armor down on another seat and sat next to the summoner. ¡°Your name is Diana Alvaro?¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty easy to figure out.¡± The woman¡¯s yin spirit appeared and shrunk down to the size of a normal snake, wrapping around her left arm. And her yang spirit also appeared in a small form, landing on top of her right shoulder. ¡°Helen and Dioscuri aren¡¯t exactly common spirits.¡± The woman, Diana Alvaro, used her left hand to rub the head of her yang spirit and then turned back to Krysta. ¡°Are you aware of my true appearance?¡± ¡°None of the appearances of anyone from Earth were part of the reports.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Good.¡± Ms. Alvaro¡¯s tone became a bit more friendly. ¡°What else was she able to put together?¡± ¡°You just assume I wouldn¡¯t be able to come up with anything on my own?¡± Krysta felt a bit insulted, even though the woman¡¯s assumptions were correct. ¡°Yes.¡± The two spirits turned to look at her as well and Krysta felt uncomfortable. ¡°Given your actions a decade ago, until I see otherwise, I¡¯m not going to expect much from you.¡± Krysta looked down at her hands, but then Ms. Alvaro said something that made her feel quite a bit better. ¡°Granted, when I was eighteen, I did some incredibly stupid things as well. So, I¡¯m not going to hold it against you in the future. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re stupid, Krysta. But I do think you are a bit sheltered and ignorant as a result.¡± Krysta looked up and took a deep breath. ¡°My mother also thinks the man I met in the Trial Tower is your younger brother, which is why you¡¯re angry with me.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Ms. Alvaro nodded and her spirits both stopped staring. ¡°She also thinks he¡¯s an incubus of some kind.¡± ¡°Incubus Emperor now, Incubus Prince when you first met, or at least variants thereof.¡± Krysta didn¡¯t know what to say, so she just decided to move on. ¡°My mom also thinks you have a deal you want to make with her and, given she believes the Yin Yang Sage is behind you, she¡¯s interested.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Ms. Alvaro¡¯s voice became more business like. ¡°According to what I¡¯ve learned about the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, she hasn¡¯t taken on apprentices in the past. But that seems to have changed after your birth, with you taking up the single free slot she can use on a descendant. And now she seems interested in using the first of her two main apprentice slots on Henrietta Vin. ¡°My master thinks it would be mutually beneficial were she to use her last apprentice slot to take in my little brother.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Krysta hadn¡¯t expected the conversation to take this turn, as she was used to people approaching her mother for pills, but not usually for much else. Still, she¡¯d been training under her mother her entire life, so she wasn¡¯t a stranger to negotiations. ¡°Is there something he can offer that the child of a powerful force like Henrietta wouldn¡¯t be able to?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Alvaro seemed calm, but Krysta was able to sense a hint of pride from her aura. ¡°Aalam currently has the Soul Prince skill and the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul racial ability.¡± Krysta had no idea what those did, but she knew her mother would, so she didn¡¯t ask. ¡°Anything else?¡± Ms. Alvaro shook her head. ¡°That, along with the knowledge my brother¡¯s current race has the requisite affinities to allow any Law to rise to the stage of a peak grade Law Pupa, should be enough.¡± Krysta just stared for a second. Her race, bloodline, class, and even a uniqueness worked together to give her a high enough space element affinity that she could theoretically raise her space element Laws to the middle grade Law Scarab stage, but most Laws she wouldn¡¯t even be able to raise past the Law Larva stage. The biggest source of bottlenecks in the universe was from a cultivator¡¯s affinities not being high enough to allow their Laws to advance to the stage and grade required for their class advancements¡ªKrysta was pretty sure her own mother had this problem. Yet this Aalam Alvaro¡¯s race at E rank, where the highest possible Law needed for class advancement was only a middle grade Law Pupa, would allow any of his Laws to rise two grades beyond that. This was ridiculous. Krysta was about to ask more questions, but then the castle started to shake slightly and Ms. Alvaro jumped out of her seat, though her aura was still calm. ¡°Put your armor on and meet me on the battlements.¡± With that she merged with both her yin and yang spirits, something Krysta hadn¡¯t realized she could do, and quickly left. Krysta then changed into the new armor as fast as she could, which somewhat disturbingly fit her perfectly, and opened up a spatial gate to step out onto the battlements as well. There she saw Ms. Alvaro and who she assumed was her little brother looking out into the distance, along with the spearman and two other women wearing black armor as well, both also with full face masks and boots. They were looking at a crater about as far away as Krysta would have suspected the other force¡¯s castle to be, and the auras of the spearman and the two women showed shock. ¡°What happened?¡± Brom Karendesh and another coran walked up and Brom spoke to Ms. Alvaro, who quickly turned toward him and bowed slightly. ¡°Sir, Crafter had a design he wanted to try out but didn¡¯t feel comfortable creating in the real world, so he decided to attempt it in the War of the Chosen.¡± Brom just looked at her for a second. Then, slowly, he asked, ¡°So, he¡¯s been making a bomb capable of taking out an entire army behind incredibly powerful fortifications while within our camp? And he wasn¡¯t completely sure of the design?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Ms. Alvaro bowed again. ¡°My apologies, sir.¡± General Brom looked out at the completely destroyed mountain where the other force¡¯s castle had been, taking about twelve seconds. Then, when his aura was completely under control again, he just turned and walked away, the other coran following him. When he had left, Ms. Alvaro walked over to Krysta, lifted Krysta¡¯s hand with one of hers, and then slipped a ring onto one of her exposed fingers, Krysta¡¯s gloves and helmet both hanging from her belt. ¡°Everything we talked about is a secret, I hope you understand. While we wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to your mother in the short term were you to expose our secrets, you wouldn¡¯t live unless you spent all your time hiding by her side.¡± Ms. Alvaro then patted her on the shoulder. ¡°We look forward to working with you, Krysta. Don¡¯t let us down.¡± Krysta just stood there as Ms. Alvaro, her brother, and the three others left, taking a second to look at the telepathic ring on her finger which would allow her to talk to Ms. Alvaro whenever she wished. Given the defensive power of their own castle, it would have taken the power of a mid level C rank¡¯s fully charged attack to do as much damage as they¡¯d just seen. So, unless they had some way of getting a weaker bomb into a fortified and defended castle within minutes of the stage starting, which would be almost as scary, it meant the E rank Aalam Alvaro had the ability to effectively craft talismans with C rank power, which was utterly terrifying. Chapter 167: Antimatter ¡°Alright, Aalam.¡± Mila, who was quite a bit closer to the blast site than anyone else, killed an enemy scout she spotted using Telekinesis. ¡°Diana¡¯s done with the stick part of the negotiations. Now please elaborate on that bomb with more than just that it was an experiment.¡± When Mila had retrieved her new armor from Aalam, he¡¯d also given her an explosive and asked her to field test it by hiding it in the enemy castle and then running away. She hadn¡¯t expected it to destroy the entire castle, however, so she and Diana had needed to rush to turn the situation to their advantage when entering into negotiations with the Forest Cauldron. ¡°Alashan¡¯s Book of Runes contains a few arrays for turning qi and mana into matter, but Alashan didn¡¯t think very highly of them as he was never able to use them to create magical materials,¡± Aalam began, Alashan¡¯s Book of Runes the main legacy he¡¯d been studying over the last decade. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t that difficult to modify the arrays to make antimatter instead once my Laws of Matter and Antimatter both reached the Law Pupa stage. Then I just had to put one of the arrays into an artifact with a spatially contained vacuum, create a way to pour massive amounts of qi and mana into the artifact to power the array, and add a trigger device to break the artifact so as to release the antimatter. ¡°Given the material is not magical, a really large amount can be stored in the contained vacuum, so the main limiting factor is the energy required to make the antimatter.¡± There was silence for a few seconds. Then, slowly, Mila asked, ¡°So, you found a way of magically creating the theoretically most powerful non-magical explosive known to Earth?¡± ¡°Yeah. Pretty much.¡± Aalam sounded quite cheerful while Mila was pretty sure Diana, Irena, and Isaiah, who were also part of the telepathic chat, felt what she did, a slowly building sense of dread. ¡°Given what I¡¯ve learned about B and A ranks, though, I doubt even a truly massive amount of antimatter could kill them unless they themselves were hit by it.¡± ¡°Um, Mila,¡± Diana began, ¡°you¡¯ve been studying the wider universe more than the rest of us. Any idea how common antimatter weapons are?¡± ¡°Not that common.¡± Mila took a deep breath to fully calm herself down and then moved out to hunt the rest of the enemy scouts even while one of her minds continued the conversation. ¡°Creating antimatter like Aalam did is not an unknown thing. But the Law of Antimatter is pretty uncommon, and having it and the Law of Vacuum is a pretty rare combination, while I¡¯m guessing several other Laws are also required to create an artifact capable of taking qi and mana from any source to create the antimatter while also keeping the antimatter fully contained. ¡°According to Nana Xara, and common sense, it¡¯s also pretty common for anyone training in techniques to create antimatter to kill themselves in their first few attempts.¡± ¡°Also,¡± Nana Xara chimed in, ¡°like Aalam said, it¡¯s not that useful against B or A ranks, while generally E ranks don¡¯t have Law Pupae.¡± Only Mila and Diana could hear her, and Mila didn¡¯t see the need to add her comments to the discussion. ¡°Am I the only one who doesn¡¯t know what antimatter is?¡± Isaiah asked, sounding somewhat worried. ¡°It¡¯s some sort of explosive?¡± ¡°You know how everything in the universe is made from matter?¡± Diana asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well, think of antimatter like the opposite of matter. In another universe everything could be made of antimatter and almost everything would work the same. Our universe just happens to be made of matter.¡± Diana continued the explanation and no one interrupted. ¡°The important thing is that matter and antimatter do not mix. If antimatter meets matter, the mass of both annihilate each other and convert to pure energy, resulting in death and destruction. ¡°You know about nuclear bombs, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Well, nuclear bombs work by creating a nuclear reaction which results in less than one percent of the bomb¡¯s mass being converted into energy. For matter antimatter bombs, however, one hundred percent of the mass of both the matter and antimatter involved are converted, so an equivalent sized matter antimatter bomb is more than 100 times stronger than a nuke.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Isaiah sounded more sure of himself but also more terrified. ¡°And we¡¯re all made of matter as well, even A ranks and gods, so, if antimatter touched us, the parts of our bodies touched would be annihilated as well?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the scary part, yes.¡± Diana¡¯s voice, even though she was using telepathy and not actually speaking, sounded a little high. ¡°Do we all agree these types of bombs should be placed in the same category as Aalam¡¯s plagues, i.e. not to be used except in cases of last resort?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Irena was the first to chime in. ¡°Definitely.¡± Isaiah agreed. ¡°Damn it.¡± Aalam sounded disappointed. ¡°You created another last resort technique, Aalam. What is wrong with that?¡± Mila asked, definitely agreeing with everyone else but not having to voice it due to a quorum already having been reached. ¡°It¡¯s still cool, though, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s awesome.¡± Isaiah was the first to answer. ¡°Very impressive.¡± Irena added. ¡°You made a mass-producible weapon of mass destruction, Aalam. Of course that¡¯s cool.¡± Diana made a mental sigh. ¡°It is also rather terrifying, though, and if other forces knew how easy it was for you to make they might get scared and annihilate us.¡± ¡°What Diana said,¡± Mila agreed. ¡°I¡¯m now regretting using the technique to threaten Krysta. ¡°Diana, make sure no one in our army approaches the blast site. And I¡¯ll kill off all the remaining members of the enemy force so they can¡¯t do any tests as well.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Everyone else, here is what your tasks will be for the rest of the stage.¡± Still talking to everyone with only one of her minds, Mila killed another enemy cultivator, this time entering into close combat so she could charm him first and learn the number of scouts she¡¯d have to find. ¡°Isaiah, you should spar with Brom and the other coran warriors like usual, with no changes. We want to impress the princesses, but we don¡¯t need to do anything special to do so. Irena, tell Nitya everything and then I want the two of you to keep all the army members away from Aalam, especially the princesses. Say it¡¯s Diana¡¯s orders. Aalam, just search for treasures and craft like normal. Finally, Diana, try not to talk to Krysta any more. We¡¯ve already said everything we need to say and anything else would likely lower our value. ¡°If possible, we¡¯d really like to ally with the Forest Cauldron, but at this point whatever will be, will be.¡± After looking more into Joma La¡¯Vordi, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, Mila had determined the Forest Cauldron to be seventeenth on the list of A rank forces it would be beneficial for them to ally with. Unlike most forces in the universe, the Forest Cauldron was a true crafting and merchant organization. But it wasn¡¯t a particularly strong one, as the Alchemist of the Deep Woods was the only A rank in the force. What it did have, however, was something incredibly rare, true neutrality. There were other A rank alchemists in the universe, and even three known alchemy gods, but almost all these alchemists had been raised up by already powerful organizations. Joma La¡¯Vordi, on the other hand, had risen to A rank working as a contractor for various smaller forces before starting her own business as a C rank, the nascent form of the Forest Cauldron, and rising through the subsequent ranks on her own power. As a result, she could make pills for anyone, and would, protected by the powerful contracts formed from one of her main skills. She also didn¡¯t overcharge. And this meant every force without a truly powerful alchemist of their own could rely on her, so they all protected the Forest Cauldron. This then allowed the Forest Cauldron to be one of the few forces in the universe that didn¡¯t pay tribute to any more powerful forces. As for Krysta¡¯s father and the forces of the Divine Child, while they were one of the most powerful organizations in the universe, they didn¡¯t have a powerful alchemist among their ranks, so they were just one of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s many clients. About a thousand years ago, Joma La¡¯Vordi had started expressing the desire to have a child. And, given how difficult it was for an A rank to conceive, but wanting a child talented enough to not die well before she did, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods had apparently slept with several dozen A ranks and gods. Krysta¡¯s father, Kilvorax the Heavenly Scarab of Space, was just the one who happened to get her pregnant. He generally visited Krysta once or twice every few years, but he and the Alchemist of the Deep Woods could barely even be counted as friends. The status of the Forest Cauldron made it a good choice for them to ally with and, most important, they already had a connection through Krysta. There were sixteen forces which, from an outside perspective, would be better. Some had been allies with Nana Xara in the past, making joining them as an organization with two of her apprentices less risky. Some were like the Forest Cauldron but with leaders who would value the chance at advancement raising Aalam could bring more highly, as they were much older than the relatively young Alchemist of the Deep Woods. And some controlled natural training grounds which couldn¡¯t be found anywhere else. Attempting to join any of these forces, however, would be a risky undertaking, while they had a direct line to the Forest Cauldron¡¯s leader. Chapter 168: Threat ¡°Okay. That¡¯s actually a really good offer.¡± Her mother laughed out loud and Krysta didn¡¯t know what to think. She was still a bit shaken by the giant explosion, but her mother didn¡¯t seem to care about that part at all. All Ms. Alvaro had said was to mention a skill her brother had, a racial ability, and the fact he had a ridiculously powerful race. But she still didn¡¯t know what the skill or racial ability did. ¡°Mom, could you explain please?¡± They were out on the patio on the life tree¡¯s branch and her mother had been looking up at the sky while thinking about something, but now she looked back at Krysta. ¡°Right. Soul Prince is a lord skill, a powerful Fabled grade one which allows direct subordinates to use a half strength version of one or two of the lord¡¯s racial abilities. Heavenly Spark Pure Soul then is an extremely rare racial ability which boosts both the Soul and Attunement stats along with affinity for all Laws. What Ms. Alvaro is offering is basically an increase to my Attunement stat and affinities should I help raise her brother to a level where his Attunement and affinities are comparable to mine. ¡°Granted, I would have to accept the boy as my master, but that would be a very loose binding. The bigger issue is that the boy would have to rise to at least C rank to provide me any boost whatsoever. ¡°For you, however, there would be an immediate effect, and it would be the same for Henrietta if my negotiations with her father finish favorably for her. And that is the bigger part of their offer that intrigues me, at least for the moment.¡± Her mother smiled. ¡°What do you think, Krysta?¡± Krysta opened and closed her mouth a couple times. Then she just decided to tell the truth. ¡°I¡¯m still a bit terrified by the threat.¡± Her mother¡¯s smile grew wider and Krysta realized she was about to learn something her mother considered important. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I would definitely die to such a weapon.¡± Even knowing her mother was going to twist her words somehow for a lesson, Krysta still gave her honest answer. She¡¯d learned over the years it generally made things easier. ¡°There are a lot of things in the universe that could kill you. Why are you worried about this one?¡± Krysta felt she could start to see where her mother was leading her, but it was making her feel more terrified rather than less. ¡°Because I saw the aftermath of the weapon and was threatened with it.¡± ¡°So, are you more afraid of the weapon or the threat?¡± Krysta stopped to think for a few seconds. ¡°The threat. The weapon demonstration just made me realize the threat was real.¡± ¡°And what was the threat about?¡± ¡°Not to reveal their secrets.¡± Krysta felt herself growing a bit calmer. ¡°And are you planning on revealing their secrets?¡± ¡°No.¡± Krysta took a few deep breaths and started to feel quite a bit better. ¡°Then why were you worried?¡± Krysta thought for a bit before speaking. Then she answered. ¡°Given I¡¯ve always had your protection, I¡¯d never really feared for my life before.¡± Her mother tapped the wooden table she was sitting at a few times, the life tree dropping a couple fruits from several kilometers above their heads to fall down toward the table where her power slowed their fall. ¡°All they¡¯re asking for is pretty much the standard clause in most contracts I enter into. Inside the soulspace, they just aren¡¯t able to enter into an actual contract with you, and they also might not have someone able to make such contracts. ¡°Personally, I¡¯m more willing to work with people who would make such threats. It means it¡¯s less likely they are trying to play us.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Krysta sat down and took one of the fruits from her mother, using her spatial slice magic to remove its rind. ¡°And what about the bomb?¡± ¡°What about it?¡± Her mother removed the rind from her own fruit with life magic, the rind moving as if on its own to fall off the fruit and onto the table. ¡°The boy¡¯s at early E rank yet he¡¯s already making Heroic grade artifacts. And he has 36 Laws. Why¡¯s it at all weird that he¡¯d be able to make powerful one time use artifacts as well?¡± They both took bites of their fruits, enjoying the succulent taste of the life fruits as Krysta felt her Vitality stat rise by a point. ¡°The truly odd thing is the boy¡¯s aura. There are a couple skills which could have the effect you described, making him feel like a mortal, but they wouldn¡¯t fit with the path he is obviously going for. Also, if the description of his affinities and the explanation that he¡¯s a variant Incubus Emperor are to be believed, things don¡¯t fit either. No variant I know of, even a Strong Soul one, is capable of such a thing. So, either the boy already following a path almost no one in the universe has ever tried, has found a new type of race I¡¯ve never heard of, or we¡¯re being lied to.¡± She smiled again while looking at Krysta. ¡°I¡¯m leaning toward the former.¡± * * * Kalin Hewin, King of the Hewin Kingdom and the youngest elder of the Violet Mountain Sect, walked into his master¡¯s chambers near the center of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land¡¯s Crystal Mountain and knelt upon entering, bowing his head toward the man sitting cross-legged on a straw mat in the center of the room. The Violet Mountain Lord was just sitting there, but his aura felt like a scorching volcano, filled with the elements of fire and death, and it was oppressive. Over two million years old, the Violet Mountain Lord didn¡¯t look it, seeming like a man in his late twenties at most, with fiery red and black hair, the dark skin common among the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s humans, and pure red eyes. His voice, however, was aged and raspy. ¡°Do you know why I called you here, Kalin?¡± ¡°No, Master.¡± Kalin didn¡¯t even look up. ¡°It is eight years until the System¡¯s universal auction, which only happens once every 2,985,984 years.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord sounded irritated. ¡°And, before the auction, the System will grant rewards to all the universe¡¯s forces based on their strength, size, and growth. According to the notes of the previous clan leader, of particular note are the rewards for the leaders of powerful forces. But these rewards don¡¯t go to leaders as old as me, but to our successors, and I have yet to name one.¡± Kalin felt himself start to grow excited, though he still didn¡¯t raise his head. ¡°What then do you need from me, Sir?¡± ¡°Do you know why you aren¡¯t my successor, Kalin?¡± Kalin looked up, his emotions doing a quick reversal, but he tried not to show it. ¡°No, Sir.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have enough support from the other Elders.¡± The old man frowned. ¡°Several just don¡¯t like you, saying you are arrogant. A few think you are petty. But the most important reason is they don¡¯t think you are strong. ¡°You lost against a D rank while I was away?¡± The Violet Mountain Lord had been exploring the universe for the last several thousand years and had only just returned. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Kalin couldn¡¯t do anything else but bow his head again. ¡°I lost against Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone, a peak D rank in my territory.¡± ¡°Hmm. Pathetic.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s voice sounded angry. ¡°Try to change the other elders¡¯ opinions of you within five years. If you can¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to choose someone else as my successor.¡± Kalin was able to see the Violet Mountain Lord wave his hand in his peripheral vision. ¡°You may leave now.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Unable to do anything else, Kalin left, but, as he walked, he started to feel excited. The Violet Mountain Lord favored him, so all he had to do to gain the throne was convince a few elders. And all he needed for that would be to kill Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone, something he was now certainly strong enough to do. When he returned to his own mansion, he called out to his chamberlain and the old D rank human entered his throne room. ¡°Where is Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone now?¡± ¡°I do not know, My Lord.¡± His chamberlain was looking down at the ground, as he should in the presence of the next Violet Mountain Lord, so Kalin didn¡¯t see any need to show anger. ¡°Find out for me, then.¡± ¡°Sir.¡± His chamberlain raised his head to look at him. ¡°It¡¯s not that we haven¡¯t kept track of Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s whereabouts, but that we just don¡¯t know where he is. According to his servant, he went out adventuring and he hasn¡¯t been back in several years.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± That would be a problem. ¡°Summon Orianthi for me.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± His chamberlain pressed his head to the floor, then stood and left the room. About an hour later, Orianthi entered and gave him a pleasant surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to make it to D rank?¡± ¡°Yes, grandfather.¡± The useless girl kept her forehead on the ground as she spoke. ¡°If you¡¯ve already made it to D rank, why haven¡¯t I heard of anything happening to Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s spawn?¡± ¡°Sarra¡¯s been in closed door training for the last several years, Sir, not going out to do her normal charity work.¡± His granddaughter slammed her head into the floor. ¡°I¡¯ve already made preparations for when she does.¡± ¡°Good, you are dismissed.¡± The girl quickly left and Kalin remained on his throne to think. It seemed he¡¯d just have to wait. If nothing happened in the next three years, he¡¯d have to instead force things, but there wasn¡¯t a need to do anything drastic when he was the one with all the power. For now, he¡¯d just head back to his own territory and wait for Epecteos to return. Chapter 169: Cultivation Mila For the last four years, ever since they¡¯d placed the specialized artifact Aalam made from Nana Xara¡¯s design on one of Epecteos¡¯s F rank planets, Mila had been able to telepathically communicate with Aalam, Diana, Isaiah, and her grandmother at will, and it had been a huge boost to her mood. Almost every day, for at least half an hour, she¡¯d use one of her minds to talk with Diana, the experience far less exasperating than talking with their master. And she could join in on their daily training with Epecteos through sharing Aalam¡¯s senses. Aalam himself didn¡¯t talk to her much, however, having become mildly obsessed with studying the runic legacy left behind by Runemaster Alashan and the two puzzle books he had from Camoran the Spirit Smith, and Mila recognized he was trying to create some distance between them. They no longer chatted just for fun, pretty much only speaking when dealing with work, and, after the first couple years of this, Mila had accepted it. She still didn¡¯t like it, feeling rather lonely and isolated as the only one in the group not on Earth, but she was pretty much doing the same thing to her grandmother, so she didn¡¯t feel any right to complain. One new good thing in her life, however, was her Sin Eater racial ability. Due to it letting her turn the types of karmic sin she didn¡¯t need for upgrading her Advanced Devil¡¯s Contract skill into the types of karmic merit required for the two skills she wanted to gain from the War of the Chosen, she no longer had to act like a saint and go out to heal people all the time. And this enabled her to go into isolated training inside the Violet Mountain Sect and practice with her other skills, including Law Infusion, the skill Aalam needed for advancing his Triforce Construction skill. That skill she¡¯d already managed to nearly master, so, when she met Aalam again, and if Aalam fully mastered Triforce Construction and the Soulcraft skill he¡¯d likely merge in the next year or so, he¡¯d be able to merge all three and she¡¯d have an extra skill slot to play with. ¡°Alright, everyone,¡± Epecteos said one morning as the whole group on Earth gathered on the cargo ship in the middle of the Atlantic, everyone sitting on various cargo containers and Mila sharing Aalam¡¯s senses so she could take part remotely, ¡°You¡¯ve been participating in the War of the Chosen for three years now and Diana¡¯s informed me the Yin Yang Sage thinks we should have a talk about your paths to power now that you¡¯ve experienced fighting against more and more talented E ranks. ¡°First, though, we should discuss cultivation at the various ranks of power, as once you reach C, B, and A rank your choices in your cultivation will start to be more important than your classes and races, at least according to my talks with the Yin Yang Sage through Diana.¡± He nodded his head toward Diana as thanks for being the bridge to allow him such a rare chance of talking with an A rank. Epecteos, not having talked to Nana Xara directly, had a much higher opinion of her than either Mila or Diana. ¡°First, F rank is all about establishing your foundation. You practice the best cultivation technique you can get to as high a level as you can and that starts the creation of the building blocks which will be used at later ranks. ¡°You have all done well at this, much, much, much better than me. For Aalam, Isaiah, Diana, and Mila, you couldn¡¯t possibly do better according to what we know. And, while Irena and Nitya¡¯s foundations are not flawless, that can be easily fixed with resources you have already done well enough in the War of the Chosen to earn, so it isn¡¯t an issue. ¡°E rank then is the stage of mortal shedding, where your soul and body become one, and there are two important tasks to accomplish at this rank. First, you have to gain better and better control of your energies. Good cultivation techniques like the ones you have will help, but, if you want to truly maximize your benefits from E rank, training every day is absolutely required.¡± He particularly looked at Aalam, who always reluctantly came for combat training even if he knew it helped him. Then he turned to look at everyone else. ¡°Second then is fully integrating one of your skills with your soul and cultivation technique. ¡°What skill you choose here is very important. I, for example, chose my Telekinesis skill and, in retrospect, that was a bad decision. It helped boost Telekinesis greatly, allowing me much finer control. But I don¡¯t have a high enough Spirit stat to make use of the extra power my version of Telekinesis can exhibit, and my Aura stat is so low that I can¡¯t use Telekinesis at a high range, greatly reducing the skill¡¯s practicality. ¡°So, you all will need to think about your choices of skill much more carefully. ¡°But we¡¯ll get to that in a bit. ¡°First, D rank. D rank is known in the universe as the man heaven integration stage and it is where you start to open all 108 of your body¡¯s acupoints, opening one at each level. Acupoints are the gateways between your body¡¯s internal energy channels and the universe as a whole, so opening each acupoint greatly increases your resource regeneration. Then, depending on your cultivation technique and the order in which you open your acupoints, your internal energy channels will be altered, and the end result will be a specialized flow of energy in your soul which will greatly increase the effectiveness of one, some, or maybe even all of your stats. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Finally, C rank, known as the core formation stage, is where you will start to form cores of power in your Core Containers, fed by your Mana Wells and Mental Forges. Depending on your cultivation technique, the skill you chose at E rank, and the specialized energy channel paths you set in D rank, these cores will provide you different effects, but their power will depend on your stats, the size of your soulstructures, and how well you¡¯ve done in your cultivation up to that point. ¡°There are other effects at B and A rank, but they are different for everyone and thus can¡¯t actually be planned for, so there is no point in even bothering.¡± He turned to look at each of them. ¡°Have you all thought about what skill you want to choose at E rank?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone assented for themselves except for Aalam, who assented for both himself and Mila, as he would be representing Mila during the discussion as she couldn¡¯t remotely talk to Epecteos directly. ¡°Good.¡± Epecteos smiled. Then he turned to look at Nitya. ¡°Nitya. Why don¡¯t you explain your choice first?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Nitya nodded. ¡°After discussing with everyone, I¡¯ve chosen my One With the Hurricane skill. It¡¯s my main passive, boosting all my other skills. And, according to what we¡¯ve learned, choosing passive skills generally results in cores which provide stable and always usable boosts, which is what I want for my build.¡± Epecteos returned her nod and then turned to Irena. ¡°Irena?¡± ¡°I¡¯m similar to Nitya, choosing my main passive, One With the Four Elements. And for the same reasons.¡± Epecteos nodded to her as well and then turned to Isaiah. ¡°Isaiah?¡± ¡°Dragon Drive.¡± Isaiah looked a tad nervous, even though there was no reason to. ¡°I was debating between it and Servant Knight, as both are active boosting skills with similar effects. But then Aalam asked me a very simple question, ¡®Which skill do you use more?¡¯, and I realized I use Dragon Drive much more often as the Knight skill line interferes with Aalam¡¯s Prince uniqueness when his Territory isn¡¯t large enough. ¡°Dragon Drive also has a larger effect than Servant Knight, even though it costs more energy due to the healing required to fix the damage it does to my body, and it has synergistic effects with several of my racial abilities. It will likely result in a core with more explosive power than if I had an actual passive skill, but that represents how I fight anyway, so it is the best choice for me.¡± ¡°Isaiah.¡± Epecteos looked his apprentice straight in the eyes, his voice and demeanor very serious. ¡°You¡¯re going to be terrifying in the future. I¡¯m so glad I¡¯m not your enemy.¡± A huge smile almost instantly formed on Isaiah¡¯s face and both Epecteos and Diana started smiling as well. Nitya and Irena seemed a tad jealous, their bodies not strong enough to handle an explosive type of boosting skill like Dragon Drive, which they otherwise would have chosen. And Aalam seemed not to be fully paying attention, already knowing everyone¡¯s choices as they¡¯d all consulted him over the last couple years. Mila, meanwhile, off in another galaxy cluster, was thinking about how difficult Isaiah was to fight when she first met him, and was very much agreeing with Epecteos¡¯s statement. Isaiah¡¯s stats were still relatively low, but, when fighting in the soul net with the same stats, he was still the best out of all of them and, the more she learned about cultivation, the more certain she became that likely wouldn¡¯t change. She and Aalam weren¡¯t primarily combatants, and Diana¡¯s abilities made her more specialized for war than single combat. Epecteos then turned to look at Diana. ¡°What about you, Diana?¡± ¡°Balance of Dualism.¡± Diana¡¯s eyes shone slightly with excitement. ¡°It¡¯s a passive skill which makes my body able to hold both yin and yang energies at the same time and is the silent cornerstone of my build. More important, however, it will be enhanced into a skill with even more effects by the time I reach C rank and will thus allow for some truly powerful cores. ¡°My specific case has no exact precedent, as yin yang summoners are incredibly uncommon, but no one who¡¯s ever integrated with the Balance of Dualism skill has ever failed to become a true powerhouse at C rank. ¡°Mostly, though, this is due to the skill¡¯s high prerequisites, meaning usually only those from major powers can learn it in the first place.¡± Epecteos nodded, likely having expected the answer ever since he¡¯d learned the Balance of Dualism skill was the first skill Diana had learned directly from Nana Xara. Then he turned to look at Aalam. ¡°What about you Aalam? And what about Mila? Everyone else has chosen core passive or boosting skills, but neither of your builds have any true core skills.¡± ¡°I¡¯m choosing the new skill I¡¯m going to gain from merging Sensory Domain, Heavenly Spark Domain, and Ruler¡¯s Raiment. The skill is only theoretical now, so I¡¯ll probably get to name it myself, and I imagine the effects from it and the Heavenly Spark version of the Twelve Element Primal Code will create a powerful core variant.¡± Aalam seemed cheerful, his aura showing happiness. ¡°My original plan was to choose Runescriber, but then I got the Prince uniqueness so this one is now a better choice.¡± Mila decided to take a second to just absorb that with one of her extra minds. Aalam¡¯s plan, since the end of the tutorial, was to first merge the Sensory Domain skill at F rank, something no one in the history of the universe had ever done, and then merge it with a very rare skill like Ruler¡¯s Raiment and a virtually unheard of skill like Heavenly Spark Domain to create a skill which only theoretically might exist. ¡°Mila, on the other hand, is currently planning on choosing her Evil Eyes skill as its advancement path is kind of amazing and will become more and more useful as she ranks up. Though, like the rest of us, she might choose a different skill depending on what uniqueness she awakens to from the War of the Chosen¡¯s rewards.¡± Aalam was being overly optimistic, as the awakening of uniquenesses in the War of the Chosen either required a whole lot more points than they were likely to get or being a commander of the winning army at the end. But, if they did find a way of gaining new uniquenesses, he wasn¡¯t wrong that it might alter their desired paths to power. Aalam¡¯s Prince uniqueness, for example, had altered his skill choices. Originally, he¡¯d just wanted to keep Sensory Domain as a detection skill. ¡°Okay then.¡± Epecteos smiled at them all. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about your paths to power, and what types of resources we¡¯ll need to make them possible.¡± Chapter 170: Paths ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go first.¡± Nitya stood up from where she was sitting. ¡°I¡¯m following the traditional wind mage path. ¡°As we all know, my race is specialized for the element of wind, my uniqueness greatly boosts the effectiveness of my Attunement stat, and my bloodline increases the power of mage skills and Magic. ¡°I need natural treasures to help with each of my race advancements so I can increase its grade each time I rank up, as well as treasures to help with my racial abilities, but that¡¯s about it. As my path is quite common, Nana Xara has the method for integrating my One With the Hurricane skill into my cultivation technique, so we can get that from a random quest, and, as I¡¯m aiming for one of the three most common acupoint opening orders in the universe, we already have it from the Shadow Thief¡¯s vault.¡± Nitya smiled at everyone. ¡°I¡¯m the cheapest one here. And my path is really common, so there shouldn¡¯t be any blockers in my way until B rank. Finally, given my race and bloodline, even if I awaken to another uniqueness, it is unlikely my path will change.¡± She turned to Irena as she sat down. ¡°Irena?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Irena stood and started reporting next. ¡°I¡¯m following the path of a four elements monk. It¡¯s not as common as a wind mage, but it¡¯s not too out there either. ¡°My race helps with all four elements of fire, water, earth, and wind, and my bloodline does the same while also making fighting with my fists better than with weapons. Meanwhile, my uniqueness boosts my senses and gives me some unique extra ones as well. ¡°Like Nitya, I pretty much only need help with my race advancements and racial skills as Nana Xara has the method for integrating my skill into my cultivation technique. And, while my acupoint opening order is a bit uncommon, it¡¯s not rare so it was included in the Shadow Thief¡¯s vault.¡± She turned to look at Isaiah. ¡°Isaiah, I believe you¡¯re next.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Isaiah stood up as Irena sat down. ¡°I¡¯m going down the path of a balance knight who uses both shield and spear. It is very much not a common path, but it is one I should meet all the requirements for relatively easily so long as we¡¯re able to get certain resources and techniques. ¡°My race is powerful and works for all my Laws, and it also increases in grade automatically every time it ranks up. My bloodline allows me to cultivate much, much faster than I would be able to otherwise and gives me an all around boost, and, due to one of my racial abilities and Diana¡¯s help, it increases in grade incredibly easily as well. Then, finally, my uniqueness increases my Perception, which is helpful but doesn¡¯t really matter that much for my build. ¡°I will, however, need more resources than Nitya or Irena. First, I will need some resources which shouldn¡¯t be that difficult to get to raise my race to a strong soul variant. Second, I will need resources to help alter the path of one of my racial abilities, Active Daoist, as it is a trap racial ability I otherwise don¡¯t want to advance. And, third, given Dragon Drive is a very rare skill, we don¡¯t have access to the method to merge it with my cultivation technique, so we will have to get that from the War of the Chosen. ¡°Fourth, my acupoint opening order is very rare, and I don¡¯t know how we¡¯re going to find it. Fifth, when I take my second class at D rank, I¡¯ll need 5 new specific Fabled grade skills, which will likely be very hard to find. And, finally, sixth, when I reach C rank and merge both my D rank classes, I¡¯ll get a new Empyrean grade class and need 5 new C rank Empyrean grade skills. ¡°Nana Xara and Aalam both think the end result will be very powerful, but I¡¯m a bit worried.¡± Stolen story; please report. He sat back down and looked at Diana. ¡°Di, you¡¯re next.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Diana laughed and stood up. ¡°My path is that of a yin yang summoner, which is very, very rare. And, like Isaiah, at C rank and beyond it will basically involve maximizing the power possible at every rank. ¡°My race is about as good as you can get for all Laws, and my bloodline provides ridiculous cultivation speed, a huge overall boost to my stats, and makes raising the grade of my race easier. Meanwhile, I have three uniquenesses which boost my affinity with yin yang Laws, my Magic stat, and my Soul stat respectively. ¡°I will need more resources for upgrading my race and they will be hard to find. And, when I merge my two current classes upon advancing to D rank, I will need 5 new D rank Mythic grade skills, which also will be difficult to come by. Nana Xara, however, does have the method for integrating my skill with my cultivation technique and the acupoint opening order I plan to use, while I already have all the resources I need to upgrade my racial abilities, so I¡¯ll be cheaper overall than Isaiah.¡± She sat down again and smiled at Aalam. ¡°Aalam, can you report for yourself and Mila? I imagine the paths for you two will be the most difficult.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Aalam stood up. ¡°I¡¯m following the path of the sage, which, along with my race, will give me three extra classes by C rank, so I¡¯ll also be following the paths of a heavenly spark crafter, a heavenly spark psychic, and a heavenly spark domain lord. ¡°My race provides good affinity for all Laws, my bloodline allows me to use a single nearly dead monster or cultivator as a race advancement resource once per rank, and my uniquenesses make me much more powerful in my own Territory and a psychic berserker if I feel particularly strong emotions. ¡°I will need more resources for upgrading my race, strong monsters or cultivators whose racial power I can absorb with my bloodline, and a much larger Territory. Also, I will need lots of skills, from the skills required to merge Ruler¡¯s Raiment at E rank, to the skills to merge other skills at higher ranks. Given I can merge skills for free and have far more skill slots than normal, however, my required skills will probably be easier to come by than Isaiah¡¯s and Diana¡¯s. ¡°As for the method to integrate my chosen skill with my cultivation technique, it does not exist, so Nana Xara and I will have to create it, which will take time. But the acupoint opening order I plan to use is one Nana Xara already has, so it will just require a simple quest, and my racial abilities will upgrade how I want them to without any resources required. ¡°Overall, though, especially due to the Territory requirements, my path will cost us the most time and effort. ¡°Mila, on the other hand, will probably cost us only a little more than Nitya and Irena. ¡°She has the same race I do and a bloodline which allows her to easily and cheaply upgrade her race to match mine, while her uniquenesses are one which boosts her Aura stat and a second which is the exact same as Irena¡¯s.¡± Aalam of course knew Mila¡¯s first uniqueness did more than just boost her Aura stat, but he also knew revealing such was tantamount to killing her in the future, so he wasn¡¯t going to when talking to others about her path. Only he, Nana Xara, and her grandfather were aware of what her true uniqueness was, and her grandfather only because he had a weaker version of the uniqueness himself. ¡°She¡¯s following the path of an essence servant and a trickster, and at D rank she¡¯ll gain a second trickster class and merge the two together at C rank, where she will gain yet another class. What she¡¯ll choose for her third and fourth classes then I don¡¯t think she¡¯s decided. ¡°She¡¯ll need no resources for her race. She already has the resources for boosting her racial abilities. And both the method for integrating her chosen skill with her cultivation technique and her acupoint opening order are already owned by Nana Xara. So, the only expense from her will be for skills and, given the nature of her servant class, some of those I¡¯ll be able to help her merge, allowing them to be much cheaper yet take more time to raise.¡± Aalam sat back down, a smile still on his face, and Mila, watching everything from the Violet Mountain Sect, knew he was enjoying this type of talk more than any of them. ¡°Alright.¡± Epecteos looked at all of them. ¡°We know what we need. And we also have three active plans to help us gain our required resources without having to go find them out in the universe: competing in the War of the Chosen, apprenticing Aalam to the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, and having the Yin Yang Sage put us even more in her debt during the System hosted auction in eight years. ¡°I want you all to remember something, though, as things have been quite easy for you lately. ¡°Don¡¯t get complacent, and always plan for the worst. In the grand scheme of the universe, we¡¯re incredibly minor players, and there are many, many forces completely beyond our control. In the face of any of them, all our power and scheming mean nothing, and all you can do is run and hide.¡± Chapter 171: Run and Hide Brom Brom looked down at the coffin and didn¡¯t know what to feel. Should he be sad? Should he be scared? Should he be enraged? Instead, as he looked down at his father¡¯s partially mutilated corpse in the coffin, he just felt numb. His mother had died on the battlefield when he was young and he didn¡¯t have much memory of her. He at least knew he hadn¡¯t seen her body, as it had never been recovered. But his dad shouldn¡¯t have died. His father was the youngest of the Bronze Legion¡¯s subleaders, and the one with the most potential. Especially during the years before the giant System hosted auction, his dad should have been in closed door meditation, not reinforcing a battlefield controlled by two other subleaders. And his father had been powerful, while the force he was up against was not. Even if his army was wiped out, his father should have been able to stay alive. Most importantly, his father was not a coward. His worst wound should not have been on his back. Brom wasn¡¯t an idiot. He could see what was happening. And he knew his life was probably at risk as well, given his father had most likely been killed by one of the other subleaders of the Bronze Legion. But, with his father lying dead in front of him, he just found it difficult to care. ¡°General. Um, Brom.¡± Darra Jur, Brom¡¯s assistant in the War of the Chosen and in regular life for the last several years as well, tried to speak from his side. ¡°What are we going to do?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Brom didn¡¯t even look at him. ¡°With the fighting over the last month, over half our soldiers in the War of the Chosen have died in the real world and we need to figure out what to do.¡± Darra didn¡¯t fully grasp what was happening, so he was trying to distract Brom by having him focus on the War of the Chosen. He was a good subordinate. And a part of Brom roused from thinking about what would happen to Darra if he didn¡¯t get out of his funk and do something. Still, it wasn¡¯t a large enough part to matter. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do. There were too many deaths in the main War of the Chosen army as well, so the Legion petitioned the System to have the two armies face each other so they could combine.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just asking all members of both armies to be annihilated?¡± Brom looked back at Darra and didn¡¯t hide his confusion. ¡°I¡¯ve been by your side from the beginning, General.¡± Darra¡¯s tail swiped a bit sheepishly. ¡°It¡¯s not hard to guess Summoner became the general before the start of the war.¡± A bigger part of Brom started to rouse to life as he thought about what would happen when Gregin Laan, the great-grandson of the subleader who¡¯d now likely take over the Bronze Legion in the future instead of his father, asked for Summoner¡¯s surrender. And he almost started laughing. Still, this wasn¡¯t fair to Summoner and her compatriots either. The Bronze Legion¡¯s second army should have lost in the first round given who their opponent had been, and only hadn¡¯t due to the hard work of Summoner¡¯s group, yet, with power in the Bronze Legion having shifted, now probably almost ninety percent of his remaining men would turn on them. Gregin Laan and most of his commanders were from the Bronze Legion¡¯s hardline faction. They¡¯d never studied diplomacy and likely wouldn¡¯t think twice about angering the Vin Clan, the Forest Cauldron, and, probably most dangerous for the Bronze Legion in the future, whoever was behind Summoner and her group. And they also wouldn¡¯t think twice about killing him. Now roused enough to start truly thinking, Brom really had it sink in just how much danger he was in and the training his father had given him over the years finally started to kick in. He could wallow away if it was only his life on the line, but it wasn¡¯t. There was Darra, who they¡¯d likely kill no matter if he ran away or not, and a few thousand people they would certainly kill if he remained, but might spare if he ran. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Darra, go inform my dad¡¯s chamberlain to prepare a funeral procession to take my father to the teleportation platform. We¡¯re going to have a public funeral for him on his home planet. Make sure we invite all the subleaders and the General as well. This is going to be a big event.¡± Darra looked at him in shock, not understanding why he¡¯d done a one eighty and decided to make such a large spectacle when he¡¯d previously been planning a quiet ceremony. But Darra wasn¡¯t stupid and he certainly caught on to some of his reasoning. ¡°Do you have a specific date in mind?¡± ¡°Set it for the day after the next round of the War of the Chosen is set to end.¡± Given how disruptive it could be otherwise, how long each round of the War of the Chosen would take was public knowledge precisely so events like his father¡¯s funeral procession could be planned. ¡°Yes, General.¡± Darra bowed to him before leaving and Brom turned back to his father¡¯s corpse, squeezing both hands hard enough to make them bleed so he wouldn¡¯t fall into an inactive daze again. * * * Mila ¡°So, any good ideas, Mila?¡± Diana asked after having shared her senses while Brom explained why so many Bronze Legion soldiers had died in the real world and why those that were still living weren¡¯t wearing their law armors. ¡°For us in the War of the Chosen, not really.¡± Mila, still disguised as Sarra Lin¡¯Talic was sitting in the center of their camp, and the feeling she was getting from the coran soldiers was not good. ¡°There are people here with bonds to those in the other camp, so the other army knows our location and will be arriving soon, not giving us time for anything which could bring this situation to our favor without risking annihilation. ¡°Aalam should have given you a plague for use against corans rounds ago. I think we¡¯ll have to risk recruiting whoever we meet in the next round, so just release it.¡± Diana sent an image of her secretly doing so, hiding her actions with her yin spirit¡¯s stealth effects. ¡°As for Brom¡¯s situation,¡± Mila continued, ¡°What do you think about recruiting him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s talented, at about the same tier as Nitya and Irena, and he has good leadership skills.¡± Diana sounded contemplative. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how he would interact with our primarily human force, though. Also, I don¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to bring much more than himself and Darra.¡± Mila thought for a second. ¡°He¡¯ll be the one entering in the coordinates when he leaves the Bronze Legion¡¯s capital planet along with his father¡¯s corpse, right?¡± Diana asked Brom and Mila listened in on the answer. ¡°With this type of procession, it would be me, Darra, my father¡¯s chamberlain, my father¡¯s coffin, and four guards, all of whom would be D ranks. My father¡¯s chamberlain is also a D rank non-combatant.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m assuming the guards would be hostile?¡± Diana asked at Mila¡¯s direction. ¡°Two would be from our household guard, both of whom I trust. The other two would probably kill me if I ran away.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Diana nodded her head. ¡°What can you offer us for helping you?¡± Brom made a twitching movement with his tail both Diana and Mila had come to learn meant nervousness. ¡°All of my father¡¯s universal credits have come into my possession, which includes 13 A rank universal credits as well. I¡¯m willing to offer up half of them for¡ª¡± He stopped as Diana, at Mila¡¯s direction, raised her hand. ¡°Universal credits aren¡¯t of much interest to us. Do you have anything else?¡± Brom shook his head. ¡°Alright.¡± Diana nodded at him. ¡°Then here¡¯s our counter offer. We help you and you join our force. Then we will help you rise in power and, if you manage to take back the Bronze Legion in the future, it will become a subordinate force to ours.¡± Brom¡¯s tail started twitching in a different way, one which interacting with corans over the last few years had taught Diana and Mila meant uncertainty. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re Diana Alvaro, correct?¡± Diana just nodded. It would be weirder if Brom hadn¡¯t figured at least that out by now. ¡°I¡¯m looking for your help because I know you have a world with access to the System teleportation network which no one can access without your permission and in a location no one knows. My guess has been, given the obvious power of your group, that you have a larger force behind you, but I¡¯d rather not get involved with that force if possible. ¡°I have contacts in several powerful B rank forces and will try to join one of them.¡± Diana smiled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m not making this offer on behalf of my master or any larger force, but on behalf of the force I lead which is based around my home planet. Yes, we¡¯re smaller than a B rank force, but we¡¯re also in the shadows, so we won¡¯t fear the Bronze Legion like any existing B rank force you might join.¡± Brom looked around the tent they were in, his detection skill likely enabling him to sense the locations of Nitya, Irena, and Isaiah, as well as possibly Aalam, through the fabric. ¡°You are all following paths which the Bronze Legion would never allow, thus your current level of strength. How confident are you in being able to advance?¡± ¡°To C rank, easily.¡± Diana didn¡¯t even hesitate. ¡°The weakest of us were evaluated as B+ rank talents in the tutorial, and all of us have races with far higher affinities than what we need.¡± Brom blinked a few times, a sign of startlement. But Diana raised her hand again. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time before the general of the other army arrives.¡± She handed him a vial of green liquid. ¡°First, take this. It¡¯s an antidote to the plague we¡¯ve already released.¡± Brom immediately drank it. ¡°Then here are the identification number and passcode to our teleportation platform.¡± She gave him the numbers. ¡°But be careful, as the passcode will only work for three days after this round finishes or until you arrive. ¡°Now all you have to do is fake the same symptoms everyone else will start developing in a few hours and there shouldn¡¯t be anything else you need for our cooperation.¡± Chapter 172: Gregin Laan Gregin Laan was feeling good. His great-grandfather was about to be named the successor to the Bronze Legion, so his status in the legion was going to rise. He¡¯d just made the last major breakthrough needed to advance to D rank while only 67, now only requiring resources to improve his race¡¯s grade upon increasing its rank. And, in the War of the Chosen, he was going to absorb the secondary army and gain over a thousand law armors, which would allow him to advance far further than the Bronze Legion had thought they would. Walking through the camp of the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army, all the members of the legion, holding their own law armors and those of their fallen comrades in their arms, bowed to him, and that felt good. What it took him a while to notice, however, was that there were only corans in the camp. From the intelligence report he¡¯d received, the Bronze Legion¡¯s second army had seven commanders not from the Bronze Legion and fifteen elves, but he couldn¡¯t see any of them. ¡°Brom, where are your foreign commanders?¡± he asked as the Heavenly Blade¡¯s son came out to greet him. Both of them were surrounded by half a dozen members of the Bronze Legion, but Gregin¡¯s commanders, given they were all roughly 36 years older, were far more powerful. ¡°No idea.¡± Brom¡¯s body was still, not showing much emotion at all, but there was a hint of derision in his aura. It didn¡¯t matter, though, as all he needed was for Brom to surrender, nothing more. ¡°I will accept your surrender, General Karendesh.¡± ¡°And I would love to surrender to you.¡± Brom¡¯s aura wasn¡¯t as strong as Gregin¡¯s and Gregin could sense a slight hint of amusement replace the derision in the younger man¡¯s aura, even if it didn¡¯t show on his body. ¡°Sadly, I gave up the general position before the War of the Chosen started, so my surrender means nothing.¡± ¡°Would you like to surrender instead?¡± Gregin and the commanders he¡¯d brought with him all turned around in shock to find a relatively short black-robed human woman standing behind them, her face unnaturally covered in shadow, and it took a second before Gregin realized it was an illusion and not an actual woman, showing the creator was very talented. ¡°Me, surrender to you?¡± Gregin couldn¡¯t help but scoff. ¡°We already made a deal with the Bronze Legion.¡± The illusion¡¯s voice was light and pleasant and the aura which emanated from it was surprisingly strong. ¡°It makes very little difference to us whether that is with Brom or yourself. Were you to agree to the same terms, we wouldn¡¯t have much of a problem.¡± ¡°A problem.¡± Gregin opened his mouth in a threatening grin. ¡°Thank you for the law armors. They will be incredibly useful. But the Bronze Legion has no need for outsiders. You can all just die.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± The illusion nodded, not showing any sense of being phased. ¡°Us outsiders have no need for the Bronze Legion then.¡± She turned to Brom. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Karendesh, but it seems your side has broken the deal. You yourself have treated all of us with respect and been an excellent ally, however, so we wish you well for your future.¡± The illusion bowed to Brom and then turned to look at the spectating corans, raising her voice to spread to all of them. ¡°The Bronze Legion¡¯s leadership has shown itself to be a group of betrayers and cowards, but we trust you soldiers are just following orders. To you, who have fought alongside us, we are sorry your ability to continue in the War of the Chosen has ended. Should you fight on the battlefield in the future, try to choose a less idiotic general.¡± With that, the illusion faded, and, for a second, Gregin just stood there as it fully sunk in that he didn¡¯t know where any of the outsiders were and that his intelligence report had claimed they were incredibly skilled in terrifyingly powerful bombs and deadly biological weapons. ¡°What are you all standing around for?¡± He yelled after coming back to himself, looking at everyone in the camp. ¡°Find those outsiders and kill them!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± One of the commanders under Brom, who was still wearing his law armor, glared at Gregin and spoke out angrily. ¡°They all left using the princess of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s portal power. They can go anywhere in the stage with ease. And this stage lasts for ten days and has nothing to stop biological warfare. Within the next few days, if not already, they¡¯ll release a plague that only targets corans and, because you also threatened the skilled healer General Brom managed to recruit, we¡¯ll only be able to slow down the plague, not stop ourselves from dying. Even if we could find and kill them, which we can¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference as we would all still die.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The commander threw down his weapon and Gregin belatedly realized every one of the coran commanders in the Bronze Legion¡¯s secondary army had been armed with Heroic grade artifacts. ¡°We made intelligence reports for the legion about our allies in the War of the Chosen, and I know in mine I advised precisely against what you just did, outlining exactly what the result would be. ¡°Did you not read our reports? Or did you show such a lack of leadership that you didn¡¯t trust our judgement?¡± ¡°Hold your tongue, Soldier!¡± one of Gregin¡¯s commanders yelled. ¡°Or what?¡± Brom¡¯s commander yelled back. ¡°I¡¯m already dead in the War of the Chosen, as are you! But, before your general¡¯s idiocy, I had a small chance of awakening to a uniqueness! A uniqueness!¡± He looked out at all the soldiers from Brom¡¯s army. ¡°We were all benefitting from riding on the coattails of a force far stronger than our own, yet General Laan here decided to make the Bronze Legion a new enemy for no reason other than his own stupid pride, something which might have extremely grave effects in the future!¡± He turned back to look at Gregin. ¡°And in the now? You¡¯ve just betrayed the trust of the Forest Cauldron, where the Bronze Legion buys pills! Have you ever read the terms of our agreement with them?¡± Gregin just stood there in shock as it started to dawn on him he might be in a lot of trouble. ¡°Well it clearly seems you haven¡¯t!¡± The commander, someone Gregin couldn¡¯t touch as he was a favored descendant of the Bronze Legion¡¯s third subleader, kept glaring at him. ¡°You just violated the terms of our contract with them, which will reduce the legion¡¯s priority for pills of all kinds and triple the price for all specialized pill requests for the next 2,985,984 years unless we somehow manage to renegotiate! ¡°Great job, Gregin! You, a little E rank, just cost the legion the equivalent of resources required to raise a new subleader! I¡¯m sure your great-grandfather will be proud!¡± With that, the commander just walked off, and Gregin, realizing he was about to be sacrificed by his great-grandfather to appease the rest of the Bronze Legion, just stood there, doing nothing. * * * ¡°Wait, we could have used the terms of the contract between the Bronze Legion and the Forest Cauldron as a bargaining chip?¡± Mila, who¡¯d been watching through the eyes of a stealthed doppelg?nger after finishing pretending to be Diana, asked the others who¡¯d been watching through her shared senses. Irena then asked Krysta, pretending one of Diana¡¯s stealthed spirits had overheard the corans¡¯ discussion, and Krysta confirmed the nature of the deal. ¡°Damn.¡± Mila could only shake her head. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have worked out anyway,¡± Irena, the most experienced of them all in the fields of making and maintaining allies, explained. ¡°Our relationship with the Bronze Legion had already soured. Even if we used the contract as a threat, or just threatened to kill them all, the relationship wouldn¡¯t have been the same and we would likely end up losing a round in the War of the Chosen well before we would have otherwise. ¡°And, without our army wearing the law armors, by all reports we aren¡¯t strong enough to kill the enemy general, so we would have had to negotiate with him instead of someone more intelligent. ¡°Given the circumstances, a clean break and then hopefully getting the next force we meet to surrender and merge with us would have a better effect.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila, who was traveling by herself as she¡¯d originally left the camp to act as a scout before they¡¯d known the Bronze Legion¡¯s plans, shook her head. ¡°Even if the Bronze Legion had fully cooperated, given how much stronger the armies we¡¯ve been meeting are getting, we would have lost within the next five to six rounds. ¡°Now, at least, we might have a chance for several more if we manage to somehow subdue a stronger force.¡± ¡°We¡¯d have an even higher chance if we could rapidly level up,¡± Isaiah added. ¡°I concur.¡± Irena¡¯s tone was still businesslike. ¡°It might be risky, and previously it wouldn¡¯t have made much of a difference, but in the next round especially it will be important.¡± ¡°What do you think, Nana Xara?¡± Mila asked. ¡°Your grandmother is right.¡± Nana Xara sounded her usual chipper self, likely not caring that much as she wasn¡¯t expecting them to do that well in this first War of the Chosen in the first place, putting more hope in the next one they could participate in given their young ages. ¡°Leveling up now has more advantages than before, so it is worth the risk.¡± ¡°Nana Xara agrees,¡± Mila sent to everyone. ¡°So, okay. ¡°First, we¡¯ll deal with Brom. Irena, you can go with Epecteos and Isaiah to meet him on Hira and get him and his settled down there. You should be able to level up quite a bit from the two D ranks who otherwise would try to kill him. ¡°Isaiah, you should leave that primal energy to Irena, as she¡¯ll gain a lot more levels from it than you would. I mainly want you to go there to interface between Brom and King Roland. You¡¯ll also act as an interpreter. ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯ll apply for the Violet Mountain Sect to allow me to level up in some special zones on the capital planet. And, while I do that, Epecteos can take Isaiah, Diana, and Aalam to conquer a few E rank planets on the outskirts, adding them to Aalam¡¯s Territory. Just make sure not to reveal either your faces or core powers.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Cheerful sounds of excitement came from everyone and Mila herself felt quite excited as well. Chapter 173: Hira’s New Guardian Brom Brom got on the teleportation platform with his father¡¯s coffin, Darra, and his father¡¯s chamberlain, along with two of his household guards and two powerful D ranks assigned to him by the Bronze Legion¡¯s new successor. Then he entered in the identification number and passcode he¡¯d received from Ms. Alvaro and hoped for the best. Instead of appearing in the center of a large city on his parents¡¯ home planet, they appeared on a much smaller platform next to a lake on what felt like a world undergoing an F rank integration, and there were three people there waiting for them. The one on the left was likely Knight, a large human man with pale skin, short lavender hair, and reptilian indigo eyes, while the one on the right felt like Fist, a blonde middle-aged woman with bright blue eyes and a lithe figure. From his father¡¯s investigations, while they had no idea who Knight was, Fist was most likely Irena Krol, the head of one of the more powerful factions on Earth, though her appearance was much more youthful than he¡¯d expected, so it seemed she¡¯d enhanced the grade of her race when advancing to E rank. Brom wasn¡¯t that surprised to see the two of them. And he actually wasn¡¯t that taken aback to be on what was almost certainly a different planet undergoing an integration, not Earth. But, upon seeing the man standing between Knight and Ms. Krol, Brom couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. His father had run a basic investigation on everyone who had joined his army, including Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, but they¡¯d had no idea Sarra and the group from Earth had any preexisting relationship. Given Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s reputation, however, he now realized why Ms. Alvaro hadn¡¯t cared at all about the fact two powerful enemy D ranks were going to arrive with him. ¡°Mr. Karendesh, welcome to Hira, our subordinate planet,¡± Irena began as all the corans looked around startled. ¡°Who among your compatriots would you like us to kill?¡± ¡°These two.¡± Brom pointed to the two powerful warriors and the next thing he knew Epecteos had moved, both men having their legs and arms severed before falling to the ground to bleed to death. It was so fast, Brom barely realized it was happening, and it took him a second to recognize it was because they were on a world currently weaker than F rank. There was barely any suppression, so a D rank could move far, far faster than Brom was used to. As his father¡¯s chamberlain, Darra, and his two guards looked on in horror, Ms. Krol then stepped forward, infused her fists with earth and fire Laws, and punched each of the two downed men three times in the face, breaking open their skulls with the force of her blows and killing them, her power rapidly rising as she leveled up. Then Ms. Krol stood up and smiled at them, a gesture he was pretty sure she meant to have a combination of the pleasant meaning from humans and the threatening meaning from corans. ¡°For the time being, we¡¯re going to have you live on this planet rather than move to Earth, where people might expect you. We¡¯ll introduce you to an island community and the story will be that you are like Isaiah here.¡± She gestured to Knight. ¡°A leftover invader who has bowed to the might of the Heavenly Spark Soul King and serves as his vassal.¡± Her smile turned a little more warm. ¡°And, if you are good for a few years, we¡¯ll actually make that true.¡± ¡°Heavenly Spark Soul King?¡± Brom understood what such a title meant and it slightly terrified him, especially after he went into the System menu for the planet they were on and realized one of the Territory effects was boosting his affinity for all Laws by 25%. ¡°Crafter.¡± This was all Irena said about the matter, but it was enough for Brom to understand. Crafter¡¯s position was different than he¡¯d thought. He wasn¡¯t just the most powerful of the force from Earth, he was also, at least technically, their leader. And he was a monster. From talking with Krysta, he knew that in the Trial Tower where he¡¯d lost to Shadow¡ªwho he was now belatedly realizing had likely been disguised as Sarra Lin¡¯Talic in the War of the Chosen¡ªCrafter had been along as well, and together they¡¯d beaten Krysta. He wasn¡¯t sure who Shadow was, but it was likely, given the information he¡¯d collected about Diana Alvaro, that Crafter was Diana¡¯s brother Aalam Alvaro reborn as a monster. And he was following the path of the heavenly spark while having what was most likely, given the other skills Brom knew about, a Fabled grade lord skill. Were he to be stuck at E rank, it wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal, but if what Ms. Alvaro had said was correct and Crafter was almost certainly going to make it to C rank, the effects would be huge. An additional 25% increase to affinity with all Laws was something nearly impossible to find in the universe, and incredibly valuable. Were Brom to accept Mr. Alvaro as his lord, however, he¡¯d likely get an even further boost. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! And both would increase as Crafter rose in rank. Even though this planet was only F rank, it was undergoing an integration, so at the moment it was equivalent to the main planet of the Bronze Legion when it came to training. And, if Brom¡¯s affinities increased by 25% just from being on the planet, it meant his training would be even faster, not to mention how these boosts would likely increase. ¡°Thank you. And please thank your leaders for me as well.¡± They hadn¡¯t needed to provide him an escape, and, given what he now knew, his value to them wasn¡¯t at all worth the risk of making enemies with the Bronze Legion, yet they¡¯d still helped him. Knight stepped forward and smiled slightly. ¡°Let me guide you to where you¡¯ll be staying. It¡¯s a community that took me in back when I was an invader to this planet. Then I¡¯ll introduce you to Roland, this planet¡¯s king.¡± * * * ¡°I look forward to working with you.¡± King Roland reached out his hand after they finished talking, and Brom shook it. Then the still F rank young human left the island by himself, running across the water, which was actually quite impressive. And Knight, whose full name was Isaiah Gale, left as well. ¡°Sir,¡± one of Brom¡¯s soldiers began when everyone was gone and they¡¯d returned to the cottage they¡¯d been given on the other side of the island from the town, ¡°I understand we¡¯re hiding here, but why did you spend so much time talking to that little F rank?¡± Brom looked at the two soldiers and his father¡¯s chamberlain. ¡°The two of you saw Ms. Krol and Mr. Gale. What did you think of them?¡± ¡°Young but talented E ranks.¡± The other soldier answered, looking just as confused as his compatriot. ¡°Do you think you could beat them?¡± Both soldiers were D rank, but they were early D ranks and their classes were only Uncommon grade, as were their races. Among the Bronze Legion¡¯s D ranks, they were among the weakest. This was why they were working as personal family guards instead of in one of the legion¡¯s actual armies. And this was also why they weren¡¯t able to fully understand just how powerful true geniuses could be. They weren¡¯t stupid, however, so they both hesitated to answer the question. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to.¡± Brom gave them a way out. ¡°I¡¯ve sparred against both of them multiple times in the War of the Chosen. Ms. Krol I was generally able to beat about 75% of the time, but my artifacts were better than hers there, so, in the real world, I would have previously put my chances at around 60%. Now that she¡¯s leveled up, however, I would probably put my chances at 2% at most. ¡°And the one called Isaiah I was never able to beat once. He is just as skilled as Ms. Krol, but his effective stats are higher than yours by a rather considerable amount. ¡°So, he alone could quite easily kill us all.¡± Brom had eaten quite a few natural treasures thanks to his dad, about as fast as his cultivation technique could clear their negative effects, so his stats were quite high, slightly higher than his D rank guards. By universal standards he was a genius for his level, but he¡¯d long ago realized he wasn¡¯t much compared to the forces of Earth. ¡°And there are three cultivators more powerful than either of them back on their main planet.¡± Brom looked at his chamberlain and his two guards, making sure they understood the seriousness of what he was about to say. ¡°We¡¯ve just joined a new force in the universe, one that is currently led by E ranks, but these E ranks are beasts. And it is likely they have a fallen A rank behind them, one who in her day was far, far more powerful than any leader the Bronze Legion has ever produced. ¡°It is possible they also have an extremely powerful force behind them, either god level or A rank, but at this point that doesn¡¯t even matter. ¡°My personal goal is to train up to A rank myself and then take back the Bronze Legion, and, from what we¡¯ve seen, they¡¯re able to help me with that far more than any other force which would possibly take me in. ¡°You might not have noticed, but their true leader, at least in terms of lord skills, has the ability to raise every affinity of all his subordinates and anyone living in his Territory¡ªand that effect will only grow as he increases in rank. This is important for my own training, as it is for yours while living here, but it is also extremely important for adding other powers into their force in the future. ¡°You saw how powerful that Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone was, but you probably don¡¯t know the significance of him using both space element and time element middle grade Law Pupae when he attacked. ¡°According to the intelligence reports I¡¯ve read, he is supposed to have been stuck at early grade with both of those Laws for a long, long time, yet now he¡¯s not. ¡°There are thousands of powerful people like him out there in the universe and if they knew they might be able to break through to higher ranks just from serving a little monster for a while, they would jump at the chance. ¡°I¡¯ve lucked into getting a head start on those powerful people. So I have to find a way to be as useful as possible. ¡°The force we¡¯ve joined wants to keep Hira safe, but they don¡¯t want to reveal Earth¡¯s connection with Hira. Our goal here then is to act like leftover mercenaries from one of the lesser forces to attack this planet¡ªwhich one exactly we¡¯ll figure out in the coming months¡ªand then help train this planet to defend itself without Earth¡¯s help. ¡°This is going to be difficult, but, if we succeed, we¡¯ll have earned our keep and I will have learned a lot in the process.¡± A few tears started to form in Brom¡¯s eyes but he ignored them. ¡°My dad always said to take every training opportunity that came my way.¡± Darra and the other three all bowed their heads in respect for their fallen lord. Then each of them also took one knee before Brom and slammed their fists to their chest, officially acknowledging they would continue to follow him even with their change in circumstances. ¡°One question, Sir,¡± his father¡¯s old chamberlain asked, ¡°Why did you ask Ms. Krol to take the general¡¯s body? According to tradition, the body should be preserved and kept in your possession until you¡¯re ready to create a set of armor from the lord¡¯s scales.¡± Brom acknowledged the question as a good one by showing happiness with his tail. ¡°Our new force is aware of our traditions. I¡¯ve personally spoken about them at length with one of their leaders. And they have possibly the best E rank crafter in the universe, who should hopefully be able to make a set of growth armor capable of truly honoring father¡¯s memory.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Several tears started flowing from the old chamberlain¡¯s eyes and, for the first time since his father¡¯s death, Brom saw the man¡¯s tail move with happiness rather than sorrow. Chapter 174: Male Bonding Epecteos ¡°Why do we even do this?¡± After waking up on the container ship in the Atlantic from yet another loss to Isaiah in the soul net, Aalam kicked one of the containers on the ship and it went flying toward the ocean. He seemed to feel guilty about littering, however, so he used Telekinesis to stop it before it landed on the water and put it back in place. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m improving at all.¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯re improving, Aalam.¡± Epecteos, sitting on another container right next to him along with Isaiah, had been watching their battle in the soul net, one where they weren¡¯t allowed to use their skills and their stats were equal, so he knew what he was talking about. ¡°When it comes to pure combat skill, Isaiah¡¯s just improving faster, so he beats you more easily every time.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m never going to beat him, what¡¯s the point?¡± Aalam was obviously feeling frustrated and his aura, which was usually barely noticeable, was now very much present and filled with irritation. ¡°Wait. Is that the problem?¡± Epecteos felt annoyed at himself for not realizing much, much earlier, as it just made so much sense. He¡¯d always thought Aalam was just obsessed with crafting and didn¡¯t like training because it took him away from his lab. But of course the issue was more nuanced than that. ¡°You don¡¯t like martial training because you¡¯re not as good at it as the other people around you?¡± Aalam looked down at the deck of the ship. ¡°Aalam, you spend less than a sixth the time as Isaiah on martial training, you¡¯re missing 30 years of foundation he¡¯s built up, and you¡¯re less naturally coordinated in the first place.¡± Epecteos immediately regretted saying that last part, but he didn¡¯t let it stop him as he realized he¡¯d possibly figured out just why Aalam was so reluctant to train, so he might actually be able to fix things. ¡°That¡¯s why Isaiah¡¯s your knight and you¡¯re not a specialized fighter. ¡°You don¡¯t just stop doing things because you¡¯re not the best at them, right? Why is this different?¡± Aalam continued looking at the deck, his aura now radiating embarrassment, and Epecteos suddenly realized he was wrong. Aalam was an absolute genius, on a level where in certain areas he was possibly the most naturally talented person in the entire universe. But he also had some very glaring weaknesses, especially when it came to his social skills. Looking at his history, he was probably used to either getting things instantly or never truly being able to grasp a topic at all. From talking with Diana, Epecteos knew Aalam had improved with his social skills greatly since he¡¯d been a kid, but a lot of that had to do with Mila, and Aalam had been blindsided by her being an enemy spy the entire time. Then, in the years Epecteos had known him, his sister and Mila didn¡¯t trust him enough to have him openly interact with Earth or even talk in the War of the Chosen. There was good reason for this. Aalam was much, much more likely to make a mistake than anyone else in their group, while their lives were on the line, and Aalam in truth probably didn¡¯t care that much, not really wanting to talk anyway. There was no way, however, that he wasn¡¯t internalizing the obvious mistrust at least somewhat. ¡°But it¡¯s not different. You don¡¯t trust yourself with things you¡¯re not good at.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Aalam began, but Epecteos raised his hand and Aalam stopped, able to see Epecteos¡¯s action with his Sensory Domain skill even though he was still looking at the deck. ¡°Were you going to apologize or blame yourself?¡± Epecteos asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t.¡± Epecteos rose and took a single step to reach Aalam, raising up the younger man''s chin with one of his hands. ¡°You might be middle-aged for a mortal, but you¡¯re a kid for an E rank, the development of your brain equivalent to an 18-year-old mortal. You¡¯re supposed to make mistakes and not have your emotions fully under control. I, on the other hand, am the ancient old man who¡¯s supposed to notice when you¡¯re going through something difficult and help guide you through it.¡± Epecteos pulled Aalam into a hug. ¡°You¡¯ve helped me so, so much. Let me help you with more than just how to fight.¡± Noticing Aalam was uncomfortable, he released him and took a couple steps back, sitting down on the nearest container. Then he asked a relatively simple question. ¡°How do you think the members of the Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower view you, Aalam?¡± Aalam looked up at him with a confused expression on his face, but he was now more in control of his emotions so Epecteos couldn¡¯t read his aura at all. That didn¡¯t mean much when it came to Aalam, however, as whatever emotion was on his face was the emotion he was feeling. ¡°The crafter who gives everyone powers?¡± Epecteos laughed slightly. ¡°Not your role, but you as a person.¡± Aalam seemed to start thinking and didn¡¯t answer for almost a full minute. Then he said, ¡°You probably think of me as the frustrating one who doesn¡¯t listen to what you say. Diana still sees me as a little kid needing protection. And Isaiah I think sees me as a friend, which is nice. ¡°Mila? Well, I can¡¯t read Mila. I think maybe she pities me. But she also might see me as a walking dildo of some kind. I¡¯m very confused.¡± Both Epecteos and Isaiah couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing, and Aalam glared at them both. But then, not one to only half answer a question, he continued. ¡°Irena seems more formal, maybe thinking of me as a business acquaintance. Nitya seems to hate me for some reason, as she avoids me whenever she can. And Nana Xara appears to like me, which I don¡¯t think is a good thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re fully correct on one of those.¡± Epecteos found himself smiling slightly. ¡°From everything I¡¯ve seen, my apprentice does indeed seem to view you as a friend.¡± Epecteos turned to look at Isaiah. ¡°Am I correct?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Isaiah nodded and turned to look at Aalam. ¡°You¡¯re open and honest, so I know I can trust you. And I know you have my back, so I have yours.¡± Aalam started to smile a bit as well and Epecteos felt his guess was right. The absolute genius everyone was amazed by was having a confidence issue, and none of them had realized as he was always doing such ridiculous and unprecedented things that it never occurred to them he himself might not realize how utterly astonishing they were. ¡°For myself, Aalam, what you said is only a very, very small part of what I think of you.¡± Epecteos¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°You constantly amaze me. And the fact you are so humble is so ridiculous to me, to the point I never expected it, as you are by far the most talented individual I¡¯ve ever met. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to make it to C rank thanks to you, but I¡¯m definitely not going to live as long as you or my apprentice, and my greatest legacy when I¡¯m gone will be as a footnote in your many biographies, as the man who was lucky enough to train you and yours during your youth.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Aalam didn¡¯t seem to know what to say, some slight tears entering into his eyes, and Epecteos noticed his apprentice tearing up slightly as well. He¡¯d forgotten for a while, but neither of these two young men had grown up in what could at all be considered stable homes, so what both of them probably needed more than anything was just simple encouragement. He couldn¡¯t lose his dignity as a teacher, however, so he couldn¡¯t start crying himself. ¡°Your sister also doesn¡¯t just see you as a kid. I can be absolutely sure of that. And she relies on you a lot more than you think. ¡°You might trust her judgement more than your own when it comes to people and planning, but that trust isn¡¯t one way. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Take her power set, for example, she took a rune warrior class but didn¡¯t take the Runescriber skill, and this is because she trusts you more than she trusts herself when it comes to designing her own skills.¡± Epecteos took a deep breath. ¡°As for Mila, she is hard to read, and I¡¯ve interacted with her the least of all of you, but I have spoken to her grandfather, and that man is a bundle of contradictions, so I think I have a good understanding of her life growing up. ¡°From my impression, she¡¯s one to hide her emotions behind a facade, but she¡¯s different around you, or at least she tries to be. I think her time living with you was honestly the happiest time of her life and I think she misses you. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s more complicated than that. Your planet undergoing the integration and everyone gaining powers, I don¡¯t think it really affected the relationship between the two of you at all, other than it gave her an excuse to stay in your life. ¡°She definitely doesn¡¯t pity you.¡± Epecteos found himself smiling much wider. ¡°But it is entirely possible she sees you somewhat as a walking dildo.¡± Aalam laughed along with him and Isaiah. ¡°As for Irena and Nitya, they¡¯re much easier to read,¡± Epecteos continued, ¡°as I¡¯ve seen most of your interactions given you have less history with them. ¡°Irena finds you very impressive and is even happier working with your sister due to your existence as your sister¡¯s silent supporter. But she¡¯s also trying to form a relationship with her granddaughter, and she feels if she forms a good relationship with you first Mila would view it as manipulative, so she keeps you at a distance. ¡°As for Nitya, she has a crush on you. It¡¯s very obvious.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Isaiah looked even more incredulous than Aalam and Epecteos found himself audibly sighing. ¡°Well, to everyone but the two of you.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but start to smile again. ¡°I should really take some of the time where we would normally practice close combat to train you two in social cues and reading auras. My Aura stat is barely higher than Nitya¡¯s while yours are way beyond either of ours. How am I the only one who noticed this?¡± ¡°But she never said anything.¡± Aalam¡¯s expression of surprise and mild panic really made Epecteos want to laugh again, but he held it in. ¡°Of her two best friends, one is your sister and the other is your ex-girlfriend who has openly said she¡¯s still in love with you.¡± ¡°So?¡± Epecteos just looked at Aalam¡¯s face of honest confusion and didn¡¯t know whether he wanted to laugh or cry, so instead he just ignored the question. ¡°As for the Yin Yang Sage, you¡¯re a source of power for both her apprentices and the most important person in both their lives. Of course she views you favorably. As for whether that¡¯s a good thing or not, I¡¯m not one to judge.¡± Epecteos took a deep breath. ¡°Now, switching subjects a bit. Can you repeat for me again the arguments for why we all want you to train in close combat?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about safety. I might be a crafter, but if I¡¯m attacked it is important I know how to defend myself.¡± A slight hint of annoyance entered into Aalam¡¯s voice again, but then it quickly began to fade as he seemed to finally understand the arguments Epecteos had made literally hundreds of times over the last few years. ¡°So, even if I don¡¯t enjoy it, I need to train anyway to make everyone else comfortable enough that they don¡¯t feel the need to always be by my side to protect me. My ability to fight and to run away doesn¡¯t just affect me, but the people around me.¡± Aalam started looking down at the deck again. ¡°Alright.¡± Epecteos clapped his hands together. ¡°We still have a couple hours before the others get back from their meeting. So let¡¯s do some social skills lessons instead of any more combat.¡± Aalam looked up again, appearing quite excited, and Isaiah¡¯s expression was pretty much the same, causing Epecteos to realize he should have thought about other types of training a long time ago. ¡°First, I want you both to understand why you and others think your social skills are bad and how there really isn¡¯t that much you have to change. So, let¡¯s start with the fundamentals.¡± He looked at Aalam. ¡°Aalam, what does the word empathy mean?¡± They¡¯d fallen into the habit of speaking Earth¡¯s main local language when on the planet, so it was the language Epecteos defaulted to for explaining this concept as well. ¡°The ability to share and understand the feelings of another.¡± As expected, Aalam immediately gave the dictionary definition. ¡°And that becomes easier if you¡¯ve shared experiences with another person, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Both of his trainees nodded. ¡°And it¡¯s also easier if you think like another person, correct? For example, the two of you find it much easier to be empathic towards each other.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He could see hints of enlightenment enter into Isaiah¡¯s eyes, but Aalam¡¯s were a bit conflicted, Epecteos guessing Mila had given him a similar lesson in the past. ¡°The main reason the two of you find it hard to be empathetic with most people is twofold. One, you¡¯ve had very different life experiences than most. And two, you naturally think differently. ¡°For example, you are both very honest, so you assume everyone who talks to you is telling the truth, when in reality most people lie all the time, and not always to their own benefit.¡± Epecteos smiled. ¡°The first thing you need to understand if you want to improve your social skills is that most people aren¡¯t like you. They¡¯re much worse.¡± Aalam seemed to be thinking about something and Epecteos decided to just ask the question. ¡°Has Mila told you the same type of thing before?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Aalam looked startled and seemed to be about to ask a question, probably how Epecteos knew, but then he stopped himself and said, ¡°But please continue.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Epecteos nodded at Aalam. ¡°The second item is that people are generally pretty simple when you take away all the lies. ¡°People have desires, and they try to get what they want. If you know what someone wants, you can then predict their actions. And if you study a person¡¯s actions, you can generally figure out what they want. This is pretty much the basics of social skills.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam seemed to have realized something. ¡°Like Tyrion Lannister. He often literally asks ¡®What do you want?¡¯¡± Epecteos felt a little lost, but Isaiah seemed to realize something as well. ¡°Oh, yeah. He does do that. And then he figures out what they want and offers that so they do what he wants.¡± Isaiah looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°But he also seems to figure out what they want in other ways as well.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°But that¡¯s like cold reading right? I don¡¯t think I can do that.¡± ¡°Who is this Tyrion?¡± Epecteos didn¡¯t like the feeling of being lost. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve heard of him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a dwarf,¡± Aalam offered. But this confused Epecteos even more as dwarfs were generally known for not having the best social skills. Then, however, Aalam said something that made it make more sense. ¡°He¡¯s from a book series that was turned into a TV show. My sister likes the show, so she watched it again with Isaiah.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Epecteos nodded. ¡°This Tyrion is likely a good role model then. But for now let¡¯s focus on the real world.¡± Epecteos felt a bit giddy as he thought of a good real world example. ¡°Isaiah, about how often do you spend time alone with Diana?¡± ¡°Two or three times a week, for at least two to three hours at a time.¡± Isaiah answered normally, and Epecteos started to feel a bit bad, but only a bit. ¡°And have you done anything more than just hang out?¡± ¡°No. What do you mean?¡± Isaiah looked confused, but Epecteos could tell Aalam was catching on to where he was leading. ¡°You¡¯re dating, correct?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°And dating often involves things other than just spending time together, right?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Isaiah finally seemed to realize what Epecteos was talking about and he blushed slightly. ¡°Given how long our lives will be, Diana wants to take things slow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± A wide grin spread on Epecteos¡¯s face. ¡°Here is the question I want the two of you to answer. Was Diana lying when she said that?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± Isaiah turned to look at Aalam with a shocked expression. ¡°What do you mean ¡®definitely¡¯?¡± ¡°Diana does not like taking things slow. Also, ¡±¡ªAalam waved his index finger up and down at Isaiah, indicating Isaiah¡¯s body¡ª¡°you¡¯re like a character from one of her books. There¡¯s no way she¡¯d want to wait to have sex.¡± ¡°And what makes you so sure of this, Aalam?¡± Epecteos asked, trying and succeeding to hold back his laughter. ¡°My knowledge of her and her past relationships.¡± A big grin came onto Aalam¡¯s face as he likely realized he knew his sister well enough to predict her actions. ¡°But why would she lie to me?¡± Isaiah sounded worried and Epecteos almost immediately started to feel worse. ¡°To hide something, to protect someone, to stave off embarrassment. Ooh.¡± Aalam seemed to realize something as he tried to figure out the answer. ¡°To hide something and to stave off embarrassment.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Isaiah seemed even more worried. ¡°You¡¯re the first boyfriend she¡¯s had since the integration.¡± Aalam¡¯s tone darkened a little, but Epecteos could easily tell his anger was aimed at someone other than anyone on the boat. ¡°And also since she became Nana Xara¡¯s apprentice and the old witch gained the ability to spy on her whenever she wished. ¡°Mila can block that ability, but Diana can¡¯t. And, given what Mila¡¯s said about Nana Xara, Diana probably doesn¡¯t trust the old witch not to watch.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Isaiah seemed more disappointed than angry, but he was still blushing slightly. ¡°That sucks.¡± ¡°Give me a few years and I might be able to make something to temporarily block their connection.¡± Aalam had a contemplative look on his face and Epecteos was positive a good majority of his minds were focused on trying to figure out how to fix the issue. But, still, Epecteos was going to continue the lesson. ¡°So, Aalam, what just happened here?¡± Aalam¡¯s expression changed as the mind in control of it focused back on Epecteos. ¡°You asked a question about an action. Next, from my knowledge of my sister¡¯s normal wants, I found an incongruity which didn¡¯t match my existing model of her, allowing me to know she was lying. Then, with my knowledge of different wants of hers, along with other information I had access to, I figured out why she was lying. And, finally, I realized I might be able to help my sister and friend, something I want, and started on the path of doing so.¡± Epecteos drew his sword and used it to send fire up into the sky, effectively creating a small fireworks display. ¡°And there is our first example of social insight. ¡°Let¡¯s start on the second.¡± They had several more days before they¡¯d have to leave the planet to go get his students levels, and Epecteos decided to use that time for lessons they likely needed more than extra combat practice. Chapter 175: Handling Being Hunted Entering into the Kimali Mountains on the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s capital planet, Mila realized two things. First, she shouldn¡¯t have asked to go alone just because the mountains only had monsters up to D rank and she wanted to use her full skills. Second, she shouldn¡¯t have thought, just because she was deep into the Territory of the Violet Mountain Sect, that she would be safe from cultivators. Two D ranks had followed her ever since she left the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, one human female and one human male, but there had been many other cultivators heading in the same direction as well, so she hadn¡¯t thought anything of it. There were even five other D ranks heading to the Kimali Mountains, as it was a great place to find natural resources. These two, however, it was quickly obvious were directly following her and, given the way they were moving, it wasn¡¯t to ask her a question. ¡°Isaiah,¡± she immediately sent, ¡°get Epecteos and head to Toril with him. It¡¯s unlikely, but I might need his help to run away from the Violet Mountain Sect.¡± Isaiah and Epecteos had a telepathic bond when they were on the same planet due to their master apprentice relationship, and Mila could telepathically talk to Isaiah due to his Servant Knight skill, so sending Isaiah with Epecteos was the best way she could quickly talk to Epecteos if she needed to. Running away from the Violet Mountain Sect, however, was an act of last resort, so Mila first tried something else which was only a bit dangerous. She used the power of her healing skill to stop her own heart for a second and then to heal herself back up. And, over the next few minutes, as she headed deeper and deeper into the mountains, she did this quite a few times. Morse code wasn¡¯t a thing in the wider universe, but there were other similar codes, and Mila had repeated the code for ¡®someone is hunting me with the intent of taking my life¡¯ three times with her own vitals. Given the Violet Mountain Mark on her right arm, which monitored her health at all times while she was within the Carium Galaxy Cluster, her message would have definitely been sent to the Violet Mountain Sect, so it was likely someone would come and save her. But, if not, she¡¯d have to reveal some of her power and run away on her own. From the skills she could see the two following her use through her Sensory Domain skill, she was pretty sure they were assassins and, given they were following her, she was almost certainly their target. They were using stealth skills from almost a kilometer away, however, so they didn¡¯t think she¡¯d spotted them. And they were likely wary of what would happen after they killed her, so they were perfectly fine with waiting for her to move deeper and deeper into the mountains, which allowed her to buy time. With Sensory Domain, she could also see in front of her as well, which could have allowed her to move through the mountains without any fear, but she didn¡¯t speed up. What she did do, however, was try to determine what detection skills the two had. Only one of them seemed to be tracking her, the female, and she seemed to be following her movements with her eyes, which meant her detection skill was likely vision based. But it couldn¡¯t be a pure vision skill, as the mountains were forested and there was no direct line of sight. The male she could quickly determine had a hearing based detection skill as he tilted his head every so often and reacted to the sounds in his environment yet not other factors, but it took her more observation to figure out the woman¡¯s skill. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Still, it wasn¡¯t that difficult. For a few seconds, Mila thought it might be a weaker grade version of her old Life Death Detection skill, but then she quickly threw that idea away as her stopping and starting her heart would have been detected if that were the case. With that line of skills eliminated, however, the woman¡¯s actions only made sense if she had an X-ray vision type of skill, and that type of skill could easily be beaten by stealth. This meant Mila could escape from the pair at any time she wanted, and that allowed her to relax. Best case scenario, the Violet Mountain Sect sent someone to save her. Second best case, she entered into one of the mountain range¡¯s cave systems and used stealth to lose the two assassins inside. Unless something went very, very wrong, she wouldn¡¯t need to summon Epecteos to the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s capital planet. About three minutes of traveling later, Mila¡¯s Sensory Domain picked up a five man squad of D rank core disciples of the Violet Mountain Sect approaching at rapid speed, a group which would almost never be found in the Kimali Mountains. And their group found the two assassins before the assassins noticed them. So, as one of the group broke off from the other four and headed toward her, the remaining four confronted the two D ranks who¡¯d been hunting her. But they weren¡¯t quick enough, and it seemed the assassins were under contract magic with some very, very strict conditions, so, before the Violet Mountain Sect members could even ask a question, the souls of both assassins began to burn and, within the next two seconds, they were dead. ¡°Sarra, are you okay?¡± The D rank who came up to her was Farrah Fillior, a human healer and one of her teachers in the Violet Mountain Sect. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Mila stopped when Farrah appeared and took several deep breaths, allowing the tension she¡¯d been feeling to leave her body. ¡°Thanks to your teachings, stopping my heart a few times is nothing.¡± A few minutes later, the four other D ranks arrived, one of the warriors carrying the bodies of the two assassins, and the leader, a human male and one of the most powerful D rank mages of the Violet Mountain Sect, asked, ¡°Is Sarra okay?¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine.¡± Farrah smiled at him. ¡°She¡¯s my star pupil after all. ¡°Who was after her?¡± The man, whose name was Xander Rogar, frowned. ¡°All signs point to the Guild of Blood. It seems someone has put a hit out on our little talent.¡± ¡°A hit?¡± Mila was incredulous. She¡¯d barely done anything at the Violet Mountain Sect. Why would someone want to kill her? But then she remembered she¡¯d recently learned Orianthi Hewin had broken through to D rank, so it made a lot more sense. She wasn¡¯t going to suggest Orianthi herself, however, as that would get needlessly political, but if she was already being targeted it was about time to try and find a way to leave the sect. ¡°Who would want to kill me?¡± ¡°Not sure?¡± Xander looked at her a little more closely. ¡°Do you have any enemies?¡± ¡°Everyone I knew died and then I was trapped on a monster world for a few years before being rescued by my ancestor and joining the sect. Not to mention no one I knew before I joined the sect had anywhere near enough wealth to hire D ranks, let alone from an assassin organization.¡± ¡°How did you spot the assassins, by the way?¡± asked one of the other members of her rescuing group, a half jinn warrior. ¡°They were about a kilometer away from you and under stealth.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been training my hearing in the War of the Chosen.¡± Mila had already come up with her lie. ¡°And I¡¯m good at concentrating. They didn¡¯t fully block the sound of their footsteps after we entered the mountains and I¡¯d heard the same footsteps since leaving the sect. I wasn¡¯t absolutely sure they were following me, but it was a possibility and I was pretty sure they were D ranks, so I decided to send a distress signal just to be safe.¡± ¡°Good judgement, Sarra.¡± Farrah patted her on the back. ¡°You would have been dead if you hadn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± All the others nodded. ¡°So, what would you like to do, Sarra?¡± Xander asked for the group. ¡°You¡¯re a valuable talent of the sect, so the five of us would be willing to help guard you as you work to level up. But the training would likely be worse with us around, as the sense of danger would be gone. ¡°Would you like us to guard you or would you prefer us to bring you back to the sect?¡± Mila thought about it for a few seconds, and she was about to ask for them to guide her back to the sect, but then she received a message from Isaiah and she realized that would be a very, very bad idea. ¡°I need to level up quickly to help with the War of the Chosen. Would a few of you mind guarding me? I doubt I would need all five.¡± Internally, however, she was starting to think about how to flee the Violet Mountain Sect altogether, as, given what Isaiah was sending her, it seemed everything to do with her relationship with the Violet Mountain Sect was about to start falling apart. Chapter 176: King Hewin Vs Epecteos Isaiah ¡°So, you finally showed up.¡± Isaiah had arrived in the capital city of Epecteos¡¯s main planet of Toril about 30 seconds after Epecteos, so it wouldn¡¯t be obvious they were together, even wearing a cloak to help hide his identity. And then he¡¯d found a restaurant on the top of one of the city¡¯s tallest buildings and ordered some food, waiting for Mila to either tell him she would no longer require their help or ask him and Epecteos to come rescue her. Meanwhile, Epecteos had gone to a different restaurant and, as he owned the place, he¡¯d just walked into the kitchen and asked for a specific meal before taking over a private dining area. Then, however, a powerful aura spread out from the city¡¯s teleportation platform, one obviously emanating from a C rank, and Isaiah watched as a man he recognized from several reports as King Hewin of the Violet Mountain Sect climbed into the air as if there was an invisible staircase. ¡°I¡¯d started to think you were running away.¡± King Hewin used qi to carry his voice to the entire city down below and Epecteos flew out of the restaurant he¡¯d been in and into the air to meet him ¡°Running away from what?¡± Epecteos also used qi to have his voice carry. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve been issued any sort of challenge as far as I know. Was I running away from a planned ambush known only to you and the friends in your head?¡± To Isaiah¡¯s senses, King Hewin looked furious, but he took a deep breath so as to try and maintain his dignity. ¡°Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone, I issue you a challenge to¡ª¡± ¡°And I refuse.¡± King Hewin had been going to say more, but Epecteos cut him off. ¡°I have nothing to gain from fighting you, Kalin. You may gain prestige by defeating me, but beating you again brings me nothing but political problems I don¡¯t want to have to deal with.¡± And with that, Epecteos started flying back down to the restaurant where he¡¯d ordered food, while, at the same time, Aalam, also dressed in a cloak which obscured his features, arrived on the planet¡¯s teleportation platform. Then he used the skill inscribed into his boots to teleport next to Isaiah, where he took a seat. As soon as he¡¯d seen King Hewin, Isaiah¡¯d begun sharing his senses with both Aalam and Mila, and, while it seemed Mila was fine, Aalam had dropped everything and immediately come to join him, taking over the task of sending sensory information over to Mila, while also transmitting his senses to Diana and Irena as well. As a result, as King Hewin summoned a large two-handed sword from his spatial storage ring and swung it with all his might at Epecteos¡¯s back, Isaiah was able to see the cowardly move with more detail from sharing Aalam¡¯s more powerful senses instead of having to rely on his own. The offensive skill was infused with the power of the elements of lightning and fire, extremely domineering, and it was angled such that if Epecteos didn¡¯t block it, all life on the entire planet of Toril might be destroyed. This was about as dirty of a move as one could perform, and also politically kind of asinine as, just within the range of Aalam¡¯s Sensory Domain, seventeen different individuals were already filming the confrontation. The cowardly act forced Epecteos to meet King Hewin head on, however, which was exactly what Hewin wanted. What he probably wasn¡¯t expecting, however, was the ease with which Epecteos defended. Meeting King Hewin¡¯s blade with his longsword, Epecteos¡¯s body, sword, and movements were all infused with his Laws of Stone, Iron, and Temporal Flux, blocking King Hewin¡¯s sword with ease and weakening the qi and mana infused into it enough so that even the weakest G rank down below didn¡¯t feel a thing. ¡°It appears you¡¯ve improved slightly,¡± Epecteos spoke out, his voice ringing with anger. ¡°But it seems your arrogance has grown at a far faster rate. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Leave my Territory now, Kalin, and I¡¯ll see to it that those recording us down below hand over their video files so the Violet Mountain Sect can save some face.¡± His voice then turned almost glacially cold. ¡°Otherwise, I will end you for daring to attack my people.¡± ¡°Ha, ha, ha!¡± King Hewin began to laugh. ¡°End me? Epecteos, you may have had a few breakthroughs since we last fought, but I¡¯ve leveled up 13 times. You won¡¯t even be able to injure me.¡± King Hewin then attacked, his body and blade infused with Laws of the elements of fire and lightning, giving him an extremely domineering offense. But, as the angle no longer forced Epecteos to defend his citizens down below, Epecteos¡¯s longsword was free to use a different style of defense than before, this time infused with Epecteos¡¯s Laws of Rain, Shadow, and Soul Poison. Epecteos had been lucky and had advanced his Law Pupa of Temporal Flux to middle grade only a few months after his Law Pupae of Void Slice and Iron, and, using the copy of the technique Diana had bought from the F rank Trial Tower, this had allowed him to train the Twelve Element Primal Code up to the 9th level during the time since. His version wasn¡¯t as strong as Aalam¡¯s heavenly spark variant, and he only received about 40% of the effect due to his foundation being absolutely terrible, but Epecteos¡¯s control of his resources was far, far above Aalam¡¯s from the beginning, so, with the Twelve Element Primal Code, he could now combine three of his Laws at once with ease. And this had allowed him to develop four new styles of his 12 Elements Psychic Swordsmanship. The first combined his Laws of Stone, Iron, and Temporal Flux to create an incomparably powerful defense which he¡¯d named Solid Stance. The second combined his Laws of Gust, Bolt, and Void Slice to create incomparably fast attacks which he¡¯d named Speed Stance. And the third combined his Laws of Blaze, Illusion, and Regeneration to create attacks of ever growing power and mysteriousness which he¡¯d named Growth Stance. What he was using to fight King Hewin, however, was his fourth stance, Poison Stance. It was a shadowy style of swordsmanship which flowed like water. But the true danger of the stance was that every time he locked swords with King Hewin, a bit of poison entered into the king¡¯s soul, and that poison was nearly impossible to spot as it was infused with the power of Shadow. Even more important than Epecteos¡¯s increased control of his resources, however, were the three temporary skills he and Aalam had managed to carve onto the surface of his soul. The first was a Rare grade berserking skill boosting Epecteos¡¯s stats and energy flow for a limited amount of time. The second was another boosting skill which slightly increased the power of all of his Laws. And the third was a Rare grade version of the Heightened Senses skill which passively increased the accuracy of all of Epecteos¡¯s senses. With these three skills, Epecteos was able to make up for the difference in stats between him and King Hewin from the last time they had fought, and that made the difference between their Laws have a much higher effect. After just a few minutes of fighting, King Hewin¡¯s soul was filled with poison, and he was only just starting to notice, the poison beginning to slow and lessen the power of his attacks. And Epecteos then took the chance to launch an offensive, switching to his Growth Stance and putting King Hewin ever more on the defensive. Over the next two minutes, Epecteos managed to nick King Hewin five times while King Hewin wasn¡¯t able to draw blood once, and this seemed to anger the king into attacking with even more wild abandon, relying on his powerful armor to give him defense and putting his everything into his attacks. This of course was incredibly stupid, as Epecteos just switched back to his Poison Stance and defended against every attack, even managing to nick King Hewin three more times. And being nicked by the Poison Stance was many, many times worse than being nicked by the Growth Stance, the amount of poison in King Hewin¡¯s soul increasing by a very large amount and seemingly affecting his decision making as he attacked with even more unrestrained impulsiveness. In a surprise move, Epecteos then changed to his Speed Stance, his sword becoming almost twice as fast, and, with his first stroke, he cut off King Hewin¡¯s left hand at the wrist. Then he cut off the king¡¯s right hand as well, the king¡¯s sword and spatial storage ring both falling down into the city. But Epecteos didn¡¯t seem in the mood to show mercy, so he cut off King Hewin¡¯s head as well. This was nowhere near enough to kill a C rank, but King Hewin didn¡¯t have enough energy to regenerate his body, so there wasn¡¯t much he could do. Floating down toward the city, Epecteos used Telekinesis to remove King Hewin¡¯s armor from his body. Then he moved the king¡¯s armor, sword, and spatial storage ring to the teleportation platform and used his status as the lord of the planet to teleport them to Earth before tossing the king¡¯s head and hands on top of where his body had fallen. With all his artifacts gone, King Hewin was no longer a threat, but still, as his head and hands reattached to his body and he stood up in only his underclothes, Epecteos held his longsword to the man¡¯s throat. ¡°Do you surrender?¡± Chapter 177: Violet Mountain Lord Epecteos was nowhere near as calm as he appeared on the surface. The danger from Kalin Hewin had never been the man¡¯s personal strength but his political status. He was the youngest of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s eighteen elders and, due in part to how weak he was, only having a Rare grade class even at C rank, he had the highest chance of any of the sect¡¯s elders when it came to advancing to B rank. A normal elder losing to a D rank was a loss of face, and this had been the case when Epecteos beat Kalin before, but this time it was different. Kalin had broken one of the unspoken rules of the universe when he¡¯d risked the destruction of all life on the entire planet in his first attack. Had he won, it wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue. He would just be seen as domineering, and that would actually be favorable toward building the type of reputation he would need to lead the Violet Mountain Sect in the future, as it would make all the forces around the Carium Galaxy Cluster think twice about possibly angering him. But he had lost, and this would change the narrative. His first attack wouldn¡¯t be seen as domineering, but as a sign of desperation and weakness. And a man with such a reputation could not successfully lead a sect. Kalin hadn¡¯t just lost face for himself, but for the entire Violet Mountain Sect as a whole, and that was going to cause problems. Rumble. Epecteos¡¯s magical senses started going haywire and he turned to look at the teleportation platform where someone radiating B rank power had just arrived, his aura spreading over the entirety of the E rank planet of Toril. ¡°Why are you holding a sword to the throat of one of my sect¡¯s elders?¡± The aged and raspy voice emanated from a man standing less than three hundred meters away, and Epecteos felt like he was a small child again, watching a volcano erupt with his father. The Violet Mountain Lord was neither tall nor short, neither big nor skinny, and he looked to be in his late twenties at most, with fiery red and black hair, the dark skin common among the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s humans, and pure red eyes. But Epecteos could feel the signs in the man¡¯s aura. This was a man like him, approaching the end of his lifespan. And such a man was especially dangerous. Without hesitating, Epecteos resheathed his sword and bowed. ¡°Your elder wanted to challenge me to a duel and I refused, not wanting to cause problems for my descendant who¡¯s been succeeding under your care. But then he attempted to destroy all life on my planet, so I was forced to fight back. ¡°Everything was caught on multiple recordings and most nearby powers should have a copy already, if you need proof, including your own.¡± Translation, this is a big incident where your side is very much in the wrong, and everyone is already aware of it, so you can¡¯t just kill everyone to make it go away. ¡°Kalin.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord turned an angry glare toward his elder. ¡°Is this true?¡± Kalin looked from the Violet Mountain Lord, to Epecteos¡¯s bowed head, and then to the many, many weaker cultivators watching and recording them from all around the city, his mind likely slowly coming back to him as his remaining energy fought off the poison still in his soul. ¡°Yes, Sir. I¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about your reasoning.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord swiped his hand, a stronger feeling of heat and destruction covering the entire planet. ¡°Return to the sect and ask Elder Haxor to revoke your elder title. Then enter your estate and remain there in self reflection for the next 20,736 years.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°I¡ª¡± Kalin was about to say something more, but the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s glare intensified and he immediately stopped. Then he moved toward the teleportation platform and teleported away. ¡°Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone, let¡¯s move elsewhere to talk.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord stepped up into the air and Epecteos reluctantly followed him. At the same time, he sent a message to Isaiah. ¡°Take Aalam and run home now.¡± He¡¯d noticed Aalam arrive as he fought with Kalin, but he hadn¡¯t acknowledged it. And he hadn¡¯t acknowledged Isaiah the entire time he¡¯d been there. From what he knew from asking questions to the Yin Yang Sage through Diana, most B ranks couldn¡¯t see bonds, many A ranks not even having that type of ability. And the only ones that could were generally life element cultivators, something he was very confident the Violet Mountain Lord was not. Still, while he was confident the Violet Mountain Lord hadn¡¯t noticed the two of them among the couple hundred other E ranks in his capital city, he still wanted them to leave in case anything went wrong. ¡°You mentioned a descendant in my sect.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord stopped in the planet¡¯s upper atmosphere, using qi to transmit sound as there wasn¡¯t enough air. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Her name is Sarra Lin¡¯Talic. She is a young E rank who joined quite recently.¡± Epecteos felt his rapidly beating heart slow down slightly as he realized the Violet Mountain Lord didn¡¯t seem angry with him. ¡°Ah, the young genius many of my elders favor.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord nodded and Epecteos felt himself calm down even more. But then the Violet Mountain Lord snorted and flames of pure destruction spontaneously appeared around him, and Epecteos immediately felt fear again. ¡°From a report I just received before coming here, she was targeted by assassins. And it can¡¯t be a coincidence Kalin attacked you at the same time.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord bowed his head ever so slightly toward Epecteos. ¡°She seems to have displaced Kalin¡¯s granddaughter as the sect¡¯s best hope for gaining another C rank lawyer. And by all reports she¡¯s also quite lovely.¡± Epecteos bowed to the man again, far more deeply. ¡°Thank you, My Lord.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too bad we won¡¯t ever be able to let her advance.¡± Epecteos, still in a bowing position, felt his mind stop. ¡°Were you just a powerful D rank, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord spoke calmly, not seeming to care much about what he was saying. ¡°Kalin is obviously in the wrong here and his actions have brought shame to the sect. ¡°Were there better candidates for my successor, I¡¯d probably kill him for his transgressions. ¡°But that is beside the point. From your aura, you should have advanced in your required Laws, meaning you now meet the minimum conditions for advancing to C rank. Were your descendant to make it to C rank before your death, which seems entirely possible, your chance of advancing would probably even rise to over 12.5%. ¡°Were you a human, or at least if you had human blood like your descendant, I could try to recruit you. ¡°But, sadly, you¡¯re not. And I can¡¯t have a C rank jinn in the Carium Galaxy Cluster, especially not one my sect has already gravely mistreated. ¡°So, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to die.¡± As the Violet Mountain Lord slowly reached out his right hand and touched his index finger to Epecteos¡¯s chest, Epecteos shared his memory of the last few minutes along with his current senses with Isaiah and yelled through their bond, ¡°Hurry up and leave! Then share this with Mila so she can figure out a way to escape!¡± Isaiah and Aalam had just reached the teleportation platform, but they weren¡¯t moving, both just standing there and looking up at him, and, with Epecteos¡¯s high Perception, he could see the tears in their eyes. ¡°Do you have any last words, Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone?¡± Epecteos needed to buy more time for Isaiah and Aalam to get away, so his mind rapidly raced, trying to think of something to ask which would help him delay for even just a little bit longer. ¡°What will happen to Sarra after I¡¯m gone?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord sounded contemplative as he tapped the first three fingers of his left hand to his lips. ¡°She seems quite talented, and I¡¯ve yet to have an heir, so I was planning on trying for the next couple hundred years or so. I¡¯ll likely add her to the group of women already prepared. Then later I¡¯ll probably kill her.¡± It was at that moment Epecteos felt his Territory start to change, the process probably having started right about the time he¡¯d learned he was definitely going to die, and at first he thought the Violet Mountain Lord was doing something. Then, however, he realized his affinities with all Laws were rising. Aalam was about to do something stupid, and he couldn¡¯t do anything to stop him, or at least nothing constructive. ¡°Isaiah, take Aalam and run!¡± Epecteos then did the only thing he could do. He blazed his own energy like he was about to attack, and then he did nothing as the Violet Mountain Lord burnt him to a crisp. Chapter 178: Start of the End Zev Andar didn¡¯t feel much after killing the jinn. During his time as the Violet Mountain Lord, he¡¯d killed seven jinn for having the potential to reach C rank, and Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s chances had been the lowest of any of them. He also had no backing, so there wasn¡¯t any chance of anyone trying to get revenge for his death. The bigger issue was the loss of face for the Violet Mountain Sect due to Kalin¡¯s actions. Zev would only live for another few tens of thousands of years at most and Kalin had been his best hope for a successor, but now he was no longer an option. Were Kalin to become the leader of the sect, due to the reputation he¡¯d earn because of this incident, there was no way any of the other powers in the sector would treat him with any degree of respect, and that could potentially allow the Violet Mountain Sect itself to collapse. Deep in thought, Zev barely even registered how his affinities had all slightly risen, and it was only when he half-heartedly took a second look at the planet¡¯s System menu that he realized Epecteos might have been more connected than he thought. He¡¯d originally taken a brief look when he¡¯d first arrived, wanting to see if he should bother assigning someone to take over the E rank world, but the planet¡¯s status had greatly changed in the last couple minutes, and it now showed something he¡¯d previously thought impossible. Toril (E rank planet) The planet Toril, previously the Territory of Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone. It has now been taken over by its previous Overlord, the Heavenly Spark Soul King. Lord: Heavenly Spark Soul King Overlord: NA Benefits to humanoid population: Qi, Mana, and Psyforce regeneration +6.25% Affinity for all Laws +25% +25% affinity for all Laws just for being on a planet was ridiculous, and it was no wonder Epecteos had managed to advance so late in life if he¡¯d been training with that type of effect. Given the strength of the monster¡¯s affinities, which Zev could calculate from how much his own affinities were boosted, the Heavenly Spark Soul King had to be at least an extremely talented D rank, or maybe even a slightly less talented C rank. More important, however, in order to take control of Epecteos¡¯s Territory, which had not had an overlord when Zev had first arrived, the monster in question would have had to have been on the planet, yet there was no one who met the criteria. There were no D rank monsters or higher, and there was no one with the aura of someone on the path of the Heavenly Spark, at least not still on the planet. As Zev flew down toward Toril¡¯s capital city, he analyzed his short term memory, focusing on the sensory information he hadn¡¯t been paying attention to. As a B rank, his senses covered the entire planet, but actively processing all that information was draining, so he normally didn¡¯t bother. This didn¡¯t mean the sensory information was lost, however. As a B rank, his short term memory was far, far better than a mortal¡¯s, so he could review anything he¡¯d sensed within the last several days with perfect accuracy. From his senses, there had been 228 E ranks on the planet, most in the capital city, and, during his contemplation after killing Epecteos, only seven of them had left, along with 12 F ranks and someone who appeared to be a mortal. That mortal moved too fast, however, and the E rank he¡¯d been with had felt like the most powerful on the planet, while both had their features completely covered by cloaks. More important to Zev, however, before teleporting away, the mortal had summoned five flasks out of a spatial storage artifact which looked like a scaled azure fingerless glove and had poured the contents of the flasks onto the teleportation platform, something only the lord of the planet would be able to do. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. As one of the minor hubs of the Carium Galaxy Cluster, the planet¡¯s large teleportation platform was protected by System generated shielding which would block out up to D rank attacks, so even Zev wouldn¡¯t be able to just pour fluids on it, as the entire point of the shielding was to block out anything that could impede the platform from functioning. After pouring out the contents of the flasks, however, the Heavenly Spark Soul King and his follower had both teleported away. And, much, much more important to Zev, after they left no one had been able to teleport again, the E ranks complaining about the planet¡¯s lord blocking teleportation. Zev quickly stepped forward and used his status as the absolute head of the Carium Galaxy Cluster to override the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s command, but that process took nearly an hour, and, by that time, the platform had started to release smoke, any part of it which would normally contain mana completely dry. The Heavenly Spark Soul King had sabotaged his own teleportation platform, blocking Zev from returning to the sect, and it would take at least five days to fix. * * * Mila was extremely angry and, were she not around Violet Mountain Sect D ranks, she would have started to cry. But, compared to Aalam and Isaiah, she¡¯d been nowhere near as close to Epecteos, so the main emotion she was feeling was fear. It had been a while since Aalam had stopped blocking her ability to sense his emotions through their bond, so, even though the distance between them usually made the effect practically useless, with them now in the same galaxy cluster she¡¯d felt his fear which caused him to enter into his Id state for the first time in years. And she¡¯d felt as that fear of Epecteos dying turned into rage as Epecteos hastened his own death, starting off fiery and uncontrolled, but then turning cold and far more terrifying. Mila knew Aalam. He was someone who would often get lost in his own world, bringing himself cheer while pursuing his passions, a very internally focused person. And, as a result, at least before the integration, external forces very rarely caused him to feel negative emotions and, when they did, the emotions were usually balanced by his own internal cheer. This had led Aalam to express his emotions more openly than most, which Mila liked, but it also meant Aalam had very little practice in how to healthily deal with extreme negative emotions when he did feel them, such as when he killed himself after she ran away and Diana got sick. Inevitably, when Aalam felt extreme emotions, there would be an extreme result, and, before he teleported away from Toril, she was pretty sure Aalam was angrier than he¡¯d ever been in his life. For a couple seconds there, she¡¯d been afraid he¡¯d do something incredibly stupid like directly attacking the Violet Mountain Lord, but, after she couldn¡¯t feel him through their bond for the next couple minutes, she formed a guess as to what he was planning and it was far, far worse. ¡°Nana Xara,¡± she sent, ¡°he¡¯s on Hira, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± She couldn¡¯t feel him, which meant they were out of range, but there were only twelve places Aalam could use the System¡¯s network to teleport himself to. Seven were in the Carium Galaxy Cluster, Epecteos¡¯s six planets and the capital planet she was on, her having used the Violet Mountain Sect giving her access to add the planet to the approved teleportation platforms of her force as well. And Earth, due to having set up a specialized artifact on one of Epecteos¡¯s F rank worlds, was within range of her, so she wouldn¡¯t have lost connection with him had he returned there. This then left four choices, Hira and the three E rank worlds Nitya and Epecteos had gone to for trade, but only Hira had a weapon capable of hurting a B rank. ¡°Is he still sharing his senses with Diana?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mila looked around at the three D ranks still with her. She might be able to escape from them, but she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the planet. The Violet Mountain Sect wouldn¡¯t let her leave without high level permission, and she wasn¡¯t going to get that due to the assassination attempts on her life and the information about Epecteos¡¯s duel with King Hewin almost certainly spreading like wildfire. She also couldn¡¯t fake her identity to flee, not with the Violet Mountain Mark still on her arm. ¡°Could you get Diana to head to Hira to try and stop Aalam from coming here?¡± Isaiah was with Aalam and wasn¡¯t in a berserker state, but he had even less control over his emotions than Aalam, so, while there was no magic involved, he almost certainly wasn¡¯t thinking clearly. He probably didn¡¯t fully understand what Aalam was about to do, but, if he did, he¡¯d probably go along with it. This left only Diana of those who might be able to talk Aalam down and, if she couldn¡¯t, things were going to be really, really bad. ¡°Aalam used his status as Earth¡¯s overlord to lock down the planet completely. No one can teleport in or out until he changes the planet¡¯s status.¡± ¡°That idiot.¡± Mila was so incredibly terrified and angry, but there was nothing she could do. She was helpless. And then things got worse. Through her Sensory Domain, she could see three more D ranks headed toward her and her guards, and these three worked for the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s disciplinary committee. She was going to be forced to head back to the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, and, given the Violet Mountain Mark, she had absolutely no chance of escape. Chapter 179: Disciplinary Committee ¡°Why did you bring me here?¡± Mila looked at Xander Rogar and the other two D ranks sitting opposite her in the conference room in the core area of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land. ¡°Is this about Orianthi?¡± ¡°Orianthi?¡± Xander Rogar, who when not rescuing E ranks targeted by assassins was one of the three subheads of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s disciplinary committee, asked. ¡°Orianthi Hewin?¡± ¡°You asked me who would send assassins after me earlier and I didn¡¯t want to say due to her family connections.¡± Mila acted like she didn¡¯t know anything about King Hewin¡¯s attack or the Violet Mountain Lord killing Epecteos. ¡°But that¡¯s who I suspect. No one else I know has anything to gain from my death, except for maybe enemies of the Violet Mountain Sect.¡± ¡°And why do you think enemies of the Violet Mountain Sect would target you?¡± one of the other subhead asked, a human female Mila knew to be a rather powerful water mage. Mila raised her hand with three fingers extended, lowering one for each point she started to make. ¡°Even though I¡¯m only level 39, I¡¯ve already met all the requirements for the normal bottlenecks of my D rank class. I¡¯ve made it further in the War of the Chosen than any member ever from the Violet Mountain Sect. And I¡¯m on a first name basis with the princesses of both the Vin Clan and the Forest Cauldron. ¡°Of the E rank core disciples, I provide the highest amount of contribution to the sect and my loss would affect the sect the most.¡± Xander started laughing, but the other two just frowned. ¡°You sound like you¡¯re listing reasons for the Violet Mountain Sect to not punish you.¡± The third subhead, an earth element warrior human almost as big as Isaiah, frowned at her. ¡°Of course I am.¡± Mila turned to look at him as she put her hand down. ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything against the sect yet I¡¯ve been pulled in front of all three subheads of the disciplinary committee after being forced to wait for over a quarter of a day without an explanation. And the last item I just mentioned should only be known to the sect¡¯s elders. It¡¯s almost impossible any enemies of the Violet Mountain Sect would target me for assassination. ¡°This then leaves Orianthi and possibly her grandfather, who almost everyone knows hates my ancestor, as the reason you are holding me here. I don¡¯t want to fall victim to politics just because I might rise to the status of one of the sect¡¯s elders in the future.¡± ¡°Elder Hewin had a fight with your ancestor today.¡± Xander Rogar watched her face and aura, as did the other two, and Mila, who¡¯d been expecting this, went with the reaction she¡¯d already planned. She winced and mixed her face and aura with a blend of mirth and embarrassment. ¡°How bad was the sect¡¯s image hurt? Also, the sect didn¡¯t retaliate against my ancestor, right? That would be a really, really bad idea.¡± The reactions on the three¡¯s faces made it obvious they didn¡¯t know Epecteos was dead, showing quite a bit of shock but no fear. ¡°Why would it be a bad idea to retaliate against Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone?¡± the large earth element warrior asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t send more people to attack him, did you?¡± Mila thought about what Aalam was planning and allowed a little fear to enter into her aura. ¡°Not that we know of.¡± Xander Rogar¡¯s face was more serious now. ¡°Why would it be a bad idea to retaliate against Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone?¡± Mila calmed herself down, her aura doing the same, and looked directly at Xander, seemingly ignoring the other two. ¡°Why am I here, Xander? From what I can tell, the younger Hewin tried to kill me and failed while the elder Hewin tried to kill my ancestor and was most likely humiliated. In both cases, members of the sect have attacked my family, which is strictly against sect rules. And yet I¡¯m locked up here, which implies you¡¯re about to do something against me.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Xander appeared contemplative for a second. Then he said, ¡°You¡¯re right. This is unfair. Elder Hewin is definitely in the wrong. And, were it up to me, he would be severely punished, as not only did he attack your ancestor, he did so in a way that brought shame to the sect¡¯s name. ¡°But it¡¯s not up to me, Sarra. So please give me a reason to stop those in the sect who would press an assault on your ancestor from doing so?¡± Mila just looked at him for a few seconds, tricking her aura into showing fear, respect, and anger in a mixed jumble by thinking of several things at once. ¡°I can¡¯t. I would feel too much pain and I wouldn¡¯t be able to speak.¡± She made herself appear to think for several seconds. Then, slowly, she said, ¡°There are three facts you should be aware of. One, my ancestor is a very, very skilled combat instructor. Two, there are forces in the universe far, far more powerful than the Violet Mountain Sect. And, three, princes and princesses generally have the authority to call upon the power of their forces for things like revenge.¡± ¡°Oh crap.¡± Xander and the other two looked at each other and then Xander and the earth element warrior quickly ran out of the room. This just left Mila and the water mage, the water mage showing signs of distress, and Mila limited her outward show of emotions to a mix of worry, annoyance, and a little mirth. Then, about ten minutes later, five of the sect¡¯s C ranks came into the room and sat down around the conference table, Mr. Haxor in the lead. ¡°You have contracts on you that make you unable to say who your ancestor works for?¡± Mr. Haxor carefully controlled all the outward signs of his emotions and Mila was pretty sure the other four didn¡¯t yet know the Violet Mountain Lord had killed Epecteos. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer that question.¡± Mila controlled her emotions to show a bit more respect and fear than previously, but deliberately not too much of either, her strongest emotion still worry. ¡°Understood.¡± Mr. Haxor nodded before turning to one of the other C ranks, a completely human female death element mage. ¡°Nari, please undo the contracts on her.¡± And there it was. Mila had been hopeful at least one of the sect¡¯s C ranks would have a contract breaking skill, and thankfully she was right. The biggest issue with what Aalam was about to do, at least to Mila, wasn¡¯t morality. The Violet Mountain Sect, as the biggest force in an entire galaxy cluster without any major enemies, was incredibly corrupt and there was quite a lot behind the scenes which was pretty reprehensible, such as the practice of regularly feeding outer sect disciples to a special machine in the blessed land to generate primal energy stones. The sect might have treated her well, but that was because she deliberately entered as a core disciple. Overall, morally speaking, the Violet Mountain Sect was pretty average in the universe, and, when the universe¡¯s rules rewarded mass slaughter, average was pretty bad. Most who were going to die probably didn¡¯t deserve it, but that was how wars worked. What Mila was far more worried about was Aalam¡¯s wellbeing. If he went through with what he was planning, he¡¯d hate himself and, if he took any concrete actions in his plan without first declaring a sect war against the Violet Mountain Sect, the System would automatically place a bounty on his head, and that would almost certainly lead to his death. Aalam himself, however, couldn¡¯t declare a sect war. Due precisely to their fears about Aalam¡¯s Id state, they¡¯d designed their force such that only their president could declare war, and that was currently Mila. But Mila was a member of the Violet Mountain Sect, and, while she could be in two forces at once, and the System would allow her to leave the Violet Mountain Sect easily due to their actions against Epecteos, given the contract she¡¯d signed with the Violet Mountain Sect, she¡¯d permanently lose her cultivation were she to do so. Thus the first thing Mila needed to do was to break her contract with the Violet Mountain Sect. If push really came to shove, she could break the contract herself, but, with the help of a C rank contract breaking skill, she wouldn¡¯t have to risk a random god showing up in the future to assassinate her for having the Shadow Princess uniqueness. And that was so much better. The death mage stood up, walked around the conference table, and put her hands on Mila¡¯s back. Then she started pouring death element energy into Mila which moved towards every contract Mila had. Mr. Haxor didn¡¯t have any skills to allow him to see bonds, and his Laws weren¡¯t quite at the level to allow him to do so without as he didn¡¯t have a third eye line uniqueness like Mila, but, given the nature of the artifact Mila had been bound to by his skill, it was an almost certainty Mila wasn¡¯t under any contracts she hadn¡¯t made herself, thus why he was sure the death mage¡¯s skill would be able to break all of Mila¡¯s contracts except for the one made with his own power. What he hadn¡¯t accounted for, however, was Mila¡¯s recently advanced peak grade Law Larva of the Reaper, with which she guided the energy of the death mage¡¯s skill to mostly work against her contract with the sect¡¯s artifact, completely avoiding her master servant contract with Aalam and her student teacher contract with Nana Xara. As a result, a couple minutes later, Mila was free from the bounds of the Violet Mountain Sect, and the broken contract which had been shackling her soul was destroyed as well, revealing Mila¡¯s full aura and stats to the C ranks in front of her. Chapter 180: Mr. Haxor Mila ¡°So, you¡¯ve been lying to us?¡± Mr. Haxor leaned forward into her personal space at the reveal of her true stats, a hint of anger in his voice. ¡°No.¡± Mila met his eyes and didn¡¯t look away. ¡°I just have a teacher who believes good learning experiences can¡¯t come when everyone knows you¡¯re under the protection of an A rank.¡± ¡°An A rank?¡± Mr. Haxor¡¯s body quickly moved back. And Mila could see the gears spinning in his head. ¡°Which A rank?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to say.¡± Mila looked at the other C ranks in turn, pausing a second longer on Eminar Kelmin, who¡¯d been unsubtly trying to take advantage of her for a few years. ¡°I don¡¯t hate any of you quite that much. ¡°Like everyone else, my master can only take two apprentices at once and they would rather I not be targeted by their A rank or higher enemies. So, my master specifically told me not to give their name out, as they would kill anyone who learned it. ¡°Do you still want to know?¡± ¡°Why did you join the Violet Mountain Sect?¡± Mr. Haxor didn¡¯t show his fear on his face or in his aura, but, by the way he quickly glossed over his previous question, it seemed he was likely panicking slightly knowing what the Violet Mountain Lord had done. ¡°Practice and experience.¡± Mila shrugged. ¡°Everyone knows who I am in my master¡¯s force and they treat me differently as a result. The cultivation environment might be better, but having everyone fear you makes training in politics and the like much more difficult, and my master wants me to be a leader.¡± ¡°So you weren¡¯t planning on anything like taking over the Violet Mountain Sect?¡± ¡°My master told me to do just that.¡± Mila smiled slightly. ¡°But it¡¯s not like my master asked me to assassinate you all. My master wanted me to rise through the ranks while playing politics and not show my full strength to make the process more challenging.¡± Mila looked at them all individually again. ¡°Would having an A rank talent as your next chief elder be a bad thing?¡± ¡°Curse you, Kalin,¡± one of the other C ranks muttered under his breath, fully audible to everyone in the room, and Mila was about to respond. But then she suddenly felt Aalam and Isaiah again, meaning they were on the planet outside the blessed land, and she had no time. She first tried to contact Isaiah, but her bond to him was blocked. She was only connected to him in the first place through her role as Aalam¡¯s chamberlain, and Aalam could disable that connection at will. At the same time, Aalam was also blocking her ability to communicate with him as well, though he was sharing his senses with her as he and Isaiah stepped off the planet¡¯s teleportation platform. So, left without any other good option, Mila withdrew from the Violet Mountain Sect and started the process of declaring war. As the president of the Black Lake Corporation, please confirm you would like to start a war with the Violet Mountain Sect. After Epecteos wiped out the Netherwater¡¯s Chosen Sect, the Consortium of the Red and Blue Flower had advanced to an E rank force, and this allowed Mila to change the name, so, to add an extra layer of obfuscation, she had. And this time she¡¯d chosen a name which was close to being the same as a famous but not too famous force, providing an extra layer of confusion, as this name wouldn¡¯t be permanent either. The Black Lake Conglomerate was a large A rank undead trading firm which brokered deals between undead empires and forces of the living. The Black Lake Corporation, on the other hand, was a tiny E rank force about to start a war with the Violet Mountain Sect. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A System Approved War has begun between the E rank force Black Lake Corporation and the B rank force Violet Mountain Sect. War Initialization Conditions: Unprovoked attempted annihilation of unaffiliated civilians and then unprovoked murder of Black Lake Corporation member Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone by the Violet Mountain Sect Beginning force comparison. Black Lake Corporation President: E rank Vice Presidents: 2 E ranks Members: 3 E ranks Violet Mountain Sect Chief Elder: B rank Elders: 18 C ranks Core Disciples: 893 D ranks, 432 E ranks, 24 F ranks Inner Sect Disciples: 732 D ranks, 5,349 E ranks, 1,899 F ranks Outer Sect Disciples: 57 D ranks, 374,893,560 E ranks, 37,429,185,028 F ranks Due to the unprovoked acts of the Violet Mountain Sect, rewards increased to 100% of any killed cultivator¡¯s credits in the case of victory for the Black Lake Corporation, plus a transfer of 50% of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s assets, Territory, and System privileges. In the case of a complete victory for the Black Lake Corporation, transfer of assets, Territory, and System privileges will be increased to 100% and all the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s secrets will be revealed. The elders in front of her all received the same System notification as well, as would Diana and Irena, the Black Lake Corporation¡¯s two vice presidents, but Aalam and Isaiah, along with all the disciples of the Violet Mountain Sect, would not. More important than who would receive the notification, however, was that the System message revealed the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s actions against Epecteos in very clear words, giving her something to work with to make up for not being able to set the full proper groundwork before initiating the war, something they¡¯d all just felt her do. ¡°You killed him?¡± Mila changed the emotions on her face and in her aura to show extreme amounts of rage and sadness, her voice a low growl. Then she waited a second as the four C ranks in the room other than Mr. Haxor all showed expressions of puzzlement, followed by realization, followed by fear. ¡°Why?¡± Everyone was looking at Mr. Haxor, Mila glaring and the four C ranks showing clear expressions of shock and fear. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Mr. Haxor looked at the other C ranks, a worried expression on his face. ¡°The Violet Mountain Lord did it. And now he¡¯s trapped on Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s former capital planet.¡± ¡°They managed to trap the Violet Mountain Lord?¡± Eminar Kelmin¡¯s voice showed more fear in it than the man had likely felt in over ten thousand years. ¡°There was a monster lord who Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone apparently served as a servant, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and he took over the planet after Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s death, left, and destroyed the teleportation platform behind him.¡± ¡°Why would the Violet Mountain Lord kill Epecteos?¡± Eminar Kelmin¡¯s body was shaking. ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡± One of the other C ranks, the only one with any jinn blood, looked at Eminar as if the other man were an idiot. ¡°The man¡¯s a racist asshole who kills any jinn able to advance to C rank.¡± ¡°What can we do?¡± Nari Nivali, the death mage, turned to look at Mila, her expression almost begging. ¡°Why ask me?¡± Mila glared at all of them, her emotions continuing to show sadness and rage. ¡°The Violet Mountain Sect killed Epecteos. Why should I care if any of you live or die?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m going to die, you will as¡ª¡± began the last remaining C rank, a male human fire element warrior. ¡°Shut up!¡± Mr. Haxor yelled at the warrior and then turned to Mila and bowed, Eminar Kelmin and Nari Nivali quickly copying his actions. ¡°We¡¯re deeply sorry for the loss of your ancestor, Ms. Lin¡¯Talic.¡± Mr. Haxor did sound sorry, and Mila¡¯s combination of Third Eye Princess uniqueness and peak grade Law Larva of The Courtesan allowed her to tell he was being truthful, which made sense as he was obviously feeling fear at the aftermath. ¡°But no one here was at fault. And we¡¯re just looking for ways not to become collateral damage.¡± Mr. Haxor had a skill which gave him the same ability as her combination of uniqueness and Law, allowing him to tell if anyone was lying, so he believed everything she¡¯d said so far. After Epecteos¡¯s death, Mila had asked Nana Xara to say a lot of things to her, so anything she said about her master giving her orders or the like was technically true. Mila didn¡¯t just have to tell the truth to fool the man, though. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± In reality, she kind of did. There were people she¡¯d met who she¡¯d rather not die, such as her healing teacher Farrah, Xander Rogar, and the head cook for the core disciples, but she knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to save them. To Mr. Haxor, however, her lie would make him think there was hope, and that would keep him from doing something like forcing her to stop the war between their forces. ¡°The Violet Mountain Lord is going to die. He violated one of the unspoken rules of the universe, attacking a force led by someone with a much, much, much higher kill count than himself, and no A rank force would allow one of their D ranks to be killed by a random B rank for no reason. As for the rest of you? It depends on just how enraged the prince is.¡± Mr. Haxor didn¡¯t say anything for a few seconds, likely trying to figure out more information from what she¡¯d ¡®accidentally¡¯ let slip. Then he rose to his feet, indicated the other C ranks to follow him, and left the room. This left Mila alone, but she was pretty sure some of the people she was closer to in the sect would soon be visiting her. And this would allow her to buy more time until the chaos started, which would hopefully allow her to slip away. Chapter 181: Preparation It took over 7 hours to make all the required tools. Then Aalam packed them and the Shadow Thief¡¯s most dangerous artifact into a spatial storage ring and he and Isaiah made their way to Hira¡¯s teleportation platform, transporting themselves to the Carium Galaxy Cluster¡¯s capital planet. As the capital planet of the Violet Mountain Sect, it wasn¡¯t open to outsiders, permission from the sect required to use the teleportation platform. But the number of forces with those permissions were in the millions and the Violet Mountain Sect made a lot of money through trade, so, even though the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s scanning formations could easily tell Isaiah was a monster, and, even though both of them were new to the planet, security still wouldn¡¯t be alerted so long as they either didn¡¯t stay for more than a day or found accommodation. A new E rank and G rank, like Isaiah and he appeared, just weren¡¯t considered any kind of threat. This of course, however, was a very wrong assumption. Aalam and Isaiah walked directly into a hotel which was right next to the teleportation platform, booked a room, and went up to it. Then Aalam took one of the devices he¡¯d just made out from his spatial storage ring, a metallic one-meter-high three-sided pyramid, and plugged it into one of the room¡¯s universal outlets. The two young men then walked out of the hotel, headed to one of the city¡¯s local travel businesses which Mila¡¯d confirmed in the past didn¡¯t check for violet mountain marks due to being a front for a smuggling operation run with the permission of one of the sect¡¯s elders, and bought tickets for a magical train to one of the planet¡¯s other cities, leaving the bomb growing ever more powerful behind them. The device started by taking a very small amount of energy and then ramped up to the full amount it could use over the course of a couple hours, so, to the city¡¯s formations, it would just look like the hotel was taking up more and more energy. And, as the hotel was personally owned by the Violet Mountain Lord, it was allowed to do so, left to its own internal formations for regulation. And the hotel wasn¡¯t worried about safety, so, even though the energy drain was immense, given Isaiah¡¯s universal credits were automatically taken to cover the cost with a little extra taken off the top, and Isaiah could cover the expenditure due to inheriting all of Epecteos¡¯s wealth, they wouldn¡¯t care. About ten minutes into the train ride, Aalam used Telekinesis to sabotage the vehicle¡¯s engine, triggering an automatic alert and forcing the driver to stop for an inspection and the conductor to have everyone onboard disembark. As this process would take about half an hour, and the train had stopped in the middle of a beautiful forested valley, the passengers were allowed to walk around while they waited, and this enabled Aalam and Isaiah to just leave without anyone noticing. The Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s security was focused on entering and exiting cities, and through making use of the under-regulated train they¡¯d bypassed any inspection. Mila had moved around the planet while sharing her senses with Aalam multiple times, the two of them working together to find mechanical and process loopholes in the sect¡¯s security, and Aalam was now exploiting that knowledge to the fullest. He and Isaiah then moved through the open and scenic wilderness of the planet and, after only a half day of travel, they arrived at their destination, the Kimali Mountains. Aalam then easily created an array in the air which allowed them to bypass the formations the Violet Mountain Sect had around the hunting grounds, and he and Isaiah moved to the center of the mountain range. With Id active, Aalam¡¯s Spirit was fully in the C rank realm, and his Sensory Domain was still quite large, so there weren¡¯t any real threats in the mountains and they arrived at the den of the strongest beast quite quickly, a roughly 30-meter-long panther-like creature. Aalam then used Telekinesis to hit it once in the head with a rock, not using his full force, and the monster drunkenly ran away. The den of the beast was a large cave in the center of a quite large mountain, likely carved out by an earth element monster long ago, and it was the most concentrated location of power on the planet which wasn¡¯t guarded by at least D ranks of the Violet Mountain Sect. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Even though it was a planet with an artificially raised rank, the power of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land having raised it from E or D rank all the way up to C, the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s capital planet was still a planet filled with mana. And, like every other planet, that mana wasn¡¯t distributed evenly. The ambient mana in the cave, for example, was about six times higher than the planet¡¯s average, and that was enough for Aalam¡¯s purposes. Out of the Left Hand of the Runescribe, he summoned four specialized artifacts which looked like large glass crystals, each two meters in diameter, and put them in the four corners of the cave. Then he summoned the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s twelve needles and spent the next thirty-eight hours carving intricate array formations of at least D rank power and complexity all over the cave, most designed to hide energy flows, but many to summon souls of the dead into the four large soul containers he¡¯d already placed. The array formations were incredibly intricate and writing them required a lot more energy than Aalam had, so he needed to wait for his resources to be fully refilled three times, but the end result was an array formation which would slowly attract the souls of anyone who died on the planet to the four soul containers, and do so in a way almost no one would be able to notice. Almost no one didn¡¯t mean no one, however, but, as the array formations wouldn¡¯t activate until he triggered them, it was Aalam¡¯s hope that everyone able to see the abnormal movements of the planet¡¯s souls would be unconscious or dead by the time he activated the formation. Without much else to do, Aalam then began carving defensive array formations around his new temporary base as he and Isaiah waited. And, about a day later, when the ground shook slightly, he¡¯d managed to create an offensive array formation around the mountain which could use part of the collected souls to attack anyone who came near. ¡°Mila,¡± he sent over their bond, stopping his block on her ability to talk to him now that there was no turning back if he, Isaiah, and she all wanted to live, ¡°are you able to meet up with us in the Kimali Mountains?¡± ¡°Give me an hour.¡± Mila¡¯s voice didn¡¯t contain any anger, fear, or sadness, but through their bond he could tell she was feeling all three emotions to a very high degree. She just wasn¡¯t letting them control her actions. ¡°You have a way to block my Violet Mountain Mark, correct?¡± ¡°Tell me when you want it gone and it will be gone.¡± With the power of Aalam¡¯s Spirit and the amount of psyforce in his mental forges while in his Id state, along with his now middle grade Law Pupa of Severing, Aalam had the ability to completely sever Mila¡¯s Violet Mountain Mark from the artifact which created it from anywhere on the planet. He didn¡¯t need to get close. ¡°We don¡¯t have to meet up?¡± ¡°No.¡± There was a pause for a bit as Mila was likely thinking, or maybe escaping. She wasn¡¯t showing him what she was doing. ¡°Alright then. Sever it now. Then I¡¯ll join you and Isaiah in about a day. ¡°I have some things to set up first so we¡¯re all less likely to die.¡± With that, Mila stopped talking to him, and Aalam, no longer blocked from the next steps by Mila still having an active Violet Mountain Mark, proceeded with his plan, summoning thirteen different vials from the Left Hand of the Runescribe and passing six of them to Isaiah. Then the two of them traveled to two different nearby cities and, unable to enter them without Violet Mountain Marks, poured out the contents of the vials right near their entrances. Their main job done, they then returned to the cave and Aalam took out a large altar from a specialized spatial storage ring he¡¯d made, one about ten meters by ten meters square and made almost entirely of what seemed like the bones of powerful humans, and placed it in the center of the cave. This was the Altar of Sacrifice, the most powerful weapon the Shadow Thief had ever stolen, and an artifact powerful enough that the sacrifice of a million F ranks could create a curse powerful enough to have a slight effect against even a max level B rank dragon. The curse the Shadow Thief¡¯s soul fragment had been thinking of unleashing, however, would have used the sacrifice of the B rank¡¯s own grandson, Isaiah, as a method of targeting, making it a bloodline curse, and that, with some slight tweaks to the curse itself to make it bypass Isaiah¡¯s father, would have resulted in the War Dragon King being hit with at least 80% of the curse¡¯s power. When it came to curses, normal bonds wouldn¡¯t work if the range was too high, but bonds formed from bloodlines could affect a target almost anywhere in the universe. The Violet Mountain Lord, however, didn¡¯t have any descendants, and Aalam didn¡¯t have any way to get any of his flesh or blood which would still have his power, so targeting him would be a lot more difficult. Targeting anyone else in the sect, however, would be easy, as every single member of the Violet Mountain Sect other than the chief elder had a tattoo on their very souls which allowed them to be tracked anywhere in the Carium Galaxy Cluster. With the mountain marks, Aalam could use a curse powered by the deaths of everyone on the capital planet to kill every other member of the Violet Mountain Sect, increasing the power of the curse even further. And a curse that powerful, even poorly targeted and only able to inflict less than 1% of its might, had a slight possibility of being able to kill a powerful B rank like the Violet Mountain Lord. Chapter 182: Lander’s Horrible No Good Bad Day Lander Haxor was feeling more fear than he ever had in his life. The Violet Mountain Lord had killed jinn able to advance to C rank in the Carium Galaxy Cluster for hundreds of thousands of years without trouble. But this time he¡¯d messed up, killing the ancestor of an A rank¡¯s personal apprentice and the teacher of an A rank force¡¯s prince. According to Sarra Lin¡¯Talic, the Violet Mountain Lord was going to die. And, honestly, Lander didn¡¯t care about that much. The old man¡¯s death would greatly weaken the sect, but Lander himself wouldn¡¯t lose much even if the entire sect were to fall apart. The problem was the Violet Mountain Lord had made him a potential target as well. The A rank force¡¯s prince might decide to personally see to the end of the Violet Mountain Sect, and, in that case, his own power and status wouldn¡¯t matter at all. He¡¯d just be one of the main targets. It didn¡¯t even matter which A rank force it was. Even the Forest Cauldron, a peaceful mercantile organization, would respond with extreme prejudice if a B rank force¡¯s head killed one of their D ranks for no reason, let alone the ancestor of one of their core members and the teacher of another. That was the difference between A rank and B rank forces. The Violet Mountain Sect only existed because the five nearest A rank forces didn¡¯t see the materials generated by the Violet Mountain Blessed Land as important enough to fight each other over, so they allowed the Violet Mountain Sect to control the ancient artifact and keep 4.16% of the wealth it generated, the five forces splitting the rest. Were the Violet Mountain Sect to be completely annihilated by another A rank force, so long as the blessed land wasn¡¯t touched, none of the five would really care, likely just creating a new force to replace them and only being mildly annoyed with the perpetrator. ¡°And you¡¯re sure Ka¡¯Dravone¡¯s descendant is the apprentice of an A rank?¡± The Violet Mountain Lord was projected as a hologram into the meeting room where 17 elders of the Violet Mountain Sect were gathered, and he couldn¡¯t seem to decide whether to be afraid or angry. ¡°Almost certainly.¡± Lander nodded. ¡°She also seems absolutely certain that you are going to die.¡± ¡°Which force?¡± The Violet Mountain Lord almost growled out the words. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. And, given your actions, the girl has no reason to tell us.¡± ¡°Yet she¡¯s threatening us!¡± The Violet Mountain Lord glared at him, but Lander didn¡¯t allow the man¡¯s rage to phase him. Instead, he took a deep breath. ¡°No, sir.¡± Lander looked directly into the eyes of the Violet Mountain Lord. ¡°She made a statement of fact. And, in her mind, you are already dead.¡± ¡°Just wait a day.¡± The Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s eyes moved from Lander to the other C ranks and then back to Lander. ¡°In under 24 hours, the teleportation platform here will be fixed and I¡¯ll return to the sect, protected by our formations. Let¡¯s see who kills me then.¡± ¡°Sir.¡± One of the other elders, Weselin Vara, a lightning mage and the strongest combatant in the sect after the Violet Mountain Lord, cleared his throat slightly. ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What?¡± This time the Violet Mountain Lord definitely did growl. ¡°By coming back, you¡¯d be dragging the entire sect into your personal¡ª¡± All the mana in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land shook slightly at that moment and the holographic projection of the Violet Mountain Lord immediately dissipated, like the connection had been cut off. ¡°What just happened?¡± Eminar Kelmin asked for all of them. But Lander wasn¡¯t focused on the surge of mana, but on the fact his connection to the universal soul net had just been cut off. As the sect¡¯s lawyer, he was always at least partially connected to the soul net in case any urgent messages were sent, but now that connection was severed. The Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s capital planet, as the center of the Carium Galaxy Cluster, held the main soul net hub for about a third of their entire Territory, located right next to the planet¡¯s teleportation platform, and in Lander¡¯s entire life he¡¯d never lost connection to it. While on the capital planet, or in the blessed land, it was basically impossible unless the hub stopped working for some reason or someone was blocking it from functioning. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. But damaging the hub would take a full force C rank blast from right next to it, something impossible with all the sect¡¯s C ranks in the room with him other than Kalin Hewin, who they¡¯d locked up in chains a couple days ago. And blocking its function wasn¡¯t something even a C rank could do. Several of the elders jumped up from their seats to investigate, but Lander just sat there. If an A rank force had really arrived to deal with them, there was nothing he could do, nothing any of them could do. And, the more he acknowledged that, the less likely he was to die. ¡°Elders! Elders!¡± About half a minute later, one of the sect¡¯s human D ranks¡ªLander didn¡¯t remember his name¡ªran in. ¡°The teleportation platform and the soul net hub. They¡¯re gone. Someone blew them up!¡± ¡°What?¡± Eminar Kelmin and most of the remaining elders left the room to go see the destruction themselves, and Lander, realizing the man had said nothing about an external force invading, followed them, leaving the blessed land through its always open portal. They arrived on the outskirts of where the main city of the planet was located. But all they could see was destruction. Flying up into the air and looking down, it was pretty obvious what had happened. An explosion had occurred right near the teleportation platform¡ªgiven the exact center of the destruction, probably from inside the hotel the Violet Mountain Lord owned¡ªone with the power of a full strength C rank attack. ¡°We¡¯re isolated.¡± Lander looked up at the sky as he and the others flew back to the ground. ¡°Just like the Violet Mountain Lord, we¡¯ve been trapped.¡± For several minutes, he just stood there, looking up at the sky. But then he realized something. The destruction in the city was perfectly circular, meaning it likely came from a bomb, not an attack. And it was incredibly unlikely a C rank or higher could have arrived on the planet in the last four days without their defenses triggering. Looking closer at the destruction, it also quickly became obvious there was no mana signature in the air, something he¡¯d expect if a C rank actually attacked, and there was no radiation either. ¡°Someone used an antimatter bomb against us?¡± It didn¡¯t make sense. Something like an antimatter bomb couldn¡¯t be brought through the teleportation platform, as the antimatter would have reacted to the teleportation and blown up on the other side. ¡°Find out if anything odd happened in the city in the days before the explosion.¡± He turned to look at the gathered elders and D rank disciples. ¡°Also check over everyone who teleported in during the last four days.¡± Having given his orders, Lander then brought Weselin with him and headed to where Sarra Lin¡¯Talic had been politely detained. When they arrived, however, the three D ranks assigned to watch over her were nowhere to be found and Sarra Lin¡¯Talic was gone. Then it took them several minutes and quite a few orders to find one of the three D ranks outside the sect looking through the destruction. ¡°Why did you abandon your post, Camal?¡± Weselin asked the man, far more imposing than when he¡¯d been talking to the Violet Mountain Lord. ¡°Abandon my post?¡± The D rank looked at Weselin and Lander with a look of sorrow on his face, which was also matched by his aura. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You were ordered to guard Ms. Lin¡¯Talic.¡± Lander spoke calmly, aware the man was in an emotional state and getting angry would only slow the conversation down. ¡°Now she¡¯s missing.¡± ¡°Elder Nivali came to talk to her right after the explosion and dismissed us.¡± The man looked at the two of them with a confused expression. ¡°Were we not supposed to follow the elder¡¯s orders?¡± Lander and Weselin looked at each other. Nari Nivali, the sect¡¯s death mage elder, had been with them at the time, so something else was going on. ¡°Ms. Lin¡¯Talic has a Violet Mountain Mark,¡± Lander was quick to point out. ¡°Let¡¯s find her location through that.¡± With the soul net down, the automatic tracking of the mountain marks was broken, so he and Weselin instead headed to the large ornate hall on the top floor of one of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land¡¯s many skyscrapers where the Bond Holding Orb was usually stored. The orb was a special C rank artifact with two main purposes. One, it could create marks on a cultivator¡¯s soul which would allow for tracking, health monitoring, and other features when integrated with the soul net. And, two, when bonded to a cultivator, in this case Lander, it could allow the cultivator to set up a set of contracts which could then automatically be created between a cultivator and the artifact¡¯s owner while also enabling more contracts than its owner¡¯s soul would normally allow. This was how Lander was able to maintain contracts with the more than 37 billion members of the Violet Mountain Sect. But, when they arrived in the hall, the Bond Holding Orb was gone. And, when they asked the three guards who were still in the room where it was, they answered with confusion that Elder Nivali had taken it. Then, over the next few hours, Lander had it confirmed no foreign C ranks had teleported to the planet. But a seemingly G rank individual with an E rank monster companion had arrived the same day the Violet Mountain Lord had killed Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone, almost certainly the Heavenly Spark Soul King and his companion. And they had rented a room in the hotel where the explosion had emanated from, a hotel which had been draining a massive amount of energy from the planet¡¯s network before the explosion. Worst of all, however, Sarra Lin¡¯Talic¡ªwho he was now pretty sure had the ability to change her appearance and aura to match even a sect elder¡ªhad declared war against the Violet Mountain Sect with her force only a matter of seconds after the two had arrived. ¡°Are we effectively losing a war against three E ranks?¡± Weselin asked when they learned the timing. ¡°They only blew up one of our cities,¡± Lander almost growled out. ¡°Even if they¡¯re from an A rank force, it¡¯s not like three E ranks could truly damage our foundation.¡± That was what he thought as the entire sect moved into motion to search for the three, the process difficult as tracking the Bond Holding Orb was impossible while it was held in a spatial storage device, but then the reports of the plagues started and, checking his own body, Lander realized he¡¯d been infected by over seven different varieties of magical diseases without even noticing. Chapter 183: On the Nature of Evil ¡°What the Hell is wrong with you?¡± When Mila joined them in the Kimali Mountains, the first thing she did was walk up to Isaiah and slap him full force in the face. Granted, her effective Strength was less than half his effective Toughness, so the blow didn¡¯t hurt, but she knew how to use her power, and he wasn¡¯t prepared, so he went flying into the wall of the cave. Then, as he slowly got up while struggling to understand what was happening, she growled at him. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to protect him. But what? You¡¯re angry, so you let the insane person try to kill himself again while getting revenge?¡± Mila, who¡¯d returned to her normal appearance, had an aura and face showing extreme amounts of anger, sadness, and fear, and Isaiah was pretty sure she wasn¡¯t faking her emotions. He then looked at Aalam, who was sitting on the floor of the cave with a calm disinterested expression, the obvious signs of his anger and rage having disappeared when they were back on Hira, yet to return, and Isaiah realized he¡¯d missed something. Isaiah had been angry, and then confused by the slap, but his emotions quickly changed to match Mila¡¯s. ¡°What am I missing?¡± ¡°The System recognizes both of you as monsters. And it doesn¡¯t treat monsters very well.¡± Mila was of the same race as Aalam, but she¡¯d managed to trick the System back when she was an F rank into thinking she was a native cultivator from Hira, so, despite being a monster herself, the System didn¡¯t recognize her as such. ¡°A monster who slaughters an entire planet of cultivators without the protection of a System war will almost certainly have a bounty placed on his head, and an extremely large one at that.¡± She turned to glare at Aalam. ¡°Had I not risked myself and declared war against the Violet Mountain Sect while surrounded by C ranks, given what Aalam has already done, he wouldn¡¯t be able to be within even a hundred kilometers of a cultivator without generating a high reward quest for his death.¡± ¡°Yes, you are very impressive.¡± Aalam matched her glare with a calm expression as his words focused on very much the wrong part of what she had just said, and Isaiah couldn¡¯t tell what he was feeling. Given the race they shared, as a default both their auras were nearly impossible to read, but, while Mila was deliberately fully expressing herself, Aalam wasn¡¯t. If Isaiah didn¡¯t know better, he¡¯d think Aalam was just a normal mortal, and there was no way to tell his emotions as his face, which usually made what he was feeling fully apparent, was blank. ¡°What is wrong with you, Aalam?¡± Mila continued to glare. ¡°I understand blocking communication with me and Diana. For your own good, we would have tried to stop you. But Id is supposed to make you impulsive, not stupid. ¡°The you from the last time you were in the Id state would have ordered me to start the war and, given the amount of primal energy that will start flowing on this planet, you would have brought Diana to convert some of it to nascent energy. ¡°The logic doesn¡¯t work.¡± Tears started to flow from Mila¡¯s eyes but Aalam continued to just look at her calmly. ¡°Yes, it does.¡± ¡°Only if you want to die!¡± Aalam¡¯s face didn¡¯t change even as Mila screamed at him and Isaiah finally realized what was going on. The Id state made Aalam lose his inhibitions, but it didn¡¯t cloud his judgement. In practice, this meant he¡¯d take on seemingly impossible tasks, ignoring the dangers involved when deciding on what goals to pursue, but, in his execution of his plans to achieve these goals, he¡¯d still take the various dangers into account. And he couldn¡¯t help himself but try to optimize. Take Aalam¡¯s last Id state for example. His first insane goal was to test what Mila thought about their relationship. And, to do so, he needed to get Mila in a highly emotional state, something he could only do through having Isaiah go through the painful process of upgrading his race by using the harmony dragon heart. At the time, Aalam hadn¡¯t cared much about Isaiah¡¯s welfare at all, but he¡¯d still accounted for the danger of Isaiah¡¯s anger and asked for permission first, hiding it from Mila, and, as he couldn¡¯t help but optimize, he¡¯d added several other treasures as well and given Isaiah a nearly perfect upgrade. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. This time, however, he¡¯d missed several possible optimizations, which was very out of character. But this was only if his goal was purely to get revenge on the Violet Mountain Lord. If his goal was instead to kill the Violet Mountain Lord and pay the price for the actions he¡¯d take to do so, on the other hand, his actions fit. ¡°Why do you want to kill yourself again?¡± Mila sat down in front of Aalam and glared at him, but Aalam¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°Because I¡¯m killing over 37 billion people to kill just one.¡± Aalam pointed at himself with his right index finger. ¡°I¡¯m evil.¡± Mila wiped the tears out of her eyes and appeared to think for several seconds. Then she asked, ¡°And why is it your job to kill evil people?¡± For a normal person, accepting their claim they were evil and then making a logical argument probably wasn¡¯t the best path for this type of situation, but Aalam was Aalam, and this question seemed to stump him for several seconds. ¡°With great power comes great responsibility.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila nodded, and the sadness and fear in her aura began to fade slightly, her expression turning back into a glare. ¡°Yet there are billions of people in the universe who are responsible for larger and more indiscriminate massacres than the one you¡¯ve just started, and for some reason you¡¯re trying to get yourself killed instead of going after any of them. ¡°I don¡¯t buy your explanation. That¡¯s not the true reason you want to die.¡± Aalam looked contemplative for about ten seconds. Then he said, ¡°I don¡¯t like the fear that comes from living in a universe where a powerful cultivator could kill anyone I care about on a whim.¡± ¡°None of us do.¡± Mila continued glaring at him. ¡°But random deaths are nothing new. On Earth, before the integration, my parents and your dad both died from random car crashes. Adding people with the power to blow up planets doesn¡¯t fundamentally change anything. Your dad just died when you were too young to process everything, so this is the first permanent death you¡¯re really dealing with. ¡°Other people get through the same thing without killing themselves.¡± Aalam appeared thoughtful, looking up at the ceiling of the cave, but then he turned his eyes back to Mila with a look of interest mixed with frustration. ¡°How do you deal with being evil then?¡± Mila just stared at him for several seconds, her glare growing stronger than before as the anger in her aura rose. ¡°First, I don¡¯t consider myself evil. That¡¯s just asking for a bad outcome. ¡°I do, however, acknowledge that I¡¯m not a particularly good person either. And those actions I do regret I try to make up for.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± Aalam asked. ¡°Well.¡± Mila¡¯s glare continued to intensify, the fear and sadness in her aura rapidly being replaced by more anger. ¡°I regret tricking you the entire time we were in a relationship, so I do things like give you impromptu therapy sessions even when the process of doing so makes me really, really pissed off.¡± Aalam turned to look at Isaiah. ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± Isaiah thought about how to respond for a second, a bit afraid of triggering anything in Aalam now that he knew his friend was suicidal, but then he realized Aalam could read his aura like a book so lying wasn¡¯t going to help the situation at all. ¡°You did just call the person who saved your life and who you¡¯re putting through a hard time evil.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± A look of realization appeared on Aalam¡¯s face and he turned back to Mila. ¡°Sorry. I just meant you were a person who does bad things.¡± ¡°Not helping, dude.¡± Isaiah shook his head, but Aalam seemed to ignore him, more focused on his own thought processes as he continued to look at Mila, who was deliberately taking deep breaths. ¡°You don¡¯t talk to your grandmother about anything personal even when it would probably make you happy. Is that a form of self punishment? Should I do that as well?¡± Mila just sat there, opening and closing her mouth a few times. Then she looked at Isaiah, who took it as a hint to answer for her. ¡°No.¡± As Isaiah answered Aalam turned to look at him. ¡°You should do the thing where you make up for the actions you regret.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Aalam looked like he realized something, but then he frowned again. ¡°So I should find and then somehow save a few dozen billion people?¡± ¡°Or,¡± Isaiah offered, ¡°you could, you know, not kill billions of people the next time you want to kill someone. Instead, with your talent, you could just wait until you¡¯re powerful enough to do so without excess casualties.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Aalam stood up, a slight smile appearing on his face, his Id state taking away the inhibitions which would normally slow down the process of him getting out of his depression, at least temporarily. ¡°Should I modify the plan to not kill the members of the Violet Mountain Sect on other planets then?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mila also stood up, fully in control of her emotions again, and the expression on her face was serious. ¡°We¡¯re in a war with them, and, due to the rank of our force, that war won¡¯t end until one side is fully eliminated or surrenders in person to the other. ¡°Given what we have to do to even get off this planet, however, we can¡¯t risk going to one of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s other planets to accept a surrender, as we¡¯d almost certainly be killed if we did. And we can¡¯t not end the war, as members of the Violet Mountain Sect will automatically be upgraded to elder status after any existing elders die and those elders would get a notification if we changed our force¡¯s name, something we¡¯ll have to do if we want to operate in the universe without A rank forces hunting us down. ¡°We¡¯re too far in now. And I at least put the safety of my friends and family above the lives of others.¡± Aalam started to frown again, but then he nodded, seeming to agree. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re definitely not good people.¡± He then walked over to the Altar of Sacrifice and started to make a few modifications to the formations. ¡°But we can be a bit better. At least I can make the curse painless.¡± Chapter 184: Violet Titanium Quintessence ¡°What exactly was your plan, Aalam?¡± Mila asked after a couple minutes, taking a closer look at the formations in the cave. ¡°For example, when are you planning on activating the gathering of souls?¡± ¡°I was going to wait at least another twelve hours.¡± Aalam spoke as he made modifications to the curse the Altar of Sacrifice would release. ¡°Souls generally last about three days before they start to fall apart, so there isn¡¯t a huge rush. And three of the plagues activate when a human or jinn falls asleep, making them never wake up, so it¡¯s safer to wait until they kick in for most of the population. ¡°I was going to wait until everyone on the planet was dead. Then I would walk right into the Violet Mountain Sect and take the artifact they use for creating those mountain marks. With that artifact, I could then activate the curse on those not on the planet, and, after about forty-eight hours, I would change the parameters of the curse to target the Violet Mountain Lord himself and wait for him to come here to stop the curse. ¡°Him reaching here would take at least a month, giving the device I would have attached to the planet¡¯s power supply enough time to form the required amount of antimatter, and for us to be safely gone with the Violet Mountain Blessed Land. Then, due to separate activation conditions in the curse formation, the full force of the curse would hit him when he arrives, weakening him enough to allow the plagues to take effect. Finally, the bomb would destroy the planet, hopefully damaging him in the process and allowing the plagues and curse energy to take him out.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila nodded. ¡°That¡¯s actually a pretty well thought out plan.¡± Her anger spiked as she continued to talk, far more controlled than before, but Isaiah couldn¡¯t understand why. ¡°It will, however, no longer work so we¡¯ll have to modify it a bit. ¡°Before that, though, I have one last question.¡± Aalam looked away from the formations he was modifying, turning toward her. ¡°Who were you going to get to kill you for the rewards for your effective suicide?¡± Isaiah only belatedly realized something rather obvious. Aalam had planned on taking over the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, an extremely powerful god level artifact Mila had discovered was capable of spatial shifts if fully taken over, and then use it to get the three of them off the planet. This meant he wasn¡¯t planning on dying with the Violet Mountain Sect, but first taking them back to Earth. And the implications of that were not pleasant, especially when Aalam looked over at him in response to the question. ¡°Damn it, Aalam.¡± Mila started glaring at Aalam again. ¡°That¡¯s even worse than the mass murder thing.¡± Aalam frowned and looked like he was about to say something, but Mila waved her hand, indicating for him to not even start. ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on what we need to do first. I don¡¯t want to have this conversation with you until you¡¯re no longer in the Id state.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Aalam nodded and then looked back at the formations he was still modifying. ¡°Why will the plan no longer work?¡± ¡°Your plan takes as an assumption that the Violet Mountain Sect doesn¡¯t realize until too late how they are being attacked and that the Violet Mountain Lord would try to stop a curse affecting him instead of running away. But neither of those things will happen. ¡°I had to declare war against the sect while within the Violet Mountain Blessed Land without them killing me, so I tricked them into thinking I was the apprentice of an actually living A rank and that the Heavenly Spark Soul King was the follower of the A rank force¡¯s prince. ¡°It was very clever. ¡°That said, however, the Violet Mountain Lord now thinks he¡¯s the target of an A rank force and the sect elders are all either on this planet or in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, all on guard against an A rank force appearing and killing them all.¡± ¡°Well, that complicates things.¡± Aalam didn¡¯t look up from the formations, but Isaiah could tell from experience he was paying more attention to the conversation than usual, probably more than one of his minds focused on Mila. ¡°On the bright side, though,¡± Mila continued, smirking ever so slightly, ¡°I wasn¡¯t doing nothing over the last twenty-four hours. ¡°First, the Violet Mountain Blessed Land has a system in place to scan for diseases, separate from the System for the planet which was destroyed when you took out the teleportation platform, and I managed to secretly turn it off. Second, I stole the Bond Holding Orb, the artifact which created the mountain marks, though we do have to be careful as it is still bonded to one of the sect¡¯s elders. Third, I sabotaged several key nodes of the planet¡¯s local teleportation network, which will make searching for us far more difficult. And, finally, fourth,¡±¡ªMila summoned a large block of some kind of purplish metal out of a ring she was wearing on her left hand, enough to craft a full set of plate armor¡ª¡°I snuck into the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s residence and took the violet titanium quintessence he¡¯d stored away for himself.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Isaiah, who¡¯d studied the Violet Mountain Sect along with the others over the years, found himself growing excited. The Violet Mountain Blessed Land produced several natural treasures on a regular basis. Crystal water was a C rank material used in a lot of middle rank alchemical pills and the Violet Mountain Blessed Land produced about 500 liters a day. Crystal stone was a C rank building material which the blessed land produced 125 kilograms of a day. And violet mountain titanium was a C rank metal useful for middle grade D rank artifacts, the blessed land producing about 3 kilograms per day. Then, every several hundred years or so, the blessed land would produce higher B rank versions of these materials, crystal water essence, crystal stone essence, and violet titanium essence. And, every few tens of thousands of years, it would produce even higher A rank versions, crystal water quintessence, crystal stone quintessence, and violet titanium quintessence. The violet titanium quintessence was the most expensive material the Violet Mountain Blessed Land produced, and the production volume was measured in grams, so to get the amount Mila had just summoned out of what looked like a specialized spatial storage ring, the Violet Mountain Lord would have had to steal the entire production of over a million years¡ªor, Isaiah realized, underreported the blessed land¡¯s production rate by half. Still, the amount Mila had was worth a ridiculous amount, and, more important, it could be used by an A rank smith to make an A rank artifact. Just the fact there was even a spatial storage ring which would allow an E rank to take such a material out was amazing. ¡°There¡¯s going to be an extremely large amount of primal energy floating around this room in the very near future.¡± Mila smiled slightly as she looked at Aalam¡¯s very excited face, the latter having turned almost his full attention onto her and the metal. ¡°I was thinking you could use that energy to forge something interesting, maybe a large sword in honor of Epecteos.¡± Aalam finished what he was doing with the formations and walked over to Mila, taking the large block of metal from her, treating the multiple kilograms as if they weighed almost nothing due to his strength. Then he started pouring his qi, mana, and psyforce into it and the metal began to change slightly, the process extremely slow due to the material¡¯s high grade and rank. ¡°Alright.¡± Mila shook her head slightly as Aalam showed yet again how he was far more interested in crafting artifacts than in talking with anyone. ¡°The modifications to the plan are relatively simple then. You turn on the soul collection when you were already planning, but you also modify the curse to take in the Bond Holding Orb and attack anyone with a mountain mark who enters the Kimali Mountains. Next, when we have enough souls, you change the parameters of the curse to target anyone with a mountain mark on the planet. Then, after about a day, you target everyone with a mountain mark still alive within range of the curse. ¡°Isaiah and I then start looting the planet while you prepare what you need to target the Violet Mountain Lord if he¡¯s stupid enough to return here. Then, finally, you go to the inheritance room in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land and try to claim the ancient artifact as your own. ¡°If that succeeds, we run back home and leave the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s fate in his own hands. If not, all three of us die as soon as someone powerful arrives.¡± Aalam, in his plan, had assumed he¡¯d be able to take over the Violet Mountain Blessed Land as it was obviously a crafting inheritance for monsters, but Isaiah now realized that assumption could be wrong. Yes, Aalam was a monster. And, yes, Aalam was about as powerful of a crafter as an E rank could be. But they didn¡¯t actually know the criteria required to receive the crafting inheritance and full control over the Violet Mountain Blessed Land. From Mila¡¯s investigations, they only knew the crafting inheritance was still fully intact and that receiving it would result in control over the blessed land. For all they knew, an E rank might not even be eligible, or maybe the god who created the blessed land hated incubi and wouldn¡¯t allow his inheritance to pass down to one. There were any number of ways things could go wrong. For that matter, Isaiah realized, they were taking for granted that everyone on the planet and in the blessed land would die from the plagues and the curse which followed, assuming the three of them would stay hidden until the curse was powerful enough to protect them. But that wasn¡¯t a given either. If they could create plagues, others could eliminate them or make vaccines. And if they could make a powerful curse, some of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s C ranks might be far more resistant to curses than they expected, or maybe not even have a mountain mark. There were a lot of variables still up in the air, and Isaiah was pretty much powerless to alter any of them in their favor. He couldn¡¯t alter the plagues and curse like Aalam, and he didn¡¯t have the skills to be sneaky like Mila. Isaiah¡¯s role was to be the fighter of the group, the protector, but Aalam¡¯s stats were far higher than his at the moment and anyone who could be a threat to him was a D rank or higher, not someone Isaiah could go up against. Resigned, he did what he always did when he had free time. He summoned out the spear and shield set Aalam had made him several years before, and he started to practice with them. To his surprise, however, Aalam, while using some of his minds to continue crafting and making modifications to the formations around the Altar of Sacrifice, summoned out his own blade and started practicing as well. And, as Aalam seemed to actually be interested in the practice this time, Isaiah spent the next half a day pointing out the flaws in Aalam¡¯s movements. Chapter 185: Danger Death. Sending his senses around the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, Lander Haxor couldn¡¯t help but feel everything in his life had been pointless. He¡¯d clawed, tricked, and betrayed his way to become number two in the Violet Mountain Sect, and he had enjoyed great wealth and privilege as a result. But what would he be remembered for? It wouldn¡¯t be for the trade deal he¡¯d renegotiated with the Vin Clan and the other four powers. It wouldn¡¯t be for his secret murder of the sect¡¯s previous lawyer elder. And it wouldn¡¯t be for the fact he¡¯d managed to reach level 360, the highest possible level for a C rank. Instead, if he was remembered at all, it would be as the man who led his sect to complete destruction at the hands of a couple of E ranks. Within the blessed land itself, there wasn¡¯t a single F rank still conscious, every single one having entered into a coma of some kind, and most were already dead. Of the E ranks, there were maybe two still conscious, core disciple warriors specialized in vitality, but they were fading and their energy was being eaten away by the plagues. The D ranks were a bit better off, but they, along with all the C rank elders, were already infected. And, so far, they¡¯d only figured out how to eliminate one of the ten different magical diseases they¡¯d discovered, but that one¡¯s purpose seemed to be only to put them to sleep so the others could produce even more of an effect. Given enough time, they¡¯d be able to figure out ways to eliminate the others as well, but the Violet Mountain Sect didn¡¯t have many healers among the higher ranks¡ªthis was one of the reasons Sarra Lin¡¯Talic had been so valued¡ªand their healers specialized in diseases were all already dead. ¡°Whoever made these plagues is a genius.¡± Farrah Fillior, stood up from the apparatus she¡¯d been looking into, a magical microscope which allowed her to better see the magical signatures of the nine other diseases they¡¯d managed to isolate, but both her expression and aura showed resigned sadness, not confidence. ¡°Each of the nine has a different primary element, so no single solution would enable us to counteract all their effects. And each is also supported by at least five other elements as well, which is ridiculous. ¡°All nine seem designed to eat our qi, mana, and psyforce, and they all propagate extremely quickly. Three, upon killing a cultivator, even use their energy to randomly teleport within a couple thousand kilometers.¡± She looked over at Lander and Weselin, who¡¯d been staying in the room with her so they could immediately get anything she needed. ¡°Even if I gave it my all, within six days I¡¯d only be able to find a way to eliminate one of these disease types without doing more harm than good, and that would only work for cultivators with life element mana. Yet I only have two days to live at most.¡± ¡°Is there really no other chance?¡± Weselin asked, lightning flickering in and out of his body as he killed all the magically enhanced bacteria and viruses which tried to enter, wasting a lot of his energy, but nowhere near as much as if he allowed the diseases to fully take hold and start to reproduce inside his cells, as almost all the other elders, Lander included, had accidentally done. ¡°You said Sarra was allied with the two who introduced these plagues.¡± A slight bit of hope entered into Farrah¡¯s aura as she mentioned her former pupil. ¡°We¡¯ve already determined these diseases seem designed to target humans, jinn, and hybrids, but, while monsters like the two perpetrators wouldn¡¯t have to worry about them, Sarra, as a hybrid, would. If you could find them, they¡¯d almost certainly have vaccines or antidotes to counteract the diseases.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Lander shook his head, feeling resigned. ¡°But the two disappeared and could be anywhere on the planet. Gods above, given the disguise skill Sarra showed off to escape and steal from us, it¡¯s even possible the two left the planet before blowing up the teleportation platform, leaving Sarra here to die.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Sirs!¡± Interrupting their discussion, Xander Rogar, one of the three subheads of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s disciplinary committee, ran into the room. Then, without waiting for them to even acknowledge him, he continued. ¡°One of the D rank inner disciples has a high grade Soul Sight skill and the souls of the dead are moving! All of them in the same direction!¡± It took a second for Xander¡¯s words to register in Lander¡¯s mind, and his entire body started to shiver in fear. The plagues were bad enough, but if someone was gathering the souls of the dead, the first thing which came to his mind was curse magic. Then he remembered that someone, likely Sarra, had disguised herself as Elder Nivali and stolen his Bond Holding Orb. ¡°Weselin, gather all the elders and our strongest D ranks and meet me outside the entrance to the blessed land. Xander, take me to the D rank with Soul Sight.¡± Terrified, Lander sped into motion. ¡°We¡¯re all going to follow the souls, find the invaders, and take the antidotes. But we need to hurry.¡± * * * ¡°Damn it.¡± From the edge of the forest surrounding the main entrance to the Kimali Mountains, Mila watched as all of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s elders and 36 D ranks approached, two D ranks for each elder. ¡°Aalam, do you have enough souls to curse all the elders of the Violet Mountain Sect at the same time?¡± Due to her sabotage of the planet¡¯s teleportation hubs, the Violet Mountain Sect only had one way to approach the Kimali Mountains if they were in a rush, so Mila had moved there and entered into stealth to watch, but she hadn¡¯t expected them to arrive so soon. She¡¯d been in the Violet Mountain Sect for years, so she knew none of the elders would be able to sense the moving souls, with none of the core disciples having such a skill either, yet now it seemed one of the sect¡¯s lesser disciples had the ability, and it was messing up her plan. She, Aalam, and Isaiah were on a deadline, as, if the Violet Mountain Lord or another B rank or higher being arrived before they managed to leave the planet, they would all die, so she¡¯d agreed to the risk of starting the collection of souls when Aalam had suggested, but now it seemed they should have delayed. ¡°All eighteen, no. Right now the curse could probably only debilitate three.¡± Aalam, because of his Id state, didn¡¯t sound worried. ¡°To debilitate all of them, we¡¯d have to wait half an hour or kill a couple C ranks.¡± Their telepathic communications were much, much faster than the verbal equivalent, so almost no time had passed, giving Mila a couple seconds to think. She recognized all but one of the D ranks and, given the one she didn¡¯t recognize was walking next to Elder Haxor and Elder Weselin, he was almost certainly the member of the Violet Mountain Sect who was able to sense the movement of souls. Killing him at this point, however, wouldn¡¯t mean a thing. Mila, with the combination of her Shadow Stride and Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers skills, would be able to approach the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s group without them having the ability to immediately attack her. And, given the strength of her bond with Aalam, and their mutual ability to reinforce it with their Laws, she could use Telekinesis to almost the same level as him when using his resources, which, with Aalam under the effects of Id, would allow her to kill all of the D ranks and possibly some of the weaker elders. The main problems, however, were Elder Nivali, Elder Haxor, and Elder Weselin. Elder Nivali was strong, probably the fourth most powerful in the sect when it came to combat force, and, as a death mage, her resistance to curses would be higher than any of the other elders. More important, however, she had a contract breaking skill, and this meant she could likely break her mountain mark if the curse didn¡¯t immediately kill or debilitate her. Elder Haxor wasn¡¯t a combatant, but his stats were high and he was ancient, meaning he almost certainly had skill. Even with Aalam¡¯s Spirit reaching well into the C rank level, it would be hard to kill him. And, unlike everyone else in the Violet Mountain Sect other than the Violet Mountain Lord, he didn¡¯t have a mountain mark, so he wouldn¡¯t be affected by the curse. Finally, Elder Weselin was just too powerful. The lightning mage had higher stats than even Elder Haxor, with more skill than Epecteos. As the most powerful member of the sect with a lord line skill, he was the master of the planet they were on, so he had extreme resource regeneration, the plagues affecting him far, far less than every other member of the sect. And, given his element was lightning, which was naturally strong against death magic like curses, curse power which could debilitate three C ranks would do almost nothing against him. Her little group of three was in trouble and Mila¡¯s mind raced to try and figure out how to get out of it, but her eyes couldn¡¯t help but glare at Kalin Hewin, the man who had started this whole mess, and who the Violet Mountain Sect seemed to have released. Then, however, as her Sensory Domain caught one of the D ranks trying to quickly run into the forest after entering into stealth, she realized something, then another, and then another, and she couldn¡¯t help but smile. Chapter 186: Death Lander With several of the key hubs of the planet¡¯s teleportation network seemingly having been sabotaged, it took them several extra minutes to arrive at the Kimali Mountains, the elders each carrying two D ranks with useful skills to make their movements faster along the way, including the one with Soul Sight. ¡°The souls are all going into the mountains,¡± the D rank, a human nearing the end of his lifespan, confirmed when they all landed at one of the mountain range¡¯s main entrances, everyone prepared to enter by foot as the barrier around the mountain range required. ¡°That direction?¡± Lander asked, pointing toward the direct center of the mountain range, where there was a cave with the highest mana concentration of anywhere on the planet not guarded by the sect. ¡°Yes.¡± The man nodded, confirming Lander¡¯s fears. But then something unexpected happened. Everyone in their party heard a clapping sound, and Sarra Lin¡¯Talic stepped out of the woods around the mountain range, clapping and smiling while looking at Kalin Hewin, who¡¯d been let out of his house arrest after the planet¡¯s teleportation platform and soul net infrastructure had been destroyed. Or at least she looked like Sarra Lin¡¯Talic. Lander¡¯s senses could just barely pick up that the woman in front of them was an illusion. ¡°Kalin Hewin, the man who destroyed the Violet Mountain Sect.¡± The illusion of Sarra Lin¡¯Talic¡¯s smile grew slightly wider as she looked around at the other C ranks. ¡°I can see the Violet Mountain Sect hasn¡¯t learned its lesson, seeing as no one has killed you yet.¡± Twelve vials appeared around the illusion, floating around her as if controlled by the Telekinesis skill. And there was a cracking sound as each vial appeared to be placed under telekinetic pressure. ¡°At least some of you know I¡¯m an illusion, but what I¡¯m projecting is real.¡± She looked directly at Lander, her smile fading. ¡°And these twelve vials contain the only medicine on this planet for treating the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s plagues, so I suggest you pay attention and don¡¯t try anything stupid, like sending in another D rank assassin.¡± A head flew out from the woods, not attached to a body, and it was one of the D ranks they¡¯d brought with them who¡¯d been tasked with immediately scouting out the mountains. He¡¯d only been gone for a few seconds, yet he¡¯d already been killed. ¡°What do you want from us, Sarra?¡± Eminar Kelmin asked, speaking before Lander could decide what he wanted to say. ¡°Why are you killing us all?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not killing you, Elder Kelmin.¡± Sarra turned to him and her smile returned. ¡°The prince came personally with his protector and plans to wipe out the Violet Mountain Sect as revenge for you killing his teacher. All I did was escape from your clutches and steal and sabotage a few things, making it harder for you to stop him.¡± She then pointed at Kalin Hewin. ¡°You all are obviously not sincere in your desire to make up for the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s transgressions, so I don¡¯t see any reason to intercede with the prince on your behalf.¡± ¡°What if we killed Kalin?¡± Eminar asked, and Lander realized something bad was about to happen. But he himself was feeling hopeful, so he didn¡¯t stop their discussion. Sarra had the medicine. She hadn¡¯t been lying about that. And, given what she¡¯d just said, it followed that the prince was a monster, not a cultivator, so the chances he¡¯d allow them all to die together was a lot higher than Lander had originally thought. Yes, there might be a curse which would target everyone with a mountain mark in order to gather even more power to then curse the Violet Mountain Lord, but Lander himself didn¡¯t have a mountain mark, so he was much more worried about the plagues inside his body which were already killing him. ¡°Interesting.¡± Sarra looked to her side, as if focusing on someone they couldn¡¯t see, and said something in a language none of them could understand, the sound of a response in the same language almost immediately heard. Then she turned back to them. ¡°The prince has decreed, since you have shown no remorse whatsoever, he¡¯ll only offer a reprieve to five of you. Which ones will depend on your power.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Sarra Lin¡¯Talic has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. You must sever one of the five appendages of Elder Kalin Hewin of the Violet Mountain Sect within the next ten seconds
  2. You may not kill Elder Kalin Hewin of the Violet Mountain Sect
  3. You must initiate a servant contract with the Heavenly Spark Soul King for at least 144 years through the System¡¯s surrender functionality within the next ten seconds
  4. If items one and three are completed by you, Sarra Lin¡¯Talic must give you one dose of medicine from each vial brought to stop the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s plagues
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No Lander read through the contract quickly and immediately noticed the trap. Kalin only had five appendages, yet there were far more than five of them there. And, as a non-combatant, he didn¡¯t have any chance of being one of the five. So, he didn¡¯t accept the contract. Quite a few of the others, however, did, and pandemonium began as twelve elders and seven D ranks fought to be the first to sever one of Kalin Hewin¡¯s limbs. A lightning bolt moved the fastest, cutting off Kalin¡¯s fifth appendage despite the artifact clothing he was wearing, almost before anyone else had even started moving. Then a beam of death took advantage of the created hole and severed Kalin¡¯s left leg. The rest of the elders, however, weren¡¯t as fast as Weselin and Nari Nivali, nor powerful enough to get through Kalin¡¯s defenses at range, so the competition between them was bloody. Three of the D ranks and even Eminar Kelmin, one of the younger and thus weaker elders, died in the process. Then, with Kalin Hewin lying mutilated on the ground in front of the forest, the six remaining elders and four D ranks who hadn¡¯t managed to sever any part of Kalin all died, their souls burning due to not accomplishing the first term of their contracts. ¡°Alright.¡± Sarra smiled at all of them in a way that seemed much more genuine than previously. ¡°I¡¯ll send over the medicine now.¡± Kalin¡¯s body was picked up by Telekinesis and brought into the forest. Then, about thirty seconds later, five sets of twelve vials, each filled with one fifth the amount of medicine Sarra¡¯s illusion had previously shown, moved out of the forest and headed toward each of the five victors. Two of the other C rank elders, and a bit over three fourths of the remaining D ranks, then all made desperate moves, some attacking the five elders who¡¯d successfully severed Kalin¡¯s appendages, all dying for their troubles, and some rushing to the medicine, dying as well. The five elders who¡¯d succeeded in severing Kalin¡¯s appendages were the five most powerful combatants in the sect after the Violet Mountain Lord, and Weselin especially could kill almost everyone else there by himself, a fact he then proved by personally killing Nari Nivali, the other mage among the five, a bolt of lightning entering directly into her chest and stopping her heart. Weselin then gathered two sets of the medicine and quickly began drinking from all the vials of one as he passed the other set to Lander, who quickly began downing them as well, no one left brave enough to attack either of them. ¡°Are the terms of your contract the same as the ones I received?¡± Lander asked once he was done taking the medicine. ¡°Should be.¡± Weselin¡¯s eyes moved as if he were reading, but then they grew wide. ¡°Wait, why are the terms different than what I agreed to? According to this¡ª¡± Weselin and the other three living elders who¡¯d accepted the contract all died, their souls burning, and Lander realized they¡¯d all been tricked. Sarra Lin¡¯Talic had a devil¡¯s contract line skill, and she was powerful enough to even make modifications when making contracts with C ranks. At the same time, Lander felt his connection to the Bond Holding Orb reestablish, and he belatedly noticed his affinities for all elements were rising. Weselin, as the most powerful elder with a lord line skill, had been the lord of the planet they were on. And he¡¯d just agreed to be a servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, so the ownership of the planet¡¯s Territory had shifted to the monster upon his death. As Lander¡¯s heart and mind both started racing, everyone around him flopped onto the ground, not dead, but seemingly immobilized, Lander''s senses showing powerful curse energy eating away at all of them. Then, to Lander¡¯s horror, the blade of one of the dead C ranks rose off the ground at a speed only accomplishable by a psychic whose power had crossed the B rank threshold, and the next thing he knew the world was spinning, his view rapidly turning from the forest, to the sky, to the others dying from the powerful curse, to his own body falling slowly to the ground. As a C rank, he could survive as just a head, but, when the sword came back around and cut his brain in half while his head was still falling through the air, due to the plagues still coursing through his body¡ªthe medicine not having done a thing¡ªhe didn¡¯t have enough energy to heal himself, and his soul started to move toward the Kimali Mountains. Chapter 187: Moral Event Horizon Mila let out a deep breath as Elder Haxor¡¯s soul started to travel toward the Altar of Sacrifice. Then she walked over to where Isaiah was slowly taking his spear out of Kalin Hewin¡¯s head and reached up to pat him on the shoulder. ¡°Excellent job.¡± Focusing everyone¡¯s attention on Kalin Hewin had been a good idea. With the huge explosion and then the plagues, there was almost certainly a general confusion about why the reaction against the sect was so extreme. But, by pointing out Kalin and pretending part of Aalam¡¯s anger was from how he wasn¡¯t being punished at all, it changed the narrative in their minds. Now, they weren¡¯t being attacked randomly, but because of their own actions. And their actions were something they could change. Given she¡¯d already firmly entrenched in their minds that she and the ¡®prince¡¯ were youngsters from an A rank force, to them it wasn¡¯t out of the realm of possibility she might let a few of them live. And, given they all knew they were dying and couldn¡¯t live without medicine they had no ability to create themselves, they were willing to believe in that hope as it was the only one they had. Sure, it helped she was able to subtly increase their greed and wrath using her upgraded Evil Eyes skill, her Third Eye Princess uniqueness allowing her to trigger the skill from anywhere within her aura. And, sure, the fact they all believed the medicine¡ªwhich was actually for curing completely different varieties of Aalam¡¯s plagues¡ªcould save their lives due to her clever wording and their faith in Lander Haxor¡¯s truth seeing skill helped as well. But nothing beat having opponents who were dying and desperate to live. As she already knew most of their personalities, things were then pretty simple. When pretending to ask Aalam a question in English while telling him how to respond over their bond, she¡¯d said ¡®There is going to be a hidden term in the contract¡¯. And, while she couldn¡¯t make any major modifications to the contract due to there being C ranks on the other side, she hadn¡¯t wanted to make major changes, just altering ¡®You may not kill Elder Kalin Hewin of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯ to ¡®Elder Kalin Hewin of the Violet Mountain Sect may not die¡¯. While those who still lived after severing Kalin¡¯s appendages fought to get their medicine, not having any time to recheck their contracts, she then took Kalin¡¯s body and, when Isaiah killed Kalin, getting his revenge for his teacher personally, the remaining winners of the contracts died. As expected, Elder Nivali, who could have destroyed her own mountain mark, was one of the winners, and she would have died even if Elder Weselin hadn¡¯t killed her. Elder Weselin, who was too powerful, was one of the winners as well and died from Mila¡¯s contract manipulation, his Territory passing onto Aalam. And, with Aalam¡¯s tripled strength from his new C rank Territory, Mila was able to use his psyforce to empower Telekinesis with enough strength to kill Elder Haxor, who didn¡¯t have a mountain mark in the first place. ¡°Aren¡¯t I supposed to feel better?¡± Isaiah asked as he used his qi to clean his spear of Kalin Hewin¡¯s blood before putting it back in his spatial storage ring. ¡°I¡¯m not really feeling anything.¡± ¡°Kalin Hewin didn¡¯t kill Epecteos.¡± Mila began to use Telekinesis and her multiple minds to loot the bodies, putting all their non-spatial storage artifacts into the super high quality spatial storage ring she¡¯d stolen from the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s residence while placing half their spatial storage artifacts on her person and passing the remainder to Isaiah. ¡°He was just someone Epecteos beat up.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll feel better when the Violet Mountain Lord is dead?¡± Isaiah followed her as she headed away from the mountain range. ¡°I doubt it. From what I¡¯ve seen, revenge doesn¡¯t really work that way.¡± Mila started running at her max speed and, with her soul in the middle of upgrading to level 108, the highest level for E ranks, she was quite fast. Isaiah, however, was also in the middle of the same upgrade from killing Kalin Hewin, so he could easily keep up, the boost to his Agility much higher even though his base Agility was lower. ¡°Aalam,¡± Mila sent, ¡°the elders of the Violet Mountain Sect are all dead, so Isaiah and I are going to go start looting the cities. When you¡¯re done with creating the new artifact and have finished what you need to do at the altar and the power plant, head to the blessed land and start the process of the inheritance. We have a time limit and we need to get off this planet.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Aalam sent. ¡°And thanks, Mila. I would have messed this up beyond just wanting to kill myself if you hadn¡¯t been here.¡± With that, Aalam cut off their communication, likely busying himself with creating his artifact, and Mila felt herself start to tear up again, but this time not from despair. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Isaiah, noticing the tears, asked, and Mila started to smile slightly. ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila nodded. ¡°Aalam just said thank you to me, meaning he¡¯s no longer suicidal, and that made me feel good.¡± Using her sensory domain, Mila could see Isaiah smile slightly for a second, but then his face turned serious again. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s going to be okay?¡± ¡°Maybe in the long run.¡± Mila started to frown. ¡°When he exits Id, though, things are going to be bad for a while. ¡°Epecteos¡¯s death hit him just as hard as it hit you. And it¡¯s going to take a while for the pain of that to lessen. ¡°Worse though is that Aalam crossed a moral event horizon and he can¡¯t go back.¡± ¡°Event horizon?¡± Isaiah sounded slightly confused. ¡°Right, that¡¯s a science term turned into a figure of speech. Of course you wouldn¡¯t know what it means.¡± Mila took a second to think, trying to remember when she and Aalam had talked about the term a bit over two decades before. ¡°It has something to do with black holes, though I think the science changed after the term was coined. ¡°Figuratively, it means a line which, once crossed, cannot be crossed back.¡± ¡°Ah, got it.¡± Isaiah nodded as they entered into the nearby city and began taking anything of high value. ¡°On Earth, before the integration, Aalam was a hero. Even with his death, he saved billions of lives. And before that he¡¯d saved millions. While karmic merit and sin don¡¯t mean much, out of every Earthling, Aalam had the highest amount of karmic merit, and that meant something to him. It was part of his identity. ¡°With his actions here, however, he¡¯s done worse than the greatest villains in Earth¡¯s history, so that part of his identity is now gone. And, by his own morals, he¡¯s absolutely evil. ¡°That¡¯s going to mess him up for a while.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Isaiah sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t stop him.¡± Mila turned to look at him as she telekinetically tossed five more spatial artifacts she¡¯d found into one of her spatial storage rings, but she made sure to keep her voice even and without any of the venom she was feeling. ¡°You should be. Aalam¡¯s not sane, but you were. And you should have stopped him.¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°That said, you were having the exact same emotions he was for the exact same reason, so, while I¡¯m pissed at you, I¡¯m not going to blame you. And you shouldn¡¯t blame yourself, either. It¡¯s not healthy, and it¡¯s unlikely you would have been able to stop him anyway.¡± She made sure to maintain eye contact. ¡°Instead, do the healthy thing and try to do better in the future.¡± Isaiah held her gaze for several more seconds, seeming to be truly trying to digest her words, and that made Mila feel a bit better. Isaiah, like Aalam, responded well to straightforward honesty, and if she could help him get over his grief faster, Isaiah would in turn help Aalam. ¡°Thanks, Mila.¡± Isaiah looked around at the dead bodies on the street they were running through and then back to Mila. ¡°You¡¯re always looking out for us.¡± Then he frowned slightly. ¡°But are you truly okay? This situation is really messed up and, if you were okay, I¡¯m guessing that would be a problem.¡± Mila took a second to think about it and the answer quickly became obvious. No. No, she was not okay. With Aalam in his Id state, Isaiah fragile, and all three of them on a timer, however, she couldn¡¯t afford to deal with her emotions until they were safe. ¡°No, Isaiah. I¡¯m not. But I¡¯m okay enough that I can hold it in for a while, at least until we¡¯re done with what we have to do.¡± Chapter 188: Inheritance Aalam Getting to look at the inside of the blessed land with his own eyes, Aalam felt it was beautiful. Every point on the hemisphere, not including the ground, was linked to a different point, so looking up you could see the ground and looking out across the horizon you could see the entire blessed land over and over and over again, the entire area spatially closed off. To Aalam, however, it was obvious the space wasn¡¯t a hemisphere, but a sphere in full. It was just that the other half was underground. The land above the ground had the same area as Hong Kong, half covered by skyscrapers and the other half by a huge colorless translucent crystal mountain and a large lake, so the area underground was almost certainly large, yet the Violet Mountain Sect could only access maybe 15% of it, which meant there might be more to the blessed land than everyone thought. Coolest of all, however, to Aalam at least, was the blessed land¡¯s lighting. The main source of light in the dimension was some sort of glowing kilometer-wide sphere at the center of the crystal mountain, so everything looked like it was under a blacklight instead of what he was used to on Earth. Congratulations! Your Law Pupa of Electromagnetic Radiation has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Magic +1536, Spirit +768, Soul +768 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats +768 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats +768 With his curse having already killed almost everyone on the planet, including quite a few C ranks, and his formations dragging their souls to a short distance from him, Aalam had been able to absorb over 70% of the primal energy from everyone who¡¯d died. And this, while also earning him a high level Hunter of Sentients boon, had raised his level to the maximum for E rank, greatly increasing his stats. As for all the excess primal energy, quite a bit had gone into the forging of the 1.5 meter double-bladed violet sword on his back, but most of it was somehow still within his soul, at all times slowly dissipating. But, at the rate it was leaving him, it wouldn¡¯t be fully gone for another 500 years or so. Ignoring all the dead bodies, Aalam used Telekinesis to fly toward the crystal mountain, landing at its base. Then, taking out a key Mila¡¯d stolen from the same safe in the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s residence as the violet titanium quintessence, a dull bronze orb, he held it up before the mountain and a large passageway opened up, big enough for twenty humans to walk through at once. Walking down the passage, he arrived at a large room lit by the violet light shining down through the crystal ceiling and, judging from the crystal chair on the raised dais, it was probably some kind of throne room. Aalam, however, wasn¡¯t that interested in the room itself as Mila had already learned about it by spying on some elders with her sensory domain. Instead, he was intrigued by the fact there were three exits to the room other than the one he came in¡ªone behind the throne, one to the left of the hall, and one to the right¡ªwhen from what Mila learned there should have only been two, the ones to the right and left. The one to the left was supposed to lead to the blessed land¡¯s inheritance site, which the Violet Mountain Sect hadn¡¯t allowed anyone to access for over several million years, while the one to the right was to a special time-sealed storage chamber where the Violet Mountain Sect stored its most valuable perishable natural treasures, such as fruits for racial upgrades and the like. The one behind the throne, however, was blocked not by a door but by more of the crystal which made up the walls of the rest of the room, and Aalam was only able to find it through the use of his Sensory Domain, so it was likely no member of the Violet Mountain Sect had ever found its existence. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Without thinking about it much more, Aalam headed to the left, walking down a slightly curving hallway for a little over half a kilometer. And there he arrived at a much smaller octagonal room with a meter high crystal pillar in the center and a crystal orb on top, which he placed his left hand on, pouring in his qi, mana, and psyforce. ¡°What are you? God or E rank?¡± To his right, seemingly walking directly out of the crystal walls, appeared a rather large beast, at least four meters tall. It looked kind of like a wolf, only it had antlers like an elk, its face was wide, and its front limbs were more like a gorilla¡¯s, opposable thumbs and all. To Aalam¡¯s senses, it was obviously a hologram of some kind, but he was pretty sure the creature was more than just an illusion, likely the projection of the blessed land¡¯s main AI. ¡°Why would you think I¡¯m a god?¡± ¡°You have no aura.¡± The creature walked around him, acting like it was taking a better look when in truth the mechanisms hidden behind the room¡¯s walls were scanning him more closely. ¡°Faking an aura is relatively easy. But retracting it to the point of having others judge you as G rank? I¡¯ve never seen anyone other than gods with that ability.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Aalam nodded slightly. Having a sublime soul race was supposedly extremely rare, so it made sense even this AI who¡¯d met gods had never seen someone like him. ¡°I¡¯m just an E rank.¡± ¡°Monster or cultivator?¡± ¡°Monster.¡± ¡°Prove it.¡± The AI¡¯s voice was neutral. ¡°Place a drop of your blood on the sphere.¡± Lifting up his left hand from the orb Aalam made a little cut on the tip of his left index finger with the help of his qi and let a single drop of blood fall onto the sphere. ¡°It seems you weren¡¯t lying. Incubus Emperor variant, E rank, Heroic grade.¡± The giant hologram nodded. ¡°You barely meet the requirements for the highest inheritance.¡± A system message then popped up in front of Aalam¡¯s face. Please choose which level of Steel Swamp Sorin¡¯s inheritance you would like to challenge. Your options are as follows:
  1. Basic [Combat]
  2. Elite (Only available to monsters) [Combat]
  3. Core (Only available to middle grade or higher monsters) [Combat]
  4. Full (Only available to high grade monsters) [Artificing, Combat]
Aalam immediately chose to attempt to receive the full inheritance and the AI opened its mouth slightly, showing its teeth in what could either be a grin or some kind of threatening gesture. Aalam couldn¡¯t really tell. ¡°Alright then.¡± The AI waved its hand and the nearly indestructible crystal material of the mountain flowed like water, opening up a large hallway to the right, and Aalam followed the AI in. After about a hundred meters, they arrived in another room, and it reminded Aalam of the rooms for the golem challenges inside the Shadow Thief¡¯s inheritance, perfectly circular with a roughly 600 meter radius and a concave ceiling 70 meters tall at the center and 50 meters at the edges. Only, instead of stone, the room was made of crystal. And, instead of a human-sized stone golem wearing stone armor and holding a stone sword, the golem inside the room was about four meters tall with metal armor and a metal sword. ¡°This golem is designed to fight against D ranks,¡± the AI explained from beside him. ¡°If you can survive against it for two minutes, you will have passed the first challenge of my master¡¯s inheritance.¡± The huge golem moved toward Aalam at a speed that was about the same as his own and Aalam decided to take the chance to test out the new blade he¡¯d made. So, he drew Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance from his back and swung it up with all his might, meeting the golem¡¯s descending blade. Sadly, however, it wasn¡¯t a good test. Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance cut through the golem¡¯s blade like butter, and then it cut the golem in half, right through the main core in the golem¡¯s chest. Disappointed, Aalam telekinetically returned Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance to its straps on his back and turned to the AI, who was staring at the sword. ¡°Where did you find such a weapon?¡± There was wonder in the AI¡¯s voice as the destroyed golem disappeared, seemingly having been teleported away, but then it shook its head and its next words sounded serious. ¡°Using such a powerful artifact is against the spirit of the test. For this exam, any artifact beyond Legendary grade has to be one you created yourself.¡± Aalam felt confused. ¡°But I did make this weapon myself.¡± The AI¡¯s large pupils expanded slightly. ¡°Do you have a way of proving that?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then try again without using the sword.¡± Another identical golem appeared and launched a blow at Aalam, but Aalam didn¡¯t find it weird. This was a challenge for the inheritance of an artificer god, and its purpose was for him to show off his skills to the AI, who would judge him, yet, even if he had made the blade himself, using Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance in the challenge didn¡¯t show anything. So this time Aalam decided to truly show off a little. As the golem didn¡¯t have any aura, it couldn¡¯t block Aalam¡¯s Telekinesis skill from moving its insides, and Aalam could see the golem¡¯s entire structure using his sensory domain. Due to his study of Alashan¡¯s Book of Runes, it was easy to understand the arrays of the golem¡¯s power distribution, even if the arrays making up its main processor were far, far more complicated, so Aalam just temporarily blocked the energy flowing through one array near the golem¡¯s core and the golem dropped to the ground, completely unmoving. ¡°How did you¡ª¡± The AI¡¯s eyes grew even wider, but then its voice turned stern again. ¡°You used your artificing knowledge to disable the golem. This is good, and shows great skill. But this is a test of combat, so please fight as you normally would against a cultivator or another monster.¡± The disabled golem disappeared and another golem appeared in its place, moving to attack Aalam, but this time Aalam was growing annoyed, so he glared at the AI. Then, when the golem was about to hit his head with its blade, Aalam exerted a little bit of his will and the golem stopped moving, rose into the air, and was crushed from all sides, its four meter stone and metallic form smushed into a roughly half meter sphere in under a second, which then fell onto the room¡¯s floor. The AI¡¯s eyes were nearly all pupil by this point, something someone from Earth other than Aalam would have almost certainly found disturbing. Then it muttered something to itself in a language Aalam had never heard before, but which Mila, who was watching everything through his shared senses, was able to translate as ¡°Master, after so many trillions of years, I might have finally found you a successor.¡± Chapter 189: Steel Swamp Sorin Mila ¡°Is that it?¡± Isaiah asked as he put down his 212th bag of spatial storage artifacts inside Mila¡¯s quarters in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land. ¡°Yeah.¡± It had been over an hour since Mila¡¯d found anything worth stealing while using her sensory domain to look through the planet¡¯s cities, so it seemed after nearly twenty days she and Isaiah were finally done with their looting work. ¡°And Aalam¡¯s got that AI practically drooling to have him as the blessed land¡¯s heir, so we should hopefully have the possibility of leaving in a couple of hours.¡± With that, Mila traveled via the planet¡¯s undamaged teleportation platforms to the city nearest the still pretty much entirely destroyed central hub and then ran at full speed toward the portal leading to the blessed land. And, while she did so, she sent a message to Nana Xara. ¡°You haven¡¯t said anything throughout this entire process. That is so unlike you.¡± ¡°I figured you might not want my perspective at the moment.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice sounded cheerful. ¡°And I didn¡¯t really see any need to interfere, as you are growing up so fast.¡± For the last sentence, Nana Xara pretended to be getting emotional, and Mila debated using her Law Larva of Shadow to block their connection. But there was something she needed to ask her master, so she held off on that desire. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d take this chance to give out quests so we can more easily get whatever you end up buying at the upcoming auction,¡± Mila sent. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m waiting to see what you accomplish.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice, while still cheerful, got a bit more serious. ¡°I can make quests to guide you to do what I want, but I can also make generic quests that you¡¯ve already met the requirements for. You don¡¯t really need guidance at the moment, and making quests with multiple levels of completion, like I¡¯d have to do now as we don¡¯t know for sure if Aalam will successfully kill the Violet Mountain Lord, would force me to give lower all around rewards, so it¡¯s better if I wait.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Mila thought for a second as she ran, digesting the new information about System quest difficulty and reward limitations. Then she asked, ¡°Do you have any recommendations on making sure the Violet Mountain Lord dies?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice became fully cheerful again. ¡°From what I can tell, there is about a 95% chance what you already have planned will kill him. Sure, you¡¯re not gaining as many benefits as you could if Aalam killed him personally, but I can understand not taking the risk of staying around longer, so I don¡¯t really have much to add.¡± ¡°A 95% chance?¡± Mila felt her heart start to race faster as she¡¯d been very scared the Violet Mountain Lord would live and create huge problems for them in the future. ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila could almost see Nana Xara smiling. ¡°That curse Aalam has prepared is ridiculously powerful. Just that, combined with the plagues, will almost certainly kill the Violet Mountain Lord if he comes back to the planet, even though it will probably take six months to do so. ¡°This leaves him not coming as the main chance for him to live, but the Violet Mountain Lord is a B rank approaching the end of his life who hasn¡¯t advanced his race yet despite being obviously wealthy. To me, this signifies, whatever his race is, he hasn¡¯t met the requirements for an upgraded advancement, but that doesn¡¯t mean he hasn¡¯t prepared the natural treasures to allow that upgrade to happen. ¡°The thing is, those natural treasures, like the violet titanium quintessence, would be A rank, so he wouldn¡¯t carry them around with him, as they would drastically increase the cost of using the System¡¯s teleportation network. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°For someone in his position, those natural treasures, and things like the violet titanium quintessence which represent a large fraction of his wealth, are the key to having the possibility to live longer. So, there is almost no chance he¡¯ll abandon them unless he thinks his chances of death if he tries are extremely high. ¡°But you guys sabotaged the soul net, showing you have something you want to hide, very much not something an actual A rank would have to do. Thus, from his perspective, it¡¯s unlikely you¡¯re strong enough to kill him. ¡°Given what I¡¯ve seen of his personality, after the teleportation platform on Toril was fixed, he almost certainly teleported to the nearest platform to your location and then started flying via starship. And, given his power and the type of ship he¡¯s known to have, he should arrive in about five days if I¡¯m right.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila then focused more of her minds on the senses Aalam was sharing of him building a golem under the excited gaze of the AI and sent, ¡°Aalam, Nana Xara thinks the Violet Mountain Lord will arrive in five days. Will we be ready to leave before that?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Aalam smiled slightly as he put the last finishing touches on his E rank golem. ¡°But why would we leave when we could kill him in person? That¡¯s not optimal at all.¡± * * * Aalam The second challenge for the inheritance had been a simpler one, a confirmation that he had enough crafting category skills, and the AI had been impressed by Runescriber, Sensory Domain, and how he was working to advance Triforce Construction. Then there was the actual crafting challenge. Steel Swamp Sorin, the original creator of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, had been a monster god. But what he¡¯d been famous for wasn¡¯t anything to do with killing or war but for his expertise in golems and automation, so the crafting challenge had been to build a functional E rank golem using the god¡¯s designs from scratch within 90 days, something Aalam managed to do in only 20. When he was done, however, the AI began to talk for several hours. Of the monster gods of his age, Steel Swamp Sorin had apparently been especially peaceful, more interested in business than war. Yet, as a crafting god, he¡¯d also been one of the weakest in terms of combat, so an A rank cultivator of the time had hunted him down and killed him. The AI didn¡¯t know who it was or whether he or she had advanced to godhood, but it did bore Aalam with a whole lot of very ancient history, mainly around Steel Swamp Sorin¡¯s relationships with other powers from trillions of years ago, most of whom were long dead. And Mila hadn¡¯t allowed him to skip the lecture, the information apparently important to understanding the current status of various gods. While the AI was talking, it also reactivated quite a bit of the long unused machinery in the blessed land, and, when they were fully activated, Aalam started getting the information he actually wanted. Steel Swamp Sorin hadn¡¯t expected to die, so the inheritance was more of an automated backup plan than something he¡¯d fully prepared, and this meant there wasn¡¯t much in the way of cultivation resources. Instead, the inheritance included pretty much all the cultivation and artificing knowledge the god had ever learned¡ªsuch as information on thousands upon thousands of classes Nana Xara had never heard of, especially crafting classes; information on far more monster races than likely even most cultivator gods knew of, including rare and extinct species; and a collection of blueprints from G rank all the way up to those for divine artifacts, even several for automation factories described as better than any others in the universe for their rank at the time of their creation. Then of course there was the blessed land itself, which Aalam and, due to her role as his chamberlain, Mila had full control over, a god level artifact with many, many abilities. There were those the Violet Mountain Sect had been making use of for its entire existence¡ªits generation of crystal water, crystal stone, and violet titanium, as well as their higher rank variants; its specialized machinery for converting the primal energy in living beings into primal energy stones; and its ability to raise any E or D rank planet it was attached to up to C rank. But these were just its basic abilities the cultivators were able to unlock. In the deeper parts of the blessed land there were crafting rooms well beyond anything a B rank force like the Violet Mountain Sect had access to. There were thousands of E to C rank golems which could be used to mine and collect the resources the blessed land generated automatically. And there were several hundred different factories which could be set up for automated creation of artifacts or alchemical products once Aalam figured out how to get them working again. The blessed land itself could move through space, and with it they could return to Earth in about four months even without teleportation, which was incredibly fast compared to most spaceships in the universe. And, while flying, the blessed land would block out all outside contact, from the System to Nana Xara, while there were also specialized rooms in the blessed land which could do the same even when the blessed land¡¯s portal to the outside world was open, one of which Aalam was planning to give permanently to his sister and Isaiah. Chapter 190: Violet Mountain’s End Zev Zev Andar, the Violet Mountain Lord, was scared, and there were three main reasons why. First, his simple contract with Lander Haxor had disappeared, almost certainly due to Lander¡¯s death, which didn¡¯t bode well for the rest of his sect. And, if a force could kill Lander, they could possibly kill him as well. Second, his hidden wealth and the natural treasures he needed for advancing his race to A rank were all in the Violet Mountain Blessed Land, and, if Lander was dead, it was likely whoever had done so had access to the blessed land and could ransack it as much as they wanted to. Finally, third, if the five A rank forces he was subordinate to investigated before he himself could get back and cover some things up, they would almost certainly kill him. In his position as Violet Mountain Lord, Zev had been underreporting the production of the blessed land¡¯s resources for over a million years, using that wealth to secretly improve his own power instead of passing it on as agreed. And, in his wanderings over the years, he¡¯d chanced on several natural treasures in the territories of the five forces and taken them instead of just reporting their existence as he should have, two of which the individual A rank forces were aware had been stolen, even if they didn¡¯t know it was him who¡¯d done so. And this left him no choice but to return. Landing his ship near where the entrance to the Violet Mountain Blessed Land had been, Zev immediately noticed two things as he put his personal spaceship, a roughly 20-meter-long violet triangular fighter, back into his spatial storage ring. First, the main city of the planet had been mostly destroyed, and, from the remnant energies, it seemed to have been through non-magical means, which was odd. But this didn¡¯t occupy much of his attention, and he pretty much completely ignored all the dead bodies all over the planet, as the second thing he noticed was that the portal entrance to the Violet Mountain Blessed Land was gone. The portal, which had existed on the planet since longer than the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s recorded history, had disappeared, and with it all of his stuff! He was about to go ballistic, but then he realized nine different diseases had entered into his body since he¡¯d landed, likely what had killed everyone he could sense. And, as he was about to move his energies to completely rid his body of every single one of them, he suddenly realized he couldn¡¯t move his qi, mana, or psyforce at all. He couldn¡¯t even fly to get away or activate his spatial storage ring to take out his spaceship. His mind and body were still those of a B rank, but he couldn¡¯t use his skills, and he could feel himself gradually weakening, like some type of energy was repeatedly attacking him from inside his own body with the power of a weak C rank. It seemed he hadn¡¯t just been infected by magical plagues, but he¡¯d been cursed as well, and the curse was powerful, making him almost helpless. If nothing changed, he¡¯d be dead within three fourths of a year. Zev didn¡¯t panic, however. He was too old and experienced for that. Instead he just focused his senses on the curse and locked in on the direction it was coming from. Then he began running in the direction of the Kimali Mountains. Even with his energy inaccessible, he was still faster than any C rank, and the suppression from the planet¡¯s rank was slowly lessening with the Violet Mountain Blessed Land having disappeared, something the previous Violet Mountain Lord had theorized would happen, so he made good time. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. When he arrived in the center cave of the Kimali Mountains, however, what he found made him despair. There was an Altar of Sacrifice there, the obvious source of his curse, but, when he grew close enough to see it, the altar broke down into tiny black particles which all flew into his body through his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Whoever had cursed him had sacrificed the powerful altar, and this meant that, without help, he wouldn¡¯t be able to rid himself of the curse no matter what he did. And, temporarily, the curse increased in power, Zev falling to the ground on one knee, unable to keep himself standing as the attacks from inside his body intensified and all his vitality worked to fight against it. Then a golem showed up, entering from the same entrance he had, and Zev recognized it as one of the golems from the inheritance of Steel Swamp Sorin hidden within the crystal mountain of the Violet Mountain Blessed Land. From the speed at which it moved, it was only E rank, and it wasn¡¯t armored like the golems he¡¯d seen when he¡¯d undergone the inheritance¡¯s E rank test back before the inheritance had stopped giving out rewards, nor was it wielding a sword. Instead, it had some sort of rocket launcher which looked tiny next to its four-meter-tall frame, and, as it entered, it pointed the launcher at his kneeling leg and fired. A black ball left the launcher and, as it flew, it expanded into some kind of band, which wrapped around his leg when it hit him below the knee. For a second, Zev couldn¡¯t figure out the purpose of the band, but then he felt the effects of spatial magic and realized the band was a spatial storage item which was letting something out right next to his skin. For a split second, he thought it would be another kind of biological weapon, but, when the amorphous lump left the spatial storage and began mutual annihilation with part of his calf, he realized it was nowhere near as bad. There was a large explosion as the antimatter and his flesh annihilated each other and Zev was launched through the roof of the cave, through the mountain above, and into the atmosphere of the planet. Then, as his leg began to bleed profusely from the wound, he fell to the ground on another mountain, and on the top of that mountain, about three kilometers away from him, a man he recognized as the Heavenly Spark Soul King was glaring down at him, his almost orange eyes seemingly trying to judge Zev¡¯s fate. He was different than when Zev had briefly seen him before, his aura no longer that of a G rank, but of an E rank. And it was infused with 36 different Law Pupae, which was insane. Also, unlike before, there was a large violet sword on his back, its material seeming to be Zev¡¯s violet titanium quintessence. ¡°Are you the one who stole the blessed land?¡± Zev was on his back and had to look up to see the Heavenly Spark Soul King, completely unable to move, but he wasn¡¯t that worried. The explosion hadn¡¯t done much damage other than causing him to lose the roughly two kilograms of his right calf which had been annihilated, and the wound was already starting to heal. At the same time, the fact the Heavenly Spark Soul King was trying to attack him meant it was likely the curse had some kind of time limit. The Heavenly Spark Soul King didn¡¯t respond with words, however, just continuing to glare, and the sword on his back flew up into the air, seemingly moving through a version of the Telekinesis skill, only its speed was something only achievable with B rank level Spirit, while Zev was pretty sure the Heavenly Spark Soul King was only E rank. Its tip then slammed into Zev¡¯s forehead at full speed, but, as Zev had expected, it did absolutely nothing. Zev was a B rank warrior, and a quite powerful one at that, so there was no way an E rank could hurt him, even if he was slowly dying from a curse and plagues, completely unable to defend himself in any way. ¡°You can¡¯t hurt me with a sword, even if your Spirit is ridiculous.¡± Zev was feeling extremely frustrated. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just tell me what you want?¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King leapt from the top of the mountain and landed next to Zev. Then he reached down with both hands and turned Zev over onto his stomach before calling the large flying sword back into his hands. ¡°What I want is simple. I want you to die.¡± With both hands, the Heavenly Spark Soul King slammed the tip of the sword into the still open wound on Zev¡¯s calf with all his strength, and the blade entered into Zev¡¯s flesh by about 3 millimeters. But that was apparently enough. Zev didn¡¯t know how the blade did it, but it was suddenly like he¡¯d broken the terms of every contract he was under, several of which had the punishment of death. And his soul started to burn. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have killed Epecteos.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King spoke quietly as he resheathed his blade. ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t have threatened to rape my future wife.¡± Chapter 191: Epecteos’s Vengeance Mila didn¡¯t know why Aalam stopped sharing his senses after he finally managed to kill the Violet Mountain Lord, but it probably had something to do with the ridiculous amount of primal energy which started flowing into his body. She¡¯d been chatting with Nana Xara during the last few days and it seemed the race her and Aalam shared was extremely good at storing excess primal energy, but Aalam¡¯s cultivation technique was a few levels beyond hers, so the speed at which he lost his excess was nearly a hundred times slower. According to Nana Xara there was something that excess primal energy was good for even if they couldn¡¯t use it to level up, but it was apparently something which could only be done if someone didn¡¯t know about it, so all Mila knew was that the primal energy needed to reach a certain amount to be of use, an amount killing multiple max level C ranks apparently didn¡¯t come close to. Thus, instead of keeping all the excess primal energy she¡¯d received from killing the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s C rank elders, after getting all the treasures from the planet into the blessed land, Mila had spent several days letting the specialized machines in the blessed land extract the excess primal energy she¡¯d absorbed to turn it into primal energy stones. ¡°That sword is a bit ridiculous.¡± Nana Xara sounded somewhat awestruck as, at Mila¡¯s prompting, Aalam shared the System¡¯s evaluation of Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance, whose most dangerous effect had only been completed after cutting into the Violet Mountain Lord. Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance (E-Fabled) [Growth] An artifact designed by the Heavenly Spark Soul King to be sturdy and sharp, which was then forged using the primal energy and soul matter of billions of cursed souls during a massacre and later infused with the Laws of Inertia, Kinetic Energy, Bonds, and Severing through the help of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s chamberlain. Having absorbed the power of an Altar of Sacrifice while stabbed into the flesh of its original target, the blade is seeped in karmic sin and will impart a powerful curse onto anyone it cuts, forcibly breaking all contracts held by its victim. Unfinished, this weapon holds far more power within itself than can be used by an E rank, so it can easily be increased in both grade and rank up to C rank. Effects: Hardening, Sharpness, Sin Blade (Contract Breaker) Requirements: The Heavenly Spark Soul King or one of his servants Most of the time Aalam spent forging the weapon had been on cleansing the violet titanium quintessence, turning the high grade A rank material into the shape of a sword, and merging in the soul matter from the billions of cursed souls. Then Aalam had carved the sword¡¯s two main arrays, one for hardening and one for sharpness, and Mila¡¯d spent a few hours helping him infuse his Laws into the blade. This, however, wasn¡¯t the part that had amazed Nana Xara. ¡°The curse attached to that blade is powerful enough to sever contracts made by B rank lawyers.¡± Mila could almost imagine Nana Xara with wide eyes. ¡°And lawyers are rare, with almost no A ranks, let alone gods, while death as punishment for breaking a contract is very common. ¡°Mila, that blade, an E rank artifact, could have killed me in my prime so long as it somehow managed to cut me.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice then became more serious. ¡°It¡¯s just too bad that curse is intrinsically tied to Aalam¡¯s soul. ¡°If you don¡¯t get rid of it, Aalam will turn into a depraved villain. And that would not be good.¡± For a second, Mila¡¯s heart started to race with worry, but then she realized Aalam¡¯d made the blade after he¡¯d decided not to kill himself, and he knew way more about curses than she did. ¡°But it seems he¡¯s used the karmic sin from his actions here as an intermediary, tying the curse to it rather than directly to his soul itself,¡± Nana Xara continued explaining once Mila¡¯d calmed down, sounding disappointed, likely due to not being able to play more with Mila¡¯s emotions. ¡°Normally, this would make it even harder to get rid of the curse, but, as he has a sin eater like you, cleaning up the blade and his soul will actually be quite easy. ¡°As we head back to Earth, you should start treatment immediately. With the amount of sin involved, I can¡¯t see your racial ability not increasing as a result, and you should also meet the requirements for the Advanced Angel¡¯s Release skill easily by converting some of that sin into merit.¡± It was at this moment that the last of the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s primal energy finally left his body, fully having flowed into Aalam, and this triggered a bunch of System messages. The System Approved War between the E rank force Black Lake Corporation and the B rank force Violet Mountain Sect has ended with the complete victory of the Black Lake Corporation. Transferring credits of all killed Violet Mountain Sect cultivators to the Black Lake Corporation. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The Black Lake Corporation has gained the following credits: 1,894 A rank universal credits 43,726,112 B rank universal credits 744,989,225,006 C rank universal credits ~~~ ~~~ 33,982,351 B rank elf credits ~~~ 79,004,186 B rank human credits ~~~ 21,409,023 B rank tuathan credits ~~~ 122,900,438 B rank one-eye credits ~~~ ~~~ There was more information as well, showing all of the B rank or higher credits of the various types had all come from the Violet Mountain Lord, and their force now had far more D, E, and F rank credits than they knew what to do with. Transferring 100% of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s assets, Territory, and System Privileges to the Black Lake Corporation The Black Lake Corporation has gained the following credits: 64,973,586 C rank universal credits ~~~ ~~~ 34,018,289 C rank elf credits ~~~ 15,100,924 C rank human credits ~~~ 17,290,139 C rank tuathan credits ~~~ 1,026,124 C rank one-eye credits ~~~ 789,003 C rank sangha credits ~~~ ~~~ The credits from the Violet Mountain Sect itself were far less than those owned by the Violet Mountain Lord, with far less than even 1% of the value, but it would have been a huge amount if they¡¯d failed to kill him. The transfer of Territory which came next, however, was hugely beneficial. The Black Lake Corporation has gained the following Territory: Janic [C Rank] Flame¡¯s End [C Rank] Violet Mountain Capital [D Rank] ~~~ Altogether, there were two C rank planets, 212 D rank planets, 34,982 E rank planets, and 234,256 F rank planets. The Violet Mountain Capital, while listed as one of the D rank planets, would further fall to E rank after it spent more time disconnected from the blessed land, but it was still a huge amount of Territory. And, as Aalam was technically the master of everyone else in the Black Lake Corporation, all the planets were immediately transferred to him and came under the name Heavenly Spark Soul King as Mila couldn¡¯t yet hide his identity and change the benefit from having him as lord. Aalam had raised his Law Pupae of Bonds and Severing to middle grade, but she¡¯d yet to raise her Law Larvae of The Healer and The Reaper to Law Pupae, so they didn¡¯t yet meet the requirements. She could have abandoned the Territory, or passed some of it to Diana or Irena, but one of Aalam¡¯s biggest strengths was his Prince uniqueness, which also boosted noble category skills, albeit to a lesser extent than his main class, and the way to advance that uniqueness was to gain a Territory much larger than required and hold it for an extended period of time. The new Territory they¡¯d gained was approaching Aalam¡¯s maximum limit¡ªwhich was ridiculously high for an E rank due to his quadruply boosted Fabled grade lord skill and maximized Soul stat¡ªso they wouldn¡¯t need to hold it for very long. And the advancing of that uniqueness was worth the risk of having the name Heavenly Spark Soul King revealed. Sure, they likely wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the Territory, with other forces coming in and taking over at some point as their force would do absolutely nothing to stop them, but the fear caused by the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s complete destruction would likely keep off the vultures for a while, possibly enough time for Aalam¡¯s uniqueness to rise in grade to King. The Black Lake Corporation has advanced from a 1st Tier E rank force to a 5th Tier B rank force with the following additional benefits:
  1. All the System teleportation access permissions of the Violet Mountain Sect
  2. All the soul net permissions and additional purchases of the Violet Mountain Sect
  3. +100% to force membership limit
  4. +3 access tokens for each instance of the F rank Trial Tower for a total of 7
  5. -8.3333333% cost when using universal credits to buy D rank or lower goods from the System
Each rank of System approved forces had six tiers, and the Violet Mountain Sect had been a tier 5 B rank force, only two tiers from A rank. This was several tiers higher than the minimum level for having an army in the War of the Chosen at E rank, and it also granted 4 access tokens for every instance of the F rank trial tower, 2 access tokens for the D rank trial tower, and one token for bypassing the bloody preliminaries of the universal tournament for C ranks. Other benefits of System approved forces included being able to join certain periodic System events, such as the System auction Nana Xara had been waiting for; the ability to purchase resources directly from the System; and holding System approved rights to one¡¯s Territory, gaining the ability to share some of the fees from teleportation, soul net usage, and the like. Mila¡¯s favorite benefit, however, was the increased access to the universal soul net, basically the internet for the entire universe. The higher the rank and tier of a force, the higher access they had, opening up more types of resources to buy, higher tier events, and better terms from the System for profit sharing. As for access to the universal soul net, a higher rank and tier force gained more authority, able to access more hidden functions, such as the universe-wide ranking battle system, excellent for combat training, and forums for information gathering. A force could then also pay the System for even more privileges, and the Violet Mountain Sect had done so, with the Black Lake Corporation now inheriting access to every teleportation portal the Violet Mountain Sect had ever paid for, every additional purchase for any of the System run applications on the universal soul net, and the other three items whose functions were more obvious. Transferring all of the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s secrets to the Black Lake Corporation. As the final reward for them winning the war against the Violet Mountain Sect, Mila gained access to a huge list of files hosted by the System which held the personal secrets of every member of the Violet Mountain Sect. And, given there had been billions of them, it was way too much information for Mila to go through quickly. Thankfully, the System provided a search functionality, so, as she ran from the blessed land¡¯s portal they¡¯d reopened near the Kimali Mountains to where the Violet Mountain Lord had died, she searched for all D rank and higher resources on the capital planet and found a couple secret stashes she hadn¡¯t known about, sending Isaiah to go pick them up. When she arrived where the Violet Mountain Lord had died, Aalam was there sitting next to him, a look of slight disappointment in his eyes, revenge seeming to not have been what he¡¯d been wishing for. And, when he saw her, he fell unconscious, Id seemingly having come to an end. With Telekinesis, she picked up Aalam, Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance, and the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s body¡ªincluding the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s spatial storage ring, which, according to the System, held plenty of C and B rank resources¡ªand brought them back to the blessed land. Then, when Isaiah got back, she gave the order and the blessed land closed its portal and started the process of flying back to Earth. Chapter 192: Diana’s Side ¡°So, where are Crafter and Knight?¡± Krysta asked as Diana, Nitya, and Irena met her, Henrietta, and the fourteen other elves in the 27th round of the War of the Chosen. The true answer was that Mila, Aalam, and Isaiah were all traveling back to Earth inside the blessed land, which was closed off to System access while moving, so they couldn¡¯t connect, but that wasn¡¯t something Diana wanted to reveal. Brom also technically wasn¡¯t dead in the War of the Chosen, but that didn¡¯t require any explanation as he would never log back in, just continuing to accumulate points as one of the army¡¯s commanders until Diana was forced to replace him. ¡°Crafter had an epiphany a couple of weeks ago on a new weapon for Knight, and the two of them started working on it immediately. But they¡¯re not yet done and they can¡¯t stop in the middle.¡± This was the lie Mila had come up with before she started on her journey back, and, judging by Krysta¡¯s understanding expression, it was somehow a good one. Henrietta, however, was about to ask more questions, so Diana immediately started deflecting as Mila had advised her. ¡°Do you guys know why Sarra isn¡¯t here?¡± Both young women almost immediately started to tear up and Diana didn¡¯t quite know how to feel about how effective her friend¡¯s long term manipulation skills were. ¡°The Violet Mountain Sect was destroyed.¡± Krysta¡¯s voice started to break slightly at the end of her sentence, and she seemed to find it hard to say more. ¡°There were no survivors,¡± Henrietta continued, her political training seeming to give her better control over her voice, though she was producing even more tears than Krysta. ¡°It looks like it was some kind of giant curse. ¡°Her sect¡¯s blessed land was stolen, greatly angering my father, and the thieves even blew up the planet it had been attached to, so no one knows what happened. All anyone knows is that the sect¡¯s Territory is now owned by some D or C rank monster called the Heavenly Spark Soul King.¡± Aalam had left another antimatter bomb on the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s capital planet and hooked it up to take in all the energy generated by the planet¡¯s main power plant over an entire month before exploding, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise it managed to blow up the entire planet after it had fallen down to E rank. As for no one knowing more, that was obviously bad information on Henrietta¡¯s part as quite a few people had been there when Aalam had sabotaged the teleportation platform on Epecteos¡¯s main planet and knew he¡¯d taken over Epecteos¡¯s Territory long before that of the Violet Mountain Sect. But it was a good sign this wasn¡¯t common knowledge yet. ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡± Diana didn¡¯t have to act sad as Mila had deliberately not interacted much with any of the party from Earth, so it wasn¡¯t out of character for her to not have a very strong reaction. ¡°She seemed talented.¡± ¡°She was.¡± Henrietta nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hands, and Krysta was trying to pull herself together as well. ¡°Should we deal with the matter at hand then?¡± Irena stepped forward to take charge of the awkwardness. ¡°Given our numbers, it will be nearly impossible to win this round, but we need to figure out who we are up against so we can potentially come to some type of deal.¡± They were in a seemingly endless plain and the winner of the round would be whichever force could kill more of an extremely common type of monster, a task which would have been pretty easily solved if Aalam had been with them. But, if the enemy actually had a full army, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Using Krysta¡¯s portals to travel around, the members of their party who could fly, i.e. everyone but the elves, found the enemy army, and Diana realized they wouldn¡¯t be moving on to the next round. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Most of the truly powerful forces treated the War of the Chosen as a way of training their young, not pouring more resources into the war than what they would normally spend on the army¡¯s members. But there were some forces which treated the War of the Chosen far more seriously, sometimes to go after the rare rewards which could be earned from placing high and sometimes just for pride. They would cultivate a group of soldiers all following the same cultivation technique, have them follow the path of a high grade dao guide so they would all have exactly the same Laws and extremely high grade classes, and then stuff them with resources to the point the impurities in their bodies would never allow them to advance to D rank. These soldiers would be powerful, and they would be able to combine their powers in multiple ways even without law armors. Then, when they did manage to get law armors, usually from some of them having specialized crafting skills designed to make such artifacts, they would be far, far more powerful than a normal army even made up of geniuses. They could even do things like combining all their power into a huge undodgeable ranged attack, such as the death wind which was launched at their group in the air, killing Nitya and Irena almost instantly and her and Krysta immediately after. ¡°Well, that was a bit disappointing.¡± Nana Xara sounded cheerful as Diana woke up in her room back on Earth. ¡°Still, judging from all the sickly green eyes and the decaying tree symbol on their armors, I¡¯m guessing you were up against the strongest army from the Forest Felling Horde of the Death Fae. And, if memory serves, they usually get within the top 128 armies in the War of the Chosen. So, not too bad.¡± ¡°There were over eight thousand armies that did better than us.¡± Diana sat up on her bed and looked down at the ground for a few seconds, feeling like a failure. Aalam, Isaiah, and Mila had taken down an entire B rank force, including an actual B rank, and she couldn¡¯t even handle less than 2,000 E ranks. ¡°Out of over sixteen million armies.¡± Nana Xara sounded mildly annoyed. ¡°And almost everyone in your force was under 36.¡± ¡°Still, compared to Aalam and Mila I¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that, Diana.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice became firm. ¡°Don¡¯t compare yourself against them. It¡¯s not going to do you any good.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a great pep talk.¡± ¡°They¡¯re a complementary pair, Diana. They operate differently than you do.¡± Nana Xara still sounded serious, and Diana realized her teacher was making a very different point than she¡¯d originally been expecting, so she shut up and listened. ¡°Without Aalam, Mila wouldn¡¯t have enough talent to gain her current level of power, and, without Mila, Aalam would have gotten himself killed many times over. Your cultivation talent is less than your brother¡¯s and your people manipulation and crisis management skills are less than Mila¡¯s, but you have high levels of both. Unlike them, you could do well on your own. ¡°But comparing yourself to their combined strengths and not taking into account their weaknesses? That¡¯s just stupid.¡± Diana took a deep breath, giving herself a few seconds. ¡°Alright. You have a point. ¡°It just feels like our relationships from before the integration are still the same. Aalam does something insane. Mila covers for him, getting rid of the worst problems. And I¡¯m left unable to do a perfect job with the aftermath.¡± ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± Diana walked over to her balcony and jumped down to the beach of the enlightenment zone. ¡°It does kind of feel like I¡¯m always second fiddle. But I guess I¡¯m probably the happiest of us three, and I definitely have the healthiest relationships. ¡°Now, if only I could block you out like Mila does¡­¡± ¡°Oh, right, Mila didn¡¯t tell you yet.¡± Diana could almost imagine Nana Xara with a mischievous smile. ¡°The blessed land has areas which are blocked off entirely from the System, let alone me.¡± ¡°Wait, really?¡± Diana didn¡¯t resist the urge and started to jump up and down on the beach. ¡°That is awesome! I can finally get rid of you and have some peace!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s hurtful.¡± Nana Xara still sounded like she was smiling, but Diana was pretty sure she¡¯d made a mistake. She¡¯d gone a bit too far and truly insulted a woman famous for her acts of vengeance. ¡°Mila also didn¡¯t tell you that your brother was trying to commit suicide again and she had to talk him down.¡± There was silence for five seconds as Diana immediately stopped jumping and just stood there. ¡°Well, I should get going now.¡± Nana Xara still sounded quite cheerful and Diana couldn¡¯t tell if it was an act, which kind of scared her. ¡°They should be back in two months and you can hear the entire story from your boyfriend, who almost let Aalam have his way.¡± Diana just stood there for a while and, while the emotional side of her brain was panicking, the rational side of her brain realized Mila had almost certainly already handled the situation much better than she could have herself and there was nothing she could do about it anyway. The rational side of her brain, however, was quickly drowned out and Diana set into panic mode. Chapter 193: Relief Mila ¡°Is it true Aalam tried to commit suicide? Is he okay?¡± As soon as Mila stepped out of the portal to the blessed land into a cave on the Greek Island of Zakynthos, Diana rushed up to her with a somewhat frantic expression, and the first question to enter Mila¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t how to make her friend feel better, but how Diana¡¯d learned about Aalam¡¯s intentions in the first place, something she¡¯d deliberately decided to hide. The answer, however, was obvious with barely a second of thought, and, given both Diana¡¯s and Nana Xara¡¯s personalities, Mila quickly had a good guess about what exactly had happened. Not wanting to give their teacher the satisfaction of seeing any of the drama she¡¯d created, Mila then took Diana to one of the secret rooms in the blessed land and spent about half an hour calming her down, getting Diana¡¯s side of the story along with everything which had happened on Earth, and then telling Diana everything. ¡°So the sin around Aalam is all gone?¡± ¡°Yes. And the curse is gone as a result as well. I even advanced my racial ability during the process.¡± It had only taken a couple days for Mila¡¯s Heroic grade Sin Eater racial ability to advance to Fabled grade, and that, while not a fundamental change to the ability, had greatly sped up the rate at which she¡¯d been able to take away all of Aalam¡¯s accumulated sin. The old ability had read as: Sin Eater (Heroic): You may slowly absorb the karmic sin or karmic merit of those whose souls are at your mercy, and you may slowly transform your own karmic sin into karmic merit as well. While the new ability read as: Sin Eater (Fabled): You may absorb the karmic sin or karmic merit of those whose souls are at your mercy, and you may transform your own karmic sin into karmic merit as well. The removal of the word ¡®slowly¡¯ from the two effects drastically increased the speed at which she could take away sin or merit and the speed at which she could transform her own sin into merit, so, even with only four months to work, she¡¯d already been able to completely clear Aalam of all his accumulated sin and transform half of that sin into merit for herself. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Aalam woken up then?¡± Diana still looked worried and Mila placed a hand on her friend¡¯s shoulder, having had the same worry as, given past cases of Id, Aalam should have woken up already ¡°According to the AI who controls the blessed land, Aalam not waking up has almost nothing to do with Id and everything to do with absorbing enough primal energy to advance well past the start of B rank. It¡¯s changing him for the better somehow, but neither the AI nor Nana Xara will give me details, as apparently knowing would cause the effect to not happen. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing, though, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± ¡°And you trust them?¡± Diana¡¯s aura showed some rather obvious hints of anger. ¡°Earth was some big experiment for the Yin Yang Sage and she is the base cause of our apocalypse.¡± Mila nodded in understanding. ¡°I trust the AI. It was programmed by a now long-dead god named Steel Swamp Sorin and I believe it truly just wants its master¡¯s legacy to live on, so it has no need to lie.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Diana sat down on the ground in the cave they¡¯d been standing in, the closed off room originally designed to be a prison cell, not a comfortable area of the blessed land at all. ¡°For all we know this blessed land could have a fragment of the soul of the dead god and that fragment is currently trying to take over Aalam¡¯s soul.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Nah.¡± Mila sat down as well and shook her head. ¡°Aalam¡¯s following the path of the Heavenly Spark. No one in their right mind would try to take over his soul. Even with his race and classes they¡¯d never advance to C rank, let alone higher.¡± Diana opened and closed her mouth a few times, obviously trying to come up with a counter argument, but she couldn¡¯t seem to think of anything. ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± ¡°Admittedly, most of what we know comes from Nana Xara.¡± Mila shrugged. ¡°But I¡¯ve compared the information we¡¯ve gotten from her to what I¡¯ve learned from the blessed land¡¯s hidden library, which has even more knowledge, and I¡¯ve yet to find any incongruities.¡± ¡°You think she¡¯s being straight with us?¡± ¡°No. Of course not.¡± Mila shook her head. ¡°I read a biography about her during the tutorial, which I believe was generated by the System and not her, and I looked up more information about her while in the Violet Mountain Sect. ¡°There are obvious incongruities in the information available, which likely means information about her was suppressed. ¡°We already know she has issues with several gods. But we don¡¯t know why. And we know she¡¯s our ancestor, which implies she had children at some point, but we have no idea with whom.¡± Mila looked directly at Diana¡¯s eyes. ¡°My instincts are that she is being honest with what she wants from us. She is, however, old, bitter, and a bit petty, despite the kindly grandmother act she likes to put on, and I think some of her worst actions are more out of loneliness than anything else. ¡°My best guess currently is that what she¡¯s hiding from us isn¡¯t due to some nefarious scheme, but because she doesn¡¯t want to face her own emotions.¡± Mila was reminded of something Aalam had said while she¡¯d been trying to convince him suicide was a bad option, about how he assumed her not talking to her grandmother about anything personal was a form of self punishment. It was quite possible Diana had been right before when she said she and Nana Xara were quite similar, only with Nana Xara having many, many, many more years of baggage. ¡°No matter what, I¡¯ll be talking with the Alchemist of the Deep Woods soon, so we¡¯ll hopefully have another A rank to give us information.¡± Diana nodded. ¡°I already talked with Krysta. They¡¯ll be expecting you.¡± They then both stood up and Diana gave Mila a hug. ¡°Thanks for looking out for Aalam, Mi. I don¡¯t think we deserve you.¡± Diana then left and Mila stood there for a few minutes, making some decisions. First, she deliberately ignored her impulse to listen in on the argument which had started between Diana and Isaiah about a kilometer away, in the room where Aalam was still sleeping. Second, she ignored her other impulse to go check on Aalam in person again as she could already tell from her sensory domain that nothing had changed. Instead, she obfuscated her bond with Nana Xara so the old lady wouldn¡¯t be able to watch her, then left the blessed land and went to find her grandmother, who was meditating under Aalam¡¯s favorite tree outside his crafting hall. ¡°Grandma.¡± Irena opened her eyes and quickly stood up, her aura shaking with excitement and nervousness at Mila addressing her by such a term, and Mila almost ran away again. But, instead, she took a deep breath and continued. ¡°I would like us to have a non-work relationship. How should we go about doing that?¡± Irena just stood there, not really moving for several seconds, and her aura showed absolute panic overwhelming her excitement, pretty much the same emotions Mila was feeling. Then Irena seemed to come to her senses and asked, in a somewhat rushed manner, ¡°Would you like some tea?¡± ¡°Um...¡± ¡°It¡¯s something your mother and I used to do every morning.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila felt her heart start to race faster. ¡°That sounds nice.¡± Irena reached down and touched the ground, two stone chairs and a stone table rising from the cliff they were on through the use of her earth element Law Pupa, along with two cups and what looked like an ornate teapot. Then she reached up and, through the use of her wind and water element Law Pupae, extracted water from the air into the pot. Taking one of the seats and indicating Mila to take the other, she then summoned some tea leaves out of her spatial storage ring, put them in the pot, and quickly heated it up through the use of her fire element Law Pupa. ¡°I hope you like it. It was your mother¡¯s favorite.¡± Irena poured the tea for both of them and Mila took a sip. Never really having been much of a tea drinker, she found the drink very bitter, but, the more she sipped at it, the more pleasant she found it, and it made the awkward silence which had descended a bit more bearable. Then, unable to bear the silence any longer, Mila deliberately chose a topic unrelated to the things she found scary. ¡°Your Laws are very advanced. Do you have any tricks?¡± While Irena had the assistance of being on Earth, which was equivalent to a B rank planet when learning Laws during the integration process, as well as the enlightenment zone, her Attunement stat and Law affinities were much, much lower than Mila¡¯s, yet all of her Laws had advanced to Law Pupae while none of Mila¡¯s had. ¡°Yeah.¡± Irena¡¯s aura, which had been a jumble of nervousness and panic, calmed down. ¡°I don¡¯t have the same level of talent as you, Isaiah, or the Alvaro siblings, but I¡¯ve found a method of Law study which works for me. ¡°Would you like me to tell you about it?¡± Mila nodded, and she and her grandmother then started their first real conversation, even if they didn¡¯t talk about any of the truly important topics. And it was kind of nice. Chapter 194: Negotiations I Krysta was confused by the woman she was guiding. Light of skin, with blonde hair and blue eyes, she had neither the same hair, eye, nor skin color as Aalam, at least according to what Krysta had seen in the Trial Tower, and, while she¡¯d learned Aalam had been reborn as an incubus, his skin color at least should have stayed the same, so either Earth had multiple human ethnicities or this woman wasn¡¯t from there. She was also radiating the aura of a D rank, and a healer at that, even wearing traditional healer garb, so she was not one of the Earth humans Krysta had met during the War of the Chosen. Then, when they entered into one of the closed off conference rooms of the Forest Cauldron, Krysta¡¯s confusion grew even more. In the room covered with wood, completely grown out of a single tree by her mother¡¯s power, was a large conference table designed to seat twelve, and her mother was at one end while the woman naturally sat at the other, not showing any of the deference Krysta would expect from a D rank meeting with an A rank in her own domain. And her mother didn¡¯t seem to mind at all, smiling at the woman as Krysta took a seat next to her. ¡°Your disguise is very impressive, Ms. Li.¡± Joma La¡¯Vordi, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, even bowed her head slightly. ¡°Had I not known any better, I would have been fooled. On a somewhat more detailed inspection, however, it does fall apart, so I wouldn¡¯t recommend pretending to be a rank higher than you actually are. ¡°Had you just used your Sarra Lin¡¯Talic identity, for example, I would probably have to do a very thorough inspection to notice how your cultivation technique doesn¡¯t match the aura you present.¡± ¡°Thank you for your praise, Madam Alchemist.¡± The blonde woman bowed and, as Krysta watched, her hair changed from yellow to black, each individual hair on her head becoming thinner and more vibrant. At the same time, the reddish pigments in her skin faded and her body structure shifted, her waist shrinking slightly and her arm muscles gaining more definition, visible as her greenish gray healer garb transformed into a low cut violet gown. The most striking physical change, however, was her eyes. When she raised her head, they were no longer blue, but bright pink, and her changed facial structure made them appear quite a bit larger. The biggest change in the woman, however, wasn¡¯t physical, but the fact her aura completely disappeared, making her feel like a common G rank, similar to Aalam in the War of the Chosen. ¡°So interesting.¡± Joma leaned forward, looking all over the woman, who had apparently been disguised as Sarra Lin¡¯Talic during the War of the Chosen, with the same type of excited expression Krysta had seen her wear when one of her subordinates had invented a new type of alchemic polymer. Then Joma waved one of her hands, initiating a contract between her, the woman, and Krysta. The Alchemist of the Deep Woods has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. All secrets revealed or realized during the current meeting between Li Mila, Joma La¡¯Vordi, and Krysta La¡¯Vordi will not be shared unless explicit permission is granted by the side whose secrets they are
  2. No lies of any kind, including lies by omission, are allowed during the meeting
Punishment: Death Do you accept? You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Yes/No Krysta immediately accepted and a couple seconds later the contract was fully formed, but it was noticeably stronger than the same type of contracts she¡¯d been under from her mother before. ¡°Fairy Law at Heroic grade.¡± Joma nodded once, seemingly having realized something. ¡°And, from your eyes and who your teacher is, I¡¯m guessing Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster is your second class. Impressive. ¡°But is there a reason Heavenly Spark Soul King Aalam Alvaro isn¡¯t here personally?¡± As Krysta felt her heart rate increase due to several absolutely insane realizations entering into her mind, Li Mila chuckled slightly. ¡°Yes, several. First, Aalam isn¡¯t very good at contracts, which is one of the reasons he made me his chamberlain. Should you take him on as your apprentice, that¡¯s an area where his sister and I would hope you¡¯d help him improve. Second, I came here today not just to talk about you taking on Aalam as an apprentice, but to hopefully create several contracts between my force and yours, a matter where I have full authority and Aalam would have none. Third, should you decide to kill us out of fear or in retaliation for what was done to the Violet Mountain Sect, I at least would prefer you kill only me rather than Aalam as well. And, finally, fourth, Aalam is currently unconscious due to whatever the effects of personally killing a powerful B rank have on the soul of an E rank, so I couldn¡¯t bring him anyway.¡± ¡°He managed to kill Violet Mountain Lord Zev Andar personally? How?¡± Krysta got the distinct impression her mother was more impressed than worried or irritated. And that seemed to relax Ms. Li, whose body had tensed up slightly after the mention of the name Heavenly Spark Soul King. ¡°Do you care more about the how than the why?¡± ¡°The why seems obvious.¡± Joma leaned back in her seat, seeming to be deliberately trying to appear more relaxed to reduce Ms. Li¡¯s fear of being murdered. ¡°Zev Andar killed Epecteos Ka¡¯Dravone, who you had almost certainly hired as a combat instructor for your force, and you, or maybe just the Heavenly Spark Soul King and I¡¯m guessing the warrior called Knight in the War of the Chosen, wanted to kill Zev Andar in retaliation.¡± Joma pointed at Krysta while maintaining eye contact with Ms. Li. ¡°You almost certainly approached Mr. Ka¡¯Dravone due to needing to find a way to get access to the Twelve Element Primal Code, which my daughter here denied you, and that¡¯s probably why you joined the Violet Mountain Sect as well as I¡¯ve become aware they had a copy. ¡°Have I been wrong about anything so far?¡± Ms. Li shook her head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Honestly, I like the why,¡± Joma continued. ¡°You all, or at least the Heavenly Spark Soul King himself, cared enough about a teacher of several years to risk a war with a force many, many times stronger than you. And that intent alone is something I would love in an apprentice. ¡°But, not only did you attempt to destroy a force many times stronger than you, you succeeded. And you did so in about as clean a fashion as I¡¯ve ever heard, even somehow blowing up their main planet to hide your tracks. I also really like that competence. ¡°The how, however, worries me a bit. Not only did you kill Zev Andar, but you slaughtered his entire force as well. And you even somehow stole the blessed land he guarded, making five powerful A rank forces your enemies as a result, one of which I am very close to as I¡¯m taking their princess as my other apprentice, and two others which are my customers. ¡°I can¡¯t have my apprentices creating trouble for me. And, at the moment, it seems the Heavenly Spark Soul King might be an uncontrollable loose cannon, so the step by step how is very important in my decision to take him on as an apprentice.¡± Joma took a deep breath. ¡°Am I right in assuming you and Diana Alvaro are the two apprentices of the Yin Yang Sage?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Li nodded and she didn¡¯t hide the fact she seemed to be thinking about what Joma had just said. ¡°Then the other thing I¡¯m worried about is why the Yin Yang Sage chose you and Diana Alvaro and not Aalam. From everything I¡¯ve learned, he is considerably more talented than either of you, and, despite not following the path of yin and yang with his Laws, he seems to be following the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s class path the most closely. So, from what I know, were I her, I would have chosen him over one of you. And this means I¡¯m missing something.¡± ¡°Understandable.¡± Ms. Li leaned back in her seat in a way that mirrored Krysta¡¯s mother. ¡°The answer to both your main questions is pretty simple. Aalam has some slight suicidal tendencies and the first uniqueness he awakened was Id.¡± Krysta looked to her mother and she saw the excitement fade from Joma¡¯s eyes, but then it came back even stronger. ¡°Oh.¡± A big smile spread over Joma¡¯s face. ¡°Given her body is dead and her soul is likely only maintained by the System due to some deal, I¡¯m guessing the Yin Yang Sage can only take on two apprentices total, with no ability to regain the slot if one of you were to die, unlike most living cultivators?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Li seemed slightly more relaxed after Joma¡¯s change in expression. ¡°Then it makes perfect sense why she wouldn¡¯t choose Aalam.¡± Joma looked up at the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought. ¡°If I¡¯m right, he killed himself after your death, likely already under the influence of his uniqueness, thus resulting in him becoming a monster. So of course the Yin Yang Sage wouldn¡¯t pick him as one of her only two legacy apprentices.¡± Chapter 195: Negotiations II ¡°Hmm.¡± Joma looked at Krysta and then back to Ms. Li, her face showing the same type of expression she¡¯d get whenever she came up with a new epiphany regarding one of the alchemy recipes she was always working on. ¡°And that¡¯s also why the two of you have such stupidly high grade classes. Aalam, from everything I¡¯ve heard, sounds like he¡¯s god touched, so a berserker state which takes away his inhibitions would work differently than what one would normally expect. ¡°And, if the Yin Yang Sage was smart enough to provide him a boon of information early on, of course he¡¯d aim for something ridiculous. And his talent, combined with your training and complementary skill set along with the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s plague creation recipes, would potentially enable you to succeed in that ridiculous aim, which would explain your bloodline and how you could have the exact same soulstructures as him to make your Essence Chamberlain class work. ¡°And that same skillset would work well in the Trial Tower as well, likely awarding you such a ridiculous amount of points that you earned resources well beyond what any F rank could normally get their hands on.¡± A big smile spread across Joma¡¯s face. ¡°And with your skillset, you could probably trick the System into thinking you were a cultivator of any planet you ended up on, enabling you to get the Trial Tower token of that planet¡ªthinking about it, probably the one called Hira, given how things on that planet ended so mysteriously. And the artifact allowing you to curse the entire Violet Mountain Sect was probably the Altar of Sacrifice reportedly in the inheritance of the C rank called the Shadow Thief. The timing works for the Trial Tower where you met Krysta. ¡°Finally, from that Trial Tower, along with the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s connection to Diana Alvaro back on Earth, you¡¯d have everything you¡¯d need to get back to your home planet, which fits the timeline of things on Earth as well. Then, with the Trial Tower token from Earth and Diana Alvaro¡¯s lord line skill, you¡¯d be able to participate in the Trial Tower for a second time, so you probably earned ridiculous resources not once, but twice.¡± Ms. Li just quietly stared at Joma for a few seconds. Then she turned to look at Krysta. ¡°Does she occasionally get an idea and then walk off to test it without properly communicating as well?¡± ¡°No.¡± Krysta almost laughed, realizing from what little interactions she¡¯d had with Aalam Alvaro that Ms. Li was almost certainly seeing a resemblance between him and her mother. ¡°She always communicates first.¡± ¡°Ah, that would be so nice.¡± Joma looked at Ms. Li, then at Krysta, and then back at Ms. Li. ¡°I¡¯m assuming Mr. Alvaro entered into the Id state when Epecteos was killed and that he then killed all the Violet Mountain Sect¡¯s cultivators to feed a curse so it would work against Zev Andar?¡± Ms. Li nodded once. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And he also had plagues, so he should have been able to drain Zev Andar¡¯s energy completely within a year or two, killing him that way. But, even with Id empowering his Spirit, it would be nearly impossible to put a scratch on a B rank warrior, let alone kill a powerful one like Zev Andar.¡± ¡°He destroyed the Altar of Sacrifice to increase the power of the curse, placed a spatial storage device directly on the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s leg, and then had it release antimatter directly into the Violet Mountain Lord¡¯s flesh, creating a wound. ¡°Then he stabbed him in that wound with a sword he made which my master said could have killed her in her prime.¡± Krysta mostly got the implications of what Ms. Li had just said, but, seeing her mother¡¯s expression of utter shock, she realized she hadn¡¯t quite grasped their sheer ridiculousness. ¡°An E rank made a weapon wieldable by himself which could kill the Yin Yang Sage?¡± Joma asked slowly. ¡°If it somehow managed to cut her, yes.¡± Ms. Li took out a large violet sword from the spatial storage ring on her left hand and telekinetically tossed it to Joma. ¡°At the time, upon creating a wound, it would release a curse which could automatically trigger the punishment conditions of contracts made by B rank level skills or lower.¡± ¡°It was a sin blade.¡± Joma looked over the sword carefully. ¡°But it has lost its sin and is now primed to be transformed into a sword of virtue.¡± Joma looked back up at Ms. Li. ¡°You¡¯re a sin eater, so he felt comfortable making such a weapon even though its curse would eat away at his soul if left untreated?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Joma took another minute or two to inspect the blade. ¡°Even the ability to shape such a metal at E rank is impressive. And the crafting skill shown is exquisite for that rank, though obviously lacking in several easily fixed ways, showing the absence of a true teacher. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Most impressive though are the arrays, which seem to be newly created combinations of some of Alashan¡¯s work, and the idea of the weapon itself, which I¡¯m guessing was inspired by the way you tend to kill your enemies.¡± She tossed the weapon back to Ms. Li and Ms. Li telekinetically caught it before putting it back in her spatial storage ring. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m leaning toward taking Aalam on as an apprentice. But I have a few more questions before I make my decision.¡± A slight smile appeared on Ms. Li¡¯s face. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°First, what do you think his chances would be of making it to D rank without my help?¡± ¡°100%.¡± Joma and Krysta both looked at her doubtfully, the difficulty of advancing while following the path of the Heavenly Spark famous, so Ms. Li elaborated. ¡°Of his 36 Laws, 20 are early grade Law Pupae and the remaining 16 are middle grade Law Pupae, so he¡¯s already met the Law requirements for advancing his classes. And he created Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance, an extremely powerful Fabled grade E rank artifact, so he¡¯s already met the most difficult extra requirement for advancing his main class as well. As for his second class, which requires inventing new arrays, you just commented on the three different varieties in Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance alone. ¡°Sure, he needs to merge a never before seen skill and then create a method to integrate that skill with his cultivation technique, but that¡¯s just a matter of time and effort.¡± Ms. Li smirked slightly as Joma opened and closed her mouth a few times, but then she returned to a more neutral expression as Krysta¡¯s mother burst out laughing. ¡°He didn¡¯t take any harmful shortcuts, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ms. Li shook her head. ¡°He did spend some time studying a Stone of Primal Beginning, which greatly sped up his progress, but, according to my teacher, studying Laws in their primal state was beneficial for his future development, not neutral like for everyone else.¡± ¡°Okay, just out with it.¡± Joma waved her hand in seeming defeat. ¡°The race you two share is obviously ridiculous. And I¡¯m guessing his bloodline, racial abilities, and soulstructures will leave me jealous as well. What type of hardware would I be dealing with?¡± ¡°His race is a sublime soul variant of Incubus Emperor, heading down the path of a Soul Lord, and sublime soul is what the System calls the level higher than strong soul. It allows for complete dual classes instead of advanced dual classes, and its effect on Aalam¡¯s soul has several pleasant side effects as well. These include the natural state of his aura being completely unnoticeable, greatly increased base affinities with all Laws, and extremely high resistance to impurities staining his soul.¡± Joma nodded. ¡°Very unfair. And I¡¯ll have to buy more information about that variant type from you in the future.¡± Ms. Li then continued. ¡°Aalam¡¯s bloodline is Genetic Thief, which has enabled him to guide his racial advancements and the choices for his racial abilities, so all his racial abilities are quite rare and at minimum Heroic grade. They are Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor, Monster Prince, Advanced Soul Laboratory, Heavenly Spark Pure Soul, and Nascent Energy Constructor.¡± Krysta wasn¡¯t sure what Advanced Soul Laboratory and Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor did, but Nascent Energy Constructor and Monster Prince were both from two of the most desired ability lines she knew about, and they worked well together, while, from her mother¡¯s expression as each ability was mentioned, Advanced Soul Laboratory and Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor were likely on their same level. ¡°As for his soulstructures, they¡¯re less impressive. He has a huge core container, twelve medium and one large mana wells, seven huge mental forges, and a medium advanced soul laboratory.¡± Joma just stared at Ms. Li for a few seconds. Then she asked, ¡°Elevated Multi-Mind?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Joma nodded slowly. ¡°Really advanced hardware that is extremely expensive to advance.¡± She shook her head a few times, seemingly trying to clear her mind. Then she asked, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anyone with the Id uniqueness surviving past F rank. Any luck figuring out how to advance it?¡± ¡°Having multiple mental forges seems to help. Since the start of Earth¡¯s integration, Aalam has only entered into the Id state three times, and the second was back when we first met Krysta in the F rank Trial Tower, about a dozen years ago. So, currently, Id seems to require some pretty intense emotions to activate and, even when it does, it¡¯s nowhere as extreme as it was the first time before Aalam gained the Multi-Mind skill at G rank. ¡°His other uniqueness, however, will likely advance by the time he wakes up.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Joma sounded somewhat deflated. ¡°And that explains why his build gives him the ability to rule over so much Territory and why you¡¯d risk his monster name being exposed. He¡¯s somehow a royal, isn¡¯t he? And the skill he¡¯s trying to merge from Sensory Domain is meant to allow him to access the power of his Territory anywhere he goes.¡± Ms. Li smiled slightly again as she nodded. ¡°And, from what you just said and the size of the Territory you recently gained, he likely awakened to Prince rather than one of the lesser versions of that uniqueness line, which will be King by the time I would meet him and will advance again to Emperor in a few dozen years so long as he stays at E rank and doesn¡¯t lose any Territory.¡± ¡°That is correct.¡± Joma deliberately took a deep breath. ¡°Alright. So, in an emotional state, he¡¯ll have the ability to multiply his base Spirit stat by 60. And that already insane multiplier will rise even more in the future, hopefully more than doubling during his time at D rank, and then even further every rank in the future, likely allowing him to fight lower tier gods as a B rank. ¡°His only real weakness is the path he¡¯s on might get him stuck in his study of Laws.¡± Joma¡¯s eyes then grew wide with shock. ¡°But that won¡¯t be as much of an issue as I¡¯d expect as his current Attunement multiplier is probably more than 10, and will increase at the same rate. ¡°His limiting factor won¡¯t be Laws, but stats, as a good portion of the multiplier is Monster Prince increasing the max amount of stats he can have at each rank. But his race, insane cultivation technique, and Nascent Energy Constructor racial ability would work together to allow him to eat as many natural treasures as he¡¯d need, so the limiting factor wouldn¡¯t actually be stats, but natural treasures.¡± Joma looked at Krysta and then back at Ms. Li. ¡°You want me to be his master less so that I could teach him and more so I would provide him pills.¡± Chapter 196: Negotiations III Ms. Li burst out laughing. ¡°I won¡¯t lie and say the fact your force produces some of the most time efficient methods for increasing nascent energy wasn¡¯t a consideration. ¡°But I think you¡¯re underestimating our purchasing power. We¡¯re more after the discount we would receive from Aalam being your apprentice than the direct resources you would provide.¡± ¡°Given the nature of the System, I don¡¯t believe you would be able to directly access the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s wealth.¡± Joma¡¯s voice became instantly more serious at the mention of business contracts. ¡°And the Shadow Thief was only a C rank. Did the Violet Mountain Sect have more capital than I¡¯d expect?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Ms. Li shifted to a more serious tone as well. ¡°They¡¯d been sitting on the inheritance of a dead god for millions of years and completely misusing one of his divine dwellings.¡± Krysta¡¯s heart started to race again, and she was pretty sure her mother¡¯s had as well. ¡°Granted, Steel Swamp Sorin didn¡¯t expect to die, so none of his wealth was left behind beyond the divine dwelling itself.¡± Ms. Li didn¡¯t pause even after the insane revelation. ¡°But he did leave everything he knew about classes, races, bloodlines, racial abilities, and cultivation, as well as every crafting recipe he¡¯d ever gotten his hands on. ¡°Given the paths those in my force are already on, there¡¯s not much of that information which is of use to us beyond Aalam learning from the blueprints, but this doesn¡¯t mean there¡¯s no valuable information at all. ¡°Your class is the Mythic grade Alchemist of the Forgotten Grove, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Joma took a deep breath, and Ms. Li, who had an A rank master and thus knew exactly how rare what she was about to offer was, smiled. ¡°Do you know any of the classes it can advance to?¡± ¡°One.¡± ¡°And do you know that class¡¯s exact requirements?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ms. Li¡¯s smile became radiant. ¡°Let¡¯s start the process of making a deal then. I have knowledge of four Empyrean grade classes which can be advanced from Alchemist of the Forgotten Grove, including their full lists of effects and requirements. What is the maximum amount you¡¯d be willing to pay for such information?¡± Krysta¡¯s mother turned to look at her. ¡°Do you understand the main mistake I made here, Krysta?¡± ¡°You thought this would only be a discussion about taking in an apprentice,¡± Krysta began, thinking while she spoke, ¡°and you thought the other side was the only one with things to hide, so you made a contract designed to force the share of information in a way that would make the other party feel safe, not thinking they might use that chance to force you to share information as well.¡± Joma shook her head. ¡°First, that last part is wrong. I already identified Ms. Li as following the path of a diabolical trickster, so I knew she¡¯d force some information out of me. I just didn¡¯t think it would be information I¡¯d actually care about being secret. That, however, is not the main mistake I made. ¡°The main mistake was, even knowing I was dealing with someone following the path of a diabolical trickster, I didn¡¯t take every possible precaution I could. ¡°I was arrogant. ¡°There is a vast disparity of strength between me and Ms. Li, so I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d have anything I¡¯d want beyond a possible second apprentice, and, as a result, she played me like a fool.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Joma looked back at Ms. Li, a slightly annoyed expression on her face, but Ms. Li looked even more confused than Krysta felt. ¡°You could just say you don¡¯t want to answer the question. There¡¯s nothing in the contract making that an unacceptable option.¡± ¡°No, there is.¡± Joma sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not like you, Ms. Li. I¡¯m an open and honest business woman, a bit to a fault. And that¡¯s the main secret to me staying truly neutral even while dealing with gods and A ranks all these years. ¡°Also, I quite like the sound of my own voice and showing off how smart I am, which is one of the main faults in my personality, so I actually want to answer your question. And I¡¯m a victim of my own contract wording, so I have to answer it, and answer it fully, or it would be a lie of omission. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d be able to finagle my way out of doing so at least a bit, but I didn¡¯t expect making a contract with you to strengthen it so much, and that¡¯s taken away pretty much all my wiggle room.¡± Joma shook her head again, laughed, and her voice became a bit more cheerful. ¡°Alright. That¡¯s enough of a delay. The time I took didn¡¯t allow me to think of a good way out, so I might as well just give you the answer. ¡°What you have is extremely valuable to me. It¡¯s information many gods I know have access to, but it¡¯s not something they¡¯d ever agree to sell me unless they were desperate, which will likely never happen in my lifetime. ¡°That said, however, it¡¯s not information I absolutely need. First and foremost, I¡¯ve yet to reach max level for an A rank. Second, the Law requirements for my apotheosis are pretty obvious, and most of the other requirements for my class advancement can be inferred. Finally, third, I haven¡¯t yet gathered all the resources I need for my race advancement, which, when advancing to godhood, happens at the same time as class advancement, so the information you have is lower priority than a couple natural treasures I require. ¡°Still, this puts the worth of the information you have, at least to me, at around the level of a high grade A rank treasure, so the maximum I¡¯d be willing to pay would be around the 2,985,984 A rank universal credits mark.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Ms. Li took a deep breath and a wide smile spread across her face. ¡°Would you be willing to use this type of wording for the contract?¡± Krysta couldn¡¯t see the contract, as she was not one of the parties involved, but, from her mother¡¯s expression, Joma seemed pleased. ¡°I like the debt reduction favor term. Thanks especially for making it optional. But I definitely will not accept the for life price reduction built into term 3. If you make it to A rank at some point, I imagine you will be far wealthier than me, and the loss of profit would be way too high. ¡°Term 5 is also impossible to accept. I do take on recurring orders from clients, but there has to be the ability to cancel on my side built in so I¡¯m not forced to eat a massive loss in the case of a large force manipulating the market on key ingredients. And term 7 is impossible as I¡¯ve already given priority to twelve other forces which would overlap.¡± ¡°Okay. What about this then?¡± Ms. Li made a gesture and Joma seemed to have a new contract to look at. Then Krysta¡¯s mother started to chuckle as she looked back at Ms. Li. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that new term 7 is going to be very expensive, huh?¡± ¡°Most likely, yes.¡± Ms. Li nodded and her face became more serious. ¡°But these are the terms of the contract I¡¯d want if you were to become Aalam¡¯s master.¡± Ms. Li made another gesture and Joma¡¯s face became more and more serious as she read the new contract. Then she looked up at Ms. Li and frowned. ¡°This reads like you expect me to abandon you, but it¡¯s too favorable to me in that case.¡± ¡°My teacher watched your rise, Madam Alchemist, so I have a good sense of your past and personality. You are, however, neutral in the political games of the universe. ¡°My teacher, on the other hand, was very much not. ¡°As a result, as our force grows more powerful, we¡¯re going to attract the attention of my teacher¡¯s old friends and enemies whether we like it or not. And, due to our need for resources, our force will likely create its own enemies as well, such as our stealing of Steel Swamp Sorin¡¯s divine dwelling from under the noses of five A rank forces. ¡°Aalam is not like Henrietta. He doesn¡¯t have living A ranks and gods behind him. So his enemies will treat you as his biggest backer, and at some point you won¡¯t be able to afford that. ¡°To you, taking on Aalam is a gamble, big risk and big reward. But rational people like you don¡¯t put your all on such gambles, while me and mine would prefer you to bet as much as you can afford.¡± Ms. Li gestured to the air in front of Joma. ¡°This contract changes the nature of your bet to one with big rewards if things go well and little risk if they don¡¯t, on your part at least. And this I hope would encourage you to bet more on Aalam while he would need you the most.¡± Joma took a few seconds to think, looking at Krysta and then back to Ms. Li. ¡°The logic makes sense. But it does seem a bit unfair.¡± Ms. Li smiled slightly. ¡°There is a saying on Earth. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. We have no need for A or B rank resources yet, but the universal auction is coming up, where extremely rare resources will be available in abundance, and we need help gaining access to those at E, D, and C rank.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Joma smiled. ¡°Timing and need are everything.¡± But then Krysta watched as her mother seemed to realize something. ¡°Damn. That 7th term is so sinister. I take back what I said about the contract being unfair.¡± Chapter 197: Negotiations IV ¡°Ah, whatever.¡± Joma waved her hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s a reasonable deal. And I agree to those terms for now. But I do reserve the right to refuse taking in Aalam as my apprentice if something changes my mind after meeting him, and that would inherently alter the contract. ¡°Going back to Aalam, though, you probably know him best, right?¡± Ms. Li nodded. ¡°Then how messed up do you think he¡¯ll be when he wakes up?¡± For a second, Ms. Li¡¯s expression showed anger, but it was quickly suppressed. Before she could talk, however, Joma raised her hand. ¡°Your teacher has probably pushed you to talk to me before Aalam wakes up, right?¡± Ms. Li nodded, her expression neutral and her seemingly nonexistent aura completely unreadable. ¡°And I¡¯m guessing she hasn¡¯t explained to you the nature of the benefit Aalam can gain from having personally killed such a powerful B rank, likely telling you the truth by saying it would affect you negatively if you knew.¡± Ms. Li nodded again. ¡°Well that benefit, which is huge, can be greatly helped by having an A rank¡¯s guidance. But I need to understand his emotional state if I¡¯m going to be able to guide him well. And, for this, you¡¯ll just have to trust me.¡± Ms. Li looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°Will you first answer a question of mine?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Do you have any conflicts of interest when it comes to making my force more powerful that you think I would want to know about?¡± Joma smiled. ¡°Beyond what you¡¯re already aware of, that I will be taking Henrietta Vin as my other apprentice, no.¡± ¡°Then can you ask Krysta to leave the room?¡± ¡°Very reasonable.¡± Joma turned to look at Krysta and Krysta rose to her feet. She really wanted to hear more, but Aalam Alvaro¡¯s emotional state really wasn¡¯t any of her business. So, she left the room and went to a nearby large training hall to practice her magic. * * * About ten minutes later, however, Ms. Li, back in her blonde disguise, entered the room and smiled at her. ¡°Would you like to have a bout? This is my first time on an A rank planet and I feel like I¡¯m on the verge of a breakthrough.¡± Krysta frowned slightly, but she motioned her agreement and summoned her mana. The room was a couple kilometers wide, and an A rank planet¡¯s suppression was extremely high, so there was more than enough room for combat at their level. More important, however, the woman in front of her had been fooling her for over a year, so she kind of liked the idea of beating her up a little. But the fight didn¡¯t go the way Krysta wanted. At the start, Ms. Li created 6 doppelg?ngers of herself and both she and they entered into stealth, and, while Krysta was able to see through the stealth with her extreme spatial affinity, her senses weren¡¯t strong enough to figure out the real Ms. Li from the 6 fakes. Even with her high grade Law Pupa of Void Slice, her attack speed and power were suppressed on an A rank world, and the entire time she had to fight against some kind of lust-based charm effect. As a result, along with Ms. Li seemingly using Sensory Domain to predict the path of all her attacks almost instantly, Ms. Li and the doppelg?ngers were all able to dodge her spatial slices, and the fight continued for a couple minutes. That is at least until something shifted slightly and Ms. Li began to dodge her attacks even more easily. Then Ms. Li summoned out that blade which had killed even a B rank and started using it to telekinetically attack. Krysta got so flustered trying to dodge the blade that she allowed one of the 7 copies of Ms. Li to get near her, and apparently it was the real one as the punch it threw directly toward her heart, empowered by some kind of death Law, really hurt. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Should we call the bout over?¡± Ms. Li asked as she dodged back from any retaliatory attack Krysta could make with her so close, desummoned her doppelg?ngers, and summoned 6 new ones so Krysta could no longer identify which of the seven was real. ¡°Fine.¡± Krysta was frustrated, but she realized Ms. Li could have killed her with that attack if it had been with a weapon, as she hadn¡¯t managed to raise her defense in time. And there was no benefit to being petty. ¡°Are you mad at me?¡± Ms. Li smiled at her again as she exited from stealth, ceased the charm assault, and desummoned her doppelg?ngers. ¡°You lied to me for years.¡± ¡°You took a cultivation technique you didn¡¯t need, forcing me to find a way to get it myself, and that cost me nine years of my life.¡± Ms. Li¡¯s smile had disappeared, replaced by a frown, and she started glaring at Krysta as her aura, which was far more powerful than Krysta¡¯s, spread out and suppressed her. ¡°Do not play the victim in this situation, little rich girl. Diana may have forgiven you, but I¡¯m the one who had to pay the price for your actions.¡± Far more than when Diana had threatened her in the War of the Chosen, Krysta felt fear, to the point she almost soiled herself. And she really didn¡¯t like the feeling, but she didn¡¯t know what to do about it as the woman continued glaring at her for nearly ten seconds. Then, however, as if nothing had happened, Ms. Li started smiling again and her suppressive aura disappeared as she looked over to the side of the training room, where Krysta realized her mother had likely been standing the entire time, hiding her presence. ¡°Is that enough? Anything more and it feels like I might actually sour my relationship with your daughter.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods laughed as she tossed an information orb to Ms. Li, who telekinetically caught it and placed it into her spatial storage ring. ¡°Yes. Thank you for your help, Ms. Li. I look forward to working with you again. ¡°And do consider that job offer. It by no means has to be a full time thing.¡± ¡°I will, Madam Alchemist.¡± Ms. Li bowed toward Joma, smiled at Krysta, and then left the room, presumably heading back to Earth. ¡°So.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother turned to look at her. ¡°What do you think of Li Mila?¡± ¡°She¡¯s, she¡¯s¡ª¡± Krysta had no idea how to answer. Even realizing her mother had likely asked the woman to freak her out as some kind of training, it had still worked. ¡°Yeah.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother smiled widely. ¡°An E rank I couldn¡¯t read the aura of. That was one of the most frustrating experiences I¡¯ve had in a while.¡± ¡°Did that information orb contain the complete technique of the Twelve Element Primal Code?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Her mother reached out and put a hand on Krysta¡¯s shoulder, squeezing slightly and injecting power to forcibly adjust Krysta¡¯s own energy, which had deviated slightly without her noticing, seemingly from that death element empowered punch. ¡°I felt we owed them that much.¡± Her mother took her hand back and continued to smile. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll ask you again. What do you think of Li Mila?¡± Krysta thought about it for several seconds, feeling herself calming down, but she couldn¡¯t come up with a perfect answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to think.¡± ¡°Exactly. I can¡¯t get a read on her either.¡± Joma laughed again. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t heard about her history, I would have thought she was just being straight and honest with me. But with it I have no idea.¡± ¡°I lost to her.¡± Krysta felt her confidence fading, and it didn¡¯t feel good. ¡°Yeah. And she went easy on you.¡± ¡°Easy?¡± Krysta had noticed Li Mila working on her Laws during the fight, and she had won almost instantly as soon as one of them seemed to advance, so it was probably true. ¡°By how much?¡± ¡°A whole, whole lot. Unlike you, she¡¯s already reached the max level for E rank, so her stats are well beyond yours.¡± ¡°Whew.¡± That made Krysta feel better for a second, but then she realized something was wrong. Ms. Li had been slower than her during the fight, so it didn¡¯t make sense her stats were higher. ¡°Thus she soul shackled herself to the point her stats were about 80% of yours,¡± Joma continued. ¡°The bigger thing was she actually fought you fairly, without any psychological tricks. She¡¯s primarily a lawyer. Her powers aren¡¯t designed for a straight up fight.¡± Krysta took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a second, and then looked back at her mother. ¡°What lessons are you trying to teach me this time?¡± Joma¡¯s grin remained and she raised two fingers. ¡°Two. One, you can¡¯t be complacent. Were your combat skills better, that girl would have had to resort to a lot more tricks, so you should practice more, a lot more¡ªespecially now that a new overpowered apprentice is coming to take your place as the top E rank under me.¡± Her mother¡¯s grin then faded and her voice became more serious. ¡°And, two, you need to be more careful in your actions. If Ms. Li was a truly vicious person, you would have made an enemy completely capable of killing you without a trace of her involvement from one act of stupidity by taking that reward from the Trial Tower. ¡°You¡¯re not going to stop making mistakes, and you shouldn¡¯t become paralyzed in your actions, but try to learn from Henrietta when she arrives and make sure to keep the bigger picture in mind when you act.¡± Krysta took a few seconds to absorb what her mother had said, then she looked at the door to the training room. ¡°Will I ever be able to act like that, all smiling and cheerful one second and utterly terrifying the next?¡± Her mother also looked at the door. ¡°With enough experience probably, but hopefully never with such natural ease.¡± Krysta turned to look at her mom and Joma elaborated. ¡°Look at how we¡¯ve been talking about Ms. Li right now. She hasn¡¯t done anything inherently untrustworthy, yet we¡¯re finding it hard to trust her just because we know she could be faking everything we¡¯ve seen. Wouldn¡¯t it kind of suck to live like that?¡± Krysta gave it some thought as they started walking toward the exit, and she had to agree. But then she remembered something. ¡°Wait, but what job were you offering her?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Joma grinned again. ¡°Those eyes of hers can subtly influence not just lust but greed. I want her to host the Forest Cauldron¡¯s bi-yearly auctions once she reaches D rank.¡± Chapter 198: Wake Up and Rush Aalam Aalam woke up in a room he didn¡¯t recognize, but, seeing as it appeared to be an oversized bedroom designed for someone 4 meters tall, with all the walls and furniture made mostly of crystal and violet metal¡ªas well as the huge monstrous AI hovering in the corner¡ªhe was pretty sure he was somewhere in the blessed land. He only had about half a second to register that, however, before Diana, who¡¯d apparently been sitting next to him on the bed, immediately moved to sit on his chest and got into his face. ¡°You tried to commit suicide again, little brother.¡± The angry expression on her face brought up a lot of memories of fear from when he was a child, a preteen, and a teenager, and Aalam felt guilty more than anything else, as he really didn¡¯t have a good excuse. Then, however, instead of yelling at him, forcing him to do chores, or just getting fed up and leaving the room, Diana kissed him on the forehead and gave him a hug. ¡°Don¡¯t ever scare me like that again.¡± Aalam didn¡¯t know how to react for a couple seconds, but then he realized what he was supposed to do was pretty obvious and he hugged her back. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to.¡± Diana pushed against his chest and, even though he was now much, much stronger than her due to him having leveled up and her having not, he let her go, flinching a little as she glared at him. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to try. I want you to¡ª¡± Then, however, Diana stopped herself, took a deep breath, and muttered, ¡°He¡¯s being literal, Di. And you don¡¯t want him to start lying to you.¡± Diana then climbed off him and jumped off the bed. ¡°Come on, Aalam, you need to get going.¡± She grabbed the Left Hand of the Runescribe and what looked to be a tailored non-artifact outfit of some kind off an oversized stepping stool and threw them at him. ¡°I¡¯m giving you two minutes to get dressed and come out. Any longer and there will be consequences.¡± She then looked at the AI. ¡°Jeeves, make sure he¡¯s out in two minutes.¡± Diana left the room and Aalam sat there for a few seconds, confusion overpowering the mix of sadness, grief, and excitement he would have otherwise been feeling. ¡°Jeeves?¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± The AI teleported forward and hovered next to the bed, showing its teeth in an expression Aalam couldn¡¯t really read. ¡°Your chamberlain told me to follow all the orders of that human, so I¡¯ve been doing so. And the human renamed me from my glorious title of Gith¡¯Ilizanivarikal De Sorin to Jeeves. ¡°Should I disregard the orders of your chamberlain, Master, and maybe annihilate the human for daring to assault you?¡± Aalam took a half second to absorb what the AI had just told him, still not 100% awake. Then he immediately said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°In that case, Master, you should hurry.¡± Aalam wasn¡¯t positive, but he was pretty sure the AI sounded disappointed. ¡°Ms. Diana gave you a task along with a deadline and you haven¡¯t moved toward achieving the task at all.¡± Thinking about the types of punishments Diana had given him in the past, such as having to watch her eat an entire chocolate cake in front of him without getting even a bite, Aalam hurriedly dressed in the new outfit, a dark orange battle robe like thing which made him think of the Chinese fantasy dramas Mila loved, and slipped the Left Hand of the Runescribe onto his hand. Then he hurried out of the room and found Diana leaning on one of the crystalline walls of the hallway. ¡°Alright. Come on.¡± Without explaining why she was in such a rush, Diana hurried at her max speed out of the underground, out of the blessed land, and to the nearest local teleportation platform. Then they teleported to the platform nearest to the universal teleportation platform on Ellis Island and flew over to land on the island. There, standing around the universal teleportation platform, were Mila, Isaiah, and Irena. And, if Aalam wasn¡¯t mistaken, Mila and Irena had been talking about a TV show before he arrived, nothing to do with work. He also belatedly noticed Isaiah and Irena were wearing the same type of outfit as him, but he was distracted from thinking about that more by Mila walking up to him and summoning out Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance from her spatial storage ring and holding it up for him to see. ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping this for now. You can modify it more when you¡¯ve maximized your skills.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. As Mila desummoned the blade, Aalam watched through his sensory domain as Diana walked up to Isaiah, floated up about a foot and a half as she was still merged with her yang spirit, and kissed her boyfriend, saying, ¡°Have a safe trip and make sure to come back at least once a month.¡± ¡°Are we going somewhere?¡± Aalam asked Mila. And Mila responded by pushing him onto the universal teleportation platform. ¡°You are. Yep.¡± Then she turned to look at Isaiah and Irena as they joined Aalam on the platform. ¡°Isaiah, learn well. Grandma, keep them both from being complete idiots.¡± As Aalam was trying to figure out if he¡¯d ever heard Mila call Irena grandma before¡ªsomething he quickly realized he hadn¡¯t¡ªthe teleportation platform activated and, the next thing he knew, he was on a planet where the Law suppression was far, far stronger than he¡¯d ever felt before, and his own connection with the Laws of the universe was far stronger as well. Also, out in front of him was a tree so large it could not possibly exist without magic, and the air smelled really nice, clean and somehow full of life. Before he could fully adjust to the fact he was almost certainly on an A rank world, however, Irena and Isaiah quickly guided him to another teleportation platform and they all teleported again, this time appearing in what felt like a secluded garden, where there were two people waiting for them. One of the two Aalam immediately recognized, the silver semi-translucent hair and inhuman fully black eyes both features he¡¯d never seen on anyone other than Krysta La¡¯Vordi. But the other attracted his attention far more as her aura, which felt like an exaggerated version of that huge tree he¡¯d just seen, was by far the strongest he¡¯d ever felt. She looked like a slightly older version of Krysta, only with long mossy green dreadlocks down to the middle of her back and yellow eyes, but she had the same dark brown skin as her daughter and both were wearing matching yellow sundresses, far less formal than the getup his sister had forced him into. ¡°You must be Irena Krol.¡± Joma La¡¯Vordi, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, held out her hand to Irena. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± ¡°And you as well, Madam Alchemist.¡± Irena shook the alchemist''s hand and then bowed. ¡°Your granddaughter and I set up the framework for a couple big deals, but part of one of those deals will be possibly hundreds of smaller deals which I will be negotiating with you.¡± The alchemist smiled warmly. ¡°I look forward to working with you.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods then turned to look at Isaiah and reached out her hand again. ¡°And you must be the mysterious Mr. Knight. I still have no idea who you are and it has been frustrating me to no end.¡± From Isaiah¡¯s aura, he was far more uncomfortable than Irena as he shook the alchemist¡¯s hand. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m not important, nor famous, Madam Alchemist.¡± ¡°Still, seeing you in person, I can at least infer a lot more.¡± The alchemist took a step back, a smile still on her face. ¡°You¡¯re a Balance Dragon. I just have no idea if you are naturally born or had some kind of lucky encounter. ¡°The Forest Cauldron has plenty of monster members, so you won¡¯t have any issues, but do make sure you¡¯re careful, as we are not the only force on this planet.¡± The alchemist then turned her eyes to look at Aalam and Aalam felt her aura move around him oddly, as if it was looking for something. ¡°Just like with Ms. Li, I can¡¯t feel your aura in its natural state at all. Project it for me so I can confirm your Laws.¡± Aalam was about to turn to Irena, who he was pretty sure had been sent at least partially to babysit him, but Mila, with whom he¡¯d started sharing his senses ever since he¡¯d arrived, sent him a message. ¡°Joma La¡¯Vordi is going to be your new master, but she needs to know your power in order to instruct you.¡± So, Aalam just projected his aura in full. ¡°Okay.¡± Unlike with the others, when Joma La¡¯Vordi talked to him, she was less pleasant, her voice reminding him of Epecteos in full teaching mode. The alchemist then turned to look at her daughter. ¡°Krysta, please keep our guests company until we¡¯re done. These two will temporarily join the Forest Cauldron if I decide to accept Mr. Alvaro, so feel free to give them an introduction in advance. ¡°Mr. Alvaro, follow me.¡± The alchemist then started to walk away and Aalam, still somewhat confused, followed her, but she kept increasing her speed to the point Aalam had to start using Telekinesis and wind Laws to augment himself to keep up with her. ¡°Your technique could be a lot better.¡± The alchemist stopped suddenly in front of a large building which looked like a mansion and Aalam almost hurt himself trying not to run past her. Then she led him into the mansion, down a set of stairs, and down, and down, until they were probably about 18 kilometers underground. They then ran through an earthen hallway and into a large circular room, maybe 24 kilometers in diameter with a ceiling over 4 kilometers high. When they started running within the room, however, their speed drastically increased, and Aalam realized there was no Law suppression whatsoever in the room, though he could feel the Laws just as easily as anywhere else on the planet. They then ran to the center of the room, where there was what looked like a log cabin, and went inside. There the Alchemist of the Deep Woods led him into what felt like a living room, indicated for him to sit on a couch, and then sat down herself on a chair opposite him. ¡°You understand that I¡¯m thinking of taking you on as an apprentice, correct?¡± the alchemist asked. And Aalam nodded in response. ¡°But you¡¯re confused as well, your force not having left you time to think since you woke up?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam suddenly realized that Diana and Mila had been rushing and confusing him intentionally, likely because the woman in front of him had asked that of them for some reason. ¡°Good.¡± The woman¡¯s aura spread out and all of Aalam¡¯s bonds were suppressed, including the one he was using to share his senses with Mila, making it impossible for him to telepathically communicate with anyone. ¡°Then let¡¯s have a good talk before I make my final decision on whether I want to accept you, just you and me.¡± Chapter 199: Oath of the Villain’s Clean Vengeance With all his bonds suppressed, Aalam noticed something else. His connection to his Territory wasn¡¯t restrained at all, but it was shrouded, and it had been since he¡¯d arrived on the planet, the woman in front of him covering it with a whole lot of life element energy to the point it was completely obscured. The entire area of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s base, however, was covered in life element energy, so he just hadn¡¯t noticed. At the time a couple of his minds were recognizing this, however, another of his minds was thinking about what the Alchemist of the Deep Woods had said. ¡°What about if I don¡¯t want you as a teacher? Shouldn¡¯t I get to test you as well?¡± The alchemist leaned back in her chair. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s trade questions then.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. All secrets revealed or realized during the current meeting between Aalam Alvaro and Joma La¡¯Vordi will not be shared unless explicit permission is granted by the side whose secrets they are
  2. No lies are allowed during the meeting
Punishment for breaking clause 1: Death Punishment for breaking clause 2: Pain Do you accept? Yes/No Aalam strengthened the contract with his Law Pupa of Bonds and then used some of Mila¡¯s energy he still had flowing through his soul to accept it, making it nearly impossible to break without godly intervention. He didn¡¯t particularly think the Alchemist of the Deep Woods would try, but it took almost no effort on his part, so he figured he might as well. ¡°I¡¯ll go first then.¡± The alchemist smiled at him as she laced her fingers together in front of her. ¡°If you were going to become my apprentice, what name would you like to go by, given yours is already known to the universe?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Aalam thought about it for a few seconds, and his mind brought him back to a discussion he¡¯d had with Mila before the integration, about the problems with translating names with actual meanings in their original languages. ¡°I think Universe Guardian. No, World Guardian. My given name and surname are from different languages back on Earth, but that is pretty much what they would translate to in Universal Common.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The alchemist nodded. ¡°That type of name is quite popular in the universe, so it is a very good choice. ¡°Your turn.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the food situation like here?¡± ¡°There are at least three members of the Forest Cauldron who survive on souls as well, so they can be easily bought.¡± ¡°No.¡± Aalam waved his hand. ¡°Like actual food. I get to stop eating souls when I hit D rank.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods smiled slightly. ¡°The headquarters is like a city. There are restaurants, work site cafeterias, and grocery stores. Mostly you¡¯d be expected to buy your own food, but you could have it teleported directly to you. And there will be a lot of produce you¡¯ve never seen before. Prices are on the higher end compared to most of the universe, but the quality available is much higher as well.¡± ¡°Cool.¡± Aalam felt himself start to salivate a little. Then the alchemist asked her second question. ¡°That knight of yours, who is he?¡± ¡°Isaiah?¡± Aalam wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to answer, as Isaiah¡¯s secrets weren¡¯t his to share. ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± His not wanting to share, however, didn¡¯t seem important to the Alchemist of the Deep Woods as her smile widened as soon as he said Isaiah¡¯s name. ¡°Oh, so he¡¯s Isaiah Gale. His identity was the one thing about you I knew I didn¡¯t know and it was bothering me.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Then the alchemist started to frown. ¡°But wait, he should be a cultivator, not a dragon. Did he use to be a Balance Dragon Hybrid?¡± ¡°No.¡± As she already knew Isaiah¡¯s identity and his current race, it didn¡¯t seem like there was much to lose by sharing more¡ªand she wouldn¡¯t be able to tell anyone due to the contract anyway¡ªso Aalam answered the question. ¡°War Dragon Hybrid.¡± The alchemist just stared at him for a few seconds. Then she started speaking again. ¡°That¡¯s a two rarity level jump with a complete race change. And the only thing I could think of which would allow for that is if you fed him all the power of a B rank Harmony Dragon¡¯s heart. Were you really so wasteful?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam nodded his head. ¡°At the time, we didn¡¯t have any better use for the resource and I was in the Id state.¡± The alchemist laughed out loud. ¡°A Harmony Dragon¡¯s heart has such gentle power that it has many, many uses. Are you aware of that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of 326 uses for such a heart, three of which would have been really helpful for my cultivation at E or D rank.¡± ¡°In hindsight, do you regret your decision?¡± ¡°No.¡± Aalam shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but Isaiah has now become my best friend. And I like making my friends more powerful as it makes it more likely they will stay safe and allows them to live longer.¡± ¡°What about the decisions you made in this last instance of entering into the Id state? Do you regret them?¡± And there it was, the question he¡¯d been subconsciously avoiding since he¡¯d woken up. But, as he thought about how to answer, he realized he was in a much, much better place than he would have expected. Being in a state without inhibitions for over a month, without the ability to hide from his own emotions, while not good for the Violet Mountain Sect, had been extremely useful for him, effectively equivalent to over a month of intensive therapy. ¡°Not as many as I should. ¡°I regret trying to commit suicide again and leaving my friends and family to deal with the aftermath. And, as I read through some of their records, I regret killing about a third of the Violet Mountain Sect. But that¡¯s about it.¡± Aalam looked up at the ceiling of the log cabin. Sure, the pain of Epecteos¡¯s death still hurt. And, sure, given the sheer number of deaths he¡¯d caused, he could no longer consider himself a good person. But, more than any other time in his life, he felt like he understood himself. And that would allow him to change if he wanted to. As his Law Pupa of Tranquility advanced to middle grade, he looked back at the alchemist. ¡°Do you have actions in your past that you regret?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The alchemist smiled again. ¡°How much do you know about my history?¡± ¡°Pretty much nothing.¡± ¡°Well, I was born as the princess of a C rank force. I had two great parents and three older siblings, all of whom spoiled me. And I was quite the brat. ¡°I didn¡¯t treat any of the people who supported me early on very well, not my tutors, not my siblings, not even my parents. And, while I would perform the part of a loving daughter, I was terrible to those under me. ¡°A bit after I reached E rank, however, our force was destroyed by the princess of an A rank nation because she didn¡¯t like the taste of a set of pills my mother had made for her, and I wasn¡¯t saved by one of our clan guards or by my C rank parents, but by one of our G rank janitors. ¡°He got me out of there, risking his life, and I don¡¯t even know his name because I didn¡¯t show any thanks to him, instead just focusing on moving between multiple smaller forces and studying like crazy so I could get revenge.¡± The alchemist looked up at the ceiling like he had done. ¡°I really regret not thanking him. And I regret not learning his name, as, even when I grew powerful, I had no way to find his descendants and help support them in his stead. I also regret taking everything I had as a child for granted. ¡°I had such a loving family, but I didn¡¯t appreciate how amazing they were until they were gone.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods looked back at him, her eyes a little teary. ¡°I don¡¯t judge your actions against the Violet Mountain Sect, Aalam. If I had your abilities back then, I would have done the same. ¡°But the real question isn¡¯t whether you regret what happened, but what you¡¯ve learned about yourself because it did, and how you will change yourself going forward.¡± ¡°What have I learned about myself and how will I change going forward?¡± Aalam gave it some thought and the answers came pretty quickly. ¡°I¡¯m not a good person. I¡¯ll put the wellbeing of those I care about above the health of billions of others at the drop of a hat. I will take revenge on anyone who harms me or mine. And I¡¯m at this point pretty numb to the act of murder. ¡°But I don¡¯t need to involve innocents. ¡°In the future, if I have someone I need to kill, I won¡¯t use the sacrifice of others to do so. I¡¯ll just train, grow more powerful, and take my revenge cleanly once I am strong enough.¡± Something shifted inside Aalam¡¯s soul, and all the extra primal energy it was holding started to convert into some new type of energy he didn¡¯t recognize. The aura of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods was all around him, seemingly keeping that new type of energy from escaping from his body. And he felt his entire soul start to transform as the energy did something to him he couldn¡¯t fully understand. Then, however, a System message showed up in front of his eyes and he realized he¡¯d just taken a step he¡¯d thought completely impossible at E rank. Congratulations! You have established your first oath, transforming your soul and unlocking your path to B rank. Oath of the Villain¡¯s Clean Vengeance You are not a good person, but you will hold back and wait so your acts of vengeance won¡¯t harm the lives of innocents when you want to kill Benefits: Increase the speed of mastering skills by 100% Increase the effectiveness of the Attunement stat by 150% When training for revenge, the above two benefits are multiplied by a factor of 6 Should you complete an act of vengeance without harming innocents, there is a high chance of entering into a state of sudden enlightenment Limitations: Untargeted mass slaughter in the name of revenge will shackle your soul, the greater the slaughter the worse the shackles and the longer they will last ¡°Interesting.¡± The sad expression on the face of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods faded and transformed into a large grin. ¡°By the feel of it, your first oath is one designed for training. ¡°Lucky.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods has offered to take you in as an official inheriting disciple. Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°Aalam, would you like to take me on as your master?¡± Chapter 200: New Apprenticeship Aalam thought about it for a few seconds, feeling the difference in his soul. There weren¡¯t many specifics concerning B or A rank in any of the information he¡¯d received from either Nana Xara or the inheritance of Steel Swamp Sorin, and now he knew why. While it wouldn¡¯t be that difficult to create an oath like he¡¯d just done for someone at the peak of C rank, it was nearly impossible for someone as weak as him. First, they would need to personally gain an amount of primal energy normally only achievable by killing a powerful B rank. Second, their soul would need to be able to hold onto that primal energy without it leaking away. And, finally, third, they would need someone with much, much greater energy control to keep the special transformative energy of the oath from dissipating away. More important, however, was that E ranks were inherently young. G rank souls could live at most for 144 years, F rank souls for 288 years, and E rank souls for 1,152 years. But C rank souls could live for 147,456 years. And, every time a cultivator advanced in rank, their brain would get a new chance for rapid development. For a G rank human, the brain would fully mature during the late twenties, but for an E rank human the brain wouldn¡¯t reach full maturity until the mid 200s. And this meant, throughout multiple times in a cultivator¡¯s life, it would become easier for his or her personality to change. Meanwhile, the nature of a B rank oath, at least from what Aalam could feel, would cause it to increase in power the more true it was and decrease when it began to match less. Someone at the peak of C rank would generally be at least mostly set in their ways, allowing them to find an oath they liked which was true to themselves, but E ranks were more subject to change. Certain core aspects of an E rank, however, were less likely to become different over time, so the reason to not tell him about the nature of oaths was likely to keep him from trying to choose an oath he wanted and to instead guide him into making an oath which would be more true to the core of his being, one he¡¯d be able to maintain and not become shackled by. Still, before accepting the Alchemist of the Deep Woods as his master, it seemed right to ask. ¡°Could you explain a bit more about oaths first?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The alchemist continued smiling. ¡°Just like D rank is about opening acupoints and C rank is about forming cores, the main addition to a cultivator¡¯s power at B rank is oaths, and each oath generally provides around the same level of benefits as a class. But, unlike the additions to power at lower ranks, oaths come with limitations. And these limitations can be deadly. ¡°Take me for example. I have an oath the System calls Oath of the Honorable Businesswoman which greatly boosts the power of my contract skill, but, if I act dishonestly in my business, I¡¯ll gain soul shackles I cannot remove. ¡°Forming your first oath at E rank, you¡¯re gaining your first limitation very early, but you¡¯re also gaining the benefits of an oath way before you should, which will likely be helpful. More important, however, an oath gained at E rank is less fixed. Whatever your oath is, it is unlikely to be its final form, and it will grow with you more than those you later gain at B rank.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Aalam accepted the invitation to become the apprentice of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods. Then he bowed slightly. ¡°Thank you, master, for your help.¡± The grin on the alchemist¡¯s face grew wider and she laughed out loud. ¡°Oh, this is going to be fun.¡± Aalam felt the suppression on his bonds fade away, his connection with Mila reestablishing as the alchemist continued talking. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve accepted me as your master, the first thing is you shouldn¡¯t share anything about your new power to any of your friends or business partners, for their own good. Do you understand?¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°Okay then.¡± The alchemist started rubbing her hands together, even Aalam able to tell she was excited. ¡°Now for the fun part. ¡°At D rank, you¡¯re going for three sage classes, right?¡± Aalam nodded again, a bit surprised at the alchemist knowing that already, so he used one of his minds to ask Mila about how his new master had learned about him to that level, quickly getting a rundown of what he¡¯d missed while continuing his conversation. ¡°Okay then, what classes are you aiming for at C rank other than the Empyrean grade Sage?¡± ¡°Well, originally, it was a heavenly spark crafter line class, a heavenly spark psychic class, and either a class of the heavenly spark domain lord line or whatever more specialized class results from the skill I¡¯m trying to merge.¡± From his telepathic talk with Mila, he¡¯d already discovered the alchemist had guessed pretty much everything about his build, so he didn¡¯t have any problem with explaining further. ¡°Having learned more from the legacy of Steel Swamp Sorin, however, I¡¯ve realized emphasizing psyforce so much is not a good way to maximize power even if I specialize in it, so I¡¯m thinking of replacing the psychic class with that of a triforce warrior.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Hmm.¡± The alchemist looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°What type of warrior?¡± ¡°Swordsman.¡± The alchemist just looked at him for a few seconds, her smile changing slightly in a way Aalam couldn¡¯t really read. ¡°You want to honor Epecteos?¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but Isaiah was Epecteos¡¯s apprentice, right?¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°And Isaiah is a spear knight?¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°And, if I have my facts correct, Epecteos put out several legacy items, one of which is likely how you first heard of him, and in almost all of them the AI was programed to suggest people away from the sword?¡± Aalam yet again nodded. ¡°Did Epecteos like being a swordsman?¡± Aalam thought about it for a few seconds and realized the alchemist had a point. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°I watched a recording of his final fight.¡± The alchemist became a bit more serious. ¡°And, while his swordsmanship was impressive, it wasn¡¯t what he was best at.¡± Aalam felt himself grow interested. ¡°What do you think he was best at?¡± ¡°Energy control.¡± The alchemist smiled again. ¡°Even with a terrible foundation, he was able to weave three Laws together at a time to create four different fighting styles, and that was why he could fight beyond his rank. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but you¡¯re much better at energy control than swordsmanship?¡± Aalam thought about it for a second. Sure, he wasn¡¯t naturally talented with the sword. Even Epecteos had said that. But he¡¯d gotten a lot better once he¡¯d gotten over disliking it just because he wasn¡¯t good at it. And it wasn¡¯t like he was particularly good at energy control either, at least compared to Mila or his sister. Even with his higher tier cultivation technique, both were noticeably more skilled. ¡°If you¡¯re thinking you¡¯re worse at energy control than me and Diana,¡± Mila, completely unprompted, sent over their connection, ¡°do remember we have been getting direct tutoring from one of the best in the entire universe on the subject since the time of the tutorial, yet you¡¯re keeping up with us.¡± ¡°I seem to be better at energy control than swordsmanship.¡± ¡°Then might I suggest the path of a triforce adept? That class line is all about energy control. And, with your many Laws and some skills which are specifically designed for Law infusion, like those Epecteos used, I think the results could be rather awe inspiring.¡± Aalam seriously considered it. The adept line of classes made manipulating energy and making use of multiple Laws at once easier while sacrificing the stat effectiveness boosts of most combat classes, but Aalam already had enough things increasing his stats, so boosting his energy control would likely provide a larger increase to his overall power. Sure, there were no powerful adepts in the history of the universe, at least as far as he knew, and, sure, the adept line classes were notoriously difficult to advance in, even more so than the sage line, but for Aalam the class would be his fourth, so the lower power didn¡¯t matter much, and he was cultivating following the Twelve Element Primal Code, the best cultivation technique in the universe, so the advancement requirements of needing to be able to merge several Laws at once would be relatively easy for him to meet. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll need to give it some thought, but that does seem like a better way of honoring Epecteos¡¯s legacy.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± A big grin appeared on the alchemist¡¯s face. ¡°But, no matter what, you¡¯ll need to work on your energy control, as it will boost everything else you do. And you¡¯re now the apprentice of one of the top five A ranks in the universe when it comes to energy control, while your current level of control would have others at my rank laughing at me.¡± The alchemist summoned out a ring from seemingly nowhere, meaning it likely came from another spatial storage device, but Aalam couldn¡¯t tell which of the small artifacts on her person even had spatial storage capabilities as her aura was too strong. ¡°In here are twelve anonymous account chips for the universal soul net with preloaded profiles and limitations, each only allowing for the use of a single element and a single fighting style. You are to use them to compete in the soul net program Universal Arena, and for all twelve you¡¯ll need to make it to the fourth tier out of twelve for E ranks. Each account will only allow for one of your minds to make use of it at a time, and I expect you to have at least half your minds competing at all times you are awake.¡± She tossed him the ring. ¡°The ring also contains a whole lot of E and D rank raw materials. Before you come spend your full time on this world, I need you to set up a high grade Territory relay on Earth. While you are anywhere other than a planet masked by the System, it is unsafe for you to have your connection to the lands governed by the Heavenly Spark Soul King go directly from those Territories to you, so you¡¯ll need them to instead go to the relay and then have your connection only be to the relay itself. ¡°I assume you have a blueprint for a relay better than any of the ones I¡¯m in possession of?¡± Aalam quickly analyzed his memory for such relay blueprints. ¡°I have three which are Fabled grade.¡± ¡°Alright. Tell me if you need any other materials. Building that relay should be your highest priority. Then, when you come back here, I¡¯ll have a detailed training plan ready for you. ¡°The main thing I¡¯ll be focusing on is making adequate use of the fact you have multiple mental forges, giving you multiple full minds, so, while you can plan on always having two of your minds to do what you want, I am going to keep your other minds busy. From looking at one of the artifacts you¡¯ve created, I can tell you¡¯ve skipped some foundational training most cultivators in the universe have to go through to learn how to better make use of their high Spirit stat to multitask, and that¡¯s the first thing I¡¯ll be fixing. Even if you have multiple minds, each should be able to perform to their best ability.¡± Chapter 201: The Dao Guide of the Yin Yang Sage Francis ¡°So, if nothing changes, that is the name list for the next War of the Chosen.¡± Francis Davies, the administrative head of Earth, finished the meeting of Earth¡¯s congress, where the several dozen leaders of Earth¡¯s administrative departments and political factions met to make decisions for the planet. ¡°Are there any questions?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Javier Garcia, ¡®Earth¡¯s Strongest Man¡¯ and the son of the current Garcia Family head, began. "Why are there five commander spots left open? I understand the list otherwise, but my brother and Ezra Walker are both of about equal strength as several of the commanders, so I¡¯d like to know why they weren¡¯t chosen.¡± Francis¡¯s daughter was standing behind Li Dai-Zhao, the grandfather of Earth¡¯s hidden second leader, so Francis noticed when Li Dai-Zhao looked to Diana Alvaro at the head of the table opposite himself, and saw the unspoken communication which passed between the two. Extremely talented as a cultivator, Li Dai-Zhao had even been made one of the commanders of the War of the Chosen army, but Francis cared more about the fact his daughter had become the man¡¯s apprentice. Dai-Zhao, who was now well into his nineties, looked to be a man in his mid-twenties due to the effects of increasing in rank, and he was the head of Earth¡¯s intelligence force. Meanwhile, Francis¡¯s daughter, Silvia, who looked about the same age despite being in her mid thirties, was now one of the main leaders of Earth¡¯s external monitoring department, which analyzed news in the universe through Earth¡¯s connection to the universal soul net. Tall for a woman, with his brown hair and blue eyes and her mother¡¯s looks, Silvia had awakened to a powerful uniqueness which boosted her Spirit by 200%. This, along with a racial ability which boosted her Spirit by a further 25% and a race which very, very heavily favored the Spirit stat, had allowed her to learn a skill from a special skill orb Dai-Zhao¡¯s granddaughter had said was provided by the Heavenly Spark Soul King, Multi-Mind. And this in turn had allowed her to advance to a unique class on Earth, Thinker, which helped her be very, very good at her job and had made Francis extremely proud. ¡°Should we just tell them now?¡± Li Dai-Zhao asked Diana in nearly flawless Universal Common, the language everyone on Earth had been forced to start learning after the integration. ¡°They¡¯re going to find out during the War of the Chosen anyway.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Diana, despite being queen of Earth, was wearing a pair of jeans and a T shirt, at least two levels more casual than anyone else in the room. ¡°Mr. Li, please inform everyone of the relevant secrets.¡± ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am.¡± Li Dai-Zhao, who knew the importance of subtle social hierarchy even though Diana hated it, bowed slightly to the monarch. Then he turned to look at everyone else. ¡°First, as everyone knows, her majesty was the general of a force in the last War of the Chosen. The general she replaced, one Brom Karendesh, has abandoned his previous force after they backstabbed his father and joined the main force of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, the United Federation of Planets. Currently, he is stronger than you, Mr. Garcia, so he will be taking one of the commander positions.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Mr. Garcia interrupted. ¡°United Federation of Planets? Like from Star Trek?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Li Dai-Zhao impassively nodded. Meanwhile, Diana glared at Javier, but he ignored her expression and continued his line of questioning. ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King, a being who could supposedly single handedly destroy a B rank force, named his force after Star Trek?¡± ¡°No,¡± Diana almost growled. ¡°I did.¡± This made a lot more sense. Diana Alvaro had named her first Territory after a fictional kingdom from The Princess Bride, so of course she¡¯d name an intergalactic force after another beloved fictional property, albeit translated into Universal Common, and everyone who knew her well knew not to question the names she chose. ¡°You have enough say with the Heavenly Spark Soul King to choose the name of his force?¡± Francis decided to help Javier by changing the topic away from the force¡¯s name and back to the main matter at hand. ¡°Yes, she does.¡± Li Dai-Zhao continued with his perfectly calm tone, but the slight squinting of his eyes made everyone in the room who¡¯d interacted with the man long enough know he was annoyed with them. ¡°Her majesty practically raised the Heavenly Spark Soul King, so, to him, her opinion generally matters more than anyone else in the universe, let alone those of us from Earth.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. There was only one person Diana Alvaro could be described as practically raising, someone who¡¯d died during the month before the integration, but Li Dai-Zhao¡¯s granddaughter had seemingly come back from the grave at the same time the Heavenly Spark Soul King had become known, so it wasn¡¯t difficult to guess what Li Dai-Zhao was going to say next. This didn¡¯t make it any more believable, however. ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King is her majesty¡¯s younger brother, Aalam Alvaro. ¡°He and everyone else who died during the month before the integration entered into a separate tutorial, where they were then reborn as monsters, and it took about a year for the Heavenly Spark Soul King, along with my granddaughter and an extremely powerful cultivator by the name of Isaiah Gale, to make it back to Earth. ¡°Sir Isaiah can fight evenly with her majesty, so he will be one of the commanders. And then another two commander spots are reserved for two inheriting disciples of a powerful A rank known as the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, the leader of a force called the Forest Cauldron, which has been providing training for Sir Isaiah and Lady Irena. This was part of a business deal which will provide most of the resources our army will use over the coming years. ¡°Finally, the last remaining commander spot will be taken by the Heavenly Spark Soul King himself, and it is because of him that we might actually have a chance to win.¡± There was silence in the boardroom, and most, including Francis himself, had many, many questions. * * * Diana Diana and Mila had decided revealing Aalam¡¯s identity to those on Earth wasn¡¯t something they could avoid, so they¡¯d made every one of the higher ranks on Earth agree to a binding contract to not reveal any secrets a long time ago. Still, it was fun to see the shocked expressions on all their faces, and it was nice to finally have the biggest secret she¡¯d been holding onto come out into the light. Congratulations! Your Law Pupa of Day has advanced to middle grade. Your soul is affected by your understanding of Laws. Magic +1536, Soul +1536 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +1536 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Converter ability activated. Free stats +1536 ¡°Thank you, Mr. Li.¡± Growing excited but trying not to show it on her face, Diana rose from her seat. ¡°I just advanced one of my Laws and need to go consolidate my foundation. I¡¯ll leave you to answer everyone¡¯s questions.¡± Advancements were incredibly important, especially for her as sovereign of Earth, so it was a good excuse for her to leave, even with everyone in the room wanting to ask her questions. So, she stepped out onto the balcony of the conference room they were using, which was on the top floor of a skyscraper, and jumped over the railing, summoning out Helen, her yang spirit shaped like a winged horse. Then she merged with the spirit and flew off. After nearly two decades since the tutorial, she¡¯d finally advanced all six of her Law Pupae to middle grade, and this meant she could now gain the biggest benefit from being an apprentice of the Yin Yang Sage. She flew to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, merged with Ajax, her miniature leviathan-shaped water spirit, and then dove down, traveling through the water all the way to the ocean floor. There she summoned Dioscuri, her twin-headed serpent yin spirit and started digging, taking about seven hours to finally find an area of rock about ten meters below the ocean floor which wasn¡¯t made out of the normal E rank stone most of the planet had transformed into, but B rank rock instead. The area of the B rank material was large, about 330 feet tall, 70 feet wide, and 70 feet deep, and it was filled with magic, so she couldn¡¯t put it in any of the spatial storage devices she owned. Luckily, however, she was powerful, and Dioscuri was able to lift the rock up out of the ocean and into the air, then even fly with it all the way back to the Greek island of Zakynthos. There she placed the rock off the beach of the compound located inside Earth¡¯s enlightenment zone, and then she started attacking it, all eight of her spirits doing everything they could for a couple days. At first, almost nothing happened, but the rock, while B rank, was mostly inferior or common grade, so it started breaking down eventually. And, by the time it was done, a huge effigy about the size of the Statue of Liberty was in place underwater within the enlightenment zone, one made of high grade A rank materials and fully colored. It showed Nana Xara as a young woman, looking surprisingly young compared to her usual old grandmother image, with two large wings growing out of her back, one black and the other white. The statue was wearing a dress which seemed to somehow be made of water, with flames wrapped around it to form mystical sigils, and it seemed to be holding what felt like a ball of pure life in its right hand and a ball of pure death in its left. Overall, the statue was a representation of the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s Laws, Laws at the level of a deity, and the statue, which the Yin Yang Sage had hidden on Earth before her death, was a very, very high grade dao guide, which would make it much, much, much easier to advance in Laws of the life, death, light, darkness, fire, and water elements. Nana Xara had wanted her to advance all her Laws to middle grade Law Pupae before making use of the statue, as she would otherwise be influenced to follow down the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s Law path instead of her own, eventually becoming stuck. But now she could use it without much worry, and it would help her advance much faster, hopefully being able to keep up with her brother. Chapter 202: The Need for Training ¡°Alright. That¡¯s enough.¡± Wolfram Gan was exhausted. Not physically¡ªas a max level C rank warrior, his Vitality was high enough exhaustion was nearly impossible. But spiritually, he was done. ¡°What? Why?¡± The apprentice the faction head had assigned him, Isaiah Kent, lowered his spear and shield, the many, many wounds on his body regenerating at a rate visible to the eye. ¡°Because, unlike you, I¡¯m not insane. And I need a break.¡± His new apprentice was a balance dragon in human form, looking like an extremely large pink-skinned human, not unlike Wolfram himself, but his apprentice had indigo reptilian eyes and short lavender hair, unlike Wolfram¡¯s blue eyes and flaming red shoulder-length locks. More important, however, the youngster, while probably the most talented martial artist Wolfram had ever met, was an absolute training fanatic. A young E rank, only a bit over 50, he was pretty much a baby, yet he had four complementary early grade Law Pupae perfect for combat. Over half his racial abilities were Fabled grade, including the absolutely incredible Power of Balance which raised all his stats other than Luck by 125%. And, due to some sort of overpowered bloodline, he didn¡¯t have the slow cultivation speed one would expect from a monster, his cultivation instead faster than any other E rank in the Forest Cauldron, Princess Krysta included, which allowed him to eat pills at a rapid rate. Since he¡¯d started training the young man 6 years before, he¡¯d had to lessen the soul shackles put on himself when they sparred nine times, and only two of those were to account for Isaiah¡¯s stat growth, his apprentice¡¯s Laws and martial skill advancing far faster than any E rank Wolfram had ever met. In short, Isaiah was amazing. But even with all that talent, he wasn¡¯t satisfied. Almost every second of every day, Wolfram would find Isaiah training in some form or another, be that practicing his energy control with some of the tools used to train alchemists, sparring with other members of the guard force, or dragging Wolfram into fights which would literally last days. The boy could fight all out for only about a minute, and, without his main berserking skill, he could only fight for several hours. But he had a Heroic grade Servant Knight skill along with a lord who seemingly had infinite resources, and a willingness to share them, so fighting Isaiah was like fighting an Undying. It just never ended. Wolfram had asked Isaiah why he trained so hard, and the youth always gave the same answer. His best friend was far more talented than him, and he didn¡¯t want to be left behind if he could help it. Any more detailed questions and his apprentice usually couldn¡¯t answer due to the nature of a contract he¡¯d signed, so Wolfram had stopped trying to dig out more. Summoning out a large high backed chair from the spatial storage ring on his left hand, Wolfram took a seat. ¡°Isaiah, you have near infinite qi, mana, and psyforce from that lord of yours, making it nearly impossible to kill you. Are you really telling me your friend can compete with that?¡± Isaiah just looked at him with a confused expression and Wolfram felt like he was missing something. ¡°That lord is my best friend.¡± Wolfram¡¯s mouth dropped open, and, realizing he¡¯d finally accidentally asked the right question, he took about ten seconds to process the various implications of the new facts he¡¯d just learned. Then he stood up, desummoned the chair, and lifted up his own spear and shield while loosening the training hall¡¯s soul shackles by another two levels. ¡°We should really train some more then.¡± * * * Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°No. The Wimilox Galaxy Cluster isn¡¯t a market you want to enter into for anything other than Territory.¡± Joma La¡¯Vordi brushed a mossy green dreadlock over her shoulder as she took another sip of tea with her other hand, her yellow eyes flashing with amusement. ¡°It¡¯s higher level knowledge than you likely have access to, but that is part of the divine territory of Perival, one of the three merchant gods. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have many temples in the region, and he doesn¡¯t care who is in charge of the Territory, but if you perform the type of trade your force would want in his area, he will notice you. So the risk almost certainly isn¡¯t worth it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Joma.¡± Irena, sitting across from the Alchemist of the Deep Woods for their now weekly teatime, bowed slightly, still a bit uncomfortable with how familiar the powerful A rank was with a weak little E rank like her. ¡°As always, your insight has been incredibly helpful.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods put her cup down and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll transmit all the market information I have to your granddaughter, free of charge. Just consider it an investment. ¡°Now, Mila, would you mind if I talked with your grandmother alone for a bit?¡± ¡°The data is being sent over now,¡± Mila, who Irena had been sharing her senses with, sent. ¡°Have fun.¡± Then with that, Mila broke off their connection, and, for the first time, Irena was truly alone with the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, an individual powerhouse over 10,000 times her age. ¡°What do you want to do with your life, Irena?¡± Joma asked as she picked up her teacup again. ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to change your role immediately or anything of the sort, but, by the standards of the universe, you are very young, and I¡¯m wondering if you have any dreams of your own.¡± Irena took a second to think before answering. ¡°I rather like what I¡¯m doing now. Back on Earth, I ran a company and led a clan, but I didn¡¯t particularly enjoy the work. It was incredibly draining and I found it hard to balance what I needed to do for my employees and clan members with my role as a mother and wife, sacrificing the latter for the former. ¡°Now, I¡¯m using those skills I had to learn, but I have enough free time to myself and I don¡¯t have to make the big decisions. Also, everything I do in my job helps my granddaughter.¡± Joma nodded, taking another sip of her tea, a blend which had apparently been widely available in the universe for billions of years. Then she placed her cup back down and looked at Irena with a more serious expression than Irena was used to on the woman. ¡°You realize you are an A rank talent, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Irena nodded, understanding from Joma¡¯s expression that there was going to be more. ¡°Do you fully understand what that means?¡± Irena thought for a second and decided to not just say ¡®yes¡¯. ¡°It means I have a high chance of making it to A rank, right?¡± ¡°Technically, it means you have a one in twelve chance, so long as you are given the minimum amount of resources to allow your race to advance. A rank talents are ridiculously, ridiculously rare, yet Earth has half a dozen of them so far as I know. And I¡¯m not including Diana, Aalam, your granddaughter, or the technically not from Earth Isaiah in that list, as, given their class choices, despite having more talent than the rest of you, they are technically B rank talents at best. ¡°Right now, any of Earth¡¯s four main powerhouses can take on the entire rest of Earth alone, and, given the type of resources your force is aiming to gain access to, that is unlikely to change, but don¡¯t just compare yourself to the four of them. ¡°In terms of raw talent, you yourself are higher than the best disciple in most A rank forces, and even many divine ones. But you don¡¯t have access to the same level of resources as those disciples.¡± ¡°Would those extra resources help?¡± Irena, who had changed to look more like herself when she was in her twenties over the last six years, pretty with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, smiled at the much, much older woman. ¡°I have access to Aalam as a lord.¡± ¡°True.¡± Joma chuckled. ¡°And I¡¯m not intending to tell you to leave your force. I just want to make sure you understand your own position. Even if Diana, Isaiah, Aalam, or Mila ever get stuck for a time, you likely won¡¯t. And the auction coming up is a great place for your force to buy resources to help you advance faster in the future. ¡°Unlike the four of them, you don¡¯t require the type of resources which could normally only be found by winning universal challenges, so you won¡¯t need to wait for those challenges to happen to advance, and that might leave you temporarily the most powerful cultivator in your force during those periods, at least in appearance. ¡°What you want is thus very important, and it is a good thing to think about.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± As she started thinking more deeply on the topic, Irena began to frown. She hadn¡¯t really considered the implications of her possibly advancing at a faster rate than Diana or Aalam, but the Alchemist of the Deep Woods was right. ¡°Also,¡± Joma added, taking another sip of tea, ¡°if you don¡¯t like the hard work of leading, think about who the head of your force is right now. Given the way genetics works when it comes to personality, I rather imagine your leader might be on the road to burning out. And, other than the Yin Yang Sage, it probably falls the most to you to keep that from happening. ¡°Having multiple minds can only do so much.¡± Irena was quiet for several seconds more, thinking about Joma¡¯s words. Then she bowed again slightly. ¡°Thank you, Joma. I had the information in front of me, but I hadn¡¯t thought in the right directions.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Joma smiled. ¡°I might be able to completely change my fate if Aalam can rise up to C rank, so any free help I can give your force I¡¯m more than happy to pass on.¡± Chapter 203: The Forest Cauldron’s New Shopkeeper ¡°Come on.¡± Henrietta complained. ¡°Your prices are exorbitant, and my allowance is only so much. I¡¯ll do you a favor in the future.¡± Krysta and Henrietta had, as usual, come to the new alchemically processed materials store in the main base of the Forest Cauldron, like they had once a month since it was opened two years before. The store, modestly named Universe¡¯s Best E Rank Processed Materials, wasn¡¯t large, only able to fit a few dozen customers in at a time, but, as far as Krysta was aware, its name wasn¡¯t actually a lie, so it had quickly become popular among all the E rank alchemists in the Forest Cauldron, with quite a few D ranks and even some C ranks making regular visits. Who the owner was, almost no one knew, but, from sunrise to sunset every day, the store was always manned by three golems and one employee, and that employee brought in even more business than the store¡¯s products as he was by far the prettiest man Krysta had ever seen. With bright amber eyes and shoulder length dark blue hair, normally worn tied in a loose pony tail, he could usually be found wearing comfortable black battle robes, and his aura was stable and powerful, his elemental mastery of space and time made obvious with even a quick glance. Even Princess Henrietta, who¡¯d grown up in the royal court of the Vin Clan, the ruling clan of the most powerful elven empire in the universe, thought the man was pretty, almost always trying to flirt with him whenever they came in. With fiery orangish-red hair, golden specked green eyes, and skin of a healthy reddish color, Henrietta didn¡¯t look like most of the elves in the Vin Clan, who were normally blonde with blue eyes and pale skin. And, while no one would describe her as voluptuous, she didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d be knocked over by a strong breeze, her figure seeming to appeal to humans a lot more than normal for elves. In short, Krysta¡¯s mother¡¯s first apprentice was extremely beautiful, especially compared to Krysta herself. Sure, Krysta¡¯s silver semi-translucent hair was something human men often seemed attracted to, and her dark brown skin was smooth and flawless, but, when people saw her entirely black eyes, they generally thought demon, not divine embodiment of the space Laws. There were good things about having a god who was practically the incarnation of the universe¡¯s Laws of space as a father, even a distant one, such as the occasional incredibly valuable present, the knowledge that anyone who wanted to attack her would have to face the revenge of her old man and his eleven divine brothers, and naturally growing into having the highest affinity with space Laws of possibly any E rank ever. But the creepy eyes weren¡¯t the best. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll value your favor as 100 E rank credits.¡± The pretty shopkeeper, who Krysta knew to not be just a shopkeeper but instead her mother¡¯s second apprentice and arguably the most dangerous E rank alive, summoned out an artifact shaped like a large stamp from the spatial storage ring he was wearing on his left hand. ¡°Just agree to a contract, and I¡¯ll subtract the value from your total.¡± ¡°100 E rank credits?¡± Henrietta, who did not know she was dealing with her master¡¯s other apprentice, just looked at the man incredulously. ¡°Every month the two of us buy materials worth more than 1000 E rank credits.¡± ¡°So?¡± Aalam looked at Henrietta with a polite appearance of confusion, but Krysta had interacted with him enough over the last two years to know he wasn¡¯t actually confused at all. Sure, Aalam didn¡¯t have the best social skills, and it was actually quite common he would grow confused in social situations. But her mother had forced him to open a shop for a reason. According to the wisdom of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, half of Aalam¡¯s issues with social interactions was from a lack of experience, and half of the rest was that he generally just didn¡¯t care. Forced to run his own shop, however, the lack of experience part had at least mostly been fixed, but Aalam still liked playing ignorant, especially around people he found annoying, like seemingly everyone who tried to flirt with him. ¡°So? Do you know who I am?¡± Despite looking at Aalam, Krysta¡¯s spatial senses allowed her to sense the tears forming in Henrietta¡¯s eyes. ¡°A favor from me is worth a lot more than 100 E rank credits.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam, likely not wanting to play anymore given Henrietta was about to cry, nodded his head and desummoned the contract seal. ¡°In that case it is too valuable to be used as currency. Your purchases will be 1047 E rank universal credits and 139 F rank universal credits.¡± Henrietta just stared at him for a few seconds. Then, the materials already in her own spatial storage ring, she transferred the credits and quickly left the shop. Krysta, however, the only customer left as it was the least busy time of the day, stayed behind, summoning out a large case her mother had given her and passing it to Aalam. ¡°Your allocation of pills has been delivered. Anything new you would like to tell my mom through me instead of your subordinate?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Aalam grinned at her as he collected the large case into his own spatial storage ring. ¡°But I would like to ask if I could stop acting as a shopkeeper.¡± ¡°She clearly stated you can do so when you finish all your assignments.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°And she¡¯s not one to go back on her word, even without an actual contract?¡± Krysta, who by this point had a pretty good idea of Aalam¡¯s personality, like how he¡¯d generally never ask clarifying questions until the answers became relevant, felt herself start to get excited. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡± Aalam then turned to look at the three golems in the store. ¡°Alpha, Beta, Gamma, the store is yours.¡± Aalam Alvaro, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, then disappeared. With Krysta¡¯s affinity for space, she could determine it was a teleportation, and she even knew he was heading to her mother¡¯s quarters within the Forest Cauldron¡¯s main headquarters, but it was still incredibly fast despite not being based on an actual skill, instead on an array he drew with his aura, and it had a distinct time element component, something Krysta herself couldn¡¯t do. Most impressive of all, however, she was pretty sure he¡¯d used four Laws at once like it was nothing. * * * The Alchemist of the Deep Woods, at least as far as Aalam could tell, was a decent master, hard yet fair. Still, her starting requirements were difficult. First, he had to merge together his three Heroic grade crafting skills into the Fabled grade Triforce Creation, a more advanced version of Triforce Construction which allowed for much, much better Law infusion as well as the ability to work with soul matter. Then he had to merge the nine Epic grade skills his force had gotten him from their placement in the War of the Chosen into the three Legendary grade component skills for merging the Heroic grade Ruler¡¯s Raiment, the last skill needed for modifying Sensory Domain. Given he mastered skills four times faster than a normal cultivator, this part was quite easy. Second, he had to make 2,985,984 E rank universal credits of pure profit with a store rented from the Forest Cauldron, while staying in the store during the day and not receiving any help from his subordinates. Given the large space under the store where he¡¯d been able to make automated assembly lines for most of his products, this had been relatively easy as well, at least once he made the decision to have every product cost at minimum twice its production. And the fact the store was temporarily made his Territory meant he could train his Laws faster there than anywhere else on the planet due to his King uniqueness quadrupling his Attunement stat. Third, read a list of 3,691 books and watch 8,760 hours worth of video from the Forest Cauldron¡¯s library on the local soul net. This part just took a lot of time, but was actually quite a bit of fun, as it gave him most of the beginner and intermediate crafting knowledge he was missing. Fourth, he had to solve over half the runic problems in Camoran¡¯s 93rd and 97th Puzzle Books, which he¡¯d already been training with for nearly two decades. Given he¡¯d already solved roughly 38% in each book before his apprenticeship, i.e. before he underwent repeated training using a program his master had recommended he buy for Earth¡¯s soul net to vastly increase the capability of each of his minds to multitask, this was quite easy as well. The truly hard requirement had been the fifth challenge, reaching fourth tier in the universal soul net program Universal Arena for all twelve accounts his master had given him. Universal Arena was a virtual fighting competition where cultivators could fight against other cultivators of the same rank from pretty much anywhere in the universe, and it didn¡¯t allow for cultivators to make accounts stronger than they were in real life or with skills they didn¡¯t have. But making accounts which were weaker, with sealed skills and potentially other disadvantageous defects, was very much allowed. And, though there were twelve tiers for each rank, with the competition getting harder as the tiers rose, fourth tier fighters were generally within at least the top 50 of an entire galaxy cluster. Of the accounts his master had given him, the one he was able to reach the fourth tier with the fastest limited his stats, removed all his skills other than Telekinesis, only allowed his three metal element Laws, and gave him nine handleless swords as a weapon. But that was probably the most generous of all the accounts. The account for his light element Laws gave him flying needles instead, and the accounts for his life and darkness Laws only allowed his Runescriber skill instead of Telekinesis and no weapons at all. Most of the accounts didn¡¯t allow him any skills. The ones for his fire and water Laws each left him without one of his arms while arming him with 7 throwing knives and a shield respectively, and the ones for his space and time Laws each left him without one of his legs, giving him an axe or a mace. The accounts for his lightning and death element Laws limited his stats even further than the others, arming him with a sword and quarterstaff respectively. And the account for his earth Laws, while giving him a spear, changed his stat distribution ratios to make him fast, while the account for his wind element Laws, while giving him a halberd, made his stats excel at defense. All in all, it had taken him six years to raise all twelve accounts to fourth tier, with the fastest metal account taking him 3 years and the slowest, the life element account, taking him the full 6¡ªlife element arrays were just not the best for fighting. It was exhausting, and the added training to control his aura to emit only a subset of his Laws, like Mila normally did, wasn¡¯t easy either. Still, the results were very much worth it, with him now able to merge the effects of all three Laws of each element into a fighting technique and his control of his energy high enough he could probably awaken to at least a Fabled grade adept line class if he advanced to D rank. In fact, if he fought seriously, even outside his Territory, he¡¯d likely be able to hold his own against Isaiah for a while, despite his knight having increased his skill level over the 6 years as well. Aalam teleported his way down to his master¡¯s own training chamber, the large cave which removed the A rank planet¡¯s Law suppression where he¡¯d first agreed to the apprenticeship, and found his master there working around a large metallic cauldron, about the size of a house, over what effectively looked like lava, seemingly brought up from the planet¡¯s mantle. Joma La¡¯Vordi was known as the Alchemist of the Deep Woods for a reason, specializing in Life laws, and most of the architecture in the Forest Cauldron¡¯s headquarters was made of high grade wood, with even the high tech technology of the force covered in the stuff, so the cauldron looked very out of place. ¡°Good, you¡¯re here.¡± His master turned her head and smiled at him. ¡°I got the notification that your last account finally reached fourth tier, so I figured you¡¯d be coming.¡± She slapped her right hand against the large cauldron, making a ringing noise. ¡°This cauldron is for you. You¡¯ve been making processed materials, gaining a good foundation as a result, but now it¡¯s time you truly start to learn alchemy. ¡°For the next month, you¡¯re going to stay here with me. And I¡¯ll get you trained enough to work on your own by the time I need to start focusing on the upcoming auction.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡± A wide grin appeared on Aalam¡¯s face. ¡°Anything to avoid sleeping.¡± The alchemist frowned at that, but, seemingly deciding not to touch on the topic, which Aalam very much appreciated, she just started the lesson. Chapter 204: Mila vs Frogmen Mila ¡°So this Sea Master Aozen, just by father taking him as his lord, can boost the affinity to water Laws of all cultivators in our Territory by 25%?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger, who looked like a humanoid with blue hair, pale skin, and gills on her neck was standing in the middle of the private chambers of the leader of a clan of aquatic cultivators, meeting with the clan leader and his two sons. All about four meters tall, they looked kind of like a cross between frogs and chimpanzees, and they towered over her, all three of them D ranks. ¡°What is in it for him?¡± the same son asked, his father and brother yet to speak. ¡°He needs Territory for his race advancement.¡± ¡°And nothing else?¡± ¡°No.¡± Through the doppelg?nger¡¯s Sensory Domain, and the domains of several other doppelg?ngers spread throughout the underwater city, along with her real body near the teleportation platform, Mila could see the movement of the clan¡¯s soldiers and knew things weren¡¯t going to go as planned. Still, as this was by no means the first time this type of thing had happened, she wasn¡¯t worried and didn¡¯t let her knowledge show. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± The clan leader finally spoke, his voice deeper than his son¡¯s, more powerful. ¡°I think you¡¯re trying to scam us.¡± ¡°That is your prerogative.¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger chuckled slightly. ¡°Can I take this as you refusing my lord¡¯s offer?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger turned to leave. ¡°It¡¯s your loss.¡± But, before her doppelg?nger could take two steps, the clan leader¡¯s two sons moved with rapid speed and stood in her way. ¡°For the crime of trying to scam the Imbari Tribe, you will be imprisoned until we decide what to do with you.¡± Through her Sensory Domain, Mila could see the clan leader grin, the man likely thinking she had wealth on her due to the two spatial storage rings her doppelg?nger appeared to be wearing. ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger turned and looked back at the clan leader, her aura radiating anger. ¡°You will either let me go, or we will restart our negotiations.¡± ¡°Restart our negotiations?¡± The clan leader let out a booming laugh as twelve max level E rank clan elders entered into the room as well, all with weapons drawn. ¡°I¡¯ve already said no.¡± ¡°Let it be noted.¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger looked around the room at the fourteen other members of the Imbari Tribe. ¡°I gave your leader a choice.¡± With that, she telekinetically grabbed all twelve elders and the clan leader¡¯s two sons with Telekinesis, lifted them into the air, and tore off their legs at the knees, the floor of the clan leader¡¯s private chambers quickly stained by greenish-yellow blood. ¡°Let¡¯s restart the negotiations.¡± Still E rank, Mila¡¯s effective Aura stat was 155,199, and her doppelg?nger¡¯s aura stat was 66% of her own. Given most in the universe found it extremely difficult to raise their Aura stat, however, with even powerful D ranks generally only having a few thousand at most, none of the Imbari Tribe had an Aura stat of anywhere close to a twelfth of her doppelg?nger¡¯s. So she could use Telekinesis directly on their bodies so long as they weren¡¯t expecting it. Even with her Spirit stat maxed out, however, it would be difficult to break the bones of the clan leader¡¯s two sons and the twelve elders, as everyone else in the room was a warrior, but their ligaments and connective tissue, well, they were much, much weaker. ¡°You will accept my lord as your master. You will report up any findings of E rank or higher resources in your Territory or beyond, with my lord having first purchase rights if you manage to secure the resources yourself. And, for the next 1,728 years or until my lord¡¯s next rank advancement, you will pay a tax of 12.5% of your clan¡¯s profits.¡± Mila sent the clan leader a contract with all the clauses she¡¯d mentioned, as well as added wording to make cheating on the latter two points nearly impossible. ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± The clan leader looked from her, to his injured sons, to the injured clan elders, and then back to her. Then he accepted the contract while verbalizing his answer as well. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Using her stealth skill, Mila had another of her doppelg?ngers bring her personal artifact, the Twin Dragons of Yin and Yang, to the doppelg?nger dealing with the Imbari Tribe, transforming the two dragon shaped earrings into the form of a stamp with the image of a twelve-pointed multicolor star surrounding an actual star on the way, before using her disguise skill to make the image on the seal look like an ocean wave instead. Then, when the seal arrived and the second doppelg?nger dissipated without the clan leader or anyone else ever noticing its arrival, Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger placed the seal up against the clan leader¡¯s forehead and communicated with Aalam to perform their new type of servant contract. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. In the status window of the clan leader, it would look like he was a servant of the fictional Sea Master Aozen and, rather than getting the many benefits of being one of Aalam¡¯s true servants, the only boon he received had his affinity with the water element increase by 25%, his Territory gaining the same benefit. This hid the fact Aalam was the Heavenly Spark Soul King while also greatly reducing the burden on his soul, allowing him to have around 8 servants under different identities for every one he received with the identity of the Heavenly Spark Soul King. And this in turn had allowed Mila to more than double his Territory over the last six years. ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way then.¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger left the room and headed to the teleportation platform, no one blocking her. Then Mila had another doppelg?nger take back the Twin Dragons, returning the artifact to her real body, as the doppelg?nger the Imbari Tribe knew about made it to the teleportation platform and pretended to teleport away. Mila then waited a couple hours, making absolutely sure no one was tracking her, and then her real body stepped onto the teleportation platform and teleported back to Earth. * * * Silvia Silvia Davies, daughter of the President of Earth and head of Earth¡¯s external monitoring department, officially called The Watchers due to Diana Alvaro¡¯s love of Marvel comics, bowed slightly as Li Mila, the true leader of Earth, entered into the underground Russian bunker The Watchers were based out of. ¡°The Imbari Tribe is now category three.¡± Ms. Li nodded to Silvia and then walked toward her office. The compound, while underground, had windows made of higher technology than previously available on Earth, showing scenes from seven different locations on the planet, from a jungle in the Philippines to the streets of Paris, and most of the workers were in one large room. Their job had them connected to Earth¡¯s soul net most of the time, and from there to the universal soul net to gather news about the state of the universe, so the main room had a series of comfortable couches to lie on. To the side of that main room, however, were three offices, one for Ms. Li, one for her grandfather, and one for Silvia. Following Ms. Li into her office, Silvia used one of her other four minds, which were all still connected to the soul net, to update the list of the United Federation of Planets'' territories. But, with her main mind, she decided to ask Ms. Li a question. ¡°Ms. Li, you¡¯re aware that the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s identity was revealed in the last council meeting, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Li chuckled slightly as she took a seat in one of the three chairs in the sitting section of her office, indicating for Silvia to sit in another. ¡°What is it you would like to know, Silvia?¡± Silvia took a seat and then took a second, recognizing by Ms. Li¡¯s use of her first name that this would be an informal meeting. ¡°You and Mr. Alvaro are monsters, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What type?¡± Ms. Li smiled slightly. ¡°Is this relevant to your job?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Silvia nodded. ¡°Part of my role is to look out for resources which might be of use to our force, and it seems likely you and Mr. Alvaro would have different needs than I would expect.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Ms. Li chuckled slightly and her smile grew a bit wider. ¡°I¡¯m a Sublime Soul Succubus Empress and Aalam is a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor. These are Heroic grade races of a much higher quality than even the Fabled grade race of Diana. And, like Diana, we require resources of a much, much higher grade than you¡¯ll be able to find from searching the soul net. So you don¡¯t need to worry about us.¡± Silvia took a deep breath. As far as she could tell, Ms. Li looked almost exactly the same as her previous human self, an extremely beautiful half-Polish half-Chinese woman of average height with a lithe hourglass figure, and her bright pink eyes were from a skill, not a racial trait. But, looking up succubi on the soul net with one of her other minds, it seemed they generally changed to look like whatever they considered the epitome of beauty with every rank advancement, so it seemed Ms. Li was just confident in her own appearance, or possibly disguising her real form with that of her former life using her disguise skill. ¡°What about the other Earthlings who died during the last month before the integration? Did they end up on the same planet as you? And, if not, are we doing anything for them?¡± ¡°Your aunt and uncle?¡± The way Ms. Li¡¯s bright pink eyes looked at her, as if they could see right through to her soul, was slightly unnerving, but also comforting in a way given this extremely skilled individual was her boss. ¡°Is that who you¡¯re worried about?¡± ¡°Among others.¡± Ms. Li nodded. ¡°No other Earthlings were reborn on Hira, the planet Aalam and I came from, but I¡¯ve been deliberately targeting the D rank forces who managed to take over worlds during the same batch of integrations as Hira and Earth, as well as those still competing for contested planets.¡± Ms. Li, who had even more minds than Silvia despite also being an E rank, sent her the list of known planets whose apocalypse style integrations had started at the same time as Earth, of which there were over a hundred. And, crosschecking the forces already subservient to the Heavenly Spark Soul King, Silvia could see Ms. Li¡¯s words were true. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much all we can do until the 72 years of the System hiding the planets are up and we send people to go investigate. At this time, I feel it¡¯s a little too risky to send our own G rank youngsters in as reinforcements to contact the Earthling monsters, though that might change in the future. ¡°As for monsters from other planets on Earth, there were eleven confirmed cases, all killed by Earth¡¯s factions before my arrival. And there are seventeen other likely possibilities.¡± Ms. Li sent Silvia another list containing monsters who acted with more intelligence than normal, and in several cases a higher level of morals. ¡°Until recently, I didn¡¯t want the possibility Aalam was the Heavenly Spark Soul King to be known, so I haven¡¯t dealt with these monsters, but now seems like a good time. ¡°Why don¡¯t you organize attempts to start dialogues with these beasts, preferably using those with the Omniglot Reader racial ability? ¡°A special System-run universal auction, which only happens once every 2,985,984 years, is about to start in a few days, and I have to get ready for it. So I leave this matter to your full discretion.¡± Ms. Li indicated for her to leave, and Silvia rose, bowed slightly, and then did so, both excited by the idea of her uncle and aunt, who¡¯d died to one of the plagues, still possibly being alive, and impressed yet again by Ms. Li. The System auction she was referring to was a huge deal, with only B ranks and higher generally allowed to attend, even though the auction was hosted through the universal soul net, yet Ms. Li was going as well, the leader of a B rank force despite her being only an E rank. Chapter 205: The Nature of A Rank Planets Mila The Universal Auction is about to begin in 24 hours and the United Federation of Planets is qualified to join. You, Shadow, a weak little E rank, are the leader of your force, and you, despite having no help from anyone stronger than a now dead D rank with minimal contributions, have personally led your force to become 5th Tier B rank even before your home planet has fully integrated with the universe. Your force has, without relying on external power and influence, had the quickest rise of all forces over the last 11,943,936 years. And the System has judged your force to have the most talented average members of all forces over the last 20,901,888 years, showing your ability to raise elites. Finally, your force has had the most impressive battle record of all forces over the last 63,810,006,294,528 years. Competency is to be rewarded! You gain the following benefits:
  1. +100% force membership limit increased to +500%
  2. Costs of buying up to B rank goods from the System reduced by 25%, replacing old reduction
  3. System teleportation free for the leader of your force and up to 12 others, membership of which can be changed every 144 years
  4. One 50% off coupon for the upcoming Universal Auction
  5. One 75% off coupon for the upcoming Universal Auction
  6. One Planet Rank Escalation Coupon limited to planets undergoing integration (current choices: Earth (C+ rank), Hira (F++ rank))
¡°Wow.¡± Nana Xara sounded about as stunned as Mila felt. ¡°Every single one of those is ridiculous.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila, who was sitting on the large geodesic marble and glass dome roof of Aalam¡¯s crafting hall in Earth¡¯s enlightenment zone, couldn¡¯t help but nod. The United Federation of Planets could already hold up to 41,278,242,816 members before, but now that number was tripled, and this was the least of the benefits. Being able to buy all System goods below A rank for 25% off, even though the benefit would be lost if she used it to buy from the System and then resell, was ridiculous, better than even what the Forest Cauldron and most other A rank forces had access to. And free teleportation for 13 members would add up to huge savings over time, especially if the main members of the force could eventually advance to A rank. These benefits, however, were possible to buy with enough money. The latter three, however, were not. The coupons for the Universal Auction would allow her to bid for items even if she only had access to half or a quarter of the price she was bidding, and that was already amazing. But Mila wasn¡¯t stupid enough to use these herself as, given the contract she had with Joma La¡¯Vordi, she¡¯d be able to trade the coupons to the alchemist to obtain far, far better resources than she¡¯d be able to afford herself. Finally, the Planet Rank Escalation Coupon was something Mila had never even heard of and, using video game terminology, it was incredibly broken. The coupon itself was likely only given because of her force¡¯s achievements before even half their planet¡¯s process of adapting to mana and integrating with the wider universe had been completed. And its addition to the System likely didn¡¯t take into account the idea of a newly integrated world gaining access to a divine subspace dwelling whose linkage to a world was capable of raising a planet from E rank all the way to C. More important, however, over the last six years, Mila had gotten a better understanding of the blueprints inside the legacy of Steel Swamp Sorin Aalam had obtained, and one of those blueprints, an array formation, could temporarily raise a C rank world to B rank for a rather extreme cost. Normally, such a blueprint would just be theoretical, as the cost to run such an array even for a month would be measured in thousands of A rank universal credits, but, if Mila could get the right materials, which would be possible through the auction as Nana Xara was able to buy things as well, Aalam could build the array and, if this particular System loophole worked the way she hoped, they could turn Earth into an A rank world of their own, one the System would keep hidden from the rest of the universe for only 12 C rank universal credits per year due to Nana Xara¡¯s old deal from 2,000 years before Mila or anyone else from Earth were even born. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?¡± Mila asked through her bond with her master. ¡°That the idea of a group of E ranks having a hidden B rank world is amazing?¡± ¡°No.¡± A big grin appeared on Mila¡¯s face as she realized her teacher didn¡¯t know about the blueprint. ¡°That the idea of a group of E ranks having a hidden A rank world is.¡± She then told Nana Xara about her plan. ¡°Oh.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice was devoid of emotion and Mila suspected the level of shock her teacher was feeling was a lot higher than she would have suspected. ¡°So, do you think it would work?¡± Mila prompted after several seconds. ¡°Yeah, Mila, I think it would.¡± As Nana Xara spoke, a hint of pride entered into her voice. ¡°I think it almost assuredly would. But it is just so ridiculous. ¡°Granted, a group of just a few E ranks, without outside help, taking out an entire B rank force is something I¡¯ve never heard of, nor is an E rank leading her force to have had the qualifications to participate in a universal auction while her planet was still in the starting stages of undergoing integration, but still. ¡°This is an A rank world we¡¯re talking about, something divine factions fight over. You don¡¯t even have the requisite understanding of how the universe works to fully grasp what this means.¡± Mila felt her heart start to beat faster. ¡°You know how there are multiple universes, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mila nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve explained that before.¡± Their universe was called the Prime Material Universe and was quintillions of years old, but there were other universes as well and Mila had gathered from contextual clues that their universe was at war with several of the more powerful other universes. ¡°Well, the main reason gods own all the A rank planets is not because A rank planets provide the best training environments, but because most A rank planets exist only due to the planet hosting a portal to another universe, and gods and the System are generally the only ones capable of making such portals. ¡°Opening up such a portal is incredibly expensive, but it is the cheapest way of creating an A rank planet. So, if you were to raise Earth to A rank through your plan¡ªwhich, given how the System operates, would almost certainly work¡ªyou wouldn¡¯t just gain an A rank planet, but a portal to another universe as well, one which wouldn¡¯t allow gods through. ¡°Given where Earth is currently located, however, raising it to A rank would be an absolutely terrible idea. The other universe Earth is closest to is the Origin of Undeath, the universe where necromancy first originated and a place ruled by the undead gods behind most of our universe¡¯s undead empires. But, if you were to first move Earth via System teleportation, which is something the Universal Auction generally sells for C or B rank credits when limited to E rank worlds such as Earth¡¯s normal state, you could choose any other universe you wanted.¡± Mila¡¯s heart was fully racing by this point. ¡°I assume you have some suggestions.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mila could imagine Nana Xara grinning like a madwoman. ¡°Temporary random passageways between universes are relatively common, so I know of seven other universes yet to birth their own gods and not yet invaded by our universe. And, of these, three are full material universes rather than universes with unbalanced Laws. ¡°I don¡¯t know their current states or if any other forces know they exist. And I also don¡¯t know if any of the three universes has a portal to other universes other than the Prime Material Universe we live in, but one of them is a primeval universe, very early on in its development, so it is probably your best target. It would be the least attractive of the seven universes I know of to gods, meaning you likely wouldn¡¯t have any competitors even if other forces do know about it, but it would still have abundant resources for lower ranks. ¡°Also, moving Earth into position to make a portal to this primeval universe would place you in an area not valued in our Prime Material Universe, making it even less likely you would be found, while close enough to your existing Territories in multidimensional space so as to not interrupt your control.¡± Nana Xara then started sharing all the information she knew about the seven universes, along with some information about the other universes she knew of which had powerful gods, and Mila quickly agreed with Nana Xara¡¯s assessment. The primeval universe, which Nana Xara had temporarily named Material III, was only about the size of seven galaxy clusters, and there wasn¡¯t that much data about it. Still, training there for anyone who hadn¡¯t yet reached the Law Dragon stage of their Laws would be better than training in the Prime Material Universe by about a factor of 100%, and that was just the base benefit. ¡°Okay.¡± Mila started to smile as well. ¡°We have a new goal.¡± Then she frowned. ¡°But the amount of energy this will cost the System will be a whole lot more than anything else we¡¯ve done. Are you sure the creators of the System won¡¯t be notified?¡± ¡°I highly doubt they will.¡± Nana Xara still sounded cheerful. ¡°I have no way of knowing for sure. But I think the chances are low. Remember, there is a purpose behind the System, one I¡¯m not allowed to tell you, but I can confirm you¡¯ve come close to guessing it in the past.¡± Mila¡¯s theory about the System was that it was made by the highest gods of the Prime Material for two main purposes. One, to make it easier for A ranks to emerge, which the gods could then use as generals and cannon fodder in their wars with other universes. And, two, as an enforcer of rules for how the gods could compete with each other, making it so their internal conflicts wouldn¡¯t weaken the Prime Material to the point they lose against foreign invaders. If this was the case, it would explain all the various loopholes built into the System, ones seemingly designed for the most powerful in the universe to be able to exploit, and it would also make it unlikely that the uses of these exploits would be reported or recorded in any way. Whatever the case, there was no advantage to worrying about such a thing. Even if all their information were being reported, there was nothing they could do about it. And those it would be reported to would be the upper level gods, those like the Divine Child who had a fifth of the Prime Material¡¯s gods as his subordinates, so they likely wouldn¡¯t even care. Or at least that is what Mila hoped. The rewards greatly outweighed the risks, so she would do her best to raise Earth to A rank, even if it might be something people way more powerful than them would kill them all to take. Chapter 206: Start of the Universal Auction ¡°Alright. It¡¯s time.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice sounded more solemn than usual. ¡°You know what to do, right?¡± ¡°Project my soul without any of my bonds attached, yes.¡± In contrast to Nana Xara, who seemed nervous, Mila felt excited, smiling as a result. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be associated with you either, Ms. Yin Yang Sage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious, Mila.¡± From Nana Xara¡¯s tone, Mila could tell her teacher wasn¡¯t joking, and her excitement about the auction which was about to start quickly faded. ¡°This is going to be the first time I appear in public since my death. I¡¯ll try to hide my identity, but make sure not to interact with me at all, just to be safe.¡± ¡°You think your enemies will find you?¡± Mila was now starting to grow nervous as well. ¡°You haven¡¯t told me much about your life, and the biography I read was missing a lot.¡± ¡°Yes, my enemies. And potentially some friends as well, but much, much weaker.¡± Nana Xara sounded more nervous than Mila had ever heard from the woman, and this was seriously starting to freak her out. ¡°Again, just make sure not to interact with me at the auction, leaving our communications entirely to the real world.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Still sitting on top of Aalam¡¯s crafting hall, Mila took a deep breath and had one of her minds enter into the soul net. Instead of appearing inside the lobby of the United Federation of Planets¡¯ Watchers division, however, she materialized on a seat perfectly crafted to her form inside a large private room. The seat itself was made out of some kind of purple plant, the same as the other five chairs in the room, and this made sense as it was the private room of the Forest Cauldron for the Universal Auction. But the rest of the room had more of a medieval style, with lots of exposed stone, tapestries showing what seemed like Joma La¡¯Vordi crafting something in a large wooden cauldron, and fancy carpets made of some kind of red grass. The most important feature in the room, however, was the large glass window which dominated one entire wall. Transparent from only the inside, the window looked out over what appeared like an impossibly large church, bigger than most countries on Earth, with an absolute forest of chairs taking up most of its space, over a hundred billion of them at least. On one end was a large stage, but it was only about the size of a football field, incredibly tiny compared to the vastness of the room, while on the other was an absolutely massive closed door, seemingly made of some kind of wood from an absolutely humongous tree. Still, somehow, Mila was able to make out every single detail with ease. The style of the humongous room was also medieval, with an extremely tall arched ceiling, an abundance of stone, and many massive pieces of artwork along the walls honoring their universe¡¯s 204 living gods. Mila was especially drawn to paintings of the two gods she was the most familiar with. In one, Krysta¡¯s father, Heavenly Scarab of Space Kilvorax, was in human form, looking vaguely middle-eastern with long silvery transparent hair like his daughter and her same fully black eyes, only abnormally large as well, and, unlike Krysta, he had a large black horn rising out of his forehead. He looked a lot like his eleven brothers, only with a different elemental manifestation, and it seemed all of them had modified their forms after the lord they served, the Divine Child. Like the Heavenly Scarabs, the Divine Child in the paintings looked vaguely middle-eastern, with abnormally large eyes, but he also looked about eight-years-old, thus his name. Other than that, however, there was nothing that special about him, and, like sublime soul variant races, Mila expected that was almost certainly a sign of power and control. Mila also looked over the depictions of the other gods, from the Divine Child¡¯s 28 other subordinates, most unique lifeforms like the Heavenly Scarabs, to the 42 human ancestors, to the 56 gods under the Lady of Laws, an extremely ancient goddess who looked like Earth¡¯s modern depiction of angels and who was the creator of Aalam¡¯s Twelve Element Primal Code. Through several huge mirrors on the walls seemingly specially designed for the purpose, she could even see the pieces of artwork which normally wouldn¡¯t be visible to her due to the angles involved, and it took her a second to realize each mirror was in fact one of the 4,836 special windows representing the boxes of the universe¡¯s A rank forces, like the one she was looking out of. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. All in all, it was incredibly impressive, even if it was all virtual. ¡°Do you have any questions?¡± Joma La¡¯Vordi appeared in the chair next to her and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve attended two other Universal Auctions during my time as leader of the Forest Cauldron, so I can be considered at least somewhat knowledgeable.¡± Mila took a second to think. She¡¯d already had multiple conversations about the Universal Auction with her teacher, and Nana Xara had been much, much older than Joma before her death, almost two hundred million years old, so she¡¯d been to these auctions dozens of times and there wasn¡¯t much she didn¡¯t know. The information Mila was missing, then, was that which directly related to Joma herself. ¡°What do you usually do at these auctions?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s been different each time.¡± Joma reached out her hand and paid the price of several D rank universal credits to have the System summon a virtual piping hot drink into it, some kind of chocolate-like beverage. ¡°Every time I¡¯ve come my social status has been different. ¡°The first time, I wasn¡¯t even an A rank yet, while this time there is a pretty good chance several gods will take the initiative to visit.¡± Joma took a sip of her drink. ¡°My original plan for this auction was to buy some rare alchemy materials, resources to help with Krysta¡¯s advancements, and anything I could get for a reasonable price from the various lists provided by my subordinates, but mostly I was going to watch and definitely not participate in the competition for any of the most expensive items. ¡°With your fianc¨¦ as my apprentice, however, that¡¯s likely going to change. Just the list he provided is worth more than what I was planning to spend on Krysta.¡± Mila didn¡¯t like it much, but, in their negotiations about the Universal Auction, Joma had pretty much forced on her the identity of Aalam¡¯s fianc¨¦e. The alchemist had already prepared a good identity for Aalam, World Guardian, a talent from one of the universe¡¯s most war-torn galaxy clusters who she¡¯d found and taken as an apprentice, so it hadn¡¯t been at all difficult for her to make another identity from the same region for Mila, Silent Snow. Commoners in that region were generally named using words in universal common, so the names didn¡¯t sound as odd as they would if translated into English, and the identity of Silent Snow was also the identity Mila would be using when she started hosting auctions for the Forest Cauldron after she advanced to D rank, something Joma had also insisted on in their negotiations. Having a lot of experience with Nana Xara, Mila was pretty sure the alchemist just wanted to mess with her for fun, so she¡¯d stopped fighting quickly, but it didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t a little pissed off. She would, however, play the part to the best of her abilities, and that involved acting deferential to the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, so she held back the jab which came into her mind, one that wasn¡¯t very favorable to Krysta, and that left a pause in the conversation for several seconds. ¡°Oh, it seems like they¡¯re starting.¡± Joma pointed toward the stage and Mila turned to look, seeing one of the three merchant gods, an independent goddess called the Mistress of Gold, looking out at everyone. Tall and voluptuous, with violet skin, a snake tail instead of legs, and tendrils for hair, she was wearing a blue dress and an infectious smile as she began talking. ¡°Welcome, everyone, both those who¡¯ve come before and the many, many more for whom this is their first Universal Auction. ¡°I am the Mistress of Gold, Goddess of Mercantile Endeavors, and I will be your host. ¡°For those of you who are new here, the Universal Auction works a little differently than you might be used to. First, it lasts for a year, with continuous auctioning of items throughout the entire event. Second, while I auction off the items considered most valuable by the System, many, many, many other items will be available to bid on at the same time. ¡°Every day, a new list of items will be available and, through the soul net, you can personally interact with recreations of these items throughout the day. At the same time, for 24 standard hours, you¡¯ll be able to bid on these items through the System, with the highest bid visible to all. Then, when the 24 hours are up, those who have bid the top twelve prices will be able to continue competing until no one bids for over 12 seconds, the cultivator with the highest bid at the end receiving the item. ¡°Now, with that, the first list of items is available for your viewing pleasure and I will start on the auction of one of the most impressive items available for this entire auction.¡± As the Mistress of Gold began describing a powerful A ranked spear which appeared on the stage next to her, Mila checked the notification she now had in the corner of her vision and opened up the list of items being auctioned that day, a grand total of 91,648,441 separate units. Almost everyone who could attend the auction was at least B rank, so it wasn¡¯t hard for them to parse through so many items in a limited amount of time to see if they would want anything, but for Mila, as possibly the weakest participant in the entire auction, it wasn¡¯t so easy. Thankfully, in another box at the auction, Nana Xara was also looking through the list, and, through Mila¡¯s connection with her in the real world, she quickly sent over a subset of items Mila might be interested in so they could discuss bidding strategies. And, at the same time, Joma sent her a list of all the items she would be bidding on as well, so they could talk before accidentally competing against each other. Chapter 207: Bloodforged Living Armor Wolfram lowered his spear and shield as he looked down at the large gut wound from Isaiah¡¯s weapon. Yet again it seemed he¡¯d have to lessen the soul shackles placed on himself while in the training hall, and this meant he¡¯d practically be fighting as if he was a new D rank instead of an E rank like his apprentice. And this was with Isaiah not even fully mastering his skills, merging a skill with his cultivation technique, or wearing armor of any kind, his clothes all completely torn up. Feeling a bit down, Wolfram apparently missed the fact someone had entered into the training room with them, only noticing when the man started clapping. The room they were in was large, a six kilometer cube made out of high grade wood, and the entrance was in one corner while he and Isaiah had ended up on the opposite end, so it wasn¡¯t that odd that he¡¯d missed the new man entering. He¡¯d been completely focused on Isaiah and he hadn¡¯t expected someone to enter as he¡¯d locked the room, meaning normally only the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, who was currently participating in the Universal Auction, or one of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s five elders could enter without his permission. The man clapping, however, was someone he didn¡¯t recognize. As the man teleported next to them and Wolfram got a better look at his ridiculously handsome face, however, Wolfram grew pretty sure the E rank youth was the shopkeeper of the Universe¡¯s Best E Rank Processed Materials who¡¯d gone missing four months before, causing a slight commotion among the Forest Cauldron¡¯s younger female population. ¡°That was quite impressive.¡± The young man¡¯s voice was deep, not quite to the same extent as Isaiah or Wolfram himself, but somehow clearer and more authoritative. ¡°I¡¯ve been fighting in the soul net¡¯s Universal Arena all the time over the last six and a half years, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve faced anyone as strong as you, Isaiah. You¡¯re probably tier 9 or 10 already.¡± ¡°Do you need something, Mr. Guardian?¡± Isaiah asked, pausing slightly before saying the name, like he had to think to remember it. ¡°Is it safe to talk around him?¡± The handsome shopkeeper pointed at Wolfram without looking at him and Wolfram got the distinct impression he was being looked down on, or at least not seen as important. ¡°This is Wolfram Gan, my master.¡± At these words from Isaiah, the newcomer finally looked at him, actually bowing slightly, and Wolfram felt a bit better. But then Isaiah continued talking and Wolfram¡¯s mood rose even more. ¡°Your master formed a contract with him forcing him to hide all information about me, so your identity would be included in that.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The man, who Wolfram now remembered was named World Guardian, ignored him again. But, as he was apparently a secret apprentice to the Alchemist of the Deep Woods herself, and Wolfram wasn¡¯t stupid enough to not understand the implications of that combined with his apprentice having an E rank lord with seemingly infinite energy, Wolfram didn¡¯t really mind. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing too much alchemy over the last four months and haven¡¯t gotten a chance to really test out my stats, so I was hoping for a duel.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Isaiah looked excited as he turned to Wolfram again. ¡°Master, will you be the judge?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Wolfram took a few steps back and found himself growing excited. His apprentice was an absolute talent, yet he trained like a madman just to try and keep up with his lord, and now Wolfram would finally get a chance to see just why this blue-haired youth gave his apprentice so much pressure. ¡°Alright. Just give me a second.¡± World Guardian reached out both his hands and a green life energy filled runic script appeared in front of him which Wolfram recognized as the settings page of the training room. How the youth had access to it, however, Wolfram didn¡¯t know. Some of the mages of the Forest Cauldron had created the main settings for the room, and only about five cultivators in the entire force could modify them, but Wolfram had seen it done in the past and each time anything was modified several passcodes had to be entered, yet Isaiah¡¯s lord was seemingly bypassing those security checks completely as he made what looked to be some major modifications to the room¡¯s settings. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Good.¡± As World Guardian finished, the runes faded and the youth looked back to Isaiah. ¡°I changed the settings of the room to greatly boost the amount of power in the healing formations. So long as we don¡¯t injure each other¡¯s souls, it will be pretty much impossible to die here given our level of power. But the healing will only trigger if we would die, so being healed by the room can be considered a loss.¡± The young man then summoned three objects out of the spatial storage ring he was wearing on his right hand, a green crystalline orb, a gray metallic spear seemingly all made from one piece of metal almost exactly the right size for Isaiah, and a gray shield in the round style Isaiah preferred. ¡°We can also use this chance to test out the new artifacts I made for you.¡± The youth controlled the three artifacts with telekinesis and passed the spear and shield over to Isaiah, who immediately dropped the spear and shield he had been using before. ¡°The spear and shield are both rather simple. The spear is designed to channel and enhance your Blazing Destruction Law along with your Advanced Power Attack skill while the shield is designed to channel and enhance your Iron Defense Law and your Advanced Guardian skill.¡± The blue-haired youth smiled. ¡°They also, however, can temporarily absorb spirits to enhance their power. And this is the prototype for what I¡¯m thinking of making for you in the War of the Chosen. ¡°Do they need any adjustments?¡± Isaiah practiced some basic stabs and sweeps with the spear and several defensive moves and a bash with the shield. ¡°The shield is perfect, but could you adjust the spear to be three millimeters longer and a half millimeter less thick?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± World Guardian took back the spear with telekinesis and Wolfram watched in amazement as the dimensions of the spear changed in just a few seconds. There was no heating, no forging techniques. Isaiah¡¯s lord just sent in a bit of qi and mana and the material of the weapon conformed to his will. Wolfram had heard of techniques that allowed for direct control over materials before, but they were at least Epic grade, and to do so without damaging the formations built into the weapon would require a Heroic grade skill at the very least, along with a high level of control. World Guardian then passed the spear back to Isaiah and Isaiah swung it a few times, looking very excited, but Wolfram noticed his apprentice¡¯s attention was more on the orb still floating in the air than the weapons in his hands. ¡°But what is that orb?¡± ¡°Ooh, this is something special.¡± The grin on World Guardian¡¯s face became bigger. ¡°This is an artifact which was shown on the main stage near the beginning of the Universal Auction about three months ago, and my sister¡¯s teacher bought it for you. ¡°It¡¯s called a Bloodforged Living Armor and normally it¡¯s just a growth artifact armor with transformation capabilities, so it wasn¡¯t too expensive. But then it spent two months bathing in crystal water quintessence followed by my master and I performing some alchemy on it for another month, so it¡¯s completely different than its original form, no longer just for defense.¡± World Guardian pushed the green crystalline orb over to Isaiah with telekinesis. ¡°Bind it with some blood. I want you to test it out.¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not too expensive?¡± At hearing how much money and effort had been put into the artifact, Isaiah looked less sure of himself, not taking the orb which was held in front of him, but World Guardian just shook his head and pointed at the azure-scaled fingerless glove he was wearing on his left hand. ¡°Isaiah, for making my personal artifact, my sister¡¯s master gave me something called an Orb of Devouring. I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but it was a unique treasure forged from the life core of a god ranked monster from another universe, completely unique and worth about a dozen times more than your modified living armor. Let the dead woman use her money as she likes, and, if you want to repay her, follow in her footsteps and kill some gods in the future. As for my master, don¡¯t worry about it. She¡¯s going to make far more money out of us than her time has been worth.¡± Wolfram almost stopped breathing, but Isaiah seemed comforted, and he used his new spear to cut a wound on his wrist and let the blood drop down onto the green crystalline orb. The mana in the room became thinner as the orb absorbed about three fourths of it in a matter of seconds, and then World Guardian used telekinesis to push the orb through Isaiah¡¯s tattered shirt and onto his chest. The orb became like liquid and started to flow all over Isaiah¡¯s body, forcing off all the torn clothes he¡¯d previously been wearing, and then it transformed into green pants, brown boots, and a dark green battle robe, complete with a fitted hood and a brown crystalline dragon-like mask which covered Isaiah¡¯s face. ¡°It has a soulshape of its own, into which I¡¯ll be able to carve temporary skills, but we¡¯ll wait on that.¡± World Guardian summoned out a large purple sword from the glove artifact on his left hand and held it in his right, but he didn¡¯t change out of the non-artifact orange robe he was wearing. ¡°What we want to test now is its defense, its built in berserking function, and whether it can truly act as a second skin, not affecting your sense of touch even when it entirely covers your body.¡± Chapter 208: New Combat Teacher Wolfram World Guardian initiated combat, but in a way different from what Wolfram had expected. He didn¡¯t charge at Isaiah with his sword. And he didn¡¯t use telekinesis to control the sword to attack. In fact, he didn¡¯t use his sword at all. Instead, he released some kind of domain ability which suppressed Isaiah¡¯s Laws and used telekinesis to fly away. Isaiah immediately started to chase, using his nearly mastered Tempest Steps skill to run on the air like it was solid ground. And, though Wolfram couldn¡¯t see the purple scales appearing under his apprentice¡¯s new green outfit, from the way Isaiah quickly increased in speed it was obvious he¡¯d activated his Dragon Drive skill. When he got close to World Guardian, however, the man disappeared with some kind of spacetime teleport, reappearing on the other side of the training room, and, at the same time, Isaiah staggered a bit before recovering and continuing the chase. In the area of his aura, World Guardian had somehow created five runic arrays in the time it took for Isaiah to chase up to him, one for casting a spacetime teleport and four for creating some kind of mental shock. Then, as Isaiah appeared to activate an extra boosting skill Wolfram had never seen before, likely from his new armor, his apprentice sped up even further and World Guardian was forced to again teleport. Instead of mental shock arrays this time, however, four arrays which seemed to create a mental suppression effect were created and activated instead, worsening the control Isaiah had over his Laws even more than the suppression of World Guardian¡¯s aura skill. The pattern then appeared five more times, but the suppression arrays didn¡¯t fade after activation, more and more accumulating until there were fifteen activated at once. Isaiah, however, was getting more used to the mental suppression and fighting within World Guardian¡¯s aura¡ªand he was growing more comfortable with the boost provided by his new armor as well, adjusting the way he moved to match¡ªso he was actually getting closer each time. Then, after the seventh teleport, Isaiah actually caught up to World Guardian and managed to engage him in close combat. To Wolfram¡¯s surprise, however, the sword in World Guardian¡¯s right hand wasn¡¯t just decoration and he was actually able to defend himself from Isaiah for three moves before managing to teleport again. It was odd. World Guardian, as far as Wolfram could see, only had four skills useful for combat, a very high grade version of Telekinesis, a powerful aura skill Wolfram had never heard of, what seemed to be a very high grade version of Runescriber, and a powerful magic-based defensive skill which gave Wolfram the distinct impression of nobility, maybe a Legendary grade version of Kingly Defense. The youth also seemed far better at multi-tasking than any E rank Wolfram had ever heard of. But, though he primarily seemed to rely on his Magic and Spirit stats, his effective physical stats were significantly stronger than either of them, all well over 117,000, which was more than 24,000 higher than his effective Spirit. Granted, these stats were all ridiculous for an E rank, surpassing Isaiah even though all of his apprentice¡¯s base stats had an effectiveness boost of more than 200%, but they didn¡¯t match his skills, and this seemed very odd for an apprentice of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods. Still, were it not for the artifacts World Guardian had given his apprentice, Wolfram was pretty sure Isaiah wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep up, allowing World Guardian to pummel him with array-based attacks and win within just one or two rounds. The Bloodforged Living Armor, as expected, was almost certainly Fabled grade, and deserving of being the best possible grade of equipment for E ranks. The boost it provided to his apprentice¡¯s physical stats seemed just as high as Dragon Drive, but, unlike that skill, it didn¡¯t drain lifeforce to maintain its effect. In fact, from what Wolfram could sense, wearing the armor seemed to boost Isaiah¡¯s already ridiculously powerful self healing, greatly lessening the energy strain Dragon Drive normally caused. Add to this the ridiculously high defense and self repair function bloodforged living armors were famous for and the armor was truly the best E rank artifact Wolfram had ever seen. More surprising, however, were the artifacts World Guardian had seemingly made fully by himself. While simple, both the spear and shield were Heroic grade artifacts, and that sword World Guardian was wielding seemed at least Heroic grade as well just from its level of sharpness. And World Guardian hadn¡¯t even used the glove on his left hand. For someone who was obviously a crafter and a lord, World Guardian was extremely powerful, but not to the degree his apprentice¡¯s fear of not being able to keep up had implied. As the fight continued, however, Wolfram noticed a couple more things. First, it was quite obvious World Guardian was aware of Isaiah¡¯s skills. Given Isaiah¡¯s Advanced Kinetic Senses, telekinetically controlled weapons wouldn¡¯t have the same ability to attack from blindspots as normal, and, given Isaiah¡¯s ridiculous self healing and defensive capabilities, World Guardian wouldn¡¯t be able to give Isaiah any significant wounds using telekinesis unless he relied on at least Heroic grade weapons, of which he seemed to only have the purple sword. More important, however, whenever the two did engage in close combat, Wolfram noticed Isaiah wasn¡¯t using feints at all. In general, Isaiah was a very straightforward combatant, so this wasn¡¯t inherently odd, but the fact he never tried once even after more than 20 exchanges led Wolfram to realize his apprentice was absolutely sure such tactics wouldn¡¯t work. And this implied World Guardian also had a very high grade sensing skill. What truly shocked Wolfram, however, was when he finally figured out what Laws World Guardian was using to be so fast even without a dedicated movement skill, Isaiah having to boost himself to keep up despite Tempest Steps. There were bloody six of them! The Law of Passion to allow for more Laws to be controlled at once, the Law of Tranquility to allow for full control over those Laws, and the Laws of Inertia, Kinetic Energy, Multi-Dimensional Geometry, and Temporal Relativity to allow for extreme speed. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. And all of these Laws were middle grade Law Pupae. ¡°So, what¡¯s your judgement?¡± Wolfram almost jumped out of his skin as he suddenly realized someone was standing next to him, and, given it was the second time he¡¯d been surprised that day, for a second he thought something was wrong with him. But then he realized it was the Alchemist of the Deep Woods herself, having almost certainly entered in a stealth state so as to not disrupt the combatants, and he felt a bit better. ¡°Very high stats, decent bladework, exceptional multi-tasking to the point it seems impossible, and the best runework I¡¯ve ever seen in an E rank. But what¡¯s most impressive is his exceptional Law control. He seems oddly imbalanced, however, focusing on Magic and Spirit despite his build granting his physical stats a much higher boost.¡± Given his role as one of the guard captains of the Forest Cauldron, Wolfram knew the force leader liked open and honest answers to her questions, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to say what he thought. ¡°Mhh.¡± The force leader nodded. ¡°That¡¯s entirely from a racial ability which will evolve to boost Magic and Spirit as well, so don¡¯t worry about it. What about his battle prowess, especially ways he could improve?¡± Wolfram took a second to absorb the new information and recontextualize, realizing World Guardian likely had a racial ability almost as overpowered as Isaiah¡¯s Power of Balance. ¡°First, his bladework has noticeable flaws and it doesn¡¯t seem he is that familiar with the weapon he is using. From his movements, it almost seems like he was given fundamental lessons in using a hand and a half sword and then forced to fight with multiple weapons in many, many duels without having a teacher to help correct his mistakes. ¡°His control over his energy, however, is absolutely amazing, so his deficiencies in this department could be easily fixed. ¡°Second, he¡¯s obviously a crafter, yet in this fight at least he¡¯s not making use of that fact. His Telekinesis skill seems very high grade, but he¡¯s only using it to help with his movement. Give him a few high grade flying weapons and he¡¯d be far, far more powerful. ¡°Finally, he is really missing a movement skill. He¡¯s combined four speed-based Laws, all of which are one level higher than Isaiah¡¯s single speed Law, and his effective Agility and Spirit are roughly double Isaiah¡¯s, yet he¡¯s losing in speed.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The force leader smiled as she continued watching the fight. ¡°That¡¯s about what I think as well.¡± Then she raised her voice a bit. ¡°Is it okay if I share some of your details so your friend¡¯s master here could help you train as well?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± World Guardian didn¡¯t falter a bit at the force leader¡¯s words, but Isaiah did, and Wolfram had the distinct impression the force leader had done nothing to make herself more noticeable to her own apprentice. His sensory skill was just better than even Wolfram¡¯s own. ¡°Well, the movement skill problem will be fixed as he advances and gains a couple more classes. He¡¯ll be aiming for something in the elemental steps line so he can make full use of his Laws.¡± The force leader¡¯s voice was calm, even while saying something as utterly ridiculous as gaining a ¡®couple more¡¯ classes. ¡°And you see that artifact glove on his left hand? It¡¯s still F rank and is designed to give him a set of weapons to control with telekinesis while also making it easier for him to draw runic arrays. He¡¯s thinking about redesigning it slightly as he upgrades it to E rank, so that¡¯s part of why he¡¯s doing this testing.¡± The force leader turned to smile at him, the expression warm. ¡°As for his mediocre bladework, you¡¯re absolutely right. I did exactly what you said to help him improve his energy control and base combat experience. It will be up to you and your apprentice to fix his shortcomings in this area.¡± She placed a hand on Wolfram¡¯s shoulder and squeezed slightly in a way which made him feel encouraged. ¡°Be strict with him, and try not to be overawed as you learn more about him. He¡¯ll respect you more that way and you¡¯ll benefit as a result. ¡°I expect a lot from you, Mr. Gan.¡± With that, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods just disappeared and Wolfram didn¡¯t even sense her move, even though he was pretty sure she hadn¡¯t used a single skill. The difference between C and A rank was just that huge. At the same time, Isaiah finally managed to disrupt one of World Guardian¡¯s teleportation arrays before it could activate, forcing World Guardian into actual close combat, and World Guardian was quickly stabbed through the gut by Isaiah¡¯s spear, Isaiah¡¯s Blazing Destruction Law completely tearing through his insides due to the effects of Advanced Power Attack. As Isaiah retracted his weapon, however, the room immediately healed the wound and both young men flew down to the ground. ¡°This armor is absolutely amazing.¡± Isaiah quickly spoke, sounding emotional as the mask and hood of his armor merged into the battle clothes. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± World Guardian slapped one of Isaiah¡¯s large shoulders. ¡°Do you think the added power is enough to allow you to stop training like a madman and go see my sister more often?¡± ¡°Once you finish merging that skill, I won¡¯t be able to help anymore.¡± ¡°I highly doubt that.¡± World Guardian shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already almost finished maximizing my stats, while you¡¯ve barely reached two-fifths in yours, yet I still lost today. Don¡¯t underestimate your own power, dude.¡± ¡°But you train all the time.¡± World Guardian laughed, but it sounded almost like crying. ¡°I have nightmares about the innocent people I slaughtered whenever I close my eyes, Isaiah, so I¡¯m trying to run away from my feelings of guilt by throwing myself into training. It¡¯s not healthy, and one of these days I¡¯m going to break down, but I just don¡¯t know what else to do. ¡°You are not a mass-murdering war criminal, however, so do what I say and not what I do. ¡°If you¡¯re really my friend, you¡¯ll help distract my sister so she¡¯ll spend less time worrying about me, giving me one less source of pressure.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Isaiah, who could sometimes be a bit dense, looked like he realized something, and quickly stopped arguing. ¡°Right.¡± World Guardian rolled his eyes and then walked over to Wolfram, reaching out his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve been properly introduced. My name is Aalam Alvaro, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and I¡¯ll be under your care in the future. ¡°I would very much appreciate it if you could help me make sure your apprentice heads back to our home planet more often, at least once a week.¡± As Wolfram shook the young man¡¯s hand he finally realized what the faction head had meant about trying not to be overawed. Aalam, no His Majesty Aalam Alvaro, had stopped only allowing six of his Laws to be sensed through his aura and Wolfram could now sense the man had 36 Law Pupae in total, 34 of which were already middle grade. The man in front of him, an E rank, had effectively conquered the Carium Galaxy Cluster, and no one had yet tried to take his Territory away as the benefits of having him as the lord were just too high, granting a boost to affinity with all Laws by a full 25% even for most C ranks, meaning the affinities of the E rank youth in front of him were amazingly high. When the force leader had talked about gaining benefits, it wasn¡¯t political power within the Forest Cauldron. It was about ease of advancement. Wolfram felt his heart start to race, but then he remembered what the force leader had said and he resolved himself not to treat his Majesty, no Aalam, any different than he would his own apprentice. In fact, given their potential, he was going to be even harder on both of them. Chapter 209: Auction of a Dread Plunderer Other than the Bloodforged Living Armor for Isaiah and some A rank materials for the array formation to temporarily increase Earth to B rank, both of which Nana Xara had bought and Diana had exchanged using completed quests from their force destroying the Violet Mountain Sect, Mila hadn¡¯t seen anything in the main auction which really tempted her. This is not to say the items on the main stage weren¡¯t interesting. They were amazing and every single one was something Mila wanted, but they were items with minimum bidding prices in A rank universal credits, and even Nana Xara wasn¡¯t wealthy enough to bid on things their force didn¡¯t absolutely need. In the daily silent auctions, however, both Nana Xara and Mila had bought quite a bit, with even Joma buying some things which Aalam could use due to the contract between their forces including a clause about the Forest Cauldron having to pay half the price for all the resources Aalam would use for his own advancement and personal artifacts. Mila mostly bought resources needed by the more talented members of Earth to turn their E, D, and C rank race evolutions into upgrades, the resources to do the same for B rank way too expensive. But she also bought quite a lot of crafting materials as well for several useful blueprints in Aalam¡¯s now very large collection, such as Territory relays, automated factories, and golems. Her favorite purchases, however, were all special features to add to Earth which would be automatically ranked up along with the planet. There were four special trees which could only be planted on a planet undergoing integration during the first 36 years, an Earth Lotus Tree, a Wind Lotus Tree, a Fire Lotus Tree, and a Water Lotus Tree, all named after the shape of their flowers. When all were planted on the same planet, they would help increase the density of primal energy, usually resulting in unique powerful areas like Earth¡¯s enlightenment zone. And, most importantly, the rank they would grow to would match the rank of the planet as they stole large chunks of energy from the System when the planet¡¯s rank was growing. Mila had to spend over half her B rank universal credits, all received from Aalam killing the Violet Mountain Lord and from B ranks teleporting into the former Territory of the Violet Mountain Sect, on their purchase, but it was worth it. Other than the lotus trees, she also bought three other special items that would transform with Earth. First there was a Seed of Endless Iron, a large watermelon sized metallic orb that, when buried into the ground on a planet undergoing integration, would bond with the planet to create a large endlessly regenerating iron mine of the same rank as the planet¡¯s. Second was a Spacetime Essence Spirit Source, which would bond with a planet and produce an endless amount of the main material for spatial storage devices, the rank of the essence the same as that of the planet. And third was an artifact known as an Idol of the Harvest God, a naturally forming brown crystalline gemstone that, when merged with a planet during integration, would transform an area so that any crops grown within would contain minute amounts of natural nascent energy, capable of adding stats to G ranks and making babies more likely to be born with higher grade races if consumed by mothers during pregnancy. The size and potency of the area affected was based on the rank of the world and, for an A rank world, it would extend to an entire continent and almost guarantee talented babies. There were a couple other artifacts which could be bonded with planets undergoing integrations, but they were either not capable of having extra effects on an A rank world or would potentially cause destruction or dangerous elemental imbalance, so she wasn¡¯t interested in them. Over time, an A rank planet would raise the rank of all other planets in its solar system up to B rank, but this was over a period of thousands of years at the least, not the same as an integration, so these items couldn¡¯t be used on any of the many other planets in the solar system where she and Nana Xara were planning to move Earth. Every such item without such defects so far, however, Mila had managed to buy. And she would continue to buy any which would work with Earth, as the return on investment would be well beyond anything she could be expected to spend. Nana Xara, meanwhile, had mostly bought other materials related to the array for temporarily boosting Earth to B rank, but she had a couple other interesting purchases as well. There was a portable set of three array disks which could be used to trap the soul of a creature if set up before the creature died. They were excellent for allowing other members of their force to capture souls for use by Aalam or Mila, but their best use would be for interrogation. Souls separated from bodies were very weak to charm effects, Mila¡¯s specialty, but it was generally hard to capture a soul with its memories fully intact so as to make this useful. With these array disks, however, it would be possible for Mila to kill someone of the same rank and then interrogate them fully in an extremely safe and accurate manner, even without Aalam around. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Sure, the ethics were incredibly questionable, but Mila didn¡¯t think she¡¯d feel that bad if she chose assholes with massive amounts of blood on their hands, something sadly extremely common in the universe. Nana Xara had also bought several other materials which would be useful for making plagues, seemingly mostly for her own experiments if she ever revived, and every acupoint opening order which came up for sale that their force didn¡¯t already have, something they couldn¡¯t get from the War of the Chosen but would need when the powers of Earth started to reach D rank. Joma, on the other hand, had only been buying one kind of item which could be used by the United Federation of Planets, elemental fruits. When raiding the storage of the Violet Mountain Sect, one of the best race advancement materials Mila and Isaiah had found was called the Fruit of Life, a resource useful for increasing the grade of a cultivator¡¯s race when advancing to C rank. When combined with eleven other elemental fruits, however, along with a Fruit of Chaos and a Fruit of Order, this type of resource could be turned into a Heavenly Spark Ascension Pill through the work of a talented alchemist. Given they already had such an alchemist and the Fruit of Life, the third most expensive ingredient, along with such a pill being the ideal for Aalam¡¯s D rank race advancement, Mila and Joma were sharing the cost of buying all the other fruits. Then, a little over six months into the auction, the item Mila wanted most appeared in the daily silent auction, a boon from the System to teleport a planet up to E rank to any other solar system in the universe, and Mila entered into her first major bidding war, two other forces apparently willing to pay well over the normal price. She finally got it, but she¡¯d used up almost all the rest of the credits they¡¯d earned from destroying the Violet Mountain Sect other than the A rank credits from the Violet Mountain Lord himself, so she could no longer bid when an item she wanted came up, Nana Xara having to do so for her instead. This was the first item she absolutely had to have, but then, roughly eight months into the auction, another item appeared which was probably even more important, yet this one was being auctioned from the main stage. ¡°And here we have a D rank Dread Plunderer with the Mythic grade Genetic Enhancer bloodline.¡± The Mistress of Gold smiled at the audience as her snake tail coiled slightly under her, a sign Mila had recognized meant the goddess was becoming slightly more excited. ¡°If you have any subordinates or descendants with the Genetic Thief bloodline, this monster, preserved right before its death, would allow them to advance their bloodline to Empyrean grade. ¡°And, even if you don''t have such a subordinate, the heart of such a Dread Plunderer would make the perfect core ingredient for many pills which could allow almost any bloodline of a low rank cultivator to advance from Fabled to Mythic grade, or for a race advancement from E to D rank to jump grades. ¡°I don¡¯t need to tell you how valuable this is. So, let¡¯s just start the bidding at 12 A rank credits and see how much you value your juniors.¡± The bidding started, with the monster¡¯s value almost instantly increasing by a factor of 12, and it seemed there were at least thirty-something forces betting. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s going to be the most valuable item before the final stretch, but it will be extremely expensive,¡± Joma began, not actually turning to look at Mila, her eyes focused on the depiction of the four-armed gorilla like beast on the stage, a Dread Plunderer. ¡°And you could probably get something equivalent from the War of the Chosen, so I¡¯m not sure¡ª¡± Joma stopped as Mila created a contract between them with some very basic terms. Mila would give Joma both her 50% off and 75% off coupons for the auction so long as Joma used them to maximize the benefits to Aalam. Sure, Joma was right, and they would likely be able to get such a reward from the System if they managed to achieve what they wanted in the next War of the Chosen. But that wasn¡¯t guaranteed, and they were only doing as well as they were now, even able to attend such an auction, due to the snowballing effects of getting the best resources as early as possible. Were Aalam to absorb the Dread Plunderer and increase the grade of his bloodline, there would be a different reward from the System during the War of the Chosen, something they likely wouldn¡¯t have even had access to otherwise, and the snowball would just keep rolling. ¡°Or we could go for it now.¡± As Joma entered the bidding war, she moved to the area of her cultivation cave where Aalam was practicing, Mila sharing his senses, and got right to the point. ¡°You realize how valuable these coupons are, right?¡± Aalam nodded. ¡°My chamberlain does.¡± ¡°The second one can¡¯t be revealed or it would cause too many questions, as I¡¯ve never even heard of such a coupon being available, so I¡¯ll use it myself just to save some money. As for the first, while there are usually one or two per every ten or so auctions, they¡¯re most valuable when used on the most expensive items, but those are things people at our level will never touch. ¡°With your permission, I¡¯ll trade it for benefits to one of the underlings of the Divine Child later in the auction.¡± ¡°That would be perfect. Thank you, master.¡± In the auction, Joma won the Dread Plunderer for a grand total of 32,872 A rank universal credits, but she used the 75% off coupon, so she only had to spend 8,218. And, back in the Forest Cauldron¡¯s main base, she summoned the nearly dead beast, allowing Aalam to absorb its energy, advancing his Genetic Thief bloodline to Empyrean grade. His bloodline¡¯s name didn¡¯t change, and its effect was pretty much the same, but now he could absorb the genetic energy from two sources per rank, even at E rank as the Dread Plunderer didn¡¯t cause any bloat to his soul, and his control over that energy was much, much higher. Also, his Heroic grade Advanced Soul Laboratory racial ability upgraded along the path he desired to Elevated Soul Laboratory. This didn¡¯t change the associated unique soul structure¡¯s size or soul storage capabilities, but his control over the souls inside was increased a great deal, allowing for much easier extraction of skills and an almost flawless ability to extract racial and bloodline energy for use in pills and other types of crafting. The effects of absorbing the energy of the Dread Plunderer weren¡¯t flashy, but some of the possibilities it opened up were even more overpowered than Multi-Mind, Sensory Domain, or even Aalam¡¯s royal line uniqueness. Chapter 210: Beach Day ¡°It¡¯s been too long since we¡¯ve done this.¡± Diana grabbed a piece of fried chicken from the large bucket they¡¯d brought to the beach, and laid back on the sand, looking up at the sky. She and Mila were on an uninhabited island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and the plan was to just hang out¡ªno other people to manipulate or threaten, no responsibilities other than the one mind of Mila¡¯s participating in the Universal Auction. Even Nana Xara had agreed to leave them alone for a couple hours. ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila also lay back on the beach and, along with the chicken, she had an entire box of Cheez-Its. The best benefit of being a Sublime Soul Succubus Empress wasn¡¯t the exceptional affinities, the complete dual classes, or the practically stainless soul, but the fact she could eat pretty much whatever she wanted without consequences. ¡°Have you looked into any of the media out in the universe?¡± Diana looked over at Mila and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s so much of it.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t really had the time.¡± Mila looked up at the sky, enjoying the chance to just watch the clouds. ¡°What with our lives being on the line and all.¡± ¡°Come on, you need to take more breaks.¡± Diana pointed at the sea and her leviathan shaped water spirit appeared over the water along with her nine-tailed fox light spirit. Then the two spirits merged together into a nine-tailed leviathan emitting an aura of both water and light. ¡°I was just playing around with Isaiah one day and tried merging my spirits on a whim, and now it¡¯s my strongest power. ¡°There¡¯s this one hologram drama called Rise of the Umberlord. It was made several trillion years ago but it¡¯s still considered one of the best of all time. Nana Xara recommended it and Isaiah and I just finished it last week. It¡¯s so, so good. ¡°Have you heard of it?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mila shook her head. ¡°But I have met the Umberlord.¡± Diana had taken a bite of chicken while Mila was responding, and she almost spat it out, but she managed to instead chew and swallow first. ¡°Wait? What? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this before?¡± Mila laughed. ¡°I did. He was one of the independent gods who came to visit Joma, and, like all the rest, he completely ignored me. Joma told me about him afterwards. Apparently, he¡¯s quite the ass.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Diana looked a little disappointed. ¡°Well, the drama is very good.¡± ¡°I have been reading a lot of history books on Nana Xara¡¯s recommendation.¡± Mila looked up at the clouds again. ¡°They are a little drier, but I do feel like I¡¯ve learned a lot more about the universe. So, that¡¯s been fun.¡± ¡°Bah.¡± Diana waved a hand at her, attracting Mila¡¯s attention. ¡°That¡¯s still work. ¡°Life¡¯s good now, Mila. You can slow down a little. ¡°With the auction, we already have most of the resources we¡¯ll need until C rank, and everything else we can earn through the War of the Chosen and the D rank Trial Tower. We even have more than enough primal energy due to those tribble-like creatures you bought at the auction a month ago breeding like crazy in the Steel Swamp Blessed Land. ¡°Hell, given the blessed land¡¯s primal energy conversion machines, we¡¯ll even be able to export primal energy crystals in the near future.¡± Mila, however, wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°There¡¯s always more Territory to get, and I need to set up the groundwork for a universe wide intelligence network.¡± Diana just stared at her for a couple seconds, looking distinctly judgmental. ¡°If you do nothing but maintain the Territory we already have, Aalam¡¯s uniqueness will advance to Emperor during the middle of the War of the Chosen, and that¡¯s not even considering how most of that Territory will have to be abandoned once Earth rises to A rank given the limitations of Aalam¡¯s lord skill. ¡°Also, for an intelligence network, you have no way of setting any kind of solid groundwork as an E rank, and you know it.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°But if we can get Aalam¡¯s uniqueness up to Emperor during or even before the War of the Chosen, we¡¯ll have a much better chance of actually winning.¡± ¡°And if you keep working yourself ragged for my brother, he¡¯ll never learn how to operate independently.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± Mila couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly. ¡°He¡¯s gotten a lot better at social interactions over the last several years. Forcing him to work as a shopkeeper was a really good move on Joma¡¯s part.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Diana sat up and her glare disappeared, replaced by a look of shock, her aura showing the same change in emotions. ¡°Is he actually talking to you? Even with our link, he¡¯s barely said a few dozen words to me over the last year, saying he¡¯s busy learning alchemy. I¡¯ve had to rely on Isaiah to know how he¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Mila thought about lying, but decided against it. ¡°For at least an hour every day. We both have extra minds, so it¡¯s a bit easier.¡± ¡°He¡¯s avoiding me, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± Diana sighed and laid back on the sand again, looking up at the sky. ¡°The nightmares are still happening?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± Diana looked over at Mila and raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I stopped asking after it became clear he didn¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Mila also laid back on the sand. ¡°He¡¯s feeling guilty over his actions, and he should be, even if he¡¯s resolved to never do something like that again, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything other than time which will help.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have kept asking?¡± ¡°No. You¡¯re his sister. That¡¯s your role.¡± Mila started to frown. ¡°I¡¯m his chamberlain.¡± ¡°Who he talks to for at least an hour every day.¡± With her sensory domain, Mila could see Diana roll her eyes even though she¡¯d looked back up at the clouds. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re definitely just his chamberlain.¡± ¡°I really am.¡± Mila didn¡¯t bother to look at her friend. ¡°We just talk about work.¡± ¡°This is Aalam we¡¯re talking about, Mila, and we now live in a fantasy universe.¡± With her sensory domain, Mila could see Diana shake her head. ¡°How is what you talk about now any different than what you¡¯d talk about back when you were dating?¡± ¡°There¡¯s more specifics about alchemy.¡± Diana actually laughed, but then she also turned her head to look at Mila. ¡°You do too much for him, you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I get nothing in return.¡± ¡°No, Mila, I mean emotionally. You¡¯re always there for him, but he doesn¡¯t treat you in the same way.¡± Mila couldn¡¯t help but start to smile. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I wouldn¡¯t have actually formed up a relationship with my grandmother if it weren¡¯t for him. And I can feel his emotions through our bond. He cares about whether I¡¯m happy or not.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Through her sensory domain, Mila could see Diana show a surprised expression. ¡°Wow. Is my little brother actually becoming emotionally mature?¡± But then Diana seemed to realize something and she looked back at Mila. ¡°Getting you to talk to your grandmother, was that actually intentional?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mila shook her head. ¡°He thought I was torturing myself because I was feeling guilty for being evil, and said as much, directly to my face.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Diana¡¯s aura showed her excitement fade, as did her expression. ¡°I was worried for a second there he¡¯d actually become a functioning adult.¡± They both started to smile, the joke not quite funny enough for a laugh, and then Diana continued. ¡°Still, that sounds more like a friendship. Are you not interested in dating other people?¡± This time Mila turned to look at Diana, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Who would I date? ¡°Anyone on Earth is technically my subordinate and out in the universe I¡¯m always in some kind of disguise. The only people I can truly be myself around and not have the power dynamics be awkward are you, your boyfriend, my grandmother, and Aalam.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Diana paused for several seconds, obviously not having thought about Mila¡¯s situation before. ¡°Well, that sucks.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Stupid leadership positions and responsibilities.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Still, that¡¯s no reason to¡ª¡± Diana stopped mid-sentence and her aura showed mild annoyance. ¡°Sorry, I almost threw up there a little bit. Maybe the chicken¡¯s not so good.¡± Mila reached over and grabbed Diana¡¯s wrist, pushing in some of her qi to check Diana¡¯s body as Diana continued. ¡°Things are going well. It¡¯s okay to take a break every now and then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Mila started smiling, far, far wider than she had in a long time as she discovered just why her friend was feeling nauseous. ¡°I think I should probably work harder in the future.¡± ¡°What?¡± Diana turned to look at her with a confused expression as Mila took her hand back. ¡°While someone¡¯s off playing housewife, one of us at least has to keep this planet functional.¡± ¡°Again, what?¡± Diana still looked confused, but then her eyes widened and she looked down at her stomach. ¡°Wait. Are you saying?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re two different bloody species.¡± Even though her words sounded frustrated, Diana¡¯s aura was radiating happiness as she jumped to her feet. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t this not be possible?¡± Mila sat up and looked up at her friend. ¡°How do you think Isaiah was conceived?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be a mom.¡± Diana¡¯s aura lit up even more as she started jumping up and down, but then she seemed to realize moving rapidly might not be the best idea and sat back down, a huge smile still on her face. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a mom.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila was sharing her friend¡¯s joy, but then, as Diana hugged her, she started to get nervous. Diana was right. Things were going well. Too well. And, from Mila¡¯s experience, blissful times didn¡¯t last. Something was going to go wrong, and she¡¯d have to be ready for it. One of the A rank forces the Violet Mountain Sect was subordinate to might figure out who they were. Joma could betray them. Or maybe Aalam would make another huge mistake. Whatever the case, Mila had to be ready. She had to prepare. Chapter 211: Return of Reginald ¡°Rise, Reginald.¡± In the throne room of the Vin Clan, a large opulent room covered in precious gemstones and decorated with the severed heads of seven powerful monsters, Reginald Vin rose from the half kneel bow he¡¯d assumed upon entering and looked up at the Emperor. ¡°Already having a Law Pupa at your age. You remind me of myself.¡± The Emperor, the sole ruler of the largest elven force in the universe, didn¡¯t look like most elves, having black hair and skin a shade paler than normal for even their species, his blue eyes a shade paler as well, and he was the most powerful elf in the universe behind the elven gods, so being compared to him was a high compliment. ¡°Thank you, Lord Emperor.¡± Reginald bowed his head again. ¡°Compared to our other clansmen, you¡¯ve excelled, but, from participating in wars for the last twelve years, your edges are a bit too hard.¡± The Emperor¡¯s voice was firm yet kind, traveling easily to Reginald and the seven elders in the room despite the Emperor¡¯s physical position being over three meters higher, seated up on the room¡¯s high throne. ¡°I want you to replace my daughter¡¯s current guard during her time at the Forest Cauldron. Learn to adapt to interfacing with foreign forces and how to handle yourself in the realm of politics.¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Emperor.¡± Reginald slammed his left forearm onto his chest in an elven salute. ¡°I expect great things from you, Reginald. You are dismissed.¡± Without daring to ask any further questions, Reginald left the throne room and, as all his belongings were already in his spatial storage ring, he immediately headed to the clan¡¯s external teleportation platform and teleported from the Vin Clan¡¯s capital on one of the three elven A rank planets to the A rank planet where the Forest Cauldron¡¯s headquarters was located, the home of the Sky Lord, one of the more powerful independent gods. There he checked in at the princess¡¯s residence, meeting with the princess¡¯s chamberlain, and the old woman guided him to where the princess was located, a relatively small room where she and the daughter of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, Krysta La¡¯Vordi, were performing alchemy. To Reginald¡¯s interest, the princess was using an old fashioned cauldron wrapped in heavenly flames, just like most alchemists in the Vin Clan, but Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s cauldron was more unique, looking like a steel box, but probably a space-based artifact with multiple minor dimensions interacting inside. ¡°So you do know where he is?¡± When he entered, the two young women appeared to be in an argument of some kind, and Princess Henrietta was accusing Ms. La¡¯Vordi of something, though neither were looking at each other, both still focused on their work. ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Come on, Krysta. This is the love of my life we¡¯re talking about. Give me something.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not the love of your life.¡± Princess Henrietta still didn¡¯t look away from her cauldron, but her aura and tone showed anger. ¡°And how would you know that?¡± ¡°I know more about him than you do.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve spent time with him when I¡¯m not around?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He¡¯s good at what he does, so he sometimes helps out with my combat training.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s specifically said he doesn¡¯t like me.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then how would you know?¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t interested in dating.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s said this out loud?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then how can you be sure?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Ahg. This is so frustrating!¡± ¡°Yes, Henrietta, it is.¡± ¡°Has he dated before?¡± Ms. La¡¯Vordi audibly sighed. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What was she like?¡± ¡°Absolutely terrifying.¡± Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s aura showed fear and Princess Henrietta paused her questioning for a second, likely in response to sensing the change. ¡°You¡¯ve met her?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And she scared you?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Ahg.¡± Princess Henrietta paused for a second again. ¡°Was she pretty?¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Smart?¡± ¡°Very.¡± ¡°Powerful?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Talented?¡± ¡°Extremely.¡± ¡°Yeah, someone like him could pull in a talent. Have I heard of her?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Interesting. Why¡¯d they break up?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Princess Henrietta sounded contemplative. ¡°Did she hurt him?¡± ¡°Emotionally, I think so.¡± ¡°So, he¡¯s been burnt and isn¡¯t interested in dating as a result?¡± ¡°Sort of.¡± ¡°Could you clarify at least a little?¡± ¡°My mom thinks he¡¯s taking a break and will get back together with his ex.¡± Princess Henrietta¡¯s eyes grew a bit wider even as she continued to look at her cauldron. ¡°Why would master get involved?¡± Ms. La¡¯Vordi seemed to think for a few seconds, likely trying to figure out what she could say, as it seemed pretty obvious she was under a contract of some kind. ¡°I showed interest, so my mom took it on herself to look into him.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Princess Henrietta nodded. ¡°That tracks.¡± Then she sighed. ¡°That ex of his is so lucky.¡± ¡°I personally think it¡¯s the other way around.¡± Reginald watched as the aura of Princess Henrietta started to show defeat. ¡°Oh? Well that sucks.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s aura changed to match, and then she lifted one hand off her cauldron and pointed at Reginald. ¡°Who¡¯s the new elf?¡± ¡°A new bodyguard.¡± Princess Henrietta did absolutely nothing to acknowledge Reginald, continuing her focus on her alchemy. ¡°He¡¯s a talented E rank, and I think my dad wanted to offer him as a training partner for you.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s aura and face showed interest. ¡°Is he a mage?¡± ¡°No. A warrior.¡± Reginald watched as Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s aura and expression changed to show disappointment. ¡°Well, that sucks. I don¡¯t need another warrior if I can¡¯t beat the one I already have.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Princess Henrietta seemed to almost lose control over her cauldron as she looked over at Ms. La¡¯Vordi, and Reginald felt surprised as well. Krysta La¡¯Vordi was the child of a god and almost certainly the most talented cultivator of their generation, so her losing to the point of sounding embarrassed was not something either of them would expect. ¡°Were you training against a D rank?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°An E rank?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± By this point Princess Henrietta had retaken control over her cauldron and was just as focused on it as before. ¡°Since when has the Forest Cauldron had an E rank capable of competing with you?¡± ¡°Since my mom made a deal so I could have a good training partner.¡± ¡°Male?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Is he hot?¡± ¡°He and his girlfriend are having a baby, Henrietta, but yes, I guess.¡± ¡°All the good guys are taken.¡± ¡°World Guardian is very much not a good guy.¡± ¡°Wait. What?¡± Henrietta almost lost control of her alchemy again. ¡°What did he do?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± * * * Krysta walked into the training hall to see Aalam nearly slashed in half by Isaiah¡¯s spear, blood and guts flowing everywhere. But then the training hall¡¯s array formation activated and Aalam¡¯s flesh quickly flowed back together, his body perfectly fine after just a couple seconds. His shirt, however, was ruined, so he took it off, just wearing a normal pair of pants without any magical properties and a spatial storage ring, the F rank fingerless glove artifact he would usually wear lying at one end of the training hall along with several tankards of water and what looked like some of Isaiah¡¯s favorite foods. Isaiah, on the other hand, was wearing his usual green armor, his spear and shield in his hands. And the hood and mask of his armor merged into his battle clothes as Krysta walked in. ¡°Why can I never win?¡± Aalam¡¯s voice was calm, as if what he was asking was actually a serious question, despite he as a crafter never using any artifacts other than the evilly sharp purple bastard sword which he was at this moment picking up from the training hall¡¯s floor, where it had seemingly fallen during the end of the fight. ¡°You have more variety in your techniques, but Isaiah¡¯s fundamentals are stronger.¡± Wolfram Gan, the Forest Cauldron¡¯s large red-haired guard captain responsible for their training, answered, sounding a bit resigned. ¡°You might have more stats, but you¡¯re completely outmatched in close combat skill, while this room is only so big. More important, however, you are a crafter, yet you¡¯ve made better artifacts for your opponent than for yourself.¡± ¡°So are you saying the only way I can win is if I make myself better artifacts? That doesn¡¯t seem fair.¡± Wolfram just stared at Aalam, his face and aura showing he was starting to get irritated. ¡°Yet you think it¡¯s fair Isaiah has artifacts better than any other E rank in the Forest Cauldron, even Krysta.¡± Wolfram pointed at her as she walked up and, while Krysta had to admit Isaiah¡¯s armor was better than her own, she didn¡¯t really want to be pulled into the conversation, especially as she could totally see how Aalam¡¯s communication style was starting to frustrate Mr. Gan. ¡°Yes.¡± Aalam nodded, his emotions unreadable, as usual when he wasn¡¯t deliberately projecting his aura. ¡°Without his artifacts, Isaiah wouldn¡¯t be able to compete, and then the training would be pretty much useless.¡± Wolfram seemed like he was about to get angry, but Isaiah quickly interjected, translating Aalam¡¯s intentions like a good knight should. ¡°Master, I think he¡¯s basically just asking for ways he can improve. And making new artifacts for himself, while it would definitely improve his power, wouldn¡¯t help that much in improving the skills he¡¯ll need during the War of the Chosen or at higher ranks.¡± ¡°Right, right. I¡¯m dealing with someone god touched.¡± Wolfram took a deep breath. And, at the same time, Aalam raised his left hand. ¡°Sorry for not being more clear.¡± ¡°No. Your question was reasonable. I just read more into it than I should have.¡± Wolfram stopped to think for a few seconds. ¡°It would probably be a good idea if you stopped focusing on your weaknesses and instead focused on your strengths. ¡°During the last few years, while your close combat skills have greatly improved, Isaiah has improved in that area even more, and, while this is partly because you don¡¯t have as much time to focus on it as he does, if you want me to be frank, it is also because you¡¯re just not as talented as he is when it comes to moving your own body. You are, however, extremely talented in Law control and fine energy manipulation, probably the best I¡¯ve ever seen at your rank, even in an alchemy organization. ¡°When you finally do get movement and offensive skills, along with a defensive skill that truly suits you and isn¡¯t just for merging with other skills, your energy control will allow you to make up for the slight difference in natural reaction speed and instinctive combat intelligence, so you don¡¯t need to focus on close combat so much. Instead, it would probably be better for you to focus more on using your energy control in combat, becoming able to draw more arrays faster.¡± Wolfram paused for a few seconds as Aalam seemed to be thinking about what he¡¯d said. ¡°But still, the greatest strength of your arrays is flexibility, not power. From what I understand, it¡¯s just not possible for them to ever be as powerful as the stable arrays you can attach to an artifact, let alone skills. So, I would still suggest making yourself an artifact if you want to improve your power at E rank.¡± Aalam seemed to keep thinking for a few seconds, but then his eyes grew wide and he started mumbling. ¡°The arrays on artifacts can be created over a long time, allowing them to be complicated. But the level of complexity doesn¡¯t equal strength. That¡¯s based on the amount of energy the runes in the arrays can handle, which is affected by the medium.¡± Aalam telekinetically summoned his glove artifact into his hands and made a spacetime teleportation array, disappearing from the training hall, but no one else was really surprised as Isaiah was used to Aalam, Krysta was used to her mom, and Wolfram had spent most of his life among alchemists. ¡°Well, it seems he just had an epiphany of some kind, so I guess my role of teacher is fulfilled.¡± Wolfram smiled widely, deservedly at least a little proud of himself. ¡°How about the two of you fight a few rounds and then we¡¯ll practice our energy control without the aberrant making us feel bad by comparison?¡± Chapter 212: Parvorax, Heavenly Scarab of Fire ¡°Hello, Little Joma.¡± When a god wanted to drop into Joma¡¯s virtual box at the Universal Auction, they were able to appear inside with just a thought, not having to knock on the door or anything else to show respect, but this one opened the door to enter, which was better than most of the gods who had come to visit before. Looking vaguely middle-eastern, with long hair seemingly made of living flames, eyes like two dying stars, and a large orange horn rising out from his forehead, Parvorax, the Heavenly Scarab of Fire, was Krysta¡¯s uncle and someone Joma had slept with multiple times in the past, so he had more of a personal connection with the Alchemist of the Deep Woods than most of the other gods which had visited. And, more important to Mila, he represented the faction of the Divine Child, the only one of the three main godly factions without an alchemist god, while Joma was the only living alchemist of A rank or higher specializing in the life element, making her the only A rank alchemist capable of crafting a large subsection of high rank alchemical products. For Joma, the faction of the Divine Child was her biggest backer, so, for making a deal concerning the 50% off coupon Mila had given her, it could only be with them. ¡°Hello, Parvorax.¡± Joma smiled as she stood up and gave the god a hug. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you.¡± ¡°You as well.¡± Parvorax took the seat by the room¡¯s window on Joma¡¯s other side and looked over at Mila. Then, unlike every other god who¡¯d visited, he actually acknowledged Mila¡¯s presence, nodding slightly in her direction before turning back to Joma. ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°The future wife of my second apprentice.¡± Joma sat back down, still smiling, Mila getting the distinct impression she wasn¡¯t just being courteous to the god. ¡°I¡¯m hoping to train her up to host auctions for the Forest Cauldron in the near future.¡± ¡°A second apprentice?¡± Looking back to Joma, Parvorax laughed, a rather deep and melodic sound that somehow gave Mila the feeling of a warm hearth. ¡°The first is some elf princess, right? I didn¡¯t know you took a second.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want others to know.¡± Joma leaned closer to the god conspiratorially. ¡°My second apprentice is incredibly talented, someone you¡¯ll likely hear about in a few thousand years¡¯ time, so I have to keep his existence under wraps so no one tries to steal him from me.¡± Parvorax smiled. ¡°Can you at least give me a hint?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a crafting generalist. Alchemy, forging, enchanting, he¡¯s good at all of them. And his Laws and energy control are top notch.¡± ¡°Even by your standards?¡± ¡°Beyond my standards, Parvorax.¡± Joma dropped her smile and looked serious. ¡°He¡¯s only E rank now. But, by the time he¡¯s A rank, he¡¯ll be able to make artifacts which even you would desire. So, I¡¯d recommend getting on his good side while he¡¯s young.¡± ¡°That talented?¡± ¡°Definitely more so than me.¡± ¡°Congratulations then.¡± Parvorax¡¯s expression hadn¡¯t changed throughout the conversation, just as Joma had expected when she¡¯d described to Mila¡¯s grandmother what she¡¯d say to each of Krysta¡¯s uncles depending on which one came to see her during the auction. Parvorax, like most gods, wasn¡¯t at all interested in E ranks, even extreme talents, and he¡¯d barely even glance at a B rank, only showing interest in Mila due to Joma. Most gods had lived an extremely long time, trillions of years at the least, and they¡¯d seen a lot as a result, so they generally only interacted with A ranks, and even then it was pretty much never as equals. Given his relation to Krysta, however, he¡¯d look into her surroundings a bit, so it was a good idea to give him preemptive information about Aalam, as that way he and his brothers would be too lazy to look into Aalam further, especially if they thought the information would be easy to learn at a later date. ¡°Do you need something, Parvorax? Or are you just here to visit?¡± ¡°My brother wants to know if you need anything for Krysta.¡± ¡°Nothing that could be bought at the Universal Auction.¡± Joma¡¯s smile was back. ¡°She¡¯s progressing well and I have everything she¡¯ll need up until B rank thanks to Kilvorax¡¯s previous help.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I haven¡¯t seen anything I thought would be particularly suited for her over the last eight months, but please do contact me if you see anything you think she¡¯d like.¡± Parvorax¡¯s smile grew into a grin. ¡°I have no problem spoiling my only niece.¡± With that, he stood up, but Joma stopped him from leaving with a few well timed words. ¡°Is the Divine Child interested in the final item up for auction this time?¡± Parvorax¡¯s smile changed slightly, looking proud as he sat back down, and Mila belatedly realized the relationship between the god and the alchemist was basically the same as between the alchemist and herself. Parvorax was much, much, much older than Joma, so he saw her mostly as a junior, not an equal, but a junior he was helping to raise, and one who might eventually reach his own level. ¡°What type of deal are you trying to make, Joma?¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Joma, however, just smiled back at him. ¡°My question first.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Parvorax chuckled slightly. ¡°The last item should be the location of the entrance to a newly linked material dimension, something all three factions will definitely fight over.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± Joma made a motion and Mila could sense a contract being initiated between Joma and the god. ¡°What do you think about the terms?¡± In the real world, Joma had summoned Irena to her side, Aalam off practicing something he¡¯d realized during an epiphany, and she quickly explained the nature of the contract she was proposing to the god. Parvorax, and by extension the Divine Child, would gain the 50% off coupon, and, in return, Joma would receive credits equal to 25% of the final item¡¯s final bet so long as the Divine Child¡¯s faction won, or 12.5% if they lost. In addition, Parvorax would buy any other item from the auction for her, with the amount he bet on the items deducted from the amount she would receive. Given Joma¡¯s deal with Mila, however, all items and credits earned from this deal would actually go to the United Federation of Planets, likely an absolutely ridiculous amount even if Parvorax haggled, so Mila felt really, really good, even if she didn¡¯t allow that feeling to appear in her aura or on her face. ¡°The amount is too high.¡± For the first time since entering, Parvorax actually seemed serious. ¡°I¡¯d agree to this if the end item were of lesser value, but we¡¯re talking a price worthy of access to an entire universe¡¯s treasures here, and that¡¯s not an amount it would be safe for you to hold onto. ¡°Would you be okay with a twelfth of what you¡¯re asking? I¡¯d be willing to agree to a reasonable minimum as well.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Joma pretended like she was thinking, but in the real world she and Irena were almost jumping up and down as this was their best case scenario, giving Joma the chance to haggle for exactly what the United Federation of Planets would really want. ¡°In that case I think it would only be right for you to add some unique items from your faction¡¯s collections in return.¡± ¡°That would be possible, depending on the items.¡± Parvorax¡¯s expression grew proud again. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Let me modify the terms of the contract to add the list.¡± Joma modified the terms and Parvorax¡¯s expression grew slightly shocked. Then a big grin spread across his face. ¡°You did your research beforehand and figured out almost exactly the line we¡¯d be willing to agree to.¡± Joma just smiled. In actual fact, Nana Xara, an A rank who¡¯d lived much, much longer than her, and thus had a much better idea of the treasures owned by the gods, had made several lists depending on how expensive the final item would be and how much the Divine Child¡¯s faction would want it, and Joma had been able to learn a lot from seeing the lists, while not losing anything. ¡°You have a planet undergoing integration?¡± ¡°The force I bought the coupon from does, and I¡¯ve agreed to give them reasonable compensation depending on what I can get for myself.¡± ¡°Anyone I should be worried about?¡± Parvorax didn¡¯t sound like he cared much but was asking the question mainly so he could say he had. ¡°No. It is a young force which has yet to make any true allies or enemies, at least at the level you would care about. They happened to luck into some special circumstances, however, and the System rewarded them as a result.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Parvorax started grinning again and, from Joma¡¯s description of the man when Mila had asked several years ago, Mila guessed it was because he was getting to act big in front of the other gods of the Divine Child¡¯s faction in the real world or at other locations in the auction venue. ¡°I¡¯ve asked and those items could be given, as can all the crafting materials and the various plants. But the Collector wants to know if there is any negotiation room when it comes to the dragon.¡± ¡°No.¡± Joma shook her head and Mila watched as Parvorax seemed to grow slightly excited. ¡°The dragon is not negotiable.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Parvorax was quiet for a few seconds and then he reached out and patted Joma on the shoulder. ¡°Well done. Master got even the Collector to agree and only master and I know the deal was with you.¡± He then turned to look at Mila. ¡°But, given the secrecy you desired, is it okay for her to have been in the room?¡± ¡°The dragon is for her fianc¨¦ when he later advances to B or A rank, and that¡¯s the main thing I want to keep secret.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Parvorax smiled at Mila, giving her the sense of the energizing warmth of the sun on a chilly fall day, and then he looked back to Joma. ¡°Do tell me if anything else in the auction interests you and I¡¯ll be sure to buy it.¡± With that, he disappeared, and, in the real world, Joma turned to Irena. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but your home planet is only turning into an E rank world, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± With Mila¡¯s permission, Irena gave some of their information. ¡°The divine residence could help raise it to C rank, and, along with the coupons, we received a reward to help our planet increase one rank further, so it should end up as B rank, thus our desire to add features to it.¡± Joma started chuckling to herself, sounding more resigned than happy, but then she shook her head. ¡°Talent and power at an extreme tend to only grow more extreme, and you guys are starting to see the benefits of yours.¡± Meanwhile, on an E rank planet about ten galaxy clusters away from Earth, Mila was in the middle of scouting out a new target for increasing their Territory, so she couldn¡¯t jump up and down and scream out in happiness like she wanted to, but she still felt good. The items had already been transferred to her via the System, which would allow her to summon them to her side at any time, and they were amazing. Two would automatically create new natural wonders on Earth so long as it was undergoing an E rank integration for two years after they were implanted into the planet. And another was a special subspace which could be added to the planet to effectively quintuple its usable land no matter what rank it rose to. But her favorite improvement to Earth was a special artifact called a primal energy well, which would double the amount of ambient primal energy on the planet no matter what rank it rose to. There were also a whole lot of materials which they could later use to create C and even B rank artifacts, as well as quite a few plant clippings and seeds which could be planted on an A rank world such as Earth would turn into to create reusable A rank alchemical materials. But by far the most expensive item they¡¯d asked for was something a god under the Divine Child known as the Collector had bought as the final item of a Universal Auction more than five trillion years ago to add to his ever growing collection of unique items, an A rank Order Dragon with the Empyrean grade bloodline Incarnation of Order, preserved right before its death. Order Dragons, along with Chaos and Divine Dragons, were one tier higher than Balance Dragons like Isaiah, and they were incredibly rare as a result. But this was especially the case for A rank dragons of these species, as they only became B ranks as adults and actually had to work to reach A rank. Add the incredibly rare and powerful Incarnation of Order bloodline on top and there wasn¡¯t a better creature in the universe for Aalam to use his Genetic Thief bloodline on when advancing his race to C rank, at least not one whose power he¡¯d theoretically be able to absorb. Mila felt very satisfied, as, like Diana had said, everything seemed to be falling into place, but part of her still felt uneasy. Things were going too well and the pessimistic part of Mila just couldn¡¯t help feeling like some disaster was on the horizon, one that she just wasn¡¯t able to see. Chapter 213: Confrontation Reginald followed Princess Henrietta and Lady Krysta into the conference room, which, like most of the important buildings in the Forest Cauldron, had been grown out of wood, and was surprised by who was inside. First and foremost, there was Krysta¡¯s mother, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, one of the twelve A ranks with the highest potential according to the information of the Vin Clan. Then there was one of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s C rank guard captains, the youngest one with the most talent, Wolfram Gan. And next to Wolfram was an equally large man with indigo reptilian eyes who was likely the guard member who¡¯d been gaining fame over the last several years, Isaiah Kent. Finally, sitting next to the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, was an E rank human woman he didn¡¯t recognize, blond with blue eyes. When he entered, however, the blonde woman and Isaiah both focused on him, seeming to radiate murderous intent, and this caused his instincts to trigger, his battle axe almost immediately appearing in his hand. And, in response, Isaiah stood up and summoned a spear and shield into his own hands, the green robe he was wearing flowing over his body, adding a hood and crystalline mask as his aura flared, quite a bit more powerful than even that of Lady Krysta, and well above Reginald¡¯s own. ¡°Well, this is interesting.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods smiled as she turned to Isaiah. ¡°I understand your anger, but do you honestly believe either of you could do anything here without my permission?¡± ¡°Apologies.¡± Isaiah bowed slightly and quickly put away his weapons, deactivated his armor, and retook his seat. Then Reginald, as the alchemist turned her eyes to him, quickly put his battle axe away as well, but, seeing the looks of disapproval even Captain Gan and Lady Krysta were now sending toward him, he no longer felt safe. ¡°Master, what¡¯s going on?¡± Princess Henrietta asked, both her aura and face showing confusion. ¡°Some internal issues concerning my second apprentice and whether he¡¯ll allow you to join his force for the next War of the Chosen.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods looked over to a far corner of the room, where a spatial portal opened up, like those Krysta usually used in combat but with time magic mixed in as well. ¡°I¡¯ll let him explain.¡± Bright amber eyes, almost black shoulder length blue hair, and a nearly perfect face, the aura was wrong, and E rank instead of F, but Reginald recognized the man who stepped through the portal. He was the one who¡¯d knocked him out of the F rank Trial Tower, the one responsible for him having to go off and fight in wars for half his life to have a chance to rise within his clan. But, more important to his current situation, he was a man Reginald had nearly tortured to death, albeit within a simulated reality. ¡°Reginald has seen me before in the F rank Trial Tower.¡± The handsome man looked at Princess Henrietta and she nearly swooned, allowing Reginald to know the one ally he¡¯d thought he could rely on was almost certainly not going to be on his side. ¡°And that has created a security concern.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my junior apprentice?¡± Princess Henrietta completely ignored the implications about Reginald, seeming completely uncaring about his fate, and Reginald finally realized who he was dealing with. The man in front of him, the one against whom he¡¯d committed the most horrible act of his life, was the shopkeeper his princess had a huge crush on, yet it seemed he wasn¡¯t just a shopkeeper. ¡°Yes.¡± The man took a seat on the other side of the table from the door, next to Isaiah Kent, and indicated for Princess Henrietta, Lady Krysta, and possibly Reginald himself to sit. ¡°And you¡¯re someone who employs sadists, making me want to reconsider the deal my chamberlain made with our master.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± Without even thinking about the position they were in, or the politics involved, Princess Henrietta turned to look at Reginald with anger clearly written on her face and aura. Seeing as he didn¡¯t have a single friend in the room and Isaiah Kent and the blonde woman were both still radiating killing intent toward him, Reginald didn¡¯t see any point in lying. ¡°During the F rank Trial Tower I tortured him to near death, though the end result in the real world was my loss and him stealing most of my personal wealth.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± The second apprentice of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods indicated for them to sit again and this time Reginald complied, sitting across from the man as Lady Krysta moved to sit next to her mother and Princess Henrietta abandoned him to sit next to her friend. ¡°I rather expected you to try and lie. ¡°Are you willing to answer some questions under oath?¡± Reginald looked from the handsome man, to Isaiah Kent radiating anger, to the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, who seemed mildly interested, and then back to the handsome man. ¡°What happens if I say no?¡± ¡°I kill you, my master and chamberlain work together to cover up the murder, and your princess loses a 90 plus percent chance of gaining a uniqueness.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Reginald looked at the man, who was somehow radiating an aura of space and time despite obviously having been following the path of the Heavenly Spark as an F rank, and realized he couldn¡¯t read the man¡¯s aura at all. From the aura of others in the room, however, especially Lady Krysta, he was pretty sure the man wasn¡¯t joking. Still, judging by the man¡¯s words, the issue was more the fact he¡¯d taken off the mask the man had been wearing in the F rank Trial Tower, not that he had tortured him, so, given what he¡¯d done with that information, it was still possible he might be able to live. ¡°Sure.¡± Then, as he agreed, the terms of a contract appeared before his eyes. The Alchemist of the Deep Woods has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. All secrets revealed or realized during your time at the headquarters of the Forest Cauldron will not be shared unless explicit permission is granted by the individual whose secrets they are
  2. You must honestly answer every question asked of you by anyone in the room where and when this contract is agreed to other than those which violate term 1 unless the other party explicitly grants you the permission to lie
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No Reginald looked at the Alchemist of the Deep Woods and considered whether he wanted to agree to the contract. The second clause gave no time period, effectively forcing him to honestly answer any questions from anyone currently in the room for the rest of his life, yet there were some types of questions outside the line of inquiry this meeting seemed about which he would not be comfortable answering. ¡°Your contract, as written, could force me to betray my clan if asked. Could we change the terms?¡± ¡°You could always choose not to answer and the outcome would be the same as if you never agreed to the contract.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods smiled pleasantly at him, but Reginald realized she didn¡¯t seem to like him much and was very much not on his side. Torture for absolutely no reason was a pretty sadistic act, however, and the Alchemist of the Deep Woods was no monster, so it made sense. ¡°Wait.¡± Princess Henrietta turned away from the handsome man to look at her teacher. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of a contract which could force him to reveal my clan¡¯s secrets.¡± ¡°Noted.¡± The alchemist smiled at her student, but then looked back to Reginald, ignoring Princess Henrietta¡¯s complaint, and Reginald realized Princess Henrietta didn¡¯t actually have any power in the room. So, he agreed to the contract. In response, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods nodded to the handsome man. ¡°Feel free to ask your questions.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± The handsome man smiled pleasantly at him, seemingly not actually that angry about the whole torture thing. ¡°Who did you tell about me?¡± ¡°No one.¡± Reginald, just as he would have even without the contract, answered honestly. ¡°I was embarrassed, so I lied and said I lost to a fire mage, not telling anyone about the money you took.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The handsome man nodded. ¡°And how many people have you brutally tortured other than me?¡± ¡°None.¡± Reginald bowed his head slightly, feeling both regret at angering such an obviously influential figure as well as actual remorse for his actions. ¡°That¡¯s the only time in my life I¡¯ve done something like that.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding.¡± The pleasant smile on the handsome man¡¯s face disappeared and he started glaring at Reginald. ¡°People don¡¯t just do something so unimaginably evil without any gradual buildup.¡± Everyone in the room other than Princess Henrietta, Wolfram Gan, and Reginald himself turned to look at the handsome man with incredulous expressions, and the man raised his hands in response, his expression looking a bit guilty. ¡°Sorry. I misspoke. I meant there must be something to trigger such an extreme act.¡± He looked back at Reginald. ¡°Was there such a reason? And, if so, what was it?¡± Reginald felt very much like he was missing something, and he could tell Princess Henrietta was feeling the same way. Wolfram Gan, however, seemed to have realized why everyone else had turned on the handsome man whose name was most likely not World Guardian, and that led Reginald to believe he was in on the man¡¯s secrets, but not as close to him as the other four. Still, whatever evil act the handsome man had done, it didn¡¯t really matter. Due to the contract, Reginald had to answer. So, despite it paining him to do so, for the first time in a long while he talked about his dad. ¡°My father died of old age about a year before the F rank trial tower, as an E rank despite being one of the most talented cultivators the Vin clan had ever produced. And this was because he tried to follow the path of the Heavenly Spark. ¡°He¡¯d taken out loans he couldn¡¯t afford to try and advance to D rank, putting my family heavily in debt, but he failed. And a lot of pressure was put on my shoulders as a result to try and get a Highgenion flower from the F rank Trial Tower¡¯s rewards.¡± He pointed at Princess Henrietta and then looked down at the table again. ¡°Due to the princess¡¯s situation at the time, we were hoping to trade it to the main family of the clan to clear our debts. ¡°When I saw you in the trial tower, I took out the anger I had toward my father on you. It wasn¡¯t fair. And I don¡¯t have any excuse. But that¡¯s the reason.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The handsome man looked thoughtful for a few seconds, leaning back in his chair. ¡°Alright. I forgive you. I did at least manage to give an awesome one liner before my death.¡± He started to smile. ¡°And how many times am I going to have the chance to do that?¡± The handsome man then rose from his feet, created another portal by seemingly drawing a runic array in the air with just his mind, and stepped through it, leaving Reginald somewhat stunned and causing the Alchemist of the Deep Woods to roll her eyes before looking at the blonde woman next to her. ¡°Why does he seem to think he¡¯s in charge here?¡± The blonde woman in turn, an E rank without a terrifying aura like Isaiah Kent, raised an eyebrow at the A rank powerhouse. ¡°Because you let him do things like leave without acknowledging anyone.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods nodded. ¡°Right. ¡°I should probably stop doing that.¡± ¡°It would be a good idea.¡± The blonde woman looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°Though he¡¯ll probably be lording over all of us relatively soon, so it might just be a better idea to explain to him why it¡¯s rude.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods looked thoughtful. ¡°You have a point.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Princess Henrietta raised her hand. ¡°Would you mind explaining what¡¯s going on now, Master?¡± Chapter 214: Last 12 Items of the Auction ¡°So, the daily silent auctions are done and we¡¯re down to the final twelve items.¡± The Mistress of Gold smiled at everyone, her snake tail moving back and forth in what Joma had explained was a sign of pleasure. ¡°And all of these twelve items are amazing.¡± A book appeared hovering over the goddess¡¯s left hand, not looking special at all, a gray cover with green lines flowing over it in a pattern that wasn¡¯t text of any kind. But Mila recognized the pattern for what it was, as Aalam carried around two similar books in his spatial storage device, a complicated magical array. ¡°Some of you might recognize this artifact as one of Camoran¡¯s 108 Puzzle Books,¡± the Mistress of Gold continued her pitch. ¡°And you might be wondering why it is worth its status as the first of the last twelve items for this instance of the Universal Auction. ¡°For those that don¡¯t, however, here is the breakdown of the common knowledge surrounding this artifact. Camoran the Spirit Smith was the greatest A rank smith of all time within our universe and any other we¡¯ve found. Upon his death, he entrusted 108 special puzzle books to the System. When all the puzzles in all the books are solved, they will enable any B rank or lower who holds them to teleport to the hidden demiplane where the smith lived, and there they will compete with the holders of the other 107 books to gain Camoran¡¯s full posthumous inheritance. ¡°What isn¡¯t common knowledge, however, was that Camoran himself inherited the legacy of three fallen gods during his lifetime and, possibly more important for those crafters in the universe, the full inheritance of Runemaster Alashan, the originator of the most efficient and complete runic language I at least have ever heard of. ¡°Camoran¡¯s contribution to the safety of our universe was so high the System has hidden his inheritance site for over 45 trillion years, not even gods able to find it despite several trying very, very hard.¡± The Mistress of Gold grinned as she deliberately cast her gaze to three paintings among the gods, one of the other merchant gods and two others who¡¯d also seemingly tried to find the demiplane in vain. ¡°But why exactly did they try so hard?¡± She cast her gaze over the various boxes holding the universe¡¯s A ranks. ¡°Well, that¡¯s because Camoran¡¯s inheritance consists of more than just artifact blueprints, hidden runic combinations, and other types of knowledge. There are at least four confirmed divine artifacts, and likely at least a dozen more, along with countless materials thought lost to the ages. But the biggest part of Camoran¡¯s inheritance is his own legacy, the origin of his title, the technique to guarantee awakening spirits in artifacts, greatly boosting their potential.¡± The Mistress of Gold held up the book in front of her with both hands. ¡°This chance at wealth and power alone is enough for this 108th puzzle book to be worth millions of A rank universal credits normally, but there is an additional reason why the minimum bidding price on this item will be 2,985,984 A rank universal credits, allowing it to be worthy of its status as first among the last twelve items at this Universal Auction. ¡°The conditions for the 108th puzzle book to be sold are having 81 of the puzzle books fully solved, with the remaining 26 at least half way there. But the System has confirmed, of the 107 puzzle books out in the wild, all but two have been solved completely, most within the last two thousand years, and the last two are in the hands of someone who will be fully capable of solving them within a few dozen years.¡± The Mistress of Gold smiled warmly at everyone in the auction hall. ¡°With that, should we start the bidding?¡± Bidding for items from the main stage was done through the System, just like with the silent auctions, no one shouting out, but the difference was that the identity of the bidder was available for everyone to see. So, without a certain amount of strength, bidding for items on the main stage was generally a bad idea. Nana Xara, in her own box, had pretty much revealed her identity when she¡¯d bid on the Bloodforged Living Armor, the main materials for the array to temporarily raise the rank of Earth, and other materials so Aalam could make high rank weapons in the future, causing quite a bit of a stir, several A ranks even visiting Joma¡¯s box to discuss it. But Nana Xara had known this would happen, and had prepared for it, her identity presented by the System as the Bound Spirit of the Yin Yang Sage, not a title which would make people think she was free. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. No enemies had yet tried to visit her, but, according to her, she had been visited by three old friends, other independent A ranks like her who wouldn¡¯t be of much help to Mila or the United Federation of Planets, so Mila just remembered their names for the future. ¡°Going once. Going twice. Sold to the founder of the human race, the Primordial Sovereign himself, for 429,981,697 A rank universal credits.¡± The Mistress of Gold bowed toward the painting of a plain Arab-looking man, the eldest of the three heads of the Human Ancestor faction, and the book over her hands disappeared. Then the Mistress of Gold raised her head and a blood-colored sword appeared in her right hand. And, just by looking at it, even in the soul space created by the System, Mila felt a sense of primal fear enter directly into her soul. ¡°Now for the second item, the legendary Bloodspilling Blade.¡± The next seven items after Camoran¡¯s 108th Puzzle Book were all amazingly powerful A rank artifacts, things only particularly powerful A ranks or gods could afford to bid on, and seeing them widened Mila¡¯s horizons as every single one, even in the soul space, caused her emotions to surge in an unnatural direction just from looking at them. The ninth item, however, was slightly different. It was also an A rank artifact, but it wasn¡¯t a weapon, armor, or anything else used in combat. Instead, it was a twelve-floored pagoda useful for training, a failed experiment of the Lady of Laws herself. It would gather primal energy and split it into twelve parts, filling each floor with an extreme power of one of the twelve elements, making it useful for raising spirits or practicing single element cultivation techniques, but, unlike the Lady of Laws¡¯ intent, it had no effect on helping speed up the practice of Laws. So, as a result, her experiment was a failure and she¡¯d decided to sell the Twelve Element Pagoda at the auction, hoping it could prove useful to someone else. And, judging from the way Aalam grew excited when he saw it through Mila¡¯s shared senses, it seemed that someone else would be him. Mila didn¡¯t react in the soul space, but, in the real world, Joma was with Aalam and Aalam quickly said, ¡°That pagoda. I want it.¡± ¡°It would be an added risk to buy an artifact like that.¡± Joma looked at him calmly. ¡°Do you just want it for some sort of experiment, or does this have something to do with your advancement path?¡± ¡°My path.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± Joma nodded. In the soul space, she contacted Parvorax, saying she¡¯d made a deal with an independent force who wanted their purchase to be secret and had no enmity with the faction of the Divine Child. At the same time, in the real world, she explained to Aalam that this type of deal wasn¡¯t uncommon, and was one of the reasons the gods allowed neutral A ranks like her, so it probably wouldn¡¯t be looked into too deeply. But it was still an added risk due to the attention it would bring from the gods. Meanwhile, in the auction space, one of Parvorax and Kilvorax¡¯s other brothers, Mokvorax, the Heavenly Scarab of Death, began bidding on the Twelve Element Pagoda, and, as there wasn¡¯t much competition, he managed to buy it for only 8,957,953 A rank universal credits, the cheapest artifact among the last twelve so far. The remaining two A rank artifacts then went for a lot more, both famous weapons, a spear and a bow respectively, but they were followed by the final item, the location and the System approved control over the only known stable entrance to a new universe, and the bidding went absolutely insane. Only three individuals were bidding, the Divine Child, the Lady of Laws, and the Primordial Sovereign, but the very first bid by the Lady of Laws was already 5,159,780,352 A rank universal credits, and the amount only increased from there. In the end, the Divine Child secured the entrance to the new universe for 743,008,370,689 A rank universal credits and, almost instantly, 15,470,383,103 A rank universal credits were transferred into the United Federation of Planets¡¯ account, one forty-eighth of the bid minus the cost of the Twelve Element Pagoda, an amount which was so large it was ridiculous. Mila felt good, on top of the universe, and, for just a minute, she thought everything was going to go well, at least for a while. But then her mind which had been sharing the senses of her teacher along with Diana for the last part of the auction noticed something. Someone else had entered into Nana Xara¡¯s private room and, by the unannounced way she¡¯d entered, she was a goddess. For a goddess, however, she was quite plain looking, with no odd features, and, like the other five divine children of the Primordial Sovereign in the human ancestor faction, she appeared mostly middle-eastern. But, unlike in her picture on the wall of the auction hall, Bellessia of the Primordial Humans, the youngest goddess in their universe, wasn¡¯t wearing a black veil. And, unlike what Mila had expected from such a picture, the goddess¡¯s aura wasn¡¯t one of death or darkness, but of extreme life, with strong elemental powers of life, earth, and water. This wasn¡¯t a goddess of war like the few stories Mila had heard about her, but one of growth and nurture. More important to Mila, however, was how Diana, when seeing the goddess through Nana Xara¡¯s senses, was having an intense and obvious emotional reaction, sitting up from the hospital chair where she was having an ultrasound and quietly mouthing the word ¡®mom¡¯. For a second, Mila thought maybe this was a good thing. If Aalam and Diana were technically part of the human ancestors faction, there wasn¡¯t really a better backing they could ask for. But then she felt how Nana Xara¡¯s soul started to tremble, and she saw the arrogant smile on the goddess¡¯s lips. Something very, very bad was about to happen, and it was completely outside of Mila¡¯s control. Chapter 215: Something Very, Very Bad Life, up until her mother appeared, was good. Superhuman vitality and endurance made pregnancy far simpler than pre-integration and, while Isaiah only coming back to Earth a couple times a week wasn¡¯t ideal, she was pretty sure he was planning on proposing on her birthday, and she was going to say yes. Even with Aalam¡¯s reoccurring nightmares after going supervillain on the Violet Mountain Sect, this was probably the best time in her life when it came to family, at least since her father died when she was young. But seeing her mother, who¡¯d abandoned them just after Aalam was born, alive, healthy, and apparently a powerful goddess, well, that brought back some extreme emotions. And, when Nana Xara started talking to her and Mila through their bonds, in an unnaturally calm voice, those extreme emotions all quickly turned to fear. ¡°Diana, run as fast as you can to the Steel Swamp Blessed Land and get to an area which blocks off bonds.¡± In the auction space, Nana Xara stood up, holding her body up with her cane, and calmly looked at Bellessia. ¡°Mila, make your way back to Earth as quickly as possible. And get Aalam, Isaiah, and Irena back there as well. You are likely about to lose the support of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods. And you need to move Earth as quickly as possible.¡± Diana was stunned for a full three seconds, but then, as quickly as she could, she rose from the exam chair where she¡¯d been getting an ultrasound¡ªstartling the doctor and nurse in the room¡ªand smashed through the window with pure strength. Then she summoned her pegasus-shaped yang spirit, merged with it, and flew as fast as she could toward the nearest teleportation platform. Before she could even make it a kilometer, however, she started to feel pain all over her body, as if every single cell was burning, and her control over her power almost immediately failed, the merge with her yang spirit cancelling, causing the spirit to flow back into her soul. She started falling, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. As a powerful E rank, falling from such a height wasn¡¯t deadly, and it barely even hurt, but there she was, sprawled on the roof of an office building outside Boston, wearing only a loose hospital gown, and she couldn¡¯t move. Thankfully, her spirits could operate autonomously, and after the shock they all quickly exited her soul, so she wasn¡¯t completely helpless. But still, it felt like she was dying, as if her entire body was alternately on fire and buried in ice, and her baby, her and Isaiah¡¯s little girl, was already gone. * * * Watching through Diana¡¯s senses as she was cursed to death was terrifying, and it almost didn¡¯t register to Mila that the baby was already dead. Given she had seven minds, however, she was able to at least attempt to make sure things didn¡¯t get worse. While three of her minds were going crazy with panic, including the one that had just left Joma¡¯s auction space, the other four quickly got to work as soon as Nana Xara had given her orders. One controlled her body to race through the planet she¡¯d been scouting, rushing back to the teleportation platform, focusing on speed and nothing else. And, at the same time, the other three lied to Diana¡¯s brother, her boyfriend, and Mila¡¯s own grandmother, telling them there were complications with Diana¡¯s pregnancy so they should rush back to Earth, even reminding Aalam to ask his master to transfer over the System rights to the items from the Divine Child¡¯s faction as soon as she got them as he might need to stay on Earth for a while. Aalam hadn¡¯t noticed yet, as he had several hundred servant bonds by this point, but Mila felt it immediately as the bond between her and Diana grew weaker and weaker. Diana was going to die, and none of them could get back in time. ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you mother of the era?¡± In the auction space¡¯s private room, Nana Xara frowned at Bellessia. ¡°Even by your family¡¯s standards, this is cold.¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t have Alashan reborn as a primordial and allow him to live.¡± Bellessia¡¯s voice was calm and composed, not manic and gleeful, not angry and hysteric, the only strong emotion present in her voice and bearing a large dose of pride. ¡°And if he couldn¡¯t live, why not take you down with him?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Hmm.¡± Nana Xara nodded once as she placed both her hands on her cane in front of her. ¡°So Aalam has the same truesoul as Alashan. That isn¡¯t very surprising. ¡°But I don¡¯t understand why that means you¡¯d have to kill him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an A rank.¡± Bellessia smiled slightly. ¡°You don¡¯t understand the workings of fate.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Nana Xara smiled back, pretending to be completely unperturbed. ¡°He would have killed you all, or at least have had the power to do so.¡± Truesouls were only the genetic component of souls. They had a lot to do with cultivation talent and personality, but not much else. They didn¡¯t maintain karma. They didn¡¯t maintain memories. And they didn¡¯t maintain any type of power. Nothing gained from a previous life would transfer over. But several forces in the universe tracked the reincarnation of particularly talented truesouls, so it wasn¡¯t surprising the human ancestors faction of gods was one of them, nor their ability to tell in advance to what mother a truesoul would be reborn. From what Mila had learned, gods in general were good at looking into the workings of fate, and it very much seemed Diana and Aalam¡¯s mother had looked into the fate of Earth, figured out how many apprentices Nana Xara could take, and then somehow birthed that many children on Earth, planning even before getting pregnant to kill them via a bloodline curse at the end of the Universal Auction, likely so she could watch Nana Xara¡¯s reaction. Nana Xara¡¯s soul could only be reborn if she accepted an apprentice at G rank who then rose to become a god. And, given her deal with the System, she only had two chances to take apprentices, so this was effectively a way to permanently kill her. Mila, however, had the Shadow Princess uniqueness, which made her resistant to karma and divinations, so her interactions with Aalam before the integration of Earth, which had almost certainly contributed to him awakening to the Id uniqueness rather than whatever he would have awakened to without her interference, completely messed up Bellessia¡¯s planning, causing Aalam to commit suicide and Nana Xara to not take him on as an apprentice even when he was going to be reborn as a monster. Due to Mila¡¯s existence, Bellessia had made a mistake, so she was only able to kill Diana and her soon to be born daughter, and said daughter¡¯s existence possibly contributed to Bellessia¡¯s confusion in thinking Aalam was dead as well depending on how the bloodline curse worked, so Nana Xara had only lost one of her apprentices. But, depending on what Bellessia¡¯s plans for Earth were, and the fact Aalam¡¯s suicide was public knowledge, her mistake would soon be discovered, and that was going to put them all in a ridiculous amount of danger, especially Mila, as those with shadow line uniquenesses, in particular high grade ones like hers, were generally hunted down and killed by gods. ¡°So Diana was what, just an extra nail in my coffin?¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice remained calm, as if she was discussing groceries, not the death of her best hope to continue to live. ¡°I¡¯m a goddess of marriage and motherhood, Xara.¡± Bellessia, who looked much younger than Nana Xara despite being over a couple dozen billion years old, smirked slightly. ¡°Unlike most gods, I can have as many children as I want. ¡°And I¡¯ve already watched over a hundred of my children die. So what¡¯s one more?¡± Seeing Nana Xara¡¯s complete lack of reaction, however, Bellessia frowned. ¡°But why do you seem so nonchalant about the loss of your only chance to live?¡± ¡°Should I scream and shout at you?¡± This time it was Nana Xara¡¯s turn to smirk, though Mila was pretty sure she was acting so as to get under Bellessia¡¯s skin. ¡°Raising a G rank all the way up to godhood was always going to be a long shot, so I accepted I was going to die a long, long time ago. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. My death won¡¯t be as pathetic as your husband¡¯s.¡± ¡°You.¡± At the mention of her husband, Bellessia showed anger for the first time. ¡°Avon¡¯s death wasn¡¯t pathetic.¡± ¡°He died from one of my plagues, Bellessia. It was painful, he was screaming to the end, and he was covered in his own filth.¡± Nana Xara actually laughed, though it was noticeably different than any time she had done so since Mila¡¯d met her, sounding far less jovial, and far more evil. ¡°You can trust me on this. I was there.¡± Bellessia scowled at her. ¡°And now you¡¯re going to die as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already dead, Bellessia.¡± Nana Xara continued smirking. ¡°I died over 1,728 years ago. And now I¡¯m just waiting for my soul to dissipate.¡± Nana Xara laughed again. ¡°Yet you went so far as to murder your own children just to keep me here. I guess I should be honored.¡± ¡°There were other concerns as well.¡± Bellessia glared at Nana Xara, almost all of her calm gone. ¡°Killing you was just a happy side effect.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Nana Xara nodded. ¡°The last two books of Camoran the Spirit Smith. I¡¯m not sure what your family wants from that inheritance, but you don¡¯t have to worry too much. You won¡¯t be getting it.¡± Bellessia¡¯s eyes grew wide, and Mila, not fully knowing the goddess, was still over 95% sure Nana Xara had guessed right about what Bellessia¡¯s true plan had been, though Mila herself was missing a few pieces of information to truly understand. ¡°The books, you did something with them?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Nana Xara nodded. ¡°They¡¯re hot commodities only someone like Aalam could gain access to, but they¡¯re not that useful in and of themselves while it seemed your force wanted them from the way your father just bid on the 108th book. The Lady of Laws put out a bounty and Aalam gave up his books for a high price just a few dozen minutes before you started your curse.¡± Mila quickly did a search through the soul net and discovered the bounty was true. One of the gods under the Lady of Laws had offered a 35,831,808 A rank universal credit bounty for any puzzle book which was not completely solved. And, from her face, it seemed Bellessia had done the same search as well. If the Lady of Laws gained access to one of the books, she could just never allow the puzzles inside to be solved, and that would almost certainly derail the plans of the human ancestor faction. ¡°If that¡¯s all, Bellessia, I¡¯ll go off to my own private soul space and wait to die.¡± Nana Xara bowed slightly, and then her soul disappeared from the auction space, returning to her own private area from which she usually spent most of her time spying on Mila and Diana. ¡°Mila, hurry up. She¡¯s almost certainly heading to Earth herself or has already sent someone.¡± Nana Xara sounded far, far more worried than the calm tone she¡¯d used with Bellessia. ¡°You need to move fast or everyone on Earth is going to die.¡± Chapter 216: The Universe Does Not Reward Good People Mila made it to Earth, used the local teleportation network to travel to Boston, and then telekinetically flew as quickly as possible to the rooftop where Diana had fallen. There, thankfully, just as Nana Xara had explained after she¡¯d left Bellessia, Mila didn¡¯t find the dead body of her friend. Instead, she found the remaining materials needed for creating the array which could temporarily raise Earth to B rank randomly strewn about, which she quickly gathered into the several spatial storage devices she carried on her person. ¡°Aalam,¡± she then sent, her voice calm, ¡°when you get to Earth, come to the Steel Swamp Blessed Land. And try to hurry.¡± Aalam, still in the Forest Cauldron¡¯s headquarters, quickened his pace, and Mila flew back to the teleportation platform, teleported herself to Zakynthos, and then hurried through the portal into the blessed land. ¡°Jeeves, start the process of closing off the blessed land and prepare to move to the coordinates I provided a few years ago!¡± Mila shouted as soon as she was inside. Then, as the large wolf-like antlered beast AI showed up next to her, Mila started moving as fast as possible toward the blessed land¡¯s former dungeons. ¡°Ms. Chamberlain,¡± the AI said politely, hovering next to her as she ran, ¡°Lady Diana has been stabilized in her room, but some kind of curse is still eating away at her. ¡°I¡¯ll move to follow your directions now.¡± With that, the AI disappeared, and Mila quickly made her way to the bedroom Diana and Isaiah shared in the largest of the former dungeons of the Steel Swamp Blessed Land. There she could see the movie posters from Diana¡¯s collection from before the integration, the ones for The Princess Bride and The Avengers the most prominent, and even one for The Terminator in a place visible from the bed, which Mila¡¯d never understood. On one wall was a bookshelf, filled with both novels and figurines of anime characters and classic movie villains. And on the other there was a TV connected to all the latest game systems, currently showing a paused play through of a new remake of the Star Wars game The Knights of the Old Republic. Mila didn¡¯t focus on any of this, however, as her eyes were immediately drawn to Diana lying on the room¡¯s large king bed, looking incredibly pale with blood leaking out of almost every orifice. Her eight spirits surrounded her, using their power to activate the set of three portable array disks Nana Xara had bought for Mila during the auction. The combined array had the ability to trap the soul of a being if set up before the being died, and it was only through this array, and Diana¡¯s spirits quickly bringing her into the room where karmic bonds were sealed and thus the curse couldn¡¯t reach, that Diana was still alive, albeit barely. Nana Xara had reacted as soon as Bellessia had started the curse on Diana, almost instantly creating the quests she¡¯d already designed long before the auction, ones they¡¯d already met the completion requirements for, and Diana¡¯s spirits, who were a part of her and shared her consciousness as if they were extra minds, accepted the quests and used one of the resulting rewards, the array disks, to delay Diana¡¯s death long enough to get her into the Steel Swamp Blessed Land. Given they¡¯d already known the auction was coming up before their war with the Violet Mountain Sect, Nana Xara had delayed giving Mila and Diana most of the quests she could task them with during E rank so they could get subsets of Nana Xara¡¯s purchases from the auction for immediate use by using quests like having a perfect victory in a war against a B rank force without receiving any outside help. The reasoning had been practical, so they could maximize their rewards, not because they¡¯d foreseen an immediate need for any of the resources, but this practicality had ended up saving Diana¡¯s life, at least for now. Seeing that Diana was still suffering, the curse still affecting her, Mila could tell Diana needed immediate intervention in order for her to not die like her child, but Mila also knew she wasn¡¯t the one who could give such intervention, so she quickly left the room. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. There were things she could do before Aalam¡¯s arrival, so she started doing them. First, she went under the water off the beach and found the large dao guide statue of Nana Xara which Diana had been using and moved it with telekinesis into the blessed land. The statue was made of A rank materials, and could possibly stop the teleportation of Earth she was planning, but the blessed land would have no trouble moving with more treasures inside itself. Then she placed all her spatial storage treasures holding the materials for the array to raise Earth to B rank inside the blessed land as well, as they could also possibly interfere. With her power as the leader of the United Federation of Planets, she then communicated with the System and started a countdown for Earth¡¯s teleportation, setting the time for the earliest moment the blessed land would be ready to leave. Aalam, Isaiah, and Irena all then arrived, having moved together, and Mila messaged Aalam and Irena. ¡°Diana is dying and the baby has already been lost. Aalam, get to the blessed land as soon as possible. I need a diagnosis immediately in case you need any external resources. Then you¡¯ll be traveling alone with Diana for the next few months as we move Earth. Irena, keep Isaiah on Earth and watch him so he doesn¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± Her message moved at the speed of thought, much, much faster than it would take to speak it, but then it only took Aalam a few seconds to appear next to her, his face scowling and his manner showing anger. ¡°Explain.¡± Mila transferred her memories of the last few minutes over to Aalam, a process which only took a couple seconds, and his expression of anger turned into full on fury. ¡°How much time do I have?¡± ¡°About thirty seconds.¡± They both then moved into the blessed land and Aalam, the master of the divine dwelling, teleported them to Diana¡¯s room. Aalam, now definitely in the Id state, then looked at his sister for three seconds, nodded once, and sat down on the bed next to her. ¡°I don¡¯t need anything external, but we now need someone other than me to get into the top four of the C rank Universal Tournament while also doing what we already had planned or somehow find some other way to receive the same level of boon if we want her soul to awaken.¡± Aalam then created another array to teleport Mila to the blessed land¡¯s entrance and Mila quickly stepped back outside to Earth, waited about 17 seconds, and then watched the portal close, the Steel Swamp Blessed Land beginning to move. There was then a shift on the planet, feeling almost exactly like teleporting through the System¡¯s teleportation network, and the sky suddenly shifted from day to night, only the stars were all wrong. Earth was now in a completely different part of the Universe, and the Primordial Humans hopefully wouldn¡¯t be able to find them. Mila, after sending a brief message to President Davies so he could handle the fallout from the unplanned movement of Earth, then traveled to where Irena and Isaiah were and spent the next several hours consoling her friend about the loss of his child. Diana would get better. She and Aalam would see to that even if it sounded like Diana would have to be reincarnated into a new body. But their daughter? There was nothing they could have done. * * * Were he not in the Id state, Aalam would have felt dirty as he slowly used his Genetic Thief bloodline to extract his sister¡¯s power. The curse their mother had used targeted everything they had inherited from her, and for Diana that meant her race and bloodline. The curse was too advanced and, even though it had been cut off from the source, there was nothing Aalam could do to stop it. He could only remove what it targeted from his sister¡¯s soul. And the only way he had to do that was through his bloodline ability. Elevated Soul Laboratory required the target to first be dead, so in this case it was useless. But taking in Diana¡¯s power with his bloodline didn¡¯t stop the curse. It just transferred it to Aalam. He wasn¡¯t committing suicide this time, however. Unlike Diana, he was prepared for the curse before it entered his soul and, cut off from the source, it was far weaker than what Diana had experienced. More important, given his control over the blessed land, his bonds with his servants and his Territory were not blocked, so his Soul stat was almost double his sister¡¯s, even with her uniqueness, and his race, while one grade lower, was far more resistant to curses, so he¡¯d be able to fight with the curse and eventually beat it, though it would take months and the pain was not something he¡¯d be able to deal with without Id. After a couple days, however, when he¡¯d fully extracted Diana¡¯s power and integrated the portable arrays which had been keeping her alive with the built in arrays of the Steel Swamp Blessed Land, so they could maintain her soul at least semipermanently within her room, his ability to fight the curse suddenly increased. At first, Aalam thought it was because the curse had somehow weakened, but then he realized that wasn¡¯t the case. It was just that his soul had more than tripled in power. The universe was not a place that rewarded good people, so stealing power from a sibling was generally far more efficient than from those unrelated, and Aalam had already benefitted from absorbing his sister¡¯s power. Like Diana had awakened to the Soul Queen uniqueness after absorbing the Stone of Primal Beginning, he¡¯d awakened to the Soul King uniqueness by absorbing her power, and, at the same time, he could feel his affinity with primal energy slowly growing, so it seemed his Nascent Energy Constructor racial ability was taking on the traits of Diana¡¯s Nascent/Primal Energy Converter as well. He was growing in power at the expense of his own sister, and upon realizing this, even while in the Id state, Aalam started to cry. Chapter 217: The History of the Yin Yang Sage Mila ¡°So,¡± Mila asked her teacher as she sat down in an abandoned mansion in Russia and began drinking heavily from a dead oligarch¡¯s booze collection, ¡°Are you going to tell me the story?¡± ¡°Ughhh.¡± Nana Xara sounded almost as depressed as Mila felt. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to, but it would be extremely wrong of me not to at this point. ¡°First, though, I want to say I am sorry. I didn¡¯t know my enemies would affect you so directly.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t apologize for that.¡± Mila waved her hand, sadly quite sober as her high Vitality, Endurance, and Toughness made getting drunk on normal liquor nearly impossible, while most magical varieties couldn¡¯t work on someone with multiple mental forges. ¡°Aalam and Diana wouldn¡¯t have existed without that bitch doing what she did. And I would never have expected an immortal goddess to stoop so low as to murder her own children, so I doubt you did either.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Nana Xara audibly sighed. ¡°That entire family is just evil.¡± Mila didn¡¯t say anything, but one of her minds started thinking it would probably be a bad idea for Aalam to hear what Nana Xara had just said. Then, however, she realized he had almost certainly already had the same thought and her depression grew a bit worse. ¡°I should probably start near the beginning.¡± Nana Xara sounded contemplative. ¡°As you already know, I underwent a successful apocalypse style integration like Earth¡¯s, albeit with nowhere near as impressive a result, and our planet¡¯s new ruler was far more talented than me at the time. ¡°What I didn¡¯t say, however, was that when our planet¡¯s protection period ended we were invaded. Almost everyone was wiped out, including our leader, and I and several other talents were taken by a D rank force, brainwashed to become obedient slaves, and sold off. ¡°I was lucky. The sage line of classes is rare, and just my class alone showed I had talent for invention and out of the box thinking, so my brainwashing wasn¡¯t as intensive. Everyone I knew and loved, however, well, their ends weren¡¯t the best.¡± Nana Xara paused for a second before continuing. ¡°I was sold to a B rank force where the leader was trying to design a new cultivation technique, and I became one of his guinea pigs. Thankfully, the design for his technique was actually good, the man heavily inspired by a fragmented version of Yin Yang Cosmology, so my foundation as I rose up through F, E, and D ranks was solid, especially as all six of my Laws continued to rise. But, for me, that was not a good time. ¡°Throughout my several hundred years there, I warmed the bed of nine different men; I was physically tortured and abused on the regular so the force¡¯s healers could practice on me; and psychologically, well, I was messed up enough to think that was the type of life I deserved. ¡°After I reached D rank, that force was destroyed by another B rank force and I was sold off again, this time to one of the largest human empires in the universe, the Farakal Empire. And there I was given to one of the empire¡¯s princes, an extreme talent who was half my age yet already 50 levels higher. ¡°I became that sadistic monster¡¯s personal slave and, while I was treated better¡ªgiven the magic variant of Yin Yang Cosmology, taught by actually good teachers, and fed resources to better improve my stats, racial abilities, and the grade of my race during my next two rank ups¡ªin most ways my life was worse. My new master liked to give me to his friends to play with. He was psychologically abusive, tricking my then ignorant self into thinking I was in love with him despite him being incredibly cruel. And, as a plague master, he often tested his creations on me, making me so sick I could only be saved by the force¡¯s A rank healer. ¡°Over the next 16,782 years, I had five children, all with different men, and I wasn¡¯t allowed to raise any of them, all of them handed off to their fathers¡¯ families instead. But then, when we were both B ranks, I got pregnant with the prince¡¯s own child, and I was able to watch her grow. ¡°Your direct ancestor from your mother¡¯s side, she inherited her father¡¯s third eye uniqueness and she followed the path of a four elements pugilist, but she was a bit too talented, and she made a lot of enemies in the empire as a result, eventually even killing her own father. ¡°She was forced to flee, and she wanted me to go with her, but I was too messed up by that point, even attacking her when she tried to rescue me.¡± Nana Xara chuckled slightly, still sounding sad. ¡°I was then handed off to a different prince of the empire, an older B rank, and, if everything was normal, I probably would have ended my life as a B rank slave. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Thankfully, however, the Farakal Empire had made a lot of enemies and hoarded a lot of treasure, so that B rank prince was in fact a disguised A rank planning on robbing them blind, a yin yang trickster by the name of Cai Zhi-Sheng, who¡¯d already killed the prince years before and taken his place.¡± Mila could almost see Nana Xara start to smile sadly. ¡°Zhi-Sheng wasn¡¯t an abusive asshole, and he took pity on me. Over the next several thousand years, as he slowly worked to learn even more of the secrets of the Farakal Empire, he taught me more about magic, cultivation, and how to interact with the System than everyone else in my life up to that point combined. But what was more important was how he taught me I had a choice in things. ¡°He used to play this game with me, ¡®A, B, or something completely different¡¯, where he would give me a choice between two options and subtly guide me into not choosing either of them but instead doing what I thought best. It took a while, but he slowly helped me undo my brainwashing, and he never tried to take advantage of me in any way, even as I started to worship him. ¡°Looking back and knowing him as I came to later, he¡¯d seen my level of talent and probably liked the idea of having an A rank subordinate. Knowing him, he especially liked the idea of having someone who¡¯d follow his every word. He was arrogant like that.¡± Nana Xara chuckled slightly. ¡°But he was also probably bored. Over forty million years old by that time and having been introduced to the universe through an apocalypse style integration like me, he¡¯d lost everyone he¡¯d ever loved, and he was likely looking for a connection. So he raised me into someone who could be his friend, not his subordinate¡ªa lot like you and Isaiah. ¡°When he finally did rob the Farakal Empire blind, getting his revenge on their leadership for destroying his home world, and causing the empire¡¯s downfall in the process, he took me away. And, unlike with my daughter, I followed him. ¡°Over the next hundred thousand years, we traveled together, just experiencing the universe, and then, with the resources he¡¯d stolen, I reached A rank and our partnership became a bit more equal. We lived pretty quietly for A ranks. Though Zhi-Sheng did like to stick his nose into things wherever we went, he always did so in ways where no one knew how powerful he was while using various identities, so we weren¡¯t famous at all. ¡°After about a million years we got married, both just deciding it was time, and then we settled down and made a force of our own in an out of the way galaxy cluster, even managing to have two boys of our own. ¡°Things were good. And, over the next few dozen million years, I grew more powerful, eventually quietly becoming one of the most powerful A ranks in the universe. ¡°But then my daughter with my former master, who¡¯d risen to A rank as well, got in trouble with an elven empire and Zhi-Sheng and I moved to rescue her. ¡°Unknowingly, we foiled the plan of one of the elven gods, and the way we did so exposed that Zhi-Sheng had the Shadow King uniqueness, something neither of us had known was bad. ¡°While I was spending time with my daughter and her family at her force¡¯s base, five gods from five different factions arrived at my home and killed my husband, my two boys, and almost all my descendants. They had wanted to kill everyone, but they missed a group of about a dozen of our most talented youngsters adventuring on one of our smaller planets as one of them, a great-grandson of mine, had been born with a shadow line uniqueness as well. ¡°Just to be on the safe side, the five gods then also came to my daughter¡¯s force, but this time things didn¡¯t go as well for them. While my daughter died, she managed to take one of the subordinates of the Divine Child down with her, and I personally slew the elven god who¡¯d started everything along with the only independent god in the group. This left just two gods, one the husband of Bellessia, a member of the human ancestors faction, and the other a subordinate of the Lady of Laws, Carina the Wise, the only one of the five still alive. And they fled. ¡°I took my daughter¡¯s descendants and went back home, finding the group of children, and then I hid everyone on several unintegrated life worlds. ¡°After this, not really caring about myself, I went a bit crazy, releasing plagues of destruction which almost completely annihilated the forces under the five gods. But killing everyone related to my family¡¯s murderers didn¡¯t make me feel better, and I feared for the lives of my remaining descendants, so, without any better options, I sold myself to the System so we would all be safe. ¡°I became a protector of our universe, a role possible for powerful A ranks under the System¡¯s rules, and I killed thirteen invading gods during my remaining years. In my most famous battle, a large one with multiple gods on each side, I killed five gods from other universes with a powerful plague, but I ¡®accidentally¡¯¡ªand I very much do not mean that word¡ªkilled Bellessia¡¯s husband as well, not being in time to give him an antidote like the several other gods from our universe I¡¯d infected at the same time.¡± Nana Xara paused for a second. ¡°You then know the rest. I grew old, didn¡¯t want to die, and made one last gamble, bringing the greatest talents from my remaining descendants, along with those of the forces who¡¯d fallen under the control of the invading gods I¡¯d killed, to Earth. And then I allowed them to breed for about a hundred thousand years before your generation.¡± Mila took another swig of alcohol. Compared to Nana Xara¡¯s early life, hers was a trip through paradise, and that was kind of scary. Just like how beauty without power could turn into a curse, it seemed talent without power could do the same, and as E ranks their level of power was very, very low. She¡¯d done her research. The Primordial Humans were the descendants of the Primordial Sovereign, one of the three leaders of the human ancestor faction, and together they made up the most powerful family in the universe. The Primordial Sovereign alone was one of the five most powerful gods, able to fight against the Lady of Laws or the Divine Child, and he had six divine children, thirteen other divine descendants, and over half the largest human empires shared his bloodline. This was Aalam¡¯s enemy and, if Mila¡¯s uniqueness was revealed, which was almost certain to happen in the next few years, their enemies would instead grow to all gods in the universe. Mila was terrified. And she was sad. And she really, really wished it was possible for her to get drunk. Chapter 218: The Choice of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods Krysta was sitting on one of three wooden chairs outside the cabin in her mother¡¯s training cavern, receiving guidance on how to merge her main passive skill with her cultivation technique along with Henrietta, when her mother suddenly stopped talking, looking to the east, toward the main entrance to the cavern Aalam used to use. ¡°Henrietta, something has just come up and we¡¯ll have to stop here for a day. Please return to your own dwelling.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± ¡°Krysta, please guide our guest here to speak with me.¡± ¡°Yes, Mother.¡± As Henrietta moved to the west, Krysta created a portal toward the stairway leading up to the surface to the east and stepped through it. Then she started moving up the stairs. And there, sitting on the steps near the top as if waiting, somehow having bypassed two whole layers of protective arrays, was Irena Krol. It had been over a quarter year since Aalam, Isaiah, and Irena had all left, reportedly due to some complication with Isaiah¡¯s child, and Krysta hadn¡¯t heard anything since. As far as she knew, there¡¯d been no known movements by the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and all the Territory Aalam owned was still under his control, while her loose servant bond with him was still intact, so it seemed he at least was safe. But she¡¯d started to grow worried a long time ago, and the solemn expression on Irena¡¯s face did not make her feel better. ¡°My mother would like me to guide you to her.¡± Krysta bowed slightly to the future A rank. ¡°Thank you, Krysta.¡± Irena bowed in return. Then they both moved down the stairs, through the many extra layers of arrays, and Krysta made another portal to where her mother was still sitting, a warm beverage in hand. Krysta and Irena then stepped through and Joma indicated for them both to sit, so Krysta retook her seat while Irena sat where Henrietta had been before. ¡°I assume your master and his chamberlain are both watching.¡± Joma took a sip of her beverage, her expression showing displeasure. ¡°And I assume from the fact you came alone and deliberately broke through two of my warding arrays to get my attention that you want to keep whatever you have to say secret.¡± Irena nodded once, her expression still solemn. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, speak.¡± Joma¡¯s voice grew slightly cold. ¡°Why did you all leave? And what brings you back alone now?¡± ¡°Our force has inherited an enemy from the Yin Yang Sage.¡± Irena¡¯s expression became colder as well, though her obvious anger didn¡¯t seem directed at anyone in the room. ¡°And this enemy is not someone you would want to go against, so, for your sake, my master will not be coming here any more.¡± Krysta watched as her mother¡¯s expression quickly changed, becoming more worried. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Our planet¡¯s sovereign and her unborn child were murdered by a bloodline curse at the end of the Universal Auction, though the intended targets seem to have been the sovereign and my master. ¡°We don¡¯t have all the information, but it appears their mother, Bellessia of the Primordial Humans, deliberately came to Earth before our planet¡¯s integration and had two children with our most talented cultivator so as to block any possible chance of revival for the Yin Yang Sage. She intended to kill the two after the Yin Yang Sage took them in as apprentices, but she waited for the end of the Universal Auction so as to confirm our possession of the last two of Camoran¡¯s puzzle books before going through with her plan.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother lost control of her aura, an extreme amount of rage and disgust quickly growing, matching Krysta¡¯s feelings as well, but then she took a few seconds to deliberately calm herself down. ¡°I may be human, but I don¡¯t have many dealings with the Human Ancestors Faction. In fact, we can be considered to be on bad terms. There¡¯s no need to¡ª¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Joma stopped mid-sentence as Irena lifted a hand to indicate there was more. ¡°The main issue isn¡¯t our sovereign¡¯s death. While terrible, it doesn¡¯t affect our faction¡¯s power that much, and it is something we can recover from. The bigger problem is what Aalam not dying will reveal to his mother. ¡°Have you heard of Cai Zhi-Sheng?¡± Joma frowned. ¡°No.¡± ¡°He was the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s husband, an A rank known as the Trickster, and, at least as the Yin Yang Sage tells it, he was killed by an alliance of all the major factions of gods for the crime of existing. ¡°It seems, when other gods are not involved, some gods are able to use divination magic to predict the future, allowing them to interfere and change things with near perfect results, but the Trickster had a uniqueness known as Shadow King, which gave him resistance against divination at the divine level, and the gods killed him as soon as they learned of it. ¡°In addition to all the other bloodlines on Earth, including those from children the Yin Yang Sage had earlier in her life, the population of Earth is descended from the Trickster through a great-grandson of his and the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s line who managed to survive the gods¡¯ purge after the Trickster¡¯s death. ¡°This was a secret, however. No one in the wider universe believed the population of Earth could produce cultivators with shadow line uniquenesses, and so no gods desired to wipe us out. ¡°That, however, will change as soon as Bellessia does the basic task of looking up the information freely available in the universe about Earth, and learns of Aalam¡¯s death before the tutorial, something that was not supposed to happen. And, if she reveals this fact to other gods, our enemies won¡¯t just be the Human Ancestors Faction, but possibly all gods in the universe, including those you have dealings with.¡± Krysta and her mother took simultaneous deep breaths, Krysta at least not even knowing where to begin with the information she¡¯d just learned. But Irena wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°During the Universal Auction, our leader bought a System boon which allowed us to teleport Earth elsewhere, and the Yin Yang Sage has a preexisting deal with the System which will make Earth never lose its hidden protected status, so we are safe, at least for now. But, for your own safety and the safety of your force, you should abandon us.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ¡°Before I fully make my decision, there are a few things you should know. ¡°First, about the System¡ªas I have probably had more conversations with gods than your benefactor, even with her much, much longer life¡ªeven those at the divine level have no way to ask the System for real time information on other cultivators or monsters, so long as they are from this universe. And, second, the System¡¯s ability to hide a planet is nearly foolproof¡ªjust look at how well it¡¯s hidden Camoran¡¯s inheritance site¡ªwhile that protection extends to anyone who is on the planet as well, so you can feel safe there. ¡°While there are many loopholes in the System, and most gods know almost all of them, these loopholes were intentionally created when the Divine Child, the Lady of Laws, the three human ancestors, and several now dead elder gods worked together to build it. ¡°There are certain things about the System which are designed to keep the gods on top. Take how it¡¯s nearly impossible for a non-divine force to find resources to help awaken uniquenesses, despite them being relatively common in the universe, with not one ever being sold in any of the universal auctions, or available for even a ridiculous amount of points in the Trial Towers. ¡°But when it comes to security and privacy, the System includes very few loopholes at all, as the gods don¡¯t want other gods to have the ability to spy on them.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother looked over at her and then back to Irena. ¡°Third, about me and mine, I at least should be able to keep the secrets I¡¯ve already agreed to. Given some particularities of B and A rank your benefactor or Aalam can explain to you, the gods I have deals with won¡¯t want to push me into breaking my word, and they¡¯ll almost certainly stop other gods from doing so as well. That same protection, however, won¡¯t extend to Krysta, Wolfram, Henrietta, or Henrietta¡¯s guard. ¡°The Human Ancestors Faction shouldn¡¯t be able to question Krysta due to her father and his brothers nor Henrietta due to the elven gods, but you can expect the Divine Child¡¯s faction to learn everything Krysta knows and the elves to learn everything from Henrietta. Then, while the Divine Child¡¯s faction likely won¡¯t share anything, the elves will almost certainly share everything to any god who asks. ¡°Wolfram and that boy Reginald, however, would likely not be questioned, but instead have their souls taken out and their memories searched through, killing them, so you should take the two of them with you.¡± Irena¡¯s face and aura barely changed, seeming to have expected everything Krysta¡¯s mother had said, but she bowed deeply toward Joma anyway. ¡°Thank you.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother took a spatial storage ring out of her own ring¡¯s storage space and tossed it to Irena. ¡°In there is the pill for Aalam¡¯s advancement this rank, as well as the pill for changing the path of Isaiah¡¯s Active Daoist racial ability and all the other pills your force has commissioned for the next two years. ¡°As in the terms of our contract, I will be abandoning you at this time, but I wish you luck and I hope you all survive.¡± Chapter 219: Ruler’s Domain When Aalam stepped out of the portal to the Steel Swamp Blessed Land to stand in front of Mila and Isaiah, something about him almost immediately changed, the entirety of Earth¡¯s enlightenment zone feeling like it was under his complete control due to the simple fact that it was. Attempting to merge Sensory Domain (E-Heroic), Heavenly Spark Domain (E-Heroic), and Ruler¡¯s Raiment (E-Heroic) to Unnamed (E-Fabled). Requirements met: 3 Law Pupae of each element at early grade or higher, has control over a colossal amount of Territory for an E rank, effective Perception of 82,944 or higher, effective Soul of 124,416 or higher, effective Aura of 124,416 or higher Congratulations! You have merged three skills into Unnamed (E-Fabled) Amazing! You have formed a new never before seen skill and, as its creator, you get to choose its name! What would you like to name your new skill? You have chosen to name your new skill Ruler¡¯s Domain. Is this correct? Yes/No Congratulations! You are the first in the history of the System to ever gain the Ruler¡¯s Domain (E-Fabled) skill All stats + 5,184 Strength is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Agility is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Endurance is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Toughness is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Vitality is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Perception is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Magic is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Spirit is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Free stats + 5,184 Soul is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Aura is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 Attunement is already at maximum. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor ability activated. Free stats + 5,184 About half the new free stats went to maxing out Aalam¡¯s Luck while the rest were transferred over to Mila and Isaiah for their own use. Then, before Mila had to mention it, Aalam triggered the portal to the blessed land to close so as to not affect the treasures already set up on Earth which could only be used on an E rank world undergoing integration. Mila was about to ask how Aalam was doing, having not seen or talked with him for six months, but Aalam surprised her a bit by turning to Isaiah and starting to talk first. ¡°Diana¡¯s safe, but there was nothing anyone could do for your daughter. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He stepped forward and gave Isaiah a hug and Isaiah, who¡¯d had six months to come to terms with what had happened, hugged him back, his aura showing relief as Aalam seemed far better than he or Mila had expected. While hugging Isaiah, Aalam then turned his head to look at Mila. ¡°Mila, you did everything flawlessly. And, if anyone ever gives you crap about not being in time to save my niece, or you ever think you might have been at fault at all, know there is nothing I could have done even if I¡¯d been right next to Diana when the curse started.¡± Mila was a bit stunned for a few seconds as Aalam turned his full focus back to Isaiah, starting to ask his friend a few questions about how he was doing. Aalam was normally quite dense about other people¡¯s emotions, but this time he¡¯d hit the nail right on the head. No one had blamed her, mainly because the only ones in their force who knew about Diana¡¯s death were Isaiah; Wolfram and Reginald, who were temporarily living on Hira; Mila¡¯s own grandmother, who¡¯d taken over most of Diana¡¯s relatively limited responsibilities on Earth; and the doctor and nurse who¡¯d been with Diana at the time, who Mila had silenced with contracts¡ªmost thinking Diana had decided to start her temporary leave of absence early in order to not stress herself during pregnancy¡ªbut Mila herself had been feeling guilty, even though Nana Xara¡¯d told her repeatedly there was nothing that could have been done, and Aalam¡¯s words made her feel a lot better. Then, however, she realized Aalam had likely only said those words because he himself had been blaming her for a bit, and she felt a lot worse. ¡°So, what exactly is Diana¡¯s status now?¡± Isaiah asked Aalam as the two men took a step back from each other. ¡°A disembodied soul without consciousness.¡± Aalam frowned, seemingly trying to hold back anger. ¡°I had to strip away all her power with my bloodline, absorbing it and the remnant curse in order to save her, and that has left her effectively a mortal soul. She should still have all her memories, but I can¡¯t wake her up without risking her soul falling apart, and I had to place her in suspended animation so her soul can last until we can revive her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not possible for you to see her.¡± Isaiah frowned as well, also seemingly trying to hold back anger, but Mila could tell from his aura that it wasn¡¯t at all directed toward Aalam, which alleviated one of the worries she¡¯d had. ¡°I know I¡¯m not going to be as useful as you or Mila in helping her, but, whatever I can do, please make use of me. The risk doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Aalam looked Isaiah right in the eyes and his control over the surrounding area strengthened. ¡°Yes, Isaiah, it does. No matter what happens in the future, it¡¯s the two of you who lost your child, and you¡¯ll need to be there when Diana comes back so you can both process that together.¡± Isaiah opened his mouth as if to argue, but Aalam cut him off by flaring his full aura, enhanced by his King uniqueness to be well beyond anything an E rank should ever have. ¡°No one will be sacrificing themselves. All risks will be calculated. And decisions will be made by a logical assessment of how to get the best results with the least losses. ¡°Do you agree on this, Isaiah?¡± Isaiah opened and closed his mouth a few times, his aura making it seem like he wanted to argue but couldn¡¯t figure out how. Then he looked down at the ground. ¡°Yes.¡± Aalam retracted his aura and moved forward to hug his friend again. ¡°You will have tons of things you can do to help, buddy. But we can¡¯t lose anyone else.¡± ¡°I just know I¡¯m going to be useless.¡± And there was the big issue with Isaiah. As a pure warrior, there wasn¡¯t much he could do to help while they were still small little E ranks, and that probably wouldn¡¯t change much in the future as Aalam got stronger and stronger at combat. Aalam, however, surprised Mila by seemingly having already thought of this. ¡°I have an idea for you, Isaiah, something only you can do as someone not from Earth.¡± He stopped the hug and stepped back a step to reach a comfortable speaking distance. ¡°Our view of the universe is a little twisted. ¡°We started with an apocalypse style integration and then went directly to competing at the highest level for each rank, dealing with A ranks and gods. The life of a common person in the universe, I at least can¡¯t empathize with properly at all, and it makes me miss things, like with what happened to Epecteos. ¡°I would like it if, when we hit D rank and you¡¯re able to get a good disguise skill, you could wander the universe, operating differently than Mila, not trying to conquer or steal resources, but just learning about people, like you did with that village on Hira before I met you. I want to avoid collateral damage when I eventually start fighting with those at the highest ranks of our universe, and I want to try and make the universe better so I feel less guilty. But to do that I first need to understand, and, for a while, if I want to maximize my power, I¡¯m going to be stuck on Earth.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mila noticed a change in Isaiah¡¯s aura, an increase in confidence, and she was a bit surprised. She¡¯d noticed the problems in his mental state¡ªhow could she not when they were so obvious¡ªbut she hadn¡¯t considered having him leave Earth as it would have him falling more behind in Laws and cultivation. Unlike her, he didn¡¯t have any divine role type Laws, so that would be a bigger issue. Thinking about it more, however, Isaiah¡¯s Laws were all combat based and, even with his Active Daoist racial ability having advanced thanks to the Alchemist of the Deep Woods¡¯ specialized pill, increasing in grade to become the Heroic grade Aspect of Combat, which would slowly increase his stats the longer he fought, he would advance much faster if he got in life or death battles. And this wasn¡¯t something which would happen if he stayed on Earth. Granted, as he¡¯d been traveling in the blessed land when Irena had talked with Joma, Aalam probably wasn¡¯t aware yet that Isaiah¡¯s identity would almost certainly be disclosed to at least the Divine Child¡¯s faction of gods, but this wouldn¡¯t change much, and his basic idea was good. ¡°Let¡¯s talk more soon.¡± Aalam smiled at Isaiah. ¡°Also, I want to have a duel without my new skill, as I¡¯ve finally figured out a new technique.¡± The newfound confidence in Isaiah¡¯s aura almost instantly faded, mostly replaced by resigned acceptance, but Mila didn¡¯t think this was a bad thing. Isaiah was naturally a hard worker, but he was also extremely talented and, if placed in a different environment, there was a possibility he could grow arrogant over time. With Aalam always pressuring him from above, however, along with Isaiah¡¯s natural disposition, their dragon knight would rise faster than almost anyone. ¡°Okay, Aalam.¡± Mila was smiling slightly despite herself. ¡°Let¡¯s you and I talk and start ironing down some future plans.¡± Chapter 220: Comfort and Oaths Mila Mila and Aalam moved to his crafting hall, a large geodesic marble and glass dome, flying up to the roof where they sat and looked out over the planet¡¯s new sun setting over the horizon. Then, before Mila could say anything, Aalam started first, his face looking concerned. ¡°How are you doing, Mila?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± Mila considered lying for a second, but then decided against it, taking a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m kind of falling apart.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Aalam looked a bit surprised and, not for the first time, Mila was annoyed he didn¡¯t have a readable aura, as for some reason he was again blocking her ability to read his emotions through their bond. ¡°Well, first, without Diana, I feel like I¡¯m actually in charge, and I don¡¯t like that. ¡°Coming up with plans, be they economic or criminal, that¡¯s fun. Tricking people, stealing things, I¡¯m good at those. But leading people, being someone they can put their trust in, Diana¡¯s always been way better at that than me. ¡°There is a reason I¡¯ve mostly been behind the scenes. ¡°Second, I lost my best friend, and that put into stark perspective how I don¡¯t have many of those. Other than you, Isaiah¡¯s probably the person I¡¯m closest to on the entire planet, and I¡¯ve had to be there for him, so the only people who¡¯ve been there for me are Irena and Nana Xara. ¡°I still don¡¯t feel fully comfortable with Irena, and she¡¯s also been busy. Meanwhile, while Nana Xara undoubtedly doesn¡¯t deserve any blame, I can¡¯t help but feel a bit pissed off at her anyway, so I haven¡¯t been able to get any help from her. ¡°Finally, third, while I¡¯ve been hiding it, I¡¯m really, really scared. ¡°Diana was killed by a curse due to some plan completely outside of my control or knowledge base, and there was absolutely nothing I could do, which just highlights how weak I am. Then Nana Xara told me her life story and I learned about her husband, who had the same path and first uniqueness line as me. ¡°Nana Xara always told me gods would hunt me down if my uniqueness was revealed, but I hadn¡¯t realized our ancestor, just by his existence, had all the godly factions work together to wipe him out. ¡°Just by existing, every god in the universe is going to want to kill me.¡± Mila felt tears start to enter into her eyes as her body trembled slightly, but then Aalam grabbed her hands and held them tight, which should have been comforting. Instead, however, Mila felt herself start to break down even more as she looked down through the glass into the lab. ¡°You should probably just abandon me.¡± Through her sensory domain, she saw Aalam continue to stare at her face, seemingly thinking. Then he let go of her left hand and reached up to push her chin up with his right so she was looking at him again. ¡°And what advantage would I get from that?¡± ¡°What?¡± Mila felt confused, and she did nothing to stop it from showing on her face. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but everyone from Earth is descended from Nana Xara. In that case, what percentage are descended from her husband?¡± Mila had already asked Nana Xara this question, and the answer had been different from what she¡¯d had her grandmother share with Joma, as it wasn¡¯t everyone from Earth. Instead, the answer had been most East Asians and everyone of Native American or Pacific Islander descent, which could potentially cause problems. To Aalam, however, she gave the true answer. ¡°In that case, I could also awaken to a shadow line uniqueness, as could Diana, and probably over half the population of Earth. So why wouldn¡¯t the gods kill us too?¡± Mila just stared at him, feeling quite a bit better but also mildly pissed off. ¡°Why do you always have to use logic, Aalam?¡± This time it was Aalam¡¯s turn to look confused. ¡°Because it¡¯s logical?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t just say you wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to me because it¡¯s me?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I did?¡± Mila thought about it for a second. ¡°From someone else, no. From you, yes.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s because I don¡¯t lie. But I¡¯m not 100% sure I wouldn¡¯t abandon you if I wasn¡¯t in the same boat.¡± Mila just sighed, not having gotten what she wanted from the conversation, but probably what she needed. ¡°Sometimes I wish you weren¡¯t so honest all the time.¡± Then she shook her head. ¡°How are you doing?¡± Aalam smiled, though it did seem a bit forced. ¡°Actually, pretty good, everything considered. I¡¯m able to sleep without nightmares at least once every three nights and that¡¯s been nice. ¡°I think it has to do with having a target for revenge and the realization that the universe is so absolutely messed up that even a terrible person like me can probably make things better. ¡°But it hasn¡¯t fully sunk in yet that I won¡¯t be able to see Diana for at least several thousand years, nor that her relationship with Isaiah is almost certain to fall apart due to what the difference in their effective ages will be once she¡¯s reborn, so things will get worse. For now though, I¡¯m okay.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Mila thought about touching on the idea Aalam still thought he was a terrible person, but decided it wasn¡¯t something anyone other than he himself could change his opinion on, so she instead asked the only really important question for the near future. ¡°No thoughts of suicide?¡± Aalam shook his head. ¡°None.¡± ¡°Good then.¡± Mila took the hand Aalam was still holding back and got down to business. ¡°So, we know what we need to do to reincarnate Diana. Has anything changed for you? Or should I start telling you what Nana Xara and I have come up with?¡± ¡°I awakened to the Soul King uniqueness when absorbing Diana¡¯s power, so my effective Soul stat is now a lot higher.¡± Mila took a second to process that. For most, awakening to such a uniqueness would just be a nice added benefit, the Soul stat by itself not that useful, instead a limiting factor of how high other stats could go, but that was different for her and Aalam as the Soul stat was directly responsible for the power of contract skills, including one of Aalam¡¯s core skills, Soul Prince. Not even counting how a higher Soul stat effectiveness would increase his other stats due to Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor and its future advancements, just the increase to Soul Prince would allow Mila to drastically alter her plans as its power directly affected how large Aalam¡¯s Territory could be, and, more important, how far away the planets in his Territory could be from each other. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°My Nascent Energy Constructor racial ability can now convert primal energy to nascent energy with a horrible conversion rate.¡± Mila frowned, a bit annoyed Aalam now had a second half grade higher racial ability. ¡°Less helpful, as we have other uses for primal energy, but noted. ¡°What about Diana¡¯s still existing Territory and bonds? How is that working?¡± ¡°I managed to implant a G rank version of the Underlord skill into Diana¡¯s temporary G rank class, allowing her to maintain her lord and servant bonds, as well as her Territory. Then I used my Soul Prince skill to subsidize the effects her previously more powerful skill would have allowed for.¡± Mila and Nana Xara had guessed as much, as they¡¯d quickly noticed the effects, which had been very, very useful for hiding the fact Diana was dead. ¡°Good thinking, Aalam. That saved us from a huge panic. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Finally,¡±¡ªAalam took a deep breath¡ª¡°I think the right path for Diana is to start having her accumulate faith energy before she is reborn.¡± This confused Mila a bit. Faith energy was something gods competed for, but she wasn¡¯t exactly sure what it was as the Steel Swamp Blessed Land¡¯s archives had nothing on it and even Nana Xara barely had any information. All Mila knew was that all gods wanted it and that it was fundamentally different than things like Territory and karmic merit, though it was at least somewhat linked to both. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°From the information about monsters in Steel Swamp Sorin¡¯s legacy, it should unlock the ideal race line for her once she comes back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Several of Mila¡¯s minds got to work considering how to go about accumulating faith energy for Diana while her main mind continued talking with Aalam. ¡°Noted.¡± ¡°So, what do you and Nana Xara want to change from our old plans?¡± ¡°Not too much, actually, at least when it comes to goals. But, while we¡¯ve always focused on secrecy before, now it¡¯s become a necessity as your mother will soon learn how you died, which will then reveal to her, and possibly every other god in the universe, that we have cultivators with shadow line uniquenesses. ¡°Your master has also dropped her support to us¡ªthough she did give us all the pills we would need before D rank, including the completed pill for your D rank race advancement¡ªand we can expect everything Krysta and Henrietta know about us to be revealed in the near future. ¡°There will be a lot of problems for me, such as having to make fake identities for everyone for the C rank universal tournament and speeding up the timelines of rescuing the Earthlings turned into monsters, but you don¡¯t need to concern yourself with that side of things too much. The main thing you have to be aware of is that we are absolutely not going to try and do anything to take revenge until we are at least B rank.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Aalam nodded, likely having expected most of what she¡¯d said. ¡°That works well with my oath.¡± Mila paused for a second. ¡°Oath?¡± ¡°Mila don¡¯t¡ª¡± Nana Xara began as Aalam seemed unsure of what to say, but then she stopped herself in the middle. ¡°Actually, for you, learning early would probably be a good thing. Tell Aalam he can explain.¡± ¡°Nana Xara says you can explain.¡± ¡°Phew.¡± Looking relieved, Aalam nodded. ¡°You know how there was something I couldn¡¯t tell you about B rank which my teacher helped me with?¡± Mila nodded. ¡°Well, like D rank is about opening acupoints and C rank is about forming cores, B rank is about oaths. ¡°They are empowerments to a cultivator which give about as much power as a class, but they also come with limitations. My teacher, for example, can¡¯t not be an honorable business woman or she¡¯ll gain a degree of soul shackles. ¡°The most important thing for you, however, is that the more true an oath is to the core of a cultivator, the more powerful it is. And that means you have to know yourself.¡± Mila just stared at him for a few seconds, processing that the magic system of the universe, which up to this point seemed to mostly conform to the laws of physics, now seemed to grow a lot more metaphysical. Then, however, she thought about it a bit more and realized that, if a cultivator¡¯s power was all mostly stored in her soul, it would make sense that metaphysical methods of improving the health of a soul, such as a cultivator coming to know herself, would improve power. ¡°So, you already have one of these oaths?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam shared with her part of his status screen she¡¯d never seen before. Oath of the Villain¡¯s Clean Vengeance You are not a good person, but you will hold back and wait so your acts of vengeance won¡¯t harm the lives of innocents when you want to kill Benefits: Increase the speed of mastering skills by 100% Increase the effectiveness of the Attunement stat by 150% When training for revenge, the above two benefits are multiplied by a factor of 6 Should you complete an act of vengeance without harming innocents, there is a high chance of entering into a state of sudden enlightenment Limitations: Untargeted mass slaughter in the name of revenge will shackle your soul, the greater the slaughter the worse the shackles and the longer they will last No wonder Aalam had been able to merge Ruler¡¯s Domain so fast. He¡¯d had a cheat increasing his speed of mastering skills by 600% on top of the already high 200% increase from his second class. That was a nine times increase in total! And it seemed his Attunement stat was also ridiculously high by this point, which would greatly speed up his mastery of Laws. ¡°That¡¯s not fair. I want one of those.¡± ¡°Then first figure out more about yourself.¡± Aalam smiled at the obvious discomfort she showed as soon as he said those words, which Mila found annoying. ¡°That¡¯s the important thing for B rank. And it is a very, very bad idea to try and aim for a specific oath. ¡°Again, the more true an oath is the better, whatever that truth may be.¡± Mila felt herself start to panic. Truth was not her strong suit, and she actively avoided introspection like the plague whenever she could help it. Hell, it had taken dying and eventually being reborn as a succubus for her to introspect much at all. Sure, she¡¯d come to realize some things about herself, like what she valued and some things she wanted in life, but she had a galaxy cluster sized load of baggage she hadn¡¯t dealt with, such as the fact she¡¯d barely said two words to her grandfather outside of a work context since she¡¯d thrown him off that balcony all those years ago, and she¡¯d been planning to never even try to clean house. ¡°Oh crap. I¡¯m going to have to go to therapy, won¡¯t I?¡± Chapter 221: Who Rules the World I Francis Francis Davies, the President of Earth, felt something was wrong as he waited for the next meeting of Earth¡¯s congress to start in their usual location in the large conference room on the top floor of a New York City skyscraper. The source wasn¡¯t the usual attendees, the dozens of leaders of Earth¡¯s administrative departments and the heads of Earth¡¯s political factions. Nor was it from the two giant bronze-scaled lizard men sitting next to his daughter, Silvia having spent the last three days helping Brom Karendesh and his assistant get settled on Earth. Instead, it was because of the planet¡¯s greatest powers, the true leaders of the United Federation of Planets. Isaiah Gale¡¯s lavender hair had grown out to shoulder length and was as unkempt as his rather considerable beard, hanging down to cover his indigo reptilian eyes. For a new father, this would not have been weird, but his and Diana¡¯s baby should have only arrived about a month before, not enough time for his appearance to grow quite so disheveled. Then there was Irena, the blonde woman looking far younger than her actual age of over 100. She had taken over all of Diana¡¯s responsibilities while the sovereign of Earth was on leave, and what little she¡¯d had to do over the last six months she¡¯d handled admirably, especially the reaction to the teleportation of Earth and relocation of several populations for the implantation of world treasures which would help terraform the planet. For Francis, it had actually been quite nice to temporarily have a boss who actually carried herself with the manner and poise one would expect from a leader. But for this meeting? Irena had spent the last several minutes not sitting at her seat at the table, but up against the room¡¯s wall with someone who appeared to be only a G rank, pointing out and introducing everyone in attendance in an exceedingly casual manner. Sure, the young man, with his shoulder-length dark blue hair, almost orange eyes, and nearly flawless physique, was exceedingly handsome. Even Francis could tell that from just a glance¡ªhe didn¡¯t need the constant reminder of almost all the women in the room, his daughter included, continuously sneaking glances¡ªbut despite the interested look on the man¡¯s face, his aura showed complete apathy to what Irena was saying, and it made her look desperate. The worst thing, however, was that when the true head of Earth arrived, followed by a huge human man Francis had never seen and what looked like an honest to goodness elf from the Lord of the Rings, she didn¡¯t find an unobtrusive seat conveniently far away from her grandfather like she usually did. Instead, Li Mila sat at the head of the table, Diana¡¯s normal seat, and it seemed she would be the one leading the meeting she had asked him to call. The human man behind her, a Northern European-looking giant with long messy red hair and a huge beard, moved to a corner of the room with the lithe blonde elf, and Ms. Li looked around at the attendees, causing everyone in the room to stop talking, except, Francis noted, the handsome youth next to Irena, who was asking about the decorum at meetings, decorum which he was obviously breaking. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start this much overdue talk.¡± Ms. Li was about to begin, but then Nitya Chakrabarti, who¡¯d been staying out of politics since the founding of the United Federation of Planets, spending most of her time in Earth¡¯s skies to better master the element of wind, raised her hand, her aura showing nervousness as she looked from the handsome man next to Irena and then back to Ms. Li. ¡°It seems whatever you have to say is important. But shouldn¡¯t we wait for Diana?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ms. Li shook her head. ¡°About six months ago, just before I teleported Earth to this new solar system, Diana and her unborn daughter were killed by a bloodline curse from her mother, human goddess of marriage and motherhood Bellessia, so she won¡¯t be joining us for at least several thousand years.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. At Ms. Li¡¯s casual sounding words, everyone in the room just stared at her, everyone but the two she¡¯d entered with, Isaiah, Irena, and the handsome youth. Then Francis belatedly realized Ms. Li was waiting for questions, so he asked one. ¡°You say Diana will be joining us in several thousand years, but that she was killed. Could you explain how that¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°Diana was murdered, her body destroyed and her soul horribly scarred by the effects of a powerful curse, but we managed to save her soul before it dissipated, fully intact but with barely a scrap of its power.¡± Ms. Li¡¯s voice and manner were completely calm, as if their sovereign¡¯s murder wasn¡¯t a big deal, and her performance was working, Francis at least feeling far calmer at the news than he normally would have. ¡°She¡¯s currently in suspended animation inside a specialized time slowed section of the Steel Swamp Blessed Land, and we already have a plan for her revival, though it will take 5,836 years until that plan can be brought to fruition. ¡°Until then, she¡¯s still the sovereign of Earth as far as the System and the karmic magic of bonds is concerned, and she¡¯s still the direct lord of several of you, her brother having given her a G rank version of her lord skill and subsidizing it with his own power.¡± Ms. Li looked out over everyone, waiting for several seconds to allow everything she¡¯d just said to sink in. Then she continued. ¡°The most important thing for everyone here, however, is not Diana¡¯s death, but the extreme complications for Earth¡¯s future that her murder will cause. ¡°The goddess Bellessia came to Earth before the integration and had two children for a reason. She knew her two children were going to turn into the most talented cultivators on the planet, especially the younger one, and the Yin Yang Sage, whose only condition for revival is to have one of two apprentices she could choose at G rank reach all the way to godhood, would choose the two. Then she would kill her children and end her enmity with the woman who had killed her husband. ¡°But she messed up, not expecting her son to awaken to a berserker uniqueness and then commit suicide, causing the Yin Yang Sage to lose interest, thus our current advantageous position of not all being dead. ¡°Through the observational abilities of the Yin Yang Sage over Earth¡¯s former position, we¡¯ve been able to confirm that, just a minute after I moved the planet, an A rank by the name of Taravan, the leader of one of the universe¡¯s largest human empires, arrived at our former location. ¡°His goal was most likely twofold.¡± Two books appeared hovering over her right hand, both bound in gray covers with green lines flowing over them in patterns that didn¡¯t seem to be text. ¡°First, he was to retrieve these, Camoran¡¯s 93rd and 97th Puzzle Books, two of 108 keys to opening the inheritance of Camoran the Spirit Smith, an individual who, back when he was alive, inherited the wealth of three fallen gods and, arguably more impressive, Runemaster Alashan. It seems the Human Ancestors Faction, or at least the family and subordinates of the Primordial Sovereign, Bellessia¡¯s father and one of the five most powerful beings in the universe, needs something from inside and have already collected and solved the puzzles in 105 of the other books long ago. ¡°It was only during the end of the Universal Auction that the last book was auctioned off, with the Primordial Sovereign paying an exorbitant amount for it, confirming through complicated inheritance rules that the remaining two books had been taken as rewards from the System and entered into our hands. This is why it was only six months ago, right after the auction, that Diana was killed, instead of when we were even weaker. ¡°But you all don¡¯t need to worry about this part. Whether the Heavenly Spark Soul King manages to steal this inheritance out from under the nose of the Human Ancestor Faction in the future or not, it doesn¡¯t really concern you. As his subordinates, you¡¯ll benefit if he does, but you have no way to help, so it is probably better to not worry about it. ¡°Instead, if you want to worry, it should be about the second reason Taravan headed to Earth, and that is to kill every single one of us.¡± Ms. Li paused again for a few seconds, allowing for the immensity of what she¡¯d just said to truly sink in. Then she continued. ¡°The reason the Yin Yang Sage killed Bellessia¡¯s husband was because he, along with four other gods from four other factions, worked together to kill her own husband, an A rank known as the Trickster. And they killed him because he had unknowingly awakened to a power which threatened the gods, a power which, with the Trickster being a common ancestor of all humans on Earth, everyone in this room has the possibility of awakening at any time.¡± Chapter 222: Who Rules the World II Ms. Li was lying about the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s husband being the common ancestor of everyone on Earth, but her words were honest about everything else, at least according to Francis¡¯s Truthsense skill, and it was pretty easy to guess why. Right now, Earth was more united than at any time before the integration, and the knowledge that only a fraction of the population would be on the chopping block of multiple gods if they were found could easily create division. If Francis were in her position, he would lie as well. ¡°What power could we awaken which would threaten the gods?¡± Javier Garcia, ¡®Earth¡¯s Strongest Man¡¯, asked exactly what Francis would expect him to even with all the insane revelations Ms. Li had just given. ¡°When other beings of the same level of power are not involved, several different lines of divination skills can be used to predict the future, but gods all seem to somehow have this ability as well, allowing them to manipulate mortals to their liking. On Earth, however, seven individuals¡ªI¡¯m not going to mention who¡ªhave already awakened to a uniqueness line which blocks this type of divination, and thus threaten their control.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Javier¡¯s aura showed disappointment. ¡°Well, that¡¯s less cool.¡± Ms. Li raised an eyebrow. ¡°The ability to act as a natural born spanner in the works for the plans of immortal beings isn¡¯t cool?¡± Javier seemed to think about it for a second and then nodded. ¡°Good point. I retract my statement.¡± ¡°If gods want to kill us, is there anything we can do?¡± After a short pause, Silvia asked a much more relevant question, guiding the conversation in a more useful direction. ¡°Not too much, but not nothing.¡± Ms. Li smiled warmly at everyone. ¡°The main reason we haven¡¯t shared the news about Diana until now was that we were waiting to see if the goddess or her underlings would arrive here and slaughter us all, as in that case there would have been absolutely nothing any of us could do, so worrying everyone for nothing would have been pointless. But they haven¡¯t and, given their obvious desire for the puzzle books, they almost certainly would have if they could. ¡°From talking with an A rank who¡¯s had a lot of experience interacting with gods, my grandmother has confirmed the System¡¯s protection of new worlds for the first 72 years is not something even gods can get past without a whole, whole lot of effort and time, measured in millions of years at the least, and, thanks to the Yin Yang Sage, we can extend that protection indefinitely by paying a grand total of 12 C rank universal credits per year, a price which is pretty much already pocket change for our force. ¡°Seeing as we¡¯re going to raise Earth up to A rank in the coming years, and thus have an entire other universe we can explore, as well as our ability to buy most resources with quite a large discount from the System, most of us from Earth won¡¯t need to wander around our universe, so we can avoid the greatest of the issues. ¡°This is not to say none of us will have to travel our own universe, however. In order to revive Diana, it will require us not only winning the next C rank Universal Tournament, but also having the United Federation of Planets¡¯ showing in the tournament be overwhelming, with at least half the top rankers coming from our own force, and that will require a lot of planning, a lot of recruiting, and a universe wide campaign of manipulation and deceit.¡± Ms. Li¡¯s smile grew wide, her aura showing excitement Francis was pretty sure wasn¡¯t faked. ¡°So, what can you all do? Combatants, prepare yourselves as best you can and reach C rank in time. We¡¯ll make new identities for you to step into, so you don¡¯t need to worry about anything else. Administrators, prepare to work your asses off to start a universe wide intelligence network from scratch. And, for anyone who wants to regularly operate in the field, gain at least an Epic grade disguise skill.¡± There was stunned silence for several seconds. Then Javier Garcia, the last person Francis would expect any form of doubt from, asked, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not biting off more than you can chew?¡± Ms. Li just smiled at him, her aura of excitement not diminished at all. ¡°Ask me again after the War of the Chosen, the main thing we¡¯re actually here to talk about.¡± Ms. Li turned to the large lizardman general. ¡°Brom, thank you for coming. And sorry for unintentionally dragging you into a force which will almost certainly have to fight against gods in the future. We¡¯ll try to make sure to keep your identity secret so you can get your own revenge within a reasonable time frame.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°No issues, Ms. Li. And sorry for your loss.¡± The large lizardman nodded, his tail moving slightly and his aura showing a deep respect. Ms. Li then turned to look at Francis and sent him a message through the local soulnet which included a long list of names. ¡°Mr. Davies, please send out formal invitations to everyone on this list through the soulnet to gather at the island of Zakynthos in Greece. We have 25 years until the next War of the Chosen, and it¡¯s time everyone who will be participating starts training together.¡± Ms. Li then looked over everyone¡¯s faces. ¡°This is pretty much all I wanted to say. For anything further, there is no reason for everyone to be here, and Mr. Davies and I will talk with each department separately. ¡°We do, however, have a bit more time scheduled for this meeting. So does anyone have any questions?¡± Quite a few people seemed to have things they wanted to ask, and Francis could guess many more were debating whether to ask their questions in the public meeting or separately afterwards, but, as usual, Javier Garcia was the first to speak. ¡°With Diana unable to participate, who becomes general and who takes the extra commander spot?¡± ¡°Mila will be the general and Silvia Davies will be taking her commander spot.¡± It wasn¡¯t Ms. Li who answered the question, nor anyone else among Earth¡¯s leaders, but the handsome G rank who had, along with Irena Krol, sat down on the floor at the edge of the room. And Francis only belatedly realized it was very, very odd for Ms. Krol to not have taken a seat at the table. ¡°As for the extra two tokens from¡ª¡± ¡°Irena, tell your boy toy to be quiet.¡± Mr. Garcia glared at Ms. Krol, interrupting the youth, and then turned back to Ms. Li, who Francis noticed was trying to hold back a laugh. Taking a second, her expression returning to its normal state, Ms. Li then looked directly at Mr. Garcia. ¡°I don¡¯t get to decide.¡± ¡°Then who does?¡± ¡°Aalam Alvaro, the Heavenly Spark Soul King.¡± Ms. Li looked over at the youth on the floor. And, at the same time, the youth turned to look at Ms. Krol. ¡°Did he just call me your boy toy?¡± Francis, along with almost everyone else in the room other than Ms. Chakrabarti, Isaiah Gale, Ms. Li, Ms. Krol, and the two men who¡¯d come in with Ms. Li, turned to look at the handsome youth, eyes growing wide. ¡°I should punish him for interrupting me and telling me to be quiet, right?¡± Aalam Alvaro, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, appeared to look to Ms. Krol for advice. ¡°Well, he is your second cousin on your father¡¯s side, so maybe just let it slide.¡± There was a bit of mirth in Ms. Krol¡¯s eyes, but her aura was fully controlled, so it was hard to tell exactly what she was feeling. The Heavenly Spark Soul King looked over at Mr. Garcia, whose face was starting to redden, and then back to Ms. Krol. ¡°I guess. He should stop being so rude, though.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Silvia, who was braver than Francis, timidly interrupted the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s conversation with Ms. Krol. ¡°If you¡¯re the Heavenly Spark Soul King, why do you feel like a G rank?¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King looked at Ms. Li and then back to Francis¡¯s daughter. ¡°If you could retract your aura completely so no one could easily read your emotions, wouldn¡¯t you make that your default? Not everyone is sneaky like Mila.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Silvia turned to look at Ms. Li, who seemed far more relaxed than Francis would have expected, and then back to the Heavenly Spark Soul King. ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°How about a brief demonstration of what your full aura actually feels like, Aalam?¡± Ms. Li smiled from her position at the end of the conference table. ¡°Most of the people here are going to participate in the War of the Chosen anyway. So there is nothing to hide.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± One second, the Heavenly Spark Soul King felt like a G rank, puny and weak with no signs of any Laws in his aura at all, then the next it felt like the entire room, and much further beyond, was completely under his control. His aura had a hint of inherent nobility to it, like Ms. Li¡¯s or Diana¡¯s, making others want to bow in his presence, and his aura was much, much stronger than theirs, by at least a factor of 12. Francis did a little math, calculating based on what he knew about the limits of E rank, and realized the effectiveness of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s Aura stat was boosted by at least 750%. More impressive than that, however, was how Francis didn¡¯t even have the ability to recognize all the Laws in the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s aura, as there were just too many of them, and all at the Law Pupa level. Then, just as suddenly as the aura appeared, it retracted, completely disappearing. ¡°As I was going to say earlier, given the new developments, the two women we agreed to give commander spots will no longer be joining us, so that opens two new commander positions in addition to the one which Silvia Davies will be inheriting from Mila. ¡°The first spot will be taken by someone yet to be determined, likely the best of the reincarnated Earthling monsters Mila is in the process of rescuing.¡± Then the Heavenly Spark Soul King pointed at the elf standing in the corner next to the red-haired giant. ¡°And the second spot will be taken by Reginald Vin, who has joined the United Federation of Planets under no duress at all.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s last words very much seemed like a lie, but Francis¡¯s Truthsense skill didn¡¯t react at all, and he was pretty sure that meant his skill was blocked, not that the Heavenly Spark Soul King wasn¡¯t lying, which was almost more terrifying than feeling the man¡¯s aura earlier. ¡°Also, everyone should welcome Wolfram Gan.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King pointed at the red-haired giant. ¡°He¡¯s temporarily allowed himself to be under soul shackles, but he¡¯s a C rank, and a particularly talented one. ¡°He¡¯ll be helping us all with training, so treat him well.¡± Then a couple arrays appeared around the Heavenly Spark Soul King which radiated the power of time and space, and the handsome man disappeared, apparently leaving everything else for Ms. Li to deal with. Chapter 223: Evaluation of Earth’s Potential ¡°Okay.¡± Mr. Li, Ms. Li¡¯s grandfather, spoke up in the stunned silence. ¡°Mr. Alvaro is suitably awe inspiring. But can we go back to the matter of our continued survival? I don¡¯t know about everyone else, but the idea of being on the enemy list for a whole bunch of gods seems terrifying. ¡°Am I missing something, or are we just going after a desperate chance of survival?¡± Ms. Li looked at her grandfather for a few seconds, her face and aura unreadable, but then she smiled and turned to the supposedly C rank red-haired giant in the corner. ¡°Mr. Gan, as an outsider with more experience than the rest of us, what do you think?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The red-haired giant took a couple seconds, possibly to parse the English everyone had been using. Then he started to answer in Universal Common, which everyone in the room understood. ¡°I think you all are underestimating your population. ¡°For the past couple weeks, I¡¯ve been looking through recordings of the ranking fights from your soul net and the average potential of your planet is rather frightening. From just a population of a few billion, you are able to create an entire army for the War of the Chosen where every single soldier is at least a C rank talent. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you fully understand, but that¡¯s not something even most divine forces are able to do. ¡°Then there are your highest ranked combatants. ¡°For the past several years, I¡¯ve been lucky enough to help train Krysta La¡¯Vordi, widely considered in the universe as by far the most talented cultivator from your generation. She¡¯s the child of one of the most famous gods, and possibly the most talented cultivator in the element of space of all time, yet I¡¯ve seen her fight Isaiah 293 times.¡± The large man pointed at Isaiah Gale. ¡°And she won a grand total of four of those bouts.¡± The large man pointed at Ms. Li. ¡°Then, when I came to Earth, I watched a match between Isaiah and Ms. Li here, and Isaiah was played with. ¡°According to what I hear, your dead leader is at the same level as these two, and she¡¯ll hopefully come back even stronger than before. So that means you have at least three combatants who, if they reach A rank, will at minimum approach the same level as the Yin Yang Sage of the past, a woman known as the ¡®godslayer¡¯. ¡°Then, among the rest of your population, I¡¯ve found at least half a dozen A rank talents. This means, so long as they are given the minimum amount of resources to allow their race to advance, they have a one in twelve chance of reaching A rank. Yet, given your soon to be A rank planet and everything your leader bought during the Universal Auction, they will have access to far, far more resources even if you make no further moves. ¡°In most A rank and divine forces, not even their best core disciple would have this level of talent, yet on Earth these are third tier combatants. Above them in the second tier are Isaiah, your fallen leader, and Ms. Li. And then there¡¯s Aalam. ¡°As an E rank, he has already managed to personally kill a powerful B rank, crossing three ranks to fight, and, while that was a special case, continuing to have the ability to fight across two ranks as he advances won¡¯t be that hard. ¡°If he manages to reach B rank, given everything else about your planet, Earth should be safe. If, however, Earth is found first, we all die. ¡°So it is the job of the rest of us to help lift him up.¡± The large man paused for a second. ¡°Also, it sounds to me like you haven¡¯t fully grasped just how lucky you are. ¡°There are less than 72 A rank planets in our universe, yet your little force gets to completely dominate one of them, and it is ruled by someone like Aalam, whose very nature drastically boosts the affinities of everyone on the planet. Primal energy, natural resources, training environment, and racial affinities are the primary sources of bottlenecks in the universe, yet you all don¡¯t have to worry about those, and you also have someone to make you pills and artifacts. ¡°There will be risks involved, and there will be huge amounts of danger in the future, but if you manage to pass through the trials, well, there is a reason I was perfectly willing to come join you instead of staying in my old A rank force. And there are many, many others who would do the same, even with the inherent risks.¡± Ms. Li looked over everyone and then turned her gaze back to her grandfather. ¡°Does that adequately answer your question?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mr. Li bowed his head. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Good. Then everyone but Mr. Davies and the PR team are dismissed. ¡°I need to talk to them about starting to build up faith energy for Diana before her revival.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. * * * After the meeting, Ms. Li asked Francis to join her and they moved to his office in the same building, an oversized room with a large desk and a seating area with two couches in front of a set of huge glass windows. There, they sat on the couches, and Ms. Li began. ¡°You noticed the one time I lied, correct?¡± Francis reached out his senses and made sure the isolation arrays set up around the office were intact, though he belatedly realized Ms. Li almost certainly wouldn¡¯t have started the topic if they weren¡¯t. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Only about half of Earth is descended from the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s husband, the other half descended from her through her children with other men before she met him. You, for example, as a white man, are very unlikely to be his descendant. This, however, has the possibility of creating a schism between members of Earth¡¯s population, so it shouldn¡¯t be known. ¡°Do you agree?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Francis nodded. Then he asked something he felt was important. ¡°I¡¯m assuming the gods wouldn¡¯t care that much and would just kill us all to be safe?¡± ¡°Most likely.¡± Ms. Li frowned. ¡°Even the youngest god is old beyond our imaginations. To them, youngsters like us are probably nothing more than ants.¡± Francis took a few seconds to absorb that, recontextualizing how he thought about gods in his mind. Then he asked something he¡¯d been suspecting since the topic was originally brought up. ¡°The uniqueness line which blocks divination, you awakened to it?¡± Ms. Li nodded. ¡°At the Fabled grade, the highest of everyone who¡¯s done so on Earth. And this means, no matter what I do from now on, all the actions of everyone on Earth will be affected by my power at least a little, though, if I am not personally involved, it will only block active divination powers up to A rank, not those from gods. ¡°Still, it should cover most passive abilities, and, for us, it is a good thing. It will allow us to compete for resources we otherwise wouldn¡¯t be able to access, and it will make it much, much harder for gods to find our agents. But it also means we can¡¯t be quite as secret as we have been. ¡°So far, we¡¯ve been dealing with matters on the E and D rank scale, at a level gods do not care about, but that will change in the future, and, if any god is regularly performing divination, it will be obvious in the aftermath when we were involved. ¡°We don¡¯t have to worry about big system events like the War of the Chosen, the Trial Towers, and the C rank Universal Tournament as these aren¡¯t things gods can divine the results of, given there are too many gods involved, and our interactions with a force like the Forest Cauldron will be protected for the same reason, but, in the near future, we will start interacting with A rank forces in ways that will get noticed, and we¡¯ll need the ability to completely drop subsections of our external development without affecting the whole. ¡°Take the third eye uniqueness line for example, probably the most useful uniqueness line of those common on Earth. There are known resources to improve the grade of this line of uniquenesses, but they¡¯re all dominated by forces directly under gods or by three extremely powerful A rank forces. ¡°If we could get our hands on some of these resources, however, the overall comprehensive power of Earth would significantly rise. So, after I reach D rank, I¡¯m going to steal some. And we need to make sure other parts of our development aren¡¯t affected when I do.¡± Francis thought for a few seconds. If anyone was going to benefit from being able to improve the third eye uniqueness line directly, it would be Ms. Li herself, but she wasn¡¯t wrong with what she was saying. Other than the Heavenly Spark Soul King, Ms. Li was their strongest powerhouse, and it was the job of a force to help improve the power of their strongest so their strongest could in turn protect them. Granted, he was a bit more comfortable when Diana was in command, but she would have agreed with what Ms. Li was saying, so he decided to move on to another topic. ¡°I noticed my wife is also on the list of those participating in the War of the Chosen. Isn¡¯t that a bit unfair? ¡°I can understand myself and Silvia. We¡¯re important administrative officials, so, even without combat power, we¡¯re useful in a war. But my wife is just a therapist, and she has even less combat power than me.¡± Francis took a deep breath. ¡°So far, Earth is being run like a meritocracy, and, as the nominal head of the government, I don¡¯t want to open myself and you up for claims of bias.¡± ¡°There is no bias.¡± Ms. Li shook her head. ¡°Your wife is following the path of an empath, which is useful for her previous job, and there aren¡¯t many on Earth who have similar classes. Of those that do, your wife is the most talented, has consumed the most resources from you using your own personal finances, and, most important, she is the only E rank at this time. ¡°Knowing oneself is extremely important for a cultivator at higher ranks, so I¡¯m thinking of making bi-yearly therapy a requirement for everyone participating in the War of the Chosen. We¡¯ll bring in some other therapists as well for those who want more than two sessions a year, but your wife is the only one qualified to actually participate in the War of the Chosen, so she was given a spot.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Francis felt that was reasonable. But then he realized something else and he felt a bit worried. ¡°Will you be participating in therapy as well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Li raised an eyebrow. ¡°As well as Aalam and everyone else participating. Is that a problem?¡± ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Francis spoke slowly as he tried to analyze his own emotions. ¡°I guess I just don¡¯t know how I feel about my wife knowing secrets about my bosses and colleagues. ¡°I tell her about my work and, while she doesn¡¯t include specifics, she tells me about hers. So it would be weird to have her have information I don¡¯t about people I have to interact with.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Ms. Li seemed to give it some thought. ¡°I can see that. Personally, I found the idea more comfortable because she was your wife, and I¡¯ve grown to trust you, but you have a point. Maybe¡ª¡± Francis raised a hand and Ms. Li stopped. ¡°Never mind, Ms. Li. A little discomfort on my end is fine. You, Mr. Alvaro, and Mr. Gale have just gone through something incredibly traumatic, not to mention what you¡¯ve experienced before, and it is very healthy that you want to talk to someone.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Ms. Li paused the conversation for a few seconds. ¡°I¡¯ve talked with Aalam and Isaiah, and we¡¯re all okay with you knowing anything we tell your wife.¡± ¡°Thank you, but you really don¡¯t need to go that far.¡± Francis felt a bit of warmth enter into his soul. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with her and see if she agrees.¡± Ms. Li then left and Francis finally took the time to allow himself to feel sad, not having been able to yet process the fact Diana was gone and her child had been killed forever. Then he got up from his seat, used his Telekinesis skill to fly down from the building, and headed home. It had already been a trying day, and the near future was going to be a lot of work. Chapter 224: Sally Davies Appearing much younger than her age, with Western European features, brown hair, and brown eyes, Sally Davies looked up from her notes to meet the gaze of the abnormally handsome young man across from her. ¡°So, correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but the things you think we should talk about in future sessions are as follows: your mother abandoning your family when you were a baby; your father dying in a car accident when you were a child; your experiences in foster care with your sister; the only major romantic relationship in your life being with a woman whose intention from the beginning was to steal from you; a reasonable sense of paranoia from lots of governments and companies stealing your intellectual property; you almost causing World War III by releasing all the private documents of everyone who stole from you; you accidentally contributing to the death of your ex girlfriend; you committing suicide by blowing up the US Capitol with about a thousand people inside to stop World War III from happening, which apparently actually worked; you slaughtering several hundred Earthling souls in a monster tutorial; you teaming up with your ex girlfriend in said monster tutorial and then turning yourself into an incubus and her into a succubus, while also starting a master servant relationship; you killing quite a few people in a war to take over the planet you ended up on; you effectively torturing your future best friend when you barely knew him to try and confirm the emotions of your ex girlfriend; you being tortured in a hyper realistic soul world by an elf, who you later forgave, and are now working with; people around you not trusting you to handle social situations; the loss of a parental figure in your combat instructor; you taking things too far in taking revenge for the death of your combat instructor, killing over 36 billion people in order to use their souls to kill the true murderer, who was too powerful for you to kill in any other way with your power at the time; your desire at the time to commit suicide because you thought you were evil; you still believing you are evil; the worst thing you¡¯ve ever done being something the universe has rewarded you for many times over; the fact your mother had you with the intention of killing you off in an absolutely brutal way; your mother brutally killing your sister and unborn niece; the pressure from needing to achieve several near-impossible results to revive your sister; and how, because you are an incubus, women keep becoming attracted to you, which, in your words, is annoying. ¡°Am I missing anything?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Aalam Alvaro, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, nodded. ¡°How everyone on Earth¡¯s lives depend on me, and the pressure that results from that.¡± Sally looked down and added that last bit to her notes, her mind reeling, but out loud she calmly said, ¡°You are what in my field we call a difficult case. What do you think about increasing our session count to far, far more than two a year?¡± But then she looked up and realized the young man, the boss of Earth and the master of her husband, had disappeared, presumably before she started talking¡ªmaybe teleporting away. * * * ¡°So, how does that make you feel?¡± Sally looked up from the notes she¡¯d been taking to look at the large man with the indigo reptilian eyes. ¡°Impotent.¡± Isaiah Gale opened and closed his hands into fists a few times. ¡°There was nothing I could do. There¡¯s almost always nothing I can do.¡± ¡°Do you think your need to feel like you are in control might have something to do with your upbringing?¡± Isaiah¡¯s aura showed confusion for a few seconds, then surprise. ¡°Oh, maybe. I was used by the Gale Clan and wanted to belong. So, now that I do belong somewhere, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be abandoned if I stop being useful.¡± ¡°We should go into that more in the future.¡± Sally marked down a reminder in her notes. ¡°But there are some things we should probably touch on first. Have you been able to properly grieve yet?¡± Isaiah¡¯s aura showed confusion again and he started to frown. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You lost a loved one and a child. Have you taken time to just be sad?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time. I have to train so it doesn¡¯t happen again.¡± Isaiah almost growled out the last words and Sally decided to try a slightly different tactic. ¡°Has your training since their deaths been efficient?¡± Isaiah just stared at her for several seconds, and then a feeling of defeat entered into his aura. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Isaiah¡¯s eyes narrowed and his aura showed anger, just what Sally had expected. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a bad thing, Isaiah.¡± Though she had expected his rage, it still took most of Sally¡¯s control to stay calm in front of the angry powerhouse in front of her, only the knowledge he wouldn¡¯t actually attack keeping her from just running out the door. ¡°It means you cared. ¡°Out of everyone, you¡¯re the hardest hit by this. And it¡¯s okay for things to not be good for a while.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°But I need to be stronger.¡± Isaiah opened and closed his hands a few more times and Sally took a few seconds to think about what to say next. ¡°Why do you think Ms. Li is having everyone undergo therapy sessions?¡± Isaiah¡¯s aura changed, like he suddenly realized something. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well, my husband said that at higher ranks knowing yourself becomes incredibly important. I don¡¯t know the specifics, and I gather it is something that is normally hidden from people at our rank, but I imagine learning how to handle your own grief is a good step in the right direction.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The dragon man looked thoughtful for several seconds. ¡°I just asked Mila and she confirmed your guess. ¡°I need to allow myself to feel the emotions, even if I know it¡¯s going to hurt?¡± Isaiah was looking at her with reluctance obvious in his expression and aura, but Sally just nodded. ¡°That is what I would recommend.¡± Tears started to form in the man¡¯s reptilian eyes, causing him to blink in a way that was not at all human, reminding Sally of the alien from Will Smith¡¯s first scene in Men In Black. Then he seemed to mostly talk to himself. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll do some of the activities I¡¯ve been avoiding, the ones we used to do together.¡± ¡°Or you could do them with a friend.¡± ¡°Oh. Right.¡± A bit more life entered into Isaiah¡¯s voice. ¡°Aalam is probably feeling a lot of the same emotions. And he really likes those things.¡± The large man moved from where he was sitting and gave Sally an unexpected hug. ¡°Thanks, Ms. Davies. This was very helpful.¡± * * * ¡°Well, that¡¯s time.¡± Li Mila rose from her seat and headed toward the door to the office. ¡°Thanks for your time today, Sally. I¡¯ll see you in half a year.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Sally smiled, but then, as the door closed behind Mila, she realized she¡¯d only asked the woman one question about her childhood and had not even received an answer. The woman had shifted the topic to Francis and 90s action films, topics Sally loved, and the rest of their time had been spent talking about things of only consequence to Sally and not her patient. She¡¯d been played. ¡°Damn.¡± * * * Looking at his wife¡¯s angry expression as she got into bed, Francis asked, ¡°Is there something I should be worried about?¡± ¡°No. Probably not.¡± Sally was speaking in the way she usually did when she didn¡¯t want to talk about something, but her aura showed she very much did, and, as he expected, it didn¡¯t take long for her to break down and turn to him. ¡°Why have you always said you like Mr. Li?¡± ¡°He¡¯s very efficient at his job and is the only person I interact with on a regular basis who likes to maintain formality.¡± ¡°I was just reading up on Li Mila after our session, and that man is a monster. He¡¯s basically Nicholas Cage¡¯s character from Kickass, only so much more messed up. He didn¡¯t just teach his granddaughter how to kill, but how to manipulate everyone around her. ¡°And do you know that, as a teenager, she was sent to pleasure and then kill warlords in Africa?¡± Francis thought about how to answer the question, to which the answer was yes, and decided to just not say anything, which resulted in his wife glaring at him. ¡°I asked her one question about her childhood, Francis, and she started to completely play me. We spent our entire session talking about you and 90s action films, not anything of actual importance to her life. I don¡¯t know if she cared about what I was saying, was trying to gather information, or if she was just avoiding the topic. And, if she was avoiding the topic, there are several possible reasons why and I have no idea which one is correct.¡± ¡°She is in general extremely hard to read.¡± Francis couldn¡¯t think of anything more constructive to say. Then there was a pause in the conversation as his wife continued to glare at him, so he decided to ask a different question. ¡°What about Isaiah Gale and the Heavenly Spark Soul King?¡± Sally frowned a bit and turned away from him, lying back on her pillow and looking up at the ceiling. ¡°Isaiah is a very sweet individual. He¡¯s had a whole lot of trauma in his life and it has made him care about others more than he cares about himself. Try not to call him Mr. Gale though. From what I understand, the Gale clan raised him with the intent of sacrificing him for a bloodline curse, and he should probably consider changing his last name. ¡°As for Aalam, well, he¡¯s seriously messed up.¡± Francis sat up and looked at his wife with an expression of fear. ¡°Should I be worried?¡± ¡°No.¡± Sally shook her head. ¡°At least I don¡¯t think so. Take away all the superlatives about his berserker uniqueness and he¡¯s basically a recovering alcoholic who is deeply regretful of the actions he¡¯s taken in his life while drunk. And it sounds like through magic mumbo jumbo he has the berserking part pretty much under control, so there shouldn¡¯t be another mass murder event.¡± Sally turned to look at him, smiling sadly. ¡°Look at me. I¡¯m saying mass murder event like it¡¯s something normal.¡± ¡°Thirty six billion people. Gone in a matter of hours due to a war.¡± Francis looked up at the ceiling as well. ¡°I¡¯ve been reading intelligence reports about the universe and that¡¯s not at all abnormal. Hell, at least in this case the deaths were swift.¡± Francis took a deep breath. ¡°Is there anything else I should know?¡± ¡°For one, you should stop referring to him as the Heavenly Spark Soul King.¡± Sally reached out under the covers and held his hand. ¡°His name is Aalam, Francis, and, after meeting him, I¡¯m much more reassured about your role as president of Earth. ¡°He¡¯s a high functioning autistic with deep-seated and well founded abandonment issues. But the latter, probably due to the former, is less of a problem with allowing him to trust people, and more of a problem with his own level of confidence. ¡°It seems he¡¯s been getting help from some superpower named Joma¡ª¡± ¡°The Alchemist of the Deep Woods, a well connected A rank alchemist and Mr. Alvaro¡¯s former teacher,¡± Francis provided. ¡°But he still doesn¡¯t trust himself. I kind of gather from talking with Isaiah that Aalam might be the most talented cultivator in the universe¡ªthough I do take that with a grain of salt given the source¡ª¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t. All signs point towards that being the case.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± This time it was Sally¡¯s turn to take a deep breath. ¡°Well, he has a lot of confidence and self worth issues, and seeing as he¡¯s tried to commit suicide twice, one time successfully, he doesn¡¯t have good coping mechanisms.¡± Sally paused for a second. ¡°On a side note, were you aware his blowing up the Capitol effectively saved over a billion lives?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Francis nodded, that fact still one of the most amazing he¡¯d ever learned. ¡°Yes, I was.¡± Sally looked up at the ceiling again. ¡°Well, suffice it to say he doesn¡¯t have anywhere near the level of confidence you would expect. ¡°As for being a high functioning autistic, well, I kind of like that in the person who has true actual say in everything our force does in the future. He has no desire to lead, and likely never will, but you can see his influence in the policies his sister and Ms. Li have implemented, so he¡¯s likely at least half the reason life on Earth has been so good over the last couple decades.¡± Chapter 225: Divine Questioning Krysta Krysta was practicing with her magic in one of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s training rooms, sending out spatial slice after spatial slice to the point of exhaustion. Meanwhile, she was also using her sensory skill to watch as Henrietta was repeatedly beaten in a rotation of fights by a group of weak E ranks. Both she and Henrietta were long since well past their limits, but, every half hour, her mother, who was standing in a corner of the room, would activate the room¡¯s healing formation and give them just enough energy so they could continue to exhaust themselves for another half hour. Even Isaiah would have been breaking down after the 13 hours they¡¯d already gone through, let alone her and Henrietta, but her mother didn¡¯t seem at all inclined to slow down their training, even though Henrietta had already long since stopped fighting back. Of the various training regimens her mother had started trying since learning about what had happened to Aalam¡¯s sister and what awaited his force, this was the second worst¡ªright after the alchemical flame cleansing they had undergone to eliminate any remaining pill impurities in their bodies and souls¡ªbut it was the third most common, so, even with the obvious beneficial effects the intense training had already started to show, Krysta didn¡¯t feel it was worth it. Thankfully, this time at least, right after an instance of healing, the training stopped early. ¡°Girls, come with me. Everyone else, take a day off.¡± Krysta¡¯s sense of relief faded as she felt the fear and anger which were leaking from her mother¡¯s aura. Joma then left the room, and Krysta and Henrietta followed, Henrietta looking at Krysta questioningly, but Krysta only shook her head, not sure what was about to happen. They moved to one of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s meeting rooms, the nicest one, built into the life tree and large enough to hold several hundred people. And there, at the head of the large table in the center of the room, was the woman who had become the focal figure of Krysta¡¯s nightmares. For a goddess, Bellessia was plain looking, appearing like a normal human of medium build and skin tone, with dark brown hair and eyes, and, if Krysta didn¡¯t know any better, she¡¯d have thought the woman was a G rank, none of the goddess¡¯s power leaking out at all. Bellessia was wearing a light blue conservative dress, her hair long and loose down to the middle of her back, and she was smiling at them, but Krysta couldn¡¯t help the feelings of fear and disgust which entered into her aura, and the goddess noticed. ¡°I was going to ask about the new E rank spear wielder your force gained soon after the last War of the Chosen, but it seems now I don¡¯t have to.¡± Bellessia¡¯s smile was warm and motherly, which freaked Krysta out far more than if she¡¯d shown anger or annoyance. ¡°Why don¡¯t you all take a seat and let¡¯s have a little talk?¡± ¡°Earth Mother.¡± A deep and powerful male voice came from behind Krysta, Henrietta, and her mother. ¡°Coming to my Territory and threatening my tenants is a bit rude, don¡¯t you think?¡± Wearing an opulent yellow robe, a large human man walked in from the room¡¯s doorway. With skin almost as dark as Krysta¡¯s and her mother¡¯s, shoulder length azure hair, and sky blue eyes shining with an obvious brilliance, the Sky Lord felt much more like a god, the air around him completely controlled by his aura. The lord of the planet the Forest Cauldron¡¯s main base was located on, Krysta¡¯s mother had probably called on him for help as soon as she¡¯d heard of Bellessia arriving, and Krysta was glad she had. One of the older gods, the Sky Lord was significantly stronger than Earth Mother Bellessia, and he wouldn¡¯t allow the woman to search their souls in his presence. ¡°Sky Lord, I wasn¡¯t aware you were also involved in the Forest Cauldron¡¯s crime.¡± Bellessia still smiled warmly even when talking to the elder god, no change in her aura obvious at all. ¡°This escalates matters a bit.¡± From behind Bellessia, a spatial portal opened, but it wasn¡¯t one created through the use of space Laws, instead seemingly having been formed through raw force, and, given how controlled its energy was, that was utterly terrifying. Then out of the portal walked a woman, and, like Bellessia, she didn¡¯t radiate any aura or Laws at all. If she had, however, they would have been of the elements of death, life, and water, as Krysta immediately recognized her as the Lady of Hellwater. The second eldest child of the Primordial Sovereign, the Lady of Hellwater looked quite a bit like her younger sister, only a tad taller and a bit more traditionally attractive, her figure slightly more curvaceous. More important, however, she was quite a bit older than the Sky Lord and significantly more powerful. ¡°And what crimes are we talking about?¡± The Sky Lord¡¯s tone was significantly more respectful than before, but the man still didn¡¯t seem like he was going to give way. As an independent god, he likely didn¡¯t want to get on the bad side of the Primordial Humans subfaction of the Human Ancestors, but he also couldn¡¯t allow anything to happen to Krysta or her mother or else Krysta¡¯s father and uncles might make him pay. ¡°The harboring of a class 3 threat to the universe.¡± ¡°And what class 3 threat are we talking about?¡± Six men walked out of a practically perfect spatial portal near the other side of the room¡¯s table, each looking similar, with hair, eyes, and horns representing the elements of fire, water, lightning, death, time, and space respectively. The one who¡¯d spoken had a deep and smooth voice, the aura of space around him the strongest of any god under the level of the Divine Child, the Lady of Laws, and the three human ancestors. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Krysta¡¯s father, Kilvorax, the Heavenly Scarab of Space, had arrived, along with five of his brothers. ¡°The Runemaster Truesoul.¡± Bellessia turned to the new gods and continued to smile warmly with no change in her voice or aura. Kilvorax turned to look at Krysta¡¯s mother and seemed to notice her obvious confusion, so he explained. ¡°The truesoul which resulted in Alashan, Camoran, and the Spacetime Seamstress. It usually results in a cultivator specializing in some sort of crafting.¡± ¡°Probably the second apprentice you were telling me about during the auction,¡± Krysta¡¯s uncle, Parvorax, the Heavenly Scarab of Fire, added. ¡°Understood.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother nodded. ¡°And why is the Earth Mother¡¯s son a class 3 threat to the universe?¡± ¡°Earth Mother¡¯s son?¡± Parvorax, always the most boisterous of Krysta¡¯s uncles, turned to look at Bellessia. ¡°You birthed the boy and then, what, lost him?¡± Bellessia stayed silent, starting to frown slightly. Meanwhile, Krysta¡¯s father answered her mother¡¯s question. ¡°The Runemaster Truesoul doesn¡¯t originate from our universe. What its origins are, my brothers and I at least have no idea, but, whenever it grows in strength, the power it absorbs affects the universe differently than power absorbed by native truesouls, weakening the universe¡¯s borders ever so slightly. ¡°Normally, this isn¡¯t much of an issue. Our universe is strong, and its energy is returned to it after the truesoul returns to the cycle of reincarnation, but sometimes, like with the period that will start within the next several thousand years or so, the borders of our universe will weaken, and we¡¯ll start to see more portals between universes and connecting demiplanes appear. ¡°At the same time, existing portals will grow more stable, including some to universes of equivalent strength, such as the Origin of Undeath, to the point they will even allow gods through, and this makes the time period more dangerous. But it is also an opportunity, as our gods can travel to other universes as well. ¡°If the Runemaster Truesoul were to reach the A rank level during this time, some of these portals would even allow more powerful gods like the Divine Child and the Lady of Laws through, and this is why it is categorized as a class 3 threat.¡± Kilvorax smiled warmly. ¡°In truth, though, given the distribution of faith Territories in the Universe, the threat is mostly to the lands of the Human Ancestors and the Lady of Laws, not ours, as some of their most stable portals lead to those powerful universes, but none of ours do, so for us the Runemaster Truesoul gaining power during this time would actually be a benefit, especially given our recent purchase at the Universal Auction.¡± ¡°Where is Aalam?¡± Bellessia asked as soon as Kilvorax¡¯s explanation was done, having completely ignored Parvorax¡¯s question, her voice no longer pleasant. Krysta¡¯s mother bowed toward Kilvorax and then waited for several seconds for any other gods to interrupt, but they didn¡¯t, so she turned to face Bellessia, her aura fully controlled. ¡°Presumably on his home planet.¡± ¡°That has moved.¡± Bellessia still felt like a G rank, but something Krysta didn¡¯t understand changed and she suddenly felt suppressed, even though she couldn¡¯t feel the woman¡¯s aura at all. ¡°When will he be back?¡± ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± Joma¡¯s aura flared, fighting against the suppression, and she turned back toward Krysta¡¯s father and his brothers. ¡°Aalam Alvaro, my former second apprentice, had it built into his contract with me that I could abandon him at any time, and, after being advised through one of his underlings, I have done so.¡± ¡°What did the Earth Mother do to warn him to run away?¡± Parvorax reached out and patted Krysta¡¯s mother on the shoulder, an aura of heat and fire, like a warm summer day, spreading over Krysta, her mother, and Henrietta, protecting them. ¡°She performed a bloodline curse to kill his full blood sister and her unborn daughter.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother took a deep breath, seemingly forcing herself to be calm. ¡°She what?¡± Parvorax turned to look at Bellessia with obvious surprise on his face and all five of his brothers, as well as the Sky Lord, did pretty much the same. ¡°So, the goddess of marriage and motherhood not only has one child she wants to kill to maintain her family¡¯s power, but had another she did kill just for giggles? And she goes around killing unborn babies now?¡± Parvorax turned to his brothers. ¡°Do you think we should change what she¡¯s a goddess of? Maybe child abuse and hysteria.¡± ¡°Be silent, Flame Lord.¡± The Lady of Hellwater, for the first time since arriving, spoke, her voice showing controlled anger. ¡°My sister was trying to block the revival of the Yin Yang Sage and, while her methods were questionable and her goal was inane, the issue you all should be worried about isn¡¯t her actions, but why they failed. ¡°My sister used divination and saw her two children being accepted as the final two apprentices of Xara Valin, but we¡¯ve since learned that, not only was the Runemaster Truesoul not accepted as an apprentice, he even killed himself before his planet¡¯s integration and was reborn as a monster. ¡°The Yin Yang Sage¡¯s planet, Earth, whose population is entirely descended from Xara Valin herself and the most talented members of the B, A, and divine rank forces she destroyed, also seems to be descended from the Trickster. The Runemaster Truesoul has the chance of awakening to a shadow line uniqueness if he hasn¡¯t already, and there is at least one individual on that planet with a shadow line uniqueness at the Fabled grade or higher, almost certainly an A rank talent.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well that complicates things.¡± Krysta¡¯s father looked thoughtful for a few seconds. Then he turned to Bellessia. ¡°It¡¯s your mess, so you can deal with it.¡± ¡°We came here for information.¡± The Lady of Hellwater looked from Krysta¡¯s father, to her mother, and then to her, pretty much completely ignoring Henrietta. ¡°Then you should pay for it.¡± Kilvorax made a gesture and he and his five brothers all sat down. Then, before turning back to the Lady of Hellwater, he made another gesture inviting Krysta, her mother, Henrietta, and the Sky Lord to sit as well. ¡°I¡¯m thinking one Awakening Crystal, one Fruit of Empowerment, and one Primal Enhancement Gem for the ability to question my daughter.¡± ¡°The Alchemist assuredly knows more.¡± Bellessia was back to her creepy pleasantness, seemingly completely unperturbed by what her sister had said about her before. ¡°I don¡¯t break my word.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother was also back to her usual calm self, at least on the outside. ¡°Besides, my daughter knows almost as much about your son as I do.¡± ¡°Who else would know about him?¡± This time it was the Lady of Hellwater who spoke. ¡°My first apprentice here, Henrietta Vin.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother pointed at Henrietta. ¡°But she barely knows anything even superficial about Aalam, so she wouldn¡¯t be of much help. ¡°Then there were two others who knew more than Henrietta but less than Krysta. They didn¡¯t have A rank parents and divine protection, however, and your sister didn¡¯t leave the best impression on me given the aforementioned filicide, so I allowed them to leave to serve your nephew.¡± The Lady of Hellwater frowned, but then she turned to Krysta¡¯s father and bowed her head. ¡°We agree to your terms.¡± Krysta¡¯s uncle Mokvorax, the Heavenly Scarab of Death, then reached over and tapped Krysta on the forehead, using his death Laws to sever all her contractual obligations, and the Lady of Hellwater started to question her, asking all sorts of questions about Aalam, such as about his powers, his personality, and those around him. Krysta didn¡¯t really feel like giving the woman too much information, however, so she didn¡¯t offer more than what was asked for. In particular, she hid Isaiah¡¯s identity, making it seem like he was another reborn monster from Earth, thus his lack of fame, instead of revealing anything about his actual identity. The gods around her would probably figure out Isaiah¡¯s true identity in the future, but she didn¡¯t lie, just mislead a little, so it hopefully wouldn¡¯t affect her much. Chapter 226: The True Threat of Bellessia ¡°Insane mother, insane child, huh?¡± Parvorax looked over at Bellessia as he leaned back in his seat once Krysta finished answering the last of the Lady of Hellwater¡¯s questions, his legs up on the table. ¡°Still, I have to say you made a nice little monster. I can count the number of E ranks who personally slew full power B ranks on one hand. Do you think at C rank he might kill you?¡± Bellessia ignored him and turned to look at her sister. The Lady of Hellwater in turn, however, was glaring at Parvorax. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that, Flame Lord. Given your alchemist took him in as an apprentice after said slaying, and everything your niece has explained about his personality, he almost certainly already has an oath and it will likely keep him from using curses and plagues for his revenge.¡± She then turned to look at Bellessia. ¡°In return, however, it will probably allow him to blaze right past roadblocks which would have impeded his advancement otherwise.¡± She turned back to the six Heavenly Scarabs. ¡°From the results of Earth¡¯s war with the Violet Mountain Sect, they would have received coupons for the Universal Auction. Given the nature of the Alchemist, she likely used the 75% off coupon on the Dread Plunderer, but the 50% off coupon she seems to have traded with you, resulting in your faction winning the new universe. What did you trade in return?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Parvorax¡¯s eyes grew wide as all his brothers turned to look at him, and he even took his feet off the table. Then he turned to look at Krysta¡¯s mother. ¡°That big item. You lied to me, right? It was for his C rank advancement, not A or B.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother just smiled at him enigmatically, but it seemed Parvorax was quite sure of his own guess. ¡°That boy is so insane.¡± ¡°Care to share with the group, Flame Lord?¡± Bellessia¡¯s expression was still somehow calm and collected as she looked at Parvorax. ¡°No can do.¡± Parvorax shook his head, a big smile again on his face. ¡°I signed a contract with the boss.¡± ¡°The Heavenly Spark Soul King isn¡¯t important,¡± Krysta¡¯s father interjected, calmly looking at the Lady of Hellwater. ¡°Whatever the case, we all know the Primordial Humans will interfere with his ability to gain Territory, so he won¡¯t be able to advance his race to the point he¡¯d be able to use whatever resource my brother sold him. ¡°He might make it to C rank, surpassing everyone ever on the path of the Heavenly Spark, but, given his path, he won¡¯t be able to make it to B rank, so he can be reduced from a class 3 threat to a class 4. ¡°The only issue left for us to talk about then is the population of his planet. Yes, everyone from that population has the possibility of awakening to a shadow line uniqueness, but the only confirmed case we have is the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s chamberlain, and her path is limited by your nephew¡¯s. ¡°Earth Mother created this problem herself, and it is not of a high enough grade to warrant any more cooperation, so you humans will need to deal with it on your own. We under the Divine Child will not be offering any more assistance.¡± He rose from his seat and his brothers followed his lead. ¡°Now, please leave. And if we catch you or yours in the Territory of the Forest Cauldron again, we won¡¯t be polite.¡± Bellessia looked like she wanted to say something, but the Lady of Hellwater put a hand on her shoulder. Then black water appeared around the Lady of Hellwater and tore open a stable hole in space, into which both goddesses stepped, transporting them over a galaxy cluster away. ¡°Sky Lord.¡± Kilvorax bowed to the older independent god who was still sitting in the room. ¡°Thank you for protecting my daughter. I owe you a favor.¡± ¡°It was but a minor matter.¡± The Sky Lord waved a hand dismissively and stood, smiling at the six Heavenly Scarab Brothers. ¡°And feel free to stay on my planet for as long as you like. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± The god then left and the six brothers sat back down, all of them letting out sighs of relief. As Krysta started to realize the implications of her father and uncles¡¯ expressions, beginning to feel utterly terrified, Kilvorax turned to look at her and her mother again. ¡°I understand you didn¡¯t know any better, but please make sure to never have contact with that planet again. ¡°Your friends and their people are safe for now¡ªthe System¡¯s protection of their planet is not something even the Primordial Humans can get around without at least several tens of thousands of years of work¡ªbut with just a B rank planet that boy¡¯s path will be cut off. He likely has more Territory than just what he gained from his war with the Violet Mountain Sect, but the Primordial Humans have his soul aura, so they¡¯ll be able to find it and kill the lords he rules over, not to mention the other ways they¡¯ll manage to suppress him. ¡°Nothing you do will allow you to help, and we have no way of protecting you if the Earth Mother ever really wants you dead.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother frowned. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m missing something. The Lady of Hellwater is powerful, but it felt like the Earth Mother was much weaker than her, barely comparable to any of you.¡± ¡°The Earth Mother herself isn¡¯t the issue.¡± Parvorax was no longer smiling, his jovial attitude from before completely gone. ¡°The issue is her status in the human race. ¡°You almost certainly couldn¡¯t sense it, but she was wearing some kind of artifact¡ªlikely a necklace¡ªwith the power of her father. Had we gotten at all violent, he would have arrived almost instantly and slaughtered all of us.¡± Parvorax took a deep breath. ¡°The biggest thing revealed today was not the feats of your apprentice, but the fact the Earth Mother had two more children only a couple years after her twins with Emperor Thunderstrike, ones who, from your description, had no degradation of talent. ¡°As a goddess of motherhood, she¡¯s always found it easier than the rest of us to have children, but now it seems possible she can have children whenever she wants, and that has the potential to change the entire power structure of the universe.¡± Krysta knew about the twin children of Thunderstrike Taravan. They were both considered contenders for the best talent of the current generation before her own existence was revealed. But she hadn¡¯t known they were children of the Earth Mother. The children of deities were far more likely than normal cultivators to have the talent to grow into deities themselves, but they were generally incredibly rare, an average of only one born every ten billion years or so, so only 22 of the universe¡¯s 204 gods had a divine parent. But, if a new divine child could be produced even every thousand years, and even if their rate of advancing past A rank was only 0.001%, far lower than normal for divine children, it would still only take 10 billion years for 100 new gods to be born. * * * Mila felt it as the lord servants under Aalam began to be slaughtered, greatly reducing the size of his Territory, but it wasn¡¯t a big blow. She¡¯d already expected it would happen and destroyed her contracts with anyone whose life and death she actually cared about. While she¡¯d never wanted to expose her Shadow Princess uniqueness before, there was no issue with that now, so she¡¯d used it to cut off the contracts with those lords she approved of, doing so in a way the other party¡¯s side of the contract would be severed as well. The bigger loss was the Territory they¡¯d gained from the Violet Mountain Sect, which was quickly being conquered. Still, while the loss of Territory would slow Aalam¡¯s development slightly, with an A rank planet under his rule, his second uniqueness would still advance from King to Emperor before the end of the War of the Chosen, so their only true loss was in the time it would take. Smiling slightly, Mila got back to handing out the psyforce to speech collars Aalam had created to the line of monsters heading for the teleportation platform which would bring them back to Earth. With a goddess targeting all Earthlings, Mila¡¯d had to move up the timetable of finding the Earthlings reincarnated as monsters, and it had been a pretty big success. Having already conquered at least one D rank force from every planet undergoing an apocalypse style integration she knew of, Mila had figured out which planets Earthlings had reincarnated onto before Diana had died¡ªNana Xara¡¯s information from the monster tutorial and the information sent back by the D rank invasion forces making it quite easy to identify Earth¡¯s talents. Then all she¡¯d had to do was send talented young G ranks from Earth with the Omniglot Reader racial ability to the planets using the System¡¯s reinforcement function for invading forces, paying the exorbitant costs herself. The young G ranks had immediately advanced to F rank upon arrival, made contact with the Earthling monsters, and then worked with the monsters to help the D rank forces they represented conquer the planets. The D rank forces Mila later abandoned gained a new planet, while the monsters from Earth could return home and any natives they cared about could move to Hira. Of the nineteen planets with confirmed Earthling monsters, they¡¯d managed to recover all the remaining Earthlings from 17 of them, and they hadn¡¯t lost any of the 19 talented G ranks, 2 making the right decision to retreat upon realizing most of the Earthling monsters were already dead, the other invasion forces on the planets too powerful. Chapter 227: War of the Chosen Semi-finals ¡°Storm Lord¡¯s Gale!¡± Immediately upon hearing Nitya¡¯s order, Reginald felt all the mana, qi, and psyforce of their 432 soldiers pour into him, something only possible due to the law armors they were all wearing. Then all that power was converted to the elements of wind and lightning through the influence of everyone¡¯s Laws and he swung out his oversized axe. A large storm wall blasted out from his weapon, pushing back all the enemies in their canyon right before they would have started to lose soldiers. This was their desperation move, a technique they¡¯d trained in for nearly thirty years to handle a case of being overwhelmed, and it was a testament to Lady Li¡¯s commanding skills that the first time they had to use it was during the War of the Chosen¡¯s semi-finals. Earth was powerful¡ªand it wasn¡¯t just due to Lady Li, Lord Alvaro, and Isaiah. Every single soldier in their War of the Chosen army had at least a Heroic grade bloodline, a Rare grade race, and a middle grade Law Larva, with the average of each being a grade higher. And, while not all of Earth¡¯s A rank talents were of the right age to participate in the War of the Chosen, five were, Nitya, Lady Krol, Mr. Garcia, Mr. Smith, and the daughter of Earth¡¯s administrative leader, Ms. Davies. Still, when compared to their opponent, the combined army of over a dozen A rank and divine forces, the resources Earth could provide were limited, so, while they were about equal in talent, the average Luck stat of Earth¡¯s army was only about 80% of their opponent¡¯s, and, as with their last two battles, this had resulted in slightly unfavorable battle conditions. Lord Alvaro, with his Ruler¡¯s Domain skill and his uniqueness which had advanced to Emperor, was way too overpowered for a fight between E ranks, and the law armor sets he¡¯d made for their army, each at least Heroic in grade by this point, meant they were basically invincible if the entire army fought together, even without him. And this wasn¡¯t even mentioning the powerful magical explosives, plagues, and other wondrous toys he¡¯d provided. So, when their Luck was less than their opponents¡¯, the battles had all started to have similar rules. First, there was always something blocking the use of single-use artifacts and biological weapons, usually some powerhouse in the battle¡¯s setting making arbitrary rules. For example, in the setting of this semifinals battle, using any artifacts other than weapons or armor which weren¡¯t created by oneself was considered unfair and the local A rank would kill anyone who did so, both the user and the creator. Second, there was always something which forced the army to split up. The first two times, this resulted in rules which just enforced multi-zone battles, having three separate war zones with forces sent to a zone not able to leave and go reinforce another until all enemies in their own zone were annihilated. But this generally wasn¡¯t much of a problem. The two times this happened, Lady Li by herself, or with some help from a few of their other powerhouses depending on the rules, stalled the battle in one zone, the main army fought in another, and Lord Alvaro, by himself, destroyed all enemies in the third, the main army and Lord Alvaro then quickly heading to the first zone to help Lady Li. In this semifinals battle, however, things were a bit different. The local A rank had enforced a set of arbitrary rules which forced the two armies to fight in three canyons, but, unlike the previous two rounds, no one could leave a canyon they had entered, and whoever controlled two of the three canyons at the end would win. They didn¡¯t have to send everyone in immediately, however, so Lady Li, as their commander, had sent some of their powerhouses into each canyon at the start, and then called reinforcements in as needed whenever they had the possibility of being overwhelmed, especially holding Lord Alvaro back for whenever the enemy made their final big push. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Now, in a typical case for an army participating in the War of the Chosen with their level of power, this type of situation wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all. They could just place Lord Alvaro by himself in one canyon and the rest of their army in another and they would easily win. But, sadly, the Earth army was not at all typical. Unlike every other force able to get into the final 32, the Earth army wasn¡¯t backed by a single god, let alone a group of them like the force they were currently facing, so they really cared about army points, the currency which could be traded in for rewards at the end of the War of the Chosen, not just their placement. This resulted in special cases like in this battle, where Lady Li wanted them to win in all three canyons, not just two, and, for a whole extra level of challenge, it meant their army couldn¡¯t lose a single member until they won the entire war, something which hadn¡¯t happened for more than several billion years. Reginald didn¡¯t know what was happening in the other two canyons, Nitya responsible for that type of communication, but, given their opponent had added an extra five hundred plus soldiers to this one, bringing their remaining count up to over seven hundred, it was pretty obvious the enemy was doing their final push. And, given Nitya¡¯s order, Reginald wasn¡¯t at all surprised when they received only a single unit as reinforcement. Wearing the same armor as every other army member, a black and gray full body outfit made of oddly flexible metal, and holding a 1.5 meter long perfectly cylindrical metal staff, no different from the outside than every other army mage, there was no way for the enemy to tell who he was. But then he moved. In the period since Reginald¡¯s arrival on Earth, Lord Alvaro had brought up all his Laws to high grade Law Pupae and then raised over seven of them to peak grade as well. This alone was terrifying. But, with his Ruler¡¯s Domain skill combined with his Emperor uniqueness, all his stats were multiplied by a factor of 6 before any of his other boosts. Then there were his two new Fabled grade skills. Elevated Multi-Core gave Lord Alvaro six more core containers of the same size as his original, increasing his qi by 600%, but his combat power was more affected by his second skill, Law Steps. Law Steps was a lot like the similar skill Elemental Steps. It was a movement skill which changed the way it operated depending on the Laws it was infused with. But there were some slight differences between the two skills. At the same grade and rank, Law Steps was demonstrably weaker than Elemental Steps when no Laws were infused, but, especially important for Lord Alvaro, Law Steps allowed for the infusion of far more Laws at the same time. With a single step, Lord Alvaro¡¯s high grade Law Pupae of Inertia, Kinetic Energy, and Atmosphere, along with his peak grade Law Pupae of Multi-Dimensional Geometry and Temporal Acceleration, were all infused into his movement skill at the same time, and he appeared between the two armies. Then, using his high grade Law Pupae of Plasma, Liquid, Solid, Gas, and Matter, he changed the nature of the air within his domain, allowing it to better hold mana, qi, and psyforce. This was the technique which allowed Lord Alvaro to fight against Isaiah even when not using ruler¡¯s domain to empower himself, and this time he used it to almost instantly create an array made up of seventeen separate fire and death related runes around himself, infusing them with his peak grade Law Pupae of Heat and Entropy. Hellfire emanated out, and, over the next seven seconds or so, the enemy army was completely burnt to death. ¡°How are the other battlefields doing?¡± Reginald asked Lord Alvaro through the telepathic abilities built into everyone¡¯s armor, using the designated open channel so all the soldiers could hear as well. ¡°They left the main force alone, reinforced this canyon with two thirds of their remaining soldiers, and then sent the rest of their soldiers and their commanders to the canyon Mila is defending by herself.¡± Lord Alvaro sounded mildly amused. ¡°The idiots are now all dying from her explosives and D rank golems.¡± The rules of the battle only said external artifacts couldn¡¯t be used by those other than the cultivator who made them, but Lady Li could make use of Lord Alvaro¡¯s skills, so she¡¯d made golems, plagues, and other one time use artifacts of her own during her downtime in previous battles. This wasn¡¯t a secret on Earth, but it wasn¡¯t something which had been exposed to the outside universe, so it made sense their opponent had made such a mistake. Lady Li¡¯s stealth abilities were too good, so the enemy wouldn¡¯t be able to find her, and her golems and one time use artifacts were powerful enough to kill them all. Earth had won quite easily even while not using Brom Karendesh or his assistant, who normally fought from inside war machines built by Lord Alvaro to hide their identities, but their next battle, the finals of the War of the Chosen, would not be so simple. An army created from the combined forces of all the Primordial Humans, they hadn¡¯t yet lost a single soldier as well, and, from the reports Reginald had seen, every single member of their army had maxed out stats, so their average Luck would be way higher than any force Earth had faced. Chapter 228: Earth, a Very Unique Planet Earth was a very unique planet. First, as a future A rank world undergoing integration, while its training environment wasn¡¯t yet at the A rank level, it was close, and, due to Mila¡¯s purchases during the Universal Auction, it was going to be an A rank world with nine natural wonders, almost at the same level as the planets ruled by higher gods like the Divine Child. And this wasn¡¯t even mentioning how the three other planets with life in Earth¡¯s new solar system would all rise to B rank as well or the abundance of high rank minerals which they would be able to find on the system¡¯s other celestial bodies. Second, Earth¡¯s level of talent was higher than any other newly integrated world he¡¯d ever heard of. Every single human on the planet was a cultivator, which was on its own ridiculous, but 70% of the population above the age of 18 had at least a single early grade Law Egg, which meant the average talent of the planet was at least E rank. Yes, 1 in 20,736 Earthlings had been born with a uniqueness, almost all at least at Rare grade, which was an incredibly high ratio. And, yes, something like 99% of Earth¡¯s population had one of seven Legendary to Fabled grade bloodlines, most of which increased affinity to some subset of Laws. But the Law talent of the population was something Wolfram had never heard of. Each new stage of a Law¡¯s advancement was a doubling in power, but this also required a doubling of understanding, an interlocking section made up of twice the number of puzzle pieces in Aalam¡¯s favored multi-dimensional puzzle analogy for Laws. And all of the new pieces were inherently ones a cultivator was less naturally gifted in understanding, thus why they weren¡¯t included in the previous stages. As a result, each new stage of Law advancement usually took quite a bit over twice the amount of time to achieve as all previous stages put together. Even with the advantage of their almost A rank planet, for there to be over 100 million cultivators with at least one early grade Law Larva out of a population of less than six billion, all still under the classification of young cultivators, was something Wolfram had never even imagined. Aalam, when it came to Laws, was utterly amazing, but, when compared to those from his same planet, he only stuck out by about the same amount as most worlds¡¯ most talented cultivators. Finally, third, despite its talent and abundance of resources, Earth was somehow a highly functioning unified force. Almost everyone on the planet said a prayer to their fallen leader, Aalam¡¯s elder sister, before daily meals. While there was some dissent present, such as fear about Aalam having killed an entire force of over 36 billion people due to a single death, a majority seemed extremely aware of just how much they¡¯d gained from their planet¡¯s current leadership. And the amount of time the average Earthling spent effectively training for advancement was a whole lot higher than even a young force lacking in corruption like the Forest Cauldron. Most impressive of all, however, was the lack of extreme social stratification and the fact Wolfram hadn¡¯t heard of a single cultivator killing another over the entire time he¡¯d been on the planet, not even for primal energy, something pretty much unheard of throughout the universe. This third aspect especially had interested Wolfram, so he¡¯d looked into it more, and he¡¯d found what he thought were the three key reasons for Earth¡¯s unity and drive. First was isolation. While almost no one on Earth had the right to post anything on the universal soul net, everyone able to connect to Earth¡¯s local soul net could access the universal soul net with the same rights as Earth¡¯s leadership, so they¡¯d seen the bounties placed on every known Earthling¡¯s head, as well as the general bounty on the entire population. When the entire universe was against you, it was pretty easy to be unified. Second was the abundance of resources. With Mila having gathered almost all versions of the best cultivation techniques in the universe from the F rank Trial Tower, everyone on the planet, from the least talented F ranks all the way up to Earth¡¯s leadership, had access to the best possible cultivation techniques for their use, with most lesser cultivation techniques not even in circulation. Most of the Steel Swamp Blessed Land¡¯s surface area had turned into a large farm for some kind of extremely fast-breeding monsters and, affected by the primal energy well which had formed as one of Earth¡¯s new natural wonders, doubling Earth¡¯s ambient primal energy, along with specialized arrays which guided half the planet¡¯s ambient primal energy into the blessed land, the creatures usually only took about a year to rise to C rank and then complete their natural lifecycle by dying. The primal energy they¡¯d stored in their bodies, having been transformed by their life energy into a state which could be used by cultivators, was then extracted using specialized machines in the blessed land to create primal energy stones, and the result was primal energy stones becoming so common on Earth that they had been made the planet¡¯s standard currency. This then left only resources for advancing stats, materials for race advancement, specialized tools for increasing the grade of racial abilities, and skill orbs as the main bottlenecks to power, but, with Mila¡¯s purchases during the universal auction, the production abilities of a soon to be A rank planet, and Aalam and the Steel Swamp Blessed Land¡¯s production capabilities, these were all quite common as well, albeit more controlled. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Finally, the third and most important reason for Earth¡¯s unity and drive was the power and personalities of Earth¡¯s leadership. While the difference in talent between Aalam and the population of Earth was comparable to the difference between the most talented cultivator of an average planet undergoing integration to the rest of their population, the difference between their levels of power was much, much greater. Aalam, by himself, could pretty easily kill everyone else on the planet, even while everyone was at the same rank. And the entire planet knew this, as there were multiple videos on Earth¡¯s soul net of Aalam fighting the rest of Earth¡¯s War of the Chosen army by himself and rather easily winning. Meanwhile, the only two who could even compete with him were Isaiah and Mila, yet all three worked as a unit. So, even while it wasn¡¯t explicitly stated, it was obvious to everyone with a brain that the three could easily enforce any policies they wanted, no matter how unpopular, so trying to fight against them was a lost cause. At the same time, however, due to their personalities, none of the three wanted to rule, so they desired a system where they could be as hands off as possible and where the type of corruption which would cause them to have to get personally involved was nearly impossible. And, as a result, Earth had become about as true a meritocracy as you could find in the universe. There were rewards from the government based on cultivation achievements, with social status and previous opportunities almost completely accounted for, so higher rewards would be given to those who made the same achievements with less, and the result was, unlike almost everywhere else in the universe, hard work combined with a reasonable level of talent was always rewarded. This, complemented by how obviously hardworking the planet¡¯s main powerhouses were, Aalam and Isaiah especially, resulted in almost the entire population putting in far more effort than they would have otherwise. Granted, the lack of murder on the planet likely had more to do with the rules in the contract for becoming part of the United Federation of Planets, which every single person on the planet was forced to sign as soon as they were physically able, especially the rule which would cause a punishment of intense pain if someone tried to kill another member. And Mila¡¯s absolute control over Earth¡¯s local soul net effectively stopped any dissenting voices from gaining a wide audience. But still, it was impressive that every single member of the United Federation of Planets was forced to sign the same contract, Mila, Aalam, and Isaiah included. And Wolfram also believed Aalam was being honest when he said he didn¡¯t install any of the backdoor access pathways usually included in local soul nets maintained by a planet¡¯s government, the monitoring and judgement of achievements all handled by the soul net itself. ¡°Okay.¡± Wolfram looked out at the 1,741 virtual men and women arranged in the training compound created within Earth¡¯s soul net, most of their true bodies lying somewhere within the enlightenment zone in the real world but some outside doing other work. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing well in the War of the Chosen, about as well as could possibly be expected from you. ¡°But you¡¯ve been up against normal armies until now, and this time you will be facing an army gods deliberately designed to take you down. There are two demigods leading them who only Aalam, Isaiah, and Mila might have a chance to beat. There are seven A rank talents who all specialize in combat and have been given the best resources. And every single soldier in their army has at least an Epic grade race with maximized stats and a divine Heroic grade class, sacrificing their future potential just to take you down. ¡°Most important of all, however, their average Luck will be so much higher than yours that most of your advantages will go away.¡± Wolfram clapped and the weapons and armor everyone was wearing, copies of what they had in the War of the Chosen, all disappeared, replaced by the most basic weapons and armor of the same types available from the room¡¯s training program. ¡°This will almost certainly include you losing access to your artifacts and being separated from each other by even more than the last several battles. ¡°So, for the next three months, as we are still going to try to have everyone survive until the end, we are going to focus on one thing and one thing only.¡± Wolfram clapped his hands again and several tens of thousands of hovering robots, of the type commonly used to train in dodging and defense, appeared around every soldier, commander, and Mila as well. ¡°Cooperative dodging and defense. ¡°If even one of you loses, you all lose.¡± Just as he said the words, Wolfram felt an aura of absolute control spread out to cover everyone, likely about to be combined with Telekinesis and the Law of Gravity to bring down every single robot, but he¡¯d been prepared and he quickly kicked Aalam out of the training hall, sending him a message to go practice on his own. Then, after watching everyone cooperatively defend quite well, he kicked out Mila and Isaiah as well. Mila was far too good at dodging, and Isaiah¡¯s defense was too strong, allowing both of them to go on offense far too easily, greatly reducing the effects of the training on everyone else, not just those around them. Besides, the three of them were Earth¡¯s key combatants, so it was far more useful for them to have a single Law upgrade or any other type of advancement than to practice with everyone else. In the War of the Chosen, it was their role to attack the enemy and keep themselves alive, while the goal of everyone else was to not hold them back. ¡°Sir, are we still going to rely on Lord Aalam, Ms. Li, and Isaiah to do all the main fighting?¡± Javier Garcia, black and white wings of energy behind his back, moved around the battlefield helping any section which looked like they might be in trouble, slashing through a few dozen robots with his sword at each spot, completely fulfilling his support role in the army even while talking. ¡°With nine major threats and an army which is on average more powerful than our own, they might not be enough if we are forced to split up more.¡± ¡°True.¡± Wolfram felt a bit proud that the formerly arrogant Javier had taken to army training so well, making sure to speak in a respectful tone and keep up with the assignment even while asking a question. ¡°But, given what we want to achieve, even if you end up facing someone of your same strength, if there are others around you, your primary goal will be to keep yourself and them alive. Only then should you try to take out the enemy.¡± Wolfram clapped for a third time and nine of the robots, which had been attacking like all the others the entire time, turned purple, becoming significantly more powerful. Then each instantly killed a soldier near every commander other than Brom Karendesh, the coran fighting in the final battle something which was not going to happen unless the stage had some way for him to hide his identity. ¡°Let¡¯s go again, everyone, and this time be aware enemy commanders might be hiding within the enemy¡¯s ranks.¡± Chapter 229: Start of the Finals Mila After reading through the system prompt showing the rules of the War of the Chosen¡¯s final round, Mila took a deep breath. Then she looked more closely at the giant metallic room her army had arrived in, and all the many, many windows, in every direction, showing outer space. On one side of the room were five large screens showing five different environments¡ªa desert, a glacier, a forest, a city filled with high rises, and a flaming hellscape¡ªand under each screen was a portal which, through sharing Aalam¡¯s stronger senses, she could tell led to a battlefield of said environment. As expected, their army couldn¡¯t use externally powered artifacts like golems, or single-use artifacts like plagues or explosives, but this time the creator couldn¡¯t use them either, and, like the last round, anyone sent to a battlefield couldn¡¯t come back, though this time there were five battlefields instead of three. The biggest change, however, was that neither she nor her opponent could send as many people as they wanted to any of the battlefields at any time. Instead, after half an hour, they would each start to take turns sending out one member of their army at a time to any battlefield of their choice, and, if they didn¡¯t do so within 30 seconds, a random member of the army would be sent to a random battlefield instead. They could still use all their standard artifacts¡ªarmor, weapons and the like¡ªwhich was better than they¡¯d expected, but it would be extremely difficult to not lose a single soldier while taking all five battlefields, so Mila was sadly considering abandoning her goal of achieving full completion for every single round. ¡°Commander Aalam, your analysis,¡± Mila sent through her law armor to the telepathic channel used by the entire army, allowing everyone to hear. ¡°There is a divine level forcefield around this room, so there is no way to send anyone out to scout without sending them through the portals. But the forcefield doesn¡¯t block the sensory domain of Ruler¡¯s Domain, which makes it likely the forcefields on the battlefields won¡¯t either. The mana signatures coming from the portals make it seem likely the battlefields all have the elemental mana concentration one would expect from looking at the screens above them, which might have effect on combat. And, while the portals all lead to outside my detection range, I can confirm their endpoints should all be within 100 kilometers of each other.¡± Mila took Aalam¡¯s words into consideration and then started giving orders. ¡°Those with long-range vision skills, see if you can find where the battlefields are through the windows.¡± She moved to look outside as she spoke but was unable to see anything except the vast endlessness of space even with the fifth highest perception of everyone in the army. ¡°Commander Aalam, tell me more about those portals as you learn more. I also want to know how those video feeds above them work, especially if they are live, if what they look at moves, and if you can disable or manipulate them.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Aalam acknowledged her order and then focused his full attention on the portals and video feeds, leaving Mila to think about how to handle the new rules with what she knew about their opponents. * * * ¡°General, we found the battlefields.¡± After about a minute, Irena called Mila over to the other side of the room to look out the windows, but Mila couldn¡¯t see anything, and neither could Aalam. The sensory domain which was still part of Ruler¡¯s Domain was an absolutely broken ability, but, when compared to specialized long-range scouting skills, it wasn¡¯t very useful for trying to find things extremely far away. Irena, however, whose Perception was above Mila¡¯s after using Aalam¡¯s excess nascent energy to max out all her stats, had the Extreme Vision skill which greatly improved her visual acuity, an effect even further enhanced by the Third Eye Princess uniqueness she and Mila shared. So, when Aalam figured out the general location of the portals¡¯ exits and passed that information to the army, she¡¯d been the first to find what Mila¡¯d been looking for and started sharing her senses with Mila and Aalam. Far, far away, at least a couple thousand kilometers, Irena could see several battlefields seemingly twisted together into an odd orb-like shape, and neither Irena nor Mila could really figure out what they were looking at. Aalam, however, seemed to fully understand. ¡°Five battle zones, twisted into the same space. From inside, they should all look like 120-kilometer by 120-kilometer flat terrain, and my guess is they are fully isolated, but I¡¯ll be able to know more when I get there. The sensory domain of Ruler¡¯s Domain should be able to see through all the zones at once, however, and, from what I can see, there is a good chance their environmental effects are linked into a five element cycle, so there might be some hidden conditions from one battlefield to activate a death zone in another.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Mila turned to look at Aalam. ¡°Size of the compressed space?¡± ¡°A sphere with a radius of about 130 kilometers.¡± Mila took another deep breath. Ruler¡¯s Domain, as a skill which combined Sensory Domain, Heavenly Spark Domain, and Ruler¡¯s Raiment, was effectively two domain skills at once. First, there was the true ruler¡¯s domain, a combination of the added defense from Ruler¡¯s Raiment, but quite a bit weaker, and the Law suppression and heightening abilities of Heavenly Spark Domain. Its most useful effect, however, was that the area it covered, while not large and pretty much only useful in close combat, was part of Aalam¡¯s Territory. Combined with Aalam¡¯s Emperor uniqueness, this basically meant the huge boost to all stats Aalam received when in his own Territory could be activated anywhere. Second, there was a sensory domain, weaker than the Sensory Domain skill of the same grade and rank, but not by much. Compared to the Heroic grade Sensory Domain Aalam had used during the last War of the Chosen, however, the sensory domain granted by the Fabled grade Ruler¡¯s Domain was much better, having a radius of about one eighth of the user¡¯s Aura stat instead of one twelfth, and for Mila that was currently about 28.3 kilometers. Given Aalam¡¯s Aura stat, the radius of his sensory domain should have then been about 111.5 kilometers, but there was one other major way the sensory domain of Ruler¡¯s Domain differed from Sensory Domain. Unlike Sensory Domain, Ruler¡¯s Domain was a noble category skill, and Aalam¡¯s Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Prince class greatly increased the power of noble category skills, a threefold boost, while his Emperor uniqueness provided the same level of boosting, also greatly increasing the power of noble category skills. Added together, this was a sixfold boost, and six levels of boosting for a skill was equivalent to raising its grade, in this case doubling the skill¡¯s range and making it much easier to control. Aalam¡¯s sensory domain was more than large enough to cover the entirety of the five battlefields, while Mila¡¯s was not. ¡°Commander Aalam will enter first to scout and see if we can manipulate the environment. But our opponents have a higher average power than we do, so we can¡¯t have them all avoid Commander Aalam if we want to win.¡± Mila turned to look at Javier Garcia. ¡°Commander Javier, over the next twenty-five minutes, do you think you can modify Commander Aalam¡¯s body so he can pass for Commander Isaiah while wearing his armor?¡± * * * Javier Javier Garcia felt excited, and extremely thankful he¡¯d deliberately chosen to upgrade his Body Enhancement skill to Body Modification when advancing to E rank. It wasn¡¯t a full disguise skill like Ms. Li required for going off planet, but it would advance to have such capabilities by the time he was C rank, and that had been his main goal. He¡¯d never dreamed his choice might prove pivotal for the army of Earth during their first battle with the force who¡¯d put bounties on all of their heads. Javier didn¡¯t show his level of excitement, however, carefully maintaining the constant act of indifference he always kept up, controlling his aura and face as he answered Ms. Li¡¯s question. ¡°Yes, General, but I¡¯ll need quite a bit of extra flesh.¡± Ms. Li turned to look at Brom Karendesh and his assistant. ¡°Mr. Darra, I hate to ask this of you, but would you be willing to¡ª¡± She didn¡¯t even have to finish her psychic communication as Darra Jur, Brom¡¯s assistant, started walking over to Javier. ¡°No problem, General. Happy to finally be of assistance.¡± Darra took off his armor, stripping down to his underclothes, as did Lord Aalam, and Javier started using his Body Modification skill, along with his recently advanced middle grade Law Pupa of Cells, to move flesh and bone from Darra¡¯s tail and left arm to Lord Aalam, transforming the supreme leader of Earth to grow about half a foot and gain roughly 40 kg of mass. While Javier had been a doctor before the integration, he¡¯d been a pediatrician, not a plastic surgeon, so the work was nowhere close to perfect. But, with Lord Aalam¡¯s law armor, which blocked all external senses from penetrating through, and which Lord Aalam could modify to fit his new size, it would be good enough. And Javier had done the easy work to change Lord Aalam¡¯s skin color to that of a European, so he could even get hurt without the ruse falling apart as long as he didn¡¯t lose his helmet. * * * Brom Brom watched as Darra, before the fighting even started, proved more useful than he himself had been during the last round, or would be during this one, and he felt frustrated. While he wasn¡¯t at the same level as Lord Aalam, Ms. Li, or Isaiah, he was at about the same level as Ms. Krol, Nitya, and Javier, having taken so, so many of the United Federation of Planets'' resources, yet he wasn¡¯t expected to fight. Sure, it was part of the contract he¡¯d signed with Ms. Li, keeping his identity safe so he wouldn¡¯t get involved with any of their enemies and could freely take back the Bronze Legion when he grew strong enough. And, sure, Earth¡¯s enemy was the Primordial Humans, a divine faction, with other divine factions likely wanting them dead as well. But he¡¯d developed many friendships with people on Earth over the last couple decades, and it felt so wrong to not be able to help them while still receiving so many benefits. Brom watched as Lord Aalam entered through the portal to the hellscape zone and couldn¡¯t help but clench both his hands into fists. Chapter 230: Daevic Stormborn Daevic As the other commanders and Savan discussed strategy, Daevic Stormborn didn¡¯t pay much attention, mostly because he was frustrated. The War of the Chosen was supposed to have been challenging, the first real test in Daevic¡¯s life. He was supposed to have been able to practice command as the general of an army, to face off against the most talented youngsters in the universe on battlefields where his own personal strength wouldn¡¯t be enough to overpower everyone. And he had so been looking forward to it. Instead, however, he¡¯d been forced into the position of commander in an army so full of religious zealots they¡¯d easily overpowered everyone they¡¯d faced with little effort, and that snake Savan was the general instead of him. Winning wasn¡¯t even fun. With the entire army full of zealots who¡¯d sacrificed their potential just to maximize their power at E rank, everything was treated so seriously. For example, two rounds ago, Daevic had found himself up against Krysta La¡¯Vordi, the only other demi-god besides his sister born in their generation, but he hadn¡¯t been able to fight her. Savan had forced him to team up with the other commanders to chase her down, hunting her like a beast, yet she¡¯d managed to run from them for over four hours. The woman had already had a Law Scarab while at E rank, which was insane. And, had Daevic managed to fight her alone, she might have been an actual challenge, able to, for the first time in his life, force him to fight with his full power against someone of the same generation. One of two children of Thunderstrike Taravan, the A rank emperor of the third most powerful human empire in the universe, and Bellessia, goddess of marriage and motherhood, Daevic was a natural born talent, skilled enough that he¡¯d managed to raise five Law Pupae to high grade¡ªone each from the elements of wind, fire, water, life, and death¡ªand one to peak grade, the Law of Thunderstrike. Like his sister, he had four Mythic grade uniquenesses, a strong soul Fabled grade race, and the Empyrean grade Primordial Titan bloodline. But, while they both practiced one of the six supreme cultivation techniques of the universe, Stormlord Rebirth, Daevic¡¯s two Legendary grade classes were Thunderstrike Warrior and Thunderstrike Summoner, making him a full combatant, while his sister was a priest and a crafter, her classes Hellwater¡¯s Favored and Thundercraft Smith. His twin couldn¡¯t fight him, and he hadn¡¯t been able to even challenge Krysta La¡¯Vordi, so his last chance to have a good fight at E rank would be against one of the three heathen leaders of planet Earth during this battle, one of whom had reportedly even somehow killed a B rank without higher rank help. But it was pretty obvious this wouldn¡¯t happen. The whole reason all the zealots had sacrificed themselves was so they could participate in this upcoming battle, the people of Earth having betrayed the Prime Material Universe for power, so there was no chance he¡¯d get to fight one of their leaders one on one. ¡°Daevic, please pay attention. This is important.¡± Amalia, Daevic¡¯s twin, sent to him over a telepathic bond created by their law armors, and Daevic quickly started going over in his mind what had been said over the last twenty minutes or so since the army had arrived on their muster point for the stage, a large room floating in space with normal range artificial gravity. He learned where the five portals on one side of the room led, how the five battlefields all appeared to be spatially linked, and the fact Savan and the others suspected the battlefields of this round were based on the principles behind another of the six supreme cultivation techniques, Cosmic Cycle of the Five Elements, a suspicion Daevic felt was almost certain. The five elements of fire, earth, metal, water, and life, when connected by the element of space, could make a continuous¡ªand more importantly lossless¡ªcycle of energy, with each previous element empowering the next to the point all elements were greatly strengthened. And each of these five elements was nearly perfectly represented by the five battlefield environments of flaming hellscape, desert, city, glacier, and forest. There were two important features of the five element cycle, however, which would almost certainly be involved in any stage of the War of the Chosen based on its principles. First, when the five elements were connected, energy of any of the elements could be converted to energy of the next element in the cycle¡ªfire to earth, earth to metal, metal to water, water to life, and life to fire¡ªand then that energy could be converted to the next element, and then the next. This was the source of the most common battle technique of those who trained in the Cosmic Cycle of the Five Elements, having mana of all five elements, but then converting all of it to whatever one element best suited any given skill. Second, was how the five elements didn¡¯t only empower each other, but could be used to destroy other elements instead. Life could bring destruction to earth, fire destruction to metal, earth destruction to water, metal destruction to life, and water destruction to fire. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Given the way the stage was set up and the knowledge from divine forces their army had access to, it was almost certain there were mechanisms on the battlefields of this stage to combine the power of the environments in two or three consecutive battlefields to cause utter destruction in a third or fourth, such as using the power of the city and glacier environments to empower the forest environment to somehow cause utter ruin to the desert. This would be one of the keys to this stage, quite a bit cooler than any of the mechanics of the War of the Chosen¡¯s last several rounds, but what really had Daevic excited was the other main mechanic of the stage, how they could only send one member of the army in at a time. It seemed he might actually get to fight one of Earth¡¯s three leaders after all. ¡°The main issue is how to know what is going on in each battlefield.¡± Savan, a tall handsome man with dark skin, long purple dreadlocks, and bright electric green eyes looked around at the commanders under him, his features as always contrasting unfavorably with the plain and rather easily forgettable appearances of close descendants of the Primordial Sovereign like Daevic and his sister. ¡°The divine domain of hellwater has virtually no affinity with space and no sensing abilities which can travel between battlefields, while the divine domains of storm, smithing, revelry, and twilight flame are the same. Finally, while the divine domains of judgement and hunting provide the right types of sensing abilities, we only have a few paladins from those domains, no scouts, so they don¡¯t have the right skills. ¡°What other options do we have?¡± ¡°The sensing skills provided by the matrimony domain should be able to pass through the portals.¡± One of the commanders, Teresa, a mage from the force directly under Daevic¡¯s mother, spoke up. ¡°It will take a lot of energy and the combined power of multiple priests, while only giving the number and gender of those in each environment, but it should work.¡± ¡°Good. Set up what you need now.¡± Savan gave his assent. ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to send one scout into each of the battlefields and let our law armors do their work.¡± The law armors made by Amalia and the priests of their second uncle, the Master of the Eternal Forge, allowed for telepathy anywhere within a galaxy cluster, so getting information once people were within the battlefields would not be difficult. The issue was going to be before then, and that would be the time Daevic might be able to fight one or two of the enemy powers on his own. ¡°So, the last main issue is how to deal with the enemy powers.¡± Savan looked over everyone again. ¡°As we¡¯ve discussed before, the biggest issue will be the Heavenly Spark Soul King. First, any battlefield he is in is an automatic loss. Due to some deals he¡¯s made with foreign gods and his own extreme level of talent, he could probably kill all of us by himself if we didn¡¯t have our law armors. Second, we can¡¯t just ignore him. As a complete crafter, if there are ways of manipulating this stage, our reports indicate he¡¯ll figure them out before Lady Amalia or any of our crafters, so, once we find which battlefield they send him to, we¡¯ll have to take over the two battlefields adjacent to his in the cycle to keep him from causing destruction. Finally, third, no matter what we do, his presence will influence most of the other battlefields as well. ¡°Li Mila, Isaiah Kent, Irena Krol, and possibly others in their force all have the ability to share his qi, mana, and psyforce, which he regenerates at a ridiculous speed due to the effects of always being in his Territory. So, due to his presence, we must end all battles early. And, most troublesome of all, he has an extremely high grade sensory domain which should be large enough to cover all the battlefields at once. Thus, once he¡¯s been deployed, the entire enemy force will know exactly what is going on throughout every battlefield for the rest of the stage.¡± Savan took a second before continuing, probably only Daevic having a high enough Aura stat to tell the man was frustrated and not just pausing for effect. ¡°While the average effective Luck stat of our force is significantly higher than theirs, the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s effective Luck stat is roughly four times our best, so he has a bit of a personal advantage. More important than that, however, is that he is the MVP of the entire War of the Chosen, so aspects of the final stage have been set to give him a heavy advantage.¡± ¡°What about the taking turns sending out one soldier at a time part of the round¡¯s rules?¡± one of the other commanders, a prince of the second most powerful human empire, asked. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem to give personal advantage to the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and it certainly doesn¡¯t help our force given our higher average power.¡± ¡°The MVP of our force also gets some personal advantages.¡± Savan looked over at Daevic, but hid his emotions well, again probably only Daevic feeling his true level of frustration. ¡°And it looks like Lord Daevic will now finally get his wish of a good one-on-one fight.¡± * * * A few minutes later, the priests of matrimony were ready and sensed a male from the other side enter into the hellfire battlefield, but, instead of sending out Daevic, Savan sent in one of the army¡¯s more average paladins to identify who the male was, and the paladin died before thirty seconds were up, stabbed through by a spear covered in the energy of pure fiery destruction. Chapter 231: Javier Garcia Daevic ¡°A female has entered the desert battlefield.¡± Now that combat had started, Teresa, speaking for the priests of Daevic¡¯s mother under her, spoke over the telepathic channel built into their law armors to save time. ¡°Good.¡± Savan¡¯s telepathic voice, as always, was calm and in control. ¡°Given the timing, location, and composition of the enemy army, she should be Nitya Chakrabarti, Irena Krol, or, most likely, Li Mila. Whatever the case, she will be one of the enemy¡¯s strongest members.¡± He turned to look at Daevic. ¡°Lord Daevic, you are probably the only one of us who can take her out in 30 seconds.¡± Translation, don¡¯t go easy on your opponent and work to draw out the Heavenly Spark Soul King. I want you to be sacrificed early so I can gain more credit. Daevic, however, didn¡¯t mind. He was not going to miss this chance to finally have a good fight against an E rank. So, he walked up to the portal under the picture of the desert environment and walked right through. One second he was in the crowded space station and the next he was standing on top of a desert with nothing but sand and sky for as far as he could see. Using his Electrostatic Detection skill, he could sense the area was only about 120 by 120 kilometers, but it had the suppression of a B rank world, so this normally small area was pretty large for a battle between E ranks. More important, however, he couldn¡¯t sense his opponent and, given what he knew of the enemy force, that meant he was up against Li Mila. Summoning out the nine storm spirits which lived in his one Colossal and eight Huge mana wells, each shaped like a serpent, Daevic sent them all over the battlefield, but, even with his Perception King uniqueness and his other boosts, he still couldn¡¯t find her, and, three seconds later, twenty-seven seconds before they had to, the enemy army summoned a new combatant to the forest battlefield, this time a male. Daevic, however, still didn¡¯t care, smiling as he moved to hover over the center of the desert battlefield, preparing for the enemy¡¯s inevitable ambush. He was just having too much fun. * * * Savan Ya Savan was annoyed by the nature of the final battlefield, especially Daevic¡¯s contribution. In the early part of the stage, the mechanics of having a five element cycle could be pretty much ignored. The winning condition of the stage was to take three out of the five battlefields at the end, so normally the ability of the enemy to destroy one of the other battlefields after gaining control over two or three would be an issue, but the enemy was aiming for not losing a single soldier, which meant they would confine themselves to three battlefields. And this would allow Savan to do the same. Then, given his stronger average soldiers, if he could win in one of the three battlefields the heathens chose, disrupting their ability to do battlefield effects, he¡¯d be able to easily take over the remaining two battlefields and his army would win. The bigger issue was that the enemy had more information. Given the nature of the stage, Savan had originally given it 50% odds that the enemy spearman in the hellscape battlefield was actually the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and, after seeing how the enemy chose the desert and forest battlefields as the other battlefields to compete over, leaving the hellscape battlefield the only one he could attack with the stage¡¯s effects by taking over the remaining two, he was almost 100% sure. This would normally be good, as it isolated the Heavenly Spark Soul King in a battlefield Savan could just ignore and took away the threat of him arriving at a battlefield where his force was losing and turning everything around, but the nature of being able to only send in one combatant at a time was greatly lowering what Savan could do with this knowledge. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Take the current state of the desert battlefield, for example. From the reports he had received¡ªapparently personally gathered by the Lady of Hellwater¡ªLi Mila was the weakest of the enemy¡¯s three strongest powers, but she excelled at battlefield control. Given the powers of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, he knew everything happening on that battlefield, including all of Daevic¡¯s actions, and this meant Li Mila knew as well, which was why she could evade an idiot like Daevic with ease. More important, it also meant, if Savan sent someone weaker than Daevic to that battlefield, Li Mila would almost certainly kill them without Daevic being able to do a thing. This then left Savan with a conundrum. Should he send one of his average commanders to help Daevic, likely losing them to the heathen general? Should he send Amalia instead and hope the enemy general wouldn¡¯t just stall the two demigods while her force consolidated their power in the forest battlefield? Or should he start sending his elites to the forest battlefield and not interfere with Daevic¡¯s battle at all, instead using all the rest of his forces to battle against Isaiah Kent and the heathens¡¯ other commanders? Responsibility was hard. * * * Javier Standing to the side of the enemy¡¯s portal, just outside the magical view of the image in the enemy¡¯s camp which Lord Aalam had confirmed showed the portal¡¯s exit, Javier Garcia¡¯s muscles tensed as he poured all the qi and mana he could into the longsword Lord Aalam had made for him, the black and white wings behind his back ready for the five meter charge he¡¯d use to attack whoever exited into the forest battlefield. A member of the Garcia Clan, Javier had awakened to his clan¡¯s most common uniqueness line as soon as the integration had started, the law wings line, specifically the Fabled grade Law Wings Prince, and this uniqueness had three main effects. First, it increased his Agility stat by 100%. Second, and much more defining for the Garcia Clan¡¯s most common builds, it increased the power of any one wing category skill by an entire grade, a full sixfold boost. And, third, it turned the wings that resulted from that skill into a special type of Law focus for the elements the wings were associated with. In short, in a way completely separate from Law affinities or the Attunement stat, when Javier had his wings out, his ability to understand the Laws of fire, water, light, darkness, life, and death, the elements associated with his Yin Yang Wings of Alacrity skill, it was like he was on a planet of one rank higher. And this, along with the high affinities of his own race and his Ascended Demon Pure One bloodline, one of the more common bloodlines on Earth which boosted his affinities with all six elements even further, allowed him to have trained up six Law Pupae, four of which were already middle grade. Given he had a separate movement skill, Yin Yang Steps, which his Yin Yang Wings of Alacrity enhanced, along with his maxed out Agility stat, he was the fastest member of Earth¡¯s army after Lord Aalam, so he¡¯d been entrusted as the first combatant to enter one of the battlefields. And his job was to work with Lord Aalam to ambush any enemy as soon as they entered, something only possible due to Lord Aalam¡¯s ability to track the enemy¡¯s portal into the battlefield, even though it would move after every new combatant entered. ¡°Three!¡± Javier heard the telepathic message from Lord Aalam at the same time he saw a white robed woman exit the portal, and he didn¡¯t question the command, completely ignoring the woman and immediately activating his full speed to move toward his three o¡¯clock. At the same time, he also received a map from Lord Aalam, showing the new enemy exit portal in the direction he was moving, and, with his Heightened Senses skill, he could feel the sudden advent of draconic presence as Isaiah entered the battlefield. The woman, Amalia Stormborn, was surprised for a second, and the counter ambush she¡¯d prepared failed, the gray energy-filled water which exited from her spatial storage ring flooding out through the air as a sphere and killing everything within five meters, but missing him completely. She wasn¡¯t able to react in time, allowing Javier to escape, and a second later she had an armored beast of a man thrusting a spear toward her face, hopefully completely blocking her ability to track Javier¡¯s movements. ¡°J!¡± Five seconds later, Javier had already prepared for another ambush, and this time Lord Aalam gave the go ahead, telling Javier exactly where to aim through his single letter command. Flashing forward with his sword still at full power, he used his Balance of Dualism skill to control his qi and mana, enhanced by the power of yin and yang, to flow through his body and into his weapon, empowering the sword with his Yin Yang Blade skill to launch a black and white crescent of energy out from the sword and into the side of the neck of the armored man who suddenly appeared in front of him, the crescent only having to travel about 5 cm before slicing off the man¡¯s head. ¡°Getsuga Tensh¨­!¡± Having a little fun, Javier shouted out the name of his attack, copied from one of his favorite anime characters, and then he proceeded to thrust his sword through his opponent¡¯s eye, destroying his ability to think, before taking his blade back from the flying head and thrusting it down through the man¡¯s neck and into his body, activating Yin Yang Blade a couple more times until Lord Aalam confirmed the warrior was well and truly dead. Chapter 232: Hellwater Javier ¡°Seven!¡± The member of the enemy army who¡¯d just entered into the forest battlefield¡¯s flesh and blood transformed into hellwater and exploded, Javier barely able to get out of range by moving back and slightly to the left with his maximum speed. And he probably would have died without Nitya¡¯s immediate assistance, creating a wall of wind in front of him that mostly blocked off the hellwater from reaching his body. Still, Javier didn¡¯t get away free from harm. This was someone with maximized E rank stats and at least a Heroic grade class using a self destruction skill, the priest of the Lady of Hellwater seemingly sacrificing his own life and all his resources to create the watery explosion while he stepped through the portal. Several drops landed on Javier¡¯s helmet and flowed through its eye holes and into his eyes, almost instantly blinding him, and, to not die, he had to immediately enter into meditation in order to rid himself of the hellwater¡¯s poison, a process which would certainly take more than thirty seconds. Made of concentrated qi and mana of the water, death, and life elements, hellwater was an incredibly dangerous substance, and Javier hadn¡¯t taken the necessary precautions. As their army regularly used plagues and other chemical warfare, his armor had the ability to completely seal him within it, which would have made the explosion of hellwater mostly useless, but seeing through the helmet¡¯s visor wasn¡¯t as clear as with his own eyes directly, and Nitya had already joined him and Isaiah in the forest battlefield, so he¡¯d tried to optimize his attack instead of his defense. And his choice had a large cost to their army. Even with the need to meditate, Javier couldn¡¯t just sit down and concentrate, so Nitya had to pick him up and keep him safe. Thus she couldn¡¯t help Isaiah fighting against the demigoddess. And Isaiah¡¯s task of keeping the demigoddess busy had just grown harder as the hellwater created from the priest¡¯s self destruction flowed over to Isaiah¡¯s battlefield and joined the hellwater the demigoddess was already controlling. * * * Savan Savan breathed out a sigh of relief upon learning from Amalia¡¯s shared senses that the Hellwater Sacrifice had succeeded. Losing one of his commanders instantly to a surprise attack had been shocking, but, with Amalia¡¯s experience of almost being ambushed herself, he¡¯d guessed how it had happened, so he was able to come up with a good counter, and this time the exit portal had been within range of Amalia¡¯s senses. The sacrifice hadn¡¯t been perfect, not taking out Javier Garcia like he¡¯d hoped, but the man had at least been poisoned and required protection while he healed himself, so Nitya Chakrabarti couldn¡¯t join with Isaiah Kent to pressure Amalia. Still, the forest battlefield was three against one, and about to become four against one, so Amalia was in danger. Savan¡¯s fianc¨¦e was powerful and excellent at defense, especially with all the artifacts she had in her spatial storage ring, but Isaiah Kent was a practically flawless warrior and, in a battle of endurance, he would win. Savan thought again about sending reinforcements to the desert battlefield instead, but, after seeing the ambush tactics the Earth army had used in the forest battlefield, it was obvious from what he knew of Li Mila that the ambushes there would be even worse, with no ability for self destruction skills to have any effect. So, Savan turned to one of the other commanders in his army, the head of the delegation from the force under the Earth Mother, and started giving commands. ¡°Teresa, prepare yourself to take over command as I will be entering the forest battlefield as soon as the enemy sends in their next reinforcement. ¡°The desert battlefield is a trap, with Li Mila almost certainly ready with her doppelg?ngers to ambush anyone we send. And the flaming battlefield has the Heavenly Spark Soul King. So, try and focus all reinforcements on the forest battlefield unless both Lady Amalia and I fall.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Teresa placed her hand over her heart and bowed slightly, the traditional salute of the Primordial Humans. Then, almost exactly thirty seconds after Savan¡¯s priest of hellwater sacrificed himself, Amalia sensed Irena Krol enter into the forest battlefield and Savan stepped through his own portal, summoning out hellwater before he stepped through to successfully block a wind slice attack which had been aimed at his head. Several hundred meters away from him he could sense Nitya Chakrabarti through the trees, his God¡¯s Eye skill allowing him to see the battlefield¡¯s flow of magic and how the woman¡¯s aura interfered with it, not affected in the least by the fact there were at least five tree trunks between him and her, but he couldn¡¯t sense Javier Garcia or Irena Krol, while neither could Amalia, so it seemed the two of them were out of his range. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. More wind blades attacked him, seemingly trying to push him toward where Amalia was fighting, and Savan considered what the enemy¡¯s plan was. He and Amalia together were nearly unstoppable at their rank, but it was unlikely the enemy knew that, so it was more probable they were still aiming for zero losses and had a high degree of trust in Isaiah Kent¡¯s combat abilities, believing the man would be able to take Savan out even while fighting two on one with support from their wind mage. Why though would they not have Irena Krol also join the fight? As soon as he thought about it, however, the answer became obvious. Javier Garcia had been poisoned by hellwater from the Hellwater Sacrifice skill and, even if it had only been a few drops, that poison was powerful, while, other than Li Mila, Javier Garcia was reportedly the only one among Earth¡¯s army¡¯s upper ranks with a skill of the healing category. On this battlefield, his importance was second only to Isaiah Kent. Were Savan their general, and were he to have the goal of a complete victory, he¡¯d probably have Irena Krol, reportedly one of the best among the heathens at energy control, try to help heal him instead of going on the offense as well. Summoning out three short needles from his spatial storage ring, which together made up his main offensive artifact, Savan used Artifact Enhancement to empower them and Telekinesis to send them toward Nitya Chakrabarti, continuing to use Hellwater Control for defense. Then he summoned out a hoverboard, hopped on it, and flew not toward Amalia and not toward the enemy wind mage, but toward where he guessed Javier Garcia and Irena Krol had hidden. The enemy would send new reinforcements soon, but they had no one left who would be able to make much of a difference on the battlefield. Anton Smith, Earth¡¯s remaining A rank talent combatant, was a sniper specialized in the elements of fire, light, and death, but, while his single target attack was powerful, his speed was not and the forest terrain would make his extremely long range useless as his attacks couldn¡¯t flow through the trees like Nitya Chakrabarti¡¯s wind or Savan¡¯s needles. Were the enemy to send him, given they wanted a complete victory, he would be more of a liability than a help. Reginald Vin, the elf who¡¯d betrayed his race, was then the most likely candidate, but he was a level weaker than the combatants already on the battlefield and Savan had reinforcements of his own coming, so what truly mattered was stopping the enemy¡¯s ability to ambush his reinforcements at the exit. And, as Nitya Chakrabarti¡¯s single target attacks were not her specialty, that meant locking down Javier Garcia and Irena Krol. As he moved, Amalia summoned out a hoverboard of her own, which up to that point she hadn¡¯t been using, and almost instantly drained all of its power as she sacrificed all the extra hellwater she¡¯d gained from the Hellwater Sacrifice in a single attack toward Isaiah Kent. The hoverboard moved at an extreme speed, and she soon started moving in the same direction as Savan. * * * Isaiah Amalia Stormborn¡¯s style of artifact creation was different from Aalam¡¯s. Aalam preferred permanent passive effects for most of his artifacts, like how the only effects of Isaiah¡¯s spear and shield were to boost the power of the skills Isaiah generally used with them, and, if the artifact came with a skill, it was generally one which made use of the user¡¯s own resources, such as the berserking skill built into Isaiah¡¯s law armor. And, if Aalam had access to materials which could externally store qi, mana, or psyforce¡ªand he didn¡¯t want to make some kind of golem¡ªhe would generally use them to create single use artifacts. This, in Aalam¡¯s words, provided more bang for his buck. Single use artifacts made with the same materials as multi-use artifacts could almost always exhibit more power. And Aalam¡¯s crafting speed was fast enough that he could generally reforge single use artifacts in just a matter of seconds, so he didn¡¯t mind the extra work. His half sister, on the other hand, seemed to prefer to have every one of her artifacts have multi-use skills which relied on qi, mana, and psyforce stored within themselves, able to use all their stored energy to release overpowered versions of their skills as well, and this was causing Isaiah a headache. With golems and single use artifacts banned, the Earth army had thought both sides would be affected equally, but this was now proving to be very much not the case. Amalia Stormborn was powerful, with an effective Magic around what Diana¡¯s would have been, and she controlled the large amount of hellwater which flowed around her to produce both a strong defense and a strong offense, but she wasn¡¯t as good at fighting as most members of the Earth army and her physical stats were not boosted by much beyond her bloodline. Meanwhile, Isaiah¡¯s every strike was filled with the power of utter destruction and he exceeded her in speed. In the minute and a half they¡¯d been fighting, he¡¯d already almost killed her four times. But, each time, she took out a new shield artifact from her spatial storage ring and activated what was effectively a one time use skill, a spherical defense which wrapped her in glowing divine power and made all of Isaiah¡¯s attacks fail. Then she would just abandon the shield, which technically still had the power of a Rare grade artifact, on the ground. And now the woman had summoned out a hoverboard and was using it as a single use fleeing skill, forcing Isaiah to follow with his own power¡ªwell technically his and Aalam¡¯s power as he was using Aalam¡¯s resources to power all of his equipment instead of his own, but still with him controlling the energy rather than the artifact. Thankfully, with Aalam watching over everything, Irena knew she was being targeted by both the demigoddess and who Isaiah was pretty sure was the enemy general, so she was able to move Javier away for long enough so Isaiah could intercept the two enemies before Irena and Javier were within their attack range. But then something went very wrong. The demigoddess took out another new artifact, this time a sword, and Isaiah¡¯s head suddenly hurt like he¡¯d been hit by a combined psyforce attack of several dozen of the enemy¡¯s combatants, and, were it not for the defenses built into his armor¡¯s helmet, his brain probably would have turned to mush. In the roughly one second he was stunned, however, Amalia Stormborn abandoned the sword and took out another weapon, a spear, which she threw at him, the weapon using a ridiculous amount of stored qi to go through his armor and his own defenses to penetrate about three centimeters into his chest. More dangerous, however, the enemy general¡¯s three flying needles, which he had been using to force Nitya to waste a lot of her resources to evade, activated a one time use skill to teleport right next to Isaiah and used the time when his energy was spent blocking the spear to penetrate through the weaker sections of his armor at both of his elbows and under his right armpit, injecting him with hellwater in three important places. After what had happened to Javier, Isaiah was ready, instantly using his Law Pupa of Destruction to completely destroy the areas affected and force out the hellwater, but he had no way to stop himself from dropping his spear and, for several seconds at least, he wouldn¡¯t be able to lift his shield. Chapter 233: L46 4A Brom watched as Isaiah took a beating from the combined attacks of the enemy¡¯s demigoddess and general through the screen above the portal to the forest battlefield, Javier and Irena having previously moved to be right in front of it, and he could tell Earth¡¯s army was likely about to lose. The enemy had already figured out Lord Aalam¡¯s identity, probably through reasoning and not the ability to see through his disguise, and they seemed to be deliberately not sending anyone to the desert battlefield, Ms. Li¡¯s ability to ambush them if they did having almost certainly been guessed as well. This then meant the enemy would be sending all their elites to the forest battlefield, and, if Earth lost Isaiah, they wouldn¡¯t be able to compete. Almost as important, if Earth lost anyone, the huge achievement they would otherwise earn would be lost as well, so, even if they won in the end, the benefits their force would receive would be greatly, greatly reduced. It didn¡¯t take any time for Brom to make his decision. Earth had treated him and his well¡ªto the point his dream of taking over the Bronze Legion and making his enemies pay no longer felt at all unachievable¡ªbut he¡¯d yet to do anything for them. ¡°L46 4A.¡± Brom sent through the telepathic channel built into the entire army¡¯s law armors and then rushed toward the portal. Along the way, Reginald, who had been about to enter into the portal following Ms. Silvia¡¯s orders, stopped and tossed him a spatial storage ring designed for one of their army¡¯s trick plays, and Brom caught it in his left hand right before passing through the portal into the forest battlefield. Isaiah¡¯s positioning had been excellent, the enemy general¡¯s back right in front of the portal¡¯s exit, so Brom attacked immediately, his right hand swinging his great sword directly at the back of the man¡¯s neck. He didn¡¯t use any skills in the attack, Isaiah and Lord Aalam having already analyzed the man¡¯s hellwater defense was especially strong against qi and mana like Brom¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Blade skill would coat his sword with, but Brom¡¯s Fabled grade great sword was supernaturally sharp and it penetrated right through the water, hitting the man¡¯s neck. Were it not for the law armor the man was wearing, which drained about half of its power to provide a second defensive armor made of pure energy over his entire body, the enemy general would have been decapitated instead of only staggering forward a little. With Lord Aalam sensing everything which occurred on the battlefield and being arguably the best E rank crafter of all time, however, Brom had already known the armor would do this, so he¡¯d been prepared. While he dropped the spatial storage ring in his left hand under the enemy general, he stabbed his tail directly toward the man¡¯s now mostly undefended back, and it was empowered by his skill. His armor-covered tail still wasn¡¯t able to penetrate the man¡¯s energy armor, but that wasn¡¯t the point. The armor was drained of all the rest of its power, and that allowed the wind blade which came at just the right time to slice into the man¡¯s neck, decapitating him. The demigoddess was stunned for a fraction of a second upon Brom¡¯s arrival, again showing how little combat experience she actually had, so it was only at this point she finally did just what Brom had been hoping for. Instead of attacking Isaiah, taking advantage of the fact his armor now had multiple holes for hellwater to flow in through, she sent a big rush of hellwater at Brom, forcing him to activate Heavenly Dash to retreat. The attack reached him at the end of its range, but, with the overpowered nature of his armor and his own Heavenly Armor skill, he was able to get away pretty much unscathed. Isaiah also took this chance to retreat, not worrying about his spear which had fallen to the ground, and the demigoddess again made another mistake and didn¡¯t chase after either of them. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Brom, Nitya, and Irena were all still mostly at full fighting strength, while Javier would be fully recovered in a little over five seconds and Isaiah in under a dozen, so, even though the enemy general wasn¡¯t actually dead, the demigoddess already moving to reattach his head as Brom and Isaiah retreated, their period of weakness was about to be over and the rescue operation Brom had decided on, Lizard 46¡ªa variation on the plan Ms. Silvia had already given orders to implement, only with him taking the role Reginald otherwise would have¡ªcould be counted as a complete success. The spatial storage ring he¡¯d tossed out was lying on the ground right next to the two enemies and, through Isaiah and Irena¡¯s law armors, Lord Aalam had control over it. * * * Diana and Aalam¡¯s half sister wasn¡¯t the only one who could play with the rules, Mila also having immediately seen a loophole which would allow the Earth army to make use of the equivalent of a powerful one time use artifact. But they had only created three during previous stages, and two of them were with Mila, who, with her long range telekinesis, could use them a lot more efficiently than a warrior like Brom as she could easily stay out of range of their effect. Running away as fast as he could, in roughly the same direction as Brom and Nitya, Isaiah felt the large explosion from Aalam releasing the antimatter in the ring before he heard it, he himself just outside of the blast zone. Antimatter was a material, not an artifact. Sure, if it met matter the two would mutually annihilate, creating a huge explosion, but that wasn¡¯t a magical effect. The only artifact involved was the spatial storage ring which was specifically designed to take Aalam¡¯s energy, turn it into antimatter, and then store it. When he heard the blast, Isaiah stopped running, using all his energy to heal his injuries and all of Aalam¡¯s energy which was flowing into him to repair his armor, even while Brom and Nitya kept running, moving away from the location of the enemy¡¯s portal, out of which another of the enemy¡¯s commanders ran. Then, while the commander headed directly for the blast site, Isaiah confirmed with Aalam to see how well the explosion had performed. The enemy general was dead, blown up into bits, but Amalia Stormborn had survived, 80% of the stored energy in her armor used to protect her body from the blast, her hellwater defense not doing much against such an extreme non-magical explosion. Then, when Isaiah was back to 100%, he summoned out his backup spear, activated one of the array formations on his law armor, and ran toward the new enemy, his speed nearly 10% faster than before. Called the Four Aspects Formation, the array formation required four other commanders with laws that were at least somewhat close to his own to activate, and, in the entire army other than Aalam and Mila, Nitya, Irena, Javier, and Brom were the ideal choices, Brom especially. Nitya¡¯s energy, influenced by one of her wind element laws, flowed from her own law armor into his to boost his speed. Irena¡¯s energy, influenced by her fire element law, flowed from her armor to his to boost his destructive offense. And Javier¡¯s energy, influenced by his life and water element laws, flowed into Isaiah¡¯s armor to boost his recovery. Finally, and arguably the most important, Brom¡¯s energy, influenced by one of the man¡¯s two metal element laws, flowed into Isaiah¡¯s armor to boost his defense. Isaiah met the enemy commander, a large male warrior, about twenty kilometers out from the blast site, and they engaged for about five seconds before Isaiah managed to deplete the energy in the man¡¯s armor and stab him through the heart. Then, as he sent destructive qi into the man, he turned toward Amalia Stormborn, who had just reached within half a kilometer of him. She¡¯d lost her helmet in the explosion and hadn¡¯t had enough time to pick it up, but otherwise she looked fine. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Amalia yelled at him as she rushed forward, pushing her hellwater to attack him, and yet again Isaiah registered how the woman was not a well trained combatant. From sharing Aalam¡¯s senses, he¡¯d seen her crying briefly over the enemy general¡¯s virtual corpse, and Silvia, who had a couple of her minds outside of the War of the Chosen, informed him that the two were engaged. Isaiah started laughing, not really able to control himself, and the result was the woman getting even angrier. She became even more aggressive with her attacks, taking out artifact after artifact like the spear she¡¯d stabbed into him previously, even a couple artifacts with mental attack capabilities as well, but with Isaiah¡¯s improved speed he dodged most of them, and those he couldn¡¯t weren¡¯t able to get through his enhanced defense. ¡°Do you find this situation funny?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Isaiah stopped laughing and just glared at the woman as they kept fighting. ¡°Of course I do. ¡°The enmity between our two forces started with your mother mercilessly killing my fianc¨¦e and unborn daughter, your sister and niece, yet you have the gall to get angry when your half brother murders your betrothed in a virtual war game?¡± As Isaiah suspected, Amalia Stormborn did not know the facts of why she was fighting, and, as expected, when she heard them she faltered for half a second, well beyond long enough for Isaiah to take advantage of. He stabbed her through one of her eyes, pushed destructive qi and mana into her head, and then stabbed her through her armor and into her heart, destroying her life force completely. Chapter 234: Li vs Stormborn Like Aalam, Mila had learned two new skills since Diana¡¯s death. First there was Advanced Angel¡¯s Release, a powerful contract breaking skill which became more effective the more unbalanced a contract was, i.e. the more one party would want to break it. The skill wasn¡¯t that useful for her given her uniqueness would already allow her to break almost any contract, but it was a required skill for her build and she could use it to break contracts entered into by other people as well, so it would have its uses in the future. More important for the War of the Chosen, however, was her second skill, Holy Eyes - Chastity, Charity, Patience. It was the counterpart to her evil eyes skill¡ªEvil Eyes - Lust, Greed, Wrath¡ªand it operated pretty much the same way, only it was angelic instead of diabolic. Like with her evil eyes skill, it worked based on eye contact, with distance not making a difference, and its effect was based on her Spirit stat, though it could be powered by psyforce, mana, or qi. The initial effect was instant, and the charm grew stronger the longer eye contact was maintained. The main differences were that the charm state was classified as a blessing rather than a curse, which was generally harder to cleanse, and, instead of promoting lust, greed, or wrath in her target, it would promote their opposites. Also, it would make the wielder¡¯s eyes a light sky blue instead of pink, or in her case provide a sky blue ring around her already pink irises. But there was no reason to reveal her power to everyone she interacted with, so she¡¯d used her Trickster¡¯s Guise skill to keep her eyes pink. Most important, however, like her evil eyes skill, her Third Eye Princess uniqueness made it so she could initiate the effect so long as her opponent was looking at anywhere her aura covered, not just her eyes, and this made it so much more useful. Take what she¡¯d done to Daevic Stormborn for example. Having known they¡¯d be facing each other in the finals, Mila had done her research on the man and discovered he was an arrogant ass who appeared to want to prove himself the best. So, when he entered into her battlefield, she¡¯d used all her doppelg?ngers, hidden under the effects of stealth below the sand, to spread out her aura all over the battlefield and instantly started using her evil eyes skill to boost his lust for battle. Normally, he¡¯d be able to notice she was doing this. Krysta already knew Mila had this ability, so Mila gave it good odds Daevic¡¯s mother knew by this point even if Krysta had only told her father and uncles. And, in that case, Daevic would know as well. But, as she was also using her holy eyes skill to boost his patience at the same time, the prideful idiot thought he was fighting against that lust by waiting instead of going crazy trying to find her, allowing her ever more control over his emotions as time passed, something which was important as she stood absolutely no chance against him in a fair fight. Sure, with her having raised both the mixed version of Yin Yang Cosmology and the weakened version of Twelve Element Primal Code to level 11, her resources were all half a grade higher than Daevic¡¯s, whose cultivation technique was at the same level as Yin Yang Cosmology. And, sure, her skills were all Heroic or Fabled grade, while his were only Legendary. But his race, bloodline, and uniquenesses were all of a higher grade than hers and much more suited for combat, so his effective stats dwarfed hers by a rather large margin. With him being an idiot and hovering in the sky with his spirits fully manifested, however, he was using more of his mana and qi than he was recovering, while she had a practically infinite supply from Aalam, so she had no issue waiting. After Isaiah and the rest established their dominance in the forest battlefield, the enemy tried sending some of their commanders into the desert battlefield to help Daevic, but the two skills she was still shadowing from Aalam were Elevated Multi-Mind and Telekinesis, while she had full access to Aalam¡¯s sensory domain through their bond, allowing her to see all the battlefields. So, with one of her doppelg?ngers buried in the sand underneath the exit portal every time an enemy entered, the commanders were all met with three flying swords to their faces and, unable to find her, were quickly killed even with Daevic trying to help them. Then, while Silvia began sending the weakest members of Earth¡¯s army into the hellscape battlefield, where Aalam could easily protect them, the enemy started sending their remaining members into the other two battlefields with the city and glacier environments, no new conflicts starting for nearly half a day. When there were only three combatants left on both sides, Mila then activated a mechanism buried deep in the sand, and Isaiah and Aalam did the same in their respective battlefields. With the mechanisms activated, Aalam used the life mana from the forest battlefield to empower the fire mana from the hellscape battlefield to then empower the earth mana in the desert battlefield, causing an elemental effect Mila could almost feel, the concentration of earth mana in the desert battlefield becoming almost suffocating. Then that earth mana was released into the glacier battlefield and gravity there increased by such a large margin that all the members of the Primordial Humans¡¯ army were squashed into paste in a matter of seconds. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. With no enemies alive in that battlefield, Silvia, under Mila¡¯s direction, then had Anton Smith enter into the glacier battlefield and set up his Fabled grade sniper rifle to point at the enemy exit. The Primordial Humans sent out a crafter priestess to try and face him, and that priestess instantly had her head blown off in a burst of black flame. Silvia then joined Anton in the glacier battlefield and another priestess was sent in, this one also losing her head pretty much instantly, leaving Reginald the only member of Earth¡¯s army who hadn¡¯t yet been deployed. Silvia, with Aalam¡¯s direction, then managed to quickly activate the mechanism hidden under the glacier battlefield, and this allowed Aalam to empower the life mana in the forest battlefield with the water mana of the glacier battlefield to then empower the fire mana in the hellscape battlefield, using that power to raise the temperature in the city battlefield to such a high degree for several seconds that all the enemies there burned to death. Waiting the maximum amount of time possible, Reginald then entered the city battlefield, the air there very uncomfortable but his law armor enough to protect him, ready to fight the enemy¡¯s last soldier, but that last soldier didn¡¯t seem to know what to do, not choosing a battlefield in time, and he ended up in the hellscape battlefield where Aalam immediately slashed him to death with a telekinetically controlled sword. This then left Earth in control of four battlefields, with only the desert battlefield still contested, and Mila stopped influencing Daevic Stormborn to be patient. She briefly thought about influencing him to be charitable instead but, given his personality, she was pretty sure that wouldn¡¯t work, so she instead settled on a different direction. * * * Daevic was furious. Everyone else had died, with the heretics almost certainly taking over the other four battlefields, and he had done nothing. He¡¯d failed to protect any of the other commanders who entered the battlefield, purposefully not trying very hard to save them as he stupidly didn¡¯t want the help. And he¡¯d just been wasting his qi and mana by having his spirits out and floating in the air¡ªfor almost half a day. The enemy general had done something to him, boosted his lust for battle, maybe his pride, and he¡¯d fallen for it. He¡¯d been charmed for nearly half a day and hadn¡¯t even realized it, not even bothering to search for the mechanism which allowed his opponent to use the power of the desert battlefield to slaughter his own army, something that would have been so easy! Angry, he merged his nine serpent storm spirits into a nine headed hydra and had it dig into the ground. And there it found her, right in the first place he dug. Daevic had the hydra spirit rush at the woman, moving down into the ground himself as he drew his sword. But, when the hydra hit her, she faded out of existence, like she¡¯d never been there, and all that was left was some kind of spatial storage ring. Spatial magic activated, letting out something from the ring, and then there was a huge explosion. Daevic¡¯s armor took most of the damage for him, losing about 10% of its stored power, but the woman hadn¡¯t been aiming for him. She¡¯d been targeting his spirits, and Daevic had just let her annihilate all nine at once. He wouldn¡¯t be able to summon them again for another several hours and, more important, almost all his mana disappeared with them, making his incredibly high Magic stat, the largest contributor to his combat power, pretty much useless. ¡°What is with your family and rage issues?¡± Daevic turned around to find the woman standing behind him, only about two meters away, but he immediately realized it was a doppelg?nger. ¡°Still, you¡¯re far less impressive than your little brother.¡± Even knowing it was a doppelg?nger, Daevic slashed through it with his blade, activating his Thunder Strike skill, and, unexpectedly, he hit something, another spatial storage ring. The ring released some kind of metal which felt incredibly wrong to Daevic¡¯s Electrostatic Detection skill, and it somehow merged with his sword, causing another explosion right in front of him. Almost all the rest of the stored power in his armor was used up, and his sword was broken, both the hilt and the tip of the blade falling onto the sand. But the middle of the blade was just gone, somehow part of his weapon having been completely annihilated. ¡°You see, when your brother gets angry, he doesn¡¯t lose his smarts, just his conscience.¡± Another doppelg?nger appeared behind Daevic and he turned around and blasted it with a fist full of electrified qi. ¡°He does things like annihilate a force of several dozen billion just to kill the man who triggered his rage.¡± Another doppelg?nger appeared in front of Daevic and he kicked it with a qi infused strike, destroying it. ¡°He becomes more dangerous.¡± A fourth doppelg?nger appeared behind Daevic. But this time, when he tried to attack it, seven flying swords appeared out of the ground and stabbed at his armor, hitting with enough force to drain the last of the armor¡¯s stored energy. Then another flying sword appeared out of a spatial storage ring which had been inside the doppelg?nger and punctured his armor, piercing about a centimeter into his chest. ¡°You just become stupid.¡± A fifth doppelg?nger appeared to his right and Daevic was about to attack it when he suddenly felt the mana in the battlefield change, an abundance of life mana completely dominating the ever present earth mana of the desert battlefield. Daevic still destroyed the doppelg?nger, but then, several seconds later, he felt trillions upon trillions of bacteria cells enter through the hole in his armor and eat his body alive in a matter of seconds. The next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes in his bedroom in his father¡¯s castle and his father, a large man with darker skin than his own and bright azure hair and eyes, was looking down at him with a frown on his face, Amalia standing by the man¡¯s side looking nervous. ¡°Please tell me you at least won in your battlefield and didn¡¯t lead your force to a complete and utter defeat.¡± Thunderstrike Taravan looked angry and, no longer charmed, Daevic felt a very different emotion than just a few moments before. He wasn¡¯t angry. He was scared. And his father was about to beat him. Chapter 235: Reward Levels Congratulations! Your army has won the final battle of the War of the Chosen. Calculating army point distribution. By killing four enemy commanders you earned¡­ As she got up from her bed and walked to the window of her room in the main building of Earth¡¯s enlightenment zone, Mila skimmed over the System¡¯s complex calculation of her army point earnings. As with all the previous stages, the life of every enemy soldier was worth a single army point, each enemy commander 12, and the enemy general 144. Then these values were multiplied based on several factors, X12 for not losing a single soldier, X6 for achieving a complete victory, and X8,388,608 for it being the 24th round, every round after the first doubling the amount of points for each kill. Then the System decided how to divide these points among the members of the army, each member earning what they deserved before half of every soldier¡¯s points went to the commanders and half of every commander¡¯s points went to the general. The calculations for the individual earnings were complex, with the System splitting the points of every kill among everyone who contributed¡ªAalam, as usual, having the highest individual contribution of anyone in their army by far¡ªbut this part didn¡¯t matter much to Mila. Every member of the Earth army had signed a contract in their first War of the Chosen battlefield to give over all their points to her to buy things for the entire force, so their individual contributions were pretty much only useful for bragging rights and the individualized rewards they would receive from the System as all the army points of the entire army were in her hands. Total Accumulated Army Points: 2,435,246,311,680 Then came the more interesting part, the bonuses from their achievements throughout the entire war. Congratulations! Your army has achieved first place in the War of the Chosen. Reward Level +1 Calculating additional modifiers. Your army lost no combatants throughout the entire War of the Chosen. Reward Level +1 Your army achieved a complete victory in each stage. Reward Level +1 You personally have achieved the max possible amount of army points. Reward Level +1 Calculating. Your master, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, has transferred his personally gained additional modifiers to you. Reward Level +2 If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Congratulations! You have achieved the max possible reward level for the War of the Chosen, +6. Mila took a deep breath, feeling a certain amount of tension leaving her body. Then she took a look at Aalam¡¯s System messages to learn how he¡¯d earned those extremely precious extra reward levels. You have ranked in the top twelve individual contributors in the history of the War of the Chosen at seventh place. Reward Level +1 You have ranked in the top twelve most powerful E ranks to ever compete in the War of the Chosen at third place. Reward Level +1 The first was to be expected. As the creator of all their army¡¯s artifacts, Aalam had received part of the points of everyone who used his artifacts while killing their opponents, giving him a part of every kill the Earth army had made. Meanwhile he also had the most kills of anyone in the army by far, as well as the most assists. Even in their last battle, where Aalam had only killed a single soldier directly, he¡¯d still gained over 90% of the army points available. Given the rules of the last stage, however, Mila had been worried, so it was a huge relief he¡¯d managed to make it into the top 12. As for him being the third most powerful E rank in the history of the War of the Chosen, this wasn¡¯t surprising either. Aalam was an absolute beast of a monster, putting almost every living god and A rank to shame if they were to compare their old E rank selves to the current him while Id was active¡ªsomething he could now control pretty much at will¡ªbut his race was only Heroic grade, not Fabled, while his bloodline gave no direct combat power. Kavon Kemizle, the son of the Lady of Laws, had been slightly more powerful than Aalam when he¡¯d participated in his second War of the Chosen, practicing the same cultivation technique to the same level, having far more uniquenesses than just two, and having already merged one of his skills with his cultivation technique. And then there was Endless Blade Domor Ka, an absolute freak of nature from five trillion years ago. He¡¯d brought six Laws up to the Law Scarab stage before the age of 72 and trained Cosmic Cycle of the Five Elements, a cultivation technique on the same level as Yin Yang Cosmology, to the thirteenth level. He hadn¡¯t made it past D rank, becoming one of the cautionary tales for relying on dao guides for advancement among A rank powers, but it was unlikely anyone would ever surpass the level of power he¡¯d achieved as an E rank. As far as Mila¡¯d known, there was no extra reward for getting the most individual army points of all time or being the most powerful E rank, but the fact the System confirmed +6 was the highest possible reward level now made her think otherwise, as the System generally didn¡¯t give confirmation like that. Whatever the case, however, they had no way of accessing those rewards, and they would almost certainly be individual rewards only for Aalam, so Mila didn¡¯t care much. With the max possible reward level, Mila could buy anything the War of the Chosen would allow to be bought with army points, and that was what she was after as the War of the Chosen, the only universal challenge which represented a force and not an individual, had a purchase list which included categories not found in other universal challenges like the F and D rank Trial Towers. This included things like blueprints for law armors, the spell models for large defensive and offensive arrays, and skill orbs for combination skills, skills which had to be activated by two or more cultivators in order to work, but which usually created an extra powerful effect. The most precious things up for purchase, however, were information on paths to power, which included things like the requirements for races, bloodlines, classes, and skills for advancing. A normal winner of the War of the Chosen, with only a +1 to reward level, could only purchase this information to the level of D ranks, something which wasn¡¯t all that useful. But, with a +6 reward level, Mila would be able to purchase information not just to the god level, but to the level of gods like the Divine Child, the Lady of Laws, and Aalam¡¯s grandfather, the Primordial Sovereign. Taking a deep breath, Mila walked out to the balcony of her room and looked out at the waves crashing gently into the enlightenment zone¡¯s beach, taking a moment to center herself. Everyone in the army had already sent her the lists of individual rewards they¡¯d been offered by the System, it part of the contract they¡¯d signed to give her half a day to give them a better offer than the System in exchange for allowing her to choose their System rewards and then take it to be used by others, and this was going to be a lot of work, so Mila, as she¡¯d learned was useful over the last several decades, was first taking a short break. Using her sensory domain, she watched as Aalam moved into his crafting hall and started building something, seemingly a spatial storage ring designed to hold and maintain the freshness of food. At the same time, she watched as Isaiah moved out into the water, dove down, and began practicing a spear and shield kata under the sea. And she saw as Reginald of all people went over to Javier¡¯s room and consoled him about how his disguise for Aalam hadn¡¯t worked and how he¡¯d almost caused a disaster in the forest battlefield. Other than Aalam, however, she didn¡¯t focus on these people much, Isaiah¡¯s actions rather boring and Reginald and Javier¡¯s discussion a private matter. Instead, her minds automatically took more note of people like Sally and Francis Davies, who had walked out of their room, chatting and smiling at each other, and Anton Smith and Nitya, who¡¯d now been married for a little over a decade and were holding hands as they headed to the teleportation platform to go pick up their three children from Anton¡¯s sister, who¡¯d been watching them during the final stage of the War of the Chosen. Mila wanted that type of relationship, and it was now likely only a matter of months before she could have it. Looking directly over at Aalam¡¯s crafting hall, she sensed his heartbeat speed up, causing her own to do the same, and then she quickly looked away. It had taken her way too long to figure out, mostly because she and Aalam hadn¡¯t been on the same planet for years after Aalam had finally forgiven her for what she¡¯d done before their deaths, but once they¡¯d actually started living on the same planet it had been pretty obvious Aalam still had feelings for her. He¡¯d just been trying to create distance between them so he wouldn¡¯t make a mistake, losing the chance to gain the Virtuous Sage class as a D rank by losing his merit of chastity. And Mila hadn¡¯t advanced her abilities enough to manipulate merit and sin to the point she could give him the merit back, so she¡¯d just had to wait. Sure, their relationship wouldn¡¯t be easy. They were both still really messed up people. But she was so looking forward to working on becoming less messed up together. Chapter 236: War of the Chosen Rewards Mila For the first time in a long while, Mila smiled while not putting on a show for anyone. Then she got back to work, first pulling up the individual rewards she had earned. You have led your army to a complete and flawless victory in the War of the Chosen. Competency is to be rewarded! You have gained the following individual benefits:
  1. +1 Uniqueness Awakening Boon
  2. +1 75% off coupon for any item from the Army Points Store
  3. +2 50% off coupons for any items from the Army Points Store
  4. All information about your classes¡¯ possible advancements up to Empyrean grade
  5. All information about your race¡¯s possible advancements up to Empyrean grade
  6. All information about your bloodline¡¯s possible advancements up to Empyrean grade
  7. Two choices from the following list of five possible rewards
List of reward options (Pick 2):
  1. +1 Uniqueness Awakening Boon
  2. +1 Boon of Shadows
  3. +1 Divine Essence of Love and Marriage
  4. +1 Divine Essence of Rebellion
  5. +173,946,165,120 Army Points
The individual rewards for a normal winning general were one Uniqueness Awakening Boon, information about his or her race and the rest up to Heroic grade, and one individual reward nowhere near as impressive as a second Uniqueness Awakening Boon or the other options Mila could choose from, so Mila had gained quite a bit by achieving a complete and flawless victory. The discount coupons especially would make an incredibly huge impact. As for the list of five possible rewards, the second Uniqueness Awakening Boon was probably worth the least, divine forces having quite a few ways to help awaken uniquenesses, but, for Mila, it was the most attractive as it would allow her to catch up to Aalam¡¯s number of uniquenesses without having to first steal from a divine or A rank force. The Boon of Shadows, on the other hand, was probably worth the most, but to Mila it was useless. The boon would allow her to change to a new identity at will in the eyes of the System and anyone using the System to check on her, but Mila specialized in manipulating bonds and could pretty easily fool the System by herself in ways even the System couldn¡¯t track due to her current two uniquenesses and her Laws. From the System¡¯s perspective, she was still Shadow from Hira after all, not Li Mila from Earth. Finally, the Divine Essence of Love and Marriage and the Divine Essence of Rebellion were energy sources which could help evolve her bloodline to Empyrean grade. Checking the information she¡¯d just gained on the subject, there were 31 other resources which could do the same, for a total of five possible bloodline advancements, but the two advancements represented by the two divine essences were the best. The bloodline she could advance to with the Divine Essence of Rebellion would allow her to break away from Aalam while also possibly stealing some of his power, so she definitely wouldn¡¯t take it. But the bloodline she could advance to with the Divine Essence of Love and Marriage required several other steps to make function which made her heart start racing extremely fast, so she quickly focused on other things, looking at the System messages of everyone else from the army. Like her, all the commanders received a Uniqueness Awakening Boon, as that was normal for a winning army. But they also received information about the advancements for their classes, races, and bloodlines up to Mythic grade, which would be helpful for pretty much everyone other than Aalam and Isaiah, who, like her, would have Empyrean grade races and classes by C rank and thus likely wouldn¡¯t find anything in the information which would alter their paths. The soldiers in the army then only received information about their classes, races, and bloodlines up to Fabled grade, but, for soldiers, this was ridiculous, better than most winning generals, and it gave all the information most would need to advance all the way to A rank or even beyond. Compiled together, the information everyone from the army received would allow Earth many, many, many complete class paths, knowledge of racial advancement pathways for everyone but the reborn monsters on the planet up to Mythic grade, and all the ways to advance the seven powerful Legendary to Fabled grade bloodlines almost everyone on Earth was born with all the way to Mythic grade. Just with this, their army had done ridiculously well. But then there were the individual rewards as well, Aalam¡¯s in particular drawing Mila¡¯s attention. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. List of reward options (Pick 1):
  1. +1 Soul fading C rank Soul Lord (Mythic) with no bloodline
  2. +1 Soul fading C rank Runic Dragon (Empyrean) with the Primordial Titan (Empyrean) bloodline
  3. +14,495,513,760 Army Points
Every single commander had the same third choice, and for some, such as Nitya and Mila¡¯s grandmother, that was what they¡¯d be taking, passing the army points to Mila in exchange for resources produced by the United Federation of Planets'' wind, earth, water, and fire lotus trees. Given the four trees were in the middle of advancing to A rank, and were of a quite high grade to begin with, fruits from them were as good or better than anything the System could provide for the advancements of those on Earth following the paths of wind, earth, water, or fire, as well as any combination of the four elements, such as Mila¡¯s grandmother following the path of all four elements at once. Aalam, however, needed resources which couldn¡¯t be found on Earth and, for the best race advancement, he needed to use his bloodline to absorb the genetic power of an extremely strong monster before advancing. The runic dragon was clearly far more valuable, likely the result of a half runic dragon descended from the Primordial Sovereign advancing into a monster, and, if Aalam chose it, he would probably awaken to one of the best racial abilities in the universe, Runic Enhancement, the defining ability of runic dragons which increased the power of all skills. But, given Aalam had already absorbed Diana¡¯s power, he was already at a slight risk of the Primordial Sovereign or one of his children trying to kill him with a bloodline curse, and that risk would only be exacerbated by absorbing another source of the Primordial Sovereign¡¯s bloodline. More important, the D rank race Aalam wanted was a variant of the Mythic grade Soul Lord, so absorbing the genetic power of a C rank Soul Lord would provide him an extremely strong foundation. He and Mila would spend some time reading up on all the information they¡¯d gained already, and which Mila would soon buy with army points, but it was likely the Soul Lord was what Aalam would pick, unless there was something better which could be bought for army points. Isaiah then, as the third highest individual contributor in the army, also received some pretty nice reward options. List of reward options (Pick 1):
  1. +1 Draconic Fusion Crystal
  2. +1 Draconic Soul Purifier Flower
  3. +14,495,513,760 Army Points
The Draconic Fusion Crystal was an alchemic material that, when mixed together with the heart of another type of dragon and several other relatively common resources, all of which could be bought directly from the System, would form a specialized pill which would allow a dragon to become a hybrid of their original species and another. They weren¡¯t that rare, with Mila knowing three forces she could steal one from even without doing any active research, but they were worth at minimum 144 A rank universal credits, and that was on the very low end. Then the Draconic Soul Purifier Flower was another extremely expensive alchemic material, useful for making a type of pill which would allow a dragon to awaken to a strong soul variant race, and it was something Mila had been actively looking for, to the point she¡¯d been planning on stealing one from one of the fifteen different forces she¡¯d identified if she wasn¡¯t able to get it from the War of the Chosen. After looking through the individual rewards offered to every army member, Mila then took a look at the Army Points Store, and she was pleasantly surprised to find two options she hadn¡¯t been expecting. For 28,991,027,520 army points, she could allow any one of her commanders to choose a second option from their list, which she would almost certainly use to allow Aalam to buy the runic dragon. And, for the much cheaper price of 2,415,918,960 army points, she could buy a material called Four Elements Soul Cleansing Pollen. It wouldn¡¯t have as strong an effect as a Draconic Soul Purifier Flower when used on Isaiah, but, given Isaiah¡¯s bloodline lowered the barrier to awakening a strong soul variant race when undergoing racial evolution, it would have the same effect when mixed with several easily bought resources from the System and processed by Aalam into a pill. And she could also buy a second dose for her grandmother, which, combined with some more expensive materials available on Earth, could be turned into a slightly more powerful pill which would allow Irena to gain a strong soul variant race as well. This was, however, only if she could afford to buy anything else after paying for what their force needed most, all three of the top most expensive items in the store. Divine Compendium Volume I: Foundation (2,435,246,311,680 Army Points) Divine Compendium Volume II: Ascension (2,435,246,311,680 Army Points) Divine Compendium Volume III: Divinity (4,870,492,623,360 Army Points) There were other items she¡¯d also want, such as knowledge of class and race advancements past Empyrean grade to the Divine and Supreme levels, but they were more expensive than even allowing Aalam to get a second item from his list, while, even with her coupons, getting the full Divine Compendium would cost 1.5 times the amount of points her entire army had earned. Even with her only taking one item from her list and Irena and Nitya not taking any from theirs, gaining more army points instead, she would still need 840 of the army¡¯s 1,728 soldiers to give up their rewards as well. And, if she wanted Aalam to be able to get the dragon and Isaiah and Irena to get the Four Elements Soul Cleansing Pollen, she¡¯d need 28 more, for a total of 868. Most of Earth¡¯s population had races, bloodlines, and inborn natural talents for training in the yin and yang laws¡ªfire, water, light, darkness, life, and death¡ªbut, while Mila had excellent resources for the fire and water elements, accounting for 491 soldiers, what with the four element zone which had been born on Earth due to the energies manifested by the four elemental lotus trees, she had almost nothing for those training in light, darkness, life, and death, the resources they¡¯d stolen from the Violet Mountain Sect not good with those elements either. Thankfully, Earth also had a race line which was quite common on the Indian subcontinent that specialized in wind, accounting for 123 soldiers who could make use of Earth¡¯s abundant wind resources. And there was another bloodline common in Eastern Europe which specialized in the four elements of fire, water, wind, and earth instead of yin and yang, accounting for 57 soldiers. Also Darra, Brom¡¯s assistant, trained in the element of earth as well. So, altogether, there were 672 soldiers whose individual rewards Mila could convert to army points without feeling bad at all. The other 196, however? Well, they were going to prove more troublesome. Chapter 237: Divine Compendium ¡°So,¡± Mila sent to Aalam after spending several hours looking through everything herself, ¡°here is the problem.¡± Then she explained everything she¡¯d already come up with. ¡°It¡¯s not an issue of fairness. Everyone has already received far, far more than they would¡¯ve had we not carried them to victory. But there are only 26 members of the army who I¡¯ve felt haven¡¯t given their all, and I don¡¯t want to break the deal I¡¯ve made with the other 170, as it would set a bad precedent.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Aalam was quiet for about half a minute, obviously thinking. Then, having already looked over all the same information she had before she¡¯d brought up the issue, he proceeded to do his normal Aalam thing and quickly solved her problem. ¡°Most of the resources being offered to the commanders of the force are alchemic ingredients, while for the soldiers they¡¯re complete products, the System seeming to think I wouldn¡¯t waste my time on them. ¡°I¡¯ve just sent you over three lists. The first is a list of resources you should use your army points to buy. The second is a list of resources which you should be able to purchase from the System or easily find available in one of the universe¡¯s markets. Finally, the third is the list of soldiers whose rewards are better than what I could make with the resources we have easy access to.¡± Mila looked at the third list first and wasn¡¯t surprised to find it only had 13 names on it, all of whom were in the top 30 when it came to individual contributions among the soldiers. The second list would take her about six months to prepare, but would only cost about a year¡¯s worth of profits from the United Federation of Planets¡¯ external businesses, the Primordial Humans having taken away all of Aalam¡¯s Territory but none of the business entities she¡¯d deliberately set up in completely different galaxy clusters. Finally, the first list would cost her 573,152,614,070 army points, nowhere close to the amount of army points she would gain from their soldiers. Altogether, Mila would be able to buy the complete Divine Compendium, allow Aalam to choose his second individual reward, and purchase two doses of Four Elements Soul Cleansing Pollen from the Army Points Store and still have 483,811,930,930 army points left over. Taking her second Uniqueness Awakening Boon, that was then 309,865,765,810 army points to invest into making the United Federation of Planets stronger and preparing for Diana¡¯s rebirth. ¡°Aalam, I love you.¡± There was silence on the other end, but Aalam was within range of her sensory domain so she could see him blushing and feel his emotions through their bond, which just made her smile more. Giving him an out as it would still be a couple months before they could advance to D rank, Mila then got back to business, using most of her minds to tell Irena, Nitya, and all their soldiers but the 13 to choose the army points option from their individual rewards and send them to her. Meanwhile, with her remaining mind, she bought the first two volumes of the Divine Compendium. Then, along with Aalam and Nana Xara¡ªwho seemed very excited¡ªshe started to read, eventually buying the third volume when she¡¯d gained enough points from the army. And she learned so much. First, there were three types of gods: those that used accumulated faith energy to naturally push themselves into divinity, those who used their Laws to transform their souls, and those who accumulated such solid foundations that their souls naturally ascended. Of the 204 living gods in their universe, roughly half achieved ascension through faith while the other half advanced through the use of Laws, including the five most powerful gods, the Divine Child, the Lady of Laws, and the three human ancestors, all of whom had long ago advanced yet again, becoming elder gods, the second rank of divinity. There had once been a god who¡¯d advanced using the third method, soul ascension, an extremely powerful Chaos Dragon, but he¡¯d been killed soon after, so there was little data on this method. What was known was that those who ascended through Laws could accumulate faith energy just like those who ascended using faith, and use it just as easily, while those who ascended using faith could use their faith energy to help increase their attunement to the universe, allowing them to advance their Laws to the same level as those who ascended using Laws and thus enabling them to transform their souls. According to the Divine Compendium, there wasn¡¯t much difference in which method a cultivator or monster used to become a god, but those who ascended using Laws were generally more naturally talented, so they were stronger on average. Second, Mila learned how accumulations from F to A rank affected the chances of divine ascension. F to C rank set the foundation for energy, and any flaws in the resulting cores of power and energy channels would make ascension impossible unless they were somehow fixed. B rank was then all about strengthening the soul, the closer a B rank¡¯s oaths were to a cultivator¡¯s truth the stronger they would make the intrinsic nature of their soul, making everything from using energy to studying Laws easier, explaining why the general advice on oaths was to not look for power but for fit. And, finally, A rank was all about the transformation of Laws. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Up through B rank, Laws were mostly supplementary. Sure, they made a huge difference, but, in the case of two cultivators following the same path where one had 50% higher stats and the other had Laws of a grade higher along with a higher level cultivation technique to match, the cultivator with higher stats would almost always easily win. At A rank, however, this would reverse. A ranks would transform their Laws into a special type of metaphysical Law energy which represented their path, and then start the process of merging the power of said Law energy into all of their skills, increasing their power by a very, very large amount. As a result, the grade of skills would start to matter more than at previous ranks, higher grade skills able to contain more of the power from an A rank¡¯s Law energy, and this explained something Mila had always been confused about. Racial abilities which increased the grade of skills had always seemed a bit underwhelming to Mila, not having as great an effect as other abilities of the same grade, but the nature of A rank now explained why Nana Xara had always held them in such high regard. And Mila also now understood why the nature of A rank was rarely shared with younger cultivators. Law energy was generally more powerful when more Laws were mixed in, but training in too many Laws was one of the best ways to get stuck in a cultivation bottleneck, so, knowing about the increase in power possible at A rank from training in a few more Laws, overconfident youngsters would be much more likely to take on more than they could handle, eventually getting stuck and never reaching A rank to see that power manifest. Finally, Mila learned the powers and abilities which came along with divinity, as well as the true nature of the Luck, Attunement, and Aura stats. Luck worked differently than Mila had always assumed. It wasn¡¯t a measure of the universe¡¯s favor, or some kind of confluence of good fortune. Instead it was a measure of a soul¡¯s resistance to their universe¡¯s control. It wasn¡¯t like the universe had a consciousness or any active goals, but it provided physical limitations and a natural tendency toward entropy which made a being growing ever more powerful difficult. As a result, the higher a cultivator¡¯s Luck stat, i.e. the more resistance they had toward the universe¡¯s natural tendencies, the more likely they were to awaken to powerful racial abilities, have epiphanies in their skills or Laws, and resist being stained by karmic merit and sin. The original term for the stat had actually been Resistance, but ascending to divinity required a minimum value of 5,971,968, so the System had been designed to heavily favor those with more of it, causing the perceived nature of the stat to slowly change among those of the population who didn¡¯t understand its true nature, i.e. everyone but the gods and those directly under them, so its name had eventually been changed. Gods were beings who had escaped the universe¡¯s control, and this by itself had a whole host of effects. They were ageless, the normal rules about souls of certain ranks only being able to live until a certain age no longer applying to them. The effects of high Luck were magnified, allowing them to gain epiphanies much more easily and their resistance to karmic merit and sin reaching an extremely high degree. And they gained all the effects of a sublime soul variant race, their souls becoming nearly stainless, their auras becoming unnoticeable in their natural state, and their affinities with all Laws rising. Just with this, gods were more powerful than mortals. But then there was faith energy and the effects of transforming their souls through the power of their Laws. Faith energy was extremely similar to the energy produced by Territory, the two seeming to be different versions of the same power, and their effects were almost exactly the same. For believers, they would automatically gain a benefit related to the path and strength of their source of belief, pretty much the same as the benefits from living in a lord¡¯s Territory. And, for the source of faith, they would get much faster resource regeneration based on the number and strength of their believers, pretty much the same as the effect a lord would receive from the size and rank of the pieces of his Territory. More important, however, the source of faith would also gain a boost to their stats based on the number and strength of their believers, equivalent to a lord who had a high grade royal line uniqueness. And this increase in stats, this multiplier of strength, put every god on the same level as Aalam in terms of strength multiplication. Also, just like Aalam could empower his servants with his lord line skill at pretty much no cost to him, gods could use faith energy to directly empower their subordinates, resulting in divine classes. And the higher the god¡¯s Attunement stat, the more faith energy they could store in their souls and the better they could use their faith energy for other purposes, such as karmic divination and merging faith energy into their skills to strengthen them further. Mila had always thought of the Attunement stat as a connection to Laws, but that wasn¡¯t quite right. The Attunement stat represented a cultivator¡¯s ability to attune themselves with a universe. It wasn¡¯t the opposite of Luck, as a higher Attunement didn¡¯t represent the universe having more control over a cultivator, and it didn¡¯t have to do with the compatibility of a soul with a universe, as the stat would affect a cultivator¡¯s ability to connect to other universes as well. Instead, increasing the stat was more like gaining a better and better set of tools for viewing that which could normally not be seen, basically Perception for the metaphysical. And, as a result of the stat allowing a cultivator to have a greater grasp of metaphysical energy, Laws included, the soul of someone with higher Attunement naturally became better and better at holding and using these types of energy as well, faith energy just happening to be the easiest of these metaphysical energies to store and use. This then left the Aura stat and the abilities gained by gods after transforming their souls through their Laws. The Aura stat represented the power and size of a cultivator¡¯s aura, the field of control which emanated out from a cultivator¡¯s soul. And, after transforming their souls through the power of the Law energy they gained as A ranks, the aura of gods became infused with that same energy. It became much easier for the gods to use Law energy to empower skills and, with the synergistic effects of their auras and their Law energy, the Aura stat suddenly started providing an enhancement to all of the god¡¯s base stats, kind of like how Aalam¡¯s Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor empowered his physical stats using the power of his soul. Chapter 238: Faith Energy Even more important than the strength of gods to Aalam, however, at least judging by what Mila could sense him muttering under his breath, was how the various types of energy they¡¯d been using since the integration were linked. According to the Divine Compendium, mana was the base magical energy of the universe, while psyforce was mana converted through the consciousness of souls and qi was mana converted through some kind of metaphysical effect of life Mila couldn¡¯t wrap her head around. Primal energy was then mana in a more permanent form, and nascent energy was primal energy transformed to more easily integrate with souls. These were the main types of energy used by cultivators and monsters, and their influence on matter is what created magical materials. Even the form of energy which was gained from Territory, natural energy, was just another form of mana. Law energy and faith energy, however, were different. Law energy was still being studied even after trillions of years, seemingly a transformed form of mana, but there was something else mixed in which greatly increased the energy¡¯s quality which, according to the Divine Compendium, even the gods didn¡¯t understand. Faith energy, on the other hand, while also not purely a form of mana, was far simpler. Faith energy was natural energy filtered through the souls and bodies of the living, what a mix of psyforce and qi would be to mana, but each wisp of faith energy carried the unique soul signature of the believer who generated it, and this gave faith energy a form of intent not found in any other type of energy, an ever so slight amount of consciousness which created effects which were fundamentally different than most other types of energy. All contract magic, from the bonds Mila¡¯s power set was designed to manipulate to the soul shackles which were ever so useful, was created primarily using faith energy generated by those who¡¯d made the contract. And the old inefficient type of skills which had gone out of style trillions of years ago, involving speaking words out loud to help guide magical effects, worked by generating faith energy to guide mana, something which became pointless after Alashan improved the universe¡¯s study of runes. Unlike other forms of energy, the slight amount of consciousness in faith energy also made it much, much better at bypassing the natural defenses of souls, so things like curses and blessings were primarily based on faith energy as well, as were truthsense skills. Karmic merit and sin were then more permanent forms of faith energy, the intent in each a bit more crystalized and unchangeable, so they could be used to set the foundation of several types of runic arrays, such as the skills Mila specialized in. Mila¡¯s entire power set, without her or Nana Xara having known, was primarily based around faith energy. So, more than the other types of energy, she was interested in its uses. And the use she was most interested in was divination, as her lack of knowledge on the subject had made her too scared to leave Earth for decades. Thankfully, the Divine Compendium had more than enough on the subject to alleviate her worries. Mila remembered once having a conversation about predestination with Aalam before the integration, and she¡¯d been surprised to learn he actually believed every action a person was going to make was already set from long before they were born, even though at the time he hadn¡¯t been at all religious. And she hadn¡¯t liked his explanation, as to her it made logical sense. In Aalam¡¯s mind, if everything about a contained system was known, everything about the future of that system could be predicted. Take as an example a box, with nothing inside but a moving ball, no air, nothing. And assume there were no external forces acting on the ball, no gravity, no electromagnetism, nothing. If you could measure the speed and direction of the ball at one point in time, you could predict the ball¡¯s location and speed at any point in the future. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Now the real world was nowhere near this simple of a system, each grain of sand on a beach containing more atoms than a god could verbally count even if they started at the beginning of the universe. And, due to some science mumbo jumbo Mila had never fully put in the effort to understand, getting perfectly accurate measurements of anything in the universe was fundamentally impossible, thus making perfect predictions impossible as well. But the idea still stood. If, somehow, someone could perfectly measure everything in the universe, they could perfectly predict everything. And this is where magic came in, especially faith energy. With magic, it was much, much easier to get accurate measurements of a contained system when creatures with souls weren¡¯t involved than with traditional science. Take a planet¡¯s weather for example. With Earth¡¯s technology, it was difficult to predict more than a couple hours in advance, but, with magic, getting accurate enough measurements to predict the weather on a planet for several decades was well within the capabilities of an A rank, yet alone a god. Souls, however, made these types of measurements difficult, as souls tended to block external energy from entering into the area they controlled, but faith energy could bypass this problem. So, with faith energy used to get accurate and precise measurements of beings with souls and normal techniques used to get accurate and precise measurements of everything else, predicting the future with a scary amount of accuracy was possible, but the amount of faith energy required was something pretty much only a god, the System, or an A rank who specialized in faith energy could make use of, thus why knowledge of divination was not at all common in the universe. With this explanation of how divination worked, however, there were some very obvious weaknesses Mila could exploit. First, Mila wasn¡¯t the only one who could mess up a god¡¯s divination. According to the Divine Compendium, shadow line uniquenesses worked by greatly increasing a cultivator or monster¡¯s affinity to the karmic aspect of faith energy, giving them greater control over karma-based skills and providing resistance to those types of skills when used by others, requiring a certain level of energy in the skill to correctly connect to their souls. This meant karmic bonds created by those without enough power wouldn¡¯t bind as securely to those with shadow line uniquenesses; curse, blessing, and truthsense skills without enough power would have no effect; and divination skills would get very inaccurate results. Altogether, Mila¡¯s Shadow Princess uniqueness was more versatile than she¡¯d realized, providing a boost to her charm skills as well, and she¡¯d just never noticed as she hadn¡¯t had anyone else to compare herself to. Resistance to faith energy based skills, however, wasn¡¯t unique to those with shadow line uniquenesses. Just having a high enough Luck stat would do the same, a Luck stat of 5,971,968, which was achievable at B rank, high enough to resist divination by the System as well as most gods. Second, anything introduced to a closed off area after a divination was made would completely ruin the divination¡¯s results. Earth before the integration was, at least for the purposes of divination, closed off, so only Mila¡¯s presence could mess up the divination¡¯s results. But this wasn¡¯t the case for planets with working teleportation platforms, i.e. pretty much any planet Mila would go to in order to try and gain Territory or advance the United Federation of Planets¡¯ businesses. Unless a god performed divination when Mila was already on the planet and was then actively monitoring the planet closely enough to notice the changes she caused from the prediction, Mila was fully safe going anywhere in the universe, especially to planets with a lot of inter-cluster teleportation or any planet with more than one god. This then raised an interesting question, however. If divination was nowhere near as powerful as Mila and Nana Xara had thought, why had all the divine forces banded together to kill Nana Xara¡¯s husband? What were they so afraid of? Had Javier Garcia potentially been right all those years ago when he¡¯d assumed an ability which gods would hunt them down to eradicate could actually threaten the gods¡¯ lives? ¡°Aalam,¡± Mila sent, still trying to work through all the various implications herself, ¡°given the new information we have, do you think the reason we thought the gods would want to kill everyone on Earth is wrong?¡± ¡°Hmm. Yeah. Definitely.¡± Aalam sounded slightly distracted, various new theories of how the universe worked likely rapidly forming in his minds after reading through the information in the Divine Compendium. ¡°What do you think the true reason is?¡± ¡°Because if you, or someone else, manages to advance a shadow line uniqueness to the highest grade, you¡¯d be able to control any faith energy in the universe, giving you the power to turn the faith energy of any god against them, killing or at least crippling them for life.¡± Aalam¡¯s words were matter of fact, like what he¡¯d said wasn¡¯t some huge shocking revelation, and, if anything, he sounded disappointed. ¡°It¡¯s too bad I¡¯ll never be able to awaken to a shadow line uniqueness. It sounds quite practical.¡± Chapter 239: Why Gods Fear Shadows ¡°Aalam,¡± Mila sent, trying to sound calm even as she felt her heart start to race due to a mix of fear and excitement, ¡°please elaborate.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Aalam was starting to sound a little less distracted, likely having begun devoting one of his minds fully to the conversation. ¡°As I have a royal line uniqueness, which greatly increases my soul¡¯s affinity for natural energy, I don¡¯t think I can awaken to a uniqueness of the same type like the shadow line, which instead increases affinity to faith energy¡­ ¡°But that¡¯s not what you meant.¡± Aalam appeared to realize his mistake without Mila having to prompt him. ¡°In the brief discussion on elder gods in the Divine Compendium, it says the Law energy of elder gods can subsume and control the law energy of lower gods that are based on similar elements. I¡¯m mainly just guessing that a much, much higher affinity with faith energy like you could gain from your uniqueness advancing would have the same effect. ¡°It would at least make the behavior of the gods make more sense.¡± Mila grew even more excited for a few seconds, the emotion pushing back the fear she¡¯d been feeling, but then she remembered she¡¯d yet to advance her Shadow Princess uniqueness to Shadow Queen even in the decades since she¡¯d gotten it, and her excitement quickly faded. Still, with their new understanding of the capabilities of gods, it would be much, much easier to start making plans, and achieving the ridiculous feat required to revive Diana was starting to seem quite a bit more possible. ¡°Aalam, I¡¯m thinking of waiting to see what we need in the next 36 years before making any more purchases from the army point store. Is there anything you need from me or you think I need to know before I start the process of awakening to another uniqueness?¡± ¡°No, not really. But could you have everyone preparing to awaken a new uniqueness come to my workshop to do the awakenings one at a time? ¡°I would like to see if I can figure out what the System is doing so I can see if there is a way to copy the effect.¡± Mila started to smile again as she quickly used Earth¡¯s soul net to share Aalam¡¯s request with the other eleven army commanders. Then, as she started walking toward Aalam¡¯s crafting hall herself, preparing to be the first from Earth to awaken to a new uniqueness using their War of the Chosen rewards, she also started talking with Nana Xara. ¡°So, were you really not fully aware of the capabilities of shadow line uniquenesses?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Nana Xara sounded like her usual cheerful self, and, as Mila had gained a better understanding of the woman over the years, she was pretty sure her master wasn¡¯t faking the cheer at all. ¡°Of the two of my descendants who awakened to Heroic grade versions of shadow line uniquenesses, and my one great-grandson who survived due to awakening to Shadow Prince, none trained in karma-based skills. And my husband¡¯s karma-based skills only involved contracts, so I don¡¯t think even he knew his uniqueness would have made him better at curses and blessings as well. ¡°As for everything we just learned involving faith energy, I knew almost none of it. ¡°The gods in this universe are very tight-lipped on information related to their own powers, and I¡¯m still amazed something like the Divine Compendium was made available in the War of the Chosen.¡± Mila suddenly felt a bit worried, almost stopping in her tracks. ¡°Do you think the information inside could be faked?¡± ¡°No.¡± Nana Xara¡¯s apparent cheer didn¡¯t lessen at all. ¡°All the information I had before fits with what we just learned, from why those special areas in the Steel Swamp Blessed Land easily block karmic bonds but require different settings and a whole lot more energy to block Aalam¡¯s connection to his Territory to why so many extremely talented A ranks over the years never became gods while some incredibly weak A ranks have.¡± Mila quickly thought and realized the former was because the blessed land was better at blocking faith energy than natural energy while the latter was because the weaker A ranks had managed to reach the minimum required Luck stat. ¡°There are also many, many other minor things as well.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°You did incredibly well this time, Mila. As usual.¡± Nana Xara changed her tone to sound a bit more serious. ¡°And thank you. ¡°I had always thought not being able to qualify for any higher grade classes was the only thing blocking me from ascension, but now I know my Luck stat was too low as well, so I can make preparations for the chance you ever become a god yourself.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The talk of how Nana Xara had gotten stuck suddenly made Mila realize something which should have been obvious. Aalam was planning on achieving the highest grade possible classes at A rank, and Mila and Isaiah were planning on following him, but this meant there would be no higher grade to reach, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to advance normally. Faith energy would not be able to push them into divinity, and their Laws would not be able to transform their souls, so they would have to aim towards the third method of achieving divinity, accumulating such solid foundations that their souls naturally ascended, a method only ever achieved by one particularly powerful Chaos Dragon in the history of their universe. Now, for her and Aalam, this might not be as impossible as it sounded. From what Mila could tell, one prerequisite for such a foundation was a sublime soul variant race. But for Isaiah, well, Mila would have to think a lot more about how to get their friend better and better resources. Walking into Aalam¡¯s crafting hall, Mila didn¡¯t waste any time, entering into an isolation array formation Aalam had already activated. Then she lay down on the comfy mattress Aalam had placed in the center of the array before accepting her first Uniqueness Awakening Boon from the System. Some kind of energy was teleported all around her body and then somehow entered into her soul, causing a tingling sensation as if all her nerves were sending numb signals at once, but it was hard to catch much detail as she felt herself drifting off into sleep. * * * Mila awoke seventeen hours and fifty-three minutes later to see a System message. Congratulations! You have awoken to a new uniqueness! Then, without wasting any more time, she brought up her status. Name: Li Mila Level: 108 Race: Sublime Soul Succubus Empress (E-Heroic) Bloodline: Prime Servitor (Mythic) Abilities Omniglot Reader (Fabled) Fairy Law (Fabled) Master of Disguise (Heroic) Sin Eater (Fabled) Princess¡¯s Aura (Fabled) Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor (Heroic) [shadowed] Class 1: Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster (E-Heroic) Skills Advanced Artifact Enhancement (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Advanced Devil¡¯s Contract (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Trickster¡¯s Guise (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Phantasmic Doppelg?ngers (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Evil Eyes - Lust, Greed, Wrath (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Shadow Stride (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Class 2: Essence Chamberlain (E-Fabled) Skills Exemplary Chamberlain (E-Fabled) 100% mastered Breath of Life (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Advanced Angel¡¯s Release (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Holy Eyes - Chastity, Charity, Patience (E-Heroic) 100% mastered Elevated Multi-Mind (E-Fabled) [shadowed] Ruler¡¯s Domain (E-Fabled) [shadowed] Laws Law Pupae: The Healer - High The Reaper - High Shadow - High Illusion - High The Tactician - High The Courtesan - High Cultivation: Technique: Yin Yang Cosmology - Mixed (Level 11) Twelve Element Primal Code - Heavenly Spark [Weakened] (Level 11) Foundation: Flawless Stats: Strength: 54,000 (+22%) Agility: 54,000 (+22%) Endurance: 58,320 (+22%) Toughness: 54,000 (+22%) Vitality: 58,320 (+122%) Perception: 61,200 (+122%) Magic: 66,960 (+22%) Spirit: 72,720 (+22%) Soul: 99,360 (+72%) Aura: 66,960 (+322%) Attunement: 66,960 (+172%) Luck: 64,800 (+22%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Huge Core Container Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 7 Huge Mental Forges Uniqueness: Shadow Princess Third Eye Princess Skinwalker Princess Boons: Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King I: Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 50% and raise affinity with all Laws by 100%. Personal Chamberlain of the Heavenly Spark Soul King II: Increase the max stats of your race by 25%. Hunter of Sentients XIX: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 9.5% Mila had moved all her wealth into the coffers of the United Federation of Planets, so she no longer had an assets section of her status¡ªand she¡¯d managed to improve most of her racial abilities along with gaining a new second boon from Aalam once he¡¯d maximized his Soul stat¡ªbut the part of her status she was focused on was her new third uniqueness. And, realizing what it was, Mila felt herself start to grin. Given the way the System worked, the name of this uniqueness was not received from the System as the System didn¡¯t even know what her uniqueness was, but was instead taken from her own mind and what she would name it. But Mila had long ago read up on all the known uniquenesses in the universe, so she had given her new uniqueness its recognized name, and it was another of only a few uniqueness lines important enough to be explicitly mentioned in the Divine Compendium. Chapter 240: New Uniquenesses Skinwalker Princess had three main effects. First, it increased Mila¡¯s Vitality stat by 100%. Second, it greatly increased the power of disguise category skills. And, third, it allowed Mila to form a facade over her own soul using the soul of someone who¡¯d died in her presence, a facade which kept the used soul¡¯s soul signature, accumulated karmic merit and sin, and even the soul¡¯s karmic bonds, including those based on existing contracts. In short, using her uniqueness and Trickster¡¯s Guise skill, Mila could kill someone and magically take on their identity with a disguise so strong most gods wouldn¡¯t be able to see through it without a deeper inspection. The only main difficulty, magically speaking, would be in matching the Laws of the identity she¡¯d taken over. All in all, of the dozen or so uniqueness lines which were common on Earth, it was probably the one which was most useful for her. And this wasn¡¯t surprising. From what she¡¯d learned from listening in on Aalam talking with the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, and from talking with Nana Xara herself, uniquenesses tended to match the person who awakened them, very, very rarely not being a match for the build of a cultivator if the cultivator was already E rank or higher. And this was shown with the uniquenesses of all the commanders of their army as well. Javier Garcia, who already specialized in Laws, awoke to the Yin Yang Prince uniqueness, increasing his affinity with yin and yang Laws by 500%, while Mila¡¯s grandmother awoke to Four Elements Princess, her affinity for fire, water, earth, and wind Laws all increasing by the same amount. Mila¡¯s grandfather, being the person who¡¯d taught her how to become the sneaky infiltrator she was, had also awoken to a uniqueness of the skinwalker line, in his case Skinwalker Lord, the Heroic grade version of the line. And Anton Smith, who already had a uniqueness which increased the effectiveness of his Magic stat and boosted the explosiveness of his mana, awoke to a complementary uniqueness which did the same for his Endurance and qi. Silvia and Francis Davies, who shared a uniqueness which worked like Anton¡¯s but for Spirit and psyforce instead, both awoke to uniquenesses of the skill slot line, increasing their Soul stat effectiveness by 50% and their number of skill slots by 2. And Nitya, whose previous uniqueness raised her effective Attunement stat by 200%, awoke to the skill slot uniqueness line as well, only of a higher grade, increasing her Soul stat effectiveness by 100% and her number of skill slots by 3. Finally, of the cultivators other than Aalam who originated on Earth, Blessing Ibrahim, the representative of the reborn monster cultivators on Earth whose new form was that of a yang phoenix, awoke to a uniqueness of the skill slot line as well, the skill slot line the most common uniqueness line on Earth due to it being the only one Nana Xara had awoken to in her life. Then, of those not descended from Nana Xara, Reginald awoke to a uniqueness of the agility line, just purely increasing the effectiveness of his Agility stat; Brom awoke to a uniqueness of the defense line, increasing the effectiveness of his Toughness stat and the power of defensive skills; and Isaiah awoke to an incredibly rare type of uniqueness which didn¡¯t increase the effectiveness of any of his stats or affinities at all, Slaughter Prince. The slaughter line of uniquenesses had an incredibly useful effect, turning part of the power of anyone personally killed into raw nascent energy which could then be absorbed along with the primal energy from kills. So, if Aalam chose to base the new blessing his lord skill would give out after advancing to D rank on his Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor racial ability, and Isaiah went to participate in some universal wars as part of his training, Isaiah could turn into a source of nascent energy for Aalam instead of the other way around, allowing everyone to raise their stats to the max values of D rank much, much quicker. ¡°Did you learn anything?¡± Mila asked after Isaiah left the workshop, having stayed in the room while everyone underwent their awakenings to provide Aalam access to the extra senses granted by her Third Eye Princess uniqueness, something she¡¯d figured out how to do after their bond grew stronger. ¡°Their bodies appear to be surrounded by an extremely high concentration of natural energy. But then something is done to their souls to cause part of that energy to be absorbed. And I don¡¯t know what that is.¡± Aalam looked and sounded a bit frustrated. ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t even recognize the natural energy part.¡± Mila patted him lightly on the shoulder. ¡°And we¡¯re only E ranks. Imagine how much better your senses will get once you advance in a few months.¡± Aalam took a deep breath and nodded. Then he himself moved to the isolation formation and lay down on the mattress. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. * * * Aalam felt the extremely high concentration of natural energy surround him and, given his Empyrean grade uniqueness Emperor gave him excellent control over the energy type, he felt like he could manipulate the energy at will, like a fish in water. Then, for the briefest of instances, Aalam felt his soul be put under pressure of a type he still couldn¡¯t recognize, likely because it was somehow induced by divine level law energy, and he somehow knew exactly which uniqueness he was about to awaken, Vitality King, and he could also somehow sense seventeen other possible uniquenesses he could awaken in the future. Of these seventeen, the one he was most interested in was the one of the third eye line, but it, like most of the others, was somehow hidden inside his soul behind Vitality King and two others. How he knew this, and how uniquenesses actually worked, it was hard to say. The extremely high concentration of natural energy around him had placed him in a weird state¡ªmaybe what was called sudden enlightenment¡ªand Aalam could tell his mind was somehow interpreting things he couldn¡¯t normally sense. All he knew was, if he awakened to Vitality King, he would be aligning his soul to be even more like his mother¡¯s than his father¡¯s¡ªsomething he¡¯d already done given two of his three uniquenesses, Emperor and Soul King, had primarily been inherited from her¡ªand this would make awakening to a third eye line uniqueness in the future far more difficult. So, without really thinking about it, Aalam somehow moved the natural energy toward awakening one of the other two uniquenesses which weren¡¯t blocked, and then he passed out. * * * The energy which surrounded Aalam rippled slightly, something which hadn¡¯t happened when anyone else had started the process of awakening to a new uniqueness, but then, right before Aalam fell unconscious, something else happened which made Mila¡¯s eyes widen. The notifications only occurred after Aalam was already asleep, but, in practically an instant, he¡¯d somehow raised his high grade Law Pupae of Plasma, Gas, Liquid, Solid, Matter, Anti-Matter, and Vacuum all up to peak grade, giving him quite a lot of extra nascent energy to play with after his advance to D rank. ¡°Well, that looks like a bout of sudden enlightenment.¡± Nana Xara sounded excited. ¡°Maybe he really will learn how to awaken uniquenesses in himself and others in the future.¡± Uniquenesses were the part of paths to power the universe¡¯s gods seemed to control the most closely and, while it wasn¡¯t said explicitly in the Divine Compendium, Mila was starting to suspect this was because awakening to uniquenesses strengthened the foundation of a soul in a similar way to oaths, making achieving divinity in the future much easier. So, if Aalam gained the ability to help awaken uniquenesses in others, this would be a game changer in their ability to recruit in the future, way beyond Aalam¡¯s ability to raise the affinities of his subordinates. Still, if such a capability never appeared, it wouldn¡¯t be much of a loss, so Mila wouldn¡¯t plan around it. Knowing she¡¯d have to wait a while, Mila continued to read up on information about the strongest forces in the universe on the universal soul net for the next day and then, after 27 hours, Aalam woke up, Mila¡¯s bond with him allowing her to know he had awakened to the Law Wings King uniqueness. ¡°So, did you figure anything out?¡± Mila, who was sitting down next to the isolation formation, smiled down at Aalam. ¡°I think so. Maybe.¡± Aalam looked and sounded confused. ¡°No. I had something for a second there, but then I lost it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s often how sudden enlightenment works.¡± Nana Xara sounded slightly disappointed but still quite cheerful. ¡°Tell him he¡¯ll probably remember parts of what he realized in the future and that he shouldn¡¯t try to rush things as it would likely have a detrimental effect.¡± Mila did so and Aalam nodded, still looking like he was in a bit of a daze. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay, Aalam?¡± Aalam shook his arms and jumped up and down a few times, literally bounding off the ceiling and then back down. ¡°Yeah. More than fine. While I can¡¯t remember much, I wish I could be in states like that more often. ¡°Go awaken to your fourth uniqueness. I want to see if I can sense anything new.¡± Shaking her head slightly, Mila moved to the isolation formation and started the process for a second time, gaining no new information herself, but, when she woke up, she¡¯d awakened to the same new uniqueness as Nitya, Soul Slot Princess, and her effective Soul stat had risen by 100% while her second class, Essence Chamberlain, now had three extra skill slots for a total of nine. ¡°Did you gain anything?¡± she asked Aalam as she stood up. But, from his frustrated expression, she already knew his answer. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t sweat it.¡± Mila decided the best thing she could do was to leave Aalam alone, so she started walking out of the workshop. ¡°Just merge your Ruler¡¯s Domain skill with your cultivation technique and then advance. ¡°Higher rank, higher Perception.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Aalam smiled as he used his eyes to watch her leave. ¡°And you should work on merging Trickster¡¯s Guise with yours.¡± Mila turned back to him and nodded. Then she left so as to stop distracting him. They, along with the other commanders of the Earth army in the War of the Chosen, had held back choosing what skills to merge with their cultivation techniques to see if the new information they gained or the uniquenesses they awakened would change their choices, and, while it hadn¡¯t for any of the commanders, Aalam included, it had for Mila. According to the information she¡¯d gained, Trickster¡¯s Guise had an advancement path which would boost the amount of faith energy she could store in her soul and enhance all her other skills with a powerful passive effect, which would have made it the best choice if not for her Third Eye Princess uniqueness and the effects it had on her eye skills, so, even with her uniquenesses as they¡¯d been, she¡¯d already been considering merging it with her cultivation technique instead of her original choice, Evil Eyes - Lust, Greed, Wrath. So, when she awoke to the Skinwalker Princess uniqueness, which would enhance Trickster¡¯s Guise¡¯s effects, it sealed the deal. Now it would just be a few months before she and Aalam could advance and, after decades, she could finally stop being a succubus. Chapter 241: D Rank Race Advancement Mila waited inside the B rank force¡¯s secret vault for five hours, spreading out quite a few explosives and Aalam¡¯s latest non-spreading biological weapons throughout the large underground room while following Aalam¡¯s directions to undo the protective arrays around everything of value. Then, when everything was ready, she triggered the vault¡¯s silent alarm. In just under fifteen seconds, the three C ranks in charge of the planet she¡¯d infiltrated, two men and one woman, all human, rushed into the room and, as Mila had altered the triggering mechanisms for the room¡¯s defensive arrays under Aalam¡¯s directions, the three triggered the room¡¯s main defense against thieves, all three becoming trapped by chains of powerful energy which rushed out of the walls and made them unable to use their mana, qi, or psyforce for anything. The biological weapons in the room then flowed into their bodies and souls under Mila¡¯s direction, weakening their defenses even further, and Mila helped them on their way by taking out what was still Aalam¡¯s most powerful artifact from one of the multiple spatial storage rings she¡¯d brought along, the incredibly sharp violet sword Epecteos¡¯s Vengeance, to cut off their heads. Then, after taking everything of value from the three bodies, she absorbed the power of all three of their souls, used the woman¡¯s soul and her new uniqueness to become a nearly perfect copy of the woman, and took the woman¡¯s body into one of her spatial storage rings before quietly leaving, teleporting away from the planet just as the explosives placed in the vault went off. She first went to the main planet of Thunderstrike Taravan, purposefully making it look like his empire was the one responsible for the theft. Then she used the teleportation network two more times, first to the main planet of one of the other strongest human empires and then back to Earth. Aalam had already absorbed the genetic power of the dying C rank Soul Lord which he¡¯d received as his reward from the War of the Chosen, a roughly 3 meter tall lanky humanoid creature with translucent skin and hair, which looked kind of like a wendigo, and, after Mila arrived back on Earth and removed her disguise, he took a multicolored pill out of his spatial storage ring, the last present from his master, and swallowed it down whole. Mila then arrived at Zakynthos and transferred her two remaining C rank human souls over to Aalam, one of which she¡¯d already filled with lust using her evil eyes skill, and Aalam, lying down in the isolation formation inside his crafting hall, was then ready to advance his race to D rank. You have absorbed the power of a C rank soul consumed by lust. You have met the criteria to advance your race to D rank You have the following seven options: The numbers she knew were going to be unmanageable, at least for her¡ªAalam she was pretty sure had no problem wrapping his head around numbers in the hundreds of thousands. So, before even looking at any of Aalam¡¯s racial choices, Mila altered her settings for how the System would show her the numbers, adding the equivalent values for if the race was G rank in parenthesis for each of the max stats before taking a look. Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (D-Heroic) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a supreme emperor of their kind, one which eats souls. Racial Abilities: 5 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 518,400 (300) Agility: 518,400 (300) Endurance: 559,872 (324) Toughness: 518,400 (300) Vitality: 559,872 (324) Perception: 587,520 (340) Magic: 642,816 (372) Spirit: 698,112 (404) Soul: 953,856 (552) Aura: 642,816 (372) Attunement: 642,816 (372) Luck: 622,080 (360) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 252 Agility: 252 Endurance: 324 Toughness: 252 Vitality: 324 Perception: 396 Magic: 432 Spirit: 468 Soul: 540 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a huge amount of Territory for a D rank Eat a C rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death. Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic) The first option was just advancing his current race to D rank, the weakest of all his choices, and Mila knew Aalam would never pick it, so she just moved on, but the next choice surprised her. Sublime Soul Primal Incubus Emperor (D-Fabled) The weakest variety of an incarnation of Lust, but a supreme emperor of their kind which has traced its roots back to the beginning. Racial Abilities: 6 No limits, but a higher chance for charm, disguise, and noble related abilities as well as abilities which boost the handling of primal energy and the flow of qi, mana, and psyforce Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 622,080 (360) Agility: 622,080 (360) Endurance: 670,464 (388) Toughness: 622,080 (360) Vitality: 670,464 (388) Perception: 705,024 (408) Magic: 770,688 (446) Spirit: 836,352 (484) Soul: 1,150,848 (666) Aura: 770,688 (446) Attunement: 770,688 (446) Luck: 746,496 (432) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 252 Agility: 252 Endurance: 324 Toughness: 252 Vitality: 324 Perception: 396 Magic: 432 The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Spirit: 468 Soul: 540 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a colossal amount of Territory for a D rank Eat a C rank or higher soul of a sentient creature consumed by lust at the time of death Absorb the genetic power of a primal being of at least D rank Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has exceeded the maximum stats of a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has absorbed the genetic power of a primal being of at least E rank Primal, like sublime soul, was a key word modification which could be added to almost any race, and it had less to do with genetic ancestry and more with the energy structure of the soul, the resulting race naturally better with qi, mana, psyforce, and primal energy. Mila had looked up quite a bit about it as Diana¡¯s race had been a primal one, but Sublime Soul Primal Incubus Emperor hadn¡¯t been in the race advancement information Aalam had received after they¡¯d won the War of the Chosen, while the female equivalent, Sublime Soul Primal Succubus Empress, hadn¡¯t been in Mila¡¯s either, and this was likely because they weren¡¯t standard advancement options, requiring a bloodline like Genetic Thief to achieve. Still, Sublime Soul Primal Incubus Emperor wouldn¡¯t provide any better future race advancement options than Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor, so, as long as there were any other races with the primal keyword, Mila knew Aalam definitely wouldn¡¯t pick it. And this wasn¡¯t even mentioning how Mila would kill him if he did. Sublime Soul Minor Soul Lord (D-Fabled) A supreme minor lord of souls, high in the hierarchy of the universe, low in the hierarchy of afterlife rulers. Racial Abilities: 6 No limits, but a higher chance for soul and noble related abilities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 691,200 (400) Agility: 691,200 (400) Endurance: 691,200 (400) Toughness: 691,200 (400) Vitality: 767,232 (444) Perception: 691,200 (400) Magic: 767,232 (444) Spirit: 767,232 (444) Soul: 919,296 (532) Aura: 767,232 (444) Attunement: 767,232 (444) Luck: 746,496 (432) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 324 Agility: 324 Endurance: 324 Toughness: 324 Vitality: 540 Perception: 324 Magic: 540 Spirit: 540 Soul: 648 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a huge amount of Territory for a D rank Have a maximized Soul stat Eat the equivalent of 6 C rank souls at once Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has control over a huge amount of Territory for an E rank, has maximized stats as a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has the Pure Soul (Fabled) racial ability or a variant thereof, has absorbed the genetic power of a Mythic or higher grade life form with a Soul Lord line bloodline of at least D rank Sublime Soul Minor Soul Lord was the first option Aalam could choose of the race line he wanted, but it was obviously going to be the worst, so Mila quickly moved on. Sublime Soul Soul Lord (D-Mythic) A supreme lord of souls, high in the hierarchy of the universe, middling in the hierarchy of afterlife rulers. Racial Abilities: 7 No limits, but a higher chance for soul and noble related abilities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 732,672 (424) Agility: 732,672 (424) Endurance: 732,672 (424) Toughness: 732,672 (424) Vitality: 940,032 (544) Perception: 732,672 (424) Magic: 940,032 (544) Spirit: 940,032 (544) Soul: 1,216,512 (704) Aura: 940,032 (544) Attunement: 940,032 (544) Luck: 870,912 (504) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 378 Agility: 378 Endurance: 378 Toughness: 378 Vitality: 630 Perception: 378 Magic: 630 Spirit: 630 Soul: 756 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a colossal amount of Territory for a D rank Have a maximized Soul stat Eat the equivalent of 12 C rank souls at once Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has control over a colossal amount of Territory for an E rank, has maximized stats as a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has the Pure Soul (Fabled) racial ability or a variant thereof, has absorbed the genetic power of an actual Soul Lord of C rank or higher Sublime Soul Soul Lord was a Mythic grade race, its max stats even having one value which went over a million, but it didn¡¯t take advantage of the Heavenly Spark Ascension Pill Aalam had just eaten, while the remaining races all did, so it could be ignored as well. Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Minor Soul Lord (D-Fabled) A supreme minor lord of souls with extraordinary affinities for all Laws, high in the hierarchy of the universe, low in the hierarchy of afterlife rulers. Racial Abilities: 6 No limits, but a higher chance for soul and noble related abilities and abilities which raise all affinities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 691,200 (400) Agility: 691,200 (400) Endurance: 691,200 (400) Toughness: 691,200 (400) Vitality: 767,232 (444) Perception: 691,200 (400) Magic: 767,232 (444) Spirit: 767,232 (444) Soul: 919,296 (532) Aura: 767,232 (444) Attunement: 767,232 (444) Luck: 746,496 (432) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 324 Agility: 324 Endurance: 324 Toughness: 324 Vitality: 540 Perception: 324 Magic: 540 Spirit: 540 Soul: 648 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a huge amount of Territory for a D rank Have a maximized Soul stat Eat the equivalent of 6 C rank souls at once Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has control over a huge amount of Territory for an E rank, has maximized stats as a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Fabled) racial ability, has absorbed the genetic power of a Mythic or higher grade life form with a Soul Lord line bloodline of at least D rank, has absorbed the power of a Heavenly Spark Ascension Pill before advancing Were there no more options, Mila knew Aalam would choose Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Minor Soul Lord over Sublime Soul Soul Lord, as a heavenly spark variant race increased affinities to all Laws way beyond a normal race. There was a reason Mila had poured over a third of the wealth she¡¯d earned from the Violet Mountain Sect into buying half the resources to make the pill, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods covering the other half. But Aalam didn¡¯t have to make such a choice as there were still two better races available. Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Soul Lord (D-Mythic) A supreme lord of souls with extraordinary affinities for all Laws, high in the hierarchy of the universe, middling in the hierarchy of afterlife rulers. Racial Abilities: 7 No limits, but a higher chance for soul and noble related abilities and abilities which raise all affinities Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 732,672 (424) Agility: 732,672 (424) Endurance: 732,672 (424) Toughness: 732,672 (424) Vitality: 940,032 (544) Perception: 732,672 (424) Magic: 940,032 (544) Spirit: 940,032 (544) Soul: 1,216,512 (704) Aura: 940,032 (544) Attunement: 940,032 (544) Luck: 870,912 (504) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 378 Agility: 378 Endurance: 378 Toughness: 378 Vitality: 630 Perception: 378 Magic: 630 Spirit: 630 Soul: 756 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a colossal amount of Territory for a D rank Have a maximized Soul stat Eat the equivalent of 12 C rank souls at once Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has control over a colossal amount of Territory for an E rank, has maximized stats as a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Fabled) racial ability, has absorbed the genetic power of an actual Soul Lord of C rank or higher, has absorbed the power of a Heavenly Spark Ascension Pill before advancing Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Soul Lord was the race Aalam had been aiming for, increasing his max stats and Law affinities, and, had he not absorbed Diana¡¯s power, it would have been the best race he had access to. With him having absorbed his sister¡¯s power, however, gaining the equivalent of the original foundation he¡¯d been born with, there was a better race available. And it would require hunting down his enemies for advancing, something Aalam would have no problems with. Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord (D-Mythic) A supreme lord of souls with extraordinary affinities for all Laws which has traced its roots back to the beginning, high in the hierarchy of the universe, middling in the hierarchy of afterlife rulers. Racial Abilities: 7 No limits, but a higher chance for soul and noble related abilities, abilities which raise all affinities, and abilities which boost the handling of primal energy and the flow of qi, mana, and psyforce Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 732,672 (424) Agility: 732,672 (424) Endurance: 732,672 (424) Toughness: 732,672 (424) Vitality: 940,032 (544) Perception: 732,672 (424) Magic: 940,032 (544) Spirit: 940,032 (544) Soul: 1,216,512 (704) Aura: 940,032 (544) Attunement: 940,032 (544) Luck: 870,912 (504) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 378 Agility: 378 Endurance: 378 Toughness: 378 Vitality: 630 Perception: 378 Magic: 630 Spirit: 630 Soul: 756 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a colossal amount of Territory for a D rank Have a maximized Soul stat Eat the equivalent of 12 C rank souls at once Absorb the genetic power of a primal being of at least D rank Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has control over a colossal amount of Territory for an E rank, has exceeded the maximum stats of a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (E-Heroic), has absorbed the genetic power of a primal being of at least E rank, has the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Fabled) racial ability, has absorbed the genetic power of an actual Soul Lord of C rank or higher, has absorbed the power of a Heavenly Spark Ascension Pill before advancing There were no options for Sublime Soul Primal Minor Soul Lord, Sublime Soul Primal Soul Lord, or Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Minor Soul Lord, and this was for two main reasons. First, for Sublime Soul Primal Soul Lord, Aalam didn¡¯t meet the prerequisites, the extra energy from the Heavenly Spark Ascension Pill not able to make up for what he was missing without advancing him to a heavenly spark variant race. Then, for the two minor soul lord variants, there was the fundamental issue that the primal keyword could not be added to a degraded race. Minor soul lords were not a true race themselves, but degraded versions of soul lords, so retracing their roots to the beginning would just make them soul lords, not primal minor soul lords. And there were no heavenly spark variant advancement options which would keep Aalam as an incubus because incubi races weren¡¯t strong enough to absorb all the power of a Heavenly Spark Ascension Pill. Will you advance to a Sublime Soul Incubus Emperor (D-Heroic), a Sublime Soul Primal Incubus Emperor (D-Fabled), a Sublime Soul Minor Soul Lord (D-Fabled), a Sublime Soul Soul Lord (D-Mythic), a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Minor Soul Lord (D-Fabled), a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Soul Lord (D-Mythic), or a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord (D-Mythic)? Aalam quickly decided to advance to a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord and then almost immediately fell unconscious. Chapter 242: Sage Aalam woke up and the first thing he did was use his sensory domain to check his own appearance, a part of him afraid he¡¯d changed to look like an actual soul lord, huge, gaunt, and creepy. Thankfully, however, he looked mostly the same. Sure, his almost orange eyes were now truly orange, and would glow with soul light to any magical senses. And, sure, his shoulder-length dark blue hair had become semi-translucent like Krysta¡¯s. But his body shape and face were the same and all his body parts were in full working order. Aalam unconsciously looked over at Mila, who¡¯d seemingly fallen asleep in her bed in the main residence of the enlightenment zone, and then he belatedly realized his transformation had taken a lot longer than the previous times, over five days according to the time shown on Earth¡¯s soul net. Not wanting to wake her, Aalam just sat up in the isolation formation, and, having to hurry while the energy from his racial advancement was still permeating his soul, he initiated the process of choosing his two new racial abilities. Awakening your sixth racial ability as a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord (D-Mythic). Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Master of Creation (Fabled): Greatly increase the power of crafting category skills.
  2. Primal Heart (Mythic): Seriously increase the normal flow rate of your qi, mana, and psyforce while greatly increasing their burst potential and ability to break down impurities.
  3. King¡¯s Aura (Mythic): Increase the effectiveness of the Aura stat by 200%
Aalam had received the chance to awaken to weaker versions of Master of Creation and King¡¯s Aura before, but, as previously, he wasn¡¯t that interested. Boosting his crafting skills would allow him to pour more energy into them, but that wouldn¡¯t have much of an effect as his crafting skills would always be of the max possible grade for his rank and would always be boosted by one of his classes, so they would be able to take all the energy he¡¯d want to pour into them almost every time. Crafting wasn¡¯t like combat. How quick the skill could use energy and how easily the energy would flow through the skill when uncontrolled didn¡¯t matter much. The skills just needed to be strong enough to be able to accomplish what he wanted and then everything else would rely on his knowledge, affinities, and control. As for increasing his Aura stat, Princess¡¯s Aura was already the most useful of Mila¡¯s racial abilities for him to shadow, so what would be the point of choosing the same ability line for himself? Primal Heart, on the other hand, was from one of the most desired racial ability lines in the universe, the version he had access to able to more than triple his cultivation speed and increase his combat power by more than 20%. Even compared to Master of Creation, Primal Heart would have a greater effect on his future crafting capabilities, giving him greater control over his energies. And, most important to Aalam¡¯s immediate future, it would drastically increase the rate at which he could absorb nascent energy from cultivation resources. Without thinking much more, he chose it, and, like previous times where he could choose more than one new racial ability after being reborn, the upgrade wouldn¡¯t start until he made his second choice. Awakening your seventh racial ability as a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord (D-Mythic). Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. King¡¯s Command (Mythic): Seriously increase the power of noble category skills.
  2. Passive Daoist (Mythic): Gain insights into Laws through meditation with ease, but not at all through combat.
  3. Master of Thought (Mythic): Seriously increase the power of psychic category skills.
This was a more difficult choice. Master of Thought could be thrown out immediately, Aalam¡¯s path, despite his early class choices, not one which would focus on psyforce more than qi and mana. But between King¡¯s Command and Passive Daoist, he couldn¡¯t easily decide. King¡¯s Command would add together with his first class and Emperor uniqueness to boost his noble category skills to a ridiculous degree, and he had already planned for noble category skills to be the core of his build, but Passive Daoist really interested him. For Isaiah, Active Daoist, which had the opposite effects¡ªboosting the ease of Law advancement during combat but making it more difficult during normal times¡ªwas a trap racial ability as normal Law advancement for combatants was usually done by gaining insights while fighting and then consolidating those insights during times of rest, something the racial ability made more difficult. But Passive Daoist was different, especially for Aalam. Aalam spent most of his free time working in his workshop, and this was where most of his Law advancements happened. Also, all of his Laws were of the order category, broad in focus and useful for multiple applications, but not ideal for any. For him, Passive Daoist, especially at the Mythic grade, would make a huge difference in how fast he could advance his Laws. Aalam was starting to lean towards taking Passive Daoist as his seventh racial ability, but then he had an epiphany about how the racial ability likely worked and quickly decided against it. The ease of a cultivator or monster gaining insights into a Law was based on three complementary factors, their affinity with the Law, their attunement with the universe, and the environment where they were training. Affinity was hard to change, mostly based on a soul¡¯s race and bloodline while somewhat influenced by their natural talent. Sure, affinities could be increased by racial abilities, class benefits, and uniquenesses, but they generally didn¡¯t fluctuate day to day. Attunement to the universe was then even simpler, directly represented in the System by the Attunement stat, and it rarely fluctuated as well. Finally, the environment of a cultivator was mostly based on the rank of the planet they lived on, albeit with most planets providing a better environment for training in some Laws than others, and the only ability Aalam knew of which could change the nature of the environment for a cultivator was the law wings line of uniquenesses, like his new uniqueness, Law Wings King. Passive Daoist, in order to have the effect of making it nearly impossible to learn Laws while in combat, would have to do one of the following whenever he was fighting: lower his affinities with all Laws, greatly lessen his effective Attunement stat, or, less likely, alter his local environment to make using his Laws much, much more difficult. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! No matter how it worked, while it would likely make him a better crafter as that work was done outside of combat, it would drastically lower his combat power, and that wasn¡¯t acceptable. Aalam was Earth¡¯s strongest, the one everyone else¡¯s safety relied on, and his strength was the reason Mila could go out into the universe and do crazy things, as she knew he could come save her so long as she didn¡¯t get in trouble with the universe¡¯s highest powers. Were he to choose Passive Daoist, however, not only would his future advancements likely be cut off as he wouldn¡¯t have the strength to fight for the resources he¡¯d need, everyone on Earth would almost certainly die in the relatively near future as well, killed off by his mother and her family as he wouldn¡¯t have the power to protect them. No longer considering any other options, Aalam chose King¡¯s Command to be his seventh racial ability, and then he fell unconscious again, Primal Heart especially altering his soul quite a bit. * * * When Aalam woke up, another two days had passed and, as planned, Mila had already started her own racial evolution in his crafting hall, making use of the other C rank soul she¡¯d gathered. So, without consulting her or Nana Xara, Aalam began the process of choosing his D rank classes so he could advance his rank, and he started with the advancement of his Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Prince class, for which he¡¯d met the requirements of eighteen possible Mythic grade upgrades. But, as Aalam already had a plan and all eighteen upgrades were expected given the information he¡¯d earned from the War of the Chosen, he barely looked at the other seventeen and directly chose Heavenly Spark Tricrafter King. Heavenly Spark Tricrafter King (D-Mythic) Lord of Laws, craft, energy, and Territory Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Aura and Attunement stats by 200% Raise affinity with all Laws by 300% Seriously increase the power of crafting and noble category skills Seriously increase the normal flow rate of your qi, mana, and psyforce while greatly increasing their burst potential and ability to break down impurities Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Offensive Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 540 Agility: 540 Endurance: 1,152 Toughness: 540 Vitality: 720 Perception: 720 Magic: 1,152 Spirit: 1,152 Soul: 1,296 Aura: 720 Attunement: 540 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 early grade Law Pupae for each of the 12 elements, has the Heavenly Spark Psycrafter Prince (E-Fabled) class, has control over a huge amount of Territory for an E rank, has personally designed and then crafted at least three Fabled grade artifacts using triforce-based crafting skills When he later advanced to C rank, Heavenly Spark Tricrafter King would form the foundation for three separate classes, but this was only because of the next three D rank classes he chose. Virtuous Sage (D-Fabled) A virtuous creator of arrays Effects: Greatly increase the power of angelic category skills Increase the speed of mastering skills by 300% Class slots +1 Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 432 Agility: 432 Endurance: 432 Toughness: 432 Vitality: 432 Perception: 432 Magic: 432 Spirit: 432 Soul: 4,320 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 sets of opposing Law Larvae at peak grade or higher, has Soul as the highest stat, has personally invented at least 6 new arrays with E rank effects, has never once given into his sin of highest inclination The best aspect of Virtuous Sage was that it allowed for an extra class, and, following the plan he¡¯d made as far back as when he hadn¡¯t even started the first challenge of the tutorial, Aalam chose his third class immediately. Sinful Sage (D-Fabled) A sinful creator of arrays Effects: Greatly increase the power of diabolical category skills Increase the speed of mastering skills by 300% Class slots +1 Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 432 Agility: 432 Endurance: 432 Toughness: 432 Vitality: 432 Perception: 432 Magic: 432 Spirit: 432 Soul: 4,320 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 sets of opposing Law Larvae at peak grade or higher, has Soul as the highest stat, has personally invented at least 6 new arrays with E rank effects, has completely fallen for one of the seven sins After Epecteos¡¯s death, Aalam had completely fallen for the sin of wrath, and, while Mila had removed most of the karmic sin which had resulted from that, it didn¡¯t matter much as he¡¯d fallen into the sin again for several months after Diana was killed, so he still qualified for the class without having to do anything extra. Now, normally, having both the Virtuous Sage and Sinful Sage classes would be pointless. Other than Mila, Aalam didn¡¯t know any cultivators or monsters who used both diabolic and angelic skills¡ªas doing so was just asking to hit a bottleneck for those without the Sin Eater racial ability¡ªand, given the overlapping nature of the other two effects, one wouldn¡¯t see much gain. Instead of a 600% increase in the speed of mastering skills, there would only be a 450% increase, and, instead of being able to choose two extra classes, a cultivator or monster would only be able to choose 1. This last part, however, changed if one had a strong soul variant race, allowing for an extra class option, though its effects would be halved. And, with a sublime soul variant race instead, Aalam could choose a fourth class and not have the class¡¯s effects halved, only its stat gains upon leveling up. So, as planned, he chose the third class which he could later merge with Virtuous Sage and Sinful Sage when he reached C rank, Elevated Void Sage. Elevated Void Sage (D-Fabled) An elevated creator of arrays, yet empty Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 25% Increase the speed of mastering skills by 300% May freely fuse mastered skills Skill slots: 10 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 432 Agility: 432 Endurance: 432 Toughness: 432 Vitality: 432 Perception: 432 Magic: 432 Spirit: 432 Soul: 4,320 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 sets of opposing Law Larvae at peak grade or higher, has Soul as the highest stat, has personally invented at least 8 new arrays with E rank effects, has no skills When he reached C rank, he would be able to merge all three classes together into the C rank class Sage (C-Empyrean), using the class path route Nana Xara would have chosen for herself if she¡¯d had at least a strong soul race and known the path existed when she reached A rank, but there were more advantages to the three sage line classes than just how they could be merged during his next race advancement. Aalam¡¯s increase to the speed of mastering skills from the three classes was in total 600%, and, when combined with his oath, his total increase was 1200%. Combined with the fact all his sage line classes had no limitations with skills and Mila¡¯s new uniqueness, which would give her several extra skill slots he could make use of as well, and Aalam was going to be merging a lot of new skills at D rank, several of which had never been seen in the history of the universe. Chapter 243: No Longer Incarnations of Lust When Mila woke, Aalam was sitting in the center of an array in the corner of the crafting hall, building something in the air in front of him while absorbing primal energy from a few hundred large primal energy stones at once, a series of array formation disks used for spreading Territory, likely for use in a few decades when Earth¡¯s portal to another universe would fully form. But these were complicated high grade array formation disks Aalam wouldn¡¯t have been able to make before advancing to D rank, so he was extremely focused, not yet having noticed she¡¯d woken up, or at least not having shown any type of obvious reaction. Mila¡¯s focus, on the other hand, with her sensory domain active, was her own appearance, and nothing particularly bad had happened. The same type of changes which had occurred to Aalam had happened to her, her hair becoming slightly translucent and her eyes glowing to magical senses, but there was one big change, and it was in the way her eye skills expressed themselves. Now, instead of having pink irises with sky blue rings around them, her left eye was pink while her right was sky blue. Having assured herself nothing had gone wrong, Mila then opened up Aalam¡¯s status screen, wanting to see what he¡¯d gained after advancing to D rank. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 161 Race: Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord (D-Mythic) Bloodline: Genetic Thief (Empyrean) Abilities Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor (Fabled) Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Fabled) Elevated Soul Laboratory (Fabled) Monster Prince (Fabled) Soul Lord Battle Armor (Mythic) Primal Heart (Mythic) King¡¯s Command (Mythic) Lady''s Aura (Heroic) [shadowed] Class 1: Heavenly Spark Tricrafter King (D-Mythic) Skills Runescriber (D-Mythic) 2% mastered Soul King (D-Mythic) 3% mastered Telekinesis (D-Mythic) 2% mastered Ruler¡¯s Domain (D-Mythic) 3% mastered Triforce Construction (D-Mythic) 2% mastered Law Steps (D-Mythic) 1% mastered Class 2: Virtuous Sage (D-Fabled) Skills Superior Multi-Mind (D-Mythic) 1% mastered Temporal Clone (D-Fabled) 2% mastered Class 3: Sinful Sage (D-Fabled) Skills Superior Multi-Core (D-Mythic) 1% mastered Death Clone (D-Fabled) 2% mastered Class 4: Elevated Void Sage (D-Fabled) Skills Twelve Elements Integration (D-Fabled) 2% mastered Laws Law Pupae: Heat - Peak Plasma - High Passion - High Cold - Peak Liquid - High Tranquility - High Inertia - Peak Solid - Peak Gravity - High Atmosphere - High Gas - Peak Kinetic Energy - Peak Ionization - High Fission - Peak Fusion - Peak Ionic Conductivity - High Matter - Peak Antimatter - Peak Electromagnetic Radiation - High Energy Transfer - Peak Cleansing - High Electromagnetic Absorption - High Energy Storage - Peak Contamination - High Cells - High Order - Peak Bonds - High Deprivation - High Entropy - Peak Severing - High Vacuum - Peak Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Peak This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Dimensional Solidity - High Temporal Acceleration - Peak Temporal Relativity - Peak Pause - High Cultivation: Technique: Twelve Element Primal Code - Heavenly Spark (Level 11) Foundation: Flawless Merged Skill: Ruler¡¯s Domain (D-Mythic) Acupoints Opened: (53/108) Soul + 318% Stats Strength: 159,894 {+479,682} (+25%) Agility: 159,894 {+479,682} (+225%) Endurance: 196,650 {+589,950} (+25%) Toughness: 159,894 {+479,682} (+25%) Vitality: 187,110 {+561,330} (+25%) Perception: 176,634 {+529,902} (+25%) Magic: 218,646 {+655,938} (+25%) Spirit: 224,406 {+673,218} (+25%) Soul: 780,516 (+893%) Aura: 105,120 (+275%) Attunement: 95,580 (+1175%) Luck: 64,800 (+25%) Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 7 Huge + 3 Small Core Containers Middle Dantian: 12 Medium + 1 Large Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 7 Huge + 3 Small Mental Forges Unique: 1 Large Elevated Soul Laboratory Uniqueness: Id Emperor Soul Emperor Law Wings King Territory: Lord Earth Overlord Hira (Lord: Roland Raphaiya) King¡¯s Command and Primal Heart were both excellent additions to Aalam¡¯s racial abilities, but Mila was also pleasantly surprised to find Minor Soul Lord Battle Armor had advanced a grade as well to Soul Lord Battle Armor, likely as a result of Aalam becoming a soul lord variant. Now, instead of increasing just the base of his physical stats by 25% of his effective Soul stat, it increased the base of his Magic and Spirit stats as well. And, with Aalam having opened 53 acupoints, one for each level up as a D rank, his effective Soul stat had increased a lot, making his Soul Lord Battle Armor even stronger. Acupoints were the connection points between a soul¡¯s energy channels and the outside world, opening each increasing qi, mana, and psyforce regeneration rates by quite a bit, but, more important, opening them also caused a fundamental change to a soul, strengthening it. And, in Aalam¡¯s case, as he practiced the best cultivation technique in the universe, he received a +6% to the effectiveness of a stat with every new acupoint he opened, 1% higher than even a cultivator practicing one of the recognized six best cultivation techniques in the universe such as Yin Yang Cosmology, and 5.5% higher than a cultivator with an incredibly flawed foundation like Epecteos. Then, given Aalam had chosen an acupoint opening order which would add every single one of these effectiveness increases to his Soul stat, the effects of Soul Lord Battle Armor increased by a lot, to the point he was now running into the racial ability¡¯s limit of only being able to increase base stats by 300%. Add on how his Soul King uniqueness had advanced to Soul Emperor sometime during his advancement, likely as a result of his soul strengthening due to his becoming a soul lord variant and acquiring three separate classes of the sage line, and Aalam¡¯s effective stats had become ridiculous. Due to Mila not being able to fully shadow Aalam¡¯s Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor racial ability, he hadn¡¯t used that ability¡¯s effects to increase the size of his 12 medium-sized mana wells to large, as that would have blocked Mila from being able to advance her Essence Chamberlain class, but he had advanced the size of his Elevated Soul Laboratory, and it could now store even a B rank soul, which would be incredibly useful. With Earth increasing in rank over the years, Diana¡¯s G rank soul could no longer stay its sovereign, so Aalam had taken over direct control of Earth. But it didn¡¯t really matter when it came to Territory calculations. Earth was already an A rank world for the purpose of adding to Aalam¡¯s Territory, way beyond what he¡¯d need for even his C rank advancement, so he¡¯d easily receive the max benefits from his Emperor uniqueness, multiplying all his stats by 6 in a way that had nothing to do with his stats¡¯ effectiveness. Then, with this multiplier and the insane 900% increase he gained to his Attunement stat from his oath, Villain¡¯s Clean Vengeance, a B rank effect which wouldn¡¯t appear in his D rank status, Aalam¡¯s true effective Attunement stat was already well over six million, while his affinities were already ridiculously high, so it wouldn¡¯t be difficult reaching the required Law grades for him to increase to C rank, Aalam only having to advance his remaining eighteen high grade Law Pupae to peak grade. And this would be made even easier after the next D rank Trial Tower, where Aalam would be looking for the D rank Mythic grade skill Twelve Element Wings of the King as one of his rewards, enabling him to make full use of his Law Wings King racial ability. Given the eight skills Aalam had had as an E rank, it was already amazing he¡¯d been able to raise them all to Mythic grade even though he only had one Mythic grade class, which only had six skill slots, so he couldn¡¯t awaken to an extra Mythic grade skill during his advancement as his Mythic grade class hadn¡¯t had any open slots. He¡¯d only been able to advance Elevated Multi-Mind and Elevated Multi-Core by taking advantage of a hidden ability of sage line classes to raise a single skill to a grade higher than the class¡¯s own during a rank advancement, so he¡¯d had no way to raise a ninth skill. Sure, he could have awakened to a Fabled grade wing skill to make immediate use of if he¡¯d wanted to, but that would have required raising four extra hard to master skills for the skill merge, skills he wouldn¡¯t have access to until the trial tower anyway, so, as they¡¯d discussed previously, he¡¯d decided against wasting his time. ¡°I gave a good chunk of my extra nascent energy to Nitya so she could have a better race advancement and then used the rest to set up a better future upgrade for the Left Hand of the Runescribe.¡± Aalam, who had just finished opening another acupoint to increase his level to 162, turned to look at her, his face calm. But Mila could sense the extreme nervousness he was hiding through their bond. Nitya had gained three extra skill slots from her new uniqueness, just like Mila, so she¡¯d used one of them to gain a knight line skill, allowing her to share resources with everyone and take Aalam¡¯s extra nascent energy. But this wasn¡¯t important to Mila, barely registering in her thoughts. What was important was, for the first time since their rebirths as monsters, she and Aalam were no longer incarnations of lust. Sadly, however, Mila only had a few minutes to choose her new racial abilities if she was going to make full use of the remaining energy permeating her soul from her recent racial advancement, so she couldn¡¯t yet make use of this fact. ¡°Aalam, is it okay if I use the Divine Essence of Love and Marriage?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Mila couldn¡¯t stop herself from smiling as she felt the nervousness Aalam was feeling transform into excitement, but she didn¡¯t have time to bask in her own happiness, so she chose her second personal reward from the War of the Chosen and a glowing pink and red ball of some kind of energy she¡¯d never seen before, likely some kind of Law energy, appeared in her right hand. Then, without waiting for anything else, Mila pushed the divine essence into her chest and it entered through the dress she was wearing and into her soul. Awakening your sixth racial ability as a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lady (D-Mythic). Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Speedster (Fabled): Increase the effectiveness of the Agility stat by 100%.
  2. Shadow of the King (Mythic): Any Mythic grade or lower skill you are able to shadow will have the same boost as the original.
  3. Master of the Fist (Mythic): Remarkably increase the power of martial category punching skills.
Master of the Fist was useless as Mila wasn¡¯t her grandmother and would almost certainly never learn any punching skills, so this left Speedster and Shadow of the King. Speedster, with its increase to her Agility stat, wasn¡¯t bad, but, for her, Shadow of the King was much, much better. For any of Aalam¡¯s noble category skills she shadowed for example, such as Ruler¡¯s Domain and its ever so useful sensory domain effect, her version of the skill would still retain Aalam¡¯s elevenfold boost in power for such skills, something she would never be able to achieve herself. Without thinking too much, Mila chose Shadow of the King. Then she got started on her second choice. Awakening your seventh racial ability as a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lady (D-Mythic). Please choose from the following three selections.
  1. Cultivation Furnace (Fabled): Greatly increase the benefits of dual cultivation.
  2. Primal Heart (Mythic): Seriously increase the normal flow rate of your qi, mana, and psyforce while greatly increasing their burst potential and ability to break down impurities.
  3. Yin Yang Soul (Mythic): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul stat by 100% and raise affinity with yin and yang Laws by 200%.
This choice was more difficult. Primal Heart was the same racial ability Aalam had just awakened, and it was absolutely amazing, able to more than triple her cultivation speed and increase her combat power by more than 20%, but, unlike the other two, it wouldn¡¯t help with advancing her Laws. Yin Yang Soul was a weaker version of Aalam¡¯s Heavenly Spark Pure Soul, advancing only yin and yang Laws instead of every Law imaginable, and providing no boost to Attunement, but it was still very strong. The ability which interested Mila most, however, was Cultivation Furnace. Dual cultivation was a common practice in the universe which pretty much boiled down to cultivating while having sex. Given the mysteries of life and souls, sex created a connection between two partners, allowing them to share their attunement with the universe and speed up their energy flows. But, more important to Mila, by all accounts it was just kind of awesome. Nitya, for example, had described dual cultivating with her husband to Mila as the most magical experience of her life. And this was a woman who effectively controlled the weather. Also, sex. Sadly, however, Mila was still able to stay rational and chose the Primal Heart racial ability instead, and, just like Aalam, she fell asleep for two days as the abilities truly awakened. Then, however, when she woke up, there was no longer anything holding her back. So, she walked over to where Aalam was standing in the center of his workshop, building something, all the parts floating in the air in front of him as he used Runescriber to carve runic arrays into their internal structures, and just directly asked what she wanted to know. ¡°Aalam, would you like to have sex with me?¡± Aalam¡¯s face and emotions both immediately showed relief before quickly switching to excitement. Then he moved towards her, took her into his arms, and kissed her, the artifact parts he¡¯d been working on clattering to the floor. A spatial magic array quickly formed around them, teleporting them to what appeared to be an abandoned villa on some island somewhere on Earth, likely the abandoned vacation residence of some billionaire, and they rapidly started removing each other¡¯s clothes. Chapter 244: Dream Destroying Idiot As Mila and Aalam stopped for a few seconds, lying back on the large Persian carpet in the center of the main room of the abandoned villa, Mila couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh of contentment, still feeling pleasure throughout her body. Sure, Aalam couldn¡¯t flirt to save his life, so he¡¯d never been great at the emotional aspect of sex, but, back when they¡¯d been dating, one of his strong points had always been his mechanics. Unlike every other man she¡¯d been with, he¡¯d repeatedly asked for honest feedback. And, as a result, he knew what she liked. Add to this how he¡¯d obviously studied how to use his qi, mana, psyforce, and Laws to stimulate pleasure, as well as how clear the universe felt as their dual cultivation allowed her to make use of his absolutely ridiculous Attunement stat, and it wasn¡¯t surprising Mila was feeling physically better than she ever had in her entire life. ¡°Mila, will you marry me?¡± Mila felt her heart start to beat faster as she turned her head to look at him and his nervous expression. This wasn¡¯t rushing things. Pre-integration, they¡¯d dated for six years and been at about the point of an engagement before she¡¯d run away, and then, while they hadn¡¯t officially been dating, they¡¯d been each other¡¯s closest companions for the last several decades, pretty much just waiting for Aalam to reach D rank before making it official. ¡°Yes, Aalam, I¡¯ll marry you.¡± Mila rolled over on top of him and pulled him into a kiss, very much ready to continue their previous fun, but then a System notification popped up and Mila¡¯s happy emotions quickly turned to anger. The sovereign of your planet has approved your marriage. Congratulations! You are now the wife of Aalam Alvaro, the Heavenly Spark Soul King! Aalam, as the sovereign of Earth, had approved their marriage almost as soon as she¡¯d agreed. There was no sending out invitations. There was no choosing a venue, food, and card stock. There was no walking down an aisle. No ring. No white dress. No wedding at all. Instead, she just got a slightly better bloodline which was still kind of icky. Congratulations! Your bloodline Prime Servitor (Mythic) has upgraded to Prime Consort (Empyrean) Prime Consort (Empyrean) You are your master¡¯s agent and plaything, in body as well as soul Effects: After entering into a master servant bond with a master of the same race and rank as you, if that master ever changes his or her race when advancing, you may change to the same race when advancing as well, even if you don¡¯t meet the requirements Seriously increase the benefits of dual cultivation with anyone of your same race If your master is also your spouse, remarkably increase the strength of the bond between the two of you The servitor line of bloodlines, as far as Mila had learned from Nana Xara, had been carefully created through a multi-million year eugenics program by one of the human gods under a different subfaction than the Primordial Humans, and it was designed to make easily controlled subordinates: the servitor line to help create good minions, with enough power to help their masters in combat, and the consort line to make good cultivation furnaces, partners for dual cultivation, usually of the forced variety. Granted, for Mila, the master servant relationships inherent in allowing these bloodlines to work weren¡¯t an issue, and the effects of the bloodlines were powerful and incredibly useful. But the requirements for advancing from the Mythic grade Prime Servitor to the Empyrean grade Prime Consort were a Divine Essence of Love and Marriage along with actually getting married, so, while the bloodline advancement which was currently heating up Mila¡¯s soul only required a marriage contract, Mila had been expecting at least a bit of actual romance. The usual progression on Earth after the integration, for at least everyone Mila personally knew, was to get engaged, stay engaged for at least a year, and then get married in the type of elaborate ceremony she¡¯d been dreaming about since she was a little girl¡ªonly with a lot more magic involved. But for her? She didn¡¯t even get a courthouse wedding. And Aalam¡¯s proposal, while sweet, hadn¡¯t been ceremonious at all. Using telekinesis, Mila rose back to her feet and summoned out the Twin Dragons of Yin and Yang from her spatial storage ring, transforming it into its gown form to cover up her body. Then she started yelling, letting out her righteous frustration on the deserving idiot right in front of her. The transformation of her bloodline had already been mostly finished when she¡¯d awakened to her racial abilities, just missing the last ingredient of the marriage bond, so its transformation wasn¡¯t going to cause her to fall unconscious. ¡°But the diamond ring thing is mostly the result of an advertisement campaign from the 1930s and 40s.¡± The idiot, after only a dozen minutes of her yelling at him, actually had the gall to argue with her. ¡°And the white dress became popular only because it¡¯s what Queen Victoria wore to her wedding in 1840. There¡¯s no substance there or any true history.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°But Mila¡ª¡± ¡°Get out!¡± Mila picked him up with telekinesis, pushed him out of one of the room¡¯s open windows, and tossed him into the ocean. Then, through her sensory domain, she saw him create a spacetime runic array and teleport somewhere else. Still fuming, she considered removing the obfuscation she¡¯d put over her bond with Nana Xara so she would have someone to talk to, but then she quickly thought better of that decision and just sat down on the floor, quite a few tears falling down her cheeks. She was already married, and she wasn¡¯t going to cancel it as it was too important to her power set and thus reviving Diana¡ªnot to mention the fact she actually wanted to be married to Aalam¡ªbut this meant she¡¯d never get another chance to be properly proposed to nor have the type of wedding she¡¯d always dreamed of. For about five minutes, she just sat there. Then, not seeing any point in delaying, she started the process of upgrading her classes to go along with the plan she¡¯d made as soon as she¡¯d realized how her bloodline would advance, starting with upgrading her Essence Chamberlain Class to King¡¯s Consort. King¡¯s Consort (D-Mythic) You follow your husband, and in turn gain a shadow of his might Effects: Your husband decides your skill slot usage for this class Your husband may use any of your skills in this class for his own skill fusions Free skill slots can be temporarily filled with a shadow of any skill your husband has Gain half the effects your husband gains through classes, your husband¡¯s choice Stat growth equivalent to your husband¡¯s stat growth from classes Skill limitations the same as your husband''s most powerful class If your husband dies or you lose your position, you lose this class You and your husband each gain a shadowed version of one of the other¡¯s racial abilities Gain 12.5% of the benefits of dual cultivation when within the range of your husband¡¯s energy Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: ?? Stat bonuses per level: Strength: ?? Agility: ?? Endurance: ?? Toughness: ?? Vitality: ?? Perception: ?? Magic: ?? Spirit: ?? Soul: ?? Aura: ?? Attunement: ?? Luck: ?? Requirements: The Prime Consort (Empyrean) bloodline, the Essence Chamberlain (E-Fabled) class, has the status of main wife to a husband/master with a D rank Mythic grade class, has the same race as her husband, has the same basic soulstructures as her husband King¡¯s Consort kept all the extremely overpowered effects of Essence Chamberlain¡ªbeing able to shadow Aalam¡¯s skills, granting a stat growth per level equivalent to the stats Aalam gained from all four of his classes combined, and enabling her and Aalam to each share one of their racial abilities with the other, now not reduced in grade¡ªbut its new effect, granting 12.5% of the benefits of dual cultivation whenever she was within range of Aalam¡¯s energy, basically meant she had a permanent increase to her Attunement stat of one eighth of Aalam¡¯s ridiculous value as, given how strong her bond with Aalam was, she would have to be many, many galaxy clusters away to be outside the range of his energy. Then there were the extra effects from Aalam¡¯s classes. Your husband has chosen the effects of your class to be the following: Increase the effectiveness of the Aura and Attunement stats by 200% Raise affinity with all Laws by 300% Seriously increase the normal flow rate of your qi, mana, and psyforce while greatly increasing their burst potential and ability to break down impurities. Increase the speed of mastering skills by 300% Class slots +1 Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 25% All the effects Aalam chose for her, even while he was somewhere else on the planet, were useful, but the true help to Mila¡¯s own build was the class slots +1 effect, allowing her, who could normally have only one extra class, to choose two extra classes instead, for a total of three. Advanced Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster (D-Fabled) You are an extraordinary cheat with the power of evil eyes Effects: Greatly increase the power of disguise category skills Greatly increase the power of all bonds and contracts you enter into or for which you provide the magic Greatly increase the power of your Evil Eyes skill Seriously decrease the penalties for creating bonds and contracts with those under the magical influence of your Evil Eyes skill Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 516 Agility: 696 Endurance: 696 Toughness: 516 Vitality: 516 Perception: 696 Magic: 1,380 Spirit: 1,380 Soul: 1,380 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 2 peak grade Law Larvae of the light and darkness elements aligned with the paths of illusion and shadow, 2 or more divine role Law Larvae at high grade or higher, has the Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster (E-Heroic) class, has an Evil Eyes line skill, has tricked someone out of at least a huge amount of treasure for a E rank or had 72 D rank or higher beings die as a result of breaking a contract Advanced Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster was just a straight upgrade from Evil Eyes Diabolical Trickster, with no new effects, but Mila¡¯s third class, Advanced Holy Eyes Angelic Trickster, was slightly different. Advanced Holy Eyes Angelic Trickster (D-Fabled) You are an extraordinary cheat with the power of holy eyes Effects: Greatly increase the power of disguise category skills Greatly decrease the power of all bonds and contracts you enter into for which you do not provide the magic Greatly increase the power of your Holy Eyes skill Seriously decrease the penalties for breaking bonds and contracts of anyone with more merit than sin Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 516 Agility: 696 Endurance: 696 Toughness: 516 Vitality: 516 Perception: 696 Magic: 1,380 Spirit: 1,380 Soul: 1,380 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 2 peak grade Law Larvae of the light and darkness elements aligned with the paths of illusion and shadow, 2 or more divine role Law Larvae at high grade or higher, has the Advanced Angel¡¯s Release (E-Heroic) skill, has a Holy Eyes line skill, Soul greater than 20,736, has tricked someone out of at least a huge amount of treasure for a E rank or saved 72 beings from sinful contracts made by D ranks or higher The angelic trickster line of classes was more about helping people while disguised, but, given Mila¡¯s Sin Eater racial ability, it wouldn¡¯t be much more difficult to advance than her diabolic trickster line class, and, after D rank, she would be able to merge the two into a karmic trickster line class, removing their overlapping effects. Done selecting her classes, Mila, still crying, then started her rank advancement, falling unconscious in the middle of the large room. Chapter 245: Impromptu Therapy Francis heard his wife¡¯s scream and, only wearing a pair of shorts with shaving cream still covering half his jaw, he ran into their bedroom to find Lord Aalam pacing back and forth in the room with a terrified expression on his face, his hands and sometimes his entire body involuntarily twitching. And this in turn terrified Francis, as anything which could scare their sovereign was almost certainly something neither he nor Sally could deal with. ¡°Aalam,¡± Sally asked, pulling their bed¡¯s covers up to more completely cover herself as she used a tone of voice one would expect from a therapist to a patient clearly having some kind of panic attack. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± ¡°No. Nothing¡¯s okay.¡± Lord Aalam didn¡¯t even look at them, just continuing to pace and twitch. ¡°Could you elaborate?¡± Sally turned to Francis with a worried expression and then back to Lord Aalam. ¡°Everything was going well. Mila initiated the sex and I think I did well.¡± Lord Aalam turned to look at Sally. ¡°She at least seemed to orgasm more than you do with your husband. And she agreed to marry me. That seemed like a good sign.¡± Lord Aalam started twitching even worse. ¡°But then, after we were married, she got mad. Then she got sad. And then she told me to leave. But I don¡¯t know what I did wrong.¡± Sally turned to look at Francis again, her expression and aura showing all the same mixed emotions Francis was feeling, but, being good at her job, she held back the question both of them probably wanted answered the most as she turned back to Lord Aalam. ¡°Aalam, when you say you got married, what exactly do you mean?¡± Lord Aalam looked at Sally like she was an idiot. ¡°As sovereign of the planet, I approved our marriage after she agreed to it.¡± Sally again briefly turned to look at Francis and, while she didn¡¯t let out a sigh, Francis knew his wife well enough to know she wanted to. Then she turned back to Lord Aalam. ¡°And, when Mila was having an emotional reaction to this, did she say anything?¡± ¡°She was yelling about flowers, rings, and white dresses. Wedding stuff. Pageantry.¡± Lord Aalam was still twitching, but his face had changed to show confusion, not fear. ¡°But Mila hates pageantry.¡± ¡°And how do you know this?¡± From Sally¡¯s expression, Francis could tell she¡¯d pretty much figured out what was going on, but he himself was lost, feeling like he was missing some facts. ¡°She told me.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°Back when we were dating.¡± ¡°And is there something else she was doing back then?¡± Sally smiled slightly at their extremely deadly and powerful, but not all that wise, ruler as everything clicked into place in Francis¡¯s mind. Then they both watched as Lord Aalam¡¯s face showed even more confusion, followed by a look of realization, followed by a look of anger. ¡°Wait! Why do I have to get yelled at for listening to her?¡± He stopped moving and glared at Sally, but both Francis and his wife could tell his anger was not directed toward them. ¡°She said she wanted a no hassle courthouse wedding with only Diana as a witness. But Diana is currently dead.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Sally interjected, something Francis thought unwise, ¡°It has been many decades since then. And she has family she doesn¡¯t actively avoid now.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lord Aalam looked from Sally to Francis, then from Francis to Sally, and then back and forth one more time, the twitching of his body slowing down slightly. ¡°Right. She¡¯d want Irena, the two of you, and Silvia to come.¡± Francis sensed an immediate shift in his wife¡¯s aura, anger and rage suddenly appearing¡ªthough they didn¡¯t show on Sally¡¯s face¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t understand why. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°What has that man done to my beautiful little girl?¡± ¡°Dai-Zhao?¡± Lord Aalam suddenly looked like a deer in headlights, like he¡¯d accidentally revealed something. And, while watching his wife nod angrily at Lord Aalam¡¯s question, it finally clicked in Francis¡¯s mind that there was only one reason Lord Aalam would list them as members of Ms. Li¡¯s family, and several items on their dresser, which he was standing next to, started to float due to his rage. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my place to say.¡± ¡°Aalam.¡± Sally¡¯s voice had become cold, not at all like the comforting tone she¡¯d been using before. ¡°You will tell me what is going on with Dai-Zhao and my daughter and you will tell me now.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been sleeping together for at least a decade and Silvia is now five days pregnant.¡± ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll be able to carry the baby to term?¡± Francis sensed his wife¡¯s aura fluctuate, Sally likely feeling the exact same mix of emotions he was, anger at who their daughter had chosen but excitement at the idea of becoming a grandparent. ¡°Yes.¡± Lord Aalam nodded and the part of Francis¡¯s mind not occupied with ideas of killing Dai-Zhao and becoming a grandfather noticed their ruler had mostly stopped twitching, seemingly having been scared out of his own internal spiraling thoughts. ¡°Where are they now?¡± ¡°At their offices.¡± Francis watched as his wife seemed about to get out of bed, ready to head toward her closet to get dressed and then immediately travel to the base of The Watchers, where Silvia and Li Dai-Zhao worked, but then she looked at Lord Aalam again, seemed to think better of her decision, and pulled the covers up a little more. ¡°Aalam, you have a sensory domain, right?¡± Their ruler nodded. ¡°And, if I¡¯m remembering correctly, the range of that domain is larger than England?¡± ¡°Back when I was an E rank, yes.¡± ¡°And how much detail can you see within that domain?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± Lord Aalam¡¯s fear seemed to have turned into confusion. ¡°Dear God, that¡¯s creepy.¡± ¡°Actually, the Christian God, the Lord of Light, was killed by¡ª¡± Francis watched in horror as his wife raised her hand and interrupted the most powerful being on the planet. ¡°I know. It¡¯s just an expression.¡± Then, without bothering with the fact she was only wearing one of Francis¡¯s shirts and nothing else, Sally got out from under the covers and started getting changed as if Lord Aalam wasn¡¯t in the room at all, Francis just standing there awkwardly until she glared at him, almost certainly because he was nowhere close to ready to leave. So, while maintaining an angle where he could still see both his wife and where Lord Aalam had stopped pacing in the mirror, Francis quickly moved back into the bathroom to finish shaving. ¡°Now, Aalam,¡± Sally continued, not actually looking at Lord Aalam as she focused on getting changed, ¡°normally I would spend some time and guide you into realizing what you should be doing, but I don¡¯t have time for that right now as I have to go kill my daughter and your grandfather-in-law. So, instead, I¡¯m just going to tell you what you need to know. ¡°Mila, no matter how good at manipulating people she is, has no more experience with true romantic relationships than you do, and, no matter what you might think, she is probably worse at them than you are as you at least naturally default to the open and honest communication such relationships need. So I¡¯m not at all surprised she failed to communicate to you what type of wedding she¡¯d really want. ¡°Still, you are an idiot for not realizing yourself that you might not know. And you are an even bigger idiot for doing something like marrying the two of you immediately after your engagement. Now you are in fix it mode, and it is entirely your fault.¡± Sally pulled a dress down over herself and glared at Lord Aalam as she sat down on the bed to put on her socks. ¡°From what you¡¯ve said, Mila wanted the type of pageantry you yourself dislike for your wedding. So, what you need to do is twofold. First, make her the most amazing engagement ring in the universe. For you, this should be rather easy. Second, find an excuse for a do-over and go overboard in the way you give the ring to her. Don¡¯t do what you usually do and let Mila handle all the arrangements and planning. Do that part all yourself and make it amazing. Think Hollywood prince and then go three levels more ostentatious.¡± Sally started putting on her shoes and looked over at Francis in the bathroom. ¡°Honey, hurry up. You¡¯re not even dressed yet.¡± Then she turned back to Lord Aalam, who looked to be thinking, only his left hand still twitching. ¡°And you, go away. Also, next time find me during my office hours, not at my home. Or at least call first.¡± Lord Aalam, possibly already the most powerful D rank in the universe, quickly fled, teleporting away and, as Francis walked out of the bathroom with his jaw smooth and hairless, he saw his wife¡¯s glare and felt the same type of fear as his lord, quickly starting to get dressed. Then, when he was finished, they both quickly moved toward the private teleportation formation in their home. ¡°Honey,¡± Sally said as Francis was putting in the mana necessary to activate the formation, ¡°when we¡¯re done killing Silvia and that monster, could you do something for me?¡± Francis, still mostly angry, felt a slight bit of relief, almost as scared of her at the moment as he was angry with Dai-Zhao. ¡°Sure. Anything.¡± ¡°Could you consult with Aalam and see what tricks he figured out for the bedroom? I highly doubt he was watching us on purpose, but, given how he is, his words are almost certainly accurate.¡± Francis didn¡¯t know how to reply, but then, thankfully, the teleportation formation activated and they were within the same building as Dai-Zhao and their daughter, so it wasn¡¯t the right time to continue the conversation. Chapter 246: So Long as They Both Shall Live When Mila woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she wasn¡¯t in the main room of the abandoned villa, instead exposed to the elements up on a mountain lying on a large flat rock. Then a quick look through her sensory domain showed it was Mount Ossa in Tasmania, and she was lying right in the same spot she¡¯d left Aalam when they¡¯d first arrived back on Earth. Only Aalam hadn¡¯t been nice enough to put a tent around her, having moved a rock to the same position instead. The second thing she noticed was all the people. Aalam was down on one knee in front of her, his expression nervous, and surrounding them were Sally and Francis Davies, their daughter Silvia, both of Mila¡¯s grandparents, Nitya and her husband, Javier Garcia and Reginald Vin, Brom and his assistant, and several other people Mila or Aalam were particularly close to, Isaiah especially noticeable as he was for some reason off to the side holding up a large 5 meter diameter spherical artifact above his head. The emotions present in everyone¡¯s aura showed a mix of nervousness, excitement, and warmth. Finally, third, Mila noticed all the little details. She noticed she wasn¡¯t wearing what she had been when she¡¯d fallen asleep, instead in an absolutely gorgeous yellow gown, an artifact she quickly realized could transform into any type of clothing she desired. She noticed that Aalam was wearing a well tailored suit while everyone else was in equivalent formalwear from their own countries or planets of origin. And she noticed the ring Aalam was holding in his right hand, perfectly sized for her left ring finger and looking plain and old but, to her sensory domain, obviously constructed primarily from violet titanium quintessence, the best A rank material the United Federation of Planets had access to. Before she could say anything, however, or even fully get up off the rock, Isaiah tossed the large spherical artifact into the air and everything changed. No longer were they up on Mount Ossa in Tasmania, but in the center courtyard of a giant castle of epic proportions, all glitz and glam and ostentation, perfect in every little detail to her description of the ¡®most awe inspiring building in the world¡¯, a centerpiece in one of the Dungeons and Dragons campaigns she¡¯d run back when she and Aalam had been dating. The area smelled strongly of fresh bread, with a hint of burnt resin and ethanol, the smell of Aalam¡¯s lab in their apartment, where he¡¯d worked on his inventions and for some reason had a bread maker. And, finally, subtle music emanated from everywhere, a slowed down orchestral arrangement of Rage Against the Machine¡¯s Wake Up, the song which had been playing from Aalam¡¯s TV when the movie they were watching ended and she finally gave up on him making the first move to start a relationship. With the power of her third eye, she could tell it was all an illusion, but even her sensory domain was fooled. ¡°Mila, I know I messed up before. And I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± Aalam started speaking, slightly stumbling over his words. ¡°I did that thing I do where I blindly trusted your words without thinking through whether they were true or not. And then I didn¡¯t ask whether they were still true, even after multiple decades, which was really, really stupid.¡± He paused for a second. ¡°I¡¯m so not good at this type of thing.¡± Then he looked over at Sally, who nodded at him encouragingly, before turning back to Mila and taking a deep breath. ¡°So, I¡¯ll just say how I feel. ¡°I think you are the most amazing person I¡¯ve ever met. The way you can always predict what other people will do, the way you can take control of even a spiraling situation with seemingly no effort, the way you can somehow fade into the background even though you¡¯re always the most beautiful person in the room. You¡¯re so good at all the things I¡¯m terrible at it sometimes makes me jealous. ¡°Still, I know how much work goes into what sometimes seems effortless, and I know I often make your job even harder. So, I¡¯m going to work twice as hard to alleviate as much of your emotional burden as I can. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I can go through with a wedding, at least not right now. ¡°I want to be married to you. I want to live with you and make you happy. But, for an event like a wedding, I think it would be hollow without Diana there to celebrate with us. And I think I would regret it. ¡°So, I would like to postpone the wedding part of us getting married. But, after Diana is revived, I¡¯ll give you any type of ceremony you desire. And this ring symbolizes that pledge.¡± He held out the ring he was holding, and Mila, feeling emotionally overwhelmed with mostly happiness, but a bit of sadness as well, unconsciously held out her hand. ¡°Mila,¡± Aalam asked as he slid the perfectly sized ring onto her finger, his hands slightly trembling, ¡°will you marry me even without a wedding? I know I don¡¯t deserve you, but¡ª¡± ¡°Aalam, stop talking.¡± A look of fear suddenly appeared on Aalam¡¯s face and Mila felt herself start to cry, mostly from happiness, but Diana not being with them for this type of moment, and the realization of how unconfident Aalam still was, made her sad as well. ¡°You¡¯re underestimating yourself.¡± Mila grabbed both of Aalam¡¯s hands in hers and moved to kneel down in front of him. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll marry you. And your reason for not having a wedding is flawless. I would be sad without Diana there as well.¡± Mila let go of one of Aalam¡¯s hands so she could wipe the tears from her eyes. ¡°Also, I need to tie you down fast before you realize how utterly imbalanced this relationship truly is.¡± She chuckled slightly. ¡°You feel like you are bad at reading people, but that¡¯s mainly because you take others at their word while most of the rest of us lie all the time, something you never do. You were talking about wanting to help lessen my emotional burden, but you have no idea how much being with someone who is always honest, even when it¡¯s something I don¡¯t want to hear, already does so. ¡°And my talent makes you jealous?¡± Mila chuckled slightly as she regrabbed Aalam¡¯s hand. ¡°Aalam, I¡¯ve been unconscious for a couple of days at most, yet in that time you made an artifact capable of creating an illusion which expresses our memories together and shows a scenery I could only imagine in my head that even I, an expert at illusions, can¡¯t see through.¡± She then nodded at her new ring. ¡°Not to mention how this ring is obviously ridiculous.¡± Aalam Alvaro¡¯s Pledge (D-Mythic) [Growth] An artifact designed by the Heavenly Spark Soul King for his wife, symbolizing his desire to care for her so long as they both shall live. Forged from A rank materials and a split piece of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s own soulbound artifact, the Left Hand of the Runescribe, this artifact is connected to the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s minor pocket dimension, enabling its user to access anything inside when within the range of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s energy, and, when fed with the triforce of the Heavenly Spark Soul King''s wife, it can appear or disappear from her flesh at will. Effects: Connected Minor Dimension, Flesh Merge Requirements: Shadow of Hira Mila put her energy into the ring and it quickly merged with the flesh of her left hand¡¯s ring finger, disappearing completely from even her own senses. ¡°Aalam, everyone here has to work our absolute hardest every day, not to keep up with you, but just so you don¡¯t leave us behind. ¡°And I am the luckiest woman in the universe to have you want me as your wife.¡± Aalam started to tear up, as did about half of their audience, but then something happened which, in typical Aalam fashion, kind of ruined the moment. Aalam¡¯s body fell forward onto Mila, his eyes closing, and Mila could immediately tell he¡¯d fallen asleep. ¡°Is he okay?¡± Isaiah was the first to rush forward, but Mila just raised a hand and he stopped about a meter away. ¡°He¡¯s fine. He just needs to rest.¡± Mila moved to a sitting position and gently put Aalam¡¯s head on her lap, having belatedly realized what had been off ever since she¡¯d agreed to marry him. Soul Lord Battle Armor, even with its limitation of only being able to increase base stats by 300%, was an incredibly powerful racial ability, creating a reinforcement effect on the surface of a soul lord¡¯s soul which increased base stats in a way which completely bypassed how most stats could only be so much greater than other stats without negative repercussions, and Mila had been too focused on it when looking at Aalam¡¯s status, to the point she¡¯d missed something incredibly important. Without taking the racial ability into account, Aalam¡¯s effective Soul stat had surpassed his effective Spirit stat, even with Id active, and, even if he maximized his stats as a D rank, his Soul stat would always be higher. It seemed Aalam¡¯s Id uniqueness had finally advanced, putting him in a new type of berserker state which, in addition to raising his Spirit, raised his Endurance stat far too high for his Vitality to make up for, completely exhausting his body. Chapter 247: Part I Epilogue Bellessia looked down at all the undead flowing out of the roughly 500 kilometer wide portal on the border of the A rank planet¡¯s main continent, and she couldn¡¯t help but sigh, feeling sad as she looked down at all the mortals dying every second in the constant fight against the Undead Universe¡¯s never ending invasion. This was where her husband had grown, coming to the Endless Battle as a C rank and eventually rising up to A rank on his own, then gaining the faith of trillions of warriors over the years and becoming a god of war near the end of his lifespan. Even as a god, even after living for dozens of trillions of years before Bellessia was even born, he¡¯d always been fighting, always protecting their universe from the forces which would see it destroyed. He¡¯d been a truly good person, unlike her, her father, and her father¡¯s other divine descendants. Looking around at the nineteen other divine members of her family¡ªall, like her, sitting on floating stone thrones surrounding a large circular floating stone table, many kilometers above the mortals fighting down below¡ªBellessia couldn¡¯t help thinking about what she¡¯d be like had he not died. Would she actually give a damn about mortal lives? Would she have handled the idea that she would birth the next reincarnation of the Runemaster Truesoul differently? Bellessia¡¯d thought her plan was honoring her husband¡¯s legacy, killing the Runemaster Truesoul before it could grow and strengthen the inter-universe portals like the one down below and the demiplane battlefields between universes like where her husband had been killed. More important, however, it had been the quickest way to gain the last two puzzle books of the Runemaster Truesoul¡¯s previous life, enabling the Primordial Humans to recover the divine bones of the Radiant Behemoth and stop the undead invasion for good. But would her husband have actually approved? Thinking about it, Bellessia believed he would. But the use of a bloodline curse, and the killing of another child just to get revenge for his death? He would have divorced her on the spot. ¡°Why are we all together just to talk about a weak little E rank?¡± Bellessia¡¯s second eldest brother, the Lord of Twilight Flame, spoke out in frustration after the first few minutes of their discussion, which had mostly consisted of his twin sister, the Lady of Hellwater, updating their father on the events of the War of the Chosen. ¡°Because he is a threat to our power.¡± The Primordial Sovereign looked like any normal middle-aged man you could find on any of the universe¡¯s human ruled planets, with nothing particularly special about him, but he was the strongest of the three human elder gods and the only one who could fight on the same level as the Lady of Laws and the Divine Child, the person all of his children and descendants relied on for their status, so, in this crowd, his word was law. ¡°The energy levels of the System have been dropping precipitously over the last few dozen years, and not even I have the authority to know why. So, it seems another A rank planet is being formed in secret. At first, I thought this was the old bird or the little devourer fortifying their power but, after trading for information with the devourer, which cost me an entire Longevity Bean¡ª¡± he looked coldly at Bellessia before turning back to her older brother¡ª¡°I now believe the planet your sister lost is the one being transformed. ¡°And, given what the devourer traded with the Runemaster Truesoul to get one of the boy¡¯s coupons for the last Universal Auction, the planet will be a resource-filled one, comparable to Haven, Tanavar, and Serpent¡¯s Nest, one which every divine force in the universe will almost certainly eventually fight over, creating chaos. ¡°Most bothersome of all, however, is that the little devourer also traded the boy the nearly dead corpse of an A rank Order Dragon, which the Runemaster Truesoul will be able to absorb before his advancement to C rank.¡± The Primordial Sovereign looked at everyone around the table with a cold expression. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I need to tell anyone here what will happen when someone with 36 order category Laws gains the Power of Order racial ability, correct?¡± ¡°No, sir,¡± everyone, Bellessia included, responded almost immediately. The Primordial Sovereign then turned to the Lady of Hellwater. ¡°There¡¯s no way to draw him out before he starts needing resources for B rank?¡± ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be, sir.¡± The Lady of Hellwater bowed slightly. ¡°They already managed to teleport their planet to somewhere arbitrary, so they would have had the chance to choose the otherverse their planet will connect to, but we have no way of knowing which suitable otherverses the Yin Yang Sage would have known about. And, given her position during the last years of her life, it¡¯s likely she knows of some even we don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What about threatening that alchemist?¡± the Lord of Twilight Flame suggested. ¡°From your description of this Aalam¡¯s personality, it sounds like he might be stupid enough to try and rescue her.¡± Everyone but Bellessia, the Primordial Sovereign included, turned to look at the Lady of Hellwater. ¡°But he isn¡¯t the leader of his force.¡± The Lady of Hellwater looked directly into her twin¡¯s calm fiery eyes. ¡°The remaining apprentice of the Yin Yang Sage is. ¡°Also, while he most likely recently advanced to D rank, that means nothing. If his master can¡¯t handle a situation, he can¡¯t either, so trying to do so would just be stupid. And he¡¯s descended from Bellessia, not you. ¡°More important, when Bellessia and I went to question the woman, half the scarabs showed up almost immediately. ¡°The goal of killing the Runemaster Truesoul is to stop the inter-universe connections in our territory from strengthening, forcing us to invest more of our time defending and thus allowing the forces of the Lady of Laws and the Divine Child to eat away at our Territory. Risking getting into a fight with the Divine Child¡¯s favorite subordinates for a plan which almost certainly would not work in the first place isn¡¯t worth it.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The Lord of Twilight Flame looked like he was about to say something, but their father raised his hand, stopping him. ¡°Your sister is right. ¡°And, with the way the D rank Trial Tower is set up and the talent shown by this incarnation of the Runemaster Truesoul, it is almost impossible he won¡¯t make it to C rank. It¡¯s just a matter of time. ¡°When he reaches C rank, however, any otherverse he could safely connect his A rank planet to would no longer be able to support his growth. And the C rank Universal Tournament won¡¯t be able to provide him what he¡¯d need to advance. So, it is at this point he¡¯ll need to attempt to inherit his previous incarnation¡¯s fortune and steal from us or possibly other divine level forces. We¡¯ll just have to kill him then. ¡°Let¡¯s move on and talk about other things.¡± The Primordial Sovereign turned to look at Bellessia, his face no longer cold, but instead expressionless, causing far more fear in Bellessia¡¯s heart. ¡°Bellessia, what do you think your punishment should be for how much of a mess you¡¯ve made?¡± ¡°Whatever father desires.¡± Bellessia bowed her head as low as it would go, banging it onto the round table. ¡°Alright.¡± The Primordial Sovereign reached out with his psyforce and raised her head. ¡°During the next 1,728 years, birth me 1,728 new grandchildren, each with different men. And keep their identities secret.¡± The Primordial Sovereign leaned back in his chair as Bellessia fought down the urge to be sick. ¡°With that number, at least one or two should be able to join our ranks, especially if we send most of them to various active battlefields.¡± * * * Joma watched as Krysta and Henrietta went through another round of alchemical flame cleansing, both having already advanced to D rank, and felt bad about how neither of the two screamed this time. At E rank, both of them had been innocent, part of the lucky few who could get to such a rank without sacrificing anything, but Joma didn¡¯t have the power to protect them anymore. All she could do was train them up so they¡¯d be able to protect themselves when she herself was eventually killed. Joma knew what position she was in. While it might seem different on the surface, Kilvorax and his brothers wouldn¡¯t risk anything of theirs to protect her, only Krysta. And, ever since the Earth Mother had come for a visit, Joma could tell she was being watched. The Primordial Humans only hadn¡¯t made a move on her because Aalam was too weak to have any hope of helping her, but that would change in the future. And there was nothing Joma could do about it. Her oaths forced her to be an honorable business woman, and she¡¯d made hundreds of contracts for providing alchemical products which wouldn¡¯t allow her to flee, the last of which would only be finished in 8,934 years, far too late. ¡°Mom.¡± When the alchemical flame cleansing was over, Krysta walked over to her, and Joma could tell from her daughter¡¯s aura that her child had made some kind of difficult decision. ¡°I think I¡¯ve learned as much as I can staying here. I think it¡¯s time I go out on my own to learn on the battlefield.¡± And there they were, the words Joma¡¯d been dreading. Her daughter wasn¡¯t stupid, fully understanding the type of situation her mother was in. But Krysta also knew there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was grow as fast as possible, to the point she was strong enough to be of some kind of help, so Joma¡¯s little girl had been pushing herself harder and harder over the years. And now, to speed up her growth even more, Krysta was going to leave. It wouldn¡¯t do any good, and Joma didn¡¯t like the idea of her daughter taking risks. But, unlike Krysta, Joma understood a little about the defenses Krysta¡¯s father had placed on her body, so it wasn¡¯t her life Joma was worried about. War was hell. Joma hadn¡¯t participated in too many battles herself, but she¡¯d seen slaughters, and she¡¯d talked to experienced soldiers. If Krysta went to search for combat, she¡¯d suffer emotionally. But, at the same time, she¡¯d learn the skills she¡¯d need to be able to survive. And Joma cared about that more. Not able to do much else, Joma just hugged her daughter and tried not to cry. * * * As Aalam woke up in the master bedroom of the abandoned billionaire¡¯s island compound, where she¡¯d placed him after he fell unconscious from Id¡¯s new body-exhausting berserker trait, Mila looked down at him and smiled. ¡°How are you doing, husband?¡± ¡°I think I figured out how to awaken Vitality-based uniquenesses.¡± Aalam¡¯s eyes opened, shining with soul light and excitement. ¡°I need to do some experiments.¡± Then, without saying another word, he did a very Aalam thing and created runes around himself which teleported him to his crafting hall. ¡°Yeah, this is how I should have expected things to go.¡± Mila looked at herself with her sensory domain, at the lacy red lingerie she was wearing, at the light amount of makeup she¡¯d put on, at how obviously ready for sex she was, and just sighed, changing the form of the artifact making up her outfit to the type of dress she liked to wear while working. But then, surprisingly, Aalam teleported back, appearing right next to her, his face showing confusion. ¡°Wait, Mila, with that outfit you were wearing, were you wanting to¡ª¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Aalam looked excited again. ¡°Not right now, but after dinner, definitely.¡± Then, this time fully understanding what he was doing, her asshole husband teleported away again and Mila had to take a deep breath so she wouldn¡¯t scream out at the top of her lungs. Worse, after she¡¯d changed her attire, she¡¯d unblocked her connection with Nana Xara, and the old woman had seen what happened after. ¡°Ooh, this is going to be so fun to watch.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want your commentary.¡± ¡°But do you want some advice?¡± Nana Xara¡¯s voice actually sounded serious, which caught Mila off guard. ¡°Not really. But I imagine you¡¯re going to give it to me anyway.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Cheer entered back into Nana Xara¡¯s tone. ¡°You know me so well.¡± Then she started acting serious again. ¡°Getting married doesn¡¯t change anything. Any problems you had before will still exist and anything you haven¡¯t dealt with still needs to be. The only difference is you¡¯ve promised to try and make things permanent, hopefully making your stances clear. So the key now is open and honest communication, and you¡¯re the one who has more problems with that than him. ¡°If you¡¯re frustrated about something, just say so.¡± It was good advice. Aalam likely wouldn¡¯t change much. And, knowing him, new scientific discoveries would almost always come before sex. That was one of the things she loved about him. This didn¡¯t mean, however, that she couldn¡¯t voice what she wanted. With Aalam, clear communication always worked best, and she¡¯d been trying to be subtle about it to be sexy. Well, not exactly subtle. She¡¯d basically hit him over the head with a hammer and he¡¯d still gotten confused. But this didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t bemore clear about her intentions going forward, such as telling Aalam over dinner how being rejected for uniqueness research made her feel. Still, Nana Xara was going to be a problem. Mila really didn¡¯t want the woman listening in on her and Aalam¡¯s budding relationship, but she also didn¡¯t want to block the woman all the time. The old witch was still useful. It was just annoying how Mila was the only one she could talk to. Previously, she and Diana could share the burden of keeping the woman company, but now, with Diana effectively dead, that onus was entirely on Mila, and it wasn¡¯t like she could share it with other people. Or wait, could she? She and Diana both communicated with Nana Xara through their master apprentice bonds, but Diana¡¯s currently wasn¡¯t being used. With some help from Aalam, maybe it was possible to project Nana Xara¡¯s bond with Diana onto an artifact, allowing someone else to entertain the old witch in Mila¡¯s stead. Chapter 248: C Rank Auction ¡°Right this way, Ma¡¯am.¡± Dressed in a beautiful emerald green gown, Krysta followed the auction house employee to one of the more expensive boxes of the Inexhaustible Heat Auction House, the largest auction venue on the main planet of one of their universe¡¯s unaligned gods, the Lord of Sand and Sun. As a weaker god, his main planet was only B rank, but the auction house venue was just as grand as any other Krysta had seen, if not more so, with the light in every hallway provided by true divine crystals, a structure made entirely of everwood, and tapestries created personally by one of the two living gods of weaving hung everywhere, calming the heart of anyone who entered. There was so much wealth on display that any A rank would be moved, let alone a C rank like Krysta, but no one in their right mind would dare steal from a god, even one without a faction, with not a single thief having tried since the auction house had been built many billions of years before. ¡°Ms. La¡¯Vordi, you honor me with your presence.¡± After entering into the box, Yorick Strong, one of the five competing candidates to be the next head of the Quintessence Merchant Union, the main force under one of their universe¡¯s three merchant gods, Perival, rose from where he¡¯d been chatting with his bodyguard and bowed deeply to her, Krysta curtsying in response. Human, he had silky black hair, dark gray eyes, and a skin tone the color of ash, his variant race specializing in the darkness element. And, different from what his name would imply, he was a physically weak individual for a C rank, barely taller than Krysta and without much muscle. But, as his class was a psyforce-based administrative one, it made no difference and he was a well known A rank talent. Krysta had met him while acting in the role of a mercenary over the last four thousand years, and he¡¯d been romantically pursuing her since he¡¯d found out her true identity, forcing Krysta to politely rebuff him multiple times, but this time, when he¡¯d invited her to this once every 20,736 year auction, she¡¯d actually agreed, and it was likely he¡¯d misread the situation. So, immediately after curtsying to him, Krysta turned toward his bodyguard and curtsied to the large man as well. ¡°Slaughterer, it is good to see you again.¡± Deimos Karan was an imposingly large human, a couple centimeters taller than even the human form balance dragon she¡¯d known back when she was an E rank. Also known as the Rune Knight, he was a powerful C rank on the verge of advancing to B rank, with a Runic Dragon bloodline, but his fighting style of using external runic arrays to boost his combat power wasn¡¯t what he was famous for. Over the same period of time Krysta had been acting as a mercenary, he¡¯d been doing the same, but, while she mostly chose who she worked for based on her own morals, the Slaughterer seemed to choose based off the intensity of combat. Were there a lull in fighting on one battlefield, he¡¯d move to another. Were an armistice discussed, he¡¯d move to a different galaxy cluster and join a more intense war. He was almost always fighting and, when he fought, he was the personification of death, killing every single opponent who got in his way, his most famous feats single-handedly blocking two B ranks in one war and destroying an entire army of mostly D and C ranks by himself in another. She¡¯d met him a few times at social events, finding him a relatively quiet and unassuming presence, and they¡¯d never been on the same battlefield, so she¡¯d never been able to confirm if the rumors were true. What she did know was that Yorick had managed to hire him as a part time bodyguard, the first such offer the Slaughterer had taken, and making such a contract had increased Yorick¡¯s standing by quite a bit among the community, allowing Yorick to start up his own mercenary company. ¡°Space Master.¡± The Slaughterer bowed slightly to her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t previously aware of your identity. Please forgive me for any rudeness I might have shown you before.¡± The words were said, but the man¡¯s aura was completely stable, seemingly not scared by her background at all, and Krysta got the sense he was mostly saying the words because Yorick had asked him to, which she found mildly amusing. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°You have never been rude, sir.¡± Krysta deliberately smiled. ¡°And I¡¯d rather you speak comfortably. All the formalities and unspoken expectations of talking with someone like Yorick are just exhausting.¡± Krysta then moved forward, taking the leftmost of the five seats to look out the one way mirror at the stage down below, and her timing was perfect, a beautiful human woman with fiery red hair and bright green eyes coming out to smile at the thousands of people in the main hall and the hundreds in the boxes. ¡°Thank you, everyone, for coming today.¡± The master of ceremonies¡¯ voice was melodic, traveling all over the venue due to magic, and Krysta noticed quite a few men, and even some women, showing signs of physical attraction through her sensing skill. ¡°My name is Starflower and I will be your host this evening.¡± The woman, who was wearing a green gown similar to Krysta¡¯s own, curtsied, but the action was far more graceful than Krysta¡¯s, and the impression was far less formal, as if this Starflower were some innocent peasant girl from the countryside and not the hired master of ceremonies for an auction where the minimum requirement for attendance was to be at least D rank and a core member of a divine rank force. ¡°Now, I know you are all busy people, so let¡¯s get right to the first item up for sale.¡± Starflower sent a bit of mana into a runic array on the stage in front of her and a long plain black halberd suddenly appeared floating in the air above the array, teleported directly from the auction house¡¯s vault. ¡°For the first item of this auction, we have an extremely rare Empyrean grade C rank artifact, the Major¡¯s Empyrean Halberd: Wind.¡± Starflower took up the halberd and spun it around a couple times in a graceful manner, somehow causing all the air in the main hall to still. Then she pointed it at the audience and a terrifying aura of wind appeared, making even Krysta, whose aura had left the isolating effects of Yorick¡¯s box, feel like she was a mortal in a hurricane. ¡°Most of you probably haven¡¯t heard of the Havadim Imperium, the civilization which created this weapon, and that is to be expected as they were not a force from our universe but from another now ruled by the Lady of Laws. ¡°Seven trillion years ago, however, they ruled their entire minor universe, with all the faith energy of every living being going to one god, the Imperial Emperor. ¡°Ambitious and ignorant, the Imperial Emperor set his sights on other universes and even tried to invade our own, forcibly expanding five demiplanes connecting our universes to allow soldiers of two ranks higher than the demiplanes would normally allow to pass through, one allowing up to A ranks, two B ranks, and the last two only C ranks, but all his soldiers were killed by the subordinates of the Lady of Laws and his universe was invaded in turn. Then, several hundred billion years later, the Law Master, in one of his most impressive feats before ascending, travelled to the Imperial Emperor¡¯s universe and killed the man as well as all the emperor¡¯s main subordinates, taking over the universe for his mother.¡± The serious expression Starflower had used when explaining this history faded and she smiled. ¡°Now, this is just a blip in the history of the divine wars we have fought against other universes, and it is truly not that important. But what is important is one fact: the Imperial Emperor is dead, and has been for trillions of years. ¡°The artifacts created by his civilization, however, have survived, and, in the last thousand years, three previously hidden caches of war supplies have been found in one of the demiplanes connecting our universes, the energy supplies of the caches¡¯ defenses finally running out. ¡°Brought out by E ranks traveling through the demiplane, the artifacts from these caches mostly consist of weapons, all of which had been time sealed for trillions of years, showing almost no signs of degradation whatsoever, and these weapons range from E rank and Legendary grade to C rank and Empyrean grade like this Major¡¯s Empyrean Halberd: Wind. ¡°Every weapon¡¯s craftsmanship is sublime. Every weapon¡¯s power is immense. And their only flaw is that they require a blood oath to the Imperial Emperor in order to be used. ¡°But, as stated before, the Imperial Emperor is long dead, making this blood oath pointless. ¡°The oath does require an individual to not be part of a System approved faction for 20,736 years, taking away some of the ease of gaining faction benefits we¡¯ve all come to enjoy, but, for the power of an Empyrean grade weapon, what is a little inconvenience? What is a little extra discomfort when a weapon like this¡ª¡± Starflower swiped the halberd through the air and a wind slice flew through the auction house at a speed almost as fast as one of Krysta¡¯s spatial slices empowered by her peak grade Law Scarab of Void Slice, the auction house¡¯s defensive arrays having to activate to protect the private box the attack had been aimed at. ¡°¡ªcould be yours?¡± Starflower¡¯s smile grew radiant as she let go of the halberd and let it float in the array again. ¡°The starting price is 4 A rank universal credits and the minimum bidding increment is 1 A rank universal credit.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± Yorick spoke up from the middle seat, turning around to look at the Slaughterer behind him. ¡°Do you think a C rank weapon, even one such as this halberd, is worth A rank universal credits? It seems overpriced to me.¡± The Slaughterer looked contemplative for a few seconds as the halberd more than doubled in price, rising up to 10 A rank universal credits in three bids. ¡°With such a weapon, I could likely pass two or three extra rounds in the next C rank Universal Tournament, which might allow me to make it to the final stage.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yorick turned back to the one way glass, a frown on his face as the bidding price kept rising. ¡°My senior will be making a lot more money at this auction than I anticipated.¡± Chapter 249: The Quintessence Merchant Union’s Next Head Yorick Yorick was the youngest competitor for the next head of the Quintessence Merchant Union, and this put him at a disadvantage. First, most of the normal powers which liked to influence the competition had already chosen who to back, greatly lowering the wealth he could access. More important, however, he was the only one yet to meet Perival. In most other forces, Yorick would have been able to train hard and make use of his superior cultivation talent to make a difference, but Perival was a merchant god, so becoming the head of the force under him worked differently. Anyone who could reach A rank could become the head of the Quintessence Merchant Union, but who Perival would choose was usually based almost entirely on who could bring in the most profit, and he was falling behind. This auction had been a chance to pull ahead. He¡¯d prepared so many good items, put in so much work to bring them in front of an audience preparing for the C rank Universal Tournament. But who would have thought one of the minor mercenary groups under his senior apprentice sister would randomly find a cache containing some of the best C rank weapons in the entire universe? There was no way he could have prepared for that. Frustrated, he watched as the halberd, the first of nineteen Empyrean grade C rank artifacts his senior apprentice sister had put up for auction, sold for 123 A rank universal credits, a ridiculous price for a weapon only comparable to a Heroic grade B rank artifact when held by anyone with actual power in the universe. Normally, no C rank weapon would sell for so much, but the Slaughterer was correct. Empyrean grade C rank artifacts were too rare, and the rewards from ranking high in the C rank Universal Tournament were valuable, so, at this time, with only 1,728 years to go until the next C rank Universal Tournament, a powerful C rank weapon could go for far more than usual. ¡°Alright, time for our next item.¡± On the stage, the beautiful Starflower clapped her hands and the floating halberd disappeared, replaced by a well endowed naked human man with long green hair, dark green eyes, and bark colored skin over large muscles, the C rank restrained by an invisible formation which caused him to float in the same position as the halberd. ¡°With a Heroic grade Child of the Forest race and Fabled grade Vitality Troll bloodline, this high class slave has endless stamina, an Attunement stat of 83,569, and a high affinity with the life element. Raised in the forests on the B rank planet Giminarivox, his uses are endless. ¡°Rip out his heart to create Heartblood Forest Wine. It will grow back. Strip his flesh for meat to raise a monster. He¡¯ll regenerate. Or, for all you ladies out there¡­¡± Yorick tuned the woman out, not that interested in this piece of merchandise not provided by one of his competitors, and then he watched as successive items were put up for sale, no one in their box showing any interest. The Slaughterer, as a bodyguard, had no purchase rights, and Yorick wasn¡¯t planning on buying anything, his intent to get a better feel for the market. But it was interesting how the Space Scarab¡¯s daughter had shown no interest. This auction, with its entrance requirements, was one of the only places to buy resources used for awakening and strengthening uniquenesses for those at C rank and below, such as the bottle of Galaxy Tree Dew useful for awakening to eye-based uniquenesses which came up third, and Yorick thought this was what Krysta La¡¯Vordi had come for. She showed no interest in any material resources, however, seemingly more intrigued by the many slaves which came up for auction, and it wasn¡¯t until they got to the fifth to last item, the best of what Yorick had prepared for the auction, that he felt her aura shift. Down on the stage, a large black cauldron appeared with a ten meter tall giant blood-colored tree stump growing out of it, four C rank men crucified to its sides, their bodies slowly being absorbed into the blood-colored bark. On the right was a large one-eye, human-looking but with a single large eye instead of two, with metallic skin, brown hair, and a golden iris in his large eye; in the middle was an elf with forest green hair, slightly blue skin, and bright blue eyes; and on the left was a dwarf with fiery red hair, a large red beard, and cold gray eyes. Then, as the cauldron¡ªfilled with monster flesh and blood around the stump¡¯s roots¡ªwas turned on the stage, the last man became visible, his eyes yellow with purple flecks, his skin one of the lighter human shades, and his hair yellow-green with black streaks. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. As this fourth man appeared, Yorick felt a slight killing intent from Krysta La¡¯Vordi, and the next thing he knew there was a halberd held over his chest with the blade up against his guest¡¯s throat, his bodyguard having summoned out his weapon almost instantly. Meanwhile, down below, Starflower began to introduce the item. ¡°What we have here, everyone, is something special. Not just a resource for gaining or strengthening a uniqueness, but for gaining or strengthening four, with the added bonus of granting a powerful Mythic grade bloodline on the side. ¡°Some of you might recognize this plant as a bloodtree, capable of extracting the genetic power and uniquenesses from the souls of those it slowly eats over 144 years and transforming that power into one to five fruits depending on what else it is fed during that time, but you probably don¡¯t recognize the meat and flesh in the cauldron as all being from C rank wolf-type monsters, guaranteeing the tree will produce at least three fruits, most likely four. And you almost certainly don¡¯t recognize the synergistic power of the four slaves which the bloodtree has been eating over the last 78 years. ¡°Each slave has a Fabled grade race, Iron-skin One-eye, Everlasting Elf, Destruction Dwarf, and Rapid Speed Human. Each slave has a Fabled grade bloodline, Armored Wolf, Ivy Wolf, Death Glare Wolf, and Phantom Wolf. And each slave has a single Fabled grade uniqueness, Defense Prince, Regeneration Prince, Attack Prince, and Speed Prince. ¡°Together, they make it so the fruits produced by this bloodtree will help awaken to uniquenesses which will help strengthen defense, self healing, offensive, and movement skills along with the Toughness, Vitality, Strength, and Agility stats in almost any cultivator, of what grade dependent on the individual, while also granting the Mythic grade bloodline Four Aspect Wolf, which will increase the same. ¡°These fruits are ideal for almost any warrior, especially talents without existing bloodlines, but for those who don¡¯t want any of the five benefits, the tree comes with instructions for how to remove any of them from one or more of the tree¡¯s fruits. ¡°Bidding starts at 144 A rank universal credits with a minimum bidding increment of 12 A rank universal credits.¡± As the bidding began, Krysta broke the pause in their box, disappearing from her seat and appearing behind the Slaughterer with her left hand right over his head, spatial magic gathering. ¡°I understand you are just doing your job, and I have no enmity with you or your master, but I don¡¯t like having a weapon at my throat.¡± ¡°Fair enough.¡± The Slaughterer¡¯s only physical response was to summon his weapon back into his spatial storage ring, not moving anything but his left arm, which returned to a comfortable position by his side. But then he activated some kind of domain skill, an aura absolutely full of killing intent filling the entire room, and Yorick couldn¡¯t help but feel terrified, unable to concentrate on the bidding going on at all. ¡°But please return to your seat, Krysta. And don¡¯t threaten my client. You wouldn¡¯t like the result.¡± Ms. La¡¯Vordi snorted, probably feeling the same as Yorick that the Slaughterer, while incredibly competent, wasn¡¯t her match. But she removed her hand and teleported back to her seat anyway, reaching forward to the artifact under the window in front of her to try and place a bid as the Slaughterer¡¯s domain disappeared. As Yorick had been the one to put the item up for sale, however, he of course wasn¡¯t allowed to bid on the item himself, and that extended to everyone in his box. ¡°Yorick, the bloodtree is yours?¡± Yorick sensed Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s killing intent rise as she asked the question, her expression showing anger, but he couldn¡¯t for the life of him figure out why. He knew the backgrounds of all four slaves, and the demigoddess shouldn¡¯t have had any interactions with any of them. ¡°Stand down, Krysta.¡± The Slaughterer¡¯s domain skill extended, even as he again didn¡¯t move, but this time it wasn¡¯t filled with killing intent but the power of the four aspects, clearly showing off his extremely high grade cultivation technique. ¡°Were we to fight again, your chances would be no better than last time. And I will protect my client.¡± The anger in Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s aura intensified, but then it changed to confusion, followed by excitement, like she¡¯d suddenly realized something which made her happy. There was definitely a story there, a secret of some kind, but Yorick wasn¡¯t going to risk asking while the demigoddess was around, instead planning on asking the Slaughterer later, with whom he had an iron tight contract. Chapter 250: How the Strong Fall Raven Looking out over the thousands of universe level aristocracy bidding for the right to kill him and extract his power, Raven wanted to laugh. Ever since he was little, it had been his dream to be one of these people, someone with the power to decide the fate of a nothing like him with a simple word. Yet now that would never happen. He¡¯d worked hard. Even before his father had murdered his mother, he¡¯d been motivated, spending as much of his waking time as possible training. He¡¯d wanted to make his mother proud, to lessen his father¡¯s burdens, and, after his father¡¯s heinous act, he¡¯d wanted to take over responsibility for his clan after cutting off his father¡¯s head. But nothing went right. Seeing his clan would be destroyed no matter what he did, he¡¯d left, but he hadn¡¯t had the power to take his little brother with him, that pitiful individual everyone wanted to sacrifice for their own personal gains, and he hadn¡¯t had the courage to risk doing so anyway. More important, looking back, he hadn¡¯t wanted that talented youth, born with the entirety of their mother¡¯s natural skill with weapons, along with a dragon¡¯s powerful body, stealing his opportunities. He¡¯d done enough to appease his conscience at the time, bribing a dying instructor to help train the youth, giving his brother a few skills, and subtly hinting to the force he¡¯d joined about his brother¡¯s talent so they might decide to raise him instead of using him as a sacrifice. But he¡¯d always known it wasn¡¯t enough, that his little brother would be sacrificed anyway, and he hadn¡¯t cared. Then, while his brother had almost certainly died a horrible death on that little F rank world, Raven had been living a good life. The Amoranth Kingdom had treated him well, helping him rise through the levels as an E rank. And then he¡¯d taken part in a tournament for E ranks in his home galaxy cluster and won, being scouted by none less than one of the families who ruled the force under The Unstoppable Blade, the god Raven had always worshiped, the deity whose path he¡¯d always been trying his hardest to follow. They¡¯d given him resources, helped him advance to C rank with even a Fabled grade race. And, even though he¡¯d had to serve one of their youths, an asshole named Grendal Hox, he¡¯d had status, and he¡¯d enjoyed it, finally personally killing his father with ease. Then, however, after he¡¯d advanced to C rank with a powerful class, Grendal had sold him, something Raven hadn¡¯t even known had been a possibility, and he¡¯d been forced into the bloodtree behind his back, made into a resource for the aristocracy of the universe to bid over. And there was nothing he or the other three sharing his situation could do about it. ¡°And sold to Lord Amos Dracar of the Seventh Tuathan Dynasty for 7,308 A rank universal credits.¡± The pretty red-headed master of ceremonies bowed to the crowd and Raven, along with the three others, was teleported back into the dark room they¡¯d been held in for the last several days. * * * Yorick 7,308 A rank universal credits was much higher than Yorick had expected, making him feel quite good. All the resources which could awaken or strengthen uniquenesses had been selling for quite a bit more than normal during this auction, three of the divine forces seemingly willing to spend almost any amount to make sure to take all of them, only not competing with each other, and this had been greatly to his benefit, allowing him to make up for the advantage his senior apprentice sister had achieved with all her Empyrean grade artifacts. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Even with him seemingly having somehow angered the Space Scarab¡¯s daughter, Yorick felt quite good as the final four items were sold. And Ms. La¡¯Vordi was quite polite after the auction officially ended, rising from her seat and curtsying toward him again. ¡°Mr. Strong, would you mind if I had a word alone with your bodyguard?¡± The Slaughterer, however, wasn¡¯t quite as polite. ¡°There is no need.¡± The man rose from his seat and immediately headed for the door, but, opening it, he found the master of ceremonies for the auction, Ms. Starflower, about to knock. ¡°Oh, hello, sir.¡± Ms. Starflower bowed politely to the Slaughterer and then curtsied toward Yorick and Ms. La¡¯Vordi. ¡°Lord Strong, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Lady La¡¯Vordi, it is an honor to have you visit our humble establishment. Might I ask if you have some free time? My lord would like me to discuss something with you.¡± Ms. Starflower¡¯s lord was the head of the force under the Lord of Sand and Sun and, while this wasn¡¯t a particularly powerful force, the difference in status between the head of a divine force and the candidate to become the head of another was large, making it proper for Yorick to give the other face. ¡°Ms. La¡¯Vordi, we won¡¯t disturb you any longer.¡± He bowed toward the demigoddess, who seemed somewhat confused, and then began to move out of the room with the Slaughterer. ¡°Thank you for accepting my invitation.¡± He and the Slaughterer then left the room and he made sure to close the door behind him, activating the room¡¯s automatic sealing formation to keep the words between the two women confidential. He wanted to ask the Slaughterer what was going on then and there, but a hallway in an auction house was not the place for that conversation, so he instead headed for one of the auction house¡¯s teleportation platforms where he and the Slaughterer teleported to the C rank world where he resided, quickly moving to a local teleportation platform and from there teleporting to his mansion where they entered his study. ¡°Would you care to explain what went on with Ms. La¡¯Vordi back there?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± The next thing Yorick knew the Slaughterer¡¯s aura pervaded his entire study, only it was about three times as strong as he¡¯d ever felt from the man. Then a spear, not a halberd, and one Yorick could immediately recognize as putting the Empyrean grade weapons up at the auction to shame, was stabbed into his heart, the Slaughterer having moved faster than his mind could follow. The Slaughterer then summoned out an orb of some kind from his spatial storage ring and Yorick felt his soul get sucked in. And the last thing he saw in his life was a man¡ªwith long black hair, gray monolidded eyes, and black tattoos all over his slightly yellowish skin¡ªcome out from the shadows of the room, stand over his body, and transform to look exactly like him. * * * Krysta Watching Isaiah leave, Krysta felt frustrated, but she couldn¡¯t show it in front of Starflower, so she instead nodded her head and waited for the other woman to speak. Instead of moving gracefully and speaking tactfully like Krysta expected, however, the master of ceremonies pulled one of the chairs toward her with telekinesis; sat in it in a comfortable, but not necessarily proper, posture; and summoned out some kind of drink in a mug from her spatial storage ring, taking a sip before speaking. ¡°The head of the Sandstorm Conglomerate obtained an artifact he has no way to use, so he wants to give it to you to have you owe him a favor if you ever reach A rank.¡± Starflower summoned out a sword from her spatial storage ring and passed it to Krysta with telekinesis, placing it directly into Krysta¡¯s hand. The weapon looked plain, just a simple black blade made out of entirely one piece, but its material was black iron quintessence, not the black iron essence of the Empyrean grade weapons sold during the auction, and the runes carved into its internal structure were numerous and precise. More important, however, the black iron quintessence was infused with three separate spatial Laws at the Law Dragon level and the blade, while not having a spirit, had a soul structure with six separate spatial enhancement skills attached. In short, it was the most powerful C rank weapon Krysta had ever seen. Its only detriment was that it required a Law Dragon level spatial Law to operate, so, as far as Krysta was aware, she was the only C rank in the universe who could use it, her Law Scarab of Spatial Shift recently having advanced. For B ranks, the weapon would still be valuable, as it approached the limit of what was possible for a C rank weapon, but Law Dragon level Laws for B ranks were still extremely rare, only sometimes found on those ready to advance to A rank, and anyone with a space element Law at that level would be able to afford something better. Briefly distracted by the weapon, and thinking about if she¡¯d be okay with making a blood oath to use it, it took Krysta a couple seconds to realize what was happening. Starflower had said she¡¯d had something to talk with Krysta about on her lord¡¯s direction, but then she¡¯d spoken of the head of the Sandstorm Conglomerate, the lord Krysta had assumed, like he wasn¡¯t someone she respected. And this was right after Krysta¡¯d confirmed Isaiah Gale had been moving around the universe without a care for millennia in what very much seemed like a created identity. Looking around at the room they were in, Krysta again remembered how the entire structure of the auction house was made out of everwood, a building material which blocked almost all kinds of sensory skills, and how even the one way glass looking down at the auction house¡¯s main floor was made from Kimari crystal, a substance with the same properties, though only in one direction. Realizing who she was actually dealing with, and feeling rather excited, Krysta waved her hand, teleporting one of the other chairs to a position opposite the so called Starflower¡¯s. And then she sat down, mirroring Li Mila¡¯s deliberately comfortable posture. Chapter 251: Memories and Oaths ¡°So, it seems you figured it out.¡± Ms. Li, still in the form of Starflower, smiled. ¡°Should we get down to business then?¡± ¡°Business?¡± ¡°You want to save your mother, correct?¡± Ms. Li¡¯s smile turned serious as Krysta¡¯s emotions became rather complicated. ¡°You¡¯re no longer young, so I¡¯m assuming you understand the unfavorable situation she¡¯s in, still technically being my husband¡¯s master.¡± The casual mention of Ms. Li and Aalam already being married was certainly intentional, the woman likely able to read Krysta¡¯s aura with ease, despite Krysta¡¯s inability to read the woman at all, but Krysta didn¡¯t really mind. She¡¯d gotten over her crush on Aalam a long time ago, already expecting him to eventually marry the woman in front of her, and she was genuinely happy for him. Though she didn¡¯t care much about Ms. Li, the woman was a good match for her friend, making up for most of his weaknesses, so Krysta¡¯s main regret was how she hadn¡¯t been able to be there for their wedding. ¡°You think you can help?¡± Krysta decided to ignore how the woman was obviously studying her, as it was a requirement for keeping her old friends safe, and instead just responded to Ms. Li¡¯s words. ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Li¡¯s expression changed back to a smile. ¡°If you give us copies of all her contracts, there is a good chance we could do something.¡± ¡°And I should trust you?¡± ¡°My husband¡¯s personality hasn¡¯t changed much in the last several thousand years, and he is sharing my senses.¡± As Ms. Li almost certainly expected, this made Krysta feel better. Ms. Li might have ulterior motives, but Aalam would not. Krysta knew him well enough for that, and she highly doubted he would change. ¡°I have that list, but not on me.¡± ¡°Do you remember it fully?¡± The question was a little insulting, the Spirit of a C rank making forgetting anything a cultivator wanted to remember practically impossible, but there was probably something else behind the question, so Krysta nodded. ¡°Then would you mind if I read your memories?¡± Krysta looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds. Memory manipulation skills were ridiculously rare and complicated as they involved sending foreign power into the soul of another, but, from Krysta¡¯s experience during E rank, the woman in front of her was an expert in charm skills, which did the same, so it wasn¡¯t too surprising. More important, however, if the woman could read Krysta¡¯s memories, given she was Aalam¡¯s shadow and Aalam would always have the highest grade skills possible for his rank, it was likely Ms. Li would be able to alter her memories as well. So, Krysta just decided to ask. ¡°If I gave you access, could you alter my memories?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The answer was direct and straightforward, not quite what Krysta had been expecting, but, if Ms. Li could be believed, Aalam was watching. And the two of them in the room were not enemies, so there was no real reason to lie. ¡°Are you manipulating my emotions?¡± ¡°Not since the auction ended.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. This meant, if Ms. Li was to be believed, the woman¡¯s charm skill was a whole lot more subtle than it had been in the past, and also powerful enough to bypass the protection of everwood¡ªor, more likely, able to affect someone directly from an interaction with their aura, like when it was projected out to use a spatial sensing skill. Whatever the case, it was both impressive and scary, but, again, it wasn¡¯t something the woman had to reveal. ¡°Are you planning to ask me if you can alter my memories when this conversation is over?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Krysta took a deep breath. ¡°And you think I would agree?¡± ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a better option to keep you, your mother, and everyone on my side safe?¡± And there it was. Already, Krysta knew the identities Ms. Li and Isaiah had been using for at least several hundred years, and this was allowing her thoughts to make quite a few other discoveries. For one, Yorick almost certainly wasn¡¯t going to survive the day, being the man primarily responsible for putting Isaiah¡¯s brother in such a bad state. Two, Ms. Li, with her charm abilities, was almost certainly the one responsible for all the uniqueness-boosting resources in the auction, i.e. all the resources Aalam¡¯s force would want, landing in the hands of three extremely unsavory individuals, B ranks Krysta would not at all be sad to see killed. Finally, and most important, Krysta was pretty much certain about at least one uniqueness Ms. Li had awakened to, knowledge of which would completely change how the forces hunting down her friends and threatening her mom would operate. ¡°Do you think your husband will be strong enough to succeed, even with what he¡¯s up against?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The confidence in Ms. Li¡¯s voice was what convinced Krysta. She didn¡¯t know Ms. Li well, and she couldn¡¯t be certain the woman wasn¡¯t lying to her, but Krysta had a sense of what Aalam had been planning for himself and, if he had succeeded, which he almost certainly had given the abilities his wife had shown, he would be powerful. More important, however, he and Ms. Li were her mom¡¯s only chance and the longer she took to decide the more likely things were to go wrong. ¡°Okay. Go ahead.¡± Ms. Li rose to her feet, moved over to Krysta, and placed her left hand on Krysta¡¯s head, Krysta letting down all her defenses. Then the next thing Krysta knew she and Starflower were sitting across from each other, about done with their conversation. She¡¯d come to the auction to save Isaiah¡¯s brother, but she¡¯d accidentally been in the seller¡¯s box, something Yorick had excitedly told her when the bloodtree first appeared on stage, so she hadn¡¯t been able to do anything and he¡¯d been sold to a force she couldn¡¯t rescue him from. Then, after successfully hiding her sadness, she¡¯d been about to leave the box at the end of the auction when Ms. Starflower had come to see her and given her an absolutely magnificent sword as a gift, the head of the Sandstorm Conglomerate likely wanting to buy a future favor. ¡°Tell your boss I absolutely love his gift.¡± Krysta rose from her seat and bowed to the woman, who bowed deeper in turn, their status not equal. Then Krysta moved to the auction house¡¯s teleportation platform and teleported back to the Forest Cauldron, going almost immediately to see her mother. ¡°So, you went to the auction and didn¡¯t buy anything?¡± When Krysta arrived at her mother¡¯s lab in the roots of the Forest Cauldron¡¯s life tree, she found her mother sitting in front of her ¡®cauldron¡¯, a complicated array made up of the life tree¡¯s roots, working on a set of high rank pills, slowly transforming their properties with the life tree¡¯s energy. And, as her mother said the words, she reached out and patted Krysta¡¯s back a few times, fully aware of why Krysta had gone there in the first place. ¡°Yeah. The one item I was interested in was sold by the person who¡¯d invited me, so I couldn¡¯t participate.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother, Joma La¡¯Vordi, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, raised one of her green eyebrows at this, but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°I did at least manage to get a gift from the head of the Sandstorm Conglomerate, though.¡± Krysta summoned out the sword and passed it to her mother, whose eyes began to grow wide. ¡°But it requires a blood oath, so I¡¯m a bit wary, even if the oath target is long dead.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother had a look on her face which Krysta recognized as deep interest, the sword likely having been made with some technique her mother had never seen, and Krysta was pretty sure Joma would be asking to borrow the blade for a long time. ¡°I don¡¯t see any problem with you blood bonding this weapon. From the weapon¡¯s soul fluctuations, the oath target is definitely dead, and that can¡¯t be cheated. But could you let me borrow it until the C rank Universal Tournament? There are some alchemical techniques here I¡¯ve never seen before.¡± ¡°Sure, Mom.¡± Krysta took back the blade and used it to slice through her arm, the weapon feeding off her blood while the wound healed. Then she read the words a System prompt gave her. ¡°Imperial strong, emperor¡¯s might. I here do swear I will always fight. When protecting the empire, I will be bold. Forever and always, this blade I will hold.¡± Then, as the blood bond was fully initiated, Krysta stopped holding the blade and passed it to her mother, the oath complete and utter rubbish. Chapter 252: Stalwart Guardian Raven Trapped in a spatial storage device along with the three others being fed to the bloodtree, Raven couldn¡¯t tell what was going on outside, but then the bloodtree was summoned out into the world and what he saw wasn¡¯t at all what he would have expected. Judging from the Law suppression, they were on an A rank planet, on some kind of arena-sized mechanical platform hovering about ten meters over an ocean, and there were seven people not attached to the tree, three C ranks, three B ranks, and one man who seemed to be a G rank. Of the six C and B ranks, three, one of the B ranks and two of the C ranks, were tuathans, red-haired humanoids with pointed ears like elves, an extra eye in the middle of their foreheads, and six fingers; one of the B ranks and the remaining C rank were humans, their plain robes showing they were likely members of the sangha, ascetic monks who wouldn¡¯t use technology; and the last B rank was a dwarf, his racial variant obviously one specializing in the life and darkness elements, his coloration mostly black and green. But all six were hovering in the air above the platform, restrained by what looked like the same type of formation the bloodtree had been suspended in during the auction, and they were all staring at the seventh man with expressions of fear. The seventh man, however, was completely ignoring them, sitting on the ground and playing around with multiple spatial storage artifacts hovering around him, seemingly all stolen from the six powers. Wearing a black T-shirt and black shorts, with an azure fingerless glove on his left hand, the man looked human¡ªonly with orange eyes, dark-blue semi-translucent shoulder length hair, and an almost unnatural handsomeness¡ªbut there was something weird about him, his eyes glowing in Raven¡¯s magical senses and his aura completely neutral, like what Raven had only ever experienced from sleeping newborns. This wasn¡¯t some weak G rank looking over someone else¡¯s set of captives. No, this was a powerhouse, likely an extreme one, and the lives of everyone else on the platform were all under his complete control. ¡°What do you want from us, sir?¡± one of the tuathans, the B rank, a female with golden eyes, worked up the courage to ask, her voice showing the same type of terror as her face. And, in response, the man turned his eyes to her and smiled. ¡°What do you think I want from you, Gua-thani?¡± ¡°You want the resources we bought?¡± ¡°No.¡± The man shook his head slightly and all the items hovering around him disappeared, likely into a spatial storage device of some kind, maybe his glove, but Raven¡¯s senses couldn¡¯t catch the transfer. ¡°I wanted these resources, yes. But I could have had my subordinate charm anyone at that auction into buying them. ¡°Why do you think I chose you?¡± The three B ranks all turned to look at each other, the answer seemingly dawning on them despite Raven having no idea what it was. ¡°You¡¯re some kind of saint?¡± the dwarf, his voice surprisingly deep, growled out. ¡°No.¡± The man reached out a hand and there were suddenly 72 simultaneous cracking sounds, each limb of all six prisoners torn apart in three different places. ¡°I¡¯m not a good person. It¡¯s just, when I want to kill for primal energy, I prefer those who are even worse than me.¡± ¡°Then why not just kill us?¡± the B rank from the sangha asked, his voice surprisingly calm. ¡°Why torture us first?¡± ¡°Benefits.¡± The man smiled as death element mana appeared around the six prisoners, coming from seemingly nowhere to seep into their wounds and stop them from healing. ¡°You¡¯re too weak for your primal energy to be of use to me, so I might as well give you to my subordinate.¡± A roar emanated from the sky, and, turning his eyes upward, Raven watched as a dragon, a C rank adult of some kind, flew down toward them, but it wasn¡¯t any type of dragon Raven could identify. Its scales were purple, lavender, and indigo, the coloration of a balance dragon; runes were carved into each of its scales, the signifier of a runic dragon; and its form¡ªits wings, back ridges, muzzle, everything¡ªwas clearly that of a chaos dragon. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Raven had done his research on dragons, the most famous and powerful of monsters¡ªwar dragons especially¡ªand this dragon was like nothing he¡¯d ever seen before, maybe some kind of hybrid of three of the most powerful dragon races in the universe, some kind of experiment to make an even more powerful race. ¡°But you¡¯re still B ranks.¡± The man, likely an A rank power, continued, looking up at the dragon and smiling. ¡°And your lifeforce is high. So, for efficiency, I might as well soften you up first.¡± Raven had so many questions, like which of their universe¡¯s A ranks this man was, his traits not aligning with any of the powers Raven knew of, or why the bloodtree, and the four of them on it, was the only resource the man hadn¡¯t put away. But then all his rapid thoughts stopped as the dragon transformed in mid-air, taking on the form of a man also wearing a black T-shirt and shorts who landed next to the blue haired power, Isaiah, Raven¡¯s little brother. With indigo reptilian eyes which seemed to reflect the chaos of the universe, long shoulder length lavender hair, and runic tattoos down his exposed arms and legs, Isaiah looked different than Raven remembered, but he was still absolutely enormous, his skin was still that same ruddy pale color, and he was still muscular to the point it would make other men jealous. A whole mix of emotions started blending together in Raven¡¯s brain, relief, excitement, and a whole lot less fear than before, but, more than anything, he felt the shackles of guilt he¡¯d been under for most of his life break, and he suddenly advanced his Law Pupa of Speed to peak grade, while, at the same time, tears began to flow down his face. ¡°So, after using your own senses, do you still think the same?¡± Isaiah stood over the sitting powerhouse without any kind of greeting and looked over at Raven on the bloodtree, scaring Raven with how little respect he was giving the man. ¡°Yeah.¡± The powerhouse waved his hand again and a lot more death element mana entered into the six prisoners, the B ranks especially. ¡°I can make them more powerful, but they¡¯ll never advance again without a whole lot of intervention, intervention I don¡¯t have the time for.¡± ¡°So his best option is still reincarnation?¡± Isaiah¡¯s tone sounded worried. ¡°Yes, unless you want to sacrifice the other three.¡± Isaiah looked at the other three men attached to the bloodtree¡ªZev Ankur, the one-eye specializing in defense; Wen Alexis, the elf specializing in regeneration; and Endless Will, the dwarf specializing in destruction. Then he shook his head. ¡°Bah. I hate the way the universe works.¡± A spear then appeared in Isaiah¡¯s hand, an artifact radiating more power than Raven had ever felt, somehow perfectly merging the power of the Laws of Destruction and Speed, and the next thing Raven saw was a blur. Raven himself was fast¡ªit was what he specialized in¡ªbut his little brother put him to shame, stabbing each of the prisoners in the heart in just a split second. And, unlike strikes from Raven, Isaiah¡¯s attacks weren¡¯t just fast. Each of the C ranks who were hit literally crumbled into dust, their bodies completely destroyed, and, over the next several seconds, the lifeforce of the three B ranks completely faded as well, the damage from their hearts quickly expanding to their other organs, their already depleted lifeforce unable to regenerate their bodies fast enough to counteract the destruction. ¡°I am a knight.¡± As Isaiah started speaking, the primal energy of the three B ranks all began flowing into him. ¡°I am loyal to my friends and want to protect them to the best of my ability. But my best friend is a future godslayer and his wife a future goddess, so I always feel I¡¯m not talented enough to stay at their side. ¡°This feeling, however, is natural. And the day I stop feeling it is either the day I become too prideful for my own good or lose what I¡¯m striving to protect in the first place. ¡°So, I¡¯m not going to let the feeling consume me, but let it drive me, as it always has, to work harder. ¡°I will act on my morals and help keep my friends from going over the line. I will treat those who treat my loved ones well as people I will try my hardest to protect. And, for those who try to harm or kill those I care about, I will slaughter them without remorse.¡± Isaiah¡¯s aura, far, far more powerful than any C rank Raven had ever met, started to spread out, the excess primal energy it contained converting into some other type of energy. But then an even more powerful aura, one which seemed to come from the A rank planet itself, surrounded Isaiah¡¯s aura and pushed it back into his body, keeping that new type of energy from escaping. Over the next several seconds, Isaiah¡¯s soul transformed, a fast process, unlike race and rank advancements, and then Isaiah felt slightly different, more powerful, somehow more solid. ¡°So, what¡¯s the oath called?¡± The blue-haired powerhouse smiled at Raven¡¯s little brother. ¡°Stalwart Guardian. It increases the effects of training, more so when my motives are pure.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The blue-haired powerhouse patted Isaiah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That sounds like you.¡± Chapter 253: Vanar Tedros ¡°When you move your qi down your arm, you should slow it ever so slightly while it passes your elbow.¡± Vanar Tedros altered the posture of one of his students, specifically how the young man was holding his sword. ¡°This will reduce the strain on your body, allowing you to fight longer. And it will enable you to more easily use your mana on your blade as well, activating any artifact effects.¡± Then, moving back to the edge of the large room, a wood-covered hall capable of holding a few thousand people, Vanar looked over the hundred or so youngsters practicing, all only G ranks, and felt a sense of peace. A half-human half-tuathan with long gray hair, three blue eyes¡ªone in the middle of his forehead¡ªand sharp angular features, Vanar was old, a little over 82,944, and 20,000 years before he¡¯d been badly injured, blocking any possible advancement to B rank and leaving him by this point with only a few thousand years left to live. For a while, he¡¯d raged, killed, and tried to battle against the heavens to get his old life back, but now he was at peace. For the last 82 years, he¡¯d lived on this small F rank planet and trained the youngsters of this small sect, and it was so much more relaxing than the endless wars and battlefields of most of his life. ¡°Master, master!¡± One of his elder students, an F rank young man, human like the rest of the world¡¯s population, ran in through the training hall¡¯s door. ¡°There is someone here to see you.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Vanar smiled at the youth. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The confidence with which the youth spoke the words put Vanar slightly on edge. ¡°What does he or she look like?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Now, watching the youth smiling, Vanar became worried. There were no signs of foreign aura on the boy, at least none Vanar could sense. To the youth, it seemed to just be normal to not know who had sent him to come find his master. And, if such a thing weren¡¯t impossible for anyone but a couple A ranks and at most half the gods, all signs pointed to the boy¡¯s memories, his soul, having been somehow directly manipulated. ¡°You care for the boy¡¯s wellbeing. Interesting.¡± A voice, feminine and laced with interest, entered directly into Vanar¡¯s mind. ¡°This is contrary to the information publicly available about you, Devil Blade. ¡°Is it a new development in your final years of life, or the type of feeling you usually hide?¡± Vanar didn¡¯t say anything, instead just grabbing the youth¡¯s wrist and sending his own energy into the boy¡¯s soul to see if he could find any foreign power. But there wasn¡¯t any, and Vanar found himself becoming even more unnerved. ¡°A new development. Good.¡± The voice seemed to be able to read him like a book. ¡°Follow the boy to come see me and I¡¯ll make sure there¡¯s no damage to him.¡± ¡°Everyone, continue training.¡± Vanar turned to the young students in the room. ¡°I need to go speak to a guest.¡± Then he followed the youth out of the training hall and into the nearby mountains, to his own home, a log cabin next to a small lake. And there, sitting inside on one of the two chairs by his fireplace, was a woman. Human, she had long blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a rosy complexion, feeling like nothing but a G rank. But, when the youth ran up to her, she patted him on the head and he immediately fell asleep. Then, with a wave of her hand, a portal opened up to what Vanar recognized as the youth¡¯s own bedroom in the main compound of the sect, and she used telekinesis to gently move the youth onto his bed before allowing the portal to close. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine when he wakes up.¡± The woman, an absolute beauty, smiled at Vanar, indicating for him to take the other seat. ¡°He won¡¯t remember me, the same as everyone else on this planet, but there will be no damage to him. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°If he trains hard and proves talented, there won¡¯t be anything blocking him from advancing even all the way to A rank, at least not from my actions.¡± ¡°What is it you want?¡± It was obvious what the woman was doing. She was showing off her might and testing his reactions. Sending the youth to him when she could have contacted him directly was to see if he was still the arrogant war hero of the past, or if his personality had changed. Meeting him in his own home without his permission and offering him his own seat was to see if he would bow to a higher authority. And the obvious mental manipulation magic was to show just how powerful she was and that trying to fight against her would be a very, very bad idea. ¡°I wanted to see if you are still the same man who took the 173rd place in the last C rank Universal Tournament or if your power had degraded after what Taravan did to you.¡± The woman¡¯s smile was pleasant, warm, and Vanar didn¡¯t trust it at all. ¡°But count me pleasantly surprised to find your three Laws have all advanced, and that you¡¯ve even gained a new one and somehow raised it to an even higher level. ¡°You more than meet the criteria my lord has set, and I¡¯d like to make you an offer.¡± ¡°What offer?¡± ¡°First sign a confidentiality contract. Then I¡¯ll tell you.¡± [Blank] has sent you a contract request. Terms:
  1. For one standard hour, neither you nor [Blank] can tell a lie to the other
  2. Any information shared during the next hour must stay confidential and cannot be shared without the explicit permission of the other party
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°And what will you do if I don¡¯t agree?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± The woman just smiled at him and Vanar wasn¡¯t at all sure she wouldn¡¯t just blow up the planet on a whim if he didn¡¯t agree, so, reluctantly, he did. Then he immediately checked the contract and he wasn¡¯t at all surprised to see he¡¯d accidentally signed his life away. Terms:
  1. You may not reveal any secrets about the initiator of this contract or anyone from her force to anyone for any reason
  2. You may not take any actions with the intention to harm the initiator of this contract or anyone from her force
  3. You must follow all the orders of the initiator of this contract
Punishment: Death Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°A ranks and gods, curse them all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The woman just smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯ve met a couple A ranks I like, and one I wouldn¡¯t even curse at.¡± Then she rose to her feet and started walking out of the cabin. ¡°Come on then. Let¡¯s get going.¡± But Vanar didn¡¯t move from his seat. ¡°And what if I just decide I¡¯d rather die?¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d miss the best lucky chance you¡¯ve ever gotten in your life.¡± The woman stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. ¡°Yes, I effectively just enslaved you. But, by falling into such an obvious trap to try and save the lives of a bunch of G and F ranks, you passed my lord¡¯s final test. And your reward is a chance at reincarnation with your memories intact, enabling you to retrain from the beginning and rise to B rank.¡± Her smile became mischievous. ¡°More important, you¡¯ll have the chance to take revenge on everyone who crippled you as well.¡± Vanar took a few seconds to absorb her words and decided they were most likely utter crap, but, if they were true, he couldn¡¯t deny he was interested. ¡°And you don¡¯t have to worry about the people on this planet.¡± The woman¡¯s voice, for the first time since they¡¯d started speaking, grew serious. ¡°I¡¯ve already confirmed none of them know who you are, and I¡¯ve altered all the memories which could reveal my presence, so, after I fake your current identity¡¯s death in a couple days, none of our enemies will come bother them.¡± With that, she left his cabin and Vanar followed her, looking at the woman¡¯s back as they moved toward the planet¡¯s teleportation platform, pondering over her last words. Then, as they teleported, Vanar felt weird, the trip unlike any he¡¯d felt before, taking over a dozen minutes instead of less than a second, and, when he appeared on a teleportation platform on what felt like a B rank world, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out why. They hadn¡¯t teleported within the Prime Material Universe, but into another universe, and the Laws in this universe were far more primitive. ¡°Are you another universe¡¯s invasion force?¡± he asked the woman as she stepped off the platform located in a sandy desert and started to fly toward a set of mountains around 20 km away, using one of his skills to step on the air and follow her. ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± In response to his question, she turned around while still flying, her expression one of mild amusement. Vanar then realized where he¡¯d gone wrong. Despite being in another universe, his connection to the System was still active, meaning this was a universe their own universe had taken over, not the staging grounds of an invasion. ¡°Talk to the men on the bloodtree. Follow the rules they¡¯ve been authorized to set. And don¡¯t hurt anyone in ways which could create permanent effects.¡± The woman in front of him, the woman who, while he couldn¡¯t feel her aura at all, he¡¯d been sure was solid, then vanished, and Vanar realized he might have been talking to an illusory clone the entire time. Chapter 254: Za-Lord’s Guard Vanar looked out over the large training ground he found behind the mountains, filled with multiple different constructed battlefields, from artificial forests to an absolutely huge tank filled with water, and there he could sense a total of 967 C ranks, over 600 of which he recognized. The most noticeable ones of all, however, were the four men of different races attached to a bloodtree in the center, seemingly being fed on by the plant and obviously the ones he¡¯d been ordered to talk to. So, not wanting to die from not following orders, Vanar infused his movements with his Law Scarab of Speed and quickly arrived in front of the tree. ¡°You¡¯re the Devil Blade, correct?¡± One of the men on the tree, an elf radiating an aura showing he specialized in life and water element Laws, nodded to him as he approached. ¡°The Lord¡¯s Shadow has spoken and you¡¯re a candidate to be the head of our group, while I¡¯m to give you an introduction. ¡°First, my name is Wen Alexis and, as you can see, some bastards out in the main universe decided to feed me to a bloodtree to extract my power, along with my three sleeping friends.¡± His hands, both free even as his back and legs were imbedded into the bloodtree¡¯s bark, gestured toward the three others attached to the tree, all of whom were asleep, particularly the human. ¡°Raven, the human here, is the older brother of one of the Lord¡¯s most talented subordinates, so the Lord rescued us when we were sold at auction. ¡°Then we made a deal and the Lord did some sort of modification to the bloodtree and the formations in the cauldron.¡± Wen Alexis pointed down at the cauldron below him which held the bloodtree along with a whole bunch of monster flesh. ¡°He would have just freed us if we had asked, but we would be weak, most of our power extracted, so we instead chose the option of allowing the bloodtree to fully bloom, which, if the Lord is to be believed, will generate one fruit and use the power of the remaining four which would have been produced to modify our bodies and make our souls stronger than they were previously. ¡°We still won¡¯t be able to advance to B rank, our bodies having the same type of problems the Lord¡¯s Shadow says yours does, but the Lord promised, should we work hard, he¡¯ll help us reincarnate and rise up again from G rank. And, given Raven¡¯s little brother¡ªsomeone who, as a C rank, can slaughter B ranks with ease¡ªwould be pissed if that were a lie, the four of us are inclined to believe it¡¯s true.¡± The elf smiled, and Vanar could sense genuine excitement from the man, exactly what he¡¯d expect from a stupid slave being conned into working hard by a new master. ¡°Enough about me, though.¡± Wen Alexis gestured out at the training grounds. ¡°Everyone here is part of a force called the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard. ¡°Why the name when our Lord is not called Za, no one knows. But most of the Lord¡¯s long term subordinates we¡¯ve met have a tendency to laugh when the name is mentioned, while Raven¡¯s little brother grows sad, so the running theory is it is some sort of joke name that is also in honor of someone who died. ¡°More important to you, however, our force has great benefits. These include having a whole quarter of this B rank planet all to ourselves, pills for accumulating stats which we can use as fast as we can rid ourselves of impurities, and Fabled to Empyrean grade artifacts in high enough numbers that everyone is always able to find at least one which is suitable. And these are just what is given to every member. ¡°Personal servants of the Lord, such as myself, get an increase in the effectiveness of our Soul and Attunement stats by 50% and in our affinity with all Laws by 100%, as well as an increase to the max stats of our races by 50% and the ability to transform any extra stats which would be lost due to the stat¡¯s limit having been reached into free stats and even use free stats to increase the size of our soulstructures. ¡°Then, for special achievements, there are pills and other methods for reducing impurities and increasing cultivation foundations, as well as specialized resources for creating or strengthening uniquenesses.¡± Vanar was a little surprised. Resources for gaining uniquenesses could usually only be found in divine level forces, but, even in divine forces, Empyrean grade artifacts for use at C rank were rare. And those benefits for personal servants were enough to raise a cultivator¡¯s talent level by a rank, turning C rank talents to B rank and B rank talents to A rank, something he¡¯d never heard of. Still, however, it all felt like a scam. ¡°And what is the purpose of this force?¡± ¡°What is the usual purpose of any force under a powerhouse?¡± A man walked over from one of the nearby battlegrounds, large with indigo draconic eyes, lavender hair, and runic tattoos completely covering his exposed chest and arms. ¡°We help with anything which requires numbers.¡± ¡°This is Isaiah,¡± Wen Alexis introduced, ¡°Raven¡¯s brother and the most powerful C rank in our force.¡± ¡°Wen, you flatter me.¡± The draconic man smiled at Wen Alexis and then turned back to Vanar. ¡°Care for a duel? If you win, my master says he¡¯ll answer any three of your questions. If you lose, you have to do something tedious.¡± The man was obviously a dragon in human form, the draconic aura surrounding him far too potent for a half dragon, but what type of dragon was hard to tell. His coloration suggested a balance dragon, but the tattoos were definitely representative of a runic dragon, and there was an element of chaos around him, especially when Vanar met his eyes. His aura was also stronger than any C rank Vanar had ever met, suggesting his stats were quite a bit higher than Vanar¡¯s own, and the way he carried himself, along with the dense slaughter aura around him, showed he was not at all unfamiliar with combat, likely having fought in many wars. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. If Wen Alexis was to be believed, the human specializing in the Law of Speed was this dragon¡¯s brother, which meant the man had either been born a human and become a dragon through some kind of reincarnation or, less likely, the two were only half brothers and the dragon had been born a half-dragon and somehow advanced his race to become a monster. Whatever the case, however, the man was powerful, almost certainly experienced, and this challenge was a second test, the force he¡¯d been coerced into to join now testing his battle prowess after already having tested his personality. ¡°What is this something tedious?¡± The dragon nodded at the bloodtree. ¡°Taking care of the tree for the next 49 years.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Vanar nodded, the task making sense. It truly would be tedious to take care of the bloodtree until it was ready to flower, but who better to take care of such a tree than him, a master of the Blood Law? ¡°So, do you agree?¡± From the man¡¯s smile, Vanar couldn¡¯t see any excessive pride, but there was confidence, and a level of excitement, leading Vanar to realize the dragon wasn¡¯t anywhere near as old as he¡¯d thought, probably not even 5,184. Interesting. ¡°Sure.¡± Vanar stepped into the air and flew through the upper atmosphere, up into the cold emptiness of space, the dragon easily following him. ¡°Let¡¯s fight up here then, in the true battlefield of C ranks.¡± His last words were said by sending vibrations of mana toward his opponent, a technique anyone could perform with a tiny bit of practice, and then he immediately attacked, summoning out a blood colored sword from his spatial storage ring and rushing at full speed directly toward his opponent. In response, the dragon summoned out a spear and shield, both seemingly Empyrean grade artifacts, two grades higher than his Fabled grade Blood Slicer, but this didn¡¯t matter. What did matter were the skills the dragon used, some sort of high grade domain skill which slightly suppressed the usage of Vanar¡¯s Laws, his Law of Speed especially; some sort of powerful berserker skill which traded his lifeforce for power, the natural way he used it showing his life regeneration was at the level of a troll; and a high grade version of a knight line skill, the power of the entire universe flowing into him. Then the dragon moved, flying backwards with ease and at a speed faster than Vanar¡¯s own. The dragon¡¯s Law of Speed was a couple grades lower than Vanar¡¯s, only an early grade Law Scarab, but this was already ridiculous given his age, and he made up for it by having an Agility stat seemingly more than double Vanar¡¯s and a movement skill which appeared to be Empyrean grade, something Vanar had never seen on a C rank in his life. As a result, Vanar¡¯s surprise attack did nothing. And then the dragon roared, sending bursts of disruptive chaotic qi, mana, and psyforce out of his body in every direction. Had Vanar not been prepared for the attack, he would have been stunned for half a second and the dragon could have impaled him, but thankfully he had been. So, when the dragon used an Empyrean grade version of a power attack line skill, his spear infused with an early grade Law Scarab of Destruction, Vanar was able to dodge to the side, away from the dragon¡¯s shield side, and slash out with an attack of his own, getting up close so his sword would directly cut into the dragon¡¯s abdomen. In response, the dragon summoned out another Empyrean grade artifact, green pants and a dark green battle robe appearing over his body, and, at the same time, the dragon activated an Empyrean grade guardian line skill, all his skills apparently at that grade, and all seemingly empowered by the same amount by an Empyrean grade Runic Enhancement racial ability, the defining racial ability of runic dragons. This wasn¡¯t enough, however, to fully block Vanar¡¯s attack, empowered by the perfectly combined might of his high grade Law Scarabs of Sword and Speed, even with the dragon¡¯s early grade Law Scarab of Defense empowering the skill, but it was enough to stop most of Vanar¡¯s attack, making it so Vanar¡¯s sword only barely grazed the dragon¡¯s flesh. Against Vanar the Devil Blade, however, this was still a major loss. With the power of his high grade Law Scarab of Blood, Vanar¡¯s Blood Poison skill had entered into the dragon¡¯s body and the dragon was already done for. At least this was what Vanar initially thought as he moved away from the dragon, the man not chasing after him. But then Vanar felt the obvious sign of the dragon gaining a Law Egg, something very rare for C ranks whose already established cultivation techniques generally made gaining new Laws harmful for their future advancement, and it was a Law Egg of Blood. At the same time, due to the new Law, for an instant all the Laws of the Dragon could be easily felt by analyzing his aura, and Vanar realized the man had seventeen, most at the Law Larva level, while the four aspect Laws of Speed, Destruction, Defense, and Regeneration, seemingly the man¡¯s core Laws, were all at the early grade Law Scarab level. For a second, Vanar was confused, and his resulting lack of action allowed the man to start ridding himself of the blood poison with a powerful Empyrean grade healing skill, but then Vanar realized what he was dealing with. The man, somehow, was part chaos dragon, and he had a high grade version of the Power of Chaos racial ability. He could learn new Laws by being hit with them during combat, combine multiple Laws at the same time with ease, and, if his C rank core, the foundation of his power, was, as Vanar expected from the feel of the man¡¯s energy, a chaos core, extra Laws, even weak ones, wouldn¡¯t mess up his cultivation at all, but instead increase it. And, getting a feel for the dragon¡¯s stats during their brief exchange, at least the body related ones and Aura, they were all simple multipliers of each other, completely what Vanar would expect if the man¡¯s base stats were all equal before effectiveness boosts were taken into account, an Empyrean grade Power of Balance racial ability the most likely explanation for the abnormally high effectiveness of the man¡¯s stats. Vanar was not dealing with a runic dragon, nor a balance dragon, nor even a chaos dragon. He was dealing with someone who was, somehow, seemingly a perfectly stable combination of all three, with some kind of high grade human bloodline to make up for the draconic weakness of slow cultivation, and this was all added to a warrior who¡¯d already reached the point he was one with not just his weapon, but his shield and armor as well, showing him to be an absolute combat genius. If Vanar wanted to win, he¡¯d have to stop holding back. Chapter 255: My Sword is Yours ¡°Okay. I think that¡¯s enough.¡± With Vanar¡¯s main weapon, and the three Heroic grade flying swords he¡¯d revealed mid-fight, all stabbed into the dragon¡¯s body, the dragon¡¯s overly abundant lifeforce finally appeared to approach exhaustion, and Vanar lowered his guard ever so slightly. But then, in that split second, the power of the universe descended with strength several orders of magnitude greater than from the dragon¡¯s knight line skill and completely locked him in place, a hand landing on his shoulder. Turning his head, Vanar saw the origin of the hand and voice, an abnormally handsome man with dark blue hair and mystical orange eyes which felt like they could see right through him, and, more so than when he¡¯d been tricked into signing his life away earlier, he felt helpless. His energy was all sealed, his Laws were unable to attune to the universe, and he couldn¡¯t move any part of his body below his neck. This man, this absolute powerhouse, was different than any A rank Vanar had ever met, than any god in the Prime Material. This was an otherverse lord, someone whose Territory covered an entire universe, and, in this universe he ruled, his word was law. ¡°Iz, are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Turning his head back, Vanar saw the dragon take out all four swords from his body, his flesh and his artifact clothing both quickly regenerating. ¡°You lost rather miserably.¡± ¡°You try fighting with your blood literally burning.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue.¡± The otherverse lord vanished from behind Vanar and appeared next to the dragon, the dragon¡¯s armor moving to allow him to place a hand on his subordinate¡¯s chest. ¡°I don¡¯t need to fight at close range.¡± ¡°Well, most of us are not as multi-talented as you.¡± ¡°True.¡± As the otherverse lord nodded, the dragon stuck his tongue out, showing no respect whatsoever. ¡°Your wife said you were starting to get arrogant. But I didn¡¯t believe her.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t believe most things she says. She lies a lot.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to tell her you said that.¡± ¡°Uh, I¡ª¡± The otherverse lord, still holding Vanar in place with the power of an entire universe, looked flustered. ¡°Please don¡¯t?¡± ¡°And what will you give me in turn?¡± ¡°Iz, this is blackmail. I could write you up for going against the law.¡± ¡°And who has access to all such filings?¡± The otherverse lord looked thoughtful for a second. ¡°I could hide it from her.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that just give me more ammunition?¡± ¡°True.¡± The otherverse lord sighed. ¡°I could stop helping you with healing, though.¡± Both the dragon¡¯s spear and shield disappeared, likely retracted into his spatial storage ring, and the dragon raised both hands above his head. ¡°I surrender.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good you understand the true power dynamic in this relationship.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The dragon nodded sagely. ¡°Mila has all the power.¡± The otherverse lord made a ¡®bah¡¯ sound with his mana and then pushed the dragon away, the healing apparently done. ¡°So, three questions.¡± The otherverse lord teleported right in front of Vanar as the universe finally stopped its restriction. ¡°What is it you want to know?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. And there it was. The seemingly friendly banter between the two was a plan of some kind, a way to put Vanar off balance and get him to waste one or more of his questions. No. That wasn¡¯t right. Why would the otherverse lord need him to waste a question when there was nothing forcing them to be honest in the first place? Feeling slightly off balance, Vanar asked what he¡¯d wanted to know in the first place. ¡°What are the goals of this force, both immediate and long term?¡± ¡°Hmm. Two questions in one.¡± The otherverse lord nodded and Vanar started to feel a bit nervous. ¡°I¡¯ll let that slide. ¡°Isaiah wasn¡¯t wrong when he answered your previous question about the purpose of this force. It¡¯s all about numbers. And our first immediate goal has to do with the next C rank Universal Tournament starting in 1,711 years. Are you aware of what happens when one force earns over half the tournament¡¯s rewards?¡± ¡°No.¡± Vanar was somewhat shocked by the implications. From what he knew, several forces had managed such a feat in the past, but not in a long, long time, and this was mostly because it was incredibly difficult. The System¡¯s rules around the tournament were strict, with almost no loopholes. Attacking a contestant, for example, was grounds for all System rights of an entire force to be immediately removed. Everything in the tournament revolved around strength. More important, there were always a lot of contestants, so, for one force to qualify for half the tournament¡¯s rewards, they would need the equivalent of having their force take up all the tournament¡¯s top 32 spots. ¡°Well, the boons granted to all the members of that force are increased by three grades, those from 17th to 64th place gaining the equivalent grade of boon to what the winner would normally receive. And, one such boon that becomes possible is a chance at reincarnation, though your soul would first have to be stripped back down to G rank, something I¡¯m capable of doing.¡± The otherverse lord smiled at him and Vanar suddenly felt he had a better idea of what was going on. The man¡¯s goal was something only achievable with a very high grade System boon, so he needed to achieve something ridiculous in the highest rank universal competition, but that ridiculous feat would also give Vanar exactly what he needed to keep living, with no competition between their desires, so the man was willing to be open and honest about his intentions. Or at least that was what he wanted Vanar to think. ¡°After that, I honestly haven¡¯t thought about it too much. I¡¯ll probably release everyone who I don¡¯t think will just go out slaughtering people from their contracts and let them decide what to do.¡± Vanar didn¡¯t really believe that answer, but it wasn¡¯t impossible it was true. Just from what he¡¯d seen already, the man probably didn¡¯t have any other uses for a bunch of talented C ranks, even if all of them advanced to B rank. ¡°How did you find me?¡± Vanar had hidden himself well after he¡¯d escaped from the Territory of the human empires, and he hadn¡¯t been bothered for over 10,368 years, making it likely none of his enemies had found him yet. So, he wanted to know what he¡¯d done wrong. ¡°We used a blanket search method, me and my wife teleporting from planet to planet, but the main goal wasn¡¯t to search for people like you. Mainly we were after hidden caches of resources we could steal, the origin of most of what is available in the camp down below.¡± The otherverse lord¡¯s smile widened. ¡°But, having a sensory domain which can cover an entire planet and give detailed analysis of the strength of everyone living there is kind of a cheat. So, you were not the only talent we found along the way.¡± The man¡¯s smile returned to normal. ¡°What is your third question?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± It was an obvious question, but it was also the most important. ¡°Me?¡± The man¡¯s smile faded, and it took several seconds before he started speaking. ¡°Like you, I was born a member of the Primordial Humans faction. And, like you, one of the higher ups in the faction was afraid of my potential and attempted to kill me, the person I loved most in the universe dying in my stead. ¡°As a baby, I was left on a planet about to undergo an apocalypse style integration. And, as a young man, I killed myself, saving a billion lives in one of the stupidest ways possible. ¡°I was reborn as a monster on an F rank world after receiving the highest score of all time in a monster tutorial, and then I made my way back to my home planet, where I became its de facto ruler. When I was an E rank, I destroyed a B rank force whose leader had killed a teacher I¡¯d recruited, not letting a single man, woman, or child survive my wrath. And then I tricked the System into transforming my home world into an A rank planet, giving me access to this universe, which I quickly took over. ¡°I am a descendant of the Primordial Sovereign and the Yin Yang Sage, the inheriting disciple of Steel Swamp Sorin, and I am the reincarnated truesoul of Runemaster Alashan, Camoran the Spirit Smith, and several other famous crafters. ¡°My name is Aalam Alvaro. The System calls me the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and, just like the Primordial Humans faction of gods fears, I am going to see to the deaths of every last one of them.¡± A whole bunch of thoughts began rushing through Vanar¡¯s head, the realization that this man who could so easily take his life was only a C rank, just like him, the related realization that the woman who had conned him and tricked him with an illusion was also only a C rank, almost certainly the woman the bounties called Li Mila, the Mistress of Oaths and Deception, but the most important thing was that this future most powerful man in the universe¡¯s goals were almost exactly aligned with his own, making his revenge no longer unreachable. Without any more misgivings, Vanar knelt down on one knee in the complete lack of gravity of outer space. ¡°My liege, forgive me for my stubbornness. My sword is yours.¡± Chapter 256: Edi Tanorputra ¡°How interesting. Someone who qualifies for Multi-Mind without the Enlightened One bloodline.¡± Edi Tanorputra, along with the 317 other 16-year-olds from his class, knelt down in front of the hologram of the Yin Yang Sage in the main hall of New Neptune¡¯s fifth Yin Yang Temple, feeling nervous. The ancestor of all humans who lived in the Heavenly Soul Universe, the image of the Yin Yang Sage showed her as short, with bright blue eyes and curly red hair, her Heaven Hell Battle Angel race not one which changed her natural coloration much, or even grant her wings, despite the iconography which had developed from the high grade dao guide in her main temple on Earth. According to Edi¡¯s teachers, she¡¯d been one of the most powerful beings in the universe, with Laws at a level higher than most gods, and she¡¯d only not ascended due to a lacking Luck stat and messing up her class choices, so now, to make sure her descendants never ended up in the same situation, she would give advice to anyone in the Heavenly Soul Universe who managed to gain at least one Law Egg by the time they were sixteen and came to one of her temples. This advice, however, was usually in the form of a set of written options passed to their parents and teachers through the soul net, not, at least according to Edi¡¯s research, telepathic communication directly into their heads. ¡°And six Laws¡ªcalm, passion, concealing, illusion, bonds and severing¡ªmaking you eligible for Yin Yang Cosmology. You are aiming big, child.¡± Edi looked around the room, seeing no one else reacting like they¡¯d heard a voice, and, as usual, Jessica, Lumi, Teresa, and about seven other girls all smiled at him when he looked their way. Now, normally, this would make him happy, but the ancient ancestor, the woman his hero described as a ¡®bored old aunty watching everyone¡¯s lives like they were some kind of soap opera¡¯, almost certainly wasn¡¯t the type of person to miss their reactions. ¡°Ooh. A playboy. This is going to be so much fun.¡± Edi couldn¡¯t help but gulp, not really sure if catching the ancestor¡¯s interest was a good thing or not. ¡°Okay, everyone, the Yin Yang Sage has given her judgement, and she wants us all to leave.¡± Ms. Kang, their school principal, rose from where she¡¯d also been kneeling, her aura slightly unstable even with how calm her words were, and Edi suspected the Yin Yang Sage had spoken directly into her mind as well. ¡°Good luck, kid. Try not to have a heart attack.¡± Edi didn¡¯t know what the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s words meant, but they scared him, and he imagined that was somewhat the point. It was only just before he got home to the somewhat run down two bedroom apartment he shared with his mom that he was finally able to calm down. But that calm didn¡¯t last long. There, sitting on the couch and drinking tea with his mother, was his hero. Long silky semi-translucent black hair with purple highlights, golden eyes which glowed to any magical senses, and the type of figure Edi¡¯d had way too many dreams about since hitting puberty¡ªto the point he was rather afraid her husband would murder him¡ªEmpress Li was just casually sitting there, and Edi stopped in the doorway, not sure what to do. ¡°Relax. If my husband killed everyone who had such dreams, he¡¯d lose half his army.¡± The empress, seemingly having read his mind, smirked at him. ¡°And he still has uses for humanity.¡± Unconsciously, Edi looked at his mom, and, instead of appearing absolutely terrified like he was, she was smiling, her eyes bright and her aura showing excitement. A low level E rank, his mom was very young, only 35, and she worked in marketing at a biotech company on New Neptune. Pretty, with mostly Indonesian ancestry, she¡¯d had a one night stand with a rock star back when she was eighteen, and Edi was the result. Edi¡¯s father wasn¡¯t really in the picture, only visiting once or twice a year when his band played in nearby cities on New Neptune, and his mother¡¯s family had disowned her, so she was all Edi really had. As a result, however, Edi knew her well, and the fact she was excited meant there was something to be excited about. ¡°Quick.¡± Empress Li nodded at him in the same way his teachers often did. ¡°I can see why Nana Xara recommended you to me.¡± Edi felt his heartbeat start to quicken, his mind racing through the possibilities of what her words could mean. But then he saw his mother point at the chair across from the couch she and the empress were sitting on, and he hurriedly took off his shoes¡ªsomething he still needed as he was only a G rank¡ªand moved to take the seat. ¡°This is a big day for you.¡± Edi watched in amazement as Empress Li used telekinesis to pour a cup of tea for him in the kitchen on the other side of the open room and move it into his hands. ¡°It¡¯s time to choose the start of your path and officially start to prepare for your advancement to F rank. Have you already thought about what race and class you¡¯d like?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Edi unconsciously looked at his mother again before turning his eyes back to Empress Li, realizing the right thing to do in this situation was to stop panicking and just honestly answer the empress¡¯s questions. But it was quite a bit harder said than done, the woman seemingly having decided to purposefully put him off balance when he first arrived, something he still hadn¡¯t gotten over, so he took a sip of his tea and activated his middle grade Law Egg of Calm, allowing both the tea and his Law to soothe his mind. ¡°Originally, I was thinking about the path of an entertainer.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Empress Li looked surprised, but there were just a few things off about her performance and Edi, aware of all her public powers and having watched tons of interviews of people who¡¯d interacted with her, had already been looking for signs of deceit, so they were easy to find. This of course, however, meant she¡¯d intended for him to be able to find them as, from what he knew, if she¡¯d wanted to fool him, it would be impossible for him to figure it out. ¡°What changed?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Edi activated his Law Egg of Calm even further, pouring in all the psyforce he had, much more than any other G rank he knew of. ¡°The Yin Yang Sage said she found me interesting and then the empress of the universe showed up in my home.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Reasonable.¡± Empress Li leaned back on the couch, her expression not changing. ¡°But why an entertainer? Why not something with more combat power?¡± Edi hurriedly drank more of his tea and thought about how to lie, but then he saw Empress Li start to smirk and realized she of course already knew the answer. In fact, it was entirely possible she was somehow actually breaking some of the laws of magic he¡¯d learned in school and actually reading his mind with magic. So, he decided to give up on deception and just answer honestly. ¡°I thought it would make me more popular with girls.¡± ¡°And you think you¡¯re not good enough at that already?¡± Empress Li¡¯s response surprised him, there absolutely no judgement in her face or the tone of her voice, very different from his teachers or his mom, and then she continued to surprise him. ¡°You¡¯ve been in about a dozen of your female classmates¡¯ rooms, right?¡± Edi deliberately kept looking directly at Empress Li, trying his hardest to ignore how his mother was now glaring at him, and would likely be screaming at him were Empress Li not in the room. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Who was on the posters in their rooms?¡± Edi thought back and realized only three of the girls had music artists on their walls. Then about half had sports stars. But by far the most popular poster was one of Emperor Alvaro about to start a training fight against all of their universe¡¯s C ranks at once, Empress Li included, and other posters of the emperor and their universe¡¯s A rank talents were also obviously popular. ¡°Right.¡± Empress Li nodded at him. Then she switched her voice to more of a whisper. ¡°And have you ever looked at your mother¡¯s search history?¡± Edi watched as his mother¡¯s face and aura immediately changed from anger at him to utter embarrassment and a part of him wanted to jump from his seat and punch the empress right in her perfect jaw. But another part of him, the more rational part, realized the empress was deliberately triggering him, trying to get a sense of his personality and values, and that punching her wouldn¡¯t have any effect whatsoever as he was far, far too weak. ¡°What do you think?¡± The empress turned her gaze to behind him and Edi also saw his mother¡¯s eyes go wide, so he quickly turned around and there, leaning against the wall behind him, was Emperor Alvaro, his orange eyes closed, his expression as if he was pondering something. ¡°I don¡¯t like him much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about that part.¡± ¡°Why a playboy?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°It shows a lack of judgement in how to pursue one¡¯s own happiness, making it more likely to produce a twisted B rank.¡± ¡°He¡¯s sixteen.¡± ¡°So, when I was sixteen, I was¡ª¡± ¡°The most brilliant man in the world with unlimited untapped potential as a lover.¡± Empress Li waved her hand, her voice showing obviously mocked annoyance. ¡°We know. We know. You don¡¯t have to keep showing off.¡± Emperor Alvaro, a man famous for how humble he was, opened and closed his mouth a few times. ¡°I really don¡¯t know how to respond to that.¡± Then he just vanished, likely teleporting away, or maybe just moving so fast a G rank like Edi couldn¡¯t notice. ¡°So, where were we?¡± Empress Li brought both Edi and his mother back to the conversation, having used her husband to defuse the tense situation she herself had deliberately created before, and now seemingly using her pretend confusion as a way to give them time to readjust themselves. ¡°Right. What girls actually find attractive.¡± Her golden eyes focused on Edi as she continued to smile. ¡°I¡¯ll just give you the answer. In a universe where people can grow powerful enough to blow up planets, it¡¯s strength. Plain and simple. At least for what you¡¯re looking for right now. ¡°When it comes to finding a long term life partner, the calculation is very different. But you¡¯re young. And that¡¯s the time to make mistakes. So long as you don¡¯t turn into an arrogant dick, I don¡¯t really care.¡± Empress Li turned to look at Edi¡¯s mother and then back. ¡°Your mother might, however. But that¡¯s for the two of you to work through when I¡¯m not here.¡± The Empress¡¯s smile then disappeared, her face becoming more stern. ¡°So, let¡¯s talk about the pursuit of strength. ¡°For choosing race and class advancements, there are two main criteria to think about. ¡°First, how easy are they to advance? For races, this mostly comes down to what resources you can get your hands on, something you won¡¯t need to worry about for early ranks. And, for classes, at least when advancing to F rank, this means choosing a class line with main requirements which are within your control¡ªi.e. not something like entertainer, which requires the validation of others¡ªand a grade of class at least one less than your Laws make you eligible for. ¡°Second, what abilities do they grant? For races, what racial abilities are they more likely to help you awaken? And, for classes, what are their class effects? Entertainer is actually good on this criteria, as its effects boost useful skills which go well with your Laws and provide an increase to the effectiveness of your Soul stat, something you need given your high Spirit effectiveness from your race and uniqueness.¡± Empress Li started smiling again. ¡°But this is all relatively basic. And I can see you¡¯re expecting more. So,¡±¡ªshe held out her right hand with three raised fingers¡ª¡°you have three questions you can ask me, and only three questions. What are they going to be?¡± Edi activated his Law Egg of Calm again and took a couple deep breaths, aware this was again some kind of test. Then he decided to first ask the question he¡¯d been wondering ever since he¡¯d walked in and seen Empress Li on his family¡¯s couch. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of possibly taking you in as an apprentice.¡± The empress lowered her ring finger. Edi took another sip of tea, stalling for a bit more time. ¡°And Emperor Alvaro, he was here for a reason?¡± Empress Li nodded as she lowered her middle finger. ¡°He has the power to see what uniquenesses you¡¯re most inclined to awakening, important information for me to know before making suggestions about what path you should follow.¡± Edi felt himself getting excited, as the empress likely wouldn¡¯t keep testing him if she hadn¡¯t liked the results, but he held himself back from asking what they were as he¡¯d likely learn that in the future anyway. So, instead, he asked a question he¡¯d always wondered. ¡°When you married the emperor, why didn¡¯t you change your surname?¡± Empress Li raised one of her eyebrows as she lowered her last finger. ¡°Really, that¡¯s what you want to ask? No questions about advancing your strength?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been testing my personality, why shouldn¡¯t I test yours? And, if you do take me in as an apprentice, your role would be to proactively tell me how to advance my strength anyway.¡± Empress Li laughed and looked over at his mother. ¡°Good point.¡± Then she turned back to him. ¡°There are multiple reasons. ¡°First, his sister also shares his surname and, when she¡¯s revived, she will have at least the same level of titles as me, so there could be confusion. Second, that¡¯s not how royal lines generally do things. You can look up that one yourself. Finally, third, and most important, I didn¡¯t want to. ¡°I like my name and I didn¡¯t want to change it, while Aalam didn¡¯t care.¡± Edi thought about it for a bit, and her answer seemed reasonable. ¡°Okay then.¡± Empress Li rose from her seat. ¡°That will be it for today.¡± Then she summoned out three small orbs from seemingly nowhere and telekinetically dropped them on the coffee table between them. ¡°These are the three skills you¡¯ve earned today, the Legendary grade Multi-Mind skill my husband grants to anyone who qualifies for it at G rank, the Legendary grade Illusory Shadow Steps skill from me, and the Legendary grade contract skill Oath of the Ancients as your normal reward for the level of Laws you¡¯ve achieved. ¡°Train well and, if you manage to keep it a secret that I¡¯m evaluating you as a possible apprentice, you might just become one.¡± Then she vanished as well. ¡°Well, that was unnerving.¡± Edi looked over at his mom. ¡°Yeah.¡± His mom jumped off the couch and over the table between them to land right in front of him, something easy for an E rank, gathering him up in a big hug. ¡°Good job, Edi. You even managed to attract the attention of the Empress.¡± Then she took a step back and held him at arm¡¯s length. ¡°Also, you¡¯re grounded for two weeks.¡± Edi, who had been feeling on top of the world, suddenly remembered how the empress had also revealed the secrets he¡¯d been hiding from his mother, and felt a bit depressed. Would having such a master actually be a good thing? Chapter 257: Blood, Rules, and Revenge ¡°I surrender!¡± Having beaten his first opponent, Vanar desummoned his blade, not one of the new swords Lord Aalam had made for him but the original blade he¡¯d used for the last 40,000 years, Blood Slicer, a weapon originally made and sold to him on the same B rank planet he was on now. Then he walked to the teleportation platform in the middle of the large 100 km wide stadium used for the first round of the C rank Universal Tournament for the seventeen galaxy clusters ruled by the Thunderstrike Empire and used it to teleport to the ready room where he would wait for his next fight. There, as expected, after sitting down on one of the stone benches, he was quickly surrounded, nine of the several dozen C ranks in the large marble room moving over to him with weapons drawn. ¡°You show a lot of misplaced bravery coming here, Three-eyes.¡± One of the nine, a human C rank named Sameal Canvan, moved a bit closer than the others, the black sword in his hand held a couple millimeters from Vanar¡¯s throat, the same black sword Vanar hadn¡¯t picked up after he¡¯d killed its previous owner, Sameal¡¯s master. The same sword which had been bathed in Vanar¡¯s half-sister¡¯s blood. ¡°Not misplaced.¡± Vanar didn¡¯t bother to move, just smiling as he closed all three of his eyes, leaned back against the wall, and filed a complaint with the System. ¡°But I am feeling threatened. So, should I kill you all now, or in the arena? Your choice.¡± To make the C rank Universal Tournament safe, there were a lot of rules about doing anything to try and lower the combat effectiveness of the competitors, with rather extreme punishments for acts like stealing artifacts, taking hostages, and especially attempted murder. For something like what the nine in front of him were doing, for example, so long as he first asked the System for a judgement, they would lose all their protections as contestants while threatening him, allowing him to kill them all not just with no repercussions, but with the System¡¯s blessing instead. Five of the nine, smarter than the other three and Sameal, quickly backed away. Then, just as the System gave the go ahead, blood red leather armor appeared over Vanar¡¯s body, an Empyrean grade artifact made for him by Lord Aalam, its couple centimeters of padding pushing away Sameal¡¯s much lower grade sword, and Vanar started his offense. Two blood red swords appeared floating on either side of his body, both also Empyrean grade, and immediately flew out, severing the jugulars of two C ranks each. This placed Sameal and the other three idiots immediately under the effects of his Blood Poison skill while their Vitality, Toughness, and Endurance stats were nowhere close to Lord Isaiah¡¯s. As Vanar continued relaxedly sitting on the bench, never having opened his three eyes, he then desummoned his armor and swords and continued to wait for his next fight, ignoring the four screaming on the ground in front of him as their blood turned into fiery energy and ravaged their entire bodies, killing them within a couple seconds. ¡°How dare you!¡± Just two seconds after the four¡¯s deaths, one of the seven B ranks of the Thunderstrike Empire arrived, Grimloc, the Berserk Blade, a large muscular human man with bright red eyes and short-cropped silver hair, but he was at least wise enough to not get within three meters of Vanar, with no weapon drawn, so the System wouldn¡¯t count his yell as a threat. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare?¡± Vanar relaxedly opened his three eyes, truly not nervous in the least but very much trying to hide how excited he was. ¡°I earned quite a few credits from my kills just now.¡± He¡¯d also earned the rights to the four¡¯s belongings as well, but he¡¯d deliberately not moved for their artifacts and spatial storage rings, hoping one of the other C ranks would attempt to pick them up, committing a much worse crime than making threats in the System¡¯s eyes. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What¡¯s your goal here, Vanar?¡± Grimloc growled. ¡°To kill as many of your powerhouses as possible and lead to the destruction of your empire so long as you¡¯re stupid, and, if you¡¯re not, to kill your demigods and C ranks.¡± Vanar smiled, deliberately copying the type of infuriating expression Lady Li liked to use when she wanted to get under someone¡¯s skin. Grimloc glared at him, obviously wanting to take his life, but then he sadly started taking a few deep breaths, calming himself down. ¡°Do you dare fight me one on one, Vanar?¡± ¡°Too pointless.¡± Vanar closed his eyes again. ¡°Bring Layla and Zara for a three on one and maybe I¡¯ll consider it. You yourself weren¡¯t involved in blocking my path to advancement and slaughtering my family, so you¡¯re not really worth my time.¡± ¡°You killed my wife!¡± Vanar brushed his hair back behind his right ear, giving himself enough time to control his own emotions before speaking, all while hiding them from his aura using the technique the Yin Yang Sage had taught him during his fifth visit to one of her temples. ¡°She poisoned my soul on Taravan¡¯s orders and cut off my wife¡¯s head while forcing me to watch.¡± Vanar, in full control over his emotions again, then opened his eyes and deliberately smirked. ¡°But why do you care? You do know she was sleeping with Taravan, right?¡± And there it was. Grimloc, just as Vanar wanted, lost control of his emotions and summoned out his own blade, Bloodstrike, the Mythic grade B rank sword used by the ancestor of their shared blood blade class path, swinging it down at Vanar with full strength. And Vanar, in response, took out two talismans from his spatial storage ring, holding the rune-covered strips of B rank paper in front of him. The first talisman used time and space elementalized mana to create a special type of domain two meters around Vanar¡¯s body which forcibly slowed Grimloc¡¯s movements while also greatly increasing the distance between his weapon and Vanar¡¯s body, allowing Vanar to easily dodge just by moving his torso to the side. Meanwhile, the second talisman used life and death elementalized mana to create a stream of invisible energy which entered into Grimloc¡¯s body, poisoning the B rank badly and causing him to lose control over his energy, including the mana and qi he¡¯d put into his blade. Bloodstrike entered into the wall behind Vanar, sliced through, and released Grimloc¡¯s uncontrolled energy into the room behind where Vanar was sitting, the stadium¡¯s VIP waiting room, the location where Empress Li, who was somewhere in the stadium, had informed him Taravan¡¯s two children and the third most talented C rank from the Thunderstrike Empire were all waiting. Then, as the poisonous life and death energy continued sapping away the power from Grimloc¡¯s soul, Vanar sent his senses through the hole in the wall formed by the attack and saw about what he¡¯d expected. The third ranked C rank was dead, his stats nowhere high enough to survive a full on assault from a B rank, but Taravan¡¯s son, surrounded by thunderous energy, seemed perfectly fine. Taravan¡¯s daughter, however, was on the ground, a giant gash cut into her torso, and Grimloc¡¯s powerful blood poison was eating away at her almost as fast as the poison Lord Aalam had created was eating away at Grimloc. ¡°It¡¯s about time you show up, right, Taravan?¡± Vanar smiled as a bolt of lightning entered into the VIP room behind him, forming into a large man with azure hair and eyes. Then, without looking at the A rank power, he summoned one of the Empyrean grade blood swords Lord Aalam had made for him, stood up, and calmly walked over to Grimloc. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± With a single slash of his sword, Vanar split Grimloc, whose energy was already mostly completely gone, from skull to groin, making use of just how sharp his sword was. And then he gathered the five corpses and all their belongings into his spatial storage ring. ¡°But our discussion will have to wait as the System has just called me up for another round.¡± Vanar moved to the teleportation platform in the room and only then turned around to look at Taravan glaring at him as the man used his lightning to burn away the blood poison in his daughter¡¯s body. ¡°As for the reparations you owe me, I¡¯ll be lenient. Just give me the copy of ¡®Ms. Horval¡¯s Guide to Fungi and The Dissolving of Corpses¡¯ in your personal library, without any alterations of course.¡± With that, Vanar activated the teleportation platform and in the arena he met one of the new C ranks of the Thunderstrike Empire, someone who had nothing to do with what had happened to him or his family and who wasn¡¯t strong enough to make it to later rounds. So, when he fought the man, he didn¡¯t even use Blood Poison, following Lord Aalam¡¯s example and not taking his anger out on those not involved. And, when he teleported back, Taravan was there waiting for him, his son standing right behind him, radiating a calm aura almost certainly completely different than what he was actually feeling. Chapter 258: Local Competition Finished The C rank Universal Tournament consisted of three parts, each with the same basic mechanics. First there were the local competitions, where the C ranks representing between a few and several thousand galaxy clusters fought for the top three places to move on to the regional competitions. Next there were the regional competitions where the C ranks who¡¯d passed through the local competitions fought for the top three spots to move on to the finals. And then, lastly, there was the finals, where the best C ranks in the universe fought to become champion. Each local and regional competition had the same rules. Every round, each competitor not yet eliminated would randomly draw an opponent to face and, after any competitor lost twice, they were out. The last remaining competitor, whether they had never lost or only lost once, was the champion, the second to last eliminated was the runner up, and the third to last eliminated was third, etc. Sometimes this required tie breaker fights, but, overall, it was quite fair, and, more important, it was difficult for the powers of the universe to rig as who would fight who could never be known until right before any bout. This didn¡¯t mean, however, that no powers would try, especially when it was very obvious who the top three in any of the competitions were, so there were a lot of rules to keep the universe¡¯s powers from interfering with the tournament¡¯s integrity, and these rules were very strict. If another competitor threatened a C rank competing in the Universal Tournament, his protections as a competitor would be stripped during the threatening action, he¡¯d have to pay a large fine, and, if he was killed by the person he was threatening, everything he owned would go to the killer. If a competitor stole from or attempted to steal from another competitor, the punishments would be mostly the same, only the personal fine would be larger and the force behind the competitor would have to pay a large fine as well. But, if a non-competitor attempted to kill a competitor, like that idiot Grimloc had done, the punishment was much worse. In addition to the large fines and the transfer of wealth if the competitor managed a reverse kill, a bounty would be placed on the offender which would almost guarantee his death, and, more important to the current situation, if the offender was at least an elder of a force such as Grimloc had been, the force behind the offender would have a bounty placed on it as well unless the competitor asked for another form of reparation, such as Vanar Tedros had done in this case. ¡°How do you know about ¡®Ms. Horval¡¯s Guide to Fungi and The Dissolving of Corpses¡¯?¡± When Vanar Tedros arrived back in the ready room, Daevic was surprised by just how calm his father¡¯s voice and aura were. Kimion Carvan, the third most powerful of his father¡¯s C ranks, had been killed, and Amalia was injured to the point she wouldn¡¯t wake up for at least another few hours, making her unable to compete in at least her next two matches and thus lose the Universal Tournament before barely even starting. Normally, this would have sent his father into a rage, to the point at least four or five servants would be fried by lightning, but there was nothing, no reaction. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry your pretty little head about that, Taravan.¡± Vanar Tedros moved to one of the room¡¯s benches¡ªthis time conveniently at an angle where if he dodged a powerful uncontrolled attack it would almost certainly affect the VIP guest area of the stadium. Then he leaned back against the wall and closed his three eyes. ¡°Just get me the book and all its contents or, better yet, attempt to kill me. I¡¯m sure Sunrise Valley would treat you well afterwards.¡± Daevic¡¯s father¡¯s aura shook with anger, bolts of concentrated lightning appearing and disappearing all over the room, but he didn¡¯t make a move. Instead, he just sent a message over his bond with Daevic. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid outside the tournament rules, but, if you face him in the tournament, kill him.¡± Then, without another word, Thunderstrike Taravan, a man who put fear into the hearts of billions, disappeared from Daevic¡¯s senses, likely to go get that book for the white-haired C rank who didn¡¯t seem to have a care in the world. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Sunrise Valley was the force under Daevic¡¯s Uncle, the Lord of Twilight Flame, and most weren¡¯t aware Daevic¡¯s father was an external elder of the force, but Vanar Tedros seemingly was. And he also seemed to know something special about the book he¡¯d asked for¡ªDaevic guessing it was a hidden spatial storage device where his father had hidden resources he hadn¡¯t reported to Sunrise Valley. Given the rules of the C rank Universal Tournament, however, Daevic¡¯s father was already between a rock and a hard place, so he could only go along with the C rank¡¯s request and give the book to him, even when he could normally kill the man with barely any effort at all. ¡°How often does he beat you?¡± Daevic was broken from his contemplation by Vanar Tedros¡¯s words, the man having opened his eyes, looking at Daevic with an expression of concern, his aura even matching. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have any scars. But the fear is there.¡± Vanar Tedros stood up and placed a hand on one of Daevic¡¯s shoulders, squeezing gently. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry that¡¯s likely going to happen again, as you won¡¯t be able to win.¡± Vanar Tedros took his hand back and Daevic didn¡¯t know what to do. All the other C ranks in the room were staring at him and his mind was spinning, his emotions alternating from anger, to fear, to sadness, and then back again. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Of course I do, child.¡± Vanar Tedros sat back down on his bench, again closing his eyes as he leaned back, but this time his expression showed a sad smile. ¡°My level of talent threatened him so he had me poisoned, murdered my family, and tried to end my life. ¡°But your level of talent is above mine, and your mother is a goddess, giving you access to resources neither he nor I could ever get our hands on. Of course he¡¯s threatened by you. And a petty man like him, while he¡¯s stronger than you, he¡¯d take that frustration out on your flesh.¡± Vanar Tedros opened his eyes and Daevic could see all three were teary. But they also showed anger, as did his aura. ¡°It won¡¯t last much longer, though. His actions have made him more enemies than just me, so he¡¯ll be dying soon.¡± Daevic didn¡¯t know what to say¡ªand he really wanted to just leave as the situation was making him very, very uncomfortable, especially how his instincts were telling him Vanar Tedros¡¯s words and emotions were all genuine¡ªbut thankfully the System called him up for his next match, so he had a perfect excuse. A few days later, however, after he¡¯d seen his father hand over the book the man had asked for, he finally met Vanar Tedros in the arena and it quickly became obvious at least part of his words had been true. The swordsman, who¡¯d already shown two Empyrean grade blood swords and an Empyrean grade blood armor, took out four completely new Empyrean grade artifacts for their fight, a dark purple armor specifically designed to absorb mana created by the Stormlord Rebirth cultivation technique, making all of Daevic¡¯s most powerful attacks boost Vanar Tedros¡¯s speed rather than do any damage, and a set of three storm spirit slayer swords, specifically designed to damage and restrain Daevic¡¯s summoned spirits, quickly making it so Daevic could only use his warrior abilities, his summoner skills completely countered. And, as a warrior, it immediately became obvious he was not Vanar Tedros¡¯s match. While Stormlord Rebirth was one of the six best cultivation techniques in the universe, it was only two levels higher than the Bloodsword cultivation technique Vanar Tedros used, and Daevic¡¯s six Laws were all only at the middle grade Law Scarab level, so his cultivation technique was only at level 14. Vanar Tedros, on the other hand, had his three main Laws all at least at the high grade Law Scarab level, allowing his cultivation technique to reach level 15, with his Law Scarab of Speed even having advanced up to peak grade, something usually impossible for C ranks. Sure, Daevic¡¯s stats were higher, and his racial abilities and uniquenesses were better, but Vanar Tedros showed a fourth Law he¡¯d never used before, a peak grade Law Scarab of The Tactician, allowing the man to predict everything Daevic tried to do even before Daevic had made the decision. With Vanar Tedros¡¯s speed, it took almost no time for one of his swords to nick Daevic¡¯s left foot, blood poison entering into Daevic¡¯s body, and from there everything went downhill. Vanar Tedros kept growing faster while Daevic kept growing slower and, if Vanar Tedros had wanted to, he could have easily taken Daevic¡¯s life. Daevic eventually fell unconscious from the blood poison, not willing to surrender, and this made Vanar Tedros the winner. The end result of this first section of the tournament had Vanar Tedros in first place, Daevic in second, and a lucky C rank of the Thunderstrike Empire at third, but this wasn¡¯t good enough for Daevic¡¯s father, it a heavy embarrassment not only how Daevic had lost but also how almost every other C rank who faced Vanar Tedros in the tournament immediately surrendered before fighting. Then, knowing there would be an entire year between the end of the local section of the tournament and the regionals, Daevic¡¯s father gave him one of the worst beatings of Daevic¡¯s life, one which took even a C rank like him almost half a year to fully recover from. Chapter 259: On Death and Aging ¡°Master, I need to talk to you!¡± Having teleported to one of several islands hovering over the Pacific Ocean on Earth, Edi looked up into the sky to see his master, wearing black shorts and a black sports bra, in the middle of a duel with Vanar Tedros, who was wearing just a pair of red sweatpants. They were both using blunted weapons, with no offensive skills and no Telekinesis, so maybe it was a pure skill challenge. Or maybe they were comparing their achievements in the Law of The Tactician. It was hard to tell. And Edi didn¡¯t really care. All that was important was, for the first time in a long while, his master was on Earth or in the Heavenly Soul Universe, and he needed to talk to her. ¡°Some other time, Edi.¡± His master defended against three strikes by Mr. Tedros, moving back each time and obviously feeling pressured. ¡°I¡¯m a bit busy right now.¡± ¡°Whatever you¡¯re doing isn¡¯t as important as what I need to talk about!¡± His master didn¡¯t stop at his words, but Mr. Tedros did, moving back quickly and stopping his assault. Then, faster than Edi, only a relatively newly advanced C rank, could follow, Mr. Tedros appeared right in front of him. ¡°I know Lord Aalam isn¡¯t big on ceremony and protocol, but still, show some respect.¡± Mr. Tedros, like Lord Isaiah, had a different type of aura than everyone else Edi had met, one filled with slaughter and death, the man having taken quite a few lives in his time, something pretty much impossible for those living directly under the rule of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, and, with the man so close to him, well within striking distance, Edi felt a chill go down his spine. Still, Edi worked up his courage. ¡°Master, I would like to request¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± Landing next to Mr. Tedros, his master spoke just one word and Edi felt all his strength leave his body, falling down onto his knees. ¡°But I didn¡¯t even¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious what you were going to ask, kid.¡± Mr. Tedros squatted down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder in a way Edi couldn¡¯t find comforting but was probably intended to be so. ¡°You¡¯re at that age. Which of your parents won¡¯t be able to make it to C rank?¡± ¡°Both.¡± Edi looked up at his master and then back at Mr. Tedros, realizing from his master¡¯s actions that she likely intended to let Mr. Tedros talk to him instead of doing so herself, maybe because the man had experience with this type of situation while she, whose family and friends were all C ranks, did not. ¡°But I don¡¯t care about my dad.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a bit heartless.¡± Mr. Tedros took his hand back and sat down on the island¡¯s grass, moving his legs to sit crosslegged. ¡°Did he abandon you or something?¡± Mr. Tedros then seemed to study Edi¡¯s aura a bit. ¡°No. Nothing like that. You just don¡¯t have much of a relationship. He fathered you, did right by you, but didn¡¯t raise you.¡± ¡°How did you¡ª¡± Mr. Tedros pointed at Edi¡¯s master, who was still standing and looking down at them, and spoke one word. ¡°Telepath.¡± Feeling like an idiot, Edi still pressed on, this time looking at his master. ¡°Why won¡¯t you help?¡± ¡°What do you think your mother would need?¡± Mr. Tedros spoke in a serious voice, his tone regaining Edi¡¯s attention. ¡°From what Lady Li has just explained to me, your mother is two Law grades behind having the minimum requirements to advance, yet she lives on an A rank planet, cultivates the best possible cultivation technique for her Laws, and has a C rank race well beyond what she¡¯d need to easily form a core.¡± ¡°There are resources for awakening uniquenesses, resources for advancing her bloodline, and permission to enter the enlightenment zone.¡± Without warning, Mr. Tedros slapped him¡ªnot particularly hard, but enough to shock Edi into almost doing something stupid, like attacking the man. ¡°Are you an idiot or just an ingrate?¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Edi didn¡¯t know how to answer and, when he looked up briefly at his master for help, he only saw a look of annoyance. But he couldn¡¯t tell if the feeling was directed toward him, toward Mr. Tedros, or if it didn¡¯t reflect his master¡¯s emotions at all. ¡°Your master, I, and the other C ranks under Lord Aalam have to risk our lives every time we steal resources for awakening uniquenesses and for advancing the bloodlines of your universe. A spot in the enlightenment zone aside, even I don¡¯t dare to ask Lady Li for such resources to use on myself to help advance her plans, yet you want to ask for them for someone who would almost certainly die in a few hundred years even with such help? ¡°Have some shame.¡± ¡°Master gives extra resources to her friends and family all the time.¡± Edi felt himself get heated, but he didn¡¯t care. ¡°Take Lord Isaiah, for example. He¡¯s used more resources than anyone, yet he can¡¯t even beat you.¡± Mr. Tedros started laughing, a big loud sound, and Edi felt like the man was looking down on him. ¡°Let alone Isaiah¡¯s combat power, his level of talent is at least a half grade higher than your own, and he specializes in skills complementary to your master and Lord Aalam. Then, even more important, his contribution to the United Federation of Planets is the third highest in your entire universe, having been the right hand to Lord Aalam since they were F ranks. Mr. Tedros¡¯s voice turned cold. ¡°Don¡¯t belittle him. You¡¯re not worthy.¡± The chill down Edi¡¯s spine grew colder. ¡°You¡¯re afraid of me?¡± At Mr. Tedros¡¯s question, Edi wanted to shake his head, but he¡¯d been around his master long enough to know lying to people who had her trust was generally a bad idea, so he instead nodded. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve killed a lot of people.¡± Mr. Tedros appeared like he had expected such an answer, but there was something else in his aura and expression, something that, if Edi didn¡¯t know better, he would have sworn was jealousy. ¡°You¡¯re so lucky and you don¡¯t even realize it.¡± Mr. Tedros sighed. ¡°Do you know why I¡¯ve killed a lot of people?¡± ¡°Revenge, for having your family killed.¡± Mr. Tedros nodded his head, his voice turning solemn. ¡°That accounts for some, but not most. Almost all of the people I¡¯ve killed have been on the battlefield, fighting wars for assholes more powerful than me and staining my soul red in the process. And in the wider universe I¡¯m one of the lucky ones, talented enough to use that experience to grow more powerful myself instead of being one of the trillions of daily sacrifices. ¡°Unlike you, I didn¡¯t have a lord lucky enough to find a whole completely uninhabited minor universe and talented enough to take it over, giving me an unparalleled safe area the size of seven galaxy clusters in which to grow up. I also didn¡¯t have a super engineer as a lord, inheriting the tools of a smithing god and using them to create a farm to make primal energy stones the standard currency of my homeworld. Finally, most important, I didn¡¯t have a lord who was so talented that most of those under him had absolutely no way to contribute to his power and so kind as to let those unable to contribute live safe peaceful lives, even having the chance to earn those resources he himself couldn¡¯t use. ¡°What have you contributed to make you worthy of wasting resources which could instead be used to help your universe¡¯s future generations keep the safety you¡¯ve enjoyed throughout your lifetime?¡± ¡°I participated in the F and D rank Trial Towers as well as the War of the Chosen.¡± Edi¡¯s words were weaker than they had been before, but he was also feeling less scared. ¡°And how does what you¡¯ve earned and given to the United Federation of Planets compare to what the United Federation of Planets has given you?¡± Edi looked down at the ground. ¡°If it were being accounted for, I would be deeply in debt.¡± Mr. Tedros reached out and raised Edi¡¯s chin so he was looking at his master. ¡°And there is another thing you have to be clear on. What you said about your master earlier is backwards. It¡¯s not that your master gives extra resources to people she cares about. It¡¯s that she only allows herself to care about people with high talent and thus a high chance of surviving for a long time. ¡°This is something everyone who will rise higher in rank than most of those around them should generally do. And it is so they don¡¯t run into situations like you¡¯re running into now, as these types of situations suck.¡± Mr. Tedros took his hand back again and Edi, after nodding once to his master, turned his eyes back to the man. ¡°Neither of my parents were lucky enough to get to D rank and I had to face their loss. Brom¡¯s father was a B rank, with the talent to easily get to A rank, but he still died when Brom was young. And Reginald lost his father, an extreme talent, because the man got stuck at E rank for attempting a nearly impossible path. Wolfram has a similar story to mine, Lord Isaiah is a product of rape whose mother was murdered by her husband, and the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s life was absolutely full of tragedy. ¡°These are those of us not from Earth or your universe. ¡°Then there is everyone from Earth who experienced your planet¡¯s integration, such as your master, every single one of whom lost friends and family during that event. You just don¡¯t hear much about them as it was such a long time ago. ¡°Everyone who has reached your level of power has some loss in their past, and you can feel free to talk to any of us. ¡°But my main recommendation is to spend what time your mother has left with her as much as she¡¯d want you to. She still has several G rank lifetimes left, so think of that extra time as a gift and cherish it.¡± Mr. Tedros reached out and touched Edi¡¯s shoulder again, and this time Edi felt comforted. ¡°Then work hard and help us make it so more people like your mother can live peaceful and joyous lifetimes and not be slaughtered by primordial gods.¡± Chapter 260: Results of the Regionals ¡°How were you not turned into a blood fruit?¡± Grendal Hox, Raven¡¯s former master who¡¯d sold him to a merchant to use as an alchemy ingredient, was standing on the Universal Tournament¡¯s regional competition stage in front of him as an opponent, and this time things were different. Tall, with yellow hair, steel gray eyes, and light skin for a human, Grendal was wearing Fabled grade leather armor and in his hand was a plain looking Mythic grade sword, but these artifacts, which Raven used to have literal dreams about owning, were nothing compared to those Raven had seen everywhere in the other universe, not even comparable to the secondary artifacts currently in Raven¡¯s own spatial storage ring. ¡°Alchemy.¡± Raven only said the single word, unable to say more due to the contract he¡¯d signed with his new lord¡¯s shadow, but he didn¡¯t have much to say anyway. For someone as arrogant as Grendal, words were useless, and it was much better to speak with actions. So, he just summoned out his secondary artifact set, Mythic grade armor made from the leather of a Phantom Wolf which resonated with his new Mythic grade Flash Wolf bloodline to increase his already high speed to an even higher level, and a Mythic grade glaive, effectively a scimitar on a pole, enchanted with a single ability, absolute sharpness. Then, when the System gave the signal, he activated his full power, using all his maximized stats, the extra boosting skills his new lord had inscribed into his soul, and his early grade Law Scarab of Speed to move as fast as he ever had in his life. And, as the third boon from his lord increased the maximum stats of his race by 50%, above those of even an Empyrean grade race, this put him at over double the speed of Grendal, someone who also specialized in speed and not defense. Raven¡¯s glaive entered through the top of Grendal¡¯s head and down all the way to his groin, Grendal¡¯s severed brain and vocal cords making it pretty much impossible for him to surrender. Then, as fast as he could, Raven kept slashing, chopping up his former master into little pieces until the man¡¯s lifeforce was fully exhausted. ¡°How dare you!¡± When Raven returned to the ready room, Grendal¡¯s grandmother, a young looking B rank with Grendal¡¯s same coloration, came to find him, and Raven unconsciously touched the bracelet on his left arm, an artifact his lord had made for him to wear between fights. ¡°How dare I what, Ms. Hox?¡± The woman, not a berserker like the B rank Master Tedros had tricked in the local section of the tournament, took a deep breath, calming herself down. ¡°Come the end of this tournament, I will personally kill you.¡± Then she turned to leave. Raven, however, couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Come the end of this tournament, you¡¯ll no longer have the chance.¡± Ms. Hox didn¡¯t take the bait, as she wasn¡¯t an idiot, but she did look back at Raven with a deadly glare, and Raven felt great. He knew he had no chance in the finals. Among C ranks, he was powerful and talented, but he was nowhere close to the top 256. Even Master Tedros had only reached 173rd in the last tournament 20,736 years before, and, while Raven¡¯s current stats were a lot higher than Master Tedros¡¯s had been, Master Tedros had had three middle grade Law Scarabs and tens of thousands of years of experience on battlefields, things Raven couldn¡¯t compare to. Still, with a Law Scarab, Raven had passed one of the most difficult hurdles in a cultivator¡¯s life, something most powers only achieved at B or A rank, so, if he managed to reach the top third of contestants in the finals, and his lord helped him reincarnate¡ªwhich his little brother had assured him was not a trick¡ªit was almost certain he¡¯d be able to achieve A rank with his new body so long as he wasn¡¯t killed or injured in the process. Feeling good about himself, Raven won his next seven rounds, winning his area¡¯s regional competition, and then he teleported to a small F rank world before paying the higher cost to teleport back to their force¡¯s B rank planet in the other universe, where he was met with cheers and congratulations. Of the 1,358 members of the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard, 847 had made it to the finals of the C rank Universal Tournament, and they partied for three days in celebration. Then, when everyone was good and relaxed, they all gathered in a large outdoor theater in their training complex to hear Master Tedros¡¯s instructions. ¡°Alright, everyone.¡± Master Tedros, standing behind a podium on the stage, looked out at all of them. ¡°We did a good job. And the universe master is pleased. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°After the C rank Universal Tournament is over, those who wish to stay will be able to, officially becoming part of the universe master¡¯s main force, while those who wish to leave will be free to do so, though they will have to give back their artifacts and swear an oath of nonaggression.¡± All the other members of the force, after a little prompting from their fellows, cheered, Raven included. So far, while the words of some of the universe master¡¯s servants they met couldn¡¯t always be trusted¡ªhis shadow especially liking to push people¡¯s buttons to get a better read on them¡ªanything from the universe master¡¯s own mouth, such as what Master Tedros had just told them, had always proven true. ¡°Now, on to a review of how we¡¯ve done.¡± Master Tedros sent a message through the System and everyone entered part of their minds into the universe¡¯s soul net, where they would be able to see recordings of previous fights in the Universal Tournament. ¡°847 of us have made it to the finals of the C rank Universal Tournament, 432 in first place, 267 in second, and 148 in third. And, of those who¡¯ve made it, only 537 of us, myself included, had to use all our trump cards already, meaning 310 of you still have surprises in store for your opponents. ¡°In the finals, however, there will be a total of 20,736 contestants, and we only make up 4%, so we have a lot of work to do over the next three years.¡± In the soul net, five individuals showed up, all of whom Raven recognized. ¡°First, if you are up against any of these five, immediately surrender, even if you have already lost once, as you won¡¯t be able to even slightly exhaust them.¡± In the soul net, Master Tedros highlighted the first individual, Daevic Stormborn, the demigod son of the A rank Thunderstrike Taravan and the Earth Mother of the Primordial Humans. ¡°First, Prince Daevic. We¡¯ve already gone over him previously, and we know pretty much everything about him from the two times I¡¯ve dueled him. But, even for me, I could only win due to multiple specially designed Empyrean grade artifacts, so you all know how you would fare if you were to fight him. ¡°His odds in the System run gambling houses are now 1 to 5.¡± In the soul net, Master Tedros then highlighted the next individual, a pretty dark-skinned human woman with semi-translucent silver hair and pure black eyes, Krysta La¡¯Vordi, the daughter of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods and the Space Scarab of the Twelve Heavenly Scarabs. ¡°Second, Krysta La¡¯Vordi. I don¡¯t think I need to go into more detail here. The woman has a maximized Empyrean grade race, just as many uniquenesses as the Thunerstrike Prince, two Mythic grade classes, and a space element Law at the Law Dragon level. No one has managed to give her a single scratch in any of her battles and, were she not holding back, every single one of her opponents would have died in one hit. ¡°Her odds are now 1 to 2, showing her as the favorite according to the System¡¯s judgement.¡± The soul net then shifted to the third individual, an old female one-eye with gray hair, dark skin, and a golden iris, the cultivator who¡¯d come in 16th in the last Universal Tournament, Seven Sword Sarosin. ¡°Third, Sarosin. We looked at her before the tournament even started. And, while many of the favorites from before the start of the tournament have already fallen due to bad luck and new talents, she faced no true challenges, so it is difficult to tell how much she¡¯s improved. What we can say for certain, however, is that at least two of her six Law Scarabs have risen to high grade, she¡¯s gained an oath that improves the power of her Telekinesis skill, and she¡¯s replaced at least three of her seven swords with Empyrean grade artifacts from the Havadim Imperium. ¡°She¡¯s incredibly dangerous and her odds are now at 1 to 3.¡± Master Tedros then shifted the focus to the fourth individual in the soul net, a large ogre-like human male with a large mane of green hair, gray eyes, and intricately tattooed bronze skin showing scenes of death and birth, the most powerful C rank of those in the 20,736 to 41,472 range, Reverend Samsara of the sangha. ¡°Fourth, Reverend Samsara. He¡¯s not too fast, but he¡¯s strong, able to take out most of his opponents in a single attack. And, more important, he¡¯s nigh unkillable, literally able to come back from death, on top of excellent defense and almost unmatched regeneration. He¡¯s not that dangerous, as unlikely to try and kill you as Ms. La¡¯Vordi, but he can fight at full strength for days. ¡°The System has his current odds at 1 to 7, but, compared to the previous three, I think he¡¯s the most likely to have a trump card or two remaining.¡± Finally, the last cultivator in the soul net was highlighted, an elven woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and a beautiful smile, Sword Saint Milan, the future high priestess of one of the more powerful elven gods, War Dance Koraline. ¡°Finally, Milan. Fast, strong, resilient, but the scariest thing about her is her martial talent. She¡¯s basically what you would get if you gave Raven or his brother a divine class and an extra dozen millennia, someone even I wouldn¡¯t be willing to duel with in a competition of just skill. ¡°Her odds are now 1 to 4.¡± ¡°But of course there is also you, Sir.¡± Wen Alexis, the elf who¡¯d been attached to the bloodtree along with Raven, spoke out. ¡°The System has your odds at 1 to 3, but they were lower when the tournament was just starting, 1 to 12, and a lot of us bet quite a bit on you winning the entire thing, so don¡¯t let us down.¡± Master Tedros¡¯s aura showed his emotions fluctuating slightly as he started to frown. ¡°I wish you¡¯d told me that before, Wen. I would have told you all not to waste your money.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Raven almost laughed at the panic in Wen¡¯s voice, his attempt to ingratiate himself to their boss obviously having backfired. ¡°The universe master gathered us all as C ranks as he has some higher goals for this C rank Universal Tournament. But we are a subsidiary force, not the subordinates he truly trusts. And more than just the several members from the main force who¡¯ve come here to spar are participating in the tournament, their achievements just as impressive as our own, only without showing as much of their power. ¡°And, having personally fought with most of them before, I can say this with certainty. Their average power is higher than our own and the strongest of them, well, fighting against him is a really great way to learn humility. There is absolutely no chance I will get first in this tournament.¡± Chapter 261: Master of the Eternal Forge ¡°Taravan, explain to me why my niece isn¡¯t in the finals.¡± As the Lady of Hellwater suddenly tore through space to enter into his father¡¯s throne room, interrupting the annual meeting between Daevic¡¯s father and the governors of his Territory, everyone fell to their knees, Daevic and his father included, and Daevic¡¯s father quickly answered. ¡°She was injured by a B rank attack before her first round in the local section of the tournament and was then unable to compete in the next two rounds as a result.¡± Rage appeared on the Lady of Hellwater¡¯s face and Daevic suddenly felt like he was trapped under poisonous water with none of his strength, unable to breathe and starting to feel sick. ¡°What B rank dares?¡± ¡°One of my subordinates.¡± The feeling of suffocation grew stronger. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t his fault.¡± Daevic¡¯s father¡¯s face and voice also appeared strained, Daevic and the group of B and C rank subordinates in the room not the only ones affected by the Lady of Hellwater¡¯s ever so slight lack of control. ¡°He was baited by a competitor and missed his attack, hitting Amalia and another C rank instead.¡± ¡°What type of punishment did you give out?¡± The suppression from the goddess faded ever so slightly. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the chance. The competitor, Vanar Tedros, killed him with a powerful poisonous talisman.¡± The feeling of being underwater vanished, replaced by a sensation of cold so strong the weakest C ranks started to turn blue. ¡°Vanar Tedros, seeded third.¡± The Lady of Hellwater¡¯s cold eyes turned to Daevic. ¡°He¡¯s already beaten you twice.¡± Her eyes then flickered, likely looking at the recordings of the two fights on the soul net. ¡°And he did so due to incredibly high Laws, expert battle sense, and, most important, multiple custom made Empyrean grade artifacts specifically designed to counter you.¡± Daevic suddenly found himself grabbed by some kind of telekinesis. Then both he and his father flew toward the Lady of Hellwater and were brought through a new portal to a quiet garden somewhere on an A rank planet, where the Lady of Hellwater¡¯s younger brother, the Master of the Eternal Forge, was calmly looking out over a lake. Then, just as the Master of the Eternal Forge¡ªthe most talented of the Primordial Sovereign¡¯s children and third strongest member of the Primordial Humans faction¡ªturned to look at them, his gray eyes and ordinary features showing mild interest, another portal opened next to them¡ªthis one made of black and white fire¡ªand the Lady of Hellwater¡¯s twin brother, the Lord of Twilight Flame, joined their gathering as well. ¡°For what reason have you interrupted my meditation, sister?¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge smiled slightly, the expression something Daevic found difficult to read. ¡°A contestant in the current C rank Universal Tournament, Vanar Tedros, has been using multiple Empyrean grade artifacts which I expect have been made by Aalam Alvaro. And there has also been a large increase in the number of Empyrean grade artifacts used throughout the tournament, people under the Lady of Laws having found large caches of weapons seemingly left over from the Havadim Imperium. ¡°We were hoping to get your advice on these two matters.¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge turned to look at the Lord of Twilight Flame and then back to the Lady of Hellwater, completely ignoring Daevic and his father. Then he closed his eyes. ¡°The artifacts used by Vanar Tedros have no history, definitely made within the last thousand years at most, and their construction would involve multiple Laws and multiple disciplines, far more than just forging. Looking back in time to when they were used, each gives off a unified aura, showing they were made by only one crafter, but it is impossible to know if the same individual is responsible for all the artifacts. What I can confirm, however, is the energy used to create them was at the B rank level, not C rank. ¡°Given the particularities of our most talented nephew, however, they were most likely made by him, but, without being able to hold one of the artifacts in my hand, it is possible they were made by one or more B ranks instead, also as skilled in alchemy and runecraft as in forging. Little Taravan has quite a few enemies.¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge then reached out his right hand toward his brother and the Lord of Twilight Flame summoned out a black battle axe, a D rank Mythic grade weapon made of black iron. ¡°Of the weapons supposedly from the Havadim Imperium, the techniques and materials used in construction are those I would expect, quite different from the artifacts used by Vanar Tedros. And the energy used to create them ranges from D to B rank, each artifact made using different mixes of elements, pointing to there being more than one crafter. But the temporal aging, while nearly flawless, has been faked, and, while they were definitely made in another universe, the universe they were made in was much younger and had more balanced elements than the universe of the Havadim Imperium. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°As for the blood oath, while it¡¯s incredibly binding, the oath has no target, truly swearing loyalty to someone dead.¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge looked thoughtful for a second and his siblings waited for him to continue. ¡°Given the estimated powers of our nephew, however, it might be possible to use the soul signature of a D or C rank soul in the blood oath¡¯s creation, strip that soul of all its power, and then put it behind a powerful isolation formation to create the same effect. So it¡¯s probably best to kill anyone known to have given such an oath.¡± Daevic felt a poisonous chill enter into his body again and watched as both the Master of the Eternal Forge and the Lord of Twilight Flame turned to look at their sister. ¡°I just checked and all but five of our greatest talents at the various warfronts have sworn such an oath¡ª¡± The Lady of Hellwater¡¯s face showed an extreme amount of anger. ¡°¡ªpresumably from being deliberately targeted. And, other than the 73 still in the C rank Universal Tournament, all the others have disappeared within the last month, their soldier contracts broken with either their deaths or a powerful contract breaking skill while they were supposed to be returning from participating in the tournament.¡± ¡°How did they manage to all disappear?¡± An extreme heat filled the area as the Lord of Twilight Flame began to rage as well, though it seemed he was also looking into reports at the same time as he then answered his own question. ¡°When teleporting after leaving the host planets of the regional tournaments where they lost, they never appeared at their destinations.¡± ¡°It was most likely done via military override.¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge, unlike his older siblings, appeared calm, not changing the environment around himself at all. ¡°With the blood oath, a cultivator has to leave their original force for 20,736 years. Then they qualify under System rules as temporary slaves of their master. If, as I now fully suspect, the oath is to a somehow weakened member of Aalam Alvaro¡¯s force, this would then make them sub-members of that force so long as the force was at least 3rd tier A rank, which it almost certainly is if they managed to fully conquer a small universe like father suspects, and this would allow their leader to forcibly alter their teleportation destinations.¡± ¡°But how were they able to identify them all?¡± The cold around Daevic lessened as the Lady of Hellwater appeared to calm down. ¡°Who¡¯s to say they did?¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge looked from his sister to his brother and then back. ¡°Our talents who gave the oath aren¡¯t the only ones who¡¯ve disappeared.¡± ¡°They¡¯re stealing people so openly?¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame seemed to calm down as well, the heat from his aura lessening. ¡°They¡¯re testing their escape path.¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge smiled slightly, appearing impressed. ¡°Quite a few of our talents had artifacts on them made by my priests, so, if they teleported to Earth, I would have been able to find the planet. But it seems they were aware of this, or at least of the possibility, so they instead teleported everyone directly into the other universe through a temporary D rank portal in the Vorinox Galaxy Cluster which they artificially strengthened to C rank, one which has since closed.¡± ¡°So risky.¡± The cold finally disappeared as the Lady of Hellwater fully regained control over her aura. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s almost 1,728 C ranks with powerful races and bloodlines. Just their use as alchemy ingredients would be extremely high to a force which maxes out at C rank. But now we know which other universe Aalam Alvaro rules, something we wouldn¡¯t have otherwise, so I don¡¯t see the point.¡± ¡°What if our nephew knew that information would be revealed soon anyway?¡± The Master of the Eternal Forge was still smiling. ¡°Vanar Tedros isn¡¯t the only one who¡¯s shown high grade artifacts without a history. And there are still several thousand cultivators in the tournament who¡¯ve sworn an oath. Altogether, it wouldn¡¯t be at all impossible for our nephew¡¯s force to win half the tournament¡¯s rewards, and, with that condition, thereby raise the grades of every reward for the contestants from their force, possibly enabling something our nephew requires. ¡°And it¡¯s not like we can do much to stop them.¡± For the first time since they¡¯d arrived, the Master of the Eternal Forge looked at Daevic and his father. ¡°From Little Taravan¡¯s subordinate¡¯s example, aiming for the direct members of our nephew¡¯s force is asking to die for B ranks, while the punishments for letting A ranks attack anyone but our nephew himself would be far too costly, potentially allowing the Divine Child and the Lady of Laws to take complete advantage of us. ¡°All we can safely do then is empower our own contestants.¡± With a wave of his hand, the Master of the Eternal Forge summoned out a purple-golden set of lightning-covered armor and a sword made of the same material, the two Empyrean grade artifacts seemingly specially designed for someone following Daevic¡¯s path, giving him an extreme feeling of comfort when they landed in his arms. ¡°Our weaker nephew here is our best chance, able to ruin any such plans should he last to at least the final 8.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame also passed an artifact over to Daevic, but this time it was a small statue of the Primordial Sovereign, an extremely high grade dao guide containing all the Laws of the lightning, fire, water, wind, life, and death elements. Then the Lady of Hellwater joined in as well, passing him a Heavenly Enlightenment Pill, one of only two known types of pills in the universe for allowing cultivators below B rank to automatically enter into a state of sudden enlightenment. ¡°Speaking of punishments, however,¡± the Lady of Hellwater continued, looking over at Daevic¡¯s father, ¡°how come no quest was issued for your force¡¯s destruction after your subordinate tried to kill Vanar Tedros? More accurately, what did you give the man to make Aalam Alvaro and Li Mila decide to let you go?¡± Daevic, for the first time in his life, saw his father look at someone else like Daevic looked at his father when the man was in the mood to hurt someone, his father falling to his knees and shaking. ¡°I gave him a book, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Lady of Hellwater didn¡¯t look amused and Daevic watched as his father¡¯s extremities began to show signs of freezing and poisoning at the same time. ¡°¡®Ms. Horval¡¯s Guide to Fungi and The Dissolving of Corpses¡¯. We know. But what was inside the book? Send us a list.¡± Daevic watched as his father made a gesture, almost certainly sending the list as instructed, and then he closed his eyes as, instead of the Lady of Hellwater, the Lord of Twilight Flame grew angry again and actually cooked his father, charbroiling most of his body and then tossing him into the lake, where about half his flesh was eaten off by carnivorous fish. Chapter 262: Parents and Preparations Edi ¡°Go to work. I need to meditate.¡± With strength nowhere near enough to actually push him, Edi¡¯s mother shoved him out the door of her apartment on Earth and Edi couldn¡¯t help but smile, using telekinesis to fly toward the nearest teleportation platform. He¡¯d been an idiot before, worrying his mom wouldn¡¯t be able to advance. Sure, she wasn¡¯t as talented as he was, and C rank might be her limit, but her Law talent was above average for the Heavenly Soul Universe, where the average talent level was high E rank, and the worth of the resources she¡¯d used could be counted in B rank credits. She¡¯d just been depressed after losing his step-dad and he¡¯d been too stupid to see through her hiding it from him. Once she¡¯d taken a bit more time¡ªand seen how much Edi¡¯d been worried about her¡ªher main Law had easily advanced, and now she just needed one more advancement, one where she currently had no bottlenecks, to reach C rank. Thinking back to how stupid he¡¯d been, and how his master, who¡¯d almost certainly seen through his mother¡¯s situation, had manipulated him, Edi couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit embarrassed. Sure, he wasn¡¯t the only one she¡¯d manipulated, her main goal likely to use him to lower the distance between Vanar Tedros and the native forces of the Heavenly Soul Universe¡ªthe man at the time closest to the other outsiders¡ªbut she¡¯d used Edi¡¯s heightened emotions to teach him multiple lessons in a way very hard to forget, and it was only recently, nearly three years later, that he¡¯d realized what she¡¯d done. Shaking his head, Edi teleported to the main teleportation platform of his master¡¯s private C rank planet in the Heavenly Soul Universe, Juno, and there he could sense all the recently kidnapped C ranks his force had procured, all standing or sitting in individual cages made of silvery metal floating around the large valley where the teleportation platform had been set up. Each cage had been forged by Lord Aalam using Edi¡¯s master¡¯s power, so anyone placed inside had all their contracts weaker than a blood oath silently cancelled, making all 1,457 prisoners¡ªfilling up only about 7% of the cages¡ªfree from their former obligations, but, even with most having been fighting in wars, often against their wills, and all being C ranks who didn¡¯t need to eat or sleep, none were happy to be caged up, and they were all confused about how exactly they¡¯d ended up in their current circumstances. According to what Edi knew, 1,113 of them were Lord Aalam¡¯s half siblings, his mom having apparently birthed around 1,728 new children after the second War of the Chosen the United Federation of Planets had participated in, and the others were unrelated talents his master felt would be worth raising. Of Lord Aalam¡¯s other siblings not currently in the cages, most had died in the wars every single one of them had been forced into, a few dozen were about to enter the finals of the C Rank Universal Tournament, and five were cruel assholes his master had no interest in saving and so hadn¡¯t tried to steal, but, primarily due to where they¡¯d grown up, every single one was a C rank, and each of them had far more real world fighting experience than anyone in the Heavenly Soul Universe other than Lord Isaiah and Mr. Tedros. Still, fighting experience didn¡¯t translate into experience not being scammed, so, when Edi¡¯s master had somehow found out their identities, it had been pretty easy to get them to accept a blood oath for Fabled to Empyrean grade armors, and accepting that oath is how they¡¯d become slaves of Lady Diana Alvaro and eventually ended up here, finding themselves teleported directly into a cage when they¡¯d just been trying to return home. * * * Daevic Daevic flew down and took a seat next to his father, Thunderstrike Taravan sitting on a mountain on his B rank planet, looking down at the planet¡¯s biggest city. Already fully healed from being cooked and partially eaten¡ªA rank level Vitality making such things easy to recover from¡ªhis father looked healthy, his azure hair lustrous, his dark skin flawless, but there was a lifelessness in his azure eyes which Daevic had never seen, and it was unnerving him more than even when he could tell his father was about to rage. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°You wanted to see me, father?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Taravan¡¯s voice was also lifeless and he didn¡¯t turn to look at Daevic even while speaking to him. ¡°I wanted to say sorry.¡± ¡°Wh-what?¡± Daevic felt his heart start to beat faster and he didn¡¯t quite know how to feel, more shocked than anything else. ¡°I have never treated you right, the same with your sister.¡± Daevic watched as his father, that cold and hard man who never showed weakness, sighed. ¡°And it was never your fault. ¡°The two of you just represent everything in my life I have no control over, and I took out my frustration about that lack of control on you. ¡°It¡¯s not your responsibility your mother, that ugly bitch, effectively raped me to produce the two of you. It¡¯s not your responsibility your uncle, that bastard who could only use three Laws to form his Law energy, suppresses me to the point I can¡¯t find enough primal energy to level up. And it¡¯s not your responsibility the enemies your mother made empowered Vanar Tedros and stole away what little chance I had to advance in the future.¡± Daevic¡¯s father still didn¡¯t look at him and instead looked up at the sky. ¡°And it was stupid of me to be jealous and suppress you when I could have been a good father and gotten your help after you rose to my level.¡± Daevic¡¯s father stood up and finally looked down at Daevic. ¡°Your uncle has given me an order and, if the Heavenly Spark Soul King appears in the C rank Universal Tournament finals, I¡¯m going to have to give my everything to kill him, resulting in a System quest which will almost certainly destroy my empire and end with me killed. So, before my death, I felt I should at least apologize to you.¡± Then, without another word, Thunderstrike Taravan turned into lightning and disappeared, Daevic left there, his mind overly focused on the tears he¡¯d seen in his father¡¯s eyes. * * * Joma Joma La¡¯Vordi, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, looked over at where her daughter was training, using no artifacts to draw out a huge runic array made purely of severed space in Joma¡¯s specially made training cavern, and she yet again had to stop her emotions from showing in her aura. Her mind kept going back to several years before when Yorick Strong, one of the five competing candidates to be the next head of the Quintessence Merchant Union, had come to visit her to pick up a set of pills, especially the subsequent contract she¡¯d signed that day, loaning the man virtually all her wealth in exchange for a single artifact. No matter what, everything would change with the upcoming finals of the C rank Universal Tournament, Joma either dying or, somehow, escaping from gods. And she hoped it was the latter. But, whatever the case, she mainly hoped her child could be safe and, if possible, happy. * * * Vanar Vanar stepped off the teleportation platform and looked around at where the C rank Universal Tournament finals was going to take place, an absolutely humongous space station in the middle of nowhere. Shaped like an extremely large circle, with a radius of roughly 5,000 kilometers, the station surrounded an empty area of space which would be expanded even more using spatial magic to be used as an arena, the size of an entire planet not large enough for C rank fights without any Law suppression. Owned and operated by a group of humans specializing in spatial magic, the station had a very large outdoors section, the entirety of the internally facing 10 kilometer wide side feeling almost no different from being on a planet other than that you could see more of the ring when looking up, and having no night time. But, while Vanar personally found the design very cool, he¡¯d had to listen to a multi-hour long rant from Lord Aalam on just how impractical such a ¡®halo ring¡¯ was, accidentally learning just how easy to destroy the station would be, and that had taken away a bit of the wonder. Whatever the case, this is where Vanar would be staying for the entirety of the finals, along with other participants, their guests, and many spectators, so he would just make the best of the situation he could, immediately flying toward where he knew the mansion he¡¯d been assigned as a contestant would be located, the same location where he¡¯d meet the other members of the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard so they could look out for each other. And there, once he got situated, and his brothers in arms all came to join him, he spent the next several days waiting. The main part of Lady Li¡¯s plans would be initiated starting from this point and, while Vanar only knew about the schemes he was directly part of, there were almost certainly multiple others occurring at the same time, and they were likely just as extremely ambitious as the one he knew of to revive Lord Aalam¡¯s sister. Whatever they were, however, Vanar was hoping for his own sake that they¡¯d all go well, having grown to rather like the cultivators and monsters from the Heavenly Soul Universe and not wanting to see them all annihilated. Chapter 263: Introducing the Finals ¡°So, first, let me introduce Ms. Starflower,¡± the man centered in the giant illusion surrounding Edi and the C ranks trapped in cages in the valley, a human B rank with dark skin, shoulder-length silky black hair, and bright blue eyes, turned to look at the other individual sitting behind the large illusion of a marble desk, a human woman with fiery red hair, bright green eyes, and the type of figure which would make men stare. ¡°An established host of auctions from around the universe, the breakout star of three of the five biggest hit dramas from the last 1,728 years, and the woman who managed to kick out Hellflame Heros, the original third seed of this instance of the Universal Tournament, during the regional competitions, albeit at the expense of exhausting herself and losing the next two rounds. She will be my co-host for this instance of the C rank Universal Tournament finals.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Astos.¡± Edi¡¯s master, somehow having schemed her way into one of the most prestigious gigs for actors in the entire universe, bowed slightly to the trillions of audience members all over the Prime Material Universe¡ªand other universes like the Heavenly Soul Universe where Edi was forcing the captured C ranks to watch the tournament using one of Lord Aalam¡¯s Big Black Illusion Spheres. Then she bowed again to the B rank, a famous actor and host who¡¯d MC¡¯d the last 14 C rank Universal Tournaments. ¡°And thank you for allowing one of my dreams to come true, being able to sit next to someone as accomplished as yourself on such a universal stage.¡± Turning back to the audience, Edi¡¯s master then smiled one of those charming and flirtatious smiles which in Edi¡¯s experience usually meant someone was about to hate their life. ¡°But enough with the formalities. Let¡¯s give our viewers more information about this instance¡¯s contestants.¡± She turned to the B rank. ¡°Lord Astos, as someone with experience, have you noticed anything different about this Universal Tournament compared to the others you¡¯ve seen?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Astos ¡®The Face¡¯ Karidan nodded. ¡°Several. ¡°First, the average age of the contestants, especially in the finals, is quite a bit lower than normal, around a twelfth of the contestants not even 6,912 yet, including five of the top sixteen seeds, incredibly young for a C rank. Even if they don¡¯t last many rounds, just the fact they were able to make it to the Universal Tournament finals at such a young age means they¡¯re almost certain to make it to B rank in the future. ¡°Stand outs include the top seed, Krysta La¡¯Vordi, the Daughter of Space; the fifth seed, Daevic Stormborn, the Thunderstrike Prince; and the eighth seed, Carlo Man¡¯Voria, the Yin Yang Blade. But, personally, I am most looking forward to the fifteenth seed, Tonya Cim, the Fist of Wrath. It¡¯s just so satisfying to see someone use their bare hands in this type of contest. ¡°Is there anyone among the youngsters you find particularly impressive, Ms. Starflower?¡± ¡°The thirteenth seed, Orianthi Mic¡¯Gin, the Wind Witch, is also particularly impressive.¡± Edi¡¯s master nodded slightly, mentioning the longterm disguise of Earth¡¯s Nitya Chakrabarti after her co-host had already mentioned the assumed identities of Earth¡¯s Javier Garcia and Irena Krol. ¡°Personally, however, I think everyone is underestimating the forty-third seed, Deimos Karan, the Slaughterer. If you go back and watch his fights in his regional competition, you¡¯ll see the amount of control he had over his section is about the same as the second, third, and fourth seeds had over theirs.¡± Astos turned to Edi¡¯s master with a look of surprise, obviously thinking. ¡°Yes, looking back on all the recordings I¡¯ve watched, you make a good point. Despite not showing any obvious Law Scarabs, the System has granted the Slaughterer the forty-third seed, meaning this famous mercenary has been hiding a lot of his power, and, if this is the case, there might be things he hasn¡¯t shown publicly even in life and death situations as well. There is a good chance he¡¯ll give us all a rather big surprise.¡± Astos nodded once and then looked back at the audience. ¡°To explain, the seeding in the Universal Tournament is done by the System based on the combat ability the contestants have shown outside their own force, not everything the System knows, so training sessions and sparring within a force don¡¯t have an effect, but external competitions, personal fights, and wars, even if there are no other survivors, do. As a result, the seeding is almost never fully accurate, and there are often cases of individuals who hide their power until the tournament and perform far better than their seeding would suggest. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°The second big difference between this Universal Tournament and others I¡¯ve announced, however, is how often the System¡¯s seeding has been wrong. ¡°Of the original top 144 seeds, for example, only 76 have made it to the finals. ¡°Amalia Stormborn, one of the tournament¡¯s nearly unprecedented three demigods, was schemed against by the current third seed, Devil Blade Vanar Tedros, before she even got a chance to go on stage, a redirected attack of one of her father¡¯s own B rank subordinates hurting her to the point she couldn¡¯t compete, causing her to lose her first two matches. The original second seed, Four Wing Avana Ri Amara, exhausted herself against a temporal mage who is now seeded 18,345th in the finals, and was then beaten by the Yin Yang Blade and the current 74th seed, another youngster, Death Destroyer Zora Fin, losing in the regionals. And, as we all know, when Ms. Starflower fought the original third seed, Hellflame Heros, she beat him so badly he was too exhausted in his next fight and lost to a wind warrior now seeded 16,396th.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Edi¡¯s master nodded, also looking toward the audience. ¡°And I can already guess the third difference between this Universal Tournament and those in the past. It has to do with the quality of the contestants¡¯ artifacts, correct?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± A look of excitement entered into Astos¡¯s eyes. ¡°In this tournament, among the members competing in the finals, there are more confirmed Empyrean grade artifacts than there are contestants, at least a fourth of the contestants having one, and there are many more Mythic and Fabled grade artifacts than usual as well.¡± He turned to look at Edi¡¯s master. ¡°Ms. Starflower, you probably know more about this than me, so why don¡¯t you explain?¡± Edi¡¯s master bowed slightly to the B rank. ¡°Gladly.¡± Then she turned back to the audience. ¡°There are three main sources of this increase in artifact quality. First, and probably most important, is the repeated discoveries in the last several thousand years of the five Havadim Imperium caches found in the demiplanes between our universe and the one previously owned by the imperium. Contained inside were numerous D and C rank artifacts suitable for war, ranging from Heroic to Empyrean grade and, just among the C rank weapons and armor, there were 20,736 at Empyrean grade, most of which have ended up on the front lines of our universe¡¯s wars against foreign invaders, many of the talented C ranks who got their hands on them then participating in this instance of the Universal Tournament. Second, there seems to be some new crafter capable of making specialized Empyrean grade artifacts, and they seem to enjoy drama. Including the Devil Blade whose family was murdered on the order of the highest level of the Thunderstrike Empire, Swift Sword Raven and the other three who were sold into slavery and fed to a bloodtree, and the Fist of Wrath whose daughter was molested and then murdered, many disadvantaged yet talented cultivators from around the universe have seen rapid growth in stats and Laws since their last public appearances and have been using this tournament, along with new Empyrean grade artifacts perfectly suited to their own fighting styles, to successfully gain their revenge on those who wronged them. Finally, third, there are the existing powers. Seeing how those usually disadvantaged in arms in the universal tournament have gotten better weapons and armor, the powerful forces of the universe have taken out the high grade C rank artifacts usually sitting in their vaults so their juniors can maintain their usual advantage. ¡°The artifacts I used to counter Heros¡¯s hellfire, for example, were previously sitting in the vault of the Lord of Sand and Sun.¡± ¡°For the second item, who do you think is the creator of the artifacts?¡± Astos still looked excited, Edi guessing the emotion wasn¡¯t faked. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell with most of those who gained his or her artifacts not talking, but there are some clues.¡± The projected illusion focused on six different people in the various compounds on the surface of the halo-shaped space station surrounding the stage¡ªthe Heavenly Scarab of Space and the Heavenly Scarab of Fire sitting next to each other near the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, Krysta La¡¯Vordi¡¯s father and uncle; the Lady of Hellwater, the Master of the Eternal Forge, and the Lord of Twilight Flame sitting together in a compound shared with the forces of the Thunderstrike Empire and other members of their faction, Daevic Stormborn¡¯s uncles and aunt; and, finally, a humanoid man with dark skin, overly large multi-colored eyes, and multi-colored avian wings folded up behind his back sitting in a compound he shared with the two C ranks and the administrative leader of his own force, the Law Master, the only living child of the Lady of Laws. ¡°The finals have barely started, yet already six gods have shown up, from all three major factions. Almost certainly they know more than we do, and it is likely they are here for more than just the two demigods competing in their first matches of the finals today. ¡°What they know, it is not our place to ask, but we can hope more will be revealed as the finals progress.¡± ¡°Speaking of the two demigods, however,¡±¡ªThe battlefield in the center of the halo ring moved into focus in the illusion as Astos spoke¡ª¡°the first round is starting, first seed Krysta La¡¯Vordi against 20,736th seed Iman Corio. Let¡¯s watch and see if Mr. Corio is someone hiding his true power.¡± The fight lasted for about two seconds, Krysta La¡¯Vordi¡¯s slicing her opponent into four pieces with an X-shaped double void slice and her opponent then immediately surrendering, moving out of the arena to allow his C rank vitality to quickly heal him. ¡°Well, I guess not.¡± Chapter 264: Law Master ¡°Mwha, ha, ha.¡± Even out in the open space battlefield, where there was no air for sound to propagate, Raven could still hear his opponent¡¯s deep voice laughing, Twilight Illusionist Ren Kimbal completely in control of their fight. A master of stealth, illusion, energized metal, and telekinesis, the man was a middle-aged C rank under the Lord of Twilight Flame and, like Raven, he¡¯d been seeded quite low for those who originally won their regional competitions, only 6,987th. Unlike Raven, however, he didn¡¯t deserve such a low placing, obviously having held back in his previous fights. For the first time since the start of the tournament, the Twilight Illusionist had shown just how overpowered his stealth skill was, Raven unable to find any clue of him anywhere on the battlefield. And, at the same time, he¡¯d made the false bodies he was known for, and they were stronger than Raven had been led to believe, Raven unable to recognize them as fake bodies at all. Add onto this the nine false images he¡¯d made of the three Empyrean grade flying swords he controlled, ones empowered by high grade Law Pupae of the lightning and metal elements, and, even while the man¡¯s offensive might wasn¡¯t as strong as Raven¡¯s own, Raven couldn¡¯t do a thing to him. He just had to dodge both the real and many false flying weapons, and it didn¡¯t take long until he messed up¡ªthe man¡¯s constant deliberately evil sounding laughter not helping. A shock went through Raven¡¯s body with just a nick of one of the Empyrean grade weapons and, as he was almost positive the man would kill him if he didn¡¯t, he immediately surrendered, losing his first battle in the third round of the finals. Still, as he flew back toward the compound Master Tedros had been given, where everyone from the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard had gathered, he was feeling quite good. The way the double elimination style tournament worked, every contestant¡¯s seeding changed after every round, everyone with one loss lower in seeding than everyone with none. Then the first seed, judged by who¡¯d shown the most power to the universe, would fight with the lowest seed, the second seed with the second lowest, and so on. Things would be shuffled slightly so the same contestants wouldn¡¯t fight twice, but overall it was quite fair. For the third round, there had been 7,035 contestants with no losses and 6,666 contestants with one, so Raven, with his low seed among those who hadn¡¯t yet lost, had to fight against someone else who hadn¡¯t lost as well. But, for the upcoming fourth round, there would be more contestants with one loss than with none, so Raven, with his high seed among those with one loss, would be fighting against another cultivator who¡¯d lost once, and anyone who¡¯d lost once was almost certainly without any unforeseen trump cards. According to what their master had told him and the other three who¡¯d been attached to the bloodtree, the otherverse lord would have the ability to help them reincarnate into new bodies of their choice so long as they made it to the fifth round of the Universal Tournament finals, and Raven at least had a good chance of achieving that goal. Zev Ankur, the one-eye specializing in defense, hadn¡¯t been able to make it out of his region of the tournament, so he would die as a C Rank, and Endless Will, the dwarf specializing in destruction, had lost in the second round to someone more balanced than himself and then in the third round to someone called Poison Master Oh Mega, so he wasn¡¯t going to be able to live past C rank as well. Wen Alexis, however, the elf specializing in regeneration and originally the least combat capable of them all, had managed to win a close battle in the third round, so he was absolutely guaranteed to reincarnate. He¡¯d been lucky not to run into anyone hiding their power, the flame wielding warrior he¡¯d fought at the end one of the youngest participants in the finals, but his biggest luck had been the artifacts the force had given him, a sword, shield, and armor that together used his power of regeneration to create a domain of death and destruction, the artifacts very similar to those wielded by one of the top seeds of the tournament, Death Destroyer Zora Fin. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. With the domain as his offense, and his naturally high defense and sustainability, he was one of the strongest from the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard. ¡°Good job being quick to surrender, Raven.¡± Master Tedros nodded to Raven as he landed, preventing any of the others from teasing him about the same subject. ¡°I would also have trouble with those illusions, yet alone anyone else among us, so it was a good idea to save your strength.¡± Raven was about to respond, thanking Master Tedros, but, before he could, he noticed a shocked silence start from the western side of the compound and one of the C ranks who¡¯d already lost quickly guided a man toward the center courtyard where Master Tedros and most of the rest of the members of the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard were watching the fights up above, a humanoid man with dark skin, overly large multi-colored eyes, and multi-colored avian wings folded up behind his back. ¡°Y-your lordship.¡± Wen Alexis was the first to get on his knees and start kowtowing to the man, about half the others quickly having looks of realization cross their faces before doing the same, but most of the rest, even after realizing who the god was, first looked to Master Tedros, saw he was only bowing slightly to show respect, not subservience like the others, and followed his example. ¡°Lord Kemizle, what brings you to our humble abode?¡± Master Tedros smiled slightly as the next fight started in the arena above them, his aura somehow not shaking in the least. ¡°If your master is who I think he is, I was hoping to propose a trade.¡± Kavon Kemizle, the only child of the Lady of Laws, and one of the strongest gods in the universe known widely as the Law Master, smiled warmly. ¡°For experimental results of the Heavenly Spark version of the Twelve Element Primal Code?¡± Master Tedros sounded like he¡¯d been expecting the Law Master¡¯s arrival, and Raven felt his heart start to beat faster. The Twelve Element Primal Code was reportedly the best cultivation technique in the entire universe, but it was too hard to cultivate to its full potential. Even the lesser version required equally raising a single Law from each of the twelve elements during every stage of cultivation, and the only known individual in the universe to have done so until C rank was the god in front of them, the only child of the technique¡¯s creator. But even the Law Master, with all his talent, had abandoned the lesser version of the Twelve Element Primal Code at B rank, let alone the Heavenly Spark version which required three equal Laws of each element. The Law Master, however, didn¡¯t seem surprised at all at Master Tedros¡¯s question, just continuing to smile in response. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And what would you be willing to offer in exchange for such experimental results?¡± Elbeth Varina, a powerful one-eye member of the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard¡ªwith pale yellow-tinted skin, long black hair, and one large eye which seemed to be almost all pupil¡ªspoke up instead of Master Tedros, rubbing Raven the wrong way with her interjection even though she was probably the second or third strongest in their group. ¡°It depends on the results.¡± Different from how he looked at Master Tedros, the Law Master seemed to be examining Elbeth more closely, an expression of interest and enjoyment on his face. ¡°Cultivation up to at least the 12th level, with a core formed from an acupoint opening order specializing in the Soul stat and a self-invented skill.¡± Elbeth¡¯s body shifted, her skin losing most of its color, her body becoming more feminine, and her single eye splitting into two, both with more normal pupils and blueish gray irises. Then, while Raven and every other member of the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard other than Master Tedros looked on in shock, she turned to the east. ¡°It seems we¡¯ll have to delay the haggling for a little while, however. My nephew-in-law¡¯s uncle seems to want to join the conversation.¡± From the east, a powerful aura could be felt, one stronger than anything Raven had ever sensed, and another god arrived, completely bypassing the outer walls of the compound and any courtesy to land in the courtyard, Raven instantly recognizing the man as the Lord of Twilight Flame. Again, however, Master Tedros didn¡¯t seem at all surprised and the woman who¡¯d seemingly been using a false identity in the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard, somehow even fooling everyone into thinking she was a different species, appeared calm as well. ¡°Little Sunset, I see you¡¯ve come to join in on our discussion.¡± The pretty woman smiled radiantly toward the Lord of Twilight Flame as, to Raven¡¯s horror, she wrapped both her arms around one of the Law Master¡¯s. ¡°But you¡¯re coming in a little too hot. You should instead try a slow and steady approach if you want to win a girl¡¯s heart, like Mr. Kemizle here.¡± She was for some reason deliberately trying to antagonize the Lord of Twilight Flame, one of their universe¡¯s oldest and most famously vengeful gods, and, were Raven and most of the other members of the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard not bound by a contract, they would have immediately fled. Chapter 265: Li Evelyn Vanar ¡°Twilight, what brings you here?¡± The Law Master, seemingly enjoying Empress Li¡¯s younger half-aunt hanging onto one of his arms instead of being offended, smiled at the master of Vanar¡¯s enemy. ¡°Not that it isn¡¯t nice to see you, but I¡¯m trying to charm this young woman into giving me a good deal, and I don¡¯t really appreciate the competition.¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame looked angry, but, at the same time, he retracted his aura just as Vanar was about to report him to the System for being threatening, so he sadly hadn¡¯t lost any of his reasoning. ¡°Kavon, you do realize she¡¯s a shadow, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The Law Master smiled, appearing fully aware of what the Lord of Twilight Flame was talking about even while Vanar had no clue. ¡°But she¡¯s also a participant in the Universal Tournament, so I can¡¯t do anything to her even if I wanted to, making this a good time for a trade. ¡°You, however, are here for what? Blowing hot air?¡± The Law Master¡¯s smile grew slightly mocking. ¡°Or are you thinking the C rank you can¡¯t touch without universe altering ramifications will tell you where your nephew and his chamberlain are?¡± ¡°Wife.¡± Li Evelyn interrupted the Lord of Twilight Flame just before he was about to respond, but didn¡¯t look at him, looking up at the Law Master instead. ¡°They¡¯ve been married since before they both hit D rank, so she stopped being his chamberlain ages ago.¡± ¡°Wife. I apologize.¡± The Law Master smiled gently at Ms. Li and then looked back to the Lord of Twilight Flame, his mocking smile returning. ¡°Are you thinking this C rank you can¡¯t touch will tell you where her extremely accomplished nephew-in-law and even more accomplished niece are located?¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame glared at the Law Master. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Law Master nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Ms. Li, speaking at the same time, nodded as well. ¡°That much is obvious.¡± Vanar, understanding Ms. Li was deliberately trying to goad The Lord of Twilight Flame, added on as well. Then the ancient god¡¯s eyes literally became a bit fiery, flames visible behind his pupils, but otherwise he appeared calm, his aura not fluctuating at all. ¡°Your force is responsible for all the artifacts disguised as belonging to the Havadim Imperium?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Ms. Li nodded, not even trying to hide this major fact Vanar hadn¡¯t been aware of. ¡°Given the timing, that much was quite obvious.¡± The Law Master nodded as well. Meanwhile, Vanar, thinking over this new fact, took a second and decided it wasn¡¯t that surprising. He¡¯d already seen Lord Aalam create dozens of Empyrean grade artifacts, and Earth had an A rank Black Iron mine, the main material of the Havadim Imperium artifacts. Lord Aalam¡¯s Law talent also leaned toward time and space Laws the most, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for him to have the ability to artificially age his artifacts. And, finally, Vanar now understood why Lady Li had always been so less stressed than him about the placement of those from the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard and the United Federation of Planets in the Universal Tournament. About half the top seeds in the tournament not from their forces¡ªand possibly Krysta La¡¯Vordi as well given her relationship with Lord Aalam, Isaiah, and Lady Krol¡ªtechnically counted as servants, possibly even slaves, of the United Federation of Planets. And, more important, the number of contestants under the United Federation of Planets participating in the Universal Tournament finals was much higher than Vanar had anticipated, not making up just 8% of the contestants, but closer to 24% instead. For a force to qualify for half the tournament¡¯s rewards, and thereby gain even more impressive prizes like those required to reincarnate Lord Aalam¡¯s sister, it would need at least 32 C rank contestants, and each contestant would have to take up one of the tournament¡¯s top 32 spots. With around 4,976 contestants having made it to the finals, however, even with over half having already lost by the end of the third round, the placement for those at the top could be a lot more flexible. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Did the Primordial Humans faction of gods truly only realize about those artifacts just before the finals?¡± Ms. Li made an exaggerated confused expression toward the Law Master. ¡°Well, in Twilight¡¯s defense, gods usually don¡¯t care much about C ranks.¡± The Law Master looked back at Ms. Li with a slightly chagrined expression. ¡°You have such short lives most of us don¡¯t usually care about the Universal Tournament.¡± ¡°Well, that makes sense for you, dear.¡± Ms. Li lightly patted the Law Master¡¯s arm she was still holding with a gentle expression on her face. ¡°Your force didn¡¯t knowingly birth the most talented cultivator to ever to appear in our universe and then deliberately antagonize him by murdering his sister and her unborn child. Instead, your mother is the fifth greatest external contributor to my nephew¡¯s power, after the Yin Yang Sage, his master, the combat instructor whose death he annihilated a B rank force over as an E rank, and the Divine Child, so you¡¯re not facing imminent doom and thus don¡¯t have any reason to be terrified by a group of young C ranks like Little Sunset.¡± ¡°Do you think it¡¯s wise to antagonize me, child?¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame¡¯s voice became lower, but Vanar was more concerned about the Law Master, who¡¯d started to frown at the mention of Lord Aalam being the most talented cultivator to ever appear in the universe. ¡°I don¡¯t think it makes a difference.¡± Ms. Li ignored the change in the Law Master and turned to smile at the Lord of Twilight Flame. ¡°You and yours are going to try and annihilate me and mine no matter what, so there is no reason to show you respect.¡± It was at this moment Vanar felt three sources of energy rush into the compound, each feeling like a B rank, and each aiming attacks at members of the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard who were still in the tournament, but, as Vanar and the other members of the guard were all wearing law armors when not competing and someone, likely Ms. Li or another hidden member of the United Federation of Planets¡¯ main force, had activated the armors¡¯ shared defense ability, the power of the three attacks was distributed over the 847 members and did nothing. ¡°See?¡± Ms. Li¡¯s voice started to echo around the compound as her body transformed into shadow and disappeared. ¡°I knew you¡¯d try to do something stupid like this no matter what I said.¡± Then, drawing power from the other 846 members of the Guard through her law armor, she appeared behind one of the attacking B ranks, a humanoid male wearing full plate armor, and reached her shadowy right hand into his back before somehow pulling his shadow from his body and severing his head with a sword which appeared in her left hand. Meanwhile, Vanar himself had engaged one of the other B ranks, a female elf wearing a loose dress, his surprise attack already having inflicted blood poison, and the third was held down by five other relatively powerful members of the Guard. ¡°Leave the other two to me as well.¡± Hearing Ms. Li¡¯s voice through the connection of their law armors, Vanar didn¡¯t go in for the kill, and the same thing which happened to the armored man happened to the elf and then the other B rank, Ms. Li ripping out their shadows and cutting off their heads, and, given the three flows of primal energy which entered into Ms. Li, this alone was enough to kill them. ¡°My morals are questionable at best, but, when it comes to my own, I¡¯ll do my all to keep them safe.¡± Ms. Li appeared in front of the Lord of Twilight Flame and the Law Master, a large amount of primal energy in the process of elevating the power of her soul as the three shadows of the B ranks, all of whom had their eyes closed, hovered around her, their auras suppressing her own. ¡°I like having fun, however, and I like making mischief, so, while my enemies should beware, my allies can just grab some popcorn.¡± Her oath completed, a dozen other shadows appeared around her, these all of C rank, but some sort of power emanating from Ms. Li shredded them all to bits, and the pieces were absorbed into the mouths of the three B rank shadows, all of whom then opened their eyes, showing ice blue spheres which emanated an aura of death. ¡°Thank you, Little Sunset.¡± Ms. Li turned back to the Lord of Twilight Flame, her eyes having transformed into the same ice blue orbs of death, and the three shadows moved to enter into her body like the controlled spirits Vanar had long understood they were. ¡°Of the top 32 from the United Federation of Planets, I was the only one who hadn¡¯t yet met the qualifications for B rank. The snack you sent is very much appreciated.¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t disappointed, but annoyed, and Vanar suddenly realized the man likely hadn¡¯t sent the three B ranks, even though they were almost certainly from forces under the forces under his own. ¡°Petty tricks.¡± The god then turned around and left, just as Vanar started hearing news of reporters showing up at their compound gate through his law armor, and Ms. Li turned to the Law Master, bowing ever so slightly. ¡°It seems I have to do some interviews now, dear. You¡¯re welcome to stay and be a handsome backdrop, but the negotiations will have to wait for a bit.¡± The Law Master started laughing, looking from Ms. Li to the retreating Lord of Twilight Flame and then back. Then he nodded his head once to Ms. Li, then once more to Vanar, and disappeared, Vanar¡¯s senses not strong enough to tell if he moved physically, teleported, or used some other type of skill. ¡°Let¡¯s go cause a bit of ruckus, shall we?¡± Ms. Li turned to Vanar, her eyes transforming back to their normal pretty bluish-gray, and then she moved toward the edge of the compound, seemingly ready to go talk to the press. Chapter 266: Out in the Open ¡°There goes Grandma being Grandma.¡± Cuddled up against Edi on a loveseat she¡¯d brought out from her spatial storage ring, Olivia Garcia scoffed as Astos ¡®The Face¡¯ Karidan¡¯s interview with her maternal grandmother began on the illusion in front of them, not seeming to mind the audience of caged C rank prisoners around them at all. Related to almost all of the founding A rank talents of the Heavenly Soul Universe, Olivia was pretty much a princess, with the stereotypical lack of manners toward her elders and the sense of entitlement one would expect, but, as she¡¯d been apprenticed to Lord Isaiah from a young age, she was also incredibly hard working, almost to a fault, and, for the last several hundred years, she¡¯d been using Edi for regular stress relief, something Edi was starting to wonder if he actually liked. She was a lot stronger than him, however, having placed 5th in one of the Universal Tournament¡¯s regional competitions while only about a hundred years younger than Edi, and she could often be rather violent, so he was afraid to bring up the subject of changing the nature of their relationship. ¡°Wait, who is Little Sunset?¡± Astos asked after first showing the clip of Li Evelyn taking out three B ranks and then hearing her say ¡®Little Sunset tried to have me and mine assassinated because he¡¯s afraid¡¯ in response to his question on what had happened. ¡°That rude asshole right there.¡± Ms. Li pointed at the Lord of Twilight Flame in the illusionary image hovering in front of the two of them. ¡°He¡¯s ancient, so I don¡¯t know his real name, but he came over to threaten us and then tried to kill our soldiers, so I won¡¯t cry any tears when Lord Aalam kills him.¡± Astos Karidan, a professional who¡¯d been doing live interviews for almost a million years, didn¡¯t seem to know what to say for almost a second, likely never having seen a C rank call a god an asshole, but then he recovered quite quickly, smiled like he was talking to someone insane, and continued on the interview. ¡°Do you have any proof the Lord of Twilight Flame sent those three B ranks to attack you?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Ms. Li nodded like she hadn¡¯t noticed the look of ridicule in Astos¡¯s eyes. ¡°He¡¯d just threatened me right before the attack. I¡¯ve checked and the three are all from subordinate forces to the subordinate forces of Sunrise Valley. And he and his family have already put a huge bounty on Lord Aalam¡¯s head ever since he was just an E rank, along with everyone else from the Heavenly Soul Universe. ¡°But if you don¡¯t trust facts and need someone else to tell you the obvious, just ask Kavon.¡± ¡°Kavon?¡± The ridicule in Astos Karidan¡¯s eyes had mostly disappeared, replaced by fear. ¡°Yeah. Tall, handsome, with muscular arms and big beautiful wings.¡± Ms. Li pointed at the illusionary image again, this time at the Law Master. ¡°Him, the reported second most talented individual from our universe. He came over to try and negotiate with Lord Aalam and that¡¯s when Little Sunset came to threaten us.¡± ¡°And who is Lord Aalam?¡± Astos¡¯s voice had become calmer, more professional, but Edi was pretty sure the man was screaming inside, very much aware he was playing with fire if he continued the interview but, at the same time, unable to stop without looking like a coward. ¡°The most talented of the 1,732 known children of Little Sunset¡¯s sister, Bellessia, Goddess of Procreation and Filicide; the only individual to ever make it past the 12th level of the Heavenly Spark version of the Twelve Element Primal Code; and the only individual from our universe to ever take over another universe while only a D rank. He, like the rest of us, is a descendant of Godslayer Xara Valin, the Yin Yang Sage; he¡¯s the creator of all the Mythic and Empyrean grade artifacts used in this tournament for which you don¡¯t know the origin; and he¡¯s the master of about a fourth of the remaining contestants. The emperor of the Heavenly Soul Universe, he is best known to this universe as the Heavenly Spark Soul King, the man who completely annihilated a B rank force¡ªincluding single-handedly killing its upper B rank leader¡ªas an E rank after the leader killed one of his subordinates, and he¡¯s the full brother of our original leader, his elder sister, who the Primordial Humans faction of gods killed with a bloodline curse. ¡°He¡¯s the man the Primordial Humans faction of gods is most afraid of, and this tournament is where he will start the process of his revenge. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°He is Aalam Alvaro, the most powerful C rank to ever exist.¡± There was silence for a good three seconds after Ms. Li¡¯s statements where Astos obviously didn¡¯t know what to say. The Primordial Humans were the most powerful faction of humanity in the universe and, even without the rest of the universe¡¯s humans, they were the universe¡¯s third most powerful faction. There were many in the universe who quietly disliked them, but no one dared to challenge them out in the open, at least not anyone with any degree of power. High rank cultivators just weren¡¯t that stupid. ¡°Wait.¡± Astos looked like he¡¯d realized something, an expression of relief appearing on his face which Edi interpreted as Edi¡¯s master, sitting just to the side of where the interview was taking place near the tournament¡¯s announcer desk, ¡®politely¡¯ reminding him of a fact while outside the main focus of the illusion. ¡°The bounty on the head of the Heavenly Spark Soul King clearly states he is the confirmed agent of another universe, which doesn¡¯t match with almost anything you¡¯ve said. Do you expect us to just believe your nonsense?¡± Ms. Li, almost certainly having prepared for this moment with Empress Li before, just looked at the man as if he were an idiot. ¡°If he were the confirmed agent of another universe, how could he have led his force to a complete and flawless victory in the War of the Chosen? How could he have achieved the highest score of all time in the D rank Trial Tower? And how could all the members of his force competing in this instance of the C rank Universal Tournament have the protection of the System to the point Little Sunset can¡¯t just kill me? ¡°More important for your continued survival, why would Kavon want to trade with him? Are you deliberately trying to malign the name of the Lady of Laws¡¯ only son? Are you trying to malign the name of the Divine Child, who granted Lord Aalam his greatest power?¡± The sudden fear on Astos¡¯s face was obvious, and he quickly tried to walk back his words. ¡°No, of course I didn¡¯t mean that. I just, I just¡­¡± ¡°You, as a human, trusted the words of your ancestral gods over obvious facts right before your eyes. And yet you¡¯re supposed to be an impartial announcer of this tournament.¡± The illusion then went to commercial break, but there were no ads added to the coverage in the Heavenly Soul Universe, so instead the illusion went back to the coverage of the last few fights of the third round. ¡°Hey, asshole lovebirds, is what that woman just said true?¡± One of the cultivators in the floating cages, a relatively plain looking human woman with bright red hair, showing her race was almost certainly aligned to the fire element, called out to them, and Edi could tell the other 1,456 were all listening in, so, he stood up and turned to look at her. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Even that part about a goddess having 1,732 children?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Edi nodded his head, the general gesture in the Heavenly Soul Universe for acknowledgement. ¡°Daevic and Amalia Stormborn, followed by Lord Aalam¡¯s sister, Diana Alvaro, and then Lord Aalam himself.¡± He looked around at all the prisoners. ¡°Then a majority of you, 73 cultivators who made it to the finals who will join you soon, five vile bastards Lord Aalam would have no problem killing, and the 537 of your siblings who fell after living similar lives to the ones you¡¯ve all experienced.¡± Edi had spent quite a bit of time among these prisoners since the end of the regional level of the Universal Tournament over a year ago, but he hadn¡¯t explained much to them, only telling them they weren¡¯t going to be killed and that all would be revealed in good time. Words weren¡¯t as powerful as personally seen experiences after all. But, through talking with each other, they¡¯d all started to understand how they were similar, and those half siblings of Lord Aalam had begun to expect they were all related. They¡¯d also been given the same level of access to the Universal Soul net as most citizens of the Heavenly Soul Universe, able to read and watch pretty much anything but unable to write, so they knew what was going on in the main universe. And most didn¡¯t seem to mind the imprisonment much, all having realized the rather amazing dao finding formations built into their temporary homes. Every single one of them was a soldier, expecting to die on the battlefield, so their current circumstances were almost like a vacation. ¡°What does this Aalam want from us?¡± another of Lord Aalam¡¯s siblings, a male with violet hair and misty blue eyes, asked. ¡°You¡¯ve said we¡¯ll be safe here, but I can think of quite a lot of benefits a half sibling would be able to gain from alchemical products made from our souls, and the Heavenly Spark Soul King is reportedly a master alchemist.¡± Edi nodded to the man, acknowledging his point. ¡°Honestly, my guess is Lord Aalam does have some sort of alchemical technique in mind to make use of all of you, as well as the other prisoners who¡¯ll be gathered, as otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be keeping you in these specially designed cages. ¡°But it is unlikely to be for his benefit. ¡°Lord Aalam is already at the point where it is impossible for any C rank resource below Empyrean grade to be of help to him, and he was reborn as a monster before he started on his path to power, so you don¡¯t share a bloodline. ¡°I can also confirm, knowing his personality, that this alchemy will not have any permanent negative effects on you, instead almost assuredly having benefits. ¡°Lord Aalam and my master, his wife, tend to make plans which provide multiple benefits and one of these benefits, at least for Lord Aalam, is that he won¡¯t have to fight his own siblings in the upcoming war. ¡°I can¡¯t be absolutely sure, as I am relatively young for a C rank, but I would bet my own life that, for Lord Aalam, this is the primary benefit, with whatever he is planning on using these cages for only secondary.¡± Chapter 267: Cores and Identities At D rank, cultivators and monsters started to open their acupoints, 108 connections between a soul and the universe, allowing for greatly increased resource regeneration and a fundamental alteration to the flow of energy within a soul, boosting some or all stats but also increasing the quality of the cultivator or monster¡¯s energy by more than 12 times, resulting in the true barrier of fighting across ranks. But this was nothing compared to the difference between D ranks and C ranks, the absence or presence of a core of power. During advancement to C rank, for almost all cultivators, their single Mental Forge would form a connection to their Core Container, their psyforce automatically condensing their qi into a solid structure. Then their Mana Wells would connect as well, their mana turning into liquid to surround the new core like a magma layer surrounding the core of a planet, and, finally, it would be time for forging. Using all their energy, the cultivator would condense their new core and enhance it to match their Laws, cultivation technique, and the choices they¡¯d made in their cultivation path up to that point, a truly difficult process, but, if they succeeded, the end result was an entirely new level of power, their qi, mana, and psyforce all influenced by the properties of their new core to increase the power of their energy by a much, much greater factor than just opening up acupoints, and, depending on the nature of their core, their energy would gain new unique properties as well. Raven Gale and Wen Alexis, for example, who¡¯d both made it to at least the fifth round of the tournament finals and thus had a chance to reincarnate like Vanar was aiming for, had practiced relatively average cultivation techniques before they¡¯d joined the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard and been given the chance to enhance their foundations, so their cores were average, only causing their qi, mana, and psyforce to move far faster than normal and regenerate far quicker respectively. Meanwhile Vanar, with his high grade Rapid Blood Sword Core, had three beneficial properties to his energy. First, his qi, mana, and psyforce all moved far faster than those of most C rank cultivators, allowing him to greatly boost the speed of both his movements and attacks. Second, his energy was much sharper than normal, enabling him to more easily cut through armor and other barriers. Finally, third, his blood related skills, Blood Poison and Blood Flow Berserking, had been enhanced by almost an entire grade. These were examples of the normal style of core, enhancing multiple aspects useful for combat, but, after joining the United Federation of Planets and reading through the Divine Compendium on the soul net, a text freely available to any C rank of the force, Vanar had realized it hadn¡¯t been the wisest choice. Sure, the enhancement to his combat power from his core was higher than most of the cores of those from the Heavenly Soul Universe based on cultivation techniques of the same level, but the benefits to training were pretty much zero, so there was a reason none of the over 1,728 C ranks from the Heavenly Soul Universe had followed his example. The types of cores the Yin Yang Sage and Lord Aalam recommended for anyone wanting to advance to C rank had two main properties as a prerequisite. First, they had to increase the purity of qi, mana, and psyforce, allowing for faster cultivation, easier absorption of resources, added control in combat, and, most important, an easier time advancing to B rank in the future. Second, they had to boost a cultivator¡¯s affinities with all Laws which could become a bottleneck in their later advancements, making advancing in their Laws easier and again boosting their control over their energy. This wasn¡¯t, however, to say their cores didn¡¯t provide powerful additional effects. No, even the weakest cultivator in the Heavenly Soul Universe practiced a cultivation technique only two levels below Vanar¡¯s Rapid Blood Sword Manual, while many practiced cultivation techniques a level higher like the Four Aspect Cycle, the Yang Destruction Manual, and the Four Elements Breath, while at least seven he knew of trained in Yin Yang Cosmology, one of the six most powerful cultivation techniques in the universe after the Twelve Element Primal Code. There were a lot of cores among those of the Heavenly Soul Universe with better combat effects than his own. Irena Krol¡¯s Four Elements Absolute Core allowed her to influence the elements of earth, wind, fire, and water in her opponent¡¯s energy, breaking their skills; Li Evelyn¡¯s Living Yin Shadow Core allowed her to control yin shadows a rank higher than herself; and Javier Garcia¡¯s Yin Yang Sky Lord Core quadrupled the quality of his energy while also more than doubling his already rather ridiculous speed. And there were so many others with cores at a similar level. Even someone with a cultivation technique two levels below his own, Nitya Chakrabarti with the supreme single element cultivation technique One With The Hurricane, had a core almost at his level due to raising her technique quite a few levels higher than needed before advancing to C rank, boosting the power of all her skills in addition to purifying her energy and increasing her already ridiculous affinity for the element of wind. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. And this wasn¡¯t even mentioning the cores of Isaiah, Lady Li, and Lord Aalam. Their effects were ridiculous, and the cores of Lady Li and Lord Aalam weren¡¯t even complete yet, the two both having thirteen Core Containers, Mana Wells, and Mental Forges, most of which they hadn¡¯t even made use of yet. The common properties of the cores of the cultivators from the Heavenly Soul Universe, however, also made them relatively easy to spot, even when they were in disguise, which was a problem. No gods or A ranks seemed to have realized just how many cultivators from the Heavenly Soul Universe were participating in the Universal Tournament before the start of the finals, but Vanar was sure all the gods and most of the other major powers present had figured out everyone¡¯s identities given the combination of the feel of their energies and their obviously young ages. Vanar himself, even though he hadn¡¯t been informed of anyone¡¯s disguise, could already identify almost all the Heavenly Soul Universe¡¯s top combatants, and they were performing about as well as he¡¯d expected, 57 still competing even by round 14, where only 204 contestants were left, and the only member of the United Federation of Planets he couldn¡¯t identify was Lord Aalam himself. Isaiah was obviously the man called the Slaughterer, his nearly flawless combat style one Vanar had fought with far too many times to not notice, even with the dragon using a halberd instead of a spear, and Lady Li was quite obviously the actress Starflower who was now the only host of the tournament after Astos was fired from his post, though it was unclear if any of the gods and other powers present had realized. Unlike most of the disguises of the United Federation of Planets, Starflower wasn¡¯t a created identity, but an assumed one, Lady Li almost certainly having killed the original Starflower before taking her place, so seeing through her disguise was much more difficult than seeing through the others, but, at the same time, there were a lot of contextual clues. Still, as the announcer of the tournament, she had the same level of protection as the contestants until the tournament was over, so it likely wouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem even if her disguise was seen through. Lord Aalam, however, Vanar couldn¡¯t identify. At the start of the finals, there were nine candidates he¡¯d seen as possibilities for Lord Aalam¡¯s identity, taking as a prerequisite they would have had to have won their regional competitions, but all of them had since lost. Sure, several of them had performed beyond what their original seeds would have suggested, one even taking out the original 31st seed, but they hadn¡¯t used powerful artifacts even until the end. Looking up at the sky, however, at one of the longest fights of the tournament so far, Vanar had another idea on Lord Aalam¡¯s identity. Fighting up in the arena at the center of the ring-shaped space station, Reverend Samsara of the sangha, the original 6th seed of the tournament, was up against Poison Master Oh Mega, the fictional identity of one of the Heavenly Soul Universe¡¯s younger combatants, Thomas Garcia, Li Evelyn¡¯s child with the second great talent produced by the Garcia Clan a few hundred years after Earth¡¯s integration. And Thomas, one of the seven members of the United Federation of Planets who¡¯d come over to repeatedly train with the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard, was perfectly countering the much stronger combatant. Unlike most members of the Garcia Clan, Thomas was a mage, wielding an Empyrean grade staff instead of an Empyrean grade sword, but he did train in Yin Yang Cosmology, and he did have a uniqueness which boosted the power of his wing skill, which in turn boosted the power of his movement skill, which in turn made him very fast. Meanwhile, Reverend Samsara¡¯s weakness was speed. Samsara could take out most of his opponents with a single swing of his overly large sword, but he couldn¡¯t reach Thomas. And, while Reverend Samsara was basically unkillable, literally able to come back from the dead while also possessing strong defense and regeneration almost at the level of Isaiah¡¯s, Thomas¡¯s magic blasts, his main offensive technique, contained both the explosive properties of the mix of yin and yang, allowing him to bypass Samsara¡¯s defenses, and a powerful yin yang poison based on the theories originally produced by the Yin Yang Sage. Slowly, with every blast that hit, Reverend Samsara was growing more and more poisoned, his own energy starting to turn into even more poison as time went on, and his regeneration was becoming less and less quick. Then, after about an hour of fighting, he finally couldn¡¯t regenerate any longer, dying, and, as he was out of energy, he couldn¡¯t immediately revive himself. Sure, after about a day, he¡¯d wake up¡ªthe man¡¯s powers were ridiculous¡ªbut he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight in the next round, so he was going to lose the tournament, and that was just what the United Federation of Planets wanted. Samsara, who¡¯d been the 10th seed during the round, had been up against Thomas, the 139th seed, instead of one of the 64 cultivators with only one loss, as, unlike most of those seeded higher than him, he¡¯d agreed to be the one cultivator to take a bye during the previous round, ending up against a tougher opponent as a result. And he had paid the price. Vanar¡¯s mind scanned over Thomas, then Thomas¡¯s parents sitting together in the compound both the Za-Lord¡¯s Guard and the most obvious members of the United Federation of Planets had started to share, then at all the other members of the United Federation of Planets who hadn¡¯t yet lost. Given Lord Aalam¡¯s abilities, which Vanar knew from experience included the skill Polymorph, he could be pretending to be any one of them, which would conveniently also allow him to protect the rest of them if any other B ranks, or possibly weaker A ranks, decided to be suicidal. Chapter 268: Start of Round 18 With the end of the 18th round, the top 33 of the tournament were decided and Daevic was still the fifth seed, not having shown off the new level of power he¡¯d gained over the year between his uncles and aunt deciding to invest in training him and the start of the finals, so he¡¯d done about as well as could be expected. But still, of the remaining 32 contestants, only four were not obvious subordinates of the Heavenly Spark Soul King. Seeded 13th, Ren Kimbal, the Twilight Illusionist, was a confirmed member of Sunrise Valley like Daevic himself and the only other remaining cultivator the Primordial Humans had invested in left in the tournament, so he wasn¡¯t an issue. Meanwhile, the fourth seed, Sword Saint Milan, was the future high priestess of War Dance Koraline, the elven goddess of combat and the arts, so, as a direct wielder of divine power, she couldn¡¯t be working with the United Federation of Planets without the direct consent of her goddess. But Krysta La¡¯Vordi, seeded first, and the other remaining space focused mage in the competition, Master of Spacetime Nial Gilim, seeded 19th, were questionable. Krysta La¡¯Vordi had been friends with Aalam Alvaro and several of his subordinates back when they were E ranks, her mother still technically the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s master, so it wasn¡¯t impossible she¡¯d secretly joined the United Federation of Planets. Meanwhile, just because the artifacts used by Nial Gilim had clear origins, it didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t holding back one of the Empyrean grade artifacts from the Havadim Imperium, making him a slave of the United Federation of Planets. It wasn¡¯t possible to check which force someone registered under for the C rank Universal Tournament, after all. As Daevic was contemplating, round 19 started and Krysta La¡¯Vordi was the first to go up, her opponent, a confirmed member of the United Federation of Planets unrelated to any of their major powers Daevic had heard of, immediately surrendering just as every other confirmed member of the United Federation of Planets had done when facing her, allowing himself to be knocked out of the competition. Then it was Seven Sword Sarosin¡¯s turn, the old one-eye woman easily destroying a young combatant from one of the active battlefields of the Primordial Humans who¡¯d signed a blood oath with one of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s fake ancient armors, the young man¡¯s second loss, but, given the old woman had also signed a blood oath, it didn¡¯t make a difference in the United Federation of Planets¡¯ larger scheme. Devil Blade Vanar Tedros and Sword Saint Milan then both kicked out two more members of the United Federation of Planets, the Devil Blade¡¯s opponent immediately surrendering and Sword Saint Milan¡¯s opponent, the daughter of the wind mage his sister had fought back in the War of the Chosen, fighting her hardest, her fiery wind actually forcing the Sword Saint to get serious, the saintess looking quite tired after the fight. But the main thing Daevic noticed was how similarly the Devil Blade, the Sword Saint, and Seven Sword Sarosin fought. All three were close combat sword specialists who also used telekinesis with flying swords, and, while Seven Sword Sarosin focused more on telekinesis, the Devil Blade on blood poison, and the Sword Saint on pure combat technique, their similarities were more than their differences and Daevic wondered if he would have been more powerful if he¡¯d chosen Telekinesis instead of one of his other warrior skills. He didn¡¯t have much time to ruminate on the possibilities, however, as it was then his turn, his opponent one of the more powerful members of the United Federation of Planets, Poison Master Oh Mega, the already confirmed via interviews fake identity of Thomas Garcia, Li Evelyn¡¯s only child and the cousin of Li Mila, the Heavenly Soul Universe¡¯s empress. This family member of the woman who¡¯d given him his only loss back when he was an E rank was an interesting case, having only used his life element Law and poison up until the sixth round of the finals, making it difficult to spot his identity as someone who practiced the Yin Yang Cosmology cultivation technique. But then he¡¯d fought against Reverend Samsara in round 14 and had to bring out seemingly everything he had, appearing to have exhausted himself. He¡¯d lost in the next round to a cultivator who¡¯d taken the blood oath of one of the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s faked artifacts, but, given what happened after, Daevic¡¯s current guess was the loss had been deliberate. Including Reverend Samsara, Thomas Garcia was responsible for knocking out five of the original top 32 seeds of the tournament early, and it seemed the man was aiming for Daevic next. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°So, my sources say you¡¯re either a pathetic man without talent or you¡¯ve been holding back, what with how much the old farts in your family must have invested in you over the last year.¡± As Thomas Garcia spoke using mana, dark purple armor Daevic recognized appeared on the man¡¯s still disguised body, the same Empyrean grade armor the Devil Blade had used both times they¡¯d fought, the one specifically designed to absorb energy from the Stormlord Rebirth cultivation technique Daevic practiced. ¡°What is the truth?¡± ¡°That I haven¡¯t fought anyone worth taking seriously.¡± Daevic, like in all his previous fights in the finals, summoned out his original artifacts, a sky blue crystalline blade and an armor made of the same material, a set of Mythic grade artifacts made for him after he¡¯d advanced to C rank. ¡°And that isn¡¯t something which has changed.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Thomas Garcia just smiled, summoning out the same Empyrean grade staff he¡¯d used against Reverend Samsara, one which seemed to strengthen his Yin Yang Blast skill to the point it was almost equivalent to Mythic grade. Then he activated his wing skill, black and white feathered wings of energy appearing behind his back, and Daevic thought he was done. Instead, however, Thomas summoned out one more Empyrean grade artifact, a set of almost transparent draconic wings which attached over his armor, and Daevic watched in stunned silence as the artifact absorbed Thomas¡¯s energy wings, turning black, white, and gray. It wasn¡¯t the power of the wings themselves which was the issue. There were limitations on the level of artifacts which could be used by a C rank and, while the wings were obviously at the absolute peak of what was possible for a C rank artifact, they, by themselves, weren¡¯t going to change the result of the fight. What stunned Daevic was the material the wings were made from, and the resulting aura of order they radiated. Daevic had been around a lot of A ranks, even gods, and he¡¯d seen them lose control and radiate their auras of power multiple times, yet even his father¡¯s aura could barely match up against this pair of wings from a dead dragon, and his father, while not that old, was one of the most talented A ranks in the universe. This pair of wings, while only C rank at the moment, was an artifact which could grow to A rank, and it would be a powerful one even at that level. ¡°This is one of Lord Aalam¡¯s personal artifacts, loaned to me temporarily.¡± Thomas Garcia then summoned out three golden blades, the three storm spirit slayer swords the Devil Blade had used to restrain Daevic¡¯s summoned spirits both times they¡¯d fought, and the wings artifact somehow absorbed the swords, one blade entering into each wing and the third into the base which connected them to Thomas¡¯s armor, causing the wings to turn ever so slightly golden. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to change your artifacts at least?¡± The System then gave the starting signal, triggering a small burst of mana between them, and Daevic rushed forward while changing out his armor and sword to the Empyrean grade lightning-covered purple-golden set the Master of the Eternal Forge had given him, the armor alone increasing his speed by almost 20%. Still, however, he wasn¡¯t fast enough. Thomas Garcia, using an artifact enhancement skill on his wings, fled from him quickly and smoothly, almost a third faster than Daevic, and, as Daevic sensed three different yin yang blasts heading his way already, he realized he¡¯d lose if he kept holding back. So, he stopped. He released the full power of his six Laws, all of which had advanced to high grade Law Scarabs; he summoned out and merged together his nine storm spirit serpents, forming a storm hydra; and then he absorbed the storm hydra into his body, past experience and common sense telling him those wings on his opponent¡¯s back would rip his spirits to shreds if he sent them out by themselves. Using his sword to block seven different yin yang blasts as he advanced, he then used his true speed to approach his opponent, rather easily catching up, and infused his full power into his Storm Strike skill, stabbing directly toward his opponent¡¯s completely armored chest, right at the spot over his opponent¡¯s heart, his blade cutting roughly 1 mm into the armor. But this was all he needed. Releasing all the power he¡¯d previously stored in the weapon, he didn¡¯t try to drill through the armor and into his opponent, but sent the overcharged energy into the armor¡¯s energy channels, overwhelming the artifact¡¯s complex design and ruining it to the point only a truly skilled smith might be able to fix it. Sure, in response to his risky attack, he was hit by his opponent¡¯s wings once, the pair knocking into his helmet and releasing powerful blasts of yin and yang energy which poisoned him, but the scary thing about his opponent wasn¡¯t his opponent¡¯s own power but the artifacts he was using, and the most dangerous artifact hadn¡¯t been the wings, but the armor, at least to Daevic. ¡°I surrender.¡± But before Daevic could attack again and kill the man, Thomas surrendered, loudly and clearly even while sounding disappointed, his mana spreading out to the entire space station, and Deavic felt helpless. The man, someone almost 1,728 years his junior, had forced him to use all but three of his reusable trump cards, and he hadn¡¯t even been able to kill the bastard. In fact, in the entire tournament, while dozens of cultivators had died while fighting, not a single member of the United Federation of Planets had, despite Daevic¡¯s best efforts. Chapter 269: Just Isaiah Krysta ¡°May I join you for a bit, Ms. La¡¯Vordi?¡± Having stepped into the compound where Krysta, her mother, her father, and her uncle Parvorax were sitting in a courtyard watching the fights up above, Deimos Karan, the Slaughterer, bowed to Krysta¡¯s mother, completely disregarding the lack of etiquette involved in having entered the compound uninvited. ¡°Feel free.¡± The Alchemist of the Deep Woods gestured with her right hand, growing a fifth wooden seat around the courtyard¡¯s center table, right between herself and Krysta. ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am.¡± Taking the offered seat, the Slaughterer transformed, his black hair turning lavender, his eyes becoming indigo and draconic, and his dark skin lightening, purple and gold runic tattoos appearing on his exposed arms and feet. Then he bowed slightly to the two gods present. ¡°Lord Kilvorax. Benefactor Parvorax.¡± ¡°Isaiah Kent, I presume?¡± Krysta¡¯s father raised one eyebrow ever so slightly and the aura of space around him shifted, allowing Krysta to know he was annoyed. Isaiah, however, either didn¡¯t notice or, possibly, just didn¡¯t care. ¡°That is the name I went by in the Forest Cauldron. My original surname comes from a clan who tried to sacrifice me to a bloodline curse, however, so most of my friends and coworkers just call me Isaiah.¡± Isaiah bowed his head again. ¡°Thank you both for your help when Bellessia arrived at the Forest Cauldron. I¡¯ve been told mental magic can be incredibly dangerous. So I want to express my thanks for you protecting my lord¡¯s master and Krysta from such a fate.¡± Isaiah then turned more directly toward Parvorax and bowed again. ¡°And my lord would like to thank you for the resources you helped him gain access to during the Universal Auction. If you personally, or anyone from the Lord Divine Child¡¯s force, has need of divine artifacts, arrays, or alchemical products in the future, my master will craft them to the best of his ability using any materials you provide. ¡°And, as the inheriting disciple of Steel Swamp Sorin, all benefits you accrued with his first master will be applied to my lord¡¯s products as well. ¡°For making requests and passing resources, you can use this store.¡± Isaiah waved his hand and a red metallic card landed on the table in front of Parvorax, one showing the image of an anvil and a soul net link to a store called ACME Corp, which Krysta quickly took a look at through her soul net connection. There she found a normal looking soul net store interface, an open field with every item the store sold on display, but the items floating around the field were not as impressive as Krysta would have expected, mostly items for G to D ranks, and rarely of the maximum grade for any given rank. But then she started to look at the items, and each was listed as a different product from companies within the Heavenly Soul Universe, ACME Corp seemingly more of an umbrella corporation for the Heavenly Soul Universe to sell items to the main universe than a corporation representing Aalam directly. When she looked at the center of the field, however, there was a small open air pavilion and, underneath its roof, there was a barter interface represented by a large set of measuring scales. There a cultivator could drop representations of artifacts, raw materials, and other tradable items on one of the scale¡¯s plates and then a scrollable interface would appear on the other plate allowing the cultivator to set the parameters of a custom made item. And, above the scale, in large floating words, was a sign: ¡®Requests to the Universe¡¯s Best Ever C Rank Crafter: Able to create any artifacts, arrays, and alchemical products B rank and below¡¯. It was a rather bold statement, something Krysta¡¯s mother would never even come close to saying, but Krysta couldn¡¯t help but remember Aalam¡¯s old store in the Forest Cauldron, Universe¡¯s Best E Rank Processed Materials, and how that store¡¯s name had actually been honest, a smile appearing on her face. ¡°Is your lord confident of reaching A rank?¡± Parvorax, instead of Krysta¡¯s father, asked. ¡°No.¡± Isaiah stood up even while still bowing, Krysta starting to suspect he¡¯d been sent because he, unlike Aalam, could easily and honestly show respect to her father and uncle. ¡°But, thanks to your help, that won¡¯t be an issue. My lord can already make A rank artifacts, arrays, and alchemical products, so, when he reaches the peak of B rank, divine items will not be out of the question.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Krysta watched as her uncle appeared thoughtful. ¡°You can tell your master he can expect some requests from us at that time.¡± ¡°Thank you, my lords.¡± Isaiah bowed again, and then, as his fake identity had just been called up to fight, he rose into the sky to face the current 13th seed of the tournament, Twilight Illusionist Ren Kimbal of Sunrise Valley. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°You¡¯re Isaiah Kent?¡± The Twilight Illusionist, a handsome middle-aged-appearing man with dark skin, shoulder length dreadlocks, and silvery-black eyes, looked straight at Isaiah, or at least a fake image of him did. With Krysta¡¯s senses, it wasn¡¯t hard to find the man¡¯s real body two kilometers away. ¡°Just Isaiah is fine.¡± Isaiah, however, showed no signs of being able to see through the Twilight Illusionist¡¯s illusions and stealth, despite his senses having been much stronger than Krysta¡¯s back when they¡¯d both been E ranks. ¡°That surname is fake.¡± The both of them then summoned out their weapons and armor, the Twilight Illusionist using four Empyrean grade flying swords filled with the power of lightning and metal and an Empyrean grade set of armor filled with the power of darkness and light, while Isaiah still wore the same Fabled grade armor and wielded the same Fabled grade halberd as he¡¯d done throughout the tournament. The fight then started and, unlike what Krysta had thought, Isaiah still showed no signs of being able to see through the Twilight Illusionist¡¯s stealth and illusions, just passively defending himself from the powerful flying swords with his halberd, even occasionally swiping at the Twilight Illusionist¡¯s fake flying swords as well when they came within 2 meters of his body. ¡°Kil, what do you think of the boy?¡± Parvorax casually asked, drinking from a goblet of fire wine he¡¯d brought out much earlier as he and everyone else in the courtyard looked up at the fight. ¡°For a C rank, especially one only a dozen years older than Krysta, he¡¯s terrifying.¡± Krysta¡¯s father, Kilvorax, spoke calmly, but there was a hint of respect in his voice, something rare from a god. ¡°It would probably take all twelve of us fighting together back when we were C ranks to beat him. It¡¯s a pity about his bloodline, though.¡± ¡°Could you elaborate for those of us with less experience?¡± Krysta¡¯s mother turned her eyes to Kilvorax with an expression of slight surprise, apparently, like Krysta, not seeing what the two gods were talking about. ¡°It has nothing to do with experience, but level and divine power.¡± Kilvorax lifted his right hand and pointed at Isaiah. ¡°The boy¡¯s revealed pretty much nothing at the level your senses can pick up, which is part of what is amazing. And, as a result, his seed in the tournament is unlikely to rise at all from this fight, which is almost certainly his goal. ¡°With our divine power, however, and especially with us being dragons as well, there are some obvious secrets on his body we can sense now that he¡¯s undone his disguise. ¡°First, he¡¯s not a balance dragon like he was back when he was E rank, but somehow a mix of balance, runic, and chaos dragons, with all their usually unique racial abilities, something I never even knew was possible. Maybe they discovered some sort of clue from the inheritance of Steel Swamp Sorin. He was from our universe¡¯s original monster god faction, after all. ¡°Second, Isaiah¡¯s soul is abnormally strong. Beyond having a strong soul variant race and already having an oath, he appears to have two Empyrean grade classes, and the second lowers the strain of high stat effectiveness, a very rare ability. There¡¯s a distinct possibility he could change his race to become a sublime soul variant in the future, like his master, something I¡¯ve only heard of being done five or six times in my lifetime. ¡°Finally, third, from the way he moves, he¡¯s already well past the one with a weapon stage with his halberd, a weapon I¡¯m guessing from the reports we have is not even his primary. When it comes to pure technical skill, he¡¯s only behind Devil Blade Vanar Tedros and Sword Saint Milan in the entire tournament, and the two of them respectively have a peak grade and high grade Law Scarab of The Tactician. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell just what level his Laws are at given the power of chaos in his energy, infused with over 60 Laws, but his cultivation technique seems to be at the 14th level, so, even with two Empyrean grade classes, it seems he¡¯s already met most of the requirements for making it to B rank. ¡°What we¡¯re watching right now isn¡¯t anywhere close to an even fight. From what you¡¯ve told us, Isaiah¡¯s skills include a powerful berserking skill which almost certainly became the base of his chaos core, yet he hasn¡¯t used either at all. He¡¯s not just a servant of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, but his friend, so, given the crafting capabilities your apprentice has already shown, he definitely has artifacts better than almost any other contestant. And, finally, he¡¯s under multiple levels of soul shackles, weakening his skills down to the equivalent of Fabled grade with no boosts and his stats down to what would be expected of a normal max level C rank cultivator with a maxed out Heroic grade race. ¡°He¡¯s not taking this fight seriously at all, almost certainly due to some sort of plan. ¡°The only thing I can¡¯t quite figure out is why his bloodline doesn¡¯t seem to have advanced at all from when he was an E rank.¡± Krysta had a theory on that. Isaiah¡¯s bloodline had been based on the race of his girlfriend, Aalam¡¯s older sister, and keeping the bloodline was likely one way he had to remember her. Also, possibly, Aalam had some crazy plan for how to properly advance it, one which they hadn¡¯t been able to implement yet. Krysta, however, was more focused on something else. ¡°Dad, did you say you couldn¡¯t sense any of this before Isaiah took off his disguise?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a lot less impressive.¡± Her uncle Parvorax waved his hand, answering instead of her father. ¡°The boy has an Empyrean grade Polymorph skill. When he¡¯s transformed all his magical emissions are altered, so even an elder god¡¯s passive perception would be fooled. That¡¯s why most gods have trained themselves to actively check anyone of interest, an act which would easily bypass the disguise. We¡¯re just not allowed to do so against contestants in the Universal Tournament.¡± Krysta¡¯s mom started chuckling at these words and everyone looked at her. ¡°So, knowing these rules, they abused them. That sounds like them.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Both the two gods nodded, appearing thoughtful. ¡°What¡¯s your thought on Aalam¡¯s offer?¡± After her mother¡¯s question, Krysta also focused on her father and uncle. And she noticed as her father closed off the space around them from outside interference. ¡°I don¡¯t see much reason to refuse.¡± Parvorax shrugged once his brother was done. ¡°Like with alchemists, we don¡¯t have a divine level smith or array master either. And the boy¡¯s chances of becoming a god are so slim that there¡¯s no need for us to interfere, and this isn¡¯t even considering his feud with the Primordial Humans. We probably won¡¯t do anything to help, but there¡¯s no reason I can see to refuse a business relationship during his limited lifespan. Master was also friends with Steel Swamp Sorin back in the day, so dropping that name was a good idea.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Krysta¡¯s mother started to smile as she looked back up at the fight which was still ongoing. ¡°I¡¯d personally rather you not become enemies.¡± Chapter 270: Daevic’s Rage Daevic watched as Isaiah Kent fought against Ren Kimbal, the Twilight Illusionist, appearing to be losing, but it wasn¡¯t hard to see how Ren¡¯s energy was draining at about double the speed of the dragon¡¯s even while the dragon was almost certainly holding back, yet Ren couldn¡¯t surrender even though Daevic knew the man wanted to. Like Daevic, Ren had signed a contract with the head eunuch of Sunrise Valley to never surrender, and the enemy was now seemingly making use of that contract, either knowing about it beforehand or surmising its existence, to drain Ren¡¯s energy. The fight lasted almost an hour, becoming the third longest battle in the tournament, and only then did Isaiah Kent start making the move he¡¯d obviously been planning from the beginning. First, he stopped pretending he couldn¡¯t find Ren and moved straight toward his body, not too fast but faster than Ren, who had barely any of his energy remaining, could match, cutting off both of Ren¡¯s arms and cauterizing the stumps with the power of destructive flames. Second, he took out a different weapon, a seemingly Fabled grade spear designed to inject poison, and pushed it into Ren¡¯s heart, injecting whatever foul concoction the weapon had been filled with. Then, finally, third, he surrendered, flying not back toward where Krysta La¡¯Vordi and the two scarab gods were staying, but to the compound where the Law Master had taken up residence, leaving Ren in pain and Daevic¡¯s two uncles and his aunt frowning. At the Lord of Twilight Flame¡¯s signal, one of the B ranks from his sister¡¯s force, a healer, flew up to check on Ren, leading the man down to see them, but theprognosis wasn¡¯t good. ¡°My Lady and Lords, this poison is too vicious. His energy channels have been completely destroyed.¡± ¡°Can you fix him?¡± asked the Lord of Twilight Flame, his expression dark but his aura still fully in control. ¡°Not without considerable cost, no.¡± The healer, a female human wearing olive green robes, bowed to the Lord of Twilight Flame. ¡°Maybe with the boon he¡¯ll earn from the System and some valuable A rank materials, he might be able to recultivate, but he¡¯ll almost certainly never make it to B rank in his life.¡± ¡°Bah.¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame¡¯s expression stayed dark. ¡°That means he¡¯ll lose in round 21.¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame then turned to Daevic. ¡°Daevic, it seems they are deliberately targeting you with one of their best.¡± ¡°Yes, Uncle.¡± Daevic bowed, having learned from others in Sunrise Valley that proper procedure and respect were the best way to interact with this uncle of his when the man was upset. ¡°And I¡¯ll make sure to win.¡± ¡°No.¡± The Lord of Twilight Flame almost growled the next words. ¡°Make sure you kill him.¡± ¡°Yes, Uncle.¡± Daevic felt himself grow angry, but he held it in, walking to the side of the compound with the healer and Ren to see if there was anything he could do to help. But of course there wasn¡¯t. Ren was still conscious, tears forming in his eyes, and the healer was at least able to help regrow his arms over the next couple minutes, but Ren had lost all his cultivation, his C rank body alone barely making him more powerful than most E ranks. ¡°Is there anything you want from me?¡± Daevic asked, feeling he owed Ren given the man had been one of his main sparring partners over the last year. ¡°Kill that bastard for me.¡± Ren¡¯s voice was weak, and his aura was virtually non-existent, but his face showed fury. ¡°Or at least cripple him like he did to me.¡± Daevic felt his anger grow even more, but he kept control over himself. This next fight wasn¡¯t going to be easy. Looking back on what had already happened in round 19, Thomas Garcia had deliberately forced him to show most of his strength, and, as a result, Daevic¡¯s seed for the next round was going to be 2nd. Given the power already shown by Krysta La¡¯Vordi, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to raise his seed any higher by showing off more of his strength between rounds. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. So, when the dragon fought Ren, the beast had deliberately hidden most of his strength, to the point he, who was in the same force as everyone else left in the tournament with only one loss, could control his own placing, allowing him to be seeded second from last and thus fight with Daevic. They were deliberately targeting him with a lowly dragon, and they were going to pay the price. * * * The rest of the fights in round 19 didn¡¯t take long, most ending with an immediate surrender by the weaker party, and soon it was the start of round 20, Krysta La¡¯Vordi¡¯s opponent immediately surrendering as well. Then it was Daevic and the dragon¡¯s turn, both of them rising into the open battlefield at the center of the space station¡¯s giant ring. ¡°Do you have any last words?¡± Daevic asked, summoning out the purple-golden lightning-covered set of armor and sword the Master of the Eternal Forge had given him. ¡°As Diana would have said, hasta la vista, baby.¡± The man spoke in a language Daevic didn¡¯t know for the first part, but the word baby was in Universal Common, so he could tell it was an insult. Then the dragon summoned out his own artifacts. First there was an olive green sleeveless robe which appeared around his body, a sub-dermal layer growing under his skin, which radiated an aura of chaos, some type of symbiotic armor, maybe an extremely high grade Bloodforged Living Armor. Second was a shield, round with a groove for a polearm in one side and made of black iron quintessence and what looked to be the chest scales of a B rank chaos dragon, each blacker than the darkest night. Then, finally, third, there was a spear made of black iron quintessence and a chaos dragon¡¯s black fang, the dragon¡¯s third Empyrean grade artifact and one which radiated as pure an aura of destruction as the shield did of defense. The new artifacts, however, were the least of the dragon¡¯s changes. His aura, previously filled with an element of slaughter and what had felt like an early grade Law Scarab of Destruction, was gone, and, in its place, was an aura full of the power of chaos, absorbing and combining the power of 60 plus Laws. Most were Law Eggs and Law Larvae, but there were nine Law Pupae, including a peak grade Law Pupa of Sword and two high grade Law Pupae of Halberd and Blood. More important, however, there were six Law Scarabs, two early grade Law Scarabs of Spear and Shield and four middle grade Law Scarabs of Speed, Defense, Destruction, and Regeneration. Sure, this was nothing compared to Daevic¡¯s six high grade Law Scarabs, but chaos dragons were one of the three top species of dragons, known as the kings of monsters, for a reason. The power of chaos made combining multiple Laws easy, and the dragon in front of him had so many to combine at once, led by the four aspect Laws, generally considered among the top Laws for combat in the universe. And then there were the dragon¡¯s stats. With an Aura stat of quite a bit over 143,327,232, and base stats averaging nearly 322,486,272 while holding a weapon, the dragon¡¯s stats were absolutely ridiculous for a C rank, significantly higher than even some of the universe¡¯s weaker A ranks. One of weakest max level A ranks possible, for example, with only a Legendary grade race and class, disregarding bonus stats from advancing Laws, would only have an average of 60,250,071 in each base stat. Granted, no one in the universe had ever reached A rank without consuming a whole bunch of stat increasing external resources, but it still put into perspective just how high the dragon¡¯s stats were. Take Vanar Tedros for example, someone with a Fabled grade race who had maximized his stats under the same master as the dragon while somehow increasing the max stat values his race allowed by 50%. Even with the rather high boost to his stats from his racial abilities, classes, and now several uniquenesses, Vanar Tedros¡¯s average base stats were more like 33,592,320. Even Daevic, whose race was Empyrean grade and whose racial abilities, classes, and uniquenesses would place him at the top of all contestants in over 99% of Universal Tournaments, only had about a fourth of his opponent¡¯s stats. This was not going to be an easy fight, or at least it wouldn¡¯t have been if the man weren¡¯t a dragon. Taking out one of the other artifacts the Master of the Eternal Forge had given him before the start of the finals, a small purple-golden buckler covered with intricate rune-work Daevic couldn¡¯t understand, Daevic watched as the dragon shuddered for a second, his aura noticeably decreasing and all his stats lowering by about half until they were only double Daevic¡¯s own. Then, realizing the Dragon Suppressing Shield his uncle had specially made wouldn¡¯t be enough, Daevic also summoned out the Heavenly Enlightenment Pill his aunt had given him, one of only two types of pills in the universe for allowing cultivators below B rank to automatically enter into a state of enlightenment, and ate it. As a training pill, with no inherent combat boosting effects, it wasn¡¯t against the rules, but the boost it would provide to his combat power was immense, so, as he looked into the draconic eyes of his opponent, which had turned golden with the activation of some skill, Daevic felt confident. Chapter 271: Daevic Vs. Isaiah The dragon launched himself at Daevic as soon as the System started the match, moving far faster than the demigod had suspected, and Daevic realized there was yet another thing about his opponent which was ridiculous. The dragon¡¯s movement skill was Empyrean grade and boosted by at least 8 levels from his racial abilities, uniquenesses, and classes, making it almost as effective as a Divine grade skill. Even more terrifying, however, it was somehow 100% mastered even though Daevic knew the dragon was even younger than him, Daevic¡¯s own highest mastery skill only barely passing 90%. Then, when the dragon got close and used an attack skill on his spear, an absolute power of pure destruction aimed directly for Daevic¡¯s head, Daevic realized he wouldn¡¯t have been the dragon¡¯s match at all without the two cheats his divine relatives had prepared for him. Only because he was under a state of enlightenment, his perception and reflexes far higher than normal, could he block the 100% mastered attack with his shield, using the resulting momentum to fly backward by more than a kilometer. And, only because the Dragon Suppressing Shield was made of incredibly valuable materials, could he avoid damage from the attack¡¯s power and Laws. The dragon then charged him again with the same skills and Daevic managed to barely block, the cold rage in his chest slowly growing as he realized he was only able to survive because the Dragon Suppressing Shield his uncle had given him was doing far more than just suppressing his opponent¡¯s stats. The dragon, reportedly an incredibly skilled fighter back when he was an E rank, was fighting Daevic with a pure straightforward offense like an idiot not because he¡¯d lost his skill from when he was younger or because he was looking down on Daevic¡¯s own skill, but because the Dragon Suppressing Shield was messing with him in a more complicated way than Daevic had realized, not having had the chance to test the artifact against an actual opponent. First, the lowering of the dragon¡¯s stats was not constant, the amount each stat was lowered fluctuating based on the dragon¡¯s distance from the shield and how much energy Daevic put into the artifact, and, second, the dragon¡¯s skills and racial abilities, at least those relating to his status as a dragon, were also suppressed, altering the energy flow in his body and making his skill usage far less smooth than it would normally be. In short, to the dragon, the Dragon Suppressing Shield was even more of a counter than the armor Vanar Tedros had used during his two fights against Daevic, making it actually incredibly impressive the dragon could even correctly aim his spear given the level of suppression. If Daevic gave the dragon time to adapt, his opponent¡¯s usage of his power would only increase during the fight, so Daevic had to end things quickly. Luckily, under the state of enlightenment, Daevic¡¯s Laws were growing in real time, and, at that moment, his Law Scarab of Thunderstrike advanced to peak grade, helping to boost the power of all of Daevic¡¯s skills, including his movement, and the dragon did something both easily expected and, unknown to the man, completely to Daevic¡¯s advantage. Dragon Drive was the dragon¡¯s core skill, an Empyrean grade berserker skill which drained the dragon¡¯s health to increase his base stats and the power of his energy, but, as a draconic skill, it was suppressed by Daevic¡¯s Dragon Suppressing Shield, so it wasn¡¯t as efficient as it normally would be. Add to this how the dragon would normally use his Dragon Heart racial ability to heal himself of the damage caused by Dragon Drive, a racial ability which was also suppressed, and the dragon¡¯s berserker state provided far less power than usual while also doing more damage to himself. More important, however, the dragon¡¯s draining of his own health exposed him to the power of one of the two skills Daevic had yet to reveal, No Rebirth Domain. Summoning out his nine storm spirit snakes and merging them into a hydra like usual, Daevic didn¡¯t then merge them into his body with Spirit Avatar, but instead merged the hydra into his No Rebirth Domain skill, a specialized domain which used the elements of life, death, and lightning to stop an opponent¡¯s healing and transform it into lightning. This turned the dragon¡¯s rather amazing passive regeneration, one of his greatest strengths, into constant damage instead, lightning filled death energy continuously entering into the dragon¡¯s body with no healing being done, and, if nothing changed, the dragon would just continue to accumulate damage until Daevic won. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Unlike what Daevic expected, however, the dragon didn¡¯t stop using Dragon Drive and go back to trying to kill Daevic without it, but instead doubled down, activating a similar berserker skill built into his Bloodforged Living Armor to boost his power even more. Then he attacked Daevic with seemingly everything he had. Destruction-filled strike after destruction-filled strike came at Daevic over the next six seconds, and Daevic couldn¡¯t block them all, two of the powerful attacks landing directly on his golden-purple armor, but, still, Daevic fought on. His Empyrean grade armor had been filled with a large reserve of his own energy and it could completely protect him from any attacks, even ones as powerful as the dragon¡¯s, so long as that energy remained. Meanwhile, after piercing through Daevic¡¯s defensive skill, Storm Armor, the dragon¡¯s two attacks together had only drained a little over 33% of the armor¡¯s energy. During the next six seconds, however, even with the dragon¡¯s offense starting to slow down ever so slightly, and Daevic focusing entirely on defense, the dragon managed to hit Daevic three times, bringing his armor¡¯s energy reserve down to less than 17%. Then, with one more hit, the energy reserve was gone. Daevic was hit again, and this time he felt it. Even without the energy reserve, his armor still blocked the dragon¡¯s spear, but the power of destruction, the multiple Laws fused together by the power of chaos, managed to partially bypass his armor, and Daevic felt his insides twist. Then, even while blocking over 90% of his opponent¡¯s attacks, he was hit again, and then again. Still, the dragon was in a bad state, almost 18 seconds of berserking while taking more damage instead of being able to heal not doing him any favors, and his offense was becoming slower and slower. The dragon was stubborn, however, and just kept attacking, playing right into Daevic¡¯s hands, so, even as Daevic was hit again and again, to the point he even vomited up blood and had multiple holes in his torso, he couldn¡¯t help but smile, even managing to advance two more of his Laws to peak grade Law Scarabs in the process, his No Rebirth Domain doing even more damage. Then, when he almost couldn¡¯t take it anymore and, to the outside world, it looked like the dragon was about to win, Daevic activated his last trump card, the final skill he hadn¡¯t revealed to anyone outside his own force, Thunderstrike Rebirth. The power of lightning, water, and life coursed through his body and, in just a moment, all the damage from the dragon¡¯s attacks was completely healed, the power of Daevic¡¯s cultivation technique, Stormlord Rebirth, showing just why it was named as such. Daevic had returned to his best state, even stronger than the start of the fight due to his Law advancements. Meanwhile, the dragon was on his last legs, though he still stubbornly kept attacking. By this time, however, the dragon had slowed down enough due to the accumulated damage that Daevic was no longer on the losing end in terms of movement speed, so the dragon couldn¡¯t catch up. He just continued to accumulate damage, unable to do anything, and, even when he stopped his two berserker skills, he seemed unable to stop the passive healing from his racial ability, so his body continued to absorb more and more lightning filled death energy, and there wasn¡¯t anything he could do to stop it. Transferring energy into his sword, Daevic then attacked, using his Storm Strike skill through his blade to try and stab into the dragon¡¯s chest. But then he discovered another of the dragon¡¯s maxed out and incredibly boosted skills, an Empyrean grade version of the Absolute Defense skill empowered by a mix of defensive Laws. With its strength, most of Daevic¡¯s energy was deflected, and the dragon¡¯s Bloodforged Living Armor fully blocked the remainder of his attack. Still, Daevic now had the advantage, so he attacked again and again, rather easily blocking any of the dragon¡¯s counterattacks, and the damage to the dragon from No Rebirth Domain continued. The dragon was stubborn, however, still glaring at Daevic with those golden eyes, so the fight didn¡¯t end even as two more of Daevic¡¯s Laws advanced, and it seemed the dragon wasn¡¯t going to surrender, maybe wanting or needing something he could only earn by placing higher in the tournament, not having expected Daevic to win. At nearly the two minute mark of the fight, the dragon then finally messed up, Daevic¡¯s sword entering through the dragon¡¯s armor and into his chest, right through the Bloodforged Living Armor, the power of thunder blasting right through the dragon¡¯s right lung. One more attack and Daevic could kill him. One more attack, and those annoying golden eyes would shut for good. One more attack and Daevic would truly earn the praise of his uncles, aunt, and mother. And the dragon was now in no condition to use his mana to call out and surrender. Daevic readied his sword, aimed right at the dragon¡¯s heart, but at that moment a mana wave voice emanated out from one of the more minor private compounds of the halo-shaped space station. ¡°He surrenders. Stop your attacks.¡± Daevic took a split second to check and realized the voice had come from Nial Gilim, the so called Master of Spacetime, one of the five remaining contestants not confirmed to be under the Heavenly Spark Soul King, along with Daevic, Ren Kimbal, Krysta La¡¯Vordi, and Sword Saint Milan. Daevic didn¡¯t care about the middle-aged-looking man¡¯s unemotional order, however. The dragon was someone he wouldn¡¯t normally be able to beat, so he wasn¡¯t going to miss this chance to finish him off. Without any more thought, Daevic activated Storm Strike on his sword and stabbed toward the dragon¡¯s heart. Chapter 272: One Strike Krysta What happened next was so quick Krysta could barely follow. One instant Isaiah was about to be killed by Daevic Stormborn, Krysta unable to do anything to help, but the next he was gone, teleported into the compound where the contestants from Earth and the Heavenly Soul Universe were watching. One instant Daevic was launching forward, wearing a peak Empyrean grade armor and wielding a peak Empyrean grade sword, but the next a large violet blade, emanating both an aura of absolute holiness and an aura of absolute evil, appeared in Isaiah¡¯s place and moved almost at the speed of one of Krysta¡¯s spatial slices, slashing through Daevic¡¯s sword from point to handle, straight through Daevic¡¯s outstretched arm¡ªcompletely unaffected by his gauntlets, vambrace, and pauldron¡ªand then right through his torso, cutting in half his lungs and heart before coming out the other side. One instant only Daevic and Isaiah were in the battlefield at the center of the halo-shaped space station, but the next a man was behind Daevic, the bastard sword landing gently in his outstretched right hand, his features transforming from plain-looking to universe level good looks, beautiful dark-blue semi-translucent hair down to his wide shoulders and orange mystical eyes flashing with anger. ¡°I believe I told you not to attack.¡± Aalam then reached out his left hand, on which was what looked to be an upgraded version of his old azure fingerless glove¡ªthe scales it was made from now somehow smaller, more numerous, and semi-translucent¡ªand grabbed Daevic¡¯s head. Then there was a surge of mana and, through her magical senses, Krysta watched as Aalam ripped out his half-brother¡¯s soul, Daevic¡¯s body disappearing into the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace as his soul quickly flowed into Aalam¡¯s specialized soul structure. Through her spatial sensing skill, Krysta then watched as the Master of the Eternal Forge, the Lord of Twilight Flame, and the Lady of Hellwater all looked excited, seemingly not at all caring about how their nephew had been brutally murdered. The Law Master looked interested, appearing to be studying Aalam closely. And Krysta¡¯s own father and uncle looked intrigued, like they were watching a good show, their emotions obviously very different from Krysta¡¯s own overwhelming fear. Fear which resulted because the gods were not who Krysta was paying attention to. Throughout the audience, there were mostly shocked expressions, and shock was the main emotion which could be seen on the faces and felt from the auras of most of the contestants in the compound where the forces of the United Federation of Planets were staying, at least from those not directly part of the United Federation of Planets. But Vanar Tedros looked worried, his aura matching. Li Evelyn looked even more so, her aura shaking. And the same worried look and disturbed auras could be seen and felt from Irena Krol¡¯s disguise as well as from the United Federation of Planets¡¯ other leaders. Most important of all, however, Starflower, the disguise of Li Mila, looked just as worried as the rest of the United Federation of Planets¡¯ main members, while her true level of power leaked through, for a split second Krysta able to tell the woman had six high grade Law Scarabs even if she couldn¡¯t tell what they were. For most in the audience, it hadn¡¯t fully dawned on them yet what was about to happen, but, as Krysta took a look at her mother¡¯s aura, she could tell her mother had already noticed the same thing she had. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Aalam showing up to kill his half brother was almost certainly not a part of the Heavenly Soul Universe¡¯s plan and, with Aalam himself having arrived in front of his family, something bad was about to happen. ¡°How dare you kill my son!¡± And there it was. While all the gods and most of the A ranks on the station managed to maintain their cool, Thunderstrike Taravan, Daevic¡¯s father, lost it, the power of his mana vibrations killing all the F and E ranks within 50,000 kilometers as he turned into lightning and rushed at Aalam, appearing in front of Krysta¡¯s friend in an instant, a wrathful expression on his face and his aura radiating anger. Wearing an Empyrean grade armor and wielding an Empyrean grade sword which looked a lot like the ones his son had been using¡ªonly two ranks higher and thus far more powerful¡ªhis blade aimed at Aalam to slash the C rank in half, and, with all six of his Laws already at the Law Dragon level, the Law energy infused into his strike was powerful enough to kill Krysta¡¯s mother with ease. Thunderstrike Taravan was a true combat focused A rank, and his power was on another level. A and C ranks were fundamentally different. First there were the effects of B rank. C ranks could at most have one oath, and this was extremely rare. Meanwhile, every A rank had gone through all 216 levels of B rank, creating between 3 and 6 oaths, and each generally had more effects on combat potential than a class. More important, however, anyone who¡¯d gone through all levels of B rank would have had their souls transformed, altering their energy and connection to the universe. With the exact same stats, stat effectiveness, cultivation technique, and Laws, a B rank would destroy a C rank. It wasn¡¯t even a question. And the difference between A and B ranks was even greater, A ranks having much greater control over Laws. Up through B rank, Laws were mostly supplementary. Sure, they made a huge difference, but, in the case of two cultivators following the same path where one had 50% higher stats and the other had Laws a grade higher along with a higher level cultivation technique to match, the cultivator with higher stats would almost always win. But, at A rank, this would reverse. A ranks had transformed their Laws into a special type of metaphysical Law energy which represented their path, and they then began the process of merging that Law energy into all of their skills, increasing their power by an incredibly large amount. This, on top of the increase in the quality of energy from B rank to A rank, made B ranks who could win against A ranks much rarer than C ranks who could win against B ranks, to the point that, in the entire universe, as far as Krysta knew, there were no B ranks who could win against an average A rank, let alone an elite like Thunderstrike Taravan, even if he was still relatively young. Thunderstrike Taravan singlehandedly ruled the third most powerful human empire in the universe for a reason, despite there being a lot of human empires. First, the cultivation technique he practiced was Stormlord Rebirth, one of the six recognized best cultivation techniques in the universe, only behind Aalam¡¯s previously thought untrainable Twelve Element Primal Code, so his Law energy made him practically unkillable while also giving him extreme control over the destructive power of lightning. Even though he was still relatively low in level, and, as a result, couldn¡¯t hold a candle against the truly powerful A ranks raised by many divine level forces, he absolutely excelled in speed, offensive might, and regeneration. From what Krysta knew, the man had made five oaths, one more than the average, and all six of his Laws were at the early grade Law Dragon level, only four grades away from becoming divine. Sure, this was the same level as Krysta¡¯s own Law of Spatial Shift, but Krysta had no Law energy, and Thunderstrike Taravan had six Laws at that level. The difference was like a normal space-focused A rank compared to her father, a divine god of the space element. No one watching thought Aalam could survive one strike from Thunderstrike Taravan, yet alone multiple. But, just before Taravan¡¯s sword reached Aalam¡¯s heart, Krysta noticed something. While everyone else looked worried, Aalam was smiling, and Starflower, who¡¯d appeared worried, had a slight smirk on her lips. Chapter 273: Debut of the Heavenly Spark Soul King Krysta Armor appeared around Aalam, the scales of the Left Hand of the Runescribe somehow expanding to cover his whole body other than his head and fingers, replacing the plain black clothing he¡¯d been wearing, and the draconic wings artifact used by one of his subordinates during Daevic¡¯s fight in the previous round appeared on his back, changing color not to the black, white, and gray as when used by that cultivator of Yin Yang Cosmology, but becoming multi-colored, reminding Krysta and almost everyone else in the stadium of the Law Master¡¯s own wings. Then Aalam¡¯s aura flared and he used three different skills at once, an artifact enhancement skill to empower his armor, a defensive skill somehow infused with natural energy to cover his armor in another layer of defense, and some kind of telekinesis skill, which used qi and mana in addition to psyforce, to slow down his opponent¡¯s strike. This then allowed Aalam not to block Taravan¡¯s blade, not to divert the attack, but to catch Taravan¡¯s sword in his left hand with enough strength Taravan couldn¡¯t even take his sword back, the destructive lightning of the strike somehow completely disappearing when entering within 24 cm of Aalam¡¯s body. ¡°Thank you.¡± Mana undulations containing Aalam¡¯s voice emanated out as several hundred runes appeared from seemingly nowhere, forming five spherical arrays around the two combatants, each several kilometers in diameter. ¡°I¡¯ve been in need of more concentrated primal energy before advancing to B rank.¡± The five arrays then activated and what followed surprised everyone watching. First, one of the the arrays merged with a domain skill Aalam activated, filling the area around him and Thunderstrike Taravan with a natural energy infused zone where Aalam¡¯s Laws were strengthened while his opponent¡¯s Laws were suppressed, the zone somehow even affecting Taravan. At the same time, the second array started to absorb Taravan¡¯s energy, seemingly based on the same theory as the armor that had been repeatedly used by Aalam¡¯s subordinates when fighting Taravan¡¯s son, slightly messing up Taravan¡¯s energy flow. And, most important, the third array activated and an absolutely ridiculous amount of psyforce formed knives to stab into Taravan¡¯s soul, not penetrating deep but almost causing Taravan to scream out in pain. These three arrays, however, were not meant to work on their own, only to throw Taravan off balance for an instant, and, in that instant, the other two arrays activated. The fourth array shrunk down and somehow merged with Taravan¡¯s armor, altering the disturbed energy flowing through it to the point the artifact started smoking, the armor suddenly no more than the materials it was made from. And, at the same time, the fifth array shrunk down and merged into Aalam¡¯s karma-filled purple bastard sword, filling the blade with some kind of weird power Krysta couldn¡¯t identify. Then, with Taravan momentarily stunned, Aalam thrust his blade through the now useless armor and directly into Taravan¡¯s heart, the stunned A rank not able to react in time to stop him. ¡°Thank you for the meal.¡± The power from the fifth array appeared to activate inside Taravan¡¯s body, doing something weird, and then all the primal energy from Taravan¡¯s A rank soul quickly flowed into Aalam as the man¡¯s body and soul transformed into pure lightning-filled purple energy and his spatial storage ring disappeared into the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace. ¡°I am a crafter. And I make things because it¡¯s fun.¡± As Aalam spoke the words, the primal energy inside his body lessened by a considerable amount, the simple oath rapidly cleansing his soul, and, at the same time, Taravan¡¯s armor and sword somehow melted down in front of him, merged with the purple lightning power Taravan¡¯s body and soul had turned into, and flowed like liquid into the form of a spear, a spear that looked like the one Isaiah had used during his fight and one that continued to grow in power in front of everyone¡¯s eyes as Aalam guided its creation. Then, when the spear was fully made, a runic array appeared before Aalam and tore a hole in space to in front of Krysta and her family, through which Aalam tossed the weapon toward Krysta¡¯s mother, who caught it. And this gave Krysta a better look at the artifact. It was purple gold, just like the artifacts it had been made from, with the perfect form and flexibility such a weapon required, but there were a couple weird things about it. First, she didn¡¯t feel the power of lightning from the weapon, or any strong elemental alignment at all for that matter. Second, it didn¡¯t feel finished, like it was a dead weapon, not yet infused with any kind of energy. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Still, however, it was at least Empyrean grade, and that alone was amazing. Sure, it had been created from two Empyrean grade A rank artifacts and the condensed power of an A rank emperor, but Aalam, a mere C rank, had managed to transform those artifacts into something completely new using only a single alchemical ingredient, and that was unheard of. ¡°Master, given the nature of your expertise, would you do me the favor of explaining to everyone here and everyone watching the nature of the artifact my uncle was kind enough to give me?¡± Looking around the space station, those from the United Federation of Planets still looked nervous, but almost everyone else¡¯s jaws were hanging open, not yet having closed following the shock of Aalam killing Taravan. Krysta¡¯s mother, however, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, had regained control over her emotions and was studying the spear dispassionately, Krysta unable to figure out what she was thinking. ¡°This is an Empyrean grade A rank spear blank. Were an A rank with Law energy specializing in a subset of the elements of lightning, wind, fire, water, life, and death to spend a few hundred years refining it, it would transform into an Empyrean grade weapon perfectly suited for them. Were a god to do the same, however, the weapon would reach Divine grade and become considerably more powerful.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Aalam reached out his left hand and the spear disappeared from Krysta¡¯s mother¡¯s hands, seemingly sucked into the Left Hand of the Runescribe¡¯s subspace despite Aalam being over 100 kilometers away. Then he summoned out several thousand red metallic cards like the one Isaiah had given Krysta¡¯s uncle, created several thousand corresponding short distance spatial portals using the power of arrays, and telekinetically pushed the cards to various members of the audience, each the highest status representative of their various forces present on the space station. ¡°The spear blank has already been listed up for sale, but please do look at the other items made by my subordinates as well as the trading pavilion for requesting products to be personally made by me.¡± Aalam¡¯s aura shifted, energy flowing into the wings on his back, and Krysta watched in amazement as the wing artifact, seemingly made from the wings of a powerful A rank Order Dragon, changed, advancing from an Empyrean grade C rank artifact to a Divine grade B rank artifact in front of all of their eyes, the power of order emanating out from them becoming absolutely incredible for a few seconds before lessening to match the same level as Aalam¡¯s armor and sword. ¡°Anything under A rank is possible.¡± One of the reasons Aalam was able to kill Taravan then became obvious to Krysta. The Left Hand of the Runescribe was not a particularly powerful Empyrean grade C rank artifact, and neither was the holy devil sword. They, like Aalam¡¯s wings, were both peak Divine grade B rank artifacts¡ªthe difference between them and Taravan¡¯s Empyrean grade A rank artifacts not high¡ªand, somehow, Aalam was able to use them. Somehow, likely due to the nature of the core he¡¯d formed and some racial abilities or uniquenesses, Aalam¡¯s energy had the same level of quality as that of a B rank. And this meant the difference between him and an A rank was a lot lower than anyone would expect. Aalam, still ignoring the members of the Primordial Humans faction who were all glaring up at him but not yet doing anything else, then turned to the Law Master and bowed slightly. ¡°Lord Kemizle, please thank your mother for me for her creation of such an amazing cultivation technique. I wouldn¡¯t be where I am today without her grace.¡± A small crystal information orb then appeared in Aalam¡¯s left hand and flew through a spatial portal to land in the Law Master¡¯s right palm. ¡°Here are the experimental results you requested, as you discussed with my knight.¡± Then, before Aalam could say anything else, three human A ranks appeared on the space station¡¯s teleportation platform, two old women and one old man¡ªwho Krysta recognized as the three oldest A rank elders of Sunrise Valley¡ªand they all rushed at Aalam, each carrying weapons wrapped in black and white fire. Aalam, however, again just smiled. His aura, tightly controlled to the point his Laws had so far been impossible for Krysta to read, expanded to cover the entire battlefield in the center of the space station, and thousands of runes appeared around the three A ranks, forming several dozen suppressive arrays targeting each of them. Then Aalam disappeared, moving far faster than Krysta could follow, and the next thing she knew each of the three A ranks had been sliced in half four or five times, the parts of their bodies starting to be destroyed by a new set of arrays. It took about two seconds. When facing three A rank combatants at about the same level of power as Thunderstrike Taravan, so long as he didn¡¯t have to worry about refining their bodies and souls into alchemical materials while they were still alive, this was how long it seemed average A ranks would last in front of the Heavenly Spark Soul King. ¡°I am a scientist.¡± As Aalam absorbed all the primal energy from the three bodies, along with the three souls, he started making a third oath as a C rank, something Krysta was almost positive had never been done before by any C rank in the history of the Prime Material. ¡°I study how the universe works because I enjoy it.¡± Chapter 274: Gustavius, Son of Primordius Even after receiving punishment for the same action already, A rank elders from your force have again attacked a contestant of the Universal Tournament! Removal of all System Privileges for all current and former true members of Sunrise Valley extended from 429,981,696 years to 61,917,364,224 years. Bounties on all members of Sunrise Valley tripled. All subordinate forces of Sunrise Valley now subjected to Sunrise Valley¡¯s original punishment. Gustavius son of Primordius, the Lord of Twilight Flame, was incredibly angry. First, the overpowered little brat should have been Bellessia¡¯s problem, not his, but their father was still angry at him for that whole burning several empires out of existence thing, even after seven hundred billion years, so the responsibility fell to him. Second, he didn¡¯t like having his hand forced. The dragon brat had been doing something with his eyes to mess with the emotions of the lightning boy, leading Bellessia¡¯s idiot son to make that final attack even after Bellessia¡¯s overpowered brat told him to stop. Then, given Bellessia¡¯s overpowered brat was the dragon¡¯s master and could surrender in his stead, Bellessia¡¯s lightning boy lost his System protection, allowing the overpowered brat to kill him with no repercussions. This then led the lightning boy¡¯s father, who Gustavius was planning on using to attack the overpowered brat after a little more observation, to attack early of his own accord, and, after the A rank halfwit was killed, Gustavius had no choice but to test the overpowered brat more, resulting in even more losses. Finally, third, and probably most important, Bellessia¡¯s overpowered brat was unprecedentedly talented, to the point he surpassed Gustavius¡¯s own strength from back when he was a C rank by an utterly ridiculous amount, and this had Gustavius scared, an emotion he hadn¡¯t felt in a very, very long time. They¡¯d already known the boy would have the Monster Emperor racial ability, doubling the max stats his race would allow, and they¡¯d already known he¡¯d have the Emperor uniqueness along with a skill to allow him to always be in his own Territory so that uniqueness could buff his stats by a factor of six. By the nine hells, they¡¯d even known he¡¯d have the Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor and Power of Order racial abilities. They just hadn¡¯t known he¡¯d somehow gain another ability, likely through one of his seemingly four classes, to somehow decrease his soul burden from high stat effectiveness by a remarkable amount. Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor increased the value of all base stats other than Soul by 33% of a soul lord¡¯s effective Soul stat, and it was overpowered, the prime ability of one of the universe¡¯s strongest types of monsters for a reason, but it normally had a limit. For every soul lord Gustavius had ever heard of, no matter how powerful their Soul stat, their soul armor could not increase their other stats by more than a factor of 4. This was a self protective feature of the racial ability to keep soul lords from killing themselves with their own power. The overpowered brat, however, seemed to have a much higher limit, his soul armor increasing his other base stats by a factor of 16. Now, normally, this wouldn¡¯t matter much, as having a high enough Soul stat to increase the other base stats by such a large amount was nearly impossible. Even with soul lords heavily favoring the Soul stat, they would need a Soul stat effectiveness of more than +2600% after maximizing their stats, an utterly ridiculous amount, but the overpowered brat had the Power of Order racial ability and 36 order category Laws all within a single grade of each other. The Empyrean grade version of the Power of Order racial ability increased the effectiveness of all stats by 6.25% for each grade of every order category Law of a cultivator within three grades of the cultivator¡¯s highest Law, i.e. an increase of 100% for every peak grade Law Scarab and an increase of 106.25% for every early grade Law Dragon so long as the cultivator didn¡¯t have any high grade Law Dragons. For someone like the overpowered brat, who somehow had 16 early grade Law Dragons and 20 peak grade Law Scarabs, this added up to an increase of +3,700%, and many of his stats were obviously boosted even higher from other abilities. Multiplied all together, the overpowered brat¡¯s effective base stats other than Soul were all higher than 61,917,364,224, with the brat¡¯s Magic and Spirit stats nearing 123,834,728,448. These were extreme values even for an A rank, let alone someone at C rank. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Add this to how the boy¡¯s Laws were ridiculously high, how his skills were all boosted enough to be more effective than Divine grade, and how his core of power seemed to raise the quality of his energy up to B rank, allowing him to make use of the multiple B rank Divine grade artifacts he owned, and the overpowered brat was an absolute monstrosity. Were he to make it to B rank and maximize his power, Gustavius himself likely wouldn¡¯t be his match. Still, it was absolutely idiotic for the overpowered brat to show up in person in front of three gods who wanted him dead, especially when showing off power that made Gustavius himself consider risking the System¡¯s wrath just to kill him, so there had to be a trap of some kind. Gustavius just couldn¡¯t figure out what it was. ¡°You piece of shit god!¡± As Gustavius was trying to decide what to do, the wasted illusionist somehow entered the courtyard where he and his siblings had been watching the fights up above, and no one had stopped the now powerless failure from approaching him and yelling in his face. ¡°How dare you destroy my future! How dare you¡ª¡± The man stopped yelling as Gustavius released just a little of his power to burn the idiot to death. And then Gustavius learned what the trap had been. The System didn¡¯t take injuries into account when seeding contestants, so the illusionist wasn¡¯t at the bottom, still having yet to lose for a second time and still having System protections. Were he actually part of Sunrise Valley, there would be no problems, the leader of a force able to kill a member at any time, but if he wasn¡¯t, well¡­ You, a god, and the leader of Sunrise Valley, have murdered a contestant of the C rank Universal Tournament! Removal of all System Privileges for all current and former true members of Sunrise Valley is now permanent. Bounties on all members of Sunrise Valley quadrupled. All subordinate forces of Sunrise Valley now subjected to Sunrise Valley¡¯s previous punishment. You, a god, and an elder of the Primordial Humans, have murdered a contestant of the C rank Universal Tournament! Removal of all System Privileges for all current and former true members of the Primordial Humans for the next 61,917,364,224 years. The bounty on you has quadrupled. Bounties on all other members of the Primordial Humans established. The illusionist, who¡¯d grown up in Sunrise Valley, had somehow either turned traitor and joined a different force or been replaced by someone who¡¯d never been a true member of Sunrise Valley to begin with, yet Gustavius had never realized. And, while everyone was distracted by the overpowered brat in the sky waiting for the Law Master¡¯s response, the almost certainly intentionally crippled illusionist had passed through all security to approach Gustavius to curse him out, something Gustavius would always react to with deadly force. ¡°Well, damn.¡± Feeling even angrier than before, and not having much more to personally lose given how high his bounty already was, Gustavius launched himself into the sky before his siblings could stop him, immediately approaching the overpowered brat. Then his power formed a flaming black and white phoenix that followed his arm as he tried to punch the brat through the heart. ¡°Thank you for being an idiot, uncle.¡± The overpowered brat smiled at him as a magical shield made from True Laws of the time and space elements appeared around him, completely blocking Gustavius¡¯s attack with ease. ¡°Mila was right when she said we should target you. ¡°You are the easiest to fool of my family members.¡± Gustavius looked down slightly and noticed a book had appeared in the overpowered brat¡¯s left hand, gray and covered in green lines of runic script, and he also noticed an almost identical book in the hands of the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, a similar defensive magic around her as well. These were 2 of the 108 puzzle books of Camoran the Spirit Smith, the very puzzle books his sister had been after in the first place when she hadn¡¯t killed the overpowered brat as a baby, and it seemed the boy had just finished solving the last puzzle in the book in his hand, enabling all 108 books to activate and bring anyone of B rank or below to a special demiplane to compete for the Spirit Smith¡¯s inheritance. Gustavius wasn¡¯t sure what would happen when an A rank like the Alchemist of the Deep Woods activated a book, but the overpowered brat before him likely was. Even after receiving punishment for the same action already, you have again attacked a contestant of the Universal Tournament! Removal of all System Privileges for all current and former true members of the Primordial Humans is now permanent. Bounties on all members of the Primordial Humans quadrupled. All subordinate forces of the Primordial Humans now subjected to the Primordial Humans¡¯s original punishment. ¡°As the current leader of the United Federation of Planets, I am invoking rule 283 of the C rank Universal Tournament for all members of my force other than myself.¡± The overpowered brat continued smiling at Gustavius as nearly 24% of the contestants in the tournament finals disappeared, teleported away by the System to protect them from being attacked as well, including every single member still competing in the tournament. ¡°Then I relinquish my position as temporary leader and return it back to my wife.¡± The puzzle book of Camoran the Spirit Smith finished its activation and the overpowered brat, along with the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, disappeared, leaving Gustavius both extremely angry and extremely confused. Krysta La¡¯Vordi being part of the United Federation of Planets he could understand. She¡¯d likely accepted a blood oath with one of the overpowered brat¡¯s fake artifacts. But Sword Priestess Milan was the future high priestess of the elven goddess of war and dance. Unlike most in the tournament, she had a divine class. There was no way she could join a different force without the express permission of her goddess. Still, the overpowered brat wasn¡¯t as smart as he thought he was. The Primordial Humans were strong, so, even with bounties on all of their members, no one was going to attack them. Most were too weak to risk taking such a chance, and those that weren¡¯t were fully aware of what would happen if the Primordial Humans, the first line of defense against the undead and the demons, had to shift their focus to internal fights. Even the loss of System privileges didn¡¯t mean much as it was overwritten by the fact the Primordial Humans were always in wartime mode due to the undead¡¯s constant attacks. Sure, their subordinates were screwed, and their power might weaken for a while, but even short term there wouldn¡¯t be much damage. Meanwhile, the overpowered brat teleporting so many marked individuals had exposed a still open temporary entrance to his universe, a flaw the Primordial Humans were definitely going to use. Chapter 275: Declaration of War ¡°And with that, this instance of the C rank Universal Tournament is officially over.¡± Edi ignored the several thousand C ranks who¡¯d just appeared in the cages around him and Olivia, including many who hadn¡¯t participated in the tournament, instead focusing on the illusory image of his master in her Starflower disguise sitting behind a desk and reporting on what had just occurred in the tournament. ¡°In first place, the man who can slaughter A ranks with ease as a C rank, the Heavenly Spark Soul King, Aalam Alvaro, emperor of the Heavenly Soul Universe and the greatest power of the United Federation of Planets. In second place, the head tutor of the Heavenly Soul Universe and an elder of the United Federation of Planets, the Devil Blade, Vanar Tedros. And in third place, his surrender revoked after his opponent broke the rules, the head of the Heavenly Soul Universe¡¯s Royal Guard and another elder of the United Federation of Planets, True Dragon Isaiah. ¡°Finally, rounding out the top four after making a deal and joining the United Federation of Planets as a spiritual pillar, Sword Saint Milan, the next high priestess of War Dance Koraline.¡± The image of Starflower slowly morphed, becoming Edi¡¯s master¡¯s normal appearance, long silky semi-translucent black hair with purple highlights down to the middle of her back, golden mysterious eyes, and the type of figure that would make men drool. ¡°My name is Li Mila and I am the empress of the Heavenly Soul Universe and leader of the United Federation of Planets. With our force being the only one still represented in the tournament and the interference of the Primordial Humans faction of gods, we have decided to not proceed with the tournament¡¯s subsequent rounds and have instead chosen the winners and losers of every battle ourselves. ¡°For everyone not already mentioned, please check the System announcement for the official rankings.¡± Edi¡¯s master smiled in that way she did whenever she was about to make someone feel pain. ¡°With my role as Master of Ceremonies for the Universal Tournament now concluded, let¡¯s get on to other business. ¡°First, what we of the United Federation of Planets want. This is simple. We want to be left alone. ¡°We¡¯re talented enough that we¡¯ve been able to set the records for the most points from the F and D rank Trial Towers and we¡¯ve been able to receive the max possible rewards from the E rank War of the Chosen and C rank Universal Tournament. And we can get our own resources without having to take them from anyone in the Prime Material as we are perfectly capable of taking over other universes no one else from this universe can. ¡°If you don¡¯t attack us in an unprovoked manner, we are generally a peaceful group. ¡°Be like the leader of the Violet Mountain Sect or the Primordial Humans¡¯ Bellessia, however, and kill one of our own for no justifiable reason whatsoever, and you will earn our wrath. ¡°The Violet Mountain Sect, a B rank force, was destroyed back when Isaiah, my husband, and I were E ranks. Now we¡¯re C ranks, soon to be B ranks, and it is the Primordial Humans¡¯ turn to pay for their transgressions.¡± Her face lost its smile and began to show anger Edi knew had been burning quietly for thousands of years. ¡°You murdered our first leader with a vile bloodline curse, burned our temporary leader to a crisp, and tried to assassinate my husband in front of the entire universe. ¡°You think you are safe because you are powerful and because the universe won¡¯t let you fall while you¡¯re still the first line of defense against the demons and the undead, but you¡¯ve forgotten three important facts. First, there can always be someone more powerful, as my husband has shown here today. Second, every other divine force in our universe has the power to defend us from the demons, such as the elves. And, third, everyone from the Heavenly Soul Universe is descended from the Yin Yang Sage, the woman who managed to blackmail every undead empire you allowed to exist in our universe by holding their lives in the palms of her hands. We¡¯ve learned the Yin Yang Sage¡¯s true inheritance, and my husband has improved on it. If you decide to go the route where you will be destroyed, it will not be difficult to replace you and do a better job.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Edi¡¯s master took a deep breath and her scary smile returned. ¡°Now, to make our animosity official. I, Li Mila, President of the United Federation of Planets, declare war on the Primordial Humans, all their subordinate forces, and all their subordinates¡¯ subordinate forces, et cetera. The terms of your surrenders are set. And you all have 5,184 years before all the leaders of every one of your forces are completely annihilated.¡± With that, Edi¡¯s master, a doppelg?nger, stood up and bowed before fading away. ¡°So, how do you think I did?¡± Edi almost jumped as his master, seemingly her true body this time, appeared out of nowhere and sat down on the armrest next to him on the loveseat he and Olivia had been sharing. Meanwhile, Olivia did jump. Then she quickly bowed, placing her right hand to her heart. ¡°Cousin.¡± ¡°Relax, Olivia.¡± Lord Isaiah, Olivia¡¯s master, walked over, looking no worse for wear after having appeared on the planet¡¯s teleportation platform, his deep voice booming. ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Olivia, who interacted with Edi¡¯s master and her own about as much as Edi did, at least enough that she¡¯d know how lacking in formality the two generally were, seemed to have to struggle to relax in front of her father¡¯s cousin way more than Edi would expect, and Edi found this weird. Then, however, he read the finer fluctuations in Olivia¡¯s aura and realized the source of her nervousness wasn¡¯t Edi¡¯s master, but Edi himself, the emotions only triggered with his master¡¯s arrival and her ability to read people like books. Before dealing with his own emotions around this discovery, however, Edi decided to answer his master¡¯s original question about her performance. ¡°If you wanted what I think you wanted, you probably achieved it.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Edi¡¯s master nodded as she stood up again. ¡°I was nervous.¡± Then she looked around at all the trapped C ranks and smiled warmly, either about to do something nice for them all or kill every single one. With Edi¡¯s master, it was hard to tell. ¡°Hello, everyone. As you¡¯ve just seen, my name is Li Mila and I am the head of the United Federation of Planets, the force you have all now joined. ¡°For those of you who haven¡¯t officially become members and are confused about what is going on, you signed a blood oath with one of my husband¡¯s deceased servants, those artifacts from the Havadim Imperium having been faked, and, as a result, you¡¯ve effectively signed your lives over to us. ¡°Lucky you. ¡°Those cages around you are currently blocking all your karmic bonds, making you impossible to track while silently breaking all the contracts you¡¯ve entered into other than your blood oaths, freeing you from the restrictions from your previous forces. The full process will take about 28 days, after which you¡¯ll be free to sign a new contract with me to become official citizens of the Heavenly Soul Universe, with all the same rights as every other citizen, myself and my husband included. ¡°Unlike my husband and I, you won¡¯t be able to leave this universe, at least for now. Otherwise, however, you¡¯ll be free to travel, free to be merry, and free to explore.¡± Edi¡¯s master then turned her head to look at a cluster of cages holding those who had already been there for years. ¡°For those of you who have already been here for a while, the same offer is of course still extended.¡± She snapped her fingers and Edi could sense contract requests being sent to everyone who¡¯d been in the cages for a while, the cages designed to not blockor affect either her or Edi¡¯s powers. Then Edi¡¯s master teleported to an empty cage, opened it with a wave of her hand, and dropped what looked to be Prince Daevic¡¯s body inside. Her wedding ring allowed her to share the subspace built into Lord Aalam¡¯s Left Hand of the Runescribe in addition to having a subspace of its own, so this wasn¡¯t surprising, but, when Daevic¡¯s soul flowed out of a relatively plain metallic bracelet she was wearing on her other hand and seamlessly merged with his body, reviving him almost instantly as the cage closed around his unconscious form, Edi couldn¡¯t help but open his mouth in shock. ¡°He¡¯s not dead?¡± Krysta La¡¯Vordi, the caged cultivator who looked the most comfortable, sounded surprised as she stared at Edi¡¯s master. ¡°Of course not.¡± Edi¡¯s master smiled as she turned to look at Ms. La¡¯Vordi. ¡°He¡¯s Aalam¡¯s brother and he doesn¡¯t have a divine class, so taking him in is not a risk. Why would we want to kill the poor abused man?¡± Edi¡¯s master then made a gesture and a small orb appeared in her left hand before disappearing and landing above Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s head, something invisible flowing out of it and into Ms. La¡¯Vordi¡¯s body before it crumbled to dust. ¡°The terms of our deal have been followed.¡± Edi¡¯s master smiled more warmly than before. Then, along with Lord Isaiah, she started to walk back toward the teleportation platform. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in 28 days, Krysta.¡± ¡°Is there really no other purpose to these cages!?¡± Sword Saint Milan, who¡¯d already unsuccessfully tried to cut through her cage with one of her swords, shouted out. ¡°Each cage has a powerful dao finding formation built into it, making them ideal places to cultivate.¡± Edi¡¯s master turned to look at the woman as she and Isaiah stepped onto the teleportation formation. ¡°Other than that, it also scans your body and soul at a very deep level. ¡°All but six of the living children with Bellessia¡¯s bloodline are in there with you, after all. And my husband is interested in isolating his mother¡¯s genetics.¡± With that, Edi¡¯s master and Lord Isaiah disappeared, almost certainly having to deal with other matters, leaving Edi and Olivia to deal with the former prisoners who started to accept his master¡¯s contracts, Edi very much thinking there was more to the cages than his master had said. Chapter 276: Dissolution of the Za’Lord’s Guard ¡°Do you really think the Heavenly Spark Soul King will keep his promise to let us leave?¡± A large sub-group of the Za¡¯Lord¡¯s Guard was talking in their training compound. ¡°Do you think if we do leave we won¡¯t just have our memories extracted and our souls destroyed by the United Federation of Planets'' enemies?¡± ¡°Why would we even want to leave? We¡¯re part of a force led by C ranks who¡¯ve declared war against the oldest group of gods in the universe and are so far winning.¡± ¡°But that won¡¯t continue. The Heavenly Spark Soul King and the others previously had the protection of the tournament, but they¡¯ve lost that now. And they have angered actual gods. They won¡¯t survive, and, if we join them, neither will we.¡± ¡°What do you think, Raven?¡± The sub-group turned to look at him and Raven had to fight hard to control his aura to not show just how nervous he was. Personally, he wanted to run away. The Heavenly Spark Soul King and his wife had declared war against a group of gods¡ªthey¡¯d all seen it on the soul net after they¡¯d arrived back on the training grounds¡ªand Raven didn¡¯t like the United Federation of Planets'' chances. But he was different than the others. First, he, along with Wen Alexis and Master Tedros, would be able to reincarnate with the help of the Heavenly Spark Soul King, entering into a monster tutorial of some newly integrated world, and that was the only way he¡¯d ever make it to B rank, but this was something only the three of them, Zev Ankur, and Endless Will knew about of those in the Za¡¯Lord¡¯s Guard, so he couldn¡¯t reveal it. Second, and probably more important, Raven¡¯s brother seemed to be the number three individual in the United Federation of Planets, so, if Raven didn¡¯t stay, he¡¯d be hunted down and used against his brother. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But I¡¯m not going to leave. The United Federation of Planets saved my life and helped me get revenge. I owe them too much.¡± ¡°Everyone, gather in the main courtyard.¡± Raven suddenly heard a voice in his head, one that sounded exactly like the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife, and, from reading the surprised auras of those around him, he wasn¡¯t the only one to hear it. Quickly, everyone moved to the main courtyard, a large open grassy area in the center of the compound, and there they found the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife and Raven¡¯s brother standing on a raised platform on the eastern side. Then, about a minute later, when everyone had arrived, the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife began speaking. ¡°First, I would like to thank everyone for your hard work. Our goal was to gain over half the points in the C rank Universal Tournament and your help gave us the buffer required to take more risks.¡± Raven thought about it for a second and realized that, other than Master Tedros, the only other member of the Za¡¯Lord¡¯s Guard to make it to the top 33 was Li Evelyn, who¡¯d been disguised as one of them but was actually a member of the United Federation of Planets. This meant, even without them, the United Federation of Planets would have met its goal. ¡°Now, for what you¡¯ve all been waiting for. As my husband promised, if you want to leave, you can do so now. Just don¡¯t accept the contract I¡¯m about to send you, leave all the artifacts you¡¯ve received from us, and then step on the teleportation platform. You will be sent out of the Heavenly Soul Universe to a random E or D rank world away from the main territories of any divine factions, and then you¡¯ll be on your own. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the Primordial Humans will care about you, but, seeing as you don¡¯t know anything important, there is a good chance they¡¯ll leave you alone.¡± The Mistress of Oaths and Deception has sent you a contract request. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Terms:
  1. You will accept the position of citizen in the United Federation of Planets, with all the benefits and obligations that come with
  2. You will not kill other citizens or those of higher rank in cases other than self defense
  3. For any resource you receive from the United Federation of Planets, other than in cases where you are given explicit permission, you are not allowed to in turn give the resource to anyone else
Punishment: Permanent loss of cultivation Do you accept? Yes/No ¡°For everyone else, if you accept the contract, you will become a citizen of the United Federation of Planets with all the benefits that come with, free to do whatever you want inside this universe so long as it doesn¡¯t cause direct harm to others. ¡°You will have access to the information related to upgrading your races, classes, and racial abilities up to A rank. You will be able to gain resources depending on your contribution. And you will gain access to the requirements for becoming a god. ¡°The only downside, for now at least, is that you won¡¯t be able to return to the main universe without a military purpose for at least the near future.¡± Raven watched as almost everyone turned to look at each other, the gaining access to the requirements for becoming a god thing very much in everyone¡¯s heads. ¡°Alright. That is all.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife smiled at them and Raven felt his heart start to beat faster. ¡°You have 12 days to decide.¡± With that, the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife and Isaiah started walking toward the teleportation platform, Master Tedros following them, but then Raven heard the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife in his head. ¡°Mr. Gale, given the secrets you know, if you don¡¯t accept the contract, I¡¯ll have to have you imprisoned for at least 1,728 years. Just a note.¡± Raven could see the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife smiling at him in his mind and he realized something rather scary. If she could send images and her voice directly into his head, what else could she do in there? During her speech declaring war on the Primordial Humans, she¡¯d mentioned herself alongside Isaiah and the Heavenly Spark Soul King, with Raven already assuming she was the United Federation of Planets'' number two, but, from his brother who could fight B ranks to the Heavenly Spark Soul King who could slaughter A ranks, there was a large gap, and Raven didn¡¯t know where she fit in. Rather hurriedly, he accepted the contract. Then he watched as a good 90% of the Za¡¯Lord¡¯s Guard immediately made their choices and headed for the teleportation platform. Who had accepted and who had not, it wasn¡¯t easy to tell. But, when Raven arrived at the teleportation platform, found he only had one possible destination, and teleported to a C rank planet to find a giant modern city, he did a quick count of who was also there while getting an introduction from several of the United Federation of Planets'' own C ranks, and realized about 75% had chosen to stay, only 25% leaving. And, given the situation the United Federation of Planets was in, at war with a true divine faction, this was surprising to him. ¡°Raven, Wen, come with me.¡± Master Tedros walked over to Raven and Wen Alexis, who was with him, and then guided them back to the teleportation platform where, with his help, they teleported to a different planet, seemingly somewhere in the other three quarters of the B rank world where they¡¯d been training since they¡¯d arrived in the Heavenly Soul Universe. There they walked to a giant warehouse storing what looked like thousands of B rank golems, of the type that had kept the members of the Za¡¯Lord¡¯s Guard from leaving their designated area, and Raven realized the true fighting power of the United Federation of Planets was a whole lot higher than he¡¯d at first realized. ¡°Your reincarnations will have to wait for at least a few days.¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife and Isaiah walked over from several golems that had apparently just been activated, as they flew out of some designated holes in the building¡¯s roof and out into space. ¡°We don¡¯t know how long it will take Aalam to receive the inheritance of Spirit Smith Camoran. ¡°Until then, I recommend you practice your Laws. No more resources will help, and advancing your skills at this point will be useless, but your knowledge of Laws will help in your next life. I¡¯d especially recommend you decide what Laws you will follow when you reincarnate. Will you use the same ones you¡¯ve practiced in this life, or will you add others into the mix, maybe not train in some of the Laws your current bodies led you to which you don¡¯t like as much.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going to happen with your war with the Primordial Humans?¡± Wen, always the most talkative of the three of them, asked. ¡°When do you think the fighting will start?¡± The Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife smiled at Wen like he was an innocent little boy. ¡°The fighting has already started, Mr. Alexis. The Primordial Humans have already captured the temporary entrance to the Heavenly Soul Universe we teleported through to get back and are in the process of making it permanent. Our golems have already killed several thousand of the D and C ranks they¡¯ve sent through, and the fighting doesn¡¯t look like it will slow down any time soon.¡± Raven felt a chill go down his spine at that, but he noticed Isaiah didn¡¯t seem all that nervous, and he realized this had probably been within the Heavenly Spark Soul King¡¯s wife¡¯s calculations. Chapter 277: Oath of the Magnificent Bastard Mila ¡°I am not a good person. I am cold, I am calculating, and I manipulate everyone around me be they friend or foe. But, while my plans are often complicated, my motives are pure.¡± These were the words Mila had spoken after killing a couple vile B ranks she and Aalam had captured, and they helped form her first oath. Oath of the Magnificent Bastard You are not a good person, but you are incredibly competent and you live by a code not to betray those on your side Benefits: Exceptionally increase the power of disguise and soul category skills Remarkably increase control over qi, mana, and psyforce Should you successfully execute a plan without any true betrayal and without breaking any of your personal rules of conduct, there is a high chance of entering into a state of sudden enlightenment Limitations: Betraying those you care about or those you¡¯ve given your word to using your real identity will shackle your soul, the greater the betrayal the worse the shackles and the longer they will last With the completion of the first part of the plan for reviving Diana and raising herself, Isaiah, and Aalam to B rank, Mila entered into a state of sudden enlightenment, her true body taking the chance to cultivate in the Enlightenment Zone on Earth while one of her doppelg?ngers dealt with the aftermath with Isaiah, her main mind uncontrollably going over the various aspects of her plan. First, her goals. In order of most important to least, they were to revive Diana, to get Aalam the time and resources he¡¯d require to make it to B rank, and to keep everyone in the Heavenly Soul Universe safe, followed by saving the Alchemist of the Deep Woods and gaining the required resources for everyone else¡¯s advancements as well. The first goal was simple. They just needed to find a trustworthy individual, powerful enough to make it to the top two in the Universal Tournament but willing to allow Aalam to strip them of their power to the point they regressed all the way back to G rank, to reincarnate with Diana¡¯s soul, then do the nearly impossible task of gaining over half the points in the C rank Universal Tournament. After finding Vanar Tedros, the first requirement was easy to meet, but the second was a lot more work. The fourth goal, rescuing Aalam¡¯s master, was also simple in the same way, i.e. not very complicated but nearly impossible. After looking through Krysta¡¯s memories, they just had to find a way to cancel 7 contracts that couldn¡¯t be bought out and then pay out 9,763,218,582 A rank universal credits to buy out all the rest. Four of these contracts that couldn¡¯t be bought out were with relatively weak forces, created when the Alchemist of the Deep Woods herself had been weaker, a simple dose of enhanced charm magic followed by memory manipulation enough to have them disappear like they¡¯d never existed. But the remaining three had been with much more powerful forces, a force directly under one of the Lady of Laws¡¯ subordinate gods, the force directly under the elven goddess War Dance Koraline, and the largest of the human empires, one that worshiped the Primordial Sovereign directly. The most difficult goals of all, however, were the second and third, getting Aalam everything he needed and keeping everyone under the United Federation of Planets safe. Following her goals, there were the tools and resources Mila¡¯d had access to, and the additional complications they introduced. Back when they¡¯d all been early D ranks, Earth¡¯s connection with the small other universe had succeeded, raising Earth to A rank and making everyone¡¯s cultivation easier. But, while what later became the Heavenly Soul Universe was simple to conquer, Aalam¡¯s power enough to take in the entirety of the uninhabited universe as it was only roughly seven galaxy clusters large¡ªwith only a single B rank planet¡ªit also presented a problem. The connection between Earth and the Heavenly Soul Universe was only strong enough to allow C ranks through, and the Heavenly Soul Universe¡¯s positioning made it impossible for it to connect with other universes. This meant the Heavenly Soul Universe could only hide their force up until they were C rank, with anyone who advanced to B rank inside likely to be trapped, and it didn¡¯t provide much in the way of the high rank resources that were required for advancing to C rank and beyond, only the resources on Earth of much use. More positively, however, they¡¯d had access to the D rank Trial Tower, which Mila and Aalam had been able to enter together three times, getting things such as the complete almost corpse of a powerful B rank Chaos Dragon Aalam had used to somehow allow Isaiah to gain that race¡¯s power on top of his existing Balance and Runic Dragon abilities, some supplementary resources for Aalam¡¯s own C rank race advancement and C rank armaments, and the supplementary resources required for the rather insane plan Aalam had for allowing Diana to be reborn as an incredibly rare type of monster. This, combined with the resources she and Aalam had found and then usually stolen while visiting backwater planets with their sensory domains activated, had made it relatively easy for everyone from the United Federation of Planets who met the requirements for advancing to C rank to do so, leaving them with nearly ten thousand C ranks in their force by the time the C rank Universal Tournament started, several dozen of which had enough talent and age to reach the finals of the C rank Universal Tournament if provided with good artifacts, artifacts that Aalam could create due to the same abundant sources of resources. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. And, as usual, when it came to allowing plans for doing the near impossible, Aalam was the key. Even before Aalam had awakened to it after advancing his race to C rank, it had been obvious his Power of Order racial ability would be utterly ridiculous when paired with his abundance of order category Laws, and, like Nana Xara had guessed, it, combined with his other powers, made him capable of killing low to middle tier A ranks, allowing Mila to safely let him take a few extra risks. Even more important, however, Aalam had invented three new skills in addition to Ruler¡¯s Domain, two of which Mila had instantly identified as incredibly useful. Emperor¡¯s Eyes of Analysis, an eye skill Aalam created after he awakened to a third eye line uniqueness of his own, allowed Aalam and Mila to see matter and energy flows at a much, much higher resolution, and, combined with a high grade third eye line uniqueness, it could be merged with the sensory domain from Ruler¡¯s Domain to allow Mila to see the full extent of even divine level runic defenses around things such as the Lord of Twilight Flame¡¯s personal treasure vault. In addition, when combined with the special effects of the interaction between Mila¡¯s Third Eye Queen uniqueness and her Shadow and Illusion Laws, anything under the effects of stealth or illusion under the divine level could no longer be hidden, sticking out far more than if it was just left in plain sight, allowing Mila to find many hidden caches in A rank territories, such as Thunderstrike Taravan¡¯s contraband. Meanwhile, Aalam¡¯s second new invented skill, Thirteen Life Legion, was a clone skill that allowed both Mila and Aalam to form up to twelve clones using subsets of their twelve extra mental forges, mana wells, and core containers, each set of which was attuned to one of the twelve elements. First and foremost, this could enable Aalam to generate his own resources for advancing to B rank by allowing his twelve single element clones to individually participate in the Universal Tournament¡ªsomething made possible by Mila¡¯s powers to manipulate bonds and the spaces the System couldn¡¯t access in the Steel Swamp Blessed Land. So long as each of Aalam¡¯s clones made it to at least the fifth round while being members of the United Federation of Planets, it would be possible to reincarnate them as monsters, raise them up to C rank, and then have Aalam reabsorb them using the power of his bloodline to push his race half way up to Divine grade. Then an ungodly amount of pure refined nascent energy, one of the possible maximized rewards for placing first in the Universal Tournament, was enough to push his race over the edge. And all Mila would need to advance her race along with his was to place in the Universal Tournament¡¯s top four. Aalam also had his rather insane crafting abilities, which allowed him to make things like the faked artifacts from the Havadim Imperium, and, if he completed all the puzzles in his two copies of Camoran the Spirit Smith¡¯s puzzle books¡ªand the Primordial Sovereign finished all the puzzles in the final puzzle book he¡¯d bought during the last Universal Auction, something Mila had confirmed he¡¯d already done¡ªeach puzzle book would make a shield that could protect the activator from even divine level attacks before teleporting the activator away. Aalam, however, wasn¡¯t the only one with specialized abilities to build a plan around. Mila herself had the extremely rare abilities of memory manipulation, faith energy control, and disguise talents that she later learned could fool even gods, all incredibly helpful. And there were a lot of useful abilities from others in the United Federation of Planets as well. Javier Garcia, for example, had a skill that allowed him to alter the appearance of others in a very hard to see through way that proved incredibly useful. The soul signatures of most members of the United Federation of Planets hadn¡¯t been exposed before the Universal Tournament, so, with Javier¡¯s help, it was easy to set most of them up with created identities, almost all of those who awakened skinwalker line uniquenesses from Aalam¡¯s experiments not having to make use of them. As for Aalam, Isaiah, and Irena, all of whom had their soul signatures exposed? Aalam and Isaiah had both gained an Empyrean grade version of the skill Polymorph upon advancing to C rank, which could allow them to fool the passive scanning of even gods, so they were fine as long as they avoided gods and A ranks before they were contestants in the Universal Tournament, when cultivators of such power could no longer actively scan them without major repercussions. And Mila¡¯s grandmother had been one of those to awaken to a skinwalker line uniqueness, so she¡¯d taken on the identity of a dying woman, fulfilling the cultivator¡¯s last wish to get revenge for herself and her daughter. Meanwhile, Mila¡¯s grandfather had gained a skill that allowed him to slowly integrate with the soul signature mask created by his own skinwalker line uniqueness, so he could safely take on longer term identities of those in even divine level forces, just like Mila. Altogether, Mila had had a lot of tools at her disposal, so she¡¯d even had enough wiggle room to add side goals to her plan. First, Isaiah reasonably wanted to find and then protect his brother, something that proved much more difficult than they¡¯d expected given Raven had been accepted into a divine level force as a slave and then sold to an evil merchant to be used as an ingredient for creating a powerful resource, but, unlike with Mila¡¯s other side goals, they were at least only dealing with juniors from a divine force, unlikely to anger the elders, so this side goal had been relatively simple. Second, for the race Aalam wanted Diana to choose after her monster tutorial, a powerful external resource known as a Semi-Deified Faith Gathering Stone was required, and the core component of such a resource was a simpler resource known as a Faith Gathering Stone, a special rock that allowed for easier gathering of faith energy. Such resources, which could help A ranks advance to divinity, were incredibly rare, and incredibly controlled, most in the hands of divine factions, so, when Mila had found one inside Thunderstrike Taravan¡¯s special copy of ¡®Ms. Horval¡¯s Guide to Fungi and The Dissolving of Corpses¡¯, she¡¯d added the side goal of gaining the resource from the A rank, Vanar Tedros¡¯s revenge a nice additional side benefit. Third, there were the Single Element Spirit Crystals grown and processed by the divine level force of one of the independent gods known as the Stalwart Gladiator that were only ever sold through the main forces under the Prime Material¡¯s three merchant gods, including the Quintessence Merchant Union under Merchant God Perival, where Yorick Strong was competing to become the head. These crystals were essential to the formation of the ideal races Aalam wanted for his reincarnated clones, so Mila¡¯d had her grandfather take on Yorick Strong¡¯s identity and disappear a few hundred years after selling all the raw Single Element Spirit Crystals he could get his hands on to her. Then, finally, the biggest side goal Mila¡¯d added was to help find a new inaccessible base for the United Federation of Planets. In the process of doing everything required for the C rank Universal Tournament, it was unavoidable to not have the Heavenly Soul Universe discovered, and this meant it was only a matter of time before Earth¡¯s location was uncovered as well. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Soul Universe, with its stablest possible portal only allowing up to C ranks to pass through, couldn¡¯t enable the United Federation of Planets to grow. So the United Federation of Planets needed a new side universe, one where the max possible stable portal was B rank. But Mila had no idea how many of these other universes there were or who controlled them, so what she really needed was a multiverse map. And the easiest multiverse map she could access, one that she could be sure would give her many options, was in the personal treasure vault of the Lord of Twilight Flame, a vault where all she¡¯d need for access was to have her own body emanate the divine aura of the famously wrathful god. Chapter 278: Plan Review The main plan had truly begun with the auction at the Inexhaustible Heat Auction House, where Mila¡¯s fake identity as the auctioneer, one her fire element aligned clone had taken over after she¡¯d killed the vile woman, had enabled her to use her Karmic Eyes skill to manipulate the audience, allowing those B ranks she wanted dead to buy the resources she needed, including Isaiah¡¯s brother. At the same time, she¡¯d used some subtle memory manipulation on Yorick Strong, the man selling Isaiah¡¯s brother, to have him put Krysta La¡¯Vordi in a position where she couldn¡¯t interfere with their rescuing of Raven and where Mila would have a good excuse to meet the woman to get the required information necessary to eventually rescue Aalam¡¯s master. At the same time, with Nana Xara¡¯s advice and Aalam¡¯s crafting abilities, they¡¯d made many fake artifacts from the Havadim Imperium where swearing loyalty to Diana with a blood oath was required instead of the Imperium¡¯s god, binding those who made the oaths to the United Federation of Planets and inherently strengthening Diana¡¯s association in the Prime Material with divinity, creating subtle magical effects that would prove useful for Diana¡¯s rebirth, the auction a good chance to specifically target quite a few individuals. This alone had been a lot of effort. But then there was helping to create all the fictional identities for the United Federation of Planets'' members who could reach C rank, manipulating things so all of Aalam¡¯s unrecognized siblings who weren¡¯t utter monsters would gain one of the blood oath artifacts, and abusing their force¡¯s right to purchase teleportation permissions from around the universe and free teleportation from the System to find and steal the hidden resources of many dead C, B, and A ranks, along with quite a few alive ones as well. While using multiple clones to travel around, she and Aalam had also found many talented but unaligned C ranks to kidnap and make part of the Za¡¯Lord¡¯s Guard¡ªnamed after a force of pixies who defended the main character in one of Aalam and Diana¡¯s favorite book series. And this included Vanar Tedros, who had made pieces of the plan so much easier. The most risky parts of the plan, however, had been the three important identities Mila¡¯d had three of her clones assume. The first was Twilight Illusionist Ren Kimbal of Sunrise Valley, one of the training partners of Daevic Stormborn and someone who could scout out the A rank planet the Lord of Twilight Flame shared with his twin sister. Sure, given the Laws the man specialized in, Mila¡¯d had to combine her light, darkness, metal, and lightning element clones together to take on his identity, but, after killing the man, taking over his life, and personally meeting the Lord of Twilight Flame, the Lady of Hellwater, and the Master of the Eternal Forge, she¡¯d confirmed the disguise skills used by her clones could fool even gods. And, with the identity of Ren Kimbal, it wasn¡¯t difficult to get an accurate reading of Daevic¡¯s strength for when Isaiah would fight him in the finals, understand the defenses behind the Lord of Twilight Flame¡¯s vault, and set up a situation where the Lord of Twilight Flame would break the System¡¯s rules by killing the clone¡ªsomething that would only take her a few years to recover from with the resources they¡¯d already prepared¡ªmaking him much more likely to attack Aalam. Second was Samaela Vondar, a minor servant serving in Sunrise Valley¡¯s headquarters and Mila¡¯s earth element clone, who she mostly used to listen in on the discussions of Sunrise Valley¡¯s higher ups, the Lord of Twilight Flame included, but who also carried Mila¡¯s wedding ring starting from right before the finals of the Universal Tournament, which was connected to the storage space of Aalam¡¯s Left Hand of the Runescribe. When the Lord of Twilight Flame attacked Aalam, Aalam used the chance to absorb the man¡¯s aura into the Left Hand of the Runescribe and Mila¡¯s clone had then released that aura from her wedding ring, allowing her to enter into the Lord of Twilight Flame¡¯s vault unimpeded. Then, when Aalam activated rule 283 of the C rank Universal Tournament to forcibly teleport everyone who was part of the United Federation of Planets in the Prime Material back to the Heavenly Soul Universe, Mila¡¯s clone had used her rights as an elder of the United Federation of Planets to delay her teleportation, copied all the information orbs stored in the vault, and then quietly teleported away without leaving any evidence behind. Finally, third, Mila¡¯s most difficult identity was Sword Saint Milan, the future high priestess of elven goddess War Dance Koraline. Like Aalam¡¯s control of natural energy had grown to a ridiculous level, so had Mila¡¯s control over faith energy, and this allowed her to start forming a set of never before seen C rank cores based around her main central Heavenly Spark Divine Shadow Core, which, even in an incomplete state, allowed her to store external divine power, enabling her to fake divine classes. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. With this identity, she¡¯d tricked Aalam¡¯s aunts and uncles into truly thinking the United Federation of Planets wouldn¡¯t gain half the points from the C rank Universal Tournament, and, almost as important, she¡¯d made a deal with the force under War Dance Koraline¡¯s main lawyer to receive one boon within his power if she made it to the top four of the C rank Universal Tournament, a deal which, despite her faked identity throwing War Dance Koraline completely under a bus, he¡¯d already gone through with, canceling his force¡¯s contract with the Alchemist of the Deep Woods at her request, the man likely thinking War Dance Koraline was truly on the United Federation of Planets'' side. At the same time, War Dance Koraline, the mother of the dead elven god who¡¯d originally triggered the annihilation of Nana Xara¡¯s family and who¡¯d repeatedly tried to kill Nana Xara on numerous occasions, was in hot water with the Primordial Humans and possibly other factions of gods as well, something Mila felt rather good about. A few of Mila¡¯s other clones had done important work as well, kicking out several competitors early and joining the same tournament areas as Raven to make sure Isaiah¡¯s brother at least made it to the finals, but Mila hadn¡¯t tried to use them to gain the United Federation of Planets more points. First, her necessary four identities only allowed her 3 extra clones. Second, they weren¡¯t needed. And, finally, third, it was much more beneficial for Mila and Aalam if no one else knew about their clone skill. Aalam had assumed twelve identities with his clones for the Universal Tournament, and, other than the clone pretending to be Mila¡¯s cousin Thomas, most didn¡¯t gain much fame, losing in the fifth or sixth round of the finals. Five of the other clones then merged with the Thomas clone back in the Steel Swamp Blessed Land to allow the clone to fully fake Thomas¡¯s Yin Yang Cosmology and control Daevic¡¯s placing to make him fight Isaiah after having Isaiah cripple Mila¡¯s Ren Kimbal clone. Then, when that was done, all the clones merged back into Aalam¡¯s main body so he¡¯d have his full strength when Isaiah successfully threw the fight and charmed Daevic into attacking again. The real Nial Gilim, the Master of Spacetime, had been crippled quite badly, to the point he shouldn¡¯t have gotten past the first round of the first section of the Universal Tournament, with several people not of his force being aware of it, so, when Aalam took over his identity after Mila kidnapped the man and forced him to live out the rest of his days in the Heavenly Soul Universe, with a new connection to the System so Aalam¡¯s takeover of his identity would work, the odds against him winning the entire Universal Tournament had been as bad as the System offered for anyone, 1 to 1,728. Mila of course had bet as much as she could afford, roughly fifteen billion A rank universal credits, on him winning, and now she had an extra twenty six trillion A rank credits to play with in the future. At the same time, however, before Mila could review other successful parts of her and Aalam¡¯s actions at the Universal Tournament, her doppelg?nger saw the temporary portal from the Heavenly Soul Universe to the Prime Material strengthening to the point it would soon allow B ranks through, B ranks who would be more than a match for the many B rank golems Aalam had made from C rank materials. And, if a B rank escaped from the area of the portal long enough to find the Heavenly Soul Universe¡¯s main portal to Earth, exposing Earth¡¯s location, there was a good chance everyone in the Heavenly Soul Universe would die if Aalam couldn¡¯t return in time to save them. ¡°Iz,¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger asked Isaiah, who was floating in space next to her, ¡°do you think it might have been a bad idea to provoke the Primordial Humans quite so much?¡± ¡°Did we have any other choice?¡± Isaiah smiled as his Draconic Bloodforged Living Armor clothing changed into its true combat mode, becoming a set of golden-green full-body plate armor engraved with intricate purple runes. Then he summoned out his normally black and gray Chaos Dragon Shield and Chaos Dragon Spear, changing them to their true combat modes as well, both becoming dark blood red with thick intricate black runes covering about a third of their surface area. ¡°Aalam¡¯s family was going to attack us no matter what.¡± ¡°But they might not have thrown quite so many resources at us so fast.¡± Mila looked at the portal through her doppelg?nger¡¯s eyes, watching as a B rank entered and the portal¡¯s energy lessened, the silver-haired old-looking human male, someone Mila recognized, immediately trying to teleport away. His name was Horatio Hovimar, and he was a member of the Infernal Sea, the force under the Lady of Hellwater. He was near death, not having the qualifications to reach A rank, but his combat abilities were high and he was someone with strong enough defensive and movement powers that even a thousand golems wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him. More important, however, he specialized in the space element, so he would have a much easier time finding the permanent portal to Earth than other B ranks if he was able to escape. His teleport wasn¡¯t effective due to the spatial barrier maintained by the 300 golems surrounding the portal, Mila not having deployed all of them due to a lack of spare energy cores, but this didn¡¯t stop the man and he immediately tried to flee through speed alone. Chapter 279: Balanced Dragon Knight Name: Isaiah Gale Level: 360 Race: Strong Soul Runic Balance Chaos Dragon (C-Empyrean) Bloodline: Primordial Strong Soul Primal Human (Fabled) Abilities Dragon Scales (Empyrean) Dragon Body (Empyrean) Aspect of Combat (Empyrean) Dragon Heart (Empyrean) Power of Balance (Empyrean) Human Blood Adaptation (Fabled) Runic Enhancement (Empyrean) Power of Chaos (Empyrean) Class 1: Balanced Dragon Knight (C-Empyrean) Skills Dragon Knight (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Dragon Drive (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Polymorph (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Draconic Combat Senses (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Runic Empowerment (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Chaos Control (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Class 2: Right Hand of the Otherverse Emperor (C-Empyrean) Skills Shadow of the Emperor (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Shadow of the Empress (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Speed Steps (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Absolute Defense (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Destruction Strike (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Regeneration (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Laws Law Scarabs: Speed - Middle Defense - Middle Destruction - Middle Regeneration - Middle Spear - Early Shield - Early Law Pupae: Sword - Peak Halberd - High Blood - High Void Slice - Middle +5 Law Larva: +18 Law Eggs: +34 Cultivation: Technique: Four Aspect Cycle (Level 14) Foundation: Flawless Merged Skill: Dragon Drive (C-Empyrean) Acupoints Opened: (108/108) All stats + 36% Core: Berserker Dragon Chaos Core Stats: Strength: 23,887,872 (+1108.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 360,348,549 Agility: 23,887,872 (+1108.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 360,348,549 Endurance: 23,887,872 (+708.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 264,797,061 Toughness: 23,887,872 (+1108.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 360,348,549 Vitality: 23,887,872 (+1008.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 336,460,677 Perception: 23,887,872 (+1008.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 336,460,677 Magic: 23,887,872 (+708.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 264,797,061 Spirit: 23,887,872 (+708.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 264,797,061 Soul: 23,887,872 (+808.5% + 300% when holding a weapon) = 288,684,933 Aura: 23,887,872 (+600.5%) = 167,334,543 Attunement: 23,887,872 (+1200.5%) = 310,661,775 Luck: 23,887,872 (+600.5%) = 167,334,543 Free Stats: 0 Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 1 Colossal Core Container Middle Dantian: 6 Colossal Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 1 Colossal Mental Forge Uniqueness: Perception King Slaughter King Attunement King Speed King Defense King Attack King Regeneration King Boons: Head Knight of the Heavenly Spark Soul King I: Gain the effects of the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Mythic) racial ability Head Knight of the Heavenly Spark Soul King II: Gain the effects of the Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor (Empyrean) racial ability Head Knight of the Heavenly Spark Soul King III: Gain the effects of the Monster Emperor (Empyrean) racial ability Hunter of Sentients XVI: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 8% After awakening to a strong soul variant race called Human Form Strong Soul Runic Balance Dragon at D rank, Isaiah had received a second class, taking Balance Dragon Shield Knight together with Balanced Dragon Spear Knight, both of which made use of his balance dragon variant race, and this allowed him to gain the Polymorph skill. So, when he ascended to C rank, he made the choice to become a true dragon to make his future race advancements easier, usually using Polymorph to keep his human form. Strong Soul Runic Balance Chaos Dragon (C-Empyrean) An adult chaos dragon with the additional power of balance and runic dragons, somehow with a completely stable soul Racial Abilities: 8 No limits, but a higher chance for chaos abilities, abilities that raise the effectiveness of all stats, and abilities based on natural runes Max stats: Strength: 11,943,936 (576) Agility: 11,943,936 (576) Endurance: 11,943,936 (576) Toughness: 11,943,936 (576) Vitality: 11,943,936 (576) Perception: 11,943,936 (576) Magic: 11,943,936 (576) Spirit: 11,943,936 (576) Soul: 11,943,936 (576) Aura: 11,943,936 (576) Attunement: 11,943,936 (576) Luck: 11,943,936 (576) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 2,592 Agility: 2,592 Endurance: 2,592 Toughness: 2,592 Vitality: 2,592 Perception: 2,592 Magic: 2,592 Spirit: 2,592 Soul: 2,592 Aura: 2,592 Attunement: 2,592 Luck: 2,592 Advancement Criteria: Live for 36,864 standard years. Requirements: ??? And Strong Soul Runic Balance Chaos Dragon was a ridiculously powerful race, allowing Isaiah to have three of the top six draconic racial abilities. Power of Balance (Empyrean): Increase the effectiveness of any stat with the same value as one or more other stats by X times 50%, where X is the number of other stats with the same value. With the Power of Balance racial ability, the effectiveness of Isaiah¡¯s stats was nearly unmatched among C ranks. Runic Enhancement (Empyrean): Seriously increase the power of all skills. With Runic Enhancement, all of his skills, no matter the category, were boosted by four levels. Power of Chaos (Empyrean): Easily learn the chaos category Laws of those you fight with and easily combine multiple Laws in combat. Finally, with Power of Chaos, he could learn new Laws with ease, merge them together in combat, and, most important, raise the quality of his energy to match someone with a more powerful cultivation technique several levels higher than his own. Mila and Aalam had spent a lot of resources to help him form a race that could match their own in power, and those resources had increased the grade of his other dragon-related racial abilities as well. Dragon Scales (Empyrean): Increase the effectiveness of the Toughness and Attunement stats by 200%. Dragon Body (Empyrean): Increase the effectiveness of the Strength and Agility stats by 200% and the Vitality stat by 100%. Dragon Heart (Empyrean): Qi, mana, and psyforce are passively drained whenever injured to seriously boost the healing of injuries and the normal flow rate of qi, mana, and psyforce is seriously increased with better burst potential. Aspect of Combat (Empyrean): Increases all stats the longer combat activity is maintained, up to 300%. Dragon Scales, Dragon Body, and Dragon Heart boosted his stats, regeneration ability, and energy quality by more than before¡ªand they synergized with the draconic skills of his first class to make them significantly more powerful¡ªbut Aspect of Combat was definitely his fourth most powerful racial ability. While not on the same level as Power of Balance, Runic Enhancement, or Power of Chaos, Aspect of Combat was the defining ability of brawler dragons, a less slaughter focused variant of war dragons, and the Alchemist of the Deep Woods had helped him awaken to it back when he was an E rank, evolving it from the relatively useless Active Daoist. Aspect of Combat increased Isaiah¡¯s combat power by about 25% when fully activated, and, with Isaiah¡¯s strong stats and the amazing effects of his second class, he could reach full activation of the racial ability within seconds after the start of a fight. He¡¯d never needed to use Aspect of Combat in public, however, even having Mila soul shackle him so he¡¯d only receive the increased effectiveness to Attunement and nothing else, so the racial ability was still the first of his trump cards. Human Blood Adaptation (Fabled): Enhances the effects of a Fabled grade human bloodline and enables advancement of the bloodline to one of a higher grade by drinking 1 liter of blood every three days for thirty-six days from someone with a race advanced from the race represented by the bloodline. Finally, Human Blood Adaptation hadn¡¯t advanced at all, still only increasing his stats by 2% and making cultivation a bit easier, and his bloodline hadn¡¯t advanced either. Primordial Strong Soul Primal Human (Fabled) The bloodline of an elite human who has traced the power of their ancestry back to before the beginning of their race Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 12.5% Raise cultivation speed to double that of a Strong Soul Primal Human¡¯s if your race would make it less Lowers the barrier to awakening a strong soul variant race when undergoing racial evolution With Diana about to be revived, however, this would likely change, and Isaiah couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous and excited. Balanced Dragon Knight (C-Empyrean) You move like a storm, attack like a wildfire, have the toughness of steel, and can regenerate severed limbs in a matter of seconds, all while having the blood of a balance dragon. Effects: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 100% Increase all base stats by 300% when wielding a weapon or shield Bathing artifacts in your blood can strengthen them and attune them to your soul Seriously increase the synergy between draconic skills and draconic racial abilities Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Crafting Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 5,184 Agility: 5,184 Endurance: 5,184 Toughness: 5,184 Vitality: 5,184 Perception: 5,184 Magic: 5,184 Spirit: 5,184 Soul: 5,184 Aura: 5,184 Attunement: 5,184 Luck: 5,184 Requirements: 4 high grade Law Pupae on the paths of Speed, Defense, Destruction, and Regeneration, has two Fabled grade balance dragon knight line D rank classes, has the Dragon Knight (D-Fabled) skill, has the Servant Knight (D-Fabled) skill, has achieved the ¡®one with a weapon¡¯ status with at least three weapon types, has the same value for all base stats, has a Balance Dragon race or bloodline Balanced Dragon Knight increased his base stats by a lot, greatly increasing his power, but the last two effects were the most important. Isaiah¡¯s artifacts were far more powerful than he¡¯d revealed in the Universal Tournament partially because they¡¯d been bathed in his blood, becoming almost symbiotic extensions of himself. And the increased synergy between his draconic skills and draconic racial abilities unlocked many amazing effects. Dragon Knight and Dragon Drive, for example, which separate could each double his effective power and together could almost quadruple it, put a lot less strain on his body than normal, Isaiah able to keep up both for hours even without using his Dragon Heart racial ability thanks to an effect of his second class, the true power of the skills the second trump card he¡¯d hidden from the Prime Material. Polymorph, which would normally decrease his power by about half when not in his natural form, no longer had such a weakness so long as the form he assumed was that of a half-dragon, and only decreased his power by about 20% for other forms. Draconic Combat Senses, which combined Kinetic Senses, various kinds of energy sensing, and Heightened Senses, became a passive skill that required no energy to activate. And Runic Empowerment, a powerful active skill that boosted all his other skills by a further four levels when used, which normally flashily added very noticeable runes to the use of all his skills, became far more subtle, nearly impossible to notice for anyone not looking for it while also increasing the strength of his skills by five levels instead of four. The skill with Isaiah¡¯s favorite boost from the synergy, however, was Chaos Control. Normally a passive skill providing more control over energy, specifically the unique type of chaotic energy created by the cores of C rank and higher chaos dragons, the synergy gave the skill an active effect as well, allowing Isaiah to naturally simulate some of the famous skills of dragons, such as draconic aura, draconic roar, and, in Isaiah¡¯s true form, draconic breath. If Isaiah were truly serious in fighting, he¡¯d make use of these abilities a lot, along with Runic Enhancement, and, as he¡¯d never shown off either skill, they made up his third trump card. Chapter 280: Right Hand of the Otherverse Emperor Right Hand of the Otherverse Emperor (C-Empyrean) The right hand of the master of an entire universe Effects: Remarkably increase the power of servant category skills Seriously decrease the soul burden of high stat effectiveness Seriously increase the strength of the bond between you and your master Remarkably increase control over your master¡¯s Territory Gain minor omniscience in your master¡¯s Territory Gain minor omnipotence in your master¡¯s Territory Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 5,184 Agility: 5,184 Endurance: 5,184 Toughness: 5,184 Vitality: 5,184 Perception: 5,184 Magic: 5,184 Spirit: 5,184 Soul: 5,184 Aura: 5,184 Attunement: 5,184 Luck: 5,184 Requirements: Has the status of main servant to a master with the Otherverse Emperor (C-Empyrean) class Like Mila, Isaiah now had a class that gave him power from his relationship with Aalam, and, like Mila¡¯s similar class, his came with rather extreme benefits. The decreased soul burden from high stat effectiveness, combined with the synergy between his racial abilities and his draconic skills from his first class, took away almost all of the negative effects of the berserker skills he specialized in, and the increased strength of his bond with Aalam was incredibly useful, enabling them to easily communicate through their bond from even two separate universes so long as a portal was open. But it was the last three effects that were truly amazing, becoming the fourth trump card he¡¯d yet to reveal. While in Aalam¡¯s Territory, Isaiah¡¯s senses and control over external energy increased greatly, and the effect was even more drastic in the Heavenly Soul Universe. There, if he so desired, it was like everything in existence would help him in any action he took. If he wanted to know about a cultivator, he could see past their aura defenses to view the energy flows within their soul. If he wanted his skills to produce more power, external energy would flow into them at a much quicker rate than normal, increasing their power by almost half a rank. And, if he wanted to not feel the natural suppression the universe produced against not just outsiders, but native lifeforms as well, the suppression would disappear, leaving him like a fish in water. Due to these effects, he¡¯d been able to master all of his skills¡ªeven though they were all Empyrean grade¡ªwithin only a few thousand years, and, when in the Heavenly Soul Universe, he could fight as if he was already halfway into B rank. Speed Steps, Absolute Defense, Destruction Strike, and Regeneration were all simple powerful skills, each representing the peak of the four aspects of speed, defense, destruction, and regeneration, and they were incredibly useful, but it was Isaiah¡¯s Shadow of the Emperor and Shadow of the Empress skills that had together become his fifth trump card, providing the key to his flexibility and use in Mila¡¯s complex plans. Shadow of the Emperor allowed him to take in Aalam¡¯s energy, store it, and then use that energy to release one of Aalam¡¯s skills, Isaiah usually using it to shadow Aalam¡¯s Ruler¡¯s Domain skill, the amount of Aalam¡¯s energy Isaiah could store good enough to keep Ruler¡¯s Domain active for a little over a day. And Shadow of the Empress allowed the same, only for Mila¡¯s energy and skills, Isaiah usually using it for Ascended Artifact Enhancement, as that skill could provide him with the greatest increase in combat power, but, when he¡¯d fought against Daevic in the Universal Tournament, he¡¯d stored the energy for Mila¡¯s Karmic Eyes skill instead, making sure Aalam¡¯s brother would try to kill him even after Aalam surrendered in his place. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. In addition to the power he gained from his race and classes, the increased strength of his bond with Aalam also allowed the boons he received for being Aalam¡¯s head knight to be as strong as those received by Mila, giving him the full effect of three of Aalam¡¯s key racial abilities instead of lower grade versions¡ªalbeit not Power of Order or Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor due to the racial restrictions of both. This doubled the max possible stats of his race, increased his effective Attunement stat and affinities with all Laws, and, most important, allowed him to use extra nascent energy to increase the size of his mental forge and six mana wells to Colossal size, increasing his psyforce by 16 times and his mana by 8 before even forming his core. Berserker Dragon Chaos Core: Remarkably increases the normal flow rate of qi, mana, and psyforce while greatly increasing their burst potential and ability to break down impurities; raise affinity with all chaos category Laws by 300%; and, when activated using a third of a true dragon''s energy, raise all draconic racial abilities and skills by a grade. As a result, Isaiah¡¯s Berserker Dragon Chaos Core didn¡¯t disappoint, giving him better quality energy than almost any core of those in the United Federation of Planets and one of the best affinity raises as well given just how broad the affinity raise was. Most important, however, was the core¡¯s berserking effect. If Isaiah in a normal state could raise his power by a factor of four using his berserker skills, his core¡¯s berserking effect, which could be added on top thanks to Dragon Drive being merged into his cultivation technique and Dragon Knight operating through a different mechanism, would raise it by another eightfold, becoming Isaiah¡¯s sixth and final trump card. Sure, the berserking effect wouldn¡¯t last long, not even in the Heavenly Soul Universe, maybe 15 minutes at most, but, compared to it, his seven advanced and new uniquenesses were almost nothing, even after eating the one fruit generated by the bloodtree his brother had been attached to and using other resources to raise his existing uniquenesses with Aalam¡¯s help. Perception King: Increase the effectiveness of the Perception stat by 300%. Slaughter King: Turn a large part of the power of anyone personally killed into raw nascent energy that can be absorbed along with primal energy from kills. Attunement King: Increase the effectiveness of the Attunement stat by 300%. Speed King: Increase the effectiveness of the Agility stat by 200% and seriously increase the power of movement category skills. Defense King: Increase the effectiveness of the Toughness stat by 200% and seriously increase the power of defensive category skills. Attack King: Increase the effectiveness of the Strength stat by 200% and seriously increase the power of offensive category skills. Regeneration King: Increase the effectiveness of the Vitality stat by 200% and seriously increase the power of regeneration category skills. Then, finally, there was Isaiah¡¯s singular oath. Oath of the Stalwart Guardian You are the stable influence others can rely on, always striving to improve yourself with noble intensions Benefits: Raise your affinity with all Laws Increase the speed of mastering skills Increase control over qi, mana, and psyforce Lower the interference from existing Laws when raising additional ones The extent of the above benefits are directly related to the purity of your motives at the time Limitations: Acting with impure motives will shackle your soul, the greater the impurity the worse the shackles and the longer they will last Like all three of Aalam¡¯s oaths, while Oath of the Stalwart Guardian did provide some benefits in combat, it was mainly an oath that helped with training, the lower interference from existing Laws when raising additional ones especially useful, and it was an oath that matched very well with Isaiah. Purity in this case wasn¡¯t about morals but about directness and not lying to oneself, something Isaiah had gotten much better at after thousands of years of therapy, so the benefits he received generally hovered around a 500% increase in affinity with all Laws and a remarkable increase in the speed of mastering skills, control over his energy, and lowered interference from other Laws. His limitations then, like from most good oaths, wasn¡¯t something he was at all inclined to suffer from, and, if anything, the added punishment for not following his heart was incredibly helpful in keeping his mind healthy. Emanating a dragon roar through the use of his Chaos Control skill, Isaiah used Aalam¡¯s power to activate his friend¡¯s Ruler¡¯s Domain skill, taking over the entire area around the temporary portal to the Prime Material, and, at the same time, he used Mila¡¯s power to activate her Ascended Artifact Enhancement skill, raising the strength of his already practically unmatched C rank artifacts even further, activated Dragon Knight and Dragon Drive to boost his power by a factor of four, and activated the berserking ability of his core, boosting his power by another factor of eight. Then, as Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger shocked the soul of Horatio Hovimar, the silver-haired subordinate of the Lady of Hellwater who¡¯d just entered the Heavenly Soul Universe, Isaiah called on the universe¡¯s power and activated his Speed Steps skill with a boost from Runic Enhancement, moving faster than most B ranks to arrive in front of the man before activating his Destruction Strike skill to stab at the man¡¯s heart. Even under Mila¡¯s soul disruption and emotional manipulation magic, however, the man was still able to dodge, Isaiah¡¯s first strike barely missing, and the man managed to barely dodge the next two attacks as well. But then Isaiah¡¯s Aspect of Combat racial ability fully kicked in, boosting his power by another 25%, and that was enough to make the powerful B rank feel despair. Isaiah¡¯s next attack hit the man¡¯s right arm, then the next the left side of his gut, and then the next right into his heart, chaos-infused pure destruction energy raging inside the man and killing him. Then primal and nascent energy flowed from the man¡¯s soul into Isaiah and Isaiah used his spear to launch the man¡¯s mangled corpse back through the portal, the remaining energy allowing B ranks to pass through fading completely. Before Isaiah could fully recover from using all his abilities, however, the portal started to grow stronger again, and another B rank flew through, Isaiah having to fight again, and then again, and then again. ¡°I really hope Aalam can get back soon.¡± After the fifth fight, Isaiah turned to look at Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger, who appeared somewhat worried, and spoke his mind. ¡°Yeah.¡± Mila¡¯s doppelg?nger nodded. Then, as the sixth B rank flew through the portal, she again triggered her Karmic Eyes and Soul Disruption skills to mess with his soul, enabling Isaiah to barely manage to kill him. Chapter 281: Two Sides of the Same Coin ¡°¡­The terms of your surrenders are set. And you all have 5,184 years before everyone in your forces are completely annihilated.¡± In the capital city on an average E rank planet in one of the less populated galaxy clusters of the Prime Material, Uvandra of Dova finished watching the highlight compilation of the Universal Tournament finals on the soul net for the seventeenth time. The only child of the two most talented individuals from an F rank planet that had completed the 72 years of safety provided by its so called peaceful integration five years before, she was still only a G rank, and, despite the talent she¡¯d shown, she¡¯d been made a slave. Recently, however, things had changed, and it didn¡¯t seem her masters had noticed. Access to the System has been sealed for everyone from the Flamespire Pavilion and System enforced bounties have been placed on every member¡¯s head. As a slave of the Flamespire Pavilion, you may now leave the force at any time. Would you like to leave? Yes/No When the Lord of Twilight Flame had attacked the Heavenly Spark Soul King, every member of every force under the Primordial Humans¡ªeven ones like the Flamespire Pavilion, a subordinate force to a subordinate force to a subordinate force of one of the weaker human empires¡ªgained a bounty on their heads and lost access to System privileges. And, as such, they had no idea their slaves could now turn on them with almost no repercussions. For her at least, the contract she had agreed to five years before, which bound her movements and actions, was inherently reliant on the fact she was still one of the Flamespire Pavilion¡¯s slaves, so, when she¡¯d agreed to the System¡¯s prompt, she¡¯d been instantly freed. Only 23, Uvandra already had middle grade Law Eggs of the darkness, life, and space elements, specializing in stealth, disguise, and moving quickly, and, over the last four years, she¡¯d been put through hellish training to become a assassin. That training, however, hadn¡¯t been pleasant, and Uvandra wouldn¡¯t mind at all if the entire pavilion became a spire of fire just like its name. Still, up until she¡¯d read more about Li Mila after accepting the System¡¯s offer and gaining access to the universal soul net for the first time in her life¡ªlearning about the woman while researching just why the Flamespire Pavilion had lost their System privileges¡ªshe hadn¡¯t known what to do. With that woman¡¯s life story as an example, however, Uvandra had made a plan, and this was the night she¡¯d be putting it into action. Baroy the Poisoner, an E rank elder of the pavilion, had always been interested in her but had been blocked by her other two teachers from taking her as his own due to her clever tactic of gaining the interest of the third son of the Pavilion Master. This night, however, her other two masters had war discussions with the Pavilion Master, so Uvandra was clear to sneak her way into the man¡¯s chambers and let him have his way with her, getting him to show her his prized poison collection in the process. Like he¡¯d been warned not to do many times before, he fell asleep after the act without putting the protections around his collection back up, and, with her stealth skills making sure he wouldn¡¯t wake up, Uvandra snuck out of the room with the true prize of his collection, a true Epic grade C rank poison called Kiss of the Eternal Rest. Not wasting any time, she then snuck into the Pavilion¡¯s kitchen, using her disguise skill and an outfit she¡¯d prepared before to act like a maid sent by one of the Pavilion¡¯s other E rank elders, and, as this was the one night each year when the main cook would be working to create a large cauldron of Foundation Establishment Soup for the entire force, the identity worked perfectly. With the skills she¡¯d been taught, she ¡®accidentally¡¯ caused some pans to drop, distracting everyone in the kitchen, and then she stealthily poured half the bottle of poison into the soup. Finally, she returned to Baroy, put the remaining poison¡ªdiluted with water so it would be difficult to notice it had been used¡ªback, and allowed herself to be the man¡¯s playtoy again in the morning. Three days later, when the poison, ingested by every true member of the Pavilion the day after her act, finally showed its effects, Uvandra received notifications for each of their deaths, gaining the bounty on each of their heads. And, when the Pavilion Master, the only D rank in their force and the one who fought back against the poison the longest, finally died, she gained an even further bonus, a reward for destroying an entire D rank force by herself as a G rank. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. What excited Uvandra most, however, was not the specialized race advancement crystal she¡¯d gained from the System as a reward, which would allow her to advance her Rare grade race all the way to Legendary, but the D rank ¡®Havadim Imperium¡¯ gauntlet artifact she¡¯d found hidden in the Pavilion Master¡¯s spatial storage ring, a ring she¡¯d stolen before anyone else. Uvandra would kill more of the Primordial Humans¡¯ forces, gain more benefits, and rise up to D rank. Then, after becoming someone who could be valued, she would accept the blood oath from the artifact created by her hero¡¯s husband and join the United Federation of Planets. * * * Through one of the many videos of the slaughter posted to the soul net, Ryan Marinello Ca watched his mother, a powerful A rank cultivator; his father, a B rank of extreme talent; and his entire clan cut down for the fifth time, able to access the System again due to having joined the Endless Battle against the undead. His mother, with the last of her strength, had torn open a portal through space to one of the planets ruled over directly by one of the Primordial Human gods, Eberon of the Temporal Waters, hoping the force under the alchemist god would take him in or at least find him a good place to train, and the alchemist god¡ªafter meeting with him personally to yell at him, make him sick with the power of an almost fully active divine aura, and complain about the Lord of Twilight Flame¡ªhad done so, sending him to the Endless Battle so he could ¡®get some combat experience¡¯. His mother, as an external elder of Sunrise Valley, had had a bounty on her head far too high for her level of strength, and the wolves had come for her. The two other A ranks in their galaxy cluster, who she¡¯d always been in a three way competition with and who hated each other¡¯s guts, had put their hatred for each other aside and teamed up to destroy her and her family, and they had done so in the most brutal way possible, the Lord of Twilight Flame doing nothing to stop them even though the entire situation was, at least according to Eberon of the Temporal Waters, entirely his fault. Only an F rank, Ryan had been excited while watching the Universal Tournament with his parents, amazed when the C rank monster had killed that C rank demigod and then the demigod¡¯s A rank father, a man even more powerful than his own mother. But then the other A ranks, his mother¡¯s seniors, had attacked the monster and the System message had popped up informing him of his sudden lack of System privileges and the new bounty on his head before cutting off the feed of the tournament. At the time, he couldn¡¯t access his status, he couldn¡¯t receive quests or access the soul net, and, if he wanted to advance, he¡¯d have had to go back to the old fashioned way of doing things without the advanced information and extra energy the System provided, which had been terrifying. But then, a few days later, his world had ended. Now he hated that so called Heavenly Spark Soul King, hated that Li Mila and their entire force, hated Eberon of the Temporal Waters, hated the Primordial Humans in general, and especially hated the Lord of Twilight Flame. He wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think these individuals¡¯ lives would ever be within his reach, however, so, every day when he trained, every day when he fought against the mindless monsters the necromancers on the other side of that absolutely humongous portal¡ªreportedly 500 kilometers wide¡ªsent to attack the Prime Material, he didn¡¯t think about them, but about the two A ranks who¡¯d personally killed his family. He imagined himself growing powerful enough to personally rip their heads from their bodies and then stuff them up their assholes, and this made him feel just a little bit better. ¡°Who¡¯s to say you couldn¡¯t gain your revenge on the gods and those two C ranks as well?¡± Five days after he joined the war front, on a particularly dangerous day when two A rank undead monstrosities traveled through the portal and five A ranks from the army were forced to act together to kill them, Ryan heard a voice in his head after making it back to his own bunk, one he shared with seven other young men roughly his own age. The voice sounded old, husky and dry, like Ryan would expect from a body left to rot yet somehow still able to move, and he had a good guess as to what was happening, his heart starting to beat faster. ¡°What are you offering? And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?¡± he thought, guessing whatever being was talking directly into his mind would be able to hear him. ¡°Ha.¡± The being started to laugh and continued to do so for a good five seconds before stopping, and Ryan could quickly confirm none of the others in the room could hear it. ¡°I offer knowledge, Ryan Marinello Ca. Knowledge, resources, and, most important, the favor of the divine, specifically the favor of Nastorix, the Lord of Five Universes, second among the seven undead elder gods. ¡°As to who I am? I am a soul fragment of Var Quon, God of the River of Oaths, and, if you will have me, I would like to be your teacher.¡± ¡°And what would you want in return, My Lord?¡± Ryan, almost quivering with excitement, still made sure to be polite. The power he¡¯d sensed when the soul fragment, now seemingly attached to his soul, had spoken the second divine name had been almost at the level he¡¯d felt from Eberon of the Temporal Waters, even while not anywhere close to complete, and this indicated this Var Quon was strong, likely not lying about his identity. ¡°Obedience and drive.¡± The soul fragment laughed again, a sound Ryan was starting to appreciate more and more. ¡°I will train you hard to help achieve our mutual goals, and, in return, you will act as you see fit when you¡¯ve grown in power.¡± Ryan was about to agree immediately, but then he took a few seconds to think. The undead god was right. Their enemies were the same, so there was nothing to stop them from working together in harmony. But the undead had a reputation for the types of deals they made, and it wasn¡¯t at all good. Thinking about it a bit more, however, the Heavenly Spark Soul King had had a similar type of reputation before proving beyond a shadow of Ryan¡¯s doubt that the Primordial Humans faction had made the entire thing up, so who was to say they hadn¡¯t done the same thing with other enemies like Lord Var Quon. Without any more hesitation, Ryan thought, ¡°In that case, I agree to take you as my master.¡± The laughter started again, somehow even more pleasant to hear, and then Lord Var Quon started Ryan¡¯s first lesson. ¡°Before anything else, let me teach you how to help hide my presence from detection before my own power fades after seven sunrises. Then we¡¯ll start discussing your possible paths to power using the knowledge I have of your universe¡¯s System and cultivation techniques.¡± Chapter 282: Immortalia, the Undying Phoenix For the 149,843,632nd time, Immortalia turned in her rewards from the C rank Universal tournament for as much pure refined nascent energy as she could get, receiving quite a bit less than she was used to. For the last 3.1 trillion years, ever since her soul had awoken from its 42 trillion year slumber, she¡¯d been finding and taking over the bodies of talented F rank cultivators, raising them to C rank, and then entering into the silly tournament for youths, all in the hopes she could build up enough energy to rebuild her true body, and this time her shell was a human, a member of the Sangha known most widely as Reverend Samsara. The latest in a long line of Sangha cultivators to gain fame following the samsara path she herself had originated, her body¡¯s original soul had been one of the uncountable weak F rank cultivators in the universe, his life destroyed by the uncaring machinations of those far more powerful than him, and, like all the souls she¡¯d taken over before him, he¡¯d jumped at the chance to receive her tutelage, completely oblivious to how forming a student teacher relationship with a divine soul fragment was the easiest way to allow the soul fragment to slowly alter and then eventually consume his soul. The only survivor of the purge of the monster gods, Immortalia always had to be careful. She couldn¡¯t assume the identity of anyone who¡¯d ever met a B rank, let alone an A rank or a god, as the body¡¯s soul signature would be different after her soul started the process of taking it over, and she couldn¡¯t perform too well in the tournament, as it would draw attention. So, she was still a long way off from being able to form a true phoenix body that she could use to rise back to her true power. But Primordius¡¯s Soul Lord grandson had just given her a spark of inspiration she hadn¡¯t considered. It had been 45 trillion years since the fall of the Radiant Behemoth at the machinations of the Undead and the subsequent purge of his followers by Primordius, the Lady of Laws, and the other cultivator gods of that time working together. And that nasty sin god who¡¯d eaten her son-in-law along with at least three other monster gods had since risen to take the Radiant Behemoth¡¯s place in the power structure of the universe. Now known as the Divine Child for some reason, she was pretty sure the man had somehow gained the Radiant Behemoth¡¯s administrator rights to the System¡ªthe grand creation of the Radiant Behemouth, Primordius, and the Lady of Laws to provide structure to the ways they would compete with each other, along with raising up minions to help fight against the other universes¡ªand it was almost certain he was the one responsible for the new addition of monster tutorials for those who died during the final stages of the integration of new planets. Such a fundamental change to the System would require the unanimous consent of all three administrators, and that gluttonous sin god was the one who¡¯d most benefit from the rise of more monsters, though it was unlikely even Primordius and the Lady of Laws fully understood to what extent. Whatever the case, given the power of Primordius¡¯s grandson, it seemed the bodies that could be created from the monster tutorial could provide foundations of a far higher tier than she¡¯d thought. If she wasn¡¯t blind, that so called Heavenly Spark Soul King somehow even had a sublime soul variant race, and, if that was possible, she could probably gain an even better race than her original. Along with her Laws that had become more varied over the years as she lived many lives, and her knowledge of herself that had grown by an immeasurable amount since she¡¯d been a B rank, if she were reborn in the same way, she would be able to retake her divinity with a much more solid foundation, possibly even paving the way for her to rise to be an elder god herself and get her revenge. Standing up from the Holy Bodhi Tree she¡¯d been resting under, Immortalia moved from the peaceful garden of the Sangha¡¯s leader, an A rank human known for his love of tranquility and silence, and headed to the force¡¯s records room. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. A relatively young major force of the universe, the Sangha was known as the universe¡¯s most peaceful organization, most of its members noncombatants, and for its advocacy of asceticism, a lack of wants and indulgence central to the group¡¯s core principals. But, even from looking only a few layers deep, these outward trappings were obviously a farce. Asceticism was only practiced by those following the Sangha¡¯s path of tranquility, but the sangha also had much more vile paths, such as the path of slaughter and the path of passion. In reality, what the Sangha specialized in most were emotional Laws, not, as many outsiders believed, anything to do with merit or sin, and this was because the Sangha was in truth the force directly under one of the two human elder gods to rise after Primordius, Elandra, the Goddess of Emotions. Much weaker than Primordius, the Lady of Laws, and the evil devourer, Elandra was still the fourth or fifth most powerful being in the universe and, given the nature of her personality, it was almost impossible she¡¯d ever even acknowledge those who served under her, let alone take any interest. As a result, the Sangha had some of the most complete libraries of paths to power and some of the best resources of any force in the universe while also having some of the lowest restrictions on members. This made it Immortalia¡¯s favorite force to join when she had the chance, and also the best place to learn things like where to find possible worlds about to undergo apocalypse style integrations. Immortalia didn¡¯t have the benefit of a System boon to allow a cultivator to enter a monster tutorial automatically, so she would have to find a planet where mana levels were already rising, figure out exactly when the apocalypse style integration would begin, and then find a weak little G rank whose body she could take over before using the special technique she¡¯d developed over the years to hide the qualitative difference in her soul from the System while in the monster tutorial. First, however, she would have to get rid of her current identity. So, like many times before, she headed to one of the demiplane battlefields between universes, specifically one where their universe competed against the demons, and waited for the next invasion to try and force its way through, something that only took about a week. Then, instead of fighting, she found an innocuous location in the rocky landscape and created a complex yet low-powered runic array that she powered with the element of fire, something her Reverend Samsara identity shouldn¡¯t have been able to do. A portal to the artifact she¡¯d parked there after getting rid of her previous body then opened, allowing her into the residence artifact Steel Swamp Sorin had made for her back in the day, and she used her death Laws to sever all her bonds, including her bond with the System, before running through the portal and causing it to close up, hiding the artifact residence from the System once again. ¡°Where to this time, My Lady?¡± Upon her entrance, the hologram of a large beast appeared, roughly four meters tall, with large antlers, gorilla-like arms and hands, and a widened wolf-like face¡ªthe AI Steel Swamp Sorin had built into the artifact¡ªand Immortalia couldn¡¯t help but smile at seeing him. Designed to look like the swamp beast race of its creator, this particular AI had served her for five trillion years before her body was destroyed, protected her damaged soul as it slowly healed, and been her only constant companion throughout her many lives since. ¡°We¡¯re going to some unintegrated planets, Sorin.¡± Immortalia walked her body through the short tunnel the entrance portal connected to and into the heart of the residence artifact, an area of bent space surrounding a beautiful lake, upon which rested a large floating mansion, surrounded by a large parasol tree forest. ¡°I¡¯m going to see if I can actually form a new body of my own instead of taking over others¡¯ all the time.¡± ¡°Congratulations, My Lady.¡± The AI, which she¡¯d renamed in honor of its fallen creator, bowed its head slightly, and Immortalia yet again wished she taken up the original Sorin¡¯s offer to make the thing more animated back when he¡¯d given her the option. Without any more words, she then sent the artifact the first set of coordinates. Then she moved to the mansion and began the process of readying her soul to change bodies. Her Reverend Samsara identity, as identities went, was a particularly powerful one, the base talents of the body she¡¯d taken over high enough to allow her to express an important part of her original power to almost the full extent a C rank could, but it wouldn¡¯t serve any purpose in the future, so the primal energy it accumulated would just go to Sorin, who could store it until she needed it later, along with all the other primal energy her other lives had accumulated over the years. In just a few months at most, she¡¯d have a new identity, one she would immediately lose, and then, after a little work, her soul would be reborn in a body that actually matched it. The Prime Material, after a long time, would have a true phoenix once again. Chapter 283: Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord Prince Aalam was bored. After entering the demiplane housing Camoran¡¯s inheritance, he¡¯d appeared in a sterile white room shaped like a cube, 12 standard meters on each side, empty of anything, and the walls blocked his senses completely, even his sensory domain provided by Ruler¡¯s domain and the extreme resolution from his Emperor¡¯s Eyes of Analysis skill. A smooth female voice told him the challenge would start in 36 days, giving others with a puzzle book a chance to join, and then the voice, which Aalam guessed was a prerecorded message, never appeared again. For the first minute or so, it was fun to try and figure out how the Spirit Smith created such a chamber, but then he realized the cubic room was just a detached subspace. There wasn¡¯t anything else to sense beyond the walls because there was nothing there. The subspace didn¡¯t loop around on itself like the Steel Swamp Blessed Land. It just ended. And, without the ability to sense between unconnected dimensions, there was nothing else he could do. He couldn¡¯t feel his clones. He couldn¡¯t feel his bonds. And he didn¡¯t have enough power and skill to get out of the subspace himself, even though the theory behind how to do so was simple. He was detached from the Prime Material, and he was trapped. Name: Aalam Alvaro Level: 360 Race: Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord Prince (C-Empyrean) Bloodline: Genetic Thief (Empyrean) Abilities Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor (Empyrean) Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Mythic) Ascended Soul Laboratory (Empyrean) Monster Emperor (Empyrean) Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor (Empyrean) Primal Heart (Empyrean) Emperor¡¯s Command (Empyrean) Power of Order (Empyrean) Master of Disguise (Empyrean) [shadowed] Class 1: Heavenly Spark Tricrafter (C-Empyrean) Skills Runescriber (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Triforce Construction (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Soul Carver (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered The Zone (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Emperor¡¯s Eyes of Analysis (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered - Class 2: Sage (C-Empyrean) Skills Ascended Multi-Mind (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Ascended Multi-Core (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Triforce Law Blast (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Stealth (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Polymorph (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Ascended Artifact Enhancement (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Soul Extraction (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered - Class 3: Otherverse Emperor (C-Empyrean) Skills Soul Emperor (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Ruler¡¯s Domain (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Thirteen Life Legion (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Natural Energy Manipulation (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Heavenly Spark Wings of the Emperor (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Emperor¡¯s Physique (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Class 4: Heavenly Spark Triforce Adept (C-Empyrean) Skills Triforce Kinesis (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Triforce Eruption (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Royal Soul Enhancement (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Royal Law Steps (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Royal Law Armor (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Royal Law Weapon (C-Empyrean) 100% mastered Laws Law Dragons: Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Plasma - Early Liquid - Early Solid - Early Gas - Early Nuclear Transition - Early Matter/Antimatter - Early Energy Transfer - Early Energy Storage - Early Order - Early Entropy - Early Vacuum - Early Multi-Dimensional Geometry - Early Dimensional Solidity - Early Temporal Acceleration - Early Temporal Relativity - Early Pause - Early Law Scarabs: Heat - Peak Passion - Peak Cold - Peak Tranquility - Peak Inertia - Peak Gravity - Peak Kinetic Energy - Peak Antigravity - Peak Electricity - Peak Energy Transformation - Peak Conductivity - Peak Stable State Energy - Peak Radiation - Peak Cleansing - Peak Absorption - Peak Contamination - Peak Cells - Peak Bonds - Peak Deprivation - Peak Severing - Peak Cultivation: Technique: Twelve Element Primal Code - Heavenly Spark (Level 16) Foundation: Flawless Merged Skill: Ruler¡¯s Domain (C-Empyrean) Acupoints Opened: (108/108) Soul + 648% Core: Heavenly Spark Primal Purity Core [incomplete] Stats Strength: 20,072,448 {+301,086,720} (+3,708.5%) X 6 = 73,388,081,480 Agility: 20,072,448 {+301,086,720} (+4,008.5%) X 6 = 79,168,946,504 Endurance: 20,072,448 {+301,086,720} (+4,808.5%) X 6 = 94,584,586,568 Toughness: 20,072,448 {+301,086,720} (+3,708.5%) X 6 = 73,388,081,480 Vitality: 25,795,584 {+386,933,760} (+5,008.5%) X 6 = 126,505,671,229 Perception: 20,072,448 {+301,086,720} (+4,508.5%) X 6 = 88,803,721,544 Magic: 25,795,584 {+386,933,760} (+4,808.5%) X 6 = 121,552,919,101 Spirit: 25,795,584 {+386,933,760} (+4,808.5%) X 6 = 121,552,919,101 Soul: 33,426,432 (+5,756.5%) X 6 = 11,745,713,940 Aura: 25,795,584 (+3,700%) X 6 = 5,881,393,152 Attunement: 25,795,584 (+5,500%) X 6 = 8,667,316,224 Luck: 23,887,872 (+3,700%) X 6 = 5,446,434,816 Free Stats: 0 Soulstructures: Lower Dantian: 13 Colossal Core Containers Middle Dantian: 13 Colossal Mana Wells Upper Dantian: 13 Colossal Mental Forges Unique: 1 Colossal Ascended Soul Laboratory Uniqueness: Id Emperor Soul Emperor Law Wings Emperor Third Eye Emperor Vitality Emperor Territory: Earth Heavenly Soul Universe Boons: Hunter of Sentients XVII: Increase the effectiveness of all base stats by 8.5% Advancing to C rank, Aalam¡¯s race hadn¡¯t changed much. Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord Prince (C-Empyrean) A prince among supreme lords of souls with extraordinary affinities for all Laws that has traced its roots back to the beginning, high in the hierarchy of the universe, middle-high in the hierarchy of afterlife rulers. Racial Abilities: 8 No limits, but a higher chance for soul and noble related abilities, abilities that raise all affinities, and abilities that boost the handling of primal energy and the flow of qi, mana, and psyforce Complete dual classes possible Max stats: Strength: 10,036,224 (484) Agility: 10,036,224 (484) Endurance: 10,036,224 (484) Toughness: 10,036,224 (484) Vitality: 12,897,792 (622) Perception: 10,036,224 (484) Magic: 12,897,792 (622) Spirit: 12,897,792 (622) Soul: 16,713,216 (806) Aura: 12,897,792 (622) Attunement: 12,897,792 (622) Luck: 11,943,936 (576) Stat Growth Per Level: Strength: 2,592 Agility: 2,592 Endurance: 2,592 Toughness: 2,592 Vitality: 4,320 Perception: 2,592 Magic: 4,320 Spirit: 4,320 Soul: 5,184 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Advancement Criteria: Control a Titanic amount of Territory for a C rank Have a maximized Soul stat Eat the equivalent of 16 B rank souls at once Absorb the genetic power of a primal being of at least B rank Requirements: Current race is Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord (D-Mythic), has control over a Titanic amount of Territory for a D rank, has a maximized Soul stat, has the Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Mythic) racial ability, has eaten the equivalent of 16 C rank souls at once, has absorbed the genetic power of a primal being of at least C rank, has absorbed the genetic power of an A rank with balanced affinity for all twelve elements, has exceeded the maximum stats of a Sublime Soul Heavenly Spark Primal Soul Lord (D-Mythic) by at least 50% His race had increased in grade along the same line with no new modifiers, not becoming order aligned like the order dragon¡¯s genetic power he¡¯d absorbed before advancing, or chaos aligned like the B rank prince of one of the Primordial Human empires on whom he¡¯d used his other chance of absorbing genetic power from his bloodline. Genetic Thief (Empyrean) Some steal legacies, you steal inheritance in its purest form Effects: Twice per rank, you may steal the genetic power, from both race and bloodline, of a being that has died, but whose soul is yet to pass on, and use that power to enhance your next racial advancement But absorbing the power of the order dragon had modified his soul enough that, given his ridiculously high natural affinity with all Laws, he¡¯d been able to awaken to the game changing Power of Order racial ability. Power of Order (Empyrean): Increase the effectiveness of all stats by 6.25% for each grade of every order category Law within three grades of your highest Law. For him, this boost to every stat was +3,700%, a rather ridiculous amount, making Power of Order his most useful racial ability, but the rest of his racial abilities were quite powerful as well. Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor (Empyrean): Any extra stats that would be lost due to the stat¡¯s limit having been reached instead become free stats. You may also convert primal energy into free stats and use free stats to increase the size of your soulstructures up to Colossal. Heavenly Spark Pure Soul (Mythic): Increase the effectiveness of the Soul and Attunement stats by 100% and raise affinity with all Laws by 200%. Ascended Soul Laboratory (Empyrean): Gain a unique small size soulstructure for long term storage of deceased souls. You gain complete control of the souls inside, allowing for the easy extraction of skills, as well as racial and bloodline energy. Monster Emperor (Empyrean): Increase the max stats of your race by 100%. Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor (Empyrean): Increase the foundational value of all base stats other than Soul by 33% of your effective Soul stat. Primal Heart (Empyrean): Remarkably increase the normal flow rate of your qi, mana, and psyforce while seriously increasing their burst potential and ability to break down impurities. Emperor¡¯s Command (Empyrean): Remarkably increase the power of noble category skills. With his Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor racial ability, Aalam had raised all his many soulstructures to Colossal size, the largest any soulstructure could be at a being¡¯s birth, and this included his Ascended Soul Laboratory. With the specialized soulstructure increased massively in size, Aalam could even store multiple A rank souls within, and, with his complete control over every soul inside, he could extract their powers for his own use or the use of his subordinates. Heavenly Spark Pure Soul, as it had been since he¡¯d formed it at Legendary grade, was still incredibly useful, especially the boost to all affinities it provided, though it was still Mythic grade, unlike his other racial abilities. No resources could help Aalam advance it, only advancing all his Laws to the early grade Law Dragon level, and advancing his remaining 20 Laws was going to take some time. Meanwhile, Monster Emperor increased the max stats of his race, Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor armored his soul to greatly increase his power, and Primal Heart made his energy stronger and purer, helping to make his cultivation of the Heavenly Spark version of the Twelve Element Primal Code much more efficient. Finally, Emperor¡¯s Command provided a five level boost to Aalam¡¯s noble category skills which, when combined with the six level boost from one of his classes and the three level boost from his Emperor uniqueness, was more than enough to raise Aalam¡¯s noble category skills, of which he had many, to two levels past the Divine grade, the difference between Empyrean and Divine grade much greater than that between Mythic and Empyrean. Altogether, when it came to racial abilities, Aalam was likely one of the best ever in the history of the Prime Material¡¯s C ranks, and this wasn¡¯t even counting the Master of Disguise Racial ability he was shadowing from Mila. Chapter 284: Otherverse Emperor More important than Aalam¡¯s race, however, were his classes, of which he still had four. Heavenly Spark Tricrafter (C-Empyrean) Master of Laws and craft Effects: Increase the effectiveness of the Vitality, Soul, and Attunement stats by 300% Raise affinity with all Laws by 500% Remarkably increase the power of crafting category skills Double the effective size of all soul structures Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: Offensive Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 3,888 Agility: 3,888 Endurance: 6,480 Toughness: 3,888 Vitality: 7,776 Perception: 7,776 Magic: 6,480 Spirit: 6,480 Soul: 7,776 Aura: 3,888 Attunement: 3,888 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 peak grade Law Pupae for each of the 12 elements, has the Heavenly Spark Tricrafter King (D-Mythic) class, has personally designed and then crafted at least six Mythic grade artifacts using triforce-based crafting skills First was the core of Aalam¡¯s power, his crafting class. As a tricrafting class, Heavenly Spark Tricrafter focused on all three energy types¡ªqi, mana, and psyforce¡ªso it didn¡¯t have the normal crafting class boost to psychic category enhancement skills. Instead, however, it doubled the effective size of all his soulstructures, from his many mental forges and core containers to his Ascended Soul Laboratory, and this made it a much better fit, the other more typical enhancements from a Heavenly Spark crafting class useful as well. The class held five skills, one slot still reserved for any powerful skill he could learn about from the Spirit Smith¡¯s inheritance, and they included enhanced C rank Empyrean grade versions of Runescriber and Triforce Construction, his two core crafting skills. Then there was Soul Carver, an additional crafting skill that enabled far easier carving of runes into soul material for making temporary skills for himself and his subordinates, as well as creating more powerful artifacts from materials that could hold soul matter. And, finally, there were two of his four invented skills. The Zone was a powerful psychic category enhancement skill which, when activated, almost instantly enabled Aalam to enter into a flow state, putting his soul under almost the exact same conditions he¡¯d reach when truly passionate about something, yet also allowing him to remain completely calm. He¡¯d created the design for it while investigating emotional manipulation Laws and skills with Mila, and, while it wasn¡¯t the most powerful of his invented skills, it was his favorite as he¡¯d created it with his wife. Emperor¡¯s Eyes of Analysis, on the other hand, he¡¯d created on his own. It was a noble category eye skill designed to allow him to see deeper into the workings of the universe, enabling him to see energy flows and the structure of matter like an impossibly powerful microscope through the use of qi, mana, psyforce, and natural energy. And, when combined with the sensory domain from his Ruler¡¯s Domain skill and his newly awakened Third Eye Emperor uniqueness, it enabled Aalam to get that same level of fine detail on anything within thousands of kilometers of himself. Sage (C-Empyrean) Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. A master creator of arrays Effects: Increase the speed of mastering skills by 700% May freely fuse mastered skills Class slots +2 Seriously raise the amount of excess nascent energy that can be held as free stats Skill slots: 8 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 3,456 Agility: 3,456 Endurance: 3,456 Toughness: 3,456 Vitality: 3,456 Perception: 3,456 Magic: 3,456 Spirit: 3,456 Soul: 34,560 Aura: 0 Attunement: 0 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 sets of opposing Law Pupae at peak grade or higher, has Soul as the highest stat, has personally invented at least 9 new arrays with D rank effects, has the Virtuous Sage (D-Fabled) class, has the Sinful Sage (D-Fabled) class, has the Elevated Void Sage (D-Fabled) class The true key to Aalam¡¯s class choices, however, was as always his sage line class, in this case just plain Sage, merged together from the three separate sage line classes he¡¯d had as a D rank. Sure, the increased speed of mastering skills wasn¡¯t that useful given his control over a universe, and being able to hold extra nascent energy in his soul didn¡¯t make much difference yet given his artifacts and many powerful subordinates, but the ability to freely fuse skills was indispensable, materials to enable such a feat much rarer at higher ranks, and the addition of two class slots, allowing him 2 more classes than should be possible for his race and rank, was the best class effect he had. Ascended Multi-Core and Ascended Multi-Mind now both gave him an extra 12 core containers and mental forges, bringing his main soulstructures into the ideal alignment of 13 each, unlocking some rather amazing effects. Triforce Law Blast was a standard mage-style offensive skill for attacking at range, something he¡¯d been missing in the past. And Stealth and Polymorph enabled him to travel around the Prime Material without much fear of his identity being revealed unless he met some of the most powerful A ranks or gods. Ascended Artifact Enhancement, like Mila¡¯s same skill, allowed him to empower the artifacts he used, greatly increasing his power, and Soul Extraction made it much easier to steal the souls of his opponents, enabling him to do things like forcibly separating the souls of those much weaker than him as he¡¯d done with his half brother. One of the more insidious uses of the skill he and Mila had developed was for him to temporarily extract someone¡¯s soul and place it in his Ascended Soul Laboratory soulstructure, where he had full control and Mila could modify the soul¡¯s memory with ease, before using the same skill in reverse to safely put the soul back in its body. They hadn¡¯t done it much, but, where they had done such actions, Aalam was certain the results would pay dividends for keeping everyone he cared about safe. Otherverse Emperor (C-Empyrean) The master of an entire universe Effects: Exceptionally increase the power of noble category skills Remarkably decrease the soul burden of high stat effectiveness Remarkably increase control over your Territory Gain minor omniscience in your own Territory Gain minor omnipotence in your own Territory Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 5,184 Agility: 5,184 Endurance: 5,184 Toughness: 5,184 Vitality: 5,184 Perception: 5,184 Magic: 5,184 Spirit: 5,184 Soul: 5,184 Aura: 5,184 Attunement: 5,184 Luck: 5,184 Requirements: Has a race with maximum stats equivalent to or above the maximum stats of a supreme grade race, has maximized all stats while at D rank, has increased stat effectiveness of all stats by at least 1100%, has an entire universe as part of his Territory, has control over natural energy Otherverse Emperor hadn¡¯t been a class he or Mila had ever heard of, though they could confirm it wasn¡¯t a new class to the System as there had been no reward like with one of Mila¡¯s new classes. Still, it was powerful. A six level increase to noble category skills was strong. And a five level decrease in the soul burden from high stat effectiveness was nearly divine, this single effect, through its interactions with his racial abilities, increasing his effective stats by over 12 times. But it was the control he gained over his Territory that was his best gain. For Isaiah and Mila, who shared the control over his Territory effects, they were just far more powerful when on Earth or in the Heavenly Soul Universe, but the non-combat advantages they gained were only an increased cultivation speed, a better ability to sense energy, and an incredible improvement in how fast they could master their skills. Sure, Mila likely wouldn¡¯t have been able to form the base of such an overpowered core if she hadn¡¯t had the benefits, and the berserking power of Isaiah¡¯s core likely wouldn¡¯t have been as strong, but, compared to the benefits Aalam had received, these were almost nothing. Aalam, as the master of the Heavenly Soul Universe, had gained the ability to sense how the entire universe functioned while using his control over his Territory, and this¡ªalong with his very high Attunement stat, high affinity with all Laws, and his Law Wings Emperor Uniqueness¡ªwas why he¡¯d been able to advance 16 Laws to the Law Dragon level despite being younger than 6,000 years old, something never before seen in the Prime Material. Even more important, however, Aalam, unlike Mila or Isaiah, specialized in natural energy, and Territory effects were all about natural energy, so minor omnipotence combined with minor omniscience had become the key for allowing Aalam to manipulate natural energy in a controlled manner. The extra control had allowed Aalam to experiment, which had then enabled him to awaken to a Mythic grade Natural Energy Manipulation skill, which had then in turn made experimentation easier, and this had allowed him to advance the skill to Empyrean grade, which had made experimentation even easier. With his control over natural energy, he could simulate the effects of the Law energy of A ranks, lowering the barrier between him and A ranks even further, and he could perform crafting techniques usually only available to A ranks as a result, making the creation of Empyrean grade C rank artifacts so much easier. He could also use natural energy along with his Soul Carver skill to help himself awaken to pretty much any skill he could get the blueprint for¡ªsomething not hard to find after they¡¯d advanced the United Federation of Planets to a 4th Tier A rank force after capturing the Heavenly Soul Universe and allowing the System in, enabling them to buy such blueprints directly. Also, with Aalam¡¯s experience of watching members of the Heavenly Soul Universe awaken to new uniquenesses while within the range of all his sensory abilities, he¡¯d figured out a lot more about uniquenesses, enabling him to help members of the United Federation of Planets descended from the population of Earth to awaken to seven different common uniqueness lines with much cheaper resources than normal. Chapter 285: Preparation for Divine Roles Natural Energy Manipulation, however, was only one of the skills from Aalam¡¯s third class, and, while it had the incredibly useful passive effect of increasing his control over natural energy, his other skills were equally impressive. His Soul Emperor skill, for example, had already helped him gather a lot of faith energy. In most respects, it was pretty much the same as the Soul King skill he¡¯d had as a D rank. It gave his followers between one and three boons, each boon based on one of his racial abilities, the bonds it created were of about the same power, and the energy transfer and telepathy distances were about the same as well, albeit increased greatly from his higher rank and Soul stat. There were, however, three key differences. First, it increased the amount of Territory he could lord over by an utterly ridiculous amount, to the point the bottleneck for Aalam and Territory was not the skill but the power of his soul, Aalam¡¯s current stats enabling him to control thousands of universes the size of the Heavenly Soul Universe if he could manage to conquer them. Second, Soul Emperor allowed for 20,736 times more servants. Granted, a majority of these servants would be based on a weaker type of connection, each only able to gain the first boon the skill granted based on his Heavenly Spark Pure Soul racial ability. But one in every 1,728 would gain the second boon as well, the one based on his Nascent/Primal Energy Constructor racial ability, and one in every 35,831,808 would gain all three boons, the same as Mila and Isaiah. With all the various boosts he had to the skill given it was noble category, he could have up to 247,669,456,896 servants in total, 6,912 at the highest level, and this was ridiculous. Third, it made energy transfer from his servants to him remarkably easier, and under his control, allowing him to gather pretty much all the faith energy beneficial to him that his servants naturally emitted. Faith energy, as a transformed form of natural energy altered by the bodies and consciousnesses of beings with souls, had different fundamental properties based on the nature of the soul that created it, and all beings with souls naturally created faith energy all the time. Even a single cultivator, however, depending on the state of their body and their thoughts at the time, would create different subvarieties of faith energy from minute to minute, while most types of faith energy were useless even to gods. For cultivators and monsters without the skills and abilities of someone like Mila, the only type of faith energy that was useful was the type that gave faith energy its name, natural energy transformed through thoughts of faith, specifically faith in a specific person. His mother¡¯s husband, for example, had been a general who spent his entire life fighting against the undead, gaining win after win. The soldiers under him had faith he¡¯d lead them to victory and, over his lifetime, the resulting faith energy slowly transformed his soul until he naturally advanced from A rank to divinity. Perival, one of the Prime Material¡¯s three merchant gods, had been an excellent A rank merchant, accumulating more and more wealth, everyone who knew him developing faith he¡¯d always succeed in business, and, over time, this faith allowed him to advance. Bellessia¡¯s husband had advanced with the divine role of The Warrior, a combination of the water element based divine role of The Tactician and the earth element based divine role of The Guardian, while Perival had advanced with the darkness element based divine role of The Merchant, and, as a result, they had very different divine powers after their ascensions. Aalam, as the leader of a force numbering in the tens of trillions, accumulated quite a bit more faith energy every day than even most A ranks, a majority leading him toward the divine roles of The King, The Crafter, and The Scientist, the first purely lightning based while the latter two were combinations of multiple single element divine roles. But, just like most A ranks, less than 1% of the relevant faith energy his followers generated made it to his soul to help it transform. With his Soul Emperor skill, however, he could absorb 100% of the relevant faith energy generated by his servants, so, even while there was almost no noticeable effect of the faith energy he¡¯d already accumulated, the skill was laying a solid foundation for him gaining a divine role in the future. Ruler¡¯s Domain, Aalam¡¯s first invented skill, worked the same as always, effectively giving Aalam two domain skills in one, a larger sensory domain and a smaller domain that increased the defensive energy around his body, strengthened the Laws of his allies while suppressing the Laws of his enemies, and turned everything within its range into Aalam¡¯s own Territory. At Empyrean grade, with enough of a boost to bring it to two levels past the Divine grade as it was a noble category skill, the radius of both domains was absolutely massive. The radius of the sensory domain was roughly 12.743 million kilometers, his aura stat multiplied by a factor of thirteen sixths, meaning the domain was large enough to fit over 334 sun-sized stars, and the domain creating his own Territory, while significantly smaller, was larger than most planets, allowing him to conquer almost any world in existence not ruled by an A rank or god just by landing on it. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. More than just the increase in size, however, the power of Ruler¡¯s Domain¡¯s two subdomains had also increased. The sensory domain gave Aalam far more information than before, which, combined with his Emperor¡¯s Eyes of Analysis skill and Third Eye Emperor uniqueness was far, far too overwhelming, so Aalam had trained himself to not pay attention to most of it. Meanwhile, the Territory-based domain further increased Aalam¡¯s control over all natural energy within it, effectively providing a roughly 50% boost to his Natural Energy Manipulation skill when it was active. And, as Ruler¡¯s Domain was the skill merged into Aalam¡¯s cultivation technique, both domains had become passive, always active around him by default while using up far less energy. Thirteen Life Legion then was the most essential of Aalam¡¯s invented skills, allowing him to split off any subset of his mental forges, core containers, and mana wells along with part of his soul to form clones. Normally, he¡¯d use the skill to form twelve clones, each with a single instance of each soulstructure aligned to the same element, leaving his main body with his remaining soulstructures that were aligned to a mix of all twelve elements, but he could mix and match at will as forming new clones or merging existing ones took just a matter of seconds. Arguably the skill¡¯s most useful effect, however, was how each clone would have a different soul signature based on which soulstructures were used to form it, allowing Aalam¡¯s clones to travel around the universe without fear even without Stealth or Polymorph, this aspect especially useful when Mila used the skill. Thirteen Life Legion wasn¡¯t actually that complicated, something he¡¯d come up with back when he was a G rank, but it did require having thirteen of all three main types of soulstructures, all of the same size, as well as effective Soul and Vitality stats higher than most B ranks¡ªnot to mention twelve single element clone skills to merge¡ªso no one else in the Prime Material had ever formed it, allowing Aalam to gain quite a bit of nascent energy upon its invention, just like with his three other invented skills. Heavenly Spark Wings of the Emperor, on the other hand, was not counted as an invented skill even though no one else in the Prime Material, at least to Aalam¡¯s knowledge, had ever met its prerequisites. This was either because someone had done experiments involving talents with Law balanced races and some very advanced dao guides to raise C ranks no one had ever heard of or, more likely, because the System didn¡¯t give rewards for advancing a known skill, such as Aalam¡¯s D rank Twelve Element Wings of the King, along with advancing a class. Whatever the case, Heavenly Spark Wings of the Emperor was still one of Aalam¡¯s most defining skills as a C rank. A noble category wing skill, it gained a boost from both being a noble category skill¡ªfrom Aalam¡¯s Emperor uniqueness, class, and Emperor¡¯s Command racial ability¡ªas well as from being a wing skill, from his Law Wings Emperor uniqueness, adding up to a 22 level boost as Law Wings Emperor added 8 levels by itself, raising the skill to ten levels beyond the Divine grade. Given the difference between a Divine grade skill and the final level of skills, Supreme, was 24 levels, the skill was still far short of matching skills of the highest grade, but, as Aalam¡¯s most boosted skill, it was not at all lacking in power. When activated, Heavenly Spark Wings of the Emperor gave Aalam a pair of bat-like energy wings that grew out of his back, and these wings provided three main effects. First, they boosted the power of all his noble category skills other than themselves by four levels further, greatly raising his combat power and even his crafting abilities as his two main sensing skills, Ruler¡¯s Domain and Emperor¡¯s Eyes of Analysis, were both noble category skills as well. Second, they acted as a berserking skill so long as Aalam was within his own Territory, i.e. at all times, roughly equivalent to Isaiah¡¯s Dragon Knight skill. And, third, they made it seriously easier for Aalam to merge multiple Laws into his skills, probably their most useful benefit. In addition, due to the effects of his Law Wings Emperor uniqueness, the wings acted as a Law focus for all Laws, giving Aalam¡ªin a way completely separate from Law affinities or the Attunement stat¡ªa much better ability to sense all the Laws of a universe, like any planet he was on was always one rank higher. Then, finally, the last skill of his Otherverse Emperor class was Emperor¡¯s Physique. This was a passive noble category skill that increased the amount of natural energy his body could store and, while this didn¡¯t sound too impressive, it alone boosted Aalam¡¯s combat power by about 25% as it enabled him to use natural energy at will without the fear of running out. Even more important, however, as the defining skill of an Otherverse Emperor, it greatly reduced the strain universes other than his own would put on him as an outsider. This hadn¡¯t had much effect yet, as the Prime Material was his home universe, which didn¡¯t fight against him, and the Heavenly Soul Universe was his own Territory, effectively making it an extension of the Prime Material¡ªalso, as a C rank, there wasn¡¯t much strain to begin with¡ªbut, if he started attempting to conquer other universes in the future, it would be of tremendous help. Chapter 286: Divine Level Uniqueness Heavenly Spark Triforce Adept (C-Empyrean) Master of Laws and energy Effects: Raise affinity with all Laws by 700% Remarkably increase control over qi, mana, and psyforce Remarkably increase the normal flow rate of your qi, mana, and psyforce while also remarkably increasing their burst potential and ability to break down impurities Remarkably lower the difficulty of merging Laws with qi, mana, and psyforce Seriously lower the interference from existing Laws when raising additional ones Skill slots: 6 May not learn skills of the following categories: NA Stat bonuses per level: Strength: 3,888 Agility: 3,888 Endurance: 6,480 Toughness: 3,888 Vitality: 7,776 Perception: 7,776 Magic: 6,480 Spirit: 6,480 Soul: 7,776 Aura: 3,888 Attunement: 3,888 Luck: 0 Requirements: 3 peak grade Law Pupae for each of the 12 elements, has the Heavenly Spark Tricrafter King (D-Mythic) class, control over qi, mana, and psyforce at the middle A rank level Heavenly Spark Triforce Adept, Aalam¡¯s final class, had been chosen based on his master¡¯s suggestion, and it was a perfect fit for him. Like with Heavenly Spark Tricrafter, it raised his affinity with all Laws, but by 700% instead of 500%, so, together, given how weaker class effects of the same type were halved when a cultivator had multiple classes, they raised his affinity with all Laws by 950%. Then the second and third effects increased both the quality of his energy and his control over it, providing more of a boost to his crafting abilities than his entire crafting class, which was awesome. But it was the last two effects, the ones concerning his Laws, which Aalam found the most useful. The first, lowering the difficulty of merging Laws with his energy, enabled him to merge up to nine Laws into his skills at once, eleven when his Heavenly Spark Wings of the Emperor skill was activated, and, along with his control over natural energy, this was the main key for his ability to fight against A ranks. The second, however, was even better. Aalam had thirty-six Laws, and, while the nature of his mental model of Laws reduced how much they interfered with each other by a lot, the sheer number of Laws made raising any of them quite a bit more difficult than if he wasn¡¯t raising the others, and this interference was only rising as his Laws grew more powerful. With the last effect of Heavenly Spark Triforce Adept, however, this interference was reduced to almost nothing, and Aalam could raise his Laws much easier, mostly getting rid of the biggest bottleneck of advancing Heavenly Spark line classes. This increased control over energy and Laws then also greatly affected the class¡¯s six skills. Triforce Kinesis, an advancement of Telekinesis that was powered by qi and mana in addition to psyforce, was much easier to control, Aalam able to use the skill to enhance all his physical actions while interfering with his opponents in combat and move materials in any way he wanted when crafting. Triforce Eruption, a berserking skill that caused his qi, mana, and psyforce to explode with power, put much less strain on his body as Aalam could control even the erupting energy. And Royal Soul Enhancement, a noble category skill that allowed him to use natural energy and triforce to reinforce his soul, temporarily raising the limit by which his Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor could increase his other base stats from a factor of 16 to 20 to provide a 25% boost to his power, could last much longer as well. But where the effects of his increased control over his energy and his Laws really shined was in his three main combat skills, Royal Law Steps, Royal Law Armor, and Royal Law Weapon. Royal Law Steps was a movement skill, Royal Law Armor was a defensive skill, and Royal Law Weapon was a close combat offensive skill. All three were noble category, gaining the fourteen level boost Aalam gave to such skills; all three were purposefully designed to use natural energy, Aalam¡¯s higher control over this energy type almost automatically able to make them stronger; and all three were of the Law type, their effects greatly modified depending on what Laws or combination of Laws were used in their execution. Beyond racial abilities, class effects, and skills, however, Aalam also had an advantage over most C ranks in his uniquenesses. Id, after he¡¯d advanced to C rank and mastered his Ascended Multi-Mind and Ascended Multi-Core skills, had advanced to Divine grade, allowing him to boost his Magic stat by 1100% in addition to the same boost to his Endurance and Spirit. And, as his Soul and Vitality stats were higher than his Magic, Endurance, and Spirit stats even with such large boosts if his Soul Lord Prince Battle Armor wasn¡¯t taken into account¡ªwhich it didn¡¯t need to be when dealing with the type of soul strain Id created¡ªthe negative effects of entering into the Id state were pretty much gone. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Then take into account the decrease in soul burden from his Otherverse Emperor class, and Aalam had spent the last thousand years or so in the Id state with absolutely no repercussions. His Emperor uniqueness, as his Territory as a D rank and C rank hadn¡¯t been much larger than his Territory as an E rank, hadn¡¯t advanced, the Heavenly Soul Universe only about seven times larger than the former Territory of the Violet Mountain Sect, but it was still powerful, boosting all his stats by a factor of 6 when within his own Territory, i.e., for him, at all times. And his Soul Emperor uniqueness was still the same as well, boosting his effective Soul stat by 500%. Law Wings King, however, he¡¯d advanced to Law Wings Emperor, boosting his Agility stat by 300% instead of 200%, boosting his Heavenly Spark Wings of the Emperor skill by eight levels instead of seven, and turning his wings into an even more powerful Law focus for all Laws. Aalam¡¯s favorite uniqueness, however, was the one he¡¯d managed to awaken in himself after a few thousand members of the Heavenly Soul Universe allowed him to experiment on them¡ªmost gaining a new uniqueness in the process with no injuries, only often not the one Aalam intended¡ªThird Eye Emperor. A more advanced version of Mila¡¯s Third Eye Queen uniqueness, it raised his effective Perception stat by 300% and added a new effect to his singular eye-based skill, Emperor¡¯s Eyes of Analysis, turning the skill into more of a vision domain which, with a little work, he¡¯d merged with his sensory domain. Most important, however, as in Mila¡¯s case, it gave him new vision effects for every single one of his Laws. Compared to Mila¡¯s divine role Laws, the effects he gained were nowhere near as useful, his Laws of Passion and Tranquility the only ones to give him what could be called an ability, but the effects were still awesome. Together, his Laws of Passion and Tranquility enabled him to see the level of excitement in a living being much easier through their aura, even in auras up to eight times stronger than his own, and this was with both Laws being peak grade Law Scarabs. All the rest of his Laws, however, gave him an easier way to see the workings of the universe, and, while most cultivators wouldn¡¯t find too much use in this, it was exactly what Aalam had been after. With his 36 new types of vision, combined with his sensory skills, his ridiculously high Attunement stat for a C rank, his high affinities for all Laws, and his Law focus wings, studying the workings of the two universes he had access to was just so fun. Vitality Emperor, the last uniqueness he¡¯d awakened to which raised his Vitality stat by 500%, was just nowhere near as interesting. What was incredibly interesting, however, was Aalam¡¯s core. Heavenly Spark Primal Purity Core [incomplete]: Increase the quality of all energy by one rank and raise affinity with all Laws by 500%. Aalam¡¯s core was ridiculously simple, with only two very basic effects, but, even in an incomplete state due to him not having formed the twelve subordinate cores in his twelve extra core containers, it was already the most powerful core of anyone from the Heavenly Soul Universe. The effect of raising his energy quality by a rank was just that strong. The biggest difference between ranks was not stats, skills, racial abilities, or the extra benefits from cultivation at each rank, like C rank cores, B rank oaths, and A rank Law energy. It was energy quality. With energy quality of one rank higher, stats produced more of an effect, skills were made stronger, and, most important for Aalam, artifacts of one rank higher could be used. Aalam¡¯s qi, mana, and psyforce were already of the highest quality a C rank could produce due to his cultivation technique being the best in the universe and of a very high level, but it had still been C rank energy, inherently different from the energy of a B rank in several important ways. The wall between ranks when it came to energy was just that huge. With his core, however, even in an incomplete state, he was able to pass through this wall, boosting his combat power and other abilities by more than a factor of 12. This was the last of Aalam¡¯s C rank powers, but there were also the B rank boosts he¡¯d already awakened to as well, his three oaths. Oath of the Villain¡¯s Clean Vengeance You are not a good person, but you will hold back and wait so your acts of vengeance won¡¯t harm the lives of innocents when you want to kill Benefits: Increase the speed of mastering skills by 100% Increase the effectiveness of the Attunement stat by 150% When training for revenge, the above two benefits are multiplied by a factor of 6 Should you complete an act of vengeance without harming innocents, there is a high chance of entering into a state of sudden enlightenment Limitations: Untargeted mass slaughter in the name of revenge will shackle your soul, the greater the slaughter the worse the shackles and the longer they will last First, there was the oath he¡¯d awakened to back as an E rank. Ever since Diana had been killed, he¡¯d been training for revenge every single day, greatly helping with his skill mastery and Law advancement speed, allowing him to become as powerful as he was. And he¡¯d entered into a few short states of sudden enlightenment over the years when helping some of his subordinates, such as Raven and Vanar, get revenge on those who wronged them. But, overall, Aalam would have preferred if the last two benefits from the oath had never been triggered. Oath of the True Crafter You craft because you enjoy it Benefits: Increase the effectiveness of the Vitality and Soul stats by 500% Remarkably increase control over qi, mana, and psyforce Remarkably increase the power of crafting category skills While enjoying the process of crafting, there is a low chance of entering into a state of sudden enlightenment Limitations: Boredom during crafting will temporarily shackle your soul, the longer time before you become passionate again the worse the shackles and the longer they will last Aalam¡¯s second oath was a bit more fun, providing benefits to his crafting and overall energy control, but he was especially looking forward to entering into states of sudden enlightenment a whole lot more. Unlike completing acts of vengeance, he enjoyed crafting almost every day, so, even though the chance of entering into a state of sudden enlightenment was a lot lower, it was going to trigger a whole lot more often. And, with Aalam¡¯s The Zone skill, he could easily cut off any state of boredom he¡¯d otherwise enter into, so the limitation meant pretty much nothing. Oath of the True Scientist You study the universe because you enjoy it Benefits: Increase the effectiveness of the Perception and Attunement stats by 500% Raise affinity with all Laws by 700% Remarkably increase the power of sensory category skills While enjoying the process of studying the universe, there is a low chance of entering into a state of sudden enlightenment Limitations: Boredom during studying the universe will temporarily shackle your soul, the longer time before you become passionate again the worse the shackles and the longer they will last Finally, his third oath was pretty much the same as his second, only for studying the universe instead of crafting, and boosting his ability to sense Laws instead of his control over energy. Both had required a ridiculous amount of primal energy to form before reaching B rank, but they were worth it, and Aalam was looking forward to seeing them become even stronger once he actually made it to B rank, his cultivation technique making his oaths quite a bit more powerful than those of average cultivators. Oaths, unlike classes, had no penalties for overlapping effects, so he was expecting some pretty overpowered results. Bored, and feeling like he had to do something while waiting for the challenge to gain Camoran¡¯s inheritance to start, Aalam pulled out several materials from his spatial storage ring and started the process of designing a new and improved matter/anti-matter bomb, one that, if he designed it right, might be able to rip a hole through a galaxy or blow up a B rank world. Chapter 287: Nine Divine Artifacts Joma Joma La¡¯Vordi, the Alchemist of the Deep Woods, was becoming more and more impressed by Camoran the Spirit Smith. First, the closed off subspace she¡¯d arrived at upon using one of his puzzle books was amazing, a beautiful green grassland surrounding a pond of specialized A rank water known as elder nymph tears. Made from the actual tears of a rare B rank monster known as an Elder Sea Nymph, the pond by itself was worth roughly two times Joma¡¯s entire accumulated wealth, and the first thing she¡¯d been told upon her arrival was that the pond was now hers, a gift for using one of Camoran¡¯s puzzle books even though she didn¡¯t qualify for his inheritance. Compared to the nine divine artifacts that had appeared in front of her, however, floating above the grass, the incredibly valuable water was almost nothing. First there was Giantslayer, a small knife seemingly made from entirely one piece of purplish bone, which gave off an aura of poison and death that made Joma uncomfortable. Second was Thread Guider, a small needle made of a pure white pearly substance, useful for divine level embroidery. And third was Truthfinder, a pair of glasses made out of a blue metal for the frame and a clear type of divine level crystal for the lenses, obviously some sort of auxiliary tool. From what little Joma could sense, these three smaller artifacts were the strongest of the nine, Camoran the Spirit Smith, as an A rank, probably unable to seamlessly craft divine level materials that were much larger. Twilight Sun and Hellwater Moon, for example, two divine longswords whose auras made it obvious they were created for the Lord of Twilight Flame and the Lady of Hellwater to wield, Joma could tell hadn¡¯t been finished in the Spirit Smith¡¯s lifetime. Twilight Sun, a half-white and half-black blade with a red handle, had, if Joma¡¯s alchemical knowledge was correct, spent several dozen trillion years bathing in boiling yin yang ink, a powerful A rank chemical concoction, to reach God rank despite being made of divine level materials. And Hellwater Moon, an inky blue blade with a gray handle, had seemingly spent the same amount of time buried in the bark of a poisoned world tree. Thunder Crusher and Endless Seal, on the other hand, a large metallic war hammer and an engraved stamp showing the image of an infinity sign respectively, had been created in the Spirit Smith¡¯s lifetime, making use of divine level materials and the Spirit Smith¡¯s own divine level Space and Time Laws to become relatively weak divine weapons. Then, finally, there was the Kiminary Armor, a set of black and red leather armor obviously designed for a female humanoid, and the Vazifor Spear, a long piece of somehow incredibly flexible metal tipped with a point made from a divine Chaos Dragon¡¯s tooth. These were the armor and weapon of a human goddess who¡¯d died fighting against the start of the undead invasion during Camoran¡¯s lifetime, and both were still damaged despite trillions of years of recovery, the armor still having three small rips between where a human¡¯s ribs would be, which Joma knew from history had originally been three large gashes, and the dragon tooth tip of the spear still with a small noticeable chip. And all the divine artifacts had spirits inside that could talk, each having introduced themselves to her with the same type of mana based communication cultivators used when not in an atmosphere. ¡°Well, Ms. La¡¯Vordi, now that introductions are out of the way and you know about your reward, could you tell us why you, an A rank, decided to take one of the 108 spots for competing for Master Camoran¡¯s inheritance?¡± Truthfinder, the pair of glasses, asked using the same ancient dialect of Universal Common the others had used as well, its voice sounding male and proper. Joma took a second to think, realizing from the way the artifacts talked they might not be fully aware of what was going on outside the demiplane where they all lived. And only then did she answer. ¡°If the competition for the inheritance is based on crafting skill, it¡¯s pretty obvious who would win, so I didn¡¯t see much harm in using one of the slots myself.¡± ¡°So, you are saying you used up part of our master¡¯s final hard work for shits and giggles?¡± Giantslayer, whose voice sounded female and angry, hissed at her, giving Joma another useful data point. Giantslayer at least was still very fond of Camoran the Spirit Smith. ¡°I used the puzzle book to save my life.¡± ¡°Who was trying to kill you?¡± Thread Guider, whose voice sounded female as well, albeit more maternal and less deadly, asked. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± Joma could feel some mana vibrations, almost certainly the spirits of the artifacts talking with each other, and then Giantslayer moved to put her edge up against Joma¡¯s throat. ¡°Speak more, or I¡¯ll cut you.¡± This action gave Joma a lot more data, but she still needed more, so she locked eyes on the pair of glasses in front of her, pretending to ignore most of the other artifacts, even Giantslayer at her throat. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Is this how the artifacts of Camoran treat guests?¡± ¡°Why are you looking at him and not paying attention to me?¡± Giantslayer hissed again. ¡°Why am I looking at the artifact designed for interrogations when I¡¯m being interrogated?¡± Joma forced herself to smile even though she was actually feeling quite a bit of fear. ¡°Who else should I be paying attention to?¡± There were more mana vibrations, mainly between Truthfinder and Giantslayer, and then Giantslayer floated away from Joma¡¯s neck and back to the others. ¡°How do you know about my abilities?¡± Truthfinder still sounded calm, but there was something in the way he floated that made Joma feel he might be nervous. ¡°Am I somehow famous in the outside world?¡± And there it was. They almost certainly did not have access to the System, and it was likely due to the nature of the demiplane, as Joma herself had lost access since being teleported in, not their identities as artifacts. ¡°No. I¡¯d never heard of you before today.¡± Joma took a few deep breaths. ¡°But it is pretty obvious what your abilities are. ¡°First, you are an artifact shaped like glasses, meaning you almost certainly have an auxiliary effect, and likely more than one. Second, while I am not as talented as your creator, I am knowledgable enough to recognize you as an artifact designed to run on your own energy supply rather than that of a master, so it is almost certain you were made for someone weaker than a god to use, likely Lord Camoran himself. And, third, having taken as an apprentice the latest reincarnation of your master¡¯s truesoul, I can make an educated guess as to what Lord Camoran would want a divine artifact to help him with, being better able to see into the workings of the universe and, more important to our current situation, being better able to see through the deceptions of people. ¡°Finally, and this was the biggest clue, you introduced yourself with the name Truthfinder.¡± There was more chatter among the artifacts, quite a bit actually, and Joma started feeling more relaxed for a few seconds. But then she realized the simplicity of the artifacts, if they were involved in choosing who would become the Spirit Smith¡¯s inheritor, might make them easily convinced by the likely 106 cultivators from the Primordial Humans who would be competing against Aalam. ¡°You said who wanted to kill you was complicated. Could you elaborate?¡± Truthfinder, sounding somewhat embarrassed, asked, Joma taking his chagrin as a good sign. But, at the same time, Giantslayer moved to float around Joma¡¯s head in a way that was quite unnerving given how sharp the obviously poisoned blade was, asking, ¡°What¡¯s the reincarnated truesoul of master like?¡± ¡°Your questions are connected.¡± Joma squatted down and took a step back before rising back up, getting a bit further away from Giantslayer¡¯s sharp blade. ¡°The truesoul of Runemaster Alashan and your creator Camoran has now formed the core of my second apprentice, Aalam Alvaro, by far the most talented of the many children of the Primordial Humans¡¯ goddess Bellessia, the youngest divine child of the Primordial Sovereign. ¡°Born on an unintegrated planet to a G rank father, he died shortly before his planet would undergo an apocalypse style integration and was reborn as a monster known by the System as the Heavenly Spark Soul King through a new process added to the System a little less than 5.2 billion years ago, his force earning the final two puzzle books your master gave to the System to give out as rewards just as his mother intended. ¡°My daughter interacted with him in the F rank trial tower, which he entered with the help of his now wife, and later the E rank War of the Chosen, so, when he and his full blood sister were looking for someone to teach him, they reached out to me and I took him on as an apprentice, none of us knowing at the time who his mother was. ¡°A few years later, his mother tried to kill him using a bloodline curse, partially to retrieve the two puzzle books, the rest of which the Primordial Humans had already collected over the last 45 trillion years since they were released, but she failed due to Aalam no longer having her bloodline, just killing his full blood sister instead. ¡°And then she and her family started threatening my life so they could find and then kill my apprentice, but so far they failed and Aalam and his force just managed to save me by giving me his second puzzle book.¡± ¡°Those bastards.¡± Thunder Crusher, the war hammer¡¯s voice deep and booming, sounded angry as he spoke in a way Joma could understand for the first time. ¡°How dare they treat master¡¯s reincarnation like that?¡± Thread Guider also sounded angry. ¡°Master¡¯s reincarnation sounds so loyal and cool.¡± Giantslayer, meanwhile, seemed excited, thankfully having moved to spinning around Thunder Crusher instead of Joma herself. But the other artifacts weren¡¯t having the same reaction. Truthfinder and Endless Seal were both quiet. Twilight Sun and Hellwater Moon were chatting with each other in a way Joma couldn¡¯t understand. And the Kiminary Armor and Vazifor Spear were having a conversation she could understand, but did not like. ¡°Who cares about the truesoul. He¡¯s a monster, so he must die.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Then all the artifacts disappeared, none of them seemingly activating any power, leading Joma to realize there was likely another divine artifact responsible for the closed off subspace she was in, and Joma started to worry. She¡¯d been saved by Aalam and his wife, but Aalam, like her, was now trapped in Camoran the Spirit Smith''s demiplane, unable to help his force even as their universe was almost certainly being assaulted by the Primordial Humans. Meanwhile, so far, Joma had been more of a burden than a help. She¡¯d felt as her obligations to four of the forces she couldn¡¯t pay a penalty to had cancelled their contracts with her, and she¡¯d felt the same from the force under War Dance Koraline. Meanwhile, after accepting the contract request Aalam and his wife had given her when her apprentice had tossed her that spear during the end of the C rank Universal Tournament, having the Forest Cauldron become a subordinate force to the United Federation of Planets, her contract with the largest of the human empires had been broken upon the Lord of Twilight Flame trying to assassinate Aalam. But, before being cut off from the Prime Material, she¡¯d felt nothing from her contract with the Shadow Collective, the force under the Silent Shadow, one of the subordinate gods under the Lady of Laws, and that had her worried. While she was trapped yet protected, not able to help Aalam much beyond presenting true facts in as beneficial a manner as she could to the likely judges of the competition for inheritance, Aalam¡¯s wife was seemingly making enemies for her sake, and was probably about to antagonize the Shadow Collective as well, yet Joma couldn¡¯t even correctly manipulate some obviously innocent artifact spirits to make things for her apprentice easier.