Dimension Gap.
Unperturbed, I sat hands on my chin as I tried to focus on my presumably new element: 'The infinity' as Ophis called it, to no avail. Sadly, she was pretty much useless in teaching it to me, there was nothing of value that she could give me. There was never a case like mine after all.
It seems I'll have to figure it out alone. My version was an aberration of sorts.
"I was born with it." Ophis would answer with her emotionless face as usual. That was indeed the case, it came instinctually to her.
To be honest, I've already lost count of the days that I must have spent here. I touched the hair that seemed to go a bit beyond my shoulders and slightly into my back, if going by the length of my hair, I'd assume it was a pretty long duration. The dimension gap is very disorientating time-wise. What I did only added to the effect.
"You will be able to get back to your mates soon enough, time is already slowed down. And you slowed it down even further…" That was the response I received when I talked about it with Great Red.
Just as he said, I did use my time magic as well. I'm not sure about the exact conversion rate, but time in Danmachi should be practically stopped relative to the dimension gap and my own time as well.
To be honest, it was a bit unfair for Hephie and the others... Nonetheless, it was the best decision to make. As much as I hate to admit it, I need some time alone to really figure out how my skills worked. On a similar note, the system seemed eerily silent as of late. But that was good. It let me focus more.
That being said, this world was very special… I used to think it was some sort of boob-oriented universe. While not untrue, that was not really the entire case. It was the desires that were extremely strong in this world. As long as you had at least something special, with enough hard work and dedication, you could very well be the strongest in the world. It was especially true for someone that had a body made by Ophis and Great Red.
There was so much wasted potential this world's residents do not tap into. It was sad…
[Akagi Ken(Divine)- Lv2]
HP: 229500
MP: 153300
STR: 260
VIT: 245
DEX: 270
WIS: 280
It was so unfair being a dragon… I get a massive increase in stats just from being one— especially HP. Sadly, it was not all sunshine and rainbows, there is a multitude of dragon-slaying weapons across the multiverse, dragons were a pretty prominent problem across the board, after all. And coupled with the divinity that I fully absorbed from Hephi's blessing by now.
...I was just waiting to get torn a new asshole by some god and dragon-slaying divine construct. That needed to be remedied somehow.
My growth, although extremely quick, was still far too little to allow me to hold a candle to Great Red— not even a conversation. It was chilling how the stronger I get, the stronger the great red appears to be to me. I still couldn't see his actual stats...
[Great Red( True Dragon)- Lv?]
"Zoon zoom Iyaan" I sighed, and my palm naturally found its way to my face. It's almost as if he has some sort of split personality. It always takes me by surprise when he switches personalities, going from the 'I know better than you' one to this goofy spin-kicking one, flying around this plane without a care in the world.
"Zoom zoom Iyaan"
… I quite frankly understand how Ophis would get tired of it. That tune is going to be stuck in my head for a while. In fact, she was staying right next to me, clutching my arm as I tried to concentrate on sensing the 'infinity' element.
"Good news?" she said, tilting her head while looking at me. "Beat Baka Red? You are getting stronger."
I sighed for the second time in this 'small' duration. It was kinda constricting being held up here with two super-powered beings. The only thing that happens is either Ophis coming to check up on me or Great Red spinning around while singing that rubbish tune only to switch personalities and teach me about some new magic or techniques. Most of them were irrelevant, to be honest. My magic covered basically everything. It was something like Devil magic... Learning Norse or Human magic was basically just wasting time. Time was better spent practising what I already got.
"I'm protecting you." Ophis would say. It was hard to hate her when she would say it so sincerely with no other feelings behind them. It was weird, a weird feeling… I could certainly ignore her, it just felt not natural to do so.
Another thing was how touchy-feely she was. I once asked her about it.
"My snake inside you." I looked weirdly at her, that was not a good way to say that...
"Can touch you."
I didn't understand what she meant that day, I only nodded non-committedly. I assumed it was just some sort of instinct taking hold of her, or something similar to what is happening to me. Likewise, I didn't get it until I asked Great Red for some pointers about the 'Infinity', since Ophis was a no-go.
"You shouldn't be envious, Ouroboros has the infinity from creation. Unlike you, Ouroboros has to constantly filter out the infinity…"
Is that so…
Ophis was the older one of the two dragon gods, and I had a feeling the stronger one too... The only reason she couldn't 'defeat' Baka Red was that both of them were conceptual in nature. The dragon god of dreams and the dragon god of Infinity.
I was cut out of my musings when the harmless-looking gothic-wearing little Loli said. "It is time for the spar."
It is, isn't it?
I was the one that asked her to start doing these daily spars with me. It was sad to admit, but I could afford to go all out, completely all out, and I would still have no chance of hurting her, never mind winning against her. So she served as the perfect sparring partner.
After some convincing— beaten to a pulp— I realised that I needn't worry about using the sword Hephie and I made on Ophis. Well, it was in a different league now. It was one of the reasons why I was planning to counterattack my 'weakness' with certain weapons.
[Fortis - Divine.]
Previously unmanned. This sword is a divine construct, having absorbed a portion of the energies of both Ouroboros the infinity dragon and Hephaestus the smithing goddess. It now serves as the bane of all gods and dragons alike. None shall escape its wrath. Can only be used by Akagi Ken.
Ironic, my weapon is my perfect counter... I couldn't say the same about Ophis, I could have all the damage in the world, but it wouldn't matter if I couldn't hit her. She wasn't the infinity dragon for nothing.
Nonetheless, I charged on with my sword in hand and magic in the other. I'll at least hit her this day.
"Ah. Shit." Ophis held her hands up, and the surroundings suddenly became a blur as I was violently tossed dozens and dozens of meters back. Only stopped by an enhanced wind spell.
The same frustrating thing repeated itself multiple times, with her being on the 'defensive' and bombarding me with all sorts of magic spells. The way she played was unfair. We could literally go for weeks, and she wouldn't even be winded.
.
.
.
Countless minutes or maybe hours passed for all I know.
I Lay on the ground, not able to move a single muscle from exhaustion. I completely disregarded the bruises on my body.
Another day when I could not even hit her at all. Her magic barrier was plain unfair... It wouldn't even budge against any kind of assault.
...Not to mention her look that practically screamed. 'GG easy.' The fact that she doesn't do it on purpose makes it even worse...
A heavy sigh escaped my mouth as I looked at the glittery 'sky' of the dimensional gap. My view was obstructed by the familiar dark abyss eyes keenly looking at my blue ones— I still preferred the blue eyes, so I shape-shifted back into them but kept the black hair.
Without asking for my permission, Ophis lay down next to me and wrapped her arms around me. She even transformed into her 'adult' form and her clothes transformed along with her to counter the increase in 'assets'.
I don't know how she figured that out, but I did indeed prefer it over her Loli look, so I didn't have any complaints. I lightly rubbed her head as she purred to my touch. It did feel to cuddle after working up a sweat...
'Why don't I just bring them to me instead?' I thought in my mind looking at the dragon god sprawled in a fetal position on my chest.
---
Skills: GamersMind(Off) - GamersBody - Instinct - Mind'sEye(True) - Mage - Mystery- DivineSmith- Rejuvenation - Shapeshifting - Mixing- DivineTouch- Luck- EndlessLibido- Battlecontinuation- Mana Burst.
Magic:- Warlock - Divine Temporal Spacial mage- Divine Dark/Light mage.