Novel 4- The Absolute: Path of Wisdom
Hey! Here it is! Another Novel idea.
I had this one while I was making new chapters and I really wanted to do it so I made it.
The name is a bit strange, but I can change it if I find another one more fitting.
Synopsys is pretty straightforward, although I will probably change it.
Mc was summoned to a magical world to defeat the Demon King, and he does it after 10 years, simple.
However, as he explores this world, he realizes that it isn't exactly 'normal'.
Everything feels artificial...
No system, just pure training.
Our story begins the moment he kills the Demon King.
Also, the Mc name isn't actually what is shown...
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CHAP 1 A creature that shouldn't exist
/BOOOM!/
"Haa… Ha… Is it finally over?" Asked a man with a large sword
He got up from the ground, blood falling out of his wounds.
Soon enough, another guy replied, slowly getting out of the rubble.
"Since we're not being blasted, I bet it is."
He carried a large shield in his hand, and a spear on his other hand.
"Yeah… It's over…"
"!"
"!"
The two guys looked to the side to see a man with brown hair floating in the air, he had a blue robe covering his entire body and a pair of green gloves.
His face was rather handsome but he had two massive dark circles below his eyes, making him feel quite gloomy with his serious expression.
His eyes were sharp and green, glowing in faint light...
Next to him were two objects flying, one strange cube that was constantly turning like a rubix cube and an hourglass with a red liquid inside.
He was spotless, different from the other two guys.
"As expected of Bolt-Nim!" Said the knight with the sword
The other warrior nodded, but before he could say anything Bolt said:
"Go help those 2, they need your help."
"!"
"!"
This was a wake-up call for the both of them, making them start to search the rubble like madmen.
Bolt, on the other hand, remained there, silently floating, gazing at the creature he had just slayed.
Being 8 Meters tall, having a human body and red skin, two horns on its head, and a tail… It was the stereotypical image of what a demon looks like, with a few extra things like the fact it has 6 fingers in each hand instead of 5.
"..."
'I finally killed it. After 10 years of hard work, suffering everyday to understand this world and the people in it, I killed the Demon king…'
'But why did it have to be like this?! A decade of hard work! I surpassed all before me, and achieved a level never recorded before, with the best equipment this world has seen in the past few millennia, and yet, I was barely even able to graze this motherfucker!'
'And instead, it was defeated by that motherfuking sword! What about my efforts? My pain, my suffering?! All of it was meaningless since this guy would've died to a single hit of that sword anyway!'
As he screamed mentally, he gazed at the broken fragments of a sword stuck in the chest of the Demon King.
This was the sword of Dawn, said to only resurface when the world is at 'risk'. And so it did, when a new Demon King rose, this time, stronger than ever.
The typical story soon followed.
Bolt, the man floating in the air, had been summoned 10 years ago to defeat this creature with the help of 4 selected Heroes… In short, the guy with the sword, the guy with the shield and spear, the useless archer buried in the rubble, and the not so useless priest that is also buried in the rubble.
'I trained so hard… Thinking this fight would be hard… And it was… Almost impossible, and yet, I didn't even manage to do shit to it, having to rely on some sort of cheat weapon…'
'My strength was only useful to stall for time until that guy swung the sword…'
Bolt started to remember his life in this world. 10 years ago, he was but an young worker, getting ready to go to his very first job interview.
It wasn't an interview per se, since he had already gotten a contract years prior during his staging years. But his Boss and best friend really wanted to interview him, saying he had to go through sunce a thing else he wouldn't be a man
And so he did, but somehow, in the middle of it all, he died.
How? He doesn't remember, he only remembers being hit in the chest with something and later, he woke up in a cave. It could've been a bullet, a car crash, a heart attack, or something else, but it doesn't matter.
'After I woke up in that damn cave, I was biten by a fucking giant spider and while I slowly died to the poison, knights in shining armor descended from the sky and healed me, saying that I was the chosen one to help their world and bla bla bla.'
'As for their language, I didn't understand it at first, but they later used a spell on me to make me understand their language… Not perfectly, but I could at least do a few things, and over time, I learned how to properly speak and read it.'
'From then on this adventure started… And I was really happy in the beginning, a brand new world with incredible possibilities! Nothing wrong on that part.'
'I learned and asked if it was possible for me to return to my homeland, and they replied that yes it was possible, but only with some very specific artifacts… And lo and behold, all of them are missing with the exception of one.'
Bolt looked at the end of the grand hall where he fought the Demon King and saw a massive throne in front of a mirror.
That was the artifact, the Mirror of a Shattered world, capable of bringing a single person to the place they most desire, once per person.
This item was used by the previous Demon kings to wreak havoc in the world, but it was damaged a long time ago, and thankfully, this guy in front of Bolt repaired it.
'Of course, this wasn't an easy task for the previous me as it didn't take too long for me to learn how overwhelmingly powerful this guy is and how impossible getting this item was.'
'They told me that I would need to gather strong allies and just like in a game, I was given missions to seek these 4 bastards below me, I did that, going through a hell of missions.'
'But then, I was told that I would need a weapon to deal the final strike in the Demon, so I went to find the fucker, to find out it was shattered, then another quest began, to gather everything, than I had to fix it, than I had to restore its power, and finally, I was ready for it.'
'To be honest, I wasn't really bothered by all of that since all of that took years to accomplish, and by the time I had everything in my hands, I had long lost my drive to go back home.'
'I started to treat this world as the best game and I even thought about living my life here… But I chose against it. Why? Simple, it's because of these people's personalities…'
'They are… Too happy and optimistic… Don't get me wrong, I like that they are happy and that I don't need to worry about people plotting behind my back, but I don't know… Literally, everyone I met would always welcome me with smiles, and 99 out of 100 people I meet would be good natured.'
'As if they were programmed Npc's even their speech would often sound repetitive and weird…'
'I always felt creeped out by this factor of this world, and it was why I never accepted the love of those 2 girls, letting them get in a relationship with those two muscle heads.'
'I was never able to prove if there was indeed something wrong, and I might've lost the love of 2 beauties simply because I was thinking too much…'
'Sigh, I might be getting too cautious but that is just how I always felt… That this world was somehow… Artificial… It's hard to explain in words.'
'As for this world itself… It's called Pol Ger, named by the ancient Humans, in their language it means, Resting grounds.'
'This Continent is about the size of Australia. Perhaps a bit bigger, and it has many islands around it. It is named Azure, and Its story is pretty simple: Humans came from somewhere outside of the Continent and they colonized it around 3K years ago.'
'But the Ancient civilization was brought down when the first Demon King descended and sowed maihen in this world.'
'Since then, this cycle of Demon King rises, chaos, Human Hero kills it, peace, repeat, has been going for around 2K or so years...'
'There are no mythical creatures in this world, at least not anymore, and the Demon King was the only such creature, but even so, only one appears after a few centuries pass…'
'Trust me, I searched it, and the best I found were things like fragments of bones and scales and fossils like dinosaurs. I always liked to find those, since it gave me a glimpse of what true power is.'
'The path of power in this world is divided into three categories, Body, Magic, and everything else.'
'However, that is wrong, why? That would need a deep explanation…'
But Bolt's thoughts were cut yet again…
"Bolt? Are you okay? You've been floating there for a while." Asked the swordsman, gently holding a girl with a bow
"I'm fine, I was just thinking."
The guy with the shield smiled and said:
"Are you excited to go back to your homeland? You always told us it was beyond the continent, such a shame it's one way though, else I would've liked to go with you."
"I was thinking about that, but I have no plans of going right now…"
"Oh? What do you plan to do?" Asked the girl with the bow, no, she wasn't an Elf
Elves and Dwarfs did not exist in this world, only Humans and Demons.
"I'll take a look at the Demon King's body and see what I can understand from it, after that, I'll leave."
The priest girl smiled.
"You truly love research right? You didn't change at all in 10 years."
Bolt was about to say something but he stopped.
'Did I?... I guess that is possible…'
He took a sneaking glace at the 4, who were now cuddling with their respective partner, cheering that they had won.
'The ones who changed the most were these 4… At the start, they looked just like any of these people… But as I spent more time with them, they started to develop more and more emotions…'
'And somehow, they went from Npc's to friends… Annoying friends.'
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Notes
CHAP 2 What is Magic?
Bolt landed on the ground and walked near the Demon King, faint magical power could be felt from it but its quality made Bolt tremble a bit.
The world of Pol Ger has its own supernatural power system, divided clearly by the people over the course of several millennia.
The Path of Magic and The Path of the Physical Body, are the two widely accepted paths, the rest aren't really widely known and are merely fragments of knowledge or straight out forbidden.
'But that is wrong… Mostly.'
'As I grew stronger, I was forced to search for more knowledge as the ones I had available were too little for me to make use of.'
'Royal treasuries, ancient tombs, forgotten tomes with forbidden knowledge… I searched for it all, and I eventually made my own division of the paths.'
'I divided magic into 3 categories by analyzing all sorts of minor paths I came across, realizing they were only different sorts of magic, but the theory was all there. Many before me realized that, but most of such information was eventually forgotten.'
'Those categories are Core Magic, Fusion Magic, and Blood Magic.'
'Core Magic is magic that is applied via a Core… A Core is a machine that handles the Mana and transforms it into something else for you with immense precision. The problem is that to use a Core, it's necessary to be smart… Very smart because the calculations are pretty insane.'
'And that is after I made things easier because ordinary Core magic doesn't use… Well, a Core, I know right? Crazy. Core wizards are forced to do everything alone using nothing but a staff to amplify their Mana and make things easier.'
'To visualize the difficulty of using Core magic, try to think of 1+1=2, simple right?'
'But try to visualize 10 math problems at the same time? 1+1=2, 2+2=4, 3+3=6… A bit harder but someone that practiced would know the answer to each easily.'
'Now, try to derive the solution to 10 university equations at the same time while your enemy rushes at you with a sword… Not so easy right?'
'Even more so since they need to control their mana as well, not the case with me since I made a Core, but yeah. This is the reason why this field of magic is considered to be more scholarly than anything else, being used in day to day situations instead of combat.'
'This new path of Core magic was developed after I fused concepts from many other schools of Magic, and I am very proud of it.'
'The second path is also the Fusion magic, derived from the most famous school of magic in this world, Spiritual Magic.'
'Simply put, Spiritual magic is a game of patterns. Where you combine several patterns to make different results, simple no?'
'Three patterns of fire and you make the pattern of a Fireball, 2 patterns of wind and you make the pattern of Gush, combine these 2 new patterns and you have a new one pattern, Flamethrower.'
'The precise combinations of several dozen patterns requires more memorization than talent in mathematics, and hence, it's simpler to teach and learn, being the most famous field of magic.'
'But I didn't like that… Because this is a very inflexible school of magic.'
'There is only one way of doing anything, and even if there is another way, it often requires you to go a long way to do it… And I never liked this, it was good, but being stuck to the same things made me feel predictable… And I suffered for that a few times.'
'So I changed that, and after a long while I did it, now under the name of Fusion magic, the school of magic patterns.'
'Now, every pattern can be customized, its intensity, length, purity… All of it is now possible.'
'You could say I am simply overdoing it, but this is very important, I brought flexibility into a previous, inflexible school of magic.'
'And finally, we have Blood magic, also known as Dark magic.'
'As the names imply, this is a very scorned school of magic, one I never used in front of anyone else, apart from these 4 goof balls.'
'I studied Dark magic for a long time, rituals, sacrifices, devilish invocations… And fused all of it under a simple rule… Dark Magic needs a catalyst, and 99% of the time is… You guessed it, blood.'
'Blood is the base of this school of magic, and hence I renamed it from Dark Magic to Blood magic since there was nothing dark about this.'
'It's true that the most common use of this form of magic is to curse people and do some foul thing, but to be honest, the same can be done with the other two paths for the same results, you just need to think and be creative.'
'Something that I realized is that all 3 paths are somewhat connected, but I never found the full principles behind it… I just had so much time and creativity.'
'The Demon King for example, used Blood magic, but in his case, he used his own blood as the cathalist, this isn't easy since yourt body needs to be fucking invincible to last through the process.'
'Even mine is not strong enough to last through some of the basic spells… In my case, when I want to use blood magic, I utilize this item…'
He looked at his hourglass with the red liquid inside.
'This is the blood of an Ancient Human Emperor, I got it from the catacombs of the Kingdom of the knights that saved me, they allowed me inside in order to get rid of some ghosts that had taken over it… It was a pain in the ass since it wasn't just some ghosts…'
'In the end, I raided the place and got everything useful to me, such this vial of blood, that so far, has been the best catalyst I had found… Until today.'
'But that is for later.'
Bolt gazed at the body of the Demon king, he didn't care about the precious blood that was slowly dripping into the Earth as it didn't matter, he would get everything once he recovered his stamina from the fight.
'What about Body arts? There wasn't much for me to change about this even after many years of research.'
'Body art's main objective is to awaken the Human potential via intense training and simulation. It is divided into 10 stages following the moon phases.'
'But hey, there are only 8 moon phases… What about the last 2?'
'New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Waning crescent… New Moon.'
'Starting at New moon Knight and ending in New moon again, this is the full cycle that only the most legendary of body practitioners were capable of completing in the 3 thousand years of this Continent's history.'
'While most were only capable of advancing till Full Moon, a few were able to go beyond this cycle… To break free of it.'
'But not without its dangers, if you do something wrong, you may risk falling into it again and starting all over… This is known as the abyss of geniuses, the last trail that consumed the lives of hundreds of talents throughout time.'
'But if you persevere, you may achieve the next stage, called by many names. I decided to stick with Eclipse, as you have finally eclipsed the moon.'
'Currently, my strength is at the 6th stage, this is good enough since I focused on magic, but not for long… The physical body and Magic are directly connected with each other after all…'
'Magic also has its own classification, following the times of the day, it's divided into 6 forms.'
'Sunrise, Noon, Sunset, and Midnight. What about the last two?'
'Despite there only being 4 Levels, most wizards never go past Sunrise, and because of this, they made many useless middle classifications to divide themselves.'
'But what lies beyond Midnight if not the Sunrise? This is yet another abyss of geniuses. If you take the wrong step, you may be forced to repeat the entire process... Losing all of your accumulated strength.'
'And considering magic had always been more famous and easier to practice than Body arts, the number of geniuses on it was also much higher, in the thousands. But yet, a few managed to pass this stage and went into what I call the Sunless stage.'
'However, I am beyond that, I understood the flaw pointed out by the many before me, and with the help of many items, I advanced beyond that, into this nameless stage…'
'Wrong, this isn't a stage, it's a mere half transformation since I lack something... Constitution.'
'The next stage is the fusion of the two Paths… My body is the key. The thing that is halting my own progress was myself.'
'The truth to go beyond in both Paths is located within their counterpart.'
"Like the words of the strongest fire mage in history, and one of the few to achieve the pinnacle in both paths, the Molten Sage. Once you achieve Eclipse, you need to understand what it means to live without a Sun."
'To go beyond everything in this world, you need to achieve the pinnacle of both paths and fuse them together… And I will do that today!'
'I hope so at least...'
Bolt looked at the body of the Demon King and smiled.
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Notes
CHAP 3 My own Cheat
While Bolt was thinking about his life and analyzing the Demon King's body the shield guy opened his mouth to say:
"Bolt? Are you done? Is there something wrong with its body? Like some sort of miasma and…"
Bolt was once again interrupted and got up, saying:
"No problem at all, I was just taking a look at it while I recovered, this wasn't an easy fight by any means, I would recommend you all to rest as well, we aren't exactly safe just because we killed it."
'That's a lie, I am sure we are safe, this is just how this world is. Even if there is an army of demons outside, I am sure they will wait for us to rest before attacking.'
'I came to this world and the people told me to kill this creature, but even so, this creature waited for me for almost a decade… As if it was programmed to do so.'
"Are you hurt by any chance Mr.Bolt?" Asked the priestess girl
"I'm fine, reserve everything you have for an emergency."
'Spells of the Church are said to come from God, but that is a lie since they are just an advanced form of Core Magic, however, the Core of their spells is an idea, their belief.'
'Over a millenia of praying for something that did not exist, it ended up creating something, it isn't a God but more of a mechanism that replies for their praying and allows their magic to work…'
'That is only my theory I made from observing them thought, in the end, I have no idea how such a construct was made and how everything fuses together, I can only tap slightly into their Magic system but I can't compare to that girl…'
'I am clearly missing something, my understanding of this phenomena is lacking...'
'However, I am sure that out there, there is at least a creature that can be said to be a God… The thing that made this sword…'
'It placed the sword here with the sole purpose of killing the Demon Kings, not only that, it made a mechanism where the sword would lose its power once it was used.'
'And its powers would only resurface once a new Demon King rose.'
Bolt once again sat near the Demon King and took out a small vial, he spoke a few words and his cube artifact started to shine, and the Demon's blood started to fly and enter the vial.
As he waited he continued to reflect on his fight.
"Bolt! We're going to set up a camp, join us when you're done!" Said the girl with the bow
Bolt nodded with a small smile.
'Why was it so strong? Most importantly, how did it grow so strong in the first place?'
'The Demon King's body is beyond that of an Eclipse Knight in regards to its body's physical power.'
'And its Magic power is beyond that of a Sunless Wizard…'
'This means it has breached the gap, the barrier that no one in this world has ever breached before… At least in this Continent.'
"This means that… It was never supposed to be defeatable through normal means… Was this a setup from the beginning?"
'The more I understand, the more I think this world is artificial… Sigh.'
As Bolt waited, his eyes flashed as he saw several lines of text appearing in front of him.
'For me to have reached this stage, you would think I am some sort of genius right? Even if I do have some talent for this, I am certainly not a Genius.'
'Genius are those 4 idiots behind me, the guys who somehow managed to catch up with my progress despite being… "Normal".'
'Those two muscleheads are in their mid 20's and yet, they are both half a step away from becoming Eclipse Knights.'
'They do have incredible backgrounds and resources to aid them, but so did I.'
'I wouldn't have been able to maintain this speed of progress and to be honest, to come this far if it wasn't for my own Cheat…'
As he said that he read the lines that appeared in front of him…
[Demon King Horn]
[Recipe 1 -> Grind the horn to dust and mix it up with Opiscus power and heat it up for 23.5 minutes under 320 degrees Celsius, adding Hollyfrost water every 30 seconds. Proceed with…]
[Recipe 2 -> BLOCKED]
[Recipe 3 -> BLOCKED]
[Recipe 4…]
'As I thought, everything apart from the first recipe is blocked… Even part of the first recipe is missing… Sigh.'
This was his cheat, the ability that he got when he first came to this world.
It did not manifest at once, instead, it only appeared when he trained until he bled everyday under the church knights during his first month in this world.
When he completed the training, tired and depressed, he was given a blessing in the Church, he can still remember the words of the old saintess:
"It is okay to cry Hero, never forget that you aren't alone."
Those words rang deeply in his head despite how simple they sounded, but as time passed, he treated them more as Npc dialog than an actual life lesson.
He named his ability Path of Alchemy, but he renamed it when he learned it didn't only show him alchemical recipes, but other things as well.
Its current name is '1000 forms', just that, simple yet true.
The way it works is pretty simple, every time he looks at an item, be it a piece of grass, a rock, or a chair, it will give him a list of recipes. Uses for the item he is currently inspecting.
Like how he could grind the grass to make a basic healing paste, or melt the rock to extract metal, those recipes could consist of anything, ranging from tools to food, alchemy to smithing.
There are restrictions as well, if the difference between his current level and the nature of the material is high, then he won't even be able to see all of the recipes, if it's too high, he may even collapse from even looking at the item.
The closer it is, the more options he has.
If he focuses, he can spend part of his mental stamina to open more options in the situation that something is blocked, but that may cost him a few days of resting and a terrible headache.
Every material will have at least one recipe unless in a special situation, but that in itself is uncommon. Most materials and items will have two to several applications, and the more it has the better.
The complexity and hence, the value of a Recipe increases with its number, but what about those that have few to no recipes?… How is that possible?
If you look at a piece of grass, it should have infinite applications, right? You can twist grass to make a trash rope, you can eat it, you can mix it with something else… The list of useless or specific applications are endless.
And this is where it gets interesting, as the nature of the recipes itself changes depending on Bolt's needs, hence, 99.9% of its applications will get filtered, keeping only what he needs… If he is strong enough to see it of course.
Because of this, he won't look at a rock and see 10 thousand ways of sharpening it, but ways in which he can use it that may benefit him. Although as he grew stronger, such low-level materials and items stopped showing recipes a long time ago.
That was the ability that allowed Bolt to grow fast and strong, he developed potions and new materials, fused those materials into items that could help him in growing stronger…
Even the armor those guys are using was made by him.
But not everything was free, Bolt had to sweat a lot to reach his level.
Even if he has a recipe, that doesn't mean anything, he still needs to do all the work himself or find someone to do it in his place.
And at the start, when he didn't trust everyone, he had to study and try it out alone, suffering many mistakes and hurting himself constantly… He had to learn how to smith, how to control the fire in alchemy...
But it was all worth it in the end.
"Urg… I used a bit more than I expected…"
'The first recipe for the horns is… A potion… It's not what I need but I will make one and drink it since it does have a positive effect on my body. It's not everyday that I can make a potion that can increase my Blood Magic affinity.'
'Affinity is simply how well your body can conduct Mana of a particular type. Like how a car engine loses a lot of its energy during the process of transforming fuel into energy.'
'People with low affinity will have to work harder to achieve the same effects of people with high affinity.'
Bolt shook his head and focused again.
'There are many parts of its body that may be useful… Its horns, scales, claws, flesh, blood, organs, bones…'
'Because of the difference in Level, I am consuming quite a lot just to see the first Recipe of each… But my rule is to always check the first 10 recipes if possible, so I will have to postpone my trip back home for a few weeks if not months…'
"I will leave this world only when I am on the same level as the Demon King… No, stronger… I hope."
Bolt kneeled on the ground, he took out a knife from his inventory artifact and started to butcher the Demon King carefully.
As for his inventory artifact, it was one of a kind in this world he once again stole from a catacomb he raided in the past…
His friends gazed at him as he carefully dismembered the Demon King and shook their heads, why would he always butcher everything new he finds?
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Notes
CHAP 4 To live for a Millennia
Bolt eventually stored every single piece of the Demon in his inventory and raided the Demon Castle treasury with his companions, and after wiping out a few remaining Demons, they made their way back home.
They were welcomed back with screams and cheers and a festival fit for Heroes, as that was what the people of this world saw them as.
Bolt wasn't a complete dull person, so he participated in a few of these festivities until he thought it was enough.
Be it the overwhelming praise or the gifts and marriage proposals he got from the nobles, everything was already getting on his nerves.
Especially since everyday he would spend a large amount of his mental stamina just to unlock more Recipes in the hope of finding something useful, and in the meantime, he used his fame to collect every single rare material this world had to offer one last time, just to make sure he didn't miss anything.
He forged a few more things and brewed more potions, all in the hopes of trading them for rare materials from the nobles.
Bolt studied the materials and books he got from the Demon King's palace, adding them to his knowledge repertoire. However, they were just more of the same, only contributing to increasing his Blood Magic versatility.
But he did gain a few Magic spells from beyond the wall, allowing him to take a glimpse of this mysterious level…
Eventually, he got everything he needed, he had seen all of the possible Recipes, and after choosing the most appropriate ones, he started to craft the Demon King's body into the best gear this world had ever seen…
After that damned Holy blade! In fact, Bolt had repaired the sword using the same process as before, however, the sword remained powerless.
Even if the sword was now useless, he wanted to find out how it worked...
And like that, 3 Months passed in the blink of an eye…
…
"... I think… This is it." Said Bolt
Bolt was currently in a large workshop, materials, items, and tools were all around him.
It was clear that their quality was high simply by how they looked.
"I'm ready to leave this world."
In front of Bolt were a series of items, it was the pinnacle of everything he had made using the Demon King's body and a few more legendary materials he collected around the world.
5 bloody red stones, they were the Blood Magic catalysts he had made by using the Demon's blood as a core material, and many extra materials to support their creation.
One black wooden cup… Yes, a cup. This would be the Magic amplifier for his Fusion Magic, made from the bones and scales of the Demon and of course, a few more materials.
Amber Ring, the tool used for his Core magic, made from the Demon King's core and a few more complementary materials like the 1 ton gold, the heaviest and most dense material on this World.
Don't underestimate the ring as it weighed a few dozen Kg.
These were his tools, yet to be named, each would be remembered in this world for generations to come…
Next to these items were several pieces of clothing, he made all of these once again by using the Demon King's materials as its core… Especially its skin.
The finest Silk for the threads, and the rarest metals… All of which are only heard of in fairy tales.
He made a robe, shirt, pants, belt, boots, and gloves. To be honest, they looked rather plain, and it made him look like a goth lord, due to all of the black…
But wasn't the Demon King red? Well… When he treated the skin of the Demon using the method he saw with his ability, it got black…
He enchanted them all with the highest form of Magic he knew and together, this wouldn't pale at all to any sort of armor, the only one that could surpass it being an armor made from the same materials.
And he is ready to enchant it again once he increases his power beyond the wall.
It may seem to be a waste, since he could first increase his power and then check all of the Recipes one by one, but the problem was that for some of the Recipes, the secondary materials used in the process were unknown to him.
He has to be happy with what he has, if he were to increase his strength, nothing would change at all. At most, he would waste less time, but for him, time was the least important thing.
Bolt also made many extra things, like an entire series of weapons and tools, and only when he had used everything did he smile and said:
"Time to check those places."
'This continent is filled with dangers despite its people's carefree attitude.'
'The so-called Forbidden zones.'
'I explored most of them but there are a few places I never had the balls to check fully, and they were located respectively deep in the ocean and inside a Volcano.'
"... The 'Barrier of wind' and the 'World heart Volcano'... I wasn't the one that named them…"
Bolt turned around and sat on the ground, he grabbed a clear vial with a green liquid from inside his inventory tool and said:
"I ate the Demon king's flesh for the past few months, and filled my belly with all sorts of rare materials, all for this day."
'I went from a 6th stage to the 9th stage in these few months, but now, I will jump all the way to the 10th stage and fuse the two Paths together and achieve it...'
/Gulp!/
Bolt drank the liquid without any hesitation as his body started to glow…
…
/2 and half hours later…/
Bolt's body slowly stopped shining, and with it, he had become the first Human to cross the Wall!
"It was certainly less flashy than I thought… But it all makes sense now."
'It was all connected, Magic and the body.'
"This makes me reconsider the entire Magic and physical path…"
'The way the people train is completely wrong, why? Because the way they train makes them separate these two aspects.'
"It was clear from the start, how these two paths are closed cycles despite there being levels beyond it… They should be trained together and not separately…"
'My Mana and my Heart are in harmony, not anymore are they two different forces, but one. Just like my blood passed through my body, my mana now flows through my body's vessels…'
'Such a thing would be considered madness since Mana is highly corrosive and it has a tendency to explode… But it flows as if this was its natural state from the beginning.'
'It isn't that Mana is a volatile substance, the current method of training is wrong…'
"I still think I cheated since I achieved this through an item and not by my own efforts… Sigh."
Bolt looked at the ceiling of his room and said:
"But this is it, I can't see anything beyond this… I can't be hasty, perhaps after I get used to my own body, I will start to see what lies beyond this, if there is something beyond it that is…"
"A 10th stage Knight, someone in the Eclipse stage would under normal circumstances, be able to live for around 200 years. Some can live for more, and there was once someone who lived for over 415 years…"
"A 5th stage Sunless mage is capable of living for around 120 years, but there were some who were capable of extending their life for well over 300 years. This was mostly due to how their bodies would slowly deteriorate under their own Mana, else their lifespan would be similar to the Knights."
'Remember that in this world, the average lifespan of a Human is around 60 years of age…'
"Since I have combined both stages, taking a step beyond that, and not only that, I have in my hands the accumulation of all sorts of life extending techniques, how long can I possibly live?"
Bolt stared into the empty air for a few seconds before he started laughing.
"Why am I, someone who is barely 30, thinking about how long I can live for? If I do some half assed calculations I am sure I can go beyond 500 years…"
"It doesn't matter, do I even want to live that long? Sheesh…"
"Because of this… I will name this stage… Millennium."
'In the hopes that I will live for millennia...'
Smiling slightly, Bolt stored all of his things on his inventory tool and left his workshop.
This would be his final time stepping inside it… What was left behind was a place that would one day be remembered as a place where mythical items were once crafted…
A place filled with tales. But that is a story for another day.
…
.
.
.
CHAP 5 Forbidden zone: World Heart Volcano
Immediately after leaving his workshop, Bolt took to the skies and left towards his objective.
There was no reason to worry about others since his house is located within a secluded Villa the kingdom gave to him a long time ago.
And also, it's a shame, but Bolt does not know how to teleport.
Teleportation and anything space-related are forms of Magic he never saw before.
The only form of 'space' magic he saw so far was the amulet on his neck, his space inventory, however, even after studying it for a long time, Bolt never understood how it worked.
It seemed this world had many mysteries that were impossible to be resolved on their own, and most of them date back to the Ancient civilization that came from overseas.
That is why Bolt was always so obsessed with these two forbidden areas, one led out of the Continent, and the other led deep within it.
The Barrier of wind was a mystery that had plagued many for hundreds of years, it consisted of a massive wall of rising wind that came from the deep ocean that went all the way into the sky.
It surrounded the entire continent and blocked its contact with the outside world, making the way in and out impossible.
Bolt always wanted to know if there was something outside, but the last time he visited the place, he was barely strong enough to get within a Km of the source due to the fierce wind.
While the Volcano was… Hot, that is the only thing preventing him from exploring inside.
Even for the Demon King, he is sure that direct contact with lava would result in some burns, much less the previous him.
But now it's different…
…
/Half a day later…/
In front of Bolt was a massive Volcano crater around a Km wide, dangerous and hot gasses were being released from within.
"Everything is ready, if I count the potions, I have around 10 hours of peak heat resistance until it starts to wear out and I get into minimal danger."
'In my current state, I can easily get inside, if I use Magic to help, it gets easier, if I count my equipment, it's even safer, and with the potions…'
'All of this is in case the Volcano decides to get a bit quirky…'
"Well… Leroy!..."
Bolt canceled his flying spell and let his body slowly fall inside the Volcano's throat…
…
As he fell, Bolt took a look around and saw that the place was rather empty.
"This means the Volcano is not ready to explode yet… Well, it never did in the past 3k years. And there is no reason for it to be today."
/Thud!/
Bolt eventually landed inside a hot room, the rock below him was slowly releasing steam and hot gasses, but there was no lava on sight.
"This should be part of the main vent but why is there a blockage here? Or did it form through the years?"
'An interesting mystery, but it's one I do not care about. I should take a look around and see if I can find anything of value…'
And so did Bolt, and as expected, he did find a few things.
Rare minerals and materials, rare plants that only grow in these extreme scenarios, and he even saw a few exotic creatures he only read in books, but nothing especially interesting.
He explored many vents and tunnels, and yet, he saw nothing worth his time.
And when 7 of his 8 hours time limit had passed, he said:
"It's rather disappointing, I mean, even 3 months ago, most of these materials would've been useless, but I guess I can keep them as a memento… Since I have nothing to gain from trading them for more useless materials."
'There is only one place to go… Bellow that rock layer in the main vent.'
'I have yet to see the Magma chamber so my last bet is in there.'
…
/Cruch… BAM!/
Using a spell to dig the ground, Bolt slowly opened a hole in the rocky ground.
He used a modified version of the basic mining spell, Shater rock to carefully and precisely dig the ground.
/Pooof!/
"COUGH! Fuck!"
The moment a hole was made, a concentrated jet of gasses blasted on his face, making him cough.
If it was a normal person, their face would've been carbonized by now…
"It seems the magma chamber has a lot of inbuilt gas trapped within it… What a fucking waste of time then."
'It will probably be filled to the brim with it, so I won't be able to breathe properly inside, and I am sure moving inside it will be a pain too…'
'But I can't stop now can I?...'
Bolt's eyes sharpened as he grabbed the Black cup and channeled his Mana into it.
The entire Gas started to condense into a ball, and so, it stopped flowing out of the hole.
After containing the gas leak, he used another spell to create a bubble around him and another one to increase the hole further.
After everything was ready, he took a step inside, feeling the pressure and the heat around him increase, he smiled as he closed the hole on top of him.
"The bubble's air supply will last around a day if I breathe normally, and I can easily hold my breath for an hour as well… Yeah, this will last long enough."
"Hoo…"
The moment he stepped inside, Bolt immediately saw a large number of exotic plants growing around the place.
"Only in this sort of magical world would there be plants that flourish inside a Volcano's magma chamber."
'They are mostly the same though, however, I can see that their quality is much higher than those others…'
Metals and plants have their own quality levels, metals are mostly valued for their purity while plants' values come from their age and how well they grew.
But even then, everything dies eventually, and there is a limit to how odler a plant can get, there is no such thing as a 1000-year-old flower and 10000-year-old grass.
They can barely even last a hundredth of such a time. But it is true that age is greatly related to their total value. But in most cases, these plants are first classified by their growth quality.
And these plants, although not being very old each, are all of extremely high quality since they growed in their most perfect environment.
Bolt could even see some that were both old and of high quality, going for their maximum value.
He obviously collected it all, but only until his inventory got full.
"Well, the space was only about that of a small house… About 6x6x6 Meters, if I find anything better I will just throw the rest away."
Bolt felt no remorse, at this point in time, these plants were rather useless for him so he was only collecting them in case he might need them.
The magma chamber was quite big, and he could see a large red sea below him.
He slowly descended, trying to see if he could spot anything useful, but he saw nothing.
Apart from the same, there wasn't anything else.
"There may be useful materials hidden beneath the stone, but it's too bothersome to search for them… Should I dive into the lava?..."
Bolt saw a small rocky island in the middle of the magma lake, so he decided to stay there and think of his next course of action.
/Thod!/
"Now that I have some time to think, I realize how insane I became."
'Stepping inside an active Volcano, going as far as its Magma chamber right on top of the lava…'
'How hot is it?... It must be a few hundred Celsious… Wait.'
"So what about this rock? Why isn't it melting if it's inside the Magma?"
/Thud thud thud…/
Bolt kicked the rock a few times and realized the rock was… Hollow? Or it seemed hollow as if the outside and the interior were different.
"It's getting interesting…"
/Fwush!/
/Crack!/
Bolt rose into the air and cast spell after spell, making the lava flow against gravity and allowing him to see how the rock looked.
He saw that the rock was a single piece, around 19 Meters in diameter and 10 meters wide.
It was floating in the magma due to its lower density, and when he moved the lava it slowly sunk deeper.
"Ah no, you don't… The only interesting thing I found so far."
'This may be a single piece of metal, those aren't uncommon to find, but depending on the material…'
Bolt slowly moved the rock upwards, there wasn't anything in the magma chamber anyway so he left the place with the rock behind him, and he eventually left the crater.
…
.
.
.
Notes
CHAP 6 Dragon?
In the plains near the Volcano, Bolt checked his massive turd-shaped rock.
"First… Crack it up."
Bolt raised his hand, his amber ring shining in blue light as a white ball formed above his hand.
In no time, a massive spear formed and once that was done, he moved his hand down…
/BAM!/
The rock shattered and opened, showing what was inside…
"A… Skeleton?!"
In a panic, Bolt started to cast spell after spell, cleaning the rock surrounding the skeleton…
"Fuuuuck…"
In front of him was the skeleton of a massive creature, in all of its glory.
Two pairs of legs, a pair of wings, a long tail, and a head filled with sharp teeth.
Bolt focused his eyes and activated his ability on its teeth…
[Magma Wyrm teeth]
[Recipe 1-> BLOCKED]
[Recipe 2-> BLOCKED]
"Arg! Goddamn!… My head…"
Sharp pain soon followed, it wasn't anything too great, but it proved that whatever this was, when it was alive, it was much stronger than him.
"I thought this world had no such things as mythological creatures, but here it is… A Dragon… Not exactly… It says it's a Wyrm… A lesser version of a Wyvern?"
'I collected many things, and the closest thing to a mythological thing I had ever collected was the fragment of a Momothius, an ancient animal similar to a Mammoth that is not provenient from this continent, meaning, it came with the Ancient Humans a long time ago. '
'I had even tried to fund archaeological teams and have them scavate places all around the place, however, fossilized dinosaur bones aren't really useful for alchemy and crafting…'
'Shame really since I can only imagine how strong some of these creatures would've been.'
'I even managed to collect a broken skull of a Wyrm once, but it was fossilized, I eventually sold it to the Royal Family since it was very important for them.'
"But here it is! The skeleton of a mighty creature! And it isn't fossilized… How?"
'It must be from before… Way before the Humans stepped on this continent... Right?'
"This Volcano must've been its lair and it eventually died, and considering its bones weight, it is certainly lighter than magma… Floating in it…"
But then, Bolt realized his mistake! He jumped back into the Volcano, flying like a lightning strike…
"If this place was its lair, then it must've had a nest! When it died, its body stayed inside it and eventually, the Magma rose and carried its body with it."
"I don't know how this happened, but it's body must have some special and unique features."
/Splash!/
Bolt controlled the magma, making it get out of the way, allowing him to see everything inside the cave.
Step by step. He searched, looking for the clues, and he eventually saw it, a massive cave connecting to the main vent of the Volcano.
He got inside and looked around, but he saw nothing apart from many rocks.
He didn't get discouraged as he slowly removed the rocks revealing a large cave behind it.
"I see, the Wyrm must've sealed this cave before it died. HAHAHA! I am getting excited!"
He looked around the cave, but there wasn't much to look at apart from a few shiny things on the ground…
[Old Wyrm scale]
[Recipe 1 -> Carefully remove the rotten layer of the scale, and dip it into a solution composed of…]
[Recipe 2 -> Prepare a cleansing ritual following the parameters… The ritual must be recalculated based on the scale measurements...]
[Recipe 3 -> Grind the scales into fine dust after removing the rotten layer and…]
[...]
"..."
Bolt didn't realize it, but he had a horrendous smile on his face as he collected the scales on the ground.
"These are probably the ones it shed throughout its life. For it, it's merely dead and useless skin, but for me, it's a fucking treasure trove!"
'Even if it's half rotten due to how long it has been, it can still be made into something I'm sure of it!'
Soon enough, he found teeth, claws, and even skin fragments, he could see several recipes for each, showing they were materials of his level, but it didn't matter. He is sure that they are still valuable.
Lastly, he saw a large stone pillar in the middle of the cave, written in a language he didn't understand, it was certainly very valuable.
"Perhaps it's the Wyrm diary? If I consider it to be an intelligent creature, I am pretty sure it is since it sealed the cave before it left."
"It could also be something else, like some sort of hidden knowledge."
'It's a shame this is all, but I am already more than happy… No wait, what is that?'
He looked at the corner and he saw a strange yellow plant, it had a single fruit growing on top of it, and to be honest, the fruit seemed to be half-rotten…
[Lower Reptos Flower]
[Lower Reptos fruit]
"A plant and its fruit… Fine, I'll get both and see what they have to offer… But they seem to be of high quality since it lasted this long."
'However, no matter how good it once was, this Wyrm must've died within the last 1000 years, otherwise, this flower would've been a goner... But how did this flower last this fucking long?'
'There are no such stories though... Perhaps I should've read more history books... Since they often have some degree of truth, that was how I found many hidden and ancient ruins.'
Double-checking the room, Bolt left the place with a big smile.
…
On the surface, he checked everything he had acquired and put it inside his inventory.
He had to separate the skeleton due to how big it was, but he made it fit in the end.
/Fwush!/
As Bolt flew in the sky, a pile of rare plants was left behind for a lucky bastard to find…
…
Bolt did not check his items, but instead, he made his way to the edge of the Continent.
On his way, he did a few stops to rest since he had spent quite a lot of his mental stamina and he needed to be at his 100% when he arrived at the next forbidden zone.
He crossed mountains and lakes, and he eventually crossed the sea.
The sky got darker and darker as it filled with clouds. The sea started to grow restless and the waves grew higher and higher… He was getting closer to the barrier of wind.
/FWUUUSH!/
The chaotic wind brushed past his clothes, rain fell on his clothes, Bolt looked forward to seeing a massive column of water rising into the skies. This was the barrier of wind lifting the ocean into the sky and making it fall as rain.
"Last time, I could only get here, but this time, I can easily go beyond this."
'Different from last time, I don't expect to get anything special, I only want to see if I can cross this…'
"First, the spells… Wind barrier, Aero control, Uplift, Multi barrier amplification…"
Bolt started to cast a series of lengthy spells as he got ready to barge inside.
"Done!"
In one go, he rushed inside…
…
.
.
.
Notes
CHAP 7 Forbidden zone: Barrier of wind
10 Meters…
100 Meters…
1000 Meters…
"Urg… Things are starting to get fucking hard! Really, who made this?!"
'There is no way this is natural, previously, I thought it might've been a natural phenomenon since I couldn't see any way of getting stronger, but when I saw the preserved Wyrm skeleton, I realized there were levels of power higher, meaning this scale of Magic or whatever it is may end up being possible one day.'
'Even if I were given time and the best materials available, I would probably be only able to imitate this Spell on a much smaller scale… Like casting it around my Manor. It may seem small but this is just that strong, I can already feel my body hurt.'
"I can go much further than this, I just need to press myself to the limits!"
The five red beads floating near him started to shine.
Bolt took out his Black cup…
He was casting spells of 3 schools of Magic at the same time!
"This is hard but it's bearable, I want to see what lies on the other side."
'Just how thick is this damn wall?! The combined might that I am exercising now could trample even the Demon King 10 times over!'
Bolt ground his teeth as he pushed forward…
10000M… 11000M…15000M…
Things started to look grim when he reached the 25Km mark.
"If I cross this mark, I may die if anything goes wrong."
'I can already feel that this point is my body limit, meaning, if I were to lose focus here and get swept by the wind, I could still recover if I am fast enough, but from here on, I am stepping into deadly territory…'
"Last time when I came here, I tried going to the bottom of the ocean, but the water pressure was too much after a certain point and I am a bit scared of deep waters… What? Everyone is afraid of something!"
"I also tried getting into the sky to see if the wind barrier power would decrease, but it kept consistent even after a few Kms… And I doubt I would be able to go to space with my current power."
'I can fly far, but this spell has its limits… I don't doubt I would be able to make something that can go to space, but it would take a while, and to be honest, I am not too keen on finding out what is up there.'
'If this magical world has taught me anything, it is that there will be something living up there.'
"I'll go on for another 20 minutes, after that I will return."
'Nevertheless, such an experience is still very much valuable for me, since conquering your own fears is also part of one's growth.'
…
"A bit more… Is this it? How pathetic."
'Normally in these sorts of spells, the barrier gets stronger in the core and weaker in the edges, but this is only getting stronger and stronger…'
'So I mustn't be close to the center at all, ot this is one of those cases where there is no center and it only gets stronger until you get through.'
"I am 30Km in, and yet, no signs of anything, the wind is so strong that I am sure it is moving faster than sound right now…"
"I could try a bit more but… Shit!"
Bolt flew forward, diving into the storm!
31… 32… 33…
He pressed forward, without caring about his Mana drain…
And finally, he got to the 40Km checkpoint!
"I can't get through here, not because I am without Mana, but because I am not capable enough…"
'To be honest, I am relieved, this is to show how much I progressed, previously, I could barely even get within a Km of the barrier, but now, I can dive 40Km into it…'
Bolt's forehead was sweating hard, he took a small vial and drank its contents. This was a precious full Mana potion he was reserving for the future, but he used it now.
There are many levels of Mana potions, but in truth, only portions of a matching level to its drinker would work.
Potions of a lower level would only fill little to nothing while portions of a higher level may cause more harm than good.
And what was the potion that would work on a Millennium Stage Warrior like him? Of course, one that uses the best materials available, and he only has 6 such potions. One he just drank.
"Time to go back… Oh no…"
Bolt looked in front of him in disbelief! It was a massive tornado within the storm! Making its way to him!
"SHIT, I MADE SURE TO EVADE ALL OF THEM! WHY IS THERE ONE MAKING ITS WAY TO ME?!"
Of course, in such a windy area, there would be many such tornadoes moving around the place, however, Bolt made sure to evade all of them and calculate their trajectory since getting in contact with one meant death.
"In front of is the tornado and behind me, it's the next fucking layer of this distasteful barrier of fucking… URG!"
'Calm down.'
"I can't move to the sides, not fast enough. The answer is simple."
Bolt turned around and dashed into the barrier!
'If it's certain death is behind me, then I will dash into what isn't!'
'I'll use everything at my disposal!'
Bolt drank several potions at once and used all of his magic tools at the same time!
…
41…42…46…52…
Bolt dashed in the storm as it ravaged his skin and body, after being weakened by everything he had, it was still strong enough to rip his skin apart.
He bled as he dashed forward, he looked behind him but the tornado seemed determined on following him!
"Just stop already! This isn't even normal… If this place can be called normal…"
'My body is breaking down, soon enough, the damage will start to affect my clothes, once it does, the enchantments may break down and I will be a goner…'
/GULP!/
Bolt drank another full potion, he only had one left.
"Even if I am going towards my death, I will fly until my body turns to dust!"
…
55…60!
Bolt did not stop, he knew the freaking tornado was behind him, his fingers had already started to disintegrate due to the wind, and at this point, he started to focus his attention on keeping his clothes intact rather than his body.
Because if his enchantments stopped, it was over…
"!! I have a disgusting idea…"
Bolt suddenly removed the Wyrm skeleton head from his inventory, he jumped inside and he immediately felt the difference!
"HAHAHA! Work easier, not harder!"
With most of the wind being blocked by the skull, he just had to push forward and everything would be okay.
He drank a few emergency potions in order to heal his injuries and stamina, all the while he drank his second last full mana potion.
"I REFUSE TO DIE!"
…
70…75…80…85!
/FWUSH!/
/SPLURGE!/
"Arg!"
Bolt pulled his arm in pain as a small wind blade sliced his arm open.
He was already so deep that a small contact with the wind current outside his armor was enough to cut his skin.
In order to continue, he had to remove all of the protective magic he had and focus everything on moving forward, otherwise, he would be pushed away and end up dead anyway.
"How deep I am… Shit…"
'I can't even look behind me to see the status of the tornado… My only way of knowing if I am going forward is my trusty compass…'
86…87…88…89…90!
/CRACK!/
"?!"
Bolt suddenly heard a very unhealthy sound, it was the sound of the Skull cracking!
"Come on man! Aren't you supposed to be a mythical being?! Start acting like one!"
Bolt was already putting everything he had in moving, so he wasn't getting any faster… And his mana was reaching its end… Once it does he would be at the mercy of the wind…
It was a battle between his stamina and the endurance of the skull… How far can he travel before it breaks…
…
"Ah… A bit… More…"
With a pale face and cold sweat running down his forehead, Bolt did everything he could to maintain a constant force… But without even realizing it, he was going backward…
Of course, the tornado was still there, and it soon engulfed him… Or so it seemed.
His skull started to move around the tornado at high speeds, and in despair, Bolt tried his best to at least not be swallowed by it.
His last move would be to try and spin around it being catapulted away and flee, however, he underestimated the force of the tornado and eventually, didn't manage to flee.
Slowly, he completed a turn in it, and suddenly, Bolt realized the wind pressure had decreased immensely!
101Km!
As Bolt moved around the tornado, it continued to move forward, and when he completed a spin, it was enough to make him pass the 100Km barrier!
Bolt gazed at the sun in the sky as he left the wind barrier, suddenly, a lot of strength returned to his body as a last rush of power!
His skull was being pulled by the tornado, and he couldn't allow it! If he went back to the wind barrier he was dead meat!
He grabbed something from his inventory, it was a large staff with a crystal embedded on the end…
/BOOOOOM!/
Bolt detonated the crystal staff behind the skull giving him just enough force to start falling away from the tornado.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I WON!"
/ROOOAARRR!/
"?!"
Suddenly, a beastly roar shook his ears…
…
.
.
.
Notes
CHAP 8 Red sun over Paradise
Bolt looked behind him to see a white creature flying in the sky above him.
It quickly made its way out of the tornado as it dissipated, gazing at him in anger.
With its 2 pairs of legs and wings… Its white scales and massive teeth…
"A… W-Wyrm?!"
/ROOOOARRR!/
"So this is the fucking end… I wasn't being followed by a tornado, but by a fucking living Wyrm…"
'Just my fucking day…'
Bolt closed his eyes and relaxed with a smile, he arrived at the other side and he felt accomplished by just that.
He had no more potions immediate potions, his body was slowly falling to pieces, his mind was on its last legs, his stamina was non-existent, he couldn't even feel his body very well.
The last thing he did was store his Wyrm skull in his inventory and let his body free fall towards the distant ocean…
He gazed at the flying Wyrm as it dived towards him.
/BANG!/
But perhaps, this wasn't his time to die.
The skies had proclaimed with a thunderbolt, he was going to live.
The lightning bolt hit the Wyrm right on its left-wing base, cutting it from its body.
/ROAR!/
It roared in pain as it started to spin in the air, incapable of controlling its flight trajectory, it flew past Bolt as it fell in the ocean!
/ZAP!/
Another lightning bolt hit the Wyrm, if the first time was a coincidence, then this time was certain. Something had done it.
"... Fuck… I…"
'I have no potions… Even thinking is tiresome… What do I have?... My life.'
A forbidden spell, to use his life as the price to cast Magic, the efficiency was super low, and to make him recover to a decent state would cost decades of his life…
But with a smile on his face, he used it without hesitation.
…
/Splash!/
Bolt eventually crashed against the ocean. And with a smile, he got up from the water and started to fly.
"I survived for now."
He looked around, but he didn't see the Wyrm…
With a basic spell, he made the ocean part ways, and there he saw it. The unconscious Wyrm slowly drifts into the bottom of the ocean.
It was seriously injured, without one wing and with a wound on its head…
"... It's my turn now… I don't know what happened but… I thank whoever did this!"
Bolt raised his hand, creating a massive light spear, he aimed straight at the Wyrms wound…
…
/5 hours later…/
Bolt could be seen floating in the ocean aimlessly on top of a chunk of ice.
He was currently sleeping, recovering as much of his strength as he could.
His wounds had closed to a certain extent, but he was still very pale.
Bolt slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the beautiful and clear sky, the sun shining on his body.
"..."
'I survived, but I don't feel much.'
"... Shit, I went through so much that I can't even process it all…"
"The wind barrier, the Wyrm, the lighting…"
'I have the Wyrm's flesh and some supplies in my inventory, but that is pretty much it since it is filled with the bodies of the two Wyrms…'
'Water is easy to get, I can use magic to supply myself with it, but I still need food.'
Bolt wanted to check the uses of Wyrm's body, but he had no mental stamina to spare.
He was sure if he was to do that, he would immediately fall unconscious and that might possibly lead to him drowning or being ambushed by something else.
So he simply recovered as much as he could while the ice drifted away in the current…
…
"... The current is getting stronger…"
'I'm curious as to where it will lead me.'
As Bolt said, the water was slowly going somewhere, so he rested his head on the ice and waited, for him, the ice was warm, but for a normal person, they would probably freeze within a few minutes on it.
…
/2 hours later…/
The water was really fast now, as if he was on a river.
Bolt raised his head and stared in front of him. But he saw nothing.
"Why is it getting faster?"
'I'm getting a bad feeling…'
"?!"
Suddenly, everything got dark as all of the sounds stopped and he felt his body become weightless…
As he drifted in the air, he looked around and noticed that he was drifting in a dark void. He could see stars in the distance, but when he looked behind him, he saw a massive wall.
"...?!"
He also noticed that he couldn't breathe nor speak, he was in a vacuum!
He touched the wall and noticed that it felt like water, so he could return anytime. At the very top of the wall was a massive red light, shining on the world below it.
It was the sun in all of its glory! Shinning over the world...
"..."
Shocked over this revelation, that the world was flat all along, Bolt turned around to think.
But when he turned around, he saw a massive eye!
"How curious." Said the creature inside his mind
"..."
Bolt gazed at the creature, but he saw nothing but the eye, in fact, he could only see part of the eye, it was a creature so big, so massive, he could not even see the end of its eye…
"Don't be afraid, I only wish to talk."
Bolt gathered his courage and asked:
"!"
'I need to think right?...'
"I can hear you loud and clear, young Human."
'I… I see. In that case, can I ask where I am?'
"Simple, you are in outer space, do you know? The thing that exists beyond the atmosphere of a world…"
'That I know… But I don't know WHERE I am…'
"That is just as simple… But unfortunately, I am not allowed to share that."
'What can you tell me? I dare ask.'
"I told you to not be afraid… But I guess it's normal, it's quite the shock to see one of my kind, especially when you're this early in your journey…"
Greenlight suddenly washed over Bolt, making him calm down.
"Be aware that I've been watching you for a while."
'Were you the one that fryed that Wyrm?'
"No, that was the balancing mechanism of this world… I can't tell you much about it, but be aware that I am not the owner of this world, nor I am the one that regulates it, my only job is to support it until… Well, that doesn't matter much now."
"Previously, that Wind barrier as you called it, was made as a way to prevent this very thing from happening, and even as a training ground for those who are starting their journeys, in all of my years carrying this world, I never saw someone breaking past it… Excellent job young one."
'So… What now? I have a lot of questions but you probably won't be able to answer them…'
"Precisely… One day, you'll return, stronger, and with a better qualification, when that time comes, ask me what you wish and I shall comply, I will not be going anywhere anytime soon..."
"I believe that with your determination, and your Unique blessing, you'll go very far, and the time we'll meet again is near."
'Wait! You!…'
"Don't fret, I know about everything that passes in this world after all. Trust me, I will never disclose it while I am still alive… Although I can't guarantee it if someone brings it out of my body."
Bolt thought to himself, what the fuck could kill this creature?!
"There are many things that could kill me, and I hope to never meet any, I still have a long life to live…"
"Your blessing is pretty interesting, I wonder who gave it to you... Treat it well."
'I had no plans of doing the contrary... But you said Blessing, are there others like it?'
"It depends on your perspective, but I would say that yes, there are. Be careful as to not rely too much on it, since we never know when it's eventually going to disappear."
'...'
"I'll give you a parting gift for coming this far, it's within the rules anyway, use it whenever you are ready, it will immediately and permanently increase your strength by a stage no matter what you practice or how strong you are."
From the void, a small blue ball made its way to Bolt's hands.
"I'll also give you another small gift, I saw that you spent a bit of your lifespan to come here, so I'll just fill the gaps…"
Bolt felt as if he was washed by the most refreshing water in the world…
"Hum… I might've overdone myself, it's been a very long time since I talked and moved this much… I'm a bit rusty... You'll live a few more years, you don't mind right?"
'Not at all! Who would mind living longer…'
"... There are many that are cursed with lives longer than they would've ever wished for, young one."
"Continue your journey young Human, never forget who you are, what made you into who you will be, and what you will one day wish to be. The path is long, perhaps endless, but those with weak wills can only rot under the power of time."
"Don't let them get in your way…"
/FUOM!/
Bolt's body slowly turned transparent as he watched the massive eye retreat into the void. For a moment, he felt as if he saw compassion in it, but he might be wrong…
…
"!"
Bolt opened his eyes and gazed at the world around him.
He was familiar with these ruins, this broken stone, and marble.
Turning his face, he saw a throne behind him, and in front of him was a mirror.
It was the treasure of the Demon's, the Mirror of a Shattered world, capable of bringing a single person to the place they most desire, once per person.
"... Is this the final answer?"
'In the end, what do I Truly wish?'
'To back home…'
'Or to pursue the truth?'
Bolt touched the mirror, letting it decide his fate.
…
.
.
.
Notes
What do you think of this idea? Is there anything you would've liked to be explained better or changed?
Is this a story you would read?
Some people may have noticed, but I based it on Level 99 Newbie, a series where the hero that is Level 99 ascends and ends up in a place where literally everything, even the weak bandits are over level 99.
And that was the thing I wanted to go with this.