82 In-Between 3
With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and began to slip into a state of serene being. The world around me fell away, replaced by a haze that washed over my mind. It was as if I was falling, being dragged through the water, but I pushed those sensations aside with all my might and continued to delve deeper.
As I focused my will, my [Intuitive Aptitude] skill hummed to life, followed by [Mind Discipline], [Adapt], and [Archive]. Together, they guided me through the ethereal space of my spiritual realm - my soul space.
As I came into being, I found myself standing in a vast expanse of white, with hundreds of ethereal orbs of different sizes surrounding me, each radiating a distinct hue. The air was filled with peculiar green particles that drifted aimlessly.
A marble-like pillar stood tall in the center of the space, towering over everything else. The orbs surrounded the pillar in concentric circles, growing larger as they approached it. However, after a few circles, things began to shift - the orbs no longer increased in size but became more condensed and more material, resting on pedestals that stood a meter off the ground. As I approached the pillar, I noticed two unique orbs that defied the pattern. One, emitting a brilliant golden glow, floated just above the ground, while the other, emitting a soft bluish light, was elevated on a pedestal.
I instinctively understood that the two orbs surrounding the pillar specifically represented my [Seed of Divinity] and [Mana Manipulation] skills. While the pedestal one of them rested upon symbolized the different stages of evolution my skills would undergo.
[IMG Top Down View]
(A/N: yeah... I tried to create an image for this space with an AI image generator, but the closest thing I could get was this...)
Out of nowhere, a lightning bolt struck a clear patch of ground, giving birth to a new radiant orb. Simultaneously, a system notification alerted me to the arrival of this latest addition to my skill set.
[Meditation LVL:1/100]
- Enables the user to focus their mind and achieve a state of calm and relaxation.
- Allows the user an entrance to their spiritual realm, while temporarily losing all connections to the material plane.
- While active, boosts the user's mental and physical regeneration, allowing them to recover from injuries or mental exhaustion more quickly.
As I stood in the center of the spiritual realm, my senses were overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of what lay before me. The orbs, each pulsing with otherworldly energy, seemed to throb in time with the rhythmical thumping that filled the air.
It was as if I had entered a cosmic dance, where the very essence of my being was intertwined with the pulsing orbs, each one representing a different skill that I had acquired over the months.
The orbs themselves were a sight to behold, glowing with an inner radiance that illuminated the entire realm. Some were small, no larger than a pea, and I knew instantly that most of these were my fledgling skills, acquired with [Observational Learning], waiting to be honed and perfected.
Others, towering above the rest, standing on one-meter-tall pedestals, were as large as basketballs, representing my highest-leveled skills, each one pulsing with a power that threatened to overwhelm me.
But even amidst this symphony of energy, five orbs stood out from the rest. Towering high on ten-meter-tall pedestals, these orbs represented skills that had reached their maximum level and remained unchanged even after the purchase of the [Skill Management] system.
The names of these skills echoed in my mind - [Archive], [Sage's Wisdom], [Mana's Blessing], [Magic Penetration], and [Magical Embodiment]. Each of them emanated an aura of power that left me in awe.
I surveyed my surroundings, taking in the sight of the glowing orbs that surrounded me. Most of them remained dormant, but a handful flickered sporadically, hinting at their potential to burst into activity at any moment.
But the moments before created orb caught my eye. It pulsated with erratic energy, growing larger and brighter with each passing second. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the spiritual realm, causing the orb to shake violently. And then, a deafening roar erupted, reverberating through the realm like the mighty roar of a lion.
The ground shook beneath my feet as if the realm itself had come to life, brimming with an otherworldly power that threatened to overwhelm me. But I stood my ground, knowing this place cannot hurt me, transfixed by the pulsating orb that represented my recently acquired [Meditation] skill.
As I watched in amazement, the orb expanded rapidly, its pulsing becoming more frenzied until it exploded into millions of shimmering symbols that swirled around me. The world around me shifted, the pedestals rearranging themselves to make way for a new one rising out of the ground.
The symbols swirled around it and moments later condensed into a brilliant white orb, shining with an intensity that left me momentarily blinded. And then, a notification appeared before me, signaling that my [Meditation] skill had undergone an evolution.
[Meditation II LVL:100/200]
- Enables the user to focus their mind and achieve a state of calm and relaxation.
- Allows the user an entrance to their spiritual realm, while temporarily losing all connections to the material plane.
- While active, boosts the user's mental and physical regeneration, allowing them to recover from injuries or mental exhaustion more quickly.
- While active, provides a temporary boost in mental clarity and focus, granting a 0.1% bonus to Wisdom or Intelligence stats per level.
As the skill fell into place, the world around me suddenly expanded and simultaneously became a lot clearer.
But just as I was about to explore the changes further, a tug pulled me back and I formed a connection through [Link].
"Are you okay?" Olivia asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, why?" I asked, puzzled.
"You've been sitting in the same position for four hours and completely ignoring the rest of the world."
Stunned, I repeated, "Four hours?" I deactivated [Meditation], and like a shot out of a cannon, I was thrust back into my body, nearly falling backward. Surprisingly, my muscles were not numb from sitting in the same position for so long. Perhaps it was the effects of my regeneration skills, which did seldom activate during my stay in the spiritual realm.
"I'm back!" I exclaimed, only to realize that Olivia was standing right in front of me.
"From where, if I might ask?" Raising an eyebrow, she asked. I didn't answer her question but instead shared my meditation skill with her.
After a glance, she looked back at me with a confused expression. "So, it just clears your mind and heals you over time?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No, the spiritual realm aspect of the skill is the crucial part. I have a feeling that there might be something connected to it, maybe even tier evolutions."
"Okay, if you say so," she said, sitting down in front of me. "Teach it to me."
I nodded, and after explaining the concept and guiding her through the process, she also received the skill and became completely unresponsive to the outside world. My smile widened as she sat there unresponsive, and I quickly replicated a marker, drawing the most magnificent mustache I could on her face. I couldn't help but chuckle when my drawing skill leveled up.
I checked my notification log and was shocked by the number of skill levels I had gained in a single sitting. The combination of my races, skills, and titles tremendously boosted the skill-leveling process. However, I did notice a strange disparity. The skills that had not yet evolved had leveled up rapidly, but the skills that had merged or evolved to their second tier did not level up as much.
[Skill: [Meditation] has reached Level 100.]
[Skill: [Meditation] has evolved into [Meditation II].]
[Skill: [Meditation II] has reached Level 139.]
[Skill: [Bestial Physique] has reached Level 2.]
[Skill: [Regenerative Healing Factor] has reached Level 3.]
[Skill: [Mind Discipline] has reached Level 79.]
[Skill: [Focus II] has reached Level 113.]
[Skill: [Adapt] has reached Level 41.]
[Skill: [Intuitive Aptitude] has reached Level 32.]
[Skill: [Teaching II] has reached Level 123.]
[Skill: [Drawing] has reached Level 24.]
[Meditation] gained an astonishing one hundred and thirty-eight levels, while [Bestial Physique] gained only one, and [Regenerative Healing Factor] gained two. Surprisingly, [Mind Discipline] gained seventy-eight levels, while [Focus] only gained thirteen. [Adapt] gained forty levels for some reason, and [Intuitive Aptitude] gained thirty-one. During our training session, [Teaching] gained twenty-three levels, and from my little prank, [Drawing] gained sixteen levels. It was a huge harvest, and it only took about five and a half hours.
That reminded me to focus on leveling up my low-level skills, evolve them a few times, and perhaps merge some of them since some were already redundant. I wondered what would happen if I combined [Power Absorption], [Empathic Mimicry], and [Observational Learning]. However, before I could delve deeper into that thought, Olivia woke up from her unresponsive state. She hadn't stayed in her spiritual realm for long, and when she emerged, I had to activate [Acting] to avoid bursting out laughing. However, maybe it was [Soul Resonance], or she knew me too well because she saw through my [Acting] skill right away.
She narrowed her eyes and shot me a glare. "You did something," she accused, without bothering to ask.
"What are you talking about?" I said playing dumb.
"I know you all too well, Andrew." She rolled her eyes. "You did something, but I don't know what."
My lips twitched, which she immediately noticed, so I gave up and shrugged. "You might never find out," I said, with a wide smile.
After fending off her prying attempts through [Link], she sighed and stood up, brushing off her clothes. "Okay, are you ready to head out to our next world?"
"Oh, did you finally decide?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah, sorry it took so long." She sighed and looked away.
"No problem," I reassured her, raising my hands. "You could have taken all the time you need. Even if you want to stay a little longer, I won't say a thing."
"Thanks." She flashed me a weak smile but shook her head. "But no, it's time we enter a new world."
"Alright, so what did you choose?" I asked, glad that her mood had improved during our little break.
"A world you mentioned before." She says with a grin. "But I prefer to keep it a surprise." As she speaks, my mind races, bringing up seven potential worlds I had mentioned to her before. However, only a couple of them seems plausible. I let out a sigh and say, "It would be useful to have some idea of what to expect. Nonetheless, let's head back and gather our belongings. "We make our way back to the apartment where I proceed to unpack anything that seems unnecessary in every possible scenario. After careful consideration, I only pack my watch, Cataclysm, and the replicator since I scanned everything magical I had, and could replicate them at any given time. Glancing over at Olivia, who is already prepared, I inquire, "You remembered to bring Severance, your watch, and replicator, correct?" She conducts a quick inventory check before nodding in confirmation. "Alright, lead the way," I say with a chuckle, as she still didn't notice her magnificent mustache.
As we descend downstairs, the floating golden book catches our attention. "{Andrew}," he addresses me and tilts himself forward, as if nodding, before turning to Olivia, "{It's good to see that you're feeling better. Did our previous conversation help you decide on your next destination?}" His statement surprises me since I was unaware that they talked previously.
Olivia responded with a smile, "Yes, and thank you, Index. Can you please provide us with the High School DxD world book that we talked about earlier?" With her request, a book materialized in front of her, and she expressed her gratitude.
Intrigued, I ask, "What made you choose that world?"
"Angels," she replied, nodding sagely as if that was a sufficient explanation.
"Angels?" I ask, looking at her confused, but ultimately shrugging. "Well, that's good enough of an explanation for me."
She opens the books and displays the world's information, accompanied by the quests available there.
[High School DxD]
World Tier: 5 (Low)
World Language: Multi-Language World
World Systems: None
Doomed: Following the disappearance of the guardians of the dimensional gap, various monsters from alternate realities began to emerge in the world, prompting the supernatural community to take action to prevent widespread destruction, but it won't be enough.
"Let me get this straight," I inquire with curiosity. "You chose a world that doesn't have Great Red and Ophis?"
Olivia nods in affirmation and explains, "Yes, those worlds are tier 6 or 7, and a few are even tier 8."
Impressed, I whistle in admiration and concede, "Well, I can't argue with that choice." I turn back to Index and ask an important question. "I have knowledge about the world," I ignore Olivia's 'Of course you do', and continue. "but from the description, we don't know when the world goes to shit?"
{The story stays almost the same till Rias Gremory's rating games.}
"That does help out, thanks Index." I nod in satisfaction and give the quests a quick glance.
Optional Quests:
[Excalibur| Description: Acquire all Excalibur fragments 0/7. | Reward: 2,500 WP]
[Collector| Description: Have 5 Longinus's in your possession. | Reward: 5,000 WP]
[Fall of the Emperors| Description: Kill or Tame, Albion, and Ddraig. 0/2| Reward: 7,500 WP]
[Fall of the Kings| Description: Kill or Tame, the Five Dragon Kings. 0/5| Reward: 4,000 WP]
[Marriage | Description: Prevent the marriage between Gremory and the Phenex. | Reward: 500 WP]
[Fox | Description: Save Yasaka and Kunou. | Reward: 350 WP]
[Brigade | Description: Ensure the Chaos Brigade dissolves. | Reward: 750 WP]
[Satan | Description: Ensure the Old Satan faction dissolves. | Reward: 1,250 WP]
[Peace | Description: Ensure peace between the 3 biblical factions. | Reward: 1,500 WP]
[Extinction | Description: Find a way to prevent the extinction of the angelic race. | Reward: 3,500 WP]
[Death to the Pervert | Description: Kill the self-proclaimed harem king, Issei Hyodo. | Reward: 250 WP]
[Control | Description: Take over the biblical factions. 0/3 | Reward: 2,500 WP]
[Domain | Description: Subsume the world. | Reward: 1,000 WP]
[Fall of the Gods | Description: End the era of gods. | Reward: 10,000 WP]
[Seal| Description: Create a barrier surrounding the world, strong enough to prevent extra-dimensional entities from entering the world. | Reward: 20,000 WP]
"Excuse me, Index," I inquire, glancing back at the book in an awkward manner. "I'm curious about the Domain quest, this is the third time I've seen it. Why do the quests about taking over the world keep reappearing?"
{The quest is not to take over, but rather subsuming it. Every world has this option, but it only becomes available once one attains some form of divinity.} Index corrects me.
Intrigued, I ask for clarification, "So... What's the difference?"
{When a god subsumes a world, it can prevent the world from being erased. However, this is not a guarantee, as it depends on the type of apocalypse the world is facing. Furthermore, the user gains full access to enter the subsumed world whenever and from wherever he wants. He can also mold it however he likes it, depending on his tier he could even alter the world laws, especially if he has the [Management System], while the world will provide the user with belief and divinity.}
I cannot contain my curiosity and ask, "How does one go about subsuming a world?"
{To subsume a world, one must be the sole god in the region or have all other gods pledge loyalty to them. Additionally, the population must be aware of the user's status and at least one inhabited planet or plane in the world must be saturated with their divinity. Lastly, please keep in mind, that there is a limit to how many worlds one's soul can handle. At your current tier, you only have access to one world each.}
"Curious," I say, glancing over at Olive. "What do you think? Should we take over this world?"
"It depends," Olive replies. "If we can resolve the dimensional issue they're facing, then maybe we could. But as far as I can recall, there's nothing particularly valuable in that world, except for their belief system." I nod in agreement. There didn't seem to be much worth in that world.
"You're right. I'll have to think about it more deeply."
"So what's your overall impression of my choice?" Olive asks.
"It's probably more intriguing than what I initially thought, with all the dimensional threat leaning over our head, so I'm not against the idea of going there," I respond with a shrug. "Do you have any ideas for the location and time of our entry, or any background information?"
Olive shakes her head. "Does it really matter? Let's just dive in. It'll be more exciting that way."
"Okay, I have a plan then," I say, and Olive and I both place our hands on the book. We say the word "Enter" in unison and the world suddenly shifts around us. My [Intuitive Aptitude] immediately kicks in, attempting to make sense of the laws and energies surrounding us. Unfortunately, they disperse too quickly for the skill to gather too much information.
{World "High School DxD" selected.}
{[Background System] activated}
{Please state your changes.}
"No story changes. Location, Kuoh Town, Issei Hyodo bedroom. Time, deep into the night the day after he was reborn as a devil." I state.
{No changes requested.}
{Placing spatial and temporal coordinates at the requested time and location.}
{Transporting user in. 3...2...1...}
{Good Luck!}
