3 CH003

The rescue seemed to go as expected if the constant stream of system notifications was anything to go by.

The things that Cid did were… things that I could hardly get my head around, but they were to my benefit in the end and I was fine with it as long as it did not affect my research.

The log of the abilities I got from just his daily routine was astonishing and I should be strong enough to ignore him and the plot. This was especially true when the plot was moving to the capital soon.

[Cid trains with a sword - Reward; Telumkinesis(Manipulate Weapons)

Cid masters Martial Arts - Reward; Combat Mastery

Cid combines two different worlds of martial arts - Reward; Combokinesis(Manipulate Combat)

Cid masters and invents new magic - Reward; Arcanepotence(Omnipotent over Magic)

Cid creates the slime body suit - Reward; Formakinesis(Manipulate Forms)

Cid creates a slime sword - Reward; Construct Creation,

Cid kills bandits - Reward; Vita-Mortokinesis(Manipulate Life and Death)

Cid earns gold from looting bandits - Reward; Quantakinesis(Manipualate Quantity)… ]

"I should combine some of these abilities, they are getting crowded…"

The list of abilities I had in my Arsenal was growing by the day and it was troublesome to manage them all. I mean, what was the difference between Arcanepotence and Absolute Magic Power?

There were some small distinctive characteristics, but they were pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

I was already overpowered even without all these, and now the backlog was what was giving me a headache.

"I should create a Nexus of sorts… Let's first wait for the base."

It was better to hold off for now before anything changes. The status of the cards that I gave Eta showed that only 4 of the seven shadows had integrated with the cards and it would be bad if they get alerted now.

Not that it mattered much, but it would be quite annoying if Alpha started sniffing around. She has the same problem as Cid and her delusions are even more hazardous.

Cid for one is only looking for fun playing his Eminence in Shadow personas, but Alpha is a whole other mess.

I don't know where she got the confidence, but I am sure that even the other six shadows would have a hard time convincing her otherwise once she made up her mind.

Her age was not helping it either.

"Seems like everything is going just like in canon. I should start tinkering with my Sandbox and lay the foundation for my force."

I made myself comfortable as I fully focused on the system, experimenting with different power systems and drawing inspiration from different wikis.

…

Eta looked at the destruction around her and could not help but find the whole thing uninteresting. It was quite inefficient if she had to say.

What was the point of mobilizing the whole team if just a few of them could get the job done?

It was even more so when they had to babysit Gamma and assist her when she tripped every ten steps. It was… exhausting.

All this time they were wasting dealing with small fries, she would have used to make some much-needed progress in her research.

It was not that she did not want to be here, but she did not like the kind of look Alpha was giving her every time she brought out one of her vials.

What was the problem with being curious about what these potions would do to people? These people were enemies and they would die anyway, so what was so wrong with them contributing to scientific progress as their last service to humanity?

It was honestly annoying. She was not permitted to conduct experiments on her fellow Shadow Garden members and that was understandable, but what was with forbidding her from even using bandits and these cannon fodders that would only serve as paint at the end of the day?

She missed the days when Lord Zak would kidnap a few bandits from somewhere and she would have her turn when he was done with them.

"Maybe I should ask him to bring back 'The Lab'…" She mumbled to herself as she made her way through the streams of blood as she surveyed the area.

"Nothing of importance here… Lord Shadow has already left."

With firm steps, she made her way to meet up with the rest of the shadows. The mission was done and she wanted to go back to her research and sleep. It was tiring keeping up with Cid's thinking.

…

Shadow Garden was lively for once and everybody was busy getting ready for the move.

There were just too many things going on in this village that it was already a great display of plot armor that no one had noticed that the village was not abandoned anymore.

Just training the new recruits was enough to alert the neighboring forces and the sheer activity in this location was enough to put any government on guard. I even had a hard time accepting that we were not discovered just cause.

Just one explosion from Eta's experiments should have been enough to draw attention but no, nothing of the sort happened for the past 3+ years.

It was about time we moved.

The base I created was ready and waiting and I could hardly wait to start using the facilities there.

I had the ability to do more even without them, but what was the point of it?

It would be boring if all problems were solved with a snap of a finger. Even Thanos ended up a poor farmer for his finger fetish.

*Knock Knock*

"Am coming in."

"…"

I looked at this lady with a deadpan look. Knock when you don't wait for a response?

"One day you'll walk in on me naked, what will you do then Alpha?"

"You? What is the problem with that? I only have Lord Shadow in my eye."

"…"

"You didn't come here to tell me this, did you?"

"No, I came for another matter. Can you explain what this is?"

"Cards? I thought Eta explained when she handed them to you all?"

"Well she did, but that is not what I want to know. What I am asking is who authorized this?"

"What?"

"I haven't heard anything about these cards or I haven't received any directives from Lord Shadow. So, who authorized this?"

I couldn't help but start feeling a headache coming on.

"You know that it is against protocol to do experiments without permission. You did not even report the progress. Where did you even get the resources to make this thing?"

"Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"Well, that and I wanted to know what you will do from now on. We will be moving to our new base soon and we don't need outsiders there."

"Wait, 'Outsiders'?"

"Yes, you don't fit the… theme of Shadow Garden. You were not healed from possession and neither are you a girl. While handsome, you're hardly a flower in Lord Shadow's Garden. You're more of a weed."

"…"

WTF

Well, I should have seen this coming a mile away.

"Are you done or is there something else?"

"No, I am done. We will be leaving once it starts getting dark. You should settle everything with the others."

"Wait!"

"What? I have already decided. Unless Lord Shadow instructs otherwise, you're no longer welcome in the garden."

"Not that. You require the cards to get anywhere close to the base. Otherwise, the security system will activate and you can forget about ever entering the place."

"That's for me to decide."

And with that, she made her way out.

"Hahahahahahahaha… 'Outsider, Weed'… hahaha. That's… refreshing."

'Well damn, I just became homeless, didn't I?'

I should have prepared for this but I didn't expect Alpha to kick me out like that.

I mean, I was here first and though she was the second in command, I was the one that basically raised them.

Well, they raised themselves, but I basically provided food, shelter, and education.

The Shadow Wisdom that Cid gave them was nothing compared to the knowledge they got from me. The only problem was that I usually gave the credit to that ignorant fool.

"Well, no point dwelling on it. Seems like I need to establish my force earlier."

Thinking about it now, it was foolish to stay in Shadow Garden yet do nothing to undermine Cid from the inside. Staying in the shadows was also not an option given Alpha's micromanagement disorder and her complexity addiction.

I usually operate as I like and this particular trait has always made me a thorn in her side. This was especially the case since I got along with the other Shadows.

Contributions aside, someone like Eta usually only showed respect to me and viewed me as a mentor. She did not even show Alpha such respect and would only follow her orders when Alpha threatened to reduce her research funds.

She had tried to use the same tactic on me earlier on, but I have never required funding for my research.

Her lack of control over me must have troubled her for a while now.

But I have to say, it surprised me that she would come out and say it to my face. Did she not fear Cid's anger?

While I know that Cid would probably not even hear of this, it was completely different for the others. Most people in Shadow Garden believed that Cid was Omniscient or something.

It is quite surprising that Alpha would do this at this time.

That aside, I still had to leave the place. If I could not go to Alexandria for the time being, I could only change my target.

"Laugus City… I choose you!"

…

 {Whom should I summon first and What powers should I give them?}