Ritual Inside A Gate

Days passed.

Magnus fought as much as he could. He lobbed fireballs at water-attributed Spirit Beasts and sent wind-attributed Spirit Beasts into the earth. He also tried manipulating electricity thanks to the fruit he had once consumed, but it seemed to be much harder than he thought.

Lightning and electricity seemed to be elements with special natures.

Restiel too, was honing his scythe techniques, slashing here and there and experimenting with the best ways to strike. Given his ability to fly, his scythe technique grew in a three-dimensional manner.

He could strike up, down, left, right, and more. He also did not have footwork in the barest sense of it.

Movement techniques could be a better term.

Javelin was also having fun devouring the Spirit Beasts that Restiel slew. To the point that he already maxed out even further at 1.99-stars. The bottleneck might be broken if he continues to do this for another month.

But Magnus did not have to wait that long. In the first place, he never planned to.

Supplemented by Tyrm's atmospheric vitality, Klaris made enough progress in his training while Magnus cleared the dungeon.

"1.9-stars," Klaris gasped, surprised that he even reached such a level. "I... I made it!"

Magnus felt it as well as the rest of the Hivemind members.

They all returned from their different tasks and met with Klaris. Magnus still had to keep a distance with Restiel though, but since all of them are at 1.9-stars in strength, he did not burn as much as before.

A thin layer of undead Spirit Energy enveloped Magnus' body. As long as Magnus expended energy, he could minimize the damage.

Which was why Tyrm felt like a place that Magnus wanted to live in forever.

"If only I can bring Tyrm into Thare..." Magnus relished such a thought but had no way to act upon it.

Having Spirit Manipulation would boost his threat levels to maybe 4-stars immediately despite his body not being up to par.

Shaking his head, Magnus returned to reality.

Sensing the hints given out by Master of the Hivemind, Magnus had each member sit at a corner of a square.

He then invoked,

"I am the master and maker of the Hivemind,

The mind behind minds,

The one who stands above humanity,

And the one civilizations despise."

Whoooooom!

Spirit Energy began erupting straight out of every member's wrists, pulling the world's Spirit Energy together with it.

"It's starting..." Klaris whispered.

"Using Tyrm as a place to advance was the right choice," Restiel said.

And Magnus nodded.

"I figured that being in an environment conducive to growth would also help in a ritual that would allow us to break our bottlenecks."

"It makes sense," Klaris agreed with Magnus' thoughts as he watched the now-tangible energy blend together at the centre of their square.

An immense amount of energy was currently sloshing around in chaos.

Feeling an intuitive hint, the members all circulated their arts. Javelin also used his raw nature to try and stabilize the energy.

The chaotic energy soon slowed down, separating into four different circulating vortexes.

The Hydra Hearts art beat to the beat of a drum. It pulsed energy like a real heart.

The Stargazing Art was akin to storm clouds as they basked in the currently nonexistent starlight. It was the most peaceful art.

The Soul Devourer Art was a compilation of screams and wails of the damned. It was akin to the rivers of the underworld. Or more specifically the Styx.

While Javelin's natural art was that of the wind. Blowing wherever it was free.

These four Spirit Techniques pulled in Spirit Energy at a terrifying rate. They weren't functioning how they normally functioned under the influence of the Hivemind Ritual.

The energy kept building and building up.

All until it reached a peak.

"Now!" All four Hivemind members felt something click.

They reached out and pulled the energy to them as they circulated their Spirit Techniques. Once they came into contact with the energy, they instantly felt the four different Spirit Techniques combine.

For a moment, four was one, and one was four.

Magnus felt everything as the true Master of the Hivemind. He felt everything that belonged to him flow together in that moment.

Everything was his and his alone.

They weren't separate.

In the first place, they shouldn't be.

They were one.

Whoooooooooom!

The combined Spirit Techniques all swirled in tandem like a complex galaxy with millions and billions of stars.

With the cumulative power of four, he breached the ceiling of one person's bottleneck. Then the next, and then the next.

Everyone's status was elevated by a number and Magnus felt what breaking through with a Spirit Technique meant.

It wasn't like his moving up through 1-star, no.

It was a whole and comprehensive growth.

From physical attributes to spiritual attributes, to his Blessing and his Curse, everything felt a certain growth.

Magnus even had a choice on which region of his abilities he could focus on for each member's breakthrough.

For Javelin it was his Physique. Using the gathered energy, his physical attributes jumped from 1.99 to 2.5 in an instant!

For Klaris, it was his Blessing, Mirror World Thief. Something changed within Mirror World Thief at that moment, but it was a subtle change. Klaris felt his Blessing had grown significantly towards becoming a 5-line Blessing.

For Restiel, it was an all-around boost. His average rating sat comfortably at 2.1.

And Magnus himself poured everything into his Blessing, Catastrophic Planetary Architect. Unlike Klaris, whose 4-line Blessing would still take time, Magnus felt his own Blessing evolve instantly.

A new line was forming out of Molecular Text as Spirit Energy surged into it like a high tide.

Magnus then chanted after feeling the changes,

"I am the cause of creation,

The maker of stars,

The sculptor of planets,"

Instantly, he felt the world around him change. He had an aura that could extend from his body to manipulate the gravity of the area it passes through. Like tentacles of Spirit Energy, Magnus had limbs that affected different places whenever he liked.

It took a lot less focus now with such an improvement, and his alterations of gravity can grow more sporadic. All he has to do is wave around his aura like a crazy octopus.

That, and the conversion between Spirit Energy and gravity was much more efficient that before. He felt that he could mimic his abilities of earthen Spirit Manipulation by just using gravity.

'That's probably what being a sculptor of planets means...' Magnus couldn't help but smile.

And with that, the Spirit Energy produced by the ritual was consumed in its entirety. There was nothing to improve off of anymore, but the gains were great.

Magnus could start training again and raising his abilities.

Which he did, as he was in Tyrm's environment. Spirit Energy was abundant, and the souls he could devour were rejuvenating beyond measure.

"It is time to hunt!" Magnus exclaimed as he rushed forth with newfound excitement to test his strength.

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.

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Midseer.

Codename: Blaze was sitting on an office chair with a confused look on her face.

"Are you sure that our other target appeared within your range of senses, Liam? And it was only for a fleeting moment?"

"Yes, madame." Liam replied, slightly stressed by the gaze of his superior, "It was only for an hour or two, and it coincides with the time that the Apocalypse of Monsters started."

He then tapped on his MagiPhone and opened up a holographic file.

"There should be a high likelihood that our target is an Earthling who was transported into a new body. Klaris of Thawsore probably no longer exists. He must have died for some bizarre reason and the Earthling took over while he was still in possession of the ring." Liam showed Blaze a few pieces of data to back his assumption.

"So, is this why he's classified as an undead? Wouldn't that mean that every Otherworlder who is transported like this is a part of our mission?" Blaze asked, half-jokingly.

"No, no, of course not." Liam put on an exasperated look, "Although it does feel like the creation of an undead, it is more akin to reincarnation than reanimation. The Otherworld Trials is very specific about this."

"Then is our targeting of him wrong?" Blaze continued her questions.

"It is most definitely not, as my Blessing is only meant to sense undead beings in the area. I have never been able to sense people who had reincarnated into a new body. Only undead beings."

Blaze nodded. "Good, good. I understand more of your abilities now, Liam."

She then continued, "It seems like having the HQ partner us up was a good choice on their part. How do you like your time here?"

Liam put on a bitter smile,

"Honestly? It's better than Earth."

"That's good to know," Blaze gave Liam a pat on the shoulder. "Now, tell me..."

Her tone suddenly changed and Liam felt the warmth he was shown turn into ice cold pressure at that moment.

"Why and how did you lose one of our main targets?"

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The days continued to pass, but this time it was not without peace.

Gates were popping up here and there as Magnus continued to explore Tyrm's expansive Gate. He had encountered a few powerful beings in there that stalled even him.

A large nest of 3-star monsters was a difficult foe to deal with. Magnus would need more numbers to fight such a population.

That, or strength to annihilate towns. 4 stars of strength should be enough to slowly whittle away that nest of monsters.

There was also little to no way to bypass the nest as the rock that formed the Gate's environment was made out of some special substance that Magnus could not manipulate.

It was also very solid. Solid enough to not get dented no matter how many explosions and rock bullets he sent its way.

Facing this dilemma, Magnus decided to have a breath of Thare air. He had enough of Tyrm for now as his statistics had already grown by about 0.2-stars over the days.

It was then that he discovered something that he had totally forgotten...