Bab 78: Time to head back
A bit late, but here it is.
I don't know why, but it seems it's been a long time since I last posted.
Also, I think I made some images since the last chapter, I'll leave them at the end as always unless there's a specific image this time.
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/Step step.../
/Sha sha.../
'Somewhere in the South, deep within the mountains, two boys made their way amidst the thick foliage of the exotic Flora of Eden towards an unknown destination.'
'Pushing away massive leaves full of water and avoiding any sort of insectoids such as the massive burrowing spiders and single-eyed vultures, they silently navigated through this labyrinth of wood and vines…'
/CRUNCH!/
"Eww… What the fuck did I just step on?" Petter asked in a disgusted tone as he raised his foot, a trail of viscous purple goo sticking to the sole of his boot
/Shake shake.../
It's not coming off... And it smells awful!!
'The other man turned around to inspect the mess, quickly replying:'
"It's just some fungus, it won't do much to your soles."
'His Asian features said it all, it was a certain regressor, Dae, the Hero.'
"But do pay attention where you step from now on, you wouldn't want to step on a Nail Pincher."
"Nail… Pincher?" Petter spoke slowly, word by word as he gulped
"A type of fungus that has a very sharp thorn at the top of its cap."
"Ouch..."
"It also has the ability to shoot it upward like a Harpoon, it's pretty fast and strong, so try to avoid it if you can."
"The fungus uses this method to kill small prey that is too stupid to go and try to get a nibble out of it, using its body as nutrients as it decomposes."
"Even then, I'm sure you wouldn't want a hole in your boots, they were made to be resistant, but I wouldn't bet on that."
'Petter nodded eagerly.'
"That looks like a pain…"
"Once again this world proves to me it's 1000 times worse than Earth."
/Sha.../
'Pushing aside some leaves, Dae said:'
"Although I agree, Earth still has its selection of dangerous Fauna and Flora."
Earth huh... It's been so long...
/Swoosh…/
'As they talked, something quickly slithered from the tree and into the bushes.'
'It looked like a snake… One Dae recognized.'
"A type of Burrowing Viper, be careful not to get bitten by those."
"How dangerous are they?" Petter asked as he gulped slightly
"Not much, on a scale index, I would put them at a 2 out of 10, with 5 being Death, and 10 being you're fucked."
"... I see… So there shouldn't be a problem..."
"You're very much wrong about that, even on Earth, there is a species of ants whose bites are so painful it could give you a heart attack."
"The Burrowing Viper won't kill you, but it'll hurt, and I'm the last person that wants to hear you whimpering."
"... Noted." He said as he started to look at the ground
Bastard.
... But strange mushrooms, giant insects, cursed lizards, what else?
"Sigh…"
'Dae let out a sigh as he looked at Petter, in some ways, he was astute and perceptive, other times, he seemed to be pushing it into the realm of naivety.'
Petter, you should look up as well… There are things that live within the tree trunks and foliage.
...
'Regardless, the two continued until they left the forest and into the open…'
'But another problem resurfaced.'
"How do we get down?" Petter asked as he looked below
This is damn tall...
'From a thick forest in the mountains to a precipice, it was steep and quite tall.'
'However, it gave them quite the view of the mountains and the valley in between them where a river passed through, it was quite a mystical sight.'
"Should we make a detour?"
"Nope, that's where I wanted to be." Dae replied as he took out a map from his pockets
The scenery is a bit different from what's recorded, though that's to be expected considering the map is at least 200 years old.
I'm happy the ink lasted long enough for us to read it, deeming the precarious way this was made.
There is only a single problem… I can't see 'that' rock… Did it get covered by the plants and rockslides?
'With an inquisitive gaze, Dae folded the map and put it in his pockets again.'
'Actually, his pockets seemed much deeper than they should, they didn't even bulge once he placed his hands inside...'
"Alright, I know where to go now."
At least a general direction.
"Follow me, we're diving straight down, our objective is at sight."
We don't have much time, I bought around 4-5 days' worth of time, but I calculate we'll only have at most 3 days to get this over with before our disappearance starts to bother them.
It took a full day of nonstop travel through extreme terrain to reach here and Petter's intelligence has started to deteriorate due to his tiredness.
I myself am extremely exhausted to the point my eyelids have started to fall if I don't pay attention.
The rock… I must find it at the very least, then we can rest.
"Straight down? But I see no path…" Petter asked as he bent over the edge
Taking a detour would take a few hours… That would be a problem as I want to eat something...
No more of these tasteless rations, those make my tongue burn…
/Kick…/
"?!?!"
'Out of nowhere, Dae kicked Petter in the butt.'
'And this made him wake up fully as his eyes opened wide!'
'As the breeze and the sense of weightlessness washed over him, coldness filled his belly as he turned around in the air to scream:'
"MOTHERFU…"
'As he fell, Petter screamed the most complex of profanities as his voice echoed throughout the valley.'
"I told him to be quiet." Dae said as he shook his head in disapproval
Why is he so dramatic, unless he falls with his head down directly at a sharp rock, nothing will happen to him…
Nothing that can't be healed by a potion.
Besides, if he can't use what I taught him in the past few months in this scenario…
/Jump…/
'Elegantly, Dae jumped down as he held onto his adventurer's hat, letting the wind lift his shirt up as he slid across the steep walls of the mountain in style…'
…
/At the bottom…/
/THUD!/
'Like a boulder, Petter rolled and fell face first against the sandy shores of the river, eating a grand mouthful of black sand.'
'The precipice they jumped at led straight to a beach, if it could be called one, albeit the river it was connected to was quite wide, so it could be called a small ocean depending on one's flexibility.'
"BLERG!"
'Even then, it didn't diminish Petter's disgust as he spat out the sand that filled his mouth… Together with a tiny crustacean that definitely just experienced the fright of its life upon witnessing a mouth fall from the skies.'
/Dig dig!/
'The poor thing immediately burrowed onto the ground, vanishing from sight.'
'Petter never even noticed what he had almost swallowed.'
"PFFT! Shit! I shouldn't… PFFT! Have opened my mouth…"
But I'm alive and in one piece... Phew...
/Sha sha sha…/
'From the side, Dae cooly slid off the walls before jumping and falling onto the ground with a slight gush of wind that cushioned his fall, as if he was weightless...'
'There was definitely magic at play.'
"Here we are." Dae proclaimed as he cleaned the dust from his hands and pants
"..."
This guy... I swear he's been like this for months...
One day I'll give him a taste of this.
'Petter looked at him with great enmity…'
…
'After taking a quick rest, they resumed their journey, next step, crossing the river.'
"According to the map, the most probable location of our target is on the other side of the shore, so we'll have to cross it." Dae proclaimed as he pointed forward
Albeit we're here, I don't see any signs of it… Neither do I see any signs of people being here recently.
It has to be here, but what's likely happening is that it's covered in more layers of dirt than I anticipated.
Not a problem, but annoying nonetheless considering our time restraint.
'Petter, however, felt a bit confused.'
"How do we cross this? The current seems quite strong…"
And...
/Touch…/
/FREEZING…/
OOooo… And the water is damn cold… Is that a block of ice?...
Even with my stats, this isn't going to be a pleasant swim...
'The river was fed by the cold mountains of the Never-Ending Mountain range, so it's obvious they were freezing cold, Petter, on the other hand, felt it quite odd considering they just left a lush forest.'
'In fact, while in there, he felt the temperature to be quite stuffy and warm, and even though he didn't sweat much, it didn't mean it wasn't hot.'
'It was quite the extreme change in environment as if they had traveled across an entire climate zone.'
'To his question, Dae replied:'
"Crossing it is simple, some can jump, others can fly over it, using something to stand on is even simpler."
'As he said that, he also touched the water before scooping some and drinking it...'
/Spat!/
'He quickly spat what he drank, but he seemed to confirm something through its taste.'
"Then…?"
'While Petter asked, Dae stepped onto the water… And he didn't sink.'
'A miracle like none other... A myth on Earth trivialized after being used so many times...'
'Petter already expected this, it wasn't the first time the Asian boy had done this, the problem was, he couldn't do it…'
'In the past few months ever since Philip left, all of his training was centered around increasing his energy control, capacity, and quality, together with his combat techniques as he worked up to… Fulfill his "true potential" according to Dae's words.'
'He received Titles, evolved Skills, fused others, trained his body, received operations to increase his potential and capabilities, studied, and much more...'
'There wasn't a single day he relaxed…'
'Even then, his utilization of energy can be said to be brute at best, as he's the kind of guy that'll rush ahead and blast everything into splinters.'
'No matter how much he trained, he just couldn't refine his arts…'
'Dae said that this was how he was born, talent and mentality are unique to each person… And even if they artificially and naturally improved his body's quality, this wouldn't mean he would be able to suddenly be able to compete with Archmages.'
'His teachers at the imperial palace said he had no talent for Magic and such refined arts, he was simply too inept at simple and minute control to even start it…'
'And albeit he had the hidden desire to prove them wrong, after so long, as the other Heroes trained and raised their skills within their respective Classes, there is nothing he can do apart from realizing that he's talentless in this area...'
'Perhaps in other areas as well.'
'After all, he received the same resources as the others, while also being mentored by the regressor himself, if despite this, he can't keep up...'
'Even with Dae's intense training and grooming with the help of elixirs and processes, some things can't really be changed, which was quite the irony.'
'His raw talent for weilding magic might be better than most mages, but he can't even shape a fireball properly…'
'In the end, he was nothing more than the Beaten Loser that rose higher than his destiny and lasted to see another day.'
'A Survivor like him wasn't meant for greatness.'
'Sometimes, Petter wondered if he had the drive to seek after the Sun… But then again, every time he was in doubt...'
"What are you doing? Follow me." Dae said as he walked on the water
'An annoying voice pushed him forward.'
"I… Can't walk on water."
If only I could fly, unfortunately, as someone that trains in Vital force...
The most I can do is strengthen my body.
Should I try to jump over the river?... It looks a few hundred meters wide...
"Huh? It's not that complicated." Dae replied as he shook his head
'He walked back to the shore and grabbed Petter's right shoulder with a smile.'
"I'll help you, so take out your bag."
Is he going to throw me to the other side with magic?...
"Let's just get this done with..."
'Without complaining much, Petter stored his bag inside his inventory.'
'Even if he was one of the worst Heroes, he still had access to the benefits all Heroes had, such as an individual storage space.'
"Good, the rest is pretty simple."
/KICK!/
'Dae kicked him into the lake, and time started to slow down…'
'Petter stared at Dae as he flew in the air, looking at him with an almost crying expression.'
'He felt extremely betrayed…'
/SPLASH!/
"Sigh."
'Exhaling slightly, Dae went back to his walk…'
/BREATH IN!/
'From the water, Petter rose to the surface, gasping for air as he swam desperately.'
'The water was much colder than he thought!'
'It also seemed... Heavy?!'
"?!?!"
Something's pulling my boots!
"T-There's something in the water!!!" Petter screamed in fear
'Dae wasn't surprised at all.'
"Oh yeah, don't worry, it's just algae… Though they have the terrible habit of grabbing things…"
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!" Petter said as he fought in the water, splashing water all around into large waves
The water feels so heavy! And these damn algae, why are they so fucking tough!
Even then, why is this water so cold?! My body's trembling all over!
"..."
'Dae watched him in silence.'
Petter lacks confidence despite being capable.
He may have a Trait that enhances his Will and one that raises his Focus, but his essence as a person is still one of someone that prefers to take a step back amidst trouble.
A background character that'll watch instead of acting.
I tried to change him through brutal training as it also worked towards our goals, but it's been much harder than I thought.
He needs the confidence to charge ahead and die if he wishes to reach even the foot of his past… Future self.
Originally there was no need for me to bring him with me, in fact, he's slowing me down...
However, neither could I allow him to remain alone in the Palace.
I wanted him to realize how strong and capable he really is through a series of challenges... This is merely another one of them.
The water of this river is full of numbing toxins released by a type of flower that lives upstream, and the plants lurking beneath the water are all semi-carnivorous, while the water itself possesses some traces of natural magic, hence, its coldness will bypass normal defenses and slowly freeze you down.
A normal person would suffer from frostbite if they touched the water for too long, Petter can stand it and even bathe in it... He just doesn't realize how far he's gone.
It's an extremely dangerous river that would kill the most seasoned of adventurers in no time at all, Petter can still fight even after drinking a mouthful of its waters.
But, despite the danger, the presence of these Algae shows we're on the right track.
Because those types of plants are extinct in the rest of the continent due to over-exploitation in the production of a numbing drug that was infamous around 300 years ago.
Those Vines are harder than Steel and their stretching resistance is insane, cutting them should be easy for him, but he's fighting underwater, and his equipment is also with me.
The longer he stays the weaker he'll become as more numbing poison will seep through his skin or be drunk by his stomach.
This should be his first time dealing with such an unsuspecting situation where he isn't getting consistently hurt, nor can he hurt himself to activate his Skills... At least not easily.
Hurting oneself takes a considerably higher level of mental fortitude than the one used to hurt others.
"..."
The poison slowly seeps into his body, weakening it...
Of course, it's not by far, his most dangerous predicament, as he already faced far stronger and deadlier monsters.
He shouldn't have that much trouble dealing with it… If he can be calm and trust himself, have the will to move forward.
Now then, good luck Petter.
…
/Half an hour later…/
/COUGH COUGH!/
"Urg… Hell…"
/SPAT!/
'Petter slowly crawled from the river, dragging a long line of algae with him before collapsing on the riverside and spatting blood.'
'To survive, Petter bit his own tongue violently to activate his Skills as he tore apart the Algae with his teeth.'
/Crackle…/
'He raised his head, only to see Dae roasting some food by a campfire.'
"You're here, it's almost done." He said with a serious expression
"..."
'Petter didn't say much, nor did he think anything as he was too tired to do either, only dropping his head into the dark sandy beach, his body trembling in a mix of coldness, rage, and more as he closed his eyes for that sweet rest…'
'As even the sand seemed so comfortable...'
"I would get out of the water first if I were you, there are toxins in it."
"!"
/Boing!/
'Petter seemingly jumped from the ground like a frightened cat in a cartoonish way, going over Dae as he roasted meat.'
"..."
See? You're just being dramatic.
As if this little bit of physical exercise was enough to make you tired.
"..."
'After removing all of the algae from his body, he sat down and enjoyed a half-decent meal with Dae.'
'And as he sat down and enjoyed the cozy fire, he finally had the time to read a single notification:'
[To Persevere through Adversity Lv11 -> Lv12]
It leveled up... Yay...
They say rewards taste sweet... But I can only taste iron...
'After resting for a little while, he stored the algae in his backpack and moved on after Dae.'
…
/Around two hours later…/
"We've arrived."
Without a doubt, this is the place.
"... I don't see anything." Petter replied as he looked around
Only plants everywhere… Urg…
I think I'll avoid eating seafood for a while after what happened.
'Just like Petter said, there wasn't anything special about this place, just a small patch of forest like any other in the middle of a hill… The only unique thing about it was the strange plants and flowers that were unlike the others around it…'
"Watch." Dae said as something materialized in his hand
'It was a sword, the Holy blade.'
/FWOOSH!/
'He swung his sword, creating a powerful current that uprooted all of the plants and trees, but did not move the earth.'
'This revealed something… A mound.'
"Was there supposed to be anything here?"
"It's beneath the dirt dumbass, read the damn room."
"Sheesh... I understand, give me a break."
"You asked for it." Dae replied as he raised his right hand
Those plants aren't native to this region, they were brought here between 300 and 200 years ago by what seems to be the last few people to have ever traveled through here…
They mark a spot...
'As he placed his backpack and gear on the ground, Dae started to unpack as he got ready to continue his exploration.'
/Unzips.../
'As he took several things from within, he started to explain everything to Petter.'
"In the past, and I mean, really long ago, this place used to be a Lake that existed atop the mountains."
"If you look at the walls of the mountains, you'll see the marks of erosion caused by water."
"However, before the Human kingdom was established, a fierce battle occurred here, blasting away one of the mountains..."
"Or at the time, the edge of the lake, you can already imagine which, just follow the river."
"Everywhere we are right now was once the bottom of a lake, one of the reasons why this sand is black, the other one being that dead volcano over there." Dae said as he pointed backward
In fact, there should be an ancient Dwarven outpost in the mountain, leading further down into the complex passageways they built...
Unfortunately, we don't have the time to explore it for any riches.
"Really?... I didn't notice, quite cool in fact."
"Though I'm more interested in what blasted a mountain away…"
"Me too." Dae agreed with a small cryptic smile
"And that's partially what we came here to find out."
The last thing I need to do before Philip comes back, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it due to a lack of an opportunity to leave the Palace, but a chance appeared.
Once this is done, I can relax and focus on training until he comes back.
/CRACK!/
'A lightning bolt was released from his hand, blasting the dirt away and revealing the mound's secrets…'
'It was…'
"Bones?!"
"Hum… It must be a makeshift tomb." Dae pointed out as he walked ahead
This wasn't in the plan, albeit it isn't anything disruptive.
One way or another, their bodies would have to appear.
I just didn't expect them to be gathered like this... So this is what was missing from the book.
Did the expedition bury them to honor them... Or...
'As Petter said, there were dozens of bodies now scattered all around.'
'Those bones were small and thick, as if belonging to children… Buff children.'
"Are these all… Kids…?"
"No.... Man, be careful, you say that next to a Dwarf and you'll become like one of those down there."
"HUH?! So these are…"
I feel damn stupid now, not gonna lie...
"Dwarves… Ancient Dwarves."
People from a time and era already mostly forgotten.
People that fought in a War now mystified.
Remnants of an age long past.
"They are holding something…" Petter pointed out as he crouched
It's super rusty and twisted, but I can see its overall shape...
'These bodies scared him less than the damn algae, in fact, he even felt somewhat at peace, as dead bodies were in a sense more normal to him than moving carnivorous underwater plants.'
"They're holding War weapons, these Dwarves died in a terrific fight, and according to the norms and traditions of the ancient Dwarves, they were buried in a mound together without distinction of Class and Rank in order to honor their sacrifices." Dae said as he scratched his chin
Or so they should have... But there is a 700-year gap between their deaths and the expedition to this area...
So things get a bit convoluted... They may have been buried like this by coincidence.
They have been buried for convenience, to make it simpler to know where they all were...
Or the people of the expedition might've known this would've been what these Dwarves would've wanted.
Who they were fighting against and for what purpose has already been lost...
And it doesn't really matter anyway.
"Come, we're looking for a particular body."
According to what I know, there is little chance they were buried by their own kin... They couldn't have.
The fight that happened here ended in a draw, and both sides were exterminated simultaneously.
The Dwarves were then buried by another group that came after them, this group stole most of the relics left in this place before throwing their bodies into this mound.
Coincidentally or not, this is still within the Ancient Dwarven customs, so I didn't lie.
The thieves of the past might have left with the spoils of war, but the treasures shall be ours.
They buried and marked the bodies perhaps to come back for more, instead, they never came back, only a book was written by one of them before they disappeared into obscurity.
We're lucky they didn't realize the full scope of this place.
"We're tomb raiding?" Petter asked with a frown
"Does it disgust you?"
"No… I just thought my first tomb raiding in a fantasy world would be more… Epic."
Digging the ground like this doesn't fit within what I expected...
"... Yeah, that I can agree." Dae replied in a rare understanding tone
'Even he knew that exploring ancient ruins and finding ancient artifacts was thrilling, and he felt it was indeed a shame Petter's first time had been in such a… Boring place.'
'But things were far from over, he would surely think otherwise soon…'
…
/Another half an hour later…/
"Huff!... Are there any more of these left?..." Petter asked as he pulled a corpse up from the hole they dug, putting it neatly on the side next to many others
"Yes, there are… But I don't think we'll need to pull them up, we've found who we were looking for."
'Dae jumped from the hole, cleaning his hands with water magic as he moved to the body Petter had just pulled.'
'It was different from the others, not only was it more preserved, it was clad in rusty armor and it held a battleaxe.'
'All others were barely armored, if they found a weapon it would be heavily broken and unusable, likely trash the looters of the past didn't take.'
'His mummified body had a distorted look on his face, it wasn't pleasant to look at, albeit for a cadaver, even Petter could tell it was quite well preserved, perhaps enough that, with the armor, recognizing who he was might be possible.'
'As for the reason why his battleaxe wasn't stolen... Its edges were broken, it certainly would've taken one hell of a job to fix it.'
"Who is this guy? He's much better than the others."
Like a commander?
"I don't know... His rank, name, and role all allude me... What matters is that he's the person who we are searching for."
'While Dae crouched to inspect his body, Petter asked:'
"You know… Isn't this kind of bad?"
"How so?"
"I know grabbing treasures is good but isn't this an incredibly archeological find? I used to hate how thieves in the past stole all the goodies from the tombs in Egypt."
"Ah that?... You're technically correct."
"Shouldn't we… Do something else?..."
"Are you asking if we should direct the Dwarves here to study this place?... That's a terrible idea."
"We're in Human territory Petter, that'll never be possible."
"And I'm too tired to explain the rest, just think about it."
"If you want to feel good about it, then think of the bigger picture."
"There are many such spots that were never uncovered and spots that will be destroyed due to the wars of the future."
"If we can make it more stable, then it wouldn't be too late to make history accurate."
"I… Wasn't really talking about that… But I understand."
'Petter didn't really care about history, he just felt a bit bad, that's all.'
'He recognized the pain and the strange feeling that is losing a big chunk of your nation's history due to a bunch of nameless thugs that decided to raid a tomb...'
'He was only making small talk, nothing else.'
'Someone wins, someone loses, after 100 years, who'll care about this?...'
'Wouldn't the same result be achieved if they were to write a book and hand it over?...'
'The only ones that might feel bad are the generations that'll come after them 500-1000 years later, but how can he live if he were to care about something so far away from him?...'
"I found it." Dae said with a smile as he pulled a crusty rectangular metal sheet from within the armor of the Dwarf
'It was full of compacted dirt, almost embedded in stone, but it looked like a card of sorts.'
"Phew, step 1 complete."
"All of this was only step 1?!"
"No worries, there are only 2 more steps, and one of them is just going back without alerting others."
"Seems simple when you say it, what do we do now then?..."
"Grab this Dwarf's body and throw the rest inside the hole, I'll cover it up and we'll move on."
"Sur… Wait a minute, why are we keeping this body?"
"As you said, this place is a great archaeological find…"
"There are people that would pay for this, especially the Dwarves."
"Current Dwarven society is based around tribes that keep trying to prove their heritage and reasons for being in command ever since the dismantling of what was once their Royal Family."
"They care more about pedigree than even some Human Nobles sometimes."
"As such, if we bring this body to his respective Clan… They would definitely pay a massive amount for proof of their long history and their Family's contributions."
"..."
'Petter cringed as he thought about using a 1000-year-old mummy to rake in profits with its descendants…'
…
/Another half an hour later…/
"So… What are we looking for now?"
If walked and walked, climbing upstream, if this place was once a lake, then we're now above its shores?
"It's right beneath us." Dae replied with a cryptic smile
"Petter… In War, you have soldiers… You have infantries… And you have War tools…"
"Most of the things that can be carried by hand were already taken away, or broken beyond any use apart from being displayed in a museum."
"But… What about the things that were too big to be carried by hand?"
"They were… Left behind?" Petter replied uncertainly
"Exactly."
/FWOOSH!/
'Dae infused Mana onto the metal card, and it started to glow faintly as ancient runes flared.'
/TREMBLE!/
'And with that, the mountain started to tremble.'
"Should we stay here?" Petter asked concerned as rocks started to break all around
"And where should we go?" Dae retorted as he cracked his neck
"Get ready for a fight, just in case."
"..."
I knew something was wrong...
/Sheen.../
'Petter's hands started to turn red as ominous red vapors gathered around his body.'
'He was getting heated up.'
/TREMBLE/
/CRACK!/
'The rocks all around the mountain split apart as many things broke from within the ancient hard stone…'
/TUUUUM!/
'The deep sounds of horns echoed in the valley…'
/CRACK!/
/SHAA!/
'The stone beneath them split apart as something rose, forcing them to jump to the side.'
/TUUUUUUUM!/
'The deep and loud sound reverberated with their chests and ravaged their ears…'
[&^!%@$&$&(#!]
'A deep, metallic voice echoed from within the dust.'
'Dae understood what it said, while Petter heard something else first…'
[Ancient Languages Lv1 has activated]
[... Code]
'Dae smiled from ear to ear.'
/TUUUUM!/
'The thing beyond the fog blew its war horn, forcing the dust to scatter, revealing its true form.'
'A massive bipedal metallic construct.'
(Image)
'As many lights ignited, it said a single line:'
[Machine Status… 23% operational]
/Gasp/
'Petter gasped as he raised his head.'
…
/Several days later…/
"~... Immortal temptation... Takes over my mind... Condeeenmed...~"
'Inside his workshop, Philip played with powerful magical forces as he sang one of his classic favorite songs back from Earth.'
'Even if one wanted to, no one could understand what he was talking about since he sang in English...'
'In front of him laid a rather big prismatic orb, shinning in magical light as it floated up and down slowly, it seemed to be some sort of magical item Philip was in the process of making.'
"~Falling weak on my knees...~"
"~Summon the strength... Of mayhem...~"
/Sick guitar solo.../
/CRACK!/
'The magical orb that was floating in the middle of his workshop broke into many pieces like a miniature firework.'
"~Fuuuuck...~" He said as he sang
'The broken pieces of the orb twinkled on the ground as if making fun of him.'
"Sigh, another day, another failure." He said in disappointment as he kicked one of the pieces away
'He looked to the side where a large clock hung, it contained even a day counter.'
"It's been 2 and a half months already? Time sure flies..." He said with a slight smile as he stretched his back
I still have around a month before the time limit, so I should start to prepare and see if there's a need to go after the remnants of the Heroes.
Not only that, but I should also consider if it's best to just go back earlier...
"The future can always change, predicting a few days in may be fine, but months on end..."
Dae put a 5-month limit, but who's to tell the situation hadn't changed and now the limit is around the corner?
Or I may even have some time?...
"That son of a gun told me he would contact me... I've been waiting ever since."
Did I perhaps make too good of a job in hiding? I don't think that's the case.
"Where's my to-do list?" He questioned as he looked around
'His workshop could only be described in a single word, messy.'
'Piles of everything could be seen everywhere, and if it weren't for the 3 big ass forges in the corner of the room, Philip would've definitely filled this place with even more things...'
'During these few months, he added many things to the Workshop, such as Shelves to store his things and other tools to help him with his activities.'
'And even more strange machines that did who knew what.'
[It's on the second shelf to your left behind a stone vase] MT replied on the side
"Hum?... Oh yeah, I remember putting it there, thanks." He replied as he took out the notebook from the shelf
"Let's see..."
I made this out of fun to keep track of some things...
[To-do list
->Repair Big ass forge (✓)
->Help the Dwarf finish his preliminary research (✓)
->Help the Dwarf reach the final stages of his research (✓)
->Help the Dwarf finish his research into the Big ass forges (X)
->Clean the mess left behind by the strange figure (✓)
->Meet with the Elven girls and learn more about the Dragon (X)
->Raise linguistic Skills to a decent Level (✓)
->Use MT to study magic (✓) /Currently on 3rd Tier/
->Pass all meaningful Skills from my Side Classes to my Main one (✓)
->Achieve a certain level of mastery over all of my new Skills and Abilities (✓)
->Achieve a higher level of mastery over all of my old Skills and Abilities (✓)
->Get used to my recent bodily changes (✓)
->Improve main Skills considerably (X) /Half complete/
->Understand what Armament is (X)
->Help Viera reach 7th Tier (X)
->Improve my Magic (✓)
->Improve the Demi-Plane (✓)
->Raise all of the new Dragonborn Skills above 100 (X)
->Fix and improve all of my old gear (✓)
->Make stronger and possibly cooler new gear (✓)
->Sell things and make money (✓)
->Make a lot of money (✓)
->Find an inheritor for the old guy (X)
->Find clues about the old guy's tasks (X)
->Contact Viera's Master (X)
->Evade Academy's agents (✓)
->Evade Academy's agents, again (✓)
->Evade Academy's agents, the comeback of the annoying agents (✓)
->Evade Academy's agents, the ultimate excuse edition (✓)
->Help Viera make female friends (X)
->Clean the workshop (✓)
->Clean the workshop again (✓)
->Somehow, the workshop got messy again, clean it (X)
->Finish the Artifact (X)
...
]
'The list went on and on...'
'It was full of miscellaneous things such as, "Test magic with Viera" and "Beat Daedra so he behaves"...'
'And even some wholesome things such as, "Surprise Viera on her birthday".'
'Most of it had a check mark to prove he had completed it, but many essential activities were still left empty, yet to be completed.'
"The more I try, the harder this endeavor seems."
I've been trying to use Magic from Nirn to try and create an artifact that can meddle with Magic from Eden by converting the first into the latter.
If that's possible, together with the Skill Command Magic, I'll be theoretically able to control and use magic to an extent above even Viera.
This wouldn't make her useless though, as to use such magic, I would need to at least have an idea of how it works and what I want, but my understanding of it is barely 3rd tier.
My original idea was to give it to her so as to raise her powers by perhaps an entire Tier...
And albeit I succeeded in making Staves and whatnot, basically gearing her from top to bottom, they aren't as cool as my otherworldly magic ball.
Lastly, do not misunderstand, I can use Enchanting and Smithing to make incredible gear for Viera, it's just that, it isn't what I seek.
"I should've just given up while I was ahead." He said, slightly disappointed
When I first started to entertain the idea of using Magicka to influence Eden's Magic, I immediately threw away the idea because I felt that, even if possible, it would take a lot of effort.
And effort is tied with time.
I believe that, with due time, yes, I can become a super strong wizard with a Demi-Plane that can be considered a Half world as my Skills keep rising up...
It's not like I have nothing to do, the sheer amount of books and resources available to me is astounding, and in order to grow to my current state, I had to tap into those resources, much to Laplabe's constant bickering.
But... I'll say that... I grew arrogant.
As my Skill levels increased and my overall understanding of both forms of magic deepened...
As I traded with the Dremora's of Oblivion and listened to some lectures from MT, I started to devise a way to fully fuse both Systems, or at least create some sort of link.
I already proved that my Magic can affect Magic of Eden, and with enough training, even Viera was able to start feeling Magicka, meaning, the link is there, and the mathematical equations should be there somewhere...
Nevertheless, the only thing I got was disappointment, and a great loss of time, the time I could be investing in improving my crafting Skills further in order to make even better items.
Or study... Or train... Or just do anything else.
'As he thought about the things he made and improved, he smiled.'
At least in that regard, I can say I did it flawlessly.
My work became so good and intricate that people started to fight over it.
A basic sword that I make with strong alloys, enhanced several times to reach Legendary Quality, then sharpened and enchanted prior to being engraved with cool designs can sell for a lot.
It also gives a lot of experience too.
And it doesn't even need to be made of crazy materials, Steel will do.
Of course, I focused on using high-tier materials for that faster experience gain.
"In the end, I made more money than I lost..."
I came to the City of Freedom with so much money that I couldn't see its end...
Now a few more piles of gold were added to it.
As for my fear of the Enchantments being reversed engineered?
That is a possibility, however, I made sure to only sell enchanted goods once I felt confident enough.
If they can still bypass my defenses, then they should definitely be a crazy good wizard or craftsman, maybe both.
By the time this becomes a problem though, I likely won't have to care about its repercussions anymore.
It's not like they can read the Enchantments and reverse engineer an Oblivion gate.
In fact, they shouldn't even be able to see the Enchantments properly due to how well I hid it all.
'Philip closed his notebook and went to the side, touching a few objects fondly.'
"My beloved tools... Some of them were a pain to improve, some just couldn't be improved, so I had to either re-imagine them or remake them from the start."
This in fact leads to something else I've been putting aside...
'He moved to the side, sitting on a chair with a serious gaze.'
Caryll Runes... The language of the old ones transcribed in a way people can understand.
Those words carry power, and they are needed to properly tinker with some tools and items...
However, the knowledge of the Caryll Runes has disappeared from my mind, a procedure done in the past to protect me.
Even then, I can feel that as long as I desire, the runes will come back to me.
This means that they're likely still within me, the memories of their existence might've been sealed somewhere inside my mind.
Even if they don't return, I possess more than enough sources to recover these runes one by one... Hidden away in my multiple inventories.
My greatest fear, however, is mental corruption.
'He shook his head.'
"Enough blabbering about, I grabbed this to figure out what I should do."
To question is if I'm strong enough as of now, or if I need to seek out the remnants and other "hidden pieces" if we go by unconventional terms.
For example, the city of Freedom is a relic from a bygone era of the Dwarves, beneath it lies an extensive array of caverns and even other cities, some already plundered, others not.
I did not enter it even once, but I had to commission adventurer groups to get inside and fetch things for me in there as some materials for Tredis research can only be found there.
Expensive as fuck I must say, but it was needed for the quick completion of the Forge.
Anyhow, I still have a month, should I seek out some of those, or should I stay behind and further sharpen everything I have.
If I stay, I can train for 2-4 more weeks and use the teleportation gates to go back in an instant.
If not, I may have to start moving soon, making my way to the Palace as I cross the continent, grabbing whatever's on my way.
"It's a tough question..."
"Open Status." He said dramatically
[
Name: Philip Vinten
Race: Type-2 Sahrot (+)
Home World: Earth (+)
Registered World: Eden (+)
Level 0
Class: None (+)
Title: The Great Desire of ***** (One of a Kind) (+)
/Resonation Effect: Progenitor/
All Titles:
Exterminator of Nightmares; Master of all trades; Great Scholar; Martial Grandmaster; Magic Lord; Mental Lord; Blessed; The Great Desire of *****; One of a Kind; Judicator's Attention; Ancestor of the Sahrot; Noble; Seeker of the Ancient Myths; Spiritualist; Master Craftsman; Oblivion Lord; Torturer; Dimensional Traveler;
-Vital info-
(+)
Mind> 452 (580.2)(+)
Physical> 430.9 (518)(+)
Energy> 488 (676.4)(+)
Spiritual> 435.5 (502.7)(+)
Mystique> 400(+)
Abilities:
Armament Lv4(7) (Hybrid)
Mental force Lv22 (Hybrid)
Mental force manipulation Lv21 (Hybrid)
Mental Domain Lv9 (Hybrid)
Command Magic Lv5 (Hybrid)
Spiritual Force Lv4 (Hybrid)
Spiritual force manipulation Lv2 (Hybrid)
Weak Spiritual Domain Lv3 (Hybrid)
Skills:
Greater Thu'um Lv3 (Hybrid)
Ripper Mode LvMax (15) (Active)
Heat Edge Lv2 (Active)
Phantom Sword Lv20 (Active)
Great Scholar Vision Lv7 (Hybrid)
Torture Lv4 (Passive)
Air of Nobility Lv2 (Passive)
Origin of a Desire Lv2 (Active)
Stalk Lv6 (Active)
Predator's presence LvMax (Hybrid)
Advanced Skill fusion Lv12 (Hybrid)
Western continent language Lv12 (Hybrid)
Combat Genius LvMax (Passive)
Gamerverse (???)
Traits:
Castle Town ***** (Recovering)
Hardworking
Unyielding
Sword Heart
Spiritual Ascension(Incomplete)
Dragon Soul
]
(Shit's long as hell, just like my...)
'Philip marveled at his own excellence... Until he realized how egocentric that was.'
'Gazing at the numbers that grew each day, he smiled to himself, the progress he had made in the 5 months he stood in this world was splendid.'
"Sigh... I can't make a decision." He said in a low tone
'After thinking for a while, he decided to stop, making his way to the door.'
Sometimes, instead of thinking, it's best to just take a breather and touch grass.
'And so he went to do, turning off the lights of his workshop, leaving the faint glimmering lights of his magic items behind in the dark.'
.
.
.
Notes
So yeah, timeskip done, and even a quick look at his Stats.
Don't you worry, there will be no explanation for his new Stats, I think we did so many of those recently that there is no point in doing another.
Instead, I'll do something different, I'll show his changes through action!
And in the meantime whenever necessary, Philip will say something about his changes.
Overall, I think it was good skip, but if there is anything you think I missed, I'm here to talk about it.
If you're curious about his previous Stats, I'll leave it at the very end for future reference.
What do you think his current race is?
Many people gave me many ideas, and I've thought it over and over until... Philip doesn't have the personality to give himself any sort of grandiose name like... Nidhogg Human or something...
The Consumer...
Devourer... Or some of things people suggested XD.
I think it still fits, he'll explain what it means later tough.
For now, that's all.
I don't have many images, but I'll drop some that I made.
(Images)
I did do more, but it would be a bit of a spoiler to drop them down.
I think that's all...
Tell me what you think of this chapter, I'll start making dinner now, so I'll be back soon.
Here is his past Status change, do you think he grew a lot or nothing at all?
[
Name: Philip Vinten
Race: Type 2+ Pure Human (+)
Home World: Earth (+)
Registered World: Eden (+)
Level 0
Class: None (+)
Title: Apex Evolver(One of a Kind) (+)
/Resonation Effect: Progenitor/
All Titles:
Exterminator of Nightmares; Antesunderian Archeologist; Master of all trades(Incomplete); Great Scholar; Martial Grandmaster; Magic Lord; Mental Lord; Blessed; Apex Evolver; One of a Kind; Judicator's Attention;
-Vital info-
(+)
Mind> 330.4 (399.9)(+)
Physical> 325.1 (368.3)(+)
Energy> 329 (399.9)(+)
Spiritual> 334.8 (371.8)(+)
Mystique> 250(+)
Abilities:
Armament Lv1(3) (Hybrid)
Mental force Lv13 (Hybrid)
Mental force manipulation Lv13 (Hybrid)
Mental Domain Lv5 (Hybrid)
Command Magic Lv0 (Hybrid)
Weak Spiritual Domain Lv0 (Hybrid)
Skills:
Greater Thu'um Lv0 (Hybrid)
Ripper Mode LvMax (15) (Active)
Ignition Strike LvMax (10) (Active)
Phantom Sword Lv16 (Active)
Great Scholar Vision Lv0 (Hybrid)
Origin of a Desire Lv0 (Active)
Advanced Skill fusion Lv9 (Hybrid)
Western continent language Lv2 (Hybrid)
Combat Genius LvMax (Passive)
Predator's presence LvMax (Hybrid)
Gamerverse (???)
Traits:
Castle Town ***** (Recovering)
Hardworking
Unyielding
Sword Heart
Spiritual Ascension(Incomplete)
Dragon Soul
]
New version
There is a rewrite of this work going on. (New Version)
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone