by L. M. Kerr
The Tribes of Deities were enemies that vastly outstripped humanity in power. Micheal would take every tool he could get to prevent them from slaughtering humanity again.
Still, all of that depended on how much he could trust the Toren… and to figure that out, he’d first need to understand him.
‘That would depend on how our consciousnesses merged. Your mind was able to fully withstand the burden I carry, so I likely would’ve made a full recovery and then left the Ancient World to seek out my kind.’ Yvvtal gave a rather direct response.
“What if my mind hadn’t been able to fully withstand that burden?” Micheal replied.
‘You likely would’ve gone mad, leaving me with incomplete or no control. It’s unfortunate, but that was the only way I had to reincarnate.’ The Fallen Deity’s reply was tinged with frustration,
‘I cannot just allow my people to slaughter billions without doing everything I can to stop them. And, even if you did go insane, there’s a chance I would eventually be able to transfer my consciousness to a new host after a long enough period of time.’ Yvvtal sounded like he found that chance to be pitifully small and not worth betting on, but thought it better than nothing.
Micheal’s eyes narrowed. All of what the Toren said matched up with what he knew. The torrent of emotion had almost been enough to break his mind; he couldn’t think that many other people would’ve been able to take it on.
The Byren Yvvtal had chosen to reincarnate his Spirit Body into had caused humanity, and the other races, quite a bit of grief, going on several mad killing sprees. The leading theory had been that the Fallen Deity had driven him insane, confirmed by the scan of the dead Byren’s mind.
It seemed like that theory was correct… but it might not have been intentional.
‘Sacrifices must be made for the greater good. I would gladly give up a million lives if it meant I could stop the slaughter of billions.’ Yvvtal’s voice echoed in mind, as logical as it was cold.
Micheal grimaced when he heard it, refusing to consider how he would respond if he was forced to make such a choice. Subtly, he knew what he would have to do but… he pushed the thought aside again.
“Alright, here’s something different. Yvvtal, is there any way I can store my Spatial Ring somewhere in this hallway?” He changed the subject to a rather pressing concern of his.
His Life Orb Mastery Ability sort of turned back the clock, meaning damaged Artifacts that were bound to his Soul could be restored to their previous state. It didn't truly reverse time, but somehow ‘restored’ the innate image he held of his body and Artifacts. When he trained his body, his Life Orbs didn't erase the results of that training when they healed him.
It was a complex Ability that he was far from understanding, but that was what he did know.
On the other hand, he didn’t know what limits it had. Would it always return his Artifacts to him in good condition? How many times could it do that? If he mentally registered the results of his training as an injury, would it erase them? He had many questions and few answers.
‘Nothing living can pass beyond the Transfer Arch into the Feasting Hall.’ Yvvtal began, a mental image of the archway at the end of the hall appearing in Micheal’s head.
‘If you toss it past there, it will get automatically moved to one of the reserve rooms next to the Treasure Hall. It should be safe there. That said… if you stay here, you will definitely die, regardless of how safe-’
“I understand.” Micheal cut the Toren off as he jogged closer to the archway and immediately threw his Spatial Ring in, storing anything from his person that he wanted to keep. He also took that time to swallow the various antidotes he had prepared, magically cleansing his body of poison in a few split moments.
The closer he got to the Transfer Arch, the more a feeling of rejection seemed to push him away. He could vaguely tell that it would be impossible for him to actually move through it physically. This was likely where people in their Soul forms would pass through and return to their physical body.
After he handled that, Micheal was just about to continue asking a few more questions when, all of a sudden, the world around him began to glow. The intensity of his headache abruptly expanded to new heights, forcing tears from his eyes.
Yvvtal tried to say something, his voice urgent, but Micheal could no longer hear it. The only thing his mind could sense was the awe-inspiring might of the huge wave of energy rushing right towards him.
Micheal’s senses immediately expanded outward as he focused on this incoming energy. He kept himself absolutely still as he sat down and crossed his legs, his eyes glinting with light as he assumed a meditative pose.
The pressure began to build up more and more. Seconds slipped by as Micheal shut his eyes, the light around him growing to become painful.
“I can feel it…” He muttered out loud, a small smile appearing on his face.
In that moment… Micheal began to cultivate.
He drew on the natural energy of the world, attempting to draw it into his body. The rushing waves of power in the background were violently active, but still rather small at the current moment.
Still, his body greedily drank in the surrounding energy, opening up completely as he took everything in.
At the lower levels, Ki Cultivation was all about the purity of one’s energy. From Mortal to Earth, it was all about purifying the energy and growing its concentration. The higher the purity or concentration, the more powerful the energy would be, and the more powerful Micheal’s body and Soul would become.
Micheal was well aware of this as he sat calmly in the trembling hall, leaving his body completely vulnerable.
Seconds slipped away.
The surroundings grew more and more violent, cracks appearing in the stone walls. Micheal’s face grew slightly pale as the pressure began to grow beyond what his body could safely hold.
Yvvtal’s method of talking to Micheal was through a small transmission of energy. However, the rocketing waves of energy scattered that message, despite the fact that it was only traveling a small distance within Micheal’s body.
As a result, Micheal was blissfully unaware of the fact that the Toren was currently going on an internal rage-fueled rant.
A couple more seconds trickled by.
Finally, as a line of blood dripped down from Micheal’s nose…
Everything grew silent. The trembling stopped; the violent waves of energy in the background calmed.
For a single, silent second, everything was still.
Micheal activated an Ability.
‘Impact Absorb.’
A heartbeat later, a gargantuan, massive mountain of energy exploded within the stone hallway.
Instantly, that energy blasted into Micheal’s body. In a mere fraction of a second, it shot through his veins as he cultivated at a ridiculous speed. What felt like liquid fire ran through him in the split second that he remained alive, a rush of energy and giddiness as he absorbed a titanic amount of energy.
That split second passed. His body disintegrated into nothingness, obliterated by the wave of energy as it swooped through and ripped the hallway apart. The wave of energy caused visible distortions in the air as it flew upward, smashing out of the Inheritance up into the sky above.
The forest outside shook and trembled as this plume of energy soared upward for a few scant moments and then began to fall back down. Space visibly twisted as the energy shot down in hundreds of streams, absorbed into the earth.
These streams of energy spread out for dozens of miles, covering up an enormous chunk of the normal-looking forest. Tens of thousands of animals lay down on the ground in terror, Magic Beasts or normal, horrified by what they sensed.
After the energy broke off into so many streams, each one merely buffeted the air and didn’t injure any of the wildlife. Still, the raw terror such a majestic, world-shifting display created was something that forced a hush over the forest.
And then, just a few moments
later, everything was over.
The streams of energy had vanished, successfully returning to stabilize the now-expanding Magic Forest. The air was already starting to take on a rich, energy-full feeling, though the plants and animals had yet to transform.
The sky above the forest was completely clear; the clouds that had been present now scattered and dissipated when the energy raged on. The fading afternoon light gave the forest a rather mystical appearance as the rich energy in the surroundings pulsed faintly.
Meanwhile, back at the cave that housed Yvvtal’s Inheritance, the entire top of the stone boulder had been shattered. Chunks of rock lay about haphazardly in the Rury Group’s campsite, littering the ground. More than half of the buildings had been blown apart from the shock of the energy bursting free, giving the area a ruined look.
“W-what on Earth happened?”
“Is everyone alright?”
“J-jack needs some Healing Pills, he’s broke his legs!”
“Arrrgh!”
A litany of voices echoed out from within the Inheritance.
The members of the Rury Group were just now picking themselves up from outside the various Challenge doors. A good two dozen men and women were covered in blood from broken bones and various injuries caused by the shockwave the energy produced.
Thanks to where they had been located, the brunt of the energy wave completely missed them. While a large portion of the group had been injured, none of them were dead, and none of those injuries were fatal.
Simone’s voice was notably absent. Instead, the two Sub-Leaders, Biff and Thorin, were taking command as they began to bark out orders. Gradually, the Rury Group members began to apply first aid and grouped up once again. A mire of confusion and fear hung over the group, but they all stayed within the Inheritance.
Simone was currently within the Knight's Challenge, a Challenge that had gone on despite the energy wave overloading other parts of the Inheritance.
Deep within the Inheritance, a large, circular grey stone room now existed. The walls of this room were covered in huge cracks, while the floor was covered with small pieces of broken rock. A cloud of grey dust hovered and drifted within the room, giving it a dour aura.
This was the hallway Micheal had been standing in, just a few moments ago.
The powerful outburst of energy had completely obliterated the hallway and the surrounding rock before blasting upward and escaping through a huge hole in the roof.
Yvvtal’s Inheritance had automatically repaired that hole and was now slowly restoring the stone hallway to its former glory. However, the huge scale of damage it had taken meant that was a very slow process, leading to what was now a large, ruined room.
In the center of this wrecked room, particles of light began to drift together. These shimmering particles gradually condensed and, a moment later, were replaced by a decidedly very naked human being.
Micheal began to cough as he came to, his eyes watering as he waved away the dust. He blinked several times, taking in his surroundings.
‘I could have sworn you just died there. Yet here we are, alive and well... that's odd.’ Yvvtal’s voice echoed in Micheal’s head, sounding as if the ancient Toren was at a complete loss, causing Micheal to grimace. It seemed his conjecture had been correct, Yvvtal’s Spirit Body was currently bound to him and would respawn with him.
Still, it wasn’t all bad. Micheal’s heart began to pound as he cast his senses at his body, flexing his arms and legs.
‘Status.’
.
— - Status — -
Name: Micheal Care
Points: 200
Race: Human
Age: 18
Physique: 1 Star
Soul Quality: 3 Star
Strength - 80 -> 138
Endurance - 56 -> 82
Recovery - 55 -> 88
Soul - 36 -> 38
Abilities - (6/7)
Life Orb Master
Ki Cultivator (Earth Tier - Early -> Late)
Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)
Impact Release
Ceaseless Mind
Temporal Bubble
.
"It worked!"
A huge smile formed on his face.
By using the absurdly powerful energy backlash as a catalyst, Micheal had successfully managed to steal some of that energy to power his Ki Cultivation and boost it up by a very sizable margin.
The only reason he managed to succeed in this was because he had cultivated through the Earth Tier once before and knew exactly how it felt, how to lead the energy through his body, and how to condense and purify it. Without that experience, in the split seconds he had to work with the energy, he would’ve failed to snag any of it.
After a few seconds of checking his stats, he winced, clutching at his head.
‘Did I injure my Soul?’ He could feel a slight feeling of strain, as if he had stretched his Soul thin. After a few moments, he concluded he hadn’t injured it, but that he had severely stressed it and come close.
“Ugh.” He muttered out loud as he rubbed at his eyes. Mentally, despite how pleased he was, he also felt really, really tired.
The stress of dealing with Yvvtal’s emotional burden, combined with the long, drawn-out battle with the Torens in the King’s Challenge, alongside channeling the natural energy of the world to boost his Ki Cultivation…
It all wore away at him, no matter how determined he was.
He began to hobble his way over to the Transfer Archway after quizzing Yvvtal on how to get his Spatial Ring back. The Fallen Deity had lost almost all control of the Inheritance, but was still able to get it sent over near the archway. The Toren also informed him that Micheal would now have much greater control of the Inheritance.
The Fallen Deity believed Micheal would be bound by the Oath he made, and thus didn’t seem to be worried about the power Micheal had over the Treasure Hall and the rest of the Toren’s Inheritance.
As he walked over to his ring, he clenched his right fist tight.
He’d obtained what he had needed here and more. All of his plans for the Second Layer depended on him succeeding here... and he had managed it.
A wave of relief ran through his heart, mixed with steely determination.
All that was left here was to settle things with Simone and her group, use up the Miracle Gem to get his 2 Star Physique, and then figure out what to do with Yvvtal and the rest of this Inheritance. Once he handled that…
His secret war with the Vile King would officially begin.
.
Chapter 24
Sunlight gleamed from the sky above, sparkling in the air as it flitted onto a green-robed man, following his graceful flight through a burgeoning forest.
Micheal’s movements were swift and sure as he moved forward, his eyes constantly scanning the area in front of him to avoid running into any vines or trees. Two Life Orbs fluttered beneath his feet, making his flight an easy and controlled one that sapped very little energy.
He had decided to avoid flying above the forest just in case any powerful warriors were using Contracted Magic Beasts to fly above it. The chance was small, but he couldn’t afford any powerful beings becoming interested in him quite yet.
As he flew, he flexed and adjusted his arms several times, getting used to his stronger body.
“It should only take a day or so for my body to finish absorbing the Magic Gem.” He muttered out loud to himself.
After he completed Yvvtal’s King’s Challenge, Micheal finally had what he needed to wrap up loose ends.
Yvvtal’s Treasure Hall possessed a King’s Rock, a type of very rare Artifact that couldn’t be purchased in the Shop. This Artifact could work as a temporary panacea when utilized properly, able to cleanse a person’s body of most illness and poison. This was one of the very few ways that the Withering Snow Poison that afflicted the Rury Group could be cured.
A human had won the King’s Rock back in Micheal’s first life and
made a killing using it to cure people for a price. This was how Micheal had originally been cured in his first life. Yvvtal's Inheritance had become one of the most famous treasure grounds for humanity; many rare Artifacts had been uncovered here.
There were other, more complex cures, but all of those required careful time and effort spent in creating an antidote, something Micheal couldn't afford.
After obtaining it, he went about signing the entire Rury Group under one Contract Seal, making an Oath to heal them as long as they would work for Micheal on one specific job.
Everything went through with no issues, though Micheal did have to wait for Simone to finish the Knight’s Challenge. To his somewhat mild surprise and pleasure, she actually managed to complete it, obtaining a lesser reward for herself from the Treasure Hall.
With them cured, Micheal could feel the entire atmosphere change. A certain level of cheer rose in the previously downtrodden warriors as their impending death date was finally removed. He was greeted with an endless stream of thanks for his efforts, enough to make him feel guilty for using the occurrence to get some help.
However, after the Rury Group learned the details of the job he had for them, they were more than eager to help. Micheal explained everything thoroughly, leaving no room for error before he sent them off. He also listed off a few ways they could improve their strength, including the details on Dragon Building Liquid to boost their Physique. They would be able to return to improve their strength here at Yvvtal's Inheritance, and become more useful to Micheal, but only after they completed a few vital tasks.
As for Yvvtal…
The Fallen Deity had been amazed at Micheal’s regeneration. Whether because he was impressed or for some other reason, the ancient Toren hadn’t objected when Micheal went through the Treasure Hall and took several valuable treasures for himself.
As a result, Micheal had yet to technically “break” the Oath he had made in Yvvtal’s eyes. He’d left a sizable number of treasures behind for other beings that took any of the Challenges, only taking the ones that were useful to him.
Most of the Artifacts or treasure left behind were designed for use in combat, for studying many Martial Arts, or for helping build up the strength of one’s body. Micheal found the first and third group the most valuable, though for the third group, in particular, he only took a few related treasures. His body could only take in so many treasured potions or Magic Gems before they lost their effectiveness.