LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 39: Into the [Soulscape] for answers
The soulscape, oooh the soulscape.
A magical place, a place of innumerable and inexplicable wonders.
"AAAAAAH!" Screamed the voice of a young man who was wearing an airforce jacket with the logo of a weird company. That somehow was blurred?
"STOP RUNNING AWAY YOU ASSHOLE, EVEN IF YOU SOMEHOW PRETEND TO BE YOUNGER I STILL RECOGNIZE YOU!" Said the screaming voice of a blonde young woman who was chasing said blonde man.
The age difference couldn't be more than 10 years.
It was still somewhat comical.
Because while the young girl was running after that man while throwing shadow tentacles trying to get a grip on him, the man was nimbly using chairs and desktops as replacements for himself.
And when those weren't enough?
He shot electric discharges and even used some way of magnetism to stick himself to the ceiling.
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU IT WASN'T ME THE ONE TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION!" Said once again the blonde man.
"PROVE IT!" Answered back the blonde girl who decided to stop her chase, she still had a few shadow spears hovering near herself.
All of them pointed at the blonde man.
Who when noticed how the blonde girl had stopped chasing him, decided to release his magnetic lock to the ceiling, and landed on the floor.
"Did you see the notification already?" Asked the blonde man pointing at the central monitor in the room.
They were in the laboratory half of the soulscape.
Even trashed as it was, one could still marvel at all the machinery in it. One only needed to see how mechanical ants and spiders were scurrying around fixing and swapping damaged machines all around.
Elizabeth of course ignored them and even shoved some debris their way by using her shadows.
The machines took said debris and said nothing.
The blonde girl could see the use of having minions like those instead of using tendrils and thought about if it would be a good idea to try and change how she used the shadows.
Perhaps she could use a design to shape the shadows separated from her?
Food for thought if nothing else.
"What's with the robots?" Asked the girl "Aren't we in a projection of my soul? What's the point of them working like that?" Added the blonde girl.
"Yeah yeah, projection. Meaningless to have them fix machines that don't exist right?" Answered the blonde man while directing some mechanical ants who were going the wrong way.
"Your notifications, have you seen them?" And asked once again the blonde man.
"Not yet. If the skill is gonna lie to me anyway I decided to come and ask first." Answered back the blonde girl.
At which point, the man just sighed and snapped his finger materializing a blue screen in the middle of the room.
"Congratulations are in order, you broke through your first threshold." And said with false cheer in his voice.
For her part the blonde girl...Was if nothing else surprised.
Since she didn't feel a thing...
"But Papa said he thrashed in his bed for a week when he pushed through his threshold...?" And just asked the question in her mind while seeing the screens that had shown in front of her.
| Notice: |
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You have defeated in a fair fight someone blessed by [Fate] in single combat, one level awarded for your efforts. You have fought and defeated someone blessed by [Fate] and incredible talent while at a disadvantage, one level awarded for the feat. You have won against the odds when someone blessed by [Fate] should have defeated you—extra level awarded. |
| Congratulations: |
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You have broken through the first threshold, and your skills have been re-adjusted. You have earned extra [Information Allocation] it is now possible to use [Identify] to see previous information updated. Please go to the closest Saintsworth's Conglomerate Qualified personnel to get an update on what is needed for further thresholds and what this means for you. The current closer employee to your location is in: |
| Notice: |
| The skill of the user has evolved into "Shadow Investment". Status Screen has been restructured to better allocate skills and Magic. |
| Shadow Investment: |
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Shadow Investment is a skill that taps into the power of shadows and darkness, allowing the user to harness their hidden potential and enhance their abilities. This skill grants the ability to infuse one's own body and weapons with the essence of shadows. (This is the gateway to the awakening of subset skills and grants extra authority to the user. Allowing them to peer into the web that makes [The World].) |
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Status |
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Name: Elizabeth Starbright Title: The Inheritor of the Akashic Records Alias: Elemental Weaver, Shadow Empress Level: 10 |
Health: 40% Mana: 30% Stamina: 10% Stress: 75% |
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Strength: 40 Constitution: 40 Agility: 40 Dexterity: 40 Intelligence: 34 Wisdom: 34 Charisma: 31 Free Status points: 0 |
Magic Origin: Shadow Weaver Magic Spells Sloted: 12/30 Magic Circles Sloted: 10/20 Skills: -Shadow Investment. -Status -Mana Attuned |
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Subset skills: Shadows -Craft -Manipulation -Shift Status -Identify -Inventory |
Mana Mastery: -Manipulation -Shift -Spellcasting -Enchantment -Projection
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And sure enough, she was bombarded with too much information.
And her status sheet was different too. Having a more closer look at her skills as a powered and mage separated from the main part.
She even found that it was possible to will that particular part away and hide it in a sub-menu...
Not that she minded such quality-of-life improvements.
But something was gnawing at her.
"Since when can I enchant? And why is it shown as a skill the spellcasting, manipulation, and projection?" That was weird to have as skills...Or the equivalent of skills.
"Because [My skill] is the one doing the heavy lifting. Same reason why you have [Shift] as both spell and skill." Answered back the blonde man.
And that was fair...
She was using the subset skills of status to do the heavy lifting after all...
No wait.
"Then I could cast spells without this thing?" Asked the blonde girl to the man.
He for his part just looked amused at her.
"I mean, anyone can, so long they can feel the mana, direct the [Idea] into the interior of the [Soulscape], create the spell node, and eject it. No awakening needed for that." He said amused.
And something in that answer bothered her to no end.
She still couldn't understand why some words sounded...More.
"Wh[at]'s the dea[l] with those wor[ds]?" Asked the girl, she felt like some words didn't quite work, but that was a work in progress in itself.
"Would you look at [that]." Answered the blonde man. "Took you long enough to notice it [Inheritor]." He smirked back at her.
"So...Explain, no one else seems to mind it, but I don't remember being taught anything about it." Said the blonde girl clearly getting more annoyed by the second.
"Well...You should ask your mother, she is coming to the school tomorrow. I can't answer that, [Rules] and all from the boss." Shrugged the blonde asshole.
"What I can tell you is that you should not use that on anyone, don't use [This] until you can control it. And even then, only when you really need to make a point." And suddenly, the blonde asshole looked serious.
The facade of a clown or a carefree man was gone, only the razor-sharp gaze of a man with a mission was left. "Not unless you wanna end like Akira. Or one of the people your mother found in her travels. People controlled and toyed by [Fate]" And so he pointed to her right.
She was about to look but remembered their first meeting and didn't.
"Tch.." Was all the blonde man said, before sitting in one of the new chairs the mechanical ants had brought. "Anything else Princess?"
She wanted to ask more about that, but something told her that man wouldn't answer.
"So...what's the deal with Akira?" So she asked the second best thing.
"He is a [Main Character] of course, not of this world, but something still bleeds out." Answered the blonde man while summoning the old status sheet she had seen the first day.
"HE IS LEVEL 15!?!?" Screamed the blonde girl at seeing his status.
He still hadn't allotted the points though.
"Of course, he is after that trashing you did." Said the blonde man "It was a good one by the way, not that you will have an easy time the next time..." And so he pointed towards his skill and brought the appropriate window.
To which, she could only curse more once again.
| I’m justice: |
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This skill taps into the user's deep conviction that they are fighting for a just cause, imbuing them with a surge of power and confidence. As the user's determination to fight for what they think is right grows stronger, so too does their physical and mental abilities. Allowing him to strike with greater speed, strength, and accuracy. As well as resist the effects of negative status effects such as fear, confusion, and doubt. The user's attacks are infused with a holy (looking) energy that can overcome defensive skills and deal damage to those that the user deems demonic enemies. So long as the user's conviction of being Justice isn't shaken, the skill will provide. Grants a flat bonus to the whole body. This eats half the mana pool and increases the amount of stats earned with the level. The user can direct this status as needed. To activate it the user must fight something he perceives as [Evil]. Level 1-5 = 25 extra stats Level 6-10= 50 Extra stats Level 11+= 70 Extra stats per each 10 levels Level 21+= 100 Extra stats per each 10 levels Level 31+= Bonus is doubled every 10 levels, in case of using it against targets that incurred divine wrath the bonus is tripled. [Note: This bonus can be lost in case the user harms a servant of [The World]. ] [Note 2: The user will become a vessel under the directives of [The World] if he uses an amount of status points superior to the base he has.] |
"HE GET'S WHAT?!?" Screamed the blonde girl at the injustice of that BS skill.
"Yeah, sounds about right, this is the usual stuff, to be honest. I took a peek into some of the worlds your mother visited and it was nasty stuff. There was this programmer in one of those that got to level 301 in the first five minutes of coming to that world...The standard [Hero] in that world hovers at level 50 or so. Yikes...At least he was a good guy." Said in the background the blonde man.
For her part, the blonde girl was just looking at her hands... "Should I go and apologize? If he keeps climbing levels that fast..." And was questioning her decisions.
"Yeah, good luck with that. You might be immune to most of the [Hero's Charisma], but if you yield to him...Well...Can't guarantee your safety...Nor chastity..." And at that mention, she remembered why her mother hated so much that type of man.
Right...They use women as toys if you are lucky...
"And let's not forget those toys of theirs are quite happy since they are under their [Charm]..." Added not helpfully the blonde man.
"Ugh......" She felt like retching... Preferably on the blonde asshole that looked like he was enjoying her suffering.
"And let's not forget how customizable your [Shift] is...And all the slots you have..." And at this point, he even brought up the blue window of her [Shift Skill].
It had only three registered figures, but plenty of open spaces...
"You...Are enjoying it too much." Said the blonde girl.
Alexanders couldn't help but start laughing at that. "Yeah sorry, but seriously. So long you don't submit to him you should be fine. You are protected by the harsher parts of his [Charm], but don't test it, and even in defeat, don't yield to him." Finished saying in a more serious tone the blonde man.
"So...This Charm you speak of, is the same one there?" Asked the blonde girl after centering herself once again.
This time though, she pointed at the [Charisma] status.
"No, that has more to do with the natural aura one emits, for example. I'm a looker, but even with this body if my charm was five. I wouldn't attract as many looks as I do." Said the blonde man while striking a pose.
The blonde girl for her part ignored his antics and then moved on to ask more things, more relevant things.
"Then what is it that Charm?" Like that question for example.
"It's the one of the [Blessing] he gets from being a [Fate's Toy]." Answered the blonde man without further clarification.
He said that word as if the mere mention of it brought back the memory of a hated enemy.
"What do you mean by Fate's Toy?" Asked back the blonde girl.
"Oh, you hear it like that? Interesting..." Was the answer she got for it.
"Do I need to start throwing more spears?" Asked with a smile the blonde girl.
To which the scientist called Alexanders just sighed and brought a holo screen to the front and the center.
"[Fate] is...The core dynamics of a world, it is what we think of when some terrible thing happens and somehow someone survives against all odds." Said the blonde man while showing a newspaper.
She didn't recognize the editorial or the place.
"This is an example from my home. This kid was in the middle of an earthquake that brought in a tsunami. Everyone in that area died." Said the blonde man while showing the image of a crying child.
You could almost feel the devastation in the image, houses were broken down, and cars moving along the stagnated water. There were dead bodies all around...
But in the middle was a crying child, without a single wound. The body of an older woman was near him, and she was full of wounds, but not even a speck of blood was on him.
"He pioneered the basis for search and rescue and saved many lives. He even lived to old age and had an extensive family that kept his heritage living. Making a foundation for saving lives all over the world...." Keep saying Alexanders while changing images to the said foundation.
From hospitals to ambulances to fire stations, and even rangers were showcased with the emblem of an earthquake and a tsunami.
"But he should be dead, by all metrics... He should have not survived that." Said with finality the blonde man.
"But...He did good...right?" Asked the blonde girl, not seeing the problem.
"Yeah, sure... If you look at the end result more lives were saved in the long run." Said the blonde man bringing up the statistics of all the lives he had saved during his life.
Millions upon millions of lives were saved because of his program.
"But even so...The price for his achievements were the lives of 32 million people." Spat the blonde man.
Granted, he had saved almost as twice that number...Surely with time that would only keep climbing...
"And 20 years after his death, his programs were split among the family, the only one keeping his spirit was the search and rescue one... " And so he showed the faces of a happy family on a boat, searching with care for survivors in the wreck of a flooded city.
"So for practical reasons, his program saved three times the amount of people that were sacrificed... Why? Because [Fate] either wanted to save someone in concrete... Or was bored. We would never know." He said while turning off the holoscreen.
She was quite sure that program and that man didn't exist in this world...
"And yes, this example isn't from this world before you ask. Is closer to my home, or to one of the worlds your mother passed by to be exact. Managed to get the address to this one out of her when she was drunk." Shrugged the blonde man.
That...That brought so many questions that it wasn't even funny.
Most important of all...Her mother drank beer?
That... She couldn't imagine the carefree image she had with one of a drunkard...
"And no, I will not show you the photos of that. I wish to keep my private parts in the same dimension as the rest of my body thank you very much." Answered to the question she hadn't asked the blonde man.
"So... Fate collected what...Good luck? Of everyone in that city and shoved it into one person to do his bidding?" Asked Elizabeth, she still couldn't imagine that.
Sacrificing a metropolis to save at best three times the number of people?
"In a nutshell? Yes. We don't know how it works. But we do know people with special abilities that show up from nowhere to make great things tend to be [Fate's Servants]." Said Alexanders while showing the images of Akira and Rena.
"And since those two awoke subset skills that easily. And one jumped almost 10 levels in such a short amount of time doing less than you...It's almost certain they are [Fate's Toys] even if not from this world. That boy reeks of [Fate]." Finished saying Alexanders.
"So...Then that means that Michael and Rossie are too?" Said Elizabeth remembering that there were two other people with similar titles to them.
"Sounds about right. The blue-haired brat didn't seem that tied with [Fate] so he might be okay so long he doesn't mingle with Akira... And your girlfriend doesn't even look at him...So she should be safe and under the umbrella of your protection..." Mumbled Alexanders.
But Elizabeth was busy thinking about something else.
Something her Mother had said before...
"Mother was right... Pink-haired girls are more problem than they are worth..." Always listen to your mother, was the important lesson she got out of this.
"Oh right, say Hi to Mama for me." Came to the voice of Alexanders from behind her.
There were two of them now?
The one in front was smirking as his figure dissipated...
At some point, he had turned on a holographic projector...
And so when she turned to his back to ask what he meant with that...
She found the blonde man was once again pointing at her with a cannon.
"Motherf...." Was all she could say before said cannon shot his load and she was ejected from her own [Soulscape].
She was going to find a way to manipulate this space to forbid the use of his powers...
Wait...How could that man use skills different from hers?
So he was indeed a foreign person in her soulscape...
She should ask Mother what was the deal with him...