readbooksol Chapter 166: Care for some Tea?
Chapter 166: Care for some Tea?
Perhaps for the first time Zyrus was unsure on what to choose. Some inheritances were easy to eliminate since they clashed with the void laws, such as the Infallible Body and Astral Ascension.
Be it fusing his soul into his body or burning away his flesh and blood to nourish his soul, neither of them were suitable for him. The void body refinement technique he was working on focused on the laws of Void and concept of erasure. It was apparent that it would have negative synergy with Infallible body.
‘Astral Projection is even less suitable. My Sylvarix bloodline and blood fusion talent would be lost if I choose that.’
Zyrus sat down on a random prying mat and shared his intention to close information on the introductory notes. As if the two coffins had sentience of their own, they started to dim down in his vision. Now, there were seven options left. Which was also the most difficult part.
Seal of Subjugation and Formless Hand were the next that he chose to leave out. He didn’t lack followers with his crown’s authority, his class, and even the title contributing to this aspect. Telekinesis would be a great option for someone like an archer or a pure mage, yet for him its utility was limited. Most crucial was the fact that neither would have as good a synergy with void laws compared to the remaining options.
‘Sovereign’s Might and Mark of Slaughter are the most practical options.’
Having one more domain was always better. Zyrus was also quite interested in the soul command mentioned in the sovereigns’ might. Mark of Slaughter was even simpler yet incredibly powerful. The last thing he lacked was enemies to kill. Apart from the above aspects, the best thing about these two paths of inheritances was their progression. For Zyrus, he could just follow his plans and his progress in both would be exceptional.
‘If not for them not having any particular synergy with void laws, I would have chosen one of the two.’
He once again shared his intention, and now, only three introductory notes were left. But now, he was stumped. Even with all his intelligence and a millennium’s worth of experience he wasn’t sure which inheritance would be the best.
All of them had great synergy with the law of Void and concepts related to it. Myriad lives was about splicing up one’s soul and attaching it to various creatures and objects to understand their existence. This would be a good match for him as he was walking on the path of erasing things from existence.
Chant of Serenity would work on a similar wavelength since serenity could be interpreted as erasing other emotions and desires. Once again something Zyrus believed he was good at. The key aspect here were the words ‘Immune to illusions and unbreakable under spiritual assault.’ At the moment he knew few things related to soul. Having this inheritance would make up for that flaw and improve his defense against unknown enemies.
Last one was the Heavenly Eyes. Was there even a need to think further about Omniscience and Absolute perception? Without a doubt this was the best inheritance for an arcanist.
Just as Zyrus was racking his head over what to choose, his nose caught the scent of a refreshing aroma. It was almost as if his intelligence had gained a buff.
“Ho..hoo…Care for some tea?” A booming voice echoed throughout the hall. Judging from the stone arm that was holding a tiny cup, Zyrus realized the latter’s identity.
“I thought you were…well, imprisoned in the first ring.” Zyrus picked up the cup from Grokthar’s hand and took a gentle sip. Indeed, the tea brewed by an elder soul was worth its reputation.
“Hoh…imprisoned. You could say that, though there’s more than what meets the eye. I’m more curious about you.” Grokthar sat down on the mat besides him and began to chat like an old man. The two talked about what they were up to in the sanctuary. No matter how Zyrus probed he didn’t get the answer on what was the history and purpose of elder souls. Thus, he focused on other things. Such as the fact that it was possible to team up with elder souls.
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“Are you saying there’s an item that would allow me to form a party of sorts? How is it different from recruiting soldiers?”
“Hmph, don’t mix us elder souls with those riffraff. Our tasks are much more difficult and crucial compared to theirs.”
“Are you here for a mission then?” Zyrus asked as he wanted to know more about what would happen after he caused a dungeon break, yet what he got was a strange look from the stone golem.
“What makes you think I’m not here for the inheritance?”
“Makes sense I suppose. Mind telling me more about them?”
“Haha…that would be pointless. Do not underestimate yourselves. The traitor you’re looking for has inherited two of them. He had almost succeeded in----ugh. Damn. Can’t say more. Well, I’ll leave you to your devices then.”
Zyrus didn’t know who had stopped Grokthar and why they did so. All of his thoughts were focused on the first half of the sentence.
He took a deep breath and steadied his heart. It couldn’t be helped that he had lost his composure in front of these inheritances. No matter what rule there was, the prerequisite for that was strength. If he became strong and capable enough then who would stop him?
Rather than treating this as a life altering choice, Zyrus decided to think as if he could choose whatever he wanted. The question now was which inheritance he wanted right now.
He once again shared his intention, and now, only one introductory note was left from the original nine.
| Heavenly Eyes |
Spread your soul outward to gain the power of absolute perception. You will become an omniscient entity capable of observing all realms.
Entry level: Learn how to enhance perception. Progress based on observed things.
Zyrus raised his hand towards the note that had materialized in front of him. The moment his claw touched its surface, a new surge of information flooded his mind.
…
A day later.
Once again, Zyrus was standing at the entrance of the dungeon pathways. Despite the short time a lot had changed in the past twenty-four hours. He had learned the most basic technique, and yet, its effects were anything but negligible.
His range of vision had always been good as a Sylvarix, and after improving his perception he could now perceive whatever his eyes saw. There was almost no difference whether he was observing something from one or a hundred meters.
‘And to think all of this is achieved just by making threads from mental power.’
He hadn’t even learned how to locate his soul or anything related to it. But as much as he was looking forward to testing out and improve his new powers, there was something more important to do.
It was time to finish the mission.
Zyrus channeled his mana into the parchment in his hand, yet unlike before, he wasn’t teleported without a clue.
‘I was skeptical about how I escaped in the middle of the mission, so that’s how it worked.’
This wasn’t a game after all. How could one just return to Streit Bastion from across the universe? The holographic screen before him answered this question.
It was, for all intents and purposes, a screen similar to auto save in games. He was so focused on the spatial technologies of the Streit bastion that he had overlooked another law at play – the Law of time.
In front of his yellow eyes were three different options; all of which accelerated time by varying degrees. It was incredibly difficult to go back in time, but the same couldn’t be said for the future. It was within one’s powers to go into the future by approaching the speed of light. The faster you are, the slower time becomes from your perspective.
Time itself didn’t exist from the perspective of light. In the case of the plains of Ilios, all of his traces were erased with the powers of spacetime. His influence over the world was negated as even the desert he had conquered was once again populated by new creatures.
‘So this is the price I have to pay.’
It was similar to restarting the game. Unless he did something that had long-lasting impacts, exiting from the stage would be a waste of resources.
‘Fast forwarding time should be useful for escaping or deploying some plans that would take too long to complete.’
Of course, there should be a limit to that. He didn’t know much about the contradictions of time acceleration, yet the three options in front of him proved their difficulty. The range of time he could choose were 1,5, and 10 years ahead from the point he had left.
‘Let’s start with the safest option.’
[You have selected a timeline]
[Accelerating time by 1 year]
[Note: The projected timeline is just a simulation. It is possible that the reality might not be as per the prediction]
Zyrus made the final selection, and with a green flash of light he was teleported back to the Plains of Ilios.