"Haha~ Yeah, right." Hyuk laughed in response, but made a face after seeing that Adam's resolve. Was it just him who sensed animosity towards woman not too long ago? This was the same guy saying that?

He wanted to get married to a princess?

Was that a joke...?

"Wait... You're serious about this?" It was after an uncomfortable silence did Hyuk stand up. Being the straight man to Adam's chaotic nonsense. He was unable to believe this was the same guy as before.

The one who'd suspect an ant of hatching a conspiracy after stepping on it. The very same guy who kept going on and on about putting up defences against strangers. His house being made of traps.

"Hahaha! That's my disciple for you~! He's a damn ambitious one! Hahahaha!" Simon boasted loudly and completely destroyed the atmosphere. His voice was annoying. Like an insensitive uncle at a store.

"You should think about it. There's no way you have anything worth a marriage proposal." Sebastian chimed in with his own opinion. It wasn't like he wouldn't be happy for him, but realism was vital.

"Isn't my empty land enough?" Adam looked at his magic instructor. His words being optimistic, yet also purely realistic. After all, the land Gaia gave him was the only one the royal family didn't own.

Such a thing must be uncomfortable for them.

The easiest way to remedy this was tying the knot.

"If that was enough, anyone could gain their hand in marriage." Sebastian looked at this 'realistically' as well, but the difference between their opinions came from their understanding of their current world.

Maybe land wasn't that important in Sebastian's world, but it was crucial to the people of the Divine Realm. A sign of status and opportunity to grow their power. It was a treasure worth obsessing over.

"Hey, don't put him down. At least he has 'great ambition'. So let's help him out." Hyuk also didn't seem to understand the significance of land, but he looked confident that they can make it happen.

Regardless of if they had a trump card or not.

"Are you seriously going to get stronger via... that sex empowerment thing?" Sebastian frowned at both Hyuk and Adam. His eyes held an uncomfortable level of dissatisfaction. It made his landlord shiver.

He looked disgusted at the perverted duo.

"That's 'Dual Cultivation' to you! Don't look at me like that. I'm not a deviant. It's not a Demonic or Unorthodox Art!" Hyuk was saying to them as if trying to explain himself. The problem was that none of them knew what exactly he was talking about.

The only thing Sebastian knew was the basics.

Which is why he had enough knowledge to advise:

"Still... You should probably pick between cultivating Mana or Qi, rather than both at once." Sebastian was worried. The inherent nature of life force was utter chaos. Any power manifested from it was a danger.

Mastery could allow miracles, but any power derived from life energy required great care. Mishandling of such strength could lead to internal collapse. That was what worried Sebastian about Hyuk's method.

He didn't want to see anyone die. 

"Oh..." Hyuk, the lustful Martial King of the Murim Realm, at least agreed on that point. He had found after coming to this world that the nature of 'Mana' and 'Qi' differed. They should not be used carelessly.

One strictly obeyed the concepts of the world and turned them into 'attributes'. Strictly classifying them in vague terms (like how Shadow Magic was capable of creating black flames)... while the other was mostly affected by the mentality of the user.

The latter even imploding if not handled right.

When the topic started to shift towards 'misfiring magic' and 'heart devils', Adam started to give this some deeper thought. However, he couldn't really understand why they were fixated on this.

It wasn't like bad things would happen immediately.

"Are they really that different?"  Adam didn't seem to feel a sense of danger towards powers he'd never held before. It wasn't like he'd seen examples of things going wrong like his instructors did either.

Unknowingly heading towards a cursed path in life.

Misfortune brought by ignorance.

"...You really don't know the first thing about anything we talked about." Sebastian sighed and held his head in wonder. It was almost like Adam came from a world where 'magic' didn't exist.

His reaction was hard to explain otherwise.

Even a king of perversion like Hyuk looked embarrassed on Adam's behalf. None of them being aware that their assumption was the truth, and it would be crazy to think their student thought things through. All he wanted were short-term benefits.

"Alright, then what do YOU guys think is better for me?" Adam handed the problem over to them. There was no point arguing with experts of their field. The problem could be solved if they agreed to something.

"Mana." Sebastian made the choice.

"Qi." Hyuk's voice resounded simultaneously.

"Any." With Simon speaking last without much of a preference. He wasn't going to teach any abilities solely related to one type anyway. It didn't matter which he chose so long as it didn't harm his body.

Their opinions reached a standstill. 

The options were balanced.

However, the lack of enthusiasm to give him any particular suggestion garnered some attention from the others. It wasn't normal to not have a preferred type. They all couldn't figure the old drunkard out.

"Why any? Didn't you focus on martial arts before you got injured? Shouldn't you agree with me instead of being on the fence?" Hyuk tried to tip the scale in his favour, but Simon wouldn't budge.

Not caring for the handsome man's desperation.

"Martial Art, Smartial Farts... I don't give two shits about whether he becomes fighter or whatnot. My teachings only include some tricks. Once he learns those, he can be whatever he wants." Simon scoffed.

"Bro...!" Hyuk put his hand on his heart.

Unable to reject that reasoning.0

"And I'm not your 'Bro', pervert." Looked like Simon was also against Hyuk's way of cultivating strength via sex. Perhaps only Adam could appreciate such a convenient shortcut to gaining stable strength.

At least Simon wasn't that open about his opinion.

The drunken geezer hunched down with a stomachache after setting off sparks from eye-contact with Hyuk. Infighting wouldn't be good at all. Regardless, there was a statement the drunkard contributed that made sense to the rest of them:

"I think you should understand how to use your own little 'Innate Gift' before screwing around in martial arts." Simon shrugged and spoke lazily. These words sounded harsh to hear, but Adam accepted the words as they were. Knowing he meant nothing bad:

There was only one problem.

"My Gift is useless. 'Empty' just makes my Gift Slot empty. That's all it does." Adam rolled his bitter eyes. He expected a cheat, but all he got was the ability to 'not have an ability'. Such a useless power.

"...I think I know someone who can help." Simon finally raised his head off the sofa. After hesitating for a moment, he came to a decision. These words spoken carefully came out with a bit of hesitation.

"Who? And can you trust them?" Adam doubted.

"My other cute disciple is trustworthy enough. I might need to share some things about your powers and all. Are you alright with that?" Simon was being oddly reasonable as he was speaking about this.

Adam realised that he had to make a choice here.

"If it's your disciple, couldn't you teach me anything he knows?" He responded with caution. There was no way for Adam to know if he could trust this disciple Simon spoke of. Only that it could go wrong.

"My disciples other than you already knew how to take care of themselves. They also didn't come from my realm, so... Anyway, they know more about Innate Gifts than anyone he probably does." Simon started to elude to the nature of their own world.

How it centred around Gifts and the like...

Adam looked around and saw the other two nodding in response. Gifts were common in their world too even if not as valued. It was only Adam who seemed to know absolutely nothing regarding their nature.

"...Alright, but who are you going to call?"

"There's one disciple of mine who's in that 'Royal Palace' place over there. I don't know where the rest ran off to." Simon shrugged and pointed in a certain direction. He opened a beer can stolen from the fridge and took a sip. Keeping his mood stable.

Not wanting to go on a rampage again.

"Are they in this kingdom?" Adam raised a brow.

"Meh, probably. Were they? I can't remember when I got to this place." Simon scratched his head. There wasn't much a person could remember when they were constantly drunk and had such a personality.

One person suddenly stood up after hearing that.

"You didn't come here a few months ago like the rest?!" Sebastian seemed surprised about Simon's mysterious past. He thought they were the same in circumstance, but it looked like he was wrong.

Simon must have existed long before they did.

Was he an ancient entity?

"A few months ago? What? I don't get it..." The old geezer didn't seem to understand the significance of that event. Simon seemed to find it strange that they found 'a few months ago' so significant of an event.

Then again, a lot of ascenders appeared in that time.

The magician was thinking of all sorts of stuff.

"Was he some kind of drifter before coming here?" A thought came to Sebastian's mind. Unable to figure out what exactly Simon was. It didn't seem right to simply brush him off as 'one of them' at this point.

But that didn't make sense. 

Pandorica was a nation surrounded by the boundless reaches of the Dark Forest. That place was an entire ecosystem of dangerous creatures that had all sorts of lethal tactics. It was hard to live in such a place.

How could someone survive there? 

And why did his head hurt thinking about it?

The landlord was in a similar state thanks to hearing about it from the royal family. Adam felt like he was forgetting something crucial right now, but he couldn't put his finger on it. This was a surprise.

Who was this drunkard?

Sebastian being a magician from a certain realm of magic was obvious, and so was Kang Hyuk's origin from a realm of martial artists. There wasn't much to think about when it came to figuring their nature.

The only one who didn't make sense was Simon...

...but it didn't matter.

"Let's put that all aside. If you think that other 'cute disciple' of yours can help me, then you can tell him to come." Adam did not reject the offer. There was no point being uselessly paranoid about someone close to his 'mysterious' battle instructor anyway.

It was better to see if his Gift really had any uses.

Simon pulled out his phone and went to the side while the rest of them discussed about his training regimen. Sebastian and Hyuk weren't backing down on why they thought their 'foundation' was better.

The thing that Sebastian kept on bringing up was that 'Qi' was well-known for being unstable. If Adam failed to control his heart, then there was a high chance of being injured due to 'Qi Deviation'.

In fact, Sebastian had heard of many went insane after they tried to alter their techniques to become stronger. However, Hyuk didn't want to admit his defeat. While others might have that problem, Hyuk had read and become proficient in ALL sexual arts.

Even those of the Demonic and Orthodox side.

It meant that he was fully capable of stopping any kind of deviation so long as it was regarding his specialty.  Though he admitted that the only reason he broadened his skills... was because he almost died due to switching his 'Cultivation 'Techniques'.

This particular 'Martial King of Dual Cultivation' had a body with a mixture of Qi that wouldn't ever exist anywhere else. However, that still made Adam lean toward Sebastian. He simply liked studying more.

A less unstable power was worse than a stable one.

Adam didn't care if you got younger if you reached a certain point of Internal Qi. He was already an immortal. Unstable power would just cause him pain and might even destabilise his powers in worst case.

Though that made him remember a vital detail.

"Hey, how did you get an 'Imaginary Attribute'?" It was an important question in Adam's mind since talking earlier. After all, he wasn't going to pass up the bonuses Sebastian got by simply having it.

"...Honestly, I'm not that sure. Wizards in my world were just naturally born possessed by 'Imaginary Spirits'." The magician wanted to help, but he couldn't 'magically' give him an Imaginary Attribute.

"What about that Cat Zodiac?"

"It also possessed me without so much of a warning after I ascended. I can't teach you what I don't fully understand myself." Sebastian shrugged weakly at this point. He wasn't trying to be unhelpful to him.

There just wasn't much he could do.

Since this wasn't anything to go on in order to understand this part of his stats, Adam decided to give up on finding his 'Imaginary Attribute'. He'd put it aside until there was a realistic way to obtain one.

It's not like it was something he could ask for...

...was it?

"Wait, I am NOT a protagonist in this world, but I am close to Gaia. Will I get an Imaginary Attribute just by asking for it?" Adam thought. It seemed like constellations and entities like Gaia played a role.

He just didn't know how important they were.

Although this thought seemed absurd at first, Adam had felt stranger things happen to him over his time here. Gaia has always been unusually generous to him. He might have helped out her 'daughter' and everything, but the rewards were too good for him.

So why not try and take advantage of that?

Should he try saying it out loud at the very least?

"Hey, Gaia..." The start of Adam's words spoken aloud caught the two of them off-guard. Sebastian and Hyuk simply saw him talking to the ceiling out of nowhere. They somehow found it funny.

Adam ignored the embarrassment and just asked:

"...can I have an Imaginary Attribute? Please~" He made a twisted expression with pitiful eyes covered in shyness. The flurry of emotions going through him made him regret doing such a bold action. 

He wanted to hit himself.

At least, that was until his eyes became dumbfounded. Adam was rooted on the spot when he saw his stats start to change. Gaia had responded to his 'prayer' without even hesitating whatsoever.

The others only saw his change in expression.

Hyuk curiously called out: "What happened?"

Only to see the stupefied landlord turn his gaze and wave a finger, showing off the new messages. They also became dumbfounded when Adam's strange action lead to results. Especially in Sebastian's eyes.

It didn't make sense...

[You have been recognised by an Imaginary Spirit.]

['Mother Nature' asks what took you so long.]

[You have now inherited a complete 'Divinity'.]

[You have gained the Imaginary Attribute: 'Gaia'.]

[The user is already in possession of the 'Wood' Attribute. Synchronisation rate has heightened by synergy. Evolution parameters are hit. The system is now undergoing a change to improve user's Skills.]

[Your new 'Unique Skill' is being formed.]

[Attributes of 'Yin', 'Blood', and 'Space' has been implemented into the creation of the new Skill. An awakening is formed. Evolutionary parameters are altered. A new path is being formed by the user.]

[Unique Skill: 'Spirit Affinity' is being altered.]

[Skill creation is commencing...]

[Synchronisation and skill creation complete.]

[You've obtained the Unique Skill: 'Father Nature'.]

[Description: The user's affinity with spiritual entities and nature has increased. Any 'Territory' you own has now become part of you spiritually. Taking care of your land shall also boost your health and magical prowess. Your land is now also your body.]

The eyes of his instructors turned into saucers.

"Ummm... Can I have one too? Pretty please~ And I want it to be cool too." Hyuk's words were met with silence. Nothing happened in response to any of his pleas. An uncomfortable feeling enveloped them.

His shamelessness was embarrassing to look at.

Sebastian ignored how the pitiful pervert, who was begging for an Imaginary Attribute of his own, and spoke to Adam first. He decided to put aside the strange nature of this occurrence. It was too crazy.

"Congrats." Sebastian scratched his head.

"Thanks... I wasn't expecting this." Adam grinned.

"Do you feel any changes?" He asked with curiosity.

"You wouldn't believe it even if I told you." Adam could somehow feel his body was 'bigger' than his mortal shell. Almost like he had become the land itself... He could distinctly sense the people within his land. Those ascenders that he'd gave refugee to.

Even their stats couldn't be hidden in his eyes.

However, Adam also felt barren and empty at the same time. He'd neglected management of his territory. It felt like there was now an itch that needed to be scratched. Like he hadn't bathed.

He couldn't help this instinctual feeling.

Almost like the desire to improve carved into him.

Simon came back and looked befuddled by how Hyuk seemed to be praying out loud to the world of Gaia... and he pretty much ignored him to pass the phone. A virtual screen popped up that introduced this disciple Simon was talking about earlier.

The redhead with a slick outfit and somewhat spiky hair talked while wearing a strange beast mask. A smile curved on the exposed lower half of the man's face. He seemed happy to meet a junior apprentice.

"I've heard about you, my fellow disciple of the same mentor." Shane Goldsmith gave him a look. One could tell he was in the imperial palace, and judging from his room, he had a high position of authority.

Adam found this situation to be interesting, at least.

"You can call me 'Adam'." He said with ease.

"Then you can call me 'Shane'. I'm sorry but I peeked at those messages. Is it true that you've actually inherited a slight amount of Divinity?" Shane was also looking astounded by his junior's nature.

Getting some 'Divinity' by simply asking for it.

"Well..." Adam had recently inherited the complete package out of nowhere, but he found no reason to tell him that. He'd already hidden his stats at this point and hoped Shane wouldn't remember all of it.

"You don't have to hide it from me. I'm a lot like you." The slick samurai acted like a kindred spirit in essence. Even though he could tell from the beast mask that they were nothing alike on the surface.

"Before you say we're similar to each other. What IS this 'Divinity'?" Adam found this new term to be a first. The royal family didn't give him any books to read about it, nor did Hyuk and Sebastian get it.

"Exactly as it sounds. A boon from a God."

"You mean like the G.O.D. God... or Zeus?"

"Neither. I'm not saying Greek Gods are not considered Gods, but they aren't the type of Gods that can give Divinity." Shane seemed more knowledgeable of this subject than even his master.

"Then what's the requirement?" Adam had to ask.

"I'll tell you later. Just know that they need to be in a state of 'between the real and imaginary' or someone who ascended to Godhood to create their own Attribute." Shane said. The latter half new to Adam.

"Then what are you saying now?"

"I'd heard all about your little plan to marry a princess. You have some balls, I tell you that. My master couldn't stop laughing." Even now, Shane brought up his Simon was in a rare good mood.

"..." Did that geezer really have to tell him everything? Now Adam felt embarrassed by it. He hadn't expected his plans to be leaked so early. The preparations for attaining it hadn't been finished.

"Was that too much?" Adam looked like he cared.

"It was... but there ARE some pros you have that nobody else does. I'll put in a good word, but we'll have to see if you'll pass 'his' conditions and get into the marriage interview." Shane let out a sigh.

"..." Adam scratched his head and didn't respond.

"Though there is ONE way to make things certain."

"Really?" It was finally Adam's hour of triumph.

"But you'll have to make a decision here. There's no going back after this is done." Shane said deeply with the intent to make things aboveboard and official. It looked like the imperial family had a situation.

"...Is it a dangerous plan?" Adam spoke up calmly.

"Not really. You know... If I tell 'him' about your Divinity, Ramos will marry his sister off even he doesn't want to. That's how important your power is to him." Shane didn't seem to be hiding anything.

Although the middle part felt like he was coercing him, Adam thought about that recent incident. How he was casually captured by his enemies... Although using that detail to get the upper hand wouldn't be morally upright, but he was desperate for safety.

Wanting nothing more than security for his life.

That's why he needed all the advantages he could.

"Tell him..." Adam decided to make the decision. The look of the man seemingly understood him. That was probably why he said nothing to stop him. After the call was cut, Shane held the phone and knew that this decision wasn't against his junior's interests.

Ramos would be happy to get Adam's support.

He just felt pity for the two princesses.

After all, one of them would likely have no choice but to be married off to his 'fellow disciple' at this point.

It was especially concerning now. Especially after...

...he heard of the nature of Adam's 'Innate Gift'.