Planet Earth - Core

-=  MC's Point of View =-

[ WARNING! ]

[ By using the cursed item willingly, the host's intelligence has been limited severely. ]

[ Currently the item blocks out 99.999999---% of the host's brain power, it is estimated that host's current intelligence is only slightly above average humans. ]

[ The item's capacity was set the maximum, It is extremely advisable for the host to lower the setting immediately. ]

"Hmm, It feels truly nostalgic."

I said slowly as I read the notification from the system. I just used one of the items I invented in the past to lower my intelligence back all the way down to human level.

It was in the shape of a white ring that I wore on the index finger of my left hand. Initially it was actually black but after I calibrated it to the maximum it turned completely white. I made it like that so that it can give me an idea about its setting by only looking at its colour.

Although I didn't expect it to glow too. I guess the load was too high for it to only express it in colour. But other than that it works perfectly fine.

"U-Umm..."

As I was observing the holy-like item in my finger, I noticed that Angel was for some reason fidgeting nervously by my side. I raised my brows at her.

"My lord, isn't that the... umm."

"This? Yes, it's the Mind Limiter. So you know about it?"

"Of course my lord! There is no one of us who doesn't know about it! But isn't it only reserved for the most doomed scientist c-criminals?"

She said flustered as her purple eyes trembled in confusion. That's right, this item was usually given forcefully to the worst scientists who violated my laws. I call them scientists because I created them to be just that, scientists. And there is nothing more painful to a scientist than lowering their intelligence.

Not even death can come close to that punishment in their view. And if they dared to remove it even for a second, then they'll be reported by that same ring and get killed in sight by the guards. Truly an ingenious item if I say so myself.

"Angel, you know."

I said as I turned my back on her and looked at my thousands of years worth of work through the antimatter window.

"There is something that I just really wanted to try. In fact, it was actually part of the reason I built all of this and created you guys in the first place. Other than wanting a base that is."

*Clank*

"That! I'm afraid I can not even hope to imagine it, my lord."

As I turned towards her, Angel immediately dropped to one of her knees as she bowed in respect to me. I have long since grown used to those kind behaviours and fanatical worship they seem to harbour towards myself.

I'm their literal God after all. So the least I can do for them is to take complete responsibility and accept their reverence towards me, their creator. Although, it kinda feels awkward now that I restricted my intelligence all the way back to human levels.

Do the other Gods or Shinki feel the same? At that time I couldn't tell but now I'm pretty sure she's been lowering her brain power similarly the entire time she was interacting with me and the others back in Gensokyo.

She's most likely using one of her wings or all of them as some kind of limiter.

Otherwise, she won't be able to express the wide variety of expressions that she had shown so far and will also not hold any kind of trivial feelings like affection towards me or anything actually for that matter.

Too much intelligence is really no joke. Because at a certain point, you simply won't be capable of being influenced by mundane and mortal things like feelings or emotions etc.

That's why right now it is actually strangely nostalgic to be able to feel everything once again like in the past.

'I might get addicted to this.'

I thought with joy as I looked again at the glowing ring on my finger.

"Well... *Smirk* I guess it's finally the time to pull out some of the best smurfing stories in all of existence."

I said with genuine excitement as I looked forward to the future.

"Smurfing?"

I ignored Angel as I looked at one of the achievements I got from the system recently.

------------------------------

[ Achievement! ]

[ Rank : Unknown ]

[ Condition : Become the smartest God in the multiverse. ]

[ Reward : 'System Hacker' Title ]

------------------------------

[ Title : System Hacker ]

[ Grants : Trait ]

[ Description : By mastering the knowledge of the Ninth dimension, the host achieved a bit of understanding about the system and its workings. ]

[ As a reward, the root of existence grants the host the ability the bypass all limitations of any skills or traits he has as long as it's effects doesn't breach the Tenth Dimension. ]

[ WARNING! ]

[ If the host was deemed unworthy and by extension dangerous, then the host will be banned from existence. ]

[ Not equipped by default. ]

------------------------------

'Yeah, I became pretty damn smart alright. Probably the smartest in existence.'

[ Notification! ]

[ There are still many entities smarter than the host in the multiverse. ]

[ The host is only considered as the smartest amongst the beings classified as Gods, so entities like One-Above-All are still smarter than the host. ]

[ And many more in higher dimensions too. ]

'Damn you, I didn't need to know that…'

I groaned internally, my mood suddenly turned sour not even one minute after I regained my emotions. Why does the damn system have to ruin everything at the perfect moment every time?

I suddenly feel like wanting to beat something...

'Oh right! there is actually something that can help me with that!'

I bumped my fist on my other palm as I remembered something VERY important. I blinked my eyes bankly before walking towards Angel and abruptly put my hand on her left shoulder.

"!"

She flinched in her place before looking hesitantly at my face.

"Angel, before we go to Gensokyo… wanna go somewhere with me real quick?"

I said that with a smile as her face suddenly turned pale.

"W-Where are we going my lord?"

She said fearfully for some reason, like more than usual. Is there something on my face right now?

"We're gonna go beat some ass."

"A…ass? What-"

Without waiting for her to finish, I suddenly turned around while my left hand was still on Angel's armoured shoulder before I positioned my right leg backward as if I was about to kick the air in front of me.

"Goodbye, bitch~"

Then without wasting any time I put some God Ki energy on it and I immediately kicked out using 100% of my full physical power.

*Tsu*

And just before my terrifying kick reached the perfect hit angle I immediately used Instant Transmission and instead of air my literal death foot struck a very soft ass that suddenly caused its owner to disappear before they EVEN registered what happened. Like totally erased.

This all happened before light even reached my eyes as numerous notifications immediately popped from the system.

------------------------------

[ Achievement! ]

[ Rank : SSS ]

[ Condition : Kill 'The Ultimate, Absolute Secret God'. ]

[ Reward : 100,000,000,000 SP ]

------------------------------

[ Achievement! ]

[ Rank : SSS+ ]

[ Condition : Kick a Goddess out of existence. ]

[ Reward : 'Ass Handler' Title ]

------------------------------

[ Title : Ass Handler ]

[ Grants : Trait ]

[ Description : While hitting an ass, the host's damage will increase exponentially. ]

[ If the host is stronger than the target then the target will unconditionally die. ]

[ If the the target is a female then her soul will also be destroyed in the process. ]

[ Equipped by default. ]

------------------------------

'Wait-'

"Oh shit! Deactivated that thing effective immediately!"

[ Affirmative! ]

[ 'Ass Handler' title was disabled successfully. ]

I sighed nervously as I confirmed that the title was safely unequipped, why does that thing even exist in the system? Killing my girls AND destroying their souls as an accident is not funny.

'Ah, But I feel totally refreshed now. Hitting that squishy ass was satisfying to the highest degree.' *Smirk*

"M-My lord? Where are we?"

It seems Angel didn't notice what happened as she was looking around at the golden void and the doors with a frown on her face. I probably used too much strength on that one if she didn't even SEE the Goddess at all.

"E-Eh?!"

"W-Who are you two?! Where is Okina-sama?!"

It seems the two little girls that were serving that Goddess finally registered what happened as they screamed at us with terrified expression on their faces.

It would be a waste to just kill them and I can also feel that she was controlling them with that same mind control ability that she used on me back then. So I just ordered Angel to take them with us for now.

"Angel, capture them alive."

When she heard my order, Angel stopped glaring at the two girls before she suddenly disappeared and appeared behind one of them.

"Wha-"

"Ah!"

Angel's hand blurred for a moment as she knocked her unconscious before carrying her like a sack of potato and then doing the same thing with the other one.

"It's done, my lord."

I nodded towards Angel who was now carrying both girls on her shoulders before teleporting all of us back to the base.

'Well, I guess it's now about time we go to Gensokyo.'

---

Gensokyo - Kourindou

-= Rinnosuke Morichika's Point of View =-

...It's cold. A chill not of this world has settled within the walls of my store.

I have a heater placed at the centre. It's an essential item for getting through Gensokyo's harsh winter. It was dangerously close to becoming no more than a mere decoration this year, but I got it working again somehow.

...But it's still cold. And when I say cold, I mean the entire shop is freezing.

This heater is from the outside world and it usually gives off an unbelievable heat, bathing the room in the glow of the outside world's flame. There's no way it should be this cold. Normally.

But... It's cold. And that is naturally because the shop has been full of phantoms since this morning. The temperature of phantoms is extremely low, you see. My store was engulfed in that otherworldly and ghostly light. This light would reflect off of the snow through the window and give a phantasmal mood to the whole place, as if contrasting to the very real light from the heater.

Unfortunately, I don't have any ability that would allow me to hear the voices of phantoms. As much as I want, I can't find out what these countless phantoms' purpose is. It's just not my specialty.

...But if it stays this cold, I don't think I'll be able to get through the winter. So, even though it might be somewhat of an extreme measure, maybe I should ask a specialist to perform a phantom extermination. As for why I think it's an extreme measure, I don't sense any ill will from these phantoms.

Since going all the way to the shrine is a nuisance, I tried to communicate with a bored-looking phantom in the shop by telling it to go to the shrine and call the shrine maiden. Well, I guess it was a silly idea, considering that I wanted it to call Reimu here so she can exterminate them.

However, said bored phantom happily replied (and by that, I mean it moved its head part up and down) and flew off. It seems they can hear my voice at least. Honestly, these phantoms are very nice and cheerful types. If they weren't so cold, that would be even better.

A phantom's chill can actually be helpful, mainly in summer. During hot summer nights, humans would gladly look for phantoms in order to cool themselves, in what are called "tests of courage". That's the reason why they are more commonly done in summer.

All living things have their own living temperatures. Humans and youkai are the same in this aspect. On the other hand, objects always assume the temperature of their surroundings. But phantoms are cold, unlike both living things and objects. Maybe that is how phantoms assert themselves.

Ding-a-ling.

"What happened that would make you call for help like that, Mr. Rinnosuke?"

Reimu has arrived. It seems that the phantom accomplished its task.

"What do you mean? I thought you would be able to tell just by looking at the situation. I wanted you to exterminate – or rather, drive away – all these phantoms."

"Phantoms? Well, there have been a lot of them lately. The shrine is full of phantoms, too. They're such a bother..."

Was she trying to imply something like "I can't exterminate phantoms myself?"

"It gets cold here with all of them around."

"Well, that's because they're phantoms, after all. But before driving them away, maybe you should figure out why they gathered here in the first place?"

"...But it's cold. I'd rather investigate after the room gets a little warmer."

"Is that how it is? I doubt you'll find a way to get rid of them if you don't get to the root of the problem."

As Reimu spoke, she prepared some amulets. Phantom-warding talismans, perhaps?

"I'll put up some amulets, just to give you peace of mind."

"Thank you. But taking such an indirect approach isn't like you. Do you dislike dealing with phantoms?"

"What I do is youkai extermination. And phantoms are not youkai."

Reimu just stuck some amulets around the shop and went back. And in fact, it did seem like the phantoms couldn't get close to them. However, the range of the amulets was far too small. The shop's interior was just as full of phantoms as before. They were almost useless when spread out like that, so I rearranged some of the amulets closer to me, my bed, and the more valuable merchandise.

"..."

I can't sleep, those amulets are indeed keeping the phantoms away but the cold is still there. At this rate I might even freeze to death in my sleep.

With a sigh I reluctantly got out of my bed and then out of the shop. If the heater is not enough then I'll simply do it the old fashioned way, I will gather some wood to burn in the furnace. That should help fight the cold and decrease the chance of me becoming a human shaped ice sculpture in my bed when the morning comes.

"It's really cold."

The night is freezing, I also can't see anything in the dark beyond a few metres from the lantern in my hand. Because of that I decided to quickly get to the pile of wood I gathered beforehand for the winter and strapped it to my back. I then took the lantern and was about to walk back to my house before…

*Step* *Step*

I froze, I heard footsteps coming from the distance. Who would be walking in this blizzard this deep in the night? From the direction of the sounds, they are probably coming from the village's direction. A human? But why in this time and weather? Is he perhaps lost or something?

As many thoughts flashed in my head, the one in question or rather the two humans finally entered the range of my lantern. I moved it up to take a better look at them. They were a man and a girl. I can't see much in this blizzard but I can at least say that they are both stunningly beautiful.

"Hello there you two, what are you doing here at this time and in such a dangerous weather?"

I greeted and asked them at the same time, when they heard me they stopped for a moment before the man said in a very calm tone.

"Hmm nice to meet you, me and my companion here are looking for a place to spend the winter."

What.

"A place to spend the winter? Are you two homeless or something?"

I said, concerned about their status, being homeless in this weather is a fast ticket to the afterlife for humans. The girl suddenly frowned as the man looked amused at my words.

"Not really, we're just some travellers that recently came from the outside world. I guess we are what you guys would call Outsiders?"

Outsiders? That explains their strange clothes. This is a golden chance for me to learn more about the outside world from them. They said they are even travellers so they might know more than the average Outsider, I must do whatever I can to get them to stay with me.

"I see, then how about you come to my place? My house is close by and I live there alone so you guys are welcome to spend winter there."

The man looked a bit surprised as he raised his brows a bit. And the girl just kept glaring at me for some reason. What is her deal?

"Really? That's very generous of you. But we will have to disagree, we don't really want to burden you."

"I insist, the name's Rinnosuke Morichika by the way. Nice to meet you."

I smiled and extended my hand toward him for a handshake. He looked at it for a few seconds before he sighed and shook it with his right hand.

"If you say it that way then I can't really say no, now can I? The name's Killua. Thanks for having us Mr. Morichika."

"Rinnosuke, just Rinnosuke is fine. And the lady is…"

"Hmph."

I trailed as I looked at the beautiful girl next to him, but she just ignored me as she turned her head away.

"I apologise Mr. Rinnosuke, don't mind Angel. She's always like that with new people. Right Angel?"

When he called her, the girl suddenly became flustered as she fidgeted nervously before glaring daggers at me and saying in a very extremely awkward manner.

"...I'm Angel. Nice… to meet you damn insec-"

"Ahem! Anyway, shall we move along Mr. Rinnosuke? It seems this blizzard is starting to worsen."

"Oh yes, I almost forgot! This way. Please follow me."

I then turned around and led them back to my house. I wonder how many secrets I'll learn about the outside world this time? Oh, I can't wait to hear some stories from them. I'm sure Marisa and Reimu would love to hear them too.

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Hi guys. I got some free time so I wrote a chapter for you.

Feedback would be appreciated :]

(PS: That kick was satisfying as hell to write haha.)