The gentle rumbling continues for a long minute, but nothing visible happens, so we just wait.

Roxanne stares at the psychedelic mini-moon, entranced by its beauty. "Say, Aoi, aren't these orbs suspiciously similar to how you use your ball of conjured water?" She wonders out loud.

Aoi raises her nonexistent eyebrows in confusion. "Are you talking about their round shape?" She answers through [Bind] because the string going down her throat makes it hard to speak.

"No, you silly-…!" Roxanne grumbles and flashes a glare. "The way you and the Symbols use these orbs is similar. Even the fact that it floats behind you is similar."

"Oh… yes, I guess that's true…"

Aoi stands up and begins walking closer to the mini-moon, but then the spirit elemental sees the orb inside her stomach break, and we hear the dulled sound of glass shattering.

"Ah~… ah~… ahn~…!" Aoi moans repeatedly as her body absorbs the magical glass dust that the orb instantly turned into.

The mini-orgasm quickly subsides, and she spits out the string, then we watch her closely for a minute, but she doesn't seem to be experiencing any negative side effects from what just happened.

"Can I swallow an orb…?" Roxanne suddenly asks, her thin tail tense with desire, and Ciel also starts feeling things she isn't proud of.

But Lina gives them both a judgmental look that smothers their depravity a fair bit. "Really…?" The little gloomy girl mumbles flatly.

"We can save them for later…" The thirsty succubus asserts, then orders the golems to collect the orbs and keep them safe.

"Are these orbs mana solidifications?" Jarn questions our guides, who, for the first time, don't jump at the sound of her robotic dual voice.

"No, but they're pretty unstable, and they generally don't survive [Item Box] or [Gate]," Lolo kindly explains.

"Some people pay a few silver for each one brought back, but I think that's hardly enough to justify the effort for nobles like you," Nikolas dryly adds.

Hmm…

I pull out a simple wooden box and use [Telekinesis] to put a small orb inside it, then I put the box back into my "Items."

Nothing happens, so I pull out the box again, and the orb seems to be perfectly fine.

I fucking love cheating.

I pull out more boxes and hand them to the golems so that they can separate the orbs into groups stable enough that they won't suddenly blow up from a simple bump.

With the thirsty girls appeased, I turn my attention back to the mini-moon and ask out loud, "Okay, now what…?" Then Jarn relays my question.

"Things start to get weird here," Lolo replies with a smirk.

"They haven't already?" Jarn perfectly deadpans, but the bunny girl has no comment.

Nikolas turns his red eyes to the Templars. "You pious people should know about the ultimate goal for all humanoids, right?"

"Yes. It's to level up, become stronger, and also grow as people, becoming a better version of ourselves. That's Ascension," Timas politely responds.

Then he turns his stern stare to the golem bimbo. "That's the whole point of these 'trials,' to guide us towards Ascension, and that orb should be full of godly power, which you'll have to extract, somehow. We never saw it in person, but we heard that it causes hallucinations, so be careful with that."

"Any pointers on how to 'extract' this power?" Jarn flatly adds.

The two guides share an awkward look.

"That 'swirling liquid' inside the orb isn't raw mana, so you should be able to separate it from the 'godly power,'" Lolo hesitantly suggests.

"[Alchemy]?" Roxanne blurts out, her horns suddenly looking quite sharp from her excitement, and Jarn echoes her question.

The pale rabbit absentmindedly rolls up one of her floppy ears as she considers, "That could work, but if you take too long, a Symbol with a hint of godly power should appear, and keeping your orb untouched will help you a lot in defeating it."

"Is it a God-Ruler-level Symbol?" Lina worriedly questions.

The duo chuckle softly, then Nikolas sighs tiredly as he runs his fingers through his furry tail while Lolo kindly points out, "Well, not exactly, since nobody but the emperor would be able to defeat one…"

I scratch my chin with a claw as I ponder. This orb triggers our [Sense Mana] because it's similar to raw mana, but not quite the same, so could it be affected by [Redirect Mana]?

Then Roxanne and I share an excited look while the rest of the girls frown in concern.

These scientific questions must be answered!

Hana can easily "pull out" the "liquid" from the orb, but it comes out as physical matter, except for the green, gray, white, and black colors, which all turn into a toxic mist, especially that last one.

Technically, the orb is under her control, so trying to use [Redirect Mana] on it will cause a Warped Reality event, and those are never fun.

"I can just put it down, it's fine…" Hana calmly assures us, yet she cries internally at her loss of "power."

I search for an alternative, then I spot one of the boxes of small orbs…

"Don't break them…" Aoi whines bashfully, taking a note from Alissa and Lina on how to be cute.

"I'll be as careful as I can," I soothingly reply as I magically pull out one orb, but she isn't completely appeased.

Roxanne and I sit down in front of each other, then we stare intensely at the orb full of light blue swirling "fluid."

I move her points around and put twenty of them in [Alchemy], bringing it to 20+10 (added points plus trained points), then she extends her hand towards the orb and activates [Extract Ichor], but it instantly fails.

She tries [Extract Pus], [Transmute], and [Duplicate] in sequence, but they all also fail just like the first one, puzzling as well as irritating her.

"I think it's because this stupid blue jizz doesn't stop moving," she harshly complains, her dagger-tail pointing at it threateningly.

I take over and use [Redirect Mana] on it, trying to get it to remain still.

The swirling noticeably slows down, and I feel that I've managed to attain a weak "grasp" on it. The problem is that this skill requires my spirit to have direct contact with the orb, so my MP is being drained at about five points per second, which is annoyingly high.

Applying my "Willpower" to slow the fluid down further seems to work, but it's mentally tiring and doesn't even stop it completely, so we brainstorm a better way to do this.

"Didn't you, like, chant when you did that cool thing with pure Light mana back in Legado?" She curiously questions me.

I snort and retort, "It didn't exactly help the mana stop; it just guided it where we wanted as we cast a pseudo-spell."

But she just grins. "Maybe you can chant something to make it stay still, then."

Right, chanting is like a "mental attunement" that helps spells become more powerful, so this could work…

"This is water, though, so it's your specialty," I point out and push the orb towards her.

She pouts and adjusts her glasses, displeased that she'll actually have to put some effort into this. "Fine, I'll do it all myself…!"

I smile warmly at her and give her five points in [Redirect Mana] so that it's at 5+1, which is equal to my level and also the maximum since I'm the skill's creator.

"How about using [Godly Language]?" Yunia suddenly suggests.

The rest of the girls give her a concerned look. She doesn't really know the side-effects of altering reality with that skill.

But then she elaborates further, "Can't you use it in a 'small dose' just to help you learn what that 'divine power' is supposed to be like?"

"That's more doable," I hum back and pick another orb.

My [Godly Language] is at 30+5, but adding more points starts giving diminishing returns, so I think this skill level is enough.

"Show me your 'godly power,'" I order while using the skill, and the faintly glowing orb suddenly dims, but then a little dot of sparkly light comes out of it and hovers before my eyes.

Cool…

"What's the difference between this 'godly power' and [Light Magic]?" I ask out loud.

Ciel sits down beside me and watches the sparkly dot intensely, trying to grasp all of the information that she can from this weird phenomenon. She quickly becomes enamored by it due to its concentrated "divine allure," and after a moment of admiration, she finally remembers to answer my question, "You channel the Gods' powers through 'Piety,' your understanding of their wishes, while [Light Magic] lets you shape that power to your will, but it becomes tainted by your perception. On the other hand, this…" -She points to the little star- "is just like a dungeon core, 'pure divinity.'"

Suddenly, the dot is snuffed out, and the glow returns to the orb, then the feedback hits us.

 

I blink blankly, suddenly finding myself laying on my back, then I groan along with the other girls as nausea washes over us. My muscles whine that this was very much an unfun test, and I swear I hear a bonk as a horrible headache flares but goes away after a few seconds.

Then I sit up just in time to see the sparkly dust of the broken orb fade away.

Well, I guess we aren't repeating that one…

Everyone drinks an MP potion, and the discomfort quickly fades.

"I admit I underestimated the feedback from this accursed skill," Yunia bitterly confesses.

"Alright, Ciel, what did you see?" I slowly question, still recovering.

"Uuh~…" She mumbles absentmindedly, then leans against me and rests her head on my shoulder. "I'm not sure, so I'll need to think about this thoroughly, though I'm sure it's exactly like a mini dungeon core…"

"It did seem like the 'divine power' was just another 'fluid,' but invisible and glowing," Lina wisely suggests.

"Let's just name this fluid elemental pseudo-mana or divine pseudo-mana," I declare.

Hana approaches her orb and frowns as she wonders, "How could a dumb adventurer extract divine pseudo-mana without all of our cheats?"

"They'd have a lot of trouble with just getting the balance perfect, to begin with," Alissa points out.

And I affirm as I scooch closer to Roxanne, "We chose the 'magical path,' so we need to go all-in on magic."

Hana touches the orb again and starts playing with the different types of pseudo-mana. She has no idea what she's doing, but she's hoping that her intuition will guide her towards an answer.

And Lina gives her a small piece of advice, "'Balancing' the pseudo-mana was the key to the puzzle, so maybe you should look at this orb as a whole rather than its individual parts."

But Hana simply snorts. "I have no idea how to do what you're suggesting, but okay, I'll keep that in mind."

Then Ciel gets an idea and grabs one of the orbs to inspect it. "[Redirect Mana] allows me to mimic mana signatures to 'attract' the mana particles, so maybe I can do the same for this 'divine power,'" she wonders and sits upright again.

"I'll leave you to it," I hum.

 

The three girls work hard while the rest of us try to help where we can, but many long minutes pass, then dark clouds appear ahead of us, at the edge of the mist.

Time's up, but we won't interrupt Hana. We'll deal with this boss Symbol without the orb.

A beautiful, naked, buff, glowing, gold-skinned amazoness comes floating out of the dark clouds while T-posing, but this time, we won't let her prepare her defenses, so Lina mounts Aoi, then we shoot forward at full speed with [Fly].

Waves of muddy water follow the golden Symbol and wash over the rocky landscape, covering it in dirt where they pass, then a hint of green appears in their wake as grass slowly begins to grow.

There's no time to appreciate the changing environment, so I quickly arm my tentacles again and ready the blender.

As the one more adept at flying, I reach the Symbol first and receive a weak lightning bolt as my prize for first place, but it isn't strong enough to push me off-course.

The sudden wall of molten rock that appears before me is, though.

I fly up to go around it, but it rises faster than I can climb, and then it begins to tilt forward, giving me a chill as [Battlefield Perception] tells me that I'm about to be crushed.

I immediately stop and fly backward, then the heavy slab falls in front of me and splashes globs of molten rock all over.

A strong gust of wind followed by another weak lightning bolt actually makes me retreat, but the pain angers me, so I cast [Gravity Crush] on the Symbol.

The golden boss doesn't even flinch due to its stupidly strong muscular strength, because, of course, it wouldn't fall to a spell of this kind. But the bitch doesn't even try to interrupt it, as if it's fucking with me.

I cast my own [Discharge], but my spell is completely countered by the Symbol's own version of it.

Aoi and Yunia arrive at its flanks at the same time, but they're also blocked by thick walls of lava that threaten to engulf them.

Ain't this one a bit OP?

"Our orb should counter its powers!" Lina points out, her eyes trained on the boss while she switches between [Sap Power] and [Befuddle] every few seconds.

Alissa approaches from behind and launches an [Arrow of Annihilation] that opens a hole in the back of the Symbol's head, but then it just lurches forward and covers itself in a thick shell of rock and ice.

We all stop for a couple of seconds in confusion.

"I sense something powerful within its chest!" Yunia exclaims through [Bind].

Most likely an orb that makes it immortal…

Suddenly, [Battlefield Perception] activates, but it comes from behind us all.

We turn around and activate [Wind Shield], but Aoi and I sense our [Wind Armor]s activate as they slow down projectiles.

Little black dots fly past us, diverted by the spell, but we still both feel a chilling sensation run down our backs.

Lina spots a bundle of roots on Aoi's armored tail spreading out at a frightening rate while I use a Holly to spot a similar bundle on my left tentacles, then we both notice our HP and MP starting to drain. These are like [Nature Magic]'s level 40 spell, [Sapping Seeds], though these roots are the Symbol's creations.

Aoi simply breathes fire on herself while I undo my tentacles, but a few roots have already attached themselves to my left flank. I un[Equip] my armor, but the sprout disappears with it, so I [Equip] it again, and the little shit comes along with it, still spreading.

Motherfucker…!

I don't have time to react as a nearly invisible [Wind Blade] hits me in the chest and throws me back, leaving a deep groove in my armor.

"I'm fine, just a little scare," I appease them through [Bind].

Alissa and Yunia continue to struggle to approach the Symbol as it (seemingly) effortlessly keeps them back. [Illusion Magic] and [Chain Life] don't work when the enemy is hiding inside a shell while simply throwing AOE attacks in their general direction.

I cast a few [Fireballl]s on myself and lightly scorch my armor, but at least the damn sprout is gone, and before another salvo is launched at us, Aoi flies in a circle around the Symbol, setting fire to all of the nearby patches of grass.

"Want some help?" Roxanne's smug voice echoes inside my mind space, but I decline.

We're a strong and independent family who don't need no [Explosion]!

Alissa suddenly loses feeling in her right leg, and she fails to escape a wave of water that washes her away.

"Spirits!" She shouts through [Bind], now forced to use [Fly] to be able to move.

I summon four spirit elementals and tell them to hunt for whatever harmed Alissa, and they quickly spot three invisible spirit blades floating around, but they're easy to dodge as long as we know where they are.

Yunia helps Alissa recover some of the feeling in her leg, and now that things are stable again, I pull back to make use of my seething anger. It's time to plan how to fuck this annoying little shit in the ass.

We need to go hard… very hard.

The supersonic javelin launchers are too precious to waste here, so I come up with something special.

"Aoi, stop it from using the wind and lightning!" I order and shoot up into the sky, flying far out of its range.

Once I can't see anything but the blue mist shrouding my view, I start building the Fuck You weapon.

Long, tubular, super resistant, hollow, and with a pointy end to penetrate. A missile-shaped elemental made out of tungsten.

Propulsion, pure speed, extreme acceleration, minimal drag. A fire elemental as a rocket booster, and an air elemental to reduce the drag.

Then the payload… a whole quiver of those explosive arrows we looted from Dawn of Fire.

It takes me a good minute to mold all of the elementals into place, but Aoi also needs time to set up her own storm anyway, so it works out in the end.

I stick to the missile, and we fly forward until we're right above the fucker. Lina's [Cursing Magic] seems to be making it considerably weaker and noticeably sluggish, so I decide that it's time to begin the multi-pronged anal penetration.

The fire elemental-wife activates the engine at full power, consuming her own life in the process, and I even use [Telekinesis] to speed us up even more, allowing us to achieve a veritable missile-like speed.

I have no idea how much time is left until impact, so Aoi clashes her will against the Symbol's head-on while Yunia keeps it physically locked in place with [Chain Life], then Alissa and Lina charge forward.

I begin to see the glow of the still-warm lava, then I spot the little circle of blue ice in the center of it.

Alissa casts [Mesmerizing Butterflies], and jets of rock and ice miss us by a long shot, then I detach from the missile and try to slow myself down.

GET FUCKED!

The missile penetrates through the Symbol's thick shell, the tip going right through its head, then the earth elemental triggers the payload.

A ground-trembling explosion obliterates everything, sending pieces of the elementals, the Symbol, and other debris everywhere.

Lina arrives first, blasting through the dust cloud and rock shrapnel like it's nothing thanks to her [Wind Shield], then she starts hacking away at the quickly growing clump of golden meat at the center of the blast zone.

I summon my tentacles and crash onto the ground, too fast to land safely, and become disoriented for a couple of seconds.

Then Lina spots a hint of a rainbow color, but an underground eruption launches the lump of meat upwards.

Check…

I turn around and point at the clump.

Mate…!

Then I cast [Telekinesis] while Yunia recasts [Chain Life], holding it perfectly still in the air.

Alissa's arrow pierces the orb, and it explodes with a blinding light, showering us with divine power.

"You are now level sixty."

"It's working!" Hana shouts excitedly, then our minds are suddenly connected as we get a glimpse of Paradise.

 

Intermission - Alkibiades Alkimeonids

 

I open the doors to his office, revealing the eerily dark room that I've always hated. The back wall is made up entirely of black-tinted windows, making it seem like it's always night here, though I admit the view is nice.

I walk forward, my muffled steps echoing in the completely silent room, then I stop before his desk, and he finally raises his eyes from his piles of notes and messages, but I almost frown at his appearance. His white hair and beard are starting to thin out, making him look like a low-level old peasant.

If only he shaved…

"I did it, Father. I humiliated myself before the lizard boy," I growl angrily.

His wrinkled face starts to warp into a smile, but it quickly loses strength, and he gives me those dead, measuring eyes of his again.

He opens his mouth, and I swear I can see cobwebs down his throat, then his hoarse voice attacks my pride with his disapproving tone, "The knights said that your acting was terrible. Did you even apply your skill?"

But I've got no patience for this. "Why the fuck do you care? I got you the damn report." Then I point to the fancy little piece of parchment that his two spies wrote for me.

He narrows his eyes, and my muscles lock up as he makes his displeasure physically perceivable. "You made him unnecessarily wary of us."

But I easily resist it and snort. "As if he wasn't already. I'm pretty sure he realized who I was the instant he looked at me." Father isn't so young anymore that he can make me bow with just his eyes.

And a small smirk wrinkles his face further. "Oh? Well, that's still useful information to know."

I groan and shake my head. Why does he try so hard to stay at the top?

He notices my displeasure and sighs tiredly, then he gets up and slowly walks around his desk as he gives me a subtly condescending talk, "Son, there are talks that he's a Prince, a hidden bastard of the Emperor. Either that, or his Gift has given him unknown powers that allowed him to rise like a star, and we can't underestimate someone like that."

He stops and turns two pieces of parchment around so that we can read them, but I know these two very well. The report on the destruction of our office in Goldcross, and the report of a Grim Giant briefly appearing inside Escanso. Then he taps them as he smirks at me like a know-it-all.

I narrow my eyes annoyedly and clarify, "He's like Reinhold, an 'upstart,' not a Prince that was given everything from birth. He's also suspiciously talented in the style of a magical swordsman, so his Gift must be more than just [Monster Summoning]."

Father comes up to me, then slaps my cheek gently as he gives me praise, "That's exactly the kind of information that we need, and if he's like Reinhold, then do you understand that we have to act before it becomes impossible due to his inhuman growth?"

And I exasperatedly reply, "Yes, I'm not stupid, I just take issue with your methods."

He snorts and turns around, then starts slowly returning to his seat. "My methods have ensured our position," he croaks dismissively as he waves his hand.

Then maybe we should just give it all up, already! I'm of the mind to do exactly that when I take over, damned be the consequences… that is, if you ever retire, you damn stubborn old goat.

Maybe he knows my intentions, and that's why he'll never give up his seat until he dies of old age…

 

Intermission end.