Sp4de5
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Serum: C111
🕑 Added 2022-04-13 00:01:01 +0000 UTCThe next morning, Duke Kyre and his people prepared to leave.
But there was one who didn't leave.
"You're staying?"
Cecilia worriedly asked Dirk. Pandora smiled from beside him.
"Don't worry, Miss Strider. Your son is weak right now, and I intend to fix that."
"It's not his fault that he's not stronger."
"I know. I believe in your son's potential more than anybody, which is why I'm going to help him increase his Tier."
"..."
Cecilia frowned. It was only an hour before everyone was going to depart for Horizon. This was a sudden change of plans.
And Dirk was the one who said he wanted to do this. She thought for a second, narrowing her eyes at Pandora.
"Then I'm staying."
"Hm, very well. If you wish."
"...Really?"
Cecilia was a bit surprised when Pandora easily agreed. She shrugged.
"I have no reason to keep you from staying. While there's the threat of war, and you might not be as comfortable as at home, you being here doesn't change much. If anything, it's good for us."
"Political hostages."
"Exactly. Your son will be the most well treated political hostage in the world, though. Well, go tell your Duke that you're staying. I don't intend to accommodate anyone else either."
"...Alright."
Cecilia slowly nodded before approaching the Duke. Along with Ryker and Alec's father, she explained that she was going to stay as Dirk was also staying.
From the Duke's frown, it didn't seem he liked the idea. Unfortunately, Cecilia wasn't easily swayed. The two bantered back and forth, Ryker getting involved as well.
Alec made his way over as they argued.
"You're staying?"
"Yes."
"...With her?"
Alec glanced at Pandora who was still hovering beside Dirk. She smiled at him.
"You're Alec? Your light element is impressive. I can also sense fire."
"Y-yes. You also have the light attribute then?"
"Of course. Along with three others."
"...You mean-"
"I'm the sole four attribute mage of the Dark Kingdom, Pandora Vanadis. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Pandora curtsied a bit in introduction. Alec gawked at her words.
Four attributes? Alec had only ever heard legends of four attribute mages. He didn't know they could exist. And if they did, they were the rarest existence in the world!
And this princess was one of them. The sole four attribute mage of the Dark Kingdom. In this place, there were literally none other like her.
Dirk stood to the side, not much of a reaction on his face. She had told him this the night before after the discussion with the Duke.
"Alec!"
"...Coming."
After he was called, Alec slowly sorted his thoughts and waved goodbye. As Dirk nodded, Alec walked back to his father. Cecilia also broke off from the Duke's group, standing by Dirk.
After that, the envoys from the Horizon Empire left. Dirk glanced at his mother.
"Were they mad?"
"No. Just worried."
"About you or the political ramifications?"
"Hm, a good question. Either way, they can't stop me, so I'm staying. And besides, you getting involved with Pandora is already a huge political scandal."
"That's true."
Pandora cut in with a smile. There was nothing she liked more than a bit of thrill with the chaos.
"Anyway, I hope you don't mind Miss Strider, but I need your son for a while. Your room remains the same, and if you need anything, I've assigned a maid to you. She'll be outside your room. And... for your empire's sake, I would refrain from making any suspicious moves during your stay. Or, at least getting caught while doing so."
With a wink, Pandora linked arms with Dirk. Then, the two walked off into the city. Cecilia watched as they disappeared into the crowds.
.........
"The world is very close to becoming a dumpster fire."
Pandora suddenly spoke. The two had crossed into the undercity through a special magic elevator designed for moving people and cargo through the weightless layer of limbo. After emerging, she spoke in English.
"I was alerted by the Record only an hour or so ago. You know all the lesser dungeons around the world?"
"Yea."
"Well, they're all gone."
Pandora dropped that bombshell, causing Dirk's eyebrows to raise.
"They all disappeared not long after the Dark Dragon made his declaration. There's something far worse happening as well though. Every single Major dungeon has suddenly had an outbreak. Monsters are flooding from the dungeon entrances, and a few cities that were built around these dungeons have been razed. Not many people know about this, but according to the System, it's a worldwide phenomenon."
"...Those monsters are incredibly powerful. If they aren't being contained, the world will fall into anarchy."
"Correct. Which is why things in every empire are about to change drastically. By the end of the day, militaries are going to be mobilized. At the same time though, one thing has just been guaranteed."
"...The Horizon Empire can't go to war."
"Exactly! This gives me the chance to use the oncoming chaos to my advantage."
Pandora giggled in glee. Suddenly, Dirk was realizing how she was able to do what she did in her past life. This mad genius was good at using chaos as a tool.
Dirk still frowned though.
"Shouldn't you be working to help the Dark Kingdom? Depending on the scale of these dungeon outbreaks, hundreds of thousands could die. Are you really just worried about building some trains?"
"Hey, who says the trains aren't going to help? If anything, my train network is going to allow combat personnel to be transported to any city within the Dark Kingdom at record rates. With this network, we can establish supply lines that would allow monster containment for years to come. On the contrary, empires like Horizon are only able to march troops or move caravans of wagons. It would take weeks just to respond to the current crisis! How much more damage do you think they will suffer compared to us who have the trains? They're going to be debilitated!"
"..."
Dirk was silent. Truly, the Horizon Empire wouldn't be able to respond at all except with local forces for the first few weeks of the outbreak. If the forces of a local city are overrun, then everyone in that city dies. But in the Dark Kingdom, Pandora could move troops to a city within days, potentially saving entire city's worth of people and allowing swift responses to this disaster.
Essential goods could be sent across the empire when needed and people could be evacuated. The trains would become the most important piece of infrastructure the empire had.
And Pandora controlled all of them.
Dirk was unsure of how to feel. On one hand, she was a mad genius who would take advantage of a global disaster. On the other, her work would actually save countless lives and keep the entire empire functioning.
Pandora saw Dirk's conflict and smiled a bit, nudging him with her shoulder.
"Hey, don't worry so much! Right now, you only have one thing to focus on. While I have more to tell you, that can wait. Now come."
Pandora led him into a building with those words. It was one of the largest buildings in the undercity, towering upward around 140 meters. It looked almost like a pagoda with many floors.
Upon entering, Pandora was greeted with reverence, even by those more powerful than her. She walked directly to the upper floors.
With each successive floor, the spatial repulsion got stronger and stronger. At first Dirk could handle it fine, but when he was only halfway up, he had to activate his anima just to keep from collapsing.
"There's really only two kinds of training people endure in this building. First is controlling their dark element. Using dark mana, mages can negate the crushing gravity. This forces them to refine their control and it increases their elemental comprehension. Second is body refining. This is done by withstanding the gravity with the body, forcing people to efficiently use their anima and stress their limits. You will be doing both of these things, and I'll ensure you have the best environment available to you."
Saying that, Pandora motioned to a room. The Pagoda was 140 meters tall, and there was a floor every 5 meters. That made for 28 floors. The room she stopped at was on the 12th floor.
And upon stepping into the room, Dirk was surprised to feel the oppressive gravity disappear. Not only that, he saw a large table with platters of food, a bowl full of mana crystals, and some large bones that glistened like pearls.
"Each room has magical switches to block the gravity. It ensures that nobody dies while training to their limits. Anyway, this will be your training room for the next while. You're going to remain here until you reach Tier 4. I would also prefer it if you reach Rank 5 in this time, but I know it's good to take body refining slow."
Pandora spoke as she walked to the table of food, picking up a fruit and taking a bite. Other than the table, there were two luxurious chairs and a nice bed. These furniture pieces were enchanted and constructed with metal frames, ensuring they could survive the intense gravity. They were surely extremely expensive.
"Now, since we didn't do so last night, let's spill each other's secrets. I want to know your cultivation and refining techniques along with your skills. And go ahead and start eating. You'll need the food."
Pandora took a seat on the couch as she spoke. After grabbing a few fruits, Dirk took a chair, facing Pandora.
"I'll go first."
She got comfortable, looking at Dirk's blindfolded face.
"I told you my four attributes, but not my specializations. Now, instead of speaking all our traits, skills, and crucially private information, I suggest we directly exchange Profiles."
"How do we do that?"
"My Stigma. With your consent, I can view your Profile. I'll also let you view mine. Like that, neither of us can hide information. Isn't that right, Miss Record?"
<I will act as an impartial intermediary.>
"Good."
Pandora nodded as both of them heard "Miss Record's" voice. After thinking for a bit, Dirk sighed and agreed.
"Fine."
"Then take my hand."
Pandora stood, as did Dirk. After he placed his hand on top of hers, she suddenly raised her other. In it appeared a brilliantly golden book with dragons engraved across its cover. The book flipped open and its pages fluttered automatically.
Dirk then felt Pandora's gaze, and it pierced into his soul. At that moment, both of them became distinctly aware of each other's souls, though only for a moment.
After a few more seconds, Dirk saw something pop up in his mind.
|Profile|
Name: Pandora Vanadis
Species: High Vampire
Tier: 4+
Attributes: Water - 100% (Blood - 100%), Earth - 100% (Ice - 100%), Air - 100% (Vortex - 100%), Light - 100%
Traits: Pure Soul, Mind of Delirium
Skills: Eyes of Truth (Grade 7), Temptation (Grade 7), Synthesis (Grade 6), Purification (Grade 6)
Stigma: The Record of Life
Dirk read through the Profile. It was odd seeing any Profile other than his.
But he was surprised by what he saw.
Powerful skills, a high Tier, a High species, and all those attributes. Then there was the Stigma that let her speak with the System, or more formally known as the Record.
"Hm, impressive. I'm surprised you actually retained your AI and cybernetics."
As Dirk viewed hers, Pandora quickly viewed his.
|Profile|
Name: Dirk Strider
Species: Human
Tier: III
Rank: IV-
Attributes: Fire - 100% (Lightning - 100%), Earth - 100% (Metal - 100%), Dark - 100%
Traits: Cybernetic Enhancement, Adaptable Genes, Pure Soul
Skills: A.I. Interface (Grade 7), Mana Resonance (Grade 5), Mana Lungs (Grade 5), Restoration (Grade 5)
Stigma: Black Cat of Calamity
Compared to Pandora's, Dirk's didn't look like much. All this time, he had thought that his abilities were abnormal. Now, he was thinking that about Pandora's.
"Black Cat?"
Pandora tilted her head. At that moment, Spyte appeared on Dirk's shoulder. She had remained hidden ever since Pandora appeared, except when appearing in the pistol form. Now though, she was showing her true form.
"Oh! Kitty!"
*Hiss!*
Just as Pandora reached out to pet Spyte, she hissed, and Pandora quickly retracted her hand. Spyte shared most of Dirk's feelings and was wary of anything that could threaten him. Although they were working together, Spyte didn't trust Pandora.
"Aww..."
Becoming downcast, Pandora drooped her head with a sigh, as if accepting something. When she raised her head, she was back to normal.
"Well, let me explain some of those skills and traits of mine."
Pandora sat back down, her red eyes focused on Dirk.
"First, Mind of Delirium. Let's just say that if you dialed down my psychosis from Earth, this is what it would become. My mind is overactive. If your mind runs, then mine is a bullet train. It used to be annoying, but I have it under control now. The only time it isn't under control is when I get too excited, like when we first met. But otherwise, I can channel my overactivity into something that benefits me.
"Second, Eyes of Truth. This skill allows me to see through people. Depending on their power, I can see their Profile. I can also see through almost all forms of mana and magic and I get an acute sense of the items I work with. I'll have you know that I'm an amazing Alchemist. In fact, I received my Synthesis and Purification while working in Alchemy. Synthesis allows me to combine chemicals and even different types of magic. Purification allows me to remove the things I don't want from any substance, including metals, liquids, and air.
"As for Temptation, you already know what that does. It makes people loyal to me. It makes them want to obey me and get close to me. I control them with their desires. If they fall for me hard enough, then they become a puppet in the palm of my hand. It's one of the reasons I was able to garner massive support for my projects. That and because they were successful.
"Finally, there's my Stigma, the Record of Life. This does more than allow communication with Miss Record. It allows me to catalog and save spells for later study and use. It also allows me to transcribe runes when using my Eyes of Truth. Think of it as a book for all things magical. A Grimoire, if you will. It's not an uncommon Stigma for mages, but this one is the best because it comes directly from Miss Record herself. It's even better when I get her assistance in magical matters."
Pandora ended with a high chin, proud of her abilities. After listening to her, Dirk was now realizing more and more how comprehensive her powers were.
It was quite unsettling for Dirk to learn that her magical abilities were far above anything he had. She was definitely stronger than him. Her skills gave her an edge over anybody she met. She could fight someone above her Tier, no doubt.
And Dirk was almost two Tiers below her. Not even his Rank matched up. Suddenly, being helped by Pandora felt humiliating.
Of course, Pandora saw Dirk's distress. She smiled when he suddenly stood up.
"...I need to train."
"Of course, of course. I'll stick around though. I have plenty of advice that will help you, coming directly from experience. Who better to train you than someone with the same Pure Soul?"
"Fine. Then let's start now."
"Very well."
With a nod, Pandora stood and walked over to the table. There, she stood in from of a few bowls full of mana crystals. Each bowl held the mana of each of Dirk's attributes. While she didn't see his Profile until just now, she was able to see the mana within him with her Eyes of Truth.
She plucked out 5 mana crystals, crushing them all. Suddenly, the room was filled with Dark, Earth, Metal, Fire, and Lightning mana. More than that, the mana that filled the room was like a liquid, far denser than anything Dirk had ever worked with.
"Be thankful, because these are the purest Tier 5 mana crystals that my Kingdom has produced. It's all liquid mana, so this should expedite the process of increasing your Tier. Now, carry me through your mana cultivation technique."
Pandora grabbed a chair and sat in front of Dirk. He gazed at her before waving his hand, bringing out a large book. It was the Mana Heart Technique.
She grabbed the book, merely looking at the cover for several seconds before nodding.
"Alright. I understand."
"You read it?"
"Eyes of Truth."
She smirked before handing the book back.
"I didn't read all the runes within, but I understand where you're at and where you need to go now. You currently have three mini hearts comprised of each attribute and specialization. Now, you need to strengthen each heart until the mana within them are liquid. Basically, you need to make it denser. For you, this couldn't be easier. I'll give it 12 days before you are Tier 4."
"12 days? Sounds a little fast."
"That's because you have no idea what having a Pure Soul means. Dirk, your soul is perfectly attuned to mana, and it's the strongest kind of soul there is. If I had rushed my advancements, then I could be a Tier 6 already, let alone you becoming a Tier 4. Basically, having a Pure soul guarantees your advancement until Tier 8. There are little to no roadblocks on that path. The only limiter is your elemental comprehension, and having a Pure Soul gives you the greatest advantage in that arena as well. So no, raising your Tier by two small realms in 12 days is not fast. Being a mere Tier 3 is actually a disgrace to your Pure Soul."
"..."
"Anyway, your next step is simple. Make your mana hearts liquid, and strengthen them until you reach Tier 4. After that it becomes a bit more complicated, but we'll cross that bridge in two weeks. As for how to strengthen your hearts, you just need to bring in this dense ambient mana and concentrate it. Then, when you turn them liquid, there's a particular rune that you'll enchant the existing rune in your hearts with. That will complete the strengthening process."
"So concentrating mana is my job right now."
"Correct."
Pandora nodded at Dirk's summarization. With that simple objective, he got comfortable in his seat and began.
Pandora watched as the earth mana around Dirk was brought into his body and focused on his fire mana heart. When she saw this though, she frowned.
"No. Bring in all types of mana, and concentrate them all simultaneously. If you're not used to controlling all the elements at once, then now's the time to change that."
"...Alright."
With a nod, Dirk proceeded to bring in all the mana around him. Then, he simultaneously concentrated the elements on their hearts.
This did in fact prove to be difficult for Dirk, but he didn't complain. He just worked on it. While he wasn't going to blindly listen to Pandora, this was her advice as a genius four attribute mage. She absolutely knew more than him when it came to magic and cultivation. He wasn't so stubborn as to ignore her words.
Comments
Scientist Valci
Any way. Thanks for replying. I will continue reading, hopefully it will get back to the parts that pulled me into this story.
Scientist Valci
I have much more to say but don't have the time to write it all down. That is why I hate commenting, because if I ever want to show my point it takes to long.
Scientist Valci
You also make it sound like all his piers at the academy are insane workaholics with genius minds for comprehension and drive and have no other goals and activities or social life. You can't forget he literally did nothin but train, even if you say he didn't give his 100% his progress should be much higher. Yes pandora should be insanely powerful because of her knowledge from earth, but his drive, discipline should not be much behind. Your story is saying with super-human dedication, drive and talent you can't outpace a genius or even your piers?
Scientist Valci
First you argued that your power leveling made sense. It does with the grown ups but not his piers. You yourself said there is no pressure at the academy and that he wasn't focused on magic. But that is the only thing he did all day and he didn't slack. He even stopped his body destruction a couple times because he was so focused on magic and the point that he is a workaholic at that age and disciplined to the level of a supersoldier with 100% affinities should make his speed much higher than his piers. Now comes the assasin arc. There he is under extreme pressure, unlike his piers, and doesn't have time to study. Well he doesn't really need to study. From your magic explanations so far I extracted\understood that tier isn't really how strong someone is because the tier is just how high the mana density is in your cores. The more you understand\study just betters spells you can cast and how fast you learn new magic, also you can cast them faster and make your own additions as well as you have a better perception of the elements. So while he was under extreme pressure and pain he didn't do the most basic thing of just progressing his tier or in other words concentrate mana into his cores\hearts. You make it sound like all the assassins there progressed slower that the academy, because he had the same schedule with added torture, that he was getting used to and didn't affect him much in the long run.
Scientist Valci
I am very happy you didn't take offense and that you responded with your reasoning. You succeeded in convincing me for the most part, but I have some extra issues with some. Before I start I hate arguing through writing. Hard to express all my points and logic.
Sp4de
Then again, I will admit that my plots and storylines may not be amazingly complex, profound, or elegantly structured. I only have my own logic to use and play out events in my head. And although it might be a bit impatient of me, but I realized at some point that my story was moving oddly slow. When I first started writing, I wanted to flesh things out. But 100 chapters later, we're barely entering the main conflict. I wanted to get into the meat of the story, begin writing the exciting turn of events. I didn't want to make a huge deal out of the assassin arc and emphasize all the torture and grim darkness. I wanted it to be a turning point, and move on. Now we have our anti-heroine and a goal. It's time to save the world. I also wanted our lovely and maniac Pandora to have obvious effects on the world. After all, she had an in depth understanding of science from Earth. She also has influence as a princess. How could she not make use of that? Trains are just the beginning. She's going to use everything at her disposal, and she's going to bring revolutionary change. Why? Because she can. It wouldn't be fun otherwise. Anyway, there's my response. And just to make sure you know, but I don't mind the criticism. I get kind of excited when I see text walls. If you have any other fallacies you'd like to point out, please do so. I may not be the best author, but I'm open to learning. I value people who can point out plot deficiencies and all that good stuff. Maybe I need to emphasize the personality of the characters a bit more. Since I was pushing progress after ch 90, I may have skimped on that more than I should have. I'll need to find the balance between progress and development, something I guess I still need work on.
Sp4de
Alright, I'll tackle this one. First, Pandora's railway goal. Yes, by normal standards, it would be stupid to launch a war between two empires for a small slice of land. And to do so just to have personal control over said land is also egocentric. But this is Pandora. She's not clear headed and logical. She's not a scheming general. But she is a power-hungry, tyrannical, and possibly paranoid woman with a queen complex whos trying to carve out a place in this magical world for herself, and herself only. And when Dirk said it made sense, that wasn't necessarily agreeing with her reasoning. He's just aware that her evaluation of the outcome wouldn't be necessarily off the mark. Because despite all else, Pandora's also not stupid. Add onto that her position as a princess and daughter of someone at the top of the world, and you've a recipe for disaster. As for power leveling, I find it hard to see how I made my power leveling all over the place. In this world, there are those of all power levels all over the place. Dirk was never the strongest, and he will not be the strongest for a while. He's got to build up to the levels of those that he's seen, like his mother. But he's also young, which brings me to my second point. Unlike with all things physical, Dirk is no more familiar with the world of magic than anyone else. Sure he was born with awareness, but souls take time to develop, a reason that 5 year old children weren't being admitted into the academy. Until one develops, it's not so easy to engage in magic. Dirk wasn't cultivating or understanding magic's depths straight out of the womb. And magic is much more elusive than even science. Dirk was a soldier, not a scientist, and comprehending magic even with his 100% affinity wasn't going to come so fast. He didn't even start taking it seriously until he began his dungeon dives, and there wasn't much time between then and the time he was kidnapped. And when he was under Asura's care, there wasn't much comprehending to do. He wasn't in the right frame of mind, and when you're constantly exhausted on all levels, it's difficult to engage in any sort of study. So even with over 2 years of classes, he wasn't absorbing much. Then comes the escape, and a month later, he's brought over to the Dark Kingdom where he meets Pandora. Being a princess, semi-scientist, and a magic genius with four attributes, she would naturally have the best tutelage. Her progress in magic was a given. Now, she wants to push Dirk. As she said, his progress up until then was pitiful considering his pure soul. Such bad progress was partly his fault, and partly external fault. With so many things happening to him, of course he's going to feel the need to get stronger. He didn't feel that urgency and desperation at the academy. People don't usually move unless they're pushed. Now, he's being pressured, thrown straight into a massive conflict that he won't survive unless he gains strength. And unlike on Earth, strength is different in the new world. As for the little kids being allowed to do whatever they want, this really only applies to Pandora. As for why she has so much autonomy, that'll be foreshadowed later. Nevertheless, she has undeniable influence. Why is she able to talk to the queen the way she does? Although the queen is her mother, nobody at that level of power would withstand such blatant disrespect for no reason, family or otherwise. There's obviously a deeper relationship. Again, it'll be revealed later.
Pincho69
I agree it should be water and ice not earth
Scientist Valci
And sorry for no paragrafs. don't know how to make then in patreon comments.
Scientist Valci
I couldn't read this chapter, it was too cringe for me. Don't know why nobody notices how her whole agenda of taking over the part of the empire for power with force(which means killing people of the empire) and without trying to buy it or trade for it is just dumb. What nation would allow another nation to take its territory for free. It's really ruining the story with how little sense the last few chapters made. Him just trusting her and hearing her reason and saying it made sense. Where does it make sense to attack a nation just to build a railway through it for only profit and power no less. That is dumb-evil and egocentric. Let's also mention how through out this whole novel you made all the power levels all over the place and now it feels like your trying to repair the issue by speed running his progress in the most bs way possible. It would make so much more sense if he would have just progressed faster the everybody especially now that you revealed him having 100% compatibility with his elements since the start. You would think a person with more compatibility and unbending dedication and drive, to progress much faster then some random kids that probably take half of the day off or waste it on some other shit🤔. Its also stupid how he was in a rough environment and didn't progress faster then someone who was leisurely working at an academy. Like you yourself mentioned that danger, pain and the rough environment should make progress go much faster. You literally had a perfect excuse to make him more powerful but just decided to do almost nothing and just make him learn some skills he could have learn at the academy(and some assasin skills he doesn't really use or need) in the 2 and a half years he was there. All combined feels like this novel has no plan and everything is based spontaneous decisions and realizations, especially in the last few chapters came the spontaneous realizations that he needs to progress faster so you made him have 100% affinities and will probably remove his dark magic problem and give him infinite opportunities, just to repair your slow progression mistake throughout the novel. This suddenly makes it feel like reading a shity power trip novel that makes no sense any more. All the conflict makes no sense all the interactions between characters make no sense. Everything feels rushed. Powerhouses and grownups are just letting things happen makes no sense. Yes, for real nobody is gonna step in and stop pandora and dirk bonding. They act like dirk and pandora are stronger or even strenght compared to them but they are not. That's all my current feelings on the last few chapters, so if Spade you have anything to say about this or disagree just say it I wanna hear your thought on this work the last few chapters.
GreyMalken
I think that's supposed to be Water instead, which would match the pattern of her having the affinities he does not, and also her suitability for alchemy.
SpaceGoddess76
I’m surprised she didn’t have him explain his backstory or what his skills/traits do. It seems like something she would want to know and would keep bugging him about it until she got the answer. She also didn’t ask about his Anima Technique. She’s supposed to be a genius & a planner yet she skips over important details way to easily. Also what’s up with Ice being a variant of Earth? I can sort of see Vortex being a variant of Air but just barely. However Ice seems so far from Earth except that fact that they are both solids, but that just doesn’t seem like a good enough reason for Ice to be an Earth variant.
