Book One – Interlude – Part One – Servi’s Nightly Stroll

While Momo was writing in her diary, Servi was talking with Itarr. When she looked through her ID and read over the skills, Servi was surprised to learn that there were five additional sections below Rank 0. Chronomancy, Necromancy, Element Control, Reality Control, and something called Primordial.

Servi had a puzzled look on her face and was about to ask something, but Itarr beat her to the punch.

Before you ask, no. I have no idea why these five things are here now. They weren’t here before.

“Is Chronomancy control over time? Necromancy is control over the dead, right? I don’t know what the other three are.”

Let’s have a look.

Servi, lying on the mattress, tapped on Chronomancy and began looking at the skills. The first thing that she noticed was how expensive they were.

“Are you serious?! The cheapest skill is 50,000 Potential?! Ouch...” in her surprise, Servi accidentally let go of the ID, causing it to smack her in the face.  It disappeared, covering her in red dust that was promptly absorbed by her body.

“Don’t laugh,” she said, pouting as she summoned the ID again.

Don’t worry, I won’t. I do agree that it’s a lot but look closer. The skill allows us to advance the time within an area by one year. Localized Advancement...and look, Stop Time needs 75,000 Potential. The same with Resume Time.

“This is crazy. I mean, just for those three alone is 200,000 Potential. Add in whatever ‘Fabric: The Torn Scroll of Time’ and it’s 300,000 for everything.”

Hey, look. Do you see that right there? It says ‘requires the associated Trial of the Primordial God to be completed.' I think we need to do that if we want to learn these skills.

“Does that ring any bells?” Servi asked.

Not at all. I’m sorry.

“Nah, don’t be sorry. For all I know, I could have knowledge about this ‘Primordial God’ but have forgotten.”

Thank you. Shall we look at the other categories?

“Sure,” Servi said as she navigated her ID and pressed her finger to the word ‘Necromancy.’

Hmm, it seems like most of the skills deal with summoning skeletons or raising the dead.

“It might be good to learn some of these. Like ‘Crypt Storage’ and ‘Crypt Release.’ Those only cost 1 each, but the cheapest Summon Skeleton is 60. There’s also something called ‘Mind Control,’ but it’s a whole 10,000!”

I say we save our points, maybe for ‘Resurrection’ and ‘True Resurrection.’ I hate saying this, but if something were to happen with Momo, we could bring her back. And take a look at the final skill. ‘Blessings of the Immortal Phoenix.’ The description says we can give immortality to other people, but it’ll be a lower rank. It also requires 10,000 Potential to learn. It also appears that every Necromancy skill requires the associated Trial of the Primordial God to be completed. I wonder if it’s the same trial referenced above in the Chronomancy section.

“Probably.  If not the same one, then maybe there are multiple trials?” Servi sighed and rubbed her head. “Why does everything need a trial?! Why is everything so expensive?! Everything here would be good to have.”

Now now, no use in getting upset. I’m sure we’ll have a chance to acquire Potential in the future. Let’s just keep reading, shall we?

“Fine. Next up is ‘Element Control.’ Honestly, while it looks like learning these skills will allow us to control the elements, they’re a bit lackluster compared to raising and reviving the dead.”

I agree, but the last skill caught my attention. ‘True Control of the Seven Elements: Gaia.’ It says we could have total control, not half like the other ones. But it requires all seven Half Element Control skills to be learned for 1,000 each. Not to mention that the True Control is 7,000. And everything requires another trial to be completed before we can acquire them.

“It seems like each of the categories of skills below Rank 0 requires a trial to be completed. That’s how it looks to me anyway. Well, we got two more left, so let’s go ahead and look.”

Two things caught Servi's eyes when she glanced at the next category. First, there was a skill, Akashic Record, that required a staggering 1,000,000 Potential to learn, and it required the user to be touching its ‘physical manifestation.' Servi and Itarr conversed about what that could mean. Did it mean they have to be on the lookout for a particular item? The two of them didn't know. While that may have been important, another skill quickly drew her attention, and it only cost 1 Potential.

“Let’s see…. ’Voluptatem et Sexus.’ It says here it’s a skill exclusive to the female gender. This allows the user to gain the ability to impregnate another female by giving the user a penis. If desired, the user can adjust the chances of pregnancy."

Why the hell would that be a skill? Just why? And it's so cheap when compared to everything else...

“……” Servi sat up and quietly glanced down at her crotch. For a split second, she imagined a fleshy appendage, complete with two dangly bits, standing firm and erect, staring at her with its one eye. Suddenly, flames assaulted her cheeks, and she glanced away.

What’s a penis? Itarr asked.  She sensed something radiating from Servi but didn't know it was embarrassment.

“You don’t know?”

No. I do not. Do you?

Servi nervously chucked before she finally found the words.

“You know how I touched myself when I was in the shower?” she asked slowly.

That I do. You stuck a finger inside a hole on your lower body. What does that have to do with it?

Sweat poured down her face as she stuttered over her words. She didn’t know why, but it was embarrassing to talk about.

“We-well a woman has a small hole there.  When she puts a finger in or around it, it's called masturbation.  It feels good. A man has an…..appendage there instead. Instead of putting anything in a hole, he moves the….appendage in and out.”

Why?

“I guess to feel good? Gah!"

Are you upset? I'm sorry.

“N-n-no, don't be. I’m sorry for acting like that. I don’t even know I’m embarrassed. But a man sticks his penis into a woman, and both feel good as a result. It’s called sex, and that’s how babies are made,” Servi said as her face turned the same color as her eyes.

I see. This may be a bit much, but if I somehow acquire a physical body, would you mind learning this skill? It’s only 1 Potential, and I’m very interested in this ‘masturbation’ and ‘sex’ thing. It doesn’t require a trial to be completed, which is strange if you ask me.

Servi really, really, really wanted to say no, but she couldn’t find the strength too. After everything that had happened, her dying and then being rescued by Itarr, how could she say no? Besides, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t interested.

Who knows,  I might actually like it.  I can't really knock it until I try it, but still... Servi thought.

“Okay.  I’ll teach you everything I happened to remember, but I’ll only learn the skill when we have a way to get you a body.”

Thank you so much!

“Yeah…You’re welcome,” while it should have been a much bigger deal, Servi and Itarr both glanced over the other spells in the Reality Control section which, were True Enchantment, True Creation, and Creation.

They talked a bit about True Enchantment first. From what the description read, it allowed the user to enchant an item with a skill. Servi imagined having a sword with the ability to shoot out bolts of lightning. It was a bit expensive, requiring 20,000 Potential, but they thought that it was worth it. After all, it said that items that were enchanted kept the effect permanently.  This skill was available to be learned after Creation was acquired.

Creation was a skill that would allow her to create whatever she thought of, though it had certain limitations. She wouldn’t be able to create items that were enchanted, nor could she make items that were divine in nature, nor could she make items that had an abstract concept of logic applied to it. It was one of the cheaper skills, requiring a mere 1,000 Potential.

True Creation was the upgraded form of Creation, combining True Enchantment and Creation. It had two restrictions. One: it was unable to produce items that were divine in nature. Two: it had the same inability to make an item with an abstract concept like ‘this item will never miss.' Learning this skill required both Creation and True Enchantment to be mastered, as well as a hefty 15,000 Potential.

And with that, the two finished reading over Reality Control.

We have one more section left.

Servi pressed her finger to the word ‘Primordial’ and scanned it over. She couldn’t believe it, the first thing she saw was a skill called ‘Physical Manifestation’ and it wasn't what the Human and Goddess thought it was. It allowed the Primordial Being to take a physical form, and it didn't have anything to do with Akashic Record.

“Do you remember any of this?”

I have no idea what this ‘Primordial Being’ is, and I don’t know if I am considered one of them. Oh, but if I am, how wonderful! It seems my dream may be realized sooner than we think.

“Itarr, I don’t want to rain in your parade, but it costs 1,000 Potential. And believe me, I do want you to have a physical body, and I want to teach you the pleasure of masturbation, but I want to have the strength and skills to protect myself and Momo. I hope you don’t think this is selfish.”

I do not. I quite like the fact that you want to protect Momo. I do as well. Though she does not know I exist, I have grown fond of her. I even consider her a friend. And don’t worry, I don’t think you're selfish. I said I’ll go along with whatever you decide to do. I mean that. And if it means waiting for a bit longer, then I’m okay with that. I trust you.

“Thanks, Itarr. If it makes it easier, I consider you a close friend. I mean, you’re the one who saved me,” Servi started to laugh, prompting Itarr to ask her why.

“It feels like we’ve had this conversation before.”

I suppose you’re right. Anyway, three additional skills caught my eyes. The first being ‘Bloodline of the Primordial Being.’ Apparently, if they join our ‘Bloodline,’ whatever that is, we share our power with them. They'll receive a portion of strength from the souls we absorb. In addition, at higher levels, members of the Bloodline can use any skill known amongst themselves except for skills in the following categories: Chronomancy, Necromancy, Elemental Control, and Reality Control. I’d say that’s the best way to make Momo strong, but I don’t know how we tell her. If I’m getting this right, she’ll be able to use Remedium, Absorption, and other skills we know as long as we upgrade it. It’s only 100 Potential to learn.

“You’re right, but we just can’t go up to her and say ‘drink my blood, and you’ll be stronger.’ She’ll probably be scared out of her mind.”

I agree. We’re going to have to wait for the right time. The other two skills are ‘True Absorption’ and ‘Soul Essence of Primal Combat.’ I believe the former is an upgraded form of Absorption, and the latter would explain the ‘afterimages,’ as you called them, of the rat that you fought before.

After looking into it and reading the skills' descriptions, Itarr told Servi that if they upgraded Absorption to the max level, True Absorption would unlock. With it came more power from souls, a range that started at one kilometer, and something called Field of Absorption. Itarr didn’t know what that was but hypothesized it would create a hole that Servi could control and alter. Whatever entered it would be transported to her ring.

As for Soul Essence of Primal Combat, the skill allowed her soul to unconsciously analyze the fighting style and combat memories of all the souls she had absorbed thus far. By doing so, she could become proficient in weapons she had never touched before, as well as see afterimages, which were the predicted movement of her enemy.

“They both sound incredible, but Absorption needs a lot of Potential to get it to level 99. Do you think we should put some points into Soul Essence? And I refuse to say the whole name every time, so I’ll call it Soul Essence.”

As always, it is up to you, but I would say yes, it’s probably worth it, but I wouldn’t upgrade it too much. It might make Momo a bit suspicious. How would you explain to her that, somehow overnight, you became proficient with a sword?

“You’re right. I’ll hold off on it for now. Actually, why don’t we save our Potential right now? At least until we have a few hundred. Unless there's an emergency, I'll only spend them when I’m with Momo."

That’s fine with me. So I guess everything in the categories of Chronomancy, Necromancer, Elemental Control, and Reality Control requires a trial to be completed except for that one skill. Since it doesn’t say anything in the Primordial category, I'm guessing the only requirement is having enough Potential. Do I have this right?

“That’s what I got from all of this,” Servi said as she got up off the old and wrinkly bed. Though she couldn’t die, the girl wasn't immune to the discomfort of a terrible mattress. After stretching down, touching her toes and arching her back, Servi used her ring to equip her leather armor. She said a quiet goodbye to her overalls, knowing that it wouldn't be long until they were reunited.

What is the plan?

“First, we find, buy, or steal a few disguises and masks. Then we roam the town and kill anyone who is starting trouble or attacking slaves. In the meantime, I have a favor to ask you,” Servi said as she reached out for her door handle.

Ask away.

“While I’m doing this, I want you to look over all of the skills from Rank 10 to Rank 0 and find the ones you think are most important.

Very well.

And with that, Servi opened the door to her room, stepped out, locked it, and walked downstairs. Her nightly stroll was just beginning.