Chapter 25
I felt a blazing pain as my body began to reshape itself.
I was going from crystalline to spherical to humanoid in a matter of seconds.
[[primordial lord candidate [[Lota]] has awakened]]
[[world-wide has started]]
[[world-wide has concluded]]
[[world-wide has allowed all beings to see [[crests]] and track their progress]]
[[level up]] [[level up]] [[level up]] [[level up]] [[level up]]
[[level up]] [[level up]] [[level up]] [[level up]] [[level up]]
I was now level 15 from the five levels I got before evolving and the ten levels I just got, so I went to check my status screen.
Name: Yuuno
Species: [[demon ]]
Demon Name: Lota
Dungeon Title: The Labyrinth of Yuuno
Level: 15
PT: 10,000
Core Type: ultimate core
Evolution: Demonic Form
Current Skills:
[[Matrix Ultima]]
[[Odyssey]]
[[Pluto – Lord of Death]]
[[All-Seeing Eye]]
[[Time-Space]]
[[Necromancer]]
[[Compound]]
Titles:
[[Dragon Tamer]]
[[Labyrinth Builder]]
[[Master of Monsters]]
[[Hero Killer]]
[[primordial lord candidate]]
[[new distinct SKILL(s): [[Physical synthesis]] [[Psionics]] [[subordinate control]] [[respawn (regained as sub-skill)]] [[Spiritual immortality]] [[search sub-skill of All Seeing Eye]]]
I stared in awe at my new evolution perks. Immortality was just kind of unfair, even if I didn’t know its limits. Then I opened my eyes, so to speak. I was in my normal room, but I felt different somehow.
“Hello, master. Your return is very welcome!” said Ultima, in a tone that said she had missed me but was unsuccessfully trying to hide it.
“I missed you too,” I said, and she made a noise halfway between an embarrassed squeak and a surprised laugh.
I proceeded to try out my newly learned skills. It seemed [[physical synthesis]] could create things by sacrificing other materials, such as turning a rock into an iron ingot. [[Psionics]] was essentially telekinesis. I dared not try [[subordinate control]], but Ultima told me it could move the souls of subordinates into other bodies or vessels. [[respawn]] was a newly regained sub-skill—a small part of another skill, probably [[Time-Space]]. I genuinely could not try [[Spiritual immortality]] because I did not know how it worked or how it stopped me from dying, and I was not about to risk my life testing it. [[search]] was basically a mini Google.
When I used [[search]] to look up the perks of my new [[primordial lord candidate]] title and race, it told me this:
[[primordial lord candidate]] — this title and race is one step before becoming a primordial lord. It will cause a world-changing event much like the [[world-wide ]] that caused the ability to see [[crests]]. Once fully awakened, you will gain massive stat multipliers and heightened skill and magic power.
Then, a thought hit me like an isekai truck-kun hitting an unaware protagonist. If I used [[compound]] to fuse [[All-Seeing Eye]] and [[Matrix Ultima]], it would create the ultimate processing unit. It would be made up of the quantity of [[Multi tasker/parralell minds]], the individual power of [[Matrix Ultima]], and the direct information of [[All-Seeing Eye]] and [[search]].
“I’m a genius!” I exclaimed in awe at my own intelligence.
“If you say so, master,” sighed Ultima.
I activated [[compound]] on my new test subjects. After a few seconds of suspense, during which Ultima and I did not speak or breathe, I got a notification.
[[new compound SKILL acquired: [[Ultima Finis]]]]
“How do you feel?” I asked.
“What do you mean, ‘how do you feel’? I was just used as a lab rat in a skill-based experiment…”
“Oh,” I said, rather abashed. “At least you seem to have even more emotions now, and all traces of anything robotic are gone.”
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She let out something like a giggle.
“Just kidding, I feel great!” she said, like she was teasing me.
Just then, I realised I hadn’t checked what I looked like. I blinked over to a puddle at the corner of the room and looked at my reflection. I was now a large, perfectly spherical crystal orb with glowing multicolored mana and spiritrons at my centre. I then wondered if I would ever be human again, and my temporary human form from the evolution void popped straight into my mind. Suddenly, that exact human form appeared in front of me, more mannequin-like than before, as if it had no soul.
Instinctively, I used [[subordinate control]] on myself, transporting my soul into the newly made body.
“You cannot be taking so many naps, master,” was the first thing I woke up to. Ultima was teasing me about my latest evolution coma.
I checked the puddle again. I had the exact same blue-pink hair color, the same golden eyes, and black fingernails. It felt strange; I had the exact same build as before reincarnation—same height, same width, everything. Then I realised with utter embarrassment that I was completely nude. Although I did not seem to have any bits, so to speak, it was still embarrassing.
I called in Kuroe.
“C-c-could you summon me some clothes to wear, p-please?” I stammered through the embarrassment.
He summoned clothes for me, clearly trying to be respectful during my moment of humiliation. I quickly put them on. He had given me a black sleeveless crop top with golden straps at the neck and lower rim, white baggy trousers that were tight only at the waist and ankles, and an unnecessary pair of black earrings he forced me to wear.
[[you have achieved title [[human form]] as a [[reward]] for this title you will be given an [[offense SKILL pack]] and a weapon]]
“Whoa, okay, it’s not like I’m leaving the dungeon!” I objected. My mind was urging me to go out and get some air and vitamin D…
I blinked at my entrance. I would check my rewards later; right now, I was going to finally get out of the place I used to call home. I walked for a few minutes before actually opening my rewards.
[[new SKILL(s) gained: [[dark magic]] [[weapon proficiency I]] [[combat proficiency I]] [[Haki]]]]
[[new ITEM received: [[greed and gluttony]] type — dagger/weapon]]
I had new skills, new weapons, many friends, and almost unimaginable power, but my journey was just beginning, and I was not as strong as I thought.
Chapter 26
As I walked through the woods that the [[Odyssey]] map identified as the [[Eldritch Woods]], I bumped into plenty of monsters. Most of them submitted and fled at the passive fear effect from [[Haki]], since they were weaker than I was. A few nutcases pushed through anyway, only to feel the wrath of [[Greed]] and [[Gluttony]]: [[Gluttony]] devoured their souls while [[Greed]] consumed their bodies, erasing the monsters that attacked me from the face of the planet.
Of course, I had [[Subordinate Control]] place my subordinates’ souls into my shadow, creating the same chaotic feeling I’d had when I first used [[Parallel Minds]] and [[Multi-Tasker]]. Ultima stayed with me as well; she was permanently bound to my soul and mind, so it only made sense to have her there for tactical advice.
After a while of walking and cutting down slimes, direwolves, greater goblins, and even a small wyvern with ease, I stumbled across a clearing. It held a small village—very basic, with the fifty or so houses looking more like tents. The moment I saw the little green-skinned, pointy-eared people, maybe one hundred to three hundred of them, I froze, ready for an attack. But they seemed docile enough, going about their own business. They even looked more human than my goblins in the dungeon.
Ultima told me these were surface goblins, a humanoid race with feraloid origins.
One of the little children in the settlement came up to me... riding on a slime.
“What’cha doin’?” asked the little boy.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuum...” I could not believe my eyes. I really was in a fantasy world, something I had dismissed for the past year while I was in the dungeon. And a little goblin was asking me questions as if I weren’t a stranger, but an old friend or uncle.
“I’m gonna have to take you with me to the chief if you don’t mind!” he squeaked solemnly. He quickly grabbed my wrist and made his slime speed off in the direction of the biggest hut in the village. As I was dragged along face-first through the dirt, I saw all kinds of things. At least a third of the children I saw were riding slimes, and even some adults sat with them on their laps like lap dogs. Every family had a primitive kitchen and a room with three or more beds, probably a bedroom. There was also a beautiful lake, and many goblins sat at its edge or swam in it, catching fish. It looked like a happy community, but every adult wore a distinct look of anxiety.
When we finally reached the big house, the little boy hopped off his slime and rushed to hug a very old and decrepit goblin sitting in a chair.
“Hi, Grampa!” he squealed excitedly.
“Awwww, that’s so cute!” Ultima squealed in equally high tones at what she clearly deemed cute. Just then, I noticed that none of the goblins in the room seemed to hear her, but I pushed that thought aside.
“Who is this...” the elderly goblin began, then fell into a coughing fit before recovering just as quickly. “...rather strange man?” he asked the little boy.
“I found him at the edge of the village. I don’t think he has anywhere to go, do you?” He looked back and forth between me and the old chief. The chief looked at me, and his gaze lingered on my passive [[Haki]] with visible apprehension. I quickly deactivated it. He seemed to relax after that, and he began talking to me, asking his questions. Eventually, I was given a place to stay in one of the spare huts.
The next day, I woke up to find the village in panic, shouting about a swarm of redcaps attacking the settlement. I quickly ran to the chief’s hut.
“What’s going on?” I yelled over the uproar of screams.
“We don’t know!” he replied. “A swarm of around twenty redcaps and fourteen redcap riders is storming the village!”
I instantly knew what to do. I used [[Physical Synthesis]] to create a human teenage male—older than I was—with relatively long red hair and black eyes. I stuffed Kuroe’s dormant soul into the body, told him to summon some clothes, and sent him into battle.
“Problem solved!” I called out to the chief, but he seemed unconvinced. Please don’t burn down the village, Kuroe... I pleaded in my head. ([[request]] granted — you have gained the SKILL [[mind link]].) That was a relief.
Kuroe, don’t destroy the village, PLEASE.
Unexpectedly, a reply came.
I won’t, master, although I may need some assistance; there are so many that I can’t handle them all on my own.
I ran out into the village, using my [[Odyssey]] skill to blink to where Kuroe was. When I arrived, I drew my [[Greed and Gluttony]] daggers and started slicing through the redcaps, while my [[Haki]] paralyzed them and Kuroe and I beat them into the mud. The only things we didn’t kill were the lesser worgs they were riding, since Ultima said they would be useful to the village. The battle lasted about fifteen minutes. We killed the redcaps, captured the worgs, and amazed the goblins. All in all, we did a good job.
“Oh my,” exclaimed the chief. “You are very powerful!”
I blushed at the unusual, non-sycophantic praise.
“It wasn’t much...”
“It WAS, my lord!” shouted Kuroe, sycophantically.
I gave him a witheringly dry smile, which he seemed to cherish like a god-given gift.
“Sir, we have just had a short discussion,” whispered the elder in pious tones. “We would like it if... if you gave us names.”
I looked at him in disbelief. Naming someone was a random and very important thing, especially when it meant naming hundreds of people.
“Okay?” I replied uncertainly. The entire village fell silent, as if for a funeral or a religious event.
“Grace,
Gabriel,
Gemma,
George,
Gabriela,
Gavin,
Giselle,
Graham,
Georgia,
Garrett,
Giovanna,
Gideon,
Genevieve,
Giovanni,
Greta,
Gregory,
Gloria,
Grant,
Gwen,
Guillermo,
Gianna,
Grayson,
Gina,
Giancarlo,
Gabrielle,
Gennaro,
Graciela,
Gunner,
Guadalupe,
Gael…” were just a sixteenth of the names I gave out.