The true nature of the Orbs…
Ever since I first got the Orb of Concealment from Zerina, I was immediately made aware that there was still a secret about it through the System.
The name it registered had question marks that were enclosed by parenthesis at the end.
I tried to pry on its secret not just once or twice. However, every attempt I made resulted in a wasted effort.
Ah, not really fruitless since every time I would go to a new world, a new Orb would show up and find its way to me. It's not noticeable during the first time but when it happened in three consecutive worlds, I started doubting that no matter what I do, the Orbs would one way or another fall into my hands.
And when I got the fifth Orb and met Sofiel, new revelations about its origin and the holder who eventually became my Companions came to light.
Unfortunately, the true secret of the Orbs still eluded me after all that.
I thought this would be the key to awakening the World's Will but now that I think of it, no matter how formidable these Orbs are, it wouldn't be enough to awaken a Level 3 Natural World like Earth.
Now that this sly old man mentioned its true nature, I finally realized why I couldn't unearth its secrets by myself.
Because… It's not supposed to be only me who will unlock it.
"Zerina, Avelin, Jayna, Nysia and Sofiel… I thought you're coming with them to tour the place." I wryly smiled upon seeing the Orb Holders gathered inside the Pocket Dimension.
They were all sitting in lotus position while their Energy was being expended in front of them.
In front of Zerina, her System-type Energy was being poured on a gray rose-like flower, nourishing it.
The same as Zerina, in front of the other four Orb Holders, were flowers in different colors that were being nourished by specific types of Source Energy.
Upon hearing my voice, all five looked up and copied my wry smile before apologizing.
"That's what we planned to do but…"
"That hateful fortune teller brought all of us here."
Sofiel and Nysia answered as all of their eyes rested upon the old man who came with me.
So… he kidnapped all of them, huh?
"Don't look at me like I am some kind of villain, Kuramoto-kun. I asked all of them nicely." The Principal coughed to clear the awkwardness that was building up when I threw him an interrogative look. "As I said. We're here to awaken the true Nature of those Orbs. For your information, the Orbs and the Orb Holders weren't picked randomly. You're already aware of their identities, am I right?"
"I am. They're my wives from my previous life."
"Correct and although it's obvious, Yuko-chan is also one of them."
"Are there more like them that I haven't met yet?"
To test if he also knew about Illiana, I tried asking without letting out any clue. His Clairvoyance wasn't omnipotent. I bet he's also unaware of my trip to the Dark World.
"I'm afraid I'm not aware of that information."
The Principal shook his head.
I tried to observe him to check if he was lying or not but considering he's a Transcendent a lot stronger than me, it's impossible to get a clear answer.
For now, I could only take his answer at face value.
"I see. It's fine. If there's more, we'll just look for them after we're done here." I shrugged and stepped forward to check on the five girls.
Seeing the clear sweat forming from their foreheads because of what they're doing, my feet instantly brought me next to them and wiped the sweat off before throwing another interrogative look towards the Principal.
Is he getting rusty?
He should've started explaining things to me as soon as we arrived here.
Or is he waiting for me to answer the question myself?
After another cough, the Principal composed himself and started on his explanation.
"The Orb Holders are crucial to the awakening of the true nature of each Orb. Well then, without further ado, let us start."
Waving his hand, the Psyche Energy surrounding the five women parted as a clear Energy Screen could be seen preventing the Energy from entering the immediate vicinity.
I understood why he had to do that.
With five pure Source Energy being poured onto the flowers in front of the five women, if the Psyche Energy continued to exist nearby, it would spoil the pureness of the Energy.
"Un. It's time to make the flower bloom. Kuramoto-kun, please take out all of the five Orbs and place each of them inside their respective flowers as soon as they bloom."
Upon hearing the Principal, the five women's eyes flashed a hint of determination as they all completely focused on pouring more units of a specific type of Energy into the flower in front of them.
Because of that, the sweat that I had just finished wiping off their foreheads reappeared and trickled down their pretty faces.
Based on the control they were exerting to keep the five different types of pure energy stable as they continued to nourish the flower below them, it's clear that they're all exercising the upper limit of their Energy Control.
When I realized that, I unhesitatingly activated Energy Linkage and connected it to all five of them, giving each woman 10% of my Energy Control.
As soon as the Skill took effect, their eyebrows relaxed as they all glanced at me with a lovable smile full of gratitude and affection on their faces.
Naturally, I checked their conditions first, making sure that they wouldn't be strained from using their Energy Control.
Upon seeing what I did, the Principal could only shake his head and pursed his lips to prevent himself from commenting on how worrywart I was.
Ignoring his reaction, I wiped their sweat off once again before doing what the Principal instructed.
With the five marble-sized Orbs in my hand, I waited for the said flowers to bloom.
Fortunately, after around a minute of continued nourishment, the five flowers of different colors and different types of Source Energy bloomed beautifully.
Following the Principal's instruction, I controlled each of the Orbs and carefully placed them in the middle of the flowers.
Orb of Concealment for Zerina.
Orb of Enhancement for Avelin.
Orb of Ailment for Jayna.
Orb of Reinforcement for Nysia.
Orb of Improvement for Sofiel.
As soon as I finished placing the Orbs on the flowers, the petals that had just bloomed closed once again as if devouring the marble-sized stone.
Following that, the five girls closed their eyes and once again exerted their Energy Control on the five flowers.
Because the inherent Energy in their bodies was all Level 1, no special effects were happening.
It just silently floated in front of them as the flowers containing the Orbs gradually shined.
A few seconds later, even before the Principal could open his mouth to remind me of the next part, I already moved and did my part for this awakening process.
Utilizing the 50% of my Energy Control, my Flux Energy split into five different streams of Source Energy and poured onto the five glowing flowers.
As soon as the sufficient amount of Energy poured onto the flowers, the shine from the flowers heightened before an explosion of light ensued.
With our eyes blinded by it, I used my Adaptability and Energy Senses to feel the surrounding area.
The Principal fully focused on maintaining the Energy Screen he put up to prevent the Psyche Energy from entering while the five girls all stood up in place, their Source Energy in full circulation.
The five flowers containing the Orbs floated in the middle and gradually melded together.
With five different Source Energy types, one of them came up on top becoming the base Energy while the four Source Energy types transformed into tiny particles which inhibited the new form of Source Energy.
Contrary to my expectation, the five Orbs flew back to my side and settled down on my outstretched hand. The previous question mark on its name was replaced by (1%).
That could only mean one thing… We had to repeat this process many times over.
When my sense of sight returned, the new Source Energy expanded and instantly filled the immediate vicinity.
However, even if I felt that, my Adaptability only informed me what type of Source Energy was produced by that merge.
An incomplete Level 3 Psyche-type Energy.
Following that, the Principal waved his hands and the Energy Screen blocking the Psyche Energy disappeared, allowing for it to fill the space.
And as expected, when the incomplete Level 3 Psyche-type Energy melded together with the existing Psyche Energy in this Pocket Dimension, an Energy Storm ensued which eventually turned into a flood, filling up this desolate place.
The previously brown earth became filled with greenery as if the place was suddenly terraformed.
However, that's not the end of it.
As the raging Energy Storm continued to change the Pocket Dimension, the five girls flew to my side before we followed the Principal out.
"What's happening?"
Although I already had a guess, I still needed the sly old man to confirm it for me.
The Pocket Dimension we had just left was currently expanding like a balloon, filling up this cramped space beneath this building.
Without any change in his calm expression as if this was the outcome he predicted, the Principal curtly nodded before saying, "Kuramoto-kun. By using the five orbs simultaneously, it will restore the inherent Source Energy of Earth."