263. Potential

[Cube of Isolation]. [Dimensional Pocket]. [Mass Particulate Modification].

These were the three remaining secondary Skills I hadn’t tested out yet. I’d already added the last— [Mass Particulate Modification]— into one of my available secondary Skill Slots. I attempted to use it in battle against the [Evolved Centinel]. Unfortunately, it ostensibly did nothing against the creature.

Either I was using the Skill wrong, or it didn’t affect living things.

I reckoned it was the latter rather than the former. I walked up to the corpse of the [Evolved Centinel] to test it out. Raising a hand, I pointed at it and spoke the Skill’s name.

“[Mass Particulate Modification].”

My senses were immediately immersed into the [Evolved Centinel]’s broken body. It was like I was holding it in the palm of my hands— but more than that, it felt like it was made out of clay. Like I could mold its shape and change its properties.

I narrowed my eyes. It wasn’t that I could make it whatever I wanted it to be. I could not do that. Instead, it felt like I could… stretch the body. Or compress it. So, I tried to do exactly just that. I tugged the corpse, feeling like I was pulling it apart. But it didn’t break down any further. Instead, it grew larger.

I watched as the [Evolved Centinel] dwarfed my height entirely until I could stretch it no more. My eyes grew round as I stared at it.

“Huh.”

I could change the size of objects with the Skill!

“Wait, actually—”

I walked up to the enlarged [Evolved Centinel]’s corpse and tried to pick it up.

“Ugh, heavy…”

Its weight seemed to match its size. And that gave me quite a few ideas.

“So, if I used [Scattering Displacement] together with [Mass Particulate Modification]... wait, how frequently can I use both Skills?”

As it turned out, I could use both Skills quite often. There wasn’t a cooldown between each Skil’s use— for both [Scattering Displacement] and [Mass Particulate Modification], I could cast the Skills again whenever I wanted if I had enough mana, although the amount of mana used each time depended on what I was doing with the Skills.

It gave me an idea. I activated [Scattering Displacement] to send all the rocks in the room flying. They floated about as I then used [Mass Particulate Modification] on them. I watched as they spun, changing in size, growing larger and heavier into boulders.

“Then if I just do this—”

I closed my hands into a fist, and the boulders rapidly came crashing together. I grinned, taking a step back.

“That’ll do a lot of damage, I think.”

Now, it was a good combination of Skills. But what was [Mass Particulate Modification]’s use on its own?

I could resize objects, but I didn’t see a lot of use on its own. For now, I moved onto my next secondary Skill.

“But between [Cube of Isolation] and [Dimensional Pocket], which should I try first?”

That was the question I had to ask myself. They had very vague names which didn’t let me infer much about what they did. I had to choose at random, then, so I decided on [Dimensional Pocket].

“Now, let’s see…”

I tapped a finger on my chin, trying to parse what it could do. So far, my Skills seemed to affect other objects rather than myself or other people. I decided to test the Skill on a rock. I picked up a piece of pebble focused on it, peering into it as the [Dimensional Pocket] took effect.

I blinked as it popped out of existence. I was staring straight into my palms. The rock vanished entirely from existence. It was gone.

“What…? Where did it go?”

I waved my hands around, trying to bring it back. With a single thought, it reappeared in the palm of my hand. The pebble appeared unharmed— as if it had been in my hand the whole time.

“How did that—”

Then it clicked. I understood what it did— it was a Skill that worked just like the Dimensional Storage Unit Daniel had. It was my own personal Bag of Holding that didn’t require a bag.

I grabbed a few items from my Bag of Holding and kept them away with my [Dimensional Pocket]. They all vanished without so much of a sound. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew exactly what I had stored.

“That is quite useful. That means I can just carry whatever I want with me wherever I go!”

However, was it useful enough for me to use up an entire secondary Skill Slot for it? That left me stumped for a bit. [Cube of Isolation] sounded like it could be useful— if I had to guess what it did, I’d assume it would somehow create a spatial box to trap others within. But if I really wanted to know what it did, I couldn’t just make guesses. I had to replace one of my secondary Skills with it.

And, well, I liked all the secondary Skills I had right now. It was always a risk to pick and choose a new Skill since it’d forever be locked in once the decision was made. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling particularly risky right now.

Maybe if I somehow acquired a Dimensional Storage Unit like Daniel had, I’d remove [Dimensional Pocket] as a Skill. For now, I kept what I had and moved on.

The next thing I did was distribute the secondary Skill Points and Stat Points I got from my Class advancement and level ups. I used my Stat Points to bring [Agility] to a nice 300, and invested the rest into my [Wisdom]. As for my secondary Skills, I increased both [Mass Particulate Modification] and [Scattering Displacement] to Level 5, since that would be my mai offensive Skill combination with my Class.

Salvos (Liberator of the Plaguelands)

Species: [Archdemon of Pride]

Subspecies: [Daeva Cambion] - Lvl. 114

Class: [Grand Mystic of the Nexeus] - Lvl. 66

General Skills:

[Advanced Mana Manipulation] - Lvl. 8

[Identification] - Lvl. 6

[Racial Skill: Universal Language Comprehension] - Lvl. 1

[Racial Skill: Demonic Essence] - Lvl. 4

[Racial Skill: Partial Mortality] - Lvl. 6

[Rest] - Lvl. 5

[Lesser Enhanced Wisdom] - Lvl. 6

[Title Skill: General Curse Resistance] - Lvl. 2

[Title Skill: Recall Skill] - Lvl. 1

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 8]

[Vitality]: 142 (+25)

[Strength]: 125 (+25)

[Endurance]: 131 (+25)

[Wisdom]: 234 (+25) (+10)

[Agility]: 300 (+25)

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 1]

[Barrage of Cinders] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Demon’s Mark] - Lvl. 10

[Haste] - Lvl. 15

[Intimidation] - Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Faux Limbs] - Lvl. 1

[Nebular Construct] - Lvl. 6

[Radiant Slash] - Lvl. 15 (Maxed)

[Salvo of Vanity] - Lvl. 10

[The Primordial Spark] - Lvl. 15

[Wings of the Netherworld] - Lvl. 5

[Passive - A Hunter’s Sense] - Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Passive - Blue Flames] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Passive - Weapon Mastery] - Lvl. 20 (Maxed)

[Unused Skill Slot] x1

Secondary Skills:

[Available Secondary Skill Points: 2]

[Dimensional Pocket] - Lvl 1

[Mass Particulate Modification] - Lvl 5

[Mystical Projection] - Lvl 15 (Maxed)

[Long Range Teleportation] - Lvl 15

[Planar Navigation] - Lvl. 10 (Maxed)

[Scattering Displacement] - Lvl. 5

[Warped Time] - Lvl 1

“Alright, I’m ready.”

With that settled, I left the Lair and continued my hunt to get stronger— to defeat more Centinels and get a Grand Skill.

“That reminds me… I’d have thought Sal would at least show up to congratulate me for reaching my Class advancement.”

I cocked my head, curious.

“I wonder why he hasn’t shown up.”

A palace floated above a sable sea. Specks of scintillating lights flocked about the castle’s ornate walls, flitting down its gilded hallways, and chattering jovially amongst each other. It was a place far reclused from the rest of the Nexeus— a place that most of the world knew nothing about. Yet, upon entering this space, anyone would instantly know who this palace belonged to. After all, a simple notification would be sure to inform them of it.

Now entering [The Celestial Palace of the Fairy Queen].

It was here that Sal made his first stop for his wager. In the middle of a grand courtroom, where Fairies were laughing and talking in the presence of their Queen, a portal opened up. A red figure stepped out of the portal, much to the astonishment of the Fairies.

“Halt! You are not allowed here!”

A blue Fairy no larger than Sal’s head flew up to him as her hands glowed with powerful magic.

“Out of my way, I’m here to speak with Tera.”

The Devil flicked a finger, and the golden Fairy went flying. The surrounding Fairies gasped as blue Fairy crashed into a nearby wall.

“Honored Rose!”

They shouted in terror. Each of them readied their magic, and a wicked smile spread across Sal’s lips.

“Hm, thought that would’ve killed her. She’s quite strong for her level, isn’t she? But, alas, I don’t think any of you will survive that.”

He turned his gaze to the other Fairies as their vibrant colors all turned into a paler shade. But before Sal could do anything, a voice cut him off.

“That’s enough.”

A tall figure emerged from behind a curtain. A golden figure that tripled Sal in height with silvery-translucent wings that dwarfed even her person. She eyed him impetuously and crossed all four of her arms across her chest.

“What brings you here, Devil?”

She spat with vitriol in her voice. The Devil just spread his arms wide, grinning.

“Aw, Tera! It’s been so long since we last met! How long has it been? A thousand years? Two thousand years? How’s your little ‘Fairy plane’ project going?”

“I am Teranialiselisandranovaluxical’ah-sham, the Fairy Queen. I ask that you address me by my proper Title, Devil.”

“Oh, you can’t expect me to say that whole thing! Can I just call you Tera, pretty please?”

Her gaze bore into him like daggers. Literally. Sal stumbled back as he created a barrier to dispel her magic before sighing.

“What about calling you Fairy Queen?”

“That is adequate. Now, tell me why you’re here and take your leave.”

“Ugh, you’re always such a party-pooper, you know that right?”

She stared at him, and he waved a hand off.

“That was a joke. Anyway, wouldn’t you rather speak in private? Right now, we have an audience.”

Sal gestured at the watching Fairies as they cowered behind chairs and tables, listening in on their conversation.

“My subjects know everything that I know. There is no need to keep secrets from them.”

“Well, if you insist. You see, I’m here because I want to make a wager.”

“A wager?”

The first sign of an emotion that was not anger showed on Tera’s face. She tilted her head slightly, and he explained.

“I know you’d rather stay secluded in your little… space here. But there are interesting things happening out there in the rest of the Nexeus right now.”

“I am aware.”

“You are?”

He blinked, genuinely surprised. She nodded.

“Regnorex has begun moving his pieces. His plan will come into fruition soon— the foolish Demon. And the Spirit Lord shall capitalize on that.”

“I have… absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sal gave her a blank look. Tera frowned.

“Is this not the subject of your wager?”

“Nope! I was talking about smaller events.”

He snapped his fingers, creating two images before Tera. A Demon in a cave and a Demon over a ruined city. Behind Sal, a Fairy squeaked when she saw the latter.

The Devil continued.

“You see these two right here? They are quite special. They have the potential, I believe, to become figures that could shape the future. Something even beyond a generational talent— people like you and me.”

Tera raised a brow.

“That is quite high praise coming from you, Devil.”

“It really is! Anyway, the problem is that having two such individuals in a single lifetime isn’t… well, it’s not impossible, but it certainly isn’t likely!”

Sal clapped his hands together, beaming.

“So, knowing that, I was thinking of holding a wager— don’t worry, it won’t be between you and me since I know more about both of them than you. I’d be asking others, too! And you’d be betting against them. You’re simply the first person I thought to ask since we’re such good friends.”

Tera leaned forward, ignoring the comment. She peered at both images, her eyes flashing into different shades before a flicker of recognition ran through them.

“This is… Belzu, isn’t it?”

“You know him?”

“I know of him. And I know the only reason Regnoex hasn’t disposed of that insect is because he believes that Belzu still serves some use for him.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t play the fool, Devil. You and I both know that Regnorex fears failing against Humankind a second time. With Belzu, he can weaken their defenses before he strikes.”

“I’ll be real, I’m not that close with Reggie boy.”

He raised a hand to cover his mouth and spoke conspiratorially.

“Between you and me, I don’t think he likes me.”

Tera shook her head, turning to the other screen. She stared at Salvos as her brows snapped together.

“Is she… staring at a rock?”

“I—”

Sal blinked and faced the screen. He watched as Salvos picked up a pebble and focused on it for a moment. Then the Devil scratched the back of his head.

“She’s a bit eccentric…?”

“Hmph.”

Tera made a displeased noise and dismissed the images. She turned around, speaking in clear displeasure.

“You ask me for my opinion, Devil, and I shall give it to you. I believe that neither of them shall come close to even reaching our levels. They both shall perish and be forgotten about in the next ten thousand years— as is the fate of all those who came before them, seeking out greatness.”

With that, the Fairy Queen settled back into her throne.

“Now leave, Devil. Before I lose my patience.”

“Alright, alright. I guess I could ask the Beast what it thinks— if it doesn’t try and kill me. Still, don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? Surely you think they stand a bit of a chance at reaching their potential, right?”

“No.”

She replied simply.

“Do you?”

The Devil’s eyes flickered towards Salvos. He paused for a moment and tapped a finger on his chin.

“Maybe.”

And with that, he took his leave.