114 Portal
After emptying the Academy and the treasure Pavilion, Xue Mo and Lu Yao returned to the underground room in Giorno's office, where they found the portal earlier.
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FlashBack
Xue Mo and Lu Yao were going on a killing and destroying spree, anything in front of them was either killed, plundered, or destroyed. To check if there is anything that was hidden such as a hidden room or stash and not to miss anything, Xue Mo and Lu Yao destroyed the buildings and caused more chaos in the already half-destroyed Academy.
After killing everyone and torturing everyone that needs to be tortured, Xue Mo and Lu Yao searched the Academy for everything that can be useful. They stored it all into the Void Samsara Parasite Ring.
As Xue Mo and Lu Yao were searching and destroying the Academies, they reached a building that seems to be the offices of the staff of the Academy.
They searched the building carefully for anything valuable. What Xue Mo and Lu Yao found were another four space rings in an office at the highest floor. This office was larger than the others, and it had many books and scrolls in it. It had a painting of Dean Giorno hanging on the wall at the back of the desk. It was a beautiful and ordinary office if another person wasn't here they wouldn't notice the abnormality of this office.
Through their improved Soul cultivation that reached Rank 1 level 3, Xue Mo and Lu Yao were able to sense a cavity in the floor of the office. Underneath the floor of Dean Giorno's office was a path that leads to another place. This cavity if anyone else found it, they would have thought along the lines that 'This must lead to a safe or vault with all of Giorno's treasures.' 'This must be a way out for Giorno. He must have built it to escape if anything happened to him or the Academy.'
Probably to fool the people that managed to get to his office and somehow found the secret door that leads elsewhere, Giorno or whoever else knew about it built measures that would be enough to fool or satisfy whoever went through them.
In the underground cavity of Giorno's office, Xue Mo and Lu Yao broke the ground walls and descended into the underground passage to see where it leads. What greeted Xue Mo and Lu Yao when they landed was the sound of arrows too fast to dodge for a normal person heading towards their directions. The arrows would have killed Lu Yao if she were hit by them, even with the healing characteristics of her race, she would have died if that many arrows penetrated her.
As Lu Yao was now weak, other than her still immature body that reverted to its 'basic' form, which weakened the natural innate abilities that stayed with her when she turned into a fox, she didn't have much strength now. Such as her super healing that can heal from limbs being cut in minutes or her superior fire abilities that would drain her out if used and some other small, weakened abilities.
Good thing Xue Mo was able to react fast enough. Activating the ability that lets him turn incorporeal, and was somehow able to turn Lu Yao that was perched on his shoulder immaterial with him, allowing the arrows to pass through them, saving them.
After that accident, Xue Mo and Lu Yao carefully made their way in the passage. Every now and then, they met with traps that would hurt them or barely have the qualifications to kill any inexperienced person. Still, with Xue Mo and Lu Yao's powers as well as their preparedness after the first trap, they were able to reach the end of the passage in fifteen minutes. It would have taken five minutes if they didn't move as carefully as they had done, but they didn't want to take any chances with their lives on the line even with their power, their bodies are still currently weak.
At the end of the passage, Xue Mo and Lu Yao found an ordinary wooden door, but the only strange thing about it is that it is filled with runes from top to bottom. Shooting a curious look at Lu Yao, Xue Mo was about to answer. Still, Lu Yao already knew his thought process, and what he wanted to know explained, "These runes that fill the door are comprised of protection runes, physical resistance runes and counteract runes, and all of them are at the lowest level. The protection runes work to neutralize magical attacks to a certain extent. Since these are of the lowest level, they can only stop attacks stronger than those traps we have crossed, which are limited in the Magic Apprentice level. The Physical resistance runes are as the word implies, they are used to null any form of physical attack that is used on the door. As for the last rune, the counteract runes are the most troublesome to deal with, they are used here as a last resort type of act. If the protection runes and the physical resistance runes stop working or couldn't handle the attack on them and were bypassed, the dormant counteract runes will awaken to negate and return any form of attack unleashed upon the door." Lu Yao's explanation might have turned anyone away as even if they breakthrough the fist two runes, the last one would surely do them in, and if not, they would be severely injured if they don't have enough power to enter.
As the power of the Ash Expanse was that weak, the higher ups that support them probably used resources that won't make anyone suspicious. And at the same time made it good enough to kill anyone weak from the Ash Expanse to make them deem that the thing behind the door isn't more extraordinary than anything the Ash Expanse might have.
If it was anyone else, they might have believed this trick and gotten what's behind the door. Using a wisp amount of SSP energy to attack the door, all the runes on the door shined brightly, trying to block the peculiar and strange power that was about to hit it. No matter what runes activate, nothing works, not the protection rune, nor the physical resistance runes, not even the counteract runes. Nothing worked, the SSP energy seeped into the door and devoured it, leaving nothing there, but an empty hole shaped door.
Xue Mo and Lu Yao were used to this scene after countless times of using the SSP energy. They knew what to expect, and that it would be able to bypass the door as quickly, after all, no matter what materials or runes were used, they were all of the lowest quality and level. At the same time, SSP was high-quality energy that has the raw power of a Divine Celestial Stage Cultivator. Although for now, Xue Mo doesn't know what the Divine Celestial Stage's equivalent is in this Universe that depends on a faulty system. But Xue Mo at least knew that it would at the very least be a powerhouse in a high-grade world.
Entering through the door shaped hole, Xue Mo and Lu Yao's sight was quickly caught by the bookcase, the Chest, and the Ring on the table, examining the three items in front of them, Xue Mo and Lu Yao were surprised at what they found.
The bookcase had many excellent books that have more knowledge and more information about the Professions in this world, about the different affinities and how to control them, and it even has knowledge about how to create spells. Although Xue Mo can create Cultivation techniques and has theoretical knowledge that Infinite Darkness can use to derive even more methods that suits him and Lu Yao to a tee. Xue Mo still doesn't know how to create spells as the way mages use magic, and the way cultivators cultivate the affinities and use them are two completely different paths.
While cultivators use the affinities, they possess to cultivate them through either a cultivation technique that suits their element or through understanding the elements and turning it into laws at a higher stage of cultivation. So they can use it freely in their natural and most efficient way. The Mages, on the other hand, create spells that allow them to tap into the affinity of the element they possess. To use it better, and even combine it with other compatible or, in rare cases, incompatible elements to generate a new element. Such as combining lightning and air to create storm elements that will need storm spells to use, etc..
The Chest, on the other hand, was filled with all types of Mana stones. Varieties that are very normal to see in a midgrade world, such as a Fire Mana Stone, Water Mana Stone, Wind Mana Stone, and Earth Mana Stone, and all of them were of the mid-grade type, not like low-grade mana stones Xue Mo used before. There were even five average non elemental Mana Stones in the Chest. Mana Stones are a rarity in this low-grade world, so for Xue Mo and Lu Yao to find them, they should be happy. Still, with Lu Yao being someone from a mid grade world and Xue Mo being an ex Divine Celestial realm cultivator, they just casually glanced at the Mana Stones giving them a look before storing in them with the whole bookcase in the Void Samsara Parasite Ring.
Finally, approaching the Ring that was placed on the table, Xue Mo and Lu Yao found out that it is another midgrade space ring other than the one they found before. But the contents in the Ring were probably worth more than the two midgrade space rings combined, as the Ring housed something called a skill book.
When Xue Mo and Lu Yao had lost the system, all the skills that weren't imprinted to them like the Mana Control skill were removed, leaving Xue Mo with only what he has. But there is only one thing that can be passed, and that is the skill book. As, unlike spells that need only to be memorized and have the affinity to cast. Skill books will give you knowledge on how to achieve a specific requirement to gain skills.
Other people, unlike Xue Mo, had to toil and work hard to gain skills through the system. On the other hand, Xue Mo weaponized, with his various advantages, knowledge, and wisdom, didn't have to work or toil much to gain skills. And if the system weren't faulty and would sooner and later become obsolete, Xue Mo would have quickly advanced and leveled up through it.
After storing the Rings contents in the gradually increasing space of the Void Samsara Parasite Ring, Xue Mo started letting the Ring be absorbed and become nutrients to upgrade his Void samsara Parasite Ring further.
After finishing, Xue Mo and Lu Yao went back to trying to find the source of the fluctuations of the energy that they felt. With bloodlines that enhance their power to sense energy, and with their practice and control through cultivation, it was an easy feat for them to notice the unusual fluctuation that is hidden behind the wall.
Behind the wall of the now stored bookcase, as what by now Lu Yao had recognized as a space energy fluctuation was being kept hidden away discreetly and what the real treasure of the Academy is. Lu Yao and Xue Mo exchanged glances as they knew what the other was thinking; they just nodded their heads to each other and broke through the wall.
Inside the wall was a portal. The portal had a round sphere shape. Its edges seemed to be made of particles coming from the void, while its center gave one a view of the other side, albeit the vision is hazy, Xue Mo and Lu Yao could still glimpse at the midgrade world. Unlike the usual portals that were transfixed in their place and are hardly moveable, the blue small-sized portal was floating above a box that has countless runes inscribed on it. The energy that was emitted from the box was the space fluctuation Xue Mo and Lu had sensed upon nearing the door. This box seemed to be stuck to the ground and immovable, without destabilizing the portal there was no immediate way to take it with them.
Seeing the situation, Xue Mo didn't get discouraged after seeing how Lu Yao handled dealing with runes efficiently time and again, he believed that she could find a way to make the portal portable.
As expected, after staying silent for a couple of minutes, contemplating what to do, Lu Yao turned towards Xue Mo before uttering: "I can make it portable, but I will need at least six hours." Lu Yao stayed silent for a couple of minutes before saying: "Let's go clean the Treasure pavilion up. That way, when we are done from the portal, we can leave immediately instead of having to go and clean it later." Xue Mo naturally agreed as what Lu Yao said was the truth why waste extra time if they can just clean the Pavilion then solve the portal problem. This way, Xue Mo and Lu Yao won't waste any more time and can leave the Academy to start training in body cultivation.
Flashback end
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Xue Mo and Lu Yao moved back through the underground passageway through the door hole and finally through the wall. Seeing the weak small-sized portal, Xue Mo decided to ask a question that has been bugging him for a while, "Why is the portal so small and fragile, no humanoid or larger creature can pass through this way, although it seems like there are ways to grow it I don't know runes so I can't seem to get how. But I can tell that this portal has been weakened over time, and it will last maybe another year or so the way it is. How are we going to recharge it?" As always, when Lu Yao is around, Xue Mo has something to say or speak about.
Lu Yao liked that Xue Mo only talked to her like this and no one else. After listening to Xue Mo's deductions and inquiry, she replied with a question instead of directly answering: "What do you think is a good enough power source to recharge the portal with?"
Xue Mo thought about the question, contemplating a bit he answered what he thought was the correct answer: "I think only something like a Mana stone can handle something like a portal, But Mana stones are inefficient unless….." As if realization dawned upon him, Xue Mo looked at Lu Yao with shining eyes as if he found something amusing he continued, "Unless the portal somehow doesn't need that much energy. And that is only possible if there is something that will act as a substitute or a limiter that stops the massive consumption of energy that a thing like a portal will expend."
Hearing what Xue Mo said, Lu Yao was speechless, although she asked him that question she didn't expect an answer like that, it was too perfect as if he knew exactly what the portal needed.
Lu Yao shook her head lightly before softly smiling and filling the blanks that Xue Mo left, "Your answer is too precise as if you knew what to do from the start. Anyway, you are right, everything you said was correct, and the thing that is reducing the energy consumption is actually a low leveled rune that goes by the name Mana reducer. Although the name isn't great and implied that it reduces the amount a Mana Stone provides, it actually just converts the Mana from Mana Stone and regulates it to give the smallest amount to keep the portal open unless it is used." Lu Yao finished speaking, after a second she continued, seeing the look on Xue Mo's face she knew what he wanted to ask. Lu Yao beat Xue Mo and explained before he can ask: "The reason the rune isn't called a Mana Regulator is that there is another rune with a better function that has that name." Saying no more, Lu Yao left the speechless Xue Mo in his place and made her way towards the portal.
Xue Mo didn't disturb but found a place to sit down, and like last time he observed as Lu Yao worked her art. 'She calls the way I torture people art, well I think the way she looks when she inscribes runes art.' Xue Mo thought while he paid extra attention to the working fox.
After four and a half hour
Lu Yao had just finished inscribing several runes on the cube most delicately and carefully; that way, the portal won't be destabilized and disappear.
Xue Mo directly asked Lu Yao after several minutes, "So what will happen now? Can we transport the portal with us?" Seeing Lu Yao drenched with sweat as her fur stuck to her body and wetted it, Xue Mo let her climb on his shoulder to rest.
Accepting Xue Mo's gesture, Lu Yao climbed his shoulder as she answered, "I added a simple rune. It is called Quho, and it means to move in another dead language called Dinabi. Although I didn't want to learn it, it was mandatory at that Academy to learn it. This rune (Quho) was something I created when I had homework on creating a rune. I created it as it was the easiest to do at the time, so I made it. Who knew we would need it at a time like this…." Lu Yao was amused as she explained to Xue Mo about the past.
After Lu Yao finished speaking, she started falling asleep on Xue Mo's shoulder as nearly all her Mana was drained when she was carving runes on the box.
Xue Mo deemed it safe to pick the cube up since it can now be moved Xue Mo didn't waste any time and stored the cube in his pocket before making his way out of the underground room prepared to leave the Academy finally.
Xue Mo and Lu Yao's current new shortened stats
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Infinite Darkness
Name: Xue Mo
Points 1065 SSP energy points
Cultivation:
Energy:
Realm: [Foundation Opening, early Phase, level 1]
Technique: Ultimate Fundamental Racial Technique
Soul:
Realm: [Rank 1, level 3, (Soul Understanding)]
Technique: Boundless Soul Control
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Infinite darkness
Name: Lu Yao
Points 1000 SSP energy points (Shared from Xue Mo)
Cultivation:
Energy:
Realm: [Qi (Arch) Foundation Opening, early phase, level 1]
Technique: Nephilim Void Sacred Sense
Soul:
Realm: [Rank 1, level 3, (Soul Understanding)
Technique: Boundless Soul Control
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