Original Version

"So… are we going to talk about how we both knew about different skills existing here?" Vin questioned once we finished our food.

"Personally, I think that the Lie Detection skill was a part of the updated version that the author posted later on. Originally, a golden carrot was placed here."

"Oh! I didn't know that the author had rewritten that part."

"I didn't know either but that seems like the reasonable explanation."

"Yes, that will also explain how Bash, or whoever was controlling him, knew about both skills."

The explanation seemed quite reasonable. Rewriting a novel could mean that some people might have read the original version whereas some might have read the newer one. There could be people who re-read the novel and know about both versions.

In fact, both versions might have overlapped to create the current reality.

"Um, Michael, are you listening?" 

Vin's words pulled me out of my thoughts. I gave her a sheepish smile and shook my head.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"I was asking if you could sleep in the other corner of this place. I saw some beds on the other corner of this place."

"Sure. No problem."

It was clear Vin wanted some privacy and safety while she slept. I respected this since I wanted it too.

I also wanted to take a look at some things that I definitely did not want Vin to know about. I wanted to check the novel for a few things.

"We should sleep now. See you tomorrow."

I wished Vin goodnight and got up from the bed. Walking ove

On the other corner of the Ballmart, I found a nice king-sized bed for myself and settled down. It was time for me to check certain theories.

For starters, I wanted to see the level of control I had over the fire that was not created by me.

The term Pyrokinesis referred to the ability to be able to create fire as well as manipulate it.

A certain character had the Electrokinesis skill which allowed them to create and manipulate electricity. It also extended to electricity or lightning present in their surroundings.

I, too, wanted to test the degree of control I had.

I took out a lighter from the pocket of my jacket, something I picked up on my way to the bed.

A dazzling flame about 5 cm tall emerged from the lighter after I turned it on. My eyes stared at the flame.

I willed for the flame to rise higher and bend towards the right.

Nothing happened. The flame continued to remain at the same height while pointing towards the ceiling.

But I was not going to give up on it. 

One failure.

Two failures.

Five failures.

The flame refused to bend in any direction I wanted it to go in. This did not surprise me. Kinetic abilities were hard to master since their mastery basically allowed the user to abuse their power in any way they wanted.

If I had given them too much control over the elements in their surroundings, no one could have stopped them. Their magic power would have remained as their only weakness.

But then you might ask why I continued to bend the flame like an idiot. It would benefit me soon.

Except there was one problem. 

I had no idea how much time it would take me to unlock the skill. 

I decided to continue using the skill until I passed out from exhaustion or unlocked the skills.

An eternity passed or that's what it felt like. I now understand the importance of creating time skips. Lengthy training arcs could be made interesting but no one wanted to suffer the boringness of reading through training chapters.

"Maybe I should give up…" 

My headache reached a new level and was pulsating a lot. Veins popped up on my forehead as well as my arms, indicating the strain I put on myself.

I was consuming mana even though nothing seemed to be happening. This was the reason very few people could create skills.

I was tempted to move on but I decided to give it one last attempt. Everyone knew that the last attempt you made before giving up would become the reason for your success.

Thanks to the plot armor, it worked.

+

[ Your actions have given rise to a new skill! ]

[ 'Flame Control' is unlocked. ]

+

I sighed in relief after seeing that my efforts finally paid off.

=== 

Flame Control: allows the user to control all forms of flame, whether external or created by the user. 

- This skill has no levels.

- The amount of fire that can be controlled solely depends on the user's control over their emotions, their magic power, and the type of fire they are trying to control.

===

"This is it."

A grin appeared on my face. This skill was an invincible skill that allowed me to control all types of flames.

Just to test it out, I willed the flame from the lighter to rise high before bending to the right. The flame did as instructed, making me smile. 

Why was Pyrokinesis a S-ranked skill? I was pretty sure that Electrokinesis was a SSS-ranked skill. Maybe they will change its rank after they update their operating system.

All the statuses, skill information, broadcasting, etc were controlled by Entertainer Inc. They managed all of this with the help of an operating system that was linked to the Golden Scroll.

The GS looked over the entirety of scenarios and held all records of every being in the universe. By using that system, one could easily check the details of any person. This power was specifically handled by Entertainers.

The Entertainers in their original form belonged to one of the strongest races from the Supreme Power and were the only ones able to wield this power.

It allowed them to monitor everything smoothly. However, only the base version of the system was used at the beginning of the scenarios. It was upgraded only when the Entertainers were sure that a certain planet would last until the future scenarios.

Electrokinesis which initially was an S grade skill but was later updated to SSS grade. The MC also obtained many skills that were later ranked appropriately.

Wait, I was still referring to the main character as MC. It was about time I shifted to using his real name since he was a person now.

Ray Herondale. 

That was the name of my MC. It was nothing overly special yet the surname had a heroic tone to it.

Herons were a type of bird, mostly white in color. The name 'Herondale' represented a kind of purity.

'Ray must have met one side character by now…'

A dark expression suddenly crossed over my face. The side character in question was not one I liked very much.

She would remain important for a few scenarios before Ray would kill her for betraying him. That would take quite a dark turn for my otherwise cheerful MC.

Maybe I could prevent that from happening by meeting Ray and helping him. It would change many things but would lead to a better future for Ray.

It was choosing between the ending I wrote and the mental health of Ray.

Speaking of the ending, I had forgotten how I ended the novel. I was tired of it towards the end but wanted a good ending for the loyal readers.

I was pretty sure that it was a happy ending.

Checking my laptop would answer that question. 

Bending forward, I grabbed my backpack which was lying next to my legs. I suddenly paused when I noticed the cloth wrapped around my ankle.

My ankle had been sprained…

I immediately removed the medical cloth and rotated my ankle. I didn't feel any pain no matter how much I rotated it.

It was as if my ankle never got twisted.

Now that I thought about it, my ankle was fine from the moment Vin had used her skill to bring me to the Ballmart. Somehow it had healed the sprain.

"Could it be Vin who did that? No, she has no reason to do it and even if she did, there is no skill under Wind Manipulation that could help her."

Vin was becoming more and more mysterious by the second and not even a day had passed since I met her. It was clear she was hiding many secrets. But then, I was hiding things as well

'I should worry about this later on. Let's check the novel first.'

Opening the laptop, I headed over to the document containing my novel. That was when I noticed something strange.

---

[ Apocalypse Messiah (Original Version) ]

---

This stunned me since I was not the one who had added that to the title. In fact, I had not changed the name of the novel since it's creation.

The 'Original Version' part was added by someone else which was also impossible considering I was the owner of the laptop.

So how did the title change?