Basis of Power II - Ambrosya

Devolution could be triggered in three ways.

The direct curse of a god, a disease called Slumber, or a special potion that few can craft.

I was going to use the first technique. It was the easiest. All I needed to do was defile an altar... The right altar.

If I defiled the wrong altar, my curse might be different. I might even be directly annihilated into dust.

Thankfully, I knew the perfect god to insult. She had a habit of devolving people who she wants to punish, after all. She does it subconsciously to anyone who makes a mistake in her very tedious offering ceremony.

I just had to make a small 'accidental' mistake.

Yes.

Just a small one.

I looked at the altar I created out of the trash in Caelum's room. A crooked smile was plastered across my face.

"This is totally not a small mistake," I finally burst out laughing.

Oh, if only I could see the face of the goddess of ceremonies and vows the moment I defile her altar. It would be exhilarating.

Trying my best to hold in my laughter, I thus began mimicking the ceremony I needed to make an offering to the goddess. My actions were all based on my memory.

Since I never actually practised, I was sloppy. I fumbled and made mistakes aplenty in my stance and footsteps.

Nothing I did was right.

I finally realised just how hard the ceremony I typed out was. I couldn't imagine how it would look like in real life. The priests and priestesses would surely be suffering a lot.

At this thought, I almost lost control of my laughter.

Onto my bucket list, this idea went. I needed to watch a ceremony for the goddess Alliyaha. I needed to see those priests and priestesses stress over their ceremonies.

As I lost myself in thought, I suddenly felt a vibration come from the altar.

—FOOLISH MORTAL. YOU DARE ATTEMPT SUCH A SLOPPY DISPLAY BEFORE MY SIGN AND ALTAR.

A voice shook my entire house. Cracks appeared on the walls as a terrifying pressure bore down on me.

—IT SEEMS LIKE YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR PLACE.

An invisible hand knocked me off my feet and forced me onto my knees.

—KNEEL AND BOW, AND I MIGHT JUST SPARE YOUR LIFE.

...It seems like I had indeed angered this goddess a bit too much. I don't remember writing down the fact that she had a speech during the times she cursed her believers for messing up.

"I... I apologise... I just... wanted to make an offering to the great goddess despite my meagre abilities..." I struggled to speak, bowing my head as low as I could.

If I died to this god then all will be for nought.

—HMPH. I SEE YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR FOOLISHNESS. YOU WILL KEEP YOUR LIFE TODAY BUT YOU WILL LIVE WITH WEAKNESS AND BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANGERING THIS GREAT ONE.

—I CURSE YOU WITH THE ESSENCE OF LESSER BEINGS.

I felt weird energy engulf my fragile, shivering body. Adrenaline was coursing through my body as an instinctive panic shook my mind.

—REPENT, MORTAL. AND NEVER ANGER ME AGAIN.

I was ignoring the goddess' words now. I had no choice but to. Infinite weakness and pain were gripping me. I could not think straight. My thoughts were slow, sluggish. As if I hadn't slept in days.

My skin turned translucent and pale before my very eyes. I saw my veins and arteries in great detail, along with the red and whiteness of my flesh and tendons.

The mana in the air, however, became so real to me. I could practically feel it enter my body with every breath I made. I could feel it tickling my skin or twirling within my soul. It was an inexplicable feeling that brought me nothing but awe.

Instead of weakness, I felt power.

I opened my eyes wide and studied the movement of mana in the air. Everything was as vivid as that time when I was assassinating Edward.

"Per... fect..." I managed to talk despite my immense weakness.

Now, it was time to train.

To start, I was going to engrave the last two mana programs of Mana Vision into my eyes.

...

Weakness also meant that I was more or less numb. My senses were dull as a Lesser Human and I could feel sickness coming to me. Nonetheless, I was happy that my senses were hindered.

I could cry tears of blood without actually perceiving too much pain.

A small pool of blood had formed where I was lying down. Blood had been flowing from my eyes from all the carving that I was doing.

And it was only now that it stopped. Mana Vision had been completely engraved after a total of eight hours.

All the mana in the world was now mine to see. I could even see into the bodies of living beings and analyse the flow of their mana, therefore predicting their next actions to a degree.

If I could get my hands on the upgrades to Mana Vision, then my sight will only grow stronger. The things I would be able to see would be endless.

If I could somehow manage to engrave the S rank Mana Vision upgrade which was also known as [ Eyes of God ], then my optic disc would be filled with more than a hundred mana programs.

I looked out into the streets of Gobble and saw another world open its doors to me. I saw the mana that churned within each person walking on the streets. I saw the different shades of their mana, as well as the mana that they naturally cycled through every breath they took.

The world before my eyes was filled with transparent blues, and yet I could still see the world normally despite it. I could still view actual colours besides the 'colour' of mana. It was an amazing sight to behold. It was like there was another blue for mana and another blue for true blue.

If only my brain wasn't so sluggish that it made things seem like a dream, I would have appreciated the world even more.

But I quickly shook my head from all this admiration I was doing.

I had to move on with my next task.