66 Envy

"- Abyss Taboo - Envy." Alex declared as he finished his sentence. "Oh, and can you also sell me the Electromagnetic Saber too? I want to try something with that."

"Ok?" Asteria seemed to not care at what Alex said as she proceeded on buying what he mentioned. "Here you go. Enjoy."

Alex squinted as the symbol on his forehead let out a glow, before two objects came out of it.

One was an old-looking book, while the other one was a tube that was 6 feet long.

Alex knew that the tube was most likely the Electromagnetic Saber, as the tube suspiciously looks like a L***tsaber.

Alex did not point that fact out as he was focused more on the second object.

The old-looking book was most likely the Abyss Tome – Envy, as it gave out that specific creepy and pissed-off vibe.

The book seemed to be alive, as it could be seen to be wriggling within Alex's hold, as if it just wanted to slither away.

Some of its pages were even slightly drooling, making the whole Tome like a sentient monster book.

Alex resisted the urge to throw the Tome away as he knew that he had to keep on holding it.

"Why did you choose Envy anyway?" Asteria asked as she finished the transaction. "I thought you would want something cool like Pride or Wrath."

"It's because I am also interested on the prospects of using the Abyss Tome – Wrath." Alex said as he stared at the Tome that he held with interest. "The shapeshifting and the matter manipulation parts are actually worth it in my opinion."

"…If you say so."

Alex could have chosen other Tomes earlier, but he felt that they could be better used in the endgame, or other special situations.

Choosing Pride is not a good choice for now, since Alex only had few abilities that can be enhanced.

As for Sloth, it is better used in large group situations, and right now, Alex's group does not fit the 'large' definition.

As for Gluttony, Alex felt that this Tome can be dangerous for his sanity. Alex was not sure why he thought of that, but he decided to avoid this Tome first.

As for Greed, Alex decided that getting more abilities using this Tome will just inconvenience Alex, as he was more comfortable on being versed in few abilities rather than getting many abilities at once that are all low-level.

And finally for Wrath, Alex decided to just get it as his second Tome.

"Hey Asteria…" Alex muttered as she slowly opened his Tome. "There are also Bonus Missions here too, right?"

"Yes, and there are more than one of them." Asteria cheerfully replied, as if she was enjoying what she said. "So, you better take them all!"

"I sure will." Hearing Asteria's confirmation managed to uplift Alex's feelings up.

If Alex can finish all of these Bonus Missions, then it is possible for him gain enough lifespan to buy the other Tomes!

Alex then shook his head as he remembered the things that he should be focused on for now.

"Ok, so how do I use you?" Alex said as he read the first page of the Tome.

Alex thought at first that he will see some special writing in the first page, but what he saw was all blanks.

Before Alex could complain about it, the Tome suddenly turned into an immaterial dark object which fused with Alex's body.

"Guh!" Alex felt slight pain passing through him, but it also disappeared as he felt something sticky and cold circulating all over his body.

Alex waited for a few more seconds, and all the uncomfortable feeling inside him all disappeared.

"I feel… nothing different." Alex commented as he inspected his tentacles and his body.

No matter which way Alex looked at it, it seems like the Tome did not do anything on him.

But before Alex could complain more, he suddenly felt a surge of information inside his head, which forced him to kneel for a full minute.

The pain accompanying this information surge was enough to make Alex slightly tear up.

"…" While all of this was happening, Asteria was just watching him impassively, as if she had no qualms about Alex.

"Hah!" Alex let out a shout as he felt the overload of information in his mind slowly dissipating.

He took some deep breaths accompanied by the desire to dry heave.

It took him another minute to full stabilize his own body.

Once he was stable, the first thing that Alex did was to say,

"What the hell was that, Asteria?"

***************

"Umm… that is you, getting all the possible spells that you can get with Abyss Tome - Envy." Asteria replied in a matter of fact tone as she gazed at Alex with an impatient look. "So, what do you 'see'?"

"Well… I feel like I can see a list inside my mind…" Alex said as he looked at what his mind was producing. "Yep, definitely like that."

Saying that he can see a list was right, as what Alex could see was…

[Level 1] -------- Minor Telekinesis, Voice Warp

[Level 2] -------- Major Telekinesis, Skin Warp

[Level 3] -------- Needs Grade 3 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 4] -------- Needs Grade 4 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 5] -------- Needs Grade 5 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 6] -------- Needs Grade 6 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 7] -------- Needs Grade 7 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 8] -------- Needs Grade 8 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 9] -------- Needs Grade 9 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 10] -------- Needs Grade 10 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 11] -------- Needs Grade 11 Abyss Energy to access.

[Level 12] -------- Needs Grade 12 Abyss Energy to access.

Aside from the pain, Alex also realized that integrating with that Tome managed to increase the amount of his Abyss Energy up to Grade 2.

This just means that right now, Alex can use Level 1 and Level 2 Spells from his Tome.

Of course Alex will also do his best to increase the Grade of his Abyss Energy on the incoming days, as he was sure that it is better for him to get stronger.

Alex re-read what he saw in the list as he assessed what he saw.

Just like what he had expected, he can already access Levels 1 and 2 Envy Spells.

As for the other Spells, the list had specifically mentioned that Alex will need higher Grades of Abyss Energy to use them.

"Hmm… since Alina still have some time to talk to that golden girl, it might not hurt to try out my new spells." Alex muttered to himself as he activated the Abyss Tome – Envy.

Since the Tome was fused with him, it took Alex only a moment before he could activate his first spell.,

<{| Voice Warp |}> These words chimed inside Alex's mind as he used started the spell.

Alex felt a power clustering within his throat, with this power forcing itself to stay there.

It felt uncomfortable, but Alex did not cancel the spell, as the Tome supplied him with the info on how to use this spell.

~~Hello, I am Asteria, and I am a dumb fairy. I maybe dumb, but I am also cute~~

Anyone who knows Asteria will think that it was Asteria who talked.

But the truth was that this sentence came out of Alex's mouth!

"What the hell are you saying Alex!" Asteria complained as he heard her own voice coming out of Alex's mouth. "Cut it out! It's really creepy!"

"Well, I want it to be that way." Alex replied seeming unfazed with what he did. "Besides, it is rare to hear you actually insulting yourself…"

"That voice was not mine!"

~~Honey, honey, honey, I'll slurp you all like p-~~

"Oh shut it, Alex!" Asteria shouted as she dropkicked Alex on his squishy nose. Of course this did not faze Alex at all.

Instead, Alex continued on what he was singing, which successfully reduced Asteria to a blushing mess at the end of his 'special song'.

"Hearing those words out in my voice is by far, the worst experience that I have with you for now." Asteria whispered as she gave killer glares at Alex. "Huhuhu hooman, remember that I will enact my revenge to you!"

"Yeah yeah.." Alex replied nonchalantly, looking like he was not worried at all.

Asteria's reply to that was her finger.

"Ok, this spell is neat." Alex thought to himself as he cancelled the spell. "It somehow fits the shapeshifting part."

With what he did earlier, Alex was able to ascertain that Voice Warp will allow Alex to mimic the voice of anything. That was the reason why Alex can speak in Asteria's voice earlier.

Not only that, but Alex also discovered that this spell of his will last as long as Abyss Energy was supplied on it.

Remove the Abyss Energy, and the spell will be done to.

Once he was done with that spell, Alex focused on the 3 others.

"Skin Warp? Hmm... I do not know if I should try it here..." Alex thought to himself as he felt slight apprehension on seeing this spell. "I better check out first the Minor and Major Telekinesis."

If Alex was right, Minor and Major Telekinesis falls into the category of Matter Manipulation.

"Well, from the looks of it, both of these Telekninesis are focused on macro-scale objects." Alex thought as he felt slightly disappointed. "Maybe I can only try manipulating atoms and quarks themselves at the higher levels…"

The main reason that Alex was interested in getting the Envy Tome was because of its matter manipulation aspect.

Alex was interested in this aspect, as he had many ideas that will be made possible with matter manipulation.

But from the looks of it, Alex will still not be able to tackle manipulation of atoms until his Abyss Energy has reached the right Grade.

Well, this is not bad for Alex yet, as Minor and Major Telekinesis can be used well in combat, especially with Alex' current build.

"Time to test them now."

<{| Minor Telekinesis|}> These words rang inside Alex's mind as he activated it.

At the instant that he initiated the spell, Alex was able to feel the presence of everything around him.

More specificaly, everything around 5 meters of Alex.

Alex was able to identify every object within 5 meters of him, no matter what their size were. It seems like he can also apply some kind of invisible hand that can force these objects to move.

Alex used this invisible hand to move a pebble, and Alec found it easy to move.

Alex and Asteria watched with excitement as they saw the pebble floating in front of the, freely moving because of Alex's intervention.

After seeing this, Alex decided to increase the weight of the objects that he will move, as he tried to find the limit of Minor Telekinesis.

As it turns out, 50 kilograms is the maximum wait that he can carry with Minor Telekinesis.

Not only that, but Alex also found out that more of his Abyss Energy will be depleted as long as he carries heavier objects.

And just like Voice Warp, Minor Telekinesis will stop working once the Abyss Energy was gone.

After testing Minor Telekinesis, Alex decided to test Major Telekinesis next.

The results that Alex got was pretty much the same, except for the fact that the weight limit of Major Telekinesis was much higher than the limit of Minor Telekinesis.

500 kilograms or half a ton. This is the weight limit of Major Telekinesis, which Alex found out in a little hard way.

Once he got the grasp on these abilities, Alex let out a whistle, as he remembered that he was just at the Level 2 of his Tome.

What special and bad-ass spells could Alex get once he reaches higher Grades? Probably the really powerful ones.

"Hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm…"

Seeing the promising spells in front of him, Alex could say that he was excited for his future with Abyss Tome -Envy.

Of course, that future will be better once Alex buys all the Abyss Tomes.

That is if Alex can get them all.