Skills, Yuna and The Beginning of a Journey

Appearing within a military training ground I couldn't help but smile as I thought of all those kids that would be able to learn advanced topics and pioneer several industries in the future. The University was a huge bonus to Tempest, intellectually and educationally. I would ensure that it would influence our nation positively. 

The libraries of the University were filled with knowledge on science and materials. Designs on multiple different machines, furniture, companies, methodologies, philosophies and magical tomes; sourced from Merchants that had dealt with the Government. It was only time in-between Tempest and advancement. Too long had Tensura sat in stagnation due to threats from despotic tyrants with very little understanding of intelligence or the possibilities that could be accessed. 

My thoughts drifted to Michael, the feeling of my facial muscles tightening increasing as I thought on the purely idiotic idea of killing entire societies because they were more intelligent, under the guise of 'maintaining' the world. Snapping me from my thoughts instantly, a wave of heat and flame crashed into the area. 

Raising my hand to shield my eyes from the heat I immediately scanned the grounds, finding Yuna weathering a fireball head on. A dome of tumultuous heat and flame slowly crackled out as the oxygen swarmed back into the area where it had once been consumed. Feeling the nature around I could see how much of a feast they were having, the amount of oxygen production sky-rocketing as the flame kept on supplying them with Carbon Dioxide. Yuna grinned madly as she took her forearms away from her face. She was slightly smattered with soot and flames but for the most part she was unaffected, her regeneration muting the damage.

In front of her was a soldier, the embers of the previously cast Fireball still slowly floating down towards the ground. Hakuro stood off to the side his face relaxed as the wrinkles he had gave a wizened impression despite the fact he was drinking his tea whilst gazing at Yuna with hilarity on the edges of his expression. At first I was stunned by what Yuna was doing until I realised that she was training. Since she was taking on fireballs she was probably trying to get Heat Resistance. 

|If she is Skill Farming, perhaps you could also do the same. Getting Skills that are permanently bonded to your soul wouldn't be a bad concept.|

'I was thinking the same... Perhaps I can get some basic skills that could enhance what I already have. I don't want to be caught off guard by not being able to access my mana...'

Yuna's head turned towards me as I watched on, her eyes widening before she smiled widely. With large steps she began coming over, her 'Sports-Bra' and comfortable shorts showing large swathes of her musculature. 

"Sis! It's good to see you!"

"Yeah... You too... you are doing Skill Training now?"

"Mhm! Figured that I'd start training to be more useful, especially since I am not really helpful currently."

"Nonsense. You are very useful. I hear that you have started to make an Adventurer Guild and I also sensed that you made a protective shield for the city, you thought of that before me and Rimuru did..."

She blushed slightly before coughing into her hand, her embarrassment of being exposed so thoroughly disappearing as she attempted to divert the conversation.

"So have you come to train also sis?"

"I was thinking about it... Skills are bound to our souls, where as, my spells are knowledge and tied to my mana, so it would probably be better to train in the areas where I am weakest."

"Well I have yet to get Heat Resistance or Cold Resistance but I think that I am just not using the right power. No offense brother!" 

She shouted off towards the guy who had cast the fireball, his tired sigh echoing with my own emotions as I was starting to run low on social energy for today. 

'Work through it Silviana... Just a few hours training and then I can just relax!'

|⚀ You have rolled a 1, spinning will now commence for a CURSED item/power/spell...|

|Belated Sorrows for gaining: Memory Corruption|

|Please understand that this is a Curse... To cure it you will need to use another Skill of Unique or Ultimate to cleanse it|

I felt a sickly sludge try to creep into my soul only to run straight into my Hermes Ultimate Skill and burn into ashes completely. Light filled my soul for several seconds before it faded and the icky feeling of goo was removed from my soul. 

'What the fuck!? Morgan!?'

|Don't look at me, it's just a function of the system, i don't control shit.|

'... .... .... .... .....'

|Being silent won't make it change|

'Ugh!'

"Wanna join me in training?"

I nodded, hiding my emotions behind the action as I walked past her and began to summon my magicules to create a fire-based skill that would train our bodies' resistances. I focussed on making it do damage to our skin and bodies, hoping that the extra emphasis would increase the speed in which we gained the skills. Heat, Friction, Energy, Chemical Processes, Splitting of Atoms... All were used to make an instant blaze that was massively more powerful, my skin melting before returning in the same span of time, my Demon Lord regeneration crazily working away at saving me from the effects. 

Yuna stepped into the pillar of flames also, her teeth crunching into each other as a grunt escaped her lips. This pain was very little in comparison to dying and thus I was fine, I was wondering why Yuna was feeling it this much. Then I considered that she may not have died as painfully as I did. The fire started to cool off and my senses started to blot it out. After several seconds the fire was more akin to a lukewarm current of water than anything else. This seemed to happen to Yuna as her grunts slowed and deepened into huffs of exertion, her breath fanning the flames.

As if cutting a string with scissors I shut off my spell, the fires fading into residual heat that floating and thermoregulated into the surrounding atmosphere and matter. 

|You have gained the Skill: Heat Resistance|

"Wooo! That was spicy! Was that one of your powerful spells?"

"Nope, just something I threw together in the moment."

She recoiled marginally as her eyes widened just a little. Her posture was rather defensive and her fingers began to unconsciously tap the side of her leg. She was nervous about her own strength and powers it seemed...

"Don't worry Yuna, you are powerful. You'd be able to resist my best spells. I am sure of that."

She nodded before taking a small breath inwards. I wasn't sure why she was so worried about being useful but I hoped she realises her own worth soon enough. I summoned the next pillar, this time being ice as I decided we may as well go for Thermal Fluctuation Immunity. This time my skin was freezing and icing over, the thin needles of cold piercing into my limbs with as much grace as a broadsword. My muscles twitched and spasmed as I felt my eyes drying significantly fast. Minutes into this and I was feeling dreadful. My body felt like it was totally numb, my innards at a temperature that was painfully and constantly freezing. Yuna was much better off in this one as it seemed her species was naturally resilient to the cold, or in other words, some bullshit that made it easier.

|You have gained the Skill: Cold Resistance|

|It is Detected that you have both Heat and Cold Resistances|

|Forming, Thermal Fluctuation Immunity|

|Done.|

Yuna took a few more seconds after me but she also got the Skill, a huge smile arching along her face. She jumped up and down for a few moments in excitement before settling down and running up to me, grasping me in a huge hug.

"Thanks Sis!"

She dropped me moments later as I felt utterly squished, my limbs tensing as they tried to return to their past positions. Seconds later Yuna ran over to Hakuro and asked him to take her through some sort of obstacle course. To be honest I wanted to continue, it seemed easy enough, but I had to go meet Ramiris. Shalltear needed to be resurrected and this was a distraction. I walked around and inspected the troops before moving away and teleporting away to the area I remembered Ramiris's Lair being in the anime.

That was when I saw a person I never thought I'd see. Sebas Tian...

"Madam. It seems that you may be one of a magical propensity. Could you perhaps assist me in finding the Spirit Queen?"

'... The Universe is just fucking with me now.'

"Hmmm, I would think we would be hostile, especially considering that you are from Nazerick."

The 'old' man with genteel and refined butlers' clothes frowned, his stoic and masculine face losing all emotion that he had previously injected into it. His eyes were piercingly cold, his aura changing to one of aggression and concern. He was not used to people knowing that he is from Nazerick seemingly.

"How, if I may ask, are you related to Nazerick?"

"Up until this point we have been enemies. But I wish to heal the gap between my nation and your Overlord. Conflicts were had in the past that were due to negligence of diplomacy and the lack of understanding."

His stance didn't change at all. To be honest he was not threatening at all to me, his powers being of no challenge to me who had been ascended into Demon Lordship. My Hermes Skill would run circles around him at his peak.

"I see... Then, under such goals, would you perhaps be coming to the Spirit Queen to bring someone back?"

"Yes. Shalltear."

"Mmm..."

His right hand grasped his chin and began to stroke the scruff of beard that was there. His hair was all white and his eyes were beady black pools. To be honest, he would make the perfect butler just from his appearance... Only next to Alfred of course. 

"I have left Nazerick in order to keep them safe. I gained attention from a man named Michael... He has been speaking to me sporadically about becoming more powerful, to such a point that Ainz-Sama would be a pawn below me."

As soon as I heard Michael I flared all of my magic and severed the spatial connections of everything from outside in. Dimension, Blue Essence, White Essence, Black Essence, Red Essence, Colourless Essence, Space, Time, Vacuum, Nullification, Communication... I immediately started plucking strings of rules, concepts and essences to ensure our complete secrecy. Sebas immediately entered into a combat stance as I did all of this, before he sensed that I was not targeting him. I waited some time before feeling a faint thread of Magicules try to trickle into my spell-domain. Like a tiger shredding a carcass I tore the entire string of magicules, disrupting it, burning it and then absorbing the remnants with my Cultivation.

"Shit! That fucker is active... Sebas, you did the right thing for Nazerick. Michael is a mad man with extreme power and he controls an army of angels."

Sebas didn't have any body language fluctuations but my observations were enough to pick up the faintest of eye movements. He was concerned about why he was being targeted by such an individual no doubt. 

'I was right to try and repair our relationship. Some may be evil, but if their 'interests' could be curbed for both of our goods, then we'll be much better off.'

|Good call|

"Mm, concerning. Since you have saved me I will attempt to communicate with Ainz-sama and convince him of your pure intentions... But first it seems we may want to inform the Spirit Queen of the potential threat and get help to resurrect Shalltear."

"I appreciate it... Do you wish to go down alongside me?"

"Indeed. It makes very little sense to divide ourselves now. And seeing that you wish to establish diplomatic relations with Nazerick and Ainz-Sama I can also keep a track of your actions."

"That's very blunt of you."

"Poignancy is best observed when dealing with powerful people."

I scoffed slightly at his lexicon but moved ahead, waving my hand over my shoulder for him to follow. I didn't know how this would turn out but It would certainly be interesting.

|Be careful of him, he may be one of the better people from Nazerick but he is still powerful and could come up with something unexpected.|

'I understand Morgan, i'll keep it in mind.'

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