41

The moment he opened his eyes, the surrounding immersed solely in eternal fog filled his sight. Alab dared not to create even a bit of gesture lest he triggered a ripple effect in the tranquil expanse.

Its instability, displaying distortions after distortions of the fog was disturbing to look at. Alab had witnessed it one time and an inkling feeling dared him not to behold such sight again.

It felt that witnessing the ripples caused fluctuations in his whole being.

"Just what is this fog exactly?", Alab mumbled as the fog boast cunning similarity to the towering fog that restrained the world where Academia resided.

In no time, a system notification appeared in his sight.

[This fog is a matter that m'rtals shouldst not dareth sticketh their noses into lest you suff'r a tragic death]

It was the voice of the Earth god that was converted into a passage by the system.

Alab nodded his head at the words. Now, at least he learned that it was a confidential matter that only gods or higher beings had knowledge of.

Alab dared not to waste any second as they had little 10 minutes to converse. He proceeded with his lined-up questions.

"You told me before that undead skills are the strongest, was that a lie?", Alab queried as the supposed strongest skill was demoted to a mere E-rank. He recalled how he had to upgrade the [Skeleton Summoning Skill] from E to C-rank.

Without his [Conversion] skill, this undead summoning would be nothing but a waste of skill slot. Further, even upon entering C-rank, the skill would be average at best without the buff provided by his Conversion skill.

Its only saving grace was its immortality which could be a two edge sword depending on the mana capacity of the summoner.

Alab somehow felt deceived.

The Earth god didn't even bother with the formalities as it already knew that Alab was not that sort of person. After a breath of silence, the Earth god responded.

[It is not the strongest but it is forsooth one of the arts that couldst square 'gainst the Absolute One]

[But wherefore is a mere m'rtal so much into the art of the deceas'd Necromancer? I adviseth thee not to meddleth with the path of the dead. It will spell nothing but demise.]

(Arts = skills)

The god warned Alab but he couldn't care less. He wanted to be the strongest and this was the skill that could pave his path toward it.

Alab didn't dare to tell the Earth god that he already obtained an undead skill. As he was pondering, the system notification resounded, converting the praises of the Earth god into texts.

[The Necromancer shall never be back, the Absolute One ensured yond. Not even a speck of undead monster remained. They were all reduced to nothingness along with the death of the Necromancer.]

'So the Necromancer one is the evil one?', Alab could peer through the praises of the Earth god. It was evident that he worshipped the Absolute One.

Alab had this looming notion in his mind now. Somehow, he felt that Necromancer was the evil one since it dared clash against the creator of all - the Absolute One.

But, Alab could care less about such a matter. He might possess the undead skill of the Necromancer but that didn't imply that he would traverse the similar path.

At the moment, it was safe to say that he was on the neutral side and his focus was solely on surviving the upcoming assessments of Academia.

Alab then threw another question to the Earth god.

"You mentioned last time that it costs so much to buy even a millisecond of the system's time. How much is it exactly?", Alab asked.

Alab wanted to better grasp the strength of the gods as a higher being. But he believed that they wouldn't respond to direct questions. With that, he queried about the system's time cost and would make his analysis from that.

'It is a mere estimation but it is best than nothing.'

The Earth god found the question to be out of nowhere but it made a reply after a breath.

[To be exact, it costs a trillion gold coins to buy a second.]

Alab nodded his head, touching his chin as he pondered.

'I guess they were strong indeed. 10 minutes of the system's time would cost them 600 trillion golds and that is only for every Earth's exile.', Alab calculated. He pondered that as there were 4 of them, the cost would be startling.

He even had to borrow 50 gold coins from Anastasia so he couldn't comprehend the power of the gods with the seemingly limitless conservation of gold coins.

After composing his thoughts, Alab proceeded with his next query.

"Is there a way to increase the mana recovery rate?", Alab had been faced with the blockade in this aspect for a while now.

He inferred that asking the higher beings would yield better solutions.

The Earth god was quick to respond.

[Ye wouldst very much not bother with the f'rmalities, won't thee? Well, to answer thy query, there are several ways for m'rtals to increaseth the mana recovery rate. First wouldst be to increase thy intelligence stat or equip thyself with relevant items.]

[Lastly, th're are arts but that wouldst be less efficient. Higher arts concerning recovery rate were already did own by higher beings. Only those defective arts were hath left in other worlds. But, if mine own knowledge is factual, th're is a related SS-grade art in Academia's treasury but to enter yond, thee will have to rank 1st.]

The Earth god enunciated the last sentence with a supportive tone. As Earth's god, he wished nothing but survival for his subjects.

Alab checked the time once more and little 2 minutes were remaining. He was reluctant to waste even a second and began detonating question after question.

"What is the goal of Academia?"

[Yond is a secret]

The Earth god was also swift to respond.

"What are gods exactly?"

[Mortal shouldst never dareth question our existence]

There was a hint of disdain in its tone. But, Alab could care less. Time was ticking and he still had several questions.

"What is the strongest species?"

"What happened to the griffins?"

"What happened to those who turned into items?"

Alab had so many questions to ask but as he surmised, the Earth god just wouldn't give a proper answer. It was eluding the questions and didn't even respond at times.

Finally, when the clock displayed 10 seconds remaining, Alab hurried to filter his remaining questions. Then, he came up with the last query to raise.

Alab asked.

"Can skills be upgraded?", Alab held his breath, dawdling for a response. It was a matter that he wanted to verify the most.

'If Academia doesn't know that skills can be upgraded, then what about gods?', he pondered.

The Earth god didn't let the intense brew for longer as it immediately made a reply.

[Notice! The Earth god found your joke to be hilarious]

[Notice! The Earth god is trying to compose itself]

Alab could easily peer through its thoughts based on the Earth god's reaction. And as he surmised, the god proceeded.

[Sure, attributes can be increased but arts? Only the Absolute One possesses the pow'r to upgradeth those]

'Absolute one?! Then is the Conversion skill originally owned by him?', more questions arose in Alab's head. He couldn't come to terms that only the Absolute one can upgrade his skills.

'But, it is also possible that it is a different skill.', Alab pondered.

Before he could even raise another concern, the system notification halted him.

[Ding! You have consumed your 10 minutes of given time.]

[Your consciousness will now be transported back to your body.]

Alab could vaguely hear the voice of the Earth god bidding farewell to him. They couldn't keep track of the time and had no chance to bid their last words.

[Until next timeth, Alab]

The voice resounded.

----

Back in the [Red Hornets Dungeon (C)], Alab unveiled his eyes, greeted by Locust who was actively exterminating red hornets.

A parade of system notices blocked his sight as C-grade items dropped one after another. There were just several hornets coupled with his B-grade [Luck] enticing items to keep coming into his inventory.

Looking at the items, Alab recalled how even the gods didn't possess the power to upgrade their skills.

'If that is the matter, then does that mean that only I and the Absolute One can upgrade our skills?', Alab pondered.

Even the deceased Necromancer didn't acquire such power.

With invaluable power at hand, Alab dared not to reveal his power yet. He had to keep on getting stronger at his own pace just as he planned.

"It's just a matter of time anyways, I will endure mockeries and disdains until that time comes", Alab vowed to himself.