Notification Spree
Hello again!
Thank you for reading, see ya soon!
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[You have made an achievement never once recorded in history]
[You have successfully transformed and condensed your Mental Force into a Mind Palace]
[You have gained the Skill, Mind Palace Lv0]
[There are too many mental constructs in your Mind! If not resolved soon, it may result in its collapse; Immediate action is advised]
[DING!]
[Skill fusion has automatically activated]
[Your Trait, Mind Bastion LvMax is fusing with Mind Palace Lv0]
[Processing...]
[The fusion rate is over 99% due to the characteristics of the Mind Palace]
[Fusing… Fusion complete]
[You have acquired a new Trait, Castle Town *****]
[Intermediate Skill fusion Lv3 –> Lv13]
[Please name the settlement]
[DING!]
[Trait, Castle Town ***** settles the chaos within your Mind]
[The Castle defends your Mind from interference]
[There isn't enough Mind force to fully activate the Castle Town]
[Castle Town ***** –> Castle Town ***** (Weakened)]
[DING!]
[You have made an achievement never once recorded in history!]
[You have successfully established a Mind Palace and successfully raised it to the state of a Castle Town in record time]
[Processing achievements...]
/Open…/
While the System calculated something beyond his understanding, Philip opened his eyes to a new world under the influence and protection of his strengthened mind.
Somehow, everything felt different but looked the same. It was an odd feeling as if he had woken up, yet the dream remained.
Like an all-powerful lucid dreamer.
It was a dangerous feeling. It made him feel things he shouldn't. If he entertained them for long, he feared he might lose himself to those unruly desires…
"Urg…"
"Philip? If you are opening your eyes, I assume the process went as expected?"
"..."
Philip still felt somewhat dazed but his body, or rather, his thoughts, seemed to form and gather without his control, stringing ideas and explanations for his hurdles and more he hadn't even begun to think yet…
As he thought of that, another answer came, it was simple:
'My head hurts… I feel as if I know everything, but that can't be true… It's my consciousness.'
'My mind has been strengthened but I can't keep up with it. This is all too metaphysical for me right now… Beyond what I'm willing to take right now.'
'Now… Should I tell him about this particular event? He has been honest all this time, and thanks to him I acquired quite a lot… Yeah, there's little to hide.'
'Hiding works against me more than the contrary, at least in the short term. For all I know, this could be dangerous. Or worse, fatal.'
"Huu… Well, in short, Yes. Everything went as you expected…"
"You talk as if something else happened…" Dae added as his face twisted into one of worry
"I was getting there… Seemingly, something went wrong, for I received a message about there being too many Mental constructs in my head…"
Dae raised an eyebrow as he processed this before his eyes shot open, shocked!
"WHAT!?... But of fucking course! H-How could I have forgotten this? I… what should I do? Erm... Okay!:"
After darting his eyes around in panic, Dae took a deep breath, much calmer than before.
"Philip, let's do it like this…"
But Philip plainly replied:
"It has already been resolved."
"???"
Philip chuckled mentally as he saw Dae's face of confusion. It seemed this event was far grander than he originally expected, although he figured that out from the number of levels he got for his Skill just from its creation.
"The thing is… When this issue was presented. Skill Fussion automatically activated and… Well, it fused the Mind Palace with my Trait."
/Slam!/
Dae slammed his hands on the table as he got up from his seat, a bead of sweat falling from his forehead as his eyes shook.
"YOU WHAT?! Philip! That is extremely dangerous! Not only did you only have one chance at this, you also risked the integrity of your own consciousness! This isn't something that can be solved even if I were to rip your Soul out of your body and shove it somewhere else!"
"... It wasn't my own actions, it fused on its own." He replied as he took a deep breath
'He said something rather interesting there…'
"What… On its own… And given you're still sane, this means…"
" Would you mind telling me the end result?"
"The fusion resulted in something called Castle Town. It's asking me to name it but I'm hesitant…"
/TUD!/
At that moment, Dae hit his head on the table as he momentarily "fainted" from shock.
"..."
'Was it so much of a surprise?... Maybe I was luckier then expected. After all, even if the fusion compatibility was high, that doesn't mean the success rate was comparable. Maybe I really won the lottery without knowing… Not that it explains this ridiculous scenario.'
[DING!]
[Processing done]
"... Oh."
'Right on time.'
[You have made four record-breaking achievements and a few minor ones that will be fused into the rewards]
[First achievement: Make a Mind Palace in record time]
[Second achievement: Make a Castle Town in record time]
[Third achievement: You created a Castle Town immediately after condensing a Mind Palace]
[Fourth achievement: You fused a ***** grade Trait in record time]
[Plus some minor achievements]
[Your rewards shall be given based on your current state and condition]
'Interesting…'
"Rewards… The System is as generous as I heard."
'While the System is ever present, that doesn't change much for most people. They live pretty ordinary lives, be them commoners or nobles, growing and training without ever directly interacting with it.'
'If you can access it, I read they can grow faster, but such direct reactions are meant to be rare, the kind of thing someone would only trigger once in their lifetime…'
'Heroes benefit from a more lenient System, but my circumstances are quite odd… And now, I don't even know what to make of them.'
[Displaying rewards...]
[You have gained the Title, Mental Lord]
[You have gained the Title, Pioneer]
[The time for the absorption of the ***** has been reduced to one month]
[To balance your body, all of your stats will be regulated]
[You may choose three "skills" from your Secondary Status to pass to your Main Status]
[You have gained the Abilities, Mental force, Mental force manipulation, and Mental domain]
[Some Abilities have been deprived of being handed to the host due to the fact they can be easily acquired through training]
[The last reward shall be a pick between several choices]
[1- Race
2- Talent/Potential
3- Skill
4- Title
5- Knowledge
6- Order
]
[The host has 24 hours to make a choice]
…
'That's a lot… I gained a Title and a few Abilities, which was expected. But I also gained stats, and the absorption time has been reduced… Or should I say, I at least have a time prediction now.'
'Lastly, I can pick three skills from my secondary class and pass them on to my main class.
'And those choices…'
'Race? Knowledge? And what is even an Order?'
'I can make assumptions for the Skill, Talent, and Title. But not for those…'
'I should look at the changes before talking with Dae, he still seems quite shocked.'
'Open Status.'
[
Name: Philip Vinten
Race: Type 1 Human (+)
Home World: Earth (+)
Registered World: Eden (+)
Level 0
Class: None (+)
Title: Hunter Genius (+)
Exterminator of Nightmares; Ancient Explorer; One man army; Jack of all Trades; Number 1; Scholar; Martial enthusiast; Magical enthusiast; Mental Lord; Pioneer
"Vital info"
(+)
Mind> 29 (92.9) (+)
Physical> 20 (44.6) (+)
Energy> 35 (+)
Spiritual> 15 (24.3) (+)
Mystique> 12 (+)
Abilities:
Mental Force Lv0 (Hybrid)
Mental Force manipulation Lv0 (Hybrid)
Mental Domain Lv0 (Hybrid)
Skills:
Gamerverse (+)
Intermediate Skill fusion Lv13 (Hybrid)
Western continent language(Incomplete) Lv0 (Hybrid)
Scholar Vision Lv0 (Active)
Traits:
Castle Town *****
]
"..."
'Are these… My stats?... Quite overwhelming… To think they could change within so little time… The benefits of being a regressor I imagine.'
'It fills me with both glee… And dread. For everything Dae can provide me he can provide it to himself… Whatever growth I can achieve so can he even if in another path.'
'What other rituals and secrets does he hide?... Forget it. None of it matters now.'
"My head… The headache's gone at least…" He mumbled out loud as he reached for his head
"... Urg… Philip? You gotta listen to this, I had this crazy dream…"
As Philip checked the notifications, Dae got up from the table with a broken grim, touching his forehead with a tired gaze…
Seeing this, Philip rolled his eyes.
"... Is this your idea of a joke?"
'For a regressor, he can be rather immature… But what do I know? If a man could turn back time to be a child once more, would he rather not act like one again instead of being a stressed-out adult?'
'That is, if he isn't faking it...'
"Look, I need your help here; it says I made four record-breaking achievements, and I need some help in choosing the rewards."
"..."
/Tud/
Dae lost consciousness again.
"Sigh, come on… We don t have all day."
/Grab… SLAP!/
Philip pulled an old wooden spoon from his inventory and slapped it against Dae's head, jerking the man awake as he reached for his neck with a pained expression.
Actually, the spoon was a trick weapon. It could become a knife by pressing some buttons, one of the many miscellaneous items Philip made or found. And in more ways than one, the reasons those items were made are shared between the creators… Often to pass the time or… To cope with the times.
"ARRG!! That hurt! I wasn't even sleeping!"
"Stop messing around them, don't we have things to do?"
"Tche… You need to think about my perspective… Do you even realize what you have done?"
"... Something really cool?"
"Sigh, it's more than just cool. My head hurts just thinking about the consequences…"
'Although I wonder if that's due to his spoon, either way, it's his dammed fault.'
"Well, then, don't think. How about that?"
"Heh… Right, you sure know about that, don't you?"
"Do you want another Laxative?"
Dae's smile broke down as he clenched his teeth and raised his fists:
"I can fight back, you know! I know how to concoct some nasty things, too!"
/Chuckle.../
Philip smiled momentarily as he looked at the stressed regressor.
'This should be enough for him to cool down. We don't have the time to waste like this, regardless of how enjoyable being carefree really feels…'
As he thought of that, he frowned.
'These thoughts… They're really pissing me off.'
'I feel like I'm dreaming but in reality... I keep getting surprised by my own thought process… As if there's someone else typing it to me.'
'... I do remember there were studies on how the brain's hemispheres operate, but I don't think that's the case here given my consciousness has… How do I put this? "Transcended" the confines of my mind somewhat.'
'This is hard to explain, but the explanation I can give is that my brain is so fast at processing things it can generate responses to my will before "I" or rather, my consciousness can actively process it… Which doesn't make much sense either but it's the best answer I can accuratevely give right now.'
'This seems to be a problem that will solve itself over time as I grow used to this. That said, I've thought for far too long… Or rather not.'
A mere second had passed.
"... We played for too long. Now help me in here before we grow too sidetraked."
Dae took a deep breath before he exhaled deeply, refocusing:
"Sigh… Tell me what you need. In fact, explain everything you can if possible."
'Things have derailed past my expectations but not beyond the calculations. Such a possibility was faint and not overly thought off but certainly accounted for. Besides, a plan is just a plan, I should be prepared to change things on the fly.'
"There isn't that much to say anyway. Where do I start…"
And so, Philip explained word by word what happened while Dae remained serious, taking each other deeply until his narration ended, a minute or two later:
"... And you received a message saying there wasn't enough Mind force, and now your Trait is Weakened?"
"Correct."
"Hah… No wonder, this makes a lot of sense."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Simply put, this Trait… It's something that shouldn't exist at this time. Not in a timeline manner but individual." Dae said as he reached for his chin
"Your body simply can't handle its full capabilities at all. The mere concept of it should've been… Innatainable… However, the fusion of unusual circumstances has made what was impossible… Reachable, somewhat."
"Like a child that has begun to walk… Being introduced to the cockpit of a rocket going to the moon… Only to have the cockpit be reduced to a children's toy so the child can interact with it. That's how I'd say your circumstance currently is."
"For you to understand the sheer magnitude of what this represents… You are one step away from creating a Mental Space."
"Mental Space?"
"... Well, an odd analogy, but have you ever read those cultivation Novels? Mental/Mind Space refers to a world inside of your head. A real world with tangible and functional principles…"
"A world of your design, of your creation, a space you shape with nothing but your sheer will… Time, space, idea, thoughts, emotions, matter… Everything is and shall be subjected to your consciousness for it derives from it."
"Like a dreamer, your mind pulls forth its memories to build a tale, one you may even be unable to predict… Some religions once even stated us to be within the dream of some greater being… While not true, such events have happened before to others. Civilizations have once relied on such methods, as varied and complex as they may have been…"
"You currently have a Castle Town. By nurturing it, you'll naturally evolve it into such. A small world of your own."
"The amount of people who have been trying to do such a thing is… I wonder how they would react if they learned of you. Of how you assembled together the most ragtag Mental Space there has ever been… No… I can think of some worse then yours."
"Although yours is the weakest one I know by far that's for sure."
Philip laughed drily as he looked outside, saying:
"Anyway… I hope they never learn of it… For my safety that is."
"Me too. Some of those people have already abandoned their "Humanity" in search of higher meaning. The atrocities they might make you pass through…"
"Stop saying that… I would rather not remain on the topic any longer."
'The world out there is quite… Scary. And while I find it hard to feel anything, it doesn't stop me from being sensible.'
'... Actually, I've grown quite dull…'
"Ahem… Can't say much about them, but you won't have any difficulty protecting yourself in the future once you grow used to this."
"As for your rewards… It's pretty self-explanatory."
"Mental Lord and Pioneer are titles given to those who have reached a sufficient level of Mental power and have explored a new frontier respectfully."
"The first was for creating a Castle Town, and the second one was given as a reward for braving into unknown territory, probably because you were the first person to use this Rune and achieved some other hidden conditions, I suppose."
"I also gained a Title for drawing this Rune. The creation of knowledge never seen before is a great achievement, even if done through 'shortcuts'."
"I see, what about the Abilities?"
Dae cracked his neck as he scoffed:
"Those huh… They were probably given to you because you are too pitiful."
"..."
"A Mental Lord that can't even use Mind force, much less possess a Mental domain… How utterly disgruntling. Pathetic even."
"If the Gods could watch us right now, some of them might be screaming in agony or laughing in amusement."
"Humph…"
"You think I'm joking. You better not disrespect the divine. They are just as powerful as you'd imagine them to be. Don't look down on fables and myths just because they look far fetched."
"Anyhow…"
"Wait... You can't say something like that and expect me to ignore it, right?"
"It wasn't my intention, but I have some reasons for avoiding this subject. I told you this for one reason only: don't make fun of the Gods."
"If they weren't trouble enough, you wouldn't want to get in the crosshair of their believers. I think we already had enough examples back on Earth. People won't stop at nothing if it reinforces their beliefs, especially when its against something they take is heretical."
/Nod…/
Philip silently nodded. A grim reminder of a world far more violent than it seemed…
"Continuing… Those abilities of yours are only meant to represent what you were supposed to be able to do. Don't take them as rewards but more of a consequence of this transformation of yours."
"You'll have to get used to them if you wish to make use of even a slight fragment of your Mind's full power."
"That said, you gained a few stat points, right? I expected as much even before this happened, but still… Given your Mind is far stronger then the rest of your body, a substantial readjustment was necessary."
"Either way, you are quite lucky since in most situations, you would be needing quite some help to seattle down; but since you had so many achievements, the System solved the issue likely as a pending reward for a bizarre situation."
"Don't grow too used though… The System won't solve your issues everytime, on the contrary even, it'll usually do things that if you can't quite grasp, they'll drag you down a path of ruin. One you'll only realize when it's too late to remedy."
"As for the last reward… I will only give you one piece of advice: Traits are the hardest things to get, but they can easily change your personality, if not your entire existence, so be careful as to what to pick… What to transfer."
"If your secondary Status is your chisel, your main Status is your foundation. The stronger it becomes, the greater they'll become as well. It is the combination of those aspects that will build your strength. Or so I would say if I weren't here." He said with a smug smile as he relaxed on his chair
"... I have already made my choices as to what I am going to pick. But I appreciate the advice nonetheless." Philip replied as his eyes narrowed
Dae smiled, but it soon went away as he went into deep pondering…
"This leads us to the end of the list… And as expected, this isn't going to be easy."
"I suppose so… I don't quite understand most of it… What even is Order?"
"Something you don't need now and should avoid without hesitation…"
"You don't sound convincing."
"Well… It is enticing to have you choose it for it would certainly aid us somewhat. But for every pie, there is a price. The System may give, but it is not charitable, it weights everything and balances action and consequences."
"For it to appear here, it only means your achievements were truly grand, but it also shows that a price of equivalent magnitude is bound to follow. For regardless of how great you were, such a thing is far beyond what I'd expect reasonable."
"I thought the System never attached conditions to its rewards."
"It does not. The System merely gives what it deems appropriate, it is those around us that attach responsibilities and conditions to what we achieve. As they say… Power comes with responsibility. Even if you do not want it, others will hold you accountable for it."
"There are, however, faint cases where the System may attempt to divert someone into a certain path for some greater purpose, but even given what I know, its far beyond me to try and grasp its intentions, if it even has any right now…"
"Honestly speaking, I believe this particular Order isn't anything great and that's that. A "simple" rewards that befits the achievement. An opportunity to the wise, a curse to the ignorant. Or maybe even… A blessing in disguise."
"I'm not a fan of gambling."
"Heh… I know…"
"Let's forget about that and focus on what really matters... Talent/Potential… Usually, this would be my choice. Increasing one's potential is the most important thing, even more so in this situation."
"However, I'm not fully a fan of vagueness. And while I can extimate the changes that will be brought forward by this option, I believe the other choices are more worthwhile."
"... Skill is self-explanatory. You will likely gain a powerful Skill, or a set of strong Skills that suits your achievement or set of abilities. Maybe even a Skill with immense potential that can grow equally if not beyond the rate of those awarded to most Heroes for your actions can be said to border the realm of Heroic if not Legendary."
"Anything along those lines."
"Moving on, choosing to be granted an extra Title is a solid choice, but once again, I dislike the idea of gambling. However, if we didn't have better options, this would be my second priority."
"Well… I was told Titles were important…"
"And they are. Massively. However, rather then beind granted a Title just like this, its best to be awarded suitable ones for your achievements. I believe its more fulfilling and proper… Not that it matters given our goal of pursuing strength."
Philip nodded in agreement, saying:
"I'd say I'm the kind of guy that would do anything for greater opportunities, but I have my limits…"
'I wouldn't sacrifice a city for the sake of power. Nor would I like to welcome something I don't quite understand into my body… Not that I haven't done that before… A few times… Sigh.'
"... Right. Everyone has their limits, though a word of advice… Earth's common sense won't help much here. To succeed, we'll have to step through many people's paths. And if they stand in our way, we'll walk through them."
"Doesn't look that different from the usual."
"Heh… To some degree. But on Earth, there was a faint illusion of coherence and law. Here, the illusion persists but the scope of everything that can shatter it is far greater… Anyhow, we spoke enough, time's ticking."
"The next option, Knowledge… Is the least useful, and that's all because of me."
As he said that, Dae crossed his arms, pondering…
"But the term "Knowledge" is crawling in my mind… Just what type of information is contained within? My guess is that it might be something related to your future path. Perhaps a small tip or guide…"
"If the System wishes to share something with you, it must've deemed said information worthy to be conveyed… To some degree, this is a direct intervention. Which I said before is quite unusual to occur."
"Lastly, Race… Upon considering everything, I believe this is the thing you should focus on."
"What? I did find the option unusual but felt quite ominous to me… Why?"
"Because I can help you with everything else… Well, I can help you with this as well but on a matter of priorities, between gambling on the possibility of the rewards outweighing whatever I can provide, this one is likely the one whose gamble with the safest payout."
/Shrug/
Philip shrugged as he halfheartedly agreed. It wasn't as if he had much to say from the beginning.
/Tap tap…/
Dae tapped his fingers on the table as he grew a little impatient. It was time to close this conversation:
"We can train and develop our talents, Skills and seek adventures to get Titles and much more...
"And for everything the System can teach us, so can I provide. And no matter what it may share, what we'll eventually do and pursue will be far grander then whatever it has now."
"As for Order, let's forget about it."
"... Sigh, but changing my Race feels a little drastic, doesn't it?"
"Why would I want to change my Race? I like being Human…"
'And also, the moment you give in such a thing for power, there's no way back. Just like gambling, you start small and once you concede for more, before you know, you're pulling levers at a Casino.'
'No matter how much integrity I have, do I trust myself to maintain my consciousness as I pursue power and whatever there is at the end of this tunnel?'
'... To some degree, do I even have a choice?'
"Well, this change can be seen in many ways. There are many interpretations for what race may be… Right now, we're Type 1 Humans, but there are other types each with their own perks and advantages. And even if we retain the Human appearance and aesthetics, where do we draw the line?"
"I imagine you wouldn't mind becoming an Elf as much as you may mind becoming a squid…"
"That is true. If a choice must be made, I'd rather give in to that path than be forced somewhere like that… At the end of the day, I'd prefer retaining this appearance. One other Humans and similar species can appreciate and vise versa."
"Then I guess we won't find any issues anytime soon here, friend." Dae said with a smile as he placed his hands on the table
"Your reward is most likely an evolution towards the most direct path ahead of us. And such opportunities are so rare in the current timeline that I could count the ones I know with my fingers… And this is counting the bad ones as well, like giving yourself in to a demon or a monster."
"... Like becoming a vampire?"
"Correct, but in this world, you won't become a Vampire if one of them bites you. It's far more complex than that… I wonder if there's anything we can even call a traditional vampire here."
Dae raised his head to stare at the ceiling as he went into deep thought.
Meanwhile, Philip scoffed lightly, saying:
"... Good to know."
"At the end of the day, all races can evolve into something, be that good or bad, or a mixture of both. This is the endless potential of life. The pursuit for greater meaning. Something the System tends to guide us all toward."
"I am certain that the moment you choose a race, you are going to receive a choice as to what you want to become… But let's leave this for after we are done with my matter. The change can take a while and above all, I imagine you'll require some explanations when the time come."
That said, Dae finally got up from his seat, moving to the end of the hallway.
"Come with me, I will tell you everything on the way as we get there."
"Sure thing, but I imagine it won't be easy to move around in the dark while we're being surveiled… Hm?"
Dae threw a pitch-black cloak at Philip, one exactly like his.
"It's called 'Presence Eater', an assassin's cloak… And yes, I stole it. We need to return it to the warehouse before daytime since this is rather expensive, and I am sure the guards would notice its disappearance."
Philip took the dark cloak with a curious gaze, and one arm at a time, he slipped inside.
Its fabric was extremely thin like silk but quite resilient as he applied some force on his fingers, but made sure not to overdo it, fearful it may taer.
He didn't feel any different as he wore it over his body. However, he felt a little cooler, as if the cloak was air-conditioned.
"Great… One last thing before we go. Now that your mind has been strengthened, linking our mind with a Thought Bridge won't be possible through my end anymore. You'll have to learn how to do it before moving on, as we won't be speaking directly once we're outside."
"It shouldn't be too hard given your qualifications."
"Very well."
Philip closed his eyes while trying to feel the strange force inside his head.
His vision locked within a vast expanse of blurry white for a moment. He knew what that was but it wasn't his target.
Around this ball of light were many stray "rays" of pure energy, swaying around like weeds in the water.
Slowly, Philip guided one of those rays outside using the knowledge from the books he read and Dae's tips.
[Mental force manipulation Lv0 -> Lv1]
With little effort, he shaped this string, going beyond the boundaries of the darkness surrounding the ball, and eventually... Light!
Even though his eyes were closed, he could perfectly see in all directions!
Albeit… Not very far.
"This is disorientating…"
"You will get used to it… Being able to perceive the world directly with your mind without going through the distortion of our senses has quite its perks. Though it takes a while to get used to it… Maybe even a lifetime."
"..."
After a second of pondering, Philip managed to link the small string of Mind Force with Dae's head.
'What a strange feeling…'
Of course, no matter how great his mental potential had become, had Dae not allowed it, Philip's frail string would've been ripped to pieces.
{It's done} Dae uttered inside his mind with a strong and booming voice
{{Wow… This is kinda neat… And weird}}
{Uhum… Did you get a Skill?}
{{No. But one of the Skills I had leveled up. Maybe I'm not quite there yet}}
{Hum… I think I know the issue. Thought bridge is a form of Mind Force manipulation, and well, lo and behold, you already have a Skill that can do that. And regardless of how great of a technique it was, your Skill englobes its sphere of influence}
{Nonetheless, once you start to delve into deep research of Mental magic and techniques, then you are sure to gain a few more Skills just like we can with our bodies}
{{I get it}}
"... Enough talk, let's go! We are way behind schedule, but if we run fast I think we can get to him in time."
"Sure… Hm?"
"Him?..."
…
.
.
.
Notes
For those who can't remember this chapter, it was once named Revenge but I divided the chapter in order to avoid Spoilers.
Anyhow, next chapter: Revenge!
See ya there. Maybe tomorrow since its half finished, though I'll likely post something else before.
Anyhow, before you go, what Gamerverse do you think would fit for the Mc? Bonus points for small and concise indie games with potential.
For the more I would love sending the mc to the Warhmammer universe, do spare me the trouble. Think of something that can be achieved within a year or two at most.
Peace!
PS: If you notice any mistake in the Status display, please, don't hesitate to point out. Even a question may lead to me thinking again and seeing something wrong!