ushernet Heading to Vacuo.
Heading to Vacuo.
Reason for the delay: I had to take care of some things at college. There was an issue with the course schedule, so I had to go to the college myself (I’m attending college part-time).
Basically, I spent 3 days unable to stay home, having to sort out some documents and deal with a lot of stuff I really didn’t want to deal with...
I’ll speed up the next chapter. Sorry again and thanks for your patience.
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
"I was going to ask if we should take Amber outside, since the effect of the fruits only worked when close to nature." Or worked better close to nature. I hadn't tested that yet. "But I guess the Nature Dust would handle it, right?"
I waited for a response while Jinn mixed and dissolved some of the green Dust, which was the Nature Dust. One of the rarest types of Dust, from what I had read. It was 'purer' and only mined in forests untouched by humanity.
It was still less rare than Gravity Dust and Hard-Light Dust, but it was relatively uncommon to see. Of course, for normal people, Ozpin had been around for a while, and James was the general of Atlas. They had plenty of contacts.
Not to mention Weiss, who was the heiress of the company that controlled ninety-eight percent of the entire Dust market. The monopoly was strong there.
"Based on my few tests and the theories we've developed, yes, the Nature Dust should suffice," Jinn hummed. "But to avoid any risk, I'd say it's better to take Amber to a place surrounded by nature or bring nature here."
"Let's go with the second option." I hesitated to bring out the plants I had inside the VoidBag. "Let's say if I pulled out some plants from Terraria and the ambient mana changed, would that disrupt the potion?"
It happened with my inks and potions, which were pretty much that with some extra flourishes, so I thought it best to ask.
"Normally, I'd say yes, but in this case, the chances are minimal." Jinn didn't take her eyes off the cauldron. "Many of the materials are already from Terraria. Changing the mana concentration in the air shouldn't disrupt much, and if it does, I'm confident I can handle it."
She chuckled and continued.
"Not to mention you, of course. Even with your controlled mana, the ambient mana changes slightly whenever you breathe. A few plants shouldn't make much difference."
"I... hadn't noticed that." Or thought about it, to be honest, but it made sense. I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath, focusing on the mana around me.
Then I inhaled. It was like watching water being stained by ink. My Sun Breathing didn't just use spiritual energy but also mana. Whenever I breathed, part of this mana went into the atmosphere, staining the world's mana.
Energizing and assimilating would be the right words, actually. Over time, just by breathing, all the mana around would almost become an extension of mine.
That reminded me of something for some reason. I just couldn't put my finger on what...
With Jinn's confirmation, I hesitated no more and, with a mental command, pulled out some plant pots and soil from Terraria, earth, gravel, and a few other random plants into the Vault.
It didn't take long for the plants' mana to start filling the room, especially after I threw some Mana Stones into the pots.
For a second, I could feel the potion Jinn was preparing react to the plants' mana and glow softly in a calm and serene green, natural. Jinn moved, stirring the potion with her own mana, mixed with spiritual energy, controlling the potion.
I couldn't tell if what she was doing was impressive, as I only had my ink-making to compare it to, and it seemed pretty standard, but judging by the others' looks, Jinn seemed to know what she was doing.
"It still surprises me how similar the worlds are," Weiss commented, gently touching one of the plants' leaves with her fingers. "If I didn't know these plants were from Terraria, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them and the ones from Remnant."
She wasn't the only one touching the plants; almost everyone was. Penny's eyes were even glowing, not with emotion, but thanks to the scanner in them, though I could feel her curiosity.
"Life tends to follow the easiest path to survival. I imagine it's the same in other worlds. If the difference isn't significant, there shouldn't be many differences." I shrugged. The principle of least effort was still valid here, probably.
Of course, there were completely 'non-normal' worlds, at least by our reality's standards. I could think of a few, with 'non-normal' life forms, or at least the most common ones, based on carbon, as it was in Remnant, Terraria, and Earth.
There were exceptions, of course, like slimes and other types of beings, but the majority followed a pattern and, when they didn't, followed the 'mana pattern'.
The Granite biome was a thing, wasn't it? Just like the Granite Golems. It didn't even take a thought to realize they weren't carbon-based life forms, but still, they probably followed the 'mana pattern', which was using mana as a source of life or fuel.
I let my thoughts wander a bit. How were things in Terraria? At this point, I was almost sure the people had left WinterHord and returned to the kingdom. How were they doing?
With many questions, probably. Especially Dylan and Robyn, who had seen me disappear right in front of them. I checked the Terraria mission. There were still two months left for whatever was going to happen to happen.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Yang poked my arm.
"Me? Are there others of me?!" Penny asked in the background, making me snort.
"No, Penny. It's just Yang being Yang, don't worry." I shook my head, amused. "I was just thinking about the folks in Terraria. If they were okay."
"Worried?" Blake asked. "They're strong. We saw that on the stream, you saw it live. They know how to take care of themselves and will take care of each other."
I stayed silent for a few seconds, drumming my fingers on the holographic stream table, making a muffled sound that probably only the people connected to the stream could hear.
"That's precisely his worry, Miss Blake," Ainz spoke politely. "Devas knows his companions are strong and that they'll take care of each other, and that's exactly what worries him."
Everyone who wasn't paying attention to the potion turned to the undead, and even those who were, were listening to the conversation intently.
"Devas is worried because they're strong and good teammates?" Ruby spoke, confused. "But why?"
Ainz didn't waste time responding.
"Because in a battle, to protect their allies, the strong fight on the front lines..." He continued with a question. "But what about protecting their friends, their family? Their people?"
Ainz spoke in a neutral, almost gentle, nostalgic tone, probably remembering his guildmates. Damn skeleton, he was more like me than I'd like to admit. Or I was more like him in this case?
Ainz continued, this time turning to me.
"Of course, I might be wrong. I'm just assuming based on my own experience and what I've observed on the stream. Correct me if I'm wrong." I noticed a bit of embarrassment in his voice when he spoke this time.
"No, you're right." I sighed and drummed my fingers on the table, making the hologram ripple. "But that's just me being paranoid, don't worry."
I dismissed the subject. It was better to focus on what was happening now. As much as I had some theories about what might happen in Terraria, that was for when I went back there. For now, it didn't matter.
As Blake had said, my group was strong, especially with the addition of Melissa and Darnell. They still had the Humvee as a small mobile base. Few things in Terraria could really pose an obstacle with all that combined.
Still, a small voice in the back of my mind kept insisting on my real thoughts...
... What worried me wasn't something from Terraria.
[...]
"So, how's this going to work? Do I pull the parasite out first, or does the potion need to be administered beforehand?" I asked, looking at Amber. I was already wearing my armor along with the Bone Helm.@@@@
The environment was also colder thanks to the Ice Torches absorbing the heat, maximizing my control over my nightmare energy.
"Pull the parasite out first. Winter needs to recreate it with her Semblance before we proceed," Jinn replied, holding a small vial with a light green liquid inside.
-//-
[Mana Regeneration Potion: Jinn's Model ~ Alalia]
Type: Consumable.
Rarity: Light Red.
Color: Light Green.
Usage: After ingestion, receive the buff: Nature's Blessing (Remnant-Terraria) for 6 consecutive hours.
Nature's Blessing (Remnant-Terraria):
Significantly increases mana regeneration in areas in contact with nature.
Slowly purifies the body's mana in areas in contact with nature.
Slightly increases the body's natural regeneration in areas in contact with nature.
Slightly increases soul wound regeneration in areas in contact with nature.
Slightly increases Aura regeneration in areas in contact with nature.
(NOTE! The requirement of "Contact with nature" was removed due to preparation with "Nature Dust").
[..]
Ingredients:
Pure Water (1.1L per serving)
Nature Dust (12g per serving)
Mana Stone (9g per serving)
Mana Fruit: Dryad (Apple) [128g per serving - NOTE! Variable depending on the fruit used]
Boiled Aqua Hair Strands (2 strands per serving)
Red Sap from Forever Fall trees (202ml per serving)
Red Leaves from Forever Fall trees (21g per serving)
[..]
Ingredient Preparation Method:
Grind the Nature Dust and sift the grains until they are almost or completely uniform.
Crush the Mana Stones to a granular size, slightly larger than rice grains.
Mash the Mana Fruit into a paste and divide into equal teaspoon-sized portions.
Boil the Aqua Hair Strands until dissolved in the water, then...
Boil the Red Sap from Forever Fall trees until it returns to a semi-liquid consistency and mix it with...
[..]
Preparation Method:
Boil the water in a completely sterilized container using fire from Fire Dust (NOTE! The better the quality of the Fire Dust, the better).
Add the ingredients in order...
The chances of that going wrong were huge, and I didn't want to risk messing with something created by a god and end up accidentally killing Jinn.
I had enough SP to analyze the Lamp. Interestingly, it was even cheap, costing six million SP, but again, I wasn't confident about messing with the thing without breaking something.
"Could you alter the Lamp?" I looked at Jinn. "Or guide me to alter it?"
"I don't have that knowledge, just as I don't have the knowledge of how to alter the other relics." She shook her head.
"And you also don't know where your creators are, I imagine." Another denial. It seems like the Brothers erased much of Jinn's knowledge related to them or their creations.
It was obvious, actually. I also doubted that the Sword of Destruction could destroy them. Well, maybe. Gods were known for messing up, but I wouldn't bet my chips on that.
"What if someone asks about something they're not sure about?" Yang decided to speak up. "Like, I want to know about a tree I saw, but didn't tell anyone and ended up forgetting. How would you do that?"
"I know everything in the present and the past." Jinn turned to Yang. "Everything."
"She can read minds." I translated, containing my smile at the horrified faces of some people in the room. "Even if you forgot, at some point you knew. If you knew, Jinn knows."
"That's a massive invasion of privacy..." Blake murmured, her face slightly flushed.
"Gods don't care about privacy." Serafall agreed with me.
"I am the Spirit of Knowledge, I must know everything. Privacy is overrated." Jinn puffed out her chest, almost offended.
"What am I thinking about, then?" Yang stepped forward and asked Jinn.
Jinn pointed to the gaming table.
"With me as a player at the table and it active, my knowledge of the present becomes blurred." She turned to Yang and smiled. "But you're thinking about my boobs. I don't need to read your mind to know that, your looks wander, Yang, and I know your fetishes."
The color of Ruby's cape was less red than Yang's face. It didn't take a genius to know what Yang was planning after the look she gave to Blake and Weiss.
"What are you-." Yang was prevented from finishing the question by Weiss and Blake's hands, which covered her mouth.
"I swear you'll never find all the pieces of your body if you open that mouth of yours, Yang." Weiss muttered through gritted teeth, her face completely red.
"And the ones they find, I'll burn to ashes." Blake wasn't much better.
Ruby was doing her best to become invisible and not be the focus of the conversation. She even hid behind Penny, who looked at everything somewhat confused.
"I'll have to put a scene like this in my show..." I heard Serafall's murmur.
"But much less PG, I imagine." I commented. DXD wouldn't be DXD if it wasn't.
"You know me so well, Devas-chan~."
Damn weird world. I coughed to get everyone's attention back to the conversation.
"Sum it up for me, Jinn. Would the Lamp work on me if I asked you something?" If the answer was no, at the first opportunity that wouldn't hurt Jinn, I'd melt that thing.
"Yes..."
"You don't seem very confident."
"I don't know, okay?!" She huffed with a pout before laughing. "I don't know. It's still very cool. But getting back to the subject, it should work. Do you want to do a test? There are still two questions for this century."
I hesitated. I had asked Jinn before how her time-stopping power worked, and the answer was: "I have the authority to stop time whenever a question is asked."
After some conversation, I found out that it wasn't really 'stopping time,' but more her pulling everything into a different time axis, basically taking her and anyone who asked out of the planet's normal time axis.
Nothing within this different time axis could interfere with the normal axis either, and it wasn't because Jinn wouldn't allow it, it was a restriction of the Lamp. If the Lamp's user tried to attack something frozen in time, time would return to normal.
There goes my plan to blow up Salem while everything is frozen...
And I was right before in thinking that stopping time in the entire world was Marvel-level bullshit. What Jinn did was impressive, but it wasn't on that level.
It probably wouldn't even work outside of Remnant either.
But what worried me in that speech were the parts "I have the authority" and "Whenever a question is asked." Jinn wasn't really the one stopping time, but the relic was. So, if there were no questions, she couldn't stop time.
And that, to me, was pretty bad, as I wanted to see if I could somehow adapt to moving in a place with no time or at least resist it. If Jinn lost that ability, I would have lost the best chance to train for that without being literally against an enemy who had that ability.
An enemy who would probably try to kill me while time was stopped, which didn't please me at all.
"Let's leave that for later. I want to find the Summer Maiden first." Let's leave the tests for another time, preferably after I could move with everything frozen.
After closing the gaming table and saying goodbye to my viewers, we packed up with Amber and left the Vault. Penny would still be monitoring Amber closely in case something happened, and Winter would stay in Beacon, but otherwise, everything was more or less finished there.
"Will you need a Bull-Head?" Ozpin asked me. "Actually, you still have one in your VoidBag, don't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." I ignored the old man. "And no, I'll go running, it's faster."
"Faster than a Bull-Head?..." Qrow muttered. The old crow had appeared after we left the Vault, he didn't want to be there to avoid bad luck.
Even with my title interfering, he still didn't want to risk it.
"You have two days to come back." Yang poked my chest with her finger. "Our first fight will be there."
"Hasn't the festival started yet?" Wasn't I told before that it was in two weeks? There were a few days left for that other week.
"It started six days ago." Blake replied.
"Six days? I think I've been deceived." Was I given wrong information again?...
"You weren't deceived, the Vytal Festival consists of four parts and each part is divided into four days." Ozpin explained. "The first four days are for introduction, just small festivities. The four days after that are for 'Non-Hunts' competitions."
"And then the real festival begins." Qrow scoffed. "Nothing cool happens before that."
Ozpin continued the explanation, ignoring Qrow.
"After that, the next four days are for Huntsmen and Huntresses competitions. Team fights, two against two, one against one, among others. Finally, there are the four closing days, award ceremonies, and more parties."
"I see..." So the festival hadn't started yet. Qrow was right, nothing cool had happened yet.
"Hadn't you read about the festival on the CCT?" Glynda asked me. "I thought it would be one of the first pieces of information you'd try to acquire, since it's something that's happening."
"I didn't find it necessary, since I could just ask one of you." That and I preferred to research Dust and its uses. That was much more important to me than knowing about the festival or its history.
Even though it was obvious the great amount of the number four in this world, probably because of the four relics. It was like the key's description said: Four seasons, four schools, four vaults, four relics.
After a short conversation and a Bull-Head ride to the Vale entrance, or exit for me in this case, I turned to bid farewell to the people who had accompanied me here, Team RWBY and Qrow. Everyone else had stayed in Beacon.
"If anything happens, just send a message on (CHAT). I'll show up in a second with the WormHole potion." I had the recipe for it anyway, if necessary, I wouldn't be stingy and would use the potion without hesitation.
"Don't jinx us and we'll be fine." Blake pointed out.
"Just a reminder." I raised my hands in surrender.
"Win all the fights you get into." Yang was the second to speak.
"I'll try, but I can't promise anything." I didn't even intend to get into a fight, actually, but if it happened, I could always run away.
Speaking of which, I needed to create my wings... It would be better to wait until I got back to Terraria to do that, but I'll see if I have time to do it here.
"The right thing would be not to get into fights." Weiss pinched her nose. "Take care, Devas."
"Take care and come back soon!" Ruby waved with a smile. "I want you to watch our victory."
"And I'll be there, you know?" Qrow ruffled Ruby's hair, who tried, unsuccessfully, to move her uncle's hand away.
I stepped away with a laugh after saying goodbye. I ran the first few kilometers at a casual speed, something close to what a Beacon student would run, just before stopping and poking the Lamp hanging from my waist.
"Jinn, which way should I go?" I asked my guide. Jinn appeared in a flash beside me, still dressed, since she knew I was on stream.
Jinn pulled her phone out of the Lamp right after my question.
[JinnOfTheLamp] To the west, go a few dozen kilometers. When you start to see sand, you'll know you're going the right way. (Chibi-Jinn emote pointing to a map).
"I'll call you when I get to the desert then." With a movement, she disappeared back into the Lamp.
"Millia, I'm going to speed up. Return to the Staff for a while. I'll call you later."
"Okay! :D. Watch out for the sand, it's bad!" Millia shared her wisdom before disappearing into the Slime Staff. I shook my head, amused.
"Well... I guess I can loosen up a bit..." I hadn't given my all since I came to Remnant, I hadn't had the chance. This would be the first time.
I took a deep breath for a moment before kicking the ground and disappearing from where I was. There was no noise, no destruction in my wake, the air barely moved.
A moving body produced kinetic energy, even more so if that body had broken the speed of sound, as I normally did. But there was something curious about this fact...
"You're a useful little thing, did you know that?" I murmured. The Shadowflame didn't answer me.
... Kinetic energy was still energy, and the Shadowflame surrounding me had a voracious appetite.
Even before the shockwave of my steps had distanced itself from my body, the Shadowflame had already burned and devoured all the kinetic energy in it.
I no longer needed to worry about the amount of destruction I caused when I ran or about the noise whenever the sound barrier was broken.
Which, frankly, was more than good, since from what I could count...
... The sound barrier had already been broken nine times in my wake.
[...]---[...]
About today's chapter, well, Amber is on her way to recovery, Devas discovered some information here and there, Jinn's question hasn't been used yet, and finally, we had the evolution Devas underwent and a new use of the Shadowflame.
Thanks also for the ideas of the worlds in the last chapter, some were really good, and I didn't even remember the existence of those anime. I liked them so much that I'll incorporate them into the story, but as always, no spoilers!
I'll end this note here since it's late, I need to sleep...
As always, good night, everyone, and happy reading!
PS: The next chapter is an interlude showing things in Terraria.