Chapter 480 - Bias (1/2)
Shout-out to Stephen Hodge for supporting me on Patron.
***
Nik gulped. From the beginning, despite knowing that he had to do stuff for the Paradise and its roots were deep into his existence, Nik didn't have the drive to break such shackles away since the Paradise never committed anything undue against him. This made Nik turn all his attention over to the threat his previous lineage proclaimed and the objective of creating a space with its own time realm to allow his beloved to live, if not with him, then inside him. However, tonight's action where the Paradise actually abused its own power truly opened his eyes.
[Please transfer the world ring to the Paradise.]
The notification requested but Sky's words provided a new depth to the words.
”Nik... the surrounding space is locked... even I can't do anything with my current status.”
Looking at his own skill, Nik felt helpless. If Sky couldn't do it, then surely, even he couldn't.
[Space Manipulation: Lvl 17
Use: This skill allows the host to control the fabric of space based on the potency of the level of the skill.
Level 10 Boost: Shift- Passes a limited volume to a particular length instantly in any given direction. Current Weight Limit: 170 kilograms.
Next Lvl: 29 SP]
Despite his sudden fears... well, Nik has never been fearless. So, his mind had been blessed with certain deviance that allowed him to hold the core point through its neck and this time, the most obvious point was the fact that despite its forceful actions where Nik was made to hold the [World Ring] and even connected to what seems like the will of the Transmigration Paradise, the Paradise 'requested' the item instead of taking it away as casually it committed its previous deed. But the paradise is still forceful in a way that it miraculously locked the space around Nik. This led to two main doubts within Nik. First, to him, it looked like, despite System's control, the hosts still had certain crucial rights and the privacy of their inventory seemed to be one of them. Second, Nik wished to understand if System located Nik and then used this skill of locking the space around him or the system used Nik as the connecting point and then activated the skill.
If it was the former, then, Nik could now try to find a few ways to hide from the system's locator... but should it turn the latter... Nik needed to add another objective in his long list to be accomplished.
With the screen hovering in front of him and understanding the fact that he could not move out while the system could not take what it wanted, Nik settled and took out one of the three red medals. As a red vortex formed from the medal, Nik pushed his hand into the vortex and casually pulled out one of the items. It was a green sludge ball.
The next two tries brought Nik nothing of particular except for the System's demanding request flashing time and again. Heck, Nik finally felt depressed when the remaining two red medals also seemed to be full of garbage. Well, Nik couldn't judge the dead since his own inventory was filled with empty beer cans, wrappers, and whatnot.
Taking out the last item of the night, a purple scroll bound by a thick belt, Nik looked at the flashing notification from the corner of his eyes, and finally, once he had activated the skill scroll, it levitated and unfurled with a blinding flash that brought another notification.
[Skill Gained:
Explosion: Lvl 1
Use: Spend a small amount of energy to induce explosive blasts in the surroundings.
1 Unit of Explosion= 1 ENG
Next Lvl: 2 SP]
”Well... I'll take it~!” A certain, one-eyed blonde youth with a perversion of explosions emerged within Nik's mind as he snickered. Now he really wished to say the holy word...
Explosion!
Now that he had gained everything that he could at the moment, it was time to probe the system itself and find the limits of its actions and the advantage Nik can try to gain over the seemingly omnipotent existence that continued to place its forceful request through the flashes of the notification screen.
”No.”
Nik directed his gaze towards the notification and stated simply. He had tried to contact Ray and Brian and surprisingly, he could. Still, instead of inquiring then about the strangeness of the situation, Nik decided to keep things to himself, and to his response, the notification screen disappeared and once again, reappeared in front of Nik.
”Ah... you want this?” Nik grinned, with a fake bout of confidence, and took out a dull ring in his palms, ”I think not!”
The notification window disappeared and reappeared once again.
”Maybe... I should propose someone with a ring that even the system wants, huh... no, wait, how about turning this ring into a cock ring for one of the thinner spirit beasts?”
The screen started flashing at an even rapid pace. So, one thing is confirmed that whoever was manipulating the screen wasn't a coded A.I. but someone more mundane. After all, an A.I. wouldn't care if the [World Ring] found itself over the wood skunky's tiny tool. ”Then...” Nik's voice turned low. Taking a bet that the space lock around him won't turn into a space grinder, he continued, ”I want to exchange the ring for a service...”
Nik's senses were stretched and his own Space induced Energy came into contact with invisible but very substantial and dangerous walls a few centimeters away from him. The danger of space lock was that ahead of the seemingly simple hardened surroundings lay a deep maelstrom of warps that could tear the infiltrators to shreds. That's why Nik didn't even try to [Shift] and stay put. As the flashing of the system's notification became moderate, the words on the screen finally changed.
[State your wish.]
”Kill the three founders of the infernal society.”
[Cannot be accomplished. It is not within the right of the system.]
Suppressing a relieved sigh but still keeping a healthy amount of doubt for the Paradise's words, Nik continued, ”Then... remove all my rank limitations.”
[Cannot be accomplished.]
”Why?”
[Cannot be stated.]
”Remove the restrictions on [Battle Arts].”
[Cannot be accomplished. The owner of the [Talent] has entered into a deal.]
Taking a deep breath, Nik felt that most of his requests that directly alter the rules of the system itself could not be accomplished. 'If I assume that the hosts of the system are not affected directly... then what about the ones that aren't a host? If I assume that Klas's kingdom only has a single host then...'
”I want you to locate my Lust's Recruitee— Klas's— homeworld and bring all her lineage members of every evolution tiers into the [Harem] space. And, this wish is to be understood subjectively. I would not trade the ring if you try to find loopholes into my request and give me the short end of the stick.”
The screen stopped flashing completely as lines started appearing on the window once again.
[Locating the Host... system's resistance found. Host 1788293Y emerges from the planet 5635 of plane 33 and timeline 623. The current homeworld is similar. Lineage identified. Evolution tier identified. Locating the similar species... 29 beings found...]
'Only 29... didn't Klas say that she emerged from a kingdom?'
[Hijacking... complete. Transferring... please accept the request of the transfer.]