This was it - the precious ability that kept him from losing hope over the years of hardship. At the same time, since his ability displayed itself in a holographic form, it only fueled his childish delusions.
Back then he wholeheartedly believed that he'd be able to become omnipotent thanks to this system-like ability, but he was completely wrong.
If he met the fundamental requirements to acquire it, he would be granted a Skill. And by repeating that action, its Skill Rank would rise, and its efficiency and power would increase.
Each Skill Rank explicitly granted a certain function to that specific Skill, and sometimes even granted Perks if they were particularly difficult to master Skills. F-Rank of Combat Mastery, for example, granted him a sense of how much danger he was currently in.
Lateral thinking, for his skills at least, had a limited use. Having a deeper comprehension didn't improve his skills in any way shape or form, thus limiting him until he met the required amount of repetitive action.
And the worst part? The amount of repetition he needed to upgrade a skill only became worse and worse. If he wanted to get F-Rank of Combat Mastery? Just defeat a singular enemy of equal or higher power level. Easy. Something he could do in his sleep.
Oh, but if he wanted to get B-Rank of Combat Mastery? He had to defeat 1,000 enemies all with higher power levels! And since this only continued to increase, it was virtually impossible to get higher skill ranks the natural way at later stages.
It was an ability designed to function hand in hand with his Unique Skill - Harvest. The ability that the time patrol restricted him from utilizing.
After using it a few times here and there, his Unique Skill was reported to the higher-ups by his jealous peers. Once the gods learned about it, they labeled it a demonic skill and had Chronoa personally seal it away.
Calling the skill evil made sense in the eyes of the morally just, but it still crippled him.
It was only through traversing time that the seal was finally broken. Or perhaps the dragon itself unsealed it. Chronoa was supposed to be someone whose powers transcended time.
Finally, I can gain the strength I was rightfully supposed to have… But where should I even begin? With this thought, his situation started to feel complicated. His brows wrinkled as he went into deep thought.
What he told Beerus in his final moments had been a bold-faced lie. It wasn't that he hated this world, but his current reality simply opened his eyes.
It wasn't at Conton City having fun with his friends that he was his happiest. Nor was he truly happy when he gained small moments of recognition and praise for his strength, his peers looking at him with envy.
No, he was content in the haze of war. When he was reaching for scraps of power and crawling his way to the top, he was happiest. In the struggle against a seemingly impossible goal, the goal to once and for all rid the world of demons, he was ecstatic.
Becoming the strongest wasn't his motivation, but strength was a conduit through which he could embrace that feeling of… bliss. The ecstasy that came with using every petty trick and every small advantage to overcome impossible odds.
Thus, his true goal was simply one he chose as an impossible ambition: To find and exploit the Omni-King's weakness, and utterly annihilate the multiverse including him.
The entire world would be against him… and he was counting on it.
So obviously, he would be a fool not to take advantage of his current circumstances.
If he was in the correct time frame, there were a ton of things he could learn or steal that would make getting power a walk in the park. Growing at the same speed as his last life would make for a useless regression.
And while there were a multitude of skills he missed, the majority of them required an extensive amount of training to attain. Therefore…
Firstly, I need to get the second level of the Meditation skill. In this wilderness, it's the best fundamental skill for the most benefits.
While there were many other techniques he'd like to acquire, the majority of them were far too difficult to obtain and wouldn't give nearly as much usefulness as the Meditation skill.
And seeing as the condition to upgrade it was just sitting in one position and emptying the mind for a long time, it was quite possibly the easiest skill to grow.
When he first arrived in Conton City, he had no experience with meditation, and as such even staying perfectly still was difficult for him. But now, this was a task that required barely any effort.
The only issue now was surviving long enough to find a place to meditate… in the middle of the night… on an unknown planet.
"How unlucky…" He whispered, glaring at the various moons above.
At that moment, a nearby bush rustled abruptly, catching his attention with its sudden movement.
Vidar slowly rose from his lying position, staying low to the ground while alert to the disturbance. A few yards away, the same bush rustled again before a small creature cautiously hopped its way into view.
It was an adorable little animal resembling a slim rabbit. Atop its head, however, was a singular sharp horn.
And of course, there's a cliche... Vidar couldn't help but think to himself. A horned rabbit was one of the most basic starter fantasy monsters around.
Yet, despite this, Vidar did not ease his guard even slightly. Without knowing anything about it, he couldn't conclude this rabbit was weak. In the world of Dragon Ball, looks were often lethally deceiving. Even a child with a low power level could suddenly be the cause of your death, like how Gohan was the turning point for Raditz's demise.
So until he knew its level of strength for sure, he wasn't going to take any chances.
The rabbit sniffed at the air, peering in seemingly random directions. Carefully, Vidar took a few steps back, accidentally snapping a twig under his foot.
Internally he cursed as the rabbit's head whipped around and focused on him intently.
"Gruuhgh" The rabbit look-alike gurgled at him, a frothy black substance oozing at the corners of its mouth as its bloodshot eyes quivered in their beady sockets.
Vidar squinted at the creature, taking in all of its features. A sort of understanding rose in his mind as he recognized these specific traits. Together, the compounding afflictions were eerily similar to the symptoms of a certain condition.
Am I… in the demonic realm?! That was his first thought. But after a moment of thinking, he disregarded that notion entirely. No, if I were in the demonic realm, this creature wouldn't have wasted time in killing me.
All signs indicated the horned rabbit was an unfortunate result of its body rejecting the dark energy that infected it. As a result, its life force was being drained rapidly while power was building up in its ki. Eventually, the rabbit would explode into ash as the dark energy ravaged its body.
A few of his previous companions had even been found in between skirmishes, shambling about while afflicted by this condition. The demons were remorseless, frequently using those they managed to capture in their experiments.
That condition, however, only occurred if one wasn't in the demonic realm. Even if the body rejected the dark energy, if the recipient was in the demonic realm then the realm itself would keep them alive, substituting for their lacking life force with even more dark energy.
Interrupting his thoughts, the rabbit ignored his guarded posture and snapped forward, rushing in a springing lunge. Its head tilted down with its horn thrust toward him.
But the moment the rabbit got into position, Vidar threw himself to the side and rolled on the ground. The rabbit barely missed him, hurtling through the air at high speeds.
-Crack!-
Its horn dug deep into the trunk of a nearby tree, as it was unable to control itself mid-air. The wild beast thrashed left and right, trying to free itself to attack again, but it was firmly lodged into the bark.
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As someone with a lifetime of experience fighting beings much stronger than himself, Vidar prided himself on his ability to anticipate attacks. If he hadn't learned to watch the minute twitching of muscles, he would've died long ago.
Vidar brushed the dirt off his clothing as he stood up. Hmm... This might be a blessing in disguise.
"Reveal Quest; Combat Mastery." Vidar intoned, briefly glancing at the screen that popped up. Although the quest would've been completed without him revealing it, he had to make sure the requirements were the same as his past life.
=[Quest: Combat Mastery F]
-Objective: Defeat [0/1] enemies of equal Power Level or higher.
-Reward: [Combat Mastery - Rank F]
Nodding at the screen, he walked over to the rabbit, watching as it struggled even further as he got closer to it. Observing emotionlessly, he watched it struggle for a few seconds before lightly snorting at its futile efforts.
Scanning the ground, he picked up a rock he deemed sharp enough and rolled it around in his hand. After finding a good grip, he brought it down furiously onto the rabbit's neck.
The beast gurgled as it redoubled its efforts to get free and pounce again, only making it worse as it dug itself deeper into the bark. The rock barely did anything to it, making the tiniest of marks on its body.
Vidar took note of the lack of damage but otherwise didn't express his thoughts. He simply raised his arm into the air, undeterred, and methodically slammed it down onto the same spot-
Again.
And again.
And again.
-Until the rabbit stopped moving, barely anything left of it besides a mess of blood and viscera. Its dark red blood splattered onto Vidar's clothes and face, making for a haunting sight under the pale moonlight.
Vidar panted as he stood over the gory sight, letting out a savage smile he dropped the rock from his shuddering hand. His current body was indeed trash.
In his eyes only, wisps of red mist flowed from the rabbit into the sky, slowly dissipating into the twilight air. He reached out, ignoring the 'quest complete' system message and grasping the mist as he opened his mouth and spoke with a tone of utter authority.
"Harvest."
And with his Unique Skill, he plucked the horned rabbit's soul.
----------------------------------------
Many hours later, Vidar sat in a perfect lotus position, diligently meditating while cradling the rabbit's soul in his blood-stained hands.
Finding a cave to rest in was much easier than he anticipated, but the size of the one he'd found could barely be called a cave. It was more like a hole in the ground, its size only around 50 square feet. For a temporary shelter, though, it was more than enough.
He wasn't sure if looking for shelter was the correct move as far as survival was considered, but it didn't matter. His plan would hopefully solve his sustenance issues for a while.
"Ah, there it is," He murmured to himself, taking a deep breath as the familiar buzzing of energies flowed through his body. He opened his amber eyes to a screen, unsurprised at its appearance.
=[Quest Complete: Meditation D]
The skill he'd been working on, Meditation, had improved.
=[Category: Skill]
=[Name: Meditation]
=[Grade: D]
-D: The user becomes sensitive to spiritually active energies.
-F: The user is now able to suppress the mental side effects of physiological needs not being met. (Caution: While the mind may be unaffected, the body still suffers.)
The first part of the skill, which he gained from simply meditating for a full hour, was the crux of his plan. With it, he could continue to meditate without being disturbed by exhaustion, hunger, or thirst.
It was rather useful in that regard, as he could now ignore sleep for days without a hit to his mental faculties.
Though, he would admit, that meditating for ten hours straight was dreadfully boring. He was used to long periods though, so it wasn't a real problem. Spending ten days in the Time Chamber tended to desensitize a person to the passing of time.
And now, he had an open path to acquiring control over his Ki, an event that hadn't happened in past life until he'd been in Conton City for over a year.
But he hadn't chosen to meditate for that long just for a measly power boost; He had a five-step plan to follow.
Closing his eyes once more, Vidar stilled his emotions and calmed his thoughts. If he messed up the next part even a little bit, all of his efforts would be for naught.
The world disappeared around him with each controlled breath, the passing of time getting harder to gauge. Minutes, hours, days? He wasn't sure.
It didn't matter.
With how unnervingly still he sat, he could feel his Ki starting to become restless with anticipation, flowing through his body at the slightest twitch of a muscle. This was a hidden facet of meditating that some fighters, like Tien for example, loved to use to prepare themselves for a fight.
But, once again, this wasn't about his ki. He ignored his buzzing energy, looking deeper within himself for a power he wasn't sure would even be there.
Slowly, he could feel it awaken in wisps of power, little by little. Like awakening a sleeping limb, he coaxed that unfamiliar part of himself to life, urging it to listen to his command.
In his past life, this power was unparalleled in its utility. He'd gotten permission to learn it from Fortuneteller Baba, but that was around the same time he'd finally unlocked his ki control. As a child with a one-track mind, he completely abandoned it for the sake of being like his heroes.
A power that while prominent in the world of Dragon Ball, wasn't often used in a directly offensive manner.
This nascent whirlpool of energy swirled in his heart, gradually gaining momentum as he summoned it forth. Fragments of light twinkled in this maelstrom, each one straining to reach the other, but unable to without a guiding hand. Bit by bit, he gathered these fragments together patiently, careful not to force them together if they didn't connect.
It was a tedious, strenuous process that required all of his focus. He could only liken it to a mental jigsaw puzzle, only there were thousands of pieces and each one looked exactly alike.
Finally though, after what felt like forever, it clicked. The delicate fragments of light shined as they made a sphere - absorbing all of the energy around them into the center.
A glass orb formed in his spiritual center, holding a supernatural pool of power within itself.
=[Hidden Quest Complete: Mana Core F]
His mana.
=[Category: Skill]
=[Name: Mana Core]
=[Grade: F]
-F: Generates 1 Magic Point per 24 Earth hours.
Vidar sighed, letting his body slump to the floor in his exhaustion. He didn't have an accurate way to tell how long he'd been sitting there, but when combined with his time meditating, he hadn't moved an inch in what felt like more than a day.
If there was one trait that he'd carried in both lives, it was his diligence. That diligence was the only reason he'd even survived this long, as his previous naivete would've killed him early on if he was lazy.
It was also this diligence that made the entire plan viable.
When Chronoa sealed away his Harvest ability, he wasn't the unfortunate exception. Every summoned chosen one who had an ability that was deemed too 'evil' had their abilities sealed. So, to make up for it, Fortuneteller Baba began to teach a class to learn magic.
While he wasn't very interested in magic, he was still as diligent even as a child, so he listened intently to every word. For him, magic felt like another boring subject like math or history. He'd learn every bit of it, but he didn't care for the subjects themselves at all.
So when Baba announced that those who passed the magic ritual to form their mana core would be going on to her second class, he purposely failed. If one wasn't born with magic, then they had one shot to create a magic core. And in that life, he'd wasted it.
To him, back then, it was a turning point. A declaration that he'd be strong even without the helping hand the old witch had given him.
Vidar raised his hand, crackles of blue lightning flickering off his palm. "How idiotic…" He mumbled to himself.
But while he'd wasted his only opportunity for magic in the past, he still remembered most of the theory. It was ingrained into him the same way he still knew calculus even after decades of not using it.
"Thank you, Master Baba," He quietly muttered to her, focusing his mana as he did so, "You've made my life so much easier."
Unlike Ki, which one could learn through experience and talent, magic was akin to science. As long as one understood the theory, it was easy. But if they didn't, they'd be akin to a bumbling fool wandering in the night.
And so, this was the second to final part of his plan. To use the power that Baba had taught him and–
He squeezed his hand, forcing the mana to work in a certain motion, circulating into the effect he desired. It was only a singular Magic Point to use the novice spell, but it was a bit difficult to form as he'd never used magic before.
–A distortion of space ripped open in the air. Barely visible, it rippled like the water of a quiet pond, expanding from a single point.
It was his 'Inventory'. The standard spell of the conjuration school of magic.
A skill screen popped up in front of him, showcasing his achievement in learning this magic, but he only graced it with a nod. There was still the final part of his five-step plan.
First, I learned Meditation to stave off any feelings of hunger or thirst.
Then, I pushed Meditation to D-Grade for a natural sensitivity to mystical energies.
Following that, I simply had to form my Magic Core properly, as I was taught.
With my Magic Core, I'm able to utilize Conjuration Magic, the school of magic said to be practiced religiously by the Kaioshin– The Gods of Creation.
And so, I've come to the final step. A reckless plan relying on an all-or-nothing gamble.
Thinking this, he picked up the soul of the horned rabbit lying in his lap. There was no skill for observation like in The Gamer webtoon, at least to his knowledge. Despite this, he had a bit of information on how souls functioned.
Well, he knew how they functioned to his benefit, at least.
Each soul had a color to it, indicating how powerful the soul was. The only two important colors he'd seen in his past life were red and orange, but he was sure there had to be more. The orange had come from a common Saibaman, after all.
For red, he deemed it a Lesser Soul. It wasn't the lowest version of a soul, as he'd once gotten a dull gray from a random animal, but it was second to last.
And since the horned rabbit's soul was red, it meant he could shove the soul inside his skill screen and–
=[Would you like to directly upgrade the Skill 'Conjuration Magic'?]
=[Caution: The soul utilized will be discarded.]
–Yes.
–No.
–Then he could, without a single moment of hesitation, do something as outrageous as this.
Of course, he clicked yes.
Vidar hissed as he held his head in his hands. The process of directly upgrading a skill was indeed painful, as he had to forcefully absorb and convert the soul into the information he required.
Sadly, this wouldn't work again, as Lesser Souls only upgraded skills from F to D-Grade. To go from D-Grade to C-Grade would require a more powerful orange-colored soul. He referred to it as a Common Soul.
Finally, after a few minutes of suffering, it was done.
=[Category: Skill]
=[Name: Conjuration Magic]
=[Grade: D]
-D: Spell - Mundane Materialization. The user expends Magic Points to create items that do not have magical properties. (Cost: Varies)
-F: Spell - Inventory. The user expends Magic Points to materialize a dimensional fold, designed to be used as a storage device. (Cost: 1 MP)
Vidar almost laughed despite the pain coursing through his nerves. Jackpot.