Ackerton city, an undisclosed amount of time later
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The worst part of Cyst Hibernation was the unconsciousness. But in this case, the best part of {Cyst Hibernation} was the unconsciousness. Not having to feel the man formerly known as God of Toned Glutes getting the Rimuru Tempest Special [1]. When I woke up and broke the crust of {Cyst Hibernation}, all that was left of him was another wisp and a round golden sphere the perfect size for an adult person to hold in their hand.
I took my form, collected my prizes, and flew away. Too many people got surprised when the whale that sat for who knows how long in the middle of the city vanished and the falling debris rose a plume of dust. The perfect time to execute an Exit Stage Left [2].
As I flew to a safe spot on a cliff near the coast, I thought about the nature of the loot he dropped.
The Wisp was exactly the same as Pandora after the Demon Lord's bleaching treatment ended, and it was awfully suspicious. Were Demon Lords just Gods from another world? Was their real form Demons or was that something they were forced to assume when crossing over? Was the demonic invasion just another kind of heavenly hostile takeover?
I prodded and poked and goaded. The wisp was unresponsive. The Core was a level two hundred Divine Core and looked just like the ones I took from Bundeus corpse after our duel near Windemere. The guy was a core factory. Too bad he had to go.
With the yellow-golden glistening orb in my hand, I looked up. It was probably the most stupid thing I would ever do but seeing the eternally starlit sky above me just didn't sit well. To know my friends - yes, I considered them my friends at this stage - were suffering while the other deities gloated and went on with their lives without a care in the word stung me.
Besides, it wasn't like I had a shortage of high-level cores to consume. Carcinodon's for example sat merrily in my storage. Being a Divine or Demonic core really didn't matter to me. They gave the same kind of Attributes and Status as a Dragon's core, and it was a perfect excuse to go hunt one of those assholes.
I landed and assumed my natural form but with Apricot's legs. Flopping around on rocks with my sensitive skin wasn't good. I pulled my compacted Status.
> Level 168
>
> Strength: 68+12 (80) / 86 - Dexterity: 70+14 (84) / 86 - Endurance: 71+14 (85) / 86
>
> Mind: 71+19 (90) / 86 - Willpower: 71+19 (90) / 86 - Charisma: 74+12 (86) / 86
>
> Magic: 83+12 (95) / 86
>
> Ego: 67+17 (84) / 86 - Luck: 70+17 (87) / 86 - Soul: 70+17 (87) / 86
>
> HP 33.439.560 (20,677 HP/s)
>
> Energy 69.253.899 (58.132 E/min)
Now that my physical Attributes weren't suffering from Ress Sickness, I was at my top performance. I was far from Lakerta's hundred-seventy Attributes making her god-like, but I compensated that with more Perks. A lot more, as I had forty-nine Species Perks to pick from, and forty-one Class Perks, of which eighteen were used to repurchase the Diva Perks. Sixty-Two perk picks open.
Arista's natural indecisiveness froze me for a moment. Just for a moment. I would deal with the Perks soon. I needed to see if this glowing ball of trouble was worth anything.
I raised the core up toward the sky. "Galbarar! Are you listening? I humbly request a moment of your time, friend!"
The god appeared, clad in his golden-Roman-Chic attire. "Here I am, Arista."
"This is Bundeus' core. Is it any good for you? Could you extend the sunlight time again with it?"
"You want to sell it to me?" Wary, he asked me as if wanting to clarify things.
"No. I am gifting it to you. An offering from a mortal to a God that needs all the help he can get. Oh, that went bad. Not that I don't think you can do your job but..."
He smiled, "I understand the sentiment. And indeed, if this was Bundeus' core, it would contain the Sun domain in it, as it once had when you took it from his divine body back then."
I bit my lower lip. I felt a weight in my heart. "I took it from him. It should work!"
Still smiling, he shook his head, "No, child. You took it from Bundi the Adventurer, a mortal. For reasons that aren't important, in Bundi's care, the core only held the Human domain within it. The other domains vanished. Although you would agree it was good to get rid of the budding Slavery domain."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I shuddered at the sight of people in magical collars. Nenandil and Brenna. My hatred of slavery made me scowl.
"I share your sentiments, Mermaid Princess."
Like a girl, I shed some tears. "I'm sorry, Galbarar. I should've handed it over to you instead of trusting Wyxnos."
He raised a placating hand, "Wyxnos will have his due. Of that you can be sure. Now that his schemes were exposed by Loki of all deities, he will suffer a serious setback."
Then he risked touching me and pushed my hand still holding the core back towards my chest. "Keep this Core for yourself. Consume it as you do with the core of beasts. You can do it now or whenever you are comfortable."
"But the divinity within will all go to... that guy from the A-place. I won't even say His name."
"There's very little divinity remaining in the core. As the body that hosted it wasn't a suitable vessel, it lost almost all its energy. You called me friend. It is my advice to you. Consume that core. It will do you good."
"What about this wisp?" I pointed at the divine wisp that once was Bundeus' soul. "It's his soul, isn't it? Can he... will he... come back?" I shuddered and shed another set of tears. The terror of being bashed around by him, toyed by my own barbarian-terminator still hurt. It was still too recent for me.
"No, child. All that made him himself is gone. But ever since we became Gods, our souls were elevated onto another entirely different level. You have no reason to fear him coming back."
I wiped my tears, "Thank you!"
And then they were replaced by another entirely different set of tears, that I felt like came from another place. Relief. I felt weak on the legs and fell down to sit on my butt,
"It is over. Consume the core now," he insisted.
He let me had my catharsis patiently. Just like Yznera's avatar, Galbarar invested very little in this one. There was just a smudge of divinity for the living siphon Loki made me be. And this faint existence wouldn't hurt him much if it were to be destroyed. It would be like cutting off the tip of one's pinky finger. It would hurt, it would mutilate him until he could regenerate, but he'd survive.
"Right. Let me try one thing first," I said after a long whale.
I took the tiniest core I had, a level 5 monster one. I drained it until it was level 2 and then ate it. I had to check if my once-per-lifetime core-eating ability had reset when I died.
> You devoured a level 2 magic core.
>
> Source: Frost Flounder
>
> Quality: poor
>
> You gained 976 Exp (40 base x 24.4 modifiers).
>
> You gained 1 Magic.
>
> Attributes above the cap. Withholding Points. 13/100 Points withheld.
Yes, it had reset. I lost a single Attribute point due to the quality of the core but that was a good price compared to losing the entire core. I looked at the deity.
"You better be right about it," I said.
"You called me a friend when you summoned me," Galbarar replied with a soft voice. "I liked that and would extend the same offer to you. You can trust me, friend."
I beamed back at him, "Well if I can't trust the God of Truth to not lie, I'm doomed. Here goes nothing!"
As I was about to pop the golden orb in my mouth, Pandora drifted toward it. "Do you want it?" I asked the wisp.
I felt bad about taking the core for myself. It was a waste as I didn't want to become a deity. Too much trouble, too much responsibility. Too much squabbling. Staying in the middle, not quite mortal but not divine at all suited me best.
The wisp gravitated toward the core and I let it touch it. There was a reaction as they touched and a shining light emanated. When I recovered from my blindness, a System window waiting for me.
> A wondrous gift was freely offered. A needed gift was freely declined. Power selflessly reproved.
>
> Your Wisp of Creation has acquired another Aspect.
>
> Aspect of Gifted Divinity (unique): Soothe and calm down all creatures in the aura. Mental stress and grief weaken over time. The wisp may touch a friendly creature. Remove one affliction or debuff that gravely ails the creature. This effect can affect a creature only once, ever.
It was obvious to me that I couldn't force Pandora to gain these aspects or even arrange a situation. Anything except absolute spontaneous events wouldn't yield results. Even this awareness jeopardized opportunities.
Instead of a thumbnail-sized ball of blood, pandora was now an orb of yellow-golden light. It shed a calming glow that was pleasant to look at. There was no metallic sheen to it because it cast no reflection. It couldn't be confused with gold up close, for example.
Marveled, I touched the wisp. The orb felt smooth and solid but there was no sensation of either heat or cold. It was as if I wasn't touching anything except for the pressure against my fingertip. Then it pulsed with a strong but not blinding golden light.
> Your affliction {Epidermolisis Bullosa} was removed.
I felt an itch over my whole body and felt as if I was regenerating a burn. My skin flaked and fell. Like a molting snake, small thumb-sized chunks of skin fell to reveal pinkish and healthy skin underneath. I became bald as all my sparse hair fell down when my scalp flaked off.
I shook my body and caused even more flakes to drop. Eschewing modesty, I sent my clothes to storage and summoned a large orb of acid above me, letting it drop on my head. I was healed by Corrosion damage. Acid, to me, was as soothing as warm water. It washed away all flakes of skin and ate a good portion of the stone underneath me, raising a plume of toxic fumes.
Galbarar raised his hand and waved, dispelling the fumes. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He shouldn't be able to affect the space around me.
He was smiling with his eyes only, "I just pushed the air behind me ahead, and it created a natural wind around you devoid of any divinity. It is easy to affect you indirectly if one thinks properly," he explained as if he'd read my unasked question.
I still felt down for not being able to help him fix this Age of Eclipse. I also felt my scalp itching as my hair regrew in a thick and vivacious mane. I felt a hand ruffling the crown of my head.
Empathizing with my feelings, Galbarar said, "You've done more than my high priests and most faithful followers to help me, [Princess] Arista. The light tower in Windemere, piercing the night and evoking faith in the hearts of the people living there. Killing Nurha-Boenir with a Solar spell. The sun-rods you enchanted for the mermaids. I am truly grateful."
I cried again.
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[1]: Protagonist of the "That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime" novel. The title is self-explanatory. Slimes are monsters that dissolve what they eat.
[2]: From the 1960's HB cartoon Snagglepuss.