[I've got an update from Earth.]
Sophia spoke as Dream, Luna, and Iris relaxed in the ship in the middle of the forest.
'Oh. How's it going over there?'
[If you disregard the downfall of a few dozen governments and the death count that's surpassed 4.1 billion leaving only around 11 billion people left, I would say pretty good. It could definitely be much worse.]
'...Please tell me this update is good news.'
[It is. First off, there are 7 people who have advanced to class 3, and many more are on the cusp. One of these 7 people is actually your sister.]
'Melody advanced? Impressive'
[Yup. Turns out she's a combat genius. Combine that with the fact that she's been traveling the world hunting monsters and you've got a recipe for success.]
'Hmm, didn't you say something about her joining a guild?'
[I did. I had them do it so they would have access to more resources. The one they joined is the strongest one in America that has the greatest infrastructure, capital, and foundation. Plus, your sister is loving this new life of hers where all she does is train, fight, eat, and sleep, so being part of a guild will help her. On top of that, the influence of governments are steadily decreasing. Being a part of a guild will be a form of security for them should anything happen.]
'Makes sense.'
[Other than that, the demons are steadily increasing their threat level, but the humans are also keeping up. The demons on Earth aren't nearly as monstrous as the demons here. Otherwise they would've already wiped everyone out.]
'Yes they would've. Though I wonder why that's the case... Whatever. I can't answer that question right now. Anything else?'
[The techno-magical revolution is in full swing. To say that the rate of advancement for Earth is monstrous would be an understatement. That fusion reactor technology was only the start. Moore's law has been absolutely demolished, and I say that within the next decade, Earth will have turned into a planetary civilization. Basically, I don't think the monster or demon threat will be able to surpass humanity on any level.]
'I'm pretty sure that's the case too, looking at their insane leveling speeds.'
[Not just that. They're integrating mechanical and magical technology already, just like you are. They've already taken our knowledge on enchanting and magical script and are developing an entire language scheme. They've surpassed this world, at least on a technical level. The only thing holding them back is their average personal power, but even that's being slowly overcome with technology.]
'It really is like what I'm doing.'
[Pretty much. Do you want to share more with them? I've got schematics and magical systems galore that they can indulge themselves in.]
'Uhh, sure, why not. It'll only help them.'
[Ok. Sending now.]
'Mm.'
Dream kicked back on the couch he was on as he watched Sophia put out a notification on the Seeker program. In barely 10 seconds it garnered over 8 billion views.
'I'm still amazed at how effectively we were able to take control of devices.'
[My hacking abilities are unparalleled, especially now that I've taken over all networking infrastructure on the planet. Nothing that can receive signals is out of my control. I've also had a lot of time to cover everything so...]
'Yea. Speaking of abilities, Status.'
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|Profile|
Name: Dream
Species: Maghdisynthetic Human Male
Class: [Exalted Arcanist]
Titles: [Origin Seeker]
Level: 242
Stats: Strength- A Agility- A+
Stamina- A+ Magic- S-
Passive Skills: [Sophia] Lvl. 4, [Arcana] Lvl. 17, [Translate] Lvl. 22
Active Skills: [Summons From Another World], [Particle Manipulation] Lvl. 10
----------------------------------------
'Huhu, me likey.'
Dream chuckled and smiled as he looked at his levels and stats.
'I've finally crossed into S tier.'
[We've entered a new threshold of power. And since we have, we've got a lot of upgrades to do.]
'Yup.'
[The first thing I'd like to do is enhance your body. I can do that right now as you relax.]
'Go right ahead. I can also help out.'
[Ok.]
The next moment, Dream's entire body began to fluctuate with mana. Although the enchantments on his body were already formed with liquid mana, they had been formed with an inferior skill. Now that he's attained and leveled up his Arcana skill, the enchantments would be much better.
Not only that, but the raw power behind the enchantments would increase by a few times. His soul was now much more powerful, and the Will that he used to power the enchantments is going to be stronger. To top it all off, Sophia also found that his liquid mana now had more flux than the 'artificial' liquid mana he made by sacrificing materials.
Needless to say, his body was about to become much stronger than before.
Since he didn't bother hiding his mana, both the girls beside him noticed and turned to him. Iris spoke.
"Dream?"
"I'm doing some upgrades."
"On what?"
"My body."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"...Alright."
Not feeling like asking questions, Iris just put her head back down, closing her eyes. Luna also snuggled closer, feeling the familiar and dense mana that eased her body and mind.
The three sat there in the dark night, just enjoying each other's company. The light from Iris' fire had faded a while ago, and the only light was the shine of the moon, the blue glow of Luna's hair, and gentle red flame of Iris' fur.
'*sigh* This is the life...'
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
'...Who the hell is it?!'
Right in the middle of losing himself in the relaxation, Dream received a call. He opened his eyes, more than a bit annoyed.
[It's the Ljosfar, that ancient one. She got ahold of the Dokalfar, the class 4 dark elves.]
'So why is she calling me?'
[They've requested your presence.]
'...I hate this job. Fine!'
After accepting his fate, Dream turned to the girls and ruffled their hair/fur. Sophia also answered the call and spoke to the elf for him.
"Hmm?" (Luna)
"I kinda gotta go."
"Where?" (Iris)
"The elf Tree. Their class 4's have gotten together and they want me there."
"Oh. Okay."
"Gimme kisses before I go."
"Mm."
Leaning over, Dream kissed Luna and then Iris who transformed. He then stood up and walked out of the ship.
"I'll leave you guys with the ship. I don't know when I'll be free again."
"We'll head out to train some. Just take care of yourself."
"I will. See ya."
"See you."
Saying bye, Dream rose into the sky and blasted off into orbit. Luna was surprised by the increased speed, but then quickly remembered that he had just gotten stronger. She turned to Iris.
"Let's go train."
"Where?"
"Demon continent. Let's grab dad too."
"Hehe, okay. I like fighting demons. Let's go ship!"
Smiling, Iris ordered the ship to fly. Luna wasn't as happy as her though. She had already realized the gap between them and Dream, but that gap just widened again. She wasn't very thrilled about her lack of advancement, so she decided to go and do something about it.
........
It barely took Dream 10 minutes to begin his approach to the elven Tree.
'I really have gotten stronger...'
Dream smiled as he felt the changes in his body. He had finished his enhancement in those 10 minutes, and as a result, his strength actually went up a level to A+. And while he felt his agility increased as well, it didn't cross the S threshold.
[That elven ancient Vythica shouldn't be able to scan you like she did before.]
'...Give me a precise rundown on my power jump.'
[Your natural mana has obviously jumped to liquid form. Your mana pool has increased in size by about 5 times. And based on your influence range that had a prior radius of about 170 meters, your soul power has strengthened by about 6 times, giving you a influence radius of about 1 km.]
'Nice nice. And my enhancement just upgraded the functions of my body.
[Your lungs are able to naturally condense and collect liquid mana, your regenerative abilities have been strengthened, your strength obviously jumped, but that doesn't account for electrical overdrive. My abilities have also been strengthened since I can now use your liquid mana and soul power as the medium to use them. And as I said earlier, that elven ancient shouldn't be able to scan you since you've jumped in power, enabling your stealth to be on par with her search.]
'Well she's already seen me once, so hiding won't be of much use now. Oh well. The next thing on my list should be upgrading Aegis. We can use that solid mana to aid us and make his particles smaller.'
[And then after that we can possibly enchant a part of your body with that solid mana. Like your heart or maybe your muscles. Or simply everything. And should we have some leftover, we can use it for Aegis.]
'I like that plan. But first we need to get through this diplomacy crap. Where's Idona?'
[She's already there.]
'Good.'
Sighing tiredly, Dream proceeded to fly straight to the Tree. But instead of flying up to a branch, he flew down into a tunnel.
This tunnel obviously led underground and he passed through a few pathways until he came upon one of the many roots of the Tree. And beside this root was a massive hollowed room with a building inside of it.
Dream walked into this building. It was where the class 4's were.
"Oh, it's Dream."
"Hi Dream!"
When he walked in, he was greeted with Idona's excited call. She waved at him and he made his way over to the table where over 20 class 4's were.
But as he was walking over, suddenly, his right leg lost its strength and he toppled over, falling to the ground.
*Thud*
"Wha..?"
[Sorry! I had an idea and was doing something.]
'You...Oh... That's smart. Yea keep doing that.'
[Hehe, I'm glad you approve.]
"Dream? What happened?"
Coming over, Idona went and quickly helped him up off the ground. He smiled and accepted her help before using mana to support himself.
"Sorry, my leg decided to stop working for a second."
"Why?"
"Upgrades."
"What kind?"
"Mechanical I guess? Or maybe structural."
"...Sure."
Idona just smiled as he placed himself into the chair. He then looked over at all the other people in the room who were looking back at him weirdly.
"Dream? Are you alright?"
The elven Ancient, Vythica, asked in confusion. He didn't look injured, so unless he got poisoned, he shouldn't have fallen like that. But how difficult was it for a class 3 or 4 to get poisoned?
"I'm fine."
"...That's good. Anyway, I've told everyone about the plans we have, and the Dokalfar have agreed."
"Great! Thanks."
"Of course."
"We've also heard that you want to bring in the Dwarven Empires, and we're willing to help."
One of the dark elves spoke up about one of the issues Dream was just about to ask about. He smiled and nodded.
"Thanks for the help. I believe the Church was also planning to go to them, so with you guys on board, we should have fewer problems."
"Indeed. But Dream, you still have one major hurdle before any of our plans can be enacted."
"The United Empire."
"Yes. To help at all, we need their approval. We don't believe they'll turn us down, but what you have planned in terms of logistical control may not be okay with them."
"Why's that?"
"They enjoy their ultimate control. There's some things you have to understand about the United Empire. One, their class 4's are abundant, and many of them are of different species, unlike us or the dwarves who are of one or two species."
"Makes sense."
"But this diversity creates certain divisions within the Empire. When one particular species produces a class 4, the rest of the species will quickly rise in power, riding on the back of the class 4. This creates differences in power among the many different species, and the result of this is a unique type of governing system. Basically, you can think of the United Empire as made up of many smaller kingdoms in the same area."
"So, literally a United Empire."
"Yes. The name is very fitting, but many people fail to understand the power dynamic within. Each class 4 and their species form a kingdom. There are many class 4 species, so this makes many kingdoms. For the most part, they govern independently of each other and trade freely. They aren't allowed to oppress other species, so everyone flourishes. And it's only when there are large scale threats like right now where they come together militarily."
'Huh. Sounds familiar.'
Dream smirked as the elf gave him a run down. It sounded really similar to America. Independent but united states.
"If I'm not mistaken, the United Empire holds 52 class 4's, and among those 52 are 11 different species. So that makes 11 independent kingdoms. I doubt that they would all come together under you, even with the influence of us or the Church."
"Hmm... Well, I'm not exactly opposed to them doing things their own way. I just want them to allow cooperation. They need to accept your help accordingly. As for logistics, I can provide them with bracelets and real-time intelligence on the demons. I'll then make sure that they are at least going to fight back. If they are, then how they do things can be left up to them."
"So you would just give away such valuable tools?"
"If it means survival, yes. I'm kind of already doing that with you guys. Either way, it makes things easier for everyone which makes things easier for me. And speaking of, more ships should be coming to deliver bracelets. You'll be notified when they come and there will be plenty to go around."
"We'll be ready to receive them."
"Good. Then if there's nothing more, I'll call the Church and see what they want to do with the Dwarven Empires. Tomorrow the bracelets will come, so you guys can focus on handing those out. I'll contact Vythica after everything is settled and go from there."
"Very well. We also need to begin making preparations."
"Okay. Then I'll be going."
Saying so, Dream stood up. Idona got up with him, and the two left the building.
After exiting, Dream's body began hovering a few inches above the ground, his limbs limp.
"Dream? So what was that? And what are you doing?"
Idona asked, confused as to why Dream was acting weird.
"Upgrades. I recently had a bit of a jump in power, so my body had to evolve along with it."
"...Wait a second."
Suddenly, Idona narrowed her eyes and let out her influence. Her aura washed over Dream.
"...Your mana. S tier magic? I can't sense you..."
"I may or may not have crossed a major threshold."
"But...how?! You're not even class 4!"
"Study and research. I've actually been on the cusp for a while, and my latest experiment was enough to put me over the edge."
"But you... *sigh* You're impossible."
"Improbable. Anyway, I gotta go again. My upgrades will require a bit of concentration. See ya!"
"..."
Dumfounded, Idona stood there as Dream flew through the air like a ragdoll. His speed was much faster than she had ever seen from him. But more than that, it was much faster than she could ever go herself...