After sorting through all the different shapes, I narrowed it down to two most reliable looking ones. First one had a weird, irregular shape that reminded me of a hammer and the only energy it emanated was lightning, or electricity. As i saw it i instantly thought of a certain silver-haired kid's power – kanmuru. I totally want that.
The second one on the other hand didn't gave off any energy, feeling nor color. It didn't even look like a class – it was shaped as some multi-layered circuitry and unlike the others, it didn't levitate around, but stood absolutely still on the ground. I almost missed it.
A: Is this one even a class or a part of some machinery?
S: Hm? Ah, yes, this one should be a class. Haven't seen it before.
So, basically the choice is between cool-ass OP class or the class that could somehow corespond with my knowledge, because it looks like some kind of circuitry...
As i continue to look at the second one, i wonder why it doesn't give off even the tiniest bit of electrical aura... That's when i felt that tiniest bit of aura that i was looking for. But it wasn't electricity. It was the kind of aura i didn't find at any of the other classes.
A: I want this one.
S: Well then, give it a touch.
As I extended my finger, it comes in contact with a hint of a mysterious energy. The circuit immediately dissapears, or not. It suddenly appeared in my fingernail as small circuits started appearing all over my body – ah, sorry, all over my soul. Just as fast as it started, it ended and all the other classes were nowhere to be found.
A: Well, you sure took your sweet time. Now, you can check your status just by thinking about it. If later on you want to, you can also change how it looks. Anyway, you have also been granted basic abilities like observation and dimensional pocket. Can't be a hero without those now, can ya?
As I think in my mind the word 'status', a retro-looking blue screen appears in front of me.
A: Come on, at least give this thing a better resolution...
And before I ended my sentence, letters from status window sharpened themselves.
A: Oh.
S: Pretty handy, isn't it?
A: Yeah.
But before that comes what I saw in my status window.
Name-Age:0Class:TimemancerTitles:-Mana:286325Strength:2Vitality:1Agility:2Resistance:0Luck:24State:Forced soul bodyA natural soul being bended into god's shape. Weaker souls shall perish, while strong ones have limited time before doing so. Can only be done and undone by beings from higher planes.Soul overcharge(medium)Because of soul receiving power over it's capacity it loses control over some of its mana, resulting in possible mana storms around the target. Wears off with time. Current overcharge: 286325 mpAbilitiesSuicide(lvl. 7)When you die, you do it with a boom!observation(lvl. 1)Allows the user to receive the observed data in text form.dimensional pocket(lvl. 1)Allows the user to open a pocket dimension in a shape of a cube with a space of (10*lvl) cm3.intermediate mana manipulation(lvl. 1)Mana control is a basis for all kind of actions that involves using mana. At intermidiate level, allows user to perceive mana instinctivelytime control(lvl. 1)Rare branch of magic that allows the user to manipulate the fabric of time-space. Requires extensive knowledge and mana reserves. Because specific spell casting is neither necessary nor possible, this is the only magic of the time category avaible to the physical plane. Passively increases thinking speed.
See, even status thinks string plane is a stupid name! Wait that's not it! I got so many contracting thoughts, I don't even know where to begin... What's up with this suicide skill!
A: Oi, Saphy!
S: Yes?!
A: My status is all over the place. Why is my age 0? And Vitality is 1? Am I about to die?
S: N-no, you are about to be born. Umm, we took your soul as it was on the way from the soul well and into the body of a yet to be born child. By the way, the status is present for all the souls that are able to store mana – in another words, achieve novice level. I won't be telling you about those levels, it doesn't really concern you.
A: WHY it doesn't concern me?
S: B-be, because! You will need at least several reincarnations to strenghten your soul enough to worry about that! And powering up forcefully won't work, because there aren't any gods as lazy as Zeus. They will notice and stop you, so you better not try anything with souls again, ok?
A: ... I see... then... what about those cheap ass skills you gave me? TEN FUCKIN' CUBIC CENTIMETRES! What am I supposed to use it as, a hip flask!?!
S: Hiii! I-I'm so-sorry! B-but these will grow as you use them! And evolve later on!
A: ...Evolve? Ah, so it's this. You're giving me the weakest version of the skill so that i can take my time and level it up, and when it hits enough levels, it changes into something with better multipliers and attributes.
S: Exactly!
A: You should've said so from the beggining... dame-usagi...
S: Wha?- I'm sorry... but we're really running out of time! Please head to the array over there, it will transform your soul back and cancel the magic that keeps you here!
A: Ok, ok, i'm going...
Though I would really like to stay and get some more info, this 'Forced Soul body' description gives me goosebumps. Please excuse me from dying before being born.
But, as I head over to the array, i begin to wonder... What if by the time i get to my body, my mana will be gone? I will have to work hard for at least few years to get enough for a basic fireball... What if i never get this amount of mana again? What if this super ability that i just gained will end up never being used in the end?
As i was stepping into the array, i finally decided: It's time to use time magic!
So, how should I go about this? For starters, let's try to remember how aura of time felt. Can i reproduce it? No, I can't. Then, those circuits in my body, can i use them somehow? No, I can't... Can I even use my mana?
As I thought that, the subtle blue mist emerged out of my body.
Oh... neat. It moves however i want it to. Well then, the description of time control mentioned that it doesn't require any casting, but takes tons of mana and... knowledge? Well, my best bet is to pack all of my mana onto those circuits in my soul and see what happens.
Since circuits were already in my soul, where the mana is stored, throwing all i had onto them took less then half a second. By this time i felt that the array i stood on started activating, as it revealed to me it's whole form. More circuits... And as the world around me slowly started to turn white, i finally felt the response from the time circuits. At that moment, the speed that the world around me was turning white slowed down almost to a stop. But it wasn't a stop.
So, with this much mana i can only slow the time to this extent... well, it could be worser, in actual fight even 10% of normal speed can pocket me an easy victory, not to mention a 95% like this one. And i can still move more or less the same.
Looking at the goddess, she is organizing the papers that she throwed all around earlier. And she moves extremely slow. I guess time magic works on gods too, ah?
I wonder how much longer do i have in the matrix mode... looking at the mana flunctuations in my soul body, i would guess around... two minutes? Not bad at all. Still, the only thing i could do here is to stare at this array's circuitry. Well, i guess that these ones are made for conducting mana, not electricity... but it looks a whole lot more familiar than the ones on my soul.
This one goes to this one, this black ones... are those resistors? Nah, they should be microchips... Oh, a power supply! I thought as a devil whispered in my ear. Surely no one would mind if i siphoned some of this delicious mana...
Now then, i bet normal people would think twice about touching an unknown power source and trying to connect their freakin' soul to it. But again, i already did this with the nuclear power plant and i'm okay. What could possibly go wrong?
But I don't really know how much mana is in there, beside the fact that there is a lot. From the start, i know that it's the power source because of the powerful and dense mana surrounding it. So, instead of overloading my soul even more, let's pack more power to my time circuits and try to go time travel!
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Siphoning the mana from the array i realised just how powerful it is. Enough to explode me a few hundred times over... that was a close one. By the twentith second of packing mana into time circuits, the time aura got noticeably denser and the time slowed down onto the complete stop. I guess that it's still being slowed down, just so much i can't really tell. I guess this much is enough.
Suprisingly, the power source is still alright. I guess it's this essence-thingy generator Saphy told me about. Now then, i may only have one shot at this, so let's focus.
As i try to command the time circuits, i found the controls a little bit counter-intuitive. Okay, not just a little. Everything was pretty much manual, with thousands upon thousands of commands. Imagine writing modern software with just a BIOS in your computer. Not impossible, but who would bother? Well, i got a lot of time now, so let's categorize them at least...
…
A long time that felt like a few days flew by and i ended implementing the final part of the system overlay. Now with just a though i can manipulate the circuits to use the mana in a desired way. The good part is that in fact, i can time travel! I can also time slip, travel to alternative universes and all the other things! The bad part is… the mana usage.
As i tried to calculate, the cost of over half the things on the list of things i can do, counted up to infinity! You may say that infinity isn't a number, but even if all the atoms in the universe became nuclear power plants, then power from them wouldn't be able to even power up a single command needed in a set of the time travel program! Since i won't bother counting it, i call it infinity.
Anyway, it seems that normally i will be able to only slow down and speed up time marginally. That is, without this disgustingly powerful mana generator! As i continued to draw power from it, i finally got enough for a ten minute time slip! Better hurry up, although the time is almost stopped, the whiteness around me is reaching its peak.
As i look my right, i see Saphy looking at me with a shocked eyes filled with realisation, as she stands up, mana dense as liquid metal surrounding her. Well, she looks like a statue from my perspective, but i better get out of here.
As i rearange the circuits, i send to them a mental image of me standing before the goddess from ten minutes ago. As my thoughts were accepted as a valid anchor point, I could feel all the mana from circuits dissapear, as the fabric of time-space got pulled backwards forcefully. The next moment I know, i stand at the place i started at. But as i knew the commands for the procedure, i knew it wasn't the end. After all, the goddess before me still stands at the position as she wanted to attack me in the array.
Next, the aura of time explodes all around me, pulsating outwards. As the time got forcefully rewinded, it tries to repair itself, and so all i need is to pull back most of the time-space fabric, and it will repair itself by pulling back the parts that are in the future, not the other way around. As the final pulse gets rid of final portion of time aura out of my body, i find myself inclined towards some circuitry on the ground.
-Well then, give it a touch.
-…
Success! Take this, gods! Oh, I'm about to choose a class? Perfect! Timemancer looks nice and all, but it will be useless with normal amounts of mana. I'll take the one that i can actually use any time of the day.
S: What's up? You doing it or not?
A: I changed my mind. I want something flashy so i'm going with the thunder hammer one.
I said as i stood up and touched my second favourite class i have choosen earlier. Kanmuru here i come!
S: Ah, the young ones...
As the light from the class dissapeared, Instead of feeling my soul being complemented somehow like before, what i felt was as if someone put my soul into a blender. As i have fallen to the ground, i can see a shitload of messages that have the form similar to the status menu
Error *5☠✴2*@%91! Soul space elligible for class manipulation is occupied! ☠2@✴# Attempting an uninvasive class fusion...
Skill fusion success!
Error 23$%%✴# ! Subject's soul pass incompatible! Checking administrator's authority level...
Critical Error !!4&# ! Subject's soul body unstable! Attempting using system's god class ☠@✴# fusion!
Fusion Success! Timemancer and Thunder god overwritten!
Back to guest mode...
S: Ah, that's bad! You can't mantain a soul body any longer! Damn, you should still have a few minutes at least! I'm gonna transport you directly, so don't move! What i desire is a form! Argev, Sylpho, Mendel, Honto...
As the goddess started chanting, I felt some of the sharp pain melt away and the white light from before the time slip started occupying my vison. Moments later i was almost unconcious, and with the last moments of clear-headedness, i opened up my status.
Name-Age:0Class:TechnomancerTitles:The one who forges his own destinyA title given to you for forcefully changing your future in an imposible way. Luck parameter doesn't concern you.Mana:0Strength:2Vitality:1Agility:2Resistance:12State:Soul fatigue(medium)As a result of soul being melded forcefuly, your soul became unstable. If the state is stacked up, the soul shall shatter ineluctably.lightning bodyHigher form of lightning affinity. Completely nullifies lightning damage and allows the user to easily absorb it. Hightens the affinity with fire, air, water and light elements.AbilitiesSuicide(lvl. 7)When you die, you do it with a boom!Appraisal(lvl. 1)Allows the user to receive the publicly known data about the observed object in text formdimensional backpack(lvl. 1)Allows the user to open a pocket dimension in a choosen shape with a maximum space of (2^lvl) dm3.advanced mana manipulation(lvl. 1)Mana control is a basis for all kind of actions that involves using mana. At advanced level mana usage is intuitive and precise.time control(lvl. 4)Rare branch of magic that allows the user to manipulate the fabric of time-space. Requires extensive knowledge and mana reserves. Because specific spell casting is neither necessary nor possible, this is the only magic of the time category avaible to the physical plane. Passively increases thinking speed.intermediate lightning magic(lvl. 1)Publicly defined as a higher form of fire magic. Allows the user to cast lightning spells and use mana of lightning nature
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song for today ♫