I have given up on keeping track of the time. It is not like the date matters when I have no appointments to get to.

Sitting in the dojo I once again try to wind the reality I had taken around my soul threads, only to end up collapsing on the ground from the backlash.

“Fuuuuck.”

Experiment number: Cube God knows.

Results: Failure.

At least I can see the ground I am collapsing to. It took forever but I managed to remember how the whole pinhole thing works and realized that was the reason my vision was all screwed up.

The light was not reaching my eye like it used to and just flooding into it all at once with no direction.

The rest of my magic however… Well it is still a mess.

The interference from the Reality and Qi make mana manipulation a slog.

Johann has suggested many different ways to bind the Reality and Soul together but so far, nothing has worked.

In the meantime when I am recovering from the pain in my soul I have been working on the martial arts that are common here.

And I must say, I am getting pretty damn good!

Even when I am screwed up and in the first realm of cultivation I have been able to fight evenly or better with those in the second realm.

I expected the elves to have issues with that but they were all pretty friendly.

They seem to understand that The System has a strong hold on humanity and even applaud me for escaping it.

I learned quite a lot from chatting with the elves.

As it turns out, elves don’t have mana cores. They shatter the cores and prevent them from growing in their children when they are babies before the crystal can fully form.

Taking a solid stance I move my mind inwards and wrestle hold of my Qi and spread it throughout my body.

This is a personal experiment. I currently have Alice and Johann on standby just in case anything goes wrong.

We have been assuming that the problem was with how the thread of Reality forming in my Soul was strangely coiled around the Soul Threads. I however, had a different theory come to me the day before.

Alice and I had been discussing my Golemancy when I recalled that the Demon Monkey Golems were still all back in The Sea of Trees. I am sure the connection to the normal golems broke, but I can still feel a connection to the Demons under my command.

This reminded me that I had been forgetting about my Title.

After all, making Demons was something I did with my Soul Threads. I would emit that black smoke that would coalesce into an imp, but I had not done that since that first week after my ascension.

From my perspective, my whole being is one big chaotic mess. Two souls, two magics, Class 2 soul threads, First realm cultivation, and Whatever is up with my Demon Lord Title.

Johann said it would be best to reach the second realm in cultivation before trying this, but I just have a feeling that I can do it now. It is like an itch I can’t scratch now that I am thinking about it.

Alice did mention her concerns that the Title was affecting me so while this itch is concerning, I have no choice but to try it.

I slowly merge the Qi with my body and move it along with the Mana from my heart, circulating like blood.

They try to repel each other like magnets but I hold them together.

I can feel my heart pounding as the pressure builds.

I nod at Alice as she starts to flood my body with healing magic. The warm feeling washing over me pumps me up for the next step.

As the pain recedes I flip the switch in my soul to create a Demon, however this time I don’t let the smoke leave my body.

I grab ahold of it and move it through my false veins alongside the Mana and Qi.

At first the forces push harder against each other, trying to become dominant. This fight does not last long though, and they slowly settle into place.

I breathe deeply as I feel the repulsion begin to subside.

The demonic essence, or whatever it is, is canceling out the pressure from the two opposing forces.

I sigh in relief with a slight grin only to be struck by intense pain immediately after.

Damn it! Why does everything have to hurt so fucking much!

I look inwards to find more black mist escaping from my Soul Threads and forming a new string, one so dark it seems to suck in all the light.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

However the repulsion of the white Soul Threads and deep crimson Reality Thread keep things stable.

The threads all wind around each other in a perfect balance.

For once I wish I passed out.

“Damn it!”

The whole world seems to shatter around me as I fall to my knees.

Alice floods me with more healing magic, using every drop of Mana she has. Her power has grown stronger since we got here as she continues to refine her magic and soul.

With all the crap I have been doing, she even developed magic meant to heal the soul itself.

Letting the warmth spread throughout my body and into my soul I do my best to sit up.

Letting a big grin form on my face I pump my fist in the air.

“I fucking did it.”

I can feel the Mana and Qi in my body reaching new incredible heights as it all moves through my self made channels.

Alice looks on with an absolutely shocked expression.

“Your eyes… They changed again.”

I immediately switch my perspective and look at myself, only to no longer see the white orbs with blue rings staring back.

Instead I see what looks like two glowing blue crystals glittering and shining in the light.

“Now that is trippy.” I can’t help but sigh at the new eyes. At least the old ones let you know where I was looking.

Though that may not be terrible now that I think about it. I can check out Alice all I want without her noticing.

Smack!

Clearly my thoughts are still visible on my face as I feel an impact across the back of my head.

Before I can start my usual friendly bickering with Alice, Johann stands up.

“I will be right back.” And without letting us respond, he disappears from the room.

Well that is not ominous at all.

I turn to look at Alice as we both shrug.

Just as quickly as he left, Johann returns. Now carrying a sealed wooden box that I am pretty sure is stronger than I am.

“I don’t see this ending well.”

Johann opens the box to reveal dozens of Class 3 Mana Cores.

“Take them, you need to reach Class 3 right away.”

“Wait, what do yo-”

Then he shoves a red crystal pill into my hand.

“This is a Qi pill, one made for a third realm cultivator.”

My bad feeling gets much worse.

“Take it while you make the catalyst and flood the crystal with Qi and that black mist as well.”

“Okay, now hold on!”

He does not hold on. Instead he hands me a small vial of glowing red liquid. The substance seems like it is on fire as it wisps and flows inside the glass container.

Dragon’s blood.

Johann is really going all out as he explains the process for combining the materials.

“Stop treating me like a science experiment! Adding another power will 100% make me explode!”

“It’s a binding agent, a bit of blood won’t give you the power of a dragon. If it did I would have used it myself.”

“Oh…”

I feel a bit embarrassed at my assumption, but then remember that he is still very much treating me like an experiment.

“What about Alice?” I ask. I don’t want her to be left behind. We promised to ascend together after all.

However my concerns are unfounded as the Grand Elder explains that he has prepared the necessary catalysts for her as well.

I take the box and pill and blood in hand, then move them to the clear space on the ground between all of us.

This is going to be a shit show ain't it.

I no longer have a Mana Core myself as my body now holds the role of merging with the realm where my Soul resides.

I think back on the process of making a catalyst that I experienced last time. With my new powers and Soul situation I will have to adjust.

Mulling things over for a bit I realize that I might as well go nuts with things if I have already gone this far.

I take all the Mana Cores that Alice does not need and and use my Golemancy to merge them together.

A process that feels far easier than it did ever before. Like the crystal is perfectly responding to my will.

Along the way I take the Qi pill and pour the Dragon’s Blood into the mix while channeling Qi into the monstrosity I am creating.

Even Johann looked horrified, and he was the one who was planning something similar!

I see no reason to freak out when I am only completing what he started.

I huff indignantly as I focus less on those around me and more on the glowing mass of power in front of me.

The materials blend and become putty in my hands. Moving on to the next step that I just made up, I create the strongest demon I can and blend that into the amalgamation as well.

“Lua! Are you insane!”

Alice freaks out as soon as she breaks free from her stupor. The whole situation was moving too fast for her to handle.

“Go big or go home right?”

I shrug and continue pouring more power into the crystal.

“That will kill you!”

I can’t even respond as she rushes over and starts to push healing magic into the core that I am creating.

Honestly a really good idea as it should help keep me from exploding when I use it.

Johann, seeing our antics, eventually shrugs himself and starts to push some of his own Reality into the core.

The amount of power violently storming in this room can be felt far outside the dojo, making the elves outside panic and flee.

They know their master is crazy and never want to be around when he is doing an experiment!

A few hours later the storm calms down and Alice and I slump down in exhaustion, having put everything we have into the core.

“I can feel my Soul wrung out like a ratty dish cloth.”

Johann looks at me with judgemental but excited eyes.

“Well, I will say this much. You two are fucking insane.”

I look down at the glowing red crystal that emits a horrifying pressure all its own.

“Yeah… I may have gone a bit overboard.”