For the next few hours, I spent time with Chris, Riley, and her two kids, Connor and Claire.
I didn’t really grill them about why I should consider her for the hero role, but I did ask a lot of questions. The thought process behind their reasoning was sound. It would be easier for her to protect her family if she had the power to do so. But that could be said for every family across the earth. Neither of her kids were old enough for the system just yet, but Connor would be by the time it was implemented. When I asked what both the kids liked to do, Connor said he really liked to cook. He said he wants to own a bakery when he’s old enough. He didn’t like to cook normal food but cakes and cookies. I really liked this thought process. Not just doing something because it needs to be done but because you truly love it is the whole point. I wanted a world completely unlike the one we’ve grown up with, just taking any job you could get because you needed the money to survive.
“You could have your pastries give boosts when people eat them,” I told him. “Well, once your skill levels are high enough, you can add boosts. If you get good enough, they could even be more effective than potions and maybe even give permanent boosts.” His eyes went wide.
“Could I really do that?” he asked.
“You bet. The beauty of the new world is that everyone can be whomever they decide to. No more just doing something because you don’t have a choice.”
I knew there were still going to be families that pressure their kids to do certain things, but society will no longer dictate whether you could do something or not. The system will be in place to facilitate growth in any direction you choose.
Claire said she wanted to build things. Not just weapons or armor, although she did enjoy pretending to be in battle, but useful technology for everyday life. She was more intelligent than I would have guessed for a 7-year-old.
“I wanna build a house that will brush your teeth for you and clean everything up so you don’t have to.”
I laughed and told her that it will be completely possible if she’s smart enough to do it.
“Just make sure to be as smart as you can, and you can invent anything.”
I had discussed things like this with Sim on multiple occasions. We decided there would be a class called Tinker Tech that would be kind of like a jack of all trades. It could be specialized at higher levels but at the beginning, it allowed for all kinds of different skills in a multitude of areas to create different forms of mana technology.
With both of her kids seeking non-combat skills, I started to rethink the age limit for integration. Maybe I could allow for mana channels earlier and just put skill and level caps based on age until you hit 12, then allow full integration. My main concern was that I didn’t want kids to choose a particular species and gender because they thought it would be cool and then regret it later.
I told Chris and Riley that we could discuss everything at the hero meeting coming up. I had already spent enough time just talking with the kids and could tell Chris was anxious to go. I wanted to go find the other two sub-admins anyway and see how they were doing before Jeff finished on Cookie’s pathways.
As I was getting ready to teleport away, I heard Chris kind of mumble, “Good talk, Dumbledork.” He immediately got smacked in the shoulder by Riley. I turned around, and he had a cheesy grin on his face.
“You’re gonna pay for that tenfold, buddy.” I started laughing after deciding to have a little fun at his expense.
“Wait, what? Why do I have to pay? She’s the one who hit me,” Chris asked.
Riley hit him in the arm again.
“I hope you’re ready for the next level with mana bolt training.” He looked at me with a confused look.
“Why?”
I hurriedly put up a shield separating him from Riley and her kids. I then had a timer appear about 20 feet above his head. It was set to count down from 10. “Every 10 seconds for the next 10 minutes you’re gonna have 10 bullfrogs appear. You have to shoot them with a mana bolt to kill them. Nothing else will work. Every time they touch you, you get a wart that itches like crazy for the next 10 minutes before it disappears. There is a 10-meter radius for this force field. They might appear above your head or underground and all come at once. Better hope your mana holds out.”
“Wait,” he called out. “I just used all my mana, and it doesn’t replenish fast enough to kill them all.”
“Too bad, you could have just teleported away, but you’re out of mana. Better start running, Dumbledork,” I said mockingly.
I laughed and teleported away right as he started yelling more obscenities at me.
…
I arrived back at the house and saw Alec sitting on the couch petting Peaches. She had shrunk down to her puppy size and curled up on his lap.
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“Daddy’s back. Yay!” Peaches said as she jumped down.
“So, how did it go?” I asked.
Right when Alec looked like he was going to start talking, Peaches butted in.
“We didn’t find the bird, but I smelled it a couple of times. He really stinks. I’m gonna get him. He tried to steal my friend, and I wanna eat him.”
Alec looked at me with really big eyes and an exasperated look before he started to answer.
“Well, she’s an amazing flier. Did you know that she can activate her tails, and it’s like a jet boost?”
He stared at me for a couple of seconds before continuing, his eyes still as big as he could muster.
“I fell off a couple of times, but she’s able to teleport to catch me, so SHE didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I asked her to warn me, but she kept saying there wasn’t time. If she warned me, then she might miss the bird. I didn’t see or hear any birds, but I guess she did.”
“I have super-duper smelling. You just didn’t smell it cause my nose is better. We almost got it, Daddy. I could smell it really bad. But then it disappeared. I don’t know how it keeps getting away. Maybe I need to be better. I’m gonna go practice again and get faster.”
Peaches ran out the back door and just disappeared.
“Dad, I’m pretty sure your dog is crazy,” Alec said.
“She’s not crazy; she just hasn’t learned how to process her thoughts and feelings yet. She’s becoming too powerful too fast.”
Alec just stared at me with a “yeah, right” look.
“Just shut up. I’ll spend some time training her soon.”
We both started laughing.
"Mike," Sim said, "Jeff will be done in approximately 12 minutes. There is something you should see before she awakens."
Both Alec and I rushed into the room. I didn’t notice anything strange at first glance. I stood there for a minute, wondering what she was talking about. I was about to ask Sim what I was supposed to be looking at when I remembered that I had my divine sight off. I hurriedly turned it on.
As I stood there in complete shock, I finally asked Sim what was happening.
"Why is every mana channel rotating between the normal blue and white? She has so many nodes in her head it’s almost like her brain is entirely made out of mana. What’s going on?"
"We will need to question what she knows of her channels and her core when she wakes up. My data does not indicate anything resembling this outcome. It appears that her mind has advanced so far that I cannot get any data whatsoever. She is also completely invisible to my senses. If Jeff was not currently introducing his mana to repair her channels, I would not know she was there."
"How is that possible? You’ve bonded with the fundamental aspects of everything. How can she just be invisible?"
"Even though she is currently unconscious, I’m assuming her bloodline is shielding all data."
"So I can’t analyze her?"
As I tried to activate my analysis skill, nothing came back. After a few tries, I started getting a weird message.
Please select a subject for analysis
"Sim, this is weird."
Right as I started talking, Jeff stood up and backed away. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and across his cheek. He gave me a small smile as he wiped it away. The next thing we knew, Cookie opened her eyes and sat up.
“Dad, Jeff, Alec. I realize this is weird, but give me a moment to complete my metamorphosis.”
We stood there in amazement as her entire body started to glow. White tendrils of mana exploded from her body. They formed the most majestic set of wings we had ever seen. She was like an angel, but her wings were able to morph into pure light, swirling in an unknown pattern. As her wings took shape, they appeared to harden into a solid form. They quickly morphed into tendrils of pure, unadulterated power. She began to float off the bed, and quickly every part of her light went black. It was like the void I saw in my first vision when bonding with Sim. Nothing escaped the absence, and then the next second she was normal. Just standing on the bed. No lights, no darkness, it was like she was back to her old self. She stepped down off the bed and brushed her clothes off.
“I apologize for that display. I know you have many questions, and I will answer some, but you must also respect that I will not answer all.
First, I thank you, Jeff. Without your power, I would not have been able to awaken the true extent of my powers. My abilities are far beyond what would have been possible with the damaged mana channels from my initial activation. It would have taken centuries to repair on my own, so once again, I thank you.
“Alec, I apologize for what you went through. I see now that had I chosen to disobey orders and come to you, we could have figured out what was going on without your confinement. The individuals who orchestrated the entire process are now deceased thanks to the mass culling our father enacted. Hannah is now in charge, and things will be much better.
“Father, I know you are confused. Your analysis skill will never work on me. I have separated myself from our universe and now have the ability to phase between dimensions. By keeping myself in a state of flux, Sim can no longer detect me. Because I am not completely in phase, I am and will continue to be invisible to all senses. I can choose to relay data, but you will not be able to scan my mind as you once could.
“You know about Sim?” I butted in.
"I do. I actually know more about her origin than she does. I am going to send all the data needed for the White bloodline. This will allow Sim to impart the bloodline upon those deemed fit during integration to the system."
“Wait,” I said, “Cookie, how do you know all this?"
“My particular bloodline is what’s called a Tri-Mental-Union. It has not been seen in any universe for eons. It imparts particular knowledge upon awakening. I had to remove myself from the confines of our universe to avoid detection. There are certain universes that upon realizing I had awakened, would immediately force through the barriers attempting to capture me and learn my secrets of mana control.”
I stood there dumbfounded. I had no idea how this had happened. What was so special about my family that we are the ones having to deal with all this?
“Cookie, what all could you possibly know? You’ve been out for weeks. You haven’t seen any of the messages or the changes I’ve already enacted.”
“I scanned Jeff and Alec’s minds the second I became aware of them. I learned everything that had happened while I was ‘away’. I also have access to an information pack that is still locked and unavailable to Sim. It will unlock upon your bloodline activation.
Your mind is shielded. Your pet Peaches’ mind is also shielded. You need to be careful with her. She has a variation of your bloodline somehow.”
“If you can’t read our minds, then how do you know about our bloodlines and how did you gain access to info Sim doesn’t have yet?” I asked, becoming more and more confused.
“I can give you some of the details I do have on your bloodline, but you must be careful. This knowledge is restricted.
There has only been one other with your bloodline in all of history in any universe. Your bloodline is the patriarchal bloodline. It is responsible for the creation of all other bloodlines. It is called the Deca-Angelic-Formation bloodline. Peaches has a slight variation, but hers will get stronger and stronger. She will have the power to create entire universes and must not be left to her own devices once absolute activation has been achieved. She may unwittingly destroy a universe with just a thought and enough focused will.
“There must be enough origin mana for something of that nature, so the concern is minimal at this moment. Our universe will need centuries of conversion to achieve the required mana levels.
“Dad, I want you to know that I love you. I may not always show it, but I truly do. Please one day try to understand why I had to do what I’m about to do.”
“What do you mean about to…”
Just as I was about to finish asking her to explain, she exploded in darkness. She had become like the void itself, sucking in all light. A small tendril of absolute darkness shot across the room straight for the center of my forehead. This was the main power node in the head. Some cultures called it the third eye.
I slowed time, having all but mastered my reflexes and time dilation by this point. As I watched, I could see the tendril getting closer and closer. I had activated a 10,000 to 1 time dilation, and the tendril was still moving towards me. This was beyond master-level power, not just a partial activation, but she had already fully unlocked her bloodline.
I stood there in shock that she would do something like this, the tendril started speeding up. As I dodged, it snaked towards me at the last moment. Instead of hitting the center of my forehead, it barely skimmed my ear. I grabbed the tendril and forced mana into it. It wasn’t solid, but I had learned to use mana to manipulate incorporeal objects through meticulous practice. I watched as the light of my mana burst its way up the tendril and into Cookie's core. I allowed time to speed back up. As I did, I heard Cookie scream and she disappeared.
I looked around the room and noticed that everyone was just standing there staring where Cookie had been a moment earlier.
“Where’d she go?” Alec asked.
“I’m not sure.” I replied, “But I think she's gonna be a little irritated when she comes back.”