Two cultivators stood at opposite ends of a mountain peak, their eyes locked in a solemn gaze. The first person, a middle-aged man dressed in white robes, was wielding a sword with a silver hue around it, while the other one, a woman in black robes, held a staff made of dark wood with a crimson gem on it that matched with her eyes.

The man was the first to make a move, leaping forward with lightning speed and striking at the woman with his silver sword. From the mana fluctuations around him, it was clear that he was at least at tier-8. Just like the woman who parried the blow with her staff and counterattacked with a blast of dark energy, sending the man flying backward. He quickly regained his footing and charged at her again, this time using a powerful sword technique that caused the mountain peak to shake.

The woman, unfazed, answered with a devastating spell that summoned a tornado of wind and rocks to engulf the man. Under the cluster of rubble, the sword user unleashed a technique that sent a beam of light toward the woman, but she was able to block it with a shield of dark energy. The cultivators continued to battle with incredible skills, their powers causing the mountain peak to crumble beneath them. The fight was intense and after exchanging blow after blow, both of them were exhausted. They were both heavily injured, but the woman was still able to land a lethal strike, causing the man to collapse on the ground, barely alive and unable to move.

Ethan watched the fight from the eyes of a spectator and after what felt like a half an hour-long battle, he found himself in the shop next to Adrian. ‘Ani, how much time passed in real-time?’

‘A little more than a second.’

The corner of his mouth curled up into a smile, and he sent his mana to the second jade slip without wasting any time. This time, it was an elemental fighting against a beast horde and his perspective was the same as the elemental. One after another, he experienced the memories of various people, from low tiers to high tiers, from an alchemist to a monster-blood. Sometimes he was a bystander and sometimes the person themselves.

The downside was that while experiencing these memories, he couldn’t use his [Mana Sense], and without understanding the element in use, everything felt too foreign. The few times he witnessed the people who used [Blink] were the most beneficial ones, but the others were just interesting plays. That was what he thought until he heard Ani’s alert.

‘With the information we’d gathered, I can now create realistic simulations.’

Ethan paused just before sending his mana to a different one and burst out laughing. Turning to Adrian who was guarding the gate, ‘’It worked!’’ he exclaimed.

‘’It worked?!’’ Adrian repeated in disbelief. ‘’You didn’t even finish them all. This whole store had only carried my progress to 80%. How could there be so much difference?’’

‘’No idea,’’ Ethan replied, shaking his head. ‘’But if I had to guess, I would say that the number of my skills made up for the quality. I have four types of rank-2 skills. Mana, stamina, void, and shadow.’’

‘’Perhaps. I only have two types- mana and shadow- and I don’t think the others are any better,’’ Adrian said with a thoughtful nod. ‘’Are you gonna try the VR here?’’

‘’Yeah, I just wanna confirm a few things real quick,’’ he said and sat on the floor in a lotus position. ‘’Wake me up if the kid returns.’’

‘Alright, then. Let’s see what you got for me, Ani. Start the simulation.’

Along with Ani’s confirmation, his consciousness shifted, and he found himself in a familiar place. A blank space in white that seemingly went on endlessly. Standing up in the air, Ethan commanded, ‘’Create the environment of the dying pocket world I’d visited, the Primordial Realm.’’

Mountains started to grow, rivers shaped, and space tears appeared everywhere. In a second or two, he was at the same place where he and Evelyn had stayed for a week, next to the small pond and close to the core of the pocket world.

Looking around curiously, Ethan couldn’t find any difference from the real thing. ‘’Shut down the pain sensors,’’ he said and walked toward the nearest space tear. He extended his hand and dropped his arm down. The inner side of the tear cut his hand cleanly and blood started to pour out. ‘’Restore,’’ he commanded, watching his hand reappear as if nothing happened.

Hmm. Let’s try this one, he thought and closed his eyes before using the Void Manual. The void aspect mana started to gather around as he absorbed bit by bit and refined it for his own use. There didn't seem to be any disparity from the outside. ‘’Can I cultivate here and see the result in real time, Ani?’’

‘No. Your real body doesn’t cultivate right now, but every comprehension you get in this place will still be yours permanently. One of the best uses of this VR is to improve your skills in the best environments.’

‘’But that’s not it, is it?’’ Ethan asked with a smirk. ‘’Create a copy of Veronica with the information you have on her.’’

A blonde girl with ice-blue eyes emerged in front of him, holding a long sword. In her leather armor, Veronica had the same excited expression on her face from the deep chasm in the Dead Plains.

Ethan took a few steps forward and patted her shoulder, his smile growing big. ‘’Oh, we’re gonna have so much fun. In time, I’ll find every single weakness you have, and the moment I’ll be able to kill you with ease will be the moment I’ll increase your stats and try again. I might even add some other wind skills to you that I’d witnessed from the jade slips, you know? Just for the shits and giggles. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when we meet next time.’’

He removed his hand and turned to gaze around the dying pocket realm with countless thoughts in his mind. I should do more experiments with that core. Maybe I’ll draw everything on its shield and talk with some runemasters in Miri. I can experience the feeling when Saruman forcibly teleported me around again and again. I feel like there was something at that moment I could understand with time. I should also spend some money to gather jade slips on space-related skills. Fighting against enemies with similar abilities to mine would increase my understanding immensely.

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‘’Now, what I truly wonder… is the passing of time still the same as the real world, Ani? I remember you’d said that’s the best option to experience the most life-like VR back on Earth.’’

‘That’s not the case anymore,’ Ani replied as Ethan’s eyes narrowed. ‘Thanks to your improved mental capabilities, you can slow down the time here by 3.2 times without any issue.’

Ethan’s hand shaped into a fist as he started laughing aloud. ‘’That’s what I’m talking about! What about the ratio? Is it related to my mana?’’

‘Yes. The percentage of the increase is linked to your INT stats. Currently 220%.’

‘’So, every time I sleep, I can spend a whole day here, and since I don’t use the Void Manual to gather essence, I can resume all my cultivation sessions here as well. More importantly, this will get crazy as my stats grow. It would be absolutely ridiculous when I have more than a thousand INT stats,’’ Ethan murmured to himself. ‘’That… that could make up for my trash talent and maybe even more.’’

After getting answers to the questions burning him up for a year, Ethan left the VR in a jubilant mood.

‘’So?’’ Adrian inquired, cocking his head. ‘’How was it?’’

‘’Oh, boy, do I have good news for you?’’ Ethan said with a sly smile. ‘’Just give me another two minutes to finish these jade slips and I’ll explain everything on the way.’’

Despite Adrian’s complaints, Ethan checked out another hundred slips as fast as he could and left the shop with some dizziness. He had already stopped giving his full attention to the memories he watched after a dozen times and just let Ani record everything. That gave him some mental relief from the constantly changing scenes and situations, but after experiencing hundreds of events in a short time, he still found it hard to adapt to reality.

The slow walk in Miri’s crowded streets somewhat helped him to sober up and he started explaining everything to Adrian.

‘’This is huge, boss,’’ Adrian cried. ‘’Are you serious?’’

Glad that he’d already activated [Void Mute], Ethan chuckled. ‘’Not gonna lie. I’m even considering turning into a full-fledged mage. The difference in the INT stats will play a big role in the long run. Well, for those with biochips, that is.’’

Adrian snorted. ‘’You always had a thing for the magic towers, but you can’t give up the thrill of close combat. I never saw you playing a mage in the VR games for more than a week.’’

‘’I’d be such a cool space mage, though,’’ Ethan said wistfully.

Adrian shook his head with a smile before speaking hesitantly, ‘’I have a bad feeling about this, boss. That Count is already after the biochips. Had he known this ability, he’d be only more aggressive. Even if we get rid of him, there will be more leaks in the future. You can’t seal everyone’s mouth. What happens when the tier-9s are interested in this?’’

Ethan nodded gravely. ‘’Yeah, I know. We’ll do what we can for now. Don’t worry about what the future will bring, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prepared either,’’ he said and turned his head, ‘’Did you hear anything about the Stardust Mercenaries?’’

‘’No. Who are they?’’

‘’Our guys from the free cities. There should be at least one member in Miri right now. We’ll go meet them after our business. They might already have a safe haven for the earthlings. Also, we need to find some scientists and engineers to learn if we can create biochips in the first place. After all, that was a product of Animus. The current Ani needs a lot of time and data to regain its old capability. Not to mention the many technological developments that are needed to reach that point.’’

‘’I know a few people who could help us with that. They knew every earthling in Mirasatra and even do some gatherings from time to time.’’

‘’Alright, but first let’s be done with the information agency and the auction house. We’ll have time for everything else until the day of the auction.’’

‘’We’re already there,’’ Adrian said, motioning his head to a ramshackle tavern.

Ethan followed after Adrian and entered the bizarre establishment. Nestled in a poor district of the city, this tavern was a rundown, dimly lit place. The furniture was old and worn, with mismatched tables and chairs made of cheap wood. The floors were dirty and uneven, and the only source of light came from a few flickering candles on the tables. The air was thick with the smell of stale beer and tobacco smoke.

The customers seemed to be mostly working-class people, who sought refuge from their troubles and a cheap drink. They sat at the tables, chatting and laughing, while a tired-looking bard played a worn lute in the corner.

Despite the everydayness of the place, three people stood out. The carefree young-looking bartender who nodded at Ethan in a meaningful way, the man with the fancy outfit who was walking toward the back of the tavern in front of them, and the doorman at the back who stood where they were heading and radiated killing intent without any skills.

When they arrived, the doorman opened the door quietly and let all three of them in. What welcomed them was another kind of tavern. Inside, the atmosphere was refined and elegant, with plush carpets, polished wood paneling, and brass chandeliers. The furniture was made of the finest materials, and the tables were round and small. It had a fireplace where a warm fire was burning, casting a warm glow over the place. The waitstaff was dressed in formal attire, and they moved gracefully through the room, taking orders and serving drinks.

Unlike the liveliness of the other place, there were only a few patrons chatting in hushed tones. There weren't any musicians but a classy tune was playing inside, adding to the sophisticated ambiance. To cater to the privacy needs of its elite clientele, the tavern also had private booths, hidden behind heavy curtains. Adrian led Ethan to one of them without delay.

‘’Trippy place,’’ Ethan commented, glancing around. ‘’Feels like there is a deep meaning behind it. Like there are two sides to every coin or something.’’

Adrian faintly smiled as he entered the booth. ‘’Just the antics of the rich.’’

They sat at the table and waited for a while. A waiter walked in shortly after and greeted them. ‘’Welcome to Blue Crab. How may I help you?’’

‘’Information,’’ Adrian said.

‘’And some snacks,’’ Ethan added. ‘’You know what? I’ll have a glass of your best liquor as well.’’

‘’Of course,’’ the waiter replied with a smile and turned to leave.

Noticing Ethan’s mild discomfort, ‘’You’re worrying whether they would ask 100 mana stones for a glass of drink, aren't you?’’ Adrian pointed out.

Ethan flinched a little. ‘’Would they?’’

‘’No. I’ve never seen or heard that kind of ridiculous price in Mirasatra.’’ Adrian replied, smiling. ‘’Even though, why not just ask the price beforehand?’’

‘’This place can’t restrict my [Blink],’’ Ethan answered from the corner of his mouth. ‘’If they come up with that kind of bill, I’ll be out of the town in a few seconds.’’

‘’And leave me here?! Should I wash the dishes for the rest of–’’

A seemingly young man with square-frame glasses entered the booth and grinned from ear to ear before extending his hand to Ethan. ‘’Mr. Voidwalker. It’s such a pleasure to have you here.’’

Ethan shook the man’s hand while struggling to keep his face straight. Seriously… this shit is getting out of hand.