[| Right now, my capabilities are to inform and provide, what I inform is about the world around you, kind of like a black hole that consumes information and stores it for a later date. What I can provide is a sub-space of sorts, the highest form of capability the system could provide, it is a sort of a dimensional blur, and can be entered at any given time and left at any date. You could have multiple dimensions or even have a dimension that connects into other dimensions using spatial rips that only you can use, bear in mind that Stellar only copies your capabilities, so only when you are capable of creating a spatial rip, can the system provide this function in it's many abilities, but for the moment, here's the things Stellar is capable of...
Sub-dimensional Space (1 Allowed) (5ft x 5ft)
Sub-dimensional Altering (Cannot alter the dimension as of yet.)
Sub-dimensional Importing and Defense
Storage Sub-System (Small Items only)
Large Storage Sub-System (Moderately sized items only)
Stedia (No limits) |]
Excitement rose in Silas's heart as he immediately entered the dimensional space, he felt a slight pull on his body as a bright white light blanked his eyes, he no longer felt the feeling and opened his eyes to look around...
Beauty... that was all he could see, as he was floating in the middle of space, with millions of freckles of white, orange, and red shining in the dark, and monstrous galaxies and nebulas, such a magnificent show wasn't the only thing that shocked him, he wasn't breathing, nor did he even see his skin, only a sort of reflection that bent the light around it, he wasn't there, his consciousness was. He felt nothing but sorrow and realization.
"I feel nothing as if I can only think and not live, think and not feel, think and not be..."
[| ....This is a temporary setback of this place, it is still developing, and when you progress enough, you should be able to have human senses although dulled, and in enough time, I could probably move your existing body to this place too. |] If Stellar had a conscience, her chest would be put forward.
"Did you move my consciousness to an actual place or is it an illusion?" asked Silas.
[| It is in a different dimension I created a void of all life, you can't move outside the boundaries I set and make anything though... |]
"Take me out of here then..."
wooosh... The feeling arose from before and took him back to where he preferred it much more, with his human senses.
He took a breath of refreshing air and shot a daring look at the scenery around him...
[| This place is dangerous, although it has a high Erkca flow... |]
.
Silas wanted to know what he looked like, as attractiveness is probably important in this world as well, but put the thought aside as he gazed at what he was wearing, a white t-shirt and pants, he seemed pretty tall but didn't know his age so he couldn't take any chances.
"Do you know how old I am?"
.
.
[| You are 20 minutes old. |]
.
Silas facepalmed and guessed that age doesn't really matter in this world because we wouldn't be birthed when we spawned in huh, that would be catastrophic...
Whatever was happening, he desperately needed food and water, and as he walked for over one hour he found a flowing river, the water was... white?
Silas quietly but cautiously took a mouthful of this liquid, he thought that whatever it was, he could probably survive it. He would die without it.
Gulp...Gulp
Pulse...
"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Silas screeched in insurmountable pain as he felt as though boiling water was melting his insides, the pain was so immediate and so unbearable that he couldn't think at all, slowly scratching at the ground with reddened eyes, his veins popped with black as they crawled to his brain like a parasite.
His mind quickly sought a solution and saw a bush meters away, there was a blackberry on it, and it harbored energy that would amplify the pain but dissipate the certainty of death.
He had no clue how he knew this, but the situation was too important to focus on such small things.
He could only regret his decisions as he crawled toward the bush 5 meters away, with each second taking a chunk out of his lifeforce, at this moment he preferred death so much he almost stopped crawling toward the bush just so certain death would be faster.
As he reached a meter from the bush, his nerves were so decayed from constant pain that he completely lost control of his lower body.
Snatch!
He grabbed the blackberry and wolfed it down, he didn't even think about it as such pain would make a person insane if they suffered it for long.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Silas as he immediately lost consciousness, lying helplessly on a patch of tall grass as his eyes were streaked with black and red.
...
4 days later.....
Silas opened his eyes as he slowly but surely regained consciousness and stood himself up. A throbbing headache enough to make someone fall to their knees appeared.
[| Do you remember anything? |]
Just as Silas was wondering what happened, he recalled the experience he had.
[| The blackberry you ate contained a sort of antidote for the poison in the water, what you drank had such a high
[| The content of the blackberry decayed your mind for a while, which was what caused you to faint, not to the pain, it is also the reason why you feel a really horrible headache.
Fortunately, the high Ercka content of both the natural resources seemed to have forcefully inflicted themselves into your muscles, tempering them. |]
He tensed up his muscles after the headache slightly subsided but still didn't find any achievement in strength.
Silas looked at his arm that was the same as before, but less... skinny?
Whack! He punched the nearest tree and he immediately winced in pain.
"It's still a tree..." He frowned at himself for his own stupidly in thinking he would be much stronger... but it's not like a tree was gonna break in half because of a little temperance.
He rolled his eyes and walked to the still flowing white river.
[| Drinking the river water with the high Ercka content increased your immunity to
He plucked his finger in the water and had the smallest taste possible, he was not going to take any chances with this, he put the small drop of liquid on his tongue and felt nothing.
"Seems that immunity thing was real..." sighed Silas happily as he absolutely black hole consumed the white water for a few minutes as he hadn't drunk for days. He took a few blackberries with him and stored them in a pouch made by a strewn patch that he had made nearby alongside the white erkca river.
As he was walking the white light that had previously enveloped him before had turned orange, it was close tonight.
[| I recommend staying inside for tonight, It may be unsafe... |]
Silas understood her words and made a small hut of stick and clay using Stellar's instructions, sleeping on a Jupi tree-strewn scrap.
Now that he was comfortable and albeit slightly safe, he asked...
"How do I refine my Soul?"
[| You need to first refine the [Erkca] in your medium and form a crystal which you made by condensing the mist hard enough, the crystal will allow you to absorb, collect, produce, and will be kind of like a capacity of Erkca, the brighter and more beautiful crystal you have refined it, the better it will function. |]
Silas knew that he needed to be serious to reach the first level of Soul, which he needed enlightenment to receive...
He sat on his legs and didn't know where to put his arms, so he just placed them on his thighs and concentrated. First, he tried to sense any Erkca around him, as his senses and comprehension took him smaller in scale, he finally grasped the level of Erkca, and didn't see what he thought, he saw a sort of mist, dense in some areas and light in others, flowing with itself. He saw this Erkca but didn't know how to absorb it, he pondered for a while before deciding something, he then focused his mind in his bodily medium and immediately sensed the small gathering of Erkca, like a mist, he then opened his mind, and the Erkca started to gather in the mist. he gradually absorbed and condensed the mist until it revealed a crystal. The crystal was extremely small and white, but it gave off a feeling of immaturity and incompleteness. As soon as this happened, he refocused his mind on the Erkca and noticed it gravitating towards him, slowly, but it most definitely was. He wanted to test another few things, so, he left the concentration and wanted to test if he didn't need to be so focused to absorb Erkca, but no, he still felt the feeling of empowerment, the Erkca was still getting absorbed.
It was definitely slower than when he was concentrated, but it still worked.
[| You learned: 'Lunarian Sense', with this you can now sense Erkca in all the matter around you... (Basic Soul Active Ability) (Velastian) (Stage 1; 2m;) (1/2) The 'Lunarian Sense' is incomplete, learn the other half in order to receive the full benefits of 'Lunarian Sense'. |]
"How much has my soul progressed?" Silas was confused as to why he only learned half of it but put it aside for now.
[| You unlocked one of the basic level abilities that you require to fully unlock your soul. I do not know what the other basic abilities consist of, although basic abilities are normally acquired either through manual, which allows you to be more powerful faster, which is extremely advantageous in 'Terram Auroris', or automatically when your essence reaches a certain stage. Manual soul progression is very rare, as it is very alien and incomprehensible to most beings with a Soul, and to classify soul progression, and to feebly replicate what's happening, let's say that your body is a dam of sorts when that dam reaches breaking capacity all over its waters, it breaks, reaching a much larger and more sturdy dam (body), and with each level, the complexity of the dam alongside the weight of the water increases, the more water, the more complexity of the abilities that the next dam provides. The water isn't against the dam, it is the driving force the dam wants. Right now, your dam is that of dirt and sticks, and water of a cup. The thing about Soul's though is that the more you progress in your Soul, the more alike your mind and body become. |]
[| Souls are interesting and varying, some even need conditions before fully unlocking the Soul's capabilities. Every soul is different, and the more conditions a soul needs, the more powerful it is. |]
Silas sat in his hut, contemplating these rules of the Soul.
"How much of this topic do I know right now?" asked Silas
[| You have much to learn, and I believe you can figure out the rest on your own, as if you're stupid when you have this high of a comprehension. |]
[| Anyway, would you like to blueprint this dirt hut so the efficiency of the build is much better later on? |]
"You can do that?"
[| I can do anything that's within the Erkca comprehension. Which is everything. |]
"Isn't that a little unfair..." Silas started to frown as he felt bad for others who had average comprehension abilities. But didn't feel as bad, because he definitely felt superior, which he felt he needed to correct one way or another.
[| The system has no remorse for those without comprehension. In a world, this large, with so many possibilities, the strongest live the longest. |]
Silas definitely did feel remorse for those people but thought that maybe the world wouldn't be so harsh on them, and they could live fulfilling lives.
[| That is not true. Those without power live extremely harsh and hell-like lives compared to those with power. |]
"It's that harsh?" He felt that there was no choice if so, he wasn't an angel, he wasn't good, giving, or kind, but neither evil, a lawful neutral.
[| Yes, but there are many ways for those who weren't given great comprehension abilities to survive, maybe even thrive without dying way too early. |]
'I don't like being the remorseful kind of person, but that really is a bad fate without reason.' Only thoughts of the world around him circulated his mind.
'Anyways, it's best I get some sleep.'
[| Soon, you won't need sleep. |] Silas was confused but couldn't think about it as his mind drifted to sleep.
...
...
...
...
...
chirp chirp!
wind blowing...
...
*Yawn* Silas yawned as he stood back up, stretching his body. Feeling his headache, his lactic acid buildup was gone.
[| Welcome back. You were asleep for longer than you should have been, not sure why, but it's likely that you still needed a bit more rest to get rid of that light and dark erkca in your temporal. Causing the symptoms you felt last two nights ago. |]
[| I had collected a bit of Erkca in your sleep with my willpower to make a dirt plain in your dimensional space. |]
"Lemme see it."
Silas felt that familiar sensation as he no longer felt anything, and a light pull on his back pulled him to not only that sensation, but his own dimensional space. This time, instead of space constantly flowing around him, he was now standing on a dirt plain of a slightly larger space. Like a sort of cosmic body with consciousness but no feeling, he stepped around for a while.
[| I have enough reserves to enchant a small part of the dimension with a higher concentration. But it's your choice to either do this, which I recommend you do, something else. |]
'Enchant a 5ft x 5ft space in the middle and water the dirt plain.'
[| Understood, this takes half of the Erkca I collected with my pure willpower. |]
As this happened, Silas stood back to watch small sprinkles of water forming in the air, and falling upon the dirt, as well as the space in the middle of the space, condensing something, making it purer, and concentrated. Silas walked inside this space and easily felt something focusing his mind like he could think a little easier.
[| This space increases focus by approx 1.10x. It is perpetual and cannot be destroyed by anything other than myself. |]
'Should I ...'
[| That is the exact purpose of this space, alongside other things. |]
He sat down and decided to try out this mist thing the system had told him before but had a question that this space had brought up in his mind.
'How does time flow work in here, what happens to my body outside?'
[| Time flow is a little slower in here, about 1:1.03 in ratio terms. But your body is basically rag-dolled outside. |]
,,,
'Is there anything in particular that I need to do in order to condense the mist? just... take me through the steps.'
[| All you really need to do is focus on your body medium and condense the mist that's there using a technique only you know. You just need to kinda reach inside your soul, it's very easy... |]
Silas sat in a cross-legged position and brought his mind to his body, as he found the mist deep within his 'median', which he didn't what it was, he looked at it for a while, until a heavy pressure fell upon his mind, and he knew this was his soul, but it gave him a dreadful feeling, a feeling no being should feel. Purple light blinded his focus, and as he refocused on the mist, it felt more profound than before, like the mist was much less mysterious, and much more defined. Slowly, the mist condensed more and more, eventually, the mass of the mist was so small he almost couldn't see it, before Silas was mentally exhausted, and was about to faint, he peeked one last time, to see a small, but bright white shining light in the distance.
His consciousness fell out of the place he was in and a headache immediately hit him.
[| You successfully condensed the lowest grade crystalline. You now have an Erkca capacity and an Absorption rate. You suffered some backlash. |]
Truth was, he was far behind in size than he should be in the stage of Crystalline, but the density of the crystal was extremely abnormal, his soul alone allowed him to condense the crystal far beyond the usual, the basic technique given must have been extremely profound.
'That was easy indeed...' smirked Silas
[| It was supposed to be easy if your soul hadn't given such a complicated technique. |]
He looked around and felt uneasy...
'How long have I been in here for?' asked Silas, knitting his brows.
[| 21 hours; 48 mins; 32 secs; it is currently early morning. |]
'I thought you said time is faster in here?'
[| I did. |]
'What the...'
He thought he had spent about 5 mins in there, but...
[| What made this happen, was the fact that the technique your soul gave you tweaked your mind a little, so it would be a little easier to learn the technique, making it seem as if you had only spent a little bit of time in there. |]
Silas closed his eyes and exhaled, he stood up and put the thought away, what he needed was to advance, he needed to get stronger quickly.
'Augment the way in which I enter the dimension with a wave of my hand' He was starting to get annoyed with the system, he didn't like it in his mind in the first place, but soon he would change that. But he contemplated how he would do that without compromising the system's usefulness, he just needed more information.
[| Understood. |]
With a wave of his hand, Silas was taken out of the dimension with that same pull and was lying on the ground in his small hut.
[| While you were sleeping, I also took the blueprint of the dirt hut and messed around a little bit, here it is, it's a little more stable and efficient structurally. |]
The blueprint appeared in his consciousness and wowed him beyond belief, even without the experience of things of structure, he knew that the complexity was so high that no living thing could produce it, with dirt and sticks...
[| My calculations are well beyond anything by any living being, don't even try to compare me to those beings. |]
'That means that anything you do or make will be beyond something a being can create?'
[| Yes, Erkca grade systems are provided extraordinary capabilities. |]
'Speaking of those capabilities, how do I store stuff in the containers?'
[| You could bring up the sub-space storage systems with a thought, and later on, you could even deploy these storage systems, or even include them in your dimensional space. |]
As this was said, Silas immediately thought of the command, and in front of his mind was an image of sorts, of three large containers, all marble, with multiple gadgets on it, such as time lock, temperature, enchantments, and upgrades. Alongside three smaller containers with the same. beside these containers was a small text of writing, [ Grade: Green Leaf ].
'What does the grade green leaf mean?' thought Silas.
[| It means that the laws of physics are applied and that the container still needs Erkca to perform the law of physics-defying actions. Such as time skip, time speed, temperature change, and various environmental changes. At the higher levels, the colors are different, and the sub-system depends on more and more Erkca collections, each grade requires a higher Erkca collection rate. The way to do this would be to either implant it with its own Erkca absorption device, or continuously be feeding it Erkca. |]
'How do I get these absorption devices?'
[| Not really sure, but I think it has to do with providing it with its own essence core somehow. |]
'How do I do that?'
[| Well, I don't know as of yet, I only know all that other stuff because it was the information given to me at birth. Imprinted in all systems, you could level up my information module with information, but I don't know how to do that. |]
"What the hell do I do then..." said Silas, facing the sky with a contemplative expression on his face.
[| I believe it's best to first find civilization, and learn that way. |]
Hearing this, Silas decided this was the best thing to do as of now, as he knew nothing about this world other than the basic stuff. But...
~ The glass week is officially over, you will be teleported to Artania Parabellum, one of the 14 magistrates. Here you will be immediately tested on your abilities thus far, those eliminated will have their souls erased, immediate preparation is recommended. ~
"Wha-"
Voooooom...
After this message appeared, the confused Silas immediately felt like his body was being taken somewhere, a bright crashing light fell upon his eyes, he could neither see, nor hear, nor think.
'Stellar, why was I not informed!' shouted Silas as he appeared in a completely pitch-black room.
[| I was not told of this. This must be a test to thin out those with very low comprehension, or otherwise, those who are complacent and unwise. Like a first barrier. |]
Silas seriously needed to get rid of this system, he was too dependant on it.
~ The first test is a test of comprehension, each of you many people is going to be divided into grades, the grades will found in your systems. Your comprehension ability is otherwise your intelligence and capabilities, one of the most important aspects of your being. To pass this test, you would need to step inside a mirrored box, inside this box is a rune, all you need to do is step in the middle, and the rune will enlighten, the colors signify the complexity of your comprehension, and the essence formed around it signifies your essence type. Beware that the box is a window to all other participants, and any violation of the rules told in your systems will result in your box turning black, signifying your erasing... A failed test turns red, and a passed test turns green, however, those of you that are identified with a certain level of comprehension will be given a purple flash and bright white coin, the use of which will be explained after obtainment. Good luck. ~
'Is my comprehension good?' asked Silas, confused but curious
[| Your personal comprehension is different from the system comprehension I identified, instead, this one tests your ability to comprehend any and everything that inflicts your mind, it isn't an average score, it is a set amount. Anyway, as the voice said, the topmost comprehension grade is Erkca. But what is probably as important, is your aura type, which is like your soul's personality potential, but right now you should probably just focus on the test. |]
'Just tell me if my grade is high or aura type is good...' Silas facepalmed and looked for a door before a white flash came before his eyes, and he found himself on a marble esque floor, it was dark, but deep, like space. After he entered the space, he immediately widened his eyes before paneled windows to all his sides that reflected a never-ending sight of humans in boxes that had their faces hidden, some had long ears, some were short and he even saw one with a tail. He didn't want to focus too much on this sight as he shifted his sight to his surroundings, a glyph of sorts was imprinted within the strange stone.
~ You will be given 6.789344122 seconds to light up the rune in this test, if you cannot, you will be eliminated, from there, try your best to light up the rune as much as you can, no matter what is happening around you. You will be put in a healthy and focused state so do not worry about anything else. The test begins when you begin attempting it. Those who do not attempt the test within 1 minute will be eliminated. This takes effect... Now. ~
Silas immediately stood on the circle and focused his mind. Not worrying about anything around him, and as soon as he started the test...
flash!
A bright light seeped into more and more of the circle, filling up every glyph, and every crack in the rune, soon, the bright light became brighter and brighter. As this was happening, Silas was floating in the air, eyes closed, with a gale of wind forcing every hair of his body to stand up, the Erkca in the air rumbled, and every particle rumbled under immense pressure, a white aura was seeping out his pores, that defied the laws of the cosmos. Soon a singularity appeared right in front of the concentrated and unknowing Silas, it circled and wavered in the air, until, a large crack- appeared, it was a crack in something not existing, something uncrackable, well, it just looked like a string in the air. But it vanished as soon as it appeared, soon, the aura around Silas and the light in the rune slowly turned purple, and the gale settled until a light breeze pushed Silass' hair aside whilst he lightly touched the marble ground with his toe.
Instantaneously, the box flashed with a purple light, condensing in the middle of his palm to find a white coin of sorts.
~ Congratulations, you have a -Superior Existence-... the use of the white coin you recently obtained is used at the end of the test, there will be a gamble of sorts, of which you can obtain -Privileges - within. These -Privileges- help you along the journey of divination. Collect more coins to obtain more -Privileges-. ~
'So, with this coin, I can gamble, and obtain a headstart in Aurouris.'
[| That is exactly right, however, do not feign arrogance, as most have also gotten this first coin. |]
'I'm not surprised with the sheer amount of people...' Silas shrugged and didn't need to wait, as the 7 seconds were over, everyone completed their test.
"The test completion rate reached an acceptable number, and it is time to go forth unto the second examination."
"The second examination will have you condense your Erkca gained so far, and place the essence filled hand upon another rune, this will not involve individual examination of the same times, and judges will determine your completion. Those who gained a coin upon the first examination will be tested among one another, and be tested differently throughout the rest of the examination. You will be teleported this way in 3...2...1."
That same feeling erupted within Silas as he was pulled onto a long grass plain, among approx 1000 others. In front of Silas was a very large podium, with a monstrous symmetrical black crystal that pointed toward the heavens, it gave a dreadful feeling upon everyone there. Floating alongside the black formation was a seemingly middle-aged man with bright white hair hanging to his sides, a slim build, pale skin, and a feeling of profoundness.
"You all were determined as having the highest form of comprehension, Erckaic, individually you will be tested, and those among the top one-hundred obtain the second coin. The rules are directly implanted before your mind, through these rules, every one of you will have to follow, otherwise, you will be wiped from existence."
Silas honestly didn't care about what he was saying, what he was focused on was the profound aura leaking out, and his capability of floating in mid-air, he spied how this would be possible for a moment before finding that there must be some external force keeping him stable and gravity not affecting him so. He then circulated his Ercka in the same way this man did but soon found that it wasn't that easy.
Meanwhile, inwardly, the god-like man noticed the fluctuations of Erkca among many of the beings and sighed, 'These children are immature, they will learn, and understand.' he smirked and didn't mind the obvious violation of respect.
The man spoke: "You truly are all beyond genius, but you will encounter many others who you will fear, dread, and will be an ant against, some not even giving you the privilege to be called an ant. Power is absolute, and one of the most if not the most important things in this world, do not fear that you will risk your death many times upon your journey."
Suddenly, the man's eyes flickered for a moment before a boy in the crowd with light brown hair and a shocked expression was pulled to the stage.
"This test will reflect your essence type, or your [Genesis Seed] which you are all born with, which attaches you to a certain type of Erkcanum. The more complex and royal your essence type, the more likely you are to succeed, that's right, all of you know why and how you were transported to this place, you have been trained for this, do not let your family down, anyway, the more the Void stone reacts to your Erkca, the higher chance you have of passing or possibly even excelling, and receiving a divine coin." The man said.
"Good luck."
Suddenly, the boy that was still floating in the air fell in front of the crystal and the man vanished without a sound, the stage opened to reveal spiraling stairs.
Everyone was confused, they looked at each other with interest, but knew they would be separated from each other soon.
They all stood still, not daring to do anything, the boy was extremely nervous, his shaking hand eventually touched the familiar rune in the middle of the giant crystal, he shut his eyes, and opened them to see an anticlimactic sight of a small light sprouting in the middle of the crystal, and everyone's hearts settled a little.
The boy looked at the sigil of a dormouse and stood proudly. He walked off the stage in long strides as a bright green light flashed at the top of the crystal, meaning he passed. Apparently, he was of a slightly prestigious rank of Parvus, and his family's essence type was low compatibility with
[| He shouldn't be happy about the house rank Parvus... |]
Silas was starting to hate the system more and more with every comment it had, it annoyed him that it could peek into his mind.
As more kids began to fill up the stage, Silas pondered 'Why don't I remember anything before my awakening?'
The next girl walked up on the stage with a proud stride and without thinking, put her hand upon the rune and watched as a slightly bright light assumed itself into the crystal.
Her house rank was Altum, which was a high house rank, she was the first noble on the stage, and she was the prized princess of house Frieze.
Silas watched as she flicked her light blue hair away, and with her peerless face, a smirk was formed.
The males of the crowd almost fell to their knees, she was really pretty, although, he didn't find her attractive at all, she wasn't his type by a long shot.
More and more beings of different statures went on the stage, some of them were even part of house Humilis, which was the lowest house rank, and it basically wasn't a house rank at all, because all of their members died before even visiting the world of 'Auroris'... They were soon put in their place by higher house ranks even if they did somehow make it, as their Erkca count was far lower, and were instantly beeped with red, disappearing from existence, being transported somewhere.
The selection of beings went from left to right, down to up, and soon, one column of 1000 was finished.
Silas was initially curious as to what people he would meet, but quickly after analyzing them, most were pretty ignorant and arrogant. He quickly felt alone, as if it would be rare to find friends. But the more gifted you were, the more arrogant you were, so maybe he would have some fun with some overbearing princes.