4th Day in the world of Aurarell
Natasha and Alice are both wearing black suits which were designed yesterday and I was wearing my traditional green jacket with a label of '10' on the left chest and navy blue jeans, a classic Ben 10. Coincidently, both of them share the same fighting techniques. Alice was continuously teaching Natasha magic whenever we have free time. It was 10 o'clock when we reached the Capital city of Belfast, Alephis. And now, we are walking to complete our quest before settling here. Contrary to my expectations, we haven't come across the daughter of the duke. According to Alice, Alephis is located on the bank of the Lake Palette which is a large portion of water that formed at the base of the waterfall; therefore it is also called 'The Lake Capital.' Due to being situated on the bank of the river, its climate is really comfortable. Belfast is a very peaceful country due to the fair reign of the king.
"Ben, can't we go shopping for today and handle the delivery later. Alice said the silk goods here are so light, soft, and beautiful." Natasha said with an unknown twinkle in her eyes.
*sigh since Alive mentioned that the silk goods made in the Killua region of Belfast are renowned and are available in the capital, Natasha started acting very strange contrary to her nature.
"OK, ok, you have money in your storage, so go with Alice around and book rooms in an inn for tonight. I will go finish the quest and join you at the inn." I said to Natasha with a smile. Hearing me, she jumped, kissed me on the cheek, and ran off calling Alice to one of the stalls. I am well aware of this feeling. I have spent my time in solitude in my previous world, but I know that once someone like me finally gets someone who cares for them. Then go all out and act like spoiled brats.
"She has started acting like a spoiled brat. Take care of yourself and her. If anything's wrong that you cannot handle, just call me." I told Alice who also gave me a hug and a kiss on the other cheek and went off. They really feel off, as if they have swapped places with each other.
I went to find Viscount Swordrick. After reaching the viscount's villa, I noticed that compared to the rest of the capital, the villa was a little too old-fashioned. Or maybe it looks like it because I am from a modernized world. I went to the gatekeeper and mentioned Zanac's name to him. He went to inform him and came back after a while and invited me to meet the viscount. I was led to a parlor of the villa. After a while, a red-haired man came in. He looked strong according to his physique and was well-trained, I guess.
"My name is Carlossa Galune Swordrick. Are you the messenger that Zanac sent?" the viscount said.
"Yes, I am here to deliver this letter from Zanac." I was really becoming impatient. Waiting for these losers to finish, they are so slow. Or again it is because I am from a world where everything happens very fast using computers and technology.
"Sorry to have kept you. Here… This—give this to Zanac." When I was comparing the jobs our both worlds, viscount came to me with an envelope in hand. I guess he has finished reading the letter and even wrote a reply. I nodded to him and shook his hand. While shaking hands I also absorbed his memories, he is a very good swordsman. The absorption ability of Osmosian is very much similar to absorbing DNA but by putting very little power into this ability one can only absorb a few sparks from the target's skin which are the signals of the nervous system. If you think clearly the whole body including the skin contains neurons that make the skin a receptive organ. So, by reversing the flow of neural electric signals, I can extract someone's memories. At first, it was very slow work but with the passage of time, it had become much faster.
After saying farewell to him, I directly came back to Reflet using [Gate] and gave the letter to Mr. Zanac but there he was, he said that he wanted to send another letter and asked me if I could take this letter also. But when I gave a little focus to the suits around, some of them looked like school uniforms. I got where he got these types of clothes from. Most likely, he bought these from Touya.
"I am sorry, but I am in the middle of something important. But don't worry there is someone who I would like to recommend." I said to Mr. Zanac when he asked me to take another letter to the capital.
"Oh! And who would you recommend?"
"an acquaintance. He will come in a few days and will take your letter." After saying this, I assured him that his message will be sent safely. Actually, I don't want to stir too much of the plot. This time I wanted to meet Touya now, so I headed to the Silver Moon Inn. It is 2 o'clock. All the delivery work and uselessly waiting and talking with these fools took almost 4 hours of my time. In a few minutes, I entered through the first floor, and like always, I found Micah serving food to the tables.
"Hi! Micah, how are you?" I asked as she noticed me.
"Ben! You are back? I am fine. How are you and where are Lady Natasha and Lady Alice?" She exclaimed and beamed at my sight but I noticed her eyes gleamed when she mentioned Natasha and Alice.
"I am fine, and Natasha and Alice are taking care of some work. I will bring them next time." I said and then asked, "Hey! Micah, have you seen those twin girls?"
"Oh! Those two? They are in the backyard, practicing magic, I think." 'Oh! So, I think it is Touya.' I thought and made my way towards the backyard and told Micah to make some light lunch for me. I hardly stopped myself from rushing there and absorb Touya's DNA. When I reached there I saw Touya, casting magic spells and the two twins were explaining the concept of magic.
"...You're really much more suited to being a mage, I think. Seriously, I've never seen anything like this in my life." Linze said to Touya. She was surprised that there would be someone who would possess all the elements.
"Having all the elements is quite rare, but not unheard of," I said and made my way towards them. All three of them turned around.
"Oh! Ben, it's you!" Elsie said and then asked, "What do you mean, unheard?" she asked then she realized and said, "Oh! Touya, this is Ben Tennyson and Ben this is Touya, our new party member."
"Nice to meet you Touya, you can call me Ben. No need of formalities." I said and extended my hand towards Touya who took it without any suspicion and I absorbed a little of his DNA.
[Demi-God DNA absorbed]
[System under processing...… Remaining Time: 30 Minutes]
That is what I was waiting for. Now, I will have no problems managing my powers. I can say that I will be able to wield an infinity stone if not all of them in infinity gauntlet without any issues.
"So, what is that you wanted to say?" Asked the impatient Elsie.
"Well! Have you heard of Doctor Babylon?" I asked them. Touya looked towards Elsie and Linze who shook their heads in denial.
"Her name was Regina Babylon and she lived around 5095 years ago. It was a very dark age in the history of the world." I said but managed to say 'the' before 'world' otherwise they would be confused. Then I continued, "It was the time when this world was receiving invasions from outer space. From some kinds of aliens called the 'Phrases'."
"Invasions from outer space?" It was Touya who said this.
"Yes, Touya! And they are still roaming around this world. They could be identified as made of a very durable material similar to Diamond crystals. But remember, they couldn't be killed unless you remove or destroy their core which is the only thing in their bodies that shines when magic is cast around them. And one thing more..." I looked towards Linze and said, "Magical attacks don't work against them, less they absorb magical energy and become more powerful." I just cannot leave without any reason, it would feel really creepy. In my world the biggest threat, I could ever think of is Thanos, Cronicoms and the Celestials during the emergence of Tiamat, the new-born celestial which feeds on the life-energy of intelligent beings and grows.
"What happened to them after? Was this Professor, successful in deflecting the attacks."
"Professor Babylon was preparing for these alien invasions but they suddenly stopped attacking. Therefore she used an artifact that could let her see into the future." I explained the story that I had watched in my previous life and also some points of it from all the books I took from the library. Thanks to my enhanced mind and the anodite's mind abilities, I had eidetic memory both from previous life and this life.
"Future!?" Touya exclaimed. Seeing his reaction, I smiled at him and then said,
"Yes, future. She had seen you 5000 years ago that's why she has left her legacy behind. She knows that these attacks would happen in the future. But don't worry, you will stumble upon such things very soon."
"Why are you telling all this to us?" Elsie was the one who asked this.
"I like spoilers. Actually, they are very unpredictable. Who knows? When you might face them?" After saying this, I took out a letter from my Inventory and handed that to Touya. "I came to give this to Touya. It is from your acquaintance, right?" I handed the letter to Touya because, if I don't do anything to make the plot progress further then it would be a huge headache. I am also sure that they will encounter the duke's daughter on the way to the capital.
"It is from Zanac." Said Touya and opened the letter.
"What is it, Touya?" Asked Linze in her usual slow voice.
"It is a delivery quest to the capital along with expenses covered. What do you say, girls?" He asked the two girls.
"We don't have anything to do? So, let's do this." Both of them said in unison.
"Hey! Touya, take these with you." I took out an Orichalcum Sword which was more looking like a Katana and a Desert Eagle pistol from the inventory and gave it to him. And I also gave him a small box that contained around 200 bullets along with extra magazines. Touya's eyes widened after seeing all these weapons. And looked at me with suspicion.
"I would love to spend more time with you Touya but I have to return back to my home. It is under threat. And not just normal wars or something but alien threats." I said to him.
"Your home? Where is it, actually?" He asked in confusion.
"Huh! I think someone from Tokyo would recognize an American well." After hearing this, his eyes widened even more.
"But I was watching the news all the time. I never heard of anything like alien invasion."
"Perhaps, our worlds are different places. But anyway let's take some lunch I have some errands to attend before going back." Then we went to take our lunch and had a little talk about our plans. I gave one watch to him which had only a communication system installed. I informed Touya that he can use any No Spell magic as he can. I actually made him spit his secret in front of the girls and they gave him quite curious stares. I laughed inward because I could see him sweating. I even told him that I would need his help in the future and told him to look for ancient relics and find the parts of Babylon that Regina had hidden. Then I gave my contact no to him and took leave by teleporting via No Spell [Teleport] to the ancient runes of the old capital mentioned in one of the guild quests. Then I used a No Spell [Limit Lock] to lock my passive magic aura. The spell [Limit Lock] allows the user to limit his aura, status, and even abilities to the desired level. The [Limit Lock] spell was owned by a gold rank adventurer from the past who would use it to catch their opponents off guard and defeat them.
I made my way into the secret room held by earth magic runes. It was a holding chamber that was keeping the Phrase inside I analyzed the runes and wards using [Analysis] spell. After analyzing, I understood that the Phrase was being kept by using the earth elemental magic. The magic was constantly draining it from magic to keep it immobile.
When I went inside, the Ultimatrix beeped unexpectedly,
[Un-catalogued DNA detected]
I understood that it detected the DNA of the Phrase, so I activated it and scanned the body of the phrase that was lying like a giant egg in the far corner of the empty room. I didn't use any magic to light the surroundings but was only using Anodite's X-ray vision.
[Un-catalogued DNA sample denied. It doesn't have enough genetic information to unlock Primal Transformation.]
[Transformation can't be activated]
*sigh, it was lying unconscious for so long or it is just a pawn that's why it doesn't have enough genetic material. Maybe it doesn't have genes at all.
I put these thought to the back of my mind and absorbed it crystal using Osmosian Absorption but along with matter. I noticed this when I heard the notification.
[Phrase energy absorbed. Status is evolution will complete in 10 minutes.]
[Osmosian powers are evolving in 10 minutes.]
I think due to the similar power of absorbing energy or magic. It also helped in evolving my ability.
I didn't want to rush back to our world but last night I had a weird dream. I saw huge gates like the one from the Chitauri but this was opened between two huge metallic columns. Huge towers were standing in the vicinity and snow was falling in the atmosphere. After waking up, clearly knew that it was a bad omen for me. It could only mean that something unknown is heading towards our home planet.
After making a ball of the Phrase-crystals, I renewed the magic wards and took pictures of everything including the crystal-creature, and then left for the Capital of Belfast via [Gate]. Then I confirmed the girls' location and went to find them.
-------------------------
It is the next morning, that I just appeared at the gate of the royal castle and asked the guard to let us meet General Leon or the Official Mage, Charlotte. I didn't ask for the king because mostly matters regarding these strange monsters. The guard didn't go inside but I insisted and told him that it is a matter of 'national security. Then after informing, the guard came back and took us straight through a long corridor to the royal chamber. But when I entered, the atmosphere was quite gloomy. We walked into the room and the guard stayed at the door. There was a large bed with a big canopy, the sun was shining all over the bed and it was surrounded by people. Everyone in the room was gazing at the figure on the bed, definitely the king himself, who was drenched in sweat. I also noticed a girl of about 16 gripping the king's hand as she sat by his side. Then I saw the man who I wanted to meet, a mustachioed man in a military uniform of blue color with red diagonal belt who looked very angry.
"What happened, here?" I asked quickly and moved towards the bed, but strangely no one even tried to stop me.
"Uh! The king is being poisoned by some unknown kind of poison. We tried everything but we have never seen these symptoms before." Said a jade-haired woman holding a magic staff in her hands.
"Poison huh!?" I muttered and walked towards the right side of the bed and sat on the stool. I slowly put my hand forward. I cleared my mind, imagined a white magic circle, and cast [Recovery]. A gentle light flowed from my hand and into the king.
"Recovery!? I didn't know someone alive could still use this spell." I heard a gasp from behind
Eventually, the light dimmed down and the king breathed easily again. But the king seemed to have gone unconscious due to his body fighting that poison. Then I cast another spell to replenish his stamina, [Refresh], the king's whole body got covered in dim white light and after a while, it died out. With a light groan, the king shot bolt upright in bed as if he'd been asleep.
"Father!", "Sweetheart!" The little girl and a woman in white dress said, I guess they are the princess and the queen, though I don't remember the queen's name.
"Your majesty!" The mage-woman rushed forward to the king. "This is unbelievable. You are absolutely fine." While muttering these words the woman did some checkups before turning over towards us.
"General Leon! Tell me, who is this young man?" The king turned to face me and said.
"Forgive me for the delayed introduction, your majesty. My name is Ben and these are my companions, Natasha and Alice." Well! It was Natasha's idea to not say Alice's last name because the vampire's family was pretty much famous and they were kind of evil psychopaths.
"We have been investigating the runes of the old capital. I stumbled upon a strange creature, which was kept in binding wards of earth magic. That magic was pretty much ancient, so I was here to inform Lady Charlotte about those things. I thought she might help in finding out something. And that thing looked pretty much indestructible. So, it would be very hard to defeat, once it wakes up." I finished my explanation.
"Oh! So, are here about those exploration quests we put on. Anyways, we will discuss that later. You have saved my life, and for that, you have my sincerest gratitude, Ben!" While the king was thanking me, the mage-lady came forward and said, "You've done a great service in saving the king's life, young man. Still, to think I'd be able to see the non-elemental spell [Recovery] being used again…. How curious!…. It makes me wonder, what other affinities you are hiding?. Do you?" In a very seductive voice which is definitely enchanting but let's not focus on that.
"Now brother, we must talk at once about the ambassador from Mismede...!" Oh! Where does that come from? As I turned around, I saw a man and he was definitely, Duke Alfred Ortlinde, brother to the king. He had a head of blond hair and a strong stature that told of his good health at a glance. But despite his sturdiness, he had a gentle face which made him appear to be nothing but kind. It appears that the Duke had just appeared, now. But I don't see Touya with him. It's been two days since I met him; I thought he would have met this man.
"What of the ambassador?"
"She is currently being held captive by Count Balsa as the suspected ringleader of this assassination attempt. What do you think about that, brother?"
"How utterly absurd! What could Mismede possibly hope to gain from my death?! This is without a doubt the work of those who see me as an obstacle! It is the act of a solitary traitor."
"That was my suspicion as well. But there is proof." Duke Alfred spoke.
"Unfortunately... the fact of the matter is that Your Majesty collapsed upon drinking the wine brought forth by the ambassador. There were several witnesses present at the time. Unless we can clear up those suspicions..." General Leon explained how the king was poisoned. This makes me remember, how Touya solved this problem?
"General Leon, I could help here. I am a doctor of genetics, um! ....... Genetics is a subject that studies the similarities and differences among humans and other creatures but I am well versed with the knowledge of poisons. If your majesty allows it, we would like to see the wine and place where your majesty collapsed." I said but noticed their confused expression by hearing the word, 'genetics' so I explained and just said it's a type of healing then I bowed a little towards the king as if asking for permission.
"Of course, Young Ben! That would be a great help but let's hear what the ambassador has to say in her defense." After saying this he immediately walked towards the door and followed by all the rest of us. From the corner of my eye, I could see Princess Yumina glancing our ways. She would definitely be using her technique on us, as far as I know, this method finds out evil intentions just by judging the aura of a person. But I think it could not make us evil because I don't have any ulterior motive besides, I just want to befriend the royal family so, I would be able to go anywhere in this kingdom where ever I wish. Besides, I could even do missions for the king or other countries as well. This would give me more opportunities to see what's there in this world with a legal means of traveling.
I was deep in my thoughts when someone walked towards me, while I was exiting the room after the others. It was Princess Yumina and after a closer look, I noticed that her left and right eyes were actually different colors. Her right eye was a vibrant blue, while her left eye was a light green. I'd heard about situations like that before; it was called heterochromia.
"Thank you very much for saving my father's life. Our family is in your debt." The princess thanked me and quickly bowed in my direction. She sure was well-mannered. A completely contrasted version of typical princesses of our world who act like just spoiled brats. There she was, not some high-handed spoilt brat of a princess.
"There is no need to thank me, Princess Yumina. I am just glad he's OK now." Hearing her name, her eyes twitched for a moment then replaced with a smile, but didn't say anything. She just kept staring.
She keeps staring, which makes me realize how uncomfortable Touya would have been. Poor guy was just crushed between all types of girls. After a little while of entering a big dining type of room, I am not exactly sure what it is? But it looks like a family meeting room with three sofas around a big table. The king sat on one sofa and also told us to sit. We sat down, to both sides sat Natasha and Alice. Natasha had probably noticed Princess' glare that's why she was also glancing there from time to time. Just then the door opened, and in came the General with a beast-girl who looked to be around Natasha's age though she looks younger probably this girl was around twenty.
"I, Olga Strand, have arrived as per your summons." The beast-girl bend on one knee before the king, who was still sitting on the sofa. Atop her head were a pair of animal ears standing upright, and from her lower back protruded a tail. The tail of a fox. I noticed Natasha was looking very curiously at her as if trying to remember something, though I am not sure if she saw something in movies or she is also anime-addicted.
"Let us get right to the heart of the matter. Did you come to this country with the intention of killing me?"
"I swear on my life, I would consider no such thing. I would never think to poison, your Majesty!"
"I had thought as much. You do not strike me as the type of foolish person to do such a thing. As such, I trust you." The king spoke with a smile, and the Mismede ambassador's expression turned to one of relief. But I can still see lines of conflict on her face.
"Still, the fact remains that it was your wine from which the poison came. Therefore, here, our benefactor Benjamin has decided to investigate this issue himself." The King said which made the Ambassador look up towards us. But her face bloomed a little when she saw Natasha and Alice.
"You are Arma's sister." To my surprise, it was Alice who said that. Noticing my glance, Natasha looked towards me and said, "Arma's a little girl who was lost in the market yesterday we just helped her find her sister."
After hearing what Natasha said, nobody asked if we knew her or not. I expected they would ask. I looked towards General Leon who noticed my silent message and led us to a dining hall where the king collapsed.
"Has the crime scene been left untouched?" I asked General Leon as we reached the dining room followed by only, Natasha, Alice, Charlotte, Yumina, and the queen whose I still didn't get nor do I remember it from the canon.
"Huh? Well, yes, it's exactly as it was at the time of the incident... No, wait, we removed the wine in order to test it for poison. The tests are still ongoing..." Which meant that they still hadn't found any trace of the poison whatsoever. So, let's see where is the wine-glass exactly, which is poisoned?
[Discovery: Poison] I used the highest form of Search magic that can identify an object even if it has changed its form or shape. Mana spread from my body in the form of an extending circle bringing the image of the whole dining room. The glass in the middle shined with bright light but not the wine bottle.
"Uhh!" I heard a gasp from behind me who was Natasha. Probably, using her super-spy brain and figuring out where the poison was. She immediately walked towards the glass and took it.
"It is probably the king's glass, look here is the emblem on it." Natasha showed it around, we saw an emblem on the glass.
"Seems like the poison was not in the wine but in the glass. When we arrived at the castle, I noticed one person's behaviour quite suspicious. Now, I would like all of you to keep quiet about everything you saw here for a while. We need to find the traitor. General Leon, Miss Charlotte …" Then I glanced at the queen and the princess and both of them nodded in affirmation.
"General Leon please call everyone who was in the room when your majesty drank the poison. Including Count Balsa, please." I told General Leon who nodded and looked at a guard behind him. The guard understood his intention and walked out the door. After a few moments everyone gathered into the room and then came the pig called, Balsa.
"Y-Your Majesty! You're already back up on your feet?!"
"That is correct, Count Balsa. As you can see, I am the very picture of good health. Though I seem to have caused a lot of worry for everyone." The half baldy burst into the great dining hall, and His Majesty the King answered his inquiry most casually. But the face full of sweat couldn't go unnoticed.
"I... see... Hahaha, well now, this is quite something. I'm very glad to see that..." The count was already covered in a cold sweat as his smile twitched and he nervously rubbed his hands together. The king looked him over with completely sober eyes. Oh, seemed like the king had noticed it, too. This guy was undoubtedly the true culprit. Even Charlotte seems suspicious of him but General Leon doesn't seem to notice. He was the kind of guy who was muscle but a little brain!
"I thought I had met my end for a moment there, but then thanks to young Ben, the poison in my body was cleared up in the blink of an eye! I must say, I was tremendously lucky today. That truly was a close call. If these young people haven't come about the old capital's reports, I would have been gone by now." At the king's words, Count Baldy looked at me as though he loathed my very existence.
"Alright, Ben. Everyone is gathered. What next?" Holding a golden magic staff in her hands, the jade-haired court magician, Miss Charlotte, asked me.
The people gathered in the dining hall were: His Majesty the King, Princess Yumina, Queen Yuel, Duke Ortlinde, General Leon, Charlotte, Doctor Raul, Olga, and Count Balsa. I then gestured to Natasha. She understood the little act that I discussed with the queen, princess, and the royal mage who seemed a little astounded but complied quickly. Then Natasha began talking.
"As we all know, the king was poisoned just a few hours ago. The crime took place in this very room, the dining hall. The room has been left exactly as it was at the time of the crime. Well, maybe exactly isn't the right word, since the food's gone cold and all, but that's not the issue at hand. The real issue is the identity of the criminal behind the Case of the Failed Royal Assassination. And ….." Then Natasha stopped and Alice walked forward pointed her finger in the air as she savored the moment, and then spoke the words. Oops! has the ghost of Sherlock Holmes possessed these two?
"The culprit is right here among us." The room's atmosphere changed in an instant, and Olga went pale. Her ears jolted upright, and she looked around with pleading eyes as if trying to say "You're wrong, it wasn't me!"
When he saw Olga's pale face, Count Balsa's lips curled up into a smile. He hadn't seemed to notice it himself since he was staring at Olga, but everyone else in the room had already turned their eyes on Count Baldy as if they unanimously agreed he was the culprit. Since I mentioned him by name to present earlier seemed to risen their suspicion of him. Having everyone besides Olga already know the culprit's identity kind of sucked some of the fun out of it, honestly...
"To start off with, we have the poisoned wine." The general handed me a wine bottle, and I held it up for all to see.
"Now, Olga. This is, without a doubt, the wine that you brought with you, yes?"
"Th-That's right, that is the wine I brought with me, but I didn't do anything like poisoning it...!"
"Silence, you wretched beast! Do you still intend to act innocent? Have you no...….." Watching the toad verbally abuse Olga I unconsciously released my magic which he had noticed and broke in a cold sweat. But soon I realized and retracted my magic. Then I glanced at all of them and took a large swig straight from the wine bottle and gulped right down in a few gulps.
"Ah, I don't like wine much but it's really sweet!" I slammed the bottle down onto the table. To be totally honest, I didn't actually know how delicious the wine was, because I had never taken any wine before to compare its taste to. I just told you I'm a minor! Looking around, I saw that everyone's mouths were agape as they locked their eyes onto me.
"B-Ben, a-are you alright?!" General Leone asked in worry.
"I'm fine, General. I mean, after all, there was never any poison in the wine, to begin with!"
"What?!" Everyone looked around amongst themselves, trying to figure out what in the world I was talking about. Natasha smiled wryly but Alice didn't understand fully though she kept her calm. Everyone except the count, that is, who was now visibly sweating. Now I have to play the same trick on him that Touya played in the canon.
Then I walked towards the table and grabbed another fresh wine bottle from the king's collection. Then I opened it and filled a glass with it. Then I said to General, "General Leon, could I ask you to drink this?" The general gave me a doubtful look, but he downed the glass anyway. He was perfectly fine and said, "It has a kind of refreshing feeling that is different than the usual wine." Everyone was confused including Nat and Alice, so I said, "It is because I enchant the wine with a Refreshing spell."
Then I said to the Count, "Count Balsa! Would you like some as well?"
"Eh? Err, well then, alright..." After the Count nodded, I made my way over to the table and picked up the glass that had been at the king's seat, and poured some wine into it. The moment I did so, the count's face changed immediately.
When I held the glass to the Count, he stepped backward and sweat appeared on his forehead. "Ah, no, actually I think I'm fine!"
When I saw he was not moving, I stepped forward and forcefully pushed the glass onto his lips. "Ugh! Uwah! Uwaaah! H-Help me! The poison! It's coursing through my veeeiiins! I'm dying! I'm dyiiing!" as I made him drown all the wine, he started withering on the ground as if there was poison. I can't help but smirk at his drama.
"Don't be such a baby. We already washed the poison out of the glass." I said mockingly to him.
"I'm dyiiinggg, I'm... excuse me?" The puzzled count stopped writhing and rose to his feet, lightly patting at his throat.
"...I feel just fine." I can only blame human imagination that he felt exactly as if he had taken poison. I recall some sort of experiment done by a group of scientists from my previous life. They pinched a blind and told him that he is bitten by a cobra snake. After a few hours, the man died and it was revealed from his blood test that the poison of exactly the same snake was found in his blood though I am not sure how much of it is true.
"Of course you do. It was just a glass of wine. I'm sorry for forcing it down your throat, but..." I left a deliberate gap before asking the deciding question.
"What made you think there was poison in the glass?" the Count's face paled. He ousted himself with that little display, in fear of a nonexistent poison that he believed he had been forced to drink and writhed on the floor for no reason.
"What does this mean?" Duke asked all of a sudden.
"The poison wasn't in the wine, it was in the glass itself. I used the spell [Discovery] to find any traces of poison, so I found it straight away. All this drama was to find the perpetrator who was most likely one of the chiefs or waiters, I would imagine. If General Leon wasn't quicker in securing the crime scene, then we wouldn't be able to take him." I think, if I haven't done anything, someone else would have discovered the truth once they realized that the wine itself contained no poison. It would have just taken a little more time.
"….Huh!" The bald look-alike Fury, Count Balsa made a run for the exit. He is really very stubborn. I can't help but remember Tony's words from the End Game, 'we are all kinda stubborn here.' Now, I just have to do this
[Come forth Dark, Vines vitalus eruptum, Bind] I used a dark elemental spell which is created by mixing the spells of my world and dark elemental spells of this world. Its effects are quite frightening. As I cast the spell, vines of darkness erupted from beneath the Count and lifted him in the air, and enveloped him like a rat in a trap.
"You little punk….!" Olga said while gritting her teeth, I have a feeling that if the Count was not hanging in the vines, he would be crushed by this lady's anger.
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We were accompanied to another room by the King, Queen Yuel, Princess Yumina, and the Royal Mage Charlotte, who all sat around the same table leisurely drinking tea. Then the Duke entered and spoke to the Kind, "Brother, I would be heading home. I received a message that an attempt to kidnap was made Sue. Fortunately, a group of adventurers managed to save her from some lizard people."
"Lizard people? Those must be the dark elemental summoning spell." I commented. Those adventurers must be Touya and the crew.
"Yes, the culprit has been captured and he is a dark element user. Though no information could be obtained from him. He was just hired in exchange for money." After exchanging a few more words the duke returned home.
"You are also very knowledgeable about magic, Ben. I wonder, how many elements can you use?" Charlotte asked sitting beside Princess Yumina across from us, who was boring me with her intense stare.
"I can use all six elements along with a bunch of non-elemental spells and Mana Manipulation," I answered honestly.
"Mana Manipulation? What kind of spell is that?" It was Yumina who spoke for the first time on the table. I can see everyone a little astounded by the unique kind of magic I mentioned.
I waved my hand without saying anything and a small ball of purple mana appeared on top of my hand. "Mana Manipulation is the technique of controlling and manipulating magical energy to perform certain functions like creating constructs, destroying or repairing objects. Along with morphing reality, time and space." I explained and then transformed the magic ball into a small teddy bear. Then levitated the bear towards Princess Yumina who received it with red cheeks, I could understand what she was imagining but I just ignored it.
Charlotte and Yumina observed the teddy bear with utmost curiosity and then said, "It feels so real. But I think every human contains mana in them that is how they use magical devices. If they learn, how to use their mana like this then it will revolutionize the world." Charlotte exclaimed. Indeed, after reading about the history of this world. I came to know that a lot of people who couldn't use any elemental magic or no spell magic ended up very poor though many of them do jobs but having magic makes work, a lot easier.
"I am writing a book about Mana Manipulation. Once I finish it I would be very happy to have you a copy of that book. Mana Manipulation can also allow us to perform Telekinesis which can be very useful during fights."
"Really!? That would be amazing." Charlotte and Yumina exclaimed at the same time. It was the first time that I saw Princess Yumina with this un-lady-like behavior.
I have been writing all my experiences and useful techniques from other books as well which could be very useful for people who have just started learning magic. I thought that would be useful in teaching Alice, Natasha, Wanda, and perhaps someone who would become useful in learning magic.
"What'll happen to the count?" it was Alice who enquired.
"A plotted assassination is equivalent to high treason. The guilty will be executed, his residence and assets confiscated and the grounds will be sealed off. Even his/her family will lose their status if they are nobility or royalty itself." I spoke and the King nodded in affirmation.
After reading about the constitution of this kingdom from those library books that we bought last time, I knew a lot of things about the working system of this world's politics and constitutions.
"Yes, and also their family will be banished from the kingdom. That said Count Balsa had no wife or children, and his other relatives were all actively opposed to letting demi-humans integrate into our society. With them is gone now, things should be somewhat easier on our kingdom." Charlotte explained the remaining details.
"So, it means this incident can be used to set an example for any other nobles who are against the alliance with the beast-men and keep them in check." I voiced my own thoughts.
The King chuckled at my words and spoke, "Honestly, my friend, I am truly in your debt. I should very much like to bestow a gift upon the man to whom I owe my life. Is there anything you desire?" The King truly was grateful. I wanted nothing at the moment than a good impression on the King. It would help me get help from them if the need arises.
"Please, don't worry about it. I just happened to be here. I came in order to show the pictures of the ancient runes in the Old Capital, where a creature is kept asleep using magic runes. According to my guess, these runes were to block any kind of magical energy to be used inside that place." I said and handed the pictures of the ancient runes and the crystal creature to Charlotte, the royal mage and the most knowledgeable person in this kingdom about magic.
"You truly are one curious person. The ability to use two Null spells, both [Recovery] and [Refresh] along with all known elements and a new technique called Magic Manipulation... That's quite the rare gift indeed." Charlotte spoke to me with a bright smile. Fortunately, I wasn't Touya who would be embarrassed by a little praise, in contrast, I just gave her a smile and spoke, "Actually, not just two but I can use any non-elemental spells."
"Wh-What?" Charlotte grew visibly tense as I spoke these words.
"All of them...?! If that's really true, then this could be a momentous occasion...! P-Please, excuse me for just a bit!" Charlotte burst her way out of the room, clearly in a frenzy...
When she exited the hall, I took a plat and put three glasses in its middle, and then I cast [Modeling]. The glass in the middle transformed into a small statue of the King and the other two into Princess Yumina's and Queen Yuel's and the plate transformed into a small stage-like plate-form which a majestic feeling. Then I handed it to the King who said, "This is truly a wonderful gift."
"Nah! The glasses are yours, to begin with. I'm sorry for using them as crafting materials without asking first." I was barely finished when all of a sudden a loud crashing sound resounded through the room and the door flew open as Charlotte charged in, carrying a large number of things in her arms. She approached me with the appearance of some terrifying apparition and held out a parchment with something written on it.
"Ben... c-can you read this?!" Charlotte loomed closer and closer. Looking at the heavenly beautiful appearance of the lady with green hairs and eyes and pink juicy lips, I really wanted to smash those with my own. But then controlling myself I gave in to Charlotte's sudden compulsive behavior, I ran my eyes over the parchment. Whatever was written on it was in a language I'd never seen before. I couldn't make out a single word.
"...Can't make heads or tails of it. What is this, exactly?"
"So you can't read it, right? Alright, how about this non-elemental spell? Do you think you can use it?" This time she took out a bulky tome and turned to a specific page. I could read this one. Let's see... Null magic spell... [Reading]? According to the book, it was a spell that allowed one to read a number of different languages. The one stipulation was that the caster had to at the very least know the name of the language he was trying to use the spell on. Oh, that made sense. It was possible I'd be able to decipher the parchment with that spell.
"I think I can use it now, but... do you know what language that parchment is written in?"
"It's written in Ancient Spirit Script. There's almost nobody in the world who can read it." Hmm... Well, it is worth a shot. It will helped a lot in my research about magic.
"[Reading: Ancient Spirit Script]." I activated the spell... My eyes darted back toward the parchment.
"It is blasting magic of the ancient spirit magic. Only Light elementals can use it." As I said that Charlotte's eyes widened and a seductive smile bloomed on her lips and she said, "Amazing, so you can use any magic spell."
"Wait for a second, I got an idea." Suddenly I remembered something. I picked up another glass and used [Modeling] to change it into glasses and then made a frame around it using Mana Manipulation. Now they looked like modern glasses.
[Enchant: Reading]
[Program: Initiate]
[Program: End]
It felt pretty easy, especially when there was no specific condition. After finishing the enchantment I gave the glasses to Charlotte and said, "Now, wear these glasses and speak the language name which you wanna read."
With a new gleam in her eyes, she put on the glasses and spoke, "Ancient Spirit Script" and her eyes widened after seeing the effect, "Umm... By taking a Degment, which lacks any meaningful arts to access the Origin Magic, and introducing that to the nature of the Soma-arts' method of... I-I can read it! I can really read it! It's incredible, Ben. Thank you so much. I have been studying the field of Ancient Spirit Magic for the longest time. Until now, we've been struggling to piece it all together one word at a time, sometimes taking many months or even years, our research riddled with problems such as the occasional mistranslation or whatnot... But Ben, he read it in an instant! He even made glasses that let us read any text we want. It will be a huge help in our research!"
Seeing Charlotte grow happier and happier as she quickly glanced over several more of the documents made her look so adorable that it was hard to believe she was an adult woman.
"The effect should at the very least be semi-permanent, I think, but if it does wear off, then please don't hesitate to bring them back and I'll enchant them for you again."
"I will! I-I mean, wait, does that mean you're giving these to me?!"
"Of course. They're all yours now."
"Thank you so much! Really, thank you!" Charlotte was in such high spirits that she blurted out something like "I'd like to put these to work on my research immediately!" and left the room like a brisk summer gale.
"My apologies for that. Once something catches that girl's interest, she tends to tune out everything else around her... She is the most talented magical researcher we have, as well as the pride of our research team, but even so..."
"...It's okay, I'm just glad she was pleased with my little gift."
"I would like to see Miss Charolette's research. Would you mind if I go to her lab, your majesty?" Alice stood up from her chair and asked unexpectedly the kind. I could see twinkles of excitement in her eyes.
"I would like to take you take you there Ms Alice, please follow me." It was princess Yumina who said and left when the king nodded as a sign of permission to them.
They got up and followed Yumina towards her room, I can't believe what they are going to be talking about? I wouldn't even get it and if I asked, they would just say, 'it was girl's talk.' So, no point in asking.
Now, only I, King, and the Queen were left on the table. Then I decided to tell them something about myself. Then I told them everything about myself, and our world, the war with Chitauri, and then the space energy blast.
"So, you are from a different world? You are a sort of Hero in your world that saved that world from an invasion along with other friends."
"Exactly! So, that is why you were unusually talented." The King spoke after thinking for a while.
"Since I accidentally stumbled upon your world, I would like to make a request of alliance. Here, take this…. It is a communication device that will let you communicate with me. If you need my help in the future, just ask right away and I would be here as soon as possible." I said and handed him a round badge (the Plumber badge) like thing which had black background and a green hourglass symbol in the middle.
Then I spent a few moments teaching the king, how to operate the badge? And then finally, I resigned to my room in the castle. As I went inside, I stopped the urge to fall asleep and opened a portal to my soul-space because the girls were still with Yumina and I don't think they are coming sooner.
When I entered through the portal, I was greeted with a futuristic-looking city. Of course, it is the work of my clones working here. Then I reached the Omnitrix and turned to Echo-Echo and created two more clones and turned back human. Then I left one clone in the soul space and sent the other back to the castle. After absorbing Touya's demigod bloodline I haven't checked my status, so I opened my status panel to see what has changed since then:
[Benjamin E. Tennyson]
[Title(s): S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Avenger: Lucifer, Avatar: Abstract Entity of Mana, Individual from Another Dimension, Researcher]
[Race: Celestial-Demigod]
Level: 75
AGE: 24 YEARS OLD
[Vitality: Unknown]
[Mana: Unknown]
[Strength: Unknown]
[Dexterity: Unknown]
UNIQUE SKILLS:
>> DIMENSIONAL SPACE (UNLIMITED): An infinite space where objects can be stored and analyzed. It includes the capability to create a soul-space, so, the user is capable of carrying living or non-living objects simultaneously.
> Inventory: A limitless capacity to store non-living objects.
> Soul-Space: An ability to open a gate to a space within the soul of the user where life forms can be stored, same as an inter-dimensional home.
>> Anodic Osmosis: The ability to perform and control magic. Chaotic Life Energy manipulation is available. It includes the ability to absorb energy, matter, or DNA and manipulate it. The ability of transmutation, modification, and manipulation of matter, energy, or DNA can be used without absorbing the material itself if the molecular structure of the material is known. The energy absorption pool has been breached and expanded to an unknown level by Chaotic Life Energy.
>> The ability to influence other minds or protect one from other mind-related attacks. It also allows the user to absorb knowledge on a much faster level. It includes Enhanced Intelligence, Memory Reading, Mindscape Copy, Skills Knowledge Copy, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Durability, Enhanced Dexterity, Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Acrobatics, Accelerated Calculations, Sharp Pincers, Sharp Legs, Sharp Spikes, Flyrokinesis, Technokinesis, Electrokinesis, Electrical Telekinesis, Electric Force Fields, Levitation, Wall Scaling, Web Scaling, Cold Resistance, Immense Life Span, and Underwater Breathing.
> CELESTIAL-ANODITE TRANSFORMATION: Anodite transformation is made entirely of chaotic-life energy. All Anodite related powers have evolved to chaotic life forms. It boosts overall power and defenses to 300%.
> Blood Manipulation: The ability to control, change, and manipulate blood. This includes blood fusion or analysis.
SKILLS:
> Super-Asgardian Physiology: Evolved by absorbing Loki, Steve, and Thor's physiologies.
> Atmokinesis: The ability to control weather and lightning.
Unique Skill? Skills? Wait!? What's with the Avatar: Mana Entity? I don't remember anyone other than Death and Infinity?
It is now easier to keep track of abilities of how much I absorb. I only absorbed the DNAs of Loki, Steve, and Thor.
Then I pushed all other thoughts to the back of my mind and opened another portal to my own world and entered through it.
____________________________
2. Humangasaur: Omnitrix's DNA sample of a Vaxasaurian from the planet Terradino. humanoid dinosaur standing about twelve feet tall with a hard skin that is colored brown on its outer side and beige on its inner side. Humungousaur possesses incredible strength, being able to lift and throw objects (heavy or light) up to a high altitude, even into near-earth orbit.