"Accept me within your embrace whenever possible."
The moment I said those words, I vanished in a flash of light.
I left behind an astonished group of first years who would now have to deal with the wrath of the priests and priestesses of Liefanissus.
They would have to repent for their shameful sins against a god, simply because they ran after me.
Honestly, I was surprised they even had the guts. With how fearful humans were of gods, it would've made sense for them to avoid chasing after me in such a manner.
Moreover, they also had no way to pin the blame on me. Although the person that the priests had seen running around was a blur of movement, that could have been any spellcaster, wizard, or mage. I had made sure not to reveal any incriminating characteristics.
And now that I had simply disappeared from human senses, there was no way to track me down.
Whing—!
A sharp sound bloomed from my reappearance. Another flash of light accompanied my instantaneous movement, announcing my presence to all who should have been here.
But the place was empty.
I looked around, and what greeted me was a 360-degree balcony with a view of the land below. I was on the top floor of the white tower that stood high and grand.
I was inside Vianthia, the key to life. A tower that was thought to be an artefact of a god, when it in fact served as a pathway to Liefanissus' heavenly territory. This was one of the rare occurrences where human beliefs proved to be accurate and close to the truth.
Liefanissus had used an S rank artefact as an anchor and foundation for his heavenly territory. The artefact originally did not belong to him, and instead had originated from the god of life.
That god was one of the earliest to exist. A god who had long passed away and had returned to being one with the Gaian Membrane.
This lack of complete ownership meant that Liefanissus was not aware of all of the artefact's features. It was quite a waste, so I decided to use it myself.
I needed a place where I could make full use of Sight-Sent Senses, after all.
So, I walked to the balcony's ornate railings that had dwarven designs carved into them. I then looked down, to the ground far below.
Everything seemed so tiny from up here, but the key of life had many more features that I had yet to utilise.
I closed my eyes and placed my hands solemnly upon the railing. I then prayed,
"Oh god of life, you are the one who had graced us with vitality and beauty. This humble one wishes to use what you have left behind. This humble one wishes to use Vianthia, your one and only key. The signature of your existence."
Ting—!
Like a wineglass being tapped on by a golden spoon, a sharp ring sounded out all around me. It echoed across the empty room, layering on top of each other in a symphony of a single note.
A complex set of 232 mana programs appeared below my feet.
[ Omniscient Overseer ]
An S rank observation spell had emerged before my very eyes, dazzling me with its complexity and burning its image into my brain.
If only I could engrave such a high-level spell right here right now... Unfortunately, my control over mana, overall mana capacity, and mana quality, had yet to reach the standards needed to craft even a quarter of it.
I could, of course, slowly engrave it over the course of a year while living in seclusion, but I would rather spend my time doing something more productive. Something more efficient.
Thus, I was simply going to memorise it for later.
Whoooom—!
Mana vibrated around me while I used brute force memorisation to hammer as much of the spell into my brain as possible. I only had a few moments to take note of 232 mana programs, which was honestly way too much to ask for.
But in the midst of it all, Hyperfocus was activated.
The world... slowed... down...
And I was gifted with time. Time to memorise and observe. To study and to analyse.
Then, in a blink, it was all gone. The spell disappeared, replaced by a distortion in the space in front of me.
Aethercaller came into view, and Sight-Sent Senses synergized perfectly with Omniscient Overseer.
I gazed into the world below me as if I was standing there with them. All my senses were present, and in fact, enhanced.
If Sight-Sent Senses granted one with the ability to sense things in one's vision, and Omniscient Overseer boosted one's senses to godly degrees, then I essentially had the ability to witness all things.
While within Vianthia's bounds, I was able to make use of Omniscient Overseer to observe the university below me. I could hear people with ears so keen that even their thoughts were flooding my mind.
I could see things so clearly, I could swear that I caught sight of cellular warfare going on. Bacteria battled against the human body on every possible surface.
It was information overload as usual, and I felt lightheaded already. My [ Mental Acuity ] was simply too fragile to comprehend everything that I experienced.
I had to tone things down a few notches.
Thus, following my will, Omniscient Overseer weakened its effects. Its consumption of mana was the same, just that its output for me had drastically decreased. It was an incredibly inefficient event, but I wasn't the one paying for it.
Liefanissus was.
...Nobody tell him.
When I finally felt comfortable, I looked down once more. This time, everything was much better.
I could see the freshman from earlier lash out in a rage. I heard her voice and a droplet of her thoughts. I even learned of her name through the thoughts of those around her.
I could now do this,
[]=[]=[]
"FIND HIM!" Aimee roared, "He used some sort of trick to disappear! He must be nearby!"
Her fellow freshmen cowered beneath the sound of her voice. Aimee's venomous gaze landed upon their hesitant forms.
"Why aren't you looking for him!? Go! Quickly!"
She seemed pressed for time. Her thoughts spoke of why, 'If I fail this, my sister... She—'
"No one shall be going anywhere." A deep, bellowing voice shook Aimee to the bone. An invisible pressure wrenched her from her thoughts.
"For causing chaos on these sacred lands, you will all be..."
His voice made Aimee's heart tremble.
"...Expelled."
[]=[]=[]