Days continued to pass, and my relationship with Odelette has been going well. She is exactly as she described herself: a person who loves adventure and romance. If I don't invite her on dates or lack romantic gestures like giving her flowers or sweets, holding the door open for her, or pulling out a chair for her to sit, she gets upset and ignores me or simply tries to play pranks to get my attention.
Aside from that, she is quite fun and not jealous or possessive. On the contrary, Odelette is actually thrilled by the idea of me dating other girls. When I asked her why, she said it makes our relationship feel like an adventure that only appears in fantasy novels. She enjoys romance, not just experiencing it, but also observing it, and she likes to see how I woo other girls.
However, she made it clear that she would not forgive me if I played with a girl's heart. She said that if I ever broke a maiden's heart, she would make me pay. She also clarified that she would only give herself to me on our wedding night, so our relationship will be limited to kisses and caresses until then. When I asked what we would do if we couldn't get married because I have many girlfriends and legally can only marry one, she laughed and said we could marry in Paradise at any time or look for a country where polygamy is legal back on Earth, but it was too early to talk about that.
Regarding training, everyone in the group has continued to strive to improve their mana reserves and have reached the minimum required to be mages. A few days ago, we met and discussed Classes, and we reached an agreement; everyone will be mages except for Shin Sang-Ah and Yi Seol-Ah, who will be Priests because they meet the requirements for Priests, having the necessary Luck Stat and personalities not suited for combat. [T/N: Previously, I translated it as 'Cleric' in line with RPG jargon. After browsing through the Fandom recently though, I discovered that the Class name is 'Priest' instead. So yeah, I'll be using 'Priest' moving forward...]
Yesterday, Taciana announced that the Neutral Zone's duration, originally set for one month during the inauguration, would be extended by two more months, and the Awakening Chamber would be opened where we would be granted our Classes.
And finally, today is the day the Awakening Chamber opens.
All survivors were asked to come to the eighth floor, where, unlike before when there was only the VIP store, there is now a new door that apparently leads to the Awakening Chamber.
To enter the Awakening Chamber, we were asked to line up. The corridor was not long enough to accommodate everyone, so the line also had to go down the stairs.
Our group was at the end of the line, but that was by our choice, and it's not like we would have to wait long; there are only 79 survivors in total, and each one takes an average of 25 seconds in the Awakening Chamber.
In less than 30 minutes, it will be our turn. So we spent this time joking and fooling around, everyone in the group is clear that after today our routine will change completely, they will have to learn some group combat strategies and will have to split into two groups of four to complete the missions.
As for me, I will focus entirely on my training, and we probably won't be able to see each other much or at all during the next two months since my training will be intensive and inhuman.
Odelette was quite sad, but even before we started dating, she knew that once we were granted our Classes, I would focus entirely on my training, so she didn't complain much and only told me that I would have to make it up to her later...
Minutes flew by quickly, and finally, it was our turn. Yi Sungjin was the first to enter; he spent about a minute inside and emerged exhausted, clutching his stomach. He did not say anything but gave us a thumbs up to confirm that it worked and that he obtained the Mage Class. After him, everyone else followed with great enthusiasm, and in the end, it went as planned, except for Yi Seol-Ah and Shin Sang-Ah, who obtained the Priest Class; all the others were Mages.
Odelette was the last of the group to exit. When she came out, I approached and helped her because she looked more pitiable than the others, but I know she has better magical abilities, so she's surely exaggerating to get my attention.
"Mr. Jihu, you have to avenge me; those goddesses took advantage of me, they forcibly filled my belly. As my boyfriend, you have to go there and get revenge, you have to give them back what they did to me and fill their bellies—"
I silenced her with a kiss to stop her from saying scandalous things. She might enjoy joking around, but it is not a good idea to joke about the goddesses when they're surely watching everything around us.
Odelette seemed more satisfied than annoyed that I silenced her with a kiss. But we did not have much time to enjoy the kiss; I had to leave her since I was the only one left to enter.
I entered the Chamber and felt like I was transported to another place. I'm in an empty space, so to speak, with nothing in sight. But that changed quickly; I felt a disturbance in space, and shortly after, seven stone statues appeared around me.
Their presence is quite imposing, I must admit. Now I understand why everyone comes out exhausted; just being in the presence of the Seven Deities of Paradise makes one feel great pressure. Still, in my base state, I can tolerate their presence with a bit of difficulty, after using [Physical Reinforcement] however, I hardly feel any pressure.
"Is he really human?" asked Gula in a tone of surprise.
"If he didn't come from Earth, where only humans inhabit, then I would also have the same doubt," said Avaritia with a very interested voice.
"His mana is insane, not to mention whether he's human or not. If he has reached that level on his own and in a world where there's almost no mana, I'm afraid of what he might do in our world and with our support. He definitely has to be a Mage," said Acedia with such an animated and enthusiastic tone, that the other deities were surprised by her display of enthusiasm that did not reflect her Sloth personality, and Avaritia agreed with her since both represent the Mage Class.
"Of course not! With that physique, he's definitely destined to be a god of war, he obviously has to be a Warrior!" exclaimed Ira.
"I agree," said Gula, supporting Ira since both deities are in charge of representing the Warrior Class.
"I refuse, just look at his luck, his mana, and his physique; he's definitely destined to be a Priest who will eventually evolve to become a Paladin, the highest level of combat Priests," said Invidia with much determination.
"Don't be foolish, with his physical Stats, he can excel in any of the Classes, no, even without any Class, just with the superior resources of Paradise he might reach unimaginable heights and even surpass mortality, but there's no doubt he would be a perfect Archer," said Superbia with a Proud tone, placing special emphasis on the last part.
The only one who hasn't said a word since I entered is Luxuria, which made me curious.
"It's an honor to finally meet all of you, and it's a pleasure to see you again, Beautiful Noona, but it's a pity that it's only your statue and not your real body that is present," I said, and the deities finally fell silent when they heard me speak.
"It's good to finally have you here; you really made me wait. However, it's not fair that you were flirting with another girl before coming to see me. I feel like you're neglecting your beautiful Noona. If you continue like this, I might be forced to descend in my true form and punish you," said Luxuria with a sweet and mischievous voice.
"I think that would be more of a reward than a punishment, Noona," I replied, and she laughed in response.
"Can you stop flirting so shamelessly in front of us? Can't you have a little shame and save that for when you're alone?" Gula said, clearly annoyed.
"Oh, do you smell that? I recognize that scent; it's jealousy. It doesn't suit you, Gula; that's more Invidia's style," Luxuria teased Gula.
"You two, can you stop fighting over everything for once in your life and focus on serious matters? We need to start with your awakening, then your Class selection, and finally discuss many things. After that, we can waste time on trivialities," Superbia said with a commanding tone that left no room for discussion.
"I agree with Superbia," Ira said in an annoyed tone. Soon, Avaritia, Invidia, and Acedia also showed their support.
"Fine," Luxuria and Gula said simultaneously in an annoyed tone.
"Let's begin with the awakening," Superbia declared, and the others agreed.
I felt a different energy from mana entering my body. Knowing they would not harm me, I didn't resist. The energy began to travel through my mana circuits, and then I felt two new circuits forming. One connected directly to my heart, and the other was creating a path to the lower part of my abdomen. Then I felt something forming; I'm not sure what it is, but it's definitely something that was not there before, and now I can feel it.
When it finished forming, all the strange energy left my body. I could feel a slight discomfort, but that was all. Applying my [Self-Healing], the sensation began to fade.
I saw several information windows pop up, but I ignored them and focused all my attention on the Goddesses.
"What did you do to me? I felt a new mana circuit connecting to my heart and another new one going down my abdomen, but the last thing you did, I couldn't make out well. You created something in my body. What is it?" I asked with considerable curiosity.
"Humans on Earth have not evolved as they have in our world. Since mana is abundant here, humans have evolved slightly differently from those on Earth and have developed biological enhancements that allow them to interact with, store, and better control mana.
To control mana, the human body evolved and developed a new circuit that connects to the heart. This way, when mana begins to circulate, the heartbeat is used to facilitate the circulation of mana.
To store mana and interact better with it, the human body evolved and developed a special new organ that serves as a storage and control point. This organ is known as the Mana Core and is located in the lower part of the abdomen; it does not interfere with any biological function of humans as it is very small.
These evolutionary traits are not present in humans from Earth. Their world has very little mana, and their humanity does not interact with it, which is why they never developed these biological improvements. Therefore, during the Awakening Chamber session, we not only give them Classes, but we also grant these biological improvements to their bodies," Luxuria explained.
"I understand, but we don't have these improvements when we return to Earth, right? That means the body we have since we entered the Tutorial is different from the body we have on Earth. But our bodies on Earth disappear when we come here, so I would like to know what happens to our real bodies?" I asked.
"Your bodies are stored in a special dimension we have. When you wish to return to Earth, we simply return your souls to your bodies and send you back to Earth. This way, we also ensure that if a human dies in Paradise, their soul only has to return to their original stored bodies and they return to Earth. However, in that case, we block all their memories from the moment they received the invitation mark or contract.
And only on rare occasions do exceptions occur, like the case of your uncle. His real body was damaged, and the construction we made was a replica of his body, which is why it also had the same damages. But since his replica body was healed and did not go through the awakening, instead of returning him to his original damaged body, we simply let him return in his replica body," Luxuria answered.
"I understand, thank you for that," I said quite sincerely.
"You have nothing to thank us for; on the contrary, we have received many more favors from you. Thanks to you, many things have changed for the better, and many new possibilities have opened up. Unfortunately, we are still on a game board, and although the game seems to be in our favor, that doesn't really mean much. If the player on the other side of the table gets angry and decides to throw the board and quit the game, we will be lost," Gula said.
"I know, that's why I had to make my preparations before coming. I didn't come to play a board game against a player who, when upset, can sweep the board. I came to become a player and turn the board before my enemy, when they least expect it," I said with quite amusement.
"Damn it, can you stop speaking cryptically and be clear? I hate word games," Ira said in a very angry tone.
"Sorry, it's a bad habit of mine. But back to the topic, is it possible to make the same modification you made to this body in my original body?" I asked hopefully.
"If you pay a contribution equivalent to a Divine Wish, it is possible," Invidia replied.
"Good, it's good to know, thank you. Now, moving on to the topic of Classes, I've thought about it a lot, and I feel that the path of magic is the path I will follow, so the mage class suits me more than any other," I said, and I heard quite a few words of disappointment from all the deities except Acedia and Avaritia.
After a brief internal discussion among them, they finally assigned me the Mage Class.
"Well, now that we have finished with the awakening and Class assignment, it is necessary to move on to the plans. We cannot speak clearly about the future, nor can we speak clearly about many things because Causality does not allow it. However, we know that you have a special vision and understand the situation better than other mortals, so we will listen to your plan and if we agree, we will provide you with all our support," said Superbia, who appears to be the representative of the goddesses.
"My plan is simple; I will take advantage of the Parasite Queen's oversight and use myself as bait. She is cunning and prudent; she will not risk breaking the vows that bind her and harm herself just to end me. In her eyes, I may be a potential threat, but I still do not appear to be an immediate threat, so instead of coming directly for me herself, she will not hesitate to use her best pieces against me.
That will be her biggest mistake. As long as we are on the game board, no matter what pieces she sends against me, I am sure I can defeat them. If I defeat her pieces, I will gain time. Considering the resources available in this world, in 1 or 2 years, I could reach a sufficient level to defeat her," I said seriously.
"Your plan is based on the fact that you have the power to defeat her commanders, but looking at your current state, if we include all your abilities, at most you would be able to face only one of the commanders in close combat, where you have more chances of losing. If the Parasite Bitch sends 2 or more, you will not come out alive.
On the other hand, let's assume you really have the power to face and defeat her commanders. What will you do if she throws the board and decides to finish you with her own hands? It's true that the Supreme Deity's vows limit her, but if she sees you as a real threat, she may decide to take some damage to get you out of the game. If that happens, we will lose our best piece and inevitably lose the game," Superbia said, clearly against my plan.
"My current self is not that powerful, but in the next 2 months, I will be able to train fully. With the [Special Competition] and the special Class training rooms, I am sure I can become strong enough to face several commanders at the same time, and my plan is just to throw the board. If the Queen comes down to play herself, then a surprise awaits her. Besides, if I die, that is not the end for me, right? If I die, I just have to be revived," I said.
The deities remained silent for quite some time, or perhaps they were internally discussing matters that are considered not to be heard by mortals so as not to affect Causality.
After a while, Superbia finally spoke again.
"We will wait for the results of your training. If they are satisfactory, then we will support your plan. If not, then you will have to formulate another plan. I expect great results from you, 'Prince of Luxuria,'" Superbia said with quite the amusement, and then her presence began to fade from the room. After her presence completely disappeared, I saw a window appear in front of me showing me a new alias.
"'Prince of Acedia' sounds better," said Acedia lazily before her presence also disappeared, and with her disappearance, another window appeared in front of me.
"'Prince of Gula' would be better," declared Gula before disappearing.
"It definitely has to be 'Prince of Ira,'" Ira corrected in amusement before leaving.
"Of course not, 'Prince of Envy' is better," Invidia opposed, and left.
"Those silly names don't suit him; it has to be something more Avaricious, something like 'Prince of the Goddesses'... That sounds better," said Avaritia laughing before leaving.
After they left, another window appeared before me. I didn't want to read it; I feel like I don't want to see what happened with my aliases.
Only Luxuria and I remained. The situation became a bit awkward for a moment, but she was the first to speak.
"You know, just like me, there's someone else who has been waiting a long time to see you. When the time comes, I hope you'll be kind and considerate to her. My daughter is a good girl, so don't take advantage of her or I'll be angry with you. I also hope you'll visit me often in any of my temples, 'My Prince,'" said Luxuria before disappearing.
With all the goddesses gone, I was transported again and appeared in a completely empty room, with only a door in front of me.
There are too many things to think about. From the words of the goddesses, I can say with certainty that my current power barely rivals one of the commanders with their divinity unleashed, so I need to become stronger. I have to be able to face several of them at the same time if I want to succeed in my plans.
Moreover, the last thing Luxuria said has me intrigued. By her daughter, she is referring to her Executor or Representative, in other words, Seo Yuhui, a person I have not yet met. In the novel, just like Seol Jihu, she uses her contribution points to send part of her emotions and memories to the past, but since Seol Jihu didn't have many points, he wasn't able to send much. On the other hand, Seo Yuhui, having more points, was able to send more memories than Seol Jihu.
If she knows about me and is waiting for me, it means that she received memories from one of the timelines of my 3 future selves. No, if I also consider that the notebook was burned, then there must have been another timeline, where my fourth future self exists, and he must be responsible for burning the notebook. For some reason, my fourth future self, instead of sending a message as planned, burned the notebook.
All this gives me a headache, knowing about a fourth timeline and having no knowledge of what happened in that timeline. And knowing that Seo Yuhui from one of the timelines sent her memories to the past makes everything more complicated. I just hope that my plans and my training are enough to face everything that comes.
**
"Let me see if I understand, you'll pay me 50,000 survival points per month just to supervise your training, wake you up if you faint, and heal you in case I can't wake you up, is that correct?" asked María with some distrust.
It's not that she doesn't trust me when it comes to serious matters. Over this month, we've become very good friends and have had a lot of fun together. Besides, she's great company during my breakfasts and dinners, and we've even had a few romantic moments, but our relationship hasn't escalated further, and we even had a slight setback when she found out I started dating Odelette.
At first, she did not take the news well, but that didn't stop her from continuing to join the breakfasts and dinners, even though Odelette has also been present. At first, I thought things would become problematic, but luckily there has been no animosity between the two of them. Instead, they get along better than I thought, perhaps because they have a lot in common; they are small, blonde, lively, and love to find ways to tease me. Thanks to all this, my relationship with María has improved a lot.
But the reason for her distrust of my offer is that during this time, I've played many pranks on her, and many of those pranks start with me taking advantage of her great greed in some way.
"Yes, that's right, 50,000 survival points per month, no tricks or jokes, this is serious, but it won't be easy. You'll have to take care of me almost 24/7. There will be critical moments when I truly need you to be completely focused, but after those times, you can take your rest easy. We'll also continue our usual routine of breakfast and dinner, but at least for my part, I'll skip lunches. However, during those times, you'll be free to go have lunch peacefully, and of course, I'll cover the meal costs," I said quite seriously, and Maria finally realized I wasn't joking.
"Alright, I believe you Oppa, but I don't understand. What kind of training are you going to do that requires constant supervision and healing? Although I hate to admit it, the Sicilian bitch is one of the best trainers in Paradise. You better consult with her before trying out any crazy experiments on your own," Maria said, quite worried.
If our relationship weren't so good, she surely wouldn't care about anything more than the points I'm offering her, so her concern only shows how much she really cares about me, enough not to be guided solely by greed. That made me very happy, and I couldn't help but caress her cheek and say, "Thank you for your concern, but I really know what I have to do to train, and I truly need the help of a Priest to avoid any risks. You're the best Priestess in the Neutral Zone, and you are someone I can trust my life with, which is why I'm asking for your help. Do you accept?"
She blushed but quickly composed herself and slapped my hand away. "Idiot, I'm not worried about you. I'm just concerned that if something happens to you, I won't have anyone to invite me to eat. Stop fantasizing and start training. Besides, I'll only accept if you pay me 25,000 points upfront," she said, trying to cover up her blush.
I laughed a little and paid her the 25,000 points, then we headed to the notice board and I took the basic Class mission that requires controlling mana. All basic missions are infinitely repeatable and can be performed by up to 6 people in a group. The point is that they are for training. Since they are basic, they don't award points nor apply penalties for completing or failing them. But the important thing is that they are carried out in special places to help survivors train.
Maria and I broke the mission talisman and were transported.
The mission location is an empty room, nothing special at first glance, but I can feel it, the volume of mana here is at least ten times greater than in the Neutral Zone. It was definitely worth the wait for these Class missions. In this place, I'll be able to train all my abilities without holding back for fear of running out of mana or consuming all the mana in the area.
I brought out a piece of furniture for Maria to sit and relax on. Her role is only to supervise my training, wake me up if I lose consciousness since my [Self-Healing] turns off when I'm unconscious, and most importantly, she is to heal me to prevent death in case I can't wake up myself.
My training will focus on improving my abilities: [Self-Healing], [Physical Reinforcement], [Mana Cloaking], and [Continuous Mana Flow]. At the same time, with my meditation and [Physical Reinforcement], I can improve my physical Stats as if I were under an intense physical training regimen.
That is why the only place where I could keep all my abilities active to that extent is here. With [Continuous Mana Flow], I will be fully supplied with mana and able to fuel all my abilities, something I couldn't do well in the Neutral Zone. One day, I tried and ended up absorbing all the mana from the Neutral Zone. That is why I gave up on the idea of training there and waited for these special zones to be enabled.
Maria was happy to see the furniture and settled in. I not only gave her the furniture, but also some snacks and drinks that I took out of my spatial bag.
"Well, at least you'll be somewhat comfortable. I'm going to start, I remind you, do not interfere unless I lose consciousness," I said quite seriously.
She nodded, and I drew my sword. If I'm going to train my [Self-Healing], the only way to improve it at this point is to use it to heal my organs; otherwise, my [Self-Healing] won't get better. The problem is that to heal my organs, I first have to damage them, and that is something I would not dare do without insurance. In this case, my insurances are that in this room there is enough mana so that I don't run the risk of running out of mana, and then the second problem, in case I lose consciousness and my [Self-Healing] stops, Maria is the next insurance, she will wake me up, and if she can't wake me up, she will heal me directly.
I took my [Special Competence] and prepared to begin. Of all the organs, the one that will cause me the least short-term problems in case of damage are the kidneys, because there are two, and I only need to damage one, and as long as the other works, I won't have many problems, so I will start with a kidney. I aimed my sword at the middle of my back, just below the rib cage, and stabbed. The pain was quite intense, but over the years and after undergoing all kinds of hellish training, I've already suffered my fair share of pain, so this amount is still tolerable.
Maria was surprised to see me stab myself, but she didn't interfere. I had already explained what I was doing, so she refrained from trying to heal me and just watched me seriously.
I sat on the floor in a meditative pose and activated my [Self-Healing], [Physical Reinforcement] as much as possible to the point where it damages my bones, [Mana Cloaking], and finally [Continuous Mana Flow].
Then I began to use all the mana possible to increase the effects of [Self-Healing], something I would never dare to do on Earth because doing so depletes my mana quickly. But thanks to the [Continuous Mana Flow] and the abundance of mana in this place, I'm not afraid to hold back in any way.
Thanks to boosting the [Self-Healing] with mana, I could feel how my wounds caused by [Physical Reinforcement] were healing much faster than usual, at least the muscular ones. The bone damage is healing slowly, and the damaged kidney seems like it will take a few hours to fully heal at this rate.
Well, it will be two long months that I will be subjected to this type of training...