There were no surprises when Anastasia was introduced to everyone; she quickly integrated into the group.
Despite her Russian imperial lineage, her difficult life experiences left her without the spoiled and pampered attitude typical of many princesses. In addition, her naturally lively personality helped her fit into Chaldea's family in no time.
This gave Ryou a sense of relief. After all, they were all his companions, but Anastasia's situation was somewhat special.
Ryou and his contracted Servants had fought abyssal creatures numerous times, so he was all too familiar with the aura of the abyss. Even though Anastasia did her best to suppress it, the abyssal aura surrounding her was still quite noticeable. He was worried that others might reject her.
But as it turned out, his companions (especially his wives) were quite accepting. That was good.
Then, Ryou discovered something that shocked him.
Upon his return to Chaldea, Scathach didn't drag him off for some brutal training under the pretense of exercise! Had he encountered a fake Shishou? Or was there something wrong with the way he returned to Chaldea?
Panicked, Ryou immediately pulled Jeanne, who had accompanied Scathach to a dungeon world, aside to ask what had happened.
Jeanne's face showed a complicated smile. After listening to Jeanne's recounting, he was speechless.
In the Index world, as soon as they entered, they went straight into Aleister's lair. They defeated Aleister and the formidable Aiwass behind him. After that, the journey became Scathach's solo rampage through the entire Index world.
She single-handedly tore through the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Russian Orthodox Church, Saints, and God's Right Seat. In the end, even the hidden Magic Gods joined forces to fight her, but they too were quickly defeated.
It made sense when you thought about it. In the Index world, the foundation of magic was based on idol theory. The so-called Magic Gods were mortals who, through magic, had ascended to the realm of gods by leveraging mythological systems.
In other words, whether it was God's Right Seat, Saints, or Magic Gods, they were pseudo-gods, borrowing divine power while only having the title of "god." The idea that they could destroy the world with a thought was nothing but commercial hype.
In Ryou's view, the Magic Gods' acts of creation and destruction were akin to manipulating "dimensions" in the real world. Dimensions were like layers of paper covering the surface of the world. The Magic Gods could "create" a sheet of paper or tear it apart.
But to say that they could destroy the foundational world with a thought? he could only scoff at that. The rules governing dimensions were set by the Magic Gods who created them. But did that mean the world's rules were also determined by these pseudo-gods, who had ascended from mortals?
The most the Magic Gods could destroy were dimensions. Indirectly affecting the world by destroying dimensions made some sense. After all, if the Earth were stripped of its atmosphere, it would certainly be impacted.
Moreover, the power of these Magic Gods could only be used within the Index world. Outside of it, they were no stronger than ordinary people. From Ryou's perspective, these so-called Magic Gods were just big fish in a small pond.
And now, they had been taught a lesson by a true powerhouse: Scathach.
After demolishing the entire Index world, Scathach didn't seem satisfied. Coincidentally, Yamato and Shimikaze along with Ais had encountered some setbacks in the One Piece dungeon world. To play it safe, they had chosen to retreat.
Ryou didn't need to think too hard to figure out why. It was likely that the Navy had recognized the value of the fleet girls and wanted to capture them for research.
After all, in a world centered on seafaring, the fleet girls, especially Yamato, who could fire nuclear shells, were a far more terrifying force than the Three Ancient Weapons. If controlled by the Navy, they could suppress the Four Emperors and end the Great Pirate Era ignited by Gol D. Roger.
If the pirates got their hands on them, it could shake the very foundations of the Navy and even the World Government. Under such circumstances, how could the so-called righteous Navy allow the fleet girls to run around unchecked?
First, the Naval Branch was alerted, sending out a fleet, which was thoroughly defeated. Then, the Navy Headquarters dispatched a joint fleet. Finally, even the Admirals, Fleet Admiral and the Five Elders of the World Government got involved.
The scale of the naval siege grew increasingly terrifying.
At first, the ship girls and Ais could handle it. But in the end, the Navy sent over a hundred new warships, along with two Admirals and more than a dozen Vice Admirals from headquarters.
To follow Ryou's principle of prioritizing personal safety above all else, Yamato had no choice but to use a nuclear weapon and then calmly retreat, exiting the One Piece world.
The Navy, however, suffered greatly: two Admirals were severely injured, Vice Admirals and other naval personnel suffered heavy casualties, and nearly the entire fleet of new battleships was annihilated. More than 5,000 elite naval officers of various ranks were either dead or injured.
Upon hearing the news, the Four Emperors immediately stirred up even greater chaos in the New World. In desperation, the World Government mobilized a host of secret units and hidden tactics to barely maintain the situation on the surface.
When Yamato returned to Chaldea, she happened to run into Scathach. Hearing that there were powerful opponents, the still unsatisfied Scathach immediately led the group back into the One Piece world.
This time, the Navy wasn't so lucky. Even Admirals, who were proficient in Haki and Logia Devil Fruits, couldn't last more than one round against Scathach.
In the end, Scathach dragged out every notable figure in the One Piece world—Fleet Admiral, CP0, Five Elders, Shichibukai, Four Emperors—and defeated them all.
Still not satisfied, she used Primordial Runes to summon fallen heroes like Gol D. Roger and gave them a good beating as well. After defeating every possible opponent, Scáthach finally left, leaving behind the legend of an unbeatable goddess in the One Piece world.
After hearing Jeanne's recounting, what could Ryou say? He could only think: "Yes, that's very much like Scathach."
After a full day of rest, Ryou had mostly recovered his energy. He began organizing the spoils from this latest dungeon while also thinking of ways to strengthen himself.
One of the gains from this dungeon was two Ten-Pull Gacha chances. But as the dungeons grew more difficult, the rewards from ordinary ten-pull draws were becoming less and less useful to him.
In comparison, a Super Ten-Gacha, which had a chance to draw divine artifacts, was far more valuable.
"System, can I save up my ten-pulls and combine them into a Super Ten-Pull?"
Ryou opened the system interface and asked.
The system paused for a moment, then promptly replied.
[—Would you like to store your ten-pull draw chances?]
"Yes."
[—Stored. Current remaining ten-pull draw chances: 2]
Next, Ryou took out the priceless EX-Rank Abyss Crystal. He hesitated as he looked at it. Now, two paths lay before him.
One option was to use the EX-Rank Abyss Crystal directly in exchange for an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm in the Workshop.
As for the other option...
Ryou wanted to split the precious EX-Rank Abyss Crystal into three A-Rank Crystals, using them to identify the three Root Gems.
In terms of sheer power, reverting the effect of Avalon and teleporting himself and Medea back ten years via an Root Gem would be a far greater treasure than an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm.
However, Ryou had no illusions about using such a powerful item without cost.
For one, the Root Gem's immense energy had very high physical requirements for its user.
Ryou had experienced this firsthand—nearly being torn apart by the Gem's overwhelming energy.
Based on his analysis, the other two gems were likely time-based and space-based, respectively.
The cost of using those would be even higher.
Thus, even though he possessed these potent Root Gems, he did not use them recklessly.
The reason was simple: the Root Gems were unidentified.
Ryou didn't know the conditions for using them or any possible restrictions.
On the other hand, exchanging the Abyss Crystal for an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm presented another possibility: he could trade it for a Mystic Eye-type Noble Phantasm, merging it with Brahmastra to create an even stronger Mystic Eye.
Not only would Mystic Eyes look cool, but their power, stealth, and versatility made them perfect for various activities—from defense to reconnaissance and even assassination.
What ultimately swayed his decision was the upgrade of Apocalypse to B-Rank.
After more than 20 days, a Noble Phantasm from the Gate of Babylon had finally evolved Apocalypse to B-Rank.
Along with fixed buffs like "reduced transformation time by 1 second," "10% power increase," and "50% increased damage against dark-aligned creatures," Apocalypse gained a new attribute: a Gem Slot.
Ryou had a hunch that this system reward was specifically meant for using the Root Gems—similar to a certain purple-skinned villain's Infinity Gauntlet.
Since the system's products were always top-tier, Ryou made his decision.
[—Identifying the Root Gems requires three A-Rank Abyss Crystals.]
[—Insufficient A-Rank Abyss Crystals detected!]
[—EX-Rank Abyss Crystal detected.]
[—Would you like to split the EX-Rank Abyss Crystal?]
"Confirm!"
A flash of pain crossed Ryou's face.
[—Splitting in process...]
[—Split complete. Identifying Root Gems (Time Remaining: 71:59:59)]
It turned out that the identification process would take a full three days.
Once again, Ryou was reminded of how complicated things could get.
With no other choice, he suppressed his impatience and focused on training while waiting for the final day to arrive.
...
Those three days felt like pure torture, but at least training made the time pass more quickly.
Finally, the three days were over.
Ryou eagerly opened the system panel to check the properties of the Root Gem.
[Name: Time Gem]
[Color: Silver]
[Description: A rule-crystal born from the Root, possessing the terrifying ability to control time.]
[Rank: ???]
[Note: Forcibly manipulating time requires tremendous energy and mental power. If the user cannot meet the requirements, the Time Gem will forcibly drain large amounts of the user's lifespan.]
The system's description was simple yet carried significant implications—especially the last part, highlighted in crimson, which made him break out in a cold sweat.
As expected, using the Time Gem came with a steep price.
If mishandled, the Time Gem could drain his lifespan entirely, leading to rapid aging and death.
His decision to identify the Root Gems before upgrading the Mystic Eye Noble Phantasm was wise.
After checking the properties of the other two gems, Ryou became even more certain of this.
[Name: Space Gem]
[Color: Blue]
[Description: A rule-crystal born from the Root, possessing the terrifying ability to control space.]
[Rank: ???]
[Note: Forcibly manipulating space requires tremendous energy, mental power, and willpower. If the user cannot meet the requirements, the Space Gem can cause spatial collapse, tearing the user apart.]
The last gem was the one Ryou had acquired first.
[Name: Energy Gem]
[Color: Gold]
[Description: A rule-crystal born from the Root, containing boundless energy.]
[Rank: ???]
[Note: Forcibly manipulating the Energy Gem requires a strong body. If the user cannot meet the requirements, the violent energy will tear the user apart.]
Using these powerful Root Gems came with immense risks.
Though A-Rank Abyss Crystals were costly, Ryou felt they were worth the investment.
Otherwise, he might not even understand how he had met his end.
When Ryou asked the system how to safely use the Ryou Gems, the answer was simple but frustrating.
Once he reached the True God Rank, he could control the Root Gems without any cost.
The issue was that reaching the True God Rank came with its massive challenges.
Ryou was currently an Epic-level Servant, with Myth-level Servants and Grand Servants above him, and only then came True God Rank.
There were three entire ranks to climb!
It wouldn't be easy to surpass those.
For the foreseeable future, he would likely have to forcibly activate the Root Gems.
According to the system's description, the Energy Gem was the foundation for safely using the other Root Gems.
Using powerful energy as a base, and harnessing it with strong mental power to manipulate the Space or Time Gem, appeared to be the most feasible method.
In fact, during the Holy Grail War, Ryou had accidentally used the Time Gem in a similar manner.
The system also provided another option: the Apocalypse gauntlet, which could embed Root Gems.
Even at B-Rank, Apocalypse could already accommodate a Root Gem.
Ryou couldn't help but suspect that this had been part of the system's grand design all along.
But he had no choice but to accept it, swallowing it down with a metaphorical bitter pill.
After all, who could refuse the immense power of the Root Gems?
Just like in the Marvel world, no one could resist the temptation of the Infinity Stones.
And the only cost he had to bear was a temporary reduction in the power of the Root Gems.
The system also informed him that as Apocalypse's rank increased, so too would the number of Root Gems it could embed and the power it could draw from them.
Now, deciding which Root Gem to embed first was crucial.
Choosing the Energy Gem would save him from the trouble of painstakingly accumulating Revenge Power through damage.
It would also boost his overall attack power.
The Space Gem, on the other hand, would enhance his mobility.
Selecting the Time Gem would improve his single-target combat capabilities.
After deliberating for a while, Ryou pressed one of the Root Gems against the Apocalypse gauntlet, watching as it began to transform.