Minutes later, Luna prepared his outfit. In no time at all, Alex found himself clothed in something that was shockingly comfortable and visually tolerable—likely a first for Lucien's wardrobe choices.
"Let's proceed to the dining room, Sir," Luna said, her tone clinical.
"...Yeah."
After a while of silent walk, Luna's eyes flicked to Lucien with suspicion. 'Why's he so quiet today?'
From what she'd knew, Lucien was always mumbling insults, snapping at her, sometimes even slapping her just for existing nearby. So this… sudden silence was unnerving. 'When he's quiet, his face still looks ugly, but he seems calm today... Did something good happen to him?'
Alex, however, didn't notice her slight change in expression and just thought about the interface appearing earlier. He had an idea on what it might be.
When he wonder about it, it popped up.
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[Dominion: Omnitemporal Convergence
Aspects: Past
Virtue: Recall, Recreate]
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[Rank: Seedbearer (Epoch's Dreamer)]
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[Soul Vitality (SV): 100%
Sanity Threshold (ST): 95%]
************************************
Alex barely kept his face neutral. 'Omnitemporal Convergence? Past? Recall and Recreate? Epoch's Dreamer? SV? ST?'
He knew Dominion, Aspect, Virtue—all pieces of the Power System here.
Seedbearer is the lowest rank. Complete with SV and ST. Everyone starts there. It was collectively called Ascension Cycle.
If his memory served (and right now, it was half-drunken tequila shots), each volume focused on a different rank. The first few seemed to hide the complete power-ranking system.
That meant there would be seven ranks, at least. There's seven volumes, after all.
The ones he remembered were Seedbearer, Unholy Genesis, and Apostle of Reformation, ranked from the lowest. Crest of the Changed was mentioned to be the next after the Apostle of Reformation, and he didn't know about the fifth rank and the upper levels.
They split those ranks into subcategories. Primal, Awakened, Sentient. Or no-brainer, smart but can't think like us, and then us humans, for example. Not to mention other categories for Dominion, but hey, who's got time for that now?
Alex squinted, mentally working through the interface. 'So, time-based powers, huh? Can I respawn myself like in a game? What if I kill my parents? Do I cease to exist?'
Right now, the power didn't seem as flashy as the interface made it out to be.
Dominion is made up of basically the most prominent aspects of your own life. Lucien, despite his nature, had once been a hardcore collector and archeologist at his very young age. The Bloodline of Harberdt hadn't undergone a Mutation affecting a limited Dominion. With enough time, he would have manifested an Atypical Dominion—but no, he'd only been slacking off these past few years due to some sort of ridiculous incident that made him drop out of a famous academic institution and turned into some pathetic third-rate villain after that.
Everyone could obtain his Seed if they were diligent, but he's not.
Alex wrinkled his forehead slightly. 'This world is crawling with mysteries, and the novel itself falls under the mystery genre. Over the course of the three volumes I've read, quite a few things about the lost history were actually uncovered. Does that mean Lucien's Seed is just... popping up now because of that?'
He wasn't sure. The whole thing felt too messy to bother with right now, so he shoved the thought into the farthest corner of his brain, locked it up, and threw away the key.
For now, all that mattered was unlocking more power or empowering the existing ones. Maybe toss in a couple of Aspects, like Present and Future, just for kicks.
Just as he had that thought, the interface appeared again.
[New Quests: Recall a lost history and Recreate a piece of forgotten history!]
[Rewards: Dagger of Distortion]
'Dagger of Distortion?' Alex raised an eyebrow at the floating interface.
The interface wasn't special to him. Everyone in this world could see them by plugging themselves into the Ascension Cycle, the never-ending power-grind treadmill for mortals. With the limit up to eighteen years, it could spit out a shiny Seed and hand over this fancy interface to bless someone's hardworks.
Of course, the interface also throws out Quests, shoving "self-improvement" down your throat. Complete a task, get a reward. Repeat until you die—or ascend. Alex didn't know where half the rewards came from, but he doubted pondering it would bring him enlightenment.
'...All I need to know is that it's useful enough to get me ahead,' a grin spread across his face as Luna reflexively stepped back. Alex didn't notice that. 'In this world—or hell, even back on Earth—people'll pay good money for lost knowledge. Aren't my Virtues perfect for that?'
Frankly, his parents' allowance wasn't nearly enough. It could get him a few cool artefacts, sure, but he needs a lot of them, and he wasn't about to make them bankrupt out of his own selfishness.
A light chuckle escaped his lips.
He could picture it—being the go-to "historian" who could recall the buried secrets of the past and recreate pieces of the forgotten history. What a sweet life that would be! People lined up at his doorstep, willing to pay astronomical sums for snippets of a lost world. Ah, the power of knowledge...
His laugh bubbled up, rising to an unhinged crescendo. Luna just stared at him in silence with a sympathetic gaze. 'I need to tell Mr. Kael and Mrs. Anna that their son finally lost it.'
However, Alex's manic musings screeched to a halt as the massive double doors to the dining hall loomed before him. Two guards stood rigidly on either side—classic knight cosplayers, decked out in polished plate armor that gleamed obnoxiously in the light. One had a spear; the other a sword.
Alex's facial muscles tensed slightly at that. 'Right, how do I tell them about my new powers? Or, should I even tell them at all? And what about the Demonic Forces? They're coming soon—probably within the week. How should I warn them without looking like a lunatic?'
***
A/N: Rate it from 1 to 10 with the reasoning as well, if possible. That'll help me covering what's lacking from the story.
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