Nightmares Paradise [LITRPG System Integration]

Jon continued his watch all the way until light started to creep over the horizon. There was no trace of a sun, or a star within the small realm, but light still crept over the distant treetops, illuminating the riverbank and allowing the slow trickle of glistening waters filled Jon's ears.

Jon counted and roughly estimated that he had spent between five to seven days within the small realm.

The System had not registered the time he spent before the System Introduction began, causing him to angrily kick at the water's surface. Even though Jon knew it was childish, he could help but vent his annoyance out on the slow-moving river.

A burst of water droplets erupted high up into the sky, before raining down creating hundreds, if not thousands of ripples to appear on the water's surface. Within a matter of moments, any traces of Jon's anger had completely vanished, causing him to let out a sigh while shaking his head.

'Why am I getting angry at this again? It's not like I can do anything to change what has already happened… and I did get superpowers out of this, so it isn't as though I haven't received anything in return,' Lifting his head, Jon could see individual droplets of morning dew, even up to sixty feet away.

With his newest ability, Jon was able to perceive traces of light with a far greater level of accuracy and precision than he was able to previously.

In fact, it magnified the effectiveness of his eyesight and visual perception to a degree which his glasses hindered. Jon felt weird being able to see so clearly without his glasses but tucked them away within the safety of his backpack.

Even with [Eyes Through the Looking Glass] removing the need for glasses altogether, Jon felt unreasonably sentimental about them, concealing them beneath his spare change of underwear and socks.

Unknowingly, his eyes no longer possessed the same green tint to them but rather appeared slightly golden closer towards the pupil.

Despite all this however, Jon found that his new visual oriented ability was perhaps the most useful of all the abilities his Mana Cores had manifested.

Placing a fist over his chest, Jon felt his Knowledge Mana Core surge as he chanted the incantation for [Eyes Through The Looking Glass].

"Oh, sorrowful soul! Thou wilful ignorance shall no longer be overlooked! The burden of knowledge shall weigh upon thou shoulders, and the scales of truth shall judge the purity of thou desire!".

Jon felt his eyes tingle, as if someone had gently blown upon them. Blinking, Jon turned towards the figure of Avahni's pet summon Roland sitting beside the crackling embers, two of its limbs still only partially regenerated.

Purposefully lingering his gaze over the strange, summoned creature, Jon saw a familiar looking System information page appear before his eyes.

[Fragment Of Ginseng]
[Ru Luan Di; Liver Of The Ginseng King]
(Summon, Fire, Ginseng, Recovery, Buff)

Unfortunately, there was no further description. But still, it was enough for a smirk to appear on Jon's face, pushing him to examine everything around himself.

[Imperial Angler Flower].
(Nature, Flower)

[Starry Leaf Pine].
(Tree, Poison, Debuff)

[Venomous Indigo Leaf].
(Plant, Venom, Debuff)

[Blue-Water Ivy].
(Ivy, Water, Buff)

Descriptions of various unknown flora appeared in Jon's mind. Dozens upon dozens of information panels appeared within his field of view, causing him to pause and analyse each one before dismissing them.

The combination of [Monstrous Intuition] and [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] allowed him to almost instantly remember the details regarding each flora, sorting them under the specific traits that each species possessed. Just within a hundred meters of Jon's campsite, he had already recorded more than fifty different species of plants, none of which were native to Earth.

It was then that he possessed the bright idea to observe other objects using his observational ability. Starting with two specific objects that laid at the bottom of his duffel bag.

Holding one of the fragments he had obtained from last night, Jon looked down at the impressive looking Fragment Of Destruction in his hand. He could feel the Spell drain more spiritual energy from his Knowledge Mana Core, but eventually after a few seconds the page he was looking for appeared in front of him.

[Fragment Of Destruction]
(Destruction)

A fragment of the concept of destruction.

While there was an effect description, he still felt disappointed with the lacklustre explanation of his fragment. Regardless of what fragment he chose to observe, all of them only depicted the same three lines of information.

Even after trying to observe his new Ice Mana Core, Jon still saw nothing that he did not already know, or somewhat suspect.

[Ice Mana Core]
(Ice]

Physical manifestation of ice natured spiritual energy.

Despite the obvious limitations behind [Eyes Through The Looking Glass], Jon had yet to actually try and observe another person. Both Wilheim and Avahni were still asleep, and the lutin's summon did not physically react to the effect of his observational Spell.

While Jon felt as though he could have asked before doing such a thing, the young human merely narrowed his eyes, wandering if his Spell could discern any details about their of his two alien companions.

Feeling his spiritual energy gather in a clump, Jon felt it projected forward, colliding against the sleeping form of Wilheim.

While he was sure that the floresiensis didn't possess some passive defensive ability against scrying or divination, Jon could feel a slight pushback against the effects of his Spell. Jon had his suspicions but increased the amount of spiritual energy imbued into [Eyes Through The Looking Glass], breaking through that minor resistance with relative ease.

Stolen novel; please report.

His eyebrows narrowing as he observed a significantly larger amount of information on Wilheim's status page.

Name: Wilheim Freytal-Isenburg
Age: 72
Rank: Mortal
Tier: Second Initiation
Title: N/A

Mana Core(s):

[1]: Castle
[Fragment Of Protection]
[Preservation Of Thou Sacred Ramparts]
(Castle, Protection, Spell, Defensive, Enhancement, Buff)

[Fragment Of Hearth]
[Celebration Of Thou Hallowed Halls]
(Castle, Hearth, Spell, Regeneration, Enhancement, Buff)

[Fragment Of Strength]
[Strength Of Thou Impenetrable Soul]
(Castle, Strength, Spell, Enhancement, Buff)

[2]: Mountain
[Fragment Of Marrow]
[Ours Is The Blood That Courses Through The Mountain]
(Mountain, Marrow, Mutation, Passive, Ability, Enhancement, Buff)

[Fragment Of Rime]
[Mountain Art; Weight Of The Frozen Peaks]
(Mountain, Rime, Spell, Debuff)

[3]:

[4]:

[5]:

[6]:

Jon was somewhat surprised that Wilheim had decided to integrate his second Mana Core so quickly, considering his own apprehension regarding that topic. While Jon felt that Wilheim was quite like Avahni in that regard. Neither one of them took considered the full consequences of their actions, which, in a way, was quite similar to his friends back on Earth.

Trevor and Summer's faces flashed through his mind, causing the faintest traces of a smile to appear on Jon's face.

While Jon often chastised himself for losing his train of thought, the memories of his friends always improved his mood. His gaze lingered on Wilheim's form for a few moments longer, before shaking his head, re-examining the information available to him.

'So Wilheim is in possession of a Castle Mana Core and a Mountain Mana Core. I guess that would explain why he had a natural resistance towards [Eyes Through The Looking Glass]. Castles are inherently defensive in nature, so perhaps integrating it gifted Wilheim a slight resistance towards certain Traits or Spells?'

Jon did not think that the resistance would have been born from his Mountain Mana Core, the concept too broad to give such a passive quality. Jon had suspected that his own sense of clarity during combat was born from his Knowledge Mana Core, and then perhaps amplified with the effects of [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits].

The number of abilities at Wilheim's disposal also surprised Jon, realizing that three of the five abilities he possessed came from fragments that he had obtained the previous night. Only his Fragment Of Hearth, and Fragment Of Protection were ones that he had found on his own.

Before Jon defeated the hound-faced bear, Wilheim would have only possessed two abilities. While their effects were quite powerful, Jon felt the enhancement to his physical stamina and endurance somewhat weaker than the enhancement given to him through his Fragment Of War.

'I suspect that it would be because my own Spell cannot target others, while Wilheim's can. Conversely, it may be possible for Wilheim to cast it on multiple people. It depends on how well he can manipulate his Mana Cores and control his spiritual energy output.'

Jon did notice that Wilheim's age was significantly higher than his own and wondered what the average life expectancy of the floresiensis race was, if someone like Wilheim was considered optimal in relation to their biological clock. Jon calculated that if he was to equate himself with Wilheim then the average life expectancy of the latter's race would be…

'Three-hundred and sixty years… I sincerely hope that the rotation of his planet around their sun is shorter than that of Earth around ours. One third of a millennia for a lifespan, an average lifespan mind you. Damn.'

Moving his gaze away from Wilheim, Jon turned towards Avahni, focusing his spiritual energy into a clump before pushing it forward using his Spell. Unlike Wilheim, there was significantly less resistance behind Avahni's natural defences, requiring about the same amount of force as a pencil through wet paper.

Jon felt his mouth drop as he gazed towards Avahni's status page.

Name: Avahni Rudras
Age: 31
Rank: Mortal
Tier: Third Initiation
Title: N/A

Mana Core(s):

[1]: Wood
[Fragment Of Mother]
[Hold Thy Hand Child, Green Is The Colour Of Our Lineage]
(Wood, Mother, Passive, Mutation, Ability, Spell, Aura, Enhancement, Buff)

[Fragment Of Concealment]
[Silence Is The Verdant Flowers Daydream]
(Wood, Concealment, Ability, Technique, Passive, Sensory, Buff)

[Fragment Of Mouth]
[Xochitl; Voracious Wood-Swallowing Mangrove]
(Summon, Wood, Memento, Mouth, Seed, Buff, Debuff)

[2]: Water
[Fragment Of Clam]
[Cadhla Medb; Crunching Shield Gigas]
(Summon, Water, Clam, Buff, Sensory)

[3]: Fire
[Fragment Of Ginseng]
[Ru Luan Di; Liver Of The Ginseng King]
(Summon, Fire, Ginseng, Recovery, Buff)

[Fragment Of Beetle]
[Titus Claudius; Custodian Of The Fire Swarm]
(Summon, Fire, Beetle, Aura, Debuff)

[4]:

[5]:

[6]:

Jon eyes lingered at the very top of Avahni's status page, seeing that her Tier was one higher than his own. The fact that Avahni was in possession of not one, not two, but rather three Mana Cores came at a shock to Jon, wondering when the lutin managed to acquire such a thing.

Despite the fact that Jon possessed more abilities than her, fragments were available to be claimed from various System task rewards making them significantly easier to come by in comparison to a Mana Core.

Jon had only managed to obtain three Mana Cores during his time in the small realm, one of which was in the hands of the floresiensis sleeping several meters away.

'I had to risk my life in order to obtain each of those Mana Cores! How the hell did Avahni manage to obtain two more Mana Cores before I managed to even obtain one!? Not to mention the fact that for some reason more than half of her abilities possess the summoning Trait!?'

While Jon had seen the fat plant rolling around his shared campsite, the only other ability that Avahni had shown Jon was perhaps the ability born from the integration of her Fragment Of Mother into her Wood Mana Core.

While Jon felt that the naming sense for all abilities was relatively strange, he did not expect that something as… obscure as a Fragment Of Mother could possibly exist. While conceptually, "mother" was something quite vast and grand, it did not quite fit the image of Avahni in his mind.

'If anything, she is the "child" in the ability name,' Jon thought to himself.

Jon had seen Avahni's hair extend, glowing with a faint golden aura as she performed the ritual to summon what he assumed was [Xochitl; Gluttonous Cloud-Swallowing Wood]. The lutin had somehow managed to pierce through the veil between this dimension, and some distant, alien dimension filled with an innumerable number of trees, flowers and vines. While Avahni did bring back some sort of seed with her, he was unsure if that seed was indeed the existence known as Xochitl.

'If I am being completely honest, her I thought that the mutation in her hair was born from a Fragment Of Temptation or a Fragment Of Beauty. Although considering how beautiful and entrancing her appearance is, perhaps the reaction Wilheim and I had to her is natural, and the Fragment Of Mother produces some sort of other effect.'

The possibility was not zero. From what Jon had observed, each of his abilities only possessed a handful of effects. Although there were unwritten limitations of certain abilities, the effects were quite explicitly stated.

Jon lifted his head, snapping out of his train of thought as he watched Avahni stir within his sleeping bag. The image of the lutin's status page swiftly vanishing, as the human pushed the minute traces of guilt in his mind into the very depths of his Sea Of Knowledge.

While it had been an extraordinary breach of privacy, Jon didn't feel any regret about peering into their status pages.

It only made him want to obtain an ability capable of resisting observational Spells.