NOVEL NEXT Chapter 82
"What can I do so you will help me? If you need mana, I'll provide them. Please tell me!" I begged desperately. Thought manipulation was a serious business! Not to mention removing it, I couldn't even detect it.
"I do not need anything from you. Although I cannot guarantee, I may be able to assist you after I evolve. As this is your subspace and I as your guest, perhaps the Divine Edicts do not apply if a guardian provides you some assistance."
"So, you just need to level up?"
"Indeed. Your desire for my humble assistance may have satisfied the final condition for my evolution." He smiled amiably, "Allow me to meditate and evolve. This will take several days time. Meanwhile, you should learn to centre your mind. This technique will greatly benefit you in your many endeavors."
Basically, I somehow just helped him with his evolution. Perhaps he received a notification or something but really though, what a coincidence! If he just needed some time, then that's easy. Time flowed much faster in here than outside.
As for the technique, I accepted his instructions. If I could master it, I would be able to recognize foreign thoughts and interferences. However, it seemed super difficult. One of the exercises he tasked me with was to empty my mind and examine all my thoughts and every piece of mana I had collected.
Back in my previous world, I heard monks had to train for decades before they could master the clearing of the mind. As for the second step, to examine my thoughts, I felt like that was much easier.
Anyway, for the next couple of days within my subspace, Vorte meditated in complete silence. Really though, I had no clock in my subspace no way to track time using my abilities. Whenever I tried to meditate, time seemed to have slowed to a crawl.
As much as I would love to leave my subspace for a breather, I didn't want to accidentally disturb him. In the event I messed up and prevented him from evolving properly, I would have missed the perfect opportunity to kill two birds in one stone.
There were two things I wanted eliminate, the first was the contract, and the second was the |devious| trait. If those two were no more, I would be free!
Given how my subspace seemed to naturally hinder communication from the outside, this was probably even a better place for me to meditate and rest than in the residence provided by the kingdom.
After what felt like eternity, Vorte's evolution completed. His appearance didn't change as far as I could tell but in the past few days, he did emit some bright lights from his body which clearly indicated some type of change.
Currently, this was his status:
[Level 17 Spirit;
Species: Lego-Meritas;
Physical: 394/394;
<Health: 394>
<Speed: 252 (enhanced)>
Spiritual: 475/475;
<Mana: 475>
<Mass: 499 (enhanced)(augmented)>
<Luck: 190 (enhanced)>
Traits: Stoic Guardian, Intertwined, Transient Fate, Enhanced Spiritual, Enhanced Physical, Enhanced Senses, Enhanced Resistances;
Description: A type of spirit evolved from a fey serpent.]
Level 17 from the start? How is that possible? How does this work? I thought you would start at level 1 like how I did it when I went from mutated plant to fey plant?
Some of his traits had disappeared along with a few of his abilities. There was one new ability called [tempest serenity]. No matter how strange the ability name was, I felt like that wasn't an ability I should mess with.
In terms of the stats that I could see, I was slower than him. As for this <mass> stat, he had the same as mine. And finally, I was luckier than him, apparently? Or at least my <luck> was higher than his.
I wonder which hidden trait you have now?
His eyes were still closed so I left him alone in my living room. It was like his permanent meditation spot now given how long he had been sitting there. Well, he should be fine since I had cushions prepared in advance, though, those cushions were originally pillows for myself. The one he was sitting on was a pink one, but hey, no one here judged!
Some more time passed.
Ah, meditation and exercises, I was supposed to but I was bored! Initially I followed through to the best of my abilities. After a while, I figured I was more productive creating board games and other types of games I could enjoy later.
Also, because I had the materials, I was able to construct a full body mirror for myself in my beautiful bedroom.
"Why are you so beautiful? Ah... What a sin! not! But I don't dislike it."
I nodded while staring at that figure in the mirror. This time there was no Kanoko around to smirk at me.
"Should I change my outfit? Black is nice but maybe I should switch to white for a while? Maybe I should try to surprise him when he wakes up? Hmm..."
Also, my hair was originally blonde before I changed it to black to match my black dress because back then I thought it was cool. After my previous evolution, my mind was kind of in a strange state but now that my mind was clear, I should be myself now. My desire to become a demon had nearly completely faded.
"How about radiant white hair with silky white dress? Would I look like a goddess or a vampires? Hmm...!"
Having crimson eyes, light hair and pale skin would definitely be a cause for concern. People might think I had some rare genetic disease or even worse, a vampire! Though, I had not heard of any vampires in this world.
No matter how I thought about it, crimson eyes were bad omen.
"Should I wear contact lenses? Guhh... But that is such a hassle. What if a lens falls out mid fight? I would totally look like a weirdo with childish delusions."
Nothing creative was coming to my mind. Or rather, there were just too many options to choose from. That in itself was stressful. I wished I had less choices.
"I see. I think... I think... Yes... Either mirrors are evil or... There was no good reason why I should have to suffer this much just to change my outfit... Do all divine beings suffer all the same? It can't be, right? I can do this. Think hard, just one new outfit."
I had been mumbling to the mirror for who knew how long. Hopefully, no one was listening to my non-sense. It probably had to do with a lack of fresh air. It was all Vorte's fault that I couldn't leave my subspace.
In the process, I altered myself quite a bit thinking it as role-play!
I tried portraying myself as a handsome blonde alpha elf. He had such a dazzling smile that I would immediately ask for contact information had he existed.
In another instance, I transformed myself into a vampire princess with jet black hair, snow white skin, and icy cold smirk. The blood colored eyes made her appear so much more blood chilling. How thrilling would it be had she been real?
Actually, due to race issues, I couldn't grow real tails and fluffy ears. Fake ones didn't count. I would have tried other races if possible but after trying out many different appearances, I decided to return being just a regular fairy. No, that wasn't quite right. I transformed into Smoothie.
I need to say something smartass... Mm... Mm...! Kuh! I can't think of any. This can't be right. Didn't I get smarter? I can do this! Anything.
"Mother, you dropped your pocket!" I grinned smugly while making a cute pose.
Perfect! Smoothie the original, completely authentic, ready for take-home orders!
Save.
A copy of my current appearance was kept such that I could transform into her appearance at any time. In case she was ever in danger, I could act as a decoy to fool the enemies. Then, after luring the baddies into me, I would surprise them and gobble them up. It was a flawless game plan, indeed! Of course, if the enemies were to pay close attention, I would be exposed as a fake.
I was reluctant to change out of Smoothie's appearance. She was just too cute with her adorable childish cheeks. I wished I was this cute. But alas, I decided to be a grownup!
I need to rebrand myself. A theme, creative and refreshing but not peculiar. Think hard!
Show me you haven't just spent all this time and mana for nothing! Let's do it!
There I was, looking just like Smoothie, staring at a mirror while sinking into the depth of the realm of creators. Designing something original and appealing was seriously difficult. I kind of doubted I was a good fit for this role.
