"No, an essence. Have you ever heard of the saying experience points are the lifeblood of the world? Of the universe?" The time god asked, and as my eyes widened and I swallowed a drop of saliva to moisten my throat, it felt as if time had stopped around me. Everything was moving in slow motion as the realization of just how overpowered this skill was flooded into me. But that also ignited the idea of just how powerful the other skills were.
The time god didn't make it seem that impressive, but now in comparison to this skill… I could hardly keep my excitement together. I kept switching back and forth between which skill would be the best for me but first stopped myself. I needed to know if there was anything more to this overpowered skill.
Every other one had a destructive downside, so why can't this one have one?
"Any downsides?" I asked, causing the man to smile viciously as he embraced a new collection of cats. And as they swirled around him, almost dancing like fairies in the wind, he split open those sly lips of his.
"There is a guaranteed downside which shoos everybody away from it. Your mana heart and mana veins and everything in your body that regulates, controls, and uses mana will explode out of your body. Think of a supernova. And now think of that energy being mana. That is what will explode from your body."
I paused for a moment, imagining that scenario. I went through every single possible way that it could turn out. Every single possibility. Every single outcome. Every single goddamn way that situation could turn out. And all I could see was my death. Every. Single. Time.
"Has anybody ever managed to achieve that state? A state where you can manipulate the lifeblood of existence?"
"One person, I guess. It was an archmage, but she's long past by now… the last time I heard of her, I believe she ascended into a goddess."
"Vazgath? Was her last name Vazgath?" I quickly shot my eyes back from the cats and to the man's pale face. "If so, then I-"
"Kid, I don't fucking know. I don't give a shit about the affairs outside of my own domain. The last time I left this place, I was yelled at by the Olympians for being too goddamn lazy, but it's not my fault I'm special at something so boring…. I mean, the passage of time is automatic. It's not like I need to regulate it."
"Okay…" I sighed, ignoring the man who continued to ramble on about the nagging of other gods and goddesses. So, I decided to just interrupt with my own theory that I was sure he'd listen to. "If I was the son of that woman, do you think I would have a chance at surviving it?"
The man paused his rambling as expected, his annoyed expression slowly shifting into a gleeful smile.
"Pfffft…. Absolutely fucking not!" He laughed at the top of his lungs, the cats around him scattering as he rolled on the ground, soiling the pure white robes he currently wore. "If she really is your mother, then there is absolutely no way you'll have a chance at surviving. I mean, she must have used up all the luck of her bloodline to achieve such a feat… Really! I feel bad for whoever her descendents are!"
As the god foolishly rolled on the ground, I frowned at how much his logic actually made sense. Although, there could have been a chance she used something else to survive it. Maybe the assistance of a god or possibly another item.
"Then do I at least have a higher chance of surviving because I'm a demi-god?"
"Boy, the only beings in this world that have god-slaying abilities are demi-gods and Divine Demons. And well, to say the least, those things have been eradicated for centuries now, so only demi-gods have the chance at acquiring skills like this."
Wait, so my mother wasn't just a regular old mortal? She was actually the descendant of another god? Then who would that be? Some god of magic before her?
As I pondered through these lingering thoughts of mine, I quickly lost myself. Theorizing and hypothesizing every possible outcome. But in the end, the only thing I managed to grasp was-
"Huh? Why are you… crying?" I muttered, looking at the man who was no longer laughing, yet had a tear roll down his cheek. And he looked just as confused as me as he wiped the tear from his cheek and brushed it on his dirty robes.
"I don't know," He innocently said, teleporting away to somewhere else in this endless feline-filled void. I could sense he was still around but far away. Way too far for me to even grasp in this infinite abyss of darkness.
"Tch… now that he's gone… I have no more information to acquire," I frowned at the triple selection of god-killing skills. They looked so appetizing and juicy that now I was on edge, unable to hold myself back from picking either one of them.
Every single selection could fit me so well, as I'm practically a master of all trades. As now that I've acquired the spear arts of Lu Bu and whatever this lance of Longinus is, I can focus on physicality if I want to.
"Fuck… maybe I should just save this. I don't have enough information on it, but it feels and seems the most appetizing. I'm bound to just regret it when I'm older and looking back on this situation… fuck, but these other two are just- FUCK! I can't make up my mind!" I shouted, clawing at my hair as the process of selecting one of these things proceeded to take over my mind.
My thoughts spun like a tornado, tearing every fold in my brain apart. It was as if my own intelligence and ability to overthink were eating away at my own sanity.
But I didn't have to think much longer as a notification presented itself to me. A blessing or possibly a curse that forced me to make up my own mind.
[Selection Process will end in five minutes. Please make up your mind before then]
