Unlimited Power - The Arcane Path

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Leon expected to hear many things coming from an ominous voice, but he didn't expect to hear that. Besides, the voice seemed pretty calm. Perhaps too calm, given the circumstances. Then again, maybe that was how someone should act after living for who knows long.

Regardless, even after hearing the voice, Leon couldn't see its owner. He could still feel a gigantic presence ahead of him, but only that. Realizing that keeping quiet would be a bad move, Leon decided to return the greeting.

"Hello… how do you do?" Leon smiled wryly.

Although he couldn't see them, Leon could easily imagine Ilyana and Tyrselle frowning. Leon decided to ignore them because they were too tense to talk. Despite all his shortcomings when it comes to diplomacy, Leon was fully aware that he was more suited for that kind of job than Ilyana, who was quite impatient despite having so much life experience, and Tyrselle, who was quick to solve things with magic attacks.

"I'm pretty much fine. Thank you very much, Leon."

"Oh… so you know who I am," Leon said after a few moments of silence. "I presume you also know why we are here."

"Yes, of course. I have been watching all of you for a very long time. Perhaps too much time, thanks to Ilyana's Resets. Although your goals have always been the same, Tyrselle's goal was a bit different, but you managed to convince her to join your side. Something like that wasn't supposed to happen, but then again, Ilyana's Resets made many things change in unexpected ways."

"Well, yeah… by the way, before we continue this conversation," Leon said. "Can you tell us your name?"

"Name? I don't have one."

"I see…" Leon said.

"Aren't you going to ask why I don't have a name?"

"I'm certainly thinking about asking, but I'm afraid that I might step in a landmine." Leon forced a smile.

"Don't worry, whatever you say, I won't take any offense. Regardless, I don't have a name because I wasn't given one. Do you know what most races across the cosmos have in common, Leon? The parents give names to their kids. Some species decided their own names after a certain age, but they are a minority. However, I don't belong to any species. There is no other being like me, and I wasn't born like you or anyone else. I simply existed and then evolved until I became who I am."

Leon already expected to hear some crazy things, so he managed to stay calm after hearing all that. At the very least, the system's creator was pretty calm and wasn't prideful to the point of the threat itself, like someone special or above others. Then again, Leon was fully aware that it was a bit too soon to conclude that.

"Is that so," Leon said.

"Well then, which question should I answer first? About the system? Why I created it? Why everything had to happen this way? or perhaps should I keep talking about myself in order to give you some clue as to how to deal with me if the necessity arises?"

That was a big pain in the ass. Leon felt as if he had returned to the past where Ilyana and spirits could hear every single of his thoughts, and he couldn't do anything about it. He also imagined that something like that could happen, but even though he forced himself to bury in the deepest part of his mind that he perhaps will have to kill the system's creator, his actions were meaningless. There was also no sense in pretending that wasn't the case, so Leon decided to play it cool.

"Well, if you don't mind, can you explain things from the start?" Leon asked. "Why did you create the assimilation system?"

"Although I'm different from all other species, as a sapient being that has a physical, I'm bound to feel all things you feel and perhaps even commit the same mistakes. Just like you once took pride in your power and learned Lion's Pride, I'm also an individual that has a flaw. I'm greedy… I want everything, and I want to know everything."

"Then, what are you doing here?" Leon asked. "Why didn't you try to dominate the universe or something?"

"But I already did. Who do you think that all those planets that have mana belongs to?"

"So, mana is like a mark you created to have control over planets?" Leon asked. "Even though I used Absolute Mana Link on them, and now their mana can be used by me?"

"No, I didn't create mana with that goal in mind. It just happened by chance. As for your last statement,… who gave you the capacity to use mana? Although you three discovered a way to create mana yourselves, it doesn't change the fact that most of your mana was developed thanks to me. As such, not only the planets you conquered, all your mana, skills, strength, and everything you obtained thanks to mana, belongs to me."

"You…" Tyrselle said bitterly.

That was one hell of a statement, but then again, Leon and Ilyana, even Tyrselle, had considered many times in the past that their current power was just a borrowed one. They didn't create the system. They only used it… it was like a tool that could be taken away from them at any moment. Although Leon developed the profession system and could develop others, he would lose all the power he obtained thanks to the assimilation system if the system's creator wishes for it. Even if Leon, Ilyana, and Tyrselle maybe had the power to defeat him, the creator could just take it away from them. They would become billions of times weaker, and the creator would become two times more powerful. That kind of thought was enough to make Leon and Ilyana sweat cold.