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Chapter 396 – Side-projects
🕑 Added 2025-07-18 06:01:01 +0000 UTCAs soon as the object entered Percy’s soul, ideas had started sprouting in his mind one after the other. The effect had initially been weake
As soon as the object entered Percy’s soul, ideas had started sprouting in his mind one after the other. The effect had initially been weaker than the Wiseman’s Dust, but this was rapidly changing as the pyramid rose closer and closer to his head.
By the time it reached his brain – or at least the part of his soul resting inside it – and once he resumed working on his spells, Percy was confident the effect would far surpass it. After all, he currently had a lot more of it in his possession than he’d had on Felmara, and his connection to the substance was far more intimate too.
‘Do you think it’s safe to use?’ he asked Zoris, still trying to wrap his head around the goddess’s intentions.
‘Absolutely. Mental and spectral versions of the Wiseman’s Dust are well-documented – though most factions haven’t bothered to give them a different name. Even for gods without a mind or soul affinity, there are several ways to collect and disseminate it. The fact that she still has hers so many years after her ascension only lends credence to her story. It’ll be a huge help to you, so make the most of it while it lasts.’
Percy nodded.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to use up the entire stash in the limited time that he had. Sadly, he’d somehow managed to place himself under another strict deadline. Originally, he had intended to take his sweet time infiltrating the Fungal Spire. Due to Nephthys’s situation, he’d have to greatly expedite his plans, however, getting his hands on a wasp egg within the next couple of years. It was either that or placing her soul in a different body, which wouldn’t be ideal.
‘Micky, have you felt any different since my clone returned?’
The crow shook his head, the passenger in his body soon echoing the sentiment. Evidently, the two of them wouldn’t be able to benefit from the so-called Wiseman’s Murmurs either. Despite their powerful connection and their close physical proximity to Percy’s main body, it seemed the effect of the substance was limited to within the confines of his own soul.
At least, whatever was left of it wouldn’t necessarily go to waste. Once he placed Nephthys’s soul inside the wasp egg, she would essentially be reborn as a mortal. The resulting familiar would inherit whatever was left of the pyramid and, by extension, the substance. Whether it retained the goddess’s memories or not, the Wiseman’s Murmurs should help the creature with its development, allowing it to catch up to Percy and Micky sooner.
‘Or not… These are essentially her own impurities that she expelled during her ascension… Will they even work on her?’
Percy shrugged. This wasn’t the kind of question anybody could answer, since he was pretty much in uncharted territory.
Thinking of something else, he turned back to Zoris.
‘Do you have any idea why she stayed on her planet until the very end? She claimed she was stuck, but I was under the impression that gods could travel in space.’
‘Generally speaking, they can.’ Zoris said, before elaborating. ‘It’s a little trickier for mind and soul gods like us though, since our internal worlds are initially incapable of housing physical objects. And one of the most important requirements to survive in space is having air to breathe.’
Percy raised an eyebrow, not expecting a deity to be constrained by something so mundane.
‘Seriously? Is there no way around that?’ he asked again.
Somehow, he struggled to imagine a powerful titaness like Phoebe stranded on Remior due to her affinity.
‘There is.’ Zoris confirmed. ‘You can use external means, like a starship or a storage device that can recycle air for you. But it doesn’t sound like her people were advanced enough to build either. That said, it’s possible to turn our internal world corporeal, allowing us to store air and even plants inside it. That’s the most popular option, as it gives us the ability to traverse the cosmos with our own body, but it also takes some time and knowledge to get there. It’s something a fledgling goddess without peers or access to the outside world would have struggled to discover by herself.’
Percy nodded. This was pretty much in line with what Nephthys had told him. Of course, it still wasn’t definitive proof that she’d been honest with him.
‘Couldn’t she have faked all of those details to trick me?’
‘Sure, but it sounds farfetched. Why would she allow herself to get eaten by a demonic infestation if she had a way out? And why would she agree to become your familiar if it wasn’t her last resort? No offense to you or your crow buddy, but I just don’t see any god willingly giving up their divinity to be reborn as a low-born beast – two cores or not.’
‘Fair enough.’
Suffice to say, Percy was more than happy with Zoris’s analysis. Obviously, even if Nephthys had told him the truth about everything, it still didn’t mean that she was a good person, or a suitable familiar candidate. Yet, he figured she’d at least earned herself the benefit of the doubt.
‘Besides, I can interrogate her again with Nesha’s help after she wakes up. If it turns out she’s up to something, it won’t be too late to take her out.’
Robbed of all her strength, she wouldn’t be able to resist if Percy decided to kill her. Losing his wasp familiar would suck, but he could always create another one.
‘Anyway, that’s for future me to worry about. Right now, I should focus on making the most of the next two years.’
Activating his boosting art, Percy spent a few minutes mending the most recent batch of soul injuries, while sorting through the clone’s memories. At the same time, he went over his ongoing projects once again, taking the new variables into account.
Originally, he had intended to focus on three main things.
The first, was his newly upgraded Secret Art and, by extension, his collaboration with Micky. This was something they had started working on since before leaving the Thirsty Valley. Unfortunately, they had a long way to go before they could freely share their thoughts, their senses, and possibly their mana.
Next, was his armour. With the Murmurs helping him, he was bound to complete his mana threads in no time. However, he would have to wait for Nesha and his clone to finish reading through the runecrafting books before he could proceed with the final step. Luckily, his girlfriend had already made it back to the city safely, and she was currently trying to rebuild her life. Things were going well, but it would be months until he was done with this.
Finally, there was the Dance. Micky would have a much easier time figuring it out with the clone’s help, but he had anywhere from three to four versions of it that he needed to master – depending on whether the beast variant was even capable of extending outside his body. Luckily, everything would progress much faster once Elaine perfected her own version, but Percy’s cousin had yet to even reach the Camelot province, so they had no choice but to wait.
Percy sighed.
Each of these tasks was not only time-consuming but also filled with countless hurdles. Then again, it wasn’t that surprising, considering that he and his familiar were currently working on a bunch of Masterful spells. At the end of the day, he’d just have to be patient and hope that they got everything done on time.
He shook his head.
‘That’s still not good enough.’
Now that his deadline had moved up by several years, he’d have to fully take advantage of all five of his clones. The ones currently with his friends were already doing the best they could, but that still left two that he wasn’t using efficiently.
Percy had planned to have them look for Blue hosts sooner or later, to help him in his search for the greater springs. Not to mention the Starry Commander he needed to possess to actually get his hands on the wasp egg.
The problem was that creatures at such a high grade were inherently difficult to deal with, whether they were sapients or beasts. If the two mages he and Micky had just taken down were anything to go by, Percy would be hard pressed to placate a bunch of wise old monsters – let alone getting them to potentially betray their factions. Even worse, they’d all be more knowledgeable about cosmic matters, so one mistake on Percy’s part could easily lead to his secrets leaking to the wrong pair of ears.
Consequently, he had no choice but to take certain countermeasures before he even attempted to seek them out.
Up until now, he hadn’t been in a hurry to dive into all that, partly because he’d been busy with other matters – such as his escape from the Valley or his training with Micky, and partly because he was still adjusting to the constant influx of memories from all these clones.
Yet, it didn’t look like he had the luxury to keep wasting time.
‘Oh well… I can just let my clones worry about this…’
Comments
ItWasIDIO!!
Need to find away to put the other soul in a coma or start being an asshole & punch down
Meir Banon
Tftc
MinE
Given that, being limited by your affinity is one of the greatest if not second to only starting grade limits in this world; I think only air mages can easily come up with a better method.
Sloth
I find the method Zoris presented for breathing incredibly janky. The first method of just storing air means you will always have to restock, and the second method requires you to maintain a small ecosystem, which means you have to balance the oxygen/carbon dioxide constantly. I hope Percy comes up with a better method. I imagine air mana would be the most superior option? Not sure if you can breath air mana
