Chapter 186: Speedrun 38
Swiftly, I lunged forward with my spear-staff, intercepting the destructive attack aimed at Fluffers. Although the block proved successful, redirecting and converting most of its power into energy, the impact felt akin to being hit by a truck, tearing apart most of my upper clothes. Meanwhile, my other arm clamped shut the maw of the little Nightmare, halting the release of her nearly fully charged atomic breath.
The Nightmare, momentarily bewildered by the force hindering her attack, eventually understood and whined. After a menacing glare, she depowered her attack, with a puff of smoke escaping from the side of her lips.
On the opposing side, the assailant—a breathtaking beauty—retracted her daggers, giving me a perplexed look. Stepping back, I watched as Fluffy coiled around me defensively, her gaze unwavering on her potential adversary.
"Andy, what the hell is that thing?" the beauty inquired, prompting Fluffy to squint and growl. However, her growl transformed into an exasperated "Shaa!" of surprise as she received a light slap on her snout. "Pick your fights better," I advised the Nightmare with a chuckle, then turned to Olivia.
"Welcome back, dear," I greeted her, a graceful smile gracing my face. "How was the rest of your training?" I inquired, tilting my head to the side.
"It was quite effective." Olivia's defensive stance relaxed momentarily as she beamed a smile, while a white fluff peeked out behind her legs. "I've learned so much! Jihan even showed me a way to ascend! I'm already tier six and I also gained another divinity! And this time, it's even something useful!" She explained proudly.
"I can see that. You simply look radiant," I complimented her with a smile. Though she wore the same old clothes, her skin appeared clearer, and an otherworldly aura surrounded her.
"Oh stop it..." She squealed as she gave me a bashful look
"Really, you look stunning," I repeated genuinely, warping away Fluffy and simultaneously embracing Olivia while capturing her lips.
She paused, taken aback by the unexpected intrusion of my tongue. However, her surprise lasted only a moment before she responded to my kiss, melting into my embrace and wrapping her arms around me in a loving, bone-crushing hug.
"... I missed you," she confessed, her hot breath tickling my skin as our lips parted.
"I missed you more," I playfully challenged, a small grin spreading across my face as my hands traveled down to give her magnificent rump a good squeeze.
"Yes, I can feel that," she replied with a playful roll of her eyes, patting me lightly on my chest. She looked deep into my eyes and, after tilting her head, asked, "So was that thing your new pet?"
"Yeah, her name is Fluffy," I explained with a nod.
"What's fluffy about her?" She asked, confused.
"Her personality." I chuckled, only to receive a light pat on my chest.
"Come on..." She rolled her eyes, "So, what is she?"
"Eh..." I contemplated on how to explain it best, "She's a creature I made, an amalgamation of countless other creatures and their most potent traits. I simply call her species Nightmare."
Olivia gave a deadpan look before sighing, "Quite the fitting name... She almost gave me a heart attack."
"It's physically impossible for you to have a heart attack."
"You know what I mean!"
"I do," I said with a chuckle, "though when she doesn't want to, she's not that scary. She can alter her form a bit, change her color scheme, and even her size, also she has a gentle soul."
"That's hard to believe," she said, making me shrug.
"Well, you'll get to know her over time," I replied making her nod.
"By the way, are you going to introduce me to the girl hiding behind the sofa?" She said gesturing towards our left.
Her words made the aforementioned blonde vampire girl squeal in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. She gulped loudly and slowly rose up from behind the sofa, nervously greeting Olivia, "H-Hello?"
"Oh, right," I said, momentarily forgetting about my new acquisition.
I cleared my throat and released Olivia from my hold, but to my surprise, she didn't let go of me. I gave her a confused glance, but she continued to smile at me without a hint of wanting to let go, what more her embrace even tightened around me.
'Heh, I'm in danger,' I chuckled internally, and a wry smile spread across my face as I realized Olivia might be a bit jealous.
"Olivia, this is Aletia. A princess from a world I recently visited," I explained.
"I was a Queen..." Aly corrected.
"Right, sorry, a 'Queen'..."
"What's with the air-quotes?" Aly huffed in annoyance.
"Just ignore them." I waved her off.
"When did you get into a hobby of kidnapping princesses?" Olivia asked, her finger slowly trailing my jawline, while Aly opened her mouth to correct her, but her words never left her lips.
"It's not a hobby, at least not yet," I mused, briefly considering the idea before returning to the present and explaining, "She had her circumstances, I only offered to take her in."
"He practically kidnapped me," Aly clarified.
"You're not helping," I deadpanned. "Anyway, Aly, this is Olivia, my girlfriend."
"Nice to finally meet you, Olivia," greeted the vampire girl with a wide smile, extending her hands for a handshake. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Did you?" Olivia asked, scanning the girl from top to bottom, then looking at the extended arm for a moment, contemplating if she should accept it.
An invisible tension grew in the air, but Olivia sighed, finally unwrapping her arms from around me and shaking Aly's hands. "Aletia, was it? Nice to meet you," she said before pointing at me and adding, "I hope he hasn't been too annoying?"
Aly offered me a broad smile before nodding at Olivia. "He's been extremely annoying. I don't even understand how you tolerate him."
Olivia squinted her eyes at me, then looked back at Aly, defending me like the good girlfriend she is. "Despite his childish behavior, he is dependable. Maybe it's my heart speaking, but I couldn't imagine my life without him." She said, giving me a quick peck on my cheek, while I snuggled up to her.
"So... Is this casual display of affection normal between you two?" asked Aly with an unsure expression.
"Oh, you haven't seen the half of it, girl," replied Olivia, playfully sticking out her tongue.
"Well, it'll take a bit of time to get used to..." Aly mumbled after a sigh.
"So you said she'll be a secretary?" Olivia looked up cutely, her eyes locking onto me while still facing Aly.
"That's the plan, at least for the next world," I shrugged. "She has the looks as well as the brain for it," I said, making Aly blush and look away. "Although, if she does well, I do plan on giving her a manager position, something similar to what Mai does."
I felt it before it happened, the sudden gathering of elemental particles to my right, as Mai abruptly materialized in her full glory, a worried expression marring her face. "You're not planning on giving her my job, master, are you?" She asked in an anxious tone, pulling the attention of the gathered.
"I would never," I replied swiftly, calming her feelings. "She'll work on a completely different scale, but that project is something way ahead."
"Mai! You're alive?" exclaimed Olivia with wide eyes, sensing the universal spirit slash maid now brimming with life force. She then unwrapped herself from my embrace and brought her into a big hug. "What happened to you?"
"Master made me a real girl," Mai answered proudly, before thinking about it a bit and correcting herself. "Well, a somewhat real girl. Instead of simply controlling this universe, I became one with it."
"Andy?" Olivia turned to me for an explanation, but I simply shrugged.
"Yes, she became the biggest girl there is!" I teased, skillfully dodging the bucket of water that appeared above me.
Mai's programming prevented her from hurting me, but there was nothing preventing her from inconveniencing me. "I jest. Her abilities have been expanded, and this universe to the last atom is completely under her purview."
"It is as master says," Mai replied while still pouting, "I can create anything I have knowledge of or came into contact with within this realm."
"Can you create a hot spring? After my training, I really need a bit of relaxation." Olivia's eyes shone with excitement as she grabbed Mai's hands tightly.
"With ease, Mistress," Mai confirmed and nodded down the hallway. I felt reality shift, and an additional wing was added to our apartment. "It's the second door down the hall."
"Perfect!" Olivia exclaimed, walking down the hall while pulling the protesting Mai with her.
"Mistress, I'm in no need of a bath!"
"Oh, yes you do!" Exclaimed Olivia happily, before she stopped in front of the door and turned towards Aly. "Aletia, you're coming as well," she stated, not asked, making Aly freeze up before rapidly nodding and following after them.
"Umm... Can I join?" I asked hopefully, only for my excitement to sour as the door to the was closed before my nose.
A manly pout formed on my face as giggles came from the other side. I was sure they heard me. Now, while I could stand here and sulk, or even expand my senses or abilities to effortlessly spy on them, I chose to be a gentleman and simply abstained from intruding on their girl time. Olivia really needed it.
"Olive, when you're done, I need to speak with you," I shouted and with a reluctant sigh, I turned around and moved back to the living room, taking a seat on the sofa.
"I really need some male friends," I mumbled to myself, while the white little fluff decided to jump up on the sofa and lay down on my legs. "You've grown as well," I said with an affectionate tone, scratching the little wolf behind her ear, while the jealous little Nightmare dropped her camouflage and whined in front of me, scaring the puppy.
"Fluffy, behave," I warned, before introducing them to each other. "Sky, this is Fluffy. "She'll be something like a big sister to you, alright? Fluffy, when Olivia or I aren't there, your task is to keep Sky safe."
"Shaa..." hissed Fluffy, looking away, while Sky simply gave me a deadpan look.
"What?" I asked Sky, "You don't think she could do it?"
Sky replied with a snort, shaking her head, and making Fluffy squint her eyes at her.
"Shaa!" Fluffy challenged, making Sky raise an eyebrow then growl at her.
"This is going to be a long day..." I sighed, already contemplating going for a walk, the dimensional kind.
The girls took a longer soak than I anticipated they would...
Two hours... For two excruciating hours, I've been forced to curse my extraordinary senses and listen to shouts, giggles, and the occasional splashes of water coming from down the hallway. However, it wasn't to say I didn't use my free time well.
After a bit of bonding with Sky and Fluffy, I used the remaining time to craft Olivia her own Zanpakuto.
I had an intimate bond with her soul, I knew it from head to toe, so creating a non-sentient copy of it wasn't an issue.
Her Zanpakuto was just a regular sword, that would display its true personality only when she bonded with it, which hopefully wouldn't make her faint in a similar fashion to Aly.
All of that took but a few minutes of my time, and in these situations, where I had to wait, I couldn't help but curse my capacities. I was nervous, extremely so, so to take my mind off what I was planning to do next, I shut off all my mental instances and started working on the universal level concealment.
However, I swiftly ran into a bit of a problem.
By weaving the concept of concealment into the enchantment, hiding Mai's realm was plausible. Yet, at the same time, a bit costly. With a bit of testing, the spell worked, hiding an object in plain sight, even from my own senses. However, the problem of energy consumption was a huge issue.
The concealment of energy worked on the principle of interference and nullification, sending out pulses of energy on the same energy spectrum and form, yet in an inverse amplitude, which made the two energy waves collide and completely nullify each other.
It was similar to how noise cancellation worked but on a grander scale. Now the problem lay in the fact that the energy requirement of the enchantment would be equal to the energy that was being concealed, literally doubling Mai's energy expenditure.
It was a solution, although, far from the best one.
In her current form and energy consumption, Mai would be hidden, but add the civilizations I plan on creating, the accelerated progress of time, and the concealment, as well as the energy production, would be swiftly overwhelmed.
Now, while I could add a few more Reality Marbles, and I was planning to do so in the future, this would only increase the power that would need to be concealed.
So I went back to the drawing board, and I delved into theorizing once again. My mind swiftly came up with ingenious ideas, then dismissed them for various limiting factors. There wasn't a perfect solution, not with the abilities or knowledge I had, and as a perfectionist, that really annoyed me.
The best and most promising option I came up with was the combination of my previous concealment idea and a buffer reality with different universal laws, which would surround Mai's universe.
For a moment, I weighed the idea of creating a universe where information couldn't travel and surrounding Mai's realm with it, effectively blocking all of her energy output from the rest of the void. However, at the same time, this would make her completely blind to her surroundings.
So instead of blocking all information travel, I opted for creating a universe where various forms of information were nonexistent and simply couldn't exist. I'll need to adjust the density of space and various universal constants so that electromagnetic waves can't form, as well as other forms of energy can't travel. The only form of information exchange I would allow would be some kind of telepathic connection between her and the newly created Magical Artificial Intelligence I will construct, which will then be concealed with the aforementioned enchantment, only requiring it to hide the energy signature of the secondary reality.
Finalizing the idea, I rose from the sofa, ready to venture into the void to begin the construction. However, the lock on the second door down the hallway clicked, and three chattering girls, clad in white fluffy towels, emerged from the room.
My heart skipped a beat, the once-suppressed nervousness returning in full force, and concealing it from our spiritual connection with Olivia proved impossible.
My gaze fixated on her, her damp skin glistening in the light, and I involuntarily swallowed. She tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Is everything alright?"
"...All good," I muttered, taking a deep breath and inquiring, "Are you free now? I want to show you something."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone