[I will now start the ascension to the {Zenith Real..]
"WAIT!!!" I exclaimed to the voice. "I have a few questions that I wanna ask."
[...]
[What're your questions?]
--...I didn't think that'd work. Shit. I don't know what to say…--
"What do you mean that I'm a 'Star Born Genius'?"
[Every few hundred years there are 100,000 existences that are either born or created with extraordinary potential. Those existences are called {Star Born}.]
[Among {Star Born}, there are existences that are far more extraordinary than the rest. They are called {Star Born Geniuses}. There are roughly 100 in each generation of {Star Born}.]
[Geniuses are existences that excel at whatever their mind is set upon. They are also exceptional at thinking and linking anything they're capable of to another to get a better understanding of whatever they're struggling with.]
"Okay, that doesn't bad." I ponder for a second. "What do the people of the Zenith Realm think of 'Star Born'."
[The existences in the {Zenith Realm} the opinions of the {Star Born} are rather crossed. There's a great portion of existences that see {Star Born} as rivals or as competition. There's also a rather equal amount that has no feelings on the matter.]
"Are there any that see us as a threat?"
[Yes. While the amount is less than compared to that of the others, the strength of the majority of them is fearsome.]
"Wait, why are the ones that are scared of me strong?" I ask worryingly.
[I apologize, I cannot answer your question.]
"What?! Why not?!?!"--Did I run out of questions or something? Is this that type of bullshit?--
[There is a restriction on the information that I can tell you before you enter the {Zenith Realm}.]
"Yay. How convenient?" I say sarcastically.
--Honestly, I find this whole situation hard to believe. But what (mostly)sane person, like myself, would truly believe some random voice speaking to them out of nowhere?--
[If there are no more questions I'll resume the ascension process.]
"When I 'ascend' will I keep my clothes or will I just be naked?
[...Clothing will be provided.]
***
"What was that? I feel like you're judging me."
[I did no such thing. Now, are there any more questions?]
"N-..." <I stopped before I gave my answer to have a look around my room. And I'm glad I did.>
<Ever since I heard that voice, I had this weird feeling. It felt like I was there but I wasn't.>
<I knew that I was there, but it felt almost like tim-...>
***
"Did time stop?" I ask the voice.
[...]
"..." --It's silent. I knew something was weird.--
I look over to my cat that's been frozen in a stretch for the last…however long time has been stopped.
"What, can you not answer that to-?"
~~Ding~~
[Congratulations, you are the first existence of {Earth} to notice that time has stopped in the last 500 years.]
[Congratulations, you are the first {Star Born} to notice that time has stopped in 300 years.]
[Congratulations, you are the first {Star Born} to notice that time has stopped in your generation of Star Born.]
[Congratulations, you are the first {Star Born Genius} to notice that time has stopped in your generation of Star Born.]
[Calculating reward.....]
--Why's it taking so long? And what does it mean I'm the first? Am I really that smart?--
--" Stop whining so damn much!"-- My inner God Complex shouts.
--I don't wanna hear from someone who's literally at the back of my mind. Now shut up, and sit back.-
--" Bitch."--
[Calculated.]
--" Finally."-- He says with impatience.
--WHY'RE YOU STILL TALKING?!?!?!--
[Distributing rewards….]
[You have received the following {Engravings}: {Conceptualization} and {Zenith Born}]
--Zenith Born…?--
[Distribution canceled.]
[Please ascend to the {Zenith Realm} to retrieve the rest of the rewards.]
"BULLSHIT!!!"
--"BULLSHIT!!!"--
--BULLSHIT!!!--
[I apologize for the inconvenience.]
[Do you have any remaining questions?]
--I wonder if…-- "Can I bring my cat with me?"
[...]
[...It is possible.]
--I asked that question half-jokingly, but to think that I actually can.-- "Why'd you say it like that?"
[Like what? I haven't the clearest idea of what you're talking about.]
"Whatever. Can I really bring my cat with me?" I ask in doubt.
[The short answer is yes, that it is possible. The long answer is that it takes a long time to get your desired result.]
"What do you mean?" I question.
[I cannot answer that question at the moment. But I can still start the process now and explain in the {Zenith Realm} if you'd want to.]
"I would like to do that." --This is a lot like gambling, luckily I'm pretty good at gambling.--
[Permission confirmed. Activating ascension system....]
[Ascension System Activated.]
"Is something supposed to happe-...?" --Huh?--
[Die.]
--Wha-...--
***
"WOAHHHHHHH!!! Did you really die, mister?" The young child asked with bright eyes. "If I really did then I wouldn't be here would I?" I asked with a grin.
"I guess not. Tee-hee-hee." He says with a giggle.
"And how many times do I have to tell you? I'm 19 years old, I'm way too young to be called 'mister'." I sternly tell the child. "I'm sorry, brother Star." He says with sadness in his voice. "Don't be sorry, be better. And there's no reason to be sad, everyone makes mistakes," I say to cheer up the child. "Even you, brother Star?" The child asks, full of surprise.
"Yes, even me. No one is perfect after all."
The kid's eyes went wide. "But you killed all those guys earlier so easily." He says, filled with doubt.
"That's because I practiced a lot when I first came here. And because those guys were weak." I say with a laugh. "So cool. I wanna be strong like you, brother Star," the kid exclaims.
"Rejected." I make an X with my arms.
"But, why not!?!?! I also wanna kill my enemies, even if they come at me 1,000-strong, just like Brother Star!" Tears begin to swell in his eyes. I stop walking and kneel until I'm at eye level with him. His eyes meet mine.
"Why can't I be like you?" He asks pleadingly. I reach to wipe his tears.
"Listen here, Mirith. I'm not rejecting your desire to be strong, you can't survive here if you're not strong. I'm rejecting your desire to be 'like me'." He tilts his head in confusion. "But aren't you strong, brother?"
"Yes Mirith, I am strong." I say with a nod. "Then why can't I be like you?" he says with a sniffle. "Because it's always better to be stronger than someone than to be like them." After saying that I start to see the gears begin to turn in his head. --He just needs one more push.--
"If all you do is strive to be like someone, all you'll ever be is a copycat or a mimic. But if you strive to be better than someone, eventually, they'll be the ones who'd want to be like you." I say with a smile.
"Ohhhhh, I understand what you're saying, Brother Star!" He says with a grin. "You're super smart.", I smirk at the child's statement. "I think I'll agree with you on that one."
--And with that, he'll either make a great training partner or apprentice in the future. But on the off chance he's below expectations, I think he'd make an excellent guard dog. But to think that even children could be {Star Born Geniuses}. How unexpected.--
Mirith wipes the dried blood and tears off his face. "But mister, why'd you play with them so much? Some of them tried to run and I had to take care of them myself."
"Because I knew I could trust them to you. However, I will admit that I didn't expect you to be able to take 50 of them. You even beat 10 {Star Born}. I'm very proud, Mirith." I reach out to ruffle his hair. He giggles.
With a somber tone, he says" I'm glad I was given you as a target, if it was someone else they would've died and I would still be an assassin."
"You really are lucky, huh?" "Yep!" He says with a big smile.
--And now that the Assassin Legion is wiped out, I have no one actively trying to kill me at the moment. Yayyy. To think people want me dead this much and it's barely been over a year since I ascended. Oh well. I'm not gonna stop enjoying myself and the fights also help as training so I'm not complaining.--
~~Rumble~~
I look over to the source of the sound and see Mirith hugging his stomach. "Mister…," I sigh. "Yes, child?" "How long until we get to somewhere with food? He asks with a shy smile. "If I were to carry you I could make it 5 minutes." The child slowly turns his head to face my direction, then he raises his eyes to meet mine.
"..."
"..."
"...Fine, you can get on my back," I say in a defeated tone. "Yayyyyy!!!" The child shouts in delight as he climbs onto my back. "Piggyback rides from Brother Star are fun!"
I begin to focus {Essence} on the muscles and tendons in my body. It begins to tremble slightly.
"WOooAAHhhh. It'sSSsS liKEee a MAssAge chAaiirRR."
I cast a barrier that blocks the wind resistance. ~~Whoong~~
I crouch to the ground, put one leg forward, and dig my heel into the ground. I reach my hands out a tad further than my leg and dig my fingers into the dirt as well.
The ground trembles as I start to put strength into my legs. ~~Rumble~~
I clench the ground with my hands. ~~Crack~~ It can't withstand the pressure any longer.
I tense up my body.
"Hold on tight." I fling off the ground like a slingshot being released.
~~~~WHOOSH~~~~
"WEEEEEE."
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