by Pegaz
Once there, he confidently walked to the admin building to ask how the sect master’s orders were coming along. The temporary place for the big meeting had been finished. It could hold all 15 million sect members inside, as long as they each stood. But it also required all members above Rank 6 to fly in the air rather than stand alongside those on the ground. John was impressed by their creativity, to say the least.
The constructors built the stadium in the northeast part of the sect. It was made from stones, cement, wood, and anything else they could get a hold of. The back wall of the arena was almost completely vertical with balconies. It went on for miles into the air with balconies going all around the arena. In the middle of the stadium was a small, round stage only 10 feet in diameter and 4 feet high. With this setup, cultivators would use Life Power in their vocal cords, which would allow other cultivators to hear them for miles.
Giving his approval, John returned with the construction team to the admin building. He went back through the teleport rune.
Back in the village, John strolled over to Amanda’s house for a little socializing. He showed Amanda how to play chess—she was a fast learner as it only took her five minutes to figure out how the game was played. They had a couple of games while they sat on chairs above the circular grass, cultivating all the while. Luke arrived a few hours after John.
Luke saw the chessboard and the pieces when he first came in, and his face lit up. He excitedly asked John if chess was widespread, but John told him he’d only made it out of boredom.
“I went back to the sect before I arrived here,” John said with a change of subject. “The big meeting will be held in two months. If Amanda thinks your training is complete and that you can survive an expert attacking you, then I’ll help you become an immortal.”
Amanda’s eyes bulged out, and she dropped the chess piece in her hand. She had wondered why John wanted Luke trained, but “forcing” immortality was one thing she did not think of.
“Ah.” John noticed Amanda’s reaction and offered her a smile. “Because I’m a Sider, I’ve found a way to force immortality with zero chance of death. Nobody can do it the same way as me, though.”
“I understand.” Amanda nodded at John’s explanation. “But Luke is not ready. At the moment, he would not survive a rank SSS monster’s attack, let alone an expert.”
“Ah, you’ve got me wrong.” John tilted his head a little. “When I said expert, I didn’t mean an immortal expert. Most of the sect members would die from an immortal expert attacking them since they’re assassins, not fighters, and Luke isn’t even an immortal yet.”
“Oh.”
The group shared a hearty laugh over the miscommunication.
“Now, let’s change the requirements, then!” John looked over at Luke with eager eyes. “You need to kill an SSS Rank monster before I turn you into an immortal. I will leave this area in about two months. I might stay in the sect for a while, but I will leave this world soon after. I hope by that time, you will fill the position I’ve got in mind for you.”
John created an information sphere with all the information he knew about hunting the SSS Rank monsters in this area. He included their sleeping, eating, and hunting habits, knowing that Luke could use all the tactical advantages he could muster.
Twenty days later, the Sinners Shop’s Continuation skill was completed. John stopped all but three parts of his mind, which he left cultivating. The amount of Life Power he’d gathered had increased from 100,000 to 450,000. The absorption and breathing techniques that the system generated had made slight changes, but not much.
Holy shit, that’s a huge boost. Instead of 8 years to enter Rank 6, it’ll only take about 18 months. That’s if I don’t learn any more absorbing or breathing techniques, too! The 35,000 years of Jeremy’s life that I watched really gave me this big of a boost. Glad I was able to remember the techniques he read throughout those years.
John carried on cultivating with five parts of his mind. He was now getting 900,000 Life Power per minute. He then opened the system and placed all Idlers into Memory Manipulation’s Voice skill. The time came up as 2mo 26d.
Welcome to the Idle System 5.9.
Name: John
Title: Demon
Age: 40
Toxin Pool: 63.2B
Completed List:
Memory Manipulation - Instant and Threads.
Sinners Shop - Continuation.
John had turned forty a few days ago. He couldn’t believe it had already been twenty-five years since he arrived in this universe. He started giving in a little to his nostalgia, going through memories both good and bad. He’d met so many people and encountered so many new creatures and life forms during his time here. It really was remarkable when he thought about it.
At that moment, Luke burst through the door smiling and holding a monster’s head. He’d fulfilled his requirements within the given amount of time.
Chapter 26
Manipulated
After Luke had rested and prepared for John’s gift, it was time to proceed with the plan.
John brought Luke to a remote spot where they wouldn’t be disturbed or eavesdropped on. John had to explain a few things first.
“I’ve mentioned my wife a few times to you, but never told you about her, have I?”
Luke shook his head.
“Well, here goes.” John smiled a little sadly. “She’s a Sider like us. When we first met, we were enemies from different sects. I was an assassin belonging to the Rogue Sect, and she was an Anti-Assassin Sect member. We figured out each other’s identities because of our systems. When we attacked each other with Life Power or any skills, the system notified us.”
Luke’s gaze was all-encompassing. He took in the information with great intrigue, putting the pieces together in his head.
“I’m telling you this because I need to inject Life Power into the centre neuron in your brain, but I’m not sure if your system or my system will classify it as an attack.” John took a deep breath. “I don’t want you thinking I attacked you. If you panic and move your head even a little while I’m doing it, there is a 99% chance that you will die. Is that clear?”
“Clear as a bell.” Luke’s fists were clenched. John couldn’t tell if it was fear or excitement that drove him, but the younger Sider surprised him by suddenly letting go of his tension, a friendly smile coating his lips. “After this is all over, you’ll have to introduce me to your wife.”
As a courtesy, John smiled and nodded. His brain screamed of all the dangers, though. He didn’t want Luke to know of his wife’s current state. They weren’t on that level of trust yet.
“Let’s begin, then,” he instructed coolly. “Sit down and get comfortable.”
Luke took a seat in a chair that John had taken from his Storage Space. John walked behind Luke and made 6 threads. He tenderly pushed the numbing poison inside the six areas that the threads were drilling into the skull. It took almost forty minutes to get to the centre neuron.
“You’ve got more neurons and connections than the average person…” John mused idly. “It took me a much longer time to reach the centre of the brain. Good news, though, the zero chance of death still stands.”
The thread touched the right neuron and pushed a unit of Life Power inside it. At the same time, John tactfully used the Memory Manipulation skill. The system didn’t pop up with any notifications.
John pulled out the threads as quickly as possible. He was just in time as Luke immediately grabbed his head and cried out in pain.
A few minutes later when Luke had calmed a bit, John looked at him with Immortal Eye.
Luke Jordan
Rank: 1
Level: 1
Sin: 0
Status: Memory Manipulated
John smiled coldly.
Luke stood up and rubbed his head, complaining non-specifically about the pain.
“When we go to the sect, you will need to come with me into the place they’ve buil
t for the meeting.” John immediately plunged into the meat of the plan, doing his best to contain his utmost joy. “But you will need to stay away from me when I’m speaking on the stage.”
John explained that he killed the previous sect master, who had previously killed his master and sect leader in the past years.
“So when I said I’m the next sect master, it’s true in a way.” John could see the confusion in Luke’s expression. “The sect members just don’t know it yet. To become the sect master, I will have to prove my strength. And when I prove my strength, you will see a different side of me. That side is a ruthless killer with a lot of killing intent.”
Chilling silence.
“You said you did manual labour to get from Newbie Town to the capital, right?” John placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Well, I fought and killed on my path. Entire planets have fallen to me, but I don’t want you to distrust me for it. It is just another path in life, one that I was drawn to in order to survive.”
After these words, Luke could feel a slight spark of sympathy and understanding for the older Sider. John saw this and felt a wave of satisfaction mixed with relief. The plan would work—he knew it would.
“After I’ve proven my strength and been proclaimed the new sect master, that’s when I want you to come towards the small stage and I’ll introduce you.” He continued illustrating the plan out with a strange, stifled smile. “I won’t tell you the position I’m creating for you, but you will love it. We’ve got about a month left until the meeting, so use that time to get used to the Life Power. Tell me what changes your system has, too.”
Luke agreed without any objections. John then continued to explain the immortal skills that he would soon share. These ones weren’t going to be as painful and Luke let out a sigh of relief.
Opening the sharing tab in the system, John shared the skills Purifier, Absorption, Movement, Scan, Defence, Recovery, Force, and Force II with Luke. That brought the younger Sider’s shared skills to 25/25 slots. John could no longer share new skills with him.
When the skills loaded, Luke’s hair instantly turned silver. It grew to be long and got straightened out quite a bit, only waving slightly at the ends due to the natural texture of his hair. The Purifier skill had finished altering the body and before him stood an almost unrecognisable person.
His hair straightened out... I guess that confirms my theory about Silver Grade Life Power. It straightens men’s hair but curls women’s. I wonder why...
Dismissing the thought, John took out a normal communication device out of his Storage Space and handed it to Luke.
“With this, you can talk with me across the universe. Don’t leave this immortal area until the sect meeting.” Luke accepted the device gingerly and John carried on his instruction. “Because I ordered everybody to return, there are about 15 million killers inside the sect right now. I’m guessing the living conditions there have plummeted, too, since it’s overcrowded now. That will cause their temper to bubble to the surface. Many of them will start killing each other if we don’t start this meeting soon, so it’s best for you to stay out of trouble. Fighting 15 million enemies is a bit out of my skill set at the moment.”
Almost a month went by with Luke getting used to absorbing Life Power from the ground. John spent most of the days back on his private planet with Sarah, playing pool and waiting. On the day of the meeting, John, Luke, and Amanda each headed back to the village.
“Hey…” John looked at Amanda. “You don’t have to attend this meeting, you know.”
“Oh, I know.” Amanda smiled widely. “I’m still on the fence about going. If I go, then something might happen to the villagers. There are a few monsters that are clever and waiting for the time I leave.”
“Stay here then,” John shrugged. “There’s honestly no reason for you to go. Most of the meeting will be boring anyway.”
It was a funny exchange, but when they got to the teleport rune, Amanda decided to stay. They each bid their farewells, and Amanda wished Luke all the luck in the world. The younger Sider excitedly thanked her. With one last wave, the Siders teleported away.
In the small building, Brian had disappeared. John looked back at Luke, who had come through the teleport after him. He was puking his guts out.
John laughed for a few seconds then looked around. He assumed that Brian had gone to the meeting. He never set a time for the meeting to start, so the audience was more than likely prepared to wait all day in the stadium.
Leading the way for Luke, John walked towards the admin building to teleport close to the temporary stadium. It was a battle of reassurance with Luke, but he finally stepped onto the teleport once more. John shared the story of his own first experience with feeling sick on the teleports, which made Luke feel a little better. They made their way to the meeting place, quietly chatting along the way.
Finally arriving, John stopped a few hundred feet away from the stadium and looked at Luke.
“Go on inside and wait for the meeting to start. The next time you see me will be on the stage, and I will show you my ruthless side.”
Chapter 27
Announcement
Luke acknowledged John’s order then proceeded into the stadium. It would be a while before they met onstage, and John could only hope that the young Sider didn’t land in any trouble while they were apart.
John looked up at the blue sky. It was still bright and there were no clouds. It was a lovely afternoon.
He removed his nano swords from the Storage Space and strapped them onto his back and hip. In one slick motion, his clothes transformed into the silver armour he used for battle. Finally, he wove a decoy sword from his threads and flew above the stadium.
High in the air, John was astonished by the sheer amount of people inside the stadium. His Scan could work up to five miles, but seeing the miles of people past his Scan’s reach shocked him. With John’s heightened sense of sight, he could see the balconies on the other side of the stadium. He estimated they built the stadium about twenty miles in each direction from the stage. That meant the stadium was eight hundred miles squared, which was eight times larger than his Scan could function at maximum capacity. That didn’t include the miles of vertical balconies, either.
John would need to push thousands of units of Toxin Power per second while speaking on the pedestal below. It was a steep price to pay.
Looking down, each person on the ground floor was standing shoulder to shoulder, only inches between them. They were packed as tightly as possible, like a can of sardines on steroids. The balconies below him were all full of people standing in the same manner as those on the ground floor, jammed in as tightly as possible. Above them were people standing on swords, floating midair. They were not shoulder-to-shoulder, but the distance was not much better off.
So this is what 15 million people look like.
There were too many people for John to check with Immortal Eye, but he did a light scan anyway. Everybody he saw had the memory manipulated status. Jeremy had been very thorough, it seemed.
John flew closer to the middle of the stadium, garnering himself some dirty looks. People thought he was crowding. Boy, were they in for a surprise.
Ignoring the looks sent his way, he flew to the stage and then descended. As he landed, he stepped off his decoy sword and onto the empty stage.
The crowd fell silent.
John had thought about what he would say while standing on this stage for months. To become the sect master of an assassin sect, he needed to show his strength rather than speak politely. Pushing thousands of Toxin Power into his throat, he spoke.
“Most of you don’t know me or remember me. I was the only disciple of the previous sect master, Jamie Cooper.”
The crowd stirred a little, but most of them remained silent.
“Those who were grand elders before my master was murdered might have been notified of my identity. I am a Sider!” John’s fervour grew as he now bellowed into the haze of people. �
�Eighteen years ago, Jeremy May murdered my master and forced me to run. It became clear to me then that, to become the Rogue Sect’s master, all one needed to do was kill the current sect master.”
John brought out Jeremy’s head from his Storage Space. The crowd was really stirring now, but John just increased his volume, howling into the crowd.
“I killed Jeremy May to avenge my master!” He held the head by the hair, lifted it up high. “I am the new sect master, and I have the sect master token! If anybody wants to challenge me, I’m standing right here!”
John dropped Jeremy’s head, drew both his nano swords, and released a wave of the most concentrated killing intent that he could muster. The people nearest to John tried to run in the opposite direction, stumbling over each other as fast as possible. Those in the air flew higher to avoid the sheer amount of killing intent.
Beneath John’s feet, the entire stage froze over. The ice grew thicker and cracks formed all around the edges of the stage a few seconds later. The killing intent covered John’s body in a thin, blood-coloured veil at first. It folded in on itself as it got thicker and turned into a darker colour. John pushed his fire, earth, water, metal, and wood elements inside the killing intent veil and caused them all to mix while using his Toxin Power.
The veil turned black, which made his right, yellow eye shimmer all the brighter. After a few more seconds, the stage underneath his feet shattered into hundreds of icicles.
The debris cleared, and to the crowd’s surprise, John was left floating there without a sword.
John pumped a million Toxin Power into his throat, causing it to split and heal. He clenched both fists in pain as his throat and voice box were being ripped apart, but carried on.
“If nobody challenges me within the next two minutes, then you consent to me being the sect master!”
His voice caused the ground up to 500 feet away to quake and crack. The weaker sect members throughout the whole stadium fainted, and those flying by sword were pushed back by the voice’s vibrations.
