Finally, Kaito turned his attention to the Amulet of Creation.
He spent quite a while thinking about what he could create with it. At first, he considered making weapons, but they wouldn't be very useful, and the truly useful ones, like cannons capable of destroying planets or bombs that could wipe out continents, were beyond the amulet's allowed limit.
He didn't think of anything defensive either: he already had the Amulet of Protection for that.
After giving it a lot of thought, and even though there were more spectacular options, Kaito chose the most practical thing he could think of:
An Arc Reactor.
It didn't matter how strong he became if his territory stayed stuck. Even if the rest of the world was trapped in the past without technology, Kaito had no intention of settling. If there was no technology... then they would create it themselves.
The first step would be to reach the electrical age. Without electricity, any progress was impossible. In his mind, he had already mapped out the first steps: build hydroelectric dams to generate power from falling water; then design simple batteries, maybe lead-acid, to store that energy; and later set up a primitive distribution network: copper wires, wooden poles, and improvised transformers if he could make them.
But with the Arc Reactor, they could skip much of that process. If the Marbas Clan managed to study and replicate it, even partially, they could jump straight to a much more advanced stage.
They wouldn't depend only on rivers or rudimentary generators anymore. With a stable power source, they could power automatic forges, light entire cities, build mechanized workshops... they could even start dreaming of more complex production lines.
As he imagined the possibilities, Kaito couldn't help but smile to himself. "It'd be funny to see an army attacking my territory with swords and spears... while we answer them with tanks." Or better yet... "why stop there? With the Arc Reactor, why not have mechs on the battlefield?"
Determined, he formed the wish in his mind. The amulet in his hand began to glow softly until it turned into a small mechanical device that gave off a pale blue light.
Kaito put it into his inventory for now.
Then, his attention turned to the last reward: the Portal.
Despite its limitations, Kaito knew how incredibly valuable it was. A portal that connects his world to any other: in the future, he could link it to futuristic worlds to steal technology, magical worlds to capture unique artifacts, or pirate worlds to get fruits with special powers... the possibilities were endless.
And that's without mentioning the strategic value. Imagine an enemy launching their final attack, destroying the defensive shield... only to discover that Kaito's city was actually in another world.
He also thought about linking it to a zombie-infested world, where his soldiers could train and level up, or to a dangerous world he wasn't yet strong enough to explore directly.
There were many ideas, but none of them were viable for now. So Kaito decided to put the plan on hold and wait for the right moment.
After that, he noticed he had more notifications: the wolves had kept working even while he was away, plus the conquest of Nareth and Veldris. But Kaito was tired and just wanted to rest.
At that moment, the door opened gently and Koneko came in.
"Kaito, you're back."
"Yeah, I'm back," he replied with a smile, "Though I'm leaving again soon too."
"I see. Something happened today, but it can wait until you rest."
Kaito nodded, disappeared from the hall, and reappeared in his room, where he lay on the bed and immediately fell asleep.
---
The next morning, Kaito woke up to loud knocking on his door.
"Brother, wake up!"
Half asleep, he asked,
"What is it, Sora?"
"Did you forget? Classes start again today."
For a moment, Kaito closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep... until he realized what she said. He opened his eyes wide, got up using his speed, got dressed, and washed his face before running downstairs.
As soon as he arrived, his mother hugged him tightly.
"You don't have to do this every time I come back, you know?" Kaito said, a little embarrassed. But as always, she ignored him.
Soon, they were all sitting at the table, as usual.
"So, how long were you away this time? And how did it go?" Sora asked, excited.
"Only two weeks this time. And it went pretty well."
At his answer, Sora looked at him suspiciously, as if she didn't fully believe him. Kaito finally asked,
"What is it?"
"Pretty well? The time limit was a month, and you were only gone two weeks, and you say it went well? Just admit you lost, brother."
Then Kaito understood her confusion. He had never known what the actual time limit was: his trial had ended earlier than everyone else's. And normally, the only way for that to happen would be to die.
Maybe the feat of "Lucifer," eliminating all superheroes from a reality, had already become known online. Still, he doubted many had achieved it for Sora to think her brother might have done the same.
"It went well, I just did so well that a lot of heroes teamed up against me," he replied.
"I see..." Sora said, though her voice showed she still didn't quite believe him. Kaito decided to ignore it, and they changed the subject until it was time to leave.
---
Since they lived near the center of Japan, it only took a twenty-minute train ride to get to the university.
Once there, he greeted his friends. Saito studied at the same university as him; he didn't have a specific goal, he just wanted to make money and be happy, so he chose a different major. Nanami, on the other hand, wanted to be a voice actress, so she was also there, but in the performing arts faculty.
While Kaito was in visual arts, Nanami was in performing arts, so they were still a small group of friends, even if they didn't hang out as often as before.
"So, guys, how have you been?" Saito asked.
"Not bad. Want to see how much I can lift?" Kaito answered, half joking.
"My agility is amazing, I can knock anyone out easily," Nanami said, smiling.
"I don't mean that. I'm talking about levels, this is a competition," Saito clarified.
"It's not a competition..." Nanami answered, as serious as always. But then, with a bit of pride, she added, "But I'm level 13."
"I'm level 14, I win! And you, Kaito?"
"I'm level 16," he answered, with a teasing smile.
Between jokes and laughter, they soon had to split up to go to their respective classes.
---
Kaito entered his classroom and sat in his usual spot. He wasn't especially close to his classmates, so even though he greeted them, he didn't start chatting.
Classes began. Kaito immediately noticed that everything was much easier than before: with his improved senses, reflexes, and stats, understanding any explanation was trivial.
Not only did he notice it. By the time the class ended, they had already covered all the planned material, so the teacher gave them free time.
The same thing happened all day. And each time, Kaito couldn't help but feel he was wasting time on Earth, when he could be in Gaia.
At the end of the day, he wanted to leave quickly, but the teacher stopped them with a final announcement:
"I know many of you would rather not come here. Days off for study and work are one of the most basic guild rewards, so if you're interested, you can go over there."
As soon as they heard that, everyone's faces lit up with happiness, including Kaito's.
That same afternoon, Kaito, Saito, and Nanami went to the guild in the city center.
---
The inside looked, maybe by coincidence or maybe on purpose, like the typical fantasy guilds you see in anime: a large hall, several boards with missions ranked by level, and a counter staffed by receptionists.
Kaito went up to the first free receptionist.
In front of him stood a red-haired woman with two locks framing her face and the rest of her hair braided behind her head. She dressed formally: white shirt, black tie, dark jeans, and brown shoes.
What caught Kaito's attention most were her eyes: an intense orange color, decorated with several darker concentric rings around the pupil, like the center of a target.
He stared at her for a few seconds, surprised, until she spoke.
"Excuse me, do you need something?"
Kaito blinked, snapped out of it, and smiled.
"Sorry... it's just that you have really beautiful eyes."
She barely changed her expression, keeping a serious and professional look.
"Thank you. Most people think they're strange."
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)