Boredom
I guess this is the true definition of boredom. You know, the kind that hits you on a cellular level. Here, at the very heart of the pulsating mana vein, I'm the one and only. I'd already wiped out that Tyrant Octopus and absorbed all its power. My EP was a solid 20,000, and honestly, I was completely at a loss for what to do next.
At first, I thought I was being smart. The moment a bunch of low-level monsters started swarming, I figured I'd use them. Not to build a kingdom or anything like that—that's way too much of a pain. All I needed was more power, and they were the perfect pawns to scout for new resources. I ordered them to find any monster with an EP over 10,000, but they were so utterly useless it was embarrassing.
Months passed, and the only reports they brought back were about some generic C- or B-class monsters they'd stumbled upon. It was a total waste of my time.
"Seriously? What's the point of having pawns if they can't even find a decent opponent?" I grumbled to myself.
I decided to just cut my losses and dismiss them. They were no longer of any use. If this world wasn't going to hand me more power, I'd just have to make it myself. After sending them away, I returned to the mana vein, where the power was at its purest. With the new knowledge I'd gained from evolving, I started my meditation. My goal was simple: to perfectly synchronize my entire essence with the infinite flow of magicules.
Time was a weird concept in this place. I didn't get hungry or thirsty, and I never felt tired. It felt like I'd hit the pause button on a video game. My unique skill, Libertas, worked in the background, keeping track of every second, minute, and year.
Fifty years. That's a ridiculously long time. I guess I'd moved past "wasting time" and entered the "making up for lost time" phase. All those years, I let the incredibly dense magicules flow through me. It was like bathing in a pool of pure energy. Every single molecule of my being was being refined, filtered, and condensed.
When I finally felt completely saturated, I opened my eyes. The sensation was something else entirely. I had absorbed so many magicules that my EP had jumped to almost 50,000. It felt like a major system upgrade, the kind that makes everything else feel obsolete. I had reached the absolute peak of power among all the creatures in these depths, all without having to lift a single finger.
And as a little bonus, I'd also acquired an Extra Skill: Calm Mind. I figured it was a side effect of meditating for so long. With it, I could suppress any emotion. Frustration, anger, even joy—I could just turn them off. For a pragmatist like me, it was the perfect ability.
"It's about time I made a move," I muttered. "I've waited long enough."
I left the mana vein and started my own journey. Over the next ten years, I explored the entire ocean. I found all sorts of strange creatures: giant octopuses with shells as thick as steel, bionic jellyfish that shot pure electricity, and ancient sea dragons sleeping in underwater caves. But none of them got me excited. They were all just… dust particles. I killed a few of them just to pass the time, but I got no satisfaction from it.
My EP was now well over 50,000. Most of the monsters I found had an average EP below 20,000. Even the strongest ones were barely at 30,000 EP, and they couldn't even survive a single attack from me.
"This is getting genuinely boring," I thought. "I'm not satisfied at all."
Just as I was considering heading back to the mana vein, Libertas picked up something truly bizarre. It wasn't a monster. It was an ancient magical aura, one that didn't come from natural magicules. The aura was structured, complex, and felt like it was designed by a truly intelligent civilization. It was something that shouldn't have been here.
A long-dormant sense of curiosity finally sparked inside me. This was new. This was something worth investigating.
I changed my direction, heading straight for the source of that strange aura. In the distance, I saw them: stone pillars covered in algae, with faint, glowing magical lines. It was a ruin of an ancient civilization that had sunk countless years ago.
Through Libertas, I could sense that the magic was from the Ancient Era. Unlike the magic I was used to, this was something intentionally woven and managed for a specific purpose.
I stopped and just stared at the ruins. This was a clue. It was a doorway to the knowledge I was looking for. The boredom was completely gone. I had found my new purpose.
I began to move closer, feeling the ancient energy calling to me.
I walked across the seabed. My body was dense, but I felt no pressure from the crushing weight of the water. I calmly approached the ancient ruins. I was hungry for anything that could increase my power. I didn't care about the danger. I just wanted to know what was in there.
But even with my power and my Calm Mind skill, I wasn't ready for what came next. Just as I was about to touch the algae-covered wall, an invisible magic circle instantly activated. I didn't even have time to analyze it. A strange vortex of energy—not magicules, but dimensional magic—sucked me in with incredible force. My body was forcibly pulled, and my very existence felt like it was being ripped from the fabric of reality.
When the sensation finally stopped, I found myself in a completely new place. The surroundings were dry and alien. I landed on a floor made of metal and stone. Faint magical lines glowed on the walls, providing just enough light to see the room.
I stood in the center, my empty eyes scanning everything. Strange devices and tubes were scattered everywhere, but only one thing was perfectly intact: a large stasis tube in the middle. Inside it, a pulsing ball of energy.
I stepped toward it, raised my hand, and touched the stasis tube. I injected a tiny fraction of my magicules into the tube, trying to analyze the energy structure of the subject inside.
What happened next was genuinely shocking.
The stasis tube cracked, then shattered. The subject floated in the air, the ball of energy now taking on a more defined shape with a single, glowing eye. Then, to my utter surprise, it shot toward me, not with hostile intent, but at an incredible speed. It stopped right in front of me, bowed, and knelt, as if I were its creator. I had no idea why this creature was doing this. I knew nothing about it.
But at the same time, the room's sensors suddenly came to life. Red emergency lights flashed on the walls. A steel door on the other side of the room creaked open, and a five-meter-tall ancient Golem made of metal and stone stepped out. Its red eyes blazed with an intense aura of hostility. I could feel its power; it had a much higher EP than the Tyrant Octopus.
I was now stuck between two absurdities. On one side, a giant Golem radiating pure hostility, and on the other, a creature I had just activated, now kneeling before me like I was its master. The Golem took a step, its massive feet thudding on the metal floor, ready to attack.
The boredom that had consumed me for decades was now completely gone. Finally, something interesting.
I activated Libertas to scan the Golem. Its EP was about 40,000. Not really a challenge, but a good practice session. The Golem had no intelligence, just a program to protect.
It swung its massive fist at me. I didn't even bother to dodge. My body vibrated slightly as the fist passed through it. The attack was completely ineffective. I could feel it, but I wasn't harmed in the slightest.
"That's a slow punch," I thought.
I retaliated. I condensed energy at my fingertips, shaped it into a spear, and fired it at the Golem's arm. The attack tore through its arm, showering the room in magic sparks and metal debris. But the Golem didn't stop. It swung its other fist, and this time I decided to show some force. I formed an energy shield in front of me and blocked the attack. The impact created a shockwave that shook the entire room.
Suddenly, the kneeling creature floated up, its glowing eye fixed on the Golem. It let out a strange magic—not an attack spell, but a spell that manipulated energy. It was trying to disrupt the flow of magic that powered the Golem. It was a weak attempt, but it showed some intelligence. It was trying to help me.
"Intriguing," I muttered.
I decided to end this quickly. Ignoring the Golem, I focused on the creature now floating beside me. Through Libertas, I tried to understand why it was kneeling. I scanned its essence and found a program embedded deep in its soul: "Obey the creator." It had no name. It was just a subject, a failed experiment.
But somehow, my magicules had activated this program.
I had a real pawn now. I didn't need any others.
I turned back to the Golem. No more wasting time. I condensed all the energy in my body into a dense, pulsating orb. I fired the orb directly at the Golem's core, where its magic crystal was pulsing. My energy orb pierced its chest. The magic crystal shattered. The Golem's body cracked, and within seconds, it crumbled into a pile of metal and stone.
The fight was over. I had won. I walked toward my new pawn. The creature trembled, then floated closer to me. I decided it was time to give it a name. A simple one.
"From now on, your name is Umbra," I muttered. "You are my new follower."
The moment the words left my mouth, I felt a shocking sensation. Instantly, all the magicules inside me were completely drained. It felt like a door inside me had suddenly been thrown open, and all my energy just poured out. I felt incredibly exhausted. Not physically, but a deep exhaustion of my very essence. In an instant, my EP plummeted, dropping far below my usual level.
My Calm Mind skill immediately activated, suppressing the first feeling of panic I had ever experienced.
"So this is the price of naming a monster," I thought.
The process didn't just give it a name; it created a soul bond and caused it to evolve. It felt like a massive investment.
But then, I shifted my focus to Umbra. A wave of energy burst from it. I could feel its EP surging, and its body began to transform. The energy mass condensed into a humanoid form, smaller than me. Its surface was now covered in ancient runic patterns that glowed faintly, but with a colder, more somber light. Its glowing eyes were the same empty white as mine. It had evolved into a Phantom Golem.
"Not bad," I said.
We started to explore the rest of the laboratory, walking past the broken Golem. At my side, Umbra floated calmly, its glowing eyes scanning every wall, every corner, and every piece of debris. It was the perfect assistant. Its ability to analyze and interact with ancient technology was something I couldn't do.
After a long corridor, we reached a room with a heavily damaged control panel. The runic patterns on Umbra's body flickered as it tried to connect to the long-dead system. Slowly, it managed to organize the data. A projector above the panel turned on, and a hologram began to form.
The hologram showed a magnificent, futuristic city. But then, destruction followed. I saw a storm of fire and massive explosions systematically destroying the most advanced magic towers and research facilities.
As the images played, my Libertas processed every detail. This was a depiction of a city destroyed by an overwhelming force. I could see the attackers: winged creatures with a sacred aura. Their goal was to annihilate all technology. My mind immediately connected it to the world's lore I already knew. Sacred power, angels, and the destruction of advanced technology... It could only mean one thing.
"So this... is part of the Great Tenma War," I murmured. "Guy... Rudra..."
The fact felt cold and hard. I was standing in the ruins of a civilization that had been wiped out by an incredible force. The Angels had destroyed this place because someone in control of them decided the technology here was too dangerous to exist in this world.
My curiosity flared up again. This wasn't just about monster power anymore. This was about power that was considered too dangerous to exist. I had to have it.
We continued our exploration. I wanted to see what else a civilization destroyed by Angels could have created.
After a long corridor, we reached a large door made of ancient metal. The door was solid, tightly sealed by a magical barrier. I could feel that it was sealed not just by magical energy, but also by a powerful spiritual seal.
Umbra approached, scanning the seal. I felt a very complex wave of energy. The seal was designed to keep anything from getting in.
"What can you do?" I muttered to Umbra.
Umbra emitted a faint light. The runic patterns on its body flickered as if it were performing calculations. It sent information directly to my brain through our soul link. The data showed no damage to the door, but Umbra could analyze the seal's structure. It was a combination of ancient magic and spiritual magic. To open it, you'd need either an incredible amount of power or a very deep understanding of its workings.
"Interesting. This isn't just about strength; it's about logic," I thought.
I ordered Umbra to try and copy the magic pattern on the door. But every time it did, the pattern shifted. This was a constantly changing key. Ancient, yet so incredibly sophisticated.
"Can't be copied," I thought. "Then what can you tell me about the seal's structure?"
Umbra sent back more data. Its analysis showed that the seal reacted to both magicules and spiritual energy. The stronger the energy used, the more the seal resisted. It was a perfect trap for any simple-minded creature that relied on brute force. But there was a weakness. Umbra found that the seal had a resonance frequency. If the right frequency could be found, the seal would crumble easily.
Of course. What a clever way to protect something.
"So we just need to find the right frequency," I murmured.
I decided to use Libertas to analyze the data Umbra had collected. If Umbra was the library, I was the brain that processed the information. I scanned every frequency, measured every wave, and tried to solve the puzzle. This process took a long time. Hours, days... I lost track. With my Calm Mind skill, time became irrelevant. My brain worked at an infinite speed, processing trillions of possibilities in what felt like a few minutes. After a long while, I finally found a pattern.
"Found it," I said to Umbra.
I held out my hand, condensing a small amount of magicules at my fingertip. Umbra floated beside me, ready to support. I focused my energy on the identified frequency and sent it toward the door.
Of course, there was no sound. No explosion. The door trembled slightly, and then the seal collapsed. The giant door creaked open, revealing nothing but darkness.
We stepped inside.
The room behind the door was in much better condition than the rest of the ruins. A faint light illuminated rows of stasis tubes filled with liquid, but these were different; they were all empty. In the center of the room, a main control panel glowed brightly.
This was a research center. I ordered Umbra to scan the panel.
Through our link, I received an incredible stream of data. This wasn't a weapons cache or war records. This was research data on Evolution. This civilization had found a way to manipulate evolution at a fundamental level. They had discovered the Genetic Formula, a concept to control evolution from one race to another.
"Brilliant," I muttered. "And foolish."
I understood the reason for their failure. They didn't have the quality or the soul essence required to process the formula. They had found the key, but they couldn't turn it. It was a cruel irony, and it was a quality the Angels didn't have. They had destroyed great potential, but they had failed to destroy the data itself.
Now, I had that data. I had that forbidden knowledge. With the unique quality and essence of my soul, I was the perfect experimental subject. I could take the next step that this civilization couldn't.
But I couldn't use it on myself right away. That would be too risky. Evolution is a complex thing. I needed a trial run first.
My goal was now crystal clear: to use the Genetic Formula to create a new monster race as the foundation of my army, then use that army as a tool to collect 10,000 human souls, perform a Harvest Festival, and evolve into a True Demon Lord.