SSS Class Awakening: Start With A God-Level Choice System-Chapter 174: Arriving At The Valtoria Empire

A week had passed since Ainsworth became the Honorary Principal of Edenbridge High School.

During that time, he dealt with the aftermath of exterminating the Sterling family. As he had expected, it did not stir much trouble.

’If this were my previous life, this would have shaken the entire nation,’ Ainsworth thought calmly.

Back then, exterminating an entire family lineage would have been a crime that haunted generations. But this world was different. It was a world shaped by Awakeners, Otherworld invasions, and strength.

As a legitimate Five-Star SSS-rank Awakener, with the backing of the Valtoria Empire, Edenbridge High School, and Supreme Archmagister Lucien Arkvale himself, Ainsworth’s actions were not condemned.

Instead, public opinion shifted in a completely different direction.

"What did the Sterling family even do to provoke someone like him?"

"I heard they offended him repeatedly. Anyone that blind deserved it."

"Could they have colluded with the monster race?"

Ainsworth heard such discussions in passing, but he did not bother to clarify anything.

After all, history was written by the victors. And since he had won, there was no reason for him to dirty himself for the sake of his enemies’ reputations.

In the end, the general consensus was simple. A powerful SSS-rank Awakener like Ainsworth would not be so idle or malicious as to exterminate a family without reason.

Moreover, his achievements spoke for themselves.

Saving Edenbridge City.

Eliminating Monster Lord Skarnax.

Rescuing Lucien Arkvale.

Defeating multiple Demon Kings.

Even counterinvading the Monster World and Demon World.

With all those deeds stacked together, it was only a matter of time before historians painted the Sterling family as the ones in the wrong.

To avoid offending a living Five-Star SSS-rank Awakener, some even portrayed young master Caspian as a notorious fool who offended someone he never should have crossed.

More radical accounts went even further, writing the Sterlings as traitors who colluded with other races.

Ainsworth did not care.

It was not their family lineage being rewritten, after all. And no one was foolish enough to offend a living Five-Star SSS-rank Awakener for the sake of a dead S-rank family.

Aside from that incident, Ainsworth also reunited with Dante and Rian.

"We’re in," Dante said without hesitation after hearing Elyndra’s proposal.

Rian nodded. "If it’s you leading, we won’t complain."

Ainsworth informed them that Elyndra and her team had agreed to collaborate with them in the next Otherworld Mission. If not for the remaining matters they had to settle on Earth, they would have already departed.

Of course, there was also another reason.

Ainsworth glanced at Elyndra, who was walking beside him with a faint smile on her face.

They were taking their time.

Aside from their occasional lovey-dovey dates, Ainsworth had decided to formally arrange his engagement with Elyndra and meet her parents. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"There’s no rush," Elyndra had said lightly. "We have all the time we need."

And so, even after arriving at the Elaria Continent where the Valtoria Empire was established, they continued dating as if nothing else mattered.

...

Three days passed since their arrival on the Elaria Continent.

They reached the Valtoria Empire a day ago.

Only after enjoying each other’s company during those three days did Elyndra finally guide Ainsworth toward the Royal Capital, and then the Imperial Palace itself.

What was worth noting was that even while staying beside Elyndra, Ainsworth was also present elsewhere.

At that very moment, another him was seated in Edenbridge High School’s library, quietly reading.

Yet another was browsing through the secret archives of top factions.

With his authority and status as a Five-Star SSS-rank Awakener, even those heavily guarded repositories were opened to him without resistance.

His purpose was clear.

To gather more information about the Otherworld.

And to feed the accumulated knowledge of Awakener Earth into his SSS-rank Grand Archivist class.

Only then could he begin constructing the prototype of his godhood path.

"Thirty years," Ainsworth thought, skimming through ancient records. "That’s only Earth’s time since the Awakener Era has started."

It did not account for the countless years Awakeners had spent in the Otherworld.

Because of that, the accumulated knowledge spanned innumerable worlds, making every page worth reading.

The reason he could be in so many places at once was simple.

It was none other than his God-Level Time Management talent.

That talent allowed him to create time avatars, each one acting as himself.

It was simply a multitasker’s dream.

It was powerful and convenient, but Ainsworth understood why he had not chosen it when he was weaker. The burden on parallel thought processing, mental power, and brain computation was immense.

Every avatar was him; their memories were synchronized, and their consciousness shared.

Moreover, distance meant nothing.

Even if he entered the Otherworld, time avatars could remain behind to act as Edenbridge High School’s Honorary Principal or continue reading through secret archives.

Of course, such power came with a cost.

Each avatar consumed energy as if it were the real him.

Creating a thousand time avatars and casting a planet-destroying spell would cost the same energy as casting it a thousand times.

The advantage was that each time the avatar possessed roughly the same power level as him. As long as Ainsworth could withstand the energy cost, he could create countless time avatars to assist him in battle.

Ten versions of himself with the same power level ganging up on an enemy of equal strength would already guarantee victory, let alone hundreds or thousands, which would be nothing but overkill.

In other words, his current weakness lay in his lack of energy.

Despite possessing three complete energy systems, aura, mana, and viral energy, his reserves were still finite. If he truly wished to, he could even burn life force or forcibly convert surrounding energies into his own.

Yet even that was not enough to confront enemies far stronger than himself.

Because of this, Ainsworth chose to further reduce the energy consumption of Ultimate Freedom (SSS) rather than rely solely on brute force. He did not mind grinding through books and records, as knowledge itself was power to him.

Ultimate Freedom (SSS) allowed him to drastically lower energy costs as long as he could supply the correct process that led to the desired result. As long as he understood how something worked, the ability could fill in the rest.

Having already absorbed all Type 1 civilization level knowledge that humanity could offer in the Zombie Apocalypse World, his foundation was already complete. That alone greatly shortened the time he needed now, as the remaining knowledge he lacked mostly came from the Otherworlds.

With his vast mental capacity, more than nine thousand time avatars were active at the same time, each one studying, organizing, and refining information.

Although this slightly distracted him from his time with Elyndra, she did not mind.

She understood Ainsworth’s goals and plans.

And she agreed with him.

Only by becoming powerful enough could they protect what they had.

...

As they continued forward, the outline of the Imperial Palace finally entered their vision.

The Royal Capital gradually gave way to towering white walls etched with ancient imperial runes. The mana density in the air thickened with every step, refined and oppressive, carrying the weight of generations of authority.

Golden spires pierced the sky above the palace grounds, while massive gates stood firmly shut, guarded by elite imperial knights whose auras alone surpassed most high-ranking Awakeners.

This was the heart of the Valtoria Empire.

The seat of power where empresses were crowned, and destinies were decided.

Ainsworth slowed his steps slightly as he took in the sight before him, his expression calm, yet attentive.

Elyndra stood beside him and smiled faintly.

They had arrived.