Chapter 67

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Episode 14 - Second Form of Inverted Heaven [4]

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"Well then, my current self can only last a maximum of ten seconds using the Second Form."

〖That’s right. If you exceed that time, your body collapses and you simply die.〗

"..."

I was sure that was sarcasm. In any case, I already understood the pros and cons of the Second Form of Inverted Heaven.

If we talk about stamina, combined with my abnormally fast natural regeneration...

In theory, I could use the Second Form again in about five minutes or so, but only once.

I would need to wait more than ten minutes to fully recover all of my stamina.

’In that case, it’s more than clear that I need to reach 5 Stars.’

Even so, I am still far from 5 Stars.

Even if I raise my mana stat to 99.99%, I still cannot directly reach 100%, because advancing to 5 Stars is about bodily reconstruction.

Every organ, every muscle, every part of the body is literally rebuilt.

’And reconstruction is the most important foundation for what comes later.’

5 Stars is the most important point that everyone must reach.

It is possible to obtain four types of constitutions.

These constitutions are divided into four ranks:

Common Body, Superior Body, Transcendent Body, and Divine Body.

’To reach 11 Stars, I need at least a Transcendent Body constitution.’

While thinking about it, a question suddenly came to mind. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Master, what constitution did you obtain when you reached 5 Stars?"

My master replied after a few seconds.

〖It was the Transcendent Body, and everyone else only obtained the Transcendent Body as well. If we are talking about the Divine Body, no one from our generation obtained it. The only person who did should be someone you will meet soon enough.〗

I frowned and muttered:

"Fallen Maiden."

〖Yes, back in my era, people said that woman was the only one who obtained the Divine Body. Of course, now I do know how to obtain it, since when I reached 11 Stars, I was able to notice what my Transcendent Body lacked.〗

Surprised by those unexpected words, I immediately asked:

"What? How do you obtain the Divine Body?"

Yes, I am a game developer.

Yes, I know the story of Holy Land.

Yes, I created almost all of the characters, including Lumina.

But in reality, I do not even know how the Transcendent Body is obtained.

And the Divine Body is an even greater mystery.

If only one person has ever obtained it, and I do not even know how to obtain the Transcendent Body...

How am I supposed to obtain the Divine Body?

Finally, my master replied:

〖Well, even I was surprised back then, but in reality, it is easier... yet difficult at the same time.〗

I frowned and said:

"What does that mean?"

〖First, you actually only need to obtain the Transcendent Body, and during its final phase before the bodily reconstruction is completed, you need the <Essence of the Divine>. And you are probably wondering what that is... well, I only know that it is a kind of golden liquid born once every thousand years at the center of the world, namely, the Tree of Dreams and Desires.〗

I opened my mouth for a moment, but simply closed it again.

At his last words, all I did was scratch my head.

Then I let out a sigh.

"So... does that mean there’s only one Divine Body every thousand years?"

My master’s answer came almost instantly.

〖Yes and no. What if someone obtains the Essence of the Divine a thousand years earlier, but decides to store it away? Then, a thousand years later, another Essence of the Divine will appear, so if both emerge, there can be two Divine Bodies. It’s simply a matter of preserving it, you know?〗

I nodded slightly; in fact, it wasn’t that there was a limit of one Divine Body being born every thousand years.

Rather, it was simply a matter of storing it and collecting another one again, and so on.

Then, after thousands of years, all the Essences of the Divine could be handed over to a chosen group.

That was all.

"But how do you know this, master?"

I highly doubted that my master had discovered it simply after reaching 11 Stars. No.

So somehow my master learned it and probably asked the Fallen Maiden within the Memory Gate.

’Although I highly doubt it.’

My master replied shortly afterward.

〖Well, actually, it was more intuition than receiving the knowledge directly. So I reached the Tree of Dream and Desire, and my intuition led me to obtain the Essence of the Divine, but since it was already too late, I simply stored it away〗

"..."

My expression cracked for an instant, and the words burst out of me:

"Wait, wait, wait... are you saying you obtained the Essence of the Divine and stored it away? But first of all, how the hell did the Tree of Dream and Desire allow you to enter its interior?"

Without the permission of the Tree of Dreams and Wishes, it was literally impossible to obtain the Essence of the Divine.

In response to my words, my master said:

〖Well, the Lord of Chaos attacked the Tree of Dreams and Wishes back then; although I couldn’t kill him and he escaped, it was a ticket of entry into the interior of the Tree of Dreams and Wishes, so that’s how I obtained the Essence of the Divine〗

I immediately shut my mouth and nodded; actually, that made a lot of sense.

I thought my master had caused some kind of trouble there, like trying to threaten the Tree of Dreams and Wishes.

Anyway, a realization suddenly struck me.

"So you simply kept the Essence of the Divine, gave it to someone, or threw it away somewhere."

My master’s annoyed voice came immediately.

〖Who do you think I am? I wouldn’t throw away something that cost me so much to obtain, much less give it away.〗

"Then it’s somewhere."

〖Yes, I think you could go retrieve it during summer vacation; it’s in the treasure vault of the ancient Everblack family〗

I closed my mouth and said nothing for a second.

The Everblack family estate... I didn’t know about that family until I met Alice.

But I have no idea whether their ruins even still exist.

"And where is that?"

〖My house used to be here, in the Imperial Capital; it’s probably directly below, in the deepest depths.〗

"..."

"Seriously, it was always underneath?"

〖Yes, what did you think? The continent literally underwent a kind of terraforming because of all the battles with the Five Lords of the Abyss; the old Imperial Capital was buried, and in fact the landmass of this continent rose by as much as thirty meters in many areas〗

"..."

That would mean thirty more meters of earth above a layer that had previously been around fifty meters above sea level or less.

Shaking my head, I then asked:

"If it’s buried, doesn’t that mean it’s impossible to go down there? I’d have to scan through thirty meters of dirt, right?"

However, my master denied my words.

〖Not really. Yes, the Imperial Capital was destroyed in the end, and the entire continent was covered with thirty meters of earth, but back then, the Imperial Capital was built with a dome made of mana; even if it breaks, it regenerates again. So you only need to use the coordinates and create a Teleportation Matrix〗

Honestly, this was starting to give me a bit of a headache.

There is literally an Imperial Capital on top of another Imperial Capital.

Beneath my feet, around thirty meters below, there is an ancient empire buried underground.

Even so, if we think about the Divine Body, that gives me even more reason to go down there, doesn’t it?

’Besides, if this is the 10,000th regression, Lumina should already know that the Divine Body is required to achieve her goal, so she will probably go to the Tree of Dream and Desire.’

The story of Lumina’s last regression was supposed to be a DLC, but it was never made.

So, if this is truly her final regression, I will be able to confirm it if she ventures inside the Tree of Dream and Desire.

’And it has been more than a thousand years since Alice took the Essence of the Divine; by now, there should already be one.’

After a while, I came out of my thoughts.

"Then, what do I need to obtain the Transcendent Body, since it’s the first step toward the Divine Body?"

As if my master had been waiting for my question, my master replied:

〖First, you need a large amount of mana, so I recommend finding a small Mana Channel; second, you need ten Ascension Stones; and lastly, you need the Obsidian Flower.〗

I knew where to find a small Mana Channel, and as for the ten Ascension Stones, obtaining them was not impossible.

’I could buy them at the Chapter Two Auction.’

But the Obsidian Flower... that one truly is impossible.

The place where it is located is dangerous.

’At the very least, I need to be an 8-Star to survive in that place, and that’s the bare minimum.’

My thoughts went around and around, searching for a way to solve that problem.

But then I remembered something.

’Damn, I was planning to use it to make things easier in "that" Chapter, but obtaining the Divine Body is more important.’

I was talking about the favor Director Bernice granted our entire group during the search for the murderer.

Naturally, she must have an Obsidian Flower, or she could obtain one if she does not already have it.

For her, it would simply mean stepping out for a few minutes, or perhaps an hour, and the Obsidian Flower would already be in my hands.

’I suppose there’s no other option.’

Anyway, my bad luck is always by my side.

But my good luck keeps drifting farther and farther away.