Chapter 284: Assistance


    Finally, after preparing for it as best he could, Derek pulled up his status and focused on his ss upgrade. Like always, he began to skim through the options avable, on the off chance there was something that interested him more than his current ss. However, this time, the ss upgrade and changes were different.


    There were the normalmon, umon, rare, and epic sses that he was used to, but there were also a few legendary sses rted to time and space avable. There was the Time Lord and Ruler of Space legendary sses to choose from. The kicker was that both of these sses allowed for Derek to choose from a list of skills to rece the ones he would lose with the ss upgrade, and three new skills on top of everything.


    He could only stare dumbfounded at the ss options. First, he looked at the Time Lord ss.


    Time Lord


    You have reached an affinity with time that few ever reach. Time is nothing to you, and it is everything. Time is yours to control as you see fit.


    Time Lord is a legendary ss. Preferences for this ss are wisdom and strength. Three skills will be avable upon ss selection.


    Special: All lost skills will be reced by time skills of your choosing upon ss selection. Skill levels will be one, but you will be awarded 80 Skill Upgrade Points to use at your discretion.


    You will receive 31 free stat points for allocation for your choosing.


    Then, he checked out Ruler of Space.


    Ruler of Space


    You have reached an affinity with space that few ever reach. Go where you want, do what you want. No distance is too long. Nothing can contain you. Space is in the palm of your hand.


    Ruler of Space is a legendary ss. Preferences for this ss are wisdom and dexterity. Three skills will be avable upon ss selection.


    Special: All lost skills will be reced by space skills of your choosing upon ss selection. Skill levels will be one, but you will be awarded 80 Skill Upgrade Points to use at your discretion.


    You will receive 31 free stat points for allocation for your choosing.


    Not only would he get a full set of new skills. Skills that he could personally choose, he would receive enough upgrade points to fully level up three of them or spread around as he saw fit. Plus, after doing some quick math, he realized that the single increase in stat points he would receive per level would put him just over the 1,500 point cap with all his stats without him needing to use any outside methods like void beasts.


    Honestly, it was like the system was doing everything it could to get him away from his void ss and element. Really, both the time and space sses were almost too tempting for him to pass up. Especially the time ss. He was sure the ss change would let him keep some form of his Time Prison. Plus, there was something to be said about controlling time.


    The benefits of stopping time and training were hard to beat. What if he could stop time for a persons body and allow them to live forever? Would he be able to see into the future with a time rted skill? Yes, the ss change was very tempting. But, there was something else very strange with his ss upgrade and selection, and that was his void ss upgrade it was strange.


    ???? Void ????


    ss description unknown and unavable. Out of system purview. No details avable.


    Yes, the system had given him the two other options because it didnt want him to continue with the void. The question was: Was the system trying to help him by allowing him to choose another powerful ss or was the system trying to harm him by having him change from his void ss? It almost seemed too good to pass up.


    If the system, who Derek knew to be overly greedy and stingy, was offering something like this, something was wrong. Or was it offering something like this because it couldnt provide anything more from the void element?


    Thinking back, hisst two skills he received from a ss upgrade were Void Steps and Time Prison. Sure, Void Steps were most definitely closely rted to the void. It was in the name. But Time Prison was obviously more rted to time than space. Maybe the system had given him such a skill because it was out of void rted skills.


    So, with that in mind, what would happen if he selected to upgrade his void ss? He would be doing so blindly. Did he really want to take that chance when there were two obviously great routes out? Derek raised his hand up and pulled at his hair. He didnt know what to do. Hed always thought that the system didnt like him, but what if that wasnt it?


    <em>Still, couldnt it have rewarded me with a time or space-based dragon skill scroll at the end of that trial? That would have earned it a lot of goodwill from me. But it had to give me a dragon fire scroll. Honestly, I dont even know who would benefit from that skill. Maybe Jacks or his kid, but they are already too high a level for it to do them any good for sses.</em>


    <em>Maybe Brandi? Shell need an offensive skill to protect herself, and shell probably have some type of fire resistance from being a crafter, right? I would definitely be able to trade it, though. There were some interesting-looking skills that the king was offering for the Void Beast things. If I choose the void option and it doesnt pan out, I could trade that skill and some of the vitality elixirs for a slew of offensive skills topensate for myck of skills. I guess thats always an option.</em>


    <em>Ugh what do I do? This is harder than my initial choice back on earth and my first choice on this. </em>After what seemed like hours of hesitating and contemting, but really was only minutes, Derek decided to go with his gut. He liked just about everything to do with his void ss well, other than the whole being trapped in the void to begin with.


    But he didnt have to worry about that anymore. With his void ss, he could always get out of the void at any time. He was still a bit void phobic, but the more he used the void and got used to it, the more that lessened. In fact, he barely even thought about that anymore when using his skills.


    With a deep breath and the hope that he wouldnt regret it, he selected the unknown void ss.


    Would you like to upgrade your Legend of the Void ss to ???? Void ???? ss?


    This decision cannot be undone.


    <em>Y-yes. </em>He winced.


    Upgrading ss


    Error


    Void affinity out of system purview


    Error


    Requesting Assistance


    Requesting Assistance


    <em>What? What does that mean? Its requesting assistance? Requesting assistance from who? From what? Whats going on? </em>Out of all the possibilities Derek could think of, this was not one of them. He could do nothing but stare at the system notification as it kept repeating Requesting Assistance over and over. It seemed like this went on forever before something finally changed.


    Assistance Granted


    Please Stand By


    <em>Uh What? </em>Derek waited and waited. <em>Did did the system just put me on hold? </em>But finally, after an unknown amount of time, the assistance arrived.


    <strong>Scanning User</strong>


    <strong>Scanning User</strong>


    <strong>Scan Complete</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Congrattions!</strong>


    <strong>Your affinity for your element (Void) has moved beyond the scope of your current system. As your affinity for your element (Void) has surpassed 50%, 5% higher than your current systems affinity, your current system is no longer able to support your ss. Resulting in your current system requesting assistance.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Congrattions!</strong>


    <strong>After scanning user, it has been detected that you have a high affinity for three elements: Void (Legendary), Time (Epic), and Space (Epic). </strong>


    <strong>Please choose affinity path.</strong>


    <strong>Void [Time/Space Combination]</strong>


    <strong>Time (Rmended)</strong>


    <strong>Space (Rmended)</strong>


    <strong>Selecting Time or Space will adjust your affinities correspondingly. </strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <em>W-what?! This this looks like the other system but its different. Its less mechanical. Whats going on? Is there another system? How did one system get assistance from another? What the fuck is an affinity path? </em>


    <em>What does it mean it will adjust my affinities correspondingly? Will I lose the other affinities, but increase my affinity with the one I select? What is my affinity with Time and Space? </em>Derek took a deep breath. <em>Well Ive already gone this far with Void. At least it doesnt say that its not rmended. </em>


    <em>I choose Void.</em>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Void Path selected. No affinity adjustments necessary.</strong>


    <strong>Implementing Void Path</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Congrattions!</strong>


    <strong>ss has sessfully been upgraded to: Void Monarch</strong>


    <strong>As Void Monarch ss is out of current system purview, you have been awarded with the ss rarity: Mythical</strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong>Commencing Evolution</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <em>Evolution?! What? </em>But at that moment, the space behind Derek tore open and the purple of the void that he was all too familiar with began to condense around him. It was the same thing that happened with Silvi and the dragons. But this time, it was happening to Derek.


    He could only sit back and watch as the void swarmed around him into a sphere, blocking any retreat. Soon, the void was so thick that he could no longer see through it. Once again, for the first time since he arrived on this, Derek was in utter darkness.


    Derek breathed a shaky breath and focused inwardly, just as he had when breaking through thresholds. If there wasnt anything he could do, he would watch he would feel.


    What he felt was himself disappearing. There was no pain, just nothingness. Then, the void flooded into his body, or where it used to be, and his body began to conform to it. First, it rebuilt his heart, then his brain, then his other organs. Finally, it finished rebuilding his skin. He had no clue how long it had taken. He could have been in the void for minutes, or years. He had no way of knowing. Other than the intense focus on his self, he was shut off, almost back in the deep meditation he had used all that time ago in the void.


    Finally, he received another message from the strange system.


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Bonded link found</strong>


    <strong>Sever link? (Note: Severing link will not harm bondedpanion. Bondedpanion will no longer grow with you. Without a bondedpanion, growth will be easier. Rmended to sever link.)</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <em>It wants me to sever my link with Silvi? Fuck that! No!</em>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Bonded link maintained</strong>


    <strong>Commencing Evolution</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    Back in Savannah, Silvi was warping around with her Active Void Shift to work on multiple dishes at once. She had five Mage Hands kneading dough and multiple knives hovering in the air above different vegetables, preparing for chopping. She was having the time of her life. This is what she lived for.


    Just as she closed the oven door after cing the cookies inside, she received a message. A strange but all too familiar message. But this time, there was no blue screen.


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Commencing Evolution</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <em>No! Dammit, Derek! Not now. Dont make me do this now. What about the cookies? </em>Silvi panicked as a tear in the space behind her formed. <em>What do I do? </em>


    With her genius and quick thinking. An idea formed in her head. It was the best she coulde up with on such short notice. Putting everything she could into her Telepathy skill, she shouted out.


    <em>Malorie! Malorie, help!</em>


    <em>Silvi? Whats wrong? What is it? </em>The beautiful delicious Malorie quickly answered back. She knew something was terribly wrong. Silvi didnt use the Telepathy skill often. Silvi didnt ask for help. Silvi asked for ingredients. But Silvi wasnt asking for ingredients this time.


    <em>Malorie! </em>Silvi screamed through her Telepathy skill. <em>Dont let the cookies burn! </em>With that, everything went ck. She was evolving.