[Ending the Lord of the Rings world.]
[Calculating rewards.]
[Arwen: Affinity Level 10]
[Elladan: Affinity Level 9]
[Aire: Affinity Level 9]
[Elrond: Affinity Level 8]
[Saruman: Affinity Level 8]
[Gandalf: Affinity Level 8]
[Aragorn: Affinity Level 7]
[Bilbo: Affinity Level 6]
[Galadriel: Affinity Level 6]
[Pippin: Affinity Level 5]
[Legolas: Affinity Level 5]
[Merry: Affinity Level 4]
[Thorin: Affinity Level 3]
[Gimli: Affinity Level 3]
[...]
[...]
[Reward for achieving the first Affinity Level 10: 10,000 Points, 10 Ability Upgrade Tickets]
[You have earned a total of 67,347 Points and 10 Ability Upgrade Tickets.]
[No further story progression is possible. Would you like to view the ending?]
"Whoa! For now, no."
Receiving ten Ability Upgrade Tickets for hitting level 10 affinity for the first time was insane. On top of that, staying in that world for a long time paid off with massive point rewards. Since I'd been there for over a hundred years—which spanned six volumes if you counted it that way—it made sense.
"Wow... this is amazing."
I already had five upgrade tickets saved up for the future. Adding these meant I had a total of fifteen.
"I should do the draws first before using them. I don't know what I might get. Status window!"
[Cassian]
Strength: 376 (+1428) Stamina: 369 (+300) Agility: 350 (+300) Intelligence: 313 (+626) Mana: 652 (+2000)(+669/0)
Points Held: 125,411
I immediately used magic to boost my luck and proceeded with 100 draws.
[(SS) Energy Drain], [(S) Martial Arts], [(S) Pain Resistance], [(A) Reverse Cursed Technique], [(S) Snipe], [(S) Sports], [(S) Barrier], [(A) Charm], [(SS) Flight], [(A) Blunt Weapon Mastery], [(S) Environmental Adaptation], [(SS) Nano Machines], and [(SS) Telekinesis] came up as duplicates. As for new abilities, I got [(EX) Material Duplication], [(A) Necromancy], [(SSS) Force Field (Sue Storm)], [(A) Intimidation], [(S) Talisman Arts], and [(A) Blood Manipulation (Power)].
[(EX) Material Duplication]
Allows the duplication of matter.
[(A) Necromancy]
Allows the summoning of the souls of the dead.
[(SSS) Force Field (Sue Storm)]
Allows the creation of invisible energy barriers.
[(A) Intimidation]
Allows for psychological pressure to be applied to a target.
[(S) Talisman Arts]
A technique to create and utilize various talismans.
[(A) Blood Manipulation (Power)]
Allows the user to manipulate their own blood.
"Whoa! Material Duplication!"
I'd landed an incredible ability. It wasn't quite 'Material Creation,' but duplication was basically on that level. Plus, the [Force Field] was a defensive barrier that even a Celestial couldn't easily pierce. There were many duplicates, but overall I got lucky with some great ones.
"[Necromancy] and [Talisman Arts] seem useful, and [Blood Manipulation]..."
The [Blood Manipulation] ability was the one used by the character 'Power' from 'Chainsaw Man.'
In that universe, finding a character with a normal mindset was difficult, and Power was definitely not sane. She was the peak of eccentricity, but for some reason, she was incredibly popular. I liked her too, of course. She's great to watch, but if someone asked me to live with her, I think anyone would hesitate.
'Denji is a saint. No, Aki is the real saint for putting up with her.'
Come to think of it, there was a lot to gain from the world of Chainsaw Man.
'I should visit there at some point.'
Next, I checked the items. I got another [Ability Upgrade Ticket], [Elixir] x2, [Random Devil Fruit] x3, [Item Fusion Ticket], [Penalty Removal Ticket] x2, and [Companion Entry Ticket] x2. For food, I got [Ninja Miso Ramen] x100 and [Delicious Manga Meat] x100.
None of the equipment was worth keeping, so I skipped those. Among the weirder items were [TS Pill] x20, [Futanari Pill] x10, [Penis Enhancement Pill] x20, [Breast Enhancement Pill] x10, [Oversized Dildo] x10, [Wooden Horse] x10, and [10kg Diet Pill] x20.
Curiosity got the better of me, so I pulled out an [Oversized Dildo], and it looked straight up like a torture device. It was thicker and as long as a baseball bat. It even had a handle at the end, looking so much like a two-handed weapon that I wondered if it actually was one.
'Is it? Is this meant to be used as a humiliation weapon?'
It was a dildo that reminded me of Cyberpunk for some reason.
Anyway, other than that, there were objects from various works of fiction, but nothing particularly useful.
"By the way, my Nano Machines rank went up this time too. How is it, Nano?"
[Computational speed has increased and the knowledge base has expanded.]
"Anything else?"
[If you grant me permission to use your mana, I can provide magical support during combat.]
"Oh? Really?"
It seemed Nano had upgraded enough to cast magic as long as I provided the mana. If I ever lost consciousness or found myself in danger, having Nano cast spells would definitely help me survive a crisis. I quite liked that.
I pulled out a bowl of 'Ninja Miso Ramen' and some manga meat to snack on. Combining the one from the draw, I had sixteen [Ability Upgrade Tickets], and I agonized over which skills to use them on.
"Hmm... I should probably level up [Omegas Magic], right?"
I took the [Ability Upgrade Tickets] from my inventory and used them. Every time [Omegas Magic] went up a rank, a massive amount of magical knowledge flooded my brain. But then a problem occurred. As soon as it went from SS to SSS, my head felt like it was going to explode from the information overload. I tried to push it to EX after a short break, but a translucent red window suddenly appeared before my eyes, warning me.
[Warning! Your Intelligence stat is insufficient to use the [Omegas Magic] ability. Proceeding further may result in permanent brain damage. (Minimum Requirement: 1000)]
I didn't know some abilities had stat requirements for upgrades.
'Well, it makes sense given how my head felt during the SSS upgrade.'
Just then, Nano spoke up.
[Master, by my calculations, you should raise it significantly higher than the minimum requirement. That description is literally just the minimum. If you proceed with only 1000 Intelligence, you may lose consciousness for about five days. Furthermore, the sheer volume of calculation might cause periodic blackouts. I recommend raising it to at least 1500.]
"Is that so?"
Nano was usually right about these things. My base Intelligence was 313, with another 626 added by the [Genius] ability, bringing the total to 939.
'Then I should upgrade [Genius] first and then decide how much more to invest.'
I used the tickets to push [Genius] all the way to EX. Immediately, I felt the strain of the information coming in through [Naked Eye] and [Omegas Magic] significantly decrease.
[(EX) Genius]
Increases Intelligence by fivefold and adds a flat bonus of 1000.
"Whoa, that's insane."
With [Genius] at EX, my Intelligence shot up to 2565 in an instant. EX rank really was something else. There was no need to spend points now. I immediately pushed [Omegas Magic] to EX. I could now easily process all the information from the skill.
[(EX) Omegas Magic]
The culmination and finality of all magic.
Allows for the creation or understanding of any magic EX-rank or below. (All magic below EX-rank is integrated.)
[Omegas Magic] didn't gain new functions at EX-rank, but it felt like I could easily create any magic now. Additionally, [Mana Efficiency] jumped to SSS as well. It seemed my increased understanding of magic naturally boosted it.
I had used five [Ability Upgrade Tickets] to max out [Genius] and [Omegas Magic], leaving me with eleven. Since I was at it, I upgraded [Mana Efficiency] and [Silent Casting] to EX too.
[(EX) Mana Efficiency]
Reduces the mana consumption of abilities by 90%.
[(EX) Silent Casting]
Instantly casts all abilities without any loss in power.
"That should do it for the magic stuff."
I was essentially a graduate of all things magic now. I checked if there was anything else to raise.
"Hmm... maybe [Control] and [Shadow Sovereign]? I'm also tempted by [Hacking] and [Telekinesis]..."
I briefly thought about saving the tickets, but then I just decided to max them all. Even after those four, I'd still have five tickets left, which would be enough for any emergency upgrades.
[(EX) Control]
Enables meticulous control over abilities and power.
[(EX) Shadow Sovereign]
The perfect Sovereign of Shadows.
Enables Astralization, Sovereign's Domain, Shadow Exchange, Ruler's Authority, and Gate Creation. The 'Black Heart' effect increases mana by 2000.
[(EX) Hacking]
Remotely hacks all mechanical and magical devices.
[(EX) Telekinesis]
Allows the movement of objects using mana.
"The Shadow Sovereign ability is amazing."
I had a vague idea, but having multiple abilities bundled into one—plus an extra 2000 mana from the 'Black Heart'—was incredible. It was definitely a cheat skill.
"Phew... that's enough for now."
I was significantly stronger than before I used the upgrade tickets. I felt like I could probably destroy a planet with my magic alone if I wanted to.
"As long as it's not a literal god, I won't be pushed around anywhere."
I went outside to test the limits of [(EX) Material Duplication]. Being EX-rank, I could easily duplicate complex machinery and even finished meals. I could even copy massive objects; when I tried it on the starship Hyperion, it turned into two. As long as I made one good item, mass production would be easy.
I rested at Alteria (Starkiller Base) for a few days, creating useful spells and practicing my new EX-rank abilities before deciding to start my leisure life again.
"I've rested enough. Time to go get more abilities."
I opened the world travel list and looked through the fiction section. After some thought, I chose Naruto. I picked it because of the broken eye techniques, and because there were techniques that could bring people back to life—even those long dead. Plus, Naruto was a manga I'd followed since I was a kid. It got a bit weird with Boruto, though.
[Generating Avatar.]
Uzumaki Naruto
Age: 0
Gender: Male
Traits: Bright, positive, extroverted, never gives up.
Start Point: Nine-Tails Incident
Sakura Haruno
Age: 15 (Anime based)
Gender: Female
Traits: Diligent, polite honors student, hot-tempered.
Start Point: Start of the Original Series
Direct Entry.
Setting: 22-year-old Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Start Point: Start of the Original Series
"Wow~ this is harsh. If I picked Naruto, I'd have to endure fifteen years of drinking spoiled milk and catching fish for food."
Starting from age zero was a bit much. I modified the settings again.
Setting: 18 years old, a certified blacksmith and novelist moving to the Hidden Leaf from the Land of Fire after the Nine-Tails incident. Owns a smithy and is an orphan.
Start Point: Hidden Leaf Village, 10 years before the start of the original series.
(Points: -2563)
I thought about starting as a 6-year-old and entering the Academy since I knew nothing of jutsu, but being that young would limit my freedom of movement too much. I settled on eighteen. I could just steal the scrolls to learn the techniques anyway.
[Would you like to proceed with this?]
"Yes."
I arrived at the forge and looked around. Seeing the massive faces carved into the Hokage Rock made it real—I was in the world of Naruto. My forge was tucked away in a corner, likely because of the noise and smoke. It was a two-story building; the first floor was the shop, and the second was the living quarters.
'Thank goodness. The house is right upstairs.'
There weren't many official documents in this era, and there were a lot of paranoid people around. If I went around asking too many questions, I could end up being branded a rogue ninja from the start.
Anyway, I went upstairs. The place was clean enough, but because of the tatami mats, there were a few bugs. I put up a barrier, exterminated them, and used [Lifestyle Magic] to give the place a deep clean.
After that, I went down to the forge to see what was typically made here.
'Hmm... just kitchen knives, shuriken, and daggers?'
Nothing particularly grand. Using my Naked Eye to inspect the inventory, I saw that even the iron quality wasn't that great. I tidied up the forge and remodeled it to my liking. Then, using material manipulation, I created high-quality iron with few impurities and began crafting knives, shuriken, and daggers. I made five of each, picked the best one of each set to engrave the character for "Jin" (進) onto, and then duplicated them with [Material Duplication].
'I'm basically printing money at this point.'