Chapter 44: 43. The God of Deceit

I chose Charisma as the title’s reward, as the other option wasn’t suitable for me. There were only so many free stat points available, and I didn’t plan on allocating any of them to any detrimental stats like rage.

High Charisma would be useful outside the tutorial, as I planned to make a guild and a guild leader could make use of such a stat.

Alright, I’ll check the remaining titles that I got.

[Title acquired: Templar Vanquisher]

 

Templar Vanquisher

Temples are sacred structures, but you only care about the rewards that they offer! You’re the first Earthling to clear all the challenges of a Divine Temple! - You get the General Skill [Divinity Meter] (Uncommon)

 

[Title acquired: Evolver I]

 

Evolver I

Evolution is inevitable, but you’ve done it faster than anyone else. You’re the first Earthling to evolve his class once and reach the E rank! -Gain an 11% boost to all stats (Applied after flat boosts)

 

[Title acquired: Maximus Niveau]

 

Maximus Niveau

There’s a limited quantity of monsters inside a tutorial, thus the amount of EXP is finite. For you to reach the seventy-fifth level, you must’ve been rather competent! You are the first Earthling to reach the 75th level in the tutorial. -Gain 75 points in STR, MAG, VIT, AGI, DEX, and VIT.

 

[Title acquired: Millenium Agent]

 

Millenium Agent

One thousand was a lucky number, they said. No one would be able to have more than such a number of points in a single stat, they said. They were wrong! You are the first Earthling to have more than a thousand points in at least one stat. -Gain 200 free stat points.

 

[Title acquired: Primordial’s Bane]

 

Primordial’s Bane

They weren’t meant to be killed! Hell, you weren’t even supposed to meet one of them! You are the first Earthling to kill a Primordial! -You get the General Skill [Aura] (Unique)

 

[Title acquired: Evolver II]

 

Evolver II

Gotta go fast, right? You’re the first Earthling to evolve his class twice and reach the D rank! -Gain a 12% boost to all stats (Applied after flat boosts)

 

[Title acquired: Hero of an Epic]

 

Hero of an Epic

Keep up the grind, pal! You’re the first Earthling to bring an Epic skill to its maximum level! -You get an Epic Skill Upgrade Point!

 

The stat boosts were straightforward, as I knew the effect that they would bring. The flat boosts would be applied first, then the percentage-based ones after them. The latter buffs were some of the best rewards, as they scaled with the user’s current stats.

I was happy to get an Upgrade Point this fast, as it would allow me to evolve a fully-leveled Epic Skill of my choice.

For now, I’ll check the new general skills that I got.

I opened their descriptions, and three system screens appeared.

[Scout Boss] (Uncommon)	Passive
You’re talented when it comes to finding bosses, but you’re even better when it comes to slaying them! Enjoy the hunt! -Allows the host to find Boss Monsters that are within this skill’s range. (Range: one hundred meters away from the host)

 

[Divinity Meter] (Uncommon)	Passive
The divine realm is a mystery, and only some mortals know some information about it. Nevertheless, it’s advised that you keep your distance from it. It was curiosity that killed the cat, after all. You are reading story System Dilemma at novel35.com -Allows the Host to spot structures or locations that have to do with divine entities (Range: twenty meters away from the host)

 

[Aura] (Unique)

Active

Once a person trains hard enough for a sufficient duration, he’ll learn about his strength and weaknesses. Aura is the culmination of a person’s state of being, and it can be used to assert dominance. Don’t bully weaklings, okay? -Unleashes the Host’s unique Aura to the surroundings. (Range for immediate effect: one meter away from the host) (Range for mild effect: fifteen meters away from the host)

 

Suddenly, I felt great danger coming from the mysterious entity that was a couple of meters away from me. I stared at him, and I could see many purple dots surrounding his body, and I knew by instinct that this was the effect of my [Divinity Meter].

I turned my attention toward the room that we were in, and I felt many traces of divinity all over it. It was proof that this structure was made by a deity; most likely the mysterious system admin.

So, not only is this guy the system admin, but he is a deity too? Impressive!

I tried to activate my Aura, and I felt the air around me thicken. I noticed a dark aura surrounding my body, and my shadow’s color became pitch black.

Nonetheless, I had no feedback on how my Aura felt when encountered, so I couldn’t judge how effective it would be as a method of intimidation. I needed an external observer.

Maybe the system admin can give me an idea of my Aura’s effectiveness…

I looked at him, and his focus was still on the book that he held in his left hand.

“Hey, Mysterio…” I said, “How effective do you think my Aura is?”

He closed his book and raised his head toward me. His whole body was black, and its outlines shifted constantly. I felt uncomfortable dealing with him, as I couldn’t have an idea of his emotions based on his facial expressions.

“Aura?” he said, “It’s so weak that I barely noticed it; I can show you what a true Aura is like if you’d want. Besides, the nickname you chose for me is shitty.”

I didn’t want to face the aura of a deity head-on, so I rejected his offer. I wasn’t even sure if he was physically present in this room, or if this body was just an avatar of his.

“Why are you trying to be so mysterious?” I said, “I don’t think we’ll be able to communicate effectively if you’re not willing to cooperate, and I am not enjoying my current state of ignorance.”

He sighed, and his figure instantly shifted. He took the form of a young adult with short black hair and a goatee. He was taller than me, and he had blue eyes and wore extravagant clothes. His arms had many tattoos, and they were muscular.

He had a blue shirt decorated with many large feathers, and his black pants were adorned with jewels of different colors and shapes. He was bare-footed, and his hands had many rings.

He smirked, and he gave off a sleazy vibe.

“Better?” he said, “This is one of my many forms, and it’s nearly as old as you, at least physically. I’ve heard that communication can be easier for mortals if they were close in age.”

I was still barely a young adult, but this was still better than having to deal with a snotty child or an old hag.

“Yeah, this is much better,” I said, “I have a couple of questions actually.”

The smirk left his face, and he furrowed his eyebrows. He put his hands on his hips and tilted his head a bit.

“Questions, questions, questions,” he said with a displeased tone of voice, “I told you to take it easy; we have more than ten days before everyone else clears their tutorial iterations. I’ll answer one question, for now, so choose wisely.”

I couldn’t take it easy, as I wanted to go back to Earth earlier than others. This mysterious entity was wasting my precious time, and I’d miss out on a lot of fun if I arrived after some other people.

I was about to ask him about the reason why he’s keeping me here, but I stopped before the words came out of my mouth.

The answer to that question wouldn’t be helpful, and I doubted that I could force him to send me to earth if I knew his motives. I was a time traveler, and he knew about that. Besides, it seems like he’s interested in my latent ability.

There was a more pressing mystery that needed closure.

“Who the hell are you?” I said.

I knew that this guy was a deity and that he was a system admin. Somehow, he could read my mind and he knew most of my secrets if not all of them.

He sighed and smirked once more.

“That’s a disturbing question, but I’ll give you a summary,” he replied.

Suddenly, he shapeshifted and his look completely changed. He had red hair, thick eyebrows, and a large smile that revealed his sharp teeth. He wore a red bandana on his head and his arms were thicker than my legs.

Once more, he transformed into another person. It was a child with blonde hair and red eyes. He wore a white robe and had a couple of small wings on his back.

He kept transforming into different people quickly. They were of different sexes, and ages and their physical features differed.

All of a sudden, he transformed back into the young man with the goatee.

“I am the current system admin, and I am known by many other names. My current form is known as Loki; your race has a couple of legends about him, but most of them are erroneous. I fill in history’s gaps and play the roles of people that are needed for certain events to occur. I fix mistakes, and make sure that everything is going according to what the system records dictate.” He spoke.

He took a deep breath and raised his arms in the air. He grinned and kept speaking.

“I can peer into anyone’s records, and that allows me to get a general idea about their existence. I can also read minds, but I can only see what the person is actively thinking of,” he said with a wide grin, “I am not your average deity, but I believe you already know that. I know that you’ve come from the future; I was the one who sent you back. I couldn’t find out the reason behind that action of my future self, and that’s why I am keeping you around.”

The revelation startled me. It wasn’t enough to sate my curiosity, as I didn’t know what ‘records’ were and why the system needed an admin. Moreover, I had no idea why someone would send a Dismantler like me to the past.

Still, his explanation gave me a general idea about the reason behind his interest in me, his mysterious form, and his ability to read minds.

I was impressed with this entity. If I understood correctly; he was more powerful than most gods. He would make for a great sponsor if he was generous too.

On the other hand, it meant that my chances of running away from him were slim if not non-existent. He had a certain degree of omniscience, and that was somewhat terrifying.

Besides, I am so disappointed that my time travel was a premeditated event! I thought that I got lucky and the universe decided to give me a second chance…

I sighed and stared at the system admin.

‘Loki’ seemed intent on hearing my reply, as he crossed his arms and gave me a stern gaze.

“Great!” I said, “Then you’ll let me go back to earth if you find out the reason why you sent me back in time?”

He laughed loudly as he replied.

“Hahaha! Don’t worry! The passage of time here is rather slow; every second on Earth and the Tutorial is equivalent to an hour here. We have all the time in the world to experiment!”

“…alright then, at least let me go before anyone else gets to Earth,” I said.

‘Loki’ nodded, and grabbed his book once more.

I’ll check the mystery boxes for now.

#

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