Chapter 31: Data Gathering

I started to have a different perspective of 'Evil'. A person who was 'Evil' wasn't necessarily wicked.

At least, that was my fleeting thought.

When it came down to whether I was becoming a necessary evil or not, the difference was in actions.

It made me feel like some Japanese yakuza.

They too believed that their existence was an crucial evil to keep out foreign back-alley powers.

Controlling the nation's darkness…

However, as 'evil' people themselves, they also caused irreversible harm to innocent people.

It made me think of an old article I'd read.

There was a young, ordinary high school girl going back and forth on a bicycle. In your typical town.

Some youths influenced by the yakuza kidnapped her and confined her in one place for a long time.

Until the day she died…

Was that all they did?

No, they did everything from violating her human rights to destroying her dignity as a human being.

Treating her worse than an animal or prisoner of war. Making it so even her face became deformed.

And what did she do to deserve this treatment?

Nothing.

It was just a joke. A prank…

Why be so serious, right?

Because the perpetrators weren't of age, they were let off and were even protected by the law itself.

Being sent to different regions for protection.

It made one wonder if being 'good' was really more human than being wicked (at least in that case).

In the face of such disgusting human beings, any who had slain them would become heroic figures.

Maybe not by the law, but the public would've been more than happy to see a murderer die horribly.

Returning cruelty with cruelty, rather than giving compassion for the sake of an inhuman virtue.

Thinking this made me less reluctant about fate.

At the request of Loki, I tried to awaken my Innate Gift using my own powers. Seeing what I attained.

Gifts were decided at birth. They could be influenced by the way you lived, but not by much.

It was like how Pyro Gift users only had some variation of creating flames, rather than different abilities. The nature of the attribute itself could change by their experience, but not the flame itself.

Fire would always be fire.

Water would always be water.

With that in mind, I went into the prepared land that Loki had given me in return for my Gacha phone.

All those 10 Pull tickets and promise of legendary Mystic Tools was exchanged for every benefit.

A dreary mansion in a sunless world was given to me, but at least the rooms inside were tidy for me.

Enough for me to comfortably sit down and decide to use up the Magic Formation barriers around me.

The Taiji Diagram and Elemental Pentagram was enveloped by the Fengshui Compass magic lines.

It turned into a sphere that slowly miniaturised until becoming as small as my palm, then moving to me.

Slowly fusing into my chest.

I could feel my heartbeat quicken, and details about the Unawakened Gift flowed into my head.

'…What?' I couldn't believe the results of the analysis that came back. It was too unbelievable.

I didn't have a Gift?

No, if I put the information Clarissa and Frankenstein gave me, then this was my 'Gift'.

The true form of my innate power.

An attribute-less and low quality ability of the category of 'Semblances'. Being a part of me.

It was the true form of my heart…

My Gift was to have no Gift. It was a contradictory power that seemed more useless on the surface.

However, I could sense a sort of 'depth' to this.

I guess you could call this a blank canvas, because the Magic Formations connected with it had somehow resonated in a way I wasn't informed of earlier. They seemed to want to enter my body.

Due to the unique nature of my Gift, it looked like the Magic Formations were embedded into me.

Becoming a part of me.

However, I also sensed a type of independence. 

Almost like the three Magic Formations were only taking residence in my body; not being part of it.

This caused a chain reaction.

The magical energy that was once normally flowing through my body… now found a place of residence.

My meridians were altering…

One couldn't sense the changes outwardly, but I could feel like my body was becoming 'detached'.

My powers as a Human and Demon were captured by the Fengshui Compass, then connected in me.

Stabilising my once chaotic power.

This state seemed fleeting and temporary. It was as if my body would return to normal after a while.

How could I allow this to happen?

This was a rare opportunity, so I latched onto it and focused my powers into creating a 'Magic Core'.

But this seemed impossible.

There was previously no mention of anyone ever creating a power source outside the body itself.

Everything was always internal.

Whether that be my horn or dantian. Everything was part of the body to power the physical traits.

So I decided to think about it differently than before. Rather than sticking to the same mindset.

What was 'Magical Energy' anyway?

At first, Clarissa's memories taught it as a form of Internal Energy known as 'Qi'… but that was wrong.

Even though Frankenstein also wielded Magical Energy. It seemed to follow different types of rules.

Rigid and plain structures.

Separating itself into 'Attributes' and only being able to be used to create unnatural phenomenons.

Why would Magic abide by such rules?

When I remembered what Frankenstein said to me that one time, I came to a conclusion about this.

My interpretation would determine the rules of my Magical Energy. If so, I chose to see it as 'Data'.

Since that was the most universal word that seemed to connect all forms of existence together.

My energy wasn't 'Internal Mana', but a type of 'Divine Data' that flowed in both dream and reality.

Thus, I used the small orb created by the Fengshui Compass Magic Formation to create a 'Data Core'.

A processor for magical power.

I made use of this opportunity to follow the details of the 'Star Path' via Constellation Alignment, and the 'Magic Path' via Formula Refinement. I created my own type of magic using my original formulas.

Branching off from my Technique-based Circles.

I was the first to have three Defiance Stars without any circles, so I decided to stabilise their forms.

Adding them into my Data Core's exterior.

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My demonic horn and the last of the external influences of my demonic heritage also flowed in.

Creating a hard shell unable to be penetrated.

"Release." With those words alone, the newly formed Data Core exited my 'Empty Gift' slot and hovered before me. I could feel a lack of affinities within it, but that didn't make me disappointed.

In fact, it only made me feel more at ease.

Having so single Affinity meant that I could process new 'Data' into any element I had the formulas for.

It made me want to test many things out.

I remembered the five Elemental Circles once used by Sidmund Tailor, then tried them out one by one.

Many glowing Attribute Circles were drawn before me. Their five distinct radiance hurting my eyes.

I deactivated them hurriedly.

Since my powers have been going through a sort of metamorphosis recently. I didn't feel much joy.

Who knew how my powers would change again.

The only thing I was thankful for was that this Data Core seemed intrinsically joined with my physique.

It changed the 'Cosmetic Polymorph' Racial Trait into something beyond its original purpose.

"Demon Form…" I spoke out loud, and the Data Core stuck on top of my head. It became a 'Horn'.

This wasn't just cosmetic. Since I had experienced being a Demon before, I recognised the real deal.

My body had become that of a Demon again.

If I was to say what I looked like, then it would be more accurate to call me an 'Oni' at this moment.

A single horned Demon of the Hell Realm.

My body changed again, and I felt like the way I breathed was different than that of before.

But this form also restricted my 'Data Attribute'.

While also seemingly amplifying my mastery of it.

When I was convinced by my own abilities, I just turned back to what I was before all this nonsense.

A weak and pathetic Human…

Even though it was this form holding all the endless possibilities. Able to be moulded in any direction.

I stretched my body after being done with this.

Expecting to be able to replicate this process of creating a Data Core would only be a futile dream.

The fact I was in the Imaginary Realm with three expensive Magic Formations was already enough.

I decided to take a look at the parcel Loki sent me after a while. It came in through the front door.

What I got was a letter and my three Ornate Stars.

All of them had been altered somewhat after I'd handed over the Curses along with my Gifts.

I read the first half of the letter.

{It would be a pity to waste such delectable Curses within you, so I refined and attuned them to each of your Gifts.} When I read this part, I looked at the many marbles that had been posted through to me.

There was around seven of them in total. It was a lucky number that made a difference in this realm.

Here, noticing things like this became a 'power'.

It looked like 'Frost Vulnerability', 'Inflaming Magma', 'Deja Vu', and 'Sensory Overlimit' had become less dangerous… but I wasn't about to accept them into my body. Not now I was back.

Having to feel pain for a long time only made me long for this sense of peace in my body once more.

Even if these Cursed Gifts had been attuned to not completely hold someone back, they were still bad.

Horrible abilities that only brought pain to people.

I'd rather have something else…

I kept these 'Gift Marbles' on my person. I would need to go through the trouble of waiting anyway.

There was no meaning in rushing things now.

Even without the 'Insightful Savant' helping me, it was enough for me to have mastered a martial art.

Knowing more was useless.

Some would think that having more choices was a better thing, but it also caused hesitation in battle.

If I gathered too many techniques, I'd hesitate too long and lose chances others could easily exploit.

The same with 'Blood Nurturer'.

While it seemed great to be able to recreate my body, it was a double-edged sword at times.

With gain came loss. Evolution wasn't an upward ladder, but the ability to adapt taken to extreme.

Toxic Blade was the best one amongst them in terms of versatility, but it did something worse.

Having the ability to transform others made me too fixated on using this Gift. Unable to think beyond it.

I've already been tainted by both Wrath and Lust. A body like mine had also gained reinforcements from eating that giant snake. I wasn't immune to all elements, not even that of ice, but it was enough.

Being too greedy would lead to my demise.

It made me read the rest of the letter calmly.

{If you're wondering how to get back faster, you should use your abilities as a Demon. Try to get summoned by someone in the same timeframe as your family. Here are the methods of doing that.}

{P.S. You will have to come back here regularly, but don't worry about cleaning and such. I've changed the laws of reality in your realm so it will stay cleansed and self-sufficient. Leave here any time.}

With that out of the way, I was given a bunch of Technique Circles along with ritualistic measures.

It seemed I needed some time to prepare in order to narrow down my drop-point somewhere near.

Moreover, I needed to get more comfortable in my own skin. 'Demon Summonings' were too sketchy.

No one could tell me where I'd end up.

Since that was the case, I decided to do some independent research on the type of summonings.

There seemed to be two types currently known.

'Attack Summonings', where either one part or my entire body is temporarily brought into existence.

This is used by summoners that didn't have the Mana to sustain me for a long amount of time, or simply wanted an attack done by a Demon. It was pretty cut and dry. 'Mana' is the only exchange.

And as long as my attack was effective, it didn't really matter what I did. Unless they gave criteria.

Complicated criteria meant getting more Mana.

The second, 'Ritual Summoning', was also split into temporal or lengthy, but had more requirements.

I needed to accept a soul, whether it be from the caster or not, before fulfilling a wish of theirs.

Any method could be used, but failure will result in internal damage and permanent loss of Mana.

Which in my case, was data about my life.

I couldn't let ANYONE have such a thing.

The several rules I had to abide by was 'not to hurt the summoner with direct force', 'not to take a soul without fulfilling a wish', and 'leaving as soon as the Mana used to sustain my existence was erased'.

Personal investment wasn't a good move here.

Since I understood what the rules were, I made it so I could immediately use it after I was ready.

When I became comfortable with everything and felt ready, was when a circle was placed before me.

It wasn't easy to bring myself to sit inside…

Comfort was hard to leave when attained, and this mansion was the best place of residence I ever had. However… I still had things to be done. There was no way I'd wait around in leisure at this point.

Although I'd given up the rolling of dice, there were some times when a leap of faith was necessary.

The ritual Demon Circle enveloped me in its light.

My mind temporarily shut down while I was being hurled through time and space… to my destination.

Many new faces awaited me in my difficult path.

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