There were three traditional ways for John to do what was previously thought to be impossible.

Number one was the route that was available to anyone sufficiently smart or able: discovering an interaction of the various functions of reality to achieve his desired outcome. Basically, he had to either have a flash of brilliance or come across someone else’s research and repurpose it for his wanted end.

Number two were Quests. Sometimes the goddess allowed him such impossible feats as setting up a new kingdom. Dependency on Gaia’s whims made this option unreliable.

Number three were Perks. Unlike Quests, John had a limited amount of control over this, as his Class system generally reacted to what he wanted and offered options accordingly. What he needed was to level in a Class that was fitting for the theme of the desired outcome.

In the specific case of Delicia’s condition, option number two was out already. Gaia had not offered a Quest and so there was nothing he could do about that. Option number three was the most likely to succeed – if John found an appropriate Class and invested in it.

Condensing someone’s soul into an Artificial Crystal was not something he expected to find in any of his current Classes. Metracana Master was the most likely contender and even that was doubtful. Metracanas were the specific variety of Artificial Spirits that did not have crystals at their core. That practice had only become commonplace later, when people had figured out more reliable ways to create artificial souls. Consequently, the Class about making and improving Metracanas was not likely to deal with the crystals. That didn’t mean that it couldn’t happen, only that John wasn’t as sure as he wanted to be.

Starforger was almost more likely to give him something in the desired area, because of the way Enki had attempted to, and partially succeeded in, repairing his body. That was an addition to his physical form though, not an entire replacement.

If the Perks came his way, John wouldn’t say no, but right now he didn’t see it as likely. Callously, one could also argue that he shouldn’t prioritize getting such a Perk for someone he had just met. There was certainly truth to that, he had obligations to more people than a random alchemist in another country. That she and Nightingale were attractive did influence John’s judgement on the situation, but he was aware enough of that to counteract it.

The primary reason why he wanted to do it remained because he wanted to prove that he could. Prestige and favours were powerful currencies with no direct value and doing something no one else could, even if it was very niche in its necessity, was something he always coveted. All of this was connected to the conditions of the ability, should he be able to unlock it.

All of that said, option one seemed to be the most promising at the moment. Eternal life was something brilliant minds of every generation searched for. Some of them must have tried to take the Artificial Spirit route and some of them must have made some kind of inroad – provided that it was at all possible. Uncovering that research, no matter where it may hide, had a value beyond Delicia. It wouldn’t cost John any Perks either.

Sitting in the plane that brought them back to Berlin, and the teleporter stationed within it, John tapped his finger repeatedly on the armrest. He was concentrating intensely, trying to summon mysterious understanding within.

“You look as impatient as I did earlier,” Metra observed. “The fuck are you trying to do?”

“I want to see if I can muster a prophecy,” he told her. “My Mental Stats are high enough by now that I should be able to do it somewhat reliably.”

“Haven’t heard you babble something cryptic yet, so no success?”

John let out a long, frustrated exhale. “Yes.” Rubbing his forehead, he kept concentrating, gathering everything he knew about this and prodding his mind to explore the potential of the chaos that lay beyond the options whose order he understood. “Either I’m simply not there yet or what I know isn’t enough to make a prophecy. At the end of the day, those are just glorified guesses.” Putting his hand flatly on the armrest to keep it still for a moment, he asked, “Did you ever hear of anything that would consolidate the soul of someone into a crystal?”

“Not in my entire time on this earth,” she responded flatly.

Something about that phrase tingled a slumbering aspect inside John. It was an almost forgotten feeling, but he remembered it faintly from the challenges in Florida. It was exactly the sensation he had been waiting for. It took all of his will not to impatiently drag it to the surface. If he had understood anything by now, then it was that instincts couldn’t be forced, only encouraged. He closed his eyes and waited for his lips to move by themselves.

“Not in the past,

Not at this time,

Not at this place,

Not in this realm of mine,

What the Apex doesn’t know,

Cannot be so common,

To be found before,

Her flesh goes all rotten,

Infinity beckons,

Possibilities contained,

An answer only I can find,

Beyond this earth’s gaze

In a land governed by the sick.”

The words ended and John resumed the tapping of his finger. After only two seconds, he reached into his inventory and wrote down what he had just said. “If nothing else, it’s nice to know that I can do it,” he told Metra.

“Alright and what did you mean by that?” she asked.

“Well, let’s see,” the Gamer looked over the three paragraphs and tried to make sense of them individually. “The start sounds like a presentation of the assumptions, the second is an argument of why the assumptions must be true. It’s a convincing one. If Romulus doesn’t know of a way to transform her soul, someone who has been around practically since the advent of magic, then how would anyone else? The question is what I mean with the last paragraph.” He looked at the five lines and summarized them to himself. “An infinity only I can search in, governed by the sick…”

“More like an infinity containing endless possibilities,” Metra said, looking at the page.

“Perhaps my… of course!” The Gamer finally realized what the answer was. “Adventures! Across an infinite number of worlds, one of them must have come up with a method to transfer souls for one purpose or another. ‘Governed by the sick’ speaks to the motivation of a ruler either wanting to prevent their own death or make an immortal army to selfish ends; either way, one such world has to exist out there.”

“Could also speak to the randomly generated loot,” Metra presented a less complicated solution.

“It could,” John agreed. As he thought more about this, his rush of elation quickly diminished. “Easy as that answer was to find, the problem is that both are randomly generated. In order to take something with me from an Adventure, that Adventure needs to be real in the first place, and that’s a chance within the chance of the Kingdom having what I need. Infinity is a rather large number… but Space Protector might have something to make those Instant Dungeons more reliable.”

There was certainly a better chance that the Space Protector Class had something that allowed him to find the Adventure or Loot he needed than there was for Metracana Master to outright allow him to consolidate souls into a solid object. The question now was whether John wanted to change his current course of investing into Starforger to blitz through Space Protector on the whim of his prophecy instead.

Morally, John had the obligation to save a life. He also had the obligation to be the strongest he could be to make sure his nation was secure. Those two were somewhat at odds with each other, as Space Protector did not secure him any fighting power, which was most useful right now as the greatest threat, the Lorylim, could certainly not be dealt with in an economic or diplomatic way. When facing a nihilistic consciousness melted with chaos and an ancient evil, violence was the actual answer.

‘Then again, Space Protector could have Perks that allow me to secure key locations with reinforced barriers,’ the Gamer thought. ‘Magoi can do a lot, but there’s a fair chance that my Protected Spaces are going to be stronger. The number will be limited and it’ll take me longer to set up, most likely, but with our Stat gap, the barriers themselves should be a lot stronger, especially with a couple of Perks. I could just be rationalizing though.’ “Say, Metra, what do you think I should do? Stay on Starforger or diverge to Space Protector to try and save that alchemist?”

“Save her,” Metra answered without even thinking about it. A mild delay later, she began to cackle. It grew from mild amusement to almost roaring laughter. John’s prolonged stare was the reason for it and he deliberately deepened the wrinkles on his forehead and the doubt in his eyes. Even if both came from an honest place, he was happy to take a moment to be of simple visual amusement to his woman. “Can’t you just take a fucking yes for an answer?”

“I’m practically addicted to context,” John sighed.

The blonde berserker babe bounced beautiful butt first into his lap. Because she was as tall as him, she blocked most of his sight. A sense that he temporarily decided was useless, closing his eyes to fully take in her scent and the sensation of her skin. Metallic fragrance mixed with feminine sweetness for an intoxicating result. Perhaps the base smell wasn’t actually that enticing and John had just been trained to love it through endless passionate nights shared with her.

The shifting of her shoulder announced the hand that firmly ran through John’s hair. Against the back of her neck, she pulled his neck, where he swiftly started to kiss her smooth skin. His heart beat in his chest. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, its loud drumming professed the excitement he felt towards her presence. Every part of his body flushed with heat.

“You know what you are?” she asked him quietly. “You’re my king, John, and my king will never settle for being something less than the greatest. Do the impossible. Save that woman. If you want to justify it to yourself, imagine what an immortal alchemist would do on your side.”

“I don’t know if I want to make her mine.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“As an ally, as a lover, doesn’t really matter,” Metra shrugged. “She’s your type.”

“My type is ‘attractive women with attitude’, that’s hardly a limiting factor.” The Gamer put a pin in that line of conversation to continue kissing the First of Wrath’s skin. Certainly, he had an interest in Delicia’s body. Romantic interest was a different question, but it wasn’t important as far as Metra’s argument went. Alchemy was utilized little in the modern Abyss and having the genius of a generation on his side could pay off.

If he found the way to convert her soul into an Artificial Crystal, if she agreed to come with him afterwards, if he was then the one to make her new body and if she retained her genius, she would doubtlessly become an incredible asset. Those were a whole lot of ifs and yet John wanted to do it.

The rewards were plenty. Prestige and self-satisfaction for the deed itself. Gratitude from Nightingale and Delicia. Service from the latter. A chance to get to know her beyond an initial impression. John certainly wanted to try. He had an inkling that he’d enjoy her company and that feeling had rarely been wrong – especially after being honed with all of his experiences.

‘Do I want to expand my harem further?’ he asked himself. ‘Irrelevant to the question of whether or not I will save her. Still, I should try to find the answer to that. Obviously, I WANT to expand it, what man ever wanted less gorgeous women in his life? Should I? Well, as long as she fits in, there won’t be an issue. If I make her a body, she’ll be hooked up to me mentally for as long as it takes to get to the reset Perk. That will at least get her introduced to how things work… ah, but I am losing myself in hypotheticals, I don’t even know her. Do I want to expand the harem? I guess the answer is the same as every time I come across this question: I just can’t abstain from wanting more women when one suited comes my way… Delicia and Nightingale… I fancy those two…’ “I’ll do it,” he finally resolved. “I’ll find a cure, be it the one I have in mind or whatever else comes my way. After I’ve done the right thing, I’ll see whether I want them – whether they want me.”

“In this one aspect, Aclysia is entirely right,” Metra said while scratching his scalp. “You deserve everyone you want. That’s the right of the greatest king.”

“Hmm…” John let out a pleased sigh. “Did you ever think about becoming my queen?”

The scratching paused. “That’s Seminaris’s goal, not mine.”

“Who cares about Seminaris and her goals.” John’s arms wrapped around Metra’s waist, holding her so she couldn’t escape the question. “You’re my weapon, my willing sex slave, those are titles you give yourself because you or I enjoy hearing them. What I see you as, above all of that, is my equal in love and life. If I was a king, would you insist on having a station below me or would you wish to be one of my queens?”

“Obviously there is just one answer to that,” Metra chuckled, hand wandering from his hair to his cheek. With soft pressure, she made him raise his chin. When opening his eyes, he found her head turned as far as she could, smiling at him over her shoulder. “Like I could let an absolute overthinker like you make all his own decisions.”