Chapter 9: Dreamer’s Peak (2)
[The Divine Domain (Tier 1/21)
Current Effects:
Passive Divinity Generation: Every being inside the Domain gains +1 Divinity per day passively.
Tier 1 Above Origin Barrier: The Domain is protected by a powerful barrier capable of withstanding forces up to nine ranks above its current level. No being below Tier 10 can perceive inside or break through the barrier.
Accelerated Recovery and Training: Anyone inside trains and practices skills at an increased rate while recovering twice as fast from injuries or exhaustion.
Skill Comprehension: Provides natural support, allowing any being inside to comprehend skills 25% faster than normal.
Resource Growth: Herbs, plants, and materials of Tier 1-2 rank grow naturally at an Above Origin rank.
Purification Field: Automatically clears external poisons, physical corruptions, or surface-level disturbances within the Domain.]
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Akasha stared at the list in silence, feeling the subtle thrum of energy beneath him as the Domain settled into place around the modest home.
The air inside its boundary already felt slightly richer, warmer, and more alive.
Luna lifted her head slightly from his shoulder, reading the prompt alongside him.
"Not bad for a Tier 1 start," she said softly, a hint of approval in her voice as another cool gust of wind swept across the roof.
"Hmm, are these effects truly that good?" Akasha questioned, still too ignorant when it came to matters of the power system.
The mountain wind tugged at his crimson and white hair as he stared at the glowing status window.
Luna lifted her head from his shoulder, her white hair brushing softly against his arm. She let out a gentle laugh, the sound warm against the quiet of the Silent Peak.
"They’re impressive, Akasha," she said with calm patience.
"Divinity... you shouldn’t get it confused with Mana from those novels you’ve read." She explained.
"It is a true power, much more than just fuel — it’s the very essence that allows you to shape reality itself. Most people can only build it up slowly by ranking up or by spending ridiculous sums on rare alchemical pills.
However, Gaining +1 every single day for free? That’s a real gamechanger, especially in the early stages."
She motioned casually toward the shimmering boundary encircling the humble home.
"The barrier is pretty straightforward... The Universal Peak starts at Tier 20 and above, but even this small Tier 1 Domain can already block anything Tier 10 and below."
Luna snuggled in closer, her warmth a pleasant contrast to the cool night air and kept explaining.
Generally speaking, the Divine Domain at just Tier One was already more than most beings could achieve in their entire lives.
Pantheos was kind of like the stock market—since everyone was born with some degree of power, the truly rare abilities became even rarer.
And this Divine Domain was, without a doubt, nothing short of priceless.
The rest of its functions were fairly self-explanatory.
She explained that it was designed to focus on skill comprehension rather than innate powers, simply because there was no need to assist with those aspects.
After all, everyone had their own personal guide for matters related to their personal and internal progression, making such a function unnecessary.
Akasha listened quietly, the faint glow of his new Domain pulsing gently beneath them as the mountain wind whispered steadily across the rooftop.
"Alright, I guess this will do for now." He then turned his attention to his to the tasks needed to upgrade the domain.
---
[The Domain would continue to grow in tandem with your Tier. Yet, at ranks 7, 14, and 21, it would experience a significant transformation. At those key milestones, a special task would also be assigned.]
Noticing there were no tasks awaiting him at the moment, Akasha made up his mind.
"Well, I suppose that’s for the best," he muttered, thinking it was better not to have too much on his plate right now.
"Now... the Gacha."
Akasha turned his head slightly toward Luna, the cool wind still brushing across the peak of the mountain and carrying the faint scent of the slopes below.
"Just how good of items should I be expecting?" he asked. "What exactly can these rolls offer?"
Luna laughed softly, her body still nestled against his side as she looked out over the vast landscape and the five continents below.
"Well, since we’re on the topic... I might as well tell you." She had been meaning to reveal this for a while.
"Cheats in this world—or rather, in the verse of Pantheos—are not rare at all."
She explained that with enough Divinity, one could create anything—from entire worlds to vast universes, even the most overpowered and unfair cheats imaginable.
In a sense, Divinity itself was the ultimate cheat.
Akasha’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of frustration crossing his features.
"Why didn’t you say that from the start? If I’d known, I would’ve just wished for infinite Divinity and everything would’ve been fine."
Luna shrugged, a playful curve to her lips.
"Well, maybe... it would’ve killed the fun of it all." She said jokingly, but seeing he wasn’t laughing... she quickly turned more serious.
"Alright... even if you had infinite Divinity, anything you created at Tier One would still be fragile and easily destroyed by anyone stronger.
And while cheats exist, your wishes aren’t exactly normal.
They come straight from your mother. So, I’m pretty sure you can get just about anything from those rolls."
Still, she admitted honestly, she had no idea what the lower or upper limits of those items might be.
Akasha sat in silence for a moment, thinking to himself.
’What’s done is done—no use crying over spilled milk.’
Maybe he could have made better wishes, but there was no sense in dwelling on what couldn’t be changed.
It was smarter to just make the best of what he had.
"Fuck it," he muttered, before selecting the Gacha in his status with a thought.
HUMMM!!!
In front of him, a glowing globe materialized out of thin air.
It spun slowly, its surface flickering rapidly with countless images—ancient swords that seemed capable of cutting through worlds, floating mountains, bottles containing entire oceans, books that could rewrite fate, and countless other impossible things blurring past too quickly to fully register.
The globe spun faster and faster, becoming a dizzying storm of color and light.
Then, without warning, it simply disappeared.
Akasha blinked in confusion.
His thoughts were starting to race, wondering if there had been something he was supposed to notice or receive before it vanished.
Yet, there was nothing—no sign, no clue—just the empty space where it had been moments ago.
"Uh, am I missing someth—?"
However, in the next moment, a sharp, stinging pain flared in his eyes.
It wasn’t unbearable, but it caught him off guard, making him wince as he instinctively brought a hand up to rub them.
HUM!
And in that moment, new status window appeared before him.
The sharp pain in his eyes faded after a few heartbeats, leaving only a faint, lingering warmth.
Akasha blinked several times, the cool night air brushing against his face as he focused on the glowing text floating in front of him.
[You have acquired Unranked Divine Eyes.]
[The Divine Eyes of Origin (Tier 1/??) (???) - These eyes grant you the ability to see anything about a person or item you’re looking at — their basic information, hidden traits, and potential.
They also allow you to faintly discern the Script of Pantheos — the Language of Gods.
Lastly, you can channel your affinities (Blood, Fire, Charm, Pride) directly through your eyes, turning your gaze into a weapon or tool when needed.]
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As the information settled, Akasha looked around once more.
And for him... the world had completely shifted.
Well, it wasn’t drastically different, but everything felt more vibrant and alive.
Colors became richer, edges sharper, and small details he hadn’t noticed before stood out clearly—the subtle grain of the stone beneath him, the faint movement of distant leaves, the way sunlight caught on individual blades of grass far below.
It was as if he had been seeing the world in muted tones until now.
With this in mind he had a thought and turned to look at Luna.
She was still snuggled against his side, but now she looked even more stunning.
Every slender curve, every strand of her luminous white hair, the soft glow of her skin in the moonlight — it all hit him harder.
His blood-red eyes traced her form with open hunger.
"Fuck... you’re truly the most beautiful," he muttered bluntly, the words slipping out before he could stop them.
"Looking at you right now is making me want to skip every plan I had and just pin you down right here on this peak."
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