Author's Note: This fic is inspired by The Dark Wolf Shiro's Celestial Roulette. For those of you that don't know, it's basically the Celestial Forge, Menagerie, Reliquary, and Grimoire combined. I'm not sure if anyone else has ever been psychotic enough to try and combine them all together before him, but he's the one that specifically inspired me.

Chapter 1
— Awakening —

— Shinra Nam Ul Nasca —

They say that drowning is one of the worst ways to die, but I could say with utmost confidence that it is also a terrible way to wake up.

I flail around, struggling to sit up until the torrent of water pouring from overhead ceases. I leaned over the bed coughing, feeling as if a gallon of water came back up. Once I managed to catch my breath, I looked up to find my attacker.

A girl with the same blond hair and teal eyes that I had leaned against my doorway with a disapproving scowl, one hand stretched out as the residual magic dissipated. "Somehow I'm not surprised that you're still sleeping."

I grumble under my breath and toss my cover off. My blanket and bed were soaked, and I wasn't any better off. "You could have woken me up without ruining my bed, you know."

Ariel crossed her arms. "Think of it as an incentive to go to class. Maybe you'll learn a spell to dry it out."

"Still seems like an overreaction to a little bit of oversleeping," I shot back. "You should fix it for me."

Ariel put a hand to her chest and wore an innocent expression. "And take away an opportunity for you to learn something yourself for once? What kind of sister would I be if I did that?"

"A loving one," I muttered, sloshing my way out of bed. "Not that you'd know anything about that."

Ariel looked taken aback. "What an awful thing to say. You're my favorite brother!"

For just a moment I noticed her glance at my body as I got out of bed, her eyes roaming over my shirtless torso before darting down to where my underwear covered my crotch. Then, as if it didn't happen at all, her eyes were back to my face. My body wasn't anything special, but Ariel was a filthy pervert, and a narcissist. It wasn't the first time she had looked at me like that.

She had always been annoyingly good at putting on a convincing mask. It was almost enough to make me believe her. "That would mean more if we had another brother. By the way, if you're here, does that mean you're skipping out on class, too?"

Ariel's mask fell, replaced with a smug smile. "I merely volunteered to come check on you. To make sure you haven't fallen ill, or worse. Besides, even if I were skipping class, you need the lesson a lot more than I do."

It was a harsh but unfortunate truth. When I was first reincarnated in this world, I was excited to go on adventures and learn magic. My excitement only grew when I realized I was the heir to the crown, destined to become the most powerful man in the Eastern Empire. Unfortunately, fate was a cruel mistress.

I had almost no aptitude for manipulating magic power. I could visualize the effect just fine, and anyone could repeat an incantation or copy the somatic movements. It wasn't even like I was unable to manipulate magic power at all. I was just bad at it. My swordsmanship was better, but not by much. Compared to me, Ariel excelled at everything.

Over time it affected my motivation to improve, and even the awe of being in a world of magic had lost its luster. It wasn't like I was totally useless or anything. My skills were… passable, I think. Sometimes it felt like I was being punished for the crimes of my ancestors, or something.

Ariel jerked her head. "Now come on. It reflects poorly on Father and the Crown if you can't even be asked to get out of bed for class."

Sometimes I wondered about that. Despite my lack of talent, no one close to the crown had ever treated me as a lesser. In fact, I was more often put on a pedestal for the simple fact that I came from His Majesty's loins. I sighed. "Fine, I'm getting up."

"Great!" Ariel said, clapping her hands with a smile on her face. She turned to leave, but before doing so she looked at one of the imperial maids under her service. "Zenith, will you take care of the bed? It seems my clumsy brother wet it in his sleep." She didn't wait for a response before walking away. Not that an imperial maid would ever refuse a direct order from the princess, even if it was to clean up a mess she caused.

I rolled my eyes at her antics and gathered a new pair of clothes. Early on it felt strange, changing openly as the servants went about their duties. They were servants, so there wasn't any reason to show modesty. In the case of Zenith, she probably even changed my diapers. By now it was no different than changing in the locker room for gym class, only instead of there being other dudes in the room that weren't paying attention to me, it was a sexy maid that wasn't paying attention to me. Not that I had any delusions of Zenith being a simple maid, of course. She carried herself like a noble, and I had long suspected that she was actually a high-ranking member of the military. An imperial guard, maybe?

I decided to sneak a look at Zenith's backside while she was bent over and preoccupied with something else. Not for the first time, I wondered if I could order her into my bed. I had never tried, dismissing the thoughts as pubescent desires, but the older I grew the more tempting it was.

I shook my head and looked away. I didn't want to give Ariel a reason to come looking for me again so soon. I finished getting ready in silence. Before I left, I called out to Zenith. "Thanks for cleaning up after her."

Zenith smiled at me with a genuine warmness that made me feel like she could be my mother. "There's no need to thank me, Your Highness, it's my duty as an imperial maid." She bowed to me respectfully. A part of me thought I wasn't worthy of it, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel good. "Your thanks is appreciated as always, though."

My talent, or lack thereof, was far from a secret. You couldn't keep something like that secret while attending public classes. Still, my position commanded some respect. Officially I didn't have any power, but only an idiot would make an enemy of the guy that would one day hold absolute authority. I liked to think I acted humble enough, and that my kindness helped in some regard, but that didn't really match the empire's creed of "Power is Everything."

Namrium Academy, once the crown jewel of the Magic Kingdom of Namrium, was the most prestigious academy in the entire Eastern Empire. That didn't mean its classes were limited to magical studies, though. It was a premier school that taught nearly all subjects. Those that studied there had some freedom in choosing their curriculum, allowing them to prioritize their strengths so that they may be most useful to the empire upon graduation.

I walked through the corridors in silence. Other students bowed out of my way without me even glancing toward them. My eyes traced the walls, as ancient as the school's rich history. Had there ever been someone as unworthy as I was that wandered the halls?

"Good morning, Your Highness," came the voice of the instructor as soon as I walked through the doorway. I frowned at the burst of attention it caused. She wasn't even facing me, the least she could have done was pretend not to notice me slip in, but I supposed I deserved it since I was disrupting the lesson by being late.

I mumbled an apology of sorts and ducked my way into the crowd of students. The room wasn't so much a classroom as it was a training room with a blackboard carted into it. The board had a few spells detailed on it. Wind magic, it seemed, I thought.

The instructor was Iris Midgar, a promising young woman in the empire's military. She wasn't a Royal Knight, not yet at least, but she had made a name for herself by rising through the ranks quickly. In this world it wasn't uncommon for those with enough strength to live to see a few hundred years. The elite amongst them could even live much longer than that. In that respect, it wasn't unusual to see a powerful and well-decorated young person. The thing that set Iris apart was that she actually was that young.

"As I was saying, even if magic isn't your preferred form of combat, being able to use it quickly and effectively is an important tool that any combatant can learn." Iris looked over the students, but I was pretty sure she was checking to make sure a particular few of us were paying attention. "Remember, it's possible to skip the incantation of a spell even without a Chant Annulment skill. As long as you are intimately familiar with the magic and spell in question and are able to perfectly visualize its effect in your mind, you should be able to quick-cast at least one signature spell."

I suppressed a yawn. It was hard to feign interest when I so desperately wanted to be good at magic. To fling off powerful storms with a flick of the wrist. But casting simple spells with an incantation was already a tall ask for me.

"Wind magic has a variety of uses for both offense and defense," Iris continued. "You can coat the magic around your blade to cleave through the hardest materials, or you can send out a thin, solidified blade of air to do the same. And yet, if an entire squadron fires a volley of arrows at you, a wide burst of air can act as a barrier that rejects the projectiles. It's not as effective as a proper barrier spell, but it is far easier to allocate your concentration for. That makes it more practical for the average soldier."

[Celestial System Online]

[Initiating Starting Rolls…]

The words permeated my mind. I had never heard the Voice of the World myself, but this was similar to how it had been described to me. How I'd imagined it. I looked around with a bit more haste than I intended to. No one else seemed to hear it, nor did they notice my franticness.

[Results]

Iris called Ariel up to the front of the room to help with a demonstration, but I was a bit too preoccupied to pay attention to it.

[Shadow Clones] (Generic Naruto Fanfiction) - 100 CP
A technique to create clones by splitting your chakra up evenly amongst the resulting bodies. By default, these clones are not very durable and will oftentimes dispel in a puff of smoke from a heavy enough bump. When a clone dispels, their gained knowledge and memories will transfer to your original body, as well as any remaining clones. You have a copy of a technique scroll for this technique, of such quality that an idiot could teach it to himself in virtually no time at all. It even includes safeguards built-in that eliminate any possibility of killing yourself by putting too much chakra into it or getting a headache from too many clones dispelling at once.

My heart skipped a beat. Shadow Clones were from Naruto, and it seemed any possibility that they were from something else disappeared at the mention of chakra. I didn't even need to question whether the voice was just someone fucking with me. I could somehow feel the scroll in the back of my mind. Stored in some metaphysical dimension, waiting to be summoned at a moment's notice.

[An Age of Gods] (Fate/Legends - Oasis of Fantasy) - 0 CP
You have the physical and mental capabilities of someone born during the Age of Gods. You can tear through the stone or metal of the modern day without much exertion. You have magical power unlike what appears to those who use magecraft, as you do not have magic circuits. Instead, through your body runs pure magical energy, allowing you to much more easily manipulate your own energy and that of the world around you. As befits a time of myths and heroes, you are impossibly attractive and are able to grow to somewhat inhuman degrees.

My body restructured itself in real time. Thankfully the changes weren't obvious enough to draw any immediate attention, but I wanted to grin from ear to ear. A well of excitement erupted somewhere inside me. This was it. This was the cheat I was supposed to be born with!

[Taratect] (Kumo Desu) - 200 CP

The rolls kept coming. This one was a summon of sorts. Having monsters as companions or summons wasn't unheard of in the empire. There was even an entire division in the military dedicated to Beast Knights that had a magic beast companion. Visions of a scarily large black and white spider flashed through my mind. It probably wasn't large enough to ride, but it did have some sticky thread and a very potent venom.

My new power — this system — was unlike anything I had ever heard from this world. So far it had given me a scroll with a technique printed on it, it had somehow restructured my body in the span of a few moments, and now it manifested a very real summon from… somewhere. That was only the beginning, too. I could feel the sheer potential of possibilities that radiated from my power. It felt like I could do anything, I just had to get a little lucky first.

[Hero Medal] (Chrono Trigger) - 200 CP
Ah, this medal brings back memories. A long time ago, these were awarded to the most valorous heroes; very few were ever created, and only one other such medal survived to the present day. They identify the wearer as a true hero, and unless you give someone cause to doubt your worthiness you will be recognized as such when you wear it. You'll also find your attacks finding your enemies' weak points more easily when you wear this, as if guided by a hero of old.

Just like that, as quickly as the power came to life, I could feel the system return to dormancy. It was still there, and I suspected I'd get more boons from it in the future, but it wasn't something I could willingly call upon.

I hid a hand in my pocket and summoned the Hero Medal. It was small enough that it could go unnoticed as a new addition to my attire. The medal was almost like a brooch. To me it seemed rather ordinary, but I didn't doubt its abilities at all. Was that also because of my new power?

I vaguely registered the other students moving about in the background, partnering up in groups of two. I was too focused on the medal to care much about what they were doing, though. I stuck it on my shirt, displaying it proudly.

"Woah, cool medal," came a voice, interrupting me from my thoughts. "Be my partner, okay?"

I was high off my new toys and didn't fully register what, or who, had said it. "Yeah, sure," I said. Then it clicked.

The one standing in front of me was Eris Greyrat. She was one of the other students that wasn't very good at performing magic. She was better than me, sure, but she still had no business trying to apply it in a practical scenario. Whatever camaraderie we shared for being bad at magic aside, she was leaps and bounds better than me at swordsmanship. A real talent with the blade. And she had a reputation for not holding back.

"Good, everyone seems to be partnered up," Iris said from the front of the room. "Remember, just some light sparring. Try to incorporate the spell on the board into the spar. If you can't do it without a chant, then you'll want to have the practice of multi-tasking the concentration to cast in battle anyway."

I looked at Eris for a moment, dismissing the thought that she was rather cute underneath her rough, tomboyish exterior.

She returned a toothy grin. "Alright, Your Highness. Let's go practice!"

I hesitated, but as she grabbed a wooden practice sword from one of the barrels and moved to a quiet corner away from everyone else, I let out a sigh. I could probably get someone to trade partners with me if I just asked, but that wasn't the kind of prince I wanted to be. The kind of man I ought to be.

Eris quickly fell into a practiced stance. She never had any intention of trying to cast the spell like we were supposed to. She never did. When she partnered with others her ferocity was helpful in simulating a real battle scenario, so the instructors never seemed to care to correct her. It probably didn't help that Eris and Iris had remarkably similar personalities. I knew Iris' younger sister. She was also a student at the academy, but if I hadn't known any better, I would have thought that Eris was her sister all along.

As soon as I lifted the wooden sword up to defend Eris took off, kicking up a dust of dirt behind her. It wasn't my first time sparring with her, but normally I had no hope of keeping up. For once, I could track her movements.

I almost hesitated. Ten minutes ago, I would have hesitated. Instead, my sword moved to defend almost like it was guided by another hand. I successfully parried the strike that came, my new body absorbing the shock of the blow with no problem.

Eris was taken aback, I could see it on her face, but she wasn't one to stumble at the first sign of opposition. If anything, the toothy grin on her face grew, and suddenly I felt a sense of danger. She barraged me with a flurry of strikes. Stabs, feints, slashes that were more like beatings from a club. The Hero Medal was impressive, but even with that I was only able to defend against roughly half of Eris' attacks.

No, that wasn't right. The Hero Medal specifically called out attacking weak points, so maybe it simply wasn't as suited for defense.

I shifted my weight and redirected the next attack that came, using the momentum to strike forward myself. I meant to hold back, but the wooden sword lashed out on its own and struck Eris in the face, slicing through any would-be defense.

Eris retreated and rubbed her face with the back of her hand. She spat a bit of blood mixed with her saliva onto the ground. "I don't know what you did with His Highness, but I like the new you."

Eris moved and I lost sight of her. One moment she was a few meters away from me, and the next she was falling from in front of me, her sword swinging down heavily. I lifted my own sword to defend, only able to withstand it thanks to my new body.

Had she been holding back all this time?

Her onslaught continued. It wasn't quite accurate to say I was holding my own, but I wasn't eating the dirt yet. That could be said to be an accomplishment of its own.

I needed an opening, or at least a reprieve. I spared a glance at the board. My problem with magic had always been an inability to control my magical power, but with my new body I could feel a new level of control over the energy coursing through my veins. I could call on it easily enough, I thought.

The next time I parried one of Eris' strikes I started to chant. Eris seemed surprised by that, but that was a given considering my reputation.

Unfortunately, she wasn't going to sit idly by. Even with my newfound mental capabilities I couldn't maintain concentration on the incantation while trying to defend. It was a shame, too, because I could feel my magical power reacting to the incantation, moving unimpeded according to my will.

I tried a few more times, but Eris was able to disrupt my thoughts each time. Since I had been trying to dedicate some focus to casting a spell, my defense had also started to suffer. My new body wasn't good enough to stop all the bruises I knew were forming on it, and if I didn't turn things around then she was definitely going to beat me into the ground.

Dammit!

I parried the next strike and jumped back to put some distance between us. I wasn't going to be able to chant, that much was clear. I spared a glance at the board again. The spell was a relatively simple burst of cyclonic air. A short-lived tornado turned on its side, basically. I visualized thoroughly even as Eris closed the distance once more.

I didn't move to defend with my sword, instead leaving myself wide open as I held a hand out. I could feel the magic in my body react to my desires, this time without an incantation. Eris' eyes opened wide as she processed what was about to happen.

Magic erupted from my palm, blasting Eris away until she crashed into the nearby wall. She had been totally defenseless against the blast, and as the dust cleared her body fell limply onto the ground.

There wasn't a single soul in the room that didn't notice what happened. Immediately murmurs scattered amongst the students, but I was too busy trying to process what had happened myself to properly overhear anything. It felt like my ears were ringing as the world went blurry.

Confirmed. Extra Skill "Chant Annulment"… successfully acquired.

This voice sounded different from the last one. If the other voice came from deep within my soul, this one felt like it came from all around me. From the world itself. Ah, so that was the Voice of the World. It was indeed a similar feeling to the system's announcements.

"Maybe a little bit too much oomph," said Iris from behind. She patted me on the shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts as I turned to her with a blank look on my face. "You'll get the hang of it."

My gaze drifted from Iris to Eris, still motionless on the ground. I called out her name and hurried over. I didn't mean to hurt her.

"She'll be fine," Iris said, her voice strangely gentle compared to how rough she always looked. "She's got a hard head. A blow like that would have only just knocked her out for a bit. She probably wasn't expecting you to blast her with a sudden burst of magic, so it's really her fault for putting her guard down."

Another student — Jiwu, I think — came over. She wordlessly cast a healing spell, covering Eris' body with a warm green glow.

"We'll take care of Eris, Your Highness." Iris told me, then she raised her voice to address every student in the room. "If you're all satisfied with your results, you're dismissed for the day. Feel free to stick around if you'd like a bit more practice or some pointers."

I nodded, still shaken from what had happened. I think someone called out to me as I was leaving, but I was distracted as my new power came to life once more.

Feat Achieved
Defeat Eris (+100 CP)

I frowned at the announcement even as a new roll came in.

[Tomb] (Warhammer Fantasy: Tomb Kings) - 300 CP

I got a vague understanding of what the reward would have entailed. It would have been a literal tomb linked to my soul, stored away in a pocket dimension that I could travel to whenever I wanted. If I purchased it I would have some degree of control over the tomb's special properties. It was a little tempting, but I think that was only because I was greedy and wanted everything the system threw at me.

I couldn't afford it, but I had some options available to me. It seemed when I earned these points — Celestial Points — I would also earn a roll from one of the system's catalogs. If I could afford the result I could buy it immediately, but if I couldn't afford it, I could lock it in. That would keep it frozen until I earned enough points to purchase it, but doing so would forfeit all the rolls I would have earned in the process. Useful if I got something really good, for sure.

Regardless of whether I could afford it or not, I also had the choice to skip it or reroll it. The problem with rerolling was that I would auto-buy anything I could afford, and I wouldn't be able to lock anything I couldn't.

Could I even get any bad rolls, though? I doubted I'd be interested in all of the rolls I got, and some of them might not suit me specifically, but objectively bad ones? Maybe that's what it was hinting at, but I'd have to wait and see. In any case, I commanded my power to reroll.

[Vault of the Jumper] (RWBY) - 400 CP

Another extradimensional space. I wasn't exactly hard pressed for good lodgings, but there was nevertheless some value in having it. Not that I had much say in the matter. I could feel the connection to the reward slip, shimmering away into the void, and then my power went quiet once more.

I sat on my bed — dry as a bone with fresh sheets, thanks to Zenith — technique scroll in hand. I wasn't Naruto, so I wasn't going to be making a casual thousand clones. Maybe I wouldn't be able to abuse the technique like he could, but even if I could only reliably make a single clone it would prove unimaginably useful in no time at all.

Thankfully the technique was as simple to understand as my power promised. Chakra even seemed to share a lot of similarities with a local martial art called battlewill.

Suddenly my door burst open, Ariel letting herself in before I had a chance to protest. I nearly jumped to my feet in response, which made it impossible to try and hide the scroll before she noticed it. She briefly looked at the scroll in my hand with narrowed eyes before looking back at me.

"Funny, I didn't think you ever studied," Ariel said, crossing her arms. Her smug smile was back.

I rolled my eyes. She probably wasn't going to let me play stupid when she barged in on me reading the damn thing. "I was thinking of turning a new leaf."

Ariel studied my face for a moment. She was always so good at reading me, but she seemed unsure of herself for once. "Is that so? Is it related to that sudden burst of magic you used earlier? Eris wants to speak to you, by the way."

I winced. Eris was definitely the type of girl to hold a grudge, wasn't she? A hand moved to the bruised ribs hidden by my shirt. She was too damn strong. "Yeah, something like that," I said, turning my attention back to the scroll.

Ariel sat down next to me. She hesitated for a moment, briefly fixated on… my height, I thought. She didn't mention anything about it though, and instead directed her attention at the scroll in my hand. "Alright, fine, let's say I believe you. What's this scroll you're studying? Looks like a technique scroll of some sort."

I made a fruitless attempt to hide the contents of the scroll, but there was obviously no use with her sitting right next to me. She leaned against me; her breasts pushed against my arm. I decided to relent on the scroll rather than explore that part of my mind. Ariel was beautiful, of course. She was my twin, after all, but that was precisely why I didn't need to entertain those thoughts.

"It's a technique for making clones. I found it hidden away in the library," I explained.

Ariel spent a few long moments skimming over the scroll, studying it. "It seems simple enough. Have you tried it out yet?"

I shook my head. "I was about to before you came barging in."

Ariel put on an innocent smile and motioned with her hand. "Well go on, then."

"Right…" I rolled my eyes again. I did say there wasn't much point in hiding it considering the circumstances, and it wasn't like I really needed to keep any hidden trump cards from her of all people. She wasn't the type of person to go gossiping about any newfound powers I got.

I stood in the center of my room, facing Ariel as she sat on my bed. She giggled at the strange hand sign I used in preparation. I ignored it, and how cute she looked doing it.

A cloud of smoke erupted next to me, clearing to reveal a perfect doppelganger.

Ariel stood up and studied me and the clone. She had an approving look on her face, which wasn't one I was used to seeing. Not directed at me, at least. She poked at the clone's cheek with a thoughtful look on her face. "It's not a mirage, but solid. A perfect clone."

"Well, not perfect," I corrected. "Its durability is pretty poor. A good enough bump, or any forceful hit, would cause it to dispel in a puff of smoke."

"Still useful," she said. "Good for misdirects, I imagine. And as long as it doesn't get hit it's still an extra pair of hands, or another swinging sword. There doesn't seem to be any obvious indications of which one is the real one, either." She turned her attention to the real me. "When it dissipates does the energy return to you? The scroll said it splits it evenly between you and the clones, right?"

I nodded. "There's a very small overhead for actually performing the technique, but yes. Any unspent energy from the clone would return to me once it's dispelled. I'd also gain any of its unique memories and experiences."

Ariel's attention was back on the clone. "Fascinating." She reached for the clone's shirt, lifting it up slightly. Her eyes first found its abs — my abs — but then shifted to what she was really after: the bruises on my body. "I see. So it's a perfect clone of you from the moment you cast it, right? Do you have any control over that?"

I thought about it for a moment, going over the instinctual knowledge I gained from getting the technique. "No, I don't think so. I'd need a separate ability to shift my form. If I had one the clone could use all of my abilities, though. At least as long as its portion of the energy is enough to fuel it."

Ariel went quiet after that as she studied the clone. She was thinking about something. It was easy to think of her as the kind and charismatic princess, or the smug, teasing sister in my case, but she really did have a brilliant mind.

"Hey, do you think I'd get pregnant if your clone came inside me?" Ariel asked, her tone dead serious.

"What the hell kind of stupid question is that?" I asked, failing to fight the red rushing to my face.

She was brilliant. But she was also an unrepentant pervert.

"I was just wondering. You know, for science, or whatever."

It was amazing how she could put on such an innocent look moments after asking a question like that. I explicitly didn't give her a serious answer, but it did make me think. Theoretically she wouldn't, right? If the cum was part of the clone, then it should reasonably disappear once the clone disappears, taking any evidence or consequences with it. But I knew as well as she did that it didn't actually matter. Between magic and the sciences brought to the empire by Otherworlders, accidental pregnancy was practically unheard of. It was even affordable for commoners, much less the princess.

Then Ariel's face went serious, erasing any sign of her playful and dangerously tempting attitude. "So, mind filling me in on what happened?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, making my own attempt at sounding innocent. Even to me it didn't sound nearly as convincing as her attempts.

She gave me an incredulous look. "Really? Not only can you suddenly use magic without a chant — magic that was overcharged by more magical power than I've ever felt from you before today — but you were also able to hold your own against Eris in swordsmanship."

"I did not hold my own," I protested. "If we were using real swords she would have killed me a dozen times over. At least."

"And yet you were still somehow able to bypass her defenses on more than one occasion. A little too unbelievable to be a coincidence, don't you think?" Ariel lifted the shirt of my clone again, indicating the newly defined muscles. "And how about this? I saw you without a shirt this morning. I think I would have noticed if you had abs. Not to mention you're taller than me now. And don't try to blame that on a growth spurt. I'd believe it by itself, but I got a feeling it's all connected somehow."

I bit the inside of my lip. She had seen right through me. I expected her to, of course, but I still wasn't prepared for it. I hesitated to answer.

When I didn't answer Ariel's eyes went wide. "Did you awaken a Unique Skill?"

"Maybe?" I offered, but I was reasonably confident that I hadn't. A Unique Skill was certainly this world's version of an isekai cheat, though it wasn't exclusive to Otherworlders by any means. My system was different, though. I had heard the Voice of the World now, and it was definitely different from the system's voice. Not to mention the system was creating stuff from series I had read about. No, if I had to guess, I'd say my power worked at a scale that was higher than the local power system.

Ariel studied my face. "Explain."

I sighed. There was a certain aura to her. One that made it hard to turn her down when she was asking for something. "Sorry, I'm not sure I really understand it much myself." I said. "It happened today in class. I was just sitting there, nothing of note happening, and then suddenly some power, or something, awoke inside me.

"It seems to be able to give me stuff. Powers, scrolls. Hell, it tried to give me an extradimensional tomb, but I couldn't accept it. One of the things I did get was a restructured body. My physical and mental capabilities are better than ever before, and I feel like there is pure energy coursing through my entire body."

Ariel continued to study me for a few more moments. "You're not joking." She let out a short laugh. "What an absurd power. That's where you got that scroll from? And it worked?" Her teasing tone came back, but her smile did little to hide the seriousness in her expression. "Good. You seem to have rekindled your motivation, too. I hope you keep that spark. I was starting to worry I'd have to exterminate you and take the throne for myself. Now you might actually prove yourself worthy enough to be the emperor."

Before I could respond she walked away, leaving me to process what she said. Her words were dangerous, as if coated in poison. I had never felt threatened by her before, not physically or politically, but there was something that told me she was serious.