Chapter 43: Mystic

*Knock*

*Knock*

Loki's ornate door opened, to reveal a hesitant purple haired boy; Hit was still slightly traumatised from his last visit here. Hit closed the door behind him, and stared at a pair of peculiar women, who were performing a set of repetitive movements, while looking downwards, seemingly entranced in their activity. Hit coughed and quirked a brow at the two, whose faces shot up to meet his.

"Oh! Heya, Hit! Heard you've been busy!" Loki cried out from the room's corner, not feeling any shame in her actions.

"You're finally back, Hit! I wish I was there to see your big fight!" Tiona greeted him next, still carrying out her... exercise. The amazon acted as if she was performing an everyday activity.

Hit remained silent, watching the two as they... massaged their own breasts. Thankfully, the two were still fully clothed; although, the lithe girls did not wear much clothing to begin with. Tiona and Loki held their palms on either side of their flat chests, and intermittently pressed inwardly, causing the mounds to appear slightly fuller. The rhythmic motions continued as they 'explored' themselves, doing everything they could to make their washboard chests appear larger.

Honestly, Hit was flabbergasted. He would have simply turned around and left, if his stupefaction and morbid curiosity did not compel him to get to the bottom of this. "...what are you doing...?"

The shameless ladies only hastened in their massage and replied proudly.

"Our boob exercises, of course!"

"Our boob exercises, duh!"

Hit's eyelids drooped, learning absolutely nothing from their statement. 'I forgot how unusual these beings can be. What am I supposed to gleam from that description?'

"...and what, exactly, does this achieve...? Other than waste your lives away..."

Loki furrowed her brows, and switched her strategy, performing a pulling motion on her bosom. "It's not a waste! We're making 'em bigger!"

Tiona nodded, hope sparkling in her green eyes. "Yeah! It hasn't done anything yet, but Tione said this'll definitely work! We only started a few weeks ago, so we're still waiting for the payoff!"

Hit finally had some semblance of an explanation and began to decipher the information, to the best of his ability. 'Larger? What purpose would that serve in battle? Would that not make them less aerodynamic? Perhaps they would serve as shielding... But if that is the case, then why is the deity doing it as well?'

Hit decided to cast the unwanted knowledge away, into his pit of memories to be suppressed, and walked up to Loki, staring down at her. "It obviously isn't working. Do something productive and update my status."

Loki squeezed her chest, as firmly as she could, as if grasping onto what little hope she had left. "WHY YOU!?"

Before Loki's rage could boil out of control, Hit interrupted her, making sure to impart the seriousness of the situation. "This update is going to be special. I can feel it."

Loki seemingly forgot the slight and peeped her eyes open. Hit had never been outwardly excited about getting his status updated, the few times he had actually consulted her. This was going to be big. "Hmmm. Well, if you're excited about it, then I better get ready for a heart attack!"

The god held her chin, in thought. Loki had also heard scraps of rumours; however, she was waiting to hear Finn's report on the matter. Misinformation could be incredibly dangerous: if the familia acted on false information, it could be their downfall. "I suppose it makes sense... you did fight a Goliath. How is that even possible...?"

Loki then turned to her exercise partner and proceeded to perform a 'shooing' gesture. "Shoo Tiona, we'll carry on later. Fufu, maybe the massages'll work better if we do them on each other~~." Loki's face bloomed as she lost herself in fantasies that should not be expanded upon.

Tiona held a finger to her mouth, as if the perverted suggestion was a revelation of some sort. "I didn't think of that!" She then hopped towards the door, and exited the room, waving as she went. "Bye Hit! We'll talk later!"

Hit's mouth parted in an unusual expression of disgust and exasperation. "…What is wrong with you people?"

Loki wiggled her fingers, and eyebrows, as she licked her lips. "Nothing wrong with a bit of girl-on-girl action, Hitto!"

Hit ignored the pervert, and walked to the table, sitting on one of its nearby chairs. "Thank Zeno these meetings are rare..."

The god scampered after him, placing a piece of paper on the table. "Oi, who's Zeno? He a god?"

"It doesn't matter, just get on with the update." Hit removed his lavender coat and shirt, leaving his back bare.

This time, Loki removed a pin from her pocket, and pierced her right index finger, freeing the crimson ichor within. Hit still wondered what differentiated a God's 'blood' from a mortal's in this world. Perhaps it was simply infused with their arcanum, or God ki.

The lithe deity huffed and drew a line down Hit's back, forcing an unsightly clown tattoo to re-emerge. "Huff. Yeah, yeah, Mr Grumps."

Ethereal purple cogs and hieroglyphs shimmered into view, as Hit's status superimposed the dark emblem. Before Loki could glance over the numbers, a familiar sound drew her attention.

*Click*

A purple number 1 clacked and grinded as it turned over to a 2. The deity gasped, eyes wide as saucers.

"WOOOOO! YEAH! YIPPPEEEEE!" Loki hopped up and down; ran circles around the room; danced in every manner she knew; and bounced on her enormous bed.

The childish being giggled and laughed as she picked up a fresh sheet of paper, completely forgetting that she had already set one aside, and slapped it against Hit's back. Hit extended a hand, expecting to be handed the note; however, Loki now used the sheet as a dance partner.

"You were right, Hit! You're now our newest high-class adventurer! SUCK ON THAT PEEWEE!"

The room now became the scene of a ballroom dance as Loki twirled the page in perfect circles, raising it into the air.

*Shing*

Hit took the opportunity to skip time and dashed to the opposite end of the room, something he was now capable of. The 'jump scare' appeared directly in front of Loki, who leapt up in fright. "WWHAAAAA!"

*Shing*

The screaming god became frozen in place as Hit skipped time again, and whisked her 'dance partner' away, which had been flung into the air due to Loki's shock. Hit then used the remaining time to dash back to his seat, before scanning the piece of paper, hungrily.

Name: Hit

Alias: NA

(Mystery – I) / (Hunter – I) - Selection required

Level 1 (2) - Rank up available

STR – S999

END – D550

DEX – S999

AGL – S999

MAG – S999

Magic-

Time lag: Upon activation, slows a number of targets' time. Can be activated and deactivated at any moment. Chantless. Evolved form: Time prison.

- Time prison: Upon activation, binds the target in a fixed position in space-time, restraining their bodies, souls, and minds. Requires complete understanding of the target's rhythm, and movements. Can be activated and deactivated at any moment. Chantless. Increased effectiveness against monsters.

Skills-

Time Skip: Allows the user to skip time. Upon activation, they diverge from the main flow of time and pass into a parallel, time energy dimension where they can act freely. Their position must be transported into the immediate future, following a maximum of 2.5 seconds.

Tides of Time: Upon activation, the user enters a subspace of their own making, completely separate from the flow of time. Requires time energy to activate and maintain. The user is free to manipulate any available latent time energy within this space, and can draw in any desired targets, at the expense of increased energy demands. User can only interact with targets outside of the energy dimension using latent time energy. A phantom presence is left in the user's former position in original space-time.

Hit smirked down as he finished reading the sheet. This grand achievement marked a 958 excelia jump, which surprisingly fell quite short of his first leap in abilities (2377 excelia, following three weeks of adventuring). Since a number of his abilities were already brushing against their upper limits, during his second update, this was not unexpected. Sadly, a mountain of excelia was therefore wasted, lost in the ether.

'Looks like I reached the zenith of my important basic abilities and can target multiple opponents with my Time Lag. Evolved form? I have never encountered such a description in the literature... Do the two spells occupy a single spell slot? Tides of Time operates in the same manner as in my past life... It's as power hungry as always...'

The Tides of Time is a ridiculously demanding technique, requiring stored time energy to do absolutely anything, within the subspace pocket it creates. Unfortunately, Hit cannot simply punch targets outside of the dimension, and has to rely on energy attacks, such as time release, thereby, increasing the energy burden. Only targets drawn into the tides of time can be directly interacted with; however, this offers them a chance to fight back, and elevates energy demands even further. Hit was quite glad that his time skip increased by half a second, making any future grinding more efficient. He had not noticed this increase until now, suggesting that he time skip had evolved towards the end of the battle against Goliath, where Hit was far more focused on avoiding falling unconscious, and powering through the pain.

Unusually, Hit's eyes had instantly zipped to the bottom of the page, prior to reading his basic abilities. He was chomping at the bit to find out what the falna stated about his Tides of Time. Hit now rose his gaze to the top, and gasped at the developmental abilities that were now within his grasp. His heart beat at the imminent level up, wondering how he would feel after taking a step closer to godhood.

Despite the brevity of Hit's journey, it was definitely well earned. Hit had fought hordes of level 2 monsters, for nearly three weeks, while suffering the most grievous injuries yet. A master warrior, from outside Orario, would usually rank up in around 1.5-2 years; however, Hit's heroic feat had tipped his soul over the precipice, and into the realm of high rank adventurers. He had pushed his body over the limit, during the battle against Goliath, never losing focus, even when crippled. At the climax, Hit and Bell had accomplished a feat beyond legendary proportions.

It seems that Hit also now had to choose between two developmental abilities: Mystery and Hunter. Hit had done further research on these special abilities, usually selected to specialise an adventurer into a specific role. The most common of these developmental abilities, or DAs, is abnormal resistance, which negates the effects of negative abnormalities, such as poison. Simply being exposed to a purple moth's secretions would be enough to elicit its materialisation, making it an incredibly easy to attain DA, at least following the arduous task of ranking up.

In terms of specialisation, DAs can empower someone's crafting skills, physical attacks, magic, and more. Many high-ranking smiths would obviously possess the DA blacksmith, which allows the smith to add special qualities to their creations. Mixing confers an analogous effect, and aids in the creation of potions; whereas, Swordsman improves an adventurer's proficiency with blades. Mage is a compulsory DA for anyone specialising solely in magic and raises someone's magic stat to the next level; increases their spell range; and improves mind usage efficiency. Hit's spells did not actually require much mind at all, since their framework was mostly based on Hit's knowledge of time itself. They also did not directly attack the target, and therefore did not require much raw power. Range was also not an issue, since he was a close-range fighter. Additionally, Hit's spells were becoming more and more efficient, and effective, every day, something unique to him.

Hit noticed that the more time he spent using magic, and studying texts, the more fluid the spells became. Rather than chanting to modulate spells, Hit had merely altered them instinctually. He was in a unique position, already being a master of manipulating abstract energy, in the forms of ki and time energy. Here, magic was analogous to ki, albeit with far greater limitations. It was not a DA, nor skill. This ability was simply a product of Hit's genius and work ethic. It was also the explanation for Hit's ability to bypass magical barriers and analyse the intricacies of spells on-the-fly. Artificer would be an appropriate name for the technique; however, Hit did not give the ability much thought, since it came to him as naturally as breathing.

Back to Hit's choices, Mystery is a ridiculously rare DA, with only four (and now five) people in the world known to possess it; however, it falls short of unique DAs, which are rarer still. Little is known about the ability, in part due to their bearers' silence on the matter. However, it is tied to miracles and the creation of magic items. Hunter is far more benign; however, is still rather difficult to attain. This useful DA improves the bearer's abilities when fighting against monsters they have previously gained excelia from. It can only be acquired at level 2 and requires an adventurer to kill a vast quantity of monsters in a short time: childsplay for Hit, whilst rather difficult for the typical level 1.

Loki was off to the side, panting, as she held her chest. The short god blinked, looked around herself, and settled her surprised gaze on Hit.

"D-did you skip time and move all the way over here!? J-jeez, that's pretty scary..." Loki shivered as she too realised time skip's destructiveness, at least against living creatures. Hit had used Loki to test his final level 1 strength, the zenith of his power as a low ranked adventurer, and found that he could dash to the opposite end of the room, and land a couple pummels... Or give someone quite the fright.

The fearful goddess then froze and rubbed her hands together. She sneered to herself, cheeks rosy red. "Heh... imagine what I could do while time's stopped. I'd finally get ta cuddle Ais again, after so long!"

Hit lowered the sheet down. It seems that when stuck in the same room with Loki, his ears would constantly be assaulted with the inanest drivel one could imagine. "I do not stop time. Nor do I use my powers to molest people."

The god harrumphed and waltzed over to Hit's standing position, next to her tea set. "Yeah, yeah... Now let me see your status! I didn't really focus on anything after hearing the level up!"

Hit stared at her and gripped the page, firmly, causing Loki to stomp her feet. "You're not gonna tear it again, are you? Come on, let me see! I'm not gonna tell anyone. You're doing a good enough job of that yerself..."

Her newest child sighed, uncertain if he wanted the perverted god to know about his second skill. "It was one time, with a trustworthy person."

Loki grinned and made a series of kissing sounds. "Yeah, yer little girlfriend! Did ya give her a smooch on the way back?" *mwah!* *mwah!*

Hit stuffed the paper away and began marching towards the exit. "Where's the nearest fireplace."

"Nooo! Please! This is the best part of being a goddess! Except for the free booze..." Loki's eyes shot open in desperation; since Hit ranked up, she was sure that he also had a juicy new developmental ability! Loki hoped it was something rare.

Hit grumbled yet took the crumpled paper back out of his pocket and handed it to the Goddess. He mostly wanted to see it the deity knew of 'evolved forms'. "Free drinks always come with a penalty."

Loki snatched the offered page, and raised it to her face, nearly pressing her nose against the writing. "Yeah, one called Riveria...HOLY TAPDANCING OURANOS!?"

The god shuddered and made a series of spluttering and stuttering noises. "Tides of what!? Evolved form!? SOUL!? M-MYSTERY!?" Loki's arms fell limp as she stared at Hit, questioning eyes boring into him. "What in the hell are you…?"

Hit shrugged and gave out his usual reply to people's admiration. "Hit. That is all that I am."

Blood vessels bulged on Loki's head as she jumped around in rage. "Grrr! Why does that keep getting detected as a truth, dammit! What's this time energy, and how can you control it? Where does it even come from!? Who taught ya how ta use it!?"

Hit juxtaposed her hopping madness with serene tranquillity, sprinkled with slight amusement. "Do you honestly believe that I would bother responding to any of that?"

The furious God huffed as she finally assuaged her own wrath. "Huff. Nah. Yer far too cagy about just about everything. I mean it though... this isn't normal. Mortals aren't supposed ta be able to manipulate space, or time to this degree. Skills reflect who you are, and what experiences you've had. They're a reflection of the soul. So, why the hell do yours all relate to time? It ain't natural to have such similar skills."

Hit glared down at Loki, not interested in what she considered normal. "I am anything but natural. There is no point in you learning of my past, and I am entitled to my privacy."

Loki slinked into a seat and poured herself some 'tea'. Hit's nose crinkled slightly at its smell, suggesting that the goddess had switched the herbal drink for strong booze, likely as a way to outsmart Riveria. "Just promise me... yer not some evil god playing a prank on me or something, right?"

Hit shook his head, affronted at the accusation. "I am not, nor have ever been, a deity. I am a mortal, who has worked tirelessly to develop what are now called my skills and magic."

"Alright... I'll just have ta trust ya! I feel like we do this run-around every time we meet..." The trickster stared off into space, reliving all of her stressful interactions with her newest child. Loki decided to set her doubts aside, and focused on the information she was familiar with. "It's strange you don't have abnormal resistance or mage... Resistance is super easy to get, and Mage is perfect for you."

By exposing oneself to poisons and debilitating effects, an adventurer can gain a tolerance to them, via a DA. Unfortunately, Hit's amazing self-preservation prevented magic resistance or abnormal resistance from appearing as an option.

"I avoid receiving damage. Every strategy has its disadvantages..." Thoughts of grinding endurance, by allowing monsters to strike him, entered Hit's mind; however, the strategy seemed dishonourable to him, and would be incredibly dull. Besides, his clothes would get damaged.

Loki waved her hand, in a noncommittal gesture; her heart had finally relaxed under the influence of her 'tea'. "Well, it doesn't matter too much, ya still have 550 endurance, which isn't complete garbage. Now, I'm sure ya want to level up, you'd be pretty stupid not to, but which developmental ability do ya want?"

"Mystery." The boy did not hesitate and spoke his choice with absolute certainty. Hit had no need for hunter, as he became more skilful with every fight against these golem creatures, which possessed a finite number of movement patterns. There was no point in wasting his rank up on the ability, even if it was restricted to level 2.

Loki held her hands and rubbed them together. "Yay! I knew you'd choose that one! You're an enigma, so it suits you. Plus, you can make loads of magic items ta help with the familia debt!"

"Pay your own debts. I plan to use it for research purposes." Hit was quite interested in this new ability and was not going to be relegated to slave labour. Sure, there was no obvious combat use to the ability; however, there is more to being a true warrior than mindless fighting. One should constantly elevate their mental prowess, and study everything they can.

Hit had not actually recognised any object as a 'magic item' thus far; however, he had seen Asfi's hades helm, seen through her invisibility device, and gazed in wonderment at her flying boots and burst oil. Expectedly, Hit was far more preoccupied on the chaotic battle, than window shopping. The elevators of Babel were powered by magic stones and did not fall into the category of Mystery-created magic items.

'Mystery... It reminds me of the creation gods' power, able to manipulate space itself and manifest matter. Does this new ability operate in a similar manner? Matter cannot be created from nothing, suggesting those magic items are crystallisations of energy. What exactly is a 'magic item'? Can I simply create anything within my mind's eye?'

Loki shot up from her seat, nearly knocking over her seat and 'tea' set. "Oh, please, please, please, please, please! We really need the cash! I can even reward ya, promise!" The deity grimaced as she hastily gave out an open-ended offer, which Hit could readily take advantage of.

Thankfully for her, Hit merely stared down at her, remaining silent.

Loki deflated, somehow both disappointed and relieved. "Fine. I can't force ya; I doubt I even have anything you want... except for money, but that defeats the whole purpose of my offer..."

The woman decided to set aside her greed and focused on Hit. She did care for her child, even if the boy was incredibly strange and infuriating. "If you're not gonna use the skill ta make money, then just choose hunter! It'll make you stronger against any previously faced monsters!"

Hit added a disapproving glower to his already intimidating stare.

Loki was confused by the change in expression, yet was reminded of her conversation with Eina: Hit was not here for an easy task; he was here for a formidable challenge. "Oh, I get it now... it'd be too easy for ya. Weirdo..."

Hit nodded at the god, who was finally beginning to understand his motives. "Correct. I do not need to resort to an easy way out. My skills will always suffice." The shirtless teen then sat back down, expectantly. "... which makes me question whether I should even bother levelling up. It feels like cheating..."

Red hair billowed as Loki shook her head in exasperation. "That'd just be plain suicidal! An' ya earned these skills fair and square!"

Hit took a moment to sense himself, ensuring he would be able to feel any changes, and nodded. "Do it."

"Gotcha!" Loki grinned and marched up to Hit's position, placing her dainty palms proximal to the boy's back. Purple light radiated forth, and the deity turned the gears of Hit's soul.

*Thrum*

Hit tensed as he felt his body and soul alter on the molecular level; an alien force elevated his power to new heights and forced his awareness to skyrocket. Chirps of nearby birds became slightly clearer; smells of downstairs cooking became more potent; faraway details became easier to see, and Hit's vision sparkled in clarity.

Hit had never felt such exuberance; a remarkable sensation, that trumped even his own evolution, was forcefully awakening new strength within him.

Behind, Loki was proceeding as normal: she dispelled Hit's status, and pressed a sheet against his back, the piece of paper she initially set aside.

"Incredible." Hit stood up and flexed hands, looking all around himself. An ocean of vitality had just sundered upon his mind and soul.

Loki lost her grin and raised a brow at the strange reaction. "Huh, that's strange. Usually, no one notices a difference."

Hit looked down on Loki, feeling slightly awed at her power. He now understood that she was no mere guru. "My soul feels heavier. Unlike when first gaining the falna, I can feel a noticeable boost in power. You truly are a god."

"OF COURSE I'M A GOD! YOU STILL HAD DOUBTS!?" Loki caterwauled at the boy, bewildered that he could develop so many means of annoying her.

Hit grimaced; his newly enhanced hearing did not appreciate the sudden screech. "The ability to raise another's strength is not a rare ability. However, to change someone on a fundamental level is a sign of a higher power."

A person's raw power, and even potential, could be temporarily, or permanently elevated with the use of Ki, via either ki transfer, or unleashing one's potential. Hit was not certain whether these so-called gods were actually deities; however, this rank up had proven their worth. Souls could not be altered in Hit's multiverse, solely created, and rarely destroyed, making this fundamental change completely alien to Hit.

Loki huffed and handed Hit his new status sheet. "Huff. I'm not even gonna ask ya to expand on that...Not a rare ability...?"

Hit took the offered page and pocketed it. Unaware of Loki's sudden fear of obsolescence, he sought out an answer to his most recent query. "My status refers to [Time Prison] as an evolved form. Is that customary?"

Loki shook her head, looking quite depressed. "Nah. As usual, yer the first ever case... Go ask Riveria, I'm sure she'll appreciate the added stress... And don't bother askin' about an Alias. The next Denatus isn't for another 3 months."

Hit rolled his eyes; he had cast aside any interest in Aliases, the moment he had learned their nature: pointless entertainment for the bored gods. The newly awakened Hit put his clothes back on, and was about to leave; however, his gaze was drawn to an increasingly sombre Loki.

'Hm. I suppose I do owe her...' Hit sighed and gave out Bell's message. "...Bell Cranel extends an invitation to the Hostess of fertility, as a celebration for the battle on floor 18".

A face splitting grin appeared on Loki's face as she instantly cheered up, and raced up to Hit, staring up at him. "Oh? The hostess, you say? If that little rookie's gonna be there, then that means itty bitty's gonna be there too! I've got ta rub this in her face!"

The god held her arms up in joy, and ran out of the room, shouting. "Let's all go and party!"

Hit's astute hearing followed the small being as she raced around the mansion, rallying her forces for the sudden festivity, and generating a series of clatters and bangs, likely as a result of her eagerness.

Hit shook his head, regretfully; his mild attempt at perking Loki up, had set the annoying creature loose on the entire familia. He exited the room and was faced with a familiar set of faces. Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and Tiona stood to the right, and were smiling at a small red blur, which whizzed from room to room, screaming. Bete Loga skulked around a corner, and headed deeper into the mansion, covering his hears.

The blur stopped and panted, before shouting, yet again. "Hit's bagged us a reservation at Mama Mia's, so get ready everyone!" Loki collected herself, and raced away, presumably to recruit others.

Finn noticed that Hit had finally exited Loki's room and smiled at the boy. "Thank you, Hit. She's been a bit moody today, since we haven't actually celebrated our return yet."

Riveria tutted and crossed her arms. "Loki never seems to understand that an expedition is a serious undertaking. Offloading, cataloguing, and storing supplies takes a long time. We haven't had the chance to book a venue."

Hit shook his head and made to move past the four. "It was an invitation from Bell Cranel. I had no part in this."

Finn's eyes sparkled and his smile widened into a grin. "And yet you chose to impart the invitation, rather than slink away to your own devices."

Tiona hopped up to Hit, blocking his path. "Yeah! Ya big softy! You're going to come with us, right?"

Hit rolled his eyes and grumbled, giving out a poor excuse. "I have a previous commitment that requires my attendance there."

Gareth sniggered, scratching his beard. "In translation, yer coming ta the party. Just be open with us, lad!"

Tiona held up an open hand, and pushed down to fingers, one after the other. "First, you were a tsundere, and now you're a kuudere! We're getting warmer!"

"I have no idea what either of those words mean." Hit's eyelids drooped at the unknown terms, and he rounded past Tiona. 'And something tells me it should stay that way...'

Riveria managed to catch Hit's eye and halted his advances. "I suppose you just received a status update, Mr Hit. Did you awaken anything interesting?" The elf's eyes sparkled, hoping that the genius had made another magical breakthrough.

"Mystery." Hit stated the ominous word, and finally marched down the corridor.

Riveria spluttered, honestly amazed that a fifth adventurer had finally earned the elusive skill. "R-Remarkable! You should be proud of such a great..."

The elf gasped and stared at Hit's retreating form, agape. Her companions seemed to come to a similar realisation and froze.

"W-wait... That means..." A bead of sweat trickled down Gareth's forehead.

"YOU LEVELED UP!?" Tiona screamed in disbelief, dark hair frizzing up at her sudden shock.

Finn smiled, eyes filled with hope, as Hit rounded the corner. "I knew you were special..."

The pallum marched calmly along, watching as his colleagues raced after Hit, desperate for answers.

Unfortunately for them, Hit had already scarpered out of the mansion, smirking at his new speed.