Chapter 178: Subtlety

For a time, only darkness remained. My body floated in what seemed like water. Deprived of my sight, hearing, and smell, all I could do is to focus on my sense of touch. 

It was then did I realize it:

It's not water.

"Space…"

It is more appropriate to call this a zero-gravity space. My body must have been floating around aimlessly.

"Huh…"

The darkness did not last for long. A star shone brightly. I could not 'see', but I 'know' it was there. Its color intermittently changed between white and crimson.

Then, its brilliance came closer until it touched my fingertips.

The last thing I saw was its brilliance creeping up towards me.

*****

The first thing I did was to stare at the ceiling.

'Great Sage. What is the time now?'

{Result: It is now 9:37 AM.}

Ever since Great Sage awakened, my life became ten times easier. She is the best assistant I could ever think of.

Currently, she is working on the 'Magic System' I fed to her—mainly, the utilization of energies to substitute for Psions. These things are the 'magical energy' of that world. 

Just like the Magic Calculation Area and the likes, it is not present in this world. 

What was available, however, was the substitutes.

For example, Pushions. They are described as a 'thought particle' similar to Psions. They are emitted by any rational beings, which was then used to fuel something known as 'supernatural abilities' (i.e., Espers).

It sounds extremely familiar… since cursed energy does just that.

These similarities are being analyzed by Great Sage to be able to use Magic.

All of my distracting thoughts halted. I looked at the girl beside me.

Kurumi's back is facing towards me. I lifted my head for a bit and saw she was still sleeping. Her soft breaths touched my right arm that was underneath her neck.

I couldn't help but recall the huge mess last night… no, two hours ago.

From seven thirty in the evening up until seven forty-five in the morning, all we did was to turn the bed upside down.

Kurumi had anticipated the huge mess that she stored several bed sheets inside her shadow storage. She, along with two of her clones, took turns to drain my cum.

Their rotation turned everything into a one-versus-one battle. Every time I fucked one of them, the other two get to rest.

My biggest mistake was to treat all three of them with my Reversed Curse Technique. The moment they recovered, they 'attacked' me all at the same time.

If it weren't for my recovery, which shocked even me, I would've been taken down.

"She's calm…"

Her current appearance was in sharp contrast to what she showed last night.

'Oh, right…'

I looked down and saw my dick was still inside of her. These nasty thoughts made it twitch several times, prompting Kurumi's insides to tighten.

'I should wait for her to…'

My thoughts halted when I felt her butt grind against me. It wasn't as intense as last night's, but her movements were enough to make my dick even harder.

Kurumi's movements, followed by the irregular tightening of her pussy, made me cum after a while.

A warm and numbing feeling crept to my dick. I looked at her face and saw she was still sleeping. Her breathing became uneven, however. A tinge of red flowed to her face.

'I…'

Faced with this strange stimulation, I continued our battle last night.

*****

Second Institute.

It was a place that wasn't as united as the third; nor as focused as the fourth. The two aforementioned institutes have different cultures that allowed them to 'unite' together against external influence.

The opposite could be said to the first, fourth, and fifth institutes.

The first institute was the institute with the most support from the councilors. Their study of honkai energy's nature encompassed numerous fields. 

The fifth institute was the biological treasure house. Despite Mobius' genius being underutilized in the eyes of others, her findings during the past few years were enough to advance the study of the human body.

Out of them all, the second institute was tightly grasped the most. They are responsible for creating all sorts of weapons—ranging from conventional weapons down to honkai weapons. 

Before Mobius finished her Project Soldier, the deterrence brought by weapons took precedence.

It served to reason that the second institute had way too many 'spies' sent by numerous councilors. Nevertheless, it was mostly Vill-V's preference to work alone.

The only person she worked with was none other than Aleph.

"Hm..?"

She looked towards the opened door. She was currently in a new workshop. The previous one that got wrecked was still in repair.

There wasn't anything wrong with Aleph. He was the same as usual. His tall stature coupled with proper fashion made him eye-catching no matter where he went. It played a part as to why he became famous that quickly.

'Something's wrong..?'

Vill-V felt something unsettling.

'His stature. He's more confident… no, happy?'

'His eyes are locked at one place. He must be in a daze.'

One by one, she compared Aleph's small gestures to him yesterday.

"How was it?"

She snapped out of it when she heard his voice.

"It's ready."

Vill-V pointed out to the spherical metal coating that wrapped the Herrscher Core inside. It was none other than soulium, the nanomachines designed to inhibit honkai energy. Soulium was a synthesized metal. Its composition consisted of numerous 'mutated minerals' that were exposed to honkai energy for a period of time—that, and several minerals previously found in the periodic table.

Its greatest use as of now was to construct Divine Keys.

While Aleph read the papers she handed him over, she fell to a deeper line of thought. Her previous liveliness seemed to be a facade—a complete carbon copy of Vill-V's persona.

Engrossed with the 'phantom warmth' on his arms as well as the papers, he did not notice Vill–V's slight abnormality.

"Void Prison… Well, it's easier to repurpose the Herrscher Core by this design…"

Soon, the two began doing today's work.