Wishes and Conditions

Usha Vyas sighed as he lay on the couch after a hectic day at college, sipping cola with his eyes closed, waiting for his dinner to finish baking. He opened his eyes to check on the oven when, suddenly, the ceiling fan fell, one of its blades aimed directly at his face. Too shocked to move, he froze.

With a gasp, he woke up on the same couch, covering his face and glancing around the familiar living room. His eyes darted to the fan, and he instinctively moved to switch it off. Just then, a calm male voice interrupted him:

"Leave it be. Come sit down. Have some tea—my special blend for calming down."

Usha spun toward the sound, his heart racing, eyes wide. There, in front of him, stood a young man—a strikingly handsome young man—placing a steaming cup of tea on the table. The tea sat opposite an empty massage chair, one that looked far too luxurious for him to afford.

Before Usha could calm down, the young man repeated his offer. Almost as if on autopilot, Usha found his feet carrying him to the chair. The moment he sat down, his eyes widened before closing as a relaxed groan escaped his lips. His body went completely limp, sinking into the chair's comfort.

After a few blissful minutes, he opened his eyes and immediately flinched at the sight of the fan still hanging from the ceiling. The young man sitting across from him chuckled softly and gestured toward the cup of tea.

"Drink it," he said. "It'll calm you down and ensure you don't develop any trauma."

But Usha ignored the tea, his focus fixed on the stranger. "Who are you? How did you get into my house? Am I still asleep?"

To test his theory, he pinched his arm, wincing as he let out a sharp yelp—the pain confirming that this was no dream.

"You may call me Chanis, meaning 'The Generous Grace.' You should drink the tea first before we discuss anything," said the now-named Chanis with a calm smile.

And once again, as if on instinct, Usha's body moved before his mind could catch up. He took a tentative sip of the tea, and then, unable to resist its refreshing taste, drank it all in a few quick gulps.

With a satisfied sigh, he slammed the empty cup down on the table and exclaimed, "Refill!"

At Chanis's raised eyebrow, Usha quickly added, "...please?"

Chanis obliged, refilling the cup without a word. This time, Usha drank in silence, taking slow sips to savor the tea's exquisite taste. The two sat quietly, the room filled only with the soft clinking of the teacup. Before long, both of them had finished their teas.

Chanis broke the silence, his tone calm but firm. "Now that you've calmed down, let's get to the purpose of my visit."

He paused briefly, his gaze steady as he continued, "You are dead. The moment the fan blade pierced your eye, you went into shock and died."

Maybe it was the effect of the tea, but I felt only a sense of calm and a tinge of sadness for not achieving my dreams.

Chanis, noticing my composure, smiled softly and continued, "This place is the limbo of your world, where people are judged for the deeds they carried out in the mortal realm before being sent to heaven, hell, or... in very rare cases, reincarnation."

I nodded to show my understanding, and he continued, "For some personal reasons, I will give you the choice between reincarnation and moving on to be judged based on the actions you have taken throughout your life in this world. And to motivate you, the worlds of all the stories you have seen are real. You can choose to reincarnate in any of them. I will even throw in three wishes that you can use to ask for a number of things from me. So tell me, Usha Vyas, what is your choice?"

The tea Chanis had given me had dulled all my emotions in favor of remaining calm, but hearing him say that I could reincarnate into any of my favorite worlds seemed to have broken its spell, leaving me vibrating in my seat with sheer excitement.

"REINCARNATION! Ahem, I mean, I would like to reincarnate, please and thank you. And is there a limit to what I can wish for?" I began with a shout of joy before speaking calmly and posing a question of my own.

"Given that you were an orphan with a passion for stories, always imagining yourself exploring different worlds, I had a feeling you would choose reincarnation. Still, the formalities had to be addressed. Now that we've taken care of that, we can focus on selecting the world you'll be going to and fulfilling your wishes," Chanis said, surprising me with how much he knew about me. On second thought, if I were in his position, I would have done the same. After all, you wouldn't want to give world-destroying powers to some psycho if you could help it.

But before moving on to world selection and my wishes, I had a few questions. "Um, before that, I had a few questions:

1. How come stories about different worlds are written by the writers of this world?

2. Will my life become part of a writer's stories?

3. Is there anything you'll nerf or outright refuse to grant in my wishes?"

He thought for a moment before replying, "In this world, every single sapient being, including you, has the power of clairvoyance. This allows you all to glimpse different worlds where you are somehow special—or don't exist at all. Hmm, not see, but glimpse. Yes, glimpse a few defining moments of different worlds or entire multiverses in the form of dreams, imaginations, ideas, flights of fancy, or delusions."

He paused, giving me a moment to digest the fact that I had a superpower without even realizing it. Then he continued, "As for whether your life will become a story—yes, it will. Even I am a story in quite a few worlds with similar powers to this one. After all, I've yet to find a single world, no matter how ordinary, without beings who possess at least one superpower. You may not realize it, but sapience and instincts are superpowers of their own.

"Seeing your face, I can guess you're worried about others seeing you being... intimate with your future lovers. Now, now, don't be shy. We all have fantasies. When you grow strong enough, you'll be able to manipulate the timelines and dreams of various multiverses featuring stories about you. You won't be able to completely erase everything until you reach my level, but it should be enough."

"And to your final question, I won't grant you direct strength, but if you want potential, I'll give you the highest potential for whatever skill or ability you desire. Second, if I think the items you request are too overpowered, I'll still give them to you, but with a few restrictions. And last, no wishing for more wishes or for me to put you in a situation where you can get more wishes from a similar level of being. Other than that, anything goes, as long as it's not boring."

I nodded, processing yet another information dump, and soon began thinking about what I should ask for.

"Can I get a book and pen to write down the specifics of what my wished items or skills should and shouldn't be able to do?"

As soon as I finished speaking, the requested items appeared on the table between us.

Picking up the pen and opening the book, I start writing down my wishes on the very smooth page.

1. A Soul-bound Internal World

The internal world should have the following functions:

#Bound to My Soul: The internal world must be inseparably bound to my soul, ensuring it cannot be removed, destroyed, or tampered with.

#Freedom of Access:

I should be able to enter and exit the internal world freely.

I should have the ability to mark individuals, granting them free entry and exit.

I should also be able to unmark individuals at will.

No one, regardless of their strength—even if they surpass Chanis, The Generous Grace—should be able to sense, enter, or interfere with my internal world.

#Initial Structures:

Infinitely Expanding House: A house that customizes its rooms to suit the needs and preferences of its inhabitants.

Infinitely Expanding Hospital: A hospital capable of healing any injury, disease or debuff no matter how severe.

Example: If my body or someone else's body is destroyed, their soul should be automatically transported to the hospital for full body recreation.

If a soul is damaged or destroyed, the hospital should restore it without side effects.

#Mind-Control and Safety Mechanism:

If I or any marked individuals are mind-controlled or fall unconscious in a dangerous location, we should automatically return to the internal world.

Mind-control effects should be removed instantly upon arrival.

#Immunity to Harm: No being within the internal world should be able to harm me in any way—physically, emotionally, or otherwise. Exception to this should be areas of the world that I designate as training space.

#Creation of Special Areas:

The internal world should be capable of scanning unique areas from any world and creating infinitely evolving replicas of them.

Example: If I visit the Duoluo Continent and scan the Ice and Fire Well, an exact replica should be created in my internal world, capable of evolving in beneficial ways.

#Integration of Items and Areas:

Items or areas from the outside world should be integratable into the internal world.

Example: The real Ice and Fire Well can be merged with the replica in the internal world to enhance its effectiveness.

Artifacts like phoenix tears can be integrated, granting the water sources in the internal world healing properties. Or soils that increase plant growth can be integrated to replace or improve worse quality soils.

#Growth and Mutation Enhancement: The internal world should accelerate the growth of plants and animals and encourage positive, beneficial mutations.

#Infinite Resources: Once an item is integrated, the internal world should be able to produce an infinite supply of it.

#Specialized Zones:

I should be able to create specific zones, such as fire zones or ocean zones, to enhance the growth and development of plants and animals aligned with those elements.

#Energy Analysis and Production:

The internal world should analyze and generate an infinite supply of any energy type—Qi, Magic, Demonic Energy, Ki, Chi, Profound Energy, Elemental Energy, etc.—from the worlds I visit.

These energies should coexist harmoniously, ensuring no harm comes to their users.

#Omniversal Travel:

While I am inside the internal world, it should be able to travel anywhere—whether within the planet I am on or across the entire Omniverse.

It should bypass any barrier or restriction, granting me access to all locations.

The internal world should be able to independently locate the destination I desire.

#Time Manipulation:

I should be able to set up a time difference between the internal world and the outer world according to my preference.

Example: If 1 day passes in the outer world, 1,000 years can pass within the internal world, or vice versa.

I should be able to differentiate the time difference between specific areas within the internal world.

Example: While 1 day passes in the outside world, 100 days could pass on a specific plot of land where I have planted something, while only a few hours pass in another part of the internal world.

2. A Gamer System

The system should have the following functions:

#Status and Attribute Allocation:

The system should display my level in two ways:

According to the world I am in.

According to the Omniverse as a whole.

It should allow me to gain attributes through training and grant attribute points whenever I level up in either the world I'm in or the Omniverse.

I should be able to freely allocate these attribute points to improve any stat of my choice.

#Titles and Skills:

I should be able to gain titles and skills through repeated actions, achievements, or any other significant activities.

#System Assistant:

The system should include a female assistant capable of helping me manage both my internal world and the gamer system.

The assistant must be incapable of harming me in any way.

#Missions and Quests:

I should be able to convert any goal or task I want to accomplish into a mission.

Completion rewards for missions should be decided by the system assistant.

The system assistant should also assign me quests, offering better rewards than missions.

Missions and quests may overlap, and I should face no penalties for failing either.

If I generate a mission to improve a skill, item, or remove weaknesses, a corresponding quest should be automatically created.

#Shop:

The system should allow me to buy and sell anything across the Omniverse.

A separate section of the shop should be dedicated to items and upgrades for my internal world.

#Sign-in Function:

I should be able to sign in to a specific location or person to receive various rewards.

There should also be options for daily, weekly, monthly, biannual, and annual sign-ins, each offering different types of rewards.

#Gacha Function:

The system should provide points for me to perform gacha rolls.

I should also have the option to purchase gacha rolls.

Any items, skills, or rewards obtained through gacha should be optional for activation and remain dormant if I choose not to use them.

All gacha rewards should come in the form of cards, detailing the pros and cons of using them.

#Achievements and Hidden Achievements:

A list of achievements should be available, granting special abilities or titles upon completion.

Hidden achievements should unlock automatically when I complete tasks not explicitly listed or quests assigned.

No achievement or hidden achievement should result in debuffs, nerfs, or anything detrimental to me.

The rewards should come in gift boxes. For example: a Novice Gift Box for being reincarnated.

#Inventory:

The system should include an infinite, limitless space where time does not pass.

I should be able to store anything I desire without any deterioration in their condition.

#Coordinates:

A function tied to my internal world that records the coordinates of all the worlds I have visited.

It should also passively search for new worlds that would be most beneficial to me.

Before writing my third wish, I pause and ask a question to avoid any mistakes, "What is the term for mind, body, and soul together as one unit?"

Chanis looks up from a book he seemed to have conjured from nowhere and replies, "Being or Essentia. A mind, body, and soul together are called a Being or an Essentia."

I nod and begin writing again.

3. Make me a Being/Essentia with limitless potential.

This should grant me the ability to learn and modify anything—whether it be a skill, an innate trait, a technique, an art, or even resistances—by observing or sensing someone or something using them around me. For example, by observing the Flash use his Speed Force, I should gain the ability to move and think at light speed.

Since I can learn anything, I should also be able to learn how to teach my skills and abilities to others effectively.

No one should be able to copy my skills, abilities, or traits without my fully willing and conscious consent.

I should be able to learn anything at the speed of a genius on a multiversal scale, at the very least.

Going through everything I had written a few more times, I confirm there to be no mistakes and turn my head toward Chanis.

He was staring at me, the book he had been reading moments ago nowhere in sight.

I pass him the notebook, and he begins reviewing all that I had written.

He hummed and aahed before saying, "Alright, I can give you all this. Now for the restrictions and a condition you have to fulfill because even you should understand the things you have asked for are too over the top."

I knew it would be impossible to get all that without any restrictions or conditions imposed, but I couldn't help but click my tongue and nod towards him to continue.

He just smiled at my annoyance and continued, "Your second and third wishes you can get without any restrictions, but your first one will have quite a few restrictions."

He paused briefly, then began listing them, "Let's see...

1. Omniverse Travel Restriction: The first world you travel to and every tenth world after that—so the 1st, 11th, 21st, and so on—you must improve the quality of life of the people in that world to Rank A. This means modernizing and raising the quality of life of the entirety of that world's population or creating and modernizing a faction involving at least 50,000 people. To achieve this, you must make settling on different planets within that world's galaxy a common reality along with providing them with all the knowledge to do so even without you. Additionally, you are restricted to using the power system of that particular world to achieve these goals.

While you can still use the Omniverse Travel function freely, until you complete the modernization of the designated worlds, you will be unable to bring in or take out items or people critical for the development of other worlds. This ensures you focus on improving the designated worlds without external shortcuts."

Chanis glanced up at me, his smile both sly and knowing, waiting for my reaction.

Seeing his face, I manage not to pout, but Chanis chuckles nonetheless. He waves his hand dismissively and says, "Alright, alright, you can take the modernization part as the condition I impose on you in exchange for granting your wishes. You should be thankful that I'm the Generous Grace today and not the Kind End."

Hearing that he could have come to me as something called the "Kind End," I instantly buried, burned, and erased any traces of dissatisfaction I might have felt. After all, I had no desire to meet any kind of "End." And who knows how someone as powerful as him defines kindness? For all I knew, his "kindness" could be something I wouldn't survive to appreciate.

Upon my urging, he continues, "Alright, the next restriction will be:

2. The hospital that you want. As you specified, it will be capable of healing anything, but it will take time. For minor injuries like broken bones, the healing time will be equal to half the time it would normally take to heal naturally. However, for severe damage, such as soul destruction or complete body annihilation, the time required will be equivalent to how long it would take a normal genius to study and become proficient in healing such damage. That's a minimum of 50 years.

You can counter this restriction if you, or anyone you invite into your internal world, possess the ability to heal the damage effectively. In such cases, the healing will take half the time it would take you or the other healers in your realm to address it.

3. Infinite Resource Restriction: This too will be restricted by time and quantity of what you already have. Depending on the rank and rarity of the resource, the time will vary. For example, if you have a single herb at the SSS rank (i.e., Multiverse rank), you will get another of the same quality in a year of outer world time. The lower the rank of the item, the less time it will take to double. Oh, and you can't sell these auto-generated resources to your System Shop. If you want to sell them, you'll need to grow and cultivate them yourself. Additionally, these resources will only include materials and natural resources, not finished products. For instance, if you have a steel sword, only the steel required to forge that sword will be generated, not the sword itself. You can use this materials for whatever you want. I won't force you to make the items the materials were derived from. Hmm, except for not being able to sell the auto-generated resources, this may as well have been a freebie."

Chanis leaned back, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "Hmm, is there anything else I should restrict? Nah, this should be enough," he said after a brief moment of thought. I breathed a sigh of relief in my mind.

He clapped his hands together, making the room tremble slightly. "Alright, with that over with, now let's spin the wheel to decide which world you should go to for your first world!"

With him saying so, the table between us disappeared, replaced by a massive spinning wheel suspended in the air. The wheel had names written on it, each in a unique script and color, and the red needle at the top pointed toward a tiny section labeled "Earth AK47."

In the center of the wheel was a large, glowing red button, its ominous hue and size immediately reminding me of the self-destruct buttons often seen in action movies. It pulsed slightly as if beckoning me to press it.

Chanis gestured toward the button with an encouraging grin. "Well? Go on, press it. Let's see where fate decides to send you first."

I stared at the wheel, my heart racing as I wondered what kind of world "Earth AK47" was—or any of the others for that matter. With a deep breath, I stepped forward, hesitating for only a moment before slamming my hand down on the button.

The wheel began to spin, gaining speed until the names on it became a blur, impossible to make out no matter how hard I tried. The air hummed with energy, and I instinctively leaned forward, straining my eyes in vain.

Chanis, noticing my intense focus, grinned. "You won't be able to see the names on it," he said, his tone carrying a hint of nostalgia. "I made this wheel when I was bored during my own journey through the Omniverse. Back then, I got tired of speed-running through worlds too similar to ones I'd already conquered at full power."

He paused, a fleeting look of amusement on his face as he glanced at the spinning wheel. Then, in a tone completely indifferent to my rising anxiety, he added, "Oh, to stop it, just press the button again."

I turned toward the glowing red button, my thoughts racing. My palms felt clammy, but I reached out, preparing myself for whatever world awaited me.

The wheel stopped the moment my hand touched the button. Its spinning slowed, and I leaned closer, straining to see where the needle landed. But before I could make out the name of the world, my vision went dark.

A sensation of weightlessness overcame me, and I realized too late that the floor beneath me was gone. I was falling, tumbling into an endless void. Panic surged through me, but it was quickly overtaken by the sound of Chanis' laughter echoing all around me.

"Good luck!" he called out, his voice filled with amusement.

And then, there was silence, save for the rush of air as I continued to fall, my mind spinning with questions and a strange, inexplicable sense of anticipation.

The endless fall suddenly came to an abrupt end as I felt myself settle within a warm, fluid-filled space. My surroundings were dark and constricted, as though I had been crammed into a tight enclosure with no room to move.

The liquid around me felt oddly comforting, yet my chest grew heavy as if trying to remind me I shouldn't be here. Panic briefly flickered within me, but before I could process the overwhelming sensations or even begin to understand my situation, a wave of exhaustion surged over me.

My mind drifted into unconsciousness, lulled by the rhythmic sound of a thunderous heartbeat that reverberated through the darkness.