SL: Chapter 711 – Day Unknown – Second Meta-Point

AN: Double release today and tomorrow for SL. I am only committing to 1 chapter Saturday and Sunday, but if I can do a double release I will. There is a lot left, and I would like to finish eventually. But also give myself some leeway if I need to slow down while keeping up daily releases. As announced before FB will continue 5 days a week, M-F and is already scheduled way out into the future.

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Just as we were about to set off, that was when there was a burst of golden light and a meta point appeared between us. Really, Almighty System, you just had to do it like that? Why not one for each of us? The Almighty System, stingy as always. Clarissa looked at me and then at the meta-point. I knew what she was thinking. Could she reach it before I killed her. The answer was no.

That was when I made a spur of the moment decision. The meta-point putting me in a good mood. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to get one, but apparently defeating another threat that could wipe out this entire place made the Almighty System slightly charitable. Giving away another tiny bit of immense power. This would be my second meta-point and I already knew what I was picking.

Looking at the portable store in my hand, I could take everything for myself, or I could make a concession here. Having a portable store as a strategic item was less of a concern if I got a second meta-point. “Fine, let’s not fight, we each get something,” I said and tossed the portable store back towards Clarissa. She caught it easily and looked at it and then at the meta-point. I saw the tension leave her body.

“I can accept that,” she said with a slow nod. With another meta point I wasn’t as stressed out about not getting the portable store. It was a loss, but compared to a second meta-point as something I could buy with regular points, it was trivial. For Clarissa it was a lifeline. She didn’t have to reveal it to me, but she did and she came along to fight the sphere.

When there was no other prize, I would never have let it go. Now, I didn’t want to fight Clarissa to the death. If I took both items, I would have had to kill her here. There would have been no other option, since she would have never forgiven me. With just the portable store, it was like a custody battle, you couldn’t chop up the kid and split them.

But with a meta-point, Clarissa could keep the portable store, and it should mend cracks in our relationship. And if she got any ideas, I would have two meta-points, not something easily overcome. It was the kind of nonsense that my past enemies had. The Divine Empress and her child were basically showered with meta-points, now I was finally getting a second taste.

I reached out and touched the floating golden cube.

Ask For Three Things, Choose One

The first choice was simple. I would pick the same thing I had last time. I wasn’t sure if they would multiply on top of each other and make it a nine times increase, or just add togeather making it a six times increase. Regardless, the choice was set. Permanent stat increase.

1. Stat multiplier by 3x

Now the real challenge began. What two questions could I ask to try and get some information. Since I had mentally picked what I would choose for my second meta-point regardless, I wanted to get any information I could about this place. I also didn’t want to insult the Almighty System, who I was very grateful towards, for giving me a meta-point. Not stingy at all, incredibly generous.

Did the Almighty System have an actual presence somewhere? Could it be accessed? A direct teleport to the physical location of the Almighty System.

2. One Time Teleport

So, there was a central location the Almighty System was based out of. That was good information. One day I would pay it a visit. Or it might be some hidden chamber that only revealed itself once the tower vote happened.

Regardless, it meant that there was an actual place that the Almighty System had a physical location. Or it could just be a tease and teleport me to the pillars in one of the cities. Still, it was information that I hadn’t gotten previously. Now for my third question.

That was a bit trickier. I didn’t want to ask something similar. My mind drifted to Earth. It was just a question and it would be interesting to see what the Almighty System replied with. Return me to Earth with all my abilities.

3. One Time Teleport (Earth)

Interesting, very interesting. If someone could teleport back, that meant it still had to exist in some fashion. Well, there was no point thinking over things any more. I mentally selected the first option.

The golden cube disappeared in front of me. This time I could feel the difference as my stats surged. No surge of power. No flashing lights just like the last time. The Almighty System only went the flashy direction if it wanted to.

900,000 (+600,000); Mind-495,000 (+330,000); Spirit-900,000 (+600,000); Perception-180,000 (+120,000); Aura-180,000 (+120,000); Regeneration-180,000 (+120,000); Endurance-180,000 (+120,000); Absorption-180,000 (+120,000); Sense-180,000 (+120,000); Channel-180,000 (+120,000) for a total of 395,000 total stat upgrades, or 3,555,000 after my two meta-points.

It was ridiculous that the meta-points multiplied togeather to increase my stats by nine times. Just trying to amass 3.5 million stat points with regular points would be an exhausting task. That would take around 15 trillion regular points or 15 portable stores.

That’s why I didn’t fight over the portable store. This increase in power was insane. If the Divine Empress had done this or the Astrologer, they would have been far better off than the nonsense they had chosen. While their choices might have seen good, they were situational. Stat points were universal.

The amount of energy and regeneration alone was huge. My tank was 180,000 and I would regenerate 30 energy every second, or 1,800 every minute. Well, it depended on the zone as well, since that capped energy regeneration, but I had no complaints.

I vibrated my hand and everything slowed way down. I went around a ratio of 8 to 1 to around 10 to 1. It was hard to say exactly without more precise equipment, but that kind of change was immense, especially in high level combat.

My senses and energy control also improved greatly with the meta-point. While they weren’t as flashy along with the other stats, they were still useful in their own way. I still suspected that having balanced stats was important, even if Body, Mind, Spirit, and Regeneration were the most impactful.

I stopped vibrating my hand. I then slowly opened and closed it. “Congratulations,” Clarissa said while staring intently at me. She was clutching the portable store like a lifeline, which for her it was.

“Thank you,” I replied. While still getting used to the massively increased stats. Everything felt clearer too as I looked around. “Anyone who picked other options for their meta-points was an idiot,” I slowly said.

“They multiply togeather?” she asked, and I nodded. “Then you truly are unbeatable. The amount of energy you have, you can just spam out strong endlessly.”

“I am almost afraid to try maximum power. I did ask for other things to see if they were possible. Teleporting to the physical location of the Almighty System and teleporting back to Earth. I got a one time teleport option to both of them,” I explained.

“Home might still be out there, somewhere,” Clarissa said.

“Hopefully.”

“If we do return somehow, you would be considered a walking nuke. Could a nuke even hurt you now?” she asked.

“Maybe, probably? Not sure?” I said. “I am still a mess though, I need a regeneration, and my energy is still low. It didn’t fill me up.” Minor details, but important if I or someone tried to use a meta-point in an emergency. It just did what it was asked for, nothing more.

“Well, let’s keep going and find a city,” Clarissa said as we set off again. My control was a bit shaky as I got to massive stat boost. I stumbled several times as I had to carefully adjust the amount of energy I was using. I quickly adapted and Clarissa didn’t point out my minor troubles.

Now she had absolutely no chance against me. The only two things that could threaten me were the sword and the Almighty System. Everything else had been killed and defeated. I had become the threat now. Everything and everyone else that could remotely pose a challenge to me was dead.

A portable store didn’t matter anymore. It would be nice to have, but it ultimately wasn’t as important. I would need Clarissa’s help tracking down the sword, to end that threat. It was also time to consider clearing the last towers and unlocking whatever the vote mechanic of this place was. Getting a quorum and finally seeing what I could vote on.

This felt like the end game, at long last. My thoughts drifted to my mother, but her issues would be sorted out by Michelle over time. No one would risk offending me. Qi Ji Long, the Divine Empress’s child was the last real person who could threaten me. Three meta points and he wasted them all on stupid choices, instead of stats.

He should have picked stat increases, hidden for years or decades and grinded up his stats more quickly than me. Stats were the ultimate power of this place. Skills were nice, but people got too caught up in the sizzle and not the steak as it were.

The stingy system had finally paid out. While it might have been crediting our entire team, I did the heavy lifting. Clarissa was instrumental with her research and bombs, but ultimately I had to endure injuries and take us to victory. A shame that her minions died. Now that I had gotten a meta-point I felt a bit bad for them, but ultimately their loss was my gain.

Really the Almighty System should have handed out two meta-points, one for Clarissa and one for myself. Then I could have taken them both and gotten 27 multiplier to my stats instead of just 9. Would I be able to handle that or would I explode? Could a person have too many stats?

I didn’t feel uncomfortable. But I would need to give a lot of thought to a third meta-point, since the meta-points multiplied against each other. A shame that I was a pioneer of such high stats there was no one else to ask or consult. Using a meta-point to ask such a question and hoping I would get a fourth was beyond foolish.

We entered a level 2 zone and still no road. The monsters were easily killed and not worth a second thought. Not seeing someone in a level 3 zone was understandable, in some areas. It was such a pain. But a level 2 zone was close to a city and a great place for points. One could say it was the ultimate starting grinding area.

I came to a stop and Clarissa stopped as well as we looked across the barren landscape.  “Something is off,” she finally said.

“So, you noticed it as well. You sent us back to the right place?” I asked.

“There was only so much time to run tests and the energy was chaotic at the end there. I did my best, but our return point was much further off than it was previously, but we never had such a long time in the rainbow dimension,” she explained.

“Not blaming you. Just wondering if you have a guess?” I asked.

“Could be in the western portion of the Systemic Lands, but those cities had roads. And there should be something,” she replied.

“Well once we get to a city we will know. Perhaps it is another Systemic Lands?”

“Multiple instances?” she asked and got a thoughtful look.

“It was something we discussed due to the low number of people showing up compared to Earth. Otherwise we would have been looking at far too long a time period. And it seemed like we showed up fairly early on, with the Divine Empress and Astrologer being the earliest. There didn’t seem to be anything serious before them,” I said and Clarissa nodded at this.

“Well let’s get to the city. We can figure things out there and get a regeneration,” she replied and I nodded at this.