I was walking my usual route home from college one day, when I had a sudden ominous feeling. I stopped to wonder why, and a sign in front of me fell down, crushing the space where I would have been had I not stopped.

‘Jesus christ! Thank god I didn’t go ahead.’ I watched wide eyed as the sign rolled to the floor, and then suddenly a glowing circle appeared on the floor beneath me. That brings us to the current moment.

I think me and you both know what this means. I’ve been teleported to another world, right? Nonetheless, I whirled through a black tunnel which felt like going down a water slide, and appeared in a room full of people.

Looking around, I noticed that the people were all from my P.E class. There were 29 people me included, and we all recognized each other. I wasn’t expecting much from them though, as I wasn’t super popular in P.E.

“Hello, I know you may be scared but it’s okay.” A man in white robes said to us, his face being wrinkled and his hair grey.

“What happened? Who are you?” The student nearest to him, Samara, spoke, confused at what had happened to all of us.

“Let me explain. You have all been summoned here to assist humanity in its righteous fight.” The man explained, and got several questioning looks from each of us.

“Can we go back home?” A boy named Eli spoke out to them, and they chuckled.

“There’s two answers. You all died, so as of now no. However, if you manage to defeat the demon lord, or the cause of the scourge then we will have enough power to undo one or two deaths and send you back.” The man explained to us, and we looked around.

“Woah woah woah, wait a second. First, who is the demon lord, and second do you mean only some of us can go back?”

“Calm down.” The man assured him, “Most of you won’t want to go back anyways, but if you defeat both enemies around five or six people can be sent back. If you defeat more than the leaders of those groups, you could almost all go back. As for your other question, the demon lord is the ruler of the demons, an evil being who wants to destroy humanity. The scourge is a sort of undead plague roaming sections of the world. Obviously you won’t be alone in your fight, but we need your help.” The man explained everything to us, and I began to suspect them.

First off, me and you both know that kingdoms and governments, or people in general, can’t be trusted. I am also suspicious, because I didn’t die, which means they didn’t teleport us because we died. If they ‘know’ we died, then they likely caused our deaths directly.

‘Let’s not trust these dudes.’ It was an easy enough decision to make, and I made it as soon as nothing made sense.

“Why wouldn’t we want to go back?” One of the girls from the class asked, and the people in robes laughed.

“Because, you now have extraordinary powers. We can only summon a set amount of people every few hundred years, but you all gain incredible power from being summoned. Think about your ‘status’ or something similar.” The man told us, and so we followed his instructions.

A yellow screen like one from a game appeared before me, and I could see my information.

\========

Name: Ashton Phoenix

Age: 19

Class: Consumer of the Gods

Class Desc: After killing and consuming a god, you gained the power to absorb skills, abilities, and classes from other entities.

Level: 1

Job: Hero (Hidden:[Destroyer, God slayer])

Abilities: [Devour, Absorb]

Passives: [Hide]

\========

Looking at my skills, they were described as such:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Absorb: User can absorb skills alongside their levels and classes from those they kill. Absorbing classes is currently locked.

\=====

Devour: User can devour a skill or ability, gaining it for themself. The skill begins at level 1.

\=====

Hide: Passive - User can hide their class, skills, passives, and abilities from others.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Looking at my skills and class, I had only one though. What the hell? When did I kill a god, why am I a destroyer, and why the hell do I sound like an evil person? I have been a good boy world, why do I deserve this? Well, I can’t change it as it is, so may as well accept it.

“Now, let me explain. WHat you currently have are called abilities, special powers or feats unique to you. Skills on the other hand, are learned or gained powers or feats, gained either from study or from your class. Your class is just a way of telling you which skills and traits you will have access to, like a grouping. A wizard and summoner might share some basic skills, and can learn the same skills, but class specific skills will only be shared by others of the same class.” The man in the robe explained to us, and everyone nodded or showed some form of acknowledging their understanding.

Everyone looked at their class, and I pondered how exactly I could change it up. I didn’t want to be accused of evil the moment I arrived in another world, do I want to be forced into a war that I know nothing about.

‘A chef.’ I hid my class as a chef, and made both of my abilities and my passive disappear from visibility.

“Okay, we will now be creating identities for you all. They will record your appearance, class, age, level, and occupation.” The man in the robe said to us, and four others with robes stepped forward holding stacks of cards.

‘Information gathering. And, we can’t even resist it.’ I watched as they walked around and created everyone’s id, and eventually they got to me.

“Hold out your hand.” A man in a robe said to me, and I obliged. The card touched my hand, and I used devour on it. As I did so, it broke and I almost choked.

“Damn enchanters!” The man muttered aggressively, and pulled out another card. I touched this one normally, and he read the card before handing it to me.

“Chef? Never heard of that one.” He said, before walking off. I checked my newly gained skills.

\========

New skill: Basic Stat Appraisal - Gives the level, class, race, name, and abilities/skills of the entity appraised. When applied to objects, a description of its effects and properties will be given.

New skill: Linking - allows for objects or entities to be linked together, sharing data or properties.

\========

Looking at the linking skill, I devised that they had private cards somewhere, which would update our stats whenever we touched the cards. ‘Good thing I found that out!’ I could only imagine what would happen if my class suddenly changed, and to one with god slaying involved at that.

After everyone had their cards, the people with robes led us away to meet the king. We walked down large hallways, and I appraised things along the way.

_____________________

Enchanted Armor - Enchanted with magic. Properties: When triggered the enchantment animates the armor to kill invaders.

Door - Door.

_____________________

Ignoring the last one, I never would have guessed that the armor surrounding us was a bunch of killbots! Amazing, now I know to avoid hallways!

We arrived in the king’s throne room, and stood before a sturdily built man in a horizontal line. As we sat down, he seemed to be reading a card with glowing text which a robed woman handed him. After a few minutes, he spoke to us.

“Hello heroes, I am king Jerinad Banqwuell the fourth, but you may call me king. I would like you all to know that we will help to nurture your powers, and explain your abilities as best we can, in order for you to slay your enemies as quickly as possible. Do you have any questions?” He asked us, somewhat serious.

“Who are our enemies?”

“Ah yes, the most basic question! I’m sorry we were a bit rushed to get you here! Your enemies are the undead and the demons, evil creatures who wish to destroy this world’s balance. The undead are those who died, reanimated to fulfill evil agendas, and the demons are vile beasts who wish to corrupt humanity as a whole.” The king explained, and there were several displays of understanding in response.

“What are levels?”

“Oh, well, levels are a basing on your power. The maximum level is calculated to be 300, though the greatest a non-hero has reached is 141. The demon lord was level 152 a few years ago, but is likely level 153 by now. We also have reason to believe that there is an existence behind the demon lord that is far stronger than he, and it is merely sealed away.” The king explained, causing several people to gasp.

“So, if we kill these demons or whatever, can we earn land or an army?”

“Of course. Every nation will assist in rewarding the heroes, our nation being at the lead of that. And, of course, most anything you gain yourself will be yours.” He proudly explained, and that seemed to hook several of the people in the room.

Who doesn’t dream of becoming a powerful hero, with their own lands and armies, controlling and ruling their own worlds or societies? Especially since many of the people here weren’t the brightest…

“Well then, since that seems to be all let’s get everything in order! First, you will be given your own room and demon servant.”

“Demon servant?”

“Yes, when we defeat demons, sometimes they survive. It feels pitiful to just kill them, so we help re-educate them. They go from savages, to understanding servants. Don’t worry about them, they’re both expendable and feelingless. If you want you can get a new one every day!” The king explained, and though reluctant several people just accepted it.

‘Um, okay? I know I’m not the only one who thinks that’s messed up...’ Sounds a whole lot lik enslavement, but maybe they’re telling the truth?

“Second, you will be allowed access to both magical and martial texts, so long as you check the books out with your cards. I am having a mana tester brought to the room now, and it will tell us your mana capacity.”

“So, can we do magic?!”

“Yes! Though, the level of magic will depend on your aptitude with mana, and your mana capacity.” The king waved to some people in robes, who I learned were mages after an appraisal. Why didn't I appraise the white robes? I’m an idiot.

They brought over crystal balls on pillows, and told us to place our hands on them. We all lined up, as there were only three brought, and walked up to get our mana levels. I finally arrived before one, and placed my hand on it without using one of my abilities.

“1002. Not bad, but not the best.” The mage said, and I walked away acceptant. I could likely improve it in the future, so why worry about it now.

After everyone was done getting their magic points appraised, we all returned to our line to hear the king's speech again.

“So, many of you are rather talented with magic! Heroes have some ability to increase their mana points, but it usually isn’t by much so it’s best that it’s high when you begin!.”

‘Of course.’

“Now, after we pass out your new rooms and belongings I would like everyone to demonstrate their powers, and begin their training.” The king waved his hands again, and several knights appeared behind us. They stepped towards one of us each, and beckoned us to follow them.

I saw another large hallway, and only a couple more armor suits along the way. The knight guiding me showed me the library, the study, the practice field, and then a few other places, before he led me to a hallway where the others were also arriving.

Several rooms lined up the walls, and the knight gave me a key. I took the key, and opened up my door, but what I saw shocked me.

Sitting on the bed of my room was a woman with bunny ears, and a bunny tail, alongside some slight fur. She seemed clean, and had a crest on her forehead.

“That’s your servant.” The knight explained, and left. He didn’t seem bothered at all, and when I looked at the others only a couple seemed reluctant at all.

The woman on my bed bowed, and I didn’t really know what to do, so I just said hi.

“What’s my name?” She asked me, without looking up.

“What type of question is that?” Who doesn’t know their name? Isn’t she just a slave? This is slavery, although, it interests me as to how they work.

“I need you to give me a name, and become my owner.” She explained, and I understood. Probably magic, that’s all I need to know.

“What was your name before you were captured?”

“...Ulleah.”

“Ulleah is your name. Boom, I’m a bit of a genius.”

She seemed to just slightly, almost chuckle before stopping, and I decided that was a lot for an enslaved person. With that being done, I left to return to the king’s throne room.

Ulleah just stayed behind and waited, so I wasn’t slowed at all. Though, I’m a slow walker anyways, so I might actually slow her. After a few minutes, I arrived at the throne room alongside some others.

“Well then, begin. Use your abilities, they can’t damage me or the castle right now.” The king spoke, and I noticed that the room had a slight tint. I pretended to trip, and used devour on the floor, which caused a slight flicker in the tinting.

\========

New skill: Area Barrier - Create a barrier, the strength of which is based on skill level and mana input, which protects a room or area from damage until broken.

\========

I accepted the skill, and watched the others use their abilities. Looking around, I saw a sudden bird made of solid yellowish light fly by, one of the others in my class touched a piece of stone and became partially rocky on her finger, one made something float, several strange powers were being used around the room.

I turned around, and saw a girl with shoulder length brown hair, Julia, make something disappear.

“Woah! Can you show me that again!” I said to her, and she smiled.

“Sure Ash! Watch!” She smiled, as she placed a tiny pebble on my hand. She waved her hands, and seemed to try grabbing the pebble from afar, when I used devour.

\========

New ability: Storage Space - allows the user to store an amount of objects based on the skill level. Objects in the space have their time frozen, and don’t move unless interacted with by the user. Living things cannot be stored

\========

I took the ability, and she saw that it didn’t work, so she tried again and it disappeared.

“See, I have an inventory!” She seemed excited to tell me, and I shared her joy.

“Awesome! I wish I had an ability...” I pretended to have nothing, as right not I couldn’t pretend to have one.

I repeated this trick a couple more times successfully, only on abilities that people couldn’t see fail, and gained the following abilities.

\========

New ability: Seal - Seals a target's physical movement, with the maximum level being below the level of the user and their skill.

New ability: Telekinesis - moving things with one’s mind.

New ability: Weather manipulation - control and manipulate phenomena related to the weather, the level and scale of which is baked on the level of the ability.

\========

‘Perfect though, a victimless crime.’ I enjoyed gaining these new abilities, even if I couldn’t use them in view of others yet.

“Ashton, you don’t have an ability correct?”

“Ah, yes my king! I’m sorry.” I apologized for this, and he just chuckled in response.

“No no, don’t apologize just yet. I’ve never seen chef as a class before, so it could have some hidden skill or ability! In fact, maybe you need to cook to learn it... ” The king began to think, and chat with his mages, so I left them.

I walked over to one of the mages from his earlier speech to ask about learning magic.

“So, how do I learn magic?”

“Well, your mana capacity is rather small, so without skills or class feats to change that you won’t be capable of much, but let me guide you.” The mage guided me to the library, and as he did he talked to me.

“Essentially magic is using mana to manipulate the world, and to that end we do extensive research. If you become a researcher or scholar, you can likely achieve a lot with magic, so don’t be discouraged. It can also be hard to learn at first, but once you acquire the skill, as a hero you just have to level it up.” He explained, and I understood. For real this time. It was like a video game, where you could level skills by using them, or by putting skill points into them. Heroes gain skill points and levels rather easily, so it’s only really feasible for us.

After a few minutes we arrived at the library, and he explained the process for checking out books. I had to use my id to check out a book, which made sense, and do a skill test afterwards.

‘More monitoring.’ Of course, I would play the fool for a bit more, at least until I understood the situation.

I entered the library, and began to look at all of the books. The books were rather interesting, covering a wide range of topics, skills, skill levels, and there was even a section for theories. With that being the case, I found a book about basic magic, and a book about mana capacity and limits.

I checked them out, and returned to my room to read them. When I arrived, Ulleah was present, and so I decided to ask her something.

“Ulleah, what does a slave mark do?”

“It requires us to obey our owner unconditionally, or we are injured.”

“So, you can’t lie to me?”

“Correct.”

“Are you a slave?”

“No.”

Hearing that answer, I reached a conclusion. That itself was a lie, due to the enslavement mark. ‘A servant makes both the perfect spy, and it would mean they’re right.’

“Who is your owner?”

“You.”

“Who put the enslavement mark on you?”

“A slaver.”

“Who can command you, a list of all people?”

“I can’t do that.”

“Disobey your first orders.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Call the first person to command you stupid.”

“I can’t!” The mark began to harm her, so I cancelled my request. I decided based on this, that I wasn’t actually the owner of the slave mark. If someone in the castle commanded her to pretend to be my slave, they could both spy on me, and make her falsify her information.

‘Clever bastards.’

“Ulleah, get me 10 pieces of paper and a bottle of ink. Don’t let anyone stop you unless you have to, and whenever you get tired take a rest immediately.” I commanded her, and she left the room.

With her out of the room, I began to read the first magic book, about mana capacity. I read it rather intently, and after four or so hours I was a few hundred pages in and Ulleah returned.

“Get ten more pages and a leather cover, and also get two nice meals.” The kingdom provided us with free meals, so it wasn’t too much of a bother.

I continued reading my book, and gathered some important information. People who experience a near death situation can gain more mana points on their mana cap, and it can be raised through reaching zero mana repeatedly. Items, potions, rare herbs, and continuous complex spell use could also raise it. All methods except dying worked rather slowly though, but this was acceptable.

I moved onto the magic basics book, and read that for a few hours. I learned to sense mana, spread mana, and meditate to regenerate mana faster. Now, it was time for a spell or two. I got to the section on basic four elements spells, and decided to try fire and ice.

I tried creating a small flame, and after about an hour was successful a couple of times but not enough.

‘Wait a second, can I devour this skill to learn it?’ In this world, skills instantly gave one knowledge about how to perform them. The problem was, to learn or improve these skills you had to understand and comprehend a skill. But, if I was already inconsistently using the fire skill, I could devour it to learn it.

I spent another twenty minutes, and when I got a flame I devoured it.

\========

New skill: Create minor flame - creates a flame up to six inches in diameter, the size and intensity of which is decided by the mana input.

\========

‘No. Way.’ I tried to create a flame, and instantly was successful. Now, the only thing I would need to do is level it up through repeated use, and I would become a high level minor flame creator.

When I discovered this, I heard Ulleah returning, and so I stopped my work.

“Welcome back, and right on time!”

“I brought you a steak, and mashed potatoes.” She presented two dished of steak and mashed potatoes to me, and I was forced to look at her dumbfounded.

“Sorry if you weren’t aware, but one of these is for you.” I explained, and she had a conflicted look.

“No need, We have food in that box.” SHe pointed to a box in the wall, which I opened expecting R.E.Ms or something, but what was I greeted with? Dog food, dog food was in the wall.

“Wait a second, you aren’t even a dog, you’re a bunny? Are they idiots? Are you an omnivore?”

“Uhm..Yes.”

“Okay, well then you can eat one of these dishes instead.” I took my plate, and she just stood there watching me eat. “That was a command.” I told her, and she rushed to sit and eat.

I felt a little bad for forcing her to eat, until I saw her savoring the flavor. ‘Pfft, I feel bad for laughing. I’m glad she can eat like this, I’m sure the others are the same...’

Meanwhile in the other rooms several slaves were eating dog food, a couple of others ate slightly improved meals, while some were having their ‘first-time’ in bed taken after, or instead of eating. Although, there were a few other rooms where the slaves were fed normal and humane meals, which they also seemed to be enjoying.

I woke up the next day, and went to a shower inside of my room. The rooms were like hotel rooms, with basic amenities needed inside, and I sent Ulleah out to get some food quickly. While she did that, I finished reading the book and learning the skills. It went much faster when you didn’t have to re read it, and could just learn the spells.

\========

New skill: Sparks - produce sparks

New skill: Create snow - creates snow, the amount and density of which is decided by mana input.

New skill: Minor Create ice - creates ice up to 8 inches in diameter, the strength and density of which is decided by mana input.

New skill: Create Pebble - creates a pebble or small rock up to four inches in diameter, strength and size are based on mana input.

New skill: Gust - creates a small gust of wind

New skill: Blow - blows concentrated wind, the pressure and amount of which is decided by mana input.

New skill: Raise temperature - Raises the temperature, the amount, area, and speed being decided by mana input.

New skill: Lower temperature - lowers the temperature, the amount, area, and speed being decided by mana input.

\========

‘Perfect! I’m glad that I could learn this so easily!’ I decided to bring Ulleah with me, and I went to the library. After a few minutes we arrived, and I returned the books and took my mana and skill tests, which returned nothing new.

‘I’ll just try it.’ I used devour on the crystal ball, and it flickers before returning to normal.

‘Thank god.’

\========

New skill: Measure mana - measures the amount of mana in an object or entity

\========

It’s a useful skill, and it would let me judge my own growth. After that was done, I decided to try to check out some research of death and what happens in near death experiences. I also checked out some more advanced elemental magic spells, and began to walk out when a book caught my attention.

‘Plant magic!’ I wasn’t a plant fanatic, but I was a genetics student previously. I used a large amount of my highschool life, and two years of college, learning about genetics. I bought my own CRISPR kits, and attended several gene labs, so it could be said that I loved genetics.

I grabbed that book as well, and carried them all to the checkout. We returned to my room, and I decided to ask Ulleah about her outings before sending her again.

“Do you get tired frequently?”

“No, we have far better endurance than humans.”

“Hmm. Do you like it outside?”

“Yes, generally.”

“Well then, I need you to research the outdoors until you feel like returning! This is a command, and my ability to improve in the future relies on this knowledge!” I sent her away to enjoy the outdoors, and began my reading.

I spent a few hours reading, and learned more fire and ice magic, as well as the basics of plant magic. Plant magic wasn’t biology magic, but accelerating growth and regeneration, as well as conveying intent to living organisms.

\========

New skill: Create ice - create ice, the size, shape, quality, and amount of which depends on mana input and user control.

New skill: Create Stone- create stone, the size, shape, quality, and amount of which depends on mana input and user control.

New skill: Create fire - create fire, the size, shape, quality, and intensity of which depends on mana input and user control.

New skill: Create water - creates water, the amount, quality, and temperature of which is dependent on intent and mana input.

New skill: Control water - controls water, the degree of control is dependent on skill level and mana control. The amount controlled is dependent on mana input.

New skill: Create wind - create wind, the size, shape, quality, and amount of which depends on mana input and user control.

New skill: Wind blade - create a blade of wind from nearby gases, the cutting/damage capabilities and size are based on mana input.

New skill: Freeze - freezes the target, the strength and temperature of the freezing effect is based on mana input.

New skill: Melt - melt target, the temperature and speed of the melting is based on mana input.

New skill: Accelerate growth - accelerate the growth of a target, the amount and intensity of which is decided by intent and mana input.

New skill: Control plant - control a plant’s growth through mana.

New skill: Sense life - detect nearby signs of life, the radius and strength of detection is based on mana input.

\========

With all of that being gained, I came up with an idea that might be kind of crazy. It involved fire and ice…

Actually it wasn’t all that crazy. I want to try combining fire and ice, without it becoming water. To do so, I try creating both fire particles, and ice particles. I say particles because I don’t mean tiny pieces, but particles of the mana that make those elements. When you use mana to create an element, it is just mana acting as that element, so water will dissipate into mana, fire won’t need fuel, and rocks will slowly disintegrate back to mana.

I try creating them individually first, and I am successful after twenty minutes. With that being achieved, I try simultaneously creating both types of particles with one hand, which is much harder than anything else. I spend a few hours practicing, and I hear Ulleah return.

“Welcome back! Did you gain valuable research?” I asked her when she returned, and she bowed.

“Yes, it is partially cloudy outside, and the temperature is cool and refreshing.” She told me with seriousness, and I decided that wasn’t enough.

“Hmm. Yes, my research deeply requires this information! I apologize for this, but I think you will need to enjoy the outdoors for at least the next week. Remember, don’t let anyone bother you, it’s vital to my growth.” I explained to her, and I assume she understood my intentions, but she didn’t show any signs of it.

“Well then, you sit here and make sure the room is safe. If any robbers break in, give ‘em the stink eye.” I joked around before leaving, and went to get us some food.

‘Does she like carrots? I’ll get some carrots, and ranch. Who doesn’t like ranch? But she ate steak, so I don’t know.. I should research her some time.’ I decided to put the development of genetics based magic on my bucket list, and grab some food.

I grabbed myself and Ulleah a bread roll, and some chicken before I came to the carrots. I grabbed a couple of those, and looked at myself.

‘Carrying two plates and serving oneself is rather hard. How does she do it so easily? I could set one down, but carrying them back will still suck.’ I had been a waiter before though, so I had some experience with this. As I was preparing to leave though, a boy with blonde hair, Jerrick, looked confused at me.

“Are you bringing back food for your servant?”

“No? Why?”

“Oh, then what’s the other plate for?”

“Me, am I not allowed to have two buns and some chicken? We live in a castle now. Besides, don’t they have the dog food?”

“Oh, okay. I’m sorry, just thought maybe she was trying to trick you into getting her some. I played around with mine last night, but I saw yours and wooh, she’s the prettiest.” He chuckled a bit, and I decided to leave him at that.

He was known for being a jerk, and I don’t want to attract more trouble to Ulleah than she apparently already has for herself. It wasn’t her fault of course, but Jerrick. I could see him doing something stupid.

I brought back the meals, and gave Ulleah hers.

“Don’t tell anyone I gave you that, and watch out for a kid named Jerrick. Blonde hair, Green eyes, ugly personality, and a forcefield ability.” I warned her, and she nodded in compliance.

With her having her food I went to my bed and sat down to read the research papers I grabbed. There are two beds in the room, though the one for servants is smaller and not nearly as soft.

‘Eventually I want to help them. At least her.’ I thought a bit about their situation, and more about what I suspected. I believe that they enslaved her, and made her give a second authority or ownership to me, the next person he met. This was because if she had just been commanded to listen to me, then I wouldn't be considered an owner, but a user or commander.

Ignoring that, I read about mana capacity, and near death experiences for a few hours. The most important aspect I learned about was the soul, as it was what was affected in a near death experience. Essentially, the soul moves after death, and its consciousness begins to fade. If the consciousness completely fades, your soul is lost and you die. If you stay conscious and return to your body though, your capacity is increased.

This likely meant it had to do with spreading out one’s soul, which would be extremely dangerous. One error and you would die, and if you did it wrong there was not only no benefit, but a possibility of injury. Even if you succeeded once, it would mean you actually caused a near death experience, and it likely wouldn’t happen again.

For me however, it’s different. I can make a spell to perfectly dissipate my consciousness, and using that I can learn a skill that will allow me to correctly do it instantly. Yeah, I’m a genius.

Ignoring that though, I saw that my food was cold and decided it was the perfect time to begin learning chef skills. I was a rather good cook in the other world, and I heard enough of Gordan Ramsey’s yelling to know what I shouldn’t do.

With Ulleah being asleep, I gathered my silverware and tried to raise their temperature perfectly. I learned the skill from it, and did it in both directions. I could now make silverware hot or cold, and ignore their effects. Next, I wanted to be able to act like a microwave instantly, choosing a perfect temperature and heating food to that temperature, then using my silverware to cool it to a perfect temperature for eating.

It was actually pretty easy to do that, and once I learned the actual skill the mana cost went down significantly. Last but not least, I want to be able to create a thin layer of ice on a surface, and cause it to produce heat like a hibachi grill.

This would require my fire and ice particles to combine, so I could choose which ones were where. After another few hours of experimenting, that spell was completed and learned as a skill. The perfect thing here was that the king’s castle would be the perfect place to use these skills, acting like a hibachi chef.

\========

New skill:  Object temperature control - control the temperature of an object, the size of the object and the speed of change is dependent on intent and mana input.

New skill: Spatial temperature control - control the temperature of an area of space, the speed of change is dependant on intent and mana input.

New skill: Elemental Particle control - allows for direct control of elemental particles, allowing for them to ignore conflicts, adapt to another particle type, or be freely controlled.

New skill: Fiery ice - Burning ice, freezes and burns at the same time.

New skill: Cold fire - doesn’t burn physical materials, can burn mana.

New skill: Cooking surface - creates a clean antimicrobial surface, the temperature of which the user can control.

New skill: Disinfection - instantly sterilize an object.

\========

I went to sleep rather easily with all that I gained, and was woken on time by Ulleah. How she kept a perfect sleep schedule, I didn’t know.

“Come with me to do research today. Your outdoors research will be halted until later today.” I didn’t want to be mean, but Jerrick roamed a lot during the earlier parts of the day, so this would be somewhat safer. He wasn’t allowed to directly hurt or bother her, but he could surely create problems.

‘But, if I stay worthless I can’t guarantee that they’ll let me stay here.’ I decided increasing my apparent abilities was the most important right now, and I could think of a few things I could do to improve myself.

The heroes should be training tomorrow all day, me excluded, to increase their abilities. As for me, it seemed they would let me do whatever I wanted for a bit, and see if it would bear fruit.

Thus when I turned in my books, I made sure to disclose my newly created chef skills from before. Not my researched skills, just the grill, disinfection, and spatial temperature control. These were skills I had made, and they only existed for an instant. So others might not be familiar with them.

“Ulleah, can you get me a few hundred pieces of paper, some leather covers, some binding thread, and some ink?” I asked, having a new idea that would allow me to significantly increase my research.

She nodded in agreement, and so I let her leave. While she was doing that, I decided to find a scanning spell, or something that would allow for me to vibrate and sense vibrations. Both of which I was able to find, with the scanning spell being arcane magic, and the vibration magic being earth attribute and arcane.

I checked out both books, and that wasn’t their main spell so I wasn’t worried. It only took an hour to find them, so I left with the books to return to my room. I spent the next few hours that Ulleah would spend gathering materials researching these spells.

When she finally returned, I took the materials from her and sent her to research enjoyment of the outdoors for a few hours. I looked excitedly at the papers, leather, and ink, because I might have a way to completely subvert the kingdom’s surveillance, in the library at least. Yeah, this time I actually have a cool idea!

Elsewhere, in an empty room a mage stood with a sphere before him. He wasn’t uncomfortable, as he had magic holding him in the air, so it actually felt extremely relaxing to just be held.

“Oh! He learned some interesting skills!” The mage read the newly learned skills of Ashton, and released himself from his suspension spell, running to get the king immediately.

The king was in the middle of reading some papers, so the mage stood and waited. Forty minutes later, the king set the papers aside, and looked to the mage, who immediately kneeled.

“My king, he has gained new skills!” The mage excitedly proclaimed, and the king showed some degree of interest.

“Ashton? The chef? What are they?”

“They are all cooking related. He seems to be able to clean materials, make a cooking space, and heat or cool foods, but none of those are spells!”

“So, what does this mean then?” None of the mages would bother the king with something insignificant, unless it pointed to a larger possibility or problem.

“I believe that he is learning skills related to being a chef through reading about magic, so I suggest we let him continue.”

“I see. I trust your insight. I hope you’re right about this though, so I can forget about Mellis.”

“You needn’t still worry about him. His talent wasn’t guaranteed, and maybe he wouldn’t have learned his skills inside of the castle.”

“Still, losing someone of his aptitude, to the Berrachia empire at that! But, what’s done is done. Thank you for your report, anything else?”

“No, my king.”

The mage bowed, and left the room promptly. After he was gone, the king observed the papers once more, with quick glances, before setting them aside. After a bit of thinking, he made up his mind.

“Markus.”

“Yes, my lord?” A bald man silently standing next to the king, who most never even noticed, spoke to him.

“Have Ashton given a new room, with more space and a grill. Tell him he will be cooking something for me in, let’s just say a month. I want to see what he can become, whether that is as a hero or as the best chef in the kingdom.”

“Yes, my lord.”

With that done, the king left his throne room and returned to his bedroom. His wife was sitting in the room, still reading various books she had accumulated, and the two sat there to discuss the kingdom into the night…