Chương 49: Chapter 47

Ymir and Granessa stared at Adam, absolute shock written across both of their faces.

"You became a god...?" Granessa asked.

"Yeah. Briefly. For all of ten seconds or so. Then the lead tutorial administrator, Dumas, showed up, ripped my soul apart, and threatened us into signing a contract."

"Uh-huh..." The two of them nodded absentmindedly, though it was obvious neither had fully processed what he'd just said.

"So... are you a god or not?" Granessa asked again.

"Not anymore." She blinked, still looking thoroughly confused. Ymir finally spoke.

"Possessing divinity does not make someone a god," he said, slowly shaking his massive head.

"Divinity is only one of many requirements. Even then, gaining divinity should not be as simple as taking a nap..."

"But it was a week-long nap," Mei offered helpfully. Ymir gave her a sidelong glance before deciding the comment wasn't worth acknowledging.

"It sounds like your soul entered a realm exclusive to gods, much like the shaman realm that those who possess the shaman class can enter." Adam nodded at the likely explanation. However Ymir didn't continue that dialogue.

"You still wanted to finish our last lesson?" he asked Adam instead.

"Yes. The ship should be ready in about a week, right? That should give us enough time to practice before we head out again."

"Works for me." Ymir nodded.

"Though this final lesson won't take long. Especially since you've already solved the problem with the Archmagus Seed on your own."

"I'd still like to learn how to dispel it, just in case."

"Fair enough." A short while later, they resumed their lesson outside Ymir's home. Unlike active spells, passive enchantments weren't particularly dangerous or explosive. Still, with Mei around, everyone agreed it was safer to use one of the outdoor training grounds.

"As I mentioned before, passive spells can only be imbued into clothing. They cannot be applied directly to the body," Ymir began.

"What I didn't have the chance to explain is that the process has a very high chance of destroying the piece of clothing you're enchanting. For that reason, you should never be wearing it while performing the imbuement, nor should you practice on anything valuable. Ordinary clothing is best. The odds of success remain the same whether the item has a grade or not." Adam carefully wrote each point into his notebook for future reference. Truthfully, he probably didn't need to anymore.

Ever since leveling up, he'd noticed his memory had become noticeably sharper. Mei had experienced the same thing, leading them to suspect the Game quietly improved hidden attributes that never appeared on the status screen. Even so, old habits died hard.

"Now," Ymir said, "watch carefully while I demonstrate the process." Serving as his assistant for the day, Granessa laid a massive orc-sized shirt across the broad stone wall surrounding the training ground. It was roughly the same enormous XXXXXL size as the clothes Adam and Mei had purchased during their shopping trip. Ymir extended one colossal hand over the garment, his palm so large that it swallowed the entire shirt beneath its shadow.

"The first step is to form a clear image of the passive you wish to create. For this demonstration, I will be enchanting the shirt with resistance to fire." He lowered his hand until his palm rested against the fabric.

"Your skin must remain in direct contact with the item throughout the imbuement. Most people use the palm simply because it is convenient, though technically any skin contact will suffice." A faint icy-blue glow seeped from beneath his hand.

"Once the image is fixed within your mind, guide your mana through every thread of the clothing while maintaining that mental image. If your focus wavers, the enchantment will fail." For several long seconds, the glow spread through the entire shirt like frost creeping across a window. Then Ymir lifted his hand. The blue light lingered for only a heartbeat before fading completely, leaving behind what appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary orcish tunic. Orc Tunic A plain orcish tunic.

Passive: 39% Resistant to Flames"As you can see, imbuing a resistance isn't the same as creating immunity," Ymir explained.

"The latter would be nearly impossible. The amount of mana required would overwhelm the garment, causing the enchantment to fail and likely destroying the item in the process." He tapped the tunic lightly.

"Additionally, percentage-based effects are random. I only received a thirty-nine percent resistance, but another attempt could result in a higher or lower value. That is another reason why ordinary clothing is recommended. It often takes several attempts before achieving a satisfactory result." Adam continued writing down every word while nodding along to Ymir's explanation. Once he finished recording the information, he raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Is it possible to imbue multiple passives onto the same item?"

"No." Adam nodded and immediately wrote that down as well. Mei raised her hand next.

"Yes?"

"Can we imbue multiple effects into the same passive?" Ymir paused before nodding approvingly.

"Ah, a good question." Even Adam looked slightly surprised. It wasn't that Mei couldn't ask intelligent questions. Far from it. She was one of the smartest people he knew. The problem was that she usually preferred approaching things with her usual playful and carefree attitude rather than taking them seriously. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"While it may be possible, the success rate would likely be extremely poor," Ymir explained.

"The more complicated the effect, the harder it becomes to maintain the stability of the passive. However, it would depend entirely on the effects you are attempting to combine."

"What if the effect was to make your boobs and butt bigger?" Mei clarified. Three pairs of eyes immediately turned toward her with completely deadpan expressions. Mei waved her hands defensively.

"Oh, oh! Not for me! My body is already killer. I was thinking about my baby's mother, Skysandra. She always looks at my body with envy, so I thought 'why don't I make her a dress that gives her assets a little boost?'""Mei..." Adam sighed, staring at her with disappointment.

"I thought you were about to ask a serious question for a moment. And can't you just use your Legendary-grade wardrobe for that?" He had genuinely given her too much credit.

"Those only last twenty-four hours," Mei said.

"But a passive would last forever, right?"

"Passives only last as long as the item remains intact and receives a semi-regular infusion of mana," Ymir corrected.

"Usually twice a day. More often if the effect is particularly powerful." Mei's expression fell slightly. Adam ignored her disappointment and continued listening as Ymir placed a hand against his chin thoughtfully.

"That is about everything I can teach you regarding passives without interfering with your future growth. Now, for removing the Archmagus Seed." Ymir looked toward Adam.

"You will remember that I previously taught you about chants and warned you not to attempt to imbue yourself with passive effects. The method for removing the seed is different. Instead of creating a passive, you must imbue yourself with a chanted spell."

"Is something like that actually possible?" Adam asked.

"For most spells, no. However, this one is unique." Ymir's expression became serious.

"Place your hand over your heart, where the seed resides. Then chant the following while imbuing yourself with mana." He cleared his throat." Under article six, paragraph seven, of the Company's terms of service agreement, I hereby revoke my claim of ownership of the Archmagus Seed and relinquish all rights therein to be held under the whole purview of the Company." Silence followed. Adam and Mei slowly blinked.

"While chanting, you must use your mana to forcibly remove the seed from your heart. The process will be extremely painful, but it will not compare to having your soul extracted." Adam and Mei continued staring at him.

"The Company has a TOS...?" Adam finally asked.

"How come we've never seen it?"

"It must abide by universal law," Ymir answered simply.

"You'll probably be provided with it once you return to Earth… I guess." Adam opened his mouth to argue. Then he stopped. After everything he had experienced since entering the Game, he wasn't sure he had enough evidence to say that was impossible. He could only shrug and accept it.

"Well, I have taught you the basics, which are the bare minimum required for you to continue improving," Ymir said.

"From this point onward, you will have to learn through experience. There is still much, much more ahead of you." He looked toward the two of them.

"Even divinity is only barely scratching the surface of what the Game has to offer."

"Thank you, Ymir," Adam said sincerely. Mei nodded beside him.

"Yeah, thanks!"

"Em." Ymir gave a small grunt and nod.

"I'll leave you to it. Practice as much as you need. Your ship and crew will be ready by the end of the week, and then you can begin your journey across the sea." With that, the giant shaman turned away and walked back toward his frozen palace, leaving Adam and Mei along with Granessa behind in the training grounds to continue practicing at their own pace. Adam watched Ymir disappear into his frozen palace before turning around. The moment he did, he stopped with an expression of blank surprise.

Mei had already summoned her wardrobe and was currently pulling out armfuls of clothing, handing them over to Granessa, who carefully placed them across several tables at the edge of the training ground. That wasn't what caught Adam's attention, though. It was the tiny red... fairy(?) sitting on Mei's shoulder. The little creature immediately reminded him of the oni woman they had encountered a week earlier.

However, while that woman had been small compared to most races, she was still around three or four feet tall. This thing was genuinely tiny. Six inches tall at most. She had smooth red skin, two teeny tiny ivory horns poking from her head, and long dark hair that spilled down her back before pooling across Mei's shoulder. She wore a small French maid outfit that somehow looked perfectly fitted despite her size. Most importantly, she looked ridiculously adorable.

Like someone had taken a doll, breathed life into it, and placed it on Mei's shoulder.

"Mei... what's on your shoulder?" Mei glanced at him as if he had just asked the stupidest question ever.

"... Naomi," she answered. Adam stared." That's Naomi?!" He looked closer at the tiny creature, who simply stared back at him.

"When did she get so tiny? More importantly, where did she even come from?"

"She lives there." Mei casually pointed toward her wardrobe.

"And she's tiny because it amplifies her cuteness," she explained. He vaguely understood the first part. He remembered Naomi somehow resonating with Mei's wardrobe and forming a connection with it and Mei. The second part, however… Was that supposed to make sense? Adam stared at her.

"... What?" Mei tilted her head.

"It's simple. Smaller things are cuter, and six inches is the cutest size." Adam opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it. In the end, he couldn't say what he really wanted: Six inches is pretty big though… He looked back at Naomi, who was sitting comfortably on Mei's shoulder like she had always belonged there. Somehow, despite how absurd the explanation sounded, he couldn't deny that it was working. She was adorable. Extremely adorable.

One surprising detail, however, was that Granessa wasn't afraid of Naomi despite her tiny appearance. Mei had enchanted every piece of Naomi's impossibly tiny maid outfit with the highest-quality effects she could create, boosting her cuteness to an absurd degree. Anyone who saw her instinctively wanted to protect her, much like a puppy or kitten. If someone could resist that... They were probably a psychopath.