My attributes are increasing infinitely

Chapter 440: Going to the land of the ancients

”My lord, the Apocalypse Race dwells within the jagged peaks of the Western Mountain Range. We could traverse the distance in an eye-blink, but there is a complication: you are an anomaly in this world. Your aura is not yet registered with the Neutral Plane’s governing laws,” Erebus explained, his voice echoing like shifting shadows.

He paused, his eyes glowing with a wary intensity. ”As soon as you cross the threshold of this forest and step into the sunlight of civilization, your presence will trigger a spiritual flare. Every powerhouse, every Ancient One, and every divine sentry will receive a signal that a foreign entity has arrived. Do you truly wish to march toward the mountains under such scrutiny?”

Ethan leaned back against a gnarled tree, his expression unreadable. ”So, I’m basically a walking lighthouse for the enemy? No. I’m not nearly ready to face a coalition of ’powerhouses’ yet. I need more time to ground myself. Anyway, shift the subject. How is Zara? Do you have word of her condition?”

”She is alive, my lord. Beyond that, I cannot say. Their territory is sealed with a spatial lock that defies even my shadow-walking. I haven’t found a gap in their defenses yet,” Erebus admitted with a rare hint of frustration.

Ethan fell silent, his fingers tracing patterns in the air. With a casual wave of his hand, he condensed the moisture in the humid jungle air, creating a shimmering, soft bubble of water that hovered just above the ground. He settled into it, the surface tension holding his weight as if it were the finest silk cushion.

”Yumiko,” Ethan called out to his internal system, ”you mentioned before that I am same as the God Race. But looking at the gap between us, it’s a joke. My strength isn’t even a fraction of theirs. Why the disparity?”

[Master, the calculation is simple yet daunting,] Yumiko’s voice resonated in his mind. [The progeny of the God Race are not born as mortals are. They enter existence already possessing Absolute Continuum Grade 1 strength. In more prestigious lineages, newborns manifest at Grade 2 or Grade 3 immediately, depending on the spiritual density of their home realm.]

[Furthermore, their maturation is accelerated by two factors: the raw Divine Energy of the Upper Realm and the direct biological inheritance of their parents. They do not ’cultivate’ in the traditional sense. They simply tap into their parents’ existing divinity and consume ancestral treasures until they have matured enough to manifest a Source of their own. You, however, are building your infinity from nothing.]

Ethan sighed, the weight of his journey feeling heavier. ”Natural-born gods. Must be nice. So, what’s the move? I need a strategy that doesn’t involve me getting squashed by a Grade 3 toddler.”

[Master, the path is clear: it is time to build your Empire. You must bring the human race under your banner. Once you have a foundation of followers, you can begin to infuse their very origins with your Law of Infinity.]

[Because it is the Law of Infinity, they do not need to discard their current paths. They can remain as they are, but their existence becomes an extension of your own. As they grow, you receive a proportional return. Once the humans are unified, you devour the other original races. Then, you ascend to the Divine Realm and swallow their civilizations whole. That is your evolution.]

Ethan nodded slowly, though a frown marred his face. ”Do I have to bring all of them under my banner? Every single one?”

[You will become their Living God, Master. Let them worship you. Worship is the bridge through which their essence merges with your Law. You cannot force this union; it must be a spiritual resonance. Alternatively, you could abandon them and create an entirely new race from your own essence, which would be far more efficient.]

Ethan looked up at the canopy of the forest. He thought of the struggles of humanity, their fragility, and their stubbornness. ”No. I was born human, and I won’t discard that. I’ll travel to different human worlds, build their faith, and make them mine. Consider it a working vacation.”

He stood up from his water-throne, looking at Erebus. ”Find a way to infiltrate the Apocalypse Race. If you have to, fake a submission. Act as if you are a rogue spirit looking for a master. Protect Zara from the shadows. Those bastards can’t make a servant out of you anyway; your soul belongs to me.”

”As you wish, my lord. I shall be your eyes in the mountains,” Erebus bowed and vanished into the floorboards of the forest.

Ethan felt the exhaustion of the last few weeks finally catching up to him. The Neutral Plane was a paradise of ambient energy, and the air itself felt like a warm bath. He waved his hand, and from the ripples of his own energy, four ethereal maids manifested, extensions of his power designed for comfort.

”Massage me,” he commanded, closing his eyes. ”I’m taking a break.”

But just as he began to drift, a thought sparked. ”Yumiko, before I sleep... Rose and the others. Their memories are being tampered with. Who is doing it?”

[The Architect of the Fate Race,] Yumiko replied instantly. [He has taken a voyeuristic interest in your trajectory. He is plucking the threads of those around you to see how you react.]

”Does he know who I really am?”

[No. He sees you as a fascinating anomaly, a ’wild card’ in his grand design. That curiosity is the only reason he hasn’t tried to erase you yet.]

Ethan’s jaw tightened. ”I’ll teach that bastard a lesson one day. He thinks he’s playing a game? I’ll break his board.”

With that final spiteful thought, Ethan surrendered to sleep.

He woke up four days later to the sound of soft thumps and chirping. He opened his eyes to find small, white, rabbit-like creatures hopping over his legs. Colorful butterflies with wings like stained glass fluttered around his head, and the air was filled with the song of crystalline birds.

He felt incredible. Every cell in his body was buzzing with rejuvenated power. ”How long was I out?”

[Exactly four days, Master.]

”Good. Time to get back to the grind.” He reached out and scratched the ears of one of the fluff-balls. It purred, vibrating with a tiny bit of spiritual energy.

Thinking of fluff, his mind drifted to Puffin, the white furball he had left with Rose. The creature was an oddity, even by his standards. ”Yumiko, what exactly is Puffin? You mentioned he wasn’t from the ’Cage’.”

[Master, this lower plane is vast. The ’Cage’, the world you knew, is but a small, controlled experiment. Outside of it, there are ’Rogue Species.’ These are races that belong to no god and follow no established laws of the Divine Realms. The Divine Races often model their creations after these rogue species because the rogues are naturally resilient. Puffin belongs to a high-tier rogue lineage that exists in the deep void.]

”Another thing to add to the collection,” Ethan mused. ”I’ll bring the rogue species under the Law of Infinity too. It’s a big multiverse, I might as well own the whole thing.”

He sat up and looked around. ”Who created the God Race, Yumiko? If they are so powerful, they must have a source.”

[That knowledge is beyond my current access, Master. Perhaps they are a natural phenomenon of the first breath of existence. Or perhaps there is an Ultimate Creator above even the High Gods. For now, it is a mystery you are not yet strong enough to solve.]

Ethan didn’t press further. He stood up, and with a thought, his consciousness began to bridge the gap back to his main body. He left a high-level clone in the Neutral Plane with strict orders: find a way to hack the local system and assist Erebus if he got into trouble.

Ethan’s eyes snapped open in his main body. He was back in his tower. Outside, the landscape had changed. Representatives from over a thousand ”Original Races” had gathered at the base of his spire. The air was thick with the scent of diverse mana and the murmurs of powerful beings.

”Leave the tribute and a single drop of your bloodline essence,” Ethan’s voice projected throughout the grounds, cold and booming. ”Come back in forty-eight hours to collect your refined techniques. I will not be seeing visitors today.”

Not a single leader dared to object. They left heaps of origin coins and vials of glowing blood before retreating. Ethan didn’t even look at the pile; he simply manifested another clone to begin the tedious work of analyzing the bloodlines and automating the technique-refining process.

He had more important things to do. He made his way to Rose’s quarters.

”Rose,” he said, entering the room. She was sitting by the window, Puffin curled in her lap. ”Pack a bag. Would you like to come with me to visit the Land of the Ancients?”

Rose looked up, startled. ”The Land of the Ancients? I can’t.....”

She was about to give a firm ’no’ when Elizabeth stepped out from the shadows of the hallway.

”You should go, Rose,” Elizabeth said firmly. ”You’ve been working yourself to the bone since we got here. You need a break, and more importantly, you need to see the world outside these walls.”