After saying his goodbyes to the girls, Erik headed to the mothership's viewpoint.
The wide windows displayed the orange-red surface of Mars, barren yet strangely beautiful. In the distance, he could see the base they had been building, still under construction but slowly taking shape.
Erik smirked to himself. "Seems like the girls piloted the mothership back to base," he thought.
Without wasting time, Erik stepped outside the ship, floating effortlessly using his telekinesis. He soared through the thin Martian atmosphere, scanning the terrain for a secluded spot far from the base.
Eventually, he found what he was looking for—a flat-topped mountain surrounded by empty plains. Landing softly on the rocky summit, Erik exhaled deeply and summoned his system interface.
The system displayed a detailed list of his abilities, many of which had been upgraded or rediscovered after regaining his memories.
Among the most notable were [Ancient Magic], knowledge carried over from his second life in the world of "Am I Actually the Strongest?", and [Reaper's Harvest], a power he gained from the Tensura world.
But the real highlights were his fully upgraded abilities: [Beelzebuth], [Resurrect], and [Shield]. These were the skills he was most eager to test.
Starting with [Beelzebuth], Erik extended his hand, and a dark, purplish fog emerged, swirling menacingly around his fingers.
He willed the fog to form a compact sphere and directed it at a section of the mountain. The fog devoured the rocky surface with eerie precision, leaving behind a smooth, hollowed-out area.
"Create three copies of the pieces [Beelzebuth] absorbed," Erik commanded.
The system's calm voice replied.
[Request accepted. Processing… Done!]
Moments later, three identical chunks of rock were expelled from the fog, perfectly replicated down to the atomic level.
Erik marveled at the complexity of this process. The system, originally designed to track his powers wouldn't have been able to handle such intensive computational tasks, but now that it was enhanced by integrating the traitorous skill [Raphael], it could. And this unlocked [Beelzebuth]'s full potential.
Next, Erik turned his focus to [Resurrect].
Summoning his army of resurrected soldiers onto the Martian surface, he cast the skill once more.
The soldiers trembled momentarily, their movements almost unnatural, before settling down as if nothing had happened. Erik called out to one of them—a familiar face, the sorcerer supreme from the Zombie universe.
Strange approached and knelt before Erik, his voice steady. "I'm here, my lord."
Erik's eyes widened in surprise. 'They can speak now... and they've regained their personalities?'
After a few probing questions, his suspicion was confirmed. The resurrected soldiers retained their memories, knowledge, and individuality, though their unwavering loyalty to Erik remained intact. And ultimately, all of them were just soldiers...
He nodded thoughtfully.
While it was a breakthrough, his ultimate goal wasn't to create soldiers—it was to revive his mother.
'For that, I would need more resurrection-related powers from this universe as well.'
For true resurrection, he needed the original souls as well.
After this, he ordered Strange to throw out eldritch spells inside the Beelzebuth. When he asked his system to analyze the magic to learn it, the system told him that Eldritch magic required wizards to pull the energy from other dimensions. This dimensional energy could disrupt and reject the innate mana his soul carried for Ancient Magic.
If he wanted to use Eldritch magic, he would have to sacrifice the Ancient magic, Erik chose not to learn it after all.
"Hm, is this the reason Ancient One was adamant on never teaching me Eldritch magic... but would she know about this? Is it possible... that I tell her to do so in the future? Hmmmmm.... oh well, maybe I just might."
Shrugging of the thought, he focussed back on his testing.
Finally, Erik tested the skill he was most eager to explore: [Shield]. This skill was obtained by learning the barrier magic of the protagonist from "Am I actually the strongest?" always used.
A simple spell which when combined with the knowledge of numerous ancient magical spells... allowed it to manipulate the fabric of reality itself inside the space it surrounds.
He deployed the shield, and a transparent barrier enveloped the mountain. Inside the shield, Erik activated its subskill, [Domain].
The space inside the shield shimmered and warped, responding to his will. This was no ordinary barrier—it was a tool that allowed him to reshape the very fabric of reality within its confines.
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When Erik returned to the mothership, he headed straight for their personal quarters. The interior looked just like a modern Earth apartment—cozy and stylish, with sleek furniture and warm lighting.
As he opened the door, Helen greeted him with a bright smile. "We were just waiting for you. Cindy's cooking lunch. Ah, did your testing go well?" she asked, leading him toward the kitchen.
Erik nodded and replied, "Yeah, my powers worked just as I expected."
He sat down at the dining table and glanced around. "Where's Wanda?" he asked.
Just then, Wanda appeared out of nowhere, a grin on her face.
"I'm here," she said, leaning down to give him a quick kiss on the lips before sitting beside him. Her curious gaze lingered on him, prompting Erik to chuckle.
"What is it?" he asked.
Wanda tilted her head thoughtfully. "You know how I can be inside both my body and the undead Wanda's body? I programmed a spell that instantly connects my mind with hers whenever you summon her."
Erik's eyebrows rose in interest. "I see. So, did you catch a glimpse of my training?"
Wanda nodded. "Yes. When you summoned your entire army on that mountain, I was preparing to come over when you shouted something. Suddenly, all the spells I had ingrained in her vanished, and my connection got cut."
Erik rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ooof, my bad… Well, I just kinda hit the restart and refresh on her and the others with my upgraded powers. Nothing major. You can cast your spells on her again if you want."
Wanda sighed dramatically and flopped onto the table, stretching her arms out. "It'll take a whole week~" she grumbled. Her plan to have a threesome with Erik while she was in both bodies was pushed back a few days.
'Ahhh~, I really wanted to ride his dick while simultaneously sitting on his face in my other body~~' The nasty scarlet witch sighed.
Unaware of her thoughts, Erik chuckled and patted her head. "Haha, I guess I made more work for you. But there's good news—or at least a hunch. Because of my upgraded power, you might find it easier to control her this time. Maybe even have a better connection with her now."
Wanda's eyes brightened. "Really?"
Erik shrugged with a smile. "Just a guess."
After a moment of quiet, Erik suddenly asked, "Oh yeah, what happened to Mantis? You didn't leave her on that exploding planet, did you?"
Wanda shook her head. "No, we saved her. She's in the dungeons for now. I didn't know what you wanted to do with her. Plus, her mind's shield is ridiculously strong—I couldn't read her memories."
Erik hummed in thought. "That's fine. I haven't made any plans for her yet. She's not a bad person, so I'll just ask if she wants to stay and work for us or leave. Her choice."
At that moment, Cindy set a pot of steaming stew on the table. "Is she going to join your harem, Erik?" she asked with a sly grin.
Erik paused as if considering something, then shook his head. "Nah…"
Cindy narrowed her eyes playfully. "What if she throws herself at you?"
He shrugged. "I plan to only accept women that I love, you know."
For some reason, Helen blushed faintly and quickly turned her attention back to setting the table.
With a deep exhale, Erik opened his mouth and said, "Also, we're going to Asgard next."
Wanda raised her chin slightly, her expression curious. "Why there?" she asked.
"To take back the reality stone," Erik replied, his tone resolute. "Wanda obtained it from the Dark Elves all by herself after all. And… while I'm at it… I'll also force them to give us the Eternal Flame. I have reasons to believe that it's the last piece needed to truly resurrect someone from death... Truly."
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