Chapter 163: The Doomsday Furnace and the Apocalypse Battlefield!
With a heart pounding with excitement, Ren closed the Doomsday Roulette interface.
"You girls are truly my lucky charms!"
He leaned in and gave each of Yukino, Megumi, and Eriri a celebratory kiss on the cheek. They didn't know the exact reason for his elation, but they could feel his happiness, and it was infectious.
Ren took a moment to calm his racing thoughts and focused inward, perceiving the changes in his newly upgraded Vector Manipulation. As expected, the fundamental nature of the ability remained the same, but its scope and power had increased exponentially.
First, the range. At Lv. 6, his Vector Manipulation had already evolved beyond the need for physical contact, functioning more like a 'Vector Field'. This field had encompassed the entire planet.
Now, at Lv. 7, that field had expanded to an astronomical scale. Taking Earth as the center, his influence now stretched far beyond the solar system. Throughout this vast expanse, all vectors—motion, heat, gravity, energy—had become his playthings.
A gentle kick, if he so desired, could send a planet careening out of orbit. A single thought could apply a new vector to the entire solar system, stretching or compressing its very axis of existence. He could turn the sun into a gravitational anchor and force it to devour everything around it, creating a true, ever-expanding black hole.
Secondly, his intuitive understanding of Primal Energy had deepened even further. The improvements were all within his predictions, but experiencing them firsthand was still breathtaking.
But the most important thing right now was the Space Stone.
He materialized the gem from the Chat Group's inventory space. It was an oval stone, shimmering with a deep, cosmic blue light that seemed to hold entire galaxies within it.
The moment his fingers closed around it, an idea, a mere whim, flashed through his mind—
Whoosh—
In an instant, Ren vanished from the clubroom.
"Whoa!"
Eriri, who had been sitting on his lap, suddenly lost her support and plopped onto the floor with a surprised yelp. She rubbed her backside, grimacing. "Hey! Where did Ren go?"
"Did he get summoned to the Otherworld again?" Marin asked, blinking her large, curious eyes.
"Perhaps," Yukino replied, though she was just as unsure as the others.
Ren had not, in fact, traversed worlds.
The place he now stood was utterly alien to Earth. There was no blue sky, no white clouds, no green vegetation. Instead, he was in a desolate, utterly silent gray world. Under the harsh, unfiltered sunlight, the rocks on the ground gleamed with a cold, metallic luster. The entire landscape was pockmarked with craters of all sizes.
He was standing on the Moon.
Fortunately, his body no longer required oxygen to function. The Primal Energy, Power of Faith, and Power of Sin coursing through him could easily sustain his life, making the vacuum of outer space completely trivial.
He looked down at the smooth, oval blue gem in his hand—the Space Stone. The instant he had grasped it, an indescribable sense of clarity had flooded his mind. He intrinsically, naturally, understood its power.
With this gem, he could instantly transport himself or any object to any point in space. He could manipulate the very fabric of space itself—tearing, cutting, twisting, reordering, and even creating new pockets of reality. At the same. time, the stone itself was a source of near-infinite energy.
Using the Space Stone made complex abilities like teleportation, spatial distortion, and temporal stasis as simple and reflexive as breathing. Just now, a simple desire to be on the Moon had brought him here instantly. He could feel that the range of this teleportation was vast enough to cross entire galaxies with ease.
Of course, he also felt that the full power of the Space Stone was not yet unleashed. The power one could draw from an Infinity Stone was directly related to the user's own strength and understanding. His current use of it was powerful, but he knew it was not yet the gem's true limit.
And... there was another problem.
"This method of use is just too inconvenient," Ren complained, pinching the Space Stone between his thumb and forefinger.
Having to physically hold an item to use its power was a significant drawback for him. His body, enhanced by Primal Energy, was strong enough to shatter the Moon with a single punch. He didn't need to worry about his body being destroyed by the gem's raw power. But it would be so much better if he could integrate its power into his very being.
The moment that thought appeared, a new notification chimed from the Doomsday Chat Group.
[System: Ding! Detected that the number of Doomsday Chat Group members has reached twenty-five!]
[System: Doomsday Furnace function enabled!]
[System: Apocalypse Battlefield function enabled!]
"New functions?"
His eyes lit up. He momentarily set aside the issue of the Space Stone and opened the Chat Group interface. True enough, two new tabs had appeared. He clicked on the Doomsday Furnace first, using his administrator privileges to view its description.
[Doomsday Furnace: Can smelt any item from all worlds.]
[Smelting is divided into essence smelting and ability smelting.]
[Essence Smelting: Extracts the essence of an item's ability into an ability essence. Ability essence can be used to enhance that type of ability.]
[Note: There is no energy loss during the essence smelting process.]
[Ability Smelting: Extracts the essence of an item's ability and smelts it into an ability crystal. Fusing an ability crystal will grant the ability.]
[Note: There is a certain amount of energy loss during the ability smelting process.]
[Note: Depending on the item, smelting requires different amounts of doomsday points.]
Ren's eyes immediately locked onto the description for Ability Smelting.
He thought of the Space Stone. If he smelted it into an ability crystal, could he gain a permanent spatial ability? Gems were ultimately external objects; he vastly preferred power that belonged to himself.
Furthermore, the Space Gem also had its limits. The Infinity Stones were forged from the essences of six singularities before the Big Bang. Their power was destined to be confined within the scope of their home universe. If he could transform it into one of his own abilities, perhaps its upper limit could be further increased.
"I just don't know how much the so-called 'energy loss' will be, and what the fusion result of the obtained ability crystal will be."
This was an unknown and very risky endeavor. This was an Infinity Stone. Smelting it felt like sacrilege. What if the 'energy loss' was 99%? What if it just... broke?
But the allure of making its power his own, unbound by a physical object and the laws of a single universe, was too strong.
Looking at the Space Gem in his hand, Ren fell into contemplation and indecision. A moment later, his expression hardened with resolve.
"Let's do it!"
Gritting his teeth, Ren decided to place his trust in the Chat Group system. He navigated to the furnace and threw the Space Stone into the smelting slot.
[System: Ding! Do you choose to spend 500,000 doomsday points to smelt the 'Infinity Stone - Space Stone'?]
"Yes."
Since he had made his decision, he wouldn't hesitate.
[System: Ding! 500,000 doomsday points have been consumed!]
[System: Please select the smelting direction!]
"Ability Smelting."
[System: Ability Smelting initiated! Please wait...]
About five agonizingly long minutes passed. Ren was just starting to get impatient when the notification he was waiting for finally appeared.
[System: Ability Smelting successful!]
[System: Congratulations on obtaining an SS-grade ability crystal, Source of Space (Lv. 8)!]
[System: Do you wish to fuse?]
"Level... Lv. 8?!"
Ren was sure he hadn't misread it. It clearly showed Lv. 8!
"Hiss!"
He took a sharp breath, his heart pounding in his chest. This was the result after the Space Stone had undergone energy loss during the smelting. This meant the 'Source of Space' ability was stronger than the gem itself.
"Fuse! Fuse it now!"
The fusion was instantaneous. The extreme clarity of spatial control he had felt while holding the Space Stone now surged through his entire body, integrating with his very soul. This was his power now, not borrowed from an external object.
Furthermore, he perceived that the spatial ability he now possessed was almost identical in function to what he could do with the Space Stone, but it felt... deeper, more intrinsic.
He casually waved his hand.
Space subtly rippled around him. At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed. Then, with a thought, Ren willed himself back to Earth.
He reappeared inside Sobu High School. But the school was completely empty. In fact, the entire planet was devoid of life.
"A very powerful ability indeed."
This was the effect he had intended. Rather than calling this place 'Earth', it was more accurate to call it a parallel spatial duplicate of Earth. The moment he waved his hand on the Moon, he had created a perfect, parallel space, a copy of the one he was in.
Whatever happened within this pocket dimension would not affect the original reality.
Moreover, the space he created wasn't just a copy of Earth, but a parallel duplicate of the entire Milky Way galaxy. This was the true power of creating space.
With another thought, the pocket dimension shattered into nothingness.
Ren reappeared in the Supernatural Research Club, not a second having passed since he left.
"...So anyway, why didn't Yui come to school today?"
Miura Yumiko asked as she slid open the clubroom door. The normally standoffish Yumiko became quite talkative when she visited the club.
"Hmm? Where's Ren?" She had intended to ask Ren, as Yui's boyfriend, about her absence. But at a glance, he was nowhere to be seen.
"I'm right here."
Ren tapped her on the shoulder from behind. The sudden voice and touch made her jump.
"Eek!"
Yumiko shivered from head to toe, startled. She whipped her head around to see Ren standing right behind her, having appeared out of thin air. She shouted angrily, "Why do you walk without making a sound?! You scared me!"
"Huh? Why is Ren-senpai outside the room?" Miko asked, scratching her head in confusion.
Ren just smiled. "Nothing, just testing out a new ability."
"Tsk." Yumiko clicked her tongue in annoyance. "As Yui's boyfriend, do you know why she didn't come to school today?"
"Yui isn't feeling well; she needs to rest for a day," Ren explained vaguely, spreading his hands. He certainly wasn't going to reveal the specific details, especially since he was the primary cause of her "discomfort."
"Alright then." Since he had an answer, she didn't press the issue. She trusted that if Yui had told Ren, it probably wasn't a serious problem.
She shifted her legs, only now realizing... she'd been so startled she had leaked a little. A small, warm wet spot was spreading in her panties.
Giving Ren one last glare, Yumiko turned and hurried away, clearly heading for the restroom, a look of extreme urgency on her face.
[Inorin Note:
If you wish to support me so I can continue to survive and afford proper food, you can join my membership on Patreon [patreon.com/InorinTL]. Be sure to check out "The Dedicated Fan"—a special, limited-time tier that offers all the benefits of "The Plot Uncoverer" at a discounted price! Slots are limited, so grab yours before they run out. Besides membership, you can also donate via Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/inorintl].
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]