u/PlayfulRub3300

[Note: this is from Starn's pov]

[Recap: female character here (basically my RP character) got kidnapped by Starn and the Rose School of Thought. Starn is now visiting my RP character.]

In the darkness of a prison, in one of the bases of the Rose School of Thought.

I approached a specific cell, grabbed one of the bars and shook it rather aggressively.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Metal struck against metal, creating a symphony of ear-splitting sounds.

Inside the cell, the prisoner lifted her head to stare at me.

Her hands were shackled by some chains cursed by a Sequence 4 Puppet, effectively preventing her from using any Beyonder powers and from exerting any significant physical strength.

I bent down and activated my Hypnotist's powers.

You are not hostile towards me.

You will not cause me any harm.

I am here to save you and you will agree with me.

I will not cause you any harm.

Her body shuddered slightly before returning to normal.

Currently, her mental defenses were at the same level as a normal human's, so it was very easy for me to influence her.

Once I completed the Hypnotism, I plastered a smile on my face and leaned on the side of the wall. “Good evening! Nice weather, am I right?”

My words were met with an eyebrow raise.

“Sorry, that must've sounded insensitive,” I said, leaning forward. “What I meant to ask was, would you like to see the nice weather outside?”

She gave me an incredulous look. “Is this another trap of yours?”

I shook my head fervently with a genial smile.

Of course it is.

“Of course not! I would never trick you like that. When I asked you for help last time, I spoke the truth. I did need your help. Well, to capture you.”

“And what wicked plan have you got up your sleeve this time?” she asked. “What do you have to gain from freeing me? Are you not loyal to the Rose School of Thought?”

The Rose School of Thought? I couldn't care less about those drug addicts.

“Thank you for making the conversation progress,” I said, bowing insincerely. “You see, I never bore any ill will towards you. I only captured you so I could gain enough points to advance to Sequence 6. And, now that I've done that, I can rescue you! Isn't that great? As for the Rose School of Thought, I couldn't care less.”

“What do you want? Stop acting like you have any sort of decent moral compass.”

I haven't done anything morally just in the past seven years, three months and four days.

I curled my lip. “I can take some of your snarky comments, but I don't have an infinite reserve of patience either. Before you continue insulting me, allow me to explain why you should cooperate with me.”

“Go on.”

“Thank you once again for your patience. Now, the Rose School of Thought probably wants you because a Traveler like you is extremely useful. You could get them from the Southern Continent to the Northern Continent in the blink of an eye, saving them from the trouble of crossing the entire Beserk Sea.

“However, since you're not of the Prisoner pathway, the amount of influence that their deity can have on you is limited. This means they can't control you very easily. The moment you leave this cell, you'll be able to Teleport away, and they won't be able to find you again easily.” I paused, knowing she should have figured out the rest of my plan by now.

“Great. So you free me. What would you like in exchange?”

I smiled. “Take me with you. Like you, the deity will have trouble finding me if I leave. Besides, it's not like they'll go insane over a Sequence 6 Beyonder.

“Of course, I'll provide compensation for both this and your abduction last night. You can Record twenty-two spells, which includes Beyonder powers from the Spectator domain and from a dagger made into a mystical item corresponding to a Sequence 5 Beyonder of the Apothecary pathway.”

Knowing she couldn't refuse such an offer, I said, “So, will you cooperate?”

She frowned. “Did you use any of your Beyonder powers on me just now?”

Who do you think I am? Of course I did. You should've expected that already.

“Would my answer really affect your decision?” I asked, smirking. “You have no way to divine whether I'm lying or not, or whether you should follow my plan. You can only use your brain, and if you happen to be someone who practices critical thinking like me, you should know that this is the best option you have. After all, once the Rose School of Thought lets you leave your cell, they will most likely have a Wraith permanently possess you to prevent you from Teleporting away.”

I held out a hand expectantly for a handshake.

She only hesitated for a split second before taking it.

Wearing my ever-unchanging smile, I reached my hand into her cell through the bars, grabbed the end of the chain trapping her hands and pulled sharply.

With a shattering sound, they broke into a few pieces, successfully freeing her from the wall. However, they remained tied around her hands.

Then, I took a bronze key from my pocket, inserted it into the keyhole of her cell door and turned my wrist.

I had stolen it minutes earlier from a guard by Hypnotizing him.

And since the cursed shackles were deemed enough to stop any Beyonder below Sequence 4 from escaping, the organization didn't employ any mystical means to secure the doors.

The door swung open and she stepped out, her eyes deep.

“Wonderful,” I said. “Now, we're going to get these shackles off you.”

My act of ripping the chains off the wall only served to disconnect them from the wall, but it didn't remove their mystical properties. Due to this, she remained unable to Teleport us away.

I took from my pocket a bright golden orb of light that I stole from the Psychology Alchemists and a golden box.

The box came from a Beyonder of the Lawyer pathway and could “Distort” certain “laws” to amplify the effects of items.

I used the box to amplify the purification effect of the golden orb and directed its power at the chains.

A bright light appeared, almost illuminating the entire prison and blinding me before it dimmed.

Staring at the shackles once more, I nodded in satisfaction. They no longer possessed an ominous aura.

I easily ripped them apart from her hands, successfully freeing her. At the same time, I threw her leather pouch at her, the one she had been carrying when I and company kidnapped her.

She verified its contents and looked at me suspiciously. “You don't have anything else planned? You are truly betraying the Rose School of Thought? Where do your loyalties lie?”

I smirked.

“I am loyal to myself, and myself only.

“I will only showcase the Beyonder powers for you to Record once you've Teleported us away,” I calmly explained. “You have the power to bring us anywhere you want to ensure I don't escape before completing the agreement. Besides, it's not like I could beat you in a fight.

“Since I've destroyed your restraints, the one who created them might sense it and come find us,” I told her seriously.

Then, perhaps to reassure her, I smiled. “Therefore, time is of the essence. Teleport us away!”

I did not believe she would leave without me, as she still hadn't Recorded the Beyonder powers I promised her, and I had Hypnotised her beforehand.

Additionally, the Hypnotism didn't include anything that could cause her harm, so she would most likely still be under its effects.

I watched expectantly as she grabbed my arm.

Illusory colours stacked upon each other, drowning my world in saturated hues.

So this is what it feels like to travel through the Spirit World… What an enviable power!

Beyonders of this Sequence would make great mystical items, I mused.

We appeared in a certain warehouse. Random weeds grew through the cracks of the wall. Rain pattered on the metal ceiling, creating an endless muted roar. Water dripped down from crevasses.

I wiped my forehead with a thumb as a raindrop landed on me.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Somewhere you won't be able to escape easily from,” she answered vaguely. She stared straight at me. “Now show the Beyonder powers.”

“Thank you for adhering to your side of the agreement,” I said with an exaggerated bow. I reached into one of the pockets of my coat. “I will now also fulfill my promise. Just hold on, I'll take out the mystical item and explain its effects.”

I grabbed the dagger's handle and took it out and stabbed it into her ribs.

The blade was entirely black, it's handle decorated with red and silver crescent moons formed by crystals.

On the surface of the blade were engraved different phases of the moon.

Blood shot out from the cut and landed on the blade, staining the moon phases red, making them seem incredibly similar to the real moon hanging in the sky.

How beautiful.

Using my spirituality, I controlled a lethal dose of poison from the dagger to seep into her body.

Black chains shot out and wrapped around her arms, taking advantage of her shock and hindering her movements before she could react. At the same time, I used Awe to destabilize her.

An uncontrollable smile appeared on my face as I watched an expression of horror unfold on my victim's face.

“Here is one of its effects,” I said leisurely.

“It's perfect for murder.”

Travelers sure make great mystical items, I mused.

Found in an ad I watched for energy bottles

Do not fret, as we are all very kind people. We will not corrupt you!!

We shall bring light to our subreddits!!

To present our members, we have on this flight (from left to right and from up to down):

u/Less_Pumpkin_8622

u/Own-Monitor-4037

u/chuckii2

u/Intelligent-Tour9467 (poet)

u/Majestic_writes01 (our fraudulent leader)

u/PlayfulRub3300

u/Ah_0100

u/Raven_fs

u/Ok_Witness_8006

u/WarSerpent0123

u/sab-exe

The wilderness.

I stood atop the hills.

Silently, an illusory door appeared.

By the time it vanished, I was no longer there.

***

In a hotel room in Backlund, East Borough.

A blue door suddenly materialised in the living room.

I entered, directly teleporting in.

A Traveler's powers sure are practical, I thought.

I haphazardly threw my bag onto the floor, using wind to cushion it's fall in order to avoid damaging any of the items inside.

Then, I kicked my shoes off my feet and walked into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine.

After that, I took out a bag of cured meat from the cupboard and layed the food on a plate.

Due to my advancement, my reserves in spirituality were quite low. While "mortal food" was unable to provide any help in this aspect, treating myself to such delicacies still provided satisfaction.

Additionally, it helped me maintain a sense of humanity that my subsequent advancement to Sequence 4 would partially remove.

I sat at my table and sipped the wine.

After placing the glass back onto the table, I was about to enjoy a slice of cured meat when-

Knock knock knock.

...Must I really be interrupted? I can't even enjoy my food properly...

Sighing, I walked to the door. Instead of looking through the peephole, I pointed at a spot on the door at eye level and spun my hand in a circle a few times.

A tiny hole quickly appeared, revealing the outside. The whole was bordered by blue light.

This was an improvement from Door Opening. I could create mystical openings through large surfaces.

Standing outside in the corridor were a golden-haired boy and disheveled man.

It's them again... Starn and Loren... What do these two want this time...?

Sighing, I widened the hole I had created on the wall to make it large enough for the other party and I to communicate.

Unlike physically opening the door, this ensured that they would only enter my house if I allowed them to. If not, I could immediately remove the hole, causing them to either be trapped outside my room or in the Spirit World. Either way, I would have enough time to run away.

Of course, this was on the premise that they had any ill intentions.

"Greetings!" said Starn with his usual enthusiastic demeanor. "It's a fine evening, isn't it?"

I nodded, playing along, pretending to only be exchanging small talk. "Indeed. There are no clouds in the sky. It's perfect for observing the stars."

Being a Psychiatrist, Starn definitely caught the sarcasm in my voice. However, he seemed to ignore it.

"That's right, you must be quite fond of stars, aren't you? Of course, Sequence 7 of your pathway is named Astrologer..."

"Cut to the chase," I told him. "What do you want this time? And how did you find me?"

"We're being pursued by the Mandated Punishers," explained Loren. "Right this instant."

"Indeed. And you know what happens to wild Beyonders like us when we get caught by the officials," Starn said solemnly. "You wouldn't want your brother to turn into a mindless slab of meat and eyes, would you?"

He blinked innocently. Well, as innocently as a man like him could, anyways.

"Psh. So you're in trouble, and plan on using my brother to guilt-trip me into helping you? What's stopping me from just abandoning you?" I asked Starn. "Sure, he's my brother. Maybe I'll save him. But what about you? I don't exactly care about you."

Starn grinned. "Compassion? Empathy for a poor guy like me? Shall I repeat my tragic story? I'm just a poor young man who got abducted by a terrorist organisation and is now being exploited-"

"Stop doing that. Stop trying to use your mind powers on me," I said. I immediately eliminated any traces of empathy I had for this man that had mysteriously seeped into my mind.

"You're no fun," complained Starn, blowing a raspberry. His eyes darted to the window at the end of the corridor. "Oh hey, looks like I managed to stall for long enough. Those irascible storm bros are here. Now, what will you do? If they catch us, you will definitely be implicated too. Maybe you'll be able to escape, since I doubt their level is any higher than Sequence 7 or 6, but you'll get noticed by authorities. Wouldn't want that to happen, would you? Heh."

This guy... I've fallen for his silly tricks again... What a pain...

Seeing the annoyance in my eyes, his grin spread even wider. "So, what will you do now? Come on, I'm curious to see what tricks you've got up your sleeve. Aren't you a Trickmaster?"

I groaned in annoyance. If I shut the door on them right now, they would definitely stay outside and wait until the Mandated Punishers arrived to catch me. Why let themselves get caught alone when they could implicate others too?

"...What if I simply beat you up and escape right now? How do you know it's not within my abilities to do so?"

"You're at a disadvantage here. Your brother's pathway is particularly good at combat and I'm in charge of the mind domain. With decent teamwork, we could probably win against you, or even kill you."

Starn answered calmly without a trace of menace in his voice, as if he were simply talking about the weather.

They had no way to know I had advanced to Sequence 5. However, while I could escape by teleporting, I couldn't defeat them. They would definitely hand over my information to the official Beyonders.

At the bottom floor of my hotel, I heard the Mandated Punishers storm in.

"Time's running out," Starn said cheerfully. He didn't seem concerned in the slightest bit, as though fully convinced I would help him.

Unfortunately, he was correct.

Haha, I really got manipulated by a mere Sequence 7. What a pain.

I controlled a gust of wind to send my bag and materials at me. Then, I stepped through the door, dispelled the Door Opening spell I had cast, grabbed their shoulders and Teleported away.

Before doing so, I made sure to summon the illusory book in front of me, to make it seem as though I was using a spell I had Recorded.

Since I was at a decent Sequence and the Church of Storms wasn't particularly good at divination, I wasn't concerned about them being able to divine what transpired.

Illusory colours stacked upon each other as they flooded my vision. For a while, I saw the grey expanse of the Spirit World, as well as the Seven Lights before my surroundings turned back to normal.

We stood atop a plain, the same as the one where I conducted my advancement.

Unlike the scene an hour or two ago, the lands were drenched in darkness as the sun had long set. Above us lay the wide stretch of stars.

"I knew you had some useful power Recorded," said Starn, admiring the sky.

Loren approached me. "I'm sorry for putting you in such a situation. It was Starn's idea."

I waved my hand dismissively, sighing. "It's fine. You're still my brother. I'm obliged to help you."

Loren shook his head. "No, I wasn't talking about that.

Ah? My expression froze on my face.

An intense sense of horror surged through me.

Immediately, I attempted to teleport away, interrupting my spell and forcing me to dodge.

Wary of Starn's mind attacks, I summoned my illusory blue book and sent a Frenzy at him.

A wave of golden light shot at him, enveloping his face. But his eyes quickly regained lucidity as he countered with his own Placate.

I had expected this; using spells from the Spectator pathway was useless against someone who specialised in the mind domain, unless I used a higher Sequence to overpower him.

My main goal had instead been to Record his Placate. Since my enemies were from the Spectator and Chained pathway, they'd either try to manipulate me or drive me to madness, making such spells extremely useful.

In short, I was converting my Frenzies and Awes into Placates.

Besides this, Loren summoned hordes zombies to attack me.

I easily delt with them using many instances of spells of Bard pathway or a Trickmaster's lightning strikes.

However, if I were to continue releasing spells in such a wasteful manner, I would quickly run out of ressources and be driven to a corner. And since I had only recently advanced, I needed a significant amount of concentration and focus to Teleport. This wasn't possible since I had to face two ennemies at the same time.

This meant I would quickly lose.

A zombie lunged for me with his arm. I easily dodged and countered by sending lightning straight through his arm, into his brain.

While fighting, I noticed something amiss.

Neither of them attempted any lethal attacks against me. Starn's attacks could be countered either through Placates or through sheer willpower since my Sequence was significantly higher than his. And my brother resorted to sending his zombies at me. They were more of a distraction rather than an actual threat.

What's going on? Why aren't they trying to kill me?

What are they waiting for?

Before I could begin thinking about the issue or formulate any plan to counter it, my body froze.

Not good!

What happened to my danger premonition? It should have warned me to a certain extent...

This means the enemy is significantly stronger than me!

Against my command, my mouth opened.

"Well done."

Immediately, the zombies surrounding me froze. Both Loren and Starn ceased their attacks.

"Master?" asked Loren tentatively.

I chuckled. "That's right. Good job subduing this Scribe. Or should I say... Good job suppressing this Traveler? Given the intel Starn provided, I'm guessing you only advanced recently, or you would've teleported away the moment things went awry. Any words you want to say to that?" I seemed to have regained control over my facial muscles. Against my command, my legs started moving, making me pace.

Instead of responding, I tried to direct my spirituality to open a door to the Spirit World, but was met with failure. I instantly lost control over my body once more.

"Don't do that. I can assure you that attempting to escape will lead you to an outcome worse than anything you can imagine."

Loren frowned. "You said you needed her because she was useful. You didn't mention anything about hurting her."

"And why would you care?"

"Because she's my sister."

"Oh, Loren. You and your habit of clinging to your humanity. You seem to have deluded yourself into thinking that you're still part of civilisation. You insist on having this therapist of yours to apparently 'keep your madness at bay' and now you don't want us to hurt this girl because she's your sister? And yet, you've already drank human blood as a Werewolf and feasted fresh flesh of those peers of yours. I saw your expression when that happened. Didn't you enjoy it? Don't you like the vitality that humans have, that which you now lack? Doesn't filling yourself with pleasure and indulging in such acts satisfy you?"

Loren only gritted his teeth in response. "I was unaware of the effects that these potions would bring."

I remained unable to move. Though my brain overrun with thoughts of horror, I was helpless in regards to my current situation.

I lacked the ability to even widen my eyes in horror or show any physical signs of fear. No, I wore an expression of calmness, as if I had were having a casual conversation. No matter how much I tried, my limbs continued betraying me.

I was hopeless.

Visibly, the story about the Mandated Punishers was just a fabrication to isolate me. Once I teleported us away, they kept me distracted for long enough until their superior arrived.

"Good job on this mission, you two." I spoke to Starn and Loren. "The organization will provide both of you the subsequent potion of your pathway, and for you the advancement ritual to Wraith," I said to Loren specifically.

Wraith? Is that how they're possessing me like this?

"Yes sir." Starn bowed his head. He no longer acted as cheerful and enthusiastic as he used to, seemingly having been reduced to a slave. His eyes lacked the twinkle it had, replaced by a cold and calculating gaze.

Perhaps this has been his true demeanor all along...

I nodded. "Good. We will now leave."

I continued falling into despair as my legs moved automatically.

Normally, I would've screamed at the horror of the situation, but I now lacked even the mouth to do so.

Some issues with my drawing but it's mostly acceptable

The wilderness.

I stood at the summit of the plains, breathing in the fresh twilight air.

Wind swept up the hills, spraying blades of grass off the ground everywhere. With precise wind control, I oriented all of them away from me.

Behind me, the sun slid into the mountains, releasing its last rays of light, bathing the scene with orange and yellow.

I closed my eyes and spread out my senses, briefly reaching out to the four Spirit World coordinates I had placed only moments ago.

My spirituality responded to me and I felt a vague calling from four different locations.

The coordinates have been placed...

I calmed my pounding heart and attempted to feel as connected as possible with the physical world trapping me.

Spreading my arms wide, I dug my feet into the soil and let the fresh breeze caress my skin, grounding myself.

...

After a few minutes of Cogitation, my mind was completely empty and devoid of any distracting thoughts.

I took a flask out of my robes, quickly unscrewed the lid and swiftly poured its contents into a glass I had prepared beforehand.

The potion was almost completely white with a strange consistency, as if it were half-melted snow.

Occasionally, light green bubbles rose to the surface, popping with tiny sounds.

This was the Traveler potion I had prepared only moments earlier.

After weeks of searching for the ingredients, I had finally managed to concoct the potion.

I stared at the drink in my hands.

If I didn't know better, it could've passed off as a carbonated drink.

I downed the potion.

***

Ah? It's so bright-

Countless beams of light illuminated within me, flooding my senses with coldness and blanketing everything in white.

Behind me, I felt illusory doors opening behind me one by one.

The doors beckoned me.

It was a peaceful and beautiful scene as they covered the orange sunset sky.

As if in a trance, I drifted towards them. My hand instinctively reached out and touched the edge of one of the doors of light.

The light surged around me, trapping me in its embrace with a rushing sound.

I-

***

I was drifting in a massive expanse of grey.

Where am I?

Indistinct silhouettes flashed in the distance. Their lumbering figures were like stains in the background.

Distance?

What is distance?

Is this "somewhere"?

What does "here" mean?

Left, right, up, down—my sense of direction was no more.

I was utterly lost in this mysterious space.

I stared at the grey fog.

"In front" of me, "far," "far" away were seven beams of light.

Red orange yellow green blue indigo violet.

They formed the colours of a rainbow.

Their beautiful light reflected in my widened eyes.

I stretched my hand as if to touch them.

Yet, while this place couldn't be measured by "distance", nor did it abide by the concept of "time," they remained ever-so "far away."

Therefore, no matter how "quickly" I "advanced," it seemed I would be unable to reach them.

I retracted my hand, dazed.

This, this place is-

***

I felt a calling.

It originated from "somewhere" impossibly "far away," but also "extremely close."

That's right.

This place is the Spirit World.

Regaining part of my lucidity, I closed my eyes and spread out my senses.

One by one, I successfully found and identified each of the coordinates I had set earlier.

Thanks to them, I was able to find my way.

I, I am no longer-

***

I projected my spirituality into the four coordinates.

Together, they formed the four cardinal directions.

North, East, South, West—I regained my sense of direction once more.

I was no longer lost in this mysterious space.

Staring at the grey fog, my eyes lit up as they were instantly filled with knowledge.

Indeed, to find my way back, I must-

***

After a while, the colourless expanse before my eyes slowly gained colour.

It didn't resemble a "colouring" of the world, rather, it was as if someone was spraying drops of paint everywhere, creating illusory stacked colours.

The colours mixed together, creating a saturated world that enveloped my vision just as the grey fog did-

This, this must be it-

***

The screen of colours faded away, revealing the physical world.

I found myself standing on the plains once more.

The sun had long set, leaving behind a starlit sky. I raised my head and used my hands to trace the countless constellations I had learned to become familiar with as an Astrologer.

The stars winked back at me warmly.

As of now, as a Sequence 5, I was limited to the confines of the physical world.

But-

Perhaps, perhaps I would one day be able to walk among the stars.

I breathed in the refreshing wind of the world I so cherished.

Anything you need me to steal?

I love the interactions between these two so here's a comic I drew enjoy

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

Art by me

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You know who to put for this

Hello! I spent the past 4 days tiering for my favourite character, so I wanted to share my experience!!

This wasn't my first time tiering, but it was the first time I tiered so intensely! So it was quite hard! In fact, the last time I got so many points was in Mafuyu's WL1 chapter where I got around 7 million points. So this was very different and much harder.

EN players, how did your Worldlink2 tiering go?

I am aware that EN tiering is even harder than on TW, so I'm very curious about your experiences!! TW already left me exhausted so I'm very impressed by you guys!

Ince Zangwill won yesterday's.

Please read the title carefully. We are going from worst to best.

For those who didn't watch the donghua, that is Lanevus.

Sorry for being a bit later today. I was playing video games (and still am.)