My setting is above yours!

Chapter 132 Ron: What have I been doing for hundreds and thousands of years? (4k6)

"Wow!"

Feeling the cold hand gripping her throat and the eerie mist drifting around her, Mira had barely realized what was happening when she burst into tears.

Heaven help her, she's never seen anything like this in her life.

Nobody said there were any monsters like that in the Old Ideal City.

That's really scary!

Looking at the leather-clad girl in his hand, whom he had pinched like a chick and who offered no further resistance, Ron was speechless for a moment.

Goodness, does this guy have some kind of intellectual disability?
Where is your decisiveness? Where is your rational thinking?
What happened to your clever trick of shifting fire and taking the opportunity to escape just now in order to save your life?

How come when such a crisis actually strikes, she cries like an innocent little girl?
Or perhaps... humph, you're trying to get away with this performance?

Ron sneered, and tightened his grip on Mira's throat even more without hesitation.

"cry?

"Crying also counts as time, right?"

Upon hearing this, Mira immediately stopped crying.

She shut her mouth, trembling all over, so much so that she couldn't open her mouth and could only stammer out words.

Seeing her reaction, even though time was running out, Ron still didn't actually make a move.

After all... if you really kill Mira, where would you find someone to explain all this to her?

He kindly reminded him:

“Say what you know… You stole the [Psionic Awakening Potion], did you think you were just playing around?”

Upon hearing this, Mira immediately realized that she had gotten into trouble while on a theft mission.

'Damn the Thieves Guild... Why didn't they tell me I'd encounter this kind of monster when they gave me this quest? The reward and the difficulty of the quest are completely disproportionate!'

After learning where she had gotten into trouble, Mira, though still trembling, gradually calmed down and became less panicked.

She hesitated for a moment, then stammered:
"That [Psionic Awakening Potion] wasn't with me; I gave it to one of my teammates on the quest..."

Is that what I asked?

But before she could finish speaking, Ron sneered and casually smashed a table and chair in the small hiding room using [Vector Manipulation]. The broken wooden splinters immediately floated in front of Mira, as if they were about to pierce her eyes—

"Yes! Yes! I have a bottle hidden in my drawer. I can get it for you right now if you want it!"

Mira immediately became obedient, closing her eyes to avoid looking at the wooden splinter so close to her, and shouted:
"I know all this information: [Psionic Awakening Potion], 'Etheric Psionic Energy', [Etheric Field], and this pendant... Don't poke my eye, this prosthetic eye is very expensive!"

No... is there something wrong with this child's brain?
Ron was momentarily confused—he had just grabbed her by the neck and threatened her with death if she didn't talk, and she was still unwilling to cooperate, but after being threatened with a wooden splinter, she had become so compliant?

So, for her, this prosthetic eye is more important than her life?

Thinking this to himself, Ron couldn't help but feel a little emotional:
'No wonder it's called the ideal city of the future... People are willing to risk their lives for money...'

He shook his head, put down the splinter, and said in a cold tone:
"Thirty seconds—tell me the first one, 'etheric psionic energy'?"

“‘Etheric energy’ is a special power discovered by Ronald, the president of SkyEye Corporation, the first Void Explorer, and the ‘Fire Thief’, in the ‘Historical Void’.”

Having realized she was powerless to resist Ron and could only submit, Mira became much more subdued, her speech becoming steady, as if she were reading a configuration file, dryly reciting:
"It is said that beyond the world reached by the [Historical Void] lies a deeper world called the [Spirit Realm]—the destination of all spiritual beings, the aspiration of the soul, another starry sea on the inner side of the world."

“‘Etheric energy’ is the disordered spirituality left behind by the dead beings who died and were buried in the infinite history of the world, which fills the Spirit Realm. They are mixed together and fill the starry sea on the inner side of the world.”

As she spoke, a hint of longing crept into her voice:

"It is said that there were once some extremely powerful beings who could control 'etheric energy' far beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, possessing the infinite power to rewrite the [spirit world]... They brought all spirits into their own bodies, held them in their hands, and were called the Lords of All Spirits!"

Upon hearing this, Ron was slightly taken aback, suddenly recalling a hint he had once seen in the Dimensional Update Manual:

'The Lord of All Spirits? Aren't the gods of Sequence Zero also called the Lord of All Spirits?'

Even back in the "Potion Era," when the "Spirit Realm" was still known by its ancient name, "Mansu," these Sequence Zero gods were already called the Lords of All Spirits...

'But what they possess, aren't they, magic and the [potion sequence]?'

But just as he thought of this, Ron suddenly realized:

'No, that's not right... Extraordinary beings don't rely solely on magic to use their abilities; they also rely on [spirituality]!'

For example, the Sequence Seven [Medium]'s [Spiritualization] requires the extraction of spirituality to be used...

'However, in reality, there is no spiritual energy to draw from the natural environment, so extraordinary individuals can only use their own spiritual energy in conjunction with magic to unleash their abilities.'

'But if one were to reach the spirit realm, a place where chaotic spiritual energy is extremely abundant, extracting and controlling this chaotic spiritual energy might be the best way to use extraordinary abilities there…'

Thinking about this, Ron suddenly realized something:

'No wonder [7] hid in the Spirit Realm after being severely injured—for these high-sequence transcendents, the spirituality within the Spirit Realm is probably the best medium for them to use their power!'

'At that time, severely injured [7] could only use his Sequence Three supernatural abilities in the spirit world, relying on those disordered spiritualities… If he returned to reality, his severely injured body simply wouldn't have enough spirituality to support him in battle!'

'If even a Saint [7] could act this way back then, then these great beings, residing above the Spirit Realm and controlling the Potion Sequence, would naturally also manipulate spirituality…'

'Thinking about it this way, [etheric energy] is essentially a more advanced form of magic extracted from the [spirit realm]!'

Having understood the concept of "etheric psionic energy," Ron nodded and then asked:

"So, what are the effects of the [Psionic Awakening Potion]? And how do you use it?"

Hearing this, Mira was somewhat confused, as if she couldn't understand why Ron kept asking such basic questions that were meaningless to psykers.

But feeling the cold hand and pressure on her neck, Mira didn't dwell on it at all. As if reciting a prepared text, she honestly explained:
"The [Psionic Awakening Potion] can help people tame the 'etheric energy' in the [Spirit Realm], incorporating it into themselves and absorbing the hidden knowledge within the [Spirit Realm]—"

"Once one successfully tames 'ethereal energy' and learns how to control and utilize its power to explore the [Spirit Realm], one can rely on the hidden knowledge within the [Spirit Realm] to embark on the [Psionic Path] and advance to become a [Psionicist]."

"Of course, if you have good talent, you might not even need the [Psionic Awakening Potion]..."

"By directly entering the [Historical Void], meditating inside, and feeling the [Spirit Realm] with your heart, you may have the opportunity to directly absorb 'ethereal energy' and become a [Psionicist]."

"As for how to use it... find a quiet place to meditate, calm your mind, and then just drink it." She said, pointing to a drawer beside her, her tone slightly obsequious:
"I have one bottle left. Brother, if you don't let me go, I'll get it for you right now—"

Ha, what a joke.

Even if I kill you, it will still be mine.
However, despite this, Ron did not actually intend to kill Mira.

As long as she can provide enough useful information, Ron can easily forget about the previous petty grudge.

Of course, it wasn't that Ron was afraid of the various criminal investigation methods that [Ideal City of the Future] might have, nor was it that he was afraid of offending some powerful figure behind this person after killing him, nor was it that he was afraid of encountering any taboos by doing so...

Anyway, I wasn't afraid!
Thinking this to himself, Ron's actions didn't reflect his lack of killing intent. Instead, as Mira spoke, the force intensified, and he coldly said:
"If you answer my questions to your satisfaction, I might let you off the hook... but not now."

As he spoke, he asked the question that had been puzzling him since the very beginning:
"Tell me, what is a 'psychic'?"

'Don't they even know what a "psychic" is? If this guy isn't a psychic, how did he get such strength? His background and power are completely mismatched… Could he be some ancient superhuman who came out of a cryogenic pod?'

The thought that Ron might be a superhuman filled Mira with a deep respect, and her words carried a hint of inexplicable pity. She then recited the script in a repetitive manner:

"【Psionicists】...hmm, they originate from a source of knowledge rooted in the 【Spirit Realm】..."

"Remember what I just said? 'Etheric energy' is the disordered spirituality left behind by the dead beings in the [Spirit Realm], which are buried in the infinite history of the world..."

"These spiritualities, mixed together, are ultimately divided into different kinds by the spontaneous mutual attraction between them, and each kind contains different kinds of knowledge."

"This knowledge comes from the experiences and history of the ancients, but now it has been brought into reality through the carrier of 'etheric energy' and has become the source of power for 'psychics' and has been used to build 'psychic pathways'."

"For example, after drinking the [Psionic Awakening Potion], I stepped onto the [Psionic Path] of the [Thief]..."

As she spoke, she gestured with her lips towards the red moon pendant in Ron's hand, explaining:
"As for this Crimson Moon Pendant, it's my token for changing jobs..."

"With it, I can enter the spirit world, attempt to contact certain psionic entities related to it, receive corresponding gifts from them, and thereby change my profession to a special class within the [Thief Path]..."

'So that's how the power system works... It's actually quite interesting...'

Upon hearing Mira's explanation, Ron immediately understood—

To put it bluntly, the "psychics" are a group of superhumans who dig up graves and inherit the legacy of the dead.

Unlike the extraordinary individuals of the [Potion Sequence] who inherited the blood of gods and wielded divine power, the [Psionicists] escaped this confinement to seek power in a broader and more chaotic existence.

These disordered spiritualities contain all the knowledge possessed by the deceased original owners. The [Psionicists] excavate their legacies and powers in the [Spirit Realm], thereby constructing a new power system that does not rely on gods...

'From this perspective, aren't the [Psionicists] more like the magicians in Ideal City who possess heroic spirits?'

'However, relying on Heroic Spirits is an extremely clumsy method, essentially merely attempting to inherit the power of an individual Heroic Spirit… while [Psionicists] are not bound by this constraint at all, directly inheriting the boundless spiritual power within the [Spirit World]!'

'Compared to so-called heroic spirit possession, this method not only reduces the risk of being possessed by a heroic spirit, but also eliminates the upper limit that restricts one's ability to possess oneself—'

'After all, what strength could a mere Heroic Spirit possess? Essentially, it's just a remnant soul that survived by the skin of its teeth, its maximum potential no more than the peak of their former ranks…'

'But this innermost layer of the world, the [Spirit Realm], which holds the remains of countless dead—no one can say for sure how many powerful spirits have fallen into it after death!'

Thinking about this, Ron couldn't help but feel restless, eager to see what kind of knowledge and power he could inherit in the Spirit Realm after taking the [Psionic Awakening Potion], and which [Psionic Path] he could embark on...

However, despite his thoughts, Ron didn't forget the most important of these issues, and the one he cared about most: the [Ether Field] used to restrict personal reality in the version announcement of the Dimensional Update Manual.

He hasn't forgotten his idea of ​​bringing the [Ether Field] back to the "Superpower Era" to use connections to suppress his desire to beat up superpowered individuals!

"So... one last question."

Ron's tone softened considerably, and he said earnestly:

"If you can answer this question to my satisfaction, I might be in the mood to hear your pleas for mercy—"

"Tell me, what is the [Etheric Field]?"

"It's just a means of protecting myself when I walk in the [spirit world]..."

As Mira spoke, she snapped her fingers, and a semi-transparent, eerie power emerged from her body, outlining a few simple symbols to form an array—

Then, that translucent, eerie power spread across the mystical effects of these symbols, enveloping them like a thin film, making them extremely blurry and indistinct.

"The construction and application of the [Etheric Field] is a required course for [Psionicists] and [Void Explorers]..."

"Back when Ronald, the president of SkyEye Company and the first cave explorer, the 'Fire Thief,' invented it, it had already undergone countless updates and iterations over the years. The current way of using it is very mature and easy to learn..."

She said this sincerely:

"Please be magnanimous and spare my life, just don't hurt these prosthetic bodies on me—I don't need the [Psionic Awakening Potion] or the job change token. I can teach you how to construct and use the [Etheric Field] right now, what do you say?"

how is it?

Ron was in no mood to pay attention to what Mira was saying.

At this moment, he was staring intently at the semi-transparent membrane covering Mira, and he saw the familiar, hidden power reaction on it...

And, symbols that were etched onto her body like some kind of magic array—

“▆”

Sensing this "hidden" power reaction, and seeing the familiar "▆" symbol, Ron wasn't stupid; he immediately realized what it meant—

What is the "etheric field"?
Although its effectiveness has been severely degraded, and its power originates from "etheric energy"...

But the essence of the "etheric field" is clearly a degraded "unknowable field"!

Thinking of this, Ron was startled, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his back:

'The Unknowable Domain is clearly a special product of the Unique Rule Segment "▆", a unique ability formula belonging solely to me...'

Why would it become a protective mechanism used by psychics worldwide to navigate the spirit world in the future?

'This power, which no one else could possibly know, and which is absolutely unique and belongs solely to me, has become a required course known to all…'

Thinking of this, Ron couldn't help but curse inwardly:
'What the hell did I do?!'

Over those countless years...

"Ron," he must have done something!
(End of this chapter)