Infinite Potential System

William thought that becoming stronger had relieved him of the tension caused by the Heavens' appearance. That their presence was no longer as life-threatening as before. The moment that the System notification appeared, however, a wave of godlike power overwhelmed William to the point where he felt inclined to kneel and beg for forgiveness.

Professor Tenningbrew and the other students were no exception, though they were more accustomed to this kind of aura than he was. Several defensive treasures stored within the students' robes activated simultaneously and protected them from the aura, while the Professor simply faced the doorway with his arms crossed.

-Move! Move! They haven't discovered you yet, this is just their natural aura!

The System's mental waves crashed down on William like a tsunami, shaking him from his stupor just in time to cast Illusion Magic and transform into a desk. Despite having little time to think, William still managed to prevent the Mana within his thumb from affecting the Spell.

He scooted towards the rear of the classroom in his new four-legged form, leaving behind scratch marks that the Dimension healed instantly. Only when he was in the very back row and perfectly lined up with the other desks did William stop moving.

-This is your plan? Become a piece of furniture and hope no one recognizes you? They're not Qi Refinement Cultivators!

Of course not.

William replied simply. He also didn't expect to fool the Heavens with such a simple trick. His idea was much grander, and far more interesting.

I'll become TWO pieces of furniture! Continue reading stories on empire

William cast a second Spell with Illusion Magic, this time using a small portion of the Mana stored within his thumb to conjure a second desk that he positioned in the same row as him.

Skillfully avoiding attracting his classmates' and the Professor's attention, William moved the desks in the back row around until he was in the far-left corner while the second desk was in the far right.

-You're hopeless.

I'm not done yet! I've wanted to try this ever since I got my ID card in Great Rouge, but I never had enough Mana or Magic Power...

William thought as he once more called upon the Mana located within his thumb.

After upgrading his Mana Dominator Talent within the Quake Dungeon, the first problem was resolved. Now, with the help of his improved Mana Circuits, William felt it should be possible now.

He focused intently on his thumb, requesting two full thirds of the Mana located within to cast a unique new Illusion Spell. Its requirements were stringent, but the intent was simple, hopefully granting him success on the first try.

The System was about to ask what William's intentions were, but the mental waves forming its message were disrupted by a strange sensation. It felt... disconnected.

In the opposite corner of the room, where the second fake desk sat, a faint aura developed until it perfectly matched William's own. At the same time, William suppressed his own aura and split off ten percent of his Soul Strength, sending it into the fake.

Sometime during the process, part of the System's existence automatically tried to compensate by splitting the same ratio of itself into the fake desk-William. It only barely grasped the situation and managed to control itself before the System was forcefully split into two by William's Spell.

Normally, this would never happen. But the combination of being merely an A-Rank System and the fact that William hadn't intentionally tried to pull the System into his Spell caused it to misjudge the purpose of what he was doing.

But, regardless of how infinitesimally small the chances of William managing this again were, the System had to admit that it was a huge milestone amongst Hosts. An identical version of William with ten percent of his combat strength had been conjured in the form of a desk.

It even shared his Talents, with some limitations.

-When did you learn to do this? I've scanned your memories a dozen times and there's no record of you practicing this Spell.

Even you can be surprised, huh?

William smirked, which had no visual effect because he was a desk. Before answering, took the time to suppress his aura as much as possible, suppressing the aura of fake-desk William by only slightly less.

I have Supreme Left to thank for this, though I've only just barely grasped the concept now. I've been thinking about his cloning technique for a long time.

William explained.

When I realized that Illusion Magic was my best chance of survival, I obviously needed to think of ways to use it. Do you think those hours spent complaining to you were wasted?

I can't do what Supreme Left did for his clones, but it seems that with a strong enough Illusion Spell, I can create a cheap copy of his technique using the power of imagination.

The Soul Strength was really just a precaution, since it's difficult to visualize a Sea of Consciousness inside another person, even if that person is William himself. He hoped that the added Soul Strength would make it more convincing that fake-desk William was a real person.

-Well done.

William almost choked, causing his desk form to distort into a half-human, half-desk version of himself for a brief moment.

What did you just say?

-Nothing.

No, I'm pretty sure I heard you say, "Well done".

-Maybe it was your teacher.

You're good at—

-The Heavens are approaching this room. You're on your own.

Before William could finish his thought, the System's connection with him was severed, though he didn't feel any weaker. All of his Talents seemed fully functional, and even the Status Panel was available.

Four figures with thick auras that shrouded their faces like a veil entered the room, their footsteps perfectly in unison. Two who were clearly in the Solar Deity Realm guarded the doorway while another pair in the Deity Realm split up and started walking around. At the end of each step, the pair paused, a golden light scanning each individual object in their path.

"Heavens Clan! What are you doing here?" Professor Tenningbrew stood in their way, his expression demanding a response.

The Heavens Clan member placed a golden-shrouded hand on Tenningbrew's shoulder and pushed lightly, sending the professor flying into the chalkboard. His figure left a sizable imprint in the wall behind, while the other visitor approached.

"Stand aside and wait for us to complete the scan." the Clan member didn't intend to answer Tenningbrew's question.

Tenningbrew burst from the wall and blocked their paths once more, "I think not! This is my classroom; I have the right to know your intentions!"

"Leave it to backwater scum to disrupt official business." the Heavens member said before launching a palm strike that could destroy a thousand Mortal Realms. Despite being at the same Cultivation level as Tenningbrew, the Clan member's offensive power was leaps and bounds above the Professor's.

Tenningbrew's expression became serious as a previously invisible cape of white fur appeared in front of him, redirecting the palm strike into the nearest Heavens Clan member. Golden blood splattered on the walls and ceiling as the Heavens member was caught off guard, their lifeforce draining quickly until they were on the verge of death.

"You dare!" one of the guards threw an unassuming grey pill that landed in their companion's mouth, restoring their lifeforce completely and healing all injuries. The guard then pointed at Tenningbrew, a beam of golden light enveloping the professor completely before incinerating him.

"What a fool. He died for nothing." the other guard clicked his tongue in disgust. Nothing was worse than being ordered to scan an entire Plane for some... teenager.

With the nuisance out of the way, the guards proceeded to check the entire room for any abnormalities, destroying anything that looked even remotely suspicious. After scanning a few white ferrets above the ceiling tiles, the Heavens members allowed the other two students to leave the room.

"Fuck! What the hell is this job?! How many millions of kilometers have we covered today? Aegion is so unreasonable!" one of the members conjured a comfortable mat and sat cross-legged on the floor with their back to the wall. The golden light shielding their body faded out, revealing a white-haired boy with a vertical scar in the center of his forehead.

One of the guards responded with a sigh, "It can't be helped, Yern. The Clan Leader said this thing attached to the boy is dangerous. If we don't capture it, there's no telling what could happen to the myriad Realms."

"You know that's a bunch of bullshit! How can a kid be a threat to the most powerful clan in history? We've never been stronger than we are now, yet you want to suggest that one person can destroy us?" Yern snorted.

"Who knows? The Clan Leader has been around since the sixth Primordial Era; who knows what he's seen in life?"

Yern laughed in derision, "Oh, there you go again with your fanatical d*ckriding. He may be my leader, but I'll let my beliefs be my own, thank you very much."

"You—" Before he could think of a comeback, the guard noticed a desk shaking ever so slightly in the back corner of the room.