Infinite Potential System

William almost turned white with shock, but he managed to maintain his composure. He thought about lying to the Professor, possibly even gaslighting him into thinking William's skills were another, but he knew its chances of success were close to none.

Professor Tenningbrew was an expert with the Illusion Element; William should have expected for the man to see through his Potential Spell.

The problem was, in the heat of battle even the most genius Cultivators made mistakes. William was no exception. He only thought of doing his best to survive the Heavens' attack, completely discarding the possibility that his teacher could rat him out afterwards.

-Are you still making puns at this time? Rat you out, seriously?

He's a ferret. It hardly counts as a pun!

-I know what you meant. I'm literally connected to you! It was a funny joke, why are you denying it?

It was funny?

-No. I lied to make you admit it. Now focus!

The entire conversation took place in barely a few milliseconds, giving William plenty of time to think of a response for his teacher. The problem was... nothing he could say would get him out of this situation!

Then I won't say anything! Run!

William opened a portal to another part of the Dimension, frantically creating a dozen more on the other side to which he chose one at random. From there, William concealed his aura to the best of his ability and hid in human form.

Using Illusion Magic right now was useless, and highly counterproductive. Not only could Tenningbrew easily see through it, but the use of Mana would reveal William's position immediately.

The Professor in question appeared in front of William using a portal of his own, followed by a white-haired young man sporting a stylish grey and black suit. It was Vice Principal Kenny, whom William had only interacted with during the entrance exams.

I'm screwed.

William sighed inwardly. Widespread information about the Vice Principal was minimal, but what he knew for sure was that the man was much stronger than the Heavens Clan members that visited the Dimension.

Rumor had it that both the Principal and Vice Principal were at the peak of the Stellar Deity Realm, though only Cultivators at that level would know if that was the truth.

"Creeper! I knew you were special!" Kenny looked at William with a wide smile, as if William was a piece of loot in a tree.

-Only you would make that connection.

"What do you want from me?" William gave up on trying to escape and instead committed a majority of his focus to defending his mind. Worst-case scenario, he had to at least prevent anyone from discovering the System's existence.

The Vice Principal held his hands up to his chest, his palms facing towards William. "Relax, I'm not going to kill or capture you, or whatever you're thinking."

William didn't believe him for a second. Regardless of how sincere Kenny acted, William had only known the man for a few days at most, and their interactions spanned mere hours. He'd be an idiot to trust someone he had just met.

"Then what is it?" he asked without lowering his guard. His mind was fully fortified, the World Seeds shielded by thick layer of Soul Strength that would be his first line of defense.

"You're an Elemental, what else could we want?" Kenny answered.

William was confused, but he didn't let it show on his face. Professor Tenningbrew had mentioned his Elemental status before, but at the time William had assumed the man saw through his ability. Now, Kenny made it sound as if Elemental was a type of creature or species. As if it was no different from your everyday Magical Beast.

He asked the System, but its response would cost 25 Ascended Points, an amount he wasn't willing to pay even if he had the Points.

"Just say it." William wouldn't let them take advantage of his ignorance.

Professor Tenningbrew answered instead of the Vice Principal, "Elementals might as well be extinct in the Slightveil Plane. It's been... a hundred thousand years? Give or take. I've personally never seen one; are you who the Heavens are looking for?"

"Maybe," William started, "But I think you have the wrong idea. I'm not an Elemental."

Tenningbrew looked at William with confusion, "How can you not be? Your Illusion might have tricked the Heavens, but my Illusion Magic is leagues above yours. My Primary Laws alone can reveal your true nature."

William was quite sure that he wasn't the same Elemental as his teacher and Vice Principal thought he was. They might be similar, but his Race was still listed as "Efretta's Lesser Human". There had to be a difference.

"You said it yourself. You've never seen one. I'm positive that I am still human, take a closer look." William used the Fire Elemental form once more, not concealing its aura at all.

Kenny stepped closer to William, inspecting him from head to toe. After a few minutes of "hmm" and "I see", he backed off with a nod.

Kenny whispered to Professor Tenningbrew, though William's hearing was more than enough to catch onto their conversation, "He's not lying, though it's roughly a ninety-percent match. I've seen two Elementals in my lifetime, but they've always only possessed one Element. If William was an Elemental with even two Elements, he'd be a once in a million years Elemental Genius."

The Principal looked at William once more. "I acknowledge that you may not be a legitimate Elemental, but it should be enough."

"Enough for what?" William narrowed his eyes.

"Among some of the historical records I've read, other than their incredible resistances, Elementals have several innate abilities that grow stronger in their Realms. I want you to visit the Realm of Fire and return with several treasures that will help me increase my strength."

William knew the Principal wasn't lying about the innate abilities. Each Elemental Form of his had some sort of ability that could be considered overpowered in its own right. But that didn't stop him from wanting to reject the Principal's offer immediately.

"What's in it for me? Are you going to threaten me into doing this for free? The Heavens will kill me the moment they find me. Even if I listened to you, it would be suicide."

The Principal laughed, "I couldn't possibly threaten you. Once you enter the Realm of Fire, if you're truly able to glean benefits from the Realm, even I would have trouble controlling you.

In exchange for your help, I will do everything in my power to prevent the Heavens from detecting you. You will also be able to continue attending this school if you want, and I'll assign our finest teachers to assist you whenever possible."

William took a moment to think about the Principal's offer. It sounded good on paper, but what about after William came back from the Realm of Fire? Kenny gets what he wants, then won't have any use for him.

"What's stopping you from killing me the moment I come back from the Realm?" William asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, I suppose. But you'll just have to live with that risk since I have the power to kill you right now."

Damnit. Here I am, dancing in the palms of another stranger again.

William sighed inwardly. This was just like his experience with the Guild Master of the Five Elements Sect.

After the Guild Master discovered William's potential, he brought William to his Sect and eventually marked him with the Enslavement Array, forcing William to gather treasures for him until he was satisfied.

The entire time, the Guild Master was controlled by a more powerful Enslavement Array from the evil organization known as Retribution, but that didn't change William's situation at the time.

Later, it could be said that William was being controlled by Efretta, who simply wanted to raise a Cultivator strong enough to take on the Heavens and free her from her cage. Now that Kenny and Professor Tenningbrew had discovered one of William's many secrets, they also wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Cultivators are all the same. They pretend to be helping someone else, when in reality they're just waiting for the right person to come around that they can take advantage of.

It's impossible to trust anyone these days!

William complained to himself, realizing that he once more had to accept a request to do another's bidding.

He looked at Vice Principal Kenny seriously, "I don't care how much power you hold over me. If what you want from the Realm of Fire is so beneficial to you, I want you to accept my terms. Nothing in this World comes for free, and that includes my help."

"Oho?" Kenny looked at William with a bit of surprise. He didn't expect this boy to be so cunning.

"Yes. And if you're true to your word, I may be able to help you more than just this once." William finished.

Kenny reached out his hand, "You've got a deal, my young friend. What are your terms?"

"First off, I don't shake hands."