D.I.O

Chapter 217

“One in a quintillion? An Irregular?”

“Hmm. I guess you weren’t aware of what others call existences like you. Yeah, you’re called an Irregular, one out of a quintillion.”

With his index finger, Manbo wrote out the characters for ‘one in a quintillion’ on the coffee table. As his gaze followed Manbo’s finger, Yongno realized what Manbo was saying.

“That… is a statistical figure.”

“Right. It’s used to convey how rare of an existence you are.”

Statistically, Yongno and the other two Heaven above the Heavens shouldn’t have existed. It was improbable that Earth, which had a population of fewer than ten billion humans, could produce three Irregular beings. A quintillion was 100,000 times Earth’s population, so having even one Irregular was unlikely. Yet, there were three.

“Could this be possible because it’s Earth?”josei

Earth was a very [special] environment. There, no existences had spiritual pathways, and there were three Irregulars.

Mana existed everywhere in the universe, and though there were some differences in mana capacity based on location, it wasn’t easy to find another place quite like Earth, where spiritual pathways were non-existent.

“Even when taking that into account… this occurrence is still exceedingly rare and statistically improbable. There are even rumors that you three may be one of the main reasons the Noblesse created Dynamic Island. Anyway, I wanted to ask….”

As he drank the fruit juice he had brought with him, Manbo asked in a calm tone.

“Why haven’t you reached transcendence yet?”

“… I beg your pardon?”

Yongno frowned at the unexpected question. Transcendence was a state that could only be reached when a being, born with a set limit, transcended its limits and existence.

A transcendent being was an absolute master who could cut through material and non-material objects, such as time and space, with powerfully compressed qi using their mana control ability. These transcendents were often referred to as Grand Masters, Grand Mages, or great mages, capable of understanding the world’s fundamental principles and using ultimate spells that defied logic and common sense. Once someone reached the realm of transcendence, no matter what limitations and restrictions they were born with, they would become free from the [structural conditions] of the world. The transcendent realm was also commonly called the Entrance to the Divine, as it was the first step to becoming a god.

“Wait, what do you mean? Didn’t you tell me I’ve grown and developed quite a bit? Why are you asking that guy about transcending instead of me… are you saying he’s better than me?”

Lea was listening from the side when she questioned Manbo in bewilderment, but the latter only shrugged.

“You didn’t know he was better?” Manbo stated flatly.

“Ugh, the nerve to so openly… with such a straight face….”

Lea trembled with anger at this straightforward answer, which cut through her and seemingly pierced her heart, but Manbo continued speaking with a calm expression.

“Honestly, you won’t be able to reach transcendence even after a hundred years. Well, experiencing events significant enough to change your values might accelerate the process….”

“Experiencing events?”

“Like the experience that protagonists of fictional martial art novels go through, you know, beating the odds and gaining life-changing experiences and realizations, something of that sort. It’s not that you don’t have talent, so there’s no need to feel so hurt. Instead, you’re overflowing with talent, but your mental state is the problem. Actually, it’s kind of a waste that a talent like you, an Irregular, is so lazy and unmotivated to succeed.”

“Ugh, you damn bastard.”

Frustrated, Lea put her forehead on the table and groaned aloud. Obviously, Lea knew she would eventually reach the transcendent level, but it was still a harsh blow when she learned she wouldn’t transcend earlier because of her weak mental state rather than a lack of talent.

“You’re really skilled at criticizing others so thoroughly with a straight face,” Yongno commented.

“Well, I’m just telling the truth… yawn~.”

Manbo had been talking calmly when he suddenly yawned. After scratching his head, Manbo sighed and stated, “Oh, no. It’s already almost time for me to leave. Well, if I wanted to overdo it and stay a bit longer, I could, but….”

As Manbo muttered, Yongno squinted as he felt the air around Manbo fluttering.

No one with superpower-like abilities could exist on Earth due to the lack of spiritual pathways. However, Yongno could feel spiritual pressure emanating from Manbo to such an extent that he could feel it on his skin; this meant that Manbo was utilizing spiritual power.

‘Did this guy also find a way to create a spiritual pathway? But how? Did someone help him?’

Yongno knew how rare of an anomaly it was to discover how to solve the spiritual pathway question on Earth.

Coincidence after coincidence, on top of being a rare talent, a one-in-a-quintillion chance… there was little to no chance anyone else like Yongno existed.

“First, let’s set the record straight. Can you use spiritual power?” Yongno asked.

“Sure. If I couldn’t, there’s no way I’d know of your current condition… Oh, I see what you’re trying to get at. You want to ask how I can use spiritual power on Earth, right?”

At Manbo’s words, Yongno nodded.

“Right. If you already know how to create a spiritual pathway, you wouldn’t need Lea to ask me for help, which means you can’t create or possess spiritual pathways. Since you can handle mana without a spiritual pathway, then perhaps….”

Yongno momentarily hesitated and flinched as he reached this point. Regardless of his confused mental state, Yongno’s clever brain was reasoning out the whole situation.

“You are….”

Yongno murmured with an astonished expression.

“You’re a being who has already reached the transcendent level,” he concluded.

Yongno realized he could feel Manbo’s presence more clearly after acknowledging that Manbo was a transcendent. Even on Earth, where no superpowers could exist, a transcendent could perform miracles without penalty, as they had escaped from their limits and were reborn as an [only being].

Manbo could extract infinite power from within himself by controlling the basic mana of the world, like a Great Mage or Grand Master, or by completing his inner microcosm universe, like a transcendent-level chakra user, otherwise called an Atman. Hence, a transcendent being could use their ability in any environment.

“As expected of an Irregular. Right. I’m the first user to have transcended.”

The situation was beyond Yongno’s wildest imagination. The fact that Manbo was the first user to reach transcendence meant that Manbo was not an outsider.

Could it be that Manbo surpassed all three Irregulars and reached transcendence without anyone knowing? However, despite Yongno’s astonishment, Manbo continued talking while sipping his fruit juice.

“Actually, I thought you would reach the transcendent state long ago. Noya said you wouldn’t, but still, I didn’t expect that I’d be wrong… once again, there are definitely many variables in the world. I never anticipated that your personality would suddenly change, either.”

Yongno’s eyes narrowed after hearing Manbo’s grumbles. Knowing that Yongno’s personality had changed meant that Manbo and his associates had been watching Yongno for some time. Yet, in Yongno’s mind, there was something more important than that.

“Why did you think I would reach the transcendent level?”

“You took contemplation and knowledge as your primary focuses, so it was blatantly obvious to see that you’d reach transcendence. If you were like before, you would have already transcended.”

“Like before?”

To Yongno’s question, Manbo mumbled an answer.

“Yeah, a human who liked swimming, playing, going on adventures, and just generally having fun. If you continued like that, you would have naturally connected with Celesti, the world of immortals, and reached a ‘Truth.’ And if you responded to the call from the celestial realm, you’d have transcended effortlessly. Well, the easier it is to transcend, the lower one’s rank….”

Yongno murmured some comments.

“I remember hearing about something like that. There are cases where existences have awakened and achieved transcendence. However, there are also ways to awaken by gaining a Truth and obtaining divine status through a contract with the heavenly world or the demonic world, which is probably the Celesti realm that you’re referring to.”

“Right. That’s why I’m at the lower level among transcendents, and my growth rate is relatively slow. I entered the transcendent realm, but… how should I put this? I only have one foot planted in transcendence. In fact, now I can be called a kind of medium.”

In other words, Manbo succeeded in Channeling with Celesti and obtaining a Truth, which allowed him to become a member of the Celesti realm.

However, to Yongno, this was not a critical issue, and Manbo seemed to understand Yongno’s sentiment and assumed that he’d gone off-topic for long enough. Thus, he returned to the main point.

“As you probably know, the various forces that comprise the Union aren’t all on the same side. Moreover, once the Noblesse took over DIO, the Elohim grew wary of them. Right now, both sides are busy running interference on each other. The heavenly and demonic worlds are also quite interested in DIO, as are the Nether World and the Divine, or godly, World. Everyone’s trying to influence DIO.”

The Noblesse was composed of species from ‘noble lineages’ such as dragons and Prajna, while the Elohim was made up of ordinary species ubiquitous in the material world, humans, and other intelligent beings. These two groups had been in a rivalry since the Union’s formation. Due to the clash of ‘purists’ obsessed with noble lineage and the other races who valued their own way of thinking, the emotional trough between the two camps cut quite deep.

“Though it’s true that the users from DIO are strong, is it truly so special that even divine beings are attracted to it? If the Grand Masters of the Seven Holy Lands decided to execute all the users, they could do it without breaking a sweat.”

Within DIO, there were seven Holy Lands where users could train and learn the special spiritual powers of magic, internal energy, chakra, aura power, life force, pure spiritual power, and divine power. Furthermore, each holy land had a Grand Master who controlled and ruled their respective holy land. These Grand Masters were formidable beings who had trained their abilities to Level 20, that is, to the level of transcendence. Moreover, each Grand Master walked their own path and reached the peak themselves.

In fact, it was somewhat excessive to have them in DIO just to provide a bit of assistance and instruction.

That wasn’t all. In terms of force, collectively, users didn’t even reach the level of a few angels or demons, let alone a Demon King. Hence, Yongno found it incomprehensible that every influential force in the physical world was interested in people so weak.

Yet, Manbo shook his head lightly.

“That may be true now, but… think about it. If DIO is in service for ten, 20, 30 years, or more, will your conjecture still be true?”

“…”

Yongno remained silent. If ten real years passed, that was 120 years in DIO time. Of course, since a user could only access the game for 12 hours each day, the actual time was closer to 60 years, but if the daily access time was extended, or if a little over ten years passed, then it wouldn’t be strange if a hundred years went by in-game.