Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Chapter 430: Competition

"Dud once again," Nik whispered while opening his eyes. Through continuous travels in the dreamworld, not just Nie Li's but others that caught his eye, Nik started to classify the types of dreams he encountered. The first one is the most basic of all where the target dreams about some technique or information being detailed on. Nik called this type the knowledge dream. Till now, Nik had only encountered one such dream where Nie Li explained the purple demon eye technique to 'Ye Ziyun'.

The second type is what Nik likes to call as the experience dream. Old Kon's cooking experiences and the dream about Nie Li resisting the mysterious sage gave Nik great insight on cooking techniques and flying skills. The time when Nik's experience in alchemy grew was due to such a classification, too. This was the reason he could fly more gracefully and smoothly than before. The third type and the most frequent one is what Nik called a dud dream. Anything from complete irrelevant and illogical dreams to no dream at all fell into this classification. Right now, not only Nie Li wasn't dreaming but the same was the case for Old Kon and other few talented teachers.

Resisting the urge to nap once again, Nik slipped out of the bed and stealthily clicked the door open. His spirits had already receded into his spiritual world once again and today, they spread the joyous news of the imminence of their first spirit ring. Meanwhile, Nik had already decided to give up on creating a spirit ring of his own body. The spirit rings on items may touch the borders of this world's will, but at least, it won't induce a tribulation. Nik understood this fact after having a chat with Samya. But to form a spirit ring unique to his own existence instead of his spirit, that would greatly anger the will of the world, and Nik didn't wish to use the Smite Token once again. Deep down, Nik even doubted the usefulness of Smite Token that mobilized the will of the world to fight off the said will itself. "So many things... I really wish I could just... spread the burden," sighing to himself, he made his way towards the roof of the estate. Cultivating the purple demon eye technique was the highest priority for him right now.

Burying all his doubts regarding the system, skills, the world will, and his own fricking ancestry, Nik entered a state of complete calmness once again. He pushed away the thoughts that signified his paranoia regarding his situation and fear of the future. Any existence with a complex consciousness would have such thoughts regardless of their status and strength. To counter such thoughts, Nik delved deep into all the fortunate events that happened in his life. His birth and entry into the [Transmigration Paradise] certainly wasn't a part of it but when he recalled his time with Mitsuko and the others and the gut lovers Pavakā and Virya, the folds in the center of his brows smoothened and a genuine smile touched his lips. While recollected, a sudden thought appeared within his mind. Out of all the stats, the [LUK] happened to be the most mysterious of all. When Nik obtaining a single point in the stat, that very day, he obtained a page of Temporal Demon Spirit Book but after obtaining a rather large sum from Gojira, anything of particular interest hadn't occurred yet. Sure, he did get another page, but its use was shrouded.

Feeling the impending tangent in his thoughts, Nik cut the thought in its nascent stage and continued to calm himself down. Finally, as Nik attuned himself to the surroundings, he finally felt a strange sensation and he opened his eyes instantly. A thin, purple wisp entered his eyes at the same moment and a notification appeared within his mind that made all his doubts regarding the [LUK] stat disappear into a smoking poof.

[Skill Palace activated due to the fulfillment of all the requirements. Gained—

Purple Qi Manipulation (Lvl 1):

It allows the host to utilize the system energy to gain the aspect of ethereal purple qi. The ration of conversion depends upon the level of the skill.

Current Ratio (System to Modified energy)- 1:4

Next Lvl— 3 SP josei

---

Purple Demon Eye (Lvl 1):

This skill allows a passive boost to visual abilities. This skill requires a continuous supply of purple qi to level up.

Note: In case of using SP to level the skill, the user must have a large holding of purple qi or the eyes of the user may be permanently damaged.

Next Lvl— 3 SP]

Nik couldn't hide his smile as he clicked his tongue. Who's awesome? He is! Nik checked his status window and arranged the skill panel to group all the manipulation skills together just for his ease. After he gained the skill, his pool of knowledge regarding these skills was also widened to correspond to his current level. Manipulation of qi could be practiced into a high proficiency quite easily. Unlike Space Manipulation, the qi resembled threads of elemental energy, and Nik could use his deep experience in this regard to master purple qi. Meanwhile, his knowledge regarding the purple demon eye technique grew thorough and he now understood the minute details that were even missed by his treasured dream slave— Nie Li. Standing up and stretching, he gave the roof of the estate his final farewell for he would not require the assistance of the tiniest streams of purple qi right before sunrise any longer. After all, he could manipulate the purple qi generated by his own body.

Climbing down, Nik encountered a slightly troubled Korra in the backyard. In a moment, Nik jumped down with his deep insight in flying kicking in once again, turning his free fall into a graceful dive with elements of gliding as he skid across the grassy surface and stopped right in front of Korra. Smiling, he flicked her forehead, causing her to take a step back with a soft 'eh' and speak up, "What was that for?" Korra touched her forehead and rubbed the afflicted region while Nik adjusted his tanktop and spoke with a straight expression, "Letting troubled thoughts drown you first thing in the morning would only affect the rest of your day badly."

Admiring Nik's exposed form stealthily, Korra shook her head and sneered, "What troubled thoughts? I am only thinking if I should go all out or not." Then, Korra adjusted her wrist bands before continuing, "Teacher—", Nik suddenly waved his hand and corrected her, "I am thinking of changing the way you all address me... master sounds nice... not that I would force any of you but—"

"Fine, fine," Korra rolled her eyes at the sheer shamelessness of her master and whispered the first word before continuing boldly, "...ster, you already know that my second spirit ring boosts my physical defense and power by 400%... and, with the two spirit bones on my left and right hand, the physical attacks from my upper limbs are further multiplied by 2. If I go all out... I may accidentally crush someone's head."

Korra heaved a deep sigh and sat down on the damp layer of grass while Nik shook his head and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Korra felt a rather large weight disappear from her shoulders as Nik continued, "Due to the additional weight on your bodies, your attacks would be even greater than your estimation. Of course, this kind of advantage in a fair competition is distasteful. Now, you'll have to hold back based on your initial estimates... of course, you can kill a few eyesores if you want."

Nii shrugged. Tilting her head up and looking at him, Korra chuckled mildly, "Man, you are going to be the first master that is so easygoing."

"Wait a minute," Nik sat down and spoke with a slightly dirty expression, "You've had masters before me? I am deeply hurt." As a testament to his hurt feelings, Nik touched his chest and shook his head, making Korra roll her eyes once again. "Master this, master that. You just like to tease girls. I know your kind well enough. Broke many of 'em personally." Korra crackled her knuckles with a broad smile as Nik looked at the time internally. It was barely a few minutes past 6 in the morning. "Lucky them," Nik spoke while looking Korra in the eye and smiling suggestively, "you must have enough experience then, right?"

"Nah," Korra lips twitched as she could barely hide the soft adorable flush on her cheeks and exposed shoulders as she averted her light blue eyes. Feeling a little intimidated by such an atmosphere and pressure building in her heart, Korra's mind worked furiously to find another topic of conversation. Seeing her eyes dart around, Nik smiled and reached out with his hand. This was the first time he patted Korra, but she had seen him committing the gesture to Ryu'er plenty of times already so she didn't resist and allowed Nik to tend her, "Don't worry about hurting others. You are going to rock. Oh, and, if you have the time, be sure to swing by the arena designated for the apprentice class. Your junior sisters are going to be competing against each other this time."

"What about Lanruo? She isn't much of a fighter, right?" Korra inquired as Nik smiled, "Aside from apprentice class, all the other classes are allowed to pair themselves with complementary spirits. With Lanruo using her martial spirit, there's barely anyone who could resist her without a great tactic."

"She is that good with illusions?" Korra frowned while feeling slightly comfortable.

"Well, like master, like disciple. Oh, one more thing," Nik aroused Korra's attention as he leaned his face down dangerously close to the slightly stunned Korra and locked his gaze with her. His pupils aglow with mysterious intentions made Korra's heart thrum, "If you do manage to win the entire competition without killing, I'll wash your back... so, here you go. I think this is a wonderful reward, don't you agree?" Smiling devilishly, Nik's hand slithered down and stroked Korra's cheek as her gaze remained on Nik's face. Her throat went dry while her eyes remained glued to his face.

"All right, you look motivated enough," Nik smiled and stood up. "Now, I suggest that you try to get accustomed to the feeling of moving without any physical pressure on your body."

***

The apprentice, intermediate, advance, and genius classes have different arenas set-up by large numbers of workers overnight. The three-man competition only takes place every six months, so preparations of this scale was necessary. Aside from the raised platform in the training field, quite a large number of chairs and platforms surrounded the arena to accommodate the parents and important members and traders of the city. This competition not only depicts the growth provided by the Institute but also acts as a show to attract more sponsors that would, in return, gain a greater advantage in recruiting spirit masters graduating from the institute.

Nik, of course, sat on the front row. The seats were slowly filling in and beside him sat three teachers with varying hair color. Pen Hao, Xiao Xiaji, and Gin Jiu flanked Nik without any remorse. Asami was the main teacher within the ranks of intermediate class so she was placed in a different arena but these three taught support classes and could enter any arena freely. The front row not only belonged to the direct teachers, but also the students, and the spirit masters hired by the institute that specializes in healing. Of course, having a company eased Nik's mood greatly.

Many students came forward to greet Nik and the three teachers before finding their own partners. This time, Ryu'er was sitting exactly opposite to Nik across the arena and gave him a flat stare. Not minding this, Nik chatted with the three teachers while occasionally looking back at Ryu'er with a charming, shit-eating grin that only made Ryu'er feel more complicated. On one hand, she wanted to jump at Nik, on other, she wanted to jump at Nik. Well, in the latter, she was without clothes.

"As expected of my master and mate... even mother was negatively affected. A worthy opponent that wasn't, in the end, eaten by her would definitely invoke such feelings from me." Ryu'er muttered to herself. A little away from her, the other two disciples kept familiarising themselves with their own bodies after the removal of gravitational pressure.

Once the seats were occupied by all and the ruckus caused by the entry of extremely powerful spirit masters like the City Lord and the other family heads subsided, Nik gave the three teachers a short smile and excused himself before walking up to the stage and taking out a piece of paper from his spatial ring. Looking around and bowing slightly, he took a small black stone marked with standard voice amplification inscription and spoke into it, "Greetings, everyone. We all are present for the three-man competition that is scheduled to continue for four days. Instead of exchanging pleasantries any further, let me explain the rules."

Nik tapped the arena as green markings erupted on the stage and covered the entire stage with a translucent green dome.

"This is the Green Restriction Dome created by the institution. Of course, in the battle of the apprentice class, this dome is not created to defend the spectators, but to defend the participants from any foul play." His words made a few people in the seats snort in dissatisfaction as Nik continued, "Make no mistake. Every inscription has its counter. This is basic knowledge. But the moment I find anything wrong, I will personally request City Lord to judge the situation."

On the higher seats, Ye Zong's brows twitched as he felt the stares of other family heads converge upon him.

"Foul play is distasteful. I agree with the teacher's judgment and would naturally follow his instructions."

Ye Zong spoke with a sour expression as another minor clamor turned up. A few aristocracies looked a little bit regretful, but the ones with true capabilities hid their emotions well.

"Now then, the rules for the kids are as follows— No killing and no use of martial spirits. You all are only to use your wits and brawns to impress the spectators and the grading teachers," saying this, Nik pointed at the three teachers who smiled and nodded in an elegant manner. "The team leaders have already been appointed. When the team leader request to leave the match, the team itself will be marked as losing the match. Of course, if all the members of a team are pushed outside the stadium, they would lose the match. Now then, let's begin. I'll be the referee and judge the victors. Team Flower and..." Nik looked at the paper with clear hesitation before smiling and shaking his head, "team super flame abyss demon lords of the glory... come up the stage."

The green dome flickered as three students entered with strange expressions. Meanwhile, Lu Piao laughed loudly and pulled the embarrassed Nie Li and Du Ze. "Let's go! You two, be sure to keep up the name of super flame abyss demon lords of the glory!"

The Lu Family's head sweated as he knew much more to not use the taboo word— Demon Lord. He secretly looked at Ye Zong and finding observing his calm visage, he sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, Nik pointed the students to greet each other before walking to their side of the square. He himself retreated out of the stage and spoke loudly.

"Begin!"