MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

The next day happened to be a Saturday and even though it was only 5 am in the morning, Adam could already be seen running on the streets of his neighborhood while wearing a white sweatshirt with a hoodie over it covering his face.

For Adam. who still didn't know what he should do with his future, it was a godsend. He was starting to wonder if he should actually continue going to the university from now on.

Becoming a lawyer seemed less and less appealing to him in his current situation and going to classes was actually a waste of time as he could use this time to strengthen himself or even gain proficiency in his skills.

At the same time, there was something that made him hesitate from going along with this decision. The university was his last bastion. The last fact and proof that he was actually just a normal young man. Would cutting that part of his life and forgoing any semblance, in the long run, be the right thing to do for him?

If there was one thing the events of Pacific Park proved to him, it was that… time was something he couldn't afford to play around with.

Adam breathed deeply as he spread his domain, The World, in the surroundings while moving around. He wasn't just running. He had constantly been applying an increased gravity on himself to restrain his movements and further train his body and skills.

One thing Adam understood was that his physical stats weren't really fixed. They only showed his possible maximum output. Not the one he could actually reach at any given time with the simplest actions.

He didn't know how effective this training would be but it wouldn't hurt him to go along with that so it was a good exercise overall.

'I have a free pass for the Bronze section and one for the Silver section now in my arsenal.'

These were really important opportunities for him to exploit. Now that his soul had become even stronger with the opening of his three upper major Chakra pathways, if he entered the bronze section, he might even be able to stay for an entire year there.

As for the Silver section of the Nexus…

Adam felt a great deal of anticipation about the skills he could obtain from that place. The skills at this level would be up to C or B level which would cost a minimum of 101 Karma points for C-ranked skills to a maximum of 10000 points for the upper-end B-ranked ones.

Currently, he only had 3000 points in his stock so the advantages he could receive from entering that section were crystal clear for anyone to see.

'Genesis, should I buy more skills?'

[For the time being, I believe it's completely unnecessary to append your repertoire. The amount of skills you have is already overwhelming as it is and as long as your control over your unique skills— The World and The Magician increase, you will have an even larger arsenal for you to exploit as you wish. It is clear that appending anything else is completely necessary and even hazardous to your growth.]

Genesis was prompt in answering with a rebuttal as it also proceeded to explain his case to him.

[In the near future it would be advisable to use the Bronze pass to train The Magician to an acceptable level. The power over Dreams is an authority that can bring one to the level of gods once mastered. You already went through it yourself and you know what it is capable of.]

Adam nodded in acknowledgment of its logic. A form shimmered next to him and suddenly a small dog appeared next to him.

[The Magician] could essentially be used in two ways.

One was Illusion. By affecting the external world and bringing fake images or sounds, though he could only affect sights for now at his current level of proficiency. But in the near future, he was sure that he would be able to affect the five senses. He could make an illusion bring true pain or pleasure.

Just this alone showed the potential of the skill.

But the true power was the ability to manipulate Dreams. Right now, he could only make small dreams and needed physical contact as well as looking at his target in the eyes for a sufficient time to activate the dreams. But once he had a greater mastery over this power, he would be able to do things like Asmodeus and recreate an entire Dream World where he had control over all laws.

'The World and The Magician are strangely similar when I think about it.'

[Dream and Reality. Two paths that bring the same result in the end.]

Adam groaned as the image of the dogs vanished. Making those external illusions was not easy. The Magician had more freedom than The World but it still demanded great concentration to use the skill perhaps more than the previous one he obtained.

The good thing was that he could easily create many illusions in the range of The World which had a synergic effect with his other unique skill.

'Sigh. Yeah, those two skills alone will need all my concentration.'

[You currently have 3400 Karma. I believe the best course of action is to put aside 1000 or so karma and buy a few D or C ranked skills related to The Throat Chakra. Supplementary passive skills that will enhance the utility should do for now. Then save the rest for eventually opening the next Chakra.]

'How much Karma do I need again for that?'

[100 000 Karma points.]

Adam shook his head and continued to run. Even if he had chosen the Black knight ordeal from the start and absolutely slaughtered all living beings in the Park, he would have only obtained less than twenty thousand points.

Had he chosen the White Knight ordeal and saved everyone, he would have obtained Ten thousand points.

This would mean that he needed between 5 to 10 Epic ordeals at the same level as the one he just went through for him to open the next pathway.

'Hahaha… Holy shit.'

[Opening all the Chakra is the strongest path toward Godhood and transcendence. Obviously, it will never be easy.]

'But I remember Buddha didn't open the seven Chakra before becoming a Celestial though.'

His mind was still fuzzy about those events. But Buddha as a human only had the Heart Chakra open and only after reaching enlightenment did he open the Third Eye then reached a higher level and opened the seven major Chakra pathways AFTER he became a celestial god.

[Indeed. Why not try spearheading a religion that will last for thousands of years and affect hundreds of millions of people in the world and billions of people in history like him then?]

Adam groaned.

[Becoming revered by the many and gathering faith to light up the path toward godhood is hard. Many tried, and even more failed. This is why I believe you should walk the path of darkness and decadence…]

'Then become the number one enemy of the world?'

He scoffed and shook his head,

'This isn't even about good and evil. Fear is only sustainable for a while, but faith can last for so much longer.'

Adam breathed deeply. This was the difference between immediate gains and sustainability.

The religious figures for example were revered even thousands of years later. But how many still feared people like Genghis Khan or Hitler? [1]

[No need for sustainability. Being feared by a few million people would be enough to give you enough Karma for you to become a god. You do not even need to do it in your true appearance. With The Magician, you can use Illusions to change your appearance, cause a few massacres, and then become stronger. By the time the authorities understand what is happening, even if you aren't a god, you will not be weaker than any Primogenitor.]

Adam ignored Genesis's overly logical way of doing things and continued to run.

He didn't know what was worse.

The fact that Genesis continued to encourage him toward mindless murder.

…Or the fact that he actually considered the idea for an instant.

———

After accelerating his gait to get rid of his morbid thoughts, Adam finally went back home a little more refreshed.

He knew that he needed some distractions in order to not dwell too much on the ideas Genesis was feeding him.

The moment he entered through, he could see Cecilia sitting quietly on the sofa with her phone in hand. Her expression was dark and it was clear that she was struggling with something.

"Mom?"

Hearing him, Cecilia immediately showed a smile as she stood up from her seat…

"Adam, take a shower and prepare yourself. We are going to get you an official hunter license."

She was trying to portray happiness and relaxation — She failed horribly though…

[1]: I believe Adolf Hitler needs no introduction or explanation. Genghis Khan meanwhile is a pretty interesting person. The dude was a true monster. He was born around 1162, became a leader around 1200 then started a war. He basically caused the death of around 40 million people. To put this in perspective, WW2 with Hitler around 1939 with technology, atomic bombs, planes, and all that shit caused around 60 million deaths. Meanwhile, Khan brought nearly the same number of death in a time when cars and guns didn't even exist. One funny thing is, Genghis Khan had six wives and more than 500 concubines. Geneticists estimate that 16 million men alive today are genetic descendants of Genghis Khan.