[Starting as a Class 5 Mutant] Chapter 268/269 (Patreon)

They thought to themselves, "This phenomenon must be a trick by White Cloak, trying to intimidate us and prevent us from acting!"

The more they considered it, the brighter their eyes gleamed, and their confidence reignited.

After all, they were too deep into the plan to back out now. They were one step away from eliminating Messiah and White Cloak, the "scourges of Earth." Even if they wanted to stop, the other nations supplying resources wouldn't allow it!

While various forces harbored mixed thoughts, the phenomenon occurring wasn't limited to Midgard (Earth); it extended across other realms like Jotunheim.

Outside the Royal Palace in Asgard.

Looking at the radiant sky, Odin murmured, "It's that child. Has he truly awakened his divine power?"

As he considered it, a sense of disbelief crept over him.

Could an awakening of divine power reach across realms like Midgard, Jotunheim, and the Nine Realms?

Even Hela's awakening hadn't caused such a phenomenon!

At that moment, Odin couldn't help but question his reality.

When did the power of the Aesir gods become this strong?

Beside him, Queen Frigga, understanding the implications, instinctively covered her mouth in surprise.

"That child, he…"

She gazed into the distance, watching as plants began to sprout and bloom.

This defiance of natural order, like the light enveloping all of Asgard, astonished Frigga.

At that moment, the people of Asgard were equally taken aback.

But unlike Asgard, other realms were even more bewildered.

Jotunheim.

In the dark, rugged, and desolate land of Jotunheim, realm of the Frost Giants, the phenomenon unfolded.

Seeing the long-lost warmth of sunlight returning, many Frost Giants felt a mix of joy and excitement.

More astonishingly, the once-barren Jotunheim was now sprouting new plant life.

Plants were budding and growing all around…

Watching this impossible scene, even the Frost Giants began questioning if it was an illusion.

"A true miracle!"

"Who has bestowed this upon us?"

More and more Frost Giants became thrilled and reverent.

This scene wasn't limited to the Frost Giants' realm; similar occurrences unfolded across all realms.

With it came an instinctive sense of reverence and worship for the being behind this miracle.

Many couldn't help but think:

Even the All-Father Odin of Asgard didn't possess such miraculous power, right? The more they pondered, the deeper their reverence grew.

Of course, the reverence was amplified by the light's effect on emotions. Anyone touched by the light felt a surge of joy and positivity.

Under the influence of this positive emotion, many found themselves worshipping unconsciously.

Streams of faith began converging toward Midgard at a breathtaking speed.

On Earth.

In the light-filled alley.

Suspended in mid-air and bathed in radiant energy, Syd felt the purest light energy coursing through him, accompanied by an intense, mysterious aura.

With his Light Power fully evolved, he sensed a remarkable change.

Syd felt an extraordinary increase in his control over light.

He even believed he could use light to create intricate illusions or even make people see hallucinations.

With this in mind, he began to experiment.

Under Venom's curious gaze, Syd opened his right hand.

He visualized Tony Stark's Mark armor in his mind.

In an instant, countless photons gathered, altering their wavelengths to form various colors.

Before long, a tiny red Mark suit, crafted entirely of light, appeared in his palm.

From the outside, it looked impossibly real, as though Tony Stark himself were standing on Syd's hand, without a trace of unreality.
The light figure could even move.

The next second, the light figure expanded to a life-size scale…

Venom was stunned.

Had Syd not conjured it right before his eyes, Venom might have thought that human named Tony Stark had actually appeared there.

Syd, ignoring Venom's amazement, was pleased.

"My intuition was correct—I've achieved an incredible level of control over light…"

Then, his gaze shifted to Venom, planning to test an illusion.

As Venom marveled at the scene before him, he suddenly saw his vision blur.

In the next moment, the sky darkened, and a grotesque, twisted black tentacle descended.

Venom's face filled with terror.

Just as he prepared to react, the tentacle vanished.

"Where… Where did the tentacle go?"

Venom looked around, confused.

Noticing Venom's bewildered expression, Syd was surprised.

"It actually worked?"

He had attempted to use light to create an illusion for Venom, and it had worked.

While it resembled a light projection, it was slightly different; only Venom could see this illusion.

After completing these tests, Syd's focus shifted.

The additional abilities from reaching Level 5 Light Power were impressive, but the most significant part was the overall enhancement in strength each ability received due to the Light Power's upgrade!

"I wonder how fast my levitation is now?"

Syd's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Previously, his levitation speed was Mach 7. How fast would it be now?

Just as he was about to test his speed, he paused.

He felt an intense flow of belief coming toward him from all directions.

Faith energy?

Without further delay, Syd took out the Mind Stone to purify the belief energy.

The Mind Stone emitted a soft glow.

Quickly, notifications sounded one after another.

[Divinity Experience +1]

[Divinity Experience +1]…

His divinity experience increased rapidly.

[Ability: Divinity (1033/2000) Level 4]

Feeling his divinity quickly advancing toward Level 5, Syd's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"I wonder, if Level 5 Divinity will grant me immunity to the mental corruption of that ancient eldritch god?"

Sensing the continuous influx of belief energy around him, Syd was confident he could reach Level 5 Divinity within a day!

With this resolved, he refocused on testing his newly leveled Light Power.

Ten minutes later, holding a stopwatch, he arrived at an open space.

Feeling the unprecedented divine energy within him, Syd activated his levitation.

The next second, with a boom, he appeared at a distant point almost instantly, as if teleporting.

(End of Chapter)

Boom!

The sheer speed created an air pressure so intense it felt like blades slicing across Syd's face and body, but with the protection of his divine body, it was no more than a light breeze to him.

In the blink of an eye, he had appeared far in the distance, almost as if he had teleported.

After stopping, Syd glanced at the stopwatch in his hand and did a quick calculation.

"Twelve times the speed of sound?"

Syd's eyes widened in surprise.

To jump from seven times to twelve times the speed of sound in an instant? The boost from Level 5 Light Power was this significant?

With this speed, aside from missiles, not even fighter jets would be able to keep up with him.

Moreover, when moving at close range, most people wouldn't even catch a glimpse of him.

"If my Divinity also reaches Level 5, my speed will increase even more!"

Satisfied with his speed boost, Syd considered the broader effects of his upgraded powers.

After all, Light Power didn't just enhance his flight; it strengthened all of his abilities as well.

In the next instant, he unleashed a beam of blue energy over 150 meters long from his right hand, consuming some of his light energy.

Syd moved his hand slightly, leaving a deep trench on the ground below.

Seeing this, Syd was astonished.

Previously, at Level 4, his energy beams could reach only a little over 100 meters; now, they'd increased by half, and he could tell the color had deepened, indicating a significant boost in quality.

The power had obviously grown immensely.

The next moment, the beam scattered into particles, and red chaos magic glowed from his hands.

"It's much stronger, too."

Since the reality-altering probability of chaos magic was still low, he shifted his focus from chaos magic to the Sunlight blessing.

Floating in the air, Syd concentrated, causing the sunlight to bend subtly within a four-kilometer radius.

"The range has increased quite a bit; the power should be higher too…"

Curious and expectant, Syd pondered, "I wonder what would happen if I used the black stone again now. Would the vision of my death change? Would I finally have the strength to resist?"

With four abilities at Level 5—Levitation, Divine Voice, Divine Body, and Light Power—he felt a renewed confidence.

With this, Syd slowly floated down to the ground.

Satisfied with his progress, he decided there was no need to test each individual skill; they had all grown significantly stronger.

At that moment, Syd looked up and saw that the light phenomenon in the sky had completely dissipated.

Ignoring it, he retreated to a secluded corner and pulled the Power Stone and black artifact stone from his bag.

Seeing this, Venom, who was still in shock, immediately backed away.

Though Venom could barely withstand the power of the purple stone while inside Syd, being outside, he preferred to keep his distance to avoid injury.

Unfazed by Venom's reaction, Syd focused and channeled a sliver of the Power Stone's energy into the black stone.

Before long, the familiar dark glow and peculiar wave of energy appeared.

His vision blurred, and he found himself back in the same field, in the same spot, with the sky darkening overhead.

Once again, the whispers returned.

But this time, with Level 5 Light Power enhancing his Divinity, Syd found his resistance to the corruption stronger, experiencing fewer adverse effects.

At least, watching from a distance, Syd noted that the version of himself within the vision didn't clutch his head like before.

Even when the unsettling black tentacles appeared, the glow surrounding Black-Clad Syd didn't falter or turn dim and eerie as it had last time.

Additionally, the voice of the ancient eldritch god seemed to have changed.

"Insolent being… You can resist my influence?"

The strange voice sounded slightly surprised, but it quickly shifted to one filled with malice.

"But it's pointless. In the end, you're nothing more than a slightly bigger ant…"

"How dare you defy me… Bow down and become my puppet, your one true purpose…"

Syd sensed that with those words, the corruption in the vision intensified, pressing harder against the version of himself in the death scene.

But this time, Black-Clad Syd looked quite alert, merely shaking his head slightly as if feeling discomfort.

Before the ancient god could act further, the version of Syd in the vision made his move.

"Light!"

His voice, filled with divine power but free from corruption, resonated almost as strongly as that of the ancient god.

As soon as he spoke, the sunlight expanded, not just over a 30-kilometer range like last time, but over 50 kilometers.

"Focus."

The mystical command echoed again.

In the next moment, countless beams of light gathered into a single energy blast, with the sunlight following close behind.

In an instant, everything within a four-kilometer radius began to disintegrate.

The intensely hot beam and sunlight combined, both aiming at the ancient god's manifestation.

Last time, a portion of the black tentacle had managed to survive; this time…

Caught off guard, the black tentacle, exposed to the intensified light and beam, turned to charred ash before beginning to dissolve completely.

Before the ancient god could react, the tentacle was entirely gone!

Feeling the disappearance of the tentacle and the intense pain, an angry, eerie scream came from the dark void in the sky above.

"Insolent ant! You court death!"

A massive red eye glared down from the dark rift above, radiating malice and rage.

In the next second, countless black tentacles emerged once more, enduring the relentless light and energy as they rapidly closed in.

The vision's Syd radiated chaos magic's red light from his hands and summoned several deflective shields in front of him, slowing the tentacles' advance.

The tentacles, flickering with dark energy, struggled against Syd's assault.

By the time they drew close, over twenty percent of the dark energy covering the tentacles had dissipated.

Observing this, Syd mused thoughtfully, "Still not strong enough…"

He needed to completely strip the tentacles of their dark energy to inflict real damage.

But even with four abilities at Level 5 and using all his power, he had only managed to remove a bit over twenty percent?

Around seventy percent of the dark energy still remained?

Syd couldn't help but speculate that this ancient eldritch god might not only be among the more powerful godly beings but potentially a single-universe-level entity.

(End of Chapter)