Chapter 42: Barriers. Barriers everywhere.
It didn't take long for most people to wake up, and needless to say, waking up to a drill sergeant Usagi was not on their bucket list of "Things to See Before Death"—but oh well.
"Kid, you can start any time now."
Said Usagi in a tired tone as he touched the carrot pin attached to his fluffy chest.
Needless to say, he was not amused by Yuhao's "little" prank. He had to go around the stronghold to check on everybody.
He may not pay much attention to the political world, but even he knew that having the representatives of every country go missing or insane would negatively affect Yuhao's nonexistent reputation.
'The kid is not helping himself; I am going to rinse him in our training session.'
Thought Usagi as he started smirking and exuding ominous aura that terrified the kingdoms' representatives sitting nearby.
They thought something bad was happening in the [Great Devil's Den] based on the way the kicking saint was reacting—unaware that he was simply thinking about training with the said problem.
"Cool. Now then let's begin."
Answered an immature voice coming from the carrot pin on Usagi's chest. Huo Yuhao was finally claiming a part of the world of Argena as his own.
✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•『Herrscher in Douluo』•✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•
『Huo Yuhao's POV』
"You are not using FOU for your pranks ever again," said the tuna that had been living in my head, in a scolding tone.
I didn't need to enter the Stigma space to know that she was speaking with both hands on her hips.
I had noticed a lot of things about my Kiana—and I say my Kiana, as in the version of her living in my head and not her 'canon' self, per se.
Mainly, that she was quite introverted and despised—or borderline hated—it whenever I brought up the idea of having meals with me and Mom at the main dinner table.
She really had no plans of leaving the Stigma space, like ever, and I couldn't really force her.
I had seen a bit of what happened in her universe—not voluntarily, I might add—as the Stigma itself was the one that forced those memories onto me. It kind of reminded me of the Dream Cycle that happens in FATE.
So, in all the snippets that were forced upon me, I came to understand the cruelty of her universe. Shit was rough—like Warhammer 40K-level rough.
If I had experienced even a fraction of what she went through in her universe, I would've gone insane and offed myself at some point.
And I really didn't have the heart to tell her that I was living her memories, as I was pretty sure she had buried all those memories and experiences in the deepest pit of the Stigma space. The fact that I was viewing and experiencing them firsthand meant it was out of her control.
The Stigma itself wasn't malfunctioning or anything—it was just 'viewing two identical entities as one' and was trying to fuse us whole again.
Naturally, it failed because of Ellie, the string of Origin in my soul, and my connection to the [Realm of Nihility], so it did the next best thing.
And that was to let the other half (me) experience what the first half (Kiana) had experienced, to get us to fuse willingly and naturally.
Memories and experiences are what define a person, so by having two people go through the same ones, you would end up with two versions of the same person.
Not a hundred percent match, but close enough that the world would start to view them as one.
Basically, what I was trying to say was that the Stigma was slowly erasing my personality and replacing it with Kiana's so that it could finally exert the full might of the [Herrscher of Finality].
Unfortunately for the Stigma, I was not planning on turning into a pretty magic girl just yet, and Ellie was the one who kept me whole as a person and maintained my ego.
I found out that when I finally gained the powers of all 12 Herrschers, the Stigma would stop whatever it was trying to do, as it would begin to view me as a [Herrscher of Finality].
Not a perfect one, but close enough that it would stop its current approach.
Why was I ranting about this in the middle of deploying the very late barrier?
Well, no reason in particular. Sigh. Sorry. I just wanted to vent a bit.
Although these memories accelerated my learning speed and adaptability to Honkai energy and its authorities, they also implanted a feeling of existential dread into my very being.
Before, I was just slightly paranoid because of Tang San in my universe. But now… now it was different.
My mind was constantly running simulations of unrealistic scenarios that had almost zero chance of happening—and calculating how to counter them in the most efficient way possible.
It didn't help that I could now think hundreds of times faster than my original self.
That thought acceleration multiplier would also increase exponentially as I grew stronger and my state of being became more complex.
Phew. Deep breaths, deep breaths, Yuhao.
Moving on—I was also trying to get more emotions out of my very adorable tuna.
Creating the barrier and playing with the new magic system were the few times I had seen her become lively again, and I was planning to let her experience more of these instances.
I wasn't a therapist, and I wasn't hundred percent sure this would cure her depression and self-loathing, but hey—it was a start.
Maybe the secondary class should be [Therapist], but we'll see.
"Sure, Kiana. I'll also pretend that you weren't grinning like a Cheshire cat throughout the whole prank, but sure, whatever."
I said to my emotionally messed-up but still adorable tuna in the most deadpan voice I could muster.
"Hmph." And all I got was an equally adorable pout through our voice transmission. I didn't even know that a pout could translate via voice transmission. The more you know.
"Sigh, can we just deploy the barrier already?! I feel like Usagi won't be as patient as before, after your 'little prank,' now, will he?"
She egged me on to start the barrier already, and yeah—it was finally time for me to conque— I mean, to seal this evil forest that had too much oil and needed some freedom. Kuku.
I only nodded in response before opening a portal in front of me and stepping into it.
Fou wasn't planning to join me, as he had already found his pillow and started napping mid-day.
Honestly, I could also use a good nap after the barrier deployment—maybe even a green smoothie made with all the fruits and vegetables from the sage's garden.
I could confidently say that I could turn vegetarian if all vegetables and fruits tasted as good as the ones in the sage's garden. But alas, I was a sinner who liked chicken too much.
Oh, maybe some fried chicken for dinner tonight. Okay, I should stop—I'm getting hungry. Let's lock in for a bit.
I found myself in the air, in the middle of the [Great Devil's Den]. The view was breathtaking.
Who would've thought that this beautiful forest housed monsters capable of ending the human order with ease? I stepped onto a pink translucent platform made of imaginary energy while admiring the scenery.
Honestly, the [Herrscher of Void]'s powers were really a cheat—but they were difficult to control.
According to Kiana, the [Herrscher of Void] and [Herrscher of Thunder] were among the most difficult ones to master. Others, like the [Herrscher of Flames] and [Herrscher of Ice], were among the easiest to control.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I was already dabbling in too many power systems at once, so before mastering them, I wouldn't be looking for more.
Sighing to myself, I raised my right hand so that my palm faced the sky.
I could feel the ambient mana reacting to my every move, and all the energy thread constructs were in position.
What I was doing was essentially claiming a portion of the world as my own by bounding that area with my mana.
But I was a paranoid person who refused to leave traces of my own mana for others to analyze, so I used ambient mana in the air instead.
My own [Honkai Circuits] were the best thing I had acquired in this world—not even drop items could compare.
They allowed me to tap into any energy source with ease, and that was just one of their auxiliary functions. Their main use was helping me control Honkai energy better and adapt to its corrosive nature quite easily.
I tapped into the mana of the world, and it was liberating. My [Eyes of Heaven] martial soul allowed me to micromanage energy expenditure, so my spells were incredibly efficient—and would become even more so with time and training.
But hey—enough glazing myself.
The magic sequence for the barrier began to appear around my forearm.
Strings of numbers and formulas changed at lightning speed, and I could keep up with them thanks to [Great Sage]'s [Thought Acceleration] subskill and my special eyes.
Weirdly enough, [Great Sage] didn't have a voice or ego, but that was expected—it was a skill from Ellie and not the [Voice of the World], like in the cardinal world.
The air kept shifting, and the ambient mana started catching up with the information stored in the magic sequence.
Connecting with the thread constructs scattered around the forest, I commanded them to start supplying mana to me—or more specifically, to the magic sequence rotating around my forearm.
Calculations. Calculations. And, you guessed it—more calculations were running in the back of my mind.
"It's really pretty, Yuhao," commented the tuna as she gazed at the pink magic sequence that was constantly shifting and updating equations.
"It really is, Kiana," I replied, though it was on autopilot, as most of my mental faculties were occupied with calculations.
The magic sequence operated like this: if I stored the equation of kinetic energy (0.5 × mass × velocity²), and I wanted the barrier to stop any incoming object, I'd set the velocity variable to zero, since I couldn't just set mass to zero—at least, not yet.
By doing this, any object colliding with the spell would lose its velocity and come to a halt—but that wasn't the full process.
I also had to account for inertia, momentum, stored potential energy, and energy attacks with null mass.
The more equations I introduced into the spell, the more complex it became. Luckily, I had stored all the spells Kiana and I came up with into [Great Sage] for instant deployment.
But this was the first moderately big project I had worked on with Kiana that I wanted to perform it myself—and so far, it was going pretty well.
The magic sequence was complete. The stream of numbers and letters stopped rotating around my forearm and traveled to my open palm, taking the shape of a pink orb. It was finally ready for activation.
"Okay, Yuhao. Now gently release it into the air—it'll finally deploy."
Said Kiana, her voice giddy like a child waiting to brag to their parents about getting full marks on an exam. Very adorable.
And I found myself chuckling a bit—unsure if it was due to the magic sequence's stability or Kiana's excited tone.
Purple circuits burned and became visible on my arm as I manipulated the ambient mana to push the pink orb into the air.
It rose steadily, glowing with neon pink light that illuminated the area like a miniature star ascending toward the sky.
It created a dazzling, dreamlike stream of pink light that seemed to connect heaven and earth before blooming into a seven-petaled pink flower, beginning to envelop the entire forest in its radiant beauty.
The roars of the monsters echoed through the forest as the pink blanket continued to spread. It was as if they realized they were being imprisoned and were now rushing toward the forest's edges, desperately trying to retain their so-called freedom.
All of this was happening while I lay on my pink platform made of imaginary energy, watching the entire spectacle from the front-row seats.
It was easily the prettiest thing I had laid my eyes upon.
Then suddenly, Ellie stirred from my chest, dancing in the air for a moment before settling onto me as if she were enjoying the show as well.
Time and time again, this cute golden string proved to be the cutest thing ever.
Oh? Something was different about her. This was new.
She now had some pink patterns on her string-like body. Hmm, did she like the color that much? Well, pink has always been a pretty color—especially the darker shades they were gorgeous.
The pink flower finally reached the edges of the forest. As the petal tips touched the ground, the main body of the petals began to connect with one another, forming a dazzling pink dome that enclosed the entire forest.
And the monsters were zooming frantically towards the edges of the forest.
I guess Usagi was in for another surprise, haha. I could already imagine the look on his face as the monsters drew near the border.
"How are you, Kiana?" I asked the tuna in my head as she suddenly graced me with uncomfortable silence after the magic sequence was deployed.
"Nothing. Don't disturb me. I'm checking the photos I captured," she replied absentmindedly.
Ah, that cursed camera of hers. You couldn't begin to imagine the number of embarrassing moments of mine stored in that thing.
And the worst part? She kept it close at all times. All my efforts to erase those moments just ended up creating more embarrassing ones—each of which she gleefully photographed with a giggling expression.
But oh well. If taking embarrassing photos of me brought her that much joy, it was a small price to pay for my Kiana.
The dome finally sealed, moments before any monster could reach the forest's edge.
The thread constructs ensured that no monster hindered the barrier deployment and immediately began collecting drop items.
Hmm, I was starting to like these constructs more and more.
The pink dome started to become more translucent, almost as if it were dissolving into the air—but that was far from the truth.
The barrier was still there. It had merely become invisible. Why? Because I didn't want some stuck-up magi probing and analyzing my barrier. This also served as a security measure.
I wasn't some cocky magus flaunting his achievements like a third-rate young master. I preferred not to test fate and implemented every security measure I could think of into my barriers.
So, I kept the barrier active at all times, while it existed in a plane outside the visible light spectrum.
My [Eyes of Heaven] could still perceive the barrier easily—I could see the ripples forming from the collisions of countless monsters with it.
Puff. Haha.
They really thought they had a chance of escaping the forest. Hmph. They were mine, and their drop items were also mine. Everything touched by the pink light was mine—my little hunting ground. My treasure trove.
"Yuhao, stop making weird faces and let's go back home," Kiana said, snapping me out of whatever odd expression I was making.
"Hmph! You're no fun, Kiana," I said in a spoiled child tone before transforming the pink platform into a dark portal and sinking into it.
In the blink of an eye, I was back at the sage's house. Hmm. I loved the [Herrscher of Void]'s powers—they were very convenient.
Hmm, I probably should stop calling my house the "sage's house." I also needed to stop being lazy and remodel the whole place—both the one here in Argena and the one in Japan.
I didn't like the idea of both houses being previously owned by dead people. I wanted to feel true ownership of the land instead of constantly referring to it as someone else's.
Oh well. It would probably be addressed in the time-skip chapter anyway. Haha. Now, for that green smoothie and fried chicken.
As I headed back inside, I heard the front gate squeak, and a flaming hot presence was making her way toward the house. Oh—Mom was home. Perfect. It was already lunchtime, anyway.
I really needed her to stop buying useless stuff from the mall. But if it brought her joy, then screw it—I'd buy her a couple of store chains if she ever so desired.
She had been enjoying her time in the modern world far more than this fantasy world. But then again, she came from a fantasy world (Douluo), so the 'normal' world was the bizarre one for her, while the magic world (Argena) wasn't all that interesting for her.
Suddenly, my communication ring began to vibrate. Well, well, well. It looked like Usagi enjoyed the show—but I had to prepare lunch, so I'd put him on hold for now.
I tapped the ring and declined the call. Now, for my fried chicken.
"Yuhao, wipe your mouth. You're drooling."
Oh? How embarrassing! I quickly wiped my mouth with a kitchen towel, completely ignoring the giggling tuna making fun of my blushing face.
✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•『Herrscher in Douluo』•✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•✦•
『3rd Person POV』
'By Argena, what just happened!?'
Usagi exclaimed in his mind as his gaze swept over the sea of monsters trying to escape the forest—only to be rebounded by what seemed to be the air itself.
It looked as if reality itself was trapping and imprisoning the monsters inside the [Great Devil's Den].
However, it was the transparent barrier that was keeping them in check.
'He really wasn't kidding about the barrier. I thought he would just isolate the space with that weird portal power of his, but this... this is something else.'
Usagi was pulled from his thoughts by a loud crashing noise that startled everyone in the stronghold.
He immediately focused on the source, thinking a monster had broken through the barrier—only to be slightly disappointed.
"WE LIVED!"
"Ahhhhh I'm alive!"
"Mother, I live another day!"
"That's it. I should've been a farmer like my grandfather. Enough with this knight shit."
And countless similar shouts filled the air as the knights collapsed onto the ground, their metal armor sinking into the earth as they lay there with dazed expressions.
They had just gone through the entire emotional spectrum in less than a minute—and needless to say, some of them would be quitting due to trauma.
From sensing an apocalyptic amount of mana gathering at the forest's center, preparing for what they thought was their final battle, to witnessing a pink spectacle so beautiful it stole their breath away and redefining the concept of beauty in their minds to watching a sea of kingdom-level monsters advancing towards them like it was the end of the world.
It was just too much.
They experienced fear, despair, sorrow, beauty, joy, helplessness, and more... all in less than a minute. Needless to say, they were emotionally spent for the next couple of months.
Usagi watched with a neutral expression as even the mages began crashing out.
He even saw a mage toss aside his robes, punch his squad leader square in the face, and kiss a random woman on the lips before dipping out.
Needless to say, Usagi was dying inside. He had just gotten the troops back in order after Yuhao's "little" prank—and now he had to do it all over again.
He tried calling Yuhao a few times, but the calls were declined.
At first, he thought the kid was injured or exhausted and wanted to check up on him. But after seeing this mess of knights and mages crashing out, the little sympathy he had for Yuhao vanished like dust in the wind.
After all, Huo Yuhao's track record wasn't doing him any favors.
"Back to work, I guess," Usagi said with a tired voice as he made his way to the tavern—he absolutely refused to stay sober any longer.
Then, suddenly, another shout echoed through the knight barricade, but Usagi had already checked out.
"Owen! Owen! For the love of God, get it together, man!" One knight was frantically shaking the stone-faced Knight Order leader, Owen.
"Do you think he's finally going to start his villain arc?" asked one of the squires in a hushed tone to a nearby colleague.
"Don't know. You know how much the princess has terrorized our poor captain. If he did start a villain arc against blondes in general, I wouldn't blame him," replied the other with a whisper.
"Hush, you two. You're not helping," scolded their squad leader before smacking them on the helmets with his armored hands.
"Sorry," they both apologized quickly, though their eyes still gleamed with curiosity as they watched Owen, waiting to see if he'd crash out as well.
It truly was a day to be remembered.
(Chapter 42 Finished.)
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Author's Note:
Hey guys, how are you doing? I hope you're all doing wonderfully!
Here's a new chapter, fresh out of the oven. This chapter is 4K words without the Author's Note.
A bit of a big one, this chapter was the first one that featured a first person POV from Huo Yuhao so let me know what you think.
Time skip is in next couple of chapters and we will finally return to Douluo Dalu, yay.
Also, for the plot of Isekai da cheat skill, any suggestions about the timeline?
Anyhow, don't forget to comment on memes, share your thoughts, and—most importantly—post waifu pics.
If you have a couple of minutes, please consider writing a review for this fanfic—it really helps in getting it featured on the 'Popular' page over at Webnovel.
That's all for now.
Bye!
(AN: Italic bold text represents new additions and updates to his status, so you don't have to read everything.)
『...』
『Huo Yuhao』
『Class: Nanomancer』
『Class Ranking: Tier 3』
『Race: Ascended Human, White Dragon, White Tiger』
『Soul Power: 29』
『Martial Souls: [Eyes of Heaven], [White Dragon of Nihility] 『1+』, [Monster Slime] 『2+』』
『Skill Points: 10,811,000. 』
『Unique Skills: 』
[Great Sage]
[Golden Rule]
[True Martial Art: 7]
[Super-Growth B]
[Increased Skill Point Generation: B]
[Honkai Circuits]
[Honkai Resistance]
[Honkai Energy Manipulation]
[Honkai Rotation]
『Other Skills: 』
[Appraisal]
[Endurance]
[Item Box]
[Language Comprehension]
[Fast Reading]
[Thread Manipulation]
[Illusion Manipulation]
[Pain Resistance]
[Check Status]
[Cooking: 5]
[Taunt C]
[Weakness Detection]
[Presence Detection]
[Environment Assimilation]
『Titles: 』
[Master of the Door]
[Master of the House]
[Otherworlder]
[First [Class Holder] to Appear in the World]
[The One Who Perplexed the World's Consciousness]
[The One Who Gained the Interest of the Entire World]
[Slaughterer]
『End of status. 』