Before Transmigrating to Warhammer (Part 2)

Hearing this, Rowan felt a jolt of alarm.

This was the greatest secret in his heart, and his biggest trump card since transmigrating into the Foundation Universe.

"...You are referring to the fact that I can increase the level of my Reality Warping Ability, aren't you?"

Rowan felt a sense of relief instead, relaxing completely. "This is indeed different from other Reality Warpers. When I first awakened, my Reality Warping Ability was only Level 1. All I could do were trivial things like bending spoons with Psychic Power or moving objects from a distance. It took a massive amount of effort to raise it to my current level step by step."

"However, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed; the conditions for growth have essentially hit a dead end, and it's very difficult to improve any further."

Neos: "Tell me, why have you hit a dead end?"

"The condition for improvement is very simple: slaughter."

Rowan sighed. "When I kill a Sentient Being, or when the death of the other party has a direct causal relationship with me, their soul is devoured by me and used to increase my own Hume Index."

"You should know that the Hume Index is a parameter used to measure the stability of reality. The higher a Reality Warper's own Hume Index, the lower the Hume Index of the space around their body will be; therefore, their Reality Warping Ability will also be enhanced."

He paused, continuing his explanation: "When I advanced from a Level 1 Reality Warper to Level 2, I only needed to kill a few dozen humans. I went to a Chaos Nation and wiped out a few Drug Cartels, and that solved it."

"But now that I need to go from Level 2 to Level 3, the requirements have increased exponentially—it's no exaggeration to say that. I simply cannot achieve it."

"Could it be an incredibly massive number?"

"Exactly."

Rowan's expression was extremely grave. "At the very least, it requires the souls of over one hundred thousand people!"

As soon as the words fell, a very strange atmosphere settled between the two.

After a long while, Neos finally spoke:

"...One hundred thousand?"

What is with that "Is that all?" attitude!

Rowan's eye twitched. "Isn't one hundred thousand souls a lot?"

Are you kidding me? Do you really think the Foundation is dead?

If he truly intended to take action on this, he feared that the very next second, the Mobile Task Force "Achilles' Heel," specifically tasked with suppressing Reality Warpers, would materialize right at his doorstep!

The next step would be getting beaten to his knees and dragged to a Containment Site to be kept as a Containment Object!

"No, I have a proposal."

After listening, Neos said, "Are you willing to leave this world and head to another universe?"

"You mean, let me go to another universe, break free from the Foundation's oversight, and then satisfy my growth conditions?"

Having spent several years lurking in the Anomalous World behind the Veil, the experienced Rowan was naturally no stranger to the concept of an Alien Universe.

This did sound like a good proposal, but it wasn't without its problems.

"But the problem is, aren't there Foundations in other universes too?"

Exactly, that was the biggest problem.

The Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting humanity in the face of the anomalous, was distributed across the multiverse.

Based on Rowan's experience exploring Alien Universes with the help of Containment Objects and Anomalous Technology from other anomalous organizations, there were only two scenarios for other parallel worlds: either a Foundation existed to maintain order, or it was simply a wasteland—a post-apocalyptic scene where humanity had been destroyed.

Neither could satisfy the growth conditions for his Reality Warping Ability.

"No, you misunderstand. My universe has absolutely nothing to do with the Foundation."

Neos shook his head, throwing out a piece of news that Rowan had not anticipated at all.

"You can completely consider it another, different multiverse. To use an analogy, they are two completely different books that should have been distinct and unrelated, but because a miracle occurred—one difficult to understand even at my current level—I arrived here."

"However, the connection between the two worlds is extremely fragile. Not only can powerful entities not pass through, but it is very likely to disappear soon. Because of these various limitations, I can only immediately select someone who can help me, such as you."

"Are you willing to leave this universe and head to my universe?"

Rowan almost agreed to the proposal immediately.

He was absolutely sick of this hellhole called the Foundation!

Various anomalous Containment Objects that could make a person drop dead on the spot if they weren't careful, K-Class Events (end of the world) happening several times a year on average, the Foundation and the Global Occult Coalition chasing him like madmen, all sorts of anomalous organizations filled with ulterior motives, and various Anomalous Technology that made sure you couldn't even die in peace...

What world could possibly be worse than this dump?

But Rowan still held himself back, asking:

"Could you describe what kind of place your world is?"

Neos's expression remained unruffled, calm and composed:

"It is a very beautiful universe, a fantasy world where humans, elves, orcs, the undead, demons, and many other races coexist."

"Of course, because multiple races coexist in one world, there are often some small frictions between them, which is inevitable."

"I am the Master of Mankind. My requirements for you are not high. As the hero chosen by Me, you only need to help humanity defeat the demons and the evil gods behind them, and lead humanity to greatness once again."

"I believe this task will not be difficult for a Reality Warper who can modify reality at will according to their thoughts, almost like making wishes come true."

"Furthermore, you can increase your Reality Warping Ability through slaughter. It is very likely you will soon become a Level 3, or even a higher-level Reality Warper. By then, the task will become even easier."

Rowan stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.

Naturally, with his experience, he could hear the unspoken implications in the other party's words; it was clear that the description of his own world was a bit of an understatement.

For instance, the way He described His universe was extremely brief, to the point where it would hold true even in the Foundation Universe, as if that universe were devoid of Demons, elves, the undead, or orcs.

Yet, in the end, after weighing it repeatedly, Rowan gave a heavy nod.

"I agree!"

As he had said before, he was truly fed up with this hellhole of a Foundation!

Surely that world couldn't be a bigger cesspit than the Foundation, could it?

Upon hearing Rowan's agreement, the youth who called himself Neos wore a smile filled with divine compassion. His eyes erupted with a spiritual light like the midday sun, and intense rays of light shot into the sky, coiling around his form as layer upon layer of white wings unfurled behind him.

Rowan felt a sharp, searing pain on the back of his hand, causing him to gasp in spite of himself.

Fortunately, the pain came and went quickly, soon replaced by a lingering warmth. He raised his hand and looked closely.

Appearing on the back of Rowan's hand was a mark glowing with a radiance reminiscent of the sun, shaped roughly like:

--A Golden Double-Headed Eagle?

Rowan's eyes widened.

"Wait, no, hold on..."

This incredibly familiar symbol directly awakened the memories of Rowan's past life. Since matters had reached the final stage, Neos no longer needed to hide anything and directly withdrew the cognitive interference he had placed upon Rowan's mind.

Without the other party's interference, Rowan could now piece together the origin of this "person" calling himself Neos and the universe he was about to travel to, based on all the information provided thus far.

Unfortunately, it was too late to say anything now.

The layered wings descended, wrapping around his entire body. Before Rowan could utter another word, his figure vanished amidst the brilliant golden light.

As all the phenomena dissipated, Neos slowly descended to the ground. His form swayed, cracks began to spread across his face, and he eventually dissolved into light and vanished.

Within the cathedral, only a lingering sigh remained:

"In the dark 41st Millennium, there is only war..."

"...but hope remains."