Star Odyssey

Within Astral-10’s treasury, the bearded old man sized Lu Yin up and down in shock, “Not bad, kid. You did more than required, it was probably a huge price to pay.”

“What price?” Lu Yin was confused.

The old man snickered, “We all know the answer to that. Whatever, there’s no need to hide it; they confirmed completion.”

Hide what? Lu Yin was confused, but the old man scoffed and explained, “You went beyond requirements in only two days, do you think I’m an idiot? Only lockbreakers… Whatever, take a look and see which mission you want to take next.”

Lu Yin ignored the man’s words and left without taking on any new missions. Grabbing his star crystals, he wondered where to go before eventually deciding to head to the space station. There weren’t any specific residential areas in Astral-10, but he guessed this was likely the only place not monitored constantly by the mentors. He was going to roll his die. With two uses at Iltoco and some rest afterwards, he hoped he’d be able to find out what rolling a three did soon.

The die appeared with a flick of the wrist, and Lu Yin crushed a cube of star crystals and set it off. He held his breath as it slowed down, but was left speechless as it landed on two. With nothing to disassemble, it was useless. With his next roll, he landed on five. This time he cursed; it was another useless roll. Who knew exactly who here had innate gifts, and how was he to find them in ten seconds anyway?

With only one roll left before he’d be exhausted, he tossed the die with a little worry. The thing turned slower and slower until five of its sides disappeared, revealing the number six.

SIX! Lu Yin’s eyes went wide. He’d only gotten it once, and it had absorbed all of the star crystals he’d offered and given him nothing. It still felt like he’d been scammed by this die yesterday; what was going to happen this time?

A terrifying suction force erupted from the die before he could think, and the star crystals in his cosmic ring started disappearing in the blink of an eye. 100 cubes, 1,000 cubes, 2,000 cubes… Before he knew it, he’d lost a full 10,000 cubes of star crystals.

The moment the last of the star crystals were pulled away, Lu Yin saw his surroundings warping into an unfamiliar dark space. His consciousness turned into a bundle of light that shot forward, slowing down with time as he saw numerous bundles of various sizes all around. Some were feeble glows, while others were hot as stars. He was shocked to realize what the roll of 6 was for; it allowed one to merge with another person, experiencing their life for the low starting price of 10,000 star crystals. The bundles of light he was seeing were the ones he could sense with his current power, and the ones closest did not seem like they would harm him.

All of a sudden, Lu Yin felt a pull and was startled. He didn’t have enough star crystals on him, and not fusing with one of these bundles would be wasting a great opportunity. He didn’t waste any more time and charged straight for the warmest bundle he could sense, guessing that the brightness was related to the owner’s power. However, he felt like he was being burnt to ashes and was forced to turn back, heading towards the bundles that were only a little smaller than him. Meanwhile, all 15,000 star crystals on him were absorbed.

……

“Da Lei, Da Lei! Wake up!” a beautiful girl was crying out anxiously on a dark field, awakening a hazy Lu Yin. She smiled emotionally when he opened his eyes, “You’re awake! That’s great!”

Da Lei? Who was that? Lu Yin was confused at first, but then he recalled rolling a six on his die and fusing with someone’s mind. Was this the person?

“What’s wrong, Da Lei?” The girl looked at him nervously. The man in front of her was obviously someone she knew, but his gaze was very unfamiliar.

As he rubbed his head, Lu Yin instantly knew everything he needed about the person he had possessed. His mind was still running a little slow, but he eventually turned towards the girl and smiled, “Nothing, I was just playing a prank on you.”

The girl sighed, “You scared me. Don’t do that again!”

Lu Yin—no, Da Lei nodded. “Aya, I’m hungry. Can you buy me something to eat?"

“Mm. Stay here, I’ll get you something.”

Lu Yin watched as the girl left before looking at himself and sighing. He was Da Lei now, and while he had no idea how long he’d stay merged with this person, it couldn’t be that long. Thinking of this, he reached in and sensed the large pool of energy within his body. Da Lei was actually a Limiteer!

Da Lei had the power of a Limiteer, but that wasn’t all. Lu Yin was delighted to find that his grasp of star energy had reached the realm of infinite change, and he was a famed genius on this planet that was planning on applying to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. To his surprise, this was the thirteenth filament which was at the edge of the Frostwave Weave. He had been sent here with only 10,000 star crystals; would he reach the Innerverse with more?

Star energy gathered in Da Lei’s palm, going from intangible to tangible. Soon, it reached a form similar to fire and vibrated with heat in the air; this was the realm of infinite change simulating fire energy. This person wasn’t even forty years of age, so he was still of the younger generation. This level of star energy control was prodigal.

With the same battle techniques and star energy, one’s control could make for a huge difference in power. It was a pity that Da Lei did not know any good battle techniques. He didn’t understand the need to find a backer, didn’t know how to earn money, and didn’t have the guts to chase the girl he loved. All in all, this was someone extremely stiff.

“AH!” a voice suddenly interrupted Lu Yin’s thought, sending him to his feet. Aya had fainted by the time he bounded over, and a number of cultivators walked out from the shadows. A young man smirked at him, “Long time no see.”

Lu Yin’s gaze focused. He recognized Ramos from Da Lei’s memories; this was the son of the most powerful person on the planet. Ramos had always been jealous of Da Lei’s talent and tried to bribe him to take part in the exam for the Thirteen Squadrons in his stead, but Da Lei had rejected him. He wasn’t supposed to show up now.

“I already said no, Ramos. Let Aya go,” Lu Yin said seriously.

Ramos snickered, “I’ll give you one last chance. Give up your place, and I can let you live and even give you battle techniques. You’ll never be able to get one otherwise.”

It was at this point that Lu Yin understood why Da Lei had no battle techniques or much general knowledge. He had been blocked off with intention.

“I don’t agree,” Lu Yin said once more.

Ramos shrugged, “You’re so inflexible. Do you really think the Thirteen Squadrons will see anything in you? This universe has no lack of geniuses. I’ll have you know that the Empire is now most interested in King Zishan and the others who entered Astral-10. What about you? They’ve forgotten you already. Nobody will cause trouble for me if you disappear. Kill him.”

A number of Limiteers came for Lu Yin and he tried to Flash away, but he didn’t have much control of this body and nearly tripped. He’d forgotten that this body was Da Lei’s; even if he knew how to use the Flash, the body didn’t have the muscle memory for it.

BOOM! The earth shattered and Lu Yin soared into the skies, a middle-aged Limiteer attacking behind him. He raised his hand and smashed down with converged star energy, sending the attacked flying into the ground. This was the terrifying power of the realm of infinite change; he could even go up against battle techniques with his star energy alone.

However, a few more Limiteers had surrounded him at this point. Lu Yin gritted his teeth and used the Flash consciously, this time succeeding as his body vanished to dodge their attack. He appeared behind one of the Limiteers and slashed out with a blade of star energy. The target had quick reflexes and dodged, so the blade cut through the air with a tremendous surge of star energy that cut a rift into the earth. The aftershocks spread into a river in the distance and reversed its flow.

Such a battle should technically have attracted the attention of the planet’s troops, but they never appeared. Ramos had already planned this out; today was the day Da Lei died. He had no plans of letting Da Lei off. Even if Da Lei was willing to give up his position, that still wouldn’t do. What he wanted to see the regret and despair as this genius died before him.

Lu Yin panted and then burst into laughter. Da Lei really was quite lucky. If he hadn’t entered this body, this genius would have been done for.

“Your girlfriend is quite pretty, Da Lei.” Ramos’ voice rang out down below. He walked over to Aya and bent down to touch her.

Da Lei’s fury bubbled up even into Lu Yin’s mind, but he calmed those emotions down, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle him for you.”

And then, Da Lei disappeared.