Songs in the Void

ICDS Universe, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.

Several hours later, Tatsuo, who hurriedly left the Dungeon after noticing that his HP was dropping after feeling an unbearable pain his chest, slowly opened his eyes. Even before he opened his eyes, however, he noticed that he was laying on the floor. And when he opened his eyes, he realized that he was in his bedroom.

"What in the hell…" Tatsuo muttered as he slowly pushed himself off the floor.

However, when Tatsuo exerted force on the floor, he shot up to a position where he was standing on his knees involuntarily.

"Seriously, what the hell?" Tatsuo muttered while looking down at his hands in shock. "I know I didn't push hard enough for that to happen. So, what's going on?"

With his head filled with unanswered questions, Tatsuo decided he would think about them later. Instead, he decided to look at his phone to see how long he had been unconscious for.

"It's been nearly six hours." Tatsuo muttered while looking at the time on his phone blankly. A few moments later, he noticed that he had a few missed notifications from the [Dimensional Chat] app. So, he opened them without delay. "Oh, This kind of explains it… I guess."

{[Agility has increased from E+ to D-}

{[Endurance] has increased from E+ to D-}

{[Energy Stat] Unlocked}

Current [Energy] Level – F-}

{Determining [Energy] Attribute, Please Wait…}

{[Missions]

Objective 2 – Complete}

{You have learned the [Racial Ability] – [Mana Reactor – A+]}

{[Energy Attribute] Determined. [Energy Attribute] – Space}

{[Energy] has increased from F- to F}

"I only got that last one about three minutes ago." Tatsuo muttered while reading over the notifications on his smartphone. "But I remember when my [Agility] went up. Damn near got hit by that big Orc Lord bastard. My [Endurance] went up when my Constitution reached 21 because of the Orc Lord Slayer Title. The [Energy Stat] being unlocked was because of that, too."

Analyzing the reasons for the first three notifications, Tatsuo nodded his head in satisfaction at his deductions. Then, he moved on to the other notifications he received.

"So, there's an attribute to my [Energy], huh?" Tatsuo asked himself rhetorically. "Well, that's not really a huge surprise, I guess. I've seen something like that in all kinds of media. And the Objective was completed when I unlocked the [Energy Stat]. But what's up with this [Racial Ability]? [Mana Reactor]? Since when do humans have [Racial Abilities]?"

Not At first, Tatsuo could not understand where his [Racial Ability] came from. But he soon remembered something from the last time he checked his status. To make sure what he remembered was correct, he checked it again.

{[Status]

[Personal Information]

Name: Soramoto Tatsuo

Age: 15

Race: Human/???

Title: ??? + 1 More

Coins: 449,275

[Physical Attributes]

Comprehensive Physical Evaluation: D-

Strength: D-

Agility: E+ > D-

Dexterity: D-

Endurance: E+ > D-

Intelligence: D-

Perception: D

Energy: N/A > F

Charm: B+

[Skills]

Language: E+

Pianist: D-

Singing: E+

Vale Tudo: E

Weapon Mastery: E+

Dagger Master: D-

Firearms Mastery: E+

Cooking: F+

First Aid: E-

Hacking: D

Stealth: D-

Blacksmithing: E+

Leatherworking: E+

Tailoring: E+

Programming – E+

[Abilities]

Mana Reactor A+

[Note: The average values of an average adult are F+. Trained Athletes have values of E-. Those at the peak of their field have values of E. Those at the peak of humanity have values of E+. Anything D- or higher is considered supernatural, usually requiring the infusion of mana or an equivalent energy to achieve.]}

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Tatsuo said as he looked at the ??? in the Race column. "I guess I'm not a hundred percent human, huh? Still, only powerful species of creatures have this [Mana Reactor] ability. But there are definitely more than one… I think…"

With hat thought, Tatsuo tapped the [Mana reactor Ability] to see if he was right about what it does.

{[Abilities]

[Mana Reactor – A+]

-As Mana circulates through your body and passes through your heart, you powerful heart increases the amount of Mana you possess with every circulation. Over time, the amount of Mana you will be able to wield will be, in theory, limitless.

-Circulating your Mana actively will increase the rate at which your Mana grows.}

"Yup, that's exactly what I expected it to do." Tatsuo muttered to himself. "And because I have the [Universal Energy Veins], that Mana can be converted to any other kind of Energy, depending on what kind of Energy the world I'm in uses. I guess that's why my [Energy Stat] increased, too."

Having understood the rest of the notifications, Tatsuo turned his attention to the last one.

"[Space Attribute Energy], nice!" Tatsuo exclaimed happily. "That means I should be able to do all sorts of things like manipulating gravity, teleportation, boundary manipulation, and much more. I would have added spatial storage to that list, but the [System] already has that function. So, there's no need to learn it myself."

Having checked all of his notifications, Tatsuo remembered about the rewards he received from solo clearing the Orc Lord. Then, he looked in his [Inventory] and saw the two items he got from winning the boss fight.

[Orc Lord's Pauldrons – D-]

[Deific Manifestation Magic Book – B+]}

"Well, I guess I'll collect the rest of the Orc Lord Set." Tatsuo murmured as he took the [Deific Manifestation Magic Book] out of his Inventory. Then, I'll have to ask Loretta if remodeling it into something I would actually wear would diminish its effects."

With the [Deific Manifestation Magic Book] in his hands, Tatsuo pushed the thoughts about the Orc Lord set to the back of his mind. Then, he chose to learn the magic. As soon as the book was in his hands, it broke down into motes of mana before being absorbed into his body. At the same time, a Dungeon Notification rang out in his ears.

{You have obtained the [Deific Manifestation Magic].

-You can use all of your MP and half of your HP to call up on a soul connected deeply to your roots.

-The duration of the manifestation will depend on the amount of HP and MP used.

-You can only manifest a spirit of the Legendary Rank or above.

-You cannot use this spell a second time should it fail.

-On success, the spell has a cool down of o1 month.

-This spell has no skill level.}

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I expected." Tatsuo muttered. "Well, here goes nothing. [Deific Manifestation]."

With his chant, Tatsuo could feel his Energy circulating. And the circulation was different than its normal flow. He realized it was circulating along the route needed to cast [Defic Manifestation]. However, after waiting for more than a minute, nothing happened, and his Energy flow returned to its normal route. Then, he received another notification from the Dungeon.

{[Deific Manifestation] failed. No suitable souls found.}

"Well, damn." Tatsuo muttered in disappointment. "I guess there's no one to guide me on how to get stronger, huh?"

Unbeknownst to Tatsuo, the reason the spell did not find a suitable host was because of the Void Empress. She deemed all the spirits connected to the spell too weak to train her son. So, she threatened them all to not respond to the summons.

"Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk." Tatsuo muttered with a shrug. "Let's just invest my Stat Points and figure out what I'm gonna do for the rest of the day."

After investing his five stat points, Tatsuo's Dungeon Explorer Status looked like this:

{Dungeon Explorer Status

Name: Soramoto Tatsuo

Race: Human

Sex: Male

Class: None

Title: Orc Lord Slayer (All Stats +1)

Rank: Bronze 6

Level: 5 > 6

HP: 1340/1340

MP: 0 > 400/400

Strength: 23 > 24

Dexterity: 27 > 29

Constitution: 20 > 21

Intelligence: 24 > 25

Magic: 0 > 10

Charm: 295 > 296

Luck: 150 > 151

Skills

Mid-Ranked Martial Arts Technique: Lv. 9

Mid-Ranked Dagger Technique: Mastered > High-Ranked Dagger Mastery: Lv. 1

Mid-Ranked Marksman Technique: Lv. 7 > 8

Mid-Ranked Stealth: Mastered > High-Ranked Stealth: Lv. 1}

"Oh, I guess I missed some Dungeon notifications." Tatsuo muttered as he noticed that two of his skills had risen.

{High-Ranked Dagger Mastery: Lv. 1

-With Mana added to your strikes, their destructive power increases even further.}

{High-Ranked Stealth: Lv. 1}

By dispersing your Mana into your surroundings, you can more easily hide your presence.}

"Good, I have a couple of ways to apply my Energy already. " Tatsuo said excitedly.

In the next instant, Tatsuo flowed his Energy into his weapons, which he still had equipped. And although it was not easy, he managed to get a coating of purple-tinted black Energy on his bladed knuckle dusters after about five seconds.

"Good." Tatsuo murmured as he looked at his Energy coated weapons. "But I can feel my energy Draining just by keeping this coating active. On top of that, it takes way too long to get it started. I guess I know what I'll be doing for the rest of the day. But you know what they say, practice makes perfect, right?"

Having finally checked everything he received from the Orc Lord solo raid; Tatsuo unequipped his defensive gear. He threw off the casual clothes he wore underneath, as well. Then, he took all the discarded clothing to the washing machine, threw them in, and started it. Finally, he decided to take a long, hot shower to wash off all the sweat and the smell of blood.

After getting out of the shower and putting on some light, comfortable clothing, Tatsuo climbed onto his bed and sat cross-legged. Then, using his D-Rank perception, he study the path his Energy used to circulate around his body. Once he memorized it, he did his best to control it to make the circulation faster.

To Tatsuo's surprise, manually controlling the circulation of his Energy put pressure on his entire body. As a result, he could feel all his physical attributes increasing. However, it was so minute that it could almost be considered negligible. Perhaps that would change in the future, when he had more Energy to circulate.

Like that, Tatsuo spent the rest of the day and the following day switching between circulating his Energy and increasing his proficiency at coating his weapons with it. He would have more than likely did these two things for longer. However, he received a text from Sumire.

Minami Sumire: Good morning, Soramoto-Kun. I hope you slept well.

Minami Sumire: I was wondering if you were free today. I was hoping you could help me improve my spear and shield technique again.

After reading Sumire's texts, Tatsuo wasted no time replying.

Soramoto Tatsuo: Sure, why don't you come by at 11 like last time.

Minami Sumire: Thank you very much!

Minami Sumire: I'll be there on time.

Smiling at Sumire's response, Tatsuo climbed out of bed before checking his [Status] and Dungeon status once again. He could feel that there was more Energy in his body after circulating it so many times. And he was pleasantly surprised to see that his [Energy Stat] had risen from F to E- while his Magic Stat had gone up to 13, which raised his MP to 460, in turn.

"Good, everything is proceeding smoothly." Tatsuo muttered as he clenched his fists. "The next step is to grind the Floor Master. I wanna get those elixirs from the book. Getting all the pieces of the Orc Lord Set is a must, too. I'll get started as soon as Minami leaves."

With that, Tatsuo went to make himself breakfast. While taking out ingredients, he noticed that he was almost out of food. Meaning, the trip to the Dungeon could wait until he restocked. Then, after making and eating breakfast, he went to take a shower. Then, he waited for Sumire to arrive while practicing imbuing his weapons with his Energy.

Just like last time, at 11 o'clock on the dot, Tatsuo received a text from Sumire.

Minami Sumire: I'm down stairs in the lobby.

Soramoto Tatsuo: I'll be there in a minute.

Riding the elevator down to the ground floor, Tatsuo let Sumire on quickly before punching in the passcode and pressing the button for the dojo floor. Meanwhile, Sumire was discreetly glancing at Tatsuo with shock.

'Did he awaken since the last time I was here?' Sumire asked herself. 'Last time, I couldn't feel any mana from him. But now…'

At the same time, Tatsuo was thinking something similar, yet different.

'The last two times I met her, I could feel something different from normal people.' Tatsuo thought to himself while occasionally stealing glances at Sumire as well. 'But now that I've unlocked my [energy], it feels totally different. I can even vaguely tell how much she has. And it's more than I have… for now. But by the time the Event Dungeons start popping up, I'm sure I'll have more than she does.'

As the elevator reached the top floor, the two's frequent glances at each other eventually met in the middle. And while Tatsuo smiled it off, Sumire reddened immediately before quickly turning her head away. Then, she quickly stepped out the elevator before heading directly to the women's locker room.

'Was he stealing glances at me like that the whole time?' Sumire thought to herself while blushing furiously. 'It was probably because he Awakened and could feel my Mana. Yeah, that has to be it. There's no way he was doing it because he has a cr-cr-crush on me. That wouldn't be so bad, though. No! What are you thinking Sumire. He's only fifteen and you're about to turn nineteen. That would basically be robbing the cradle.'

While Sumire's chaotic thoughts rampaged int her head, the speed that she changed into her training clothes suffered. Meanwhile, Tatsuo quickly changed clothes before coming back out to the dojo to wait for Sumire.