He had to recognize that this book was, in all likelihood, written specifically for him, shortly before it was given to him. He didn't really have any solid evidence for this, but the writing style was a bit inconsistent. It didn't seem like it was an actual book, more like a mini-lecture. Like a priest of a Primordial Child's church went to a scribe and just started rambling. To further back this up, the section on Leviathan's was slightly longer than the other two, which made him think it was likely a Leviathan's priest that wrote it, which would make sense considering his display of the path of Leviathans.

A second pattern he'd detected was the Skills listed. In each list, the first two were accessible to those not on the path of a Child, and the second weren't. The second two also had much shorter descriptions, implying that they were a bit more guarded than the first two.

Aloran told him that, in order to really use his Leviathan Skills, he should use it in everything in a unique manner. To show respect to the Skill, so he would not be smited. He hated to say it, but he did consider trying to get the accessible Skills, such as Incinerate, for but a moment. Thinking it over though, that was not a good idea.

Functionally, he didn't think it was a coincidence he'd pulled Knowledge from The Mother. If she was the origin of the Unnatural aspect Skills, he'd likely pulled Knowledge because he was more aligned with Leviathans. This meant he'd have more trouble earning the other paths because the overlap in basic function would guide him back to Leviathans.

Not only that, but he was already struggling to really add some pizzazz to his Leviathan-based stuff. Dei's life moved at a breakneck pace, and he knew he'd skip over some important stuff if he spread himself too thin among the Primordial Children, and if there was one thing he didn't want it was to become disregarding of the divine Skills. That would be a good way to die when a Primordial Child descended upon him for, what, the third time?

The handbook was good information though, and it gave him a better grasp on his current Skills. It seemed he was barely touching upon the potential of both Connection and, more recently, Knowledge.

Knowledge, in particular, he was excited to start using. It gave him an innate talent in everything, which he didn't even know how to quantify.

The information didn't change his trajectory greatly, but it helped narrow his focus, putting his abilities into perspective. Connection, in particular, should be able to connect everything if used correctly.

'True, but there are some things that shouldn't be linked together,' he thought, remembering when he tried linking his Potential and Affinity nodes, and the feeling of danger such an action emitted.

Nonetheless, there were many things he hadn't tried it on. Looking at the anchors of his Skills, he had to wonder… since all his Skills now shared a link through Connection, could he artificially synergize them? Using multiple at once to create overlapping effects?

'Another thing on the list to test.'

He set that aside for now, putting it back into the tiny spatial ring and pulling out a packet on the different rarities and what they meant.

The papers were haphazardly stuck in the folder, but had clearly been copied from a larger book. Rather than ask for the entire book, Dei only wanted exact information.

He opened it, reading it over as he slowly leafed through the pages.

"The Common grade is designated for the most basic of basic. It is the starter point, which anyone can reach with due effort. When it comes to affinities it- blah blah blah"

Dei didn't want all that, he was trying to gauge how far ahead of the curve he was, so he skipped to the next tier.

"Uncommon grade is reserved for those who have either put in sufficient effort, or have lived a peaceful life. It can be reached in three to four years under the right tutelage, or ten to twenty when in a relaxed state."

He raised his eyebrows at that, but he shouldn't have been surprised. His affinities had a lot of boosts.

'As a matter of fact, how much faster does my Wrath affinity advance? Let's see… [No Rulers] is 40%, [Cruelty] is 162.5%. But it's also linked to Kindness, and they advance at the same pace. Does that double the bonuses? Cause they're both gaining strength? If that's the case then I think it'd be something like 380% faster. Hm. That can't be right, but maybe?'

Dei had only been alive for a little over a year, but he supposed that most people weren't exactly risking their life twenty-four-seven, and that did wonders for advancing affinities, Skills, Levels, really just power in general.

He moved on, skimming through the rest quickly.

"Rare is for those who put in effort for prolonged periods of time, generally taking a decade or more of effort. Perhaps around fifty to seventy years in a relaxed state…

"Treasured is the highest a person can naturally be born with as their affinity. Anything beyond treasured must be earned manually, but to advance from Common to Treasured rank tends to take two and a half decades of effort, or slightly over a century in a relaxed state. Treasured tends to be the limit of most of the population…"

"Epic and up are reserved for those with either great resources, or prodigies. From here, the timing scale becomes odd, as only those in odd situations reach these ranks. If someone is ever going to reach Epic in an affinity, Class, or Profession in their lifetime, they tend to reach it within two decades after growing into adulthood, the timing sense going back down from Treasured…"

"Grand is for prodigies who risk life and limb, fighting tooth and nail for every single advantage possible to reach it. It tends to take a century, though people who reach Grand are oftentimes high enough leveled to extend their lifespan greatly. Despite that, Grand is the limit for most prodigies…"

"Fabled grade is reserved for the heroes of old, the unstoppable conquerors, or the unrivalled geniuses of the millenia. It is near impossible to reach, and Fabled users send shockwaves through the multiverse wherever they go. There is no listed time frame for Fabled users, as it is not something one can earn. You either have what it takes to become Fabled, or you don't."

Dei frowned, 'That can't be right… this seems like it's listing fabled as the absolute highest rank ever. What the hell are Legendary and Mythic?'

"Legendary grade is spoken of only in whispers, and only distantly so. They arise in strenuous times, growing to meet impossible challenges arrayed before them. They are not heroes of old, they are heroes of myth. They stand tall against corrupt Gods, pulling them down from the sky to slay them on the mortal plane. Legendary grade users, similar to those of Fabled grade, do not earn such rewards from simple effort. They are genius once-in-a-millenia prodigies born to fight terrible foes with the right spark to do so."

'Now this is just ridiculous. They describe Legendary as someone of myth? There's literally a MYTHICAL grade.'

"Mythical grade is only known from the work of what happens when a pantheon of crafting Gods get together to spend eternity working towards a single goal, forming something that should never have been. Mythic grade items are those of world-shattering power, and sought after by all. Ultimately, they always end up destroyed as vying forces pull them to pieces. This also implies that Mythic grade Classes, Professions, and affinities can be earned, but there are no listed records of these as a possibility. It requires effort and time on a godly scale, and we know that Gods leave behind their Classes, Professions, and affinities when they ascend. Mythic grade will likely forever remain only a theoretical possibility."

Dei wanted to laugh at the last line, glancing once more at his Mythic grade Profession he got for being born.

'Well, for scaring the pants off the System. Po-tay-toh po-tah-toh.'

This all made him realize something though. The presence of the demon within quarantine almost definitely raised the danger of living, granting something of an invisible bonus to all life on Avium. Dei wasn't even the first Mythic grade person Aloran had met, thinking back to what his old friendly God had told him when Dei said he had a Mythic Profession.

"...this is the fourth time I've ever encountered one"

Four. Aloran had met four people that fell into a grade considered only a theory outside of quarantine.

Dei wanted to enjoy some peace in the city for a bit, but…

'Oh my God, I have to tell them about my Profession. Not to mention my Class! I'm sure I'll get something that'll blow their cocks clean off. Or was it socks? Even if the System can't measure my combat prowess outside of its domain, it can SEE my Achievements. That'll give it something to measure me by, because I've KILLED a MOTHER. There is NO way I'm getting anything but Mythic options. At least one. Please?' He thought, silently praying to the System.

'Not only that, but I do wonder… how many battle hungry recruits would join the fight against the demon, if it was found that impossible grades were achievable within quarantine? Sure, they'd have to live there for the rest of their lives… but they'd live as immortal, all powerful beings. It's in the interest of the entire quarantine to spread this information around, AND I get to be listed in history books for all time.'

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His giddy musings were cut off by the food arriving, or at least a portion of it. Plate after plate that'd floated behind her landed on their table. "These are the appetizers of all four categories. If you can get through em, we'll bring out the next course shortly," the waitress said with a smile.

Dei finally realized just how much they'd ordered, as the appetizers took up all the space on the table. He suddenly felt quite distressed, as the kitchen was likely working overtime to get everything out.

The waitress glanced at him and laughed, "Never seen this many different foods at once? You really must be new to the city."

"Er… no ma'am. Well, that too, but I feel bad for ordering all of this without giving the restaurant a heads up."

"Hm? Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Our chefs are all past their second evolutions, and can handle this easily. As long as you aren't getting custom orders in large quantities, they won't struggle with the work load."

Dei relaxed slightly, remembering he was in a magical city, with magic chefs. "Thank you. Was there anything for my Flesh Trap friend back there?"

The waitress nodded, "Those four plates of beast meat over there are theirs. They're bloody, but infused with magic to make them more flavorful."

Dei thanked her, and felt Perumah start burrowing through his body to his other arm, the roots rapidly breaking through parts of his skin then diving below as she reached from his left arm to his right, where she could more easily access the meals meant for her.

The waitress took a step back at the sight, "Er… are you okay?" she asked, seeing only part of the roots visibly, but watching the squirm of his leather clothing indicating it hadn't simply stopped at his arm.

"Hm? Yea, it's fine. The top layer of my skin is like a force field so it can't really feel pain," Dei partially told the truth, not revealing that Perumah was not considerate enough to stay in the Soul Strength layer, occasionally diving deeper into his flesh. The pain wasn't bad at all though, so he didn't really care.

Lifting his arm closer to the meals Perumah was trying to reach, she easily speared them with her roots as the waitress seemed to look at them curiously, before saying "Alright, well if there's anything else you need feel free to wave me over," and walking away.

Iten had sat patiently through the entire ordeal, but he was watching Perumah eat as well with rapt attention.

'Huh, I thought they would've been far more uncomfortable, but I suppose in a city like this, odd sights are common.'

"This is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted," Perumah said into his mind.

He raised his eyebrows and dug in as well.

* * *

He had to agree with Perumah, it was delicious. Easily the best meal he'd ever had, and he was only through the appetizers.

Iten didn't seem to be hungry, content to watch him and gauge his reaction to everything. At least until Dei directly told him to eat something because it was making him feel bad.

Iten slowly ate at a single dish, and Dei shrugged. 'As long as he's eating too.'

He burned through a lot of calories regularly, and required a monumental amount of food perpetually, especially after his time as a giant. His hunger was partially lessened because his spirit half was able to sustain itself on soul mana, but it wasn't enough to really get rid of that feeling. He did still need to eat a lot.

That in mind, Dei had no trouble putting down the thirty or something appetizers, taking the time to savor the different flavors and compare the three different styles of food made for his three different pallets.

* * *

Iten seemed to be far more at ease with him after the meal, going as far as to show a slight smile, likely amused at how much he'd eaten.

'Well, if I can store the mass of a kaiju in my spirit, who's to say I can't store enough food to sustain that mass there as well?'

The different flavor profiles were certainly something. The mammalian palette was something he was already familiar with, as it resembled a lot of surface-based plants and animals. Things he'd eaten in his previous life as well.

The under-earth palette brought him back to some old memories of the short time he'd spent with his Avium family as a baby. The plants were hearty and tough, the meat was gamey and even tougher, but it scratched something in his mind that he hadn't known was there. Under-earth was absolutely his favorite of the three palettes.

The Spiritual palette was interesting and exotic, and he would eat it again, but maybe not as much as under-earth. It had a very light and airy taste, with concepts baked into every scrap of it. Spirits didn't actually need physical food, so the food made for them was mostly intangible as well, enchanted even. Except, instead of serving a function, they were enchanted with flavor. An odd experience.

It was interesting to see that there were plants and animals that held spiritual concepts, and when Dei asked about it, he was informed that some things could be pulled from the Spirit Realm if it was infused into materials.

"I assure you, we are not feeding you Union meat," Iten told him, slightly flustered.

Dei laughed, "I'd be fine if you did. Unions aren't a uniform species. We're just what happens when a physical being aligns itself with spirits, or a spiritual being aligns itself with physical. I'm closer to a Gem Dweller Human than I am to a Spirit, as that's what I was born as. Now, if you tried feeding me that, you'd have a berserker on your hands, but I'm sure that isn't even in the options."

Iten nodded vehemently, not even willing to entertain the idea of eating one of the Sapient Races.

* * *

After relaxing in the restaurant for a while, he was quite interested in what else the city had to offer. It was still night time, but everything was alive. Iten handed him a bag of money so he wouldn't have to constantly ask to buy something, and Dei went wild, trying all sorts of street food and other things.

Trying sugar again was a novel experience, because he found that he didn't really like it anymore. Leven hadn't had the biggest sweet tooth, but he'd enjoyed dessert just as everyone else had. The restaurant had clued him into this as well, because he hadn't been a big fan of the mammalian or spirit desserts, but the under-earth one had been delicious. The under-earth one, however, had a much tamer taste, mostly based on natural fruity sweeteners than any sort of concentrated cane sugar.

After walking around for a short period though, he tilted his head to the side when he felt something… odd. Natural, and familiar, but not something he'd ever thought to really experience again.

A [Call for Help].

Somewhere far to his right, he felt the signal, and wasted no time blurring off into the distance. He watched Iten's face as he left, and the man couldn't even react in time before Dei was gone.

He activated [Good Samaritan] as well, and found that people looked away from him more often. He'd suspected this for a long time since reading a particular section of the description.

[…When committing an act out of the goodness of your heart in a way that is more detrimental to you than it is beneficial, gain the ability to make either your face or all your actions obscured.

Become more difficult to trace the higher leveled it is…]

It worked on more than just tracking marks. It was a bona-fide sneaky Skill, but it only worked when he was doing good.

Right now, Dei didn't actually benefit from following this call, and it interrupted his night in the form of a mild annoyance so… Good Samaritan activated, no problem.

In seconds, he was found himself in a back alley some four blocks away, watching as a twenty five year old looking man cornered some fifteen year old boy.

The boy looked desperate and ragged, wearing tattered clothes and looking around wildly, while the man was well-dressed and held a knife.

His Call said, in no uncertain terms, which was asking for help.

"Sorry to intrude upon your meeting, may I have a word please?" Dei said politely.

The older man whipped around with a scowl, which morphed into a face of neutrality in the span of a second when he saw how tall Dei was. Dei felt an Identify hit him, and he grabbed it, shattering the Skill.

The man winced, and took a step back. "There ain't a problem here, sir. Just me and my son having a little dispute."

'Okay, you do not look old enough to be that kid's dad but whatever.'

Surprisingly though, the victims face changed as well, regarding Dei with suspicion as he said "Yea, it's nothing a stranger needs to get involved in."

Dei's eyebrows rose at him defending the assailant, but he was sure other things were at play now.

He didn't actually have the tact to handle this correctly though, especially not since the call was squashed the moment Dei appeared. Instead, he just said "I'm being honest here. I have a Skill that tells me when someone needs help, and you needed help. I don't care what happens now, or if you want this guy to face justice or whatever, but you're both free to leave if you actually aren't going to ask for help."

The boy's face hardened, "I'll be fine."

Dei was at a loss as for what to do now. He recognized that if he got involved, he could very well make it worse. After all, gangs were a thing, and if he brought this criminal to justice on the kid's behalf, the kid may very well suffer an even worse fate. And if he turned the guy in, he didn't actually have any proof.

True, the city might still persecute the guy just cause Dei said so, but it would feel insanely scummy and circumnavigate the law in general on Dei's say so.

Not having any real good options, Dei just shrugged and said "Alright, well, in that case, I won't stop both of you from leaving. Just… kid, try not to get cornered in an alley next time?"

The boy blushed slightly, but nodded, and Dei moved aside to let them both leave.

'Okay, Kindness directs my Call for Help and where it goes. Is it trying to teach me something? Or help me get back in tune with how to handle social situations? Is it trying to tell me that "not every problem has a solution," or something along those lines.'

After pausing for a moment, he scoffed at his own thought process.

'No. This isn't a lesson. This is how my Skill used to work, before I became all about functionality. No wonder it's stagnated for so long. I used to do good just for doing good, but there isn't much space for that anymore. Even if I can't root the problem out at the source like a Justice user probably would, I DID still just stop a kid from getting gutted. He might learn to be more careful where he goes next time, or he might not. That's not my problem though. No, I was just here to bail him out, and let him handle the rest of his life.

'You know? I wouldn't mind getting a few calls for help in this city before I leave. It would be good to help people again in a simple way. Not by doing some mind-bendingly difficult task, just by being in the right place at the right time.'

He quickly looked over the few notifications he'd gotten since the last time he checked.

[Class Leveled Up: Watchful Slaughterer (Level 188) -> (Level 200)]

[Stats Gained: +12 Physical, +6 Mental, +6 Spiritual, +6 Magical]

'Not even a single Skill level in Call for Help…'

He chuckled. He knew he wasn't doing anything wrong with it. This was simply how fast normal people leveled their Skills, in normal situations.

Whistling a tune, he met back up with a panicked Iten, getting ready to start visiting some of the places on his bucket list.

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