Infinite Potential System

"I applaud your efforts and wish you luck." Duon replied, though he didn't seem enthusiastic. It was more like the boy was planning out William's funeral.

For some reason, Duon's nonchalant attitude towards his resolution made William feel angry. He looked at the Cultivator who even his Cultivation Talent couldn't appraise, "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be in the Ascended Realms or wherever?"

"Didn't I tell you not to ask what you shouldn't? Why are you so obsessed with me?" Duon weaved Time Magic to send William back to the Providence Zone, but William didn't give up and resisted with his own Time Mana, reducing the speed at which he was sent backwards.

The moment Duon's Time Spell ended, William opened a portal to the boy's underground location, but another portal was open, and the boy was gone.

Since it was a simulation, William chose to take a risk and follow Duon through the portal. His vision blurred greatly, and cracks appeared in the corners of his vision as the simulation experienced glitch-like behavior.

-Warning. Host has left the boundaries of the simulation. Return within five minutes or the simulation will end prematurely.

The tunnel was much longer than the normal portal, traveling for hundreds of meters before the exit appeared. The portal closed behind William, sealing his return route, so he had no choice but to continue. Even if he wanted to listen to the System, it was too late.

On the other end of the portal, William wound up in another dimly-lit room somewhere underground. He could sense that there were thousands of powerful Magical Beasts in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm outside, but the Navigation Talent didn't recognize his environment at all.

Duon was silently Cultivating in the center of the room, having seemingly forgotten about William already.

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"Why did you run away?" William asked.

"Huh?" Duon opened his eyes and looked at William with unconcealed shock. "How did you..."

He didn't continue, but Duon's eyes switched from a golden-brown to pure silver as he looked at William from head to toe intently. His eyes seemed to peer into William's soul, where Duon discovered the reason for William's repeated surprises.

"You're just a reformed consciousness... who's helping you?" Duon looked at William warily, as if the boy had become a threat to his very existence. If William could resist his Superior Time Reversal and even follow him here... William could destroy everything he had worked for.

-I wouldn't push him further if I were you.

But System, isn't this the answer I was looking for? Shouldn't this be related? I need to know what he was doing! If he can reverse time to such an extent, why didn't he stop the World Cores from being absorbed?

Why bother?

-Sigh. If you want your answer, ask for a divination. He won't help you otherwise.

William was still angry at Duon for not saving the dragons, but he did as the System asked anyway.

"I'll leave, but I want a divination." he said.

Duon was about to shame William for being a hypocrite and not answering his question, but he sensed something peculiar when William made the brief pause.

He was having a mental conversation, but with who? Why would he want a divination now? Is this a trap? He scanned the environment for anything that could damage his body, but there was nothing in this World that could so much as scratch his clothing. He was perfectly safe.

"Alright." Duon said simply as he closed his eyes.

A soft pink light flooded the room as Mana of an unknown Element appeared. A fraction of a second later, the pink was turned magenta by a second Element that William wasn't familiar with. Duon's eyes turned silver once more as he opened his palms to the sky and looked up.

His mouth opened slightly, black and white text flowing forth and imprinting into all four walls of the room. When all the text was in place and Duon's mouth closed, he lowered his head and looked at William.

"A man with heart collecting more, a boy is not prepared for what's in store.

His power grows with what he earns, but how many bridges will he burn?

A fate beyond what I have seen, his only hope lies with Celestine..." Duon spat out a mouthful of blood and his eyes returned to their normal color.

Great, more riddles. How is this supposed to help me, System? William complained inwardly.

-I'm sure it has meaning.

Do you even know?

-Nope.

Then how would you know the divination would help me?

-I just did.

...

Duon coughed a few more times while grasping his hands on his knees for stability. After a few uneasy breaths, he raised his head to speak, "Y-You..."

But he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before his eyes turned silver once more. Instead of his usual voice, it was replaced by the Language of the Elements.

"ʄშ꩜ ɮⳜꝒꝒ ᄂⳜЯ!"

The magenta light intensified, while the text covered William's body from head to toe. He struggled to break free, but the text was too strong and bound him like titanium chains to a child. No matter how much physical strength William used, it was completely useless.

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The text constricted, squeezing the air out of William's lungs and crushing his bones. The Recovery Talent kicked in, but even that couldn't keep up with the damage. He channeled Life Mana to support his recovery, but it still wasn't enough.

System, it's a simulation, can I really die here?! William shouted in his mind.

-No, but without a consciousness you will basically be an empty husk.

So basically yes. Fuck! William regretted following Duon through the portal, as well as listening to the System. If he hadn't asked for a divination, he wouldn't have gone through this.

-Host left the boundaries of the simulation for too long. Ending simulation...

The System notification gave William a spark of hope. All he had to do was survive long enough for the simulation to pull him away. He looked at Duon, whose body had just recovered.

"I'm leaving now, as promised. Where can I find you in the future?" he asked.

Duon looked at William's slowly fading body and understood something. After suffering such a setback from what was supposed to be a simple divination, Duon realized that William wasn't nearly as simple as he thought he was.

"Celestine, huh? Interesting fellow... interesting indeed..." he muttered to himself as he gathered Time Mana from the surroundings and compressed it thousands of times until it was many times denser than William's Elemental Spheres attached to his Artifact Belt.

With a single fluid motion, Duon pointed forward with his finger and shot out the compressed Time Mana, piercing William's skull in an instant but causing no damage. The compressed Mana traveled to William's mind, hiding in an obscure corner and concealing its aura entirely.

Even if William wanted to find the Mana, he wouldn't be able to do so without the System's help. As William's body faded into nothingness, Duon smiled and sat cross-legged once more to Cultivate.

"Not where, but when. We'll surely meet again, young William."