Chapter 861 – Polaris (Patreon)

After leaving a few of his mental pockets in charge of Kalpavriksha’s training, Percy moved one of his spare soul clones to a different planet, eager to begin ticking milestones off his checklist while he still had time.

Even if the sapling was discovered immediately, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, since the natives of the greater spring had every incentive not to damage it. That said, the more prizes Percy managed to claim and the stronger he became by the time that happened, the more control he would have over the situation.

His current goal was to acquire his fifth mental-type Decree from yet another greater spring called Polaris. It wasn’t necessarily the most impactful move on Percy’s agenda, but he had prioritized it because he expected to need only a few days to complete it. He knew exactly where he had to go and what he needed to do.

That didn’t mean it would be easy. Just that it wouldn’t eat up too much time, one way or another. If he failed, he’d have to abort the mission and try again some other time, after the natives of the target world had forgotten about the intrusion.

Percy roughly estimated where the planet’s north pole was based on the density of souls in the area and possessed an Orange beast he hoped belonged to the right species.

‘Bipedal and hairy,’ he summarized upon scanning his host. ‘We never actually saw the creatures before, but this one does look like the description. Either way, it fits our requirements.’

He wanted to complete the mission using a beast host, to avoid any unnecessary interactions with the natives. A higher grade would have allowed the creature to endure Micky’s spiritual blood more easily, but they also needed their host to be small enough to fit within the ice construct.

Due to those limitations, they’d decided to pick a type of furry ape that lived in cold climates. Its higher resistance to low temperatures would help, as would its bipedal build. The natives of Polaris called them “yetis”, though the one Percy had possessed was just an adolescent. Its breath escaped in white puffs, and ice clung to the fur around its mouth.

Percy guessed that the creatures were on the verge of shedding their beast affinity and evolving into demi-humans. The fact that they had learned to stand on two legs and developed opposable thumbs was evidence enough that they were on the right track, though the one he’d possessed still had a beast core and was no smarter than a brick.

Before channelling any spiritual blood through the cord, Percy used his phantom mana to craft a thin bodysuit for the creature, drawing lots of heating enchantments for the yeti’s comfort. The young ape complained through their connection upon feeling the suffocating warmth encroaching on its body, though Percy knew that the creature would be glad to have those enchantments soon enough.

Once the ape was fully clothed, Percy began sending it Micky’s frigid mana and creating an even larger construct around it. He left a few narrow slits open at the yeti’s nostrils so that it could breathe, though he was fully prepared to supply it with air mana from Remior if it couldn’t inhale enough oxygen through the gaps.

Despite its thick fur, its familiarity with cold environments, and the dense layer of heating runes that it had complained about just moments earlier, the young yeti couldn’t help but shiver as the midnight blue mana enveloped its body. Percy had to reinforce the creature with his willpower to keep it from freezing solid. The ape’s discomfort came through the cord clearly enough to make Percy wince.

The next few days were bound to be quite unpleasant for the yeti, but it couldn’t be helped. Percy needed to control a humanoid sentry from within, disguising it as a Polarian – one of the pale, otter-like sapients of the planet – to gain access to the Decree’s acquisition zone.

Percy could have controlled the construct remotely, but he was afraid that the harsh weather at his destination would interfere with the connection. Not to mention that his host would need to be physically present when they met the Decree’s requirements.

The sentry wouldn’t be very strong by itself, but Percy’s domains were powerful and adaptable enough for him to replicate the skillset of a demigod with a gravity affinity reasonably well. He could even tweak the yeti’s mana with his seals, to make it look like a Clear mage.

‘The only problem is that the guards might recognize all of their planet’s demigods,’ Micky warned as they went over the plan for the third time.

‘That’s unlikely,’ Percy replied with a shrug. ‘It’s a greater spring with over fifty thousand demigods. Nobody’s going to know everyone. And we’ve already got identification covered.’

They had to fly south for a couple of hours to reach their destination, though it was thankfully not located very far from the north pole in the first place. Percy had previously marked its exact location with his Star Atlas. The twice-upgraded mindset still possessed all the functions of its original version.

The facility was a vast snowy plain, sparsely dotted with large metallic structures: laboratories, residential areas, and treasuries. Frost coated the sleek walls, and wind-blown snow had piled against their bases. Percy had already infiltrated most of those places during his previous trips to the planet, so he was quite familiar with the technology of the natives.

It was only the mental-type Decree itself that he’d refrained from claiming, as it was quite heavily guarded, and he had decided to prepare himself better before undertaking the mission.

Once his disguise was ready, he walked toward a fenced-off area, vast enough to surround an entire mountain. He could already see the enormous cyclone raging in its centre. It was magically rooted to a single spot, with an ocean of dark clouds spiralling above it. Percy could feel and hear the howling gales from over a dozen kilometres away. Each gust swept loose snow across his path, filling the footprints behind him.

The snow rhythmically crunched beneath the construct’s fake feet until it reached a tall gate. Percy could have flown over the fence, as it was little more than a huge lump of mundane metal, but that would have only drawn unwanted attention from the authorities. The entire facility was under the influence of a second Decree – an infrastructure-type that would detect any suspicious movements and alert the local deities. That was the main reason for the charade.

Rather than doing anything stupid, Percy approached the guards stationed on either side of the gate while pulling a forged identification badge from his spatial seal.

“H-Halt!” the guard on Percy’s left commanded, sounding startled.

He had clearly been asleep until mere moments earlier, which was why Percy had deliberately made so much noise while approaching. The second guard hadn’t noticed Percy at all, but his partner’s shout woke him up as well. The first guard blinked hard, his whiskers twitching as his partner hurried to straighten up.

Percy paused, obeying the guard’s instructions. He could easily overpower both of the natives since they were only Whites, but he wouldn’t be allowed to remain inside the cyclone long enough to claim the Decree if he didn’t follow the rules. Stronger mages would arrive to stop him if he raised too much of a commotion.

“Apologies, sir, but I don’t recognize you. Can you please state your full name, grade, and affinity, as well as your reason for coming here?”

“Lewulei Fermekian. Clear. Gravity,” Percy said, giving the guard a random name that he knew would pass on Polaris, while tossing him his badge. “I’m here to claim Legba’s Decree, obviously.”

The guard tapped a few times on an enchanted slab hanging off the fence, seemingly typing the demigod’s information into some sort of magical ledger. Next, he scrutinized the badge for a few seconds. Percy kept the sentry still, resisting the urge to ask whether there was a problem. The guard finally handed the badge back. It was just their Divine Order’s sigil carved into an emerald, but Percy had spent a lot of time getting the details right.

“I’m surprised to see anyone still interested in this Decree,” the guard explained. “Heilik, when was the last time anyone requested to enter the cyclone?”

“Sixty-something years ago?” the other guard replied, sounding unsure.

“You sure you want this one?” the first guard asked, turning back to face the fake demigod. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that there are better options out there. Safer too.”

“I appreciate your concern, but it’s fine,” Percy insisted. “I know what I’m signing up for.”

“As you wish.” The guard shrugged, pulling a lever that caused the gate’s mechanism to shift.

The gate barely moved a couple of centimetres before catching on something. Sighing, the guard channelled a wave of willpower through the structure, shaving several chunks of ice off the hinges and finally allowing the mechanism to do its job. Ice dropped into the snow as the gate creaked open.

“Sorry about that. Like my partner said, it’s been a while since we last let anyone through.”

“No worries,” Percy said, casually strolling through the opening. “I also apologize for troubling you.”

The fraudulent information would inevitably get flagged by the system a couple of weeks later, when the natives’ database next underwent maintenance, but Percy would be long gone by then. He’d timed his arrival to give himself the widest window possible for this mission.

The Polarians would eventually wonder who their strange visitor really was, but they were highly unlikely to suspect outside interference or employ any karmic trackers for something this minor. Especially over a Decree that very few people were interested in.

Percy was doing Legba a favour, really. He was about to give the titan’s most prized spell a brand-new purpose.