Watching the rectangle piece of jade making its way over, Hiro didn't react.
When it reached within arms reach of Hiro, the jade paused as though it had encountered a viscous swamp.
Hiro opened his mouth to speak, causing Bella and her mother to hear the all-encompassing chanting voice once again.
"What's the meaning of this?"
The thin mist obscured Hiro's face, and they couldn't tell if he was talking to them or if the voice was produced through other means.
However, that wasn't important at the moment, as any means of communication proved better than no communication at all.
As for Hiro, although he asked this question, his mind was on something else.
He heard a chime in his mind as a blue transparent window appeared with a line of words.
[Notice: You've acquired a 'Key' to a pocket dimension.]
[Notice: You've completed a hidden mission, "Planewalker."
Reward 1: A set of coordinates.
Reward 2: Infinite Sword Matrix. (universal spell)]
…
As a string of complicated numbers and letters entered Hiro's mind, Bella's father braced himself to speak.
"This is a show of my sincerity; our family only has two of these ancient keys. You can use it to enter the New World by inputting a set of coordinates into the key, and it will open a temporary gate for you.
"Of course, the coordinates you obtain second-hand won't be so valuable because others would have already explored the pocket dimension, and they would only sell the coordinates if the dimension isn't suitable for human habitation.
"I can't give you the coordinates for a pocket dimension in the New World, as these are the foundations of every family and every organization—you can call it a fallback plan if you wish.
However, it would be best if you understood that by obtaining a key, you hold the initiative to explore the New World instead of waiting for someone to invite you on an expedition, where you'll only be a passive party.
"Also, with the key, you can enter and leave whenever and however you want, and you wouldn't have to be afraid that the party leader will leave you behind after using you on an expedition."
…
Bella's father was the enthusiastic and outgoing type, and since he was already pretty nervous, he said a lot.
However, Hiro didn't mind—he liked this type of person who actively provided him with information without him needing to ask.
If not for the current high-priority mission, Hiro might have dropped out of school and spent his time exploring the various pocket dimensions of the New World.
Hm, knowing the system, I'm pretty sure that the set of coordinates is suitable for human colonization. However, I also know that things wouldn't be so easy… Most likely, there will be plenty of danger to settle before I can use the dimension as my backyard.
Wait, what if I lost this key? System, can I selectively bind items to myself?
[Notice: You can spend 10 achievement points to bind the 'Key' to yourself.]
Hiro blinked in wonder and asked again, Can I bind anything to myself if I spend 10 points?
[Notice: Each item differs in value depending on its size, volume, and impact factor if the said item was a treasure or a relic.]
Ah, I knew it wouldn't be so simple.
Hiro didn't hesitate to spend the 10 achievement points to bind the key.
Actually, he was very happy at the moment.
With the initiative in his hands for when to leave the New World if he were to go on an expedition, he didn't need to be so stressed about his points and whether he'd have sufficient synchronization time or not.
His current points are sufficient for five days of synchronization time if he wants to leave himself a buffer of 240 points for emergencies.
Bella and her family watched with amazement as the jade piece disappeared into motes of light right under their noses.
Bella's eyes were sparkling. As for her parents; her father was barely maintaining his composure from the excitement in his heart while her mother didn't react much.
Although she knew of her husband's affairs and understood a little about the Paranormal Society, she only had a surface understanding of it.
As he felt greatly satisfied with the man's sincerity, Hiro asked for his name.
The man hurriedly introduced himself, "My name is Theo, this is my wife Sheba, and that's our daughter, Bella."
He didn't only introduce himself, he also introduced his family as a gesture of goodwill.
Hiro nodded and his voice echoed in the underground parking lot, "Babylon."
"Alright, alright… So, are you willing to go on an expedition with my team? We've already formed an alliance with a few other families and factions, and the exploration is almost over. However, I'm afraid that…"
Hiro's voice interrupted him, "You're afraid they'll stab you in the back for short-term profit."
Theo didn't deny it, and he smiled. "That's right, I really don't trust those bastards—not one bit."
Hiro was curious, "Aren't you afraid that someone will target your family while you're out on the expedition?"
Theo was a little surprised.
"Ah, you probably don't have any family members or loved ones… Actually, exploring the New World could be seen as a burden carried by humans collectively. It's something the Big Three advocate for, and anyone who crosses the bottom line to hinder the exploration is simply asking for death.
"Although all is fair in love and war, that's limited to the lawless New World, so no one will touch your relatives if you're risking your life on the other side for the betterment of humanity."
A scoff was heard echoing all around.
In Hiro's opinion, this is nothing more than sheer hypocrisy. However, no matter how hypocritical this seems, even though everyone knows it in their hearts, having a bottom line is still better than having nothing at all.
Even if that bottom line is blurry, even if it was just an illusion—as long as people believed it to exist, it existed.
Hiro was impatient, so he told Theo a password. This password will be used to make it easier to identify one another on the PARA app.
Hiro decided to open a private thread on the app and keep it active 24/7, and only those with the password could enter the thread to contact him actively.
Theo tried to advise Hiro against keeping his account active to prevent tracking, tracing, and hacking attempts from hostile Paranormals.
However, Hiro simply refused and said that everything would be fine.
Helpless, Theo could only give up on convincing Hiro and say goodbye.
Watching them leaving the underground parking lot, Hiro finally had the chance to immerse himself in the new spell: Infinite Sword Matrix.
…
A while later, he opened his eyes in shock.
Although he had his guess about the universal prefix, he was still surprised by the limits of its applications.
One can use any sort of energy with the consciousness as a catalyst to create flying swords, but the quality of these swords still depends on the energy used.
For example, if he used his current Origin Soul Spirit Qi to create the swords, their destructive capabilities would surpass that of his Sorcerer's elemental-attributed spiritual energy.
Also, it was called "Infinite" because each sword had a limit as to how much energy it could contain, though in terms of volume, not density or quantity.
This drawback is compensated for by the flexibility of continuously creating more swords as long as the consciousness and reserves of energy can handle the strain.
However, both Hiro's High Sorcerer and Origin Soul characters had their respective preset abilities in accordance with the game.
Even if he learned the Infinite Sword Matrix, those characters can't use it—not in-game nor in real life.
Hiro could only rely on their high realm and comprehension abilities to learn the spells for his real body to use, but nothing more.
Similarly, although Hiro could gain inspiration from the games he played, he couldn't replicate those abilities in real life with his main body.
For example, he used the Legend of Babylon's lore to increase his understanding of the Sorcerer's Guide to the Five Elements.
After he learned the Infinite Sword Matrix with the help of his current synchronization, Hiro stepped out and disappeared.
He silently returned to his mansion, intending to grind the Legend of Babylon with the increased time dilation feature.
Since the following day was a Sunday, Hiro decided to stick to his earlier commitment and spend the entire day grinding his levels in the game.
Although he was tempted to go searching for Natali to accept a new interpersonal mission or use the key to enter the New World, he still beat down his impatience and decided to put the long-term goal in mind.
Many of his future plans relied on the key step of completing the Legend of Babylon's storyline.
His company's first VR game, the Fantasy Crystal, and his future as a Paranormal.
Thus, for the entire day on Sunday, other than eating and three hours of workout in the indoor gym facilities, Hiro spent the day locked up in his study.
Of course, everyone else simply assumed that he was busy handling his company's matters and overworking himself to the bone.