Chapter 1686 Absence of Binding Contracts?

"Damn. My spells didn't make it."

Eren sighed as he looked at the spectral screen in front of him. He had hoped that some of the spells that he was most proficient in would unlock as Skills for him after gaining Menaka's Blessing.

Unfortunately for him, all his hopes were just wishful thinking. Menaka didn't allow him easy access to Skills just because he was a demi-god or the fact that he was the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor Bloodline.

"That goddess… How can I force her to break her neutrality with her own hands?"

Eren smiled before shaking his head. The way he was now, his thoughts were nothing but a daydream. Still, it was something he wanted to do something about.

He knew that forcing Menaka to break her neutrality would harm her divinity. It would also affect the myriad worlds the Mesh existed in. However, if he could pull off something like that, it could give him a crucial advantage over his enemies.

"Hmm. Compared to what I see here, the Spectral Screen generated by ID Stone feels like a shoddy copy."

Eren was amazed by the options found in the Spectral Screen that represented Menaka's Blessing. He could see that the Blessing automatically gained some in-depth personal knowledge about him as soon as it was bestowed. For example, it could decipher that Eren was a half-blood and that he originated from Anfang.

"Hmm? What is this thing here?"

Eren narrowed his eyes on a down-arrow sign that was in front of a peculiar entry in the Spectral Screen. As soon as he focused on the sign, it glowed before changing the Spectral Screen Entirely.

The description related to the options in front of him was displayed on the header of the Spectral Screen.

[ Special Status Perks: Wielder can make use of the Perks associated with the Special Status here. The Perks offer various advantages over the regular Skills. They can be used to buff certain effects associated with various Skills or used as a debuff modifier for the effects associated with opponents' Skills. Perks are bound to the respective Special Statuses. Wielder can only keep one Special Active at any given time.

Available Special Statuses: Elemental Demi-god, Elder Seed, True Inheritor of Elder Ichor's Divine Throne ]

Eren raised his eyebrows in surprise when he looked at the Perks available to him for use in front of each entry available in the particular section. He felt like he had seen something similar to this. It took him a while to understand why these options felt familiar to him.

"Bloody hell… Sansara Sage! He was trying to mimic Menaka's Blessing inside an isolated world. What.. What kind of legendary genius that man is?

Wait… How… How did he find out about Menaka's Blessing? And what did he learn by conducting such an experiment there? Is there anything else about his legacy that I haven't understood as of now?"

The cogs in Eren's head started churning as he connected the dots. The more he thought, the clearer his understanding about the Sansara Sage became.

"It all makes sense now. Why did he want to get outside Anfang so much? He is probably thinking the same thing I'm thinking– how to make use of Menka's Mesh to one's advantage."

Eren had indeed come across something similar when he had entered Sansara World 1.0 just as a student and graduation aspirant. He had to say that Sansara Sage was way ahead of his time even when he was limited by his circumstances in Anfang.

Eren ignored the Perks associated with the Special Statuses for the time being and moved on. Since he had already experienced using Perks in the past, he didn't feel like he would find them difficult while using Menaka's Blessing.

[ Tantra: Unavailable ]

Next, Eren focused his attention onto a particular entry in the Spectral Screen. This was the entry he wanted to see active the most. However, he was helpless to change anything about it since he did not have the necessary requirement to unlock it.

'Sticking to the Ranking Technique from Anfang would not help me much here. It can't even be detected in the Spectral Screen officially. And without the entry, I wouldn't be able to apply Skills and Perks related to that particular section.

Should I play along with that Archpriest Jivem some more and get my hands on a Tantra? How could I resume my Ranking Journey without a valid Tantra.'

While thinking on those lines, Eren's attention was drawn to a particular entry, which made him drop the idea of swindling Jivem anymore than he already had.

[ Current Affiliations: Ishgaar's Temple (non-restrictive) ]

Eren knew that this particular entry would change if he decided to establish an official connection with Ishgaar' temple. Unlike Anfang, people in Labh Salem didn't need to sign binding contracts with each other to come to a formal arrangement.

The role of binding contracts was replaced by Menaka's Blessing in Labh Salem and every other world the Mesh was active in. Through this particular section, an individual and a particular organization would come to a particular agreement. Menaka's Blessing would act as the intermediary between the two parties, ensuring that the rules of the engagement will be upheld by both sides.

"When I heard that there are no binding contracts in Labh Salem, I celebrated. I was looking forward to coming to such a world where there are no restrictions. I also thought that the absence of the binding contracts would be the second best thing that had happened to me.

But it seems it was a premature celebration.

This thing… it looks even more vicious and dangerous than the repercussions caused by the annulment of the binding contract found in Anfang. I don't know what kind of restrictions will be placed on me by the temple if I were to accept their offer and take a compatible Tantra from them. So it's better to take my time and study this thing for now."