Anime Multiverse: Building a Pantheon from Scratch

Coming from a capitalist family, Tsubakihara Mira understood the concept of investment very well. Yet, to her, Luo Shu's so-called "investment" felt more like a clever excuse. Sure, there was a chance to gain something from her abilities, but she suspected that what Luo Shu truly sought wasn't limited to just that.

After casting a glance at Luo Shu, Mira picked up the "Observer's Dust" that had appeared on the table. She paused for a moment, and a glass of water materialized in her hand. When it came to providing everyday items, the base's system was like a magical utility bot—able to produce nearly anything useful in modern life, as long as it didn't exceed the value of 1 point.

Understanding this, Luo Shu wasn't at all surprised by Mira conjuring a glass. By then, Mira had already poured the dust into the cup and, under Luo Shu's watchful eyes, swirled the liquid before closing her eyes and downing it in one gulp—like bitter herbal medicine.

From his seat across the table, Luo Shu clearly saw Mira's throat shift as she swallowed. After waiting about five or six seconds, he asked, "How do you feel?"

Mira frowned slightly, looking uncomfortable. "Not much of a difference… Hmm, maybe I need something appropriate to trigger it."

Hearing this, Luo Shu immediately spent 300 points from the system and exchanged them for a fake "Heart of the Demon." He placed the ring in front of Mira. "Try this."

"'Heart of the Demon'?" Mira gave him a puzzled look before picking up the ring and narrowing her eyes to examine it. A moment later, she muttered, "Strange… I feel like if I had enough time and materials, I could actually recreate this thing…"

That realization surprised Mira—yet the intuition was clear and overwhelming. She could almost see what kind of materials would be needed to produce the Heart of the Demon.

"10ml of diluted succubus blood," "3-carat ruby," "30 grams of mercury"… Mira, who had mentally read off the ingredients and even the quantities, slowly raised her head and looked blankly at Luo Shu. "I think… I might not have a home anymore."

In that moment, Mira realized how dangerous her newfound abilities were to her family's business, and more importantly, to her position within the family. Even though she trusted her relatives, she trusted their sense for profit even more. And in this world, family bonds were the one thing she absolutely couldn't afford to gamble on.

If they learned that she could replicate deep abyssal artifacts like the Heart of the Demon, not even her beloved grandfather might be able to shield her from the family's thirst for profit.

When she said she might "not have a home anymore," Luo Shu blinked in confusion before quickly realizing what was weighing on her mind. It was the first time he had encountered this sort of situation, so he struggled for words, repeating the same clumsy reassurance: "As long as you keep things confidential, it should be fine…"

Even he didn't believe that was convincing, so he quickly added, "Actually, that ring isn't the real Heart of the Demon. It's a replica I made—it costs only about one two-hundredth of the original's value and has severely degraded effects. So your concerns… probably won't materialize. At least, not yet."

That part was true—the system's internal pricing backed him up. There was a huge difference in the capabilities of an alchemist who could produce elite artifacts and one who could only make crude imitations.

So, while Mira's concerns were still valid, the risk wasn't nearly as extreme as she had imagined.

"A replica?" Mira raised her eyebrows and carefully examined the ring again. Based on the materials, she reverse-engineered its properties and said in surprise, "It only works on charm-type entities, and it can only charm a single person. The command issued can only be one instruction, it lasts five minutes, and it's ineffective on mentally strong or highly resistant individuals… Yep, definitely degraded."

Having personally come into contact with the real Heart of the Demon the day before, Mira could instantly feel the difference. The original was still beyond her newly awakened powers to resist—but the replica? She felt like she could crush its influence with her willpower at any time. In fact, her spiritual strength seemed to still be rising rapidly—it hadn't even stabilized yet.

Realizing this, Mira finally let out a sigh of relief. "Looks like I overreacted."

While she was analyzing the ring, Luo Shu noticed faint bluish patterns surfacing in her pupils—a phenomenon that seemed to be the visible activation of her lower-tier "Analysis" ability. He glanced at the system's notifications:

[Follower 'Tsubakihara Mira' has acquired the common ability 'Observation'.]

[Follower 'Tsubakihara Mira' now has a supplemented aptitude. With the common skills 'Observation,' 'Enhanced Comprehension,' and 'Dexterous Hands,' a stable configuration has been formed. Excellent-tier skill 'Artifact Creation' acquired.]

Seeing that, Luo Shu immediately understood Mira's current status. He deduced that she had probably just ascended her classification.

Judging by the system's metrics from yesterday—when he acquired three excellent-tier skills and moved his own individual rank up to "Excellent"—Mira was now most likely at the "Common" rank. Of course, that didn't mean an average civilian's "Common," but the entry point into the world of supernatural ability users—a far superior benchmark.

'So, three common-tier skills can combine into one excellent skill… but three elite-tier skills like "Alchemy" remain elite even when combined. Is that because the elite class is special? Some kind of next-stage evolution of life?'

'And my three excellent-tier skills didn't merge into something stronger because they lacked synergy?'

As he thought this over, Mira removed the ring and gently placed it back on the table. "Are you planning to turn this fake over to SDS?"

Luo Shu shook his head. "No. Chief Tachibana didn't ask for it to be submitted. She gave it to me for safekeeping and use. This replica is just to satisfy inspection."

"To let you keep and use it?" Mira looked puzzled for a moment, then suddenly connected the dots and said knowingly, "So they're keeping the abyssal artifact inside SDS, huh? Seems like Chief Tachibana is trying to help her friend rise within Zeus Industries."

When it came to internal politics at massive arms conglomerates, Luo Shu preferred to just listen and take notes. If he ever got dragged into one of their power struggles, he'd probably fake his death and run—or maybe even switch sides and join Mira's entourage.

After all, the only reason he joined SDS in the first place was to help him adjust to this strange new world. He hadn't signed up to fight and bleed for anyone else's ambition. Sure, that made him a bit of an opportunist, but working didn't mean he was offering up his life. His wasn't that cheap.

So, his role in SDS would remain exactly as he intended: a "high-functioning slacker," a "normal guy among elites."

And for that label, a powerful abyssal artifact was unnecessary. The degraded version of the Heart of the Demon was just right.

"Well? Do you think this thing can fool Zeus Industries' research team?"

Although Mira had only recently awakened her powers, Luo Shu didn't underestimate what her skills could do. So naturally, he turned to the club's newly minted "Artifact Expert" for her assessment.

Mira thought for a moment.

Though she wasn't responsible for artifact research in her family, her aunt—who was in charge of that division—had taught her enough basic knowledge to avoid mishandling dangerous artifacts.

Thanks to that, Mira's understanding of abyssal artifacts already surpassed anyone else in the Astronomy Club.

"From what I know, current technology can't fully analyze the composition of abyssal artifacts. Especially with powerful ones—even if they extract a lot of data, they never believe what they've got is the full picture."

"So, unless something unexpected happens, the specialists at Zeus Industries probably won't notice anything wrong. And even if they do, they'll just assume that this is the artifact's true form."

"So, in other words… it's safe?"

Luo Shu grinned, picked up the replica from the table, lightly tossed it into the air, and caught it again. "Then that makes things simple."