As the day came — the sixty-fourth since he got his System — Lucian quietly wished for an Essence that helped him win against the mountain of paperwork.
Indeed, after coming back to the Cardinal World, Rimuru had handed him a pile of paperwork too thick for him to measure, and then even Sona left.
When Sona was around, he'd made her and her peerage help him, but they had only stayed here for about a month before he dropped them back on Earth.
Now, even Rimuru had left, taking Shizu with her… or rather, it was the opposite.
Shizu needed help with some Otherworlder children who were dying, and after Lucian suggested taking them to the Dwelling of Spirits, she had immediately prepared to leave — only for Rimuru herself to cling to her, insisting she wanted to see the human world.
Rimuru also wanted to become an adventurer and experience "the usual fantasy world tropes."
Thus, it was only Lucian left for all the paperwork.
Well, Shuna sometimes helped, and Shion tried to help too — but it was still far too boring a task for Lucian. He even entertained the thought of creating a new monster with the powers of an office worker.
Alas, when the System rolled him a new Essence, it wasn't one that could help with paperwork… but—
---
{Essence of the Blank}
By taking this Essence, you gain but one benefit:
Your potential becomes limitless. You can learn any discipline or skillset, even if you shouldn't be capable of it, without forgetting and can practice them to mastery, no matter how many you learn. Any abilities you have from other Essences will increase where possible and develop in ways beyond their initial purposes.
---
Surprisingly, it was an Essence unlike any he had drunk before. This one didn't give him any immediate feedback — no surge of energy, no divine epiphany — but something boundless instead. A sense of endless potential.
If before the Essences had been rigid and sealed, this one made them feel like clay — not completely fluid, but soft and malleable.
Thinking about how powerful he might become with it, Lucian smirked.
Before leaving, Rias had asked him how he'd gotten so powerful so suddenly. She'd begged him to show her the way too, since she wanted to grow stronger herself.
Well, he did have a secret — his Essences — but he obviously couldn't tell her that.
During the devils' training in the Cardinal World, Lucian had gotten quite close to Rias. He found her ridiculously hot, while she saw him as some sort of knight in shining armor who would swoop in to save her.
Even though Riser had canceled their engagement for… "unknown reasons," wink wink, she still worried about being politically married off again.
But for now, Lucian had a new toy to play with — the Essence of the Blank.
He wanted to see what it could really do, to test its limits by pushing his other Essences beyond what they were designed for.
And while there was a mountain of paperwork waiting, he decided to put his infinite willpower to use.
With Great Sage and All Seeing Seer working together, he blitzed through the paperwork like a Chinese protagonist cutting through young masters — efficient, emotionless, unstoppable.
---
His first experiment was to extend the Essence of Protection to someone else.
He called for Souei and Shion.
Why those two? Among the Ogres, Souei had telepathy and dream-based powers — ideal for testing resistance to mind interference — while Shion had the lowest resistance to such attacks. Of course, "lowest" was relative; her resistance was still far above most monsters like goblins or orcs.
After informing Shojo — yes, that was what Rimuru had named Shuna and Benimaru's father, the former Ogre chief — they all went to a secluded cave.
"Are we going to fight, Lord Lucian?" Shojo asked curiously.
"Nope," Lucian replied. "I'm just trying some experiments with my powers, so I'll need your help."
As they reached the cave where Veldora had once been sealed, the air shimmered faintly with lingering mana.
"Shion, sit down. Meditative position."
She blinked. "Like this?"
Lucian nodded. "Perfect. Now don't move."
Shion settled down, cross-legged, stilling her fidgeting hands. Lucian placed his hand against her forehead, focusing on drawing out the power of the Essence of Protection.
Hours passed.
He could feel the Essence shifting faintly — like a door creaking but refusing to open.
Shion, despite her impulsive nature, sat obediently in silence.
It wasn't that she'd suddenly become calm — more that her devotion to Lucian made her unusually patient when it came to him.
He remembered the notifications from the Affection Multiplier System that had appeared after naming the ogres:
---
{Shion's Affection Score increased by +40}
{5× Multiplier Applied → +200}
{Current Score: 0 → 200}
{Relationship Type: Stranger → Lord and Savior}
{Threshold: Devotion / Absolute Loyalty}
{Souei's Affection Score increased by +25}
{Total: +125 | Relationship: Stranger → Lord | Threshold: Loyalty}
{Shuna's Affection Score increased by +30}
{Total: +150 | Relationship: Stranger → Lord and Savior | Threshold: Loyalty / Devotion / Love}
{Benimaru's Affection Score increased by +35}
{Total: +175 | Relationship: Stranger → Lord | Threshold: Absolute Loyalty}
{Hakurou's Affection Score increased by +25}
{Total: +125 | Relationship: Stranger → Lord | Threshold: Deep Loyalty}
---
Four hours later, Lucian sighed and withdrew his hand. The Essence had moved, but not enough.
Shion was still sitting there, eyes half-lidded. "Did it work?"
"Almost," he said. "We're getting there."
She grinned. "So… no explosions?"
"Not yet," he smirked. "Though with you, I'm not ruling it out."
Souei chuckled quietly from the shadows.
The next few weeks became a routine. Each day, Lucian would take one of the ogres to the cave to continue his experiments — slowly refining the extension of the Essence of Protection.
By now, he'd realized it wasn't about raw power. He didn't need to test the protection itself, only to extend it, to make it reach beyond him without losing control.
Then one day, with his hand over Shuna's forehead, it happened.
He felt it.
A faint pulse, like a ripple across calm water — his Essence moving, expanding, brushing against her soul for just a second before fading.
It wasn't much, but it was progress.
He'd given Shuna, for a fleeting heartbeat, resistance to telepathy on par with divine-level defense.
Even a weakened fragment of the Essence's power was absurd. If his own protection was a wall of gods, what she had was still a fortress of angels.
Sure, it lasted a second and only worked through direct contact, but it was a start.
---
For the next month, Lucian continued practicing with Shuna.
Why only her? Well, holding his hand on a guy's forehead for hours was awkward. And while Shion offered a far better view, she'd recently discovered "bento boxes" and had taken to bringing her own cooking to every training session.
"Try it!" she'd say, eyes sparkling.
Lucian had stared at the… bubbling, purple mass she called food. "It's hissing."
"That means it's fresh!"
He'd declined, politely but firmly. Poison immunity didn't mean bad taste buds, after all.
---
On another otherwise calm day, while he was focusing on improving his control, his All Seeing Seer suddenly stirred.
The Skill was always running in the background, quietly gathering and sorting information from the Dream Network. For it to alert him directly meant something significant.
Lucian paused, allowing it to feed him the data.
Images, snippets of sound — merchants whispering, soldiers shouting, steel clashing. A fragmented story took shape.
A large army — mercenaries hired by the Western Nations — was preparing to march toward the Jura Forest.
Not just any army either. It was heavily armed, well-organized, and — judging from the chatter — confident.
Lucian frowned. "So it starts…"
He tried to dig deeper, to trace leadership or details, but something blocked him. The information blurred, like fog. Only common, scattered fragments came through — bits from merchants, travelers, and entertainers overhearing soldiers talking.
He leaned back, sighing. "Figures."
At least they were still in training, doing drills and mock exercises. The actual march hadn't begun yet. That gave him time.
He even attempted to bypass the fog using Abhoth, sending lesser monsters to gather intelligence, but the distance — and the Essence's nature — made it impossible.
Lucian chuckled dryly. "Guess even omniscience needs better range."
He wasn't particularly anxious. The merging of worlds had caused countless ripple effects. He'd expected political tension. Maybe even war. But this… this felt larger, more deliberate.
"Well," he muttered, "I did say I wanted surprises."
The faint blue glow of All Seeing Seer faded, leaving only the quiet hum of mana in the cave.
Lucian exhaled, stretching. "Alright, then. Whatever this turns out to be…"
He stood, brushing the dust off his coat. "I'll deal with it when it comes."
And with that, he walked out into the sunlight — calm, composed, and already planning what Essence to break next.
A/n: I've got a few arcs in mind from Kokabiel arc to this war arc and even a 7DS arc with the whole Demon clan thing starting and stuff. I'm also thinking about him telling Rimuru or Velzard about his ability to travel Multiverses and going on an adventure with one of them to another world.
Can't decide the order yet, what'll you guy like? Of course, don't worry I also have some completely genuine arcs too but I'll not say much about them to keep the suspance. Anyways, out of these arcs which would you like first?