“Alright, no more black holes.” I chided myself as I regenerated.

  Jimmy was fine, of course, because why wouldn’t he be?

  It’s not like he was sucked into it like I was and then spat out like nothing happened.

  ‘What a weird metal.’ I thought to myself as Jimmy once again formed an ‘evil looking’ space suit around me.

  I was still being approached by a local, so I’d need to do something to get it to go away. I already failed this encounter after all.

  “15 bajillion stars.” I snarked and created an unknown amount of the things.

  It wasn’t a literal bajillion, if that’s even a number, but it still wasn't countable as I continued to spam my Energy usage.

  A massive wall of different sized and colored stars slammed into the local, who simply did what they all did.

  It retreated, and I was once again left alone.

  “I’m getting tired of this place.” I sighed and started looking for another local to fight.

  This time I wouldn’t do something stupid, like kill myself or give them a chance to fight back, and just spam the attack I know works.

  After several minutes of meandering around the vast nothingness, another local finally showed up.

  “Stars n’ such, get ‘em while they’re hot!” I hollered and threw my own recipe of antimatter stars.

  Which worked and the fight ended before the local could even get close enough to see with my mortal eyes. Checking my Quests proved that it had worked and I was finally done with this place.

  “That’s to be expected.” I tapped my fingers together while waiting for the glorious singular XP.

  “Oh?”

  “Oh?!” I eagerly opened my status, confirming that I indeed had earned a whole 2 XP!

  I had the XP, but none of the other rewards.

  ‘I guess the other stuff, whatever it is for, is still being siphoned. The only thing the Skill Points could go into is toward a higher tier of Skill, but since it costs 25 times more than regular Skills it’ll take a while to get… except it took only 100 for my current Skill level, so why haven’t I received the next tier of Reality Manipulation?’ I pondered, tapping a finger against my helmet's chin.

  “Ah~, I get it. It’s probably 25 times more for each tier? So 2,500 for the next one, then… 62,500 for the one after that? Damn…” I had to use the calculator built into my HUD from when I got my helmet upgraded, which was a long ass time ago but was still helpful.

  “...What were all the tiers again?” I tilted my head, trying to remember but then gave up and just brought up the Skill window for the information.

  “Oh there’s four tiers. Getting to masterful would be… 1,562,500 Skill Points.” I stared at the calculator in front of my face, really hoping that I was wrong.

  Just how long would I need to grind to reach that number? What if the numbers were separate and not just the total needed?

  And where the hell were my Stat Points going?

  ‘I need to increase my Intelligence so my mind doesn’t break again when I get Average Reality Manipulation. I’d really rather not go catatonic again…’

  After a moment of thinking about it, I re-read the window and smacked my visor.

  'It absorbed my Luck Stat, so that's the only place it could be going. Which is really dumb, because that number was already stupid big the last time I saw it.' I groaned at the waste of Stat Points, if they were truly going into my Luck Stat that is.

  “I’ll just have to wait until it stops absorbing my Stat Points before getting the next tier. If I even have a choice. Time to go home.” Ignoring the absolute mess I left the Tear in, leaving a bunch of atoms from making so much antimatter, I reached a hand out in front of me and tore a hole in Reality with some flair.

  I probably could have just Gated but this was much more fun.

  Floating out of the hole I made, I found myself… not where I entered from.

  “Where the hell is this?” I mumbled as I looked around the unfamiliar solar system.

  My oath wasn’t demanding me to stay and help, so this wasn’t a new universe at least. I was way too close to a planet though, so I snapped the Tear shut and stretched out my limbs.

  I felt normal again, my limbs right where I knew they should be and not breaching through my ribs nor were they miles away.

  I’m sure I had a new Quest already, but I wanted to take a break. A few days or so.

  Rather than going home or helping Layla clean up my suite, I had an impulse to explore the planet I just happened to stumble upon.

  Just a gut feeling that I should.

  It was lifeless and barren with just a bunch of rocks, but it had this nice shade of grey and purple that made me want to wander around.

  My senses let me know everything about the planet already, but there’s something nice about using my eyes to see something rather than just knowing about it.

  I spent a few minutes just flying around, looking at mountains and cliffs, but it was just a lifeless rock so I finished up quickly.

  “I suppose I should help clean up my own house.” I smiled at the thought of my sister struggling because of the creature she insisted I take home, and Gated just outside my front door.

  Setting my feet down on familiar ground, I pushed the door open and let my eyes feast on the sight.

  “Yep, still pretty terrible in here.” I spoke loud enough to startle my sister, who glared at me.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “You scared me! You going to help or not?” Layla glowered, clenching the handle of a rather large mop made for people quite a bit taller than her.

  “Hmmm, I don’t know… How did you get the magic item off the beast?” I raised an eyebrow despite my face being hidden in my visor.

  The Cabold was small again, and currently crumpled on the floor.

  “I’ll tell you if you help me.” Layla’s brow twitched and I could tell she really wanted to hit me with the dirty mop.

  “Done.” I replied smugly, then snapped my fingers.

  I was showboating as I used my Telekinesis to rapidly clean my suite, and leaving it spotless in a matter of seconds.

  “...Dick.” She grumbled but I could tell she was relieved to be done with it.

  “Now, how did you get the bound item off of the demon of messes?” I asked again and she shrugged nonchalantly.

  “I grabbed her hands and forced her to remove it. Like a puppet I guess.” Layla replied like it was the most obvious solution.

  “That… shouldn’t have worked though?” I rubbed the back of my head in thought, because that definitely should have counted as a hostile action.

  “Meh, could be because me and Lil’ Lay are best buds.” Layla nodded with a smile.

  “Is that why you knocked her out? Because you’re such good friends?” I asked and Layla’s smile twitched.

  “...Tough love.” She replied, the statement sounding more like a question.

  “Works for me. We should probably head back to the house though, mom is probably pissed.” I joked and Layla grimaced.

  It had been a good few hours since we just up and vanished without telling her anything, and while I could have left an instance at the house, I just kinda sorta… forgot to.

  “She can’t be that mad right? I mean you’re there with her right?” Layla asked and it was my turn to look abashed.

  “...You aren’t?” Layla bore her eyes into my head.

  “I may have, possibly, forgot to do that?” I continued to do my best to look away from my accusatory sister.

  “Greg…” Layla grumbled and rubbed her face with a hand.

  “Hey, you’re the one who dragged me away without giving me time to prepare.” I defended myself but she just glared at me.

  “You have super cheat powers. Being ‘unprepared’ doesn’t affect you.” She jabbed a finger in my direction, and I had to admit that she got me with that one.

  “Yeah… That’s true. Let’s just go and get our scolding over with.” I looked back at Layla and she sighed.

  “Okay. Are you going to wear that the whole time?” She gestured to my ‘sick as fuck battle mode’.

  “No.” I quickly switched Jimmy back to basic clothing, which means I lost my super helpful HUD.

  What a tragedy.

  …

  The scolding wasn’t that bad.

  Although while mom didn’t tear into us that much, I could tell that something about magic and Skills really bothered her.

  ‘Maybe I should study up on psychology?’ The idea seemed pretty good to me, but how do I go about doing that?

  While I could technically sense everything that happens on Earth, too many minds in one place works like a sort of jammer with the sheer amount of ‘noise’ I have to sift through.

  The noise isn’t that large of an issue when I consider the fact I can focus more on areas with a larger chance of containing something related to psychology, but it’s still a pain in the ass.

  Places like colleges and therapy offices will be my main focus of attention.

  “So, what’s the plan now? You got more Quests to go through?” Layla asked, hardly phased by the light scolding we got.

  “Probably, but I want to take a break for a bit. Do some stuff here.” I wasn’t going to mention that I was thinking about studying psychology, since I’d definitely use it on her.

  ‘Layla does have some particular things about her I need to figure out how to deal with.’

  “Well alright then. I’m going to my room to relax, especially after you made me deal with that mess.” She sent one last fake glare before walking away.

  The scolding would have been worse if we didn’t have the Cabold to thank for making a massive ruckus back at my house.

  While it was a monster, mom did feel bad about it being left alone for a long time.

  Now that I was alone, I could briefly look through some text books or snoop in on some classes.

  It took quite a while to sift through all kinds of places and gatherings of people, but I did eventually find a college that fit my criteria.

  I didn’t know the name, nor would I bother learning it. This was a brief fancy anyway, to see if I could actually learn anything in a short enough time frame for it to be helpful.

  “So what do I actually need to read?” I mumbled, standing in a library while surrounded by several bent Rules to mask my presence.

  One Rule got rid of sound, another bent light to make me invisible unless someone got really close, and I was floating a few inches off the ground to stop myself from leaving foot prints.

  Sure, I could scan through the books all at once by merely focusing on the whole shelf, but that was troublesome and tedious.

  More tedious than actually reading the books? Probably not.

  But I still didn’t want to strain myself like that, so I’d be looking for a specific couple of books then scan those with my broken senses. The better of both worlds.

  I grabbed a few large books that looked moderately important, and they should be considering I was in the section where the students buy textbooks related to their classes.

  Which meant I was in a staff only zone, on top of trespassing a school.

  “What a fun life I lead.” I mused while trailing my finger along the spines of the books, reading their titles.

  They had the usual names you would expect from a boring educational professionalism.

  Psychology of The Mind, Reading The Soul, and Therapy Methods 101.

  “What does 101 even mean?” I muttered with a smile.

  Every book that claims to have something to teach has a good chance of containing the number 101 in the title, but it seems like such a random thing to include.

  Moving past the questionable validity of anything using 101 in its title, I use my bullshit senses to scan the books. Absorbing where the ink is and how they make words. What those words mean, and how to ‘treat’ various classifications if needed.

  I compared the knowledge inside the books to how my sister acted when hunting monsters.

  She was having a ton of fun, but that’s the issue. It was almost too enjoyable for her.

  Not just that, there was the whole reaction she had to my confession about murdering a bunch of people. Or the lack thereof.

  Layla hadn’t done anything crazy, besides maybe just brush off any sort of reasonable attachment to reality.

  If I had to say, it’s like she treats it like a game. Similar to me when I first got isekai’d.

  There’s a few definitions that fit the criteria that I found in the books.

  Dissociative coping: emotionally distancing from reality to reduce stress.

  Psychological regression: reverting to childlike thinking or behavior under stress.

  Magical thinking: believing outcomes aren’t bound by realistic cause and effect.

  Consequential minimization: downplaying long term impact of actions.

  Gamification of reality: interpreting life through reward/punishment mechanics.

  “Hm… Psychological regression doesn’t fit.” I mumbled, mentally scratching that off of my list.

  I closed my eyes and tapped a rhythm on the cover of one of the books while I thought about the remaining options.

  They all seemed to fit, but the one that really stuck with me was Dissociative coping.

  That one in particular really fit the bill for when I plopped into a universe on my death bed.

  While I never got treated for it, I eventually moved past it because of my Skill subduing my ‘negative’ emotions.

  At least I think I got past it.

  “But what could have happened that caused her to be like this? Or am I overthinking it and it’s really closer to Gamification? The introduction of the System certainly makes that more of a possibility…” I hummed, and then shelved the idea for later.

  Scanning through the books told me some other details that I could link to my mother and older sister.

  Mom really doesn’t like it when Skills are used near her, even if she tries to hide it.

  It’s clear that she associates it with my death/dissapearance, so it’s definitely a trauma response of some kind.

  There were a few options applicable here as well, though it was more cut and dry than Layla’s.

  Trauma association: linking a stimulus with a catastrophic event.

  Then there were the options that reminded me of Kaity.

  Moral injury: Distress caused by witnessing or learning of actions that violate core moral beliefs.

  Cognitive dissonance: Conflict between “this is my loved one” and “this person is monstrous.”

  Affective revulsion: Emotional disgust overriding rational assessment.

  Identity fracture: The person no longer fits the remembered identity.

  Dehumanization anxiety: Fear that someone crossed an irreversible moral line.

  Moral contamination: Feeling tainted by association.

  I ruminated the options in my mind, tilting my head back and forth as I grumbled to myself.

  “They all somewhat fit what I felt from her. I’ll have to keep all of them in mind.” I finally gave up on trying to stick one classification to her, and moved on to the last person I was reminded of.

  Myself.

  I had this strong desire to die a humans lifespan, which I can clearly see as some way of trying to retain my humanity, but apparently it’s classified as a sort of suicidal thought.

  In a way, sort of.

  Passive suicidal ideation: Wishing to die without active attempts.

  Death ideation: Preoccupation with death as a desired endpoint.

  Self destructive coping: Behaviors that reduce longevity without overt suicide.

  “I wouldn’t say death is my ultimate goal, just something I’d like to be a part of. Since it’s natural and I literally got to see a soul go… somewhere?” I frowned and then scratched my scalp in thought.

  That felt right, so I mentally discarded Death ideation.

  I also didn’t outright want to die, I just wanted to die at some point within a reasonable time frame. So Passive suicidal ideation also got scrapped.

  “Guess that leaves Self destructive coping. Though I feel like that’s more for alcoholism or drugs…” I mumbled as I continued to think about it, even as I put the books back in their places and Gated out of the college.

  I had some kind of idea of how to describe my family, and myself too I guess, but I doubted I had really diagnosed anything.

  It was interesting at the least.

  It might even help me with getting closer to my family again, fix the bridge between us.

  Layla interacts with me fine, but there’s still that uncomfortable collection within mom and Kaity when they see me or talk to me.

  I am slightly averse to trying to ‘fix’ my family with my half baked psychology knowledge I literally just learned, since that has the chance to drive us even further apart.

  “While I can’t really go about fixing anything, maybe I can just ease my way back into their lives.” I thought out loud, and then nodded to myself.

  That should work.

  Maybe.