45 Elai: Element Architect

"I made a bad choice in making friends."

Li Aoz twice.

The Star Abyss is incredibly diverse, especially places like Valkyrie Fortress, which is extremely inclusive and you'll always encounter all sorts of strange and wonderful characters.

Here you might encounter vegetarians clashing with Treant nationalists every few days. The universe is vast, with tens of millions of races and millions of ideologies colliding and sparking all sorts of interesting things. Having a few more silly kids is actually quite nice.

Turning around, Flana realized she'd been tricked into doing free work for Li Aoz by her friend. She turned to Li Aoz, embarrassed, and said, "Um..."

Flana's heart and lungs almost stopped.

"The order has been submitted."

Li Aoz, quick-witted and nimble-fingered, naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to get something for free. He quickly submitted the form, and seeing Flana's pale face, he said reassuringly:

"Don't worry, I'll still cover the platform's commission and expenses for freelance mercenaries. You won't be working for free. Just be more careful next time."

"...Thanks."

Flana was on the verge of tears. Looking back at her two mischievous friends, she couldn't find them anywhere. For now, she had no choice but to accept the measures Li Aoz: "Since we're going to do it, let's go all the way—the Free Mercenary Alliance has already followed up on the mission's progress, and I'll receive the mission information and start time soon, for convenience."

"Good."

Li Aoz sent his contact information to the other party. "I'll go prepare my things, see you then."

After sending Raphna away, a message popped up on Li Aoz's side indicating that the mission had been completed.

[Reward Settlement]: B. 《Travel Insurance》 - By chance, you found a Delta-rank companion, Olavier agreed to let you set off.

Reward: A new module has been added to Olavier, and you can now purchase the ' Olavier's Fine Wine ' series directly in the in-game Shop.

After finishing his drink, Li Aoz wasted no time and immediately set off. Relying on his years of experience in Star Abyss, he easily found a quiet and secluded inn to stay in.

The purpose was not just to rest. Li Aoz had obtained a bloodline modification drug from Priest Constan and needed to find a safe and secluded place to implant it into his bloodline.

The technology of the Narrative-level Civilization is extremely powerful. The bloodline modification technology, which sounds incredibly complex and sophisticated, is completely condensed into an injection gun. It is impossible to reverse engineer it. Li Aoz didn't bother. He sat on the bed, aimed the injection gun at his deltoid muscle, and skillfully pulled the trigger.

Buzz—! The photon drill gently excavated the molecular layer on the arm, directly bombarding the DNA with genetic information. Li Aoz immediately felt his metabolism begin to accelerate, and the implanted information fragments were constantly transcribed, spread, and replicated in his body.

[Bloodline modification in progress: Elai Ling Race (Compatibility: 67%)]

[A compatibility rate below 80% will have a certain impact on the appearance.]

The genes of the Thanatos Human Race and the New Generation Homo Sapiens that once existed in the body were not too far similar to the genes of the Elai Ling Race, and the fusion went relatively smoothly with almost no negative reactions.

As for the impact on appearance— Li Aoz didn't care at all. His body had already been cybernetically modified, and as long as there were enough gene fragments, he could modify it however he wanted.

[In the process of factor transcription...]

Li Aoz closed his eyes, and a strange rhythm began to ripple through his body. His blood began to change and recombine at the molecular level. The original blood plasma became denser and heavier, and a large number of energy storage cells were secreted and produced.

It was as if all the pores on his body had been opened at once, allowing him to freely absorb free energy from the universe to strengthen his body.

Unlike the fragile bodies of rudimentary civilizations, the bodies of Narrative-level Civilization... are born to be prepared for space.

He unconsciously chose to sit cross-legged on the bed, falling into a state of clarity and tranquility, his mind seemingly banished to the edge of darkness.

Buzz...

Bright yellow stripes spread rapidly across his body, outlining various mysterious patterns on his back and chest. His skin became smooth, all his pores closed and disappeared, and he no longer needed to breathe and expel dirt like a carbon-based organism. His energy utilization rate increased significantly.

His facial features subtly changed, becoming more in line with the common aesthetics of the Cosmic Race under the powerful influence of [Charm]. A light gold tinge appeared on his eyelids, as if he had applied exquisite eyeshadow, and he exuded an air of nobility.

His originally tall and imposing physique became even more toned and muscular. His muscles underwent a complete restructuring, and the blood that had been expelled evaporated and reconstructed. There wasn't a single wrinkle on his body, and his skin had a porcelain-like smooth texture.

[Special Flesh Affinity] has been triggered

[You have better absorbed the fusion, releasing some ineffective Gene Fragments.]

[—Your race has been changed—]

[Elai Ling Race - Phase I]

You will enjoy the following racial growth modifiers:

"Architect Angel" - The Elai Ling Race possesses an exceptional understanding and adaptability to the universe, and is born with the potential to become an "architect".

At the same time, the powerful Mental Power of the Spirit Race grants them a deeper ability to perceive the material and spiritual worlds. You can communicate with spiritual beings and the void without awakening your spiritual power.

After becoming an Architect, all attributes increase by 10 for every 5 levels gained in the Main Class.

Geography Editor – The Elai Ling Race is highly adaptable and has a natural talent for geography; you will not be slowed down by harsh terrain.

After becoming an architect, you can edit geographic environments faster and more efficiently.

"Cosmic Creatures" - The Elai Ling Race are cosmic life forms. You can perform high-intensity tasks and activities in outer space without consuming your physical strength.

After becoming an Architect, you can generate 'ecological communities' more efficiently in the universe.

"Theoretical Analysis"—Over the long course of history, the Elai Ling Race has mastered a unique learning technique. You will use a unique way of thinking to deconstruct theoretical knowledge and possess powerful combinatory abilities. The speed of learning extraordinary knowledge is increased by 100%. After becoming an [Architect], you will permanently gain a 30% bonus to the production and attributes of your 'ecological community'.

"Element Architecture" - Powerful Racial Talent and personal affinity with elements allow you to directly utilize your Element Pool to construct the ' Elemental Swarm ' you need, but you cannot upgrade or solidify it.

Elemental Swarm differ from the Architect's 'ecological biomes'; they do not provide comprehensive attribute bonuses or production lines, but they can increase the health and attributes of elemental creatures.

After becoming an Architect, you can permanently generate an Elemental Swarm.

"This is exactly what I wanted."

Li Aoz nodded.

The Elai Ling Race may seem weak, but it is actually the most suitable race for the [Architect]. Although its attribute growth is a bit low, the class modifiers it provides are perfectly suited to the style of the [Starcaller].

In particular, with the revision of the [Element Architecture], the Element Pool, which Li Aoz could only use for casting spells, suddenly has a lot more uses.

After completing the first phase of the transformation, Li Aoz felt much more relaxed. He glanced at his attributes and found that although they hadn't changed much, he had unlocked many of his weaknesses.

For personal development reasons, Li Aoz does not intend to fully join the "Temple of Annihilation". Once the money is in place, he should start to join the "Heroes Empire" and strive to obtain the Narrative-level civilization status within three years.

The "Temple of Annihilation" offers generous benefits, including 15 resurrection opportunities, but it also imposes more restrictions on personal freedom. Essentially, it's a system that confines citizens like pigs and raises them, with overly conservative ideas and thinking.

The "Heroes Empire" is different. As a young, Narrative-level Civilization, they are ambitious and diversified. Currently, they are only inferior in their mastery of the Dao, and cannot attract many people to come.

One more thing... Li Aoz never told anyone about his core secrets.

There aren't many people on the path of the Starcaller Starcaller, maybe four or five thousand, but he's the only one who has truly succeeded.

It's a bit selfish to say.

He was incredibly dedicated to developing the entire path, and initially it wasn't for the benefit of the community.

Because the path of the Starcaller has never had a main god.

What does this mean? It means that the path of the Starcaller is one that no one has ever walked before, and there are many similar paths.

For example, the main god of the [Destruction] system, [Homebound Asura], Arcesek 'Setsuna'.

The first group of followers who took His path were all bathed in His divine power, sharing a portion of the path's strength, and became steadfast God Embracer. They became the largest independent force in the Abyss— the Homebound Shrine. The Asura's God Embracer are incredibly fierce, and through their connection to the path, they can even contend with [society].

Once a person successfully ascends to godhood through the Dao, the other Starcaller below that Dao will immediately become Li Aoz's God Embracer, unlike other gods who ascend alone.

Those God Embracer the same path cannot betray the main god of their path. They can pull out an incomparably powerful divine authority. Whether they dive or rise, they can share a lot of the curse's weakening effect. Even if they are targeted by [society], they still have the power to fight.

Before leaving, Li Aoz tested the effects of his newly acquired Aoneng Sequence 77, [Calamity], and his newly awakened ' Element Architecture ' ability.

Since he is still Beta-rank, the benefits of direct combat are not high enough. Fortunately, he is going for the Bloodfiend Style, which has the advantage of being able to withstand a lot of damage.

After a series of tests, Li Aoz estimated his own Combat Power strength level.

"Tsk... the situation is not optimistic."

When facing enemies of the Gamma-rank or higher, the damage dealt by the Beta-rank is only 60-70%, which is barely satisfactory. If you are not careful, you will lose.

Fortunately, his Bloodfiend Style was already fully mastered, and with the ' Blacksmith's Sword ' Jannia in hand, he could still manage to escape unscathed.

The Element Architecture was unexpected. With Li Aoz's extremely high [Charisma] and [Intelligence] bonuses, the five elements were fully combined, and the resulting Elemental Swarm provided a considerable bonus.

Although Li Aoz tried his best and pushed the use and switching of Aoneng to the limit in the early game, the problem of the Mutant's early game weakness still existed. Basically, he could only rely on the Overlord Form transformation to unleash a burst of damage.

The reason is simple: the Aoneng itself has operational limits. The lower the level of development, the less freely you can control it.