Si Ming stopped at the character creation screen, then fell into thought.
He knew the truth about the primordial method of creating people. Even if they were created with human appearances, human emotions, and the ability to laugh and talk, they were still objects, not people, at their core. Perhaps the fundamental reason was that creations could hardly ever form a Light of the Soul of their own. So no matter what, they could never reach the realm of true people.
That said...
Still...
"This place is a little too empty."
In the end, he wanted companions—and he needed to have them, too. The reincarnation worlds were never the kind of place where one could charge through from beginning to end alone, no matter how tough one was. Unless he could unlock the Gene Lock all the way to the fourth stage in one go, there would always be blind spots he hadn't even noticed when team battles came around, forcing him to face defeat and death.
"I should put a little more thought into this."
He had originally expected the process of creating someone to be simple: pluck a familiar anime girl from his memory, add a few real-world touches, and he'd be done. But now it was taking up a great deal of his time and energy. And he wasn't afraid to face the voice whispering in his heart. As he created her, he didn't hold back his beating heart.
She should be close to his height, at least 1.7 meters tall. Her figure should be beautiful, with curves at her chest and hips that suited his tastes perfectly.
Her face should be beautiful, her temperament gentle and mild. Her hair could be as pure and clean as milk, while her eyes should be as lovely as rubies.
She felt a little like Irisviel, but she also had traces of the Fire Keeper, Io, and even A2. Yet she was ultimately none of them, and she should be even more talented. He infused her with a wealth of knowledge and talent in music, dance, and painting, none of it involving supernatural abilities. And what emerged was a perfect being who belonged to Si Ming alone.
"Your name... will be Eve."
The crystal skull crumbled into dust, and the divinity of death merged with her light-forged body. The flawless girl received her life within the pillar of creation's light. She donned a solemn yet light white dress, her bare feet gently touching the pure white ground of the plaza.
"Sorry for the wait, Si Ming." Her voice was clear and supple, and his figure was the only thing reflected in her crystalline red eyes. Her slender, soft fingers gently took his hand, letting him clearly feel the heart beating in her chest.
"Now, please allow me to fulfill my duty and take you to the Abyssal Realm."
She led Si Ming toward his personal space. But Si Ming had always been a man with a mind of his own, and his own ideas came first.
"Not yet," he said, pulling Eve to sit with him in front of the luxurious desk. "Talk with me first."
"I want to tell you some stories, and afterward, I'd like you to sing and play the piano for me."
After that, Si Ming slept better than usual. And in the deepest part of that peaceful sleep, he reached a hazy dream.
A broken dream, an ancient dream.
In the dream, he wandered through an ancient forest from thousands of years ago. Around him swarmed ancient humans with their bodies painted in vivid colors and feathers adorning their hair and limbs. They shouted and danced strange dances as they ran toward a distant place.
He followed them, and they surrounded him. At the end of the forest stood a magnificent, enormous pyramid.
An old man dressed in splendid feathered robes stood atop the pyramid, clutching an ornate scepter. It looked somewhat like the one ancient priests carried in the movies. When the old man saw him, he joyfully sang out to the sky and earth.
"Fear death! Follow death! We shall all return to death!"
His voice rang out in every direction, and he leaped from the top of the pyramid. His aged body shattered on impact, but what burst from the remains was not a spray of crimson blood.
"Caw—caw!" It was a crow. It emerged from the corpse, flapped its black wings, and flew into the sky.
All the ancient savages surrounding Si Ming smiled with joy as well. They drew the obsidian daggers they carried and, like the old man, began chanting in unison.
"Fear death! Follow death! We shall all return to death!—Caw!"
They cut open their throats and plunged their daggers into their hearts. In the next moment, their bodies transformed into crows, flying from the fatal wounds they had inflicted!
The crows circled. The crows shrieked.
The great flock formed a ring, blocking Si Ming's view in every direction.
He instinctively reached out.
The next moment, a black crow no different from its fellows lightly landed on his palm.
"Caw—!" It shrieked at him from his hand.
And Si Ming's mind snapped awake as his hand clenched shut.
Si Ming opened his eyes.
His hand really was gripping something soft.
He turned his head slightly and soothed Eve, who was in some pain. As he got up, an extraordinary power seeped from his palm, flowing into his body and mind.
He had succeeded.
He had touched it.
A tiny fraction of its vast makeup had merged into his body. A swelling sensation filled him, and this was all the Divinity Particles he could bear at the moment.
"You worked hard, Eve."
He looked at his creation, his ally, with some tenderness. To connect with the Death Divinity, he naturally had to forge a sufficiently close bond with her. It hadn't been an easy process—in fact, it had been quite arduous. At times, Si Ming had even wondered if his newly born assistant might pass out along the way.
"This is my duty, Si Ming." She struggled to sit up, but it wasn't easy. "And it is what I want. I want to help you, because that is the meaning of my existence."
Si Ming pressed his lips together slightly and stroked her smooth, long hair. He wouldn't regret what he had done. He had been prepared to face his own heart all along.
"Then rest for a while. Your work is done for now. We'll deal with what comes next when the time comes."
She obediently lay back down.
Si Ming left her side, and a surge of Night Battle Qi cleansed his body. He changed into training clothes that would let him move freely and left the studio apartment for the training ground outside. He was just about to test his current condition when he suddenly felt that this monotonous training ground didn't quite suit him.
It was too quiet, and too ordinary. He didn't mind living alone, but now, perhaps he could consider changing the style and adding a little more life to the place.
The thought stirred.
The sky and earth of his personal space underwent a vast transformation.
The level concrete ground became a vast plain. A huge lake stretched out ahead, while behind the studio apartment, now transformed into a grand estate, lay a sea of flowers and a forest. There were no other living creatures, but the air was still fresh, and the calm lake began to surge like an ocean, turning into rhythmic tides.
"Much better."
Si Ming nodded, then focused his attention on his body. His physical attributes seemed to have improved, and the energy inside him seemed to have changed as well. Its total amount was the same, but its quality seemed to have shifted. He hadn't gained the enormous processing power of divinity directly, like someone from the Third Generation. Instead, the properties of his death-type energy had improved to a certain extent.
"...The quality of my Battle Qi hasn't changed." He held out his hand, and Night Battle Qi covered his arm. Neither its quality nor quantity had changed, but the Battle Qi itself had grown a little more nimble as the Divinity Particles seeped into it.
It hadn't reached the point where his body moved before his thoughts, but the Battle Qi Veil had gained some sentience. When struck, it would thicken the Battle Qi over the impacted area to reinforce his defense. And when he threw a punch—
"Boom!" In the distance, a Battle Qi strike sent a massive column of water shooting up from the lake.
"It can also automatically focus its form in midair, ensuring that it retains the destructive force of close-quarters combat even after traveling a certain distance."
The reduction in damage over long distances had lessened. And besides that...
"The necrotic energy cost of Raise Dead has also dropped to less than half of what it was."
He extended his hand and swept it sideways. As the summoning space opened, more than twenty Skeleton Soldiers remained mobile after Si Ming released them. A sudden spark of inspiration flared in his mind, and his outstretched hand clenched into a fist again.
"Combine," he said, thinking of the Death Trialist he had faced in the ruins. As inspiration surged and his will stirred, the more than twenty skeletons under his control converged into a new whole amid a sudden gale of negative energy!
A spider-like Undead Colossus was born. Its core was made of twenty skulls fused together, while its sturdy limbs formed multiple bone arms. It was extremely fast, only a little slower than Si Ming when he burst into motion with Night Battle Qi. Its strength and toughness were on par with a full-sized truck.
Aside from its appearance, it was almost flawless. It let out a sharp shriek with a powerful mental effect. Ghostly flames lit up in all forty of its hollow eye sockets!
Without a doubt, this was a powerful monster at the second professional tier, and it even ranked in the middle to upper range of that tier. It might have been comparable to the giant undead that only higher-level necromancers could summon. Si Ming could control it with ease and still had Necrotic Aura to spare afterward. That clearly meant that even though Reincarnator Si Ming had only explored World One, he already possessed the powerful combat strength of an upper-tier second-rank combatant, and could perhaps even threaten those of the third tier!
"Excellent." He sighed in satisfaction.
Elegant piano music drifted from the villa in the distance, matching the lively emotions surging within him.
Once again, he had overprepared for the coming battle. His current attributes were reflected in his eyes.
Muscle Strength: 452
Reaction Speed: 431
Cellular Activity: 495
Intelligence: 501
Mental Strength: 387
Immunity: 400
He had reached a level where he could beat an elephant to death with his bare fists, and knock down a bison with a casual blow. Enhancements, pills, training, Divinity Particles. Everything had made Si Ming who he was now.
He was ready to face the next world.
Soon, as time flowed and a pillar of light descended, the details of the new world came into view.
--[In transit...] --[All Reincarnators of the East Sea Team will be deployed to the world 'I Am Legend'!]
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