Displaying His Abilities

The burly man had once been a member of a merchant family in the upper levels of Hive World Two in the Teda Galaxy. He had seen much of the world, had traveled with his family's caravan to another galaxy to transport supplies, and had even been fortunate enough to witness the majesty of the Emperor's Angels. Yet he felt that even the Emperor's Angels could not compare to the person before him.

But more than a decade ago, the planetary governor had continuously raised the eleven taxes on everyone. No one in the family had managed to worm their way into the ranks of power, and the ever-increasing taxes had eventually ruined the entire family.

Those unable to pay their taxes would be reduced to slaves by the governor and sold to other nobles. Unwilling to suffer such humiliation, the burly man had fled with his pregnant wife to the chaotic Underhive.

They had survived in the Underhive by scavenging trash, living from one day to the next. His once beautiful and gentle wife had followed him into a life of constant fear there, gradually changing from a gentle woman into a fierce shrew.

Because of his own weakness and incompetence, his daughter had scavenged scraps while starving to fill her stomach. She had accidentally eaten poisonous mushrooms and contracted a respiratory virus, leaving her with no choice but to have her respiratory tract, trachea, and entire jaw removed, forcing her to wear a crude mechanical respirator.

All of this had happened because of his weakness and incompetence. That was why his family had suffered such misery.

When he had faced hardship in the past, he had constantly begged for the Emperor's blessings. Yet in the end, nothing in his life had improved. He had continued to live miserably. From that moment on, the man no longer prayed for the Emperor's mercy. He had come to deeply understand that only through his own efforts could he survive in this cruel world.

Today, he had encountered an incomparably powerful savior. Though the savior had yet to display his strength, the man firmly believed that his chance to change his fate had arrived.

Although the savior had said that he opposed the Imperium, and that following him might cost them their lives—

His current life was worse than death. Taking a gamble might bring a better life, and with an opportunity right in front of him, what reason was there to reject such a hard-won chance?

"Are all of you willing to follow me? Are you sure?"

The Art Student looked at the people kneeling on the ground and could not help asking.

This was the first time in all his years that anyone had said they wanted to follow him. The Art Student grew happy, and his originally flat tone became gentler.

After the Art Student asked, everyone raised their heads and looked at him with hopeful eyes, hoping that he would accept their allegiance.

After receiving the Art Student's affirmative answer, everyone replied excitedly.

"My lord, we are willing."

"My lord, this humble one is willing to follow behind you."

"My lord, Gray's thoughts are my thoughts as well."

"Very well. Since all of you are willing to follow me, I cannot disappoint you. I accept you."

As the Art Student spoke, he lightly waved his right hand toward the crowd.

Just as everyone was wondering what his gesture meant, several of them suddenly felt changes in their bodies and cried out involuntarily.

"My hand is healed!"

"My arm grew back too."

Those whose bodies had been left mutilated for various reasons could only collect useful scraps and go to the major gangs in the Underhive to have mechanical prosthetics installed. However, the gang members' skills were poor, and the prosthetics they installed were extremely crude, as though pieced together from broken copper and scrap iron.

A severed hand would simply have an inflexible mechanical claw attached at the wrist, and it was terribly expensive.

Now, the crude mechanical prosthetics they had worn were gone, replaced with beautiful mechanical limbs that were extremely flexible. They were even covered in skin like that of a real person. They could feel things when they touched them, and the skin was identical to the real thing.

"I... I..."

"My voice isn't electronic anymore!"

The one-meter-four gray-haired little girl had initially only felt an itch around her jaw. When she tried to say something, a normal young girl's voice came out. She froze, then spoke again in disbelief.

The only woman among the survivors who carried a gun heard her daughter's adorable childhood voice and could scarcely believe it. She rushed over and hugged the little girl, seeing that her respirator had vanished and that she now looked like a normal person.

The woman, who had been fairly strong until then, burst into tears. Holding the little girl, she choked out, "Lilith, you're back to normal. This is wonderful."

The woman cried as she comforted the girl, or perhaps herself, speaking in a choked voice.

The burly man beside them rushed over as well, embracing the woman and child as he began to cry. He kept saying, "Thank you for your mercy, my lord."

The three embraced and wept bitterly, continuously thanking the Art Student for everything he had done.

The other survivors also rejoiced with their companions, who had recovered to the state of normal people.

After their joy subsided, everyone knelt before the Art Student again, endlessly thanking him and looking at him with longing. All of them had been utterly won over by the ability he had displayed. They looked at the Art Student as though they were looking upon a god.

The Art Student had merely used his physical distortion ability to transform those crude mechanical prosthetics into nanomechanical prosthetics, making them as flexible as real organs. The skin was only nanosynthetic skin. It was nothing difficult.

"You should be the leader of this group. Introduce yourselves."

The Art Student looked at the crowd as they gradually calmed down, then turned to the burly man holding the woman and child.

"Thank you for your mercy, my lord. I am the leader of this group of scavengers. My name is Gray Mark. This is my wife, Rouge Mark. My daughter, Lilith Mark. This is my good friend, David..."

The burly man, Gray, introduced the members of his scavenger group to the Art Student one by one. The Art Student also remembered the names of his first batch of followers.

"Alright, since all of you are willing to follow me, get up. I do not like people kneeling before me. Get up."

The Art Student looked at the people still kneeling on the ground and spoke softly, telling them all to stand.

Everyone now worshipped the Art Student beyond measure and firmly believed every word he said. When the Art Student told them to stand, they rose from the ground and looked up at him.

The Art Student took a waterskin from behind the cloak of his power armor and handed it to Gray.

"Follow me, and you will have endless clean water and food. You have run for so long; you must be thirsty. Drink some water first."

Gray accepted the waterskin with both hands, carefully opened the cap, and took a small sip of the clean water. His eyes immediately lit up. Even the water he drank in the upper levels had carried a strange taste. Water this clean was extremely expensive.