"Ah my head!" coming to with a splitting headache I pressed a hand against my eyes to keep the light out. 'What happened? The last thing I remembered was trying to create my puppet then a freakish storm blew open my window and I was bleeding, I tried getting up but I felt weak and numb all over. I settled with opening my eyes, it took a minute for them to adjust. My lab was a mess, my puppets were on the floor, the 3D printer was on its side and all my books had been blown off the shelves.
My stat screen was still up, 'what the hell?'My class read 'Biomancer- subclass: TekFiend'. I didn't know how to respond, I knew that subclasses existed but class changes didn't happen, like ever. Well maybe never, no one knew the full rules of this universe.
A scroll of letters started appearing in the status screen.
"Due to your enthusiasm for your puppets and the use of technology and magic you have given birth to synthetic life. Bringing new life to the Universe has bestowed a blessing upon you, you are the first of your class and thus you will walk through the dark as you discover your new abilities."
My level and experience returned to 0 with my class change, oddly enough I still had some of my spells from when I was a healer but my flame and wind barrier was gone. So I could still heal, for now, but it seemed as if my two sub-elements had been reset completely.
That means I wasn't supposed to use them defensively, or the corresponding spells required a certain level to use them. Luckily I did have the beginner spell for Biomancer, a spell called lifehack, the description was not as specific as I would like but it gave me the general idea. It would allow me to inspect my target for strengths and weaknesses and to locate the secrets within them. The last part was kinda weird but hopefully useful.
I was, well I was a lot of things right now. Mostly excited and stressed, sure I got to experience something new that no one had before but at the same time I would be stumbling along without a guiding hand, no previous knowledge and no spells because the universe has rules, ones that no one has ever written down or heard of.
"-Master I am glad ~ you have awakened, I was concerned ~ for your well being. Is there anything ~ I can do to make you more ~ comfortable?-" a voice ran through my mind, unlike my own thoughts though this one was completely foreign while it sounded as if they had not spoken recently, it was broken up as if a child's or someone learning a new language speaks in sections until they can fit it all together.
Ok, that was new, I wondered if I could talk back to the disembodied voice, "-Can you hear me?-"
"-Yes master, I am here~for you.-"
Well, that worked, "-Where are you?-"
"-Right behind you~master~when you fell~I held you~while you were~ recovering.-" I turned around to see Hex1 behind me, my head was on her lap as she had removed her armor and only wore the tight black bodysuit that went beneath it.
It worked. It fucking worked! I sat up and touched her face, she blinked when I touched her nose and smiled when I felt her ears.
"-Master that ~feels funny.-"
So strange, she had senses, meaning she had somehow reactivated the slime tissue that had been used to construct her body, this was the miracle of magic and technology coming together.
Not knowing where to begin, I just went with what came to me and unleashed it on her, "How do you feel? What is your name? Do you need to breathe? How long have I been out?"
Without missing a beat she gave it right back to me, "-You have~ been out for three ~hours. I breathe through~my skin~though I don't ~require it. I have not been ~given a name but~ as the first of my~ kind I have thought~ the name Hextia would suit~ me. I feel~happy that I~ am alive I know what I was before~it pales compared~ to what I am now.-"
She could feel and think for herself, she was sentient. Like the system page had said she was a new life form, he had created a life where there were only materials. I laughed in a silly manner, 'so what if I have to walk the unbeaten path? If I could create life then it was worth it!'
I slowly got up, Hextia assisted me once she saw I was ready, I went over to the 3D printer and with Hextias' help, we got it back into place. Looking at the window which had been torn open all I could think was that my lab would have a breeze for a while.
It took two hours to finish cleaning up with Hextias' help, I messaged Owen that I would need to have the windows repaired, I led Hextia back to my room and sat her down on the bed, "Do you need to sleep Hextia?"
"-No master-"
Well, that is something, I walked to the shower contemplating what I had created when I reached the bathroom I saw that my robes were nearly destroyed. I peeled off what remained of them, I caught sight of something black on my back, with the right position I saw that there was what looked like an upside-down tree on my back. I must have been struck by that lightning, if it really was lightning, well at least this scar looked like a tattoo instead of gnarled flesh.
After admiring my form for a few moments I turned the water to cold and let the refreshing water roll over me, I indulged in it for a while before drying myself off. I made my way out to the bedroom, I laid on the bed and fell asleep. It had been a strange and wonderful day but the rest we could figure out in time.
"Don't think I won't find you little bird~"
'Oh shit'
"And when I do I am going to eat those little wings off of you~"
'Not again'
"Come out, come out wherever you are!~"
'I have to get out'
"There you are little bird!~"
'NO!'
My eyes snapped open, looking about I half expected I was back in the dragons' den. I was in my room, it was just a dream.
"-Good morning master, the shower is ready for you.-" a soft hand grasped mine, reminding me I wasn't powerless or alone, I would find that lizard and use her pieces to make even stronger puppets!
She helped me up and walked me into the shower, while I bathed she continued to speak to me and I was impressed as she had gotten rid of her stutter, "-Master, I have something to report. I have certain abilities, but using them decreases my body's lifespan, I believe you did not create me on purpose with such a flaw and have come up with a few possible solutions. The first is to transfer my consciousness to a better body, second to get a better energy source for this body, the third is to find a way to absorb energy into my current core. What do you think, master?"
That you are highly intelligent, in a single night you discovered a major weakness and devised targeted solutions. I didn't say it, but I could tell she knew I was pleased with her course of action. "We will research what can be done for you, I can't make you a better body right now but providing energy for you won't be too difficult though, tell me will you die if you run out of energy?"
A few moments went by before I got an answer, "-I believe as long as my consciousness has a home, the memory crystal, then I should be fine to transfer to a new body, but I believe that if my memory crystal is destroyed I won't be able to be resurrected, master-"
Hmm her memory crystal is the fatal weakness, but we can make better defenses to guard the core. She said she has abilities that reduce her lifespan, I will have to find a way for her to either cultivate or store mana. The energy was their blood and muscles in a way, without it they wouldn't be able to move or defend themselves.
I came out of the shower and looked at her, "What are the abilities you have?" I was curious as to what her race or class was.
"-I am an Overmind, from what I can tell I control multiple bodies with the ability 'splinter' I take a very small part of myself and implant it within another memory crystal, I am unsure if it would work on a pure organic lifeform, but I then use the ability 'Assimilation' to dominate and control the new body within a range of five miles. I believe as I am now I can control 7 to 10 bodies."
This could work, it sounds like she needed a more powerful mind to control more bodies. To gain a more powerful mind though might be difficult, there were a few arts created to enhance the mind but would they work for her?
Would I need a different material than a regular mind crystal?
So many questions but I have plenty of time to find the answers, first solve the energy problem, and then determine the maximum number splinters she could have activated. Wait can she make more splinters but not have them assimilated as backups in case one of her splinters is destroyed?
Can she make a full splinter activated upon her death that will be activated upon the event of her death? Oh, the possibilities of what she could do were endless.
I put on some pants and brought her into the lab, half-naked I got to work, I skipped my morning routine and gathered the skeletons and began carving. With my breaks in between sessions and gathered power crystals and had Hextia look them over so she could make a decision. I kept working throughout the day until I had fifteen complete skeletons, I ordered some more bodies that should arrive in a week.
First, we found out that cultivation did nothing for Hextia, she had no meridians or dantian or anything to focus immortal energy, but there was good news we tested an art for cultivating the mind and it worked though it did drain her energy, slowly still a drain. If we can find a way for her to replenish without a new core every time that would be best but for now it was easier to give her a better core.
I had her lay face down on the bed, her bodysuit had been removed and I straddled her back, "Are you ready Hextia?"
"-Yes master-"
I placed my hand on the back of her neck, but I hesitated, I was worried that she might die. She was my creation, she had her flaws but she was perfect because she had those flaws.
"-Its okay master, just open me up and put it in me.-"
"Ahem."
I turned my head slowly, 'oh gods not again.', and there she was the maid that kept on interrupting me, wait I wasn't even doing that, this is science. SCIENCE I TELL YOU!
"What is it, as you can see I am busy." I eyed the maid, 'why was she always showing up during these moments?'
"There is a letter from the Adventurers Guild, young master. There is news going around that every guildhall is summoning their members, something must have happened to get them so riled up." She placed the letter on my desk, studied me and Hextia with her cold gaze before she left.
'Great the organization that can't even get their own intelligence reports right, if they think something is big then it is probably much worse.'
"-Are you ready now, master?-"