I continued staring at the slime while trying to use the mental link to communicate. Right now the telepathy ability from the Laziness aspect came in handy because I was able to quickly find a way to use the link.
'Hello?'
I saw the slime bounce on the ground happily, so I... guess it heard my words.
I took the scroll in my hand and made the blank page appear. After thinking about seeing the slime's information, writing appeared.
Name: _
Race: Abyssal Shapeshifter (Eldritch Abomination)
Gender: _
Abilities: Absorption (Can absorb materials and refine or absorb them inside the body), Infinite Shapeshifting (Can transform into any form possible, and can transform its body into any material absorbed), Savage Fighter (A very violent fighting style based on overwhelming the opponent with unbridled strength), Mana Sponge (Absorb the surrounding mana into its body like a black hole).
Special Bodily Condition: Dimensional Organ (It can store anything the Abyssal Shapeshifter consumes and freeze it in time, it grows bigger the more mana the Shapeshifter absorbs), Immunity to Physical Attacks, High Resistance to Magic Attacks.
I read the information and smiled with satisfaction. It was an interesting ally to have.
'So, what's uh... your name?'
The slime jumped up like it was startled by my question and answered hurriedly.
[I don't remember anything except common sense and basic information about my specie. I also share your memories since I'm born from your blood and the influence of the Fate Stone... but that's all I know. I would appreciate it if you could give me a name...]
While the Shapeshifter was talking I could feel its happiness because of the bond we shared as well as its sadness caused by the lack of memories it could call its own.
I normally didn't care much about others after what happened in my third life, but this time all of its emotions were also my own, and our memories were similar. It was a strange feeling but, well... I didn't dislike it.
"I'll call you Nova. I hope you can have a new beginning with me, and that name will represent that."
I scratched my head in embarrassment after saying that, but feeling Nova's gratitude I just smiled happily and chatted with it for a while.
After getting used to each other's company I used my solitude ability¹ to hide Nova from sight and tried thinking about the eldritch puppeteer legacy while holding the blank page of the scroll.
Legacy: Eldritch Puppeteer
Description: Controlling the inanimate and turning them into sentient abominations.
Abilities: Stringless Control (Can control inanimate objects with your mind and give them simple orders; If a dead body is controlled, it retains all of the ability it had when alive), Sentience (Can turn certain inanimate objects into sentient eldritch abominations that will forever be loyal to you), Performance (Can give multiple inanimate objects roles and complex orders by writing a coherent and complete script), Storywriter (Can give sentient puppets certain ability by writing them a background story).
After reading through the text I had a weird feeling. These abilities... Didn't they sound too evil?!
I didn't mind, however. All of these abilities were very interesting and I was looking forward to what magical feats I could accomplish using them.
I first tried scanning all the items in my room using the Stringless Control ability but it seemed like not one of them could be transformed into a sentient being, so I had to stop for now.
The furniture was moving around the room silently with me sitting on a floating bed. This scene was nothing but eerie.
But I liked it.
Each time I discovered how to use new power I felt like a child during Christmas, even when I was a lich this trait of mine never changed.
'Nova.' After using the mind link once, I was able to transmit my thoughts to my companion easily.
[Yes?]
'What sort of powers do you have, exactly?'
Even though I read the scroll, there were some things that couldn't be understood by reading some writing.
I felt that Nova was thinking so I just waited patiently while petting its, supposedly, head.
[I can transform into any shape, but most of them need me to absorb some materials into an organ of mine before. My kin is mostly used as living weapons or armor since we can absorb any material, use it to its utmost potential, and don't feel pain, I can turn into a forge or even an alchemical laboratory if given enough resources. Some forms don't need me to absorb any material but need me to design them myself like the humanoid form and the abomination one. We are also used to counter mages and sorcerers in enclosed spaces because we can absorb mana from our surroundings. Finally, all of us are great fighters from birth, but our way of fighting might be... a bit too much for faint-headed people.]
I listened intently to Nova's word then asked THE question.
'So what gender is your human's form? I'm not used to using "its, they, them" to speak about people and it brings back some... bad memories from my first life.'
Nova that shared my memories laughed heartily at my words before answering indifferently.
[Probably female. You have a lot of beautiful female models in your mind, but nearly no males. Not that it's surprising. I'll still need some time to design my human form using your memory, so give me a moment.]
I smiled wryly at Nova's word and let her do her own thing.
It wasn't too bad because I had something to do in this house before leaving too.
I cut my hand and dripped blood on the ground to form a large circle.
After inserting some mana into the bloody circle, a mana construct appeared out of nowhere.
During these last years, I didn't stay idle.
Although magic failed me once, it didn't mean I had to forget about it. Forbidden magic and Orthodox magic were both abilities that had very few supportive applications, but magic wasn't limited to these two branches.
The Archmage that destroyed my phylactery was a special type of mage called a Manaweaver.
In general, it was purely supportive magic, but that guy had such delicate control of mana that he could use it to destroy you from the inside. Literally.
I didn't need to follow in his steps, however. Magic wasn't my main ability anymore.
The mana construct in front of me was one that I designed to be completed the day of my blessing. It slowly absorbed mana from the atmosphere and I supplied it with mana each night, so it contained a frightening amount of energy.
I supplied the construct with a last bit of mana before letting it merge with my body making a tattoo-like imprint appear on my back.
This masterpiece was called the Halfclock. It had twelve roman numbers and each one of them could store a power I witnessed once, as long as its level was lower than the level of my manaweaving.
Coupled with the MindWhale Sword and Nova, the Halfclock was the base of my story in this world.
The first thing I did was adding two powers to the "I" and "II" slots.
the first power was the Swindler Aspiration. It made you more charismatic, handsome, made your words more convincing, and let you understand the emotions of customers to a certain degree.
This was my first step toward having a lawful way to earn money.
The second power was one that I hated from the bottom of my soul.
Salt-Inducing Regeneration.
While the name was very ridiculous, the ability wasn't.
In my sixth life, a while before becoming a lich I had to fight against a reincarnator, and barely managed to win because he wasn't the only one with cheats.
This ability let him regenerate extremely fast even if I blew up his head or whole body. If it wasn't for my mental attacks that let me capture him, he would have destroyed me without any suspense.
His ability was powerful, but its essence was simple so I could already register it in the Halfclock.
I smiled while wondering if he was saved from my dungeon by the Manaweaver or if he was destroyed along with me. His life was truly a tragic one...
I threw some of the clothes I wouldn't use near Nova so she could absorb them and make her own, then left my room and went to the kitchen.
It was still night but I would just sit there until my parents woke up, waiting for some hours wasn't much.
At dawn, Nova finished her task but still didn't transform into her human form. She nestled on my head and stayed silent.
'Not going to show me how you look?'
[When you deactivate your solitude ability.]
I shrugged helplessly and closed my eyes again.
I didn't wait for long before I heard footsteps coming from my parents' bedroom. My mother didn't seem surprised when seeing me and stroked my head gently before preparing the ingredients to make breakfast.
My father woke up soon afterward, sat beside me, and told me about what my siblings did in their time in the academies.
Apparently both of them were highly valued by the empire because they were already capable of going against third-rank beings. From what my father explained to me, first rank beings were completely reliant on their bodies, second rank beings could use mystical powers and the third rank ones had high intelligence.
He also told me that my siblings would leave the academy next year and apparently wanted to create their own guild with some friends they made during their time in school.
They had to face a lot of challenges, but fortunately, they weren't involved in any political conflict and had a calm and pleasurable school life without any interference. I was sure my father had something to do with that but it would be impolite to ask so I just listened to him while drinking my cup of milk.
After finishing he gave me some sort of weird necklace and said with a smile
"This is a necklace of liaison, it lets you communicate with anyone as long as you registered their necklace's energy signature. I already registered your siblings', so be ready to receive their call sometime soon."
I nodded and began eating the food my mother served some seconds ago.
We ate in complete silence, but it didn't feel awkward. I really wanted more freedom, but I would miss my family for sure.
[It's not like you'll never see them again, don't be so dramatic.]
I smiled wryly at Nova's word and continued eating.
After having our breakfast, my mother gave me one last hug and went to wash the dishes while my father gave me a leather pouch and pushed me toward the door.
"Well, you see I'm pretty old and I get tired easily. I won't accompany you further. Your gift is outside. Have a safe trip."
I didn't know what to answer so I just bowed toward him, put my bag on my shoulder, and went out.
Near the farms was some sort of wheeled house made of reddish wood that was attached to two horses.
I was first surprised at the sight of this house-caravan, then grateful.
It was an excellent gift for anyone going on a long journey.
I didn't know if it was some sort of technique or the special ability of a blessed, but the inside of the house was actually larger than the outside.
The two horses in the front were also special. The first was pitch black and had scales on his legs while the second was white as snow and had some sort of feathers on the side of its body.
Using the scroll, I discovered that both of them were third-rank creatures that could further evolve into stronger beings if nurtured correctly.
My surprise didn't end here, however.
'I can make the house into a sentient abomination?'
From the moment I entered the house I felt like I only had to pull on a string to make it turn into a living being.
I didn't know what would happen if I did that so I avoided using Sentience until we were some distance away from home.
Using my magical perception to determine that no one was in the vicinity, I dispelled my Solitude power and made Nova visible again.
I ordered the horses to move to the east, where the nearest border of the empire was located then turned toward Nova with an excited expression.
'No excuses now, huh?'
I heard Nova laughing in our mental link before her body began transforming.
After seeing the result, my eyes opened wide.
"Oh, looks great!" I said, surprised.
Nova's human form was nearly as tall as I was, with a slender build and fair skin. She has long black hair tied into a ponytail and a pretty oval face, with hazel eyes that looked similar to mine.
She was wearing casual clothing that looked like the ones from Earth.
"Right?" Nova said with a smug expression.
"Oh, you can talk without using the mental link now? That's great!"
Nova didn't answer but I felt how proud of herself she was in the mental link so I just petted her head with a smile.
My story in this world would finally begin, and this time I was sure it wouldn't be a lonely one.
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¹: Solitude is the ability that let Silences hide things or themselves outside of people's sensory perception. From his fifth life when he was a silence.