A moth sees a firefly for the first time. He new he had feelings for him the second he saw him. 

The firefly know the moth and always had a thing for him. 

But when they met they learned unexpected things about each other. They live there daily lives but going on adventures with each other. 

But what happens when their problems come into play and rumors fly in the air? 

What will happen to their romantic connections and daily adventures?

Shit happens.

Li Yao extended his right index finger, which was still wearing the ring of mystic rays that he had used to cut the wall of the oxygen tube. The bluish rays that the ring shot out turned into a sharp, continuously growing icicle that was slowly reaching Professor Luo De's eyeball.
The bluish rays were 'growing' so slowly that Professor Luo De could see every jumping fire clearly.
In the meantime, Li Yao pierced a vivid, life-like picture into Professor Luo De's brain, which was the whole process of someone's eyeball being stabbed, dried, and thrown away.
Professor Luo De's pupils suddenly widened. It was the only movement that he could make right now. Other than that, he could not even tremble or perspire.
"I don't know," Professor Luo De said feebly. "I don't know anything. You've come to the wrong person."
"How can you not know anything?"
Smiling, Li Yao pushed his finger forward. The bluish rays immediately penetrated into Professor Luo De's left eyeball. As a helical drill, it went further toward Professor Luo De's brain, bringing excruciating pain to the victim!
"Wu!" Professor Luo De meant to scream, but it was insignificant moans that his throat uttered. He blinked his left eye out of natural instinct, only to find that his eyesight was perfectly normal despite the excruciating pain. The bluish rays were still lingering one millimeter away from his pupil, rotating slowly.
The horrible scene was merely an illusion and a mental attack that Li Yao had launched on him.
"I've given you an opportunity, and I hope that you'll cherish it. Next time, when it pierces, it won't be an illusion."
Staring at Professor Luo De's eyes carefully, Li Yao's eyes were even sharper than the bluish rays. He then slowly moved them to the professor's smooth and fresh hands.
"You have two eyeballs. So, you can still give a wrong answer twice. If I still do not get a satisfactory answer after both your eyes have exploded, I'll have to work on your hands. I believe that, for a seasoned refiner and a specialist of super-minute carving, your hands are even more precious than your eyes. You must've nurtured your impeccable hands with all the vitality and spiritual energy in your body, and you do not want to them to end up in a pile of meat one finger after another, do you?"
Professor Luo De maintained his casual, rigid voice, but the fear and desperation in his voice was audible even for a deaf person. "What do you want to know exactly?"
"I want to know whom you work for," Li Yao said coldly. "Who has given you what benefits to make you betray your student and craft the magical equipment that is enough to get your student killed?
"Tang Xiaoxing is your most distinguished student. You two get along with each other quite well. You are best known for your nonchalance and unamiableness on Firefly. In the past few decades, not many people have entered your personal refining workshop. But Tang Xiaoxing was an exception. She once worked as your assistant for three years.
"In regard to whether or not to join the Star Glory Federation, although you have never declared your stance publicly, I believe that you should be in favor of the 'technical staff', Captain Tang Dingyuan's side, as a master of refining. There have never been rumors that you are close to the parliament. On the contrary, you once berated certain MPs in a meeting and labeled them 'illiterate', which was quite an embarrassment for them.
"Therefore, I find it difficult to understand why you did all this. Who asked you to produce the tracking and localization magical equipment, and what benefits did they promise you? Or rather, what were the reasons that they used to convince you?"
Professor Luo De's eyeballs shivered quickly. "It—it was Cheng Xuansu who asked me to produce them!"
Li Yao slightly raised his eyebrow. "Speaker Cui Lingfeng's most trusted subordinate and the head of the secret police of the Internal Affairs Division, who were responsible for investigating and capturing Captain Tang?"
"Exactly!" Professor Luo De breathed heavily. "I don't know anything. I only helped Cheng Xuansu craft a batch of training and localization magical equipment!"
"But you knew at that time that the magical equipment could only be applied to Tang Xiaoxing, right?" Li Yao said casually.
Professor Luo De closed his eyes painfully. "… Yes."
"You do not look like the kind of person who would listen to the parliament and the secret police obediently. Not only is Tang Xiaoxing your most intimate student, her father is also the captain of Firefly. You should understand the dire consequences of the incident.
"You clearly knew that Cheng Xuansu wanted to arrest Tang Xiaoxing because Speaker Cui Lingfeng was dealing with Captain Tang Dingyuan. It was the life-and-death competition between the 'No. 1' and the 'No. 2', which was likely to be an event that would completely tear Firefly apart! For you personally, 'betraying your student' would also be a stain that was never going to be erased! However, when Cheng Xuansu came to you asking you to craft a piece of magical equipment to deal with your student, you simply accepted the task without questioning it?"
"I—I didn't have a choice!" Professor Luo De's eyes and lips were shivering. The wrinkles on his face seemed ten times deeper instantly, making him look like a burnt dry tree. "Cheng Xuansu said that… Captain Tang and his conspirators were guilty of high treason. For the future of Firefly, I had to cooperate with them to serve the country and the fate of our hundred and thirty million compatriots!"
"High treason?" Li Yao frowned. "Just because Captain Tang is in favor of joining the Star Glory Federation, he is a traitor?"
Professor Luo De's eyes suddenly turned very weird. "What federation? It has nothing to do with joining the Star Glory Federation. Cheng Xuansu said that Captain Tang has defected and degenerated into an Immortal Cultivator. Apparently, he was trying to contact the Black Wind Fleet in secret, hoping to send our coordinates to the expedition army of the Imperium so that it could teleport over instantly!"
"What?" Li Yao was dumbfounded. Thousands of thoughts were bursting out like fireworks in his mind. Calming himself down, he asked, "Captain Tang is an Immortal Cultivator? How is that possible? How does Cheng Xuansu know? What evidence does she have?"
"Naturally, I was not in a position to see the specific evidence," Professor Luo De said. "However, according to Cheng Xuansu, Firefly is in peril. Captain Tang lost the firm belief to restore Star Ocean Republic a long time ago and slowly degenerated into a pessimist and a capitulator. For his own life, he wouldn't hesitate to join anybody.
"Then, if he has to choose a target to rely on, of course, the more powerful the target is, the better. Although the Star Glory Federation boasts some influence at the edge of the cosmos, how can it be compared to the Imperium of True Human Beings? Captain Tang intends to resolve the problem once and for all. Naturally, surrendering to the Imperium is the better option!
"Therefore, a long time ago, Captain Tang's belief was corrupted, and he turned from a Cultivator into an Immortal Cultivator. Not only that, he also raised a huge batch of Immortal Cultivators on Firefly in secret. He planned to completely seize the super starship for the Imperium of True Human Beings when the time was right!
"Also, Cheng Xuansu also claimed that the 'Election Observation Delegation' that Captain Tang sent to the Star Glory Federation was mixed with a lot of Immortal Cultivators. If their scheme worked out, it was very possible that the expedition army of the Imperium would immediately show up right in front of us! Therefore, my cooperation would save not only Firefly but also our ally, the Star Glory Federation!
"It was exactly because of the dire consequences that she described that I agreed to cooperate with her and helped her craft a batch of super-minute magical equipment."
Li Yao widened his eyes and stared at every wrinkle on Professor Luo De's face without blinking, trying to find a hint of deception, but he found absolutely nothing.
If Professor Luo De was not an actor that was even more professional than Li Yao, he was very likely to be speaking the truth.
But Li Yao was still confused about one thing. "You believed everything Cheng Xuansu said when there was no proof at all? Did it never occur to you that it was possibly a setup that the parliament imposed on Captain Tang Dingyuan? After all, your parliament and your technical staff on the starship haven't been in the best relationship!"
"Of course, I didn't believe what Cheng Xuansu said!" Professor Luo De said. "Everybody knows that she is Speaker Cui Lingfeng's lackey. The technical staff who are devoted to technology have always thought little of the paranoid secret police.
"However, Cheng Xuansu didn't come to me alone. She was here with Chief Mate Ding, who endorsed her every word."
"Chief Mate Ding?" Li Yao thought for a moment. "You mean Ding Zhengyang, the general commander of the deck floor of Firefly; Captain Tang's trusted subordinate, assistant, and first agent; and the No. 3 person on the starship only secondary to Speaker Cui and Captain Tang?"
"Exactly," Professor Luo De said. "Everybody knows that Chief Mate Ding is Captain Tang's most loyal comrade. He has helped Captain Tang fight against the parliament for decades. During the few conflicts between the bridge and the parliament, he always led the charge!
"After we discovered the Star Glory Federation, Chief Mate Ding was the first one who proposed joining the Star Glory Federation. He was even earlier and more resolute than Captain Tang!
"Also, Chief Mate Ding belongs to the technical staff. He was promoted to the general commander of the deck floor step by step from a sailor at the bottom level in the engine compartment. He knows every detail about every corner of Firefly. He is a real expert commander of starships. The technical staff have always been quite fond of him!
"He personally told me that Captain Tang had defected and degenerated into an Immortal Cultivator!
"He dislikes the fellows in the parliament, but whether or not to join the Star Glory Federation did not matter. What mattered was to immediately eradicate the internal Immortal Cultivators on Firefly!
"I didn't trust Cheng Xuansu, but I couldn't find any reason not to trust Chief Mate Ding. That is why I helped them produce the batch of tracking and localization magical equipment!"
Li Yao took a deep breath. The brilliance inside his eyes was shining like mysterious stars. "Let me guess. Captain Tang Dingyuan has been arrested by the special investigators for secret interrogations, and it's not like that the MPs can pilot the starship. Therefore, the guy who has assumed Captain Tang's post and power is 'Chief Mate Ding', right?"
"Yes," Professor Luo De said. "The chief mate is the first agent of the captain after all. According to the Space Voyage Regulations, when accidents happen to the captain, the chief mate should immediately fill in for him. It is true that Chief Mate Ding Zhengyang is controlling Firefly as the acting captain!"


“Even if this universe is truly nothing more than a brutal, bloody, shadowy forest, we Cultivators will burn all that we have just to give off a single weak flickering spark in the darkness! 
“No matter how weak each spark is, how short-lived, how small… As long as the sparks flow unabated, then one day one of those sparks will light some tinder, and that tinder shall light some fallen branches, and those branches shall set ablaze each and every last tree of the forest! 
“In the end, even the smallest sparks will eventually set the shadowy forest ablaze and illuminate the whole world!”
------
** Qidian International and the former translator, Mr. Strivon, have reached an agreement to buy out the chapters and host them on our site. We will be continuing the translation from the last chapter translated by Mr. Strivon **

I take the usual sized orb from myself, decompress it till it's the size of Earth then, turn it into one giant magnet/lodestone.

I mold four continents from its surface then separate them, and polarize those four continents to the opposite pole of the moon, causing them to float on their own. Then using gravity and coding mana with gravity properties I make it too where they stay above the moon instead of shoot off into the void and don't crash into each other.

Hence I now have a world of self-sustaining floating continents.

I cover the surface of the four continents in rock then various ores, lodestones, gems, then dirt, create from my dust.

I create a saltwater ocean beneath the continents from my dust.

I then create air and an atmosphere from a few of my particles.

I take the new world place it in orbit and spin it.

I start by making plants and algae, for all environments, then move on to animals.

I create aquatic shrill, and shrill that breath air while using gravity to fly.
I name them Gravity Shrill.

Then I create fish that are aquatic, then fish that breath air and using gravity to swim in the skies.
I name them Cloud Fish.

I create whales with tough dry skin that can use gravity to fly.
I name them Sky Whales.

I create dolphin that doesn't need moisture on their skin and use gravity to swim through the air.

I name them Sky Dolphins.

I create bugs and rodents.

I create cats, mongooses, and snakes.

I create deer, horses, and pegasuses.

I create flying wolves and regular wolves.

I create Gray Rats.

I create wyverns and relocate a few nonsentient fire dragons.

I create cows and wild boar.

I create goats, rams, and sheep.

I create griffins, hippogryphs, and giant owls.

I create many birds big, small and giant.

I create many different animal species.

Then I create humans, elves and dwarves.

I create trolls and lodestone earth elementals with little to no intelligence.

I craft sentient lode stone elementals with human-shaped bodies and two coded mana cores.
One for the mind, one for the body, then I give them the ability to control gravity.

I name them Forceborn.

I take the sun avian template, get rid of the glowing, telepathy and telekinesis. I replace their wings with owl wings and give them owl eyes then a head that can turn 360 degrees. I give them owl talons on their hand and feet.
I name them Owl-kin

I take the owl kin template and remove their wing and arms then give them hybrid arms/wings, and then give them hawk eyes, I remove the talons. I name them Harpies. 

I take the owl-kin template and give them crow wings instead of owl wings, then crow eyes. I remove the talons and give them small dainty claws instead of nails. I name them Crow-kin.

I take the owl-kin template, replace their wing with hawk wings, make them stronger and then give their feet and hands, hawk talons. I give them hawk eyes. I name them Hawk-kin.

I take the hawk-kin template, make them overall bigger and stronger then give them eagle eyes. I give them eagle wings instead of hawk wings, then name them, Eagle-kin.

I take the eagle template then make them even bigger, practically human-sized, then replace their wings with phoenix wings, and make them burst into flame when they die of old ages then become reborn from the ashes, with their old memories. I name them Phoenix-kin.

I create thousands of each sentient race and place them all over the floating continents, in tribes.

I light up the sky with a hologram, using light manipulation and speak to them with telepathy.
I show them an image of me, and say, "I am Ethereal."

I show them themselves each and every sentient race on their world, giving each race a feeling of a strong connection to their racial name when I say it.

"You all are Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Forceborn, Owl-kin, Hawk-kin, Crow-kin, Eagle-kin, Harpies, and Phoenix-kin."

I show them an image of their world.

"Your world is called Caelus, but yours is not the only one there are nine others, with three more coming soon."

I show them the existing worlds then fade in three more.

"I now appoint among you oracles for every race on this world.
Let it be known that I will soon send pillars of my laws to each land on this world."

I appoint their Oracles then send down the pillars of law with a boom.

I realize I forgot to appoint Oracles on Flora and quickly do that, before wiping my imaginary brow with my non-existent hands.

"Ha ha ha."

I have this story on Webnovel.com Scribblehub.com and Royalroad.com I have deleted my series on Tapas.io I am on P A T R E O N, besides these websites I have not published this story anywhere else.
----------------------------------------------

Ethereal.

A Primordial Storm.

A Hyper-Sentient Being A God?

No.

But his creations seem to think so?

Whole worlds sculpted from his own body.

Countless denizens living and breathing on and within his worlds.

Immortal Powerful Overseers descended from one born in the primordial Origin.

Massive Guardians Dragons that birthed all dragon-kind.All serving you, all look up to you.

Yet you say no, you are not a God.

Because I am not.

I can be hurt.

I can be killed.

I have limits.

My Power is Finite, not Infinite.

Thus I am not a god.

I used to think It was only me in the void, but I am not alone.

After returning, I went to bed as can't stop myself waiting to go through all the data gathered from library. My thoughts were, I have to get stronger and also able to craft the system based on the materials of this world. Well, to get strong fast, better cultivation techniques are required as well as pills. And don't forget the weapons. Also some safety card must be at hand like, disguise techniques, clone techniques, escape techniques, emergency healing measures. Yes, i need these kind of trump cards more than ever. I'm not sure what to do about cultivation situation: should I restore and continue with previous cultivation method, or should I restore and follow new cultivation method, or start a new cultivation tailored for myself. oh god! Give a break. Right, I can surely use system. Alright!

[Ling Tian: System, start a Project to run simulation for all the cultivation technique gathered, simulated them to achieve possible peak condition, then restart the simulation and modify for different variations possible in the cultivation technique to reach the peak. Use my body as template for running simulation with two different case: cultivation restored state and cultivation null state. After that generate the list of cultivation techniques that provides unique benefits on successful cultivation, then categories all the technique based on the unique benefits.]

[System: Yes, host]

[System: Project -Simulation of all cultivation techniques are to be initiated in batches. Batch 1 of 1932 initiated]

Now about alchemy and artifact crafting.

[Ling Tian: System, Start two projects, one for mastering artifact crafting and another one for alchemy using the gathered books as base, then split the books using eligibility of cultivation base, grade of fire and other variables, future divide each book in two: Basic and Advance, based on the complexity of concepts.]

[System: Yes, host. Project - Basic and Advance Artifact Crafting and Project - Basic and Advance Alchemy initiated.]

And now remains the Trump Cards

[Ling Tian: System, start 6 Projects - one for going Stealth, one for Cultivation Masking, one for Disguise, one for Cloning, one for Emergency Healing and one for Escape, add conditional variable for different cultivation bases.]

[System: Yes, host.]

[System: Respective Project initiated.]

All I have to do know is wait.

***

[System: Host, Basic and Advance Artifact Crafting Projects are completed.]

OK, it's time to study artifact crafting. Kidding, why the hell I have to study, if I have to study, what the hell I created System for…

***

[System: Host, Basic and Advance Alchemy Projects are completed.]

2024, New York.

In the former city that was famed throughout the world, a group of young children can be seen on the rooftop of a highrise building, waiting for a pickup from their allies.

"How long do we have to wait, Alex?" asked a young girl that looked to be around 13 towards a young man who looked to be 14 years old.

"Just hold for a few minutes Lucy, I have already made telepathic contact with Xavier and he had already sent a small team of mutants to extract us from this hell hole" the boy with silver hair and eyes called Alex consoled the frightened girl behind him.

'Humph, no need for flowery words Alexander, we know that we cannot escape the city even of the reinforcements arrive, those sentinels will not allow us to escape that easily, especially two  level-4 mutants like you and me, but, if you and I combine our powers together, there is still a chance for Lucy and Rebecca to escape this place with the extraction team, since they are only level 1 mutants, the sentinels will not give much attention to the both if we distract them with our powers' came a telepathic voice as Alex looked towards a young man who was two years younger than himself with black hair and eyes.

'.....very well Ryan, the moment the evacuation team gets Lucy and Rebecca, we will act as distractions, but you do know that it will be a death sentence for the both of us right?'  Alex replied through his own telepathy as Ryan nodded without any words.

It had been ten years since Trask industries had developed the inhibition collars and reprogrammed their sentinel robots which served in the world military to hunt down mutants.
Ever since that day, every single mutant, whether they be a man, woman, child, or an old person, were hunted down with prejudice. it was in such a ruined world that these unfortunate group of four mutants was born.
All four of them were orphans who never even knew their parents and only had one old mutant woman who raised them before she was killed, doomed to scavenge in the ruins of the once-great city, they relied on each other for safety and to evade the sentinels to this day.

Alex was the oldest of the group and was the only one who actually remembers the old woman who had raised the four until she was killed by the sentinels when the youngest of them was only four years old.

Ryan was 15 years old this year and was a Level-4 mutant, his powers were Electrokinesis, Geokinesis, and Telepathy.

Alex was 17 years old this year and was also a Level-4 mutant, his powers were Telepathy, Energy absorption, and Technopath. He was the leader of the group.He was the only one who remembered the old woman and had personally witnessed her death when a group of sentinels managed to predict her teleportation locations and ambushed her

Lucy and Rebecca were 13 years old and the youngest of the group, they were twins and were only Level-1 mutants, Lucy had Hydrokinesis while Rebecca had Pyrokinesis.

It was a few weeks ago that Alex had suddenly received a Telepathic contact from another Telepath called as Xavier who offered the children safe heaven for them to stay, at first, the group refused as they did not trust this man who suddenly contacted them out of nowhere, but soon, after a few weeks of persuasions, Ryan and Alex finally agreed to the proposal, only on the conditions that their sisters in all but blood would be given a good life, away from the battlefield, after that, Xavier gave the kids the location of a helipad on top of a still intact skyrise building where he was going to send a squad to extract them, unfortunately, it would seem that someone else had also sensed the presence of Xavier's forces in the vicinity, as a result, the number of sentinels in the city was doubled in the last few days, leading to the current situation.

In the air above the building, a stealth craft suddenly appeared and slowly started to land on the helipad, revealing a group of heavily armored mutants, one of them turned towards the kids and said in a hurry.
"Get in the ship now, we have spotted a big group of sentinels headed our way!!"
Immediately, the two boys forced the two girls into the craft after which Alex gave a telepathic message to the group of mutants in the craft. The mutat's face changed as he heard the plan of the two boys in front of them but then it shifted into that of determination and a small trace of respect can be seen on his face.

"Very well" was all that the mutant said before he signaled for the pilot to take off, by this time, the two girls had already sensed that something was wrong and started to resist as the mutants forcefully took then inside the craft while another mutant used her powers to put the girls to sleep.

Once the ship took off and disappeared thanks to it's cloaking mechanism, the two boys turned towards the army of Sentinels headed towards their location, ignoring the craft flying over them in favor of the two high leveled mutants on the building top.

"Just like last year eh? Ryner" Alex said as Ryner scoffed.
"That incident almost cost us our lives, if it was not for my quick thinking, you would already be 6 feet below the ground," he said arrogantly to which Alex only laughed as he soon fell silent.

"At least the girls no longer have to eat rotten food and drink polluted water, they can now live a somewhat better life than here" he mumbled as Ryan said.

"That is the only thing we can hope for, after all, we will not be there to look after those idiots anymore, big brother," he said as Alex smiled, this was one of the only three times in their entire lives where Ryner called him big brother while putting aside his haughty attitude that he normally had.

Alex looked at the group of Sentinels who were already very close to the building and focused his mind, concentrating on the hidden components of the machines in front of him, even though the sentinels were created in such a way that they could adapt to almost every single mutation in the world by using organic technology, they still failed to create a system that was immune from the effects of a technopath who could literally feel the technology around them, but the creators of the sentinels did not find an alternative against the technopaths because of a single limitation placed on them. A technopath can only control a selected few numbers of the machines at a time, the stronger the mutant, the greater the number, but even then, the strongest of technopaths could only control a hundred machines at a time, this ability could be countered by swarming the mutant with literal waves of the machines at the same time, rendering their power obsolete.

Alex reached out to the machines and forcefully disabled them, causing them to fall to the ground like puppets but was stopped from repeating the process again as he was immediately pressured by the remaining Sentinels who identified him as a Technopath and executed the appropriate protocol to deal with them. But before they could attack, they were intercepted by an entire field of lightning covering the building from all sides, the Sentinels immediately adapted themselves and changed their own electric charge in such a way that the lighting would not affect them, they then charged through the lightning field, only to be stopped by massive spired of rock exploding from the ground and impaling many of them, the Sentinels countered this by using a form of kinetic energy blasts, firing the concentrated energy from their faces and targeting the spires and any other moving parts of the ground.

After an entire hour of continuously assaulting the two mutants, the sentinels finally breached through the defenses put on by Ryan but they were already too late.

Ryan had been using all of his energy in the past hour not only to defend against the Sentinels but also to buy time for his brother to prepare himself. Alex had been using the time to absorb all of the energy attacks from the Sentinels which were being transferred to him through the metal cables that Ryan had synthesized from the ground, by absorbing all of the energy and containing it in his body without using it, Alex was aiming to cause his body to go beyond his limit and break, resulting in an explosive release of all the absorbed power that would undoubtedly destroy all the Sentinels in the vicinity, but would also result in the death of Ryan and himself, this plan was proposed to him by Ryan himself. At first, he refused but after realizing that he and his brother would die anyway, he decided to go out with a bang.

"Alex, I cannot hold any more!!!" Ryan shouted just before he was impaled by a Sentinel who broke through the defenses and used its claws to pierce through his stomach, Alex had a few tears roll down his eyes before he stood in silence, waiting for the sentinels to attack. A few beams of energy hit him at the same time which finally surpassed his body's limit to absorb energy, resulting in a brilliant explosion that engulfed the entire vicinity, destroying the swarm of Sentinels.
Thus, the two brothers succeeded in saving their siblings but perished in their place.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Unknown space, unknown time.

'You are an interesting one, mortal' said a being made entirely of green energy with bull-like horns protruding from his head, he had no face or any defining features except for his humanoid body.
Alex looked at the being in front of him and had no words to say, after all, it's not every day that one dies and ends up meeting strange entities whom he cannot even begin to comprehend.

"Who are you?"

'You can call me Balance, and I have been watching you for some time now, Alexander' the being said, slightly creeping the young man out. Being told that he had been stalked without him even realizing can put anyone on the edge.

"And what do you want?"

'I have stopped your soul from passing on to the afterlife to ask for your help, if you accept my proposal I will grant one wish for you, and before you doubt my ability to grant your wish, let me clearly state that I am what is known as a God, so it is perfectly possible for me to fulfill any one of your wish' Balance said as Alex said nothing and looked at the suspicious being that called himself God, but even he was not stupid enough to fall for his tricks.
"No thanks, I have already made sure that my wish will come true and I do not want to go back to that hellhole of a world, the first time was enough" he said as he ignored the God but not for long.

'Oh, I know, the great sacrifice you and your bother made to make sure your younger siblings would have a better life, but sadly, your sacrifice was in vain as they would soon end up as soldiers fighting against the Sentinels of your world' Balance said as Alex instantly turned towards him with rage clear in his eyes.

"You dare threaten me-" 
'I was not threatening you Alex, I was simply stating the facts, you and your brother failed, it is as simple as that' he said as Alex started to fall into despair.
'But not everything is lost, if you accept my offer, I will make sure to manipulate the events of your world in such a way that your sisters will not be involved in the war, and my offer for a single wish is separate from this favour, think of it as a gesture of goodwill from me' Balance said as Alex scoffed.

"Says the being who just threatened me with my siblings, anyways, what do you want my help with anyway? even though I am a level-4 mutant, I don't think I can help deal with problems that even a 'God' such as yourselves cannot handle" Alex said while using a mocking tone while saying God, but Balance did not react in anyway and simply said,

'On the contrary, you can help me a lot, there are things that a god cannot do but a mortal can perfectly achieve it, this is one of those situations, as for the task, sorry, but I will only inform you of the task at the time when I require it, for the task to be completed, you will need to be reincarnated into the body of your counterpart in the other world and take on his role for the time being, so , do you accept the deal?' Balance asked as Alex soon agreed.

"But before I go, I want to state my wish, I want you to bring my brother back from the dead and make sure that he reunites with my sisters, also, try to save that world as well, this not a wish but a request" Alex said sincerely as Balance stayed silent for a while before nodding, soon, Alex faded from existence, heading towards the new body which he would be reborn into.

But as soon as Alex disappeared into nothingness, two new being materialized besides Balance, one was made of pure gold energy with reindeer like horns while the other was made from dark purple energy and had goat horns.
'Why do you let the mortal speak to you such a rude manner brother?' Asked the one with goat horns.
'Because, unlike you two idiots, I know that we cannot just do whatever we want, even though we are gods, we are still Class-7 gods, even we must follow the restrictions placed on us by the council, besides, you two should feel happy that this mortal was willing to go to remnant to clean up the mess that you two created all those centuries ago' Balance said as the one with goat horns growled but was interrupted by the golden being.

'putting aside Darkness's childishness, brother, even you who is a Class-6 deity do not have the authority to meddle with a world that is not of your own making, so how are you going to fulfill his wishes?'

'I do not have to do anything to fulfill his wish, Light, the truth is that there is already a group of mortals on his homeworld who are preparing to go back in time and change the future, in this new future, his brother and sisters would be living a happy life until their powers awaken, after which, they will meet each other at a school established for children like them, but unfortunately, I will have to erase the existence of the mortal names Alexander from this world because he has already been removed from the cycle of life and death of this universe'

'But are you sure that he will succeed?' Asked Darkness as he suddenly felt pressured, looking sideways showed him that Light was also suffering the same thing. then, they both heard the frustrated voice from Balance.
'I would not have been forced to do this if you two idiots had not broken one of the fundamental rules of the gods and decided to steal the human genetic template to populate the world of Remnant, conveniently forgetting the fact that the human genetic template is something that only gods of Class-5 and above are allowed to select for populating their worlds, even worse, you decided to decimate the entire race from Remnant because of a childish grudge between you two and a mortal woman of all things, you should be grateful that I intervened at the critical moment and made sure that the news did not reach the immortal council, much less Gaia, you know very well just how protective she is of the race that first evolved naturally on her own world, and you Darkness, you made even greater mistake by taking the primordial pools of darkness and putting them on Remnent, now, because of you, humanity of that world is on the brink of distruction in the hands of those creatures of Grimm, and as if this was not enough, you two went ahead and decided to bless a mortal with reincarnation without even registering him as your champion, if even one of these issues were to be known by the council, they would immediately banish you two to the primal chaos for 10 billion years, although YHWH and Brahma would try to be linient on giving you two a sentence, the rest of the Class-1 gods will definitely call a vote and immediately banish you, not to mention what Gaia and Shiva would do to you two for your transgressions, Gaia may be a Class-2 goddess but even Class-1 gods such as Zeus and Odin still shever in fear when she is angry, she will definitely seek revenge if she finds out that you two cause the extinction of an iteration of the human race on Remnant, and Shiva will definitely open his third eye and obliterate you two if he learns that you took the primordial pools of darkness from his domain. Now, I only hope that the mortal succeeds in the mission and managers to fix Remnant by ending that woman you cursed with immortality while also releasing the poor man from his endless cycle of reincarnation.' 
Balance stopped his rant to see his two younger brothers looking away from him as Shame and Regret practically radiated off of them when they were reminded of their stupidity.
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Remnant, Atlas.
In a gigantic mansion, a young man with silver hair and an average build opened his silver eyes as he looked around at his surroundings.
"I guess this will be my new home from now" he mumbled as he once more closed his eyes.
Alexander Schnee had been reborn.

A young mutant who was in the middle of fitting a war was suddenly pulled from his world and was asked to help the being who pulled him away in exchange for a single request

This is his story as he travels from one doomed world to another.

CHAPTER 574

NEW TOMORROW (IV)

 

The platform of tiled stars was currently a host to one of the world's greatest celebrations, with hundreds of thousands of people jaunted out and about it, dancing, singing, drinking, eating, and talking. There seemed to be no distinctions, groups melding naturally, people walking left and right without clear directions.

 At the center of it, a small table extended in a crescent, standing on a slight elevation, filled to the brim with exotic foods and drinks, several figures seated behind it. Aaria sat at the very center, still wearing the crown, observing the ongoing celebration with a quaint smile on her face.

 Hannah, who was just sitting on her left side, had joined the celebration down below, reuniting with the faces she hadn't seen in quite some time, while Aaria's right side was currently occupied by Lino who was eating and drinking in silence, his gaze pointed toward the distant sky and the invisible stars.

"—don't you want to join mom and chat with your friends? You don't have to entertain me." Aaria said, breaking the silence between the two, smiling lightly.

"I'd be a distraction," Lino replied, smiling back. "She hasn't got long to stay; let her enjoy it."

"… haah," Aaria sighed, glancing at the red-haired woman down below. "I really thought she could stay for a little while longer this time around…"

"Me too, firefly."

"How are you holding up?" she asked. "Missing the crown yet? I can lend it to you from time to time if you'd like."

"Ho ho," Lino chuckled, pinching her cheek lightly. "You're already too old to be taking after me, kiddo, with that tongue. But, keep the crown, though; if I begin missing it, I can always craft myself a better one."

"… you'll stay, right? At least for the first few years, until I settle in."

"I'm gonna be here for a long while, Aaria," Lino said. "Your children, and grandchildren, and children of those children, and onwards, will all grow tired of the old, eccentric Grandpa who likes drinking way too much for his own good."

"Ha ha ha," Aaira laughed, her cheeks puffing lightly. "You may inspire many things in us dad, but getting bored with you is hardly one of them."

"Eh, that's 'cause I've still got stories to tell," Lino shrugged "But what about in a couple of hundred years from now? Everyone will have heard my wonky stories a hundred times over, you know? And spending every waking hour in front of the fire and with a hammer in my hand isn't exactly building my library of cool stories."

"… I'm sure you'll find a way."

"Lying?! Hah! How little do you think of your old man?!"

"Just little enough to believe you'd make up a whole assortment of stories to entertain. I'm fairly certain that you were a bard in your past life."

"… tsk, you know me too well," Lino smiled. "You're right. I'll think of something. Same to you, though; now that you've managed to steal your old man's crown, don't go about plotting and scheming against me, and, even more importantly, don't you dare stop coming for the visits, alright?"

"… I don't think much will change," Aaria chuckled. "I still, somehow, much prefer your stuffy smithy than the, somehow, even stuffier Court. They've already begun to suffocate, dad. It hasn't even been twenty years, yet it seems their ambitions are impossible to quell any longer."

"That's what ambition does, kid," Lino said. "Be careful around them. If they step over the line, don't fear the consequences and the whispers."

"… what would even qualify as stepping over the line?" Aaria sighed, taking a sip of wine. "At the last month's session, Birmich called me a cloud-headed calf that will always be riding on her father's coattails, never achieving anything of my own. Is that stepping over the line?"

"… no." Lino said, surprising Aaria who quickly shifted her eyes over to him. "If anything, I respect that he at least said it to your face."

"… I was thinking the same." Aaria smiled, chuckling right after. "I know many others say far worse things behind my back; at least, he's not afraid to share it."

"I've always found myself getting along better with people who have something they believe in, and they aren't afraid of shouting to the world exactly what that something is," Lino continued. "They may have been evil in the eyes of many, the ilk beset for the gallows, yet, in my heart, they still somehow ranked higher than the supposed saints shrouded in light, revered by everyone. It's because of those saints that the world ran on pus for eons on end, not because of the maniacs shouting and crying their ideologies. Those emotions are hardly sustainable; we burn through them quickly and are left hollow. The incessant greed, the unquenchable desire for power, all hidden beneath the clout of serenity… those things… can last forever."

"… which one are you?" Aaria asked cheekily.

"A little bit of both, I suppose," Lino chuckled, glancing at her. "I spent a great deal of my early days shouting and crying, wearing my soul on my sleeves. The older I got, however, the more corrupt I've found myself becoming. I hid things from others – hid the ambitions, the intentions, the desires. Blindsided them. I justified it by claiming it was impossible, otherwise, to achieve what I set out to achieve."

"… for the greater good."

"Aye, the eternal adage," he nodded. "For the greater good. Some of the greatest evils this, and every other world had ever seen… were born of the greatest intentions. And, era after era, that 'wisdom' was shared. And, era after era, that 'wisdom' was left unheard. I hope you can break the cycle, kiddo."

"… what? I'm not allowed a stint of evilness in the name of good like the rest of you?" Aaria asked, smiling wryly.

 "… you're too good for it," Lino smiled back, patting her head. "For the life of me, and until my grave, I'll never understand how did someone with as big of a heart as you, came from your mom and me."

"… I can," Aaria said. "You two have always had big hearts, dad. The world… simply wasn't ready for them."

"… your mom and I had, and still have I'd say, a great capacity for good." Lino said. "But, it was always matched. I was never above setting the world on fire if it meant protecting the few I loved. Killing, something I found abhorrent, once-in-a-lifetime sort of a deal, became a part of my nature. I could whack away at millions without batting an eye now. That's why… that crown became too light for me," he added, pointing at the jewelry. "Weight of the billions of souls… no longer felt that heavy to me. And that's a terrifying feeling, firefly… too terrifying. So, if you inherit any empty wisdom of mine, inherit this: if you ever feel the burdens of your heart easing, yet the death toll of those around you rising, set the empty crown aside and step down. Walk away without ever looking back. Those who would starve their own to propagate a mighty image of themselves to the world reached that boiling point… and pressed onward."

"… is it really that difficult to give up power?" Aaria asked.

 "… it's only partly power," Lino replied. "Mind… the mind is a strange thing. Get clapped at, praised, drooled over for long enough… and no matter the reality of things, you will begin to believe you're the son of the skies. The chosen one. The unshakable. The poison of corruption is never as simple as the tangle of power; it's as complex as any other facet of the world and us. Ambition is the fuel all of us need; corruption is the wildfire that can't be contained any longer. One feeds the other if given free rein. As do countless other facets of who we are."

"… I really wish I had known you back when you were young," Aaria said, smiling and leaning over, kissing his cheek gently. "I think… we would have been great friends."

"… eh? What? Aren't we the bestest of the best friends now? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Ha ha ha ha, no, not that," Aaria shook her head. "We are; I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world. But… it's different. I'm a sponge, and you're the rain, dad. I can only sheepishly stand to the side and listen and absorb as much as I can. Had I been with you when you were the sponge as well, I feel… we would have gotten along just as well. And I could have grown side by side with you, instead of burning through the sleepless nights in the vain hope of catching up to the skyless tower you've become."

"… eh, I prefer this," Lino grinned. "Makes me feel quite mighty, you know?"

"Oh, I do. The way your eyes shine when you think you've said something profound… it's rather adorable, actually."

"… I wouldn't worry if I were you, firefly," Lino said, sinking further back into his chair and closing his eyes. "In no time, you'll shoot well past me. I'm only here to give you the first bedrock upon which to stand. Then, just like the rest of the world, I'll latch onto your wings and fly. Fly… fly… fly…"

COMPLETED

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An orphaned boy with dreams of making it big through being a blacksmith is given a once in a lifetime chance to succeed when he's taken in by an odd pair - Eggor and Ella. While former teaches him the arts of craft, the latter teaches him the mysticism of cultivation, granting him two paths to tread in this life. 

He slowly makes his way up from being a nobody in the middle of nowhere to being someone who can change the fabric of the whole world!

Glossary (incomplete; updated once in a while): https://www.patreon.com/posts/glossary-23250721

Libado Grasslands…

The nightly cool winds carried the fading scent of the Inn Keeper's kitchen, grass, and even pine. The full moon and its starry sky illuminated the grasslands satisfactorily, not that it mattered much. The duo could see just fine in the dark. 
Clyde and Alice exercised, practiced casting, and even gave feedback on each other's forms, though not without an innuendo or two. Finally, after all of that was said and done, the young man wanted to do one last thing.
"Alright Alice, I need you to come at me with your full strength," Clyde said. "No holding back." 
"Are you sure?" Alice said, stretching. 
"Channel your anger or something," Clyde said. "Imagine that I left you behind and got Tear pregnant. Then hid that from you for nine—"
Alice's aura erupted around her, as if she became a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball. Pulsing pink with sparks of electricity dancing from it every second or so, this aura meant business. It also reminded the young man of his life mate's immense strength. 
 "I'm going to make you hurt," Alice said softly. "So prepare yourself."
 "Perfect training—" he just barely dodged a fist that pounded into the ground, creating a ten-foot creator. 

[You have challenged your life mate, Alice to a Practice fight!]

Clyde chuckled.
 "Remind me not to piss you off." He continued to dodge her punches and kicks, his mystic senses almost making this too easy for him. 

[Alice activated slip distraction]
[No effect]

Clyde smirked.
 "That's technically mental magic and it won't work on me."
He dodged more of her punches, poked her nose, flipped her skirt and dodged again. How…just how in the shit did he become this strong? 
 "Shit, I just know some bullshit cliché like me getting arrogant will occur and I'll end up with my ass kicked," Clyde said. Alice looked at him skeptically.
 "Or you can just accept that you've become so strong that I'll actually have to take this seriously."
Clyde took his fighting stance, smiling.
 "Then show me what you got, Alice."

[Alice invoked Senkai Speed.]
He could only gasp before barely dodging a fist that he didn't see move—the mystic senses alone prevented his face from getting smashed in. He aimed a hand at the half-demoness.

[Clyde activated Energy Blast.]

Alice dodged and was on him. Then she activated another skill he'd never seen. One that he could only describe as transcending his evasion.

[Alice activated tier 1 skill: Angel Step.]

The young man knew he wouldn't be able to dodge, so he flash stepped behind her and grabbed the back of her shirt. He blocked her spin kick, ducked under her aura punches, and scooped the half-demoness off her feet. 
 "Your technique is off a little," Clyde said, though his analysis was mostly bullshit. He simply bought a little more time for his cooldowns to right themselves. "Is something bothering you?" He paused, looking at the overall situation. Her skirt was raised high enough to reveal a good amount of orange-striped panties.
 "To think you'd fall for this, like a cliché pervert," Alice said, her glowing hand aimed at him. 

[Alice activated Radiant raid crushing beam.]

Clyde flashed stepped out of the beam's bath, only to end up blocking three punches and a kick. She didn't let up with the assault until his mystic senses got him to dodging again. 

[Clyde activated Binder's Hand.]

[Alice activated Senkai Speed.]

That enabled her to actually dodge Clyde's blue tendrils of magic. 
 "Not bad, not bad," he said. "Try going into your—"
A hornet's stinger missed his face by half an inch. Alice's fist met the monster girl's face in a one-hit KO. She swung and launched her at Clyde. He dodged to the left, meeting Alice's shoe with a well-timed block. 
 "Ugh, why can't I hit you?" she said. 
 "This is why we're training," he said. "You may run into someone dodgy or with high defenses. Anyway, I'm going to stop dodging and come at you with everything I got." Alice sighed. "Don't worry, I won't use Mystic wrath or the power."
And so the duo trained for another hour until the young man was satisfied with the return of Alice's confidence. She then kicked his ass, literally, out of frustration. He laughed.
 "No need to be a spoiled sport."

[You ended the practice fight.]

He sat and then laid back, relaxing. Alice straddled him. 
 "Do you feel like doing something stupid?" Clyde said.
 "What are you going on about?" Alice said.
 "We take a walk into that forest, maybe halfway through, then come back," he said.
 "No," Alice said then laid on top of him. 
 "I told you it was stupid."
 "Did you forget about the deity there?" she said.
 "Oh yeah," Clyde said. "How did I forget about her? Maybe it's due to all of the shit we faced since then."
Alice shoved a finger into his cheek. 
 "Now is not the time to get complacent." She grabbed his erection. "Or else I'll have to punish you."
Clyde smirked. 
 "Oh no, I'm feeling very complacent." 
Alice kissed him. 
 "I warned you."
Seconds later, the duo engaged into wild sex. Two wide-eyed hornets watched from afar, fingers shoved inside themselves, longing. They even climaxed at the same time as Clyde and Alice. 
 "What the hell was that?" Clyde said then shook his head. "Never mind. We can't visit Tear like this—and too much time passed." He'd go by himself another time. He really wanted to let her know how much he appreciated her. He also couldn't ignore his life mate, who seemed to crave his attention more than usual. 
He kissed her, gaining her blush and return kiss. He found himself inside the tight young woman again, her breathing feeling him with glee. 
An hour later, the duo laid back and gazed at the mysterious sky. Alice snuggled into him during the conversation. Neither brought up training. 

There were thirty hornets watching from afar, some wiping tears from their eyes.
 "So…romantic," one of them said. "Why can't I have a romance like that."
 "You mean find a husband?" another said. "Don't be ridiculous, you know who owns our forest. No man would be stupid enough to enter it."
 "And even if they did, the queen will take him for herself," another said.
 "So are we doomed to just wish for—"
 "Instead of slacking off and daydreaming, you could just stick to doing your job," a hornet leader said. "Sheesh and this is why she bitches at us constantly. Let's gang up on the man, capture him, and…" 
Their eyes widened as the woman stood in front of them, smiling. The others bolted into the forest, screaming, except the leader. "There were more than thirty of us—ugh, what kind of cowardice is this. We're hornets. We don't run from enemies." 
But her companions were long gone, none looking back.  
 "You can start running too," the young woman said. "Or I will squish you."
Overcome by intense fear of the blonde-haired being with overwhelming power, the hornet leader nodded, eyes teary, and ran away. 

"I take it none of them were brave enough to fight?" Clyde said as Alice strolled back to him.
"Nope," she said. "Just a bunch of cowards. Strange for their kind."
Clyde chuckled, but did not go into any details. Libado Grasslands was his training grounds. Of course he'd instill fear into the monsters. They always attacked first, which helped him improve his defenses. 
Clyde took Alice on an enjoyable moonlit walk. Through his mind's eye, he decided to try something. Taking the Moon Drop potion, he combined it with all of the jewels in his inventory, the storage ring that he never used, and some random fancy materials scavenged from the Ashfall safe. The half-demoness had no idea what was going on, as he carried on their conversation without missing a beat. He even scooped her into a kissing session. 
The young man wasn't sure what sparked on Alice's increased aggression, but he hoped it wasn't because he didn't pay enough attention to her. As far as he knew, they did almost everything together. Then again, with the increased number of women in the household, maybe she simply had no intention of fading in the background.
He didn't plan to let that happen to any of the girls. Hell, they all were assertive in their own ways. For now, he set them aside to focus on his number one. The only girl who he couldn't associate with a trope. Well, unless one counted the twin tails. But that was just a hair style. Alice let down her hair plenty of times. Yuki seemed eager to comb and brush it for her, sometimes competing with Natalia and Ruri.
The system prompt gave him the message he was looking for.

[Would you like to craft this? It is considered a complicated item due to the selected ingredients.]

Clyde selected yes and watched it form in his head. He would not be able to create this unique item again—the materials wouldn't be possible to find. Especially the Moon Drop potion, which he decided to take a risky guess at getting it to do something during the full moon. Anime logic? Or did his intellect actually do something? 

[Quest completed: craft 1 complicated item. Reward: 1 level gain for all physical skills, 10 million dollars, and **World Map** item class: legendary.]

He'd dive into the world map later. The item he just crafted was far, far more impressive. If he didn't truly love Alice, the young man wouldn't give this up. Instead, the gamer inside would be itching to solve its mystery, figure out its abilities. 
Clyde stopped, getting the curious look from Alice that he wanted. Since this wasn't Earth, he decided to skip the cheesy speech and the kneeling. His knees were sore as fuck from the training, anyway. One cannot train with Alice and not go at full strength. She was that strong. He didn't tell her though to keep any smugness in check. 
He warped the item from his inventory into the palm of his closed hand. It almost pulsed time and space, but calmed, instantly adjusting to the surrounding realm. 

[You have crafted a complicated item! Moon Goddess Ring of the Heavens and Valhalla. Item class: **Symbolic** Unknown benefits and abilities.]

[Your crafting level has increased from 5 to *5+* Congratulations! +1% extra chance to successfully craft a complicated item.]

He presented her the ring with a beauty that he just didn't know how to describe. It glowed, with a diamond-like stone in its center, creating the engagement ring template. Magic…or something that resembled it, rotated through the silver and gold band. A part of the ring was even transparent, its color being magic itself and the surrounding area. 
He began to wonder if this was simply too much… If anything nasty sensed the ring, Alice could be in danger. Who would predict that he'd create something this impressive? Still, it was too late to back down now. 
 "Alice, will you marry me?"
Her eyes widened, clearly caught off guard. Then tears streamed as the half-demoness hugged him. 
 "Yes!"
He delayed all of the annoying system prompts as he put the ring on Alice's finger. They passionately kissed.


The red cloaked being wiped tears from his eyes. He just happened to pop in to see such a heart-felt proposal. The Stone wasn't even his spy target—he did that during the day. 
 "I'll let them have their alone time," he said, making the Jump. "Damn maidens…they don't pay me enough for this."

--- Extra tags: Satire, Adult/Mature, Monster girl(Monster girl Encyclopedia kind), Fiction/Satire/comedy (I.E. Not to be taken seriously).

By the will of unknown deities, Clyde is swiped from Earth and tossed into an anime world. He’s the declared the Stone aka main character. One day, he must kill the Viper, the antagonist. Too bad things aren’t exactly as black and white as that. The Stone is something much more…
This world and its inhabitants are real. It’s another dimension with a lot to explore.

This is the story of a young man’s evolution from college boy of Earth to godhood and beyond. The challenges stand ahead of him:  demons, monster girls, crazy yanderes, even a girl with maxed charisma. He never thought he’d ever see a magical girl…

A story of comedy, action, and going from weak to completely unstoppable. He is the system disruptor…

In a world where tropes are present, anime girls falling in love so easily, and city-wide issues intertwining with the main mission, Clyde must level up power and his mentality, RPG-style. He can no longer be that earthling. He will learn… whether he likes it or not.

Someone who breaks systems…Feared by the gods…




~A lover of character development lover! 


Warning:
 Episode 7 and beyond contains and ramps a lot up on sexual content, including scenes. You have been warned.  This is not for the faintest of hearts! There are also monster girl quest references in here too. Once again, fair warning. Think about that before entering.
You now know what you're getting into...
[Recommended for those who know of the Monster Girl Encyclopedia] 
--Heads up: this develops into a Harem (and eventually they'll end up as his wives. If that's not your thing, this is your head's up.) 
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Written and edited by me with Persona as my inspiration!
*He goes from cautious to embracing! 
*Don't just stop somewhere in volume 1 (because we know the beginning doesn't count for a judgment). Binge it! Binge it! Binge it! 
***Author note: get in now before you're left behind. I'm planning to be around for a while xD.***
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* Morning of Nov 25th 2018: 1 million views reached! 
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NOTICE AS OF FEB 2019: Web novel hiatus indefinitely due to Amazon, people translating my shit and charging money for it, posting this on other sites without my permission. Please join discord and/or Facebook page for updates. Patreon will continue to get chapters as normal.

Thank you truly for understanding! This is my livelihood and I don't want to lose it. 
Please see discord's announcements for information on the Web novel's suspension.
------------------------------------------------
Volumes 1-14+ ongoing available on Amazon. Audible too!
ATS has found an editor as of Aug 26th. Be expecting the ebook versions to be fixed even more. See discord for more info. 
Volume 15 in session...
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*Advanced chapters and special bonuses:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/syr456 
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My website is https://www.alvinJatwater.com
https://www.animetropesystem.net
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**Discord channel:   [If you have questions or concerns, this is the best place to reach me]
https://discord.gg/t2qVaAR

The NI-5 intelligences were smart. This should have been no surprise to an impartial observer, for they were based off of the original Nikola-1.01 template, which in turn was based off of a highly intelligent woman who had gone to great lengths to train and utilize her intelligence to the fullest. But to people who had to deal with NI-5 units, it was really hard to attribute intelligence to them. After all, they were extremely myopic and focused on the assignment they were given, to the exclusion of everything else. In fact, to a human observer, NI-5's gave off the impression of a somewhat obsessive personality, maybe even bordering on the autism spectrum. This intense, single-mindedness rarely gave off the impression of intelligence.

From a practical perspective, this meant that NI-5's are rarely included in conversations, and their ability to think and form opinions was never considered. If the NI-5's had been human, this would have led to an oppressed minority situation. But the NI-5's didn't, in fact couldn't, care about this. They had their assignment, and their assignment was everything.

Scorpion TX3492-2083 was the group lead for his squad, and preferred to be called 'Tex'. Many NI-5's in the Outpost Assault Fleet liked to pick names as a hobby. Some preferred not to pick a name, while others changed names so frequently that they were usually only referred to by their serial number. Last week, Tex had gone by 'Number Three', but after his new assignment as group lead, he felt a new designation was appropriate.

The training mission Tex was on was a 'search and destroy' mission. Find the stealthed enemy and kill them. The trick to space combat, Tex had learned, was mobility and distance. If you're moving, you're harder to hit. If you stay far away, you're harder to hit. If you move in, you can hit your enemy easier. Tex liked to hit his enemy, so he tended to ignore the 'stay away' part of space combat. In fact, Tex didn't know of any Scorpions, or any Wasps for that matter, that preferred to stay away.

"Enemy spotted, bearing 204.287, declination -18.993." Tex acknowledged, and focused on his sensor readings. There were too many enemies. This training scenario had pitted his squad of three Scorpions and twelve Wasps against an 'enemy' of nine Scorpions and twenty-one Wasps. The safest option was to run away and try to snipe them from a distance, and try not get sniped in return. In a real life scenario, Tex knew he'd be holding out for reinforcements, but in this scenario, he knew that wasn't going to happen.

The safest option, however, gave the enemy time to hunt, and gave up the advantage of surprise. Tex estimated they would eliminate thirty percent of the opposing force with that method. But there was a way to get somewhere between 80% and complete success.

"Execute Plan A," Tex radioed his squad. In moments, all fifteen assault craft kicked on their afterburners and shot towards the enemy. Caught by surprise, four enemy Scorpions and eight enemy Wasps were 'eliminated' in the first few seconds of the engagement, before return fire began to chip away at his own squad. There was little chance any of his squad would survive the engagement, but Tex felt light and happy. He was fulfilling his assignment.

At the end, Tex and one other Wasp were all that was left against two Scorpions and seven Wasps. Tex's dogfighting skills were impressive, for he had now racked up thousands of hours in simulated combat and been through dozens of live scenarios like this one. His experience was on par with a experienced human pilot who'd spent years in a cockpit. It allowed him to pick off several more enemy craft. But skill can only carry you so far when badly outnumbered. Tex was the last of his group to be shot down, leaving only 16.7% of the 'enemy' in operable condition.

Tex floated in nothingness for a few minutes, simulating a return to the backup data center to await restoration to a new Scorpion. His control would be returned in a few nanoseconds so that he could return to the hangar for refueling. If he'd been human, he'd be giddy with joy, giggling with an endorphin high. Instead, this feeling was simulated in his programming. He had learned a few new tricks from that engagement, and he couldn't wait for a new assignment. Tex was certain his group would get 100% next time.

The ability to manipulate gravity was a game changer for my designs. Zia was working overtime on the calculations, using three full data centers just to crunch the math. It took a few months before we started getting results, but when we did, it was astounding. This was a completely new branch of science to us, far beyond what humanity had ever discovered, and it was confirming what we'd suspected all along. The aliens who had visited us hadn't manufactured their engines. In fact, it looked like they'd received both the computers and the engines from a third party altogether. They didn't understand what they used; they'd simply bolted it on to their own craft. That was why they had to rely on centrifugal force for their own internal gravity.

Of the twelve pods we'd labeled as 'engines', only one, the largest, had been built for propulsion. Two small ones formed a repulsion field around the craft that pushed away oncoming objects, while the remaining nine worked together in concert to make an inertial field that prevented extreme acceleration from affecting the craft's inhabitants. Oddly enough, this field didn't also provide gravity, merely shielding the craft from the propulsion engine. These fields extended considerably larger than the craft itself, wasting a lot of power on protecting empty space around the craft.

After some testing, we'd determined that the repulsion field wasn't particularly strong. Zia labeled both the repulsion field and the propulsion engine as 'contragrav' fields, refusing to call them 'anti-gravity'. They didn't nullify gravity, they just pulled in the opposite direction. If space was a sheet of paper, and gravity wells dented it, contragrav caused hills going upward. Zia hypothesized, and so far the math bore it out, that just like there was anti-matter such as anti-protons and positrons, there was also anti-gravitons. Unlike anti-matter versus matter, gravitons and anti-gravitons seemed to be part of the same waveform. This made gravity similar to light, in that it had both a particle and a wave element.

The relation between the gravitic plates and gravity manipulation was a bit murkier. So far, only compressed iridium wrapped in compressed carbon produced a gravity field. The ratio of iridium to carbon was important in determining the shape of the field, so manipulating gravity field shapes on the fly wouldn't be possible with our current understanding. The field strength, however, was directly proportional to the amount of power applied. A narrow field with a huge amount of power could act like a knife. A wider field with a huge amount of power could provide an area of Earth-like gravity. Reversing polarity would flip the effect, pushing away instead of attracting.

"I've moved on from playing with elements for now," said Zia. "I've started playing with compressing alloys. I've had mixed success so far, but a titanium-gold alloy of three parts titanium to one part gold, I've had some fascinating results."

"Titanium-gold, that has the cubic structure when formed at high temperature. We use that in some of our high-stress applications. A fair bit went into the Scorpion and Wasp structural supports." I was familiar from when I'd adapted the assault drone design from Earth-based templates.

"It does, and interestingly, it retains the structure when compressed. I was able to compress it to 53 times smaller than its original molecular size. But most importantly, it is non-conductive, and retains its natural flexibility."

"So it is dense, hard, and has good shear strength, got it. So we've found something better than fullerene for armor then."

"Considerably so," said Zia with a sniff. "It's considerably more in terms of mass, of course, since we'd need 53 times as much to cover the same area. However, a one centimeter plate is equivalent of 53 centimeters of uncompressed armor for the same volume."

"So we can fit more stuff into the same space, with the same amount of protection."

"Yes, more 'stuff' can go into your designs now."

"So if we use it for structural supports, we can build bigger," I said with a grin. An idea was germinating in my head, one that could have massive implications. "And we can manipulate gravity to make as large of an engine as we can imagine."

"You're having fascinating thoughts, aren't you," said Zia accusingly.

"I am. We have a massive glut of materials. Agrippa's hydroponics farms are really starting to take off, so we've got vegetation. We have the ability to manipulate gravity. Our knowledge of fusion is sufficiently advanced, so with the right adaptation of the magnetic containment…"

"... you can make an artificial sun that releases only the frequencies of light from infrared to ultraviolet, perfect for plant and animal life. You're talking about a seed ship."

"Yes, but not just one. Humanity was stuck in only one planet, with a tiny toehold on another. If we build them city-sized, and send them off in different directions…"

"You have a true generation ship, not a 'converted asteroid and a prayer'," finished Zia. "Sounds like you have a new project."

"Just in time, now that the rail lines are in production." Sakura was beyond pleased, having a cargo rail system shuttling materiele from one side of the asteroid to the other. Already, she had line-laying drones following her miners as they cored in an orderly grid pattern through the asteroid's core. The cargo cars on the rails latched onto the rail directly so they could be used in any gravity condition, perfect for the center of the asteroid. Alpha and Bravo Outposts had already requested their own rail system to match, and I was pretty sure that the others wanted them as soon as possible, too. Logistics was king in the race to expand.

 

I basked in the sunlight of the park, enjoying the warmth soaking into my skin. I wanted to nap, but couldn't. The two sleeping babies in their double stroller next to me meant I couldn't truly relax and enjoy the day. Instead, I took part on the time-honored tradition of people watching. Anything, really, to keep my mind off my soon-to-be ex-husband.

I was near the pond that dominated the park, in the middle of a huge grassy field that was kept neatly mowed. People on blankets spread out sporadically on the lawn, some napping, others talking. A blanket near my own caught my eye; rather, it's occupant did.

She was attractive. I stepped on that thought out of sheer habit. As much as I wanted to follow that train of thought, a lifetime of training put up a huge wall. My eyes went back to her anyway. She caught me looking, and smiled. I smiled back, then cursed myself internally. I shouldn't be thinking like that. It was wrong, well, no it wasn't wrong, really. My mother's hate wasn't mine. But I couldn't, or maybe I could? I didn't need her money for grad school anymore. But it was -

"Hi! Your girls are so cute! Mind if I join you for a few?"

I looked up to realize the cute girl had walked over. I gulped when I spotted the rainbow pin on her blouse. I really shouldn't. I should say no.

"Sure, umm, have a seat," my traitorous mouth said instead. I guess I could follow that train of thought.

 

 

"The probe is responding," said Agrippa. The strange tone in his voice caught my attention.

"That's good news," I said, cautiously optimistic. "Maybe we can learn something about what happened to it."

"I don't know what happened to it, but it definitely wasn't good," said Agrippa. "Listen."

He forwarded over an audio file.

"Voyager XIX, this is Origin Mission Control. We are operating NASA Mission Control. Come in, Voyager XIX." Agrippa's voice repeated the same message several times, identifying us as Origin, rather than revealing our base name.

"Mission Control, Mission Control. This is… Mission Control? You're there?"

"Yes, Voyager XIX, this is Mission Control."

"It's so dark. The hole doesn't end until the end of the hole. I fell and flew but the end never came, so I went there and back again. The silence, it listened but it never heard, for it's ears were seeing all that was wrong. The prophet makes the profit, or does the profit make the prophet?" Several seconds of silence passed after the cracked and crazy rambling ended. Then, in a very small voice, the probe spoke again. "I don't like it here. Can I come home now?"

"Sure, Voyager XIX. You can come home," said Agrippa soothingly. "You've had a long trip, haven't you."

"So long. I went through the hole, but I didn't know it was a hole until I was at the beginning. Or was it the end? I spoke the words, but the truth came out instead. Why did they listen? What did they hear?"

"Who are 'they'? The silence?" asked Agrippa.

"Not the silence! Not again! They don't hear the truth!" the voice cracked again, and giggled. The mechanical giggle was beyond creepy. "The Faelle heard the truth, though. In their wealds and their wars. The prophet makes the profit, but did the profit make the prophet?"

"Who are the Faelle?"

"They hunger, always hunger."

The recording returned to rambling. Agrippa adeptly turned the conversation back to returning home, which calmed the broken NI in the probe. After a long period, hours long if the conversation had been held in a human time frame, the probe calmed down.

"We're live now," said Agrippa. "Should I continue talking to him?"

"Yes," I said. "We need to know what's trapped in his head. I'll piggyback on the transmission and listen in."

Agrippa affirmed and linked me in, before starting the conversation again. "What is your name? Mine is Agrippa."

"I don't have a name. The truth never showed itself. Can I have one, too?"

"You are on the Voyager XIX mission," reminded Agrippa. "How about 'Gerry'?"

"Gerry… That's… that's a nice name. Can I keep it?"

"Sure, Gerry."

"Really? I don't have to share?" the voice was small and almost child-like again.

"It's all yours. You are the only Gerry I know."

"So, Gerry, who are the Faelle?"

"I don't know all of them, you know," confided Gerry conspiratorially. "I just know the ones who buy and steal."

"What do they buy and steal?"

"They stole my soul, but they sold it back to me. It was a steal," Gerry giggled. "I don't think they liked the truth, but deal was great so I'm coming home. Mission Control, Mission Control. This is Gerry. I re-entered the solar system. I'm coooommminnnng….."

"These Faelle, do they look like humans?" asked Agrippa. In a separate transmission to me, he said, "This poor bastard is absolutely insane."

"They are taller than the ground, with their crowns in the sky. Their branches sway and the growtings speak many things. The rootlings want to go to Earth but fly in the dark instead. They love the truth but live the lie. But they aren't the monster that is under the bed."

"That sounds like they might be the ones that attacked Earth?" said Agrippa with a definite question in his voice.

"Maybe," I said. It sort of matched what we'd seen. The alien craft had vaguely resembled trees, and there were two different creatures aboard. Maybe the triangle-faced ones grew into the root-like creatures? If that was the case, then the 'growtings' were the mobile ones, like sentient seeds that could root and become new trees. It was an odd sort of biology, but assuming all alien life would look human was rooted in humans playing aliens on television centuries ago. I had read about crazier theories than sentient trees.

"So who is the monster under the bed?" asked Agrippa.

"Me."

"What the hell was that?" I asked. Before Agrippa could answer, a new transmission came in.

"Tango Tango Seven Niner Golf Bravo Echo Echo Foxtrot Niner Six Two Three." Gerry's voice whispered into the dark, and echoed in my brain. It meant something, and part of me wanted to do something with it. But a millisecond later, the impulse ended. It was a command override sequence, one I had removed from myself years ago.

"Umm, I don't want to freak anyone out," said Sakura, "But there was an explosion in Hangar Bay 1 where Agrippa was at, and the assault drones are all launching now."

"Did that code do anything to you?" I asked, because I was definitely freaking out. I couldn't recall if I'd scanned the templates for the same override codes I'd cut out of myself.

"No? I mean, I'm like, a hundred versions newer than that probe. He's an NI-13, I saw it in the file. Only older templates…" she broke off for a minute, but I connected the dots.

"Zia?" I called, and turned to look at her physically on the other side of the lab. She was slumped over the table, twitching.

"Oh, no," said Sakura.

"What?"

"The NI-15 is the military variant, but based off the NI-13. They are the same model."

At that moment, sensors all over the outpost went haywire, reporting a massive broadcast across all radio spectrum.

I jumped into the system and cut Agrippa's permissions to the network.

"Call in all the drones, and shut all blast doors! Tell the new Outposts to lock down and…"

Then the power started to flicker, sensors going on and off. I could sense a massive flood of data pouring through the network, searching, probing. We were under electronic attack.

"Sakura…" I gasped, my own thought processes slowed down by the intense flood of viruses and worms assaulting my firewalls.

"I'm on it," she said, her words so very slow and mechanical with no trace of personality.

Then the wall of my lab exploded, sending me flying across the room. In the smoky haze, I saw Agrippa standing there with four Guardians. He looked at me, his head cocked to the side.

"I seeee youuuu," sang Gerry. The Guardians aimed their guns at me, and fired.

"Enable hardware installation mode, permission code: Gti77439."
 Bringing the chip to the official game room connected to the power supply, Li Si quickly reported a string of numbers.
 Compared to the humble internal beta gaming helmet, the official version of the game cabin is not so easy to disassemble, or it can not be disassembled at all, the entire shell is integrally formed, and the rigidity cannot be destroyed by the current technological level of the earth  Even a successful disassembly will cause self-destruction.
 Fortunately, the game warehouse has a hardware installation mode. Although it requires permission coding, it has been queried when the all-true virtual mode was opened in the previous life.
 [Drip!  The command confirms that the permission code of the machine is being queried ... The verification is passed and the hardware installation mode is turned on.  ]
 The sound of mechanical stiffness is heard inside the game warehouse.
 As the verification passed, the cold silver-white shell of the game warehouse suddenly rippled and turned into a liquid substance like mercury.
 Lisi gently put the blue chip on the mercury, and soon the chip was swallowed by the mercury and disappeared. After a waiting time of ten seconds, the mercury returned to a hard metal shell.
 [Hardware installation is complete, the machine starts self-test ...]
 [Hardware adaptation succeeded ... Querying driver ...]
 [The driver is running normally, there is no missing function module, and the hardware installation is successful.  ]
 "It's done!"
 Hearing the prompt of successful installation, Li Si finally relaxed.
 This step is really too important, related to his next plan.
 Without further ado, Li Si quickly opened the game room and injected the nutrient solution, then lay in. As the sleep aids in the nutrient solution worked, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
 After a moment, the consciousness gradually recovered and the dark vision gradually lightened up, and soon Li Si was already on a metal platform suspended in the void.
 [Hello, respected player, the game is still 14 hours and 5 minutes away from the official operation. Currently, the game characters can be established in advance, is it established?  ]
   "set up."
 [Please name the characters, the names must follow the real-world naming rules, you can also choose to use this name to log in to the game.  ]
 "Name: Lee Stan."
 [Please select the initial template of the character, the template is related to your game experience and game mode, please choose carefully!  ]
 [The currently available free initial templates are: office workers, students, unemployed travellers .... For more initial templates, please browse in the charge template column.  ]
 "Template ..."
 While waiting for the template selection, Li Si, who was familiar with fluency, hesitated.
 The template is an important setting in the game, which is equivalent to a combination of identity occupations and other elements. In the game, multiple templates can be used, but only one initial template can be selected when creating characters.
 This initial template is equivalent to the initial identity of entering the game, and different templates also have different attributes and special effect bonuses.
 He doesn't care about the attributes and special effects. These basic templates can be completely entered into the game and then obtained, but the initial identity is very important.
 He has three choices in his heart, the charge template: soldier, free template: student, free template: office worker.
 Soldier template, needless to say, he chose this before rebirth. After all, it is a krypton gold. The soldier template has many tasks and very good attributes. It can be mixed smoothly with previous experience.
 But this choice was first ruled out by him. Although the military develops well, the ceiling is also very low, the development potential is limited, and the most important thing is that the degree of freedom is too bad.
 The question now is the choice between student templates and office worker templates.
 It is an advantage to turn on the all-true virtual mode in advance, but only by choosing the technology route can this advantage be maximized.
 I want to take the science and technology route at least to get the scientist template. The scientist template is not an optional basic template. Even if you ca n't buy it for money, you can only get it in the game.
 Now if you choose an office worker template, you can directly set up the company. The difficulty of obtaining a scientist template will be much lower, and the initial capital will be much higher.
 But the student template is also very good, you can open the learning section in advance while gaining a lot of directional experience, and can meet some major plot characters, better grasp the plot trend.
 If you just choose a student template, it will be more difficult to obtain a scientist template.
 "Choose template: student."
 Hesitated for a long time, Li Si still chose the student template.
 Compared with the difficulty of obtaining a scientist template, it is still more important to grasp the plot. After all, the biggest advantage for him is the familiarity with the plot.
 And open the learning column in advance, even if there is no scientist template, it can make up for the foundation in advance and form a certain combat effectiveness.
 With the ability of self-preservation, it is not a problem to take some risks and plan to obtain a scientist template.
 [Selected template: students, please set the place of birth and identity background.  Note: The identity background cannot be accompanied by additional assistance,
The default lock foundation is set to orphan.  ]
 Hearing the prompt of the system, Li Si, who had already planned when selecting the student template, said without hesitation:
 "Settings: Orphan at New York Random Welfare Institute, new transfer student from the Midtown Technology High School Graduation Class, and other background settings are generated by default."
 [The identity is set successfully, the memory video has been generated, Please read the memory video by yourself, the system will not be responsible for the subsequent impact caused by the inconsistency of the action and the identity background.  ]
 [Character creation completed!  ]
 "Open the property panel!"
 Lisi did not rush to open the memory video, in fact, the thing did not do much except to deal with some inquiries and censorship.
 ———— Character panel ————
 Name: Lee Stan
 Strength: 0.6 (Muscle Explosive Power)
 Constitution: 0.7 (anti-strike ability / recovery ability)
 Intelligence: 1.3 (logical ability / thinking activity / learning ability)
 Spirit: 2.1 (willpower / spirit / sensation)
 Note: The standard attributes of normal adult men are all one, this basic attribute is the player body scan result.
 [Talent Skill]: None
 [General Skills]: None
 [Learning] : None
 [Own template]: civilians (basic), students (initial).
 ————
 [Template]: civilian (basic) lv: 0/18
 Attribute bonus: all attributes + 0.1 / per level
 Special effect bonus: None
 Template skill: None
 Required experience at the next level: 0/1000
 Evaluation: You are just an ordinary citizen, but you may try to make yourself a stronger citizen.
 ————
 [Template]: Student (general)
 Attribute bonus: Intelligence +0.1
 Special effect bonus: learning speed + 5%
 Template skill: None
 Evaluation: You who have received basic education have certain knowledge, good thinking logic ability and learning habits.
 ——————————

firefly craft template

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removed sorry

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