*Day 094*

  Joram looked around at his now completed workshop and smiled.

  There was a section each for the various crafts that he’d already experimented with, like blacksmithing and weaving. There was also a rather large open storage area devoted to raw materials, though given that he could easily produce anything that he’d need on the fly, it wasn’t quite as useful as he’d first imagined it to be.

  At any rate, the warehouse-like building was now complete. With modern lighting to boot! And a bed in the corner should the need arise. Which, given the fact that his women…. That the women around him basically insisted on using him nightly as a body pillow, he wasn’t sure just how much use the bed in the corner would see. But it was there, just in case.

  Then he looked down at the last thing he’d added to the workshop. Well, more the ingot laying on the workbench that he’d be using as a desk. An ingot of what his Other Self would call “adamantium”. An ingot that he was considering assimilating, just like his Other Self had done.

  But he wasn’t quite sure if it would work the same way it had for his Other Self, given that they were in a different universes and all.

  He then looked over at the training manual for the Adamantium Body Technique, then to the language Skill Book he’d need to use to understand the language used in the body refining book. He was… cautious. Worried, even.

  Given how many memories that were seeping through to him from his Other Self, he wasn’t sure what would happen if he added something from that world to his knowledge base. Let alone an actual item to his body. Would the flow of knowledge suddenly explode, inundating him with the memories and experiences of his Other Self? Would they gain a connection similar to what he had with his clones while using [Fission]?

  Or would they be drawn to one another like Altaea had been when each of her separated selves gained sufficient strength? And if that happened, what would happen to his, or their, lives on their respective planets? Would one world lose a Joram while the other world gained a ridiculous version of him?

  He knew that his Other Self was a cultivator in his world, and that he was considered pretty powerful there. So, what would happen if they merged? Would a System-powered cultivator show up? Or would only one aspect of them survive while their memories and personalities also merged?

  What would the people around him say? Would they immediately shun him for having turned into someone else? Well, he wasn’t sure how different his Other Self was compared to him. But from what he could gather, his Other Self was more… social, than he currently was.

  Joram nearly blushed when going through the shared memories of his “girlfriends”. Fiancées, now. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to go nearly that far with the women around him. He wasn’t sure if he was emotionally ready to do anything close to that.

  Given what he could glean, his Other Self had been on that world for well over a decade already. Not only that, but he had also had the benefit of Altaea being able to stick around to train him. And to also help him work through their trauma.

  He, Joram Smith, was still working through his trauma, though. So, he was fairly sure that he wasn’t anywhere close to taking that step. That singular step of starting a relationship. A single relationship, never mind a polygamous one that the women around him seemed keen on starting.

  But maybe it really was time to get Avi’s help with [Psychic Chirurgery]? Was he just being stubborn? Was he using his past traumas as an excuse to stay single? To keep from starting another intimate relationship?

  Most likely.

  “Hah!” Joram barked out a self-deprecating laugh.

  Not “most likely”. It was a certitude.

  ‘Just because you’ve cleared things away, doesn’t mean you need to immediately dive into a relationship,’ Avi suddenly interrupted him.

  He thought about those words and facepalmed. He’s subconsciously associated being free of his trauma with needing to be in a relationship right away. Needing to immediately respond to the desires of the- quite frankly- desirable women around him. He really could just take things as slowly as he needed. But to do that, he knew that he’d need to have conversations with said women that he was in no way practiced in, let alone any measure of comfortable with.

  ‘Again, you can take your time,’ Avi added, once more relieving his anxiety.

  But then the thought of being around those amazing women without the mental barrier of his traumas was… a bit too exciting a prospect for him.

  He looked over at the bed in the corner of the workshop and began to appreciate it a bit more. Sure, he still had [Clear Mind] to fall back on- and he was absolutely certain that he’d need it more than ever after ridding himself of his past traumas. But. Would he want to use it then? That’s what scared him more than a little bit.

  Would he want to hold himself back from immediately diving into that pool, as it were?

  He was self-aware enough to know that he would indeed want to engage in sexual relations with those amazing women. But was that the right path to take? Well, he was sure that he’d eventually get there, especially given how much he truly liked each and every one of them. But could he get over his monogamously minded upbringing? Would that guilt gnaw at him until he snapped?

  ‘[Psychic Chirurgery] can also deal with that, you know,’ Avi once more interrupted his spiralling with a nugget of wisdom, making him wonder just how awesome she was.

  ‘All sorts of awesome, dear,’ she sent, making him blush with the included undertones of the sending.

  ‘There go all of my feeble arguments,’ he sent back wryly.

  ‘It’s good that you’ve learned how futile those arguments were,’ Avi sent, obviously grinning.

  Nodding, Joram allowed Avi’s A3, her third Mind, to connect with him through the Network.

  ‘You’re really ready?’ she asked, more feeling like a confirmation to get started than confirming his resolve.

  ‘Yeah, let’s do this,’ he sent back, finally ready to get on with his life.

  * * *

  Asami stopped, turned, and looked towards the Academy, frowning slightly.

  She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but couldn’t help but think that something momentous was coming. Something that would change their lives in ways that she couldn’t begin to explain.

  She absently used [Flames of Purification] to swat away a spirit as she contemplated what she was feeling.

  But after several minutes of searching her feelings, she gave up. It wasn’t anything that she’d experienced to date. Yet, it gave her… hope? She wasn’t sure, but she somewhat felt that whatever was coming would be a good thing.

  Now smiling, Asami turned to her skulk and nodded. She’d gathered most of her extended family to help with clearing out the new city of the various spirits that inhabited the region. Had Joram only taken in the races native to their homeland, they wouldn’t have had to worry about the spirits of the Great Forest. But since he had also taken in the Mana Touched, the “demons”, that action had led to the need for her to act.

  Still, she didn’t complain, especially since they were all gaining valuable experience that levelled up both their Classes as well as their Skills.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Looking over at Harumi, she smiled to see that the dark purple vixen had gained her seventh tail. A sign that she would soon be able to progress to the next phase of her development. And given just how taken Harumi was with Joram, she was sure that he’d have his hands full for the first while as Harumi adapted to foxkin life.

  Now humming a merry tune, Asami got back to work directing her skulk.

  * * *

  Cyd blinked, then blinked again as the changes washed through him like a cleansing tide. He took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He did that a few more times, appreciating just how… easy, how light, it felt. In fact, he felt so light that he stopped his dragonfly construct and teleported out of it so that he could stand in the air and stretch.

  Which just so happened to be a mistake.

  The shard of ice that smashed into him could have been better described as a chunk of ice the size of twenty-two wheeler. It also managed to get through his physical resistances and turned him into that much ground meat.

  - - -

  Joram blinked at he felt himself re-merging with himself, then coughed as the damage divided amongst his remaining [Fission]s. A moment later, after each one had used [Heal: 3], he was back at full HP and wondering what had attacked him. Or Cyd. Whatever.

  Shaking his head, he re-manifested [Fission] to get Cyd back, then watched as Cyd vanished again after activating [Schism] and all of their standard buffs.

  - - -

  This time, Cyd was ready when the next iceberg-sized chunk of ice came his way.

  With a bit of [Telekinesis] that wound up being more than just a bit when the Skill came in contact with the ice, he managed to deflect it enough so that it missed him this time.

  After the ice passed by, he managed to get a glimpse of the one attacking him.

  He would describe them as an ice elf. Specifically, an elf made of ice. But meaner looking.

  Their ears were certainly more pointed than any of the other elves he’d ever seen, more resembling the oft-used moniker of the dwarves for elves: knife ears.

  The features on their face were certainly more angular than the non-ice elves he’d met, though not so much as for him to compare the ice elf to old-school low polygon game sprites. Then there was the “hair”. Given just how… pointy it looked, he was comfortable in likening it to a stereotypical Saiyan’s hair. Except made of ice.

  Their frame was very slender, almost anorexically slender, with long fingered hands that ended in respectably long nails that were more claw than not. Even their clothing was made of ice, boggling his scientific mind with how cloth-like it moved in accordance with the elf’s movement.

  Cyd blinked at its level, then at the “Greater” level for its ice-based Skills.

  Combined with the fact that it didn’t have a name listed, the fact that its Racial Skills were listed, as well as its resource pools, told him that it wasn’t a person, but a “monster”. Stats that only showed up when he [Analyze]d a monster. Which relieved him somewhat, considering that he was still hesitant to just go around killing sapients.

  *Ding*

  Cyd blinked at the message from the System and again wondered at the level of preferential treatment he got from the System.

  Then promptly dodged the next mini-iceberg.

  That was getting annoying.

  So, he focussed on the [Ice Fey] and activated [Pyrokinesis], pumping in as much mana as he could. Which just so happened to be the number of ranks he had in the Skill.

  He was impressed with just how much damage [Pyrokinesis] could do, but also a little bit more than a little bit scared at just how much damage that was. With only two of him, he could one-shot one of him with that much damage.

  Hell, his [Telekinesis] could one-shot him. Just him, with no other [Fission]s to divide his HP.

  Getting back to the matter at hand, his use of [Pyrokinesis] manifested a sphere around the [Ice Fey], blocking his view of his attacker. But a moment later, he received the notification that he’d eliminated the threat.

  So, he flew down to inspect the slowly-filling crater his [Pyrokinesis] left behind. Well, it was slow because of the environment. The melted ice was quickly re-freezing in the arctic cold, prompting him to use [Hydrokinesis] to keep his loot from being entombed in ice.

  Well, he hoped that it was loot, anyways.

  He blinked at what [Analyze] revealed, then used [Telekinesis] to bring what looked to be a shard of ice to his hand for closer inspection.

  Which didn’t do much, as the only thing that he could tell from holding it was that it was not, in fact, a shard of ice. It felt more like a cold crystal. Not supernaturally cold, but cold because it was in an arctic environment. Still, it was smooth and basically a pyramidal octahedron crystal the size of his middle finger. It was also that cool green-blue colour you’d see through a couple of feet of snow if you just so happened to fall through a drift that had formed on a riverbank….

  Yes, that had happened to him as a child. It had been scary at first, but then all sorts of awesome when he realized that he could just dig his way out.

  At any rate, he was tempted to just keep the crystal for how pretty it was, but then remembered that he could just make another one if he wanted to. So, he Looted it.

  He couldn’t help but goggle at the currency he’d gained. Just in coins alone, he’d gotten almost as much as he’d paid for Myriad Wonders, never mind the bars he’d gotten!

  Cyd grinned as he looked around for more [Ice Fey], wondering if there was a Dungeon nearby. Given just how much he’d earned from that one kill, he was now seriously contemplating starting up his own bank. Not just the monetary gains, but the experience as well was more than worth it.

  He was now just a fraction away from hitting level twenty in [World Architect], making him once again wonder what the capstone ability would be. If it was anywhere near as broken as gaining Skills to control the basic forces of the universe, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.

  Yes, it was a lot of power, but he was still just a very fallible mortal…. Well, a fallible being, anyways. Maybe he’d gain enough knowledge and wisdom as time went by, but the way he was now, he was certain that such crazy abilities were wasted on him.

  Cyd then shrugged. It wasn’t like he was responsible for the survival of the planet, after all. He could just take his time. Live his life. Enjoy the people around him. Maybe start a family one day….

  * * *

  Kasumi regarded her “sisters”, as Joram had started calling them. She wasn’t sure what to think of that odd quirk of his, but had found that Nabiki and Akane had “warmed” considerably to both her and Joram after hearing him call them sisters.

  She was glad, though, that they were adapting well to life in Joram’s strange settlement. Between the unusual and never-before-seen devices that were commonly seen and used, and the sheer number of freed slaves, Kasumi had to admit that even she was somewhat overwhelmed by it all. Even the work she had “found” with her “sisters”.

  Kasumi looked around at the odd space. It was mostly bare steel- tables, shelves, racks, trays, and massive vats and cauldrons. The floors were that strange “Moss Stone” that she’d heard was incredibly valuable. Especially since the entirety of the floor seemed to be made of one continuous slab of the stuff.

  The work? Something called “flash freeze preservation” of food. Also, “freeze drying”. Even without having chosen a Class or even a Path yet, Kasumi had still gained much in her time working in the strange food preservation building.

  One of the things that Joram had provided those who worked there- mostly Yuki-onna like her and her “sisters”- was a Skill Book for [Hydrokinesis]. Which had confused almost everyone… after they’d all gotten over their initial shock that is.

  They’d then all been set to practicing drawing out moisture from various things, from berries to fruit to vegetables to meats. Not entirely, though. As Joram had explained, drawing out just a portion of the moisture contained in the food was enough to do what was needed. And that was to freeze the food without causing damage to its structure. Which had confused everyone to no end.

  But, after having done what they’d been instructed to do, they’d then followed the next instructions as exactly as they could. Which was to freeze the food as quickly as possible. After that, the food was “vacuum sealed” and sent to a cold storage building. But before that had all proceeded, Joram had shown them the genius of his methods.

  They’d then thawed the food and used it as ingredients for various dishes. That, in-and-of-itself hadn’t been anything unusual, for freezing food to preserve it in the winter had been a common occurrence. What had set things apart was Joram’s method. The frozen foods hadn’t tasted much different than their fresh counterparts!

  Normally, frozen foods wouldn’t be anywhere near as… fresh, or delicious, as fresh ingredients. The “flash freezing” method had greatly changed things for the better. Sure, you had to finely tune how much moisture you drew from various foods, but considering just how much better things tasted using the new way of freezing food, it was well worth the effort!

  Not only that, but their various Skills involved with the production methods had grown tremendously. Her [Cryokinesis] had advanced to the Advanced Level, while her [Hydrokinesis] had already reached the peak of the Improved Level. Even her [Aura: Cold] had improved tremendously, especially since it was what she used the most when freezing large batches. Having it at the Advanced Level was certainly something, though incredibly dangerous if she let it slip out by accident around those who weren’t prepared to deal with such intense cold.

  Still, she took comfort in knowing that her [Aura] wouldn’t harm Joram if her control ever slipped.

  Now smiling, Kasumi got back to work, oblivious to the knowing smiles her co-workers hid from her.

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