Creation Talent
"From today on, I can use a divine power circuit!"
The next morning, as soon as Kim Jihun woke up in bed, he shouted with excitement. He was in a great mood. He'd basically acquired a slave-like servant. And not just anyone—a former divine being, Asria!
Of course, Jihun had no intentions of forcing anything sexual on her. For one thing, he already had a woman tucked away in his heart. And more importantly, his nature was far removed from oppressing others against their will.
There was only one reason he was thrilled to have Asria as his servant.
"Divine power circuit!"
Jihun remembered the first time he'd handled a soul. The enormous amount of information contained within the Soul Stone. And the higher god's divine power circuit that enabled him to manipulate it all.
According to Asrie, Asria had once been a mid-rank combat god—a talented divine being by any measure, despite her young age. It stood to reason her divine power circuit would be well-developed. If he could just borrow it, he could perform creations far more efficiently than before.
That was why Jihun was so pleased to have taken her.
He flung open the door to the room where Asria was staying and yelled,
"Time to work, Asria!"
Jihun shouted joyfully, while Asria shot him a pouty glare. But he paid no attention to her expression. He was simply over the moon at the thought of better creations and higher efficiency.
...
"So this is your subspace."
Asria slowly began looking around. She and Jihun were currently inside his subspace.
She was entranced by the sights. There were plenty of wonders scattered everywhere. Architectural marvels boasting supreme beauty, large and small artifacts strewn about haphazardly. And up in the sky, a brilliant orb floating serenely.
To sum up Jihun's subspace: a "beautiful mess."
It was undeniably chaotic and cluttered. Massive buildings and landmarks dotted the landscape, and creations from his training littered the ground everywhere.
Yet the amazing part was that every single thing possessed exquisite beauty. Unlike the efficiency and rationality gods pursued, Jihun—as a human—had infused much of his aesthetic sense into them.
That's why Asria was secretly impressed as she toured his subspace. Not only was the artistic quality of each piece high, but the sheer variety meant she never got bored, no matter how long she looked.
This human is incredible. And he's only a mid-level god? Creating things at this level? And he's from an intelligent species?
Even more astonishing was that Jihun himself had made all of it. He'd only recently reached mid-level god status.
For reference, to divine beings, a mid-level god was like a middle schooler. In modern terms, it was like a middle schooler breezily solving advanced problems meant for graduate students—linear algebra when they should be tackling first-degree equations.
Of course it felt impressive.
Maybe his talent surpasses even direct heirs of high-rank gods.
That's how Asria evaluated him inwardly. Nothing else made sense. A mid-level god seriously practicing creation? If such a divine being existed, they'd be a genius among geniuses.
...
Jihun arrived at an empty clearing in the subspace. He turned to Asria.
"Alright, time to get to 'work'."
"Work... What exactly do I need to do?"
Suddenly, Asria wondered why Jihun needed her at all. He'd only said she had to "work." But he'd never specified what that work entailed.
That's what piqued her curiosity—what task would he assign her?
What does he want me to do? He can handle most creations himself, and combat isn't an issue since he's only mid-level... Wait, could it be?
As she speculated alone, her face suddenly flushed red.
No way—he wants me for that kind of thing?!
Her cheeks burned even hotter. Asria was lost in absurd fantasies. She imagined Jihun keeping her as a slave-like figure purely to satisfy his lust—an utterly shameless notion.
As she spun her wild imaginings, Jihun approached her.
"Okay. 'Work' isn't that complicated. You just have to stand there and stay still."
"...Stand still no matter what you do to me?!"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Asria gaped at Jihun's brazen words. She'd twisted his meaning all on her own.
He's going to do all sorts of sexual humiliations, and I just have to stand there and take it?!
She was possessed by lewd demons. Anyway, while she blushed from her misunderstanding, Jihun pulled out his tools for training from his pocket.
What he retrieved was the mysterious book he hadn't seen in a while: the Creator God Manual.
Time to push biocreation to new heights.
Jihun's biocreation practice had stalled lately. It wasn't a lack of Creation Force or divine power.
The issue was his "rank." To smoothly create biocreatures, he needed a higher-rank divine power circuit. But as a mere mid-level god, his own circuit fell short for biocreation training.
Biocreatures were typically the domain of much higher-rank creation gods. That's why he planned to borrow Asria's circuit.
"Alright, let's get started."
Jihun approached Asria with the Creator God Manual in hand. She stood rigidly, her face tense.
He asked her,
"Asria, you ready?"
"...It's my first time, so please be gentle."
"?"
Jihun tilted his head at her out-of-left-field comment and opened the manual. Then he explained to her.
"I'm going to borrow your divine power circuit for creation from now on. Oh, I never told you. What I want from you is your circuit. I'm trying to do biocreation, but my rank and output are lacking. For higher-level training, I need a circuit superior to my mid-level one."
"Huh?"
Asria's face went slack with relief upon hearing his explanation. All her fantasies had been delusions, bringing a mix of relief and embarrassment.
I actually imagined that. How mortifying.
Still flushed, but now from a different kind of shame, she stood there. Ignoring her, Jihun focused on the manual.
[Existence lives.]
He was looking at the section on biocreation. Jihun intended to practice it.
Lately, he'd developed a grand dream.
Someday, I want to create my own intelligent beings.
He remembered that day—the pulsing of the souls he'd handled. The nobility and sanctity as he guided them with his own hands.
When those essences, each carrying unique lives and worldviews, regained bodies, a deep surge of pride and relief had shaken him to his core.
The sensation of saving lives with his own hands—it had filled the heart of a former intelligent being like him with profound emotion.
My own intelligent beings...
That's why Jihun felt the weight of life. Other divine beings might not sense it. But as a fellow intelligent species origin, his experience handling souls hit him harder.
Which was why he was eager to master biocreation, even if it meant pushing himself.
Jihun said,
"Okay, here we go. I'm syncing with your divine power circuit."
He gripped Asria's hand tightly. He felt the soft texture of her palm.
Closing his eyes, he began circulating his divine power and Creation Force.
-Whirr...
Jihun tried to push his Creation Force and divine power into her body.
Hm?
It didn't work well. The problem was that her circuit had barely been used.
"Ugh, it's not going in."
The unexpected snag made him groan. He hadn't anticipated failing for this reason.
"Her circuit's so atrophied it won't sync... What the hell?"
The cause was Asria's demonization. Once a divine being, she hadn't used her circuit once after turning to the Ma-shin clan.
For an immeasurable time by human standards, her divine power had lain dormant. Unused for so long, the circuit had clogged with miscellaneous energies.
Expecting it to function normally now was probably too much to ask.
Jihun pondered.
How can I normalize her divine power circuit?
It was "blocked." Left abandoned, junk energies had accumulated.
To restore it, he needed to heat the circuit with divine power again.
Jihun resolved himself.
"Alright. Let's start with a divine power circulation."
Gripping her hand firmly, he began injecting his divine power through it.
It wasn't easy. So thoroughly blocked, only trickles seeped in despite his efforts. Abysmal efficiency.
Soon, he figured out why.
Too far from the heart.
The heart acted as a pump, distributing divine power and Creation Force throughout the body. Injecting from the arm toward the heart was inefficient and taxing.
He needed to infuse from somewhere closer to her heart.
But he hesitated.
That would mean...
What was closest to the heart? Her chest.
Jihun glanced at Asria's chest. Beyond the thin white fabric, her voluptuous breasts sat beautifully.
He had to place his hand there and channel divine power.
He couldn't help but agonize.
Putting my hand on her breast to infuse divine power? That's way too pervy.
Jihun was a late bloomer. He'd grown somewhat accustomed to intimacy from recent kisses with Leila, but breasts were another level.
He had little experience with women to begin with. Casually groping Asria's chest was a big hurdle.
"Umm..."
He groaned again, staring intently at her chest.
What?
Asria wondered why Jihun was staring at her chest. He'd been squeezing her hand to force divine power in, but now he'd stopped and was eyeing her body.
For a moment, she thought,
Is he after my body after all?!
Her earlier naughty suspicions resurfaced. But she didn't show it—she'd learned her lesson from the previous embarrassment.
Instead, she asked,
"What're you doing all of a sudden?"
To her question, Jihun replied with a serious, sage-like expression.
"Asria. Your divine power circuit hasn't been used in so long that I can't push divine power in. It's clogged with junk, blocking my power from entering."
"Hmph, sorry my circuit isn't up to snuff."
"So, I need to infuse divine power to get it flowing and reactivate your circuit."
"...And?"
Suddenly, Asria sensed something ominous. Despite the conversation, Jihun's gaze was fixed unblinkingly on her chest.
He continued,
"But injecting through your hand is too hard. I need to channel it near the divine power pump."
(Note: The divine power pump meant the heart.)
"The place closest to the divine power pump is..."
"Let me touch your chest."
Asria froze at Jihun's bold demand.
To use a car analogy: you need to add fuel, but the inlet's clogged, so you gotta pour it straight into the engine.
Me too... I'm gonna touch! Next chapter coming right up~