Chapter 642: The Perfect "Avatar"
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 642: The Perfect "Avatar"
Evening.
Millian watched the sun as it dipped toward the horizon; the sunset in the Expansion Realm was equally magnificent.
However, she didn't have much time to admire it.
Perhaps because of the stir she had caused, very few people had come looking for her after the afternoon. Or perhaps the first few she dealt with had served as a warning, and now everyone else was likely waiting on the sidelines.
After all, to seize that sliver of possibility, she had squeezed those initial clients far too hard.
Millian pulled four contracts from her storage equipment. This was the fruit of her day’s labor. Four... it really wasn't a small amount.
To secure these four, she had been busy all day. Some negotiations had collapsed, others had turned heated, and there was even one person who had sought her out three times without the contract being finalized.
She checked her phone, and after confirming no one else was trying to contact her, she began walking in a specific direction.
the Book in the Box told her that its master was that way.
It was the direction of the hotel.
A slight throb emanated from the Book in the Box—a special resonance caused by the symbiosis between the Great Knowledge Seed inside and the book itself.
Knock, knock, knock.
Shortly after she knocked, the door opened.
Millian looked a bit apprehensive, but her gaze still drifted inside. She found that the person opening the door was the same Teaching Assistant Xiao Han she had met that morning.
But immediately after, a familiar voice rang out, though it didn't come from the figure standing before her.
"You're here. Is it evening already?"
Millian froze. She saw two identical figures!
A Clone Technique?
That was her first thought, but clone spells weren't particularly popular. A clone usually lacked the combat power of a proper summoning spell.
Assuming the one who opened the door was a clone, she didn't pay it much more mind and prepared to walk inside.
However, as she passed the "clone," an accidental sweep of her perception put an unsettling pressure on her. This clone was far too strange!
The form, the physical movements, even the breathing and the way its gaze followed her—it was impossible to ignore!
Standard clone spells shouldn't be able to achieve this, right?
After all, those were just spell effects, magical constructs... they should be...
Her originally smooth stride faltered. She couldn't help but subconsciously compare the "clone" beside her to the original speaking inside the room.
"What are you looking at?"
"The... the clone spoke!" Millian jumped, startled by the figure beside her.
"Is it so strange for a clone to speak?"
I stood up and walked over to Millian, feeling a bit speechless at her flustered state.
I recalled that it was perfectly normal for clones to speak, wasn't it?
For instance, my previous Illusion Clone could converse fluently with people, just like a living person, except it lacked a physical body.
Or take Dean Mei’s clones—they could even handle office work for her. Speaking was a trivial matter.
They could even cast spells at will, couldn't they?
"No... it's nothing..." Millian calmed her racing heart. She was someone aiming for great things; she had to keep her composure. She had a clone spell too, but her clones were like wooden blocks—decent for basic movement, but requiring simultaneous vocal spells to achieve a speaking effect. Perhaps Teaching Assistant Xiao Han’s clone was just very special.
"Since you're here, let's see your results for the day," I said, inviting her in.
"Yes. These are my results. A total of... four."
"Four?" I frowned slightly. This number was far lower than I had expected. There were surely more than four resource points outside Ninglan New City affected by the dreamscape.
"Would you like me to explain, sir?" Millian asked cautiously, keeping her head bowed.
"Briefly tell me why there are so few." I took the four contracts. Although there were only four, the parchment wasn't just four sheets, but four thick stacks.
"Yes." Having received permission, she quickly described the situation in concise language. "After they learned I was negotiating these contracts on your behalf, most chose to wait and see. It's also possible they felt the terms I demanded for these four were too high, which scared many off. They likely think they should wait a while to see if we'll soften our stance and lower the standards."
"Scared off... Heh, and here I thought they were more persistent." As I spoke, I used the Ley Line Identification Art to inspect the four contracts.
Watching my movements, Millian grew tense, looking like a student waiting for a graded exam.
To Millian, every second felt like a year.
If the other party was dissatisfied now, all her efforts would go down the drain, and she would lose all value upon returning to the Jack-of-all-trades Club.
Meanwhile, I used the Ley Line Identification Art to conduct a comprehensive check of the four contracts.
The first thing I checked was whether the content itself had loopholes, and only then did I check if the benefits she had secured for me were acceptable.
Since I didn't know much about this field, it took some effort, but the final result was... essentially no problems.
The few minor flaws were negligible.
Of course, what truly overshadowed those flaws was the sheer ruthlessness she had displayed during the negotiations. She really wasn't afraid of offending people.
"Give the Book in the Box back to me," I said, placing the contracts on the table.
"Please give me another chance! Just one! I... I will do better tomorrow!"
I was momentarily stunned by her sudden outburst, but then I realized. The Book in the Box was the credential I had entrusted to her, the symbol of her authority to negotiate on my behalf. When I asked for it back... she must have misunderstood.
"I am very satisfied with these four contracts. When I said 'give it back,' I meant you no longer need it as a temporary credential." As I spoke, I waved my hand. Power of Knowledge erupted from the Book in the Box and returned to my side.
"What?"
Millian had almost thought her gamble had failed. She hadn't expected such a sudden turn of events.
"I don't care to repeat myself, but I heard what you just said—you will do better." I looked at Millian, who looked like she was about to cry, and then reached out. A Great Knowledge Seed appeared in my palm. "Do you recognize this?"
"This... seed... is it a Great Knowledge Seed?" Millian asked uncertainly. Such things were so rare that she had never seen an actual specimen, only teaching assistants who possessed them.
"Correct. It's yours now. Use it right here. If there's anything you don't understand, ask my other self." I pointed toward my clone, then picked up the Book in the Box and opened it.
"Yes!" Millian was overjoyed. She took the Great Knowledge Seed and moved to the clone's side.
I, meanwhile, flipped through the long-awaited book.
It wasn't that I couldn't read without the Book in the Box; I could flip through any book and let the Power of Knowledge overwrite the original content. However, reading with the Book in the Box had become a small habit of mine—a sort of reading ritual.
Throughout the day, aside from a brief walk outside, I had spent the rest of my time reflecting on and validating the two techniques: Mimicry Soul and Soul Essence Painting. Ultimately, I had used Mimicry Soul as the primary direction for my clone spell experiments.
The clone before me, which was nearly indistinguishable from myself, was my "result."
It was an consciousness carrier cultivated using a specially derived Great Knowledge Seed combined with a Consciousness Crystal, perfected through constant trial and error across multiple versions.
I then used the Knowledge Shadow within the Great Knowledge Seed and the Great Knowledge Sharing Spell to establish a knowledge link with my Tree of Great Knowledge, creating a "blank consciousness."
What surprised me even more was that this process utilized a capability I hadn't anticipated: "Heart Sense"!
That's right!
The Body Cultivation Sixth Sense—Heart Sense!
Initially, when Heart Sense was merely for self-perception, I hadn't discovered anything special. But once I created this blank consciousness that was so intimately linked to me, I realized the terrifying power of the Body Cultivation Sixth Sense!
If the five senses are pure perception, then the Sixth Sense, while adding another channel of perception, is more about understanding! Mindscape resonance!
Heart Sense gave me the ability of absolute perception over this clone, eliminating the barrier of "disconnected" perception usually found in clones.
This accidental experiment proved one thing: beyond the five senses, starting from the Sixth Sense, it's no longer just a matter of perception. It's the beginning of gradual understanding, and then—dominance!
While "dominance" might be a bit much, "control" was a certainty. Therefore, if I wanted to move past the "prototype" threshold of the Seventh Sense (Time Sense), I would likely need to gain insights into the relationship between Time Sense and perceptual control.
With this clarified, the prototype of the clone—a blank consciousness controlled by the Knowledge Shadow's subconscious—was shaped.
With the addition of Heart Sense, an consciousness that was independent yet completely subject to my command was born. Then, the Great Knowledge Sharing Spell was used to influence it with knowledge.
Thus, I preferred to call this clone... a Knowledge Clone.
Unlike a Knowledge Shadow, she had a physical body. Her behavioral consciousness was a "mimetic consciousness" driven by the Knowledge Shadow's subconscious within the Tree of Knowledge.
Or rather, she was an extension of my own consciousness. She didn't view herself as an independent entity. To use an analogy, this was a single-person multi-character roleplay, but without the need for multi-threaded operation.
It was a perfect "Avatar"!
Even if I wanted to destroy the clone right now, it would be no problem. It was like playing a roleplay game; when I was done, I could stop without any lingering attachment to the character—the clone's identity.
Of course, others might struggle with that—getting too "into character," or... becoming a victim of "eighth-grader syndrome"?
But I wouldn't.
After all, one doesn't usually struggle against oneself, unless one has a split personality.
As for the subjective consciousness and the subconscious, they aren't on the same level, so there's naturally no conflict.
Next, I used Mimicry Soul and the Reincarnation Rebirth Spell to shape a body for her.
From the perspective of Life Interpretation, she wasn't a living being; she was my clone.
However, if someone used external means to probe her, they would find no difference between her and my true self. Only by forcibly inspecting the soul would they discover it was a Mimicry Soul.
She also possessed mental power granted by consciousness. As long as she had a spellbook, she could use it—provided she had a Mana Source. But that didn't matter; her body was identical to mine, meaning she possessed the same physical talent for Self-Generated Mana.
Though she was somewhat like a version of me without external artifacts, she had a much higher starting point.
Furthermore, I had cast the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art on her, granting her more autonomous wisdom and forming a dual tree structure with the Tree of Great Knowledge.
By mastering the Power of Knowledge through this method, the implications were vast.
She could serve as an extension of my Domain Order!
And what did that mean?
It meant she could help me plant Omni-Link Main Network Trees across the entire Expansion Realm!
And if that wasn't terrifying enough, theoretically, I could create countless such clones.
Of course, "countless" was an ideal state that ignored practical constraints. In reality, just having those countless "me's" perform different actions would cause serious disruptions to my life.
Even though it wasn't multi-threaded control, I still knew what my clones were doing.
So, if there were too many clones, I would still need time to adapt.
After all, even casting spells requires practice for control and adaptation. Why would using such an efficient clone be any different?
After reading for a while, I gave myself a break. I closed the Book in the Box and stood up.
My clone had already finished teaching Millian how to use the Great Knowledge Seed. She had basically adapted to its use, including but not limited to basic abilities like Knowledge Shadow and the Ley Line Identification Art.
The clone had also explained how to link the Great Knowledge Seed to the Academy Network to sync her personal information and account.
"Let's go. It's time for dinner. Looking at you, you probably haven't eaten all day. This meal is on me," I said as I passed Millian.
Treating her to a meal was a formal way of signaling my stance to the outside world.
My clone stayed behind. Theoretically, she also needed to eat to maintain the body's natural metabolism, but I chose not to have her come out with us. I could just pack a meal and bring it back later. Anyway, I didn't have to pay for food here. Did they not understand the weight my status carried in Ninglan New City?
Upon reaching the restaurant, I didn't choose a private room. I stayed in the open area. If we were in a private room, no one would know what I was doing.
"The usual for me. A set for two," I said to the restaurant manager, who had come over personally. Then I looked at Millian across from me. "Any dietary restrictions?"
"No," Millian said, shaking her head. Even if she did have restrictions, she would force herself to eat. This was her big break!
"Then let's go with that. You did well today, but don't continue tomorrow. Accompany me to fulfill those few contracts, then take some time to adjust your state. I have important business to attend to over the next week. If anyone comes looking for dreamscape dispersal cooperation during that time, tell them to wait a week. You can accept the requests for now."
"Yes."
Millian was stunned for a moment, but she quickly understood. He was going to leave those people hanging for a week!
That would certainly make them uncomfortable, especially when they had others to compare themselves to.
Then, I pushed a business card toward her.
"Take this."
"This is... a business card?"
"Yes," I nodded. "But it has another function. If you encounter an emergency, you can use this as an anchor to summon me at any time."
"At any time?"
"Yes, any time. As long as I'm free, it doesn't matter if I'm at the Witch Academy and you're in the Expansion Realm," I explained. "Or, if you communicate with me in advance, I can use this as a medium. If you point it at an enemy, I can even deliver a strike through it for you."