The First Clone
Joshua Kensington (1)
Henry decided to dump all of his remaining 105 points into this. It was the exact budget needed to synthesize a one-star clone.
Please select the gender of the clone to be created.
[Male / Female]
Security concerns. Obviously male.
Without hesitation, Henry selected male. His eyes narrowed slightly. While Asian or Black options offered overwhelming cost-performance, he had no intention of skimping this time. He clicked on “American Anglo-Saxon,” the most expensive category in the race options.
The reason he was putting in this much effort was simple: to win over the family’s true power broker, the butler Bartholomew Kensington.
The seasoned butler, known by the nickname Bart, was the living history of the Debenzer family. A descendant of the ninth-generation vassal house that had served three generations of masters since his grandfather’s time, he was currently the chief administrator of the Debenzer family trust. With Henry’s parents gone in an accident and their direct subordinates wiped out, Bart now held the greatest power within the household.
If Bart ever decided to turn on me, I could become a drooling idiot inside this mansion without anyone ever knowing.
In his memories, Bart had been the perfect loyal servant. He had held Henry’s hand when he took his first steps. He had swallowed his tears and tied Henry’s necktie on the day of his parents’ funeral. Even now, he remained at the side of the fasting Henry, handling the complicated inheritance matters as if they were his own.
The original Henry would have been moved to tears and clung to him. But the safety-first pragmatist who had come from 2026 was different. His iron rule was to hammer even a stone bridge with a sledgehammer before crossing it. Since loyalty scores didn’t float in the air before his eyes, the human heart was nothing more than a fluid risk that could change at any moment.
It would’ve been nice if real numbers showed up… but since they don’t, there’s nothing I can do. Anyway, Bart lived his whole life alone raising this body, never even dating, let alone having children. Might as well give him a son.
A faint, sly smile crept across Henry’s lips.
His fingers danced through the air, filling in the blank fields of the clone creation window. He began crafting the most convincing backstory possible for this fictional person, just like editing a Wikipedia article. The tale of a secret child raised in hiding by a woman Bart had briefly loved in his youth, or perhaps a hidden chapter of the family’s past that no records could reach.
At that very moment, outside the door, Bart stood holding a meal tray and worrying about Henry’s well-being. A chill ran down his spine for no apparent reason. He had no idea that the young master inside the room, whom he had served in lifelong bachelorhood, was about to drop a bomb on his family tree.
Joshua Kensington
Date of Birth: April 12, 1951 (28 years old)
Place of Birth: Westchester, New York, USA
Physical: 189cm, 92kg, Blood Type Rh+ AB
Education: Browning School Graduate
Military Career: U.S. Navy SEAL Team 1 (1971–1975)
Current Position: Head of Debenzer Family Security Team “Debenzer Shield”
Family: Father — Bartholomew Kensington, Mother — Margaret Kensington
His appearance had been built strictly for function. Henry had poured every point into the concept of “intimidation” to save costs. The result was a fierce, sharp face covered in battle scars, an explosively muscular physique, and a perfectly shaved head to top it all off. He had crammed in all three legendary elements that would make anyone’s legs go weak at first sight.
It was only later that Henry learned setting him up to look this terrifying actually cost slightly more points. But having spent several sleepless nights perfecting the design, he decided to stick with it. Perhaps feeling a twinge of guilt for making the face too scary, he showed a strange bit of mercy in one very specific area.
Still, he should be able to perform as a man. Smaller than me but much bigger than average… let’s go with exactly 16 centimeters.
Only after setting Joshua’s “length” did Henry finally feel a small measure of relief from his guilt.
Writing the life history that followed was an ordeal. Instead of the convenient search engines of 2026, he had to dig through outdated 1979 materials to stitch together plausibility. It took him a full three days.
Overview
Heir of the Kensington family, which has served the Debenzer household for ten generations. Current head of Henry Debenzer’s personal security detail. An elite operative who survived the brutal front lines of the Vietnam War. A man who places absolute loyalty to Henry above his own life. He is the living symbol of the family’s military power.
Life History
Childhood: Lost his mother during a difficult birth and was raised by Bartholomew. Grew up like a brother to Henry, silently supporting him from behind during his toddling days like a dependable older sibling.
Navy SEAL Period: Volunteered in 1971. Assigned to SEAL Team 1 and carried out secret operations in the Mekong Delta. His silent efficiency in eliminating enemies ironically earned him the codename “Saint.”
Return: Honorably discharged in 1975 after the war ended. After wandering due to war trauma, he answered his father’s call and returned to establish Henry-centered security for the Debenzer family.
Henry spent three full days going back and forth between his room and the study. What would have taken only a few web searches in 2026 became pure torture in 1979 New York without the internet. Knowledge could only be obtained through old records or someone else’s mouth, and even then it was woefully incomplete.
The biggest stumbling block was Joshua’s military record. The books in the study simply couldn’t provide enough realistic detail to fill in SEAL operation zones and specifics. The system repeatedly rejected his entries with red warnings about insufficient plausibility.
In the end, Henry timidly stepped out of his room. He ran into Butler Bart in the hallway and, using the excuse of “satisfying intellectual curiosity,” asked for related books and records. Bart looked extremely dubious when the young master—who should have been drowning in grief—suddenly requested Vietnam War documents. Henry barely managed to overcome the crisis by acting like a “wounded genius immersed in scholarly pursuit.”
In truth, Henry had wanted to make Joshua an overwhelmingly powerful human weapon. But with his remaining points and even his single Knowledge stat point invested, this was the best cost-performance he could achieve.
The Navy SEAL section of the life history had been especially expensive. Changing it to ordinary military service would have saved him 40 points and that precious Knowledge stat. Still, for the sake of his own forehead’s safety, Henry had opened his wallet without hesitation.
Physical ability at 12 points… I have no idea what that actually means.
He didn’t know what the maximum was, but the system had at least given an explanation here. The average adult male was 10 points. Joshua’s stats, created by investing 5 Health points, came out to 12. That was only a single point higher than when the stat had been 4.
Compared to the overwhelming efficiency of the Knowledge stat, Health felt like a banquet with no food. Henry swore to himself that once he earned more points, he would dump everything into Intelligence and clones.
On the other hand, the intellectual design of Joshua, created with that single Knowledge point, was killer content. Henry carefully examined the complex intelligence indices the system offered. From the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) to EQ, AQ, and MQ—concepts that either didn’t exist or were completely unfamiliar in 1979.
Using the system’s sparse notes, Henry meticulously assembled Joshua’s brain structure. Fortunately, even after using the Knowledge point on the life history section, every numerical value came out above the system average. However, since MQ—moral intelligence—didn’t seem particularly necessary for a bodyguard, Henry trimmed it slightly and redistributed the points to other abilities.
He put the most effort into the personality section. To use the Knowledge stat efficiently, Henry blended “Plus” and “Minus” traits in a delicate cocktail.
Plus traits: diligence, precision, bravery, leadership, and blind loyalty.
Minus traits: coldness, elitism, moral blindness.
Coldness was a strange trait calculated at -0.5 points, but for a bodyguard who needed to make icy judgments, it felt more like a bonus. He selected it without hesitation. Elitism could easily be reframed as pride in the Debenzer family, so it was nothing but gain for Henry. The real highlight was moral blindness. A fanatical attitude that placed the family’s orders above social norms? From Henry’s perspective, there could be no better insurance.
I customized him exactly how I wanted… I just hope he doesn’t cause any accidents.
He filled every single available field. After a brutal process of editing and shaving words like a tortured soul, the creation cost fit his entire remaining fortune of 105 points perfectly.
All that remained was to press the “Confirm” button at the bottom. But the moment he moved his finger toward it, Henry was seized by terrible hesitation.
Does the high cost of the life history mean it manipulates social perception too? What if it doesn’t? What if the moment he’s created, Bart pulls out a pistol and shouts, “Who is this intruder?!”
Social security number, national database records—1979’s outdated administrative system might not be able to handle a massive stranger suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The uncertainty was overwhelming.
Still, Henry eventually squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the button.
A moment later, inside the previously silent room, a deep and blunt male voice spoke.
“Young Master.”
Instead of answering, Henry froze and stared at the new notification window that had appeared before his eyes. His mind began spinning faster than it ever had before.
The clone has been successfully created based on the user’s location.
With the clone’s existence, the user’s consciousness will automatically transfer to the clone’s body in the event of a life-threatening crisis to the main body.
Caution: Voluntary suicide will not trigger consciousness transfer. The creation cost of the clone will not be refunded even if the clone dies or consciousness is transferred.
Consciousness transfer? W-wait… does this mean it’s an extra life?
Henry’s pupils shook violently. He had only two precious spare lifelines. And now he had summoned one of them as a bodyguard to stand at the very front lines.
No, this is a worthwhile investment. To take control of the family, first… Wait, you idiot! If I had just made him a five-year-old little brother and hidden him somewhere safe, I would have secured one bonus life! Ah, fuck…
Henry’s very ordinary, very citizen-like scream echoed miserably inside his own head.
One-star elite operative or whatever—right now, all Henry could see when he looked at Joshua was not a dependable bodyguard, but a precious walking spare life.