Chương 252: From Great To Incredible

Let's begin with the new innate abilities, shall we? I got new ones in my last evolution, so I assume that the same would have happened this time around as well. It had been a while since I had actually opened the system panel of my own volition and actually checked anything in here. It wasn't like there was enough to look through that I would need to check again from time to time to remember some of them. In any case… Holy… There are indeed new ones.

Impersonator: As long as you fit inside a suit, or otherwise crawl in, you can perfectly mimic the usual behaviour and functions of any robotic entity, even whilst dormant This is… This seems oddly specific for an innate ability, but I suppose there are a few scenarios where that could be useful. Definitely not right now, I would need to be near a place with automatons… Near a place with automatons wearing costumes I can fit inside of…

The more I think about it, the more situational this ability sounds, but since it also specifies 'or otherwise crawl in', I can only assume that it means that if I ran into some sort of giant robot, I would be able to get inside of it, and presumably take control. Would the ability only help me blend in as a way to hide, or would I be able to take direct control? The first part makes it sound like I only need the suit to mimic whatever character I am disguising myself as, but the second part implies otherwise. Huh…

I'll need to run some tests with that one. Also, now that I think about it–Won't my size increase directly interfere with my ability to fit inside of such things? What a bizarre innate ability to hand over alongside a growth spurt. Anyway, it isn't the only one. Tortured Soul Imbuement: You can imbue any of your tortured souls into mechanical constructs This one sounds interesting. It basically allows me to make my spirits possess something.

There was the restriction that it had to be something mechanical in nature, but it nonetheless sounded like a rather attractive ability. I had tried to create ghosts capable of possession in the past, but I had never really achieved any good result in this endeavour. If I could get Mari to build automatons, even if basic, I would then be able to shove spirits into them, and they might just be worth something as combatants. I can already imagine unleashing hundreds of possessed automatons on anyone I wanted…

What a glorious sight it would be! Alright, I like this one already. It would also need some testing, of course, the descriptions I was given rarely showed the full picture, after all. My guess would be that there is a cost in negative energy to doing this stuff. Why isn't it mentioned? Who the hell knows… I guess the system just wants to make me work.

Soul Haunt: You can imbue any of your tortured souls into a building or location By the looks of it, it was basically the same thing as 'Tortured Soul Imbuement', but with a different target–I would say that those two could have been a single innate ability instead of two, but I suppose that possession and haunting are indeed different concepts… I don't personally think they are different enough to warrant being split like this, but I am not the one in charge of this business.

In any case, this is also something I had tried to do in the past, with… Modest success, I would say. If I ever decided to have a real, physical place to myself, I could pack it with ghosts as a means of defence. While the Mindscape is great for my lovely little sisters, and Coco can hang out in shadows just fine, Xlown doesn't really have a place to stay in the sense that she can not get into the family location, at least not yet. I'll have to figure something out about this.

I can't let my daughter be separate from everyone else like this. Flowing Metal: Upgrades that greatly alter body parts are no longer permanent. You can switch between them and your basic limbs at will … Holy crap. I can't believe this one somehow ended up at the bottom of the list. This is an incredible ability! With this, I will be able to get all of those upgrades that turned my arms into chainsaws or bigger versions of themselves, without actually having to deal with the issues of losing my hands.

I can have my cake and eat it too with this innate ability. This is easily the highlight amongst my new innate abilities. Especially since replacing an arm with things like these should be easy for Mari, 'Alternate Shine' was a more complex job compared to what she'll need to do for me to acquire buzzsaws and the like. Glorious! Nonetheless… Four whole new innate abilities in one evolution? Will there even be stuff left to gain for my future evolutions?

The first evolution was akin to setting the foundations by incorporating elements of your sides as a Vengeful Spirit and Steel-Bound Curse into your 'Base Form'. This one was more of an elaboration on your spirit side Huh, so the next one will be an elaboration on my curse side? I doubt it. There is less to elaborate upon with Living Curses. Their whole thing is that they can cast curses, and you've already gained the ability to do so.

Improving that side will probably be more about unlocking new curses rather than direct enhancement through evolution If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I see… In any case, let's check the Mindscape. I can feel that some stuff happened in there. I went into dormancy and immediately appeared inside the workshop section of the Mindscape. My senses had been correct, but I had expected one new addition, not two. The room got bigger as well…

Not just the room, actually, the Furnace, Kitchen, and Press also enlarged. Does it mean they became more efficient? I peeked into the Closet as well, and sure enough, it too had become larger, which was frankly not necessary. That thing had already been humongous, but it was better to have too much space than not enough. I clapped my hands together. Alright, what do these two new babies do?

I approached one of the corners, where a rather cosy area had been set up, it was separated from the rest with curtains bearing representations of goslings and ducklings… That's quite cute. I remember quite liking those little yellow things when I was younger. Unfortunately, the one who used to raise them was an old man who passed away when my age wasn't even in the double digits. Makes me wonder if the ghostly animals on Ophelie's farm will eventually be able to multiply like regular animals.

It would be a shame if we couldn't get cute baby animals running around the Mindscape. Everyone likes baby animals. I pulled open the curtains and stepped inside. The ground was slightly elevated compared to the rest of the room. There was what felt like a huge mattress covering the floor here, but the more eye-catching sight was the place as a whole. It was even cosier than it had seemed from the outside.

The lighting was soft, and there was an armchair placed in front of a decently sized round table, but most of all, the edges that were directly up against the walls of the workshop were covered in furniture filled with big drawers, each of them filled with all kinds of fabric, wool, as well as simple trinkets. There was even one filled with what I recognised as makeup instruments. Though they seemed a little odd… Hold on a minute, is this…?

This is the Fashion Corner, where you can weave new clothes for spirits, modify their hairstyle, and even modify their appearance to a small extent using the makeup–The latter can actually remove their deathly complexion and bring them to the way they would if they were alive, isn't that neat? This isn't just neat, Nara. This is a magnificent addition… Now, my adorable spirits will be able to look absolutely gorgeous in all situations–Well, more gorgeous than they already are!

I'll have to prepare to fend off an army of ghosts trying to woo them with how radiant they will be. The Fashion Corner can also be used with special materials that are stocked in the Closet. So you could potentially make these attires have special effects as well Simply magnificent. With such a great addition, it makes me wonder what the other thing that was added to the Mindscape is all about.

I stepped out of the Fashion Corner and approached a piece of machinery somewhat similar to the Furnace, but unlike the very first tool to ever be part of this workshop, this newcomer didn't seem like it could be controlled in any way, shape or form. There was no way to add negative energy, negative emotions, or any other kind of fuel, and neither did it seem like the basic function of this thing could be manipulated. Does it serve one precise function, and that's it?

If I can't control anything about it, I can only assume that it can not fail whatever its purpose is… This is the Smelter. In my opinion, it is the singular most important piece of the workshop, as it allows for the other machines to be used to their fullest extent. Basically, the Smelter is integral for the rest to actually function to their true extent I had been waiting for it to show for a while now. It was quite torturous not to see it show up and not be able to mention it until now! Is it that important?

Absolutely, the Smelter has one function, and that is obviously to smelt down what is placed inside of it. It can be anything, whatever can go inside of it, will be melted into a liquid form and then dispensed through a hatch inside of a sealed vial Whatever is melted will stay liquid forever, until it is used with something else Things in liquid form are much more receptive to the Furnace and Press, and they are also much more resistant.

When it comes to the Press in particular, it is nearly mandatory to use smelted goods If you wanted to imbue a Cursed Essence into a sword, for example, you would keep the sword as is, but press liquified Cursed Essence alongside a liquified spirit. The spirit is what holds the sword and essence together Liquified Cursed Essence? Is it not already a liquid?

Not quite, but the Smelter does something more to what is placed inside of it, so even if you let's say wanted to use plain water for something, it would still be a good idea to put it in the Smelter, even if admittedly counter-intuitive I see, I see. Is this what I needed to mend Faelan's soul and make Anathema into a spirit? It is. With enough tests, you will definitely understand how to make both of those things happen, and probably also how to create stable ghostly servants in the manner that you desire, too!

And this is just the second evolution? Surely, the next one won't bring so damned much, right? Surely, there is a catch. I am totally unaware of what is in stock for the third evolution, but I would assume that it will be more of a transitory evolution I nodded, and after peeking into the rest of the Mindscape and Dreamscape, I exited my state of dormancy. I would test things out later. For now, I needed to show Leou that I had awoken, check on Xlown and Mari, and also take a look at Coco.

He had definitely been strengthened by my evolution, and he might have acquired a new ability as well. Oh, and also… Gilepre was doing quite well in his pre-final trial, but I wanted to check if his body in the real world was holding up well. This guy had been stuck asleep for a while now, but it seemed like he was just fine. He was being fed by the enchanted equipment provided by Leou, and it didn't seem like the excessive sleep was affecting him. It would have been a shame otherwise.

How would anyone experience my pre-final trials if they died of exhaustion while trying to go through them? My work needed to be experienced and admired. Anyway… Time to emerge.