Chapter 642: The Perfect “External Avatar”
Evening.
Millien looked at the slanting sun in the west, and the sunset in the Expanding Realm was equally beautiful.
But she no longer had much time to admire it.
Perhaps because of her interference, very few people had approached her after the afternoon, or maybe it was because the earlier demonstrators were now just watching and waiting.
After all, she had pressured the first few too much in pursuit of this slim possibility.
Millien took out four contracts from her storage equipment, her harvest for the day—four contracts… was quite a lot.
For these four, she had been busy the entire day, with some negotiations falling apart, some getting heated, and of course, there were those who had come to find her three times today, yet the contracts had still not been finalized.
She looked at her phone, confirming that no one had contacted her anymore, then walked in a certain direction.
The Box of Books told her that its owner was in that direction.
That was the direction of the hotel.
A slight tremor came from the Box of Books, a special sensing due to the symbiotic relationship between its inner Great Knowledge Seed and the Box of Books.
Knock knock knock.
As she knocked on the door, it was opened shortly after.
Millien’s expression betrayed a hint of nervousness, but her gaze still turned towards the inside, where she discovered that it was the teaching assistant Xiao Han, whom she had met that morning, who had opened the door.
But then, a familiar voice sounded, this time not from the figure that had opened the door.
“You’re here so soon; is it already evening?”
Millien’s expression froze, and then she saw two identical figures!
Clone Spell?
That was her first thought, but such spells were not very popular, as clones had less combat ability than a Summoning Spell.
After confirming that the one who opened the door was a clone, she decided not to pay it any more mind and walked inside.
However, as she passed by the clone, an unintended sense pressed upon her, for this clone felt exceedingly off!
Both its form and its movements, even its breathing, and that gaze fixed upon her, made it impossible to ignore!
But these clone spells should not be able to achieve that!
After all, that was merely a magical effect; magical creations… should…
Thus, her originally fluid steps hesitated as she instinctively compared the “clone” beside her with the original speaking inside the guestroom.
“What are you looking at?”
“The clone… spoke!” Millien jumped, startled by the figure beside her.
“Is it strange for a clone to speak?”
At that moment, I also stood up and walked over to Millien, looking at her somewhat flustered demeanor, a bit speechless.
I remembered that it was quite normal for clones to speak, right?
For instance, my Illusionary Clone spoke smoothly during conversations, just like a living person, but with no physical form.
Or take Principal Mei’s clone, which could even assist her with work; was speaking not a trivial matter?
Casting spells was easy enough, right?
“N-no, it’s nothing…” Millien collected herself, reminding herself that she was someone who aimed for great achievements; she needed to maintain her composure. She too had Clone Spells, but those clones were as uncoordinated as wooden blocks, and to speak required simultaneous spell effects. Perhaps this teaching assistant’s clone was special.
“Since you’re here, let’s see your achievements for today.” I invited her in and then spoke.
“Yes, these are my results—four in total.”
“Four?” I frowned slightly; this number was far from what I expected. There were definitely more than four resource points affected by the dream realm outside Ninglan New City!
“Do you need me to explain?” Millien asked cautiously, looking down.
“Just a brief explanation of why it’s so few,” I said as I took the four contracts. Although they were four, it wasn’t four individual pieces of parchment but four stacks.
“Understood.” After receiving permission, she quickly described the reasons concisely, “Most of them chose to wait after learning I was negotiating contracts on your behalf. They might have felt that my asking price was too high, scaring many away, believing they should wait a bit and see if I would lower my standards.”
“Scared away… Heh, I thought they were more persistent,” I said while using the Earth Vein Identification Technique to assess the four contracts.
Millien became nervous watching my actions, much like a student waiting for their paper to be graded.
Time seemed to drag on for Millien.
If the other party was dissatisfied at this moment, then all her efforts would go to waste, and she would lose all value upon returning to the All-purpose Association.
Meanwhile, I conducted a thorough examination of the four contracts using the Earth Vein Identification Technique.
The first thing I checked was whether the contract’s content had any loopholes, followed by whether the benefits she secured for me were satisfactory.
Because I wasn’t very knowledgeable in this area, it required quite a bit of effort; ultimately, the result was… basically no issues.
Any minor flaws were overshadowed by the overall quality.
Of course, overshadowing the flaws was also her tenacity during contract negotiations; she truly dared to offend people.
“Give me back the Box of Books,” I placed the contracts on the table and spoke.
“Give me one more chance! Just one! I… will do better tomorrow!”
I was slightly taken aback by her sudden change, quickly realizing she might have misunderstood my request for the Box of Books, which was both my trust in her and a symbol of her continuing negotiations on my behalf.
“The four contracts are satisfactory; returning the Box of Books means you don’t need it as a temporary proof anymore.” I explained while waving my hand, causing the Knowledge Power to burst forth from the Box of Books and return to my hand.
“What?”
Millien almost thought she had lost the gamble, but unexpectedly, this meant a turnaround?
“I don’t want to repeat myself, but I heard what you just said; you will do better.” I turned my attention to Millien, who almost cried, and then extended my hand, revealing a Great Knowledge Seed in my palm, “Do you recognize this?”
“This… seed… is the Great Knowledge Seed?” Millien asked hesitantly, as this item was too rare; she had never seen a real sample, only witnessing assistants who possessed the Great Knowledge Seed utilize it.
“Yes, now it’s yours. Use it here, and if you don’t understand, ask the other me.” I pointed to the other version of myself, then opened the Box of Books.
“Understood!” Millien was overjoyed, taking the Great Knowledge Seed and moving beside that clone.
I flipped open the long-neglected book.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t read without the Box of Books; in fact, I could open any book and use Knowledge Power to overlay its original content. However, using the Box of Books was a small habit of mine, or perhaps a ritualistic feeling of reading?
Throughout the day, besides taking a walk, the remainder was spent contemplating and analyzing the techniques of Mimetic Soul and Soul Drawing, eventually attempting Clone Spells based primarily on the Mimetic Soul.
And now, that clone, which was nearly indistinguishable from me, was my “result.”
It was cultivated using a specially derived Great Knowledge Seed along with a Consciousness Crystal as the nurturing medium, achieved through numerous trial-and-error versions.
Then, relying on the Knowledge Shadows within the Great Knowledge Seed and the Great Knowledge Sharing Art, I completed the knowledge interconnection with my Great Knowledge Tree, creating a “blank consciousness.”
What surprised me further was that this also utilized a capability I hadn’t anticipated, “Heart Sense”!
That’s right!
Body Cultivation’s sixth sense, Heart Sense!
At first, when Heart Sense was merely about self-perception, there weren’t many special discoveries. But once I created this highly linked blank consciousness, I realized the terrifying effects of the Body Cultivation’s sixth sense!
If we say the five senses are pure perception, the sixth sense adds another channel of perception, allowing for more understanding! Heart Realm resonance!
Heart Sense gave me absolute perceptual ability over this clone, eliminating the sensory barrier that clones typically possess.
Thus, this unintentional attempt also proved something: after the five senses, starting from the sixth, it wasn’t merely a matter of perception, but began to transition into understanding, then controlling!
Though “controlling” might be a stretch, control was certainly achievable. So for the seventh sense, the Sense of Time, if I wished to transcend the threshold of “prototype,” I might need to gain insight into Time Sense and perception control.
Having clarified this, the clone’s prototype was formed with the blank consciousness controlled by the Knowledge Shadow’s subconscious.
With the addition of Heart Sense, this independent yet fully controllable consciousness was birthed, and knowledge influence was completed through the Great Knowledge Sharing Art.
So this clone, I preferred to refer to as… Knowledge Clone.
Unlike the Knowledge Shadows, hers was physical, and her behavioral consciousness was driven by the subconscious of the Knowledge Shadow within the Knowledge Tree.
Or maybe this was an extension of my awareness; she wouldn’t perceive herself as an independent consciousness. To put it another way, it was like role-playing with myself, but not in a multi-threaded operation.
You could say it was the perfect “external avatar”!
Even if I wanted to immediately destroy the clone, it would be no issue; it was akin to a role I played and decided to stop without attachment to that character, which was the identity of the clone.
Of course, others might find themselves too immersed in their roles, perhaps akin to… having a touch of chuunibyou?
But I wouldn’t.
After all, I wouldn’t be in conflict with myself, unless I had a split personality.
As for subjective consciousness and subconsciousness, they are not levels of consciousness, so they don’t count as a conflict.
I then utilized the Mimetic Soul and Reincarnation Rebirth Spell to shape its body.
From the perspective of Life Interpretation, she didn’t belong to life; she was my clone.
However, if others used methods to detect her, they would find her completely indistinguishable from me unless they forcefully probed into the soul, revealing it as a Mimetic Soul.
She also had the mental power endowed by her consciousness; as long as she had a Spellbook, she could use spells, provided there was a Magic Source. But that was fine; her physical body was just like mine, and she possessed the innate talent for self-generated magic.
While she resembled a formless version of myself, she started from a higher baseline.
I also bestowed a Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell upon her, which could grant her greater autonomy in intellect, forming a dual structure with the Great Knowledge Tree.
Utilizing this method allowed her to grasp Knowledge Power, which represented far more.
She could serve as a continuation of my Field Order!
And what did that imply?
That meant she could assist me in fully expanding and planting the Wanlian Main Network Tree!
Of course, if this was already terrifying, what if I could theoretically create countless such clones?
Of course, “countless” is an ideal state that doesn’t account for practical circumstances. In reality, just getting these countless “me” to behave differently would create serious disruptions in my life.
While it wasn’t multi-threaded control, I would still know what my clones did.
So with too many clones, I’d need to adapt over a period.
After all, casting spells requires practice to control and adapt, so how could I not need to when using such efficient clones?
After reading for a while, I also took a break for myself, closed the Box of Books, and then stood up.
My clone had already helped Millien complete the teaching of the Great Knowledge Seed; she had basically adapted to how to use the Great Knowledge Seed, including basic abilities like Knowledge Shadow and Earth Vein Identification Technique.
Additionally, the explanations for synchronizing personal information accounts with the Academy Network via the Great Knowledge Seed were also covered.
“Let’s go; it’s time for dinner. You look like you haven’t eaten all day. This meal is on me.” I said to Millien as I walked past her.
Treating her to a meal was a formal expression of my intent to the outside world.
Meanwhile, my clone remained here; theoretically, she also needed to eat to sustain her body’s natural metabolism. However, I chose not to let both of us go out together; I could just pack a meal to take back. After all, I didn’t need to spend money eating here, do you understand the worth of my identity in Ninglan New City?
Upon arriving at the restaurant, I didn’t choose a private room but sat outside, as no one would know what I was up to in the private room.
“Just order according to my usual standards, a double-person set meal.” I spoke to the restaurant manager who came in person and then looked across at Millien, “Do you have any food restrictions?”
“No,” Millien shook her head; even if she had restrictions, she would force herself to eat. This was her chance!
“Then let’s go with that for now. You performed well today, but don’t continue tomorrow. Accompany me in fulfilling those contracts, then adjust your state. For the next week, I have some important matters to attend to. If someone during this time asks you for dream dispersal cooperation, let it wait a week; you can take them on later.”
“Understood.”
Millien was momentarily stunned before quickly realizing she could keep those people waiting for a week!
That would indeed make them uncomfortable, especially with the comparison.
Then I pushed a business card toward her.
“Take this.”
“This is… a business card?”
“Yes.” I nodded, “But it also has another function: if you encounter any urgent matters, you can use this to summon me.”
“At any time?”
“Yes, at any time. As long as I’m available, even if I’m in the Witch Academy, you can summon me from the Expanding Realm,” I nodded to explain to her, “Or if you communicate with me in advance, I can use this as a medium. Just point it at an enemy, and I can strike them too.”
