Bai Ming stared at the adjectives listed beside his settlement rewards.
The previous two times, it had been [Slight Talent]. This time, it had jumped straight to [Partial Talent].
Seems this system's got a human touch, huh? Higher difficulty means better rewards. After failing to find the main body to stir up some real trouble, the settlement rewards got even richer.
And quick, too.
Bai Ming could feel his understanding of Harmony and Destruction rapidly deepening.
His mastery over these two powers was climbing swiftly, and the strength of Harmony, in particular, was growing by leaps and bounds.
The power of Destruction was increasing as well, but compared to the direct… benefaction from boss Nanook, it just didn't stack up.
Heh, now this is getting ridiculous.
Bai Ming clicked his tongue.
If you're talking about Celenova's innate talent, wasn't it precisely her aptitude for these two Paths?
He felt that with his current grasp of Harmony, he'd be more than qualified to be a Family head in Penacony.
Of course, the knowledge of how to deal with Stellarons came along with it.
From now on, Bai Ming could seal a Stellaron with his bare hands.
After reviewing his panel and gains, Bai Ming didn't waste any time, quickly activating Ruan Mei's character card.
A faint scent of plum blossoms filled the air.
Bai Ming, growing more accustomed, actively settled into Ruan Mei's body.
Clear senses returned once more.
--+--
[Role-Playing System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: 100 Years (Paused) + 30 Days (Role-Playing)]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta (Energy: 80.6%), Acheron (Energy: 47.5%), Celenova (Energy: 5.3%), Ruan Mei (Active)]
[Gacha Pulls Available: 0 (38.2%)]
--+--
Now, she was going to play the genius again.
Taking control of the new body, Ruan Mei reached out and caught the mechanical arm that had detached automatically.
The silver ring, which had transformed into a small snake, only initiated its phase shift after seeing its master's new form appear.
In the next instant, the flames swiftly dissipated.
On a platform filled with Herta puppets and adorned in European style, Ruan Mei stood holding a mechanical arm, her eyes meeting those of a puppet who had been waiting there.
The little silver snake, floating mid-air, deftly coiled itself around the middle finger of Ruan Mei's left hand and grew still.
Ruan Mei stored the detached mechanical arm inside her ring.
The Herta puppet gave a slight bow.
"Miss Bai Ming, please follow me. Lady Herta is waiting for you inside."
"Mm, lead the way."
Ruan Mei nodded and followed the puppet towards the large tower.
Simultaneously, relying on that genius-level super intellect, Ruan Mei began rapidly considering the feasibility of her plan.
She soon arrived at a workable solution. But just as she had initially suspected, she alone wouldn't be fast enough.
And achieving the best result would be very difficult.
Creating a new race of Light Giants by itself was something Ruan Mei could indeed accomplish.
That was squarely in her field of expertise. But if she wanted to incorporate that propagative ability, akin to memetic contamination, she would need to collaborate.
That wasn't her strong suit.
Ruan Mei followed the Herta puppet onto a carpet on the floor.
Soon, the carpet lifted off smoothly and, with remarkable agility, flew towards its destination.
Standing on the carpet, Ruan Mei felt not the slightest shake or instability.
It was just like standing on solid ground.
Ruan Mei glanced down at the flying carpet.
The sheer technology behind this thing alone would probably make countless jaws drop out in the wider world.
The carpet was fast.
Ruan Mei found Lady Herta enjoying a meal in a dining room.
But upon seeing Ruan Mei, she immediately switched gears.
"You're here. Let's begin then."
She set down her cutlery, leaving the cleanup entirely to the Herta puppets.
She herself led Ruan Mei towards another room.
"I assume you've already prepared a preliminary plan. So, let's talk. I'm curious to hear what insights this genius, who preceded me, might have."
In Lady Herta's eyes shone a keen curiosity about Ruan Mei's 'intellect'.
Even if the one before her wasn't the original, it hardly mattered. As long as the intelligence was comparable, she, Herta, wasn't that picky.
Especially since the other party specialized in life sciences.
She was very interested to see how Ruan Mei 'would approach this.
"Of course, I'm also quite curious about your thoughts on the matter, Lady Herta." A smile on her face, Ruan Mei met Lady Herta's gaze directly.
She began outlining her plan, unconcerned about Lady Herta failing to grasp it. As members of the Genius Society, they might each have their specialties, but that didn't mean they were completely ignorant of other fields.
One couldn't conduct research entirely alone without some breadth of knowledge.
They talked as they walked.
Upon entering a laboratory, 'Ruan Mei' immediately got to work, first attempting to create a being of light.
It possessed no superfluous features, almost no intelligence to speak of, its sole characteristic being high adaptability.
"In my conception, they would wield the power of multiple Paths—Preservation, The Hunt, Harmony, The Abundance, Permanence, and so on…"
"Theoretically possible, but too much complexity will cause it to collapse."
More Paths don't necessarily mean better when it comes to their power.
"I'm aware. I don't intend for all Paths to be equal. There would be primary and secondary ones. I want to try using The Enigmata as the foundation."
Lady Herta gave a slight nod, then immediately started working herself.
"Let me try. But I think Equilibrium would be a more suitable foundation."
Regarding "Ruan Mei's" idea of borrowing the power of The Enigmata to serve as the "black box," Lady Herta voiced her opposition on the spot.
As a genuine genius, Lady Herta disliked such shortcut methods.
"You are Ruan Mei right now. So, act with a bit of Ruan Mei's stature."
"Let's try both."
'Ruan Mei' didn't insist on her own idea. She was collaborating with Herta precisely to leverage Herta's intellect for this project.
Since Herta had raised an alternative, they might as well try both.
Hearing this, Herta let out a soft laugh. As she began separating a sub-unit from the initial light-based lifeform for the first attempt, she said with a smile, "Speaking of your concept, don't tell me you plan to use the power of The Enigmata to realize it too, Fictionist?"
"What's wrong with that? The fact that human will can reach the Aeons directly is this world's defining feature, isn't it?"
'Ruan Mei' replied with a smile, stating her understanding.
These words, however, caused Herta's movements to halt momentarily.
She looked up with great interest, gazing at 'Ruan Mei' with a faint, teasing smile.
"Heh~ Frankly, I find it rather ironic hearing such words from you."
Having used the power of so many different Paths, do you possess even a shred of faith in any single one of them?
And here you are talking about human will.
Yet you yourself haven't relied on it in the slightest.
--+--