'Fang Yuan ... You will no longer be the protagonist.'
Yuxuan continued to stand outside of the old rotting shack; after a few seconds of analysing the memories he had been given, he stepped in and closed the door.
He was not a native in this story, or as the god had said, he was not a native in this reality.
So to accommodate for that, memories had been planted into the world itself.
It was just unfortunate that the person he had become was the lowest of the low within the Gu Clan.
'When I said I wanted to start out as a mortal, I didn't exactly mean from the bottom of society.'
Yuxuan's position within the Gu Clan was that of a bad luck wretch, not just amongst certain Gu masters but even amongst the mortals.
As a child he had bumped into a Rank 2 Gu master passing through the mortal village, and in fury, the Gu master took that pain out on the village. Both his parents were killed, and even another family that had not been involved was slaughtered too.
He was left alone, and looking at the innocent family that was killed, people deemed him bad luck.
From the age of 5 he had taken care of himself.
He would drink water from the rivers and eat grass from the ground; he would eat insects and worms. He had to suffer through sickness, but he refused to die.
For the past 10 years he had been a self-reliant child.
'Did the gods want me to have an underdog story too?'
Yuxuan looked in the shack; there was nothing there at all, just dirt. Moving to a relatively clean corner, he sat down and started to think. Just as he focused on his senses and tried to look into his immortal aperture, a voice rang out.
Good afternoon, Master.
Yuxuan's eyes opened widely, and he jerked back, hitting his head on the 'wall' , there was a. There cracking sound, and he turned around to see a hole in the wood.
"...who spoke!?"
He had read many webtoons with something like this, so his heart began to palpitate with joy, hoping it was true.
I am the helper given to you by God.
'So this is the gift that the God said he was giving to me!'
"Can you elaborate?"
I am essentially what the humans of your world have called a 'System', I will give assistance and rewards based on your actions.
There was a happy smile that played on Yuxuan's face – 'My guess was correct!'
There was no doubt in his mind that a system was going to be of great help; it was a source of assistance that others did not get – even the known otherworldly demons like Thieving Heavn and Fang Yuan.
'What is the extent of this system's abilities?'
Just then, even though he did not verbalise his thoughts, there was a response.
I am connected to your existance as a whole - as such i can perform many free actions and many that you have to pay for that are of benefit to you.
He paused and quickly had more questions.
'My thoughts are accelerated greatly within this body.'
'You can read my mind?'
Yes, I am a part of your very existence, and such, I can access both your mind and body as a whole.
That sounded almost menacing, causing him to shiver.
I am simply a helper, I am not allowed to cause harm to the user - in fact i am instructed to ensure that harm does not come to the user
That was a relief.
'What are these actions you can perform?'
The actions I can perform are divided into 2: the actions I can perform freely and the ones you must pay for.
It seemed that there would be a cost for certain actions; it was fair.
He chose to not have absolute power as a rank 9.
'It's fine; I want to live my life with enjoyment too.'
He did not want to instantly become a rank 9; where was the fun in that?
Becoming stronger while having more benefits than everyone else was a much more satisfying act.
'What are some of the free actions?'
I can perform the task of a land spirit within the apeture and can also recite all the knowledge you have acquired, such as Gu recipes and special locations.
"Wow...that's amazing."
Thank you, Master. May I recite the paid actions?
"Hmm, yes."
Paid actions have an almost infinite range of possibilities; the most basic is changes to your own body, such as changing the physiology. I can also refine Gu with a guarantee of success and also provide tasks such as healing and more.
"How do I pay for this?"
Payments are made by using 'Points'.
So the points were the system currency; he was glad it was not resources he would need to use in his cultivation – but now there was another question.
"How do I get points?"
Points are given based on the tasks performed by the master; if the master defeats an enemy, points will be rewarded.
Yuxuan's smile widened; that was perfect for him – there would be no ridiculous main tasks or such that would dictate his actions.
"How many points do I have right now?"
He asked, feeling hopeful – maybe the God had also given him a few to start off with?
0 Points
"Damn..."
Yuxuan deflated - 'Well… he did say he wants to see a good story.'
Yuxuan continued to sit on the ground; he had already been very comfortable with his situation, but now with the addition of such a helper, there were many more benefits added, including security.
That was already not so much of an issue.
With the perfect Rank 10 Sovereign Immortal Foetus Gu, his physical capabilities were beyond any mortal comprehension.
'When Fang Yuan got the Rank 9 Gu, what were his physical capabilities?'
When Fang Yuan, the original protagonist, had gained the Sovereign immortal body, he was able to perform various inhuman actions far beyond the capabilities of mortals and mortal Gu masters.
Some notable actions and reactions include the following:
Jumping a height far over the Eiffel Tower
Surviving a headfirst fall of 180 metres with barely a bruise
Incredible speed of being able to run over mountains and rivers.
'Hoh? You have all that information?'
I possess knowledge of everything revealed within the reality writtien as a story
Those implications were great.
'So am I an immortal?'
Yes and No
'Huh?'
The Master possesses an immortal body and an immortal aperture, but as per your wish, it is not recognised by the world, so even though you possess immortal capabilities, you will be seen as a mortal.
'So a mortal immortal!'
Yes, that is a good way of describing it.
'Can you tell me the exact specifications of my body as this altered Sovereign Immortal Body?'
He sat there and started to understand the nature of his being.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never lose!
Yes, Master, your body is that of the Rank 10 Sovereign Immortal Foetus Gu! The Gu is a perfect Gu that is self-reliant and can alter Dao Mark conflictions. As of right now the Sovereign Immortal Aperture is locked at Rank 6 and will only increase in rank as the Masters Mortal Aperture increases rank too. Furthermore, the aperture will not receive heavenly tribulations, as it exists outside of heaven's will – this also means the master will not receive Dao marks in that way – only through annexing apertures in the Sovereign Immortal Aperture. As the master knows, the body has a start of two hundred Dao marks in all paths, allowing for a twenty percent amplification.
'It's better than I expected!'
One may look at some of the things said and wonder why his wish had been used on this.
Yuxuan knew about the locations of many apertures and also how to annexe them; that was why he was willing to have his sovereign immortal aperture immune from tribulations while also having a mortal aperture that would be affected by heaven's will.
He was a mortal and would be mortal for a long time, meaning that if the immortal aperture were allowed to exist as a normal one that could undergo heavenly tribulations, he would die easily.
Now with the knowledge that their ranks would be linked once his mortal aperture reached rank 6 was a greater boon than he had not expected.
There were more questions that started to mount.
'So speaking generally, I have the prowess of a Rank 6 right now.'
No, the master lacks any defensive or offensive gu worms and any immortal essence and any assets in general.
That was true.
He may have been stronger than any mortal Gu master, but if he fought an immortal, he would die.
But he had accounted for that in his wish to
Yuxuan would be seen as a mortal by anyone who examined him, mortal or immortal.
'So right now I lack any immortal capabilities.'
Yes.
'If you were to estimate, when would I be able to start my life as an immortal?'
Based on my judgement and taking into account that your status as a mortal immortal is not discoverable by any means, it would be safest to start revealing it only once you truly become an immortal – meaning only once your mortal aperture becomes Rank 6.
Yuxuan listened and took all the information in.
If his mortal aperture became an immortal one, then he would be able to increase his immortal cultivation to ranks 6, 7, 8 and eventually 9.
It would also be best to keep his sovereign immortal body a complete secret from everyone.
He may have been free from Heaven's will and its influence, but those around him were not.
The person he was planning to use as a pawn was the greatest risk.
After all, the Spring Autumn Cicada was full with Heaven's will.
This does not mean the master cannot start preparing.
'What do you mean?'
The master had designed the Gu-Essence Stone Gu. Every month 1000 Immortal Essence Stones would be produced that can be used in trades within Treasure Yellow Heaven.
'Of course!'
How had he forgotten? He had thought of that Gu to allow him to never run out of essence, but essence stones were also a currency in this world!
The system also had the abilities of a land spirit, meaning it could access Treasure Yellow Heaven.
'Wait a minute. Can you use my Gu?'
Yes, Gu refined by the master can be used by me freely, allowing me to perform tasks you wish.
This was great news!
His Gu were already within his immortal aperture, and he did not want to remove them.
This was a mortal village; if the presence of an immortal Gu were released, then an immortal would flatten this mountain for the Gu.
'When will the first batch of Essence stones be produced?'
The Essence Stone Gu produced 1000 essence stones of each rank every month from the moment it was refined, meaning the first batch will be produced in 30 days.
That would be annoying.
He wished he could start now, but one month was not that long of a wait, especially since even Fang Yuan took 15 years at most in his second life.
'Do you understand my plans for the future of the original protagonist?'
Yes, Master wishes to use Endless Servitude Gu on Fang Yuan.
'That's right.'
Who else would he use the Gu he designed on?
Fang Yuan would receive benefits from the majority of the Venerables; he also would take many benefits from the world himself.
If he used Endless Servitude Gu on him,
All those benefits would become his; Fang Yuan would become his eternally.
He would maintain his goals of eternal life; he would maintain his personality, but he would forever, eternally and endlessly be a slave to Yuxuan!
He would listen to everything asked and do everything that he wanted without question, and he would never even know that something was wrong, that he had been altered.
'When would be the best time to use the Gu?'
There were many opportunities, but many of these had risk.
Using it during the ceremony could result in the people around noticing they were not a threat, but he wanted to keep to the story as much as possible to keep his advantage of knowing what was going to happen.
He could break into Fang Yuan's house and do it, but getting caught would incur suspicion.
The ideal time to enslave Fang Yuan will be when he is in the tavern, sitting and purchasing wine to locate the liquor worm.
That indeed would be a good time.
Many people would be drunk and disorientated, and he could also use the guise of drinking as a fellow student.
After awakening, he would be able to move forward with more of his plans with Fang Yuan beneath them.
'Sorry, Fang Yuan, but I will do what is best for me!'
He paused suddenly.
'... Wait, do you know my aptitude?'
The master's mortal aptitude can be altered at will during the trial.
'What?'
He had heard of course, but this information gave him more paths to take!
Those born into this world are given an innate talent which determines their aptitude, which complements the amount of hope Gu that forms their aperture, but you aren't from this world and can choose how many hope Gu enter your aperture.
'So I can have a 100% aptitude!'
No!
'What, why?!'
A 100% aptitude means having one of the ten great physiques; you already possess the sovereign immortal body and thus can't have another.
'Damn... I forgot about that. The sovereign immortal body was called the 11th great physique, and as far as I've read, no one had 2 great physiques at a time.'
But that was not an issue.
Why would the aptitude of his mortal aperture matter when he had an endless amount of essence stones soon to come?
Not only that, but he could take the liquor worm from Fang Yuan and use it as well.'
But that depended on the limit of what the system would allow, so he asked.
'What's the limit?'
99%
Yuxuan's face gained a blank expression.
'Well, I guess I started thinking of plans for nothing.'
'Can you make it 95%?'
Yes, that can be done.
'Good, do it tomorrow when I'm undergoing the ceremony.'
As the master wishes