Chapter 751: Long Term Kaijintractor
*Bing-Bong.*
WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT PUN TITLES?!
|I DIDN’T DO IT ON THE LAST CHAPTER!|
RAAAAAGH!
*Bing-Bong.
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“Okay, it appears you two are having a mental crisis of some kind…imma leave you to it while I go and figure out some logistics.”
“Uh huh…”
“Okay…”
On the one hand, the two faithfuls of the Tri-Colored Serpent were relieved to learn that their deity wasn’t someone else’s monster/creation/servant. On the other, they had no idea how to process the fact that someone outside their faith had to make a body for their god to inhabit.
They had heard of an old religious story about the Tri-Colored Serpent descending eons ago in order to guide people to a better tomorrow, after saving them from a terrible crisis. They just didn’t remember reading anything about their deity needing the help of some weird power that could create demonic(?) Beings known as kaijin.
That being said, Zhen Liu couldn’t really care about their existential crisis in regards to their faith, because he had to deal with the issue of Rodenia’s…everything.
‘Logos and Pathos said that she’s still connected to the Library and me, but that it was weak due to her classification of Kaijin…’
By a massive technicality, her existence shouldn’t have been possible at Zhen Liu’s current cultivation stage.
Rodenia was what Logos and Pathos classified as, after adapting some of their terminology from Zhen Liu’s memories, a mutant type kaijin.
This was apparently going to be a lesson for later, when Zhen Liu was at the Aether Emperor stage at least, but Logos and Pathos decided to get him up to speed after Rodenia suddenly appeared the way she did.
‘How is that now I learned that there are classifications to this shit? This seems like something that should’ve been discussed day one in regards to getting these powers!’
Up until this point, Zhen Liu had created kaijin via one of three methods.
There were the crafted types like Nepherage, Frosttusk, Hurricroak, Archanidame and Lacerage. These were kaijin Zhen Liu made via gathering [Desire Cores] and used high grade materials to help solidify their bodies and abilities. This was the most common method of kaijin creation, a majority of prior kaijin lords used this method to round out their rosters. It should be noted that this is also the method that requires the most input from the kaijin lord.
Kaijin like Razorstella, and whatever form Spring Brawler would settle into once he figured out what he really wanted with his life/existence, fell under the category known as the awakened type.
By infusing certain types of objects, like aether puppets, with raw [Chaos], the infused puppet will develop a growing form of sentience that will develop into a full blown kaijin, This particular method has the added bonus of, occasionally, leading to the creation of entirely new and unseen aether formulas.
As for the last method/type, evolution, it’s what lead to the creation of Screamira…sort of.
This one was a bit weird, in the sense that it requires the having a zako survive up to a certain point, so that they could be bestowed a [Desire Core] and [Formula]. As far as Zhen Liu knew, kaijin born from this type still retained some physical vestiges from their zako days…mostly.
Rodenia, however, did not fall under any of these three categories, since she already had a mind, body and soul prior to meeting Zhen Liu and becoming exposed to [Chaos] via a cannon blast. Hence why she was classified as a mutant.
As the name implies, mutant kaijin occur when a kaijin lord infuses [Chaos] directly into a living being, solidifying their most fervent desire into a core and drastically transforming them from whatever or whomever they were before into a kaijin warrior. There are some…restrictions to this transformation though.
The would-be mutant needs to be weaker than the kaijin lord, they need to give consent from the very bottom of their soul and they need to have an innately strong desire, something that could be harvested as a core if necessary.
Which leads to the conundrum of Rodenia, since she didn’t fulfill any of their prior criteria…except maybe that last one?
Either way, Zhen Liu needed to make sure that this particular “rogue” kaijin would at least behave themselves/not suddenly turn into an Abomination.
Which might have been easier done than said.
“Alright, Rodenia. I need to-what the fuck?”
“Come on, Frosttusk! You’re like three times her size!”
“Go Nepherage go!”
“Haha! This is fun!”
The moment Zhen Liu was about to go an address the rogue kaijin in the room, he found that Rodenia was currently locked in the middle of a double arm wrestling match against Nepherage and Frosttusk. Off to the side, Hurricroak, Razorstella, Spring Brawler were cheering for the latter two. Screamira was also showing support but quietly due to her…innate loudness.
Either way, Zhen Liu was once again reminded that while the kaijin were probably seen by the rest of the world as monstrous beings of unknown origins, to him, they were just…children.
Or at the very least, they acted like children.
From what he remembered in regards to stats, both Nepherage and Frosttusk had “A” rankings in regards to raw strength. If Rodenia was able to hold her own against the both of them at the same time, that either meant she was was stronger than both of them or that she was just geared towards brute strength from the get-go.
From what Leon and Isa had told Zhen Liu, Rodenia didn’t use any aether arts when fighting, she just…punched stuff.
Really, really hard.
‘On the one hand, I feel like I should give them time to finish off this arm wrestling match of theirs…but I also can’t sit around here all evening for poops and giggles…probably.’
With a sigh and a smile, like that of a parent, Zhen Liu decided to put a pause on the kaijin ‘s game so that they could get to business…whatever that entailed.
“Hey guys! Listen up!”
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∆Wait, how come you’re not communicating with the kaijin via the link like normal?∆
‘Because y’all said that Rodenia wasn’t connected to the library and me like normal, right? Fairly certain that means I can’t communicate with her via the link like everyone else.’
=An astute observation, milord. Due to Rodenia’s circumstances, you won’t be able to communicate with her like the other kaijin until you reach…Aether King stage actually.=
‘King? Not Emperor?’
∆Rodenia is a tad weaker than normal mutant kaijin because of how she was created via a cannon blast. So she has less requirements.∆
‘Huh…that kind of makes sense…alright, either way…I think I have a good idea of what to do with her for the time being.’
=Other than bringing her back to the library so we can keep an eye on her?=
‘Well…maybe?’
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“Alright, Rodenia…you would still like to use that name going forward, yes?”
“I can get another name?!”
“Okay, that tells me all I needed to know…Rodenia, I’m going to give you a choice.”
“A choice?”
“Due to your…unusual circumstances, we can’t exactly have you running around the entirety of Valresta without some form of supervision. Leon and Isa have done a pretty good job up until now, but I have no idea if they’re willing to keep accompanying. They’re also not exactly in a state to answer right now.”
To emphasize his point, he slightly nodded in the couple’s direction, who were in the middle of still staring into space due to shocking revelations.
They would probably recover soon, but for the sake of this conversation, they were essentially mute.
“With that in mind, I want you to choose. You can either come back with me and the rest of the kaijin back to Stampeding Bison, where you’ll be able to hang around the Library of Nowhere and we can maybe figure out somethings out for you. Whether you want to still be a kaijin or if you’re stable, etc,” Zhen Liu explained.
“Okay…,” Rodenia nodded with a blank expression, not exactly understanding a word.
“Or, if Elsa is cool with it-”
“I already know what you’re thinking, and I think that it’s a good idea for the sake of Kit’s mental and social development,” Elsa called from the cellar door with surprising clarity.
“Stop telling people I’m lonely, mother!,” Kit added from another part of the candy store. “Most humans are just creeps!”
‘Okay, gonna have to explore that later,’ Zhen Liu mentally noted before focusing on the matter at hand.
“But yeah…Rodenia. Do you want to come with us back to Stampeding Bison and the Library of Nowhere, or do you want to hang around here for the time being, under Elsa and Kit’s supervision, to get a better feel for the rest of the world? You seemed to enjoy it here from what Leon and Isa told me.”
“Hmmm.”
In a surprisingly cute manner, Rodenia used two of her hands to poke at what would be her temple, while the other two supporting her chin.
This was probably the most the bug kaijin had ever used her brain before.
“What do I want to do…”
