MTLNOVEL Chapter 102: Derick's Third Clone
This time, after Derick's Avatar No. 2 recovered, Ruan Mei didn't feed it anything else but directly pushed it beneath the chrysalis of the Star-Crushing King Worm.
Watching Derick's Avatar No. 2 about to devour the chrysalis, Ruan Mei chuckled softly, "During the Cosmic Swarm Disaster, Oroboros and Tayzzyronth once had a battle. Now, it seems their descendants can't avoid such things either."
The mouth of Derick's Avatar No. 2 split open, forming an opening half its body length, and it leaped towards the chrysalis. The Star-Crushing King Worm was still far from its adult stage; its current size was smaller than Derick's Avatar No. 2. After opening wide, Derick's Avatar No. 2 smoothly swallowed it.
Swallowed, absorbed.
Ruan Mei watched from below as Avatar No. 2 devoured the chrysalis. After a short wait, seeing its body begin to swell violently, Ruan Mei extended her fingers and counted down, "Three, two, one..."
Just as Ruan Mei's words fell, Derick's Avatar No. 2 produced a violent explosion.
Boom—
Like a clap of thunder, Derick's Avatar No. 2 was blown into fragments, scattering throughout the entire laboratory. Some pieces were about to land on Ruan Mei, but just as they neared her, an unknown creature appeared before her, blocking the falling debris.
"It seems this little cutie still needs some proper cultivation," Ruan Mei remarked softly, observing the situation. Looking intently at the center of the laboratory, Ruan Mei was surprised to find that nearly half of the Star-Crushing King Worm's chrysalis had vanished. This took her by surprise. "This little cutie's devouring ability... it actually surpasses my imagination." Ruan Mei's lips curled upwards, her anticipation for Derick's Avatar No. 2 growing even stronger.
"Once it has recovered, we can't continue experiments for now. Let it rest a bit before we proceed," Ruan Mei said softly. Although she felt this little fellow's endurance was far from its limit, she also wanted Derick's Avatar No. 2 to digest some of what it had devoured.
Underworld.
"This harvest... is truly substantial." Derick felt the increased energy in his body and flexed his hands and feet. Ms. Ruan Mei's methods were indeed extraordinary; she dared to let him devour the Star-Crushing King Worm right from the start. One had to know that although the adult Star-Crushing King Worm could only live for less than a minute, in that minute, it was a true Emanator-level existence, no weaker than a Reaver.
By devouring even a part of the Star-Crushing King Worm's chrysalis, the benefits Derick's body gained were immense.
He raised his arm, and a deep blue light appeared, shooting out square blocks of energy. Though its power couldn't compare to Derick's full-force Blade of Divine Retribution, it could be released bare-handed, making it fast and covert. And there were other abilities...
With a thought, a pair of transparent, energy-composed insect wings appeared on Derick's back. These energy wings vibrated rapidly, and Derick flew into the air. He had also acquired the Star-Crushing King Worm's flight ability. However, since his body lacked the actual organs, he could only form wings from energy to vibrate.
Flying in mid-air, Derick's heart was filled with excitement. Humanity's yearning for the sky was innate; flying in the air, Derick reveled in the feeling of freedom.
"Birds, why do they fly..." Derick murmured softly, then felt the words were out of place and quickly retracted them. Fortunately, apart from gender, Derick, Phainon, and Old Ancestor Kevin didn't share many similarities; otherwise, things might have become somewhat troublesome. He didn't know why birds flew, but insects' flight capabilities were generally superior to birds'. Possessing the Star-Crushing King Worm's flight ability gave Derick a tremendous advantage in aerial combat.
After flying around for a while, Derick landed on the ground. Then, his expression changed slightly. Devouring the Star-Crushing King Worm wasn't without its price. This creature walked the Path of [Propagation], and the desires and abilities associated with propagation weren't harmful to the body, so Derick's main body naturally obtained them as well. Fortunately, it was just some influence that would increase Derick's desire for propagation, not make him want to split himself into bugs.
"It seems I must quicken my return to Okhema now." Derick felt the reaction in his body and tried his best to calm his thoughts. I need to see Castorice soon!
At this moment, Derick once again felt a strange sensation in his right eye. This feeling... was somewhat familiar! Derick thought, and then a cloud of black mist appeared before him.
Is this... a third avatar appearing before me? Derick reacted internally, simultaneously wanting to observe the avatar's formation. The black mist gradually condensed and gathered into a humanoid figure holding a scythe. The figure continued to coalesce, finally becoming a pitch-black humanoid taller than Derick. Derick switched his vision and could even make eye contact with himself.
"This young man, he's really handsome," Derick even joked.
He estimated the process of the third avatar's formation. This certainly wasn't accomplished just by absorbing that bit of Star-Crushing King Worm energy; it had begun accumulating when he devoured the Titan of Death's energy. After devouring the Star-Crushing King Worm as well, Derick's body had enough energy to form the third avatar.
The third avatar appeared, and right in front of him. This result was the best for Derick. Derick's Avatar No. 1 had also taken considerable effort to cultivate. If it were to remain in the Underworld for an extended period now, it would seem somewhat wasteful. Before, he had no choice; after all, an avatar couldn't compare in importance to his main body and Castorice. But the situation was different now. The third avatar had appeared, hadn't undergone any cultivation yet, and hadn't consumed Derick's efforts. Letting it take on this responsibility was, arguably, the best solution.
"Let it stay in the Underworld long-term." The avatar wouldn't have consciousness, so Derick wouldn't feel any reluctance.
Pressing his hand on his new avatar, he began to transfer the duties and authority of the Titan of Death. Derick's main body was like a greedy boss, only assigning duties and obligations to his subordinate avatars, not sending them any benefits. Moreover, any benefits the subordinates obtained, a portion had to be offered up to the main body. Derick thought, Luckily, these avatars don't know labor laws, or they'd definitely find someone to sue me, their main body.
As Derick transferred the duties, he quickly realized some problems. Avatar No. 3 was newly formed; its own energy was insufficient to bear these responsibilities.
"It seems I still need to find a way to get it some energy," Derick thought. He couldn't give Avatar No. 3 energy from his own body; for it to gain new energy, it had to devour something. The surrounding souls were all good souls selected by Derick; he couldn't bring himself to use them to fill Avatar No. 3.
"In that case, the only way is to use an express delivery method. I wonder if avatars can devour each other?" Derick mused. His Avatar No. 1 was still in Styxia. Having rested for so long, it was time for Derick to let it get some activity.
...
Styxia.
Derick's Avatar No. 1 began to move. It prepared to set off in the direction of the River Styx. Since it also possessed the Titan of Death's energy, Derick wasn't worried that his Avatar No. 1 couldn't enter the River Styx.
Derick had originally thought this process of entering the River Styx would be very easy, but before it could enter, a figure appeared, blocking its path.
"Kid, I thought you had left long ago. What? You still dare to go into the Underworld and cause trouble for Derry?" Cipher appeared before Avatar No. 1 and spoke to it.
"She's still here." Derick felt somewhat surprised.
And as he was thinking this, Cipher's attack had already arrived. She rushed beneath Derick's Avatar No. 1, leaped high, and drew a semicircle behind her back, kicking towards Avatar No. 1's chin. Avatar No. 1 was kicked back a few steps, and Cipher continued her assault. Derick immediately controlled Avatar No. 1 to counter-attack.
Although Cipher's speed was fast, her attack patterns were still relatively simple. Avatar No. 1 had experienced Cipher's attacks last time, and now that she attacked again, Derick had adapted. It didn't take long for Derick to control Avatar No. 1 to grab Cipher's foot and slam her towards the ground. Since it was Cipher, Derick paid attention, aiming for an area of soft soil. Cipher landed on the ground; apart from a sore backside, she wouldn't feel anything else.
"If it were anyone else, I would have grabbed their foot and swung them around, smashing them on the ground a few times," Derick thought.
And on the other side, Cipher was thinking the same thing. When she felt her right leg grabbed, she thought she was done for. If her small frame was smashed on the ground a few times, even if she didn't die, most of her bones would be broken. That would truly be fatal. But now, only her backside was a little sore.
Cipher quickly stood up and even made a face at Derick's Avatar No. 1. "Idiot, you don't even know how to attack people properly. Truly a mindless beast," she said in a mocking tone to Derick's Avatar No. 1.
Derick: "..." He suddenly felt that letting Cipher off so easily was a mistake. Although her actions were touching, they were also very annoying.
Seeing Cipher was about to attack again, Derick quickly used his energy to transmit his words. "Cipher, don't fight it. Find a way to kick it into the River Styx. I'll deal with it in the Underworld."
Cipher, who was preparing to fight Derick's Avatar No. 1, heard Derick say this, and her eyes couldn't help but light up. "Yo, Derry, I thought you couldn't even transmit your voice out here! Well, when can you get out?" she shouted at Derick.
"Soon, very soon," Derick replied.
"Then specifically..." Cipher's words were only half-spoken when Derick couldn't stand it anymore and controlled Avatar No. 1 to attack Cipher.
"Ouch, hey, you're a bad guy!" Cipher dodged Avatar No. 1's attack and cursed at it. Next, she followed Derick's instructions and began to 'lure' Avatar No. 1 towards the bank of the River Styx. Derick naturally cooperated very well with Cipher.
When Cipher had 'tricked' Avatar No. 1 to the edge of the River Styx, she tossed a coin, and her entire speed suddenly increased. With a flash of light, Cipher appeared behind Derick's Avatar No. 1.
"Off you go! If you have anything to say, say it to my Derry!" Cipher shouted at Avatar No. 1.
Wait, when did I become yours? While watching his Avatar No. 1 being kicked into the River Styx, Derick thought with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Plop—
Derick's Avatar No. 1 entered the River Styx.
After doing this, Cipher clapped her hands. "Hey, Derry..." Cipher wanted to chat more, but at this moment, Derick quickly shouted to her, "I need to fight it over here, no time to reply to you."
"Alright then." Cipher nodded helplessly and shouted towards the River Styx again. "Derry, I'll be waiting for you in Styxia. When you come out, remember to tell me."
Derick pretended to still be fighting and didn't answer Cipher.
Derick's Avatar No. 1 entered the River Styx and was soon brought back to the Underworld by his main body. Derick, Avatar No. 1, and Avatar No. 3 faced each other. This strange feeling truly left Derick unsure how to describe it. His handsome main body, the four-meter-tall Avatar No. 1 holding a scythe and possessing some Nikador-like features, and the nearly two-meter-tall humanoid Avatar No. 3. Derick even felt playful and switched between the various perspectives.
After playing for a while, he began to execute his idea. Avatar No. 1 swung its scythe, instantly cutting off its own arm. Before the arm could regenerate, Derick switched to Avatar No. 3, which opened its great maw and swallowed the arm.
Watching it devour the arm, Derick looked on with some anticipation. He hoped Avatar No. 3 could increase its strength; otherwise, he would have to leave Avatar No. 1 here to inherit his duties, and let Avatar No. 3 go out. But if Avatar No. 3 went out, its strength would be too low, and it would take a considerable amount of time to level it up again.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario Derick had envisioned didn't happen. After devouring Avatar No. 1's arm, Derick's Avatar No. 3's body began to grow larger. Previously less than two meters, its height now exceeded two meters. The energy it contained also received a significant boost, allowing Derick to continue with his plans.
"It seems the rules for using my avatars have gained another entry: avatars can devour each other. I just don't know if my main body can devour an avatar." Derick felt it was possible, but there was no need to try it now, and he was a bit reluctant to just raw-eat an avatar.
With Avatar No. 3's strength increased, Derick could further transition the authority of the Titan of Death onto Avatar No. 3.
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