I looked at her, all pale and unkissed, and my soul went back to running away!
How tired I was of this dreadful work!
But she was already so--almost--beautiful. I sat down on the chair opposite the doll that lay there and sighed over its lifeless body.
There was almost nothing left. I had already used 'Happy Left Hand (Uncommon)' in the creation of Esdes to make her stronger. Now the homunculus will forever possess happy fingers. Just have to warn her to use it more often or the effect will be useless.
Unfortunately, there was nothing else I could do to enhance Esdes. For new upgrades, we'd have to keep making money and spinning gacha. And I'm not capable of doing that alone, and I was afraid to die.
The world of Warcraft is full of dangers, so... Esdes, it's time for you to wake up and help me survive.
The last few days of revision have flown by.
My Sculptor skill has already reached a hundred. That didn't seem like much, since the maximum level of processions in my memory was up to six hundred or even more. If my System worked on the principle of a WWE game, then it would be the same here.
There was still time to improve and improve....
I wasn't happy with the idea that because of my low skill I could screw up and make Esdes weaker than she could be.
But I had to put up with it, because I couldn't wait any longer. If I didn't finish Esdes now, my money would run out and I'd have to make it on my own.
By the way, I only had forty-nine gold left on my balance sheet. I tried to be extremely frugal and even lost a little weight, saving on food and water. Though no, it was probably still due to stress and persistent perfectionism, making me suffer to the last drop of my strength. I also saved on water: I washed in the river. I didn't buy expensive clothes, preferring to stay in the same rags for three whole months.
Yes, I know people will say I'm a pig. But I've been doing everything right. And I've been washing my arse, and my pants, and my clothes. And when the clothes dry I sit naked and make a homunculus.
If you go to a shop and see how much the cheapest shirt costs, people's eyes go to the back of their heads. You can buy a lot of food for that amount of money, and your wallet isn't exactly rubber.
That's not entirely true, though. I knew there were some cheap shirts that you could get for almost pennies in the game. Some even cost one copper, but... there was a nuance - it required a reputation with a faction to buy it. I mean, it's almost free, but not for everyone. Except that's where the cunning shop system came into play. It charged for the difficulty of resource extraction, because it was sometimes one of the criteria for prices on the same market.
As a result, the shirt itself could be sold for pennies, but the shop system was inflating the cost for me, so that I could not make money without straining. And for the inhabitants of the world it didn't make any difference what was going on in my interface - they just bought the material at market value or assessed it by quality, and then sold me the same product at three times the price.
No, I could kill a kobold, take off his shirt and put it on myself to save money, but I couldn't do that. I'm weak. Not to mention killing bandits. And the shirt would be too small.
I mean, the method of stealing wasn't available to me right now.
Plus, it's medieval... what if I put on some thief's clothes and catch a disease? Brrrrrr.
Well, it was X-day. I got up from the couch and the first thing I did was to polish the last, smallest flaws of the Esdes homunculus that I still had control over.
But looking at it from afar, I could see a lot of subtle imperfections that I couldn't smooth out. My skill was too poor. I was too tired mentally. And I couldn't go on like this any longer.
I needed to continue the adventure and finally move on.
The only thing left to find out was, how well could I do the job?
Now my finger froze at the 'Complete Homunculus: Esdes' button and pressed it.
The interface showed the result of my labours. A total of... seventy per cent compliance and success.
Little or not, but... I was a bit even disappointed, and then after thinking for a bit, I was glad on the contrary. If my Sculptor skill was only one hundred out of a potential six hundred, seventy per cent efficiency was a grand level!
My efforts were not in vain.
Yes... Esdes would be devoid of perfection. Even though it's my first and Legendary Homunculus, I have to accept its imperfection and let it into the new world.
A stingy Creator tear even protruded, and I grinned at my thoughts.
- How tired I am...
Her birth happened right before my eyes.
I brought the table with the homunculus upright and began to awaken Esdes from her sleep. Gradually her eyes began to open, revealing a brilliant blue lustre that made my soul swoon. Her lips slowly opened in an attempt to say something, but the words seemed frozen on her soft lips.
I watched her reaction with curiosity as I disengaged the straps holding her body down. Her naked, pale body breathed life, timid and tentative, like a newborn child.
As the last of the restraints fell away, Esdes began to fall and collapsed into my arms. And I felt something I never expected to feel... The warmth and tenderness of her body. The quiet breathing and even the movement of her fingers on my shoulders.
Well... as my first creation I took her... calmly. Though I'll admit, some of her closeness and gentleness caused a slight tremor and excitement in me.
But I tried not to give in to my emotions and helped the girl to sit on the chair.
- So... how are you feeling? - I asked, not really knowing what to start talking to the homunculus about.
I looked into her eyes with some apprehension, trying to find some answers in them, but I found only fog and confusion, and then they became clear.
Esdes looked at me with serene warmth and, smiling, finally said her first words:
- It's all right, Master.
Her first words were an answer to my mute question, and I involuntarily rejoiced.
Master...? It sounded strange.
I went into the training programme just in case and found the line about homunculi:
'Homunculi created are completely and unconditionally subject to the creator.'
Besides, homunculi could not harm me under any circumstances - the system forbade it.
But there was a note: 'If a homunculus falls under enemy control, your power over it is temporarily lost.'
Bollocks...
We'll have to do something about it to prevent such mishaps.
It was only a matter of time. While Esdes sat silently staring at me, I opened the windows of her characteristics.
Esdes was level one of ???? (limit unknown).
Characteristics:
Dexterity: 27.
Strength: 27.
Intelligence: 27.
Oh... what balanced characteristics. I don't know if it's a lot or not? Ten times mine, and that's fine. She's almost perfect. And if I made Esdes better, she'd have stats 39-39-39. And the difference would probably increase as you level up. That is, now she is weaker by only twelve characteristics, and further the difference between what will become and could become will be in the three hundred and higher, which made a slight sadness.
Class: Hunter (teigu carrier).
Key characteristic: dexterity.
Quite... unexpected and yet logical. I had already forgotten that Esdes was born into a family of monster hunters, so the fact that she belongs to the hunter class is correct.
Like a typical hunter in the WWE, Esdes used Focus, the kind of energy that all hunters use to use their abilities and special pet skills.
The vast majority of hunters specialised in long-range weapons that gave them an incredible advantage at range: a bow or a cannon.
But Esdes was different from the classic hunters in the usual sense, as she specialised in close combat, fast, powerful attacks, and mystical abilities. A hybrid of hunter and warrior. She may have a bit of the magic class in her, but the hunter in the game also had magic arrows, so again, it's reasonable.
Right now, though, the slots for her abilities were completely empty... and in fact Esdes could only use melee skills without any special abilities. Not surprisingly, I had to fill her ability slots myself, having knocked them out of the gacha before doing so.
I still had Hercules' Lion Strike ability, but it didn't fit her. I could put in her native ability as a boost!
Weiss Schneeble, White Beak - An attack that creates a dozen ice spears that recognise enemies. This was Esdes' native ability, which meant my girl could use it to its full potential.
The description of the ability also said that when this ability is used by a character its effectiveness increases with the level of the homunculus.
If I had put this ability on someone else, I think it would have been a real disaster.
I took the White Beak from my inventory along with Esdes' battle suit and... stopped my gaze on the rapier that was lonely in my inventory.
Wait a minute? Didn't Esdes use a rapier as her primary weapon?
I shifted my gaze to Esdes' characterisation window and looked at her innate skills. There was high physical strength, agility, strong willpower capable of removing weak control effects, and the type of weapon she wielded. Esdes... to my surprise, wielded most of the melee weapons. The Rapier was her favourite weapon, and it increased her damage efficiency by 20%.
I gave them to Esdes and watched silently while she put on her uniform and fastened the rapier to her belt. Unfortunately, the rapier wasn't perfect, just unusual, and without any special effects - but we'll fix that in time by picking better artefacts for it.
As she finished dressing, Esdes adjusted her grey cap on her head with a final gesture and turned to me, giving me a cold, respectful glare.
She... looked almost perfect, though she left a slight feeling as if something didn't add up. And it wasn't the beauty - I'd give my entire fortune for the chance to spend the rest of my life with this woman. It was the behaviour, which was slightly different.
- And so... I don't even know what to do with you now. I've imagined the moment of our meeting many times... thought about how to talk to you, like you're my daughter or... a creature or... realise who you are to me in general. And now it's hard for me, because I'm not an unfeeling person and I've never met a creature like you. I hope you won't take offence at my words.
But Esdes' gaze was favourable. She didn't even show a shadow of offence or displeasure. Instead, she raised her hand and opened it with her palm towards the top, and began to communicate.
- You need not worry about me, Master. I exist entirely to please you. You can call me whatever you want, and do whatever you want with me,' she said confidently, smiling.
- Hmm... all right,' I nodded.
As it turned out in practice, the Homunculus didn't behave exactly like Esdes, not that she copied her character. However, her every movement and facial expression was very much like the original. I was soaking it in.
Unfortunately, we had nothing to talk about. Even though I realised that Esdes wasn't quite alive, I felt a slight embarrassment in her company.
After all, I hadn't interacted normally with women in four thousand... okay, almost four months.
Not that I'd talked to people in general, either.
The first thing I decided to do was to test my mate's fighting potential and thus ease the tension between us a bit. The original Esdes would definitely appreciate it, so maybe I could try it with this one?
I even decided to sacrifice my comfort and ordered Esdes to spar with me.
I'd rather get punched in the face a couple of times and test her properly than have my first creation go and die in the first fight because of my negligence as her creator.
I feared that Esdes might have been defective or faulty in some way. Maybe even psychological?
Esdes, to my surprise, did not resist my order and calmly stood across from me. Calm, with a straight posture, she extended her pale palm forward, assuming a fighting stance.
Her skills said that she was proficient in the Imperial style of combat from her home universe. In addition, she was also excellent at hunting and surviving as a renegade. All in all, in terms of combat talents, she was extremely strong.
I couldn't even hope to win, and I even suddenly felt a chill of threat coming from her. And when she raised her icy gaze at me, I could feel my stomach twisting with nerves.
Only holding myself back with the will and desire to get the truth, I continued to look into her eyes and so we began the test:
- First, you must simply defend yourself. No attacking or retaliating, understand?
Esdes nodded.
I pulled out a wooden sword from my inventory and swung it to test the balance. It seemed to be laying pretty well.
- Why don't you take out your sabre?
- I won't need it.
Another key skill of Esdes was hunter's instinct. She could judge her opponent just by looking at him. In addition, she could quickly adapt to her opponent during a fight and understand their fighting style even better.
She must have assessed me and realised that I didn't stand a chance from the start. Well... not bad, and a little bit frustrating.
- Okay, let's go,' I said, walking slowly forward.
I wasn't going to show off or be cunning. I just needed to test her strength and skills. So I threw my first punch at Esdes's head, hoping for the best.
It was a medium swing, and not very fast. First I wanted to see if the homunculus could react to at least that much of a blow, and.... I was not fooled.
Just one elegant step back on her heel... and Esdes serenely walked away from the blow as if she was not in battle, but dancing a leisurely dance.
Encouraged by her success, I stopped holding back and swung harder than I could have done.
The vertical strike turned horizontal and soon became a chaotic swirl of blades. The wooden sword evolved in the air so fast it smeared in the air. But Esdes... She struck me to the core.
For the first time in my life, I saw the unimaginable - she dodged blows as if she was standing still, without straining at all.
My level of swordsmanship couldn't even be called ordinary - I was a complete beginner, but even so, I couldn't hit her even once.
My last and fiercest blow came at her head, but missed her by a couple of millimetres. Esdes grabbed the edge of my visor with two fingers and smiled contentedly as she watched me squirm with exhaustion.
- You've done an excellent job, my Lord,' Esdes said without a shadow of doubt, revealing a gentle smile that wasn't a lie. - I believe the assessment of my skills has fully met your expectations.
- Oh... oh... well, don't start, please... - I didn't immediately realise that this smug smile was not directed at me, but not at myself....
Only for a moment I thought that Esdes was delighted that she was so cool....
Well, I couldn't blame her.
She's my perfection after all.
***
'The Master praised me...'
The one who was her whole day and for whom she was created. The one for whom she exists, saw her excellent skills and appreciated her.
Esdes was so happy that she couldn't contain her admiration for the master she loved so much.
'Ah... Master, how Magnificent you are!'
***
After taking a good breath and wiping the sweat off my face, I was finally able to think calmly. Esdes was strong, unequivocal, and damn convincing.
I'd spent about an hour sparring with her, trying to hurt her just once, but it hadn't worked. While I was nearly exhausted and barely on my feet, Esdes didn't even break a sweat, and her white, smooth face didn't show a shadow of fatigue.
I wasn't doing this to find her weaknesses or to train her - not at all. I was trying to see if, in the course of an hour, there would be any glitch or malfunction in her behaviour.
And... nothing happened!
She's fully operational and without defect.
If a bunch of inept warriors went up against it, they'd probably all die without a chance.
Finally putting the wooden sword aside, I sat down on the couch and began to discuss the training with Esdes, while I thought about what to do next.
From our conversation I realised that Esdes was well aware of her own capabilities and limits. After all, she had the experience and innate talent of an original. She could use the right skill or move to dodge or knock me out at any time. In our fight alone, she counted over a hundred ways to kill me... which scared me a little. The next second though, she got scared of something and apologised to me.
In addition to the pros, we discovered some cons that weren't so obvious at first glance.
It turns out that Esdes also had a weapon skill that was pumped up during combat or training.
For example, right now her rapier skill level was 2. And all other weapon skills are 0 each in general.
I was a little disappointed by this, but it was generally expected. After all, we were both in the same System, and the way we pumped should have been the same.
- That's good. That's enough for today. You can rest... by the way, do you even need to rest? - I asked, looking at her smiling face.
- That's right, Master. I have a certain level of stamina, but it is far beyond that of the average person. If you wish, I could fight for days and nights without a break.
- Oh, no, I don't want that. I need you fully charged before the first real fight I want to test you in.
- I understand. In that case, perhaps I should get some practice with my rapier and skills before this fight? - She asked with contrived uncertainty, and I didn't even realise why she was playing dumb? Until I saw from the look in her eyes that Esdes wanted to give me a hint, but didn't want it to seem intrusive.
- Right, I didn't think of that right away. It's a good idea. Do you think you can improve a skill by practising alone?
- We can't know that for sure, Master, but I would definitely try it if we want to maximise the effect.
- You're really good.
An unexpected blush appeared on Esdes' face.
- What's wrong? Why are you embarrassed? - I was embarrassed.
- No... nothing, I'm just very happy to please you,'' she said warmly.
- In that case, I want to watch you practice before I go to bed.
Esdes nodded, faltering slightly in her seat.
- 'Is there anything else? - I asked.
- If you'd like... I could help you with something else before bed. I'm very hardy, and suppose I could help you sleep somehow? - I had a very suggestive and shy look thrown at me, and immediately suspected something wrong!
Esdes! You little rascal! What the hell is that?
I didn't pick at this clay all day and night long just to sit there and then shake it left and right.
And even if I did...I'm sorry, baby, but I'm too tired. I need time, and space...I'm so tired I don't think I can even get aroused.
Anyway, I'm sorry. She's wearing me out, for God's sake.
I can't even tell if she's serious or not. Maybe I'm just imagining it because I haven't had sex in four months.
- Thanks, but... I don't need anything for now.
Esdes lowered her gaze annoyingly and said quietly.
- I understand. In that case, I'll start training.
Soon denying the feeling of deep sadness, Esdes straightened up and became herself again: calm, collected, and icy. Watching her emotions I was embarrassed at first, but seeing her transformation I immediately tuned in and focused on watching.
Esdes began her training. From the outside it looked like a shadow fight. Esdes drew her rapier from its sheath and began to deliver short, very fast and precise stabbing blows that sliced through the air like a bullet.
I could track her progress on my interface, since she was my controlled creature.
I stopped my gaze at the skill bar:
'Rapier proficiency increased to 2.'
It was an old alert that we had seen before Esdes started training. And now I realised why she had offered me this shadow fight. Apparently due to the fact that her rapier skill had somehow increased to two, Esdes had assumed it was as a result of our test fight.
I didn't notice it, but she did... what an insight.
However, two minutes had already passed, but Esdes' rapier skill still remained at 2.
Another minute.
Then another minute.
And one more.
At some point, I started to feel sleepy and... I fell into the realm of Morpheus.