Chapter 105. New Azeras
The body modifications for Jafan and Azeras were complete.
Azeras had most of the monstrous lumps on her head shaved down.
The remaining lumps were transformed into metallic machinery, and two mechanical arms covered with skin-like material were attached to her body.
Jafan was fitted with two thick mechanical legs.
The legs were special—they could extend and retract like a staff.
Additionally, when the legs were retracted to their shortest length, large wheels would emerge, allowing for faster movement.
【Pururu】─Finally, Jafan’s modification is done too.
【Mysticism】─😶
【Yumi】─They both seem satisfied with their new bodies.
I had considered naming them Neo Jafan and Neo Azeras.
But, unfortunately, both of them rejected the idea.
They said it sounded too similar to “Neo Hyeong-seok,” and they didn’t like that.
［Jafaaaaan!! Zoom around! Zoom zoom!］
Jafan, thrilled with his new modifications, was happily racing around the cavern.
He seemed to love not only his new legs but also the wheels.
“My head is smaller now, so it’s easier to change clothes.”
Azeras, with her shaved-down head and new arms, was currently changing into new clothes.
The clothes had been provided by Pururu as part of the support feature.
She had already discarded her old, worn-out outfit.
【Bubble Bubble】─When her face was covered, you couldn’t tell, but she’s really beautiful.
【Mysticism】─😋
After finishing changing into comfortable clothes, Azeras glanced at me and muttered,
“Now that I have both arms… I want to try… knitting.”
“Knitting? I didn’t know you had a hobby like that.”
“I didn’t before… but now I suddenly… want to pick up a hobby.”
It wasn’t difficult to get her knitting supplies.
Fulfilling a small request like that was the least I could do.
After all, she played a huge role in our last battle.
And having a hobby wouldn’t hurt.
“Dan-bi, do you happen to have any knitting tools at home?”
【Yumi】─I don’t think Pururu would keep something like that.
【Pururu】─I have them.
【Yumi】─What? Really?
【Pururu】─Why are you surprised? ㅅㅂ
“Then send some over. Azeras wants to try knitting.”
【Pururu】─Ugh, that Azeras sure asks for a lot.
Despite her grumbling,
『PLATINUM-tier Assistant “Pururu” has delivered support materials!』
【Pururu】─There you go.
In the end, Pururu sent over the knitting tools.
【Mysticism】─Pur-tsundere. 🤭
【Rise Nova】─🤭
【Mysticism】─😡
The item Pururu sent was just a single knitting needle.
【Yumi】─What about yarn?
【Pururu】─Just use our little spider’s silk.
That was exactly what I had in mind.
Arachne’s silk was far more durable than regular yarn, which made it perfect.
If necessary, it could even be used with its nullification ability.
【Bubble Bubble】─If she makes clothes with Arachne’s silk, it would essentially be the ultimate armor. Most attacks wouldn’t even touch her before they got nullified.
【Mysticism】─Soft silk armor! 😀
I received a bundle of silk from Arachne,
gathered the knitting needle from Seo Dan-bi’s support, and handed them to Azeras.
“Here, you can start knitting with this. Be sure to thank Pururu.”
“Thank you… Poruru…”
【Pururu】─It’s Pururu, not Poruru. ㅡㅡ
Azeras sat down and, with clumsy hands, began to knit.
［That’s quite a strange thing to be doing. Huh Huh.］
Omega, who had been organizing mechanical parts, approached and sat next to Azeras.
［That’s not what I gave you those arms for. Huh.］
“…”
［Let me explain the incredible abilities I installed in those magnificent arms. Huh Huh.］
Omega continued to talk, and Azeras, while knitting, listened attentively.
［First of all, those arms aren’t made from ordinary parts. They’re crafted from the head components of the Mechanical Hydra. Huh.］
“Oh…”
Azeras, intrigued by the mention of the Mechanical Hydra, turned to look.
It seemed her interest was piqued by the fact that her arms were made from the Hydra’s parts.
For the record, I just learned that myself.
［And now, Azeras, you can use one of the abilities of the Mechanical Hydra. Pyo-ring.］
“An ability… of the Mechanical Hydra?”
［Yes. Out of the seven abilities the Hydra had, you can now use one of them. Can you guess which one? Huh?］
“What could it be…?”
［Take a guess. Huh Huh.］
“I don’t know…”
［…You’re not even trying to think, are you? Huh.］
“Sorry… my mind isn’t that sharp yet.”
Omega stared at Azeras coldly for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and continuing the explanation.
［You’ll only be able to use one of its powers. I didn’t install different abilities in each arm because that would’ve been too difficult for you to manage. So, I made both arms the same. And the ability you’ll be able to wield is Dark Matter.］
【Mysticism】─🧐
【Pururu】─What’s Dark Matter?
【Yumi】─When we fought the Mechanical Hydra, Omega said the most dangerous head was the one that released Dark Matter.
【Rise Nova】─Ah, that ominous dark stuff?
【Bubble Bubble】─It did seem like a terrifying ability. Just watching it was enough to give me chills.
Azeras paused her knitting.
“Dark Matter?”
［Yes. Dark Matter is an extremely powerful force, strong enough to harm even beings like Solorb. Huh Huh.］
“Ohhhh…”
Azeras let out a soft gasp of awe.
Omega, seemingly pleased with her reaction, lazily wagged her heavy reptilian tail.
［Heh heh. So, what do you think? Want to go test out your new power, Huh?］
“Hmm… I’ll try it out later… when I encounter a monster. Right now, I want to focus on knitting…”
“…”
Azeras resumed her knitting.
Even though she was excited about her new ability, her current interest seemed to be more in knitting.
***
Omega mentioned she would be returning to the Machine Factory.
She couldn’t leave the village unattended for too long.
She also planned to continue researching the emotions she was currently experiencing and analyze the abilities of the Assisted One.
［Gauntlet. And by the way, I forgot to mention earlier, but our village isn’t called the Machine Factory. Huh Huh.］
“Oh? What’s it called then?”
［There’s no official name yet. Huh.］
“Well, just call it the Machine Factory for now. It sounds good.”
［…I’ll consider it. Huh Huh.］
Omega answered that way, then gathered the Execution Sword and Magic Sword I had lent her.
【Pururu】─Why are you giving her those? Are they gifts?
“Not exactly gifts. She wanted to analyze their functions, so I lent them to her.”
It was practically the same as giving them to her.
She said she was going to take them apart, after all.
［If I can mass-produce machines with the same abilities as these swords, they’ll be a great help in the future. Huh Huh.］
Normally, I wouldn’t lend such items to just anyone, but I trusted Omega.
Her technological skills were already something I had firsthand experience with.
［Now then, I’ll be going. I’ll visit once a day, so don’t shed any tears if I’m not around. Huh Huh.］
With that, Omega activated the Warp Device.
She stepped through the portal and returned to the Machine Factory.
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Mysticism】─Aren’t you going with her, Geon? You said you wanted to visit the Machine Factory.
“I’ll go when the Princess recovers. It wouldn’t feel right to go off and have fun while my daughter’s bedridden.”
【Yumi】─You’re absolutely right.
【Pururu】─?? Wait, did you just call her your daughter? What’s going on?
【Rise Nova】─So, you’ve finally acknowledged the Princess as your daughter, haven’t you?
【Bubble Bubble】─I’ll allow it since she’s not your real daughter.
【Pururu】─Why do you keep saying you’ll allow things? ㅅㅂ
After Omega left,
I returned to the crystal orb house to nurse the Princess and organize my thoughts.
‘Omega said to think of about three places where we could start building a civilization by tomorrow…’
The desert, where the shelter is.
The deep sea, where the Deep Guardian resides.
So far, these were the two locations that came to mind.
‘Is there another place besides the desert and the deep sea where we could build a village?’
The plains briefly came to mind, but I dismissed it immediately.
Unlike Solorb in the desert,
I had no connection with the Solorb of the plains.
It didn’t feel like a place where we could live peacefully.
‘The area with the pond is too small and too close, so that’s out…’
I was mulling over the places we’d explored so far when,
［Explorer!］
Centaurides’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I stood up and stepped outside the crystal orb house.
Centaurides was standing there, clutching a notebook tightly in her hands.
［I’ve finished updating the Monster Guidebook!］
She opened the notebook and handed it to me.
Inside was her drawing of Azeras’s new appearance.
