Interstellar travel was incredibly boring.
At first, Bai Xiaodu, who had never even left Pingshan District before, was indeed very excited. He kept pressing his face against the porthole, staring outside.
But he got tired of it in just two days.
It felt like he had just moved to a different place to play on his phone.
Since he didn't have any flesh and blood materials from fire-type dragon beasts, Bai Xiaodu couldn't practice the Dragon-Burning Refining Art for the time being.
Instead, he began organizing the rewards he had received after ascending to a transcendent.
First was the enhancement opportunity for the 【Spellcasting】 Pathway.
Initially, Bai Xiaodu wanted to save it for later when he learned new Circle spells.
But unfortunately, the enhancement opportunity from ascending from apprentice to transcendent could only be applied to cantrips.
So, he used it on 【Mage Hand】.
【Designated Enhancement in progress. 【Mage Hand】 will simulate the 【Spellcasting】 Pathway to complete its advancement...】
【Advancement successful!】
【【Mage Hand (Proficient)】 has now advanced to 【Mage Body (Proficient)】!】
【Mage Body (Proficient)】
【Consumes a designated percentage of the user's mana to create a clone (the higher the percentage, the stronger the clone). Maximum of three clones. Clones inherit all skills of the original body.】
Oh ho.
A Multi-Shadow Clone Technique?
Bai Xiaodu was suddenly thrilled.
Good stuff, definitely good stuff!
In future fights, he could just send his clone first to bait out the opponent's ultimate moves in a panic.
Then, the opponent would sigh under the setting sun, thinking they had finally won and could finally go see their newly confessed lover, or go home to hug the daughter they promised they'd return to...
Just then, he would descend like a king from the heavens, wearing a wrathful, grimacing expression.
And shout out:
“Who dares destroy my clone in the lower realm?!”
At this thought, Bai Xiaodu couldn't wait any longer. He returned to his room to test it out.
For his first attempt, he didn't dare allocate too much.
Consuming thirty percent of his mana, a puff of illusory smoke rose.
And a blank-faced Little Bai Xiaodu was born!
Bai Xiaodu immediately stepped forward to inspect it, reaching out to pinch the fox ears first.
They felt great—fluffy and soft. Experiencing it from someone else's perspective was a whole new feeling.
No wonder Xin Hai'an and the others loved doing it so much.
He circled around his clone, pinching and rubbing it thoroughly without any hesitation.
Staring at Little Bai Xiaodu's blank little face, Bai Xiaodu clicked his tongue in wonder.
“Damn, I'm so fucking cute!”
However, Little Bai Xiaodu remained completely still, standing in place like an exquisite puppet.
Just standing there wouldn't do. He couldn't just throw the clone out as a meat shield.
Bai Xiaodu began to experiment, trying to make Little Bai Xiaodu move.
Then, he quickly realized something was off.
“Holy shit!”
After a strange sensation, the vision in his eyes suddenly split into two.
One large and one small, representing his main body and his clone. From these two perspectives, Bai Xiaodu could see both himself and the clone simultaneously.
The feeling was incredibly bizarre. When Bai Xiaodu tried to take a few steps, both his main body and the clone actually moved at the same time.
With a thud, the two of them collided head-on!
Sitting on the floor while clutching his head, Bai Xiaodu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This wasn't the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.
This was the control style of the Six Paths of Pain!
Concentrating his consciousness on one screen, he controlled the clone to move around, run, jump, and cast spells.
Everything was perfect and went without a hitch.
But as soon as he tried to control both at once, it felt like his left brain was fighting his right brain.
Sigh... It looked like he could only practice this slowly.
He recalled how he used to mock Kabuto for being a useless fool who didn't know how to play Nagato, practically delivering kills to the main cast.
Bai Xiaodu felt like a boomerang had just smacked him right in the face.
He couldn't even manage his own three measly cantrips properly, whereas Kabuto was forced to play the skills of seven people crammed into a single screen right off the bat.
No wonder he couldn't play it well!
With a thought, just as he was about to recall the clone, Bai Xiaodu suddenly realized something incredibly important.
And so, he walked into the bathroom, with his clone following closely behind him like a hopping corpse in a Xiangxi corpse-driving ritual.
Even though he knew he was the only one in the men's bathroom, Bai Xiaodu still guiltily looked left and right.
Then, he slowly reached out his hand toward Little Bai Xiaodu.
...
By the time he came out of the bathroom, Bai Xiaodu's legs were shaking.
Testing physical damage would just result in a bloody mess that he'd have to flush down the toilet.
After experimenting for a good while, he reached a conclusion.
He could indeed receive the sensations of the clone being attacked or touching objects.
The sensitivity could be adjusted, but it couldn't be set lower than fifty percent.
Otherwise, his control over the clone would be severely weakened, even causing uncoordinated movements or failed spell casting.
As for more delicate sensory details...
Bai Xiaodu believed that there was no better way to test them than by having a release.
This kind of action involved the heart, the nervous system, and the secretion of dopamine in the brain.
He came to a shocking conclusion.
After the clone engaged in such behavior...
The main body actually felt a certain level of pleasure as well.
All in all, it was an incredibly badass skill.
While Multi-Ray and the Roaming Dragon Technique were pure stat upgrades, Mage Body was a complete mechanical masterpiece.
If used well, it was no different from having multiple lives.
Silently setting a training plan for himself, Bai Xiaodu looked at his other rewards.
This talent was given by Arad. That guy had probably been kicked to death like a stray dog by Director-General Shen.
Bai Xiaodu had secured an assist and received this reward.
【Somatic Control】
【Quality: Blue】
【Type: Active Skill】
【Effect: Instantly removes all current abnormal statuses upon activation and significantly increases physical self-control.
Depending on the severity of the abnormal status, the skill's intensity is divided into three tiers, consuming mana, spell slots, or Origin, respectively.】
【Note: You can easily control everything about yourself, but please do not use it for weird things.】
Ignoring the note, Bai Xiaodu went to the bathroom again.
He began to test whether this skill was actually useful.
Half an hour passed.
An hour passed.
Bai Xiaodu summoned his clone.
Two hours passed.
Three hours passed.
Bai Xiaodu summoned yet another clone.
...
Indeed, he could control absolutely everything, even his clones.
Bai Xiaodu, Little Bai Xiaodu, and Tiny Bai Xiaodu took turns washing their hands and walked out with utterly exhausted expressions.
He let out a dry laugh and activated Somatic Control.
With a soft buzz.
Bai Xiaodu felt his vision clear, his hearing sharpen, and his mind become completely refreshed.
This skill was indeed amazing. Normal usage only consumed mana, essentially giving it zero cooldown.
And ignoring debuffs like fatigue, drowsiness, pain, and fear would probably have a miraculous effect against Director-General Shen's mental control.
He would truly transform into an absolutely rational monster.
Rate on N.U.
