Chapter 2 - Multiverse (1)

"What a novel experience," I mutter, raising from my lying position.

My eyes scanned the perimeter, finding nothing but crude, untamed and wild vegetation.

The noises of the active forest broadcast the dangerously alien environment I fell upon.

"I have to reconstruct my cybernetic body. The baseline human body is disappointing in itself."

It is the first time that I truly understand what it means to be human.

No enhancement through technology, no nanobot granting instantaneous regeneration in case of the quasi-indestructible adamantium alloyed skin being breached.

In place of the subatomic particle reactor generating enough energy to level up stars, in my chest beat a heart.

It certainly was an immense downgrade.

However, it was a chance.

An occasion to go beyond my previous self.

However, for now, this feeling of weakness needed to go.

The sooner, the better.

As my thoughts were finally organized, a floating blue screen appeared at arm's length from my face, the language identified as English.

[Status

Name: Apollyon

Titles: [The Worse Creature In Existence] / [Creator's Champion] / [Reincarnators Bane] / [Universe Annihilator]

Skills: [Divine Crafting] / [Universal Travel] / [Anomalies Tracking] / [Item Appraisal]

Quest: [I Am Your Worst Fear] — Kill Reincarnators [0/?]

Equipment: —

]

My eyes quickly went through every words of the physically inexistant screen, the questions left unanswered after the meeting with the strange entity finding their answers.

"I am supposed to find and kill my fellow anomalies. How ironic." I mused, seeing the quest assigned with special skills tailored to track them even through different universes with the [Universal Travel].

"New things to discover and study. How refreshing, the excitement is making my blood boil... Or is it simply a reaction due to my brain releasing chemicals?

Unimportant at the moment. I have to gear myself and make a functional base before exploring the surroundings. Let's make use of this [Divine Crafting] skill."

While I usually prefer to go through trials and errors that helps me fully understand a phenomenon, my current mortality makes me thankful that the skill is instinctual, for I have no time to waste.

This skill is quite the wonder.

It's limits are based on my stamina it seems. Unfortunately at this moment I am quite limited, however I still begin the first phase of my plan.

To fully construct everything I could need for my 'crusade', resources are primordial. Which is why I will need a quarry.

I currently lack any energy sources beside the sunlight that is.

Thankfully, the quarry is quite light in its energy consommation. The solar panels I am able to build would suffice for now.

Dim light shone through the ground for a radius of around a kilometer around me.

This ability also lets me map the affected area, which is quite the surprise.

The information flooding my mind was nothing worth notable. There was no sign of any kind of civilization too.

I am either deep inside an unexplored forest, on an uninhabited island or even both.

This would put a smile on my face, had I not be made to not recognize such worthless emotions.

Gone was the part of the forest in front of me.

The wild sight was replaced by a deep pit with countless solar panels surrounding it. The wires connecting the energetic sources to the automatic roboticals arms equipped with laser drills travelled through the ground, a measure of protection against the annoying nuisables that would attempt to chew through it.

Not that they would have succeeded. I am pretty certain that everything thing here was made through the conversion of my stamina into the needed material.

The problem was that it was extremely tiring. For the long run, it would make more sense for me to use whatever I can extract before trying to compensate with my energy.

Besides, the quality of product made entirely with my energy are much more lacking than the ones made with true materials.

Hence the pathetical evaluation of the quarry given by my [Item Inspection] skill.

[Lesser Earth Quarry] — [D-]

[Made through the use of Apollyon's energy, by Apollyon himself, the Quarry is a wonder of technology for this world. Though, its durability and efficiency is of a lesser quality compared to the other versions due to the lack of compatible materials.]

A peculiarly accurate description. Made from my memory perhapse.

I would have to do more tests at a later date.

My eyes turned to the quarry that continued to harvest every notable mineral of the ground, neatly bringing it at the surface and sorting it by category.

"It will take approximatively one hour to fully mine this chunk. It will be enough to explore the surroundings."

I walk toward the East, closely listening to the lively forest. Some roars, reminding me of aggressive primitives animals, echoed in the distance.

"It would be troublesome to encounter new species, defenseless."

My thoughts reviewed the options at my dispositions as I found a solution.

I put an hand on a tree, using for the second time the crafting ability.

Once again, I lack the main materials needed for a proper weapon. Which was not truly a problem since I could replace it with my energy even thought it reduced its quality by quite the margin.

However it did not matter much at the moment since I was not trying to blow up a planet. For now, I need a weapon capable of automatically defend me while being able to kill and immobilize. As I ignore what are the local creatures, it would have to be something that can not be ignored.

I may have the perfection blueprint for this one.

Following my wishes, the tree disintegrated into light particle before reforming around my hand.

The light faded, leaving a green and brown gauntlet. On the back of the hand, a circle with a cross dividing it.

[Biodegradable Gravitational Gauntlet of Defense] — [D]

[A weapon defying all logic but made purely through deep understanding of the technology behind. Fuelling itself through photosynthesis, this almost sentient gauntlet attack at the slightest sign of aggression toward its wielder with controlled gravitational modifications.]

"It will have to do for now."

I then proceeded to make my way deeper in the forest, excited to see more of the new world.