BXBX NOVEL Chapter 166 Cloud Server
"I am the Absolute of Water."
Ikasa widened his eyes at the ethereal lady's revelation. His shoulders tensed and he unconsciously took a step back.
Instead of lowering his guard, he had become more vigilant. He tightened his grip on the ax surreptitiously even though he knew that it would be of little use against the Absolute.
The Absolute of Water calmly noted the changes in Ikasa's body language. Her eyes flickered from his tightened grip on the handle of the ax to his tense shoulders. Then she looked at his face and saw cold perspiration form on his forehead.
"Do you not want this gift?"
The lady spoke in a gentle voice when Ikasa still did not accept the Box from her hands.
"Do you not want the answers I promised?"
Ikasa opened his mouth and gaped at the dazzling beauty before him.
'She is the mysterious feminine speaker!'
Realization dawned upon him. She sounded familiar because he had heard her voice after the Battle of Rights ended!
Ikasa felt better upon knowing that she was not hostile to him. If she wanted to harm him, she would not need to go through so many ploys.
He tried to raise his arms to receive the Box but his body did not respond!
"Do you really not want the Gift? Or the Answers?"
The Absolute of Water asked, voice turning cold.
As if triggered by the Absolute of Water, a picture of the Old man in the Metal Brain appeared in his head. A screen kept flashing before his eyes.
[Don't trust the Absolutes]
[Don't trust the Absolutes]
[Don't….]
Ikasa felt like he had become a guest in his own body. He had almost lost control of his body just like in the Ruins of Sal City.
'No! This is my Body! I cannot let anyone take possession of it as they like. And if this old Man attacks the Absolute, I can forget about living!'
Ikasa decided to struggle against the old man. As a Pinnacle Sense Trainer, his spirit had grown much more powerful than before. He exerted his Spiritual Body's control over his Physical Body.
His Spirit locked the image of the Old Man in place. It was slowly getting weaker and weaker. Still, Ikasa had not regained full control over his organs and limbs.
He started with his right hand. Slowly but surely, he raised it with jerky movements like that of a robot and received the Box from the Absolute of water.
The Absolute of Water could see the battle between Ikasa's spirit and the remnant from the metal Brain. She saw him slowly regain control over his body while the remnant gradually diminished in power and disappeared. For now.
She smiled the most captivating smile Ikasa had ever witnessed in his life.
He was enthralled by the dimples formed on her cheeks when she smiled. Her lips parted just slightly, giving him a glimpse of her pearly white teeth underneath.
'Isn't Xin Ruo as beautiful as her?'
Ikasa shook his head at the thought, as he regained control over his body and mind. He then looked at the box in his hands with a frown.
'But why help me? Where is this goodwill coming from?'
Ikasa deliberated the motives behind the help one of the Absolutes was offering him.
Did he doubt the Absolutes? The answer was an obvious yes.
Upon seeing the visuals of war between the Cultivators and the Cyborg Humans, he was wary of the Absolutes. However, he was not foolish enough to openly showcase his distrust in the almighty beings.
In fact, Ikasa was more suspicious of the remnant from the metal Brain than the Absolutes at the moment. After the remnant of Old man tried to take over his body, he began to doubt the visuals of war.
The Absolute of Water saw him look at the Box in a daze. Her gentle voice chimed in his ears.
"Are you not going to open it?"
Ikasa put away his thoughts and carefully removed the lid on the wooden box. Inside the box, a Cloud Frame module rested on a silken covering. A USB storage device sat at the center of the Box.
"That device should contain instruction manuals for upgrading your Cloud Printer. 'He' was always meticulous."
The Absolute of Water said with a hint of nostalgia as she peeked over his shoulder into the Box.
Ikasa turned his head to look at her. He dreaded the answer but he had to know for sure. Gathering his courage, he asked the question he was the most curious about.
"What am I? Who am I? And who is this 'He' you speak of?"
His earnest tone tugged at the Absolute's emotions.
Sigh!
The lady exhaled a long breath. She looked into Ikasa's eyes and chose every word carefully.
"Unfortunately, you started with the questions that need no answer, Yi Ka San. You are who you think you are. If you consider yourself a human, that will be your only identity, no matter what others say."
Her answer was more like a riddle than an answer.
"If I think of myself as a Human, that will be my identity; No matter what others say?"
Ikasa repeated her words out loud. They were still baffling. He felt like she was definitely alluding to something, but he didn't know what.
'Does she mean I am not a human?'
When Ikasa looked at her she simply smiled at him enigmatically. It did not seem like she would talk more on this topic.
Also, Ikasa did not miss how she avoided talking about 'Him'.
"Why don't you start your upgrade procedure now? Our time here is limited after all."
The Lady suggested looking at the USB Storage Device. Ikasa hesitated before he picked up the device. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Absolute of Water's gaze focused on his chest where the slot would appear.
'Why do I feel like she knows more about my body than I do?'
Ikasa shivered as he inserted the USB drive into the slot that appeared on his chest.
"Fascinating!"
The Absolute murmured. Then she stopped leaning on the desk beside Ikasa and walked to the holographic device.
"'He' was a good man who wanted to make the lives of those who couldn't cultivate better. This Cloud Printer was also his idea."
The Absolute of Water began to speak, reminiscing about the mysterious 'He'. She suddenly chuckled to herself, remembering the incident.
She did not seem crazy or psychotic for laughing so suddenly; only stunning and enchanting.
"I still remember the day when he summoned me and made the most ridiculous request I had ever heard. He wanted to store his knowledge in the Cloud. He talked about making a Cloud Server or something."
Ikasa paid attention to her words. Cloud Server was a term familiar to most people on Earth. However, the name would obviously sound weird to the people of this world!
'Was the mysterious 'He' also a transmigrator from modern-day Earth?'
The more Ikasa thought about this possibility, the more he found it plausible. Or else why would the names of the gadgets be similar to those on Earth?
Ikasa became eager to know more about this person. While he was thinking, the Absolute of water had resumed her story.
"... 'He' drew a box made from iron and said it was the Cloud Server. He said we, the Absolutes, were backward and primitive because we did not know what it was. Truly ridiculous!"
She sounded like she was talking about a dear friend and not just any random human. Ikasa could see emotions flash in her eyes as she recounted the story.
The Absolute looked at him and began to proudly recount how she had made the man swallow his words.
"Though the other Absolutes ignored them, I took his words personally. I stored every technique and martial art into tiny water droplets and made a real Cloud from them!"
Ikasa looked at the Absolute of Water in shock. She had taken the word Cloud Storage to an entirely different level!
"My method was so much better than the idiotic iron box of 'his'. After seeing the Cloud I made, he had to admit it."
Ikasa could imagine the Absolute threatening to unleash her powers if the 'He' did not accept her superiority. He immediately schooled his face as she approached the Printer.
The Absolute of Water touched the Printer wistfully and explained her attachment to it.
"We worked together to make this Cloud Printer; the only device that can let you humans access all the knowledge I stored in the Cloud."
Ikasa stood gobsmacked by her revelation. This magical device was created from the joint efforts of the Absolute of Water and the mysterious 'He'!
"No wonder the techniques are so good. But where do the Cultivation Points and the Battle Points come from?"
He complimented, flattering the Absolute in hopes of extracting some more secrets from her mouth.
The Absolute of Water saw through his facade. However, she had no problem showing off the greatest invention she had created.
She opened her palm and a glowing blue water droplet condensed on it.
"Energy Infused Water?"
Ikasa exclaimed with surprise.
The Absolute of Water smiled at his child-like astonishment. She was reminded of another person who held the same curiosity and excitement for everything she did.
"Connect to the Printer and swallow this."
She instructed Ikasa.
As the controller of all Water attributed energies in this world, she could easily create a droplet of Energy Infused Water. Knowing this, Ikasa did not hesitate to follow her words.
"How many CPs do you have?"
The Absolute of Water asked before giving Ikasa the drop of Water. Ikasa looked at the number and answered, "263"
The lady nodded and sent the drop into his mouth. She then asked him to check again. Ikasa was puzzled but he did as he was told.
"269!"
Ikasa looked at the lady with astonishment! His CP had increased by 6 just from that one drop of Energy Infused Water!
He had never eaten any supplements that would help improve his Spiritual Energy. So he never had a chance to notice this feature.
"The Printer is only a conduit between you and nature's energies. If you ingest any energy-increasing supplements, it will be reflected in your CP and BP."
The Absolute of Water said with a smile. She then brought the Cloud Frame antenna to him and said, "When you add this module, you will discover another great feature. So, hurry up before our time in this place ends."