Chapter 346: Crafting One's Own System |
Time rewound to thirteen days ago.
At the ascension site.
Lino sat in the center of the array with his eyes closed, meditating to pass the tedious wait.
As the Warp projection neared physical form, Lino's state of mind remained steady; in fact, he grew increasingly serene.
He felt his body become lighter, as if an invisible shackle were being stripped away.
He even heard the ethereal, illusory sound of shattering—a crisp cracking like heavy iron chains snapping apart.
He felt a pull coming from another dimension.
In the Warp, something deeply familiar was calling to him, yearning for him, urgently attempting to merge with him.
Yes. Exactly. This was the omen that the Warp projection was nearing physical form.
The formless, intangible winds of the Warp brushed across his face.
Lino opened his eyes and discovered he had already arrived in the Warp. Everywhere around him surged pure Warp energy, converted from the faith of thousands upon thousands of Paru Boyz.
"Brother Li is awesome!"
"Brother Li is badass!"
"Brother Li bless us!"
"Brother Li is the only Boss of us Palu Orks!"
The calls and prayers of the Paru Boyz echoed in overlapping layers, creating a tide of white noise.
A heavy surge of drowsiness washed over him. Lino didn't fight it; he naturally closed his "eyes" and sank into a deep slumber.
The process of merging with his Warp projection had begun.
At the end of the War in Heaven, the weirdboys of the ancient orks' forces closed their eyes inside their hide tents.
From 8000 BC to 1400 AD, semi-ancient Orks fighting against the daemons of Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Khorne halted simultaneously. They erupted with fierce psionic ripples that shredded the surrounding daemons in ubiquitous tides of psionic energy.
Behind this horde of semi-ancient Orks, their weirdboys closed their eyes atop green-skinned Titans.
From 0 AD to 29,922 AD, Ork weirdboys scattered across the universe closed their eyes.
In 29,923 AD, the very year Urg was born, his weirdboy sliced open his chest with a ritual dagger, carved out three hearts, tossed them into the ceremonial array, triggered a burst of psionic energy, and closed his eyes.
In 31,000 AD, Urg suffered defeat, and the Ullanor Empire shattered. The weirdboys forced to flee their homeland closed their eyes along their exodus.
In 31,002 AD, the weirdboys of the Kaivas Ork Empire halted their war against humanity, disemboweled their Ork Emperor aboard their flagship, tossed him onto the ritual altar, and closed their eyes.
In 32,546 AD, facing the overwhelming offensive of the Beast's grand army, the Imperium of Man teetered on the brink of destruction. Just as everyone on Terra prepared to perish alongside the Beast's forces, the grand army miraculously shrank its battle lines, vanishing from the Segmentum Solar within a matter of days.
The Imperium credited this victory to the ingenuity of the Sisters of Silence. They would never know that the retreat of the Beast's army came from a direct command issued by a weirdboy.
On that day, the weirdboy told the Boyz under his command, "Brother Li is coming, and the True God will ascend his throne."
The weirdboy tossed every last beast onto the altar as a sacrifice to Lino, and closed his eyes.
In 33,953 AD, the Blood Fang Ork Empire abruptly ended a three-year war, voluntarily withdrawing from Lakedamon. The Blood Fang Boss leaped into the altar willingly while the weirdboy shouted Brother Li's name and closed his eyes.
In 35,012 AD, the Ork Boss Aragad suspended his offensive against the Forge World of Tigrus, leaped into the altar, and let the weirdboy preside over his sacrificial ritual.
...
Different times, different locations, identical actions.
Ork Bosses sacrificed themselves willingly while weirdboys conducted the rites, closing their eyes amidst intense psionic reactions to offer devout prayers.
From the end of the War in Heaven all the way to the end times, every single Shaman Boy chanted the exact same name:
"Brother Li!"
Back in the center of the ritual array at the ascension site.
Lino opened his eyes. Dark green light erupted from his pupils before slowly coiling back.
It was a success.
System text refreshed before him.
[True Ork God System (Temporary Name)]
[Function 1: Manual Compilation.]
[Description: You can manually compile functions for this System. Compilation costs are determined by the complexity of the function and the difficulty of its implementation.]
[Function 2: Spacetime Simulation.]
[Description: Select any Ork across any spacetime continuum to possess. Depending on the variance in spacetime, you must expend varying amounts of Warp Energy Monocrystal.]
Lino selected Function 1 and activated it.
[Please describe the System function you wish to create.]
"Create a portable pocket dimension."
[Every 1 cubic meter requires 1 kilogram of Monocrystal. Please input the desired volume of your portable pocket dimension.]
"10 billion cubic meters."
[This requires 10 million tons of Monocrystal. Please place the Monocrystals within your line of sight.]
Lino shifted his consciousness onto a Paru Boy guarding the Monocrystal stockpile.
Half a minute later, he shifted his consciousness back to the weirdboy, and a brand-new function appeared on the System interface:
Function 3: Portable Pocket Dimension. Spatial volume: 10 billion cubic meters. Currently stored: 50 million tons of Monocrystals. Remaining available space: 9.98 billion cubic meters.
Lino activated the compilation function again.
[Please describe the System function you wish to create.]
"Universal Genetic Simulation. Perform ultra-high-speed, automated, mass-scale genetic editing and gene expression experimentation on the gene segments of all living organisms."
[Creating this function requires at least 150 million tons of Warp Energy Monocrystal.]
150 million?
That was way too much.
Even if he hollowed out the entire Palu Empire, he couldn't scrape together that much.
Lino phrased it differently:
"Ork Genetic Simulation. Perform ultra-high-speed, automated, mass-scale genetic editing and gene expression experimentation on Ork gene segments, or transform other living organisms into Orks."
[Creating this function requires at least 10 million tons of Monocrystal.]
[When transforming other living organisms into Orks, the higher their Genetic Purity, the higher the cost to create this function, ranging from a minimum of 10 million to a maximum of 90 million.]
Lino pondered for a moment, shifted his consciousness onto the dean of Palu Academy, and initiated an experiment.
Half an hour later, he reached a conclusion.
Once a non-Ork organism reached an Ork Genetic Purity of 30%, he could possess it.
Lino spoke in his mind:
"Set Genetic Purity to 30%."
[This requires 30 million tons of Monocrystal. Confirm? / Decline?]
"Confirm."
[New Function Added: Ork Genetic Simulation.]
At long last, he once again possessed the ability to convert any living organism into an Ork.
Lino continued creating new functions.
[Please describe the System function you wish to create.]
"Teleportation ability."
[Cross-spacetime teleportation requires 1 billion tons of Monocrystal.]
[Teleportation within the same spacetime continuum requires 10 million tons of Monocrystal.]
[The consumption cost per use depends on factors including the target's volume, mass, and biological tier.]
"I want to create a teleportation ability within the same spacetime continuum."
[Creation successful. New Function Added: Intra-Spacetime Teleportation.]
[Remaining Monocrystal: 10 million tons.]
Good. Five functions were enough for now. If he needed anything else in the future, he could add more then.
Operating under the identity of the weirdboy, Lino opened a comms link:
"Palcador, report the situation."
Palcador responded immediately:
"Congratulations on becoming the True Ork God, Boss! Here is the intel I gathered for you:
"First report: The Imperium's capital world, Terra, is currently being invaded by Chaos Orks. Inside the small star system housing Terra, all celestial bodies other than the Imperial Palace of Terra have already been destroyed by Extermination Weapons.
"Second report: Several Eldar Craftworlds have lost the protection of their Farseers. Elina ordered those Farseers to assist the Imperial fleet in ambushing the ascension site, but we shot them down without mercy. The Palu fleets stationed around those Craftworlds can launch a surprise attack at any moment.
"Third report: The pansies are setting up a ritual around the Golden Throne, intending to seal the Dark King through self-sacrifice.
"Fourth report: Horus and other primarchs are engaged in battle with Urg right above the Imperial Palace of Terra, inside Urg's flagship. According to our previous simulations, once the primarchs fall, the God-Emperor will garrison the Golden Gate while The Emperor duels Urg. After that, the Dark King will descend, and The Emperor, carrying the will of the Dark King, will accept his sealing upon the throne.
"If you head over right now, you'll catch the grand finale of their duel."
Lino gave a faint nod.
"Excellent. Order the ascension fleet to return to base. I'm leaving command of the fleet in your hands for now. I'm going to deal with the Dark King and the yellow weasel."
"Understood, Boss!"
The comms ended.
The flagship beneath Lino entered the Webway, surrounded by Palu warships, ecological vessels, engineering ships, and Palu Shadow ships escorting it.
Lino pulled out a Palu spore, dropped it into a nutrient cradle, and targeted it with the Genetic Simulation function.
[Please input your target for Genetic Simulation.]
"Craft an Ork equipped with a Palu Psychic Field, shapeshifting abilities, top-tier Biological Armor, a 'Mork's Quiet' biological field generator, an optical invisibility biological generator, and Alpha-Plus Class psionic aptitude."
[Simulating the genetic template for this Ork requires 3.5 million tons of Monocrystal. Estimated duration: 5 minutes.]
[Accelerating the growth and maturation of this Ork requires 10 million tons of Monocrystal. Estimated duration: 5 minutes.]
[Total cost: 13.5 million tons of Monocrystal and 10 minutes.]
He hoped the primarchs could last ten minutes against Urg.
Lino switched his simulation subject, withdrawing 10 million tons from the Palu Homeland to replenish his personal inventory.
The Palu Homeland's Monocrystal stockpile had dropped below 10 million tons; it urgently needed restocking.
Setting the inventory restocking aside for the moment, Lino commanded the System to begin simulating the Ork genetics immediately.
Ten minutes later, a brand-new Paru Boy appeared inside his portable pocket dimension.
Lino named him "Emperor Boy."
He possessed Emperor Boy and activated his teleportation ability.
[Please describe the teleportation destination.]
"The Wolf Blade. The battleground where Urg is fighting the primarchs."
[Destination locked. Calculating teleportation cost.]
[Target object is "Emperor Boy": Height 3.5 meters, weight 2 tons. Base teleportation cost is 70,000 tons of Monocrystal.]
[Target possesses Alpha-Plus Class psionic aptitude; cost increased by 100 times.]
[Target possesses multiple biological organs and genetic abilities; cost increased by 70 times.]
[Final teleportation cost: 7 * (1 + 1000% + 700%) = 11.97 million tons of Monocrystal.]
He sucked in a sharp breath. That much?
Bracing himself, Lino pulled the required Monocrystal from the Palu Homeland and initiated the teleportation.
His vision smeared like spilled colored ink before condensing into a new scene.
Lino swept his gaze around and realized he had arrived directly above Urg's throne.
A hundred meters below, Urg sat upon his throne gorging himself while barking orders at the Boyz to cook up the primarchs, entirely oblivious to the uninvited guest hovering right above his head.
Lino glanced down at his own physique and nodded in satisfaction.
Good. The teleportation hadn't canceled his stealth state or the Mork's Quiet field.
It had cost over ten million tons of Monocrystal to execute this jump, but every bit of it was worth the price.
Psionic ripples flickered near the throne.
Lino focused his gaze just in time to watch The Emperor teleport onto the scene.
Urg swallowed a burger crafted from Horus and Vulkan in one massive bite, downed a bowl of thick broth brewed from Mortarion, patted his belly, and rose to his feet.
"Ooh! Yellow weasel, you're finally here! Come on then, let's fight!"
The battle erupted.
Urg channeled his telekinetic psionic energy through hand gestures. It looked awe-inspiring, perfectly weaving psionic force into physical brawling maneuvers to pummel his opponent.
By comparison, The Emperor was a genuine pushover.
Urg swallowed The Emperor whole, leaving him to receive the Dark King's summons inside the beast's stomach.
The Dark King manifested as a pitch-black sphere, tearing Urg apart from the inside out.
The God-Emperor arrived just in time to assist, anchoring a portion of The Emperor's sanity.
The Emperor reconstructed his physical shell, using his own body to seal away the Dark King.
Lino made his move, striking before the target could teleport away to secure a sample of his genetic material.
With a sickening squelch, his claw pierced straight through The Emperor's chest, crushing his heart right out of hand.
While The Emperor stood paralyzed in shock, Lino triggered Genetic Simulation, successfully integrating The Emperor's gene template into his own body.
A son of The Emperor—truly cementing the title of "Emperor Boy."
"Yellow weasel, your throne, your Imperium, and that Dark King's will locked inside your body—they're all mine now. Rest in peace. I'll take it upon myself to reshape the Warhammer world."
Lino clenched his right hand, causing The Emperor to detonate from the inside out. The black sun floating within his remains surfaced, and Lino snatched it out of the air, plunging it straight into his own chest.
Teleporting within the same planet required no assistance from the System.
Relying purely on his Alpha-Plus Class psionic aptitude, Lino tapped into the Warp and bridged the distance with a single thought, appearing directly before the Golden Throne.
Elina and a group of Harlequins were currently preparing the ritual to seal the Dark King, while the God-Emperor sat upon the throne in place of his physical counterpart to suppress the Golden Gate.
Lino reached forward with both hands and squeezed gently.
The pansies and the God-Emperor turned to ash where they stood.
He stepped onto the throne and sat down, activating his Stasis Field to replace the God-Emperor, The Emperor, and the yellow weasel in holding down the Golden Throne.
Before he could even warm the seat, psionic ripples flared on the empty ground below the throne.
After several brilliant flashes of psionic light, a dazzling golden incarnation of the God-Emperor materialized out of thin air.
"You dare steal my Imperium from me?!"
The God-Emperor stood furious and appalled.
Lino shot him an indifferent glance, vibrating the air with psionic energy to speak in response:
"If you dare refuse me, I will unleash the Dark King's power right here and now, leaving your entire Imperium in absolute ruin."
The God-Emperor's face froze, not daring to utter a sound.
Lino scoffed.
"Do you know something, yellow weasel? Before crossing over, I loved watching Warhammer 40k lore and game videos. I used to think being a Space Marine was incredibly cool, and I constantly kept 'loyalty' on the tip of my tongue. But after arriving here, I experienced your Imperium firsthand, carefully studied your Imperial doctrines, and looked deeply into the actions of you and your sons. That was when my opinion of you underwent a drastic change. Between you and humanity, which one do you think matters more to me?"
The God-Emperor puffed out his chest.
"Me, of course. I am the Master of Mankind, the Anathema to Chaos, the Slayer of Xenos, Caesar, the Primogenitor, the All-Father, the Undying Emperor, the Omnissiah, and the Prophet and Beacon of all humanity. Without my protection, mankind has no future."
"Wrong," Lino said coldly.
The God-Emperor faltered slightly.
"Then humanity must matter more to you. After all, you want to usurp my place and become the Master of Mankind."
"Wrong," Lino repeated.
The God-Emperor bristled with anger.
"Then it has to be me!"
"Wrong. Completely dead wrong." Lino stared down at the God-Emperor, radiating an overwhelming pressure.
"Neither you nor the humanity of the Warhammer world matter to me at all. What matters to me... is a world without you."
He vibrated the surrounding air, crushing the God-Emperor's incarnation into dust. Silence fell over the hall once more, leaving only Lino sitting quietly upon the throne.
