Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

“I received the memo earlier. So, these are the Amp Crystals.” Kissaria stroked an invisible beard.

“This can work as a base. Will we be using Corrupted materials?” Enoch questioned.

“Main Sequence Corrupted materials, and whatever ImpulseWorks can offer. We’ll also be using my…”

“Gam?”

Frost plugged Joy’s ears before she continued.

“… Body parts for structural integrity. Ignis taught me how to use fascia to maintain the shape of an object.”

“Like plastic wrap!” Jury suddenly chimed in.

“Plastic what?” Kissaria crooked her neck.

“Think of it as a transparent membrane.” Enoch said. “What effects are we looking for with Corrupted materials?”

“It’ll depend on what we have. We can afford to experiment with the materials. I’m not looking to make too many weapons.”

“Aye, don’t jump the gun. It’ll be tricky balancing it out with Atelier tech. Ain’t gonna be able to tell whether Amp Crystals are mucking up the trajectory of a bullet or if it’s by grav shenanigans.”

“But we can if the time between assembly and execution is less than ten seconds.” Frost pointed out, as though constructing a weapon in under ten seconds was a simple feat for them.

“The hell ya think we are, Constructs!? Ain’t got a steel bone in me. Damn.”

“You didn’t say you can’t.” A hopeful murmur came from Jury.

Kissaria’s mouth opened to complain, but upon thinking it through, she eventually let out a long sigh. Were this anyone other than Frost and Jury, then she would have refuted on an instinctual level.

“It’s possible. Ten seconds is an eternity durin’ a crunch. But look!” She slammed both hands against the table. “I expect somethin’ good outta this. Chuck one of ‘em Isolation Spheres my way. Criminal that we ain’t got one for personal use!”

“I’ll have that arranged immediately.” Frost placed the crystal she was fiddling with into Joy’s hand. “Is there something you also wanted, Enoch?”

“I’ve already received my reward.” She tapped her wrist, referring to the Blessing of the Amalgam. “When do we start?”

“Ahem. Jury, if you don’t mind taking Joy away for just a little bit?”

“Gam?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll let you try out the finished product. Go on.”

“C’mere sweetheart~!”

Her light steps faded as she disappeared into another room. As soon as the lock clicked, Kissaria murmured:

“Ain’t even got beef with that kid. Such a damned, disgusting…”

The air suddenly became cold. For a moment, Kissaria had forgotten that Joy was the daughter of the Amalgam. She made an audible gulp and scratched the back of her head to play it off.

“… Disgustingly sweet kid, ain’t she? Reminds me of a little chicken.”

“She does, doesn’t she?” Frost giggled at the similarities, her face becoming mellow before suddenly, every trace of happiness was wiped clean from her face. “Disgusting. Kissaria. That’s my daughter. Please remember that.”

“… Ya know, from where I’m from, mothers rarely coddle their children. It ain’t an excuse, but ya can see where I’m commin’ from.”

Kissaria dodged a bullet. It was well known that Frost was extremely defensive of the Healers and the Moons. She could only imagine how she felt about Joy. People assumed that Joy was the biological daughter of the Amalgam. No one questioned it either, thanks to her appearance.

She had Frost’s hair, their eyes, Jury’s skin tone, her claws and the same jagged teeth. In fact, no one aside from a handful of people knew she was originally a Corrupted.

Her appetite was also comparable to the two, and she often mistakenly ate silverware. Frost genuinely considered making silverware out of Genesis Stones, but that came at the risk of an accidental resonance.

I almost dread going back to the Nexus. I can already hear what kind of questions the Healers are going to be asking me.

“Do explain.”

I really don’t want to.

“You mean questions like: ‘Were you the one who gave birth to her?’, ‘Was she that size when she came out?’, ‘How were you fighting with a baby inside you?’”

Haaaaah. I should invest in an Aspect of Technology that can stop you from peering into my mind.

“At least you and I have that in common.”

Have what in common?

“That we both wonder what it is like to have a life born from us. Do you think it is the same for a human when they create a living machine?”

I’d like to think so. But… it depends on what they were built for.

“I agree. The purpose precedes it, and therefore, gives it an inherent value before it has begun to breathe. The same is for humans. Often, from the picture books I’ve read, children are no more than the vessels of their parent’s dreams.”

Unfortunately, yeah.

“… So what does that make…”

Nav?

Nav suspiciously trailed off. Before this, she had let out a sharp, almost meek sound which was accompanied by the clink of a teacup.

“I apologize. I almost said something I shouldn’t have.”

* * *

With the blueprints in, and with a wealth of Corrupted material at hand, they could begin working on the equipment. Beside the containers of Corrupted material were boxes of assorted bones, sinew, connective tissue, and most importantly, tendons. They were harvested from Frost, of course.

The chamber erupted in a display of colors as hammers pounded hot steel, and as Kissaria flicked her hand around the air as she navigated through her dimensional Workshop using Artificer Goggles.

Eventually, and after just five hours of tinkering, they created an item for Ignis.

The item was a crimson petri dish with a lidless eye embedded in the center.

< EFFECT: As long as a piece of the Symbiote is encased within the Biolight Culture, force a genetic mutation against an exposed stimulus. Consume 99.99% available biomass to selectively evolve the remaining 0.01%. Gain an Ability, Levels, or Passive Skill upon use >

< ATELIER EFFECTS >

< The Amalgam: Reverberating Toll | Significantly increases its potency >

< Scarlet Logic: Replication | Increased division rate of cultures >

< CORRUPTED EFFECTS >

< Crowned: Flagellate | Cells attempted to be used against the Will of the Symbiote results will burn the offender from the inside out >

< We Discarded Many: You Won’t Leave Me Alone… Right? | Cells and products created using the Biolight Culture have increased compatibility with targets that have not inflicted physical damage in the last 700 hours >

The rationale behind creating a tool rather than a weapon for Ignis was because she could already transform parts of her body into a weapon. It was effectively redundant. Also, Frost wanted to continue the theme of Ignis’ Atelier Item, since she was no longer a frontline combatant like the others were.

If Ignis enjoyed her life as a doctor, then Frost was going to do everything in her power to preserve that. Though, becoming an honorary Beholder may change that.

Unfortunately for Joy, she couldn’t wield the petri dish as a weapon.

But she was still happy to hold onto it.

Following Ignis’ item were the triplets. While they were more than powerful enough without weapons as they were, they still had significant weaknesses. For instance, Res was weak at close range, and Ber struggled with enemies at a distance. Cer was Cer, so she rarely had any weaknesses.

She started with Cer since her Atelier Item was the most straight forward.

< EFFECT: Inflicts [Bound to a Gravity Well] Condition. Once a target is wrapped, they may not leave a 50-meter radius of the user. Prevents teleportation, Warp, and similar escape methods. Target’s speed is dramatically reduced >

< ATELIER EFFECTS >

< The Amalgam: Reverberating Toll | Significantly increases its potency. ATT and MAG ATT stats are dramatically increased >

< Chained Theocracy: Dimensional Hop | Able to phase through obstructions with the target. When used in the Nexus, may cause the user to hop between Floors >

< Time Reverberation: Isolation Sphere | Forms a miniature Isolation Sphere at will >

< Caldera Industries: 9.8 Quants of Gravity | Weighs nothing to the owner >

< CORRUPTED EFFECTS >

< Castigation Bird: Punishment! | If the target has been condemned for a sin, and if the target verbally admits it, then they receive up to 2x damage >

< Listening Bird: You’re the One Who Ate the Apple. You Must Confess | Inflict [Confession] Stacks. They will compel the target to admit what has been written >

It was a pair of radiant chains that resembled a lightning bolt. They cackled with immense power and caused the air to vibrate when jostled. The slightest movement was enough to leave a purple tear in space. It lingered for a few seconds before eventually fading away, leaving behind trails of blue inscriptions.

Nothing could outrun Cer. This had already been established ever since she Awakened. However, this covered other escape methods that the Impuritas could employ, such as the Etched Coins.

Now, nothing could leave Cer either. She was comparable to a singularity where not even light could escape its tether. And apparently, if the flavor text was to be believed, deities were not immune.

Joy carefully flicked it around. As fun as throwing chains were, she didn’t exactly know how to use them, nor did she seem very interested. They were too flimsy and provided little benefit defense-wise.

“Gam.” She politely shook her head as she returned it to Frost with a vibrant smile. “Cer!”

“That’s right. It’s for Cer. You know, I had an idea to create Hermes boots for her, but she’s probably faster than that god.”

“You could argue she’s closer to Zeus.” Jury hummed.

“Those are names I haven’t heard in some time.” Enoch smirked, reminiscing on the well-known mythological gods of the Old World. “They were not as big as the likes of Abraxas, the Demiurge, the Archon… There were countless if we take what was written in the books of that time.”

“Right? I can think of a hundred more to name.” Jury nodded to herself. “Heard in a book that Earth had people called the Uthra, or something like that?”

“Make it a thousand.” Frost did the same, pondering on these mythological gods. “I don’t remember that though. Just remember that historically, there were people described to be surrounded by Light.”

“Light is always present, isn’t it?”

“Seems like it.”

Kissaria glanced at the group, lost as to what they were talking about. She, alongside Joy, was the only one who knew little to nothing about the Old World. It was gibberish to her, but she nodded along, pretending like she understood what they were talking about.

“So, anyways, can we get back to it? Next up is Ber. Don’t believe it. She still wants more dresses!?” Kissaria could not comprehend how even after everything Ber had, her heart still desired more dresses.

“Does she ask you to make them?” Jury questioned.

“Half my backorders are from her. All for minor repairs. But I can’t complain. She pays top Nex and sends good food my way. Alright, it’s settled. I got an idea on what she’ll like.”