Chapter 30: XXX
Creating the epic GN-001 Exia he had in his mind was much easier said than done. After a day of fiddling around with his profound energy, he created the first prototype… which was quite awful once he took a step back. Exia's sleek, sexy design? This Exia was blocky and thick at best. The beautiful shiny orb in its chest? It wasn't a smooth circle and didn't even glow. The self-sustainable GN drive? Didn't work. The GN sword? Couldn't retract and wasn't sharp at all. As for the inside, there was nothing inside. Even the colours were wrong… it was just a massive ugly toy.
In essence, his Exia prototype absolutely sucked.
[System: Exia? More like Bloxia the oversized toy… lawd have mercy.]
'...' Rokas sighed, shaking his head. 'I tried, okay? This stuff is way harder than I imagined.'
[System: I told you it wasn't just imagining what you desire and it just pops up. The paint is your profound energy, the brush is your Essence of Creation and the one making those brushstrokes, the artist,… is you. Suffice to say the artist kinda sucks.]
'Tell me something I don't know, Mr Omniscient. How about some tips?'
[System: As you know, you have all the tools available to you. The only problem here is you… you are too impatient, expecting immediate results without actually working for them.]
'Okay…' Rokas nodded, raising an eyebrow as Bloxia's left arm fell off. 'You're right about that. It's just… I got a little excited, you know?'
[System: The question is, do you really want a Gundam. Are you willing to put all the countless hours of difficult, maddeningly creative, work that it would take to make your little dream into a reality? Are you prepared… to step out of your comfort zone and reach even higher?]
'...'
Rokas paused, clinging to an old precious memory of his childhood. He recalled that it was his uncle that introduced him to Gundam 0… and it being the first Gundam series he'd ever watched. The designs of the machines were beautiful and unique, like eye candy, to the point where his younger self didn't quite bother with understanding the plot. But, as he grew and rewatched, he understood that part too.
After that, his uncle could never convince him that Gundam Seed was better.
'To give up on this dream… would mean giving up on myself.'
Rokas stepped forward, crushing Bloxia to pieces. After that, he recalled just how lazy he used to be before reincarnating. How he had taken the easy way out of everything… and drastically underachieved by simply going with the flow.
This Bloxia… was an example of that.
'And I won't ever give up on myself again.'
Rokas' serious expression turned to a smile as he made a solemn promise to himself.
'Are you with me, System?'
[Sigma Male Grindset B → B+]
[System: Always.]
'Then let's start from the bottom.'
~
Once he took a nap, Rokas put on his big boy pants and got straight to work. He had the idea to draw the first sketches for Exia first from the front, sides, back and top view. The problem was… his drawing skill was limited to stickmen.
'I cannot fucking draw.' Rokas grimaced, observing his initial 'blueprint'. 'System… there's a shortcut, right?'
[System: Drawing with Essence of Creation might be simpler… sort of. Not really.]
'Wow…'
[Generating video tutorial…]
[Directing to the prospect's memory bank.]
[System: Alright, that should help you a bit. Although, you shouldn't solely rely on it or else the actual creation stage will be harder.]
'I know…'
Following the video tutorial, Rokas completed a slightly inaccurate version. He did so again… and again… and again until it was absolutely perfect. Eventually, given his absurdly enhanced memory from the Nine Profound exquisite Body and other factors, he could draw out the exact blueprints blindfolded.
[System: What do you plan to do next?]
'A gunpla design.'
Jasmine appeared before him, frowning at the pile of blueprints. "You gained the power of creation… and you're trying to build that thing?"
"Pretty much." Rokas nodded, tilting his head. "Is there a problem?"
"There is, actually… the poison that was infecting my soul? Well, it was completely cured a whole two years ago. Might I ask what have you done to aid this princess in her rebirth since then?"
"... Nothing?" Rokas answered the rhetorical answer, shrugging his shoulder.
"Right, nothing. You did gather the crystals and profound beast cores that I asked of you… but never even bothered to ask for the whereabouts of a Netherworld Udumbara Flower. Don't you get the idea that I'm here to stay… unlike you, I have debts to settle elsewhere. Once you help me attain a new body, you can lie around with your women as much as you like without a care in the world."
"What if I told you 'that thing' right there could help me reach and harvest one of those flowers?" Rokas replied, smiling slightly.
"How…?"
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Give me like… six months and I'll get you one of those flowers." Rokas didn't dodge eye contact as he looked into her scarlet eyes. "I promise."
"So you do know where to find one," Jasmine remarked, nodding slightly. "You're not as hopeless as this princess thought."
"That's not even the first time you said that, you know." Rokas chuckled. "Maybe you should stop underestimating me, princess Jasmine."
"Hmph… get to work."
"I was… yeah, whatever." Rokas shook his head, getting back to what he had on his mind previously. 'Gunpla building time.'
Using Essence of Creation, Rokas went on to recreate Exia as a 1/48 size replica as he focused on perfecting its exterior design. The problem with his version of Essence of Creation was that once he made a single mistake, he couldn't revert his changes unless he were to use his profound energy to erase his mistakes and break the entire thing as a result. So… each time he made a mistake, he basically had to start all over.
In the end, he prevailed in his quest to master the exterior design. He created two miniature replicas… one for himself and another for someone else.
'Here comes the hard part…' Rokas sighed. 'The interior design… and making the whole thing function.'
[System: I know it's a tall order, but if you split it all up into a dozen or so smaller tasks that flow in a logical order…]
'I did study Computer Science, you know. Doing stuff like that comes with the occupation.'
[System: Well, get to it then.]
With the assistance of the System, he made sketches and blueprints for Exia's weaponry, GN drive and interior design. Then he scoured the entire continent, gathering all types of formation designs, their architecture and how they were built. He dissected and forged countless formations, gaining a rather deep understanding over two months with minimum rest.
He realised that his computer science skills actually synced rather well with the formations he created. Once that realisation had come to him, almost everything was like clockwork. For the GN Drive, he took nearly an entire month to create a highly effective absorption formation that primarily relied on the environment but could also take energy from the pilot inside. For the movements of the Gundam, he synced it directly with the user's profound energy which would serve as puppet strings. He kept the option of moving it through the manual controls, for the 'feel' of it.
Once the functional problems were solved, he finished his work on the interior design by using Sovereign Profound Realm profound beast cores as the primary resource. On the larger scale, it was a little easier erasing his mistakes and fixing them so he didn't have to throw everything in the bin. Then, he finished it off with the exterior design he had so vividly mastered.
Of course, he wasn't successful on the first try… but he didn't stop until his Gundam Exia project was complete.
"Finally…"
Rokas muttered, almost crying as Gundam Exia activated and rose to the skies through his remote control. Its GN drive started to spin, rapidly gathering the profound energy around it and releasing green particles which shined luminously in the night sky. Faced with his dream turning into reality, Rokas' excitement completely overrode his weariness.
'My… Gundam.'
Rokas flew up himself, entering the cockpit and taking manual control.
ZOOM.
Gundam Exia spun around the air, expanding its sword and cutting through the air before going higher in the skies, leaving the stratosphere of Blue Pole Star after barely ten minutes. Once he left the world behind him, Rokas turned Gundam Exia back, observing the massive planet from a distance.
'I never thought I'd get to see space like this in person… man, it's so endless… and full of wonder.' Rokas thought to himself, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. 'System… can you… take control?'
[System: I know I said you have to work for it but I didn't tell you to neglect rest for three months. You've been running on soda, dual-cultivation, meditation, Li Suo's Light Profound Energy and fast food for this entire time.]
'What is it called… the zone? I was just… in that state of mind. With each discovery, I drew closer… and the closer I came, the more determined I became.'
[System: Man spitting bars goddamn. Alright, I'll take control of your precious Gundam Exia.]
'... Alright…' Rokas yawned, dropping his face. 'I leave the rest to you.'
The System piloted Gundam Exia back down to Blue Pole Star, landing it elegantly at Rokas' courtyard. Then the cockpit sprang open, from which Cang Yue took him into her arms.
"Whenever I told him to rest, he just sprang up again with twice the energy. This project… meant so much to him that he couldn't rest." Cang Yue spoke, glancing at Xia Qingyue. "I suppose…. reaching the realm above was his objective."
"The exterior design would not have mattered if his only purpose was the Realm of the Gods." Xia Qingyue remarked, observing the 18.3 metre tall Gundam from bottom to top. "This design, in particular, meant just as much to him… if not more. Did you not see him meticulously work on every inch of it?"
"Then… why this design in particular?" Cang Yue inquired.
"GN-001 Exia…" Xia Qingyue muttered, turning back to the peacefully resting Rokas. "It seemed to me that he wanted to replicate it perfectly. Where he found the original design and why he was so obsessed with it… well, that much is a mystery."
"This may not have been his first life," Jasmine remarked, appearing before the two. "His unique mannerisms, way of speaking, taste in food, fashion sense and even the way he thinks… it is vastly different from anyone that I have memory of. Although, I'm sure Lady Li Suo would have better knowledge regarding this matter…"
"This matter has intrigued me just as much…" Li Suo remarked, leaving Rokas' Inner World. "In five billion years of existence, I have never seen such a profound weapon or anything even closely resembling in all of Primal Chaos. In all aspects, this 'GN-001 Gundam Exia' is absolutely unique to Long Ke."
"In that case, he is either a mad genius or…" Jasmine stroked her chin in thought.
"He may have come from another Dimension." Li Suo added, her emerald eyes widening slightly. "Such a thing has never happened nor should it be possible. Then again… Long Ke on his lonesome is a walking impossibility. Perhaps, asking him directly could lead to the answer."
"He will explain it himself soon enough… there's no need to confront him about it." Xia Qingyue stated, shaking her head slightly.
"How can you be so certain?" Cang Yue blinked.
"The truth has been burdening him for quite some time. Some of it, at the very least…"
"Gundam… Exia, exterminating… targets." Rokas muttered in his sleep. "Trans… am…"
Xia Qingyue smiled. "Well, you don't plan on keeping him in this courtyard, do you?"
"I'll put him to bed." Cang Yue chuckled, carrying him away. Meanwhile, Li Suo and Jasmine returned to his Inner World. "You're staying?"
"Someone has to keep this heavenly treasure safe."
Xia Qingyue turned to Gundam Exia, floating up to its cockpit.
"Alright…"
Cang Yue carried on, carrying Rokas away.
Xia Qingyue wasn't just going to stare at it (even though it was quite the sight), however…
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