Chapter 45: Thoughts and the Sika Deer

Cloud patterns curled and stars revolved; an awe-inspiring, colossal sika deer finally reached the summit of a mountain at the stroke of midnight.

Standing atop the peak and gazing into the distance, the expanse of the primeval forest was laid bare beneath it. All around the mountain crest were thickets and brush. To the southwest stretched an endless woodland, while the northern side was blocked entirely by another towering mountain, cutting off the view. To the east, faint and scattered village lights could be glimpsed more than ten kilometers away.

Surveying all this, Ji Yu quickly decided upon the range for future activities: he would head southwest as much as possible, but when at his peak, he could return to the forests near the city, close to where humans dwelled.

At the same time, Ji Yu considered another problem—how best to help the sika deer remain concealed. After all, the creature’s current size was far too conspicuous. Though Ji Yu neither feared combat nor the loss of this incarnation, each avatar was nonetheless his asset and strength; caution was preferable.

He had once hoped to use the power of life grafting to elevate the sika deer to such heights that even modern weapons would pose no threat. Yet, though the idea was appealing, a closer look revealed too many concerns to ignore.

Still, the notion that the sika deer possessed the ability of life grafting sparked a new idea in Ji Yu’s mind. One sika deer was conspicuous, but what about a whole herd? Perhaps he could create vast new forest biomes for the deer to call home—or even bring in small animals and help them each break through and become extraordinary beings. With life grafting, would it not be a waste not to build an army of supernatural beasts?

As these thoughts deepened, Ji Yu’s eyes even burned with excitement. If he could, he would have abandoned returning to reality this very instant, eager to carry out his plan for a pet army.

Unfortunately, tonight his game time was nearly up, with only a few minutes remaining. Since this sika deer incarnation was within the borders of the Lain Federation, and there was no time difference, midnight meant Ji Yu had to log off.

With a tinge of regret, he began to carry out the final tasks before disconnecting. Naturally, these tasks concerned the sika deer. Ji Yu commanded the deer, upon regaining its own consciousness, to lie down at the foot of the mountain and not leave the area nor use its powers at will.

To ensure the deer understood, Ji Yu conjured a mental image of the sika deer lying quietly in the forest. He repeated this vision over and over—every time the deer tried to leave or use its powers, thunderclouds would roll across the sky, lightning flashed, and from the rumbling heavens descended a colossal hand. The giant hand would gently grasp the sika deer in its palm and set it back where it belonged.

Ji Yu thought that even if the sika deer struggled to comprehend his words, such vivid imagery would surely make the message clear. Once was not enough—he repeated the scene more than a hundred times before, his sense of reluctant longing unsatisfied, he was finally logged out of the game.

[Player’s game time has expired. Anti-addiction system activated. Player is logging out.]
[Logout successful.]
[Sika deer avatar status update:]
[Good.]
[Life Level: 2]
[Vitality: 7.56 (max 5)] (×20)
[Body length: 12.43 (max 10 meters)] (×5)
[Shoulder height: 8.17 (max 6 meters)] (×5)
[Age: 3 years (max 50 years)] (×5)
[Characteristic 1: ******* (damaged)]
[Characteristic 2: Visual Pollution (Medium)]
[Characteristic 3: Life Grafting (High)]
[Congratulations, player, on successfully preserving a second avatar. With two avatars, you are rewarded with the ability ‘Cognitive Resonance.’]
[Cognitive Resonance: Allows avatars to sense each other’s location and communicate through resonance.] (Game Feature)

As Ji Yu read the final notification, far away in a tropical rainforest thousands of miles distant, Adam was suddenly startled from his meditation by an inexplicable sensation.

Startled, Adam was first surprised, then fell into silence. He sensed within his sea of consciousness a presence sharing the same origin of power as himself. Though he could not observe the other’s consciousness directly, with careful attention he could clearly sense the other’s location—a place very, very far away.

Based on what Adam already knew of the world, the other was on another continent across the ocean, an immense distance away. Yet Adam felt as if he could speak with the other, the sensation paradoxically both distant and close at hand—a truly strange feeling.

“So, this must be the real reason Father said he couldn’t focus on me for the time being,” Adam mused. “By human understanding, does this make me the elder brother?” He pondered. “It must be so—we are both recipients of Father’s grace. Perhaps it’s time I act as an elder brother should and greet this new brother—or sister—of mine.”

Deep in thought, Adam entertained a host of such ideas. After only a brief hesitation, he decided to reach out to his distant family member with a word of greeting.

In the Jishui Mountains, beneath the silver moon, the sika deer lay on its side in a grove at the foot of a mountain.

It dared not move a muscle, and all the while kept its gaze fixed on the sky, its eyes glinting with fear. It did not know why it now possessed a sense of self, nor could it comprehend all that had happened to it. Deep in its mind, it would sometimes recall clear images and notions related to the concept of ‘Father,’ but to the deer, all these things were far too profound. Its only clear impression was this: it was a creature called a sika deer.

And ‘Father’ was the one who had given it self-awareness and this strange state—an unknown. What was Father? What did it mean? Was it good or bad? These remained mysteries.

To the deer, ‘Father’ was nothing more than a simple word, devoid of meaning. It merely associated ‘Father’ with the image of the thunderous hand from the final vision: the great hand, in the sky, terrifying.

Father was the great hand, forbidding it from leaving this place. The sika deer pieced these things together into a simple logic. Thus, it lay as still as a small hill among the trees, its large eyes brimming with fear and tinged with grievance.

Why would Father not let it leave? It longed to find its former companions, or to seek out fresh grass in distant fields. Yet now, it could do nothing.

Father—grievance. The sika deer yearned to convey its feelings to this so-called Father, but did not know how, nor did it dare, being timid by nature—fear engraved in its genes. It was afraid of Father, and even more so of the scene of the giant hand seizing it that Father had left in its mind.

So, feeling wronged, the sika deer bent its head and nibbled a tuft of grass beside it.

Just then, as it tried to eat away its sorrow, a strange voice suddenly echoed in its mind.