Please Touch Me, Master

"Sovereign Undying Lord… one of the nine Sovereigns that rule over all of existence?"

Ash was naturally surprised—no, flabbergasted—by what Bi Chen had just said. If anyone made such a declaration, they would instantly be charged with the crimes of blasphemy and admiration would be the last emotion anyone who heard them would display.

But Ash was in love with Bi Chen, and she trusted him completely with her child-like innocence.

Even though he had made the most grandiose statement any single person could utter in the world of Alteir, she still believed him.

In fact, this statement of his only made her respect for him deepen.

For Bi Chen, however, he was experiencing a completely different emotion after hearing Ash's question.

'Oh wow… so that's what the Sovereign Undying Lord is.' Throughout his time playing "Please Touch Me, Master" he had never come across such a name before.

In fact, the concept of the Nine Sovereigns didn't at all appear in the games—though there was the Sovereign Deity Temple. However, those only existed for Players to purchase special items and obtain new Geists.

There wasn't any lore about all-powerful gods or anything of the sort.

'So, I just pretended to be a Sovereign… one of those big dogs.' Bi Chen considered correcting himself, but quickly chose not to. 'It seems Ash believes me, and according to what the System said, I possess the potential to actually ascend to the realm of Sovereign.'

Besides, in the [Additional Information] of his Status Window, the System told him he had the remaining embers of the Sovereign Undying Lord's power, which meant this Lord—whoever he was—most likely not around anymore. Since that was the case, Bi Chen considered himself to be something akin to an heir.

'If it's like that, then there's nothing wrong in posing as him for the time being.'

He was merely faking it till he made it.

'Besides, if I become strong enough… I can become a real Sovereign, so no harm done.' He smiled, nodding slowly in response to Ash's curious eyes.

"I am actually not of this world. The Zombie Slave you knew isn't me. I am simply possessing his body, as an otherworldly existence that transcends this plane."

"R-really? It all makes sense now!"

"Indeed." Bi Chen nodded some more. "Before now, I viewed this whole world as nothing but a game, controlling it from the shadows… setting up elements for my descent into it."

"Lord Bi, you're really amazing!"

"Hmph! This much is nothing…. Masters, Slaves, they're nothing to me… honestly."

Bi Chen wasn't particularly lying about most of these details, but he was clearly sensationalizing his transmigration to make it appear like he had full control or choice in the matter. He also made it seem like he possessed immense power and knowledge of this world, but he didn't even know what Sovereigns were.

He was being a total fraud, and he knew it.

'But it doesn't matter. Since I have decided to take up this persona, I should simply stick to it and make my story as grand, but also as realistic as possible.' And so, he chose the narrative of him descending from the world beyond, where he had near omnipotence, to become one of the natives of the world he had a hand in making.

Naturally, this narrative had a lot of holes, which Ash was quick to point out.

"But why choose the body of a Zombie? Lesser Undead is considered the weakest in the Race Compendium." 

Bi Chen sighed upon hearing this.

He already expected Ash to ask questions. In fact, this was one of his goals when he began his grandstanding. By telling Ash all about his identity and spurring questions from her, he could better understand the flaws in his new persona and find ways to fix them.

In essence, she was the best method he could use to craft the ultimate identity.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't left to me. The other Sovereigns didn't want me to possess my true strength, so they interfered with my transmigration and made me trapped in this Zombie body."

"Oh no…"

"It's true." Bi Chen shook his head and sighed some more. "Most of my powers are also sealed, so I have only mere vestiges of my true abilities. Raising Vassals like you is only one of the few abilities I managed to retain after my transmigration."

"Those meddling Sovereigns… how could they get in your way!"

'Hehe!' Bi Chen chuckled and nodded silently. 'Looks like I've succeeded in making her develop animosity towards the Sovereigns. As such, when it comes to believing the followers of other Sovereigns or even the Sovereigns themselves, or taking my word for it, she'll always be on my side.'

Despite how meaningless his actions seemed, Bi Chen was actually achieving many things at the same time. Despite his clouded faculties as a Zombie, he still retained his above average intelligence from Earth.

He was rather dull for sure, but he wasn't stupid by any means.

'When it comes to speaking with my Vassal, slow speech doesn't seem to be an issue. Even though I've been speaking very slowly all this time, the conversation seems to flow rather well. Is it because we are connected by a bond? Is this another mystery of this body?'

—The Undying Sovereign Body!

Bi Chen had been pondering on the nature of this physique all this time, and while he still had no real idea of his origins, he had already gathered all the information he could about it.

'It's tied to one of the Sovereign Lords of this world and was awakened when my otherworldly soul inhabited this Zombie body. So far, I can see five advantages of this Sovereign Undying Body.' He calmly analyzed his gains, while still posturing to his loyal Vassal who kept looking at him with starry eyes.

'First is the System, which allows him to monitor my progress. I can also develop quickly by consuming the Essence of any life form I kill, allowing me to grow stronger… basically like Leveling Up in a game. By absorbing Essence, not only does my Level increase, I also gain extra lives.

As long as my Level is higher than 1… I won't truly die.

Due to my Status as an Undead, I feel no pain, hunger, fatigue, sickness, or any of the things living beings experience. I should also be immune to common negative status conditions as well.'

Of course, there was still the last power—which Bi Chen considered to be the most broken one of all—Undying Vassals.

'I can turn defeated foes into Vassals by converting their Remnant Essence into subordinates who are loyal only to wielder of the Sovereign Undying Body… in essence, me. This Essence can only be obtained when the target has completely decomposed, though. After all, it is only when someone dies and their Essence breaks down that remnant Essence can form. This Remnant Essence can be corrupted and turn a person into a Zombie or Lesser Undead. This is actually how Lesser Undead are born in the lore of the game.'

Bi Chen had a sudden thought.

If he found a way to manipulate Essence, couldn't he simply quicken the decomposition process and turn any corpse into an Undying Vassal?

'I probably have to improve my [Aptitude] to find out about that…' He set the thought aside for the moment and concluded his observations.

'In summary, though:

- I can absorb the Essence of those I defeat to Level Up.

- I will continue to respawn as long as I am above Level 1.

- I am immune to common negative status conditions.

- I can turn the leftover Essence of fallen entities into my Undying Vassals.

- I have the aid of the System.'

All of these advantages made his previously hopeless situation seem far less bleak, and he felt a renewed sense of determination to try his luck in this world.

And he knew just where to start from!