Ch 152 – Life and Death

Minutes soon passed, and Isaac let out his breath and stood up slowly. He looked down and saw his reborn body born through the changes brought by his absolute dominion over the physical world. He didn't want to alarm others when they suddenly see him become overtly muscular so he went with little changes to his outer appearance, but he still needed to increase his charm.

Lifting up his shirt, he sees his now toned body covered in lean muscles holding an absurd amount of strength. If he were a Lich, he wouldn't have been able to do this considering he was all bones, so he felt fortunate that he has a biological body of flesh and blood.

"Status."

[Name: Isaac Deathwill] [Title: Seoul High Student]

[Class: Necromancer]

[Body: Level 5]

[Mind: Level 8]

[Spirit: Level 3]

Nodding his head at the great increase in strength, Isaac stood up and quickly got accustomed to his new strength. Even without the neural link he holds with his nanites, he can still quickly adapt to the great increase in strength with his thousand years of life experience.

Logically speaking, normal nanites would have the weakness of being hackable. But what if they were created with magic and science, where each nanite doesn't just follow scientific principles but is also magical? His nanites each hold his will, his consciousness, meaning they aren't just ones and zeros but also hold a semi-form of consciousness, meaning hacking them is close to impossible.

So, without any worries for his nanites, Isaac felt his body now invigorated with strength and his physical and mental fatigue now gone. But his soul still needs time to recover, so he still has to take time to recuperate.

Leaving his bedroom, Isaac walks back to his living room, and his dirtied uniform which he didn't change since yesterday slowly got cleaner with a simple spell. Sitting down on his uncomfortable couch which he previously bought for a dirt-cheap price, he stretches his hand out and nanites flew out to swallow the old piece of junk that was his TV and altered it.

'My nanites are still low in amount, so I'd have to find some sources of metal later. And it uses mana as a temporary energy source for now because setting up a miniature nuclear fusion reactor needs some resources I currently don't have on me. Making metals and materials with magic is also too mana taxing for my current state, so I'd have to slowly increase my nanites for now.' Thinking as such, Isaac retracts back his nanites and looks at his improved television, and turned on the news to gather some info on the current world right now.

'Crimson King and Grand Magus, the greatest duo to ever exist in human history. Kukuku, his slithering tentacles really run deep.' Seeing the appearance of those two on screen, Isaac laughs inside his mind and continued to gather some intel before deciding it's finally time.

Standing up, Isaac constructs a light mirror in front of him and inspected his current appearance. Even without much changes done, his appearance was drastically different compared to yesterday. Instead of the gloomy and depressed Isaac who looks like a total loser, the Isaac Deathwill of now was a completely different person.

His pale white skin gave him a ghostly presence, his pair of abyssal dark eyes would suck in the minds of anyone who meets his eye, and his hair was raven black and long that it reaches below his neck and just above his waist. He wore the black-colored uniform of Seoul High, giving him a mysterious aura that complements well with his black hair and eyes.

He had a confident and mysterious aura to him, instead of his previously gloomy aura, which made him all the more attractive to the eye. The brightness in his eyes gave him a snappier look as if he was a confident man with an unbridled presence. He gave off a scholarly flair, making anyone who looks at him know that he was an intelligent man.

It was a difference between night and day. A gloomy loser and a confident genius, even though the two were the same person, one can't help but be bewildered and confused if they were truly the same person.

Just like they say, a man's charisma is influenced by the way they present themselves.

'Not too shabby. With such minor fixes, it improved my charisma and charm to an astronomical degree. Thanks to the near-death experience yesterday, I have a valid reason for my change. Now, I can show off my naturally devilish charms, this would definitely help in the future.' Isaac smiled and nodded his head, satisfied with his current appearance.

Dismissing the light mirror, Isaac Deathwill, now reborn in both mind, body, and soul, sets out for Seoul High.

***

"Who… is that?"

"He's a student in Seoul High? But how come I never saw him?"

"Shush, he might hear you!"

"… Do you think he's a playboy? Just look at his sharp eyebrows and eyes, he definitely toys with women!"

As he heard the murmurs of the people around him, Isaac merely smiled at them and watch as they blushed profusely. With his thousand years of life experience, he of course has a deep understanding of the way living beings think and react.

Even if he were to be transmigrated as a fat bastard, he wouldn't have any problems wooing a hot babe. But his appearance and charisma were merely a means to an end. What he would like was absolute control over others, a way to turn them into his undying slaves, just like back on Tellus with his legion of undead who followed his every will.

The human mind was fickle, and charisma and charm would only go so far. But with his horizons expanded, he might start testing out mental manipulation techniques that don't rely on magic like hypnotism, but he only feels assured when they are his undead so he wouldn't rely on them too.

'Sigh, I now understand why he follows the zero-risk principle when it comes to his schemes. Only when I have absolute control over others would I feel safe to use them as my loyal pawns.' Isaac sighed in his mind, for he finally understood a small part of the way Braun thinks.

'And I am that loyal pawn of his who follows a predetermined fate he created. My every action, my every move, thoughts, will, emotions, soul fluctuations, steps, arm movements, muscle twitches, breathing pattern, my very existence is moving according to his plan. Even what I am thinking right now is merely another step, he truly is terrifying.' Isaac shuddered inside, but he remained smiling on the outside to give a good first impression to others.

And so, as he sits down on his seat inside his classroom, he heard the cries of the shock of his classmates when they finally understood that he was Isaac Deathwill. Especially his bullies, their eyes were practically bulging outwards in disbelief.

In just a single night, the guy they almost killed suddenly transformed into a guy with 10/10 looks whose mere gaze would cause butterflies to flutter in their hearts. In fact, he was beyond just charming, his smile would even cause the guys in the room to blush and look away.

'I wonder what my cheat would be like. I already have a faint indication of what it would be, but I want to keep it a secret for a great surprise. Having a library that basically shows the future to you does mean you kind of get cockblocked from experiencing surprise, so I really wanna savor what my broken ability would be.' Isaac grinned lightly and simply watch the trio in the distance look away with pissed-off faces.

'Freidrich Braun, he really is a God at making this cliché novel-like plot lines in his schemes. Ha, I shall enjoy them to the fullest in return!'

And so, the whole day passed and Isaac saw that everything went as expected. Women flocked to him, men wanted to be his friends, and overall, their general treatment has become a lot lighter. Only main characters without much vision and aspiration wouldn't abuse their charisma.

With ease, Isaac made friends and relationships with all these budding influential people of Korea and snickered inside his heart. Relationships are important even in a world where might means right. Some of them were sons and daughters of famous businessmen, strong hunters, and other people you'd wanna be close with.

"I didn't know Isaac was actually so handsome."

"Me too. Before, he was like invisible, but now I can't keep help but have my eyes on him all the time!"

"Yeah!"

Hearing those praises directed towards the guy the always bullied, the trio watched as Isaac walk into the distance for school has already ended. They glared with wrathful eyes and they glance at each other.

Walking up to him, the guy in the middle who previously summoned the wild wolf grabbed Isaac by the shoulder. "Isaac, why are you going home so early for? Didn't you promise that we'd hang out today?"

Seeing the trio approaching, many grimaced as it was already publicly known that the trio was bullying him. Just like Isaac expected, nobody came up to defend him as they feared for their own life. The trio in question were really influential people who have bright futures ahead of them, which made them all the more desirable to Isaac.

"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot it, Hyung-nim. Hehe, why don't we go there right now?" Isaac grinned and patted the guy on the back, showing them an amicable smile that shocked the trio.

But they quickly regained back their confidence, thinking that Isaac was scared of them, "Good, good. It seems you really are our friend, Isaac."

As the trio walked forward, Isaac walked forward with a bright smile, and many made way for them.

'Oh, it seems like Braun is interfering with fate because from what I've gathered, a fortunate encounter would have happened by now. Now, my fortunate encounter would become those three!' Isaac instantly understood the underlying interferences Braun has been doing away from prying eyes.

If he didn't have such in-depth knowledge of cheaters, he wouldn't have noticed such details. The more he noticed these details, the more he praised Freidrich Braun.

And finally, the trio arrived at the dark alley where they previously had fun at. Isaac can even still see his dried-up blood on the ground, but he didn't feel a hint of anger inside him nor a thirst for revenge. He was far above those matters of fickle emotions, what he wants were experimental subjects, and as if heaven listened to his wish, three such lab rats presented themselves to him

Without waiting for them to even speak, Isaac yawned and snapped his fingers. As if activating something, he felt the nanites that have already invaded the trio's brains activate and stop their movements altogether.

Their whole body froze like still statues, though they can still breathe which kept them alive.

"Let's see here, so from what I can gather, this cheat is definitely related to necromancy," Isaac Deathwill walked up to the summoner in the middle and hummed a tune.

"Hey, just so you know, I'm not doing this for revenge or anything. You guys are just convenient targets to experiment with. Don't worry, I'll give you a painless death," Isaac snickered and activated the nanites in the middle guy's head, causing him to die from brain injury.

As his body went limp, the two other guys beside him had their eyes widen in shock. They wanted to scream but they couldn't even control their throats, so they could only watch helplessly as Isaac fiddled with the corpse with curiosity.

'Hmm?' Isaac started to feel a burst of information entering his mind as he finally understood what his cheat can do.

Isaac's eyes trembled in shock, dumbfounded at the broken ability he gained. Calming himself down, he pressed his palm against the guy's chest and felt his cheat activate. As a sharp pain appeared from his soul, he felt a small part of his soul entering the guy's body and with a jerk, his eyes opened wide.

"You, summon a wild wolf for me," Standing up, the guy in the middle nodded and a bright magic circle appeared on the ground. Out from it, a grey wild wolf appeared which made Isaac stare at the resurrected guy in awe.

'The state of being dead and alive… A Living Undead!'

What does it mean to be both dead and alive? It means they are effectively perfect! True eternal life! True Immortality, the ability to grow, procreate, learn martial arts, they are essentially living paradoxes! A being that shouldn't exist! And yet, here was one such example Isaac personally created.

Isaac stood there in shock, his face frozen from the sheer incredulity he was facing. A being both dead and alive.

'Both Dead and Alive. A being that can exist with no soul, no mind, a being without weakness! This… This is a paradox in its rawest form!'

Isaac madly laughed as he felt the cruel twist of fate. He, who has pursued eternal life for more than a thousand years, can now give it to others!

Ordering the nanites to kill the other two, he watches as the two become living undead with a cold face. Standing up, he lets out a sigh and ordered, "For now, wait for my further instructions."

"Yes, Hyung-nim."

Watching them leave, Isaac grins and felt exhilarated about what the future has in store for him. Will he finally achieve true eternal life? A being not affected by the river of time?

With that, what future does Braun have in store for Isaac Deathwill? Will he be the villain? A hero? A conqueror of countless worlds? A powerful god of Life and Death? Countless possibilities, and countless outcomes, but for Braun, they are merely stepping stones to his path of greatness!

AN: This chapter has 2357 words.

Okay, let me explain in simple terms. They are both alive, and also dead. That's fucking confusing right, well that's because like I said, they're paradoxes.

So just treat them as a living zombie because that's the closest comparison you can make. A zombie with a beating heart, functional brain, and have cells that are alive, but they are also dead.

Just trust me, this isn't as confusing as it seems. Just think of them as perfect undead.

(September 17, 2022 – 297th day of writing)