Chapter 201 New Paths For Growth

n(.o-(v--e(.L)-b.-I-/n

Dante brought them to the Technology Nexus where all things related to research and production were handled. The nexus was far more bustling than before, with many androids and various bots moving up and down to complete their tasks related to production or development.

The three with Dante had been given free rein to move about as they pleased, but they had sensibly decided to stay within the Vitality Pools until their son/nephew came back and allowed them to leave.

Now that they had a chance to look around, they were like country bumpkins coming to the city for the first time. Their eyes could not take in enough of the marvelous creations around them and clearly wanted to engrave this in their minds.

Dante was amused but did not stop them. After today, they would come into more contact with advanced technology and wonderful sights, but the first experience was always the best.

Soon, they came to a chamber with many pods lined up that were empty. After all, while Dante had built the room, he didn't have anyone to use it on up until now. Now that all those he cared about in this universe were gathered here, he could finally put it to use.

"So we just enter fully clothed and lie inside?" Peter asked as he touched the exterior of the pods with a look of marvel.

"That's right. Clothes don't matter to nanites; they directly interact with your cells on the atomic level, so you don't have to worry," Dante reassured the three, who looked a bit worried.

In the end, they shared a look and clambered in. While they did not exactly trust the technology, they absolutely trusted Dante. Since Dante trusted the technology, then they would trust it too.

"So what will happen is that your entire genetic sequence will be slowly upgraded and updated to match that of my own. It will not make you perfect as even among humans in the Eternal universe, I am below average, but it will make you far superior to humans here," Dante explained as the pods began to close.

"Also, you guys will be given unregistered AI chips that can register with the Etranet if I ever manage to obtain the ability to send you over. It's different from subordinate chips that can never do the same, and you will also have the full range of functions."

"I won't install Bionics or Psionics yet for you guys because there are different types and brands from different manufacturers. When you're done and your AI chip can feed you a lot of necessary information, you will be able to make an informed decision."

Dante paused and then stated one thing even as his elders were submerged by the liquid-like nanites. "Also, you will be put into a deep but dreamless sleep for the duration that is painless."

The three acknowledged this as they did not resist the sudden sleepiness that came over them and closed their eyes to enter the world of dreams casually. Dante nodded in satisfaction and checked the estimated time for the procedure, which was approximately 90 days.

It only took so long because, unlike Beatrice, who was under pressure to make Dante seem 'normal' in the few hours they had reached Earth for him to report, Dante did not have any pressure, so he could upgrade their genetics slowly.

Dante certainly did not want his parents and uncle to undergo what he did back then.

After sorting them out, Dante teleported back to the Vitality pools and entered one of the rooms there. In it was a person he was not entirely sure what to do with, Aisha.

She was currently dazed, clearly doing something with the subordinate chip inside her. She couldn't access any external networks without Dante's permission, but she could access some basic pastimes and information from the base.

Dante looked her up and down to see that she was quite haggard. After all, you could be sure that the elites at the top had resorted to violence long ago when Dante became a problem, but only gave up when they realized they could not touch him for some reason.

That reason was Aisha.

With her superpower though, dealing with some special ops troops was not a problem. The issue was that just like The Pantheon, there were various other factions - including the elites - who had their own superpower users loyal to them.

A few of them had been silently dispatched and were dealt with by Aisha with difficulty. The good news was that this had allowed Aisha to become far more skilled in combat compared to before, and the bad news was that she had lost an arm.

However, it was easily regrown to perfection using the technology in the base. Dante was going to inform her of his presence but Aisha suddenly exited her dazed-like state and glanced at Dante with a smile.

"You're here," she said simply.

Dante sighed and nodded. "I have returned, yes. I have to say, you have done an exemplary job compared to what I expected in this period of time. However, I have to be honest now and say that you will not be able to get what you want... ever."

Dante decided to be blunt and squash the strange obsession Aisha had developed from Stockholm. If he allowed it to fester, it would only come back to bite him in the ass later on, but he could use it now for his own purposes.

After all, despite saying this, which should theoretically 'nip' it in the bud, it wouldn't be called an obsession if it could be eliminated with a few words. As such, Dante was not surprised when Aisha went silent for a while.

"Anyway, I kind of guessed as much from the start anyway. Rather than that, I still hope to work for you and prove my usefulness," Aisha eventually replied after a while in a subdued tone.

Dante glanced at her and nodded. "I do need someone with superpower to test some things for me. We can begin immediately."

Aisha looked up and saw Dante take out a glowing green core that seemed to radiate a strange energy. This was a Mutation Core from the Apocalypse World that was not replicated by his power.

A few months ago, Dante had given some items to his base to research, including Mutation Cores. Out of all the items that had sent over this period of time, the only one still stuck in the research cue was that one.

This was one of the things that also made Dante choose Quantum Replication because he realized how naive he was. He knew that the Apocalypse World was the most special out of all existing quantum worlds because it was the only one that granted superpowers in their truest sense, yet he wrote it off because it was weaker than the True Martial and Magus world.

As such, he had been meaning to test the Mutation Cores. His initial target was the Golden Ape to see if it affected superpowers in other quantum worlds, but looking how arrogant that ape had become after receiving one new superpower, Dante held off on it.

But Aisha was far better as she was a living human.

Aisha took the core unhesitatingly and then glanced at Dante after spinning it around for a bit. "So... how do I use it?"

Dante frowned because this was the part he also hadn't figured out yet. Part of the reason why his AI had such difficulty researching the cores was that they maintained their indestructibility from the Apocalypse World's rules.

Can't fully research something you can't cut open. Likewise, it could not be melted, boiled, or dissolved.

Dante had half a mind to tell Aisha to swallow it, but he felt that the most likely outcome would be giving the poor woman a very painful experience she would never forget.

"Why don't you activate your superpower on it?" Dante suggested an idea he had. He had tried it himself but as stated before, items acquired through his quantum superpower could not supersede his quantum superpower, so this core could not forcefully upgrade his superpower.

Aisha nodded and let a liquefied flow of light leak from his palm into the Mutation Core. Much to her surprise and Dante's delight, the core melted like it did in the Apocalypse World when a person activated the system function to upgrade their superpower.

The core flowed into Aisha's body and disappeared, while the woman herself closed her eyes and seemed to be contemplating something. Dante patiently waited until she opened her eyes and faced him with a look of amazement.

"This... is the first time in my life that I've felt my superpower become stronger. What is this thing?" She spoke with puzzlement.

"Something special that can change the way things work. How much stronger did your superpower become, or rather, how much progress did you make to the next rank?" Dante brushed away her curiosity and asked with a serious look.

"Hmm... about 10%? I think I need 9 more to make a significant change," Aisha answered right away.