Program has reached level ten! An advanced Cultivator skill has been unlocked : Bring Forth!

You may create one conscious servant. The servant will obtain half of your maximum mana points, half of your mana regeneration, and all of your knowledge of the national language of Raisin. The servant will also obtain the rest of your skills and plants. The servant’s intelligence will be above average.

Your personal stats and levels will not be affected.

The rest is up to you!

I was wandering through my garden while using Program to toughen my defenses. My laugh rang through the forest, with nobody but me to hear it.

I ran back to the house. “Xiao Li?” I yelled.

She dashed out of the house. “Yes?” She convulsed a little and straightened her back. Her left cheek bulged out a little.

“Just swallow it,” I said.

She glanced away shamefully and gulped down the last bite of pie left in her mouth. “Sorry…”

“Anyway, help me find the most precious seed we own. I have a big project coming my way.” I said.

We walked into the living room, which had become my alchemy room, and fumbled through the seed packets. She found it first, a seed of a Life Treasure Tree. It was worth somebody's yearly salary, but this was an important event. I was creating a real, living, thinking being, and I could design it however I wanted. This had been one of my secret fantasies for years.

I held the seed between my hands. “Make sure nobody interrupts me. I need some time to work on this.”

“How much time would that be?”

“I’m not sure. Hopefully a few minutes, but it could be a lot longer,” I said, “This is a big project, but I’ll try not to spend too much time in here. All I need is no interruptions. Don’t let anybody come into this room.” She left.

Zero out of one Bring Forth slots left!

The process started.

First things first. Do I want a giant monster like the Colossus, or do I want it human sized?

I had made the decision before I got into the room. I was in the living room with all my alchemy equipment next to me. I couldn’t create a Colossus in such a tiny space.

The seed expanded into a clump of wood, shifting and pulsing. It was as soft as clay. I put a hand on the blob of wood and felt it’s smooth edges. I molded roughly into the shape of a human. I was partially using my hands, and partially using my will.

I shaped one long limb into a long and slender arm, but it turned out looking disgusting, like everything else I ever made in art class. After another ten or so tries, I finally created a decent looking arm.

Wait, I don’t a have a copy+paste option? I looked like I was seeing the end of the world. My face fell as if I had found out I was out of thin mints.

My body sagged as I worked on the second limb. Copying the arm so that it was symmetrical was more difficult than making the arm in the first place.

I didn’t sleep. A day and thirty tries later, I had a decent pair of arms on my dryad.

Why female? Because the majority of her fighting power will be in her plants, not her body. There was no difference between a buff guy and a slender woman for spellcasters. One of her purposes would be to infiltrate, so having the body of a charming woman would be beneficial.

…

Just kidding, it’s because battle maids are justice.

Still, I couldn’t help but blush when it came time to sculpt her more intimate bits.

After she was mostly finished, I turned her wooden surface into soft skin. I went over her body, painting in different colors and textures. She looked like a normal human from the outside, albeit an extremely beautiful one. But if somebody attacked her, they would find under her soft skin was solid wood.

The message said she would have above average intelligence, but was I supposed to create a personality for her? I reached into her with my mind and found a separate presence within her. It contained mana that was different from mine, but I don’t think there was a mind in there.

I don’t have “Creating Consciousness For Dummies” so what do I do now?

I soon as I had that thought, I was gripped by an urge to put my hands on her temples. A procedure that I had no understanding of began. It was partially guided by me, but something else was taking of the specifics.

Halfway through, I realized the identity of that something else. It was what guided the creation of my plants. I showed my ability what I wanted, and it would take care of the specifics. It’s not as if I understood how the ginsengs made me more powerful, they just did.

But then again, this is how everything worked even before I got this ability. I would issue a command and my subconscious would take care of the rest. The way my ability worked was similar, if not the same.

My hands fell to my sides. Dark rings had formed under my eyes. I had spent five days without sleeping and my mana was at zero. A dazzlingly beautiful woman stood before me. She was one of my plants, so I could use Identify on her. but there was something inside her different from my other plants. I was too tired to care.

“Your name will be Jing”

Jing stared at her hands, then raised her eyes to me. “Thanks, father!”

I don’t remember putting in a cheerfulness function… “Xiao Li!” I yelled, “I’m done, please bring a set of robes.”

“What’s Xiao Li?” asked Jing, “is it another one of my names?”

Hui Ming burst into the room with a pile of clothes and a smile on her face. Her black dress was stained with blood. She wore dark bags under her eyes like me. She saw me, slumped over with my eyes half closed, and Jing, naked and bouncing cheerfully at receiving another name. Hui Ming stiffened.

Jing turned to see who had come in. “Oh, nevermind,” Jing pouted.

My mana replenished a little bit. “Can you put some clothes on her?”

Jing bounced over to Hui Ming. Hui Ming’s eyes darted between us, standing ridged and frozen in shock. “I’ll do introductions after clothes.”