"Hello, Raphael, you listening?"
[Yes, master, loud and clear.]
An almost mechanical female voice rang inside my head.
"Well, a pleasure to meet you, Raphael. I would love to introduce myself, but as you can see, I'm currently lacking a birth certificate—so the name will have to wait." I chuckled, already contemplating my next steps.
[No problem, master. Pleasure to meet you too, I am Raphael, the King of Wisdom, one of the seven ultimate skills of the Virtue series. I possess the power of wisdom and can assist you with learning, magic, and invention. Aside from that, I can also assist you in analyzing, perceiving and interpreting. If enough information is provided, I can also assist you in creation, be it technology or anything.]
She sounded overly serious, but that was fine; after all, we had an eternity to perfect our rapport.
"So, I'm in the womb now, right? Can you scan and check if my sister is beside me?"
I needed confirmation of my current situation.
[Scanning... Yes, your to-be sister, Hela, is beside you, master. Judging by both your growth rates, you should take around five more months to be born.]
"I see… Do a complete scan of myself and then one for Hela too. After that, study the genetic makeup of the Aèsir—spend a month delving into every secret you can find. I want to improve it even further. I know I'm born with top-tier genes, but if they can be enhanced, why stop there? And, you can also access my memories of my past life, and save them in detail, since I don't think I would remember anything when the events of MCU starts, thousands of years later."
Understanding more about my new race was essential—and with Raphael's knack for assistance, I intended to maximize every opportunity. As for memories, Raphael could even extract memories from my subconciousness, which even I had forgotten, so it is better for her to detail everything, as she can help me in planning later.
[Yes, master. Compiling and saving memories, task completed. Starting a complete genetic checkup... Scanning complete. Proceeding to scan Hela... Complete. For further references: scanning master's mother, God Queen Frigga; scanning Vanir genes... Complete.]
As Raphael started her job, I started to feel groggy, being inside the womb, with a body which wasn't even completely formed, staying awake was a challenging task, and probably harmful too...
[The initial scans of you, your sister, and your mother's genes have been completed. Extensive research into these will take some time, Since you have troubles staying awake, would you like to enter sleep mode until then, or is there anything else, master?]
I paused. "Ah, right—I'm in my mother's womb...forgot about scanning her, Good job, Raphael. And scanning the Vanir genes too… Perfect."
"What's this sleep mode? And continue researching everything about both Aèsir and Vanir genes. If the research takes too long, wake me in a month; or, if you finish earlier, wake me as soon as you're done."
[In sleep mode, I can put your body in a state of complete rest, which will result in best refreshment of the body, ensuring no in-sleep ailment. Or in simple words, the best sleep possible]
'...That sounds awesome.....put me in sleep mode.
[Yes, master. Sleep mode initiated, and genetic research underway.]
Everything faded to darkness. It felt like only a blink before I awoke, as though no time had passed at all.
[Research on the genetic makeup of the Aèsir and Vanir has been completed, master. It has been 21 days since you slept.]
"Oh, so you've already finished, Raphael?" I marveled. I felt refreshed, and the fact that all the hard work was done was exhilarating. Raphael was, without a doubt, goated.
[Yes, master. I can confidently say that now no one knows more than you about Aèsir and Vanir genes.]
"Oh? But I don't think I know anything about them aside from the comics, movies and wiki...."
[Well, master—since I am part of your soul, what I know, you know. Would you prefer a brief overview or detailed knowledge about both races?]
I paused, hearing a hint of emotional fluctuation in her tone. It was mentioned in the original work that treating Raphael like a real person would slowly result in the formation of consiousness of the skill, which is fanatically loyal to the host.....
Michael even tried to destroy the world in hope of being able to resurrect Veldanava, it's dead host...
So, I guess it is fine.....Raphael can be trusted....probably....after all, she is born from my very own soul, and I don't think I will betray myself...
It was probably my memories which caused this upgrade...
"Ugh… Let's go with the brief version. I'm not exactly an expert in genetics, start with the Aèsir and my own genes."
[Yes, master. The Aèsir are a race of warrior gods with incredibly strong physiques. Your Aèsir genes grant you an unnatural level of physical potential—especially with your royal lineage—and imbue you with a divinity, an innate power that marks the gods. You possess the divinity of Life, which stands in stark contrast to your sister's dominion over Death. Additionally, further based on information from your memory, the Aèsir rely on robust bodies, runic magic, and advanced technology for warfare, making them among the universe's mightiest. They can live up to thousands of years.]
"Wow… Looks like I've really lucked out. But God of Life? Isn't that a bit underwhelming for combat? I mean, it makes sense paired with Hela being the goddess of Death—but still, I want something more domineering...But I guess life can be goated too, if used properly.
First, let's examine everything about myself; let's check out the Vanir genes next, and we can worry about the divinity later."
[Yes, master. Your divinity can be refined later since you haven't been born yet. Now is the perfect time to enhance both your genes and divinity. You will be born at peak potential, without raising any suspicions by sudden growth in strength. I will now brief you on the Vanir genes.]
[The Vanir are gods of nature, more attuned to magic than physical strength. They possess a strong aptitude for magic and also have their own form of divinity, more aligned with life than warfare. You inherit your divinity from your Vanir side, which is amplified by your Aèsir heritage, elevating it to a major divinity. Your natural talent for magic is impressive, though it can be further boosted.]
"Okay, so one set for raw strength and another for magic—good enough, I guess. Now, can you enhance these both genes to the peak of what the two races have to offer, like captain America's peak human, I want to be peak god. Then merge the two genes, fusing them perfectly to enhance my potential to its absolute peak."
[Indeed, master. I have already researched their peak states, That is the reason the research took so long; otherwise, I could have finished in mere hours. I can elevate both your gene sets to their ultimate form and combine them optimally. Of course, this will alter your genes—and as you know, your looks are determined by them. If you wish, you can now customize your future appearance, master.]
Was that...pride? Was Raphael actually flexing? Huh. Maybe she really is evolving.
And holy fuck—I could even customize my own looks!
"Really? It can be done? And I can design how I look? Alright then, create a screen like a game model—it's designing time."
Then, According to Raphael, it took me around four hours to craft the perfect design for myself. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I wasn't about to waste it.
I opted for the most handsome version I could imagine. unlike my sister, I chose blonde hair paired with emerald green eyes—perfectly suiting my divinity. I steered clear of an over-the-top anime look, aiming instead for a handsome, masculine style. I designed a sculpted physique, one that Raphael assured would evolve naturally with minimal effort.
I basically gave myself the face of a god. Well, a godlier god, I guess.
Once I was satisfied, I said, "Okay, Raphael dear, let's begin the process. Meanwhile, put me in sleep mode while you implement the changes and start parallel processing research on divinity. Estimate how long that will take."
[Yes, master. If we begin research on your divinity now, it will take around 45 days. I assume you want to evolve your divinity and acquire additional aspects of it. It will require time, as divinity is a rather mysterious form of energy. Besides, do not underestimate your divinity—it may surprise you later.]
That's my Raphael; she always seems to know exactly what I need.
"Alright then, let's start, Raphael."
And with that, everything went dark once more.