The true nature of my Vital Gu was very similar to that of a Life Simulation System.
I recognized this fact from the style of its presentation in this dream.
Although it manifested as an ethereal scroll rather than hologram-like System messages, it was still undoubtedly the same kind of presentation.
Such a System was not as commonplace as the Gamer System or Gacha System in the novels I read, but I knew enough to get the gist of it.
This dream was actually a simulation depicting what would have happened if I had reincarnated as Sugawara no Michizane instead of Shinji!
That’s why the Gu precisely referred to the baby as ‘You’ rather than Michizane.
He was another version of me who inexplicably ended up in this situation…
Furthermore, I actually got to decide what he did in key moments and the potential route he’d traverse.
It gave off the impression of a visual novel, much like the original source material for Fate/Stay Night.
That being said, what exactly would I gain once this simulation concludes?
Would I gain his four arms and two faces?
Probably not, but I doubted it would be his future abilities either like how these Life Simulation Systems usually operated.
That didn’t really feel feasible for a mere Rank 1 Gu, even if it was from the mysterious Dream Path.
For Gu Worms, a Path was the facet of reality that they derived their abilities from and Gu Masters typically specialized in using Gu from only one or two Paths in order to have strong synergy between them.
There were Paths like Fire Path, Soul Path, and Thief Path.
However, the most mysterious and unknown Paths were Heaven Path, Human Path, and Dream Path.
Dream Path was a Path that not many in the Reverend Insanity universe specialized in.
This was because it was actually a relatively new Path that only emerged in the latest era.
Thus the information on it was sparse beyond the fact that a major character and the so-called ‘Potential Girl’ of the novel, Feng Jin Huang, actually specialized in it.
Nevertheless, I found myself amazed at the Gu’s ability.
It totally deserved a good name.
I racked my brain for one and quickly found a suitable designation…
Simulation Gu.
Short and simple.
I could have called it Dreaming Life Gu or something more complex, but Simulation Gu was too good to pass up.
I held my chin as I examined the three choices provided by the Simulation Gu.
The wording of these choices contributed much to the realization that Michizane was supposed to be another version of me.
They subtly implied that he wasn’t really an ordinary baby, but an otherworldly reincarnator like I was.
The first choice was the most suitable.
Although I had my reservations about being enlisted as Abe no Seimei’s disciple due to my strange intuition, I was willing to do it so as long as the Onmyodo he taught was the real deal.
It’s not like he could possibly be any worse than Zouken, right?
‘Pft—!’
Since no one could hear me within the simulated dream, I ended up giggling loudly like a teenage girl flirting with her first love.
It appeared that the Simulation Gu was much more humorous than what its reptilian appearance might suggest…
The image of the legendary Onmyoji stained by my ‘golden shower’ frankly wasn’t something I thought this second life would give me.
So I chose option C, fulfilling my inner whimsy to ‘test’ the extent of this man’s resolve.
Seimei tilted his head as the boy reached forward with grasping hands.
“Oh, do you want me to hold you?
Well, sure.” He smiled and grabbed the baby, his hands holding up the boy’s sides as the Magecraft that levitated him in the air was dispelled.
Seimei’s carefree smile soon turned into a darker expression however, as the smell of urine drifted into the air.
The boy giggled gleefully with schadenfreude in his eyes as the Onmyoji glanced down at the sleeves of his kesa to find them utterly wet with golden liquid.
“Ha,” Yasunori let out a snort at the sight, stroking his grayish white beard.
“Rather than wanting to be held, it seems the little one was telling us he wanted to relieve himself.”
“A-A, that’s…!” The Sugawara Clan Head choked in embarrassment.
“That…
I’m truly sorry, Abe-sama!”
He even lowered himself into a bow despite his noble station, displaying the amount of respect he had for the Onmyoji.
This didn’t go unnoticed by the nearby servants and advisors, who all had shocked faces due to their liege’s willingness to go so far.
“It’s alright, Sugawara-san.
A parent should be blamed if their child misbehaves later in life, but little Michizane is not even a year old.
You couldn’t have possibly prevented this even if you were the very God of Fatherhood himself.”
I don’t really think there’s a God of Fatherhood in Shintoism unless you count Izanagi…
Standing in my disembodied state before Seimei, I repeatedly pressed my hands through his face, phasing right through to see if the Onmyoji would show any visible reaction.
Mostly out of boredom.
Of course, he didn’t, but this act was not without gain as I was inspired to try and phase through him with my head in order to see if the dream could depict his internal organs.
Unfortunately, it couldn’t as there was simply a black void inside.
Abe no Seimei was a hollow shell.
Making sure that wasn’t him secretly being some kind of eldritch horror, I did this act to multiple people and found that it was simply the norm.
My desire to refine the Simulation Gu to a higher Rank ignited because of this.
I’ve been stuck as a hapless newborn, and only in this dream did I feel free.
It would be preferable if it were more realistic.
The meaning of the term ‘refinement’ in a Gu Master’s repertoire was rather broad as it encompassed not only the acts of creating and taming a Gu, but also the process of increasing its Rank.
That could be done in multiple ways, none of which I had any idea how to replicate in reality, especially where there weren’t any visual examples for me to follow. Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
I didn’t lose hope though—considering it was the only thing I had aside from maybe my inconsistent luck.
Perhaps I’ll even encounter the method to refine Gu in this simulation.
My eyes snapped back to the scene before me as I pressed the continuation arrow.
[Abe no Seimei could not interpret your whimsical release as anything other than an infant reflex]
[In the end, he and Kamo no Yasunori decided to leave the matter for the future.
Once you developed the means to convey your thoughts, they’d ask again]
[Before departing for the capital, they left the Sugawara estate with the remedy to your cellular decay.
It was however, a temporary measure]
The dream shifted focus as I now stood on the outside.
It happened so suddenly that I was momentarily left aghast by the radiant sunlight that pierced through the sky’s interstice.
‘So bright!’
Was this how those fourth wall-breaking meta characters felt when the scene transitioned abruptly?
No wonder they were always so weird.
I grumbled as I adjusted myself, gazing at the Sugawara Clan Head and his retainers as they saw the two famous Onmyoji off on their journey.
“…So it is to be used once every two weeks, yes?” The Sugawara Clan Head asked as he maintained his gaze on a porcelain chamber pot held up by two of his servants.
The chamber pot didn’t look particularly mystical.
The only thing remarkable I could make out were the various precious metals engraved upon its surface that had been shaped to evoke the image of Eastern Dragons.
“That’s right.
You should keep note of the time as it’s extremely important to avoid accidentally altering the frequency of the treatment.”
Seimei continued to explain much of the chamber pot’s supernatural qualities, leaving both me and the Sugawara Clan Head mystified.
Apparently, this chamber pot was used to create a special mixture that could keep my ‘rot’ at bay.
Every two weeks, I would need to consume a certain amount of this special mixture to cleanse the inside of my body and bathe in it to purify my outside, stabilizing my condition.
Now if you don’t know what a chamber pot is, it’s quite literally just an ancient toilet that was used in China, Japan, and other nearby territories during this era.
That meant Michizane needed to both drink and bathe in toilet mixture just to survive.
Just wonderful.
I certainly pitied his circumstances.
Furthermore, the primary and sole ingredient of this special mixture was even more unusual.
“And the blood that’s to be used will be…?” The Sugawara Clan Head asked with a wrinkled forehead.
“Ordinary pig’s blood,” Seimei specified with importance.
“The cleaner the better.
It would be unwise to use a savage wild boar’s blood for the mixture, not just because it’s physically dirty, but spiritually as well.
You may boil it first if the former is a concern, though it’s not strictly required.”