I hate having to come here and say this since most people on other sites don't care, but no, the protagonist hasn't been nerfed. He's still fucking strong.
From this chapter onwards, I'm going to focus 100% on his evolution (both in terms of strength and personality)
####
When I said yes, I immediately received a new system notification.
[A soul has been created for this body.]
"Huh? That's it?" I didn't notice any difference in Clone 16. Does he really have a soul now? I thought I'd be able to choose all the soul's traits, but apparently, that's not possible. That's disappointing.
But honestly, what would be a soul trait anyway?
Its glow? Its strength? Its aura?
"Well, whatever. What matters is that he has a soul now. It's not a real soul, but it's good enough. I wonder if this will be enough to fool Freya's eyes… or the other gods."
I thought about it for a moment and concluded: I won't know if this can fool Freya until one of the clones meets her.
"Speaking of which, what did she think when Ottar told her what happened?" A human forming a Familia? That's impossible! It's probably going to upset the gods quite a bit.
Will Freya try to stop me?
I said I would start that war, but I'm not ready for it.
"Speaking of my Familia, I should give an artificial soul to all my clones and then create a symbol to place on their bodies, like a Falna. It won't be a real Falna, but it'll serve as identification."
I'll come up with an interesting mark later.
"But first, I need to test if my clones can join a Familia. I obviously can't place my mark on clones that are already part of a Familia."
Frieren or Akitsu needs to hurry up.
"To be honest, I'm tired of waiting. I should use Clone 16's body and test it myself."
While I was thinking about which Familia to join, a system notification appeared before my eyes.
[Clone "Akitsu" has received a Falna.]
[EXP gain increased by 10%.]
"Huh?"
[Master, I did it. I joined the Ganesha Familia!]
That was a surprise!
'Thank you, Akitsu. You've answered my questions.'
Now I know that clones can indeed receive a Falna without any problem, even without a soul. And I also found out that clones who have a Falna give me 10% more experience.
"But I wonder how the clone's status appears in the Falna."
If I had to guess, it's probably reduced or fake stats.
If I remember correctly, every adventurer who just receives a Falna starts with stats at or below 10. I'll have to bring Akitsu here to check her Falna.
'Akitsu, contact me when you're in a private place. I need to see you.'
[What is it, Master? You didn't like what I did?]
'No, of course not. I'm happy you cleared that up for me. But now I have more questions. I need to see your Falna.'
[Ah, sure. I'm heading to the bathroom now.]
'Alright. Let me know when you're ready.'
####
[I'm ready, Master.]
When I heard Akitsu's voice, I used the skill [Transport] to bring her to me. As soon as she appeared in front of me, she knelt down.
"I'm here, Master. I've finally fulfilled the mission you gave me."
"No need to kneel. Stand up."
"Yes, Master."
Akitsu stood up, and I opened her status.
When I did, two windows appeared: the main one showing her regular stats and another one showing her Falna. At the top of the Falna window, I noticed some words that made it clear it was fake.
[Falna] (No Effect)
Name: Akitsu
Level: 1
Strength: I 10
Endurance: I 10
Dexterity: I 10
Agility: I 10
Magic: I 10
"No effect. So this status doesn't influence her actual stats at all. It's basically cosmetic. Akitsu, let me see your back."
Akitsu removed her clothes, revealing her boobs.
They were beautiful, and I got a little excited.
I even felt like touching them, but I held myself back.
Then, Akitsu turned around.
On her back was the mark of the Ganesha Familia, just as I expected.
"That's amazing. So clones really can receive a Falna just like a normal human. That's exciting."
"I was a little scared at first, but everything turned out fine. Master, I also discovered something interesting. My friends told me it's impossible to lie to a god, but I managed to lie."
"I noticed that before, but I wasn't sure."
When Berserker met Hestia, he lied, saying that 'Master' was his brother. And Hestia didn't seem to notice the lie. I didn't think much of it back then, but it seems like my clones can lie to gods.
"I lied once, saying I came from a distant city, and God Ganesha believed me without question. After that, I made up lots of stories. I'm good at it."
"I'm glad to hear that. Keep telling those stories and earn the Familia's trust. Don't do anything reckless for now. Form a party in the Ganesha Familia and keep exploring the dungeon. You and Frieren are my weakest clones."
"Don't worry, I'll form a party. They're nice. I've met some amazing people." Akitsu smiled.
Now I can't tell if she's acting or not. That smile seemed genuine.
"Before you go back, I want to do something."
[Do you want to create a soul for this body?]
'Yes.'
[Clone "Akitsu" has received a soul]
"It's done."
"What did you do, Master?"
"Nothing. Don't worry. You can go now, but be careful not to be seen."
"Alright." Akitsu put her clothes back on and left my house.
I really had to hold myself back from doing something while she was almost naked.
'I don't know how long I can resist. It won't take much longer before I start wanting to fuck my own clones. This sucks. I need to control myself.'
####
A few days passed, and all my clones had gone through their first evolution — except for Fang Yuan, Madara, Frieren, Akitsu, and Clone 16. With the new sword I bought, they started killing monsters much more efficiently.
Even the clones destroyed by Ottar had already gone through their first evolution again.
In fact, some were already close to reaching their second evolution. They level up very quickly.
Also, all clones — except Feng Yuan— have received a soul. Feng Yuan is completing the task I gave him.
In these past days, the experience I've been gaining has increased even more, as the clones go deeper into the dungeon. I even heard that one of the groups killed a Minotaur.
A monster I haven't even fought yet.
Honestly, I'm jealous. Fighting a Minotaur sounds like fun.
And during these past few days, I leveled up five times! Without even leaving the house.
I thought I'd level up faster, but oh well.
Here are my current stats:
Name: Zane
Second Evolution Achieved
Level: 13 (EXP: 34,650 / 130,000)
Rank: B
Clones: 32 / 32
Strength: 1,500
Endurance: 1,500
Agility: 1,500
Dexterity: 1,500
Magic: 1,500
Points: 114
One thing I noticed:
My stats have been stuck at 1,500 for a while.
Even after evolving some clones and leveling up, they remained capped at 1,500.
I think I've hit a limit or something.
"System, why are my stats capped?"
Then I tried adding one point to Strength as a test.
[You have reached the stat limit of the Second Evolution]
[The limit will be raised once you reach the Third Evolution]
"What the hell?"
####
If you want to encourage me to keep writing and read more chapters, here is my patr eon:
patr eon.com/ZhangYe
20% discount code for patr eon: 55AB9
Next chapters: Chapter 44 - Outside Orario. / Chapter 45 - I'm going to rip your arms off (Pov: Fang Yuan) / Chapter 46 - Emblem.