Azrael was already dressed in his pyjamas.

A big crimson shirt and red pants.

"Thank you," Azrael said as Clara cleared the plates away.

Clara bowed before pushing the trolley out of the room.

Azrael watched her go.

"So, system. Five thousand per hour, huh?"

The system replied with a thumbs up.

"What are you, my dad?" Azrael asked, looking at the screen.

The system did not bother responding to that.

"Well, since you have accepted the role, is there a discount? Three thousand instead?" Azrael asked with a wink.

[You might as well bring a weapon to rob me.]

The system replied with a snicker.

Azrael scoffed.

"You will give in eventually," Azrael said, a short burst of laughter escaping him.

[You sound ridiculous.]

"You cannot just let me have this one," Azrael said, rolling his eyes.

"Alright. I want to use the special training plane," he said.

The status screen appeared and five thousand SP were deducted instantly.

Azrael watched the number drop with heavy eyes.

Then a sudden feeling took hold of him.

His vision inverted until there was nothing in his sight but a boundless white space.

He looked around calmly, as if half expecting to see someone.

"Even though I know I am the only one here, I still cannot shake the feeling that I am being watched," he muttered.

[You would be surprised.]

The system replied with a laughing emoji.

"What do you mean?" Azrael asked.

[Nothing. Go on with your training.]

Azrael furrowed his brows, then let it go.

"Let us start with the construct," he said.

"System, do you think it is possible to use more than one essence when creating a construct?" He asked.

Even if the answer was no, he would try anyway. But he wanted to hear it regardless.

[Five thousand points worth of information.]

"Of course," Azrael shook his head.

[Consider it carefully. It comes with additional valuable information.]

"No, I will figure it out myself," Azrael replied.

[I wonder why you are so reluctant to spend.]

Azrael ignored that and let his essence spread outward in a wide wave.

[Are you trying to exhaust your reserves before you even begin?]

The system asked with a raised eyebrow emoji.

Azrael did not reply.

The essence began to converge from the spread.

Slowly at first.

Then faster.

The first thing to form was an arm. Long, sleek, golden.

Azrael did not linger on it.

His mind was already pushed close to its limit just to maintain focus.

The second arm formed, an exact replica of the first.

From there he began building the body. The shoulders, connecting both arms, then the neck, then the head.

Everything gold.

The face was blank. No features to define it as anything beyond a shape.

From the neck, the chest formed, then the torso, then the legs.

As the last piece settled, Azrael exhaled deeply.

The soul core appeared in his palm, glowing with a soft blue light.

A thought struck him.

"How will it recognize me as its master once I transfer the core?" He asked.

[Normally this would cost you, but since you already understand the principle even if you cannot apply it yet, I am permitted to tell you at no charge.]

Azrael nodded.

[It is your essence. Your essence is a part of you. Whatever is built from it will always answer to you, inside or outside, unless another skill or power is used to override that connection.]

At the word override, Azrael’s eyes twitched.

"There is a risk then," he muttered.

The system replied with a shrug emoji.

[Everything carries risk. It only matters which risks you choose and which ones benefit you.]

"This place seems to make you more reasonable," Azrael said.

The system sighed.

Azrael did not dwell on it.

Essence began to trickle from his palm in a slow, careful stream.

He did not want to damage the soul core.

The essence wrapped around it gradually, encasing it layer by layer.

"At least it should have some protection," he muttered.

But he did not use gold essence this time. He drew from his Phase Shift skill instead.

With that, any attack aimed at the core would simply pass through it, as long as the construct could react quickly enough to activate it.

In no time, the core was fully covered.

"I plan on giving the construct a board too. How would the core account for that?" Azrael asked.

[Five hundred and ninety nine SP.]

"Fine, you win this round. Tell me," Azrael said.

A smug expression appeared briefly on the system’s screen before it replied.

[As long as the board is attributed to the construct at the time of creation, it also gains true form alongside it.]

Azrael stared at the screen for a moment.

"You charged me five hundred and ninety nine for that?" He said flatly.

A smirk appeared.

[In fairness, that is the system’s base price. Do not blame me.]

Azrael shook his head and chose not to dwell on it further.

He set the core aside and stretched his fingers.

"Now for the main part," he muttered.

[What are you planning?]

The system asked.

"Watch," Azrael replied.

Essence began to pour from his body, far more than what had been needed to build the construct’s frame.

But that was not the main thing.

[Phase Shift, Coin Sovereignty, and Singularity Generation. You are drawing from three skills simultaneously.]

The system’s voice was louder than usual.

"Yes. Are you going to tell me not to?" Azrael managed after a few seconds.

[No. Quite the opposite. I am genuinely impressed.]

"Wow," Azrael said, feeling an unexpected surge of confidence.

"Let us go then."

With those words, all three streams of essence began to swirl together like matter caught in a gravitational pull.

The mixture was chaotic, sending ripples of destructive energy outward in every direction.

All of it passed through Azrael without resistance, an effect of Phase Shift already active across his body.

He had not begun to shape it yet. He was still reading the waters first.