Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

Uhtred watched the cascade of texts on the right side of his vision in extreme bewilderment.

First of all, he had only stopped a section of the rapidly moving chat to actually read for a bit. And from what the multiversal audience were saying in that section of the chat, it seemed some of them were already thinking he was a fraud that wasn’t going to live up to the hype the Host had placed on him.

Not that Uhtred really cared, but seeing someone already deciding that he was not the real deal before he had even begun to do anything irked him a bit.

Ah, forget about it. There are always people like this in such a public stream anyway...

Thankfully, though, there were still plenty of viewers who had the common sense to wait and see him in action before coming to a conclusion. The chat was roughly split between the skeptics and the patient ones.

It seems I’m still safe for now...

He remembered Handler Roy’s advice to always try to be on the good side of the audience. Right now, he couldn’t afford to be forced into some life-threatening situation before he even got his bearings within this scenario world.

He sat up carefully, feeling a slight jolt of pain from his lower abdomen that was wrapped in a heavy layer of gauze. He took in his surroundings.

A private room?

From the memories of his body’s previous owner, wounded grunt soldiers like him were crammed into large, filthy medical tents with hundreds of other survivors.

But a private room...

That was something strictly reserved for the higher-ranking members of the family... for people who were from the true inner branch of the An Clan.

The guy whose body Uhtred was inhabiting was definitely not from the inner branch. He was just a random nobody.

So why this sudden special treatment?

Uhtred frowned.

Or is it possible that they somehow know I’m an otherworlder...? Is that even something they can sense?

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Handler Roy would have said something about it if that were the case.

Not to mention that if the inhabitants of this scenario world knew that Uhtred and the rest of the human team were otherworlders, it would basically defeat the purpose of whatever task they were meant to complete here.

Still, this situation is just too weird. The previous guy didn’t really have a good life. He wasn’t particularly notable in the clan either, so this sudden interest is very fishy...

Suddenly, his ears picked up the traces of movement coming from the hallway. The footsteps stopped at the front of his door, and softly, the door was pushed open.

It was the same girl again. The clan’s Heaven’s chosen, Nayu An.

She was dressed in the signature white and blue silk robe reserved only for the inner members of the clan, looking dainty and petite like a flawless flower.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in Uhtred’s upright figure.

”You’re already awake?”

Uhtred said nothing. He simply watched her with a flat expression, betraying nothing of his thoughts at all.

She walked over to his bedside and knelt down, gently taking his left hand in her palm. She looked up at him, her grey eyes clear and intense.

”I know you must be surprised and confused right now, but everything will be made clear to you very soon.”

She turned to the door, calling for servants to tend to him. Throughout the entire process, she stood by his bed, watching his every move.

Uhtred’s suspicion deepened. Even the viewers in his chat were firing off warnings, calling the girl out as a massive red flag.

Once the servants finished changing his bandages and bowed out, Nayu drew closer. She sat on a chair beside the bed and met his gaze.

”You have not spoken the whole time. You didn’t even flinch when they changed the gauze on your wound.” Her eyes glittered with curiosity.

Uhtred still said nothing, waiting for her to get to the point. Eventually, she caught on that he was waiting for her to explain what was going on and why he was here being taken care of specially.

”You are going to be my partner,” she said suddenly, watching Uhtred’s expression carefully for how he would react. ”My essence-bound partner...”

Thoughts fired off in Uhtred’s mind rapidly, analyzing different angles as to why this would happen all of a sudden.

Was she joking? Was this some ploy to get something out of him? If so, what could he possibly offer? He was a literal nobody in the clan.

Why would the girl holding the entire clan’s future, the one every eligible young master dreamed of binding with, suddenly take an interest in him? Why bring up what was basically marriage in this world to a random soldier?

Worse yet, why was she staring at him with such terrifying intensity?

Fuck, I’m acting out of character.

This was not how the body’s original owner would react. That guy would have been losing his mind with joy, jumping at the proposal without a second thought.

Uhtred stared blankly at Nayu as her expression started to shift into confusion.

Should he just give her the reaction she wanted?

Putting aside the fact that he had no idea what her angle was, she was clearly expecting something vastly different from his cold, unbothered reaction.

No, it’s already too late. I spent too long trying to figure out her game. If I fake a happy reaction now, she’ll know it’s an act and get even more suspicious...

My best move is playing it off like my injuries are fogging my head. I’ll act like I’m still too out of it to understand what she’s saying.

For now, the goal is getting through this conversation safely without setting off any alarms. I can dig into her real motives and plan what to do next once I’m alone.

Just as Uhtred was internally deciding his next plan of action, a prompt suddenly popped up in his vision:

[Mandatory Interaction Choices]

1. Fawn over her: Accept her marriage proposal, enjoy every benefit she will give you. Follow the flow and see where it goes, you don’t need to be so suspicious of everyone. (30% of your audience have voted to see this outcome)

2. Act oblivious: Fake the severity of your injury so it looks like you can’t clearly understand her words. Assess and be cautious. Go with your guts and play it like you originally intended. (45% of your audience have voted to see this outcome)

3. Challenge her directly: Demand answers, show that you are very suspicious. Be domineering and come out right with it! Show her your true thoughts and intentions without shying away! (20% of your audience have voted to see this outcome)

4. Kill her: Cause a ruckus and find a way to escape immediately. Wreak havoc and cause utter mayhem. Prove that you have the potential to be a true Sovereign and slaughter your way out! (5% of your audience have voted to see this outcome)

[You must select one of these four choices, or else you will suffer a terrible penalty]