July 4th, Monday.
Sea County, at the construction site of the film city in Beldan.
Xio Derecha stood before a notice board filled with lines of "regulations," looking at the construction workers who consciously abided by those decrees, and revealed a satisfied smile.
Then, without hesitation, she picked up the already-prepared potion of the "Imperative Mage" and tilted her head back to drink it.
Speaking of which, the advancement ritual of an "Imperative Mage" required establishing laws and rules within a town of at least ten thousand people, and ensuring that every individual covered by those imperatives genuinely acknowledged and obeyed them from the bottom of their hearts for a period of time—the longer the duration, the better the effect.
But once the population exceeded ten thousand, it was impossible for thoughts to be completely unified. Moreover, Xio lacked the authority she once possessed as a princess in the "Brave" world of the "Ghost Empire." Logically speaking, even if she established rules entirely beneficial to the populace, it would not necessarily satisfy every single person.
Yet the film city construction site Ebner had selected for her was rather special, because the workers here were all former landowners and self-cultivating farmers who had been forced to sell their land after the repeal of the Grain Act.
They dreamed of owning land again and would spare no cost to achieve it.
And among the many decrees Xio had established for them, the final reward was ownership of farms around Beldan. Though not many, to those who had lost their land, it was an irresistible temptation.
Thus, they instead hoped the "rules" would be even harsher, so that the chances of others making mistakes would increase, giving themselves an opportunity.
Of course, they subconsciously ignored the possibility that they too might make mistakes.
"Only in such a competitive environment will people be more willing to abide by the rules… Of course, this is also because they have no means to 'cheat.'
"In fact, if life itself were used as the reward for victory, the effect would be even better… but that would be too cruel."
Ebner, while constantly paying attention to the changes in Xio's body, explained to Fors beside him why the ritual had been arranged this way.
"Then why not wait a few more days and let them abide by the 'imperatives' longer? Wouldn't the effect be better that way?" Fors looked worriedly at Xio, whose body was sprouting hair like sharp spikes, and asked anxiously.
"Humans are not machines. They grow slack.
"Under such high intensity, constantly reminding themselves not to violate the rules, they won't be able to hold on for long…
"Although we said we wouldn't announce each person's number of violations before the end… in fact, each of them knows in their hearts. Once someone makes too many mistakes and gives up on themselves, it will instead affect the ritual's effectiveness." Ebner sighed.
"I see…" Fors nodded thoughtfully.
While the two were speaking, Xio's advancement had already reached its most critical moment. Countless "rules" from this world, from the source of the characteristic, pressed down upon her, as though attempting to overwrite the "rules" she herself had established.
Xio clearly realized that once her own "rules" were crushed, what awaited her would only be loss of control—becoming a monster entirely governed by "rules."
But at that very moment, the heartfelt recognition of the ten thousand people within the film city toward the "rules" she had established gathered together, bringing Xio powerful support and allowing her once again to gain the strength to resist the external rules.
After several more minutes of stalemate, the impact brought by the potion finally receded, and the "rules" pressing upon Xio vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, Xio let out a long breath. Just as she was about to share the joy of success with her two friends not far away, she suddenly noticed the spike-like hair covering her body and could not help pressing her lips together.
Then, she triggered the effect of the "Thousand-Faced Silk Garment" with her spirituality, causing those traces on the verge of losing control to disappear. Only then did she arch her brows with a smile and run toward Ebner and Fors.
...
Rorsted Archipelago waters, within the lower cabin of the "Future," docked at a small harbor attached to a fishing village.
Frank Lee rolled up his sleeves, folded his arms, and carefully examined the mushroom before him.
The mushroom, including its cap, stood a full 1.8 meters tall. On its pure white surface were several vivid red patches resembling eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
In addition to these, bulges of spores protruded from its trunk, sprouting thick and powerful white mycelia like tentacles.
Frank looked the giant mushroom up and down several times, then glanced around at the various mushrooms growing across the wooden walls and floor—some long, some short, some large, some small—and said to the "Artisan" Sharpe beside him:
"Not bad. This experiment has made progress again. This mushroom possesses a strong tendency toward self-reproduction, and that will make it hungry, urgently needing monster flesh and blood to replenish itself.
"And whether roasted or boiled, its activity can be eliminated, making it no longer so dangerous.
"Uh, how does it taste? Didn't you just try it? Its offspring produced through reproduction will randomly have flavors of beef, fish, or wheat. Some are even filled with rich milk—one plant alone can satisfy the needs of a single breakfast. You see, the crew don't even like drinking anymore. There are mushrooms to harvest everywhere… I was thinking, sometimes when going into the wilderness, in order to fill one's stomach, one has to carry dry rations or hunt wild beasts. That's too troublesome. If mushrooms could grow directly on one's body, wouldn't that be much more convenient?"
"Artisan" Sharpe had grown much thinner than when he was in Bayam. His eye sockets were sunken, his gaze dull, lacking liveliness.
Hearing Frank's words, he seemed to recall something. His body trembled slightly, and he silently crouched down, opening his mouth to vomit.
"Are you alright? I know you've worked hard. I truly have to thank you for this period." Frank sincerely said to the "Artisan," "If not for you, this mushroom wouldn't have developed such a strong tendency toward self-reproduction. Moreover, under moonlight, its vitality becomes exceptionally tenacious, allowing it to purify itself. That can effectively eliminate the toxins accumulated from devouring monsters. The only current problem is that pure darkness has no moonlight. That's what we need to solve next."
Sharpe did not speak. After vomiting, he suddenly stood up and turned to rush outside, but thick and powerful white mycelia spread over and wrapped around him, dragging him back.
At this time, somewhere outside the fishing village, green vines rapidly retracted, as though growing in reverse.
"Admiral of Stars" Cattleya stepped out from among them. The illusory murmurs originating from the "Hidden Sage" still echoed by her ears, yet she no longer felt terror as she once had, no longer completely unable to endure them. What met her eyes were countless roaming figures of indescribable forms, layers upon layers of thick curtains like shadows, and invisible gazes cast from unknown places.
Compared to before, she could now vaguely see the unknown existences hidden behind the curtains. She could behold, high in the sky, round after round of moons in different colors—blood red, silver white, dark brown, deep blue—like eyes gazing down upon the earth.
Cattleya's mind buzzed, and she hurriedly withdrew her gaze, not daring to look further.
After receiving Mr. "Tower's" instruction for several consecutive nights and spending more than five days, she had finally, before the Tarot Gathering, fully analyzed the blood of the "Snake of Fate," completed the ritual, obtained divinity, and advanced to Sequence 4 of the "Seer" pathway—"Mysticologist"!
However, she remembered that the Queen had once warned her:
Among all the Sequence 4s of the twenty-two pathways, "Mysticologist" was the "profession" most prone to encountering danger, because they often saw things they should not see, heard sounds they should not hear, and touched secrets they should not touch.
Therefore, for a "Mysticologist" to live long, they must understand how to restrain their curiosity and control their corresponding behavior.
Though I think the Queen was mostly just saying that…
Cattleya muttered, then removed the newly styled thin-framed glasses clipped to her clothing and placed them on the bridge of her nose. Instantly, all the things in her vision that did not belong to the real world disappeared.
This was left behind by Mr. "Tower," said to be a congratulatory gift for her advancement…
Cattleya curled the corner of her mouth in satisfaction.
...
Monday afternoon, Klein sat on the sofa in his living room, flipping through the information about Viscount Lavran delivered by his butler.
—After the ball at MP Macht's residence last Tuesday evening, he had instructed the butler to inquire about the Viscount.
This did not violate any taboos. It was believed that after that ball, many gentlemen who had been asked by MP Macht would do the same.
The first few pages of information contained little of value—merely family history… However, when Klein flipped to the second-to-last page, he stopped and frowned.
Viscount Lavran had a mistress who was the wife of a coal merchant. Her name was Windsor Belling.
And this Mrs. Windsor had been arrested by the Church of Storms after the terrorist attack at the headquarters building of the Daily Observer, and her whereabouts remained unknown…
And the illegitimate daughter Viscount Lavran now intended to acknowledge was, on the surface, actually the daughter of that coal merchant…
"The terrorist attack at the Daily Observer headquarters… wasn't that the incident where Miss Hazel lost her hand?
"Viscount Lavran's mistress was involved in that matter?
"Hmm, I'll wait until after the Tarot Gathering and ask Ebner. As a direct participant in the event, he should know the inside story clearly."
After closing the file, Klein looked at the clock and saw that it was almost three o'clock. Only then did he step toward the third floor, arriving at the bedroom he shared with Sharron.
...
At exactly three o'clock Backlund time, within the mysterious space above the gray fog.
Streaks of deep red light shot up within the ancient palace, then quickly subsided.
"Justice" Audrey stood up without pause and bowed toward the head of the mottled long table.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
After completing the salute and taking their respective seats, "Justice" Audrey lightly swept her gaze over Mr. Fool and suddenly realized that this week she had forgotten to obtain Roselle's diary from the Psychology Alchemists.
All because of Hvin Rambis… Audrey, who had only just adjusted her mindset somewhat, grew several degrees more gloomy.
At this moment, "Hermit" Cattleya lowered her head toward the head of the mottled long table and said:
"Honorable Mr. Fool, there are no Roselle diaries this week."
I know—you spent this week diligently studying with Ebner, analyzing that drop of blood… "The Fool" Klein gave a slight nod, his tone calm, and replied to "Hermit" Cattleya with a double meaning:
"There's no need to be anxious."
Indeed, there was no need to hurry. Before pulling Ebner fully into this, I currently had no confidence in dealing with "Pride"…
(End of Chapter)