Herta Space Station.
Nolan arrived at Herta's office. At the moment, only Herta was there—Screwllum and Ruan Mei were probably off in their own laboratories researching something.
According to Asta, everyone on Herta Space Station had their own labs.
Ruan Mei in particular focused on the field of life sciences and often needed to cultivate various forms of life.
Because of that, the space station had directly allocated an entire module for her research. At this moment, she was most likely studying that All-Devouring Narwhal.
Speaking of which, the Herta in the office was merely one of her puppets. Her true body should be busy researching the "Simulated Universe" project.
Whenever she needed to communicate with others, she did so through these puppets.
Out of curiosity, Nolan had once asked Asta about it. He learned that Herta's puppets were modeled after her appearance during her teenage years.
As for Herta's true body now, she was said to be a refined, elegant lady much like Ruan Mei—far more mature and beautiful than the youthful-looking puppet.
The puppet Herta already looked stunning. If her real body was even more beautiful, Nolan had to admit that he was quite curious.
Once Herta's affection toward him rose a bit more, there should be a chance to meet her true self.
"You're here. Alright, I'll teach you how to log into the 'Simulated Universe' first."
Seeing Nolan approach, Herta crossed her arms and spoke, taking out something that looked like a pair of goggles.
"So this is the 'Simulated Universe' login device?"
Nolan asked curiously.
"No. The 'Simulated Universe' uses direct consciousness login. Wearing this just lets you see what's happening outside, making it similar to many immersive games.
"If you're good at multitasking, you can even test it while eating or sleeping."
Herta handed the goggles to Nolan.
He took a look and found that the device was extremely simple—really just like a pair of goggles. But recalling what Herta had said afterward, he felt a bit speechless.
"Are you a devil? You actually want me to help you test it even while I'm eating and sleeping."
"It's just a metaphor! You annoying guy—hurry up and put it on!"
Herta said impatiently.
"Haha."
Nolan chuckled and put on the goggles. His field of vision instantly turned a pale blue, and through the lenses he could still see Herta's fair little face.
"Look at the upper left corner. Is there a red icon? Just open it and say 'start operation,'"
she reminded him.
"Mm."
Nolan followed Herta's instructions and "clicked" the icon.
Naturally, this wasn't done with his hands, but with his mind. The goggles seemed capable of capturing brainwaves.
Whatever action he wanted to perform, he only needed to think it—just like commanding his own limbs.
As Nolan activated the red icon, a prompt popped up in the pale-blue interface, telling him to stand at the entrance of the "Simulated Universe."
That was the device beside him.
He walked over to the entrance, and a stream of information flowed directly into his mind, asking whether he wanted to enter the "Simulated Universe."
After he confirmed, he felt his consciousness being lifted upward, the surrounding space shattering and reassembling.
The scene shifted from Herta's office to a desolate wasteland of barren Desert.
"So real… it's completely like a real world."
Nolan looked around, took a breath, and even licked his lips.
He realized that vision, smell, taste, touch—every sense was present.
If not for the small window in the lower right corner showing the scene inside Herta's office, he would have truly thought he had been transported somewhere else.
Right now, he was controlling a virtual body within the "Simulated Universe" while also controlling his real body at the same time—just like when he controlled the "Sword God."
After taking just a few steps, he already felt that he could operate it proficiently.
At that moment, a figure appeared beside Nolan's virtual body in the Simulated Universe—it was Herta. She glanced around and said:
"Looks like this time we randomly landed on Planet Mokolo. This is an uninhabited planet, but it has many valuable mineral resources. It's already been designated as a resource planet by the Company.
"So we've modeled it after reality and generated a large number of Company employees here. Their strength ranges from low to high, covering all levels.
"Your task is to defeat them, obtain Path Blessings, and walk farther along the Path."
Nolan nodded.
"Alright, I can't wait!"
He was just about to release his mental power to search for Company employees when he realized he couldn't project it outward at all.
Only then did Nolan remember that this virtual body was nothing more than an ordinary human body made of code. He was controlling it purely with his consciousness—it didn't possess his mental power or physical strength.
It was like a brand-new, blank character created in a game.
"Why are you in such a hurry? You haven't even stepped onto a Path yet!"
Herta waved her hand lightly, and a black virtual interface appeared in front of him.
"The 'Simulated Universe' is only at version 1.0 for now. There are only seven Paths available. Just pick whichever one you like."
She explained calmly.
Within the Simulated Universe, one had to step onto a Path to begin testing. Otherwise, how could one walk far and deep along a Path and eventually have an audience with an Aeon?
"Preservation, Remembrance, Nihility, Abundance, Destruction, The Hunt, Erudition…"
Nolan examined them carefully and discovered that stepping onto different Paths granted blessings with distinct tendencies.
For example, the first one—the "Preservation" Path—would randomly grant abilities and bonuses related to protection, such as "defense," "shields," and similar effects.
The "Remembrance" Path, on the other hand, focused on abilities and bonuses tied to memory—things like peering into memories or burning memories.
The others were similar in nature.
"Then let's start with the 'Preservation' Path, one by one."
After all, this wasn't a one-time test. He could simply start from the first and choose them all in order later. That was what Nolan thought.
As he made his selection, the seven Paths on the virtual interface disappeared, replaced by three "Preservation" Path blessing options.
The first option enhanced the body.
The second allowed the summoning of a protective barrier.
The third reflected attacks.
"Pick whichever you like. You can only choose one—this will be your initial ability.
"In normal circumstances in reality, the moment you step onto the 'Preservation' Path, you'll gain an ability related to the concept of 'Preservation.'
"As you practice and embody the ideals of Preservation, the 'Preservation power' within a Pathstrider will grow through the Path's feedback. Once it reaches a certain level, you'll randomly gain new abilities or related bonuses again.
"But this is the 'Simulated Universe.' To keep things from getting too troublesome, we've unified the way of 'practicing the Path' into defeating enemies—basically, grinding monsters and leveling up like in a game.
"Later on, as long as you see something alive, just run over and defeat it, and you'll gain progress.
"Oh, and while your original body's power can't be brought in, martial arts skills, swordsmanship, blade techniques, and the like—
"Or any special abilities that can be used purely through consciousness—those can all be used, if you know them."
Herta continued explaining the gameplay mechanics of the "Simulated Universe" to Nolan.
(End of Chapter)
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