Chapter 108: 75-81
Chapter 75: Sharpening the edges
The first day of the eleventh month in the year 1120194.
The City of Sharpe was named after Mage William Sharpe, who was born and bred there and later became a successful mage.
Even though mages don't interfere in mortal affairs, many kingdoms, cities, and places are named after them.
Ordinary people are aware of the existence of mages; it's just that if they don't pass the test, they can never become mages.
The test is two-layered. One is the mage talent test, which, if it's below 6, one has no chance at all. The other is a character test, which is for finding hardworking people with strong will.
Not many can pass both, but those who do will all have great futures.
...
Zagronan, who disguised himself as a human, was walking in the streets.
He was not surprised or impressed by anything this city had to offer. After all, he had been to the most prominent cities, so this tiny Sharpe city with a population under a million was not eye-catching.
Rachel, however, was emotional.
"Really, nothing is the same! Everything has changed! Even though I'm sure this place is where the main body threw me initially, time has erased all clues!" she thought.
Of course, if she digs deep enough, she will find clues in the code. But, on the surface, all have been eliminated by time.
"Time is the ultimate eraser of the universe; even immortals can't resist it!" she thought.
Theoretically, she can live forever, the same life as the universe, but in practice, accidents happen. Who can guarantee that Rachel will win the war against anti-Rachel?
Even if looking at the current universe, there are many questions she can't answer.
What if the 'office'? What was there before the existence of Rank 14 civilizations? What will happen far into the future?
It doesn't matter if she can theoretically live forever; as long as there is something in the universe that has the power or potential to eliminate her, she is not truly immortal.
"Here," said Rachel.
Zagronan was in the middle of the road when Rachel said this.
"This is the place. Sit here and start," she said.
Zagronan nodded and sat down. His sitting there disrupted the traffic, with many people yelling.
But who cares about mortals?
He simply snapped his fingers and sent them away. To be honest, Zagronan preferred to kill them off, but Rachel disliked killing for no reason, so he only sent them far away. The entire city went dead quiet.
"Here, Zag, I think you went overboard!" said Rachel.
He basically sent the entire city's population away.
He shrugged.
Rank 9 is the final step before becoming immortal. It's when one must prepare for a complete law.
However, the difference between Rank 8 and 9 is only in quantity, not quality.
The limiting factor has always been resources.
To advance, many different pills are needed. However, Zagronan has no problem with resources, thanks to Rachel.
So, the only thing left now is to take the final step, as he has already reached the peak of Rank 9 after consuming Rank 8 pills for more than one hundred thousand years.
One can imagine how terrifying it is to gather all those resources without Rachel.
Zagronan took the 'law condensation' pill. This pill will condense existing law within his body and open up new space in his aperture.
Even demons only work on their aperture, not on their whole bodies. Only mad people like knights spend all those resources to train their entire bodies. They need to strengthen their whole bodies to advance in rank.
But mages and most demons, like Zagronan, only need to strengthen their apertures.
Zagronan has already done all that, and his apertures and meridians are comparable to those of Rank 9 demons. They can entirely tolerate Rank 9's concentration of energy.
The Rank 9 condensation pill used by Rachel began to do its work.
Zagronan's fragment laws began becoming more dense and powerful. His fragment law is wisdom inherited from his father; when he lost his royal status, it was too late to change course.
He continued taking consolidation pills, and because the pills were all rank 9, after a short time, he successfully fused a bit of Rank 9 fragment law. He officially entered Rank 9!
It seems easy because he made all preparations beforehand, like strengthening his aperture and meridians, enhancing his understanding to Rank 9, reaching the absolute peak of Rank 8, preparing a lot of precious pills, etc.
In addition to all that, luck is also required because Rank 9s are all minor protagonists of the world. However, for Zagronan, this is not an issue and is even a boost.
With the main protagonist's luck, there is no danger of breakthrough failure.
He sat down and converted all his fragment laws to rank 9 and then stood up.
"I am a demon king, an existence of the same rank as my father," Zagronan laughed.
Rachel also looked at her changes. No new skills came; only her energy allotment increased significantly.
She can create whatever skill she wants with that energy. As for her administrator rank, it will automatically reach Rank 2 when she advances to Rank 10, Rank 3 when she reaches Rank 12, and Rank 4 when she reaches Rank 13.
Rank 1 administrators are not allowed to know any important secrets, but general knowledge is available. It should be noted that what Rachel considers 'general knowledge' is actually treasured information for other Rank 13 civilizations.
Rank 2 administrators can access much more information but still cannot see sensitive information.
Rank 3 administrators can access most information, with only a few parts concealed.
Rank 4 administrators know everything except what is disallowed explicitly by the main Rachel. It is not uniform, with some rank 4 administrators knowing this secret and others knowing that secret.
Mian Rachel pays attention to rank 4 administrators, who are usually heads of regional headquarters.
Zagronan stood up. "From today onward, I am the Demon King of Wisdom!" he declared. He feels like he can crush everything with just one look.
Most of the time, when one advances, the strength overwhelms them and makes them feel this way, but this time, his feeling is not wrong.
Now, for Zagronan, there are very few things he cannot crush.
"Let's go back," he said to Rachel.
He had found his triplets a long time ago. Along with Lana, they also gave birth to 32 other royal blood children.
As for other untalented children, of course, Lana ate them. Today, she is an expert on how to cook newborn demon children.
...
Lana was busy in the kitchen. "Salt!" she said, and Lust#2 brought it.
"Boiling lava!" she screamed again. This time, Envy#1 brought it.
Over the years, the once terrifying demon kings had become used to being ordered around by her. For survival, they didn't dare to complain in all these years.
Lana was cooking human food. Don't get it wrong; she wasn't cooking humans.
She was producing foods that humans ate, plus her modifications.
She had long ago decided to try them, and she liked it. Sure, it was nowhere near the taste of a demon newborn child, but still, it filled the stomach.
Just then, Zag appeared. "Hey, I reached Rank 9," Zag said with indifference.
"Yeah, I see," Lana replied with disinterest.
"Where are the children?" asked Zag.
"Playing around like always. Hey, Greed #6, go bring them!" Greed #6 sprung into action with a smile.
As for whether the smile was real or fake, who knows?
Lately, he and Lana had fallen out. The reason was simple.
Recently, Zagronan had been making preparations for Rank 9, so they hadn't had any new children for more than two months.
This frustrated Lana.
Among demons of old, she was not the exception but the norm. Demons were evil, only caring about themselves, and had no morals. There were exceptions, but if one picked a demon at random, they most likely chose such a demon.
Of course, evil demons are now extinct, so Lana is one of an existing generation.
Soon, a lot of demons appeared.
Rachel had given each of these 'children' an incarnation, providing them with dark element pills.
Today, all of them are meditating using dark elements, so they are still evil.
But even though they are evil, Rachel keeps them constrained. She never allowed them to go around and destroy cities.
At most, she allows them to go around the country in rural places and destroy a few villages nobody misses.
Of course, everyone's life is equally valuable, and it's impossible to say someone doesn't matter and all that, but Rachel simply didn't care.
She wouldn't personally kill anyone for no benefit and even help if it's effortless, but if Zagronan's children want to do it, it's not her responsibility to stop them.
She already stopped them from attacking big cities where casualties would have been catastrophic, so in her mind, she had done more than enough.
"Rachel, look at these children! They look frustrated. Please, let us go and celebrate!" said Zagronan.
"By celebration, you mean?" she asked.
"Yeah, please, Rachel, I feel like I don't have the edge that a demon king must have," he said.
These days, Zagronan complains a lot about his edges being blunted.
Rachel sighed and said, "Okay. I will contact Lee and tell them you are going to take the capital!" she said.
Rachel felt capital was suitable for the 'celebration' and would satisfy them.
"The capital? I love you!" Zagronan was happy.
The children looked at their father and were puzzled. Zagronan said, "Children, I am a demon king now, so we will celebrate! Let's go to Kobi City!"
One, who had glasses and looked like a smart man, asked, "To do what?"
Zagronan sneered and said, "Of course, to sharpen our edges, to destroy it!"
...
Kobi city was huge, with more than one hundred million people from all backgrounds living there.
In addition to all government buildings, there are many libraries with precious books, museums with historical paintings and statues, and unique structures that couldn't be found anywhere else on the continent.
It was peaceful, with a very low crime rate and a high standard of living.
...
Zag, along with his demon children, appeared not far away.
He was a particular demon, different from the typical idea of what a demon used to be.
He was capable of love, like his love for Lana and his children, as well as his disinterest in other females and loyalty to Lana.
These traits were unusual.
However, he was still a demon who used dark elements to meditate.
He placed humans, elves, beastmen, plant people, demons, etc., all in the same category.
He didn't create two categories, one for unintelligent creatures that could be used as food and another for intelligent ones whose dignity should be respected.
Zagronan didn't give a damn about any of these distinctions. He did what he wanted when he wanted, and it was nobody's business.
In the past, he has been restrained by Rachel. This made him feel like he was losing his demon side.
He hated that feeling, so he craved a good slaughter of innocents just to reconnect with his demon roots.
It was an urge for mindless slaughter, the animalistic type of evil, with no logic behind it; he did it simply because he could.
If he were placed in a human society, he would have been put in a mental hospital as soon as they found out about his way of thinking. Unfortunately for Kobi City, nobody in this world was capable of restraining him.
"Boundary wall," he cast his spell.
A vast and wide wall appeared and surrounded the city.
"Guys, go and have fun! This is a gift from me!" he shouted and laughed.
The children laughed and attacked.
Savior, of course, wasn't here. If he had been there to witness it, he would have been terrified.
Lately, his way of thinking diverged further and further away from his parents.
Rachel also sighed. She disliked these actions but wasn't going to stop them.
All kinds of terrible things were happening every day; should she exert effort to stop them? If she had this mentality, she would have never reached Rank 13.
Just as Zagronan was about to start his fun, Savior suddenly arrived by teleportation and shouted, "Father, wait! Stop it!"
Chapter 76: Savior
Savior Green Long reached rank 8 in only 100,000 years thanks to his medium-level protagonist luck and Rachel's assistance.
It is nearly a certainty that he will reach rank 9 no later than 100,000 years.
He is also the wealthiest person on the continent.
In the last hundred thousand years, Savior has undergone significant changes.
Initially, he wasted his time in casinos and strip clubs, but as time passed, he started having children, most of whom were mortals with no mage talent.
Demons typically possess better mage talent, but even among demons, most have little chance of advancing beyond rank 4, not to mention many who lack the talent to progress beyond rank 1.
Savior was not an exemplary father, but he still cared about his children. He received mage talent pills from Rachel and gifted each of his children with a rank 7 pill, resulting in many of them surviving and still being around today.
However, his children also had their offspring. Initially, he attempted to provide them all with pills as well, but he soon realized that it was unsustainable.
There was no way he could provide a pill to everyone. Nevertheless, he was unwilling to abandon them.
He stopped giving mage talent pills to those with at least rank 3 mage talent; as for those with mage talent under rank 3, he offered a rank 3 talent pill, giving them a chance to prove themselves.
If they excelled and reached rank 3, he would reward them with higher-ranking talent pills.
He also convinced Rachel to give her incarnations to the most talented ones. Today, nearly all gifted people in the world have Rachel incarnations.
It is always Rachel's end-game strategy once she completely takes over a world, using talented people to make as many incarnations as possible. For each incarnation, the main Rachel gets more energy from the system, so there is no disadvantage.
Due to his actions, he now has many blood relatives scattered worldwide.
It can be said that most people born in the last 100,000 years in the continents where he, tens of thousands of children, or his other blood relatives have been to are from his bloodline.
One shouldn't underestimate his children. Thanks to his efforts, many became powerful people who used pure energy for meditation, and the overwhelming majority were very interested in having children. They moved around frequently, leaving descendants wherever they went.
As a result of a significant portion of the mortal and even young mage population being related to him, his way of thinking about people started to change.
After a few thousand years, he stopped going to strip clubs because most of the girls there had at least some distant blood relation to him, like great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughters.
For demons meditating with dark elements, it may not be a problem, but for Savior, who absorbed human-centered culture, it started to bother him.
He began to see them as his children.
Gradually, he became more fitting of his name, Savior.
Over the years, he did a lot to improve the lives of his 'children.' In the shadows, he manipulated many fronts, traveling everywhere to help his helpless 'children.'
He did have the power and money to do a lot.
Today, after over 100,000 years, he can be considered responsible for the improved conditions for mortals in many places. Of course, the world is vast, so even after all his efforts, the overwhelming majority of people are still suffering.
However, as long as he is alive, he can continue trying to make the places where his 'children' live better.
...
Savior snapped his finger, and all his brothers and sisters froze.
Even the most talented of his siblings is only at rank 7, so they stood no chance against him.
"Father, please stop this! Those people you're trying to kill are my blood!" he exclaimed.
Zagronan frowned and responded, "What is the meaning of this? They inherited some bloodline; that doesn't mean you are connected! Savior, your behavior is shameful."
Zagronan was very dissatisfied with the demons today. He longed for the true hell.
The two of them looked at each other, neither backing down.
"It looks like I'm about to really sharpen my edges!" he said to Rachel.
"Are you going to kill him?" Rachel asked.
He nodded. "I loved him, but look at him. For some random people, he is disobeying me, his father!"
Zagronan cared for his children, but the love of a demon has limits. He had held on for a long time, witnessing Savior's weird behavior and not doing anything.
"Don't do it! I have another incarnation with him! Now, Savior is at rank 8, maybe only twenty thousand years away from rank 9," she said.
Before, she didn't stop them because killing a few mortals didn't harm her, but now, Zag wanted to kill the host of her incarnation, so of course, she wouldn't allow it.
"Then, what should I do?" Zag said helplessly. He had never dared to flatly disobey Rachel on important matters. It was an instinct that told him that even disobeying once might bring disaster.
"Restrain him!" she suggested.
Zag nodded.
"Great idea! If he sees us sharpening our edges, he may also find the right path for demons!" he thought.
"Suppress," he cast.
Immediately, all fragment laws within Savior's body were suppressed, making him like a mortal.
His siblings were freed and wanted revenge, but their Rachels stopped them, forcing them to vent their anger on the mortals.
"Nooooooooooooooooooo," Savior screamed with grief as he watched the city being ravaged by his brothers and sisters.
"Hahaha, Savior, my son, learn; we are demons, we do what we like, it's nobody's business!" Zagronan said, advising his lost junior.
"Bastard, stop them now! They are killing my children! How dare you do this? You're evil!" he shouted and started punching Zag in the face.
Of course, it was like hitting a wall, so it only made his punch hurt.
"Now, watch this! 'Undead transformation!'" Zagronan csat.
A lot of dead people began to stand up, becoming zombies!
...
Ralph had just arrived home. In Kobi City, everyone was required to attend high school, which was free.
The education system was well-developed, with most students learning a craft that could support themselves.
The primary purpose of the school system was to teach practical skills, so if a student came out without learning anything they could use to earn a living, the entire process was considered a failure.
It was how things worked in Kobi City.
In other cities, schools were primarily a preparation for colleges, where the real learning of practical skills took place. However, the Mayor of Kobi City disagreed with this approach, and he ensured that high schools in the city taught at least one genuine money-making skill to everyone.
Ralph was a student of metalwork. He didn't plan to waste time attending college; instead, he intended to join his father in the smithy.
He considered himself lucky because not everyone had the luxury of a guaranteed job, as he did with his father. Even if you had the skills, finding a job in the current job market in Kobi City was not a certainty.
After reaching home, he bathed, changed his clothes, and went to the smithy.
The shop was relatively large and located in a good area of the city, making it quite valuable. He entered and saw his father busy hammering a piece of iron.
His father had eyebrows as thick as mustaches, and the two sides of his father's eyebrows were connected, making it one very long eyebrow.
He had tan skin and gray eyes, with surprisingly long hair that was tied. He was tall and muscular, with notably large and sturdy hands.
According to a doctor, this feature was the result of a gene related to demons.
Ralph envied his father's mighty hands. With those hands, it should be easy to hammer stuff.
"Hey, father," he greeted.
His father replied without looking at him, as he was busy. "Hey, you came at a good time! Go and bring the big hammer I brought home yesterday. I forgot to bring it."
Ralph sighed in frustration and began heading home to retrieve the big hammer.
The big hammer was so heavy that Ralph could barely lift it and struggled to carry it. Sometimes, he wondered if his father was human. To be able to lift this hammer with one hand and swing it, Ralph couldn't imagine the strength required.
He doubted he could ever be as skilled as his father.
Just as he was about to leave...
Boom! All the windows shattered, and the force of the explosion knocked Ralph to the ground.
After a minute, he regained his cloudy mind and was terrified.
All kinds of screams, explosions, glass shattering, and more came from everywhere.
"Father!" he immediately thought of his father.
His mother had died when he was born, leaving him without a mother. His father had always cared for him and never blamed him for his mother's death.
He filled the role of his mother so well that Ralph didn't feel any gaps in his life. He loved his father more than anyone. But now, his father might be in danger.
The smithy was in a busy area, very close to where the explosion's shock came from.
Ralph left the house and started running. Looking around, he was shocked.
"What happened?" His mind went blank, not thinking of anything except one thing: finding his dad.
Corpses were scattered everywhere, with many buildings collapsing and many people lying on the ground, screaming in pain.
It was as if the world had turned upside down in an instant.
Nonetheless, he ignored all this and ran with all his strength.
Soon, he reached the shop. "Thank God," he breathed a sigh of relief.
The shop was okay, and even the windows were unbroken. He entered and searched for his father.
"Father, did you hear the explosion just now? Let's go home quickly! It's dangerous in the shop."
Their shop was in a crowded place right beside a main street, so staying here was more dangerous, at least in Ralph's mind.
His father didn't answer.
"Father?" he cautiously approached and touched his father's shoulder.
"Grrrr," his father didn't sound human. He turned around.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!" Ralph screamed and dropped to the ground.
Seeing all those corpses was one thing, but seeing his father like this was beyond his limits. It was worse than the worst nightmare he had ever experienced.
His father's face was as white as paper, blood all over his mouth, his eyes blood-red, making him look like a bloodthirsty zombie.
Ralph just stared. He didn't run; there was nowhere to run to. Without his father, there was nothing left.
"GRRRRRRR!" His father jumped on him and took a bite from his face.
"AAaaaAaAAA!" he screamed, and he regretted not running.
His survival instinct kicked in, and he grabbed a nearby hammer, hitting his father on the head.
But it didn't work.
"Please, please!" he begged, but the zombie was incapable of mercy.
A few moments later, Ralph died and was soon resurrected as an undead zombie.
...
After only a few hours, the entire city was reduced to rubble.
All kinds of evil spells were used. This incident was evil beyond comprehension, to the extent that even Lee would be upset.
Savior, standing in front of his father and siblings, looked at them coldly. Without saying anything more, he left.
Chapter 77: Good guy
The 'disaster' caused the entire continent to shake.
The capital was reduced to ashes!
Nobody knows what happened or how it happened, but it was a fact, undeniable.
After the initial shock, chaos began to spread.
The Kobi kingdom was an absolute monarchy, with the king, all princes, and all ministers living in Kobi city.
With them all dead, there was no clear leader in the kingdom anymore.
Since the mages were not interfering, many local lords declared themselves the rightful heir to the deceased king and declared others illegitimate.
After all, all the nobles and lords were related to the Kobi dynasty, and with all legitimate successor's death, everyone could feasibly claim to be the next successor.
There was no clear line of succession after princes. Nobody expected them all to die at once together.
This situation had the potential to cause the death of countless people; however, it didn't, thanks to Savior.
Generally, Savior was very limited in his actions in continents where other strong mages existed.
Lee continent, the headquarters of the Humanoids academy, was absolutely one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the whole world.
Their dean, Lee, was said to be just a hair away from rank 10.
Because of them, Savior had limited influence in Lee continent.
However, after the incident, he began to act much more courageously.
He directly interfered in mortal affairs, imprisoned all the rebelling forces, and appointed a new king.
These actions were genuinely daring, and if it had been any other rank 8 mage, they would have definitely paid the price.
After all, the humanoid academy could do it, and if they had wanted to do it, they would have. Who is this foreign mage who thinks he knows better?
However, Lee ordered her subordinates not to interfere.
One reason was Savior's luck, which was extremely terrifying.
She believes that even if she managed to defeat Savior, her luck would be so damaged that reaching rank 10 would become much more challenging.
The other reason is Rachel.
She clearly warned Lee about Savior, about him also having an incarnation, and the need to avoid war.
For these reasons, she allowed Savior to do what he wanted with mortals.
Anyway, these are only a few mortals. Who cares?
The humanoid academy is responsible for the prevalence of humanoid life, having planted humans and other species on many continents.
But that doesn't mean they were righteous.
They were the kind of evil, occasionally triggering wars to collect humanoid aura for Lee's magic treasure.
Still, they were far better than many and, on balance, considered righteous.
As for Rachel, she didn't care about right and wrong in the Zag-Savior debacle.
She only cared about doing things that benefited the main body.
Before rank 10, Rachel's incarnations are nearly worthless.
She can create as many as she wants using the loophole by getting a powerful host and quickly promoting an incarnation to rank 9 using avatars.
She can have as many rank 9 Rachels as there are rank 9 people.
As for rank and lower, it's much easier.
It's easy to promote tens of thousands of Rachels to rank 8 quickly.
However, each host can only do it once, as the only way to get rid of a host is by killing them.
But for rank 10, the loophole doesn't work, just as the skills of rank 10 cannot be modified.
What Rachel #1 truly pursues is reaching rank 10 and keeping people who have a chance of rank 10.
Lee is one, Zagronan is another, Savior is another.
She encourages love, hope, and these kinds of emotions that encourage her hosts to advance but will not allow them to kill one another.
She stopped Zagronan from killing Savior and will stop Savior from killing Zagronan if he ever has the chance.
Fortunately, he wasn't thinking about these things.
He only was focused on improving the lives of people.
...
Eliot Kemp was a billionaire, the second richest person in the world.
He was not a noble or even a mage, just a very successful businessman.
It may seem impossible, but it was true.
How did a mortal get so rich in such a short time?
The stock market.
He built his company using purely mortal technology to achieve incredible feats.
In the past, many technologies existed that were lost.
Long-distance information transfer is one.
It existed before, but it was lost during the chaotic period when the Robels Empire broke up.
The knowledge was lost, and the very restrictive laws of the ensuing Kobi kingdoms completely stifled innovation for a very long time.
For something new to be invented, a particular atmosphere is essential.
The Kobi kingdom completely lacked that.
The government controlled everything, with little tolerance for new things.
Nothing new had been invented for a very long time due to this.
Thankfully, the last king of the Kobi kingdom was enlightened; he tore up all regulations and laws and threw them into the fire.
It finally freed up the atmosphere, allowing people to have the drive to think about new products.
Eliot was one of those people. He brought back the old technology and spread it far and wide across the continent.
To share written information, you could use the LDtell system.
For voice messages, one can use LDtalk.
For directly sending an image of a page? LDscan.
His company quickly became so popular that it became the most valuable in the entire continent, perhaps even the world.
Its potential was extremely significant.
He also used the lack of laws to his advantage, buying out all competitors, and if they refused, he would crush them with his immense connections.
With mages not interfering and no laws to prevent it, he created a monopoly in the entire business.
He bribed everyone.
Every minister and Nobel had a share of the profits.
It kept them quiet and allowed Eliot to take hold of the entire kingdom's communications system.
One very essential aspect when creating a monopoly is involving government people and giving a part of the profits to them.
If Eliot were greedy and hadn't done this, they would have stopped him.
But, with him giving them money each month for no work, of course, they defended him.
Mages didn't care because who cares about mortal technology?
It wasn't a threat to them.
...
A man with long green hair, looking sturdy, was sitting on a luxurious wooden chair.
The man was very handsome.
Even Eliot has to admit it.
Eliot, not considered handsome by most people, cleared his throat and began, "Master Savior, all of our businesses strictly follow the laws."
Savior sneered and said, "I know. But that is because there are no laws! As I said, you resign tomorrow!"
Savior hated people like Eliot.
After the incident, Eliot got much richer.
That is because before, he still had to pay some money to the many nobles and ministers, but now, he was free from all influence and much stronger than before.
Savior's quick intervention saved all the infrastructure from getting ruined.
In addition to not having to pay protection money, Elliot also used his insider information to buy shares of many companies, all of which nosedived after what happened.
The stock market is based on Robels City, not Kobi City.
"But, Master Savior, I have done everything possible to help people. Why am I being punished?" He started to plead.
He knew that in today's Kobi kingdom, Savior's words are laws.
"Okay, say, where did you help anyone? You know that as we speak, many people live on the streets due to the chaos?" he said.
Savior stopped enormous casualties, but the incident still caused a lot of disruptions. It will take a few months to fix them.
"I wanted to donate to a charity..."
"Okay, but you didn't. I want your resignation by tomorrow. As for the new chief executive, I will appoint someone. You will keep your shares, but you cannot interfere with the work of the new CEO. You are dismissed."
Eliot gritted his teeth but didn't dare to say more and left.
Savior touched his forehead.
"So much suffering! I can feel their pain in my blood! Rachel, what use am I if I can't save them?" he asked.
Over the years, he had come to see Rachel as a spiritual advisor.
Of course, only his Rachel. As for his father's Rachel, he had no good feelings toward her.
"Of course, you are not strong enough! If you were rank 10, then you could have saved them all!" she said.
Over the years, Rachel understood that Savior was a good person who cared about the weak, so she started talking to him in a way that he would understand.
So what if she disagreed with him? She also disagreed with Zagronan.
As long as he could get stronger, who cares if he spent his life helping others?
Rachel didn't care about good and evil; she cared about results.
"How? My father will always be ahead of me, with his Main protagonist luck," he said.
Rachel thought momentarily and said, "What about you also getting main protagonist luck?" she asked.
"Can you do it?" he asked.
"Maybe. I will look into it," she said.
She plans to talk to Rachel #1 about it.
The reason is not that she pities Savior; it's just that she sees him as very determined in his own way.
With his rivalry with his father, he could quickly turn Protagonist luck into strength.
Savior looked at the painting on the wall and sighed.
It was a picture of him with his father on the ocean.
In the past, those fishing trips were one of his favorite hobbies.
Now, he really missed those.
...
Lee was meditating, as she always did.
Her Rachel had always been rank 8, but a while ago, she suddenly said she could reach rank 9.
So, Lee created an avatar and promoted it to rank 9.
With a rank 9 Rachel, she could reach rank 10 more quickly.
Recently, much sad news has come from the continent.
She was somewhat upset about what had happened.
She still cared a bit about her mortals, so their deaths were sad events.
However, she didn't have the time for that now, so she went into a closed-door meditation, preparing to reach rank 10.
These days, she felt that her fragment law was about to find its last piece and be completed.
...
A few years passed.
The pain caused by the destruction of Kobi City was only genuinely felt by a few.
Of course, that is the situation only if one doesn't consider the great pain of the people who were in the city at that time and died.
Anyway, life continued, and the new king began to gain legitimacy.
The Kobi kingdom was originally ruled by kings with black skin.
But over the years, the kings' lineage changed, and most recent kings have had white skin.
Fortunately for the Kobi kingdom, nobody cared about this; after so many years of integration, everyone has all kinds of bloodlines, with no one being pure.
Still, many people noticed that the new Queen chosen by Savior was from a far-away branch family of the Kobi dynasty, with black skin.
It could be considered a return to roots, of sorts.
Of course, it is likely that after a few generations, marriage with the dominant white population will again change the kings to look white.
Again, fortunately, no one cared.
In this regard, the Kobi Kingdom was fortunate.
Racial tension among humans and interspecies tension between humans and elves, beastmen, etc., were nonexistent.
However, they were not perfect. Women were not allowed to become kings.
But if one looked at history, they would be amazed at how much things had changed.
Just over 50,000 years ago, the situation was the polar opposite, with only female queens and no male kings allowed.
At that time, everyone thought it was normal for men not to be kings.
It was common sense.
And now, common sense is 180 degrees different.
The Savior, of course, was there when it was like that.
He planned to fix it once and for all.
The king or Queen would be chosen directly from everyone with any Kobi dynasty bloodline.
This rule includes most people on the continent, as most have at least some distant ancestor from the Kobi family.
In practice, this means anyone can be king or Queen.
The Savior's test for candidates was only a test of heart to see how much they cared about the people.
Have you helped people? Who have you hurt, and so on?
These questions greatly encourage doing good deeds.
He also made a top ten evil list, on which he would place the worst people in his mind on the list.
He implemented these policies, but he isn't sure if they work.
However, he feels they are better than the alternatives.
He left one clone on this continent and then left.
After all, there are other continents, too, so one cannot focus so much attention here.
Chapter 78: Undead World
Lei Xue was an elder of the Clear Water Sect's branch in Xia Country.
In the world, only one supreme emperor exists, His Highness Lin Ming. However, in the lower levels, many sects and other kingdoms also exist. Of course, all are loyal to His Majesty.
As an elder of the branch, Lei Xue was a cultivator in the Realm of 'True Immortal.'
There are 14 realms in total.
It starts with Qi Condensation, where one gathers the energy of heaven and earth. It's equivalent to rank 1 mages.
In the Realm of Foundation Establishment, one forms the energy into meridians, transforms the flesh, and gains the aura of immortals.
Foundation Establishment is critical, as those with a weak foundation have no chance for further progress.
Foundation establishment is roughly equivalent to rank 2 mags.
Core Formation is when one must nourish the golden core. The golden core is where a nascent soul would hatch, so any crack on it not only dooms any chance of advancement but might also cause one's soul to scatter, which would be fatal. One cannot truly live without a soul. Undead exist without a soul, but that is not truly 'living.'
The core formation is equivalent to the rank 3 mage stage.
Nascent soul is where one truly enters the world of cultivation. With a nascent soul, one can change the body and live as long as their soul's lifespan allows. It is equivalent to the rank 4th mage stage.
The following Realm is Soul Transformation. Here, the nascent soul matures, and one can live for an extended period without a body, even fighting with only the soul. It is equivalent to the rank 5th mage stage.
The subsequent Realm is the Immortal Body Realm, where a suitable body will be created for the soul, perfectly fitting together. At the end of this Realm, the body and soul combine into one, enabling advancement into the Earth Immortal Realm. It is equivalent to the rank 6th mage stage.
In the Earth Immortal Realm, one's body and soul unite, and the power of cultivators in this Realm far surpasses the realms before it. They can destroy cities with a single glance, command the elements, or shape the land with a single strike. They are so distinct from mortals that they cannot be considered the same species. It is equivalent to the rank 7th mage stage.
After the Earth Immortal stage, one advances to the Heavenly Immortal stage. Cultivators in the Heavenly Immortal stage are considered important members of the sect and may be appointed as branch leaders of the Clear Water Sect in some smaller cities. They are so powerful that destroying an entire country is as effortless as exhaling. It is equivalent to the rank 8th mage stage.
Then, there's the Golden Immortal Realm. Golden immortals lead the Clear Water Sect's branches in major cities. They are so formidable that any conflict among them can inflict severe damage on entire continents. Fortunately, within the Clear Water Sect, large-scale disputes like these are rare. It is equivalent to the rank 9th mage stage.
The next stage is the True Immortal stage. A true immortal possesses an endless lifespan, can transcend the world entirely, and can obliterate regions as vast as Xia with a mere blink.
They are usually elders of the Clear Water Sect in big countries or the leaders in small countries. True Immortal is the Realm of Lei Xue. It is equivalent to the rank 10th mage stage.
Law Master immortal Realm, where one controls many laws. Cultivators in this Realm are usually Branch leaders in top countries. It is equivalent to the rank 11th mage stage.
Universal Immortal Realm; anyone in this Realm can become the leader of a Clear Water branch in a world. Clear Water has only one world, but this 'one' world contains many smaller worlds within it. Immortals in this Realm use universal laws lent by his majesty Lin Ming. It is equivalent to the rank 12th mage stage.
Finally, the immortal emperor Realm. The sect leader is in this Realm. There are other immortals in this Realm as well, but all use universal laws lent by his majesty Lin Ming, so they are not truly immortal emperors. It is equivalent to the rank 13th mage stage.
As for the final Realm, it doesn't have any name. It is where one becomes invincible, omnipotent, omniscient, absolutely able to do anything. There has never been anyone in this Realm. It is equivalent to the rank 14th mage stage.
As for whether higher realms exist, nobody knows; there has never been anyone close to the 14th Realm, let alone the 15th.
Some speculations about the 14th Realm might be false; as Lin Ming knows, there are already civilizations in the 14th Realm, and while they are strong enough to destroy all civilizations effortlessly, they are not omnipotent and omniscient.
He speculates that true omnipotent and omniscient should be in the 15th Realm, where one can completely control the creation and not just steal some energy from it.
As for whether it's possible to control the creation, it's above Lin Ming's pay grade.
...
Lei Xue looked at the pill container in his hand.
A few days ago, he found this in his room, and he was astonished. Who could sneak into his room without his permission? That alone indicated that this was not an ordinary item.
After a while, he found out it could talk.
"Hey, aren't you tired of ignoring me? I am saying I have permission from Lin Ming!" she said.
Lei Xue was displeased. How could she dare to refer to the sect master like this?
Rachel sighed and contacted the main body. The main body, in turn, reached Lin Ming. Then, Lin Ming called Lei Xue, which made him turn as pale as paper. His behavior did a complete 180.
"Master Senior Highness Rachel, please forgive me for my rudeness," he began kowtowing.
"It's alright. Now, open me and eat 100 pills," she said.
With Lin Ming ordering him, he didn't dare to neglect and did as he was told.
He opened Rachel, took out the pills, and swallowed without hesitation.
"Alright, now you are my host. Let's go!" she said. Both disappeared.
...
Rachel has many worlds under her control.
What sets her apart from other civilizations is that all her worlds have been stolen; she never created a world.
These worlds are of all types and located in various places.
Some of her worlds closer to her headquarters serve as breeding grounds for incarnations, while others further away are dedicated to discovering complete laws and decoding underlying laws.
She also has many reactors where mortals, under the influence of intense emotions, produce Realization points.
In addition, a few also serve as Universal energy refiners, where chaos energy gets transformed into valuable universal energy.
Some of her worlds are on the fringe, cultivating such as Void creatures, Dream creatures, illusion creatures, and the undead.
Void creatures can live in the empty void and feed from it. Those below rank 10 cannot survive in the endless space, as chaos energy kills them, but those above rank 10 can live and advance in the endless space.
The collective imagination of many mortals creates dream creatures. Usually, the world's laws don't allow their existence, but in some worlds, the laws are more permissive, and Dream creatures appear from time to time.
Illusion creatures are not real, only illusions. Still, one shouldn't underestimate illusions; they can be more dangerous than reality.
As for the undead, it's straightforward. Anything that had a soul, lost it, and still acts as if alive is considered undead. The undead are a highly adaptive species that can live in most worlds and advance in rank.
The concept of the soul is a complicated topic. In Rachel's database, there is a detailed explanation regarding it.
Living creatures have souls, while dead creatures do not. What separates the living from the dead? It's not always clear.
In some technological worlds, they can create mage robots indistinguishable from ordinary mages. These robots lack a soul, yet one cannot point to any discernible difference.
The same goes for the undead. While most undead are often considered ugly, some show no apparent difference from the living.
One distinction is that undead and robots do not produce any Realization energy. Anyone with a soul generates some Realization energy as they experience emotions.
There are other spells for detecting those with a soul from those without, but if one were to press Rachel and ask what difference they have, she could provide one clear answer: those without a soul cannot reach Rank 14.
The soul serves as a medium of communication and understanding of creation. Without it, one can read, study, learn, and gain wisdom, but one cannot truly "understand" creation.
Some undead creatures who reached Rank 13 devised spells to create an artificial soul because, without it, they have no hope of a higher rank.
...
Savior suddenly appeared in a desert. He looked at the sky with interest.
There was one moon in the sky, dark and whole. It's just that it emitted black light.
Black light is impossible with mortal devices. Light, by nature, is bright. But here, it is not an ordinary place.
The undead inhabit this world. They themselves are a paradox, being dead while also being 'alive.' Black light is the same, a paradox, being light but also dark.
If a mortal were to look, they would see nothing. Even if one were to light a fire, still, no light would appear because the black light from the moon suppresses all other light.
"Lei Xue will arrive soon," Rachel said.
This time, she brought Savior to explore this world. Other incarnations Also brought other hosts to other worlds.
When the main body ordered it, she felt it was weird. Lately, in the last 100,000 years, the main body has become too generous. Nevertheless, she did as instructed.
"I'm excited to meet him!" said Savior.
He was curious about the undead. It is an excellent opportunity to strengthen his understanding of the universe, maybe even a hint regarding the complete laws.
He looked around, but nothing was there, only a strange, crystalline white, shiny 'sand.' Of course, in this place with no light, it never shone.
Suddenly, something large appeared in the sky. It was a giant, Rank 6 bat. Bats were suitable for undead worlds because they thrived in the darkness.
It was not just a bat; it was an undead bat. It 'looked' at Savior, then trembled and flapped away much faster than it had come.
Savior was surprised. He was not deliberately hiding his aura, but he wasn't revealing it either. To discover his rank, the bat was not simple.
Just then, a slight vibration came, and a man in a robe appeared.
He looked pale and thin. However, with a single look, Savior concluded that he would have no chance against him.
The man cupped his hands and said respectfully, "Greetings, fellow...," but he stopped.
He wanted to say 'Daoist,' but remembered that this man was from another world, so he was most likely not a Daoist.
"Fellow...," he struggled to think of what to call Savior.
"Call me Savior," said Savior.
Lei Xue smiled and greeted again as if nothing had happened. "Greetings, fellow Savior."
Rachel told him that the two were equals and were exploring this world together.
"I am happy to meet you, Master Lei Xue. I have heard a lot about you. I will be in your care during this journey," he said humbly.
With only a Rank 8, he could easily perish in this world. This world was under Rachel, but it was unique; Rachel had a minimal presence here, so anything could happen.
Lei Xue nodded and asked, "Fellow Savior, what do you think of the moon?".
From the moment he arrived, he had been captivated by the moon. Undead also existed in the Clear Water world, but not as prominently as here.
"Indeed, the moon is eye-catching," Savior nodded. He could tell that the moon here had a physical form, unlike at home, where it was just a phantom.
Lei Xue handed him a piece of paper with words written on it.
It looked very unusual, like something from an art museum. "This is the 'Like Wind' talisman. With this, fellow Savior can keep up with me," he explained. Then, Lei Xue provided instructions on how to use it.
Savior ignored 'fellow Savior' and took the talisman. He nodded and then tore it, guiding its energy.
It was designed so that even a Heavenly Immortal could use it. Of course, he wasn't a Heavenly Immortal, but he could manipulate the energy without any problem. This 'Talisman' resembled spell crystals in many ways.
Lei Xue was impressed and nodded.
Then, the two leaped into the sky and sped toward the moon.
The moon appeared to be quite distant, and they were moving fast. Even with the speed of Rank 9, they traveled for four days and only got a bit closer.
Lei Xue said plainly, "Fellow Savior, it's best if we move faster."
His meaning was obvious.
Savior wondered why Lei Xue used "fellow" every time, but he nodded.
Lei Xue cast his Rank 10 dao spell 'Wind,' took Savior with him, and disappeared.
Regardless of when you look, the speed of light is the speed limit of the universe.
The reason is that light is a massless particle, which naturally moves at the maximum speed allowed. If the speed limit of a world is 1 million kilometers per second, light moves at that speed, and if it's one quadrillion kilometers per second, then again, light moves at that speed.
The speed of light is not a specific number; it always moves at the maximum allowed speed. It's impossible to move faster than it.
However, that's only for those below Rank 10.
Those of Rank 10 and above can move faster than light, and we're talking about actual movement, not simply jumping through space.
They can create a local, specific, and temporary exception in the world's rules. This ability doesn't work in all worlds, and it only functions in Rank 12 worlds if the owner allows it. But in Rank 10 and 11 worlds, it usually works.
This undead world is a Rank 11 world, and its space is extremely unstable.
Teleportation is risky, even for Lei Xue. So, he decided to spend some energy and create an exception. It allowed him to move thousands of times faster than the speed of light.
In just a few breaths, they reached the moon.
Using the "Windstop" Dao spell, he immediately stopped without any problems and looked around.
Savior was dizzy.
In those few moments, they had moved so fast that he could never have imagined it possible. Even as a Rank 8, he wasn't sure exactly how fast they had moved. Perhaps he could have calculated it if he knew the distance to the moon.
But the sight distracted his thoughts.
"Bones!" he exclaimed.
As far as his eyes could see, there were bones, all humanoid bones.
Some of them started moving.
"It looks like the moon is an undead creating factory," said Lei Xue. Savior nodded.
"Let's move deeper and observe the core!" Lei Xue said. He was very curious since his second complete law that he was preparing to create had a lot to do with the undead.
However, Savior wasn't particularly curious. He didn't have anything to do with the undead.
After much thinking, he had chosen his complete law to be the Complete Law of Life.
"Savior, pay attention to this. You may be able to create a new complete law if you try hard," Rachel said.
Of course, she wouldn't let Savior get away with the Complete Law of Life. After all, it had already been discovered, and she had given the formula to Savior.
Instead, she wanted Savior to discover a new complete law, something between life and death. She knows that such a complete law exists.
She did have many complete laws like it, but what Savior discovers might not necessarily be the same as those. Even if it's slightly different, it's enough to be considered a new one.
Laws of life had been explored to death, so it is very unlikely that Savior could discover anything new in that field.
But the combination of laws of life and death, along with some other fringe elements like illusions, are less explored.
She planned to guide her hosts to explore those. This was the main body's order to all Rachels.
Chapter 79: Illusion world
There was no hole on the moon, so no one could go deep unless they were rank true immortals with a complete law.
Lei Xue assumed that the core is where the negative life energy comes from to create the undead;
To make the undead, the living are needed.
That's why there are so many skeletons. Obviously, the undead here 'cultivated' mortal humanoids and dumped them here to create undead humanoids.
But that's not enough.
Negative life energy is also essential. NLE is life energy with a negative value, and with it, corpses turn into the undead.
The process is complicated, and most civilizations won't spend time researching it.
The timing, amount, flow, replacement rate, etc, all must be precise.
The world's laws detest negative values, so in most worlds, one must carefully store NLE to prevent its destruction.
This world is customized for the undead, so it is much more resistant to Negative values, but still, it's best to store it in a safe place.
A good place is the core of the moon.
It's covered with a massive amount of materials, with those below rank 10 having no chance to sneak in and steal from it.
The undead love NLE, and they would steal it given the opportunity.
Lei Xue wanted to cast a dao spell, but he turned his head in a particular direction.
"Headache!" he thought.
Of course, the moon is not empty; strong undead also exist.
In the exact place Lei Xue looked at, a skeleton appeared.
A skeleton with a sword.
Savior could not detect any aura from it, but Lei Xue knew that it had a complete law. In other words, it was a true immortal.
"Fellow... Undead, we..." As Lei Xue tried to resolve it peacefully, the skeleton attacked.
"Darn it!" Lei Xue frowned.
Rachel also sighed. Her control over this world is loose, so she has no idea who this skeleton is.
Lei Xue cast the dao spell 'Call the wind.'
The skeleton's attack speed was countless times faster than the speed of light. Clearly, it disabled the world's speed restriction around itself. Even though it did not altogether remove all speed restrictions, it could move countless times faster than light.
The power difference between rank 10 and 9 is like that between an ant and a giant the size of a planet.
No matter how many rank 9 individuals there are, they can never defeat a rank 10 with the energy left to fight.
Only by draining it of energy with waves and waves of attacks can they have a chance.
For this attack, no rank 9 can even see it.
But Lei Xue could see it, even though the skeleton moved countless times faster than light. And, with his complete law, he had long created a field around himself that wouldn't allow invading forces to turn off the world's laws.
As a result, as soon as the skeleton entered that field, its speed dropped to 'only' the speed of light.
Lei Xue spotted it and pointed 'Call the Wind' toward it.
A terrifying wind, so intense that the whole moon vibrated, hit the skeleton before it could react.
Boom.
The skeleton was shot into the main world below the moon.
Fortunately for the main world, it traveled at the speed of light, so it would take a lot of time to hit it and cause a disaster for the undead there.
The skeleton was barely damaged; it somehow stopped its descent and teleported back.
It was tens of kilometers away, but Lei Xue could see it as if it were right beside him.
"Fellow skeleton, let's talk about this!" He was unwilling to fight, as it would take a lot of energy to kill it.
"Are you sent by Rachel?" a whisper came.
"Yes, Master Rachel sent me," he said with relief.
Now that it knew he was here by the order of this world's master, everything should be fine.
"Then you shall die!" it whispered.
Lei Xue was astonished.
The moon opened, and five more skeletons, all rank 10, appeared.
"Darn it!" Lei Xue was now sure. His enemy was not rank 10, but rank 11.
The enemy most likely controls these skeletons.
Lei Xue is strong in rank 10, but in the face of a Law Master immortal Realm who has at least 6 complete laws, at best, he could run away.
All six attacked at the same time, all with speeds far beyond light.
They hit Lei Xue's field and injected a terrifying amount of Chaos energy into it.
The field resisted for a moment and then broke.
"How can I die like this?" Lei Xue thought. He would die.
Rachel sighed and took action.
She modified the code and removed the locations of Lei Xue and Savior from the space of this world.
She had the code ready, and this world was her world; its information was all in the database, so she did it nearly instantly.
As a rank 10, Rachel was as fast as the skeletons, if not faster.
All the skeletons reached Lei Xue, swung their swords, and somehow missed.
It was beyond what mortals could imagine.
Lei Xue was there, but the swords missed him, no matter how the skeletons attacked.
"Space manipulation," the whisper came again.
The six skeletons all retreated and merged into one.
A giant undead, with red light in its eyes and luxurious clothes, appeared in their place.
It had a giant sword that shone with dark light. Its value was incredibly negative, and just standing there was damaging the world's laws.
It swung its sword, and a sword lit with extremely negative energy attacked Lei Xue.
"It's troublesome! This strike can break my code!" thought Rachel.
Most worlds below rank 12 are coded based on complete laws, but this world differed.
Its source codes were based on NLE, with the structural codes being with realization energy.
This insulated the worlds from being too damaged by the undead, and even if damage appeared, it would be fixed automatically, as the source code itself was based on NLE.
There are significant downsides to codes of a world being from negative energy.
But, one 'upside' is that the undead can live in such a world.
Rachel's code just now was based on Realization energy, which would be damaged at best and destroyed at worst by such a negative energy attack.
"Negative energy coding is time-consuming, so it's out of the question. Universal coding is too costly. Chaos..." she was thinking calmly as the strike was coming.
The attack was aimed at Lei Xue, so teleportation won't work. It is not just a mortal strike; it will hit Lei Xue no matter where in this world he runs to.
"Headache! Where did this undead come from?" As a rank 10 incarnation, she had no chance.
Therefore, she contacted the rank 12 incarnation responsible for this world and many other undead worlds in this area, asking for help.
The incarnation reacted immediately, dissipating the attack and freezing the undead in space.
It was the operation of a rank 12 universal law.
In Lei Xue and Savior's view, the undead froze suddenly, like a piece of stone.
But the undead was actually fiercely struggling.
It released all of its terrifying negative energy, trying to destroy the restrictions on its body.
However, in the face of a universal law, it was like a mosquito trying to sting a piece of stone.
With the struggle, it was only harming itself and not the bind.
"Leave it, go and explore the inner workings of the undead," said Rachel.
It cost her more than it should have, so her mood was bad.
Every use of universal law costs universal energy. She is indeed rich, but one cannot be wasteful, no matter how rich.
Savior, whom Lei Xue protected, barely noticed anything.
Both Lei Xue's speed and the skeletons' speed were all so fast he didn't even see.
"Rank 10 is too terrifying!" he was afraid.
As a demon who is more than 100,000 years old, it's not easy to make him afraid, but today, he was terrified.
Lei Xue, or the skeletons, could kill him millions of times without him even noticing when.
He was relieved to have Rachel.
Rachel, of course, wouldn't let him die.
Even Rachel cannot resurrect anyone dead.
It is a complicated topic.
She can make a carbon copy of the same person, like retrieving the information from the river of time and rebuilding it, but it wouldn't be the same person.
The soul would be different.
A soul is unique, something that can never be perfectly replicated. At least Rachel can't do it. Rank 14s probably can do it, though.
Therefore, when anyone who completely dies with their soul dispersed gets resurrected, they may look and behave the same, but the soul ID is different and cannot unlock any treasure, space storage, etc, that only operates by detecting the owner's soul ID.
With the most terrifying undead gone, Lei Xue and Savior started moving to the moon's core.
It was an easy task for Lei Xue, who cast a dao spell.
The core of the moon was as he expected. It was like a battery, with vast amounts of NLE stored in it.
But he also didn't understand many details.
Like how much negative light energy is required for an undead, the exact conditions for all kinds of undead, detailed experiments on negative light energy, etc.
Lei Xue was very curious about these, so he planned to stay here long.
For him, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Savior wasn't interested. Undead was not his taste. But Rachel forced him to stay.
As a result, both remained in the moon's core and began their exploration.
...
Zagronan was dazed.
"So, it's an illusion?" he asked Rachel.
"Yeah, it's all fake," Rachel answered.
"It looks more real than reality to me," he said with doubt.
"No, trust me, it's all fake, like the world itself, it's all fake," said Rachel.
Zagronan looked at the massive city in front of him with doubt. It was the biggest city he had ever seen.
Rachel brought Zagronan to an illusion world. Illusion worlds are incredibly complicated and hard to explore.
All illusion worlds in the universe are fake.
They are not real.
Yet, they exist.
But don't really, because they are illusions.
In short, they are paradoxes that can make mortals go crazy. But Zagronan, with Rachel's help, can probably discover something.
Rachel will not let Zagronan reach rank 10 with the law of wisdom. The main body ordered research on the fringes. So, she only allows Zagronan to advance if he gains anything from these worlds.
She did the same with Lee. Before, she went into closed meditation to reach rank 10, but Rachel disrupted her 'closed door' and sent her to a fringe world.
Zagronan continued to look at the city for a while longer.
"It's too detailed! I can't find any clue that it's fake. Rachel, maybe I'm not talented in illusion. How can I learn something even though I can't even realize the illusion?" he asked.
"Illusion is real, but also fake. What does that mean? Let me help you. In short, you can control the illusion if you find a flaw. But if you don't find a flaw, it's real for you and can kill you."
"As for what flaw, it's up to you to discover. The more you do it, the more you understand it. Usually, most who try it will die, but look, you have me to guard. So go and explore," she said.
Zagronan thought for a moment, then smiled. "Let's see how real they are!" He cast a 'fireball' spell.
His fireball was the same size as the city.
It hit, and with a massive explosion, countless people there died.
The city was bigger than even cities in hell, so it's beyond imagination as to how many people lived there.
Zagronan looked carefully and didn't notice a flaw. It was all realistic.
"Those people who died were all fake?" Zagronan asked.
"They were illusions, but they don't know it themselves. For them, everything was real, but for us, they are illusions."
"Illusions are a different reality from us. Some call it the universe's dreams. We are a reality, and they are illusions because we are the most common charge of reality. For them, they are real, and we are an illusion. For us, we are real, and they are an illusion," said Rachel.
"So, is it possible for us to turn into illusions?" asked Zagronan in confusion. He didn't have much knowledge about illusions.
"Yeah, it's possible. The moment we turn into illusions is the moment we die."
Chapter 80: Illusions are weird
"Why?" Zagronan wondered.
He continued, "If one can turn into an illusion, doesn't that mean one can also become real again?" he wondered.
Rachel responded, "An illusion can never turn into reality. Some techniques can scan the illusion and create a copy of it in reality. However, that would cost great amounts of realization energy, and the newly realized 'thing' would not be the illusion; it would just be exactly similar."
Zagronan looked dumb, and he was initially dumb, but after so long, he gained a lot of wisdom. As a result, he understood Rachel's meaning.
"Then, please, Rachel, don't let the illusion consume me," Zagronan was afraid of illusions but trusted Rachel.
He went down and snapped his fingers.
After the fireball, a vast land area was in flames, but with this snap, all disappeared.
"Are you a demon?" a woman with two giant sharp horns on her head appeared.
The horns were so exaggerated that they were half her height, around 2 meters.
"What a realistic illusion," Zagronan was genuinely impressed.
"Yeah, a demon king, actually," Zagronan smirked.
The woman looked cold, took off her clothes, and transformed!
She became a colossal dragon, so enormous that even faintly surpassed the size of this world's diameter.
Zagronan never saw something so huge.
"Rank 10? Why do I feel like she has a complete law?" Zagronan was disturbed.
"She doesn't have any complete law, but if you don't discover the flaw, she may as well have," said Rachel.
"What flaw? Where?" Zagronan racked his brain. He lacked time because a rank 10 could kill him in an instant.
As he was thinking, he felt the dragon readying to attack. It inhaled and then exhaled the dragon's breath.
Unbelievable fire appeared, so much so that Zagronan's Fireball was like a candle before the sun.
"Rachel?" he screamed in his mind. Rachel remained silent.
Zagronan teleported at the last moment, but to his surprise, even though the space wasn't locked, the other end of teleportation was a few meters away, not saving him from the situation.
The dragon's breath hit.
Zagronan should have died.
Fortunately for him, it was all an illusion. How can one die from an attack of an illusion?
Therefore, he survived, but he paid the price. His reality charge began to change rapidly, dragging him away from the real world and into becoming an illusion.
He realized it and began to think. "The attack didn't kill me, but it's making me an illusion. I now firmly understand that it's an illusion, yet the illusion's attacks are as fatal as real mages' attacks."
"Rachel says I should discover flaws. Where are the flaws?" he thought and started to talk.
"How can there be a dragon this big?" he shouted and asked the girl.
Even though she was a rank 10, the size of this dragon was unreasonable.
The dragon disappeared, and the girl appeared again.
"How can you survive my full attack?" She seemed as surprised as Zagronan.
"Answer my question first. Why is your dragon form so huge?" he asked with seriousness.
The girl shook her head and began answering, "I am a member of the Fire Dragon clan. My clan specializes in fire magic; however, I had a talent from birth. I can create a phantom far bigger than my real body. After reaching rank 10, this talent got much more powerful, with the Phantom as big as a world. Now, it's your turn. Why are you alive?" she asked.
Zagronan began to think, "Phantom being so powerful? That's impossible!"
He looked around and realized the strike was so strong that everything evaporated. Now, he was standing in a place resembling the surface of a star.
He began to laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" the dragon girl shouted.
"I'm just pitying you," said Zagronan with a look of pity.
"You!" She got mad and started attacking again. Zagronan was not afraid. He's not a master of the Phantom, but he knows how it works.
What is a phantom? It's very close to an illusion but different. While an illusion is a reality with a different charge, a phantom is the imagination of a powerful existence. A phantom cannot exist without a powerful existence supplying it, while illusions can be left and remain in a place for an infinite time. One essential detail is that the Phantom is weaker the bigger it is.
The dragon, with its immense size, attacked; even though it was rank 10, it shouldn't have been able to kill a rank 7 mage, let alone Zagronan.
Because, with its size, its power should have been downgraded many times.
When Zagronan survived, the girl was surprised. It seems she was used to her Phantom getting stronger the bigger it was.
The exact opposite of how it should be
Therefore ...
"Phantom!" Zagronan cast. He is good at the law of wisdom but can still use other spells.
Giant phantoms are usually used for being seen by a lot of people. They are useless for battles, as they have low combat attack power. Only smaller phantoms can be helpful.
With his spell, a colossal phantom at least a hundred times bigger than the dragon girl appeared.
It had zero combat ability, not even able to hurt an ant.
But the girl became pale as paper.
Here, even the laws of the universe are different.
The matter regarding huge phantoms is universal; The bigger the Phantom, the weaker it gets. But here, in an illusion, it's the reverse.
The giant Phantoms punched the ground.
The world shook, mountains fell, and seas evaporated. After a while, everything shattered and disappeared!
...
Zagronan opened his eyes.
"Welcome back!" Rachel smiled.
"What is going on?" Zagronan thought he had succeeded, but looking around, the city that he destroyed was intact, and everything had returned to its original place.
"Didn't you realize? The illusion infected you and was about to consume you. But in the last moment, you found a flaw and returned to reality."
Zagronan's hairs stood on their ends.
"But, I... you were there," he retorted.
"Of course, I was. I was observing and guiding you. Now, here we go again; what do you think? Is it the 'real' illusion, or are you still infected?" she asked.
Cold sweat appeared on Zagronan's forehead. Now, he wasn't sure if anything was real! Even Rachel might be fake!
He destroyed the city again.
Then, he landed on the ground; the dragon girl appeared again, asking if he was a demon.
He said yes again, and the dragon girl transformed into a colossal dragon.
But this time, Zagronan cast a phantom spell immediately. He then punched the girl, turning her into meat paste and breaking the whole world again ...
...
"Good... you are getting faster!" said Rachel.
Zagronan opened his eyes and looked at the intact city.
"Are you real?" Zagronan asked.
"That's the wrong question. How do you think people turn from reality to illusion? I am real; just remember that and hold me as an anchor. Without me, you would have been lost, but with me, you can always keep a grasp of reality," she said.
Zagronan was reassured and asked, "What am I supposed to do?"
"Find the flaw!" she said.
"But I did find the flaw! It's the Phantom!" he insisted.
"Yeah, that's a superficial flaw, not the root of the problem! This is a huge illusion world. If you want to break it, you must discover the main flaw," she said.
"How?" he was getting frustrated. He was not suitable for these puzzles.
"Who knows? But don't worry! Time is also an illusion here, so even a million years is just a moment!" she said.
"Also, I extended your lifespan to infinite as long as you remain here," she assured him.
But Zagronan was not assured in any way. From the looks of it, Rachel wants him to remain here for a very, very, very long time.
He exhaled deeply and fireballed the city again!
After landing on the ground, the dragon girl came again.
"Are you a demon?" she asked.
"No," he answered.
The dragon girl was taken aback, and after thinking for a moment, she smiled.
"Hello! My name is Sasha. Happy to meet you!" She extended her left hand.
Zagronan went along and did the same.
The girl looked at Zagronan and said, "You are not from around here, are you?" she asked.
"I'm not from around here. I just returned. My mother lived here when I was a child!" he made up a story.
"Your what? What is a mother?" the girl was getting suspicious.
Zagronan, who himself had no mother, gave a vague answer, "The person who helps you grow into an adult."
The girl looked at him with confusion and said, "You seem not only from far away but from another world! Come with me; I can help you meet someone!" she said.
Zagronan nodded and continued moving. After a while, they reached an old house.
"That is the house of my teacher. He is also a fire dragon like me. He may be able to help you!" she said.
Inside, a man with a bald head and no hair anywhere was sitting on the rocky ground with closed eyes.
"Call me Real."
"Real?" Zagronan was surprised by this name.
"Yes. I was like you, someone exploring illusions, but look at me now. I've become a part of it," he said.
"Can you help me?" Zagronan asked, hoping he could help him find flaws quickly.
"Yes!" Then, he cast his spell. "Possession!"
An invading force attacked Zagronan, trying to take control of his body.
Rachel sighed, modified the code a bit, and removed the invader.
"It's the 14,781st time I'm saving you! Be more careful!" she said.
"How many? Why don't I remember?" he was confused.
"It's normal; when you first explore illusions, your memory gets confused. You will eventually remember."
The girl came in and looked at the teacher lying on the ground, with Zagronan standing!
"You! First, you destroyed a city, then killed my teacher?" she screamed and turned into a dragon phantom bigger than the world.
Zagronan sighed and cast his phantom spell, punched the dragon, and killed the girl, but didn't punch the ground so powerfully that the world shatters.
Nevertheless, the world began dissipating.
"Why? I didn't damage the world!" he asked Rachel.
"All these questions are for you to answer," she wanted him to learn illusion himself so she could not reveal everything.
...
"This is the millionth time! I hope this time, you can get past the Blue Dragon Clan."
Zagronan, who had begun to remember all the memories a while ago, was exhausted and dropped to the ground, sleeping.
...
With Rachel and Zagronan exploring illusions, Lee was busy with the dream world.
Chapter 81: Anti-Rachel's Plans
Dreams are a mystery for mortals.
However, high-level mages know what dreams are: they are imaginations based on nothing; they have no magical essence.
However, just because they aren't magical doesn't mean they cannot cannot become magical later.
Dreams can manifest as long as people believe they hold meaning.
Many civilizations cultivate mortals for the sole purpose of creating dream creatures. It is easy to accomplish and economical. All it requires is making mortals believe that their dreams are real; once they do, the dreams become a reality; the cost is also lower than creating the creature from realization energy.
Of course, one mortal dreaming is not enough. A significant quantity is required to create a high-level dream item or creature.
A high-level mage's dream can create a dream creature by itself, but it's rare, as high-level people know dreams are fake.
Also, dream creatures are not coming out of nowhere. It consumes soul power, as all emotions do. It's not an issue for mortals, who die after a short time and their soul dissipates, but for high-level mages who want to continue to advance, spending soul power to create a dream creature is idiotic.
Yet, just because they don't inherently contain magic doesn't mean they cannot become real.
Even those below rank 10 can create those dream creatures or things; many know the method.
However, there is even more mysterious dream-related knowledge.
Dreamworlds.
Dreamworlds are entire worlds based on dreams. They are akin to illusion worlds but with very minor differences.
In contrast to illusions, which are known as universes of dreams, dream worlds are based on people's dreams. They are extremely chaotic; in a dream world, one step might lead you to the core of a planet and the next step to the surface of a star, with both being dreams.
Anything in a dream world is real as long as it stays in the world.
Their information is usually only known by strong rank 12 and rank 13 civilizations.
Illusion worlds usually depict scenes that have already occurred. On the other hand, dream worlds portray scenes that never actually happened.
...
Karl Hodges was a lawyer who defended criminal defendants. He worked for ten years and applied for a judge position.
After an interview, they chose him to be a lower court judge. He was thrilled and began his new job.
However, the system that appeared out of nowhere was not part of the new job's perks.
It was called the 'sentencing system,' and the longer he sent criminals to jail, the more years he gained. With these 'years,' he could buy items and even extend his lifespan.
As if the system wasn't enough, a strange pill container appeared just a few days later.
The pill container could talk and was very magical. It made precious pills out of nowhere!
Time passed.
Even though he could have earned more points by sentencing people to longer prison terms, he didn't because he believed in fairness.
Still, he didn't resign or make any hasty decisions. Instead, he planned to use the 'years' he earned to increase his lifespan, and with the help of the pill container, he began producing some rank 0 pills to maintain his health.
Rank 0 pills are sold in pharmacies; unless specially licensed doctors prescribe them, they are extremely expensive, something that ordinary people cannot buy in a lifetime.
...
Karl was sitting in his chair.
Today, he was responsible for setting bail for the new arrestees.
A police officer brought the next defendant.
She was tall, around 2 meters, with short hair and a spotless face; she had an orange suit and handcuffs.
She was Lee!
Karl looked at the files and nodded.
"Public intoxication – bail 1000 Small credits. Next!" With just this one sentence, the task was complete.
It was only setting bail, so unless it were something significant like murder, he wouldn't think much about it. He would just set the bail according to the instructions.
...
Lee asked Rachel, "Was that man one of your hosts?"
Rachel answered, "Yes, he died a long time ago. But somehow, his dreams turned into an entire dream world. He wasn't a lawyer or a judge, but he liked being one, so he dreamt about it a lot." Rachel knew this from the database.
"Is he still your host?" Lee inquired.
Rachel replied, "I also exist in this dream world, but the 'me' here is a part of Karl's dreams. It's not really me. It's a strange situation. Now, your job is to live here, accompanying Karl until the end of the dream. Once you do that, you can gain his life's essential knowledge. You must understand that high-level civilizations treasure these dream worlds, so I'm being generous by allowing you to do it."
Dreamworlds are a shortcut to understanding universal laws, complete laws, and general knowledge about how the universe works. She only allows Lee to do it because the main body wants hosts skilled in Dream, illusion, Undead, and all rare elements.
...
Anti-Rachel continued its attacks.
Most of the time, they missed their targets, but occasionally, they managed to destroy her worlds.
Nevertheless, they were not satisfied. They hadn't been able to locate her headquarters after what happened last time, and even if they did, it didn't seem like everyone was willing to sacrifice their lives to attack.
As a result, the Anti-Rachel focused more on coding and fortifying worlds against her infiltrations.
They named it the Anti-Virus Project, and with the help of many rank 13 civilizations, they developed highly advanced code to resist infiltrations.
The code was kept secretive, but no matter how well-protected, it would eventually be leaked and countered. However, with the resources of many civilizations, the Anti-Rachel alliance had a large team ready to update the code periodically.
Initially, the results were positive, with the worlds that embedded the code successfully fending off infiltration attempts.
The Jump Rank method, like many of her other methods, was countered and completely closed.
However, Rachel excelled when it came to coding. Very soon, she updated her codes and overcame the Aini virus.
After decades of effort, the Anti-Rachel worked hard and updated their anti-virus, but in just a few months, Rachel found a way around it again. Even the entire Anti-Rachel alliance couldn't match Rachel's coding skills.
One reason may be that the rank 13 civilizations were unwilling to expose their trump cards.
Of course, if they reveal their trump cards, Rachel also brings her own.
They soon realized that relying solely on anti-virus measures wouldn't work, so they initiated a new project called 'Project Euthanasia.'
It called for the destruction of the worlds infected by Rachel. This would cause harm to everyone, but if everyone participated, it would harm Rachel more. There had been such a treaty in the past, but nobody had enforced it. Now, with Anti-Rachel, they could enforce it.
The project faced immense pushback, but most top civilizations were in favor, and with their power, they forced it to be approved.
Lin Ming was especially supportive, contacting all cultivation worlds and convincing them.
Soon, many observers were appointed by Anti-Rachel, wandering in the endless space, detecting worlds infected by Rachel and ordering their controlled destruction.
After a few thousand years, a good percentage of the worlds infected by Rachel were destroyed.
It affected Rachel, but it also left Anti-Rachel very unsatisfied. Creating a new world needs a lot of investment.
Buying licenses for living creatures, investing a lot in coding, complete laws, etc, and in the end, just one Rachel incarnation could cause all of it to be destroyed.
However, it continued with most top-tier civilizations in favor, along with Lin Ming pushing for it and the four directors it.
It caused most Rank 13 and 12 civilizations to put a halt on their world creation plans.
As for Rank 11 and 10 civilizations, it was a disaster for them. Even their headquarters were unsafe from Rachel's attacks, making survival challenging for Rank 11 and 10 civilizations.
What if a rank 10 civilization with a single world gets infected?
It had already happened many times.
The result was that their worlds were euthanized. Every inhabitant was then placed in a Rank 12 isolation world explicitly created for this purpose. After investigation, ensuring no Rachel was among them, they were released.
As for where they go next, it wasn't Anti-Rache's problem.
At the same time, Rachel was not just sitting ideal.
She spread the news that any low-ranking civilization could become her ally and be protected from Anti-Rachel's euthanasia program.
In Anti-Rachel, only top-ranking civilizations took oaths, and lower ranks weren't required to swear the oath. The higher-ranking civilizations feared Rachel reaching Rank 14, but lower ranks were not that concerned about Rank 14; they disliked Rachel because of her infiltration.
But now, Anti-Rachel was even more disliked by them. Even though Rachel's infiltrations were the cause, the actual people who came and destroyed their worlds were Anti-Rachel.
Rachel offered an alliance, along with protection against Anti-Rachel and against her own infiltrations. The only cost was that their world would be transferred to a location chosen by her.
Recently, infiltrations increased exponentially, and to protect themselves, many accepted.
It disturbed Anti-Rachel, especially Lin Ming, who emerged as a leader.
Lin Ming spent most of his time in his own world, but his Rank 13 clone was always present at the Anti-Rachel headquarters, actively fighting against Rachel.
He proposed destroying any civilization even suspected of aligning with her. This proposal found favor among those who intensely disliked Rachel, but the majority were against it.
The euthanasia program was considered logical because it slowed down Rachel's expansion rate. While it did create division, those who opposed it were mostly below Rank 12, so it was not a serious problem for the higher-ranked civilizations.
But destroying those who are even suspected of colluding with her? What if the suspected civilization is Rank 12? Many felt uneasy because, even though they had no intentions of collaborating with her, they were afraid of false accusations.
As a result, this proposal was rejected.
Lin Ming was furious! After the last battle where Rachel killed many Rank 12s, he developed a strong hatred for her. He persuaded most top civilizations to create the Unification Program.
Despite its positive name, it was pretty aggressive. It required Anti-Rachel to destroy any civilization as long as there was hard evidence proving their alliance with Rachel. The evidence requirement was high, reducing the concern of false accusations.
Lin Ming also pushed for other programs, such as the Radar Program, where they created a vast database of data in one place to help detect Rachel's worlds. Only a few trusted individuals, like Lin Ming, had access to it.
Another program named "Hack" intensely researched her incarnations.
Another program was named "University," where they trained mages, cultivators, and various professions, specifically for Anti-Rachel. Before the University program, Anti-Rachel relied on member civilizations for personnel, but with the University, it began to have its own staff.
Lin Ming took on the role of the leader of the University.
He continued to advocate for more powers for the Anti-Rachel Alliance and demanded additional resources from its members. He argued that the Alliance needed more staff, perhaps even an army, to enforce all the treaties and oaths.
As a result of these initiatives, Lin Ming began to be regarded as the leader of the Anti-Rachel Alliance, and his voice carried the most weight within the alliance.
Everything was known to him, and his approval was required for all operations. As for the Rank 12 directors with a shared mind, they became puppets without real power.
Weekly Power Status
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